Johnny tried to focus on his comic again, but his concentration was shot. His eyes skimmed over the panels without processing a word. It wasn't because of the noise, or the bumps on the road. It was because every few seconds, he could feel someone's eyes on him.
After the third time, he risked a glance up—
—and caught Eve looking right at him.
She quickly turned her gaze toward the window, pretending to be interested in the passing buildings, but her slight smile gave her away.
Johnny blinked, utterly thrown off. Wait. Is she… actually looking at me?
He lowered his comic slowly. "Uh… what?"
Eve turned back, looking a little embarrassed but still friendly. "Sorry," she said, tucking a lock of red hair behind her ear. "It's just— you look really familiar. Have we had a class together?"
Johnny almost laughed. Not because it was funny, but because it was absurd that someone like her would even wonder that.
"Uh, yeah," he said. "Pretty sure we've shared almost every class this year… except History."
Her eyes widened a little. "Oh. Wow. Really?"
"Yeah," Johnny replied with a faint shrug, trying not to sound bitter. "Guess I'm just… easy to miss."
Eve winced slightly, guilt flickering in her expression. "I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry."
He waved a hand, forcing a small smile. "Nah, it's fine. You're not the first person to not notice me. I kinda blend into the background."
That got a soft but genuine laugh out of her. "You don't seem like someone who blends in."
Johnny raised an eyebrow, amused. "That's probably because I got hit in the face with a football five minutes ago."
Eve laughed again, covering her mouth. "Okay, fair point."
Something about the sound made Johnny's chest feel lighter. Before he knew it, they were just… talking. About school, about their teachers, about how awful the cafeteria food was. Eve mentioned how she wanted to study environmental science; Johnny admitted he'd always been into robotics and comic book tech.
For the first time in a long time, he wasn't thinking about what to say next, or how awkward he might sound. Strangely, on that moment the words just flowed.
The bus rolled to a stop, brakes squealing as it pulled up to a tall glass building surrounded by security gates.
Mr. Collins stood up, clapping his hands. "Alright, everyone! We're here! Welcome to Oscorp Laboratories! Stay with your groups and don't touch anything unless someone tells you to."
The doors hissed open, and a gust of cool, filtered air swept in. The students began filing out, phones already snapping pictures of the towering Oscorp logo shining above the entrance.
Johnny slung his backpack over his shoulder, waiting for Eve to stand before following her down the aisle.
Outside, a tall man in a crisp white lab coat waited at the entrance. His hair was slicked back, his glasses gleamed under the sunlight, and his expression carried that polite mix of exhaustion and brilliance shared by people who spent more time thinking than sleeping.
Mr. Collins beamed. "Class, this is Doctor Otto Octavius, senior researcher here at Oscorp!"
The name made a few students whisper — they'd read about him in science magazines. Otto Octavius was one of the brightest minds in the world, credited with breakthroughs in biomechanical engineering and neural-link technology.
Dr. Octavius smiled faintly, his hands clasped behind his back. "Welcome, students. I hope you're ready to see the future."
His voice carried calm authority, it was confident but without arrogance.
Johnny and Eve exchanged a quick glance — hers filled with curiosity, his with quiet awe.
If only Johnny had known, right then and there, that this visit would be the day his wish came true.
---
The students followed Dr. Octavius through a series of pristine white corridors that seemed to hum with electricity. Every surface gleamed, every door locked behind biometric panels. The deeper they went, the colder the air felt.
Eve walked beside Johnny now, both unusually quiet. The earlier chatter on the bus had faded; even Todd and his crew were whispering now, too awed by their surroundings to make jokes.
The tour had been going perfectly — almost too perfectly.
Doctor Otto Octavius moved with the easy pride of a man showing off his life's work. His lab was vast, bright, and humming with the low, rhythmic sound of machines breathing. Overhead, a web of metallic arms hung like sleeping serpents, their chrome finish glinting under the cold fluorescent light.
"And here," Otto said, gesturing toward a series of containment tubes, "is where we test adaptive neural feedback in controlled conditions. My design allows for seamless synchronization between human intent and mechanical precision."
Johnny nodded, trying to keep up with the flood of scientific terms. He wasn't a scientist — just an observer, invited by chance or by curiosity — but even he could tell the place was on the edge of something revolutionary.
One of the arms twitched, its clawed tip flexing as if stretching after a long nap. Otto noticed the movement and smiled faintly. "Ah, still calibrating," he said. "They respond to me — to thought. Imagine the possibilities, Johnny. The end of physical limitation. A future where the body obeys pure will."
Johnny gave a cautious smile. "Looks… powerful."
"It is," Otto replied softly, almost reverently. "Powerful, beautiful… dangerous, in the wrong hands."
The doctor moved to the central console, his coat fluttering as he tapped a few commands. Blue light washed across the lab, scanning the air. "You see, this—" he turned, enthusiasm spilling from every word "—is not just machinery. It's evolution. Humanity merging with its own creation. I'm merely guiding it."
Johnny looked around the lab. Tanks full of glowing liquid, circuit boards humming, cables coiled like veins under the floor. Everything seemed alive — pulsing, waiting.
"You sound like you're building gods," Johnny said, half-joking.
Otto chuckled, eyes gleaming. "Oh, no. Not gods. Just better men."
A silence fell for a moment and the air felt heavier. Somewhere in the background, one of the machines released a hiss of steam.
"Would you like to see the neural interface up close?" Otto asked suddenly. "It's safe — I assure you. I designed every safety measure myself."
Johnny hesitated, glancing at the long, articulated arms now rising slightly from their rest position. Something about them felt… aware.
"Sure," he said finally, stepping forward.
Otto smiled, proud and unsuspecting. "Well, it doesn't matter. You'll want to remember this moment, children. Because this — right here — is the future."
Suddenly Dr. Octavius stopped in front of a glass observation deck overlooking a massive lab space below. Scientists in white coats moved like clockwork, checking consoles and scribbling on tablets. In the center stood a strange, circular machine — half cannon, half reactor — aimed at a containment pod filled with glowing blue gas that rippled like living light.
"This," Octavius said, voice echoing slightly through the intercom, "is one of our most classified research divisions. Under normal circumstances, students aren't allowed here… but your teacher insisted on giving you a glimpse of what Oscorp is capable of."
A murmur of excitement spread through the group.
Octavius gestured toward the man below directing the experiment. "That's Dr. Curt Connors — one of our leading genetic biologists. Today, his team is studying accelerated DNA splicing using radiation containment fields. It's the kind of work that could change medical science forever."
Eve leaned closer to the glass. "Whoa," she whispered. "That's insane."
Dr. Connors adjusted his glasses and smiled warmly as the students gathered closer to the glass barrier. His lab coat was marked with faint burn stains — proof of long nights and trial runs.
"Good afternoon, students," he began, his tone friendly but measured. "I'm Doctor Curt Connors, head of genetic and bio-molecular research here at Oscorp. Some of you might've heard of my work with cellular regeneration."
A few students nodded, though most had no idea what that meant. Johnny tilted his head, trying to keep up.
Connors continued, gesturing toward the cylindrical containment chamber behind him. "Our current experiment is focused on cross-species molecular bonding — specifically, merging unique DNA sequences from different organisms to unlock regenerative potential. The possibilities are… limitless. Imagine curing paralysis, regrowing lost limbs, even reversing organ decay."
Johnny's eyes widened. Reverse organ decay? That sounded like something straight out of Science Dog. He felt a flutter of excitement in his chest — this was the kind of place heroes were born.
Dr. Octavius added, his metallic arms folded behind his back in calm authority, "Of course, what Dr. Connors is describing is highly experimental. These results are years away from human application. But every great leap starts with one bold step."
Johnny smiled faintly. Bold steps. He liked that.
Then, everything changed.
A voice echoed from the lower level — shaky, afraid.
"Wait—where's Billy?!"
Connors froze mid-sentence. His calm demeanor shattered as he turned sharply toward the technicians. "Where's my son?! Someone check the west corridor!"
The students exchanged uneasy glances. Johnny frowned, looking around the lab through the glass.
Then he saw it — a small shadow down below. A boy, no older than ten, stepping hesitantly toward the glowing containment chamber.
The entire room went still.
"Billy!" Connors shouted, panic cracking his voice. "No! Stay back!"
The containment field flickered, its hum deepening into an angry, electric growl. Warning lights bathed the room in pulsing red.
Octavius slammed the intercom. "Security! Now!"
But the guard was too far away. He wouldn't arrive on time.
Something inside Johnny snapped — maybe instinct, maybe stupidity, or courage. He didn't know. His brain didn't even process what he was doing.
He dropped his backpack and bolted.
"Johnny! Get back here!" his teacher yelled.
He didn't listen.
All he could think was that kid's gonna die.
His legs pumped, heart hammering like a drumline in his ears. Every instinct screamed stop, but something stronger — something buried deep — pushed him forward. His lungs burned, his vision tunneled.
He wasn't thinking about being brave. He wasn't thinking about being a hero. He just moved.
Eve's voice echoed faintly behind him. "Johnny—wait!"
He tore down the access stairs, skidding as he hit the bottom. Sparks burst from the console; the machine was whining like a wounded beast.
Then he saw the boy, he was frozen and terrified.
Johnny dove forward. "Move!"
He grabbed Billy by the shoulders, shoving him hard away from the chamber — just as the machine fired.
A blinding flash swallowed everything.
Johnny's eyes went white. His body convulsed. It felt like being ripped apart from the inside — every nerve screaming, every cell tearing and knitting back together in molten chaos.
This is it, he thought in a fleeting, trembling moment of clarity. I'm dying.
Oddly… he wasn't afraid. A strange peace settled over him. At least I died doing something that mattered.
Then came the fire.
It erupted from his body — golden-orange flames dancing along his arms and chest, flickering violently. For a heartbeat, everyone stared in disbelief.
Eve screamed. Connors staggered back, horrified. "Oh my God—he's burning alive!"
Johnny looked down, expecting agony — but he didn't feel it. No pain. No heat. Just… energy. Like something inside him had been unchained. But his brain refused to understand it.
He screamed anyway because of the terror of burning alive. The sound of his yells echoed through the lab like the cry of a wounded animal.
"Get the extinguishers!" Octavius barked. Scientists scrambled, foam hissing as white clouds enveloped him.
When the flames finally faded, Johnny collapsed to his knees, soaked and trembling. His breath came in shallow gasps as steam curled from his clothes, and his eyes glowed faintly — two dim embers fading into confusion.
Everyone stared in stunned silence as the alarms blared. Connors clutched his son tightly, with tears in his eyes.
And Johnny… he just sat there, shaking, with his mind blank.
What the hell just happened to me? Was his last thought as he collapsed on the ground.
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