You're always my plus one at a party when I didn't even invite you
And you keep me in the corner so I can't talk to anyone I'd like to
Always messin' with my head and tryna freak me out
Tell me that I should get up and leave right now
Man I wish you had a body 'cause if
You did you know that I, I would fight you
I'd prolly win too
Thank you Anxiety by Avenue Beat
From downstairs Cassandra can hear the rustle of the front door opening and closing, followed by the stiff greeting her father delivers when Varian walks in. The teen makes his way upstairs, a light panicked trot that Cass is familiar with. Varian tumbles through the door with a yelp and looks around Cassandra's room cautiously.
"Cass?" He grips the strap of his messenger back tightly as he looks around the room. "Are you in here?"
"Varian, look up." Her voice is just above a whisper, trying to keep the boy calm. "But don't freak out."
It takes the teen a moment to slowly shift his vision upward. As his eyes settle on Cass' form, clinging effortlessly to the ceiling, his hands clap over his mouth in a desperate attempt to silence the startled scream that tries to come out. The result is a muffled squeal that brings a mirthful smile to Cassandra's lips as she drops from the ceiling.
"I said don't freak out." She says with a laugh as she ruffles his hair.
"What was I supposed to do!?" He yelps, voice high-pitched in his shock. "You didn't really tell me what to expect!"
Varian takes a few moments to catch his breath before he examines the room. There are no strings or a net, nothing that would have attached Cass to the ceiling. He moves one to Cass herself, no suction cups on her hands or back, just the scruffy adult in her t-shirt and pajama shorts.
Familiar with his inquisitive side, Cass allows him to inspect the room with a smirk. The normalcy of the situation calms her, helps her keep her breathing under control. When Varian steps back, hand on his chin in that way he does, he gives the room another once over.
"Okay, I'll bite. How'd you do it?" Cass smirks again and takes a deep breath. With a low crouch, she jumps into a flip and sticks herself to the ceiling. It's something she'd been practicing since calling Varian that morning, and she'd just perfected it upon his arrival. It wasn't nearly as hard as it should have been.
"I dunno, I just can." She releases her hands and lets herself hang from the ceiling by her feet looking down at Varian. "I woke up stuck to the ceiling, but once I calmed down it was relatively easy." She mirrors him, hand on her chin.
Still deep in thought, Varian begins to pace. His tennis shoes tap in a steady beat as he moves from one side of the room to the other. "I wonder if this has to do with the chemicals that you fell into last night." He murmurs lightly, "But that wouldn't make sense, most of them were relatively benign on their own and only cause slight irritation together. Though I haven't researched the effects they may have on a human when they're all mixed together." As he rambles his pace quickens and his tone lowers to a near whisper. "Ah-ha!" He announces with a flourish, rushing to a small desk at the other end of Cassandra's room.
"Ah-ha?" She mimics in confusion, following his path above him.
"The spider." It's said with such conviction that Cass is almost more confused. "The only thing unaccounted for is the spider! It had that weird coloring, right?" Cass nods as he pulls out a notepad and a pen from the desk drawer and begins to write out a list of chemicals, "The chemicals are relatively harmless to people, but depending on the kind of spider that bit you, it's chemical makeup could have altered it's venom into something more like a super-serum when injected into humans!" He explains further, outlining the possible results each chemical could have on people versus spiders, but truth be told it all flies over her head.
"So I'm like a superhero now?" Cass mumbles, thinking about the prospect lightly. (She wouldn't deny the idea of saving a certain blonde from the clutches of an evil supervillain was rather appealing.}
"I think that's more of a decision than a fact," Varian says with a laugh, finishing off his outline and placing the pen atop the notepad. "The facts are; you have been granted superpowers and can do with those as you will. For now, we should get to work."
The statement is like a cold bucket of water over Cassandra's head. She'd completely forgotten about work and the realization hits her so hard her feet un-stick from the ceiling and she crumbles shoulders first into the floor, missing Varian by half a foot.
"Are you okay?"
"Just fine, thank you." It's grumbled against the carpet, bitter with reality. "Get out so I can get ready."
Fifteen minutes later she's dressed and rushing out to her moped with Varian at her heels. The motor scooter is tucked into a garage just outside her apartment beside her father's police car. She had sort of shoved it in there last night, so it doesn't slide right out when she tugs. It's caught on some supplies stored on the wall of the garage, so her response is to lift the vehicle and angle it out of the garage. She expects to have a little difficulty hoisting the relatively weighty hunk of metal and machinery, however, she nearly throws the scooter across the parking lot.
Her knee-jerk reaction is to clutch the vehicle close to her chest, which results in her falling to the asphalt with a grunt. Varian stares wide-eyed from a few feet away, uncertain whether he wants to help or investigate further.
"Cass?" Silence settles between them, stagnant and heavy. "Are you-"
"No!" With a huff, Cass stands, pushing the vehicle off her lap. "I'm not okay Var!" She roars but lowers her voice when an older gentleman from across the parking lot looks their way. "I'm not okay!" She repeats much lower, "I have weird powers! I can crawl up walls! And apparently super strength!"
"Actually, I think you just have the strength of a spider, proportionally speaking."
Cassandra's shoulders drop as she lets out a haggard groan. "What the fuck does that mean Var?"
"Spiders can lift up to one hundred and seventy times its own weight, meaning you can lift one hundred and seventy times your own weight." He's proud of himself as he finishes, flourishing a hand curled into a point towards the sky. Cass however seethes.
"So I'm freaky strong too. Fantastic." She lifts her scooter again, throwing one leg over the seat and starting the motor. "Look- let's just go." Varian makes to say something else, but the tightness of Cassandra's shoulders convinces him not to. Instead, he climbs onto the back of the moped and holds the older woman's waist as they speed off.
They're almost late, but at eight in the morning the only person there is kind old Uncle Monty, and he forgives them like always. He's already set up the shop, letting the two friends scurry inside to begin their usual orders. Unfortunately, it wasn't just Cassandra's late start day, and Andrew saunters into the cafe with a slimy smile. He slithers across the counter, head propped up on tan hands as he smirks at Cassandra across the counter. "Good morning beautiful." He coos, slick like sludge from thin lips and sharp teeth. "Can I get a usual?"
She wants to tell him that she doesn't know, that he means so little to her that she can't remember what the smarmy businessman orders on the daily, but she does. If only for the fact that the snake of a man has been coming in every day for nearly three years now. With a roll of her eyes that he blissfully ignores, Cassandra makes the pretentious coffee and slides it across the counter as she snatches a credit card from his outstretched hand.
"Someone's in a prickly mood. I like it." She resists the urge to roll her eyes again, still ringing up the man's order as quickly as possible.
"Had a bad morning." She grumbles, handing him back his card and receipt.
"I know what can fix that for you, dearest." It's a purr, something that tightens her muscles, and churns her stomach. "How about a date with me? Tonight you ditch the kiddo, and have me all to yourself?"
Behind her, Varian stumbles, sending a bucket of ice across the floor and over the counter, and Cass releases an exaggerated sigh. "Sorry sir," she emphasizes it like she doesn't know his name, despite his frequent visits. "I have a lot on my plate at the moment, and can't really make those kinds of plans, please have a nice day." She doesn't wait for him to respond, immediately crouching below the counter to start helping Varian.
"Coast is clear." The teen announces a few minutes later, and Cass sighs out another deep breath.
"Thanks, Var. I don't know why he hasn't gotten the hint yet." Varian shrugs, pulling out a long floor broom to clean the remainder of the ice.
Thursdays are slow normally. Most businesses in the area are too distracted by the approaching end of the week to stop to grab a coffee in the late morning. Cassandra busies herself with the daily duties, and when they're both done Varian fiddles with one gadget or another.
"What'cha working on Var?" The teen hums, clicking the cover back over the small machine before handing it to his friend.
"That device from last night. I was thinking, the solution is very web-like, so if you decided to do anything with your new-" he gestures vaguely to Cass and she sighs with a nod. "It could work for you or something." He shrugs, flushed, but doesn't continue.
"To like what? Catch bad guys? That's the police's job." She crosses her arms but takes the gadget and slides it onto her wrist. It's a perfect fit, tucked just in the sleeve of her dark undershirt. She tests triggering the lever to shoot a web against the floor. It's natural, curling her middle and ring finger inward to depress the cool metal. It shoots quick and the web holds steady, just as it did the night before, but as she looks at the solidified solution Varian places another on her other wrist.
"Whip it out, and double-tap to release, then whip it out again." He says softly, cautious with her already foul mood.
"I don't know if I can do this Var." She sighs.
"You don't have to." His voice is stern but soft, as he steps away. "But you always wanted to stop bad guys."
"Var-" It's a gruff angry groan, "You know-"
"I know you can't. Because of your record, and because of your dad, but this could be the same thing, just around the law."
"That's called being a vigilante, which is illegal." She crosses her arms, still able to move freely with the gadgets attached to her.
"Semantics." He scoffs, waving a hand between them, "They let that ice-woman in Arendale-"
"The Nokk is different," Cass grumbles, shifting away from the backroom into the shop propper. Varian shrugs, following his friend with a playful smile.
"I bet if that pretty blonde woman from Sundrop needed saving-" Cass turns on him, flushed and angry, finger pointed like a knife under his chin.
Cassandra leans against the back counter near the drive-thru window and nearly jumps when the phone rings. Breathless, she answers. "Moon-drop Cafe, Cass speaking."
"Cass!?" The excited voice on the other line is unmistakable, sending Cassandra's heart into overdrive as she sucks in a soft breath.
"Uh-Yeah. Raps?" Her response is a giggle, and Cassandra holds the old wired phone close to her face as she smiles.
"I don't know why, but I didn't think I'd get you when I called." It's good-natured, made of sunlight and spring that blooms in Cass' throat. "I guess I expected you'd have something more important to do." Cass feels like someone pumped helium into her lungs so she's floating where she stands.
"Nothing more important." She whispers, but the sunny woman on the other line doesn't quite hear it.
"So hey," She chirps, a songbird fluttering on the breeze. "I know Moon-Drop doesn't do single deliveries, and it's later than normal but I started late today-"
"I'll do it." She turns away from Varian to hide the flush across her pale cheeks. "I mean- I get it, I had a late start too."
"Really?" Rapunzel cheers lightly on the other side of the line, giggling soft sunbeams onto Cassandra's bad mood.
"Of course." She tucks a dark curl behind her ear and smiles. She wasn't expecting to see Raps today, but now that she will, sudden superpowers don't feel as important. "What can I make you today?"
Another soft giggle flutters Cassandra's heart again, making her take a deep breath. "I really liked the one you made yesterday." She hums, "Maybe with caramel this time?"
"Sure! Be there soon!" Varian gives her a worried glance when the phone clicks to its hook and the woman cheers happily.
"It's a little late for the Sundrop order." He muses lightly, poised with his hand on his chin.
"It's just Raps, but that means it'll be quick." She's tugging a hoodie over her apron as she makes her crush's desired coffee. "I promise."
He looks worried but smiles shooing his friend towards the espresso machine. "Go get her tiger."
Somehow the drive is much shorter than normal, and Cass arrives only fifteen minutes after taking the phone call. Nerves rattle her hands, ice-cold doubt, like shards of glass slither through her chest. The usual check-in, and a wave to Lance, before she's in the elevator and up to Rapunzel's floor. It's around noon and half the office is out for lunch when she steps through the door with a single coffee in hand. The remaining staff watch her enter and walk directly towards familiar misted glass.
A single knock has the door open and Rapunzel's head peeks out. She looks confused but smiles slow and deliberate at Cassandra's soft wave. She's wearing a short-sleeved pink button-up and a black corset over a deep maroon skirt, and Cassandra almost can't breathe. Her long hair cascades freely down her back and over one shoulder as she tucks a strand behind a sunkissed ear.
"That was fast." Is she blushing? She can't be, right?
"I uh, hurried over," Cass mumbles, holding out the lovingly crafted coffee. "Traffic just decided to buzz off too." She earns a giggle at the statement as Rapunzel steps back into her office, but makes no move to see Cassandra off.
"Then I suppose I should thank the city for being too busy for cars today," Her voice is a ray of warmth over the room, and Cassandra feels the spot behind her ribs twinge with a familiar want.
"Sounds like a feat." She replies, stepping into the office slowly. Is she flirting? This has to be flirting right? It's the wrong question to ask herself because she feels her palms grow warm and clammy.
"I'm sure I could manage, to get to see you so soon." Heavy lashes flutter and emerald eyes stare directly into steel gray. "And for the coffee."
Something in Cassandra short-circuits. Heat streams through her body and out through moist hands directly into Rapunzel's computer. The screen buzzes out, and every computer and light on the floor follows. There's a soft tingle in her limbs, from her knees and her elbow down, as she realizes this was just another superpower. Raps moves out of the office to flick a nearby light switch, but nothing happens and she grumbles.
A soft hand tickles her bent elbow, startling the nervous barista. "I hate to make you leave so soon, after everything you've done-"
Cass laughs nervously, lightly pressing her elbow more firmly into a freckled hand. The warmth soothes the soft vibrations under her skin, but her heart continues to hammer in her chest. "No worries Raps. Some other time maybe?" She wants to push the implication, let Rapunzel know what she means.
"Yes. Some other time would be lovely." In the darkness, she squeezes Cassandra's arm lightly, before tugging her towards the emergency stairs. "I can walk you down-"
"That's okay," Cassandra tries to shake the flush off her cheeks as she steps into the emergency lighting of the staircase. "You have work to do, I don't want to take up too much of your time."
She makes it down one flight of stairs and looks up. Raps is still there with a soft smile and a gentle wave. Cass returns both and hurries down the remaining stairs.
The ride back to the shop is full of self-doubt and shouts of anger. Her veins are ice, but a volcano erupts in her chest, boiling blood and bone beneath molten wrath. The first time she has a chance to really communicate with Raps and her newly acquired superpowers go nuts! Her life just can't be easy, can it?
As she pulls into the parking lot of Moon-Drop something brown and green catches her eye, followed by the sound of Varian yelling.
"Stop! That ass hole just robbed us!" The teen shouts, flustered, and winded. Cass can see the kid's eye, painted purple and black above a bloodied lip.
Another surge of anger presses into her lungs, heavy like lead. She tugs a ski mask from the inside pocket of her moped's saddlebags and pulls it over her head and takes off.
It's surprisingly easy to catch up to the thief. She wonders if her super-strength has any effect on her stamina as she lunges at the masked man. He dodges with a shout, "Crazy bitch!" And leaps up a fire escape along the side of a nearby apartment building. Cass pulls herself up the outside of the escape, but the taller man is able to maneuver faster through the traditional stairs.
All at once, Cass remembers the gadgets at her wrists and takes a deep breath. With a balanced leap, she shoots one line of web and swings around the side of the building. Her momentum brings her back up, and she uses it to run along the side of the building into another leap. She flails slightly in midair but manages to land in a stumbling slide in her worn-down sneakers. She's not even breathing heavy. No, instead, she feels great, like the cool fall of the city is seeping into her overheated skin and stabilizing her volatile mood.
She can hear the thief clambering up the final unstable bits of metal. With a running start, she shoots a web out from either wrist and slams a full forced kick into the rising chest of her thief. She releases her hold on the webs, shooting several more quick shots into the man's chest, sticking him to the opposite apartment wall as she snatches the offender's pillowcase out of the air and rolls into a landing. A woman peaks from a nearby window and gasps at the flailing man.
"Sorry about that ma'am!" Cass yells to the frazzled woman. "If you could please call the police and tell them you have a thief trapped to the wall of your apartment!" With that, she takes off back to the cafe.
She shoves the make-shift bag into Varian's hands with a shaky laugh. The teen gapes at her, looking from his friend towards the direction she jogged from. "Did you?"
"Yes!" Her voice is misty and breathless. "And I want to do it again Var! I can do this!" She's snowfall in winter, cool and refreshing, but for the first time in a long time, Cassandra shines like the sun.