[GROWING PAINS] ARC

Chapter 6:

Web of Mystery

Last night, you successfully recreated the adhesive applicators from the diagrams and schematics left to you by your father, Richard Parker. Their quality isn't great, but they work. Probably. You haven't had a chance to test them fully as you have nothing to put into them, but their mechanisms seem to work. You stored them along with the bag and hard drive before heading to bed.

Another late night and lack of sleep doesn't help and when the alarm goes up, you're blearily shaking yourself awake. You need to sleep, but you have things to do today.

Down below, Aunt May calls for you to wake up.

You get up and drag yourself through the motions of getting ready. Eventually, after double-checking everything's done right, you head on downstairs and grab yourself a quick breakfast. Aunt May spares you a worried glance before kissing you on the cheek.

"I know you're working hard, Peter, but do try to get some rest. I'll be over at Anna's again. We're helping her out right now."

She gives you a sly grin. "But I'm not going to ruin the surprise!"

You nod and shamble out the door and head to the bus stop. You sit and wait for the bus. You feel like the walking dead. When the bus finally arrives, you board it and sit next to Harry, who gives you a concerned look.

"Hey, Pete, I know you like to nerd out and everything and stay up late sometimes, but are you okay? You don't look good."

You give him a glance and nod, yawning. "Yeah, just trying to make sure that my lessons for tutoring were good."

He nods. "That's cool and all, but don't overdo it. Maybe you should go rest in the nurse's office?"

You give him a non-committal shrug and lay your head back and nod off for the rest of the trip, trying not to brush off Harry, but you're father's note still bothering you. Harry shakes you awake when you arrive, but you're still exhausted. You shamble to your locker and get your books but, yawning, you consider the merits of Harry's idea, too.

You sit through Chemistry class with Mr. Lee, Harry shooting you a concerned look and even Gwen giving you a look. When the class ends, Mr. Lee calls you over. "Mr. Parker, are you feeling alright?"

You give him a weak grin. "A little bit under the weather, I think I might go see the nurse."

He gives you a nod and you walk to the nurse's office. When you arrive, the nurse gives you a look. "What's wrong?"

"Not feeling well. Was hoping to rest for a little to see if I feel better."

She gives you a look over and nods. "Alright. Sign in and take a cot."

You nod and take the cot furthest away. You drift off to sleep.

You only let yourself miss an hour or two, setting your wrist-watch's timer for two hours from now. That's only be two periods, one of which being gym. You drift off to a fitful sleep on the uncomfortable cot.

You wake up to your watch's alarm and get up, yawning. You stretch and look around, but apparently the nurse has stepped out. You want some coffee to help get you fully up to speed, but you don't know of where to get some. Except for perhaps Mr. Lee.

But nobody touches Mr. Lee's coffee. Nobody. Its one of the few things that can ruin the man's mood.

You shrug and go to lunch. You sit next to Harry who gives you a look. "You look better. Not great, but better."

You nod and eat your lunch before getting a bit more of a nap in. You power through the rest of the day. When you head to your locker, you see Gwen there, looking worried. You walk up and she looks around before murmuring quietly.

"Are you alright? Is something… wrong?"

You look at the worried Gwen before realizing what she must mean. She's worried that the spiders bite is finally taking its toll. That some negative reaction is now happening to you.

You shake your head. "No, it isn't that. I've…

"No, it isn't that. I've been working on a few projects, trying to distract myself from a few things I've noticed at home recently. I could use your help actually, with the current project and as someone to talk to if you have some time."

She nods, brushing a lock of hair out of her eyes. "Well, if nothing else, it should at least let us talk."

You nod and open up your locker, grabbing your backpack and putting your books and notebooks into it. "I'm good to go, so whenever you're ready."

"I've got to stop by my locker, but then we can head to your place, Peter."

You follow behind and make some small talk as she stops by her locker and grabs her backpack. When the two of you leave the building, she pulls out her cell phone. "Just a second, calling my dad."

She calls a number and waits. After a few moments she lets out a sigh. "Yeah, this is Gwen, dad. I'm going to be over at Peter Parker's place, so whenever you get this message you'll know to call my cell, alright?"

She hangs up and she turns to you with a sarcastic tone as the two of you walk. "Best part of having a police Chief dad, he's always busy with work, eh?"

She shakes her head, rubbing at the bridge of her nose. "That stupid Black Cat thing's been keeping him in the office as Jameson's been throwing a fit over it. I mean, yeah, he has the right to get protection, but he's almost been harassing the police. God, I hope they catch that guy. Who knows what Jameson will do if the police fail to catch the unmatchable burglar."

She lets out a sigh. "Well, that's what things have been like with me. Sorry for being unavailable, but at least I got some time with my dad last night."

You nod, not really knowing how to respond but listen all the same. When the two of you arrive at your house, you unlock the door to an empty house. Seems like Aunt May is still busy and Uncle Ben will be with her.

It'll be… just you and Gwen at your house, tonight. It's all business, though, Peter. Just keep calm.

You close your eyes and let out a deep breath. There's serious matters to discuss here.

"You know how I live with my Aunt and Uncle? Well, in a way, I got a chance to spend some time with my dad as well two nights ago."

She gives you a confused look as you head towards the basement and open the door. "And that relates to what's been happening with us, too. So, follow me, I don't really want to pull the things I found out of down here if I can help it. Also, be sure to get the door behind you."

She nods and follows you, closing the door behind her. The two of you head down into your father's lab. While it was probably originally meant to be a chemistry lab, there's other stuff here, too. Like the metal working machines that were originally your father's left to you, and the computer area. It's more of a general workroom, though it does have safety features, such as a safety shower and ventilation that are regularly taken care of by you and your uncle.

Honestly, sometimes this room is where you spend most of your day if you can help it. Gwen looks around. "Peter, what is this place?"

ou give a weak grin. "This is… was my dad's lab. Most of the equipment is still here but the chemicals have been gotten rid of by my Uncle for safety. But this isn't what I wanted to show you."

You head over to the secret compartment and open it, pulling out your father's bag, the hard drive, and the bag of your Adhesive Applicators. Hmm you really need a better name for those.

"I found some stuff of my dad's an made these last night. They're a way to apply a sort of bio-degradable organic adhesive that my dad cooked up. But, that's not what I wanted to show you."

You gesture towards the bag and hard drive after setting down the Applicators.

"I found these two days ago, in this secret compartment. Its been untouched, probably since before my Dad's death. He left what he and his friend were working on to me. All of his notes and blueprints and formulas."

You give her a weak grin as you go to get the key to unlock the bag. When you get it open, you slide over the note to her. "My dad's final message to me, left in secret."

She picks it up, careful to keep the torn bit where it belongs. After a few seconds she looks at you, horrified. "Peter, what this implies…"

You shake your head, a grim look on your face. "Possibly. But there's no way to prove it. Norman Osborn's a corporate giant after all. He'll have covered up anything that could obviously lead to him and he has enough money and clout to make problems disappear."

You let out a deep sigh, resting your face in your hands. "This is opening a lot of old wounds for me. I'm glad I can get to know my dad a little better through this. But, if this is true- If my parents were…"

You shake your head, eyes narrowing.

"I'm going to have to find that out. To expose what really happened and make sure those responsible end up behind bars where they can never, never do this again."

You look over at Gwen, giving her a sad smile.

"I'm really sorry for laying all of this on you Gwen, but you're about the only person I really trust right now."

Gwen looks at you, pity and sorrow and something else amongst the emotions on her face. "Peter-"

She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. When she opens her eyes, it's like she's shoved her emotions behind an iron wall as she stares at you, watching you carefully.

"…What are you saying, Peter?"

You close you eyes and think about it. What are you saying?

There's a lot you want to say to her, a lot you could say, but at this point…

Ultimately, there's only one answer that rings true.

You open your eyes and look at Gwen determinedly.

"I'm going to do -Everything- I can to find out the truth. I won't be able to rest until I know, one way or the other."

You stare at her unwavering. "Norman Osborn's influence is strong enough that -IF- he was behind it, he made my parents along with my Dad's friend go away and make it look like an accident. And if that's true, then he's extending that leeway over to Smythe, too. They're able to break the law and cover it up- and they're able to do it well enough for nobody to know that it happened."

You let out a sigh, shaking your head. "I'd love to be able to just go to the police and tell them, honestly I would, but even if they believed me, there's nothing tangible that I have that can be used as evidence."

You give Gwen a grim smile. "I still think about 'what if something happens and I have to go to the hospital.' There's no way that the hospital wouldn't be able to tell that there's something wrong with me because of that spider's bite and from there it's probably not too hard for them to hear about it and that's it. I'm done for.

"I don't want that fear always to be weighing over my head for the rest of my life, Gwen."

You rub at the bridge of your nose with your index finger and thumb. "I'm not asking you to get involved Gwen. But- I can't sit by and do nothing. I'd understand if you don't want anything more to do with me, but…"

You shrug. "I'm not going to standby and do nothing."

Gwen stares at you silently, but she's masking what she's thinking well. You wait for her to reply, but you don't look away. Eventually she shakes her head, an exasperated look on her face.

"Peter… I'd like nothing more to do than to ring Osborn's or Smythe's doorbell and throttle and answer out of them… but I, especially, can't. If I was caught doing something like that, my father- his career…"

She shakes her head. "I can't do anything like that. But I'm not going to let you do this alone. You'd let things build up and build up without saying a word until it's almost too much to handle."

You open your mouth to protest but she holds up a hand. "Flash. That's enough of an example I think, and he's -not- a millionaire with dark secrets and power whose son is your best friend. I can do my best to keep an ear open, as the Chief of Police's daughter I do hear things, after all. Not to mention, within a week, you're already falling to pieces.

"Somebody's got to make sure you don't bite off too much to chew, even if it's just giving you a hand here or there so you don't exhaust yourself on some project to keep your head clean because you're bottling up things and don't have anyone to talk to about it."

Gwen look at you over the rim of her glasses, waiting for a reply.

You stare at her, taking in the enormity of what's she's doing for you. You're absolutely in shock.

"…I don't know what to say."

She raises her eyebrow and you shake your head, a smile on your face. "Thanks, Gwen."

You raise a finger. "Though, I'll have you know that I was coping just fine until I found my Dad's old stuff. So it really only took a day or two for me to fall to pieces.

"...what was I even trying to argue?"

You give her a wry grin, admitting the point as she lets out a chuckle, trying to keep the same look on her face. "..Could you stop with The Look? Please?"

She laughs harder, unable to keep up her stern look. "Alright, alright. Fine. But now I know it works on you."

You let out a sigh as Gwen pulls out a small notebook. "So, let's make note of things, especially since we have somewhere to store notes safely now."

She nods towards the secret compartment. "Firstly, who is this Carl?"

You blink. "Carl? Oh, that's Carl Brock. He's the father of Eddie Brock, who is currently a journalist at-

"The Daily Bugle. Yeah, I've met the guy and my dad talks about him all the time, though its always complaining. I kinda feel bad for him. He's always trying to interview my father on something his boss has assigned him, but he never lucks out. He's polite enough, especially considering that my dad doesn't like journalists."

You nod your head, glad to hear something good about your old friend.

Gwen looks around. "Alright, so now that my curiosity is settled there, you seem to be involved in several things here, Peter. What do you want to start with?"

You raise an eyebrow and think of something. You walk over to Gwen and give her a hug as she stiffens in surprise. "Thank you. Honestly, I owe you a lot more than this hug that I'll ever be able to repay. Your support means a lot to me, Gwen."

"Y-yeah, no problem, P-Peter."

She hesitantly hugs you back and you let go, looking away embarrassed. "S-sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, Gwen."

You look around for something to start with.

You show her the hard drive and explain what happened when you hooked it up. Gwen looks at it before shaking her head. "Sorry, Peter, but I'm not too skilled with computer programming. You might be right, your father might've put a trap on it in case, but who knows? Short of hacking the thing, there's not much else I can think of for this."

You nod and set it back down on the desk before letting out a sigh and handing her the unlocked bag that belonged to your father. I gave these a look through, but I couldn't understand most of it. What can you get out of them?

Gwen nervously looks through them before slowly growing more interested, setting certain files to the side, but keeping a note of where they were. After rereading some she gives you a surprised look. "Your father and his colleague are brilliant, or insane. Look, this? Apparently, if I'm reading this right, they thought about making something to cure cancer using biochemistry. There's nothing on how far they got, just theoretical works."

She shows you the Arc Reactor blueprints. "and while I might not be too much of a tech whiz, this is obviously either copies of or legitimate versions of the original blueprints of the Stark Arc Reactor in California. Your father must've been well connected, honestly."

She shakes her head, putting them back. "Regardless, these notes, blueprints, formula? People would kill to get their hands on them-"

She trails off shaking her head as she covers her mouth with one hand, looking horrified. "I am so sorry, Peter."

You shake your head. Its obvious she didn't mean to bring up "It might not be too far off from the truth, though. Besides, I know what you meant, Gwen."

You clear your throat and show her the Adhesive and its applicator's blueprints. "This is what I'm currently working on."

She flips through the adhesive's formula, looking surprised. "That's it? But that's so -simple- to make! I could do that in my house, even!"

You nod. You were equally surprised at it, too. You give her a grin. "Why don't we make some then?"

Gwen looks at you, surprised. "Well, I've already made the applicators and I've got the money to get the materials for the adhesive, so let's make some."

She looks interested, but slightly uncertain at the prospect. "I'd honestly like your help. I don't want to mess it up, so the best way would be to have someone help me."

After a few seconds Gwen nods. "Alright. I'm curious to see how this will end up. Let's give it a shot."

She nods and the two of you pack up the room back into the secret compartment before heading out, locking the door behind you. It doesn't take long to get the supplies. The materials are actually rather common and don't raise any suspicion. When the two of you return, you set up the materials and equipment needed, Gwen trying her hair back into a ponytail as you turn on the ventilators just to be safe.

It takes about half an hour of watching over it carefully, then and hour or two of keeping an eye on it before it finishes. In the meantime, you and Gwen work on compiling notes, anything you both know about the situation. You also fiddle with the applicators a bit.

Finally, the time comes to package up the adhesive. Carefully, very carefully, you get it into the resealable cartridges. Interestingly enough, it seems to be very well made and responds well when packaging it. There's no spill or messes.

Finally, you load up a cartridge into the applicator and put it on.

Time for the moment of truth…

You trigger the mechanism and a strand of white-gray material spits out in a strand, smacking into a wall, cutting off the mechanism, you look in surprise at the result. Gwen gives you a wry look, prodding at the result. "Seems like you figured out how to give yourself webbing after all, Peter."

You give the strand on the ground a feel, pulling at it. The part where it attached to the wall seems firm, but the rest seems to have quickly have grown less adhesive. And, from the way it looks, it does kinda look like giant spider webbing. Cool.

You look down at your adhesive applicators- No, they're called webshooters now. Because it sound better. Webs for a human spider.

You give Gwen a grin.

"I wonder…"

END

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