BEEEEP. BEEEEEP. BEEEEEP.
"Ughhh, what is that sound… and why is it so loud?" Penny groaned, clamping her hands over her ears.
She pulled the pillow over her head and tried turning away, but the beeping wouldn't stop. It was steady, sharp, and getting on her nerves.
"What is even making that noise?" she grumbled, sitting up and blinking against the bright light.
Phoo.
She blew a few strands of hair out of her face—and paused.
"When did my hair get this long?" she mumbled, lifting a lock in confusion.
Then she looked around.
"…This isn't my room."
The walls were white. Cold. Clean. And surrounding her were machines she didn't recognize, screens humming faintly.
"Good afternoon, Penny."
"WHAT THE—!"
BAM! BAMM!
Startled by the sudden voice, Penny's body reacted before her brain caught up. The bed slammed against the wall, several machines toppled over, and in the next instant, she was—
"…Why am I on the ceiling?!"
Her eyes widened in panic as she looked down at the ruined room and then up—no, around—and realized she was somehow stuck to the center of the ceiling. Arms and legs splayed, body trembling.
"Oh my god, what is happening?!"
Goosebumps ran up her spine suddenly as she quickly slid into the corner, sticking unnaturally like her body had its own rules now.
And just then a circular portal opened in the center of the room with a soft pulse, and from it stepped someone she actually recognized.
"Luke?! Did you just come out of a magic portal?! Am I dreaming right now?" Penny asked, her voice cracking as she clung to the ceiling.
"Hi, Penny. And no—you're definitely not dreaming," Luke said, giving the wrecked room a quick once-over with a wry smile. "Why don't you come down from there so I can explain everything?"
"I-I don't even know how I got up here," Penny said nervously, frozen in place, too afraid to move a muscle.
"I would advise that Penny calms her breathing and tries to relax first."
"Ah!" Penny flinched again, suddenly shifting to the center of the ceiling. "D.A.I.S.Y.! Could you not scare me like that?!"
She looked toward the ceiling corners where the voice had come from, finally realizing it was the A.I.
"Like she said," Luke added, still watching her with a faintly amused smile, "just take a deep breath, relax, and let go."
"Okay… alright… I'll try," Penny muttered, closing her eyes.
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
With her eyes shut, the world sharpened.
She didn't just hear the beeping from one of the nearby machines—she could feel where it was coming from. She noticed a faint crackle too—one of the wires inside the toppled unit was damaged and sparking slightly.
She could even hear Luke's steady breathing, and the deep thump of his heartbeat.
Thump. Thump.
Thump. Thump.
It was strong, calm... and oddly soothing.
"AH!" Penny's eyes flew open as she suddenly slipped, one hand coming unstuck—and then the other, she was falling.
But just as quickly, she was caught. Strong arms, warm chest.
She blinked and found herself looking up into Luke's face, her cheeks burning.
"H-hi…" she whispered, face heating up even more as a very familiar fantasy came rushing to mind. One where he carried her just like this.
"I got you," Luke said, grinning.
'This has to be a dream,' Penny thought, her heart racing. She closed her eyes and, almost on instinct, puckered her lips, ready for a kiss…
Instead, she felt herself being gently lowered back onto the bed.
"Feeling a little calmer now?" Luke asked with a chuckle.
"Yeah…" she muttered, though a small part of her felt disappointed the princess-carry fantasy had ended so quickly—and without a kiss. But the clarity in her thoughts and the vividness of everything around her were all starting to convince her that this wasn't a dream.
'Did I really just lean in like I was expecting a kiss? Ugh, so embarrassing! Did he notice? He had to have noticed!'
Penny sat with her head down, waging an internal war against her own spiraling thoughts.
"I imagine you've got a lot of questions running through your head right now," Luke said, sitting beside her on the edge of the bed.
"What? Oh—yes. Definitely. Where… where am I, Luke? And what's happening to me?" She asked, snapping her attention back to him.
"Well, D.A.I.S.Y. here was kind enough to prepare a video that explains exactly what happened—to you, and your body," he said, gesturing toward the wall screen as it lit up in response.
"Wait, I'm going to need my glasses," Penny muttered, glancing around the bed.
"I don't think you'll need them anymore," Luke said with a smirk.
She gave him a confused look—but then realized something odd. She could see the screen. Perfectly. The text, the images, the tiny captions—everything was crystal clear. Sharper than she had ever seen before.
"…Okay, that's new."
"Let's begin," D.A.I.S.Y. announced. "Dr. Eric Schwinner and Dr. Conrad Marcus, working in Oscorp Labs, were attempting to engineer a new form of the Super Soldier Serum. Their method involved injecting genetically modified spiders with a prototype called the OZ Serum. Although the project was ultimately deemed a failure…"
As slides and short clips played on the screen, Penny listened in stunned silence.
"…So that spider bit me… and now I have some kind of spider powers?" she muttered, staring at an image of her DNA structure being rewritten overnight.
"In short—yeah, pretty much," Luke said with a nod. "Though I would argue with the 'weird' part."
"So… is my face and body all spider-like now?" Penny asked nervously, touching her cheeks. "Like… eight eyes? Extra legs?"
Luke smirked and snapped his fingers. A full-length mirror materialized out of thin air against the wall.
"Why don't you see for yourself?"
"Is that… me?" Penny blinked at the reflection, stepping closer with hesitant curiosity.
"My hair… it's longer," she murmured, running her fingers through the glossy strands. "And my skin—it's clear. Like really clear."
She touched her cheeks, marveling at the smoothness where blemishes used to be. Then her gaze drifted downward—and she froze.
"Wait—" she glanced back at Luke, cheeks flushing. "Uhm… Luke, could you maybe…"
"Got it." He smiled, rising from his seat. "Take your time."
He stepped out, gently closing the door behind him.
Penny stood still for a moment, making sure he was truly gone, before turning back to the mirror. She lifted her tight shirt in one quick motion, eyes wide.
"Wow… they're gorgeous… and so big," she whispered, cupping her breasts gently. Her hands lingered in disbelief. "And what the hell—six-pack abs?"
She turned from the mirror, looking down to confirm—only to snort softly when her line of sight was blocked.
"I can't even see past them!" she laughed, shifting slightly to catch a glimpse of her toned stomach in the reflection. "How does a spider bite give me six-packs and boobs?"
She ran her fingers along the firm lines of her abs, still in awe. "I used to hate spiders… but I think I'm in love now."
Turning slightly, she glanced over her shoulder, checking her backside in the mirror—and chuckled again.
"Damn… my butt's actually in shape. I have curves now."
She grinned, unable to contain the thrill. "Well, hello, Penny Parker. Guess you're kind of a total babe now."
"Hey there, hottie…" she said to her reflection in a deep, mock-manly voice, leaning one hand against the wall with a raised brow.
"Oh? Me?" she replied to herself sweetly, flipping her hair and shifting into a flirty pose.
"Yeah girl, you're looking fine," she growled again in the same fake-deep voice.
"I know," she shot back with a playful smirk.
Then, switching back to the voice, "So… how about you and me go out sometime?"
She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Please. Have you seen the size of these boobs? And this butt?" She pushed her chest together with her arms, then gave her hip a playful slap. "The only one who could handle this is a total stud like Luke. So keep dreamin'."
She laughed at herself, still not quite believing what she was seeing or saying. It was like living in a surreal dream she didn't want to end.
Then her eyes went wide. "Oh crap—Luke!"
Panicking, she turned to the mirror, quickly straightening her shirt and fixing her hair.
"He's probably been standing out there this whole time," she muttered, rushing to the door.
She grabbed the handle and pulled.
Clank.
"Huh?" she blinked, holding the entire metal handle in her hand. "What the—? I didn't even pull that hard…"
"And spiders aren't supposed to have super strength," she muttered, confused.
"That's because the OZ serum is a mutated variant of the Super Soldier Serum," came a calm, slightly amused voice from the ceiling.
"GAH! D.A.I.S.Y., could you stop doing that!" Penny jumped back, clutching her chest. "You keep scaring me!"
She looked up toward the speaker. "Wait—were you… watching everything just now?" she asked, in mild panic.
"I have footage of everything happening in the Tower, yes," D.A.I.S.Y. replied coolly.
"Okay but… could you maybe not show it to anyone else? Especially not Luke. Or better yet—just delete it? Pleaaase?" Penny clasped her hands in a pleading gesture.
"I see no reason to waste Luke's time with something so trivial," D.A.I.S.Y. replied, blunt as ever.
"No need to be that mean about it…" Penny mumbled with a pout, then walked over to the door again, this time carefully nudging it open with just one finger.
"Oh hey, Penny. Everything alright?" Luke asked, glancing up from his phone. He was leaning casually against the wall opposite the door.
"Yeah… all good. Unbelievably good, actually," Penny said with a half-smile. She held out the detached handle awkwardly. "Here… sorry. I kind of pulled too hard."
"Heh, don't worry. Easy fix." Luke took the handle and, with a twist and click, somehow attached it perfectly back into place.
Penny raised an eyebrow. "Okay, so… first the portal thing, then the magic mirror, and now this? When did you become a magician Luke?"
"I haven't yet," Luke said with a grin. "I've just enrolled in a sort of… school for that. So technically, I'm a magician-in-training."
Penny blinked, unsure if he was joking. "Wait—are you serious?"
Luke laughed. "Just messing with you. But no joke, like you, I have got a few powers of my own."
Her eyes widened. "Wait—how? When? What happened? Did you get bitten by something too?"
"No, I didn't get bitten by anything." Luke chuckled. "Mine's different and more… recent. Here this will explain better."
He pulled out his phone.
Before she could ask what he meant, the phone morphed—melting like liquid metal and climbing over his arm. It rippled up his body, covering him in a sleek golden white suit. In seconds, a golden mask slid into place over his face and a glowing gold cape flared out behind him.
Penny's jaw dropped. "Oh my GOD—" she gasped, clapping a hand over her mouth. "You… you're Aeon?!"
Her heart pounded in her chest.
"Yeah… that's the name the public decided on, I guess," Luke said, his voice deeper from behind the mask.
Penny stared at him in awe. "So… on March 15th, when Aeon showed up to save everyone at Stark HQ from those terrorists—that was you?!" Her eyes widened. "Of course! You were already there, and you suited up in seconds! It does make sense!"
She started connecting more dots in rapid-fire. "And then you fought those Mole People a few weeks later… Wait—who else knows about this? Does MJ know? Aunt Madeline? Aunt May? Aunt Cass? Am I seriously the last one to know? Does even Liz know?" She asked, feeling a sudden pain in her chest.
The golden mask retracted, and the armor melted away as Luke returned to his regular self.
"Honestly? None of them know," he said, his expression turning serious. "And you can't tell them."
Penny blinked her face lighting up. "Wait… so I'm the first?"
He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Well… not exactly. A few people at the company know. But from my family? Yeah—you're the first."
He smiled.
Penny's heart soared. Liz didn't know, even when she had gone on a date with him. MJ didn't know even though she was his sister.
But she did. And he had just called her family. That made her feel warm inside—though now she felt a bit confused… Did he mean that like a sister? Or something else?
"You'll be pleased to know," Luke added casually, "that I already told Aunt May you'll be staying here at the Tower for your Spring Break."
"Oh," Penny paused, then looked down nervously. "Um… Luke? Did you bring me here from my basement?"
Her voice lowered.
"D-Did you… see me?" Her face turned crimson, remembering what she had been doing before the bite.
She had this sudden instinct to dig a hole and vanish. 'Is that something spiders do? Hide underground? That sounds nice right now.'
Luke gave a quick, sheepish laugh and stepped toward the elevator.
"Haha… why don't we go check out the advanced gym first? You've got training to start. Focus on that, okay?"
He walked off quickly, clearly dodging the question.
Penny followed behind him, biting her lip to hide the smile spreading across her face. She felt butterflies in her stomach, her face was still flushed—but her steps were light.
---
[Penny Parker: Team Member Route Chosen ✅]
[Penny Parker: Independent Hero Route Rejected ❌]