Chapter 2
Pain!
My mind and senses were scrambled, my thoughts reduced to an animalistic need to flee the source of the pain.
On the floor, my form quivered in agony, I blindly lashed about seeking any means of escape.
There! A hole in the floor! I surge forward pushing myself through as fast as possible. Crashing to the floor below I force my myself forward blindly, though thankfully the pain was starting to lessen. I was in luck as I brush against a wall, touch the only sense still available to me.
Feeling my way along the wall for what seems an eternity in my painfilled flight. I finally find an opening in the wall.
A window!
I waste no time in throwing myself through the window and flow down the side of the building. Sight and sound return as I merge with the shadows at the base of the building. I pause to take stock of my situation now that I was able to sense the world around me once more.
After resting briefly, I felt ready enough to scan the area immediately around me. I was dismayed to find only a small rabbit hiding under some bushes a few feet from my spot.
I hated dealing with lower lifeforms as their instincts started to bleed into my own if I occupied it for too long. After a brief hesitation, I surged forward towards the small creature. It did not even have time to react before I was upon it and seconds later I had taken control of its body.
Something was wrong, very, very wrong. It had taken far too much effort to take control of this small creature. Apparently, the attack from the Betrayer had inflicted more damage upon me than I had first suspected. Fury and loss roared into my mind at even the thought of him. Why did he reject me as he had, why had he...
I bring that train of thought to a halt. Even now I still had trouble reconciling my past actions after my mental instability had been removed. My anger and hurt over the past was a distraction I could not afford in my weakened state.
Bringing my thoughts back under control, I warily poke my head from under the bushes and make my way along the side of the building staying in the shadows as much as I could. Reaching the corner of the building I paused, listening for any sign of danger.
Seeing nothing in the way of anything dangerous to my current form I slowly move out of the shadows of the building and start to cross the large section of grass that marked the border of the property. My target, the alley directly across the street.
I had gone no more than ten feet towards my goal when my body froze, a sound I truly did not want to hear reaching my now sensitive ears, the sound of a low, menacing growl.
Turning my head slowly I looked behind me and was greeted by a very unwelcome sight. There, no more than twenty feet from me was a huge dog. Fur filthy and matted, its ribs plainly visible, its stance rigid nearly vibrating in place, it stared at me with hunger plain in its eyes.
Groaning to myself, an odd sound when made by a rabbit, I bolted towards the ally and the safety beyond the chain link fence that crossed the far end.
The chase was on. The mongrel raced after my small form the moment I started my mad dash for the dubious safety of the ally and whatever lay beyond it. I reached the street quickly and began to race across when a large car came roaring around the corner barely missing me and making the mutt pull up short giving me some much-needed space.
Reaching the far side, I risked a glance back and saw my pursuer far closer than I was comfortable with it being. Turning my head back to the alley I put on every bit of speed I could wring from this small form. Entering the narrow confines of the alley moving as fast as my paws would take me. I had made it nearly halfway down the alley when the fur on my borrowed body started to stand on end.
Surprised as I was at the sensation, I slowed my headlong flight. I glanced back once again to see how close my fanged menacer was. To my surprise, I saw the mangy creature come to a screeching halt at the entrance of the alley, give a small whimper, then turn tail and run as if its tail had been lit on fire.
"That can't be good." I had time to think to myself before a bright flash of light exploded behind me. Turning back I saw something even less welcome than the dog.
There hovering in the middle of the ally was a small hole in the reality wreathed by crackling purple and green lightning.
"Definitely not good!" I think as I turn and start to run back the way I came. I was nearing the exit when I felt something start pulling me back towards the hole in the air. Scrambling madly I tried to find purchase on the concrete of the alley, but the paws of the rabbit were not made for such hard surfaces.
Knowing I only had moments before I was pulled into the unknown, I released my hold on the rabbit. Multiple limbs shot out, grabbing at any solid anchor to pull me forward.
This, as it turns out, was a mistake. As soon as I was free from the rabbit's body, the pull on my form grew exponentially.
I was ripped from my anchors and sent hurtling towards what I was sure to be my death.
Before I reached the opening, I curled in on myself compacting myself down until I was the size of a basketball to make sure I did not strike the edges. Who knew what THAT would do to me.
Reaching the opening, I prepared myself as best as one can when facing the unknown. It wasn't like I hadn't been in situations just as strange.
Four things claimed my attention after passing through the opening.
Intense pressure was the first thing I noticed.
The second was the, now obvious portal, snapping shut as soon as I was on the other side.
The third thing was the intense cold.
The fourth, and to me the far the most important, was the giant blue sphere directly in front of me. Staring at the bright blue orb, only one thought ran through my mind.
"Murphy is just laughing his ass off at me right now."
I had learned a great many things in my time on earth. The concept of Murphys Law was one of them. I had always thought it to be nothing more than another idiosyncratic euphemism that humans had invented to explain the chaos that is inherent in the universe.
I know now Murphy was real and he was a giant phallic shaped individual. He also apparently had it out for me if my situation was anything to go by.
I pulled out of my thoughts on the possible existence of a malevolent higher being trying to kill me and back to the task at hand. I knew I had to think quickly as at the speed I was traveling I would soon join the earth's biosphere as ash.
Sadly I had few options, with none of them having a high percentage chance of my continued survival. After some frantic mental gymnastics, I determined my best chance of surviving reentry.
Pulling tighter on myself I began to shrink. Changing slowly from a sphere the size of a basketball to one no bigger than a marble. My form becoming denser the more I compacted myself, the outer layer of my body now harder than diamond from the amount of compacting. The pain while intense was bearable. My form was not meant to be constrained so tightly.
Having never done this before I became aware of other disadvantages of compacting this small.
I lost almost all contact with the outside world. A faint sense of movement was all that was left to me. My thoughts were sluggish as well. All in all, I would have to rate this experience as a negative five on a scale of one to ten.
The wait was the hardest part. While I knew it would be a scant few moments, time seemed to crawl by at a snail's pace. Then suddenly the heat began to build up, quickly increasing to nearly unbearable levels.
After what felt like an eternity the heat of reentry began to fade and with it's passing the struggle to keep this level of compression eased. But I knew the final stage was almost as dangerous a threat that burning up coming into the atmosphere could be.
While my form as it was now was harder than diamond falling from orbit might be enough to shatter me and spread pieces of me over a large area.
While this would not kill me per se, it would, however, take me an indeterminate amount of time to reassemble myself and even then until enough of my form had reintegrated, the pieces had no thought, just mindlessly moving about.
Needless to say, I was very much against this happening. The loss of self is disorienting in the extreme, and there was also some little bit of self lost in the process.
Banishing such worries to the back of my mind, I once more pushed with as much force as I could, reinforcing my outer shell as I continued my free fall to the earth far below.
The first impact comes as a shock. It was followed by a second then a third in rapid succession. Then with what feels like a titans fist slamming into me, the faint sensation of falling came to an abrupt and painful end.
Struggling to retain consciousness I use the last of my energy to breach my outer shell to see where I had landed. What I saw, while not ideal, would do. I was in what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse. Judging from the poor condition and the layers of dust coating the area no one had been here in a long time.
Now that I knew I would undisturbed while I recovered I drew back within my shell leaving a nearly microscopic pinhole to be able to monitor my surroundings. As I allowed conciseness begin to fade a strange noise intruded. I couldn't quite place it as exhaustion began to claim me.
The last threads of thought were fading when I placed the sound. The final thought that crossed my mind before unconsciousness overcame me was a questioning one.
"Bugs?"
Discomfort pulled me from the dark embrace of unconsciousness. My thoughts were sluggish at first. Then clarity came like a hammer blow bringing painful awareness. The fight, fleeing pain, fleeing AGAIN, the portal and my unexpected trip through space and the monstrous impact then nothing until this moment.
Sighing to myself I pushed the memories away and began to take stock of my situation. Other than being uncomfortable in this state I seemed to be intact as was the outer shell I had formed.
"Well, at least something went right after all of this." I thought. "Now to find out where I am."
Extruding a microscopic tendril from the opening I had left before falling unconscious I peered out to the world outside.
The first thing I noticed was that I had been attached to what appeared to be a small loop and chain. If I had eyebrows, I would have been doing a good imitation of Mr. Spock.
I honestly wasn't sure whether to be offended or flattered. Annoyed that someone HAD made me into a necklace or flattered that someone thought my form, as it was, was pretty enough to make an ornament out of me.
Pushing aside such thoughts I continued my examination of my surroundings. I was on a large flat surface covered in what appeared to be pieces of silk cloth and what looked like bits of brown and black armor.
My exploration was cut short by a loud curse. Shifting my gaze towards the sound, I was treated to the unexpected sight of a young teenage girl in a black and gray bodysuit with bits of armor covering vulnerable spots.
She was thin and little gangly and above average height if I was estimating her age correctly. She had long curly black hair, which was plastered to her forehead at the moment.
As I watched she set herself in what I recognized as a martial arts stance. She slowly started moving, each movement precise and controlled. After a few moments of observation, I recognized the kata. She was practicing Aikido.
While interesting what drew my attention was the large number of bugs that started to buzz about her in patterns that were not natural.
"Unbelievable," I thought. "After all that I had gone through in the last day and however long I was out, the person that finds me not only makes a necklace out of me of all things, they also turn out to be a superhuman!"
My internal rant was cut off when I looked past the costumed girl and saw the far end of the room. My mind froze up, and one thought played over and over in my mind.
"The universe is laughing at me."
It was the only thing that made sense. After all, it was the only thing that would explain what I was seeing. There at the far end of the room was an absolutely enormous collection of spider webs filled with thousands of spiders.
I had to laugh to myself. Honestly what were the odds that I would flee successfully from on spider-themed hero and go for the ride of my life in the process, then get found immediately after by ANOTHER spider-themed superhuman?
I pause at this, my rampaging thoughts stilled at the idea that she might not be a hero. Looking at the girl again I actually took my time to study the costume.
The color scheme was mostly grey and black with bits of brown added in from the armored sections. Wondering if she went unmasked or not, I cast about and further down the from where I lay I saw a mostly complete helmet.
I had to say from what I could see so far it didn't look very personable. It had orange insectile eyes and below that was a vicious set of mandibles. The overall color was the dull brown of the armored pieces I had seen on her costume.
Still, she could just be what was considered an "edgier" sort of hero or at worst like the Punisher, as Pet...someone used to say "You can't judge a book by its cover." I would have to watch for now and decide what to do after observing how she acted.
Plans firmly in place I decided to get some more rest. After everything, I had been through and now this I was more than ready to call it a day even if I had only just woken up. You could only take so many surprises in one day.
As I drifted off into a more restful sleep I could have sworn I heard faint laughter.
When I woke again, I was in a different room. It was a bedroom by the looks of it. Glancing around, it appeared relatively normal. Not that I expected to see anything sinister to be laying about, but you never knew. Seeing nothing of interest, I turned my attention to the desk I was laying on.
Spotting some books laying there I took a chance while I was alone to lengthen the tendril I was using to look out and looked at the cover of the top text. It was a history book, and in poor shape, I couldn't help but notice.
Flipping the open cover, I saw from the stamp on the inside cover it belonged to a Winslow High School. Idly turning the pages, I scanned them trying to ascertain if I was still on MY earth. This wasn't my first rodeo after all and after going through that portal as well as performing the ultimate high altitude skydive, who knew where I was even if it seemed to be earth.
After several minutes of scanning them, I began to get what would be a sinking feeling in my stomach if I had one. The casual turning of the pages becoming quicker, I found myself reading the pages as fast as I could turn them.
The sinking feeling I had had when I started had solidified into cold certainty. If what I had read was correct I was DEFINITELY no longer on the earth I knew.
Pulling my tendril back until it barely protruded I began to think. The fact that I was on another earth was dealt with fairly quickly considering the situations my former hosts had gotten into. No, what was foremost in my mind where what was referred to as the Endbringers.
The way they were described painted a grim picture of this world, and I had no idea what could be done about them. For that matter, I didn't even know if anything COULD be done about them. More information was needed before plans could be worked out.
A few minutes after I had finished reading the same girl I hade seen from before came in the room, once again sweaty as well as being a bit red in the face. She was also breathing a bit heavily and with the way she was dressed I assumed she must have been out running.
She quickly shed her clothes and clad in only her underwear she picked out another set of clothes and left the room. A few moments later I could hear water start running indicating she was taking a shower.
Turning back to my earlier thoughts I knew that to get more information I would have to either reveal myself to her or if she proved unsuitable find someone else to bond with.
I would have to decide shortly as I was weakening and would soon have no choice as to who I chose. With those thoughts in mind I settled myself back to watch and learn all I could about this strange new world I found myself a part of.
"Unbelievable! " I thought to myself. If I had any doubts that Taylor, as I had found out the girl was named, was a villain, a day spent hanging from her neck observing her had dispelled them completely.
How she had not snapped and swarmed the whole school with insects was a miracle in and of itself. From what I had seen on the way to the school and when I was in her hideout I knew she could control a large number of insects. The fact that she had not used them on those three girls, in particular, should be viewed as a reason to grant her sainthood.
I was beside myself with outrage at the way the entire school had acted in regards to her treatment. I knew now from the way she had stayed her hand at school when she could have easily killed everyone that she would be the one I bonded with. Well assuming she wanted to bond.
That was the one thing worrying me the most. I would have to choose the right time and approach to increase the chances Taylor would agree to do so. I knew from the last day she had a great deal of inner strength and from the quiet words she muttered to herself she wanted to be a hero
That was one route I could use to get her to agree to the bond, but I wanted more than that. I wanted her to want to bond because she liked me as well. Sighing to myself yet again I added this to the growing pile of things I had to do, though this, of course, had a higher priority assigned to it.
I watched as she made her way home from the bus stop covered in some type of sticky liquid the three most prominent of her bullies had poured over her when she was in a bathroom stall. Squishing with every step, she made her way to her house and up to her room where she pulled off her wet clothes and made her way to the bathroom.
Apparently, she was deep in thought as she forgot to take the chain holding me off. That was when I got yet another nasty surprise. Now that she was undressed I could see little scars marking her arms and legs as well as her torso.
It made ill to think of what could have done that to her. When she had finished, she made her way back to her room and pulled out the body stocking I had seen her wear when not in the full costume she had created.
Pulling it on she then quickly dressed in a baggy grey hoodie and ragged jeans. I made a mental note to myself as I looked at what she had put on as well as her closet, that when we bonded I would have to get her to go clothes shopping, as her tastes in clothing were less than fashionable.
Finished dressing Taylor went to one knee and fished under the bed for a moment before standing back up pulling a silk balaclava out and pulling over her head to rest around her neck.
Making her way back down the stairs and out the front door then closing and locking it she then made her way down the steps skipping the step that was second from the bottom.
From the expression on her face and her determined stride, I had a good idea we were on our way to her hideout. When we neared the area where it was located, her determined stride changed to a wary gait.
Following a few twists and turns down mostly empty streets and a few alleyways we were only a few blocks from our destination when she tensed and uttered a quiet profanity.
Seeing nothing ahead of us, I could only think that she had noticed something with her powers. Extending a probe farther I was able to look behind her and saw four Asian looking youths following behind her. She turned into the next alleyway and started to make her way down it quickly.
Stopping abruptly Taylor cursed again and began to cast her eyes about the alley looking for something. Swearing for the third time she reached down and pulled the balaclava up over her face before pulling the hood of her hoodie up.
As she did this, she pulled something from her back pocket with her other hand then held it close to her leg. A moment later four young men sauntered into the entrance of the alley ahead of us. Now I knew why she cursed since it looked like we were trapped between the two groups. I could hear a low hum fill the air just below human hearing and knew that even if the odds looked to be in their favor when powers were involved nothing was ever certain.
Standing very still Taylor waited for them to get closer to before speaking. "I don't want any trouble, I was just taking a walk."
"Well then I guess since you just taking a walk, you just have to pay a toll for going through our territory." the tallest of the group in front of us said in badly broken english.
"I don't have any money. Just let me go." Taylor replied calmly, though I could detect an increase in the humming coming from had to be the swarm she had massing on the roofs above.
"Well then we got a problem then." he said, "See if you don't got no money we got to take someth'n else." A sly grin began to form on his face at the last. The rest started laughing and making lewd gestures.
"You don't want to do that. Just let me go." she said as calmly as she had the last time.
"Not gonna happen little girl. You crossed our turf, so you gotta pay, one way or 'nother." he said, the grin on his face turning ugly. "Since you don't got the money to pay, we'll just take a little taste of what you got to offer, and if you're real good we let you go."
Those words seemed to be the signal for the action to start. Two of the thugs from the group behind us rushed forward to grab her arms. Before they had made it more than a few steps, her hand snapped down and with a snap and a foot and a half long defense baton appeared in her hand.
Spinning she lashed out with the baton striking the one to her left across the face with a sickening crack, he fell to the ground with the boneless grace of the unconscious. On her backswing she brought it back quickly enough to do the same to the second of the pair, dropping him as well. This caused the two that were behind her that about to join the fray to hesitate for a moment before continuing with greater care now that she had shown that she could defend herself.
That hesitation was not lost on Taylor as she used it to her full advantage. Charging the two she ducked a clumsy swing from the one on the left and brought the baton across the inside of his knee. Like before there was an audible cracking noise and a loud scream as the thug went down. Before she could finish him arms wrapped around her from behind and lifted her off her feet.
Without hesitation she slammed her head back connecting with his nose, smashing it in a spray of blood. Screaming profanities he let her go of her and grabbed his nose in pain. Wasting no time she spun around and brought the baton down across his head sending him to dreamland along with his friends.
She was just turning back towards the other four when there was a deafening roar and Taylor was thrown forward sprawling on the pavement making pained gasping noises. I heard laughter from behind us but couldn't see anything since she was face down on the ground trapping me against her and the ground as well as blocking my sight.
"Not so tough with a bullet in ya huh, are ya you little bitch!" the leader of the group yelled. I could hear them making their way towards us laughing all the while.
I was almost ready to bond with Taylor then to save her even if it meant doing it against her will but I could hear her pained breathing calming down and evening out and knew she was not out of it yet. It was about that time that the dull hum that had been a constant since she entered the alley in the background explode into a cacophony of buzzing and chittering bugs as poured over the edges of the buildings and raining down upon the surprised thugs.
While they were occupied trying to get away from the deluge of insects, Taylor managed to climb to her feet and turn towards the flailing and screaming group. It was about then I realized the universe was out to get the BOTH of us. She had only made it one step towards the engulfed thugs when shots started to ring out from the swarm. With a pained cry, she was spun about and landed heavily on the ground, this time fortunately on her back.
I saw the leader of the group stumble out of the cloud of insects looking much the worse for wear. With bites covering his arms and hands, his face was swelling from dozens of stings. He stumbled towards us with hatred plainly written on his face. He had almost reached us when he started to raise his gun and aim it at Taylor's head when I knew my time was up.
Hoping she would forgive me I made my choice.
Taylor
Pain was the only thing I knew when awareness wormed its way into my mind. I hurt everywhere, every breath was torture, my thoughts were scattered to the wind. I tried to make sense of it all, and with agonizing slowness, I began to piece together what had happened.
I remembered being drenched by the trio yet again and had left school to go home and change not being able to handle another moment at school. I knew I got home and changed. Then leaving the house and heading to my hideout.
The walk had been uneventful until I had passed a group of ABB members hanging out in front of an apartment complex. I had walked past them getting a few looks but nothing else. I had thought I had been in luck until my swarm informed me that they had started to follow me.
I had tensed for a moment uttering a profanity that I'm sure my dad didn't know I knew and seeing an alley just ahead decided to turn into it to either try to lose them or set an ambush.
My paranoia was not unfounded as I heard through my swarm one of the guys trailing me use a phone to call someone and cursed a moment later as four more gang members exited the building ahead of me cutting me off and trapping me between the two groups.
Cursing yet again this time using one I know dad was unaware that I knew and slowly reached into the pocket of my hoodie and withdrew the defense baton I had in there.
I held it close to my leg. Hopefully, it would not be noticed.
I had tried to talk the leader into letting me go and when that failed I had been able to take out the two that rushed me first then the other two without much trouble thanks to my swarm telling when they were about to move.
I had started to turn when there was what sounded like an explosion behind me and the sensation of what felt like a giant hand hit me in the back knocking me to the ground. I laid there for what felt like hours but could have only been moments before air finally found its way back into my lungs. Still gasping I managed to get to my feet and turn towards the bastard that had just shot me.
I had only made it a few steps before the world went away again as another shot rang out from the mass of writhing gang members. Pain exploded in my head as I was thrown to the ground once more.
The awareness that I had been shot yet again crystallized in my mind and with one harsh realization, I was about to die. Not in a blaze of glory fighting off insurmountable odds leaving a legacy of heroics behind.
No, I was going to die here in some filthy alley by some no-name gangbanger before I even started my career. I heard footsteps approach, and the one who had spoken to me was standing over me with his gun raising up to point at me.
I tried to move, but my arms and legs refused to obey me. My head was still ringing as I closed my eyes preparing myself for the bullet that was going to end my life.
Strangely enough, the only thought that went through my head was "Boy he looked like shit."
I tried to flinch when I heard a loud crack, expecting to feel the pain of bullet cracking my skull open, I felt instead a warm sensation enter my chest spreading outwards to all my extremities. The feeling faded quickly to be replaced with what felt like quicksilver flowing over my body soon covering me completely.
When whatever it was that was happening to me was done, I felt my body move without any input from myself. I was like a marionette as my body twisted and kicked off the ground and then snapped back down hard. To my surprise this had the effect of pulling my entire body upright as if I had been pulled up on a string.
My hand snapped out grabbing the gabgbangers wrist and with a simple-seeming twist broke it, causing him to drop the gun in the process. His eyes were just changing from surprise to that of pain when my other hand sent him to the ground with a backhand and then into unconsciousness.
My world then took another turn for the weird when the same hand that had knocked him out pointed at him and a thick grey substance shot out of the back of my hand and hitting his supine body and expanding to cover him from head to toe. When it was done it looked like he had been wrapped in a giant spiders webs.
My head raised and I could see that my swarm was still following the last orders that I gave it before I was shot. My mind still having trouble coming to terms with that fact. I could barely make out the three forms of the gangbangers with the swarm in the way.
Once again my arms moved without consent and pointed towards the end of the alley. Thick ropes of the same substance from before shot from my hands and struck the three motionless forms and then my arms began dragging them from the mass of insects and down the alley towards me. Thankfully the swarm seemed content to stay where it was and not follow them as they were pulled towards me.
I winced internally as one of them was drug face down along the rough surface of the alley and deposited next to the leader of the group. They had just received their own helping of the web-like substance when I heard sirens approaching.
Like before my body acted of its own accord and turned and ran for the wall of the alley. When I was about eight feet from it, my body leaped into the air impacting at what had to be at least thirty feet up. Instead of falling like I would have expected I just stuck to it like one of my bugs then scaled the rest of the building as if I were out for a stroll on level ground.
Reaching the top I find myself running along the edge towards the front of the building. When I got near the edge, instead of stopping, to my horror my body sped up. If I could have screamed I would have, as my body jumped.
To my shock, I sailed over the street and landed easily on the other side. I then watched as my body made impossible leap after impossible leap and soon grew numb to the bizarre turn of events this day was bringing. After a while, I noticed the route my body was following and realized I was headed towards my hideout.
I watched from the passenger seat of my mind as my body entered the factory and down into what I had begun to call my home away from home. Walking over to the ratty recliner I had been able to get in here with a great deal of effort, my body sat down and leaned back in the chair. The moment my body settled into the cushions I felt control of my body return to me.
Instead of leaping to my feet I just sat there and stared at my hands while trying to understand what had just happened. I looked at the black material covering them, turning my hands over and looking at the back of them trying to find where the "webbing" for want of a better word, had come from. Even bringing my hand up as closely as possible I couldn't detect any point where it could have emerged.
I know I should be freaking out right about now but to be honest, my brain felt kind of numb after what had happened in the alley.
Putting my hand down after looking for where the webbing had come from in vain. I tried to clear my mind and look at this logically.
I had been hurt and in mortal danger that much was certain. Was it possible that this was a new aspect of my power that I had never suspected before? Only now being able to access these abilities when my life was in danger or was it something else?
"It's not anything you could imagine Taylor, it is much, much stranger."
A thrill of fear and terror coursed through my body at those words, not because of the words themselves but for the fact that they had been spoken directly into my mind.