Canon Fodder

CHAPTER 403 RESPONSIBILITY

Peter Parker was an actual nerd. Where Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland were the hot model version of him, my version was the Rick Moranis version, minus the glasses at the moment. The short kid had brown hair, and a very average face. Skinny as a rail he looked like he was ready to blow over at any moment. To an untrained eye at least. He was actually very well balanced. It was like watching a cat walk, but a dog stuck in a cat’s body. Whatever changes that had occurred with the spider bite were still very new to him. 

As he walked up to me I could see why I wasn’t able to hone in on his Spiritual Energy, it was very different than when I saw him the other day. Where it was a weak flame of power before, he was like a growing inferno. His skinny arms were actually dense muscles that the kid still didn’t know how to use. 

“Peter, it’s okay,” Gwen said as she walked beside him. I closed the romance book I was trying to read. These high schools only had crap ones anyway.

“I’m not going to kill your Uncle,” I assured as Peter walked up. No longer wearing glasses his eyes were focused behind the long bangs. “But I am going to tell you some hard truths…truths you may not want your friend to hear.” I eyed Gwen. 

She gave me a hurt look. “It’s okay, right Peter? I know you were bitten. I assume this is about that? Weston really did save you. I thought for sure you were going to die.”

“Trust me, you probably don’t want her to hear this,” I said. 

“Hey, I thought we were partners,” Gwen said, giving me a look. I frowned, looking from her to Peter. 

“It’s alright…” Peter said in a weak voice. “I trust Gwen.” I chewed my lip. There were some renditions where Gwen knew what Peter went through. And she was there when he was bitten, which I didn’t think happened in the comics. Then again I wasn’t in any of them either. Considering what to do I decided to say fuck it. 

Acting like I was putting the book away above me I swung my arm down and it flew at Peter. His hand moved up instantly, grabbing the book out of the air. His hair moved out of his face from the wind of the throw, but his hand held steady. 

“As you may have noticed, you are going through some alterations,” I said. “Hair growing in weird places? Your voice changing? Weird hardenings in your body, especially in the morning.”

“Oh my god, shut up,” Gwen said. 

I held back a smile. “Like puberty, you are going through something very special. But the changes are very…arachnid in nature,” I admitted.

“Arachnid?” Peter asked.

“Yep, the 8-legged freaks. Able to pick up things many times their own weight. Some have precognitive abilities. Climbing on walls-”

“I did that!” Peter said excitedly, his eyes wide. “O-on accident. I got stuck on the wall.” 

“Good. The changes are taking effect. It feels like it’s still growing too,” I said. “You have been given the power of the spider. Being bitten by a radioactive spider has become the least of your worries.”

“What do you mean?” Peter asked. Gwen was silent, realizing that she really should not have stayed for this. 

“I mean the world is changing, quickly. Mutants are becoming more prominent. Everyone is working on some way to become stronger and better. That explosion at the Baxter Building the other day. You remember that?” They nodded. “I was there. Reed Richards and his associates were hit with Gamma rays and given powers not unlike yours.”

“I heard they were still in a coma,” Gwen said. 

“They are, but I have connections all over. Trust me, it will be out soon, they too have super powers,” I said. “I have my own, as you saw Gwen. The world is awakening into its true nature.”

“What’s that?” Peter asked, nervous as he studied me. I felt that he was a nerd down to his bones, the type of sci-fi nerd to read fanfics and daydream about being in his own adventure as the protagonist. 

“Chaos,” I admitted. “These changes are happening to good and bad people alike. The universe is indifferent to who it gives these powers to. So I am giving you a heads up about what you should expect. I hope that you will be one of the good guys.”

“Are you one of the good guys?” Peter asked. 

“I think so,” I said. “There is a lot going on, especially in this city. Watch yourself. I’ll give you my number and if you’re not sure what to do, or you need help, you can give me a call.”

“What about my Uncle?” He asked, nervous as he asked the true question that was affecting him. 

“I saw it in a dream,” I said. “You uh used your powers to turn to the wrong side. Your Uncle was killed because of it. I don’t know for sure it will happen, but it can. Just keep an eye on him over the next few months. Learn your powers and maybe help the world a little when you can, alright?” He frowned but nodded. “And remember, with great power comes big headaches.” 

—

“What the hell was all that?” Gwen asked. We were on the bus as it drove through the city. On our way to Dr. Connors I had been practicing my Nen and other abilities until her classes were over. 

“Which part?”

“The whole bullcrap about things on the horizon or whatever?” She asked. 

“It’s the truth. Shit is going to be hitting the fan,” I said. “You ever heard of…jeez I can’t think of anyone that’s actually active. Anyway over the next few months or years, superheroes are going to be popping up as supervillains do the same.”

“What the hell makes a hero super?” She asked. “A villain for that matter.” 

“No idea,” I admitted. “Just stronger than regular ones,” I said. “Let’s hope they don’t come up with ultra-supervillains someday. That would not be Plus Ultra.”

Gwen scoffed, shaking her head as she looked out the window. I caught sight of her Gantz suit again, unable to picture it on her. I asked, “have you taken the suit off once?” 

“I shower,” she said as if that answered everything.

“In the suit?” I asked. 

“No,” she said, but didn’t clarify. “What is it called anyway? Do you call it the Suit?”

“Originally it was called the Gantz suit, which stood for God Alien Neutralization Training Zenith. It was made to help people train for an alien invasion,” I said.

“Are aliens real?” She whispered.

“Yes,” I whispered back. Especially in this universe. “A friend of mine called it the ARMIS suit. Accumulation Reinforcement for Marginalized Individual Suit.” 

“Why that name?” She asked with a frown. 

“The nanobots accumulate where they are needed, and reinforce. And it was designed to help marginalized people.” 

“Hmm ARMIS? I kind of like it,” she said. I nodded, but she began again. “What kind of aliens are there?” 

“There are the Skrulls and Kree. I always get them mixed up. One is green and the other looks like us…I think. I’m pretty sure they are both bad. I don’t know any of the other types. But there are a lot out there.” Guardians of the Galaxy was part of the Marvel Universe. “As many different races as there are different people on Earth.” 

“How do you know all this stuff?” She asked.

 

“The real question is why you believe me,” I said, eyeing her. 

She thought about it for a moment then shrugged. “I don’t know. I always kind of thought there was more out there. You think we can travel the stars someday?”

“You and I?” I asked, perking up. “Stick with me and I can guarantee it. I’ve been to a lot of different places. I’ll show you around.” She smiled wide, her Haki glowing with more hope. I couldn’t help but wonder if I could keep the promise. 

“Here’s our stop,” she said standing up. Pulling the brake we were off the bus and walking toward a more residential area outside of town. Tall homes all around us we were in the very rich neighborhood. 

“Jeez, being a scientist pays this well?” I asked. 

“I guess,” she said. “I came here once for a meet and greet with all the interns.” She eyed me. “You really think Peter has super powers now?” 

“Pretty sure,” I said, but felt some jealousy come to her. “Don’t worry about it. The Gantz suit will make you pretty strong too.” She let out a sigh but nodded. We walked in silence as we continued on. Eventually we came to a house that looked like all the rest. 

Red brick exterior, a bay window out front, 1 car garage to the side, steepled roof, they were all pretty standard. Old me would have gone crazy for a place like this. It was weird to think I never really owned a house in my other worlds. Then again other Weston had the Capsule house, that was good enough. 

Gwen walked up the front door and knocked. “Dr. Connors?” We waited, nothing happened, but I felt someone inside. 

“Keep going,” I said. 

“Dr. Connors!” Gwen kept knocking. After the 3rd break the person inside finally moved. Coming quickly to the door I could tell their Haki was off. 

Grabbing her wrist I pulled her back and pushed her behind me as the door was opened forcefully. Gwen jumped and I was ready to fight but who met us was a tall man in a flannel shirt and long beard. 

“Gwen?” The man asked. 

“Dr. Connors, hello,” she said, stepping around me. “Sorry to bother you. I just…”

“No, it’s fine,” the man said. Wiping crust from his eyes he looked out the door to the sun. “What time is it?”

“About 4:30,” she said. 

“Sorry, come in. Please.” He walked in. Gwen and I shared a look but followed. 

“Sorry about the mess?” The man said. He began pushing papers on his dining room table into a pile. “Do you want something to drink? I’m still on an energy drink high so I have plenty.” There were cans of Red Bull all over the floor. 

“No, thank you,” Gwen said. She looked at me but I couldn’t think what to say. The man in front of me was different than I expected. About 6 foot 2 inches he had brown hair. A scraggly beard. And looked more like a hippie than a scientist. There was something off about him that I couldn’t place. 

“I just wanted to check on you. It’s been a while and I wanted to make sure you were okay,” Gwen said. 

“That’s nice,” Dr. Connors said. He yawned widely. “Sorry, I guess I need more energy. One sec.” He walked over to the kitchen and I finally noticed what was wrong. 

“Has he always had 2 arms?” I asked as Connors stepped out. 

“What? Yeah, of course,” Gwen said. “Why wouldn’t he have 2 arms?”

“I uh…I thought he didn’t,” I said. In the comic Dr. Connors lost one of his arms and became obsessed with Lizards. Since they could regrow their tails he wanted to mix their DNA with his and try to grow his arm back. That was his whole villain story. The experiment went bad and he turned into a reptilian version of the Hulk. Green too, not very original. 

He walked back out and I began to study him. Looking at the Spiritual Energy of his legs they seemed to be made of flesh as well. Curious if I was even on the right track I found something off on his side. 

Some kind of liquid stored in a pouch there was a tube leaving it and going right into…his groin. 

“Oh fuck,” I said realizing he had no dick. My own dick ached in sympathy for his own. I finally understood the man in front of me. 

Obsessed with getting his arm back in canon, I didn’t understand why he would care. I would much rather lose an arm than my eyes like Demoness, but she didn’t spend her life trying to get eyes back. But this man was missing his dick. I would kill who I needed to kill and make deals with whatever devil I had to to get my dick back. 

“What’s wrong?” Dr. Connors asked. 

I frowned, playing through it all in my mind. “Gwen, why don’t you step outside?” I said. 

“What?” She asked. 

“Do I know you?” Dr. Connors asked, studying me for the first time. 

“Gwen, head outside,” I ordered. 

“No,” she said, unsure what I was doing. I saw the disc of the suit under her shirt. I hoped that was enough. 

“What’s going on?” Dr. Connors asked. 

“I’ve been on the trail of something for a while,” I said to him. “My family was killed in a car crash. On the truck that hit us was a barrel with the Oscorp hexagon logo.” Dr. Connors stiffened. “Inside that barrel was a blue goo. A goo that made me fuse to whoever I touched.” 

Dr. Connors heart rate increased. Beginning to sweat he looked from me to Gwen. “I heard that a man named Connors was involved with criminals. A criminal named Barracuda and the other called…Kingpin.”

With that Dr. Connors began to grow and turn green. “Gwen! Out!” I said, pushing her toward the door. I jumped at the half lizard man, punching him in the face. He was thrown through the wall, but finished transforming. 

Scuttling on the tile floor with his long claws he was 9 feet tall, and had a long maw that looked like it belonged on a T-Rex. Huge teeth, head and claws he was much bigger than I imagined. 

The lizard man hissed at me and met me head on. Claws scratching at me, my Nen took the majority of the damage but my top layer of skin was scratched. I began pushing Armament Haki into my body wherever he scratched. 

Punching and hitting him for all I was worth he took the blows but bounced back, surprising me by how durable he was. I shot Sparks into him, but they never went further than his scales. The electricity streaking along his body he bit into my shoulder causing me to yell out. 

Punching him in the eye as I continued to yell as I hit him over and over. His eye socket became a bloody pulp but he flung me to the side and I hit the wall hard. Crashing into a TV I was stunned for a moment. Shaking my head I moved to fly at him but hesitated as Gwen jumped at him. 

The muscles of her Gantz suit bulged and she punched him in his one good eye. The Lizard took the hit, then with a snarl his long claws extended out and sliced her through the middle. 

“No!” I roared, slamming into him with all the speed I could muster. Using Timeflow I hit him 12 times in quick succession in his middle and he was thrown through the wall into the garage. 

Uncaring what happened to him I turned back to Gwen. She was lying on the floor. Blood and guts pouring out of the suit. 

“Fucking idiot,” I said moving to her in an instant. I felt resistance to using the power but forced my Timeflow again. Ripping the Gantz suit open in a smooth motion I should have pushed her out of there. The suits were great against blunt damage, not so much against shear. The Timeflow ended and I began to panic. 

I pushed her innards back inside as she coughed up blood. “I did it,” she mumbled. “I helped.”

“You helped so much, babe,” I said, wiping sweat out of my eyes. 

“Babe?” She asked weakly, but I ignored her. Charging my hands with electricity I truly listened to what was wrong with her. Her body speaking to me, I understood a little better what Medici meant. 

The body was its own mind. Everything connected, doing its own part. Like the parts of my brain that controlled my Powers the body had its own voice telling me what needed to happen and where. 

“It’s going to be okay,” I said more to her than me. 

“I know,” she said, smiling slightly as my hands glowed brighter. 

“This is going to hurt,” I said and pushed the power into her. She cried out as the electricity crackled against her nervous system, forcing it to do what I commanded. 

Gwen cried out in pain as I held her down. The rips in her stomach sealed up and scabbed over but the healing wasn’t done. The insides were the worst of it. Power moving down from her nerves into her bowels they lit up as well. She began to shake but I continued, feeling the damage rather than seeing it. 

Long seconds she convulsed then with a ragged sigh she finally passed out. I kept up with the work making sure I got everything. Talking to her body over and over as I scanned it. When it was mostly healed I stopped and sat down. 

Blood covering my hands, I was sure it was on my face as well. Gwen’s stomach was covered in blood and I had ripped the suit too much. Inadvertently revealing her breasts. 

“Shit,” I mumbled. Standing up I looked through the hole in the wall. I couldn’t see or feel Connors. “Double shit.” Looking around I grabbed the Red Bull he had opened and chugged it. My night was going to be a lot more annoying. 

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