The Sensational Spider-Girl #2

[Spider-Man Beyond]

The Sensational Spider-Girl #2

Written by Sononsj
Edited by Daniel Dyer

May woke up. And, truly, it was May and not Spider-Girl who woke up, for her mask was off. She wasn’t really sure why. She had been-

And then she remembered. She had been out web-swinging. And, to tell the truth, she wasn’t really sure why she bothered. She knew her father had quit many times before. Anyway, that wasn’t important. That didn’t matter. What mattered was that she had lost. Lost, like a rank amateur. Truth be told, that was all she really was. She had almost no experience, and the little that she had was against burglars, thieves, and muggers. She had never faced anyone at the Spider’s power level before. She was just as strong as- no, stronger then May was. A lot stronger. She had given her best, used all her webbing, all her strength, abilities, power, agility- and it still hadn’t been enough. And the Spider wasn’t just raw power. No, she had the skill and agility even May’s father, the amazing Spider-Man, ever had in his prime. And she had lost.

And now she sat, trapped, tied up by… was that webbing?! Had the Spider taken her web-shooters? No, she still had her shooters on. The rest of her costume, web-shooters, everything except for the mask. Her mask lay on the floor, just out of reach.

And now she sat in this chair, trapped in an abandoned warehouse, tied up with what appeared to be webbing, like a fly, trapped by a spider in its web, waiting to die. Was that what she was doing? Waiting to die? She couldn’t go, not like this. She’d always dreamed of teaching P.E. or being some kind of coach. She loved sports, she loved her parents. She couldn’t go, not like this. She hadn’t even said goodbye. Her parents- they wouldn’t even get a call.

“Well, I certainly didn’t expect you to wake up this quickly. But then, what can we expect from someone whose stamina is almost as great as my own?”

“You- I pulled off your mask. I did- and it was me! It was my face!”

“Really? Or is your face, mine?”

Where May would have been crouching, she was standing, almost majestically, up on a center rafter.

“But- what? No, that doesn’t make sense, it’s- But, who are you? I’ve never even seen you. Why do you hate me?”

For indeed it was. This was not just a rivalry, or a grudge, as with so many of her father’s foes- this was pure hatred. And it was true, she had never met her, yet the Spider hated May.

“No, it’s true, I’ve never met you, least not in person. But, May m’ girl, you and me? We go back a long ways. Since you’re about to die, I might as well explain it to you. Least that way, you‘ll know why I’m going to rip your heart out. Y‘ see, I don’t forgive and I don‘t forget. So when I first heard about the tale I‘m gonna tell ya, I made a point of doing my research. Y‘see, s‘much as I hate you, I know you weren‘t the only player in daddy‘s death. Now that I know the whole story, I know just who I‘m gonna kill.”

*

[Spider-Man Beyond]

“Nurse! NURSE! Help!”

The nurse rushed to the young woman’s side. She had been running some tests, but the baby wasn’t far off, and that was obviously more important.

She’s so young. Where’s the husband in all this, thought the nurse. The nurse sincerely hoped she was married. I know, I’ll ask her, thought the nurse.

“Ma’am, if you don’t mind my asking, is your husband meeting you here?”

The young woman finds this almost- funny. “Heh. He- he’s off playing the hero. I should have known that he wouldn’t change. They never change. He’s betrayed me, just like everyone else I’ve ever loved. But I still love him. I could never stop loving him.”

Good. So she was married. “Hero, ma’am? Is he a police officer?”

She seemed to find this even funnier.

“I dated one, once. They are busy. They can’t help it. It’s their responsibility.”

“Why, ye- AGGHHH!”

“Doctor!! Get a doctor! Hurry, we’re losing her!”

As the woman’s life faded, so did the sounds around her.

“Stat!”

“Doctor, get-”

“We’re losing-”

“-over here, she’s-”

“-her, she’s dyi-”

And the woman’s last words, heard by no one except her faithful nurse:

“Yes. He was very responsible. He would have wanted to see his daughter. He wanted her to be named: May Reilly-Tyne.”

*

[Spider-Man Beyond]

No one quite knows why she died. In this day and age, it is quite rare for a woman, especially a healthy young woman like Janine, to die in childbirth. Some speculate that she had lost the will to live. Still others theorize that she died from an infection or some other medical condition. A select few think she might have been poisoned by radiation, or perhaps the father’s condition caused anomalies in the birth. Whatever the truth, the world may never know, and it is not important, anyway. What is important, nay, pivotal, in our tale, is that, fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, from a certain point of view, is that the child survived. However, since the father was not known, the daughter was raised in an orphanage. The woman had apparently taken the bus or a taxi. Perhaps she was simply near the hospital when it happened. No official marriage license or document of any form could be found. Who knows what went through the husband’s mind when he could not find his beloved wife. For the husband- a man known as Ben Reilly- didn’t even know he had a daughter.

Continued...