The Sensational Scarlet Spider.
Chapter 1:
The Trip to End All Trips.
The memories of the night at the Stark Expo weren't about all those advancements. It was the drone. Tall, metallic, and staring at me with the cannon on its shoulder turning downward to aim at me. All I did was raise my hand. The little toy repulsor blinking at it but there was no shot. I was on the ground, Iron Man mask broken plastic and the visor littered nearby. The shock numbed my arm. I remember the fear and the numbness in my arm. It launched me. I remember the paramedics finding me, Mom panicking and Dad trying to keep calm, but I know there's something wrong. This journal is supposed to help me cope with it. Funnily enough, I'm writing with the arm that got hurt. Ah well, that's all for now, I guess.
I set down my pen and stretch, arms pulling muscles gently. I wiggle my arm. The scarring on my skin mostly burns, but there were deep ones too. It's a miracle I still have it. I stand and stretch some more, looking around my room. My desk, piled with notebooks and papers aplenty. Things like notes on school subjects from years past, also some stories I wrote to pass the time. Of course they went nowhere, but I digress. I amble over to my dresser, yanking on a t-shirt and ditching my pajama pants to put on jeans and socks.
I don't hear my door open until two arms lock around my head, a Full Nelson. A warm chuckle comes from the person who owns them.
"How do you get outta a full nelson, kiddo?" Dad asks, "Either…" I slip out as easy as pie and Dad sighs.
"Aww, you're too strong, Jack…" he smiles. The corners of his brown eyes crinkle and his brown and gray hair show his age. But he's still my dad. He tousles my hair.
"So, the big science trip's today, huh? Goin' to Oscorp," he says, "Sounds fun." While I put on my braces and get on my shoes, I take a bit to do. Velcro-ing my braces on top, on the bottom middle and near my toes in my hard plastic AFOs. I shove on my shoes and lace them.
"Backs unpushed?" he asks.
"Yep." I agree.
"Are you steady?"
"As steady as I'll ever be." I say, with Dad hugging me with one arm.
"Good job!" he exclaims, walking out with me and into our small living room that's connected to the kitchen. My mom is sitting at the table, reading a book, and she looks up at us with a smile.
"Told you Jacky wasn't sleeping." She says, getting up and giving me a hug, "Did you sleep well, honey?" she asks.
"I slept fine, Mom." I say, "What'cha reading?"
"Another cookbook, I'm trying new things!" She holds it up with a shine in her brown eyes, similar to mine. I smile and then Dad pipes up from the inner kitchen.
"Oh, like those tacos?" Dad asks.
"Benny, that was one time…" Mom huffs softly, "You never let me cook again for a while."
"One time too many, Maybelle. I swear that tore a river right through me. You know that was a mercy, right?" Mom leans in close to me.
"I swear, Jack, your Dad never lets me have fun. Between you and me I think he's a secret member of the Fun Police." she hisses with a wink, Dad tuts and pulls her back gently, kissing her and coming by to tousle my hair again.
"See ya, I'll be back at my usual time. Have a good day." he leaves and Mom grins, standing and kissing me on the forehead. She sits back down as I try to make myself some breakfast, maybe something simple like toast to tide me over til lunch? I settle on the toast. Mom looks at me in concern.
"Jack, that's not enough." She sighs.
"What? It's quick." I say, "Eddie and I'll figure something out."
Mom shakes her head, "Boys. Thinking of some way to handle things themselves." she hugs me just before I leave, my backpack on my back and heading out. Most of my commute to school I keep to myself. Until I see my best friend waiting for me at the bus stop. Eddie gets a big grin on his face, his blond hair shaved down and he's built like a linebacker. Which he is. He and I ride the same bus to school so we wait together.
"What's up, Jack?" he asks, watching me eat the toast I brought with me. He's wearing a letterman jacket in the morning chill, his jeans over his tennis shoes with a couple of holes in them from how well used they were.
"Hm? Oh, It's fine!" I exclaim, "What's up with you?" My favorite blue hoodie has crumbs on it. I make sure my jeans cover my legs too, because I don't want people to see my braces and make fun of me.
Eddie shrugs, "Eh, the same old same old. It's not bad at all." he eyes my toast, "You sure that's enough, Jack?" I roll my eyes and he laughs at my tiny punch.
"My mom said the same thing!" I snap, "Besides, it's fine. I'll eat later." Eddie raises his hands.
"Okay, okay, easy does it." he says, "No need to shout."
He and I get on the bus and sit right near the middle rather than near the driver. I'm on the outside so I can pop out first and beat the others off the bus. It's a normal thing that everyone is used to. At least I think so. The bus ride doesn't pass in silence as Eddie has his phone out.
"See, look at this." he says, "Oscorp's been doin' some really cool genetic experiments. Maybe they can figure out how to… ya know, fix people."
Eddie smiles shyly and my exasperation goes on high alert, "By 'fix' they mean erase guys like me. Unless they can lower chances of preemies and complications to zero, I don't think I'll be outta style."
Eddie laughs, "You're sounding like a fashion trend!"
"Them's the breaks." I say, the airbrake goes off and we come to a stop outside the school's front, they're going to take roll and THEN we go on ANOTHER bus to our field trip tagging along with the Midtown Kids. Still, Eddie and I roll on.
The crowd streams into the school as Eddie forms a linebacker sized barrier between me and him, his arms out wide like he's going to give the world the biggest hug imaginable. I huddle close to him, not striding too big, moving smart and careful. That was until Eddie makes a beeline right for the bathroom and leaves me in the middle of the hallway, the crowd all around me like a madly flowing river of bodies and I try to wade to my class right across the-
My balance goes haywire and I go for a pleasant relationship with the floor. I hit it hard and my hands sting from the impact but I pop right back up before anyone sees. Then the pain from the fall hits my legs and I wince.
"Ow…" I hiss, "Gugh…" I slide back down and someone ends up gently grabbing my backpack.
"Whoa! Are you okay?" a warm, almost playful voice asks, I look up to see someone I never thought would give me the time of day. Her green eyes stare into mine, and I blink hard. Her hair is long and a sort of silver-blond, tied back in a ponytail. She smiles at me and I pop right back up again.
"Uh, yeah! Yeah, I'm uhhh… fine." I sputter, rubbing my neck, "Uhhh… I'm just ah… going to class! Yeah! Yeah, class."
She laughs, "I see! I gotta say, wait, where are my manners?" she holds out her hand, "Felicia Hardy,"
I take it and give it a shake, "Ja… Jack, Jack Parker."
She smiles and stands next to me, "Say, do you always do your own stunts, Jack?"
"Comes with the territory." I say, trying not to stare since that'd come across as weird, "You're uh, a basketball player, right?"
Felicia chuckles, "Sure. I'm the captain, Jackyboy." I blush at the nickname, the heat spreading to my neck. She's walking right next to me and not even noticing my braces or my walking! Score!
"That's cool. I normally just dribble the ball around and maybe toss it…" I say, smiling sheepishly, "Other times I think the others use me for target practice."
Felicia sighs, "Seriously?"
I spread my arms, "Ladies and gentlemen! The world's biggest moving target!" I exclaim with a showman's voice, she bursts out laughing.
"Oh, my GOD, that's so horrible!" she laughs, "But fair, it's fair. Hey, we're actually in the same science class, go figure!"
"Oh! Then why haven't we talked sooner?" I ask.
"Probably because your guard dog frightens me?" she pats my head, "Aw whatever. I'll see ya later, Jackyboy." She walks into class as Eddie comes up behind me.
"Yo dude, sorry about that, I was taking a dump." he says.
"TMI, Eddie, TMI." I huff, still feeling the buzz from Felicia talking to me. Or actually getting to talk to her, "Wait! Wait, quick bro meeting." I yank him down at our spot, hunched down under the dividers as Mr. Warren took the roll.
"Dude, I just talked to the captain of the basketball team!" I squeal with a big grin on my face.
"Okay? So? Everyone talks to Rand." Eddie scoffs.
"Not the BOYS. The girls!" I see Felicia talking to some of the other girls, "I wonder if she's talking about me!"
Eddie smiles, "Aww, looks like Jack's got a crush!" he elbows me a little, "What's so good about her?"
I blush and my smile never leaves my face, "She never looked at my legs or asked me why they're like this. She gets my jokes, almost nobody does!" I clench my hands into fists and excitement courses through my veins like a wildfire.
"Whoa there, Casanova! Slow up!" he laughs, "Seriously man, you're talking her up like she's an angel or something."
I wilt, "Come on… she's the first girl I've ever talked to on my own without you tossing me at them." I huff and he shrugs.
"Guilty as charged," he says. I still can't stop being happy. It's better than self pity and all that. Eddie and I both look at the front of the room, where Felicia is sitting next to a more golden-haired girl. He sighs and elbows me a little.
"That's the girl I like." he says, "Gwen."
"I think you should stop staring before it becomes creepy." I answer, "Have you actually tried talking to her?"
"Dahhhmmm, I mean- No?" he wheedles, "Look, you try it when you're like me!"
I glare at him, "Ed. Seriously?" I motion to myself, "Look at me. Then back at you." I motion more to my braces than my upper half. My upper half looks fine enough if not for the bedhead and the boniness. I'm gangly and weird.
Which kinda makes me wonder deep down as we leave for the field trip buses why I would ever want to get with anyone? If I want to change and make myself better in the long run, it'd take a miracle to change me as much as I want to. I just hope it happens soon. Oscorp is a massive tower in the city, outside of Queens and in the bigger city, Manhattan. The bus joins the Midtown one as it parks near the entrance of the tower. Eddie and I both take a moment to look up at it all.
"Do you think Osborn's compensating?"
"Eddie! Stop! Stop, stop, stop." I sputter with a laugh, "I mean, seriously, stop it." He socks me in the shoulder gently.
"Come on, Jack! Let's go look at some science stuff!" we follow the rest of the class into the building, the clean almost futuristic lobby makes the two of us cross into a completely other world. I'm sure my cousin would go Gaga, or already is.
The lobby has a couple of escalators, and the others all get up onto it. I get on with Eddie taking point and behind me is Felicia checking her phone and I grab onto the back of Eddie's jacket. Hunching a bit until it flattens out and I shuffle off behind him. The atrium is extremely big but I can't contain my excitement. It's really cool despite the overly modern tech and the fact that the floor feels weird. It's unsteadiness and the echo of the floor has my heart pound as I lurch over to Eddie.
One technician is near one of the experimental tanks, the spiders inside all in their own webs crawling around, "Oscorp is proud to announce their advancements in genetics with these fifteen genetically altered spiders that could enhance the quality of life for those with disabilities around the world. With the best traits from all known species of spiders, we will test their genes for medical effectiveness…"
I move close to one of them, Felicia nearby as she looks in on them, "Spiders are cool." She says, "You know what my favorite one is?"
"Uh, no." I say, "Which one?"
"I like Brown Recluses, they leave people alone but have a really potent venom." She says, looking over at me with a soft smile, "But if you were to ask me, I'd say that you're like one of them."
"Me?" I sputter, "How?"
"Well look at you, you're small and always hiding behind Brock all the time." She says, "If you ask me that fits the bill nicely."
"Oh Hardy har har, Felicia." I huff, looking in at the little red and blue spiders, all of them moving around, about… fourteen? Where's the fifteenth? Felicia notices but looks at me and shushes me.
I nod and look around, trying to see it. Moving around the back of it as Felicia keeps watch.
"Where are you…?" I mutter, kneeling and trying to shuffle my way around. That's when I notice an elaborate web in a dark corner, looking back over my shoulder I see Felicia asking the technician questions.
"Hooo… come on, Jack, just return the steroided spider and just make my way to my new friend. We've got this." I hiss, sneaking over to the back wall and seeing the little spider making its way down the wall. I gently reach up and it crawls right into my hands.
"Okay, hi." I whisper, "Let's go for a walk, little guy." It sits in my hands patiently, almost as if it was a tame spider. I walk over carefully, trying not to crush the little guy. I smile.
"Aww, you're not so bad." I say, "I'm just gonna take you back to your-" I notice it dart right for my wrist and bite down hard, making me fling it off and flinch at the bite, wincing and looking down at my wrist. It's already got a bump forming as I run back to the group, not caring about what had happened, even though it itches like hell and I want to scratch it. I got bit but I don't… exactly feel like saying anything? I mean for all I know it might have some bad venom or some weird neuro thing. Felicia watches me come running back and Eddie too.
"Dude, what happened?" he asks, "And Hardy, you better tell me!"
I look down at my wrist, "I… I saw that there were about fourteen spiders and I found the fifteenth, it bit me." I explain with my eyes looking up at my friend. Eddie kneels and I get on his back.
"Listen, we don't know what the hell is happening, so I'm gonna tell Mr-"
"No! Don't tell Mr. Warren!" I squeak, "Or anyone else, I don't wanna ruin this, please don't."
"Jack you got bitten by a super species, why the fuck do you think I wanna tell someone?! You might start growin' extra legs and shit like that!" Eddie exclaims.
"Well, to be fair it's supposed to help guys with his disability, right?" Felicia asks.
"Listen here, Hardy! I won't take any lip from you! You were watching him!" Eddie snaps, "If anything bad happens to Jack I don't want Mr. and Mrs. Parker on my ass about it."
"Whatever happens, I'll handle it." I pipe up, "If I end up with six arms and a bunch of eyes and a mouthful of fangs then that's what's gonna happen!"
Eddie sighs, and Felicia shakes her head at me. Even if it's bad, I still have to persevere. Maybe this was the miracle I wanted all along? As we go on through Oscorp, I cling onto Eddie's back, but when I move my hand to take a picture of some robotic arms that Dr. Octavius would like to see my hands have a hard time unsticking from my best friend's back.
"Hm… Hrrrgh…" I groan, "Come on…" I mumble. My right hand unsticks and my left does too, "There we go." I rifle around in my pants pocket for my phone and get it out, unlocking it and taking a picture of the arms and saving it to my camera roll. Then I realize my phone is stuck to my hand. I try to wiggle it off and back into my pocket but it just stays on.
"You alright back there, Jack?" Eddie asks.
"Uhm, kind of? I-" all the sudden I almost drop it on the floor but I almost instantly catch it. We're more behind the others so Eddie picks up the pace. He keeps up much closer. It's weird that all the sudden I'm sticky, and I just caught my phone just barely a second from when I dropped it. It's almost as if the bite really did something. As we go throughout the rest of the lab, I can just barely move, mostly trying to walk but still getting stuck. How people don't see me stumbling and jerking around is beyond me.
I get off Eddie, but my hand still sticks to him.
"Dude, leggo!" he snaps.
"I'm trying!" I yelp as my hand leaps off him like a hot stovetop. I go flying back and land on my feet? That almost never happens! I shake off the adrenaline but I can't help but wonder what's happening to me.
We take a break and Eddie looks at me strangely, "Jack, you just flipped."
"Did I?" I ask.
Felicia nods, "Yep."
"Oh, my god…" I gasp, seeing Eddie move closer and Felicia grabs my hand to lead me faster. I don't notice but I think I'm blushing? Am I blushing? Did I really just do a backflip? What the hell is happening to me? We get outside to the buses. Eddie and Felicia sit down on either side of me, with Eddie kneeling and grabbing my shoulders.
Eddie sighs and looks at Felicia, "And you said nothing?"
"Listen, I was looking out for him! Who knows what they could've done to him if they found out!" she exclaims, "Honestly, Brock…" she shakes her head.
Eddie just chuffs and looks at me, "If you're gonna have some weird shit happen, just call me or your Mom or your Dad. And don't go crazy." he smiles and stands.
"Right…" I sigh, looking down at my hands, "I wonder what it all is." Once everything is over and we're on the buses. There's a dull ache in my skull. Throbbing hard like a constant drum of…
Something.
I come home and open the door. Mom isn't home yet and Dad isn't either, my head is killing me. Pounding over and over like the constant beat of my heart. My steps are unsteady and plodding along lazily as a teetering drunk guy. Up the stairs I go and I hold on to the rail like a lifeline, my legs aching like crazy just trying to move. My muscles pull stiff and I lurch myself through my door, pulling it shut behind me but before I could lie down my limbs go limp.
Blistering pain rockets through my system, the feeling spreads through my entire body. My arms are numb and my legs too. My entire head has that kinda ringing feeling you get after you listen to something really loud but it's through my head. I try to make it back to my room door to get some help, but my legs refuse to move. Heat rises from my body and I at least try to drag myself with my arms but they stalled out too. All I can do is lie on my floor and hope that this is all gonna be over soon.
The constant ringing and pain in my hands almost makes me want to cut them off to make it all stop. I hear a knock on my door and all the sudden I feel it in my brain, hammering though it like a jackhammer through glass.
"Jack?" Dad's voice asks, "Buddy?"
His voice sounds so loud and up close, the ringing doesn't stop and he opens the door, anyway.
"Jesus!" he exclaims, "Kiddo, I gotcha." he picks me up and takes me to my bed, laying me down and putting his hand on my forehead.
"No fever." he says, "Jack, what happened?"
"I… I dunno… dun… no." I moan softly, "Got bit… sp… spider." he gets up. He goes towards the door and says.
"I'm gonna go call your Mo-" I shoot to my feet and bunch my fingers, my pinky and index fingers outstretched and I feel a sudden thing come leaping out from between my knuckles, a gob of white, sticky webbing hits my Dad's hand, binding it to the door.
"Don't tell Mom!" I squeak, "Okay?"
Dad looks at me suspiciously, "A spider did this?" he asks.
"Mm hm." I grunt, falling back onto my stomach as Dad gets his pocket knife out. He cuts himself free and looks at my hands.
"Jack, your hands!" he gasps, "What the…" I look and there's two little holes between my knuckles on my middle and ring fingers. They sit idly and I look back up at my Dad. His brown eyes are full of concern.
"Jack, what happened at Oscorp?" he asks.
"Just… stuff." I say.
"Stuff like a spider bite making you shoot webs?" he asks. I shake my head.
"No, no, no no. It's not just that, just uh… lemme sleep it off, night!" I exclaim, "I'll uh… let you know in the morning!"
Dad reluctantly opens the door, "Right, I'll see ya."
"Night!" I exclaim.
"Night, buddy." he says, "Just uh… don't go too Cirque du Soleil alright?"
"You got it! Yep! Crystal!" I flash him a thumbs up. He grins and shuts the door leaving me to settle back down. All I need to do is figure out how to use these. 'Cause it's weird. All I can think of is how I have these powers now. How I can do anything with them.
I guess this was a miracle after all.
