Chapter Text
The alarm rang out into the street as the window exploded. A black swarm of bugs burst from the building. Bystanders watched on in fear or simply ran away as the masked villain stepped out of the shop. A duffle bag over her shoulder spilled various gems and jewellery as she moved.
Just another day in Brockton Bay, a supervillain robbing a store and mere mortals are helpless to stop them. Even the police who hit the scene were powerless upon the onslaught of insects. Smartly choosing to take cover inside their cars instead of fighting.
Skitter passed through the street, she was running solo today and didn’t want to waste time in her getaway. Tattletale had helped plan the job, it was a simple ‘smash ‘n’ grab’ that didn’t require the full might of the Undersiders to complete. The gems weren’t even the goal, the haul was trivial compared to the payment they’d get for causing chaos in the middle of the day.
Still, who could turn down some gold and diamonds? Not Skitter, that’s for sure. She passed down a side alley and moved to the left. Following the route, she had memorised. Two more left turns and into the van that was waiting for her. Drop the bag, change clothes and disappear. It was as easy as-
“Shit!” Skitter swore to herself. Her bugs picked up on two heroes waiting for her at the next turn. Assault and Battery, they weren’t part of the plan. “Time to improvise.”
The swarm built up a lookalike waiting down the alleyway as Skitter turned down the right instead. If she could lead the capes away, she could circle back later and drop off the stash. Skitter kept moving, not allowing herself to slow down.
The two capes caught eyes of the fake and began to engage. The swarm broke apart and swept forward. Skitter could hear the battle taking place, she hoped that it’d keep them busy long enough to get by.
Her bugs could see the van waiting for her. There was nothing else in her way. Nothing that registered as a threat. She slowed down to a brisk jog as Skitter approached the vehicle. Inside sat the driver waiting patiently, albeit a little bored. Skitter tapped the window as she arrived and the driver was nothing but a hired goon, reliable and forgettable. Just how Skitter liked them.
Waking from his bored daydream, the driver unlocked the back of the van as Skitter walked around to the back. Opening the door, She threw her duffle bag full of goodies and eyed the second bag full of civilian clothes.
The driver pulled a curtain that separated the front seats from the back. Giving Skitter the privacy to change. Taylor removed her mask and pulled a necklace from the pile of goodies. “I know exactly who to give this to.” She said to herself.
Before she was able to remove even her gloves, the driver in the front called out. “Uh, Boss! I think where in trouble!”
Taylor looked up and put her mask back on. Assault and Battery were still distracted by the swarm, what kind of trouble would slip past her? She pulled the curtain away and looked out the front windscreen. In front of them, and slightly above them hovered another cape. The hero had platinum blonde hair with a tiara in it. The one and only Glory Girl.
“What do we do here, Boss?” The driver asked, hands gripping the wheel.
Skitter sighed to herself, this was supposed to be an easy job. Now she was facing down a certifiable powerhouse. She jumped out of the van and shut the door. Giving it two slaps as she closed the door.
“I’ll deal with this,” Skitter groaned, unsure of exactly ‘how’ she was going to accomplish such a feat, “The second you have a clear shot, get out of here. Stick to the plan, find Tattletale.”
Glory Girl hovered closer to the ground, not giving the van room to leave. Attempting to drive into her would be a quick way to end up in a wreck. The blonde hero turned her attention to the raven-haired villain.
“Really Skitter?” She said, disappointment in her voice. “Robbing a jewellery store in broad daylight? How more cliché can you get?”
Skitter tensed as she called her swarm to her. Taking on Glory Girl alone was borderline suicide and there were still two other heroes nearby. Her first job was to get the van clear, and then she could work out how she was escaping.
Walking away from the van, Skitter made sure that Glory Girl had her focus on her and her alone. She pulled out her knife and taser from her belt which made Glory Girl smirk.
“As if that’s gonna do anything.” Glory Girl mocked, her feet inches from the ground. “But whatever, you want to fight that badly, I’ll take you on.”
Glory Girl closed her hands into fists and knelt into a fighting stance. Realistically she could finish this in one punch and Skitter knew it. The trick was to make sure she never landed that blow.
With a frightening speed, the hero lunged towards Skitter. Her swarm acted as a wall, shielding her position as she dived to the side. Glory Girl smacked straight into the wall behind them. She could have smashed through the wall if the hero was putting enough power into it.
“Well, she’s not trying to kill me,” Skitter said to herself as a way to bolster her courage. “…I hope.”
The van sped off, taking the initiative of the distracted hero. Skitter could only hope that it would reach its destination without issue. Turning back to Glory Girl, she commanded her swarm to converge.
Glory Girl had a force field that made any attack Skitter could think of basically useless against her, but she could rely on her ‘creep factor.’ No one liked being covered in bugs, regardless of how immortal they seemed.
Skitter took off down the street, she wasn’t sure how much time she could buy with that, but every second mattered. Her mind raced with possible escape routes, and hiding from the flyer was downright unfair.
The two other heroes were also on their way to investigate the noise. This wasn’t good. Skitter took off in a random direction. Moving more out of panic than any real plan.