Post by Drake on Feb 5, 2013 22:00:20 GMT -5
All Star Spider-Man #1
The Rebirth Part 1: The Bite
The Rebirth Part 1: The Bite
Manhattan, New York
January 17, 2013
9:32 AM
Parked in front of a large, compressed, black metal tower was a school bus, “Midtown High” printed in black on the sides. This particular school bus had carried many a student to the tower, a hulking titanium monster built to withstand hurricanes, which, coincidentally, it recently had. Exiting the yellow-painted bus was a boy of average height. The boy had chocolate-colored skin and pitch-black hair cut very short. His frame was rather small but his arms were long like a spider’s legs. This boy was Miles Morales.
Following Miles, who was dressed in jeans, a white undershirt and a Lakers jersey, was Miles’ best friend, Ganke Lee. Ganke was a tall, chubby boy of Korean descent. His black hair hung messily from his head.
And these two were arguing currently. About videogames.
“Nuh uh,” Miles shook his head, “Dude, you’re wrong. I am so much better than you at FPS’s*, it’s not even funny!” (*FPS=first person shooter)
“Really?” Ganke sarcastically replied, “And who won the last time we played Halo?”
Miles tried to argue back, “That was one time-“
“It was ME!” Ganke rudely declared, pointing directly at himself with his thumb.
“And I beat you every time in Black Ops 2! And half the time in Halo!” Miles pointed out.
“That doesn’t-”
“Shut up, you two!” A lanky boy with long white-blond hair pushed his way in between the boys.
“Tommy, don’t get into this!” Both teens said simultaneously, giving the third teen the evil eye.
Tommy Fireheart. Genius. Sophomore. Outcast. And one of Miles’ and Ganke’s very best friends. Tommy was the only upper classman the two hung out with. Miles and Ganke were the only two people Tommy ever hung out with. Between his somewhat anti-social tendencies and incredible intellect, the 16-year-old had been casted out by his grade, a class of mostly jocks and musicians.
“No!” Tommy scolded, enjoying his superiority over the two lower classmen, both being freshmen, despite the fact the two didn’t think of Tommy as any older than them. “We’re nearly in the building and I am not letting you two get us kicked out of ParkerCorp’s headquarters!”
Miles and Ganke looked first at the imposing tower in front of them, and then at each other. Both nodded.
“Yeah, that would be a big mistake,” Miles agreed, “This is, like, a once in a lifetime thing for me and Ganke.” A sly grin slipped onto Miles face, “But it would be kind of fun to get you kicked out of the very place where you intern.”
Tommy frowned, almost falling for Miles’ trick, “You wouldn’t dare…”
Miles smile turned less mischievous and more joking, “’Course not, man. Let’s go.”
Ganke chuckled at Miles teasing while Tommy just frowned and the three turned and followed the crowd of freshmen and sophomores into ParkerCorp’s headquarters.
When the large group entered the building, Ms. Carpenter, a large, middle-aged Biology teacher, immediately shushed them. The group was reluctant to quiet down, but after a few stern looks from the teachers they quieted.
ParkerCorp’s headquarters were enormous. And full. Everywhere Miles looked, he saw scientists, businessmen, and tourists alike wandering through the halls and up the escalators. The walls were pure, unbreakable glass. A large holographic sign hanging from the ceiling carried the company’s logo, a stylish “P” and “C” merged together, and a brief history of the worldwide juggernaut. One last thing on the sign caught Miles’ attention. “ParkerCorp: the global leader in innovation in the fields of BioTech and Cross Species Genetics.” Miles couldn’t help but feel a shudder of excitement at the thought of it. He was here. ParkerCorp.
Taking his attention away from the sign, Miles noticed a pretty, middle-aged blonde woman dressed in your usual office-wear rush out from a door to Miles’ right and hurry to the front of the group. A lanyard hung from her neck, the ParkerCorp logo printed around it. A nametag hung from the lanyard, exposing the woman as a “Ms. Allen.”
“Hello, everyone!” Ms. Allen greeted. She only got a few mumbling “Hello’s” in response. Miles observed the woman. It seemed like happiness, rather than blood, coursed through her veins. She was the most exuberant, stereotypical tour guide he’d ever seen. She was…
“I am, as I’m sure you can tell,” Ms. Allen held out her nametag, “Ms. Allen. My full name is Elizabeth Allen. You can just call me Liz. I’ll be your tour guide for this visit.”
“Now, as I’m sure you all know, ParkerCorp was founded in the year 2000. The fastest growing company in the world, all thanks to its CEO and founder, Peter Parker, ParkerCorp absorbed many of its competitors. Some notables are OsCorp, Horizon Labs, and Acme Labs. Now, in the year 2013, less than two decades after its founding, ParkerCorp is a global phenom, constantly producing the latest and greatest in technology, specifically in the fields of…”
“Please, please, Liz, give the kids a break. You’re boring them to death,” A middle-aged man dressed in a white T-shirt, lab coat, and jeans, approached the group. The man’s hair was brown with gray streaks rushing through the sides; it was messily flipped up.
Liz turned to the man, a look of surprise on her face. This expression was quickly replaced by joy, whether artificial or not, Miles couldn’t tell.
“Oh, well, of course, sir,” Liz turned back to the crowd at hand, “Well, kids, this is ParkerCorp’s CEO and founder, Dr. Peter Parker!”
Miles’ jaw dropped. Ganke nudged him. He didn’t respond. This was Peter Parker. This was his hero.
Liz put a hand on Dr. Parker’s arm and motioned him away. The two turned away and Liz whispered to her boss, “What’s going on? You’re supposed to meet us at the BioTech Department an hour from now!”
Dr. Parker chuckled, “Sorry, Liz, but things got moved up. Bill told me that Fury’s flight left early and he’s going to be here in an hour.”
Liz nodded her head in understanding, “Okay, just tell me in advance next time. I had this whole speech planned out and…”
“Liz…” Dr. Parker pleaded.
“Sorry, Pete,” Liz apologized, “You still want to go through with the private tour?”
“It’s why I’m here.” Peter admitted.
“’K,” Liz turned back to the group, “Sorry about that!”
No response.
“Guess what?” Liz enthusiastically said, “One of you intelligent students will get a private tour of the building with Dr. Parker!”
Again, no response. In Miles’ case, he was too excited to say a word.
“We’re going to take a quick test and whichever one of you gets the best…”
“No, Liz, they’re not,” Dr. Parker interrupted yet again. Liz turned to her boss, a clearly artificial smile on her face.
“What?”
Dr. Parker shook his head. “I was against that from the start. I remember what it was like to be their age. I hated tests. And I was a nerd! Unless high school’s changed dramatically since we were kids, they’re not going to enjoy taking a test…especially noton a field trip. They’re not going to have to take anything.”
A sigh of relief could be audibly heard throughout the crowd.
“Then what do you suggest, sir?” Liz asked, upset by another change to her “perfect” schedule.
“Just one quick question,” Dr. Parker stated. He turned to the crowd and addressed the teens, “What is Cross Species Genetics?”
Miles’ and Tommy’s hands both immediately shot up. Dr. Parker looked at the two teens. “Tommy, not you. You work here, it’s not fair.” Dr. Parker said, clearly recognizing the older teen.
Tommy didn’t say a word, too embarrassed to respond. Miles looked up, hopeful. Dr. Parker met eyes with Miles. “You, son.”
Miles’ insides partied as Miles lowered his hand, “Cross Species Genetics…it’s the theory of mixing two species genes together and/or adding a gene of one species to another through a pathogen as to heal a damaged trait or to improve the specimen in some form. If the process succeeded then the resultant being would be…well, superhuman.”
Dr. Parker grinned, “And what would be an example of this?”
“If…I don’t know…if someone had lost a limb and you gave them the DNA—possibly even the specific genes for regrowth—from a Lizard, they could recreate their lost limb and be healed…theoretically, of course,” Miles let the words spill out of his mouth. Dr. Parker’s face scrunched for just a second, almost in distaste. The reason, Miles had no clue. But as soon as it had come it disappeared, and was replaced with a smile.
“And you are…?” Dr. Parker inquired.
“Miles, sir. Miles Morales.”
“Well, Miles, I’d like you to come with me,” Dr. Parker said.
Miles looked first at Tommy, who just nodded through his mask of shame. Then Miles turned to Ganke. His best friend was grinning ecstatically, “Go, man.”
Miles smiled and nodded. He pushed his way through the crowd and to his idol.
“Let’s go, son,” Dr. Parker waved a temporary goodbye to Liz and headed off, Miles just behind him.
As soon as they were out of hearing distance of the crowd, Dr. Parker spoke, “So, Miles, where’d you learn about Cross Species Genetics?”
Miles rubbed the back of his head embarrassedly, “Well, I sort of idolize you, sir. You’re, like, everything I want to be. You’re really smart, you’re successful…”
“And you helped out Spider-Man.”
“Ah…” Dr. Parker chuckled good-naturedly, “So you’re a Spider-Man fan?” The man turned to his left, leading Miles to an elevator. He spoke something into a small metal box next to the wall and pressed the up button.
Miles nodded enthusiastically, “Yes, sir. He’s…inspiring. He spent his entire life protecting the city. He even gave his life for it. It’s just…it’s just really, really cool to think someone was brave enough to do that. It kind of makes you want to be a better person, y’know?”
A “Bing!” sounded, announcing the arrival of the elevator. The glass doors slid open and the duo entered. Parker pressed the “3” button. Only once the elevator had begun to go up did Dr. Parker give Miles an answer.
“Yes…yes, I know. Spider-Man was…something.” Dr. Parker somberly replied.
Miles realized his fault, “Oh…I’m sorry, sir! I…I know he was your friend and, um, God, I’m stupid! I’m really sorry.”
Dr. Parker surprisingly smiled, looking down at Miles, “There’s nothing to be sorry about. Spider-Man was a hero, a great man. His death was a loss for the city, but his life was a much greater triumph. And please, don’t call me ‘sir.’ I’m just Peter. Peter Parker. That’s…all I am.”
Miles looked through his odd request. The way he worded it was almost as if…
“Yes, sir,” Miles nodded his head and Peter just sighed. The “Bing” sounded their arrival and the doors slid open. Miles turned his attention forward to what was quite possibly the coolest thing he’d ever seen.
“Lab coats” scurried around numerous machines, each one with a different job, a different purpose. A table was set in the middle of the lab, three glass boxes being the only thing on its top. What it contained, Miles couldn’t tell from this far away. Just a few feet from the box was a technological “wheel” of some sort. There were metal loops all set on what would be the corners if it were a square. The loops looked almost like straps. Four metal arms were set up in front of and behind the wheel, each pair holding one half of a large glass tank. To the far left of the machine was a shelf full of glass tubes carrying an odd, green-colored liquid.
“Welcome to Lab 0-3, ParkerCorp’s Cross Species Genetics Department.” Peter held his hands out towards the lab.
Miles stepped out of the elevator, “Wow…this is really awesome!” He immediately turned to Peter, curious about possible flaw in all of this, “Dr. Parker, er, Peter, how do you keep all of this safe? Your research, your ideas? It’s just a glass elevator away from the outside world.”
Peter smiled, “And that’s where you’re wrong. The elevator itself can only be activated through a voice command, which you saw on the first floor. There are also cameras set there,” Peter pointed to a round black camera, seemingly able to see 360 degrees around, “And there,” Peter pointed to another similar camera.
“Those security cameras were produced by ParkerCorp. They have a 360 degree view and are capable of being put into a security mode that instantly sets off alarms if a face doesn’t match anyone’s in their database,” Peter pointed out, “And we have armed guards set up here 24/7.”
Miles nodded in response. A lanky blonde man turned the two of them, and upon noticing Peter, hurried over, “Ah, Peter, is this our guest of honor?”
Peter nodded, “Bill, this is Miles Morales. Miles, this overly enthusiastic man is the head of ParkerCorp’s Genetics Department, Bill Connors.”
“Nice to meet you, Miles,” Bill held out his hand to be shaken. Miles accepted the hand, and lightly shook it.
“The pleasure’s all mine, sir,” Miles admitted.
“Look at how polite you are! My kids could learn a thing or two from you,” Bill said, before turning to his boss, “So, Peter, are we going to show Miles around?”
Peter nodded, “Of course.” The two adults lead Miles over to the lab, Bill quickly introducing Miles to all the scientists in the department, “That’s Michael Morbius over there, and there’s Tiberius Stone. Miguel O’Hara, one of out interns. Raniero ‘Blackie’ Drago. Olivia-Carly King. And lastly, Carlos LaMuerto.”
Peter turned to Miles as Bill finished, “Your friend, Tommy, also helps work in this lab.”
“Tommy actually works here…in this lab…with you?!” Miles asked incredulously, surprised his friend had never told him about this.
“Yes,” Peter admitted, “He never told you?”
“No,” Miles shook his head, “I guess he assumed I’d be jealous.”
Peter looked down at Miles, a peculiar look on his face, “Tommy is an…odd young man. I’d watch him if I were you.”
“What are you—” but before Miles could finish his question, Billy hastily interrupted, “That’s not to say he isn’t a good kid! Tommy’s just a little quiet, a bit different.”
Miles nodded, pretending he accepted Bill’s statement, but in truth he was curious what Peter had meant. Tommy had never seemed bad. He’d never been violent or angry. Sure, he was under a lot of stress from his parents, but that didn’t mean he was going crazy. Why would Dr. Parker say something like that? What had Tommy done for Dr. Parker to become…suspicious of him?
“Miles,” Peter broke Miles’ train of thought, “I think you might find this interesting.”
Miles turned his attention to Dr. Parker, “What?”
Peter was standing over the glass cases Miles had previously spotted. Now, close up, Miles could see all that was inside each of them. There were miniature forest habitats, and inside each was a single large, blood red spider.
“They’re spiders…” Miles rudely pointed out, still a bit thrown off by Dr. Parker’s comment about Tommy.
“Yes,” Peter admitted, “But not just any spiders. These are the product of our Cross Species experiments. These are—in many ways—super spiders.”
“What does that mean?” Miles inquired.
Bill spoke up this time, “They’re the cause of a mixture of four different genotypes of four different species of spider. They have many of the abilities of your ordinary house spider, along with a terrible venom, and more…so much more…”
Bill and Peter both glanced at each other. It almost seemed as if they were keeping something from Miles.
Before Miles could ask what they meant by “more” Bill’s phone went off. The scientist immediately answered it.
“Hello? Oh, yes sir. I understand. We’ll be right out.” Bill hung up, “That was Fury. He’s here and he wants to go through with it now.”
Peter answered, “Alright,” and then turned to Miles, “Listen Miles, I and the rest of the scientists, have to go right now. Liz should be arriving on this floor soon with the other students. Just wait here till then and do NOT touch anything.”
“Yes, sir,” Miles understood. With that Peter bid goodbye and lead the rest of the scientists out and into the elevators.
Miles waited. And waited. The group didn’t come. So, after maybe ten minutes, Miles turned back to the spiders and began to observe them. They were quite interesting. All three spun webs this way and that. One in particular caught Miles’ attention. It crawled right up to the edge of its habitat and seemed to look at Miles directly.
“Hey, little guy,” Miles greeted the spider. Naturally the spider didn’t respond. “Yeah, that was pretty stupid of me, wasn’t it?” Again no response. Miles laughed lightly.
Suddenly, a “BING” sound went off behind him. Thinking it was the elevator, Miles turned around, waiting to greet his classmates. The elevator doors didn’t open. Miles looked around the room to realize it had only been a microwave, set a few yards to the right of Miles, apparently finished cooking an Easy Mac left by one of the scientists.
Miles shrugged off the false alarm and turned back to the case. What he found scared the hell out of him.
The spider was nowhere in sight.
“Oh shit!” Miles cursed. He twisted the case around, looking for any breaches in its smooth surface. There were none. “Oh my God!”
Had he let it out? Did the case somehow open? Miles had to check. He took the black roof off of the glass case and looked inside. He didn’t see the spider anywhere. He reached inside, probably not the smartest thing, and moved around the miniature trees and bushes to find it. There was nothing.
Miles reluctantly put the top back on. Where had the spider gone? Unbeknownst to Miles, a nearly invisible form crept its way up his arm.
The elevator went off behind Miles. The teenage boy was confident this time, however, that whoever was inside the elevator was not his classmates and that it was Dr. Parker with the rest of the scientists and whoever the “Fury” had been. He quickly considered admitting the truth to Dr. Parker, before the thought of the sort of trouble he could get in, what could potentially become of the events. What if Parker sued his parents? What if they lose their home? Scared out of his mind, Miles hurried backwards towards a storage closet. He swung the door open and sat down next to a mop. As soon as he had closed the door, the elevator doors swung open.
“…The testing’s got quite well, Director. We’re 90% positive that the mutagen woyld successfully produce the desired effect on the specimen.” Miles recognized the voice as Dr. Parker’s.
“90% positive?” A deep, controlling voice spoke this time. Miles didn’t recognize it. He assumed it was the “Fury.”
“90% is the best we can do. We haven’t actually physically tested it and our simulations have produced positive results nine out of ten times.” Dr. Parker spoke again, “The spiders will most likely…” Parker’s voice suddenly sunk, “…have disappeared! What?!”
“What is it?” Who Miles assumed was Fury asked.
“There were three specimens but….but one’s missing,” Dr. Parker exclaimed, outraged.
“And why would that be?” Fury growled, clearly an impatient man.
“They…couldn’t have been stolen. I…” Miles knew what was coming. Dr. Parker had to have known, “I don’t know. It just disappeared.”
What? Why hadn’t he said anything? Not a word about Miles. Why?
“Well, I have to go,” Fury said, “I’ll be back next Wednesday to test the spiders.”
“Yes, sir,” Dr. Parker said, “Do you need me to escort you out?”
“I’ll be fine. You solve this missing spider problem.” Fury replied, and within a few seconds Miles heard the sound of elevator doors swishing open.
When Fury was gone, Dr. Parker slammed his fists on the table, “What have you done, Miles? That spider…I don’t know what its bite could do to you!”
Before Miles had a chance to consider Dr. Parker’s words, his left hand seemed to catch fire. Miles choked back his voice, keeping from screaming. He shoved his hand against the ground, and felt some wet splatter against his hand. His hand burned like fire…could he…could he have just been bitten?
Miles stood up. He looked through the glass panel on the door. Dr. Parker was gone, probably looking for him.
Miles crashed against the door, forcing it open. The fire had now spread to his entire left arm. What had happened? Miles looked down, now able to see due to the light in the lab. Something red and black was splattered against his hand. It was…oh God, it was the spider!
Miles shuddered. His body was heating up. He wiped the dead arachnid off of his hand using the tip of his Lakers jersey. Sweat began to bead down his neck. He stumbled forward. Suddenly, doors opened to Miles’ right. Miles ducked behind a desk. He peeked past the desk. The tour group was coming through the door. Ganke and Tommy were at the very back of the crowd. Without a thought, Miles snuck over to the back of the group.
“Miles!” Ganke whispered, surprised, “Dude, you look like crap…”
Liz’s phone went off. She held it up to her ear, “Yes, sir. We’re in the CSG lab? Yes. We’ll wait. Alright.”
“What was that about?” Tommy muttered. Miles knew. Dr. Parker was coming, looking for him.
“Ganke, when he comes, please…” Miles put his hand on Ganke’s shoulder, supporting himself.
“Miles, what are you talking about? Is something wrong?” Ganke asked. Miles looked down at his bitten hand. A round bite mark on the top was swollen and bright red. The elevator doors swung open. Dr. Parker marched into the lab.
“Liz, I’m looking for a Miles Morales. Have you seen him?” Dr. Parker asked.
“What?” Ganke and Tommy both exclaimed quietly. Miles slumped, trying to hide himself.
“Miles? The boy you took on the private tour? I thought he was with you.” Liz said.
“You haven’t seen…” Dr. Parker started, but stopped when he was Miles.
“Miles…” Dr. Parker finished. He approached the boy. Everyone was silent, even the usually exuberant Liz Allen. Miles hid his hand behind his back.
“Yes, sir?” Miles answered, surprised with how confident and normal he sounded, despite his quaking legs, whether from the bite or from fear Miles couldn’t tell.
“Miles, son, how long have you been with the tour?” Dr. Parker asked.
Miles forced back a shudder. Liz spoke up, “I haven’t seen him since you took him. Is something wrong?”
“I don’t know…” Dr. Parker cryptically answered, “Is something wrong, Miles?”
“Sir,” Ganke began. Miles silently thanked his best friend, “Miles has been here for, like, fifteen minutes.” Lucky guess, time wise.
Miles spoke now, “I waited for a few minutes, but the group didn’t come. I went looking for them and found them in the…” Miles prayed this would work, “Biotech Department.”
Liz looked surprised, “We were just there a little over ten minutes ago.”
Dr. Parker nodded his head, “I see…I’m sorry to bother you. Go on back to the tour, Liz, but take them off this floor. There’s…been an accident.”
Liz nodded her head in understanding, “Alright, guys, let’s go.” Liz lead the group back out the door they had come. Dr. Parker watched Miles until the door closed behind the boy.
Now, going up the stairs, away from Dr. Parker, Ganke asked what had been on his mind, “Miles, what was that about?”
Everything was so bright. Couldn’t think. Couldn’t see. Ceiling getting farther away.
“Miles…?”
A hard impact and everything goes dark.
“MILES?!”