Brand New Day - Peter Parker

1

When the Hulk is lecturing a class on advanced physics, usually all eyes in the room are on him. I mean, it was rare that yours weren't. You were a massive avengers geek and a massive physics geek. But today, you were more concerned with the fact that random metal objects kept getting stuck to your body. And it was getting increasingly hard to hide.

At that moment, you were sure that the screws on the bench were slowly unwinding and pinging onto the bottom of your thighs, where countless other metal objects now were stuck. Instinctively, you pulled your coat tighter around you, attempting to conceal the new additions.

You cursed under your breath, earning a confused stare from the girl sat beside you.

These powers were new to you, and I mean brand new. This was the first day you'd ever experienced anything like this, and it was proving to be seriously impractical.

After another tense hour sat clenching every muscle in your body, Dr Banner officially closed the lecture, and relief gradually began to filter through your body. All you wanted to do was to get home and fix this madness. Surely you'd be able to figure something out. I mean, you were one of the smartest in your year after all.

But of course, you couldn't leave straight away. It was too risky. Too much metal would be out and exposed as students moved about. And you really didn't want someone's brand new MacBook flying straight out their hands and landing on directly on your arse. I mean, how would you explain that?

So for another painful thirty seconds, you waited, rigid in your seat, until your attention drifted away from your current situation and to the boy who was now talking to Dr Banner at the front of the lecture hall.

Strangely, it wasn't the boy who had grabbed your attention, despite his perfect curls and perfect arms. No, it was the conversation that they were having.

"I was wondering if I could ask you some questions about your inhibitor?" The boy asked, his hands resting gently in his college hoodie.

Banner gave him a warm smile, reassuring him that as long as it was intact , he wouldn't be seeing any of 'the big guy' anytime soon. You sighed, sometimes you felt bad that Dr Banner was always reduced to his biggest failure, even with a mind as good as his.

"No. No." The boy continued, "I mean, more about how it's made. You silence the mRNA that codes for the hulk right? Like splicing?"

Banner looked taken aback, but your eyes only widened. As a foil crisp packet stuck to your ankle, you were reminded that you could also do with your mRNA being silenced right now.

"Yeah, well, it prevents the features of the Hulk ever being transcribed.... so... no Hulk." He adjusted his wrist, showing the boy it more clearly.

"Wow." The boy smiled, his dimples showing and warmth pooling into his eyes.

"Hang on, what's your name?" Dr Banner asked, suspicion creeping onto his face. And rightly so you thought, since it was unlikely anyone in this class was smart enough to understand genetics to that level.

"Ned," The boy said after hesitating, "Ned Leeds."

You'd been so engrossed in the conversation, that you'd barely registered that the lecture hall was now empty, other than you, Ned and the Hulk.

And since your current predicament was so unpredictable, you figured you needed to escape the room now whilst they were occupied to minimise the chances of them noticing that you were now a walking talking magnet.

The metal in the stands groaned as you gradually stood up, and you cursed, flinging your bag over your shoulder as you twisted your body towards the exit. Luckily, neither noticed the odd occurrence, and you were able to inch your way out of the hall.

The moment the door shut behind you and there was no chance of you embarrassing yourself in front of an Avenger, you sprinted straight to the bathroom and pulled as much metal off your body as you could, dropping it in the corner of a cubicle.

Your heart was racing faster than ever, and you wished that you'd just stayed home that morning. You should've registered that it would be a problem when you had woken up stuck to the radiator beside your bed. Shit. This was so out of control.

You hurried out of the bathroom as fast as you went in, and found yourself in the courtyard of Empire State University, just meters away from 'Ned' and Dr Banner, who appeared to be finishing up their conversation. You skidded to a halt before taking a few steps back so they wouldn't notice you.

"So hypothetically, you could suppress all the bad bits of this hypothetical mutated DNA, but keep the good bits." 'Ned' gestured wildly as he brainstormed.

"Sure." Banner nodded, his face contorting into a slight frown. The same one he made last week when someone had stolen his packed lunch. Superfans are weird.

"So.. then you could make one that's universal!" 'Ned' finished, his eyes lighting up.

"Theoretically, yeah." Bruce paused, "But that would be very dangerous if it could be used on anyone who has powers."

The two scientists continued to speak, but you'd lost interest by then. You had greater concerns. Your mind was whirring at a million miles per hour. Maybe you didn't have to sort this power out by yourself. Maybe this 'Ned' could help you. Maybe you could be normal again.

You withdrew further into the shadows, hiding behind a marble pillar.

You knew what to do.

You had to follow 'Ned' home.

You were going to get that inhibitor.