Author's Notes

Not beta read for now.

Entirely a speculative piece, based upon the plot synopsis of Anansi.

If you can recognize where the title came from...congratulations, you probably feel as old as I do. ;)

Scraping the back of his hand across his the beads of sweat that covered his forehead, Nino replaced his hat. He shut his eyes, plastered his back against the brick before peeking around the side of the alley.

There was the most massive, terrifying spider he'd ever seen spitting web across the the streets of Paris. Nothing ever got that huge - at least not without the aid of Paris's resident super-villain.

And there, in the center of her web, was his his reason for sticking around when everyone else had run screaming in the opposite direction.

Struggling against the sticky silk, Alya was suspended at least dozen feet off the ground.

Clever as his girlfriend was, Alya had managed to free an arm, sending yet another up-too-close and personal account as a live stream on the Ladyblog.

Of course, it was that nasty little habit that had landed all of them in this trouble in the first place.

At least she was keeping it talking, as the spider lurched, ever closer.

Even as she was stuck in place, Alya faced the giant spider head on, with so much bravery that it bordered on the absurd.

A slow, steady exhale slipped past his lips. At least it wasn't the alarming pace it had used in spinning its deadly web.

He grimaced, scouring the streets for some way he might help her break free. It was a shame he couldn't find anything larger than a trash can lid to shield himself so he get close enough to help.

It had been at least five minutes and there had still been no sign of Ladybug and Chat Noir. Not even as her stream had started up, surely alerting the heroes to where their help would be needed.

He been much more comfortable around others who had been Akumatized when they had been there. But he couldn't afford to stay still.

Not while Alya needed him. Not with as close as this Akuma was to her.

Clenching his jaw, Nino crept forward, sticking to the shadows and cover of the row of houses as best he could. In his brief survey, the best hope he could find was a long metal pole, capped by a cloth an umbrella from the hastily abandoned café.

His shoulders tightening, Nino adjusted his grip on the over-sized umbrella, tugging it free of its post. Frowning, he hefted it, struggling to wield both the pole and the trash can shield at once.

If the sticky web hung in barely shimmering clumps were any indication, the spider's reach was still much too far for his comfort.

He couldn't do either of them any good if he got snagged himself.