Pain.....
Pain.....
Pain...
That was the first thing Peter Parker registered, It wasn't a sharp pain, like a cut or a bruise.
It was deep, radiating from the marrow of his bones outward, a feverish heat that felt like he was being cooked from the inside out.
He tried to gasp, to call out for Aunt May or Uncle Ben, but his throat felt like sandpaper. His tongue was a swollen, dry weight in his mouth.
Water, I need water. He peeled his eyelids open, expecting the familiar, cracked ceiling of his bedroom in Forest Hills.
He saw it, but it was...wrong.
The texture of the paint wasn't just white; he could see the microscopic valleys and ridges in the plaster, the dust motes dancing in the shaft of sunlight cutting through his window like jagged diamonds.
The sound of a car honking outside didn't just sound like a car; it sounded like a foghorn blowing directly into his ear canal.
"Urgh," Peter groaned, rolling off his mattress. He hit the floor with a thud that vibrated up his spine and laid there on the cool wood for a moment, pressing his cheek against the floorboards, trying to cool the burning fire in his blood.
What is happening to me? The field trip…...Oscorp… the spider.
The memory flashed in his mind like a strobe light, the general science exhibit and Flash Thompson pushing him into the display case. The sharp, stinging bite on the back of his hand as he looked at his hand now, the bite mark was gone and in its place, something else hovered.
At first, Peter thought he was hallucinating. The fever had finally cooked his brain. Floating in the air, directly in front of his face, was a translucent blue rectangle. It bobbed gently, anchoring itself to his vision no matter where he looked.
[System Initialization… Complete]
[Host Identity Verified: Peter Benjamin Parker]
[Current Status: Critical]
Peter blinked...He squeezed his eyes shut and counted to three and when he opened them, the blue screen was still there, glowing with a soft, digital light.
"Okay," Peter rasped, his voice cracking. "Okay, Peter, You're dreaming....you passed out from the fever and now you're having a lucid dream about…... World of Warcraft?"
He reached out to touch the screen. His finger passed right through the light, but as his hand moved, the text scrolled.
[Genetic Rewrite in Progress: 12%]
[WARNING: Cellular fuel reserves depleted. Metabolic collapse imminent]
[Quest Generated: Survival of the Fittest]
* Description: Your DNA is currently being rewritten by a genetically altered retrovirus. The process requires immense energy Your body is cannibalizing its own muscle tissue to fuel the change
* Objective: Consume 4,000 Calories within the next 2 hours
* Failure Penalty: Organ failure Permanent reduction in VIT (Vitality) and death.
* Reward: Mutation Progress +5%, Unlock [Status Window]
Peter stared at the words Death written in a calm way. "Organ failure?" he whispered. The panic finally pierced through the fog of his fever. He didn't feel like he was dying, but he felt…...hollow. A hunger, primal and terrifying, suddenly clawed at his stomach, It wasn't just 'I skipped breakfast' hungry. It was a starving, predatory need.He suddenly scrambled to his feet and then he froze . He had gripped the edge of his wooden desk to pull himself up and Under his fingers, the solid oak had splintered. He looked down. He hadn't just gripped it; he had crushed the corner of the desk like it was made of wet cardboard.
"What the….."
He stared at his hand, It looked the same as usual ...skinny, pale, callous free but the wood dust on his fingertips was real.
[System Notice: STR (Strength) is fluctuating due to mutation]
Peter ignored the box this time,the hunger pang hit him again, doubling him over. He stumbled toward the door, his movements jerky and uncoordinated. He felt lighter, as if gravity had turned down its dial by ten percent.
He opened his bedroom door and stepped into the hallway, the house was quiet.
"May? Ben?"
No answer, the old grandfather clock downstairs ticked.....Tick tock, tick tock.
To Peter, it sounded like a hammer hitting an anvil, he could hear the hum of the fridge in the kitchen, he could hear the electric buzz of the wires inside the walls.
Too loud, Everything is too loud.
He navigated the stairs, gripping the banister carefully, terrified he might crush it like the desk. He made it to the kitchen.
It was 10:30 AM on a Tuesday, School...He was supposed to be at Midtown Middle right now. May must have called him in sick when the fever started last night. Ben would be at work. May… probably at the grocery store.
He was alone, Peter ripped open the fridge.
The cold air felt heavenly against his burning skin. He didn't bother with a plate. He grabbed a carton of orange juice and downed half of it in one breath. The sugar hit his bloodstream like jet fuel.
[Calories: 120 / 4000]
A small counter appeared in the corner of his vision.
"Okay," Peter mumbled, wiping his mouth. "Okay, 4000. That's… that's a lot."
He grabbed a package of ham. He ate the slices folded over, three at a time. He found leftover meatloaf wrapped in foil. He ate it cold. He ate half a jar of peanut butter with a spoon, wincing as the metal spoon bent under the pressure of his thumb.
[Calories: 1,850 / 4000]
He was eating like an animal, but the emptiness in his stomach wasn't going away. It felt like throwing coal into a furnace; the fire just burned hotter.
He raided the pantry, a box of stale crackers and a bag of marshmallows as well as a can of peaches (he struggled with the can opener, accidentally ripping the lid off with his bare fingers, slicing the metal like paper).
[Calories: 3,200 / 4000]
He was sweating profusely now, his t-shirt was soaked. He leaned against the kitchen counter, breathing heavy, surrounded by empty wrappers and jars. He felt very sick, bloated, yet his cells were screaming for more.
"Come on," he panted. "Just a bit more."
He found a hidden stash of Aunt May's chocolate chip cookies in the back of the cupboard. He devoured the entire tin.
Ding
A soft chime rang in his head.
[Quest Complete: Survival of the Fittest]
[Reward Received: Mutation Progress +5%]
[Current Mutation: 17%]
[Feature Unlocked: Status Window]
The hollow feeling in his gut vanished instantly, replaced by a warm, heavy feeling. The fever broke and the intense heat under his skin cooled into a simmering hum.
Peter slid down the cabinets until he was sitting on the floor.
He felt exhausted, but it was a good type of exhaustion. The kind you feel after running a marathon you didn't know you signed up for.
"Status Window," Peter whispered, testing the command. Instantly, the blue screen expanded, filling his vision with data.
[Name: Peter Parker]
[Race: Human (Mutating)]
[Level: 1 (0/100 XP)]
Stats:
* STR (Strength): 0.8 (FLUX)
* AGI (Agility): 1.2
* INT (Intellect): 1.8
* VIT (Vitality): 0.7
Active Skills:
* [Spider-Sense (Lvl 1)]: Danger detection, Currently Passive.
* [Adhesion (Lvl 1)]: Surface bonding
Peter stared at the numbers...0.8 Strength? That didn't make sense as had just crushed a desk. He looked at the (FLUX) tag next to it. Maybe his strength wasn't stable yet, It came in bursts.
He looked at his hands again, they were trembling slightly.
"I'm not sick," he whispered to the empty kitchen. "I'm… something else."
He stood up, intending to clean the mess before May got home. He placed his hand on the countertop to push himself up.
He didn't push off, his hand stuck.
He tried to pull it away, but his palm was fused to the laminate surface.
He yanked harder but the counter creaked.
"No, no, no," Peter panicked. He pulled with his left hand to pry his right hand free. His left hand stuck to his right wrist. Now he was handcuffed to himself, and attached to the counter.
[Skill Activated: Adhesion]
[Tip: Relax, Conscious intent is required to release]
"Relax," Peter hissed through his teeth. "Easy for you to say, you giant blue floaty text."
He closed his eyes and tried to imagine his hand as just a hand, not a magnet. He took a deep breath, exhaling the tension as he felt a weird sensation in his fingertips, like microscopic hooks retracting.
His hand popped free and he stumbled back, crashing into the kitchen table.
"Okay," Peter said, looking at the mess of food wrappers and the dented can of peaches. "I need to figure this out before May gets back.Before… before anyone finds out."
He looked at the window. The sunlight was still too bright, but he could focus now. He could hear a siren wailing blocks away. He could hear the heartbeat of a pigeon sitting on the roof.
[New Quest Available: The Daily Grind]
Peter groaned. "There's more?"
[Quest: The Daily Grind]
* Objective: Test your new limits, Run 5km.
* Reward: 10 XP, +0.1 VIT
Peter looked at his skinny legs and then he looked at the door, he grabbed a hoodie, pulled the hood up to shield his sensitive eyes, and stepped out into the Queens sunlight.
Authors Note:-
Hope all have enjoyed it.
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