FIREWEAVER | A Spiderverse Fanfic

Chapter Twenty-Four

A/N: QUICK NOTE! I have a TikTok and Tumblr account where I feature artwork for the story if you wanna check it out! My user is EdenSungilda on both platforms! The above photo is part of a TikTok I just posted the other day that I swear won't break your hearts or anything 🤭

Okay, onto the story!

To say Esmerelda was an overachiever would be an understatement. Even during the months after Gavin died (or, disappeared, she'd prefer to say), rather than submerge herself in the grief, she used it to channel herself into work. Diving headfirst, pouring herself into her dance- numbing herself with every activity and going through the motions of her ambition.

She could have been a star had she just put that ambition towards her career instead of being spider-woman.

And now look where she was- sitting in the waiting room at the top of Babylon towers, waiting for the mysterious job Conchata promised her at Alchemax. It couldn't be that terrible, right? Then again, she still couldn't get over how unpromising Conchata sounded when she said she had something perfect for Esme.

What could be perfect, exactly? Perfect to Esme would be on the front page of Dance magazine or the New Yorker, hell even just one page on any section of the Daily Bugle that wasn't her alter ego would be nice.

Esme glanced at the conference room, the tinted windows give her a small view of Conchata standing at the end of a filled table of board members discussing their best course of action- briefing them on Spectre and the spider-man situation. None of them looked very happy.

It felt like the only thing holding her together was the slim wristband on her wrist, and who knows how long that would last. Lyla had scanned it to analyze it, but there was so many unknown variables to Esme. Halcón, roulette, and Ophelia had seemingly been hired by one person- a man. She could be wrong about that assessment- but her gut told her the voice she heard over the coms was definitely him.

But why? What did he want with her? And why bring her to another universe? How did he even know about her unless he was from her world? She wished she was smart enough to figure it out.

She huffed, leaning back in her chair and adjusting the glasses she was forced to wear.

"You need to blend in- and make yourself look less like someone who could be spider-woman. Put these on." Xina had said, handing her the frames.

"Why? I stopped using a prescription when I got bit." Esme had grumbled.

"That's exactly why you should wear them. Spider-Woman is public enemy number two next to spider-man, and they want to find someone who's in perfect health condition, same height, and same physique. So Esmerelda Costello has to be someone else."

Then she handed her shoes with padding on the inside to give her an extra few inches- handed her a hair tie, oversized clothes, and of course- made her wear the glasses.

She grumbled, hating the redness of her nose as the frame irritated her skin. She couldn't stand glasses before she got bit- and she definitely couldn't stand them now. Why could they have just given her contacts or something? Okay maybe it wouldn't be as obvious but still.

Conchata opened the door, allowing the tall men and women in fancy suits to exit, their gazes ice as they looked forward and seemed to ignore Esme's existence entirely. Esme was about to get up when Conchata raised a finger, shaking her head.

"I'll be with you, just one more moment." She closed the door.

Conchata leaned against her seat, rubbing her temples as Lyla flickered into a full sized hologram next to her.