Midtown High. Late Afternoon.
The black Lincoln Navigator pulled up to the curb, right in front of a fuming Gwen Stacy. She had been standing in his reserved spot for thirty minutes, her expression dark enough to summon a thunderstorm.
Vincent Hall rolled down the window, feigning a helpless look, though internally, he felt a flicker of something... mischievous.
"Gwen, I'm sorry to keep you waiting."
Gwen crossed her arms, staring him down. "I accept your apology, Mr. Hall. Barely."
"Hop in. I'll take you home." Vincent unlocked the doors.
Gwen climbed into the passenger seat, not bothering to hide her irritation. "You know, making a girl wait is bad form."
"Apologies. I had urgent business at the bank. I forgot the time until I got back to school," Vincent explained smoothly.
"I don't care," Gwen huffed, buckling her seatbelt aggressively. "Drive. Oscorp Tower."
Oscorp?
Vincent's eyes lit up.
"You got the internship?" he asked, genuine interest creeping into his voice.
Oscorp was the apex predator of biotech. For a high school student to land an internship there was like a rookie getting drafted to the Yankees. It meant her future was set. Any Ivy League university would roll out the red carpet.
Vincent smiled. "Oscorp? The Oscorp?"
Gwen's mood instantly brightened. "The one and only."
A hint of pride crept into her voice. Usually, Gwen was humble. But around Vincent, she felt a strange need to prove herself, to show him she wasn't just "Miss Second Place."
"Congratulations, Gwen. If you get a recommendation letter from one of their lead scientists, you can write your own ticket to any college in the country."
Gwen preened slightly, forgetting her anger.
"I'm thinking about Cambridge," she said, glancing sideways at his profile. The setting sun cast sharp shadows on his jawline, making him look older, more mature. Her heart skipped a beat.
"Cambridge? Excellent school," Vincent nodded. Then he sighed. "But compared to the gloom of London... I prefer the New York sunshine."
Gwen blinked. A seed of doubt planted itself in her mind. Is Cambridge really the right choice?
Oscorp Tower.
"Do you want to come inside?" Vincent asked as he parked.
"You want a tour?" Gwen looked at him, amused.
"It's Oscorp. I've admired it for a long time," Vincent lied effortlessly.
Internally, he was calibrating. Which universe is this? Raimi's Spider-Man? Or The Amazing Spider-Man?
It didn't matter. The mission was clear.
[Mission: Steal Peter Parker's destiny and engineer the birth of Ghost Spider. Difficulty: Blue.]
"I can sign you in as a visitor," Gwen decided. "But you have to stay close. No wandering off."
"Understood."
They entered the gleaming lobby. Gwen was clearly a regular; the security guards nodded at her. She secured a visitor pass for Vincent and led him to the Biogenetic Labs on the upper floors.
She slipped into a white lab coat.
Vincent paused.
Gwen Stacy in a lab coat hit different. It transformed her from "High School Queen Bee" to "Intellectual Beauty." Even Vincent's cynical heart missed a beat.
He masked it by pretending to study a display of genetic sequencers.
He scanned the room. No generic spiders. Just high-tech displays.
This is The Amazing Spider-Man timeline, he concluded. Cross-species genetics.
Then, he saw him.
Peter Parker.
Sneaking around in the background, looking nervous.
Vincent smirked. The mission starts now.
He leaned down to a nearby security guard, whispering and pointing discreetly at Peter.
Gwen noticed the exchange but was distracted by Dr. Connors calling her name.
Within seconds, two burly guards intercepted Peter Parker.
"Sir, you're not authorized to be here. Please come with us."
Peter looked panicked, stammering excuses, but they escorted him out firmly. His name was likely being added to the blacklist as they spoke.
Goodbye, Spider-Man, Vincent thought.
He glanced at Gwen, flashed a charming smile, and then slipped away toward the restricted area. He had seen a man in a suit enter a secure lab—Dr. Ratha, likely carrying the Cross-Species serum samples or accessing the spider room.
Vincent watched the man input the code. He memorized it instantly.
When the man left, Vincent keyed in the code. The door slid open.
As he entered, he placed his hand on the sensor panel.
Ice-Ice Fruit: Micro-Freeze.
Frost crept into the circuitry, frying the locking mechanism. The door would now fail to latch properly.
"The trap is set," Vincent whispered.
He stepped inside the lab.
Gwen, realizing Vincent was gone, hurried after him. "Vincent?"
She saw the door slightly ajar. Panic flared in her chest. If he got caught in a restricted zone, he'd be arrested, and she'd be fired.
"Vincent!" she hissed, stepping into the dark room.
It was the Biocable containment room. Hundreds of genetically modified spiders spun webs in blue-lit rotating cylinders.
Gwen looked around. "Vincent?"
He was nowhere to be seen.
In the corner, invisible in the shadows, Vincent stood perfectly still. He had elementalized his lower body into transparent ice, blending into the ambient blue light of the spider tanks.
He watched.
Gwen walked deeper into the room, searching for him. She brushed past the spinning cylinders.
A single spider, displaced by the earlier disturbance, lowered itself on a silk thread.
It landed on the back of her neck.
BITE.
Gwen flinched, slapping her neck. "Ouch!"
She checked her hand. Nothing.
[System Notification]
[Mission Complete: The Birth of Ghost Spider.]
[Reward: Blue Blind Box.]
[Rolling Mission Active. Next Phase Unlocked.]
[New Mission: The Will of Vengeance.]
[Objective: Burn the Triad out of Hell's Kitchen. Avenge your parents. Destroy the Hand's local operations.]
[Difficulty: White - Blue (Scalable).]
[Note: The more scum you eliminate, the higher the reward.]
Vincent rubbed his chin, rematerializing as Gwen turned away.
Easy money.
He stepped out of the shadows, back into the main corridor, acting casual.
Gwen rushed out of the spider room, looking pale, rubbing her neck.
"Gwen? Are you okay?" Vincent asked, the picture of concern.
"I'm... I'm fine," Gwen stammered, feeling dizzy. "Just... something bit me, I think."
"Did you go into the restricted area?" Vincent asked innocently. "I was just looking for the restroom. Did I cause trouble?"
"No... no," Gwen shook her head, her vision swimming slightly. The world felt... louder. "Let's go. I think I need to go home."
"Sure," Vincent said, guiding her by the elbow. "Let's get you out of here."