'A hero? I thought they only existed in fairy tales.' The Spider glanced around the room. No one dared to meet her eyes, and even if they had dared to raise their eyes above the ground, they would have had a hard time making out her face. 

'They– they were, bu–but it seems one has come to town.'

The man wrung his hands and his eyes looked everywhere but at the Spider. Why did it have to be him who delivered the message? Why couldn't it have been anyone else? Anyone but him. Everyone else in the room counted their blessings that it was not one of them who had had to bring her the news. They had drawn straws before coming here, and they hadn't been the one to draw the short straw. 

The Spider turned around so her back faed the man. She stared out the window overlooking the strange mix of odd architecture and modern skyscrapers cramped together in too little space. She stood perfectly still, the cogs turning in her head. Her web stretched far beyond this city, and she had a feeling it would be necessary to search outside her normal domain to gather information on this new hero. 

The longer she stood there, the more the man behind her started to fidget. Shifting his weight from one foot to the other. 

Finally, the Spider turned around. 

'I want to know about every hero who sets foot in this city. I want to know who they are, what their powers are, where they sleep at night, where they work. Everything.' 

The Spider stopped, a smirk gracing her features as her eyes met those of the man before her. Truth be told, he was merely one of many wheels in a well oiled machine. But a useful wheel no doubt. 

'I want to know everything,' the Spider repeated. 'Pass the word on, will ya?' 

The Spider let her gaze wander over every single person in the room. The man gave a timid confirmation before scurrying out the door as did everyone else. A relieved sigh escaped the man's lips as he pulled out his shirt. It was glued to his back and dripping with sweat.

Well out on the street, he chanced a glance behind him. The building he just stepped out of, looked nothing more than an office building. If nothing else the people swarming the street confirmed this. No more than a heartbeat later the man disappeared into the crowd as did the rest of the Spider's informants – they had a job to do. 

Soon the word would travel from ear to ear and when the night came around everyone would be aware of the Spider's request. 

Back up the stairs the Spider reached around her head, releasing an invisible clasp at the back of her head. The mask covering half her face came flowing down, looking no more than a scarf.

The scale mails framing her eyes were swept up under a pink hat that materialized from an unseen pocket. Soon a pair of leather gloves replaced it.

'Heroes,' she whispered as she fastened several colourful badges on her jacket. 'There is no use for heroes here.'

With those words the Spider filtered out into the street, and though she attracted more than a few raised eyebrows none would have named her as a villain.

Weaving in and out between people wearing over expensive suits, her mind was already conjuring up plans within plans. In fact, the first had already been set in motion. She would make sure her organization would evolve and adapt. She always did.