[Third Person’s PoV]
MJ cast an illusion over the guards and the warden, making it appear as though they were still sitting on the ground, tied up.
She appeared behind the warden and whispered, "Don’t freak out."
The warden jumped in surprise upon hearing her voice behind him. He barely managed to suppress the startled yelp that threatened to escape.
*"I’m going to cut you loose. The others won’t notice because of the illusion I’ve set up around you. However, you’ll need to be discreet and cautious as you get up and make your way out. Nod if you understand."*
Her voice resonated inside the warden’s head, carried by the connection ford through a thin web she had placed at the back of his neck.
The Warden gave a small and stiff Nod.
So with a flick of her wrist, MJ cut his bindings using psionic scissors. She then layered another illusion over him, making him appear as just another prisoner while the illusion of the bound warden remained on the ground.
Moving swiftly, MJ continued her work while Spider-Man kept Herman and Tinkerer distracted. She was fast, her steps light and near silent as she leaped from one guard to another, untying them.
However, toward the end, strain began to show on her face. Casting multiple illusions at once was taking a toll. Her eyes twitched, dry and pooling with tears from the effort.
*"Get a move on and act natural,"* she instructed through their ntal link.
The guards and warden followed MJ’s lead, discreetly moving away from the other prisoners in the cafeteria.
Tinkerer, however, caught the sound of the door opening and frowned. There weren’t that many prisoners in here... And where are they— His eyes widened as he noticed the rope where the warden had been sitting. Though the illusion still showed the warden’s hands bound, a loose end was sticking out.
Suspicious, Tinkerer grabbed the pen from behind his ear and flung it at the warden. The warden’s form rippled for a brief second before the illusion corrected itself, but it was enough.
Rage contorted Tinkerer’s face as he saw the last "inmate" slipping through the exit.
"THEY’RE FAKE! WE’VE BEEN DUPED! THE WARDEN IS TRYING TO ESCAPE—DON’T LET HIM!" he screeched, pointing at the door.
But before the prisoners could react, a web grenade shot through the air and stuck to the doorfra. It beeped a few tis before erupting, sealing the exit in thick, tangling webs.
Tinkerer growled and snatched his radio, his voice echoing through the prison’s loudspeakers.
"The warden is trying to escape! I repeat, the warden is escaping, cafeteria entrance—"
Thwip!
A web shot out, yanking the radio from his grip. Spider-Man reeled it in and crushed it effortlessly with one hand.
"Sorry," he said casually, "but as you can see, you’re all stuck in here with , and I don’t allow outside communication."
Tinkerer seethed, but Herman shouted, "No! You’re the idiot who got himself stuck in here with us!"
With that, he thrust his fists forward, unleashing a powerful shockwave.
Spider-Man flipped midair, narrowly dodging the blast as it tore through the wall behind him. In response, he fired a web at Herman’s chest, yanked him off his feet, and delivered a powerful kick to his torso, sending him crashing into the wall near the entrance with a loud thud.
Spider-Man landed with one fist to the ground, sending out an electrical pulse. The prisoners charging toward him scread as the shock coursed through their bodies, making them convulse before collapsing.
He cracked his neck, glancing at the groaning bodies around him.
"Like I said," he smirked, "you’re stuck in here with ." He glanced at an imaginary watch. "And look at that—seems like it’s recess ti."
...
MJ clicked her tongue as Tinkerer’s voice rang out. More so when the inmates guarding the cells all turned toward them.
Seeing no point in maintaining her illusions, she closed her eyes and released her hold on them. The tension in her face eased—until her Spider-Sense flared. The wiggling lines appeared above her head like a crown, warning her of imminent danger.
Ti seed to slow as MJ muttered under her breath, "Swarm before ... your Queen commands it so."
With a swift motion, she thrust her hand forward, erecting a large forcefield of psionic energy just as bullets rained down from all around them.
Golden-red streaks of light tore through the air, coming from above, ahead, and every direction. The forcefield cracked under the relentless barrage, but MJ gritted her teeth and poured more energy into it, sealing the fractures as fast as they ford.
"We should have stayed inside," the warden muttered, his voice laced with both fear and frustration. "This is what I get for trusting these so-called heroes. I should have left this to the professionals."
MJ shot him a sharp glare, even as she maintained the forcefield.
"Don’t be so hard on her! Can’t you see she’s doing everything she can to protect us?" one of the guards snapped, stepping up in MJ’s defense. He was the sa one Spider-Man had saved earlier, and he clearly felt indebted to them. "They’ll run out of bullets eventually. When they do, that’ll be our chance."
MJ sent the guard a grateful smile before turning her glare back on the warden.
"For your information, you ungrateful swine, I do have a plan. And it starts... now!" she declared.
The warden shot her an indignant look, but the next mont left him speechless.
Above them, the vents burst open.
A swarm of spiders poured out, crawling through at rapid speed. The warden and guards barely had ti to register the horror before screams echoed from the cells. Officers trapped inside yelled in terror as spiders flooded in from the vents, the sinks, even the toilets.
The guards inside the cells scrambled onto their beds, their faces twisted in pure disgust.
anwhile, the prisoners panicked. Screams filled the air as they fired their weapons wildly, trying to fend off the relentless swarm. But the spiders didn’t just crawl past the tal bars—they climbed over them, swarming toward the inmates and encasing them in writhing masses, biting as they went.
"FOR THE QUEEN!"
"HOW DARE THEY AIM THEIR WEAPONS AT OUR QUEEN?!"
"U-UUUNFORGIVABLEEEEE!!"
"DON’T WORRY, YOUR MAJESTY! LEAVE IT TO YOUR STRONGEST SOLDIER!"
MJ let out a soft "Awww" and placed a hand on her cheek and heart, her lips forming a pout.
She turned toward the warden and guards, whose faces were pale with disgust and horror.
"Did you hear them?" she asked sweetly. "They’re so precious..."
All the guards heard was the squealing of spiders, the desperate gunfire, and the agonized screams of inmates being suffocated under waves of tiny bodies.
The guard who had defended her earlier swallowed hard. "C-Can you actually understand them?"
MJ, still with a touched expression, nodded. "Of course. They’re just celebrating their victories and chanting ’Queen’ over and over again."
The warden and guards shivered. This wasn’t just a hero using so tricks—MJ was commanding an army.
MJ clapped her hands together, her voice turning playful. "Now, my little precious babies, I have additional orders for you guys~"
Every spider in the swarm imdiately turned its attention toward her, their movents pausing in eerie unison.
The guards and warden felt their blood run cold.
"Unlock the cages and free the guards inside, They should be wearing the sa uniforms as the ones behind ." MJ commanded, winking and blowing the spiders a kiss. " And Thanks for the support, everyone! I’m deeply moved by your dedication~"
"THE QUEEN HAS SPOKEN!!"
"MARCH FORWARD TO CARRY OUT HER ORDERS!"
"WE MUST NOT DISAPPOINT OUR QUEEN!"
So of the spiders remained behind, keeping the inmates pinned down, while the rest surged toward the locked cells. They climbed the tal bars in rapid waves, their tiny legs clicking as they moved with unsettling efficiency.
The warden and guards could do nothing but watch in stunned silence.
MJ, however, simply smiled.
The spiders crawled inside the keyhole of the jail cells, their tiny bodies slipping through with eerie precision. A few seconds later, the heavy tal doors creaked and swung open, revealing the imprisoned guards inside.
MJ dropped her forcefield and turned to the guards behind her. "Co on, follow . I’ll guide you all outside. Captain George Stacy is waiting for you."
The guards hesitated for a brief mont, still rattled by everything they had just witnessed, but seeing no other option, they quickly fell in line behind her.
anwhile, as the spiders unlocked another cell, the man inside—Dr. Curt Connors—stood up and walked toward the open door. But instead of stepping out, he reached forward and gently closed it again.
Shaking his head, he muttered, "I’m sorry... but I need to serve my ti. It’s the only way to atone for my sins."
As the spiders scurried back down from the keyhole, Connors hesitated, then called after them.
"Hey! Wait! Can you guys tell Spider-Man I want to speak with him? Please?!"
He imdiately felt ridiculous, talking to spiders as if they could understand him. But deep down, he had a strange feeling—maybe they could.
With a sigh, he slumped back onto his bed, staring down at his hands resting on his lap.
"I just hope he gets my ssage..." he murmured, then leaned back against the thin mattress, one hand resting on his stomach, the other behind his head.
"I want to thank him."
His eyes closed, and for the first ti in a long while, he allowed himself to rest.
---
Outside...
The front doors of the jail burst open, and to the utter shock of the waiting officers, a massive black swarm of spiders spilled out first, scurrying across the ground like a living tide.
Then, erging from the building, ca Scarlet-Spider—MJ—leading the freed guards behind her.
She barely made it a few steps before her head tilted slightly, a look of mild confusion crossing her face. The spiders beneath her feet shared Connors’ ssage.
A small smile graced her lips. She nodded in understanding. "You’re all dismissed. You’ve done your duties wonderfully."
A chorus of excited cheers and chittering filled the air as the spiders began to disperse, scattering in all directions.
MJ closed her eyes for a mont, focusing.
And then, through their connection, she sent Spider-Man Dr. Connors’ ssage.
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