The morning light seeped through slats in the blinds like lazy fingers, inching across the walls of a room that felt more like a storage closet than a teenager's sanctuary. Nathan Drake lay half-awake in bed, staring up at the ceiling as the familiar droning voice of a morning radio host crackled from a small speaker on his nightstand.
Nathan rolled over and slammed a hand on his alarm, silencing it. His eyes were puffy from lack of sleep, hair tangled from tossing and turning. He groaned into his pillow. Another day, another reminder that no one in his house ever said goodbye.
The house creaked with motion downstairs with hurried steps, the clatter of keys, a rustle of papers. Nathan sat up in bed, rubbed his eyes, and pulled on a hoodie that had definitely seen better days.
He grabbed his backpack and shuffled downstairs. The kitchen smelled faintly of toast, but there was no sign of anyone eating it.
His mom was in a pencil skirt and blazer, heels clicking like gunshots as she scanned through a legal brief. Cassandra Drake barely glanced up when he entered.
"Morning," Nathan offered, voice scratchy.
"Court at ten. Don't forget you have your physics project due next week," she said without looking.
"I turned it in yesterday."
"Right," she muttered, sipping black coffee as she hurried past him.
At the door, his dad stood in a hardhat and fluorescent vest, barking into his phone. "I said get the rebar in before lunch. You pour concrete too early and we're ripping it all up again—"
He met Nathan's eyes for half a second. "Need lunch money?"
"I've got it."
"Good. Be good."
Then the door slammed.
Silence.
Nathan stood there, bag on his shoulder, wondering how it was possible to live with two people and still feel like a ghost. His parents were titans his dad built half the city and his mom could win a court case with one eyebrow raise. But neither had time for breakfast with their son.
He grabbed a granola bar from the counter and left.
Queens buzzed in its usual early-morning rhythm. Street vendors hollered over honking horns. The scent of bacon and exhaust wafted through the air. Nathan kept his head down, earbuds in, hoodie up.
He stopped at the corner bodega, catching sight of the television behind the counter. A reporter was onscreen, standing in front of scorched pavement and twisted metal.
"—footage from last night's incredible showdown in Times Square. The so-called 'metal man' who is a armored figure of unknown origin was taken down by none other than the newly dubbed Fantastic Four. Authorities say no civilians were seriously injured, though property damage is still being assessed…"
The screen cut to a blurry image of flames streaking through the sky, a rubbery arm stretching out to wrap around a lamppost, and a woman with glowing skin deflecting debris with an invisible shield.
Nathan's jaw dropped slightly. "Whoa."
It was real. Superheroes. Not just the mutant rumors. These guys had shown up in public on TV.
He pulled out his phone and texted Peter.
"Fantastic Four is trending. Times Square looked like a war zone."
Three dots appeared instantly.
Peter: "Stretchy guy is weird but I'd kill for that kind of press."
Harry: "Reed Richards? Total nerd god. Teach me his ways."
Nathan smiled and shook his head. He kept walking.
Midtown High wasn't exactly glamorous. Its walls were stained yellow by age and its floors bore permanent battle scars from a thousand teenage scuffles. But it was familiar. Safe.
As he walked up the steps, two figures waved him over near the entrance.
"Behold! The prophet arrives," Peter Parker announced, spreading his arms theatrically. "Did you dream of fire and metal men too, or just sleep through three alarms like usual?"
Nathan smirked. "Five alarms. But at least I don't dream about Tony Stark cuddling me."
Peter raised a finger. "That's only happened twice."
"Three times," said Harry Osborn, grinning. He leaned against the stair rail, tossing an apple from one hand to the other like he was auditioning for the role of 'Cool Guy #1.'
Where Peter was wiry, sharp-eyed, and always carrying some sarcastic one-liner, Harry was tall, classically handsome, and breezed through life with the kind of confidence that only came from having an obscenely rich last name. Nathan, as usual, played mediator.
"How are the heir-to-Oscorp duties going?" Nathan asked.
"Awful. I had to fake my way through a quarterly earnings call yesterday. Do you know how boring that is?"
Peter quipped, "He nearly died. From reading."
"Words are hard," Harry agreed solemnly, biting into his apple.
Nathan laughed, but then froze.
At the top of the stairs, a group of students parted like the Red Sea. Mary Jane Watson walked through, eyes forward, red hair bouncing, completely aware of the effect she had on the world.
"Ten bucks says Peter walks into a pole again," Harry whispered.
Peter waved them off. "I'm stronger than that now."
He immediately tripped on the curb.
"You okay, champ?" MJ called over her shoulder with a wink.
Peter's face went red. "Perfect. Totally planned that."
Then—
The classroom door opened again.
And she walked in.
Gwen Stacy.
Blonde. Piercing eyes. Leather jacket. She had a confidence that wasn't arrogant, just unbothered. She looked like she'd stepped out of a dream Nathan didn't know he had.
The three boys stared.
"She's perfect," Harry whispered.
"She's terrifying," Peter added.
"She's… she's got a Darth Vader notebook," Nathan muttered.
They all blinked at him.
"What?"
"She's a Star Wars nerd," Nathan said, nodding. "Respect."
Gwen sat near the back, tossed her bag on the table, and put on headphones. She didn't look at anyone.
Challenge accepted.
Lunch was chaos.
Peter tried quoting obscure scientific facts to impress Gwen.
Harry tried dropping family names and tickets to rooftop concerts.
Nathan tried not to throw up from how awkward it all was.
"So, Gwen," Peter said, scooting closer. "Do you believe in parallel universes?"
Harry rolled his eyes. "What he means is, would you like to join us in this universe for a smoothie sometime?"
Nathan said nothing, just watched her with quiet admiration.
She looked at all three of them.
"You guys all hitting on me right now?" Gwen asked, amused.
"No," Peter and Harry said at the same time.
"Yes," Nathan blurted, then immediately looked away. "I mean…no. I mean….respectfully admiring?"
Gwen laughed. "You're all ridiculous."
And just like that, she had them wrapped around her finger.
After school, Peter adjusted his tie awkwardly.
"I'm gonna puke," he said.
"You'll be fine," Nathan said. "You're a genius. Stark Industries is lucky to have you."
Peter sighed. "If I die in there, delete my browser history."
Harry saluted. "It shall be done."
They watched Peter walk into the towering glass Stark Industries building. Nathan turned to leave, but Harry caught his arm.
"C'mon. Let's see what tech wizardry we can find."
"No. Absolutely not."
Five minutes later, they were sneaking past a door marked BioTech – Restricted Access.
Inside, it was dimly lit and eerily quiet. Pods lined the walls and there was dozens of them. Each one containing a different type of spider.
Nathan stepped closer. "This is… insane."
Harry tapped on one of the glass containers. "Genetic modifications. That one's glowing. This is the future, man."
"Let's get out of here before…."
The door slammed shut behind them.
Nathan spun. "Fuck!"
Above them, a soft hiss.
Thenthe containment seals opened.
The ceiling rained spiders.
Hundreds of them.
"NOPE!" Harry screamed, jumping back. "NOPE NOPE NOPE!"
Nathan ducked, brushing them off, but one clung to the strap of his backpack. It skittered upward and it was red and black, thin and sleek and it bit his shoulder hard.
"OW!" Nathan yelped, clutching the spot.
Lights blared. Alarms screamed. And then…
The door burst open.
A tall, pale man in a lab coat stormed in sunken eyes, sharp features and on his name tag said Dr. Michael Morbius.
"What are you doing here?!" he snapped.
"We got lost!" Harry lied.
Morbius glared at them with something cold and inhuman in his eyes. "This is a Level Seven facility. You're lucky you're not glowing green. Out!"
They ran.
Outside, Nathan leaned against a brick wall, catching his breath.
"You okay?" Harry asked.
"Yeah," Nathan lied, rubbing his shoulder.
But something was wrong.
The bite throbbed. His skin burned. A strange tingling crawled through his veins like static electricity.
He didn't know it yet, but something had awakened inside him.
And nothing would ever be the same.