Dyeing silk is simple enough if you are doing the entire fabric the same way. But if you would want to make some sort of pattern on an already dyed piece of fabric it becomes quite a bit harder.
Harder. But looking at the back of the large coat I had made for myself I had to admit it was far from impossible. On the bench in front of me the image of a large spider was clearly visible in dark black on the charcoal gray of the coat.
Taking out moms' old flip phone I snapped some quick pictures of my masterpiece, it actually looked really cool. I guess third times the charm as they say, this one had turned out even better than mk2.
And at the thought I paused and took some deep breaths.
It's time. Today is the day. No more false starts. No more chickening out. Enough pussyfooting and second guessing. And so on and so forth.
Yeah.
I let out an explosive sigh and then caught myself before making any louder noises, people were sleeping, it was already getting past midnight according to my phone. If there was a time to start my cape career it was now.
Maybe if I just had some momentum? Yeah, that should work, dress up and set out. I can regret my choices when I am in the streets taking down criminals with my awe-inspiring power of telling bugs what to do.
I allowed myself just one more sigh before I slipped my clothes off and then began the process of pulling my bodysuit on. As always getting the legs in was the hardest and from there it was smooth sailing all the way up until I had to pull the zipper on the back up.
Awkwardly teasing the tab up far enough to reach over my shoulder and take it the rest of the way up to my neck. Then came the part that still made me smile at the coolness factor of it, I pulled the fabric that hung from the neck up and wrapped it snuggly over the bridge of my nose. Clamping it shut at the back with the powerful hooks I had repurposed from a bra made for people with more blessed figures. And lastly switched my glasses for the par of ski goggles with a pair of my prescription lenses glued into them.
I took an easy breath through the built-in mask of my suit and felt a smug satisfaction, already knowing I looked cool as all hell in this suit. But now I would be able to look even cooler with the spider coat.
Oh wait, armor panels first. Retrieving them from the box under the workbench I had hidden them in I pulled on the modified black motorcyclist protectors. I double checked the compartment I had made in the back to make sure everything was in its place before slipping my phone in as well.
And now for the moment literally only I had been waiting for since I chickened out last time and decided to make another costume piece, I pulled my new coat on and flipped the hood up.
Aah yes, this sensation. Wearing clothes. Idiot. Stop stalling me, we are going now!
I rode a wave of satisfaction as I walked up out of the basement into the hallway, the costume felt just right other than the body armor feeling a bit heavy. And the coat was almost silent even when it brushed against my legs as I walked. This really was a stealth suit worthy of the hero who will stalk the night and fight crime with the power of bugs.
''Do not fear citizen, it is only I... hero Tarantula!'' I whisper yelled as I came into view of the entryway mirror and struck a pose.
…
Yeah, I looked like an idiot.
And Tarantula was probably a little too villainous of a name for a hero.
Suit still looked really REALLY cool though. I crossed my arms and admired the mighty figure I cut in the mirror. The armor pads under the jacket actually gave me and even more boyish figure than I normally had. Maybe I would go back to the workbench and modify the armor again? Take some off the shoulders, add something like a plate skirt to make my hips look more than nonexistent?
Should I take some armor off of the midsection to give myself a false hourglass figure?
Nope, enough stalling.
I opened the front door as silently as I could and slipped into the chill night air, again as silently as I could make it, I closed the door and fumbled out a key from my back compartment to lock it.
As I heard the lock slide into place I felt a sense of dread, this was it, this was the time for my hero debut.
I was about to go out into the crime infested areas of the bay and pick a fight with people who might not even hesitate to kill me if I gave them a chance.
''let's go Taylor.'' I murmured to myself, setting out at a jog away from my house. ''All part of the plan, just follow the plan.'' I huffed to reassure myself that everything was going to be fine.
'The plan' I thought as I slowed down after getting a few streets away from my house and began the process of gathering up the insects in my range.
Get out there and fight at least one crime, step one.
Spiders came in a tide towards me and climbed up my legs to hide inside my coat, for some reason they were always more responsive than the other bugs in my 50-foot range of control.
Get a win under my belt to prove to the PRT and Protectorate that I was worthwhile, step two.
As my walk took me out of my neighborhood and towards the docks, I took a quick count of my forces of about six thousand bugs, mostly spiders and moths with a total of 73 black widows in the mix less than there should have been. They must have gotten too close and killed each other in territorial disputes. Spiders are weird.
Join the Wards, make some friends with the heroes of Brockton and convince the PRT to help me transfer to Arcadia, step three.
Thinking about step three was almost the straw that broke camel's back in my mind to make me turn back and go home. But I persevered and entered into the poorly maintained alleyways between old disused workshops and storage houses.
Mom had very nearly died, and I suppose the trauma I felt changed me enough that Emma turned her back on me. Refused to talk to me during summer break before high school, even joining two other bitches in bullying me in the three months since school had started.
The bugs under my coat stirred and made a weird mix of skittering, buzzing and even clacking noises as they frenzied. It took me a moment to push my anger down enough to get the rowdier insects stop making a racket. This was a stealth operation for now, letting criminals know a righteous spider was lurking the streets could end poorly for me.
Spider? Hmmm. Maybe? Actually no.
Not quite the heroic name I wanted even if it was the emblem I wore on my back now.
I mulled on it as I peeked around a corner, a group of older men were smoking and drinking beer outside of an open warehouse. Maybe workers staying over the weekend, or maybe an ABB, Empire or Merchant gang getting ready for a night of dastardly deeds.
Either way this was definitely NOT the target I was looking for there were at least 8 men out there I could see, maybe more inside. And one of those guys was at least 6'4 and probably weighed four times as much as me, all muscle. Kinda good looking.
But again, not a conversation and/or fight I wanted, if I walked up all confident and they turned out to just be some old dudes having a nice night I would embarrass myself.
As I turned and took another route around them, I wondered what I would even say.
'Who am I?' You ask? Why it is none other than the ever-glorious Glow Bug! Pfff!
Yeah, no way, I'll stick with something a little edgy so I don't get lumped in with cheesy heroes. Like Chubster or Mouse Protector.
Well Mouse was actually pretty cool, one of the older and more accomplished heroes in game. So dorky though, like holy shit.
No, a more dangerous name was needed, but not too villain...ish. Black Widow? Hmm.
No, that one was out, and not only because it was a bit too dangerous, even if I currently had a number of the very same spiders on my person, but also the fact that the name was sort of taken.
Earth Aleph apparently had a comic book and movie heroine who used the name, which I didn't quite get. A super spy/assassin/double agent or something but she worked for the good guys? Didn't make sense to me.
I withdrew into the shadows and peeked at another group of people, realizing quickly they were most likely ABB, going by the oriental style clothes some of them wore. Four of them, three guys and one girl all young if I was seeing right. Around my age.
They were talking about something I could barely make out even when I creeped a bit closer in the shadows.
I controlled my breathing as I got as close as I dared without instantly being spotted, even now one of them could probably spot me if they bothered to turn and look in the dark. They were huddled in one of the few illuminated spots in the street outside a warehouse.
''Yan,'' I caught as one of the boys finally spoke in English ''When she comes out just look at the ground. Don't look at her eyes.''
The girl huffed and grumbled something, when the boy continued to stare her down, she spoke, slightly easier to understand than the more heavily accented voice of the boy. ''I fucking get it; she might kill me if I piss her off. I know, I know.''
Whatever else they were about to say was lost as the garage door they were waiting outside started to noisily slide upwards. I took the chance to back away to hide behind the corner, if there were going to be more people coming out I didn't want to stick so close. Even more so if one of them was as said by the goons, homicidal. Even if I was out here to be a hero in the first place, I wasn't about to lightly engage with someone like that.
Baby steps, I can take my time with this.
When the door was high enough a woman stepped out, from what I could see she wore a weirdly high-tech gas mask. Her clothes were mostly black but also had a few strips of red cloth hanging off it. A costume. A fucking Cape.
The four outside bowed to her of all things and in slightly discordant unity spoke ''Bakuda.''
I took a moment, hidden behind brick and mortar that felt entirely too thin now, and thought of what I had read on PHO. New to Brockton Bay, Bakuda of the ABB, specifically scouted by Lung if the rumors were to be believed. The fucking Bomb maker herself. Shit.
I should make a break for it, if she was here then maybe Lung would be too. Not like she would need his help to murder me horribly, one of her bombs had turned into a miniature sun, vaporized part of a building and set the rest of it on fire. Luckily not here in Brockton Bay but it was an indication of the kind of shit she could literally throw at me.
Why am I not moving? Legs we have been through so much together why would you betray me now?
''You three,'' Bakudas tinny voice drifted over to me, somehow easy to hear despite the distance. ''you have delivered for me before, take the packages.''
I looked as the girl and two of the boys rushed inside and just as quickly came out with arms full of what looked like plastic wrapped bricks. Drugs, my brain supplied uselessly instead of helping me move away from the incredibly dangerous individual.
''And you,'' Bakuda threw something at the last guy as the others headed away without any prompt necessary, he caught I with his chest before managing to wrap his hands around the keys, If I judged the jangling sound right. ''are going to pick up the last of the retards we caught and drive her up to the depot. You'll stay with them there until the trade has been made.''
''B-but I don't have licen-'' the guy stopped and lowered his head as Bakuda stepped toward him. ''I'll learn quickly.'' he stated with a conviction borne from terror. I couldn't blame him. If I was in his place and she told me to learn Chinese before monday I would have probably done it. Or was Bakuda Japanese? Brain for fucks sake! What is wrong with me!?
She scoffed at him and he flinched at the sound. ''Yes, you will. You would be a good waste of breathable air if you couldn't figure out how to drive a fucking auto. Now get the fuck out of my sight.'' she turned on her heel and stalked back into the warehouse, the garage door had begun to slide down before she had even finished her sentence. Tinkers, she must have had a discreet remote on her.
The guy was coming my way now and I was just standing here like a big idiot.
My mind finally managed to make a connection to the rest of my body and I pressed myself flat against the wall. The guy walked past, hurried and nervous long steps taking him further into the maze of decaying old buildings.
He hadn't seen me.
What do I do now?
My subconscious made the decision for me as I began to trail behind the guy.
Caught, was a word Bakuda had used, meaning they might have kidnapped people. The ABB were rumored to have been involved in human trafficking but that had never been confirmed as far as I had read on the forums.
I had to call the PRT. Inform them, get the heroes out here, someone like Miss Militia or Armsmaster would solve this shit in a second.
In front of me the guy held a hand out in front of him and swung it back and forth a few times as he walked. I realized why as I came up where he had walked and saw that the right side of the alley were all car ports.
Up ahead the lights of one car came on with a beep, that was his ride. He looked at it for a moment before turning to walk to left side of the alley. I finally recognized where we were, the building was split between several firms and business offices. Just a few doors down were the office dad sometimes had to go to with DWA papers.
The guy went and knocked on a door, I couldn't make the name out in the dark, fucking idiots writing the name in dark green, how was a prospective hero supposed to report it if she couldn't read the name in the dark.
Someone opened the door and the guy let himself in, already starting a loud discussion with whoever was in there.
Now was my time to act, time to do hero stuff, I slid my phone out of the back compartment with the help of some spiders to guide my hand. Flipped it open and paused, how quickly could the heroes get here? If I called now and it took them 5 minutes to send someone in, they would be just in time to find jack shit. Probably.
Instead of the phone book I switched to the camera, and made doubly sure the flash was off, before taking pictures of the sign on the building and then half ran half crouch walked over to the car and got pictures of the license plates.
Evidence was definitely a good start but just a pair of blurry pictures of a building façade and plates might not help much here. I crept down the side of the reverse parked car, noticing it was a flatbed truck, and looked at what was in it.
Lengths of chain and padlocks, some black garbage bags one open to reveal what looked like blankets and some pipes with wraps for handholds and baseball bats with nails hammered into them.
The door opened, and I panicked. Managed to throw myself in the flatbed and as silently as I could manage, I shifted the black bags to cover me as much as possible.
As a pair of arguing voices came up to the car I cringed at my own stupidity.
That stunt had crushed a good number of the swarm I had on me. Another few died as a large cooler was heaved up and pushed the bags unto me even more.
Then they walked back away.
Seriously? No way, they didn't notice anything?
The door slammed closed.
Oh. Ok then.
Huh.
My phone was still in my hand, so now would be a good time to call the PRT and get someone to rescue me.
Wait I'm not the one who needs saving, the ABB were kidnapping people, I think Bakuda said they were girls too.
Ok call the PRT and let them know I have information on an ABB human trafficking incident. I flipped my phone up and then slowly and carefully back down when the door opened again.
I could hear a weeping female voice pleading to be let go as they came back to the car, the men silent for the first time. Must have finally resolved whatever they had been arguing about.
''Front.'' One of them finally said, I think it was the guy I had followed here. ''Hey fucking listen, put her in the front seat.''
''Why? You want to grope here while you're on the road or what?''
A choked sob from the woman.
''No because I want to keep an eye on her, if she's in the back while I drive, she could fucking jump off.''
The other guy scoffed ''What did you think the chains were for you-'' whatever he said must have been an insult judging by the way the first reacted.
''She's going in the front and that's motherfucking final you hear me? Being forced to do this bullshit is already bad enough alright.'' The woman screeched for a second and then I heard the passenger side door open. ''Bad enough I'm being forced to do this shit by you fucking psychopaths.''
The other man spat and growled something in another language, his voice was getting fainter so I suppose he was walking away.
The driver side door opened and the guy paused before getting in, something made a bump as it hit the car above me. Did he just headbutt the car?
''Not like I'm holding out hope that you fuckers will be honest.''
Huh.
The car started, and after a moment rolled out onto the streets.
With me still in the back.
Fuck me.
The very second the personnel entrance of whatever the building we had come to swung closed I bolted out of the truck and sprinted behind a container nearby. The second my mind stopped focusing on keeping my bugs quiet they started to skitter madly under my coat and over the rest of my body.
Even when a few creeped over my goggles I couldn't make myself calm down enough to take control back. I was just too freaked out.
We'd driven nearly half an hour out of Brockton Bay. Looking around from my new hiding spot I realized it was maybe a set of storage depots. I glanced at the one they had taken the girl into.
My phone finally did what it was supposed to do and dialed the number to the PRT emergency line. Two ringtones and then a mechanical voice started droning about what number corresponded with what type of emergency I might be having. I probably didn't need to press the button for immediate help more than once but I did, couldn't help myself.
I almost started crying in relief when an actual human voice came through. ''Hello you have called the PRT help line, what is your emergency?'' He sounded a bit too casual for my taste but whatever.
''Aieeuh-'' I cleared my throat and bravely soldiered past the embarrassing noise I'd just made ''I have discovered an ABB human trafficking ring, I'm currently outside a warehouse... Or something north of the bay. They brought a kidnapped woman here and I followed them, a-and I really need help here-''
''Miss!'' he interrupted, and my mouth shut with a clack, even the bugs on me finally stopped moving around. ''I need you to slow down miss and work with me here.'' His tone had shifted to something harder, any levity I had heard was gone.
''I need you to confirm that you are not making a prank call now. Can you do that?'' He continued.
''I-I am completely serious sir. I w-watched them take her here.'' My voice sounded so frail in my ears, some heroic debut for me huh.
''And please confirm for me where 'here' is miss.''
I paused at that ''Uhhm...'' was all I could helpfully vocalize into the phone as I looked around for street signs or anything that could help tell me and the PRT guy where I was. My eyes finally settled on the other side of the street. ''There's a Fortress Construction Company depot. I uh. I can't see any street signs here.''
''Fortress depot,'' He spoke probably to himself. ''and you said north of the Bay miss?'' After hearing my intelligent 'uh huh' he went on. ''Then we have your location miss, and as long as you stay on the line, we can track you. Now can you tell me anything about the situation?''
I knew there were at least one guy and one girl inside, in other words I didn't know anything about the situation. Holy shit Taylor this your hero debut and you've done basically nothing but call for help so far. No this wouldn't do ''I don't know much but I can find out more?'' why did I phrase that as a question?
''Miss-'' He started but I interrupted him without meaning to.
''I uh- I'm actually a Parahuman-''
''Mi-''
''You can call me Spider.'' I interrupted him, again by accident. And also accidentally gave him a Cape name. ''for now.'' I added like the lame weirdo I very much felt like at that moment.
''Miss! Do not put yourself or anyone else in danger, help is on the way and the Protectorate have been notified. Just stay put please.'' He could have left the 'please' out for all the good it did, his tone suggested everything he had said was an order.
Well sorry but I'm trying to be a hero here so I'll be disobeying. Or maybe the hero thing would have been to obey? I don't know I'm not actually a hero yet, it's a work in progress. I slipped away from my hiding place and padded towards the building.
''I can control insects-'' I supplied to the guy on the phone as the inside of the building came within my range and I found a nice swarm of fruit flies. Whoever was inside wasn't very tidy. ''I can sort of get a picture of what's inside from a safe distance.'' 'Safe distance' in this case being just outside the building.
His voice sounded far away for a moment, I think he said something about masters and insects, before his voice came back more distinct. ''Miss. Spider I need you to confirm for me that you can scout the place safely without aggravating the situation before you do anything.'' He sounded really grave.
And fuck I understood why as my swarm of flies spread out around the interior ''Sorry I already started.'' I regretfully told him as I parsed through what I was sensing.
The flies had spread out as far as I could make them and landed on whatever they bumped into. Something like twenty people were inside, 16 were mostly evenly spread out in what must have been cages on the sides of the place. Another stood or was maybe laying on the floor in the middle of a ring of 5 other people.
I started rattling off what I had made sense of to the phone and shifted as many flies as I dared to over to the group that were standing.
It took some minutes, sometimes they moved or swatted at the flies giving me miniature heart attacks when they did, but eventually I had something like a group of wireframe figures in my mind.
My heart sank as I figured it out ''Five ABB guys, they have someone on the floor inside.'' I flinched as one of them moved and a fly died on the person on the floor. ''Th- they are beating someone in there.''
''Spider.'' His voice low and serious ''The Strike team is almost at your location. Just sit tight, Spider. Do NOT do anything to aggravate the situation.''
He must have heard something in my tone to react like that, and I wanted to agree, I didn't like my odds of walking out again if I did go in to do something here. But in my minds eye I saw one of the figures take a stance I knew all too well from action movies I had seen. Holding a gun down to the prone figure.
''Sorry.''
I really was as I closed my phone, and strode over to the door the men had entered through. I opened it before I could convince myself to stop and walked in to the sound of a dozen people screaming.
On both sides of the door simple wireframe cages had been set up, each held women and girls in various stages of undress. Some had obvious bruises or cuts on their arms and legs.
In front of me as I had seen through the bugs there were five men, the guy I had followed here was obviously trying to talk a short middle-aged man out of killing the beaten young girl on the floor.
I was suddenly aware of my heartbeat, so heavy and fast it could have been the drumbeat of a heavy metal song. The screaming had stopped, the girls in the cages were first to look at me, then the five men.
All but the short old man started backing away but stopped when the old man started bellowing out curse words some of which I actually recognized in Chinese.
When I took a few more steps forward in what I felt was the most stilted mechanical gait ever his gun came up to point at me. I stopped.
''Hoo aar yuh!'' He spoke every word from the gut, almost like he barked three times more than spoke.
I considered my options for a moment, surprising myself with the ability even think, I had a bullet proof suit on. Maybe bulletproof at least, not like i had the means to test it. And all I had to do was stall for a minute so the PRT could come bail us all out. I just had to bullshit and buy time.
I deliberately turned my head to the left and right just to give myself another moment to build a script in my head.
''How about we do this the painless way boys.'' My voice was as level and calm as it had ever been. Maybe more than it had ever been, I don't think I'd ever spoken in such a perfect monotone before. ''Let me take the girls out, and we will leave without a fuss.''
The old man spat furiously and stepped over the girl on the floor shouting all the while in Chinese, another two steps closer and he held the gun at me, at chest height. ''Ai say who FUCK ARE YOU BITCH?!''
I felt like I would pass out at that moment, this was not what I had envisioned in my head but I would just have to go ahead with what I had planned. I slowly raised my hands up beside my head, and then directed all the black widows I had on me to climb up to my hands.
''You can call me Spider.'' I saw the old man flinch as he saw the bugs come up to my hands, and then again when he realized what species they were. ''These are black widows; I see you recognize them.''
The old man and the four others stared at me mutely now so I went ahead with the rest of my plan, that being the bullshit part.
''Now each of you gentlemen have a few of these on your person.'' The guy I had involuntarily come here with reacted first, maybe being the only one who had a good grasp on the English language. He started talking to the others in what I was now pretty sure was Chinese. ''You can let me leave with the ladies, or I will let my little friends bite.''
That set them off, one slowly got on his knees followed by another, the third started walking backwards towards what I only now that i paid attention to the rest of the space was a desk placed in the middle of the warehouse. Hopefully he was going to get the keys and not another gun.
And my driver and the old man were shouting at each other at the top of their lungs.
Speaking of lungs the name Lung was being repeated by both of them several times.
So what I was doing here was very likely to piss off the very top man of the ABB. Probably Bakuda too considering I had used the guy she had sent out to get this far.
That entire line of thinking is dumb by the way, me, I will be pissing off all the gangs of the bay all the time when I join the wards. Well IF I join the wards, I would need to survive the old man with the gun before anything else could take place.
The door broke open behind me.
''FREEZE!'' Someone bellowed back there.
A gun went off and my stomach exploded in pain.
One second the old man stood with the gun pointed at me, the next the gun was flying through the air as the man was suddenly thrown to the floor and handcuffed.
By the time a grunt of pain passed my lips three heroes were had already subdued all five of the gang members, one crouched to help the woman on the floor. Battery, Velocity and Assault who had turned to me with a grin. ''I'm guessing you're the Spider then?''
Against all my wishes the relief of being saved hit me so hard I couldn't help myself.
I started crying.
AN: So you've made it all the way down here despite my terrible writing huh?
Impressive.
Anyways I recently read through Worm, and then I read through some of the fine fanfictions this site has to offer. And yet my ravenous hunger for more Worm has not been sated. I need more, and therefore i must make more. This is going to be a Taylor in the Wards story so strap in if you're coming along and get ready to correct all the writing mistakes I'm most likely about to make.