FATR: Wow, LadyKayoss. My only reviewer. If I hadn't already dedicated a story to you, I would dedicate this chapter to you. Anyway, all of you enjoy this chip chip.

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Peter and Mary Jane sat cross-legged on the bed, a box of pizza open between them. Each of them held a slice, but at the moment Mary Jane was laughing so hard she had to drop hers back in the box. "The Vibrator? I can't believe it! Where do these people come from?"

Peter shrugged, smiling. "Some petty thug picks up some new technology and that some how automatically makes him a supervillain."

"I don't suppose he considered the greater implications of his name?"

This time Peter did laugh. "Well, it's still more threatening than Schitzoid Man or Egg Head. So, he's standing outside the bank and I'm thinking-" He was cut off by a rustle and a thump out on the fire escape. Whatever it was didn't set off his spider sense, but he was still afraid. What if some supervillain had found out his secret identity? The young lovers held each other closer as they eyed the silhouette moving against the curtain. It looked like a large man with some kind of pointed ears or some such thing.

"Let me! It's an emergency!" The figure rapped sharply on the window.

Peter looked to Mary Jane who shook her head, emerald eyes widened in terror. He turned back to the window and licked his lips. Then he summoned up all his courage and called out in his most authoritative voice, "Who are you?"

"I'm a friend of a friend... Listen, it is imperative that you let me in! I cannot talk out here, but... just please!"

Peter took one last look at his girlfriend. "My spider sense has never failed me, MJ," he whispered. When he received no response he moved to the window, still on guard. The youth threw open the curtains, pushed up the window, and stepped aside. The man who ducked inside wore black slacks and a black shirt under a white lab coat. His ears were pointed and fin like, his eyes a startling sea green. "Um..."

"Who are you?" Mary Jane finished.

Leo gave her a courteous bow. "I am Leo, my dear lady." He straightened up and turned to Peter. "Emma sent me. If you would please throw on the tights and come along, I will explain on the way."

He knows I'm Spider-Man? Can I trust him? "I don't know what you're talking about."

Leo groaned. Nothing was going to get done if Peter wouldn't level with him. "Yes, we know. I am a water demon, a friendly one I might add, from another dimension. This dimension, your dimension, is in huge trouble. We have to get to the World History Museum before Dr. Octopus and make sure a certain artifact remains secure. If you won't go along to help Emma and me, at least go along to stop the robbery."

"I can't, I promised MJ that-"

Leo pointed at the clock just as it flipped over to five thirty-six.

"Oh..." The boy was uncertain about this demon guy, though. Could anybody trust a demon? But he had admitted to being a demon, if he had been hiding something he wouldn't have admitted to being a demon. Though he could have expected Peter to think that and told him his true identity to lull the boy into a false sense of security. Still, if Emma really had sent him, he couldn't be all bad. There was no doubt in Peter's mind about Emma's purity. Besides, as Spider-Man it was his job to stop the robbery, demons and dimensions and... whatevers aside. Peter gazed at Mary Jane apologetically. She smiled reassuringly and nodded her permission. Peter beamed. "I love you, MJ. I'll be back as soon as possible."

Leo looked the other way and smiled to himself as the young couple kissed. Ah, young love. Reminds me of my wife and myself. I can't wait to see her again.

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I need to go outside and clear my head. That's all. It's just being in this house, this house is haunted, or something. Stephanie pulled on her sweatshirt and made her way down the hall. Her fantasy, her dream, felt like a millstone around her neck now, now that it actually could happen. Before her main reserve had been not knowing what to do with her powers, but now she had some definite ideas. Oh, yes. She would no longer be a low-grade maid under Fisk's employment. No. She would be one of the elite, one of the powerful, one of the supervillains. It would be a... a promotion of sorts. People like Jenny wouldn't push her around. They wouldn't dare to whisper behind her back, ridicule her. That's what they had been doing since she started hanging out with those four, you know. Whispering, always whispering. They were all afraid of the supervillains, and fear breeds respect. Oh, yes, she wanted that respect.

Then she was afraid of these new feelings. She wasn't a power seeker. She just wasn't. That's why she needed to get out of the house and clear her head. Some how that painting girl had put these ideas in her head. It was crazy; it was paranoid. And the rumors hadn't bothered her before, had they? Or maybe they had but she had dismissed them because there wasn't much she could do about it.

"Hey, Stephanie!"

Stephanie looked up and saw Jason and Scott standing in the hall with the cleaning cart. Jason was waving at her and smiling. See? I am just being paranoid. She smiled back. "Hey, Jason."

"Are you busy?" Jason asked.

Stephanie immediately sensed some negative vibes in the air. She highly doubted she should respond, but for some reason she did anyway. "Not particularly..."

"I've got twenty bucks. What'll you do for twenty bucks?"

Stephanie knew she should just walk away before it got any worse, before she got to a point she would regret, but it was like someone else was dictating her actions. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"See? I told you she only takes it from supervillains," Scott interjected.

"So? I got raped up the ass with a radioactive dildo and now I have super penis powers," Jason grinned.

Okay, so almost all of them are afraid of and respect the supervillains. "All right, Mr. Immaturity, back up a minute. What is going on? Is this about some rumor I haven't heard yet?"

"Where else did you get that money this morning?" Scott asked.

Stephanie shook her head. "We were playing Indian Poker."

Scott snickered, "Yeah, yeah, whatever you want to call it. Jenny saw Scorpion in your room, and your shirt was off."

"He walked in on me while I was changing," Stephanie protested.

"Do you mean to tell us there are muties in the house and you don't keep your door locked?" Scott asked skeptically.

Jason put his arm around her shoulders. "Listen, we won't tell master Fisk about your little 'side job.' We fully support you, in fact."

Stephanie shoved him away. "You are sick. Sick, sick, sick!" She stormed off down the hall. Relax, it's just two people. Three people if you count Jenny. God, if I could just... no, I don't need powers. I could probably get Mac to beat them up for me. I'd tape it too, so I could watch it over and over again and... No, I am not a violent person. It's just picture girl again. Get out of the house, clear my head, everything will be fine. Besides, if I sick Mac on them, it will just give them more amo for the rumors.

But I could do something about it. I could have the power to hit back. I wouldn't have to turn the other cheek again. Even the supervillains push me around, like when I didn't want to give Otto the blood sample but he made me do it anyway and when I didn't want to take my shirt off in front of him but he pushed me into it anyway and then Mac convinced me to wrestle with him even though he knew I couldn't win and Max was going to treat me special because I'm so much more 'delicate' than them and they admitted that they prefer their own kind over us regular people because all I am is like a personal servant to them, to clean up Max's stupid mess when he broke his mirror for no goddam reason and he didn't say 'thank you' or 'sorry' or help or any shit...

She stopped this train of thought, wondering how she had gotten to the idea that they thought of her only as a personal servant. The word 'friend' would be too extreme, but 'servant' was too far to the other extreme. She hung out with them, played games with them. So what if they used their powers to get the upper hand on her sometimes? They did the same thing to each other. And could one really expect a supervillain to display gratitude for something as mundane as cleaning up a broken mirror? Especially if the someone doing the cleaning was only a little servant girl like Stephanie. There I go with that train of thought again. What is wrong with me? She reached the top of the stairs and heard insane laughter below.

Quinton's voice drifted up the stairs. "Max! You dumb fuck bastard!" This was followed by more laughter.

Stephanie nearly collided with Quinton as he dashed up the stairs. He was carrying the dome with the cape inside it under one arm. "What happened?"

"We have some stuff to do tonight," Quinton turned to yell over his shoulder, "but a certain little shit fucked up my costume!" He turned back to Stephanie. "And now I'm running late."

"Oh, take a pill, man!" Max called. "It'll wash off!"

"Just out of curiosity, what are you doing?" Stephanie asked.

"Supervillain stuff," he answered distractedly. "Hey, take care of this for me?"

"I..." She took the dome and the cape from him as he pressed them into her hands. "Sure." As he brushed past her she whispered, "I don't suppose I can go along."

Quinton stopped and turned. "It's... um... well you might get in the... I mean you might get hurt and..."

Stephanie stared at him for a minute then laughed a laugh that sounded too high pitched and hysterical to her. "You heard that? Nah, I was just kidding, thinking out loud, sarcastic, of course..."

He wrinkled his brow, started to say something, then shook his head and went on his way. Girls are so weird. Must be that time of the month or something.

Why did I say that? Idiot. I know I can't go along, I know they won't let me, and I know the exact and perfectly good reason why. Quinton started to say I might get in the way. I know he did. I doubt they really care that much if I get hurt or not. It's true, too, I would get in the way, I would get hurt, so why do I feel so bad? She continued down the stairs, deciding it was because he hadn't waited for her answer on the whole costume thing. It wasn't like she had anything going on tonight, but she was off duty and she could have had some engagement he didn't know about. Maybe even a hot date. I don't, but I could have, he didn't know for sure. It's just them pushing me around again, isn't it? She sighed as she passed the employees lounge. The door was open and she paused to watch the others. Some of them were starting a game of clue. She didn't really like clue, but she had to ask. She was at her wits end and she just had to know, had to disprove her paranoid notions, the ones picture girl had so obviously put into her head. "Can I get in on that game? After I drop this off?" The room seemed to fall silent as she waited for their answer. The background noise from the TV and the other people just faded away until it was only her and the four people around the clue board.

One of the girls finally replied, "Don't rush your self."

Stephanie nodded and stepped back into the hallway. There had been a definite undertone to the answer, one that indicated she wasn't really wanted there. She took a deep breath and kept walking. No matter, I will just... AHG! THAT'S IT! She threw the dome down hard, hoping it would shatter, but it didn't. It wobbled and rolled, Weebles wobble but they don't fall down. It came to rest right side up on the floor and she saw what Max had done to it. There was a very cartoony yet strangely attractive female face drawn on it in black marker. The face stared at her, eyes wide and unblinking. Stephanie chuckled, hand clasped over her mouth. The chuckle escalated into pure all out laughter and she collapsed to her knees, arms hugging her aching stomach, knowing exactly what she had to do now.

Stephanie stumbled to her feet and turned back the way she had come, leaving the dome and the cape in the hall for someone else to deal with because it wasn't her territory anymore. As she passed the lounge she was vaguely aware that the group from before had already begun the game, but that didn't matter now, so she dismissed it. The painting room, that mattered. It was on the ground floor, in the hall that had master Fisk's conference room at the end. Her pace increased as she went and by the time she reached the marble floored hall she was running so fast her breath burned in her throat. She dashed into the room and stood right in front of the Mona Lisa. "I'm... ready..." she gasped. "I... want it..." The picture didn't even twitch. "I know you can hear me. Come on! I told you, I want it! Strength, power, everything!" Her shouts echoed uselessly and she collapsed to her knees, struggling to draw breath. "I've gone crazy. I'm nutty as a fruitcake. Call the men in white coats, master Fisk, 'cause this girl's got bees in her belfry and bats in her bonnet."

Ana stood at a computer bank in Otto's lab, watching the broken girl on the monitor with an amused smile playing across her face. "Something about that sounded backwards."

Stephanie slowly raised her head and saw the demonic girl smiling at her. The picture was different, though. The girl could only be seen from the waist up and the background was a lab of some kind. "Where are you?"

"Otto's lab. There is no going back, you know, once you accept my offer."

"Just tell me what I have to do."

Ana raised her hand and reached towards the screen, reached through the screen, and into the mini gallery where Stephanie knelt. "Take my hand."

The human girl gawked at the outstretched hand. There was a long silver claw at the tip of each deathly white finger. Stephanie rose to her feet and closed her hand around Ana's. Without a word of warning she was jerked forward into the painting. A chill passed over each inch of her body as she flew through the barrier. She hit the icy floor and grunted on impact. Stephanie lifted her head and glanced around the room. Cabinets, terminals, and implements gleamed at her, bathed in red light, but there was no sign of any other living form. She pushed herself off the floor, wondering what she was supposed to do now. The source of the red light was the first thing to draw her attention. Apparently Otto had left some of his mysterious work open. "I shouldn't look." Stephanie approached the monitor. "It's his private business, after all." Journals and books littered the tables closest to the active computer. "And he has a right to privacy." Stephanie slid one of the books towards her and opened it to the bookmark. There was a picture of a dragonfly on that page. "But his work has involved me at some point, whether it is this project or something else, in which case I should be allowed to know." The bookmark had something scribbled on it in loopy, almost illegible cursive. Stephanie brought it closer to the lit up screen so she could make it out better. It read:

StephAnaDrag(?)

Drag? Stephanie looked back at the book. Dragonfly, maybe? Stephanie felt a chilling breath on the back of her neck and turned to see painting girl, in full demonic glory, pointing to a shadowy corner. Her eyes were glowing blue in the dark. She was taller than Stephanie, and much more intimidating in person. With a gulp, Stephanie slid past her and followed her direction. It was a wall of lockers or safes of some sort. There was a group of four that especially caught her attention, though. They were labeled: "Quin," "Max," "Mac," and "Steph." Ones near these were labeled Test 1, Test 2, etc. There was also one tucked away in an inconspicuous corner labeled Agent N. It was this last one that Stephanie knew she was meant to open. The metal was almost cold enough to hurt as she fumbled pathetically with the lock. It wouldn't open. She snarled and jammed her palm hard against it. It whined and popped open. Stephanie didn't even stop to wonder at this. Wisps of icy vapor curled out of the locker and she waved them away to get a better look at the contents. There was a rack of test tubes inside. A shivering hand reached into the gap and withdrew one of the tubes of blood. It was labeled "Ana."

Ana put her hand on the human girl's shoulder. She jumped and turned around. Ana held up a syringe with a wickedly sharp needle on the end. "It's all up to you, now."

Stephanie took the syringe in a shaky hand. "Needles make me nauseous."

Ana smirked as she began to fade away. "Fine. Then remain an in-the-middle reject for the rest of your life. It's no business of mine."

Stephanie found herself alone once more. Her eyes flicked dubiously over the needle. "Don't wimp out now. You've come this far." She uncorked the test tube with her teeth and stuck the needle in, wondering how much she should take. Finally deciding on a random amount, she tapped the bubbles to the top and pushed the air out with the plunger. A fine spray of blood splattered across her hand but she didn't notice. Her stomach was tying itself up in knots as she put the tip of the needle against her skin. With a deep breath, she squinched her eyes shut and pressed forward. It didn't hurt as badly as she would have expected. She let out her breath and relaxed her muscles as she slowly applied pressure to the plunger. The blood felt like ice as it flowed into her, cooling everything it touched. She could almost trace its chilling course through her veins.

Well, this isn't so bad, I guess. I wonder- She screamed out loud and her legs buckled. "Oh, god!" She clutched her stomach with one hand and propped herself up with the other, vomiting violently. Her body shuddered all over as she collapsed onto her back and rolled away from the puddle. She ended up on her stomach with her fingers clawing at the floor. It felt like there was something tearing at her back, forcing its way out of her shoulder blades. She screamed again but no one else in the house could hear her. I'm dying! She tricked me! Oh, Jesus, God, I'm dying... The chill under her skin was turning into a numbness now, but this only intensified the nausea in her gut. She rolled off of her stomach and laid spread eagle, back arched. Her muscles tensed against the convulsions that racked her body but that only made it hurt more. It was like having a full body muscle cramp. There was a tearing sensation in the tips of her fingers. Distantly, she realized she wasn't breathing, but it didn't hurt not to breath. She didn't know if it was because every nerve in her body had stopped functioning or if it was because she was dying. It was essentially the same thing either way wasn't it? At least the pain stopped. Her eyes fluttered closed because she couldn't keep them open anymore. There was a sensation like she was being lifted out of her body. Oh... dying... huh... HOLY SHIT!

There was a sensation like a ten-ton weight being thrown down onto her, into her. She jerked upright, inhaling sharply and involuntarily. Her collapsed lungs burned at first, but each breath hurt less and less. Stephanie hadn't opened her eyes yet but there was too much happening internally for her to care about what she might look like now. There were new instincts whispering in her head from a new part of her brain. These desires were entirely alien to her, and yet not so alien. Hunger was the dominant feeling. She was starving in a way she had never starved before, but it wasn't a physical starvation. Before she could really reflect on this, though, there was a different sensation emerging. This started out as an internal concern, but ultimately drew her out into the physical world. She focused on an alien... motor function for lack of a better description and felt something in her upper back move. There was also a tugging and pain feeling issued from the new area of her mind.

Stephanie's eyes snapped open and she jumped up. The first thing she noticed was that the lab seemed brighter. There weren't any more lights turned on, the light from the computer just seemed brighter. She turned in a slow circle, seeking something that might serve as a mirror. There was a metal table, polished to gleaming perfection. If I could only turn it vertical it would make a perfect full length... before she could even finish this thought the table flipped up on end. She gaped at what was revealed. "Is that..." The lips of the reflection moved with hers. Stephanie put her hand to her cheek and the reflection did exactly the same thing. "Oh my god... this is... shit, this it just..." Her eyes flashed radioactive green as she turned to admire her new body. "This. Is. Bitchin!"