Authors Note: Some necessary liberties were taken with the origin of Spider-Man in the story, and of course, this is nothing but a fan based derivative based upon the work of Marvel Comics. They own all of the characters and situations presented herein. Now, on with the story.
Activating the pressure-sensitive palm triggers produces a high-pitched "THWIPP" followed by a resounding "SPLACK" as the substance hits the wall. He finds this absolutely fascinating. "This chemical concoction is nothing short of incredible", he thinks to himself. The creation is ejected as a liquid but, when combined with the air, hardens quickly. He pulled the "line" tight from the shooter to the doorway, shocked by both its tactile and adhesive qualities, "Wow", he proclaimed, and pried the line off the wall, stuffing it quickly, along with the wrist shooting mechanisms, into his backpack. "Peter, are you home already?" A gruff voice called from down the hall.
He couldn't risk getting caught like this, not when he was this close. He scanned the room one more time, picking up the small cartridges that connected to the shooting device, and some various paperwork that he knew would come in handy later, once he had managed to slip out of this place, again. He delicately closed the bottom drawer on the dresser; covering back up the area with the folded clothes he had displaced to retrieve the devices. Suddenly, he felt a chill on the back of his neck, and heard the footsteps approaching. The immediacy of his situation just hit him, hard. With that, the kid climbed back out of the window he came through. He didn't bother turning around until he ran two blocks down the street, slipping quietly into a small diner. "I was SO right about this", Michael says to himself as he walks back to the bathroom with the backpack and a sly grin on his face.
(6 weeks earlier)
"Flash, leave him alone, Parker's harmless, yeesh, he's just a bookworm!" Flash Thompson took Liz's words with a grin and a mocking look of disdain. "Aaw, come on, Liz, let me have some fun.. It's only Parker" "No, Flash, come on, we're gonna be late for the Pep Rally". "Oh yeah! See ya later, Puny Parker!" - Flash's words dug deep, but Peter was used to it. God granted him with many gifts, but self-confidence wasn't necessarily one of them. Peter shuffled along towards the Science class, adjusting his glasses along the way. Peter was going to be attending a presentation on the future of Nuclear Power and the safety of the new reactor designs that could be located near residential areas. Thanks to the efforts of Stark Industries, A reactor that used to be the size of a large bus has been reduced down to the size of a laptop computer.
"First, and foremost, I would like to thank the founder and CEO of Stark Industries, Mr. Tony Stark, for, without him, this presentation simply would not be possible. Mr. Stark could, unfortunately, not attend today, however, he has sent along a short, written statement, which I would like to read now".
Dear Friends,
I must apologize in advance for my absence, as I had fully intended to attend this demonstration. I have been asked by several people why I have chosen to have this presentation given at a High School instead of some large press briefing, or fancy hotel room, complete with coffee and Danish. The answer is a simple one; in this room, sits the future of our world. You are the people who will benefit the MOST from these experiments. It is YOUR children who will be living on the Moon, landing on Mars, and going far beyond that which we can even IMAGINE today. It is my hope that you will enjoy this presentation, take what you have learned from it, and, with any luck, you'll be showing up at Stark Enterprises soon enough looking to take my job. (A hushed laugh falls over the room as this line is read) – Good luck to you, my friends. Know that even though I'm not able to attend, I will be toasting to our future. A cleaner future, a brighter future, a future of limitless energy and power, and, hopefully, peace.
Yours Truly,
Tony Stark
CEO, Stark Enterprises.
Once the clapping subsides, Mr. Pinetree takes the small platform in the middle of the room again. The student turnout for this presentation is low, maybe 30 – 35 strong. However, the presence of other "science-types" in the community has increased the total lab population to about 150. A special section has been set-aside for the journalists attending, from publications ranging from Wired Magazine to Green Peace Forum to Popular Science. The no camera / recording rule is strictly in force, though, as is evidenced by a reporter getting booted out of the room when the electronic detectors pick up the EM interference generated by his miniature Digital Video recorder attached to a small camera sewn into his lapel. "GOOD DAY, Mr. Brock!" says Mr. Pinetree as the reporter is scurried out of the room by two of New York's finest.
Once the lights are dimmed, the presentation begins, a 7 minute Computer Generated film is shown projected in "3-D" in the middle of the room, although it contains little of substance, it did focus on one thing that caught Peter Parker's interest. Stark has apparently created a small (the size of a nine volt battery), portable, and completely self-contained radiation containment device, apparently capable of containing radiation leaks as well as a 3 foot lead barrier. Peter didn't understand all of the terminology, but he did pick up something about reverse Gamma Polarity and a pressurized ion-dampening field. Finally, as the presentation ended, two Stark Industries associates inserted their keycards into the Laptop sized devices located on each end of the podium.
Peter closed in on the podium, getting as close as possible in order to get a better view. "Damn these glasses" he thought, cursing his nearsightedness. The first thing that Peter noticed when the generators were activated was an odd vibration in his pocket. It was his PDA / cellular phone. The problem was, it was dead, out of juice, not functioning. In fact, Peter had REMOVED the battery and left in the charger at home this morning, but, still, here it was, vibrating. He slid it out of his pocket and glanced quickly at the screen, which showed that Battery Life was at 100, that the stock market had a record rise that day, and that his Aunt May had tried to call him 3 times, and left 2 voice mail messages. Peter slid the PDA back into his pocket as quickly as it came out, hoping that no one noticed his rather startled reaction.
"It is soon that we will be able to remove ourselves from the confines of batteries, of external power sources, we will truly be a "wireless" society". With that, Mr. Pinetree placed a television in the center of the podium, and cut the power cord cleanly from the rear. Upon activation, to most of the group's amazement, the television powered up! The applause rose to an incredible crescendo as Mr. Pinetree placed some other devices between the generators in the "field", a vacuum cleaner, a microwave, a small portable stereo, and an electric motor. The devices powered on instantly as they were placed into the field, and, as before, the power cords were cut from the back to demonstrate the lack of connectivity as being complete. "Understand that, although still in the highly experimental stage, it is Mr. Stark's belief that with slight modifications, homes could harness this power, as could vehicles, no more going to the gas station, no more replacing of batteries in your favorite handheld device, no more "energy crisis"! The applause roared in the room, the reporters wrote down whatever details they could, but knew that the public, without pictures or television, would probably be quite skeptical.
Suddenly, dangling above the podium, a dark spot glints with a purplish hue, reflecting upon its glossy, shiny surface. As it comes closer to view, it is revealed to be a rather large spider, the surface of its body not entirely glossy, as the spots of brown hair show up as barely perceptible dots lost within the purplish light. Michael Starling's attention is caught, instantly, recognizing it as a Brown Recluse spider. His thoughts start racing through his head. "What the heck is a Loxosceles reclusa doing here?" "That thing looks BIG" "Wow, that web work is incredible, what in the world has that spider been eating?" Michael came here to see the radiation containment field stuff he had heard whispers about on the Internet, he did NOT expect to see a perfect specimen of Brown Recluse, here, in New York, in a SCIENCE LAB? He didn't get it, but he didn't question it, either, instead transfixing his gaze upon the spider as it begins it's low descent towards..
"The arc created between these generators is what pumps the power into these devices you see before you, my friends. This device has the ability to immediately conform itself to the energy requirements of all household devices, while still maintaining a constant power output." One of the Stark associates looks at Mr. Pinetree for acknowledgement and seemingly gets it, as he nods towards the other associate, and their hands move towards the keycards.
Suddenly, without warning, the spider that Michael had been watching, loses grip of its web, and, for the briefest instant, is enveloped in the purplish arc between the two generators. The spider appears suspended there for a moment, as if gravity, itself, has no effect on its light body. Michael sighs as he realizes that there is no way the spider managed to survive that jolt. The spider continues its fall, once again, but manages to spin a web towards the left generator, and swings in an upward arc towards Peter Parker, who is oblivious to what's going on.
Michael inches in closer, as the group continues its applause and Pinetree continues to talk up Stark's invention. The associates remove their keycards, and the houselights are brought back up, Michael watches the spider, which now appears confused, land on Peter Parker's hand, and, bite him.
"OW!" proclaims Peter Parker as he shakes his hand and knocks the spider to the floor. Michael is much too focused on the spider to care at all about the stupid kid who just got bit. "Lucky it wasn't a Black Widow, dude.." Michael mutters to himself, watching the spider scurry off towards the corner of the room. "I NEED that spider", he thinks to himself, realizing that it probably won't live much longer; he still needs to keep it as fresh as possible for preservations sake. Suddenly, it hits him, there is NO way he can even touch that thing, it just got zapped by two devices that are probably putting out enough RADS to make Chernobyl look like nothing more than a day in the park. It doesn't matter, he NEEDS the spider, that thing is going to make him the envy of A LOT of people, especially his parents, who, in his eyes, suffer from chronic "bug-a-phobia".
Michael looks around for a container, ANY sort of container that will hold that thing. Again, as most ideas tend to, it hits him all at once. "The containment field device" Michael understood perfectly the purpose of the device, to generate a negatively charged ion field that will, essentially, keep the radiation contained within a "field" of a size determined by the user. Michael did his homework on this device, or at least the theories behind it, and now realized it was his best chance at getting a hold of the spider. The biggest problem facing him, of course, were the 100 people in the room, along with the four NYPD officers who appeared to flank the doors, 2 at the front and 2 at the rear of the lab.
Michael's attention was diverted, momentarily, by Peter Parker walking slowly by him. Parker wanders off, rubbing his hand, staring upwards in a look of confusion. Michael realizes that this could be the opportunity for diversion he's looking for. As Peter approaches the rear lab door, Michael checks the clock. "Come on, Parker, walk a little slower, I need 30 more seconds here", he thinks. Peter, in his own world, almost seems to oblige Michael as his pace slows on his approach to the door. "15 seconds, come on." – Michael closes in behind Peter and, as Peter approaches the rear lab door, the police step away slightly.
This is it, Michael tosses a quick glance backwards and sees the top of the fur on the spider, who appears to still be moving, although slowly. "5 seconds" Michael thinks, and Peter sways his body towards the door, the police look at him, and one of them asks "Hey, kid, you OK?" Peter responds, "Yeah, I'm fine, just need some air". Then, for Michael, ground zero, the bell rings. Michael turns his head, and using his somewhat "unique" vocal abilities, throws his voice outside the now open door, where a low, foreign voice can be heard saying "Fuego, Fuego, Help, Por Favor!"
"Did someone just shout fire?" asks the one cop to the other? "I dunno, but we need to check it out!" says the other, as they walk outside the door, only to get their path blocked back into the lab by about 1400 eager to leave High School students. The other two cops, seeing those two run out, follow their lead. "Police are so predictable" Michael thinks to himself. Other people seem to notice the commotion, and, like in any good crowd situation, start to flee towards the exit, themselves. Mr. Pinetree gets on the microphone and tries to calm everyone down, but to no avail.
Michael scurries along with the rest of the crowd, but stops over by the podium area. Scanning quickly, he sees what he needs.. "Yep, the size of a nine volt battery alright, now, let's figure this bad boy out, I don't have much time." Michael palms the device and drops it in the deep pocket of his long black leather trench coat. "Ok, now for the spider" Michael walks to the corner, casually noticing the last of the fools scampering out of the room like little bugs. "Ants, actually, well, more termite like" he thinks as he grabs a small plastic container off the counter and uses some chewing gum to place the containment device on the side of it. "Crude, but effective. It better be, or I'm going to be the poster boy for Geiger counter sales" Completing his trio of spider triage accessories, he scoops up several paper towels, to both protect his hand from the spider and to provide an easy way to pick it up.
In the midst of all of the commotion outside, Peter wanders, dazed, towards the street behind the school. Flash Thompson, noticing Parker's somewhat confused look, reacts with his usual, cocky response. "What's wrong, Petey? Study too hard, brain on overload? You're such a loser!" Peter continues to walk slowly, either unaware or not caring about Flash's words. As Flash walks off, Peter's face grows pale as he pulls his now swollen hand up to his face. "Oh my God!" Peter exclaims as he gets his first good look at the now oozing wound.
The two round holes where the spider's fangs bit into Peter's hand have swollen to about ten times their original size. The skin has puffed up around the wound, and become extremely tender to the touch. Puss oozes from the puncture wounds and glistens on the top of them, forming white, pearly beads that almost appear solid. Peter thinks to himself "I've got to get to a doctor, I think that thing was poisonous".
Eddie pressed the pedal down, hard. "Stupid idiots, kick me out of there. Whole damn thing was probably a hoax, anyways." Eddie Brock's car engine roared back in response as he picked up his cellular phone to call his boss and give him the bad news about the Stark presentation. "Yeah, I know.. No sir, Mr. Stark wasn't present… no, I think it's all a big jok… damnit, Osborne, stop yelling at me.. I don't care who you ar.. what? Look, Osborne, don't threaten me.. Wha?.. No, NO! I'll go to Stark, I swear I will.. I'll go to the Bugle, I don't care.. pay me, or else! " With that, Eddie Brock hangs his phone up in disgust and throws it down on the seat below.
The spider bounced back and forth in its new home, wrapped up in Michael's coat. The low hum of the containment field device was pretty well muffled by the thick leather, yet Michael worried it might draw undue attention to himself, so he walked out the long way, around the back of the school, closest to the street. "Like candy from a baby" Michael thought as he continued his brisk, yet calculated walk towards the road ahead.
Peter gave his hand a final studying before he slowly brought it back to his side. Adjusting his glasses, he was unaware of the speeding black car racing towards him. Eddie Brock slammed his fist against the dashboard, still seething over his conversation with Osborne. "Who the hell does he think he is, arguing with me?" "Screw him" Brock thinks as he adjusts the volume on the radio, drowning out the world around him.
Michael's pace quickened, realizing that the commotion he had created had pretty much subsided at this point. His walk was stopped dead in its tracks by a speeding black sports car and a very unaware Peter Parker standing straight in its path. "What the he.." was all Michael could get out as he watched Peter jump out of the way of the speeding vehicle. The car continued on, oblivious as to what just happened. Michael scanned the ground for Peter, wondering if he was O.K. The next several seconds served as an overload of Michael's sensory input, not to mention a severe testing of his logical mind.
The ground in front of the car left little sign of the previous events, except for Peter's now smashed glasses lying on the ground in ruin. Michael checked the grass embankments on either side of the road, and saw no indication he landed there, either. An incredible wave of nausea took over Michael as he considered the very real fact that Peter hadn't gotten out of the way, after all. At that point, something made him look up. The squinting didn't change the image, nor did the rapid blinking. There, sticking to the wall by the palms of his hands was a very alive looking Peter Parker. What made it all the more incredible was the fact that he was CLIMBING the wall with those same hands. Michael stayed perfectly still, trying not to draw attention to himself, as he continued to observe something that, in all reality, shouldn't be possible.
Peter didn't know what made him jump. He certainly didn't see the car coming, and with his entire focus on the pain in his hand, he wasn't listening too intently to the world, either. Eyes still clenched shut, Peter drew in a couple of quick breaths, thinking for sure he was dead. He listened intently for the familiar sounds of the school crowd leaving, and he heard them. However, there was something different about it, they sounded more distant, almost as if he were above them. The next sensation swept him all at once, it was an almost, floating feeling as he realized that his legs were not touching the ground. "Oh my god, I'm dead. I've died, that car hit me and I've died!" Peter opened his eyes.
"My glasses", he thought as a large red blur opened up in front of him. He pulled his head back just a bit and realized the reality of his situation. The large red blur focused tightly into the red brick pattern that served as the exterior façade of the old Davis building next to the school. Peter also realized now why the sounds seemed more distant. He WAS above them, about 150 feet above them. His feet weren't floating, they were dangling – and his eyes? Working with a refined sharpness he had never known before. Peter glanced at each hand and realized that he wasn't gripping anything in particular, but his hands were sticking straight to the brick. Pete looked up and realized that the ledge was only about 8 feet above him, and, instinctually, began to climb up.
Michael watched as Peter Parker effortlessly climbed up the wall, and, grabbing an old standpipe on the roof for support, appeared to crush the thing in his bare hands. The skitter of the Spider against the container brought Michael back to focus, as he watched the last visage of Peter's jacket disappear over the ledge. Michael remained quiet as he backed away from the location, back towards the school, keeping his gaze transfixed on the rooftop of the Davis building. He didn't see Peter again but he knew that what he just witnessed was beyond the realm of any human being's ability.
"Huh?" – That was all Michael could think as he quickly ran through the visions in his mind, the scenes flickering like and old school movie projector. "Parker should be dead… I don't get it.. he should be… FUCKING… DEAD! – There's something wrong here.. something doesn't add up" Michael loses himself in his thoughts for the moment until something jolts him back into reality.
"Kid, whatcha got under the jacket?" – Flash Thompson's intimidating presence loomed large in front of Michael's eyes, nearly blocking out the sun, sinking ever lower into the horizon. "KID! I said WHAT.. DO..YOU..HAVE…UNDER..THE..JACKET?" – Flash smacks Michael upside the head to emphasize the directness of his question. Michael's eyes glance around quickly, trying to find a way out of the situation. Not finding any, he relies on the old fashioned solution, brute force. "Oh, this, Flash? Its nothing. Really. Here, look" – with that, Michael feigns an opening of the jacket with his left and catches Flash's nose with his right. Knocking him down, he plants a couple quick kicks to the ribs for good measure before he takes off running down the road..