Orb-Weaver: Deathchaser

Chapter Five

A week after Zino's death, Sage quit his schtick as Orb-Weaver. One night he stole one of his brother's lighters, climbed up to the roof of the apartment building and set his suit aflame inside one of the metal barrels the owner put up there for cigarette butts and impromptu bonfires. Not legal but he didn't exactly care. So, Sage thought there was no harm in burning his suit up there.

Everything that reminded him of Zino was put in a lockbox underneath his bed. And everything that was tied to his Orb-Weaver identity was burned, smashed or thrown away. No suit, no police radio and no newspaper clippings of his appearances.

Unfortunately his mutant abilities had to stay. He couldn't think of any possible way to rid himself of that part of him. Well, nothing short of marching up to Khaos and demanding they fix him. But he no longer trusted them, not after what they did to Zino. Ten thousand dollars just to be a labrat. And Zino took it. Not for the money but for an opportunity to be great, like Sage.

Sage wished he could burn down the building, starting from the inside out. But no more Orb-Weaver meant no more webs of fire. No more, no matter how badly he wished.

He'd do this, for Zino.

For Zino.

━━━━━━━━━

For the third time that evening, Sage reread the note Aurelio left on the fridge for him.

Can you please drop down to the shops and get milk, bread, e-z noodles (about 14 packs), the cheapest bottle of soft drink you can find, butter, beef mince and something for dinner tonight (your pick)

                                                                                                                                                               Love you, Sage -A

He cemented the words into his mind before snatching the hundred dollar note from beneath the magnet holding up the paper, putting on his shoes, slipping his phone into his pocket as well as a switchblade and grabbing the keys before leaving.

Ms Ramirez didn't sneer at him as he walked down the stairs while she was taking out her bins. Hadn't sneered or whispered slurs since Zino's death, well since he socked her in the face after she told him that dirty little teenagers like Zino deserved to die. At least she had gained some manners since then.

The grocery store wasn't too far from the apartment, so Sage never had to walk far. The distance was half the reason why Sage was allowed to do occasional tasks like this in such a bad neighbourhood. The switchblade clipped onto the waistband of the inside of his pants was the other reason. Aurelio never let him leave the house without it.

Sage greeted the owner of the store as he walked inside and grabbed a wheelie basket. Once he strolled through all the aisles and found everything he needed (with the help of the AI assistants) he strolled up to the register and let the cashier scan everything in the basket before slapping down the note, taking the change and leaving the shops.

A cool wind brushed up against his face as he stepped out; ruffling his clothes and his hair and cooling him. He took a breath, taking in all the air through his lungs and letting a calm wash over him before he continued walking.

He got halfway home when he heard a noise. A rustling, then a meow then a hushed voice. A tingle broke out across his body, raising his hairs and spreading goosebumps across his skin like a steady spill of water and causing him to stop in his tracks. The tingle came in waves, making his head throb for a few seconds then disappearing then coming back again. His head swivelled left and right as he assessed his surroundings but nothing could be seen, despite the fact that the tingling said there clearly was.

He hated that mutant side of himself- the side that got Zino killed -but it was a damn good safety insurance. It never failed to get him out of dangerous situations. Sage trusted his senses with his life, and now was no different.

Staying on alert, Sage tucked his hands into his pants and slowly pulled out his knife, carefully flicking out the blade.

There was more rustling before heavy footsteps sounded on the concrete in the direction the noises came from before. Between two buildings a tall man stepped out into the light of a half-working street lamp.

Shit.

Doctor Lazlo smiled at Sage with a predator's smile and a weight dropped in the boy's stomach.

"It's so lovely to see you, Sage. I've been wondering when I'd last bump into you," the doctor said, slightly yellowed teeth gleaming in the light. From the looks of it he must have started smoking. Or possibly couldn't afford toothpaste.

The latter seemed like a likely outcome, due to the way the doctor looked. His hair was an unkempt mop of brown curls atop his head, the light stubble he usually sported had turned into a beard cut close to the lines of his jaw and there were dark circles under his bloodshot eyes. He looked like a man who had been through hell.

Sage's hand trembled as he gripped the switchblade tighter. "Good evening, Doctor Lazlo. What are you doing out here so late?" he forced himself to say.

Doctor Lazlo chuckled low in his throat as he took a step towards Sage. "Why, my boy, I'm here for you," he replied.

No one in the streets stopped what they were doing, not to listen, not to steal the basket of food by his side and certainly not to help. Whether they knew who Doctor Lazlo was didn't matter, their business wasn't their business. At times like this, Sage hated that mentality.

Doctor Lazlo's eyes darted to the knife in Sage's hand and his grin widened. "No need to be so afraid, Sage. I only want to talk."

Sage swallowed, Adam's apple bobbing in his throat before he spoke. "Talk about what exactly?"

Another step forward, though Sage didn't move. "I want to talk about you...or rather what DNA runs through your veins," the doctor explained, voice low and quiet. "You and I both know what you are and how you came to be what you are, but what you do not know is that spider that bit you was something of my creation. I poured all of my money into developing experiments such as that, though all of them seemed to fail. All but one." His grey-blue eyes were burning silver flames as he stared directly at Sage. "You, Sage, seem to be the only experiment I have not failed. Here you are, bitten by a radioactive spider of sorts, living and breathing before me. You should have died, just as the other had when I spliced their DNA with various animals, but you live. Something in you allows you to live and I intend to find out why."

A shiver rolled down Sage's spine, accompanied by a line of sweat. An ill feeling clawed at his stomach and only got worse the longer he stood there. "This has been a lovely conversation, Doctor Lazlo. really it has. But I have to get going. Got shopping to bring home," he said, shaking the basket for emphasis.

He took all of three steps before Doctor Lazlo lunged forward and grabbed his hand. In a split second Sage yanked his arm back, which sent the doctor stumbling forward before he slashed his blade across his stomach. As Doctor Lazlo held a hand to his stomach Sage pocketed his switchblade, hauled the basket into his arms and sprinted back home, not daring to look back.

It was only when he was back at the apartment that he let himself breathe. He slid down the locked door of the front entrance and took five minutes to breathe before finally putting away the shopping. The entire time his mind was in overdrive and the only way to quiet such a thing would be to sleep. So Sage slept, all the way until his brother came home at 6:22pm and woke him up so he could help make dinner.