Venomus Sting

The docks looked much more menacing at night I idly thought to myself as I walked through the outer edges of it. I wasn't nervous though, not nearly as worried as a fifteen-year-old girl walking through this area at night should be.

There were four excellent reasons for this.

One, I was carrying a small canister of mace my dad had gotten me for when I went out for my morning runs.

Two, I had recently purchased a defense baton from the local Army surplus store to add to my protection.

Three was the fact that underneath my street clothes I was wearing a body stocking that was for all intents and purposes bulletproof.

Four was the massive swarm of insects and spiders I had been gathering as I walked towards my destination. They were spread out over a three block radius forming a perfect circle, with me at the center giving me a complete awareness of everything in the area through them.

Oh, did I forget to mention that I'm a parahuman?

Yes I, Taylor Hebert had joined the elite. Those with powers that beggared the imagination and told physics to go fornicate with itself on a regular basis, with the impressive ability to control bugs.

My powers weren't exactly what one would think of when one thought of the word heroic. Controlling a massive swarm of bugs wouldn't have the people screaming my name in adulation, although I'm pretty sure there would be crying involved. With my luck, I'd labeled a villain on my first night out.

No, that wasn't a note of bitterness in my thoughts.

Alright, maybe I was a little bit bitter.

I had dreamed of having powers since I was a kid. Fighting alongside the likes of Alexandria and Legend, bringing down bad guys, it was always one of my favorite fantasies then merely because who wouldn't want to fight alongside them.

Though I had always admired Alexandria for her strength and integrity as well as the fact she had fought in nearly Endbringer battle since they had appeared, I had found myself gravitating towards Mouse Protector over the last year for reasons I am not going even to think about right now.

I envied her carefree attitude and view on life. The fact that she always had something witty to say or a sarcastic one-liner when she was fighting villains was just icing on the cake.

I was pulled out of my thoughts as my swarm informed me I had reached my destination, pausing at the edge of the building I had been walking beside, keeping in the shadows as much as possible. There sitting three hundred yards away was the reason for my presence at the edge of the docks.

Surrounded by a ten-foot high heavy-duty chain link fence topped by barbed wire was a large abandoned factory. The reason for my interest was the fact I was in dire need of a secure location to hide my bugs as well as a place to complete my costume of which my body stocking was a part.

I had initially planned on using the basement of my house but the chemicals I would have to use to make the armored sections of my costume produced powerful fumes, leaving a strong chemical smell in the poorly vented basement. I had barely gotten the air cleared before my dad got home.

The most obvious solution was the find a place in one of the many abandoned factories or warehouses that seemed so prolific anymore. The problem with that would be scouting suitable locations as well as keeping it secure from anyone that might find it. With the number of parahumans, the city seemed to produce people were always on the lookout for a new cape looking to set up shop.

I had to be smart about it because sometimes in this line of work your first mistake could be your last. Following that line of reasoning, I decided on a plan of action I had not considered because of its...slight illegality.

The only reason I could even consider this plan was a truly bizarre case of being in the right place at the right time.

Several weeks ago I was spending my Saturday morning pursuing the offerings of the local flea market looking for yet another backpack to replace the one that had been ruined on Friday.

I had been looking around for a while when I was taking a break from the heat from inside I was wandering around one of the areas where people could sell their things without paying the fee needed to use one of the stalls inside.

A young woman had set up a long folding table covered with a large assortment of electronics and musical instruments and other musical paraphernalia.

Looking at the selection just out of curiosity since I knew I had nowhere near enough money for me to buy anything there even if I was interested. My eyes roamed over the various pieces displayed, pausing when they came to rest on a beautiful laptop.

I looked at it longingly, thinking of the thing at home that laughingly called itself a computer. Sighing I turned away from the table, and I hadn't taken two steps when I heard the woman who owned it told me to wait.

Turning back I looked at her curiously.

"I saw you looking at the laptop," she said smiling. "I can give you an excellent deal."

I just shook my head. "Sorry, but I don't have anywhere near enough to afford that," I said with a wistful smile on my face.

Her smile grew bigger as I said that. "Well, then this is your lucky day. Just give me your best offer, and it's yours."

"I only have twenty bucks on me," I told her.

"Sold!" she said brightly snatching up the laptop and shoving it into my hands.

I grabbed it by instinct not wanting to drop it when she let go. I looked at it somewhat dubiously, and I couldn't help but think that at the price she was giving it to me for I thought it should be burning my fingers.

Upon seeing my look, she laughed and said "No it's not stolen. I paid for everything here, and I even have receipts if you want to see."

At my skeptical look, she just sighed and said "Look I know it looks weird but all this stuff here I bought for my fiance while we were together. I found out two weeks ago he had been cheating on me, so I kicked his ass out. He hasn't been back for his stuff, and I am getting sick of it taking up space plus I also get the pleasure of getting a bit of revenge out of selling all the stuff he loved."

Looking back down at the laptop clutched in my hands, I thought about what she had said and felt my resistance to practically taking it start to fade. The guy had cheated on her after all, and I viewed cheaters as little better than how I saw bullies.

With that thought in mind, I smiled at her and said "In that case you've got a deal."

"Great!" she exclaimed smiling brightly. She then picked up the carrying case that had been beside it and placed it on top of the laptop. She hesitated a moment and then her smile grew even wider if that were possible.

She reached back to the table she picked up another smaller carrying case and plopped it down in my arms as well.

"What's this?" I asked slightly surprised.

"That," she said " Is all the software disks and flash drives he has. The drives are filled with all kinds of programs and such. Now go on and get out of here I see another potential customer as well as another chance to twist the knife." The last was said with a somewhat evil grin shooing me away.

Walking away I was bemused at the strange turn of events; I thought to myself that maybe the universe was finally sending a little good luck my way for a change.

After I had gotten home, I had immediately gone to my room to check out my unexpected landfall. As it turned out the guy, who had owned this before my have been cheating scum, but he sure knew his stuff when it came to computers as well as programming.

This brought me back to the problem of the safest way for me to find a suitable location for my bugs. I spent the next several days searching various city websites for information on abandoned sites. It took me several days to narrow down a small list that met my criteria. The next thing was to get blueprints for them. Usually, if someone wanted to get blueprints you would have to visit the proper offices, and if they were available to the public, you then had to pay a fee.

I couldn't afford to leave a trail even if they would sell them to a teenager. No, what I had to do was where the somewhat illegal activities came in. I had to hack the computers that held them.

I had always been good with computers, and after I had been introduced to programming, I couldn't get enough of them. The main roadblock I had to get into the subject was our ancient desktop, though I had learned as much as I could through books and in my computer class.

The laptop I had now was high-end and once I had gone through all several of the dozens of flash drives I had found several programs that who help me secure the blueprints I needed.

I was nervous as I began my cyber intrusion but as it turns out it was somewhat anti-climatic.

The programs I was able to use as well as my knowledge of programming made it almost disturbingly easy.

It turns out that only three met my criteria. The next week was spent cautiously scoping out the locations. The first had been an immediate bust as the building had been burned down just days ago apparently and the second had collapsed during a fight between the Empire and the Merchants.

Which brings me back to the present and the hope I could feel rising in my chest as I looked at the reasonably intact building. Well, a few windows were missing some panes but other than that it was in surprisingly good shape.

Taking a moment to scan the area to make sure I hadn't missed anything or anyone I started forward. I was about halfway from the building I had been observing from and the factory when what looked like a shooting star flashed into existence and just as quickly vanished.

The thought to wish upon it briefly passed through my mind but was quickly dismissed. Wishing on a star had never changed anything.

The odd thought had just passed when there was a loud bang followed quickly by a second, then what sounded like a cannon going off exploded out of the building along with a good portion of the windows on the ground floor.

I stood frozen in shock for a moment, not quite able to believe what had just happened. My luck couldn't be this bad, could it? I mean the only place I had been able to find that I could use for my hideout and it gets destroyed before I could even move in.

The universe was laughing at me.

That was the only thing that made sense to me at the moment. I shook my head to dispell such thoughts when I realized that that loud of noise would probably bring unwanted attention.

Retreating the way I came I crouched down in the shadows of the building I had stopped beside earlier and made myself as comfortable as possible to wait and see who if anyone came to investigate.

While I was waiting to see if anyone showed up, I reached out into swarm to investigate the building and see how much damage had been done as well as find out what had caused all the ruckus.

The next half hour was spent exploring the factory. Surprisingly there was not as much damage as I had feared. The roof had a hole in it about the size of both of my fists, and the second floor was the same.

My bugs weren't able to get near the object yet as the area directly around it was still hot enough that they died before I could get a sense of what it was, though I was able to tell it had hit with a lot of force given the two-foot wide crater it had created.

After an hour had passed with no one showing up I was reasonably confident that it was safe to head in myself. Making my way towards an overgrown area of the fence I pulled out the large pair of wire cutters I had brought along just for this. I cut just enough of the links to be able to pull the fence apart and squeeze in, letting the cut pieces fall back into place.

As I made my way to the factory, it was now quite easy to gain entrance now that all the windows were broken. Avoiding the glass as I climbed through I stepped down, and I got my first view of the place with my own eyes. The main floor was almost entirely open except for several waist-high walls scattered about with bare I-beams being used to support the levels above.

I didn't waste any time making my way towards the area my swarm had marked out as where whatever had caused the damage to the factory lay. I already knew the shape and had an idea of the weight of the object as the heat had faded quickly over the last half-hour so my bugs had been able to examine it but I was eager to see it with my own eyes.

Taking out the flashlight I had brought with me I played the beam over the crater. It was about two feet wide and about eight inches deep and laying in the center of it was a pitch black sphere. It was about an inch in diameter.

I bent forward shining the light directly down on its polished looking surface. Knowing that it was no longer hot, I reached down and lifted it out of the crater; I was surprised by its weight, given its size, figuring that it had to be able a quarter of a pound.

The sphere was cool to the touch which was unexpected given that not more than an hour ago it had punched through the building like it was made of cardboard after falling from what was likely at least extremely high altitude or low earth orbit.

It was entirely smooth, and to my fingers it felt almost crystalline, meaning it had to be incredibly dense, considering its spectacular entrance and the subsequent creation of the crater.

I was drawn from my study of the sphere by the soft beeps of my digital watch signaling the time change. Realizing I had been staring at it for some time I shook my head and quickly stuffed it into the front pocket of my jeans and made my way to the door in the corner of the far wall of the factory.

Opening the door, I aimed my flashlight into the dark stairwell as I quickly began my descent. What made this one so special was that it had a sub-basement doubling the amount of room I would have available to me, unlike the other two locations. Reaching the sub-level door and pulled on it, with some reluctance it finally opened releasing a gust of somewhat stale air.

As I played the beam of my flashlight around, I wasn't able to see much as the light from it faded after about twenty feet revealing nothing except empty cement floors. Moving the light about I run it along the walls until I noticed a fuse box not far from the door.

I looked it over and saw that it was still in good shape and more out of a fit of whimsy than the thought that anything would happen I reached up and pushed the main power switch on the box up to the on position.

To my eternal shock, a moment after I threw the switch the overhead lights built into the ceiling flickered to life. That I was stunned at this turn of good fortune was an understatement.

This changed things a great deal. The plans I had to procure a generator were for the moment put on the back burner now that I no longer had an immediate need for it.

With the money I would save from not having to buy it I could put it towards other supplies I desperately needed. I pulled myself out of thoughts of the future and went to check out my soon to be hideout.

I spent a few minutes walking the empty room and as the floor plans had shown it was four hundred square feet with a ceiling of about fifteen feet held up by cement columns. I was quite pleased. I then made my way to the second door and down the stairs to the sub-level.

The sub-level was much like the floor above once I had found the fuse box for this level. Looking around, I decided that this would be the perfect place to set up my black widows as well as habitats for the rest of my swarm.I smiled to myself I made my way back up to the main floor as I have my swarm search the building for anything big enough to prop open the doors between there and my soon to be headquarters.

While I was doing this, I separated out all the black widows I had collected over the weeks since I had started my plan as well as the few I had found on my way here and directed them all to the second level to start building their webs. My power was overriding the spider's solitary nature as well as their cannibalistic tendencies.

Now that I had checked the place out and had spiders constructing their homes I was done for the night and could head home. I turned off the power and made my way back up to the first floor shutting off the power in the basement and shutting both doors as well.

The trip home was uneventful though I couldn't help the broad smile that was spread across my face as I was nearly bursting with happiness at the thought that I was finally on the way to being a hero.

Coming in the back door as quietly as I could, I shut it and made my way to the stairs and up them avoiding the ones that creaked.

Making it back to my room and closing the door I sighed in relief that I had gotten back without dad finding out that I had snuck out in the middle of the night. Taking off my shirt and jeans after kicking my shoes off, I tossed them towards the open laundry basket missing horribly.

When my jeans hit the floor to the far left of the basket I heard a muffled thump. Curious I went over and picked up jeans and felt something hard in the pocket. That was when I remember the black sphere that had crashed through the roof of her new hideout.

In my haze of happiness at finding the perfect place, I had forgotten entirely about it. Though how I had was beyond me.

Looking at it again in better lighting I could see it was indeed completely smooth without a blemish on it, like a giant black pearl.

Placing it on my nightstand, I continued getting undressed I pulled the body stocking off and hung it in the back of my closet where it wouldn't be found.

As I was doing this, I thought about where the little crystal-like sphere could have come from. The thought it could have been part of a meteorite was briefly considered but discarded merely because it was entirely round and to my knowledge crystals didn't form in that shape.

Well thought it was a crystal at least. When I held it, that's what it felt like so unless some alien had encased it in rock and shot it into space for it to end up here I had to look elsewhere for the answer.

I giggled to myself at the thought that the little sphere on my nightstand could be alien amusing.

"Like something like that would ever happen," I said quietly. Finished getting undressed I got into bed still thinking about its origins.

The obvious choice was that it was tinker-tech or at least part of something tinker-tech. That brought up the worrying thought that the tinker in question could somehow track it and therefore me.

I almost got up and got rid of it right then and there. Two things stopped me from doing it. One was that if he or she, I thought to myself, did track it here I could just claim to have found it which was true.

The second reason was I was just plain exhausted, and I had to get up in only a few hours to jog, so with that in mind, I set my alarm for six am and turned the lights out.

It wasn't until I was just about asleep that the fact that the crystal, as I was going to think of it as, could have been radioactive or be emitting some other exotic energy since a tinker was involved and I had picked it up with her bare hands.

With a sigh filled with self-recrimination, I punched the pillow into shape, more to vent than the need to get comfortable and tried to get to sleep.