Peter sat in his dimensional lab, the schematics for Phase 2 spread across three holographic displays.
FSIS had pulled him in here straight after school, which meant something needed his attention before he could get to the warehouse.
The lab was quiet except for the low hum of the servers along the back wall. Peter had built this room himself, piece by piece, over subjective years that had cost him nothing in real time.
Every surface was clean. Every instrument had a purpose. It was the kind of space that made him feel like he was already ahead of whatever was coming.
"Show me the numbers," Peter said.
The main display shifted. Molecular diagrams of the lizard regeneration serum rotated slowly in the air in front of him, annotated with data points that had changed since his last review two days ago.
"The stability window has narrowed," FSIS said. "Original projection estimated a six day preparation period with peak compatibility maintained throughout. Updated analysis shows compatibility efficiency beginning to decline on day five. By day six, integration efficiency drops to 94.2 percent from the projected 98.7 percent."
Peter stepped closer to the display and studied the curve. Small numbers. A four and a half percent drop did not sound like much on paper. But he had learned a long time ago that small numbers were rarely small in practice.
"Why the change?" he asked.
"The serum's reptilian cellular components are more sensitive to prolonged storage than initial modeling suggested," FSIS said. "Even within temporal stasis, minor degradation is occurring at the molecular level. I did not account for this variable in the original timeline. I have adjusted the model to include it going forward."
"How much does the drop matter in practical terms?"
"At 94.2 percent efficiency, integration would still succeed. The serum would still bond correctly with your genetic structure. However the margin for complications increases. Side effect severity may be higher than projected. Recovery time may extend beyond the current estimate of thirty six subjective hours. At 98.7 percent, the process remains close to optimal with minimal risk across every measured category."
Peter crossed his arms and looked at the numbers again. This was the kind of decision he had trained himself to make quickly. Weigh the data. Commit. Move. Hesitation did not improve outcomes. It just delayed them.
"Advance the timeline," Peter said. "Five days instead of six."
"Confirmed. Adjusting all preparation protocols to compress the final stage by twenty four hours." FSIS paused for a moment, longer than its usual response gap. "This affects your training schedule. The dimensional medical facility will require a full day of exclusive calibration before integration begins. I recommend reducing tomorrow's warehouse session or shifting your patrol schedule to compensate."
Peter thought about MJ and Gwen. About the rhythm the three of them had built over the past few weeks. Wall drills. Distraction training. The quiet ease that had started showing up in how they moved around each other without needing to check in constantly.
He did not want to cut into that. Not this close to something changing.
"I'll shift the patrol," Peter said. "Training stays as scheduled. I can manage the time."
"Understood. I will finalize the compressed integration protocol tonight and have it ready for your review by morning."
"Good."
Peter pulled up his current status alongside the serum data, comparing where he was against where Phase 2 would take him.
It was a habit he had built early. Never move into something new without a clear picture of the baseline first.
[STATUS]
[Name: Peter Parker]
[Age: 16]
[STATS]
[Physique: 27.3]
[Mind: 15.2]
[Spirit: 11.9]
[ENHANCEMENTS — ACTIVE]
[Spider-42 Integration: Complete — 127% efficiency]
[ENHANCEMENTS — PENDING]
[Phase 2 Lizard Regeneration: Integration window advanced to Day 5. Compatibility rating 98.7% if initiated on schedule.]
Five days. Not six.
It was a small adjustment on the surface. But small adjustments were how he had gotten this far in every part of his life.
Catching the details other people missed. Acting on them before they became problems instead of after.
He thought about what Phase 2 would actually mean once it happened. Accelerated healing beyond what he already had.
The beginning of limb regeneration capability.
A body that could take damage and come back from it faster than anything human should be able to. It was a significant step. Not the biggest one on the roadmap, but not a small one either.
"FSIS," Peter said. "Anything else changed since this morning?"
"No further updates at this time. All other systems remain within expected parameters."
Peter closed the displays one by one.
The lab went quiet again, just the hum of the servers and the faint blue light from the medical facility through the far wall.
Five days now. He had already run every scenario for six.
Tonight he would run them again for five, adjust what needed adjusting, and make sure nothing about the new timeline caught him off guard.
He left the lab and stepped back toward the exit point that would return him to his bedroom, one real second passing no matter how long he stayed.
MJ and Gwen would be waiting at the warehouse soon, and there was still work to do before Phase 2 changed everything again.
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