It is, I admit, taking time to get to you know what. But Miguel still has to find out you-know-who was you-know-him, then go after you-probably-don't- know. And I still have to figure out where Miguel gets the Spidey suit.

Miguel hadn't come home that night, and now Francisco O'Hara was worried. Still, the next morning he went to work same as always after filing a missing persons report with the Public Eye and doing his best not to let his worry interfere with his work.

He was nearing a breakthrough. Tests were showing that proper modification to DNA could cure and immunize a person of any number of diseases. It was just a matter of finding the right gene and how to modify it.

On his way to his own lab, he passed by Doctor Peter Parker. Parker was an old man who'd been around back when Nueva York was still called New York. He'd seen the Public Eye first formed. But most prominent of all, Doctor Peter Parker had been around during the last days of the Age of Heroes. The old man had seen the glory days of mankind, and wasn't a big fan of what Nueva York had now become.

When the old doctor saw O'Hara, he stopped dead in his tracks and dropped the pile of research notes he'd been carrying. Why the old man still used paper was beyond anyone's understanding. Too caught up in how things used to be, he supposed.

"O'Hara…" he said when he finished picking up his notes. "I'm so sorry."

"About what?" the younger scientist asked.

"It's about your boy…" Parker said. "Come with me."

O'Hara would normally have told Parker to wait until break, but Miguel was missing. He followed the old man to his lab door. Making sure no one was looking, Parker tapped in his security code to get in and opened the door.

"Hurry, we can't let them see that you know," the doctor said.

"What's going on Parker?" O'Hara asked. He didn't like being dragged around by this old man.

"Are you familiar on the illegal drug Rapture?" Parker asked.

"Not very," O'Hara admitted. "Why?"

"Well, I've been trying to research a cure to addiction to Rapture—Which, by the way, creates a physical need in the body—and I got to complaining with one of my assistants how my research could go more quickly if I had an actual addict test subject."

"What does this have to do with Miguel?" O'Hara asked impatiently.

"Well, last night…they brought me two test subjects," Parker said. "See for yourself."

Parker led the way to the two teens on IVs and respirators, heart rate and brain activity monitors showing their status.

"No…" O'Hara gasped when he saw his son in that bed, attached to all those machines.

"I had nothing to do with this," the doctor clarified.

"I know you didn't," O'Hara said. "I know you Doctor, this isn't your style. Alchemax is going to pay for this…"

The elder O'Hara almost didn't want to ask his next question, but he had to. "How long does he have?"

"If the Public Eye is to be trusted," Parker said, "Your son has ten months without a cure."

"Can you help him?" O'Hara asked. "Save him?"

"I can try," the doctor said. "But there are no promises with this kind of work."

"I understand," O'Hara said. "I'd…I'd better get back to work then. I'm not supposed to know this, aren't I?"

Parker shook his head, and O'Hara left to leave the old man to his work.

Dr. Parker had done some digging on the O'Hara family. Miguel's mother, Scarlet, had been killed by a Public Eye officer named Ronald Stoner. The report said she'd resisted arrest. Peter Parker knew that was bullshit.

Francisco O'Hara's attempts to find a job elsewhere had been (covertly of course) sabotaged by Alchemax operatives in a (successful) effort to keep him working for Alchemax. They needed him for their gene experiments. Parker had gone over O'Hara's research files as well. All interesting, but most of it was useless information for now.

However, the genetic modification to cure and immunize against disease…Dr. Parker had uploaded those to his own workspace terminal for personal study. It might be just the thing he'd need to cure the Rapture addiction in these two now heavily sedated boys.

Moving on to Miguel O'Hara. The poor boy. His academic records began a not so steady drop following the school day after his mother's death. Missing assignments, half-finished projects, total disrespect for peers and people as a whole. Trips to both the principal's office and guidance counselor were regular now.

A look into his phone records showed something else. He'd a ton of contact with two people, Rocky Allen and Serina Nashan, right up until about a week after his mother's death. During that week, all his phone activities slowly shifted to new people he'd never been in contact with before. He'd have to pull up text message records later to be sure, but it was fairly clear he'd left his old friends for the "wrong crowd".

It was a shame really. As Peter looked over the academic records prior to the death of Miguel's mother, the doctor felt sure he was looking at his own records from his days in high school. He saw a lot of himself in who this boy had once been. But now…he saw only a teenaged life ruined by tragedy.

And by Alchemax. If he were just twenty years younger, Dr. Parker would see to it Harriet Alchemax was brought to justice. How did he even end up working for Alchemax, the corrupt company that seemed to own Nueva York? It was like a mob, with a "legitimate" business as a front.

But now, he was too old, too slow, and too frail for that kind of life. Oh sure, there wasn't another man his age as fit as he was, but he would never be the amazing man of his youth. Now he was just a lowly scientist at Alchemax who spent his spare time snooping around the network as easily as a spider navigated its web.

Of course, there was still some fight left in the old Parker man. Every so often he'd hack Alchemax computer security and leak a story to the media or plant a virus that crashed the back-up systems but not the primary ones. More as a practical joke than anything though. Like a little kid pranking a bully because he couldn't really do anything about the bully.

Besides, corrupt or not Alchemax ran almost everything in Nueva York. It couldn't be simply destroyed, it would have to be surgically purged of the corruption laced within. There were, after all, a lot of good people working in Alchemax, he was living proof of that. Hell, even some Public Eye officers took their jobs seriously.

No, it would take something special to free Nueva York. Something that just didn't exist anymore. Someone who understood that with great power, came great responsibility. Nueva York needed a hero.

Dr. Parker wasn't sure how long he spent working, at least not until Francisco O'Hara entered the lab once again. Dr. Parker looked up from his work at the younger scientist.

"O'Hara? Need something?" he asked.

"Just thought I'd check in before I head home for the night," the O'Hara man said. "How is he?"

"Your son's still alive, and there hasn't been any detectable drop in his health since your last visit," Parker assured. "He's got ten months. If something happens or if I figure anything out, I'll let you know."

"I get it, you're a busy man, do not disturb," O'Hara said with a sad smile.

"I didn't mean it like that," Parker said, releasing how he'd come off. "He's your son Francisco. Visit whenever you want. I just…you know, probably won't have any news if you do."

"I understand," O'Hara said. "I just can't believe this happened. I knew he took her death hard, we all did. But this…" he gestured to his son lying motionless in the bed. "I never saw this coming. I should have been more involved, should've watched the signs…"

"You can't blame yourself, he made his own choice," Dr. Parker said. "And I'm going to make sure he gets a second chance."

"Thank you for this," O'Hara said. "My son…like this…"

"I understand," Dr. Parker said. "Well, not really. Never had kids."

"No?" O'Hara asked, glad for the change in subject. He needed the distraction right now.

"I lived a very different life in my alleged reproductive years," Peter Parker revealed. "Danger, loose women, gunfights…not the ideal environment to raise a child. Then of course there were complications finding the other half of that whole parenthood thing."

"Had you fair share of lady trouble Doctor?" O'Hara joked.

"Like you wouldn't believe," Parker said. "It's getting late, why don't you head on home. I'll stay here and…do what I do."

O'Hara nodded. "Goodnight Doctor."

Parker watched him leave, and then returned to his work. He already had a lead on potential gene mods that could undo Rapture addiction. All his preliminary findings pointed to one option: selective replacement of human DNA…with spider DNA.

BUM BUM BUM! Is this story reminding anyone of anything else yet? PM me with suggestions for plot, villains or allies. Plot submitions are fairly straight forward, but...

The rules for character submission are simple. PM me with all the required criteria, and if I accept it I'll tell you. I am, for now, only accepting five completely original characters for each faction (villains and allies) and an unknown number of inspired characters (Inspired means they're based off of an original Amazing Spider-Man villain. Example: Black Cat 2099.)

If you do not have an account or don't use PM, leave it in a review. Thanks for taking the time to read this. Review, and I will return the favor.

Villain Submissions:

Name: (Their real name. Required.)

Super Villain Name: (Their name when their dressed in colored undies. Or whatever. This is optional.)

Age: (Really no limit, so long as you can explain it. So if I get a submission that says 8 or 80, I would like to know how they can even fight or be dangerous. Miguel is 17. Required.)

Gender: (Duh.)

Normal Appearance: (What do they look like normally? Required.)

Super Appearance: (What do they look like in their dual identity? OR do they look the same as their normal appearance?)

Past Era Inspiration: (Do they take after the likeness of an original Spider-Man villain? If so, which one?)

Personality: (What is their personality like? Do they have multiple personalities?)

Where in Nueva York do they live: (Midtown, Highrise, Slums, Chinatown, Docks/Harbor, Downtown. Miguel resides in Midtown.)

Connection to Alchemax: (Experiment gone wrong and set free? Employed by? On the run from? Etc?)

Bio/History: (I would like their origin and a brief summary of their history in Nueva York, especially if they're new in town. I' d also like to know about they're current wherabouts and activities.)

Powers/Skills: (What can they do? Please try not to make them overpowered.)

Equipment: (Weapons? Gear? Especially important if they don't have powers.)

Weaknesses: (Don't be lazy and say something like "His powers don't work on wood" or "a green rock can kill him". Do their powers have limitations? Do the powers put them under stress? Something, but not a lazy something.)

Plans for the Character: (Anything in particular you envision the character doing? Kidnapping someone important? Discovering Miguel's secret identity? SOme big plan they have? No need to be humble here. If it were your story and you needed to give them a role in plot, what would you give them? I may not use it, but I like the reference.)

Ally Submissions:

Name: (Same as above.)

Super Name: (Again, if they have one.)

Age: (Same as above...)

Gender: (Duh.)

Normal Appearance: (Still the same)

Super Appearance: (If they have one. What do they look like? Is it a change of clothes, or a Hulk-style full transformation?)

Past Era Inspiration: (Do they take inspiration from an original Spider-Man ally? If so, which one?)

Personality:

Where in Nueva York do they live: (Same districts.)

Bio/History:

Powers/Skills:

Equipment:

Weakness:

Plans for the Character: (C'mon, you know there's something you'd like to see the character do. Betray Miguel? Get kidnapped? Save him from a villain/Public Eye?)