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Rating:

Teen And Up Audiences

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No Archive Warnings Apply

Category:

Gen

Fandoms:

Parahumans Series - WildbowSpider-Man - All Media TypesSpider-Man (Comicverse)Marvel (Comics)Marvel 616Marvel

Relationships:

Taylor Hebert | Skitter | Weaver & Peter ParkerPeter Parker/Mary Jane Watson

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Cross-Posted on FanFiction.NetCrossoverAction/Adventure

Language:

English

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Published:2026-05-07Updated:2026-07-30Words:60,582Chapters:14/?Comments:255Kudos:390Bookmarks:136Hits:13,101

Tangled in a Stranger's Web

CHPrime

Chapter 4: Chapter 3: Taylor

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"He's from an alternate dimension, like Aleph." Lisa declared.

Brian gave her a look. "...Really?"

I shared his bafflement. We were all sitting at my kitchen table, a day after the fight with Bakuda. Lisa had dropped me off after introducing herself to my dad, claiming I had been caught on the edge of an explosion and that she worked with a doctor who gave me the once-over.

I was fine, really, the last aftereffects of the pain bomb had more or less flushed themselves out of my system—there were only a few jitters left.

My dad had accepted that story and was overjoyed that I had made it out in one piece. Of course, he demanded that I rest. I hadn't complained because after the last few days, I was more than happy to sit on my ass for a little while.

"Yes, really." Lisa declared, a familiar smirk on her lips. "It's insane, but it's the only explanation that fits. Spider-Man is too experienced to come out of nowhere, his powers don't fit any other cape in his age range that has disappeared recently, and the way he talked about 'our' New York, like he knows a different one—it all points in one direction!"

Then she frowned. "Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, sudden dimensional travel didn't seem to surprise him much." Her brows scrunched together. "It couldn't be common from where he's from, could it…? Did a Professor Haywire actually—"

"In any case," Brian cut in. "He's already made quite a splash. The PRT barely wasted any time getting a press release out."

Brian had actually bought the morning paper. 'NEW HERO STOPS MAD BOMBER' ran across the front page, with a blurry photo showing a vaguely red and blue figure swinging over the PRT building and a mugshot of a domino-masked Bakuda, who was glaring daggers at the camera even as some webs were still stuck in her hair. I snorted out a giggle.

Quickly reading through the page, Spider-Man apparently hadn't been part of the press release for some reason, but the PRT still gave him all the credit. Didn't heroes always line up to get their laurels? I had always seen Legend doing stuff like that on TV, even with independents.

And then I started reading the rest of the article. Dozens dead, hundreds wounded, with people still pouring into morgues and hospitals. There was even a debate on whether Bakuda would be sent to the Birdcage or if she was going to be executed.

Armsmaster had told me she was a psycho before, but actually seeing her rampage turned my stomach. How could anyone be so cruel? Worse still, Lung had been broken out of jail by Oni Lee in the chaos, so the ABB was still going to be around. Had I really caused all this?

"It's fucked up." Brian muttered. "Good thing the crazy bitch is behind bars."

"Yeah." It was too much for me to think about now. So I tried to reread the positive parts. Spider-Man had said he was going to tell the PRT about our part in things, right?

I got a kick in the teeth for my trouble. The PRT's press release downplayed us to the point of non-existence, which pissed me off. 'Rumors of minimal involvement from other criminal elements were vigorously denied.' Really, was it so much to ask for a little recognition?

It seemed petty to even think about that after reading about all the deaths, but I was looking for something less horrifying to think about, and Spider-Man said he would tell the PRT about us. Why did he lie?

"No, Spider-Man told them about us. 99% sure." Lisa said.

I looked up, startled. Had I said all that out loud?

"Nope." Lisa smirked again. "Turns out it's even easier to guess what people are thinking when I'm reading over their shoulder."

"Oh." Duh.

"Yeah." Lisa shrugged. "Really, I'm amazed we got that much of a mention, but I guess someone in the PRT let something slip. Notice how the reporter is the one who brings it up? That means they got word of us somehow. PHO was talking about it last night, too."

"...Do you think Spider-Man did that?" I asked.

Lisa shrugged. "I'm not sure. But I am certain that Spider-Man wasn't lying when he promised us credit, and our rap sheets aren't big enough to make him change tune." Then her grin returned in full force. "But this marks the second time the PRT's stolen all our hard-earned glory, between Bakuda and Lung! Maybe we should rob the Protectorate office next, and see what hilarious excuse they come up with!"

Brian snorted, and I did too. "I guess we should be thankful." He said. "He pulled our asses out of the fire and then let us walk away. I figured a new hero on the block would have wanted to take us all out for the cred."

"He's a bleeding heart." Lisa responded. "He thinks we're dumb kids in over our heads."

After the chaos of the previous day, some part of me agreed. But I still resented the implication. "So what happens now?"

"We lay low." Brian answered. "It's easy to forget, but we just got away with robbing a bank. Even with Bakuda's rampage and Lung out on the town, the PRT's going to be looking for us. We shouldn't poke our heads out for a while."

"Plus, we have to rest." Lisa said. "Rachel is more or less fine, and Alec will be out of it for another day or two, but you and Brian are still sore all over."

"I'm good. My joints are just stiff." I said as I did my best to ignore the pain.

Brian grunted. "Normally I'd be working out to cool off, but yesterday threw me out of wack. It feels like I have enough energy to do it, but my body can't take the pain."

"Me too. I've been spending all day in bed." I had tried to do some exercises this morning, but I had to give up after a few minutes. I was pretty sure I'd be fine after tomorrow, though. "Why'd you drag yourself out of the hideout? I know I had to stumble downstairs."

Brian grinned. "Alec's unbearable when he knows I can't put him in a headlock."

I laughed harder than I thought I would. I hoped I didn't sound too weird in front of Brian. I didn't want to seem even more nebbish than I already did. "I—"

The door creaked open. My dad stepped through with a smile on his face. Shit, when had his car come in? I usually noticed it.

"Hey, Taylor!" He exclaimed. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine!" I squeaked out, doing my best to hide my embarrassment.

"Feeling alright?" He put some groceries down and placed his hand on my forehead. "No fever? Aches and pains?"

"I'm alright. Honest."

"The hospital said she would be good in a day or two." Lisa added. She had been the one to feed my dad an excuse to cover for me, and he seemed to have bought it. Really, he just seemed happy to see me home in one piece after Bakuda's rampage.

"Right. Lisa and…Brian, right?"

"Yes sir." Brian nodded. "Thanks for letting us hang out here."

"Oh, it's no trouble. Honestly, it's great to see Taylor bringing friends over again." His smile started to fade. "It's been a long while since you've done that."

"In any case, we should probably head home for the day." Lisa said as she stood up. "I've got homework to do, and Brian has that thing."

"Oh, okay. See you next time?"

"I'll call—" Lisa's face scrunched. She must have remembered that I wasn't supposed to have a phone. "I'll email you in a day or two?"

"Sure."

"Thanks again, Mr. Hebert." Brian waved at me as he got up, walking slowly towards the door. "Until then, Taylor."

"Bye." I waved as they both left.

The door clicked shut, and just like that, I was alone again.

My dad forced a smile. "You should bring your friends home more often, Taylor. It's nice to see the house being used."

"Um—I'll try."

"Good, good." My dad opened his mouth again, before deciding against it and unpacking the groceries. Mostly bread and a few vegetables. Low effort, easy to cook. "Pasta good?"

"Yeah."

We lapsed into a familiar silence. It was suffocating.

Eventually, dinner was ready, and we both ate. I cleared my plate and was ready to head back upstairs when my dad spoke up again. "I can drive you to school tomorrow—if you're feeling up to it."

I wasn't, but I wanted to keep up appearances. "Thanks."

Dad wasn't finished. "I can—I also really meant it when I said you should bring your friends over more—I think someone at the union is trying to get rid of a ping-pong table, I can get that for you."

"Oh." I wasn't sure —It might be fun, but it would probably end with Lisa reading everyone's plays before they made them, and Alec cheating. Still, it was a nice gesture. "If it's not too much trouble for you, I guess."

"Not at all." My dad's hopeful look returned. "Maybe you can also bring Emma over again. You two used to love playing together."

And there went the rest of my mood.

School was horrible. As usual.

"Watch where you're going, bitch!" Sophia said as she shoulder-checked me into a locker.

You would think that a few school days would be called after Bakuda's carnage, but Brockton was a well-oiled machine. People had become numb to violence between all the regular cape fights and gang wars. Bakuda had been a blip. A large blip, but she was behind bars, with the word being that the PRT was going to airlift her out of the city. And unlike the Empire, the ABB had no fliers. The danger had passed.

Even if Lung had escaped, that was nothing new. Brockton had been living with him for years. Nothing had changed. The status quo was back to normal.

It was unnerving when some teachers stumbled over someone's name during a roll call, before quickly moving to the next, as if nothing had happened.

"I hear she skipped because she got an abortion. You know, like Susan in senior year." Madison giggled.

"No way! It takes way longer to get one of those! Virginia was out for a week, remember?"

"Yeah, you're probably right." Madison agreed. "She was probably just hiding under her pimp's bedsheets." There was a chorus of giggles.

Fights between the E88 and the ABB seemed more common, however. I saw a couple of freshman boys punching each other in the hallway when I got up to use the bathroom in third period. I don't remember fights like that starting before lunch.

But Bakuda had killed a lot of people. The empire, as the self-appointed defenders of the white race, was out looking for revenge. I heard reports of Hookwolf ripping apart some Asian businesses on the docks before the PRT forced him to escape. I guess these school fights were just more of that.

"Taylor, I'm your friend, you know that, right?" Emma said sweetly as she pulled apart one of my mechanical pencils. "That means I have to look out for you. It's obvious you're on drugs. I won't let you keep smuggling them into school like this. Until you detox, I can't let you have things to hide them in."

And then there was the trio.

I almost wished that Bakuda had hit Brian and me full on with her pain bomb back then. It would have been considerably less miserable than going back to school.

The three were as awful as ever. Apparently, they thought they had to make up for the few days I missed and decided to torment me even more relentlessly than usual. Every lunch period, they would throw food in my hair, or try to make me drop my bag, or talk just loudly enough for me to overhear them.

Emma even tried to pretend to be my friend again. She did that once or twice at the beginning of high school. When I was stupid enough to fall for it. Because that was what everyone did to me. They pretended to care, but only if they had to, or if they wanted to torment me more.

The teachers continued on like always, ignoring everything and pretending everything was fine. They didn't say anything about the spitballs in my hair or do anything about the giggling in the back of their classrooms. They didn't want to see my suffering. So they didn't. Just like they didn't see any of the other crap in this shithole of a school.

But they did care enough to tell me that my grades were slipping, and I had to make an appointment with the school counselor. I didn't think Winslow had one of those, but Mr. Nelson in science class practically stapled the note onto my backpack.

I was thinking about dropping out of school entirely, to be honest, though only a little bit, because I couldn't let the trio win. Working with the Undersiders was a whole lot more rewarding than anything at Winslow. And even though I planned to betray them, they were way better friends than I had any right to have.

Really, the afternoons when I went over to the loft after school were the only times I was happy.

"No, come on, Taylor! What's the good of getting money if you don't spend it?" Lisa asked as she pulled me closer to the mall.

I tried limply to resist. "I shouldn't…"

"Don't worry about it, Taylor." Lisa saw right through me, as usual. "Live a little. Have some fun."

I could forget that I was a criminal, and just…hang out with people who weren't crazy, or psychos, or who wanted to see me hurt for no good reason.

"No, no, jump! Jump!" Alec shouted at me as I died again.

"S-sorry." I muttered before I looked over the couch. "Bitch, do you want to pla—"

"Fuck off." Rachel said, not even looking up from her combing session.

"Aw. She's really warming up to you." Alec laughed as he playfully poked my shoulder.

It was nice. I knew I was supposed to betray them in the future when I had enough information to reveal their boss, but…another part of me didn't want this to stop.

"Watch your left foot. You don't want to overextend—" Brian said as he stepped behind me to correct my posture. I did my best not to explode as he held my arms gently.

"T-thanks." I ended up muttering.

Brian just gave a boyish smile. "Don't worry about it. We all make mistakes when we're learning."

It was almost like I had friends again.

But that would always come to an end when I had to go back home. And then go back to school. Back to hell.

Still, even as a villain, I had my first taste of being a real hero. That had felt good.

But I had to wait. I was infiltrating the Undersiders. I needed to know who their secret boss was. Then I could prove my worth, and make a real difference—

My thoughts were interrupted when I bumped into a suddenly outstretched foot. I caught myself before I faceplanted onto the ground, but only barely.

Behind me, Madison was giggling to herself. Like she was so clever, and like she hadn't pulled the same shit for the past month. A quick look around me confirmed that no one else was going to do anything. As usual. I straightened back up and began to trudge along—

"Hey." A new voice cut through the hallway. Directed right behind me. "Something funny?"

I turned around. A man was standing at the corner of the hall, maybe a little older than Mister Gladly. He was dressed in a button-up shirt and jeans, and had well-combed brown hair and an unusually handsome face for the Winslow faculty.

But that wasn't important. What mattered was that he was staring at Madison. He had seen her trip me. And he did not look happy.

Notes:

I'm going to be leaving you all on a little more of a cliffhanger, as we are transitioning out of daily posting. Never fear, however, as the next chapter will be out on new comic day. See you then, Wednesday Warriors!

Also, does anyone know how to make A03 links insert themselves on Tumblr? It used to work and now it never does.

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