On a different Earth, underneath New York, Spider-Man was battling the Green Goblin above a black portal. "Norman, you know there's probably some law that says you can't have a black hole underneath Manhattan. I think," Spider-Man quipped as he punched the Green Goblin. The Goblin grabbed Spider-Man and hurled him into a lab. "Hey buddy, I gotta go fight your owner now," Spider-Man said, shooting organic webs from his forearms and launching himself back at the Goblin.
Unknown to them, a large black spider with the letters "GS" on the top of its abdomen crawled along the wall. Spider-Man webbed the Goblin and threw him into the power supply. The portal spiraled out of control, shaking the entire white laboratory. The spider lost its grip and fell into the portal just before it closed. It traveled through dimensions before arriving on Earth-10015 inside an abandoned subway station.
Miles away in Forest Hills, Queens, a brown-haired, blue-eyed boy sat at the kitchen table eating a bowl of Frosted Flakes. "Lucien, make sure you don't miss the bus. And your lunch is in the fridge. I'll be working late, so there's money on the countertop," a brown-haired, blue-eyed woman in a nurse's uniform said, kissing him on the cheek. "Okay," Lucien replied as he continued eating. She left the house. "Another day in Queens," Lucien thought.
He got up, grabbed his backpack, and walked outside. "Lucien, yo!" A short blue-haired girl wearing a black shirt, black pants, and sneakers, with Sennheiser HD 598 headphones resting around her neck, waved at him. "Max, sup?" Lucien said, fist-bumping her as they walked together. A little later, they stepped off the bus at Midtown High. "Hey, you coming over after school?" Max asked.
"Of course we're coming over tomorrow. We are best friends after all," a large black-haired, brown-eyed boy said, wrapping an arm around both of them. "Of course, Danny. You are bringing the snacks after all," Lucien replied. "Is that all you think about? Food?" Max asked. "Yes," Lucien answered bluntly. The three walked inside the school. Suddenly, Lucien tripped over a leg sticking out into the hallway.
"Oops. Sorry, midget. I was stretching," a tall red-haired, brown-eyed boy wearing a football uniform said while laughing with his group. "Hey, Mark, how about you stop being a jerk for once?" Max snapped. "How about you act more like a lady? Then I'll give you more attention," Mark said, winking at her. Max balled up her fist. Her face twisted with anger and disgust as she started toward him. Lucien quickly grabbed her wrist.
"Don't stoop to his level, Max," Lucien said. He blinked his left eye. "Great. My contact fell out." He removed the other contact, pulled a pair of glasses from his backpack, and put them on. "You gotta stand up for yourself, Lucien. Danny, tell him," Max said angrily. "We can't do anything against them. You fight one, then the others jump in. Remember seventh grade?" Danny said. "Whatever," Max muttered, walking away. "What's her problem?" Lucien asked.
"Like I've been saying since third grade. Lucien, use that brain of yours for more than just science," Danny replied. Lucien only looked more confused. First period began as the teacher walked into the classroom. "Alright, class. Before we start, let's see if you've been studying your history. What was the primary purpose of the Louisiana Purchase?" She looked around the room. No one raised their hand. Mark sat in the back with a straw in his mouth, shooting spitballs at another student.
"Mark," the teacher said. He immediately stopped. "Yeah?" "What was the primary purpose of the Louisiana Purchase?" "Uhh... the president?" The class giggled. "It doubled the size of the United States by purchasing territory from France, opening vast areas for settlement and exploration," Lucien answered while writing in his notebook. "Good," the teacher replied. "He's dead," Mark whispered to one of his friends. "Now, to the lesson. The American Civil War was fought between the Northern states, the Union, and the Southern states, the Confederacy."
Later, it was gym class. Everyone had changed into their gym uniforms and gathered outside on the field. "Okay, Lucien. We can't embarrass ourselves. Look," Danny said, pointing toward the girls getting ready for their game. "Don't even think about it. You two will never get with one of those girls. So youthful, energetic... and tight," a brown-haired, green-eyed boy said, whispering the last line as he walked behind them. "What are you doing here, John? This is sophomore gym time," Danny asked.
"Just admiring the view. And detention. Got caught making out with the head cheerleader in the principal's office," John replied before casually walking away. "That guy cannot get any worse," Lucien muttered. "Alright, everyone! Time for a warm-up!" the P.E. teacher shouted. The students stretched, did push-ups, and sit-ups. A few minutes later, Lucien struggled while climbing the rope. "Come on, midget! Is that all you got? Climb!" Mark shouted.
He threw a red dodgeball at Lucien. The ball hit him, causing Lucien to lose his grip and fall onto the mat. Everyone laughed. "What's wrong with y'all? Lucien, are you okay?" A beautiful girl with long, silky black hair that reached the middle of her back and vivid green eyes hurried over, helping him to his feet. "Yeah... thanks, Camila," Lucien said, caught off guard. He adjusted his glasses and finally got a clear look at her face.
After school, Lucien sat in the basement at his desktop computer. The house phone rang. He stood up and answered it. "Lucien, change of plans. I can't study together today. I gotta babysit my siblings," Danny said. "Alright. I'll tell Max." "Yeah. Don't do anything too crazy." The call ended. Lucien sighed. Next door, Max was in her room cleaning it up. "I see... so your boyfriend is coming over?" a boy asked from the doorway.
"He's my friend! And we're just studying!" Max replied before shutting the door. A little while later, Lucien and Max sat in her room listening to music while doing homework. "Hey, Lucien. Sorry about earlier. I was just overwhelmed with other stuff," Max said. "It's okay. But you're right. I should stand up for myself. I'm such a coward," Lucien said with a laugh. "I wouldn't go that far. When it really matters... you tend to step up," Max whispered. She stood up. "Okay, let's go. I'm tired of all this mushy stuff." She opened the window and climbed out. Lucien followed. "Same place?" Lucien whispered. "No. I found another spot," Max replied. The two dropped down from the rooftop. Max grabbed a hidden backpack from the bushes. Lucien picked up the two bikes hidden near his house. Together, they rode off into the afternoon.
Some time passed, and they arrived at a construction site, looking at a sign that read "Closed" in front of a subway entrance. "Alright, we gotta do this quickly. Can you do it even with your glasses?" Max asked as they walked down the stairs. "Of course I can. Remember who taught you," Lucien said, grabbing a spray paint can out of the bag. "I just wish I ate more. I'm still hungry," Lucien said, his stomach growling.
"You already ate two boxes of pizza, chocolate cake, and a footlong sub. Where does all that go, and how are you still skinny?" Max questioned. "Still can't explain it, even after all these years," Lucien replied. They walked deeper into the subway before dropping onto the rails and making their way through the tunnel.
"I'm thinking of something cool, like a dragon... or a demon eating a dragon with fire coming out of its butt," Max said. "Yeah, if you wanna be like everyone else. It's time to think outside the box. Hey, let's check this out," Lucien said after spotting a door covered in webs. He turned the knob, putting some force into it before it finally creaked open. "Looks like this hasn't been opened since New York," Max said, peeking through the doorway. She pulled a flashlight from her bag and shined it inside.
They walked through, entering a long hallway. "Whoa. We gotta tell Danny about this next time," Lucien said. "Yeah. Let's see where this goes," Max replied. They continued down the hallway until they arrived at a large room. "Okay, this is it," Max said, shaking her spray paint can. Unknown to them, the large spider crawled silently across the ceiling. Lucien began spraying the wall.
Some time passed, and they finished their graffiti. Lucien's was a giant hand holding the universe, while Max's was New York being eaten by a giant mouth. "Nice." They both fist-bumped. "Hey, looks like someone was here before," Lucien said, grabbing two dusty chairs. They sat down. Max kept stealing glances at him before quickly looking away. "So, Lucien... you going to the house party this weekend?" Max asked.
"You mean the one with the popular kids? I don't think I'm invited," Lucien replied. "Well, I was invited. If you wanna come, you can." Lucien looked at her. "Okay." She smiled. "Cool." They looked into each other's eyes. "Max..." Lucien said softly. Both slowly leaned toward each other. The spider descended from the ceiling, landing on the back of Lucien's neck before biting him.
"Ahh!" Lucien screamed, grabbing the back of his neck. "What's wrong?" Max asked. She spotted the spider crawling down his back and immediately stomped on it, killing it. Lucien moved his hand away and saw blood. "How bad is it?" he asked. "It was a big spider. Do you feel like you're dying?" Max asked as she examined the bite. "No," Lucien replied with a small laugh. "Come on. Let's go, just in case," Max said, gathering their things.
They left the abandoned station, noticing it was already dark outside. Now back at home, Lucien's mom, Mercy, sat on the couch in casual clothes after work, eating dinner while watching TV. She heard the front door open. "Hey, kid. You have fun at Max's?" Mercy asked. "Yeah. I'm gonna go to sleep. Night, Mom," Lucien said as he walked upstairs. "You okay?" she called.
"Yeah... just puberty!" Lucien answered with the first word that came to mind. He opened his bedroom door, closed it behind him, and collapsed onto his bed. His entire body felt like it was on fire. Breathing heavily, he pulled off his shirt and pants before finally passing out. Meanwhile, in Manhattan, inside a science lab at the Empire State Building... "Doctor Connors? Are you here?" a man in a lab coat called as he looked around.
He noticed a tank filled with green liquid labeled "Lizard." "Warren? I thought you were leaving," Connors said as he walked toward him. "I found that file you wanted on cross-species," Warren replied, handing it over. "Thank you. You should get some sleep," Connors said. Warren started walking away. "Make sure you get some sleep too, Connors." He left the lab. Connors eagerly opened the file.
"Yes... this is what I was missing. With this, I'll finally be able to complete my work... and get my arm back." He glanced at a framed picture of himself holding a young boy. He sighed, closed his eyes, then turned toward the tank of glowing green liquid. The next morning... Lucien woke up on the floor. "Ouch... my head is killing me," he groaned, rubbing it. Without noticing, he stepped on a piece of paper that stuck to the bottom of his foot.
He walked into the bathroom, splashed water on his face, then looked down at his forearms. Instead of their usual skinny appearance, they were noticeably more muscular. He lifted his shirt. A defined six-pack stared back at him. "Whoa... what happened? This cannot just be puberty." Suddenly, nausea hit him. He rushed to the toilet and threw up. "Wow... that feels so much better," Lucien said.
Some time later, after washing up, he headed downstairs. His mom had already left for work. Lucien walked over to a stack of papers on the kitchen table. Every one of them read "Past Due." "Great... this means she'll be doing overtime for two weeks again. I gotta help... especially since Dad is gone," he thought. He set the papers back down and walked outside. "Okay... other than that, I feel like today is gonna be great..."
Out of habit, he reached up to adjust his glasses. They weren't there. "Wait... what? How can I see? When can I see? I don't have my contacts... What is happening?" Lucien's thoughts spiraled as panic set in. "Hey." Max poked him on the shoulder, startling him. "Oh! Hey, Max," Lucien said. She stared at him. "You get new contacts?" Lucien panicked internally. "Y-Yeah. It's not like my eyes magically got better overnight. Stop talking, Lucien," he thought to himself.
Max gave him a confused look. A little later, Lucien, Max, and Danny walked through the school hallway. "So, how was last night? Did you guys find a new spot?" Danny asked. "Yeah," Lucien replied, still not feeling well. "Lucien, you okay? You really don't look good." "Yeah... that's just my face," Lucien joked. "Look, it's the midget and his friends! Hey, guys, check this out!" Mark shouted to his friends.
He threw a ball straight at Lucien's head. A strange buzzing sensation exploded inside Lucien's mind. Without thinking, his hand shot up automatically. Thump. He caught the ball with ease. "Whoa..." everyone said. Max grabbed the ball from Lucien and hurled it back. It slammed into Mark's chest. Lucien clutched his head in agony. His vision blurred. Then he collapsed. "Lucien!" Danny yelled.
In the nurse's office, Lucien slowly woke up. "Whoa... I can't believe I blacked out," Lucien said. He sat up and walked toward the door. As he grabbed the doorknob, it suddenly ripped off the door and stuck to his hand. "What the...? What's going on right now? Let go!" Lucien panicked. He tried pulling the doorknob off, but it only stuck to his other hand.
Quickly, he hid both hands behind his back just as Max walked in. "Good, you're okay. You really scared me there," Max said. "Yeah, sorry. I guess I didn't eat enough," Lucien replied. "That's unusual. Are you sure you're okay? Could it be that spider? Maybe it was deadly," Max thought. "No, I feel fine... really." Lucien forced a smile. But maybe that spider did do something, he thought. After school, Lucien stood in an alleyway, staring at a brick wall before looking down at his hand.
"This is crazy. No way it'll work... Screw it." He jumped onto the wall. His hands and feet stuck to it, leaving him clinging to the wall on all fours. He cautiously started climbing. "Nope... this is not happening." Lucien stopped. He squeezed his eyes shut, then slowly opened them again and looked down. He was still stuck to the wall. "Woohoo!" Lucien shouted. The next moment, he was running and jumping across rooftops.
He stopped on top of one building and looked across at another roughly forty feet away. "This is stupid. I'm not doing that." He turned to walk away. After only a few steps, he stopped. He spun around, sprinted toward the edge, and leaped. "Ahhhhh!" Lucien screamed, wildly flailing his arms and legs. Seeing a window rushing toward him, he braced for impact. Crash! He smashed through the glass and tumbled into the apartment building's staircase. "Ouch... damn." Lucien lay face down.
His left arm throbbed with pain, and several cuts covered his face. Meanwhile, at the ESU laboratory... Connors leaned over his microscope with a grin. "Yes... I finally perfected it after all these years." "Years of what, Connors?" a man with wavy brown hair asked. "Norman." Connors immediately became defensive. "I'm just checking on an old friend. So... what are you up to?" Norman asked, glancing toward the research files.
Connors quickly grabbed the files and put them away. "I'm sorry, Norman, but I have a class to teach." He hurried out of the lab. Norman smiled. After Connors was gone, he quietly placed a hidden camera on the wall, carefully adjusting it to the perfect angle before leaving. Back home, Lucien stood in the bathroom treating his injuries. He rubbed Vaseline onto the scrape on his elbow before covering it with a bandage. "Well... it could be worse. Or could it?" he thought.
"What's really happening to me? Could this be the start of a mutation? Am I even going to be human anymore? No... calm down and think." He took a deep breath. "Alright. Let's go back to where it happened. That spider... I'll examine it and compare it to my blood." Just then, he heard the front door close. Lucien hurried into his room, threw on a hat to cover his messy hair, and walked downstairs. "Hey, Mom. I gotta help Max with homework." "Again?" Mercy asked.
"Yeah. You know her. When it comes to cars or motorcycles, she's a genius... not when it comes to numbers." He opened the front door. "Don't be out all night. Your brother is visiting." Lucien smiled. "I won't." He headed outside. Once he was out of sight, he broke into a run. Without realizing it, he was moving much faster than any normal person could. "I just hope it's still abandoned," Lucien thought. As he approached the subway entrance, a sharp tingling shot through his skull.
Instinct took over. Lucien flipped over a speeding car that had nearly run him over. The vehicle slammed into a lamppost. The bent lamppost tilted toward the driver's side. Lucien landed on the roof of the wrecked car and caught the falling pole before it could crush the driver. "I got it...? Holy crap... I do got it." With surprising ease, he tossed the lamppost aside. He dropped to the ground, yanked open the driver's door, and carefully pulled the unconscious man from the wreckage.
Moments later, distant sirens echoed through the streets. Lucien immediately took off running. After several blocks, he finally stopped to catch his breath. "Whew... I don't think I was seen. He looked back toward the crash. "Yeah... maybe I'll check the subway another day. It's not like anyone's looking for that spider." He turned and headed home.
Meanwhile, deep beneath the city... Several men wearing hazard suits moved through the abandoned subway station carrying handheld scanners. "The signal's in here," one of the men said. He opened the hidden door leading into the secret room. The scanner suddenly began beeping wildly as it pointed toward the dead spider. "Mr. Osborn," one of the men spoke into his earpiece, "I think we found it." The team immediately began securing the area.