You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?

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Wednesday, September 3, 20XX

Greenwich Hospital, New York City, NY

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Marcus Trent Tanner tried and failed to open his eyes.

It wasn't his fault, really. Between the blinding fluorescent lights, his headache, and the burning sensation that crawled across seemingly every inch of his skin, he'd be hard-pressed to twitch a toe, much less do anything more. He groaned, barely noticing a steady beep... beep... beep... in the background, getting slightly faster as he started to stir.

He didn't know what it was yet. He didn't know much of anything in the moment. Just pain, and exhaustion, and his name. He shifted slightly, and winced. Bad move. His skin screamed like he'd had a close encounter with a belt sander. Very close, and very thorough.

Beep. Beep. Beep. It was getting faster. And louder? Or was he just listening to it more?

There were other sounds, other sensations, too. Something dripping steadily, slower than the beep. Some kind of deeper, penetrating pain in his right hand. Something cold flowing from that pain. He felt it all. He felt too much. Beep. Beep. Beep.

The sheets felt like sandpaper, the room smelled like a morgue. Too clean, too sterile. He writhed.

BeepBeepBeep.

He felt someone else enter before he heard them. He felt them move toward him. He felt something else enter his skin, his blood, his veins--

Beepbeepbeep beep beep beep... beep... beep...

...He felt nothing.

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September 5th

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Marcus resisted the urge to rub at his nose. He'd just had the tube extracted- an NG tube, they called it- a couple of hours ago, and he still felt raw, in his throat in particular. He tried to ignore the sensation as he let the doctor do his business.

He felt sorry for the staff. Marcus was only one of many people they were trying to keep alive.

They were referring to it as simply, "The Incident." Real original, though he couldn't come up with anything better. He remembered enough of it that he didn't want to remember more. A normal Monday, a normal school day, and then a rumble. Then some creepy red gas that made him feel like he'd been pepper sprayed.

Within hours he was puking blood.

And now he was here.

The doctor sighed, shaking his head slightly. Marcus felt it, more than saw it. His senses were doing backflips ever since he woke up. He decided he was just gonna roll with it. He was better off than most. Hundreds had gotten sick. Most of those had died. The rest were spending their days like he was now, wishing they were dead. Doctors came and went, running like they were on fire, for every little thing that might turn into an emergency. Not just doctors, either. Men with masks, or even hazmat suits, if they were paranoid. Cops, suits, men-in-black, who knows, asking questions, expecting answers.

I wish I had more answers to give.

The doctor turned to address him. He seemed confused. Said something about how much better he was doing. Like he was surprised. Marcus was surprised, too. He didn't feel better. But then, he wasn't a doctor.

Said doctor said a few more things. Marcus gave a few more token responses, and the doctor left. Marcus didn't really notice. Or care. He was staring. Staring at his hands, like he could see through his skin. See down to the veins and bones and arteries, and see the squirming and writhing that he could feel just underneath the surface.

He didn't feel fine. He felt different. He felt strange.

But most of all, he felt worried. Worried that the ones he loved were feeling the exact same thing, or worse, that they weren't feeling anything at all anymore.

How far did this thing spread? ...Hector. Scott. Even... even Dad... I hope you guys are all right...

He fell back against his pillows, resisted the urge to claw at his sensitivities again, and tried and failed to get his mind off of everything and sleep.

He was far from the only one in the hospital who would do so.

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September 7th

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He'd been allowed to come home yesterday. No infection. No lingering issues. Aside from the fact that he apparently left the hospital healthier than before he'd been affected. He'd apparently even gained muscle mass, of all things. His doctor had been baffled, but too relieved that he hadn't been another corpse. He'd left the hospital without much incident after that.

Hector had met him at the door of their apartment. They'd almost bowled each other over in their enthusiasm. Hector had cried as he kissed him. Marcus cried, too. He was okay. They were both okay.

He'd called Scott as soon as he could get a charge on his phone. Scott was also alive, thankfully. But he'd sounded... strange. Distracted. Worried.

"I need to talk to you." That was all he'd said. And instead of talking, he'd just told him he'd be over. Marcus had sent Hector on an errand. Scott didn't want anyone else eavesdropping on this, apparently, which meant it must be serious. Since they'd started dating, Scott had always made sure to include Hector with everything. And he did mean, everything.

So whatever this was, it was serious.

So he sat. And waited. A glass of tea cooling on his coffee table, untouched. And a headache that he'd had since the hospital still refusing to leave his skull.

He had a feeling this visit wasn't going to help in the slightest.

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^{My name is Scott Yi. One day, I was bitten by a radioactive spider, at least I think so? And for the past two years or so, I’ve been the world’s one and only super hero, Strand. New York’s my home, and I’d like to think it’s safer because of me. The fact that I can ‘see’ danger coming an almost literal mile away doesn’t hurt. And you may have heard the rest, if you’ve got your ear to the wind.
So, there I was, a pretty full plate, all things considered, with family, school, knocking mugger’s heads, and trying to not do too well in wrestling. While I felt like I was doing the right thing, it was pretty lonely. I couldn’t tell anyone about it- both because I didn’t want anyone worrying (like, how can you explain that you know where a stray bullet’s going to come and go for like, a minute in advance some times?) and, well, who knows if some mob boss might get some ideas. There were times I thought about hanging up the suit, but, well, there are people that need what I do. So I keep swinging. In more ways than one.
But recently, there’s been a bit of a wrinkle. Someone released some sort of gas at ESU. I was there, and thankfully, I didn’t get the worst of it. But that doesn’t mean I don’t feel bad for the people who did, and their families. Now there’s a slew of signals I can’t quite place, and, well, now I feel like, at least in some small way, this might be my fault. So, before I can find who did this, I need to know where these signals are coming from, and what happened to the other survivors.}

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Scott was half holding his breath as he walked up the steps towards Marcus’s place. Every step saw him shuffling his thoughts over and over. The moments that could have possibly lead up to the gas being released on ESU grounds playing and replaying in his mind. Interspersed between his thoughts were intense flashes of... something. They weren't really images, more like some odd sensation that he wasn't even going to begin to describe, like some sort of web. Along with this, a dull version of the feeling he got when danger was around, only... not threatening. This had only been happening since the gas was released. Had it messed with his powers somehow?

Before he even realized what he was doing, he was standing in front of the door to Marcus’s apartment. As he came back to his sense, he realized that he didn't remember when he had stopped walking. Had he been there for a few seconds? Five minutes? Thirty-five? He couldn't. A slow breath was let out, before drawing another back in. Pap pap pap, his knuckles rung against the door. As he drew his hand back, Scott sensed, more than saw or felt, the tension of a thin thread in his hands. Scott stared in a bit of confusion, continuing to grip the intangible thread.

There was barely a pause before a voice rang out from inside the apartment, ”Be right there!”

Some rummaging sounded, along with some clinking noises for a second or two, before the door opened, revealing a haggard-looking and slightly ruffled Marcus. As his eyes locked on to Scott, his expression went quizzical, as his gaze drifted to Scott's outstretched hand. Despite how exhausted he looked, he smiled warmly, stepping forward and giving Scott a big hug.
”Thank God you’re alright. When those bombs went off, the whole time in the hospital, I was worried… uhh, never mind, come in.”
"Dude, I... are you okay? I mean, I know you're not, that's why I came by... sorta," Scott began, before trailing off.

He turned and walked back into the modest living room, a pair of mismatched glasses sitting on the coffee table; one in front of the couch, the other closer to the chair in the corner. Both were empty. Marcus looked at the glasses, then to Scott.

”I, uh… did you want anything? I left ‘em empty, ‘cause I didn’t know what you wanted. If you wanted anything. I’ve got water, milk… some cold brew. Maybe. If… y’know,” rather than continue to ramble, Marcus decided to walk over to the chair, but didn’t sit down just yet.
He cleared his throat, ”You… you said you needed to talk to me.”

Scott allowed Marcus his nervous rambling. Sometimes people just needed to let it out. He put a hand on Marcus’s shoulder, making eye-contact for a firm moment. He meant to tell him it was okay. He should have said that. But the words didn’t come. Probably because it was technically a lie. Scott felt a wash of fibrous sensations which seemed to crackle and resolve, consolidating the threads he saw, and bringing them firmly against Marcus. His eyebrow quirked for half a second, before he let out a deep, steadying breath.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I didn’t get sick like anyone else did. Which… is kind of exactly what I wanted to talk about,” Scott moved to a seat, and gestured to another nearby, “I really think you should sit for this.”

Marcus paused for a moment, before nodding slightly. ”Yeah. Okay.”

He sat, unnerved by how serious Scott was acting. And whatever weird buzzing was currently humming in his head periodically. Whatever, he could ignore it.

”So… talk. What did you need to say?”

“So, I wasn’t affected by… whatever that stuff was, because I...” his voice lowered a touch, “already have super-powers; and now I think you have super powers too. And they’re basically mine.”

”...”

Whatever Marcus had been expecting, it wasn’t this, clearly. He blinked, his expression becoming one of mild concern as he stood back up.

”Uhh… Scott. Mate. I get that this whole thing has been troubling an’ all, but… you sure you’re feeling okay? Maybe we should see a doc, just in case?”

“Okay, you’re taking this better than I thought… I mean, all things considered. But I’m… well. I’m not fine, per se. Some things are bothering me, a lot to do with, well, what happened. And what’s going on now. It’s complicated, and I know- I know I should have told you before, but things are… complicated now. More than they were.”

”I mean, a chemical attack on a university would shake anyone up, but… come on, Scott. You’re not serious? Superpowers… they’re not real, are they? This isn’t…” it was getting hard to concentrate on his words, with the periodic buzzing pressure in his skull. Fucking sickness must’ve taken more out of me than I thought.

Scott figured that since Marcus was doubting him, but not panicking, than for as well as he knew him, he may as well drop it like a palette of wet bricks, “I’m Strand.”

”...”
Once again, Marcus was at a loss for words. Strand? The Strand? That vigilante that the Bugle harped on about every so often?
”You… huh…?”

Scott simply nodded, reaching into his pocket and producing the bandana-mask he wore as Strand, holding it out in an open palm. Marcus stared, shocked for a moment, before turning it into a skeptical frown.
”Prove it. Do… something Strand-like.” He pointed at a particularly blank wall in the living room.

”Climb up the wall.”

Well, it's not like he hadn't expected to have to show something off. With what could only be described as a preternatural grace, Scott back-flipped over the chair on which he sat, and sprang onto the wall, in the process removing his shoes. His fingers pressed firmly against it, holding him there by some incredible method. Instead of turning around to face Marcus, he shuffled about to be facing down the wall, and leaned his head what would normally be back, so at least his eye level wasn’t up-side-down.

Marcus was glad that he hadn’t been holding anything. He’d have dropped it. And it would probably be something fragile, given his luck.
It took him about a minute to find his voice, ”...Alright. You… have my attention, but… but this still doesn’t make any sense. What makes you think I got powers at all? Much less… yours?”

“Catch,” Scott prompted, before flinging his phone at Marcus in a fluid motion.

Marcus started to flinch as the phone rocketed toward him, before the strangest sort of reflex kicked in. Time went… liquid, somehow. Thicker. Slower. The phone went from baseball pitch to lazy drift through the air in a heartbeat. In a second heartbeat, Marcus found himself reaching out, plucking the phone out of the air as easily as he’d pick up a jar of pickles out of the fridge.

And then time went back to normal, and Marcus blinked, almost losing his grip on the phone in shock. What…

”...the HELL WAS THAT??” he exclaimed, standing bolt upright.

Scott removed himself from the wall, which involved him rolling down and planting his feet on the ground before letting go, then unwinding his arms like a gymnast. Even without the amazing wall crawling powers, it would have been an impressive display of bodily control.

“That, my friend, is my real super-power. Also, it’s how I can tell you have the same power to begin with. ”

Marcus stared at Scott in shock, feeling his eye twitch start to come on. And now that he mentioned it, the buzzing still hadn’t stopped. And it felt… strangely familiar. And similar to how time went liquid before, at the same time? Which was weird, that it could feel like so many things at once, but… there it was. He walked over, slightly shaky, handing Scott back his phone, still trying to keep things straight as his head continued to buzz and pulse periodically.

”This… this isn’t… this doesn’t—”

And then, suddenly, a connection was made. Marcus paled.

”The university. The gas, the attack. Th-they… you don’t think…?” He left his sentence trailing, hoping his friend wouldn’t pick up the thread he’d left lingering.

“That’s the other thing we need to talk about. There are more of us now. I can feel them, like how you felt the phone coming. You can probably feel them too. It’s like… you ever get a directional headache? Well, it’s like that, but like, a pull, like some sort of string in the air. Except...” Scott's cleared his throat, returning to his seat and picking up an empty cup casually, more as an attempt to calm Marcus's nerves than anything, "I don't think I can find them alone. I was only able to tell you had powers after I got close. It's... I don't know how to explain it. I know they're out there, but..."

Marcus thinks to himself for a moment. He understood the directional headache part. The reaction, the warning. But… a pull? Threads?

”I kinda get what you’re saying, but… I don’t think mine is working quite the same way as yours. Mine is kinda… spotty, I guess? I don’t see any threads, or feel any pulls. Except when you threw that phone, but that was more just, like, some kind of alarm. A warning- something’s gonna hurt you, from this direction. Nothing more.”

“Okay, so… maybe your… that-power is weaker than mine, which means maybe your wall-crawling is stronger? Yeah, I don’t have a name for that feeling. I never had to talk to anyone else about it, so I never felt the need,” Scott admitted, "But hey, maybe that's a blessing in disguise? Like, if mine's like an observatory, maybe yours is more like... a scalpel? You know, smaller, but more accurate."

"So, you want me to... cut people?"
"You know that's not what I meant," Scott replied with a slight laugh in his voice.
"You could have at least said 'magnifying glass' or something. Made it sound less threatening."
Another laugh, but with less mirth as Scott shifted in his seat, "Yeah, I know..."

Pocketing his phone, as well as the mask, Scott leaned forward against the table. It was only then that it became obvious how tired he was. Not only to Marcus, but to himself. Scott felt the wave of exhaustion come over him like crumbling debris, allowing his face to sink into his hands as Marcus took the time to process what was going on. It was like saying it all out loud made him feel how crushingly real it all was.

“Yeah, they got a sample. Of me, Marcus. I don’t know how, or when… but, like, since I was there? It seems it was very, very deliberate.”

Marcus’ heart fell at Scott’s current despair, though it was understandable; he’d feel pretty trashy too, if a terrorist had gotten a hold of his DNA. But, then…

”Now… now we don’t know for sure, that they got some of… you. Maybe they had it from before. Like, when you got your powers. Which, speaking of, how did you get your powers, anyway?”

“I’m going to be real with you, I don’t have a clue. I felt some kind of sting on my hand, went to sleep thinking I was going to puke to death. Then I woke up on the wall, and I could like, tell where anything was coming from, where it could go, and where not to be. Still feels like a dream some times.”

Shit. There went that lead. Marcus turned and sat back down in his chair, suddenly exhausted, ”So. What now? What do we do with…” he gestured between the two of them, ”...This?”

“Find the others?” he offered, sounding rather exhausted, “Make sure they’re not doing anything stupid? I mean, I know this isn’t my fault, but I kinda feel a little responsible for, well, them. Like, I already know you. You’re not going to try and like, rob banks or anything. Other people? I’m not so sure. That’s sort of why I do the whole, you know, Strand thing.”

Marcus nodded, ”Makes sense, I guess. It is what you do. Just… be careful, okay? These people have powers, like you— er, us now. If they don’t want to be convinced… might be better to stand down for now?”

“Catch more flies, er- spiders, with honey than the big-house,” Scott replied, “But yeah, I get what you mean. But if I get close enough, I’ll have to take the shot before something goes bad… Also, please, don’t worry about me doing my thing now. Even if you’re faster than me now, somehow, I don’t think you could land a hit on me if you tried. Probably the same with anyone else with powers like ours.”

Marcus still didn’t look convinced, but he really didn’t have it in him to argue, ”If you’re sure. Still, just be careful. Even if you’re already careful, just… be more careful. With all the shit we’ve gone through already, there’s no telling what else is out there waiting for us. For you.

“...I don’t want to lose you.”

“Yeah, I… I’m sorry that I didn’t get to you sooner. I just… I could feel a lot of what was going down.”

”N-no, I get it. You’ve had a lot to deal with. Based on how things work with you, and your…” he raised a finger to his temple and tapped on it- he still didn’t have a word for the buzzing, yet- he’d have to brainstorm, ”Anyway, you’re welcome to stay for a bit, if you want. Hector should be back in a little while. We could all go get a bite to eat, or something.”

“Yeah, that sounds… honestly, I need a break,” Scott remarked.

Deleted for review

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September 7th

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Caty and her brother Danny decided it would be best to head back home to be with their mom instead of their off-campus dorms after they got released from the hospital. She needed them and they really needed her now that their dad was gone. But for Caty being home reminded her too much of her dad and thinking about him made her remember "The Incident". Ugh. She hated how the media just simply dubbed it that. It just felt like they were making just a blip of an event like someone or some people out there didn’t plan to massacre a lot of people.

Her first night at home to say the least was terrible. She hadn't dreamt of anything the entire time she was in the hospital. It seemed her mind was just getting ready for the big one, because all she could dream about was the attack on ESU. She heard the deafening screams, saw people vomiting up blood and collapsing. She could feel the pain that she felt. The fear, the worry for Danny, and her… Before she could turn to see her dad in her nightmare she jolted awake. It was morning and the sun cast shadows of light through her blinds.

Caty groggily opened her eyes and saw four giant ass eyes staring curiously right back at her. She focused more on the rest of the creature and saw that it was a metallic blue jumping spider. Normally she wouldn't have been afraid of spiders. That was her friend Reyna's department. But for one to be right in front of your face the moment you awaken from a nightmare? Oh you bet she freaked.

Caty let out a shriek and jumped from her bed planning just to land on the floor but instead she came hurtling towards her right wall. Oh crap. She stuck out her arms hoping to push off the wall, but instead she clung to it? "What the hell is going on?" She was able to free one hand and used it to turn herself around to search for the spider. That still being her priority and not the fact that she was clinging to a wall. She spotted the spider directly across from her on the left wall of her room. It was dangling half its body just like she was. Was it mimicking her? Could spiders even do that?

Caty decided to do a little experiment of spider see spider do to test her theory. She swayed her head as if she were a snake charmer grooving to their own music. The spider in perfect sync moved its head right along with her. It wasn't mimicking her. Somehow they were linked? Was that how she was able to jump so far and cling to the wall? What else could she do? Anything a spider could?

"Danny!! Get in here please!!" Danny had to see this. Was this a result of the red gas? And if so did he have powers as well?

Danny’s first night back from the hospital was awful. Apparently, they had deemed him and Caty healthy enough to return home, but Danny still felt awful. He felt dizzy, and nauseous. As if he were feeling the earth move beneath his feet. As soon as he got home, he crashed into bed right away. He didn’t have a particularly restful nights sleep either. He spent it having a horrible nightmare of the “incident” as they called it. He tossed and turned in bed all night.

He awoke with a start the next morning. Out of breath, and sweaty. He groggily reached for his glasses, and put them on, only for his vision to be blurry. “That’s weird…” He took his glasses off, and his vision was perfectly clear. “Hm, interesting…” His vision had improved overnight. Danny was too tired to actually address that. Instead, he set his glasses on the nightstand, and jumped out of bed. He took off his sweaty shirt to change into something dry. Then, he got a look at himself in the mirror, he was shocked by what he saw. “No way!” Apparently, in addition to his vision improving, he had gained muscle mass overnight. He had abs now! And he had defined arms too! Danny spent a few minutes flexing in front of the mirror. Until he heard his twin sister calling.

Danny immediately ran over to her room to see what the fuss was about, but also show off what happened to him. “Caty! What happened?! Did something weird happen to you too? I apparently got hot overnight…”

Wall-crawling Caty turned to see her twin as he entered her room. The first thing she noticed was that he wasn't wearing his glasses and she wasn't exactly sure but he also seemed taller. And were those muscles? It seemed Danny had blossomed overnight.

"Uh… hello." She said waving her free hanging arm out and about so that he could see that something weird did indeed happen to her and stopped once she got his attention. "I'm sticking to a wall. But that's not the freakiest part. Look." She pointed her finger to the wall across from her at her new spider friend. If Danny looked he'd be able to see the spider pointing back at her. "Now wave to my brother, Danny." She repeated the motion for a wave and pointed to her brother watching as the spider waved one of its forelegs right at Danny.

Danny’s eyes went wide as Caty demonstrated her newfound abilities. Fascinating! You seemed to have gotten superpowers, and I got abs.” Then he rubbed his chin for a second. “Hm, I wonder…” Then he pressed both his hands to the wall, and tried to climb up. Much to his surprise, his hands stuck, and it worked. He made his way to the ceiling. Then, he waved an arm to see if the spider would respond to him as well, but there was no response. “So, I can climb up walls too, but the spider seems connected to you specifically… This… couldn’t possibly have anything to do with… um… well… you know…”

When Danny discovered he too had the ability to climb walls, but not the ability to control spiders she realized her abilities didn't come directly from that spider. But two spider people and she did hear about a spider-like vigilante recently. But she had never seen him so she didn't think much about him until now. Could he have something to do with this?

Caty frowned at what both she and Danny were thinking. These powers came from the red gas during "The Incident". Great. They gained powers, but they lost their dad. Some twisted kind of alchemic exchange. She'd give her powers away in a heartbeat if it would bring her dad back. Caty sighed and climbed back down the wall to the floor. Her new spider friend followed suit and crawled over to her before going up her body until it reached her hand. She didn't tell it to do that but it seemed as if the spider was reacting to her feelings. Maybe it sensed she was in distress during her nightmare. "You know what they say about coincidences, Danny. The universe is rarely so lazy. That attack wasn't just an attack. I think it was meant to give people powers and I don't think we're the only ones that got them. Though I'm not sure if they're all spider-like or not."

Danny lingered on the ceiling for a little while. “What reason could anyone have to give other people powers?” He paused for a moment and shook his head. “Well, that’s a thought for another day. You know what this means don’t you? We’re scientists. We have to experiment. What we can do, the limits of our abilities, etcetera…” Danny was excited at the prospect of having superpowers, like the characters he read about in comic books. Although, he didn’t like having to lose his dad. That wasn’t fair.

At which point, Danny’s stomach growled loudly, and only then did Danny come down from the ceiling. “After breakfast though. I’m suddenly really hungry. Oh, but uh… maybe we shouldn’t tell mom about this? Not yet. Not until we have a better handle on this. She’s been through a lot.”

Caty wondered about Danny’s first question. She couldn't think of a reason to give a group of people powers while using the same stone to kill their friends and family. Did they have some kind of death wish of their own? She shook the thought out of her head for the time being and continued to listen to her brother.

The thought of experimenting just slightly lifted her spirits. Learning and doing any kind of experiment helped to lift her spirits. It's why she agreed to do the internship in the first place. Her spirit needed a lot of lifting.

"You're right. The last thing she needs to worry about is two super-powered teens putting themselves in danger." She walked over to Danny and wrapped her arm around his shoulders. "Now, let's go get that new body of yours some food."

---

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September 7th

Clara Cabello was on a roll.

Pick pocketing was a refined art. It took skill, patience, and a level head. And she was good at it. After years of practice, the nineteen year old thief could snatch dozens of wallets a day. AJ built a scanner off of blueprints from the internet that could get a person's credit card info right out of their pocket. She even figured out how to put a device on credit card swipers at various places of business and got their info anyway.

And that was before Clara got super powers.

Now things were too easy. Over the last month, Clara had been racking up the cash. People were getting paranoid but even wary folks couldn't stop Clara from making off with their money. She was as fast as a bullet, only slowing her hands down so she didn't accidentally break the sound barrier. That's what it felt like, anyway.

What was their amibition?

Clara, dressed in a black gym crop top, black leggings, and black and white sneakers, bounced eagerly down the street. Her bright orange hair, tied up into a ponytail, bounced behind. Complementing her warm brown skin. Alejandra Jonas followed warily behind, her gloved hands tucked into a baggy green overcoat. Over one of her shoulders was a heavy back pack.

"Clara-"

"Shhh!" Clara turned around, putting a finger to her lips, easily jogging backwards. It looked like she was going to back right into a stop sign but she moved aside without even looking. AJ winced.

"Okay, so-"

"Shhh!"

"..."

"Sh." Clara smiled, eyes bright. The orange sunglasses resting on her forehead seemed to smile with her.

"Hey, sorry. You can talk. Just no more AJ doubtin' and whinin'."

"What's that supposed to mean?" AJ asked, raising her pierced eyebrow.

"It means- it means shhh."

"Where are we going, Clara?" AJ asked, leaning forward.

"We're going somewhere cool, don't worry about it!" She responded, still jogging backwards.

"You didn't do anything stupid, did you?"

"Oh hey look at that, it's fuckin' AJ doubtin' and whinin', who woulda guessed. No, I didn't do something stupid. I did somethin' cool and funny."

"...'Cool and funny'?"

"Boom, stop right there." Clara came to a stop, striking something of a pose. They had taken a couple of turns and reached what looked like a heavy metal garage door. "Yeah, AJ, cool and funny. A surprise."

Clara reached inside her top and produced a key. She did a backflip, causing AJ to flinch. Clara landed prone on her back, flipped the key through her fingers and inserted it into a key slot a few inches off the ground. She twisted it, unlocking it, stuck her hand to the garage door and pushed it open with a flick of her wrist. She kipp-upped to her feet and held it open. AJ's mouth fell open. "Did you..?"

On the inside was a wooden desk, some chairs, a workbench and a carpet. A somewhat flickering light was attached to the ceiling. AJ glanced around, noticing some other doors that were quite a distance away, spread out, most of them in bad shape.

"Damn straight. AJ, you and me own this shit."

"H...how did you afford this?"

"Well, uh, I didn't, exactly. I got a loan." Clara shrugged.

"Clara! Why would you do this!? We're already so deep in debt and now we're even MORE in debt! You didn't even tell me first!"

"'Cause I knew you would react this way!" Clara said, smirking innocently.

AJ put her hands on her head, obviously distressed, horrified, even. "Now, wait, hold the fuck up. Lemme explain." Clara took a step closer and set a hand on AJ's shoulder.

"You gotta trust me on this one. This is good. With this, we'll be able to make even more money, even faster!"

"How!?"

"Because, you'll be able to do your techie stuff!" She pointed to the backpack over AJ's shoulder.

"Clara, I'm not-"

"Shut up, I'm not even gonna let you talk shit about yourself. I've seen the shit you've put together in a goddamn tent. You didn't even have a place to sit, or work, or keep things, except some shitty back pack." Clara gestured to the decent sized room around them, buzzing with air conditioning and lights.

"But with this underground certified, gen-u-ine quality black market little...spot thingy...you'll be able to do whatever you want! You'll be able to do that, uh, build that, those shooter things. Those blue prints you got. Think of what I can do with those!" Clara's eyes glittered with ambition and excitement. Her dark brown hair filtered into a dazzling red color.

"I can walk on walls and run super fast, and do this!" She pointed to her changing hair color, and shifted her focus onto making her skin tone entirely blue. Then back to her normal shade.

"But if I could grab shit from a distance, and use that sticky stuff to win fights-"

"That's risky." AJ cut her off.

"Fuck that!" Clara's eyes literally flashed crimson, a spike of anger shooting up her spine. "I'm so sick of you tryin' to hold us back, AJ. Seriously. Do you really think that Doctor Prick is just gonna let us go once we pay his debt? Yeah, right. He'll make stringin' us along priority numero uno." Clara turned away and hopped onto the walls, sitting on them halfway up.

"So, yeah, we could sit back, picking pockets and scraping shit off the bottom of people's shoes, and I could run around doing oddjobs for the rest of my life, and you could just sit in some shitty tent tinkering with toys. OR!" Clara opened her arms.

"We could make some crazy shit happen! The choice wasn't yours, it was mine. Now tomorrow I'm gonna go all out, hit a tech place, and bring back something for you to work with. And YOU'RE gonna build me some cool shit. Then we pay off our debt, and the world is our toaster."

"...Oyster." AJ corrected, hand on her forehead.

"Oyster, whatever." Clara chuckled, crossing her arms and leaning back. "Look, I'm sorry. But its like, every time I try to do some cool shit, or push you into doing somethin' cool, you always try to shoot it down. Well, that's not gonna fly anymore. We gotta start makin' plays. If we become powerful enough, that Doctor dick is gonna have to work for us. But I can't do it with just these powers. And you can't do anything with just scrap and a laptop. This...is your lab. Our hideout. Our secret base! So, what, we're in a little bit more in debt. But once you get really going, the gravy train has left the station!" Clara grinned.

"Choo choo." She added, pumping her arm like she was pulling down on a whistle.

AJ had crossed her arms, looking around the room. "Next time, you tell me before you make a purchase this big. Or take out another loan. We're in deep shit, now, thanks to you."

"Alright," Clara brought up her hands. "But I'm right. This time, I'm right. I'm sorry for not telling you, but you were sittin' on both our hands. We were makin', what, couple hundred bucks a day? Not nearly good enough. With those thingies you're gonna make." She gestured to her wrist.

"And, if you just let me go work on some more," she brought her hands up in exaggerated finger quotes, "dangerous missions." She slapped her thighs. "We're good to go. Paid back in no time flat, with more to spare. Then when Doc Shitheel tries to leverage us again, we, uh..." She shrugged. "I dunno. I'll beat him up or somethin'. Once we get a rep, people will let us get away with shit. No one's gonna wanna work for him and risk gettin' on our bad side once we're through." Clara's skin became spotted a bright, cheery yellow, and she leaned back on the wall. She laced her arms behind her head and crossed one leg over the other. Real casual like.

"That simple, huh?"

"Yup. That simple. AJ, you're a rookie at this kinda stuff. I get you're nervous. But this, is called...it's called...it's called being smart." She tapped the side of her head, her skin returning to it's default shade.

"You're an idiot." AJ laughed, pinching her own nose as she tried to wrap her mind around all this.

"I might be a dumbass..." Clara said, trailing off.

"...but?"

"But what?"

"...So, I need to get my adhesion projectors up and running real fast, huh?" AJ walked over to the table and ran her hands over it's smooth wooden surface. There was a rack with many pegs for her to set things on. So she did, resting her back pack on it with a dull thunk. Smiling a little, she scooted the metallic folding chair over and sat down on it.

"Gotta come up with a better name for 'em. I'll never remember that."

"It shouldn't take me too long to build them, if you can get me the supplies. I built a prototype a long time ago with some friends in summer camp." She smirked, her eyes somewhere else. "But it was bad. I've made purely hypothetical improvements on the design since then, but, I've never really had a chance to just sit down and work it out."

"Aaaaannd noooowww yoooouuu?" Clara egged.

"And now I do." AJ admitted. "But this was a terrible idea, and you're a terrible person."

Clara shrugged. "You'll see. I believe in you, dude!" Her hair turned the same shade as AJ's purple hat.

AJ furrowed her brow. "Is that on purpose?"

Clara brought her hand up to her hair. "Uh, yeah...yeah that's definitely on purpose. I'm totally in control of my colors." She lied.

"Anyway. I'm thinkin' of hittin' Hard Tech."

"It's Hardtcorp."

"I've been scoping the place out, it's not that hardcore."

AJ's eyes glazed over for a second, but she managed to refocus on her friend as she continued. "You put all your stuff in here. Go back to our tent at the Underpass. Tomorrow I head out, sneak inside, grab the stuff and get out. By dinner tomorrow you'll have a cheasure trest of loot to work with."

AJ nodded, looking unsure. She sighed. "I mean- are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure! I got this! I won't get caught. No way they planned for a spider person to break in. Besides, security is a myth made up by rich people so that poor people wouldn't figure out that all walls can be busted down and all locks can be broken. You'll see. I'm right. You're right a lot of the time, but this time, I'm right." Clara's skin flushed a confident gold, and AJ had no choice but to believe her.

Recluse Incident

---

Everything burned inside and out, her eyes continuously watering as she leaned over and harshly puked out what little contents her stomach contained. She repeatedly hacked and coughed violently, her body desperately trying to relieve the irritation that filled her mouth and throat while she felt like she was choking on the air itself. Her neck glands were swollen and ached as if she had been sick for days with an infection, making it that much more difficult to breathe normally in this current state. Her head was pounding, vision blurring as she glanced around, trying to figure out what had just happened to cause this sudden reaction. A red mist hung in the air, everyone around her was producing terrible screams, though it almost sounded more like a distant echo to her ears. They were all trying to get away, scurrying in a blind panic or stuck frozen, not out of fear but simply because they were in just as bad shape as she was.

Reyna had simply been on her way to work, eating breakfast on the go and working on tempting her co-worker over the phone to cover for her with the promise of a treat in return since she was sure at this point that she wasn’t going to make it in time. It was when she opened her mouth to take a bite of her pastry that her senses were assaulted as if she had gotten pepper spray directly to the face which led to where she was now. She wanted to claw at her skin to get rid of the unpleasant fire crawling in her veins like angry wasps and desperately rinse her mouth out repeatedly to remove the unwanted dust on her pallet which meant work suddenly was a hell no. Her body worked as if on a dazed autopilot as she found herself turning around, stumbling weakly in the opposite direction of where she had been headed and not even caring when she lost her shoes along the way.

All she wanted to do was go back home, to rest and not feel any of this constant pain anymore. Reyna’s eyes wavered on drifting close, her limbs screamed at her to stop as each step was like knives while wearing lead shoes but she pushed on, determinedly. The darkness at the edge of her vision was getting worse with each passing minute and she felt chills running down her spine as if a fever was setting in. If someone asked her how long she had walked, how long she had pushed herself to the limit, well...she couldn’t answer and frankly, didn’t know how she had managed it other than brute stubbornness against giving in. It was a miracle she made it to the shared apartment door or even remembered how keys fit into a door lock. She made her way inside, not even bothering to lock the door and had a flickering thought of if she had even shut it playing in her mind as she began to strip while wandering to the bathroom. She wanted out of these clothes that itched like wool and to get rid of that horrible burning against her skin so the shower was her first and only thought, any worry or shame taking a huge back seat. Obviously, it was a completely horrible plan, so many variables to easily go wrong but the most obvious were slipping or drowning. Sadly, her brain didn’t even register those thoughts upon turning on the faucet, sparking the shower head to life and stepping into the water. She found herself startled, the warm water had felt like a bucket of ice being poured on her, on top of the fact that the irritation to her skin had stayed even with scrubbing and after a few minutes of suffering did not solve her problem a damn bit. Little to her knowledge, the shower had done a bit of good at least for keeping her awake but it had not helped much with coordination as she slipped out of the tub and onto the floor while the shower still kept going.

She wanted to force herself up, to go get a pair of sweatpants and a long sleeve shirt before hopping under the covers to take a nap. Honestly, she couldn’t find the energy to do so and found herself groaning in pain as she rolled on her side, sleep taking her. Reyna awoke to a little paw tapping on her face, Jiji meowing at her. She groaned, her throat feeling like it was on fire and just wanting more rest but she wouldn’t ignore her baby’s needs for her comfort. She sat up slowly, shakily moving to stand and feeling miserable from lying who knew how long on the title bathroom floor. She shuffled to her room, gingerly pulling on a tank top and slipping into some boxer shorts before making her way to fill the cat feeders as Jiji rubbed happily against her feet. She couldn’t help the small smile on her face even with all the pain. It only took her leaning over to pet him to cause instant regret as she rushed to get to the kitchen sink, only to trip and puke all over her hand as well as the floor. Her nose scrunched, not really happy with the thought of having to clean that up when her eyes caught red. Chestnut eyes widened in horror, blood covering her hand and the surface of the floor in a large puddle. She shook in fear as raw panic gripped her, the vague memory of her mom and the times she had seen her cough up blood. It made her gut twist, the thought that she might be just as sick without realizing it. It wasn’t like she went to the doctor often. There was no way she could afford it and she was terrified of hospitals but she wasn’t dumb to ignore a sign like this. Reyna dragged her way over to her discarded dress pants, the coppery tinge of blood coating her mouth as she kept coughing up the substance while trying to grab her cell. The moment her hand latched onto the device, she quickly worked on calling a number she never knew she would need or would want to call for. Reyna wasn’t sure if Morgan was here or not, assuming not and the last thing she needed was a friend seeing something like this.

”9-1-1, what is your emergency?

”Help....coughing blood....”, she rasped out as her eyelids started to droop down once more. She vaguely thought she heard a reply but she was already long gone and into the land of dreams. She didn’t hear when the paramedics had arrived, didn’t feel when they had strapped her onto the gurney, or even flinch when they started hooking her up with IVs and checking her over.

New York City

---

She slowly opened her eyes even though they felt heavy and her vision equally unfocused. The blankets around her felt like sandpaper, too rough against her skin and everything around her was far too loud. The world around her felt sterile and far too clean to her senses. She wanted to speak but she felt like her mouth was full. Reyna blinked a few times, her hand weakly reaching up to her face and going into full blown panic as she tried to yank at the tube on her mouth. Alarms started going off, nurses rushing in to stop her and trying desperately to keep her calm but it was having the opposite effect as she was about ready to hyperventilate if it wasn’t happening already. Reyna tried to remember how she got there but instead, it was all a massive blank and could only sit frozen like a deer with a gun locked on it when she gazed at the tubes sticking out of her body. She had to face the cruel unbelievable fact that she was in a hospital. Hospitals meant death. They meant something was wrong. She shook in fear, letting the nurses do what they needed to as she stayed in shock. Once some of the tubes and equipment had been removed, the doctor started in on some tests while happily chatting about how wonderful it was that she had woken up. He explained how lucky she was to be alive, apparently a weird gas had affected a large number of people which had caused a good amount of deaths. It appeared that the ones alive were on lock down in various hospitals for their own safety and the safety of others though it wasn’t outright stated. The stories jolted some of her memories, everything still a bit shaky and she wasn’t in the best of shape still.

Reyna only resisted a bit, getting annoyed and scared over being picked or prodded at but ultimately let them continue. She was relieved when they left her alone once more, her sight instantly looking toward the window so she wasn’t looking at the sterile prison she had found herself in. She just wanted to be home. She wanted to cuddle Jiji and be out of this hell. It was just looping pain and a crawling feeling in her veins, not that she would tell them that. She sighed, turning her attention over the items that had been returned to her and pulled out her cell, preparing for some lecturing or worried call from Morgan at least since it had been days since any return home which was definitely not something Reyna ever did. She noticed a few calls from her work but was to find not much else which was extremely concerning but decided to listen in on the voicemails anyway before worrying over checking in. She sat quietly, the cascade of chocolate brown acting as a curtain while she listened, a twisted smile on her features before she laughed pitifully and tried holding back tears. Reyna found herself tossing the phone on the bed, eyes back on the view from her windows as silent tears fell from frustration, finally giving into the overwhelming amount of feelings she had experienced since waking. ”Of course on top of all this bull that I would lose my job. It’s like the nightmare that won’t end....”, she whispered to herself, turning on her side and curling into a tight ball, trying to block everything out. Reyna had never felt more alone in this moment.

---

Waltzing down the hallway, Adalbert was simply heading to his class. A successful man needed to be successful in school, so it was only ideal to ensure he wouldn't be late by arriving early. As he brought himself into the classroom, he simply picked the place he found most optimal; Setting his bag between his legs only to pull out his laptop and take a moment to browse his work.

The Sticky Hook™ design was nearly perfect. He tested it out, found a few kinks with the retraction that caused some close calls, but otherwise he was swinging around like a movie hero. He wasn't doing this in public, of course: This was a private project, in his own private work environment. He intended to keep it under wraps, maybe sell it off to gain a boost in approval from his father at some point, but for now it was his. And he'd have fun with it.

The silence in the class was deafening.

While he was successful and had a good future ahead of him, Adalbert never found much peace with his peers, or even his own father. Silent days, weeks even, seemed to be the norm. He wasn't exactly 'friends' with other students, or a 'son' to his own father. More like a pupil, a person to take over and push Rugard Hardt's fame a step above even the Osborn family.

It was depressing. All he was seeking was approval; To be told he was worthy of the CEO chair. But his father was more of a person for backhanded compliments and disregard, despite keeping great appearances in the public eye. And when the regular students eyed him, they saw him more born into success, not even knowing why he was there: Not realizing the burden of having such an expecting parent was perhaps something that made him not get along with others well; Even when he searched for companionship in some manner.

He shook off those thoughts, typing away at his laptop. He'd make his own fame, gain his own appreciation. He'd go above Hardtcorp, his father. Even Oscorp Industries. Fame would find its way to him, one way or another. He'd earn it by working for it; He wasn't one to keep his hands clean. He'd get as dirty and greasy as he had to in order to prove his genius. This little toy was just the beginning.



He felt a stir; Sort of like a momentary blackout. He had been staring at his computer, but when he snapped back he was staring upwards; Head resting on the wood behind his head. A whiff of the air gave off an impulse that something was wrong: Everything itched, ached. His nostrils were blazing, his throat was burning. He quickly stood up, panicked, letting out a horrid sneeze that shot blood straight from his nose and mouth forward onto the table in front of him.

"What--" He paused, feeling something in him; It wasn't just irritation, it felt like things ceasing to function. The blood got worse; His view started stirring red. His attempts at words were shut down by choking on his own blood, using the last of his strength as an attempt to scramble out of the class and into the hall. The time... The time! Someone had to be coming, right? They'd see him. Help him.

He felt like his heart stopped as he stepped out into the hall; Witnessing chaos around him. The screams barely pierced his plugged up ears, but the sight of people on the ground, running, panicking... Blood everywhere. Everyone was getting affected by this. A helplessness washed over him as he fell to his knees, forcing his view to the ground as more blood insisted on coming out. If he looked up, it'd make him choke. He couldn't stop; He felt the crimson coming down his cheeks from his eyes, and before he knew it...

He fell in the hall, slumping from his knees to full-on collapsed.

_{"Please... Help me..."}

---

---

God. Damn it.

Laying in his hospital bed, Adalbert was furious. A terrorist attack, on the university? What the hell was that about? It wasn't just some damn bomb; It was a chemical weapon. He could perfectly recall what had happened; The red in his view, the pain he felt. His brain replayed it over and over, hoping for answers. But all it did was make him angry, and more eager to get out of here.

His grip on the bed railings tightened as he grew frustrated, wanting out. He had work to do; Classes to take. If the University was shut down because of this, that'd be even worse. He needed to work, to improve. Not be weak in a bed. He already knew what was coming; The nurses had informed him he had a visitor coming up, who was just getting dressed to be allowed inside.

It'd be his dad. And that wasn't a good thing.

He dreaded seeing the curtains open; But he somehow dreaded the sight more than he expected. That wasn't his dad; It was one of his cronies. Dressed in black, with a mask over his face. He had a laptop in his hands, and as he approached, he spoke simply to the hospitalized playboy.

"Mister Hardt wished to speak with you, sir."

"Just put him on." Adalbert huffed, rolling his eyes. The laptop being placed in his lap, Adelbert found himself watching it open, only to see a webcam shot of his father on the screen. His look tried to fake concern, but the boy knew better; Glaring at him with contempt.

"Couldn't even visit me in person, dad?" Adalbert questioned, irritation audible.

"Son, you know the business world doesn't stop for one terrorist attack." Rugard Hardt commented from the screen, shuffling through papers and signing off things as he went along. He didn't even seem terribly invested in checking in; That would've stung more if Adalbert wasn't used to it already.

"Oh, I know. You have to find the best way to mark up the situation. What's it gonna be? Charity cause to families in need from the attack? Opening a building to use for temp classes? Kissing an infected baby on live television?" Adalbert knew he wasn't the concern: It was to drag the boy into something. Some sort of scheme. Nothing worthwhile.

"You must've learned something at this point, to make guesses like those." His father said, chuckle following. "I couldn't drop you out of your schooling; The temporary building was a good option. You'll be returning to classes right after you recover, won't you?"

This bastard... Adalbert kept his composure, exhaling from his nose.

"Of course. Just so I can eventually handle this company in a decent manner." Something felt off; Maybe it was the way the goon was staring, or the way his father spoke, but something else felt like it was going on here. "So where do I fit into your plot?" He questioned knowingly.

"Not anywhere particular, you can focus on your studies! Though I will make sure to be there when you are released; There is surely going to be a bit of publicity upon your release."

"So you can look like the caring father you never actually could be." Adalbert spat, and quite literally, he spat at the camera; Slamming the laptop shut and shoving it into the goon's arms with aggression. "Get the hell out of here, and tell my father I'll be informing the nurses to not allow any visitors." His command was strict, rude, to the point: Vile, even. The man simply left, taking the laptop with him.

In a small fit of anger, Adalbert slammed his fist down on the bed railing. While he didn't take notice of it, he had bent the railing somewhat with his strike. He decided to simply rest and recover; He'd deal with his dad's bullshit in time. He always had to deal with his dad's idiotic schemes for higher regard…

Would he ever escape that?

Collaboration

---

The blankets rustled as the single occupant rolled over with a soft moan, blinking against the sunlight that filtered in through the thin curtains. A hand shot out of the cocoon of warmth to snag the digital clock off her dresser which caused genuine surprise to light up on Reyna’s delicate features when she read the time. She was on verge of a mini panic attack at the thought of being this late to work or not calling in sick when reality hit her. ’Right, they fired me....shit, what do I do now? I have saved enough but it isn’t gonna last.’, was her thought on the matter, worrying about relying too much on Morgan and then having to pay her roommate back. She haphazardly placed the clock back into its position as she crawled out of the comfy bed, stretching as soon as she was on the edge and forcing herself to join the world even if it was tempting to just stay there for the rest of the day. She was never one to wallow in self pity though since one didn’t get out of problems by doing nothing.

A loud purr snagged her attention as Jiji slowly moved out from under the covers, obviously having been snuggling with her while she slept. He instantly hopped onto her lap, standing in his hind legs to place little paws on her shoulders with a light mewing. She hugged him gently with a light chuckle before picking him up to hold him close. He had been like this since she got home as if he feared he had been abandoned or maybe he realized she needed the extra love. Either way, she was happy to spoil the baby boy with snuggles and treats. She carefully readjusted Jiji, using one arm to hold him while the other one pulled open different drawers so she could get dressed. It was a simple task that she had perfected over their time together since when Jiji was little, putting him down when he was like this wasn’t an option. She could still feel the memory of him literally climbing up her body to meow in your face at the injustice.

She sat the black cat back onto the bed, fishing out some treats and placing them there to distract him while she pulled on a simple pair of faded jeans, a black tank top and a baggy red zip-up hoodie. Reyna snagged her laptop bag as she headed for the door, pausing only for a moment to call out to her roommate while sliding on her sneakers.”Hey Morgan! I’m heading out for breakfast since I don’t feel like cooking! I’ll try to snag you something good!”. That being said, she made her way out the door and debated on which location to stop at, having a few ideas that would work so she could eat as well as snag some free Wi-Fi to get some searching done. Life didn’t pause and she wasn’t going to let the weird days since the incident stop her from focusing on what she needed to do next.



The walk was short but refreshing, the trees slowly readying to change color and the fall air just chilly enough to be pleasant without being miserably cold. Reyna pushed open the glass door, the bell above it chiming as she entered the shop. She had passed by this place many times but had never really had the time to stop or would forget, already having stopped elsewhere and telling herself ‘Oh, I’ll do it next time’. She happily took her place in line, changing the position of her bag as she leaned and tried to get a look at the menu so she would be ready before getting to the counter. There was nothing worse than waiting in line behind someone that went over the whole menu at the counter. The only thing that could possibly be worse were the ones that insisted on making a million different changes and details for one cup of coffee. You don’t see people who drink tea doing that crap.

The line moved steadily, the place seemingly packed with people and causing a bit of worry in her gut. She really was hoping that she hadn’t walked this whole way, lugging around her laptop bag to have to turn right back around and head home. That would just be depressing. At least on the plus side, there were no tall ass people in front of her making the menu a bit easier to spot. She stepped up to the counter as she dug in her pocket for her wallet and simply stated,”Earl Grey tea and two breakfast sandwiches, please.”

The girl behind the cash register in an annoyingly preppy voice asked for her name which caused Reyna to reply quickly,”Reyna.”, while she handed over some bills and added in a ”Keep the change.” not wanting to deal with the girl longer than necessary. She also really didn’t want to be bothered with putting the change away. She shoved the wallet back into place, planning on moving out of the way of other customers when the girl spoke up again, “I’m sorry, miss. We only have one breakfast sandwich left. Is there anything else I can get you instead?”. Reyna sighed, frowning a bit as a pout pulled onto her lips since there was no way she wouldn’t be giving the sandwich to Morgan at this point. ”Just give me a blueberry muffin instead.” she replied in an exasperated tone, stepping away as the girl gave the same exit scripted line before addressing the next customer. She pulled the strap to her laptop bag in a more comfortable position and scanning over the sea of people, just trying to see if there was even an open spot. It appeared she really did have the most rotten luck today.



Reyna stood, playing with her phone only while she waited for her order which didn’t take very long to complete. She snagged all three items once her name was called, not even bothering to go into the main area as she made her way back out of the cafe with a bubble of disappointment at not getting to enjoy the atmosphere. She shuffled slowly through the crowds of people, feeling more dejected than she had upon entering the little cafe and bit her lip lightly. ’Seriously, how could this day get any worse?’. It was an unfortunately timed thought, as in that very same moment, she felt a large hand roughly grab hold of her wrist, yanking her sharply into a nearby alley way. The startling motion had everything in her hands spilling onto the sidewalk, any sound made muffled by the hand now covering her mouth and the presence of another person causing her to tense. She could feel instinct kick in, screaming at her to run, flee, that this was danger but it was too late. Reyna instantly felt her body slammed into the brick wall once she was dragged far enough from sight, the rough texture snagging against her clothes and scraping at her skin. She glared at her attacker, the asshole wearing a sickening grin as he pinned her. This dude was in for a serious awakening if he thought she was gonna be some damsel in distress, but she needed to be smart and wait for an opening to do as Xander had taught her.

“Hey there kitten, just hand over the bag and empty your pockets. No one has to get hurt but struggle and I can’t make any promises that my hand won’t slip.” he purred in her ear causing her noise to scrunch at the closeness as well as the foul scent of alcohol that clung to him. The hand helping pin her to the wall shifted ever so slightly so she could feel something sharp threatening her side. All rational thoughts left her, eyes widening in terror which left her shaking like a leaf at the feel of it so close to her, a feeling that she wouldn’t be able to ever forget. Reyna's breath caught in her throat, struggling as she went into a full blown panic attack and having trouble paying attention to the demand made of her. She could only focus on the blade, her mind continually dropping back into the past where that cold blade threatened her throat as she watched her father broken and bloody in a chair while her life was hanging in the balance over her father’s choices.

The low growl of irritation pulled her back to reality for a moment, the knife at her side now swiftly moving to point near her face and even though this would be a good point to do anything, literally anything at all….she felt like her limbs were made of stone and unable to follow command. “Didn’t you hear me?! Hand it over now before you try my patience. I’m giving you a chance here.” he hissed angrily. Reyna slowly moved the hand he allowed free to the shoulder that held her laptop, grabbing hold of the strap acting as if she was going to comply to the demand. She waited, letting him draw the weapon away just enough to not instantly cause her damage and gave a solid kick. Her attacker yelped, pulling back in pain and surprise at the sudden attack which she took full advantage of, ready to make a run for it but only made it a couple of steps when she felt the hood of her jacket being snagged. “You crazy bitch! You made a big mistake.” He cursed, now sounding extremely livid. Reyna struggled, her fingers shaking as she desperately tried to get the zipper down while she pushed herself forward to resist being closer to him. ”Let go of me!”, she cried out, not having felt this helpless in a long time. The grip on her hood swiftly switched to her hair with a yank to follow, causing her to fall backwards onto the ground and pulling a hiss of pain from her lips. Her head was forcefully tilted back to look up at the pathetic excuse for a man who had decided to rob and attack her, the hand holding the blade moving close to her neck to keep her silent and probably to fulfill the promised threat. It looked like he was about to speak again, a cruel smirk playing on his lips when suddenly all his movements stopped, his gaze shifting from her to look out at the entrance of the alley. She noticed the shock on his face, the sudden panic even though nothing had happened and wished she knew what on earth was going on.

When Adalbert decided to go for a walk after his time at the cafe, the last thing he had expected to hear was a cry from an alleyway. Even a simple walk couldn’t allow him to have a break, could it? Sure, one could ignore such a thing, but he wasn’t heartless enough to ignore something like this. He crept into the alley, eyeing the situation at hand: A girl was getting mugged, and that was, to Adal, enough of a reason to get involved most definitely. He hadn’t been noticed yet, so the question was what the hell would he do? If he just shouted, he’d probably get her throat slit. If he tried to bum rush, he might accidentally stab her. He needed to innovate.

Adalbert looked down at his hands, a moment of contemplation… He began bidding farewell to his short-term red liquidy friend, fingers tightening around the cup.



A cup soared past the girl, splattering upon contact with the thug's face. The knife dropped from his hand and he recoiled, screaming as the heat of the liquid burned his skin and got in his eyes. As he stumbled back, Adal came closer. As he approached the girl he began taking off his coat. "Hold this," He nonchalantly said, throwing it to her as he walked past.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?!" The thug growled, face red and burnt. He'd have blisters for sure, and he almost looked like he couldn't handle a little pain. Thankfully, Adalbert was more than equipped to retort. "Who do you think you are? Hm?" He questioned back, still approaching the thug with no hesitation. He warned the world; One thing gave him trouble today, and he'd lose it. And seeing some woman getting mugged in an alley? That was more than enough for him. "You can either get your ass gone, or stay long enough to regret it. What's your move?" Adal stopped walking, having put a good distance between the thug and the woman he had been harassing. This was a safe enough distance.

The thug didn't take the threat well, his hand quickly forming into a fist. "You little shit, you think you're tough?" He shouted, coming at the taller but scrawnier man with aggression. He'd snap him in half, teach him to play goddamn hero in this town. He threw a punch with his left hand, but found himself shocked as he met air. Adalbert had dodged to the right, and then landed a firm punch to his face, causing the thug to nearly topple over as the force of the punch broke his nose, causing blood to gush out of his nostrils. This caused momentary panic for the man, as he suddenly wasn't feeling like he could win anymore. He took a second to regain composure before waving a bloodied hand at Adalbert, making a plead. "Alright, alright! You win! I'll leave the bitch alone! Just take her and go!"

"Too late."

The thug soon found Adalbert’s foot booting him in the knee; Causing him to fall, catching himself by hitting his knee on the concrete after. Before he could get angrier, he had one last knee interaction: Adal’s knee straight into his face, causing him to fall backwards onto the ground, out cold. He turned, adjusting his tie before approaching the woman that had been harassed; Noting she was still petrified. Seeing the knife close to her, his instincts told him to kick it away, before trying to speak with her. "Miss? Are you alright?" He questioned, a hand reaching for her shoulder…

The second that her hair was free, the knife clanking to the ground, and the sounds of pained screams reaching her ears should have prompted her to move or at least gotten out of harm's way but she felt petrified. It was like she was in shut down mode or more accurately shock, watching but not fully seeing as she just followed the movements. She still felt tense, jittery, fear, physically sick and nervousness as too many senses were going off at once that it felt overwhelming. It was like her instincts were crying danger, flee, fight, and oddly, a tinge of familiarity which felt safe but she was completely confused by. Reyna noticed something get placed over her head, her hands slowly reaching up to pull it closer to her like a security blanket. The voice telling her to hold it made her look up, seeing a man around six feet tall, nicely dressed between casual and business, who was scowling. She could sense the anger but seeing as it wasn’t directed at her and was now defending her, it didn’t cause her to flinch or feel nervous even though she was still on edge.

The fight drifted away from her and she huddled herself smaller, as if trying to disappear. The coat felt nice, the body heat from her savior made it feel cozy and the scent was nice. It was like a little bubble of safety, taking her shocked self out of the equation of the surrounding. She was trying to calm herself down, taking a deep breath and ground herself. Reyna thought she was actually starting to make progress when she felt that strange tingle getting stronger and she tensed, fear striking her as she felt like someone was in her space. She lashed out like a frightened animal, her hand reaching out to grab the red silk of his tie using it like a leash to pull as her other hand gripped his upper arm. Normally, she would have seen it wasn’t the thug and she was in no danger. Normally, even if she was startled and couldn’t tell the difference, she would push or create space. Sadly, in that moment, the only word she thought of was ‘bite’ and that's exactly what she found herself doing. Reyna’s teeth were sunk into her hero’s neck just above the collar and she could feel the rush of blood against her tongue. It surprised her, not just because of the violent action she had taken but because it wasn’t the normal coppery tang that should have been expected, it was sweet and surprisingly good. She knew she should be concerned or godforbid stop, this not being normal in the slightest but it felt right.

Adalbert expected her to just run along, or maybe hug him out of fear at most, but this was a whole new level of unexpected. His guard was down, and he paid for it with her grabbing him up by his tie and pulling him in, causing a choked gasp to escape him as she latched onto one of his arms. His composure was broken when he felt her teeth dig into her skin, his reaction to the pain being gritted teeth as the fact she was choking him with his own tie made it hard to do any sort of yelling.

What the fuck was going on? At first he thought she was defenseless, but here she was trying to rip his throat out?! Who the fuck did that, self-defense or not?! God, he already felt dizzy from his blood leaking out, he wasn’t sure how much he could take. He needed to stop this.

He had now become her enemy for the sake of his own survival. His reaction to this bite coming in fast and brutal as an instinctual reaction to get her away and gain some distance from his threat. His hand swung from her left side, grabbing a fistful of her hair and yanking her backwards, blood gushing from his wound as the rough exit of her teeth tore it further but that was the last of his concerns with this woman he just defended revealing herself as a threat. After her teeth were clear, he shoved her back towards the wall and tried to use his now free right arm to cover his wound.

"What--" Adal tried to question this situation, but found something terribly wrong. It wasn't just the blood loss, he felt something wrong with his entire body, like a damn infection. He stumbled backwards, tripping over his own feet and slamming his back against a dumpster. He came to realize fast that it wasn't that he tripped, moreso his legs legitimately ceased functioning. The next thing to go was his right arm, which flopped down to his side and allowed the blood to flow more freely from his wound. What the hell was this? What was she?!

His thought process stopped. He couldn't think straight, or hardly at all. It was like he was spacing out, unable to keep any thought in check. His eyes glossed over, his body ceasing to move aside from the loud, panicked breaths that escaped him. His awareness was gone. All feelings were gone. He might as well have looked dead aside from his breathing, and even then, with his blood loss there was no telling how long he was going to last. He'd probably bleed out before an ambulance could arrive. And even if they did, what the hell would someone say about this? His entire body was numb, and his mind was seemingly gone, all from one deep bite.

_"Ma...?" He muttered quietly, showing a sign of life aside from his breaths.

Reyna let go the moment a fistful of her hair was harshly pulled to make her remove herself. She hissed in pain, seriously feeling a split second of anger at the need for everyone to do that to her today. It was clearly fair for him to react the way he had, she had bit him but damn, her poor scalp felt the abuse and it was causing her a headache or at least that is what she was gonna blame it on. The shove caused her to stumble back, gripping the wall weakly as she tried to keep herself up. She stared at the man before her, really seeing him this time as he looked at her with a hand pressing to stop the bleeding she had accidentally caused. Reyna cringed, guilt hitting her hard and she slowly pushed off the wall, about to explain herself or try to apologize. He had risked himself to save her and instead she had caused a gigantic mess.

She didn’t really get the chance to though as he stumbled backwards, slamming against the dumpster on the other side of where she was. At first she was worried it was blood loss or even fear to get away from her but then she noticed something wasn’t right. The arm that had been applying pressure to the wound just flopped down and she found herself rushing to his side. He looked completely out of it and she might have worried he was dead if it wasn’t for the harsh breathing. Was this what her venom did? At least what she had deemed as venom cause what else do you call goop coming out of your teeth. She would have been blind not to notice the fangs and it was hard to deny what else was going on when it appeared in her sink when brushing her teeth, but she didn’t know what it actually did. Reyna had been too afraid to test it on anyone and when she had tried it on herself, nothing had happened. The wound had sealed when she tried to remove the blood but that was all.

She carefully used her strength to lift him into a seated position and leaned him slightly against her so she could reach his neck.”I don’t know if you can hear me but I am so sorry! I’ll fix this, I promise.”, Reyna said in a panic before latching around the wound she had created, being careful of her fangs as she worked to seal the wound and pulling away once she couldn’t feel a mark against her tongue. She lightly brushed the area with her fingertips, in awe that it had actually worked but that only helped with part of the problem. How was she going to get him out of here and without looking completely suspicious? She bit her lip, looking at her wrist and then shaking her head. That wouldn’t work, she couldn’t even produce it when she wanted to and it was a bitch in a half to try and remove. The sticky hand...foot... thing was also a no go since it was also not the most reliable for her yet but a fire escape might work and taking the rooftops would keep them more hidden.

She debated calling Morgan for help, seeing if they could work together to solve the issue but then she looked at the thug who was out cold and thought against waiting. She didn’t want the thug to wake up in the meantime. She had gotten lucky once and didn’t want to push her luck again so with that in mind, Reyna worked on hauling her savior up to his feet. She carefully placed him onto her shoulder in a fireman carry even though it looked mostly ridiculous as well as just awkward due to their sizes and she started for the alley fire escape. She was extremely relieved he was out of it or she prayed he was so her secrets weren’t revealed. It would have been in her best interest to just leave him there, disappear but that wasn’t her. She wasn’t a monster no matter how much she felt like one. Instead, she would take him to her home and hope that whatever this was or did would wear off soon. If she could have taken him to his own home she would have but she wasn’t creepy enough to search an unconscious man even if the price was still being creepy by taking a stranger home. This was just shaping up to be the oddest day.

@EnterTheHero

Henry “Jello” Allin, September 7th

Henry woke up to the blaring sound of the alarm on his phone. Lazily turning off his alarm and waiting three mins before getting out of bed. Moving towards his bathroom starting his daily ritual. A part of his ritual was styling his hair into a rather large mohawk. Coming out of the bathroom and getting dressed in his regular attire. That being a white shirt, overalls, black combat boots, pink socks, and a plastic Mickey Mouse watch. After finishing his morning ritual, he started to make himself some breakfast. Cooking himself a grilled cheese sandwich and bacon, topping it off with a banana and almond milk. While watching tv, he noticed a report about some bank robbers stealing money from a local bank. Being reminded of how useless the cops were, they could have caught these guys but would rather focus on innocent black men who they assume were criminals. Ever since the accident he had thought about becoming vigilant. Way the pros and cons for a couple of weeks now, he came to the decision that it would be a bad idea to be vigilant. He did not want to spend most of his life behind bars.

The day before the incident happened, he had finished fixing his motorcycle. His cycle was having some engine problems, something that was hindering his current job as a pizza boy. After the incident, he was quarantined by some doctors and guys with hazmat suits. He thought he was dying, and understandably he was very worried about his wellbeing. From what he was told by the doctors, he was hit by some sort of unknown gas. The origin of his gas unknown to them, which did relieve his anxiety. “What do you mean you don’t know what the gas does?” Throwing his arms in the air in frustration. “We do not know the effects of the gas at the moment, however, he will have to keep monitoring you. Just so we know you are not infected with any type of virus.” The doctor responded, doing a terrible job trying to reassure Henry. During that time he was studied like a lab rat but was finally released after a couple of weeks of being terribly sick. Vomiting and being disoriented filled his days in the hospital. He was worried that he was going to die, even going as far as contacting his father about his last will and testament. But thankfully he did not die and got some superpowers in the end. He thought it was a good deal overall.

Finishing his breakfast and getting out of his apartment, making sure that it was locked. There were a couple of times where his place was broken into. Making his way towards the apartment’s garage and getting onto his bike. Heading towards his job at Poppa’s Pizza.

---

Lindy Audrum was running through the streets, chasing after a particular woman that bumped into her minutes ago. It hadn't taken long at all for the girl to notice that she'd been robbed of her wallet, and she was eager to catch up to the thief as she continuously tried to duck out of view. Not only was this thief fast, but she was also taller; Leaving Lindy at a clear disadvantage aside from her sheer determination to keep up. It was stressful to realize where the thief had taken them; The university had plenty of paved paths and places for her to use to disappear. Damn, she'd never catch up in there!

As they approached though, Lindy noticed the thief seem to completely lose her senses at the bottom of the stairs leading to the courtyard. Actually, a few folks in the area were having similar reactions: Reaching at their faces, itching, seeming to be in pain. Concern crossed the girl's face as she hurried down the stairs to get her wallet back, but now also check on the thief's condition as she seemed to be reacting to something serious. This lack of caution proved to be a problem, as Lindy's senses went wild; Noticing too late that there was a sort of red gas leaking from the university building. What the fuck had they just walked into?! Lindy found herself stumbling, falling onto her rear as her eyes burned and her skin tingled with no better word to process the feeling.

"What Is this?" Lindy questioned, disbelief in her voice mixed with pain as she scratched her face, trying to get the itch to go away. This only resulted in her seeing something on her hand; It was a crimson color. Her blood. She quickly reached back to her face, finding the source; Her nose was bleeding! Panic set in, but the girl prioritized the thief. Looking up, Lindy was surprised to see her just stumbling away; Even though she had to feel the exact same way, right? How was she dragging herself away like that? "W-Wait!" She shouted, reaching for her phone to call about the emergency. She could get them help, she didn't need to run!

Though Lindy was confused when she turned her head, realizing she'd dropped her phone. In fact, her arm was limp. Her breathing was getting heavier, and while she wanted to try and help, all she could do is attempt to reach out for her phone with her other hand; In which she flopped onto the ground, nose hitting the paved ground below. Her hand scrambled, trying to get the phone still. Her head barely tilted upward enough to see despite the fall, but the damn phone was too far away. She crawled forward, attempting to get that extra reach, but soon it was over. Her hand fell flat, and she couldn't hold her head up anymore. She felt the tears well up through the burning feeling, as she laid there momentarily with nothing but fear for her life. She gritted her teeth with what strength she had left as she drifted away, losing all consciousness.

---

This week had been hell.

Since the incident, Lindy had been hospitalized. It'd been terrifying for the girl, who'd never really spent more than a night in a hospital room, and that was with a parent. The screaming from the other rooms at times, the panic of the nurses and doctors alike. It was overwhelming and Lindy hadn't the ability to block it out. The TV was nowhere loud enough, and no amount of pillows seemed to help either. She eventually gave up, and today she'd just been surprised that things had gotten quiet on her floor. She was feeling a lot better, too. Though she doubted the two had any relevance to one-another.

A knock on the door caught her attention. A doctor walked in, clipboard in hand. He had a neutral expression, but it slowly curved into a smile at the sight the Lindy; Maybe it was just him seeing her in good health, or a farce to try and keep her from worrying. Regardless, it was there now. "Good morning, Miss Audrum! You've seemed to recover faster than we could have anticipated." He said, approaching the bed.

"Really?! Does that mean I can leave soon?" Lindy excitedly asked, the idea of going home sounding excellent to her.

Not quite, miss. You can't be discharged until tomorrow, but the floor has been confirmed to not be contagious, so the patients are allowed to stretch their legs a bit." He informed, staying positive. I'd suggest the waiting room out your door and down the left hall. A few of the patients have gathered over there. Might be good to talk after being locked away for a few days."

Lindy wasn't exactly surprised, but was still disappointed. "Well, thank you, sir. I'll try and go down there in a few minutes!" She liked the idea of talking to folks, or at least getting a snack while she was over there. The doctor nodded and left, Lindy now knowing she had today at least to deal with in this hospital, decided to jump up and venture out. She figured her body would react worse to being bedridden for days, but she felt pretty good! She did a few little hops and stretches and didn't find herself with any problems, so she figured heading out would be okay. She reached for the door and opened it, peeking out and recalling what the man had said.

Turning left and going down the hall, Lindy couldn't help but peer into some of the rooms as she passed by. She saw the occasional crying family, one in particular was silent and hooked up to a lot of machinery, seemingly all alone. Lindy felt so bad for these people, looking at her own hands and wondering why she had been so lucky while they weren't. The whole idea of the attack in the first place was crazy... Why the university? What did they accomplish attacking a bunch of students? Lindy didn't feel like thinking too hard on it right now, so she instead focused on the sign up ahead that showed her where the waiting room was.



As Lindy rounded the corner and entered the waiting room, a voice soon caught her off guard; Her eyes scanned the area, noticing a familiar head of blue hair. She almost felt her jaw drop to the floor, the surprise causing her eyes to widen. What the hell was Matty doing here? "Don't tell me you got caught up in that situation, too!" She was a bit panicky, but glad he at least seemed alright. He was a year older than her and a solid nine inches taller, but she considered him a friend. He was probably the person she was closest to in her krav classes.

"Yeah, I did!" Matty responded, seeming to be freaking out a bit. "I'm more surprised to see you here! Guess it was just wrong place wrong time, yeah Lind?"

"I got robbed and chased the thief into the university." Lindy answered, annoyed by the memory. "They stole my damn wallet, and I ended up cracking my phone. As if this wasn't enough of a pain, right?"

Matty smacked his fist into his open palm. "Well I say we hunt 'em down once we get out and beat their ass for it!" He aggressively stated, eyes determined. "It'll be a good warm-up for when I fight Xander again."

"You still on about that?" Lindy replied, rolling her eyes. Matty was so petty sometimes; He took his loss to Xander pretty hard, and while he had been polite face-to-face he was more of a sore loser behind the scenes. "It wasn't that big of a deal. He's a talented guy, and he beat you. He would've beat me, too."

"Yeah, 'cause you would've thrown the match." Matty retorted, somewhat spitefully. This caused Lindy's eyes to widen into a glare to which Matty didn't budge. "Don't give me that. You know how obvious it was you threw your match so you didn't have to risk dealing with Xander!"

Lindy went quiet. She was hoping nobody knew about that, and wasn't going to openly admit it either. "I did my best, just like you." She stated firmly, intentions to not budge being very clear. Did he seriously not consider the sheer difference in size, body mass, among other things? Yeah, Xander was real damn scary, and she didn't want to fight him. It was too much pressure.

"We're nearly equals, Lindy." Matty stated, seeing through her lie. "You would be way better than me if you weren't cowardly. Chickening out dishonors Hassan, too!"

"What the hell, Matty! Hassan doesn't think less of us for losing!" Lindy realized they were raising their voices, and looked around, noticing eyes on her and her taller friend. She shrunk down with a bit of embarrassment for causing a scene in a hospital, but shot a glare at Matty. "We're making a scene now. I'm glad you're okay but I think it's better if we just leave each other alone for now."

Matty had a scowl on his face that honestly caused a bit of discomfort in Lindy's gut. "Yeah, you're right." He replied, turning away. "Glad you're okay too. See ya." Matty walked off, out of the waiting room to where Lindy could only assume was his own room. She felt her stomach in knots after that conversation, the odd tension from Matty these last few months really starting to get to her. He's usually okay, but he just got a bit overwhelming at times. She figured he'd feel better once they were back in classes soon, maybe being cooped up for days was just really getting to him.

She figured she'd let it go, instead deciding to check out the vending machine and see what kind of snacks were there. She was pretty hungry, and it seemed there was not only a snack machine but also a machine with actual food in it, like those packaged burgers. Oh, god, one of the burgers even had jalapenos on it. She wanted that one! The girl was about to reach to her pockets for money, but realized she was missing something key. A item that held money. Also everything else important in her day to day life.

That thief... Her wallet... The girl looked down at the floor, disappointed.

"Aw, man..."

---

Lindy found herself riding down an elevator. It was finally time to go home, and she was excited. This hospital had left her uncomfortable, and the sight of her parents was just what she needed. The girl perked up as the elevator stopped, the door opening slowly revealing people ready to go upstairs to multiple other floors, she'd assume. A lot of people were going home, and that was a good thing. Though on the news, she saw the death tolls. Her heart was sunk, feeling bad about the whole situation, though there was nothing a girl like her could do. She walked out, passing by adults and teens alike, slowly making her way down the hall. Gift Shop was booming, it seemed. She wondered how many people waited until they let others inside? So many loved ones lost, but some were reunited. Why would they take away family from these people? What was the point of such unnecessary violence? She'd never understand, or at least it felt that way.

"Oh, thank god!"

Lindy's view shot back in front of her, noticing a man running at her fast. Before she knew it, he scooped her up into a hug, holding her close. After the shock passed, Lindy managed to observe and realize it was her dad. "Dad!" Lindy returned the enthusiasm, hugging him tight. The man wheezed, setting her down, grunting that she was squeezing him too tight. They pulled apart, though Lindy grabbed his hand not wanting to be away again like that. Those days felt so long, without them around.

"We were so worried about you! Are you okay? Did the doctors fully clear you? Do you need to pick up medication on the way home from a pharmacy? Any instructions--"

"I'm okay, Dad!" Lindy assured, quieting his concern. "The doctors said I had an all-clear! We can head home!" She was feeling good now that her dad was here; His love made her feel joyful, and like this was behind her. She walked by, dragging him along much to his panic. "Good, but I'd like to read the discharge papers regardless, okay? The car's parked out in the lot, so let me take the lead." He said, shifting ahead of her, causing Lindy to slow down a bit. They were quick to exit the hospital, going out to the parking lot. It took them a few minutes, but they eventually found the car. Her dad was a bit of a scatterbrain.

"You had to park way out here, didn't you?" Lindy commented, amused.

"This place has been packed, a lot of people are waiting on seeing their loved ones again. This was the best spot I could snatch." He admitted, a push of the button on his key unlocking the doors of his vehicle. He got into the driver's seat, and Lindy walked around to get into the passenger side. Unfortunately, the doors had a stupid quirk of locking once shut, so it just lead to Lindy going to the passenger side, yanking the door handle... Straight off the car. "Oh my god!" She exclaimed, looking at the item in her hand.

Her dad blankly stared for a second, before processing what happened. "Oh dear! How did that happen?!" He questioned before leaning over and opening the door from his side. He pushed it open, giving her access to the car, which Lindy quickly crawled in with the doorhandle in tow. "Sorry, Dad... It just kinda fell off." She said, shrugging as she put on her seatbelt. The two of them didn't know what just happened, but it was probably just a fluke with the car. They could get repairs at a later date.

"Well don't worry about that, honey. We can always replace a door handle!" He stated, starting the car and backing out of the lot. Lindy still felt bad, but just sort of popped open the glovebox and left it in there, figuring it was a small problem at the moment. She looked out the window and felt her chest ache, feeling anxious all of a sudden. She hoped this wasn't a start to a bad day, she was honestly hungry and a bit sleepy still. She began thinking about fixing these issues, but wasn't quite sure what she wanted. Until a stomach growl gave her dad the opportunity to speak up again.

"How about we have something special for dinner tonight? We could order from the Lucky Star and I can go pick it up." Her father offered, and stars essentially appeared in Lindy's eyes. "That sounds great, Dad! But it's not evening yet, so what're we doing for now?" She questioned, rubbing her stomach as she was legitimately ready to eat anything offered.

"I'll cook a nice lunch when we get back, don't worry." He assured her, focusing on his driving. Lindy decided to just lay back and relax, holding him to that offer. She found herself yawning in her seat, before slowly drifting off as she thought about her first taste of freedom she'd had this week. Maybe it was just a fluke. Her dad seemed to be calm, so why not her? She was sure after what she'd went through, it was smooth sailing from here... She just needed to take the day and relax.

One Bad Day.

Three simple words, and yet those same words had taken on a whole new meaning for Alan Walker. One Bad Day to turn his entire world upside down yet again. The only other time he remembered having as bad a day as this was when his deadbeat dad walked out the door on him and his Mom, and that had been almost a decade ago now.

Honestly, if you asked him which of these two days was worse, he'd likely be unable to give you a straight answer.

Anyhow, what made this day extra horrible was it had started out so innocently. Alan had rented a table at the campus for him to sell his baked goods and maybe make a little extra on the side to buy his Mom something nice, since she had been working long hours at her job recently and felt she deserved a little spoiling.

Things were going well, with the young man quickly amassing a tidy profit and a number of folks hoping he'd come to the campus so they could have his pastries all the time. Alan didn't make any promises but he said he'd think about it.

Of course, all goodness and cheer died a brutal, horrific death the moment that blasted bomb went off.

In no time at all, Alan's world became a hellscape of colored gas, panicking civilians, and the screams...dear lord, the screams. He swore that for as long he lived he'd never get those despair-filled screams out of his head.

The lad did his best to use a piece of cloth to keep his mouth and nose from inhaling the gas long enough for him to get to safety. However, he got caught up in the stampede of people also trying to escape and was quickly knocked to the ground, dropping his only means of protection, and thus was exposed.

He didn't remember too much after that, partially due to the fact his whole body was suddenly in agonizing pain. His eyes watered and were itchy, his mouth was as dry as the desert. Heck, he felt like he wanted to throw up but no matter how much he tried, he couldn't.

At one point, he recalled someone in a hazmat suit approaching and kneeling by his side, telling him that everything was going to be alright and then calling out to the other hazmat men they "had a live one over here!" and then he passed out....
_________________________________

The few times Alan regained consciousness through his stay in the hospital, it quickly became clear that while his misery had lessened somewhat, it hadn't stopped entirely. More than once, it was as if his whole body was rebelling against itself as he would experience moments where his body would shift between being extremely hot and bitterly cold.

What's worse, it was clear from the groans of pain around him that he was far from the only poor soul in here.

It was selfish of him, for sure, but Alan could feel himself briefly reverting to that little boy who just wanted his Mom to hold him and say that everything was going to be alright...even though in his heart he knew it would never be.

Finally, after nearly three days of agony and torture, just when he was ready to give up...the pain stopped. His bodily functions came back under his control and he felt...fine. Better than fine, actually. He not only felt strong, but he was acutely aware of every little thing going on around him.

Even the doctors had no valid method of explaining what happened and, after several tests, ended up just chalking it down to a mix of a strong immune system and his quick thinking having made it so his body only inhaled a small amount of the deadly gas.

Alan accepted that answer, though a voice in the back of his head told him they were looking for any excuse they could to get him out of there, and considering the number of sick people in here, he couldn't really fault them.

Now, after what felt like an eternity, but had only been three days, Alan Walker was released with a clean bill of health to the arms of his Mom and allowed to go home...
_____________________________________

You'd think that would be it, right? Well, if it were, we wouldn't have a story, would we?

No, Alan's worries were far from over, as would become evident after he finally got to return home and have an actual shower. As he walked back to his room to grab a clean shirt to go with the pants he was wearing, he passed by his mirror, only to stop at picking up something...off with his reflection.

Stepping back in front of it, only one thought was going through his mind right now:

....Holy crap, when did I get abs?

Sure enough, Alan was sporting some rather impressive abs on his upper body. Like, the kind you could probably grate cheese with, that took years of physical conditioning to have even a slim chance of getting. Even his arms were looking fairly toned and muscular. Nothing crazy, but enough that one jab from them could send a poor schmuck to the E.R. pretty quickly.

Alan Walker certainly wasn't what one would call "unhealthy" but he wasn't a big fan of the gym so to suddenly have this happen to him was...surprising, to say the least.

At that moment, something else also became clear to him: He wasn't wearing his glasses yet he could see everything around him in perfect detail.

He didn't have time to ponder all this for long as his Mom suddenly called him to eat and, knowing he couldn't hide this from her, proceeded to sit down with her and explain the situation as best he could.

To his surprise, she came over and hugged him tightly, "No matter what you look like, Alan, whether you sprout wings and fly, or gain a second head that spits acid...you are and always will be my son, and you will always have a Mom who loves you."

After this week from Hell, Alan could take no more and let himself break down, crying....
________________________________

The next couple of days were actually sorta peaceful, almost too peaceful. The lad's Mom had more or less forbidden him from going out, only letting him do so long enough to get a breath of fresh air and then come right back in. He was stuck watching television and surfing the web on an old laptop Miss Walker had bought off a friend of hers about a year ago.

What he saw only made him feel even worse. The entire area surrounding the campus had been cordoned off, hundreds of people were sick and dying in every local hospital, folks were running wild with conspiracy theories ranging from the government wanting to test a new gas-based weapon to this being the prelude to an alien invasion.

Considering Alan's current situation, the "alien invasion" one honestly wasn't looking that far-fetched.

Perhaps one of the only things keeping him even relatively sane was experimenting with his new powers. He found he was strong enough to lift the washing machine up on its side and he could move fast enough to catch his Mom when she slipped and her mug AND catch all the coffee that tried to spill out of it.

Finally, he could take no more and, on the third day of being stuck inside, Alan pleaded with his Mom to let him out.

"Just let me go to the end of the street and back, please?" He begged, hands clasped together, "I'm only going long enough to grab a few odds and ends and I'll be right back. I promise."

"Alan..." Miss Walker, who was basically an older, female version of Alan with a few work-related wrinkles though still looked lovely in her own way, sighed in dismay and folded her arms, "I just don't think it's a good idea. Besides, we got enough food to do us for the time being."

The young man massaged his temples, "Look, I...I can't stay locked up in here all the time or I'm going to go crazy. Also, you got a job to go back too. Don't think I didn't notice that electricity bill underneath the couch cushion."

At being caught in the act, his Mom winced and looked away uneasily, "Y-You saw that, huh? Well, I..." She finally lowered her head in defeat and went to the window, throwing the curtain open in time to see a police car roar down the highway, "Are you positive you want to go out there in...that? I only just got you back and now..."

"Mom..." He came over and put an arm around her shoulders, "I promise I'll come back to you...but we both know that a lot of people out there right now weren't nearly as lucky as I was. I can't just hide while the city goes to hell in a hand basket..." The lad stared down at his clenched fist as the skin rippled briefly, "Especially when I can do something about it."

"That's not your responsibility, though..." Her words came off as rather hollow though, and she appeared to notice this as she went over to a nearby drawer and pulled out a ski mask before bringing it over to her son, "But if you insist on this foolishness, at least wear this. The last thing we need is the police coming to knock on our door again just cause you decided to do their job for them." Despite her words, she wore a soft smile.

Alan smiled back and pulled her into a tight hug, "Thank you, Mom...I'll be back before nightfall. I promise."

Stuffing the mask in his jacket pocket, he headed on out the door to face the new world...

---

September 7th

---

The sounds of metal meeting ice filled the empty arena as Arthur skated back and forth across the rink guiding the puck as he went. It wasn't uncommon to see him like this. It was quite often that he would be practicing when others slept, and he was usually the first one to practice anyway. But today was different, far different than your average day. Not just because he seemed to be stronger and faster than before but because he had just survived some sort of a bombing and was up and better in a matter of days. Just 5 days ago Arthur was laying in a hospital bed drifting between unconsciousness and pure pain. And today he felt not just healthy but better than before the attack. Arthur was always an athletic kid but this felt like weights had been taken off his body just before a game like his lungs were just full of air. His senses felt more in tune as well, all around he felt amazing. Which is probably why he was so eager to get back to training even if his team had canceled practice until things settled down a bit. The whole rink was even supposed to be closed off to everyone, especially him, But it always pays to be friends with the janitor of the building.

Arthurs mind then drifted to that day and what had happened. It was like any other day he supposed. The sun was out on a rather unsuspectingly beautiful day leaving a great run ahead of him before he had classes that day. Well, that was how the day was supposed to go until an explosion ruined that plan. One minute Arthur was running around the campus as many of the athletes did when there was a sudden rumble across the ground. The next thing Arthur knew he went from running to being flat on his back seizing from the gas that now surrounded him. The pain in those moments had been almost unbearable for the young man as he laid there writhing in pain. Lucky however it didn't take long for him to get excused from the hospital though which was a positive. It was probably something he should have questioned a bit more than just accepting the fact that the doctors said he was fine now and could leave. But he wasn't exactly complaining about an excuse to leave the hospital early and get back to the ice. This brought him back to his current position standing on center ice having already completed most of his training for the day without breaking a sweat. “That's enough ice work for today. I guess I work on the bag.”

After changing out of his pads and skates Arthur found himself in front of a heavy bag dancing around it as he let loose a few punches in quick combos. Left-right left-left Right. He said in his head as his punches slammed into the bag with more and more force. If he was honest this was some of his favorite work during practice. As his coach had said in the past, Arthur enjoyed fighting a little too much when it came to game time. Though that did have the added effect of giving the team that bit of energy they needed and was always a good show for fans. But as Arthur kept punching he felt a burning sensation in his back that kept heating up. Finally, however, he felt the burning subside as he heard a tearing sound. As his head turned he was met with the truly terrifying sight of a giant spider-like leg stabbed into the bag just above his fist.

“Oh fuck!” he yelled immediately, falling to the floor and trying his best to scoot away from the leg that kept following him back. Finally stopping Arthur looked in the mirror he had stopped just beside. Tilting his head in disbelief Arthur looked in a mix of shock and confusion as there wasn't just one but four legs sticking out of his back. As he moved to get up he was surprised to see the legs stab into the ground and bring him to his feet rather than needing to use his hands. Pausing for a second focusing on not moving a single muscle he noticed the legs did the same. Looking over at the punching bag that was now pouring sand out in a small trickle. Tilting his head slightly Arthur moved in front of the bag raising his hands in a boxing stance and began to envision himself or rather the legs punching for him. Just as his mind would command his arms the legs began to launch forward in the same combo his punches had used earlier. Stepping back for a moment Arthur admired his work of the bag now riddled with holes. Looking between the four legs Arthur let out a small laugh thinking of everything this meant. “Now how do I put you back?”

---

Lindy had tried to relax after she got home, but just wasn't feeling comfortable. Lunch was nice with her dad, but her mom wasn't going to be back until that evening, and that gave Lindy a chance to stretch her legs for awhile. Her dad had been worried, but she assured him she was okay. The worst of it was over, and she was perfectly healthy, like the doctors said! Heck, now that she was on the streets, she felt even better than usual! Maybe it was the freedom after those days in the hospital, but she was feeling faster than usual, and had the stamina of a race horse! Must've just been getting excited about being out and about again, she figured. What mattered is that she was free again, and she'd appreciate the fact she was allowed to come out of that hospital alive. This run would be the start of that!

She'd worked up a sweat after a while, starting to get thirsty. Luckily her dad gave her a few bucks, given the circumstances about her wallet. Damn... Just thinking about that irritated Lindy. She knew she'd have to go replace everything that'd be in there, but some things like family photos she'd never get back. All she could assume is that the girl needed the money, and that what little she had was of use to whatever made her so desperate.

Brushing it off for now, Lindy slowed her pace and approached a corner store, just looking to get a bottle of water and maybe a cheap sweet treat. She pushed open the door, a chime playing alerting the cashier to her presence. Lindy waved happily at the cashier, before wandering in the store and searching for what she wanted. After grabbing a cold bottle of water, she took a minute to eye all the candy. Oh, so many choices. If there’s one thing anyone who was friends with Lindy knew, it was that she had a sweet tooth. Sweets were a weakness and an easy way to make her happy, though she wasn’t bad enough to be unable to realize when she should stop. She’d just eat a little more than that and then call it good. Lindy heard nothing aside from the old song playing from a radio behind the register, a song she couldn't really pinpoint whatsoever because of the audio quality. But she did hear the entrance chime again, eyes focusing on the door momentarily to notice a few men walk in. She quickly looked back at the candy, curiosity satisfied with just that.

Little did she expect…

"Empty that fuckin' register, now!"

She flinched from the shouting. "_{You've got to be kidding...}" Lindy muttered, eyes locking onto the men who entered the store. They both had firearms drawn, threatening the cashier. Who the hell robbed a store in the afternoon? Were they that desperate? This area wasn’t very populated at the moment so maybe they thought they could get away with it? Regardless, Lindy was quick to pull out her phone, trying to hide behind the candy rack as she tried dialing 9 1---

"Don't even think about it." One of the men spoke, causing Lindy to glance upwards and notice one of them now looming over her, the girl's heart almost pounding out of her chest in fear of the firearm being gestured towards her in one of his hands, while he held out the other. "Just give me the phone, and nothing bad's gotta happen." He instructed, face covered by a mask and baggy coat. He sounded middle-aged? Or like an adult, anyways. These were grownups threatening her life just for some register cash.

_{"O-Okay, take it!"} Lindy squeaked, holding her phone out with an obviously terrified expression on her face. The man snatched it, seeming to eye the damaged screen for a moment before turning his attention to his partner that was shaking down the man at the register. He walked a short distance away, but Lindy didn't feel safe trying anything. God, first her wallet, and now her phone. What the hell was with this city lately? And why was it picking on her?! She gritted her teeth, simply having to watch this robbery happen in front of her face.

Alan breathed in the fresh air as he walked down the road, hands in the pockets of his jacket, absentmindedly fumbling the mask in one of them. Sure, city air wasn’t quite as refreshing as the air out in the suburbs but after being cooped up in his home for almost three days he wasn’t going to complain.

He was also wearing his glasses again, despite no longer needing them. His justification for that was a simple one: Corrective eye surgery was very expensive and the last thing he needed right now was to see his poor Mom getting grilled by people over money she clearly didn’t have, especially anyone in their supposed “family”.

Vultures. The whole lot of them. Content to sit by and watch while his Mom and himself struggled to make ends yet when somebody had a bit of extra money lying around they would swoop in and act like they were entitled to it.

The young man shook those thoughts from his head. Now wasn’t the time to think about that, and instead about whatever tasty treat he’d be cooking for his dear Mom. Maybe he’d make his special peanut butter cups, or breaded pork chops with marinara sauce and melted cheese. Heck, he’d probably do both.

With his goal in mind, he picked up the pace towards the store, only to stop at hearing shouting coming from inside. Curiosity overcoming him, he dropped down low and crept towards the entrance, his eyes widened in horror at seeing two armed men ransacking the place. In broad daylight?! Were these dudes just asking for trouble?!

Sure, he knew times were desperate but he figured people around here were smart enough to not do something like this. Apparently, he was wrong.

His worries were only doubled when he caught a glimpse of a certain redhead in the candy aisle being threatened into handing over her phone. “Lindy…” He bared his teeth at seeing the sweet young girl’s life being put on the line before ducking out of sight.

Alan pulled out his phone but stopped himself. By the time police arrived here, the two men would likely be long gone and there was a high chance that Lindy and the cashier’s faces would be on the six o’clock news.

The young man swallowed a lump in his throat as he could suddenly feel a tightness in his chest at being faced with such a predicament. He hated the idea of getting shot at...but he hated the thought of seeing other people hurt on his account far more.

Welp, Alan, it’s time to be a man of your word. He thought to himself as he brought the ski mask out, eyeing the inside of the store to plan out how he was going to handle this.

"You've got to be the slowest goddamn cashier I've ever met!" The more verbose robber had slammed a bag on the table and put emphasis on his gun at this point. The cashier was panicky, hands shaking and seeming to have a hard time actually handling the money. So much that they ended up dropping a handful of the cash to the ground, annoying the robber even further. "Get your shit together, or I'm going to shoot you dead! What the hell do you not understand?!"

"Please, just stop--" Lindy felt herself regret these words instantly, as the man's gun fired. Lindy ducked her head and yelped, but looked up to see the damage: The man had shot into the ceiling, seeming to not want a murder charge under his belt. This tactic startled the cashier further but it seemed to make them start working faster. The man that had took her phone turned back to her, gun held close to him as he put a finger over his mouth, shaking his head. Signaling for her to just stop talking. In that moment, one robber was distracted focusing on the little redhead, while the second was furious and had his gun away from either hostage... It was an opportunity, if there ever was going to be one.

Upon seeing the scene escalating, Alan felt something inside him just...snap. It was clear neither of these men gave two shits about people’s lives as long they got a quick buck, and those were the kind of folks the lad had little sympathy for.

As such, he made up his mind and pulled off the glasses, pocketing them, before pulling the ski mask down over his face. It was now or never.

He pushed open the door hard and crossed the length of the room in only a few steps as the world around him seemingly moved in slow motion. Whether that was a result of his nerves kicking into overdrive or a part of his mutation he didn’t know and didn’t really care.

He went for the man who had fired upward, going to snatch him by the forearm and the wrist then squeezing quite hard, enough to hopefully make him drop the gun so he could kick it far away.

If he ended up breaking the guy’s wrist? Well...he wasn’t gonna lose sleep over it.

The chime from the door alerted everybody that someone had entered, Lindy's eyes shooting to the door and seeing a mysterious man in a ski mask. The man looming over her turned, gun seemingly ready, but he hesitated at the view ahead of him: This masked assailant grabbed his partner, and caused the man to wince as his partner's wrist was snapped and the gun hit the floor, man crying out in pain from the sudden force. The fact this scrawny bastard was capable of something like that was terrifying, but he couldn't hesitate further: He'd have to take aim, and shoot.

Lindy was shocked by this masked man's agility, and the brutal action he'd taken on one of the robbers. She noticed the second man taking focus on him and wasn't having any of it. Gritting her teeth and seeing this distraction as her only chance, she knew she could act: She couldn't just let him open fire and potentially shoot someone here, so she sprang up from her position on the ground, aiming to kick the robber that put a gun in her face in the back of his knee. But it came with results she wasn't at all expecting.

The force of her kick caused a horrific cracking noise to emit from the point of contact, the man screaming in agony as his leg was broken as if he'd just been hit with a high-velocity sledge-hammer. He fell to the ground, losing grip on his gun, the weapon sliding across the floor as Lindy stood there, horrified at the result of her strike. Where had all that strength come from? She had been taught about the amount of force it'd take to break a leg, but this was more severe than she could have ever expected, the man's limb was busted beyond any sort of repair, and she found herself stepping backwards, her back against the the coolers with her hands over her mouth, absolutely mortified at the damage she had inflicted. She did it to protect someone, right? He was just some crook and got what was coming to him, his leg shattered, leaving him screaming and unable to do anything. This was a decision she just made, and it was surely the correct one, wasn't it?

Then why did she suddenly feel so afraid, and guilty? She was panicking; Her heart was racing and she just sat there, looking at the scene in front of her unable to move.

Sure enough, Alan’s stunt had the desired effect but, to make sure the guy he attacked wasn’t a threat anymore, he gave him a quick jab to the face to make sure he didn’t wake up.

However, his act of heroism only lasted long enough for the other guy to take notice of his fallen partner and take aim. The masked vigilante hoped he could at least tank a bullet and still have time to knock out the other fella.

However, his plans were thrown a massive curveball when he saw the guy scream bloody murder and crumple to the ground in agony. He didn’t have to look far to see who had lent him a hand as there was only one other person in the store aside from him and the cashier. Lindy.

To say he was caught off-guard by her display of strength would be an understatement. He didn’t like judging based on appearances but, as strong as she was, he doubted she could completely pulverize a guy’s leg like that with just one kick.

It was then he had a theory: Could she have been a victim of the gas attack too? If so, this situation just got like a thousand times more complicated.

Seeing that a phone had fallen out of the guy’s pocket, Alan bent down on one knee and scooped it up before holding it out to her to take back, “Excuse me, Miss, I think this is yours…” His voice was muffled by the mask but he hoped he got his message across.

Of course, that’s when it finally hit him that she was likely having a panic attack at seeing herself basically cripple a guy for life. Granted, he likely deserved it but the look on the poor girl’s face showed she clearly hadn’t meant to do so much damage.

With a sigh, Alan took yet another gamble and lifted his mask just enough to expose his mouth and whisper, “Lindy...Lindy! It’s me, Alan. I’m here…” He went to put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, “It’s gonna be ok. I’m right here. Deep breath, focus on me and the sound of my voice. I’m right here. I’m. Right. Here.”

Lindy looked up, uncertain of what was going on, as she had spaced out entirely and had to yank herself back to reality. Her phone... That whole situation made her forget her phone. She slowly reached out and took it, staring at it as her hands continued shaking, trying to still process what happened. "T-Thank you." She replied meekly, unable to pull much enthusiasm out of herself after what she just experienced. She found herself looking at the masked man, eyes somewhat watery as she teared up from the building stress of the last week.

But the tension seemed to drift away, as she felt the man's hand on her shoulder. Her eyes widened, noticing him lift his mask slightly, a familiar name leaving his lips... Alan? Baker boy Alan? What the hell was he doing, wearing a mask and jumping in to fight robbers like that? What if he got hurt?! He wasn't some sort of superhero, or at least she hadn't thought he was... But he handled that robber so quickly, bringing an opportunity to stop the situation. And his voice was so calming right now, causing her heart to stop pounding out of her chest. Lindy lunged forward and wrapped her arms around him, attempting to hug away her fear of both the situation that had just happened, and the damage she inflicted. "We should go." She whispered, noting the alarm still blaring. The police would be here any second, and Lindy didn't want them questioning them. She needed to understand him first, what he was doing, and why. She didn't want to try and explain things she didn't understand. "We can talk once we're away from here..."
Alan was a little surprised by the sudden hug but a part of him was saying that Lindy needed this right now and so he didn’t put up a fight. Instead, he just smiled and hugged her back, “Yeah. I...I think we both got a lot of things we need to talk about.”

He pulled the mask back down before going to scoop her up into his arms and leaving the store and the broken bodies behind.

The masked man moved like the wind away from the shop and started heading back home, “We can talk about all this back at my place. Don’t worry, my Mom already knows about my...special talents, so you’re free to say whatever you want with her around. I’ll see about getting you something sweet too.”

Lindy was surprised when she ended up being scooped into Alan's arms, but didn't fight it whatsoever. Instead she huddled close to his chest, still afraid but comforted by having him there. He wasn't wrong, there was a lot to talk about. He seemed to know a lot more than she did about this situation, especially to keep his cool where she was a panicky, crying mess. Her eyes scanned over the robbers as they took their leave, feeling bad still despite them being so dangerous and harmful. She hurt that guy really bad, and it was obvious that leg would never be used again. The cashier seemed to just stay behind the register, not trying to stop them after what he witnessed, and given that his life was safe, had no desire to try and keep them from leaving. It made him anxious to think of dealing with the police, though...

They were moving fast, now that they were out of the store. His mom knew he was doing this? Lindy wondered if she had really known this guy as well as she thought, if he was pulling off stuff like this. But she wasn't going to shun him for it, especially after the ordeal they just went through. She simply allowed herself to be carried, the offer of sweets and a place to relax sounding really good right now. They could talk more once they were comfortable.

---

“Here you go, dearie,” Miss Walker set down a mug of hot cocoa in front of her guest before turning to call out, “Alan! Did you find a blanket yet?”

“Sorry Mom,” The young man dragged into the living room a rather large and comfy-looking blue cotton blanket trimmed with white, “Moment I opened the closet half of everything fell out. Anywho…” He placed the blanket next to Lindy before sprinting to the fridge and pulling out a tin of brownies, setting them in front of the redhead.

“There you go. Feeling any better now?”

Accepting the mug and blanket, Lindy offered a small smile along with a polite "Thank you, ma'am."

Turning and looking between Alan and the brownies in the tin, her smile grew a little wider. "I'm feeling much better, thanks to you, Alan." She replied to him, truly thankful for his help. If he hadn't been there, she would have been in a lot more trouble, she felt. Setting down the mug, she brought the blanket over herself, the warmth of it replacing what she lost from not being huddled against Alan's chest anymore. She had so many questions and so much confusion from the events that transpired... She had to start somewhere.

"I guess all of those times I called you a hero for the pastries aren't as much of a joke now, huh?" She tried to be lighthearted about it, but she was still confused and worried. "You... Been doing that for a long time?"

“That’s good to hear,” Alan breathed a sigh of relief as he also took a seat, pulling out a can of root beer from his pocket and taking a moment to ponder how he should start explaining. He was saved from thinking too hard by Lindy’s question, to which he shook his head, “Not really. To be honest, that was my first time today doing something like that…”

He pulled open the tab on his drink and took a swig, “Though, to be perfectly honest, it ain’t the first time I’ve had to punch some jerk in the face to protect a person in trouble…” The young man glanced down briefly, memories resurfacing, before looking up at his Mom warily, “Mom? Think you can take over for a bit?”

“Certainly, son,” Miss Walker took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, “As much as I love my son to pieces, Miss Lindy, he has had a few bad run-ins with the law in the past, as have I,” She put up a hand to stop the young girl before she spoke, “And before you ask, no, neither of us have a criminal record. It’s just we’ve run across some….unpleasant individuals in the past…”

“Unpleasant is an understatement…” Alan quipped as he drank some more, “Remember a few months ago some bloke tried to pull a knife on you while we were out for a walk?”

“Yes, and if I remember correctly, you jumped him and broke his nose and his two front teeth. I’m pretty sure he’s still eating through a straw even today,” Miss Walker shook her head, “You’re lucky the police let you off with a warning, young man.”

“I’m not sorry I did it,” He replied while shrugging, only to wince at the scowl she gave him before turning away, “But...I am sorry you had to see that, Mom.”

“I know. I just…” She put a reassuring hand on him, “I worry about you sometimes. That’s all.”

Lindy listened to their story, but had a hard time believing Alan was capable of such things. He seemed so sweet, and kind. But when someone was threatened, as she saw personally back at the corner store, he clearly had the action to back up the words she was hearing now. She couldn't blame him for defending his mom; She'd do the same in a heartbeat if her mom was in danger. She couldn't believe that Alan had just started doing this, though... He came in and got things done effectively, as far as she could tell. Though it was a lot more violent than she would have preferred, thinking back on that man's leg. She looked at her own hands, nervous about picking up the mug again, wondering if she'd just squeeze it too hard and break it, or something.

"Well, I'm not going to judge you for defending your loved ones." Lindy made that clear, glad that neither of them ever ended up in that much trouble with law enforcement. It was saddening to think of bad things happening to these good people often enough for them to be so casual about this. This brought her to another question, trying to dig a little deeper to sate her curiosity. "What made you do the whole... Vigilante thing, now of all times?"

“I appreciate you understanding my situation. I really do,” Alan gave Lindy a grateful smile before laying back on the couch, gulping down more pop, treating it like “liquid courage” of some sort, before speaking, “You remember that gas attack at the local college about a week ago? I was there,”

He waited for his words to sink in before he continued, “All I wanted was to make a bit of extra money selling my baked goods and what happens instead? I get stuck in the hospital for three days not sure if I was gonna live or die. I swear, the universe has a messed up sense of humor at times…”

Alan sat his drink on the table and grabbed a brownie for himself, “And even after I get out, things don’t really improve much. A good portion of the city’s in an uproar, hundreds, if not thousands, are dying in hospitals and it’s clear the police have no idea what’s going on or how to stop it…”

He then glanced down at his arm, “And then there’s this...try not to freak out too much, ok? But if you do I wouldn’t blame you…” With but a thought, he got the muscles in his arm to expand then he hauled his glasses off and blinked. For a brief moment, his eyes were replaced with black beady ones, like a bug’s, before reverting to normal.

She couldn't judge him, not after the help he'd given her. Not before either, really, especially when family was involved. She nodded to take notice of his appreciation, listening to him talk further about the attack on the university. She felt her heart sink, hearing Alan had been in the attack as well. _{"My god..."} She muttered quietly, knowing how it had been for her, so she pitied him for having to go through that all himself. He'd just wanted to make some extra money, and he got caught up in this mess. Guess he wasn't in much of a different situation than she had been. It made her realize that a lot of people aside from students were impacted from the attack if they were in the surrounding area... She chased that thief into there, and had no idea of she was even alive anymore.

She winced as Alan talked badly about the police, not sure of why it was necessary. This was a big and horrifying ordeal, and it was bad that it ever managed to happen... But whoever pulled it off was obviously prepared. Surely they wouldn't just let some officers catch onto the whole thing, would they? She felt it was an overly harsh judgement, but didn't speak as she couldn't exactly handle conflict right now, and with Alan especially considering their current affairs.

Raising an eyebrow at her telling her to 'not freak out', she had to question it. "Don't freak out? At what--" She found herself cut off as Alan began to display something unnatural, her reaction quickly changing.

"What the hell?!" She recoiled in the chair, eyes wide. What the hell was he?! What kind of trick was it?! Was he pranking her right now? That arm thing was so goddamn weird, she thought she'd faint from the shock she was just sent through. ""A-Alan, don't tell me this is because of what happened at the university?!" What the hell had they released into the air?! What did she walk into? She looked at herself in a panic, hoping she didn't end up that way. She never did anything that unnatural, or strange... Maybe she got lucky? Though, that being said, she did think back to that man's leg...

No. Those two things couldn't be related at all, right? He must've just had a really fragile leg, or something. Right? R-...Right?

Hearing her worried voice snapped him back to reality and the changes vanished abruptly. Seeing she was distraught once more, he quickly came over and pulled her into his arms, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry...I know this is a lot to take in. Honestly, I’m still trying to make heads and tails about it myself. I just…”

He glanced up to his Mom for guidance but there was nothing she could say...and honestly, what could she say? This entire situation was like out of Alan’s comic books and he was the expert on such matters, not her. As such, he would just need to take this one step at a time, “Ok, let’s...back up a bit, and start with something simple...Lindy? Were you at the campus the day it was attacked…?”

Lindy was surprised to feel herself in Alan's arms again, but regained her composure quickly. "I'm okay, sorry... It was just really shocking." She apologized back to him, not wanting him to feel guilty about it. He had warned her, she just couldn't have prepared for it. When she was asked about being on campus when the attack happened, she slowly nodded her head, figuring she owed Alan an explanation as well.

"Some thief stole my wallet that day, and I ended up chasing her there." She began explaining, wincing as the memories hit her. "It was so sudden. First there was this itch, and then blood, and before I knew it I couldn't even move. I don't know when I passed out, but I eventually woke up in the hospital." She took a breath, feeling calm enough to pick up the mug and take a sip of her hot cocoa. Which started getting a little cold, but it was still tasty.

"I only got out today. Figured I'd go for a run, stretch my legs and get a little exercise after being bedridden for most of the week. But I went into that corner store to get a drink, and well..." She slumped down, a little nervous. "Y-You know how that went..."

“Thank you for being honest with us, Lindy,” Miss Walker said with a warm smile.

“Yeah, I know this last week has likely been hell for you…” Alan admitted as he hugged her again, “Now...as crazy as this is gonna sound...I think whatever that gas was gave certain people some sort of...mutations...powers...not sure what to call it. I mean, you probably felt it. The energy, the stamina, the alertness…”

"I did feel really energetic when I was jogging. Faster, too." Lindy admitted, thinking back to the corner store again. That kick, and the force behind it... She was obviously stronger too, wasn't she? It explained why she recovered so well at the hospital, why she had no issues hopping up at the first opportunity. She wasn't normal anymore, was she? Something was wrong and now that she focused on it, she felt wrong.

"After what happened at the store, I guess I'm stronger than before too. It must be affecting some people more than others, because I don't think I have anything that weird. I'm just... Stronger." In a way, that was relieving. She could cope with increased physical abilities, but having crazy powers? She'd be having a crisis right now.

“If the two of you have these, well, powers, then it’s as my son suspected. You’re likely not the only ones to have been affected this way…” Miss Walker wringed her hands together nervously, “And, if I know people as well as I think I do, some of them aren’t going to have your noble intentions.”

“That’s just how some people are, Mom,” Alan remarked with a shrug, “They’ll use their gifts to get whatever they want and aren’t gonna care who gets hurt in the process.”

“All the more reason for you to find more people out there like you and Lindy here, Alan,” Miss Walker said, fixing him with a stern look, “I know you feel responsible for all those who didn’t make it but New York is massive. There’s no way you’ll be able to protect it all by yourself.”

Lindy was confused at first about what Miss Walker had been saying, but then came to the realization that Alan intended to keep doing this. Helping people, and using these abilities of his to protect their home. Lindy looked at him silently, looking at his honest expressions and how wonderful of a person he was. Such a thing was dangerous, wasn't it? But he seemed dead-set on it. He could stop things the police couldn't be there for, and it'd keep the city just a bit safer, even if it was just him. It was a noble goal, and she could respect it.

But she also worried. What if Alan got hurt? What if that gun had fired, and he got shot? And nobody had been there to help him? If there were more people like this out there, maybe they had similar intentions. She wasn't sure how likely that was, but his mom was right about him not being able to do it all himself. It made her reflect on herself, wondering if she could be like that... A hero. She wanted to join the police force, ever since she was a child, in fact. But what if this was a chance for her to do more? Save lives that others couldn't? She wasn't sure if it was a good idea, she turned into practically mush in the corner store after hurting that guy... But if she controlled herself, maybe she could do it. Maybe she could learn control through helping him.

"I don't know how comfortable I am with this..." Lindy commented honestly, feeling a little discouraged due to her doubts. "If I understood myself more, maybe I could help. But how I am now, I'd just hurt someone. Again."

“Nobody’s gonna force you to do anything you don’t want to do, Lindy,” Alan said in a comforting tone of voice and with a sad smile, “I’ve read enough superhero comics to know that this life ain’t for anyone. This is your life and you got the right to spend it however you wish. If you don’t think this is for you, that’s totally alright,”

“I just want you to know I really do appreciate what you did for me back there. That could’ve gotten bad pretty fast if you hadn’t stepped in. You were scared but you found the strength to act anyways. For a lot of heroes, that’s what real bravery looks like. Admitting you’re afraid but being able to do something anyways,”

He pulled her into an even bigger hug, “If you ask me, you’d make a pretty good superhero, and if you need help understanding yourself, well, I’m no therapist...but I can certainly give it a shot.”

Lindy felt warm, Alan's words and tight embrace affecting her more than he probably could have expected. She accepted his embrace and found comfort in it, glad he was around or else she'd be really stressed. He made her feel confident... Like she could actually do this if she chose to. She did help him, but... She didn't feel like she did it in the right way. It was her life and her decisions, just like he said. And Lindy had to wonder if she could pass up an opportunity to help people; If she could leave Alan alone in this.

Maybe she could be a hero with his help... But not yet. There were too many variables and things to consider regarding herself, and she wanted to sort those issues out before making any promises or having someone rely on her to help them. The last thing she wanted was to slip up and cause a bigger problem, and make people like them look bad in the process.

"I need to understand myself more. The powers, I mean." She replied, somber. "I'll find ways to test them out, maybe get a grasp on how strong I am. Maybe once I understand myself better, Alan, I can maybe help you." She grabbed his shirt, glaring at him momentarily as she grew serious. There was one condition Lindy had, and there was only one answer she wanted when she presented it to him. "Alan... You better not get yourself hurt while I'm figuring out my abilities, got it?"

Alan yelped at being yanked by his shirt and having Lindy stare him down. At her words, though, he simply nodded, “Y-Yeah, I got it, but…” He then gave her a playful pat on the head, “I’ll only do that if you promise to do the same. Remember, you got your whole life ahead of you and I’d hate to see one of my friends throw away their future in some reckless display of bravado,”

He then blinked at what he said and looked away, “Assuming we are friends…” He then raised an eyebrow at her, “We...ARE friends, right?”

Calming down from his answer, she released her grip on his shirt. She figured all in all, it was fair enough. She was thinking about playing safe for the sake of others, she wasn't thinking of herself too. She needed to understand her potential just as much for her sake, too. Her thoughts went back to her parents, and how worried they'd be if she was injured doing something like this... She couldn't say anything, at least not now. The young girl needed more time to mull it all over. "I'll try to be careful, I promise." She said, appreciating him looking after a friend... But then he questioned if they WERE friends. Lindy tilted her head, uncertain of his intent with the comment, but answering anyways.

"W-Well, of course!" She answered truthfully, offering a somewhat shy smile as she shifted in her seat. "Though, I think we'll be becoming better friends than ever, with all of this going on." She added, unsure if she should've but she did it anyways. She needed affirmation to not feel so awkward, bringing a fist forward and lightly bumping it on his chest. "Don’t ya think, baker boy?"

Alan smiled and held out his own fist for a bro fist moment, “As a matter of fact, I do.”

Lindy’s fist met with his, the girl giggling in amusement. "Good..."

---

Morgan was in the machine shop welding away at the casing for the generator she was making for her term project. The day had been nice and fairly normal but that all changed with the guys hollering about the students collapsing in the hall. Taking her goggles off and flicking off the welder she moved to see what was going on until the guys started screaming. Backing away as their faces started to bleed from various places. Morgan went for a machine shop mask but tripped and fell. The next part she could only describe as if she had been plugged into an outlet, set on fire, and drowned in ice water. The pain was on a level of unbelievable until that is she passed out with her last thought *I'm coming to see you grandpa. I'm on my way wherever you are.*

::beep. beep. beep::

It had been four days her nurse told her. Four days since the attack and since she had fallen into a coma. All her classmates in the room with her had died but she had survived. She learned that day that others like her survived all around campus and Greenwich proper. A terrorist attack is what they were calling though no one had claimed it. Morgan laid in bed the rest of the day, being held for observation, worried and sad. Finally falling asleep she dreamed of her grandpa and him telling her she was meant for greater things than the farm he raised her on. Then the dream shifted to meeting her soon to be roommate for the first time, Reyna. The girl was nice and had a cat who always seemed to be into something. Reyna didn't go to school like Morgan but it wasn't for lack of Morgan trying to talk her into it. Then in the dream she saw Reyna's face as the guy's in the shop had been. Blood everywhere and Morgan trying to cradle Reyna's head screaming for someone to help her.

Bolting upright Morgan screamed and the nurse soon rushed in. It was three forty-two a.m. and she was sweating all over. Calming her the nurse gave her something to help her sleep and Morgan drifted back into a dreamless sleep.

The next morning Morgan woke at ten. The nurse came over reading the chart and smiled telling Morgan that she was good to check out finally. She did and started home. Seeing that she had no missed calls from Reyna, now her only contact besides the lawyer and farm hands that oversaw the farm, she panicked and ran home. Without noticing his Morgan ran faster than she was supposed to and lighter as if she was walking on air.

Getting to the apartment she noticed this in disarray slightly and then the blood. She then called Reyna's number hoping beyond hope that she picked up.

The sound of ringing made her eyes flutter open, her gaze lazily searching for her phone when she remembered tossing it at her feet after listening to the disappointing voicemail. Weakly, Reyna pushed herself up and took hold of the phone, not really ready for a fight right now. She had been hoping to just sleep until she was released from this nightmare of a place. She felt herself starting to shake at the thought of where she was and took a few deep breaths before looking at the caller ID. The moment she saw her roommate's name flash on it, she swiftly hit the answer button and placed it to her ear.

’Morgan? Is that you?! Are you alright?! I got worried when I woke up and found no calls from you. Did you get caught in it too? Where are you?’, she said in a panicked flurry of questions while waiting to hear from the woman on the other side of the line.

Sighing with relief when Reyna answered Morgan listened to the flurry of questions. "Reyna calm down. I'm ok but yeah I was caught in it. Just got back from the hospital actually. I guess I was in shock cause I just checked the phone and panicked when I didn't see anything from you either. I'm so glad you are ok." Morgan sighed again and then felt the fatigue of running home while she waited for Reyna.

’As okay as I can be in a place like this. They are hoping to release me today if the tests check out. How is Jiji? How are you? I mean, really...are you alright? I...I know you were probably closer to that mess than I was and I mostly likely lost a good amount of blood. Oh shit! The floor...that probably looked really bad! No wonder you were worried…’

Morgan processed her questions and sighed. "Honestly I'm not ok emotionally. They told me the guys in the machine shop died. They were classmates. Oh and Jiji is fine. I'm going to feed him and clean before throwing myself into programming to distract me. If you get home tonight don't worry about me, just get some rest and kitty cuddles. I'm gonna go and get started hun. Be safe, bye." Morgan clicked off the call and sat as Jiji came up and hopped in her lap.

’I...I can understand that. I’m sorry for your loss. I can’t say anyone would be emotionally okay from this but I’m glad that you and Jiji are safe. I imagined the worst so this has been a huge relief. Thank you for making sure my boy is alright and I’ll see you both real soon. Relax and be safe, bye.’



Seven days after the attack Reyna had called from the living room that she was headed out for some breakfast but Morgan didn't bother replying as she was still face down in her pillow. After finding out two days prior that her roommate had been in the hospital too, the exact same one...a floor below her, Morgan had been hard at work programming since classes were cancelled for now. She had been working on a project for awhile not developing what she hoped would be an AI someday but was starting to think the project was pointless as it was going nowhere so in her frustration she went out to a bar, during which she picked up a bottle of tequila and the bartender. She had kicked him out after her fun but kept the bottle. Surprisingly enough? Morgan didn't wince as her roommate yelled. Matter of fact she felt fine for someone who drank half a bottle.

Getting up she showered and washed all the failure of yesterday off then went back to her room staring at her computer. "You are never going to work unless we have a surge in technology. Grandpa always said the world wasn't ready for my grand ideas...looks like he was right." She hung her head in defeat.

---

There was absolutely no chance that she had almost dropped her companion more than once before getting smart enough to readjust his position. Nope, no chance whatsoever! In all honesty though, she secretly felt like a damn pack mule at the moment but she guessed it was her own fault for her poor reactions in the alley. Karma was a real bitch like that. She hadn’t realized at first just how much stuff she had to carry between both their belongings. The coat she had been asked to hold was now a new fashion piece to her current wardrobe, the red hoodie she had previously worn was now securely tied at her waist. Both her laptop bag and his own were now crossed over her chest while she worked to keep the taller man on her back which meant an extremely slow trek home. Reyna had to make sure to take a path of rooftops with less gaps from one to the next or low visibility from below which was a struggle. She had never been more ecstatic to have chosen a cafe near her home and within walking distance. She couldn’t even imagine being further away and having to rely on the hope of getting any other powers to work when her bite had caused such a disaster in the first place.

It was a huge relief when she made it to the top of the apartment building, not wanting to deal with the stress of the situation or having to explain herself if she was found out. A girl her size should not be handling as much as she was carrying with the ease she was displaying and it didn’t help that he looked like a damn corpse at a glance. Reyna wasn’t exactly a rocket scientist but even she knew the more suspicious in appearance, the more questions from others and she didn’t need anyone searching into her or her business. The thought of being dragged to some lab for testing was not high on her list and she might have already fucked that up depending on how the man she was carrying reacted once he gained clarity. She shook her head, clearing that thought before doing a little jump to settle her companion back into a better position so she could open the door to the roof. Unfortunately, the hassle of trying to keep her companion on her back and opening the door was a bad combo as she has to yet again catch him before he hit the ground.

”Son of a….okay just…”, Reyna cursed, trying to deal with holding up mister noodle legs while also using her foot to open the door instead when clearly it would have been easier to just let him sit on the ground for a moment but being a nervous and flustered mess didn’t really pan out for most people let alone her. She could only be grateful that for once, the shitty management of her landlord had actually turned into her favor with not having a locked door to the roof access because it was still busted. She maneuvered herself to block the door from closing again as she positioned the auburn haired acquaintance back into place, planning on descending to her floor. The nerves of being caught in the hallway once she made it down the stairs put her on edge so when one of the lower floor stairwell doors opened, she physically flinched and tried to make herself as unnoticeable as possible. No one should be needing or using the roof access/emergency stairwell.

That was one thing she had been right about but it didn’t change the fact that her path was going to be blocked either way by a bunch of pre-teens being idiots in the stairwell, trying to keep their bad habits a secret and bitching about the world. Reyna rolled her eyes and bit her lip nervously as she looked to the ceiling, debating on what the next move would be. She could just walk by, threaten to rat them out to their parents or something if they wanted to talk but that was definitely not a great idea. She could think of another way into her apartment, walking through the complex front door was probably not great but maybe a window. Would they even have a window open or unlocked? The balcony would be closed but she might be able to get Morgan’s attention. Morgan’s room wasn’t even worth a shot since she kept it secure but maybe to knock and wake her? Though she didn’t want to rely on a shaky power that long. She probably had her own unlocked, liking to have it open now and then.

Finally making up her mind, Reyna turned away from the stairwell to make her way back to the roof. She carefully walked along the ledge, trying to find the right side and map out which one was actually her window since if she was going to break in, it was best for it to be the right one and not get spotted while trying to figure it out. Once she was situated, moving her passenger back onto her shoulders and glanced over the edge. ”Why did it have to be so difficult? Okay. You can do this.”, she said, trying to give herself a pep talk as she worked to try and get the string web thing going. It took several embarrassing tries before finally she finally got it stuck to the roof. Reyna nervously tested the line before closing her eyes, gripping the man on her shoulders as tightly as she could with one hand and jumped. There was a moment of sheer panic, the wind rushing past her, and the fluttering of butterflies at the feeling of falling but suddenly her arm was jerked and her hand grabbed the webbing. She dangled just above her windowsill and tried to swing closer, nervously praying the web held out. ”Fucking pathetic asshole thug and freaking tall ass men….”, she cursed.

She now had a problem she didn’t think about, how was she gonna get the window open with no free hands. ”You have got to be kidding me!?!, Reyna pouted. ’I did not think this through.’, she thought for a moment. Changing plans, trying to swing closer to the balcony and crawling up once she had managed to reach. It would be a pain to enter from here so she wouldn’t but at least she could leave him on one of the chairs or something while she worked at the window. She carefully shrugged him off and onto one of the lounge chairs, rolling her shoulders a bit at the relief from losing the extra weight. She jumped off the edge again, climbing a bit of the web since she had needed more to make it to the balcony before and was not at her bedroom window. Once she made it back, she shoved upward on the glass and worked to push the window open. She was thankful that there were no screens on these windows even though she had cursed the same fact many times before.

The window squealed, finally giving in and letting her slip inside but she tripped, her arm still being yanked toward the window.”For the love of...let go!”, she hissed and watched it snap off her wrist. Reyna swiftly bolted out the door to her room, making her way to the slider as she started uncrossing the bags from her chest.”"MORGAN! WE HAVE A PROBLEM!", she called out in a panic, placing both bags on the couch before throwing open the slider. She scooped up sleeping beauty in her arms, slowly trying to make her way inside when she heard a ‘meow’ and felt her baby rubbing her legs. This was the worst timing because she couldn’t see and didn’t want to step on or hurt Jiji.”Baby boy, you need to move now.”, she grunted, trying to lean in a way she could see him only hear a thump as she accidentally got too close to the frame and whacked the one she was carrying in the head. ”Well, shit. I’m sure he will be fine...right Jiji?”, she questioned the little black cat before getting a ‘meow’ in return.”Agreed, this is our secret.” That being said, Reyna made her way to her own room before carefully placing him down on top of her bed while she thought she heard Morgan’s door open. She had no idea how long he would be out but at least he could rest somewhere comfy while he did. He would probably need some meds for when he woke up since he had been nailed twice but that was for later since she needed to get some advice from her roommate on the situation and made her way out into the living room.

Morgan stared at the computer in defeat then turned as she heard Reyna. Problem and didn't she leave earlier? She didn't hear the front door. "Reyna? What problem and did you come in your fucking window or something?" Morgan still had her hair in a towel and was half dressed as she walked into the living room almost bumping into Reyna. "Oh hey what's up?"

”I would say not to joke but that is exactly what I did.”, she replied, running her fingers through her hair in frustration and embarrassment. She jumped back, a bit startled as she realized just how close she had gotten to Morgan, almost bumping into her but then looked away quickly. ”Jeez Morgan! Put on some pants or something. You aren’t going to want to be half dressed for this.”, Reyna whined, placing her hands over her face. She took a deep breath,waving her roommate to follow her as she made her way back to her bedroom.”I really fucked up...like majorly fucked up! You remember when I tried to test out my venom on myself and nothing happened? Well…. I’ve accidentally found out exactly how it works.”, she laughed nervously before opening her door, showing the tall stranger on her bed. ”He’s been completely paralyzed and out of it since I accidentally bit him.”

"Wait for real? The window?" She asked before her roommate decided to be miss modesty. Morgan rolled her eyes and walked back in grabbing some sweat pants putting them on. Then followed Reyna. She nodded as Reyna started to explain but that didn't prepare her for her jaw hitting the floor as she saw the unconscious man. "Reyna you didn't!? How? Why? The fuck did you bring him back here for!? Did someone see you!?" The questions came out in a panic as she ran out to the living room and made sure the front door was locked thoroughly before walking back in with her eyes wide.

”I didn’t mean to! It just happened!”, Reyna pouted, crossing her arms as she over her chest and feeling like she was being scolded. She sighed deeply, hugging herself tightly for a moment before looking to the passed out man. ”I was about to be mugged, maybe worse than that and he saved me. I was out of it and in a panic….next thing I knew, I was biting him which you can see the result of. I couldn’t just leave him there with that psycho thug so I brought him back here. I made sure to use the rooftops and I promise, I did everything possible not to be seen. I just worry about how he is going to react to all this when he wakes.”

Rubbing at her face Morgan dragged a hand down her cheek and gave her a sidelong look. "Alright you got here safely. Unconscious man in toe." Morgan thought a minute. "There is nothing we can do I don't think so we might as well sit and wait. I mean unless you want me to try and shock him awake. Though I'm not sure if it'll react differently with your venom so never mind." Looking at the boy Morgan suddenly caught a whiff of machine oil then bent to sniff him. "Smells like a machine shop guy." Then from his back slide a laptop. "Well hello." Morgan snatched the laptop and grinned. "Well you watch Sir Napsalot, I'm going to find out who we are dealing with before he wakes up. If he does threaten you I'll have some dirt on him. Key words…browser history." With her grin she marched out of the room and to hers. Sitting she plugged the laptop up and inserted a flash drive before letting her fingers fly over the keyboard.

Reyna nodded softly in agreement that there wasn’t much they could do at this point and also that shock would be a possible bad combo when venom was rushing through his veins. She raised a brow at Morgan sniffing their guest, not even wanting to know what machine shop smell was or why that had even just happened but her roommate could be called a little eccentric which most geniuses were. She was about to protest about the laptop, not wanting to invade her savior’s privacy but at the same time, Morgan had a point. If he wanted to expose her then having a bit of insurance as protection wasn’t a bad idea. It might also be good to contact someone to help pick him up once he awoke but that would also require knowing who he even was which proved another point in her roommates favor to convince her. ”Alright, I’ll watch him while you do some digging...just try not to go overboard, okay? This guy did save me after all.”, she said which most fell on deaf ears as Morgan was already sailing out the door. Reyna sighed, pulling her desk chair over next to the bed and having a seat, preparing herself for the waiting game.

Morgan didn't waste time and was in. She really did check his browsing history barely containing little laughs as she went through files and found one labeled projects. She stopped remembering what Reyna had said just barely, this guy had saved Reyna. So the logical thing to do was help the guy in return right? She opened the file and blanched. Hardt Corp logos in the corner. Wow who was this guy to be so young and working for a huge tech company. Holding off on projects she went through and found who this machine belonged to. Oh...my...god…none other than the CEOs son, Adalbert Von Hardt! Eyes wide Morgan couldn't resist and went over to projects looking them over.

---

It was dawn. Clara was by herself. Across the street and below her was the Hardtcorp building she had been staking out. And Clara was on the roof.

"Why am I on the roof, you ask?" Clara said to nobody. "Because I was yoinkin' some girls wallet when she chased me into the site of a terrorist attack." She was crouched down on a rooftop forty feet off the ground.

"And now I can do this." Clara did a one handed hand stand. "And this." Her skin changed from it's normal hue to a dark blue color, her ponytail becoming dark black as opposed to warm brown.

"Talk about a lucky break." She went back into her normal position. "And now, I'm gonna steal the shit out of the tech in this building." She pointed to it as she returned to her normal crouched position. She wearing slightly different pair of clothes. Though it was still a black crop top, leggings, and the same pair of sneakers. Finally, over her shoulders was a color-faded black back pack.

She didn't even need a mask. She changed the different hues of her blue skin, making "shadows" where there were none. She looked like a totally different person. But just in case, she had tied a make-shift bandana around her mouth and nose. The kind cowboy bandits wore. "Sweet." She said with a grin, brushing some hair out of her eyes.

Clara had already internally mapped out the majority of the guard patrols- if you could call them that. The security guards weren't going to be a problem. The alarms were the real issue. Fortunately, she had figured that one out. Just walk in when one of the doors were open! Super risky, right? Not when you have badass spider-powers.

It was quite simple, really. First, Clara waited until no guards were looking her way. The cameras were the kind that went from side to side, too. But fortunately, they were watching the gates of the fence- and why wouldn't they be? They wouldn't account for someone that can jump fifty feet in the air.

Clara jumped down from the roof, landed in a roll on the concrete and leapt up. She soared above the fence and did a similar landing before propelling herself onto the roof of the Hardtcorp building. Whatever you're imagining in your head right now, imagine it at least two times cooler. That's how cool it was.

Now she was on the roof, and her skin and clothes blended in perfectly with the dark sky. She was as a moving shadow. She stayed low. Way low. Literally on all fours, crawling quickly like a spider. She felt like a creepy monster, and she giggled quietly. "Suck it, olympians."

She poked her head over the side and waited. "Should be...yep! There he is. It's time for the changin' of the guard." She whispered. She retreated a little bit. Just some old lookin' security guy working his way until retirement. No way could she hold down a job like this. He also just looked defeated and down trodden in general. In other words, nothing to worry about.

"He'll probably lose his job over this." She said to herself. She turned her voice into an old man voice. "Forty damn years! Didn't even give me a gold watch! Maaagh!"

He was approaching. Clara was actually above the door she knew he would enter. With the practice of a thousand days of practice he swiped open the electronic lock with his keycard and pushed his way inside. The heavy swung open and quickly closed. For a normal person? No time at all.

But Clara was there in a moment, and with one hand she kept the door just barely open. She pushed it open again and slipped with speed and effenciency. The most sound she made was the ruffling of her back pack. The door closed and she was on the ceiling- better yet- in the ceiling. It was one of those dry tiled ceilings. Clara pushed her away inside and slipped into the ceiling itself, sealing the tile behind her. The security guy didn't even notice the slight delay.

She was, of course, picked up on camera. But she was just a dark shape that attached itself to the top of the frame and vanished. She looked more like a visual glitch than she did a person. It didn't really matter. She wasn't expecting to ghost this job anyway- eventually she would build a rep. Didn't mean they could stop her. Especially because with every job, her own abilities and gadgets would just improve.

Clara crawled her way into the airducts by prying open a vent with her sticky fingers. "Tch. This isn't even fair. But you don't get anywhere playin' by the rules."

She could peek through some of the grates to get an idea of what was inside. She was looking for storage. In particular, AJ had tracked down some shipping documents. The stuff she was looking for was in crates MCA-21 and MCA-27. Just some chemical and mechanical stuff Clara didn't really want or needed to understand.

It wasn't hard. She found a large storage room, the room being about 25 feet high. This was easily the majority of the complex. There were shelves upon shelves all lined up. Some forklifts to move things around. "The goods."

Then it was just a matter of tracking the stuff down. She plucked another vent silently from it's frame and hopped down to the floor. The place was lit by lights on the ceiling, but a decent amount of lights were just gathered over the center of the warehouse. There were some shadows to work with.

There was one other guy on the other side of the warehouse, moving about. Clara wouldn't have to worry about him as long as she kept track of him. And, weirdly enough, it felt like she could. No matter where he was, Clara just kind of...knew where to avoid. It was strange. Clara had been playing around on the roof of an old warehouse when the concrete she was standing on gave way. Only she dodged it before it even began to fall. It was some kind of danger sense, or sixth sense. Whatever it was, it was very, very useful.

"Bingo." She said quietly to herself. The crates were strong enough to prevent most people from getting in, but again, they weren't designed for an intruder like herself. One who could dextrously stick herself to the side of the shelf and pop open the plastic lock with a single hang. Slinging her backpack down her shoulder, she planted herself with her feet next to the first crate. There were canisters inside. Clara grabbed three and placed them in her back pack.

The second crate was full of smaller plastic boxes full of mechanical parts. "Badass." Clara filled her backpack with the stuff. Now, what else? Technically she had everything she needed, but she wanted to explore this place a little more. Maybe she had missed something cool?

Hopping back up into the vent she had crawled out of, she shifted around in the ceiling. There were a couple of moving fans she had to avoid. But other than that, no trouble.

"Ooh." This place looked lived in. Once again she entered a room through the vent. This place was pretty damn dark. Nobody came in here. Clara dropped from the ceiling and got to snooping. This room was cut off from the rest of the warehouse. There weren't any windows peeking inside, only a door that could be locked from within. There was some old people music posters on the wall. There was also another door, slightly ajar, the lead further along the side of the warehouse. There was a sound system, a computer, and a workshop.

"Oh, shit. This is a smart person room." Clara said to herself. She went over to the computer and turned it on. It was password locked, of course, and she wasn't going to bother guessing. Apparently AJ could get some crazy hacker shit where you just turned it on and it did a zillion passwords at once. But that came later. Probably when Clara managed to get AJ a nice personal computer. Then the fun could really start. Until then she was just working off, like, memory or something. Clara didn't really have the perspective to understand just how good with machines AJ really was.

Either way, Clara wasn't using it for the nerd stuff. She was just using it for the light of the monitor to light up the room a little bit without turning on the overhead light.

This allowed her to see what looked like some kind of fashion project in progress? There was a desk with some weird looking clothes on it. But what really caught her eye was a pair of big orange goggles. That's, two pairs of goggles, not a single pair of goggles described as a pair, by the way. One of them was far larger than the other, the eyes large, round, and bulbous.

"Buggin' out." Clara walked over, snatched them up, and put 'em on. The world was a little more orange, but also, a little brighter somehow. She blinked, her irises changing color to match the bright orange. Grinning, Clara removed her bandana and shoved it into her backpack. "Forget being a cowboy bandit. I look like one of them Saturday mornin' cartoon villains."

Clara, proudest of all of this theft, went into the open door. The lights in here were motion activated, but this just allowed her to see that the door she had entered in was the only entrance. So she was safe, still. Inside, the place was just a big, empty room, with padded floors and walls.

"Uh, okay. Weird." She glanced around and shrugged. "Fun. But weird." Clara hesitated for a moment. She was on the verge of a realisation, but didn't quite have all the pieces yet. She also didn't have time to investigate more thoroughly.

"Gotta roll out." She said to herself. She backtracked out of the warehouse, hopped over the fence, and vanished over the city skyline. She came to a stop on a distant rooftop and searched through her stuff.

"Haha. Clara Cabello- one. Rich Guys- zero. Well, actually, they still have way more money than me and have screwed over way more people than me. But still. AJ's boutta get some cool toys to play with. And me, too." Clara adjusted her new goggles on her face and hopped down off the roof. Back to AJ's workshop.

Henry “Jello” Allin

When Henry walked through the front door of Poppa’s Pizza, he was greeted by Poppa who’s real name was Luigi Moroder. “Eh Enrico, how are you my boy!” The older man was addressing him from the kitchen in the back. It was Luigi Mangione the owner of Poppa’s Pizza. “I’m doin good Mr.Mangione, is there any client wanting some pizzas delivered?” “Yes we got’a client ordering a pizza, i’m just making it now.” Henry made his way towards the kitchen where the other employee’s were. “Hi Henry, when is your next gig?” A red and blue haired man asked Henry, this man was James Warren who was thankfully a big fan of Henry’s band. “Our next gig is going on this Saturday 8:30 PM, at a place called The Rainbow Bar.” Henry walked away towards the bathroom getting his uniform from the staff room. After putting on his rather dorky looking outfit, he made his way back out towards the kitchen. He could see that Luigi was still making the pizza.

He was just making small talk with James and the other employee named Ashley. Mostly talking about the new punk and metal bands they were listening to, “I was listening to this really good band called Gargling Flesh, their singer has a brutal voice. And their guitarist has some amazing licks.” James sounded excited talking about the band he was currently listening to. “I’m listening to this really good band called La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo, they got some really caughty songs and the lead singer is super cute.” Ashley giggled and started to sing to herself while helping Luigi. “I was listening to this band called Crackhead’s Delight, their lyrics are really ranchy i love it.” Henry said sharing his musical taste to James, who was interested in listening to Crackhead’s Delight as Henry explained more about the band.

After a while Luigi called Henry over. “Okay Enrico, you got a delivery at 126th St.” Luigi pulled the fresh pizza out of the oven and put it into a pizza box. Henry looked up the exact location on his phone and made his way to the company’s van. Putting on some music ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGgECvDBDCU ), while driving to make his deliveries. Singing along with Ozzy while driving as quick as he could to his location, Rapidly tapping the steering wheel with his fingers. Of course making sure not to get a speeding ticket, so he was slowing down while approaching major intersections.

Parking his van near the building and getting out while carefully holding the pizza box. Knocking on the door as the door soon opened. The client was a very tall muscular man, he looked very serious. Henry did not want to be in a room alone with his guy. “That will be 20 bucks.” Henry’s voice sounded very quiet. The man shoved a hand into his pocket and pulled out a single dollar bill. Being handed the bill he gave the man the pizza box. “Thanks man.” Henry said which the man’s response was slamming the door on his face. “Asshole.” He muttered pocketing the bill and heading back to his van.

Putting on another song to rock to while driving back to the pizza place, listening to some Iron Maiden (Song in question- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMuFcsl1a2Y ). Air guitaring while waiting for the light to turn green at the intersections.

---

"Say cheese!" Kim mom says as she takes a picture of Kim, Ray, Ceya and Suzy as the restaurant is in the background.
"Thank you for handing me your polaroid, Suzy" "No problem, Mrs A and thank you for letting me come along" Suzy say cheerfully as she flipping the photo "Let's look at the photo guys" the photo shows Suzy hugging both Kim, Ceya and Ray together with highlight that Kim is blushing super hard that her face turns red.

Ray crossed his arms and chuckled at the picture. Maybe not his most gangsta moment, and he liked it. They survived the Musty Mist Massacre, which couldn't be said for a lot of people. So, no harm in having a little party for it. Just the four of them, but, that was cool. His moms couldn't make it because of work and rent this month was cutting it a little close. All that meant was, he'd make it up to her somehow later on. But for now though, Ray chose to be in the moment. There was no missing the highlight of Kimi's face in the middle of them. Normally, he'd make a comment about Kim looking like a happy meal box with a wig on, but he didn't. Mostly, because he knew why. It wasn't hard to read, and it was honestly kind of adorable; you won't catch Ray using that word often. There was always that hope that Kimi'd get noticed one day, but, it was whatever. So long as they managed to keep their friendship strong for a long while.
He smirked a bit and nudged Ceya with his elbow. ”Whaddaya think Cey?”

Ceya, however, had a vacant look in the picture, looking off to the side. She had agreed to come, sure, but she wasn’t really used to being outside again. Not this soon after being in the hospital, at least. Kim notices that Ceya is feeling uneasy, in fact, she has been uneasy ever since they got into the hospital. The nudge from Ray only gaining a vague, distracted look in his direction. Kim remembers Ceya being a little quiet, that fair, the gas attack was totally unexpected for all three of them and it got them shaken. Kim tap Ceya “You ok, Ceya? You can go home if you want to.” Kim say to Ceya.

"Hm, what?” came the reply, startled blinking to follow, head shaking, "Just uh… distracted, I guess. Is it louder here to you?” they added, attempting to cover, but not really lying either. “Ok, just making sure if you are all right” Kim say “Yeah! This is a happy day for you, Kim and Ray!” Suzy says as she tries to lighten the mood, that what Kim loves about her, she knows how to make every situation somewhat lighthearted “Ray! My man! Are you ready to eat?” Suzy excitedly to Ray.

The young man in question chuckled, throwing a hand up to mush some of Ceya’s hair, which earned him a half-hearted swat in return. He understood that everyone reacted to what happened differently. While he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what she was talking about, he knew Ceya was hinting to a bit more than the sounds with her question. He could relate, in a slightly different way. But he realized his thoughts were quieting him down awkwardly. Smiling down to Suzy, his arms crossed.

“Girl I been ready ever since we said cheese for the picture. Let’s roll!” "Yeah, I feel like I could eat a horse" Ceya replied. “All right then! Come on, Kim!” Suzy cheerfully say as she grab Kim hand. “Um...Er...O-Ok…” Kim struggle to say as they enter the restaurant.

---

The waitress walk toward the group as they handed her the menus back to her "Ok, so what you guys like to order?" "I would like the minestrone soup" say Kim mom "I would like a salad for me" Kim didn't pay any attention at all, after that gas attack and her glowing at the hospital, she jus doesn't know what going on anymore. "Kim" Mom voice have snap Kim out of her head, the waitress is waiting for her answer "Oh. Um, lasagna is fine with me" Kim nervously answer "How about you guys? What would you two like to order?" The waitress ask Ray and Ceya. Ceya patted their pocket for a moment, eyes shifting, recalling exactly how much money they had on them, before replying "Chicken cacciatore, with a side of gnocchi, and can I have an iced-tea with lemon?"

Ray nodded after Ceya made hers, then a smirk formed at his lips up to the waitress. “Alright. You know the deal. Lemme get one number ones, two number twos, three number threes– Nah, a number four for real, the ziti and all that. And I know it’s with the appetizers, but if you can find a way to get a brotha some extra garlic bread, I might can find a way to get a extra bit of guap on your tip.” Ray pointed playfully before leaning back in his chair.

“All right then! I will get drinks and the food ready” the waitress tell the group as she walk away. There was awkward silence between the group, they are still trying progress what happened, specially Ceya. Mrs. Agbayani was the one who break that silence “Sooooo, Suzy, What you been up to lately?” "Oh well, I been working on a Science project at school and I'm hoping I get another A" Suzy say, Kim knows that Suzy is, without a doubt, the smartest person she knows and the only person that loves science. "Anyway, I have made a little something to cheer you guys u-” Suzy interrupt herself as she realize something while she digging through her bag "Oh man, I forgot put something in my bag. I guess it still in my car but don't worry guys, I'll go get it" Suzy carefully move out of chair and headed outside.

Kim watch Suzy going outside and thinking about the red mist happening, thinking about she is going to die, thinking about not seeing her mom, her cousins, aunts and uncles and Suzy ever again....Kim thinks it time, today is today. With deep breath, Kim carefully move out of chair and headed to the door "Um, Kim, honey. Where are you going" Kim mom ask, Kim turn to face her mother and say something that sound cool "Well um, I'm just, er, just going to check on Suzy. So um yeah....later"......Close enough.

Kim walk to the side of the restaurant to see Suzy still her car as the red neon sigh shines her blue car, looking for something. "AhHa! Found it!" Suzy say aloud "Even if it lost in the car, nothing can hide from Suzy Max-" Suzy turn to see Kim standing behind her "AAAH! Kim, you scared me!" Suzy say while laughing "S-sorry, I didn't mean to-" "No, no. It's ok, Kim, I finally found the cards that I meant to give to you guys, here yours Kim" Kim look at what it seems to be a birthday card but birthday have be scribble out, It has Fonzie from happy days on it and it read "Aaaaaay! Sorry your nose got busted and you got gas attack" Kim smile at the card, Suzy always have funny and unique ways to make everyone smile. "Thanks, Suzy, It a very nice card but that not why I came out to see....There something I want to say" "Oh? What is it?" Kim takes deep breath and breathe out "Suzy, we been friends for a long time and um...I want to say uh-" Kim can feel her mouth getting dry and her words are frozen up, she can feel her head getting dizzy, her face getting redder and redder by the minute and she can feel her head is going to-BAM!

Kim and Suzy turn to see that the neon sign just exploded! "W-What the hell was that?!" Kim cry out "I think that neon sign just exploded but how?!" How indeed Kim thought and that neon sign was brand new, how did it explode all suddenly?.....Did Kim do that? No way, Kim didn't do that, no. Although, She was glowing like that neon sign days ago, did that red mist really did something to Kim?! "Kim...." Kim turn to see Suzy with a wide eye expression "....You are glowing...." Kim look down at her hands to see that she is glowing yet again "Aaaah! No! I didn't do that! And I'm not glowing! My phone is! See?!" Kim pull out her phone and turn on the flashlight, blinding Suzy. Kim run away from Suzy, run away from the restaurant, run away from the scene and never look back

---

Kim run towards to a alleyways and stop her tracks, taking some air "no no no no" Kim repeatedly say "This is not happening, I didn't make that neon sign explode, I'm not glowing. I'm not, I'm not..." Kim say to herself as she silently started to cry....she just want to be normal again

Oberon rode in the back of the company car as the driver took him through Greenwich to the university. He was late like always due to Rudgar wanting to explain more of the business administration. Not that Oberon liked the business portion of the company, honestly he just liked the money it gave him to fund his own experiments. He had several going right now and two at the university. One day he was going to have the company he knew as Rudgar had chosen him for his business mind. This thought left his blood son Von out of the corporate picture. He was the one being groomed for the take over of the company but a couple of years after Oberon's mom and Von's dad got together Rudgar took an interest in Oberon. Especially after playing the stock market and coming out with enough cash to pay his own schooling.

This was his life now. Company cars, highrise buildings, lavish restaurants, and a new father who treated him as a game piece in his quest of immortality through his company. At least he still had his mom but more often than not she was busy with her projects at the company. Finally Von himself, a true blessing of a brother honestly. They were the same age and got along fairly well and whether Von knew it or not Oberon saw him as emotional support that only family could bring.

Lost in thought Oberon didn't hear the horn till it was too late and the car suddenly crashed. Hitting his head against the window and cracking it Oberon barely got a view of the university front steps and the people laying there. That's when he felt it, a burning in his lungs, blood dripping onto the leather seat below him. Finally he couldn't breath and blacked out.

---

Waking only slightly at the sound of Rudgar's voice. He listened in on what was being said. He was talking to Von it seemed, but on the phone? Why? He was hurt and in the hospital? Oberon then realized that he was in the hospital as well. A private room? Rudgar...that bastard put him in a room to himself to protect the asset and from the conversation on the phone he was making sure Von could go back to school soon. Keeping him as a backup...figures. Oberon made a decision right then and as Rudgar walked over with the nurse Oberon pretended to go back to sleep but eventually sleep took him anyway.

Waking what seemed like a day later Oberon checked his bedside and saw his phone. Picking it up as he saw no one in the room and Rudgar had likely went back to work he dialed Von and waited for an answer.

Still angry from his father's call, Von found himself almost outright ignoring the incoming call, but he decided to check who it was. His eyes widened in pleasant surprise, seeing his brother's name. Father hadn't mentioned him at all, maybe he was busy with work and hadn't gone to uni that day? Perhaps he had been safe, that'd be a blessing. Von admired Oberon but also found himself jealous of his brother's success. He seemed to just make everything look easy, and found profit where Von never could. No wonder he was the star of the two. Not that Von treated him poorly because of it, knowing his brother earned his position through tenacity and talent.

Answering the phone, he brought it up to his ear, putting a grin on his face. "Brother!" He answered enthusiastically, leaning back in his hospital bed. "I'm hoping you missed the party?"

"Hey man. No, sadly I didn't. I'm not sure what hospital I'm at honestly. Look there are things you and I need to discuss." He sighed and cleared his throat. "Rudgar was here. He came to see me and I heard the phone call he had with you and honestly I think it's bullshit." Switching ears on his phone and checking the room as a nurse walked by, he got a very serious tone. "I don't like the way he treats you or us for that matter. Von...I'm going to take over the company as soon as I can and I want you with me if you want to be. I've been thinking about this for a couple of years since Rudgar has been taking a super high interest in me taking over and treated us differently." Oberon stopped and coughed. A slimy substance coming up that felt cold but he ignored it and wiped his mouth giving Von time to talk.

"Hey, hey! Slow down, man." Von tried to reason, finding himself shooting into an upward sitting position in his bed. His father visited Oberon, but not Von himself? He’d feel pain in his heart if he wasn’t already used to it, but at this point he was instead rather sick of games. Between what Oberon was saying and the situation they were already in, Von felt a distinct lack of control in his life, and it almost made him want to be snappy. Instead he kept his composure as he spoke to his brother. "Look… I know how eager you are to take over the company, but you know how things are. This isn’t about overthrowing him, he wouldn’t let us do that." He calmly explained, eyes darting around the room as he thought about his own words. "He isn’t going to relinquish anything until he’s gone. And who knows how long that’s going to be?" Von leaned back in his bed, irritated about the company and the struggle that was involved. This was asking for nothing but trouble, but he knew he shouldn’t stress Oberon out, they were in the same situation right now after all.

"I’ll always support you, and part of that is calming you down. This game with Father is one of patience and endurance, not pure action. The long con is the key to success, as once he’s finally unable to continue his work, we’ll be home free."

Oberon nodded, "Yes but if he ever becomes incompetent in his work or if someone better comes along the board might rule him out." Coughing again his breath plumed in front of him. "What the…?" Oberon said as he slightly removed the phone from his ear. "Von I'll have to let you go and rest some more but just know I need you in this...to remind me I'm human and not some uncaring robot like Rudgar." With that he waited for his brother to say his farewell or anything else he had as he watched his breath plumed again.

”You’re not wrong, but now’s not the time to be worrying about it. I know you’re not like him, you’re compassionate like your mother.” Von voiced his concern and sort of cooed over his brother, not wanting him to stress while hospitalized. ”All you need to do right now is focus on getting rest. We’re in this together, okay? You’ll always have me at your back to prove how much better of a person than my Father you are. Love you, brother. Take things easy.”

As Oberon started to shiver he smiled at his brother's words then suddenly felt warm again. "Thank you, love you too man. Hope we both get out of this soon. You rest up too and take it easy. Let me know if they aren’t treating you well. Bye." He then hung up the phone and opened his messages. Seemed his mom had been trying to check on him but she said Rudgar gave her an update. No doubt she had been on another project and couldn't get away. It wasn't that she didn't care. She just had a whole science division to run and she couldn't step away. He understood as she had always been this way even when she worked for OSCORP with his father. His father… it had been a long time since he had passed. "Dad I hope you are proud of me. I'm doing what I can and I'm taking care of mom even though she is engaged to this new guy. I've gained a brother but I bet you've seen that. He is a good man like you were. Sometimes…" Oberon sniffed and his throat contracted as he tried not to cry but a few tears made it out "...I feel like he is more your son than I am." As the tears fell from his cheek they crystallized into ice then dropped to the sheets going unnoticed by Oberon as he turned pulling the cover over his head going back to sleep.

Checking himself out of the hospital a day later he walked outside finding the heat to be unbearable almost. "Gods this heat…" he swore as he loosened his shirt and felt the coolness of his sweat. His sweat...was like jelly and then getting colder. His eyes grew wide as he watched and the little beads began to steam then freeze before hanging there.

He moved through the throng of people, in his wake was a trail of steam ever so faint in the New York air. Finally he turned off into an alley staggering as he did. "I have to get to the campus lab. It should still be quarantined." He coughed and out came a glob of the stuff he coughed up yesterday. Not trusting himself around people he moved into an alleyway by the hospital. The heat made him uncomfortable so he stuck to the shadows and pulled his suit jacket over his face to avoid the sun when he had to move in it.

Taking most of the day he managed to get to campus and then to the labs. The doors were locked to the labs with caution tape up. Oberon swore and then checked his phone. Should he call Von? No...whatever was going on with him he didn't wanna hurt or infect Von. Touching the handle his palm slick with the goo and jiggled the handle. As he was about to give up the handle grew cold and with the cold Oberon felt a surge of strength. *CREEEEEK KLAANG* As Oberon had pressed down again the handle twisted farther and then broke off with little force. Whoa. How the hell? The door then creaked open as the other side of the handle fell away. Moving quietly, not that it mattered, Oberon went to the electron microscope, grabbed some slides and went to work keeping an ear out for guards or police.

It was the next day and Oberon had yet to go to bed. He had found a tape recorder and started recording his findings. "Subject Zero, self examination. Whatever happened in the attack in the city had altered me. The gas, though I can find none to examine, seems to be a catalyst that either activated a gene already present or introduced one effectively rewriting genetic code. This…is at best fringe science, a step in gene splicing on an accidental level. Subject Zero displays increased strength, agility, durability, and as discovered healing. All of this while being cold and not in heat that is. Once heat to a degree of 80 or above is introduced, the subject weakens and a substance, translucent with a tint of blue is produced through pores. This substance after a few seconds begins to freeze. Subject seems to be resistant to the cold or rather it empowers the subject. Substance produced by the subject doesn't mix well with other chemicals. Will need to find an emulsifier. Potential for the substance in all fields of science and engineering is great." The tape recording ended and Oberon felt the night hit him. He was tired and soon he slumped in his chair passing out.

---

Adalbert stirred, the man's eyes slowly managing to open with a groan of pain. His surroundings were a lot different from what he remembered when he fell out of consciousness. Also his head was fucking pounding. Christ, the last thing he remembered was that girl jumping at him, and that was more than enough. He felt his neck, finding the wound he recalled her inflicting had already healed over. Which didn't sit right with him, as he recalled it being a lot worse than a few hours... Hours? Days? How long had it been? Where was he? The questions pouring in made his head hurt more, as he slowly sat up in the bed.

Reaching into his pocket, he failed to find his phone. "Shit..." He cursed, realizing it must have been in his jacket. That meant his wallet, too. He took a second to wake up and prep his composure for whatever was going on, pulling himself to his feet after a few minutes of procrastination about the possibilities of this situation. Did he get kidnapped? Did someone just pick him up out of that alley because he was injured? Was he dead and this was just Heaven's process? Wait, being egotistical about deserving to be in Heaven was how you got sent to hell. He tried to repress himself for the potential talk with the Big Man himself.

Creeping towards the door, Adal was sort of nervous about what was on the other side. He could just peek out, but that made him look meek and afraid. No, he'd do it in a way that made him look confident! He opened the door with no hesitation, strutting forward like he owned this place...

... Only to trip over the door frame and start falling forward.

She flicked off the facet with a sigh, placing the filled glass on the counter as she rubbed her temples, debating if she should take some meds herself. How had this day gotten so fucked up so quickly? Reyna didn’t even know what she was gonna say when Von woke up. She already felt awful for what she had done in the alleyway and to make matters worse, she couldn’t help but snoop a bit when she discovered the wallet and cellphone in the pockets of the jacket she was still wearing. She hadn’t gone full blown like Morgan, simply putting the cell back as soon as she found it but she had opened the wallet to check out the license just in case she did need to find a way to get him home, plus she did want to know who her savior was. There was just no way on this god green earth that she was calling him Adalbert though and the shorter versions were either that of a stripper or boring so those were out as options to call him once they spoke.

She shook her head, grabbing the glass and the bottle of meds before making her way to her bedroom. If the two clocks to the head were anything to go by and add in the fact she had no clue what kind of effect her venom had other than it’s seemingly paralyzing nature, she figured it couldn’t hurt to be prepared as he was probably going to need it. Reyna paused in front of her door, working to readjust her hold since her hands were currently full when she was met with more than she bargained for. The door flew open, the very man she had been thinking about standing there with an air of confidence as if it was of no consequence to wake up in a strange location. She was about to stay something but instead, gasped with a bit of a yelp in surprised as she was tumbled into as Von tripped causing her to snap her eyes closed, bracing for the impact of the floor since she wasn’t going to be able to stop or catch herself at this point.

The water spilled into the carpet and the pill bottle landed a short distance away, Adalbert was quick to scoop the woman in front of him into his arms and twist, landing harshly on the floor and probably pissing off whoever was downstairs, but it was his natural response. Blinking, he looked up at the woman’s face. ”Are you alright?!” He questioned in a panic, trying to pull his hands away from her now that they were on the ground but he… Couldn’t? They seemed to be legitimately stuck to her clothing, the man tugging his palms with no success as his eyes darted about for a solution. Instead, it would appear the duo was very unexpectedly stuck.

Finally clicking out of the folder that she had made all the notations in, she heard a commotion and grabbed a bat just in case the boy decided to go all Rambo on Reyna and herself after waking up. Sneaking to her door and then peering out she saw what looked like the boy or rather Von and Reyna in an...embrace on the floor. Wait…WHAT!? "Oh boy Reyna didn't know you brought him back for…that." Morgan said with a wink to the pair. "You know you can find a partner better if you don't bite and paralyze them right? Oh and Von is it? Mind letting go?" She saw him trying to pull away then Morgan's eyes grew wide. "DUDE! Don't try and rip her clothes off in front of me!" Then Morgan smirked, "Unless that's your plan all along." She winked and giggled then got serious. "For real though hands off before you get brained and I regret fixing your blueprints!" Morgan didn't give either of them a word till now as she glared down at Von.

”Yeah, sure. That’d be great except my hands appear to be stuck to her--” His gaze going back to the girl with him on the ground instead of the irritating blue menace above, he realized she was wearing his jacket. He would’ve said something, but then he had a double take towards the blue-haired woman because of what she’d said. Fixing… His blueprints? His mind raced, realizing he had his laptop on him when everything went down. Son of a bitch, what was she doing on there? And how did she guess the password--

Christ, I left the password in the bag. She probably just found it. He realized, wanting to facepalm, except he still couldn’t get his goddamn hands off of his jacket, which was being worn by this other woman-- Fuck! What the fuck was this? Some sort of big joke?! He was about ready to blow his top at the situation, eyes squinting as he glared up at the woman with her bat in hand. ”Yeah, okay. What the hell were you doing on my laptop? What the hell am I doing in this house? Why do you have my jacket on? Do you have my phone, too? My wallet?” He looked back at the girl he was stuck too, which raised another goddamn question. ”WHY are my hands doing this?!” He frustratingly pulled, but didn’t want to rip the jacket so he eventually just gave up, annoyed look on his face as he laid on the floor. In one last breath of irritation, he glared up at the woman again to complain one last time. ”Can you put the damn bat down? I don’t think you could make this headache worse if you tried anyways.”

”W-Wha..it’s not…”, Reyna tried to defend but Morgan wasn’t letting her get a word in edgewise and by the time her roommate was finished, she had a bright blush on her face which she hated. This was not supposed to be how this went! It was supposed to be simple and maybe a bit nerve wrecking while she explained the situation, not a fiasco. Now she was apparently stuck on top of a guy who was getting more bad news by the minute and was clearly upset or at least irritated if nothing else, not that she could blame him. She literally just wanted the ground to swallow her whole at this point. Where the heck had she gone wrong or done to deserve this? So many questions were flying around and Reyna felt overwhelmed, just trying to focus on everything he was saying while in this forced proximity was extremely difficult. She took a deep breath, curling her fingers into fists and tilted to look up at his face so she could be direct with him. If she could just explain her part of the situation or why he was here then maybe that could start smoothing things out with both of them.

”I’m sure you probably remember the alleyway which I would love to explain but first it’s probably best to address the...um, ‘sticky hands’ which should enlighten you more on everything else.”, she started, brows furrowing as she focused on where to really start when telling someone else that they might not be well, normal anymore. ”I’m assuming you were in the incident a few days back too? I’m not sure if you have noticed anything strange or different about yourself but, when I got home from the hospital, weird changes started happening to me. Morgan over there, was in the same incident and has also had changes happen to her but it varies from mine. One thing we have in common though is, well,…’sticky hands’ which don’t ask me how to control it or make it stop cause I got nothing. It just kinda does it on its own. Anyway, that really isn’t the point...one of these changes is my teeth have become more like fangs but unfortunately, they produce a venom and one I didn’t know the effects of until...you.

She glanced away for a moment, a spark of guilt as she remembered instantly reacting out of irrational fear and ending up getting him hurt. Reyna forced herself to look back at him and started to continue, ”I was in shock and reacted out of instinct, fearing you were him even though I should have known better. When you fell, your head slammed into the dumpster before my venom set in. I healed your wound but I couldn’t just leave you there with that thug in case he came too first so carried you here so I could make sure you were alright since I didn’t know how long you would be affected. Your jacket was easier to carry by wearing it and it was comforting so I haven’t brought myself to take it off. Your wallet and phone are still in the pockets. As for the laptop, that is her territory., Reyna stated with a tilt of her in Morgan’s direction.”I was too focused on more important things than worrying about stopping her need to search. Plus she put up a good argument so I couldn’t refuse.”, she said with a small shrug.

Morgan screwed up her brow. "Hmm another one huh? This is getting weird." She put the bat down and got on the floor then helped maneuver them into sitting, from there she carefully moved Reyna's arms out of the jacket, finally separating them. Reyna was grateful for Morgan’s assistance even if it felt awkward being shifted to sit up and practically sitting in a strangers lap. The moment she was free from the jacket without ripping it, she quickly and carefully removed herself from Von to create some distance.

"Alright there we go. Now we haven't called anyone yet but I figured we'd make sure we didn't have to take you anywhere. Von, can I call you that or do you prefer Adalbert? What else can you do besides sticky fingers?”

Adalbert had calmed himself somewhat, though he was still staring at the both of them like they were absolutely nuts. They were telling him the incident gave her long teeth, among whatever the blue-haired one had? He looked at himself now in an upright position, calming down enough for the jacket to fall from his hands. What the hell had happened to him? There’s no way he could have just developed weird ass sticky hands, right? From some incident like that. That sounded so insanely random, but he wasn’t sure what to think. ”Von’s fine.” He answered, tilting his head at her next question. ”What can I do? Well, I didn’t grow fangs or some shit like that, I know that much. How am I supposed to know? I felt pretty normal until a vampire attacked me in an alleyway.” He replied, eyes slowly gazing in his previous attacker’s direction momentarily.

Digging into the jacket, Von pulled out his phone as a thought came to him. He’d had a phone call with Oberon while they were both in the hospital. From that same attack. As he tried to turn on his phone, he almost crushed it as it was dead. Son of a bitch, he wondered if his brother had something going on? Maybe he was a vampire, too. Shit, he kind of hoped not, that’d be weird. This red smurf on the floor next to him seemed to be the only one, though he hadn’t gotten a good look at blue-chick’s teeth.

Reyna stood for a moment, walking away from the two to grab a towel from the hall closet, deciding that they should at least clean up the carpet instead of dealing with a completely soaked spot and accidentally stepping in it or something later on. Reyna worked on pressing the cloth into the carpet while the other two bantered back and forth, the vampire comments making her roll her eyes but seeing as she had hurt him and the comparison wasn’t too far up, she decided it was best to just let it go. She gathered up the fallen cup and meds, planning on refilling them but paused as Von spoke directly to her.

”’Kay. So, you’re telling me that incident made us weird. I guess that’s something I can live with.” Von confirmed, arms lightly crossing over his chest. ”Thank you for not leaving me in that alleyway. I can understand being afraid because of the situation, but try not to bite anyone else, yeah? I get you didn’t ask to be that way, so…” He realized she probably couldn’t control herself, and tried to not be furious about the fact she left him in the bloody mess he was in right now called his ruined shirt.

She sighed trying hard to be understanding but felt like a child being scolded which wasn’t really a great feeling even more so from someone she didn’t even know. It’s not like this had ever happened before and of course she wasn’t planning to go around biting people, who does that for heaven's sake?! At least he wasn’t yelling or freaking out on her so she guessed she should thank god for small favors but it wasn’t any less annoying. ”I’ll keep that in mind.”, she replied.

”... Anyhow. I’m not going to do anything harmful, so can I have my stuff back?” It was perhaps a very aggressive request, towards the blue-haired one. Which also made him think of something else, as he kept identifying them with color. ”Since you snooped enough to learn my name, I suppose you wouldn’t mind sharing yours?”

Morgan leaned in close, "The name is Morgan, since you are clear headed enough to hear it now as my roommate Reyna just said it. As far as giving your stuff back yes I can do that but first…" her hand blurred with unnatural speed grabbing his phone. She quickly tilted it then on the underside of her wrist a small barb like object came out. Shoot out to the charge port and in full view for Von to see she pulsed. A faint bit of blue glow traveled up the spidery silk connecting the barb to the port and then the charging symbol came up on the phone but it seemed to rapidly fill. The barb detached and fell to the floor with the silky webbing. "I saw you needed a boost. So you know if you need to call a ride or the police go right ahead. I mean we are poor defenseless women and this man came into our apartment through a window wielding a bat!" She laughed and stood going back to her room to retrieve the laptop then back out to hand it to him. "Joking of course but on the serious note keep your mouth shut about us cause I'm sure the three of us don't wanna be government experiments." She stood there with her arms crossed with a smile.

”Yeah, I was just trying to check on my brother, thanks for the threat. Last time I checked I’m the one wounded and covered in blood here.” Von snarked at Morgan, gladly taking his laptop back before his gaze momentarily met with the other girl… Reyna, right? as she raised to her feet, leaving the two of them in the hallway. He’d keep both names in mind, especially with how suspicious this whole situation was. That weird ass trick she just did with her wrist was concerning, but his phone turned on without issue. He’d call Oberon soon, but at the moment he probably needed to finish up things here. As weird as they were.

”He was in the incident, too. I’m worried if this weird shit happened to him” He explained as he opened his laptop, multitasking as his phone turned on. His hotbar was a mess, looking like Morgan opened every folder she could find, Jesus Christ. He closed everything out, noting no offers to save file edits meaning whatever the hell she did, it was permanent unless he wanted to restore his system. He had no real personal information on the laptop itself but the big problem was that all of his designs were on there. Checking what was recently opened, he was horrified to find his Sticky Hook™ project files had been opened, and renamed to ‘Grapple Grabbers’, which caused a scowl to cross his face as his eyes scanned the notes. His scowl slowly changed however, to a look of confusion as her improvements were actually genius. With these changes, there were way less liabilities with this equipment. It’d take effort to make them work, yes, but this made them better in every way.

And he hated it.

He began thinking of how to react, when he noticed something possibly worse. Something pinned in the project file, seemingly images. He brought his cursor over it out of curiosity, only to see a familiar blue-haired menace, wrapped in nothing but a large white towel. The notes below simply said “Click to see more~” With hearts on both ends, which caused his gaze to momentarily darken as he slid his cursor off the image, going silent.

His fingers moved fast. Cursor sliding across the screen to the program search. Rapid typing as he searched for restore point options and found one for yesterday. Figuring losing today’s work was better than having his own work improved upon by another person, he didn’t hesitate to start the restoration process. It’d take awhile, and it was clearly visible on the screen, though he didn’t specify if it was out of distrust or not. He wouldn’t admit that he was just too proud for that sort of thing, and kept quiet as he picked up his phone to see what he’d missed recently, if anything.

Morgan's smile fell away and her heart dropped into the bottom of her chest. Mood changing suddenly at the sight of the restore. Sure she had invaded his privacy but she had done good work and didn't ask for anything other than his silence. Her sadness turned to anger. "Reyna I think it's best if you see your guest out. Seems we are done here." Morgan grabbed the bat hastily, turned and started to storm to her room. Stopping only to grab Jiji the cat. "Come on buddy let's get you away from the mean boy. Guess you are the only man here." She glared at the two of them and slammed her door shut. Throwing the bat down and taking Jiji to the bed and petting him as her eyes began to water.

Von’s eyes shot up at Morgan momentarily as she stormed off, in a way understanding why she was upset as someone who obviously shared interests with him. But at the same time, stealing someone’s laptop was not the ideal way to make friends. And for all he knew, she was just happy she could put some malware on his laptop and think he was dumb enough to leave it on there. He looked towards the kitchen, figuring Reyna would be coming to investigate soon. His sole response to the idiotic drama was to shrug.

She had barely left the two of them alone and it went to hell in a handbasket. What in the blazes just happened? It was obvious that Morgan was completely done with Von at this point, whatever happened hitting her hard since Jiji had been taken along for her furious exit. That was one thing that the little black cat excelled at, soothing people’s souls with cuddles. Reyna actually flinched at the resounding door slam, her attention turning to the man in question as she came down the hall. He simply shrugged, causing her irritation to rise a bit as she jutted out the cup of water and meds for him to take. ”What the heck did you say to her?”, she asked, wanting to know so she could work on assisting the situation later since unlike him, she lived here plus she cared about Morgan almost like a sister causing her protective nature to rear its ugly head.

”Think it’s more of what I didn’t say.” Von answered honestly, bringing himself to his feet, laptop in one hand, jacket and phone in the other. He walked up to Reyna, figuring speaking in a quieter manner was a better way to not rouse the blue beast. ”Does your friend usually tamper with other people’s files and leave towel pictures along with it?” He questioned, before quietly adding: ”I had to commit to a system restore, I don’t know what sort of tampering she really did. Whatever it was, she didn’t like it.”

”Tampering, sounds about right since she did say she was going to look and might have gone overboard but um...the other part is new though I am...not entirely surprised about it.” Reyna sighed before continuing. ”What exactly do you think she messed with if you don’t mind me asking? If she is that upset about the restore then it was probably something she was proud of. I know her well enough that she wouldn’t go around placing anything malicious onto it.”

”Tch…” Von tried to hide his disdain for her digging, but it was clear he was trapped in the matter. ”I build machines for a living. I opened up one of my project files and saw the pictures there. I glossed it over but didn’t care to see what other damage could have been there, and I don’t know how much of that was done. So I reverted my laptop back to its state from yesterday.” He was sort of blunt about it, repressing Morgan’s genius from the conversation but finding an odd ping of guilt because Reyna said that she was upset over something she was proud of.

’Wait, what the hell am I feeling guilty over?’ He thought to himself, eyes squinting slightly. ’She broke into MY computer. It’s not my fault she couldn’t just snoop and talk to me, at the very least.’

”Oh, I see. It’s unfortunate that you didn’t bother to look over the damage as she most likely assisted in helping showcase improvements and optimize the parameters of your machines. Morgan is practically a genius when it evolves advanced engineering and design. Any project or problem that she sets her mind to, she gives a hundred and ten percent so she must have thought your initial product was special enough to invest her time into. That’s a shame, no wonder she is so upset but I guess there is nothing I can do to help in that situation. After all, it is your computer and probably private plus you didn’t notice so it’s not your fault. Anyway, I have some meds here for your head if you like.”

What the hell was her problem? It wasn’t this complicated, he didn’t need the girl’s life story. But at the same time, he hadn’t stopped her. Instead he stood there, lips slowly curving and causing a saddened expression on his face. His gaze very briefly went towards Morgan’s door, but he had a feeling that knocking was a death sentence. Wait, why consider knocking? This wasn’t his problem, it was hers. Yet, in his gut, it didn’t truly feel that way.

”I’d appreciate that.” He said, wanting the meds but noting his hands were full. He excused himself past her, setting his laptop on the kitchen counter and draping his jacket over his shoulder, finally shoving his phone into his pocket so he’d have both hands free. Meeting up to accept the medicine, he quickly popped a few of the pills into his mouth and downed the water with no hesitation, a light gasp escaping him as his mouth had honestly been rather dry up to that point.

”It was… A knee-jerk reaction.” He admitted, not letting her in on what exactly he meant at that moment, but he soon made it easier to figure out. ”The system restoration. I’m not very familiar with people touching my things, I’m sorry for causing a scene.” He peered around Reyna, looking towards Morgan’s door again. ”Not sure if an apology is exactly going to work so soon for her, though.”

”I’m not judging. I really have no right to since I know all about knee-jerk reactions,”, Reyna teased, tapping her neck on the same spot where she had bit Von. ”It’s fine. She will be upset for a bit but Morgan is good at bouncing back and I’ll make sure she is alright after she has had some time to herself. I am not sure how she would take an apology right now though the thought is nice.”, she said rubbing her arm gently before continuing, ”Um, I didn’t actually get to do so earlier with all the chaos but I’m sorry, for biting you and thank you, for saving me. I don’t really do well with knives and I was caught off guard. You really showed up right when I needed someone, so thanks. Oh and sorry about the shirt. If you want, you can give me a call and I’ll pay for it to be dry cleaned or something.”

”Ah, right… that.” Von replied, reaching up onto his own neck to feel at the wound. Glad she’ll be alright, but… Don’t worry about that. You were in trouble, and needed help. And even if things went a little wonky, you did help me and not leave me in that alleyway, so thank you. I’m glad I managed to get involved before you got hurt.” He said, before being distracted. Specifically by the idea of her offering to pay for his dry cleaning, which was funny, but he didn’t care that much. ”It’s not that big of a deal. I’ll take care of it. I’m more concerned about these powers… Such a sudden thing, and I’ve got to wonder how the or why the incident played into it.”

”I don’t know. I’ve been wondering about that myself but usually curiosity kills the cat and I’m not sure I want to risk digging deeper. I just know that before the incident and the hospital, everything was normal. I got lucky that Morgan is here and we could work on figuring some of it out together. I can’t imagine going through this alone. It makes me wonder just how many of us ended up with these weird powers or changes. I can’t think everyone would ignore them or use them for noble purposes.”

”Ain’t that the truth. I guess it’s good to have someone close for situations, so you two seem to be in a good place. Can’t worry about the big picture, at the moment we’re just a small sample of what could be out there, you know?” A thought came to him, because of the bond she seemed to share with that Morgan gal. Shit, all this drama had made him forget to call Oberon! ”Like I said before… My brother went through the incident, too. I’m not entirely sure if he’s the same way, but I should probably check on him. Give me a moment?” He put the glass down, plucking his phone from his pocket to call up Oberon. The phone rang, and Von’s face clearly shifted from the uncertainty of his brother’s situation.

The phone began to buzz on the metal table and then into a rack of test tubes making them shake. This out of everything was what woke Oberon though he couldn't move. He had been frozen or stuck to the table he apparently fell asleep against. Panic took over and suddenly he was up. Ice cracked from his fingers as he grabbed the phone and answered. "Hello!?" He said urgently and groggily. Taking the phone away from his ear he read the name Von on the screen and relaxed a bit. "Ummm hey Von. What's up?" Looking down he saw the mold of his face made out in ice.

Von’s face visibly shifted into a look of concern. ”Well I just discovered that the incident at the University did more than hospitalize us. You notice anything weird going on… With, uh, you?” He asked awkwardly, not sure how to put it.

He considered telling Von but stopped. "Just come to the school laboratories. There is no one here but the place is still quarantined so you will have to sneak in. There is a lot that we can discuss here and not over the phone." With that he softened a bit . "Von be careful and if your father calls don't answer till we talk. Bye Von." Without another word he hung up the phone and then looked in the electron microscope again. Gasping at the sight.

”Oberon? Hey!” Von shouted at the phone, pulling it away from his ear and glaring, noticing his brother had hung up. Son of a bitch, what was that about? What was he doing at the school? Usually he wasn’t the type to get into trouble, so this left Von conflicted, but worried. If it was a break-in he’d have to partake in, then for Oberon he would do it. He slid his phone into his pocket, before eyeing Reyna. ”Sorry, I’ve got to go.” He said, contemplating bringing his laptop, but noting it would just weigh him down. ”Kind of weird after the speal I had, but can I leave the laptop here? If she ends up wanting to mess with it again… Fine, but I really can’t bring it with me right now.”

If the ending to the phone conversation was anything to go by, that hadn’t exactly gone well. Von looked worried and given the subject was powers, she wasn’t sure she wanted to imagine why he was suddenly so concerned. Had something happened to his brother? ”Please, no need to apologize. I’ll watch over your laptop for you. Do what you got to do and your laptop will still be here when you get back.”

Nodding to Reyna, Von was quick to take his leave; Or would have been, when one additional thought crossed his mind. He turned to the girl, looking at her for a moment. He hadn’t got to talk like he wanted, but that was okay. He’d be back. ”Heads’ up.” He cautioned her, tossing her his jacket. ”You said it was comforting, right? Keep it. Or at least keep it as assurance I’ll be back.”

She quickly reacted, moving to catch before she even realized what was being tossed to her, that is until she felt the material landing in her hands. She looked at the jacket she now held, rubbing the fabric with her thumbs for a moment before holding it closer to her chest. Reyna turned her attention back onto Von, feeling a bit shocked that he was allowing her to hang onto it for now and while it didn’t seem like an important gesture...it still meant a lot that he was trying to think of her comfort even though they didn’t really know each other. ”Thank you, Von. I’ll see you later then.”, she smiled.

He offered a small smile in return, before walking out the door.

Turn, turn, turn…

---

---

The abandoned warehouse that Marcus and Scott had commandeered shortly after they confirmed Scott’s suspicions was dead silent, a marked difference compared to the activity that had filled it just seconds before. They had been using it to practice their sparring. Or, rather, Scott had been practicing. Marcus’ only “practice” was an exercise in futility. Despite being faster and stronger than his friend by a wide margin, it didn’t matter when your opponent could see all of your moves literally several seconds before you made them. Despite being able to predict Marcus’s moves, Scott had to keep on his toes. He’d never had to tangle with someone who was that quick, or whose punches were that powerful. It had Scott sweating, and not just from the workout he was getting. Marcus got a little… frustrated, if he was being honest. And something inside him had… responded. Violently.

Marcus stared, wide-eyed, at the massive chunk that had been torn out of the pillar behind Scott. Even with his reflexes, Scott had barely escaped being decapitated by a blade of darkness that had streamed from Marcus’ thrown punch like a liquid blade. Marcus stared over at his friend, then to his hand, still streaming vantablack vapor. Scott’s mask was twisted to the side, and several strands of hair drifted to the floor.

”So.” His voice trembled slightly as he tried to joke his way out of this situation. ”Apparently I can do that now.”

---

---

Marcus’ new abilities threw a new wrench into the works of their scheme, and neither of them had any explanation for it- enhanced physical ability was one thing. Marcus’ weaker, but still potent, reactive senses were another. Deadly shadows didn’t have any correlation to anything Scott had. And if that were the case…

”...then there’s no telling what the others might have. If they have additional powers like I do.”

Of course, this didn’t deter them in the slightest. If anything, this just spurred Marcus further. It was almost a game, now. A competition. And that meant that he’d treat it like any other competition- by throwing himself in full-force.

Of course, sometimes that phrase is more literal than others, he thought, his breath wheezing as he pulled himself up the lip of the building’s roof that he’d swung to, the shade-swathed jacket just barely shielding his torso from the impact of his almost-failed swing.

His powers were getting more potent, elaborate. Sharp blades weren’t the only things his shadows could replicate. They could form just about anything he wanted to, if he focused hard enough. Armor. Weapons. And, in this case, webs, of a sort.

Which was a boon for Scott, considering how hard it was to make more of that fluid. They needed to save up every ounce they could manufacture, so Marcus’ powers having the function baked in was a godsend.

Not that it meant anything if he couldn’t actually use it properly. Hence why he was out here, in the dead of night, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, in an attempt to replicate that liquid grace he’d seen his friend swing with. Turns out, even enhanced agility wasn’t a substitute for practice. And Scott had two years’ worth of a head start on the redhead.

Marcus crouched slightly, wincing as he eyed the next gap he was supposed to jump across. It would be a doozy if he missed. Or worse.

He grimaced. ”Nothing ventured,” he muttered, before bursting into a run.

He’d get this down. He had to.

---

---

There was a soft, distinct plak as Scott released the mismatched portions of newspaper smacked against the table.
“So, here are all the potential leads I’ve found. It’s not a lot, but… that’s almost a good thing,” he moved he top sheet of newspaper to reveal a front-page headline, “Almost.”
The aforementioned headline read ‘Robbery at Hardt Corp. Warehouse’. Scott shuffled to a middle page of the other paper, wearing a denim jacket over his costume, sans mask.

Marcus looked up at Scott, his fingers entwined with shadowy strings as he played a twisted game of Cat’s Cradle with his powers. It made for surprisingly good practice.

He raised an eyebrow at Scott’s choice of outfit.

”...You sure it’s a good idea, going out in that outfit? A little conspicuous, isn’t it?”

“Well, I’m not going to go swinging without it,” he remarked.
Folding the top back, he rolled to a smaller article, indicating it with his finger.
“Here, a convenience store robbery, two assailants, three civs’ involved in the hold up, one was the cashier, the other two bailed,” he turned the paper around so Marcus could see it, “The cashier reports being saved by a skinny guy in a ski-mask. The front-desk robber had his face pushed in- nasal cartilage rupture. And his partner- complete dislocation of the meniscus in his left knee, with other associated injuries. September sixth. I’m guessing the masked guy’s our mark. Sounds like a bit of a wild-card though,” he trailed off.

Marcus grimaced. “Wild card” was an understatement- it sounded like they nearly caved in someone’s face, robber or no.

Scott rifled to another page of a different paper, separating it from the previous one with a finger, “And here- there’s not much on it, but an unconscious man was found in an alley by a coffee shop with a bloody knife. Had priors for aggravated assaults, muggings, theft, that kind of thing, Type one dirtball. Obviously there’s no statement given to the media from him. Heck, some people think it was me. But it wasn’t, or I wouldn’t be telling you about it. Plus I leave them restrained, and call it in after. Anyway, I think this is someone else.”

Marcus smirked and shrugged. ”You never know. Could have a Fight Club-type thing going on, someone hijacking you while you’re asleep. We have superpowers, anything’s possible.”

Scott shot Marcus a strained look, one that said ‘please don’t’, as he cleared his throat, “That one was probably stronger than me. The perp was tapped out a few less shots than it’d take for me. You know I’m a wrestler. And this one, on the seventh,” he cleared the other papers away, showing off the headline page that had been shown for a brief moment, “No alarm trips, no one saw anything, very specific items stolen from kind of a high-rolling business. So, normally I’d suspect an inside job, but...” he half-folded the page to a picture on the follow-up page.
It was a capture from the security footage, two frames side-by side. The first looked like a lump of shadow up in the corner, the second, a stretched blur up towards a window, the caption asking for readers to call the police if they had any information. By themselves, the images would look like displaced shadows, but together, and knowing what they knew, it indicated something different.
“If that’s not someone with spider-powers, I don’t know what it is. And from the looks of it,” Scott turned to look at Marcus, “It seems they can do that thing you can do, too,” the papers were placed on the table, and he took a seat, “We need a game-plan.”

Marcus looked over the papers. There was a lot to cover in just three newspapers, and who knows how much else online, on TV, and so on. Game plan? They needed a task force. Marcus shuffled in his chair, folding his arms.

“I can read your moves, but I can’t read your mind,” Scott chimed in, perhaps a bit impatient.

Marcus shrugged, ”It’s… complicated, no matter how we slice it. I’m getting better with my powers, but there’s still a lot we don’t know about these other… spiders. I’m just… hesitant. I’ve never done something like this before.”

“Yeah, this is… a lot. Which is why I knew I couldn’t go in blind, or alone. As much as I hate to say this, you’re kind of in this now, Marcus. Whoever did… you know, this, they made that decision for a bunch of other people, and I have a feeling this isn’t the end of it either. I don’t want you- or anyone else for that matter, getting E.T.’d out of nowhere because they were sloppy or … worse,” he gave the pile of newspaper articles a tap, then let out a deep breath, “But yeah, we basically have no idea what we’re walking into each time. I don’t know if they’ll just have a copy of either yours or mine, or if the extra powers get more,” he hesitated for a moment, “extra. I can’t even begin to process the eccentricity here, only knowing what the two of us can do- sorry for going clinical there. This would be fascinating if it weren’t so terrifying,” came a rather calm admission, and then silence.

Marcus stared at the papers for another few seconds, then picked one up. He shrugged.

”Well… we’ve come this far. It’d be a little silly to back out now.”

---

October 10th, 20XX

Approximately one month since the Recluse Incident
Manhattan, New York City, NY

Marcus rolled fluidly as he landed from his leap, smoothly tumbling to his feet as though he’d never left the ground. One solid perk of these spider powers is that, with his increased balance and senses, he was learning a lot faster than he would have before. Not to mention, he had his prior experience with freerunning. Web-slinging and swinging was still a slightly more dubious prospect for him, but parkour? That, he could do.

Helps that I have a safety net built in at all times, he thought to himself. He looked around, the Empire State Building gleaming in the (not-so) distance.

Damn. Screw the subway, I made pretty good time here from Brooklyn.

Marcus took a deep breath, a grin on his face underneath his appropriated motorcycle helmet.

His “costume,” as it were, was simple enough. All it took was his riding leathers, then a thin-yet-durable layer of shadows enveloping the whole ensemble, and voila: instant superhero.

”Everything okay on your end?” he asked, hoping the Bluetooth earset he was wearing hadn’t been jostled loose during his journey. Or worse, that his phone had fallen out of his pocket. Nope, still there. Thank the gods for zippers…

“Locked and loaded. I’ll scan the low road on my way, you keep your eyes on the high road. Oh, a bit of future-proofing- mind keeping a few extra shots of webbing on you for me when we do these joint ventures? Since I can’t figure out a way to make it more efficient, it would help if I could reload between bouts. Only if you have room though,” Scott chimed in, “Oh, and we might want to work on a dedicated line instead of using public phone lines. I have some old AV stuff from my dad that I could repurpose.”

”I don’t see why not. It’s not like I need to carry much of anything. And yeah, private channels, got it,” said Marcus, before breaking out into a run. It was almost unbelievable how much faster he was now. He almost felt like he could take on a car in a sprint. He leaped off the edge of the building, letting out a crow of delight as the adrenaline hit.

“Cool cool. Oh, and I know it doesn’t matter much, but thought of a name?-” there was the telltale sound of Scott’s webshooter firing off, a sort of hydraulic sound that indicated he was on the move, “And could you cut the feed before you do that next time? I don’t know what that was, but it was loud.”
Fwpsh!

Marcus grimaced at his faux pas, as his shadows lashed out, grabbing onto another nearby building. The tether ran taut, and Marcus rushed in, wall-running along the edifice before kicking off into the night.

”My bad. I’ll try to be more careful. Over.”

Can I reach my earset with my shadows? I’ll try it once I’m stationary again. Damn helmet’s too bulky.

He grabbed onto the edge of a building ahead with two shadow strands, heaving himself up and over the rim, and landing on the roof with a dismount that would make Olympic gymnasts green with envy. He paused, thinking about Scott’s earlier question. After a moment of thought, he grinned.

”…call me Wolf Spider. I think that fits, don’t you? Over.”

“Nice. Kinda fits with how… startling that shadow-fang thing you can do is. Not that we go around announcing our presence, but it’s better than the papers giving you a name. I mean, at least they settled on ‘Strand’ for me. Could you imagine if they tried calling me stupid like ‘Wally Mc Crawly’ or ‘Spider-Man’ or something? Anyway- bus station half-way between us. Meet me on the building behind it, east wall. Radio silence unless something goes sideways. Over and out.”
Fwpsh!
-beep-

Danny Davis swung through the streets of New York City. The city was beautiful at night, especially from this vantage point. Danny and his sister had spent a month designing their outfits, perfecting the formula for the spider silk, and, especially in Danny’s case testing the capabilities of what these new powers could do. So far, he found he could climb up walls, lift a car with relative ease, and he seemed to possess some sort… he wasn’t sure what to call it, but a feeling that alerted him to imminent danger.

Tonight was the test run. He had chosen to do this at night, because he was pretty sure no one was going to notice a guy in a pink and purple full body costume at night. Not with the other lights and noises of the city. So far, the spider silk seemed like it was able to support his weight, as it was designed to do. Finding things for the web to stick to in order to swing properly presented a challenge. He had to cling to a building when there wasn’t anything to stick to.

He landed on a roof, and stopped to catch his breath. That was when he saw another person sitting on the rooftop. Danny froze. He wasn’t expecting to find other people out here… Then again… It made sense. If he and his sister got powers, the possibility was there that other people did too. Still, why did they have to be out tonight? Danny was looking forward to a quiet night alone.

But wait a minute… Danny was a superhero now… Dealing with strange potentially ostumed individuals was going to be a part of the gig. What if this guy was a potential supervillain? He certainly dresses the part, even if the helmet looked a little silly… Danny took a breath. There was no need to jump to conclusions. Danny didn’t know this guy, and this guy didn’t know Danny. All he had to do was… Talk… The worst part… At least he was wearing a mask.

Danny took a breath, and approached the guy. “Hey buddy! Nice costume. But uh… Mines better. Of course, not everyone looks as fabulous in pink as I do!” Danny was actually relieved the other person couldn’t see his face. If he had actually said that to anyone in real life, he would have gotten punched in the face for sure. “So uh… Are you one of those people that like to hang out on rooftops often? If you are, I’m kind of new at this. We could start a club!”

Henry “Jello” Allin /// Orchard Spider

Henry stood inside of a junkyard, wearing his superhero “outfit”. The outfit itself was made out of some fabric he had bought at a second-hand store. The hoodie and combat boots were things he also found at the thrift store. He felt kind of stupid wearing his costume, he wondered if he should have gone with another costume that would be more appropriate. He was lucky that there was no one working today at the yard. From what he knows so far about his powers, his body is magnetic, something he accidentally found out while trying to reach for a spoon. He walked over towards a pile of used metal, reaching out his hand and focusing his mind. After a few minutes, a large piece of metal stuck to his chest, picking up another piece of metal and hitting the metal piece as hard as he could. “Holy cow, I wonder if I can make a suit of armor out of this stuff.” Taking off the piece of metal that was attached to his chest and picking up two pieces of metal. In the back of his mind, he thought of a sword and shield a medieval knight would wield. The metal in his hands soon formed into the image in his head, “Damn.” He expressed out loud that his voice echoed throughout the junkyard.

A few moments later he used the metal around him to create metallic wrist guards, shin guards, or any other form of body armor. Walking over towards a wrecked car and easily removing the unhinged door. Holding onto the door handle of the door, slowly shaping it into a duck. For the next couple of hours, he shaped and morphed various metals into weapons or random objects. At first, the objects he was creating out of metal were misshaped, but sooner or later the objects were shaped as intended. Feeling more confident in his abilities, he shaped pieces of metal into a makeshift skateboard. Speeding down the road in search of any crimes going on. He was unsure about his effectiveness as a superhero, but he was certain that he could do some good for this city.