Chereads / Spider-Man Evolution / Chapter 5 - A Startling Revelation

Chapter 5 - A Startling Revelation

Spider-Man has been on the scene for almost a month now and every sighting has been nothing short of astonishing. His death defying stunts have captured the minds of New York; From his emergence at Times Square to his recent appearance at Queensboro Bridge where he signed his name in webbing.

Many wonder what he'll do next? What can he do next? 

It's become clear that he is here to stay, becoming the new wonder of New York, he has even joined up with our very own Spidernest, self documenting his adventures for your viewing pleasure and even sat down with Assistant Blogger Harry Osborn, for his very first interview before appearing on numerous talk shows such as; Saturday Night Live, The Tonight show, and The Daily Show. 

The world has irrevocably changed with his appearance, we now know that superhumans can exist through science or natural mutation or even a combination of both. 

You might be wondering what I mean? 

Well after his interview with us Spider-Man allowed me a blood sample of his which I had analyzed with genome sequencing and the results were beyond anything I had ever seen.

Approximately 33.3 percent of his D.N.A had been mutated to resemble that of a Latrodectus variolus or more commonly known as the northern black widow, though another 16.65 percent while changed resembled that of Arachnid D.N.A if barely. Such massive D.N.A damage should have killed him, would have killed anyone else as the strain from transforming into a grotesque vaguely shaped human spider would have put incredible stress on the human body.

What saved him was a naturally occurring mutation or, as you may have guessed, the X-Gene. Analyzing his genome I found the X chromosome expressing itself in a totally unique and practically unheard of way. You see, his X-Gene allows him to adapt to any foreign material introduced into his system, granting immunity to the material. 

When the radioactive spider bit him, his X-Gene allowed the mutagenic changes to seamlessly insert themselves into his genome, saving his life and giving him his powers.

He is not simply a marvel but also a meliorate. Truly the first, and most likely the last, of his kind.

A product of a process never witnessed before; Evogeneticism.

Gwendolyn Stacy tries her hardest to follow along with what she's reading but it's a useless struggle. While she is smart for her age, Peter has always been leagues ahead of her, honestly most of it was gibberish to her.

The fourteen year old girl stands at five foot-two with a petite build, long limbs, pale ivory complexion, and icy blue eyes. Her golden platinum hair, that only just tickled her jawline, is styled into an undercut pixie cut with the back and right side of her head shaved.

Straps of her hair were dyed hot pink and  along the end of her right eyebrow is a vertical piercing; all in all she looked like a punk rockstar.

The girl groans, setting her phone down on the table wondering why she's torturing herself. Why does she so desperately want to connect with the boy who assaulted her first boyfriend and then borderline stalked her when she told him she needed space?

"You need to stop obsessing, Gwen."

Her best friend Mary Jane Watson tells her as she leans to the side and rubs her back soothingly.

The fourteen year old girl stands at five foot-five and has a darker complexion than her friend, a sienna skin tone. Her burgundy hair is short, cut in a pixie style which complimented her deep green eyes and much like Gwen has a vertical piercing at the left end of her eyebrow, she also has her ears pierced; at the earlobes and helices with wide huggie hoop earrings.

"You need to forget about that weasle! Who cares if he's making a name for himself? Focus on yourself." M.J reminds her.

Gwen sighs and nods.

"I know, I know." She mutters, "It's just… I miss him, ya know?"

Cindy Moon smacks her teeth with her tongue, "You don't miss him, Gwen. You miss the perceived relationship you had with him, there's a difference."

The third girl is a fifteen year old Korean-American with a petite build standing at an even five feet with sand skin, black hair that barely reached her shoulders, and light brown eyes.

Unlike either of her friends she didn't have any piercing or dyed hair, mostly at her mother's insistence.

Rolling her eyes, she nods, "Yeah, I get that but he was my best friend for literally my entire childhood! His uncle and my dad served together and he was childhood friends with his aunt! It's… hard. I know dad misses Ben and May, it kind of feels like it's my fault."

Mary Jane shakes her head, "It's not your fault, it's his. He's the one that picked a fight with your boyfriend because he was jealous, who wouldn't leave you alone after you told him you needed space, he's the one that yelled out your personal business for all to hear, not once but twice, he's the one that went to your house despite you telling him over and over again that you wanted nothing to do with him! Its that twerps fa–"

"Yes Peter, I know." 

The three girls freeze as Harry Osborn passes their table with an amused smile.

The following month had seen his popularity reach an all new heights after his interview with Spider-Man, reaching almost celebrity status with students and teachers alike.

"I reviewed our notes on Macbeth, I'm going to ace this English test, I promise."

Gwen throws the older boy a fiery look only for it to be doused like a fire hose when their eyes meet.

"Anyway wizkid," He stops and continues to talk, his eyes never leaving the girl's.

The girl grits her teeth as she hears the nickname leave his mouth.

"You know that girl I was talking up, Liz?"

Gwen's heart squeezes, 'Liz… Liz Allan?' The pompous cheerleader who constantly makes fun of her and Mary Jane's piercings and their hair?

"Yeah, the one with doe eyes. She said she would love to go out with you." Harry smirks, "So meet us at Coffee Bean, four o'clock alright?" He turns back, walking away from the group.

The girl stares at the other's back in shock.

M.J and Cindy look at each other in worry.

~Spider-Man Evolution~

Peter Parker hangs from the ceiling of his basement, his feet tangled in the webline he created. In front of him are his web-shooters. Since last month his blog has gained an astonishing number of followers, over ninety thousand that just kept growing.

With ten dollars with each subscription he's made almost a million dollars, not only that but with his guest experiences on all those talk shows he received a lot of checks, that he had them write to Spidernest of course, that added up to another cool million.

Of course he's given a little more than half to his aunt and uncle but what he kept he used.

The basement that was once littered with the family's junk with only a small space where he could do work had been cleaned out. Where his old desk was stationed had been replaced with a long stainless steel table filled with newly bought chemist and geneticist equipment, the best money could buy along with the latest Stark Intentional laptop.

Above the table are wall mounted stainless steel cabinets with window panels that stretch from one side to another filled with every type of chemical or substance he could get his hands on. 

 

On the left side is another table that mirrors the first one and covering the wall is a pegboard filled with tools. 

Lining the wall that stood opposite of the door were various sized equipment he may need to use to build complex machinery along with a high-powered generator to connect any of them to if or when he needed to use them.

Peter loved building as much as he loved concocting chemical mixtures but one was a much simpler and cost efficient love but now? He could do both.

He had already replaced the shoddy drone he built last month with something slicker and faster which could actually follow him instead of just hovering in the air, tracking him.

Currently he's hanging from the ceiling with a webline, his feet tangled in it keeping him still, he's at his engineering desk finishing the final touches on a new set of web-shooters.

The concept wasn't much different from the original; they were still completely mechanical, simply built with parts actually designed for the invention.

They web launchers had been shrunk over half it size sitting comfortably around his wrists with no awkward parts sticking out of the place. They were sleek, looking more like silver bracelets and only three inches thick.

The web cartridges were also redesigned, because obviously they were. They're thin silver cubes that were placed in an empty slot right below the hand-wound solenoid-needle valve that blended with the rest of the twin devices perfectly.

These new versions would dramatically increase the pressure placed on the fluid that would intensify the shearing effect thus lowering its viscosity even further and dissolve even sooner. 

Before it lasted for about six hours, now it'll disappear in two.

He also added another setting to the spinnerets, when he pressed the pads twice in quick succession they would shoot out a web net.

Dropping down from the last webline from his previous web-shooters he picks up the new ones and clamps them on his wrists. Tapping on the pads he pushes them down into a slot, holding them from view.

He then walks to and up the stairs before entering the main home, making a right; he goes into the kitchen where he sees his aunt, uncle, sister, and his sister's best friend sitting around the dining table.

"Finally out of your lab, soldier?" Ben Parker asks with a  smile.

Peter chuckles, "Yeah, just finished a small project." He strides over to Teresa Parker and places a kiss on the top of her head before stealing a piece of chicken.

The girl swipes at him but he easily dodges, he moves around the table to kiss his aunt, May Parker, on the forehead before kissing his uncle on the cheek.

"What project were you working on?" Anya Corazon asks excitedly, "Anything to do with Spider-Man?"

Teresa also looks excitedly at him, waiting for his answer.

The genius waves them off, "No, but I did hear from Science journal! They want to publish my research on Spider-Man's genetic makeup!"

"Oh." His sister pouts and he rolls his eyes.

Anya's eyes simply get brighter, "That's so awesome, Petey! I can't believe you're going to get published in Science! Over a million people read that journal, you're going to be famous!"

"You mean more famous." Peter smirks.

"I didn't know you talked with this Science magazine?" Ben asks with pressed lips.

"Well, I didn't want to get your hopes up." He shrugs, "If they rejected me then I could've called it a day but they didn't!" Laughing, he hugs the man who lightly pats his arm. "Though I shouldn't be surprised, I discovered a new field in genetics." Bragging, he doesn't notice his sister huffing, rolling her eyes.

Anya hums in agreement, "Yeah, I mean you're the first person to ever study superpowers! Not even the people who made Captain America were able to study his D.N.A at the time! "

"If he even existed, I'm still not convinced he wasn't just propaganda." Peter smiles wide, "But…" He giggles to himself, giddily. "That's besides the point, I might be able to even replicate the process! Can you imagine? Peter Parker; the man who recreated the super soldier serum."

Ben grunts, "Yeah, well just be careful alright. Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should." 

The genius rolls his eyes, "Come on Ben, I mean wouldn't you have liked some powers when you were in Vietnam?" He asks.

His uncle stares at his food silently, "No, I wouldn't have."

The woman of the household reaches over and rubs the back of his hand.

Peter huffs, "Alright but it doesn't mean that the other soldiers wouldn't have liked some more firepower. I mean can you imagine the lives that could have been saved? Not only in Vietnam but in the Gulf? Afghanistan?"

"Can you imagine the lives that could have been lost!" Ben yells out, squeezes his eyes shut.

The boy flinches back, "Uncle Ben?"

The man takes a deep breath before looking up at his nephew's worried face, "I'm… I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled but… but Peter don't… not all soldiers are good. Sometimes we do…" He blinks as tears begin to form at the corner of his eyes.

"You didn't." Peter says resolutely, "I know you would never be a part of something that you didn't one hundred percent believe in." 

The older man looks away, "I… I suppose."

"I just… I just have to be like Dr. Erskine, right? Pick people like you." 

The retired marine nods shakily as his wife grips his hand.

Teresa and Anya both look incredibly awkward, trying desperately to distance themselves from the impending conversation.

"Ben," 

"Ring!~ Ring!~"

Peter reaches into his pants pocket and pulls out his phone, not the flip phone his uncle had given him but a top of the line Stark Intentional smartphone. He answers it, "Hey Har, listen I can't talk rig–"

The family and guests look at the boy as his eyes widen, "Wha‐ but I thought it was at four?" He looks up at the dining room clock and winces.

He nods with an embarrassed look.

"I know, I know I promised and tell Liz I'm sorr–" The boy feels a grip around his forearm and looks towards Ben who smiles, the man mouthing the word "go".

The preteen looks conflicted but at the encouraging look from his uncle he nods.

"Listen, I'll be there in ten minutes, swear to God." He nods as he turns away from the family and walks towards the door of the house, "I'm walking out of the door right now."

Ben breathes calmly out as he watches his kid brother's kid go on what appears to be his first date.

"Alright, see you soon." Peter opens the door walking out but before closing it behind him, he gives them a wave.

The table is silent as the entrance clicks closed.

Though it doesn't last long.

 "Does that mean I can start dating when I'm twelve?"

May sighs and her husband barks out a laugh.

"No."

~Spider-Man Evolution~

Harry Osborn, Elizabeth Allan, and Sally Avril sit in the middle of Coffee Bean on the brown leather camel back sofa, the three staring at their phones in boredom before Sally groans.

"Oh, Har-Har! When is that nerd going to get here! I want to order!" Sally whines as she lays her head on the older boy's shoulder.

The seventeen year old girl stands at five foot foot-four with a dainty build, she has a porcelain skin tone with sharp features, sandy blonde hair that touches her shoulder blades, and bluish-green eyes.

Her voice was sharp and incredibly nasally, it almost hurt to listen to her.  

"First, don't call him a nerd." Harry snaps, "Second, he'll be here any second."

Liz sighs, slumping against the couch, "He better be, I'm only doing this as a favor for you Harry and I swear if he stands me u–"

The fourteen year old is a latina-american who stands at an even five foot height with a golden complexion with silky dark brown hair that much like her friend touches her shoulder blades, and doe brown eyes.

Both girls were wearing their cheerleader outfits; a white sleeveless v-neck top with a layered pale and a dark green arrow pointing down and a dark green skirt which stopped mid thigh.

"Ring!" "Harry!" 

The three teens turn towards the greeting.

Liz and Sally both blush as they look at the younger boy. He's a little shorter than either of them preferred but everything else about him.

"Wow." The younger girl mutters.

"Uhmph." Her older friend nods in agreement.

Harry smiles widely and stands up meeting the boy halfway, the two slap their hands together before sliding them away, linking their thumbs together before wiggling their fingers, both of them laughing as they do.

"Looking good, Pete." The rich kid states.

"Not looking so bad yourself, Har." 

Peter looks down at the two girls, his eyes focusing on Liz, "You must be Liz, right?" He offers a hand which she takes. "You know Harry showed me a picture and it doesn't do you justice."

Liz's face turns even redder, "Th…thanks."

Both boy's sit down, Harry right back in his old place and wraps an arm around Sally who blinks in surprise at the action while Peter takes a seat on the loveseat sofa that's perpendicular to the main couch.

"So, Harry tells me you're a cheerleader? What's that like?"

The teen girl blinks at the question, "Oh, well… it's fun, like really fun." 

"Hm, how did you get into it?" 

Sally snorts, snuggling into her boyfriend's arms, "She didn't." She reveals. "I dragged her kicking and screaming."

Peter turns to her, "Sally right? Nice to meet you."

The older girl gives a nod of acknowledgment.

"Sally here has a habit of stealing young, impressionable girls and taking them under her wing." Harry laughs which only gets louder as she slaps his chest, "She makes them into mini Sally's."

Liz pouts, "Hey! I'm my own person alright, sure Sally kinda forced me into it at first but I really did fall in love with it."

The genius smiles, "I would hope so." 

The girl mirrors the smile, "So you're the guy that stalks Spider-Man, right?"

"Oof! Stalk is a strong word, isn't it?" Peter asks, leaning back.

The young cheerleader raises an eyebrow, she leans forward, "Well, what else do you call it when you record everything a person does?"

Wincing the boy puts his hands up, "Well, okay maybe I stalk him a little but he never had a problem with it!" He argues.

She hums in amusement, "Sure, alright."

"So Pete," Harry begins, "Why were you late anyway? You're usually right on time whenever we make plans."

Peter rubs the back of his head, "Got a little carried away in my lab, lost track of time."

"Ah, so some lab experiment was more important than a date?" Liz asks with a stern look.

The boy laughs uncomfortably, "No…"

The older boy snorts, "Real confident answer there, Pete."

"Yeah, yeah." He waves the other off before focusing back on Liz who stares at him unimpressed, "I really I'm sorry but I was super excited to go on this double date. When Harry told me about you, I couldn't believe someone so… so beautiful would give me the time of day."

Liz's red cheeks return, "Well… alright."

Sally cackles, getting a wince from everyone around her, "You're super adorable, kid. I can't remember the last time someone complimented me like that." She gives a stink eye to her boyfriend who rolls his eyes.

"Like you need reminding you're the hottest girl in Midtown, I'd just be stating a redundant fact."

The older girl's eyes widen in shock and much like her younger friend blushes prettily.

"Smooth." Peter compliments getting a grin from his friend.

"I could say the same thing."

Sally and Liz slap their shoulders, getting chuckles out of them.

The group of four continued to talk, and a server eventually came by and asked them for their orders before leaving.

"Black coffee, really?" Liz asks the younger boy who shrugs.

"It is my one true love, without it I wouldn't have been able to survive this year."

The young cheerleader giggles, "Yeah?"

"Uhmph!" He nods in total seriousness, "Sometimes I would have to go a couple days without sleeping to finish a practically brutal assignment. Just stayed at the lab, drank like thirteen cups to stay awake and record the data I needed. One of my classmates actually tried to cut off my supply, I hissed at him. Like a cat." Shaking his head, he laughs at himself.

The three teens laugh.

"Sounds brutal, do your parents not care that you didn't go home?" Liz asks.

Harry winces, getting a confused look from Sally.

"Well I would assume not, seeing as they're dead." Peter easily replies, getting a horrified look in return.

"I'm so so–"

The boy waves her off, "You didn't know but anyway, my aunt and uncle understand, more specifically my uncle. My father was a geneticist, he had to go through the same thing and just because I'm younger doesn't mean I can skip out on those… wonderful experiences."

Liz nods, her face still tinted in guilt, "Well… they must trust you alot, huh? My parents would never let me stay out of the house for days on end."

Peter shrugs, "Of course, I mean if they didn't trust me to take care of myself they would have never let me graduate early or go to NYU. Sometimes they get a little strict on how I spend my time but only when I'm overdoing it when they know I don't have to."

"Is it worth it?" Sally suddenly asks, getting a confused look from the other three, "I mean it sounds miserably, I've been applying but… I don't know, I can't really see myself pulling all-nighters or refusing to go to bed to finish homework."

The kid genius hums, "Well, I guess it kind of depends. I want to be Biochemist, change the world with my ideas and I can't really do that without a phd. Besides that I like the work, I love it really. I think if what you want to do requires a degree then college is a must but if it doesn't, if you can manage to fulfill your dreams without it then what's the point?"

The older cheerleader gives a thoughtful frown, "You know you're the first person to tell me that I don't need college."

Harry frowns, rubbing her shoulder in comfort which gets a smile out of the girl.

"What do you want to do anyway?" Peter asks.

She sighs, "I want to be a model."

Peter blinks and smiles, "You would be perfect for that."

Sally blushes, "Thanks."

Harry gives his friend an amused glare, "Please don't hit on my girlfriend, Pete."

The younger boy blushes and stutters out an apology before sighing at the amused chuckles of the teenagers, "Alright, fuck off guys."

The rich kid throws a middle finger which he gladly returns.

"Anyway," Peter continues, "I'm sure you'll do great, have you been in anything."

The older cheerleader sighs, "No, I heard some bad stories about unrepresented models, so I've been trying to get contracted with an agency but as soon as I open my mouth…"

Peter winces.

"I've been doing great on Instagram, even got a sponsorship once but…" She shrugs.

Liz reaches over and pats the over girl's leg, "You'll get there."

Sally huffs and smiles.

"How about… well," The younger boy starts getting the attention of the teens, "Spider-Man has been running out of ideas to do but what if he takes you on a swing with him."

The older girl blinks and a large smile takes up her face, "Really?!"

"Really?" Harry raises an eyebrow.

"Yeah!" He nods, "You'll be the first person to ever ride with him and Harry can interview you, you can talk about your experiences as an ordinary person swinging like Spider-Man!" He leans forward, "It'll probably blow up your Instagram and every agency will be clawing at each other to get you to sign with them!"

Sally squeals, "Yes! Yes! I would love to!"

"Awesome, I'll get into contact with him and set something up." 

The older girl giggles and hugs her boyfriend in excitement.

Liz smiles gratefully at the younger boy who easily returns the smile.

~Spider-Man Evolution~

Gwen groans as she slumps in her desk for her first period of the day.

"You okay, girl?" M.J asks with a frown sitting next to her.

"Yeah, I just slept late and I'm bone tired. Barely had enough time to brush my teeth and take a shower."

Her friend hums, "Thinking about Peter?"

She blushes in embarrassment, "No! I don't care what he does! You and Cindy were right, it's none of my concern what he's doing or who he's doing it with."  

The other teen smiles, "Right! And anyway, I doubt Allan had a good time on that date, he probably creeped her out."

Gwen nods in agreement, "He probably did, I mean Peter has no social awareness, he can barely hold a conversation if he isn't the one leading it or overloading the other person with his mumbo-"

"Oh my god, he's so cute!" 

The two girls turn to look at the exclamation and see Liz showing something on her phone to a group of her friends.

"Isn't he! And he's really sweet! He told me how lucky he was that I even gave him the time of day."

One of the girl's scoffed, "I bet he says that to all the girls."

Liz shakes her head, "No, I'm the first girl he's ever been out with." 

"Oh, right. He's like twelve isn't he?" Another girl questions with a snort, "I can't believe you went on a date with a little kid."

"Does he look like a little kid to you?" Another friend questions, "He looks hot! And two years isn't that big of an age gap."

"It's more like a year, eleven months, and nine days." Liz corrects only to blush as all her friends stare at her.

"You got it bad."

"Really bad."

The cheerleader huffs, "Well, I don't know he's the first guy who ever showed a real interest in me, as a person. And he's really, really smart. He's getting his Phd in a couple of weeks, he's going to become a doctor." She excitedly tells them.

"Really but… he's twelve?"

"Yeah! Isn't it cool? So technically I'm dating a college man."

Snorts fill the room, "I… guess and he is really, really hot. Does he wear contacts? I've never seen yellow eyes before."

Liz shrugs, "He does but that's not why they're yellow, he says… um it's a variation of central hetero… something, he used to have amber eyes but they brighten to yellow after he used some new eye drops for his glaucoma."

"How does that work?" One of them asks.

The girl shrugs, "I don't know, he used a lot of complicated words." She giggles. "Apparently it happens a lot, Harry made a weird gesture and he just stopped and apologized. It was adorable."

Gwen stares stoically at her desk, so what if the date went well? Sure she hated Liz but at the end of the day Peter wasn't her friend, hadn't been for years and for good reason.

What he did was none of her concern. She feels M.J's hand on her own, she looks up and gives a thankful smile.

"So I guess you and Flash aren't going to be a thing, huh?"

The cheerleader scoffs, "Even if Petey wasn't in the picture I would never date Flash, he's a pig."

"Come on Lizzy, he's tall, handsome, popular; what's not to like."

"Yeah and he's also a scumbag, almost every girl he's dated their nudes got leaked. It's not very hard to put the two together."

Gwen's head snaps to look at the group along with M.J's.

"Wha- really? I never heard of anything." A friend asks, "I would think if that's true everyone would know about it."

Liz shrugs, "Because their faces are never in it, about the only smart thing he does and no girl is going to admit it's them even to get him in trouble but two of his exes are on the cheer squad and they warned me to stay away from the gorilla when he started showing interest." 

"You know when I think about it, I remember in middle school some nerd was yelling about Flash having one of his friend's nudes and showing it off to his buddies but nobody believed it."

"Didn't Flash get in trouble for beating them up? Like they had to be taken to the hospital and everything, he probably heard that they were talking and tried to keep them quiet."

The one that spoke up first hums, "I… that sounds familiar but I don't think Flash ever got in trouble for that, did he? And he and his girlfriend broke up not long after and no nudes ever spread around the school."

"He was suspended for a few weeks but when he came back he was like a totally different person, it was like he was scared of his own shadow."

"Maybe the nerd scared him straight." They giggle at the thought, "I mean Flash did beat them up so bad they had to go to the hospital, that's pretty serious. Maybe they threatened Flash to keep the pictures to himself if he didn't want them to press charges."

Gwen feels her world crumbling around her, she did remember Peter yelling at her back about Flash showing off her nudes but… but she thought he was lying.

The girl could still feel the mortification when he yelled in the middle of the hallway for everyone to hear that Flash was spreading her nudes. 

She completely lost it. She told him that in confidence and he threw that trust in the garbage just to get her to turn on her boyfriend. She yelled at him, eviscerated him, and said so many horrible things.

When she heard he did the same thing with her friends it made her more certain that he was jealous and obsessed with her and that they couldn't be friends.

But… but if he was telling the truth… then… then, "Oh god." She mutters to herself, tears gathering at her eyes.

"It's okay." M.J mutters to her, "We, we don't know for real if what they're saying is true. I mean it's Liz and her bitch squad, right? We can't take her word for it."

Gwen blinks and nods, "You're right, your right but… I know who we can take their word for." She feels her determination harden.

Class started soon after and the girl felt nerves flare in indignation. She grew more and more agatied as the day progressed which exploded at lunch when she laid her eyes on her ex-boyfriend.

"Eugene Thompson!" She stomps over to the boy with fury burning in her eyes, he flinches at the tone and when he turns he could see trepidation across his face, when she stands across from him he swallows thickly.

"Hey, Gwendy, how are you?"

M.J and Cindy stood behind her, both looking on awkwardly mirrored by Flash's own friends who looked at each other with confusion.

"You and I need to talk, now." The girl demands.

"I… I'm actually kind of bu–"

Gwen grabs his shirt and pulls him down, whispering in his ear, "Now or I'm calling my father and telling him all about your disgusting behavior and trust me you don't want to have a charge of possessing and distributing child pornography." She lets go and turns on her heels, striding out of the cafeteria.

She enters an empty classroom, her friends right behind her and after a moment Flash enters, closing the door behind him.

A part of her hoped he wouldn't, it would have meant that he actually didn't have anything to worry about and that Liz and her posse was wrong. That Peter was lying and that she didn't ruin her friendship with him for trying to do right by her.

Now, she didn't know what to think.

"Listen, whatever you think I di–"

"Flash, were you spreading my nudes when we were dating? And if I think you're lying you better call a lawyer and fast because I will call my dad."

The boy closes his eyes, "Yes, I sent my friends a few pictures and a video of you."

Gwen closes her eyes and feels her friends trying to comfort her.

"What," She swallows thickly, "What really happened between you and Peter?"

"He… he heard my friends thanking me for… for the photos, asked me to get them to delete all of it and beg for your forgiveness but I… refused. Told him to shove off, he lost it and started attacking me." He tells the group of girls, looking at the floor as he does.

"How… ho…w many p…eople." Gwen hiccups.

"Just a few, no more than… six." Flash stumbles, hesitating before telling them.

Cindy's eyes narrow, "You hesitated… stop lying or I swear to god!"

The teen raises his hands, "I… I also showed Peter."

Gwen moans and covers her face, "Why?! Why would you show Peter!"

The football player clenches his hands, "I wanted to hurt him, what else."

Mary Jane's face twists in disgust, "Didn't you do that enough? You sent him to the hospital!"

Flash scoffs, "I didn't send him to the hospital, he sent himself."

Gwen's face twists in confusion, "Wha… what the fuck are you talking about! How did he possibly send himself to the hospital?! By being brave? By standing up to you?! By trying to protect me?!"

"Listen!" Flash snarls, "I'm a lot of things but I would never go so far as to almost kill someone! I… followed him into the bathroom, made fun of him and showed him the… the video of you sucking me dick, alright! But then he just lost it, he smashed his head into the mirror and then the sink before screaming! He got me fucking arrested!" He crouches down and closes his eyes as he presses his hands together as if he was praying.

The three girls' eyes shot open.

 "He… he did what?" The redhead mutters.

"He's fucking crazy! I thought my life was over, you know!" The teen boy shouts, "Then my parents get a call saying that Peter wanted to talk to me, I tried saying no but my dad… he forced me. They left me alone with that freak and then he started threatening me, telling me how he would ruin me! That if I didn't give him my phone then my life would be over, so I gave it to him. A couple weeks later all the people I sent your nudes to had their phones destroyed! I didn't even know something like that was possible!"

Gwen chenches her eyes and cries, "Of course Peter wouldn't give up just because I didn't believe him." He lays her head on M.J shoulder who rubs her back soothingly as she blinks in astonishment.

"I remember that, a bunch of guys were complaining about having to get new phones because theirs stopped working. Everyone thought it was a mean spirited prank." Her stare of astonishment turns in a venom filled glare. "There were a lot more than six, though."

The football player turns away, "They may have shared it with their friends too." He mutters. "Can… can I go now?" He asks before flinching at the three glares directed at him.

"If you ever, I mean ever spread someone's nudes again I will ruin you, Eugene!" The blonde girl threatens.

The boy nods and stands up from his crouch before leaving the room.

The three girls are left in silence.

"How… how I'm I going to fix this?" Gwen mutters as she wipes the tears from her eyes.

"I…" Cindy sighs, "I don't think you can." 

"But she can try." M.J retorts, bringing the girl into her chest, patting her head, "You- all of us can at least apologize."

~Spider-Man Evolution~

Ben and May sit on their new sectional mustard yellow couch in their living room watching a movie and their brand new plasma screen t.v.

The woman lays her head on her husband's shoulder, her legs tucked under her.

"Ding!~Dong!~" 

The older man sighs and stands up, he walks over to the entrance to his home opening the door, "Yes, how may I…" His sentence falls short as he recognizes the girl standing in the middle of the group of three.

Gwen gives him an awkward wave, "Hi Mr. Parker, um… I was wondering if I could talk with Peter?"

The retired Marine frowns.

"He's out at the moment." Ben says gruffly, "And even if he was here I wouldn't call him up."

The girl looks down at the tone from someone she once considered her own uncle.

The man looks towards Mary Jane, the niece of Anna Watson, one of his wife's best friends, "I didn't know you were friends with Gwendolyn, M.J?"

The redhead awkwardly smiles.

"I assume that's why you never wanted to meet Peter?" He asks though he already knows the answer.

The other girl clears her throat and nods.

"Huh." Clearing his throat, he shakes his head, "I suppose that makes sense. Listen Gwendolyn, I don't really care what you're doing here but you hurt my nephew."

"I know and I just–" 

He continues, talking loudly over her, "But I understand that you were young and youth makes fools of us all. Maybe if Peter was still hung up on what happened, if he needed closure I would give you his number or vice versa but my boy is doing good. Really, really good. He has a new best friend, he's making money, getting published, recently went on a date he can't stop smiling about, and he's about to receive his Phd. Peter is finally happy and I won't let you threaten that happiness so I'm asking, as politely as I can, to leave him alone."

Gwen closes her eyes before nodding, "Okay Mr. Parker." She and her friends turn away and walk off but she turns back for a moment. "Um, I really like your new car." The girl says, "I know how you always told dad you wanted a car like that, I'm glad you finally got it." Turning back, she leaves.

Ben closes the door, turns back and walks back into the living but instead of taking his seat he stares out the window watching them leave.

For a moment his eyes turn to his car, a cherry red 1969 pontiac firebird 400.

Costing close to seventy thousand dollars he never thought he could ever afford it but because of Peter he fulfilled a lifelong dream. 

"Everything alright, Superman?" May asks absentmindedly.

"Yeah, everything's fine."