In Queens, New York, at a neighborhood park, a small brown-haired, green-eyed boy rode his skateboard along a rail. "WHOOHOO!" Kai shouted, grinning as he balanced the grind. "Hey, Kai, wait up!" a blonde, blue-eyed boy yelled, pedaling fast to catch up. "Then speed up, Eddie! Come on!" Kai called back, glancing over his shoulder and then his board jerked out from under him. Kai hit the ground hard. A tall boy with brown hair and hazel eyes stepped forward, smirking.
"Hey, Mark," one of his larger, chubbier friends laughed, "I think the shrimp just messed up your new shoes." "Yeah," Mark said, grabbing Kai by the collar and yanking him up. "He did. So, nerd, what are you gonna do about it?" Kai winced, then forced a sarcastic smile.
"Huh… bleach? Or you could just return them if you actually read the return policy." Mark's expression darkened. He shoved Kai back, then picked up the skateboard.
"How about you return this?" Mark said, snapping the board clean in half over his knee. "Hey, what's your problem?!" Kai shouted, stepping forward but Eddie grabbed him, holding him back. "Wait, Kai," Eddie said under his breath. "There are three of them, and they're twice our size." Mark's group laughed as they walked past. "Lame." Kai stared at the broken board in his hands. "I should've done something." Eddie sighed as they started walking toward Midtown High.
"I don't think your 5'6", 115-pound frame is taking even one of them." They passed a group of students filming TikToks on their phones. "I still don't get how people aren't embarrassed doing that," Eddie muttered. "It's a mystery." They stepped inside the school. Kai shut his locker with determination. "Okay, Eddie. This is our year. High school is where I make my popularity debut." "I think we missed that opportunity when Mark almost beat the hell out of us," Eddie replied.
"That was just a minor setback." Kai turned and froze. A girl with long black hair and brown eyes stood nearby, laughing with her friends. "Well?" Eddie nudged him. "Aren't you gonna talk to her?" "What? No. No way." "What happened to this is my year? That includes the girl you've liked since third grade." "Yeah, but… what would I even say?" "Let's find out. Sally!" Eddie called. Kai's eyes widened. "Dude." Sally turned and walked over.
"Hey, guys. It's nice seeing familiar faces. What classes do you have?"
Kai swallowed. "Yeah… uh… I mean, I'm in Mr. Stevenson's class. So, uh… how was your summer? I heard you went to Paris." "It was really fun," Sally said, smiling. "But I couldn't understand anything anyone was saying." Kai nodded, then blurted, "So… did you eat snails?" He immediately froze thinking. "Why would I say that?" Sally laughed lightly. "No, I didn't." "Hey, Sally, we're gonna be late," one of her friends called.
"Okay, I've gotta go," Sally said. "But we should talk again." "Yeah… definitely," Kai said. She walked off. "That was extremely painful," a girl's voice said beside them. "But I liked the snail joke. Bold move." Kai turned. "Hey, Ava. Good to see you too." "Hey, give him some credit," Eddie added. "At least he talked to her instead of running away." Both of them laughed. "Great friends. Seriously," Kai said dryly. They headed into class and took their seats as the bell rang.
"Good morning, everyone," the teacher said. "I hope you had a great summer because it's time to forget all the parties and fun. Open your books to page 20." Books flipped open across the room. Across the river in Manhattan, high above the city in Alchemax Tower, a blonde man stood in his office, staring out the window. "Mr. Stone," a bald man said, stepping in, "we've encountered a problem with the suit design. This could set the project back two years." "What do you recommend, Dr. Rubinstein?" Tyler Stone asked.
Rubinstein handed him a tablet. "This redesign would make it more powerful and more stable." Stone studied it, his expression shifting. "It looks like a rhino." "Exactly. Intimidation factor," Rubinstein said. "And the horn is made from an indestructible metal adamantium. It wasn't easy to acquire… or cheap." Stone nodded slowly. "Fine. Get it done. What about the other project?" Rubinstein hesitated. "Dr. Octavius hasn't provided any updates. Sir… I don't understand why you hired someone like him. He's been expelled from Empire State and Oscorp for illegal experiments." Stone smirked, pouring himself a drink.
"That's exactly why he's here." He opened a file labeled: ENHANCER 001. Back at Midtown High, gym class was in full swing. "Alright, everyone," the coach droned, blowing his whistle. "Physical training. Let's move." Kai did sit-ups while Eddie held his feet. "Hey, Kai look," Eddie said, nodding toward Sally, who was playing basketball. Kai glanced over, then sighed.
"I don't know… I already messed up." "Then try something different. Show off. The rope climb that'll impress her." Kai hesitated… then nodded. They walked over to the ropes.
"Hey, shrimp," Mark called out, grinning. "That might be a little too much for you. Why don't you go read a book with your nerd friend?" Kai clenched his fists. "Why don't you shut your mouth and see if you're actually as strong as you think?" Mark raised an eyebrow. "Ooooh," one of his friends laughed. "He's challenging you." Eddie leaned in. "Dude, what are you doing?" "This is my shot," Kai whispered. "I've already run the numbers." He looked up at the rope, calculating.
"Height: about 25 feet. Rope sway: minimal. Grip friction: moderate. Body weight: 115 pounds. If I conserve energy on the first pull… lock my legs early… alternate grips to reduce strain…
He'll rely on upper body strength. He'll burn out faster. I've got this." "Let's go," Mark said. They started climbing. Kai moved efficiently, keeping pace barely. "Dude, he's catching up!" one of Mark's friends shouted. Mark gritted his teeth and climbed faster. "You got this, Mark!" "You got this, Kai!" Eddie yelled. Sally paused her game, watching.
"Hey, shrimp heads up," Mark called. A basketball slammed into Kai. His grip slipped. He fell hard onto the mats below. Laughter erupted across the gym. Kai stared at the ceiling. "That's just great." After school, Kai sat on the train, scrolling through his phone. A video of his fall already uploaded. Thousands of views. He sighed and turned the screen off. The train stopped. His phone rang. "Hello?" "Malachi, can you pick up some apple juice? Jack drank all mine," a girl's voice said.
"Yeah, alright." He hung up but heard shouting in the background before the call ended. Kai sighed. "It's gonna be a long day." He stepped off the train and headed toward the store then paused. Down an alley, a brown-haired girl was being cornered by two guys. Kai stepped forward. "I don't think she's interested." Both men turned. "Beat it, kid." "Yeah, go film a life hack or something." Kai folded his arms.
"Wow. That was hilarious. Now I'm wondering are you two sharing one brain, or just missing half each?"
They stepped closer. "You should've walked away." Kai stood his ground and then the men suddenly froze. A police officer stood at the end of the alley, watching. The guys backed off. "You're lucky, kid," one muttered before they left. The girl exhaled. "Thanks… but that was stupid." Kai blinked. "Usually people say thank you first." She smirked slightly. "Yeah, yeah. I'm Betty Brant." She held out her hand. "Malachi Jackson," he said, shaking it. "But I go by Kai." "Well, Kai… maybe I'll see you around." She turned and walked off.
Some time later, Kai arrived at a two-story house in Queens. He unlocked the door and stepped inside. The place was loud people moving around, talking over each other, a couple of kids shouting at an FPS game on the TV. "Ruby," Kai said, tossing a bottle toward a brown-haired, green-eyed girl. She caught it. "Thanks." "Hey, Malachi, hop on sticks!" a green-haired, blue-eyed boy called from the couch, controller in hand.
"I've gotta do homework real quick," Kai replied, heading toward the stairs. "Oh, right," a black-haired, brown-eyed girl smirked. "Mr. Genius got into the school for geniuses." "Sorry, Melissa," Kai shot back, "I can't help that I understand calculus as well as I breathe." "Hey, leave him alone," a large, bald man said, walking over and ruffling Kai's hair. "Soon he'll own every building in Manhattan."
"Guys, dinner's almost ready!" a blonde woman called from the kitchen. "Okay, Rose!" all seven kids answered at once. "Mat, can you help me? I need to work on my throwing arm," a boy asked. "Yeah, sure," Mat said, heading out back with him. Kai slipped upstairs to his room. He dropped his backpack, sat at his desk, and powered on his PC. A headline popped up on the screen: Avengers Stop Alien Parasite on the Moon.
Kai leaned back in his chair. "They have it easy," he muttered. "I bet Thor never had to deal with getting humiliated at school." He plugged in his phone, music blasting through his speakers Unpopular by Skillet. Book open, pen in hand, he started working. Then he glanced out the window. Sally. Next door, practicing her dancing. Kai froze, watching. "Hey, Kai! I saw you at school you looked good!" His heart skipped. The door suddenly opened.
"Can I get no privacy?" Kai snapped, spinning around. Melissa leaned against the frame, smirking. "Dinner's ready. And let me guess you were daydreaming about Sally again?" She walked off before he could respond. Kai groaned, shutting his door.
"Kill me now." At dinner, the table buzzed with conversation. "So, Robert," Rose said, "are you still applying for that internship at Alchemax?"
"Yeah," Robert nodded. "If I get it, it'll look great for college. Plus, I heard they're making tech better than Stark Industries." "Alchemax are frauds," Mary said, shaking her head. "Especially Tyler Stone. Something about him just feels off." "You're just an Iron Man fan," Robert teased. Kai looked around the table, smiling faintly. "This family's a little chaotic… but it's better than the rest."
"Malachi," Mat said, snapping him out of it, "what are you thinking about?" "Nothing," Kai said. "Just wondering what the future holds." "It's gonna be great spectacular, even!" Lilly said dramatically. Everyone laughed. The next morning, Kai sat at his desk, typing. On his screen: Jackson Family Records. In his notebook, a title: Family Tree. "My mom, Martha Jackson," Kai murmured, writing, "a genius scientist at Alchemax. Worked on cross-species genetics. Died in a car accident."
He paused. "That's all I've got… and my dad? Total mystery. Alive? Dead? No one knows." His alarm blared. 7:00 AM. Kai rubbed his eyes. "Great. Stayed up all night again. I'll just sleep during lunch." He stretched and glanced out the window. At Alchemax, alarms blared. A figure crashed through a wall, skidding across the floor of a lab. "What are you supposed to be?" Otto Octavius muttered, barely looking up from his work. "Get out. I'm busy."
The intruder hovered in midair encased in a metallic suit resembling a beetle. Without a word, the Beetle slammed Otto aside and grabbed a secured container. "No, you idiot!" Otto shouted, pushing himself up. "You don't understand what you're holding!" The Beetle raised an arm. Missiles fired. Otto clapped his hands together. A shimmering energy barrier formed around him, absorbing the blast. By the time the smoke cleared, the Beetle was gone.
Later, Tyler Stone stood in the wrecked lab. "Otto… what happened?" "My guess?" Otto adjusted his glasses. "A hired mercenary. He knew exactly what he was after." Stone's eyes narrowed. "What did he take?" "The arachnids," Otto said. "All of them… including 001." Stone turned sharply toward the security team. "Leave." They didn't hesitate. The room emptied. "You know who did this," Otto said. Stone didn't answer.
High above New York, the Beetle landed on a rooftop. An older man with white hair waited in the shadows. "Finally," the man said. "Did anyone follow you?" The Beetle said nothing, simply extending his hand. "Right," the man muttered, handing over a briefcase full of cash. The Beetle took it and flew off. The man turned and entered a rundown apartment building. Inside, the room was cluttered equipment, chemicals, strange devices scattered everywhere.
"Finally," he said, pacing. "All my work… and that sleazy rat Stone can't take it from me again." He opened a case. Five spiders, each contained in separate tubes. His expression changed. "…No. No, no, no." He checked again. "One is missing. Not just any spider the original." His hands trembled. "Without that one… everything takes longer." A knock at the door. "Warren! Rent's due!" the landlord shouted. A stack of cash slid under the door. The landlord picked it up, scoffing. "Weirdo." Warren barely heard him. "I can fix this," he muttered. "I can still make this work." Back at Alchemax, inside the CEO's office. A small black spider crawled along the wall. On its abdomen, glowing in bright red: 001.
In class, Kai sat hunched over his notebook, scribbling fast. "The more I dig into my mom," he thought, "the more everything leads back to Alchemax." His pen slowed. "It's been three years… and I still can't even remember her face. Everyone says she died when I was four. Same time my dad disappeared." He stared at the page. "They think he had something to do with it… but I don't buy that. I don't even know him, and still…" Tap. Tap. Kai blinked, snapping back to reality.
"Mr. Jackson," the teacher said, arms crossed, "since you seem so deep in thought, maybe you'd like to teach the class." The room went quiet. "A 2-kilogram object is moving at 3 meters per second. A constant force causes it to accelerate at 4 meters per second squared for 5 seconds. What is the final velocity?" Kai sighed and stood up, dragging himself to the board. Ava watched him closely, a hint of concern in her eyes. Kai grabbed a marker. "Initial velocity is 3 meters per second. Acceleration is 4 meters per second squared. Time is 5 seconds." He wrote quickly. v = v_0 + at. "So… final velocity equals initial velocity plus acceleration times time."
He filled in the values. "v = 3 + (4 × 5)… so that's 3 + 20…" He capped the marker. "Final velocity is 23 meters per second." The teacher nodded. "Correct. But still pay attention even the greatest minds paid attention in class." A few students chuckled as Kai walked back to his seat. After class, the halls buzzed with noise. "Kai," Ava called, catching up to him. "Hey." "I saw you zoning out," she said. "And you look exhausted. Let me guess you're still investigating your mom?"
Kai shrugged. "Yeah. I just… feel like I'm close to something." Ava smiled. "There's that stubborn attitude." She nudged him. "Also… are you okay? After yesterday?" Kai groaned. "How much did you laugh?" "Only enough that I couldn't breathe." "You're terrible." "Yeah, yeah," she said, grinning. "So what's the plan now?" Kai glanced around, then leaned in.
"Can you cover for me next period? And P.E.?" Ava raised an eyebrow. "Sure… but just so you know, my handwriting isn't as girly as yours."
"My handwriting is not girly," Kai shot back. They kept walking until Kai froze. Sally was heading straight toward them. "Kai." she started. He panicked. And ran. Sally stopped, confused. Ava watched him go, deadpan.
"Is he a dork… or an idiot? Honestly, maybe both." Behind the school, Kai crouched near the fence, pulling out his phone. He dialed. "Hey, Robert are you still going to Alchemax?" "Yeah," Robert whispered. "I'm actually here right now. I gotta call you back." The line went dead.
Kai sighed. "I was hoping to sneak in with him… okay. Plan B." He looked up toward the city skyline. "Break into a multi-billion-dollar tech company." A grin spread across his face. "This might be the perfect time to test my hacking app. Wow… this is definitely my villain origin moment. Dr. Doom would be proud." At Alchemax Tower, Tyler Stone sat in his office, staring at a file. "Warren…" he muttered. "So you finally made your move." A knock at the door.
"Mr. Stone, the interns have arrived." "Have Smythe handle it." The door closed. Stone leaned back, eyes narrowing. "I'll find you… and this will be your last experiment." Minutes later, Kai stepped into the Alchemax lobby. He walked up to the receptionist, trying to look confident. "Let me guess," the man said without looking up. "Internship?" "Yeah. Of course." The man glanced at him and laughed.
"Nice try, kid. Come back when you hit puberty." Kai turned away, muttering, "Jerk." He glanced toward a secured door. "Alright… security system looks outdated. Not impressive." He pulled out his phone, fingers moving fast. The lock clicked. The door slid open. Kai slipped inside. "So far, so good… just blend in." He moved through the halls, scanning everything. "If I were storing employee records… archives." He hacked into a nearby terminal, pulling up a map then headed straight for a lab.
Kai paused at the doorway. "…Okay, I did not think this through." The room was dim, filled with strange equipment and experiments. At the far end: a door labeled ARCHIVES.Kai smirked. "This is way too easy." He opened it carefully. Rows of computers. Perfect. He sat at a terminal and started typing. Footsteps. Kai froze. "Yeah, I'm just finishing up," a guard said on his phone. "Then I'm heading home. Yeah, make those cookies with extra sugar… alright, love you."
Kai slowly exhaled. He turned back to the screen and typed in: Martha Jackson access denied. "Of course," Kai muttered. He cracked his knuckles and started coding. Lines of text flooded the screen. Firewalls bypassed. Restrictions gone. Files opened. Kai's eyes widened. "…This isn't just cross-species research. This is… creating entirely new species." He scrolled. "Unstable… highly experimental…" Then another file caught his eye. ARACHNID PROJECT. Kai quickly pulled out his phone and started downloading everything.
Upstairs, alarms suddenly blared. In his office, Stone stared at his monitor. Security footage. Kai in the archives. "What the hell…?" He slammed a button. Back in the archives, Kai's download froze. "Come on come on. " A spotlight snapped on. "Hey! Stay right there!" a guard shouted. Kai bolted. He sprinted through the halls, heart pounding, footsteps echoing behind him. "Stop!" Kai ducked into a lab, diving under a table.
"Okay… don't get caught," he whispered. "Worst case? Jail… then grounded for life." Guards spread out. "Just come out! We can handle this peacefully!" Kai crawled quietly from one table to another, inching toward the exit. Above him the 001 spider was descending. Kai slowly rose, placing his hand on the table to steady himself The spider landed. Bit him. "Ah!" Kai flinched, shaking his hand violently. The spider flew off. He stared at the guards. "…Uh oh." No time. He ran. Bursting into the hallway, then the lobby.
"Get back here!" guards shouted. Kai sprinted outside, spotting a train pulling in. He pushed harder. Up the stairs through the doors they slammed shut behind him. The guards were left on the platform. Kai collapsed into a seat, breathing hard. "…Okay," he muttered. "That was terrifying… Let's never do that again." Back at Alchemax, Stone replayed the footage over and over. Kai's face just out of clear view. "Why was he looking this woman up?" Stone murmured. He stood up. "Fire the head of security… and whoever designed this system." An assistant nodded and left. Stone stared at the screen, eyes cold.