The Return of Araneae: The Spider of Gotham

Disclaimer: I own only Ann/Araneae and the addition to the plot. I do not own anything in DC Comics or Marvel Comics.

Summary: Sequel to Zero to Hero. After Three years in Gotham, life for Ann changes drastically. She once again puts on the suit. Araneae Returns. But most of all does that hole in her heart get filled?

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She walked Melanie to the door while saying "Take your holiday you need the rest otherwise you are going to cause yourself more stress and Wayne Enterprises doesn't need an overly stressed secretary."

"Yeah I think I will take my holiday. Thanks again Ann."

Ann watched Melanie leave then turned back into her office which had in one corner couches and a TV, then in the other corner her desk and finally her cabinets for files on the regular people she had appointments with. Otherwise the files went downstairs where all the files went.

When she first started everyone wanted to meet her but now after three years it was only a select few who wanted to see her, the others where sent to her or she asked them to come to her for their three month stability check. Basically she talked to them to see if they needed time off or if they were unstable for the job.

Unstable for the job was the nice way of putting it, basically if Ann believed someone was unstable for the job they where then sacked, given three month pay to compensate them while they looked for another job or another way to bring money into their household.

Ann was about to sit down when someone knocked on her door, sighing she grabbed a bag from the couch then answered the door giving it to a sheepish looking Melanie who left her bag in the room nearly every session that she had with Ann.

Closing the door Ann went to her desk brought up Melanie's files then did a report which she sent to Earl saying that Melanie needed a paid vacation for stress relief and the fact Melanie hasn't took a day off for over a year.

Upon finishing the report and sending it to Earl Ann got up called a cab then made her way down stairs where she exited Wayne Enterprises and entered her cab after waiting for ten minutes for it to arrive. On the drive to her house Ann looked out of the window and spotted a few times people getting mugged in alley ways.

Gotham needed a hero or something to close to it. The reason she hadn't become Araneae since arriving in Gotham was simple really. First it would be obvious she was Araneae if the hero arrived the same day as her and left New York the same day as her. Second she needed to settle into Gotham life. Third her job was high on her priority list especially when she talked to criminals for the police force.

She trusted the police force in Gotham as much as she trusted them in New York in fact she trusted them less than the NYPD.

One person she trusted completely in the whole of the Gotham's police, that was Lieutenant Jim Gordon. In fact over the three years he became one of her only friends including Melanie of course and Lucius Fox the man who got her the job in the first place.

Before her mind could wander anymore the cabbie told her that they had arrived and looking out of the window she noticed he was right there stood her home smiling she paid the man then went inside her house placing her jacket on the coat hangar, then she proceeded up the stairs straight through her room and into her shower where she washed her stress away.

Coming out in a towel her eyes wandered to a painting on the wall gently taking it down she frowned at the safe then turned it three right, seven left, six right, one left then opened it.

Seeing the black and midnight blue material she was about to take it out when she all of a sudden slammed the safe shut and placed the painting back on the wall. Getting changed she went out into her back garden and walked to the edge of her land where her pond lay. Sitting down she let the tears fall which she always ended up doing when she went near her second skin. Or at least it use to be her second skin back in New York.

Ever since…

A choked sob escaped her lips.

She was meant to help people but every time she so much as reached to take the suit she froze for a split second before shutting it out of her life again, then came the tears and the well known heartache that she had felt ever since…

She couldn't even think of it anymore when she got herself into an emotional state.

Every day she helped people with their problems when she has problems of her own. Gotham needed Araneae in fact it needed her three years ago but every time she tried to bring that part of her life back she shut it out again.

Wiping her eyes she caught her reflection in the pond looking back at her. Her eyes where red and puffy from crying and not filled with fire as they use to be back in New York.

Her hair was one of the things that had changed since New York instead of the black with red streaks, it was medium brown with blonde streaks. In fact she changed her hair before going to Gotham so no one in Gotham had seen her with her black and red streaked hair like it was back in New York.

Ann slowly stood up and turned back towards her house and just looked at it and thought it was weird that her life was complete but not complete at the same time.

She has the job of her dreams.

Dream house with the dream land around it.

Friends not many mind you but friends nonetheless.

But then there was that hole in her heart that had been empty since…

She started walking towards the house when the winds began to pick up and her foot stood on something, looking down she spotted a white rose picking it up tenderly she looked back towards her house, then the wind tussled with her hair.

She closed her eyes then she whispered words that she hadn't said in along time "I miss you Harry and my love for you will never go." The wind played with her hair once more before it died down completely.

Her eyes opened slowly and now if you looked at them you would see a fire beginning to burn once again. She ran into the house with the rose placed it in a vase next to her bed then opened her safe and took the suit out held it in her hands and said as if talking to an old friend "I've missed you and I'll never let you go again."