The Spider: Origins

July 12, 2022

It hurt and it put me out of commission for a few days. I couldn't stay out of commission for too long, though. As much as I hated it, the coppers had come to rely on me to keep petty crime down and deal with any enhanced that might pop up.

It seemed like the world went still following the announcement, though and all the news outlets could do was speak of his death.

But then Claire had contacted me the evening of July 12, "There's been a string of kidnappings. The police only recently made connections between them."

And so I was donning my suit and flinging myself out our window.

"Any other details?" I questioned.

"Young men. Usually freshly homeless or about to be."

I hum, "Whoever is taking them might be enticing them with money, perhaps? Is there any connection on how they end up homeless?"

"Hm, now that you mention it." There was silence for a few moments, "Yep, here it is. Medical debt."

I immediately frown, "Definitely enticed by money or something. God damn capitalism. Do you have a general location or do I need to check out the spots they disappeared at?"

"No, the police have done most of the work. They just need help infiltrating the place and locating the men."

That brought me to a stop on a roof, "Did they ask specifically for my help?"

Silence before, "No. But apparently all their best operatives are out doing something 'more important.'"

I could hear the eye roll and quotation marks at the end of her sentence.

I scoff, "Yeah." Of course there was the slim possibility that they legitimately were doing something that was vitality more important. But seriously, what could be more important than a mass disappearance?

Claire finally rattles off the address, which was a small warehouse dock on a private area of the Californian beach.

"Do you know if the owner is aware of this?" I ask as I land on top of the house's roof.

"Gotta be. It would be obvious. I'm digging into the owner's profile now."

I swing over to the warehouse, landing gently on the roof and crawl down towards the high windows. "Why a warehouse, though? That's so cliche and common. Why not just a normal house?" I whisper under my breath.

"Mind on the game, Spidey." Came Claire's exasperated voice.

I roll my eyes and place my hand on the window, pushing it open to wiggle my way in and crawl along the roof.

I tilt my head to look at the ground and hum. Okay, so maybe this place was gonna end up being more than a big single floor warehouse.

The floor was only about seven feet below me. It was clean and brightly lit and I definitely entered a hallway instead of a large room.

"Oh! A lab disguised as a warehouse. How's that for original, my dearest sibling?"

Okay, so maybe I've never heard of that before, "Okay, point. But still. A warehouse? That instantly makes this place sus. Also, a point is knocked for the unlocked window."

My sister laughs a little, "Okay, this place seems to lack security. Or at least, technological security. Nothing for me to hack into to give you an edge or warning, so be careful."

"Roger." Camouflage would be a really useful tool to have right now.

At least my mostly white suit would come in handy for once and it's a rather well known fact that people rarely look up. So I could use that to my advantage.