Spider-Woman (2002): Part 1

Liz was never one to stand out in a crowd. Her mousy brown hair, glasses, and average features made her easily forgettable. "But hey," She always thought to herself, "At least I'm not Peter Parker. Always getting in the way and not knowing when to shut up." As she boarded the bus on her way to her school's field trip, she took her usual seat in the middle of the bus and sighed, wishing for a quiet ride. But as she looked over to her left, she noticed someone running outside of the bus, it was Peter, It was then that other kids in the bus started to notice and laugh their heads off. While Liz didn't find it that funny, she couldn't help but let out a couple of snickers as Peter yelled from outside, slamming his hand on the bus.

"H-Hey! T-Tell him to stop, please?!" Peter stammered, his face bright red from embarrassment and exertion. Even the driver of the bus couldn't help but smile at the poor kid's expense. Liz sighed, rolling her eyes. "Hey! Stop the bus!" Peter yelled again, banging on the window. With a defeated sigh, Mary Jane, one of the most popular girls in the school, suddenly got up from her seat and walked up to the driver. "Stop the bus!" she started with a huff, "He's been chasing us since Woodhaven Boulevard." The driver's smile dropped and he quickly slowed down until the bus stopped for Parker.

MJ smiled and went back to her seat, sitting next to her boyfriend, Flash. Peter soon got on, smiling awkwardly at the driver as he got on. "T-Thank you, sorry I'm late-" he got cut off by one of Flash's friends throwing a small paper ball at him, causing everyone to laugh. Peter seemed to try to ignore all of the attention he was getting as he walked toward where Liz was sitting. Liz quickly nudged herself over the leftover seat, covering it before looking at Peter with a small scowl. "Don't even think about it," she said, jutting her hip out a little further. Peter stopped in his tracks, looking a bit sad for a moment before one of Flash's cronies mocked him again. "You're so lame, Parker." The bus ride continued, the rest of the field trip passing by without much incident. Aside from Peter being tripped over while trying to find a seat, it was all fairly uneventful. Liz couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt for being so harsh to him earlier. He didn't seem like such a bad kid, just a little socially awkward. She supposed she could've been a bit nicer to him. Maybe next time.

When they finally arrived at their destination, Liz gathered her things and made her way toward the exit, feeling a bit more self-conscious than usual. As she stepped off the bus, she noticed a black car pull up alongside them. She thought it was a bit weird, but didn't want to make a big deal out of it. The rest of the students began to disembark as well, chattering excitedly about the activities they'd be doing. Liz walked over to the edge of the group, still keeping an eye on the mysterious car. Peter, who was walking up to the group, suddenly turned around, hearing someone call his name, Liz soon noticed that she was staring at Peter at this point, and just slotted her way into the main tour group. As they all walked in, the tour guide spoke up. "There are over 32000 known species of spider in the world, they're..." Liz quickly lost all interest in everything she was listening to, the guide's voice disappearing completely. This was somehow way more boring than she thought it would be...

She glanced over at Peter, who was looking around with a small smile on his face with his friend, Harry Osborn. Both didn't seem to mind it as much as she did. Peter seemed to be enjoying himself, which was strange, considering how much everyone else had been making fun of him earlier. Maybe he just had a thing for creepy crawlies, or maybe he was just really good at ignoring people. Either way, Liz found herself sort of envying his ability to just be himself and not care what anyone else thought. As the tour continued, they were led to a room filled with spiders of all shapes and sizes. Liz tried her best to keep her distance from them, but she soon realized that she might have to listen to whatever the tour guide was saying if she wanted to pass this class. The guide pointed out different species and their unique characteristics, but Liz's mind kept wandering, not very interested in whatever she was talking about. She glanced over at the clock hung on the wall, it wasn't even close to lunchtime...

But then she suddenly perked up as she heard the words "15 genetically designed super spiders" Liz swiftly pushed her way up to the front, getting a good look at the spiders that were jumping and crawling around. "Huh." She muttered, noticing that they seemed to be different from the other spiders. "There's 14." Mary Jane suddenly pointed out, making the tour guide's eyes widen a little, "I beg your pardon?" She asked MJ, looking closer, "One's missing." MJ said, looking back at the group of spiders. The tour guide frowned and looked at the box the spiders had been in, getting closer to it. "Huh..." She muttered, noticing something was off. "I guess the researchers are working on that one..."

Liz raised an eyebrow, curious as to what the missing spider could be used for. As the tour guide continued to talk about the other spiders, Liz found herself quickly becoming bored again. She glanced over at Peter, who seemed to be distracted on his own, taking pictures of MJ. "Heh, perv..." Liz muttered under her breath, causing Peter to glance over at her. He looked a little taken aback before quickly looking away again. She felt a little guilty for calling him that, but it was hard not to think of him as just some weirdo who liked taking pictures of girls. Something that caught her attention though was that something fell off from Peter's hand, it looked like a small spider, maybe even that one missing super spider. Intrigued, Liz walked away from the group, wanting to do at least something interesting with this whole trip. She found the spider crawling up a wall and slowly scooped it into her hand, feeling a bit nervous as it wriggled around. "There you go..." She said softly, gently carrying it back to its box.

But just as Liz was going to shut the box and tell someone about her rescue of the spider, she suddenly felt a strong pain in the tip of her index finger, "Ow!" She looked down to see that the spider had bitten her... "Ugh, I just saved your life and that's how you repay me?" Liz angrily mumbled to the spider, closing the box. She was starting to feel a little woozy, but she tried to ignore it. She knew better than to panic or anything. She went back to the group, still feeling the spider's bite, but trying her best not to show it. She could feel a strange warmth spreading through her veins, and she could swear her vision was getting a little...weird. She put her glasses on and off, not sure what was going on. As they continued the tour, Liz felt herself growing more and more distant from the group. Her thoughts were racing, and she couldn't seem to focus on anything the guide was saying. The spider's bite...that was it. She had been bitten by a spider, and now she was starting to feel strange. She tried to keep up with the group, but it was getting harder and harder to pay any attention at all... Before she knew it, the trip was over and she was back in her house, feeling even more disoriented than before.

Her mom came into her room, concerned about the way she was acting. "Are you feeling alright, sweetheart?" she asked, taking a seat on the edge of Liz's bed. Liz looked at her mom, feeling like she was seeing her for the first time. Everything was so...bright, and sharp. Her mom's features seemed almost unnaturally defined, her voice sounded strange, higher pitched than usual. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something was not right. "I...I think so..." she managed to say, her voice sounding distant even to her ears. Her mom looked at her with concern but didn't press any further. She knew that sometimes teenagers just needed some space to sort things out on their own. As the hours passed, Liz found herself unable to sleep, her mind racing with thoughts of the spider and the strange sensations it had left her with. She went to the bathroom, wanting some time alone to try and figure out what was going on with her. As she stared at herself in the mirror, she noticed her pupils were dilated, and she felt an unnatural surge of energy coursing through her veins. "It's the spider venom," she muttered to herself. "It must be messing with my system..."

She came out, somehow feeling even worse, and locked herself in her bedroom, flopping onto her bed. The room spun around her, and she felt nauseous. She closed her eyes and wrapped her covers around her, trying to get warm. Her heart raced, and she felt dizzy. "I... need... sleep..." she muttered, but sleep wouldn't come. The more time passed, the worse Liz felt, to the point where she lay on the floor, curled up in a ball. Her vision was blurry, and her thoughts felt scattered. She felt hot, like she was on fire, and cold at the same time. She tried calling out for her mom, but no words came out. She was too weak, too exhausted. She saw faint flashes of spiders and the world around her before she passed out...