Chapter Text
“My name is Rumi Ryu, I was bitten by a radioactive spider, and for seven and a half years I have been Seoul’s one and only Spiderwoman.
It’s been a couple months since everything. Zoey and Mira have been great, I think we’re closer now than ever before. Mira helps make and repair my suits now while Zoey makes more meals to help with the quick metabolism and writes news articles anonymously praising my work.
Celine and I have made up, thankfully, but we’re still on awkward terms. I try to leave Spiderwoman at the door when I visit her.
Everything has been smooth sailing besides that. Since Zoey pivoted from books (though she’s working on getting her old ones published) to articles she’s been getting a decent pay, Mira’s climbing to be one of the most popular fashionista’s in the city and I am still holding tight to my photography.
Even the villains seemed to have laid off. Granted, most of them are in jail, thanks past Rumi, but I haven’t seen many of them recently. The news story today was the first attack in like a week!
Spiderwoman might be cleaning up the streets permanently.”
“Uhh, is the tv being weird?” Zoe asked as she looked up from her laptop as the news interrupted the show.
“Hm?” Rumi moved from the kitchen to stand and watch, still scarfing down her ramyeon.
It was another attack, but it was weird. The news said it was Lizard but she had locked up that guy ages ago. And the one on the tv looked wrong.
He looked straight out of a comic book, shards of paper surrounding him and he seemed to move slower than the world around him. As Rumi devoured the rest of her food in preparation to the fight, the Lizard flashed between colors and it looked like body parts detached themselves before returning to the human-lizard body.
“Either we need to get the tv checked out or that guy messed himself up more since last time,” Rumi answered, tossing her ramyeon and chopsticks in the trash before pulling on her mask and gloves. She’d taken to wearing the suit around the apartment more, made her not overheat anymore and her partners seemed to like it.
“Good luck Rumi!” Zoey called as she swung out the window, webbing it closed behind her.
She found the Lizard quickly, thankfully he wasn’t far from the apartment. It was easy to spot the paper-looking reptile among the trash he was rifling through. As she quietly approached, he flashed between colors again. It was a bit more horrifying in person to watch his body tear apart for a moment as he roared in agony.
“Hey big guy!” She called. The villian pulled his nose out of the dumpster, a few things falling out after him. “What’d you do to yourself now?”
He hissed at her. “Where’s Spider-Punk?”
She paused. Spider-Punk? Was there another spiderperson now? She would think that it’d be bigger news if someone else showed up with her powers.
“Did you give yourself hallucinations along with whatever this is?” She gestured to his whole new getup. “Prison was supposed to keep you away from new chemicals.”
Lizard growled and snapped his jaw at her. She leaped back and pulled the sword hilt from her hip, sword quickly appearing afterwards. She’d been experimenting with weapons and this was one of the few to turn out, now it accompanied her to all fights.
Between the sword and webs, the Lizard seemed to stand no chance. He was webbed up completely and injured before the weird color thing happened again and suddenly her webs were gone.
So that’s the purpose of that. She held her sword out infront of her, poised to strike before something else caught her eye.
The trash littered on the ground began floating. Both her and Lizard looked around for a source before the reason became obvious.
Jagged orange circles floated at the end of the alley, junk slowly being pulled towards it before it closed and a person launched out of it.
Rumi’s spider-sense went off as the other Spiderwoman flew past her, looking like she was going for a kick before pulling back and landing next to Rumi.
“Spiderwoman?” Rumi practically whispered, openly staring at the other person.
She glanced over at her for a second, more focused on the watch on her wrist. “Call for backup, we have a lone spider and a Lizard from 138 in 333.”
Seconds later, another one of those orange things appeared (a portal, Rumi assumed) and a motorcycle flew out, hitting the Lizard squarely in the face before landing on the ground along with the Spiderwoman.
Rumi felt her spider-senses going crazy, almost completely forgetting about the villain in front of her to stare at the Spiderwomen that looked as equally out of place as the Lizard. The first one looked like a watercolor painting come to life and the other had darker colors than the world around her.
“Where is Spider-Punk?!” The Lizard shouted, hurling the garbage can at the three of them. They all webbed in different directions.
“Spiderwoman!” The woman on the motorcycle shouted, only Rumi turned to look. “Help us restrain him, we need to get this guy back to his own dimension.”
She nodded even though she didn’t fully understand. Own dimension? There were other dimensions? Were these Spiderwomen from other dimensions?
Rumi didn’t get much time to think before the Lizard charged at her. She swung the hilt of her sword at his snout, enough to disorient but not really harm.
She webbed away as the first Spiderwoman began webbing him up, connecting his limbs to different parts of the alleyway. Rumi quickly joined in, making sure to web his snout shut and keep an eye on where his claws were in relation to the other spiders.
He was thoroughly restrained before another color-spasm happened and undid half their work and the Lizard tore out of the rest of it. She heard both spiders swear under their breath as they started again.
“Where’s Miguel? Aren’t his webs supposed to stop that?” The white-spider asked, narrowly avoiding the Lizards claws.
“He’s preoccupied.”
“Oh is he?” The Spiderwoman asked as another one of the portals opened up.
A harsh electric guitar sounded from it, the sound materializing and hitting the Lizard in the chest before the spider appeared.
He looked similar to the Lizard. Sharp paper around him, movement a bit off from the world around them. This looks certainly seemed to fit the name…
“Spider-Punk!” The Lizard howled, charging towards him with a new fury.
“Hobie!” The first Spiderwoman called, excitedly waving to the new addition. He gave a cheery wave back before continuing to riff on his guitar.
It sent the Lizard backward as he slowly walked towards him, backing the creature into the wall before throwing something at his feet.
An electric cage spawned around Lizard, keeping him contained despite the clawing and color-spasms. The guitar quickly stopped and Spider-Punk slung it around his shoulder.
“Sorry ‘bout the Lizard, bastard got dragged here mid-fight and I couldn’t find where he was.” He said, tauntingly tapping at the cage where Lizard was trying to bite him before opening another portal with the watch and sending him elsewhere.
“I thought Miguel banned you from dimension hopping?” The second Spiderwoman asked, eyeing him suspiciously. She wasn’t wearing a mask, and the first Spiderwoman had tugged hers off as-well.
“He did.”
“And your here because…”
“It’s a bloke from my dimension, I’m allowed to help. And Miguel can eat shit.” Rumi tried to stifle her laugh at the bluntness, it didn’t work very well.
“Hobie that’s disrespectful.”
“Good.”
Rumi wanted to let the exchange go on longer but decided it was probably best to get some more information about what exactly was going on.
She cleared her throat to get their attention. “So, different dimension spiderpeople?”
“Where is Miguel to explain shit when you need him,” The first Spiderwoman mumbled. “We’re from a society of spiderpeople helping to contain anomalies like that Lizard and send them back to their correct dimension. I’m Gwen, that’s Jess.”
“Rumi,” She introduced. “So what does a spider need to do to get into this society exactly?”
Jess opened her mouth to give an answer but Hobie tossed something at her. It was the same watch the other three were wearing. “Sick sword by the way.” He commented as she fumbled to catch the watch.
“Where did you get that?” Gwen asked him, making it obvious he wasn’t exactly meant to have it.
“Magician never reveals his secrets.”
“You’re impossible, you know that?” Jess asked sarcastically. “Any spider is welcome to join. Just use that watch to hop to different dimensions if you get a call that an anomaly is there.”
She nodded, slipping it on. “And usually we’d give a tour of HQ but if Miguel isn’t here to make us…” Gwen trailed off as Jess gave her a stare. “Fine. Tour of headquarters, follow me.”
Gwen opened one of the portals, Jess and Hobie walking through quickly. Rumi hesitated for a second. Should she stop home to tell Zoey and Mira she’d be away for a bit longer than usual? They might worry she’d been injured if she doesn’t get home soon.
“Portals closing,” She warned. Rumi spared one more glance at Seoul before following her through the portal.