Let's just get into this. 'The Loud House' and 'The Casagrandes' are owned by Nickelodeon and Spider-Man is owned jointly by Disney and Sony. Enjoy.
Chapter 3: The Invisible Hand of Fate
(Later that day in another part of town)
Fieldtrips.
One of three things the average American student looks forward to all year, along with snow days and fire drills, and the students of Chavez Academy were no exception. It didn't matter where they went or how boring it turned out to be, as long as it took them out of their usual classes it was like a little slice of summer in the middle of the school year.
On this particular Friday, the students of Mr. Gettys' 6th Grade Science Class were scheduled to take a tour of the city's new scientific research and development facility, Alchemax Labs, and while a bunch of middle schoolers touring a science lab might not seem like a big deal to you or me, it was a very big deal to many of the more internet savvy citizens of Great Lakes City. For you see, dear reader, in the few months it had been active, Alchemax had become the subject of numerous conspiracy theories due to the secretive nature of the work being done there and the apparent lack of government oversight. So when the lead scientist, Dr. Barbie Pinkerton, suddenly announced that she was opening the facility to the public, and to children no less, naturally this raised a few eyebrows. For most people, this blatant PR stunt was enough to alleviate most of their concerns about Alchemax, but the more suspicious minded citizens still held firm to their belief that there was something sinister about the place.
Not that any of this mattered to Nikki, of course. Her body may have been in the lobby with the rest of her class, but her brain was a thousand miles away and eight weeks into the future. I mean, sure, she was glad to have a day off from school, but how the heck was she supposed to focus on things like quantum physics or underwater tomatoes when the prospect of achieving her girlhood dream was still so fresh in his mind?
"Okay, everybody settle down." Said Mr. Gettys in an authoritative tone; instantly silencing all inane chatter. "Now, I had planned to have you all write essays about what your favorite part of this fieldtrip was, but thanks to those nondisclosure agreements Dr. Pinkerton made us sign, it looks like that's not gonna happen."
Naturally, several of his students, Nikki included, let out a loud cheer, much to the portly, balding man's displeasure.
"So instead, there's going to be a test on Monday, covering materials from Chapters 14 through 18. Have fun studying all weekend."
The cheers quickly turned to hardy and deserved boos, which Mr. Gettys seemed to revel in.
"Yes, yes, boo! Your hatred only makes me stronger!"
But while her classmates continued to jeer their teacher, Nikki just kept right on smiling. True, she wasn't thrilled about having a test on Monday, but at least it wasn't on anything pertaining to this fieldtrip. Which meant she didn't need to pay attention to any boring science stuff on the tour; she could just space out and fantasize about dancing with the Silver Swans all day.
"Alright, alright, enough screwing around." Said Mr. Gettys, apparently having had his fill. "Now then, allow me to turn things over to our esteemed host. Alchemax's founder, lead scientist and main financial backer, Dr. Barbara Pinkerton."
On cue, a new figure entered the lobby and stood before the class. She was a beautiful Caucasian woman who appeared to be somewhere in her mid-twenties. She had sparkling emerald green eyes, plump luscious lips and strawberry blonde hair so thick you'd probably get your hand stuck in it. She wore an unbuttoned lab coat with a black t-shirt underneath emblazoned with a strange symbol Nikki had never seen before; a smiley face marred by what appeared to be a streak of blood. However, what caught most people's attention, especially the boys', was the size of her chest; size DD, if she remembered correctly. In short, this was not what anyone had expected a revered scientist to look like.
"Hello, Sweeties~" said the good doctor in a sugary voice that matched her appearance more than her position. "Like the grouchy man said, I'm Dr. Barbara Pinkerton, the head honcho of this facility, but feel free to just call me Dr. Barbie. Everyone does. Now I'm sure you're all just pickled tink to start our funtastic tour, but there's a couple of itty bitty formalities we need to go over first."
Nikki sensed some discontent amongst the crowd. Apparently several of her classmates, Sid in particular, were itching to get this thing started.
"First off, raise your hand if any of your mommies or daddies are police officers or reporters or are in any way affiliated with the FBI." Dr. Barbie said sweetly, pausing to see if anyone raised their hand, but then continued when no one did. "Super~ Now then, you've all signed nondisclosure agreements, which means that everything you see and hear on this tour is strictly confidential and that if any of it gets leaked to anyone, especially the media, Alchemax can sue your families into an early grave, and nobody wants that. It also means that all electronic recording devices, such as phones, tablets and even disposable fun cameras, are strictly prohibited. So if you have any such devices on you, please line up over by the security desk and our friendly security guards will keep them safe for you until the end of the day."
Nikki sensed some more discontent in the crowd, but aside from some irritated muttering nobody protested and soon everyone had formed a line in front of the security office. She, of course, didn't care either way. As far as the young blonde was concerned a few extra minutes wouldn't make a difference, because as soon as the tour started she was shutting her brain off.
"Dr. Pinkerton! Dr. Pinkerton!" a new voice shouted frantically from somewhere close by. "Dr. Pinkerton! Come quick! Emergency!"
For a split second, Dr. Barbie's pleasant demeanor cracked and her face contorted into a hateful scowl, but she quickly recovered and regained her cheery façade.
"Would you all please excuse me for a moment? There seems to be someone trying to get my attention." The older woman said sweetly before quickly exiting the lobby.
Had she been even partially invested in this fieldtrip, Nikki might've found Dr. Pinkerton's behavior highly suspicious. But she wasn't, so she didn't and quietly waited her turn in line.
XXX
(Meanwhile, two rooms away)
Once she was safely out of both sight and earshot, Dr. Pinkerton dropped her girly, sweetie pie act and let her true acidic nature shine though.
'This had better be good.' She thought to herself coldly as her hawklike eyes scanned the room for any signs of the perpetrator. Fortunately, she didn't have to wait long, as the familiar and frantic form of one Dr. Joshua Patel soon came running through the door on the opposite side.
"Dr. Pinkerton! Oh, thank Heaven. We've got a situation over in Sector…"
"What the bleeding heck is wrong with you?" Dr. Pinkerton cut him off venomously. "I'm out there trying to generate some positive buzz with the community and you're running around the lab, screaming like a lunatic."
"I'm terribly sorry, Dr. Pinkerton, but it's an emergency."
"It'd better be."
"It is, Ma'am, I swear. One of the specimens from Sector 7-G has escaped from its containment unit. It's loose somewhere in the facility."
Sector 7-G.
The Arachnology Lab.
This was serious.
She couldn't have a bunch of Sixth Graders trapsing about her facility with a poisonous arachnid on the loose.
Just think of the lawsuits.
"I see. You were right to bring this to my attention, Dr. Patel. So what are we dealing with? A black widow? A brown recluse? A deathstalker?"
"Actually, Ma'am, it's a member of the species Parasteatoda Tepidariorum of the genus Parasteatoda, or in layman's terms, a Common House Spider."
"A house spider?" Dr. Pinkerton repeated as her left eye began to twitch. "You mean to tell me that you interrupted my carefully planned out public relations event because you lost a house spider?"
"Dr. Pinkerton, you don't seem to understand. Parasteatoda Tepidariorum may not be dangerous to humans, but it could still wreak havoc in this facility. It could unwittingly contaminate important samples, or work its way into sensitive equipment, or even AAAAAH!"
Acting mainly on animal instinct, Dr. Pinkerton grabbed a chunk of Dr. Patel's hair and pulled back until his throat was bare before her. Then with her free hand, she pulled out a scalpel from her coat pocket and aimed the blade directly at his Adam's apple.
"Listen to me, you stupid little garbage person." She said in soft but threatening tone. "I've had city officials, and reporters and conspiracy nuts breathing down my neck for months, and just when I've got them all pacified with this fieldtrip, you come along and nearly ruin everything because some of your arachno-dork friends lost a stupid house spider! What if all your screaming had caused those brats to panic? Do you have any idea how bad that would make me look?"
"I… I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking." Dr. Patel choked out as tears started to form in his eyes. "Please forgive me."
"Let me make one thing clear, you little worm. If I didn't have a lobby full of ankle biters right now and I didn't have to lead them through this exact room, I'd be showing you a quick and painful way to reassign someone's gender. So you'd better not show your face to me again for the rest of the day unless you've got a real emergency. Got it?"
"Y-Y-Y-Yes Ma'am. I understand."
"Good." She said bluntly before releasing his hair. "Now get out of my sight. I have to get back in character."
As Dr. Patel scurried away like the mouse he was, Dr. Pinkerton began mentally preparing herself to go back into tour guide mode.
Were all the threats and intimidation really necessary? Probably not, but she was under a lot of stress and it never hurts to instill the fear of God in your underlings. And besides, the little twerp had it coming. I mean, getting all worked up over one little spider; ridiculous.
As if one little spider could affect anything.
XXX
(A few hours later)
The rest of the day, at least from Nikki's perspective, went by like a blur. Occasionally, she'd hear words or phrases that stuck out to her, like 'Gamma radiation', 'Cosmic rays', or 'Indestructible armor', but for the most part she stayed inside her own imagination and jumped from one beautiful dream sequence to another. Most of them followed a similar theme; her dancing on stage in front of thousands of people, dressed in a glittery, sequined costume and wearing one of those gorgeous Silver Swan pins in her hair. Now and then she'd daydream about something different, like marrying a dashing ballerino or having a theater named after her, but either way this was the best fieldtrip she'd ever been on. In fact, she was so blissed out that when lunch time rolled around she barely even noticed when she started eating.
"Hey, Nikki!" shouted Ronnie Anne, shaking her back to reality. "You in there, dude?"
"Whuh? Huh?" Nikki said dumbly; nearly choking on the latest bite of her turkey sandwich. "Oh… sorry guys. What were we talking about?"
With her attention fully back in the real world, the young blonde took a moment to observe her surroundings. She'd been so out of it for so long that she hadn't realized that they'd all been led into what she assumed was the Alchemax lunchroom; which looked pretty much the same as the cafeteria at school, only a lot smaller. Much like at school, everyone had split up into their typical friend groups, and Nikki was glad to see that even in her daze she had managed to stick with hers. What she wasn't glad to see was that they were all staring at her with looks of concern.
"What?"
"Are you feeling okay, Nikki?" asked Laird concernedly.
"Sure, I feel great. Why do you ask?"
"Cuz you haven't said a word all day." Answered Sameer.
"And you've been walking around with that creepy smile on your face." Added Casey.
"And humming classical music slightly offkey. Not a judgement, just stating a fact." Sid concluded awkwardly.
Suddenly, a wave of guilt washed over Nikki. She had been so preoccupied with not paying attention to the fieldtrip that she forgot to pay attention to her friends. They were probably worried about her and she hated making people worry.
"Oh… yeah… sorry guys." The young blonde said guiltily. "I hope I didn't freak you out or anything. I've just got a lot on my mind right now."
"You wanna talk about it?" Ronnie Anne asked sympathetically.
"No, it's nothing like that. Actually, it's good news." Nikki replied with a smile. "See, there's this audition coming up for a part in an upcoming production and I'm basically a shoe in. My only real competition gets stress hiccups."
"Oh, that's cool." Casey said in that tone people use when they want to be supportive but aren't 100% onboard with what they're supporting.
"It's more than cool. It's awesome." Sid spoke up with her usual positive energy. "I'm sure you'll get the part, Nikki. You're like the best ballerina we know."
The others all mirrored her sentiments with smiles and affectionate nods. Although technically Nikki was the only ballerina any of them knew, but she appreciated the kind words just the same.
"Aww~ Thanks you guys." The young blonde replied warmly. "And don't sweat it, there's no way I won't get the part. And when I do, I'm gonna make sure you all get to see me dance on stage."
This proclamation was met with a warm cheer from the rest of the group. Nikki knew the guys weren't really all that interested in ballet, but they knew how important it was to her, so they were always quick to show their support; as well as throw in the occasional good-natured jab.
"Seeing Nikki prance around in a tutu, I wouldn't miss that for the world." Said Sameer, proving her point, and from there, the rest of their lunch break went without incident.
From an outsider's perspective, Nikki's overconfidence might be perceived as tempting fate, but she honestly didn't see it that way. In her mind, there was no doubt that she would get the part and go on to be a great ballerina. She couldn't explain it logically, but something in her gut told her that everything that was happening to her was happening for a reason. So call it what you will, Divine Intervention, Karma, The Invisible Hand of Fate, but somehow she knew that she was about to meet her destiny.
XXX
(A short time later)
After lunch, there was only about an hour and twenty-five minutes left before the class needed to head back to school, and since she still felt a little guilty for ignoring her friends all day, Nikki decided to belay her daydreaming and participate with the rest of the tour; so long as it didn't get too boring. So she gave Dr. Pinkerton her undivided attention as the latter led them all through rows and rows of tanks containing Alchemax's famed underwater tomatoes.
"And here, my little lovelies, is the Crown Jewel of Alchemax Labs, our famous underwater tomato garden, with which we hope to one day end world hunger." The good doctor said; being excessively sweet while also tooting her own horn. "'But Dr. Pinkerton', you ask, as well you should, 'how ever did you manage such a remarkable feat of genesplicing?'. Well, dearies, if you'll just walk this way, I'll show you."
With that said, Dr. Pinkerton led everyone through a large pair of double doors on the other side of the room. Inside was another room that, at first glance, reminded Nikki of one of those old school operating theaters she'd seen in some of her dad's old black and white movies, but upon further inspection, she noticed that something was off; namely that there was no actual operating area, just a big metal wall in front of the seating area. In short order, everyone was seated and Dr. Pinkerton took centerstage.
"240 BCE: Eratosthenes calculates the circumference of the Earth by measuring shadows." She said dramatically; beginning what was clearly a rehearsed speech. "1687: Sir Isaac Newton publishes the Principia, expounding both the laws of motion and universal gravitation. 1926: Professor Robert H. Goddard successfully launches the world's first liquid-fueled rocket, ushering in an era of space travel and innovation. But in the new millennium, the next scientific frontier for man to conquer lies not in the stars, but within ourselves. Neogenics, the study of genetic exploration and the manipulation of DNA. With this brave new science, we will cure the uncurable, make strong the weak and even defy the so-called unstoppable force known as time. And we will do it, with this!"
On cue, the wall behind Dr. Pinkerton let out a low hissing sound as it slowly split in two; revealing a large plexiglass viewing window to the room next door. In said room there was a strange looking metal pedestal with what appeared to be a petri dish sitting on top of it. Not too far away from that, there was an even stranger looking device that looked like a cross between a dentist's x-ray machine and a death ray from a 1950s B-movie. There were two men inside fiddling with the device; the fact that they were both dressed in hazmat suits suggested that it must be nuclear powered.
"Behold, the crowning achievement of my scientific career, the Neogenic Recombinator!" Dr. Pinkerton spoke up again; obviously referring to the weird looking ray gun thing. "This device fires a concentrated beam of atomic energy that stimulates genetic mutations on the molecular level, and by simply adjusting the frequency of said beam, we can control the exact nature and severity of those mutations. Just think of it, my darlings. If a person is dying from a disease, we simply alter their DNA to make them immune. If a species is going extinct because of pollution, we can use this machine to make them thrive in it. The possibilities are endless. Any questions?"
"Ooo! Ooo! Me, Me, Me!" shouted Sid as she flailed her armed about like mad.
"Yes, you. The little perky girl who's asked every other question today." Dr. Pinkerton said with dry amusement.
"Um, Dr. Pinkerton, would it be possible for us to get a closer look at your machine? I'd love to know how it works."
"Oh, heavens no." the good doctor replied in the most polite tone she could manage. "That would be incredible dangerous. The Recombinator is powered by a plutonium battery. The background radiation in that room would kill a fully grown adult in minutes without the proper protection. But don't worry, my dear. You'll all have an excellent view of my marvelous machine in action. Just as soon as my technicians are done calibrating it."
XXX
(Meanwhile, in the Recombinator Room)
"This ain't worth 25 grand a year." Grumbled Harold the lowly lab technician as he and his associate attempted to recalibrate the Recombinator while wearing their heavy, lead lined hazmat suits. "They can turn it off and on from outside. Why can't they calibrate it the same way?"
"They can." Replied Chester, the aforementioned associate. "But this way, if something goes wrong, Dr. Pinkerton can blame it on us. I swear, that woman would sooner slit her own wrists that admit she made a mistake."
"Oh, she's a stubborn one, alright. Scary too. I heard she threatened to fire old Dr. Brisbane because she didn't like the way he chewed his lunch."
"That's nothing. Did you hear what she threatened to do to Dr. Patel?"
"No, what?"
"Well, she…"
Suddenly, Chester stopped liked he'd been shot. Harold couldn't see his face, of course, but it sort of looked like he was staring off into space.
"Chester? You okay, buddy? Chester!"
"Whuh? Huh?" Chester said as he was jarred out of his stupor. "Oh, sorry about that, man."
"Everything okay?"
"Yeah, I just… I thought I saw something a minute ago, but it must've been my imagination."
"What was it?"
"Well, it looked kinda like a spider crawling along the floor."
"But that's impossible. Nothing could survive in here. There's too much radiation."
"I know, that's why I must've been seeing things. Now hurry up. We're almost done. I don't wanna be in here any longer than I have to."
"Alright, alright." Harold replied, and with that the two men resumed their work; without giving Chester's phantom spider another thought.
XXX
(A few minutes later)
As the two technicians exited the decontamination shower that linked the Recombinator Room to the rest of the lab, they failed to notice a little brown creature scuttling along after them on eight spindly legs. It was such a tiny thing, only about a quarter of an inch long, so it was understandable how someone could miss it. Then again, if you were the superstitious type, you might think there was some sort of higher power helping to keep the little fellow out of sight.
Not that the spider itself believed this, of course, or had any real concept of a higher power for that matter. It was, after all, just an ordinary arachnid. However, it was behaving in a most unordinary way.
Earlier that day, as it was feasting on some crickets provided by one of the human scientists, a strange feeling came over it; sort of like an instinct, but different and more specific. For reasons its tiny brain could not fathom, it felt compelled to escape its tank. So when the scientist wasn't looking, it did. Then, a little later, it felt another strange compulsion. This time to go into a specific room and wait there until another pair of humans came in. Now, as its tiny body was tingling all over, it was all but certain that it was about to die, but for some bizarre reason it felt that as its last act on this earth, it needed to bite someone, and yet no one in the hallway seemed like a suitable candidate.
Once more driven by strange compulsions, the little arachnid climbed up the nearest wall and squeezed through an air vent. Inside, it could hear a woman's voice echoing off the metal walls and it chose to follow it.
"The pedestal emits a sort of limited range, selective forcefield." The voice said as the spider approached its source. "Protecting the sample from the harmful background radiation, but allowing the beam to pass through. Thus ensuring that we are in control of what influences the genetic material within."
Through the next vent, the spider could see a large, sterile room full of children; all of them with varying looks of boredom on their faces, save for one who wouldn't stop smiling. They were all looking at a tall woman with strawberry blond hair, who appeared to be the source of the mysterious voice it followed. She was saying a lot of words it couldn't really understand, but she was of little consequence. Somehow it knew that she wasn't the right candidate either.
Turning its gaze toward the children, the little arachnid scanned each of their faces, but none of them felt right. That's when it saw her, the tall blonde girl in the back row. Out of everyone, she seemed the least interested in what the lady up front was saying, so she was probably letting her mind wander. Moreover, as previously stated, she was sitting all the way in the very back, which meant no one would see it coming; it would have the element of surprise.
Perfect.
With its target finally selected, the little spider exited the vent and crawled along the ceiling towards her. Then, once it was directly above her, it released a strong line from its spinnerets and slowly lowered itself down. Within moments it was sitting on top of the girl's hoodie and then it carefully made its way around the hood and down her hair towards the back of her neck; taking extra care never to actually touch her bare skin. Finally, once it reached its destination, it took a brief moment to pause and then it bit down hard.
"YOWCH!" the girl shouted; having been caught completely by surprise.
With its job done, the spider took advantage of the girl's confusion and scurried down her body as quickly as it could until it escaped out her right pantleg.
"Nikki, are you okay? What's the matter?" asked one of the girl's friends concernedly.
"I think there's a bee in here!"
A bee.
For some strange reason, the spider found that quite amusing.
No one noticed the little arachnid as it scurried away to a dark corner on the far side of the room, and that suited it just fine. It didn't know why it needed to bite that one random girl, but it had and for some unfathomable reason, that made it feel content as the life slowly drained from its body. With the last of its strength, the tenacious little fellow crawled through another air vent closer to the ground; something told it that it would be better if no one found its body any time soon.
Then, once it was as far into the vent as its waning strength would allow, the little spider laid down, closed its eyes and passed away with a feeling of pride it couldn't even begin to understand.
End Notes:
Oh my God!
This chapter was a monster to write and edit, but you cannot imagine the sense of pride I feel in myself right now. I know this story hasn't been the instant smash success I was hoping it would be, but I'm confident that I stick to it, eventually more people will start to take notice. With that said, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you in the next one.
Peace.