MJ looked even worse than Gwen. Her red hair was disheveled. Her eyes were bloodshot. She moved like everything hurt.
She got coffee. Joined them at the booth. Looked between Peter and Gwen. "So. We all have something weird to talk about?"
"Apparently," Gwen said.
Silence fell. Each of them waiting for someone else to start. Finally, Peter spoke.
"Let me guess. Spider bite. Last night. From something that came out of your backpack after the Oscorp field trip."
Both girls stared at him. MJ's mouth fell open. Gwen's scientific mind visibly processed the implications.
"How did you know?" MJ whispered.
"Because I know Oscorp's security protocols. I know what happens when enhanced specimens escape containment. And I remember that those backpacks were stored near the spider lab." Peter kept his voice calm. Matter-of-fact. "What I need to know is how bad your symptoms were. What you're experiencing now."
Gwen found her voice first. "I was bitten at approximately 22:43 last night. The spider exhibited silver-blue coloring consistent with Oscorp's genetic modification markers. I experienced rapid venom dispersal, elevated core temperature, muscle spasms, and loss of consciousness." She pulled out her tablet. "I documented everything before I passed out."
"Of course you did," Peter said with a slight smile.
"When I woke up this morning, everything was different." Gwen's hands trembled. "My vision is impossibly sharp. I can see individual threads in your shirt from here. I can hear conversations from outside. My body feels... wrong. Stronger. More coordinated. And there's this sense. Like a warning system in my head. It keeps tingling."
"Spider-sense," Peter said quietly.
"What?"
"That's what I call it. The warning system. It's precognitive danger awareness. The spider DNA gives you that."
MJ leaned forward. "You're talking like you know this. Like you understand what's happening to us." Her voice rose. "Peter, what the hell is going on?"
Peter took a deep breath. This was it. The moment he had to decide. Keep hiding? Or trust them?
'They're scared. Confused. They need help. And I'm the only one who can give it to them.'
He made his choice.
"I was bitten too," Peter said. "Yesterday. Same type of spider. I've been experiencing the same transformation. I know what you're going through because I went through it first."
The words hung in the air. Both girls stared at him. Processing. Understanding dawning on their faces.
"You too?" Gwen breathed.
"Me too."
MJ's expression shifted. Relief mixed with anger. "And you didn't warn us? You knew this could happen and you didn't say anything?"
"I didn't know for sure which backpacks the clone spiders would find. I suspected. But I couldn't warn you without revealing information I shouldn't have." Peter met her eyes. "I'm sorry. I should have found a way."
Gwen's scientific mind worked through the implications. "You said clone spiders. Plural. How many escaped?"
"I think two or three in total." Peter explained calmly. "The enclosures have biological failsafes. When the primary specimen is removed, clones activate automatically."
"Removed," Gwen repeated. "Someone stole those spiders. Someone broke into Oscorp's lab during our field trip and triggered those failsafes."
Peter looked at her with a serious thought expression, "I believe so too."
Something clicked in Gwen's eyes, but she didn't say anything.
'Why is she so smart?' Peter sighed.
MJ looked between them. "You seem like you might know more there is to this."
"Yes, I did notice something but I just didn't take any action. I thought it would be Norman losing and this whole scenario was unintended."
"Unintended," MJ said flatly. "We got bitten by radioactive spiders because of an unintended consequence of someone's theft and you not helping where you could?"
"Yes."
Gwen put her head in her hands. "This is insane. This can't be real. I don't get bitten by radioactive spiders. I don't develop superpowers. I do homework and science projects and normal teenage things."
"Except now you do have superpowers," Peter said. "Enhanced strength. Wall-crawling. Spider-sense. Accelerated healing. You're going to need to learn how to control them."
"How do you know all this?" MJ demanded. "You were bitten yesterday. How are you already an expert?"
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