Two weeks later
Inside an abandoned warehouse just outside the city, Adrian dropped to the concrete floor in a pool of sweat, panting as he hit his hundredth push-up.
"...97, 98, 99… 100. Haaa… okay, next phase," he muttered, standing up and wiping sweat from his brow.
He grabbed a blindfold from his bag and tied it tightly around his eyes. The warehouse echoed with stillness. Adrian took a moment to mentally map out the objects he placed around the room for this session.
"Pillar at 5 o'clock. Metal pipe at 4. Box at 6." He repeated the layout in his mind.
With a sharp breath, Adrian activated Permeation. His body shifted slightly as he let his molecules phase through the floor, dropping just enough to move under a pipe, then shifted back to grab it with his hand. With a swift kick upward, he launched the pipe toward the far wall.
CLANG!
"Ahh!" a voice yelped suddenly.
Adrian froze and ripped the blindfold off. Near the door, a startled boy no older than fifteen stood wide-eyed, his round glasses slightly askew and a heavy backpack anchored over his shoulders.
"I'm sorry, sir!" the kid blurted. "I heard a loud noise. I—I thought someone might be hurt. I didn't mean to disturb you. I'll go now!"
Before the boy could bolt, Adrian moved in front of him and gently put a hand on his shoulder.
"Hold on. Did you see anything?"
The boy swallowed nervously and shook his head. "N-No, I didn't see anything."
"If you didn't see anything," Adrian said calmly, "then tell me what I was doing just now."
The boy hesitated, thinking hard. "You were… training?"
Adrian raised a brow. "Training for what?"
"I… I don't know, exactly. Look, I really have to go. My aunt is waiting for me—"
"What's your name?" Adrian asked, tilting his head.
The kid hesitated again, then said softly, "P—Peter. Peter Parker."
Adrian's eyes widened slightly. No way. No freaking way. This kid… this is Spider-Man? Before the spider bite?
He composed himself quickly. "Peter, did you see me use my power?"
Peter hesitated, then nodded slightly. "Kinda. It looked like you… went through stuff? Like, phased through it?"
Adrian smiled. "Close. I call it Permeation. You were watching pretty closely, huh?"
Peter blinked, then scratched his head. "Wait—so that's why you had the blindfold. When you phase, light probably can't hit your eyes, so you're blind while using it. But you trained blindfolded so you don't rely on vision."
Adrian grinned. "Exactly. Smart observation."
Peter beamed a little. "I'm kinda into science."
"No kidding. I'm Adrian, by the way. Nice to meet you, Peter."
"Nice to meet you too… My name is Peter but you already know that because because you already asked." Peter laughed awkwardly. "Well, I should really—"
"Tell your aunt you were helping a guy not accidentally phase into a wall."
Peter chuckled nervously. "That's… surprisingly believable."
"You're welcome to come back anytime," Adrian added. "I'm training to control all my powers, and extra hand and eyes will help a lot."
"You have more powers?"
"Yep. Wanna help?"
Peter's eyes lit up. "Uh—yeah! I'd love to!"
One week later
Adrian floated gently a few feet off the ground, sweat dripping down his neck. Below him, Peter tapped furiously at a laptop connected to a few small drones and scanners they built together.
"Alright," Peter called, "drone sensors are synced. Start with Float and High Specs combination—see how long you can maintain stable altitude while tracking targets on the HUD."
Adrian nodded and activated Float. His body lifted into the air like a feather, and as he focused, his eyes sharpened with High Specs, taking in the data, drone positions, and Peter's voice all at once.
"...hovering at 6.3 meters, tracking four moving targets… good," Adrian muttered to himself, using the high-speed calculations to adjust his center of mass. "Now… smokescreen."
With a deep breath, he activated Smokescreen, releasing a thick burst of pink smoke that flooded the area.
Peter coughed, waving at the smoke. "Dude! Maybe next time, give a warning!"
"Can't give warning in a real fight, Pete!" Adrian laughed, then quickly activated Permeation, phasing through the smog and solid obstacles, reappearing behind a box without a sound.
Peter checked his screen. "That's crazy… you disappeared off all the heat sensors. That's actually terrifying."
"Exactly what I'm aiming for," Adrian grinned. "Now, One For All test!"
He clenched his fists, the air around him sparking slightly. Muscles surged with power as he dashed across the training floor in a blur, vanishing and reappearing in flashes—running, phasing, floating, and veiling himself in smoke. Each motion was refined, efficient, and controlled.
BOOM! He landed with a light shockwave near Peter.
"Phew… this training is working. I feel stronger already I already can use 5% OFA thanks Pete."
"You're welcome!" Peter said, beaming. "Not gonna lie, this is way cooler than any science class."
"You know, we really gotta tone down your nerd energy sometimes," Adrian teased.
"Hey!" Peter crossed his arms. "I'm not that nerdy!"
Adrian snorted. "You literally built tracking drones in two days."
"Yeah, well… I'm still cool!"
They both laughed, the air light between them.
"So, what are you gonna do with all this power, Adrian?" Peter asked after a beat.
Adrian looked out the cracked warehouse window, the city skyline faint in the distance. "Become a hero."
"Like Captain America?"
Adrian blinked, remembering the timeline. Right… Tony Stark hasn't become Iron Man yet.
"Yeah… like Cap," he said. "Actually, your uncle once said something to me—'With great power…'"
"...comes great responsibility," Peter finished, his voice soft.
Adrian smiled. "Exactly."
Peter gave a small, Big joking smile. "You sound like Uncle Ben."
"Well, the man gives good advice. And your aunt makes ridiculously good cookies."
"Oh She did make a batch of Cookie today."
Adrian's eyes lit up. "Wait, really?! Why are we still here?!"
"COOKIE!" Adrian shouted as he leapt from the window, activating Float midair and using the momentum to Glide away.
"HEY! I don't have powers—ugh, I have to use the stairs it is!" Peter shouted, racing toward the exit.
"Hurry up, slowpoke or not I will eat all the cookies!" Adrian's voice echoed from above.
"You're the worst!" Peter yelled with a grin.
Adrian looked back as he floated away, a determined glint in his eye.
Not this time. I won't let Peter suffer. Not like in the movies… or the comics