Spider-Girl: the Life of a Teenage Spider Person

Chapter Thirty-Three

I crouch on the roof of a building, surveying the city below.

I reach up and tap on my ear.

Please work! I plead silently.

"Hello! This is your 'Gal in the Chair' speaking!" Layla laughs.

"Yay! It worked! This is amazing, Layla!" I exclaim.

"Thank you! I'm so happy! I'm going to try really hard to have your AI finished by the end of the weekend!"

"Perfect! Now, it's time to get to work!" I declare, firing a web as I leap off the building.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Okay, so to recap... You have stopped one bike thief, two pick-pockets, and helped four elderly people cross the road!" Layla states.

"Not bad for one afternoon, huh?" I reply with a smile.

"Yeah! See anything else?" Layla asks.

"Hmm.... nope!" I scan the area as I swing.

"Well, then... Maybe we should call it a day?"

"Maybe-" I spot a suspicious looking figure slip into an alleyway.

Not just any alleyway.

The one where I bumped into those guys.

I quickly change direction, landing on the roof of one of the buildings surrounding the alley.

My heartbeat quickens as I slowly creep toward the ledge...

"Crystal!"

I leap back. "What?!" I hiss.

"You stopped talking all of a sudden! I was worried!" Layla retorts.

I take some deep breaths, trying to calm my pounding heart, "Okay, sorry. It's just... I saw someone walk into the alleyway where... you know what happened."

"Really?!" Layla says excitedly. She pauses a moment, before continuing in a hushed voice, "Do you... do you think it's them?"

"Maybe..." I reply nervously.

"What are you going to do? Surprise attack?"

"No. That did not work well last time... and even if I am actually prepared for a fight now... I'm going to start with observation," I whisper.

"Okay, good idea! Let me know if I need to call in back up, though!" Layla says seriously.

"Um... we don't have backup?"

"Oh... right," Layla sighs, "You know, sometimes it kinda sucks having only one superhero around."

I let out a small chuckle, "Says the girl safe and comfortable in her bedroom."

"Whatever. Just... be careful, okay?" Layla responds.

"I will," I promise, before peering over the ledge.

I suck in my breath.

"What? What happened?" Layla asks.

I carefully observe the figures below me. "It's them, Layla! All four of them!" I respond, barely audible.

"No way!" Layla exclaims.

"Shhh!" I whisper.

"You got our latest order?" the man with the odd accent says.

"Yeah... here," the mystery man replies.

I try to make out anything special about the voice, but it's too muffled!

Odd accent guy takes the case from mystery man and proceeds to open it.

"He's opening the case!" I breathe.

"Yes! I am ready to take notes! What's inside?!" Layla responds.

I move a little closer to the ledge, trying to see what's inside the case, "It's hard to see..."

I squint and slowly move around, trying to find a better angle.

My eyes widen as the inside of the case comes into view, "It is a weapon! Like I thought!"

Inside the large black case is a weapon unlike any I have ever seen.

"It is pretty big... it looks like a gun of some sort. I can't see too much, but... there definitely seems to be some added features on the sides... but I don't know what they do..." I explain.

"I don't think I want to know what they do!" Layla exclaims.

I shudder at the comment, "Yeah..."

The mystery man looks upward.

A small squeak escapes my mouth as I duck behind the ledge.

"The mystery guy looked up!" I whisper.

"Did he see you?" Layla asks in an equally hushed voice.

"I-I don't think so..." I reply, peeping over the edge once more.

I scramble to stand up.

"No! They're gone!" I exclaim. I rush toward the ledge that looks out over the city.

A guy dressed all in black turns a corner down the road from me.

"I see him! Mystery man! I'm going after him!" I declare, preparing to fire a web.

"Crystal! Wait!" Layla says.

"What?" I reply, the annoyance clear in my voice, "I'm going to follow him! We need more information!"

"I know, but Crystal? Didn't you tell your parents we were studying at my house? And that you would be back around five?"

"Yeah... What does that have to do with anything?!" I huff.

"Um... you have ten minutes until five o'clock."

"What?!" I screech.

I shoot a web and start swinging in the direction of home.

"I guess we'll have to go after him another day..." Layla says reluctantly.

"Yeah... I guess so..." I respond, equally disappointed, "Hopefully I'll be able to find them again."

Yeah... Well, see you Monday!"

"Yeah, bye," I sigh.