November 19, 2012, was an ordinary Monday.
The 57th Presidential Election was in full swing. Polls indicated that the incumbent President, Matthew Ellis, the Donkey Party candidate who supported superheroes, encouraged superhumans to become heroes, and assisted in combating superpowered crime, was likely to be re-elected. This meant that the general environment in America for the next four years would remain favorable for superheroes, and the government would likely not pass the Superhuman Registration Act sought by hardliners like General Ross.
The biggest news stories of the last couple of days centered on two things: first, the Avengers loudly announced that Ares, the God of War from Greek mythology, and Colonel Carol Danvers, a US Air Force officer who had gained superpowers, had joined the team. The group, which had failed to make any impact during the Symbiote Crisis, was finally getting a significant power boost.
The other major story was the Baxter Building explosion two days prior. After deliberation, the Fantastic Four and the Avengers decided to suppress the truth, only releasing an obituary for the security personnel and blaming everything on an experimental accident caused by Reed Richards (which, technically, was true). Mister Fantastic announced that he would suspend some dangerous research, leading to groans of disappointment from scientists worldwide who had been hoping to piggyback on his work.
Beyond that, everything was business as usual.
Peter didn't need to worry about the Wasteland Universe. He didn't even have to concern himself with Daken and X-23, whom he had brought back from Earth-12101. The Wasteland Universe had its own Old Man Logan, and with their Daken and Laura dead, the Earth-12101 Daken and X-23, who were now fatherless, were a perfect match.
Peter could even openly use intelligence from the Wasteland Universe to investigate his own universe, though he couldn't assume villains from other worlds would be villains here. For example, Kraven and the Vulture weren't bad guys in this world.
Then there was Flint Marko, the Sandman. Peter was surprised to find no one exactly like him in the 616 Universe after searching through the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. databases. Other villains had slight deviations, and with the existence of people with the same name, Peter was still sifting through the data.
That afternoon after school, he made a rare visit to the Oscorp Industries "Savage Power" research department to keep an eye on Dr. Curt Connors, who might become the Lizard, and to check on the box of electric eels. He couldn't shake the feeling that they were connected to Electro.
"You're back again, Peter?"
Dr. Connors didn't mind Peter visiting. On the one hand, Peter was the son of his deceased mentor. On the other, Peter was very smart, and Connors had actually considered having him follow in his father's footsteps and research genetic engineering before he went to college.
"Yeah, just checking in, Doctor."
"You don't need to be so cautious, Peter. The lab's safety measures are very complete. It's not like someone's going to sneak in today, steal things, and become a super-villain," Dr. Connors felt Peter Parker was being a little overly anxious, but Peter just smiled. Who knows? What if it did happen?
"So, Max Dillon isn't an Oscorp employee, so he shouldn't have access to the electric eels..."
Peter muttered to himself as he left Oscorp. Dr. Connors shook his head and returned to his lizard research. The lizards' abilities seemed to have improved, but primate experiments were still failing. The genes of higher-order animals were too complex to isolate simple, useful segments, which was probably why his mentor had chosen spiders.
But where was the problem exactly?
Dr. Connors worked late into the night before leaving. He didn't notice a figure hiding in the nearby electrical room. As soon as Connors left, the guy, dressed like an electrician, knocked Dr. Connors unconscious with a blow to the back of the head, then used his hand to open the lab door.
He was the very Max Dillon Peter was thinking about, and sparks of electricity were already flashing on his hands. Undeniably, he was already a superhuman.
"Where... where is it..."
He searched desperately for what he needed. Then, he saw it: the aquarium full of sparkling electric eels.
"Is this what you told me about? Are you sure this can help me?"
Max asked skeptically. A scoff came from the other end of the communication: "What, don't believe me? Don't forget who got you out of the MRD (Mutant Registration Department) prison."
"No, I just... I'll do it right now."
He gathered electricity in his hands and punched the aquarium, shattering it. The alarm immediately went off, but Max Dillon didn't care as he grabbed the struggling, modified electric eels on the floor. When he caught one, the 3,000 volts of high voltage released by the eel sent him into ecstasy. He groaned in pleasure, completely relaxed, and only regretfully stuffed it into a bag and tied it to his chest when the eel stopped discharging electricity.
"Three thousand volts. I can't just be limited to three thousand volts."
Max muttered, punching through the floor. He grabbed a live wire and squeezed, absorbing the current. The 110-volt standard voltage set by that fool Edison for America gave him no thrill at all. He clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction, frantically absorbing the current, and then stood up as the security forces entered.
Beneath his skin, visible to the naked eye, dazzling currents flowed. He thrust his hands out, releasing a high-voltage shock that knocked out the security team sent to arrest him. Then, extremely exhilarated, he roared, smashed through a window, and leaped from the rooftop. The remaining security personnel rushed to the broken glass, watching the man speed away, accelerated by electricity.
"Report! A... a guy who can shoot electricity invaded the lab and stole a modified eel?"
"I brought the goods back! With this, I, I can absorb even stronger currents, right?" Max, carrying the bag of eels, handed it to Dr. Otto Octavius, the one who had helped him escape the MRD prison. But Dr. Octavius used his mechanical tentacles to pass the eel to another person standing nearby.
"Regrettably, I am not a mutant, so I cannot enter Genosha. Therefore, Max," Otto Octavius introduced the young woman who would be taking Max to Genosha: "Meet Miss Essex, the head of the Weapon X project, Mister Sinister's young protege."
Note from the Author: To facilitate the plot, Electro's origin has been changed to a mutant... well, a mutant before his abilities were amplified.
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