Chapter Three: Lines in the Sand
The early morning air was crisp, the sky still streaked with the last purples of dawn. Benji stood in the park, the cracked basketball court behind him, facing the trio of Xavier Academy students like they were an enemy team lining up at center court.
David stood calmly, arms crossed. Illyana leaned on the oak tree where she'd spoken to Benji the day before. Cessily, her skin less reflective in the low light, kept her eyes on the ground.
Benji wasn't fidgeting. He wasn't scribbling in a notebook. He just stood there, chest rising and falling, jaw tight.
"I don't care what Charles Xavier thinks he knows," he said, voice steady but sharp, "but my brother and I aren't going anywhere. Not with you. Not with him. Not with anyone."
Illyana opened her mouth, then paused. She studied his face instead.
"You don't know what's coming," David said quietly. "You're adapting. That doesn't stop. Sooner or later, the world will notice."
Benji took a step forward. "Let it. We'll handle it. We don't need anyone putting us in a box and calling it protection."
Cessily finally looked up. "You think we want that for you? We're here so it doesn't happen. So you don't end up like—"
"Like lab rats, locked up in a cell where we have no hope of ever leaving? That makes me wonder who else is here, listening in- Is it the Professor himself, or perhaps someone a bit more...violent? Benji cut in, eyes flicking to Illyana.
The silence that followed was heavier than anything they could say. Benji could also see David's eyes flick to a nearby alley, telling him all he needed to know.
Benji exhaled through his nose. "We're not your problem. We're not your mission. I'm happy to be friends, but I will not sit by and let my whole life get ripped from me when I had the chance to fight for it."
Then, without waiting for a response, he turned and walked off toward Midtown, leaving the others behind in the soft rustle of wind through leaves.
Midtown High was a swarm of excitement when the buses pulled up, students spilling out onto the sidewalk with backpacks and travel mugs and half-zipped jackets.
Peter jogged up to Benji, practically vibrating. "Okay, hear me out—if one of these spiders actually bites someone today, I'm calling dibs on the origin story."
Benji didn't smile. "You already think you're living in a comic book."
Peter grinned. "That's the idea!"
They boarded Bus Two, seating themselves near the middle. A few rows back, Illyana slid into a seat beside Cessily. Benji didn't look.
The ride to Oscorp was filled with chatter. Students passed phones around, played low music, swapped theories about what they'd see.
Peter pulled out a notebook, scribbling an arm prosthetic designs based on Doctor Otto Octavius's papers, which they'd read together the night before.
Benji leaned against the window, watching the city blur by. He wasn't stewing anymore, just tired. Worn from the confrontation. He didn't regret it though, not even a little.
The buses pulled up to Oscorp's front plaza an hour later, unloading in clumps. The building loomed ahead—glass and steel and sharp lines, the Oscorp logo gleaming above the entrance.
Inside, they were greeted by a woman with a bright smile and a clipboard. "Welcome to Oscorp Technologies. Please stay with your group at all times. We'll be touring several departments today, including genetic research, advanced prosthetics, and sustainable energy systems."
And then another voice cut in, smooth and amused. "Don't forget the spiders. Everyone loves the spiders."
A teen in a tailored Oscorp blazer approached from a side hall. Slick brown hair, designer shoes, casual smirk.
"Harry Osborn," he introduced, offering a hand to the closest teacher before glancing at the students. "Legacy intern. Try not to break anything."
Peter's eyes lit up with recognition. "Wait—your dad is Norman Osborn?"
"Yeah," Harry said with a practiced shrug. "Try not to hold it against me." Benji noticed tension there, but just filed it away.
The group laughed lightly, and the tour began.
The first few rooms were sleek and clinical—glass walls, robotic arms, charts on energy output and biosynthesis. But when they reached the bio-research wing, the mood shifted.
Behind thick panels of reinforced glass sat enclosures filled with webs. Inside, spiders moved with eerie precision—too smooth, too intentional. Each one marked by a distinct color tag.
Peter pressed closer. "These aren't ordinary."
"Nope," Harry said from behind the group. "Genetically enhanced. Cross-species splicing, radiation-hardened immunology, neural rerouting. The works."
Benji watched one crawl across its enclosure wall, pausing at a crack near the top corner.
He narrowed his eyes. That couldn't be normal.
"Stay behind the line," the guide warned. "Do not tap the glass."
They moved on, Harry leading them toward the next lab.
Benji took one last glance at the spider wall before following.
The tour continued, the day still stretching ahead.
And unknown to all, two spiders had silently attached themselves to the Parker twins, lying hidden in the folds of their clothes.