Chapter Text
Catra hated this class. It was so fucking boring. It was BIO 101, why was she here. She was an English major, it’s not like she’d ever even use anything from this stupid class anyways. Etheria University required all freshmen to take a class considered a “First-Year Class,” and since this one took care of her natural science Gen Ed. requirement, Catra had signed up for it, hoping to kill two birds with one stone. At least one of her roommates had the same section of this class. Entrapta might look like she was sleeping through class, but Catra knew that she always aced the tests anyways. If Hordak said anything important today she could just ask at the study session tomorrow night.
Catra could feel her focus fading, and she closed her eyes for just a minute. She’d rest her eyes a little, and then get back to doodling in her notebook.
“... three most common orders of Class Arachnida are Order Araneae - the order of Arachnida you’re likely most familiar with, Spiders, Order Acari - Mites, and Order Scorpiones - Scorpions.” Hordak said.
Catra groaned internally. She had fallen asleep, and now had no idea what in the hell Hordak was talking about. Looks like she’d be spending her night studying. Again. A shrill alarm split the air, and interrupted Catra’s train of thought. Hordak jumped, actually jumped, and shuffled through his pockets before finding his phone and disabling the alarm.
“Crap, that’s all the time we have today. Remember, tomorrow we have a site visit to the Prime Labs. You can bring your phones, if you want, but you’ll have to sign an NDA to do so. If anybody shares anything you see inside, you’ll probably be expelled or something, and I’ll have to do paperwork.”
“Hey ‘Trapta, wake up, class is over.” Catra shook Entrapta’s shoulder gently.
“Mmm hmmm?” Entrapta said as she lifted her head and blinked rapidly.
“Lunchtime with Scorp over in Plumeria.”
“Oh, right! They have the miniature soups I love! They’re just so cute.” Entrapta perked right up, and grabbed her bag. She hadn’t even opened it all class.
“So, who’s your favorite superhero?” Scorpia asked between bites of her sandwich.
“Hmmm. Probably Major Wind. Her abilities to create miniature cyclones is fascinating! There’s just so much about weather that we still don’t understand, perhaps by studying her powers we can gain new insights into the formation of such weather patterns!”
“What about you Catra, who’s your favorite superhero?”
“Oh, I dunno, I’m not really that big a fan of superheroes. They’re all like way older than us anyways, so I never kept track,” Catra said.
“C’mon Catra, surely you’ve got one superhero you like.”
“Nope, although, I can tell you one superhero I dislike. Light Spinner was a bitch. I met her once in middle school. Total jackass,” Catra said as she finished her drink.
Catra took her time walking about Prime Labs. She was careful to not fall behind the tour, but made certain she got a good look at the stuff that interested her. Without the tour guide guiding what she looked at, thank you very much. She wasn’t certain why, but she definitely didn’t trust their tour guide - who bore an uncanny resemblance to their TA, Hordak - to allow an unbiased view of everything she saw.
The tour guide, whose name tag read Wrong Hordak- seriously, who names their kid that- was talking about some of the experiments they were running with spiders. Catra sighed. she had better at least look like she was trying to pay attention now. This was what they were here to learn about anyways.
“... Our experiments here have been mostly centered around the amazing webs of orb weaver spiders. We hope to learn how to replicate their strengths for our own benefits. Just imagine, a climbing rope as thin as a necklace, but as strong as steel. Picture a bike lock that weighs virtually nothing!”
Yeah, it was a load of marketing bullshit, of course. Catra tried to at least look focused, but she couldn’t help it. It was all so boring. Her eyes started to wander, and then she felt a sharp pain on the back of her hand.
Sitting there, smug as could be, was a tiny little spider. It had a black body with metallic green fangs and white markings on its back. Before Catra could do anything, it jumped off into the lab and out of sight. Thanks to Entrapta’s flash card session last night, she recognized it as a Daring Jumping Spider. Fortunately, she also knew that their bites were not only rare, but usually pretty much harmless.
For a minute, Catra considered telling Wrong Hordak a jumping spider had bitten her. But she remembered that he had just mentioned that they were working with orb weaver spiders, not jumping spiders, so this probably wasn’t an escaped specimen. Besides, for some reason, she got the feeling that she shouldn’t tell him.
The tour continued for some time, although Catra found it difficult to pay attention. That spider bite throbbed painfully, which made it even harder for her to focus than the boring material did. She decided to get Entrapta to look at it when they got back to the dorm. She might be able to tell if anything was off, or at least make something for it.
Another lab tech, one who also bore an unnerving resemblance to Hordak, approached Wrong Hordak. Catra couldn’t make out whatever it was he said, but it must have been really bad, because Wrong Hordak paled further than Catra thought possible for someone already so pale. Wrong Hordak cut the tour off early, visibly flustered.
“Come on this way folks, unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances we will be ending this tour early.”
As they were leaving, Catra saw him hit an alarm on their way out, but it didn’t sound while they were still inside. Man she really didn’t feel good. What the hell was in that spider venom?
Catra had trouble sleeping that night. Either she was too cold, or she was too hot. She had a fever and the chills. She felt sick to her stomach too. Catra tossed and turned all night long. By the time the sun came up, Catra was still awake. She only barely crawled out of bed to send an email to her professors, explaining that she was too sick to come in today, and curled back up in her bed.
At one point in the day Scorpia came by to see how she was feeling.
“Wildcat? Are you okay in there?”
“Just peachy Scorpia. And don’t call me Wildcat. It’s probably just a little stomach bug,” Catra lied.
“Right, right, okay Catra. I’ll be back in a few hours to see how you’re doing.”
Why couldn’t Scorpia just give her space. She was sick, she just wanted to be alone. It was a weird kind of sick, she did not want anyone to see her like this.
Things got weirder when she tried to get up. Her hands were stuck to her blanket. Catra shook her hands violently. They did not get loose.
“What the fuck? What’s going on?”
Catra tried to stand up, but she tripped over the blanket and pitched face first into the wall. She jumped back, finally freeing herself from the blanket, but she had jumped much further than she had intended. Catra had managed to jump, and because it wasn’t enough already, stick herself to the ceiling of her dorm room.
She could hear Entrapta and Scorpia talking down the hall. Oh boy this was bad, she had somehow managed to alert them. She had to get down somehow, she couldn’t let them see her stuck to the ceiling. What would they think? Would they be mad? Hurt, that she hadn’t told them she had superpowers?
The door opened, revealing Entrapta holding a lockpick in one hand and a tray of mini-soups in the other. Behind Entrapta stood a very nervous Scorpia, chewing on her fingernails.
“Oh, hello Catra,” Entrapta said.
Shit.
“So, just to make sure I have everything straight, you were bitten by a strange spider while on the site visit to Prime Labs, didn’t report it to anyone, started to feel bad really quickly, didn’t sleep all of last night because you were feeling symptoms typical for victims of the Daring Jumping Spider, and now you can stick to things,” Entrapta said.
“Yes, pretty much.”
“Wait, you guys got to go on a field trip? Man, I wish I took that class. I haven’t been on a field trip in ages.”
“It wasn’t a field trip Scorpia, it was a site visit,” Entrapta said.
“It was pretty lame anyways, Scorp, you didn’t miss much.”
“Yes, it was quite disappointing, current circumstances notwithstanding.”
“Well, do you have any other superpowers? Ooh can you fly? Do you have invisibility, or super speed?” Scorpia asked.
“It’s not a superpower Scorpia, my hands stick to things and I can’t get them to come loose! Which is why I’m still stuck to the fucking ceiling!”
“It’s a superpower, Catra,” Entrapta said while tapping away at a tablet she pulled from somewhere, “besides, I believe she does also possess super strength now, unless you mean to tell us that jumping up to the ceiling like that is normal for you?”
“A fat lot of good it's doing me, as I still can’t get my hands off the ceiling.”
“Just try breathing, Wildcat. In for two, out for four,” Scorpia said.
“How the fuck is breathing supposed to help with my hands being stuck to the ceiling?”
“Well, it seems like this may be a response to your body feeling stressed. When you hit the wall and jumped up, your heart rate would have spiked and adrenaline would have flooded your system as your flight-or-fight response kicked in. It’s entirely possible that attempting to slow your heart rate through breathing would allow you to unstick.”
“Okay, I’ll try it. Anything’s better than staying stuck up here,” said Catra.
“Alright, breathe with me Wildcat. In for two, out for four. In for two, out for four.”
“Not helping, Scorpia. Just let me focus.”
Catra closed her eyes and gave a ragged exhale. In for two, out for four. Catra let the world fade away, and just focused on her breathing. In for two, out for four. She was fine, she was safe in her apartment, with both of her roommates nearby. In for two, out for four. She was safe.
One finger popped off the wall, but Catra kept her eyes closed and focused on her breathing. In for two, out for four. As she continued, her pulse lowered and her breathing steadied. A second finger came unstuck. In for two, out for four. This method was actually working pretty well, she’d have to thank Scorpia for it. In for two, out for four.
As she began to feel a third finger come loose, all of a sudden, Catra dropped from the ceiling and back onto her bed.
“Huh. That actually worked pretty well, for just breathing in and out,” she said. “Thanks, Scorpia.”
Catra sat on the roof of her dorm building, legs kicking off the edge. She’d always loved getting into places where she maybe shouldn’t be as a kid, and she still did. Turns out having superstrength, and the ability to stick to walls, made doing so much easier.
It was peaceful up here. No roommates to pester her, no idiot down the hall trying to make thermite, just Catra and her thoughts. She definitely liked it here. Catra breathed deeply, enjoying the night air.
What was she going to do with her powers? That question had haunted her throughout the day. Entrapta and Scorpia were obviously very much in favor of her going out and becoming a superhero. How was that fair to her? She had college to worry about, and getting a job before next semester, unless Entrapta or Scorpia had a hidden nest egg they hadn’t yet mentioned somehow and were also willing to part with so she could pay rent. Catra didn’t have the time to be a superhero.
Shit, she was seriously considering this, wasn’t she. Even despite all the factors stacked against it, she was still considering becoming a superhero.
It’s what she would want her to do anyways. With a sigh, Catra stood up and walked over to the edge. She hopped off, sticking herself to the side of the building and making her way down.
Entrapta owed her a crate of the lime chili shrimp ramen for this one.