Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Dan 'Bear' Bjorn had been a runner ever since it became permitted.

The fact that it was a hard life didn't deter him - that if you decided to go off the grid, you got no support and no funding, just left to your own devices to survive -he just didn't want to be loCaste anymore, with the prospect of being sent to the Greylands with one false step. He'd been hardened by this lonely life, by his parents being taken away to work in the Greylands, slaving away, and being left with his younger brother to take care of (who was also taken away from him not long after). But when he got to the age where he could finally make his own decisions in life, he made the choice that he didn't want to be the next to go, and he made his move.

Dan joined a cabal of runners who had a hideout in the Zephyr Transit Hub one Spring when he was 18. It was there he adopted the name 'Bear' (his favourite animal ever since he was a child), as a lot of the runners he met had code names, too. There was Plastic, Icarus, Nomad and Birdman, just to name a few.

The group Bear joined was led by the one and only Faith Connors. She and Icarus were the two most prominent members of the cabal but they weren't the only ones in Zephyr, their home they called 'The Lair'. It was a spacious place and Bear soon made himself at home, claiming one of the few spare bunks as his own (one under the elevated bunk, which he had been told was 'reserved'. Any elaboration on who it was reserved for was not made).

It took a few months for Bear to get used to the new lifestyle he had thrown himself into, doing delivery missions to earn money - or as the runners called it, 'scrip' - and never really knowing what would happen to you, having the danger of one false move sending you hurtling to your death. Icarus, Faith and the others, too, seemed cold from their upbringing and Bear never really felt that close to them. They were too independent, too self-assured, too 'cool' for him to count them as friends.

Bear mostly stayed at The Lair these days. He prefered programming on one of the old computers he had found and listening to the older runners tell stories of the days when they were hunted down by the bloodthirsty KrugerSec and had to sneak around the city of Glass undetected, the days where Noah led them at Zephyr and soldiers would raid their hideouts, taking any poor, unfortunate soul as a prisoner. Bear was glad he hadn't been around for those days, but still running now had its own dangers.

That's why he spent his days programming and working out as his main form of exercise.

It was on one of these days he met a certain character who would change his grim outlook on the world of running completely, and maybe even thaw the ice around his heart.

Chapter Text

It was one sunny September morning that marked the beginning of a big change in Bear's life, although he didn't yet know it.

He had heard an unfamiliar voice from the main room in The Lair whilst he was in the middle of a workout and took a short break from attacking a punching bag to listen closer. He could make out no words but Faith was definitely talking to somebody new.

Bear's curiosity dragged him from the dorms and into the next room to investigate. He stood in the doorway, wiping sweat from his forehead with a tattered flannel, immediately confronted with a thin, shady figure that he hadn't seen anywhere before. His immediate thought was that this guy looked like somebody from Black November (a violent group off off-grids led by Rebecca Thane who would go to any length to destroy the conglomerate. KrugerSec were still searching for them and they'd been trying especially hard to get a hold of them recently, yet to no avail). Bear knew that Faith had been associated with Black November before, but that she didn't condone their goals or methods - Bear didn't, either - so why would she be so casual about having one of their members in The Lair? It didn't make sense.

Apart from wondering why he was here, the first thing Bear noticed about the guy was his eyes when he turned to him: sharp, piercing eyes. They sent a chill down Bear's spine. What colour were they, even? Green? Blue? Grey? There seemed to be everything and nothing in them at the same time, like a void full of stars behind his pupils. Empty, but alive, alert and watchful.

The initial shock of him wore off slightly when he smiled; though his mouth wasn't visible under the burgundy mask he was wearing, slight creases appeared beside his eyes to show he was smiling. It almost brought a sort of warmth to his pale, ashen white skin.

"Hello," said Bear.

The new guy must've heard his voice quiver, as he moved his hands off his hips at last.

"Hi!" he chirped. His voice didn't quite suit him. It wasn't high, nor was it especially deep, but it just wasn't normal, either. Nothing about him was. He sounded way too cheerful, however, to be part of Black November, so that theory was quickly disregarded.

"Oh, Bear, this is Spider," Faith said then, in her usual serious tone, "He's been with us for around a year and a half now."
Bear went to shake his hand and though Spider seemed a bit thrown off at first as if he'd never done this before, he still gave his hand. He didn't have a very strong grip, his fingers were long and gaunt and his fingerless gloves showed his lengthy nails. Bear noticed a MAGrope (a rope device that could latch onto certain cameras around the city and pull you up to them or let you swing across vast spaces between buildings) attached to his glove, but this one had what appeared to be an extension coming from it and going into a little box on a strap around his upper arm. The use of this was unknown.

Bear was overall quite impressed by Spider's outfit: he wore what looked like a very thin, long hoodie with no zipper. It was held closed by some fabric wraps around his waist but still hung open in a very low V shape above them, showing Spider's very pale neck and chest right down to his waist. The hood's strings were tied together and the shoulders were embroidered with webs (Spider sure stuck to character, and it was evident from his body shape why he had the name). His legs were covered with what Bear could only assume was lycra or something similar, but it still gathered at the backs as if it were a size too loose.

"How come I haven't seen you around before?" Bear asked, genuinely confused.

"I tend not to stick around," Spider said, shortly, with an unblinking stare before his gaze drifted off to something behind Bear and he walked away without another word.

"He doesn't stay with us," Faith told Bear, "I'd be careful around him if I were you."

Bear asked where he went to sleep if not here, but Faith only shrugged as if she couldn't really care less. She wasn't the sort of person to let just anybody into The Lair, so why she let Spider in was a bit of a mystery, especially with how little she seemed to know about him.

"Your snack supply is dwindling," came a voice, and Bear turned to see that Spider had now somehow climbed atop the blue fridge that stood in the corner and was hanging his head upside-down in order to peer inside. He raised his head, pulled a disappointed face and slammed the door shut, "No snack," he frowned. He then slithered off the fridge like a spoonful of treacle and wandered into the next room with a slight snake-hipped walk. He looked thoughtful as he walked, but also guarded as if we were expecting to be jumped by somebody at any moment.

"Maybe you could go on a run with him," Faith suggested, "You could get to know him a bit better."

Bear wasn't so sure about this proposition; Spider seemed like the sort he wouldn't be able to keep up with, and the fact that he clearly used the MAGrope meant he probably knew tons of shortcuts he could take by using it. Bear had never really liked the idea of the MAG, swinging over massive drops or pulling up to far-away rails and balconies wasn't his idea of fun. One false move and you'd be gone. But perhaps an opportunity to get to know this new character wouldn't be such a bad idea after all.

Bear asked what kind of run they'd be going on, but Faith just told him they'd have to wait and see. That was when Spider re-appeared in a different doorway to the one he had left through, looking curious.

"A run?" he repeated. It was a mystery how he had heard the conversation from the other room. He looked a bit more excited after Bear informed him about what he and Faith had been discussing, "Nomad set me a dash the other day. I was going to attempt it later. You can come!" he said, straightening his mask.

Bear agreed to this because dashes were relatively easy - time trials set by other runners to challenge you - and he fancied seeing this 'Spider' character run.

Chapter Text

Bear hadn't seen anybody run like this, with so much energy and vigour, since Faith Connors. And that was saying something.

He couldn't keep up with the dark figure dashing beside him, always finding himself a few paces behind. Of course, he hadn't been out running in quite a while now and could probably use a bit more practice, but he had always been nip and tuck with whoever he ran with (when he first started, that is. After that, he usually went alone). Only now did he meet his match, somebody who took the lead.

The Beat (a software that 'piggybacks' onto the main data network called The Grid) provided navigational aids and encrypted communications channels that could be interacted with via hardware like glasses or, in Spider and Bear's case, earpieces and contact lenses. It would show up a line, the fastest route to your destination, through the lens to guide you as you run. This was called 'runner's vision' and pretty much everybody used it. Spider was definitely using it, though the way he vaulted over fences and scampered across walls made it look as if he knew where he was going already, without its aid. Maybe he did. Clearly, he had been running for longer than Bear first assumed.

It was as if he knew the city's map by heart, every vent, passage and wynd. The rooftops were dangerous but he looked to have little to no fear of the precipitous drop he'd be faced with if his feet slipped. He would scramble up the sides of buildings, wall-run faster than Bear had seen some people do on the ground, flying over any vents or fences that stood in his way.

It was strange for Bear to see somebody who smiled as they ran (or rather, smirked). All the other runners were usually very serious and stony, it was rare to hear one make a joke or smile and laugh. Spider, however, was sparky and bounding with energy. His slender form weaved around obstacles and made the dash look effortless. He slipped into an air vent at one point that wasn't even on the route and then come sprinting out somewhere else not a minute later, leaps and bounds ahead.

Watching him like this was certainly a learning experience. Bear had always been able to read people like a book and this run was helping him gather a good amount of information about this otherwise perplexing individual. Why did Bear start looking up to him? Spider was weird. A freak, even. But Bear admired his confidence. Did he have no cares in this world?

His thoughts were cut short, though, when they both reached the end of Nomad's dash.

Panting, Bear leaned his hands on his knees and tried, furiously, to catch his breath.

"Second!" Spider snapped from beside him, looking moderately displeased as he checked the leaderboard for the dash on The Beat by looking down at his glove (where an image of the board would appear), "So close..."

"That was amazing!" Bear panted, looking up to him at last, but Spider only laughed, a deep noise that rose up through his bosom and crackled out his throat like a dusty record player. That was when he removed his mask for the first time to heave a tired sigh.

His teeth were one thing Bear was not expecting to be surprised by: fangs so pointed they could rival any horror-movie vampire. Fangs like that couldn't be natural, surely. Why did he have them? How did he get them? Did he just wake up one day and think to himself 'I'll have some of those', and he just... did? Without a care in the world, without a bat of an eyelash.

However, remembering Faith's words, Bear decided the wise thing would be not to ask questions.

"You did very well," said Spider, simply, sitting himself down on the edge of the roof they had finished upon, "I usually run alone."

Somehow, Bear wasn't surprised.

"How long have you been running?" he inquired, hoping this was a safe question.

Spider only shrugged.

That was strange. Did he not know? Did he just not want to say? Why would that be a secret? What did he have hidden? Was this why questions were best left un-asked? Whatever it was, Bear brushed it off, no matter how curious he was. After all, they had only just met; he could always ask for an elaboration later.

"How about you?" Spider asked, swinging his legs over the precarious drop.

"What?"

"How long have you been running?"

"Oh..." Bear breathed, coming back to reality, "...Uh, about 6 months now."

"Is that all?"

"Well... yes. Why?"

"Huh..." Spider hummed, shrugging, "Nothing."

An awkward silence fell then as they ran out of things to talk about, but Spider didn't seem to mind. He didn't seem to speak much, and his sentences were generally quite short. He always had a thoughtful air around him, though, so you could never really tell what was going on in his head. He laid on his back and looked up at the clouds above, at the rails of the trains and the KSEC aircraft patrolling the skies. He smiled although nothing in this city was how it should be, and this confused Bear greatly.

Bear had always wanted change. He had been very aware of the state of the nation of Cascadia's since he was a child and had never been alright with it. He wanted people to be free to do what they want, not under the rule of the corporate houses of the conglomerate empire. Businesses were the government here and everyone - including innocent children - was swimming in propaganda.
'Kruger-Sec are here to protect you!' you would hear declared over the loudspeakers that echoed through the city of Glass. But for the runners, Kruger-Sec had been out to do entirely the opposite. Any off-grid or runner would be shot down upon sight if they weren't careful, and that was the world Faith and the others lived in before Bear joined them. Faith's sister, Cat (or, as she was now known, Isabel Kruger) now ran KSEC and had passed an order that allowed the runners to live off the grid, but life was still tough.

So why was Spider so happy? He was always happy. Sparky, bubbly. How did he do it? Was he not aware of the dark, nightmarish world he existed in? Didn't he know that his place was to slowly starve to death as a warning to employs and citizens not to try and go off-grid? How was he alright with that?

"Quiet."

"Hmm?" Bear hummed, looking down to the free spirit still lying on the floor a few feet away from him.

"You are," Spider clarified.

"I was just thinking, that's all," he replied.

"About?"

"Oh, you know: the corporations, the conglomerate..." Bear told him, gazing up to the sky.

Spider retched (perhaps he was faking it but Bear couldn't tell) and got to his feet without saying a word. Whatever the gagging meant was not evident, but with him, nothing really was.

Bear looked down to watch him brush himself off and straighten the wraps around his lissom waist. There seemed to be a hip-flask-sized bag - or more like a pocket - attached to them. What this contained was another mystery. Probably a hip flask.

"Are you coming?" Spider asked and, when he received a nod from Bear, he pulled up his mask and darted off like a bullet back the way he came.

Bear watched him for a second, observing how weightless he looked on his feet, before eventually running after him, not wanting to be the last one back to Zephyr.

Chapter Text

Bear was absolutely exhausted by the time he got back to The Lair. He wasn't used to so much exercise all at once, so he was puffing and panting, leaning on his knees to catch his breath.

Contrarily, but not surprisingly, Spider seemed unfazed. He spent a minute stretching out his slender arms and loudly cracking his knuckles before opening the little pocket he had on his hip and taking out - surprise, surprise - a hip-flask; one with a black widow spider painted on the front. Bear did not know what was contained in this flask, but Spider downed the whole thing in no time at all. Knowing him, it could have been anything from honest water to gin and tonic.

Zephyr was practically empty, aside from a couple of runners who were hanging out downstairs, practising their wall-runs. Spider and Bear had waved hello to them as they passed before hopping up to the elevated walkway and making their way up the stairs to The Lair. Now it was just them, all alone. Faith and the others must have headed out somewhere. They did that sometimes, leaving without telling Bear where they were going. He'd gotten used to it by now.

Bear watched as Spider looked around The Lair, their hideout, their safe place, and suddenly felt a bit unsafe. He'd always felt secure here, even when the other runners left him alone here, but now he was in the company of Spider, he felt slightly on-edge. He was usually good at reading people, but this new guy... he was like a closed book. Hopefully, he'd open up in some time, but until then, Bear felt like he was walking on eggshells around him.

He seemed happy, but the sort of person who would snap at you if you made a wrong move. He really gave off the impression that he was an outcast, that he was focused on survival: his eyes were always watching, like a vulture, waiting to fly down to something he'd been observing for hours and rip it to pieces. He heard every noise and his head turned like a jittery sparrow to wherever the slightest sound was coming from. He was scanning, Bear could tell; scanning his surroundings as if he wasn't safe. He was guarded, his shoulder blades raised. Was he looking for something? Someone? Who could tell?

Swallowing any fear he had (after all, Spider was only human, and a lot lankier than himself), Bear approached with an offering of peanut butter in a squeezable pouch. He kept a few of these around as they were good energy for running and the fact that they had a nozzle meant you didn't need to bring a spoon if you were going far.

Spider tilted his head slightly, looking surprised when he found himself presented with this unexpected benefaction. His shoulders dropped, making an unhealthy pop as they did, and he studied the packet for a while as if wondering whether or not to take it.

Bear stayed patient and Spider finally took his offering, his spindly fingers formed like talons around it.

"Do you like peanut butter?" Bear asked, thinking maybe he'd made a wrong decision.

"Yes," Spider nodded, "Thank you."

"No problem," Bear replied, breathing a sigh of relief, "You hungry after all that running?"

"Not really," Spider said, but curled up on the nearest sofa nonetheless and unscrewed the packet's cap. He looked to drink, or even lap, the butter out of the nozzle. He just laid there, peacefully eating, until he'd had enough and he rested his head down on the cusion and closed his eyes. It was like watching an easily-pleased puppy.

Bear looked at him for a short while before sitting down on the sofa opposite him and switching on the TV to watch whatever boring and lachrymose thing was on the news today. Something about Kruger Holding, probably.

"...The new head of K-SEC, Isabel Kruger, has passed a new order clamping down further on Black November..." announced the newsreader on the screen. This was one of the most common news topics because it was the only interesting thing to care about anymore.

"Ugh, I can't stand Black November..." Bear muttered, rubbing his temples with his thumb and forefinger.

"Me neither," said Spider, even though he had been practically asleep a few seconds prior.

Bear looked at him for a bit with a sense of relief. Before, the idea that Spider was secretly part of Black November was not off the cards, but from his tone, Bear could see that he was not being completely honest: he really didn't like Black November.

"Have you ever met Rebecca Thane?" Bear asked.

Closing his eyes once again, Spider pulled a fed-up face.

"Once," he replied, "Briefly."

"What was she like?"

The only reply to this Spider gave was opening his eyes and blankly staring ahead before heaving a very loud sigh and averting his gaze. This somehow conveyed exactly what he was feeling and Bear understood perfectly.

From what he'd heard, Rebecca was not the easiest person to get along with. Her conversations usually revolved around bringing down the conglomerate and blowing stuff up. From what Bear knew of Spider, Rebecca was his polar opposite. She would do anything to achieve her goals, Spider was anti-violence. How he maintained this mindset was a mystery and rather impressive.

Bear was intrigued. Maybe learning more about Spider could give him something to do for once. He got up off the sofa, patted his new companion's shoulder and whispered 'I get the idea' as he left. He didn't look back as he walked away, but he could feel Spider's gaze following him like a chill in his spine.

Chapter Text

Bear was mildly surprised, although he knew he shouldn't be, when his new potential friend disappeared that night.

He had been contently relaxing on the couch under the window opposite the beds in the bedroom, trying to find something more lighthearted on the old TV, when he saw Spider from the corner of his eye, pulling his hood over his head.

"Going out?" Bear asked, not taking his eyes off the TV screen.

"Yes," Spider replied, shortly. He had stuck around at The Lair since getting back from Nomad's run with Bear, but hadn't really done much aside from have a drink, read a book while sitting on the roof beams, and generally watching whatever was happening. His omnipotent presence was what put Bear on edge slightly, but Spider seemed pretty harmless all-in-all.

“Where are you off to?” Bear asked, raising his gaze at last. He hadn’t seen Spider’s hood before, but now he oberved that it was adorned around the edge with 6 spider eyes. They looked to be made out of plastic. How Spider attained them was a mystery, as was much else about him.

Spider shrugged.

“Just going,” he replied. This was not much of an answer, “See you tomorrow, maybe,” he added, and started walking to the other room.

Bear got up to follow him, still curious as to where he was headed.

“Aren’t you going to stay until tomorrow?” he asked, “It’s getting late.”

“I’m alright in the dark, I’m used to it,” Spider replied with a slight smile.

Bear followed him all the way to the open window that looked out down the roof. It was a steep slope and runners would sometimes use it to slide down to the next rooftop as it was a fast route. Spider said goodbye and then did just that; slipping down the shiny surface and landing with a fair amount of grace at the end where he then scrambled up a footprint-covered wall and bulleted away.

Bear watched him go until he was out of sight, then turned about to see Faith standing on the other side of the room.

“Where does he go, do you know?” he asked, jabbing a thumb in the direction of the window.

“Who, Spider?”

“Yes.”

Faith shrugged, nonchalantly.

“He has places, I suppose,” she said as she sorted through a stack of files on the table in front of her, “Who knows?”

“Why did you let him into The Lair?” Bear inquired.

“He wanted to join. He’s not a bother. Doesn’t usually come on missions because he doesn’t stick around long enough. He said he likes it here because we have showers,” Faith said, then she left, leaving Bear none the wiser.

Bear looked up at the sky for a few minutes – bare of stars due to the over-abundance of light pollution – thinking about his encounter with this mysterious figure. What to think of him? They’d met all in this one day and it’d seemed like a very long day indeed.

Bear decided to get some rest. He’d be able to think about Spider while he was staring up at the ceiling. He could also think about other things that weren’t as pleasent, which is what he ultimately ended up doing.

He remembered his life as a normal citizen of Glass, living in a tiny apartment with his parents and brother. Said apartment was both cramped and run-down, not fit for a family of 4. Bear’s father worked in construction and his mother did for a while, too, before being sent to the Greyland factories for pushing the rules by asking for earlier finishes so she could get home to her family. Bear hadn’t seen her since. The same happened to his father a few years ago, so his brother was taken with him and Bear was left alone in the apartment. That was when he decided to become a runner. The runners grouped together in cabals. Like a family. Like the family he didn’t really have anymore.

The runners had seemed cold at first, but there was something about Spider... some warmth like it felt as if he was in the same position. Perhaps he was.

Maybe Bear would have to break the no-questions rule.

Sitting blank-faced, staring at the stars that night, sipping the dregs from his flask, was Spider. He looked out over the city from a dangerously small ledge in front of an electronic bill-board on the side of a lofty tower. The yellow, orange and white colours of the advertisement behind him shone onto his skin and washed over the glass and glossy plastic around with a fresh, modern glow.

Spider wasn’t sure what to think of Bear, either. They seemed to be polar opposites: Bear was solemn and didn’t run much, preferring to stay in and work out, whereas Spider was seldom seen without a manic grin plastered over his face and favoured being out in the city, basking in the neon lights.

The company motto of whatever was displayed on the billboard (Spider didn’t bother to notice which one it was, but it was most likely Kruger Holding) bellowed out for the 5th time tonight through the speakers, so loud that Spider decided he couldn’t sit in front of it any longer.

Picking himself up off the ledge and getting to his feet, he cracked his knuckles and stretched a bit before jumping over a couple of breaks in the platform and slipping into a little room inside the building. This was the way he had come up – scrambling up the innards of the walls and finally climbing a ladder up to the opening to the ledge, probably usually used for workers if the billboard broke – and this is where he stayed now. The neons of the city shone in through the opening, particularly from a very bright blue typography sign a way away that said ‘SLOTH’ in massive lettering (Spider did not know what ‘SLOTH’ was, but it sure looked fancy and he enjoyed looking out onto it). There were no noises about aside from the sound effects from the advertisements and the occasional whoosh of a sky-train going past. The only thing in Spider’s room was the ladder that he had climbed up, some rubbish and a clearly unused staff door that hadn’t been walked through in at least 3 months.

Spider was safe here.

He curled his slender form up to conserve as much body heat as he could and laid his head on the yellow runner’s bag he kept stashed away up here. This was his den. He liked to come here on some nights and get a good look at the buildings, watch the citizens go about their lives, maybe catch a glimpse of the occasional runner. There was nobody around to hurt him and nobody around to ask questions.

Content in the happiness this made for him, Spider closed his eyes and let himself drift off into oblivion.

He didn’t usually hang around the other runners, but this ‘Bear’ guy might just be somebody worth getting to know.

Chapter Text

Faith Connors had been running for longer than anyone else at The Lair had. She had survived the dangers of the rooftops for as long as she could remember, as Noah raised her to be as good a runner as she could be. She was wise around the rooftops, could find her way around any building, had hacked a good many Grid-nodes and could usually get from one place to another without the use of the runner vision.

Bear had always kind-of envied her. Bear wasn’t the best runner, he didn’t like heights and he got lost pretty easily around the nooks and crannies of Glass. His job at The Lair was a ‘Tracker’. He guided the other runners around the city via their Beatlinks, watching their location on one of the computers in Zephyr.

The objective he set for himself was to get Spider on the Beat so that he could watch where he went. Who knew where he went at nights? Faith didn’t, Icarus didn’t, neither did any of the others. Did Spider stay with someone? At a safe-house perhaps? He couldn’t stay on his own on the rooftops, surely… that was way too dangerous. Then again, Spider didn’t really seem to have a sense of danger.

Spider didn’t communicate through the Beat. Either that or he didn’t have one, but surely nobody could run like that without the runner vision unless they’d been traversing the rooftops for their whole life. Due to this lack of communication, though, Bear had to sit and wait for his new ‘friend’ to come back to The Lair before he could talk to him.

Bear waited a whole 2 days, which he filled with bodybuilding, coding and a touch of needlework, as in his boredom he sewed 2 little, brown, bear face silhouettes onto his sleeveless jacket on either side of the zipper.

Eventually, on the 3 ^rd day, as he was getting a drink from the fridge, Bear heard footsteps on the stairs behind him. Before he could even turn around, he heard a cheery call of-

“Hello, Bear!”

“Spider,” Bear acknowledged, slowly turning to look at him, dripping with sweat and smiling like a maniac, “...You tired out?”

Spider nodded enthusiastically,

“I’ve just come from Regatta Bay,” he said.

Regatta Bay? That was on the other side of Glass… Bear had never been there himself but he wanted to: it was the luxurious area of the city, where most of the penthouse apartments looked out over the bay. The whole place followed a white and purple colour scheme, dotted with cherry-blossom trees. It was a calm-looking place and being there might just make you forget about the derelict state of the lesser areas of Glass.

“Regatta Bay?” Bear repeated.

Spider nodded, flexing his fingers with a distasteful crunch.

“What were you doing there?”

“I like to visit,” Spider replied, blankly, “It’s nice.”

This was a simple explanation that needed no elaboration. The fact that Spider went places just because he fancied, though, brought up the question of what he even did all day. Did he have a job? A purpose?

“Uh, I was going to ask you a question,” Bear swallowed. Seeing that Spider still looked pretty content, he went on, “Are… Are you on Faith’s Beat channel ?”

Spider shook his head. This raised more questions. Every runner at Zephyr was linked to the same Beat; that was how they could keep track of where everyone else was.

“Would you like to be?” Bear inquired, “I can get you on it if you like. Then you could talk to the others and we could come and help you if you get yourself into trouble. I’m the tracker, so it’d only be me who knew where you were.”

Spider looked to think about it for a while. He was clearly used to being on his lonesome, a shadow slinking about the rooftops. Or at least, that was the impression he gave off. Having someone know his location would probably be a big step for him.

“Alright,” he said, eventually, “I trust you.”

“Really??” Bear replied, shocked. Somehow Spider’s answer had surprised him, in a positive way. He didn’t seem like the sort of person who trusted just anyone, so being so open with Bear knowing his location was taken as a huge compliment.

Bear led him over to the sofa and opened up his laptop. And after a bit of keyboard-clicking and a rummage around on one of the shelves by the couch, it was done. Spider had sat, perched on the arm of the sofa, next to Bear as he worked. Bear could feel his piercing eyes watching his every move like a chill in his spine. But Spider was starting too seem a lot less threatening. At first he had seemed like some mysterious being, but Bear was starting to warm to him – he seemed quite cheerful and non-aggressive.

“Here, put this on.”

“What is it?”

“An earpiece. It’ll let you communicate with me and the others from Zephyr.”

Spider put on the earpiece and tilted his head to the side in an animated fashion. He confirmed when Bear asked if he could hear through it, and then smiled, contently, and thanked him.

“No problem,” said Bear.

He considered, for a moment, asking another question, but ultimately decided against it. After all, he didn’t want to seem overpowering. He was trying to make a friend, not interrogate a crime suspect. That’s what he decided, anyway. What he did was much different.

“Do you have any friends, Spider?”

Without making eye contact, Spider let his smile drop a little and his eyelids close slightly, his gaze averting to the floor.

“No,” he said, “Do you?”

“No,” said Bear.

They turned to each other and made eye contact again, Spider letting a soft smile creep onto his face again (it was a surprisingly sympathetic smile, full of feeling and emotion that Bear had previously doubted that he actually had), but he didn’t say anything, and neither did Bear, because in this one glance it seemed that they had both made the decision to do something about it.

Chapter Text

In the next few days, Spider stuck around at Zephyr more than usual. The reason for this was unknown, but Bear had a few theories. One of which was that he was now his friend. This was a good theory, the happy theory. The other was that perhaps Spider didn’t want his location known and was regretting letting Bear track him, thus was hanging about, not daring to go anywhere he’d want to be known. But hopefully it was not the latter – Bear wouldn’t like to think that his new friend didn’t trust him.

“What are you doing on there, Spider?” Bear asked one morning, wandering into the dorms to find him perched atop the jukebox – which was playing its usual song list — somehow balancing on its sleek top.

“I’m listening to music,” Spider replied, squinting his eyes slightly as if the answer were quite obvious and it was not at all strange that he was sitting on top of a jukebox.

Bear did not reply.

He stood there motionless for what felt like 10 minutes but was probably only 2, before finally speaking up again.

“Faith said she needs someone to help with a mission. She wondered whether you were available,” he said.

Spider lifted his head and pursed his lips, thoughtfully.

“What is it?” he asked.

“There’s a KSEC drone going around and she needs someone to get rid of it. She says she’d do it herself but she has to go on a run,” Bear told him.

Spider frowned,

“No,” he said.

“Why not?” Bear asked, forgetting all about the no-questions motto. He was more curious as to why Spider would pass on an opportunity to go out on a run – wasn’t he supposed to be full of energy?

Spider looked like he was considering answering for a second, then deciding against it, but eventually he managed to say,

“Don’t like getting involved.”

“Involved with… Kruger?”

“Yes.”

“That’s alright; I’ll tell Faith to give the job to Aisha and Caleb instead,” Bear smiled, and turned to leave. He cast a glance over his shoulder before he left the room. Spider had a look on his face that seemed to convey a mix of disappointment and regret. He clearly felt like he was missing out.
“But if you want to go on a normal run, I’ll come with you if you like,” Bear offered.

A smile cracked across Spider’s face, his fangs giving off a slight glint from the lights. He looked to like the idea, so Bear resolved to go out for a run around with him later – he’d let Spider pick the route – besides, watching him last time had been quite fun. Why not go again?

The night was falling and the city lights were beaming, scattering great splashes of neon colour across the rooftops. The beginning of Bear and Spider’s run was all well and good. Bear kept a few steps behind to both watch Spider and take in the sights of Glass at the same time. He was keeping a good pace and wasn’t tired out yet, though he had been running for a good 4 minutes.

It was only as they reached a gap between buildings that Bear’s heart skipped a beat and he had to stop. He watched Spider swing over the massive space with the use of the MAGrope, his body seemingly floating in the air, gliding until he released the rope and fell down to the other roof with a perfect roll. But Bear didn’t follow him.

Spider must have noted this, as he looked around and made eye contact from over the ravine.

“Coming?” he asked through the Beat, then there fell a tense silence. He sat down on the edge of the building with his legs dangling off the side (Bear was concerned by this and it did not calm his heart at all). The drop below him must have been at least 150 feet, but Spider didn’t seem phased by it at all.

“I can’t,” Bear replied.

“Why not?”

“I… I don’t like heights...”

Bear anticipated a mocking laugh – how could a runner be scared of heights? But no laugh came.

Spider got to his feet, dusted off his hands and took a few steps back to give himself a run-up before connecting the rope and letting himself hang over the drop like… well, like a spider.

“We can go a different way,” he offered, wavering slightly in the wind.

The racket of a train running past filled the air and made Bear wince. He suddenly became very aware of how close he was to the edge of the building he was positioned on and stumbled back a bit.

“That would be good,” he nodded, swallowing. He watched as Spider swung himself back and forth a bit to gather momentum before releasing the MAG and dropping down to where Bear was standing. He landed on his feet with a hand on the floor, then straightened so he was upright and looked up at Bear.

“Come on, then,” he said, giving one of his trademark manic smirks for a split second, before bulleting off in the other direction.

“Where are we even going?” Bear asked, starting after him, but Spider didn’t reply.
They ran again for a good 5 minutes (Bear wished it hadn’t been so long, as he was starting to tire by this point and would soon get a stitch), over barriers and boxes, clambering and leaping, before Spider started to slow. He skidded to a halt and Bear tripped up over his own feet trying to stop behind him.

“Here,” said Spider, letting his hands drop to his sides. He was panting slightly and his chest was rising and falling in a deep, rhythmic motion.

Bear looked around and found that they were stationed on a high rooftop that towered over the city. The lights shimmered below them, the noise of the whooshing traffic on the ground rising up the sides of towers to meet their ears. It looked so good, Bear forgot all about his stitch.

Spider sat down right on the edge and let his legs hang off the side, as seemed to be his habit. He put his hands on the roof between his knees and stared wistfully at the sky, smiling contently.

Bear sat down beside him, a bit further back for safety reasons, and caught his breath. He didn’t see views like this too often; he was usually back home at The Lair. He was quite enjoying it.

“Is this a place you like to come and visit often?” he asked after a while of silence.

Spider nodded.

“Good view,” he replied. And indeed it was.

“Is that why you took me out here?”

“Yes. It’s nice.”

“Is this what you do all day, Spider? Travel about?” Bear asked, softly.

“I’m a courier,” Spider told him, scratching his neck violently with his fingernails, “I get around.”

“You have a home anywhere when you’re not at Zephyr?”

Spider just put his feet up onto the roof and let his arms rest over his knees, not making eye contact.

“Don’t like questions much, huh?” Bear hummed, “Sorry.”

“It’s OK,” Spider replied, but still didn’t answer the previous question. He didn’t seem like the type to trust people easily.

“Thanks for bringing me out here, by the way,” Bear said, lying down on his back to look up at the night sky, “I like it.”

Spider didn’t say anything but he smiled, contently, closing his eyes and letting the slight breeze wash over his face and through his black hair. He might not open up quickly, but he did seem genuinely happy, and that was rare nowadays.

Chapter Text

“I want a mission.”

“Wh- what kind of mission, Spider?”

“I don’t know. Just something.”

Bear looked at his friend and blinked, slowly. It wasn’t often that Spider asked for jobs; he always seemed to have somewhere to be and something of his own to do. But today he had sat himself down on the sofa cushion, folding his legs underneath him, and staring, expectantly, up at Bear. He was seated very close.

“Well, I’m sure I can find something.”

“If you can’t...” Spider said, “I can ask Plastic.”

“You know Plastic?” Bear asked, slightly surprised. Plastic was a young hacker who lived in her hideout in the Anchor district. Faith was quite close to her and she’d help out with locked doors, lifts and drones where she could.

Spider nodded, though his face didn’t hint to any particular emotion.

Bear thought he must be full of secrets. Who else – and what else – did he know? Maybe someday he’d find out. Besides, Spider seemed to be warming quite quickly; it probably wouldn’t be long until he’d start opening up about his life… right? Just last night he’d sat right next to Bear on the sofa to watch a movie. Sure, he’d stayed silent, but he looked to be quite comfortable.

“Well, if you want a challenge… there’s a billboard over in the Triumvirate Drive that’s pretty hard to get to, I heard. If you want to go and try to find a way up, you can,” Bear said, “I can guide you there.”

Spider nodded, enthusiastically, with a smile on his face, clearly excited to get out and about again.

Bear was also pretty interested. Deep down, all he really wanted to know was who Spider really was and where he had come from. Why did he act as he did? Speak as he did? Know so many people yet never get a mention? If there was anything Bear was going to do, it was finding out the answers to those questions. Communicating to Spider through the Beat while he was in a good mood, on a run, seemed like a good idea.

“When do you want to go?”

“Now?” Spider suggested, springing to his feet as if somebody had just thrown a snake at him. Although he didn’t seem to be the sort of person who would be afraid of snakes or anything else that posed a legitimate threat. He was probably scared of something really benign. Like plastic shopping bags.

“If you’re up for it,” Bear agreed, coming out of his brooding and returning to the previous subject. He watched that manic grin creep back across his friend’s face. What a weirdo. Who gets that genuinely excited about running to a billboard?... Spider, apparently.

“Off you go, then.”

Spider practically flew down the stairs from the Lair, and Bear watched him go from the sofa, casually adjusting his gaze to his laptop screen, where he brought up a map of Glass.

Faith Connors was taking a break this afternoon. With the unease of Spider being around Zephyr recently, it wasn’t the most relaxing environment to exist in. So instead, Faith decided to spend some time catching up with her old friend, Birdman.

Birdman was one of the first runners ever, and although he was elderly and couldn’t run like he used to, he still kept up with the other runners, who liked him a lot. He was wise, knowing, respectable, and capable to solve conflicts with a shake of the head or a certain manner of eyebrow raise. He had a Beatlink but hardly used it for fear of Kruger listening in, so instead his manner of communication was through carrier pigeon.

Hence the name.

Faith had known Birdman for a very long time. It wasn’t uncommon that she would pay him a visit and sit on the plastic deck chairs on the roof with a cup of coffee, looking out over the city and talking about anything and everything.

That is, anything and everything about the authorities like Kruger or the conglomerate. Because that’s all the runners ever really talked about these days.

Today’s subject matter was slightly different.

“I don’t know whether to let him stick around,” Faith said, sipping her drink, “He hardly accepts any of the runs I offer him. Doesn’t seem to work very well in a team. I was going to let him go but he’s warmed up to Bear now and I don’t feel as if I can.”

Birdman was quiet, probably thinking. Or asleep.

“Is he a good runner?” he asked.

“As good as the others.”

“I don’t see any reason to let him go.”

Faith leaned back in her chair, unable to find the will to disagree. Birdman was right: Spider was a great runner and he would probably accept a mission at some point, but on the other hand, he had a sort of air about him… it was uncanny, like he was watching, scheming something, perhaps. Then again, he seemed harmless enough… didn’t he? And Bear seemed to like him. Bear usually knew a bad person when he saw one.

Neither Faith nor Birdman spoke for a while. The only noise was the whoosh of a train flying by and the flapping and cooing of the doves in their coop behind. It was a serene environment, and it was clear why Birdman had chosen to settle down here.

That was the moment when Faith spied movement out of the corner of her eye. A small, dark figure scrambling over the rooftops, wall-running and spring-boarding effortlessly over gaps in the buildings.

“There he is,” Faith said, pointing a finger as she nonchalantly finished her drink.

“He’s fast,” observed Birdman, folding his hands on his knee.

Faith didn’t reply. She didn’t know where Spider was going or why, but as long as he was staying out of trouble, that was fine by her.

Chapter Text

Spider may not have been the most open person in the world, nor the most talkative, but he was the fastest Bear had seen in a long time. There was a chance that he’d get to Triumvirate Drive before Bear could even ask him the questions that he’d been meaning to ask.

“Spider, I feel like I know you a bit by now,” Bear started, not fully believing himself, “And I’ve noted that you aren’t the best with questions. But if you’d make an exception for me, I think getting the answers to a few would really help me deduce what sort of person you are.”

“Why do you have to?” Spider asked through panting breath, his voice crackling over the Beatlink like a wood fire.

Bear was mildly lost at this sentence.

“Have to what?”

“Figure out who I am.”

“Because that’s what friends do. They get to know each-other. Their tendencies, personality, likes, dislikes, pastimes, history… it’s just a part of getting to acquaint yourself with a person,” Bear explained, feeling a bit bad for asking in the first place, “For instance, I hardly know a thing about you. But I want to know because we’re friends now. You’re my friend, aren’t you, Spider?”

“We’re friends,” Spider said. There was an emotion to his voice but Bear couldn’t put a finger on what it was. It sounded like an assurance, but with a hint of bewilderment as if it were a question instead of a guarantee. Whatever it was, it didn’t say keep going.

Bear had never had a friend before, not a chosen friend, and it sounded like Spider hadn’t, either. Bear had had his little brother before, who he cared about and played with, looked after and spoke to. Wasn’t that a friend? Bear sure cared about his brother a lot and missed him dearly. It didn’t sound as if Spider had a brother. Or a sister, for that matter. Or any parents. That’s what bothered Bear: how did his new acquaintance come to be all on his lonesome like he was?

Maybe it didn’t matter. If Spider stuck around, Bear might be able to learn everything like that slowly and steadily. Right now all that mattered was guiding him to Triumvirate Drive and getting him up to that billboard. It wouldn’t be a challenge: Spider moved like a Top Fuel dragster, like a complete machine, built for the rooftops. A small climb up to a billboard wasn’t going to faze him.

The red dot on Bear’s screen was nearing said billboard at a red-hot pace. It slowed only when it was almost there and Spider skidded to a halt, probably staring up to the lit sign above him and figuring out how he was going to get up to it.

Spider found himself confronted with a grey building, a considerable amount smaller than what he usually climbed. How people couldn’t figure it out bewildered him.

Directly ahead of him were a set of 3 fan vents that stuck out slightly from the wall they were positioned on. This slight ledge was plenty foot room as far as Spider was concerned. He scrambled onto them and sneaked behind a panel to his left which left him practically inside the wall.

“Don’t you want some help?” Bear asked.

“No,” Spider replied, in a manner that wasn’t quite rude but was definitely sure.

“Alright then…”

Spider’s main area of expertise was using the MAGrope. But second to that, he was exceptionally skilled at wall-running. He liked to live up to his name as much as he could, and this skill was possibly as much like an actual spider as you could get. And he definitely did live up to his name.

A quick jump and dash later and he’d climbed onto another ledge, from where he had grabbed onto the edge of a rickety vent and was shimmying along with his hands, his legs dangling free over a (likely deadly) drop below. If Bear was here, Spider thought, he’d have been shaking in his highly-fashionable, branded sock trainers.

A few seconds later and Spider had pulled himself onto the top of the vent and was now studying a small gap in the wall at his feet, wondering whether he could fit through it. Maybe this was where the other runners had given up, deciding that they’d had one too many savoury muffins to be able to fit through such a tiny space.

Nevertheless, Spider got down on his front and stuck his head through like a curious puppy, his eyes wide, looking around at what was on the other side. He then got his arms through (with a bit of manoeuvring), and could pull his front onto the other side of the wall. He found himself on the roof of the building, underneath a metal staircase, with the back of the billboard visible only a few long paces away from him. The goal was in sight.

With a bit of wiggling and a tight squeeze, he pulled his back end through the gap and fell over himself left, right and centre trying to scurry to his feet again. With a trip and a skip and a jump, he was at the billboard, facing out over the brightly-lit Triumvirate Drive.

“I’m there!” he called, cheerily, into the Beatlink.

“Already? That easy?” Bear responded, somewhat defeatedly. It seemed to him that his being there was just a huge waste of time.

“You should see it!” Spider chirruped, scurrying on top of the board itself and plonking himself down on its edge, “Glossy! The sun is shining!”

He sounded irritatingly happy.

Bear turned his head to look over his shoulder to the room behind him at The Lair, where he saw the familiar face of Caleb, one of the other runners who had tried to climb that very billboard and given up.

“Caleb!” Bear called over to him, even though he hardly ever spoke to the guy, “Spider’s just completed the billboard hack you tried.”

Caleb gave an expression of… something. He had... an emotion. Somewhere. Maybe confusion mixed with a dash of annoyance and a sprinkle of ‘could you repeat that into my good ear?’.

“Spider? That new guy with the crazy long fangs?”

“Yes,” Bear nodded.

“The one who drinks ketchup?”

“I didn’t know he did that but it wouldn’t surprise me.”

“He got to the Triumvirate Drive billboard?”

“Correct.”

Caleb groaned.

“Of course he did,” he muttered, “That guy can do pretty much anything. I don’t care if he’s a good runner, I want him out of the cabal, and him being useful is just convincing Faith to let him stay.”

“You don’t like him?” Bear asked, visibly taken-aback. Sure, Spider was a bit of a freak (who apparently drunk ketchup out of the bottle), but he was more intriguing than unlikeable... wasn’t he?

“He freaks me out, man,” Caleb breathed, chewing on a piece of gum that Bear didn’t know he’d had in his mouth all this time, “Yesterday he was napping on the roof beams and then I saw him eat a single grape using two hands.”

Bear internally agreed that eating a grape with both hands is indeed a little strange, but he wouldn’t say that out loud. Spider was his friend – and probably listening – he didn’t want to say anything negative about him.

“Well, I like him,” Bear said.

“Of course you do,” Caleb said, turning away.

This remark didn’t seem to have much of a meaning. Was it an insult? Perhaps. Bear decided to leave Caleb and his suddenly-appearing gum alone.

“You coming back home?” he asked into the Beatlink.

“Minute,” Spider replied, flatly, “Kruger.”

“KrugerSEC is there?"

“Yes. They’re looking at me weird.”

“Just hop down and come home, Spider, they can’t hurt you as long as you don't do anything dodgy,” Bear told him, then promptly heard the thump of his friend dropping down onto the rooftops.

It didn’t take Spider long at all to get back to the Lair. Although it was a short run to Zephyr, he was still fairly tried out by the time he got there.

Bear supplied him with a beaker of water and, as he recovered on the sofa, went to tell Faith all about the little outing he’d had.

“Faith? Are you busy?” Bear inquired, poking his head around the door frame to find the head of the cabal working on her laptop.

“Not if you’re quick,” Faith replied. She’d only returned home a few minutes ago and only really wanted to relax for a while.

“Spider just completed that billboard hack nobody else could do,” Bear told her, proudly.

“That’s nice,” Faith replied, straight-faced as usual.

“Aren’t you impressed?”

“That billboard isn’t too difficult. I did it years ago. Besides, I don’t know what Spider’s capable of yet.”

“Well, I’m impressed at least,” Bear said, decidedly, and then left.

As he re-entered the other room, Bear was met with the sight of his friend tying string around all corners of the room in a sort of hexagonal pattern. How he had managed to do this in only a few minutes was a mystery.

“What’s this?” Bear asked, mystified.

“Web,” said Spider.

Chapter Text

The Lair, Zephyr Transit Hub, Glass,
6 months after Bear’s first meeting with Spider.

Wiping the sleep out of his eyes, Bear wearily flicked on the kettle in the tiny excuse of a kitchen that The Lair had, and he sighed, tiredly. He didn’t like mornings much and always rose later than everyone else, who were up and running before the sun came up.
Finding two white mugs in the cupboard, Bear poured the coffee so that there was plenty of room for milk, and listened, absent-mindedly, to the cacophony of noise from the city outside.
A train rushed by underneath the floor (as, in the transit hub, they often do) so violently it made the liquid in the cups splash over the sides.
“Spider!” Bear called, picking up the mugs, knowing that his friend would likely be around somewhere. And he was.
Spider dropped down from the ceiling like a light pull, scuttling over to collect his morning beverage with a surprising amount of energy. How he got up into the roof beams in the first place, Bear did not know.
“Morning, Spider.”
“Yes it is.”
“I gave you double coffee beans, just how you like it.”
“Thanks. What’s going down today?”
“Nothing as far as I know.”
Spider raised the mug to his mouth with both hands and took a long sip. He then seemed to realise just how hot the drink was, as he dribbled it all back into the cup. This was why Spider had his own mug, so that nobody would pick it up by accident and get an unpleasant surprise.
“Would you like to do anything?” Bear asked, completely unfazed by Spider’s strangeness. Over the last six months, he’d started to get used to his friend’s quirks and slightly gross habits.
They both started to wander into the next room to slip out of one of the large floor-to-ceiling windows and sit on the edge of the building where there were set two white plastic chairs.
“Chilling,” said Spider, simply. He was a person of very few words.
“Just hanging out?” Bear repeated, taking a seat and staring out over the city.
Being set so high, one slip on the ledge here and you’d go tumbling off the side of Zephyr. Still, it made for a great view over Glass.
“I might go for a morning run,” replied Spider, putting down his mug, which was empty. He’d either finished it very quickly or decided that he didn’t like it and poured it over the side of the building when Bear wasn’t looking.
“Running this early?”
“You coming?”
“No thanks, Spider, you go on your own. I’ve only just woken up.”
Spider nodded, stretched, got to his feet and – with a short wave – scurried off for an early-morning rooftop adventure.
“Be careful, buddy!” Bear called after him, loudly. He expected he wouldn’t see Spider back for at least another hour.
Watching him disappear, Bear took the opportunity to really take in just how much his life had changed since he met Spider.
Before, he’d felt as if he was all alone in The Lair, with Faith and the other runners coming and going without really sticking around to chat, and even when they did, they weren’t much fun. Maybe Bear even felt a bit lonely, thinking constantly about his family and how they must be suffering in the Greylands and how his brother must be missing him too. But now, this enigmatic character had crashed into his life with a pointed smile and a spark of energy. Bear’s mind was drawn away from his family and his loneliness and instead directed into figuring out this mysterious and puzzling individual.
Spider, too, had stuck around Zephyr a lot more than he had done before. He seemed to be drawn to Bear, who didn’t look down on him but rather spoke to him as he would speak to anybody else. He was a caring person, perhaps because of the years he spent looking after his little brother, and Spider seemed to like him. But you never knew with Spider.
He spoke little, expressed little about himself and showed no particular liking or distaste to anybody else aside Bear. He still disappeared now and then, never being able to stay in one place, always eager to go. Who was he? Who knows? He was a sealed scroll ready to unravel, which was Bear’s mission as of late.
Thoughtfully sipping his coffee, Bear wondered how he could possibly find out more about his new friend, as he seemed to take a dislike to questions. One thing was for sure, though: a bit of a warm friendship was beginning to develop between this unlikely duo.