A.N: Two chapters in two days? Why yes! Don't expect this to be a regular occurrence, though.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy Chapter 2!
Chapter 2: Carrie
Carrie White has had a turbulent two weeks to say the least.
It started when she had her first menstrual period in the showers after gym class a few weeks ago. Since her mother never told her what it was, she thought she was bleeding to death. When she pleaded to her classmates to help her, they instead threw tampons at her and chanted "Plug it up!" while doing so. If that wasn't bad enough, Chris Hargensen, the leader of a group of popular girls known through the school as the Ultras, recorded everything and uploaded it to YouTube later that day. Miss Desjardin punished the girls with detention, but Chris refused which resulted in her being suspended and banned from prom.
Then, shortly after this, Carrie discovered something new about herself. She could move things with her mind.
She's been spending much of her time researching telekinesis and practiced using he powers at home where she managed to lift the many books related to her abilities and even her own bed. Sometimes, she even tested them at school when no one was looking.
Then, to top everything off, a few days ago, she was asked out to prom by Tommy Ross of all people. She said no at first, writing it off as a joke someone made him do, but then accepted the next day when he showed up at her house to try again. The talk he gave her made her feel sure that this wasn't a joke of any kind. The smile he gave her when she said yes made her feel warm inside and made her smile.
To prepare for prom, she bought a light pink fabric to make her own dress for the occasion. That was two days ago. For the first time in a long time, Carrie was looking forward to the week.
If only she knew that a few more surprises awaited her...
Finding that weird material in front of her house was only the start. When she got to school, she saw that everyone was more chatty and excited than usual. Students and staff were in a frenzy for some reason, leaving her wondering what was going on. On the bright side, her tormentors had left her alone. Still, if they did, there had to have been some reason for it.
She entered her History class and sat down at her usual spot in the back, like most of her other classes. As she waited for the bell to ring, she overheard two students talk.
"Can you believe it, man? Spider-Man is in Chamberlain! Isn't that awesome?!", exclaimed the first guy.
"It is, but why is he here? Nothing ever happens here.", the second guy said.
"I don't know, maybe something's going down that we don't know about? I mean, when was the last time a superhero showed up somewhere and shit didn't go down? That's just my guess."
"It's a good one. Still, if something is going down, what exactly is going on and who's behind it?"
"I guess we'll have to wait and see. Hey, you think I can get his autograph?"
"Bet you I'll get it first."
"Oh, you're so on."
This caught her attention. She's never heard of Spider-Man, so she made a mental note to research him when she had the chance. The bell rang and the teacher came in to start the class. When it ended, she went to lunch and ate alone like always. Again, with everyone talking about Spider-Man, no one bothered her or even glanced her way.
When she finished eating her food, she made her way to the library and went to one of the computers. She typed in his name in the computer and was met with a countless number of articles and pictures of him in his red and blue suit. According from what she read; Spider-Man first appeared in the Queens borough of New York about three years ago. He had a reputation of doing everything from stopping a bank robbery to giving people directions around the city. He is known for being very interactive with people and even has a Twitter account with over 30 million followers.
Spider-Man is also known for cracking jokes and quips during his fights and she found a video of him fighting some criminals who tried to hold up a jewelry store. During the fight, he can be heard saying, "Just in case you're worried, my webbing is never tested on animals. Just losers like you!". Carrie couldn't help but giggle, though she was surprised at how young he sounded. She'd go as far as to say that he sounded like he'd be in high school.
It amazed her how he was doing these things this young. She wished she was just half as brave as he is.
She read more and it said that he had amazing knowledge about science and technology. He had helped doctors create antidotes for poisoning victims and defused bombs during tense situations between police and mercenaries.
She did however frown at some of the stuff a publication called the Daily Bugle wrote about him, calling him a menace and other less-than-flattering things about him. Why this J. Jonah Jameson despises him, she had no idea. All she knew was that he was wrong about him in every aspect about Spider-Man.
The more she read about him, the more she was at awe with him. That's when she remembered about that odd thing she found at her house. Making sure no one was watching; she took it out and got a better look at it. It looked like a small helmet of some kind. It was black and it had a light blue glow to it. The surface of it was so smooth and glossy, was able to make out her own reflection on it.
'Maybe he knows what this is?', she wondered.
The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, but she was free to skip gym class because of the incident, so she decided to stick around and read more about the wall crawler.
Meanwhile, Spider-Man continued his search for Vulture and Shocker. So far, he hadn't heard or seen anything that might lead him to them, so he spent much of his time swinging around Chamberlain. Sometimes someone would ask him for a selfie and he was more than willing to oblige, so it wasn't all too bad. Other than that attempted robbery last night, nothing much happened.
During his little tour of the place, he swung past the high school and perched himself on the roof, looking out at the playing fields. He saw students in the middle of gym class with the guys playing lacrosse and the girls playing soccer.
"Ah, gym class. Went from my worst subject to my secret favorite a spider bite later.", he said to himself.
Even though he told himself back then not to make his new athletic abilities at the time obvious, he felt a bit of a rush showing up Flash Thompson whenever they played basketball or soccer. He even tried out for the football team during his junior year and more than likely would've made the team, but decided to bow out after his responsibilities as Spider-Man became a bigger priority.
He already missed high school even though he graduated two weeks ago. Next was ESU with MJ and Harry like they agreed on.
He didn't know how long we was perched on the roof until a girl shouted, "Look, it's Spider-Man!". He looked down and saw a small mob form below him, cheering and waving at him. Some faculty members had their phones out and either took pictures or filmed him. Smiling under his mask, he leapt off, doing a few flips and fired a web and swinging off.
Spider-Man exclaimed, "WOOHOO!", as he swung off.
About an hour passed by when he found a group of police officers arresting some guys. He first thought nothing of it, but then he saw on the hood of one cop car a bag with Chitauri weapons in it. He swung down, surprising the cops.
"Woah, Spider-Man! It's really you!", one of them said.
"Yep, the one and only. What happened here?", he asked.
"We got these guys running off trying to deliver... whatever's in there to someone.", another said.
'Probably Toomes.', Spider-Man thought.
"The moment they saw us, they tried to make a run for it, so we got them. What's in the bag, Spidey?", the first cop asked.
"Alien weapons. Same ones that attacked New York a couple of years ago.", he replied.
"How did these guys come across them?", the second cop then asked.
"I think I know how. Let me talk with that guy, maybe he knows something.", the Avenger asked, pointing to one of the criminals in the car.
"Go right ahead."
The wall crawler walked up to the window and tapped it, getting the guy's attention.
"Pardon me, but you got alien weapons in that bag. Where'd you get them?", Spider-Man asked.
"Damn, it's really you. Look, I wasn't gonna use them or anything. This guy came up and asked me if I wanted to earn a few quick bucks and told me about that stuff being scattered around town, so me and my buddy started searching the town and collecting them.", the guy explained.
'That sounds like Shultz.'
"Do you know where he's at?"
"He said he and a buddy were in a warehouse on the far west side of town. But then he said that they had to move around for a while, so they're probably not there anymore. Guess the cops are looking for them too. I just barely noticed that there's more driving around the place.", the guy commented.
'They heard about S.H.I.E.L.D's APB for Vulture and Shocker. Chamberlain looks small, but there's a lot of places to hide out. I gotta find out where they are now. It's a long shot, but maybe there's something in the warehouse I can use to make the search to find them and the tech a lot easier.'
"You've been a big help, man. Maybe next time you don't accept a job from some shady looking guy. It never works out in the end.", Spider-Man advised before swinging away.
A few minutes later, he saw the place the guy mentioned and went inside to investigate. The place was empty, but he saw that it was recently being used.
"They were here, alright. They made sure they left with everything they had.", he said to himself.
He sighed. Another dead end. There was nothing but small pieces of scrap metal lying around and a sew scorch marks on a table. He picked up a small piece of metal and looked at it. No doubt it was a part of Vulture's wing. He was probably fixing them and making them stronger and more durable.
"They were organized, that's a first.", he said to himself.
Finding nothing to work with, he left.
The final bell at Ewen High rang, signaling the end of the school day.
For the most part, Carrie's day went well. She was able to learn more about Spider-Man and his story on the computer. She was fascinated by his abilities and his accomplishments, never thinking that someone could do the things he can. She almost couldn't wrap her head around it.
When she read about him, one article mentioned him being a member of something called 'The Avengers'. She didn't get a chance to find out who they were as she had to leave to go to her next class. From the sound of it, they sound like people who were like Spider-Man. People with special abilities that help others.
If that was the case, could he, or they, possibly help her with her newfound powers? Could she possibly use them to help others? It sounded like a pipe dream, but seeing those clips of Spider-Man helping people made it seem possible.
The more she thought of him, the more she wanted to meet him. But how would that happen, though? He seemed like a busy person and there had to be a reason he was in Chamberlain.
Sighing, she started to walk home.
Spider-Man was swinging through Chamberlain looking for any tech that Vulture dropped before someone hurts themselves with it. Since he had nothing to work with to find the two, he figured he'd be on the lookout for the tech. Any he'd collect would be brought to the police station so that S.H.I.E.L.D would pick it up. He found a few small pieces of tech earlier after leaving the warehouse and has since then kept searching for more.
He then landed on a rooftop and stretched out.
"Whew, I really underestimated how big this place actually is. I need a break, maybe even a pizza. Ooh, yeah, that sounds good. Haven't had one in a while. Good thing I still have my wallet with me."
He sat down on the edge and saw the school not far from where he is. He saw the hordes of students walk out and head home or somewhere else. The sign in front read: Prom: June 22!
He smiled as he remembered going to prom with MJ and the wonderful night they had. For once, no villain decided to interrupt his night and forced him to miss a big event. In that night, everything went right for Peter Parker.
As he watched them leave, his eyes drifted to a girl with messy strawberry blonde hair walk down the street. He didn't think of anything at first, but he suddenly shot up when he saw her pull something out of her bag.
"Is that... Programmable Matter?! How'd she get that stuff?! Maybe Vulture must have dropped this during his and Shocker's attempted escape.", he said. "Well, at least I know they don't have it. Even with what she has, someone can make it into anything. I have to get it."
Then, he saw a vintage cherry red muscle car slow down next to the girl, who quickly put the material back in the bag. Someone in the car was yelling something to her, but Spider-Man was too far away to hear what was said. Then, the passenger door started to open and that's when the girl made a break for it, running into an alleyway. The door closed and the car followed her in.
"That's not good.", he said as he leapt off the roof and gave chase to the car.
A.N: I hope you enjoyed this instalment of Along Came a Spider! As always, feel free to leave a review and some constructive criticism while you're at it. Feel free to send me a private message too if you wish.
See you all next time!