Ultimate Spider-Girl
[Ultimate Spider-Man, Rule 63]
24 June, 2014
Chapter 1: Prologue I
X
"Come on, hurry it up, would ya'?"
The man looked nervous, eyes darting back and forth down the back alley he was standing in. The sky was growing lighter and lighter by the minute. "The sun'll be up soon," he added anxiously. "People'll be wakin' up!"
Of course, some people were already awake, but I wasn't about to tell him that.
"Shut up," was the growled response that floated out through the door.
Through a couple of old, half broken windows, I could sort of see inside the building. There were two more men, kneeling next to a large hole in one of the walls. Not an outer wall, oh no— as the cut padlock now lying on the ground showed, this building had been rather easy for them to break into. But this building didn't have anything worthwhile inside, just some empty warehouse.
The one next door, however— which just happened to share a wall with this one— had a jewelry store at its front. The only downside was, jewelry stores tend to have pesky security systems that can cause all kinds of problems if unsavory characters try to break in.
Assuming they still had power, that is.
From the snatches of conversation that had drifted out, it seemed that part of the wiring for this particular security system ran through one of the side walls. To be specific, the one that now had a hole torn in it, with two shady men peering in. Apparently, disabling the security system was turning out to be harder than they thought. So, just in case, they had posted a lookout.
That lookout continued to glance around, obviously tense. Suddenly, something clattered down the alleyway and he spun to face it, entirely missing a certain someone that slipped into the building behind him. "…Guys," he hissed, darting inside. "There's somebody out there!"
"There's nobody out there," the biggest of the trio snapped back. "Stop being such a pansy! Now get back outside and keep your mouth shut!" Annoyed, he turned back to where the third member of their group was working with a pair of pliers and wire cutters.
Flinching, the smallest member of the three turned to head back for the door— only for it to slam shut in his face. He let out a yelp even as the other two leapt to their feet, eyes searching wildly.
I did my best to hold in a chuckle.
The lookout was shuffling backwards, panicking. "They're already inside… they're in here with us, we gotta get out of here—"
The biggest one grabbed him by his shirt and yanked him close. "Shut it! Quit your yammerin' and spread out! Find 'em!" He shoved the littler man away, and reached back to his waist band to pull out the gun that had been tucked there. He looked back at his partner who had been working at the wall— that one grabbed the discarded sledgehammer, hefting it up. The big one nodded, then shouted to the room at large: "Come out, if you know what's good for you!" I chose not to dignify that with a response.
The lookout continued to blubber and drip sweat; his head was practically on a swivel, desperately trying to find, well, me. That was when his eyes fell on the door they had come in, and I glanced that way as well see what had caught his attention.
With light starting to filter through the windows, I could just make out a single strand, still stuck to the top of the door… it was glistening, almost see through… And the look of recognition on the guy's face told me, he had realized what it was.
Before he could open his mouth to shout, I fired an identical strand at his back— then hauled.
Of course, the other two spun at the sudden screaming, only to see their lookout disappearing into the darkness of the rafters overhead. One short tap later, the screaming stopped.
"What the hell," the hammer wielding thug breathed, eyes going wide.
The one with the gun just narrowed his eyes. "It ain't a what, it's a who," he growled. "An' I know exactly who it is… Get down here and fight like a man!" he snarled into the darkness. His gun was pointed upwards, but without a target, it was an empty threat.
He still couldn't see me, but I smirked anyways. "Why don't you come up here and fight like a spider? Also—"
The gun toting thug seemed to notice me dropping from the ceiling out of the corner of his eye, and tried to whirl around, only for me to kick his legs out. He crashed to the floor, gun skittering out of his hand.
I stood over him, the light now clearly illuminating my red and blue suit. "Not a guy," I finished, hands going to my hips.
The big man, who was now on the floor, sneered. I could see his eyes focus on something just behind me. I pretended not to notice.
"I mean, come on," I continued, and the thug on the floor smirked. I gestured to myself; "I know the costume kind of flattens things out—"
A sledgehammer came smashing down, right into the spot I had been standing in, a half second earlier.
"But seriously?" I went on without missing a beat, as though I hadn't just sidestepped something that could have completely crushed my skull. I glanced at the guy behind me, whose mouth was gaping like a fish. Turning sideways, I placed my hands on my stomach. "Hey, be honest with me. Do I look like a guy when I'm dressed like this?"
His surprise turned into murderous rage, and he swung the hammer upwards— I bent backwards to avoid it this time. He didn't let up, and charged after me, aiming blow after blow that I dodged with ease. It almost looked like we were dancing… if, y'know, there was a dance that involved construction equipment.
There was so much comedic gold in this situation, though, it was hard to pick one. I settled for: "Being chased by a guy with a hammer— so many inappropriate jokes I could make right now!" Of course, he wasn't laughing— honestly, criminals have no sense of humor. But I could see, his arms were starting to shake from the effort of swinging that huge hammer around so much.
So he threw everything he had into one final overhand strike, aimed right for my head— this time I didn't bother moving. A triumphant look leapt to his face—
I caught it.
It almost jerked the thug right off his feet, and he was so taken aback, it took him a moment to realize what had even happened. Oh yes, I had caught the sledgehammer— with one hand no less.
He couldn't see my expression through my mask, but the look I was giving him was entirely unimpressed. I leaned in until we were face to face. "Yeah… not your best move."
Then I delivered a kick to his chest that by all rights shouldn't have even hurt, coming from a girl my size. Instead, it knocked the guy half way across the room, yanking the hammer clean out of his grasp.
Glancing at the sledgehammer, I tossed it to one side like it was nothing more than a stick. "Two down," I muttered. "That just leaves— whoa!"
I ducked as the last thug took a potshot at me, although the jolt in the back of my head was insisting that it had buzzed by a little too close for comfort. I shot a web at the opposite wall and yanked myself up, trying to get out of the line of fire.
"Didn't they ever tell you you're not supposed to point those at people?" This time I was annoyed, mostly at myself for not keeping track of what the third guy was doing. Obviously, while I was dancing with the Hammer Brother, he had gotten his gun back and was waiting for a clear shot.
The big man just grinned. "They told me, only point it at something I intend to kill."
"Ouch," was my dry reply. Two more bullets were fired, but I was alert and on the move now, and the shots went wide. "Ooh, so close! You're getting warmer," I taunted in a sing song voice, leaping to the ceiling, then crawling into the rapidly diminishing shadows.
"Shut up, and come out where I can shoot you," he growled back.
"Y'know, that sounds so tempting." Perfect, he didn't see me. I fired a quick web shot at the opposite side of the room, where it struck a cardboard box.
As planned, the thug heard it and spun, firing again. At the same time, I swung myself across the ceiling so I was positioned directly over his head, before lowering myself down on a line.
It didn't take long for the guy to realize he hadn't hit me after all, and turn to keep looking— only to find me inches from his face, hanging upside down on a web. "Miss me?"
"Agh!" Despite his earlier 'tough guy' act, he flinched backwards, and that was all the opportunity I needed.
I flipped myself around on the web, using my momentum to send a kick straight into his head. He was unconscious before he hit the floor.
Cutting my web-line, I dropped to the ground as well, surveying my handiwork. All three were unconscious, though I supposed I should be getting that one guy off of the ceiling…
A few minutes and some very liberal use of webbing later, all of the would-be crooks were on the floor and webbed in place. A sound drifting into the empty warehouse caught my attention, however: police sirens. Someone must have heard the shots fired and called 911.
"Well," I started, lightly kicking the biggest one in the stomach as he started to rouse back into consciousness. "What can I say? It's been fun." I glanced out the window. "But I really ought to go, before the—"
Something finally clicked in my brain. Window. Light. Sun.
"The sun is up?" I blurted, yanking open the door to duck outside. And yes indeed— the sun was halfway over the horizon at this point. "I gotta go!"
I immediately fired a web at the tallest nearby building, hauling myself up. The police would take care of the criminals— I had some place I needed to be!
Once I got up to a stretch where the buildings were a more than a couple of stories high, it went faster, and pretty soon I was making tracks across the city. Before too long, I was back in the suburbs of Queens. The sun was almost completely up by this time, and people were starting to move around. I had to be even more careful, lest anybody see me— but I was cutting it close, and growing more anxious by the minute.
Then one particular house came into sight. I gave a final cursory glance to make sure nobody was around before I jumped down to street level, making a dash for it. Up the side wall, in through the window that had been left open, yanking off my mask and gloves and yanking on a hoodie, then diving under the covers—
A few moments later, when I was met with only silence, I began to relax into my pillow. Yes… I'd made it with a few minutes to sp—
I flinched as the alarm started screeching. The clock very nearly met the same grizzly demise as its predecessor, but I caught myself right before my hand smashed into it, and instead, just turned the alarm off. Then I groaned, burying my face back into my pillow.
"Peyton." My name was being called through the door, and a sound that was definitely not whining started in my throat.
"Five more minutes, Aunt May," I complained through my pillow.
"Now, Peyton." I heard the door start to swing open. Hastily, I zipped up my jacket and turned to face her. "You slept for ten hours last night," Aunt May was saying, a wry smile on her face. "You've gotten plenty of rest. Time for school!"
Sigh. Should have known it was too good to be true. Outwardly, I just offered a sheepish look. "All right, all right, I'm getting up." I sat up in bed, careful to make sure the covers and my jacket kept everything hidden. Then after a moment, I gave her a look. "Um, privacy please?"
Aunt May rolled her eyes good naturedly. "It's nothing I haven't seen, you know."
"Ew! Don't want to know—"
"All right," she gave in, laughing. Then Aunt May regarded me again. "Y'know, Pete, I don't understand how you can sleep with that jacket on. Aren't you burning up?"
"What? Nah," I insisted, brushing it off. "It's cozy!" There was a pause, before I coughed pointedly.
My aunt let out a mock sigh, looking heavenward, but there was a smile on her face as she closed the door.
I waited a second before leaping up and racing to the door, locking it. Then I glanced over at the mirror, getting a good look at myself: baggy sweatshirt over skin tight super hero costume. Not my best look. With a sigh of relief, I began pulling pieces of my costume off.
It's not always easy to balance both sides of my life. I mean— I'd been doing this for a while now, and it still threw me sometimes.
I held up the main body of my suit, and wrinkled my nose. I wasn't going to get a chance to wash it, again. But, I was going to at least insist on taking a shower before I put it back on. See, I almost always wear it under my clothes, so I can jump in if any trouble starts.
Of course, that was a lot easier over the summer… now school had started up again. I'd been out late and out early and definitely not getting ten hours of sleep, but, hey— crime never sleeps either, so at least I had company, right?
I wandered downstairs a little while later, a fresh pair of clothes over a not-so-fresh costume, with still-mostly-wet hair. I grabbed a piece of toast that was just popping up from the toaster and started heading for the door.
Aunt May caught me before I managed to escape. "That is not enough for breakfast," she scolded me. "And is your hair still wet?"
"It'll dry on the way to school," I dismissed around bites of toast.
She gave me an exasperated look as I scarfed my breakfast, and turned to pick up something from the counter. "Here," she said, pushing a cup into my hands. Apparently it was some kind of shake? It was also green.
My reaction must have shown pretty clearly, because then Aunt May was swatting me with her spoon. "Don't make faces!"
"H-hey!" I laughed, trying to duck away.
She was wearing a look of pretend annoyance. "You need more protein in your diet," she insisted.
"That way I grow up big and strong, right?"
"Don't you sass me, young lady," Aunt May returned in an amused warning, shaking her spoon at me.
I held up my hands. "I give! I give!" I then hugged her— and used the opportunity to place the shake back on the counter, snagging a banana instead. "All right, I love you, see you later!"
I got halfway to the door before she noticed the switch. Her voice was exasperated. "Peyton!"
Pretending not to notice, I just called back, "Bye!" and started walking faster.
"Don't forget to pick up the cake on your way home!"
"I won't!"
Before I pulled the door shut behind me, I got a glimpse of my aunt shaking her head, her expression halfway between annoyance and amusement.
Whew. Narrow escape. It had been a morning of close calls, it seemed.
Now, I could walk to school, or take the train— but let's be honest, that was so last year. Within a few minutes, I was back in the air, web-slinging through town, and loving every second of it. Besides being far cooler, my way had the added benefit of giving me a spider's eye view, just in case I spotted any action. So far, though, it seemed like not a lot was going on, and I paused on the edge of a building, next to one of those big news screen billboards.
"SPIDER-GIRL IS A MENACE!"
Y'know, it's a good thing that when I flinch, my instinct is to stick to things, not to let go. I turned to glare at the screen, where the one and only J. Jonah Jameson was delivering his daily rant. "And a good morning to you too, sunshine," I drawled.
Seriously. This guy has been gunning for me ever since I started out. He runs Daily Bugle Communications, and he's gotten the whole city to think I'm a 'masked menace'. Ugh.
Well, despite J.J. seeming to think the world was going to end if I wasn't immediately captured and thrown in jail, it didn't seem like there was any more trouble for me to poke my nose into this morning. Lucky break, I guess. So, I decided to take a slight detour, a few blocks away.
One quick change in an alley— although, so much for my shower— and I slipped back out to the main road. It wasn't too far of a walk from there, just to the bakery on the corner.
I ducked in through the door, a bell chiming somewhere in the shop. There was no line just then, and someone at the counter, so I walked right up. "Hi! I just wanted to double check an order, for Parker?"
He glanced up at me, then pulled over a notepad, skimming through it. "May Parker?"
"That's the one."
"…Yep, it looks good to go," he confirmed, looking back up at me with a smile. "It'll be ready this afternoon."
I grinned back. "Perfect! I'll pick it up after school."
He chuckled at me. "All right, we'll see you then."
I was already on my way out the door, but I turned to look back over my shoulder. "Awesome, thanks!"
I ducked back into the alley to yank my street clothes back off and get my mask, gloves and boots on. See? Wearing the costume underneath makes this go much smoother.
Of course, you may be asking, Spidey, what's the deal? What's so important about some pastry that you'd take time out of your crime-fighting duties? Well, it's kind of a long story. You see, I haven't always been Spider-Girl… I wasn't born with these powers. And, believe it or not? That cake has a lot to do with why I became a hero at all.
My name is Peyton Parker, and, at this particular time in our story, I was fifteen— just starting my sophomore year in high school. I was what you would call, 'slightly dorky', being interested in science and computers and comics, and not a whole lot of girly things. I was also the perfect embodiment of the 'three S's of wimpdom': short, scrawny and smart. (I also wore glasses, but I can't actually think of a word to describe that starting with 'S'.)
Anyways, it made me a popular target for bullying and teasing. Mostly I just tried to write it all off with a quick joke or witticism… which often caused me more trouble than good, but what can I say? I never quite know when to stop talking.
So, I was hanging out up in the chemistry lab by myself, tinkering around with some chemicals. Our lecture the day before had been all about the chemical properties of adhesives, and it was too interesting to pass up.
The creaking of the door made me jump; strictly speaking, I wasn't supposed to be playing around in here unsupervised. My hand slipped, and suddenly the compound in the beaker in front of me exploded into about a thousand little glue-strands that got everywhere.
I yelped, trying to pull myself free, only to hear chuckling coming from the door. "I really hope that's not part of the assignment."
"H-Harry! MJ!" My expression was equal parts relief (for not being caught by the teacher) and embarrassment (for being caught by my two best friends).
Harry shook his head, walking over to help me try to disentangle myself. MJ was just staring at me, clearly amused, and commented, "We figured we'd find you hiding in here."
I protested, "I'm not hiding!" Then more dignified: "I'm experimenting."
"With what?" Harry didn't bother to hide his grin. "Turning the school into a haunted house?"
I pretended to glare at him. "Ha, ha. Come on, are you gonna give me a hand or what?" Although I had to concede, it did look kind of like spider webbing. It was just as annoying to get cleaned up, too.
At this point, MJ had moved over to help too, and she was smiling just as widely. "Only you would spend free time in the science lab, Pete."
"Yeah, well…" We had twenty minutes to wait for the buses to come pick us up for our first field trip of the year, so all the students in our class had gotten the period free while we were waiting. I'd chosen to spend that time, well… you know how that turned out. I finished a bit lamely, "I like it in here. It's quiet!"
The look they were both giving me was disbelieving, and I answered it with a guilty smile, rubbing the back of my head. Then grimaced as I realized there was glue stuck in my pony tail.
Harry made a face as he tried to flick a piece of the stuff off of his fingers, then glanced back at me. "You know, I kind of figured you'd be more excited about going to see the OsCorp labs."
"I'm excited!" I found myself protesting again.
"Sure," MJ teased, poking me in the shoulder. "That's why you're eagerly waiting for the buses to get here, downstairs, with everyone else."
I ignored that and continued on: "I am so excited right now, I could wax poetic about electron shells."
Harry grimaced. "Please don't."
MJ and I both laughed at that, and I stood up, trying to brush the last few bits of dried glue-strands from my shirt. "Well," I allowed, "at least once we get there, it'll be cool!"
Throwing her arm around my shoulder, MJ chuckled. "You know, they're not going to let you play around in the lab, right?"
"Killjoy!" I shot back. "I know. But… still, getting to see a real, professional, working lab?"
…Okay, I was maybe a teensy bit excited about this field trip.
The other two were just looking at me, until Harry finally laughed, "You are such a nerd. H-hey!" MJ had shoved his shoulder and was giving him a mock glare; Harry threw up his hands to defend himself, still chuckling.
I went for the more mature approach and stuck my tongue out at him. Without missing a beat, Harry flicked some of the glue stuff at me. I cried out, scrambling to get it off of my tongue. "Oh, eugh! Gross!" Harry was cracking up again, and I gave him a glare of my own.
"Hey, you never know," MJ broke in, steering the conversation in a different direction. "Maybe you can introduce yourself to some of the scientists?"
"Yeah," I agreed, "that might really help when I start trying to look at internships next year."
"…Well," Harry drawled, "they are the OsCorp labs. If you really want to meet the scientists there, I'm pretty sure I can get a tour set up for you."
I instantly perked up at that thought. "What— seriously?"
"Wow, your voice gets squeaky when you're happy," Harry observed with a grin.
"Oh shut up!" My annoyance was all for show, though. "But can you really?"
"Uh, yeah," Harry insisted, shrugging like it was no big deal. Like meeting some of the top minds in their various scientific fields was no big deal. "My dad won't mind," he went on, oblivious to my reaction. "He loves you."
Snorting, I countered, "I think 'love's a pretty strong word."
His expression got a little more distant. "You have no idea," he added wryly, and MJ and I tried not to wince. After a moment though, his mood lightened back up. "But, he really appreciates me not failing math."
"There is that," I conceded. "…Well, I'm not going to say no!"
They both chuckled again, and this time MJ took my arm, offering me a warm smile that I couldn't help but return. "Come on, lets head downstairs," she prompted. "The buses will be here any minute."
While the prospect of a half hour bus trip surrounded by the rest of my class didn't sound like something to look forward to— with both of my best friends walking on either side of me? It didn't seem so bad.
…Maybe I should take a moment to describe these two. After all, besides Aunt May, they're two of the most important people in my life.
Harry, as you might have figured out by now, is the son of Norman Osborn, aka owner and CEO of OsCorp. The two of us might seem like a unlikely pair, but we've been best buddies since the beginning of middle school. That, and, I am one of the few girls I know of (besides MJ, of course) who doesn't— as he puts it— fawn all over him. I usually put it, 'dangle off of him like a leech'. I also tutor him in math and chemistry, which earns me even more dislike from the girls that would loooove to be spending time with Harry.
You might also have picked up on the fact that Harry and his dad had a few… issues, I guess. I don't know. To me, Norman always seemed like a great guy, although he tended to be busy with a lot of other things. I just assumed that came with the territory of running a huge company like OsCorp.
Now, MJ, or Mary Jane Watson, has been my friend since early childhood. In fact, she was my first friend, and we've stayed that way ever since. She's bound and determined to be a reporter one day, and I believe she can do it. If only she wasn't dead set on working for the Daily Bugle…
MJ's tastes in newspapers aside, she had always been nothing short of amazing. I mean, she was everything I wished I could be… tall (well, taller than me), beautiful, confident. Oh, definitely confident. I absolutely loved spending time with her, and… well, um… maybe we should just leave it at that, for now?
Besides! While that might have been a fairly typical morning for me and my pals… what happened at OsCorp that day was anything but normal.
Okay, so, stop me if you've heard this one before: Girl goes on field trip to science lab. Girl gets bit by genetically altered spider. Girl develops totally awesome super powers— and is no longer just any plain old girl, but Spider-Girl!
Suddenly, I could leap, I could climb— straight up walls! I was so strong, I could pick up a truck— I almost threw it, too, just to see how far it would go, before realizing that the owner probably wouldn't appreciate that. But I wasn't just strong, oh no— I was fast, and agile. I could do back flips and front flips and stuff I had never dreamed of being able to do. And my spider-sense— like a sixth sense warning me of danger! Amazing!
The icing on the cake was my eyes— my vision literally improved over night. And not just to the point where I didn't need glasses anymore— I could see better than I ever had!
Let me tell, you, I was really high on life at that point. These powers were incredible, and I was loving every second of them. Yes sir, this was a new start! A new, improved Peyton Parker, one that didn't get shunned for being nerdy or unpopular. And that was all going to start with—
"Cheerleading tryouts?" MJ sounded completely dismayed, keeping pace alongside me as I walked down the hall. "Are you completely out of your mind? Since when do you enjoy cheerleading?"
I could understand her concern— the old Peyton would never have been able to pull this off. "I've been practicing," I brushed it off. The look on my face could only be described as smug. "Don't worry, it'll be fine."
"Peyton. You know I love you and would never want to tell you not to try something," MJ was insisting, and I just about missed a step at that, but quickly recovered. "But you know absolutely nothing about cheering or gymnastics. You could seriously hurt yourself!"
"Relax, MJ, it'll be fine!"
I pushed the doors of the gymnasium open, wearing a wide smile. I got several blank looks in return.
"You're in the wrong place, Parker," a droll voice called from across the gym. "These are the cheerleading tryouts."
Glancing up, I wasn't surprised to find that it was Sally Avril, captain of the squad, who had spoken. Right now she was eyeing me as though I was something her cat had drug in from the yard. The other members of the squad were ranged on either side of her, looking about as welcoming. I smiled even wider. "I know."
Sally had at this point walked up, arms crossed as she looked me up and down. Finally, with a look of distaste, she turned away. "Whatever. Just get in line with the others."
Ha! Score one. I moved to where all the other girls were waiting to try out, and turned back to MJ, who was standing next to the door, an uneasy look on her face. I shot her a thumbs up, and she gave me a weak smile in return. Really, she was worrying over nothing. I actually had practiced, and it didn't take long to figure out that if I was about to do something that would hurt, the twinge in the back of my head would warn me first.
It was kind of neat, I had to admit— I had never gone to a sports tryout in my life, so it was a first for me. It was also kind of funny, seeing how over-the-top enthusiastic some of these girls were getting. I wasn't worried, though. I had an ace up my sleeve that would put this tryout in the bag.
When it came time for us to demonstrate our gymnastic ability, Sally called for volunteers. The complete look of surprise on her face when my hand shot up was so worth it. Her eyes narrowed, but then she started to smirk. "Sure, Parker, you're up first. Show us what you've got." She gestured to the mat. Meanwhile, there were snickers from the line of cheerleaders— and from the line of girls trying out. Yeah, we'd see who was laughing in about thirty seconds.
I didn't give them any warning, just taking a few steps' running start, then flung myself into a forward flip— then another— then a midair somersault. Then, just as an added bonus, I did a standing back flip.
The entire gym was silent. All of them, cheerleaders, would-be cheerleaders, heck even MJ— completely flabbergasted. I could barely contain my grin.
"So, Sally, need anything else from me?" I asked as cheerfully as possible.
She just gave a stunned shake of her head, and feeling triumphant, I strolled back towards the exit where MJ was standing, staring at me. I pushed through the door, starting to whistle to myself.
MJ was hot on my heels. "Wait just a second! Where on earth did that come from?" she demanded, gesturing to the gym doors.
I shrugged like it was no big deal. "Like I said, I practiced."
"Uh huh," MJ responded dryly, eyeing me with suspicion. Heh. She could suspect all she wanted— there was no way she would ever guess what actually happened. Maybe I'd let her in on my secret… mm, but not today. For now, I was just enjoying everyone's reactions to the new and improved me. I was all grins, and nothing was gonna bring me down!
Nothing, that was, except the team list that came out on Friday.
MJ and Harry were doing their best to try to console me. "Would you really enjoy being on a team full of snobs, anyways?" MJ was asking.
It said a lot about how much she was trying to cheer me up that she had actually been the one to suggest we all go to the comic store after school. Which was perfectly fine for me and Harry, but MJ had never been into comics. I appreciated it, and tried to give her a smile as I thumbed through one of this week's latest issues, but I was still upset at being snubbed.
I mean, I'd thought that these powers would mean something good, like, finally getting noticed and being liked and fitting in. And even when I could do something awesome, I was still treated like some nobody! It wasn't fair.
"So," Harry started, and his innocent tone had me eyeing him over the top of the pages. "How come the store owner never kicks you out for reading comics in here?" He gave me a scrutinizing look. "It's 'cause you're a girl, isn't it?"
Despite myself, I had to laugh. "Um, I'm not sure he's even noticed I'm a girl."
"That seems like something someone would notice," MJ remarked, raising one eyebrow, and I chuckled again.
"No," I said, turning back to Harry to answer his question. "It's because I set up his website for him." I gestured dismissively with one hand.
Harry seemed much more impressed than that really warranted. "Seriously?"
"Yeah," I replied with a shrug. "I took some amateur shots of the place with my camera, then whipped up a layout. Nothing fancy, just basic HTML. Took, like, an afternoon." That was when I realized both of my friends were staring at me. Harry had that familiar look on his face, and I rolled my eyes, grinning. "Go on. Say it."
"Nerd," he teased good naturedly.
"Thank you!" I responded, as though it were the highest praise.
"You're welcome!"
"Jealous," I teased right back.
Harry just let out an amused snort. "No kidding. It is not fair that all that stuff comes to you so easily."
MJ was giving both of us exasperated looks, but I just sort of shifted and shrugged again, almost embarrassed. "Well, everyone's got something they're good at." Harry's expression turned into that distant look he gets and I could have kicked myself for hitting the wrong subject. Trying to lighten the mood back up, I continued, "I'm good at math and sciencey stuff… You're good at being cool and not getting stuffed into lockers!"
I'd meant it as a joke, but instead of lightening things up, both Harry and MJ immediately looked incensed. "Is someone giving you trouble again?" Harry demanded.
"What? Nooo…" I scoffed, totally lying and— judging from the looks I was getting from the two of them— not doing it well.
But I could handle the Neanderthals in our class… and if I wasn't embarrassed before, I was now at my friends' insistence on protecting me. All the same, it was endearing… there was a reason, after all, that these two were my closest friends.
Like when Harry would tease me for being a 'nerd'… coming from him, or MJ, it was never more than light hearted ribbing, and it never upset me. Because, what it meant to me, was… even though I was a huge nerd (heck, I still am)— they still liked me. Not just in spite of it, but because of it. Around them, I never had to be ashamed of being myself.
So Harry would call me a geek, and I'd call him a rich boy, and we'd both steal MJ's camera and film fake interviews with each other while she chased us down trying to get it back. Honestly, I couldn't have asked for better friends.
All the same, I wanted to steer the conversation back to something different. So, I casually asked, "Ever wonder what it would be like to have super powers?"
Okay, maybe not the most subtle question in the world. But, despite what had happened at the tryouts, I was still pretty pumped over my newfound abilities.
MJ just raised an eyebrow again, and Harry laughed. "Hah! Of course," he agreed, smiling wide. MJ shook her head at the two of us, not bothering to hide her own smile while Harry considered the question. "But, y'know, it has happened… I mean, there are real super heroes out there now."
"What, like Iron Man?" I asked, interest piqued.
"There are others too," Harry went on, and even he seemed to be getting excited with this topic of conversation. "My dad has talked about them. Like Captain America."
"Yeah, I've heard of him." I placed the comic I'd been leafing through back on the rack. "Or that guy who's supposed to be from another world, Thor?"
Harry's face was split by a wide grin, and he struck a pose, that, I assume was supposed to be of him holding a hammer and looking powerful. After a moment, MJ and I both started snickering, which turned into full-on laughter when he shot us an incensed look.
I was still chuckling when I added, "Heh, they should write comic books about them!"
"Yeah, that would be totally cool," Harry agreed, starting to look a little less miffed. "I'm kind of surprised that they don't already."
"No kidding. But," I added, frowning, "I'm pretty sure there aren't any comics about Iron Man yet."
The look I was getting from him was droll. "Seriously, there are more super heroes than just Iron Man!"
"Well," MJ broke in, voice dry. "As riveting as this conversation is, I need to start heading home." I gave her a sheepish look, and her expression softened. "Hey, are you doing all right?"
I smiled back. "Yeah, I'm fine now," I promised. "Thanks."
Her expression became apologetic. "Sorry, normally I'd walk home with you, but I've got to run a few errands on the way—"
"Don't worry about it," I cut her off, glad that I wouldn't have to make an excuse.
"Hey, I can give you a ride," Harry jumped in. Of course, by him, he meant his driver, and although I was never one to turn down a free ride, this time I had something else in mind.
"Thanks Harry, but I was just going to walk," I admitted.
"Oh." Whoops, I hope he didn't think I was brushing him off. But then he seemed unconcerned. "No worries; just be careful, okay?"
They were both giving me that look now, and I let out an exasperated sound. "Okay, mom and dad, I'll remember to look both ways before I cross the street," I sassed.
MJ shook a finger at me. "We will turn this comic store around, young lady."
I had to bust up laughing at that. "Hey! Making lame jokes is my job!"
"You should have beat me to it, then," she replied primly, head held up, smirk on her face. "Harry," she said as way of farewell.
He was chuckling at the two of us. "See you tomorrow, MJ."
"Bye, MJ," I said pointedly, and she grinned at me on her way out the door. Then I turned back to Harry. "I hate to say it, but I should probably head out too, before my aunt and uncle send out a search party for me."
"All right," he allowed, if reluctantly. "Sure you won't take me up on that ride?"
"Next time," I promised, heading for the door.
"I'll hold you to that! Later, Petey," he called after me, and I waved back.
"Later Harry!" I had my hand on the door when something suddenly caught my eye.
Right next to the comic shop's door was a bulletin board… you know, full of the usual things. Card game tournaments, advertisements for people selling stuff… but one in particular stood out to me.
It was a flier for open fight nights at a local MMA arena, where anyone could get in the ring for a chance to win a thousand dollars cash. And tonight was going to be Ladies Night…
This was it. This was my chance to use my new powers! And if I won— a thousand dollars. Holy cow. I realized I was gripping the edge of the flier, and quickly let go, before focusing on the address, trying to burn it into my memory. Then I glanced surreptitiously backwards, making sure Harry hadn't noticed my delay. I mean, usually I share all of my dumb ideas with him or MJ, but this time, I didn't want him talking sense into me. I wanted to prove myself. And the money wouldn't hurt, either.
Satisfied that I would remember, I pushed through the door, out onto the street, whistling to myself. I could see it all in my head. Tonight was going to be great.
X
A/N: All right, so this is the first part of my newest story; the second part will be posted in two days. For those of you unfamiliar with the Rules of the Internet— Rule 63 indicates that 'For every given male character, there will be a female version of that character, and vice versa'. As for this particular story, that means that instead of Peter Parker seeking to become the Ultimate Spider-Man— Peyton Parker is on her quest to become the Ultimate Spider-Girl.
Why, you may ask, this sudden gender bend fic out of seemingly nowhere? I've actually been working on the story for quite some time, but there was one particular thing that prompted me to start releasing it now. For those who haven't heard, Season 3 of Ultimate Spider-Man has finally had some promotional material released (Google Ultimate Spider-Man: Web Warriors). One of the arcs for the season will apparently involve Spider-Man meeting several other Spideys from alternate dimensions— and one of these alternate Spideys is Spider-Girl, aka, Petra Parker. (As a matter of fact, it is a promotional image of her that I've used to create the cover image for this story.)
Don't get me wrong— there have been many gender flipped versions of Peter Parker in fanon, so the concept is hardly original to me. However, during this upcoming season, it's going to become canon and will most likely prompt many more gender bent fics. It may be a little childish of me, but I don't want almost a year of work and outlining to be written off as 'hopping on the bandwagon'. At the moment, the bandwagon is more like a little red Radio Flyer wagon, so I think now is the better time to start establishing the story I'd like to tell.
As a final note, this story will largely parallel or retell the Ultimate Spider-Man television show. I will also be including original story lines (and have several already planned), and in some places will be deviating from the show's canon. We'll see just how many plotholes that causes me when Season 3 is released (August 31, by the way).
As always, thanks for taking the time to read! I hope you enjoyed it, and I promise I have much more where that came from.
::DemonicK
