Tuesday afternoon at Midtown High felt entirely ordinary. The hallways smelled like floor wax and stale cafeteria pizza, and the school's Detective Club had absolutely zero cases on the docket.
Peter Parker walked into the empty club room and dropped his backpack onto the central wooden table. The bag looked like a scuffed, standard-issue canvas knapsack, but it weighed over sixty pounds. The optical camouflage Tony Stark had installed over the collapsed Iron Spider armor was flawless.
Peter didn't sit down. He pulled a small, silver Stark-tech jammer from his pocket and magnetically attached it to the underside of the table. A faint blue light pulsed, instantly severing all cellular and Wi-Fi signals within a twenty-foot radius. He then pulled out a handheld scanner and began sweeping the ceiling tiles.
The heavy wooden door creaked open. Harry walked in, dropping his messenger bag by the door.
"I was starting to think the senior members of this club only scheduled noon meetings to actively avoid us freshmen," Harry said. He paused, watching Peter wave a blinking device over the fluorescent lights. "Uh. What exactly are you doing?"
"Just setting up a localized signal jammer to prevent audio surveillance," Peter said casually, pocketing the scanner. "And sweeping for micro-cameras. Honestly, the Detective Agency room is the perfect blind spot. Nobody ever suspects illicit activities happening in the room dedicated to investigating them."
Harry blinked. He tightened his grip on the strap of his bag. "Are you okay, man? Did you accidentally hack into a federal database again? Because I can't afford a lawyer."
Peter laughed, walking over to the table. "No, nothing like that."
"Then why all the cloak and dagger?"
Peter leaned against the edge of the table. He took a slow breath. He had specifically left Amadeus Cho off this initial lunch invite. Amadeus was a genius, but this conversation involved Norman Osborn. Harry was still officially registered at school under his mother's maiden name, Lyman. Peter needed to handle this with surgical precision.
"Okay," Peter started, crossing his arms. "I'm going to tell you something. Please don't freak out. Because after I tell you, we have something much more important to discuss."
Harry nodded slowly, his brow furrowing. He stood perfectly still, waiting for the bomb to drop.
Peter looked him dead in the eye. "I'm Spider-Man."
Harry didn't flinch. He stared at Peter for three agonizing seconds. Then, he let out a short, nervous laugh. "Is there a comic convention this weekend I don't know about? Are you practicing a cosplay pitch, or...?"
Peter sighed. He didn't say another word.
The black symbiote surged out from under Peter's collar. It rushed over his face, snapping over his clothes in a wave of liquid shadow. In less than a second, Peter stood before Harry in the sleek, matte-black armor of Spider-Man, the massive white spider emblem gleaming on his chest.
Harry let out a strangled gasp. He stumbled backward, his shoulders hitting the door frame. He clutched his chest, his eyes wide with absolute, terrifying shock.
"Are you... are you Spider-Man?!"
"I literally just said that," Peter's voice echoed slightly through the suit's acoustics.
"I know!" Harry hyperventilated, his hands gripping his hair. "I know, but... you're Spider-Man!"
"You just said that, too."
Harry's knees buckled. He dropped heavily into a cheap plastic folding chair, staring blankly at the floor. He took several deep, ragged breaths. Peter commanded the symbiote to retract. The black suit melted away into his pores, leaving Peter standing in his flannel shirt and jeans once again. He waited patiently while Harry's brain rebooted.
Finally, Harry looked up. "My best friend is a superhero. You're an actual Avenger. Oh my god." He dragged a hand down his face. "And you actually told me!"
"Yeah. Well, there's a reason for that," Peter said, pulling up a chair across from him. "I got my powers because I was bitten by a genetically modified spider. An Oscorp spider."
Harry froze. The gears turned in his head, suddenly locking into place. "Oscorp." He let out a dry, humorless chuckle. "That's why he was so nice to you."
Harry finally understood why Norman Osborn—a man who relentlessly criticized every single person Harry ever associated with—had treated Peter like royalty during his suit purchase.
"My dad," Harry muttered, his jaw tightening. "He must have said something to you. Let me guess. He told you that you're technically Oscorp property?"
"Not exactly in those words," Peter corrected gently. "He told me he hoped Oscorp could officially sponsor Spider-Man. He wants to provide me with behind-the-scenes technological support and funding."
"So," Harry pondered, tapping his chin, his analytical mind kicking in. "Does Spider-Man actually need Oscorp tech? You have the Avengers. Tony Stark is basically your mechanic. But... if Oscorp created the spider, maybe their biometric data could actually help stabilize your powers."
Harry was actively trying to rationalize it, tearing himself between his deep-seated hatred for his father and his desperate desire to help his best friend.
Peter leaned forward. "Ever since I met your dad that day, I've been doing some digging. I looked into Dr. Emily Lyman. Your mother."
Harry stiffened, his eyes dropping to the floor.
"She was a brilliant scientist," Peter continued softly. "She researched technologies designed to help people. Projects with zero profit margins, but massive humanitarian value. Projects your dad probably wants to bury. Harry, this is an opportunity. A real one. We can carry on your mother's legacy."
Harry looked up, his eyes searching Peter's face. "What do you mean?"
"If I accept the sponsorship, Spider-Man's identity remains a secret," Peter laid out the plan. "We obviously can't let your dad know where my actual base of operations is. We need a secure, off-site laboratory. A cover. We can tell Norman we need a facility to develop Spider-Man tech. But we use that funding and that lab to covertly restart your mother's experimental projects."
Harry's mouth fell open. He hadn't thought of that. He lacked the advanced degrees to run the complex experiments himself, but if he could secure the funding and physically protect the research from being scrapped by the Oscorp board... he could save his mother's life's work.
Harry shot out of his chair. He grabbed Peter in a tight, desperate hug, nearly knocking the chair over.
"You have no idea," Harry stammered, stepping back, a huge, disbelieving smile breaking across his face. "I can't even express how grateful I am, Pete. I've always wanted to save her research. Thank you."
"Hold on, we aren't there yet," Peter chuckled, holding his hands up. "Your dad still has to officially approve it."
"Are you kidding? He'll definitely agree," Harry scoffed, waving a hand dismissively. "The man only acts when he sees a profit margin. He's dying to put an Oscorp logo on your web-shooters." Harry paused, a sudden thought hitting him. "Wait. Who else knows you're Spider-Man?"
"Gwen figured it out," Peter admitted. "And..."
"Where's Amadeus?" Harry asked, suddenly realizing their third member was missing. He lowered his voice to a frantic whisper. "You can't tell Amadeus! He can't keep a secret!"
"He should be here any second," Peter smirked. "I texted him. And honestly, Amadeus is way smarter than we give him credit for."
Right on cue, the heavy wooden door creaked open. Amadeus Cho strolled into the club room, holding a half-eaten bag of potato chips. He kicked the door shut behind him.
Peter didn't waste a second. He let the symbiote snap over his body, instantly transforming back into Spider-Man.
"I am Spider-Man," Peter announced.
Amadeus stopped chewing. He stared at the imposing, black-armored superhero standing in the middle of the school club room. "Oh. Wow. Okay, that is... highly unexpected. You're actually..."
Before Amadeus could finish his sentence, Harry stepped forward, puffing his chest out. "And my real last name is Osborn! I'm Harry Osborn."
Amadeus blinked, popping another chip into his mouth. "Oh, yeah. I already knew that."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writing takes time, coffee, and a lot of love.If you'd like to support my work, join me at [email protected]/GoldenGaruda
You'll get early access to over 50 chapters, selection on new series, and the satisfaction of knowing your support directly fuels more stories.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~