[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/iyJuAe0.png
[/img][/center][center][h2][b]The Mandela Effect: Part 6[/b][/h2][/center]
[center][b][url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4920751]Previously On Create-A-Hero[/url][/b][/center]
[center][b]Will Grant (with Spidey powers)[/b][/center]
[center][b]Pacific Point, CA[/b][/center]
	Will had been searching all over Pacific Point for whoever was behind whatever had happened to Aubrey, but he had found himself empty handed. Voyager was off world. Game Genie was behind bars. And if Aubrey’s condition still had not changed in the morning, he could also cross off Elixir, too. He was running out of leads to follow. The only idea that Will had left was to find Arachne’s teammates, the Immortals, and solicit help from them.

	However, Will had a more pressing issue. Ever since he had departed from the Apothecary, somebody had been tailing him. Although Will did not notice the tail until he had gone a couple blocks, he was sure that somebody was following him now. After every couple blocks, Will had doubled back around the block and, every time he did so, he could still sense someone was still following him.

	After Will had made another circle around the block, he landed on the side of a nearby building. Standing on the sidewalk below was a frustrated redhead, obviously because Will had slipped away from her tail. Will was amused by the woman’s retro wardrobe. She wore a pair of short shorts and a halter top that were reminiscent of 40’s and 50’s Americana pinups. She even had a pair of white sunglasses covering her eyes, even thought it was nighttime.

	“I’m quite flattered from the attention from a pretty redhead,” Will said after he landed on the lamppost next to the redhead and suspended from that lamppost with a web line. “But I’m already taken.”

	“Arachne? Oh, God! You’ve been affected, too!” the redhead gasped when she turned to see Will, dressed in his Araneus costume.

	“Jesus,” Will muttered as he released his grip on the web line and flipped himself so he could land upright on his feet. “For like the tenth time, I’m not Arachne! How can people not see it? I would think that the whole giant spider would have given it away.”

	“Well, I guess that rules you out as a gender-swapped version of Aubrey.”

	“Why are you so interested in Aubrey?” Will asked. However, it took “Wait, how do you know her identity?”

	The redhead then lifted up her white sunglasses, revealing her identity as Emily Prichert, Aubrey’s friend and fellow model for [i]Viera[/i].

	“Well, that does explain things. Does she know you know her identity?”

	“Pretty sure she does. Back when the Hounds were a thing, while I was trying to save her butt, we were miraculously pulled out of the building. She was wearing her civies before we were pulled out, but she was all spidery and covered with spandex. How do you guys wear that stuff?”

	“Well, it’s an acquired taste,” Will told Emily. “But the real question is does Aubrey know that you play dress-up and fight crime on your free time?”

	“I do [b]not[/b] play dress up!” Emily objected to Will’s statement, “Not all of us can be animal-themed superheroes.”

	“That [i]really[/i] burns.”

	“[i]Anyways[/i], yes, she definitely knows that too. I tried playing dumb with her when she called me by name, but she wasn’t having any of it.”

	“Let’s rewind for a quick second. You were worried that something had happened to Aubrey. What was that all about?”

	“Well,” Emily began to explain, “There’s been reports of people acting like an entirely different person and even spontaneously gaining metahuman powers. When I saw someone wearing a costume very similar to Arachne’s, I thought she was affected. But I guess I was wrong.”

	“Umm, you weren’t exactly wrong,” Will admitted.

	“Wait, did she really get turned into a guy?” Emily gasped in surprise, thinking her hunch was correct.

	“What? No! It’s not like that. She’s just—um, she has—gosh darn it! How can I explain this without sounding like a giant perv!” Will said. His hands were grasping at the side of his masked head.

	“Do you have a picture? Like the saying goes, it’s worth a thousand words,” Emily suggested.

	“Actually, now that you mention it,” Will answered, “I might have one on my phone.”

	Will then pulled out his phone and searched for one of the photos that he and Aubrey had taken while they were at miniature golf. Once he found one that adequately displayed Aubrey’s current condition, he handed the phone over to Emily.

	“Wow, I see what you mean. I didn’t believe she could get anymore…ridiculous.”

	“And do you have any idea what might have caused it?” Will asked.

	“No. I hoped you would have some answers.”

	“I’m almost out of leads. I was on my way to met up with Aubrey's teammates before you showed up. Maybe they have a better idea of what’s happening.”

	“I don’t have any other ideas. So, I agree that talking with the Immortals next is probably the next best plan. Lead the way and I’ll follow behind.”

	“It probably would be easier if we websling together,” Will suggested.

	Emily nodded before throwing her arms around Will’s shoulders. He then started to climb up the side of a neighboring building. Once he was on the roof, he shot out a web line and leapt off the rooftop.

	“Don’t worry. I won’t tell Aubrey about our little joy ride,” Emily whispered into his ear.

	“You’re not the one I’m worried about…”