Peter needed a partner who would buy his top-notch products—but to be his partner, there were a few prerequisites. He had to be power-hungry, have a huge network, and possess considerable resources.
And the man who accomplished all that was none other than Wilson Fisk—the Kingpin—an underground warlord who clawed his way to the top by using every means he could grasp with his hands.
Through legal or illegal means—well, mostly illegal ones—he put his hands into almost every type of industry in New York... construction, pharmaceuticals, metal, automotive.
His hands could be seen in almost everything.
Even though he already touched so much, his hunger for power didn't seem satiated... He was the perfect idi–partner for Peter right now. One who would definitely buy the top-notch products Peter had created. Not only that, he also had the means to gather the materials Peter needed without drawing any suspicion toward him.
With his mind set on the next step, Peter began to prepare some samples of his product for his soon-to-be partner.
Using his previous experience, he rapidly crafted the product he wanted to sell. Sadly, he only had enough resources to make two serums of each failed version he had developed.
Shaking the vials before his eyes, all Peter could see now were dollar signs instead of a failed product.
"Even though you're all just failed versions of my best work... there's still value inside you to be explored."
After swirling the vials in his hands, Peter let them rest atop one of the lab benches.
Laying on the bench now were a total of six vials. Two contained a gray liquid, two a yellow one, and the last two a green fluid.
"Even though they are failures in my eyes... if even one of them got out, it would almost surely cause an uproar in the outside world."
During the development phase of his serum, besides his final product he had created three other types:
[Rhino v1]
After taking this serum, one would receive a significant boost in endurance, strength, and defense. But there were also a few side effects... The user's speed would decrease significantly. Minor appearance changes like growing a rhino horn and darkening skin to a gray tone were observed. Mentality-wise, the subject became prone to rage and easier to deceive, as if their IQ had dropped after injection...
[Cheetah v2]
Created while trying to remove some of the side effects from version one. Taking this serum would upgrade all the user's stats overall, with a strong focus on speed. The user would gain the capability to run faster than top Olympic athletes, consistently. Previous side effects were greatly reduced, but a weaker version of them still lingered. Minor appearance changes, like growing a tail or ears, might occur—which would definitely make you more attractive to certain types of people... Mood-wise, the subject turned hyperactive, like an ADHD patient on drugs.
[Lizard v3]
The most powerful of them all. Not only did it provide the greatest power upgrade, but it was also the closest Peter came to creating a perfect serum. However, there was one problem he couldn't fix. Well... he saw it as a problem, but others might see it as a gift. The user who injected it would gain access to an animalistic form based on the serum's DNA—in this case, a lizard. This granted massive strength boosts, wall-crawling ability, and most importantly... regeneration.
"It's a pity this serum has that transformation side effect... The base upgrades were great, but it was too risky to base my spider serum on this version."
"I almost died pursuing perfection when I created my original work... Meh, it was worth it in the end anyway," Peter shrugged when the memory resurfaced in his mind.
If it weren't for the transformation part—an unwanted effect Peter despised—he definitely would've made his final serum based on this version.
There may have been more side effects, but they couldn't be found. All his test subjects were consumed by the process anyway.
"Well, no matter what this turns out to be or what side effects it carries... it's not my problem. I just need to use it to gather the resources I need now."
Peter didn't care about the outcomes or the destruction the users would cause after consuming the serums. Hell, he even expected them to cause problems everywhere.But what mattered, in the end, was getting the resources he needed.
"Let's not waste time. Every second counts from now on... I need to put that plan to work right away—and fast."
Putting all the labeled serums into a protective container, Peter began to walk to the door of his hideout, planning to head out to Hell's Kitchen—a place where Kingpin spent most of his time commanding his criminal empire.
But as he approached the exit, Peter stopped in his tracks, looking down as if he remembered something.
"Shit... I almost forgot to change clothes. Even though I don't mind exposing my identity anymore, I doubt Fisk will take me seriously if I show up like this..."
"I don't think my previous costume can still be used, and I don't need to make anything too elaborate... Let's just use my new webs to make a temporary suit. Later, once I get the resources, I can make a more advanced one—something that enhances my combat capabilities."
After thinking for a while, Peter decided to craft a suit using his organic webs.
Well... it was the only material he had on hand right now.
He began weaving the temporary suit. With webs shooting out at a controlled pace and his fingers acting like knitting needles, he started to craft it.
His hands moved like the legs of a real spider spinning a web. Each finger moved with dexterity, and a full white suit began to take form.
In just a few minutes, the complete suit lay in his hands. All that was missing were the 'eyes.'
Picking up his old mask, he removed the lenses and stitched them onto the new suit using a fine thread.
"Not bad, Not bad at all! For a temporary suit... this surpassed my expectations."
Extending the suit before his eyes, Peter couldn't help but admire his work.
After a few seconds of admiration, he swiftly put on the new suit—and headed out to meet his new friend.