MJ turned. A spider crawled out of her backpack. Silver-blue coloring. Larger than normal. It moved with purpose. Heading directly toward her.
"Oh no. No no no." MJ pushed her chair back. "Get away from me."
She hated spiders. Always had. The way they moved. Those multiple eyes. The creepy legs.
The spider jumped. Impossibly fast. Landed on her hand before she could react.
Bite.
"Ow!" MJ jerked her hand. Shook it violently. "Damn it!"
The spider fell to the floor. Scurried under her bed. Gone before she could step on it.
MJ looked at her hand. Two small puncture marks. Red. Already swelling. Burning sensation spread up her arm.
"Great. Just great." She went to the bathroom. Washed the bite thoroughly. Applied antiseptic from the medicine cabinet. "Please don't be poisonous. Please don't be poisonous."
The burning intensified. Her arm felt hot. Really hot. The sensation spread to her shoulder. Her chest. Her whole body.
"That's not normal." MJ's artist mind noted details even through panic. "Spider bites don't spread like this. This is bad."
She took aspirin. Drank water. Tried to calm down. Maybe it was just anxiety. Maybe she was overreacting.
Her vision blurred slightly. The room spun. Headache formed behind her eyes.
"I'm fine. Just a spider bite. People get them all the time." But her voice shook. She didn't believe her own words.
MJ stumbled to her bed. Lay down. The burning continued. Her muscles ached. Her skin felt too tight.
'Should I call someone?' she thought. 'Mom? Peter? An ambulance?'
But exhaustion hit her like a wave. Overwhelming. Irresistible. Her eyes closed despite her attempts to stay awake.
Sleep took her. But it wasn't peaceful sleep. Her body convulsed. Twitched. Transformed.
In her bloodstream, radioactive spider venom spread. Her cells analyzed the foreign DNA. Started rewriting themselves. Her body was changing at the genetic level.
And MJ's dreams filled with strange sensations. Warnings. Danger signals. A new sense awakening.
---
*Stacy Brownstone, Upper Manhattan. 10:41 PM.*
Gwen Stacy sat at her desk. Her room was organized. Everything had its place. Books arranged by subject. Notes filed systematically. Her scientific mind demanded order.
She'd changed into pajamas after dinner. Her father, Captain George Stacy, had already gone to bed. He had an early shift tomorrow. Police work never stopped.
Gwen worked on her science fair project. The quantum cryptography paper Peter had helped her redesign. It was brilliant. Elegant. Actually achievable unlike her original concept.
'Peter's incredible,' Gwen thought. Not for the first time. 'He just sees things differently. Makes connections others miss.'
She reached for a reference book. Needed to double-check a formula. Her hand bumped her backpack. It fell over. Contents spilled across the floor.
"Ugh. Great." Gwen got down to pick everything up. Notebooks. Pens. Calculator. Her tablet.
Something moved. She saw it from the corner of her eye. A spider. Silver-blue coloring. Radioactive shimmer under her desk lamp.
Gwen froze. Her scientific mind activated instantly. "That's not a normal spider. That coloring. That shimmer. That's from Oscorp."
The spider crawled toward her. Fast. Purposeful.
Gwen's hand shot out. Reflexes trained from years of tennis. She caught the spider in her palm. Held it carefully.
"How did you get in my bag?" She lifted her hand closer. Examined the spider. "You're one of the enhanced specimens. One of the cross-species genetics projects."
The spider bit her. Mandibles pierced the skin of her palm.
"Ow!" Gwen jerked. Dropped the spider. It hit the floor and disappeared under her dresser.
She looked at her hand. Two puncture marks. Clean. Precise. Already swelling.
"I've just been injected with genetically modified spider venom." Gwen's voice was calm. Her analytical mind took over. "Possibly radioactive. Potentially fatal."
She ran probability calculations in her head. Symptoms to watch for. Danger signs. If she showed signs of severe reaction, she'd need immediate medical attention.
"But if I go to the hospital, they'll report it. Oscorp will be investigated. Questions will be asked. The whole field trip group might be quarantined."
Gwen made a decision. She'd monitor herself. Document symptoms. If things got critical, she'd get help. But for now, she'd observe.
She grabbed her tablet. Started a new file. "Accidental exposure to genetically modified spider venom. Subject: Gwendolyn Stacy. Age 16. Time of exposure: 22:43."
She checked her pulse. 78 beats per minute. Elevated but not dangerous. Blood pressure. She had a monitor in her room. Science nerd advantages. 128 over 82. High normal.
The bite mark burned. Throbbed. The sensation spread up her arm.
Gwen documented everything. "Burning sensation at bite site. Spreading proximally along vascular pathways. Estimated venom dispersal rate based on circulatory flow."
Her vision blurred. The room tilted. She gripped the edge of her desk.
"Neurological symptoms. Visual disturbance. Vestibular dysfunction. Not good." But she kept documenting. Even as her hands shook. "Core temperature elevated. Estimated 38.5 Celsius based on subjective assessment."
Her muscles spasmed. Back arched. The tablet fell from her hands.
"This is more severe than anticipated." Gwen's scientific detachment cracked. Fear crept in. "I may have miscalculated the risk."
She tried to stand. Her legs wouldn't cooperate. She fell. Landed on her bed. Convulsions ran through her body.
'I should call for help,' Gwen thought. 'Dad. He's just down the hall. He can get me to a hospital.'
But her voice wouldn't work. Her body was locked in transformation. All she could do was ride it out.
Gwen's last conscious thought before darkness took her was purely analytical. 'I'm experiencing cross-species genetic integration. My cells are accepting spider DNA. This shouldn't be possible. But it's happening.'
Then awareness faded. Her body transformed. Cells rewrote themselves. DNA incorporated foreign genetic code.
Two girls. Two spider bites. Two transformations happening simultaneously across the city.
And neither of them knew that Peter Parker had experienced the same thing hours earlier. That he'd planned for his. Prepared for it. Controlled it.
They were going through their origin moments blind. Scared. Alone.
But not for long. Peter's spider-sense would lead him to them eventually. The strange connection between spider-powered individuals. A bond that transcended normal awareness.
The Spider-Family was being born. Whether any of them were ready for it or not.
Read more chapters, Days ahead of Webnovel Updates, on Patreon marvelstark