Episode 2: The Birth of Spidi!
"Looks like Quill's got a Pocket Dimension Ball," Peter whispered, pointing to the ball that Quill was gripping like his life depended on it.
"You're such a nerd," MJ quietly remarked. "Everyone calls them PDBs these days, and he probably stole it from somewhere in this laboratory before the Hulbear showed up."
"That would make sense," Peter nodded, staring at the green bear-like creature. "But where did the Hulbear come from?"
"I don't know, but I'm not staying here," MJ decided, and was about to walk away when Peter gripped her arm.
"We have to save Quill," Peter insisted. "If we leave him here, the Hulbear might—
A thunderous roar caught Peter and MJ off-guard as the Hulbear was now standing on its hind legs staring down at Quill who immediately backed away. After getting some distance from the Hulbear, Quill held up the PDB and a different creature appeared in a flash of light. Its body resembled a crayfish with a metallic gray mask-like face that had red eyes while its claws were gray and gun-like.
"Wow, a Starlure!" Quill exclaimed. "Good thing I nabbed the right PDB. Okay, Starlure, give this freakin' Hulbear a taste of your Quad Blast attack!"
In response, the crayfish-like creature gave Quill a confused look and raised its pincer at him. A blast of energy emerged from the pincer itself sending Quill flying into the air and into a nearby wall. Meanwhile, the Hulbear raised its paw and slammed it down. Fortunately, the Starlure dodged the Hulbear's paw as bright energy streamed from a rectangular hump on its back with two holes in it.
"The Starlure's using his Aero-Jet ability to fly through the air," Peter realized, seeing the Starlure hover around the Hulbear which tried to swat at it but to no avail.
"Maybe we can sneak away and get help while the two are distracted," MJ suggested before flinching at Peter's concerned look. "I know you want to save Quill, but we have no chance against a Hulbear without our own Marémon."
Peter then stared back in the laboratory and saw the Hulbear smash the glass container with the black liquid inside, which spilled out and moved towards the two eggs. Without hesitation, Peter ran to the table and grabbed the eggs just as the Hulbear saw him. Instantly, the Hulbear swatted at Peter causing him to back away so fast that he fell. Landing on the floor with both eggs gripped in his hands, he noticed the black substance changing course and heading straight for him.
"Catch!" Peter said as he threw one of the eggs to MJ which she caught that was black with silver eye-shaped marks.
The black substance then rose slightly and grabbed the blue-and-red egg that Peter held using sticky tendrils. To Peter's horror, the substance encapsulated the egg completely.
"I don't know what you are, but get away from that egg!" Peter snapped and picked up the gooey egg trying to remove the black substance as best he could.
Above him, the Hulbear was preparing to strike again when Quill suddenly ran over standing between it and Peter.
"Get out of here, Pete!" Quill urged. "This is all my fault, anyway, so there's no point in you getting hurt because of me."
But Peter wasn't listening as he kept trying to fight the black substance which wouldn't come off the egg no matter how hard he tried. Just then, MJ pulled the fire alarm which made a blaring sound come from the speakers inside and outside the laboratory. This made the Hulbear and Starlure flinch, while the black substance shriveled and forcefully remove itself from the egg before sliding through a nearby floor vent.
Meanwhile, Quill pointed the PDB at the Starlure which caused him to transform into light and return back into the PDB. As he was about to leave, though, a man with short dark hair wearing a lab coat suddenly appeared in the doorway. With his own PDB, the man in the lab coat made the Hulbear vanish into it before turning his attention to the three confused teens.
"Professor Banner," MJ spoke, looking embarrassed. "We can explain…"
"You had better," the man in the lab coat said as he frowned. "Because you won't like me when I'm angry."
Before anyone could reply, the two eggs that Peter and MJ held suddenly hatched. From them emerged two creatures: one resembled a blue-and-red jumping spider with white eyes, while the other looked like a tarantula that was entirely black with silver eyes.
"It's a Spidi," Peter realized, and stared at the spider-like creature in MJ's hands. "Yours is a Noirstel, by the way."
"I knew that," MJ answered.
"Hey, little guy," Peter said as he looked down at the Spidi he was holding. "I'm the one who saved you from that black stuff. Are you feeling okay?"
For a moment, the Spidi just stared up at Peter. Then he jumped onto Peter's shoulder and nuzzled his face against Peter's cheek. Unlike regular spiders, the Spidi's hairs were smooth like cotton instead of itchy.
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After Peter and MJ explained what happened from their side, Banner forced Quill to confess what he did from breaking in to grabbing the PDB from the table in the lab where the eggs were.
"While I do apologize for not keeping better track of my Hulbear, which got loose just as I released it from my Pocket Dimension Ball, what you did was unacceptable, Mister Quill," Banner responded as he adjusted his glasses. "Therefore, you will be punished by taking care of the Starlure you took."
"Um, that would be awesome except that the Starlure shot me with his Quad Blast and I have a noticeable burn on my chest," Quill said as he pointed to the red mark that was visible on his torn gray T-shirt.
"Then that's your problem," Banner replied, before turning to MJ and Peter. "While I appreciate that you two saved the Marémon Eggs and Quill, I wish you had come to me or any of my assistants first. But since the newborn Spidi and Noirstel have already grown attached to you, that leaves me with no choice but to abandon the experiment I was doing in that lab and start a new one."
"What kind of experiment?" Peter asked. "Did it involve that black stuff?"
"The 'black stuff' was a new Marémon I discovered which I named Symbio," Banner explained.
To be continued…
