Dummies' Guide to Being a Superhero (Editing)

Eighteen: Operation 101: Kick the Spider's Ass

EIGHTEEN: OPERATION 101: KICK THE SPIDER'S ASS

"You counter despair with hope. You strive forever for the best you are capable to be - therein lies the victory!"

-Storm, X-Men.

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GRETAL HONESTLY DIDN'T EXPECT A warm welcome when the group laid their eyes on Oscar. John and Blaise gaped at him, while Beatrice glanced at both of them with wide eyes. Instead, Gabe stared at Oscar in amazement - despite the fact that he was considered a villain and a possible suspect for his mom's disappearance.

Beatrice stood up, slowly walking towards Gretal and grabbing her arm once she reached her. "You invited him?"

Gretal nodded. "I know him. He's tired of being a villain."

John raised an eyebrow. "Gretal, you dont know that."

She glared at him. "You were supporting me, jackass! And you don't know that either. If you can't trust him, trust me. You can do that, right?"

Beatrice sighed, holding out her hand to Rodriguez. "I'm sorry for, y'know, all the doubts. Its nice to meet you, Oscar."

Gretal grinned, watching as Oscar gave her a small smile and shook her hand. "Its nice to meet you too. And I figured something like this would happen. But, to be honest, I want to start fresh. The only reason why I did what I did was because I was forced to - Arachne gets what she wants one way or another."

John glanced at Gretal and nodded slowly. "Well, since you're already here, take a seat. Just don't burn up the place."

"Shut up, Summers." Gretal said, sitting back in her seat beside Gabe. Speaking of Gabe, his grinned widened when Oscar sat in the empty seat on his left. Gretal rolled her eyes. Guess he has a fucking new role model.

"So, um," Blaise said slowly, "how did this all happen?"

Oscar gave Beatrice a thank you when she placed some tacos on his plate. "Um, its hard to explain. I only found out I had this - um, this ability a year ago. Apparantly, she has this device that can detect people with these kind of abilities. She found me one night, in an alley. Cornered me, threatened me. She pretty much held a knife against my throat. We compromised. All I know is that she's after Gretal's dad."

Gretal froze, her fingers tightening around taco, breaking the hard shell in half. Then she smirked. "He fucking deserves it."

Beatrice scowled at her. "Gretal, language," she said, glancing at Gabe.

Oscar took a sip of his soda. "I know it seems way out of the blue, but that was her plan. Well, that's the only part of the plan she told me about. No details, nothing. I figured I was a major part of it, since we both ended up destroying Alexander Davidson's minor companies. And to be honest, I did it for revenge. And I'm sure Arachne did too."

John took a breath. "And you don't know anything about her? Not even her first name?"

Oscar scratched the back of his neck, leaning back in his chair. "Well, if you hang out with her long enough, you'll notice she has a slight French accent. Its faint, but its there."

"That's it?" Gretal said with a blank face. "All you know is that she could possibly be French? There's no way we're gonna find her now. She told me she didn't have a choice - to be a hero or a villain. What does the owner of Davidson Corporation has to do with any of that?"

Blaise shook his head. "Don't you see it? She's slowly taking him down. She's starting with his business first, riling up all the villains that he ever messed with. Then for the final blow - death. Its simple."