It was the same as any of my other nightly patrols. At least, that's how it started. I had left our apartment a bit earlier than usual, hoping to clear my mind of recent events. The combination of the tragedy of weeks past and the surprise MJ had in store for me were a bit much to think about. I figured a night of web-slinging was in order to clear my mind. However, this night was going to end up turning the world upon its head. And not just in the way it usually does either. You know, the kind where the world gets completely and utterly changed forever, but then everyone forgets about it or it turned out to not be a big deal after all and everything goes back to normal—or worse—after a week or two. This was a permanent change. At least, I think it is. I'm still half-expecting Eternity to sneeze or something and turn the world back to the way it was, or maybe some time warp…thing. Or the universe exploding. That seems to happen a lot these days. What's with that, anyway? Can't we have some small-scale disasters now and then without having a big new crossover event every other month to save all of reality or something? It gets a little old. You'd think the universe could save itself now and then, but noooo….
Where was I?
Oh, right. How it all started.
I find myself wondering if any of the others feel like this - only it draws my mind to Deadpool and I immediately decide to stop thinking of the subject. That guy is weird. And why do people keep mistaking us for each other? Our costumes aren't that similar, are they?
Sorry, I'm digressing a lot. Back on subject.
At first, it had seemed like a regular night. A few robberies foiled here. A few muggers stopped there. A couple giant robots toppled and some crazy telekinetic Santa impersonators taken down. You know, the usual routine, other than the fact that everyone now knew Peter Parker was yours truly - their friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. (What was I thinking when I went public, anyway? Stupid Tony Stark. I blame everything on him. None of the last few weeks would have happened if…right, right, sorry. Back on subject.) I was starting to think nothing interesting would happen…
Until I met Ben.
- - -
A small boy was running down an alleyway, pursued by a couple of the kind of guys you wouldn't usually want to be running from in an alleyway. "Why don't you people just leave me alone!? My family and I have done NOTHING to you! Why did you have to..."
"Shut up, runt! In a few minutes, there'll be nothing to worry about anyway," one of his chasers said. The men, their identities concealed by dark hoods with unfamiliar symbols on them—the usual hoodlum or crazy cultist fare--were readying odd rifles as they chased the boy, firing at him every few minutes when they managed to get a good angle. The boy had managed to avoid getting shot so far, but there's only so long a person can dodge bullets before getting hit eventually. It's inevitable in the world we live in. Also inevitable was the dead end the boy found himself trapped in at the far end of the alleyway. He turned, fearfully, as the thugs advanced, aiming the guns at his face.
Fortunately, another inevitably in this world is that usually when someone's about to be killed by crooks in a dark alley, one of three things happens. The first is that they get saved by a passing superhero. The second is that they're actually heroes, villains, or monsters in disguise themselves. The third is that they die. (What? It happens. Just ask the Waynes. Except you can't because they're dead. And in a different universe.) Thankfully, it was the first of these possibilities that occurred, as Spider-Man dropped down in front of the boy on a line of webbing and fired lines from his wrist at the guns, snatching them out of the hands of the hoodlums. "Nuh-uh, boys. Didn't Mommy ever teach you to share?"
"Spider-Man!", one of the two men shouted.
"Yes, that is who I am," Spider-Man said. "I thought it was obvious."
"Stay out of this, wall-crawler! This doesn't concern you!", the other shouted.
Spider-Man shook his head pityingly as he dropped from his webline, flipping over to land on his feet before the kid. "You two don't know me very well, do you?"
"You REALLY don't know what you're doing here, web-head!" the other man insisted.
"Really? Guess my history of saving people was just ignorance, then," Spidey taunted.
"Why are you taunting us?" one of them asked in confusion.
"I'm a mocker. I mock my bad guys. It's what I do," Spider-Man explained.
"Ah," said the crook.
It was then that Spider-Man quickly noticed the shell casings. They seemed to be made of pure silver. This obviously wasn't a robbery, if they had bullets that probably cost more than anything the boy had on him. That reminded him of how much money it would cost to take care of his and MJ's upcoming child, especially on his salary, since he only seemed to be able to find work as a photographer for the Daily Bugle despite being an Olympic-class gymnast, a genius chemist, and knowing how to create one of the strongest (though admittedly short-lasting) adhesives in the world. He wondered if the police would mind much if he pocketed a few of the bullets. Surely it wouldn't interfere that much with any criminal investigation, would it?
Hold on a minute, silver bullets? Uh-oh. Maybe this didn't concern him. Was he interfering in the business of another one of those supernatural hunter-type guys? Those sort always got really pissed off when he tried to 'save' their 'prey'. He was still harboring a little fear that Blade might snap one day and bite him. Maybe he should stay out of this…
A whimper from the kid behind him changed his mind. No matter what the boy was, he was still a kid and didn't deserve to be gunned down like this. Unless he was actually a demon in disguise. Or a shapeshifter. Or…or maybe he should stop reconsidering and actually do something before he changed his mind. As he was thinking this, one of the thugs drew a knife and tried to stab him. Spider-Man snapped out of his musings and quickly bobbed sideways, raising a leg up in a high kick that knocked the knife from the goon's hand. He then pummeled him with a series of rapid-fire punches and kicks that sent him flying, finishing it up with a blast of webbing that glued him to a wall. The remaining punk considered his options, and then wisely decided to try running away. That didn't work so well for him, as Spidey extended a hand to the side and caught the first guy's knife as it fell. He flung it at the fleeing crook, firing a web-string after it to catch it and spin it around so that it hit the thug in the back of the head by the hilt rather than the blade, knocking him to the ground. Spider-Man caught the knife as his webbing drew it back to him, casually threw it over his shoulder—causing it to imbed itself a few inches in the wall over the kid's head in the process—then webbed the thug to the ground before he could get back up. Ha! That was so badass! He thought to himself while outwardly trying to look cool and aloof. Think I impressed the kid? That's sort of what I was going for. He pocketed a few of the silver clips from the guns, ostensibly so he could get guys like Reed Richards and Doctor Strange to look at them later and see if there was anything more to them than just being silver, but also because he was hoping he could sell them to support his future offspring. What? It wasn't illegal! Was it? He hoped not.
With that taken care of, Spider-Man turned to look at the boy he'd just saved, who he really hoped wasn't actually some sort of horrible monster that was going to destroy the world now that Spider-Man had taken down the guys sent out to kill it. The boy had pressed himself against the wall as far as he could from Spider-Man, a wild and terrified look in his eyes. "...Hey... Kid? Hello? You okay?" Spider-Man said cautiously as he slowly took a step towards the boy.
Suddenly, his Spider-Sense went off, and he automatically glanced over his shoulder to check on the downed goons. What, don't tell me they're back u--
There was a savage growl and the boy lunged forward at astonishing speeds, biting into his arm hard enough to tear through his suit. Spider-Man yanked his arm away in alarm, noticing blood flowing from the bite marks. Wow! That kid has a deep bite! Crap, I hope this means I'm not going to become a vampire or something…I really don't want to act like those guys in Twilight. Ick.
The boy's pupils dilated and he staggered a few steps back, a horrified look on his face. "Oh no! I- I'm sorry Mr. Spider-Man! I-I thought you were...I-I really didn't mean to! I-"
Spider-Man's blood went cold. "Relax... It's just a bite..." he said, already knowing as he said this that this was a lie.
The boy shook his head anxiously, confirming Spider-Man's fears. "...No...No it's not."
Crap. "What do you mean it's not? I mean, yeah, it's deeper than I would have expected from someone your size and age, but..." he trailed off, desperately hoping this would all turn out to be no big deal, even though it never, ever did.
"...Don't you wonder why those men were chasing me, Mr. Spider-Man?" the boy asked.
"Please... Don't call me 'Mr. Spider-Man'. That sounds a little bit silly," Spider-Man said sheepishly.
The boy blinked. "Umm... Ok, Mr. Parker."
Spider-Man winced. "On second thought, just call me Spidey. I'm not all that used to people knowing who I am yet."
The boy frowned. "That'd be rude, Mr. Parker. My parents told me to never address an adult like that."
At least he has manners. Most monsters don't. That's a good thing, right? Spider-Man sighed. "Okay, anyway. Why were they chasing you? Are they minions of some evil demon lord and you're the chosen one who's supposed to prevent their master's revival?" He actually hoped it was something like that. That was fairly normal.
The boy looked up to the overcast sky and sighed, "You'll find out in a second."
The clouds parted almost as if on cue. Spidey vaguely wondered if the Beyonder was mocking him. (Was that guy even around anymore?) The silvery moonlight made it's way over to Peter, who was getting a very bad feeling about this.
He was right to. Peter felt a burning sensation in his stomach that forced him to bend over in pain as his body began to prickle. Cracks and pops sounded as his bones shifted, and his body began to grow as it forcibly began to layer its muscles. He felt a familiar sensation as hairs began to grow all over his body, only unlike the ones that allowed him to climb these grew long and thick as pieces of his suit tore away revealing bits of shaggy fur. His gloves ripped as claws grew where his nails used to be. The same happened to his boots, bursting to reveal large paws. The heel of his foot moved up his leg, giving him a digigrade stance. A tail quickly sprouted from behind him, tearing more of his costume. Spidey shredded his mask as new long pointed wolf ears moved to the top of his head. His jaw cracked and popped as his mouth and nose stretched into a canine muzzle. As the pain died away the now lupine Spider-Man let out a loud howl towards the moon.
And then he realized what he was doing and what he had become. "Ah," he said faintly. "So you're a werewolf. That would explain the silver, then."
"Um…not exactly," said the boy, who had changed as well. His face was pointed like a wolf's yet had the whiskers and ears of a housecat. A long reptilian tail came out from behind him, and his feet were like those of a monkey. Where his hair used to be were now dark colored feathers, and he could have sworn he saw what looked like gills on the side of his neck. The look in the boy's eyes were pitiful, as if he was expecting to be gutted by Spider-Man right there for what had transgressed.
Spider-Man blinked. "O…kay. What the heck are you, then?"
The boy smiled weakly. "My Mom and Dad always said we were 'Wereomnis'."
Peter frowned. "Omniwolves?"
"I-I don't know much else...except that we can turn into pretty much any animal, and turn other people into were-whatevers," the boy explained.
"Ah," said Peter. "Which is why I'm a werewolf."
"Yes," said the boy.
"And there's no cure, of course," Peter said dully.
"I don't think so, no," the boy said.
"That's what I thought," Peter said. He sighed. Well, this was a lovely kettle of fish, now wasn't it? Oh well, at least he hadn't turned into a horrible man-spider. Or grown extra arms. Or had an alien parasite suit. Or changed genders. He supposed worse things could have happened to him. And besides, just because the kid didn't know of a cure didn't mean there wasn't one, right? Dr. Strange could probably think of something. Peter was aware he was rather desperately grasping for straws, but it was either that or go completely insane. Why did all the bad stuff seem to happen to him? "Would I be correct in guessing that your parents are dead and so can't possibly tell me anything else?"
The boy was on the verge of tears, "They-they're...those guys killed them."
Peter sighed. Of course they had. "I thought as much. Who are these weirdos, anyway?"
"I don't know," the boy said angrily. "They just started hunting us all of a sudden. Said we shouldn't exist."
"Yeah, I hear that all the time. So do some of my friends," said Peter. "Well, hopefully they won't be bothering you again anytime soon." Now they'll probably be gunning for me too. Nothing new there. "What's your name, kid?"
The kid blinked. "My-my name? I-I'm Ben."
…
I couldn't help but groan inwardly. Ben. Of course his name was Ben. Whenever someone named Ben came into my life, weird shit happened and then they died and left another burden of guilt on my poor abused shoulders. Well, at least this one wasn't a clone of me who thought he was the real Spider-Man. I hoped.
Memories of Uncle Ben flowed through my head. The one who taught me that with great power comes great responsibility. I guess it's my turn to impart the knowledge to a new generation...a little earlier than I expected.
"Look, Ben... Do you have any other relatives? Any place to stay at all?" I asked, already knowing the answer.
"No," Ben replied. He seemed a bit surprised. It's as if he thought I'd gut him or something. He probably expected it. Thankfully, I wasn't that kind of guy.
"Look, why don't you come to my place? We can work something out there and hopefully keep you away from those guys. So long as you don't bite anyone else on the way there. That would be rather inconvenient," I said.
"I didn't mean to," Ben told me, embarrassed. "I was panicked and my adrenaline was high from the chase, so my instincts took over. Plus, my vision as a human isn't anywhere near as good as my were-form. It won't happen again. I hope."
So did I. "Need me to carry you over there? It would be faster."
I was surprised to see Ben shake his head. After a brief moment, he sprouted wings from his back. Somehow I wasn't surprised. Of course he could fly. Why not? I nodded and started slinging my way back to the apartment, checking behind me every once in a while to see how Ben was doing. The kid was keeping up fine. How could there be flying wolf-people around here and nobody's noticed yet? Then again, we have flying everything around here. Would anyone really have noticed?
I entered the apartment through the window as usual. Ben followed, managing to make his wings vanish as he entered. I was a little worried about how MJ would react to her husband having crossed the species barrier, but it hadn't been the first time, and she'd stuck with me through weirder stuff, so it would probably be okay. The effect it'd have on our kid, on the other hand…
Really hoped Dr. Strange could change me back. "Honey, I'm home…and boy, do I have a surprise or two for you!"
"Tiger? Is that you?" I heard MJ call from the next room.
Ben gave me a startled look. "You don't live alone?"
"No, I'm married. Why?" I asked.
His eyes widened in horror. "You have to get out of here. Now!"
I blinked. "Why? What's wrong?"
"Peter! What is it?" MJ asked worriedly as she came in.
My eyes widened as I saw her, and this intoxicating…scent filled my now rather developed nostrils. For a while, my mind went blank. It was only later that MJ and Ben told me what I had done...
- - -
Peter's eyes glazed over as he saw his wife. Ben instantly leapt into action. "Mrs. Parker! Get out of here! He's not himself!"
"Who are--?", Mary Jane began, but then noticed the condition of her husband and the crazed look in his eyes, "Peter! Oh no, what kind of toxic waste and/or alien machinery did you fall into this time?"
The feral Spider-Man growled and leaped at his wife before Ben could stop him, grabbing Mary Jane and…kissing her? Ben blinked. "Okay, that's not what I was expecting to happen."
After several seconds, Mary Jane (reluctantly) pulled away, yelping and putting a hand to her mouth. Her lip was bleeding. "Ow! Peter, you bit me! What the heck was that for?!"
"Uh-oh," said Ben.
Mary Jane gave him a worried look. "Uh-oh? Why uh-oh? And who are you again?"
"My name's Ben. And his biting you is bad because…"
"Ahh!" Mary Jane gasped as she dropped to her knees.
"Of that," Ben finished lamely.
Mary Jane's body was already starting to be covered in a rusty red coat of fur. Her bones poped and cracked as they began to reform, the bite already gone from her lip as her body began to bulk up. She yipped as her top shredded as her chest adjusted to be proportional to her new body. Her hands rearranged to form padded paw-like hands, microscopic gripping hairs also growing on her hands along with a small swelling in her wrists. She swiped her hand to her waist, breaking the elastic band of her shorts and underwear and freeing her new tail. Somehow, the fur had enhanced her natural beauty as her feet became paw-like and digigrade. Her whole body was now covered in a shaggy pelt up to her nipples, which stood out on her furred breasts. She threw her head back and howled as her jaw rearranged to form a muzzle and her ears moved to the top of her head. There was a funny feeling in her gut and somehow she knew that new genetic material was being added to the chromosomes of the baby she was carrying. Mary Jane looked down at herself in horror. Then her eyes lit up in fury, and with a snarl she lunged at Peter, slamming him into the wall. "What did you do to me?!"
Peter blinked, the light coming back into his eyes, "What-What happened?" Then he realized who was holding him. "Oh no..."
"What. Did. You. Do. To. Me?" Mary Jane snarled.
"It's not his fault, Mrs. Parker, it's mine!" Ben yelled quickly.
Husband and wife turned to fix him with a glare. "It is?" asked MJ.
"It is?" asked Peter.
"I should have known you were married. If I had, I would have warned Peter in advance," Ben said anxiously. "People like us…when we get changed or find someone we're really, really attracted to, we…ah…"
"Lose control of themselves and infect that person?" Peter guessed.
"Yes," Ben said lamely. "And since you're already mated—ah, married—your instincts rose to the surface and…well…this is the result."
"Is there a cure?" Mary Jane asked.
"No," said Ben.
She sighed. "Of course not." She released Peter, seeming to collapse upon herself. "I'm pregnant. What's this going to do to my baby?"
Ben gulped, feeling even guiltier than before. "Um…it'll be like you."
"Oh God…MJ, I'm so sorry…" Peter whispered. "We'll…we'll go to Doc Strange, we'll see Reed, we'll even go to the X-Men if we have to. I swear we'll find a way to fix this."
Mary Jane looked at Ben. "...Will we be human again tomorrow morning?"
"Yes. Yes you should be, but... It won't stop your bites from turning people," Ben explained. "Then again, why would you bite anyone in broad daylight?"
"You'd be surprised how often the urge comes in my line of work…" Peter muttered.
Mary Jane took a deep breath. "Okay. Somebody start from the top and explain all this to me. I want to know exactly what's going on here. And who this kid is. And why he looks like a bunch of animal parts sewn together by Frankenstein."
"Hey," Ben said, offended.
And so they told her everything that they knew. Which wasn't much. "All right," MJ said when they were done. "That's…quite an interesting story…" She sighed. "Guess there isn't anything else we can do about it right now, is there?"
"No," Ben and Peter agreed.
She grunted. "If that's the case…then we should get some sleep. It's pretty late, after all. Maybe we'll wake up tomorrow and none of this will have happened," MJ yawned. Peter thanked god he had fur to prevent a blush from forming on his face. "Come on, Ben, we don't actually have a spare bed, but there's a mattress in here somewhere."
"Thank you, Mrs. Parker," Ben said gratefully.
"And Peter, you're sleeping on the couch," Mary Jane told her husband.
"What? But why?!" he protested. She glared at him. "Right. That. The couch it is!" He sighed as Ben and his wife left the room. "Why does all the bad stuff have to happen to me?"