Chapter 1: The Bite That Changed Everything
Everything hurt.
My head felt like it had been split open, and my body was all wrong. Lighter. Smaller. My limbs weren't the right size, and even my skin felt different—tighter, younger.
Groaning, I slowly opened my eyes, the ceiling swimming into view. My heart started racing. This wasn't my room. These weren't my things. The posters, the books, the camera on the desk… I didn't recognize any of it.
Then it hit me. Hard.
A tidal wave of memories surged into my mind, nearly knocking me out all over again.
Peter Parker.
Spider-Man.
The school trip to Oscorp, the spider bite, the burning sensation spreading through his—no, my—body.
I gasped, clutching my head as the images continued pouring in. They weren't just memories. They were real. I could feel every moment of his life, the awkwardness, the bullying, the loneliness.
And then… it stopped.
I sat there, panting, trying to catch my breath as I stared down at my trembling hands. Slim. Young. Familiar, yet foreign.
"No way…" I muttered, my voice sounding higher, younger.
I scrambled out of bed, stumbling toward the desk. My reflection stared back at me from the window—brown hair, slightly messy, familiar glasses resting on the nightstand nearby.
Peter Parker. I was Peter Parker.
But before I could panic further, something else caught my eye.
A stack of newspapers sat on the desk. I grabbed one with shaking hands, scanning the headline.
"LexCorp Announces New Energy Reactor in Metropolis."
Another one read: "Batman Foils Heist in Gotham—Again."
My stomach dropped.
Gotham. Metropolis. LexCorp. Batman.
This wasn't just the Marvel Universe.
This was something else entirely. A world where both Marvel and DC existed together.
I backed away, breathing heavily.
"Okay… I'm dreaming. This is a coma. Has to be," I muttered, gripping the desk to steady myself.
But everything felt too real.
Too solid.
And then, it happened.
A strange tingling sensation shot through my wrists, sharp and uncomfortable but not quite painful. I tried shaking it off, but the feeling only intensified.
Then—
Thwip!
A thick, white strand of webbing shot out from my wrist, sticking to the ceiling with a loud snap. My eyes widened in horror as I stared at the sticky thread connecting me to the ceiling.
"…No way…"
This wasn't from any web-shooter.
It came from me.
I yanked my arm back in a panic, and the webbing detached with a wet sound, dissolving as it hit the floor. My hands trembled as I watched the last of it vanish, leaving only a faint tingling sensation behind.
Organic webbing.
Forget tech-based web-shooters—this version of Spider-Man had built-in webbing, straight from his body.
I didn't even have time to fully process that before something else stirred inside me.
A strange pull, like invisible strings tightening around my mind.
Suddenly, glowing threads of light appeared in my vision, weaving together to form glowing text in midair.
[Trait Copy System Activated]
[Welcome, Ark]
[Current Trait Tokens: 0]
I froze.
A system?
In this world?
Before I could even think, another message appeared, glowing faintly, the threads weaving themselves into words.
[Optional Mission Detected]
[Mission: Prevent Uncle Ben's Death]
[Reward: +1 Trait Token]
Warning: Altering fate may cause unpredictable world changes.
My breath caught.
Uncle Ben.
Every Spider-Man fan knew what that meant. His death was the catalyst, the moment Peter Parker became Spider-Man.
And now, this… this system was giving me the option to change it.
To save him.
But this wasn't just a comic book anymore. It wasn't some scene I could flip past.
Uncle Ben was alive. Right downstairs.
And in three days… he'd die.
I stood there, staring at the glowing message, my mind spinning.
Save him and change everything?
Or let it happen and follow the path I already knew?
My heart pounded harder as I clenched my fists, the faint traces of webbing still clinging to my skin.
A system that let me copy others' powers.
Organic webbing already pulsing in my body.
And now… the first choice that could change the entire future.
Suddenly, another message appeared, its glow faint but steady, counting down.
[Optional Mission Countdown: 3 Days Until Incident.]
Three days.
That was all the time I had.
I took a deep breath, the weight of everything sinking in.
This wasn't a dream.
This wasn't a game.
This world… was mine to change now.