Ch 1

Introduction

Spider Shadowshot was gifted with abilities from an experiment from an unknown dark element. He lives in the Bugkasian empire within a group of enforcers known as the spider force, alongside his friend, stinger spider. Who is this one exactly.

Spider Shadowshot (real name Zeke Zoom), was a normal spider who lived with his family within the confines of a large city within the empire (an area named Humania. Named this due to an ancient, unknown, intelligent species which were discovered in a ancient buried building here, along with unknown artifacts from said unknown species). He spent most of his childhood playing with his toy guns and swords with his brother, Zane Zoom. Life was quite good, as he was a honor role student, and was very good natured.

However, a group on anarchists within the empire, a group known as Bug Bombers, invaded a stadium where a major league spider ball game was being played. Due to his good grades, the entire family took Zeke to his first one. He was only 10 then. While they were going to their seats, Zeke noticed a group of bugs in heavy trench coats carrying a very large bag. He got a good look at one, who had multiple scars across both his eyes. Zeke didn’t think of anything then. Setting explosive charges around the support structures in the stadium, the game ended explosively.

During the commotion, as the stadium collapsed around him, he watched his family get crushed from the collapsing stadium. Using spider string, he managed to wrap himself in it to cushion the collapsing stadium around him. When the dust settled, and the Spider Force arrived to save as many as possible, they found him under much rubble, wrapped within a cocoon of webbing and unconscious. Amazed at how the young boy survived, they brought him to a clinic immediately. While there were several broken bones, the webbing protected him enough not to cause any permanent damage. As one of the few survivors, he was interviewed in the hospital, from none other then Stinger Spider. Zeke was amazed by his stunning armor exoskeleton and wanted to know more about him.

Stinger Spider told him that he was part of the Spider Force, a group of elite spiders who protect the empire from all forces of evil. They had learned of the dastardly plan to blow up the stadium earlier, but they were too late when they got there. Zeke really wanted to join, but was still too young, and untrained to protect the empire. After Zeke gave his statement about the affair, Stinger Spider left. Now an orphan, he promised himself he would train up and become a spider force member one day.

Ch 2

Orphan Opportunity

First few months as an orphan were rough. He felt lonely in the orphanage he was sent too. However, he was quickly adopted by a family of dragonfly’s who gave the love and care he needed. There was the father, Flint Fire, the mother, Fiona Fire, and their young son (slightly older then Zeke), Flare Fire. The family wanted to adopt a young child, as they wanted their son to have a younger brother of a different species to intermingle with and learn from. When they heard about a young spider who managed to survive a terrorist attack using his own spider webbing, they knew they just had to adopt him. Fortunately for Zeke, the father was a martial arts master in the art of combat. Zeke asked his new adopted father if he could train under him, both to be more physical and to be able to fight off foes. While hesitant at first, the father agreed after hearing what happened to Zeke’s original parents. And so began Zeke’s training.

Zeke trained hard under his adopted father, Flint, in the art of hand to hand combat, swordplay, and the tossing of items like kunai and throwing stars, even guns. He balanced his training with his school work and life. He kept up his good grades in school and became strong both physically and mentally.

Ch 3

Brash Bullies

One day a group of cockroaches were bullying and harassing a young Scarab Bug during recess. While he knew he would probably get in trouble by taking them on, he couldn’t just walk away (he was hurt the same way by the ones who killed his parents). He confronted the group and simply said “Leave this poor gripper bug alone. So what if her mandibles haven’t developed yet.” Naturally, these bullies didn’t take to kindly to being told what to do. The three quickly surrounded Zeke, ready to fight. The leader of the group, Randall, threw the first punch which was quickly countered by Zeke’s grip along with a sock to Randall’s cheek, knocking him to the ground. The other two tried to punch him in the head, which Zeke simply ducked under and threw two spider punches into their chests. They were mad now. They tried to unleash their attacks in a frenzy, but were quickly countered, dispatched, and forced to retreat. The young Gripper bug was amazed by this show of force. She introduced himself as Grate Graner (Gr-an-er). They quickly became friends as they spent breaks with each other talking things over.

Soon the school day ended, and both Zeke and Grate were walking home together. However, Zeke felt like someone was following him. He looked around and saw nothing. But sure enough, when they were walking in the park all alone, they were quickly surrounded by the same bullies from before. They had brought 4 others with them, and one had a rope (clearly they were going to do something really nasty to these two). Knowing the odds were greatly stacked against him, he stood his ground. “Well, well tough guy. Your going to have to come with us. Don’t try to resist boy. Don’t make this any harder on yourself. Come with us, and we’ll leave your little friend alone,” Randall sneered. Knowing he couldn’t put his new friend in danger, Zeke agreed, despite what they might do to him. They tied him with the rope and marched him away from the scene, in which Grate immediately went to go for help. They took Zeke to the darkest corner of the park, where they then prepared themselves to beat Zeke within an inch of his life. But even at a great disadvantage, they failed to realize their biggest mistake. They only tied his arms down. They never tied his legs.

Randall comes forward, ready to throw the first punch. Zeke concentrates and focuses his mind on the group. Right as he tried to strike, Zeke stepped back, causing Randall to stumble forward. With no warning, Zeke delivers a strong roundhouse kick to his head, knocking him hard to the ground. Randall, even more angry, gets back up. The other 6, surprised at this turn of events, rush at him. Watching their movements and concentrating fully, he swiftly dodges their strikes and delivering powerful spider kicks to the nasty group. One by one, he knocks each bully out. Soon only Randall was left. Shocked at how this one spider could be so strong, he tries to run. Zeke, being quicker and more fit, very quickly catches him (by jumping in the air and landing on him), and knocks him out cold. Zeke breaths a heavy sigh, and looks around at his fallen foes. No sooner, Grate finds Zeke still tied with rope among his fallen foes, while standing on top of Randall. She had brought the police chief of the city, Gerrin (Gare-in) (who also happened to be her father), to help. Gerrin, surprised to find this scene, quickly unties Zeke, and takes this bad group in for assault (and other associated crimes). Zeke is taken into the police station in order to make a statement on the incident. After giving his statement, Zeke’s adopted parents came in, grateful that he is all right after such a terrible situation. Gerrin explained he had been training under him and had lost his original parents to the Bug Bombers. With this, they head home, proud of young Zeke for standing up to danger in the service of others.

Ch 4

Bug Bombers

So time passed. He continued to train under his adopted father. He graduated from high school and lived happily and was starting to make plans for collage. But he remembered what happened at the stadium when he was young. He couldn’t bear to see a horrible incident like that upon anyone else. He remembered meeting Stinger Spider, a warrior clad in an amazing armorsuit. He remembered the bully incident with Grate. He wondered if there was any chance he could join the spider force. It was unknown how any bug would be chosen to fight within the special military bug forces. Despite researching, he found no information on how to join. He continued to train under his adopted father as he looked into his dream (while also managing his school work at his collage (Spindle Spider University). Eventually, fate would lend a hand.

Zeke was eating at his favorite restaurant back at his home with his family (To celebrate his birthday). While he was eating, his intuition told him something was amiss. He looked around. He saw a strange group in the very back of the restaurant, with a large bag. One of them looked, familiar. He saw them sneak into the back of the restaurant. Wanting to follow, he told his family he was going to the bathroom, and sneaked into the back where the kitchen was.

He found the staff there tied up and realized something bad was happening. He heard a voice and immediately ducked behind the kitchen counter to hear the two converse. It seems that this was indeed the bug bombers who came here, with the hope of tieing off loose ends. They heard of 1 bug that had survived the stadium explosion, a witness who could identify them, perhaps. A bug who is currently enjoying a nice birthday there, Zeke. They planned to have a repeat of the stadium, blow the supports of the structure and bury everyone inside. This time they would stay behind to make sure that this little troublemaker wouldn’t come back out (apparently, his original statement caused them a lot of grief for their group, as the spider force and other assorted peacekeeping forces have made it hard for them to continue their terrorist activities). He peeked behind the counter a realized he did recognize one of them. It was the same bug from the stadium! The one with the many scars across his eyes. He realized that the one he saw when he was very young years ago was the same one responsible for the attack that killed his parents when he was very young.

Filled with anger and rage, he jumped out of hiding and announced his presence. This group, realizing that this was the one they were seeking, snickered on how they could kill him right here and blow up the building to cover their tracks. They immediately armed the explosive, and took their guns out to shoot him. Thinking quickly, Zeke shot out his spider string out their hands and yanked the guns right out of their hands. Surprised, they then took out some long blades. With time against him, he knew he had to take them out fast before the bomb exploded. As they rushed him, surrounded himself in protective webbing, just like he did when he was young. As they tried to strike him, the webbing shot out a gunked them up. With them out of the way, now came the most important part.

His relationship with Grate had benefited him. Her father had taken Zeke in as an apprentice due to his previous bravery with his daughter. He began to teach Zeke the ins and outs of law enforcement when he had time off. One of the things he had watched though, was one of the officers defusing a bomb. While he was never explicitly taught to, he had watched several recordings of police training bomb defusal (and watched one in process at the station) units at the station. He had also taken mechanical engineering classes on the side at collage. There was only a minute left on the explosives now, not enough time to call for help and not enough time to get everyone out. It was up to him…

Remembering what he watched he carefully observed the explosives. Trigger, ignition, he looks at the device carefully. Looking upon a blue wire, he thinks it is what he needs to cut. But is he right. No time to think. With a pair of pliers. He closes his eyes, and cuts it.

He opens his eyes. Everything is still standing. He doesn’t appear to have angel wings. Has he done it. He looks at the timer on the explosives. 2 seconds left. Phew… With everyone safe, he now turns toward the people who had wronged him so long ago, still wrapped in webbing. Police had come onto the scene (apparently, one of the workers there had managed to escape and immediately called the police for help). They came in to see Zeke, with one the of terror plotists guns in his hand, ready to exact revenge for his family. Gerrin realized immediately what had happened, and also realized that these people were the same ones who killed his family long ago.

Gerrin told Zeke to put the gun down. But he had waited for this chance for so long. Gerrin knew he may pull the trigger. Zeke thought about it for a moment. But he knew that neither his original family or his adopted one would never want him to do this, and after thinking some more, he dropped the gun. With a sigh he walks out of the restaurant, a hero.

After giving his statement, he was heading back home, and was going to be honored by the city for such outstanding heroics and bravery (Gerrin was going to have him work with him as a junior at the station). His parents prepared some nice tea to sit down and drink and hear what Zeke had to say about the incident. He began to tell his story as he took a small sip. But soon enough, his mind felt foggy, and his joints felt weak. The next thing he knew, he was laying on the floor, and his mind goes dark.

Ch 5

Spider Seclusion

He woke up in the mourning, not knowing where he was. He was in a small bed, within a small room, with a big mirror in front of him. Beside his bed was a small counter that had a glass of milk and a blueberry muffin, (baked fresh apparently). Confused he looked around. Nothing. Tried the door. Locked. Really confused, he heard a voice on the intercom within the room.

“Do not be afraid. We are not here to hurt you. We have been watching you for some time. The only survivor of the attack on String Stadium. And now a hero of Humania. Please wait while our representative comes and speaks with you.” Really confused, Zeke asks where his family is. “They are with us as well. Do not worry. No harm will come to them. Now please. Wait for our representative. If there is anything you need to stay relaxed, please ask. We do not wish to make you feel uncomfortable.”

He thought about it for a moment and looked at what he was wearing. He realized he was still in his dirty cloths from the incident earlier. He asked, “Well, can I have some fresh, clean cloths please?” It answered back “Yes young spider. We will send in something for you to change into and wear. They will come in at our transfer pod near your bed to the opposite side. Please wait. As you probably have noticed we made some breakfast for you. Just wait a few moments for your cloths.”

Zeke looked towards the bed. He saw a large, round, clear pipe jetting from the ceiling close to the bed from waist level. With not much else to do, he took the blueberry muffin and the milk and sat on the bed to eat. The muffin was quite soft and warm, with a sweet taste of blueberries and a sharp flavor. Quite a well baked muffin. He then heard a ding near him. He checked around and heard on the intercom “Your cloths have arrived young spider. Please change into them when you like. Our representative is back from his mission and should arrive shortly.”

Zeke had just finished his breakfast, and turned toward the glass pipe, which now had a set of cloths in a capsule. He unscrewed the top and checked out what they sent him. A blue shirt and pants with spider motifs added to it. He put it on, and realized that the cloths had a somewhat thicker feeling, yet it was still quite lightweight… The intercom rang on again. “You may notice the cloths design being different then what you might be used to wearing. They are laced with a special thin metallic fabric that offers the wearer extra defense in combat scenarios. It is also very flexible. We regret to inform you that we don’t have any other normal cloths here.” Zeke spoke back “It’s fine. I think I actually like the feel a bit more then what I’m used to wearing.” “We are glad you are pleased. Our representative is filing a field report with command, and shall be with you in about 10 minutes. Is there anything else you need young Zeke?” “I’m fine, thank you.”

Ch 6

Intercom Interest

So minutes past and Zeke was relaxing on the bed, still wondering what might be going on here. The people here seemed nice, and they seem eager to get him whatever he wants (within reason of course). He wondered who this “representative,” could be. He began to think on what has happened since he woke up. And he remembered the intercom announce “we have been watching you for quite a while.” He began to wonder what they meant by that.”

“Excuse me,” said Zeke. “Yes, Zeke?” the intercom said. “You… told me you were watching me for a while. What did you mean by that?” “…I suppose you have a right to know now that your here. I was hoping to wait for the representative, but it seems briefing is taking longer then expected… What I can tell you at least is that we have been watching you since the incident at the stadium years ago.” “Why is that?” questioned Zeke. “Your have a rather interesting knack for survival. You were the only one to come out alive from a crumbling stadium, rigged with explosives. Quickly covering yourself in a cocoon of webbing to cushion the crushing building was rather interesting and clever, something that no normal child should be able come up with, or any untrained adult for that matter.”

“While you may not have realized it, your statement on the Bug Bombers from the stadium gave us new leads on their terrorist group. We cross referenced the trench coats you told us about to a shop within the outskirts of the Drang sector of the empire. The clothing store in reality was a front to load and make explosives to destabilize the empire. The bug with the scars you identified had been the owner of said shop. We attempted to put a stop to the explosive production there. Unfortunately, while we had captured most of the crew there, he escaped. He goes by the name of Bombshell. His real name is Chrome Con. At some point after the sting operation, he must have heard that you survived the stadium and realized somehow that you were the one that identified him. With the trouble you have caused the Bug Bomber group, its no surprise he wanted you gone. We had people in the restaurant watching you on your recent birthday blast, so to speak, at Mexi Max restaurant. However, it seems that the Bug Bombers caught onto us and ended up dispatching the agents watching you. They were able to call for backup, but we didn’t think we would arrive to get you out (or anyone out for that matter) in time. It seems though that you instinct for survival kicked in just like before. You disarmed the bomb with little time to spare and saved so many. We knew it was time. This incident alone wasn’t the only other thing showing your knack for combat and survival. Taking on a group of bullies with no hand usage is no easy feat either. Your ability to adapt to situations like this is quite amazing. As for the Bug Bomber group, they hate the king for unknown reasons and have been trying to remove him for years. Even after they were responsible for killing your real parents, there was enough good and moral judgement within you to not pull the trigger. We always watched you and waited for the day when you were truly ready. “Ready for what?”

Ch 7

Stinger Spider

“Ready to join the Spider Force young Zeke,” a new voice called out. He turned toward the now unlocked door to see a familiar face. The same rig armor he saw years ago when he was very young. “You. I remember you. Stinger Spider, Correct?” “Clever kid. Yes Zeke. I’m the same one who you gave your statement to years ago after what happened at the stadium. You were so much smaller then. Look at you now. Saving lives and doing what is right. That is the sign of a true hero my friend.” “You have been watching me all this time?” said Zeke. “Yes. You were a witness in a terrible incident regarding some major troublemakers within our world. I had a feeling they would eventually try to find and destroy you. We had agents watching you your whole life. What we didn’t realize is how strong you would become on your own.” Strong?” “Yes. Strong Zeke. After the incident with your family at the stadium, you were left at an orphanage, which was really being watched over by one of our agents. When you were adopted, you were put in a sort of “witness protection,” being watched by us from the shadows. But, when you were adopted, it seems the family we set you with couldn’t have been a better choice.

Your father was a martial arts master, which was no surprise to us that you wanted to train under him after what happened to your family. But you were able to balance training with school work in order to continue your life. You never complained about how much you lost. You never felt the world was against you. Some of your teachers were really working under us. Your consistent good grades showed your ability to learn and would later show your ability to learn quickly by example (such as with diffusing a bomb with only the knowledge of watching a simulation at the police station in your home town). You would defend others from harm, like your friend Grate, even if it could mean harm to yourself. When the real challenge came, you would not crack under pressure, like with those bullies, or take a dark path of revenge for your family. You don’t desire glory, nor rewards. You seek only what is right. When we saw you take on those bullies with (literally) your hands behind your back, we knew right then there was something much more special about you.” Special?”

“Yes. Your ability to survive situations under pressure have proven valuable in many different circumstances. My agents have seen how well you have fought at your father’s dojo and on the field not only with your bare hands, but also with your own abilities as a spider and with different weapons. You have an ability to fight well. We’re sorry we took you like this, but I really wanted to meet you in person and ask you personally.” “Ask what?” “Will you join the spider force? It’s an elite group of spider warriors with different abilities tasked with protecting the empire from forces who seek to destabilize it and destroy peace. There are different bug groups within the Bugkasian military tasked with different missions. We work together. We fight evil. We protect the innocent. And we make sure to save lives. While your very well versed in combat, we can train your body even further. We’ll make you stronger then you ever thought possible. Don’t worry. You’ll still be able to see your family when your off duty. And you’ll be able to make a difference across our world. Will you join Zeke? If not, its alright. Our agents will take you back to your home.”

Zeke didn’t need to think of an answer. “Yes. I’ve always wanted to join since the day I lost my family. I’m ready to take the first steps. Where do I sign up, Stinger Spider?” “You already have my friend. Come with me. I’ll take you to see your family to tell the news to them. They are waiting for you in holding.” “Alright. Thank you.”

Ch 8

Spider Spy

And so began Zeke’s new life as part of the spider force. Zeke was taken to a room similar to the one he was in, where his family was waiting. He told his family the news and they all felt happy for him. But that would probably also mean that they may never see him again. But stinger spider said that he would be able to come back home during holidays and when off duty. Zeke’s family told Grate and her father, and he simply said that they’ll both hope Zeke can help at the police station when he returns from duty.

But now came his new intense training. They trained Zeke hard, attempting to push his knowledge and physical stature to its limits. They taught him how to pick locks and kick open doors, use items in the environment to escape bondage, use his webbing for offense and defense, military martial arts, stealth tactics, computer analysis, and of course, the use of special guns and swords made for condensed combat. However, most of these weapons were made to be non lethal, (even the swords were made with special technology where it would only be able to cut so far in the body without causing any permanent damage). The Bugkasian forces want to keep lethality as a last resort during operations. Stinger Spider watched as Zeke grew and grew in experience, and as his commanding officer, he decided to test out something on him.

Zeke was called into Stinger Spiders lab within the base, he was wondering if he would be able to finally go on missions. He went into the back where Stinger Spider was near a strange meteor. “Did you call me Sting?” said Zeke. “Yes Zeke. I did,” said Stinger Spider. “Am I finally going to be able to start with operations? You knew I’m ready to tackle any challenge. Me and my Spiderbite Swords and Spidershooters are more then ready.” “Yes Zeke. You have demonstrated remarkable ability during practice. But i didn’t call you in for that. “Why am I back in your lab then?” “I want to perform an experiment on you Zeke.”

“An experiment?” “Yes an experiment. This meteor here has an unknown energy signature within it. It’s made of no known substance on our planet. It was found during an operation in the Wake Sector. An operation team was sent there to retrieve an unknown object said to be being used to create illegal weapons. The organization responsible was called Prism, and black market weapon’s dealing organization dealing in special tech designed with nothing but lethal force. We realized that the object was this meteor, as it was channeling the same energy as the weapons we found at the hidden base. Unfortunately, an alarm sounded, and the team was forced to try and fight their way out. In about 15 minutes, a large force of enemies surrounded them. It seemed they weren’t going to make it back… But, as great as the odds were, they somehow managed to beat all of them, some of them even saying that they used abilities never seen before in any bug. We ran tests on them after they brought the meteor back. It seems that their bodies had somehow been affected by the meteor, and it gave them new and enhanced abilities. However, only a short time after the tests, the energy that they were cloaked in completely dissipated from their bodies, and they had felt weak for a time. They have fully regained their strength, but the effect seemed to only last 3 hours. Being our junior in training here Zeke, I want to try to directly channel the unknown energy from the meteor into you body by use of a special chest piece designed by me to absorb the energy from the meteor directly. We want to see its effects based on your skills.”

“Is it really safe,” said Zeke. “We have not found any negative effects from affliction yet, other then the weakening after the energy dissipated. It lasted only a day for those bugs. They are already ready for action again. We want to see if we can create a more condensed energy surge that can last for a longer period with this specialized energy siphon. By my calculations, I believe that we can use chest pieces like this in order to create a longer lasting effect for our forces. We hope to be able to use this with future rig armor. So, my young protege. Will you help out here?”

Zeke thought for a moment. From what his commanding officer said, there were really no risks here. A successful test might allow him to start taking assignments. It wasn’t a hard choice. “I’ll do it,” he said. “Great Zeke. I’ll get ourselves ready. In the meantime, why don’t you go see the other recruits and play some Spider Ball.” “Yes, Sting.” And so Zeke left to play with his friends while Stinger Spider got his experiment ready.

Ch 9

Experiment Epsilon

A couple hours later, Zeke was called back to the lab from his Spider Ball game. He was told to lay down on a table where they strapped him down. “I’m sorry for this Zeke. But I don’t want you to move much while this is going on. This energy might have unpredictable effects if were not careful. Just relax, everything will be fine. I promise.” While uncomfortable, he believed his commanding officers words. Zeke looked up in the corner and saw a window, where it seemed a bunch of other commander bugs were watching with anticipation. A little nervous at this point, he looked around the room to see all the crazy gadgets and gizmos. “Alright Zeke. Are you ready for the energy transfer?” Stinger Spider said. “Yes Sting. Fire away.”

“Good. The meteor is ready to be siphoned. Just relax and this should be over soon enough.” Stinger Spider walked over from the table and took to his control console in the back. “Commencing siphon sequence.” He punched the switch and the machines around began to buzz and turn. Zeke watched the meteor in the back as a machine poked a needle into the meteor. As it drilled inside of it, the needle began to conduct electricity, clearly draining the energy from the meteor. He looked at the machine the needle was connected to. It was channeled into a large, round generator that seemed to be acting as a condenser for harnessing said energy. After a few minutes, it filtered itself into the next machine. The next machine was directly above Zeke. The energy from the generator flowed into the machine above, and a tube extended out of the machine onto Zeke’s chest plate. Something was about to be distributed into his body. Becoming nervous again, he swallowed his fear and closed his eyes, ready to receive something unknown.

“Commencing energy transfer.” Everyone stand back.” In that moment, the energy started to funnel into Zeke, and he could feel his body channeling it all across itself. It felt like being supercharged. Things were progressing smoothly. It seemed that Zeke’s chest plate was handling the energy perfectly. The people there were watching in awe, including Stinger Spider.

But as you can guess, something went wrong. An unexpected deviation occurred. The meteor began to have it energy drained at a unexpected rate. Faster and faster the energy drained from it, and they soon realized that all the machines there were starting to overload. Zeke’s body felt sharp, unrelenting pain all over it. As he screams, the Stinger Spider tries to turn it off. But its too late. And then all of a sudden the meteor dissipated and funneled itself through the machine. Stinger realized what would happen. “Remove that transfer canister from Zeke. Don’t let the meteor combine with him. As they struggled to remove the canister, it was already to late. As the meteor quickly transferred itself through each machine, they overloaded and exploded, knocking Stinger Spider away. And quickly, the meteor traveled into Zeke’s body, combining with him. It seemed this would be his end…

Ch 10

Darkness Dream

The next thing Zeke knew, he was in a dark area. He felt what appeared to be sand under his feet. There were no lights, sound, or anything. He got up, wondering what was going on. But he felt another presence there. He could feel his movements as Zeke looked around the area. Suddenly, Zeke’s eyes glowed with Green light, and he realized he could now see in the dark area in a green tint. He appeared to be on a beach, out in the middle of nowhere. He now could see the approaching figure as Zeke looked at him in shock. This creature who appeared before him was a creature he had heard of in myths and legends. A dragon! With the green night vision, he could not make out what he looked like in color. He spoke, “Well young spider, it seems we have bonded together quite well.” “You can speak my language? Who are you?! Where am I?!” “I see I have made it quite dark in here my friend. Do not worry. I’m not going to kill the one I have bonded with. I am Servant, emissary of the element. Dragon of the lunar eclipse.” “Wait, who?!” “Yes my friend. You are quite perplexed as to what is going on, aren’t you?” My species was destroyed from war and strife on my home world planet long ago. The only way our species could survive is to morph our remaining people into special meteors, scatter ourselves throughout the universe, and bond into perfect hosts. “What are you talking about?! What did you do to me?! “It seems this darkness isn’t creating a pleasant experience for you. I always liked the dark. But if you need more light, I can easily create that for you.”

Suddenly, a sun burst out over the horizon, and quickly was covered by a moon, creating a solar eclipse effect. He could now see the beach a bit better. His eyes seemed to turn off its night vision by itself, and he could see the beach now. The sand was a shiny black, like Onyx, and the water was deep red, like the sun beaming down it at dusk. He now looked the dragon now. His skin was as black as the sand, and the solar eclipse beamed off him perfectly. An aura of shadow surrounded him.

“You see my friend, I needed to find someone to channel myself into for a long time.” I wanted to be paired with someone brave and powerful. A true warrior. But those ones I tried to merge with earlier, their minds were to weak… Their bodies sick with strife. They would not be able to handle my power. I imagine they are causing a ruckus right now.” “What do you mean!” “Do not worry about that. Your more then capable of restoring them. Listen to my voice, and I will help you defeat them.” “What do you… Wait. You don’t mean…” “Were going to need to work closely together to solve this little problem. Don’t worry. They won’t be permanently damaged. Now wake up young spider. We have work to do.”

Ch 11

Awkward Awakening

As Servant finished his final words, a surge of shadow enveloped Zeke and the next thing he knew, he suddenly opened his eyes, and realized he was no longer in that shadowy world. He looked around the room. He realized he wasn’t in the lab where the experiment was anymore. It looked to be a part of the infirmary. But as his head stopped spinning from the experience, he realized that an alarm was sounding at the base! “Attention all forces, subjects have been seen and sector XC4. Contain subjects immediately! This is not a drill,”the intercom announced. Realizing something was very wrong, he tried to get up. But he couldn’t. Something was holding him to the bed. He looked at his body, and realized he had been securely strapped to the bed. “Hey what’s going on?” Why am I like this!?” He heard a voice in his head.

“Clearly they don’t want you to end up like the others Zeke. Seems your friends have ended up causing a ruckus here.” “Servant?! “Seems your friends could use some help, yet they simply just strap you to a bed with little chance of escape. They clearly don’t understand power. Seems you need a way to break out my friend. Your precious friends need you, right? Don’t worry. you won’t end up like the ones I infused myself with earlier. Your much better then them. Listen to me, and I’ll help you out of this mess. Do you see where the strap meets metal belt? Touch it. I think you’ll enjoy the results.” Zeke, nervous as to what he is talking about, realized that he had very little options but to listen. So he looked around himself to see where the closest strap was. One was attached near his leftmost arm. He positioned himself so he could get a grasp on it. He grabbed it with his hand.

The next thing he knew, he could feel some sort of liquid ooze on his hand. The strap breaks and releases, freeing his hands. Now for his feet. He finds where the metal strap connects with the belt and grasps it again, and he sees for himself what happened. His hand had been oozing some strange dark substance, that severely corroded the metal belt, making it weak and brittle. a single yank and it falls apart. With himself free of the bed. he headed for the door. “No, boy. Not that way. Focus your eyes on the door young Spider,” said Servant. He focuses his eyes for a bit on the exit, and his eyes immediately become cloaked in red, and he now can see the heat signatures through the door. He could make out the signatures on 2 dragonfly’s guarding the door. “Your friends don’t realize that your not a threat to them. They will fight you if they realize you got out. I’m in no mood to get myself in a pointless fight with common creatures, and I certainly don’t want to give a bad impression on our first day together.” “What do you suggest I do then?” Zeke whispered. “Vent, upper right corner of the room. You better hurry, before they realize your out on that security camera.” He looked in the corner near the window, and saw the camera looking straight at him, he knew that he had little time left. Finding the vent he jumps straight from the ground onto it. He realized he had jumped much higher then he did before. With no time to think about it, he places his hands on the metal grating, which immediately corrodes and breaks apart, and he quickly enters. “Attention all hands. Subject Z has broken containment. Last location in Infirmary Wing S. Subject entered the ventilation. Locate and contain. Repeat. Locate and contain,” said the intercom.

Ch 12

Deep Dark

The vent was dark when he entered it, but like in the dream, his eyes glowed a dark green and triggered night vision so he could see inside it. “He crawled his way through until he came across a junction, between 3 different ventilation pathways. “Head left.” Said Servant. “Huh? Left?” said Zeke. “Yes boy left. I can feel them being that way.” “How do you know?” “I can sense my energy within them. Don’t question it. Just follow my directions, and I can get you to them from here.” So Zeke headed to the left pathway within the vent. He continued to crawl his way through as he listened to Servant’s directions. After about 3 minutes, Servant spoke again.

“Ahhhh, they are very close now. Now boy, don’t do anything hasty on our first day. I don’t want to have to find someone else. You have very little knowledge on my abilities yet, and we have no time for a crash course. Listen to me and I will help you fight.” “Where are they though?” said Zeke. “Look outside the grate to your right.” “Huh, the grate to my right?” Zeke saw the opening and peered through it.

He saw his commanding officer, Stinger Spider, fighting 3 other spiders below in the security station that was close to the armory! Upon closer inspection of the 5 spiders, he saw their eyes were a deep black and he saw dark energy flowing off of their bodies. “What happened to them? Were they they same group who infiltrated Prism earlier?” “Yes Zeke. Those fools at Prism found me in a vault built by a previous species on your planet. The previous species were almost as power hungry as my race was. So inferior to what lives on this planet now. They didn’t deserve my power.” “How long have you been on this planet?” “You realize your friend is in trouble right? You might want to get into this fight, or are you a coward?

Realizing Servant was right he used his hands to corrode the grating, smashed through the vent, and jumped onto the floor, where the the 6 looked upon Zeke in surprise. “Oh great… Zeke got here too… said Stinger Spider. Unfortunately, the distraction was long enough for one of the Spiders to grab Stinger Spider, and throw him at Zeke. Zeke quickly ducked as his commanding over flew over him and smash headfirst into the wall. (good thing he had a metal helmet on, or he could have been killed). Zeke immediately rushed over to see him. “Sting. Wake up Sting!” No response. Immediately, the 5 Spiders focused purely on Zeke, and they started to approach. Outnumbered and angry he looked around for something that could help him fight. “The 2 Spidershooters on the table near the entrance. Take them.” said Servant. “But they’ll just break!” said Zeke. “Do you really want to wait for them? Grab them!” With no time to think he quickly grabbed them, thinking they would just corrode in his hands.

All of a sudden, the guns were cloaked in the darkness and the next thing he knew, they darkness dissipated, and the guns had transformed. The 5 spiders realized what was going on, and with a distorted roar, they started to rush toward Zeke. “Hold the trigger down, and release only when I tell you,” said Servant. With them approaching, he held the trigger down. “Jump up over them.” Remembering the jump he made at the infirmary, he jumped up and over the 3 as they slammed into the metal wall. Hurt, but not unconscious, they slowly picked themselves up. They then began to rush Zeke again. “Aim at them and release the trigger.” Zeke aimed the guns, and let go of the trigger. A large dark blast fired out of both guns. The group tried to jump out of the way, but it was already to late. The shots clocked them and detonated in a surging explosion of darkness. As the darkness dissipated, he realized that the 5 were unconscious. Zeke quickly spun webbing around their arms and legs to restrain them. He noticed that his webbing was not a thick white anymore, but a thinner but stronger shining black (similar to Onyx).

“Now that they are taken care of, hold your hand over them.” said Servant. “Why?” said Zeke. “Do it, or would you prefer for them to wake up first.” Worried at what would happen, Zeke held his hand over the group. Suddenly, the dark power controlling them surged through their bodies and funneled itself into Zeke’s hand. He could feel this darkness coursing through his body. “Ahhhh, nice to have my full strength back. Good job Zeke. Were going to have sooooo much fun together.” He looked at the group again. The dark aura surrounding them had completely dissipated. “Will they be alright?” said Zeke. “Oh, don’t worry about those 5. They’ll be out for about a week and will probably be put in holding (and on probation…). “Why did that happen when they tried to use your power?”

“Their minds could not handle darkness like you. Nor their bodies. Finding a good host is quite tedious I’m afraid… I’m not one to kill unless absolutely necessary either. Death is an unfortunate circumstance when it comes to mind. Power corrupts, and corruption brings death. My race signed their own ends when they made deals with unknown beings from beyond our world and messed with powers and technology beyond their understanding. Do not worry. I’ll make sure your race doesn’t make the same mistakes that we did. But I do imagine that one day, the very same beings who caused us to destroy ourselves will eventually come here. We’ll very much need to be ready for that. Now, why don’t we check upon your friend.”

Ch 13

Rehabilitation and Readiness

While these words were concerning, he went to check on Stinger Spider. “Hey Sting. Wake up, Sting!” “Ugh… Huh?” Stinger Spider slowly looked upon Zeke from his visor, and immediately jumped himself up ready to fight Zeke. “Whoa, relax, Sting! I’m not going crazy. Look over there!” He quickly darted to the side of the room, and saw the restrained group on the floor. “Huh, What is going on? What did you do!? “Relax, everything is okay. I’ve taken care of them. Just calm down!” Stinger Spider looked back at Zeke. “I see you have cleaned up this mess. But I can tell from looking at you that the meteor has greatly affected you. I’m glad you helped solve this problem, but I can’t allow you to walk about the base until were absolutely sure your not going to end up like them. I’m sorry Zeke. But your going to need to come with me.” “That’s fine. I understand.” said Zeke.

So Stinger Spider handcuffs Zeke’s arms (when they saw the first ones corroded from his arms, they quickly used special bindings made for the worst criminals, made of metals highly resistant to corrosion and damage) and leads him down the hallway to special holding. As they walk down the hallway, Zeke sees all the prying eyes off the other recruits going around, wondering what was going on with Zeke. While worried about what they would do to him, he decided this was best for now.

They put Zeke in a straitjacket (they noted that he actually put the jacket on himself before they engaged the restraints on it) and sent him to a padded room. While concerned that they might keep him in their for a while, perhaps the rest of his life, he knew this might be the only way they can trust him after what happened. They did a weekly psyche evaluation, and ran several physical tests weekly. At least they were eventually kind enough to put in a TV with a voice command feature to change the channel. Servant was not pleased by this turn of events, but knew as well this was probably best, for how annoying being stuck in a single room all day is with no action (though servant seemed to really like the television, especially action movies). After about a month and a half in holding, Zeke, was sitting on his bed with the television on, when the door to his room opened. he looked over, and saw Stinger Spider come in.

Ch 14

Curious Converse

“May we talk Zeke?” he said. “Yes, I’m willing to talk Sting.” Zeke said. Stinger spider drew closer and sat himself down next to Zeke. “How are you feeling today?” “I’m fine Sting, really. What do you need?” “Yes you see, you’ve been talking to yourself. It has been noted on security footage of you talking to someone called, Servant?” “Yes, sir.” “Was this the result of being stuck in a small padded room by yourself?” “No sir. It happened after the experiment,” “Could you please, tell me more about this phenomena?”

“Well, after the experiment Sting, I was… Somewhere… I don’t know where?” “Could you describe it more?” “Well it was some type of strange dream beach. It’s hard to explain… At first it was really dark. I couldn’t make out anything, suddenly, my eyes began to see in green. Next thing I know, I can actually see the beach. “So, you had night vision specs on you?” “No sir, my eyes did it by themselves…” “Interesting. Go on.” Next thing I knew, this creature approached me.” “What type of creature?” “Well… it was… a dragon…” “A dragon? The same creature seen in ancient books that we could actually decrypt?” “Yes Sting. I really don’t expect you to believe me…” “Go on, Zeke” “Alright. This… dragon told me his name was Servant. “What did he look like?” “He looked just like the dragons found in ancient lore, the wings, the big body, the long snout, not like those snake looking ones. He… created a solar eclipse in the strange world I was in to light it up. My eyes dimmed off the green tint and I could get a better look at him. His… body looked like it was as shiny as onyx, but still organic. The light from the solar eclipse was creating a strange light effect across him. The beach’s sand was the same color as Servant and the water was a deep red.” “Blood Red?” “No sir, it’s the type of red you would see when the sun falls under the horizon at dusk.” “Did he say anything to you?” “Yes. He told me that his species was destroyed in wars on their home planet, and the only way his remaining species could survive is to bond with certain hosts. “Really. Is he a parasite?” “I don’t think so.” Why did he choose you?” I don’t think he necessarily chose me at first? He, tried with the other 5.” “And why did he reject them?” “I… don’t think he necessarily rejected them. I think they just could not handle his power…” “And so they just went berserk as a result, trying to break into out armory to do who knows what?” “I… guess so sir… He helped me defeat those other spiders.” “And how did he do that?” Well, he guided me to escaping my bed, go through the air ducts. and find where you and the others were.” “And how did this, Servant know where they were?” “Well you see, he could sense where his remaining power was. When I defeated them, I was able to reabsorb the dark energy into myself.” “Really. Did he tell you how to do that as well?” “Yes Sting. How are those 5 doing by the way?” “They are doing better now. They have absolutely no memory of the incident. All bio signs checked normal after what happened. They were released about 2 weeks ago.” “And I wasn’t…”

“Well, Zeke, your bio signs show that you still have the meteor’s energy flowing through you body. Were already seeing remarkable increase in strength and we also believe you’re much more agile. Some of the security officials believe that you could very well just break you straitjacket outright and kick the security door to your room down with little effort. “Have I?” “No you haven’t. You never even tried. Despite your situation, your never once tried to go out of line. You’ve fully accepted your situation, despite how bad it is. “I… suppose Sting.” “There is more. We’ve been monitoring this conversation with security, with our lie detection software.” “And…” “And we realize that you are telling the truth.” “What makes you think I’m telling the truth and I’m not just someone who has gone crazy from an experiment gone wrong?”

“During your physical evaluations in the lab, we monitored your brain during several scans. We noticed quite a unusual deviation. At certain points during the scan, we noticed the energy from the meteor giving off strange signals right into your brain. Upon closer inspection of this, we believe that the energy is sending some kind of signals into your head. “Ok then. What does that mean?” “We believe that the energy is somehow trying to communicate with you. We decided to test this.” “How?” “We set up (in secret) a scanner right within you room in order monitor possible conversations with this, Servant, and try to match it with your brain during your time in holding. Results showed that yes, the conversations with this Servant, corresponded to the energy sending signals into your head. We also noticed that these signals are much more active when you are asleep as well.” “Really?” “Yes. You told us through several psych evaluations that your dreams send you to far off places within the universe, fighting unknown creatures of all types. But sometimes your dreams are peaceful, where you relax on a beach at dusk with a large unknown creature, which we believe your referring to servant, correct?” “Yes, Sting.” “From all of this, we can gather that you are not going crazy from a lab experiment gone wrong, but instead have been gifted with something much more interesting. While it is genuinely concerning what this Servant’s real motivations are, we don’t see any reason to keep you here any longer. Instead, the council has come to an agreement to release you under heavy watch. We want to know more about all of this, and would like your full cooperation. We want to see more of your new abilities in action and will see if you can control your new abilities. So what do you say? Do you think your ready for missions outside of the training facility. We believe it would be best to test your new abilities on the go, as there really isn’t anything in the facility to safely test your abilities on.” “I have been waiting to hear that for a long time Sting. Now can you help me out of this Straitjacket?” “Oh just break the silly clothing item. I’ve waited too long here in this room doing nothing but watch a silly picture box. Time for some action!” said Servant

Gear:

Shadow Shooters: Spidershooters modified by Zeke’s dark power. These 2 guns shoot dark energy bolts, causing hits that poison targets with dark power, doing damage over time (Note: Servant is not one for typical lethality. All powers and attacks are non lethal). Continued damage and poisoning will cause targets to become fully paralyzed (lasts 3 hours when body is fully poisoned). By holding the trigger, he can charge the guns to make a bigger blasts that explodes on contact. Not only can it poison, but the blast can also cause the target to get held in place by the dark energy forming a solid form around them. Good for both small and large groups.

Frenzy Fangs: Like with the guns, these swords were transformed from his dark power. Coated with venom, and very lightweight and quick, these prove to be very useful in close range engagements. Due to Zeke’s enhanced reflexes, it is also good for blocking enemy shots from weapons. Poison works with the blade, offering minimum cutting potential against flesh, but also high corrosion against metals and enemy armor.

Eye See You: A helmet transformed and now showing Servant’s eye, it can create a suffocating smoke that messes with the head’s of targets. Targets will have a much harder time breathing and will not be able to tell friend or foe from the chemicals produced by it. Can also be used for quick escapes or to hide oneself.

Abilities:

Servant’s Snare: With his dark power, Zeke’s webbing is much more effective. Webbing can be shot at foes to wrap them quickly, even in several groups if need. Webbing is highly durable, thin, and can be used to strip enemies of their weapons, restrain them, corrode armor or other metals, blind (if shot at the eyes. Poison will last for 1 hour), and can even be used for defense to create a shield of webbing around himself. Hit to the webbing during this will cause the webbing to scatter around unpredictably.

Black Blast: Holding out his palm in front of him will allow Zeke to shoot a small condensed energy blast that can cause blindness and loss of hearing to those hit by it. Good for small groups.

Fangs A lot: Zeke’s fangs carry neurotoxins. Will cause the target to fall unconscious for a couple hours. Really good for stealth.

Trigger Happy: Infusing some webbing into the clip will cause the shot to greatly increase rate of fire and shots will create webbing on the target and surrounding area. But the neurotoxins are less effective. Good for small groups and setting up traps for unsuspecting enemies to walk into and get stuck to so he can then fire another to constrict them.

Sniping Sensory: With Servent’s extrasensory perception, he can sense possible enemies and targets across distances. By focusing his eyesight, his eyes can produce both a night vision for dark encounters (his eyes will glow a very dark green for night vision and dark red for thermal vision. The glow is low enough to be unnoticed in most cases in dark areas). By using this power, Servant can help him focus on individual targets from long distances and fire his spidershot or use one of his other abilities with great accuracy. The shot creates a dampening effect on sounds so that it cannot be heard firing or when it connects with a target. The shot can ricochet off walls and is larger and more powerful. Typically targets are knocked out on hit though the head. Rate of fire is greatly decreased though. Good for long distance engagements or stealthily taking out individual targets silently.

Nighty, Night: Grabbing someone and focusing into his helmet will cause a small beam into the targets head can allow him to lull the target into a deep, deep, slumber. After they fall asleep, he can then use the beam to look into the targets mind as they slumber to extract information on events, or to gain evidence of crimes. The longer the beam connects to the targets mind, the longer the sleeping effect is (he once put someone to sleep for a week). He can also enter their dreams itself.

Brain drain: He can also use the beam to tamper and manipulate with the enemies memories. For stealth incursions, he can use it either to feed the enemy false information on his position (among other things) or can erase their incursion entirely after he gets what he needs from them. This will also be used against captured criminals who have no chance of redemption, so their minds would be wiped so maybe they might be able to be rehabilitated.

Long Life: Due to Servant’s power, his life span has dramatically increased. He’ll live much longer then any creature on his planet.

Likes:

Martial Arts

Standing up for others

Mexican food

Adventure

His commanding officer and friend, Stinger Spider

His spectral friend, Servant

Training his body and mind

Fighting crime

TV (especially action movies)

Spider Ball

Swimming

His family and friends back home

Dislikes:

Bullies

People who look down on others

Criminal empires

Failure

Being unable to protect others

Winter months (Servant is vocal about hating the cold of Winter. Though he is quite interested in the Christmas season)

People who are stubborn

The ancient race that ended Servant’s race of dragons (Servant predicted they might come to Zeke’s world someday…)

Feeling unworthy of his powers

Greed

Servant attempting to interfere with sporting activities (Servant has occasionally tried to help Zeke win games like spider ball with his powers. Zeke has to remind him that the game needs to be “fair,” not to mention Zeke is also concerned that servant may unintentionally hurt someone. Servant is slowly learning this)

Italian food (small servings for outrageous prices)

Psychos and terrorists