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Peter woke up bright and early, excited for the day to come. His whole class was going on a field trip to Oscorp. He knew his dad wasn't thrilled, as Stark Industries and Oscorp Industries we're rivals, but Peter was still as excited. After finishing one last page of homework, and throwing on a t-shirt and jeans, Peter bounded out to the kitchen.
"Well somebody's extra happy, what's up?" Steve questioned, as he started cooking scrambled eggs.
"I have a field trip to Oscorp today with my class." Peter explained excitedly.
"I still don't know why you want to go there so badly." Tony sighed as he poured himself another cup of coffee.
"Because it's Oscorp! I hear they're working on these really cool genetically modified animals. It's for research purposes to improve medical care for humans, or something." Peter said.
"Hmm. Well, here's your permission slip, kiddo." Tony slid over the paper along with a plate of eggs and banana.
"Thanks Dad!" Peter scarfed down his breakfast and then left early for school, choosing to take the subway. Today would be awesome.
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Today utterly sucked. Everything was fine until they visited the genetically modified spiders, which ironically, was what Peter had been most excited for. He had been peering through the glass that held three spiders for viewing. Except that the container only held two. He had turned, ready to alert the tour director when Peter had felt a sharp prick on his wrist. He inhaled sharply, rubbing the spot as he watched a spider crawl away across the floor. "You okay dude?" Ned had asked. Peter just nodded shakily, still staring at the spider's retreating form.
After that, Peter had progressively felt worse. He barely made it home and to the ensuite bathroom in his room before he puked. He vomited for ten minutes before passing out on the floor, shivering.
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Tony banged on Peter's door. He was worried. Normally, the kid would have bounded into his lab, telling him all about his day. It was especially odd that Peter hadn't considering how excited the kid had been this morning. "Peter? Are you in there?" He shouted.
He heard a distant groan, and Tony's anxiety spiked. Something was wrong with his kid. He jiggled the door handle only to find it locked. "Friday, open this door now!"
Upon her bosses command, the door swung open and Tony ran through, hurrying to the bathroom door. This time, it opened with ease. To Tony's horror, he saw his son curled on the floor, pale and sweaty. Peter was whimpering and covering his ears, trying to block out the unbearable noise. "Peter?" Tony asked quietly. Peter winced, as if the small sound had badly hurt.
Tony crouched next to him. "Hey bud, we need to get you to the med bay, ok? I have to pick you up." He whispered, so low Tony could barely hear himself, yet somehow the kid understood. When Tony's arms wrapped around Peter, it felt as though his skin was on fire. Peter cried out but instantly regretted it at the pain the noise had caused his head. "I'm so sorry, Peter."
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Peter blinked his eyes open. He felt weird. His migraine was gone, replaced by only a slight headache, though everything was still abnormally loud. Glancing around the room, he could tell that he was still on medical. Judging by the light, he guessed it was the next morning.
"Good morning, Peter." Friday greeted, making him jump.
"O-oh, hey Friday." He replied, slowly getting off the bed. He was almost at the door when something on the far wall caught his eye. "Uh Friday, what's this?" He questioned, staring at the computer screen.
"It is the results of your blood work. After you were found yesterday, Dr. Banner ran several scans and tests in an attempt to discover what had happened." Friday explained.
"Uh-huh. And has anyone seen this." Peter pressed, staring confusedly at the results.
"No. By the time I had finished running all the necessary scans, the others had gone to bed, as it was late."
"Ok. Thank you." Peter hurried over to the counter and rummaged through a drawer, before finding what he was looking for. A new hard drive. Peter plugged it into the computer and copied all the files of his medical results. "Friday? Wipe any and all data from last night."
"Or course, Peter."
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Part 2
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Peter walked into the kitchen, mind still reeling from the what his blood work showed. He was so preoccupied he walked straight into his father. "O-oh my gods. S-sorry dad. I uh, I didn't see you there."
"It alright kiddo, but I'm surprised to see you up. What happened yesterday?" Tony asked, still concerned.
"I'm not sure," Peter replied nervously, "I was feeling fine till lunch. Maybe it was just a bad case of food poisoning."
"And how are you now?" Tony pressed.
"Just a slight headache, but uh, I was thinking I'd go to school early, Ned was pretty worried yesterday. I want him to know I'm ok." Peter explained quickly.
"Ok, well, you still have time to shower, so go do that and grab your homework. I'll have breakfast ready and then Happy can drive you."
"Thanks Dad!" Peter called as he bounded off to his room.
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"-and then I took off my shirt and I had abs, Ned. Actual abs!" Peter exclaimed.
"No way. That's not even possible." Ned said, rolling his eyes. Peter sighed, before slightly lifting his shirt, revealing his new six pack. Ned's eyes widened in shock, "What the heck happened to you?"
"I don't know!" Peter panicked, "I went to grab my homework but the pages stuck to my hand. I had to pull so hard to get them off that I fell against the wall, and then my hand got stuck there. Now I have a giant hand shaped hole in my wall! What am I supposed to tell my dad?"
"He doesn't know?" Ned questioned.
"Nobody knows except you!" Peter said exasperated. "I'm terrified Ned. Apparently they took blood tests on me, when I woke up no one had seen them yet. My blood is fused with a spiders."
"Epic." Ned nodded in awe.
"No no no, not epic." Peter slid a hand down his face, trying to rid himself of stress. Only it didn't work. "Look, can I come over today, test all this out at your house? I don't want anyone from my family to know yet."
"Of course dude. Oh man, this is the greatest thing ever!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By the time Peter was walking home from Ned's that day, it was dark out. His mind preoccupied by all their discoveries. Peter crossed the street towards the entrance of Stark Tower he didn't think to check the road. Halfway across he felt a sharp pinch at the nape of his neck and turned in time to see a truck barreling towards him. Peter barely had time to throw his hands out in front of him before the truck hit. He felt the shock and pain of impact rack through his outstretched arms. But that was it. Peter risked opening his eyes and saw that he had stopped the truck with his own hands. He yanked his hands away, and ran towards his home, ignoring the shout's of the truck driver and the bewildered bystanders.
Peter threw his backpack in the corner of his room, slamming the door. What was wrong with him? Was he actually turning into freak Flash had always told him he was? He collapsed on his bed as tears streamed from his eyes. It was all too much, all the change. And he couldn't even explain it. This wasn't supposed to be humanly, scientifically, whatever-ly possible! Why him?
Peter heard a soft knock at his door, and a familiar voice. "Peter?" His dad called gently, "Pete are you there?"
Peter shakily stood and answered the door, wiping at the years in his eyes. "Kiddo what's wrong?" His dad asked. Peter didn't answer, instead hugging his dad tightly, beginning to cry again. "Shh, it's ok kid. It's ok." Tony held Peter as long as he needed. He wasn't sure how long it was until the sobs turned to quiet tears and then to sniffles. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not yet." Peter whispered hoarsely. "Could we just...watch a movie in my room?"
"Of course, anything for you kiddo." Tony led them into the room, keeping an arm wrapped around his son. Peter flopped tiredly onto the bed, as Tony tossed several plush blankets from the closet onto him. In return he earned a small smile as Peter dug himself out. Tony sat next to the kid, who promptly curled into his side. "What movie, Pete?"
"Hmm, Deadpool?"
"Ha, no way. That's R-rated. Pick a different one." Tony smirked at his pouting kid.
"Fine, how about Bedtime Stories." Peter suggested.
"Works for me." Friday began playing the chosen movie, but Tony wasn't really paying attention. He was thinking about what was wrong with his kid. What could he do to help? Tony wished he understood.
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Part 3
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The next day was Saturday, so Peter could do whatever he wanted all day. He woke around 9, surprised to see his dad still asleep next to him. That was rare. Peter carefully slid out of bed and threw on some workout clothes. He quietly made his way to the gym, hoping no one was there. To his delight, the giant room was indeed empty.
He made his way to the far wall. Taking a breath Peter placed his bare hands and feet on the wall and began to climb. Dont't look down, don't look down, don't look- too late. Peter glanced down at the floor which was several stories below. He immediately closed his eyes, pressing his face against the cool wall, grounding himself. A while later, after he managed to get his fear in check, he continued climbing the short distance to the ceiling. Peter risked another look at the floor to make sure he was over the foam pit. Once he maneuvered over the pit, he began climbing across the ceiling.
Then his hands let go.
He was walking on the ceiling. Peter switched to his hands, clinging to the ceiling almost like monkey bars. Suddenly though, he felt a sharp pinch like he had last night and leapt into the corner just as a foam cube soared by his face. Peter looked to the floor, and to his horror saw Natasha standing there, arms crossed. Peter's grip on the wall slipped and he fell into the foam pit, arms flailing. When he finally climbed out, his eyes were wide with fear. "Natasha listen I can't explain. Well, I don't know what actually happened... Just please, please, don't tell Dad! Not yet at least."
"Calm down, Peter." Natasha said, reassuredly, "You found the right person for secret keeping, but you should tell your dad soon."
"I know..." Peter stared at the floor, twisting his shirt in his hands.
"Come on kid. Let's see what you can do." Natasha replied. Peter followed after the spy who had already left toward the weight machine. "So, tell me what happened."
Peter narrated the whole story since the spider bite. Including his and Ned's findings, and the homework and the bus incident. "Interesting..." Natasha said, deep in thought. "So, superhuman huh?"
"I, I guess. Hadn't though about that part of it much." Peter confided.
"Well, let's see how much you can lift." Peter slid into the electronic bench press, that could increase the weight with the click of a button. Natasha turned it on, as Peter didn't know how. "Staring easy, twenty pounds..." Natasha would regularly increase the poundage, and Peter watched as the clock ticked away the minutes. It was thirty minutes later when he couldn't do it anymore.
"I...I can't..." Natasha instantly understood and turned off the machine, the weight dropping. Peter slowly sat up, his muscles screaming. "Well? How much was that. 100 pounds? 150?"
"Try 20,000 pounds." Offered Natasha.
Peter's eyes went wide. "Wh-what? But that's like 18,000 more that Steve! How is this possible."
"Actually it's 19,200." Natasha corrected.
Peter shook his head, resting it in his hands. "I'm a freak..."
"What? Peter, no you're-"
"Yes I am! I can sense things before they happen, I can stick to the wall, I can lift 10 tons! What else would you call that?" Peter sighed in defeat, "Flash was right..."
"Listen, Peter. I don't know who this Flash kid is or why he's calling you a freak," Natasha said sternly, "but I know that you are not a freak. Heck, you live in a building with two super assassins, a WW2 superhuman veteran, and two incredibly smart humans, one of which can turn into a giant green rage monster. You may be different to other people, but you're just like the rest of us. Just like your family."
Peter looked at her, eyes filled with hope, "You really think so?"
"I know so. Now, how can we tell the other in a way that will scare them witless?"
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Later that night, it was time. Natasha and Peter had concocted the perfect plan. The whole team was gathered in living room, ready for a movie night. "Hey, where's Peter?" Tony asked.
"Uh, he said something about a large project he had to finish tonight." Natasha covered.
"Huh, alright then." Tony turned on the preselected movie of that night. Halfway through, Peter silently turned off all the lights. Hiding in the hallway, he placed contacts into his eyes that glowed red. The rest of him was fitted in an all black shirt, pants, socks, and gloves, as they had recently discovered he could stick to the walls even with clothes. Quietly, he crept into the ceiling, staying low against it like a spider. He scurried into the room and above the TV.
The first to notice him was Sam, who screamed like a little girl. That brought everyone's attention to the creature on the wall. Clint and Small both bounded into the kitchen to hide. Bruce simply left the room. Steve grabbed his shield and Tony activated his wristwatch gauntlet. All the while, Natasha sat on the couch, smirking.
Peter crawled along the wall to get closer to Steve before leaping into him. However when he heard Tony's gauntlet prepare to fire he quickly leapt off raising his hands. "Wo wo wo! It's just me, it's Peter." Peter removed his gloves and the contacts from his eyes, discarding them on the side table.
"But you were...and the wall...and what?" Tony asked exasperated.
"Oh, I should tell you. I have spider powers now!" Tony fainted, this was too much. Peter shared a concerned glance at Natasha before going over to his dad's unconscious body.
"...Dad?"
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