Chapter Text
“Please welcome Taylor Hebert, your newest classmate.”
Peter looked over the new girl as he sat next to Gwen in the science labs. The new girl’s curly black hair flowed in waves over her back, her glasses doing nothing to hide her dull brown eyes that surveyed the room as the room surveyed her. She wore a black jacket, jeans, and a gray shirt with a graphic of a spider in the process of crawling up her chest towards her right shoulder. The arm that was missing a hand and half an arm, Peter realized, as he noticed the jacket arm tied off halfway down. She also had two dimples visible just over the bridge of her nose, and Peter thought the birthmark was rather strange. Peter couldn’t help but draw similarities between her and Dr. Connors, and not just because of the arm. They both held a presence as they entered a room, as though they owned everything inside and just had to figure out how to arrange them
just right
.
A fly landed on Peter’s arm and his Spider Sense went wild.
Something was wrong, was there a villain here at the school? When nothing exploded and he heard no screams, he came back to the present and realized Taylor Hebert was now sitting on the opposite side of Gwen, where Harry used to sit. The woman seemed stoic, incredibly so, and she barely even looked at him before opening the book and turning to the page the teacher was now rattling off.
The Spider Sense was only getting worse. What was going on?
The class persisted, and the Spider Sense was consistently strong. Not stronger, not weaker, never absent. So lost in his paranoia, Peter almost missed the class getting up and leaving, the new girl especially. Something in him told Peter that she was the danger, the same thoughts that had warned him about the symbiote, and that if he wasn’t careful he could be in serious trouble. As Taylor left, Gwen followed, the two of them chatting about something Peter couldn’t hear. As if to validate the concerns, as soon as Peter got out of range of Gwen and Taylor, his Spider Sense deactivated.
Who was this girl?
“Hey gimp! Catch!”
Gwen watched as Taylor caught the bottle of water and calmly placed it in the locker she’d been assigned. Liz and Sally appeared shocked mid giggle, and Gwen sneered. If she’d had the power to do anything she would have, but no one snitched on the popular kids and had it go the right way. Either they’d say they hadn’t done it and it was their word against yours, or even if there was irrefutable proof, there would be no punishment because those kids were the “shining stars of Midtown.” It made Gwen sick.
Taylor turned to the women and spoke flatly, as though nothing had just transpired.
“You should keep your mouth shut, never know when a fly will just happen to fly down your throat.”
She left the now sputtering women to head into the gym, and Gwen did her best not to gape. Taylor was gonna be in for a rough first day if that was how she handled conflict, but god it was good to see the bullies on the backfoot for once.
As expected, as soon as everyone made it onto the gym floor, Liz and Sally made their way over to Flash and the other guys, whispering and making gestures towards Taylor. Scowling, Flash and the rest of the football team in this block of gym, which consisted of three other guys, made their way towards Taylor, who sat on the benches, observing them. The whole class stopped to watch the altercation as the four boys stopped in front of Taylor, who barely looked at them.
“Hey! New girl!” At least Flash had the decency not to call her out on her disability. Taylor put down the book she’d been pretending to read and stood, and Gwen marveled at how tall the girl was. She was as tall as Flash, with shoulders nearly as broad.
“What do you want?” The new girl’s voice was as flat as her expression, and Gwen didn’t miss how her single hand was curled into a fist. Gwen blinked, and between one moment and the next, Flash was on the floor from a strike to the junior football star’s throat. He rolled and gasped as the other three men stood in shock. Gwen and the rest of the class were similarly in shock, not even having seen the senior move.
“Just remember, you started this.”
This time, the voice was cold, and Gwen shivered involuntarily. The three boys still standing charged at the girl and she moved like she already knew their strikes before they even threw them. Ducking, weaving, and dodging punches, each boy went down with single strikes to each of their throats. In moments, she was the only one standing, and the teacher finally moved into action, blowing his whistle.
“Hebert! Office, now!”
Without even a nod of understanding, Taylor turned and exited towards the locker rooms, taking her discarded book with her.
What the fuck just happened?
I sighed as I entered the principal’s office, trying to at least appear repentant. By the glare I got from the older man I assumed I didn’t do a very good job. He gestured to the seat in front of his desk and I sat, flashbacks to Blackwell passing through my mind for just barely a moment. I half expected the wounded parties to be brought back in to say their piece, to simply steamroll over my explanations and be given the slap on the wrist for something they started. That didn’t happen. Instead, the principal, who’s name I didn’t even care to remember, crossed his arms and leaned back.
“Miss Hebert, you leave me in a difficult situation. Your first day here and already you’re getting into fights and injuring other classmates. I think you should take the rest of the day off and think about your actions. I’ve already called your sister and she should be here shortly.”
I rolled my eyes and leaned back in my own chair, affecting the petty teenager I was supposed to be. I’d tagged my “sister” as soon as she’d entered the building, and she was eagerly making her way towards me. Within five minutes, the door opened, and emerald green eyes and a Cheshire grin greeted my eyes.
“Come on squirt, sounds like you and I need to have a talk.”