Chapter 4

Kingpin yelled in pain as he held a hand to his bleeding face.

"Get them!" He shouted at Goblin and Tombstone.

Goblin laughed as he hopped back on his glider, chasing after them through the subway while Tombstone left through the lab. Spider-Man launched a web that completely blocked off any pursuers. The duo quickly hopped onto a passing subway.

"Glad to see you didn't leave me behind." Spider-Man said as he and Black Cat rested on the back of the train.

"I'm sure you'll figure out a way to pay me back, Spider." Black Cat said as she removed her mask.

"So-" Spider-Man removed his own mask. "-you know my name. What's yours?"

"Felicia Stacey." Felicia answered, leaning back as the two approached the next stop. "Nice to meet ya. Properly, I mean."

"Likewise, Spider." Felicia smiled. "So-" she held up a small, rectangular shaped device. "-this is what powered that thing."

Instantly, Liam webbed the device and took it, earning a glare from Felicia that only lasted a moment.

"What is it?" Liam asked as he rotated it.

"That is a chip that will sell for big bucks." Felicia answered. "Thirty-five percent of it is what you'll be getting. More than enough to put you, and your next three generations through college."

Liam hesitated before reluctantly handing it back.

"Is your buyer reliable?" Liam asked.

"Everything about me is reliable, Spider." Felicia grinned. "So, you can rest easy when I tell you "see you in a bit."

With that, Felicia hopped off the subway, utilizing a grapple she had hidden in her wristband.

Liam watched as she disappeared behind him. Looking forward, Spider-Man pulled down his mask as he prepared to make his own exit.

Once the subway reached the surface, Spider-Man launched himself off, sticking to the side of a building.

"Man." He rubbed his head. "Gotta figure out what that collider thing was." Spider-Man stated before beginning to swing home.

After a quick change, Liam took the bus home and plopped into bed.

Lydia had just made it back to her own home, sneaking in through the window of her apartment. She had climbed the fire escape to access the window.

"Lydia? That you?" A woman's voice came from the kitchen.

"Yeah." Lydia answered back.

"I made your favorite." Her mother stated. "Do you-"

Before her mother could finish, Lydia's stomach began to churn.

"Erm." She groaned as she placed a hand over her belly. "I'm not feeling so hot. I'll dig into the leftovers later."

Her mother immediately rounded the corner. Her blonde hair was tied back in a mongoose ponytail, and a pair of librarian glasses sat over her sky blue eyes.

"What's wrong?" Her mother asked.

"I'm not sure." Lydia answered honestly. "I'll get into the leftovers."

"Alright. Your father should be home soon." Her mother stated.

As if on cue, the door swung open and a handsome Asian man walked in. He hung up his police jacket with a deep sigh.

"Welcome home." Lydia's mother said as she gave her father a kiss on the cheek. She began to help him with his equipment, taking it off and placing them where they belonged.

"Thank you." Her father said as he returned the kiss. "How was your day?"

"Usual."

As her parents talked, Lydia slid into her room. Her father raised an eyebrow and her mother quickly explained their daughter wasn't feeling well.

Removing her top, she looked at herself in the mirror. Turning around, she moved her hair to the side to get a look at the aching spider bite.

Two small puncture holes were surrounded by redness. Lydia winced at the sight as it throbbed.

Letting out a sigh, Lydia removed her bottoms, leaving herself in just her underwear, before sliding into bed and drifting off to sleep.

As she slept, she tossed and turned, sweat dripping from her brow.

Upon waking, Lydia got up and rubbed her eyes, yawning as she stretched. Standing up, she went to the bathroom to splash her face. But as she turned the handle, she was surprised when she accidentally ripped the knob from the sink.

Her eyes were wide as she stared at the knob in her hand, water spraying onto the bathroom floor.

"Uh, dad!" Lydia shouted for her father as she rushed to get dressed before heading out of her room.

"What?!" Her father rushed out of her parents' room, gun in hand but at his side. "What's wrong?"

"My sink."

"Oh." Realizing it wasn't a threat, her father put his gun away before heading for his daughter's bathroom. "Oh!"

"Yeah…" Lydia nervously pinched her right ring finger.

"I'll deal with this, sweetheart." Her father assured her. "Don't be late."

"Thanks, daddy." Lydia said, gathering her purse before heading out of her apartment via fire escape.

As she went down the ladder, she slipped but caught herself on… the wall?

Lydia stared at her hand as it stuck to the wall. Her entire body had tripped but she kept herself from hitting her back by… the wall. How did she…?

Regaining her posture, Lydia tried to pull her hand away but was struggling. Giving a good yank, she gave a sigh of relief before noticing a hand sized hole in the side of her building.

Looking at her hand, the missing piece of brick was still stuck to her palm.

"What the hell?" She exclaimed as she shook her hand free of the brick.

Just as she did, her phone rang.

Retrieving it from her purse, she answered it with a "yeah?"

"Heyyyy!" It was Gwen on the other end. "How was your date with Liam?" She asked.

"It went good…" Lydia said softly as she descended the rest of the way. "Fine, I guess."

"Doesn't sound "fine." Gwen stated. "Something wrong?"

Making her way to school, she and Gwen chatted until she arrived. Once in their classes, Lydia felt a slight tingle in the back of her mind.

And on the opposite side of the school, Liam felt something similar.

Once lunch came around, the tingling in Lydia's head was becoming more and more prominent. As was the case for Liam.

But the two soon figured out why.

As Lydia joined Liam's table, the tingling almost instantly flared tenfold. It only strengthened until their eyes locked on each other.

Red and blue colors danced behind Liam as white and black colors danced behind Lydia. Liam knew almost immediately what his spider sense was telling him. As for Lydia, she was drawn to Liam but had no idea why.

The rest of the day seemed to drag by as Liam bounced his leg restlessly in the final minutes of school. As soon as that bell rang, Liam gathered his bag before making a beeline for Lydia's class.

Seeing her emerge, Lydia rubbed her forehead as the tingle from earlier began to tickle the back of her mind. Liam quickly grabbed her wrist and led her to the exit of the school.

"Liam, what-?"

"Just follow me." Liam told her as he led Lydia to a secluded spot in the school's gym.

"What are-"

Liam turned to face Lydia, his eyes twitching as his and Lydia's spider sense flared once more.

"You're like me." Liam stated.

"Huh?"

Liam could barely contain his excitement as a smile spread across his lips.

"I thought I was the only one." Liam continued. "This is great! I can teach you the ropes. Help you get the hang of-"

"Liam, what're you talking about?" Lydia asked.

"You have Spider-Man's powers. My powers." Liam answered.

"I… what?"

"Has anything strange happened lately?" Liam asked. "Any weird changes with your body?"

Lydia stared at Liam quizzically before answering.

She began recalling this morning's bizarre events.

Liam was smiling like a maniac now. His excitement for no longer being the only spider person was showing.

"Here. Come here." Liam led Lydia over to the gym walls. "Climb the wall."

"What?!" Lydia looked from Liam to the roof of the gym. "You expect me to climb that?!" She gestured to the wall.

Suddenly, a web shot out from Lydia's wrist, splatting against the wall and making a line from wall to Lydia's wrist.

"How in the world..?" Liam said softly as he approached Lydia, getting a better look at her wrists. "Remarkable. Organic webbing."

Lydia was doing her best to keep her cool. Webs just shot out of her wrist. Webs. Webs!

"Ok." She chuckled softly. "This is freaking me out!"

"It did for me, too." Liam assured her. "It'll be a bit of an adjustment, and if you need any help, give me a call. I'll do my best to answer any questions you have. I'll go ahead and get out of your hair. Probably a lot to process."

"Wait!" Lydia called after him as he began to walk off. "That's it? You tell me I have powers, reveal you're Spider-Man, then leave me to deal with- with figuring this shit out??" She was clearly getting overwhelmed by everything happening so fast. "Wait. That means it was you in the subway. I-" she took a breath and let out a deep exhale. "You are not gonna lose me that easily, Lawson." Lydia crossed her arms. "You gotta teach me to control these powers."

"Oh. Okay." Liam shrugged to himself. "Where do you wanna start?"

End of chapter 4