Meet Sarah Parker, the beautiful daughter of Peter and Gwen Parker in an alternate universe, who has inherited her parents' scientific genius, as well as her father's amazing spider-powers. Using her gifts to the best of her abilities, she studies s...
As Warren was forced to commence his work, he did not know that hope was not yet lost for him. Upon returning to their apartment, Sarah and Annie quickly set to work and fired up the laptop, which contained a GPS system of Sarah's own design, which was linked to the spider-tracers she used. Annie got to work on triangulating the signal, as she was a bit of a computer expert as well as a fashion design student, whilst Sarah changed back into her costume and got out the jammer device she had been working on earlier.
"What's that you got there, Saz?" asked a curious Annie as Sarah inserted a small power unit into the round disc.
"Something I hope will put Lady Octopus' metal appendages out of action," replied Sarah as she placed the completed device in the utility belt hidden underneath her costume. "I was wanting to work on it a bit further first, but with luck, it should short out her tentacles."
"'Should'?" echoed Annie worriedly. "That doesn't sound too promising."
"Tell me about it," sighed Sarah. "But at the moment, it's probably the best weapon we can use against her, so as soon as we get a fix on her position, I'll be going after her."
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It took the computer a good forty-five minutes to pick up the reading from the spider-tracer, as the various buildings of the city tended to bounce the signal all over the place. But at last, Annie was finally able to pinpoint the correct position that the tracer was transmitting from.
"There they are!" grinned Annie. "Looks like an old abandoned coffee shop on Valencia Street."
"Great work, Annie," said Sarah as she picked up her mask from the table. "I better get down there fast. I don't know what Octopus wants with the Professor, but it's bound to be bad news for us!"
"Just be careful out there, Sarah," said Annie fretfully as she gave her lover a farewell embrace. "That lady sounds like a tough cookie to beat, and I'd hate for you to get hurt."
"I'll be careful, Annie," reassured Sarah, before she and Annie kissed each other passionately on the lips. Then, reluctantly breaking off the embrace, Sarah pulled on her mask and leapt out of the open window, using her underarm webs to glide through the air, before firing a web-line and proceeding to swing across the city, making all haste towards Lady Octopus' lair...
******
It took Spider-Girl just under half an hour to traverse the city and reach Valencia Street, and soon she was crawling along the side of the old 'Top Bean' coffee shop. By now, it was getting dark, which made it easier for Spider-Girl not to be noticed as she used her strength to force open a window and clamber through into the shop. Once inside, she began to look around for any clue as to where Lady Octopus could be hiding.
"Sheesh! This place has seen better days," Spider-Girl thought in disgust as she ran a gloved finger over a really thick layer of dust on one of the cafe tables. In fact, the whole place was covered in dust and cobwebs, all the furniture looked worn down and creaky, and there was a distinctly unpleasant odour about the whole shop.
"No wonder Octopus choose this place as her hideout," thought Sarah as she continued searching the place. "The smell alone is enough to drive most people away!"
There were no obvious clues for her to spot, so Spider-Girl closed her eyes and concentrated on using her spider-sense to find what she was looking for. Sure enough, the familiar tingling sensation returned and when she opened her eyes, she realised that it was pointing her towards one of the shelf cabinets set against the wall. Crossing over to it, Spider-Girl checked the object over, before finally finding a hidden button set in one of the shelves, which she duly pressed. Next thing she knew, the whole cabinet slid silently to the side, revealing a large opening that led to a flight of steps heading downwards.
"Oh look, a secret passage. How cliché," remarked Spider-Girl to herself. She was about to put her foot on the first step, when her spider-sense began buzzing again. Looking closer at the steps, Spider-Girl noticed that they seemed to have electronic sensors built into them, so small that they would not be immediately noticed by anyone who stepped on them.
"Some kind of electronic sensors to warn about intruders," realised Sarah. "Guess I'll have to take to the walls instead."
Cautiously, Spider-Girl began to crawl along the wall and descend down the shadowy passageway, making sure to stay alert for any booby traps along the way.
******
Back at the luxurious penthouse apartment where Sarah and her roommate lived, Annie Watson was lying gloomily on the sofa, tightly clutching a pillow and flicking randomly through the channels on the telly, trying very hard to take her mind off things, namely the fact that her girlfriend was having to face a deadly supervillain. But the more she tried not to think about it, the more she found she could not.
It was not that she doubted Sarah's ability to look after herself, especially with her powers. It was simply that like Sarah, Annie did not like having to sit around munching crisps or whatever, whilst people's lives were in deadly danger. Plus, Sarah was Annie's soulmate, and even though she did not have any powers of her own, Annie felt an obligation to be there for the woman she had been with for the best part of her life. It was not a rational thought, but it was one based on love. And right now, Annie's instincts were telling her that Sarah needed her right now.
"Ah, dammit!" Annie said sharply to herself.
It was no good. She could not bear the torturous waiting any longer. She had to at least try to help, even in the slightest. Switching off the telly, she furiously jumped to her feet, grabbed the car keys, and stormed out of the apartment, making her way straight for the car parked in the building's garage. As she reached the red convertible and got behind the wheel, she turned the key and sped her way out through the exit, onto the streets and down the road that was the fastest route towards Valencia Street...
