Spider-man: Alone in New York

~ Chapter 27 ~

"So what is it?" I asked, cutting right to the important part. I dropped my backpack that I had lugged with me on the chair beside me and then sat down in front of Ned and MJ. 

They both were startled at my presence but recovered quickly. 

MJ hushed me, looking around the library to see if we had dragged any attention to us. "Shh! Not so loud."

I whispered back, "Okay, okay. What did you find?"

MJ leaned in while Ned kept a lookout. "So I gave um, it, to my mom. She tested it at the lab in her hospital. That thing you found aligns with what they found in the blood samples from the infected people."

She lost me. "What infected people?"

"Peter, haven't you watched the news lately?" Ned asked. 

News generally made me depressed because I felt bad seeing people I could have saved but wasn't there to. "Uh, no. Not really."

MJ explained, "Well, basically, there's this new drug that has been spreading all over the place. One inhale and you're hooked on it for life. You need it periodically to survive. My mom said that the doctors are trying to find a substitute that they can then give to people and over time reduce the dosage until the people are back to normal." I had never heard MJ talk that much. She was usually much quieter.

This time Ned spoke up, "The police are trying to figure out the source of the drug." He gave me a pointed look. It had to be Zenon. Simply thinking about him caused goosebumps to appear all over my arms as I tried to rub them away. 

"Okay, but do we know what it is, specifically?" I asked and added, "I mean like, what's it made out of?"

Ned and MJ shared a look between each other, and MJ turned to me. "My mom said that when they tested what you gave me they found that it's a compound found in blood mixed with some type of solvent. They then made that into a powder."

I stuck out my tongue in disgust. "Blood?"

"Yeah, so people are essentially getting high off of someone's blood." Ned trailed off. Ew.

"But couldn't anyone then make it? Just, you know, bleed a little, mix it with the solvent, and make it at home, like a DIY?" I asked.

"Really, Peter? DIY?" Ned rose an eyebrow at me, his nose slightly squished at the idea.

I shrugged. "What? It's a fair question."

"To answer your question, Peter," MJ said, "First of all, they'd have to figure out what the solvent is in the first place, but even then, it's not normal blood."

Not normal blood? 

At my confused look, MJ added, "My mom said they were able to extract the DNA, and it matches with the human genome, but only kind of."

"Kind of, what do you mean kind of?" Something like my blood? So... a superhuman? My eyes connected with Ned's again.  

MJ's shoulders lifted. "I don't know. While it bears some similarity with the human genome, it's different as well."

We stayed silent for a few moments as I mulled over what she told me. 

Ned spoke up, interrupting the silence, "So what did you tell your mom when she asked you where you got it from?"

"I claimed I found it on the side of the dumpster and was curious to find out what it is," she said, moving her hair out of her face, "Also, I wanted to ask you. If I figure out anything else, how should I contact you, given that your phone is... gone?"