"But that's also incredibly dangerous, Alex. You don't know what was in that compound. Could've killed you. Could've done something way worse than give you powers."
"I'm aware. I spent two days feeling like garbage afterward. Fever, nausea, general misery. Then I started noticing changes."
"What kind of changes?"
Alex stood up and walked to his kitchen. He picked up his refrigerator, an industrial model weighing roughly four hundred pounds, and lifted it cleanly off the ground with one hand.
"Jesus Christ," Peter said, standing up so fast his chair nearly tipped over.
Alex set the fridge back down with care. "That kind of change."
"You're stronger than me. Maybe."
"Comparable, I think. Slightly different profile. Strength, speed, reflexes, accelerated healing. No web-slinging, no wall-crawling. Whatever was in that compound wasn't spider-based."
Peter walked closer, studying him like he was seeing a stranger wearing his friend's face. "This is so cool. And also terrifying. You could've died from contamination. No antidote, no idea what was even in the sample."
"I know. I got lucky."
"Good thing it worked out fine," Peter said, relief visibly washing over his features. "I mean, seriously, thank god. I don't know what I would've done if you'd just... gotten sick and died from some random Oscorp accident."
"I'm still monitoring myself," Alex said. "Running blood tests every few days. Tracking vitals. I don't actually know the full composition of whatever I was exposed to, so there could be delayed effects. Something that takes longer to manifest, similar to how your full range of abilities took days to show up completely."
"Makes sense. Keep me posted if anything weird happens."
"Will do."
Peter sat back down, processing everything. "So now what? You've got powers too. We're like a matched set."
"Not identical. Different strengths. But yes, comparable capability."
"We could actually work together now. Like, properly. Not just you giving advice from the sidelines while I do all the actual fighting."
Alex allowed himself a small smile. "That's the idea."
"You've been thinking about this for a while, haven't you? Even before the accident."
"Since the Vulture attack, honestly. Standing there while he tried to kill me made it very clear I needed more than intelligence to survive what might come. I just didn't expect the opportunity to present itself quite like this."
"Lucky timing, I guess."
'Lucky,' Alex thought, the word settling oddly in his mind. 'Sure. Let's call it that.'
Peter leaned forward again. "What is coming, exactly? You keep hinting at bigger threats. Stuff beyond street crime and corporate spying."
Alex considered how much to reveal. He still hadn't told Peter about his full knowledge of the broader universe, about Thanos, about cosmic threats that would eventually arrive on Earth's doorstep.
He definitely will never share that knowledge. But what he can say now, is something many intelligent figures had already guessed in the marvel universe on Earth.
"I have theories," Alex said carefully. "Based on patterns I've observed. Enhanced individuals are appearing more frequently. Technology is advancing in ways that suggest we're approaching something significant. I believe we're heading toward a period of escalating threats. Possibly even extraterrestrial in nature."
"Aliens? Seriously?"
"Tony Stark already deals with technology that shouldn't be possible by current scientific standards. Norman's experiments suggest genetic modification capabilities beyond anything publicly acknowledged. The pattern points toward an era where capability and danger both keep climbing."
Peter absorbed this slowly. "So you're preparing for something big."
"I'm preparing for everything. Being strong enough to handle whatever comes. And I want you prepared too."
"I'm already Spider-Man. I'm already dealing with threats."
"You're dealing with street crime and the occasional enhanced individual like Toomes. I'm talking about something larger eventually. Organized threats. Possibly involving multiple enhanced individuals working together against ordinary people. Maybe worse."
"That sounds like comic book stuff."
Alex almost laughed at the irony of that statement. "Maybe. But I'd rather prepare for comic book threats and be wrong than stay unprepared and face them with nothing."
"It's better to be a soldier in a garden, than to be a gardener during a war."
Peter went silent for a moment, "That sounds deep."
Alex shrugged.
Peter nodded slowly. "Okay. So what's the plan? Beyond you accidentally getting super strength?"
"Training. Proper combat technique for both of us, now that I actually have the body to execute what I already know theoretically. Better resources and infrastructure than either of us working alone. Eventually, allies. Other enhanced individuals who share similar values."
"You're talking about building a team."
"Eventually, yes. Not now. Probably not soon. But eventually."
Peter extended his hand without being asked. "Count me in. Whatever you're planning, I want to be part of it. After Uncle Ben, I understand the stakes now. We need to be ready for anything."
Alex shook it. "Partners. In more than just deceiving Norman."
"Partners," Peter agreed. "Though I still think it's wild that you got hit with random destiny juice just like I did."
"The universe has a sense of humor, apparently."
"You're taking this way too calmly. I freaked out for like three days straight when I got my powers."
"I had some time to process before you saw me. The freaking out happened privately."
Peter laughed, shaking his head. "Fair enough."
They spent the rest of the evening discussing training regimens and combat techniques, working through how Alex's new abilities would integrate with their ongoing effort to mislead Norman's surveillance. Alex demonstrated more of his capabilities while Peter compared notes on his own powers, the two of them falling into an easy rhythm of shared purpose neither had quite had before.
By the time Peter left through the window that night, both of them understood more clearly what came next. Two enhanced individuals, bound by friendship and shared purpose, preparing for threats most people couldn't begin to imagine.
Alex sat alone afterward, reviewing his notes from the day. His physical transformation was successful. His partnership with Peter had deepened into something more strategic, more purposeful, built on a foundation that was mostly true even if the origin story wasn't.
'Step one complete,' he thought. 'Physical enhancement achieved. Trusted ally secured more firmly than before. Foundation established.'
The path forward remained long and complicated. Norman's obsession continued growing. The Lizard threat loomed somewhere on the horizon. Cosmic dangers waited in some uncertain future that only Alex truly understood the shape of.
But he felt more prepared than he had in months. Stronger. More capable. Less vulnerable than the broke, malnourished teenager who'd woken up in this universe with nothing but a sharper mind and a desperate will to survive.
He looked at his hands, no longer just instruments of intellect but now weapons of physical capability too.
'Whatever comes next,' Alex thought, 'I'll be ready. At least I hope so...'
He just hoped readiness would be enough when the real threats finally arrived.
---
Read more chapters, days ahead of Webnovel Updates on Patreon marvelstark