The Arachnid (Various Young Justice x OC)

Prologue

"Morning, Uncle Ben!" Marilyn greeted as she ran down the stairs and gathered all of her school work in her bag.

"Slow down, Marie. What's the hurry?" Uncle Ben asked her as he tidied around the house.

"I'm trying to get to school early." Marie said, hopping on one foot to put her shoe on. "For once."

Uncle Ben was getting ready to tell his niece to sit down and eat breakfast. Or to ask if she wanted a ride to school, considering she was only 12.

"Bye, see you tonight!" Marie said and closed the front door behind her.

Uncle Ben sighed. She was always in a rush. It worried him because sometimes she failed to notice the little things in life. Like how the trees dance in the wind or how the flowers vibrantly bloom in the summertime. She only focused on the bigger picture when she needed to focus on the details of life.

Marie ran across the street, taking her usual path to school. She finally made it to Midtown Middle School 15 minutes early. She sighed in relief.

"Marie!" Someone called out.

She turned her head to see her geeky and nerdy friend.

"Hey, Ned." She greeted as he caught up to her from the road.

"I tried following you, but you're, like... really fast." Ned said, panting in between breaths.

"Oh, sorry." Marie sheepishly said. "I didn't notice."

"It's fine, just give me a minute."

Marie quietly stood there, waiting for Ned to catch his breath. He was hunched over with his hands on his knees. Eventually he stood up straight and stopped panting.

"I need to get back into shape." He said.

Marie simply smiled and chuckled. "Come on, let's go." She said and lead him into the school, making sure she wasn't walking as fast as she usually did.

They walked to their Advisory, ready to be checked into school. They still had about 5 minutes to spare.

"Did you hear about Harrison Wells?" Ned asked her once they made it to first period.

"No, what about him?" Marie responded.

"You haven't heard?!" Ned basically shouted. The class all turned their heads to him in annoyance at his sudden out burst. "S-Sorry." He said. The class turned their attention away. "He's taking all the students with the best scores from each grade for a tour of S.T.A.R labs."

Marie shrugged her shoulders and paid attention to the front of the class. "It's probably just for students from Gotham Academy." She said, knowing it was the most prestigious school in Gotham.

Ned shook his head. "From all the schools in Gotham, including this one."

Marie thought about his words for a moment. "Wait, that means that I would go."

"Exactly." He said.

"When is it?" She asked, now intrigued.

"During lunch today."

"Today?!" She whisper yelled. "Do I have to have a permission slip filled out o-or a note that says I can go, or a-"

"Relax." Ned said, calming her down. "All you have to do is go on the really fancy bus that's gonna arrive at lunch and get on it. It'll take you there."

Marie stared at him for a moment. "How do know so much about this?"

"I'm just like that." He said. He then paused. "I asked about it for you because I knew you wouldn't know."