Friday— April 15th, 2011.
TAYLOR'S FEARS.
3:35 PM.

Taylor's heart pounded in her chest as fear gripped her tightly. The realization that her identity was now exposed sent shivers down her spine. Panic threatened to overwhelm her, but she forced herself to remain composed, to think rationally in the face of danger.

Biting her thumb's nail, she thought aloud what might have led to this. "This is most likely Coil's retaliation." She didn't even need to hear Dinah's confirmation as she started to connect the dots.

Though clues were vague and there was no conclusive evidence, it was apparent to her that Coil was attempting to get rid of 'Peter Parker' in particular evident to how she was taken hostage forcing Peter in the backfoot for some time.

She felt the empathic thread connected to Peter shake.

Peter's expression mirrored her own fear, his brow furrowed in deep concentration as he must have realized the same. He was pale as he looked back at Taylor. "I am sorry, Taylor… I… I… This was on me…"

"No," Taylor shook her head, and she felt her heart hurting at seeing Peter blame himself. It was clear to her Peter was heavy on himself. "This was all Coil. Don't blame yourself for this.

As Karen continued to trace the source of the leaks, Taylor couldn't shake the feeling of vulnerability that now consumed her. She thought of her dad. What would her dad think of her now? Guilt gnawed at her insides, knowing that she had put him in harm's way.

"What do we do now?" Dinah's voice trembled slightly, turning to Peter. "I… I want to help."

Peter smiled, showing his best parts to the little girl. "You are safe now. We should be able to return you back to your family. The way I see it now, the safest way is for Taylor to turn herself in, maybe to the Protectorate or the Police."

"I am sure you can easily become a Ward," Peter added as he turned to Taylor with a pained smile.

Taylor saw the look of conviction in Peter's eyes. "How about you?"

"I can't. It is complicated…" There was something, but Peter wouldn't tell her.

Through the empathic thread, Taylor could sense Peter's apprehension, anxiety, remorse, and fear. Peter was keeping a secret he feared would either harm her or himself. Why? What was it? Was it related to his immigrant status?

"We are going to talk about this, but first, I need to call dad," Taylor took out her phone and dialed for her dad. It rang. And then it rang. And then it rang more.

Karen from the computer called out, "I found the most likely source of the leak. I have recorded the coordinates. It appeared to be the base of the Undersiders or at least their lobby or meeting ground. Chances this was a trap was less likely considering the levels of securities I had to puncture through their systems. Coil AKA Thomas Calvert was last seen via peripheral CCTVs to have taken a boat from the bay. He had escaped, Peter. My suggestion is for you to lie low."

"Or we hit the Undersiders," There was a vindictive tone to Taylor's voice. Her phone continued to ring for her dad, but it wasn't answering.

"No, we lie low." Peter remarked strongly.

Taylor could sense his worry for her, and he was right, this was not a time for them for rash decisions. Moreover, there was more important things for her to do. "Peter, I need to go back home, explain to dad. You should bring Dinah back to her parents. If Coil is gone, she should be safer now."

Without turning back, Taylor left the Spider Lair. She was still in her civilian clothes, but she had her hoodie, so that should help obscure her face. She brought the cowl down her face, hiding her features.

Waiting in the nearest bus station, possible thoughts of her father's reactions occurred to her: anger, more anger, lots of scolding, worry, anger again, and then worry. She hated her dad worrying over her. While it might be bad for her dad's heart, she preferred him getting angry at her. The reason she kept her cape identity from her dad was because she didn't want him to worry over her— life would be easier if her dad remained ignorant of what she was doing.

Taylor was failing miserably in hiding the real identity thing since it had not been a week since she debuted, yet her real identity had been exposed to the world already. Then she thought of Winslow High and her bullies. No! This was not a good time for her to think about school. She needed to focus on her dad.

When she got off the bus and arrived at her house's door, her phone suddenly rang. She looked and saw her dad's name on it. She picked up the phone and heard her dad's worried voice.

"Taylor," his voice was low, and there was something to it.

Taylor's heart skipped a beat as she heard her dad's voice on the other end of the line. She struggled to keep her own voice steady as she replied, "Dad, I'm okay, but there's something I need to tell you." She could sense the tension in his tone, his worry palpable even through the phone.

"I know, Taylor," her dad interrupted gently, his voice heavy with concern. "I saw the news. Are you safe? Where are you?"

Relief flooded through her at her dad's understanding. "I'm on my way home now," she reassured him. "I'll explain everything when I get there." In fact, she was standing just by the door.

Her dad cut her in, "NO! DON'T COME HOME! STAY WHERE YOU ARE! DON'T COME HOME!"

Taylor felt her heart stop. Why? Why not come home? Was her dad that angry with her?

And then the door opened. From the other side was Taylor's dad, Danny Hebert.

Danny Hebert stood at the doorway, his expression a mixture of shock, fear, and despair as he looked at his daughter. His normally steady hands trembled slightly as he clutched the doorknob while his other hand was still on the phone. His eyes were wide with disbelief at the sight before him.

"You shouldn't have come," Tears streamed from Danny's cheeks. "Oh, darling… you shouldn't have come." Mid-sentence, Danny turned around and ran away from Taylor with everything he got.

"Dad? W-where are you going?" Taylor's voice trembled. The last thing she saw was the back of her dad's neck with a freshly scarring mark, when finally… Danny Hebert exploded.

It wasn't a normal explosion, instead of incineration, there was an explosion of pressurized liquid: it was red. It was mixed with her dad's blood. And it got Taylor. Her left arm was severed to the bone, but the pain of her arm did not register to her. Her mind was fuzzy, she was blanking out, but she willed herself and looked at the pile of minced remains of her father.

For some reason, it wasn't Taylor's time yet… she had 'sensed' the danger. The 'thread' she shared with Peter had warned her somehow allowing her to move the last second. She didn't dodge it completely as she lost her good arm.

Taylor didn't pay any attention even to her arm lying a few feet from her as she simply stared at her dead father. She was despondent to Peter who had arrived at some point. Because of the sight in front of her, she didn't realize she was losing control—

Swarms of insects scattered around her creating dark clouds above. And then slowly, she fainted.

…

..

.

Friday— April 15th, 2011.
PETER'S FEARS.
3:56 PM.

"No, no…"

After dropping the little girl Dinah to her residence, he quickly swung back to Taylor… he was scared. His spider-sense was calling to him, warning him something dangerous was about to happen to Taylor.

With the dual arc reactors pumping energy in his suit, he speedily made his way back to the docks on Taylor's home, and he saw it—

Peter rushed to Taylor's side, horror and grief etched onto his face as he took in the scene before him. He had arrived just in time to witness the horrifying event unfold. He knelt beside her, gently cradling her in his arms, his heart breaking for her loss and pain.

The house threatened to crumble.

Karen's voice echoed in his comms, the AI giving her earnest report, "Some sort of esoteric bomb had exploded. It appeared to have been surgically transplanted to Danny Hebert. The effects were igniting a pressurized cutting explosion. The principles and engineering of the technology used are unknown."

The swarm of insects surrounding them began to disperse, revealing the devastation left in the wake of the explosion. Peter's mind raced as he assessed the situation, his senses on high alert. He knew they needed to get Taylor out of there, to safety, but he also couldn't leave her father's remains behind.

Taylor was largely unresponsive, her outburst of power-usage must have taken a toll on her.

With a heavy heart, Peter gently lifted Taylor, careful not to aggravate her injuries further. He gathered her severed arm, knowing it might be of use later, and then swiftly swung away from the scene, his mind consumed by thoughts of what to do next.

"Don't die on me, Taylor… I… I need you…"

As they landed on a nearby rooftop, Peter set Taylor down gently, his hands trembling with emotion. He quickly fashioned a makeshift tourniquet for her severed arm, trying to stem the bleeding as best he could. He knew they needed medical help, but going to a hospital was out of the question. They were too exposed, too vulnerable.

And then more explosions went from the backdrop.

Peter was aghast as he witnessed an eight-story building crumble and lean another building. It was like watching dominoes… More explosions followed. From a distance, all kinds of explosive displays could be seen, each of them acting on esoteric effects. The building two streets adjacent to him exploded in a pseudo-black hole effect, tearing a giant hole into it.

His spider-sense is crying to him: there was danger everywhere.

Deciding to take this one step at a time, Peter picked up Taylor and returned to swinging… He needed Panacea. "Karen, give me the location of Amy Dallon AKA Panacea from New Wave."

Peter swung through the chaos-ridden streets, his heart heavy with grief and fear for Taylor's safety.

As explosions rocked the city around him, he focused on getting her to Panacea as quickly as possible. Karen's voice guided him, providing coordinates to Amy Dallon's location.

"Panacea is on duty, she was last seen by a hospital north of Downtown." Karen's voice informed him of a general direction while redirecting him from the collapsed trails of whatever bombs were used to terrorize the place.

It was terrible. Even with paying little attention, Peter saw the devastation the bombs had left the people, and he was helpless to do anything to stop it.

With each swing, Peter's mind raced with thoughts of the events that had unfolded. He couldn't shake the guilt that weighed heavily upon him. He blamed himself for Taylor's suffering, for not being able to protect her and her father. The fear gnawed at him, threatening to consume him, but he pushed it aside, focusing solely on getting Taylor the help she desperately needed.

It took him roughly 8 minutes before he reached his destination.

Peter gently carried Taylor, his hands were shaking but his suit corrected his posture helping him not aggravate Taylor. He explained the situation to the young healer. "I… I need help…" It appeared he had interrupted her at the worst of times as Panacea was convening with Armsmaster.

"You are here," Armsmaster remarked in an even tone.

People were being carried to the hospital at an easy phase. Shouting and chaos were occurring within the hospital and Amy being held off by Armsmaster had annoyed her enough.

Amy's eyes landed on Taylor.

"H-heal her… Please…" Peter begged.

"Armsmaster, I will return to my duties now." Amy ignored Peter and was about to go on her way, but Armsmster held her arm and stopped her from going. Irately, Amy remarked. "You do know there are people that needed healing… If you want me to heal the cape, then she's better off receiving surgery. Leave it to the doctors to suture her limb back."

Armsmaster ignored her and addressed Peter, "Iron Spider. We came off on the wrong foot the first time, but I will make an offer: submit to the PRT, join the Wards, and now is a better time than any."

It was coercion, and it sickened Peter, but what choice did he have?

"Fine," Peter withdrew his nanites on his helm part. "Just… just fix her…"

Amy Dallon AKA Panacea wore a robe with a large hood and a scarf that covered the lower half of her face. She had frizzy brown curly hair and freckles from forehead to chin, packed densely enough that there were as many brown freckles as pink skin. Though she looked mousy and weak-willed, there was a certain edge in her eyes.

"Armsmaster, I have rights. I have a right to refuse. I am not PRT-affiliated." Panacea strongly objected, perhaps the idea of healing Taylor was against her Work Ethic, and as if to prove this, she continued on. "I will only heal people in emergencies like the bombing now when there is no alternative available. The girl only lost an arm, she will live."

Armsmaster shook his head, "The girl was a cape. She was Entomancer. Whoever leaked Iron Spider and the Entomancer's civilian identities would pay, but for now, these two needed help. I understand your time is precious, but so is mine. Every second I stay here is every second I am not out there helping people. The moment the first explosions occurred, I drove my way here and immediately secured the facility. You will be an important asset to this emergency, Panacea; that much I understand. But we could do more with extra resources. One more cape to the fold, and we'll have an easier time with this crisis."

"Fine," Panacea begrudgingly relented, approached Taylor and touched her. "Remove the tourniquet, and stick the arm to her bloody stump."

Peter did as she instructed, Karen had already informed him what she was capable of. With spider legs sprouting from his back, he made quick work of removing the bandages on Taylor.

…

..

.

A few minutes later—

Taylor lay unconscious on the hospital bed, her pale complexion contrasting sharply against the stark white sheets. Her long, curly, dark hair fanned out around her head like a bird's nest. No longer was the bloody hoody on her.

She was alive. She was breathing.

According to Panacea, she would wake up soon, and Peter wanted to be here when she woke up.

Armsmaster was behind him, shadowing him from the start. "Who leaked your civilian identities? Any ideas?"

"It was Coil. He did it. Maybe, the bombs too…" Peter gritted his teeth.

"Those are heavy accusations," Armsmaster's voice was measured, but he was doubtful of Peter's statements. "You are wrong, the bombs aren't his. It was ABB. They have a new Tinker, who specializes in bombs. It was clearly an act of revenge since the two of you brought Lung down. The timing was terrible, given how your civilian identities were revealed just like that. Don't worry, the Protectorate will come crushing at ABB for what they did. There was a reason why we don't so easily break the unwritten rules. Most likely, the other gangs would have a united front and that should free us more resources on how to deal with ABB's parahumans."

"ABB, huh? Coil must have leaked it to them in advance." Peter realized there was more to this.

Karen informed him, a nanite construct in the form of an earpiece slithered to his ears. "It might not be Coil who directly acted on revealing your civilian identities. He most likely ordered to release of the leaks via his subordinate/s. The evidence is the timestamps of his digital footprints. He went completely off the grid. The possibility of Coil cluing the ABB personally or even via a third party is uncertain, and evidence is inconclusive."

It was definitely Coil, and there was no way in hell it wasn't him.

"How about Lung?" asked Peter.

Armsmaster provided, "Still in containment. This is ABB. While the possibility of rescue is low, I have made apt preparations if rescuing him was ABB's objective. So what are you going to do now?"

Peter looked at Taylor for one last time.

Armsmaster continued, "You cannot stay here. We have work to do."

Taylor stirred awake, her eyelids fluttering as consciousness gradually returned to her.

It was just as Panacea said, she would recover quickly.

…

..

.

Friday— April 15th, 2011.
ARMSMASTER'S ADVICE.
4:08 PM.

Slowly, Taylor became aware of her surroundings, the sterile smell of the hospital, and the soft hum of medical equipment nearby. The sensation of her arm being missing flooded her senses, but then she felt it— her left arm had returned. There were feelings of discomfort, but it was temporary as she easily stretched her left arm.

With a groan, Taylor shifted in the bed, her movements tentative as she tried to make sense of everything that had happened. She reached up to remove the needle plugged into her arm, her fingers trembling slightly with the effort. Standing up, she felt a wave of dizziness wash over her, but she pushed through it, determined to regain her bearings.

Her gaze fell on Peter, who stood nearby, his expression filled with concern and guilt. She remembered the events leading up to the explosion, her dad's demise, Peter coming to her, and then… Then there was nothing.

Cape life was far scarier than she thought, yet she was not scared anymore… She had lost her father, and for someone who had nothing more to lose, there was also nothing to fear anymore.

It could be argued that her dad's demise might be attributed to her involvement with Peter, but she wouldn't blame him. Despite everything that had happened, she couldn't bring herself to blame him. Peter had been there for her when she needed him most, and for that, she was grateful.

"Peter," she said softly, her voice was unexpectedly hoarse. "Thank you... for everything."

"You are dehydrated, Panacea said you might have lost some liquids, but nothing of immediate concern." Peter looked at her, his own emotions evident in his eyes. "I'm just glad you're okay," he replied, while he poured water for her from the pitcher.

Taylor took the glass of water and drank in one gulp. "Let's go. I need to retrieve my costume, maybe gather a swarm or two…" Only now did she notice Armsmaster who was waiting by the door.

"Who is it?" Her question was filled with implications, but it could only mean one thing. She connected with the bugs within her range inside and outside of the hospital walls, and with them, she saw the devastation being/was inflicted on Brockton Bay. The bombings were not a singular event and were happening everywhere. "Armsmaster, who is it?"

"Are you… planning for revenge?" Peter asked, cutting Armsmaster off.

"It is not ideal to get bloodthirsty over this incident. I need level-headed capes on the field—" Armsmaster only meant well to phrase his words this way, but he was ticking Taylor off… assuming he and Peter had decided to affiliate with PRT now.

And here she thought she used to idolize Armsmaster. There was wisdom in the phrase 'Never meet your heroes' lest you get disappointed.

"Peter, I wouldn't go to the Wards, the PRT, the Protectorate, or anything… I will stay as a 'Rogue Cape' as I see fit. Are you with me?" She was taking advantage of Peter and the 'thread' that connected them, and she knew she was wrong. But she needed Peter.

'Please don't abandon me,' she inwardly cried, and Peter winced.

Taylor felt her heart caught at a standstill of pain and self-blame. Her thoughts were somehow channeled to the 'thread' and Peter 'heard' her.

"I won't abandon you," Peter voiced out, he turned to Amrsmaster and wore the helm part of his armor, the familiar slithering of nanites crawling to his face. "I am sorry, Armsmaster for breaking your trust. Your 'invitation' to the matter had to be postponed. This is the kindest rejection you will hear from me, so move from the door. I and Taylor need to go."

"You have made your choice. I prefer not letting 'unstable' capes on the field, but…" Unexpectedly, Armsmaster stepped aside from the door allowing the two of them an exit.

Taylor didn't know if this was a trick to catch them off-guard, but it appeared Armsmaster planned to let them go. When she passed by him, she heard him call to Peter.

"Look out for your partner, Spider… I can respect the two of you being independent. While I am not much for inspiring speeches, I hope you take this advice from me. Never let your guard down. The ABB will want your heads, avoid public appearance as much as possible."

.

..

…

#BOOM! #Armsmaster being a jerk without trying #Tattletale, what did you do!? #Shared Spider-Sense, what do you think?