Animal Instincts: Infected Humanity *Book 1* (Ultimate Spider-Man *Cartoon*)

Chapter 3: Going Feral

Hey peeps, here's chapter 3.

Also, this story is taking place after "The Contest of Champions" Another note, Aunt May will be taking place in this, and yes-she does know of Peter's alter ego.

Enjoy the chapter. And HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE! AND Happy New Year by the end of tonight.

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It's been a few days since the gas incident, and the state of the heroes had yet to improve.

The last 72 hours had been troublesome, of course there were the regular S.H.I.E.L.D problems that Nick Fury had to deal with, but adding a sickness atop the pile didn't really help the Directors situation.

At the moment, he sat at his desk looking over the reports of the patients still in the sick bay. The only teenagers who didn't recover from the sudden flu-like outburst was Spider-Man, White Tiger, Rhino, Triton, Squirrel Girl, and – surprisingly – Zabu. The other teens were instructed to continue with their training and Academy work until told otherwise. However, with all that has been going on lately, Nick wasn't surprised that their ailing friends were all that the remaining teens could focus on.

Nick Fury couldn't blame them to be honest, but that was no excuse as to why he was now almost constantly getting complaints from the Med Bay staff that the kids were visiting the sick bay and refusing to leave. So, eventually Nick Fury ordered all classes and training to be put on hold for a bit, at least until this dilemma was cleared up – which was, hopefully, soon. Honestly, whatever was happening, Nick Fury was about fed up with it.

Tony Stark, as well as the rest of the Avengers (sans Thor, who was still in Asgard) had reported minor cases of sickness, much like the kids had, and just like the kids the sickness passed and they were fine within a matter of hours. Stark, once no longer coughing up a lung, was working on a cure alongside Falcon back in the Avengers Tower. As soon as Stark heard about the situation concerning the (still) sick heroes he immedianly got to work, enlisting Sam as he went. Amadeus had come in earlier and confessed to conducting his own search for a cure as well – he had impressive results for a kid, even if he was a genius.

It was great knowing there were so many people working on this case, a relief even. But no news of improvement had come from any of the people listed, not even from Dr. Connors, and judging by the reports Nick Fury was reading right now things were getting desperate. The director sighed and rubbed his temples as he set the stack of papers down. He's been sitting in his office for hours, mulling over reports and paperwork; a small headache pulsed in his temples and only increased his ever-growing pile of problems.

Deciding to take a small break, Director Fury got up and exited his office. He walked down the halls of the Academy to take a personal visit to the sick bay. Maybe Connors would have some results from the blood samples he took since Fury's last visit

S.H.I.E.L.D agents scurried hurriedly through the halls and corridors, all giving the Director respective nods of acknowledgement or a prompt "Sir" before continuing on their given tasks. Sometimes Nick wished he could just be an agent; taking the orders instead of giving them. At times that just sounded so nice, and a lot less stressful. However, Nick was Director, a position he took with honor, and it's a job he was hoping to keep for a while.

It wasn't a long trip to the sick bay, but once Nick Fury entered the room he almost wished he had stayed back in his office. The smell of vomit was still very strong, even with the added air fresheners placed abundantly within the room. Groans, moans, and whimpers of pain seemed to claw its way out of the clash of other noises filling the room. Of course the Director has seen, and smelled, worst before, so it didn't stop him from walking in.