Chapter Text
Okay~ Let's do this one last time.
My name is Coco. I was bitten by a radioactive spider, and now I’m New Ezrest's newest Spider-Woman.
I think you all know how the story goes.
The classroom window is beaten by soft patters of rain. Looking up at the cloudy sky, Coco is reminded of what today is. Today marks the fifth anniversary of her father's passing.
Her father, a news reporter, had passed in an accident related to the Kingpin. The news was broken to the eleven-year-old girl as gently as it could be, but how can news like that ever be given gently? The girl learned her father sacrificed himself trying to save others who were direct victims of a bombing by Restys, a rich businessperson who was found to be the Kingpin of the city. Selflessly, Coco's father ran into broken, burning buildings to carry people out. But on the last run, her father ran in and did not emerge from the burning building again.
That day, Restys planted bombs along many streets in New Ezrest. They were merciless, even exploding their own headquarters where their employees were still working as normal. People speculate he did this to get Spider-Man off his tail and destroy all evidence of his crimes, though his plan ultimately failed. Spider-Man captured the man and turned over a multitude of evidence to the police for review.
Coco is grateful to Spider-Man. His efforts in getting Restys captured gave the city peace of mind, even if just for a small amount of time. This place can never catch a break. But Coco can't help but sometimes wish Spider-Man had been there to save her father from that building instead of capturing the Kingpin.
Coco feels a soft tap on her shoulder. Looking over, she sees Agott, purple eyes looking at her with concern. Coco has been in her own head during the whole class period, not taking down a single note of what Mr. Lagrah had said.
Now he is wrapping up his lesson; Coco missed her favorite class in favor of reminiscing about a less-than-favorable memory. Suddenly, the school's intercom blares, signaling the end of the school day.
Coco slowly packs up her notebook, which had lain closed the whole class, and slings her backpack over her shoulders. She catches Agott still looking at her. “Is something the matter?” Coco inquires after catching the other girl staring.
Agott looks away, packing up her own things. “No, it seems you've been a little more distant here recently. Let me know if I can do anything, alright.” Coco watches as she puts her backpack on, and both begin to walk towards the exit.
As Coco walks to the door with Agott, she can hear Lagrah holler over the noise, "Remember to have a wonderful rest of the day, class!"
Just as she is about to exit, "May I have a moment, Coco?" Lagrah asks.
Coco turns to face the older man. "Of course, Mr. Lagrah." She looks to Agott. “I'll catch up with you later,” she says, waving goodbye to the other teen.
“I'll talk to you later, Coco. Take care,” Agott says, giving a small smile to the green-haired girl.
Coco walks closer to her teacher. Lagrah looks up at her with a hint of concern in his eyes. "I noticed you seemed a little distracted today. You're normally a little more attentive and talkative during these types of lessons. Is there something going on?"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Lagrah. Honestly, I don't know what got me so distracted today. I think I'm just really looking forward to helping Mr. Qifrey at FEAST soon." Coco said with a nervous smile. Her volunteer work was a good cover-up to deflect the older man's concern. She was looking forward to working at FEAST later, but that wasn't what distracted her today. That was thanks to today's date. A day she cannot forget for the life of her.
Lagrah's voice brought Coco out of her thoughts. "Well, I'm glad Qifrey was able to convince you to volunteer there. I think it will be good for you after everything."
"I agree, I'm very happy to have met Mr. Qifrey when I did." Looking up at the clock, Coco realizes she is running a little behind. "Ahh, I'm sorry, Mr. Lagrah, but I need to get going now before I'm late!" She shouts as she runs out the door.
"Have fun, Coco! See you Monday!" She hears Lagrah call from behind her in the hall.
Coco arrives at FEAST right on time, no thanks to the ceaseless swarm of people and cars she had to run past on the way. FEAST was located on the opposite side of New Ezrest from her high school, making it a long trek there. The non-profit specializes in helping local struggling families and the homeless get food, shelter, and job training. This makes the acronym food, emergency, aid, shelter, and training make sense for the non-profit. When proposed with the opportunity to work with the business, Coco couldn't bring herself to turn down the offer. Qifrey, a man she knows well, has taken over one of the management roles after his Aunt passed twelve years ago. She wanted him to keep FEAST running; after all, she poured her heart and soul into the foundation of the building.
Coco arrived at the front desk and was greeted by a woman with two-toned hair, tan skin, and a friendly smile. Coco knew this woman as Alaira.
"Hey Mrs. Alaira, how's your day been?" Coco asked with a big smile.
"My, isn't it Coco! You're always a joy to see! I'm doing great today. We've had a good turnout of people coming in for coffee and lessons." Alaira says, gesturing to the large crowd in the main room. Looking through the window in the door, Coco sees a repurposed basketball court being used to provide shelter to those who need it. There are also many tables set up. Some have posters from different job recruiters giving out applications, and others have volunteers handing out coffee and food to anyone willing to stop.
"This is amazing, Alaira! Is there anything I can do to help out?" Coco asked, looking at the older woman.
"Of course there is. Let's go hunt down Qifrey; he'll know best where to place you right now," the red-and-white-haired woman said. Coco follows Alaira up the stairs near the front entrance. The pair pass multiple offices and a break area before stopping at an office with large glass windows. Inside, Coco can see Qifrey looking over paperwork alongside Olruggio.
Alaira knocks on the door, announcing their presence to the pair in the office.
"Coco! You made it; we could really use your help today. I'm sure you could already tell by looking, though," Qifrey smiles, getting up from his chair. The silver-haired man walks to stand in front of Coco and Alaira.
Olruggio also raises his head to look at Coco, giving the teen a gentle smile. “It's good to see you made it in one piece during rush hour as well,” Olruggio's deep accent cuts in.
“It wasn't fun running through all the traffic, that's for sure,” Coco smiles at the men, rubbing the back of her neck. She nearly didn't make it on time because of that traffic.
"Now that I know she's in good hands, I'd better get back up front to help greet people," said Alaira as she walked back towards the staircase.
"Thank you, Mrs. Alaira!" Called Coco, who received a wave from the woman in response. "I almost didn't make it on time, in all honesty, Mr. Qifrey. I got distracted talking to Mr. Lagrah, then there was so much traffic on the way that I just kept getting caught up and--"
Qifrey cut her off. "What matters is that you made it. Now what is with the Mr. Qifrey? I thought we agreed to drop the mister already. It makes me feel older than I am," Qifrey said, laughing again. His laugh and calm demeanor never failed to soothe Coco's nerves.
"I'm sorry, it's just hardwired into me. Mom always made sure I greeted everyone with mister or miss, but I promise to stop it with you." She says, smiling. Her mom truly did engrave it into her to treat everyone with respect, no matter who they are.
"Alright, I'll hold you to that promise you hear," he laughs again. "Now how about we go find you something to do? I'll be right back, Olruggio."
"Sounds good to me," states Olruggio as he watches the pair. He admires how easily the two get along. It warms his heart to know Coco has someone else she can rely on other than him and her mother.
Having lost her father five years back, Olruggio stepped in and acted like a father figure to the girl. Coco's father was a very close friend of Olruggio's. A mentor who helped him write his first few papers that broke into news headlines. The two had met when Olruggio was only nine-teen. Olruggio had reached out to the man, showing an interest in learning how to write reports on events in New Ezrest. Coco’s father was renowned in New Ezrest for his articles. He wrote on topics most news sources tended to avoid. Olruggio admired the man and his courage to report such topics. Olruggio wished to be like him. This led Olruggio to take on an apprenticeship under the guidance of Coco’s father.
Olruggio was only twenty-eight when Coco's father passed. But he couldn't leave Coco and her mother on their own after such an event. Olruggio stuck around, making sure the two always had food and their bills paid. He also made time to help Coco with schoolwork whenever she needed it. That was becoming less and less frequent of late, though. Olruggio suspects that's due to the girl Coco always seems to talk about, even if she doesn't think she's always talking about her.
Olruggio watches the pair exit the room and continues to work on his latest report.
Qifrey and Coco walk to the cafeteria. There are long steel tables in the middle of the room, ovens and stoves to the left side, and a large dishwasher on the other. Spread around, there are a multitude of knives, cutting boards, and other appliances used in cooking. Qifrey walks to a coffee maker tucked away opposite the dishwasher. "Today, Coco, all I want you to do is offer people coffee and listen to what they have to say. You don't have to offer advice, just lend an ear to those who want to talk. After all, simply listening to someone can help in many ways," Qifrey explains with a smile. He turns on the coffee maker, showing Coco how to brew a cup and where the coffee mugs were located in the cabinet above the machine.
"I think I'll be able to do that. I'll come find you before I head out," Coco says, smiling up at Qifrey.
The silver-haired man pats her back. "I know you'll do great; you know where to find me if you need anything!" He then heads back to his office upstairs.
Coco, coffee mugs in hand, walks out onto the basketball court. There are beds set up for people to take shelter in the building. Soon her eyes settle on a kind-looking older man who is sitting on his own. Coco walks up to him, asking with a smile, "Would you like some coffee, sir?"
"My, how kind of you. I was just thinking of going to get some myself," the gentleman smiled up at her.
"I'm glad I was able to read your mind then!" Coco beamed.
"You have a very kind smile; it's a welcome sight nowadays. Not many people have such a kind smile after everything that has happened in this city..." The man's voice faltered as he spoke. Coco could see the sorrow his eyes held as he looked into his coffee mug. She gestured to sit next to him. The man moved silently, agreeing to let her sit at the foot of the bed next to him.
"Five years ago on this day, that Kingpin stole everything from me. I lost my job, my home, everything. All because he didn't want to sink with his ship. He brought down half this city with him in that naive plan of his. He stole everything I worked for...and he stole so much more from others when he blew up those buildings. I was lucky he didn't steal anyone from me then...," the man spoke quietly, never looking up from his coffee.
Above the pair, a spider is making its descent. It is lowering itself above Coco until it makes contact with her shoulder. The spider crawls past the girl's long green hair to the side of her neck and bites down. Long fangs release a toxin into the unsuspecting girl.
"Ow!" The green-haired teen cries out, a hand shooting up to the side of her neck. Pulling back her hand, she finds a spider crawling on her fingers. "Well, now that's not good. I better bring this little guy outside," Coco says to the man, still clearly shocked after being bitten.
"Are you alright there? Did it bite you?" the man looks to her, concerned.
"Don't worry, Sir! I'll be just fine, plus this guy doesn't look the venomous type," she confidently says to the man.
Coco walks to the back exit holding the spider in her hands. Once outside, she kneels. "Alright, little guy, time for you to go along," she whispers to the spider. The spider crawls from her hand, going on its merry way in the alleyways of New Ezrest.
Coco heads back to Qifrey's office upstairs after a couple of hours of listening to people on the main floor. She is holding the bite mark on her neck. It is putting off a dull, throbbing pain, which Coco found very distracting while she was listening to people talk.
She reached the office and found Qifrey and Olruggio still huddled up at the desk looking at paperwork together. Coco laughed to herself, thinking they looked like a married couple stressing over bills before she knocked on the door.
"I'm about to head home, Qifrey, Olruggio," she said, peeking her head into the office.
"Whoa, there. I wanna know how things went before you run off. Come sit," Qifrey interjects, pointing to a chair in front of his desk. Coco walks to the chair, falling into it, clearly exhausted from the long day and spider bite.
"It went well, aside from a spider biting me. I would say it went well. It was hard hearing some of the stories, but I think it's good for me to listen to them…" Coco explains, faltering at the end. “Their stories help me understand it wasn't just us affected that day,” she mumbles the last part to herself.
"That's good. I'm glad it went well for you,” Qifrey says, not pressing her to explain further. “Though I'm a bit concerned about the spider bite, would you mind if I look at it?" Qifrey asks, walking around the desk to sit in the chair next to Coco.
"Yeah, I would actually appreciate it. It's actually been bothering me for a while now," Coco says, pulling her long hair to the side, revealing an angry red mark on the side of her neck.
Qifrey stares at the mark for a few seconds too long, making the moment a little awkward for the group.
"Hey Qifrey, where was the med-kit again?" Olruggio interjects after the silence goes on too long for his liking.
"Oh! It's in the bottom drawer there; could you hand it to me?" Qifrey says, snapping out of his trance. Olruggio hands Qifrey the med-kit. Opening the box, Qifrey swiftly treats the bite in Coco's neck, making it feel slightly better.
"Now how about we get you home, Coco. Your mother invited us to dinner tonight; she wants to hear all about your first day." Qifrey helps Coco up and looks to Olruggio to follow.
Coco laughs, "She's always too concerned with me. She probably invited you all to scare you both into watching my every move to make sure I don't run off somewhere."
At dinner, Coco's mother did just as predicted. She scared Qifrey and Olruggio into agreeing to watch her daughter's every move and to make sure she was where she was supposed to be at all times. Who could blame a mother who lost her husband in an incident like that?
After a while, Qifrey and Olruggio left to go to their respective apartments. They did not live far from Coco and her mother, making visiting the pair easy. Coco is grateful her mother decided to move to Great Hall East. No good memories reside in Naakiwan for her or her mother. Since the move, Coco has been able to meet so many new people and push the bad memories of the past behind her.
Coco is lying in her bed, finally resting. She is scrolling on her phone when a familiar group chat notification pops up.
Tetia: we still down to hang at the mall tomorrow???
Richeh: im free still
Tetia: this is so fire
Agott: I have to finish my essay, but after that I'm free.
Coco read through the messages. She doesn't remember having any homework to finish, so she texts back.
Coco: im down i dont think I have anything going on tomorrow
Tetia: THE WHOLE GANG LETS GO!!!
Agott: I said I have to finish my essay first. I didn't say I was going yet.
Tetia: that just means you gotta finish it tonight then or youre a loser
Agott:....
Coco chuckles at the group messages. She knows Agott will finish the essay tonight no matter what. She always does when it means hanging out with everyone the next day. Or at least going to hang out with Coco the next day.
Soon Coco gets tired and lets sleep take hold of her.
Coco wakes up dazed and confused. She is not in her room. Looking around, all she can see is fibers, silk-like fibers.
Reaching out, she breaks through the cocoon-like structure. She realizes she is outside her room, just outside her window, suspended in the air. She is hanging upside-down, outside her window. Not to mention she is six floors up from the ground and only supported by whatever this silk stuff is.
“What the hell is this?” Coco freaks out, tearing the silk-like fibers from her body. She begins to fall, plummeting to the ground, but instinct makes her flex her right wrist, shooting a web-like substance to a nearby wall. “Oh stars,” Coco gags, swatting the web away from her wrist in horror. She falls the rest of the way down flat onto her back.
“Oh gods, that hurt,” the teen groans. Just as she is trying to catch her breath, every hair on her body stands on end. Her ears start ringing; every sound in the city was screaming in her eardrums. People talking, babies crying, dogs barking, sirens blaring all of it was overwhelming to her sense of hearing. She curls into a ball, covering her ears, trying to cut out the sound, but the effort was futile.
She places her hand on the ground, trying to ground herself, but finds her hand stuck in place. “Come on, not something else!” She shouts. Coco grabs her wrist, pulling with all her might. Her hand not budging in the slightest from where it is planted. Moving to use her legs as well, she tries to lift her hand from the ground again. This time, she is thrown flat onto her back with a large piece of concrete stuck to her fingers and palm. “What the…” she stares, perplexed by the scene.
Coco is suddenly very aware of where she is. She's sitting in the alleyway by her apartment complex. Looking around, she doesn't see anyone in the immediate area, thankfully. However, she can hear voices nearby, and they are quickly approaching.
Instincts leading her again, she runs to the side of her apartment building and holds her hand to its surface. Her hand sticks. Her other hand drops the concrete she ripped from the ground moments earlier in favor of the bricks. Soon Coco is crawling along the brick wall back towards her room.
“What in the world was that noise?” Someone says below her now. She looks and sees a middle-aged man investigating where she fell, leaving a small crack in the ground as well as where she ripped her hand off the concrete, taking a chunk with her. The man looks up and finds the residue of her web cocoon. Curiously, he does not see Coco. Coco, unbeknownst to herself, has gone invisible. The man takes a picture of his finding before leaving the alleyway to go on about his day.
Coco, breathing heavily from panic, finishes her crawl to her window. Lifting herself over the fire escape outside her window, she pauses, looking at the cocoon. “Maybe I should get rid of this thing before more people see it.”
Balling up the webs, she condenses them to around the size of a basketball. She decides to hide the thing in her room for now.
Stepping through her open window, Coco is still reeling from the overwhelming noise. Going to close the window, she finds her hands get stuck yet again. “Really, of all things to get stuck to, you choose this?” She questions herself.
Taking a deep breath, Coco begins humming. She's always found music to be a good way to calm down in stressful events, and this most certainly is a stressful event. Eventually, she starts singing some of the lyrics, “we do this every time… feed the flame cause we can't let go.” Her hands detach from the window, and her eyes stop the ceaseless ringing for now.
With a long sigh of relief, Coco looks at herself in the mirror. She notices she gained a freakish amount of muscle in her sleep. Her once small muscles are now lean and defined. Not that she's complaining, but how does this happen overnight?
Tearing herself away from the mirror, she grabs her phone from her bedside table to see what time it is. She finds that it is 3:30 in the afternoon, and she has five missed calls and twenty-five texts from Tetia. Not to mention the explosion of texts in the group chat with the other girls.
Coco calls Tetia back. “Coco, where are you!” Her best friend shouts through the phone speaker so loud that Coco has to hold it away from her head.
With a sigh, “I'm so sorry, Tetia. I don't know what happened to me, but I slept in so long today. Are you guys still at the mall?” Coco asked sheepishly.
“We are. We plan to be here a little longer and go out to eat somewhere when you get here. It sounds like you needed the sleep if you slept that long. Plus we got Agott here, and she's definitely ready to see you.” Tetia teases over the phone.
Coco, blushing, “Alright, I'll see you all soon. And cut it out, Agott definitely isn't that enthusiastic to see me.”
“Oh, you would be surprised. See you soon!” With a beep, the call is dropped.
Coco walks over to her closet. Sifting through the clothes, it’s hard to find a cute outfit that hides her new muscles while also looking cute. Alas, she settles for an oversized brown sweater and a pair of jeans. Both to hide her new physique and to combat the cold air of late autumn. She keeps her hair down, not having the time to braid it or even put it in a bun. She rushes to grab her purse and shoes and runs out the door.
Coco meets up with the other girls at the mall. The group is aimlessly walking about, occasionally stopping to walk around a store here and there. Richeh and Tetia are going on about a math test they took yesterday, a class Agott and Coco do not share with the girls. This leaves Agott and Coco in silence. Coco cannot bring herself to break this silence. She is already stunned by how beautiful Agott looks today. She is dressed in a white T-shirt with an old Carhartt jacket and jeans. On top of it all, the perfect soft black curls that Coco so badly wanted to touch.
“Umm, I've noticed recently you've been a little more distracted,” Agott says, suddenly breaking the silence between the two. “You've been staring out the window a lot in Mr. Lagrah's class. It's not like you to do that. I know you enjoy his class a lot.” Now, looking at Coco, Agott had a trace of worry in her eyes.
Coco knew she was distracted because the anniversary of her father's passing was yesterday, but she didn't want to worry her crush with such things. Coco never liked worrying her friends with such troubles if she didn't have to. This led to her to take up Qifrey's offer to help out at FEAST. She was hopeful it would distract her from the date; however, it just made it worse. The work just made her realize just how many people were affected that day. Shaking her head to get out of her thoughts, Coco looks back at Agott, “I promise I'm doing fine. Though I would appreciate it if you would share your notes with me from the last few days. I'll admit I have been out of it the past few days,” she smiles at Agott hoping it is enough to settle the other teen’s nerves at least a little.
“Yeah, I can do that. If you want, we can also study after class Monday to get you caught up…” Agott trails off and looks away from Coco. The red blush on her ears doesn't go unnoticed by the green-haired girl.
“I would love to,” Coco says, a blush creeping onto her cheeks.
“Hey lovebirds! Are you all ready to grab a bite to eat?” Tetia calls to the pair of blushing teens.
“We…we are not lovebirds!” Agott counters, fighting through a voice crack.
“Sure looks like it to me,” Richeh butts in. “Richeh is ready to eat. Any further delay will result in everyone getting twenty angricheh points.”
“Alright, alright, let's get going then,” Coco says, laughing at the girls.
The girls eat their dinner at a local restaurant. Their conversation flows from school drama to class projects to things they've seen online.
Suddenly, a news broadcast interrupts the restaurant.
Emergency Alert
There has been an attack on the City Council by an unknown bandit faction. There are active hostages inside the building, including those running for office. Police have the building surrounded at this time; we will continue coverage and update as the situation progresses.
Coco stares in shock at the broadcast. Her mother is in that building. Her mother is a hostage. Leaving everything behind but what she has on her, she runs to the exit.
“Hey Coco, where are you going?” Agott shouts as she stands to chase after Coco. Chasing Coco out of the building, Agott can't keep pace with the other girl. “When did she get so fast?” Agott whispers to herself. After watching the green-haired girl run off, she walks back inside to grab the things Coco left behind and pay for both their meals.
Coco runs the whole way to the City Council building. Brushing past everyone in her way, she makes it to the building in record time. Barely feeling winded, she ran straight to the police barricade, but two police officers held her back.
“Let me through, damn it! My mom is in there!” She shouted at the officers holding her back.
“Coco!” A familiar accent called from behind her. Turning around, Coco saw Olruggio standing there, camera around his neck and notebook in hand. Turning, she crashes into him. It was nice to see someone she knew here and to know that he was safe.
Olruggio is here to take pictures of the scene. There was also the possibility of a report on the incident if he could gather enough information. But the police barricade was proving difficult, and now there was a terrified teenager in front of him that he could not just leave.
“Hey, it's okay, kid. Nothing bad is going to happen to your mom here.” Olruggio speaks calmly, too calmly for Coco's liking.
“How are you sure? She is stuck in that building with who knows what, and these idiots out here aren't doing a single thing!” She shouts, pointing at the officers who held her back. They looked mighty offended at the girl's words but didn't say anything.
“Well, they aren't doing anything because the situation is already being handled by our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. He's in there fighting those bandits that took your mom and the other people hostage,” he explains to the overwhelmed teen.
Soon after Olruggio finishes explaining the situation, the doors to the City Council building fly open, and a pile of bodies bundled together with webs is thrown out. Standing at the top of the stairs is Spider-Man wiping imaginary dust off his suit. His suit is mainly a light gray color with a black webbing pattern. The spider on his suit is large, stretching across the entirety of his chest. The legs of his suit are plain black, with gray continuing on the calves down to the feet. “Alright, my job here is done! It's your guys' turn now!” The spider calls out to the police before swinging off to go take care of who knows what else in the city of New Ezrest.
Leaving Olruggio’s side, pushes against the barrier again, watching Spider-Man swing off. She waits anxiously for the police to go inside the building and pull out the victims and detain the assailants.
Soon, Coco finds her mom in the crowd of people taken out of the City Council building. She rushes to hug her mother. “Thank the stars, I don't know what I would have done if I lost you,” Coco sobs into her mother's shoulder. Her mother holds Coco close, making a silent vow to herself to change this corrupt city for her daughter.
Coco’s mother is actively campaigning for Mayor of New Ezrest. Inspired to make the city safer after her husband’s death, she began garnering support from local businesses and people of New Ezrest. The campaign she runs is solely based on inspiring hope in families who have been beaten down, time and time again, by the actions of Kingpin and other mobsters in the city. She swears to change the city, to make it a safer place for the younger generation to grow up in.
“You won't lose me, I promise you that,” her mother says. “Now how about we go home? I'm about done with today,” she says to her crying daughter.
Back at the apartment, Coco remembers how she left everything behind at the restaurant, including the bill. She forgot everything but her phone, which was conveniently in her pocket.
She pulls out her phone, looking at her many ignored notifications. Some of which are from Agott.
Agott: Don't worry about your purse. I grabbed it for you when we got ready to leave.
Also, don't worry about the bill. You didn't dine and dash.
Let me know when you get home.
Coco felt a blush creeping onto her face as she read the text. She knew if Tetia saw this text, the girl would never let it go. The Agott Arklaum not only grabbed her purse but also paid for her dinner. Coco could pass away here and now. She needed to text Agott back.
Coco: im home now im sorry for leaving like that I just thought the worst when that broadcast played and thank you for not letting me dine and dash and grabbing my purse
youre my knight in shining armor
Coco chuckled at the last bit, knowing she would never be able to say it in person but loved to tease over text. She got a response from the dark-haired girl almost instantly, like she was staring at her phone waiting for Coco to text back.
Agott: It's a knight's duty to ensure the princess is taken care of, is it not?
Anyways, I'm glad you're home safe. I saw everyone at the City Council made it out unharmed. I'm happy your mother is safe.
It's late. You should get some rest. You need it.
Smiling at the text, Coco texts back.
Coco: what a dutiful knight you are, and thank you agott it means the world to me she is alright,
goodnight agott
Agott: Goodnight, Coco.
Walking to her room, Coco is reminded of this morning. The cocoon, sticky hands, super strength, intense ringing in her ears. She walks over to her closet where she hid the condensed cocoon earlier. She finds it still there, though not as sturdy as this morning.
Coco gets an idea. Walking to her closet, she pulls out a hoodie and baseball cap. She changes out of her sweater and into the hoodie. She puts her hair into a ponytail and puts on a baseball cap. Looking in the mirror, she remembers a mask from when she used to wear it at the hospital when visiting Olruggio's mom before she passed. Putting on the mask, Coco exits onto the fire escape outside her window.
“Alright, Coco, you got this…just like what happened earlier,” She says to herself hesitantly. She flexes her right wrist toward the neighboring building. A web-like substance shoots out, attaching to a building and sending the teen soaring into the nighttime air.
“I really don't got this!” She shouts, tumbling in the air. She releases another web before hitting the ground; it hits another building further down the street. Coco fumbles to keep straight what is up and what is down while in the air. She just sees a blur of lights from headlights, billboards, and neon signs. The scrambling teen feels the plunge of gravity as it takes her back towards the ground before she desperately shoots another web to keep herself from crashing into the cement.
“I REALLY HATE THIS!” she shouts at the top of her lungs, not caring who or what hears her.
Coco narrowly misses street signs as she frantically shoots webs. She looks like a newborn deer trying to walk as she shoots into the sky, barely managing to attach to anything, before gravity makes her fall through the air.
Whizzing past people on the sidewalk, she is an arm's length away from hitting the poor people. Some people have taken out their phones to record the clumsy, mysterious web-slinger.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH,” the girl screams, shooting past an open window and swinging up into the air once more.
Coco does not notice when she passes a gray-black figure sitting on a ledge of a building, seemingly taking a break in a city that never sleeps. Coco is much too focused on her task of not falling to her death to notice anyone right now.
Coco overshoots her next web, causing her to go even more off balance than she already is, sending the poor girl upside-down in the air. “Oh no! Oh no no no!” She shouts, plummeting straight to the sea of cars in the crowded roadways of New Ezrest. Coco cannot orient herself fast enough to prevent the crash. She is going to crash into the road, or worse, into a car, possibly hurting someone.
Just before she can make contact with either the roadway or a car, Coco feels the back of her hoodie lift and is pulled back into the air and caught by something, or rather, someone.
“I got you!” A bubbly voice calls. Looking up at the person, Coco sees it's none other than Spider-Man, who prevents her from colliding with the road. The pair lands on the nearby rooftop where Coco collapses, adrenaline waning.
“OH MY STARS, I'M GONNA BE SICK,” the teen shouts at the top of her lungs, and crawls over to the edge of the building to heave. She can hear a chuckle from the man behind her. One she can't possibly understand. She just had one of the worst experiences, and he is laughing at her?
“You'll be alright, kid, just a few more rounds of swinging and you'll get the hang of it. Speaking of, when did you learn you could do this trick?” He asks, a hint of amusement in his voice, to the young girl who is still bent over the ledge. Rising, she forgets all about her mask in the process, leaving her face exposed to Spider-Man.
Backing away from the ledge, stomach still queasy, Coco sits a few feet away from the Spider. “Just today, actually. I'm not sure why this is happening to me all of a sudden. I woke up in a web cocoon, my wrists shoot out webs, my ears ring with every noise in the city, my hands are weird and sticky, and to top it off I'm like freaky strong now. I probably shouldn't have said all of that, should I…” Coco starts strong but trails off as she realizes what all she is saying, looking up at Spider-Man. Should she trust this stranger with all the strange things that have been happening to her? Would he not report her to someone?
Quiet for a second too long, Spider-Man shakes his head and sits down in front of the girl. “No. Actually, I'm probably the one person on this planet who fully understands what is happening to you. May I ask if you were bitten by a spider recently?” Spider-Man asks, still having a calm cadence and demeanor.
After explaining the spider bite at FEAST and going into detail about what happened this morning, Coco stares back at the man, waiting for his response. “So, you like to make those webs inside your body? Ew…,”
“THAT'S REALLY WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO POINT OUT! IT'S NOT LIKE YOU'RE ANY BETTER!” Coco shouts at the man. What makes this man better when he's sitting in a leotard in early November? “Don't you also make webs inside your body?” She asks the man.
The Spider turns his hand to show Coco his wrists. She sees a metal band wrapped around with cartridges attached, some empty from use during the day. “No, I have to make my own. I made these web-shooters that project webs for me. It was kinda hard to find out how to make webs strong enough to hold my weight and fight with, but now that I know they're pretty easy to make,” he explains. Coco studies the web-shooters for a minute longer.
“So you're able to keep the webs from solidifying by keeping them cycling in the chambers. The webs have to be strong and flexible, meaning they could be made of nylon, or maybe…” she ponders to herself, looking intently at the scientific revolution in front of her.
The Spider's eyes narrow in a way suggesting a smile. “ That’s quite close, actually!” He says, bubbly. “I was not expecting you to get that so fast. You know your stuff, kid!”
“Coco,” Spider-Man's voice takes a more serious tone. Looking up to meet his large eye lenses, Coco can't help but feel a little intimidated by him. “I must explain this to you. This power you have received can be used to protect the people of New Ezrest, or you can ignore it and continue to live your life as it once was. Though I feel that will be a little challenging.”
Coco doesn't want this power to lie in wait. If she can use it to protect the ones she holds dear, prevent tragedies like the one that befell her father, she will seize it. Wholly and undoubtedly, she will use this power to protect others. “I have to use whatever this is to protect my family, my friends,” Coco explains, looking at Spider-Man, eyes filled with determination.
“Good, now I must ask: will you be able to keep your identity a secret? To wear a mask and protect the people of New Ezrest?” He asks once more
“Yes, Mr. Spider-Man, I believe I can do that,” Coco says confidently. She knows it's a tall order. One that will be hard, especially with how watchful her mother was, and how her certain pink-haired friend somehow knew her every move.
The lenses of his eyes narrowed again, suggesting a smile under the mask. “Alright then, Coco, one last question for you. Will you be able to keep my identity a secret?” The Spider poses, pointing a finger at his face. This leaves Coco speechless for a moment. Spider-Man wants to entrust his identity to her. How can he be so sure he can trust her so soon?
“Of course, though I'm a little confused. You've kept your identity so secret from everyone. Now, here you are, willing to show me the first time we've met, just because I share similar powers with you?” She rambles to the man sitting before her. Hands gesturing about herself, expressing just how absurd this whole situation is.
The Spider chuckles at the panicking teen. “I just have a gut feeling, that's all,” he muses. Coco watches in silence as he grabs the top of his mask, slowly removing it. Under the mask, she finds a familiar face, one she has grown accustomed to seeing beside Olruggio's for some time now. The silver-haired man from FEAST, the one who has tutored her for years, the one who’s helped pull her back up when her and her mother were at their lowest.
“Qifrey?” She asks, looking at the smiling man in front of her.