----
In OsCorp's subterranean lab, the lights dimmed… and then dropped to emergency mode.
"Full blackout," Connors murmured, glancing at the terminal. "The entire building's out-only critical areas are running on generators."
Nolan didn't look up from his work.
"No matter. We're almost done."
He was tracing genetic markers across three sources: Peter Parker's blood, the spider eggs, and DNA harvested from enhanced spiders.
He'd finally found the discrepancy.
The piece of the puzzle that made the original spider venom compatible with human DNA. That made the transformation possible.
But there was a problem.
"It's tied to the spider venom," Connors observed, catching on. "You'd need to culture it from the egg stage and wait for the venom glands to form."
"That could take weeks," Nolan muttered. "And that's assuming the conditions are ideal."
Still, he'd cracked it and discovered the specific protein expression that enabled the mutation. The venom wasn't just toxic; it was a vector. A genetic delivery system.
Nolan stood, eyes alight with the thrill of discovery.
"If we strip the spider's venom-producing gene… and graft in mine…"
Connors blinked. "You mean to modify the spider so its venom bonds only to you?"
Nolan nodded.
"Richard Parker didn't have CRISPR. He had to get creative. But we can do better. If we can calculate the decay curve of the modified venom…"
Connors looked hesitant.
"Only Peter might have that data."
"Then we'll get it," Nolan said simply.
---
He was about to begin the next sequence when a scream pierced his consciousness.
Nolan froze.
He shut out the storm. Shut out the rain. Reconstructed the building's entire layout in his mind. Tracked electrical currents, body heat, and power surges.
Then he saw it.
Basement Level. Electrical Core.
Max Dillon.
Nolan cursed under his breath.
It was Max's birthday.
Had Norman not followed instructions?
"Damn it…"
Lightning crackled again outside.
"Tell me he didn't fall into the tank…"
---
Nolan immediately called Norman.
Onscreen, Osborn looked frantic.
"I messaged you earlier Max wasn't supposed to go," he said quickly. "I told him to stay home, but he volunteered."
"Did you do everything I said?"
"Yes. I sent the cake. The money. Everything."
"Fine. Then, sedate the eels and pull them out. Inject Phoenix-2. If he's alive save him."
Norman blinked. "You want to save him?"
"Max is unstable. Insecure. Starved for attention. If you remember the data from the Parker incident, he idolized Spider-Man for knowing his name."
He paused.
"If we save him, we gain a loyal soldier. One with power over electricity."
Connors raised a brow. "You're not worried he'll become a threat?"
"In a world wired to the grid?" Nolan snorted. "An electrified meta is damn near a god."
He grabbed his coat.
"Let's go meet our new employee."
---
By the time Nolan and Connors reached the lower levels, Norman was already there.
A stretcher had been dragged in.
Max lay unconscious on top of it, skin charred, clothes burned, tendrils of ozone swirling from his body.
His fingers still sparked.
"Norman. Connors."
The department supervisor stepped forward nervously. "I swear, I told him not to go in. I reminded him the eels were unstable—"
"It's fine," Norman cut him off. "You're dismissed."
The supervisor and Jamie vanished like shadows.
Nolan crouched by Max's side, inspecting the damage.
"His body should've shut down," Connors whispered. "The voltage, the exposure he should be dead."
"He's not."
Nolan touched Max's neck. Beneath his burned skin, a pulse of light. Blue lightning, crawling through his veins.
His body wasn't fighting the electricity.
It was absorbing it.
Nolan drew a syringe from his coat. Phoenix-2. A regenerative serum derived from his own breakthroughs.
He was just about to inject when—
FLASH!
Max's eyes shot open.
Electric blue.
"What are you doing?!" he cried.
His scorched skin cracked and peeled, revealing glowing interior muscles outlined by pure electricity, his body pulsing like a thunderstorm trapped in human form.
CRACK!
A bolt of lightning exploded from his hand, slamming into Nolan.
Nolan flew backward, smashing against a wall. Smoke curled from his jacket.
"Boss!" Norman shouted.
Connors ran to help, but Nolan waved him off and forced himself to stand, coughing through the burn.
Across the room, Max blinked, confused.
He saw Norman.
Connors.
And the man he'd just electrocuted.
"Oh God…" Max stammered. "Wait. I—I didn't mean to. I didn't know it was you—"
He looked down.
His hands sparked. His skin glowed.
He was glowing.
"…What's happening to me?"
"You mutated," Nolan said, brushing ash from his sleeve. "Congratulations, Max."
Max looked up, frightened.
"You've become something… special."
He paused then smiled.
"You've become extraordinary."
----
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