"Hello?! Sahil?! Dude, please pick up—"
"Peter, calm down," Sahil's voice came through, smooth and measured. "What happened?"
"Okay so—okay, listen. I woke up and my bed frame was stuck to my hand. Like, stuck stuck. And when I tried to get up, I accidentally crushed my alarm clock. Then I turned to grab my door handle, and guess what? I broke it clean off!"
"You okay?"
"Yeah, no! I'm strong as hell all of a sudden, and sticky—and I'm getting these... tingles. Like warnings before stuff happens. I also tore off my backpack too, the strap snapped like paper. And I only managed to call you because, thank God, my phone has Siri."
"Relax," Sahil said. "Come to the lab. I'll check you out."
Peter stood in the center of the lab, jittery and wide-eyed, like his body had downloaded a new update from the universe.
"I'm not even joking, man," Peter said, flexing his fingers. "My whole body feels like it's operating on cheat codes. I don't even walk the same anymore."
He paused. "So... wait. Does this mean I'm a mutant now?"
Sahil shook his head. "Not really. You don't have the X-gene. So technically, no. You're mutated, yeah—but like the Hulk, or the Fantastic Four. You're more science accident than genetic lottery."
Peter blinked. "Great. I'm a science accident. That's not gonna haunt me in therapy at all."
"You'll get used to it. Now—try dodging my punch."
Peter looked up. "Man, I don't think I can get hit by anything with this sixth sense. Or maybe I should call it... spider sense?" He smirked. "You should see how fast I move now."
"Just try," Sahil replied. "You're in for a surprise."
Peter rolled his shoulders. "Yeah, whatever. Let's see then."
"Ready?"
Peter nodded.
The moment Sahil's punch came, his whole body buzzed like a tornado siren in his skull. His instincts screamed, and Peter moved, cocky as ever—only for Sahil's fist to track him mid-dodge and wham—knocked him straight onto his back.
Peter gasped. "DUDE—what the hell?! How did you do that?! Wait a second… did you get bit too?"
Sahil grinned. "Didn't need to. I examined the spider, extracted and enhanced myself with its DNA. And even before that, I was already genetically and cybernetically altered. So I'm like... a super version of you."
Peter just stared at him. His whole face screamed what kind of anime bullshit is this.
"Oh, and did I mention I'm a martial artist too?" Sahil added, like he was listing lunch specials.
Peter squinted at him. "Explains the adult body at age thirteen, I guess."
Then his eyes went wide. "Wait—hey! You already knew about the spider?! You really waited just to humble my ass, huh?"
Sahil laughed. "I just wanted to mess with ya man. Don't cry about it."
Peter rubbed his ribs. "Oh, I'm definitely crying on the inside."
"But I am gonna train you," Sahil said. "So you don't accidentally snap someone's hand off in a high five."
"Gee, thanks, sensei," Peter muttered. "Can't wait to be humiliated in lesson two."
"You will be," Sahil said, already turning back to the console. "Now get ready. This is only day one."
Peter flopped onto a nearby chair. "This better come with snacks."
As Peter sulked with dramatic flair in the background, Sahil opened a separate console screen—locked behind multiple biometrics. His thoughts shifted to the looming shadow of Oscorp.
Norman Osborn. Curtis Connors. Otto Octavius.
Three brilliant minds.
Three future catastrophes.
And all of them traced back to one building in Midtown.
Norman wasn't trying to be a villain—he was trying to save his son from his genetic disease called Oshtoran Syndrome. Rare and aggressive. Norman's Goblin Serum started with desperation, not malice. But the formula he'd created, it wasn't some weak super-soldier knockoff. It was potent, chaotic—and strong enough to go almost toe-to-toe with Peter, if not worse.
Then there was Dr. Connors. Funded by Oscorp, chasing regeneration dreams for amputees, sounded noble. Until the lizard serum fried his brain and turned him into a one-man Jurassic Park.
And finally, Otto Octavius. Genius. Kind. But too trusting of his own tech. The AI he built for his mechanical arms had the potential to rewrite his entire personality if things went wrong—which, spoiler alert, they eventually would.
But he wasn't going to let that future happen. Not this time.
Norman hadn't started human trials yet. Connors was still in early simulations. Otto hadn't even built the arms.
Which meant there was still time.
Still a chance to guide them—to make sure they didn't fall.
All he needed... was a reason to walk into Oscorp and stay.
"Time to play nice with Osborn," Sahil muttered, pulling up the most recent list of Oscorp project leads. "Let's see what doors I can open before things get bad."