Erma © Outcast Comix/Brandon J. Santiago
Spider-Man © Marvel Comics/Stan Lee and Steve Ditko
Deep in the subterranean undercity beneath Blairwood.
a young girl with lightly colored skin and dark wavy hair slept soundly in her bed.
Just then, the clock began to beep rapidly..and, the girl was stirred awake.
raising her head up revealed she had large, rodent-like ears sticking out from her hair.
She then yawned, making a 'squeaking' sound before looking at the clock beside her bed.
..Her name was Sidney. and, she wasn't like most other girls.
Her mother was human, who died bringing her into this world.
but, it was from her father that she inherited her off physical features.
*creeeaak..*
"sidney.." spoke a voice.
Sidney turned to see her father: an Anthropomorphic Rat dressed in medieval clothing.
"It's time to get up..School will start soon."
Sidney sat up, and nodded. "I-I know, father. give me a few minutes."
Delapore nodded, and then turned and shut the door behind him.
Once gone, Sidney sighed as she began to get out of bed.
her taloned toes tapping against the hard, concrete floor.
Her room was an odd sight to behold.
Despite the usual items that a child might need,
the interior of the room itself looked aged, and in disrepair.
This was normal for Sidney..given she lived underground, hidden away from the eyes of man.
Sidney walked into her personal bathroom, and proceeded to brush her teeth.
(she may be half Rat, but that didn't mean hygiene was a foreign concept to her.)
She brushed her back, upper and bottom teeth..and, finally her sharp Incisors at the front.
(they required ALOT of brushing compared to the others.)
Once that was all done, Sidney proceeded to brush her long hair.
Which (ironically) resembled a 'rat's nest', and was full of knots.
After several (painful) minutes of hair brushing,
Sidney left the bathroom and proceeded to get dressed.
Opening her closest, she examined at the clothes she had on hangers.
One was a very fancy, medieval-style dress that her father made for her (she barely wore it)
Another was her old School Hall Monitor uniform, while the last was her usual clothes.
Sidney went with Option C.
She took a hanger, and began to put on a long sleeved, light blue undershirt,
a bright orange hoodie, and baggy, dark blue pants (shoes and socks were optional.)
Breathing out, started to leave her room...but, stopped for a moment.
For whatever reason, Sidney walked over to her dresser and picked up a framed photograph.
The picture was of a young adult woman with dark skin, and frizzy hair.
Sidney smiled warmly..gently touching the woman's face.
"miss you, mom." spoke Sidney, as she placed the picture back where it was.
Sidney grabbed her backpack, and finally left her room.
Above ground, Sidney walked down a secluded path towards the Blairwood Elementary School.
She breathed sharply, not looking forward to yet another school day without her best friend, Erma.
True. she had other friends there..Both humans, and Rat Children that she lived alongside.
but, being half of both species made her feel like an outcast.
Only Erma made her feel like she wasn't alone.
But, she was still on that trip to Japan with her family.
She had no idea when she would be back, only that she was still gone.
a week had passed now since she left..a week that felt like a whole year.
Sidney really missed her frie-
"HEY, LOOK OUT!" called a voice.
Sidney's eared perked up. She looked..and, saw an oncoming truck speeding towards her.
the rat girl gasped, frozen in fear and terror as the monstrous vehicle sped closer.
Sidney mentally cursed herself as her brief life flashed before her eyes.
How could she do something as stupid as wander into traffic?!
((*HONK-HOOOOOONNNK!*))
Unable to move, Sidney just closed her eyes as she awaited her inevitable end.
..at the very least she would get to see her mother now.
At that moment, Sidney felt something collide into her body.
though, it wasn't the truck. SOMEONE had tackled, and shoved her out of the way.
Sidney opened her eyes to see the truck had passed her by.
she then looked again..and, saw someone on the ground nearby.
the stranger was human (obviously) and, looked to be about her own age.
She couldn't see his face..only that he had shaggy brown hair,
and wore a blue hoodie, and a red long sleeved undershirt and matching baggy pants.
"you..You saved me." spoke Sidney, awestruck.
The boy looked at Sidney for a brief moment..then, quickly turned and ran away.
"WA-WAIT!" called Sidney. "COME BACK!"
Sidney gave chase. Wanting desperately to thank the person who just saved her life.
As he ran, it became clear that he was a kid like herself.
(though, Sidney didn't recognize him as a classmate from school.)
As the boy ducked into an alley, Sidney called to him again. "STOP!, I JUST WANT TO-!"
But, as Sidney ran into a dead end alley..she found it empty.
Somehow her mysterious savior has disappeared into thin air.
"what?" Sidney entered the alley, and searched around in confusion. "where did you go?!"
After a few minutes, Sidney gave up looking and left the alley.
As much as she wanted to find the mystery boy, she couldn't be late for school.
[Later..]
As the bell rang, Sidney rushed down the hall towards the classroom.
(and, all the while grimacing at the irony of a former hall monitor 'running in the halls')
As she entered the classroom, she found Amy, Sylvia, Terry, Miko and Conner already seated.
*SIDNEY..Hurry Up!, Ms. Bierly will be here any min-*
But, Amy's warning came too late..as the teacher in question walked in.
"Sidney..tardy, I see." spoke the woman, bags under her eyes that indicated lack of sleep.
Sidney grimaced, then quickly turned to face the teacher. "Ss-sorry, Ms. Bierly!..I-"
"Just take your seat, please." said Ms. Bierly.
With her face bright red, Sidney proceeded to walk 'shamefully' to her seat next to Amy and Terry.
while Ms. Bierly proceeded to look under her desk before finally sitting down.
Despite being gone for quite some time, the attled school teacher was still expecting Erma
to just pop out of nowhere, and scare the bejeezus out of her.
"Class, before we begin for today, I should announce that we have a new student joining us." began Ms. Bierly.
"Unfortunately, he is VERY LATE. So, we will have to wait until he arrives before class can officially begin."
The rest of the schoolkids groaned. Not liking the idea of waiting even longer
for school to start, when all they wanted was for it to be over.
*so, why were you late today?* whispered Amy to Sidney.
*I was almost hit by a truck.* answered Sidney.
*WHAT!?* exclaimed both Amy and Terry, stunned.
*it was my own fault.* explained Sidney.
*I was..distracted. and, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going.*
Amy nodded. *thinking about Erma, again?*
Sidney blushed again. *is it obvious?*
*hey, it's okay..we all miss her.* said Amy.
*Especially Conner.* said Terry, pointing at a very forlorn boy who kept staring at Erma's empty seat. *he has it BAD.*
Sidney frowned..to which Amy touched her shoulder with affection.
*hey..no worries. Erma WILL be back..It's not like she's gone forever.*
Sidney smiled weakly..Then, the classroom door opened, and in walked another kid.
..a kid with brown, shaggy hair. and, wearing a blue hoodie and red undershirt and baggy pants.
Sidney froze, staring blankly at the boy who she knew was the very same one who had saved her life earlier.
(if not from the obvious clothing and hair, then certainly from his scent.
Which being part rat, Sidney was able to identify quite easily with her acute sense of smell.)
"Umm..Is this Ms. Bierly's classroom?" asked the boy.
Ms. Bierly stared down at the boy. "Ah..the new student. YOU'RE LATE."
The boy gulped hard. "Ss-sorry, Ms. Bierly."
"Not a very good first impression, young man. late on your first day." continued Ms. Bierly.
The boy looked down, feeling shamed. "i'm ss-sorry..I was helping someone cross the stre-"
"(deep sigh) nevermind..just introduce yourself to your classmates." said Ms. Bierly, who fixed herself some Alka-Selzer.
The boy stood before the class. His face as red as his baggy pants, and drenched in sweat.
Some kids snickered, but Sidney alone looked at him with sympathy.
..It was never easy being the new kid.
"uhhhhhhh..." droned the boy, looking ready to pop out of his own skin.
"just state your name.." groaned Ms. Bierly.
The boy swallowed hard. "he-hello.." began the boy, his voice shaky.
"m-my name is..P-P-Percival B-Barton P-Palmer. but..I prefer P-Percy."
"Hm. Percy Palmer?" mused Terry. "not a bad name. Really rolls off the tongue."
"Please take a seat, Mr. Palmer." spoke Ms. Bierly. "and, class can begin."
Percy hunkered down, and walked pass his new classmates.
Some glared at him, while others just stared.
Sidney watched as Percy took a seat CLEAR in the back of the room.
she stared at him until he looked her way, and she quickly looked away.
"OKAY, Class. Please open your textbooks at Page Six."
[End of Part One]
[Author Notes]
Unlike most other Erma fanfictions, this will focus primarily on Sidney
(the "Rat Girl" character whose first and only story arc thus far was in "The Rats in the School Walls")
Fortunately, the current (as of today's date of 07/25/2020)
story arc in the canon Erma webcomics has her still in Japan.
Which makes it easy to put more focus on Sidney here,
by having the story events take place during that story arc.
(So, Erma may not appear. It really depends.)
It is probably obvious that "Percy Palmer" is meant to be based on Peter Parker/Spider-Man.
However, I won't rehash the same old Spider-Man origin, and will go in a different direction with that.
(I should also note that Percy's civilian clothing are based on Ben Riley's
"Scarlet Spider" costume, which consisted of a Blue Hoodie over red.)
Nothing too interesting here. Just starting things off real simple.