Make Way for the Spiders

-_-_-_-Rayne's POV-_-_-_-

I really didn't want to go home. In fact, I'd do anything to stay as far away from there as possible.

But Peter steered me to the apartment, refusing any excuse I gave him.

When we stepped through the door, my body collapsed into the sofa. I should be doing something. I could go through some more of Kim's files, or go on patrol around the city, or-

"No," Peter stated, and I realized I had said all that aloud. "You're going to bed, no objections."

"But I don't want to," I griped, holding a pillow to my face.

I heard him sigh, and then Peter was gently pulling the pillow from my face. "Please, Rayne," he pleaded.

"Fine," I huffed, but made no move to get up. He raised his eyebrows, and I raised my arms, giving him a puppy dog look. "Carry me?"

He chuckled, and lifted me up bridal style. "You're lazy," he told me, smirking slightly.

"You're stating facts," I replied, giggling.

When we got into my room, he gently laid me down, and I cuddled into my pillow. "Do you really have to go back to school?" I asked, looking up at him.

"If I want to continue being a student, yes," he chuckled.

"Didn't Gwen tell you to stay with me, though?" I countered.

"I'm sure she'll understand." He rolled his eyes, and kissed my forehead. "Keep your phone with you, alright? I'll call you every hour to make sure you're okay."

"What if I fall asleep?" I asked, sitting up, and grinning.

"You're such a kid," Peter sighed, and made his way to the door. "If anything happens, call me, alright?"

I nodded, smiling softly at how worried he was. "Peter," I called, before he could walk out the door. He turned, with his eyebrows raised, and I don't know what came over me - I leapt out of my bed, and tackled him in a hug. My face was buried in his chest, and my arms were wrapped around his torso.

I could tell he was surprised, but he wrapped his arms around me tightly. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked.

I felt my walls beginning to break, but I struggled to keep my cool. "I'm fine," I said, not letting go.

His hand lifted up my chin, and his eyes held worry. "Rayne?"

My eyelids started to feel heavy, and I suspected it was because of that mysterious green mist coming in through the window. Peter didn't seem to notice, so I didn't mention it.

"Rayne, are you okay?" he asked again.

"I'm fine, stop worrying," I sighed, slightly shaking my head.

He pressed his hand to my forehead, and gave a small sigh. "At least your fever isn't as high." He leaned down, and softly pressed his lips to mine.

I smiled, and kissed back, but then he pulled away.

"Come on, back to bed," he urged, and I pouted, but followed orders. "I'll call you, and after school, Gwen and I will be over to check on you."

I nodded, and climbed back into bed, curling up under the covers. I vaguely heard the front door close, before I slipped into dream land.

-_-_-_-_-

The green mist kept tumbling in through the window, and I watched as it slowly started to rise. I just sighed, knowing it was my crazy, messed up mind playing tricks on me again. The mist began to surround me, and flew into my nose and mouth, making me gag.

What was going on? The visions had only affected my sight - it never tried to kill me before. I put my hand up to my face, trying to block out the toxic fumes, but it didn't help. More and more mist came into my room, and I stumbled to the door, tripping over all the rats and squirrels.

I heard a click, and froze, before banging on the door. I tried the knob, but it was stuck, and burned my hand. I hissed, and pulled back, before ramming my shoulder into the door. I coughed as more fumes slipped into my body, and I felt myself losing consiousness. I couldn't die like this. I couldn't.

All around me, I started to hear a banging noise. It echoed throughout my room, and I turned in circles to figure out where it came from. On the third bang, everything froze, before my vision went black.

-_-_-_-_-

I awoke with a jolt, gasping for air, and my red locks sticking to my forehead.

My hands clutched at my throat, and I looked around, noticing the lack of rats, squirrels, and green mist. I sighed in relief, and jumped when another round of knocking sounded.

I grabbed my phone, and saw that I had three missed calls from Peter. It was around one o' clock, so I had no idea who could be at the door.

I trudged down the hall, and didn't even look through the peep hole before swinging the door open.

"What?" I asked, rubbing my eyes.

"Oh, Sweetie!" a cheery voice said, and I was pulled into a set of skinny arms. "Your mother called and said that you were home sick, so I thought I'd stop by to make sure you were feeling okay."

I looked up into the green eyes of Kim, and backed away. "Mom wouldn't call you," I stated, tripping a bit. "How did you know I was here?"

"Don't be silly, Rayne," Kim laughed, waving her hand. "Of course your mother called me. She was worried about you, so I said I would come check up on you, and keep you company."

"I was asleep," I told her, narrowing my eyes. "You woke me up."

"It doesn't look like a very good sleep," she observed. "Did you have a nightmare, Dear?" She stepped forward, with false concern in her eyes.

I took another step back. "I'm fine. It was nothing." I fumbled with my phone, typing a quick text to Peter and Gwen. Help - the Evil Stepmother stopped by.

As soon as I hit send, and looked up, Kim was there, smiling, and feeling my forehead. I gave a soft yelp, surprised by her closeness, and fell backwards onto the ground.

"Rayne, are you alright?" Kim asked, rushing over, but I pushed her away. "Honestly, child, what has gotten into you?"

"Thanks for stopping by," I rushed, standing back up. "But you probably have work to do, so you can just-"

"Of course not!" She looked appalled, like she couldn't believe I would ever suggest such a thing. "I'll make you some soup. Would you like that? I know it won't be as good as you could make it, but-"

"No, I'm fine," I squeaked, noticing the flying elephant outside.

"Why don't you rest, and I'll bring the soup to you," Kim suggested, grinning.

"I'm not hungry," I told her, panicking when the green mist started seeping in through the windows again. My phone buzzed in my hand, and I quickly glanced at it.

I'm on my way. Try to stall. -Peter

"You know what? I actually am pretty hungry," I decided, trying to smile. "Thank you." I forced another smile on my face.

"You just go in your room, and rest, alright, Dear?" she said, pushing me down the hall. "I'll be there in five minutes."

I nodded, and walked as fast as I could to my room. I closed my door as quietly as possible, and went to my sock drawer, pulling out my suit. I quickly changed, and stuck myself to the ceiling, climbing out of my room, and into the living room.

Kim was no where in sight. I panicked, looking around, but didn't see her anywhere. Nothing but the elephant still floating around.

"Well," a voice said behind me, and I jumped, falling off my perch.

I landed with a thud, and looked up to see the long black dress of Tempest.

"I should've known you were the new freak in town," she sighed, crossing her arms.

"I'm the freak?" I asked, bewildered. "You're the one chasing after me."

She rolled her eyes, and kneeled down to take my face in her fingers. "I should've finished you as soon as you survived the testing. I should've known that you couldn't walk away without something happening." She sighed, and pushed me away. "But, I have you now."

I tugged at my mask, feeling uncomfortable.

"So, how long did it take you to realize that I was Tempest?" she asked, smirking. Her blonde hair whipped around, and her eyes sparked.

"At dinner the other night," I told her, satisfied at her shocked look.

"I admit, I didn't expect you to figure it out so quickly." She set her heel on my back, and I winced. "But, I did notice my files had been tampered with."

"Maybe you should just take better care of your things," I spat, struggling to get her off of me.

She sighed, and her heel dug deeper into my skin, before disappearing. She forced me to stand, and shoved me onto the couch. I glared, and sat on my knees. She reached into the top of her dress, and pulled out a syringe with a purple liquid.

"What's that?" I asked, getting nervous.

She didn't answer, instead, stabbed it into my arm. I yelped, jumping away, and slapping at her hand.

"Relax," she sighed, throwing it over her shoulder. "You want to stop seeing things, don't you? Besides, I need your blood system free of all poisons."

"Poison?" I spluttered.

"The food at the restaurant was quite wonderful, wasn't it?" she smirked.

"But... I didn't start seeing things until yesterday," I stated, my mind racing. "We had dinner Satuday."

"It's slow working," she explained, sitting next to me.

I tried to scooch away, but my limbs felt heavy.

"That's just a side affect," Tempest shrugged. "Courtesy of my company, of course."

Someone started banging on the door, and I could hear Peter calling my name.

Tempest sighed, standing back up. "I should have known your little boyfriend would come to play Prince Charming."

"Peter!" I shouted, still unable to move.

"Shut up!" Tempest hissed, waving her hand. I was suddenly lifted into the air, and the window opened on its own. "I was going to take my time, so it would be less painful for you, but now I suppose I have no choice."

She floated over to the window, and motioned for me to go first. Aganist my will, I was carried out.

"Her blood's on your hands, Peter Dear!" she shouted, now levitating beside me. "Let's go somewhere more private, shall we?"