Title: The Spider's bite 2/?
Author: Reaper_01
E-Mail: Mr_G_R@hotmail.com
Rating: R (Just to be safe)
Disclaimer: The concepts of Spider-man belong to Marvel (God bless them), Buffy, and all her associates belong to Joss (aka: GOD) and Mutant Enemy. I gain nothing from the writing of this story, though positive feedback would be appreciated, and death threats will be ignored.
Spoilers: None really, takes place mid season 2, and in the Spidey movie- verse. Will
continue up to and including series 5 of BTVS.
Pairing: B/R (Just cause that is how it is in the series I swear), X/? - That's for me to
know and you find out. W/T
Authors Notes: " " means speaking (no duh) * * Means thoughts. This is my 1st
attempt at fanfiction - be kind. Dawn will be around. Xander is now 17
turning 18.It is not a retelling of the movie, for their are changes due to
Xander's knowledge of things that go bump in the night. Thanks for all
the reviews.
Feedback: Sure, knock yourself out.
Distribution: If you like it, put it wherever you please, just tell me first, cause I tend to like knowing these things.
Chapter 02 - Birth of the Spider
(AN: Changed Xander's name to Alexander Lavelle Harris Parker, In part 1, the alternate order was a typo. Ok, we all good, no questions, so lets begin)
Xander had been living in Queens (NY) with his aunt and uncle for over a year now, and between his trying to fit in as the new kid, which didn't go quite as well as it could have, and his desire to make his aunt and uncle proud of him, Xander was once again on the outside looking in. He had fallen into his studies with much gusto, specialising in Science, and being part of the school paper mainly to become a better photographer.
Hence he was seen as a bit of a nerd, yet he wasn't alone. He had befriended Harry Osborne, the son of the CEO of Oscorp, and would often help him with his science courses, and Norman Osborne, along with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben where thrilled that he had a vast interest in the sciences. Of all the people he had met however, tho one who had captivated his interest was Mary Jane Watson, for in his eyes, she was perfect. She had much the same type of home life he had, minus the whole vampire slaying experience, and that just added to the attraction he felt towards the red haired goddess.
* What is it with me and red heads* he mused, remembering his first encounter with her saying hi and him being struck dumb, kind of like with Buffy the first time he met her, except no where near that embarrassing.
The major problem for him was the fact that she didn't really see him as anything more than the boy next door. All of these reasons had helped minutely to bring his mood down today. He still felt guilty that he hadn't been there to help Buffy with the whole Angelus situation. He still couldn't get over the fact that they had given Angelus his soul back, yet in doing so, Buffy had fallen into a 3 month coma while holding him off to give time for the spell to occur. He was still thankful that Dawn had notified him, and had talked to her over the phone to consol her over Buffy, as well as giving her advice on what to do against the things that go bump in the night.
One good thing that had happened, if it could be called that even he couldn't be sure, was that his clumsiness disappeared once it was discovered that he needed glasses. The bad point to this was that he had being given the glasses before he started school and
this unfortunately added further to his image of being a geek.
So as he went to prepare for another day in the daily grind, remembering the last time that he had a field trip involved a Hyena possession at the zoo, he prayed that it wouldn't be the same, only this time with spiders and a university. Realising that he was now late due to his brooding session, he grabbed his camera and ran down the stairs, kissing his Aunt May goodbye, and promising his Uncle Ben that he'd be there to help with painting the kitchen that afternoon, he ran out the door grabbing his bag as he went, praying to God that the bus hadn't started moving.
Noting that somebody upstairs must really have something against him when he found the bus moving, he took off after it, sending dark thoughts towards the driver who he was sure had seen him running after the bus. Yelling repeatedly at the bus to stop, and not getting anywhere except earning snickers from his fellow classmates, a thought flashed through his mind that he really hated the fact that not much was within walking distance like it had been in Sunny Dale, he kept chase with the bus until someone finally took pity on him and allowed him on board the bus. He didn't bother trying to look for a seat on the bus, he just moved to the back of the bus, dodging Flash's lame attempt at making a fool of himself.
*If he wanted to make a fool of himself, he could do that perfectly well by himself, he didn't need help from anybody else to do that* Xander thought darkly to himself. He felt relieved when the bus finally made it to ESC, and prepared his camera for the paper.
* * *
Harry was not having a good time driving to the ESC, and with his father insisting that he should be driven instead of taking the bus with all his other classmates, he was preparing himself for all the ribbing that this would bring. When they finally arrived, he ran out of the car and bolted to Alex's side, relieved that Alex would be able to take some of his father's attention off him and onto Xander himself, who Harry looked upon like a brother.
" Xander, how good it is to see you again" Norman Osbourne said in a warm tone.
" It is good to see you to sir" Xander replied, a smile gracing his lips.
" Ah, yes, Xander, I was wondering if you had given that proposal of mine any more thought, I was wondering if you had come to a decision about that intership with Oscorp, were always on the lookout for bright youths like yourself, and genetics is a rapidly growing field..."Norman trailed off, looking at Xander, expecting his answer.
" Look, Mr Osbourne, It's not as if I'm not flattered from the very generous offer, but I already have an internship lined up with Professor Connors, and I would really like to make something of myself on my own, under my own power, I hope you understand". Xander replied, a slight smile on his face, keeping eye contact with Harry's father at all times.
" Really... well I respect that you wish to be a self - made man, and I wish you all the best of luck, I just hope Connors realises just how lucky a man he is to get you Xander, your one of the brightest minds I've met in a long time, and remember their will always be a place for you at Oscorp". Norman replied, his eyes dulling slightly before brightening, and was about to continue when
" Hey Xander, Harry, hurry up, we haven't got all day" Their teacher called out to them from the entry of the ESU complex.
" Well, I had better stop holding you two up, see you at home Harry, nice speaking to you Xander", and with that said, Norman Osborne left Xander and Harry to go catch up to the rest of their class.
* * *
Xander and Harry, along with the rest of the class followed the rest of the class (Bet no one saw that coming) as they listened to the one of the project chiefs go on about the certain spider's used in the project to create a batch of super spiders.
As the presentation continues on, they stop by the display case of the finished super spiders, and their guide tells them
" Over here, we have the 15 completed super-spiders, each having a mix from three or more species within, and the intre.." was as far as the tour guide could get before she was interrupted by Mary Jane.
" 14, their are only 14 spiders" she said, the unasked question be seen clearly on her face.
" Oh, the others must still be working on that one, well moving on" The guide replied, slightly embarrassed that she had being shown up by a teenager.
As the rest of the class moved on, only Mary Jane, and Xander stayed behind, both staying because of the spiders in the display case.
" Ah, excuse me, could you move a little to the left MJ, I need some photo's with a student in it, do you mind?" Xander asked, as he moved back to be encompass them both in the shot.
" Oh, Ok, do you need me to do anything special" Mary Jane asked, a slight smile on her lips.
" Nah just be yourself" Xander replied, returning her smile before returning to his camera.
Neither noticed the spider that had begun it's decent to Xander's hand while he was taking photo's, they where both caught up in the moment, Xander in taking the photo's, and Mary Jane in her posing. The moment ended when one of Mary Jane's friends called out to her
" Hey MJ, come on"
" Yeah, be there in a minute" she called back as she began to walk towards her friends, not even hearing Xander's words of thanks.
He was about to try and get her attention again when a sharp pain in his hand stopped him. Looking down on his hand, he saw what appeared to be a Black Widow, with blue instead of red on it's back. He quickly brushed it off his hand, and it scurried away. Before he could do anything more about it, Harry came and dragged him out of the display room saying
" Come on Science boy, lets get out of her before they experiment on us" sarcasm clearly lacing his voice. Little did he know that something had already happened to Xander, something that would change all the lives Xander had ever touched in one way or another, some for the better and some for the worse, yet nothing would ever be the same again.
They both walked out side, towards the bus that would take them back to their school, all the while, Xander started to feel ill, the world was beginning to slowly spin, and he was getting a fever. He could feel himself begin to change somehow, yet he couldn't figure out how. By the time he eventually made it back to his home in Queens, he was all but staggering in, sweating profusely.
" Xander is that you" his Uncle Ben called.
" Yeah" Xander replied weakly.
When his aunt saw him she said in a motherly tone "Oh Xander, you don't look so good, Ben and you can paint the kitchen when you feel better, you just go up to bed".
" Thanks Aunt May" was Xander's weak reply as he stumbled up the steps to his room.
" I wonder what wrong with him" Ben asked his wife.
" Don't worry dear, we will see how he is in the morning before we do anything" she replied.
* * *
Xander staggered into his room, barely conscious, and collapsed to what in his approximation was the bed. Unfortunately for him, the bed was actually to the left of where he dropped, but he got a woollen blanket as a consolation prize.
* * *
(Morning)
Alex had many strange dreams that night, all involving spiders, walls, and a buzzing noise in his head, yet the strangest of all these was yet to come. He was still half-asleep, searching for his alarm clock when he realised he was sticking to the ceiling. Even though Xander had spent a large part of his life being raised on the hellmouth, even he was not prepared for this, and thus fell to the floor.
Picking himself up, he wondered how the hell he got there, but didn't give it any other thought until he put his glasses on.
* Oh God, I'm going blind* was Xander's first thought as he put his glasses on, the world all a blur around him. Quickly taking the glasses off as he realised that they where giving him a migraine, he blinked rapidly, startled that he could see perfectly, the best he had ever in his life.
* Well this is just plain weird* Came rushing through his head as he discarded the glasses. * No more being mini-Giles for me* he though happily. That would alll end in a few moments. Once he saw himself in the mirror however, he was just plain freaked
* Ok, this is getting too weird even for me, I know I was in shape, but never did I look this buff *. That thought along with others ran through his mind as he checked his body out.
* What the hell caused this to happen, cause I sure know stuff like this doesn't happen overnight, unless I have a fairy god mother out there somewhere, yet knowing my luck, it's probably on Acid*
As he continued his examination, he came to see two slits on his arm, one on each wrist. Pulling back the flaps of skin, revealed a tiny spinneret.
" Oh God" Xander moaned. " That's it, from this day forward, I'm swearing off field trips for the rest of my life". Xander said looking towards the heavens before continuing. "Well at least I'm not trying to eat bugs, and I still feel like me" Xander said with relief flooding throughout his body.
His Aunt called "Xander are you all right" through his closed door. She paused before continuing, not waiting for his answer. "Never mind, hurry up, or you'll be late for school".
With his Aunt's warning in his mind, he momentarily forgot about his changes as he rushed around his room, looking for clothes that would now fit his more developed form.
After a long and thorough search, Xander found that, apart from this outfit, he would have to buy many more shirts with long sleeves.
" Xander, come on, hurry up or you'll really be late for school". Was his Uncles call from the bottom of the stairs.
" Just a minute" Xander yelled as he came hurtling down the stairs, giving his aunt a quick peck on the cheek, as he ran past and out the door.
" Oh Xander'' was his uncle's yell, chuckling while Xander came back, sheepishly taking his bag from his uncle. "Remember sport that where doing the kitchen this afternoon" Ben added before Xander could run out the door.
" Sure thing Uncle Ben, don't work to hard now" Xander replied, a slight smirk upon his lips as he ran out through the front door.
Running down the street at top speed, he realised he had missed the bus again, yet this time found it much easier to keep up with.
" Hey stop the bus" Xander yelled, as he hit the side with his open palm. All was going as usual for Xander until he realised his hand had somehow stuck to the side of the bus, on one of it's lame posters. He stopped running out of shock, and as the poster tore off, it still remained firmly attached to his open hand. However surprising it was that the paper had attached to his open hand, it was more surprising when he realised that it was stuck to his hand, but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out how. He pulled at it for a few minutes until it finally gave way, and thus he tore it off.
Seeing that the bus was now out of sight, and thanking God that he knew the way, he began running towards the school, hoping to make it there in time.
* * *
Due to his sudden increase in speed, Xander just managed to make it into class in time, looking none the worse for wear, which was much to his surprise and all those who had seen him chase the bus.
The day was a fairly uneventful one, right up until lunch. Xander was sitting alone because Harry had needed to go for some extra tutoring that Xander could not help him with. As Mary Jane walked past, she gained Xander's attention (as always), yet as she was about to slip in a puddle of drink, as tingling sensation ran up his spine and a ringing sound played in his ears.
Moving purely on instinct, he spun around and caught her with one arm as she slipped, using the other to catch her tray, and then catch everything that was on it, having it all placed in the same order as it was before she slipped. He had moved so fast, it had seemed that some of his movement's where a blur.
" Wow, you have really fast reflexes Xander" Mary Jane said, relief and awe lacing her tone. She then continued on by saying " You know, you have beautiful brown eyes, did you get contacts"?
Xander himself just stood their staring dumbly at her, half in shock that she has said anything to him, the other at what he had just done.
" Well thanks for everything Tiger" and with the Mary Jane disentangled herself from him and continued onto Flash's table.
Nodding mutely to her comment, he turned and reseated himself at his table, and as he sat, noticed that her fork had become attached to his hand. He started to shake it off his hand, much like he had with the poster, when in one single violent movement, he sent it flying, which embedded it into the wall, and shot s stream of some substance from his wrist towards a lunch tray, where it stuck.
" Why does this shit always happen to me" he muttered as he tried to get it to detach from him, and in doing so two things happened. One was that he realised it was webbing, and the other was that it sent said tray hurtling towards Flash after narrowly missing Xander, covering Flash in all it's contents. When Xander realised what had happened, he sat up straight, stood up, and quickly exited the room, hoping that no one would know it had been him. He hopes where shattered when they tray started following him, still attached to his errant line of 'webbing'. He quickened his pace, and shut the door after him. As he was trying to get away, he realised he could get no further because of the tray attached to his webbing. After a few violent yanks, the webbing tore off at his wrist, and he made a beeline for his locker, hoping to make it through the rest of the day and not face retribution from Flash.
He was however, not that lucky, and since the Harris luck ran true to form, Flash was standing behind him, preparing to launch a haymaker at him while he was blindsided. Suddenly, the buzzing in his head exploded, and seemed to overlay everything that was going on in the room (think that hole 'Am' it up" sequence in Action Man). As the buzzing reached it's peak, Xander dodged to the left on pure instinct, as surprised as everybody watching that he had dodged the punch. Making space between them, Xander spun around quickly and sent Flash hurtling back with a single punch, rage clearly seen on his features
* I am sick and tired of jerks like him* ran through his mind
, As he dodged attacks made by the rest of Flash's group. He weaved around his multitude of opponents, making it look like they weren't even really there, and continued on with his attack, lowering the amount of his attackers steadily. What had first started as a group of five, was now down to two, and Xander feverishly thanked God for the first time in his life for all his experience in vampire slaying. The two remaining students turned tail and ran, while Flash, who had recovered from his previous hit, was hoping to blind side Xander as he rushed him. The buzzing went off in Xander's head again, and he instinctively jumped up, and as Flash went by, kicked him with both feet outstretched, sending Flash hurtling into the distance. To the rest of the students, this fight that should have been incredibly one sided in Flash's favour, had just become a missing scene from the One.
Xander stood there, looking on a mix of awe and horror at what he had done as he regained his balance. His following comments pretty much summed up what everybody was thinking "woah".
" Wow Xand, that was awesome, man you tota…" Harry begun, but didn't get a chance to continue as Xander flew out of the room, hurtling out through the doors and ran off down the street.
* * *
As Xander ran down the streets of New York, not really caring where he was going until he tripped, and as he was about to fall flat on his face, somehow managed to turn it into a jump, and attached himself to the wall. Realising he was clinging to it, his hands fully unclenched, he proceeded to climb the wall, and once he reached the top, focused on his hand that had small, microscopic jagged hairs sticking out of them, which he figured allowed him to stick to the walls. It finally all clicked in his head, all the weird events that had being happening to him ever since he had been bitten by that altered 'super – spider'.
It had somehow altered, but he didn't think it was mystical due to the fact that most mystical things he knew tended to fear anything scientific, so that meant he was being affected on the genetic level. It seemed that Xander had gained all the attributes of a spider, it's speed, strength, ESP like sense, and the webbing. He could only hope new appendages would not come with the deal, or more eyes.
After his revelation, Xander wanted to try and see what he could actually do, so started roof-hopping, doing all sorts of acrobatics that would make Olympians jealous, he sprung from roof to roof, until he came to a point in which it was impossible to jump across to the next roof.
"Go webbing" he called out, sticking his hand out and feeling like a complete idiot when nothing happened. He tried a variety of phrases and gestures until he gave out. Sticking his hand out and doing one last gesture, his frustration turned to surprise when webbing launched from his hand. He watched as it hit a crane in the distance. It broke off, and he mimicked his previous actions. Launching another web-line, this time he held onto it. Taking a deep breath he said the last words that would be heard from in the next few hours " What the Hell, you only live once and what's the worse that could happen", and with that, he jumped off.
* * *
One short and blindingly painful web swing into the opposite wall and a few hours later, Xander had regained consciousness. Picking himself up off the roof he had slammed into, and realising how late it was, he jumped from the top of the roof to the ground floor, his landing being graceful, and not the slightest bit painful, he took off for home, running a fast as he could.
" Shit, Uncle Ben is going to kill me" Xander muttered as he raced home. Once he eventually arrived, he had to unlock the door because it appeared that his aunt and uncle had retired for the night. He walked into the kitchen and noticed it had been painted
* damn, I'm sorry uncle Ben, wish I could have gotten here sooner*
He then noticed the note left out to him and picked it up, smiling that they had left him dinner. He quickly heated it up and ate it, disturbed by the yelling he could hear coming from Mary Jane's house because of all the negative memories it brought back.
He cleans up and decides to take the trash out to the bin to save either his aunt or uncle from having to do it later. After placing the rubbish in the bin, and turning around to go back inside, he hears the yelling reach a crescendo as Mary Jane runs outside, tears barely being contained in her eyes. She notices Xander and decides to speak.
"I bet you heard all of that didn't you, I mean, everybody else can"
"No, well yeah, but I guess everybody can be loud" Xander replied with a shrug, looking at her with eyes full of concern.
"Your Aunt and Uncle don't their the nicest people in this street" Mary Jane replied, wanting to see how the boy next door would answer.
"But my actual parents where" he replied in a sombre tone, taking a breath before he continued.
"My actual home life wasn't all that different to how yours is, I had drunken parents who thought I was less than nothing, My aunt and uncle are the only ones who ever cared for me".
" Really" was Mary Janes shocked reply, learning more about her mysterious neighbours in these 5 minutes talking to him than she had in all the time she had known him.
" Yeah, but I don't like to talk about the past, so how bout the future, what do you want to do with your life?" Xander asked, trying to take her mind of such a painful topic.
She smiled at him, realising what he was trying to do " Well, I want to be an actress on Broadway, star in movies and T.V, have a family, you know, stuff like that". She told him, a far off look filling her eyes.
" That's perfect" Xander replied, noticing her raised eyebrow before continuing "You'll set Broadway alight, well not literally cause they have laws against that these day's, but you'd be perfect, I mean, I've seen you act, and you're a lot better at it than my ex was".
She laughed, and then gave him a questioning look "Your ex?" she asked, a questioning tone in her voice.
" Yeah Cordelia Chase" he replied in a whimsical tone before continuing. "She was my mortal enemy for most of my life, until it just kind of happened, the real kicker was that she was the most popular girl in high school, and that she chose to go out with me" he finished with a whimsical tone, before wincing at the painful memories it brought up.
"Oh", was her short reply, her interest in her neighbours life thoroughly peaked, she then continued in a jovial tone "So what do you want to do with your life Mr. Harris"
"Me, hell, I just want to go onto to Uni, get a job in photography somewhere to pay my way through, and become a geneticist".
"That all" Mary Jane asked, sarcasm lacing her tone.
" Yep that's all, well between becoming a secret agent that saves the world and discovering the cure for cancer" he replied while chuckling.
A car horn is heard. "Look, that's my ride, but it was nice talking to you Xander" Mary Jane said as she moved around to the front of the house.
" Yeah later MJ, remember my door is always open" Xander called out to her
" Hey MJ, have a look at my new wheels" Flash's voice could clearly be heard
"Oh wow, I love it" Mary Jane replied, but it was hard to tell if her enthusiasm was real or put on for Flash's sake.
* That's what I need, a car* Xander thought to himself as he made his way inside, passing the paper bin, when an advertisement caught his eye.
It advertised a cash prize total of $3000 for the winner of an amateur- wrestling match
*Interesting, this bares looking into* was the though that ran through his mind.
END CHAPTER 02
As Always Feedback wanted
Be back in 30 days (Most likely before then I hope) for chapter 3 – Power, Responsibility and Pro Wrestling? See, all my AN's are gone, you have destroyed what little purpose I had in my life to annoy you people with. My sarcasm no longer has an outlet
Author: Reaper_01
E-Mail: Mr_G_R@hotmail.com
Rating: R (Just to be safe)
Disclaimer: The concepts of Spider-man belong to Marvel (God bless them), Buffy, and all her associates belong to Joss (aka: GOD) and Mutant Enemy. I gain nothing from the writing of this story, though positive feedback would be appreciated, and death threats will be ignored.
Spoilers: None really, takes place mid season 2, and in the Spidey movie- verse. Will
continue up to and including series 5 of BTVS.
Pairing: B/R (Just cause that is how it is in the series I swear), X/? - That's for me to
know and you find out. W/T
Authors Notes: " " means speaking (no duh) * * Means thoughts. This is my 1st
attempt at fanfiction - be kind. Dawn will be around. Xander is now 17
turning 18.It is not a retelling of the movie, for their are changes due to
Xander's knowledge of things that go bump in the night. Thanks for all
the reviews.
Feedback: Sure, knock yourself out.
Distribution: If you like it, put it wherever you please, just tell me first, cause I tend to like knowing these things.
Chapter 02 - Birth of the Spider
(AN: Changed Xander's name to Alexander Lavelle Harris Parker, In part 1, the alternate order was a typo. Ok, we all good, no questions, so lets begin)
Xander had been living in Queens (NY) with his aunt and uncle for over a year now, and between his trying to fit in as the new kid, which didn't go quite as well as it could have, and his desire to make his aunt and uncle proud of him, Xander was once again on the outside looking in. He had fallen into his studies with much gusto, specialising in Science, and being part of the school paper mainly to become a better photographer.
Hence he was seen as a bit of a nerd, yet he wasn't alone. He had befriended Harry Osborne, the son of the CEO of Oscorp, and would often help him with his science courses, and Norman Osborne, along with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben where thrilled that he had a vast interest in the sciences. Of all the people he had met however, tho one who had captivated his interest was Mary Jane Watson, for in his eyes, she was perfect. She had much the same type of home life he had, minus the whole vampire slaying experience, and that just added to the attraction he felt towards the red haired goddess.
* What is it with me and red heads* he mused, remembering his first encounter with her saying hi and him being struck dumb, kind of like with Buffy the first time he met her, except no where near that embarrassing.
The major problem for him was the fact that she didn't really see him as anything more than the boy next door. All of these reasons had helped minutely to bring his mood down today. He still felt guilty that he hadn't been there to help Buffy with the whole Angelus situation. He still couldn't get over the fact that they had given Angelus his soul back, yet in doing so, Buffy had fallen into a 3 month coma while holding him off to give time for the spell to occur. He was still thankful that Dawn had notified him, and had talked to her over the phone to consol her over Buffy, as well as giving her advice on what to do against the things that go bump in the night.
One good thing that had happened, if it could be called that even he couldn't be sure, was that his clumsiness disappeared once it was discovered that he needed glasses. The bad point to this was that he had being given the glasses before he started school and
this unfortunately added further to his image of being a geek.
So as he went to prepare for another day in the daily grind, remembering the last time that he had a field trip involved a Hyena possession at the zoo, he prayed that it wouldn't be the same, only this time with spiders and a university. Realising that he was now late due to his brooding session, he grabbed his camera and ran down the stairs, kissing his Aunt May goodbye, and promising his Uncle Ben that he'd be there to help with painting the kitchen that afternoon, he ran out the door grabbing his bag as he went, praying to God that the bus hadn't started moving.
Noting that somebody upstairs must really have something against him when he found the bus moving, he took off after it, sending dark thoughts towards the driver who he was sure had seen him running after the bus. Yelling repeatedly at the bus to stop, and not getting anywhere except earning snickers from his fellow classmates, a thought flashed through his mind that he really hated the fact that not much was within walking distance like it had been in Sunny Dale, he kept chase with the bus until someone finally took pity on him and allowed him on board the bus. He didn't bother trying to look for a seat on the bus, he just moved to the back of the bus, dodging Flash's lame attempt at making a fool of himself.
*If he wanted to make a fool of himself, he could do that perfectly well by himself, he didn't need help from anybody else to do that* Xander thought darkly to himself. He felt relieved when the bus finally made it to ESC, and prepared his camera for the paper.
* * *
Harry was not having a good time driving to the ESC, and with his father insisting that he should be driven instead of taking the bus with all his other classmates, he was preparing himself for all the ribbing that this would bring. When they finally arrived, he ran out of the car and bolted to Alex's side, relieved that Alex would be able to take some of his father's attention off him and onto Xander himself, who Harry looked upon like a brother.
" Xander, how good it is to see you again" Norman Osbourne said in a warm tone.
" It is good to see you to sir" Xander replied, a smile gracing his lips.
" Ah, yes, Xander, I was wondering if you had given that proposal of mine any more thought, I was wondering if you had come to a decision about that intership with Oscorp, were always on the lookout for bright youths like yourself, and genetics is a rapidly growing field..."Norman trailed off, looking at Xander, expecting his answer.
" Look, Mr Osbourne, It's not as if I'm not flattered from the very generous offer, but I already have an internship lined up with Professor Connors, and I would really like to make something of myself on my own, under my own power, I hope you understand". Xander replied, a slight smile on his face, keeping eye contact with Harry's father at all times.
" Really... well I respect that you wish to be a self - made man, and I wish you all the best of luck, I just hope Connors realises just how lucky a man he is to get you Xander, your one of the brightest minds I've met in a long time, and remember their will always be a place for you at Oscorp". Norman replied, his eyes dulling slightly before brightening, and was about to continue when
" Hey Xander, Harry, hurry up, we haven't got all day" Their teacher called out to them from the entry of the ESU complex.
" Well, I had better stop holding you two up, see you at home Harry, nice speaking to you Xander", and with that said, Norman Osborne left Xander and Harry to go catch up to the rest of their class.
* * *
Xander and Harry, along with the rest of the class followed the rest of the class (Bet no one saw that coming) as they listened to the one of the project chiefs go on about the certain spider's used in the project to create a batch of super spiders.
As the presentation continues on, they stop by the display case of the finished super spiders, and their guide tells them
" Over here, we have the 15 completed super-spiders, each having a mix from three or more species within, and the intre.." was as far as the tour guide could get before she was interrupted by Mary Jane.
" 14, their are only 14 spiders" she said, the unasked question be seen clearly on her face.
" Oh, the others must still be working on that one, well moving on" The guide replied, slightly embarrassed that she had being shown up by a teenager.
As the rest of the class moved on, only Mary Jane, and Xander stayed behind, both staying because of the spiders in the display case.
" Ah, excuse me, could you move a little to the left MJ, I need some photo's with a student in it, do you mind?" Xander asked, as he moved back to be encompass them both in the shot.
" Oh, Ok, do you need me to do anything special" Mary Jane asked, a slight smile on her lips.
" Nah just be yourself" Xander replied, returning her smile before returning to his camera.
Neither noticed the spider that had begun it's decent to Xander's hand while he was taking photo's, they where both caught up in the moment, Xander in taking the photo's, and Mary Jane in her posing. The moment ended when one of Mary Jane's friends called out to her
" Hey MJ, come on"
" Yeah, be there in a minute" she called back as she began to walk towards her friends, not even hearing Xander's words of thanks.
He was about to try and get her attention again when a sharp pain in his hand stopped him. Looking down on his hand, he saw what appeared to be a Black Widow, with blue instead of red on it's back. He quickly brushed it off his hand, and it scurried away. Before he could do anything more about it, Harry came and dragged him out of the display room saying
" Come on Science boy, lets get out of her before they experiment on us" sarcasm clearly lacing his voice. Little did he know that something had already happened to Xander, something that would change all the lives Xander had ever touched in one way or another, some for the better and some for the worse, yet nothing would ever be the same again.
They both walked out side, towards the bus that would take them back to their school, all the while, Xander started to feel ill, the world was beginning to slowly spin, and he was getting a fever. He could feel himself begin to change somehow, yet he couldn't figure out how. By the time he eventually made it back to his home in Queens, he was all but staggering in, sweating profusely.
" Xander is that you" his Uncle Ben called.
" Yeah" Xander replied weakly.
When his aunt saw him she said in a motherly tone "Oh Xander, you don't look so good, Ben and you can paint the kitchen when you feel better, you just go up to bed".
" Thanks Aunt May" was Xander's weak reply as he stumbled up the steps to his room.
" I wonder what wrong with him" Ben asked his wife.
" Don't worry dear, we will see how he is in the morning before we do anything" she replied.
* * *
Xander staggered into his room, barely conscious, and collapsed to what in his approximation was the bed. Unfortunately for him, the bed was actually to the left of where he dropped, but he got a woollen blanket as a consolation prize.
* * *
(Morning)
Alex had many strange dreams that night, all involving spiders, walls, and a buzzing noise in his head, yet the strangest of all these was yet to come. He was still half-asleep, searching for his alarm clock when he realised he was sticking to the ceiling. Even though Xander had spent a large part of his life being raised on the hellmouth, even he was not prepared for this, and thus fell to the floor.
Picking himself up, he wondered how the hell he got there, but didn't give it any other thought until he put his glasses on.
* Oh God, I'm going blind* was Xander's first thought as he put his glasses on, the world all a blur around him. Quickly taking the glasses off as he realised that they where giving him a migraine, he blinked rapidly, startled that he could see perfectly, the best he had ever in his life.
* Well this is just plain weird* Came rushing through his head as he discarded the glasses. * No more being mini-Giles for me* he though happily. That would alll end in a few moments. Once he saw himself in the mirror however, he was just plain freaked
* Ok, this is getting too weird even for me, I know I was in shape, but never did I look this buff *. That thought along with others ran through his mind as he checked his body out.
* What the hell caused this to happen, cause I sure know stuff like this doesn't happen overnight, unless I have a fairy god mother out there somewhere, yet knowing my luck, it's probably on Acid*
As he continued his examination, he came to see two slits on his arm, one on each wrist. Pulling back the flaps of skin, revealed a tiny spinneret.
" Oh God" Xander moaned. " That's it, from this day forward, I'm swearing off field trips for the rest of my life". Xander said looking towards the heavens before continuing. "Well at least I'm not trying to eat bugs, and I still feel like me" Xander said with relief flooding throughout his body.
His Aunt called "Xander are you all right" through his closed door. She paused before continuing, not waiting for his answer. "Never mind, hurry up, or you'll be late for school".
With his Aunt's warning in his mind, he momentarily forgot about his changes as he rushed around his room, looking for clothes that would now fit his more developed form.
After a long and thorough search, Xander found that, apart from this outfit, he would have to buy many more shirts with long sleeves.
" Xander, come on, hurry up or you'll really be late for school". Was his Uncles call from the bottom of the stairs.
" Just a minute" Xander yelled as he came hurtling down the stairs, giving his aunt a quick peck on the cheek, as he ran past and out the door.
" Oh Xander'' was his uncle's yell, chuckling while Xander came back, sheepishly taking his bag from his uncle. "Remember sport that where doing the kitchen this afternoon" Ben added before Xander could run out the door.
" Sure thing Uncle Ben, don't work to hard now" Xander replied, a slight smirk upon his lips as he ran out through the front door.
Running down the street at top speed, he realised he had missed the bus again, yet this time found it much easier to keep up with.
" Hey stop the bus" Xander yelled, as he hit the side with his open palm. All was going as usual for Xander until he realised his hand had somehow stuck to the side of the bus, on one of it's lame posters. He stopped running out of shock, and as the poster tore off, it still remained firmly attached to his open hand. However surprising it was that the paper had attached to his open hand, it was more surprising when he realised that it was stuck to his hand, but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out how. He pulled at it for a few minutes until it finally gave way, and thus he tore it off.
Seeing that the bus was now out of sight, and thanking God that he knew the way, he began running towards the school, hoping to make it there in time.
* * *
Due to his sudden increase in speed, Xander just managed to make it into class in time, looking none the worse for wear, which was much to his surprise and all those who had seen him chase the bus.
The day was a fairly uneventful one, right up until lunch. Xander was sitting alone because Harry had needed to go for some extra tutoring that Xander could not help him with. As Mary Jane walked past, she gained Xander's attention (as always), yet as she was about to slip in a puddle of drink, as tingling sensation ran up his spine and a ringing sound played in his ears.
Moving purely on instinct, he spun around and caught her with one arm as she slipped, using the other to catch her tray, and then catch everything that was on it, having it all placed in the same order as it was before she slipped. He had moved so fast, it had seemed that some of his movement's where a blur.
" Wow, you have really fast reflexes Xander" Mary Jane said, relief and awe lacing her tone. She then continued on by saying " You know, you have beautiful brown eyes, did you get contacts"?
Xander himself just stood their staring dumbly at her, half in shock that she has said anything to him, the other at what he had just done.
" Well thanks for everything Tiger" and with the Mary Jane disentangled herself from him and continued onto Flash's table.
Nodding mutely to her comment, he turned and reseated himself at his table, and as he sat, noticed that her fork had become attached to his hand. He started to shake it off his hand, much like he had with the poster, when in one single violent movement, he sent it flying, which embedded it into the wall, and shot s stream of some substance from his wrist towards a lunch tray, where it stuck.
" Why does this shit always happen to me" he muttered as he tried to get it to detach from him, and in doing so two things happened. One was that he realised it was webbing, and the other was that it sent said tray hurtling towards Flash after narrowly missing Xander, covering Flash in all it's contents. When Xander realised what had happened, he sat up straight, stood up, and quickly exited the room, hoping that no one would know it had been him. He hopes where shattered when they tray started following him, still attached to his errant line of 'webbing'. He quickened his pace, and shut the door after him. As he was trying to get away, he realised he could get no further because of the tray attached to his webbing. After a few violent yanks, the webbing tore off at his wrist, and he made a beeline for his locker, hoping to make it through the rest of the day and not face retribution from Flash.
He was however, not that lucky, and since the Harris luck ran true to form, Flash was standing behind him, preparing to launch a haymaker at him while he was blindsided. Suddenly, the buzzing in his head exploded, and seemed to overlay everything that was going on in the room (think that hole 'Am' it up" sequence in Action Man). As the buzzing reached it's peak, Xander dodged to the left on pure instinct, as surprised as everybody watching that he had dodged the punch. Making space between them, Xander spun around quickly and sent Flash hurtling back with a single punch, rage clearly seen on his features
* I am sick and tired of jerks like him* ran through his mind
, As he dodged attacks made by the rest of Flash's group. He weaved around his multitude of opponents, making it look like they weren't even really there, and continued on with his attack, lowering the amount of his attackers steadily. What had first started as a group of five, was now down to two, and Xander feverishly thanked God for the first time in his life for all his experience in vampire slaying. The two remaining students turned tail and ran, while Flash, who had recovered from his previous hit, was hoping to blind side Xander as he rushed him. The buzzing went off in Xander's head again, and he instinctively jumped up, and as Flash went by, kicked him with both feet outstretched, sending Flash hurtling into the distance. To the rest of the students, this fight that should have been incredibly one sided in Flash's favour, had just become a missing scene from the One.
Xander stood there, looking on a mix of awe and horror at what he had done as he regained his balance. His following comments pretty much summed up what everybody was thinking "woah".
" Wow Xand, that was awesome, man you tota…" Harry begun, but didn't get a chance to continue as Xander flew out of the room, hurtling out through the doors and ran off down the street.
* * *
As Xander ran down the streets of New York, not really caring where he was going until he tripped, and as he was about to fall flat on his face, somehow managed to turn it into a jump, and attached himself to the wall. Realising he was clinging to it, his hands fully unclenched, he proceeded to climb the wall, and once he reached the top, focused on his hand that had small, microscopic jagged hairs sticking out of them, which he figured allowed him to stick to the walls. It finally all clicked in his head, all the weird events that had being happening to him ever since he had been bitten by that altered 'super – spider'.
It had somehow altered, but he didn't think it was mystical due to the fact that most mystical things he knew tended to fear anything scientific, so that meant he was being affected on the genetic level. It seemed that Xander had gained all the attributes of a spider, it's speed, strength, ESP like sense, and the webbing. He could only hope new appendages would not come with the deal, or more eyes.
After his revelation, Xander wanted to try and see what he could actually do, so started roof-hopping, doing all sorts of acrobatics that would make Olympians jealous, he sprung from roof to roof, until he came to a point in which it was impossible to jump across to the next roof.
"Go webbing" he called out, sticking his hand out and feeling like a complete idiot when nothing happened. He tried a variety of phrases and gestures until he gave out. Sticking his hand out and doing one last gesture, his frustration turned to surprise when webbing launched from his hand. He watched as it hit a crane in the distance. It broke off, and he mimicked his previous actions. Launching another web-line, this time he held onto it. Taking a deep breath he said the last words that would be heard from in the next few hours " What the Hell, you only live once and what's the worse that could happen", and with that, he jumped off.
* * *
One short and blindingly painful web swing into the opposite wall and a few hours later, Xander had regained consciousness. Picking himself up off the roof he had slammed into, and realising how late it was, he jumped from the top of the roof to the ground floor, his landing being graceful, and not the slightest bit painful, he took off for home, running a fast as he could.
" Shit, Uncle Ben is going to kill me" Xander muttered as he raced home. Once he eventually arrived, he had to unlock the door because it appeared that his aunt and uncle had retired for the night. He walked into the kitchen and noticed it had been painted
* damn, I'm sorry uncle Ben, wish I could have gotten here sooner*
He then noticed the note left out to him and picked it up, smiling that they had left him dinner. He quickly heated it up and ate it, disturbed by the yelling he could hear coming from Mary Jane's house because of all the negative memories it brought back.
He cleans up and decides to take the trash out to the bin to save either his aunt or uncle from having to do it later. After placing the rubbish in the bin, and turning around to go back inside, he hears the yelling reach a crescendo as Mary Jane runs outside, tears barely being contained in her eyes. She notices Xander and decides to speak.
"I bet you heard all of that didn't you, I mean, everybody else can"
"No, well yeah, but I guess everybody can be loud" Xander replied with a shrug, looking at her with eyes full of concern.
"Your Aunt and Uncle don't their the nicest people in this street" Mary Jane replied, wanting to see how the boy next door would answer.
"But my actual parents where" he replied in a sombre tone, taking a breath before he continued.
"My actual home life wasn't all that different to how yours is, I had drunken parents who thought I was less than nothing, My aunt and uncle are the only ones who ever cared for me".
" Really" was Mary Janes shocked reply, learning more about her mysterious neighbours in these 5 minutes talking to him than she had in all the time she had known him.
" Yeah, but I don't like to talk about the past, so how bout the future, what do you want to do with your life?" Xander asked, trying to take her mind of such a painful topic.
She smiled at him, realising what he was trying to do " Well, I want to be an actress on Broadway, star in movies and T.V, have a family, you know, stuff like that". She told him, a far off look filling her eyes.
" That's perfect" Xander replied, noticing her raised eyebrow before continuing "You'll set Broadway alight, well not literally cause they have laws against that these day's, but you'd be perfect, I mean, I've seen you act, and you're a lot better at it than my ex was".
She laughed, and then gave him a questioning look "Your ex?" she asked, a questioning tone in her voice.
" Yeah Cordelia Chase" he replied in a whimsical tone before continuing. "She was my mortal enemy for most of my life, until it just kind of happened, the real kicker was that she was the most popular girl in high school, and that she chose to go out with me" he finished with a whimsical tone, before wincing at the painful memories it brought up.
"Oh", was her short reply, her interest in her neighbours life thoroughly peaked, she then continued in a jovial tone "So what do you want to do with your life Mr. Harris"
"Me, hell, I just want to go onto to Uni, get a job in photography somewhere to pay my way through, and become a geneticist".
"That all" Mary Jane asked, sarcasm lacing her tone.
" Yep that's all, well between becoming a secret agent that saves the world and discovering the cure for cancer" he replied while chuckling.
A car horn is heard. "Look, that's my ride, but it was nice talking to you Xander" Mary Jane said as she moved around to the front of the house.
" Yeah later MJ, remember my door is always open" Xander called out to her
" Hey MJ, have a look at my new wheels" Flash's voice could clearly be heard
"Oh wow, I love it" Mary Jane replied, but it was hard to tell if her enthusiasm was real or put on for Flash's sake.
* That's what I need, a car* Xander thought to himself as he made his way inside, passing the paper bin, when an advertisement caught his eye.
It advertised a cash prize total of $3000 for the winner of an amateur- wrestling match
*Interesting, this bares looking into* was the though that ran through his mind.
END CHAPTER 02
As Always Feedback wanted
Be back in 30 days (Most likely before then I hope) for chapter 3 – Power, Responsibility and Pro Wrestling? See, all my AN's are gone, you have destroyed what little purpose I had in my life to annoy you people with. My sarcasm no longer has an outlet