Dear Mr Parker,
You're almost certainly aware of the increase in supernatural threats over recent years. Due to this, a national blood investigation was carried out.
Your blood was identified as having certain markers indicating you may be more than human. This may or may not be news to you.
You are being requested to join a training program where your powers will be analysed and you may learn new ways to use and control them. If you do not attend, you will be considered an alien threat and eliminated.
Peter sighed as he threw the letter onto his bed. Another secret to hide, great.
A month ago, there had been a mandatory blood test for all under 18s in the country. Peter had tried but there was no way to get out of it - he'd spent weeks stressing about who had his blood and what they were doing with it. Well, now he knew.
Without much of a choice in the matter, Peter was walking towards the given address the following week. It looked to be an empty apartment block. He hesitated outside, and a homeless man on the doorstep looked up at him.
"What's your name?"
"Uh, Peter."
The man produced a list and scanned down it. "Peter Parker?"
Peter swallowed. "Yes?"
The man typed in a pin and stepped out of the way to let Peter into the building. He went through two sets of doors and then gasped as he entered a huge space. The building had been hollowed out and now there was a giant training area, and half-open tiers accessed by ropes and ladders. A group of five or six teens were on the other side of the space, chatting awkwardly.
"Peter Parker?" Peter spun around to find a woman with a clipboard. "I just have a few questions. Can I see your letter?" He showed it to her. "Very good. Were you aware that you were not fully human before now?" He nodded, and she wrote something down. "Do you know what caused this, or were you born like this?"
"I got my powers when I was 14," he replied hesitantly. This seemed to be the right response.
"And how would you rate your control over them? Have you ever accidentally lashed out?"
"Um, I'd say I have full control most of the time."
"What do you mean by most of the time?"
"I sometimes get sensory overloads."
More scribbling. "Thank you, Peter. You can join the group over there."
"Right." He gripped the straps of his rucksack and headed over. The others nodded at him in mutual understanding of how weird the situation was. They ranged from the youngest being around 8 to the oldest on the verge of adulthood. The silence stretched on.
A minute later a girl joined them, smiling weakly. "Hey, guys. Quite a party, huh?"
Nobody replied, so Peter took pity on her. "Yeah, none of us are quite sure what's going on."
"They tested our blood, they decided we were freaks and decided to experiment on us," one of the older women grumbled.
"Loving the positivity. I'm Kamala, by the way."
Nobody else spoke.
"Come on guys, aren't you the least bit excited to see what kind of powers other people have?"
"You already knew you have powers?" A younger boy asked with wide eyes.
"Oh, yeah. Um, did you not?"
He shook his head.
Another boy joined them. He and Peter locked eyes, and things got 20 times more awkward.
"Parker?" Brad asked in disbelief.
"Hey, Brad," Peter said in shock.
"You two know each other? Wow, what are the odds? Did you not know that you each had powers?"
Peter just shook his head. "Brad, how long have you known?"
"Since I got the letter, duh. Wait, you already knew?"
"Yes. Um."
Before the interaction could get any more awkward, the lady with the clipboard came over, clapping her hands. "Okay everyone, I'd like you to split up. Those of you who already know a bit about your powers and how to use them, over there. Those who are new to all of this, stay here."
Peter followed Kamala and a few others to where she'd pointed. A muscular man was waiting, watching them with unreadable eyes.
"I've read your files, I know each of your names and everything about your powers that could be told from the bloodwork. But seeing as you'll be working with each other for some time, I think introductions are in order."
"I'm Kamala Khan."
"Peter Parker."
"My name is Sam Alexander."
"I'm Daniel Thomas."
"Chris Morrison."
"Very good. You can call me Chief."
"Excuse me, 'Chief'," Sam interrupted. "But why exactly are we here?"
"Because you have unknown powers and you could be a threat."
"But none of us have ever done anything to hurt anyone, or at least I haven't," Daniel protested. "And you know we already know how to control our strengths. Why can't we just get on with our lives?"
"You could be a threat," the Chief continued, "or you could be a valuable asset."
"So you're training us up to work for the government," Chris said scornfully.
"There may be a job offer available at the end of your training. But for now we need to ensure that you will not hurt any civilians, accidentally or otherwise."
Peter kept quiet through the rest of Chief's speech and then followed to some equipment.
"A couple of you have blood that indicates some level of super strength. Peter, Daniel, go ahead. Sam, your blood was a bit different so we're not sure what you can do, get on there as well. Kamala and Chris, I'll get you two to have a go as well just to confirm what we know."
Looking extremely uncomfortable, Daniel lowered himself onto the equipment and began to benchpress. He made it to a respectably high amount, and Peter managed just over. Chief didn't seem impressed, only jotted down the figures and gestured for Sam to go.
He folded his arms. "I don't have any powers."
"Your blood says otherwise."
"Well yeah, I'm not human and I'm more powerful than any of these losers, but my powers come from my Nova helmet."
"And do you have this helmet with you?"
"Yes," Sam smirked and pulled a metal helmet out of his bag. He put it on and his eyes glowed blue. Instantly he was surrounded by a glowing aura and floated into the air, power crackling.
The chief took some notes. "And can anybody wearing the helmet access this power?"
"Only my species, and I'm the only one left," Sam bragged.
"Alright. How much can you lift with the helmet?"
Sam dropped to the ground and stalked over to the machine. Whilst he was lifting, Daniel sidled over to Peter. "Hey."
"Hi. Daniel, right? I'm Peter."
"Just Dan is fine. I get the feeling you're more like me than any of these others. Basic enhancements, no weird mumbo-jumbo." He stared at Sam and then gave Kamala a side-eye. "It's just stupid that they're training us up like this. I've managed to hide my powers for years, and I just want to be normal. I don't want or need to use them, to remember how much of a freak I am."
Peter gave Dan a sympathetic smile. He'd felt the same way about his powers at first, but now he was using them for good he couldn't imagine living any other way. "I'm sure it'll all work out okay in the end."
"I don't know. I mean, the alien guy obviously loves showing off his power, and that girl seems excited to be here. Chris doesn't seem to care. But I just want to go home and be normal."
"Well, as long as we're here we might as well make the most of it," Peter shrugged, and offered a hand. "Friends?"
"Sure," Dan shook. His grip was a little too tight, but that didn't bother Peter.
Whilst they had been talking, Kamala and Chris had gone, both clocking up scores that were impressive but nothing superhuman.
"Next I want you to do this obstacle course to test reflexes and agility," Chief instructed. And so they did. Kamala got the best score and Chris the worst, with Peter coming second fastest. Sam was glaring at him like it had been a competition.
"Interesting," the chief noted. "Kamala, you have... specialist skills."
"Yeah," Kamala said. Peter was still in awe of the way she'd changed the shape of her body to speed through and around the moving obstacles. "I'm stretchy."
"And Peter," Chief turned to him. "Your reflexes seem remarkably good."
"Yes, sir. I have a sort of sixth sense that warns me of danger."
"Interesting," the man's brow furrowed as he wrote. "That's a new one."
Sam scoffed. "He's making that up."
Peter's body reacted before his mind even registered the threat. It was only when he was landing from his perfect backflip that he realised Sam had shot a blast of power at him from behind. "Hey!"
"Fascinating," the chief just kept making notes. Over in the other group, Brad was staring at Peter wide-eyed.
"Dude, not cool!" Dan scowled at Sam, who shrugged.
"Just checking."
"How do you hide that in your normal life?" Chris asked, coming closer.
Peter shifted, uncomfortable at the attention. "Um, it's not usually that intense. I can force myself to ignore it if I know what's coming, and I get jumpier when I'm stressed out."
"Ha, jumpier," Sam snorted and flew into the air to recreate Peter's backflip. Peter was glad he'd put his webshooters in his bag instead of wearing them, or he might have been tempted to web the overpowered idiot's mouth closed. "What about you, nerd?" He flew right up into Chris's face. "You haven't shown any special abilities yet."
He grabbed Chris, who gave a squeak as he was launched into the air with Sam holding him. Peter looked at Chief in alarm but the instructor was just observing their interactions and taking notes.
Suddenly there was a yell from halfway up the building and the two boys came tumbling down again. The blue energy was gone and Chris was holding Sam's helmet. At the last second, they both froze in mid-air. Chris was lowered lightly to the ground and Sam dropped face-first.
"Telekinesis," Chris told Chief before the man could ask. He examined the Nova helmet then tossed it onto the floor where Sam was groaning. Dan looked like he was going to throw up.
"And you, Daniel? Any special abilities?"
Dan shook his head mutely. "Just strong, sir. Maybe a little faster than normal, and some enhanced senses."
"And you were just born like this?"
"Yes, sir."
~
A few months passed. Peter couldn't say they were uneventful - between Spider-Man and the intense group dynamic in their fortnightly meetings, nothing was ever uneventful in his life, but there was nothing more out of the ordinary than usual.
One week, Spider-Man saw Sam whilst he was out on patrol. He did his best to steer clear of the flying boy, but the helmeted alien was soon landing next to him. "Spider-Man."
"And you are?"
"I'm Nova. I'm just visiting Earth but I figured I could help out around the place whist I'm here." He grinned from behind his helmet and let that blue energy surround his fists. "So, you know, I'm on your side if you see me around the place so don't try to kill me or anything. It won't end well for you."
And he was gone again. Typical Sam.
The next day at training, Peter was early. Dan was the only other one there so they sat and talked. They'd built up a strange little friendship over the weeks, despite Dan's qualms about using his powers and his unease about Peter's friendly interactions with Kamala. The girl was just slightly younger than them, and seemed determined to make use of her widespread enhancements. Sam seemed a year or so younger as well, and Chris was definitely the oldest of the group.
"Alright," Chief said after everyone had arrived. "Today we're doing something different."
All of the sessions so far had been spent training to enhance and control their various powers. But today, the chief explained, they would be learning to fight.
"I don't like this," Dan muttered as he got into the first position Chief demonstrated. "Why do we need to know how to fight?"
Peter didn't answer, only copied the movements. If going along with these sessions was the best way to keep the government off his back, then he was going to. But he wasn't going to tell them about his stickiness or show off his webs. No, Spidey was his secret.
"How come it's just kids?" Kamala asked as she added in extra physically impossible positions Chief had given her drawings of to the routine. "Like, why not pull out the adult super people?"
"We're starting with younger age groups," Chief explained, "and if this program goes well we might get enough funding to help everybody control their powers."
"You mean turn them into extra weapons for you to wield?" Dan crossed his arms.
Chief didn't respond, only repeated the next set of actions.
~
A week later, Peter was the last one to arrive. The group was buzzing with excitement. "Dude, did you see the news last night?"
Peter frowned, trying to remember. But he'd been fighting a villain and hadn't had a chance to catch up on TV. "No, what was it?"
"Spider-Man," Kamala said eagerly.
"What about him?"
Sam rolled his eyes. "He used a move that looked a bit similar to one of the ones we were practising last week. Now everyone's convinced he's one of us."
"It would most likely be Dan or Peter based on skill set," Kamala mused.
"I mean, he could be in the other group, faking how much he knows about his powers and spying on us," Dan said.
"Or he could just be spying on us," pointed out Sam as he took off. Chief had arrived and indicated for them to go up to one of the higher tiers. Peter missed his webs as he walked over to the rope ladders with Kamala and Dan and began to climb up, using a little of his stickiness to make it easier.
"Wouldn't that mean he's under eighteen, though?"
"He's probably one of the instructors, or someone who's trained with the institution," Chris reasoned.
"Or it could all be a coincidence," Sam threw up his arms in exasperation. "Didn't you guys see me on the news? Why are you not talking about that?"
"Because none of us like you," Chris said flatly.
"Because Spider-Man is so cool!" Kamala grinned, stretching the last few metres to haul herself onto the platform.
"Vigilanteism is to be discouraged," Chief said. "Sam, 'Nova' cannot continue unless you would like an officer at your door. And Kamala, I wouldn't use Spider-Man as a role model."
"Like a policeman could take me," Sam scoffed, hovering and punching his palm with a fist. Chris raised his brows and Sam's helmet floated into the air, causing him to drop to the floor with a slight stumble. "Dude, stop that!" He snatched the helmet out of the air and jammed it back onto his head.
Luckily, the conversation about Spider-Man seemed to be over. It was a close call, though, and Peter resolved to be more careful when fighting in the future.
~
The next session saw them sparring against each other, and the one after was fighting as a team against a group of drones. Let's just say that session didn't go well.
Then it all started to go wrong.
"Is this a harmless prank or is there truly a secret organisation training super-powered youths to be child soldiers?" The news anchor read. "An anonymous source insists that after a mandatory blood test, a band of freaks has been assembled and are being forced to fight and harness their powers. Who are these juvenile warriors? Are they among our children? Stay tuned for more."
The next day at school, everyone was joking about it. But in a world where aliens were real and half the population had disappeared for five years, anything was possible. The rumours began to gain momentum. Peter was sat at lunch doing his best to tune everybody out when a fight broke out at a nearby table.
"It's true!" Brad was yelling. "You gotta believe me, man!"
Flash was shaking his head, looking disgusted. "Dude, you're crazy. They're just rumours."
"No, I've been there, seen them with my own eyes. They're training us up like soldiers, I never wanted any part of it, I swear!"
"Prove it! Use your freak powers!"
"I can't, I'm no good at it!"
Flash scoffed and sat back down, but Brad looked around frantically. His eyes locked onto Peter's. Peter shook his head violently, but it was too late.
"Parker's one of them too! He's a freak, he can prove I'm telling the truth."
"Right, like I'm meant to believe Puny Parker has super powers."
Everyone in the canteen was staring at Peter now. He sank down in his chair, trying to look embarrassed at the attention rather than like he had something to hide.
"He does! I've seen him lift tonnes, seen the way he fights!"
People were laughing at Brad now, turning away from Peter.
"He's a crazy powerful freak! He's been lying all these years!" One of Brad's friends whispered something to him and pushed him back into his seat. Brad went red either in anger or embarrassment, and flickered. Everyone in the room froze as he flickered again, disappearing only to reappear the next second.
"Bro, what the hell?"
Brad look relieved. "I told you! I've got freaky powers, I go invisible sometimes. But it's nothing on what Parker's got."
Everybody turned back to Peter, only to see the boy vanishing out of the doors, lunch tray forgotten on the table.
"I'll prove it," Brad swore. "I'll prove it to you."
A/N: Sorry for the delay, it's exam season again so updates will be infrequent and I might have to go on hiatus. On an unrelated note, would there be any interest in a Dr Who crossover?