Ch-23 SPIDER SENSE

The hum of machines filled the underground lab, their rhythmic beeping the only sound in the otherwise silent space. Dim blue lights ran along the walls, casting shadows over the sleek consoles, monitors, and high-tech equipment scattered throughout the cave.

In the centre of it all, Gwen lay unconscious inside the medical pod.

Her breathing was steady, her expression relaxed, but I knew that wouldn't last for long.

Not once the Extremis kicked in.

I stood beside the pod, watching as the automated systems scanned her body. Her injured thigh had already been wrapped in a diagnostic gel, but that was just a temporary fix.

I held to vials of Extrimis these 2 vials were rather special, I didn't use Extreme V which is the fusion of Extrimis and compound V because of the side effects it may have due to her having X-gene….

The first Vial contained Extrimis V2 which would increase her physical strength to 8-10 tons.

The second Vial contained Extrimis V1 which would increase her strength to 2-4 tons, slightly stronger than captain America.

I should Probably go with V2,

But

There is a massive problem, when I was about to inject V2, My spider sense started tingling like crazy. It was as if the moment I inject her with something too strong whether V2 or Spider serum, I would regret it.

Should I trust them? Yeah, why not?

I held up the syringe containing V1.

The golden liquid inside shimmered, almost alive, pulsing with an eerie glow.

Extremis. A miracle , depending on how you looked at it. A serum designed to push the human body beyond its natural limits, to heal wounds, enhance strength, and rewrite biology itself.

But Gwen didn't have time to wait.

I exhaled, steadying my grip, then pressed the needle in the tube connected to her.

"Here goes nothing."

With a quiet hiss, the serum entered her bloodstream.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then the monitors spiked.

Her body twitched, her fingers curling into fists. A heat wave rippled across her skin, and the pod's sensors flickered between caution and overload warnings. Her breathing hitched. A faint glow pulsed under her skin, following the veins in her arm like liquid fire.

Minutes passed. Then hours.

I didn't move. I barely blinked. The pod's cooling systems kicked in, keeping her body temperature from rising too high. The Extremis was rewriting her physiology, breaking her down and rebuilding her stronger.

Sometime later, as the monitors finally steadied, Gwen's eyes fluttered open.

She took a sharp breath, sitting up so fast that the pod's restraints automatically disengaged. Her gaze darted around the cave, wild and disoriented, before landing on me.

"…Gray?"

I exhaled, the tension finally leaving my shoulders.

"Welcome back," I said, crossing my arms. "How do you feel?"

She blinked, breathing hard, then looked down at her hands. Her fingers trembled at first…then steadied.

She raised her hand, and the faintest ember of heat pulsed beneath her skin.

Her eyes widened.

"…What did you do to me?"

I leaned back, watching her carefully. "I saved you."

Her gaze snapped to mine, searching for answers, for something to make sense of what she was feeling.

She had no idea yet. She thought I would just heal her, Nah…

"I made you stronger… stronger than Captain America", I told her.

[Gwen POV]

My skin still tingled, like tiny sparks were crawling just beneath the surface. My head felt light, but not in a bad way—more like I had just woken up from the best nap of my life. Except, you know, I had definitely not fallen asleep naturally. I remember Gray giving me a rose and then… I passed out

I swung my legs over the edge of the pod, flexing my fingers. A faint warmth pulsed beneath my skin, and for a second, I swore I saw a flicker of orange crawl along my palm.

I looked up at Gray, who stood a few feet away, arms crossed, watching me like I was a science experiment.

"Okay," I said, my voice steadier than I expected. "What the hell did you do to me?"

Gray raised an eyebrow. "I gave you Extremis... It's like a super soldier serum."

"Yeah, no kidding," I muttered, rubbing my arm where he'd injected me. "I feel… weird. Stronger, I think?" I flexed again, testing the sensation. "But also, like, on fire."

He nodded, completely unfazed. "That's normal. You'll adjust."

I shot him a look. "Normal?"

Gray ignored my sarcasm and tapped a few commands into the console beside him. A section of the lab shifted, panels sliding away to reveal a reinforced training area. The floor was metal, the walls lined with impact-absorbing material.

He gestured for me to follow.

"Come on. Let's see what you can do."

I hesitated for half a second, then stood, testing my balance.

…Okay. That was weird.

I felt light. More than that—I felt powerful. My muscles weren't aching like they should have been, and when I stepped forward, I almost overshot, moving faster than I intended.

Gray noticed. Of course he did.

"Your body's adapting," he said. "It'll take some time before you stop feeling like you're on a sugar rush."

I clenched my fists, staring down at my hands. "So, what, I just think fire and—"

A burst of heat shot up my arm, and a tiny flame flickered to life at my fingertips.

I yelped and jerked my hand back. The fire vanished.

Gray laughed.

I scowled. "Not funny."

He just shrugged. "You have to control it. Otherwise, you'll burn yourself."

Great. No pressure.

I took a deep breath and tried again. This time, I focused—really focused—on the warmth inside me, on the power humming through my veins. Slowly, the fire returned, licking harmlessly at my fingertips.

I stared at it, transfixed.

"…Whoa."

Gray nodded approvingly. "Good. Now, let's test durability."

I barely had time to register what he meant before he moved.

One second he was standing still—the next, he was right in front of me, striking out with a punch.

My instincts kicked in. I raised my arms to block—

Boom!

The force sent me skidding backward across the floor.

My arms tingled, but… that should've hurt more, right? I looked down. My skin wasn't burned, wasn't bruised. The impact had sent a shockwave through me, but I was fine.

Gray tilted his head. "Not bad. Your healing is working."

"Not bad?" I said, still catching my breath. "You punched me!"

"A light punch," he corrected. "Trust me, if I went all out, you'd feel it."

I glared at him but couldn't argue. He was definitely stronger.

"Why am I weaker than you?" I asked, crossing my arms.

Gray studied me for a moment before answering. "Because I took a… different version of Extremis."

I frowned. "You—wait, what? How many versions are there? Why did you give me a different version?"

"You are a mutant, you have what is called an X-gene, I didn't have enough data on X-gene to be sure that you won't have any side effects ", He continued "Do you know what your mutation does other than changing your eye and hair colour to white?"

"I don't, What if I am as strong as Magneto, just don't know how to use my ability", I asked nervously and excitedly. Mutants are not held in much high regards in the society.

"If you were that strong HE would have found you, and tried to convince you to join HIS school.", he commented

"Who's He?", I asked.

"Charles Xavier, he has a mutant school, He is a good guy with telepathic abilities.", he replied as he picked up a gun like device and aimed at me. It scanned me

"You were a Beta level mutant and now you have reached early Alpha level."

"What can I do with my abilities?", I asked.

He didn't answer. Instead, he took a step back and gestured to the training area.

"Come on, Gwen. Show me what you've got."

I exhaled sharply. Alright, fine.

If he wanted to test me, I was going to give him a test. I charged towards him and we fought for a while.

After an hour, I asked him "Where is this place?"

He smirked as I could smell a fragrant scent coming from him and I passed out again. 

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Drop a comment I hope you like the chapter, The updates will be a little slow as I have exams coming up. Though I will try to upload at least 5-6 chapters a week.