The New York Museum of Natural History, one of the largest natural history museums in the world, serves as a major research and education center in the United States. Spanning more than 7 hectares, it houses some of the most valuable specimens in astronomy, minerals, human history, paleontology, and more.

At the time, a radioactive animal exhibition was taking place on the first floor of the museum, and the students of Midtown High School were visiting this scientific biology display. Due to the recent football game tragedy, the number of students participating was noticeably smaller.

"What is this?!" Harry exclaimed as he stood in front of an exhibit featuring a massive turtle. "A turtle? Why is the shell on this one so strange?"

The turtle's shell was covered with intricate spiral patterns, and its size was far larger than usual.

"It's an Enewetak Atoll turtle," Peter explained. "Between 1948 and 1958, nuclear tests contaminated Enewetak Atoll, causing significant radiation exposure. This turtle is one of the marine creatures affected by the radiation."

Peter then pointed toward another part of the exhibit. "If you're interested in artificially cultivated radioactive creatures, you might want to check that section out."

"Alright," Harry replied, noticing Gwen approaching them. He shrugged playfully. "I guess I should give you two some space."

Ignoring Harry's teasing, Peter walked over to the nearby arthropod exhibition. When Gwen joined him, she noticed he was staring at a spider inside a glass display case. The sight of the vibrant spiders reminded her of the spider monster that Frank had become, making her feel queasy.

"Frank mentioned that spider larvae sometimes eat their mother after she lays eggs," Peter said, studying the spiders behind the glass.

"It sounds harsh, but humans aren't insects," Gwen replied, feeling a bit down. She remembered how her father had told her that Frank's father had been killed by his own son and then hidden away in a cocoon.

Peter stepped back from the display, shaking his head. "No, you're mistaken, Gwen. And Frank is wrong too."

"Huh?" Gwen was confused, unsure of what Peter meant.

Peter's eyes remained fixed on a spider spinning silk inside the glass box. He then added, "Spiders aren't insects—they're arthropods."

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Gwen couldn't help but give him an exasperated look. Peter's occasional deadpan humor always left her at a loss for words.

"Ahem," she cleared her throat, preparing to change the subject. But before she could, a loud crash echoed through the museum, the sound of breaking glass.

She instinctively looked up and saw that the skylight above the museum had shattered. The broken glass rained down, shattering into pieces as it hit the floor.

Everyone on the first floor froze, stunned by the sudden change. Those injured by the falling glass screamed in terror.

A massive bird flew in through the broken skylight, flapping its wings dramatically. But it wasn't a bird—it was a human with wings.

With a loud thud, the winged figure landed on the ground, making a sharp, whistling sound as he did.

"Osborn!" the figure shouted, his voice filled with rage. The bald man, with a hooked nose and a sinister expression, charged toward Harry.

Harry, caught off guard, tried to dodge but was grabbed by the shoulders and lifted off the ground.

He winced in pain, reaching up to pry the claws off his shoulder. But the talons dug in deeper, piercing his muscles. Blood flowed from the wounds, running down his arm.

The searing pain from his shoulder, combined with the dizziness of being lifted into the air, made him scream in terror.

"Ah!!!" Harry's cries rang through the exhibition hall, shocking everyone inside.

Only after the winged attacker had flown through the shattered skylight with Harry did the crowd finally react. Panicked, they began to scream and flee.

Museum security and staff quickly triggered the alarm.

"What is that?!" Gwen asked, her voice filled with shock as she watched the winged figure disappear with Harry.

"I don't know. Call the police—I'll check outside," Peter replied, pulling out his phone. His expression grew serious as he glanced up toward the sky. *Is that... the Vulture?!*

He recognized the supervillain from the Marvel Universe: Adrian Toomes, a villainous scientist with a mechanical flying suit. But why had this happened on the very day Peter Parker was supposed to gain his powers? Was it the "vortex storm" triggered by the flap of his own metaphorical butterfly wings?

Handing his phone to Gwen, Peter quickly headed outside, hoping to track the villain's movements. He needed to pinpoint where the Vulture had taken Harry.

As the alarm blared and the crowd poured out, Liz—who had missed covering the football game incident—was determined not to miss this. She aimed her phone at the skylight, capturing the chaos even as the Vulture disappeared from view with Harry.

Then, more glass shattered from the skylight, falling toward the floor. Gwen, seeing that Liz was directly below, shouted a warning, "Watch out!"

She rushed forward, pushing Liz out of harm's way. The two of them rolled across the smooth floor, narrowly avoiding the falling glass.

"Crash!" The impact shattered a nearby glass cabinet, the one containing a radioactive spider.

The spider, now freed, crawled out of the broken enclosure. As Gwen tried to get up, she noticed a sharp pain in her left hand—glass fragments had embedded into her palm, drawing blood.

She groaned and pulled out her hand, but in doing so, a brightly patterned spider clung to her palm, appearing crushed by the pressure.

Not realizing its significance, Gwen shook off the spider's lifeless body and struggled to her feet.

Meanwhile, Peter, standing at the museum entrance, caught sight of the spider that had bitten Gwen. His eyes widened, and he felt his heart race.

---