Arachnid: New Spiderman

[3rd POV]

Toomes Technologies Office

Adrian Toomes was in his office, trying to hold back his anger.

A multi-million-dollar deal!

He had lost his last chance to elevate his company to the top tier because of conglomerates like Stark Industries, Oscorp, and Roxxon Energy Corporation.

However, the one to blame for it all was Donald Roxxon. The bastard had stolen and reworked his technology. He had changed the application and directed it not towards military use but towards civilian purposes.

The most disgusting part was that now he, the creator of the development, was considered a plagiarist. 

The company went bankrupt. 

He had lost everything.

However, Roxxon will pay. 

They're all gonna pay!

..

[Peter's POV]

The day at school passed by pretty quickly, and now Gwen and I were on the bus heading toward the university lab. 

While she was talking about how she and her father had a great time in Miami, I kept pondering.

Something felt off with her today. The introduction to Mary Jane was a bit awkward. At least, I could sense some tension. 

Then there was that request to go on the internship together.

Suddenly, I widened my eyes in shock and quickly turned toward her, who had gotten distracted by the view outside the window.

What an idiot I am! 

It's Gwen Stacy. Peter Parker's first love. Of course, the canon couldn't avoid this moment.

What a fool I am.

What do I do now?

I'll admit it right away, Gwen is great, but I don't feel any attraction to her.

Of course, if MJ or even Felicia weren't in the picture, I might have tried to make a move on her. And most likely, it would have worked.

But right now, I have a girlfriend and plans for our future together. Gwen doesn't fit into that picture. But I saw her eyes, and I knew she felt the attraction.

"Pete, we've arrived."

"I'm coming, Gwen." 

I'll think about it later.

What can be said about New York University? It looks quite classy. That's all I noticed as we approached the science laboratory complex.

"Oh, are you the students from Midtown High?"

A man asked who stepped out of a distant office.

"That's us."

I replied, speaking for both myself and Gwen.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Dr. Kurt Connors." 

The man extended his hand to me.

He's average height, light brown eyes, dark brown hair, and a rather tired look.

"Peter Parker."

I shook his hand in return, "This is Gwen Stacy."

"Nice to meet you, Dr. Connors."

"Likewise, Miss Stacy."

The sound of a bell ringing from the front door followed our introduction. 

A middle-aged woman with red hair and blue eyes walked in.

"Young people, allow me to introduce you to my colleague and wife, Martha Connors. Martha, these are the students sent from Midtown High."

"Nice to meet you."

"Us too… which is better, Doctor Connors or Mrs. Connors?" 

I ask her, rubbing the back of my neck.

The couple exchanged glances and started laughing.

"Both are fine, Mister…"

"Parker."

"And you must be Miss Stacy?"

"How did you guess?"

"Unlike my husband, I study the personal files of the students we're sent."

Martha added with a laugh.

"Yeah, I don't bother with such small details."

Kurt explained with a chuckle, "I usually prefer to assess people based on their skills and knowledge, not third-party assessments."

"But you could at least have gotten their names."

"Why bother? We already introduced ourselves before you arrived."

"Anyway, your professor mentioned that another personal file will be sent later. I asked why, since we only needed two students from Midtown, and he replied, "Mr. Parker will explain." So, what's going on?"

Yeah, Professor Tonneson really set me up.

"Well, there's not much to explain. I just have a pretty busy schedule. Besides school, I work as a photographer at the Daily Bugle and have some… other side jobs. I'm not sure I'll be able to dedicate enough time to the internship."

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that. You didn't think you two were the only ones sent to us, did you?"

Gwen and I exchange glances.

"Let me explain."

Martha interjected, "The university has allocated our research grants. Currently, the biology department, especially genetic research, is of great interest to the scientific community. As a result, the government has provided us with a lot of funding. So, as long as there were funds, the university administration decided to create a team of lab assistants for the biology department with students from all over New York. However, this is not a competitive contest. You can consider yourselves colleagues, as it was decided that you will pass on your scientific knowledge. In return, you'll contribute new perspectives and ideas to the research."

"Exactly. Besides the two of you, there are five more pairs of students. You will be assigned a place in the lab on a specific day that works with your schedule. You'll also be introduced to all of the research within our department. We're not the only researchers, so you may eventually be transferred to a professor whose scientific views align more closely with yours."

"That sounds really amazing, right, Peter?"

Before I could respond, the entrance door suddenly swung open.

The door burst open, and I saw a middle-aged man, slightly shorter than Dr. Connors, with gray hair and glasses, rush in.

"Connors!" 

He shouted frantically in a lab coat.

"What's going on, Miles?"

Dr. Connors asked.

Although Dr. Connors tried to sound friendly, I could feel the tension between the two of them.

"Why was the budget for my research reduced? The money was supposed to be distributed equally across the department!"

Miles shouted almost hysterically.

Why does he seem so familiar to me?

"Professor Warren, the budget wasn't distributed by me but by the university committee. Please direct your complaints to the head of the council and refrain from embarrassing us in front of the students from Midtown School."

Dr. Connors gestures toward us with his hand.

MILES WARREN?!

I tensed up immediately.

Meanwhile, the man straightened up and began adjusting his tie.

"Students from Midtown?" 

He scanned us with his eyes.

I felt like I was a rival in his cold, calculated look at me, but the look he gave Gwen was lewd, dripping with unhidden lust.

Ah, you old pervert.

However, it seemed like only I noticed that look.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Professor Miles Warren."

The old man said, stepping closer to us.

I wasn't planning on shaking his hand but he didn't seem to notice, and his eyes fixed solely on Gwen.

"It's wonderful that such beautiful young ladies are drawn to science." 

Warren said, kissing Gwen's hand.

Disgusting.

Gwen seemed to feel something similar as she quickly pulled her hand away, albeit politely but quite insistently.

"Thank you, Professor."

She continued with a sweet tone. However, I could sense how uncomfortable she was with the professor's lewdness.

"Well then, allow me to take my leave, but we're not finished here, Connors. Martha."

What was striking was that Warren also threw rather lewd glances at Martha.

"Well, now you've met another head of our biology department. He focuses on cloning."

"In any case, we got distracted, so what do you say, Peter?"

"I'm in, Doc, sign us up."

I answered, staring at the closed door.

...

After putting Gwen on the bus and saying goodbye, I walked home, deciding to cut through the abandoned warehouses. 

I needed to blow off some steam.

I didn't think I'd run into that bastard so soon. Miles Warren is the real deal and a complete psycho and an asshole like few others.

I looked that piece of trash in the eye just once, and I could already see the hell he was undoubtedly going to burn in.

He's one of the few people in the comics who caused Peter real psychological torture. He created clones and sowed seeds of doubt regarding self-identity, and that's not even the worst of it.

I've always believed that the Jackal is one of the few Spider-Man enemies who truly deserve death. 

I jump over the fence of an abandoned building and run inside, knocking the door off its handle in the process. 

I somersault, grab some chains lying on the ground, and start throwing them into barrels. 

However, I can't just kill him yet. He hasn't done anything. What if in this world, he's just an arrogant, sexually obsessed scientist who likes to hit on young female students?

He might deserve a warning punch in the face for that, but not death.

I need to control myself. 

This jerk is the reason I ended up on this internship I don't really need. Once again, I'm losing what little free time I have. Ugh...

Alright, I'll deal with it later. I suit up and decide to head home on the web. 

Hopefully, the evening flights will help me unwind.

To be continued...