Chapter Text
Gregory scrunches his eyes shut as he's suddenly yanked out of sleep, groaning loudly as the shrill sound of music assaults his ears.
He peels his eyelids open, blinded momentarily by sunlight, as he reaches for his phone, which is blasting Ghostbusters. The call UI for Cassies contact is on screen.
He fumbles to answer with one hand, bringing the phone up to his mouth with half-lidded eyes. "Hello?"
"Gregory!" Cassie shouts on the other end of the call. "Where the heck are you?! The campus visit is in like, an hour!"
Instantly, Gregory's eyes shoot open.
"Crap!" He fights his way out of the covers, immediately stumbling to his basket full of clean clothes on the floor of his room he's too lazy to put up. "I, uh-- I--"
"You forgot to set an alarm and overslept?" Cassie sighs through the phone. "You're lucky you have a best friend as good as me. Get your butt up and ready and meet me outside Hurricane, I already picked up your usual from the Pizzaplex."
Gregory exhales a sigh of relief at knowing he wont be touring the school he's been trying to get into (alongside Cassie, of course) for the first time on an empty stomach. "Thanks, Cassie. You're a lifesaver."
"Yeah, I know." Cassie says, sounding self-satisfied. "Now hurry up already or we're gonna be late!"
Gregory rushes around his room, getting tangled up in his jeans and grabbing his backpack. He keeps his phone with him as he brushes his teeth, offering muffled replies to Cassies chattering with his toothbrush in his mouth.
The two of them have spent the past couple months watching Hurricane High like a hawk, it quickly gaining the status of their dream school. Gregory hates to say it, but he and Cassie are nerds. Cassies a hardware nerd, more into tech and engineering, and Gregory is a software nerd, preffering lines of code and the computer side of things.
The school would be a great opportunity for them, giving them a school with a good reputation on their names, alongside providing them with funding for their work, because man is it hard to keep up with your hobbies when you collaborate on building homemade robots, and all you have is an allowance.
Theyve been waiting for this campus tour with bated breath for weeks, and here Gregory is, almost sleeping through it.
He leaves his house without saying goodbye, his Dad and work and Vanessa out somewhere. Shes been distant, lately, and Gregory hasnt had the time to be worried, with all of this chaos surrounding Hurricane High and meeting the qualifications before the end of the Summer.
"Took you long enough." Cassie says despondentanly when Gregory finally arrives, huffing with exertion from sprinting halfway across the city. She hands him his pulled pork sandwich, and he rips open the wrapping, scarfing it down. "All that planning the last couple months and we still almost blow it."
"Relax, Cassie." Gregory talks around his food. "We've got this. We're gonna get there on time, see all of the cool inventions, get ourselves a good word in and boom, were basically already enrolled."
Cassie mutters something about admiring his confidence, then they arrive right there at the entrance.
The school is even more imposing in person than it was in the pictures and in the distance when Gregory would pass it in the city. Theres almost a halo of light around it, despite the cloudy day.
All Gregory can think of while looking at it is that it feels like a sign. He has a good feeling about today, and when he looks over at Cassie, she turns to him and has a sparkle in her eye that tells she feels the same way.
Gregory grins, finishing up his sandwich and tossing it in the garbage bin beside him at the stairs, and he bolts up the steps, heading towards his future.
"A virtual augmented reality headset!" Cassie shouts beside him, an awed look on her face. She darts around the students booth, eyeing the impressive setup the headset requires to function. "No way you already developed one! They're basically brand new!"
The kid at the booth laughs, a warm inviting kind of way. "That's exactly why I picked it." He responds. "Never back down from a challenge, you know?"
Cassie nods, and Gregory chuckles. "Tell that to the scorch mark in my backyard."
"Can I test it out?" Cassie asks the kid, looking increasingly restless to reach out and touch the smooth off-white surface of the headset. "I mean-- if its okay?"
"Totally!" The kid replies. "That's what all the booths here are for. So people like you guys can check out the crowd."
Cassie and the kid share a few more words as the kid leaves the booth to set her up with the headset, but Gregory isnt listening. He's distracted by the sight of a small, black spot in the middle distance decending from the sky, right above Cassies hand, and his brain only registers what it is too late.
"Cassie--" Gregory rushes out. "Hey--"
"Ouch!" Cassie shouts in pain, the spider scurrying along her skin. She yelps at the sight of it, going as white as a ghost. "Oh my god--! Get it off get it off of me!"
Gregory steps forward, going to slap the thing off of her hand, but before he can, the spider jumps ship, landing on him.
He let's out an embarrassing yell, shaking his hand vigorously when he feels its tiny insect legs crawling around on his skin. He flails around, and Cassie goes to help, but hes already feeling the sharp pain of a bite on his hand.
He hisses, letting out his own noise of pain, and through all of the commotion, Cassie finally gets ahold of his wrist, forcing it steady as she whacks the thing.
It drops off of his hand, and he huffs out a breath. The spider scuttles away on the ground below them, two of its legs crooked and twisted. It has an abnormal color and shape on its back that Gregory has never seen before-- but he doesnt have enough time to dwell on it before the thing is already out of sight.
Theres two pinpricks on his skin, right below his index fingers knuckle. Its red and angry, but it fades into almost becoming invisible as Gregory keeps looking at it.
"Oh my god!" Cassie squeals, staring at her own bite. "Was that a black widow, or something?! Are we gonna get poisoned and die?!"
"I don't know," Gregory tells her. The bite stung at first, but by now, even though only seconds have passed, the pain is almost gone entirely. "I mean, it doesnt really hurt anymore, so..."
The kid at the booth clears his throat, and Gregory jerks to look at him, feeling embarrassed over him having watched him thrash around like an idiot over a stupid spider.
"Thanks for wanting to check out my headset and all, but... your tour guides are kinda leaving."
Gregory freezes, and he whirls around, the adults leading them around the school getting further away. He catches wind of the conversation, picking up the keyword lab.
He meets eyes with Cassie, and they both stare at eachother for a long moment before darting after the group, excitement thrumming in his veins from the promise of seeing what they really came here for. Rushing out thanks to the kid behind them, they head to the labs, with all the tools and parts and computers theyd ever need, spider bites forgotten.
By that evening, the spider bite has completely left Cassies mind.
She got distracted by her excitement, and well-- nothing really happened after the bite. She hadn't felt dizzy, or pain, or sick, or anything. Itd just been that; a spider bite, the same level of inconvenience as a mosquito. So shed treated it like so.
But she doesnt even remember it happened until shes forced to.
Shes home alone, in her empty house and no father in sight, because he keeps running off on account of work trips and business ventures and leaving her alone for days at a time with nothing but emergency money and a sticky note.
She tries not to feel too bitter about it; it's old news at this point, and Gregory stays away any of the loneliness in her life anyway. Still, itd-- itd be nice to have a father who cared.
Shes in the living room, lights dimmed and a movie that came on by itself on the TV. She finds herself getting sucked in pretty quick, so she goes to the kitchen to grab some fruit from the fridge.
That's when it starts. She grabs at the fridge handle, and stumbles back in suprise when it breaks clean off, clamped firmly in her hand.
She stares at it for a second. Okay-- that's fine. It's an old fridge, it's normal for handles to break off of old fridges, right?
But then she tries to put it down, and unwrap her fingers around it, and it wont budge. It's like its fused to her skin; like if she'd accidentally spilled glue on fabric and faux hair.
She starts to get panicked, her breathing picking up in the empty, quiet kitchen. She furrows her brows, feeling confusion and adrenaline all at once as she shakes her hand around, the handle not moving an inch, sticking to her skin when theres nothing keeping it there.
She stumbles back, her sides hitting her sink. She starts to break a sweat, her body temperature rising rapidly. She let's out a noise, her face suddenly feeling on fire.
Anxiety curls in her stomach as she rushes to turn around in a panic, bending over the edge of her sink. She reaches to turn on the faucet, trying to splash cold water on her face, anything to stop feeling like she'll pass out from a heat stroke, but then her other hand is attatching itself to the faucet handle, and to her shock, she accidentally rips it out of the entire sink.
She let's out a hysteric yelp, stumbling backwards. The objects attached to her hands for a reason she cannot place clatter against the kitchen, and the fridge handle knocks over the trash can, empty wrappers and old food spilling out onto the floor.
She inches backwards, then starts running. She head for the stairs, which lead to her room, and her phone. She has no idea what to do-- but she thinks she needs to call someone. Anyone at all.
She bursts through her door, breathing erratic as she makes a beeline for her phone. She nudges her favorite build-a-bear out of the way; a gray wolf with purple zebra print paws, one she got during a mall trip with Gregory, and watches in horror as one of its limbs gets ripped off, attached to her skin like the rest.
She speed dials the first number she can reach on her phone, fumbling with it in her hands in a panic. She balances it on top of the various other items fused to her so it doesnt get stuck. The dial sound feels like it goes on for hours until Gregory picks up.
"Gregory!" Cassie shouts, her voice panicked. "I need your help-- Ijustwenttothekitchentogetasnackbutthenmyfridgehandlebrokeoffandisstucktomyhandandthenthesamethinghappenedwithmysinkwhenisuddenlygotsuperhotandihavenoideawhatsgoingon--!"
"Woah, hey--" Gregory interrupts. "Hang on-- did you say sticking to stuff? Feeling like you're on fire?"
"Yes!" Cassie responds, shrill.
"Okay," Gregory replies, "because the exact same thing is happening to me right now at this moment."
Cassie sputters out a wordless bout of shock. "What the heck do we do?!"
"Um-- we need to meet up," Gregory says. "Becuse I kinda need your help right now."
"Why?" Cassie is almost afraid to ask.
"I'm kind of... attached to my bathtub and I think if I move an inch itll rip the plumbing out of the wall."
Cassie stares in shock, a moment of silence passing between them. "...I'll be right there." She eventually replies. "Are--"
"Dad isnt home yet, and neither is Vanessa." Gregory says. "Now can you please hurry, because I'm getting tired standing like this and my dad really cant afford to fix the bathroom."
"Im-- I'm coming." Cassie says, stumbling to her feet awkwardly because of her current... state. Gregory says a reply, then Cassies hightailing it to Gregory's house not too far from her own. She stumbles inside his house after fumbling with the lock and ignoring the strange looks sent her way from people on the street, heading for the bathroom on the bottom floor. "Gregory?" She calls, knocking clumsily, the items currently velcroed to her clattering against the door. "You in there?"
"Yeah." Gregory replies, sounding just as freaked out as cassie. "We need to figure out how to get this stuff off of us like, now."
"Can I come in?" Cassie asks, pausing for a moment before "Or are you--"
"No I'm not." Gregory almost snaps. "Just come in, its unlocked."
Cassie reluctantly peeks through the door, relieved to only see Gregory sitting on the edge of the tub, arm positioned uncomfortably behind him stuck to the faucet. He twists his neck, peeking over his shoulder at her. "Please help."
"How am I supposed to help you if I dont even have any idea what's going on?!" Cassie asks, entering the room and wincing when the fridge handle gets stuck in the doorway and she has to reposition it. It reminds her of those cute dog videos, where a puppy will try and bring a big stick stuck inside its mouth inside the house, but it's too wide for the door. She huffs, walking to the bathtub. "This is getting really annoying."
"My back is about to snap in half." Gregory comments miserably. "Okay, we need to brainstorm; how on earth do we get this stuff off of us?"
"You're asking me?!" Cassie furrows her brows, clenching her hands. "Look, maybe we just need to like, calm down first, clear our heads, you know?"
Gregory opens his mouth to reply, but before he can, a soft thump echoes through the bathroom. Gregory's eyes dart downwards, and Cassie follows his gaze, seeing the arm of her build-a-bear sitting unassuming on the floor.
Not attached to her hand.
"How did you do that?" Gregory asks desperately. "It just came off!"
"I-- I have no idea!" Cassie cries, looking at the empty spot on her hand. "Maybe it's a keyword or something?"
Gregory shakes his head. "All you said was to be calm." He says, but his words start to trail off at the end of his sentence, his eyes widening.
Cassie freezes, and Gregory does the same. They meet eyes, staring at eachother for a long moment.
"Relax your body," He says hurriedly. "Try and calm yourself down!"
Cassie jerks a nod, shutting her eyes. She thinks she might be trying too hard, but she imagines a relaxing beach like they do in the movies, or a grassy field with flowers and a big tree, or something.
She evens out her breathing, and her eyes shoot open when she hears another sound, this time a clatter. She looks at her hands, and the fridge handle is off of her hand, on the floor.
Gregory reels his arm back, a caught breath of relief in his throat. He stretches, and at the same time, the faucet handle drops off of her hand too.
She flexes her fingers in suprise, and Gregory smiles at her in relief.
"We..." He trails off. "kinda did a number on our places, huh?"
Cassie nods. "I dont think I'll be able to use cold water from my kitchen sink again."
"My bedside table is split in half, and I think I might have cracked my phone screen." Gregory says.
Cassie slides to the floor, her back hitting the wall. "What the heck just happened to us?" She asks breathlessly. "I thought I was about to die when I was at home, I seriously felt like I was on fire!"
Gregory nods, leaning over the edge of the tub with his elbows on his knees. "Sticking to stuff, ripping stuff out of walls, breaking things we should never be able to break..." He glances up at her. "Did we get superpowers? Like-- like Superman or something?"
"No..." Cassie tries to say, but then she thinks about it, and isnt so sure.
It sounds like something that should only exist in fiction; Superman is from a comic book, and so is every other superhero, only in movies and TV shows and most important of all, made up.
But she thinks about all of those origin stories, when the hero would first get those flowers and theyd be freaking out, usually alone, wreaking havoc before they get a handle on things. She thinks about how those powers always come from somewhere, somewhere the hero originally thought unassuming.
She thinks about her panic earlier in the day over a spider bite from a spider that was made up of abnormal colors and shiny black, and it hits her in that moment.
She looks up in realization, and Gregory meets her eyes at the exact same moment.
"The spider." He breathes. "Sticking to objects, being way stronger than your own body weight--"
He cuts himself off, suddenly standing from the tub. Cassie watches him move, and her breath catches in her throat in shock when he sets a hand on the wall, then the other, then both feet, and starts scaling the wall.
He reaches the ceiling. Not falling, and nothing holding him there. Hes sprawled out, limbs positioned at his sides like-- like a spider.
He tilts his head up, hair falling upside down. They meet eyes, and the silence seems to stretch for hours.
She never gets a chance to respond, to say anything through her shock, because suddenly the sound of a door unlocking echoes through the house.
Gregory's eyes shoot to be as wide as saucers. Cassie gasps, a sharp quick inhale, and she scrambles up, while Gregory drops from the ceiling, hitting the ground with a smack.
She hears the front door open, and she stands there like an idiot, staring at the pile of broken objects and the footprints on the ceiling.
"Gregory?" Freddy calls, and Cassie sucks in a breath. "I'm home! How was the tour, Superstar? I want to hear all about it!"
Gregory shoots to his feet, looking at Cassie like What do we do? Cassie hisses under her breath "I dont know!", and they trade desperate, clamoring whispers, overlapping eachother and achieving nothing.
"Gregory?" Freddy asks, much closer now. "I hear talking, are you alright, Superstar?"
"--Yeah!" Gregory exclaims, totally believably. He rushes to the door, pulling it only a quarter of the way open in a blink and sticking his head out. "Uh, sorry for not answering you, me and Cassie were just-- talking about our futures, you know?"
"Cassie is here?" Freddy asks. He peeks over Gregory's head, being too short in height to really block anything, and Cassie jumps behind him, covering up the pile of destruction with her body. "Well hello, Cassie! I didnt know you would be over this late. Are you staying the night?"
"Uh-- yeah!" She rushes out, arms crossed behind her back and a toothy smile on her face. "I was just... so excited from the tour, that I wanted to keep hanging out all night!"
"--She asked me to do her hair," Gregory says. "That's why-- we're in the bathroom." He adds on.
"I see." Freddy says, and Cassie can see his smile from here. "Well, the more the merrier! Now you both can tell me everything about today. I know you've both been so excited."
Gregory nods, muttering a yeah, and Cassie deflates instantly when Freddy turns around, leading them to the living room. Gregory only steps outside of the bathroom after a moment, and Cassie follows, flicking the light off, pile of rubble left in the dark.
The door clicks shut behind them, and Gregory sighs. Freddys chattering is only background noise to them as they meet eyes, thousands of silent questions behind them in an instant.
They break eye contact with a silent promise being made in an instant: This isnt over. As soon as were done here, learn more.
They follow behind Freddy, adrenaline and anxiety in their veins, wondering what they're going to do.