Chương 18: Embers Of Ambition
"Be gentle, please."
...
"Peter?" she asked once more, her hand going limp in his.
"Yeah? I'm here," he sighed, but she fell asleep once more before she could answer.
'She's probably sedated if she's this groggy. But how on earth did they manage to do that?' he thought, prying out his hands from Gwen's unnaturally firm grip.
'The video on the news cut off once Rhino smashed into the stage, thus the only evidence of there being a second or third party were the ropes of spiderweb on the ground after police reached the scene. Nothing other than the dead civilians were found on the site, but the Rhino in the video seems like the comic one thus he wouldn't resort to using weapons as he would prefer to smash into whatever he was facing face first.'
He stood up and looked at the small box that held all the suspicious clothes he'd found today - Gwen's hoodie, mask, and the black suit coat.
'The only options for how she got sedated would be with tranquilizer darts, loaded with an extremely powerful drug, due to their speed - even her spidey sense could've gotten overloaded if enough of them were shot simultaneously.
The other option would be for her to have ingested it which is very unlikely. That would mean they made her ingest it as Gwen and not as Ghost-Spider which would imply that her identity was compromised. That would be highly improbable as they would've been much more discreet with her attempted capture.'
'Unless they're mad and wish to spread terror,' He opened the compartment and stared at the odd symbol once more. 'Possible, but unlikely. It's most probably a complete coincidence that they attacked Gwen's concert. They probably wished to attack the largest gathering of people to draw out Gwen, but the fact that they didn't attack to kill, but to sedate her is worrying. Do villains already wish to study her and her DNA?'
'KP and eight tentacles growing from behind it,' he closed the compartment. 'The initials just scream Kingpin but the tentacles probably represent Dr Otto Octavious. Are they working together? Well, it's an alternate universe after all...but if it's true, Gwen has her work cut out for her. Kingpin plus Otto is not something to scoff at.'
***
"Urrgh, fuck..," Gwen muttered as her eyes fluttered open, focusing on a familiar white ceiling. She seemed to be lying on a bed without her mask or her hoodie while her torso was bandaged. 'Did Peter find me? MJ? Glory? Betty? Are they okay?'
Her head snapped to the side and sure enough, she spotted Peter religiously working at one of his many machines while wearing a lab coat and his goggles.
'Why does he look different?'
"Peter? Is that you?" Gwen said, sitting up on the bed and reaching for her phone only to find it missing. 'Fuck...my phone was still in the alley...'
Peter looked to the side, and his face split into a grin. "You, you're finally awake."
"Why don't you look half dead anymore?"
"Eating better and working out," he shrugged and walked up to her, his hands in his pockets.
He really looked different. His skinny physique was now healthier, his skin was devoid of blemishes and was clear - but the most prominent thing was that his spectacles were now different. The comical round glasses that made him look like a dork were replaced by clear rectangular spectacles that went beautifully with his eyes.
The combination of all the aforementioned factors made him look three times as handsome.
"Wait..." Gwen said, tearing her eyes from his face. "Your body changed this much in two days?"
"Well, I've been eating for a lot longer, but I understand the confusion," he said, pulling out his phone and flipping through it. "Here, this should explain it."
"Okay..." Gwen's face turned all the more confused as she accepted the phone and looked at its screen. It was covered in random bars in different places and angles while a large part was highlighted.
She looked back at him as though he'd gone mad. "And this is supposed to make sense?"
"That's a very, very, very small part of my genome," Peter grinned, acting as though what he gave her made perfect sense.
"...."
"What's wrong?"
"Peter..."
"Yeah?"
"You know I can suplex you to the moon, right?"
"Ahem...fair enough. It's called RMRS (Rapid Muscle Regenesis Syndrome). I possess genetic variations that lead to hyperactivation of pathways involved in muscle protein synthesis, optimal myogenic satellite cell activation and a damn good metabolism - too good actually. My body almost began devouring itself when I barely ate. As far as I know, I'm the only one with it, but my father could've had it too."
"You're being completely serious? Is that why you were so skinny?" Gwen said, giving him back his phone.
"I am," he nodded, sitting on a chair and spinning around to pass the time.
"What do you call it again? RMR-what?"
"RMRS or Rapid Muscle Regenesis Syndrome. Didn't figure it out until I got the Oscorp machines," Peter replied, stopping the chair as he was getting dizzy. "There are so many more layers to it - such as the efficient nutrient utilization, enhanced vascularity, and many more epigenetic factors. If I explain all the nitty-gritty specifics in complete detail we'll be here for the rest of the day."
"I wouldn't mind that," Gwen gave him a sly grin, but he didn't falter. He was now immune to her mental games.
"You do have to call your dad, though. He's probably losing his mind over you not being found."
"Wait, you didn't call him yet?!" Gwen's eyes widened before fumbling for her phone before realizing once more, that it was not with her.
"I did try calling him for five minutes, but the number was busy - he was most probably calling you. I dropped him a text too, but he hasn't seen it yet," he said before tossing her his unlocked phone.
"Oh," she caught his phone. "Thank you..."
"No prob-
"...for everything."
"Uff.." Peter grunted as Gwen vanished from her spot and reappeared before him - engulfing him in a hug that almost squeezed the air out of him. Her arms locked behind his back, and she buried her head in his chest.
"You're...err..welcome."
"Phanks...," she mumbled once more, her voice muffled before skipping away to the corridor to call her father.
'FOCUS!' he practically yelled into his head as he robotically turned back toward the machines. 'FOCUS!'
It took quite a while to reach Captain Stacy as he'd probably kept it on silent mode but Gwen eventually managed to get through which made him ecstatic. After he berated Gwen for not calling him instead and confirming that her friends made it out alive with merely light injuries, he thanked Peter whom Gwen dragged onto the phone much to his unwillingness as he was working on a project.
***
"You are not taking this now," Peter stood before the clothes compartment.
"What? Why?!" Gwen asked, confused.
"I'm banning you from all Spiderwoman activities. You are to live a normal life for a while."
"But why? So many people need saving out there!" she countered, her brows furrowing. "New York City needs Spiderwoman."
"Perhaps," Peter shrugged. With the emergence of supervillains, superheroes were now needed more than ever. "But your existence out there puts the people of New York all the more in danger. Did you not see what they did today? Killing dozens of people to get you out in the spotlight? That will continue, but it's about more than that."
"I know people will die because of my incompetence - I think about that every second of my existence, but they would suffer fates worse than that if those psychos take over," she said, visibly frustrated. "You're telling me that I shouldn't go out and save people for a while? Why?"
'Getting past the Spidermorality will be hard. Good thing she's just begun heroism,' he sighed to himself.
"I'm telling you not to sacrifice your mental and physical health at the cost of people who truly care about you," he stressed the word care, which made her falter. "Those people will always be your worst weakness. Your reverse scale. Thus, you've either got to cut it off or work within the space you've been given while ensuring that their lives aren't compromised."
"But..." She began, but Peter wasn't done. He had to let it out, lest someone from her rogue gallery decides to kidnap him as leverage.
"You're an amateur now - any competent supervillain could figure out your identity in a few weeks if they put their mind to it. I wouldn't be surprised if they haven't already begun, given the concert accident," he spoke firmly.
"I...well.." She attempted to make a counterpoint but was at a loss for words. The chance of her loved ones getting hurt while she pursued vigilantism was her greatest fear, and Peter's rant hit her right where it hurt. She sighed, and her shoulders slumped, "What should I do?"
"Aren't you the genius engineer here?" he chuckled. "You built the damn web shooters in a junkyard? It has so many applications - explore that. Also, build a better suit that does its job while I create a few more variations of the web fluid that'll be useful to you."
"Wow, thanks. I can do that," Gwen said after a few seconds of thought. "But am I still barred from helping people?"
"Only as Spiderwoman," Peter sighed. "It's about laying low for a while, Gwen. Use the time to regain your bearings and get some upgrades."
"Yeah, I will," Gwen said after a few seconds of thought. "You know, you're already doing so much for me that you really don't need to give me a birthday present in April. I probably need to do something for you."
'Her birthday is in three months? Well, I can always help her unlock her potential then.'
"Your birthday present will dwarf this by a large margin," he snorted, as Gwen's eyebrows disappeared into her hair.
"You really don't have to, you know..." Gwen said.
"But I want to, so I'll do it," he shrugged. "My genius can spare some brai—Oof!"
Peter's breath was knocked away once more as Gwen slammed into him for another hug before abruptly vanishing from the room, leaving behind a soft, echoing bye.
He mentally groaned in disappointment as he'd felt so comfortable in her embrace - almost melting in there but he quickly regained his composure. He was in a dangerous world, and while he was still an ordinary human, he could not take a break. Looking at the numerous machines on the table with renewed determination, he took a deep breath.
He now had new information about regulatory sequences in people's DNA, access to better equipment, and a brain that could beat most of humanity with a hand tied behind its back. The previous four-stage process for Genome adaptation seemed primitive - like a man dragging a large stone block not knowing that wheels would make it infinitely easier.
His hazel eyes now housed the embers of ambition - just waiting for the spark to be lit.
He had the opportunity to grab this world by the balls...
...and he would take it.
'Three months, huh... I can do better. Far better.'
***
Powers are on their wayyyyy!!!! Therefore, you must give me your powerstones ( I shall keep them safe )
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