Small Disclaimer: The Dreadnought and its Bio-Technological Nanites are mine. The Web-Shooters are copyright Marvel Entertainment. I'm not making buckets of cash with this, so don't sue me, okay! Must I write this damn thing every time I post something here?
4.14 Wrists - Web-Shooters
Incorporated into the wrists of the Dreadnought are a pair of unusual device which allow the host of the living armor to spin webs, much like a spider. When the Web-Shooters are activated they fire an adhesive artificial "webbing" through a threaded adjustable nozzle situated at the bottom of the armor's wrists. The ordinance the Web-Shooters require to function are small cartridges of 'web fluid', a special fluid that--upon contact with the air--dries into an adhesive fiber. Comparable to nylon with extraordinary adhesive properties, although its exact composition is unknown, the tensile strength of this "webbing" is equivalent to 120 lbs per square millimeter in cross-section and it can easily withstand temperatures of 10,000 ºF / 5,537 ºC. However, after about an hour, the webbing breaks down, loses strength and eventually evaporates.
The web cartridges employed by the Web-Shooters are created and stored under high pressure by a molecular storage compression microreplicator, a revolutionary device which uses the space between electrons and protons in a molecule as a storage medium! Thus, although each 'web fluid' cartridge contains only enough space to hold the fluid to create 1,000 yards of webbing, enough fluid to create 5,000 yards of webbing can be stored within each cartridge! The pressure within each web cartridge is enough to propel a single strand of webbing up to 200 yards, but thicker strands and more complex web patterns can't reach nearly as far. The 'web fluid' cartridges are stored within carousel-like mechanisms that house six cartridges each and automatically rotate new cartridges into position as the host of the Dreadnought empties them.
When the Web-Shooters are in use, steel nipples in the carousels pierce the seals of the current cartridges, and allow the fluid to travel through air-tight channels toward their nozzles. In order to enable the host of the Dreadnought to still curl his/her fingers into fists for melee fighting, the Web-Shooters are operated via concentration and force of will. Concentrating upon the weapons causes the valves in the nozzles to open wider, expelling the fluid out. Ceasing concentration causes the valves to close, cutting off the web-line or fluid. When all cartridges are emptied, new ones are automatically replicated. The Web-Shooters can be used as weapons or tools, and they have a variety of uses:
Web-Swing: The devices can be made to release thin cable like strands of webbing. The host of the Dreadnought can fire these strands to a great hight at a nearby tall building, then swing on this web-line. Doing this in rapid series will enable the host of the Dreadnought to quickly travel through well-developed urban areas. With practice, via this method of travel, speeds of 120 MPH can be reached.
Web-Bind/Snare: The strand's thickness, can be increased, providing additional support and effectively creating a rope which the host can use to bind opponents, even those who possess superhuman strength! Additionally, a large, thick web can be cast across a street or alley to snare rapidly-moving persons or vehicles.
Web-Spray/Paste: The Web-Shooters can be made to discharge many thin strands that form a fine spray of webbing. This can be used to (for example) cover an opponent's eyes, block the barrel of a handgun, or smother a small bomb. If concentration upon the weapons is prolonged, the web fluid squirts out in the form of an adhesive liquid which can be used to literally paste a foe against a wall!
Web-Form: Limited only by their imagination, hosts can quickly create small structures with the webbing provided by the Web-Shooters. Such structures might include parachutes, dummies, baseball bats, full-size operational gliders, trampolines, nets, waterproof domes for underwater breathing, bandages, slings, bulletproof shields, plugs, patches, and even hammocks!
For dealing with different kinds of situations or threats, the standard webbing ammunition may be modified at will to be non-conductive, flame-retardant, stronger though less stable, or even acidic. In addition to the standard 'web fluid' cartridges, additional cartridges may be replicated which contain fluids that create the following kinds of webbing:
Napalm Webbing: The standard web cartridge is replaced with one that creates a webbing composed of an organic form of Napalm. Once fired at a target, after a period of six seconds the Napalm Webbing will burst into flame and then continue burning for up to ten minutes, before vaporizing and leaving no trace. The temperature at which the Napalm Webbing burns is 1,200 °C (2,200 °F).
'Skunk Oil' Webbing: The standard web cartridge is replaced with one that creates a webbing mixed with a combination of concentrated skunk oil, fox musk, methane and sulfur fumes. Opponents hit with this non-lethal webbing will not only have to deal with being bound by it, they will also have to deal with its god-awful smell! To make matters worse, when the webbing breaks down and evaporates the smell won't go away; on the contrary, it will have become embedded into their clothing, skin, and pores, making them smell for several weeks! (Note: Once the 'Skunk Oil' Webbing breaks down, no matter where they go, any foes who were hit with it can be easily tracked with the Dreadnought's Electronic Nose, as the smell can be detected from a distance of 500ft.)
Acid Webbing: The standard web cartridge is replaced with one that creates a webbing that,after a period of ten seconds, quickly breaks down into an extremely potent acid which is capable of corroding on contact almost any substance with alarming speed.
'Hyper-Glue' Webbing: The standard web cartridge is replaced with one that creates a webbing that quickly breaks down into an incredibly thick syrup. After a period of three seconds, the broken down 'web syrup' hardens into a resin which is ten times stronger than steel! This is a non-lethal form of webbing, which can be used to completely immobilize opponents.
The Web-Shooters are a natural part of the Dreadnought, and thus, they need no regular maintenance or cleaning. Even if the host could somehow remove the devices from the living armor's wrists, any maintenance performed by him/her would be unnecessary, as the armor's Bio-Technological Nanites automatically clean the weapon's nozzles and service its firing mechanisms after every use of the devices. If the Web-Shooters somehow do become damaged, there is a small danger that the glass cartridges employed by the devices may shatter, causing all-manner of problems!
In order to address this issue the Dreadnought will activate its Temporal Stasis Field Generator and channel the energies of the device at the Web-Shooters in order to hold them (and any unused cartridges within them) in stasis until they are regenerated. At that point, the Bio-Technological Nanites will make sure the weapons are clean; they will break down and recycle damaged cartridges into energy and also break down and nullify spilled fluids from said cartridges. Once the weapons are regenerated, new fresh 'web fluid' cartridges will be replicated. When the Web-Shooters are not in use, unfired cartridges within them are not recycled; on the contrary, they remain within the devices, meaning that the Web-Shooters are always available for use at any time.