"No one knows where the Visorak came from or why. Those few who have mastered their language claim that Visorak means 'stealers of life' and others say it means 'poisonous scourge.' Either way, no truer words have been spoken. Fear them, for they are a plague upon the land, leaving nothing but pain and fear behind them. " — Toa Hordika Whenua, Challenge of the Hordika

In which Taylor gets the power to control a very different kind of arachnid

Enjoy!

Prologue: Hatching

Winslow was the poster child for a school that had given up on trying. Graffiti that the janitor didn't bother cleaning up was plastered across the wall of virtually every hallway. Almost as if it was a monument of the decay of the school. Broken lockers were never fixed, merely duct taped over to keep their doors from striking students. Only about half the toilets worked at any given time, and the sinks were just as bad.

Approximately ninety percent of the teacher didn't even bother trying, content to pretend that their students were actually learning so long as they were paid. Those that did try didn't realize that they were utterly failing as educators, or simply believed that they would be the ones to change the school.

Outlooks like that didn't last too long.

It was a school that had given up on the safety of the entire student body and instead focused its efforts on the select few that could bring in some benefits. The students that didn't realize this were either too stupid or drugged up to care, while those that did fell into two groups. Those that were expendable, and those that weren't.

Emma Barnes fell into that second group.

The fact that her father was a rather successful divorce lawyer and her mother worked for one of the local news stations would have been enough to put her with that group, even without her association with Sophia Hess. So long as she was friends with the Ward, no faculty member in the school would go against her testimony. She and the rest of her friend quite literally had the run of the student body.

A fact that she mercilessly exploited with her torment of her former best friend.

The redhead had to hold back a yawn as she made her way through the relatively deserted hallways of the school. It was so early in the morning that only the people with no place better to be were roaming the halls in an early morning daze. The threat of classes was still hours away, so they were using the time to do things they wouldn't be able to do at home. They shouldn't have been doing them in the school either, but nobody in the faculty was going to try and stop them.

Frankly, she thought they were all insane for getting up this early every single day. She couldn't even begin trying to do this on a regular basis. Even with her cup of coffee, she was still stuck with bags under her eyes and a sluggishness that made everything seem like a chore. The mere act of walking took all of her concentration to continue as she held back another massive yawn.

She knew that Sophia had to get up this early every day for morning track practice, but that didn't make it any less insane. How her friend managed to do that and go on nightly patrols was completely beyond her understanding. She was tempted to go get Sophia so that she could bear witness to the culmination of their work, but she doubted she would appreciate being dragged away from the field. Track was one of the few things that Sophia actually enjoyed doing of her own provocation since it was a chance to show off how strong she was physically.

No, best to leave Sophia be for the time be. She could take a picture or a video with her phone for posterity's sake. That way they would be able to watch Taylor's reaction over and over again. Maybe even post in on the internet if it was funny enough.

This will all be worth it, she told herself as she squeezed by a group of chatting nerds. Today would be the day that she would be able to witness the culmination of her work. If that meant that she had to get up far earlier than any human ought to, then that was a sacrifice she was willing to make.

Emma couldn't hold back a smirk as she made her way to the school's boiler room. She could only begin to imagine how desperate Taylor had to be after being trapped inside for the weekend.

While her original plan had been to lock her inside her own locker with trash Sophia had been the one to point out how difficult that would be. Trying to squeeze inside one of the lockers would be hard enough, trying to force someone inside while they were struggling would be even harder. Even if that person was Taylor, it was likely she would be able to escape, or worse they would get caught in the act. While the school was incredibly lenient if they were seen trying to restrain Taylor even they would have to take action.

No, locking in her the boiler room was a far better plan. With the janitor in the hospital, nobody would bother checking the place unless the heater broke. They could keep Taylor locked inside as long as they wanted to. The brunette had struggled as they shoved her inside and nearly tore her fingernails off as she tried to keep a grip on the doorframe, but they succeeded. With the door locked from the outside, there was no way that Taylor would be able to escape from her imprisonment, no matter how hard she tried to knock down the door.

The part of her that had been a sister to Taylor in all but blood still screamed in protest, but Emma had long since learned to block out that pesky little voice. She was strong, Taylor wasn't. That was just the way the world worked. The strong picked on the weak and ground them into the dirt. It was the only way to get ahead in the world, and she wasn't going to let herself be weak ever again.

Emma hummed as she made her way down the dimly lit stairs to the boiler room. A single almost burned out light bulb was the only thing keeping the hallway from plunging into pure darkness. The redhead girl pulled the key off its hook in preparation to open it and see how Taylor was doing, but she couldn't help but throw in some teasing.

"Hello," Emma called out in a mocking voice as she tapped her fist on the door. The entire door shook in its hinges as her knocking echoed down the hallway. "How are you doing in there Taylor? Having fun?"

She wished that she could see through the door to watch as Taylor's face crumble under her words. That look of utter helplessness as she was stamped back into the ground was always a welcome sight to the teen.

"Emma! Help!"

Emma froze at the sound of Sophia's voice worming its way through the sealed door. What was she doing in there? Had she come even earlier than she had to check on Hebert and phased her way through the door. She wouldn't have thought that Sophia would have risked her identity in such a public place like this, but if she had wanted to verify Taylor's condition she might have risked it.

"She's going to kill me!"

Emma swallowed nervously. The thought of weak Taylor killing Sophia was almost too ridiculous to consider. Sophia was Shadow Stalker, a hero that had taken down dozens of fully grown men and parahumans. How on earth was a weakling of a classmate supposed to hurt her?

What if she got powers?

Emma had looked into parahumans powers a lot after her meeting with Sophia. While there wasn't much about getting them, she had been able to piece together from what little there was and Sophia's own testimony that receiving powers wasn't exactly pleasant. It was only when someone reached the breaking point and survived that they could get powers. She had been a bit disappointed that she hadn't gotten any powers out of the…alleyway, but she knew that she hadn't been strong enough at the time. She knew that when another similar event occurred she would be ready, but it still grated that she didn't get any powers then.

Could Taylor have gone through that though? Could she have reached her breaking point down in the darkness of the boiler room and refused to break?

The thought was ridiculous, but that was the only conceivable way that she could possible harm Sophia. The only way that she could become a threat to the dark-skinned girl was if she had somehow gotten powers during the weekend.

"EMMA!"

The pained scream made the redhead nearly jump out of her skin as she scrambled to put the key in the lock. The small piece of metal slipped across her sweaty fingers like butter as she struggled to get a good grip on it. She could hear the muttering whispers of other students as came to investigate Sophia's screams.

"I'm coming Sophia," Emma screamed as she fumbled with the keyhole. She could feel the panic welling in her chest as her friend's screams echoed through the hallway. A cold sweat broke out along her forehead at the thought of whatever Taylor was doing to her that could cause such a strong person to react like that.

As she twisted the key in the keyhole she could hear snap as the bolt slid back into the door. With a grunt, she pulled on the door's aged handle as its rusted hinges groaned in protest. Emma wasn't sure what she was going to do, but she had to help Sophia. Sophia had helped her when she had been lying down in the filth and muck and reforged her into someone strong. Someone who wouldn't be dragged back down into the weakness and bile of the city.

As the door swung open Emma was greeted with an inky darkness. She fumbled for the light switch for a few precious seconds before her hand finally found the switch and flicked them on.

She immediately wished that she hadn't.

The…creature that stood on the other side of the door only reached her waist, but it was no less terrifying. Its black carapace gleamed in the dim lighting even as its yellow eye glinted with hunger. Emma let out a whimper as fangs longer than her arms clicked together menacingly. Green fluids dripped out of its mouth as literal buzz saws blurred against each other. Four sinuous legs as long as her torso erupted from the creature's body, each one topped with a talon that looked as if it could cut through bone. She could see some sort of indent on the monster's back, but she couldn't even begin to imagine what it might do.

She wasn't sure she wanted to either.

The sound of chittering tore the terrified redhead's gaze away from the creature and into the darkness behind it. While she couldn't see more than a few feet, she was able to catch sight of even more monstrous creatures, each different than the next.

Emma wanted to run, she needed to run, but her legs were frozen in place. Her stomach felt like it was doing barrel rolls as a cold sweat broke out across her pale skin. She could feel her chest rise up and down in short panicked breaths as she started to lose control of her breathing. It was the alleyway all over again, only this time the monsters were real.

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"Thank you for saving me, Emma. It was so kind of you to open the door," the creature said with a sharp glint in its cold yellow eyes.

Emma let out a bloodcurdling scream at the sound of her friend's voice coming from the monster in front of her. The shock was enough to break her out of her frozen state. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she made a break for the hallway. There was no way that Taylor would attack her in public, especially not in school. That was the kind of behavior that got parahumans killed, and Taylor was too weak to go through with something like that.

But even as her legs pounded against the stairs the hallways seemed so much further away than it had before. Each step felt like an eternity was adrenaline coursed through her veins. Behind her, she would hear the whirring as…something charged up. She was tempted to look back, but the thought of behind forced to face that monster again scattered any thought of that.

She made it about halfway up the stairs and caught a glimpse of a handful of faces looking down the stairwell with curious expressions when the noise stopped. It was then replaced by the rushing of air as something fast flew over the gap between her and it. Emma felt something strike her back, but instead of a sharp pain like she might have expected, the point of impact felt numb.

Then she realized that everything felt numb. Her toned legs that she had used in so many modeling jobs turned to jelly underneath her. Like a marionette with cut strings, she fell forward towards the cold, unforgiving ground. She tried to brace herself with her hands, but they too refused to work, flopping limply by her sides like spaghetti. There was a crack as her face struck the steps, but she didn't feel anything. She tried to move, to crawl away to safety and away from the beast that she could hear clicking up the stairs, but she was as helpless as a fish out of water.

She could hear the screams of her classmates as more of the creatures scurried around the walls, making their way to the panicked students. But Emma could care less about them. She couldn't really feel her body being dragged across the ground, but she could watch as her face slid over every step as she was pulled into the very darkness she had abandoned Taylor to.

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Emma was rolled to the side, her body still paralyzed from her toes to her forehead. While she couldn't feel her body, she was more than willing to believe that it was covered in goosebumps at the moment. Taylor's long hair was even rattier than it usually was and her thin lips were cracked and caked in dead skin. Her clothes look absolutely filthy after being worn for three days in what amount to a dump. She should have looked pathetic compared to her own stunning beauty.

But right now, she looked like nothing less than the Devil himself.

"I'd say that this wasn't for my pleasure, but that wouldn't be entirely true," she said, her voice soft and worn. She sounded as if she had swallowed a strip of sandpaper or two. Emma tried to say something, to plead or beg for mercy, but her lips still refused to obey her commands. All she could do was stare up at her former best friend with a wide-eyed look of terror.

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"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you," she said, apparently understanding Emma's rather justified fear. The redhead couldn't help but feel a sense of relief pass through her at the thought of being able to live, but the part of her that she would have rathered ignored reminded her that some fates were worse than death.

"I'm not going to stoop down to your level, but you're not getting off scot free this time Emma," the brunette said so caustically that Emma wouldn't have been surprised if the floor melted beneath her feet. Emma could see the ceiling shift above her as she was dragged even deeper into the boiler room.

Don't worry, Sophia will save you, she thought to herself as she tried to calm her nerves. As she was dragged back into a deep corner of the room that was covered in what looked like spider webbing from an arachnophobe's worst nightmares she kept telling herself that.

Maybe if she repeated it enough she would start to believe herself.

Trying to be a hero can be a bit difficult while your minions are baying for the blood of the enemies of their Queen.

In case you've haven't already read it, go read BarelyPresent's Worm/Bionicle fanfic The Masks We Wear.

Special Thanks to my Patrons: Velzon, Sphinxes, Sanjay and xxpowerxx1qz