39: Chapter 39 Experimental Subject D (3)

Blue energy erupted from his palm. The recoil sent him plopping onto the floor. The blue beam hit the restroom mirror and instantly dissipated into the air, leaving only a fine spray of electric sparks on the glass surface.

Peter stared at his hands as the blue light gradually faded. He could feel more of this energy within him, but without his guidance, it would remain dormant.

His brain raced.

This energy originated from his own body, emitted blue light, and behaved like a plasma beam. It had no mass... it spread like an electric arc when it hit the mirror. Glass is an electrical insulator, so the mirror didn't shatter.

This was definitely not an ability Spider-Man originally possessed.

Miles Morales? He had a similar bio-electric attack that could be used to shock and paralyze enemies. But that didn't make sense; if Miles were still alive, he would be too young to have superpowers now.

The answer had to be someone else.

The ability came from that gas, which contained the DNA of "Subject D." D... Drew? Jessica Drew?

Peter sat up abruptly. The name flashed through his mind—Spider-Woman, Jessica Drew. She had her own Venom Blast, and she could control and perceive pheromones!

He could perceive pheromones now!

She also possessed abilities similar to Spider-Man, but Peter already had those, so that part wouldn't change much. However, she had some unique traits that Peter had now inherited as well.

Peter's eyes darkened slightly. Jessica Drew had another hidden identity: a HYDRA Agent.

If "Subject D" was Jessica Drew, then the people they captured last night were HYDRA. If this Universe was similar to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, then S.H.I.E.L.D. was HYDRA!

This perfectly explained why the child abduction case had been suppressed for so long! HYDRA was buying time for themselves!

Fury was furious with him and, out of anger, assigned him a mission he never should have taken. As it turned out, by a twist of fate, Peter had disrupted HYDRA's plans.

That soldier... he was a high-ranking member of the operation, a member of HYDRA!

Peter didn't want to tell Fury directly about HYDRA. He couldn't explain how a fifteen-year-old kid would know about a secret organization hidden within a top-secret agency.

But he had a lead now! He just needed to make that old guy talk!

He pulled out the phone issued by S.H.I.E.L.D. and dialed Natasha's number. It rang twice before the call connected.

"What is it, Spider?"

"The old soldier from last night, has he talked?"

"Why do you ask? Did something happen?"

Peter hesitated. Should he tell her about his new ability? No. S.H.I.E.L.D. had his file, which meant HYDRA did too. To prevent being ambushed, he had to keep an ace up his sleeve. His new ability had to remain a secret.

"Nothing, I'm fine. Just curious, did you manage to pry open the mouth of that bastard who ordered the murder of thirty-two children?"

"Spider... he's dead." Natasha's voice turned cold.

Peter's heart skipped a beat, and he growled, "How did he die?"

"A cyanide capsule."

"Didn't you search him?!"

"We did, but he had a second one. We don't know how he got his hands on it."

"Did someone on the inside give it to him?"

"Are you suspecting there's a spy in S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"I'd be surprised if there wasn't a spy." Peter gritted his teeth. "Someone delayed the processing of the case. If Fury hadn't assigned the mission to me, this case might never have seen the light of day. Widow, something is wrong."

There was a long silence on the other end of the line.

"Agreed. But before we find out the truth, we cannot act rashly. Do you understand?"

"Understood."

"Do what you usually do, and don't draw attention to yourself. They might be watching you."

"I know." Peter suppressed his paranoia. Panic wouldn't solve anything.

"Good. Today's training is canceled; Fury sent me to investigate that genetic laboratory. Good luck."

"When will you be back?"

"Not sure. If it takes longer than a week, I'll send someone else to take over."

"Take care, Widow."

"You too, Spider."

The call ended. Peter let out a long sigh of relief. He hoped HYDRA wouldn't focus their attention on him, and that they would only assume he survived because of his spider powers, not because he had adapted and gained new abilities.

He walked out of the restroom and returned to his seat. Felicia was whispering into Mary Jane's ear, causing Mary Jane to blush until her face was almost bleeding.

"Hey." Peter sat down.

Mary Jane jerked her head up, her gaze scanning Peter's crotch first, then she quickly looked away. "Hi."

Peter paused. He smelled the scent of maple syrup.

Lust. And it was coming from Mary Jane.

He raised an eyebrow. "Is everything okay?"

"It's great, Tiger." Felicia chuckled, "Simply perfect."

"Y-yeah!" Mary Jane stammered.

"That's good." Peter sat down suspiciously.

"Feeling better?" Mary Jane asked.

"Yeah, my stomach was just a bit upset, but it's fine now." Peter said. He needed to find time to test his new abilities. "By the way, Kitten, my boss just called; I don't have to go to work today. We can hang out for a while."

Felicia's eyes lit up. "Really? That's awesome! Where do you want to go?"

"Whatever you want, baby. Today, I'm all yours."

"Hmm..." Felicia looked him up and down. "Then let's go shopping!"

"Shopping?"

"That's right! It's time to buy you some decent clothes, Peter!" Felicia glared at him. "You have such a great build, yet you always wear those baggy, frumpy, raggedy clothes!"

Peter looked down at himself. She was right. He had indeed wanted to upgrade his wardrobe for a long time, but he never had the money or time before. Now, money wasn't an issue.

"Fine, Kitten, let's go shopping."

"Yay!" Felicia cheered.

"Wait until we finish studying."

"Come on, you taught this stuff weeks ago! We're just reviewing now!" Felicia closed her book and shoved it into her bag. "It's settled, let's go shopping now!"

Peter looked helplessly at Mary Jane. "Sorry, Mary Jane, looks like we have to finish early today."

Mary Jane nodded. "It's okay, Tiger. You guys go enjoy your date." She was about to leave when Felicia grabbed her.

"Where do you think you're going, Red?" Felicia said. "You're coming with us!"

"Me?"

"Her?" Peter was also surprised.

"Isn't this a date for a couple?" Mary Jane asked.

"Yeah, but I need help. Do you think he'll just sit there obediently while I pick out clothes for him to try on?" Felicia snorted. "Peter is a project that needs two women to manage. You're coming to help me pick out clothes, and you can leave after that."

Peter shrugged indifferently. He and Mary Jane hadn't really spoken much lately. Mary Jane looked at Felicia, then at Peter, and nodded. "Alright, that sounds like fun."

The three of them immediately hailed a taxi to a mall a few blocks away. Felicia practically dragged them through the front doors.

First stop, underwear.

"Here." She tossed several packs of underwear into the shopping bag. "This is important."

Peter looked at the Red, blue, black, and even pink packaging, and raised an eyebrow. "Kitten, I have plenty of underwear."

"And I'm sick of only seeing white ones!" Felicia glared at him, while Mary Jane blushed beside them.

"Felicia!" Peter sighed helplessly.

"What? She'll get used to it." Felicia waved her hand. "Now, let's see what we can transform you into."

The next two hours were absolute purgatory for Peter. He was dragged into store after store, being poked and prodded like a dress-up doll. He felt like he was about to break down and even considered faking a heart attack to escape.

In the end, he did pick out a few pieces of clothing he liked: a leather jacket, a nice pair of pants, and a T-shirt with Tony Stark's Arc Reactor printed on the front—which even glowed!

But Mary Jane and Felicia also stuffed him with a bunch of outlandish clothes he would never wear, dressing him up like an arrogant rich kid, basically just like Harry Osborn. He desperately tried to intercept them and threw away the ugliest ones, but he still ended up buying a whole closet of flashy new clothes.

After shopping, they decided to go to a restaurant two blocks away for an early dinner.

"This way." Mary Jane pointed to a small alley. "It's a shortcut."

Peter and Felicia shrugged and followed. Peter was carrying the shopping bags, but with his spider strength, the weight was nothing to him.

"Tiger, what are your plans for tonight?" Felicia asked.

"After dinner, I have to go to the Baxter Building. Susan needs my help testing a project." Peter winked at Felicia and mouthed, 'I'll tell you later.'

"It's so cool that you get to work with the Fantastic Four." Mary Jane exclaimed. "By the way, does Johnny Storm really sleep naked?"

Peter paused. "No. Why would you think that? More importantly, why do you think I would know?"

"Doesn't he burn his clothes when he sleeps?" Mary Jane analyzed seriously. "So I think it makes sense for him to sleep naked."

"That does make sense." Felicia nodded. "What about The Thing? Does he have anything down there? Or is it blocked by rocks?"

"Can Mr. Fantastic enlarge any part of his body?" Mary Jane pressed further.

Peter blinked. "You know... I... I really haven't noticed. Maybe I should go ask them."

"Ha, you really should ask." Felicia laughed.

Just then, a figure jumped out from behind a trash can, blocking their path.

The person was wearing a hood, and a dagger glinted in his hand. "Hand over the money! Hurry up!"

Mary Jane screamed and scrambled back in fear. Felicia instinctively wanted to fight, but Peter grabbed her, shielding them both behind him. Felicia was skilled, but she had no superpowers. Peter shook his head at her, and she hesitated before taking a step back.

"I said hand over the money! Hurry up! Nobody has to get hurt!" the robber roared.

Peter looked at him. He could easily beat this bastard to the ground without using his superpowers. But he sensed something was wrong.