Two weeks passed since Alex had finished testing Peter's abilities. Life settled into a new rhythm. School during the day. Work at Oscorp in the afternoon. Research at night.
Peter was adjusting to his powers. Learning control. Getting confident. Maybe too confident.
Alex saw the videos online. Shaky phone footage of someone in a hoodie and ski mask stopping a mugging. Another video of the same person swinging between buildings using what looked like webs.
The internet was calling him Spider-Man.
Peter texted constantly about it. Excited. Proud. Acting like this was a game instead of something dangerous.
"Did you see the news? They're calling me a hero!"
"Stopped three robberies last night. Feeling good about this."
"People are making fan pages. This is crazy."
Alex responded carefully. Warned Peter to be smart. To think strategically. To understand that every action had consequences.
But Peter was sixteen and invincible and didn't want to hear about consequences.
Alex let it go. Peter would learn. Either through experience or through pain. That's how people learned.
Meanwhile, Alex focused on his own work. His report on Specimen 15 had impressed Norman. His articles for TechCrunch were getting hundreds of thousands of views. Everything was progressing exactly as planned.
Until the day everything went wrong.
...
It happened on a Thursday afternoon. Alex was leaving Oscorp Tower after his shift. Walking toward the subway station like he did every day.
The explosion came from his left. A storefront three buildings down. Glass shattered outward in a spray of glittering shards.
BOOM!
The shockwave hit Alex like a physical force. Knocked him sideways. His shoulder slammed into a parked car. Pain shot through his arm and ribs.
People were screaming. Running. A woman fell near him. Blood on her face from flying glass.
Alex looked up. Saw a figure rising from the wreckage of the store. Old man. Maybe sixty. Wearing some kind of mechanical harness with wings. Actual wings that moved and flexed like a bird's.
The Vulture. Had to be. Alex had read about Adrian Toomes. Former Oscorp engineer. Fired by Norman three months ago. Had been making threats.
Apparently he'd made good on them.
Toomes grabbed something from the destroyed store. Electronics. Looked like hard drives or processors. Valuable tech.
Then he saw the crowd. Saw Alex staring at him.
"You." Toomes pointed. "You work for Osborn. I've seen you in the building."
Alex's mind raced. He tried to stand. His legs weren't cooperating. The impact had done something. Twisted his ankle or worse.
Toomes swooped down. His mechanical wings beat the air with a sound like helicopter blades. He landed ten feet from Alex.
"Tell Norman this is just the beginning. Everything he took from me, I'm taking back. With interest."
He raised one wing. It had some kind of blade attached. Curved metal that gleamed in the afternoon light.
'I'm going to die,' Alex thought with strange clarity. 'Die in a street fight over someone else's grudge.'
'Damn it. Where the hell is Peter!'
The wing came down.
Something red and blue slammed into Toomes from the side.
CRASH!
Spider-Man. Peter. His friend tackled the Vulture away from Alex. They rolled across the pavement in a tangle of limbs and wings.
"Pick on someone your own size!" Peter's voice was muffled by his mask. Trying to sound tough.
Toomes threw him off. Extended his wings and launched into the air. Peter shot webbing. Caught one wing. Pulled.
The Vulture spun in midair. Came back down hard. But he was experienced. Rolled with the impact and came up swinging.
Alex watched from the ground. His body was frozen. Shock or injury or both. He couldn't move. Could only watch as his friend fought a man in a flying death machine.
Peter was good. Fast and strong and creative. But Toomes was better. More experienced. More ruthless.
A blade caught Peter's shoulder. Cut through his costume. Blood appeared.
Peter yelped and stumbled back.
Read more chapters, days ahead of Webnovel Updates, on Patreon marvelstark