Tarantula (Spider-Man)

The Uncertainty Principle

   Valerie did not think her dress would get in the way so much. Picking up the long skirt as her heels raced from rooftop to rooftop, she questions how her feet can still stick to surfaces even without the specifically tailored suit. But then again, maybe she shouldn’t be questioning it as she’s wall-running across the windows of modern office buildings without even leaving a scratch on the glass.

Valerie leaps across a wide avenue street, hoping that nobody’s looking up right now. She spots her apartment across the street, and feeling the rush of the wind on her face and hair, she lands on the window of the apartment, her arms and legs splayed out like a spider. Hanging onto the upper windowsill with one hand, she opens the window with her other hand and slips in.

Throwing her dress on the bed, she opens up the case and changes into her costume. Just as she’s about to leave the room, her phone vibrates, signalling a text. She picks it up, and the text is from Hayden,

“Why didn’t you wait for me? Could’ve driven you home.”

She sighs, and texts back, “No thanks, I’m good.”

She makes the mistake of putting the phone down and beginning to walk away, but it vibrates once again,

“Is everything okay? You’ve been kind of distant lately.”

Uh oh, Hayden’s catching on. He knows something’s up, but how could she tell him her secret? But...she can trust him, right? Although, Valerie feels like she can’t trust anyone with this secret, at least right now. When she’s Tarantula, she’s free. She isn’t constantly being talked down to, she’s the one in control.

“Just wishing my parents would let me get back to work.” she texts back, it’s at least half truthful.

She turns off her phone this time, and leaves the room. Reopening her window, she swings out and closes it before diving down and spreading her webbed-wings.

She soars through the streets of New York City, slinging on a web every now and then to regain momentum. As she passes through Time Square, she notices another set of webs hanging from tips of buildings. Spidey’s been here, if she does run into him, she certainly has some questions for him. And besides, it always seems like whenever she goes out, she can’t seem to not run into him…

“Hey, look out!” a male voice cries.

She turns her head back in front of her and sees Spider-Man heading right toward her. She throws herself back in mid-air, falling backwards to the ground. As she flips back forward, she spreads her wings out again and her wings catch wind and lift her back up.

“Phew! That was a close one.” he quips, using a web to land himself onto a nearby flagpole, “Where’ve you been all night? Hot date?”

She rolls her eyes, but also can’t help but chuckle a little. She coughs, and regains her posture, clinging to a nearby building. She’s not really quite sure how to bring up the subject, but she knows she has to,

“Hey, just curious, how did you get your powers?”

“I’ll tell you if you tell me where you got yours.” she can almost imagine him winking behind his mask.

Sounds fair, at least she’s getting somewhere, “Alright, I got my powers from a radioactive beam infused with the DNA of spiders. You?”

“Ha ha, that sounds ridiculous!”

“Says the guy who’s dressed as a red and blue spider.”

“Says the girl who’s wings defy physics.”