The Extraordinary Spider-Man - Vol 1
Chapter 2: Power
Likenesses used
Kathryn Newton as Gwen Stacy
Ross Butler as Kenny Kong
Kyle Massey as Rand Robertson
Bailee Madison as Sally Avril
Hannibal Buress as Coach Andre Wilson
John Woo as Richard Zhao
Jake Johnson as Mr. Grant Johnson
After school that day, Peter entered an abandoned underground parking garage. He didn't even need to take the bus, as his enhanced speed was more than enough to get him there quickly. And he didn't need to worry about anyone else coming in. Setting his backpack on the ground, Peter clenched his fist, admiring it.
"Let's see what else you can do."
Walking towards a pillar, Peter threw a punch, cracking it and sprinkling some particles of concrete. Excited, Peter took another punch, cracking it further. Two more punches were enough to completely break off part of the pillar. Delighted, Peter ran over to another pillar and punched it three times with more force, breaking the middle of it off. He ran to the next pillar and threw a leaping kick, breaking off a part of it. He kicked the damaged pillar again, breaking off most of it.
"WOOOOOH!"
Peter ran up the wall and somersaulted off of it, spinning afterward to kick another pillar. He punched the wall twice, making a hole. He proceeded to rip off more parts of the wall, creating a bigger hole. He walked through it to find an abandoned and dilapidated car. He ran over and pulled out one of the doors, bringing it down to his knee and snapping it in half. He then started lifting the car, bringing it above his head in six seconds. Yelling in excitement, Peter hurled the car at the wall, smashing it. Peter started crawling up the wall, and found himself upside down on the ceiling. His eyes widening, he leaped back to the ground.
"Holy shit, holy shit!"
The next day, before school started, Peter was on his laptop in the school library. Watching and admiring parkour videos on YouTube, Peter smirked.
"What's up, man?"
Peter turned around, seeing Harry walking over. "Oh. Hey, Harry."
"What are you up to?"
"Well, I was watching parkour, but I forgot about that history quiz I have later," Peter quickly explained.
Harry chuckled and sat next to Peter. "Like you have to worry about that. How are you feeling, by the way?"
"Better, thanks. Much better, honestly."
"It still makes me wonder what happened to you in there that made you so sick," Harry wondered. "Mendel was wondering about it yesterday. I just told him a kid got sick, simple as that."
"You're not wrong."
Harry took out his algebra textbook. "Speaking of sick, I'm literally gonna puke. Algebra can kiss my ass."
"What level are you in?" Peter asked.
"Honors. I don't know what I was thinking, other than appeasing my dad."
"Hey, the fact that you got in that level in the first place just shows how smart you are. Be proud," Peter encouraged.
"Thanks. I really have to ask, but is there a single class you struggle in?" Harry asked, genuinely curious.
"I mean, English can get really boring at times. Don't even get me started on home ec-"
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Home ec?"
"My aunt encouraged it. Thought it'd be a new experience."
"Ah."
"You have a favorite class?" Peter asked.
"The only one I even give a shit about is French," Harry said. "As for least favorite, bio's kicking my ass at the moment. And I already mentioned how much I hate math."
"No, you didn't," Peter sarcastically responded.
"Well, it gets worse," Harry admitted. "My algebra teacher literally hates me."
"I'm sure that's not true."
"No, literally. He actually had my dad as a student back in the 70s, and they hated each other."
Peter cringed. "Seriously?"
"Yep. I swear, he gives me the evil eye every time we make eye contact. He also has an attitude whenever I ask him a question."
"Sounds rough."
"Oh, it sucks."
The five-minute warning bell rang, and a majority of the students in the library started packing their things to head to class.
"What's your first class?" Harry asked.
Peter started packing his laptop. "Spanish. What about you?"
"English, but I had my dad call me out. I really need that time to study for my algebra test second period," Harry sighed.
"Look, if you ever need help on algebra or anything, just hit me up," Peter offered.
"I might take you up on that. What math are you in?"
Peter put his backpack on. "Honors geometry."
"Shocker."
"I mean, it's nothing special. It's my last class of the day, yet I still look forward to it."
"Why?"
Peter smiled. "Two words."
"Gwen Stacy?" Mr. Grant Johnson called to the girl raising her hand.
"The number of diagonals is 54, and the sum of the interior angles is 1854."
"Shocker, it's correct!" Mr. Johnson jokingly confirmed, writing the answer on the board.
Peter continuously stared at Gwen Stacy from across the other room. Her long wavy blonde hair, blue eyes, thick orange glasses, it was all beautiful.
"Peter?"
Peter looked up at Mr. Johnson. "Yeah?"
"Can you find the x of this equation?"
"Yeah, it'd be 87.5," Peter quickly answered.
"Right as always, Peter," Mr. Johnson commented, writing the answer on the board.
Peter looked at Gwen, and the two actually made brief eye contact before Gwen's eyes turned away. Peter turned his eyes back to his notes, and Gwen smiled a little to herself.
"Alright, class, now what would 17.-"
The bell started ringing, and everyone started packing their things.
"Guess I lost track of time. Remember, the homework is pages 114-117 in the textbook, and to study for the exam next week!" Mr. Johnson said before going back to his desk.
Peter was among the first to leave the classroom, walking over to the lockers, pretending to be on his phone. Once Gwen walked out the door, Peter watched her walk away. He sighed in sadness, and proceeded to pull up her Instagram page, which he hadn't followed yet. As usual, he started stalking it.
"Alright, people. You all have a choice of either basketball, soccer, or just exercising and doing your own thing. One, two, three, go!" Coach Andre Wilson yelled in gym class that day, quickly clapping his hands.
Peter went over to join the students playing basketball, wanting to test his skills further.
"Great, someone call an ambulance!" Flash remarked. "This dude's gonna get pummeled in three minutes."
Flash's best friend Kenny Kong laughed. "Yeah, Parker, go and do some exercise with the ladies!"
Peter mockingly put on a conflicted face for a few seconds before shaking his head. "Nah, I'm staying here."
Flash shrugged. "Your funeral, dork."
The teams were made, with Peter unsurprisingly being on the opposing one as Flash and Kong. The game started, and Peter ran over and easily grabbed the ball. In two seconds, he leaped with grace and threw the ball in the net, instantly shocking everyone.
"Holy shit, nice!" one of Peter's teammates exclaimed, high fiving him.
"Dude, what's he on?" Kong asked a shocked Flash.
Peter proceeded to throw another ball in the basket, and it became an ongoing pattern of him easily taking the ball and making baskets. His sticky hand certainly came in handy.
"Sorry, bro!" Peter apologized as he lept over someone from the opposing team, taking the ball from him in the process.
He made another basket, causing his team to cheer. Kong managed to run and grab the ball, dribbling it towards the other basket. Peter easily caught up, getting in front of him.
"Don't they call you King Kong? Man, live up to your name!" Peter trolled as he grabbed the ball from Kong.
Peter ran with the ball over to the other basket, where Flash tried to ambush him. Flash managed to grab the ball, but struggled to pry it off of Peter's sticky hand. Smacking Flash aside with his shoulder, Peter ran and threw the ball in.
"Shit!" Flash yelled as he hit the ground.
"Oh, dude! Ouch!" Kong commented, running over.
Coach Wilson ran over. "Thompson! You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Flash muttered as Kong helped him up. "It was Parker's fault, though."
Peter held up his hands. "Total accident."
"Say, Parker, it looks like you've been really holding out on us! I haven't seen anyone play like that in years!" Coach Wilson complimented.
"Oh, thanks, coach!" Peter replied, intentionally stretching.
"Yo, coach!" Rand Robertson called out, walking over with crutches and a cast on his leg. "I think we've found my replacement for the Halloween game!"
"You read my mind!" Coach Wilson exclaimed. "How 'bout it, Peter? I know it's a bit last minute, but you were amazing! We're going against Lincoln on Friday, and they're not exactly known to be easy. As you can see, Rand got a pretty nasty injury, and we could really use another linebacker."
"Yeah, that was awesome, Pete!" Liz praised as she walked over with her best friend, fellow cheerleader, and Rand's girlfriend Sally Avril.
"Whoa, whoa, football is not the same as basketball!" Flash protested. "It was probably just dumb luck or some shit like that!"
"But you gotta admit his reflexes and throws are impressive. His speed alone is a huge advantage. Also, I'll be the first to say it, but when'd you get so jacked?" Kong observed.
"Yeah, when did you start working out, Parker?" Coach Wilson asked, with Liz, Sally, and Rand looking shocked as well. Flash rolled his eyes.
"Honestly, Pete, you really should do sports more!" Sally suggested.
Peter chuckled as he rubbed his head. "Maybe I will!"
Coach Wilson turned to Peter. "So it's settled? You'll take Rand's place for the game?"
Peter looked at Liz, Rand, and Sally's hopeful looks. He turned to see Flash's annoyed expression, as well as Kong's visible interest.
"Sure. Why not?"
"Awesome! Come to practice after school and show us what else you got!" Coach Wilson instructed before walking away.
Flash groaned and walked away, while Kong put his hand on Peter's shoulder. "Welcome to the team, brother!"
Peter had an amused expression on his face. "Sorry, weren't you just shitting on me about ten minutes ago?"
"Well, that was before I realized you could help us beat Lincoln's ass!" Kong justified.
"Make me proud, brother," Rand requested, holding out his fist.
Peter returned the fist bump. "Will do!"
"This place never gets old," Peter admitted with a mouthful of chicken fried rice.
Uncle Ben had taken Peter and Aunt May to the most popular Chinese restaurant in downtown Queens. Empire Tianlong definitely had a reputation, if Yelp's 4.8 star rating wasn't already an indicator of that.
"I swear, we've been taking you here since you were five," Aunt May said. "I still remember you falling in love with the egg rolls even then."
"Loved them then and love them now," Peter declared, grabbing an egg roll. "Don't get me started on how crazy Uncle Ben gets over the mongolian beef."
"Well, you can't blame me," Uncle Ben responded. "Pass me the sweet-and-sour chicken, please."
Peter complied. "So, I have big news for both of you."
"You got kicked out of the honor roll for drugs?" Uncle Ben joked.
Aunt May laughed, and Peter chuckled. "Not yet, still working on that! But this Friday, I'm gonna be playing for the football team!"
Aunt May's jaw dropped while Uncle Ben had an amused expression on his face.
"You both heard that correctly."
"Don't take this the wrong way, but football?" Uncle Ben asked.
"Yeah! Coach saw me in class today and he wants me to take over for some injured kid on the team!"
"Whoa, whoa, slow down, buddy," Uncle Ben started.
"After school, I went to practice. After only a couple minutes, they took me in."
"Well, I don't know what to say!" Aunt May exclaimed. "Except 'wow.'"
"Isn't this gonna be great? For once, I actually get to impress people! Nerdy loser Peter Parker becomes the football savior!" Peter excitedly blurted out. "I could probably show Flash up, get the girls from him."
"Pete, don't get me wrong, I'm excited. But, are you really doing this just to impress the cheerleaders and look like an athlete?" Aunt May asked.
"I mean, of course. But, the new experience would also be cool. All I've been doing at these games is taking pictures for the school paper and interviewing some of the players and the coach. I'll never forget how braggy Flash got in one edition," Peter sighed.
"That's a fair point. Just make sure not to drown in any huge attention you gain," Aunt May warned.
"I got to agree. We'll be there at the game, Peter," Uncle Ben promised. "Just make sure not to lose sight of who you actually are."
"Will do."
"You said the game is this Friday? That's Halloween! Who's gonna stay home and pass out the candy?" Aunt May worried.
"Who says anyone has to?" Uncle Ben started. "All we have to do is leave a bag of candy outside and-"
"And the first few kids will practically take the whole bag," Aunt May interrupted. "Look, maybe one of us can-"
"Hell no, you're both gonna be there. It's my football debut! Please!" Peter pleaded.
Aunt May sighed. "Fine."
At that point, owner Richard Zhao walked over, smiling at the three. "If it isn't my favorite customers! How are you guys doing?"
"We're great, Richard! Thanks for asking," Uncle Ben responded with a smile.
"Yeah, this food always gets better and better," Aunt May admitted.
"Oh, thank you so much! I'm in my seventies and it's great to know I still have it!" Richard exclaimed. "Peter, you've gotten much bigger! How's high school?"
"It's alright! Nothing special," Peter said.
"I felt the same way when I was your age. But believe me, it gets far more exciting later on. I still remember serving your aunt and uncle when they were in high school," Richard reminisced.
Peter shot a shocked look at his aunt and uncle. "I never knew you guys came here for this long."
"Indeed, they have! Anyway, I'm gonna let you folks enjoy your meal! Thanks again for coming!"
"Alright, thank you!" Uncle Ben thanked with a wave.
"What he said!" Aunt May followed.
"Okay, you guys have always either made excuses or refused to say anything whenever I ask about your past or how you met," Peter pointed out. "Can I finally hear the story?"
"Peter-" Aunt May started.
"Please! If you don't tell me, I'm not gonna stop bugging you guys about it!"
"At this point, why not?" Uncle Ben agreed. "As you know, I was quite a nerd in high school. I still had a good amount of friends, and luckily, I didn't get picked on that much. I remember knocking some punk's teeth out for telling me my Aerosmith shirt made me look like a dumbass. It's safe to say that freshman and sophomore year were quite boring."
"And?" Peter prodded.
"And junior year was when I started staring at May Reilly all the time. May, you want to interject and tell Pete your dark and twisted history?"
Aunt May chuckled. "Okay. I was a year above Ben, and I barely knew who he was. I used to be a huge bookworm, but senior year, I joined the cheer team and started smoking pot with them. All I did after that was hang out with the football team, skipping classes a lot. Midtown was much different back then, and all we did was challenge authority. Does Mr. Bromwell still teach there?"
"Yeah. History, right?" Peter asked.
"Yep. If you want, ask him about the 1980 red pen incident. That was all my fault. Anyways, I grew interested in this one guy who was involved in criminal activities, specifically robbery and assault. I didn't care, and I started seeing him. Stupid May didn't realize that the guy was a bad influence, and eventually, he ended up accidentally killing someone at an armed robbery. Ben witnessed the whole thing happen, and ran over to my house to warn me."
Aunt May stopped before sniffling a little, wiping away a tear.
"May, are you okay? Do you need to stop?" Peter asked in concern.
"No, it's alright. Anyway, the guy tried breaking in, and Ben ran outside and took him out. He held me until the cops arrived, and spent the night. Since then, we've stuck together, as you can clearly see," Aunt May explained. "It all seems like it was yesterday."
"Gee, Uncle Ben. Never knew you could kick ass," Peter joked. "Jokes aside, this is all really touching to hear. Interesting as well."
"Thank you. And if you ever worry about a potential long distance relationship, don't. You already know that Ben went to UIUC, but I stayed in New York to study marketing at Hofstra," Aunt May continued. "We got through it, even if there were a few bumps in the road every now and then. Then again, when are there not? Look where we are today! We're raising you, we're making good money, and-"
"Uhh, yeah, there's something I have to talk to you guys about," Uncle Ben interjected. "You're both probably wondering why I brought you here."
"To have amazing Chinese food?" Peter guessed.
"Well… yes. But, I figured it'd be easier for you both to take the news when you have fried rice and chow mein noodles stuffed in your mouths."
Concern started going through Aunt May's eyes. "Ben, what's going on?"
"I… I… our manager told us the other day that there's been a lot of budget cuts and a significant loss of business with the company. They couldn't afford to keep me and a dozen other guys on the payroll anymore."
Peter's jaw dropped while Aunt May covered her mouth in disbelief.
"I'm sorry, guys."
"Don't be, Ben. You were one of their best guys! Their loss," Aunt May assured.
"Agreed. That's a bunch of bullshit right there," Peter muttered.
Aunt May raised an eyebrow. "Language, Peter."
"It's fine, May. I'm upset about this as much as you guys are. But I promise we're gonna be fine," Uncle Ben swore. "I just need to find another job soon."
"Should I go back to work? It's been several years, but I think I still got it," Aunt May pondered.
"For now, no. I'm gonna look online more. There should be some good openings," Uncle Ben replied.
"I mean, I should try and get a job. I know I'm fifteen, but there's got to be a handful of stuff I can do," Peter suggested.
Uncle Ben shook his head. "Don't worry about it, sport. We're gonna be okay. Speaking of sports, you better not disappoint us at the game this Friday."
"Oh, I think I'll do okay."
"PETER! PETER! PETER!"
The bleachers were stacked with students and faculty, with the majority of them dressed in Halloween costumes. In the front row of the family section, Aunt May and Uncle Ben were cheering their nephew on, along with most of the crowd. The scoreboard currently displayed a score of 78 for Midtown in comparison to Lincoln's mere 9. In his green-and-gold uniform, Peter couldn't stop beaming as he ran with the football, charging to the opposite end zone. Four Lincoln players chased him to no avail.
"PETER! PETER! PETER! PETER! PETER!"
Peter jumped onto the end zone, landing on his stomach, as the crowd erupted, going absolutely wild.
"PETER PARKER SCORES HIS FOURTH TOUCHDOWN, WINNING THE GAME FOR MIDTOWN SCIENCE HIGH SCHOOL 84-9! GO MIDTOWN MUSTANGS!" the announcer excitedly yelled over his microphone.
Everyone was cheering and clapping, and the Midtown players started running over to tackle Peter, yelling and embracing him in joy.
"Holy shit, Parker! You did it!" Kong shouted in joy, lifting Peter up with his fellow players.
"Fucking killed it, dude!"
"Such a beast, Peter!"
"Hell yeah!"
"I'll admit, Parker. You really made us look good," Flash admitted. "Great job, dude."
"Thanks a lot, guys!" Peter yelled as he was carried off the field by the other players.
Rand came over with the cheerleaders. "You didn't disappoint me, bro! Amazing job out there!"
"Pete, you were amazing!" Liz exclaimed. "We're all going out for pizza after this, you want to come?"
"Hell yeah!" Peter called out, spotting his aunt and uncle proudly walking towards the football players. "Hey, guys, can you let me down quickly? My folks are here!"
The players happily complied, and Peter ran over to hug his aunt and uncle. "What'd you guys think?"
"What'd we think? Peter, your aunt kept hollering 'That's my nephew!' every time you made a touchdown!" Uncle Ben stressed. "You did amazing!"
"Seriously, Peter! You really blew us away!" Aunt May delightfully said. "We're so proud of you!"
Peter took his helmet off. "Thanks, guys! Means a lot! Look, the team wants to go out and get pizza. Is it cool if I go?"
Uncle Ben nodded. "Absolutely. Have fun, Peter."
"Don't do anything stupid!" Aunt May warned.
Peter laughed and waved, heading back to the football players and cheerleaders.
A half hour later, Peter, Flash, Liz, Rand, Kong, Sally, and a few other football players and cheerleaders were at a Pizza Hut, laughing and celebrating.
"Parker, I can't believe I'm saying this again, but I'm really impressed," Flash praised.
"Seriously? Thanks, dude," Peter chuckled, reaching for another slice of pizza. "Didn't know I had it in me."
"Dude, after gym class, that's when I knew you were holding out on us," Rand said. "Great job, dude."
"Yeah, seriously, you winning for us isn't something the school's gonna forget for a while," Kong promised, patting Peter on the back.
Liz held out her glass. "To Peter, everyone!"
Peter blushed while everyone else held out their glasses. Peter did so as well, and everyone except him chanted, "To Peter!"
"Thanks a lot, guys! I never could've guessed all of this would've happened," Peter stressed. "Someone's gotta pinch me."
The table laughed.
"You know, Pete, this actually just reminded me of when you asked me out in the eighth grade!" Sally said.
"Hoo hoo, Parker's trying to steal my girl!" Rand joked.
Everyone started laughing, while Peter blushed, chuckling to himself a little.
"Damn, Pete, you had guts," Liz admitted.
"Yeah, well, look at you now, Pete! You legit had the coolest turnaround," Sally laughed.
Peter put down his slice. "Oh, thanks!"
Flash looked over Peter's muscular physique. "Dude, you have to tell us what your workout routine is. You got ripped as hell."
"Where do you go, dude?" Kong asked.
Peter shrugged as a look of pride went through his eyes. "I just started eating well, including all the green vegetables. Worked out everyday, all that cardio and chest stuff."
"Well, if any of us did that everyday, I still doubt we'd even be able to take on Crusher Hogan," Flash hypothesized.
"Dude, did you see what he did to that guy's legs last week?" one of the other football players asked.
"Tell us unless you literally want to scar us for life," another football player responded.
"My older brother told me about him. Jesus, the guy's never even lost a match," one of the cheerleaders mentioned.
"Who-who's Crusher Hogan?" Peter asked.
"Oh, dude, he's the best underground cage fighter in New York! He's literally been fighting for over a decade! Barely anyone's ever gotten a hit on him!" Kong raved.
"Yeah, they're offering five thousand dollars to whoever can last even five minutes with him in the ring!" Flash exclaimed. "I've been there a couple times, and it's always the most brutal thing ever."
"Then what's the point of all that? No one's ever gonna beat him," Liz said.
Peter smirked as he sprinkled crushed peppers on his pizza, with an obvious idea flowing through his head.
"Shit, we're losing more men!"
"Fuck, I'm hit!"
"No! They're overwhelming us!"
"Gargan!"
Lying on the ground, Mac struggled to get up, as smoke and bullets kept passing the air. Explosions were repeatedly heard in the background, as well as the bloodcurdling cries of his friends and comrades.
"G-God!" Gargan yelled, as he grasped his wounded arm.
Gargan reached for his rifle and grabbed it, shooting in front of him to no avail. To his horror, a grenade landed right next to him.
"Mac!" one of the other soldiers yelled, running over to him.
The soldier bravely grabbed the grenade and threw it away, only for it to explode a few feet in front of him, knocking him back.
"NOOO!" Mac yelled. "NOOOO-"
Mac woke up, startled. Panting heavily, he got out of bed, rubbing his face. Sweating, Max turned to Carmilla, who was luckily still asleep. Groaning, the shirtless Mac left the bedroom, going outside to take a walk.
In an isolated and closed-off laboratory at Oscorp Tower, Norman Osborn observed and admired a huge web of forty genetically modified spiders on the wall. Mendel entered the lab at that point.
"Norman, I've been hearing much more about the Super Scorpion experiment that Hammer's running. I'm really starting to question whether we should be worried. The enhancer they're using, as well as the genetic experimentation and calculations, it's rivalling what we've been working on!" Mendel panicked.
Norman turned around, unfazed. "I'm going to stop you right there, Mendel. Yes, I won't deny that Hammer's work on enhancing the human race, particularly with scorpion DNA, is impressive. However, you just keep forgetting that we're better. Would you say you're losing confidence?"
"We-well, no! It-it's just that I think there's a lot they got going for and-"
"Mendel. The experiment will go however it goes. But let me say this with confidence. Everything's going to be okay."
Mendel gulped. "Yes, sir."
Norman turned back to the spiders. "Beautiful little things, aren't they?"
"Sir, I thought we only experimented on sixteen."
"We did. But the results have been getting much better. There's a lot more promise."
"But what if one or two were to go free? What if there was some freak accident that took all these spiders out?" Mendel asked with his heart pounding.
"If any of them got lost, it'd be a real shame. But on the other hand, look at what we have now," Norman mused. "After that little experiment of his, Hammer Industries won't hold a candle to Oscorp."
Disclaimer: Spider-Man and any other Marvel characters are created and owned by Stan Lee and Marvel Comics. I do not have any ownership over them.
Here I am with the second chapter of "The Extraordinary Spider-Man." Still building up the origin story quite a bit, but I promise it'll get much more exciting. I'm glad and thankful for all the support I've received thus far!
By this point, you guys have most likely noticed the references from other Spider-Man mythos I put in. Hopefully, you guys also appreciate the originality I've thrown in as well! I've been planning out how the entire story will go from now to its conclusion, and let me say, if you stick around… you're in for something very different yet familiar, and a Spider-Man series that'll really relate with you and test your emotions.
That's the goal I plan on reaching with this story overall. Until then, thanks again for reading, and I'll be back around next week for the third chapter! Likes, follows, and reviews are always appreciated! P.S. I know nothing about sports, especially football, so I did my best here lol.
-redbird12