The Locker.

It always came down to the locker.

That was the fateful day that Taylor's entire world changed. It wasn't the 18 months of bullying, the verbal and mental torture, or physical assaults that had done it. It was the attempted murder when she had been shoved into a school locker full of toxic waste that consisted of used feminine hygiene products, contaminated needles with various drugs and diseases inside, and rotting garbage.

She was trapped inside and couldn't get out.

If it had just been that alone, and her vomit, things might have turned out differently. However, because of the decomposing nature of the locker's contents and being left to fester for the entire Christmas break, a multitude of bugs had infested it as well. It drew all kinds to its disgusting aroma and taste, which in turn brought predators to feast on those bugs.

Spiders. Lots and lots of spiders.

A veritable buffet was available to them now and it drew out several of the deadliest species known to man. It was quite the collection of venomous arachnids that had converged to add their presence to an already horrible situation.

Taylor could feel them crawling all over her. She could barely move within the small amount of space she had in the locker, thanks to her 5 foot 10 inches of height being crammed inside. There was no leverage for her to gain or use to her advantage, not that she could have used it anyway. She was locked inside and despite her screams, no one answered her.

When she felt the first of the spiders bite her, it only added to her pain and despair. She desperately tried to thrash around to get them off of her, only to anger them and they bit her again and again. Her screams of agony as the venom coursed through her veins, tore her throat up. It seemed to go on forever and her voice was barely a whisper as she gave up, and then... something snapped inside.

*

Sophia Hess, Emma Barnes, and Madison Clements came back to the scene of the crime after first class had ended and they started laughing at the locker while other students gathered around. There were no more bangs or pleas for help, which told them that it had worked. They had finally broken their target.

*BANG!*

Half of the students standing around had jumped at the loud noise. A few discreetly pulled out their cell phones and started recording.

“Don't bother trying to escape, Hebert! Your pathetic attempts won't work!” Sophia taunted.

“Yeah, Taylor! Why don't you hurry up and die already!” Emma added, callously.

*BANG!* *BANG!*

No one jumped this time and they all started to wonder why they were just standing there, then there was the sound of creaking metal. Everyone's eyes widened as the locker door started to bend outwards.

“Oh, shit.” Sophia whispered as the lock holding it closed was bent. It suddenly tore through the metal holder and the locker door slammed open as something fell out of the locker and onto the floor. The garbage and things sloughed off of it and the thing partially rolled over.

It was hideous! Three pitch black bug eyes were bulging out of the left side of its face, a half-formed mandible had torn through one of its cheeks, and a pincer had split part of its mouth open. Half of the hair was gone and was replaced by pulsing bulbous growths on the skull.

“SoPHia... EMMa... MADison... you... dID this... to Me!” The mutated thing said and reached out with a split hand that had a large claw sticking out of the palm.

“Oh, GOD!” Madison shouted in a near hysterical scream.

“Fuck!” Sophia exclaimed and took out her cell phone as the thing tried to crawl over to her with only one working arm.

“GeT... yOU... mAKe... pAY!” The thing mumbled as the split hand flopped off to the floor. It looked at the discarded flesh with its five eyes and let out an ungodly howl of anguish that scared everyone.

“Run!” Sophia said and pushed Emma and Madison out of the way and ran down the hallway as she brought up her special contact number and speed dialed it.

“PRT Hotline.”

“This is Sophia Hess, WP506. I have a situation.”

It was quiet on the phone for several seconds and there was a click.

“Armsmaster.” A man's voice said.

Of course I get the fucking dickhead. Sophia thought and ducked into an empty classroom. “I just had an unknown cape attack me and reveal themselves.”

“Type and position?” Armsmaster asked.

“Mutation. If I had to guess, it's a kind of bug or spider. Its on the second floor in the west side corridor. Locker 215.” Sophia said and calmed down. Whatever Taylor was becoming, it wasn't going to get into the room with her without hands to open the door.

“Get to safety and do not reveal your status as a Ward. The response team will be there in five minutes.” Armsmaster said and hung up.

“Fuck.” Sophia said and looked out through the door's window and didn't see anything. She also couldn't hear any screams, so Taylor wasn't attacking anyone as far as she could tell. If she played her cards right, she could have the PRT deal with her before Taylor revealed that it was her that had caused the whole thing.

*

Four and a half minutes later, Miss Militia, Assault, Battery, and a troop of PRT officers in SWAT gear stormed the school. No one tried to stop them and they reached the west side corridor in under fifteen seconds... and skidded to a stop when the crowd parted. The stench was almost overwhelming and the sight of a... whatever it was... had made them all pause to try and figure out what was going on.

The thing was making a high keening sound as pieces of its flesh seemed to be pushed out and dropped to the floor. It no longer had a mouth as the bottom part of its face sloughed off and splatted onto the floor. It was all horribly fascinating and completely morbid.

“You.” Miss Militia said and put a hand on someone who was still filming the scene. “May I borrow your phone?”

The girl didn't say anything and just handed it to her.

“Why aren't you running away?” Battery asked her as Miss Militia stopped the recording and played the clip from the beginning.

“We aren't in any danger. She stopped chasing Sophia when she realized she was falling apart.” The girl said.

“You know who that is?” Battery asked.

“Taylor Hebert.” The girl said.

Miss Militia stopped breathing when the clip showed the thing flop out of the locker and accused Sophia Hess of doing it to her. “Get everyone into an empty classroom and record their statements.” She ordered and the PRT troopers started doing so. “Do you mind if I keep this for an hour or so? I need to copy this file.” She asked the girl.

“As long as you don't damage it and I get it back, sure.” The girl said and gave Miss Militia her name. She was led away and Miss Militia took out her own phone.

“Console? Miss Militia here. I need...” She paused and looked over the scene. “I need a biohazard crew, a PRT containment van, and if she can be contacted safely at school, Panacea.”

“When do you...”

“Right now.” Miss Militia interrupted him and hung up. She thought about contacting Sophia for an explanation and chose not to, just in case it gave away her civilian identity. As it was, she was in severe trouble already without her lying about it.

*

Amy 'Panacea' Dallon had been absolutely horrified when she touched... the victim. Yes, victim was the least slanderous word she could use for whatever Taylor Hebert was changing into. Her body was mutating in ways that Amy couldn't explain. It shouldn't have been possible for a human to be altered in such a way to still technically have human DNA and have everything else that was going on inside of her.

“What can you tell us about the case?” Emily Piggot asked, her stern face hid what she really thought about the whole thing. Kill it with fire and forget she had ever seen it.

Amy was at a loss as to what to tell the woman. On one hand, it was a young woman's personal medical history. On the other hand, did Taylor even exist anymore? She surely didn't look like Taylor anymore, let alone like a human. Her brain... well, the less said about what was happening to that, the better.

“Panacea, please. Anything you can tell us would be a huge help.” Miss Militia said.

Amy looked back through the three inch steel door's window into the containment cell. The long misshapen spider legs were unnerving to watch as they tried, and failed, to gain any purchase on the tinkertech smooth walls. The main mass was perched on the hospital bed with makeshift straps around it, because the normal straps couldn't encompass the large lower body.

“From what I could gather after touching her and her...” *cough* “...discarded parts, she has been systematically abused for months. At least. Starvation, malnourishment, injuries...” Amy sighed. “If I had to name what happened to her, I would call it torture.”

Miss Militia sucked in a sharp breath and Emily Piggot's stern face grimaced.

“The locker was the last straw, apparently. The attempted murder caused her to trigger while she had five different spider venoms in her body, including black widow venom. I can only guess from the amount that she had been bitten hundreds of times in the hour or so she had been in that confined space. She also had three STDs, eight different blood contaminants, and an autoimmune disease.”

“And now?” Emily asked, despite not wanting to know after hearing that description.

“Honestly, I can't tell you what's going on with her after I removed the diseases.” Amy said and they all looked surprised. “Her mutation technically shouldn't be possible. Even if she ate all of the spiders that bit her, it wouldn't give her near the amount of mass that her spider parts have. The mass to energy ratio doesn't make sense at all and it shouldn't have mutated her.”

“Nothing like this has happened before?” Miss Militia asked.

“No records of anything this drastic has ever been recorded.” Armsmaster told them. “Dragon can give you a list of the current mutated capes on record, both living and deceased.”

“Have any of them lost their minds completely?” Amy asked, almost absently.

“Excuse me?” Emily asked her, quite pointedly.

Amy stepped back from the door and looked at the Director of the PRT ENE, or Protectorate Response Team East-North-East division. “Her mind is... regressing? Retreating?” She shrugged. “I'm only an expert in human biology, not arachnid. I don't really know for sure what's going on with her.”

Emily stayed quiet for a moment before she spoke. “Are you telling me that when she finishes transforming into whatever she ends up becoming, she will only have a mind that matches her body?”

Amy thought about not answering, in case her words changed the director's mind, then sighed. All she could do was tell the truth. “If she finishes changing into a giant spider and her mutating DNA completely takes over, she won't really have much brain matter left for more than basic instincts to inhabit.”

Emily's stern face changed to stone. “We cannot have a giant spider creature loose in Brockton Bay.”

“We could set her up in one of the empty warehouses down by the docks. When she gets hungry, she can feed on the Merchants in the area.” Armsmaster suggested.

Amy was disgusted, Miss Militia almost drew her weapon to shoot him, and Emily Piggot had a thoughtful look on her face.

“Despite the excellent suggestion, we can't guarantee she would only snatch up the druggies.” Emily said, her tone regretful. “Even one innocent civilian being lost would be enough to bring us down.”

Both Amy and Miss Militia were surprised by her words.

“Panacea, what kind of food requirements would she have?” Emily asked.

“I told you that I have no background with spiders.” Amy said.

“Take a wild guess.” Emily prompted.

Amy didn't glare at the woman; but, it was a close thing. “According to her body mass, if she has a similar appetite to a human, then she would need to be fed at least once a week with a gallon of whatever spiders suck out of their victims after injecting them with their venom.”

Emily stiffened. “Is she venomous?”

Amy opened her mouth to respond and snapped it shut.

“No answer is good enough for me to believe she is.” Emily said and turned to Armsmaster. “Get with Dragon and see if she can ship in something appropriate for... Arachne... to eat. A pig or a goat for now.”

“Why?” Miss Militia asked.

“I want her drugged up to the gills and carted off to the Birdcage.” Emily said. “Our job is to handle dangerous capes. That thing is just one more that needs to be dealt with.”

“You're going to sentence her to life in prison for existing?!?” Amy asked, shocked.

“I sincerely doubt she will object to not receiving a trial.” Emily said. I can also keep Sophia Hess out of the public eye and hide her involvement.

“You're going to cover everything up.” Amy said when she realized what was going on and didn't flinch when Emily glared at her. “What about her father? What are you going to tell him?”

“It's for his daughter's own safety and that of everyone else.” Emily said, the justification easily rolling off of her tongue. “Once he sees what she's become...”

“You're not going to have him silenced and sent to prison, too?” Amy asked, angrily.

“That is enough, Panacea.” Emily said, sternly.

“Do you really think he's going to let what happened to his daughter go?” Amy asked. “Sophia Hess tortured that poor girl into triggering and turned her into a fucking monster!”

“As a consultant for the PRT, you are under several NDA agreements and cannot discuss criminal cases with anyone.” Emily reminded her.

Amy opened her mouth, closed it, then glared at her. “Yeah, I am.” She said and lost the glare. “I hope you're going to be happy with what happens next.”

“Nothing is going to happen. The PRT has everything under control and the public will be safe.”

Amy scoffed at her and walked away. “You keep telling yourself that, you self-important bitch.”

Emily bristled at that. “Panacea, I am ordering you to remain quiet about this!”

“I heard you the first time.” Amy said and opened the door at the end of the hall. “I won't say anything about you railroading an innocent girl that one of your Wards pretty much murdered and turned into a mindless creature.”

“Good.” Emily said with finality.

“However, I will consult with the patient's father about her condition, which I am legally allowed to do, since said patient cannot make medical decisions for herself.” Amy said with satisfaction and slammed the door.

“Well, fuck.” Emily sighed.

Miss Militia and Armsmaster exchanged worried looks behind her back.

*

The media campaign to 'save the innocent girl from prosecution' would become a full-on media blitz. Social media, the news, and the PHO or ParaHumans Online message boards were full of videos and discussions about the locker incident. It was much too late to hide the fact that Taylor Hebert was the girl in question, so no one was charged for violating the Unwritten Rules or for outing a cape.

Sophia Hess, Emma Barnes, and Madison Clements had their fifteen minutes of infamy and quickly became targets of hate mail and messages that called them down to the lowest. The three girls were despised by everyone and no one gave them a chance to explain anything, because the three of them weren't repentant in the least.

Their protests that Taylor was a troublemaker and they were only dealing with her to put her in her place, were silenced and countered when Taylor's journal was released by her father. The sheer number of incidents and damages that Taylor had suffered, to herself, her prized possessions, and schoolwork, let everyone know that those three girls had tortured her for months.

Alan Barnes had no choice but to defend his daughter, to the detriment of his family and the law firm he worked for. It wouldn't have been so bad for him, except his coworker Carol Dallon had taken on Taylor's case. She was considered a cape after her mutation and had no one to defend her, so Carol had stepped up and waved her fees until they won their civil suit against the perpetrators and the school.

That was how a lot of concerning things came out about the staff and principal of the school. They had covered everything up and had ignored Taylor's pleas for help against the school's track star and her group of popular girls. Once someone started to talk, the other students realized they could get rid of all of the mean girls in the school.

Over thirty students came forward with direct evidence of the crimes that had been committed against Taylor. It damned the three main perpetrators even more than the videos had and ten more hangers-on that were involved were also vilified and their lives torn apart and ruined.

*

It had taken a month for the civil suit to make it to court and Carol Dallon easily won, because the evidence was overwhelming to a degree that was previously unheard of. She had also stopped Taylor's unceremonious shuffling off to the Birdcage, which was exactly why Amy had asked her mother to take the case.

With Taylor Hebert's severely diminished mental capacity, it was little consolation that all twelve jurors had awarded her with ten million dollars in compensation for what happened to her and for the school's negligence. Another five million was awarded for her medical care in a special facility that would be constructed near Danny Hebert's home.

The criminal trial had been delayed and pushed back, thanks to the PRT Director's interference and a delay caused the the Simurgh's attack in Australia at the end of February. That actually worked in Carol's favor, because with the solid win under her belt in the civil case that proved the girls and the school personnel were at fault, the criminal case would be a sure win.

*

“What's wrong with her?” Danny asked the arachnid specialist he had hired to consult on what to do to keep Taylor happy. It had been a month since the settlement had been awarded and three weeks since the small building had been converted for Taylor's use. He had put the medical care money to good use. “Why is she doing that?”

“I'm not sure.” Jason Standish said and rubbed his chin as the giant spider started to consume yet another food animal. “Most spiders don't eat so much so quickly. Even with her size and altered physique to contain that much weight in her cephalothorax and abdomen, she shouldn't need so many nutrients.”

Danny sighed and wondered why he hadn't broken down yet. He had pretty much lost his daughter to the thing that was inside what was essentially a giant man-made spider nest. The outlook kept getting bleaker every day and he didn't know what he was going to do if she stopped responding to his voice.

The giant spider made a loud sucking sound when it finished off consuming the full-sized cow that it had liquefied most of the insides of, then it shuddered and scurried over to the corner of the observation room. It crawled up to the ceiling and the giant spinnerets on its backside started pouring out spider silk by the bucketful.

“Uh oh.” Jason whispered as four of the spider's eight arms started stringing the webbing from side to side, clearly making something.

“What is it?” Danny asked.

“I... ah... I'm not sure I should guess.” Jason hedged.

“I don't pay you big money to not tell me something.” Danny said, his voice stern.

Jason sighed. “All of my years of experience are telling me something shocking, Danny. Something I'm sure you're not ready to hear and it really shouldn't be possible.”

“Just spit it out.” Danny said and looked at the spider frantically building something.

“It's... I believe it's a birthing sac.” Jason said and Danny almost choked. “I don't recognize her species of spider, so I don't know how she could have... ah... you know.”

Danny could only stare at the man with his mouth hanging open.

“I haven't heard of any asexual spiders before, so I'm pretty sure you're not going to be a grandfather and have hundreds of little spiders running around in a few weeks.” Jason tried to joke.

Danny dropped his head into his hands with a soft groan.

“It's all right, Danny. We can stay right here and watch. If she does turn around and start passing eggs into what she's building, they shouldn't hatch because they aren't fertilized. If she doesn't lay eggs, you can relax, because it might just be her practising.”

For the next two hours, the giant spider worked tirelessly and constructed one of the most elaborate protective sacs that the expert had ever seen. Jason couldn't quite tell why it seemed to be in two halves until the spider shifted its weight and turned around.

Before Jason could gasp at the change in position and the possibility she was actually laying eggs, the giant spider backed up into the thing, stuck itself to the wall, and started burying itself in the mass of sticky webbing. Both Jason and Danny watched in shock as the giant spider enclosed itself into the so-called birthing sac and sealed it from the inside.

“I freely admit that I have no goddamn clue why she did that.” Jason said, completely dumbfounded.

*

Two weeks later, the cocoon started to droop down from where it had been secured to the wall. Jason called Danny right away and he ran from his home over to the small facility. The two of them watched as the heavy center mass of webbing slowly stretched the securing webs and seemingly lowered itself to the floor. At least, that was what it looked like.

The oval mass fell forward and deformed slightly as it came to a rest, then a little bulge appeared on the top of the mass of webs and withdrew. Jason and Danny gave each other worried looks, because that bulge did not look small. They looked back just in time to see a second and third bulge briefly appear.

“I'm not sure who we should call about this.” Jason admitted. “If that huge sac really has baby spiders in it...”

Danny didn't want to think about that. It wasn't that he didn't want grandchildren, he just didn't want to accept that he could have a brood of spiders as a part of his family.

Another bulge, much bigger this time, pushed up on the webbing.

“Maybe we should go in there and help?” Danny asked.

“Only if you want to get swarmed over and eaten first.” Jason said and Danny blanched.

The two watched as another bulge, then another and another, quickly pushed at the webbing.

“They're fighting pretty hard to escape.” Jason whispered and checked the cameras. Whatever was going to emerge, it was going to make history.

The two men gasped and jumped in fright as two long stingers suddenly pierced up through the webbing and blood and fluid started to soak it. An inarticulate scream echoed off the walls as the webbing tore open and a gush of blood and fluids splashed out and something stood up.

The being was covered in blood and gore and it was difficult to tell what it was. The stingers retracted into its arms and the thing stood up to its full height and tilted their head back.

“AHHHHHHHH!” A distinctly female voice screamed as hard as they could, then they bent over and threw up. More blood and fluid came out of it and the being made several coughing sounds before it collapsed into the gore that used to be the giant spider.

“It's not moving.” Jason said and hit the button to unlock the airlock door. “I'm going in.”

“Not without me.” Danny said and the two men went to the airlock and entered it. It closed behind them and the inner door opened. They cautiously walked over to the being and still couldn't really make out what it was. There was too much blood and gore hanging off of it to see the shape clearly.

Jason slipped on rubber gloves and carefully knelt near the thing and felt along where he thought the head was. He was surprised to find warm flesh under his fingers and then a pulse. He used his other hand to grab what he thought was a shoulder and then pushed some of the gore aside. Seeing it up close, he could tell that it was the partially consumed entrails of a spider.

With that odd thing to add to all of the other odd things that had been happening, Jason rolled the thing over to get a better look at it.

“TAYLOR!” Danny yelled when he recognized her and he dove arm deep into the blood and gore to dig her out of the remains of the giant spider. With Jason's help, they freed her and mostly cleaned her off before they pulled her over to a cleaner spot on the floor to lay her down.

“I'll get the medical team here.” Jason said and went out the airlock.

“Taylor.” Danny said softly and lightly stroked her forehead as he moved some of the blood-soaked hair out of the way. “You're going to be okay, Taylor.”

Twenty minutes later, the on-call medical team entered the airlock. It consisted of two paramedics, a nurse, a doctor, and Panacea. She had insisted they stay in touch about Taylor's case and had visited a few times to check on her. Now she was really glad that she had, because Taylor was somehow back in her body. Well, almost.

They brought her out of the airlock and took her to an examination room. After she was washed off and cleaned up completely, they performed a full medical examination of her. Amy stayed off to the side to let everyone else work first, then she stepped forward and very lightly touched Taylor's hand.

“OH!” Amy gasped and her hand tensed. She had never felt anything like this before.

“We're still recording, Panacea.” The doctor informed her.

“All... all right. Let me just...” Amy paused and closed her eyes. “This is amazing.”

“Details, please.” The doctor prompted.

“Enhanced musculature. The endocrine system is the most robust thing I've ever encountered and her metabolism is off the charts, as are her nerve endings and responses. The bones are about ten times as dense as a normal human. Her tendons and ligaments are...” Amy paused. “I guess flexible is the best I can describe them.”

“Anything else?” The doctor prompted.

“You have all signed NDAs, right?” Amy asked.

“Our only concern is the welfare of the patient, so yes.” The doctor said and they all nodded.

“She has a retractable stinger inside each forearm that she can use like a retractable blade. The venom it can use is both potent and not lethal at the same time. I've never seen anything like it before.” Amy said. “She also has web spinnerets on the underside of her wrists and the tops of her feet. Her organs are mostly identifiable.”

“Mostly?” The nurse asked, surprised.

“There are a couple that I need to consult with Jason on and the others have been massively altered. Some of her glands are like a combination of human and spider, too. Her muscle structure is also beyond human capability and her skin is as tough as Kevlar armor.” Amy said. “Her regeneration is only about six times normal and that should increase when she eats because of her high metabolism.”

“Good lord almighty.” The doctor whispered.

“Before you think about trying to take samples and copy anything, it won't work. It's the total combination that lets it all work together. If you try to give someone the web spinnerets, they might get sick and die because of the foreign substance in their body.”

“Is she poisonous?” The doctor asked.

“No, not like that.” Amy said and picked up a bedpan and held it about a foot above Taylor's chest. She opened the girl's mouth and then squeezed a spot under her chin on the side. A thin stream of liquid shot out of her mouth and arced to land perfectly in the bedpan. “It's the same venom on her stingers.”

The doctor handed the bedpan to the nurse. “Talk to Jason and get that sample to the lab. The sooner we get that identified, the sooner we can assure Miss Hebert that she isn't a danger to others.”

The nurse transferred the venom to a proper sample jar and left the examination room at a fast walk.

“How long will she be out?” The doctor asked.

“I could wake her now by flooding her system with adrenaline, except I'm scared about how her altered body would react to that.” Amy said.

“That is a good point.” The doctor said. “We can let her wake naturally and set up a watch schedule to keep an eye on her.”

“Let me know if tomorrow afternoon is free. I'll take that one.” Amy offered.

“A hunch of when she'll wake up?” One of the paramedics asked.

“No, it's after school.” Amy said with a smile.

The man chuckled. “I'll take the morning shift.”

“Don't forget to add Danny into it.” The other paramedic said.

“He's already booked being here every night, so that won't change.” The doctor said and the others nodded. “Give me a hand taking her to her actual room with the monitoring devices and we can let her rest.”

Everything was quickly set up and they left the deeply sleeping girl in her recovery room while one of the paramedics went to the security office to sit and watch her for the first shift. With luck, she wouldn't stay unconscious for long.

*

Taylor slowly opened her eyes and didn't know where she was. For some reason, she didn't panic, even though she knew there was someone else in the room with her. She felt like there was no danger and stayed perfectly relaxed. Her mind thought that was odd, because she hadn't felt relaxed in almost two years.

“Oh, hey. You're awake.” A female voice said from beside the bed.

Taylor turned her head to look and raised her eyebrows at what she saw. “Panacea? What are you doing here?”

Amy smiled and closed the book she was reading. “I was relaxing as I listened to your phenomenally deep and slow breathing.”

Taylor blinked her eyes several times at that comment and looked down at her chest. She waited until her chest rose and started counting. To her surprise, it was nearly ten whole seconds before she breathed in again.

“Your lung efficiency is better than a free diver. If you trained it up a little and hyperventilated first, I bet you could go eight or nine minutes before you needed to take another breath.” Amy said and Taylor's eyes widened. “I know! It's crazy, isn't it?”

“How do I safely answer that?” Taylor asked her.

Amy chuckled. “Don't worry about it. It's just speculation on my part. Your unique situation has given me a lot of ideas to help improve people's circulatory and nervous systems.”

Taylor again had to blink her eyes several times before she could respond. “My unique situation.”

Amy lost the smile and leaned close to the bed. She took Taylor's hand and shivered slightly, then took a long deep breath before she let it out. “What's the last thing you remember?”

Taylor wasn't sure what she meant. She had been in school, hadn't she? The smell at her locker was sickening and she remembered throwing up, then a hard shove and... darkness. “The locker.”

Amy's face went completely still. “Do you remember anything else?”

Taylor thought about it, even though she didn't want to think about it, and shook her head.

“You don't remember anything since then?” Amy asked again.

“No, just... I was yelling for help for a long time. No one answered, despite the laughing I could hear. Then I...” Taylor frowned. “I woke up here.”

Amy took another deep breath and let it out. “Taylor, I'm not sure how to tell you this, except to just say it. You triggered in the locker.”

“I what?” Taylor asked, surprised.

“It's what capes call the worst day of their lives. It's also the day they gain powers.” Amy said.

Taylor stared at her. “Are you serious?”

“Unfortunately.” Amy said and gave her hand a light squeeze. “It was...” She stopped talking for a few seconds. “There's video.”

“N-n-no.” Taylor whispered and her face drained of color.

“I wasn't going to tell you that until I realized everyone has seen it. It was on the news, too.” Amy said and hissed when there was a light crack. She let Taylor's hand go and sat back.

“No! I'm so sorry!” Taylor gasped and sat up.

“It's... all right.” Amy said and held her hand steady.

“Panacea, I just broke your hand!” Taylor exclaimed.

“Only the joint of my little finger.” Amy said and carefully cupped it with her other hand.

Taylor watched her and waited for her to heal herself... and she didn't. “Panacea, why aren't you fixing it?”

Amy grimaced. “You know that Earth Aleph saying, doctor heal thyself? I can't do that.”

Taylor felt tears form at the corners of her eyes.

“Hey, it's okay. It's my fault. I should have warned you that you were much stronger than you were before.” Amy said.

“How... how much stronger?” Taylor asked and stared at Amy's hands.

“You should practice hugging a pillow before you hug your dad.” Amy answered.

Taylor wanted to tell her that she hadn't hugged the man in almost two years, ever since her mom died, and decided not to. She didn't need to unload her problems onto someone she just met.

Amy saw the look on her face and didn't comment on it. “Your dad is at work for another four hours and he'll be back for the night shift.”

“The night shift?” Taylor asked.

“Six of us have been taking turns sitting with you for the last few days.” Amy said and saw a slight panicked look on her face. “No, whomever you're thinking of, it's not them.”

Taylor sighed and relaxed.

“Two paramedics, a nurse, and another expert that were hired to care for you while you recovered, myself as a volunteer in the afternoons, and your dad has the night shift.” Amy told her. “It's been relaxing, to tell you the truth.”

Taylor gave her a questioning look.

“I usually volunteer at the hospital and I'm run ragged, usually until I'm exhausted.”

“That's not healthy.” Taylor said before she could stop her mouth. “I'm sorry. I shouldn't judge what you do with your spare time.”

“Don't worry about it. I agree with you.” Amy said and leaned back on the chair she sat on. “Since this is a private medical facility and I am still volunteering my time, my mom can't bitch at me for not doing enough to heal everyone.”

Taylor knew there was a story there and refrained from asking about it.

“That reminds me. I should probably tell you more good news.” Amy said and took out her cell phone. When she tried to grasp it with both hands to type on it, she hissed in pain.

“I'm really really sorry.” Taylor whispered.

“I said it was okay. I just need to text the nurse and the doctor to let them know you're awake.” Amy said and did so. “I can have the nurse splint my finger while she's here.”

Taylor felt guilty as Amy used a single hand to search for something and turned the phone towards her. She gasped at the news article about three 15 year old girls being sent to juvenile detention until they were 18 and then they would be going to prison for 2 years.

“They were sentenced to 5 years for what they did to me?” Taylor asked, shocked.

“That's my mom for you.” Amy said, a bit proudly. “She sued them civilly first, which brought out a lot of evidence that wouldn't have come out in a criminal court, like their backgrounds and personalities. If they hadn't denied what they did so vehemently, Carol wouldn't have been able to enter their previous behavior into evidence to counter their good girl image.”

Taylor huffed and shook her head. “The only things they were really good at were being evil bitches.”

Amy nodded in agreement. “Proven in court with expert witness testimonies, too.”

“Expert witnesses? How could that happen?” Taylor asked.

“Several psychiatrists that were independent of both the prosecution and the defense. They tore apart their made up stories like wet tissue paper and showed how sick and depraved they were, because the three of them knew exactly what they were doing and did it specifically to teach you a lesson and to put you in your place.”

Taylor sighed. “They've tried to do that since I started high school.”

“I know.” Amy said and flicked the screen and showed it to her. “Everyone does.”

“Are those pages from my journal?” Taylor asked, surprised.

“It was admissible, because you were incapacitated at the time and it was hand-written by you, without being coerced or forced to do it.” Amy said.

Taylor watched as Amy flicked the screen again to show the news reports that followed after the criminal court case.

“It was a nice touch to date each entry and include everything from the verbal taunts, the copies of the emails with the addresses and passwords, and the teachers blaming you when the bitches assaulted you in class and the hallways and you couldn't complain about it.”

Taylor blushed at the compliment and turned her head away.

“You don't have to be embarrassed, Taylor. It's the truth.” Amy said and her phone rang. “Hello?”

“Why didn't you call me right away?!?” Danny's voice yelled out of the phone. “I had to hear it from the doctor when he called me to congratulate me!”

“Jesus Christ on a stick, Danny! Relax.” Amy said and put it on speaker. “This isn't my first time dealing with a coma patient. I had to assess her physical condition first to make sure she was stable, talked to her for a few minutes to make sure she wasn't suffering from some kind of mental condition, then I contacted the doctor and nurse to come in for a second opinion.”

“You still should have called me right away.” Danny said, a bit more calmly.

“I wasn't going to get your hopes up before confirming she was okay.” Amy said. “By the way, she seems to be fine and not suffering any after effects from what happened to her.”

“Oh, thank god.” Danny said. “Can I talk to her?”

“You're on speaker and she can hear you.” Amy said.

“Taylor? Honey? Are you okay?” Danny asked.

“I... I think so.” Taylor said, hesitatingly.

“It's all right, Taylor. He knows you're a cape.” Amy reassured her. “Hell, everyone knows.”

“No, they don't. They think she's still altered by her mutation.” Danny corrected her.

“Altered?” Taylor asked. “Mutation?”

“Dammit.” Danny said and then sighed. “Amy didn't tell you about any of that?”

“I told you it's only been a few minutes.” Amy reminded him. “I barely told her she had powers.”

“I broke one of her fingers.” Taylor admitted.

“Did you react badly when you woke up? Did you fight?” Danny asked, concerned. “Amy, are you okay?”

Amy chuckled. “I'm fine, Danny. She only popped the joint in my little finger. A splint and a couple of days and I'll be fine.”

“What happened?” Danny asked.

“Taylor woke up calmly and I held her hand as I asked her questions. It was a minor slip on both of our parts.” Amy reassured the both of them.

“I don't understand why you're not angry with me.” Taylor said, softly.

“You don't think I get angry at Vicky for all the times she bruised me from grabbing my arm tightly or hugging me a little too hard, do you?” Amy asked her.

“Well, no. But, she's your sister and you love her. I'm just... I'm...” Taylor wasn't sure what to say.

Amy put the cell phone down on her lap and used her good hand to pat Taylor's. “I put myself in a slightly compromised position, so it's equally my fault as well. I can't be angry at you without being angry at myself.”

“I guess I can accept that.” Taylor said, reluctantly.

“The first step in recovery is admitting you have a problem.” Amy said, completely deadpan.

There was a bark of laughter from the phone on Amy's lap and both Amy and Taylor let out similar soft laughs.

“I see you're in good hands, so I won't rush home. I'll see you in twenty minutes.” Danny said.

“I thought you said you won't rush?” Taylor asked.

“I would be there in ten if I was. Kurt is good friends with Ernie, the local BBPD patrol officer.” Danny told her. “See you soon.”

“Bye, dad.” “Later, Danny.” Taylor and Amy said at the same time.

Amy hung up the phone just as the doctor and nurse came into the room.

“Hello, Amy. We'll check your finger first, since it's the least intensive procedure.” The doctor said and smiled at Taylor. “It's nice to finally see your eyes open and tracking.”

Taylor wasn't sure how to respond to that.

“Just ignore that. Coma doctor humor.” Amy said as the doctor examined her finger. “He's checked your pupils for dilation every hour upon the hour when he's here for an extended visit.”

“I can confirm your diagnosis, Panacea. It's a clean pop.” The doctor said and handed her off to the nurse to set and splint it. “Taylor, please forgive me for what I'm about to do.”

Taylor's eyes widened at that, because she felt a little dread at his words.

Half an hour later, Taylor had a much deeper understanding of what it takes to be a doctor, because he did everything possible to check her physical health. The hand-to-eye coordination tests confirmed what he thought she had a mild case of, synesthesia. It was a kind of blending of senses, so when she saw or heard something, she felt it a little as well.

“You will get used to it fairly quickly, believe me. Your body is highly adaptable in its current state.” The doctor said and both Amy and the nurse nodded.

“It won't be too distracting for her?” Danny asked.

“No, it should only heighten her response times to stimuli. It should become second nature in no time at all, as if it had always been that way.” The doctor said.

“Because it technically was.” Amy said.

Danny gave her a pointed look.

“I'm not going to lie to her after everything she's been through. Just because she doesn't remember any of it, that doesn't mean she shouldn't be told about it.”

Danny sighed. “I'll text Jason and let him know we need him here. He can explain more about what was going on than we could.”

Taylor watched in surprise as her father used a cell phone for the first time and contacted someone.

“Things have changed a lot since you were hurt.” Amy told her in a whisper.

Taylor could only nod in response. She had a faint hope that she would also get a cell phone, then realized she didn't have anyone to call.

Amy saw her sad face and took out her cell phone. “Why don't you watch a few of the news reports while we wait for the specialist to come here?”

“Thanks.” Taylor said and had to let Amy show her how to work the thing, then she was lost in the deluge of social media and how it reacted to her attempted murder. It was attempted murder?!?

Half an hour later, Jason showed up and he brought a whole presentation to show Taylor. There were charts, graphs, projection slides, and even a book report. It was a shock and a bit embarrassing, because it was all about her.

“I was a spider?” Taylor asked, her voice a higher octave than normal. “A giant human-sized spider? And you let me live like that for months and didn't put me down?”

Everyone exchanged worried looks.

“Taylor...” Danny started to say.

“No, no. You can't justify this.” Taylor said and shook her head. “I saw the transformation. I had... outgrown my old and damaged body and a gigantic spider replaced me. I... I wasn't me anymore. There was no proof at all that I could be saved or... or...”

“Stop!” Amy spat and everyone jumped, even Taylor. “The only reason we didn't give up on you was because we didn't want to. I was the one that found out the PRT was going to railroad you into the Birdcage without a trial to cover everything up.”

“But...” Taylor started to ask why.

“They were going to let Sophia and the others get away with essentially killing you.” Amy said and tried to not glare at the girl. “Keeping you around as proof of what they did was the best thing we could have ever done. That we got you back after everything... it's a miracle. You are a miracle, Taylor.”

Taylor blushed and ducked her head.

“Did I tell you that my power couldn't figure you out and its specialty is figuring out biological systems?” Amy asked her and Taylor shook her head. “It was freaking me out that I couldn't make sense of your transformation and I reacted badly to the PRT director's order to keep quiet about it.”

Danny reached over and took Amy's unhurt hand. “I can never thank you enough for abusing the medical confidentiality agreement like you did and twisting it into a pretzel.”

Amy gave him a rare happy smile. “It let me poke the PRT assholes in the eye and they couldn't do anything about it, so we both got something out of it.”

“You are a vicious and vindictive little thing when someone sets you off.” Danny said, affectionately.

Amy blushed this time and ducked her head. “Th-thanks.”

“I think everyone working together was what let us all stay sane with all this craziness.” Jason said and the others nodded. “Even after all the tests and examinations, I still can't pinpoint whatever species you had changed into.”

“The lab results were inconclusive as well.” The doctor added.

“They still are.” The nurse said. “It's really vexing and intriguing.”

Taylor saw all of their happy faces. “You like that you can't figure it out?”

“When you become an expert in your field of study or have studied as much as you can for a few years, it's very difficult to find something new and interesting.” Jason said.

“And you are the most interesting person we've ever met.” Amy admitted.

Taylor blushed again because of the look in Amy's eyes. She wasn't sure if it meant anything besides being a new biological specimen for her to play with... and that thought made her blush even more.

Amy saw her reaction and she blushed as well. It gave her a few thoughts that she really shouldn't have about a patient, then she realized it was the first time she had those kinds of thoughts about anyone besides her sister, Vicky.

“In any case, we'll file our reports of your recovery and log them into the system.” The doctor said the others nodded, except for Danny. “I suggest staying in bed and resting for today. You can worry about everything else tomorrow.”

“What do you mean?” Taylor asked, a little concerned.

That question made them all smile.

“You've been a media sensation, thanks to how everything has been playing out. There are thousands of posts about you on PHO and the papers still run updates on your condition when someone asks them about it.” Amy said with a smirk. “How do you think the public is going to react when they find out you're back to being you after another transformation?”

Taylor's mouth dropped open and she stared at her with shock on her face.

“We can start looking at different costume designs tomorrow.” Amy said and stood.

“C-c-costume designs?” Taylor asked.

“Of course! We can't have the newest member of New Wave go out in civilian clothes all the time.” Amy said and reached out to pat her hand again. “Carol made you an honorary member when she took your case.”

“I should hope so. You earned her a cool one point five million dollars tax free.” Danny said with a chuckle.

“She claimed she didn't regret reducing her fee to only ten percent after the judgment.” Amy said with her own chuckle. “I've heard her cursing her 'good heart' a few times since then for passing up such easy money.”

Taylor couldn't stop her laugh at that. A greedy lawyer was such a classic cliche.

“I'll be back again tomorrow after school.” Amy said and patted Danny's shoulder as she walked by him, and nodded at Jason, the doctor, and the nurse before she left.

“I guess that's our cue to clear out.” Jason said and shut everything down. “I'll leave this in the security office for you to look at whenever you want.” He said to Taylor and packed it up. “I think I'm really going to miss this place.”

“Why? Are you going somewhere?” Danny asked.

“Huh?” Jason turned to look at him.

“Taylor just woke up from an ordeal dealing with arachnids in a completely unknown capacity. Do you want to give up researching all of that and give up your consultant fee?”

Jason stared at him and didn't say anything.

“The same goes for you two.” Danny said to the doctor and nurse. “You'll still need to keep the same schedule for a few weeks to make sure Taylor's okay, then if you want, we can reduce you down to part-time work and keep you on indefinitely.”

“Danny, do you mean it?” The nurse asked, her voice hopeful.

“My daughter is all the family I have left, Nancy. Having you around will let me stay reassured that if anything happens, I'll have people to rely on that know all about her.” Danny replied.

Nancy smiled warmly and nodded. “I'll be back for my normal early morning shift.”

“We'll see you then.” Danny said and Jason, the nurse, and the doctor left with smiles on their faces.

“That was really nice of you, dad.” Taylor said when the door closed.

“I wasn't lying.” Danny said and lightly patted her hand. “There's about three million dollars left of the five million set aside for your medical care and I am not going to waste it.”

Taylor blinked her eyes at the total. “How did you spend two million dollars so quickly?”

Danny let a shit-eating grin appear on his face and Taylor laughed at it.

“What did you do?” Taylor eventually asked when she calmed down.

“I just so happened to have a hundred or so dockworkers in the union that were waiting around for work and there just so happened to be a really cheap warehouse at the edge of the docks that was abandoned and needed a lot of work to refurbish and be converted into a small dedicated medical facility.”

Taylor didn't need more information than that. “You made a not-for-profit clinic for the workers.”

“I knew you were smart, little owl.” Danny said. “Both the doctor and the nurse get treatment credits with the medical association for being here, volunteering a hour or so after their shifts with you, and they get paid upfront and don't have to wait months for it to be approved, because I'm the boss and give it to them directly.”

Taylor was impressed at the efficiency. “You made them want to work for you.”

“No one wanted the job at first because of where it was located near Merchant territory.” Danny said and Taylor nodded. “So, I hired a few guys for escort and guard duty.”

“Kurt and Lacey!” Taylor said right away.

“You got it. Once they were set up properly with new vehicles and equipment...” Danny trailed off and smiled.

“And people wonder how you've kept the dockworkers union still viable when there's hardly any work.” Taylor said.

“It's a juggling act and I'm good at it.” Danny said with a shrug.

“Humble, too.” Taylor said and smiled.

Danny smiled back briefly and then it faded. “Taylor, I... I'm sorry.”

Taylor shook her head. “No, don't. It's my fault. If I hadn't kept it all to myself, you might have done something before and things wouldn't have gotten so bad that they resorted to... to the locker.”

“Taylor...”

“You can't accept all the blame!” Taylor argued.

“Yes, I can. I was... I was a bad father. When I lost your mother...” Danny paused and sighed. “When we lost your mother, I couldn't deal with it and threw myself into my work. Nothing else really mattered and I ignored everything else... especially you.”

Taylor felt tears roll down her cheeks.

“You look so much like her and I... I couldn't look at you and not see her. It hurt too much to... I didn't want to face my pain and I just... ignored you. I'm sorry.” Danny said, his own tears flowing.

“M-me, too.” Taylor said and cried.

They spent the rest of the evening in silence and shared their pain. It had been years in the making and they both needed a lot of time to come to grips with what they had lost.

*

Amy Dallon wasn't sure why she was feeling excited. With Taylor awake, she was going to lose her regular quiet time that she had gotten used to enjoying. It took her away from her family for a few hours every day and it had become something she had looked forward to. She was still going to spend it hanging out with a girl, only the girl was going to be awake and able to conduct her half of the conversation.

She entered the small medical facility that had been officially registered, which was how she was allowed to rub it in Carol's face without feeling bad about it, and hung up her coat before she went to Taylor's room. She had never knocked before and completely forgot to do so now, and entered the room without pausing or thinking about the consequences of barging into an occupied room unannounced.

Amy made it about halfway across the room before she realized she had been staring at a quite muscular and delicious looking nearly 16 year old female body that was wearing a pair of panties and nothing else. She froze still with a look of deep appreciation on her face and her eyes lifted from that spectacular body and locked onto Taylor's face.

Taylor had been partially turned while holding a hand mirror and was admiring her firm ass... she had an actual ass now... and locked eyes with the casually dressed Amy Dallon. The look of admiration on the other girl's face made Taylor blush from both embarrassment and pleasure, because no one had ever looked at her like that before.

Amy blushed as well and couldn't stop it. She had quite blatantly checked Taylor out, and not in a medical way, and she really liked what she saw. Like, really liked it. Her own body responded as she saw Taylor's nipples pop out and she had to bite her lip when she noticed a slightly damp spot start to grow on the front of Taylor's panties.

Taylor easily saw Amy's nipples poke out under her t-shirt and barely held in a soft moan at seeing Amy be turned on by her. It was still her body, only with a bit more. Her breasts had some added flesh to them and her ass has some actual muscle to it, which meant her height wasn't a detriment to her looks anymore.

“I'm sorry for being blunt; but, it looks like neither of us has a problem feeling attraction for the other.” Amy said and started walking again. She went right over to Taylor and took the mirror from her hand. “I'll hold this while we both continue to admire your perfect body that I promise to not be jealous about.”

Taylor gave her a surprised look for a second before she blushed deeply. “A-A-Amy...”

“I have seen you without your clothes before.” Amy said and gave her a blush in return. “Although, this is the first time I've ever seen you nude.”

Taylor couldn't help but look down at Amy's pokies. Amy thought about making a snarky comment, then changed her mind and walked over to the door and locked it. She walked back and pulled off her top, to Taylor's surprise and delight.

“Now we're even.” Amy said and held up the mirror.

Taylor gave her a searching look to see if Amy was teasing her and she didn't feel like she was, so she nodded and went back to admiring herself in the small mirror and did different poses. That she could also see Amy's breasts and bright pink nipples every time she looked, made her relax and realize that Amy was completely serious about checking her out. It was really quite flattering.

“Can... can you tell me about yourself?” Taylor asked, hesitatingly.

“I'm snarky, sarcastic, get pissed off pretty easily if someone insults my sister, and I can heal anything from a paper cut to incurable cancer.” Amy said with no inflection to her voice, as if she had said it a bunch of times before. “How about you?”

Taylor stopped admiring herself to think about it. “Um... I'm... I...”

“Relax, you don't have to say a bunch of things in a list like I did. Just think of one thing and say that.” Amy coached.

Taylor thought about it. “I... I can... take a lot of abuse, both verbally and physically, and never say anything about it and I keep getting back up and getting on with my life.”

Amy let a smile spread across her face. “You just proved that you are that much better than those three bitches.”

Taylor blushed at the praise.

“What else?” Amy asked and motioned to her body. “You were always that tall, so you can't say that. I know you used to slouch to try and hide it.”

“I... yeah. I was taller than everyone else in my grade and... yeah.”

“You will need new clothes to help with that, because trying to hide it now is pointless. Since I have the fashion sense of a stick bug, I'll call in professional help from my sister Vicky when you're ready.”

“R-really?” Taylor asked, a little surprised she would offer something like that.

“Sure. I mean, she's not going to want to hang out with a brooding, horribly dressed, social outcast... oh, wait.” Amy said and motioned at herself. “Never mind. She'll adore you.”

Taylor made a snort sound and laughed. She had thought Amy was talking about her and she was talking about herself.

Amy smirked at her and walked over to the bed and put the mirror down on it. “How long have you been staring at yourself, anyway?”

Taylor's blush rushed back.

“Hey, it's okay. If I woke up with a fit body, I'd be staring at it to figure out what changed from what I remembered, too.”

“I... well, I was changing my clothes and noticed I didn't have a mole here anymore.” Taylor said and touched a spot near the middle of her chest.

Amy walked over and gave her a questioning look. Taylor moved her finger and nodded slightly. Amy used a single finger and lightly touched the spot. Both she and Taylor blushed when her skin immediately showed goosebumps and her nipples popped back out.

“You're right. I don't detect any skin malformations or distortions.” Amy said and concentrated on her power as she laid her whole hand between Taylor's breasts. “I'm surprised I never noticed before.”

“You... you can... um... check a bit more... if you want.” Taylor said, quite boldly.

Amy was a little startled for a moment, then she gave Taylor a very happy smile. Her hand gently caressed the skin under her hand and she moved it to the side. Taylor couldn't stop her moan of pleasure as Amy's palm grazed over her very hard nipple and cupped her breast.

Emboldened by the reaction, Amy used her other hand to caress her other breast and Taylor wrapped her arms around the other girl to hug her close. Amy gave her tall friend several light kisses on her neck and Taylor softly moaned into Amy's ear as Amy massaged her and tweaked her nipples, which made her feel very, very good. Amy moved one of her hands down and gripped Taylor's ass and Taylor let out a gasp and groaned as she came.

The two of them stood there for several minutes as Taylor recovered and Amy kissed her neck a few more times. They didn't speak as Taylor eased her tight hold and looked down into Amy's eyes. The silent agreement they each saw in the other's eyes let them move back together and their lips met for the very first time.

Their mutual soft moans let the other know that they both really enjoyed it and they stayed there making out for several more minutes. Almost by mutual agreement, they broke the kiss and gave each other the same accepting looks. They stayed silent as Amy put her t-shirt back on and Taylor went to the bathroom to clean up.

Taylor came back out dressed in loose jeans and a baggy t-shirt that hid her body completely. Amy motioned to the clothing and Taylor shrugged. Without saying a word, they both climbed onto Taylor's bed and Amy took out her cell phone to start searching for different cape costumes.

Amy liked the silence, because Taylor wasn't trying to force a conversation on her. Taylor liked it because she was a quiet person anyway and also didn't want to force a conversation. They were so much alike that it was almost scary, except for the fact that they had found each other.

They stopped browsing on the phone and looked at each other at the same time, licked their lips, and leaned back in to start kissing again.

*

The news media nearly lost their minds when Arachne was announced as the newest member of New Wave. Her bright blue costume with the large stylized white spider on her chest and back really made her stand out. She was technically unmasked, since everyone knew who she was. The only difference was she wore a filled in domino mask over her eyes to reduce her light sensitivity.

Glory Girl was overjoyed to have someone that she could patrol with and hang out with, literally, because Taylor could make her hammocks out of webbing that she could adjust the strength of. They could dissolve in an hour or last forever, depending on what Taylor needed at the time.

The best part was that Taylor was just as strong as Vicky and they had arm wrestling matches that lasted for hours. A crushed car in the shape of a basketball was their main source of amusement and they had a great time playing against each other.

Vicky once joked that if she was gay, she would give her sister Amy competition for Taylor's affections. She had to wear a huge pimple on the end of her nose for a week before Amy forgave her.

In time, the crime fighting duo of Antares and Arachne would become legendary.