Chapter 3: Strange Beginnings

"Yeah…. I wasn't really graceful when I was bitten by that spider. I thought I was dead. I thought I was in heaven when I saw a beautiful face."

"Brandon…" echoed a female voice. This makes Brandon stir and barely wake up. Things were still a bit blurry and saw a female figure over him. When he got time to focus and looked at the figure, his eyes widen and saw a worried Waverly Knox. "Waverly..?" asked Brandon as he suddenly realized he's in a hospital.

Queens Medical Hospital Time: 1: 39 PM

As Brandon tried to sit up, Waverly gently put him back down and hugged him tightly in relief. As Brandon blushed when she hugged him, He was confused at where he is at. "W-Where the heck am I?" "In a hospital dude," Waverly said, "You got bit by a big freaking spider, but Otto Octavious and his medical team saved you before you were brought here." As she remembered the events of the field trip, Waverly has watery eyes and hugs Brandon tighter. ".. And I'm happy for that!" she said.

"I always felt happy around Waverly. I mean, for years, she was like a sister to me and the only girl in the whole flipping school who would actually want to hang out with a lonely nerd like me. It was this time that I thought of her as… Well…. MORE than a friend I should say. I wanted to tell her about it back then, but I didn't because of two things. One was that I'm a socially awkward outcast. I wasn't really that good to talking to girls. And seconds… Well….. You will see.."

As Waverly pulled away and left Brandon be, She stood besides Alfredo and Brandon sees them holding hands.

"She was dating Alfredo, which made things more awkward for the both of us. I mean, she liked Alfredo, and I wish them the best of luck, but sometimes I am secretly jealous. But, aside from that, I was Alfredo's best friend and I won't do anything to separate them both… not that it made things simpler of course."

"You sure scared us dude." said Alfredo as he rubbed Brandon's head. "You weren't the only ones!" said Brandon as he tries to sound playful to try to calm him down about the bite, but with little success. He looked up to Alfredo upset. "I'm sorry to worry you two, but I know this looks bad for your step dad Alfredo." Alfredo chuckled and shook his head. "Don't worry about it dude," said Alfredo, "We are just glad you are okay. I'm sure his PR people will make a excuse for this. Also, your mom and father are coming soon." "Wait… you told them?" said Brandon with his eyes widened. "WE didn't… but the principal did." said Waverly as she stepped in. When he heard this, Brandon groaned and looked at the ceiling. "Just great." he mumbled. Then rapid footsteps could be heard heading to Brandon's room. Then a man and woman in their mid 30s to early 40s rushes in and rushes to Brandon. The woman went and hugged him tightly. "Brandon!" she said, "I'm glad you're okay!" Brandon hugged her back, but her grip seemed tighter and stronger than Waverly's. "Hi… mom…" said Brandon as he almost felt like she was choking him. His mother suddenly lets go of him and kisses his forehead. "Don't you ever do that again!" she exclaimed. Later, the man was his father, Ron Ponce, wasted no time and hugged them both. "I agree kiddo!" he said. As they hugged, Alfredo smiled at them, happy that this didn't break them up, but it also made him envy Brandon because Brandon has the family he can ever dream of! A family that was different than his own, and one that he got reminded of when he heard commotion outside. Alfredo turned and saw his step father, Otto Octavious, as well as a older man in a suit and tie and carrying a briefcase. "Otto?" said Harry confused. "Hello." said Otto as he sounded reserved and stonefaced, which was familiar to Alfredo. As for the business guy, he stepped forward to address the Ponces, who were still gathered around Brandon. "Now, Mr and Mrs. Ponce, I know this a trying time, but as Octavious's attorney, I.." said the man as he gets interrupted. "Ditko please!" said Otto, putting on a concerned demeanor, causing him to go back. Then, he turned to Mr. and Mrs. Ponce, feeling both concerned and a bit remorseful. "Now… Mr. and Mrs. Ponce, I am sorry for what has happened today" Otto said to get their attention, which succeeded, "The medical team responded and the man responsible has been fired. Still, since it happened in my company, I feel responsible and is willing to help in any ways possible." For Ron, deep down he feels Otto his doing this just so he can boost his campaign, but at the same time, just wants to put this to an end. "It's okay Mr. Octavious," said Ron, "we are just grateful that Brandon is alive and you helped him stay that way." He looks at Otto's lawyer and gives a sigh. "As your lawyer goes, we won't do any charges. We just want to take our son home and leave this whole day behind us. Otto, with a tiny smile, nods to Ron and looks at Ditko. "Well Ditko… There's your answer." "Y-Yes Mr. Octavious." said Ditko sheepishly. As for Otto, he turned back to the Ponce family, still smiling. "Come on everyone," he said, "Let's give them privacy." Otto turns and walks out of the room with Ditko. Alfredo, a tiny bit annoyed, feels that Otto used this incident to boost his campaign, but at the same time, knew he had a point when it came to saving his best friend and his family from misery. He turns to his attention to Waverly. "I agree with him, Waverly." said Alfredo. "So do I." said Waverly as she followed her boyfriend out, looking back at Brandon with a sad and worried expression on her face. As for Brandon, His mother, and father, they still hugged happily, making Ron happy that his son didn't end up like his and his wife's parents, or Brandon's grandparents.

"Mom and Dad…. two of the most caring people I know. After their parents died, they raised me like what true parents do. And what my dad told me later is what motivated me to use my powers to help people. But, speaking of my powers, I still remember the rush I had when I got them."

The Ponce House Time: 3:30 PM Location: Brandon's Room

Brandon was happy that he was finally home after a stay in the hospital. After tons of tests to check his health, medication and the doctor's phone number. Aside from that, he felt great. For a strange reason, even though he felt amazing, he somehow felt odd, in that on the way to his bed, his vision got blurry while he had his glasses on. Naturally, this assumes he needed a new pair. As he takes them off and puts them in it's case, Brandon noticed that his vision was clear when he tooked them off. This stunned Brandon as he looks around with his improved vision. "There's no way in hell that my luck got this good." he said. To proof himself, He grabbed his glasses and looked through them, showing the blur again, then when he takes them off, his vision was fine again. "What the hell?" said Peter as he puts his glasses away. He just assumes that he was seeing things and thought maybe a nap will help. As he took off his hoodie, he notices that his arms were very tone and muscular. His eyes widen and takes off his shirt, and sees that his whole upper body was the same as his arms, with a body that will make athletes jealous. "Wow…" said Brandon as he flexed. Then, his mother knocked on the door, which snapped Brandon back to reality. "Brandon!" she said through the door, "Are you feeling okay?" "Uhh…yeah!" replied Brandon as he flexed his biceps, "In fact, I feel Sensational!"

"It didn't end there…. As it's shown the next day at school…