Marvel's Kid Arachnid: Vol 1

protect and serve

Kid Arachnid sat on the cold bench, slumped over, fidgeting with her hands as she stared blankly through the metal bars keeping her from escaping. Spider-Man was in the adjacent cell with a few of the people that didn't get out of the Oscorp building in time. Their then-enemies were now in the same boat as them. Most were asleep leaning against the walls.

Kid Arachnid was alone, glancing around the room in search of a place to escape. She was tired, still in her day clothes, and she had no clue what was happening on the outside.

From what she knew, that intern guy was probably talking about Scorpion. He must've been the catalyst of the crime rate increase. Maybe even the gang wars. In any case, there were dangerous people roaming the streets in big numbers.

What was Scorpion going to do, even? His men took that Stillwell guy. They might've already gotten to J. Jonah Jameson, too. There were mentions of revenge but that could mean anything under the sun.

Arachnid decided not to focus on that for now. She'd figure it out when she and Spider-Man escaped.

If they escaped.

Her head shot up when she heard someone whispering.

"Hey, kid."

"Hey," she replied, getting up. She put her arms through the gaps in the bars. Spider-Man looked back at her from the other cell.

"You okay?" He asked.

"I dunno, I've never been in a fuckin' jail before."

"Keep your voice down. I'll figure something out."

"We should get out of here," Arachnid urged.

"Workin' on it." Spider-Man's eyes scanned the ceiling as he tried to find some sort of escape route. Somewhere they could slip through undetected.

As he looked around, he said, "If I could find a vent or something, we could- there!"

He pointed at a vent on the wall near Kid Arachnid's cell. The younger pounded her fist on the cell bars in excitement, but then realized.

"It's too small for you," she sighed.

Spider-Man's enthusiasm, too, quickly dissipated, but he tried not to let it show for Kid Arachnid's sake. "You're right," he said. "Either we wait or you go through by yourself. No, I don't like that idea."

"I don't like it either..."

The recent battle at Oscorp had shaken her spirits. And, you know, the part about being in jail.

"...but I could probably help you out after, right?" She added. "I can be quick."

"It's a big risk, like at Oscorp. But this time I won't be with you."

"Not for long!" Arachnid exclaimed. "It'll be easy if I'm quiet, right? Get in, get you out- boom!"

"Yeah, but-"

Kid Arachnid had already begun crawling on the wall as Spider-Man began his warning. It was a bit cramped, but she was able to slip through the gap in between the wall and the bars by simply...adjusting the bars. Not breaking them. Of course not!

"Kid!"

Arachnid turned back to look at her mentor. "What?"

Spider-Man sighed. "Just...be careful, please."

"On it." With that, Kid Arachnid entered the vent.

She tried to suppress her coughs as she traveled through the dusty vent system. Her mask added an extra barrier, but she still had to keep her arm over where her mouth would be. Following the sparse light, she passed several rooms, then stopped to eavesdrop.

"Heard they're calling in the bomb squad," said one of the voices. It was gruff, probably belonging to a cop.

"This shit is crazy. We've got our men working overtime thanks to that bastard letting out all those criminals. And now they're just running around the city." The other voice belonged to a woman. She sounded stern. It reminded Arachnid of one of her math teacher.

She heard the sound of a radio, then the gruff man said, "Gotta go."

Despite her best efforts, Arachnid inhaled a bit too much dust and coughed. Knowing her  cover was now blown, she tried to stay quiet, barely breathing.

"I know you're up there," said the woman. "Is that you? The...baby spider-man?"

Kid Arachnid internally cussed herself out for so easily being found out. She didn't respond for a long while. Then she groaned.

"Yeah," she replied, grumbling.

Another pause.

"Get out of the damn vent," the woman said. Arachnid complied.

Yuri Watanabe thought she'd never get used to Spider-Man being around, and now there was another spider involved. And this one was a kid. She sighed as she watched her climb out of the vent and sloppily land on the tile.

"So what's your plan here?" Yuri asked. "You're both still under investigation, not to mention, Spider-Man already has a rap for vigilantism."

"That's not the point- I heard you and that guy talking earlier. We need to get out before this gets worse!"

"I know things are bad out there, you don't gotta tell me twice. But I'm not in charge of-"

"Ms. Watanabe!-"

"Lieutenant Watanabe."

"Lieutenant. Come on, you're a cop, right? My brother's a cop. And he always tells me to do the right thing. This is the right thing!- you've gotta have some sort of obligation-"

"Be quiet already." Yuri pinched the bridge of her nose, then waved her hand. "Go."

"What?"

"Get to Times Square before Scorpion does."

"What about-"

"I'll take care of Spider-Man." Yuri looked Kid Arachnid in the eyes, her gaze firm but with a glint of worry that Arachnid could see for only a second. "Go."

Again, Arachnid obeyed the order.

-

Staring down at Times Square, Harper could see her brother locking down the perimeter with the help of his fellow cops and even some members of SWAT. Then there was the previously mentioned bomb squad. In addition to sections of the area blocked off by the police, there were parts of the street occupied by Scorpion's goons and those he freed. Some crowds had formed around the chaos, reminiscent of the people surrounding Spider-Man's fight with Scorpion.

That fight is what brought them together. It was a big part of launching Harper's ascension as a vigilante, and the catalyst of the events up until now.

Harper watched Benjamin in silence. Her gaze traveled across the scene. It was something she had seen on the news before, and on social media, but now everything was personal. Because she had directed involved herself.

How many times had Spider-Man put his life on the line for this city? And now, was it Harper's turn? Was lending her the mask like passing the torch?

It was nearing morning. The streetlights were still on. Harper recalled a time where she'd play until sundown, those very same streetlights acting as her notice to come home. She'd run inside, breathless, covered in dirt and whatever else she could get her hands on.

Today, she stood above the city, no longer a child but not an adult, either. Her gaze fell to the lone webshooter on her wrist.

This was the moment she had to choose.

After everything- getting bit by that spider, meeting Peter, stealing those files, going to jail...

After everything she had been through so far, after everything she had done, she couldn't let it be for nothing.

Harper- or, Kid Arachnid, they were one in the same- stood at the edge of the roof, and extended her arm.

And then, she took a leap of faith.