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When Peter wakes up it’s to absolute darkness. Where… He tries to sit up, but finds that he can hardly budge.
He’s wide awake now. He tries to sit up again, pulling at the restraints around his body. He tugs harder using some of his spider strength, but still nothing.
His breathing starts to get faster as his struggles become more frantic. Just as he thinks he might pass out from the panic, light fills the room and he hisses as he closes his eyes.
“Time to wake up, Mr. Parker.”
Peter stills finally realizing that while he can still feel his suit, there is no mask on his face.
He turns his head towards the voice, panic making his eyes wide and his breathing fast and shallow. It’s not helped by who sees.
“Mr. Osborne.” Peter says ashamed that his voice comes out thready and panic filled. “What’s going on?”
The older man comes to a stop by Peter’s side, and he realizes that he must be chained to a table or something. His heart starts to beat faster as he takes in the rest of the room. It’s full of medical supplies and other scientific equipment Peter doesn’t recognize.
“You’re here to help me out with something, Peter.” Norman tilts his head, and Peter’s panic spikes at the look in the man’s eyes. Peter hates the Goblin more than he hates Norman, but he hates this inbetween state more. Like this the insanity of the Goblin is balanced by the scientific precision of Norman, but neither have ever had very many morals. He also hates it more because like this Peter can’t deny that his best friend's dad wants him dead or worse. Norman was a man he looked up to once. Peter had wanted to work at Oscorp when he graduated. He had shared meals with the man when Peter would visit Harry. He had helped pay Aunt May’s medical bills. But like this, with Norman teetering on the edge of falling into the Goblin, Peter can’t help but see the monster inside him.
“Help you with what?” Peter asks, trying to sink more into his Spiderman persona. It’s always more difficult with Norman, especially without the mask to hide behind. Peter will admit to himself that he’s not good at controlling his facial expressions. That’s one of the reasons he wears a mask. Like this, he needs to be so careful what expressions he’s showing. He doesn’t want Norman to see how much he scares Peter.
“You’re an anomaly, Peter. The way the spider DNA bonded to yours is fascinating. And no matter how many times I’ve tried, no matter how many test subjects I’ve gone through. The results aren’t the same.”
Norman brings his hand to Peter’s head and runs his fingers through Peter’s hair. He tries to flinch away, but the hand just follows him.
“You’re going to help me do marvelous things, my boy. Together we can advance the field of science and create superhumans. Imagine what I could do if I could just understand what makes you tick.”
The hand in his hair tightens, pulling. Peter bites his cheek to keep from crying out. He tastes blood.
“You’ve already tried this.” Peter tries. “It doesn’t work. Just let me go, Norman, and we can forget all about this.”
“Hmn. I don’t think so.”
He retreats to a table with medical equipment on it and picks up a remote. Peter watches as he presses a button, and then pain shoots through Peter. Electricity courses through him, and his body jolts. He bites through his lip, trying to keep quiet. Finally after what feels like minutes, but was probably only seconds, it ends. Peter lies gasping, his eyes wide and fingers twitching.
Norman chuckles. “Just to let you know what happens if you resist.”
“I’m not…” Peter gasps for breath, “I’m not going to just let you… experiment on me.”
Peter doesn’t see it, but Norman presses the button again, and this time Peter can’t hold back his scream. He’s panting by the time it stops. Black dots cloud his vision.
Norman is standing over him again, his gaze intense. “You really shouldn’t wear a mask, Peter. It’s so much better to see all the lovely expressions you make.” He trails his fingers along the side of Peter’s face, and Peter doesn’t have the energy to twist his face away. “Now don’t worry. We’ll start small.”
He picks up a pair of scissors and a syringe. He grabs Peter’s arm, squeezing tight enough to bruise as he uses the scissors to cut away at the arm of Peter’s suit.
“Hey! That material’s not cheap!” Peter says, trying desperately to get into the Spiderman persona. “At least…” he starts before stopping. Buy a man a drink first , he thinks but is afraid to say. “Besides, I’m all up to date on my vaccinations. No need for that needle.”
“Quiet, Peter. As much as I enjoy hearing you scream, I could do with less of the sarcasm. It does your intellect no good to fall back on such ridiculous comebacks.”
“Creep.” Peter says, and only has a second to wonder why Norman steps away, before lightning jolts through his body again.
He doesn’t know how long it lasts, but his throat is sore from screaming, and tears are running down his face.
“Hnn. We’ll have to do something about that mouth of yours. I won’t be able to work if I have to keep shocking you.”
“You could…” Peter gasps for breath, “you could not.” Another jolt runs through him, and darkness steals his vision. When he comes to, blinking spots out of his eyes, he feels a sharp pain in his arm. He cries out and finds his voice muffled. He can’t open his mouth. There’s something keeping it shut. He panics, thrashing his head from side to side, but nothing happens.
“Calm down, Peter. It’s just a muzzle to keep you quiet while I work.”
Calm down? How is he supposed to calm down?! Peter can’t– He can’t– It’s too much. Tears come to his eyes again, and he can’t do anything to prevent them from falling.
“Hush, little spider.” a hand wipes the tears from his face, and Peter shudders in revulsion, yet he can’t help but lean into the kind touch. He hates himself for it. “This is for the greater good. Isn’t that what you’re always talking about?”
There is another sharp pain in his arm, and Peter can’t stop a whine from building in his throat. No one knows he’s here. He has no team. He has no one.
He’s trapped.