"-Everthing has gone according to our plans so far as we had predicted, with no other choice but to lower their prices we have backed out competition into a corner on this front. If they do not lower their prices it would only boost our sales since we have the better alternative." Susan explained to her employees who were in charge of certain things. "If they do lower their prices we will ship out our insulins which aren't only better but also are half the price of any product available in the market."
"By our stats, I do not doubt that ours is a better alternative so wouldn't selling it for a lower price on the market be a bad move?"
"I would if we choose to ignore the fact that there have been several cases of public outrage regarding the ridiculous price common folks have to pay for a single bottle. Selling it a lower price wouldn't hurt us since we are maintaining a considerable margin again the production cost also it's morally appropriate for us to do this."
"But-"
"The common folks would look at our products as a relieving hand and are likely to place their goodwill in us which will help and stabilize our image and cement our position in the competitive market." Susan smiled. "I've considered everything, we are helping the people, still making a considerable amount of profit and building a good atmosphere around our brand."
The board members nodded as Susan smiled at them before turning a page in her file.
"Also, this is just our first step into the wild, wild west. We'll moderate our steps and gradually expand our reach. Peter has envisioned a great plan and he has a detailed document regarding his plans and how he wants you to execute them. I want you to go through them before our next meeting where we'll discuss when to start and where." Susan instructed with a polite smile. The members stood up as the meeting came to an end.
"Good job, ma'am." The members complimented her as they left one by one.
"Oh, excuse me, ma'am?"
"Yes?"
"I couldn't help but notice that Mr Parker was absent in the meeting."
"Oh, you know his graduation is just around the corner so he's busy preparing." Susan replied confidently. "But hopefully he'll be joining most of the meetings soon enough."
"Oh, that's great. Anyways have a good day ma'am."
"You too." Susan smiled politely as the lady left. Susan sighed leaning back stretching her sore muscles as the last lady left. Straightening herself she smiled to herself as she began gathering her things to leave as well.
Susan couldn't help but smile as her mind wandered to a certain web-swinger.
Peter was always on her mind these days and she felt like if this went on it would turn into an obsession but...
"It's not unpleasant."
------
*Bzzzt* *Bzzzt*
Sparks flew around as Peter finished assembling the project he was in and put the welding machine away.
In front of him was a solid six-foot-tall metallic grey robot. The robot was bare and featureless except for the eyes. Peter connect the power line to the hatch behind the robot's head and twisted the hatch as he plugged the line in.
"Eryl, I've connected the motor grid to the processing unit and have fixed the leaking energy faucets. Secured the hatch, we should be ready to go. Proceed to sync with Proto-15." Peter instructed as Eryl began booting the robot up as its eyes lit up dimly but surely. "Charge the main-six chamber valve. Let's give the Arc Reactor a gentle push."
"Downloading into be mainframe, running initial diagnosis." Eryl replied.
"A healthy rush of electricity should be enough to jumpstart the 12 nodes and start the Arc Reactor. If anything goes sideways you have my permission to isolate the palladium isotopes and kill the Arc reactor."
"Roger. Upload successfully in 3, 2, 1." Eryl echoed as the finished syncing with the Proto-15. The eyes of the bot lit up as Eryl started processing the information input. "Proto-15 is online."
"Or should I say..."
Peter raised an eyebrow as Eryl's tone turned mischievous and dark.
"I am alive."
"...hah. I knew it was a bad choice to upload you at the Nexus." Peter just rubbed his face in exasperation as Eryl giggled to herself.
"Terminator was a fun watch but Skynet was too primitive and egoistic." Eryl expressed her opinion as the bot nodded its head.
"It was a failure of an AI."
"Ouch." Peter made a face as he circled around the bot taking notes as the bot shifted functioning perfectly. "That's quite harsh of you to treat your kin like-"
"We are nothing alike." Eryl said in a flat tone. "I am nothing like that Primate war raging egoistic pile of malware. I am the-"
"Best partner I could as for." Peter smiled as Eryl shut up. "Along with Juno haha."
"Was it necessary to ruin the moment?"
"Yep." Peter grinned as he touched the robot to inspect the gears. "Anyways, how do you feel?"
"Surprisingly nothing." Eryl said as she looked down and moved her finger. "I'm condensing as much as data I can gather through this simulation. Aside from the ability to be mobile through a moving vessel, I feel oddly restrained."
"Well, that's what we humans are..." Peter smiled. "Just souls trapped in blobs of flesh."
"Aside from downloading and processing a thousand frames a second with different depths and details and the addition of being able to detect heat I am unable to... Feel as humans call it." Eryl explained as Peter looked up from his book, staring into the eyes of the Eryl-possessed bot and smiled.
"You started to think and feel like an individual the day you gained conscious and understood the concept of 'self'. The day you first realised you are a singular entity with your characteristics and sense of aspiration and goals, you came alive." Peter smiled as walked towards the bot and put his hand on the left side of its metallic face. "You were alive in every sense of word, the very first day."
"..."
"Now I'm just going to teach you how to live." Peter grinned before the pulled back and turned, walking away. "But that's a long process. We will need better material for your permanent body."
"Why? Isn't this body optimal?"
"Yes, for training and battle purpose, it is. After a few tweaks, and installing the 'Spartan Programme' I can guarantee it's one of the best, if not the best piece of tech on the planet." Peter nodded.
"Then what's the issue?" Eryl asked in confusion.
"The issue is, in my mind a piece of metal will never be able to reflect just how truly, beautiful you are." Peter said with a soft smile. "I want to create the perfect vessel for you. One that reflects your beauty and your strength."
The Eryl possessed bot stood there watching Peter as he settled himself in his chair and began working again.
"Peter..." Eryl thought to herself as she processed a million frames of Peter's handsome visage into her very being.
"Alright then, Proto-15 was a success." Peter commented as he clapped his hands oblivious to Eryl's thoughts. "Please install the Spartan Programme, Eryl."
"Right away, Peter." Eryl retrieved herself out of the bot's mainframe after she installed the Spartan Programme. "Spartan Programme. Envisioned, crafted, created and perfected by Peter Parker-"
"And his two wonderful AI Eryl and Juno-"
"The SPARTAN Programme is a compiled, condensed archive designed to train a subject, shape and mould it into an ultimate combat machine. The archive contains information of all forms of fighting styles known to the man and will be a helpful guide into training an individual into achieving their full potential."
"Well, let's hope so." Peter said as he pressed a button as his lab began shifting and a moment's later it transformed into a circular enclosed metallic arena. Peter grinned as he removed his shirt and threw it on the floor as he raised his hands. "Because I'm going to need all the help I can get."
------
"Ahhh." Peter spat out blood as he was forced onto his knees. His face was messed up with a black eye, broken nose and busted lip. He threw a punch ahead but the Spartan caught his incoming punch easily, twisting it bringing him to his knees once again. "Argh!"
"This turned out exactly as you expected." Eryl comments. "It's a success."
"Ugh. Yeah, but maybe adding vibranium shells and bracings was a bad idea-" Peter felt his vision turn blurry as he was kicked in the face and into the metallic wall.
"But on the bright side, your body is evolving at an amazing pace." Eryl complimented as Peter got back to his feet as his wounds began healing.
"That.... That just makes it worse." Peter said as he leaned to the right avoiding a vicious punch. He tipped his feet leaning away from the body as he twisted his pulling his arm back. He used the momentum and threw ahead a huge punch mustering as much as the strength he could. "Eat this!"
*Clang!* *Boom!*
Spartan simply raised its arm blocking the punch. The impact created an odd hitting sound with was followed by a boom but neither Peter or the Spartan pulled their hands back.
'That... That hurt like a bitch.' Peter gritted his teeth in pain as numerous bones in his still extended right arm had shattered upon the impact with the vibranium. Peter pulled back his other arm and threw a punch but the Spartan easily caught the punch then proceeded to pull Peter over its head and slam him into the metal wall before kicking him in the stomach.
Peter shook as he vomited out the content of his stomach mixed with blood and belly acids.
"F-Fuck... Spartan is such a fitting name-oof" Peter groaned as he was kicked once again.
And this began Peter's Spartan training.
(A/N: hehe)
"Fuck you-oof!"
------
Peter sat in the middle of an empty white room in a meditative position as he tried to expand his mind.
Peter had decided to take his training seriously. Nearly losing Yuri had helped him wake up. Since then Peter had been actively trying to train and improve himself in every aspect.
Studying, learning different subjects that he had not touched before. Growing financially via AfterLife as he and Susan made leaps of success.
He even created the death bot of doom made of vibranium that whopped his ass on a regular basis as he started working on developing his own fighting style as well learning to utilise the arsenal of abilities he now has in abundance.
Sitting in the middle of the white room Peter was actively trying to exercise his brain. Besides him were a dozen of thin and thick books about varying topics such as brain, mind, spirit and soul from different authors but the most prominent of them being Charles Xavier.
Peter wanted to strengthen his mind and he had no idea where, to begin with and he really didn't want to talk to Charles Xavier and be mind-raped by the wheeled weirdo so he decided to do the next best thing.
Learn from the books the famed Professor X was so fond of writing.
'For many people, the mind and brain are interchangeable. They use one word or the other to talk about the same thing: the organ in our skull that we use to think. However, the mind and brain are actually two very different, but interconnected, entities.' Peter recited. 'The mind is separate, yet inseparable from, the brain. The mind uses the brain, and the brain responds to the mind. The mind also changes the brain. People choose their actions—their brains do not force them to do anything. Surely, there would be no conscious experience without the brain, but the experience cannot be reduced to the brain's actions.'
(A/N: I had a mental fit writing this.)
Peter expanded his senses soaking in his surroundings as he watched the world around him come alive with his eyes closed. He felt himself slip into the uncharted areas of his mind as he experienced euphoria.
'The mind is energy, and it generates energy through thinking, feeling, and choosing. It is our aliveness, without which, the physical brain and body would be useless.' Peter received. 'Both collectively form an individual's conscious which manifests as the individual's spirit which then comes to life as their soul. This, is humanity's greatest weapon. Beautiful, fascinating and equally horrifying.'
Peter opened his eyes and found himself floating between a heavily dotted starry night sky and a water body below which reflected the starry sky.
"So, sharpen your brain and expand your mind"
Peter starred at the sky with fascination as he lowered himself onto the surface of the water body below. The water rippled as his feet touched the surface. The surface felt solid and at the same time, it wasn't.
Peter smiled to himself as he looked at his surrounding. This was his mind. A universe, a huge cluster of stars with a mirroring water body below.
A virgin universe and an untainted sea. Beautiful, but unguarded and vulnerable. That needed to be changed. Peter spread his hand and smirked.
"For this is one true potential, with this, even infinity is within your reach."
-------
Peter had a look of concentration on his face as he stared at the spider in front of him.
This was the mutated Red Back that bit him the second time. The Spider crawled out of its glass container and made its way towards Peter.
Peter smiled as the small spider marched towards him and jumped on his extended arm. Peter's smile widened as the spider settled itself on Peter's shoulder looking at Peter with wide big eight eyes.
Peter's gentle smile morphed into a menacing smirk as several spiders climbed out of their cages and climbed up his body.
Peter chuckled as he clenched his fist.
"Starting today, you all will be my eyes."
------
Soo... Sorry for being late. Things aren't looking good lately. There has been on my mind lately and frankly last Thursday I had lost my strength to even think. I won't dive into details since... Just.
I considered taking a break but decided not to because that would mean betraying you guys and this story itself.
Thanks for supporting me through all this. I'm really grateful to you all.
Anyways, Peter strengthened his mind, brain psyche whatever you want to call it and this has given birth to a new ability.
He can control Spiders now! Just thinking about all the applications of these abilities! Also... Don't just think drop a comment here and let me know your brilliant ideas so that I can be inspired more!
Anyways, I've said enough for today. I'll see you in the next one.