I FUCKING HATE ALTERNATE DIMENSIONS!
I swear, if I ever see another madman who can hop dimensions, I'm capturing him, tying him to a chair and then having Jean mind-rape his knowledge out of his fucking head!
I looked at the schematics I ripped from Spyral's belt for what felt like the hundredth time and I'm no closer to figuring out how it even worked! It's like this thing hates logic! I hate dimension travel!
I managed to get only the machinery's operations out of the belt and nothing more, but that should have been enough for me to figure out how it ticked and reverse-engineer it. But no, it had to become difficult and make no fucking sense.
Eventually I gave up trying to solve it myself and gave it to Reed to figure out. When that guy saw the data I had, he ended up locking himself in his lab. It's been a week — he hasn't come out yet.
Ben grew worried and so did Sue, but Johnny and I figured Reed would be ready when he was ready.
Honestly, things have become quiet in the city these days, at least on the surface. I could feel something change — it's like the people who went out in the night upped their game. I still encountered a random mugging now and then, but...they're quiet….too quiet.
I did spend a lot of time working in the Baxter Building, creating new tech for Sue and Reed. But strangely enough I also got a request from Charles Xavier. The man wanted a watch that could project a holographic image of a teenage boy. I honestly grew a little worried at that, but hey, I owed him one.
But I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, so it's time for me to upgrade myself. My costume was good for now — nothing too major to change, at least nothing I desperately wanted. But my powers...well, that was another matter altogether.
Project Mutant Spider — an idea I had been toying with for some time now. It had been something I'd played with ever since I obtained Drew's powers.
The concept was simple, based on how I obtained her powers in the first place. Her blood was mixed with a radiated formula of chemicals and then inhaled by me. My blood, which is genetically altered to absorb useful genes and discard the rest, used the radiation to absorb her powers into my own.
This meant one thing: theoretically, I could absorb anyone's powers into my body, provided they were delivered the same way as Drew's were.
It was a great risk, but with equally great rewards. So I began experimenting with the only superhuman blood I had on hand — Magneto's. It was from the time I beat him into a bloody pulp for even thinking of killing Jean. I had scraped his blood from my uniform and weapons, collecting a nice large sample.
So now I found myself in my lab at the Baxter Building with the door closed and bolted shut, covered with my strongest webbing and all security systems disabled. No way I'm ever letting anyone on the outside figure out what I'm doing.
I took out a drop of my blood and Magneto's. I used the radiation formula from the Hill incident and merged it with Magneto's, forming a gas-like substance.
I then took my blood sample in an air-sealed glass box and infused it with the irradiated gas. I waited for a moment before emptying the air in the box and removing my blood.
I put the newly changed sample under a microscope and observed it. I put the blood work up on the screen and narrowed my eyes. The result was...confusing.
My blood had accepted Erik's mutant gene, but there were...complications. A mutant gains his or her power through the 'X' gene, but there was no telling what those powers were, how they changed the host, or even if the process could be replicated.
It was like a mystery box — you don't know what's inside until you open it. And right now, we aren't even close to understanding what makes the 'X' gene tick.
From what I could understand, the gene implanted into the blood sample was Magneto's — it matched perfectly. But the way this gene interacted with the rest of my DNA was...odd. It was like putting a motherboard into a different computer — it should in theory have no trouble adapting, but there was something interfering.
My only guess was that it was my own spider genes making things seem off. From what I could gather, the gene wouldn't make me….physically different, but it would affect my body in some way. I couldn't say how, though — it meant I might get Erik's exact powers, but….I was so going to try anyway.
The power of controlling magnetic fields is too great to simply let pass. I need it; I have to have it. If I had it when the aliens invaded, they wouldn't have lasted half as long as they did. This is something I need, I have to have it….God, I hope I don't become a psychopath because of this.
It took me a week to get everything ready. I rented a cabin near Montauk where I could recover in private. If this process affected me the same way as when Drew's powers came to me, then I'd be out of commission for at least two days.
I quickly spun my lies. I told May and Ben that I would be going with Sue for the weekend to a special talk on nanomachines in Germany. It took some convincing, but they agreed. To Richard, Sue, Johnny and everyone else who knew my secret identity, I told them SHIELD had me on a mission. They didn't ask after that.
And finally, to SHIELD, I told them the truth: I needed a fucking vacation. Nat seemed suspicious at first, but after a while she seemed to accept it.
I'm guessing she found out about the cabin I booked for the weekend and decided I was telling the truth. She did warn me not to cheat on Felicia — she thought I was going to hook up with some other girl at the cabin. I promised her that if I was ever going to cheat with anyone, Nat would be the first one I'd ask. She did not like that.
Finally, everything was ready. I had the irradiated gas prepared and sealed in a metal box. I drove up to Montauk on Friday and waited until nightfall to begin. I made sure everything was ready before I took out a gas mask connected to the canister of gas and turned it on.
I breathed in the fumes quickly before the canister ran empty. I put the gas away and lay down on my bed. I felt the sweats coming on — I could feel it slowly creep in. I turned on the AC and reached for a bottle of water I had prepared beforehand. Soon I was out like a light.
The Next Day:
I woke up half expecting myself to have grown two extra arms. Don't ask me why — it was just a nasty dream I'd had. I looked down: no visible changes, hadn't begun to grow fur or anything else...yet.
I threw off the sheets. They were covered with my sweat. I blinked — the sweat...it glowed...hm. I opened my bag and took out a Geiger counter, something I'd brought just in case. I placed the counter over the sheets and found mild amounts of radiation. Strange — I had never sweated radiation before.
It must be a result of the gas. Yes, that made sense — any radiation my body couldn't absorb, it expelled. Meaning my sweat right now was covered in radiation. I needed to get rid of it, and fast.
I took off the sheets and my clothes, throwing them into the bathtub in the cabin. Plugging the drain, I filled the tub with water and began scrubbing off all the sweat and dirt.
Soon the sheets and clothes were clean. I dried them off separately and found the radiation down to manageable levels. Now all I had to do was transfer the radiation-infused water into smaller water bottles and trash bags, and I was done. I would take these things to a landfill later — there was one a few miles away from the city; should be perfect.
After that I gave myself a nice long shower. There wasn't any radiation on me, so I wouldn't need to drain this water separately. I just relaxed into the tub and sighed in relief. I didn't die — joy.
I got out of the tub and drained away the water. I put a towel around my hip and looked at myself in the mirror, wiping away the mist that had formed on its surface.
My face looked back at me. I didn't look any different — I had searched my body for any physical changes but none stood out to me. I looked at my hands; they felt heavy, like they were made of lead. Maybe I had to wait before I could see any results?
I looked at myself once again, and for a moment I saw a flash of blue in the brown of my eyes — the exact same shade I had seen in Magneto's. But it didn't stay; it was almost like the colour was active only for a second before vanishing. Strange.
I sighed. I needed to figure out what Magneto's genes had done to me. Lucky for me, I had two days to do just that.
I quickly got dressed and sat down before the small lab I'd set up in the living room of the cabin. I took out a sample of my blood and put it under the microscope I had taken from the Baxter Building. I found the sample to be identical to the test sample I'd taken in the lab. Good — no surprises so far.
But...wait...what is...oh shit.
My cells were reforming. But that couldn't happen unless...the radiation — it was damaging them. I couldn't believe it. Did something go wrong? Was forcing additional powers into my body pushing back against Richard and Mary Parker's original formula somehow?
I began running some tests and, to my surprise, found that something had changed.
It seemed Project Mutant Spider wasn't going to make me a power-hungry monster like Parasite from the Superman comics. Because if I was reading this right, it seemed that the introduction and addition of powers was causing harm to my cells.
If I had to guess, I would need...five months, maybe six, to recover fully from it. If I did this again...I didn't think I'd recover after just a short nap.
This did set limits on my powers, but I was hoping against hope that eventually my body would adjust. Either way, I could still gain new abilities — though it would take longer than I'd thought.
If I recalled correctly, I had started showing off Drew's powers some time after school one afternoon. So maybe I needed to be more physical, more active, for the new abilities to kick in. It was around 4 in the afternoon now — I'd really slept in — so I was guessing I wouldn't get any results until much later.
I grabbed my coat and walked out of the cabin. I took a deep breath and smelled the fresh sea breeze; I could see the ocean from here. I smiled. Maybe next time I should bring Felicia — we could spend the weekend together. I'm sure we could figure out something to do.
I found a small trail near the cabin. This entire place was actually near a campsite, so it stood to reason there were many trails into the forest.
I began walking, and as I did I found myself growing tired quickly. I began to sweat, heat up and pant so much I could barely move. It was like I was wearing a fat suit! Everything felt so difficult!
I grumbled and sat down on a rock big enough to support my weight, taking off my jacket — no point keeping it on. I waited until I felt myself recover, the heaviness left my body and I could move again.
I took off into the woods once more, slowly regaining my stamina. Eventually the trail circled around and I was back at the cabin, though now I found myself hungry.
I got into my car and drove into town, just a few miles away. I stopped at the first fast food place I found — a Wendy's. I walked in and ordered enough food to feed three men. The cashier gave me a weird look but shrugged.
By the time I had finished my meal and left the joint it was already dark. I moved to the parking lot and noticed people standing around my car, gawking at it. They looked like local kids — one wore a hoodie with 'The Torches' printed on it. Three girls in short skirts and four guys. By the way they looked, the guys were probably jocks.
"Can I help you?" I asked the gathered crowd.
One of the jocks looked at me. "Yeah, is this your car?"
I nodded. "Yes. And?"
"This is so cool!" one girl with dark brown hair and a generous figure called out. She locked her eyes on me and gave a charming smile that creeped me out. Suddenly my spider sense went off — something was wrong. These kids...they weren't normal.
"Where did you get this?" the other girl asked, batting her eyelashes at me. "Like, it's super retro!" She had black hair and was of Asian descent — tall, with smooth legs.
I shrugged. "Family gift." I looked them over; the jocks had glazed looks in their eyes. The girls...they looked at me like a piece of meat.
"You know, you should totally take us out for a spin," the third girl, with short blonde hair, suggested as she winked at me. Again, my spider sense went off.
"Ah, maybe later," I told them, moving past them and getting into my car. I was just about to pull away when a hand slammed onto my window, cracking it. My eyes widened in horror — that was bulletproof glass! How did a human break it?!
"Get out," the jock whose fist had cracked my window growled. "Now!"
I hit the gas and reversed out quickly, not caring about running them over — these kids weren't normal! As I drove away I could see the girls glaring at me through the mirror. Something wasn't right.
I drove straight to my cabin and locked the doors. I looked out my windows and found nothing outside. I felt stupid for acting so paranoid — honestly, I did. I could have taken them out without breaking a sweat, but Peter Parker wasn't a superhero, so I had to play the role.
It didn't make sense. Why did my spider sense go off? Those girls...they were acting weird. I sat down with my laptop and went online, searching for the high school those girls belonged to — 'The Torches.'
It took me a while, but I found the school. The reason it took so long was this: the Torches? They were all dead. Or more specifically, the last known students were all dead.
The class of '92 — nearly two decades ago, the school had sent a bunch of students off on a field trip. They all crashed and died in a bus accident. The school was sued by the parents and shut down. The Torches were gone.
Now my first thought was that the girls simply wore their parents' old hoodies — maybe their parents had been old friends from that school. But then I pulled up the pictures of the teenagers who had died, and on the very bottom were the pictures of three girls.
They had different hairstyles, but they were the same people. The exact same faces. I first thought they might be descendants, but that wasn't possible — those girls were far too young to have children who were still teenagers at this age.
Then came one more idea: cloning. Oh, how I hate clones. But again a problem came up — why clone these kids? Why were they special, and why were the clones so young?
So I finally came to the only available answer: immortal. Were all three of them immortal? Woah…..no way.
I snorted. I'd been reading too much fantasy...but then again, I am the God of Thunder's punching bag….hm. Maybe I should rethink this. Whatever — it's not like it had anything to do with me. It's not like—HOLY SHIT, THEY ARE RIGHT OUTSIDE MY WINDOW!
I jumped out of my seat and looked at the three of them smiling at me with glowing red eyes and bared fangs. Behind them the four jocks stood with blank stares, drool running from their mouths. Wait….fangs?!
"Vampires," I whispered. And almost like they heard me, all three of them smiled. The blonde snapped her fingers and the jocks cried out, leaping forward, shattering the window and landing inside.
"Oh fuck me!" I cried out as I ran towards the door and bolted outside. I couldn't do this here — too much valuable equipment, plus too constricting.
"Get him!" the busty brunette called out as the four jocks followed me into the forest.
"Moron," I heard the blonde call out, "he thinks he can hide from us in there?!"
'Not hiding,' I smirked as I turned to see the four jocks following me along the trail. The trail was narrow — they could only follow me one at a time, meaning I had just reduced the fight from four-on-one to one-on-one.
I turned around and leaped at the leading one. They all stopped, surprised by my move. When my feet connected with his gut, he buckled over. I then punched him across the face hard enough to hear something snap.
The jock landed on the ground like a sack of potatoes, his jaw broken. I think he was unconscious...I hoped. His friends looked down at him before turning to me and charging without a second's thought.
I jumped backward and landed on a tree branch. One of them grew smart and tried to climb up after me. He reached up and grabbed the branch I was standing on, pulling himself up. I bent down and grabbed his face. "Bye bye." I sent a blast of bio-electricity at him point-blank.
"ARGH!" The second jock's head got zapped and he fell down, stunned. The remaining two didn't even bother looking at him, simply stepping over him to reach me in the tree.
With a short curse I leaped away, running from branch to branch. Honestly, what were these guys?! The girls were vampires — so maybe these things were their slaves? What were they called again? Ghouls?
I managed to circle back to my cabin, and here I found the place empty — no vampire girls. I needed to get out of here and call for help. No way I was dealing with this alone!
I ran towards my cabin when suddenly my spider sense went off. I immediately jumped into the air and away from the whip-like arm of the Asian vampire.
I landed a few feet away when my sixth sense went off again. I ducked under the blonde's piercing thrust coming from behind. I grabbed her hand and threw her over my shoulder. She landed gracefully away from me, smiling like a creepy clown.
"He's mine!" the brunette called out, jumping at me from behind a bush. I almost had enough time to roll my eyes. I parried her punches and kicks expertly. She grew angry quickly before deciding to lunge at me.
I stepped aside, grabbed her head, and sent a powerful bolt of bio-electricity into her skull. "AHH!" she cried out in pain, but refused to go down. She pushed against me, broke free, and then jumped away towards her friends.
"W-what the fuck are you?!" the busty vampire asked me.
"I think he's one of those mutants we hear so much about," the blonde said with a sadistic smile as she licked her lips, "this one just keeps getting better and better."
"He's mine!" the brunette called out, charging at me with her claws and fangs bared.
"Nice doggy!" I cried out as I ducked under her swipes and kicks, "don't bite me! I don't want to turn into a werewolf!"
"We aren't werewolves!" she cried out. "We're vampires!"
"But you look like you have rabies," I said with a smirk as I jumped back and fired a bio-bolt at her, shocking her system.
"I hate this guy!" the brunette growled through the pain. I was surprised she could even move — that much electricity should kill a man.
"As usual, you let us down, Kimmy," the blonde sighed as she flicked her hair behind her. "Guess we'll have to take care of this."
"Hey, you two aren't any better, you know," I said. "You look like you have fleas, and the Asian girl looks like she's about to drop a deuce any second."
"What?!" The Asian vampire looked pissed. Good — anger makes them less focused and more prone to mistakes. That's just what I needed.
"Yeah, but please, you stupid mutt — don't do it on my lawn. I didn't bring a doggy bag," I smirked, watching her get more ticked off.
"That's it!" she cried out as she and the now-furious blonde charged at me. I managed to block and dodge most of their strikes, but they got a few in. They were faster than me — much faster.
Suddenly my spider sense went off. I jumped up just as the two remaining jock ghouls charged at me from behind, accidentally tackling their vampire masters instead.
I landed on a tree branch and smirked as I watched the girls shove the jocks off them, growling in frustration. Their outfits were covered in mud. I couldn't help but chuckle. "See? You are werewolves — only mutts play in the mud. Just don't expect a bubble bath after this; I don't want you girls dragging mud into the house."
"Do you ever shut up?!" the brunette growled, back on her feet yet again.
"Not really, no," I chuckled as I sent two bolts of electric energy at the jocks, knocking them unconscious. Luckily, they didn't seem to share their masters' durability.
"I'm going to enjoy killing you," the blonde growled. "I'm going to make every second of your life a living hell!"
"Sorry, I'm not ready to get married," I snorted. The girls were about to leap at me — I had another bolt of electricity ready to fire — when my spider sense went off. I jumped, but I was too slow. Something came charging into me, throwing me out of the tree and into the ground.
"Who's the dog now, bitch?!" Kimmy spat, kicking me in the stomach. But I barely registered that — the pain in my spine was too sharp for anything else. It wasn't fractured — thank God for small miracles. But it did hurt. A lot.
"I'm going to enjoy making you bleed!" the busty brunette called out, kicking me again. I coughed out blood and looked up. The girl looked mad with rage, smiling down at me. But the other two — they weren't even looking at me.
"Kimmy," the Asian vampire called out. Kimmy didn't listen, continuing to hit me. "Kimmy!" she roared.
"What?!" the brunette snapped. The Asian vampire simply turned away. I looked up and watched Kimmy's face go pale as a sheet as she and the other girls stared at a man walking out of the shadows.
"The three of you certainly have a gift, I must say," his voice was smooth as a river, yet dangerous as the deep blue sea. The girls were scared stiff at the sight of him. He had long, wavy hair that reached his shoulders and wore tight black leather trousers.
"Tell me, are you all incompetent or just stupid?" the man asked as he walked up to the frightened women.
"W-we were just trying to get something to eat," the blonde whispered.
"Of course you were," the man smiled with anything but understanding. "But you see...you couldn't even get that right." He slapped her across the face. I heard her jaw break. "Useless."
The other girls winced as they watched their friend fall, holding her broken jaw in pain. The man now looked at me, a smile on his lips as he licked them. "Aren't you a juicy-looking thing."
"Kiss my ass," I grunted as I pulled myself up. I needed my suit — only problem was I'd left it at home! Note to self: never do something that stupid again.
"Well, not to worry — I'll do more than just kiss your lovely behind," he chuckled darkly. "Tell me, boy — have you ever been with a man?"
"No, and I doubt you qualify, gay lord," I smirked. But inside I was screaming in panic — how the fuck was I going to get out of this?!
"Hm, I like my lovers with a little bite," he licked his lips as his fangs extended. "But I assure you, my bite is far worse than yours." He stepped forward when suddenly I heard a sharp whistle.
We all looked up and saw a black disc flying overhead.
BOOM!
The disc exploded and suddenly the entire forest was lit up as bright as midday. I had spots in my eyes when I heard them all scream bloody murder.
I blinked away the spots — I needed to see. When they finally cleared I found the girls on fire, their skin scorched, but still alive and rolling on the ground trying to put themselves out.
I turned to the creepy vampire and was surprised to see him gawking. His jaw dropped open as slowly the tip of a katana came through it. The sword slashed his head off with one clean swipe. The beheaded vampire dropped to the ground, revealing a black man with close-cropped hair, black sunglasses, and a black overcoat.
"No way," I gasped as the man flicked his katana, wiping away the vampire's blood. He looked at me and gave a nod. I automatically nodded back.
"The Daywalker!" one of the three girls still smoldering called out. Two of them charged him. Immediately the black man began to fight, dodging their swipes before kicking them back, swinging his sword to maim or decapitate them.
However the blonde, now with all her hair burnt off and her skin still burning, was still on the ground. She slowly turned to me. I could feel her red eyes trail across my neck before she suddenly pounced.
"Get off!" I cried out, sending a blast of bio-electricity at her and blasting her back. But the moment she hit the ground she was back on all fours, charging at me like a wild animal.
I scrambled back — I couldn't keep firing electricity; it was pointless! I spotted a metal pipe near the garden. I found myself wishing for a katana like Blade's, but I'd use what I could.
I grabbed it quickly and turned around. "ARGH!" I cried out, swinging as hard as I could, and suddenly I felt the metal pipe change in my palm.
It became smaller. It grew an edge, sharpening until it was keen enough to cut bone. The blade sailed through the air without even slowing as it cleaved the vampire's head clean off her body.
It came flying off as her blood splattered onto me. I looked down — her head was between my feet as her body fell away to the side. My clothes were drenched in blood. I turned to the thing in my hands. Not a pipe. A blade.
"No!" one of the other vampires cried out as she turned to me. In that moment of weakness, the black man in the trench coat cut off her head before stabbing the last vampire through the chest.
Both died instantly. Slowly, the blonde's body turned to dust, leaving no trace behind. I panted, slowly looking up at the man who had saved me. He put his blade into its scabbard and crouched down. "You okay?"
I nodded. "Ah...yeah. I think so." I looked at the dust where the girls had been. "They were vampires, weren't they?"
The man nodded. "Yes, they were."
I looked at the blade in my hand. "I...I never—"
"It wasn't human," he spoke up.
"Obviously, neither am I," I shot back.
He smiled. "What makes us human isn't our genetics, little mutant — it's our choices. I know vampires who have turned but have never killed another human. But these girls...they were monsters that deserved to be put down."
I sighed. I couldn't fully believe that — everyone deserved at least a chance. I looked up at him. "Thanks. You're Blade, aren't you? The vampire hunter?"
The man raised an eyebrow. "Yes. And how do you know that?"
I slowly got back on my feet. "Word gets around."
"Is that why you're here?" Blade asked, glancing at my cabin. "Trying to find proof of the supernatural?"
I sighed. "Believe it or not, I'm actually here on vacation," I kicked the shards of glass from my broken window. "So much for rest and relaxation."
"Hm. Well, if it's any consolation, these were the only vampires I found in the area — you'll be safe for now." Blade turned and walked away.
"Wait — that's it? You come in, kick ass and then leave?"
Blade smirked. "Kid, I came here to kill vampires. Do you see any other vampires?"
"What about the jocks?" I pointed at the two unconscious ones lying in the corner.
"Come morning, the thralls will be released. Don't worry," Blade waved my concern away as he walked off.
"Wait!" I called out. He turned around, starting to look annoyed. I took out a piece of paper — the receipt from my meal at Wendy's — and wrote down my contact info on the back. I gave it to the man, who raised an eyebrow. "If you're ever in Queens and need a place to stay, call me. I know I don't look like much, but I can help you out. I'm pretty smart."
Blade chuckled. "Fine, thanks, kid." He put the note away before walking into the forest and disappearing.
I blinked. 'So cool.' I looked around — a huge pile of ash where four vampires once stood. Four unconscious jocks who were probably going to be calling for their mommies come morning. And one broken window. This was going to be a long night.