Spyder and The Avengers

Chapter 5 - Bitten

I put my hands on my hips. "Chase, this counts as a school grade. If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it right. You can't convince me otherwise."

He shook his head, admitting defeat. "Okay, Pepsi. Fine. But I'm staying with you. I don't want you to, you know, break anything."

I nodded, satisfied, and said, "Okay, perfect. Pose for me by the corner."

"Well, okay," Chay huffed. He moved to the corner of the Lab and stood and sat in various poses. Writing notes, reading notes, looking in microscopes, typing, standing there grinning like an idiot. A big, adorable idiot.

But always staying away from the Superspider - CAUTION! area.

Huh.

Without Chase or I seeing it, a miniscule spider slid down from the ceiling on a strand of silk, landing on my hand. Since I was too busy, I didn't even feel it.

Suddenly, I felt a small, sharp pinch on the back of my hand. I looked down.

A spider! The spider.

I shook it off and watched it drift down to the floor. Rubbing the bite, I tapped Chase on the shoulder.

He turned from a kiosk and looked at me. "What? Did you break something?"

Ha ha, very funny.

I pointed to the spider on the tile. "Look. I think we found ourselves a three-skill spider, Chase."

Big, tough Chay-May scrambled away from it, backing as far as he could into the corner. "Get away from that, Pepper! That guy is why we were supposed to evacuate this floor in the first place. Don't let it bite me! Call security!"

Suspicious again? Meh. It could be. Or maybe it's just a severe case of arachnophobia.

I stifled a laugh and said, "Chase, Chase, dude, relax. It's okay. He looks harmless. I'm going to put it back."

Ignoring C-M's protests, I carefully picked it up and placed it back into its glass habitat. Then, I repositioned the lid so the little guy couldn't escape again.

"See, Chay?" I said. "It's alright. You're safe. No bite."

I gulped and hid my hands behind my back.

He didn't seem to notice and smiled nervously. "Okay, but I'm calling security to let them know everything's fine."

Chase picked up the nearest phone and dialed. He spoke to the person on the other end, saying that the spider was back in its cage. That they could lift the "no-people" ban on floor 125. That everything was okay.

I felt a headache coming on. "Hey," I said. "Thanks for the adventure, but I'm going to head home. See you at school."

He gave me a skeptical look and said, "Okay, then. Uh, you sure you're okay? Did it... bite you?"

I didn't want him to worry about me, so I shook my head.

Chase smiled, looking content, almost... relieved.

Huh. Another reverse-psychology act? Possibly. Maybe. I don't know any more.

He led me back to floor one and we parted ways.

As I stepped out of Osborne Labs, my head started to pound like never before. I took a deep breath and reached into my pocket. I pulled the newspaper out and slowly walked home.

By the time I reached my apartment building, it was around three in the afternoon and I was ready to collapse. I felt sick to my stomach and both my head and the bite throbbed like crazy. I stumbled into the elevator. Thankfully, it was empty.

Dear Lord, what was wrong with me?

Floor twenty's hallway was also empty, as everybody was still at work.

Fumbling with the keys, I managed to unlock the door and look around. No one here. Emptyness.

Aunt Mae... out shopping? Uncle Ben... work?

Haze, haze everywhere.

I staggered down the hallway and into my room. I felt horrible, and I needed to... sleep. Yes. Sleep is good.

Recover. Relax.

Sleep.

I collapsed on the edge of the bed, then slowly slid down to the floor with a thump. Swallowing hard, I reached up to grab a blanket and passed out.

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<·<Pepper_B_Parker*Alias:_Spyder*Position:_S.H.I.E.L.D._agent>·>

Ooh, here we go! Who's excited, because I am! It was a lot of fun writing this part and reliving the moment.

Maybe nobody can relate...