CHAPTER 3: Changes
Peter woke up early the next morning. When he opened his eyes, he realized that his vision was perfect. He looked at his end table, and his glasses were lying there. He got up and looked in the mirror. He liked not having those cumbersome glasses on his face. I could get used to this, Pete thought to himself.
Peter stumbled into the bathroom. Once he removed his t-shirt, he was greeted by his second surprise of the morning. Peter's once lanky, awkward body had transformed. He could see the outlines of his abdominal and pectoral muscles. His biceps were at least twice as big! Yeah, I could DEFINITELY get used to this, Peter thought to himself again.
Once he had gotten showered and dressed, Peter grabbed his backpack and rushed out the door. I'm so late! Peter thought to himself. He just ran down the street, not paying attention to where he was going. All of a sudden, his head began to have a buzzing feeling. What the hell? Peter wondered to himself. Eventually, the buzzing became too strong and Peter flinched out of the way. His timing was impeccable, as a minivan was backing out of the driveway. If Peter hadn't flinched, the minivan would've hit him. That was lucky, Peter thought.
The school day was largely uneventful until study hall in the library. Peter was engulfed in a book about the potential of gamma radiation. He was so into it that he didn't even notice Flash and his lackeys coming up behind him. Flash sat down next Peter, and his guys stood behind Peter, creating a circle around him. Flash snatched the book away from Peter and casually tossed it across the room.
"Go away, Flash," Peter murmured, almost inaudibly. "Just…just leave me alone."
Flash and his gang leaned in closer. "What's that now, Parker?" Flash asked him.
"I…I said, 'go away,'" Peter responded in an even quieter voice. Peter tried to get up, but one of Flash's friends placed a firm hand on his shoulder.
"You know, Peter, you almost got us into a lot of trouble with the crap you pulled on the field trip," Flash said menacingly.
Peter glared at him. "The crap I pulled?! What about you?!"
"Well, well," Flash started, "Looks like Puny Parker does have a temper. You listen here, Parker. If you hadn't been such a girl about that spider, me and Kong wouldn't be serving a week's worth of detention."
"Maybe you should've thought of that before you acted like an ass," Peter replied, becoming more indignant by the moment.
Flash grabbed him by his shirt collar. "What'd you call me?"
"An ass," Peter replied shakily. "You know, the thing you sit on all day."
Flash took a swing at Peter. The buzzing began again, and Peter managed to move out of the fist's path. Peter then grabbed Flash's other arm and flipped Flash over the table. Flash got back up and shoved the table out of the way. He then ran at Peter, throwing punches left and right. Each time, the buzzing would go off in Peter's head, and Peter would dodge every attack. Eventually, Flash tried to land a huge right hook. The buzzing occurred again, and Peter leaped vertically into the air. Peter almost hit his head on the ceiling of the library. Flash, meanwhile, put too much energy into his punch and was unable to stop his momentum. Flash went stumbling forward before colliding with the large bookcase. The large reference books on the top shelves began to wobble and fell on top of Flash. Once Peter landed, Flash's lackeys looked at each other and then ran away.
Peter went over to the pile of books to see if Flash was okay. "Flash, you alright in there?" Peter began to push books out of the way.
Soon, Peter was able to see Flash under the books. When Flash saw Peter, he stood up quickly before stammering, "Get away from me, Parker! You're some kind of freak!" Flash then sprinted out of the library, leaving Peter there to clean up the pile of books.
Doctor Curt Conners was a popular professor at Empire State University. However, his students don't realize how many demons the good Doctor was hiding. Curt was divorced, and custody was given to his ex-wife. He had lost him arm in the Vietnam War. Curt was also an alcoholic. Yet despite these things, his students love him. There was an energy about him that lights up the classroom and the laboratory. One of Curt's favorite students was Edward Brock Jr., the son of Edward Brock Sr. who was a former colleague of Curt.
Curt was plugging data in a supercomputer when Eddie Brock entered the lab. Curt knew it was him because only Eddie Brock would come to the lab this early in the morning. "You know," Doctor Conners started, "The suit won't be any different than it was yesterday."
Eddie chuckled from across the room. "I know, Dr. Conners, but I have to try, you know?"
"Look," Dr. Conners explained, "There's not much we can do right now. It looks like your father only has half of the notes on the suit. Maybe the other half was with Richard Parker, maybe it was given to Trask. Hell, it could even have been on the plane with them when…" he trailed off, realizing that he was going too far.
Eddie opened the locker labeled 'BROCK.' He walked over to Dr. Conners with the beaker in hand. "I know, I know. But they were so close, you know! I mean, they were already working on Phase 2, strength-enhancement!"
"It is upsetting," Dr. Conners agreed. "But you can't finish a puzzle with only half of the pieces. Now, come over here. I'd like to show you my latest idea."
Eddie saw a large machine in the far corner of the room. It looked like a futuristic phone booth with wires and tubes coming from it. There was a large wire that was linked to a glass container. Inside the container was a small lizard.
"It's a basilisk lizard," Dr. Conners explained. "What do you think?"
Eddie continued to study the machine before him. "It's very nice…what is it?"
"This is my fame and fortune. As you know, there are few things more regrettable in my life than losing my arm. If I can get this machine to work, I can replace my arm and help anybody else who has lost a limb!"
"That's great, Dr. Conners," Eddie replied, "But what about mechanical replacements? You know, bionic limbs and stuff."
"Oh come on, Eddie. You and I both know that mechanical parts are no replacement for the real thing!" Dr. Conners responded enthusiastically. "Now, allow me to explain. A subject enters that pod. The machine then takes a sample of DNA from the patient and the lizard. It runs them both through a speedy analysis before preparing a solution. Now, what this solution will do is temporarily give the patient the lizard's uncanny ability to re-grow limbs. The solution is then transformed into a gaseous form, and it is ventilated into the pod. The patient inhales the gas, and, hopefully, re-grows their missing limb!"
"That sounds awesome, Dr. Conners," Eddie replied, "But how do you know it'll work?"
Dr. Conners looked at him and smiled, "Simple, Eddie. I'm testing it at the end of the month."