"... What the fuck?"

Andrew was tempted to face plant onto the lunch table, you know, if it wasn't for the fact that his head was both hard and heavy enough to break it clean in half. Why was he feeling this way one may ask? Because somehow he had friggin missed the trigger event that gave Peter his powers!

Yes, he was also amazed by his stupidity and fuck up.

To be fair though, Peter went on a lot of science field trips and stuff, being part of pretty much all the clubs in the field. Seriously, how was he supposed to know which one it was that gave Peter's his powers?! He thought it wouldn't happen until next year at the earliest!

Careless to rely on his spotty knowledge especially since he didn't know what weird universe he was in, but... Actually yeah. There was no good excuse, he was just careless. Damn it!

He needed a better way to keep an eye on his friend and the boy's family, without being creepy and invading their privacy. No "for the greater good" slippery slope bullshit and compromising his morals for this sentient-virus-person-thingy, thank you very much.

Still, at least the stunt with him knocking out Flash by mistake ensured the boy would leave Peter the fuck alone now. Time to kick up his training up a notch, its time to go full espionage and James Bond!

"... Welp, that was easier than I thought... Good job me!"

It was actually so ridiculously easy he felt embarrassed to not have thought of it before now, although the morality of it was still slightly questionable, but it was such a tiny amount that he felt completely justified with it.

Using his ability to make clothing he simply gave them all small accessories. They liked like small knickknacks and good luck charms really, but it did the trick. As soon as they wore them, an incredibly small portion of the virus seeped into their skin. They didn't infect them but rather just stayed hidden beneath the surface, and he didn't give them any "conscious" rather they had a form of selective hearing and sight where they'd only alert him or act in case they were in danger.

Genius!

This way he could respect their privacy and help them whenever they need it. This was way better than his initial plan of having a "stray" cat hanging around and keeping an eye out for the burglar or whatever! Even better, the virus could move and was faintly spread throughout their skin so unless they removed every inch, it couldn't be removed and going to the doctors wouldn't be a problem since the virus could self destruct or morph to mimic normal skin cells. It would take an instantaneous or random undetected and intensive DNA test to reveal anything strange.

Eat your heart out Nick Fury, Mr. Super Spy. You and your band of stalkers aint got shit on me!

... Man superpowers really are unfair. In the span of 5 minutes, he just found a way to undermine and trump some dude's decades of building up his organization and the countless agents and their countless years of training.

Gg, get rekted scrubs, Isekai cheats ftw!

He may not have super awesome power armor or unlimited physical might via rage, but he was starting to see how much potential for growth his power had... It was actually a bit scary, especially considering what someone like Red Skull or the government could do if they got his DNA and powers...

Time for more training to make sure he could erase all traces of himself if need be. He refused to be the cause of fucking WW3 because some government hack got a hold of his spit or something and thought to make an army of flesh consuming monster super soldiers would be a brilliant idea.

"Yes, Bunnicula, things are going just as plan, muhahahaha"

Was it strange to pet a figment of your psyche while laughing maniacally within your apartment..? Oh well, being normal was overrated anyway.

"Muhahahaha!"

Said rabbit was busy chewing through a thick plank of redwood he had just gotten from Home Depot and a bunch of jackfruits.

Fun fact, jackfruits and durians were friggin huge and spikey, and God knows if he wasn't going to have fun mixing around with their DNA and porcupines to make giant thorned projectiles of death.

Seriously, they were larger than a man's torso. Ridiculous.

Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit!

He didn't think that the event would happen so soon! Andrew was running so fast that the soles of his soles were barely hanging on from tearing off with the force that he was using. His Viral Patch, a play on Nicotine patches, had sent him an alert, it took a bit of focus before he was seeing things from a different perspective.

An old man attempting to calm down a man with wild eyes with a gun. The thief's hands were shaking and he knew that it was only a matter of time before he lost it. Before a mistake neither of them would live to regret it, because Andrew wasn't sure if he'll be able to hold back from murdering the man if anything happens to Peter's uncle.

Andrew was currently pushing the limits of human capacity as the raced down the streets, yet it felt as if it still wasn't enough, it wasn't nearly enough. He had thought that it would happen inside or near Parker's home not halfway across the fucking town!

Pete was still another 10 minutes away while Aunt May was back home. A mental prob and he saw the memories of what happened, Uncle Ben had left to search for Peter after they got into an argument.

Suddenly a gunshot was heard. He bit his lips so hard that blood seeped into his mouth, he managed to turn the corner just in time to see the stolen car race off.

"Ben!"

It was terrible, blood was pooling all around him, his face was white and pale. Andrew quickly knelt down next to the man and applied pressure to the wound with shaking hands. The man's own clasped his, and they were terribly terribly cold.

What the fuck was he on? What in the hell was he thinking?! No, the anwser was obvious: he simply wasn't.

How could he let this happen? He could've stopped this, but he didn't, so full of himself that he thought he knew what was best for everyone. Decided to let a man get fucking shot, brilliant idea jackass, just to follow something as stupid as... As the fucking plot of all things!

He had gotten close to the Parker family after all these months, and yet here he was, responsible for his friend's father figure getting shot and bleeding out in the damn street.

Andrew may not have pulled the trigger but his inactions had allowed it all the same. He was just as guilty and he felt disgusted at himself. It seemed so simple and perfect in his head. Spiderman would get his defining moment and decide to take up heroism, Ben would simply have a short stay in the hospital since he would ensure the man would heal up perfectly, and everything would be hanky dory. Just like a story. Just like a comic story.

But the best of plans by mice and men hardly ever last in the face of reality.

This wasn't some shitty comic or video game, this was real life, and people died people felt pain. He had forgotten that and had ended up using Ben like- like some kind of a damn pawn to further his picture-perfect vision of the future, and here he was thinking himself self-aware and knowledgable, that he would avoid these potholes thanks to... to what? Reading some fanfics and comics?

Fucking imbecile. A stupid plan by a stupid brat with a power he didn't understand nor deserved.

Peter was minutes away now, and someone must have heard the gunshot and called the police, he could distantly hear sirens and a crowd forming.

"Ben, please. I'm so sorry, speak to me! Say something, anything!"

Thankfully the old man wasn't as bad as he looked as his grip was still strong and tightened against his hands, his wound rapidly closing as an infusion of Biomass worked on patching up the wound before the virus broke itself down. Although he had misgivings about using his Consume powers on a person he was left with little choice and little presence of mind. His body soaked up the blood beneath his knees as he used the data to replicate the lost blood, bone, flesh, and skin tissues.

How strange, whether it was in this life or the last he couldn't remember once crying ever since he was a kid. Crying didn't help, it made you weak. Being weak made you a target, and in the end it wouldn't change anything.

Yet now a superhuman, he wasn't even sure he could even be classified as human anymore, the tears wouldn't stop.

"What are you talking about, Sport?"

"I-I- I let this happen- I could've stopped this, but I didn't."

Don't say it. Don't. Say. It. It'll be fine. Everythings fine! After I heal him up, the old man will be up and running in no time! No, even better, I could even improve his health while he was at it! Wipe away all the ugly old scars, smooth out some winkles, getting rid of those pesky old joint pains. He'll good as- no better than new! That'll make up for my sins, right? If... If I don't say anything, nobody would ever know. Besides he was going to die without me anyways! If anything he should be thanking me!

...The thoughts filled him with even more disgust and self-loathing than he thought would be possible. No, he couldn't do that to the everyone, and after this was over he would come clean to Peter, even if the boy and his family ended up hating him. It would be the right thing to do.

"Kid, calm down, I'm alright. Really, in fact I'll be up on my feet in no time!"

Ben obviously didn't understand half of his blabbering, but he could see his clear distress all the same. How was it that the old man was the one who was shot and dying, but he was the one that ended up getting comforted? It only made the guilt all the worse, he would've preferred if the man got angry at him. Shout at him, punch him in the face even, because he knew he deserved it...

"I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry. Sorry sorr- " his apologies and rambling soon turned incoherent as paramedics soon moved in and moved Ben away.

"I'm going to need an ambulance, a man has been shoot. Yes, 227 Willows Ave. Better hurry, it looks like the old man has bled out quite a bit."

Please forgive me.

He wasn't brave enough to utter those words, partly because he was scared the kind old Parker would indeed do just that, and partly because he didn't deserve it.

Andrew swore he would own up and atone for his mistakes.

It was too bad that distracted as he was, the almost catatonic boy never noticed a shadow creeping up behind him. By the time he sensed something wrong, it was already too late and he had lost consciousness. The two disappeared within the crowd just as one Peter Parker had arrived at the scene.