Araña: Heart of the Spider

#4 - Arachnophobia Part 4

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK - TIMES SQUARE

The usually active streets of Times Square remained silent. It's not that no one was out. In fact the area was filled with people, people who stood around staring off into nothingness. It was like nobody was home. No movement, no emotion. The only movement in the area was in the center of Times Square. A woman in black and white robes and a man in a leather outfit of the same color. Both had white tarantula symbols on their costumes with their legs extending over their shoulders and down to their waists. They are the Cult of the Tarantula.

"This is where it begins, sister," said the man named Marcos. "After being exiled from the Sisterhood of the Wasp we will get our revenge against father and take the world for our own. When the Spider Hunter comes we will take her power and add it to our own."

Nina smiled, "I've been looking forward to putting down that little pest."

As they readied themselves for the coming battle, down an alleyway the wind picked up. It wasn't particularly windy today. The swirling wind was not natural. A blue gateway opened up at the end of the alleyway. A couple seconds passed before the gateway spit out a person. The body crashed in a pile of abandoned boxes. On the pavement slid a triangular shield with the head of a bird at its top.

"Ahh..." moaned the voice of a woman.

She staggered out of the boxes. It was a young red-headed woman wearing what appeared to be a red and blue military uniform. Her gloves and boots were red with metal padding on her backhands, knees and ankles. On her head was a pair of brown goggles.

"No water," she muttered. "This must be the other earth. I have to hurry and find help."

As the young woman walked to the best of her ability it became clear that she was injured. Blood ran down the side of her head and she seemed to favor her left arm. She almost fell once but luckily she made it to the end of the alleyway. What she saw out on the street stunned her, the citizens of New York City standing around staring into nothingness.

"What the hell is going on?" she couldn't understand what could be happening.

[Bucky Narrates]: My name is Rebecca Barnes but I just simply go by Rikki. I'm from what the people of this earth call Counter-Earth, another earth on the opposite side of the sun created by a boy named Franklin Richards to save the heroes that sacrificed their lives to stop the being known as Onslaught. Over my short time as a hero along with my Young Allies, we faced many threats ranging from Dr. Doom to the people of Atlantis. But recently, a new threat has risen from the darkest corners of the world, a group of vermin calling themselves the Insect Kingdom. Men and women wearing symbols of tarantulas, scorpions, bees, beetles, ants, wasps, and spiders... We couldn't hold them back. They continued to swarm our flooded home. We found a way to transport ourselves to this earth to seek help but only I appear to have made it. Jolt suggested I go to the Thunderbolts for assistance but there's only one person I can turn to. Captain America.

Bucky continued to look at the people. It was then she noticed who was standing in the center of the crowded area. Her eyes widened as she sighted the symbols they wore. The tarantula insignia she was all too familiar with.

No, was all she could think.

Next she saw flashes of light before the tarantulas. Jessica and Emi appeared before them. Araña followed by web-swinging in front of them. Nina showed an evil grin. Bucky noticed the spider symbol on Araña's chest as well as the wasp symbol on Jessica's.

"Is there no place I can go?" she asked herself. "This planet is just as infested as..."

"Well, Spider Princess," said Nina. "I see you're doing well. That won't be for much longer."