Spiderman: Another Time Another Story
Chapter 1: The Spider
Are we bound by the chains of fate? Is our path forever predetermined? Or do we make our own way? Perhaps both.
Peter Parker uncomfortably adjusted the bowtie wrapped around the neck. It was amazing to him how such a tiny bow could slowly cut off his air supply in such a subtle yet torturous fashion. Unfortunately he could do nothing about it at the moment, after all, black tie events did require a tuxedo and a bowtie. As always, the decorators had outdone themselves with the event, which was nothing more than a launch party for the company's newest product. The room beseeched a bright golden luminescence, which served to make the air and feel of the event all the more pretentious. Waiters, dressed in their formal white dress shirts and black vests carried trays of glasses filled with expensive champagne or fine cheeses. He looked up and saw that the entire room was illuminated by a massive crystal chandelier that sparkled with a rainbow of colors giving the room a ballroom sort of feel feel. Peter hated these events, but knew that as assistant director of development, he had no choice but to attend. But then again, his supervisor, Matthew Wong, hadn't bothered The young man took a deep breath before scanning the room for any familiar faces. None. He went back to observing the guests. A few elderly folks who had probably given a large amount in order to gain access to such parties, while a few younger CEOs and sons of billionaires came dressed in horrendous white tuxedos with whatever big-breasted plastic bimbo would willingly latch themselves onto their arms in order to go to these events.
Peter absentmindedly ran his fingers through his brown hair and put on his best fake smile. Better to hide the discomfort than get fired for making a scene at a big party filled with current and potential investors. At the ripe age of 28, Peter Parker was also considered extremely young and fortunate to be hired at Stark Industries at such an early age. The job was taxing at times but the pay was good enough for him to stay working there. He was careful with his money and usually only bought what he needed. It was with this meticulous and economical thinking that he was able to save up enough money to move out of the house in Queens that he shared with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben and into his own apartment within the city.
The young man smiled as a flash of red hair tied into an elegant bun caught his attention. He smiled as he walked over to the beautiful redhead dressed in an elegant black dress, which exposed much of her back. "Hey beautiful. Looking good tonight." He said in a teasing tone of voice lightly tapping his pointer finger on her shoulder, which was barely covered by the spaghetti thin black strap, which held up the dress.
Virginia "Pepper" Potts turned to Peter and smiled before giving him a hug. "You clean up pretty nicely yourself, Mr. Parker." She teased back with a smile which raised the soft freckles towards her eyes.
Peter had met Pepper while attending New York University, he was an engineering major, and she was mathematics and accounting major. He had helped her with her calculus and statistics, while she helped him with his English and art classes. In fact it was Pepper who had helped him get a job at Stark Industries after he graduated. It most certainly helped that she actually knew Tony Stark personally which allowed Peter the opportunity to be interviewed by the CEO and owner of Stark Industries himself rather than a lower level employee.
"So have we spotted any signs of our gracious host?" asked Peter fidgeting with his bowtie. Pepper reached out to help him adjust it.
Pepper shook her head, allowing the fiery red curls of her hair to bounce through the air. "Not that I can see. But then again, Tony has always been one for flashy entrances and arriving late to his own events." She said rolling her eyes.
Peter chuckled. "Yeah that sounds like Tony alright."
"So how are things down at development?" asked Pepper.
It was Peter's turn to roll his eyes. "Oh you know, same old same old. Although we are having one of our old satellites come in for inspection tomorrow."
"What for?" asked Pepper suddenly interested, one of the reasons why Peter got along with Pepper so well. She was interested in science!
"Busted on us, something about a cosmic storm messing up it's software the first day it was launched. Took us a year to get it down from orbit I heard Tony actually had to hire Iron Man to bring it down for us." Replied Peter, truth be told he hated talking about his work in his free time, he had to change the subject and quickly.
"Tony hired an Avenger to do his clean up?" echoed Pepper in disbelief. "That man is truly the very definition of excess."
"The Avengers...it's like they continue to play a much bigger role in our affairs." Commented Pepper, "Captain America, Hawkeye, Thor, Iron Man and Scarlet Witch, do they have the right to meddle in our affairs?"
Peter shrugged, "They're stopping bad guys and keeping our country safe, can't be anything bad about that."
"True, I just don't see the point of superheroics."
"So did you read about Stark Industries buying out several divisions of Oscorp?"
Pepper gave Peter a quizzical look. "Peter, I work in the accounting department and I'm also one of Tony's business consultants, of course I knew." She replied raising an eyebrow.
"I'm just trying to make conversation here." Said Peter as he made yet another quick scan of the ballroom.
"Well then, you should spend less time in the lab and more time interacting with people then." Teased Pepper while she playfully poked a gloved finger against his chest several times. "By the way Gwen isn't going to be attending tonight, something about a family reunion, so you can stop looking around."
Peter could feel his ears grow hot as the rest of his face turned a fiery red. He and Gwendolyn "Gwen" Stacey had dated for a few weeks in college; she ended things leaving him with lingering feelings of confusion and frustration. Such feelings only grew from years of not seeing her and were only enhanced when he discovered that she was working in the same department as him. Of course he chose to remain professional and suppress his feelings for her, but it seemed clear to everyone but Gwen that he still cared very much for her.
"It's that obvious, huh?" asked Peter
"Peter, everybody knows. The only person who probably doesn't is Gwen." Replied Pepper. "And even then there's still the possibility that she's just pretending not to know. " remarked Pepper.
"Any advice?"
"Let her come to you. If it's meant to be, things will work themselves out."
The lights suddenly went out, except for a single bright spotlight that was aimed at the massive double door entrance to the ballroom. The band stopped playing their music in response leaving the room with a cold silence only broken by the shushing and mutters of the guests in attendance. "Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for attending tonight. And now, your gracious host, the CEO of Stark Enterprises: Anthony Edward Stark!"
Tony Stark looked magnificent in his black tuxedo, no doubt hand-stitched Italian fabric, as he walked through the door. Accompanying him was a beautiful red head, possibly the most beautiful woman Peter had ever laid eyes on in his entire life, dressed in gorgeous sparkling champagne colored dress which eagerly clung to her body along with a long white scarf which lightly wrapped around two of her arms allowing it to drape on her arms and gracefully dance along the air with each step she took. As Tony walked to the stage, red head by his side, Peter stared at the red head with the emerald eyes bewitched by the very way she walked. There was something oddly familiar about her, like he had known her for a thousand lifetimes. The red head's eyes met Peter's as Tony walked past and for a single second, which stretched into forever, the two stared at each other. Peter could feel it crackling under the surface, an electrical current which surged through his mind and into the very depths of his soul. Who was this enchanting woman? The red head then winked making Peter's heart skip a beat before continuing her trek towards the stage. Tony left the red head at the foot of the stage but not before they exchanged kisses on the cheek.
"Oh look what a surprise." Said Pepper sarcastically, the jealousy apparent in her voice. "Tony's brought some bimbo to his big event. Can you believe it Peter?"
Peter said nothing he could not take his eyes off of the red headed beauty.
The spotlight kept it's aim on Tony until he finally reached the center of the stage and stepped up to the podium. "To all of my distinguished guests, to all of my loyal employees, to friends, to family: I thank you all for coming to witness this momentous occasion in Stark Industries history. The launch of the next generation of StarkTech Products: the StarkTech Zephyr Commercial Jets!"
Tony's speech was met with thunderous applause. "And it is with this new line of StarkTech Products that has allowed Stark Industries to surpass Oscorp both commercially and financially! So please, drink, dance and be well!"
It took a while for Tony to finally talk Peter and Pepper. Understandable. Considering the sheer number donors and important individuals that he had to greet, Peter was the first to notice him coming over.
"Tony!" he called out happily.
Tony smiled before he shook Peter's hand furiously and nodded at Pepper. "Peter, Pepper, I'd like you to meet my good friend: Mary Jane Watson."
"Pleasure to meet you." Said Pepper giving Mary Jane a fake smile that Peter instantly recognized.
"Peter Parker. I thought I recognized you." Remarked Mary Jane as she shook Pepper's hands.
Peter raised an eyebrow. "You know me?"
"Of course. We grew up on the same block in Queens." She replied, "you were a little…nerdy back then, glasses and a sweater vest. Remember? I stayed in the yellow house with my Aunt Anna?"
Pepper giggled.
"I vaguely recall a little red headed girl who loved to dance around the sidewalks singing into her comb like it was a microphone." Teased Peter, Mary Jane's face turned as red as her hair.
"Nowadays she models and acts." Stated Tony. "You may remember from that giant Lorea'l Lotion billboard ad located outside your work building."
Much later on Peter later found Tony outside on the balcony smoking a cigar, his bowtie undone and his dress shirt untucked. "Cigar?" offered Tony.
"No thanks." Replied Peter, he offered him one of the two beers in his hands. "Beer?"
"I'm a recovering alcoholic Peter."
"Oh right…"
"So what do you think of Mary Jane?" asked Tony, taking a hit of his cigar and blowing a ring of smoke out of his mouth.
"Well I think you definitely have a type." Replied Peter. "Julia, Natasha, Mary Jane, I think that you definitely have a thing for redheads."
Tony chuckled.
"But none of them can be the redhead that you want. Is it?" said Peter opening his beer. "I don't know what happened between you and Pepper. But she's still waiting for you."
Tony blew out a large puff of smoke as he contemplated Peter's words.
"Why haven't I given you a promotion yet?"
"Because I'd be too busy to give you advice." Replied Peter. "but a pay raise couldn't hurt Mr. Billionaire."
"Maybe if you can fix that damn satellite." countered Tony
"Yeah yeah, did you really hire Iron Man to get that satellite down?" asked Peter.
"He owed me a favor." Shrugged Tony
It was around 11:30 when Peter finally left the party citing fatigue and a long day at work tomorrow. After three dances with Pepper, the last of which ended with Tony cutting in, chatting up with several strangers and meeting new people. Aside from the overly arrogant and pretentious CEOs and millionaires, Peter had met several nice people with peculiar names such as Clint Barton, Wanda Maximoff, Steve Rogers and Donald Blake, Peter was feeling extremely tired and could not wait to go home and collapse onto his bed.
The cool night wind felt great as he quickly undid the bowtie around his neck. He quickly hailed a cab and got in.
"Hold the door!" said a familiar female voice. Peter raised an eyebrow as Mary Jane poked her head through the Cab's door. "Hey Tiger, mind sharing a cab?"
"S-Sure." Said Peter scooting over to give her room to sit.
"Where to?" asked the drive.
"Queens." Replied Mary Jane
"Same." Said Peter
Mary Jane arched an eyebrow and gave him a look. "Smooth moves you got there Tiger, but I'm not looking for a sleep over tonight."
It took Peter a second to register her words before he turned red. "That wasn't what I mean." He stammered, completely embarrassed. "I-I have an apartment there."
Mary Jane giggled. "I know, Tiger, it was just a joke." She leaned back. "Helluva party, don't you think?"
"Yeah." Said Peter, as he opened a window wishing to feel the cool air once again. "Why'd you decide to leave without your date?"
"I wasn't his date." She said, "It was just something that my agent helped set up. He said it would do wonders for my career. Now that I think about it, I'm more worried about the tabloid rumors that will no doubt follow."
"You'll be fine."
"You think so?"
"I know so." Said Peter
Mary Jane smiled and Peter could feel his pulse quicken.
The StarkTech satellite arrived in the late afternoon, the next day. Peter had found other things to keep himself busy, work on a few projects and write up a few reports, purely for the investors. Reports that he knew the majority of people would not understand. Gwen Stacy worked as usual avoiding him when necessary and only speaking to him when spoken to.
'Things still aren't the same.' Thought Peter to himself. He then recalled Pepper's advice to let her come to you and decided that he should just get back to work.
The Satellite was dirty and slightly charred by its return to Earth, but for the most part it seemed fine. Peter was given the software black box of the Satellite, a massive 5 foot diameter tube which housed the black box which connected to the rest satellite like a brain, a brilliant design of Tony Stark's own creation. Peter carefully unhinged the tube and reached inside to grab the black box hoping that he could retrieve some of the data stored within the black box.
That was when he felt it.
A small pinch on his right hand. He quickly pulled his hand back in shock. The spider quickly scurried off his hand and leapt onto the floor. Peter quickly crushed it with the ball of his foot before he examined the bite wound that the spider had given them. It was a relatively deep bite, deep enough to draw blood. "Crap." Muttered Peter as he left to get a bandaid.
In his frustration and worry over the wound that he had just received, the bright young Peter Parker did not bother wondering just how a spider could have possibly lived in a satellite for a full year without any food, air or sunlight. Nor did he suspect that the cosmic rays that damaged the satellite in the first place had also evolved the spider into a completely new organism. He had been bitten by the world's strongest spider. Too bad that not even the world' mightiest spider could withstand the foot of a fully-grown adult male.
The cosmic spider's venom was already rapidly spreading through his bloodstream while making its way past Peter's blood brain barrier. Soon Peter's pituitary gland would begin to secrete a wide variety of hormones which would serve to initiate several changes within Peter's body.
Soon he too would evolve.
Peter felt a cold chill wash over him as he began to sweat profusely. He felt sick. Deciding that he should probably go home to rest, Peter quickly told his boss that he was taking off, clocked out and headed home.
Peter slept for 12 hours the minute he got home. As he slept, an immense number of biological changes began to overtake his body. Almost all of Peter's fat stores were burned off and converted into proteins in order to build muscle in his arms, legs, and abdominals as well as restoring and repairing any and all damaged tissue. Soon Peter would possess strength surpassing that of an Olympic bodybuilder while maintaining a slim physique. Neural genesis began to occur in the frontal lobe of Peter's brain proliferating and allowing a sixth sense to develop.
After 12 hours, Peter's body had used up all of it's stored energy and sustainance for building, that was when he woke up and soundlessly ate everything in his fridge from the orange juice, the ice cream, aunt May's meat loaf that he had brought back with him after dinner last week, leftover pizza and Chinese food, and everything else. Once he finished, he went back to sleep. The food and waking was a mere formality, his body had needed the extra sustainance in order to complete Peter's transformation. Within his forearms, two new glands were being formed. These glands would soon be able to use the excess proteins and amino acids within Peter's body to produce webbing, much like htat of a spider.
Another 12 hours passed, he had slept for a full 24 hours, and Peter awakened.
He was a changed man.
A/N: Any reviews and constructive criticism is greatly appreciated