Miles Morales: New Spider Chapter 21.

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The smell of acids and sterilizer assaulted my senses.

I was lying on a metal platform positioned directly above the tub of Burstein's electro-biochemical solution. I held on tightly, as there were no restraints; they would have been useless anyway with my super strength, which would easily break them apart. I had already administered substances to numb my nerves and reduce pain.

Mustering my courage, I gave April the go-ahead.

"Alright, April, let's start the process."

"Boss, there's a high chance of failure. Are you sure you want to proceed?"

"April, high risks have higher rewards."

"This is your life on the line, boss. You could die," she said, and I sensed something close to distress in her voice.

My Spidey sense was warning me not to do it, probably because of the pain I would go through. But the ringing sensation wasn't at the intensity of mortal danger.

"April, I know what I'm doing. Commence the process."

"Okay, boss."

As the platform was slowly lowered into the tub of chemicals, I could have sworn I heard gloomy music.

"April, speed it up. No need for dramatics," I said, but as soon as the words left my mouth, I was lowered into the steaming hot chemical bath. I had already given April her orders.

"Raising power to maximum," she said. The chemical bath started boiling and bubbling, eating its way through my skin, introducing boiling hot, searing pain to my senses. This was the critical moment, and I was going to make the most of it.

I activated my bioelectricity, pushing the boiling intensity to new levels.

"Boss! The power level's going past maximum value!" I turned up the intensity by channeling my chi into my bioelectricity.

My eyes began to burn as the chemical ate through the protection, causing me to close them shut, but not before seeing silver sparks dancing all over the bath. My stingers involuntarily protruded from my wrist.

"Boss! The power has gone past the critical max! Boss!" I knew April was saying something, but I couldn't make out what. I couldn't hear her over my burning ears, the crippling pain, and my blaring Spidey sense. I almost screamed, but I knew that would just kill me faster. I couldn’t even try getting up because my body wouldn't listen to me.

'April, I pray to all things holy, if you can hear me, shut it off now.'

She didn’t have to. My wildly thrashing body destroyed the tub, causing its contents to spill out. I felt my body sliding to a stop.

It was all silent. Very, very silent as I tried to slowly make sense of my situation.

I just lay on the cold floor, noticing that I could actually feel the temperature again, which meant I was slowly getting my senses back.

Then came the ringing in my ear, as April’s voice became slightly clearer.

"B...oss...are...you...alright?" I couldn’t reply; I was just too tired.

As my vision cleared, I saw the destruction done to the room. Parts of the tub were scattered across the floor; the chemical had compromised its integrity, and my thrashing about had finished it. The chemical had eaten through parts of the flooring, exposing the bare blocks. The metal platform was partially melted.

I noticed that my stingers were still protruding from my arm as I slowly retracted them.

I was gradually beginning to feel better as my healing factor kicked in, allowing me to carefully get back on my feet. I was fully naked, with no article of clothing on my body (I have a nice ass, if I do say so myself).

The results from Project Iron Skin showed that I now had extremely dense skin and muscle tissue, adding more strength and durability to my already enhanced body. This significantly increased my weight, making me heavier than I looked—very heavy.

Ahhh… the damn bliss.

Let me tell you, the bliss you get from watching in astonishment as a knife flattens against your eyeball, and you barely even feel it. It takes a special kind of courage to watch a knife edge stab your eye. I was either slightly insane or very ruthless with myself. Imagine me treating my neighbor as myself (hehe). I would’ve used my guns, but I didn’t bring them here. The point is, I was invulnerable. Damn, that was epic. Can you imagine it? I had bulletproof skin and tissue. It might seem like a minor enhancement in the MCU, but for me, a person from Earth Prime, this was super sick. Everyone who’s ever seen Superman would understand, and damn, I was halfway to becoming Superman. I was very pleased.

My process had been different from Luke Cage’s. My body was already enhanced when I went through the procedure, causing the effects to become more pronounced than Luke’s ever were—or ever would be.

The density of my stingers had increased, granting them a deadly sharp edge and an overall darker hue. They were now sharp and strong enough to pierce my own skin with some force (well, force for me is relative, with super strength and all). They had also been affected by the procedure, granting them superb characteristics—the only reason they could even prick my skin.

I don’t really like self-harm, but it’s hard to resist when you have unbreakable skin.

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon, and I had already finished my chores. So I was lazily browsing through my phone while sticking upside down in the corner of the ceiling. I was looking at memes online, trying to get some entertainment.

"Boss, your mom is coming," April warned me, and I heard a knock on my door, compelling me to instantly drop from the ceiling, landing on my soft, spongy bed.

"Miles, hon, you have visitors from school," she said. Today was Sunday—why would anyone from school visit me?

"Alright, Ma, I’m getting dressed."

I heard her mutter, "I wonder why?" as she was leaving.

"I’m not doing anything suspicious, Ma!"

"Of course you weren’t." I knew she was being sarcastic. I wanted to defend myself, but saying anything else would only make it worse.

"April, who came to the house?"

"Boss, it’s people from an organization involved in research and development. SHIELD also just sent a message saying the Avengers Initiative has been put into action."

I put my phone away and went to the sitting room.

"Miles, come meet Mr. Jones and Miss Smith. They’re from the Center for Scientific Research and Innovations." These people were probably sent by SHIELD, making a valid excuse for me to be away from home and school for a while.

"Hi, I’m Miles Morales. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you as well, Mr. Morales," they said, smiling.

"So, uh, how can I help you?" I asked, knowing why they were here but curious about SHIELD’s excuse.

"We at C.S.R.I. look for innovative young minds who bring fresh ideas to the platform for making the world a better place, and you, Mr. Morales, fit the criteria. We would like a person with a unique perspective such as yours to be part of our program. You’ll meet others who share your enthusiasm, and it’s fully sponsored—you won’t have to spend a cent." Mr. Jones handed my parents a brochure detailing the program.

"You won’t have to worry about school, either, since we work in conjunction with the education sector." That was the nail in the coffin. I could see my parents’ eyes glowing—they were proud.

Nice move, Nick. Well played. There was no way I could back out without disappointing my parents. Since I always went to science fairs, it would be suspicious if I didn’t go to one I was invited to—especially one as prestigious as C.S.R.I.

"Wow, I’m so impressed. This is all I ever wanted," I said in a deadpan, sarcastic tone, which they ignored. I got an elbow tug from my mom.

"Miles, this is great for you. A place where you can get sciency with other nerds," my dad joked.

"Ow, okay, Rio, I’m sorry."

"Thank you for granting him such an opportunity. My little genius will always make me proud," my mom said, looking at me with loving eyes.

"What do you say, little guy? Do you want to be part of their program?" I looked into his eyes, and I knew I couldn’t say no. So I did what was best for us all.

"Yes, Dad. It’s an opportunity I can’t pass up."

"Great choice, Mr. Morales. We assure you that you’ve made the right decision. Now we just need your parents’ signatures and some paperwork."

'These smug bastards.'

I went back to my room.

"April, back everything up and encrypt it. We’re leaving for a while. Oh, and get the Spider Armor Mk 2 ready."

"Whoohooo!" If I ride, I ride in style, baby! I wasn’t an adrenaline junkie, but I could get used to this type of excitement. What’s the use of powers if you can’t enjoy them?

I was clinging to the exterior of a SHIELD jet traveling at subsonic speeds. The wind beating against my armor was barely enough to make me lose my spider-powered grip. The air resistance would’ve destroyed my organs if I hadn’t been enhanced.

"Boss, we’ll arrive at the SHIELD helicarrier in five seconds."

"Alright, April, deploy the nano tracers."

A micro compartment on the back of my footwear opened up, releasing nanobots the size of grains. They exited and spread out through the jet. After it landed, they would occupy the SHIELD helicarrier.

"Nano tracers deployed and active."

The nano tracers were necessary if I wanted to always have SHIELD's current location on hand, in case I ever needed to find them.

The jet slowed down and hovered as it prepared to land.

Now, to execute a perfect landing.

I put strength into my legs and leaped off the jet's exterior, shooting off into the distance. (I really should get around to playing basketball.) Using a front flip to alter my center of gravity, I made a classic hero landing. (Deadpool was right.) The personnel paused, staring in amazement at my actions. I saw Captain America tensing up in preparation for battle, while Black Widow had a small smirk on her face, finding it all amusing. Steve Rogers looked larger than he did in the movies—he was an amazing specimen of humanity's peak. His hair was almost glowing. *Beautiful bastard.*

I approached him one step at a time, then stood before him and extended my arm. "It's an honor meeting you, Mr. Rogers. I must say, you look nothing like an octogenarian."

It took him a moment to get the joke, but then he smiled before reaching out to shake my hand. "The Spider. Nice meeting you as well."

What a firm handshake. The helmet collapsed sideways, leaving only my half-face mask on, making the upper parts of my face visible—my brown eyes and short black hair.

He seemed surprised, probably at my age.

"Hey, Arc, glad you could make it," Natasha said, drawing attention. "Arc" originated as a shortened form of "Arachnid," though some called me "Black Spider." As a SHIELD agent, I had to go out on some missions, and I'd met other SHIELD agents along the way.

"Nice seeing you, Nat. I heard you had a blast at Budapest. Speaking of Budapest, where’s Robin Hood?" (Heh, Hawkeye.)

"Barton is unavailable."

*Of course he's under Loki's control.* Steve gave her a look, but she just shrugged it off.

That's when another jet landed, and Bruce Banner stepped out.

We approached him, with Captain America extending his hand for a shake.

"Dr. Banner."

"Uh, yeah. Hi, they told me you'd be coming," Bruce said, glancing at me. "You, I’ve never heard about."

"I'm the new guy," I replied.

"Word is, you can find the cube."

"Is that the only word about me?"

"It's the only word he cares about." I couldn't resist; the opportunity was too tempting, earning me a look from both Captain America and Banner.

"Dr. Banner, I’ve studied your work extensively. Your contribution to the research on gamma rays is revolutionary, absolutely unparalleled. We should talk more about it when we get inside."

A smile slowly spread across his face—he was pleased to meet another intellectual in the same field.

"Gentlemen, you might want to step inside in a minute; it's gonna get a little hard to breathe," Natasha announced.

*It won’t be for me.*

"Is this a submarine?" Steve asked as we walked towards the edge.

"Nope, it's a flying ship. I mean it, really." He thought I was being sarcastic.

"Oh, that's even worse," Banner remarked as the ship slowly began to rise from the water, causing the rotors to become visible. Alarms blared, and personnel rushed toward the main infrastructure in an orderly fashion after securing the jets.

This is why I loved the MCU—it made the word "impossible" seem obsolete. Was this the eighth wonder of the world? It certainly would be on Earth Prime.

A military base in the air—shouldn't it be called an Air Force? (Heh, Air Force since it's in the air and... moving on.)

Let’s get this started.