Third Person POV:
A few hours later, back at the Parker estate
After that fantastic field trip, Peter was back home. Usually, around this time after school he would be out getting jacked, but because of the field trip extending school hours, he couldn't make it to that day's gym session.
He was lying on his bed in his small, dimly lit room, staring up at the ceiling. He was reminiscing about the stuff he learnt today about the world's leading tech company.
This was when Peter noticed something was strange. Weird. Either my ceiling is melting, or I'm dying. Cool...?
That was the last thing going through his mind before he blacked out.
-o-
Peter Parker Pov:
Later...
"Peter! Honey! Come get dinner!" I heard faintly while zoning back into consciousness.
Fuckkkkk, why does my head- no, scrap that, my whole body hurt so much??? It feels like I just did leg day! But for my whole body!
"Yeah, coming, gimme a sec May-" I grumble out, trying to shake the ache out of my muscles. Surprisingly, it disappears, just as I notice the massive pool of sweat that I'm lying in.
Did I do that? Or was I an unwilling contestant of the ice bucket challenge or something?
I sniff the sheets. Yup, that's me. Yup, I need to take a bath or something.
I try to heave myself up from my bed. It doesn't work. I try to act all cool and do the thing where I curl myself into a ball and instantly spring back up onto my feet, but instead of landing on my feet and getting up as I wanted, I find myself face-first on the ceiling.
(a/n It's called a kip-up or something. I had to Google the name. At least, that's what came up when I stuck "getting up from the floor jump" in the search bar. Anyways, back to the story.)
What the heck? How did tha-
I slowly get peeled off the ceiling and land back in my bed with a crash.
"Are you ok over there, honey?" I can hear aunt may wonder, but that's not my biggest concern right now, so I just wave her off with a simple "Mhm!".
Now, what the hell happened to my body? Now that I'm stopping and thinking about it, many things seem wrong. Other than the obvious "I just jumped up to the ceiling".
First, I crashed into the ceiling hard enough to usually break my nose or at least injure me, but I didn't feel anything.
Secondly, when I was falling back down, I slowly peeled off the ceiling. At the moment, I thought it was because it was 90's cartoon physics or something for comedic effect, but I remember this is real life.
What the heck happened to me?
This time, instead of doing something stupid, I slowly and carefully get myself off my bed and stand up. I take a step forward and find myself in a familiar situation, with my face buried into the floor. And again, no injuries.
This time, since I was a bit more clear-minded, I noticed it. When I took that step, it felt like my muscles were bulging past their limit. That one step had more power than my leg press PR. Of course, I lost my balance and fell on my face.
With my face still buried in the carpet, I let out a muffled yell. "May, I don't think I'm going to eat today!"
-o-
4 hours later
Peter spent the last while getting used to his new changes. Was this his second puberty? or was this an effect of Alex's mysterious powers? I don't know. All I know, is that this isn't normal. As I was testing out my limits, I could lift up my bed, the heaviest thing in my room, with ease.
I need to test out whatever these new powers are. I thought, determined.
After I made sure May and Ben went to bed, which I knew because of Ben's loud ass snoring, I make my way out of the apartment window.
Another thing I discovered after testing and getting used to the changes in my room was the fact that I could somehow stick to walls. Thats how I stayed stuck to the ceiling for a few seconds before falling.
After many failed attempts and many crashes, which definitely got May worried, I finally got the hang of it, at least at a basic level. I just had to clench really hard.
In the dead of night, I climb down the outer wall of my apartment. I lived on like the 4th floor, and with my new body, I could probably take the fall, but I wasn't planning on taking any chances, making sure to clench as hard as possible with every stick.
I make my way to the park that me, Alex, and Ned always jogged, but the park was now completely empty due to the time. It's a perfect place to test the new stuff out. No cameras to catch anything in the middle of the park.
I take a deep breath, standing in the middle of the park, the cool night air settling around me. Just me and… whatever the hell is happened to my body.
Alright. Let's crank it to the max and see what we're dealing with.
First, I line myself up at the start of the jogging path, take a runner's stance, and push off-
I lurch forward way faster than expected, nearly tripping over my own feet. I feel like my legs are moving on autopilot, faster than I can process. Not Flash-fast, not even close, but it's definitely a solid boost from before.
It takes me a couple of strange steps, but I manage to get back in control, settling into a steady run. My breathing's even, my body's lighter than usual, and I feel like I could do this all night without getting tired.
By the time I finish a mile, I skid to a stop, blinking.
That was way too fast. I checked the time. 3 minutes 15 seconds. With a casual jog.
What the heck? My usual time for a mile is about 7 minutes. How much faster did I get?
Whatever. I need to finish the experiment to get to the analysis and the conclusion. Lets get to the next test. The strength test.
I make my way over to a park bench, the same one me, Alex, and Ned always collapse on after runs. It's bolted into the ground, so there's no way I should be able to-
I crouch, grip the metal frame, and give it a tug.
The bolts groan, and with a bit of effort, the entire bench lifts.
I let out a shaky laugh, feeling the weight in my hands. "Holy crap."
I can feel the resistance, but it's manageable. Not effortless, not ridiculous super strength, just… more. If I had to guess, maybe triple my usual strength? Definitely more than before, but not anywhere even close to actual super strength like the Harlem monster.
I carefully lower the bench back down so nobody finds out about my little science experiment. I dust off my hands.
Alright, is there anything else to check? No? Lets got home them. i don't really want May or Ben finding me missing in the middle of the night.
I turn around, ready to head home. What awaited me was not what I was expecting.
There behind me was a sleek black limousine and a very familiar man leaning on it while watching me.
"Pretty impressive, kiddo. You realize the stuff you just pulled shouldn't be possible for normal humans, right?"
I freeze.
Every muscle in my body locks up as my brain struggles to process what I'm seeing. A limousine? In the middle of the park? At midnight? The math wasn't mathing.
And leaning casually against it, arms crossed, smirking like he knows every embarrassing thought running through my head, is-
I rub my eyes.
That is-
I rub my eyes again.
I feel my soul leave my body.
"—kiddo? You in there?" Stark waves a hand in front of my face.
Yes. Stark. Like Tony motherfucking Stark.
I take a slow, deep breath. I need to play it cool. Just act natural. Be normal. Say something intelligent.
"Ohmygodyouretonystark."
Smooth.
Stark snorts. "Nice observation, kiddo. I didn't notice."
My mouth is still catching up with my brain, so I just keep rambling. "You're Tony Stark. You're Iron Man. I-I mean, obviously you know that, but-holy shit, you're real. I have posters of you hung up in my room. I-I mean not a poster of you, like, a news article. A printout. Actually, forget I said anything... Anyways you're here. In my park. Talking to me. Wh-why are you talking to me?"
My voice cracked somewhere in the middle of that sentence. Great. Fantastic. Amazing first impression.
Stark just chuckles, pushing off the limo. "See, I was gonna ease into the whole 'hey, I know you have weird powers now' conversation, but you just had to go and make it weird. So now we're doing it this way."
I blink. My brain reboots. "Wait. What?"
He gestures vaguely at the park bench I just lifted like it was a bag of groceries. "Yeah, kid, you're not exactly subtle. Cameras caught you crawling out of your apartment, then tracking you here was easy peazy lemon squeezy. And then, well…" He nods toward the bench. "That little magic trick of yours."
I feel my stomach drop. Cameras? Crap, crap, crap. Why am I so stupid? Of course, there's cameras in my apartment! I came to the park to test my powers without getting caught, but- Oh my god. I sigh.
Stark watches my reaction and smirks. "Relax, kiddo. It was only me watching. I make a habit of keeping an eye on things when something weird happens near one of my buildings. And since I own the building you live in-"
"You own my apartment building?"
"Yeah, probably. I own a lot of stuff," he says with a shrug. "I was also kind of tracking you beforehand, so it's not like you could've sneaked anyways."
"Excuse me, Wha-"
"Anyway, let's move on. Imagine my surprise when I see a high schooler crawling down the side of an apartment complex like some kind of off-brand ninja, only to speed-walk his way to a park for some late-night lifting exercises."
I open my mouth, then close it. What the hell am I supposed to say to that?
Stark smirks, clearly enjoying watching me short-circuit. "Let me guess. Woke up feeling wonky? Sudden changes to your body that you can't explain?"
I swallow. "How do you know that?"
He claps his hands together. "Well, funny story, kid- I, uh, accidentally gave you superpowers."
My brain completely malfunctions. It was already malfunctioning enough, but it went from concussion-level malfunction to lobotomy-level real quick. "You- what- huh?!"
Stark sighs, rubbing his temple. "Yeah, okay, that sounds really bad when I say it out loud, but hear me out. You were on a Stark Industries field trip today, right?"
I nod, still reeling.
"And, let me guess, at some point, you felt a little pinch?"
I think back. The tour. That weird tickle on my neck...
Oh.
Stark sees the realization dawn on my face and nods. "Yeah, that. Congratulations, kiddo. You got bitten by a one-of-a-kind, genetically engineered spider. Not just any spider, mind you, but one juiced up with some—let's call it experimental—research."
I stare at him. "You gave a spider superpowers?!"
"I was bored, ok?" Tony looked at me as if this justifies things. "I had this brand new element that only I had access to, and who would I be if I didn't try injecting it into everything I see?"
I blink. "That… sounds really irresponsible. And dangerous."
"Yeah, well, hindsight's 20/20," he says, waving a hand dismissively. "The important part is: one of those little guys went MIA."
"You lost track of a radioactive spider?"
"It escaped, thank you very much. It broke the reinforced glass container with a punch. Also, it's not a radioactive spider. It's a badass(ium) spider. And now, congrats! You're Spider-Boy."
I groan, running a hand down my face. "Oh, god. This is so stupid."
"Hey, you're the one who decided to test out your powers in a public park."
I sigh. "What happens now?"
Tony crosses his arms. "Well, I could do what any responsible billionaire would do and pretend I never saw anything."
My stomach sinks.
"But," he continues, "seeing as how it's partially my fault you got bitten, and seeing as how you haven't immediately tried to rob a bank with your new powers, I figure you deserve a little guidance."
I blink. "Wait. Are you saying—?"
"I'm saying you might need a lil help, kid. And lucky for you, I happen to be a genius billionaire mentor extraordinaire with a little free time on my hands, who also happens to have experience being a hero. Who else in the world has those qualifications?" He smirks. "So what do you say, kiddo? You want a little guidance from yours truly?"
My jaw dropped.
Holy. Freaking. Crap.
(a/n hope you enjoyed, it was a longer chap then usual, so it took a little time. I got a lotta hate for the way I made the MC introduce himself to peter back in like episode 3 or something, and I re-read it, and I don't even remember what kind of crack I was on. I hope that this talk was a bit better than that one. i feel like I'm improving though.)