Chapter Text
The all-too-familiar sounds of mechanical clicking whirred right past Spider-Man’s left ear. He’d bent backwards to avoid an extending metal tentacle aimed at his head, which flew on to break a hole in the bank wall behind him.
“Watch where you’re swinging those things, Doc!” the masked vigilante said. “You really don’t wanna add ‘destruction of property’ to your criminal record!”
Doctor Octopus growled in frustration as he reeled the arm back in, his nemesis dodging it once again with an athletic flip. The two men had been fighting each other for years now, yet no matter how weaponized the doctor’s appendages became, he could never quite seem to end the pesky spider for good. He hadn’t planned to run into Spidey in this simple bank robbery, but he didn’t fret over the setting where he’d finally gain the upper hand.
“You should be more worried about yourself than my record!” Octavius taunted, “All I need is to get you in my grasp just once, and then you’ll never bother me again.”
“And every time we’ve met each other, a good knock to your big dome’s all I’ve been needing!”
Spider-Man kept his distance as two metal arms zoomed towards him and then jumped over them, shooting a ball of webbing at the doctor’s thick glasses as he rolled in midair. But that old trick had become routine for Octavius by this point in their relationship. He quickly raised his left hand and blocked the shot with his palm, grimacing as it became covered in the sticky substance. The side of a tentacle would have been a better target for the web, but human instinct didn’t quite account for his additional limbs.
“Good thinking, buster,” Spidey said, “You weren’t really using that arm anyway—“
His mid-fight quip got cut off as a tentacle swept out from below to try to knock the hero off his feet. He jumped upwards to avoid it, but that was precisely what Octavius had been aiming for. Another metal arm then struck his back in midair and carried him up to the ceiling, slamming him against the decorated ceiling. Spider-Man groaned and felt dazed as the claws of more tentacles gripped around his wrists, pinching and puncturing the web shooters housed there.
Damn, he’s more observant than I give him credit for!, the wall-crawler thought before getting pulled back down to the doctor’s height.
“Good luck trying to swing your way out of this one, arachnid,” Octavius said before he extended the tentacles and pinned his enemy’s back against the steel of the bank vault door. The costumed hero yelped at the impact, the lens of his eyepieces narrowing.
The doctor slowly walked forward towards the struggling Spider-Man, but the arms were gripped too tightly for him to escape. “You’ve been a thorn in my side for far too long, boy. For that, I think I should strip that mask off of your face and parade you through the streets for all to see!”
“And do I get a say in this…?” Spider-Man asked as he squirmed against the doctor’s grip. He’d fought a good number of bad guys since he’d first put on the mask, but Doctor Octopus had always been the one who’d challenged him the most. At least it would be his greatest enemy who’d win the privilege of unmasking him; he’d probably just about die of embarrassment if Shocker had been the one to do it. He only wished that he’d gotten the chance to fully become…
“You don’t have a say in anything, you insolent pest. Soon, all of New York will have a face and a real name to remember you by, and then the entire world! People will talk about this day for years, at the ultimate failure of Spider-Man…”
The doctor pressed his unwebbed hand against the wall-crawler’s chest.
“And the great exploits of Doctor Otto Octavi— Wh-What…?”
He pressed his hand harder against the red fabric of Spider-Man’s suit. But instead of the flat chest he’d expected, he swore that he felt a small ball of fat under the costume. Otto’s brow furrowed as he couldn’t help but lightly squeeze in astonishment, and there, barely noticeable, seemed to be a hard bud beneath the skin.
Then came the sound of a quiet groan. Suddenly, they both could have heard a pin drop in the room.
Otto’s mouth hung slightly open as he looked up at the wall-crawler, and a moment of mutual surprise lingered in the air between the two of them. The grip of the tentacles lessened just a bit as the gears turned inside the doctor’s dumbfounded head, and that was all the opportunity that Spidey needed. The red-suited hero used his strength to flip out of Octavius’ grasp, then shot two strands of webbing behind the doctor. Otto tried to brace himself, but Spider-Man yanked himself towards the ground, using his legs to kick Otto’s chest, knocking the wind out of him and sending him lying on the floor. A quick few strands of webbing later, and all four of the tentacles were restrained and useless.
“Hey, hands off the merchandise, doc!” Spidey joked as he stretched his back. There was an unusual nervousness in his voice, far from the bravado that his villains were used to. “What was that all about anyway? At least take me out to dinner first if you wanna get all grabby.”
“No, what was that?” asked Otto. “I’ve noticed you’ve looked a little… differently lately, but I thought maybe you were just slimming down a little.”
Spidey’s heart was already beating quickly after getting unintentionally felt up by one of his arch-nemeses, but now a bead of sweat was running down under the mask. This was not how the secret was supposed to get out.
“But what I’ve felt just now was proof of something else,” the doctor continued. “Don’t treat me like a simpleton. Of course I’d recognize the feeling of a breast!”
The girl just couldn’t stop herself.
“YOU’VE felt tits???”
A wicked satisfaction stretched across Otto’s face. “Aha!! So it is true! Spider-Man has secretly been living as a woman…!”
Oh, god damn it, Spidey thought to herself. Did he just bait me into a reaction?!
“Hey, man,” she said as she put her hands out, “I’ve been figuring some stuff out for a little while and… Look, just don’t be weird about it, alright?”
Octavius practically snorted in amusement. “What, as in to call you cruel names? Torment you about your gender? You needn’t worry about that, Spider; such tactics are beneath a man like myself. Though this does make you just a tad more interesting to me… What a secret you’ve been keeping from everyone! But I have to know, why do you still go by Spider-Man then? Is that not what you truly are?”
Doctor Octopus always sucked to deal with and could take the joy out of a room real quick, but he had a valid point. For almost eight months now, the vigilante had been secretly taking estrogen but had never once renounced the title of “Spider-Man”. Transitioning into a woman was scary enough for the girl behind the mask to keep a lid on, but juggling changing two identities at once?
She’d just prefer to hide it from the public and deal with the icky feelings that came. She just had to get in the right mood to reveal herself first, whenever that moment of readiness would come. It hadn’t as of yet.
But had Otto really noticed that she’d been… different lately? A strange sense of euphoria came from hearing that, but it also drove home a thought she’d been having for months now. The other night, she’d scrolled past comparison pictures from a year ago and was unnerved at seeing how subtly different she’d looked. Things were off in a way she couldn’t get a full grasp on. Just how long could she take hormones before the changes became too much to keep a secret anymore?
And how long could she hide herself away before it became too much to bear?
“That’s… It’s complicated, Otto,” she said with a sigh. “I want to be seen as the person I am. I think about it all the damn time. But everyone already knows me as Spider-Man; that’s just what they think of when they picture me. It’s my image. Am I not kind of set in stone at this point?”
They were both quiet for a moment before Spidey shuffled her feet. “I get this isn’t your problem at all, and it’s gotta be a mistake to even tell you, but… You’re a smart guy. Do you think I’ve got a shot at making it work?”
“Not as long as you keep your identity tucked away,” Otto said. Spidey suddenly wondered why she was trying to take life advice from Doctor Octopus of all people. But maybe he was on to something here. “What’s really stopping you from being your true self? You’ve always seemed to have an excess of self-confidence.”
“Because it’d be constant,” Spidey said as she shook her head, “I’d have to have a conversation with one person I know, and then another, and another… Throwing myself at their mercy, each one coming with the risk of being rejected? At disappointing people? And there’s a lot of eyes on me all the time. It’s a scary place for people like me, and I don’t wanna mess it all up.”
A devious smile made its way on Octavius’ face.
“But I know your secret, don’t I?” he asked in a sly voice. “Maybe I can help you with that.”
“Hey. Don’t.”
“Or maybe I can give you the motivation that you clearly lack. So here are my demands, Spider-— …Spider-Girl. You have two weeks to share this little secret with the world, or else I shall do it for you.”
The floor seemed to spin under her feet. It was a good thing she could stick to the ground, or else she might just have fallen over. Was public knowledge of her transition really being kept hostage by Doc Ock of all people?
“What…?” she stammered. “But why would you do that?? If this is some messed up way of getting back at me or something, we can—“
“Because I want my rival to be the best she can be!” answered Octavius. “Would a victory over you truly be satisfying if your performance was being hindered? It’s no wonder you seemed so easy to trap today; your mind is clearly not at its peak! Sloppy!”
Spidey shook her head and squatted down next to the man. “You’ve really got a weird way of showing your support, Otto. You’re the worst ally a girl could ask for.”
“If you announce yourself after I do it for you?” Otto said, “Everyone will remember that I was one who broke the news. That would end up being an accomplishment for myself, not you! Consider this as me lighting a flame under you, girl.”
Before the crimefighter could reply to that, the doors to the bank suddenly opened, and two police officers cautiously walked in with their guns drawn. Once they saw Doctor Octopus on the ground, their weapons went into their holsters. The taller of the two cops, a man with dark skin and a finely-trimmed moustache, went up to shake Spidey’s hand.
“Job well done, Spider-Man,” he said with a smile. “I gotta say that it’s an honor to finally meet you. I don’t care what some people say about you; you’re doing a great job out here.”
Octavius hummed in delight as he eyed the two officers. The second cop, a young woman with blonde hair, gave him a weird look at that. He cleared his throat with an intentional cough.
“Well, Spidey,” the villain said, “Why don’t I give you a bit of practice with what we were talking about? Go tell these two what you told me.”
The expressive eye lenses on Spidey’s mask widened with surprise. She had not been anticipating sharing her gender identity with anyone new today, let alone Otto and two random strangers on the force. She gulped and looked up at the man.
“I, uh…” she started to say before her voice trailed off. “Well, he and I… We had a little discussion about, um, some— some stuff before you guys showed up and… Look, I… I think…”
Otto decided to poke the bear and opened his mouth. “Officer, I’m afraid that you called our masked friend the wrong name a moment ago. You see, New York’s resident webhead is actually—“
“I’m transgender!”
The two officers both looked at Spidey and blinked in surprise. No one was really sure what to say next, so the wall-crawler decided to speak up.
“Uh, yeah,” she went on, her voice now in a slightly higher pitch. Not too high, though; she hadn’t practiced much and didn’t want to mess it up too badly. “I guess you guys are gonna be calling me Spider-Girl pretty soon, since I’m apparently…”
She put a hand on her hip and threw a nasty glare at Doc Ock, trying to make her expression clear through the mask. “…going to make it clear pretty soon. Just keep it our little secret for now, will you?”
The blonde officer let out a whistle and looked at her. “Hey, I’ve got a cousin in the same boat as you; do you want me to, like… Give you her number or something?”
“Oh, nah,” said Spidey, “I don’t really hand out my work number, and my personal one kinda goes against the whole secret identity thing.”
“Yeah,” said the male cop, “I don’t know much about that stuff, but I don’t have a problem with you. Try not to be too mad if it takes me a bit to adjust to the new name?”
What the hell. Spider-Girl just came out to three people in the same room, and it felt… good. Like, really good. For months, she’d been worrying about being shot down immediately right at her first go, but what she got instead filled her with a joy she didn’t know she needed that badly. Senses were tingling all through her body, and not in the usual imminent-danger type. Maybe this really was the start of a brand new day for her.
“You know,” said the blonde, “I was thinking that your butt looked bigger in that costume in real life!”
“And that is my cue to head out of here!” Spidey announced as she started walking towards the doors. She turned around to face the officers. “Go call the force on how to bring this guy in; they know how to handle him by now. And uh, Ock?”
Octavius kept his gaze focused on her.
“Thanks, I guess.”
“My pleasure, Spider-Girl,” he said with a grin. “And remember, the clock’s ticking!”
The hero narrowed her eyes before turning around and jogging out onto the streets. A crowd nearby (why did they always seem to line up near danger?) cheered for her as she shot a web up towards a building and yanked herself up towards the New York skyline. As she swung along the city’s skyscrapers, she reflected on the journey she’d had with her gender, on the restless days and nights spent grappling with thoughts of her identity and what really fit her the best. On discovering the joys that came with expressing and embracing herself, and how damn good it felt to let those internal thoughts out into the world.
Spider-Girl turned her body in a practiced manner to perfectly adjust the path of her current swing, then flew through the air and landed on a building covered in reflective panels. The girl tilted her head, and she looked at her own figure, noticing how the red-and-blue costume did look just a bit baggier on her sides than it did a few months ago. Maybe a bit tighter around the chest. She smiled under the mask. Then she paused for a moment before trying to angle herself to peek at her ass, but that proved to be way too awkward while clinging to a wall. Maybe it did look bigger in the suit?
She sighed before shooting a strand of webbing towards where home was and began to swing through the air again. The sun was beginning to set, and she had a roommate to inform on the day’s events, people close to her that she needed to talk to, and then a whole city to drop the gender bomb on.
“What could possibly go wrong?” the woman mused to herself as she made her way to where she belonged.
June Parker quietly groaned as she looked at herself in her apartment bathroom. There had been a couple of minutes of scanning her own face for stubble, her frown becoming clearer as she spotted any perceived imperfections. Would makeup stay on while wearing the Spidey mask? Maybe she’d learn that if she’d bothered to try putting makeup on in the first place.
Alright, Parker, she thought as she turned away from her reflection, that’s quite enough dysphoria for tonight. You’ve got dinner waiting for you.
She grabbed her circular non-prescription glasses from the sink counter and put them on, slipping them under her long brown sideburns. Then she opened the door and walked across the short hall to the living room. Escape from New York was ready to play on the room’s flatscreen TV, there were two servings of nachos and corn, and Harry Osborn was stretched out on the couch.
“Ready to kick back for the night, June?” he asked. The young man wore a blue-and-green Hawaiian shirt, some basketball shorts, and his favorite pair of Oscar the Grouch socks. “I really outdid myself with dinner this time. Not sure if you’ve seen the drinks I’ve lined up for myself yet, but I’m not gonna try to convince you to have one anymore. You can get some apple juice or something.”
June sighed and plopped down on the couch. “Thanks, Harry,” she said. “I’m still gonna pass on the drinks; it doesn’t mesh well with my line of work. Speaking of, did you wear that outfit to the pharmacy today?”
Harry let out a laugh before reaching for the first nacho of the night. “I wish our dress code was that loose at work! This is just my party outfit.”
June took a moment to look around the room, totally empty of anyone other than the two of them.
“Some party, huh?” she mused. Harry just grunted before chomping down on his food and smiling at his own cooking. June followed suit, scooping up a fine amount of ground beef before chowing down. Her roommate really was a fine cook beneath his clownish personality. Harry picked up the TV remote to start the show, but June made a mouth-filled-with-meat noise that made him hold that off for a second. A moment later, and down the food went.
“Uh, before we start watching, can we talk about something?” June asked, “I don’t wanna put a damper on this fine meal you’ve made, but… Well, something came up at work today.”
Harry set the remote down and turned to sit facing June. “Oh boy,” he said, “At the Bugle or off on your Spidey business?”
“Spidey business.”
Harry gulped, and his left foot got a little restless. “I was hoping you didn’t say that. Bad or really bad?”
As much as June enjoyed hanging out with Harry, the poor man was just way too easy to work up sometimes. Maybe being the son of a perfectionist like Norman Osborn meant he’d be doomed to develop lingering anxiety.
“Not bad!” June blurted out to try and calm him down, “Good, maybe! It can be good, just… started off bad. So, I’m just gonna say it, Doc Ock figured out that I’m a girl.”
“Shit, that guy?” Harry asked as he wiped at his forehead to get rid of any spontaneous sweat. “He’s like, the worst one who could have found that out! You know how smart he is? What if he, like, cross-references every trans girl in the city until he figures out who you are?”
Damn. June hadn’t thought about that one.
“I mean, I guess he could, but he just seemed weirdly cool with it?” June said, “But I think an evil light bulb went off over his head. Now I’ve got two weeks to make a public announcement or something or else he’s gonna out me.”
“What the hell?!” Harry nearly shouted, “That guy is such a little bitch! Who the hell is he to—“
“Harry, Harry,” said June, “It’s gonna be okay! I’ve been meaning to do that anyway, but I… just kinda keep chickening out? Maybe I’ve gotta set up some kind of a press conference? Hell, set up an interview with Jonah? What would you do?”
A frown remained on Harry’s face, and he adjusted himself on the couch. His eyes idly scanned the floor as he tried to think about the situation.
“First off, I’m sorry, June,” he said. “I know how much courage it took for you to tell me, and I respect the hell out of you for that. You were so scared, and you knew that we’re the same!”
“The same? You mean we’ve both slept with Flash Thompson in college?”
Harry’s face flushed a red color to nearly match his signature hair. “We’re both queer, June. We both know what it feels like to be different from everyone else. Maybe that’s why we meshed so well in the first place; maybe that part of you was always in there, somewhere.”
June smirked and grabbed for another nacho out of their shared bowl. She was so lucky to have met Harry back when college started. Having Flash for a roommate had been… more interesting than she’d expected, but Harry and her just seemed to click together like two puzzle pieces. Two platonic, dorky, weird little puzzle pieces.
“And another thing, June? If you really go through with this, I’ve got your back no matter what. I might not have a cash flow from my homophobe dad anymore, but you know what I do have? A heart. And as long as it beats, I’m here for you.”
June snorted. “That’s so corny, dude.”
“Whatever,” Harry said as he picked up the remote. “You’re my best friend. So, we good now? Any other profound topics you wanna cover before we watch this thing?”
“No, I’ve got everything I need.”
“Good. You know, I heard this movie inspired Metal Gear or something. I’m expecting wacky urban vibes from this.”
June looked over at her roommate. “You want wacky urban vibes? I’m gonna put on Predator 2 next time. There’s like, a weird voodoo gang in the city; how’d it go from the jungle to that?”
That fun-loving light glimmered in Harry’s eyes, and he coughed before putting on his best overblown Jamaican accent. “‘You know what I belieeeve…?’”
June smiled before putting on an evil smirk, “‘Sheet ‘appens...’”
The two cracked up laughing together before June nearly started to choke on a piece of a nacho chip. That was a fun way of finding out that food could trigger the Spider-Sense. Then they looked at each other before cracking up again. Harry clicked the remote’s play button and the movie started up. June reached for her corn plate and licked at her lips before chomping down on the oiled cob.
Maybe Ock had won in his own way by forcing her to make a move. Maybe there’d be people who’d hate her for being herself— Hell, she knew there would be. But no matter what would go down, June Parker had people she cared about, and that meant everything to her.
In her mind, she decided that she’d spend just one more night in her familiar, cramped little closet. She had work to do tomorrow.