Spider-Luz

Ch. 7: Bitten

Eda stopped the car and unlocked the door.

"Remember Kid, stay out of trouble." Eda said, "You're lucky I'm letting you do this after that stunt you pulled last week."

"You're still on that?" Luz asked, "You're already punishing me by having me work in the Café. I said I was sorry."

"Luz, you can say you're sorry all you want, but you nearly got killed, trying to be a vigilante. Unless you magically get superpowers, I won't allow you to do something like that again."

Luz rolled her eyes and got out.

"I'll see you later, Aunt Eda." Luz said.

Eda drove off and Luz turned to Blight Industries.

"I mean, what could possibly go wrong here?"

Inside Blight Industries, the spider had been working on the crack. It's advanced intelligence from the experimenting they did has given it an advantage. It ran and jumped at the glass it weakened. Its advanced strength helped it break the glass and it quickly walked away from its prison and climbed up a wall. Outside, Luz walked up the steps and was greeted by a familiar face.

"Luz, you actually came!" Amity said.

"Yeah, I figured it would be cool to see what is here." Luz said, "So, is there a group coming?"

"Only a couple of friends of mine." Amity said, "I think you'll like them. Oh, here they are now."

Two more people walked up the steps to the building.

"Gus, Willow, good to see you." Amity said, "Luz, this is Gus Porter, and this is my oldest friend, Willow Park."

"So, you're the new kid Amity was telling us about." Willow said, "She said you saved her."

"Yeah... m-m-my aunt had to... save me though." Luz said, very nervously and quickly.

"Hey, it's okay if you're a little shy." Gus said, "We get it, new city, new people."

"Yeah... that's it." Luz said.

Amity decided to change the subject.

"Hey, why don't we go in?" Amity asked, "Get this thing started. Come on, Willow, don't you want to get some pictures of some of the equipment?"

"Pictures?" Luz asked.

"Willow is an excellent photographer." Amity said, "As well as an amazing gardener. Her dad's own a flower shop and she sell fruits and vegetables sometimes."

"Y-y-yeah, we have garden on the roof of our apartment." Willow said, "Not much, but it gets the job done."

"Really? Cool. Maybe you can show me some day." Luz said with a shrug.

"Sure." Willow said with a smile.

The group went inside and were amazed by all the items and equipment. Luz was especially surprised, finding the place even more advanced and futuristic than she ever imagined.

'Jeez, are these people from the future?' Luz thought.

"Welcome to Blight Industries." Amity said, "Right here is my dad's earliest invention, a Metal Prosthetic arm. It has advanced movements, capable of reacting down to a nano second. Highly advanced for the time. He made it in 1987 when he was thirteen."

"1987? That long ago?" Luz asked in shock.

"Yeah, my dad really is a genius." Amity said with a smile.

"Indeed I am." Alador said, walking in with his cane, "Telling your friends about your old man?"

Alador ruffled Amity's hair.

"Dad!" Amity said with a giggle, pushing his hand away.

"Enjoy children, this is the epicenter for the future of technology." Alador said, "Now, if you don't mind, I have work to do."

"Bye dad/Mr. Blight." the group said as they watched him walk away with his cane.

"It's always nice to see your dad outside of the lab." Gus said with a smile.

"Yeah, he seems like a good guy." Luz said, hiding her jealousy of Amity having a loving father in her life.

As they were walking around, the spider crawled towards Luz, climbing onto her shoe and up her leg, hiding inside her hoodie. Along the way, Amity showed them a small hall of the Blight Family that came before her.

"And this is the hall of Blights." Amity said, finding some pride in her long family line, "Geniuses, inventors, humanitarians... and then there's my mom."

Amity pointed to the last portrait on one side, showing a woman with blonde hair and a cruel smile on her face.

"Ugh." Gus and Willow groaned.

"I remember her from that night. Didn't seem like that happy to see you were okay." Luz said as she looked at Amity.

"Yeah, she's not the nicest person, she tends to like money more than family." Amity said.

"I see.....so she's a gold digger?" Luz said bluntly.

This got chuckles and giggled from Gus and Willow, who tried to hide it.

"Sort of.....she does love my dad but money holds just as big a spot in her heart." Amity said, trying not to laugh, "Still, regardless of how much I dislike her, even I have to admit, she's an excellent business woman. Between her and my dad, they've turned Blight Industries into a multi-billion dollar company."

"Multi-Billion? Damn." Luz said in shock, she didn't think this place made BILLIONS of dollars.

Maybe millions but not billions!

"Yeah, they've branched off from just fake limbs, and have made equipment for hospitals as well as work on curing diseases." Amity said.

"They've single handed revolutionized the medical industry. Artificial limbs, artifice blood, disease cures..." Gus said, listening what he knew.

"Even if Mrs. Blight charges too much some times." Willow said.

'Gold Digger and overcharging, good to know.' Luz thought as the spider continued to crawl up her body, heading for the nape of her neck.

"And now we head to my favorite part of the factory, my dad's lab." Amity said.

They began walking, when the spider struck, biting down on the back of Luz's neck. Luz quickly hit the back of her neck, getting the attention of Amity and her friends.

"You okay?" Amity asked.

"Yeah... yeah, I think... it's just a bug bite." Luz said.

"Maybe the last mosquito of the season." Willow said, "They have been breeding a lot near Central Park."

"D-d-don't worry about it." Luz said, "I'll be fine."

Luz didn't want them to worry, she wasn't sure she could handle others being worried about her wellbeing, she barely can handle her own aunt doing that. Besides, it's only a bug bite, what's the worst that will happen?