It was late afternoon when Kai stumbled down the street, his vision blurred and his body aching. Each step felt heavier than the last. He turned into an alley, gripping the wall for support then suddenly doubled over, throwing up. "What's happening to me…?" he groaned. His legs gave out. Kai collapsed. Further down the alley, a man peeked out from a cardboard shelter. "That… doesn't look good," he muttered. He got up and walked over.
Back at Midtown High, Ava and Eddie searched the halls. "He should be back by now," Ava said, checking her phone. "He didn't say anything about skipping." She called him again. Voicemail. Eddie rubbed the back of his neck. "I wish I went with him… his foster parents are probably freaking out." Night fell. Kai's eyes slowly opened. He sat up, clutching his head and noticed a small fire burning nearby, a dog curled beside him.
"Good, you're awake," the man said, stirring a can over the flames. "Thought I lost you there." "What… happened?" Kai asked weakly. "You passed out. And for the record maybe ease up on the drinking and smoking, yeah?" Kai blinked. "I don't." "Here," the man interrupted, handing him the can. "You've been out for hours." Kai took it and ate. "…Thanks for not robbing me. Or harvesting my organs." The man chuckled. "No problem." Kai stood slowly.
"I should go. My foster parents are probably losing it… and I skipped an entire day of school, so I'm definitely grounded." He started walking away, pulling out his phone. 50 missed calls. "…Yeah. I'm grounded." He glanced at his hand. The bite. Red. Swollen. Yellow at the center. Dark, vein-like lines creeping down his arm. "What… bit me?" His head throbbed. "I can't think right now… I just need to get home."
At the house, panic filled the air. "I don't understand," Rose said, pacing. "He's never done this before." "It's gonna be okay," Mat said. "We'll go out again and look." "Last time I talked to him, he asked about my internship at Alchemax," Robert added. "You think he's still researching his parents?" Mary asked. "Wouldn't surprise me," Liam said. "He ran away from seven foster homes before this. Started when he was six."
Everyone turned to him. "What?" Liam shrugged. "I did my research on everyone that lives here." "We should go look again." The door opened. Kai stood there. Pale. Sweating. Barely standing. "Kai!" everyone shouted. They rushed to him. Rose and Mat helped him upstairs, laying him on the bed. "Kai, what happened?" Rose asked. "I don't feel… too good…" He suddenly sat up, grabbed a backpack, and threw up into it. Kai blinked at it. "…Please tell me this isn't my bag."
"That's it, I'm calling the hospital," Rose said. "Wait," Fred said, stepping in. "He just needs rest. Maybe NyQuil. Looks like a fever." Mary frowned. "And you know that how?" Fred shrugged. "Second-year biology major." Mat nodded. "Alright. Let's give him space." Everyone filed out. At Alchemax, deep in a hidden lab, Tyler Stone stood before a massive armored suit. It resembled a rhinoceros heavy, mechanical, powerful. Beside him stood a thin, frail, bald man.
"Alexis," Stone said, "aren't you tired of being weak? Sick?" Alexis clenched his fists. "Of course I am." "I can change that," Stone said. "Give you power." Alexis narrowed his eyes. "And what do you want in return?" Stone smiled. "Just… cause some destruction. I want to see what it can do." The next morning Kai groaned as he opened his eyes. "My head feels like it's being stabbed…" He sat up, slowly getting out of bed. "I really hope we have aspirin." He walked into the bathroom, opened the cabinet, and grabbed the bottle and his hand didn't let go.
"Huh?" He pulled. Nothing. He pulled harder. CRACK. The cabinet door ripped clean off its hinges. Kai stumbled back, staring. "…Okay." He tried to drop the aspirin It stuck to his hand. "What is happening?!" He grabbed it with his other hand. Now that hand stuck too. He yanked again, slipping his elbow slammed into the sink. CRACK. Part of it shattered. "You've gotta be kidding me." Knock. Knock. "Malachi, you okay?" Mat's voice came through the door. "Yeah!" Kai called quickly. "When you feel better, come downstairs." "Okay!" Kai stared at his hands. "…I'm not okay."
A little later, Kai walked downstairs, awkwardly carrying part of the broken sink. "Uh… it just fell apart," he said. "They don't make these like they used to." "Put that down," Rose said. He did. They all sat him on the couch. "We know you skipped school," Mat said. "Well… I went to first period." They didn't laugh. Kai sighed. "I'm sorry." Rose softened. "We know this isn't easy. Bouncing between foster homes… trying to figure out your past…" Mat handed him a file.
"We've been working on this for months." Kai blinked. "What is it?" "It was found with your mom when she died," Rose said. "A friend in the police department helped us get it." Kai's hands trembled as he took it. "…Thank you." He hugged them tightly. "Easy, kid," Mat winced. "You're gonna break my spine." Kai pulled back. "Wait," Mat added. "You're grounded. Two weeks." "Fair." Kai handed over his phone and bolted upstairs.
He locked his door, sat at his desk, and opened the file. His eyes scanned the pages. "…The Arachnid Project. 001." He leaned in. "Designed to cure any disease… these equations are insane. This is way beyond normal science." He swallowed. "Alchemax…" His expression hardened. "All of my mom's work vanished when she died. No photos. No records. Nothing." He stared at the page. "This… is the only thing she left behind." A picture of a spider stared back at him. Kai flipped the page the paper stuck to his hand. "…Oh, come on."
In Queens, chaos ripped through the streets. A massive armored figure the Rhino charged forward, tearing through buildings like they were nothing. Concrete shattered. Glass rained down. People screamed and ran. "Come on!" Alexis roared from inside the suit. "Isn't there anyone who can stand a chance against me?!" A voice answered, calm and heavy. "I'll take a crack at it." A large, bald man in a black suit stepped forward, rolling his shoulders.
"I'm missing my daughter's birthday for this," he said, cracking his knuckles. "So I'm gonna skip straight to where I beat the hell out of you." "Yeah! Get him, Luke Cage!" someone yelled while running past. Luke planted his feet. Rhino charged. The impact thundered through the street. Luke slid back, his boots carving deep lines into the ground. "Is that all you got?" Alexis taunted. Then he lowered his head the horn drove forward, piercing Luke's leg and lifting him off the ground before launching him into a gas station. An explosion erupted behind him.
"Rhino, return to base," Tyler Stone's voice ordered through the comms. Alexis hesitated then turned and sprinted off. From the flames, Luke Cage slowly stood. His suit was charred, his leg injured but already healing. "…That was embarrassing," he muttered. "And there goes my suit. Jessica's gonna kill me… and I'm late." He limped off. Back in Kai's room Kai hung upside down from the ceiling, his feet stuck firmly in place. "I think I'm getting the hang of this," he said, grinning.
A second later, he slipped and crashed onto the floor. "…Yeah. That tracks." He pushed himself up, rubbing his back. "If I could just figure out these equations faster, maybe I could understand what happened to my mom and what's happening to me." He grabbed an old microscope and placed his finger under it. His eyes widened. "Whoa…" Tiny, barbed hairs covered his skin microscopic hooks. "That's… kinda gross. But also really cool." He leaned back, thinking. "So I was bitten by a spider. A lab spider. And thanks to my eidetic memory no longer puking my guts out, I can remember what it looked like." He grabbed a notebook and sketched the spider badly.
Then he compared it to the image in the file. "…001." Kai swallowed. "The same spider my mom was working on." He flipped through the file again. "Genetically altered… designed to cure diseases. Even cancer." He stared at his hands. "And now it bit me." His stomach growled loudly. "…Right. Food." Downstairs, the house was empty. Kai opened the fridge. Frozen pizza. He didn't bother heating it. He just ate. Then more. Leftovers. Snacks. Random containers. "I think I've got hyper metabolism now," he muttered between bites. "This all tastes amazing."
He paused mid-chew. "…That was definitely three-week-old mac and cheese." His stomach growled violently. "Oh no." He sprinted upstairs. At Alchemax, Robert stood as security checked him. "For a company this powerful," he thought, "their security really isn't all that great." He spotted Tyler Stone walking down a hallway. "This might be my chance." Robert slipped away from the internship group and followed. He reached a restricted area. "I don't think we're supposed to be here…" He peeked through a window.
Alexis stepped out of the Rhino suit. Robert ducked quickly. "…Okay. Definitely not part of the tour." Curiosity took over. He slipped into a nearby room. It was massive. "What is this place." The lights snapped on. The doors slammed shut. Robert turned, panic rising. "Uh… hello? I'm in here!" Above him, Dr. Rubinstein watched through a screen. "Looks like one of the interns got curious," he said. "Perfect timing." He pressed a button. A display lit up icons scrolling rapidly.
Animals. Insects. He stopped on one. Fly. He activated the chamber. Energy surged around Robert. "WAIT!" he screamed. His body convulsed. Bones shifted. Skin warped. Something inside him changed violently. "HELP ME!!" The chamber powered down. The doors opened. Smoke poured out. A figure stepped forward. Tall but unnaturally thin. Skin pale-gray, almost glossy. Face distorted, barely human. Large red compound eyes twitched constantly. Thin wings extended from his back, humming softly. "What… happened to me…?" Robert whispered. Above, Rubinstein stared, amazed. "…It worked."
Back at home, Kai set up a video camera on his desk. "Okay, first test," he said. "This is a personal log about… me." He stepped back. "After getting bitten by a spider, I now apparently have spider powers." He jumped. Stuck to the ceiling. "All fours… stable…" He slipped and hit the ground. "…Still trying to get a hang on it," he added, laughing. "Man, I crack myself up." A tapping sound came from the window. Kai turned. Sally stood outside, trying to get his attention. His heart started racing. He cleared his throat, trying to act normal, and opened the window.
"Hey, Sally." "Hey," she said. "You weren't at school today, and you left early yesterday. I was worried." Kai froze. "…You were worried?" She nodded. Kai's face lit up. Before he could respond. "Sally!" a voice called from her house. Sally glanced back. "Sorry, that's my mom. Talk later!" She hurried off. Kai stood there, dazed. "Wow… she's so…" He turned and saw his camera still recording. "…Oh." He reached for it. His hand stuck to the frame. Kai sighed. "…Of course."
Some time later, Kai stood on top of a building, the city stretching out beneath him. His camera was propped up, recording. "Okay… next test jumping," he said, pacing back a few steps. "Jumping spiders can leap ten to over fifty times their body length. So… if this doesn't work delete my hard drive." He took a breath. Then ran. He launched himself across the street and landed on the next building, rolling hard and slamming into the ledge.
"Ow okay, that hurt," Kai groaned, pushing himself up. "But… that's a yes on super jumping." He walked over to a pipe sticking out of the rooftop. "Now, strength test. Fun fact spiders can lift anywhere from ten to over one hundred seventy times their body weight." He grabbed the pipe. Squeezed. It crumpled in his hand like paper. "…Okay. That's insane." Kai laughed nervously. "I wonder if I'm stronger than Captain America… yeah, no. Not testing that." He stopped the recording and climbed down the building.
On the street, Kai walked with his hands in his pockets, lost in thought. "I wish I had actual equipment. I could run real tests, measure everything…" He didn't notice the crosswalk light change. Didn't notice the truck speeding toward him Until. A sharp, vibrating sensation shot through his head. His body moved on its own. Kai flipped over the truck, landing smoothly behind it. The driver slammed the brakes too late. Kai stood there, stunned. "…What was that?"
He looked at his hands. "My body just… reacted." People stared. Phones came out. Kai quickly ran off. "Yeah… I need to stay low-key if I want to keep this a secret." At Alchemax, Robert slammed his fists against a reinforced door. "Let me out of here! Now!" In a control room, Tyler Stone and Dr. Rubinstein watched calmly. "It worked," Stone said. "And he's stable?" "Yes," Rubinstein replied. "His DNA is now partially that of a common housefly. I'd like to run further tests, but he's… uncooperative." Stone smirked. "You still have a lot to learn." He grabbed a water bottle and headed downstairs.
The heavy door opened. Robert turned. "Mr. Stone." "Relax," Stone said smoothly. "I'm here to help." "Help?" Robert snapped. "You turned me into a freak! Fix me!" He grabbed Stone with one hand, lifting him off the ground. Stone didn't flinch. "Impressive strength," he said calmly. "But if you hurt me, you'll never get what you want. So… let's not do that." Robert hesitated… then slowly set him down. "What did you do to me?" "I improved you," Stone said. "Stronger. Faster. Wings. Enhanced vision. You might see better than Hawkeye now."
He handed Robert the water. Robert drank it quickly. "I don't care. Change me back." Stone's smile faded slightly. "No. You're the only successful human subject I have." Robert clenched his fists. Then suddenly collapsed, screaming in pain. His body felt like it was burning from the inside out. "What what's happening?!" Stone held up a small device. "Insurance," he said. "Billions of nanobots in your bloodstream. They attach to your muscles… your organs." Robert gasped on the floor.
"Why…?" "Because you work for me now," Stone said coldly. "Follow orders… and you live." He turned and walked out, deactivating the device. Robert lay there, shaking. Hours later, back at home Kai stood in his closet, tossing clothes aside. "Nope… nope… definitely not…" He paused. Then pulled out a red-and-black hoodie, a mask, black pants, gloves, and sneakers. "…Yeah. That's me." He threw it on, looking at himself in the mirror.
"Okay. Now I can actually test things properly." Knock. Knock. "Yeah?" Kai called. "Have you seen Robert?" Melissa asked from outside. "He hasn't come home." Kai froze for a second. "…No. I'll call him." He tried pulling out his phone. "…That's right i forgot." Night fell. Kai, now in his homemade outfit, clung to the side of Alchemax Tower. "His last known location was here for the internship," he whispered. "And I'm definitely not using the front door again." He glanced down. "…Okay, don't look down. Definitely don't look down." He climbed higher. 30th floor.
An open window. Kai slipped inside, sticking to the ceiling. A janitor pushed a cart below him. "Okay… find Robert then get out. Easy." He dropped quietly into the hallway pulling out a phone with a pink phone cover. The location ping was nearby. "Why would he be up here? Interns stay on the lower floors…" A door ahead stood slightly open, light flickering inside. Kai peeked in. A janitor lay on the ground, twitching violently as something was eating his stomach violently. Kai stepped back slowly.
"…Nope." "Hey! You're not supposed to be here!" another janitor shouted. Kai turned The body on the floor was gone. "Get out of here!" the man barked. Kai moved forward that vibrating sense hit again. He turned just in time. A creature slammed into him, grabbing his neck and smashing him through a wall. Kai struggled, holding its jaws back as it tried to bite him. "What is that?!" He planted both feet and kicked it away, sending it crashing upward through the ceiling. Kai hit the ground hard, scrambling back to his feet.
"Okay… I'm officially freaking out." The creature dropped down again. Now visible under the lights. A twisted, human-sized fly. "…That is not okay." It lunged Kai flipped backward, barely dodging as it took to the air. Alarms blared. Lights flashed. The creature grabbed Kai and burst through a window, flying into the night sky. "Look I'm new to this!" Kai shouted. "But I know I can't fly!" He held its face back as it snapped at him. Then It gagged. Kai punched it. The creature recoiled, spitting acid. "AHH!" It hurled him CRASH.
Kai smashed through a window into an apartment. People screamed. "…Sorry!" Kai groaned, pushing himself up. "Mind if I borrow this?" He grabbed a can of bug spray. Then jumped back out. They crashed into an alley. The fly staggered Kai sprayed it directly in the face. "AHH! You're dead!" it shrieked, clutching its eyes. Kai didn't wait. He ran. Moments later Kai lay flat on top of a moving train, mask off, bruised and bleeding. "My entire body feels like a rock…" He pulled shards of glass from his side, wincing. "…Okay. That really hurt."
Back in his room, he climbed through the window and collapsed in front of the mirror. He carefully pulled more glass from his back. Then paused. "…Wait." He stared at his reflection. His body lean, muscular, defined. "…Where did that come from?" He shook his head. "I almost died tonight. What was that thing?" His expression darkened. "…Robert." He clenched his fist. "No. Don't go there. Not yet." He sat down on his bed. "I have the power to find him… so I will." He lay back. "But first… I need sleep." He glanced at the clock. "…Four hours till i have to get back up." Kai groaned. He closed his eyes. And passed out instantly. Back at Alchemax. The fly creature returned through a shattered opening. Tyler Stone watched him. "Robert," he said calmly, "I was watching." The creature froze. Stone smiled. "And I'm impressed." He stepped closer. "So impressed… I'm willing to make a deal." Robert's red eyes flickered. "Your freedom," Stone continued, "in exchange for one thing." He leaned in slightly. "The boy you were fighting."
Kai's homemade costume: patreon.com/silverxp