The Amazing Spider-Man: Year One

Uncanny Teenager

With groggy eyes, Zion separated his eyelids to expose sensitive pupils to light. Or rather, pieces of light seeping through an ivory-white barrier. As his mind followed in adjusting to his surroundings, Zion found himself tightly burrowed within a silk cocoon. Despite the restricted space he managed to push bluntly against the silk until it eventually gave in and broke.

With a startled yelp, Zion dropped face-first against the cold floor. Still feeling an unexplainable fever coupled with fatigue, he granted himself a few moments to lay there. Distant sounds of hallway lights slowly turning on suddenly sent Zion into a panicked state, as he now remembered he was still within his school, long past when he was supposed to leave. When he pushed his arms against the ground he felt a strange tightening within his muscles and bones, it was as if they were somehow more defined and stronger.

Ignoring this strange feat, Zion tried to stand up, but he now found himself unable to remove his fingers from the ground. "What the..." Zion whispered hoarsely, beyond confused at what was happening. To him, it felt like someone glued his fingertips to the floor and he was afraid to pull too hard, in fear of somehow removing his skin. However, muffled voices from beyond the wall began to approach the room he was in. It was the morning janitor crew making their rounds to clean up before the support students arrived.

"Come on come on come on!" Zion repeated, straining himself in an attempt to free himself. As he continued to pull against the ground, he began to see chips and cracks form continuously until two chunks broke out, still stuck to his fingers. Without any hesitation, Zion stood up and desperately searched for a place to hide. By now, the janitors started to unlock the door, leaving Zion without any place to hide. Out of pure anxiousness, Zion shut his eyes and prepared to be scolded and shouted at.

Instead, the door opened and nothing happened for a few seconds. Zion confusedly opened his eyes to find the janitor mop the floor right in front of him, seemingly unaware of his presence. Looking down at his feet, Zion noticed the translucent texture that encased his entire body. Careful to stay quiet, Zion silently gasped with pure bewilderment. He maneuvered past the janitor and tried not to slip on the wet floors and once he was in the clear, he ran as fast as he could down the hallway and toward the exit. Many thoughts ran through his head they divulged through many paths of confusion, anxiousness, and excitement. For everything that ran through his ran one thing was clear.

He had powers.

As sunlight and fresh air brushed against his face, Zion couldn't help but smile widely. The invisibility wore off without any sense of control but he didn't even notice until he ran past people walking down the street. He stopped running and pressed his back against a random alleyway wall to catch his breath. The chucks of the floor were gradually falling off and shattering on the floor, finally allowing himself to properly close his fists.

"Ok... sticky fingers, invisibility? What the hell is happening..." Sudden flashes brought him back to the night prior. Moments before the irradiated spider dug fangs into his veins. He didn't even notice the arachnid before it bit him and he began to wonder if it had something to do with his new powers. Zion pressed warm fingers against his wrinkly temple.

He tried hard to think back to the many horror stories published about those who attempted to give themselves powers. Given the rise of a minority group referred to as mutants, many naive teenagers attempted to make themselves just the same. However, the stories never ended well for them. Kids and adults desperate to join the world of heroes attempted to genetically modify themselves. Most often they'd end up mutating themselves into something grotesque. Whereas more often, they'd end up deceased within days.

Zion pressed a hand against his chin and immediately felt the weird stickiness take hold. "How do I stop this?!" He screamed as he spun around in a frustrated struggle. Once free, with a red handprint mark, Zion looked over at a building wall. Growing curious about what new abilities he had, Zion walked over and gently pressed his fingertips on the concrete surface.