(Author's Note: Queens Of The Selfie Ageis being written as part of Calori Week, inspired by the Loud House fan SesNumeral! This story, and all the other stories featured in this work, are part of an anthology, which means that they each take place in their own separate continuity and aren't connected to any of the other stories contained within, or any other Loud House story I've previously written. Thanks for reading!)

O-O-O

Day 7 – Superhero ("Into The Carol-Verse")

O-O-O

Lori Loud sighed and smiled as she stepped into her Fairway University dorm room. It had been a tough day of coursework, both golf course and otherwise, and she was looking forward to spending a relaxing weekend with her girlfriend Carol Pingrey. Her roommate was visiting family for the weekend, giving the young couple plenty of quality time together. Lori was so happy, she was even singing along to the song coming out of her earbuds.

"Callin' it quits now, baby I'm a wreck," sang Lori, from the first verse of Post Malone's 'Sunflower'. "Crash at my place, baby, you're a wreck..."

Lori was feeling a bit of uncertainty, however. Carol had been disappearing randomly over the past few weeks, and it had already interfered with a few of their planned dates together. Lori remembered when she was dating Bobby that his work often got in the way of them dating, but Carol didn't have a job to speak of, and Lori knew when Carol's classes at Midwestern took place. Something was going on, but Lori couldn't put her finger on it... and as she took the earbuds out and got ready to call Carol to see when she would be over, there was a knock at the door.

"She's actually early today?" Lori said to herself, walking over and opening the door. Sure enough, there was Carol, a nervous smile on her face. "Carol, hi, it's good to see you! Ready to hang out today? Maybe hit the Great Lakes Mall, or a nice restaurant? Or maybe we could just hang out here?"

"Actually, Lori, um, something's come up..." Carol clearly looked apologetic as she spoke, but Lori wasn't in any mood for excuses or apologies.

"Again?!" shouted Lori, before quickly calming herself down and trying to be understanding. "Carol, look... I know you say you've got a lot of things going on, but what about me? What about us? It seems like every time we've tried to make some time to go out, you're always busy! I just wish you'd tell me what you're doing..."

"I wish I could-" Carol began.

"Then tell me! I thought we could tell each other everything! I mean, I even told you about my..." Lori lowered her voice to a whisper. "...my... flatulence problem..."

Carol blushed, and Lori could clearly see the guilt on her girlfriend's face. Carol clutched her arms to her chest, as if she was trying to hide something... and she looked ashamed as Lori continued to berate her.

"Carol, if something's going on, you can tell me, I promise I'll keep it a secret, but I need to know, especially if it keeps taking you away from me...!"

Lori had initially thought that Carol might be cheating on her, but she had dispelled those thoughts from her mind and tried not to dwell on them again. Carol was the kindest, sweetest, most compassionate person she'd ever known, and if there was one thing Carol would never do, it was being unfaithful. Her thoughts dwelled to another awful scenario... maybe Carol was going in for cancer treatments? If Lori had to choose between the two, she'd rather it be the cheating, by a wide margin, but either way, she wanted Carol to tell her, and didn't know why she felt she couldn't.

"Lori, trust me, this is for your own good," said Carol quietly, reaching to place a hand on Lori's shoulder, only for Lori to turn away. "This is really important."

"What could be so important, what could be so serious, that even I can't know about it?" shouted Lori, who had tried her best to keep her cool up to this point but was getting extremely frustrated with her girlfriend's secrecy. Her expression and tone conveyed anger, but even as she was shouting, her eyes were starting to tear up, and she reached the limits of her understanding. "Do you not trust me? Is it because you don't think I can handle it? Carol Pingrey, you are not leaving this room until you tell me exactly-"

As Lori reached out to take Carol's wrist, Carol instinctively jerked back. Something emerged from Carol's wrist and connected it to Lori's. Lori looked down and could see that it was a sticky white gob with the same consistency as... thick spider webbing.

"What... the...?" Lori stammered, as Carol placed her free hand up to her mouth in shock and dismay.

"Lori... I can explain..."

"Is this... webbing?"

"Lori, just listen-"

"Are you..." Lori breathed, looking into Carol's eyes. "...are you Spider-Woman?"

Over the past several weeks, a masked superheroine known only as the Spider-Woman had been fighting crime and rescuing the innocent in Great Lakes City. She'd even battled supervillains like the Blue Goblin and Doctor Squid, and she'd saved the Casagrande family from a gang of home invaders. The press, including popular pundit R. Robert Robinson had called her a menace, but the people of Great Lakes City were extremely appreciative of their new hero, and Lori was a big fan... though the thought that her girlfriend Carol Pingrey and the new superheroine might be one in the same had sent her into a state of semi-shock.

"Lori, I didn't mean for you to find out this way," said Carol, carefully peeling the webbing off of Lori's wrist to disconnect them from each other.

"You... you are...!" Lori suddenly exclaimed, pointing at Carol. "You're Spider-"

Lori was immediately cut off as Carol shot a gob of webbing over her mouth, sealing her lips and muffling her exclamations. Surprised, Lori let out several loud screams through the webbing, as Carol put up a finger to try and shush her.

"Lori, quiet!" Carol whispered, guiding her stunned girlfriend over to a nearby swivel chair. "You can't just go blabbing it out! I kept it a secret even from you, do you think I want anyone else to know? I haven't even told my parents yet!"

Carol, why didn't you tell me? Get this webbing off my face right now! We have to talk! I mean it, unstick my mouth! Lori continued to try speaking through the sticky web, but Carol wasn't about to remove it until her girlfriend had calmed down. Carol was blushing intensely, and looked incredibly guilty about having to shush Lori in this way, but she couldn't risk her secret being revealed... and on top of that, her Spider-Sense was still tingling... she had to leave, but she couldn't risk Lori exposing her.

Lori tried to calm down as Carol sat her down in the chair, but when she tried to stand back up, she was forced back down by Carol wrapping her entire upper body up tightly in more webbing, then sticking her ankles to the chair as well. This sent Lori into a hysterical frenzy of struggling and shouting, with several muffled cries of 'how dare you!' and 'Carol, let me go right now!'. Carol looked sad as she saw Lori struggling so hard that the swivel chair started to roll toward her, but she just sighed and began changing out of her civilian clothing, revealing her full red Spider-Woman costume to Lori for the first time. Even in her shock and anger, Lori couldn't help but admire how cute the skin-tight outfit looked on Carol, bringing out her sleek, athletic figure. The red rage on her face hid her blush as Carol stashed her civilian clothes under Lori's bed.

"I'm sorry you had to find out this way, Lori," said Carol, turning back toward her. "It happened a few weeks ago, I was in the science building when a spider bit me... I didn't think anything of it until I woke up and had these weird powers..."

Carol, let's just talk about this! Lori muffled, pushing her chair closer to Carol and giving her a pleading look.

"I promise I'll tell you everything when I get back, but right now I have to go," said Carol, before putting her mask on to conceal her face. "Just stay here, okay? I'm sorry I stuck you to the chair but I can't risk you running out and giving up my secret..."

I won't tell anyone, Carol! You know I won't! Just untie me, don't leave me here like this! Lori screamed, her lips contorting futilely under the webbing.

"I know you need time to process this, so that's what I'm giving you. Just sit there and calm down. You... don't have to pee, do you?"

Lori thought about lying and saying she did to see if it might cause Carol to let her free... but instead, she just glared at Carol, her pleading look turning into an angry one.

"I'm sorry, Lori. I'll be back soon, I promise."

And before Lori could protest further, Carol had leapt out the window and swung off across the campus, headed back toward Great Lakes City. Lori watched as Carol left, yelling loudly in one last effort to get her to come back and let her go... but Carol was already gone, and Lori let out a cry of frustration. She angrily swung her chair around and began to struggle fiercely. She looked over toward her desk for her phone, thinking that perhaps she could use her nose to tap out a call... but it was missing.

She took my phone too? thought Lori, letting out another angry yell. She'd better bring it back!

Lori kept up her struggles, thinking that with her strength and flexibility, the webbing might give. After all, she'd been tied up plenty of times by her siblings and she'd always been able to break free... but this was much stronger than the jump ropes and duct tape they often used on her, and though it flexed and stretched with her struggles, it also stuck tight, clinging to her like a second skin... it was superhumanly strong, and Lori had no chance of breaking it. She squealed again, and bowed her head, her mind swirling with thoughts and emotions.

Carol Pingrey... is Spider-Woman. Carol Pingrey is a superhero? That doesn't make sense! She's super nice and super smart, sure, but I can't imagine her as the heroic type... we're just typical teenagers, we like shopping and hanging out at the beach together, not being superheroes! I could see Lincoln embracing the superhero lifestyle for sure, but Carol...?

Lori began absent-mindedly spinning her chair around, her mind fraught with sadness and worry.

So... I get why she didn't tell me. She didn't want to put me in danger, right? Being the girlfriend of a superhero kind of puts a target on your back, doesn't it? I've peeked at Lincoln's comics, I've seen how often that girlfriend of Ace Savvy's gets kidnapped. But wait, who does Carol take me for? I'm not some damsel in distress! I can handle myself! I'm not the kind of girl who'd just sit around struggling helplessly in my bonds and screaming into a gag!

As Lori fumed about the indignity of the situation, she immediately began to struggle, and let out several screams into the webbing plastered over her lips. Then she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror.

...oh. Right.

She sighed, and bowed her head, looking out the window again.

I just hope Carol's okay. Forget about the target on my back, what about the target on hers? Already she's made like ten mortal enemies, not to mention all the regular criminals she's already busted! What kind of girlfriend am I if I just let her go out there alone? She could get hurt, or worse! I know I'm not a superhero, but dammit, I'm Lori Loud and I'm not going to let anyone hurt my girlfriend!

Lori struggled again, not caring how she looked in the mirror, using her feet to push her chair all over the room in search of something she could catch the webbing on and rip it off of her body. There were some desks with corners, but none of them was sharp enough to get a good hold on the webbing, especially with how strong it was. Just as she started to work up a bit of a sweat, she saw the doorknob start to turn.

Carol? Already? thought Lori, glaring at the door and letting out a groan. All right, guess it's time to learn the truth about all of this.

The door opened to reveal someone... not Carol, but someone else who'd been in the news lately... a man clad in a bright blue outfit, a big cape, and a blue mask that made him look like a demonic creature. Lori knew exactly who the intruder was... the Blue Goblin!

"Well well, this is certainly a pleasant surprise," said the Blue Goblin, walking over to Lori's chair. Lori started to scoot herself back, her eyes wide with fright, but the Goblin placed his foot behind one of the wheels, stopping it from moving. "I seem to have found one of the flies that Spider-Woman's caught in her web... I wonder if you've got any wings to tear off?"

"Hmm?!" Lori exclaimed, before throwing all pretenses of toughness away and beginning to scream for help. The webbing muffled Lori's screams, prompting a loud laugh from the Blue Goblin.

"Since when has Spider-Woman decided to do all my work for me? Ahhh, let me see here..."

The Goblin began rummaging around the room, looking for something he could use to identify his latest prisoner. He quickly found Lori's purse, and fished out her driver's license.

"Lori Marie Loud, age 18, from Royal Woods, Michigan... hmmm..."

As the Blue Goblin started thumbing through Lori's purse, she said a silent prayer of thanks that all the pictures of Carol she had were on her phone, the phone that Carol had taken. The Goblin must have seen Carol leave as Spider-Woman, and then, instead of going after her, decided to look around where she'd just left... and had found Lori instead. Lori was scared out of her mind, but she tried to calm herself down and look properly defiant as the Goblin looked back her way.

"So, Lori... you and Spider-Woman must know each other, right?"

Lori said nothing... she tried her best to maintain her defiant expression, but the Goblin could see the sweat trickling down her face and the slight tremble of her body. He leaned in closer.

"Let me guess... she's a friend of yours who decided to pay you a little visit before going off on a mission, is that it?"

Lori looked away from the Goblin, not wanting to give him any indication of what she was thinking... or anything that might possibly lead him to Carol's identity. She looked around again for anything that could help free her... only for the Goblin to roughly grab her by the face and force her to look at him.

"Maybe you insisted on tagging along... so she did this to keep you 'safe'... how deliciously ironic!" the Goblin exclaimed, before cackling maliciously as Lori tried to extricate her face from his grasp. "Instead, she left me the best present she possibly could have left... and it's not even my birthday!"

Lori shot the Goblin her fiercest glare... and muffled a swear through her webgag. The Goblin gripped her cheeks even tighter, forcing a grunt from Lori but failing to wipe the fierce look from her face. Lori was still terrified, but managed to push her fears aside by reminding herself that this monster was Carol's worst enemy... that this monster had hurt Carol.

And I'd kick his ass if I had the chance, thought Lori. Superpowers or not.

"So I assume you know who this Spider-Woman is..."

Lori shook her head, as best she could with the Goblin's fingernails still pressing into her cheeks.

"Don't lie to me, I know you know! You're such good friends, you must know... and you're going to tell me!"

The hell I will, thought Lori, conveying that thought as best as she could with her ferocious eyes. Even if I could tell you with this webbing on my mouth, I'd rather die than betray the girl I love.

"Oh, silly me!" said the Goblin, shifting his claws from Lori's cheeks to her lips. "Let me get that for you."

The Goblin ripped the webbing cleanly off of Lori's mouth, prompting a cry of pain from her as her head involuntarily jerked away. She looked at the Goblin for a moment, and then...

"HEEEEEEEELLLLL-" Lori cried at the top of her lungs, before the Goblin suddenly and viciously clamped his metallic gloved hand tightly over her mouth. She continued to scream into his hand, earning a glare of hatred and rage from her captor.

"I could kill you at any moment, you know!" shouted the Goblin.

Fuck you! Lori screamed, her rage momentarily overtaking her fear.

"Let's try this again," said the Goblin. "I'm going to remove my hand, and if you scream like that again, I'll kill you. Instead, you're going to tell me exactly what I want to know... understand?"

Lori didn't nod or shake her head or give any indication of what she might do. She tried to keep up her fierce glare, but felt herself trembling and her heart rate rapidly increasing.

"Understand?"

Lori still did nothing. She knew at any moment that the Goblin might kill her... but as frightened as she was, and as annoyed as she still was with Carol, she was willing to die in that moment to keep her girlfriend's secret.

To keep my girlfriend safe.

But instead of killing Lori for her lack of a response, the Goblin lowered his hand anyway. This time, Lori didn't scream. She didn't say anything. She remained silent, which is exactly what she planned to do no matter what she was threatened with.

"Who is Spider-Woman?"

Lori said nothing.

"Who is Spider-Woman?!" the Goblin shouted again, suddenly grabbing Lori's chair and pushing her back into the wall. Lori let out a cry of pain and fear, but her resolve remained unbreakable, and she even tried to use her feet to push herself back against the Goblin, grunting and grimacing as she did so. "TELL ME!"

"I'll never tell you!" Lori shouted fiercely. "I don't care what you do to me, I'll never tell you who Spider-Woman is! And when she comes back, she's gonna kick your ass!"

The Goblin clenched his fist... he considered punching Lori a few times, thinking maybe a few broken bones would loosen her tongue... but he could see the fire and ferocity in her eyes, and he knew it would take more than a beating to get her to talk. He'd seen that fire before. He could tell the difference between someone he could break and someone who was truly willing to die to keep their secrets. But someone who was willing to die to protect someone might also be willing to do anything to protect someone else... and instead of threatening Lori directly, he instead walked over to Lori's purse and took out her driver's license again.

"1216 Franklin Avenue... Royal Woods, Michigan," said the Goblin coldly, looking back at Lori. "Is that where your family lives?"

Lori felt her blood run cold. She felt her heart stop, and the anger and ferocity immediately drained from her face, along with every bit of color. She began to tremble uncontrollably. Her eyes welled up. Her throat went dry. The Goblin knew he'd pushed the right button.

"Tell me who Spider-Woman is, or I'll go to your house and I'll kill everyone in your family. And I won't make it quick, either. I'll make it slow. I'll cut them open. I'll burn them alive. I'll make every last one of them suffer. Your parents... your siblings... how many do you have? One? Two? More?"

Thoughts of all of them raced through Lori's mind, as the first tears started to come down her face. She thought immediately of screaming Carol Pingrey's name... she loved Carol, but she loved her family too, and she'd known them far longer... and there were a lot more of them. And as she watched the Goblin continue to look through her purse, she could see him looking through more things. She didn't have any physical pictures of Carol in that purse, but she had pictures of every single member of her family.

"Ten," said the Goblin, nodding his head viciously. He turned to Lori, and glared down at her. "Tell me who Spider-Woman is... or I'll kill your family. I'll kill your mother. I'll kill your father. I'll kill your brother and all nine of your sisters. Even the little baby. ...especially the little baby."

Lori's mind and soul burned with hatred and rage, even as it was filled with more fear than she'd ever felt in her entire life. She clenched her fists tightly inside the webbing, and at that moment, if she had been able to do so, she would have killed the Blue Goblin on the spot. She would have buried her golf club into his skull. But in her current state, she was incapable of doing anything but glaring a furious hole into his head with eyes that were streaking tears down her face.

And in that moment, as Lori felt every fiber of her being begging her to betray Carol, to end this nightmare and spare her family's lives... she couldn't go through with it. She wouldn't just be betraying Carol... she'd be betraying everyone Carol was protecting. Carol had already saved thousands of lives as Spider-Woman, and would surely save thousands more... millions more... someday, Lori knew that her girlfriend might just save the entire world.

Could she throw the entire world away for her family?

Yes... Lori thought to herself, eyes burning with tears. I... I have to tell him!

Lori's mind was tormented with visions of her family being tortured and killed by this monster, and it being all her fault, all because she had to protect her new girlfriend, her new girlfriend who hadn't even trusted her to keep her secret. She loved her family, her family was the center of her life, she had to protect them... but even as she thought of them, she thought of all the other families who would suffer if she gave up Carol's secret. This wasn't just about Carol. It was about the entire world.

Lori mustered all the courage and strength she possibly could... and tried to tell herself that her family would be okay.

Forgive me... thought Lori. Keep each other safe. I believe in you. I'm sorry, but I have to do this. I have to protect Carol. I have to protect Spider-Woman.

"Go... to... hell," Lori finally replied, as tears streaked in rivers down her cheeks.

The Goblin's mask hid his shock, but the sound that emanated from his mask, a grunt of utter disbelief, betrayed it. Even with the threat of losing her family, this girl still hadn't given up Spider-Woman's identity. Then, shock turned to rage, and the Goblin withdrew a blade from his wristguard and held it right up to Lori's face, pressing it into her cheek so hard that it drew a small amount of blood.

"WHO IS SPIDER-WOMAN?! TELL ME NOW! OR I'LL CUT YOUR EYES OUT OF YOUR FACE!"

Without hesitation, Lori spat right into the Blue Goblin's face, knowing it would be her final act of defiance. The Goblin cried out as if Lori's spit was acid, clenching his mask and preparing to strike a fatal blow at the girl who had defied him.

But out of the corner of her eye, Lori could see something off in the distance, swinging through the air. She gasped and called out.

"Spider-Woman!" screamed Lori. "Help me!"

The Goblin angrily grabbed a roll of duct tape he'd pulled out of Lori's desk and tore off a strip. Before Lori could call for help again, he sealed her lips shut with the tape, muffling her cries as surely as the webbing had before.

"Shut up!" shouted the Goblin. He prepared to grab Lori and hold the blade to her neck, using her as a human shield, but Carol was too quick, leaping through the window and kicking the Goblin in the face with both feet, tossing him into the wall.

"Lori!" shouted Carol, turning to tend to her friend. "Are you okay?"

As Carol reached to free Lori from the chair, Lori could see the Goblin hurling a grenade-like object at her girlfriend.

Carol! exclaimed Lori. Carol turned and managed to put up her arms to shield herself, just as a pumpkin-shaped bomb hit her in the chest. It detonated, tossing Carol out of the room through the now shattered window and trashing half the things in Lori's room, but thankfully leaving Lori herself unharmed. Lori called out her girlfriend's name again and struggled fiercely to try and free herself as the Goblin leapt out the window after her. No!

Lori scooted herself over to the window and looked outside to see Carol and the Blue Goblin battling it out, both of them fighting fiercely. Carol had slick and agile moves and used her webbing quite deftly, but the Goblin had an array of weaponry, and was already riled up from Lori's defiance before.

Carol... you're incredible...! As Lori continued to watch, she could see just how strong her friend had become. Carol was athletic and agile before, but now she was superhuman, and using all the skills she'd learned practicing martial arts with Lori to incredible use. She had perfect control of her body, dodging projectiles and punches left and right, and tricking the Goblin into injuring himself numerous times. I never knew, Carol. I never knew you could be this strong.

"This time, you're finished, Spider-Woman!" shouted the Goblin, tossing another pumpkin bomb at Carol, who did a quick flip to dodge it.

"You're gonna pay for messing with my friend!" Carol shouted back, her voice unusually ferocious.

"When I'm through with you, I'm going to make her suffer!"

That seemed to have tweaked a nerve in Carol, who lunged forward with an aggressive punch, striking the Goblin in the face and sending him flying back, out of Lori's view. Carol leapt after him, and Lori could hear more blows landing and the Goblin grunting and crying out in pain.

Yeah, Carol! Get him! Lori silently cheered, all the while continuing to squirm in an effort to get free. Even though Carol had come to save her, she wasn't content with being a helpless damsel in distress. Carol might still need her help... and after all that the Goblin had threatened her and her family with, she owed him one too. I'll get free and help you, I promise!

The next thing Lori saw was the Goblin flying back into view, slamming into the ground hard and skidding to a stop. As he groaned in pain, Carol walked toward him and webbed him to the ground before he could get back up. She then punched him in the face, making a crack in his mask.

"If you ever hurt my friend again, I won't bother taking you to jail," said Carol, glaring fiercely down at the Goblin and speaking with uncharacteristic anger. "I'll-"

The Goblin's hand broke free from the webbing and wrapped around Carol's neck. She gasped, and was lifted into the air as the Goblin broke free of the rest of his bonds and stood up.

"Don't even try threatening me, little girl," said the Goblin, as Lori watched in horror. "You're nothing but an insect, and I'll squash you underneath my boot!"

The Goblin slammed Carol to the ground, causing Lori to cry out under her gag and intensify her struggles.

Come on, you stupid webbing...! I have to get loose and help Carol!

Carol stood back up, only to be kicked away, out of Lori's view once more. The Goblin ran after her. Lori let out a scream, and cried out in frustration, trying to stand only for the webbing to force her back down.

This is hopeless! Lori thought, bowing her head as more tears found their way to her makeup-stained face. Carol's the superhero, not me. I'm nobody. I'm just a weak, pathetic girl who'd sell out her entire family to protect her girlfriend... and I can't even do that right!

Now, it was Carol's cries of pain that found their way to Lori's ears. Lori winced with each one, and found her strength fading along with her girlfriend's.

I'm nothing, thought Lori, closing her eyes and bowing her head. And now Carol's going to die... and me next, and then my family. And it's all my fault.

As Lori closed her eyes and listened to her girlfriend's screams, her mind raced with memories of Carol, thirteen years worth of memories, from their first meeting in kindergarten, to the moment they finally declared their love for each other, all the way up to now.

All that time, we'd been jealous of each other. All that time, we thought we hated each other. All that time, wasted. We could have been friends... and we could have been so much more so much sooner.

All of it, over.

All of it, gone.

O-O-O

"Lori?" said Carol softly, walking beside her friend on the campus of Fairway University. It was a few weeks earlier, and Carol was visiting from Midwestern, as she often did. She was usually happy and confident, but on this particular day, she looked nervous, even moreso than she often did when she was worried about something.

"Yeah?" replied Lori, holding a stack of books in her arms.

"If I told you something... something really important, could you keep a secret?"

"Of course I could keep a secret, Carol. Is something wrong?"

"No, it's not that, it's just... I might have something going on, and I need to tell someone..."

"And you picked me? Carol, you know you can tell me anything."

Lori held Carol's hands tightly and looked sweetly into her eyes, and she saw Carol's eyes light up. Her lips curved into a smile, and her hands clenched Lori's, and she leaned in and gave her a tender, gentle kiss.

"I love you," said Lori, "and no matter what, I'll always support you. No matter what, I'll always be there for you."

"No matter what?"

"Of course, Carol. No matter what."

Carol looked at Lori... and then her smile slowly disappeared. Her hands unclenched from Lori's, and she turned away.

"You know what, actually it's... not really that important," said Carol. "I shouldn't bother you with it."

"Carol, it's no bother, really!"

"It's nothing, it's okay."

"Carol, wait!"

But before Lori could say anything, Carol had turned and was walking away. She started to go after her, but also wanted to respect her friend's privacy, and so she stopped after taking just a few steps. For the next few days, she avoided bringing it up, even as her friend started... disappearing. Eventually, as thoughts of school and other things came into her mind, Lori had forgotten that conversation, and her worries shifted to wondering why Carol kept missing their dates.

O-O-O

And now, as Lori sat in her dorm room, helplessly tied and gagged, listening to her girlfriend fight a losing battle against the Blue Goblin, that conversation echoed in her mind again... and she started to realize why Carol was about to tell her her secret and then had suddenly stopped.

Because I told her I'd always be there.

Because she was scared I'd be there right now.

Because she thought I'd be in danger.

And Carol was right. Lori was no superhero. Against villains like the Blue Goblin, she didn't have a chance.

And yet... Lori would still keep her promise. She would still be there, superpowers or not.

And she wasn't about to break that promise now.

Her fists clenched under the webbing. Her eyes opened. She looked out the window. She concentrated as hard as she could.

Carol, I'm coming.

O-O-O

Carol knelt on the pavement, her costume ripped in several places, blood trickling from under her mask. Normally she could take the Blue Goblin, but Lori's predicament had distracted her. She'd been careless, she'd been angry... and she'd been beaten. The Goblin stood over her victoriously, a little scuffed up but no worse for wear... and as Carol looked up at him, she knew she was running out of options.

He's already torn through my webbing like three times! thought Carol, looking down at her wrists. And I don't know how much more I can make before resting!

Carol took a look at the dormitory where her friend Lori was still sitting in her room... and a wave of regret overtook her.

I know I was trying to protect her, but I put her right in the line of fire! She'd have been safer out there with me! Ugh, what am I thinking, she wouldn't have been any safer at all, but still... I never should have left her tied up like that! I should have trusted her! I should have trusted her before!

Mixed in with the blood coming out from underneath Carol's mask were tears, tears that hit the pavement and left tiny stains, stains too faint to see as the Goblin leaned down and grabbed Carol by the neck.

"Now I'm curious... do I unmask you, or kill you?" taunted the Goblin, reaching with a clawed finger toward the gap between Carol's mask and her suit. "Wait a minute, what am I saying? I can do both."

The Goblin pressed a fingernail into Carol's bare throat, right above her carotid artery. She attempted to reach up and web his eyes in a desperation attack, but he swiftly stopped her with a hard, disorienting slap to the face, making her go temporarily limp.

"I'll kill you first," said the Goblin, pushing his fingernail in.

Lori... thought Carol, who choked out a sob from behind her mask. I'm so sorry.

A loud, metallic clang emanated across the parking lot as something hard was slammed down on the Goblin's head. Lori, now completely free to move and speak with only tattered webbing hanging from her arms and legs, had landed the perfect shot with her driver, which snapped in half upon making contact with the Goblin's metallic mask. The Goblin let out a grunt, and then collapsed to the ground, knocked unconscious by the force of Lori's blow. Carol looked up from the ground to see Lori standing over her, tears streaming down her worried face.

"Carol, are you okay?"

Carol choked out a gasp, and then a sob, and slowly climbed to her feet, helped up by Lori. She looked down at the Goblin, and then half-lunged, half-collapsed into Lori's arms. Lori embraced her tightly, the two girls sobbing as they held each other in the middle of the parking lot, shaking from the trauma they'd both endured.

"Lori, thank you..." Carol whispered. "And I'm sorry..."

"It's okay," Lori replied understandingly, stroking Carol's back over her costume. "It's going to be okay. You can tell me everything when you're ready. I'm just so glad you're okay..."

The two girls continued to hold each other silently, feeling the warmth of each other's embrace.

"By the way... that Spider-Woman outfit looks amazing on you," said Lori, hoping to lighten up the mood. Carol looked up at her and snickered, and started to lift up her mask before Lori reached up and lowered it back down. "No no, not out here, I'm sure lots of people are about to show up to see what all the commotion was... and after all I went through to keep your secret, no way I'm letting you blow it now."

Carol giggled, despite herself, and nodded her head, returning to Lori's embrace just as a cadre of police cars, ambulances, firetrucks, and reporters began to surround them and the damaged dormitory, along with hundreds of bystanders. Lori went limp in Carol's arms to keep up the charade, not wanting the gathered crowd to know that she was anything but a damsel in distress who the heroic Spider-Woman had just saved.

"My hero...!" Lori exclaimed dramatically, raising her arm up to her forehead and putting on a show for the crowd. Carol giggled again, and continued to hold Lori, leaning in and whispering in her ear.

"You're ridiculous."

O-O-O

"Lisa, are you sure everything's going to be okay?"

"Yes, no need to worry. After you warned us about the Blue Goblin's vendetta, I alerted some of my friends in the proper organizations, and they've promised us they'll be keeping close surveillance on the house and the family for the foreseeable future. In the meantime, I've also upgraded the house's security system, so if the Blue Goblin shows up, he'll get an even worse beating than the one Spider-Woman gave him the other day."

"Speaking of which, when are you going to tell Lincoln that you personally know the Revengers?"

"When I'm confident I'll be able to tell him without him and his friend Clyde putting on their Ace Savvy costumes and getting themselves killed trying to help fight Banos," said Lisa.

"Ah, good point," said Lori. "Thanks again, Lisa. I knew I could count on you."

"And next time you see Carol, let her know that it'll be a few days before I can upgrade her suit. I've just got to perfect this new laser weapon, and I'll also need to calibrate the suit's parameters to her musculature, which will take a few hours of extensive-"

"Oh shoot, it's almost time for our date, I'll tell her on the way, thanks again!"

As Lori put away her phone (her brand new phone, as the old one had been destroyed in Carol's fight with the Blue Goblin), she turned to Carol and smiled. Carol was once again clad in her Spider-Woman suit, and she and Lori were standing on the roof of the tallest building in Great Lakes City.

"I'm surprised you were okay with me telling Lisa about you being Spider-Woman," said Lori, clinging tightly to Carol.

"I wouldn't have been before the other day... but after I realized how strong you were and how much I could trust you to keep my secret, I figured I could let one more person in on it, and who better than a super-genius inventor! Plus, out of all of your sisters, she's the most honest and best at keeping secrets, so there's no chance she'll tell anyone else."

"Still haven't told your parents?"

"That's a whole different mountain to climb," said Carol. "I think for now they're best off not knowing."

Lori nodded, and looked out over the city. She was nervous, but Carol's embrace was calming, and she completely trusted her girlfriend not to let her fall. But before they went on their 'date', Lori felt she needed to say something, something she'd held back even after Carol told her everything about how she'd become Spider-Woman and why she decided to use her powers to help people.

"Carol, I'll always fight for you and look out for you, but I know I'm only human, and I promise I'll do my best not to rush into danger and get myself in trouble. I want to protect you, not force you into situations where you're the one who has to protect me."

"Lori, you're the strongest girl I've ever met, and you're way stronger than me. If you'd gotten these powers, I bet you'd already be the leader of the Revengers by now!"

Lori wanted to tell Carol that that wasn't true, that Carol was plenty strong, stronger than Lori ever gave her credit for and that she's sorry for ever doubting her, but she decided this time to just shut up and be flattered, and listen to the rest of what Carol had to say.

"And I trust you to know when it's best to fight and when it's best to run. Even superheroes need help every now and then, and there's no one I'd rather have by my side than you, Lori. I promise, I will never, ever blame you for rushing into danger after me. I imagine we'll both have to save each other more than a few times, and I'm ready for whatever the future may bring."

"Me too," said Lori, nuzzling her face against Carol's.

"Now, are you ready for our date?"

"As... ready as I'll ever be!" Lori said nervously, holding onto Carol for dear life.

"Then here we go!"

Carol leapt off the building and began to swing out over the city, her web carrying her from building to building as Lori shrieked out in terror. Soon, Lori got used to the sensation of soaring hundreds of feet off the ground, and as she got more comfortable, her yells of fear turned into yells of excitement. They swung out over the city, past bystanders, past the Casagrandes' mercado, where Bobby stood and waved to Lori, still friends with her after their breakup at the end of Lori's senior year. Lori smiled and waved back and continued holding onto Carol tightly. The two of them swung past a large television screen mounted on the side of the building, on which a familiar pundit made his latest proclamation.

"Spider-Woman is a menace!" shouted R. Robert Robinson, angrily shaking his fist. "A menace, I tell you!"

Lori gave the man on the screen the finger, and she and Carol both laughed together as they continued to swing across the city, the sounds of "Sunflower" echoing through Lori's earbuds.

Every time I'm walkin' out

I can hear you tellin' me to turn around

Fightin' for my trust and you won't back down

Even if we gotta risk it all right now, oh

I know you're scared of the unknown

You don't wanna be alone

I know I always come and go

But it's out of my control

Carol swung the two of them into a secluded alleyway together, and gently let Lori back down on the ground as she stayed suspended upside-down from a pipe overhead. Lori looked in both directions down the alley... not a single person in sight.

"So, is this our stop?" asked Lori, looking up at Carol.

"For now," said Carol. "There's nobody here..."

"I know," said Lori with a smile.

Lori reached up and pulled the mask down from Carol's face, exposing her lips. Then, she leaned in and pressed their lips together, passionately kissing her girlfriend-turned-superhero. Carol moaned and leaned into the kiss, and for a few seconds, the two remained like this, kissing intensely. Then, Lori continued to pull down the mask, finally exposing Carol's entire face and letting her hair down. The two continued to kiss, until Carol flipped herself down from the pipe and landed on her feet, letting Lori see her fully unmasked and in her Spider-Woman suit.

"You looked beautiful even before putting that suit on," said Lori warmly.

"And now?" asked Carol, a nervous smile on her face.

"You are totally hot."

The two kissed again, even more passionately, and Carol leapt up into Lori's arms, allowing Lori to hold her as the two made out, moaning into each other's open mouths, their tongues furiously embracing.

You're a sunflower

I think your love would be too much

Or you'll be left in the dust

Unless I stuck by ya

"I love you," said Lori, looking deeply into Carol's eyes and silently promising to protect her girlfriend no matter how wide the gap in their physical strength became.

You're the sunflower

You're the sunflower

"You're my hero," said Carol, nuzzling her face into Lori's and promising never to let her come to harm again.