Chapter Text
Ironically, Megan absolutely hates spiders. This is something Lara constantly makes fun of her for, considering she’s LA’s one and only Spidergirl, and she has been for a year and a half now. Yes, when she got bitten, she shrieked loud enough to wake up half the city. Yes, Lara will never let her live it down.
Other than her unfortunate start to heroism, Megan can’t say that being a superhero is all that awful. Sure, she gets thrown around much too often for someone her age. Sure, she’s nearly died about 60 times, and sure, she lives in constant fear that one of her loved ones will get hurt due to her status as every supervillain(within the state of California)’s number one opp. But putting that aside, she gets to kick ass, save people, and practically fly around the city with her webs. Add on her enhanced strength and speed, accelerated healing, and, as Yoonchae cutely calls them, her spidey senses, and yeah, all in all Megan would say she’s got it pretty good.
Except maybe in moments like these.
“Watch out!” Lara hollers in her earpiece, the feedback making Megan wince. Sometimes, Lara yells like that just to fuck with her, but this time a rock the size of her head is flying straight towards her chest. Megan jumps to the side, but it smacks against her foot anyways, knocking her off balance. She rolls to the side, crouching low.
“Aw shit, Megan,” Lara grumbles. “There’s two of ‘em.”
“Huh?” Megan whispers, turning her head. “Where? I can’t sense the second one.”
“Uhh,” says Lara, followed by some wrapper crinkling and the pop of a soda tab. “Behind you, I think. Look at that bush suspiciously rustling.”
Megan glares at an imaginary Lara. There’s about 20 bushes behind her lining the clearing. “Lara, please be more specific.” There’s the sound of soda being guzzled, then a loud burp. Megan has half a mind to chuck her earpiece into the woods. “This is serious.”
“Why? They’re just a couple street thugs,” says Lara. Megan can clearly visualize her sitting at home in her spinny chair, legs kicked up on her desk and arms behind her head. Hell, she’s probably falling asleep.
“Just a couple street thugs are still dangerous to normal civilians,” says Megan. “And it’s a problem if I can’t freaking see one!”
She jumps into the air just as a dark-clothed figure comes barreling at her. She swings around a streetlight, sitting atop it, looking for her assailant.
“Megan?” Lara asks, finally sounding more alert. “What’s going on?”
“I– I don’t know,” Megan says, looking around frantically. “I can’t sense one at all!”
The first one, the one she can sense, throws another rock at her. She blinks in surprise.
“Really?” she calls down. “Is that the best you’ve got?”
“Come down and see what I’ve got!” says the person. His voice isn’t gruff whatsoever, he sounds like a guy her own age.
“We just wanna talk!” says another voice. Megan whips around in the direction of the sound and fires a web. It latches onto the grass below and sadly floats down.
“If you just want to talk, come into the light. And put down that rock, please.”
The first guy puts down his rock and steps under the streetlight. “Spidergirl?”
“Where’s your friend?”
“Right here!”
A heavy rock to the head sends Megan flying off the lamp. She barely catches her fall by rolling on her shoulder, quickly crouching and regaining her composure. She shoots two webs at Guy #1’s feet, wrapping them by jumping in quick rotations around him. She shoots another web to his wrist, too quick for him to react, and forces his hands behind his back.
“Fuck you,” he so kindly glowers.
“Mhm,” Megan says, peering at him warily. “A+ conversation skills.”
“Megs, there’s a report of a break-in from the lab!” Lara’s voice comes through her earpiece, and Megan tunes her back in. There’s the sound of aggressive typing and clicking coming from Lara’s end. “I’ve got the security footage. Two men, one dressed in black and the other in brown. Stole some weird serum that’s been in development for a few weeks. The one in brown drank it. That must be the one you can’t see.”
“Even if he’s invisible, I should be able to feel him around me,” Megan frowns. “That serum… did they take all of it?”
“Looks like they only took the one test tube, though I’m not sure if that was the only one.”
“I’m hoping it is,” Megan grumbles.
Just then, she feels a rush of wind by her ear. She sticks out her leg, and something heavy catches on it. Megan jumps, trapping the man beneath her. She punches him in the face, or at least what she thinks is his face, and shoots her webs straight down. They land on something solid. She quickly detains this invisible figure, hitting him every time she feels resisting.
“You have no idea what’s coming,” he snarls between blows, which Megan will worry about later.
Eventually, she fully wraps him up, and then she strings both suspects together and leaves them under the streetlamp.
“Hey! Spidergirl!”
Ah. So there are the cops. They’re an inconvenient ways down the road, because the LAPD can’t really do anything right. Megan squints and sees an officer meandering over, taking his sweet time.
“You wanna wait up for them or just come over?” Lara asks.
“I should probably talk to them,” Megan sighs. “Order a pizza, will you?”
“The things I do for you,” Lara says, affectionately. “Seriously, though. This is the last time I’m buying you food until I get paid again.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Megan says. “Make sure to get pineapple.”
“You’re a freak,” Lara mutters, but Megan knows she’ll do it anyway.
“Officer,” Megan greets with a nod, making her voice deeper by habit. Lara giggles in her ear. “These are the criminals who broke into the lab.”
“Ah, thank you yet again, Miss,” the officer says. “We can take it from here.”
Megan gives him an awkward salute, then swings off into the city. She goes straight to Lara’s house, landing on her balcony and sliding the door open without a warning. She peels off her mask and flops down onto Lara’s bed. Lara spins around in her chair, one headphone ear on, arms crossed.
“You’ve got a fat bruise, like, right in the middle of your forehead.”
Megan’s eyes widen. “You’re joking,” she groans, leaning forward to catch her reflection in the mirror of Lara’s vanity. It is a gnarly bruise, all purple and raised. “Yoonchae’s gonna kill me.”
“She might,” Lara nods. She nudges Megan with her foot. “Can you get out of my bed? You’re sweaty and covered in dirt.”
Megan taps the spider crest on her chest, loosening the suit from her body and dropping it to the floor. She bundles it into a ball and chucks it at Lara’s head.
“Hey!” Lara yells, as Megan sprints down the hallway, laughing. “I house you, I feed you, I keep you safe from scary men and this is the thanks I get?”
After she showers and changes into a pair of boxers and one of Lara’s old shirts, she and Lara sit criss-cross-apple-sauce on Lara’s bed, across from one another, housing the pizza she ordered. This is Megan’s favorite part of missions, eating and debriefing with her best friend.
“He said, ‘you have no idea what’s coming’,” Megan says between bites. “Do you think I should be worried about that?”
“Like, probably not, right?” Lara replies, wiping her mouth on a paper towel. “I mean, villains say that kind of shit to you all the time.”
“I know, but like,” Megan pauses to take a big sip of her drink, “That serum he stole… it made him undetectable to me.” She burps.
“It’s probably nothing,” Lara reasons, polishing off the last slice. She puts the box on the floor beside the bed. “I think what you should be more worried about is Mr. Sugihara’s unit test on Monday.”
“Oh, fuck.”
//
Megan got bit by a radioactive spider when she was 16 years old, at the end of her Sophomore year, on a field trip to the Museum of Natural History for her AP Biology course.
At first, it fucking sucked. She woke up upside down, hanging from her ceiling like a freaking bat, broke many (expensive and not) items because she didn’t know how to control her strength, and stuck to literally every surface imaginable at the most inconvenient of times. It took her a good month to get the handle on just the basics of her powers.
She told Yoonchae, obviously. Megan has a thing against lying to her girlfriend, and she figured Yoonchae would inevitably figure it out anyway, so it was best to tell her now before she found out in less pleasant ways. She decided to keep it from her other friends, though, and her family. The fewer people that know, the better. That way, Megan (hopefully) doesn’t have to worry about them, like, getting held for ransom.
Unfortunately, Lara found out some three months later, in a disgusting alleyway, when Megan was all sweaty and gross. She was peeling off her DIY mask that had taken all of the night before to make, in the process of tossing it in the dumpster next to her, when she heard a terrified “...hello?”
Megan whipped around, forgetting her face was in full view. “MEGAN?!”
Megan bounded forward, clamping a hand around the shorter girl’s mouth. “Shut up!” She hissed. “Do you want the whole world to hear you?”
“You’re… her?”
“No,” Megan tried. Lara glared. “…Yes. Don’t tell the others or I’ll kill you.”
“How… how is this possible?”
“Dude, don’t even ask me,” Megan said, stripping off the rest of her costume. “I’ve given up trying to answer that question.” She finished, throwing the sad lump of clothes over the edge of the dumpster, smoothing out the wrinkles of her school clothes. “Let’s get out of here, it smells.”
“You smell,” Lara countered, but she followed Megan out anyway. “This is so insane, I can’t believe you’ve hidden this from us for this long. Hey, wait a minute. Where do your webs come from?”
“I dunno, my body?” Megan huffed. “I don’t wanna think about that! What were you doing in a dark alleyway at,” she checked her phone, “11:42 at night?”
“Um,” Lara said sheepishly. Megan fixed her with a look. “Okay, one secret for another: I was trying to meet someone.”
Megan blinked. “Dude, who? Also, if you meet up with randos in a dark alleyway, you’re gonna get yourself killed.”
“Not telling you. And noted.”
They walked down the street together, towards Lara’s house. Megan was thankful it was Lara who found out, out of everyone. She felt bad about hiding something so big from her best friend. And all things considered, Lara was taking this pretty well. Maybe she already had a feeling.
“Hey, listen,” Lara said. “If you ever need any help, like, testing your powers or whatever, let me know, okay?”
“Huh? Why?”
Lara shrugged. “This is literally the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to me in my life.”
And the rest was history.
//
Like most teenagers, high school is not up there on the list of Megan’s favorite things. She’s still winded from the fight Saturday night, so her brain can’t really keep up with all the things her teachers yap about throughout the day.
Yoonchae did fuss about her bruise, too, when Megan came to pick her up. It’s less prominent now, but definitely still noticeable.
“You have to be more careful,” she had scolded. Megan did not tell her about the spider-sense blockers. She told herself she’ll do it later.
It’s lunch now, thank goodness. Next period is the dreaded chem test, which Megan and Lara really did attempt to study for (for like, twenty minutes. They ended up playing Mario Kart instead, until Megan had to chase down a robber).
“Megan, how soluble is barium carbonate in water?” Manon asks, sliding into the seat across from Megan.
“Fuck you,” she says automatically. Yoonchae laughs next to her as Daniela groans.
“Don’t even say that shit right now,” Dani says. “I’m trying not to think about it until the very moment I have to.”
“Don’t you have, like, a D in chem?” Sophia asks, putting her tray down.
“Nunya,” Dani grins, throwing up a middle finger.
“It won’t be that bad,” Lara says, rounding out their table.
“Shut up, we all know you’re getting an A, Lara,” Manon snarks.
“Is it because I’m Indian?” Lara asks. Manon throws a fry at her.
“Hey, what happened to her head?” Daniela asks, turning to face Megan. Megan nearly chokes on her sandwich, and everyone’s eyes flit to her bruise.
“Wait, yeah,” Sophia puzzles. “How hard do you have to smack it to achieve something like that?”
“I tripped,” Megan says, covering it as Manon’s finger drifts suspiciously close. Yoonchae smacks it down.
“On what?” Sophia presses, worry apparent on her face. Yoonchae and Lara are exchanging glances, now. Megan knew she should’ve put concealer on it this morning.
“Um. The curb.”
“Like, a street curb?” Dani asks. “Damn. Must’ve been a hard fall.”
“Yeah, it was,” Megan laughs, a little uncomfortable. “It’ll go away soon, though.”
Sophia looks at her a moment longer, eyes squinting before shrugging. The table moves on, and Megan’s shoulders relax.
Out of all her friends, Megan thinks Sophia’s the closest to figuring it out. She’s already caught the other girl staring at her oddly, brows creasing as Megan stumbles her way through excuses for injuries or absences. Notices the way she looks between Lara and Yoonchae suspiciously, as the other two say nothing when the topic of Spidergirl is brought up.
“Is it the worst thing in the world?” Lara had asked, once. They had to be quiet, because they were at a group sleepover, but Manon was snoring so loudly that Megan wasn’t sure it mattered. “If you told the rest of them.”
“I mean, I’ve obviously thought about it,” Megan whispered. “But I already worry enough about you and Yoonchae as it is. I wouldn’t want anyone to get hurt because of me.”
“Me and Yoonchae haven’t gotten hurt.”
“Yeah, yet.”
Lara dropped it after that.
But Sophia is perceptive, perhaps to a fault. So Megan makes a mental note to be extra careful around her.
Lunch wraps up, and she, Lara, Dani, and Manon make their way to the chemistry lab, slow and dreadful, like lambs to a slaughter, Manon says.
Lara turns to face them all once they get to the door. “Good luck, soldiers,” she says solemnly, before saluting and making her way to her desk.
Megan takes a deep breath.
It wasn’t awful, actually. At least, she doesn’t think so. Daniela has other opinions.
“Holy fuck, I’m cooked,” she groans, burying her head in her hands. Manon rubs her back, and does this little maneuver to usher Dani to the side of the hallway.
“I’m sure it wasn’t that bad,” Lara tries to soothe, but Dani hits her on the arm.
“That means nothing coming from you!”
Sophia and Yoonchae are heading towards them, now, from either end of the hall. Sophia winces when she sees Daniela.
“Rough, huh?” she asks. Dani whimpers. “Okay, let’s go.” She gently takes Dani by the shoulder, taking them to their next class.
Yoonchae comes up behind Megan, who leans into her instinctually.
“How was it?” she asks softly, against Megan’s shoulder.
“Not bad,” Megan says. “I can’t tell if Daniela’s being dramatic, or if she’ll actually have to retake chem during summer school.”
“God, we’ll never hear the end of it if that happens,” Yoonchae laughs. Megan smiles at the sound. It’s kind of embarrassing that Yoonchae has this effect on her, even after all this time they’ve been together.
“Hey, lovebirds,” Manon snaps her fingers. “You’re gonna be late for your next period.”
“You’re just jealous!” Megan yells back as Yoonchae wraps an arm around her waist, leading her down the hallway. Manon flips her off, and she can hear Sophia’s cackle echo all the way to her next class.
Having a girlfriend rules.
//
What doesn’t rule is the apparent mass distribution of what Lara’s calling Spider Blockers. On three more occasions during the week, Megan has encountered criminals that she can’t sense, and what’s worrying is that they’re both lowly thieves, which means much more powerful villains probably already have their hands on the substance.
After encounter number three, Lara sits her down to make edits to her suit.
“I’m thinking of installing a radar,” she explains, tinkering with the arm. “Like, so you get alerts whenever someone’s nearby.”
“But I’m around people all the time,” Megan says. “I keep it in my backpack.”
“Maybe I can make it so that it only alerts you to reported criminals in the area?”
“Most offenders aren’t reported criminals, though,” Megan says, chewing on her nail. Lara puts her suit down.
“Okay, what’s up with you?” she asks. “Is it Yoonchae? Have you told her about the blockers yet?”
“No,” Megan squirms. “I don’t want her to worry.”
“Megan,” Lara chastises.
“I know, I know,” Megan says. “It’s killing me, keeping something like this from her. But I really don’t want her to, like, freak.”
“Don’t you not like lying to her?”
“I’m not lying, I’m just… omitting the truth.”
Lara looks unimpressed. “I mean, do what you want, dude,” she says, exasperated. “But we both know nothing good is gonna come out of hiding this from her.”
Two hours later, Megan comes across encounter number four. She’s a tiny thing, from what Megan can tell – she has a lofty, almost calming tone that she’s using to bait Megan all around the block.
“Over here, Spidergirl,” the wind carries her whisper. Megan’s gonna tweak. She’s been at this for, like, 20 minutes, and she just wants to go home to her girlfriend.
Whoever it is, she gets cocky and brushes too close. Megan throws both hands out, hoping to catch something. The girl is fast, but not faster than her, as it seems. Megan’s fingers graze hair, and she pulls.
“OW!” The girl yells, which comes out strange from such a soft voice. Megan feels a little bad. The invisibility technology (which all these villains have also been getting their hands on, somehow; maybe they’re being sold as a set with the Spider Blockers?) wears off, and Megan looks down. It is a small woman, and she can’t be more than a couple years older than Megan.
“Sorry,” Megan says, webbing the girl’s hands behind her back before releasing her grip on her hair.
“That was rude,” the girl huffs.
“Well, so was taunting me.”
“You’re not as mean as I thought you’d be. Everyone always talks about how mouthy you are.”
“Everyone, like, the supervillain discord server, or something?”
“...You’re not far off.”
Megan’s eyebrows raise under the mask. “I’m only a dick to the men.”
“Got it,” the girl smiles. “So… what are the chances you let me go?”
Megan laughs. “What are the chances you tell me who you’re buying from?”
The girl shakes her head, grinning. “I guess we’re both out of luck, then.”
After the cops come to collect her, Megan texts Lara to add the radar to her suit.
//
The moment she’s been dreading finally comes, a day after the last incident. She’s dropping Sophia off after school, but when she pulls up in front of her house, Sophia doesn’t move.
“Megan,” she says, holding her breath in. “I know you’re hiding something from me.”
Megan’s grip tightens on the steering wheel. “What do you mean?” she asks. It comes out strained, and she kind of knows she’s screwed.
“You’re Spidergirl, aren’t you?”
And, yeah. There it is.
“No,” she tries. She’s hit with deja-vu when Sophia glares. “...Yes.” Jesus, is this how all her friends are gonna react?
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Sophia frowns. “We all would keep your secret.”
“I know,” Megan sighs. “It’s not that. I just didn’t want anyone getting hurt on my behalf.”
Sophia sits in silence as it sinks in. Megan resists the urge to, like, twiddle her thumbs or do something equally silly.
“Yoonchae knows, right? You’re not keeping this from her?”
“Yeah, she knows,” Megan answers. “Lara, too. How did you figure it out?”
Sophia chuckles, easing the tension a little. “You’ve used the excuse of tripping over a curb five times in the past year.”
“I have?” Megan looks at Sophia incredulously. Sophia’s smirking in amusement. “Wow, I really need to keep track of what I say.”
“I don’t think Manon or Dani have noticed, if it makes you feel better,” Sophia says.
“Please don’t tell them,” Megan pleads.
“I won’t,” Sophia nods. “But you know they’re gonna find out eventually.”
“Not if I can help it.”
“So what, you’re gonna keep this colossal secret from your closest friends your entire life?”
“If it keeps them safe, then yes.”
Sophia looks at her strangely, then. Megan wants to melt into her seat. Sophia shakes her head, almost imperceptible, before stepping out of the car.
“I hope you know how much we all care about you, Megan,” she says, before she closes the door.
Megan sits outside her house for a long time before driving off.