Chapter Text
Let's just do this just one more time.
My name's Harley Astride Burke. I was bitten by a radioactive spider that wandered into my bedroom, and for the past two years I've been the one and only Spider-Woman. Or, better known as Starry-Spider. And, I don't think you know the rest yet. So let me hurry with that part.
I made a horrible suit to start with, I came out to my mom right before she found my suit and figured out my identity, I saved my mom, And then I saved the city. And I saved it again. And again. And so it doesn't matter how many times I'm thrown into a wall, or break a rib, or get punched in the face. I always get back up. Because I'm the only thing standing between my city and oblivion. There's only ONE Spider-Woman. And you're looking at her!
~~~~~
"Spider-Woman!" An elderly man calls out to her as she swings through the jungle of office buildings. The sound of her name being called - even if it wasn't her real one - brought a smile to her face. She knew that voice maybe a little too well now. The only man in the city that really liked her.
"Mr. Thompson!" She landed next to him, startling a pigeon or two. "What brings you to the city today?" Harley asked, doing her best to sound casual. Mr. Thompson was a nice enough older gentleman, but she couldn't help but feel a little bad for him. He was always alone and seemed to latch onto anyone who would give him the time of day.
"Just out for a walk, my dear," he said with a smile. "I always make sure to come downtown on Wednesdays. It's my little tradition."
Harley smiled back, glad that she could make his day a little brighter. "That's nice. Well, I better get going. Duty calls and all that."
"Of course, dear. Just be careful out there."
Harley gave him a wave and jumped back up onto the nearest building, shooting out a web and swinging away. She was headed to the east side of the city, where a group of thugs had been causing trouble all week. She landed on the rooftop of a nearby building and surveyed the area below.
From her vantage point, she could see a group of six men huddled together, smoking and laughing. They were all armed and dressed in black, with masks covering their faces. Harley wasn't sure what they were up to, but something told her it wasn't good.
Without hesitation, she leaped off the rooftop, landing with a thud in front of the group. They all turned to her, surprised by her sudden appearance. "What the hell is this, boys?" Harley sneered, her fists clenched at her sides. "I thought I told you to clear out of here."
One of the men stepped forward, brandishing a knife. "We don't take orders from you, Spider-Bitch."
Harley didn't flinch. She had heard worse from these types before. "Suit yourself," she said, before launching herself at them.
The fight was quick and brutal. Harley used her speed and agility to dodge the men's attacks, while also delivering powerful blows. She kicked one of them in the stomach, causing him to double over in pain. As he fell to the ground, she webbed his hands together, rendering him immobile. Another thug charged at her with a bat, but she sidestepped him and webbed the bat to his hand, making him unable to let go of it.
Harley was in her element. Each punch and kick delivered with precision and purpose. She was unstoppable. Until she heard a voice behind her.
"Well, well, well. Look what we have here."
Harley turned to see the leader of the group, a tall man with a scar running down his cheek, standing behind her with a gun pointed at her head. She raised her hands in surrender, knowing that one wrong move could mean the end of her.
"Didn't your mommy ever tell you not to play with guns?" Harley said with a smirk, trying to defuse the situation.
The man just laughed. "You're funny. But you won't be laughing for long." He pulled the trigger.
Harley closed her eyes and braced for impact. But nothing happened. She opened her eyes to see the gun smoking in the man's hand, the bullet lodged harmlessly in her webbing.
She smiled. "Nice try, but you'll have to do better than that."
The man growled and charged at her, but Harley was ready. She dodged his attack and shot a web at his feet, causing him to trip and fall. She quickly webbed his hands together before he could get up.
The rest of the thugs had been taken care of, so Harley made her way back to the police station to drop off the criminals. As she swung through the city, she couldn't help but feel a rush of excitement. This was what she was meant to do. To protect the people of her city and make it a safer place.
~~~~~
Landing on the metal platform, she slid the window to her bedroom open quietly. With a quick glance around to make sure her mom wasn't watching, she slipped into the room.
She made her way over to her dresser and pulled out her pajamas, feeling a sense of relief wash over her. It was always a good feeling to be back in her civilian clothes after a long night of crime fighting. She just wanted to take a long shower and crawl into bed.
"Harley, is that you?" Her mom's voice called out from down the hall.
Harley froze, her heart racing. She had to think of an excuse, and fast.
"Yeah, it's me, Mom. I just got back from a late study group," she said, hoping she sounded convincing enough.
"Oh, okay. I'll see you in the morning then."
Harley breathed a sigh of relief as she heard her mom's footsteps fade away. She quickly changed into her pajamas and headed to the bathroom. She turned on the shower and let the warm water wash away the grime and sweat from her night of fighting crime.
As she let the water run over her, she couldn't help but think about how different her life had become since being bitten by that spider. She was no longer just a normal teenager, but a superhero with a responsibility to protect her city. It was a heavy burden to bear, but she wouldn't have it any other way.
She turned off the water and wrapped herself in a towel, stepping out of the shower. Suddenly, she heard a noise coming from her bedroom. She tensed up, ready for a fight. But as she crept towards the door, she heard something that made her heart stop.
"Harley? Is that you?" It was a man's voice - one she knew all too well.
She opened the door slowly, her hand hovering over her web shooter. But what she saw made her stop in her tracks.
Standing in the middle of her room was a man she had never seen before. He was tall and muscular, with a head full of curly black hair. He was wearing a tight-fitting black shirt, blue jeans, and some sort of strange metal backpack. Weird. She didn't see any straps holding it there.
"Who are you?" Harley asked, trying to keep her voice steady.
The man turned to her, a look of surprise on his face. "Oh, shit. You must be Spider-Woman. I didn't think you'd be a chick."
Harley bristled at the comment, but kept her cool. "That's me. And you are?"
The man gave her a crooked smile. "Name's Max. Max Davenport."
Harley had never heard of him before. "What are you doing in my room, Max?"
Max looked around the room, almost as if he were searching for something. "I was looking for something to drink. Your kitchen is kind of a mess, by the way."
Harley frowned. "That doesn't explain why you're in my room."
Max shrugged. "Sorry. I didn't forget why I was here. Trust me." He chuckled, shaking his head. From his weird metal 'backpack' extended four long mechanical arms, propping him up off the floor. "Don't take this personal, kid."
Harley yelled and fired a web at the strange man's head. But Max caught her wrist in his hand and threw her across the room, slamming her into the wall. Falling to the ground, Harley's ears were filled with the sound of mechanical whirring and clicking. She could see four metal tentacles moving towards her. With a surge of adrenaline, she fired a web at each one of them, freezing them in place.
"I see you've met my little friend, Legs. She's quite handy, isn't she?" Max said, as he bashed his fists together.
"I'm going to fucking kill you, Max," Harley growled, fighting to get back to her feet.
"Sorry, kid. But I can't let you do that. I've come too far. And don't call me that name. It's not my real one. Call me.. Doc Ock." He lunged at her, swinging one of his metal tentacles at her head. She ducked and grabbed his arm, using her momentum to flip him over her shoulder. But before she could react, another tentacle stabbed into her side, sending her falling to the ground in pain.
He laughed. "Sorry, kid. I gotta stop you from interfering with my plans."
Harley looked up to see the man - this Doc Ock - holding his mechanical arms towards her, preparing to strike again. "What plans? What is going on?"
"Sorry, but I'm not at liberty to discuss that with you. But know this. You are a dangerous threat to the world. And I can't let you live."
He began advancing towards her. She was still weak from his last attack, and she knew she didn't have the strength to take him down. She was starting to think that maybe this Doc Ock character was right. She had been acting irresponsibly, and she was putting innocent people in danger. Maybe it was time to hang up the costume and focus on her schoolwork.
She closed her eyes, preparing for a blow from the hard metal tentacles. But instead, she heard a bang, like metal against skin. She blinked her eyes open and looked up to see Doc Ock laying on the ground, and her mother standing over him with a frying pan in her hand.
"Mom?" She was stunned.
"Are you okay, Harley?" her mother asked, offering her a hand.
"Yeah. Yeah, I think so. Thanks for the save." She took her mother's hand and stood up. She looked over to see that the Doc Ock had taken the opportunity to escape.
Without saying a word, her mother walked over to her and hugged her tight. Harley could feel the warmth of her mother's body, and the softness of her mother's hair against her face. Tears started to form in her eyes, but she fought them back. She was a superhero now. And superheroes didn't cry.
"Are you okay?" her mother asked. "He didn't do anything to you, did he?"
Harley shook her head. "No, Mom. He just wanted to hurt me. He said he's not my friend."
Her mother pulled away, her eyes full of concern. "Well, we'll figure that out later," her mother said firmly. "Right now, let's get you cleaned up and checked out by a doctor. You took a pretty hard blow."
Harley nodded, still reeling from the events of the night. As she followed her mother out of her room, she couldn't help but think about the words of Doc Ock. He had called her a threat to the world, and she couldn't shake the feeling that he might be right.
After getting checked out by a doctor and making sure she was okay, Harley spent the next few days deep in thought. Was she really doing the right thing by being a superhero? Was she causing more harm than good? She knew she had to talk to someone about her doubts, but who?
As she sat in her room, she heard a familiar voice outside her window. "Hey, Harley? Mind if I come in?"
Harley looked over to see her favorite person in the world, and the prettiest person, Petra, climbing in through the window. Her beloved. "Hey, Petra..."
Petra could immediately tell something was off with Harley. "Is everything okay, love? You seem upset."
Harley let out a sigh. "I don't know, Petra. I've been thinking a lot lately." She couldn't tell her about her second life. About the constant threat of death and the mask she wore out on the streets after school.
"What have you been thinking about?" Petra asked, sitting down next to her on the bed.
Harley hesitated, unsure of how much to reveal. "Just..my future. What I want to do with my life. I don't know if being a.. uhm, the student body president, is the right thing for me."
Petra looked at her with concern. "Why do you say that?"
Harley shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe I'm not cut out for it. Maybe I'm not doing enough good. Maybe I'm causing more harm than good."
Petra put her arm around Harley's shoulder. "Harley, you are one of the most amazing people I know. You have a heart of gold, and you're always willing to help others. Don't doubt yourself. You're doing great things."
Harley leaned her head on Petra's shoulder, feeling comforted by her words. "Thanks, Petra. I needed to hear that."
Petra smiled and kissed the top of Harley's head. "Anytime, love. I'm always here for you."
Harley felt a rush of emotion. Petra was always there for her, no matter what. She realized that she needed to be honest with Petra, to tell her the truth about her secret identity.
Maybe with Petra's help, she could work through her doubts and fears.
Taking a deep breath, Harley looked up at her beloved. "Petra," She hesitated. "Uh, I love you."
Petra smiled. "I love you too, Harley. Why do you say that?"
Again, Harley hesitated. Maybe she wasn't ready to tell the truth. But Petra deserved the truth. "I love you, Petra. And I want you to know that I'm not always the most confident person. I have my doubts, my insecurities. And I feel like I'm not measuring up to my own standards."
Petra smiled. "That doesn't surprise me, Harley. You're just as human as the rest of us. But remember, you can have your doubts, but in the end, you still have to be true to yourself. You have to be honest about who you are and what you want. And you want to do good, and to help others. And that's what you're doing. I'm proud of you."
Harley smiled. "Thanks, Petra. That means a lot to me."
Petra leaned in and gave Harley a soft kiss on the lips. "I'm always here for you, Harley. No matter what."
Harley felt a wave of relief wash over her. She had been holding onto this secret for too long, and maybe one day, soon, she would tell Petra. She knew that they would face challenges together, but with Petra by her side, she felt like she could take on anything.
As they sat there together, Harley couldn't help but think about the future. She didn't know what it held, but she knew that with Petra by her side, she could face anything that came their way. She was ready to take on the world, one step at a time.