As Peter Parker woke up from his slumber, a sense of disorientation washed over him. He blinked several times, attempting to clear his vision, only to find that his world remained blurry even after putting on his glasses. Frowning, he assumed it was time for a new prescription, but to his surprise, when he removed the glasses, his vision became crystal clear.
Confused and slightly alarmed, Peter couldn't comprehend what was happening to him. His thoughts raced as he tried to rationalize this peculiar situation. "What's going on? Why is my vision fine without my glasses?"
Still trying to make sense of it all, he decided to get up and head to the bathroom. As he glanced at his reflection in the mirror, Peter gasped in disbelief. The weak, scrawny physique he had known all his life had been replaced with a toned and muscular body. His muscles rippled beneath his skin, reminiscent of a gymnast or a swimmer.
His heart pounded in his chest as the reality of his transformation sank in. "This can't be real. How did I go from skinny to... this?" he mumbled to himself, his mind racing with possibilities.
Feeling overwhelmed, Peter decided to leave the bathroom, but his newfound strength caught him off guard. He pulled on the door with more force than he intended, nearly ripping it from its frame. The door's resistance caused him to let out an involuntary, high-pitched scream.
"Whoa, what is happening to me?" Peter questioned, his voice betraying his unease.
As he tried to come to terms with the sudden changes to his vision and physique, a mix of excitement and anxiety washed over him. "I can't believe this is real. L it is real, right? I'm not just imagining things," he wondered.
With so many questions and no answers, Peter knew he had to find some explanation for his transformation. He'd have to bunk off school take his notebook and find somewhere private, there was an abandoned junkyard in his neighbourhood.
That would be a good start.
After getting dressed Peter walked out of his room and headed downstairs before he packed some food into his bag for the day, he was so hungry, like famished. He'd barely said goodbye to Aunt May before he was tearing into his food, he would've said goodbye to Uncle Ben. However, he refrained from disturbing him, as he was sound asleep after another late night of work.
Excitement flooded him as he left his house and started making his way towards the junkyard. It looked as if he packed on at least twenty kilos of muscle mass overnight. He wondered if that translated to actual usable muscle.
Well there was only one way to find out.
Starting slowly Peter started jogging towards the junkyard, the wind started blowing against him gently at first. Slowly but surely Peter started to increase his speed until he was going at least twice as fast as he used to. The amazing thing was, he wasn't even going at his max speed. This was just like a light jog. Going up the speed it wasn't long before he made it to the junkyard.
Amidst the rusted metal and debris of the junkyard, Peter paused. He looked around, feeling an odd mix of thrill and apprehension. "This is incredible. I'm faster, but what else," he mused. "Whatever caused this has likely have other effects on my body."
Questions swirled in his mind, but he knew one thing for certain—he needed to find answers. Peter looked around the junkyard and saw an old metal girder, it must've been old because the metal had rusted; he approached it and bent down expecting to have to put a lot of power into lifting it. Though to his surprise he lifted easily and would've ended up throwing it with how much force he put into it, but amazingly it stuck to his hands.
With wide eyes Peter removed one of his hands from the girder holding it in one hand while he inspected the other. He threw the metal girder down before taking a seat on a junk sofa and bringing his notebook out. He'd need to start researching his powers and test the limits of what they can do, and also research any possible negative side effects and causes for powers.
When he was in the closet yesterday something did bite him, or at least it felt like a bite. In a dark closet the most likely contender was a bug or arachnid of some type, and considering he was in a highly experimental cross-species genetics laboratory that did indeed have weird spiders he was going to put spider bite at the top of his list.
...
Peter had spent nearly the whole day testing his newfound powers, the scientist he was wouldn't let him not study every aspect of it. He found that he could relatively easily lift a car, he felt that he could probably lift one in each hand if he wanted to. He didn't find any heavier objects in the yard so he had to estimate that he could lift around 5 tons.
When he tested how high he could leap he easily cleared the warehouse, the surprise made him flail in the air but he managed to instantly right himself. He estimated he could probably do about 3 stories in a leap. Being able to right himself midair so easily led him to test his balance, he had perfect equilibrium and could balance himself in any position he could think of which was pretty cool.
Though the coolest ability in his opinion was the ability to stick to surfaces, he had a theory of how it worked; he must be unconsciously increasing the inter-atomic attractive forces between the wall and himself. Or he could be emitting a static field. But what he discovered was that he could emit this ability from any part of his body.
His senses seemed to be going haywire as well, something he noticed had gotten increasingly more intense as the day went on, he could see the wings on a fly as it passed him as well as snatch it out of the air if he wanted to.
Which was very spider like.
Or lizard like he supposed.
After doing his research Peter decided to have fun and started leaping around the abandoned warehouse running up the wall only to backflip off and land on some scaffolding like a superhero. He threw some punches against a block or concrete cracking it easily, he looked at his fist and then made a note to add durability to the list.
However, he was brought out of his thoughts when his phone started ringing, jumping down from the top of the scaffolding and beside his bag he opened it and looked at the Caller ID.
[Gwen]
"Shit... I didn't tell them I'd be out today," he muttered to himself as he pressed the answer button and put it up to his head.
"Peter! Are you okay? I didn't see you at school today and you looked terrible last night," Gwen asked, her voice full of worry.
"Ask him if he's okay!" He heard Ned say in the background.
Peter smiled a bit sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. "I'm fine guys don't—"
"You just heard me say it! I can't hear him if you keep talking Ned," Gwen said clearly not having heard Peter.
"Ask him if he's-"
"Ask him yourself later! On your phone!" She huffed before going back to her conversation. "Pete... are you sure everything is okay? You can tell us anything you know..." she said in a soft voice.
It made Peter's stomach coil.
He had been friends with these two as long as he could remember, apart from his crush on Gwen there wasn't one thing that he had kept from them, he had no worries that they'd freak out at his powers... maybe they would freak out a little but they would always be by his side and he knew that. After a second of hesitation, Peter composed himself. "Can you and Ned come to the abandoned yard on 6th, I have something I need to tell you."
__________________________________
"This is how horror movies start," Ned muttered, adjusting his backpack strap as both he and Gwen walked into the junkyard.
Wind rattled loose sheets of metal. Something metallic creaked somewhere high above. The abandoned warehouse at the edge of the lot looked like it was some sort of lair for a serial killer.
"Relax," Gwen whispered back. "He texted us to meet here."
"That's exactly what the monster would text."
They stepped further inside, their shoes crunching over broken glass and old bolts scattered across the floor.
It was dark.
Too dark.
"Pete?" Gwen called softly.
Something shifted above them and before either of them could look up, a figure dropped from the ceiling beams and landed behind them in a smooth crouch.
"Boo!"
"AHHHHH!!" Ned screamed.
Gwen jumped so hard she nearly elbowed him in the face.
"Dick!" Gwen shouted, spinning around and shoving Peter in the chest, though she was already grinning.
Peter straightened up still laughing. "Worth it."
"You're lucky I have my inhaler," Ned said breathlessly, already pulling it out and taking a puff. "I do not handle jump scares."
"I'm sorry," Peter said, not sounding sorry at all as he hopped up onto a piece of scaffolding and balanced there easily. "I just couldn't resist."
Gwen climbed up to sit beside him, still shaking her head. "So what's up Pete? Why didn't you come to school today."
"Yeah," Ned added, still recovering. "Flash was in peak form with his asshole skill today. Would've been good to have you there to share the load."
Peter chuckled at that. "I felt pretty strange this morning and then discovered a few things that kinda freaked me out. I came here just to get everything under control." He hopped down from the scaffolding lightly and walked over to a rusted broken washing machine sitting near a pile of scrap.
Ned and Gwen exchanged a look.
Peter bent down.
Then he lifted it.
With one hand.
Silence.
Ned's jaw dropped so hard it looked painful. "How are you doing that!!! Is it a trick!!! Can you teach me!!! Let me try!!!" Ned fired out as he rushed forward.
Peter laughed helplessly.
Gwen moved slower but her eyes were wide. "Are you a mutant?" she asked quietly.
Peter shook his head. "I thought the same thing but I think the most plausible theory is that one of the spiders bit me in the genetics lab."
Gwen's eyes widened further. She stepped closer immediately and started grabbing his arms, tugging his sleeves down to inspect his skin.
"Gwen," Peter said, already blushing.
She lifted his shirt to check his torso.
"Gwen!"
He yelped and instinctively tossed the washing machine behind him without looking. It crashed loudly across the warehouse floor.
But she was already kneeling in front of him, examining his body like a scientist truly would. "Don't be a baby," she said, completely focused. "Do you have any idea how amazing this is."
"Yes but can you STOP STRIPPING ME!" Peter shouted, cheeks burning.
That snapped her out of it. She looked down and realized her hands were still under his shirt.
Her own face flushed red instantly.
Ned cleared his throat loudly. "Jeez guys at least let me leave first."
"Shut up!" they both shouted at the same time.
Ned grinned.
"What else can you do!?" Gwen asked, stepping back now and giving him a little space.
Peter grabbed his bag and pulled out a notebook, handing it to her.
She took it eagerly and started flipping through the pages. Her eyes widened more and more as she read his notes. "You are like a human spider," Gwen said in awe.
Ned chuckled. "How eloquently put."
She flipped him off without looking up and then tossed the book at his chest. "How else would you put it. He can climb on walls is super agile and has increased proportional strength."
"At least he doesn't have four extra arms or a big sack down below or maybe he does," Ned said with a smirk.
Both Peter and Gwen winced.
"I know for sure I don't have any extra arms," Peter said quickly.
Gwen and Ned both noticed he did not address the other part.
Neither of them asked.
They fell into easy conversation after that, talking about the different aspects of his powers and the different applications that he had. They also spent a long time trying to discover whether he had any organic webbing, though it seemed that he came up empty in that regard.
Then Ned's phone rang.
He glanced at the screen and sighed. "Sorry guys I gotta jet. Mom wants me back home soon."
He walked over to Peter and they did their secret handshake that involved way too many steps and ended with a fist bump. He waved at Gwen. "Don't let him do anything dangerous."
"No promises," Peter said.
Ned rolled his eyes and left.
The warehouse felt quieter once the door shut behind him.
Gwen looked back at Peter.
Her excitement had softened into something more serious. "Are you sure you're feeling okay Pete?" she asked, genuine worry in her voice.
Peter shrugged lightly. "I felt pretty rough this morning but I'm feeling pretty good now."
She studied him for a moment longer. "I'd feel better if I could check on you tonight," Gwen said quietly.
Peter tilted his head. "Wouldn't your dad get pissed if you snuck out."
She shrugged. "I'd rather get in trouble than find out you ended up turning into a mutant spider during the night."
He laughed softly.
"Alright," he said. "See you tonight then."
____________________________________
It was just after midnight when small pebbles started tapping against Peter's window. Before the bite he probably would have slept right through it. Now every sound felt like it was right in his ea, like someone had cranked the volume on his ears up to eleven. He rolled out of bed, crossed the room and pulled the curtains back.
Gwen stood in the backyard below, wearing skinny jeans, a ripped band T-shirt, and her leather jacket. Streetlight caught in her hair. She looked up and grinned when she saw him.
Peter pushed the window open. "Not a mutant spider yet, sorry to disappoint."
She spread her arms out behind her back like she was presenting herself. "You gonna let me in or what?"
He glanced toward the hallway. Aunt May and Uncle Ben were asleep down the corridor, the last thing he wanted was to explain why there was a girl throwing rocks at his window at one in the morning. He swung one leg over the sill, then the other, and dropped straight down to the grass beside her.
Gwen blinked. "Okay, that was cool."
"Hold on," he whispered. He stepped behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and felt her tense for half a second before she relaxed against him. "Don't freak out."
She closed her eyes. "Too late."
He jumped and his hands found the brick wall and stuck against it; he quickly swung up the side of the house, past the first-floor windows, and through his open bedroom window in maybe six seconds total. He set her down on the carpet like she weighed nothing.
Gwen little out a muffled scream as they landed. "Okay that was terrifying..." she said.
Peter let out a laugh. "Still feels unreal. Just yesterday I was out of breath walking up three flights of stairs. Now I feel like I could run a marathon. Or climb a building. Which I guess I just did."
She let go of him, walked over, and sat on the edge of his bed. "So. Any plans? With the whole... super strength, wall-climbing thing?"
Peter shrugged and dropped down next to her. Their knees touched. "I don't know. Maybe get a job? Construction or something. I could probably lift more in a day than most crews do in a week. Help out May and Ben with bills. Or..." He trailed off, half-smiling. "Maybe teach Flash a lesson."
Gwen laughed under her breath. "I think I'd like to see that." She leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder.
Peter's pulse kicked up immediately. His senses picked up everything... the faint strawberry from her shampoo, the warmer, more natural scent underneath. His heart hammered loud enough that he wondered if she could hear it too.
She lifted her head.
Their faces were close now.
Peter felt something shift inside him, a small spark of courage he had never had before the bite. He leaned in and kissed her.
'I finally did it.' He thought to himself, though he had to admit he was terrified that she would pull away.
But she kissed him back.
Hard.
Her arms came up around his neck, fingers threading into his hair. She made a small sound against his mouth that sent heat straight through him. Peter slid one hand to the back of her head, the other to her lower back, pulling her closer. They tipped sideways and fell onto the bed together.
They kept going until they both needed air.
Peter broke the kiss first and they both stared at each other, breathing raggedly. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," he said.
Gwen laughed breathlessly. "Maybe some idea." She leaned up and pecked him once more.
She wanted to stay. Badly. Crawl under the covers with him, fall asleep listening to his heartbeat. But her dad would lose it if he checked her room in the morning and she wasn't there.
Peter must have seen it on her face. "Want me to walk you home?"
She nodded, smiling. "Yeah."
He rolled off her, grabbed a hoodie and jeans from the chair, pulled them on over his pajamas. Then he scooped her up again and climbed back out the window. Dropped them both to the grass easy as stepping off a curb.
They started walking down the quiet street, side by side.
Peter cleared his throat. "So... does this mean we're official?"
Gwen raised an eyebrow at him. "Better be. You just spent twenty minutes with your tongue down my throat."
He laughed, loud enough that it echoed off the houses. "Good."
He slung an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him as they walked, her hand finding his at her waist, fingers lacing together.
Neither of them said much after that.
They didn't need to.
(AN: Tbh not much of a rewrite happened here, it's mostly just bad writing that needs to be replaced. The story itself isn't too horrendous, anyway hope you enjoyed.)
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