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Rating:

Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning:

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

Characters:

Additional Tags:

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 7: Chapter 6: Taylor

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

I tried to look and sound casual as I adjusted my backpack. "H-hey, dad."

"Taylor." He said a little quieter than usual. He knew something. "I thought you'd be back an hour ago."

I gave my usual excuse. "I was doing homework at the library and lost track of time."

He sighed. "Taylor…"

"It's the truth, I promise." I turned to our guest to try to end this part of a conversation I didn't need. "What are you doing here, Mister…um…?"

"Parker. Peter Parker." He shrugged. "Paperwork stuff. The administration needed some things delivered to your dad pronto, so I offered to come over."

"You know each other?" My dad asked. Mister Parker waited for me to respond.

"...He's the school's new tutor. I had a session with him after class."

Mister Parker nodded. "She's a bright kid."

Dad nodded. "She is." Then he turned to me. "Taylor, we'll have dinner in a little bit, and I need to go over some paperwork with Peter. Why don't you go wash up?"

I was thankful for the reprieve, even if it wasn't over yet. After quickly walking up the stairs and collapsing onto my bed, I tried to keep my heart rate steady. This wasn't a normal visit. No teacher had ever come to my house, especially not one who was hired last week. In fact, what kind of school hires a tutor in the middle of the semester? Was he working for someone? Had he discovered who I really was?

What was he doing here? Was he trying to intimidate my dad? Did he know my secret? Was my identity out, and now he was trying to blackmail my father into giving up whatever meager wealth we had?

I had to know more. But I couldn't get close to listen in—I knew this house like the back of my hand. If I were close enough to eavesdrop, I was close enough to be spotted in a nanosecond, and then the jig would be up.

I needed to know more. But I couldn't get any closer to do it. All I could manage was a vague sense of where the two adults were, and their voices muffled to the point of uselessness. Just like my powers. My father could very well be begging for his life, and I was in my room hiding from him.

I could feel the walls of my room closing in, collapsing on top of me like a well-worn prison. It was just as well. Whoever that tutor was was probably only interested in turning me in. He didn't care about me. No one did. It was for the best. The air felt thick and putrid. Like my room was shrinking into itself. Into me. I was a useless girl with a useless power who had accomplished nothing but getting her teammates in more trouble.

"—ullying, I think—"

The words breezed through my brain. At first, I didn't realize what it was, but I recognized that voice. It was the tutor, Mister Parker. But I shouldn't be able to hear him from my room. So how—

"—I didn't k…history with…"

I let out a hiss of frustration. Were my powers taunting me? Did I suddenly gain superhearing, but only enough to taunt myself with it, what could—

Then it hit me. The bugs. I could already get a general sense of my surroundings with them. I could control them remotely with my brain. Who said I couldn't also hear with them? Bugs could sense sound, right? It was so simple when I thought about it that way.

Had I always been able to do this?

It figured. I was too stupid to understand my own powers, even months after having them.

"...Will need…administrative—qu…bly."

Whatever I was doing, I needed to do it better. I focused as hard as I could, and tried to block out everything that wasn't my bugs in the kitchen. Slowly, the conversation started to make more sense, and before long, I was listening in.

"...ure you saw?" My dad asked quietly.

Mister Parker sighed. "I only saw the other girl laughing, but I'm sure. I've learned to see the signs. You mentioned something about a locker?"

Who the hell was this guy? Mister Parker shows up and suddenly starts helping me when no one else did? There had to be a motive. He must want something. He had to. There were too many coincidences. Could Mister Parker be a mole from the ABB? Had the PRT caught on to my identity?

…No. No, that couldn't be it. Mister Parker was still here, talking to my dad. Wouldn't he have already done something if he were working for Lung or the Protectorate? Or anyone else, for that matter? But then why was he here? It couldn't be because he cared. He was like Gladly. He wanted me to report to Blackwell, like that would do anything.

I refocused on the conversation downstairs. "...So at least from the start of the school year. You don't open with something like that."

"That sounds right." My dad sighed. "Shit, if only I…" His glasses made a clunk as he put them on the table.

"You okay?"

"...No." My dad sighed again. "No, definitely not. Not since…" He choked. "After my wife died, I…If only I hadn't been so worthless, I could have seen—"

My gut twisted. I clung to my sheets but kept listening in.

My dad sniffed and wiped his eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to throw that on you."

"No, I understand. It was like that for me with my uncle."

"...You lost someone too?"

"My parents died before I really knew them, so he and my aunt raised me." Mister Parker exhaled. "One night, our house got broken into by a robber, and he was shot."

"Jesus. That's horrible. I'm sorry."

"Thanks. It's been years, but..." There was a beat. "How long has it been for you?"

"Nearly three years now." My dad let out a defeated sigh. "It still feels like yesterday."

"...Yeah." Silence filled the house. I was happy to contribute to it.

"...So. Bullying." My dad finally said. "Where do we go from here?"

"Me saying I saw something isn't going to do much. Taylor needs to testify."

My dad's chair creaked. "I can go get her." I felt my throat freeze. Panic swelled in me. "She hasn't talked to me, but if you're here, maybe that will change. Once she tells us everything, I can—" If my dad came up here, he would—I would—I didn't know, but—

"No!" Mister Parker yelped. "No—I mean, wait a minute."

My dad paused. "Why?"

My gut clenched. I knew it. Mister Parker was like all the rest of them. He was trying to stop my dad. He just wanted to…I actually didn't know what he wanted, but it couldn't be good. He was trying to get to my dad, to manipulate him into doing something. I had to—

"What's that noise?" My dad suddenly asked, and I shuddered. I was doing it again. Somehow, my swarm was picking up on my panic and involuntarily acting on it. I forced myself to calm down. Nothing had happened yet. I couldn't blow my cover…

Thankfully, Mister Parker didn't notice. "I don't hear anything."

"...I guess it was the house settling." My dad went with it. Small mercies. "You want me to wait?"

"Don't go barging up there demanding answers. It's not going to work. She didn't tell you much after the locker thing, right?" My dad grunted. "She probably doesn't feel safe talking about it. Trying to force the issue might make her close off more. I've been there."

"But I'm her father…"

"I know—just—I have some experience with this, okay?" Mister Parker said. "Not much, but…running up there won't help."

That made my dad angry. I could hear it in his voice. "Then what the hell am I supposed to do, just sit here and let Taylor be torn to shreds?"

"No, of course not. I—" Mister Parker sighed. "I don't actually know. I'm not a child psychologist. Right now, I'm basing everything off of what I was thinking when I was in her shoes."

I blinked. He was bullied? Was that why he was pretending to care?

"Is that how you figured it out so quickly? You got kicked around in school, too?" My dad asked.

"Yeah. I was a nerd, and there were a few jocks…" Mister Parker replied. "I thought I had to deal with it myself, for some dumb reason. I guess I didn't want to be seen as a kid, and figured I had to solve my own problems."

"So you think Taylor…"

"I never found someone I could totally trust and confide in. Part of it was losing my uncle, and the stress of having to work to support myself and my aunt." Mister Parker's tone turned sour. "The other part was me being a colossally stupid teenager who made a bunch of dumb decisions. I was stuck at this job that I was convinced I had to keep, no matter how much my boss hated and underpaid me, because I couldn't—"

He cut himself off. "Never mind. The point is, we are going to have to try and reach out to Taylor."

"It feels wrong. Sitting here and doing nothing, waiting for her—" My dad was hovering at the kitchen doorway. "Are you absolutely sure this is the play?"

"Honestly? No. I studied chemistry and biology, not psychology." Mister Parker admitted. "I'm—" He paused as a police siren shrieked to life, before continuing. From the sound, it was a few blocks away and getting quieter. "I'm just basing this off what I remember about myself from years ago. For all I know, cornering her and demanding the truth is the right move."

"I've been waiting for her to reach out for…" Dad let out an exhausted sigh. "God fucking damn it."

"I know the feeling." One of our old wooden chairs scraped against the floor. "Listen, Danny, I need to go do some work, but feel free to call me if anything comes up." He paused when he reached the door. "And tell Taylor she can eat lunch in my office. If her bullies are anything like mine, that's a time when they like to strike."

"I'll let her know. And Peter…" My dad followed after him. I could almost hear them with my normal ears. "...Thanks. For everything."

"It's what I do." The door shut with a gentle click, and Mister Parker jogged away, only briefly pausing when his foot landed on the broken step.

Did he mean it? Could he actually be trying to help? Could this really be my chance to set things right?

I had been afraid of what Mister Parker might know. The day's events had been making me paranoid. But this was what I had been waiting for, wasn't it? A teacher who believed me. Who would help me. Who could end my torment. Someone who understood what it was like to have life kick you in the face and then grind you into the mud.

He was making it so easy. I could show him my journal, where I had written down every horrible thing the trio had done to me for the past year. That was proof. I could show it to Mister Parker, and then he would show it to Blackwell, and then she would have to believe me, and then—

"Taylor?" The knock at my door nearly made me jump. "Are you there?"

I froze. My dad—he was going to ask about the bullying like he did after the locker. I had barely told him anything—but this time I could tell him. "Y-yes?"

He nudged the door open and sat down on my bed. "Taylor, I want…"

The words were stuck in his throat. "W-what is it?"

He swallowed. "...I'm going to order pizza. Is that okay?"

"...Sure." I managed. "I'll have the usual."

My dad gave a jerky nod. He was staring at me. "Taylor, I want…after dinner, would you…"

Then he looked away. "No. I'll…" His voice was clipped. "Forget it. Rest up for a little while. I'll call you down." He walked away.

Distress and confusion and frustration all hit me in the gut. My dad was going to wait for me. Like he always did.

I spread my senses to my bugs again. My dad was in his room, sitting on the edge of his bed. Where he kept photos of mom. I could tell that he was staring at her.

Then he sighed. "Taylor…" He said to the wall. "Taylor, we have to talk—"

"Taylor, I need to know—"

"Honey, I've been noticing—"

"You've been quiet—"

"I…" My dad sighed again. "God, Annette…"

He wasn't going to make a move. He couldn't. Ever since mom died, my dad had been depressed and lost. He hadn't noticed my suffering until it had literally been shoved in his face. And even then, he…

He what? Didn't tie me down to a chair and force me to tell him everything? I didn't want him to do that. I wanted to…I wanted…

It couldn't be that simple. Mister Parker was wrong. All the other teachers didn't believe me. I had been bullied for more than a year, and none of them had done anything. A single teacher wouldn't make a difference. He wasn't even a real teacher. Just a tutor who dealt with problem students. Like me.

I could hide away in Mister Parker's office for a little while, at least. Until the trio found their way in and ruined that too. Like they destroyed everything else in my life. Because they would get away with it. Like they got away with everything. Mister Parker would stop caring eventually. Even if he knew what it was like. Everyone did.

Mister Parker wasn't even a real teacher. Going to him wasn't going to make anything happen. He was a temp. He had to be, given how late in the school year it was. He didn't have any real power. And when he bounced off the administration like I always was, he'd give up.

I could see it now. Madison would shed some crocodile tears, and say she "was just trying to make Taylor lighten up," and that she "would never do it again." Sophia would shrug it off, like she always did, before coming back with a vengeance once the coast was clear.

And Emma. She'd smile sweetly, say she and I were going through a rough patch, but now she knew better.

And everyone would believe her. The pretty, popular girl who had to deal with the ugly, loser freak of a former friend who kept trying to harass her and her new friends.

And everything would go right back to where it had been.

My dad was still in his room. He was still staring at my mom's photo. But his weight was shifting. He slowly stood up, and started making his way towards his door. Towards my door He reached the banister, the one with the paint almost worn off, and then…

And then he turned back. He plopped back down onto his bed and went back to staring at mom's photo.

I wanted to scream. He'd been doing this for the past three years. Retreating back into his self-pity and despair. Ignoring me and all of my problems. That was why I didn't tell him anything. Because he was like all the other adults. Too wrapped up in their own misery to see anyone else's. It was—

No, that wasn't fair! He was my dad, and he loved me! He didn't want anything bad to happen to me, but he was busy. Working for a long-dead industry was draining on anyone. And with mom's death, that had only put everything in sharper contrast. He needed to focus on work. He didn't need me making his life even more miserable.

Because that was it, wasn't it? Deep down, I knew he didn't try because he didn't want to.

He didn't need to pretend to care about me. He'd shown me who he was after mom's death. He couldn't…he didn't even take care of himself. We nearly starved until Allan forced him to pull himself together, and then my dad sent me away to summer camp so Emma could turn against me, because I was such an unlovable wretch of a daughter—

"I failed you." I froze.

"I failed you, Taylor. Ever since your mom died, I've…" My dad whispered. "I want to stop. I want to get better, but I…"

The minute that crept by could have filled hours. "...I don't know how." My dad finally said. "I just need you to—no." He shook his head. "I just need to…I can…"

"I'll always be there for you. I…" He slumped again. Like a long-dead flower finally taken off its scaffolding. "Taylor, we have to talk—"

I looked down at myself. I hadn't moved since falling onto my bed. Not one inch. Like I always did, after a particularly bad day. The kind of days I had been having for nearly two years.

It couldn't be that simple. It just couldn't. Mister Parker's bullying didn't sound nearly as bad as mine was. He didn't have to deal with a psycho ex-best friend trying to kill him. He didn't have to deal with everything around him constantly going to shit. He didn't…

My dad was still sitting there. Still trying to find the words.

I couldn't…It wouldn't…

"Taylor, I'll do anything." My dad tried again. "No matter what happens, I won't fail you again. I—"

It couldn't be that simple. It couldn't. I felt something hot and wet running down my own face.

I stood up and picked up my binder. Where I had written down every horrible thing the trio had done to me.

It couldn't be this easy. All this time, all I had to do was…

I took a breath and walked through the door.

"Taylor?" My dad looked up. He hadn't wiped his cheeks. "What…"

"Dad." That was fine. I hadn't either. "I heard everything."

It was a long, bitter night. But when the sun rose, I had hope.

That Monday, we walked into the conference room. Mister Parker nodded at me as he sat down next to my dad.

I presented my case. I showed everyone my evidence, the binder full of emails the trio had sent me. None of the teachers contradicted me. The trio gave their usual bullshit excuses, but I didn't let that get me down. Everything was okay. I had the truth on my side.

Then Blackwell spoke, and my heart dropped. My dad and Mister Parker tried to argue, but they were pushed away. I protested. Blackwell continued.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a smirk flicker across Emma's lips.

It had all been for nothing.

Notes:

Also, be sure to check out the poll on the Spacebattles crosspost if you haven't. It's deciding who is going to get a bonus interlude, and right now it's neck and neck between Tattletale and Mary Jane.

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Chapter 1364 - 7