Marvel: Quest System

The next day after splitting up with Peter, I try to look for a gym to go to. I have no idea how to. I guess I'll just have to find one the old-fashioned way since it's like 2011 and Google Maps isn't even working.

I walk down the streets of Queens, scanning every gym I pass with the most critical eye possible. If I'm gonna survive in this world with superhumans popping up left and right, I'll need a place to train. A proper gym. Somewhere with good equipment, a solid training program, and, preferably, a membership price that won't make me want to sell a kidney.

The first gym I found is one of those influencer-heavy places, the kind where half the people are filming thirst traps on TikTok, and the other half are flexing in the mirror. Some guy is literally recording himself taking a sip of his pre-workout while nodding intensely at the camera. Wait is that daddy Noel Deyzel???

Yeah. No. I step back outside. Okay, next.

The next gym I went to was... Oh damn. Planet Fitness. I can hear the lunk alarm going off in the background. At the entrance, they're giving out free donuts. At a gym??? Yoink! Free is free. (a/n for those who don't know Planet Fitness is just horrible. Go watch the sunnyV2 video about it on YouTube or something)

Munching on my jelly-filled donut, I move on to my next location. 

Finally, I found a smaller, more low-key gym a few blocks away. It's got a decent weight section, a boxing ring, and most importantly, no one filming thirst traps in the squat rack. The guy at the front desk looks normal, the equipment isn't rusted over, and the membership price doesn't make me want to cry.

I pulled out my phone and was about to text Peter about the gym when he texted me first. Hmm? What is this?

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"Park3r": Sooo… please don't freak out.

Me: Great way to start a convo...😒

Park3r: Okay, okay! So… I may have, um, told my friend about your whole system thing.

Me: You WHAT.

Park3r: Look, Ned's my best friend! He was asking why I suddenly cared about training and why I was mumbling about stats, and I panicked!

Me: SO YOU JUST DROPPED MY BIGGEST SECRET LIKE IT WAS NOTHING??

Park3r: I'M SORRY, OKAY??

Me: Oh my god, I'm gonna die. Shield is gonna kidnap me and dissect me like a frog. This is it. My villain origin story. What if they're like, hacked into this convo right now????

Park3r: What even is "Shield"? Some kind of FBI unit? It's fine! Ned's cool, he won't tell anyone. Right, Ned?

???: Hello mysterious system guy. I am Ned. I come in peace.

Me: …Pete. WHY IS HE IN THIS CHAT.

Park3r: I panicked again.

Hackerman69: Dude, you have VIDEO GAME POWERS. Peter told me about the blue screens and the stat boosts and the party system—THIS IS INSANE. Are you a mutant? An alien? A chosen one?

Me: I'm a guy who is now considering going off the grid. And mutants??? are they even real? (a/n no Xmen in the MCU but mutants could be real knowing Quicksilver exists)

Hackerman69: NOOO don't do that, you have a responsibility to use your powers for good! Also, you don't know??? It's like a myth that there are some people with superpowers and mutations called mutants, but nobody actually knows...

Me: I have a responsibility to NOT be abducted by the government. 

Park3r: Ned, you're not helping.

Hackerman69: I'm just saying. You could be like… a secret RPG superhero. That's awesome.

Me: It would be if certain people didn't have loose lips.

Park3r: I SAID I'M SORRY.

Hackerman69: So can I join the party too?

Me: You wanna fight giant alien monsters?

Hackerman69: Nevermind.

Me: Oh right, Pete, I got a gym to start training at. Here's the address. 179-24 Union Tpke, Fresh Meadows, NY 11366, United States. (a/n real gym in Queens it's called YE Training. Prob teaches how to be antisemitic or something)

Pak3r: Alr, what time?

Hackerman69: Can I come too???

Me: Sure.

Me: Come every day starting tomorrow at 4 pm.

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The next day...

I arrive at the gym a little early, mostly because I have no idea how this place operates. I check in at the front desk, where the guy barely glances up from his phone before waving me in. Okay, cool, low supervision. I like that. Less chance of being yelled at for improper form.

I look around. The gym has that gritty, no-nonsense vibe—scuffed rubber flooring, the faint smell of sweat and metal, and a constant low hum of weights clanking against racks. Overhead fluorescent lights cast a slightly harsh glow, making every drop of effort-induced perspiration glisten like a badge of honour. The weight section is packed with old but well-maintained equipment, free weights stacked against the walls, and a few serious-looking guys lifting like their lives depend on it. A boxing ring sits in the corner, ropes worn but sturdy, while a row of punching bags hangs nearby, some already bearing the battle scars of past training sessions. There's no fancy branding, no influencer traps—just hard work, discipline, and maybe a little bit of suffering. Perfect.

Peter and Ned show up not long after, both looking wildly out of place. Peter's dressed like he's about to go for a casual jog, and Ned… well, Ned looks like he's about to attend yoga classes with a bunch of 40-year-old moms. 

"Dude," Ned says as soon as he steps inside, eyes darting around like he just entered a warzone. "This place smells like sweat and regret."

"Yeah, that's called hard work, Ned." I clap him on the back before turning to Peter. "You ready?"

"no idea..." Peter whimpered.

Suddenly, from behind us, we could hear obnoxious laughter echoing through the gym. "Look who's here! Penis Parker and his personal cheerleading squad?" the voice mocked.

"oh my fucking god..." I sigh, knowing who that laughter belonged to. "my heads starting to hurt already..."

Through the entrance, we saw goddamn Flash Thompson enter the gym. "What are y'all nerds doing here? Tryna get ripped for your next league tournament?" He mocks.

Peter and Ned are suddenly looking all down and depressed as if they lost all motivation. I guess this is what happens when they're bullied by that guy for their whole high school careers...

"nice one flash." I deadpan. "you wanna be reminded of what happened last time you tried to bully Peter? And I didn't expect you of all people to go to the gym. I mean, look at you."

His face got all red again. But before saying something back, he calmed down, probably remembering how I knocked him out yesterday. "fuck off. You're not the one I have problems with, Alex. Parker! Your puny ass has been ignoring me ever since your lil bodyguard over there" he glares at me "Defended your ass! I know without him you ain't nothing but a puny lil nerd! Now you're trying to start training? Ha. No chance. No matter how hard you train, you won't be able to fill the shoes of your dead parents." Flash scoffed.

It felt like something snapped at the last insult. Peter flinched and gritted his teeth, his eyes betraying a flurry of emotions, fear, anger, and something else, something stronger. Unexpectedly, Peter looked up with a determined look and stated to him in a low voice. "Listen here, Eugene. I'm tired of being so weak. When I saw Alex fight, it hit me. This is what I want. I want to be like him. I'm done being weak. I'm sure as hell serious about this, and I'm going to get stronger so that I can kick your ass straight into the pavement."

Flash looked as red as a tomato, but I could also sense a little shock on his face. "Who do you think you are to fucking talk to me like that, Penis Parker!?! I'm gonna fucking kill you. Cmon! If you're serious about getting stronger, fight me! Get in the ring! Right now! C'mon pussy!"

"Fine." Peter snapped. "Let's see if your fatass can take me."

Ned looked at me worriedly. I was going to intervene, but something told me I shouldn't. This is like Peter's cannon event, where this is the event that raises his confidence, or at least becomes his motivation if he loses. 

The two walk over to the ring in the corner of the gym, put on some gloves, and get in.

(a/n instead of 50 powerstones for bonus chapter, I'm thinking 20 instead. every 20 powerstones, bonus chapter.)