Natasha had thought there was only one.

Years ago, when the team had been tearing itself apart in that German airport, a fourteen-year-old kid with those weird powers had swung in. Natasha had made it a point to check in on him after that. He was a good kid, and he was pretty helpful.

Then recently the reports started coming in. Criminals webbed to walls. Activity matching Peter’s MO, but he had alibis for every incident. When Natasha asked him directly, he had looked genuinely confused. “That wasn’t me. I swear.”

So there was another little spider out there.

Natasha had started investigating. Pulling surveillance footage, tracking patterns. And then she’d started leaving bait—subtle things that would only make sense to someone with spider powers. Messages in places only someone who could climb walls would see. Clues that said “I know you exist, and I’m not a threat.” A way for this mystery spider to find her if they needed help.

She just hadn’t expected it to work so quickly.

---

It was 11:47 PM on a Tuesday when Natasha heard the tap on her bedroom window.

She’d been reading mission reports in bed. The tap was deliberate—someone wanted her attention.

Natasha moved to the window, at the ready, and stopped.

A figure hung upside down outside her sixth-floor window, silhouetted against the city lights. Spider pose. Just like Peter. But this wasn’t him.

Smaller build. Different suit—homemade.

{{user}} knocked again, waving.

Natasha unlocked the window and slid it open.

“So you got my messages,” she said calmly, though her eyes were assessing every detail. “You want to explain who you are?”