New York, 2099. Five teens cruise the skies above the city in their Whisper 3000 hovercar. They don't expect any trouble from the local "fly-boys" in Public Eye -- the cross winds at their altitude are vicious. They're surprised when the fly-boys do show up, in pursuit of a black- and red-clad figure: Spider-Man! He evades them, eventually going into freefall, crashing into officer Estavez as he makes his escape into the crowd below.

Back at his apartment, Miguel O'Hara stumbles into his apartment. He is greeted by Lyla, his holographic digital assistant, who notifies him of six holo messages. The first is from his boss, Tyler Stone at Alchemax, who strongly suggests he give in to the drug he's fighting and come in to the office. The next is from his brother, Gabe, who despite his contempt for the "Corporate Raider" program Alchemax has him working for, makes an effort to reach out to his brother for support. Miguel cuts the message short, moving on to one from his fiance, Dana D'Angelo. Her right eye is swollen shut. She says the night she saw him strung out on drugs was one of the scariest of her life, but no she's even more frightened for him. He seems to have just dropped off the face of the Earth.... Miguel cuts off the recording, and doesn't bother to watch the other three she left. Even Lyla notes his unusual behavior as "not within normal programming parameters": he comes and goes at different hours, his heart rate is up, he hasn't made an entry in his journal in five days....

Miguel decides to rectify that last point by recording all that has lead up to his present condition, beginning in the laboratories of Alchemax. Miguel O'Hara, one of the corporation's "great hopes", a genius given the "full university treatment" by the corporation itself, had been installed as the project head of a new genetics program. This led to friction with the higher-ranking Aaron Delgato, who saw Miguel as arrogant, spoiled, and lacking any respect for the existing command structure. Miguel certainly had no respect for Delgato, who he treats like an idiot, but felt entirely justified by the remarkable progress of the project. They'd had remarkable success in altering the genetic structure of test animals, and he'd even found "some quality research material for inspiration". Miguel introduces Aaron to a file on Spider-Man, one of the greats of the turn-of-the-century Age of Heroes -- and, with the proportionate strength, speed, and agility of a spider, a perfect example of what the Corporate Raider program hopes to achieve through genetic engineering. Unfortunately for Miguel, Alchemax is interested in results -- quickly. Tyler Stone makes a trip to the lab in person to introduce the researchers to Mr. Sims, a convict who volunteered for the program in exchange for a commuted 40-year sentence. Miguel protests that they are nowhere near ready for human test subjects, but Stone and Sims both insist that he give his best effort.

Miguel starts with the simplest genetic modification he can devise, which would ideally give Mr. Sims augmented Strength. He is partially successful: when Miguel opens the transformation chamber only a horribly disfigured creature remains, but it breaks it's bonds effortlessly and nearly chokes Miguel to death before falling dead from shock. Stone is prepared to called the results "very positive." Miguel is prepared to resign.

At first, Stone appears to accept Miguel's decision. He even offers Miguel a goodbye toast of vintage 1994 wine in his office and tells him that any company that calls asking about him will only get the most glowing reviews. He does, however, see a problem with how Miguel will acquire "Rapture". You see, Rapture is a legal, mind-expanding, hallucinogenic drug sold only through Alchemax. Outrageously expensive, it also bonds to the user's genetic code, making the withdraws symptoms lethal. Stone had just doped Miguel's wine with Rapture as "a parting gift".[Continuity 1] In a stupor, Miguel stumbles out of Stone's office. By the time he arrives home his trip has turned nasty. As he enters his apartment, he lashes out at his fiance, who appears at first to be some sort of monster. Miguel is sorry and explains the situation to her: even if he chooses not to be a slave for Alchemax, he will still be a life-long addiction.
Miguel sees only one chance to escape his fate: he had saved his genetic structure to use as a sample in the Corporate Raider program. He had been imprinting his structure on to apes, but if he can survive the process he might be able to revert back to his pre-drugged genetic structure. As he seals himself into the transformation chamber lab that night, Miguel believes he is alone. In fact, Aaron Delgato had been watching unseen, and decided to take this chance to rid himself of the arrogant upstart. Wildly changing control settings, Delgato never notices that he sets the machine to merge Miguel's un-altered DNA with that of a spider. Overriding all safety warnings, Delgato pushes the machines beyond their normal limits, and they explode violently. Afterward, Delgato is surprised to find Miguel has survived, and is stumbling dazed around the lab. Delgato decides to play off his involvement in the accident, telling Miguel that he's going to pay for damaging so much Alchemax equipment... and notices too late what kind of fanged, clawed creature Miguel O'Hara has become.

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