Arachnoblast: I'm Fourteen This is Ridiculous

Chapter 16: Curing the Goblin

Arachnoblast swung into her room and hastily snatched her phone from where it lay on her bed. When she sniffled and wiped her nose after temporarily removing her torn mask, succeeding only in swallowing a mouthful of blood and smearing even more around her face and gloves, Arachnoblast elected to grab a tampon and stuff it up her nose for a minute or two while she called Peter.

"Kelsey?" Peter answered after a few rings. "What's up?"

"Hey, so...you're needed for something. Where are you?"

"I'm at Harry's. Some of the craziest stuff happened to me tonight, and Harry felt kinda spooked with his dad missing for the night, so we figured we'd have a sleepover. What do you need me for? Do you need me to go back to your house?"

"No, no, I'll come to you." Kelsey grimaced and silently pounded a fist to her forehead. Crap, no I won't. Arachnoblast will. "Just...just don't panic, okay?"

"Is everything alright? Why would I pan—"

Kelsey hung up, running out of patience and time. "Guess I'm going to Harry's," she sighed, pulling her mask back on and jumping out the window.

*****

"Hello? Kelsey?" Peter was saying on the phone, then he pulled it away from his ear and looked at the screen. "She hung up on me."

"What was up with that?" Harry asked, throwing a handful of M&Ms into his mouth.

"I don't know, but I hope she's okay. She sounded kinda rushed," Peter replied, also popping a handful of M&Ms. "She said she needed me for something, but she didn't say what. Or, I guess more precisely she said I was needed for something."

"What's the difference?" Harry asked through another mouthful of candy.

Harry regretted his question as Peter immediately entered what Harry called "nerd-splain" mode, pushing his glasses farther up his nose. "Well, saying that I'm simply needed for something implies that I might need to help someone besides Kelsey, as opposed to—"

Peter was interrupted when a shadowed figure hopped onto the balcony and opened the glass door, letting a cold breeze blow into the dimly lit sitting room.

"Parker, I've come for you."

Harry squinted into the shadows. "Is that—"

"Arachnoblast," the figure interrupted. "Listen, there's no time. Just come with me." Without another word, Arachnoblast webbed Peter to her and leapt off the balcony.

"Peter!" Harry cried as he ran to the balcony, but his best friend and the so-called superhero were long gone, swinging off into the city. "What have you done with him, Arachnoblast?" Harry shouted ragefully into the night, receiving no answer.

*****

"What's this about?" Peter asked, trying his best to avoid looking down as he clung to Arachoblast's shoulders.

"Not so tight, Pete," Arachnoblast groaned instead. "I've got you. There's no need to break my shoulders."

"Sorry." Peter loosened his grip slightly. "But could you please tell me why you just kidnapped me?"

"Shoot, I guess I did, didn't I?" Arachnoblast said quietly, then cleared her throat. "You're one of the smartest people I know, and the only one I could trust to help me with this."

"With what?"

"You'll see. Here we are." Arachnoblast clung to the side of a building, still keeping a tight hold on Peter, and opened a window.

"Is this Oscorp Tower? What are we doing here?"

Arachnoblast gently pushed Peter in through the window before climbing in herself. "We're defeating the Green Goblin, once and for all."