⚠️trigger warning⚠️
this part of the story contains themes of experiments on animals. if you get really triggered and uncomfortable by this subject, don't read it, however if you still want to continue reading the story, i'll be putting a short recap of this chapter in the next one 😊

Peter's POV

Peter walked with the crowd, as they were lead from one laboratory to another. The laboratories housed bizarre tech, radioactive fluids, genetically modified cells and all other sorts of things that a mind couldn't comprehend. The smell of chemicals and antiseptic hung in the atmosphere, scientist with face shields donning white aprons worked on different stations. Some carefully adding drops of green or yellow fluid into the culture plates, while the others mixing the blue and purple shades of radioactive materials.

Harry Osborn guided them across the different stations, tutoring them about the processes that took place in front of the group's eyes and the immaculate technology that was to be formed after days of experimentation. No one knew what it was, only that it was worded to enhance the survivability of the human race during alien invasions.

Peter was only here because Mr.Stark asked him to be here, scanning his surroundings with EDITH, which would transmit the blueprints of his whereabouts to Mr.Stark. Because anything that's been stated to enhance the survivability of the human race and will be released to everyone in the world, needed to be scrutinized. Nothing about Osborn's project was transparent, even as he was explaining what took place in front of everyone's eyes.

"So, here we have the most competent people of the world, creating something that will never allow 2018 to repeat," Harry's words boomed through the laboratory. That was it, that was everything everyone knew about the product. The process was disguised, the process was deceitful. And that's why Peter was here. To help Stark Industries unmask the corrupt ways of Oscorp.

Norman Osborn had initiated the project a couple years back but died due to a rare genetic disorder, and Harry was obligated to maintain his father's legacy.

"Does this place bring you bad memories?" asked the boy walking beside Peter.

"Uh, no? Why'd you ask?" Peter questioned Ned Leeds.

"This is where you got bitten by that radioactive spider, I'm actively trying to search for one," said Ned, eyeing every corner of the room.

"Ned, the spider's dead."

"You're just jealous and don't want me to find it," said Ned with a smirk.

"Why would I be jealous?" Peter said, incredulously.

"Because I'd be a cooler Spider-Man than you ever were," Ned said, adjusting his straw hat and then going back to texting Thor and teaching him teenage slang.

"You dream too big, man."

"Dude! Everyone knows I'm a more fun person to hangout than you are."

"Who tells you all these lies?"

"The truth can be bitter Peter, but why am I in a group chat with the avengers and you're not?" Ned asked rhetorically with a smug smile.

"You guys have a group chat without me? Wait no, the avengers have a group chat?" Peter squeaked in disbelief.

"Oops, can't believe my tongue-"

His snarky sentence was interrupted by a loud sound of explosion at the other end of the building, shaking the ground that they stood on. The cries of everyone echoed. Pieces of cement rained down on them. Harry was escorted out through an emergency exit, while people ran in all directions, frenzied and pushing through others to get to the exit. A deafening alarm sounded through the building.

"Take the main staircase, the explosion isn't that close so you should be safe," Peter said as he hurriedly took out his webshooters and clamped them on his wrists.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?" Ned asked.

"Gonna go play with fire. See that sounded cool, didn't it?" Peter said as he pushed Ned out of the laboratory.

"You're fucking nuts, bro."

Peter then ran off in the opposite direction, towards the explosion dodging the impending collisions with people who were running towards the exit.

Mayra's POV

"Why do we have to be here?" Mayra asked, forcefully dragging herself with the slow moving crowd. "Every fucking thing about this place annoys the shit out of me, especially his voice," she stated, giving their guide, Harry Osborn, a disgruntled look.

"We're here so that I can get my grades up and not be fired from the internship," Eddie said, aggressively jotting down notes on his yellow notepad, writing the same thing over and over again about Oscorp's product.

"Yes but you're supposed to be here, not me," she moaned again, taking a swift sip from her water bottle.

"But you're my bro, bro."

"Consider me your worst fucking nightmare after this."

"Aw, you're trying to be threatening, that's cute," Eddie snickered.

The crowd moved forward, entering another laboratory which looked exactly like the ones they'd passed by.

"I need to pee," Mayra said, mentally scolding herself for drinking too much water.

"Mayra," an exasperated sigh fell from Eddie's lips.

"Dude, I actually need to pee, this isn't an excuse," Mayra said, lightly shifting her legs. Eddie rolled his eyes and followed Mayra out of the laboratory. He stood outside the washroom, waiting for Mayra to finish her business.

"I'm done," Mayra's cheerful voice came out, shaking Eddie out of his thoughts.

"Did you intentionally take ten minutes to pee?"

"Maybe, maybe not," Mayra smirked, sanitizing her small hands.

Just as they were walking back to the group, an idea crept up to Mayra's mind, "We should explore."

"Mayra, no," Eddie sternly stated.

"Mayra, yes," she replied back, her Stygian eyes twinkling with mischief.

"Mayra, NO."

"Mayra, YES."

"Bro, my grades are going down the sewers," Eddie tried reasoning.

"You really can't be that dumb? That pretty brunette boy out there is repeating the same shit over and over, your report won't be deserving of an A unless you add something more interesting," Mayra stated.

"Like?"

"I don't know, thats why we should explore and find something more interesting to add to your report."

"We'll get caught," Eddie said, probably killing the mood of everyone in the room.

"Oh God, live your fucking life a little."

"We are literally living our lives on fucking edges when we catch murderers and kidnappers," Eddie said, as he saw Mayra already walking in the opposite direction, dodging the stares of employees. He had no choice but to follow.

They swiftly glided through the bland halls of the building. Giving a gentle smile to everyone's questioning glances and shoving their student ID in their faces. And even if someone did question, Mayra would very intelligently swerve the conversation to her benefit.

"What are you two doing here?"

"Uh-we're actually from Columbia University, and we kinda got lost and we need directions," Mayra would say, her innocent baby face fooling everyone around her including Eddie.

"Go straight, take a left and you'll find a help desk which is, um, well supposed to help you out."

"Alright, thanks, also I'm actually quite curious 'bout that slimy stuff that's stored in the tube."

This way she'd extract information for Eddie's report and save them from a potential suspension from university.

After twenty minutes of exploration and evading stares from people, they came to a rather secluded part of the building, unknowingly entering into a lab which granted entrance to special personnel only.

Neon green lights illuminated the room, row of glass cases at one side of laboratory were housed with fragile vials that enclosed otherworldly contents, black matter, swishing and slashing within it. On the other side of the laboratory, glass cases contained transgenic rats, their furs deep green in color, fangs protruding out of their mouths and their eyes bloodshot. At the far end, a glass pane separated them and a small metallic circular contraption, a red glow effusing out of it. A bunch of wires and switches were spewed in front of the glass pane, probably keeping the metallic contraption stable.

"This wasn't meant for us to see," Mayra whispered as Eddie was still in awe of his surroundings. His eyes were still transfixed at the rats beside him, smashing their heads against the glass wall, their ribs visible from far apart. Eddie's jaw clenched, he fished out his phones and started clicking pictures of the lab. "I will fucking expose them for this," he said, absentmindedly walking across the lab, almost tripping over the wires sprawled on the floor. "Be careful," Mayra said, as she too clicked pictures of the tortures that were inflicted on the trapped innocent creatures.

"We should really leave now," Mayra said after they'd collected the evidence that would reduce Oscorp to ashes.

"Yeah just one min-" Just as Eddie backed away from the glass enclosures, his sneakers got trapped in the muddle of wires. He tried jerking it off, violently shaking his leg and giving Mayra anxiety.

"Dude, carefully," she said as she went forward and helped untangle the mass of wires surrounding his feet. In the midst of all the untangling and jiggling, a wire snapped open.

"Fuck," muttered Mayra. Both of them panicking, they hurriedly managed to pull out Ed's leg, ignoring the commotion taking place, behind them. The green lights transitioned to red and alarms blared through the building. A metallic door slid down blocking their exit as they tried to bolt out of the lab. They were trapped. Hopelessly, hilariously, pathetically trapped.

The metallic contraption was sizzling out red radioactive waste, the glow becoming more intense and the heat around them growing phenomenally.

"Ed?" Mayra panicked. Her breathing getting heavier, the heat from the other side of the glass pane scorched her skin, every atom of her body felt like it was about to self combust, her throat was constricting and her eyes stung. The heat pricked like a thousand needles on her body, she kept moving backwards, holding Ed's hand, till their backs touched the relatively cold metallic surface of the door. Mayra was certain she'd die as she watched the glow become more fierce, the heat escalating to a value beyond imaginable.

"Ed, I'm so sorry," she mouthed, hoping he'd catch her words. If it weren't for her, they'd be listening to Harry Osborn's monotonous speech, safe and sound.

Mayra and Ed watched the contraption in front of their eyes grow progressively unstable, helpless and trapped. There was no use of yelling, no use of whimpering and no use of thrashing. The ball finally exploded.

Everything around them obliterated. The force of explosion so strong, that they were practically embedded in the metallic doors. The force sending the glass shards in all directions. The black material from the vials fell on them, wrapping their burnt bodies as if it had a life of their own. She waited for her body to turn to ashes, like it did a few years ago. Waited for the sweltering pain to end. Waited to slip into an abyss of darkness. Waited for her entire life to flash before her eyes.

But it didn't. The explosion was odd, so mysterious that Mayra believed she was hallucinating, maybe the last fragment of sanity in her mind was showing her the peaceful image of the lab, red, but not in flames. The lab enveloped in glass shards, but not in fiery flames. The black material still cloaking the two bodies as the astronomically hot air blew against them. Wrapping them, until the darkness took over them.

The world went black for the two of them. The pair held each other's hands, each of them whispering their sorry, hoping that the other heard it. And finally paving way to the death that was hovering over them.

A/N: i hope you guys enjoyed it as much as i enjoyed writing it. DO NOT FORGET TO SLEEP WELL, EAT WELL, STAY HYDRATED AND DO STUFF THAT MAKES YOU HAPPY. YOU ALL DESERVE ALL THE GOOD SHIT IN THE WORLD. i love you <3