SPIDER-GIRL

Chapter 1:

Rise of Vengeance

A certain jet-black convertible raced through the streets of Forest Hills, Queens, New York. With the top down, "Paradise City" blasted out into the early evening air, shaking the car with the bass, and volume, turned all the way up. Crooning along with the lyrics, May "Mayday" Parker's short, black hair blows in the wind.

Coming home after gymnastics practice, this was how she relaxed. Being head and shoulders above the rest of her class, while being deliberately held back, was exhausting. Even after winning multiple medals, trophies, and accolades, respect from her peers and teacher had not come easily. It was safe to say that jealousy was the overriding factor.

Worse yet, it was the only way for her to maintain her level of athleticism after being booted from college basketball team. Apparently, the powers that be decided it was unfair to the other teams to have her play as a starter, so she was shoved down to the bench warmer position.

With an awkward sense of comforting, the coach coaxed her to just quit the team and go else where.

So she did.

Not long after, she fell into a gymnastics school, and absolutely loved it. Best part being, it wasn't too far from school, and about 30 minutes from home. She had been warmly received by the staff, and the other students, yet how quickly that faded.

It didn't faze her. She was the best thing that ever happened to that place. She loved every minute of it. That was all that mattered to her. She had played the part of the eager student. That was enough.

Pulling up in the driveway of the tasteful, white, suburban home belonging to her parents. It had belonged to her great-aunt May, until she passed away. In the will, it was left to her father, Peter, and his wife, Mary-Jane.

Putting the top up, she turned the car off. With a smile, and a deep breath, she jumps out, grabbing the gym back in the passenger seat, and bounds for the front door.

She enters just in time for dinner.

"Hey, sweetheart!"

"Hey, mom! Hi, dad."

She plops into a chair, and helps herself to a heaping scoop of salad. Peter passes the basket of bread, and they each take a slice.

"How was practice, May?"

"Same old, same old, dad. Those girls...I think they're getting worse."

"What do you mean?"

"We got regionals coming up. Safe to say that the pressure is getting to them. The cattiness was already bad enough, but now it's being taken to a whole new level."

"Don't let them get to you, May. You'll do great as always."

"Thanks, dad. And no worries: I got this. If they want to be jealous, I'll give them a reason to."

"Don't be like that. You don't want to be a sore winner."

"I guess. How was your day, dad?"

"It was good. Me and your uncle Phil finally cracked the case regarding who rented out the new building downtown."

"Who was it?"

"The Umbrella Corporation."

May practically choked on her bread.

"WHAT?!"

"Yeah."

"Oh my God...the campus isn't going to be too happy about this."

For the past few months, the New York rumor mill had it that Umbrella was setting up it's brand new headquarters in the new Crystal Building in lower Manhattan. Lowes University was spearheading an initiative to head off the effort. Deemed a maniacal, fringe group by the media, public opinion about the subject was firmly against the group.

No one would believe that the world's largest pharmaceutical company, that has a 10 mile long track record of saving lives, would leave their home of Raccoon City to move to New York.

But apparently, that's exactly what happened.

After a severe financial meltdown, exasperated by the 2008 depression, they plunged into bankruptcy. After a tumultuous restructuring, and a federal bailout to the tune of 2 trillion dollars, they disappeared off the radar.

Then the rumors began circulating.

A new CEO.

A new headquarters.

A resurgence of Umbrella.

Public opinion of Umbrella itself ranged from "unsure" to "distrustful" and other sorts of negative emotions. May knew that it was this kind of opinion she had to take advantage of. Even though Umbrella put out top-of-the-line products, it also wielded a lot of market and political influence.

May knew she had her work cut out for her.

Driving Umbrella out of New York became her number one goal.

She stampeded upstairs, digging out her iPhone X. With it sandwiched between her shoulder and ear, she slammed the door shut, sat down at her laptop, and powered it up. Firing up Photoshop, she furiously tapped away at her keyboard.

"Hey, May! What's up?"

"I'm calling for an emergency meeting tomorrow after school."

"What's going on?"

"Umbrella's on the move."

"Roger that. I'll start making phone calls."

"Thanks, Michelle, you're awesome."

The next morning, with binders in hand, May walked up to the campus' main entrance. Out of the corner of her eye, she spied another girl trying to ask others for directions; an unsuccessful attempt as the group of boys laugh her off.

The stranger throws up her hands in frustration, and slumps down on a low brick wall. She unslings her book bag, then plops it on the ground. She glumly looks at the ground, as if it held all the answers.

Feeling pity for "the new girl", May checked to make sure she wouldn't be late, an hour to spare, she approached the girl.

"You look like you're lost."

""I just transferred here! I don't know where anything is!"

"Here...let me see your schedule."

The girl hands over a folded piece of paper. May quickly scanned it for a name.

" 'Alaine Hart'?"

"Yeah?"

"May Parker. Nice to meet you."

"My pleasure."

"So you have Mr. Josenberg for Basic Human Anatomy 1?"

"I don't know what I want for my major, but something in the medical field, for sure."

"Cool. I got an hour to kill, come on. I'll take you to your class."

"Thanks. I really appreciate it."

The girls enter the school. Featuring the best in futuristic, almost post-modern, architecture, it was designed specifically to be something out of a sci-fi movie. Originally intended to be a school for the arts, it ended up evolving into a weird hybrid of a business school, and med school instead.

No one was complaining though. As far as May was concerned, there were way more than enough art schools to choose from. She knew enough to say that this school was getting much-needed doctors and nurses into hospitals and other primary care facilities.

"Where are you from?"

"Angel Grove, California."

"That's a nice place."

"Ever been?"

"Sometimes. Mostly when my dad has to go out there for business."

"What kind of business?"

"He's a detective for the local police department. He travels for conventions, think tanks, things of that nature."

"Sounds like fun."

"It is. Let me ask you: are the stories of the monster attacks true?"

Alaine stopped walking, staring hard into May's eyes.

"Excuse me?"

"Are they?"

"You mean you don't know?"

"Don't blame me. As far as I know, your city suffers a lot of bioweapon-related accidents. I can only go by what's on YourFaceSpace."

They start walking again.

"What BS. The Rangers are out there putting their lives on the line to defend Earth and it seems no one knows about it. Terrific."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you."

"No, it's OK. It's not your fault. It's just frustrating, that's all; dealing with MSM."

"Believe me, I know." May shows Alaine her badge she made displaying how she's president of the Anti-Umbrella group.

"Oh, yeah, I heard about this."

"We got a meeting after school today. You're welcome to join, and sit in if you want."

"Oh, cool. I just might."

"Sweet! I'll meet you after class-" They arrive at a pair of oak double doors. "-and don't worry. Mr. Josenberg is awesome...or so I've heard."

"Thank you so much. I appreciate it."

Alaine ducks in, and finds a seat in the crowded auditorium.

At the meeting, in conference room B, the 4 dozen students, and Alaine of course, raptly listen to May hold forth about why the battle with Umbrella is only just beginning.

"Today's protest will send a message to that shining star of Corporatocracy, and the masses, that we are NOT OK with this! We have fought too long and hard to keep Umbrella out of our city only to be defeated last minute by backdoor, underhanded, cloak-and-dagger deals. We have one chance. We need to make it count. To everyone who has the regular assignments, do you have your posters, signs, banners, and talking points from past rallies?"

A random guy raises his hand.

"Yes, Jason?"

"I have my stuff, but it's at my apartment. I'll have to run to go get it."

Several of the other students nod in agreement.

"That's OK. This protest won't start until 4:30 so you all have time to organize."

"OK, thanks."

"No problem."

"Any other questions, comments, suggestions?"

Silence.

"Alright, break! See you all later!"

The meeting breaks up. Everyone goes their separate directions. Alaine conspicuously taking her time packing up her book bag. She wears the face of someone conflicted.

"Hey."

"Great speech, May. Really."

"Heh...I try. Thanks. You OK?"

"Um..yeah. Why?"

May gives her a knowing look.

"It's just..."

May sits down in one of the empty desks.

"It's just that Umbrella saved my mother's life. She has a terminal disease that's going to kill her, but thanks to them they were able to prolong her life, and ease some of the pain. To be honest, I know about all the BS Umbrella pulls. I'm certainly no fan. I don't know..."

"I am sorry to hear that about your mom. If you don't want to go, that's fine. I would totally understand."

"I have to think about it. Besides, I have homework and past due admissions paperwork to do."

"Oh ok. I think that's more important." May smiles at her.

"I'll let you know, OK? Can I have your number?"

"Oh, sure."

The girls dig out their iPhone X's and swap numbers.

"I just got a crazy idea!"

"Oh yeah? What?"

"I just moved into student housing, and I don't have any roommates yet, so...would you be interested in hanging out tonight? I got the TV, an old blu-ray player, and an Xbox Zoom. What do you think?"

"Sure! After the protest, I'll just have to run home and pack a bag. I got gymnastics after school tomorrow."

"Great!"

"Let me know if you can make to the protest or not, OK"?

"Will do."

At the protest, the fairly large group held forth on the commons just outside Umbrella headquarters. With various signs, and creative chants, they attracted the attention of the local media, as well as drawing a huge crowd.

Given a few heated verbal altercations, it had been a largely peaceful rally. Sitting at a table covered in pamphlets, brochures, other literature, and small items, May tapped away at her iPhone, sending/receiving texts, and making phone calls.

Finally, her phone buzzed with a voice text.

"WILL BE THERE SHORTLY."

High above the rally, in the monolithic skyscraper, a man in a jet black suit, decked out in sunglasses no less, watches from the imposing glass panes. After a couple minutes of bemusement, he sits in an overstuffed chair, spins it around, and faces a scientist staring back at him.

"Are you sure it's safe to proceed, doctor?" The man speaks with a smooth, borderline gravelly voice.

"Based on all available data gathered from the past experiments, yes. I have isolated all possible variables. There will be no mistakes this time."

"Spencer is growing tired of bankrolling this project of yours, doctor. He demands results...and so do I."

"I understand that. But despite all our advancements, we still need the perfect specimen."

"You believe it's this...girl?"

"There is no other athlete more decorated than her. We pass her up, we may as well shut down the project."

"Parker's daughter..." The man rises again, staring out the window at the New York skyline. "You have one last chance doctor. There can be no mistakes this time. See to it."

"Yes, sir."

Back on the ground, May looks around, with a troubling look on her face. There's a light, chilly breeze. Alaine returns from passing out sheets plastered with facts regarding Umbrella's shady past.

"Hey. You OK?"

"Yeah...just got a funny feeling..."

"Well...you got an awesome turn out. Everyone's here, and people have been genuinely curious."

"Hehe...yes. Thanks."

"Hey, no problem. You're sleeping over, right?"

"Wouldn't miss it!"

That evening, after the protest, the girls drive back to May's place to drop off the left over materials, as well as to pick up a hastily packed suitcase. They get back to Alaine's place. The door swings open, revealing a beautiful studio apartment!

"Oh!...WOW!"

"I know, right? A little gift from my parents. You can have the bed, the couch, or the very comfortable recliner. The refrigerator and cabinets are fully stocked, so feel free to help yourself. The walls are practically soundproof, so enjoy the TV all night long if you want."

"Thanks."

"Hey, no problem."

That night as the girls slept soundly, May in the overstuffed recliner under a thermal blanket, and Alaine in her bed, a sniper atop the facing highrise scopes out the situation.

"I have her. She's on the recliner in the northwest corner of the living room."

"And the other?"

"In the bedroom at the opposite end."

"Roger that. Silver team, ready?"

"Yes, sir."

"Thunder team, ready?"

"Yes, sir."

"Let's do this."

Sleep peacefully one minute, then bolting upright the next, May darted her eyes around. She broke out into a cold sweat as an unwarranted sense of danger throbbed in the back of her head, spreading down her neck to her shoulders.

Darkness there.

And nothing more.

Suddenly, the front door exploded off its hinges as 6 heavily armed, and armored, men in black streamed in, taking up defensive positions.

"We have the target."

"We need her alive!"

"Roger that."

Alaine runs out of her bedroom. She instantly springs into action, attempting a flying kick to the face of one of the soldiers. With a quickness belying his size, he catches her in the air, and slams her to the floor.

"Secure the package! We're leaving!"

2 of the men restrain May, despite her best efforts, putting her in handcuffs, and ankle cuffs. One of them, ID'd only by the 4 on his helmet, picks her up one-handed, and nearly wrenches her shoulders out of place.

Alaine gets back up for another round. The same guy takes out a baton, then violently cracks her across the back of the knees. She goes down without effort, but not before ripping a patch off his arm.

"We need to move. Wesker isn't going to be happy about this."

The men retreat back out the door. 2 minutes later, a large black chopper flies over the city into the distance, disappearing among the stars.

Alaine furiously pounds on the front door of the Parker residence.

"COME ON! OPEN THE DAMN DOOR!"

A few more heavy thumps later, and a clearly aggravated Peter Parker opens the door.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?!"

"They took her!"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Who is it, tiger?"

"May's friend."

"Oh? Is everything OK?"

"No! Some guys broke into my apartment and took her!"

Minutes later, Alaine's leg is up on a chair wrapped in a towel and ice pack. Her knee badly damaged, but not enough to be broken. Either way, she wouldn't be walking for a while. She laid out the patch on the table.

The stark red and white logo had a small black "W" in one of the white spokes.

Peter sits slumped over in the opposite chair, like a heavy weight weighed on his shoulders.

"I was afraid this was going to happen."

"What was going to happen?"

"See that 'W'?"

"Yeah?"

"Wesker. He's the top official at Umbrella, and the leader of our biological research division. We had been working on an experiment to regrow lost limbs. But something happened. At one point, he found a way to fuse human DNA with that of a spider's. It would have given the subject enhanced strength and reflexes. Unfortunately, our test subjects had to be of an extremely high caliber."

Peter lays his hands flat on the table. As if ready to reveal a deep, dark secret.

"Wesker was ready to go ahead with human testing. I was against it. It came down to one man: Ozwall E. Spencer. The original founder of Umbrella, and the man funding our experiments. His order came down to go ahead. I opted out. Too bad that didn't sit well with Ozwall. One thing you must understand, Alaine, is that we were forced to relocate here. In a completely off-the-record incident Wesker swore he would have his revenge."

"Revenge? How?!"

"I don't know. Right before we left Raccoon City, May's older sister, Rose, was driving home from work, when her car swerved off the road, through a guardrail, into oncoming traffic. Safe to say there wasn't enough of her body to ID her."

"A hit? Is that what that was?"

"I don't know. All I know is...now that Umbrella has May...there's no telling what they're going to do to her."

Caught in the middle of a swirling black hurricane, May turned every which way trying to get her bearings. In the howling dark, a mysterious hairy creature, with multiple arms and eyes approached on her right. An tar-like liquid creature on her left. They both circled her, hungry, looking to devour. With a yell, both entities grabbed at her arms and pulled!

With the horrifying sensation of being ripped in half, she shrieked in pain!

She woke up screaming on a hospital bed. Sitting up, she is terrified at the sight of multiple IV lines sticking out of her arms, a thick, dark purple syrupy liquid flowing through them. Various machines beep in accordance to their programming, which shuts them off on the patient walking up from the anesthetic.

With yelps of pain, she rips out the IV's one at a time. Trying to get off the bed, she feels something pulling at her scalp. With shaking hands, she reaches up to find another line going right into her temple. Sucking in a deep breath, she takes a hold of it.

Gingerly extracting it, this wasn't a usual IV. But rather, 2 small needles long enough to pierce her skull, and go into her brain.

She swings her legs over the edge, trying to stand. She flops to the cold, tiled floor, not feeling in control of her limbs.

A door in one corner slides open, and an older scientist walks in.

"Ah...awake already, I see."

Chock full of anger and rage, she glared at the older gentleman while still struggling to get to her feet.

"The strong silent type? That's fine. My name is doctor William Birkin. Might want to go easy there. You will regain control of your body soon; it's just a temporary side effect."

By now May was strong enough to prop herself up on her bed. A familiar throbbing began at the back of her head.

"What the hell did you inject me with?!"

"An experimental serum. Only this, and nothing more."

"What did you do to me?"

"Effect the next step in human evolution."

May staggered towards Birkin, her breathing unsteady, pulse and blood pressure highly elevated. Behind the 2-way mirror, scientists surrounded by an array of equipment take notes of what's going on and her vitals.

"This isn't good."

"Ready the troops."

"Got it."

Back in the room, Birkin stands mesmerized by a successful experiment.

"You are absolutely beautiful. If this works...you will be more than I ever could have hoped for. With you by my side, I will finally be able to wrest control of this company from that fool Wesker, and a dying old man."

"I am no pawn!"

"I own you! I control you!"

"You son of a-!"

She lashes out, delivering a vicious right hook!

He spins around, and plasters up against the wall before slumping to the floor.

The door whispers open again, this time 6 Umbrella troopers armed with rifles run in.

"Ready tranqs!"

"Ready!"

"Fire!"

In slow motion, May sees the darts flying at her. She's able to count them, take note of how the light bounces off the intimidating metal tips, and even see the clear liquid slosh around inside.

Moving faster than she ever could have predicted, or known she could, May back flipped avoiding the darts as they impacted on the back wall. She blinked to see herself stuck to the ceiling!

"Whoa! Didn't know I could do that!"

"Take her down now!"

Another flurry of darts, another dodge, now she's in their midst. With a flurry of punches, kicks, and a throw for a flashy finish, she had KO'd all the guards.

More guards came in, guns, tasers, and batons drawn and ready.

"NO!"

Birkin was back on his feet.

"No...let her go. Show her the way out."

"Are you sure, sir?"

"Yes."

"Yes, sir."

All weapons reholstered.

They show her to the front door, leading out to a busy street in downtown Manhattan. The guards slipped back in the front door, slamming it shut behind her.

She begins walking.

After half a block, she gets woozy...the last thing in her sight is the pavement rushing up at her.

High up in the skyscraper, Wesker watches May hit the sidewalk. By now a crowd had gathered, several people calling 911.

"Well...this is how it's going to be, isn't it...Spider-Girl?"

He chuckles evilly to himself before returning to his desk.

Off in the distance, storm clouds gather.