Chapter 13
Spy watched from the corner, holding his breath until his counterpart cloaked, disappearing from his view. He’d disguised as the enemy plenty of times, imitating every little habit and gesture to blend in perfectly among their ranks, but something about the BLU Spy had unnerved him from the moment he’d set foot in the building. The way those sunken, haunted eyes had stared into their Medic’s... the unfortunate man had been completely paralysed, his eyes wide open and his body un-moving, a look of sheer horror on his face. Until finally, his attacker grinned, one hand pushing his head down so he kneeled before him, the knife severing the spinal cord in a single, swift motion. No scream, barely a drop of blood...a kill almost too clean. And he’d escaped, chuckling, wearing his victim’s identity not like a disguise but like a second skin.
“SCREAMIN’ EAGLES!”
He checked his watch, the faintly glowing bar slowly increasing, as Soldier charged past. He’d had doubts about dusting off his rarely used Cloak And Dagger to try and capture behind the enemy’s lines, but his instincts had paid off... just not in the way he had expected. Instead, he was using it to hide undetected, trying to suppress the rising panic as Soldier’s rocket barrage exploded uselessly against the enemy Heavy’s silver skin. They weren’t the only ones with “gifts”? The incident at Nucleus had somehow happened twice, apparently un-noticed by both companies? But then, it seemed the Announcer herself had been largely replaced with pre-recorded messages, and his generous paychecks were paid directly into his multiple off-shore accounts by computers. Who knew if there were any real human beings watching them any more, if anyone from RED or BLU would ever notice what was going on...
His cloak fully recharged, Spy ran forward, dodging the shrapnel from his team-mate’s unwitting but welcome distraction. Flattening himself against the opposite wall, it was growing increasingly difficult to maintain his professionalism, to not give in to fear, as the metal giant calmly reached forward and picked up Soldier by the throat. Bone and cartilage crunched and snapped, blood spurted between powerful fingers, and a lifeless body fell to the ground as he released his grip. Silent and almost robotic in his duties, the BLU Heavy gave Soldier little more than a cursory glance before moving on, the capture point now under his team’s control.
“Time has been added.”
Spy dropped his cigarette with shaking fingers, extinguishing it with his heel. He stared at the burnt-out stub, trying not to make comparisons between it and what the enemy would do to him, if he was discovered. He opened his disguise kit, selecting another cigarette and unfolding a mask. A paper-thin piece of cutting-edge technology, nearly useless against a metal monster, a sickly creature with some kind of hypnotic ability...and a ghost. He couldn’t help but smirk a little as he selected the BLU Medic; he wouldn’t seem out of place appearing from thin air. Maybe he could turn this whole thing around, use the enemy team’s superhuman abilities to his advantage. He’d just have to be careful when choosing his prey. And hearing a grumble from the balcony ahead, he may have just found it.
Still cloaked, he glanced around the corner, and his heart soared. The BLU Sniper’s back was fully exposed, his eye pressed to his scope... such a beautiful sight. A man so completely distracted wouldn’t know what hit him until he suddenly woke up to sterile white walls. But he had to exercise caution; if he didn’t wait, if he didn’t analyse his target for signs of superhuman ability, he could end up with a face full of acid or a psychic bullet through the heart. And yet, as far as he could see, the only thing setting the Sniper apart were some tattoos, just barely visible under the excessive arm hair so typical of Australians. Unable to wait any longer, he flicked open his butterfly knife, and raised his arm for a backstab... superhuman abilities or no, he’d die just the same...
There was a sickening crunch as the bones in Spy’s arm broke, his knife embedding itself in the floorboards beneath as he lost the feeling in his hand. The BLU Sniper grinned horribly; beads of saliva dripped from his chin, his lower jaw jutting out, predatory fangs overlapping his top lip. Yellow eyes hungrily looked him over. And the creature’s nostrils flared, taking deep sniffs right next to his neck, his whole body shuddering as a sound somewhere between a growl and a purr emanated from its throat.
But with the adrenaline coursing through him, making the excruciating pain from his useless arm seem miles away, Spy managed to twist in the creature’s grip, snatching up his knife with his left hand. He slashed at his attacker in a wide arc, the illusion of the BLU Medic disappearing like smoke as blood splattered and the BLU Sniper howled in pain. Falling heavily against the wall, he could see his enemy’s shirt slashed open, fingers with sharp, pointed nails clutching at the open wound across its chest. Those markings weren’t tattoos, but stripes, the hairs themselves forming the pattern, forming a dense carpet of brown and black under the creature’s clothes. A half-human animal. And the human aspect was diminishing as he watched, muscles bulging and re-arranging under its skin, its cries of pain deepening as its ribs cracked and expanded. Powerful hands, paw-pads emerging from thickening fingers, tore away the remains of the BLU Sniper’s shirt.
Clutching his arm and trying to push away the encroaching pain, Spy dragged himself into the corner. The creature fell to its knees, its back arching as its spine visibly shifted under its skin, a long and pointed tail tearing through fabric like wet paper. He tapped the display of the Cloak and Dagger... the device gave off a few weak sparks, and the cloak meter flashed on and off in its death throes before it faded to black. The BLU Sniper was still caught in the painful transformation, still screaming. Not like a wounded beast, but in a way that was still far too human... he still had time to escape.
Spy pulled out his disguise kit so quickly he almost tore the delicate silk pocket, then almost dropped this precious last resort as he realised his hands were gone. A glitch with his watch? But it was completely dead... and the effect was quite odd, not cloaking him all at once, but spreading like his arms were being slowly immersed in invisibility paint. Was he doing this? Bending light around himself, or matching his own colours to the background like a human chameleon? All he’d done was really want to disappear, just think about disappearing and - yes! He was completely invisible, with no need for one of those unreliable watches-!
A very animal-like growl snapped Spy out of his momentary euphoria. The creature’s skull had begun to change shape, canine teeth lengthening to match its dog-like snout. He still needed to get away, he couldn’t stay here and watch as his enemy changed from man to mindless killing machine. But as the creature clutched its head and roared, in his own mind he was back in the respawn room just a few days ago. Watching as their Engineer suffered the same inhuman transformations, watching as his eyes pleaded with him. Unable to even touch him, to help relieve his pain in any way... a prisoner of his own cowardice. Watching his enemy writhe there on the floor, clawing at itself as fur sprouted from its skin, he looked at the knife in his hand. A quick cut to sever the spinal cord, that was all it took. A clean, practically painless kill. He owed nothing to this creature. He was simply being professional, it was a mercy killing, a good assassin never let his target die messily...
Blood sprayed in a wide arc again, splattering the wall. His knife slipped from his blood-soaked fingers, slowly rolling to a stop. Spy hardly felt the teeth in his neck as his jugular vein was torn out, the blood loss and shock sending him into an almost dreamlike stupor. Of course... it could still smell me... he mused as the creature viciously tore into his belly, watching as his own guts spilled out , twisting like slimy rope. Even unintentionally, at least the creature had given him the mercy he would have given it, had he only acted more quickly. Invisibility, at a time like this... ? Fate was cruel indeed...
The creature’s claws reached deep inside Spy as his consciousness faded, pulling out handfuls of gore, greedily wolfing down a chunk of still-warm liver. Even though he’d managed to evolve, he’d still found himself at the bottom of the food chain.
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“Time has been added.”
“What!?” Scout glared up at the nearest loudspeaker, stopping somewhere near the ceiling, inside the BLU base. He’d been expecting the others to steamroll all over the other team, and had been hovering over the next control point for the past few minutes. After all, why walk when you can fly? And why wait to capture when you can go on ahead? It was supposed to be an instant win; Spy would be camping out the last control point with his Cloak and Dagger right about now. But thanks to the other guys not doin’ their freakin’ jobs, it was him who ended up lookin’ like a freakin’ idiot! He pressed two fingers to his earpiece, angrily shouting down the microphone; “We lost the middle point already!? The hell is goin’ on out there, you guys?”
Nothing but static answered. Scout gulped nervously, feeling like his stomach just dropped the whole ten feet between him and the ground. What the hell was going on? It couldn’t be the damn earpieces, Engie designed those freakin’ things himself, so tiny you wouldn’t even know you were wearing them. He’d only kept his old one because it meant the other guys couldn’t mute his frequency. Yeah, it had to be someone screwing up, it just had to be. There was no way BLU could come up with something to counter a team of god-damn superheroes! But he still couldn’t ignore that bad feeling in his gut; he was a guy who acted on instinct, and right now his instincts were telling him to screw capping the point and get the hell out of here.
“AGH! What the-!?” Covering his head in fright, Scout’s instincts were re-affirmed as something suddenly embedded itself in the front of the BLU base, just inches from where he was floating. Something fell out of the crater as he turned around, dropping to the floor and harmlessly rolling along... although it was a bit charred, he recognised the white leather, the distinctive pattern of stitches... a baseball?
“GOTTHEBALLBACK!” Something blue streaked past, leaving a trail of dust, and no baseball. The wall of the enemy base cracked, leaving another crater as a pair of feet impacted it at hyper-speed, lithe body twisting in the air as it jumped off the wall. And a pair of running shoes smoked as they screeched to a stop, the BLU Scout grinning up at him. Somehow, it looked like his whole body was moving even though he was standing still, a flickering TV image made real. Even his voice sounded distorted, like there was more than one BLU Scout yelling up to him; “Well if it ain’t the freakin’ FLY BOY! Bet ya think you’re hot shit, don’cha, floatin’ up there like freakin’ Superman!?”
Scout stared down at his counterpart. The smug bastard was moving fast, but not like any Bonk! effect he’d ever seen. Shit. The freakin’ BLUs have powers too!? This was bad, real bad. He should be wetting his pants right about now. And yet, he grinned widely; Oh man. This is AWESOME! I have a freakin’ nemesis, just like in the comic books!
“WOAH!” Scout quickly dodged to the left as the baseball sped past him again, more debris falling from the abused wall as it completely embedded itself in the smooth concrete. If it wasn’t for his quick reflexes, the freakin’ thing would’ve gone right through him. “HEY! We gonna do this right, or what!? Trash talk comes first, THEN you try ‘an kill me!”
The BLU just grinned, becoming nothing more than a streak of colour as he shot forward. As Scout watched dumbfounded, he ran straight up the wall - He stole MY freakin’ trick!? - and with a sound like a cannon, left another impact crater as he kick-flipped off it. Scout’s body reacted faster than his mind could; he suddenly felt a crushing weight, like his whole body was made of lead. Something clipped the side of his head as he dropped like a stone, the sensation less like falling and more like something was pulling him to the floor. The ground cracked beneath his feet as he landed, and he fell forward, winded by the weight of his own body. He wondered for a moment how Heavy dealt with being so... heavy, his opponent skidding to a halt some distance away.
“Owww... shit, man...” Every bone in his body ached in protest as he stood up slowly, his personal gravity thankfully returning to normal; he really didn’t want to do that again. But as he felt the blood trickling down the side of his face, and realised the BLU Scout just took a chunk out of his ear with a wooden bat, he figured things could have been a lot worse.
“SHIT!” he yelled, narrowly avoiding another potentially-fatal blow by tripping over his own feet, but the BLU Scout was already laughing wildly as he came charging at him a second time. Without even thinking about it, Scout shot into the air like a rocket, cheating death yet again. But how the hell was he supposed to hit this guy!? Maybe if he got him someplace less open, he’d be more likely to smack into a wall, or something...
“Hey, Speedy Gonzales! Catch me if ya can!” Scout shouted as he flew towards the central point’s lower entrance. A glance over his shoulder confirmed the BLU was following him, running on the water like it was just different-colored ground, jumping over the stationary train cars in fast-motion. All he had to do was get inside and they’d be surrounded by concrete and train cars and metal walkways, and that BLU bastard would slam right into them. A sharp mid-air turn and he was headed for the middle point... and ended up slamming straight into something himself, stars flashing in front of his eyes as he collapsed in a heap. Who the hell put a big red rock on the freakin’ point... ? The rock moved, seeming to sprout a red rubber arm and a gloved hand to pick him up, before shaking Scout to his senses.
“Pyro?” The smoked glass circles of the rubber mask looked right into his eyes, and he had no idea how, but they looked afraid. They weren’t even eyes, but he could see the fear in them... and the reflection of something big and blue with glowing eyes standing across the walkway, growing bigger as it came rushing towards them. “LOOK OUT!”
Scout closed his eyes, held his breath, and stuck out his arms to both sides. He knew it was useless, he was just gonna be a greasy smear on the BLU-owned control point. But the familiar feeling of dying and respawning failed to come. Instead he felt like he had some kind of rope attached to each hand, only they were like a part of him, somehow responding to the slightest movements of his arm. He’d had the same weird feeling on Teufort’s battlements, just briefly, when he’d stuck the BLU Soldier to the ceiling. And he opened his eyes to the other Scout filling the air with a stream of curse words, which got faster and faster as his arms and legs pinwheeled uselessly in mid-air. Looking to his other side he saw the BLU Pyro, eyes glowing like windows to a furnace, flames flaring from small tears in his rubber suit, rubber gloves squeaking in frustration as he tightened his fists. It would have been a terrifying sight, if he hadn’t been floating above them like some kind of zeppelin.
“Woah. You seein’ this, Py!? I got these chuckleheads right where I want ‘em!” Scout grinned, the two infuriated BLUs bumping together like a pair of balloons as he pulled their invisible strings. He laughed, putting on his best Southern drawl as he mimicked their Engineer; “Yew go ahead an’ get that lil’ ol’ Backburner, and we’ll dun have arrselves a lil’ bar-bee-cue!” Pyro just shook his head in response, grabbing him suddenly in a tight hug.
“What the hell’s got inta you, ya crazy-!?” Scout started to protest, trying to push the Orangutan off him. But suddenly, the answer hit; Pyro didn’t have his Backburner. He didn’t have his Flamethrower either, and Pyro never abandoned his weapon of choice. The few times it’d been knocked from his hands, he’d seen the poor bastard get blown up, run over, and chopped into pieces just to try and get it back. If he’d left it behind... he looked up at the BLU Pyro, the fire pouring from his body forming tendrils that flailed and turned the air around the point into an oven. Shit. Scout felt like he’d just sunk through the floor; what use was a flamethrower against another Pyro, especially one who controlled fire... ?
“YOUTHINKYOUGOTUSFLYBOY!?” The BLU Scout yelled, breaking his long chain of profanity with a grin, rotating slowly in mid air, but rapidly gaining speed. In just a few seconds, his speedy counterpart was a human tornado, pulling the BLU Pyro into the vortex. The floating firestarter greeted his team-mate with open arms, his flames drawn into the spinning air. “GETTALOADATHIS!”
“COME ON!” Scout didn’t hear Pyro transform over the roar of combusting air, but he felt something small cling to his shoulder as he jumped off the point, just as it was obscured by a towering pillar of flame that scorched the ceiling. Great, just great... new freakin’ powers, and what do they get me? Only a huge-ass FIRE TORNADO. he thought, looking over his shoulder at the vortex of flames right behind them. Not only was it was following them, it was close enough that he could feel the heat burning the back of his neck. He could still hear the BLU Scout in the center of it, laughing like crazy even as he roasted like a Thanksgiving turkey... had the whole enemy team gone freakin’ nuts!?
After what seemed like miles of flying he finally shot through the lower exit, back on the RED side, back in the relatively cool outside air. Flames belched from the doorway like the mouth of a dragon, the huge blast of hot air throwing off Scout’s flight pattern and sending him to the floor. He spat out a broken tooth as he sat up, unloading his pistol into the wall of fire as the the taste of blood filled his mouth; he wasn’t going to just lay there and wait to die. He just hoped Pyro managed to get away, somehow.
Then suddenly, 200 tons of fully-automated steel plunged straight into the inferno, the train’s horn cut short as the front end exploded in a shower of molten metal. Whatever was left of it immediately de-railed, wheels spraying fountains of sparks as they ploughed through part of the wall, more sounds of tortured metal coming from within the central point building. And when it finally stopped, it left an eerie silence, broken only by the crackle of flames and the occasional piece of falling debris.
“Holy shit...” Scout said breathlessly, crossing himself. It was an old habit, something he hadn’t done since he was a good god-fearing little Catholic boy. But given what just happened, he was surprised he hadn’t fallen to his knees and started speaking in tongues. They were gone. Both superpowered BLUs, dead, by either sheer dumb luck or act of God. Then again, it didn’t mean a damn thing if they still killed- “Pyro? Is ...izzat you?”
He hadn’t noticed until now, but there was a little Salamander clinging to his shoulder. And it was real weird-looking, not like any he’d ever seen; its body was firetruck red, but its head and legs were a sooty black. It stared into his eyes with its dark, glassy lizard eyes... and nodded in response.
“Aw, man, Py... losin’ ya weapon and ya suit in the same day?” Scout smiled, petting the tiny creature on the head with his finger as he got up. “Heh. That sucks. Well, things can only get better from here, I guess. I mean... we... kinda won. Sorta. For now. We should prob’ly go defend the next point though, right?” Pyro nodded, as meaningfully as a Salamander could. Then suddenly, there was a loud sizzling noise, followed by a deafening crash, as part of the train fell to the floor.
There was no way. There was no freakin’ way. A huge hole suddenly appeared before Scout’s eyes, burning right through the wrecked train from within. Molten metal dripped from an emerging humanoid figure, burning the ground wherever it dropped. It was only recognisable as the BLU Pyro from the bubbling remnants of the fire-retardant suit clinging to its back, dripping to the floor, forming long sticky strands with each step. Red-hot molten glass wept from the eyes of a melting rubber mask, and under that, there was no face. There was only fire; a body made entirely of living embers, feather-like tendrils of flame fluttering in the breeze. It clutched a girder in its glowing fists, super-heated steel dripping between its fingers as it swung it towards him...
“JESUS CHRIST!” Scout jumped backwards, feeling Pyro fall from his shoulder. He looked around to see where the Salamander went, but was forced to take to the air as the BLU Pyro dragged its massive weapon along the floor, taking another swing at him. Scout’s hands shook as he tried to take aim, and unloaded a whole Scattergun clip into the creature’s chest. But the pellets liquefied before they even hit, dripping like water off the monster’s body.
The BLU Pyro dropped the girder - now almost completely melted through - and picked up a handful of red-hot metal, winding up the pitch. Scout pulled out his bat almost reflexively, sweat gathering on his brow as he prepared to hit the home run that’d save his life. Then from somewhere below, there was a sound like someone squeezing a bag of meat, and a full-grown Elephant suddenly slammed head-first into the fiery creature. Pinned to the end of a nearby train car, the paint instantly started to peel and burn from the incredible heat... but it was the smell of burning hair and meat that floated up to Scout.
“PYRO, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOIN’!? FREAKIN’RUN! ... Just... just freakin’ run... !” Scout trailed off. Oh God. Oh Christ. Pyro was letting himself get cooked alive, changing and squishing through a menagerie of animals, constantly shape-shifting to replace his burnt flesh. All so he wouldn’t die yet, freakin’ killing himself just so he could get away... “...Crazy bastard...”
The BLU Pyro’s hand shot forward, gripping the shifting mass of animal parts where its throat probably was, flesh and bone melting and smoking beneath its fingers. Scout bit his lip and flew as fast as he could towards the RED base, the door snapping shut just as a gunshot rang out.
“Doc! Oh man, am I ever glad to see you-!”
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Another perfect headshot. Right between where its eyes were supposed to be, lava-like blood splattering. It didn’t kill it outright - he’d seen Scout and poor Pyro fighting that thing - but it was enough to make it stumble and fall into the water. Steam screamed from the depths of the moat, the water boiling instantly as it plunged in, the blackened remains of the burning creature floating on the surface like charcoal.
Wordlessly, Sniper reloaded his rifle and peered through his scope, far away from the BLU team and their new ‘gifts’, peering through an open window at the very top of the base. It was amazing how accurate your shots could be when you were fighting against monsters and madmen. He’d already taken down a blood-stained, tiger-striped beast that came charging out from the central point. He hadn’t even realised it used to the enemy Sniper until the dead body changed from animal to human, right before his eyes. And then there was that thing he’d just shot, that used to be the BLU Pyro...
No. He couldn’t let his mind wander from the task at hand... but, Christ, could that be him one day? His power over plants just kept growing stronger. He’d gone from branches sprouting uncontrollably from the floorboards, to feeling the potential for growth in every seed, in just a few days. That very morning, he’d been daydreaming about home, and somehow sprouted a flower with petals the colour of Outback sand, filling the air with the sweet, coconutty scent of Anzac biscuits. It had to be too much, all of this happening in such a short time. At the rate this was going, he could wake up one day with green skin and an inexplicable need to sunbathe. Or worse, he thought, the vivid nightmare of the desert still all too fresh in his mind.
“Alert! Our control point is being captured!”
Piss. Scout was still down there; he’d seen the little runt shoot back into the base mere moments ago, and normally he would have left it at that. It wasn’t his job to stand on control points, he was more valuable taking down incoming enemies... but he sighed as he took the Tribalman’s Shiv from his belt. The ridged pattern on the back of the wooden blade morphed into dangerously curved thorns as he turned to leave. I must be bleedin’ mad, doin’ this...
“Urkk-!” He cried involuntarily, suddenly finding his chin resting on another man’s shoulder. The smell of blood and antiseptic stung his nose, and his breath caught in his throat as he realised whose shoulder it was.
“Shhh...” The BLU Medic whispered in Sniper’s ear. Fingers clad in thick rubber gloves stroked through his hair, making every muscle in his body tense up.
Sniper took a labored breath, another choking noise escaping his throat as his mind struggled to grasp the reality of the situation. The BLU Medic had somehow managed to sneak up on him, stabbing him through the gut with... oh God, he could feel something moving in there. Waves of pain coursed through him as he tried to pull himself away, catching sight of the Medic’s translucent forearm, hand and wrist buried in his abdomen. He retched as the man aggressively thrust forward, penetrating deep into him, impaling his whole body on his arm without a single drop of blood. Exploring fingers worked their way past his intestines, agony flaring like fireworks as they brushed past his liver, a fingertip delicately tracing the shape of his kidneys. He felt the man smirk into his neck as they ran themselves along his spine - from the inside - making his helpless body twitch like a puppet.
“Ah... dein Herz... it is beating so fast for me...” The Medic said almost breathlessly, cupping the rapidly beating heart in his palm, his body pressed so close to Sniper’s it was like he was trying to climb into him. “And such strong lungs... so much like his...”
Sniper coughed violently, biting his own tongue until he tasted blood. If just for a moment, the sharp pain distracted from the excruciating sensations in his chest. That BLU bastard wasn’t going to let him die yet. Vines emerged from he wooden floorboards and twisted slowly around the handle of his fallen Shiv. He just had to get it off the floor, just a little closer to his hand... but it slipped as he let out a strangled scream. The Medic’s other arm plunged into his chest, his body slowly disappearing, the bloodstained white coat fading away until only his psychotically smiling head remained. Sniper closed his eyes, waiting for it to end.
BANG. Falling heavily to the floor and gasping for breath, his lungs still convinced they’d been torn into by a madman’s hands, it took him a moment to realise it really had ended. The BLU Medic’s entirely solid corpse lay on the floor, a neat bullet hole right through his head. He kicked the body as hard as he could between coughing fits; such a precision shot would make any professional proud, if he hadn’t wanted that twisted bastard to suffer just as much as he did.
“You really need to pay more attention to your surroundings, Bushman.” Spy calmly slipped his Ambassador back into his jacket, lighting a fresh cigarette as he looked down his nose at his team-mate. His pointed shoe knocked the now-empty canister to one side as he stepped forward, offering his hand to help the other man up.
Sniper declined; swatting Spy’s hand away with a growl , he grabbed his Shiv and started running. The point hadn’t been captured yet, there might just be time to stop BLU’s relentless advance. Jumping down behind the point, a series of twisted roots sprouted from the floorboards, letting him slide the rest of the way to the concrete below. Behind him, he could hear Spy taking the stairs, and saw Scout floating just above the point, facing away from him. “What the bloody hell are you doin’? Stand ON the point, you wanker!”
“The enemy has received additional time!”
Scout dropped to the floor instantly, the point now under BLU control, and Sniper could do nothing but stare. He was dead. A gaping, bleeding hole right though the middle of his chest, his heart torn out and discarded a few feet away, like a piece of trash. It looked like the BLU Medic’s work, but he’d just seen him die... and where did that pool of blood suddenly come from? Scout looked like he’d been dead a good few minutes, and yet he’d been floating there just a second ago...
“EURGH! What is zees?” Spy complained loudly. Sniper turned around, and watched as the man wiped a thick, black fluid from his jacket lapel. Then just as suddenly, more of the same fell onto his hat, fat drops with an oil-like sheen gathering on the brim and splashing onto the floor. He looked up, and immediately wished he hadn’t; an entire web of the stuff covered the ceiling directly above the point. And in the middle of the web was an enormous spider, the size of a full-grown man, abdomen patterned with blue pinstripes. With a series of cracking noises, the creature’s human-like head turned a full 180 degrees, a multitude of black eyes staring hungrily at both of them. It grinned, revealing a mouth with two especially long, hollow, venom-injecting fangs.
“Bonjour~” said the BLU Spy, cheerfully.