The second drabble in the series "A New Life" (Name changed from "New World").
This drabble focuses on Peter's life before the bite. I've kinda merged and messed with the universes but Peter's stories follow the ultimate universe quite heavily (because I know it better than the others).
Peter tried to ignore the laughter echoing around him as he picked the fries out of his hair and dabbed at the ketchup on his textbook with a napkin.
"Flash, man! Awesome shot! Try aiming for the face!" Peter watched Kong and Flash out of the corner of his eye as he prepared for the next onslaught.
"Why can't you guys get a life and back off of Parker?" That must have been Gwen. Peter shot a glance towards her and watched silently as she marched over to the two jocks, fists clenched and head held high.
"We're helping him, Gwen, can't you tell? We're helping him build his character! It's very important, isn't that right, Peter?"
Peter looked up at the trio, contemplating the best method of response. Instead of saying anything, he started packing away his textbooks into his bag to leave the lunchroom, hoping to find some quiet place before classes started up again. He had managed to reach the doors, putting the boys who, by now, were howling with laughter, behind him when he felt Harry Osborn's arm slide across his shoulders. "Peter, my man, you cool? You didn't take any of that too personally, did you? You know those guys are a couple of jerks. Hey, you finished the chem homework for tomorrow? I wanted to compare answers. You know, to check."
"To check? Or to copy?" Peter rolled his eyes but didn't bother to move Harry's arm as they headed towards Peter's locker.
"Po-tay-to, po-tah-to. That's a yes, right?" Harry's arm tightened.
"Yeah, Harry. I've done it. And you can borrow it. Just get it back to me, alright?" Peter sighed and clutched at the strap of his bag.
Harry laughed. "I always do, Pete!"
They walked together for a while, Harry going on about how the school's basketball team was a shoe-in for the championship this year and Peter listening with half an ear, his mind focussing on the cake he would be getting from his Aunt for his birthday the next day.
"Don't forget to make a wish, Peter!"
Peter, his Aunt May and his Uncle Ben were in the kitchen for the traditional Parker Birthday Celebration: Peter's favourite dinner and a small cake before a night of movies. An old picture of Peter's parents, Richard and Mary, sat on the counter facing their son. This little touch had started a long time ago, before Peter could remember, when his parents were away for work on his birthday. Peter cried for hours on that day. When he had calmed down enough to speak, he had told his Uncle Ben that if he was a whole year older and his parents weren't around to see it, how would they be able to recognise him when they made it back? Uncle Ben took the photo off the mantelpiece and told Peter that every photo contains a tiny piece of soul from whoever was in it. As a soul cannot be broken, this little piece connects the photograph to the person wherever they are in the world. This little piece was watching over Peter, he had said, while his parents could not, so that they would be able to follow all the changes in his life while they were away, just so long as he kept the photograph close to him. He'd then given the photo to Peter who'd finally stopped crying and clutched it to his tiny chest for the rest of the day.
15-year-old Peter blew out his candles and grinned at his Aunt, motioning for the knife. "Either of you want a slice?" He asked.
"Who would say no to cake? Give me a half, Peter, you and your Aunt can share the rest."
Peter laughed. "It's my birthday! Back off or you won't get any! Tell him, Aunt May!"
"Ben, leave the poor boy alone. He obviously gets half the cake. And I get the other half because I made it. You get nothing because you kept eating all the chocolate."
Ben reached over and snatched the slice that Peter had just finished carving. "You're both bullies. I will eat cake whether you like it or not." He took a large bite and Aunt May swatted at him, giggling.
"Honestly, Ben!" She passed him a plate and a fork while Peter finished cutting up the next two slices. "So Peter, tell us about this trip your school is going on next week?"
Peter's whole body spasmed in excitement. "We're going to Osborn industries for the day but the thing is, oh man, Mr Osborn has set up a special tour for our class 'cause Harry's in it. We get to see a load of their work on genetic mutation. Genetic mutation, Aunt May! Harry says he thinks they recently made some sort of break-through for recreating the super-soldier serum! You know, the one that basically created Captain America? The greatest superhero the world has ever seen? No-one has ever been this close before! Not even Dr Banner!"
"What about Tony Stark? He's a genius, right? Surely he would be able to replicate the formula?" asked Uncle Ben.
Peter scoffed, "It's not really his area. Besides, he's got his suit, hasn't he? He doesn't need anything like that."
"Alright then, Peter, who's labs would you rather be going to, Mr Osborn's or Tony Stark's?"
Peter froze. "...Both."
"You can't have both."
"I'll clone myself if I have to."
Aunt May giggled, "Of course you would. Oh, Peter. Did you get all your homework done? I don't want you having to work tonight!"
"Yes, Aunt May." Peter rolled his eyes and ate the final bite of his slice, rubbing his hands on his jeans.
"Good. Then go pick a film for us to watch and set it up while me and your Uncle clean up in here, alright?"
Peter jumped up, his chair scraping along the floor, and ran out of the room.
Less than a week later and Peter was tagging behind his classmates on their tour of Osborn industries. While Harry was up ahead with a couple of his friends from the basketball team, Gwen was walking next to the tour guide, occasionally spying over her shoulder at the clipboard. Peter kept getting prodded by several workers and security staff for wandering too close to the equipment as he resisted the urge to touch and fiddle with everything.
"And here we have the lab dedicated to genetic mutation. Does anyone here know what the company is hoping to do with this research?" Gwen's hand shot into the air and the tour guide smiled at her.
"They're hoping to recreate the famous super-soldier serum invented by Dr Erskine."
"Very good, Miss Stacy but not quite. Osborn industries believes that they will be able to use this research to improve Dr Erskine's serum. We believe that we will be able to create a treatment that will increase a person's strength, agility, and senses far beyond that which a normal human could ever hope to achieve, possibly giving them a few extra abilities as well."
Peter was taking in the activity of the scientists around him with a dry mouth, mind much too rapt in the technology around him to notice the spider descending from the ceiling and landing on his shoulder, slowly crawling around his body and climbing under his jacket.
"As you can see, the research has already progressed from insects to small mammals and we believe it is only a matter of time before we will be able to start human testing. Please take a few minutes to look around the area and ask the scientists some questions but be sure not to touch anything!"
Peter gravitated away from his classmates, scratching at a slight tickle he felt in his chest.
"Peter," Gwen called, "wait up!" Peter turned to Gwen and waited for her to make her way over to him. While he wouldn't say they were particularly close, the two often spent much of their time together in their shared classes and when they went on class trips. Gwen's closer friends had chosen not to take the advanced science classes she had and her respect for Peter's abilities led her to gravitate towards him. Though Peter most often partnered with Harry, their teachers would sometime get suspicious over Harry's efforts, forcing them to separate. On these occasions, Gwen made sure her and Peter would work together.
"This place is amazing, isn't it? Have you got any questions for the scientists? I've got loads. I can't believe they're already testing a formula on mammals! This must be recent, I would have heard about it otherwise. Come on, that guy doesn't seem too busy." She grabbed his arm and pulled as Peter scratched again at the tickle on his chest.
While Gwen began bombarding the poor man with questions about the formula that was being created, most likely hoping to get the guy to slip up and give away some secrets, Peter began pulling at his jacket and T-shirt. The tickle felt like it was moving and he was sure that it was a loose thread. Peter reached into his jacket to find it and pull it out but when he pulled his had away his eyes widened as he realised that he was grasping the leg of a large, struggling spider.
Peter let out a yell and flicked his hand, hoping the spider would fall to the floor. Instead it clung on and crawled up his hand, stopping at his wrist and digging its huge fangs into the skin. Peter howled in pain, it felt like being stung by a hundred wasps simultaneously.
The room turned to stare at the scene and when one of the girls noticed the spider on his arm, she shrieked and chaos ensued. A couple of boys burst into hysterical laughter at Peter's seeming overreaction to a spider bite while a couple of security guards ran over to investigate the problem. The rest of the student body turned to each other to laugh and chatter.
Peter, on the other hand, swiped at the spider with his other arm, pushing to the ground where it was crushed by a security guard. Gwen grabbed Peter arm, hoping to check the bite when he stumbled away from her. She glanced up at his face, ready to tell him off for being embarrassed about his reaction when she really saw his face.
He looked pale and sweaty, his lips quickly turning blue as his body started to convulse. His eyes started to roll to the back of his head, and he collapsed on the floor, his body overcome with spasms. One of the scientists moved to place his coat under Peter's head, hoping to cushion it so that Peter didn't cause himself any serious damage.
The nervous chatter rose to a feverous pitch. When Harry spotted Peter on the floor, he pushed his way through the crowd to stand with Gwen, holding her when she began to cry. One of the security guards called for an ambulance.
Eventually the convulsions calmed until Peter's body lay trembling on the floor. When it seemed safe, Peter was carried to a first aid room to wait for an ambulance. Harry tried to argue with the security team to let him and Gwen stay with Peter. Only Gwen seemed to notice that Peter's wrist had already turned black.