Meanwhile on Earth 2018.65...
The stadium roared with excitement, cheers and jeers coming from the mouths of those who had paid hard-earned money for a show. The audience's mania was stoked by cups filled to the brim with alcohol and soda along with bags and trays of stadium snacks like hot dogs, cracker jacks, and pretzels.
They shouted down at the small square ring in the center, illuminated by blinding lights as a hulking man ran around it pumping his fists into the air. He was bald and made of pure muscle. He wore a black sleeveless shirt with a Halloween pumpkin crying green ooze from his eyes, and shorts with crushed steel beams on each side.
This man was the main attraction. The one they had all come to see fight against the fools who would dare try to stand in the ring for three minutes with him.
Most would lose, but once in a while he will be defeated. All those attending knew the score, for the spectacle was an act and they were all in on it.
Such was the way of professional wrestling.
The announcer crawled onto the ring and walked confidently to the center, his flaming silver-grey hair bringing all attention to him as the microphone descended from the speaker and video apparatus overhead. "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls!" He shouted, and the crowd hushed for just a bit to listen. "Tonight is the final night of our special event!" He pointed to the wrestler, who confidently flexed his arm muscles. "Can any of you stand against the National Quirk Wrestler Association's reigning champion for three minutes!? Do any of you have the will, the strength, or the pain tolerance to withstand his awesome might!?"
"I doubt it!" The wrestler shouted, grinning easily as he surveyed his audience. "All I see are a bunch of weaklings who wouldn't last three minutes with the Forbrush Man!"
On cue, a number of attendees booed. In his last match, he had blindsided the Forbrush Man in his match with Wundarr, stealing victory from both.
It was in his 'character' to be the bad guy, and he didn't mind. Whatever it took to keep the money rolling and the audience happy.
'Okay, okay! Settle down!" The announcer motioned around to the audience. "Now remember, whoever can stand in the ring for three minutes will receive a cash prize of a thousand dollars, paid in full by the NQWA! Anyone of any sex over the age of seventeen can enter with the only exceptions being those in a Hero school or currently a licensed Hero! Keep in mind, the NQWA will have everyone's safety in mind but they are not responsible for any injuries sustained if you signed up to face against the awesome might of..." The announcer motioned to the wrestler. "BONESAW!"
'Bonesaw' blinked in surprised and leaned down to whisper with the announcer. "What the hell're you sayin'? I'm the Crusher!"
The announcer covered the microphone and whispered back, "Take it up with your manager, I'm just saying what he told me to say."
"This is stupid! I even legally changed my first name to Crusher!"
"Not my problem, Hogan."
Bonesaw, formerly Crusher, Hogan groaned but maintained his cocksure grin as his fans chanted his newly-given name.
"BONESAW! BONESAW! BONESAW!"
They said this while holding home-made posters displaying the name Crusher Hogan.
"I'm gonna kill Reggie after this..."
"I'll take you on, Bonesaw!"
A woman jumped into the ring, vaulted over the ropes from below as if they were nothing. Hogan sized the girl up.
She was obviously young, but that's all he could get from her. She wore an obviously thrown-together 'costume' that consisted of a sleeveless blue sweatshirt bearing the logo of a spider, which, if his nose was right, was drawn on with shoe polish. She also wore a long-sleeved pink shirt, cream-colored sweatpants, and a pink ski-mask with her long blond hair spilling out from behind. Her eyes were an aqua blue, and they conveyed anxiousness that clashed with the confident grin on her face.
"Hey missy, you can't...!"
The girl reached into her pocket and produced a few sheets of paper. "I filled out the paperwork on my way here! I'm really sorry, but I was in a rush and..."
"Say no more." The announcer walked up to the girl and took the papers, flipping through them briefly before nodding to Hogan. "Everything is in order. Okay then! Let down the cage!"
The cage walls descended from overhead, sparks being let out to enhance the event. The crowd lapped it up and Hogan noticed the girl's smirk diminished just a bit. "This girl has never been in a fight before, has she?"
He almost felt bad for what he was about to do, but he had to maintain his image and she did sign the paperwork.
While this was happening, the announcer quickly left the arena while the two walked in a circle. "You're goin' down missy!" Hogan shouted, baring his teeth at her. "The Bonesaw is gonna snap you in two! You're gonna go home cryin' to your daddy for this little amputation!"
"Swear to god, Reggie. I am going to murder you. If you had told me about the name change earlier, I would've had more time to work on my material!"
The girl smiled at him, but it was a friendly one rather than one boasting of unearned confidence. "Well then, I'm going to have to cut this appointment short to get a second opinion on that diagnosis."
"Huh?"
"AND BEGIN!"
The large digital clock overhead started counting down, and Hogan rushed towards the girl to grapple her. He was big and fast, far faster than most people would think since they had this stupid idea muscle-bound dudes were slow. That usually earned him the five seconds needed to put an end to the match.
It didn't happen this time.
Instead, she leaped up and went over him. Hogan could even feel her hands touch his back as he passed through the area she was in just a second ago. Hogan turned around to see the girl landing. She smiled with closed eyes and give him a small wave.
"GET HER, BONESAW!" His fans shouted, and Hogan did his best.
But every attempt to grab her was avoided with a jump or moving her body in angles that he would attribute to a professional wrestler or acrobat.
"But those eyes say something different."
The crowd was screaming at him, telling him to stop messing around and finish off the nameless girl.
Well, he might as well do just that.
He thrust his hands out, emitting green energy that halted the girl in place. Slowly, she began curling into a ball while groaning in pain, trying to use her hands to push out against the force crushing her into the ball
"OH! BONESAW'S SIGNATURE MOVE: THE GOBLIN PRESS!" Someone from the audience screamed, and they cheered in delight while others booed at the use of his 'overpowered' Quirk. In truth, the Quirk wasn't that powerful. The more Hogan used it the more fatigued he got. Also, his ability to produce the fields relied on how many vegetables he ate that day.
Unfortunately, Hogan decided to indulge more on a juicy T-bone steak with french fries and a very small side of broccoli that night.
Rather than continuing her struggle, the girl aimed her right hand at Hogan and pressed down on something in her palm with her middle and index finger. "What the..?" It hit his foot and the girl tugged. Before Hogan knew it, he fell on the ground right on his back. Hogan groaned and the bubble around the girl burst. Everyone in the stands gasped.
"Sorry about this!"
"About whaAAAAT!?" Hogan screamed as the girl reached under him with her left hand and picked him up like a basketball. She jumped up fifteen feet onto the cage wall, the bottoms of her feet and the tips of her right hand touching the bars, but they did not fall.
They just hung there like a sticky toy won at an arcade.
Hogan screamed and covered his eyes. "Put me down! You win! You win!"
Hogan was scared of heights, but he would be damned if he admitted that to either this girl or his fans in the audience.
"Alright. Just cover your eyes and I promise we'll be down soon." The girl's voice was kind and reassuring, which Hogan found amazing.
Why was a girl like this trying to fight for money?
Slowly, likely more for Hogan's benefit than her own, the girl slid down the bars and placed Hogan on the ground. Everyone in the audience cheered to a volume almost deafening, somehow drowning out the sound of the cage walls being brought backup. "Those are for her..."
And why not? She put on a hell of a show, lifting him up like it was nothing and climbing up the bars. That, the mask, and the fact she made him give up in under three minutes was enough to make her the real underdog of the match.
Hogan grinned and grabbed her left hand. She looked at him with surprise and Hogan whispered, "Come on kid, live a little!" He lifted both their arms up and everyone cheered even louder than before. The shy smile on the mystery girl's face turned from a small one to a joyous grin.
"Ya saw it here folks! This little missy has just beaten the deadly Bonesaw in under three minutes!" The announcer behind them shouted. "And this mystery gal is... THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-WOMAN!"
"I wrote Spider-Girl!" The girl whispered to Hogan, and he could not help but roll his eyes at that.
"Yeah, they do this a lot. Get used to it." At least he actually liked the new name. Spider-Woman seemed to flow a bit better with this girl.
"SPIDER-WOMAN! SPIDER-WOMAN! SPIDER-WOMAN!" The chant continued for a bit before descending into the usual screams with some bits of comprehensible statements.
"You rocked Spider-Woman!"
"The way you lifted Crusher..."
"He's Bonesaw now!"
"Unreal how you climbed the bars!"
"Those moves were...!"
"What's with the mask!? I bet you're pretty cute without it!"
The last thing Hogan expected was for the girl to reach up to her mask and take it off.
He thought that the girl would keep up the mystery-woman thing, as it gave the whole act a hint of mystery to it much like the Luchador wrestlers in Mexico.
But no, apparently it was more than an act because Hogan could hardly believe what he was seeing.
The face underneath the mask was that of Melissa Shield, the Quirkless daughter of David Shield.
Hogan had met the two at a party when they visited Los Angeles for a science expo, and the fact David had a daughter was Quirkless spread amongst the party-goers like wildfire. Hogan himself didn't care one way or the other, as he didn't concern himself with scientists or Hero culture.
But knowing that fact made the reveal all the more shocking to Hogan.
"Melissa Shield...?" he whispered. The supposedly Quirkless girl gave him a bright smile with flushed cheeks.
"It's a long story," Melissa replied.
Hogan nodded dumbly. "I bet."
"That's it for today in Oscorp Stadium folks! Be sure to visit the other special events spread across I-Island…"
Tangled Web of Spider-Woman #9
Okay, everybody… let's do this one more time!
My name is Melissa Shield, and for seventeen years of my life, I had been Quirkless. This meant I had no powers at all. I couldn't leap tall buildings in a single bound, talk to my goldfish in his bowl, or even see into another dimension.
Considering I was the daughter of David Shield, the best friend of Japan's greatest Hero and the 'Symbol of Peace' All Might…. it stung.
I was treated differently than other kids, but while people were nice about it… I could still feel their pitying eyes.
But what stung the most was that I couldn't be a Hero like my honorary uncle, Toshinori Yagi.
But he came back to the States when I was a kid and told me something that changed my life.
"Thanks to Dave's Hero suits, no matter how difficult the opponent or how great the disaster… or how formidable the Villain… I can stand and move forward to save people!"
"In other words… your father is my Hero!"
Those words pulled me out of my funk and made me devote myself to developing Support items for Heroes. I threw myself into my studies to work hard and become as great of a scientist as my Papa.
All in the hope of one day helping my uncle.
Then… things got kinda crazy.
You see, I attended this special exhibit on I-Island all about harnessing radiation safely and without needing to wear protective gear on a whim. Considering that some people were born with Quirks caused them to emit some form of radiation and wear protective suits for most of their life, I was curious.
I never expected to get bitten by a spider that snuck into the machine and got a fatal dose of radiation.
Rather than doing the expected thing and dying, I was granted the proportionate strength, speed, and agility of a spider.
I even gained a precognitive ability that I call a 'Spider-Sense'!
To compliment these abilities, I developed wrist-mounted devices that help to convert the moisture in the air into a sticky synthetic polymer akin to spider silk. Kind of gross, but it went with the theme!
After testing my abilities against Crusher Hogan, I made my research on these abilities and my own DNA public. To say I was an anomaly is putting it lightly. I instantly became a media sensation, getting on all kinds of talk shows and podcasts.
Nothing like me existed before, so everyone was fascinated.
I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it. I was thrilled! Finally, I had the opportunity to be a Hero and everyone in the world would know it!
Uncle Might was happy for me, while Papa said I was going to make him prematurely grey.
A lot of crazy stuff has happened since.
I patented my formula and gear before mass producing and selling my web-shooters to law enforcement. Turns out a lot of cops and even the National Guard found it handy, so I got rich pretty quickly.
Crusher Hogan decided to teach me how to fight, and believe me those wrestling moves helped me out in a pinch!
I saved my Papa from a crazy arms dealer alongside Uncle Might's student, Izuku Midoriya…
And for the past year, while I've been attending NYU and working for my Hero license in the Late Hero Program…
I've been the one and only Spider-Woman!
Melissa Shield always started the day with her morning workout.
It kept her reflexes sharp and her body limber. It had to be ready for when she really needed to strain herself.
She pushed off the pommel horse with her fingertips. Her body sailed toward the uneven bars that hung fifteen feet above her. Grasping the lower bar, she spun and let go while curling herself onto a bar. She uncurled while she spun up, grasping the higher bar while spinning to gain more momentum. She let go at the apex of her spin, reaching for the rings that were suspended by blue beams of energy.
"Needless to say, I keep in check! She was all bad-bad, nevertheless (yeah)~!"
She grabbed the rings, halting her progress as she brought her legs as high as they could go, ending when her knees were practically in her face before letting them back down. She grinned as she performed a split, marveling at her flexibility once again.
"Callin' it quits now, baby, I'm a wreck (wreck)! Crash at my place, baby, you're a wreck (wreck)~!"
She pushed herself off the rings and twirled in the air to several big rings curved into an arc that ended in a mat marked with a red X at the center.
This exercise would require precision and finesse, which she had gotten in spades ever since she had gained these powers.
"Needless to say, I'm keeping her in check! She was all bad-bad, nevertheless~!"
She dove feet-first through the first ring, bringing her legs up as her upper body passed through it.
"Callin' it quits now, baby, I'm a wreck! Crash at my place, baby, you're a wreck~!"
She curled into a ball, passing through the second ring which sloped down. When she passed it, she uncurled herself but kept her upper-body close to the chest while descending through the third ring that sloped almost straight down to the mat.
"Thinkin' in a bad way, losin' your grip! Screamin' at my face, baby, don't trip~!"
Melissa's feet hit the mat, her body landing in the crouched position she had hoped for. She only took a millisecond to look up and jumped through the ring curving up.
"Someone took a big L, don't know how that felt~!"
She twisted her body to go through a ring that curved to the right and tilted towards the ceiling. Once more than half of her body was through the ring, she pressed her middle and index finger onto the pad in her palm. The webs shot from the small black nozzles atop the silver bands on her wrists.
She grimaced as she felt the tip of her foot touch the edge of the ring. "Still not perfect."
"Lookin' at you sideways, party on tilt~!"
Melissa pulled herself to the matted wall, twisting her head to get her hair out of her face. She looked back down at the exercise ring and the digitized scoreboard at the top. Getting a ninety out of a hundred on that certainly wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. Still, it was an improvement over the eighty she started with.
She looked out of the penthouse I-Island's New York office was situated in. It was amazing how her Papa had managed to pull the strings so she could run it practically by herself. Oh sure, some researchers came and worked with her, but the place was practically her own personal lab and apartment.
It had the perfect view of New York City, the sun rising while its rays gleamed off of the windows of skyscrapers. She could see helicopters and even some planes in the distance, with little specs zipping in between the shining beacons of the Big Apple.
Heroes, zipping through the urban jungle to make things just a bit safer for all.
Of whose ranks she was a part off, even if it's on a probationary basis.
The favorite part of her song then came up and Melissa decided to sing along. "Ooh-ooh~! Some things you just can't refuse~!" Melissa closed her eyes and let go of the wall, clenching her fist as her adrenaline and exhilaration was funneled into her singing. "She wanna ride me like a cruise~! And I'm no…~!"
"Mornin' boss!"
Melissa squeaked as she turned to see the hulking form at the front door, smirking at her knowingly. His white button-up shirt and black slacks were pulled tight against his skin. His hair was dark blue, as was the goatee he wore on his chin. Protruding from his forehead was an ivory horn, adding a few inches to his impressive height. It gleamed in the light just like his "Lab Security" badge did.
"That was the hit single 'Sunflower' from NateWantsToBattle! Classical Crunch will be back on the air after a few commercials from our sponsors!"
"Aleksei!" Melissa jumped to the floor, self-consciously looking over herself. She was not exactly in the attire a 'boss' should have. A pair of orange exercise shorts and an old pink t-shirt that fit tightly and showed off the outlines of her six-pack and muscles didn't exactly scream "professional". She didn't even have shoes on. "W-When did you come in?"
Aleksei Sytsevich was the New York office's best (and only) security guard. There were enough security devices in this office to defend a small fortress, but it always paid to have someone around in case there was a problem the system couldn't solve.
Plus, there was something about a seven-foot musclebound man with a very sharp-looking horn that warded off would-be saboteurs.
"Five minutes ago." Aleksei chuckled at the mortified look she gave him. "Hey, you looked like you were havin' a good time and I didn't wanna bust up your rhythm."
"Still wished you would've said something…" she grumbled as she glanced to the suit displays. "I also wished I had set a reminder so I could put something on."
Lining the wall next to the door to her room and the patio were the various Hero suits she had developed for herself. She had one for every extreme situation. A black and yellow suit for fires whose web-shooters spewed a fire retardant webs, an aqua blue and black suit with a rebreather mask for deep-diving missions, and an experimental high-altitude suit with a white and blue color-scheme with under-arm 'webbing' that was actually highly sensitive technology which would allow her to fly short distances.
Technology that wasn't really hers… Technology whose patents and blueprints she bought off of that slimeball Gregory Bestman.
A flying device that the real inventor, Adrian Toomes, tried to kill her just for having.
"A thief! That's all you are Melissa Shield! A damn thief who wants to flaunt my life's work to prop up your ego!"
"You okay, boss?" Aleksei's voice took Melissa out of her thoughts and she noticed he was now holding an open box of doughnuts. "Got them from down the street at Rodriguez Bakery."
She gave him a weak smile. "Thanks, Aleksei." She took two doughnuts, one chocolate glazed and the other glazed in a strawberry frosting. Her stomach rumbled as she stuffed the chocolate doughnut into her mouth.
One of the perks of having an enhanced metabolism was being able to eat things other girls could only drool at without gaining five pounds.
"Thinkin' about that Vulture guy?" Aleksei asked while she swallowed half her breakfast. "You get all mopey whenever he pops up in your head."
Melissa sighed. "Hard not to." She glanced at her High Altitude suit. "I bought the technology off of Bestman without even looking into how he got it, or why he was so desperate to get it off his hands. If I had just looked…"
"The old fart tried to kill you." Aleksei crossed his arms. "He didn't even stop to try and hash it out with ya. Cheated or not, he shouldn't have tried to take it out on you."
"That doesn't make it right." Attempted murder aside, Adrian Toomes had every right to be upset. She couldn't imagine not having the rights to her own work, to see someone else raking in the profits or using it without her consent. "I still wouldn't have gone as far as he did."
When she perfected the technology and began selling it, she would send Toomes a sizable chunk of the profits.
It was the least she could do.
A ring echoed through the room and Melissa turned to the TV. On the screen was the news, the newscaster giving a slightly muted report about how Crusher Hogan in his new stage name, 'The Green Goblin' keeping his title belt from the Amazing Bag Man. On the bottom-right corner was a small screen displaying a man with dark skin and black hair shaved closely to his head, complimenting the trimmed goatee on his face. He sported a pair of dark brown glasses that matched his hoodie he wore. "Yo, Melissa! Rhino!"
Aleksei growled. "Told the punk not to call me that."
"Buzz me in! These tools are heavy you know!"
"Crap!" Melissa turned to Aleksei and said, "Stall him while I get dressed!"
"On it!" With a salute, Aleksei turned to the TV and said, "Say the magic words Dillon!"
"Come on, man!"
Melissa ran into her room and almost tripped herself as she flung off her clothes and took a shower. The last thing she wanted was for anyone else to see her in workout clothes drenched with sweat. When she managed to wash herself off and dry her hair, she put on a dark grey shirt and shorts before slipping on her web-shooters.
With a few taps on her left web-shooter, a holographic screen appeared that displayed a picture of Melissa wearing various outfits with the tabs 'Casual', 'Hero', and 'Formal' on the top of the screen. She tapped the first tab and scanned the various outfits. Her eyes spotted the one she liked and she tapped the middle picture before blue light streamed out to cover her body.
When it disappeared she wore a white short-sleeved dress shirt with plaid cuffs, a large plaid bow at her neck, and a dark raspberry pink waistcoat. Accompanying these were pale gray Capri pants, under which were her pair of plaid pink socks as well as a pair of heeled brown boots.
The Leopardon System was something she had developed after experimenting with her item-compressing technology. It allowed her to change outfits on the fly from a huge selection, reducing the space in her closet.
It saved her time changing between her civilian clothes and Hero costumes.
Giving herself an approving nod, Melissa ran out of her room just as Aleksei brought in the lab technician, Max Dillon, who glared at Aleksei.
"Finally!" Max groaned as he placed his toolbox on the lab table. "Thought I'd never get in! Did you know that guy just kept me waiting outside because he wanted me to go, 'Please let me in, Mister Aleksei Sytsevich, greatest security guard in all of Manhattan'?"
"Serves ya right for never callin' me by name." Aleksei huffed.
Max shot him a glare. "Then you can explain to the boss why her new power system isn't being set up today.'
Melissa giggled at the exchange. She hired Max Dillon a couple weeks ago to help with the upkeep of the lab. With her being away a lot of the time on classes or her Hero Internship, she needed someone to mind and maintain the equipment. Luckily, Max needed the extra cash and they got along swimmingly.
It was surprising that Max was a technician, considering he had the face and build of a movie star. The only thing keeping him from looking like an A-lister was the slight gap between his front teeth.
"Sorry for keeping you waiting, Max." Melissa clapped her hands together. "Anyways, you can help yourself to the coffee and doughnuts. The eels will come in an hour or two so we can begin setting up the…"
Melissa fished her vibrating phone from her pocket. On the screen was a reminder labeled 'Harry Tutoring 9:30 am Sonny's Bodega'.
"Crap! I forgot about that!" she groaned before looking at the two men. "S-Sorry guys, but I've gotta go."
'Huh? But don't we…?" Max began, but Melissa shook her head.
"I-I know, but I've really got to make this meeting!" she bit her lip. "You think you can start setting up? I promise to handle all the major calibrations and assembly when I get back!"
Max groaned before nodding. "Alright… you owe me overtime if you come back at night again."
"Thank you so much!"
"It's that Harry kid, isn't it?" Aleksei gave a knowing grin. "Man, you've got it bad boss."
Melissa's cheeks reddened. "I-It's not like that! Harry just needs a lot of help with Chemistry and…" She decided to shut her mouth before she gave her security guard any more ammunition. She ran out of the lab and shouted behind her, "I'll see you both later!"
When the door slammed behind Melissa and the two men couldn't hear her steps anymore, Aleksei said to Max, "She totally likes him."
Max rolled his eyes. "Can't you watch a soap opera like a normal person instead of obsessing over her love life?"
"Why would I do that? Teenagers, especially teenage Heroes, give me a soap opera without the cable bill!"
Melissa flung the door open, the bell above it ringing to announce her revival.
"I can't believe I'm twenty minutes late!" Melissa groaned as she began walking through to the counter where the cashier wearing a reversed Mets baseball cap was reading a comic. "Hola, Sonny!" She gave the clerk a grin as she leaned on the counter.
"Hola, Melissa!" Sonny put down his comic and gave her a grin. "¿Cómo estás?"
"Buen, buen…" Melissa drummed her fingers before nervously asking. "¿Harry aqui todavia?"
"¿El Fanfarrón?" Sonny seemed to take notice of her expression and pointed to the open door to the back of the bodega. "Está arreglando su cabello en el baño."
"Gracias." Melissa pointed at the coffee machine in the back. "Dos cafe con leches, por favor."
"¿Leche caliente?"
"Si." Sonny gave her a nod and got to work on the coffee as she walked to the open bathroom to see her 'student' grooming himself.
Harry Osborn was someone who stood even taller than Melissa herself. Somehow the richest teen in New York managed to make his decades-outdated rocker look work. His leather jacket shone like the seat of a luxury sedan in the bathroom light. Two silver zippers ran down the sleeves and on either side of his chest. The collar was propped up, a silver button on each end. Underneath the jacket was a dark purple t-shirt tucked into a pair of skinny dark jeans. A dark green belt hung loosely around his waist, matching the dark green alligator shoes he wore on his feet.
Harry was combing back his spiky, dark red hair with a silver comb with a confident smirk on his face. When he was done, he grinned at the mirror and admired himself until a small tuft of hair at his peak moved out of place and hung in the middle of his forehead. Clicking his tongue, Harry messed up his hair with his hands and began combing it again.
Melissa giggled like a schoolgirl at the sight. Harry was proud of his hair, but he always seemed to be in an uphill battle with it.
Harry stopped his combing just as he turned to look at Melissa. "Melissa! You finally decided to show!"
"Sorry, Harry!" Melissa gave a nervous laugh as Harry left the bathroom. "I got held up at my place with a new project I'm working on."
"Oh, really?" He placed his comb in his right jacket pocket. "Anything cool?"
"Trying to make my lab go completely green. It's experimental but very promising." Melissa bit her lip. "I… you won't be late for anything if we just go with the regular time right?"
A sour look passed through Harry's face before he waved it off. "Nah. MJ, Robbie, and Liz set up practice for tonight. We've got plenty of time."
"He's lying…" That made Melissa feel guiltier about being late, but it'd be best if she didn't push it. "Okay, how about we get started?"
"Sounds good to me!"
They got their coffee and sat at one of the two tables that comprised the bodega's 'cafe area'. Melissa had started tutoring Harry near the beginning of the school year for credit. Harry needed a lot of help with chemistry, something he described as 'not his speed'. However, Melissa noted that he wasn't necessarily bad at it. He could easily pick up the lingo and make connections. It's just that he wasn't interested in truly learning it.
He once told her that he only took the course at his dad's insistence. "I guess it's just because he wants Harry to take some interest in the family business."
The only thing that Harry seemed to be enthusiastic about was music. He was the guitarist of a rock band called 'The Hobgoblins' that had only one album so far. Harry promised they were going to be making it big sooner or later.
"At least he has the looks for it." Harry was in great shape and had a very handsome face. Girls flocked to him whenever he flashed his brilliant smile. Melissa herself couldn't help but gaze at him whenever he wasn't looking.
Not that she was into him or anything.
Still, Harry's flirtatiousness got him into hot water. Apparently, he and Mary Jane Watson, the lead singer of the band, used to date. Their relationship fell apart when she caught him flirting with Liz Allen, The Hobgoblins' drummer. The band was still together despite all the drama, but he was on thin ice with two-thirds of his bandmates.
"I'll congratulate whoever can knock some sense into him." Melissa sighed as she helped Harry out with his homework, highlighting areas of the material he should take particular note of for the next exam.
She liked hanging out with Harry. He knew how to tell a joke and was understanding of her career as an aspiring Hero. They swap stories of life-or-death Hero missions and practice sessions or concerts for hours.
Now that she thought about it, she could understand why Aleksei thought she had a thing for Harry.
"Man, I hate Doc Ock's class." Harry groaned as he stretched in his seat. "Remind me why I have to take it, again?"
"Because it's too late to drop out without getting a W?"
"Oh yeah…"
The doorbell rang again. Both turned to see a man who looked like an older version of Harry. But he was… more refined. He wore a buttoned-up black suit, jacket and pants with gold cufflinks and a deep green tie. His dark red hair was neatly combed to the side, and his brown eyes surveyed his surroundings with a glint of disdain.
"D-Dad?" Harry sputtered. "What are you doing here?"
Norman glowered at his son. "Well, you missed the board meeting you were supposed to sit in so I decided to go looking for you. I called your… friend… Watson from that hobby of yours and she told me you were getting tutored here."
Harry scowled and looked to the side. "Look, I forgot okay? And it's not like I can vote on stuff like that so…"
"It's important for you to get a taste of what a real job entails."
Melissa bit her lip. This was incredibly awkward, especially since she did know Harry's father.
Norman Osborn was the CEO and founder of Oscorp, a weapons, chemical engineering, and medical research company. It had its hands in every conceivable field of science, including Hero Support. The Osborns were so rich that they helped to fund I-Island's construction and practically owned half of everything there.
She met Norman several times at parties on I-Island, which was also how she met Harry before they saw each other again at NYU. Her father never liked Osborn, but he never explained why.
But it wasn't as if she could sit back and let an argument happen between father and son in front of her.
"Mr. Osborn!" Melissa stood up, smiling sheepishly as Norman turned his attention to her. "Hi! Um… it's been a while." Melissa held out her hand. "It's great to see you again. I don't know if you remember me, but…"
"Melissa Shield!" Norman's attitude brightened the instant he shook Melissa's hand. "I heard you were tutoring my son from Watson. It's certainly a pleasure to see you again after all these years. I've heard a lot about your rise in the world." He grinned. "An inventor and a Hero! That's certainly a winning combination."
Her cheeks reddened from embarrassment. "W-Well… thank you, Mr. Osborn…"
"You can call me Norman, Melissa." Norman let go of her hand and put his hands on his hips. "Have to say, your web-shooters were certainly a shock to Oscorp. Compact and effective, not to mention cheap to manufacture…"
While praise came to her inventions on a regular basis, it was something else to have the CEO of a major company like Oscorp gush over them. "It was nothing, Mr… uh, Norman. I just wanted to make something that would compliment my powers, and thought that they would also be a big help to law enforcement." She scratched the back of her neck. "I-I also think you're really great. Your thesis on nanotechnology made me reevaluate the possibilities of the field."
"Is that so?" Norman seemed impressed by the declaration before turning to Harry. "Well, it's great that someone is taking an interest in my work in this day and age."
Harry looked away with a scowl on his face.
"Oh no!" She was just making things worse for Harry. "A-Anyway, I was just wondering if Oscorp is working on the project you refer to as 'Green' in your thesis? If so, it could be a real boon to Heroes who have below-average physical abilities if there aren't any addictive properties."
Norman's eyes lit up. "Well, right now it's a work in progress. But it won't be on the market for Heroes anytime soon. The military is footing the bill."
Melissa blinked. "O-Oh…"
"I can see you're not a fan of the idea." Norman gave a small sigh as he placed his hand on Melissa's shoulder. "I can already tell you're not the type to develop something that could hurt others. Unfortunately, sacrifices must be made to change the world. That's where your dad and I differed on things…"
She could see that. David Shield was never developed gear for anybody but Heroes. He told Melissa years ago he began his career with the idea that he would help people.
"Not everyone wants to dedicate their lives to helping Heroes, I guess." Some people just wanted to live their lives, doing right by themselves rather than the people around them.
"Thank you for telling me that, Norman." Melissa looked over to Harry. "I'm sorry, but I need to finish my session with Harry. So…"
"Say no more." Norman held up his hands and walked over to the door. "I'll leave you two alone. After all, my son needs all the help he can get…"
"Goodbye, Dad!" Harry shouted, his voice tinged with frustration.
"...And Melissa?" Melissa looked back at Norman, who was grinning at her. "If you ever decide to unlock your true potential, just know that the door is always open for you at Oscorp." With that, the CEO of Oscorp left the bodega.
Sonny, who had been standing behind the bodega wearing a pair of headphones, whistled while shaking his head. "Man, it's like you guys enjoy bringing your drama here. I should set up cameras and start my own reality show at this point." He returned to his comic, already engrossed with its pages once more.
"God." Harry groaned as he leaned against his chair, a scowl on his face. "I think the only thing stopping my dad from adopting you is the fact you still have a dad."
She sat back down on the chair looking like she'd been punched in the gut. "Harry, I'm so sorry. I just…"
"Forget it, Melissa. My dad has always been on my ass about not wanting to take up the 'family business'. Hell, I didn't even want to go to that stupid board meeting." Harry placed his hand on his head. "God, I don't even know why he can't just let me live the life I wanna live. I don't want to be a mini-Norman Osborn clone."
Melissa looked at Harry and felt the guilt rise up. "If I hadn't been late, Harry wouldn't have gotten in trouble with his dad." But even then, Harry wouldn't have been happy. Harry always seemed happy whenever he talked about music, when he could just be himself. "Harry." The Oscorp heir looked at him and she continued. "If you need someone to talk to… maybe we can…"
Her phone rang. Melissa closed her eyes in frustration and glanced at the screen. It was her Hero course supervisor. "Damn it." She looked back at Harry. "Can you hold on for a second?" She picked up the phone and said, "Hello?"
"MELISSA!" hollered her perpetually hyper boss. "The Demons are holding up a bank over on 38th Street! I can handle it myself, but I thought you should know! I mean, I need to throw you a bone or two and besides, some of my awesomeness will probably rub off on you if you're there to see it!" He laughed before hanging up. Melissa put away her phone with a sigh, hoping she hadn't gone deaf in that ear.
"Harry, I uh…" Melissa stood up and ran to the door. "I need to go! I'm really sorry!"
"Hero stuff, huh?" Harry flashed a beaming smile while pointing at her. "Hey, it's cool! We can totally schedule that date when you're free!"
She blushed as she exited the bodega, shouting over her shoulder, "It's not a date!" She didn't like how he was laughing just before the door shut completely and she ran to a nearby alleyway. She brought her left wrist close to her mouth and shouted, "LEOPARDON! Outfit One… Change!"
Melissa jumped up as her clothes dissolved in a brilliant flash of light, the particles pixelating and reshaping themselves into a new outfit. At a glance, it was a standard Hero 'onesie' that left little to the imagination. But the spandex-like material was actually temperature-controlled and could protect her against small firearms and knives. It covered her from head to toe, including her neck, ears, and face.
The material was colored dark blue, her favorite color, save for the bottoms of her feet and fingers, which were colored white. On her chest was a spider insignia whose fangs seemed to be reaching for her neck while its abdomen and spinnerets stretched toward her waist.
Four of its arms circled around her waist while two reached up to her shoulders. The bottommost two simply stretched down the sides of her legs before they met the bottoms of her feet. On her back was a similar insignia whose legs met with the front's, but its cephalothorax area bulged a bit and its metallic surface reflected in the light. The outline of the spider glowed a dull neon pink, another one of her favorite colors.
Well, she had been the one to suggest that addition to her father when he made it.
Melissa blinked as the lenses of her mask booted up, which to the outside world were two white teardrop 'eyes' that had a light pink tint to them. A miniature map at the appeared in the bottom-right corner of her field of vision while a miniature 2-D display of her suit was shown in the bottom-left. On the top-left was her web-fluid levels and on the top-right was a little reminder window telling her she was scheduled to swing by the lab in four hours to finish setting up the power system with Max.
"Send a message to Martin that I'm heading over to 38th Street right now!" Melissa launched a web and started swinging. It still amazed her how she could do all these things, sailing through the city with the wind whipping her still-free hair when she used to watch Heroes from the sidelines. "But first thing's first, I need to get the Spider-Mo-!"
Melissa's Spider-Sense went off and she twisted her body just as a whirring blur zipped past her head. She turned to see that she had barely avoided a drone whose camera was trained on her.
"Hey! I'm swinging here!" Melissa shook her fist at the tiny annoyance that plagued New York City just as much as rats, pigeons, and tourists. The camera lens responded by displaying an emojified hand flipping her the bird. Melissa groaned before continuing to swing.
When she became a certified Hero, she would see to it that those things were banned.
"Lord knows how many I hit before I learned to dodge on the fly…"
Gunfire echoed through the streets as civilians ran away from the intersection of 38th Street and 2nd Avenue. The NYPD cruisers barricading a crashed armored truck and two parked cars were blaring their sirens. Three men wearing matching suits stood atop each of the corralled vehicles. It'd be easy to mistake them for businessmen if it weren't for one key factor.
The masks they wore.
Each one bore a wooden mask bearing the face of a Chinese demon. They were painted in monochrome with murderous eyes. Their teeth were bared for all to see, the carver ensuring each mask wore a vicious snarl.
The Demon built like a scarecrow gazed out from the roof of the armored truck with a dao in hand. The other two were large and heavyset, holding onto yue axes that had holes portraying grinning demonic face on the sides.
The weapon all glowed with a mysterious black and white energy. It burned like fire, but there were times when it crackled like lightning. They were signs of where these men stood in their organization's hierarchy.
Below them, aiming their guns at the police, were five men dressed similarly save for their missing blazers. Two more were stationed at a manhole in the center of the cars, bringing down bags full of money to another in the sewer.
"This is the police!" An officer shouted with his megaphone. "Drop your weapons and place your hands behind your head! This is your final warning!"
The officers drew their guns from behind their cars, keeping their aim as steady as possible. But sweat was already dripping from their hands and brows.
How could it not?
They were facing the Inner Demons.
The Demons had appeared out of the blue a few years ago, targeting and killing rival gangs with frightening speed. They stole their weapons and cash before vanishing. For a long time, the police considered them just another new criminal syndicate with no real aspirations.
Then they upped the ante.
Within a few short months, the Demons made their presence known. They robbed banks, destroyed Oscorp facilities, got into shootouts with the police on a regular basis, and even began kidnapping civilians for ransom.
The Demons were becoming more than just another group of Villains. They were borderline terrorists who seemed to disappear without a trace once their mission was complete.
They left no survivors in the wake of their crimes.
"警察是可以消耗的!" The lead Demon shouted, pointing at the police with his crackling sword. "杀了他们!"
The Demons opened fire while the police hiding behind their cars and returned in kind. The three 'heavies' of the Demons kept an eye on the sky, waiting for the inevitable arrivals of Heroes.
"做好准备." The leader instructed to the other two. "这是对领导者的牺牲."
The other two nodded, knowing what was to come.
This was all for the sake of the glorious mission.
"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT!" Shouted a new voice that somehow drowned out the cacophony of gunfire. "I was looking for the head honcho and I guess I found him!"
A blur rocketed out from behind the police barricade and raced to the lead Demon. One of the larger Demons roared and swung his ax, sending an arc of destructive energy along the ground
A gold ribbon, no thicker than surgical tape, wrapped around his head while the blur soared over the blast. His feet landed on the bound Demon's head, knocking him onto the hood of the car before jumping on the armored truck.
"The small fry can be handled in a bit. Without the leader guiding them, they'll be taken down one by one!"
The Demon sized up his opposition. It was a boy, barely taller than five foot eight. And that was with two inches of gleaming gelled and spiked black hair. Several golden scarves that billowed in the wind wrapped around his head, clashing with the purple t-shirt he wore with a cartoon skull on the right shoulder.
His hands were covered in bands much like the scarves on his face and matching bands wound around his knees. One extending from his left hand was unfurled and still wrapped around the larger Demon. He wore purple cargo shorts with far more zippers than one would ever need. A pair of purple 'shinobi' sandals completed the fashion disaster.
The Hero smirked behind his 'mask'. "Feel honored, Demon scum! You're about to be taken down by Martin Li…"
The Demon rushed at the Hero, who leaned back to avoid the swipe. He aimed his right hand between the Villain leader's legs. The cloth wrapped around a street post and pulled him underneath the Demon.
The still extended cloth from his left arm tripped the man's right foot as Martin was pulled along. The Hero kicked off the post and released the bands. He tugged as two more bands wrapped around the flailing Demon's arms, guiding Martin's elbow into the center of the Villain's back.
"THE TOTALLY AWESOME WRAITH!"
The Demon fell to the asphalt below, letting out a sharp cry that was silenced by the sound of gunfire. Martin acted fast, ducking underneath the wide swing of an axe and jumping down on the fallen Demon, his right leg raised and his muscles tense. The Demon rolled away, narrowly avoiding being stomped on and scrambling to his feet. Two of the gun-wielding Demons turned their barrels on Martin.
"As if the weapons of cowards can take me down!" Another ribbon unwound from his arm and wrapped around a rifle and the hands of the Demon holding it, With a simple tug, the man and his weapon crashed into his companion. Before he could follow-up, Martin undid his bindings to sidestep a short burst of bullets fired in his direction.
A roar caused Martin to look up and see a heavyset Demon jumping from a car with his ax raised overhead. The gold ribbons that once covered his face hung loosely around his neck. He could see the fury in the Demon's glowing eyes.
"Well, at least you're man enough to try and kill me with your own two hands!" Martin jumped to the side to avoid the monochrome blast that headed to him when the Demon landed and finished his blow. "Now, if only you didn't have to rely…" Martin's ribbons wrapped around the Demon's waist, and Martin pulled with his feet outstretched. He landed right on the Demon's face, shattering the wooden mask in a hail of splinters and blood before the back of the criminal's head crashed through the window of the car behind him. "On the tool of a scummy coward!"
Martin sprung off the fallen Villain and turned back to the lead Demon. The Demon swung his sword in the air, forming the faint outline of an infinity symbol. The other Demons were turning to him. The police halted their fire now that a Hero was on the scene.
Martin smirked. "Come on! Where's the rest of your gang? This is barely even a warm-up for the greatest Hero in the world!"
"LOOK! UP THERE!" shouted a civilian who somehow didn't leave when the bullets started flying. Martin took a momentary glance up to see what the fuss was about.
It was a car in only the barest of senses. Its four wheels were attached to four metal 'arms' protected by blue metal armor that sprouted from what appeared to be the body of an expensive sports car. Two more arms came from the bottom of each side, moving ever so slightly from side to side. It gave the illusion that the vehicle was moving like a spider, if one were to ignore the wheels making contact with the ground and the light blue energy emitted from the bottom of the four other appendages.
It was also driving, or in this case crawling, along the side of a building in a way that defied gravity and other scientific laws.
The sports car body was colored dark blue, blending in with the black tinted windows of a car. On the hood was a glowing pink spider emblem.
Martin grinned. "Took ya long enough, Spider-Woman."
"Sorry, Wraith!" Came a voice from inside projected with speakers. "Let me make it up to you!"
The vehicle leapt off the building, landing into the center of the makeshift arena of wrecked cars. As it fell, the arms retracted and the vehicle looked like an ordinary sports car. Two small cannons extended from either side of the hood, instantly locking on the fleeing Demons. It fired five times, webbing a Demon to something with every volley.
Two Demons were stuck to the ground, their guns out of their reach after dropping them in their panic.
One was stuck to a lamppost, moaning in pain through his shattered mask as the webbing forced his body to hug the pole.
Another landed on the side of a police car, cursing in Chinese as officers ripped his rifle from his free hand.
The fifth gun-wielding Demon managed to avoid being restrained by the webbing and opened fire on the vehicle, shouting in Chinese as bullets scratched and bounced off the surface.
The windshield opened and a web shot out, nailing the Demon in the chest. Melissa pulled on the Demon while she jumped out of the car and brought her right arm back.
She angled it as the Demon came closer. She had to do this right to avoid breaking his neck.
The crook of Melissa's arm met the side of the Demon's head. The Clothesline did its trick, the Demon flopped painfully onto his and before he could even gasp in pain Melissa turned and webbed the Demon to the ground.
"Great job, for a beginner! But ya missed one!" Martin shouted. His right hand grabbed a ribbon from his left that he pulled taut above his head, stopping the lead Demon's sword from splitting his head in two.
Melissa's Spider-Sense went off just in time as she backflipped away from the swing of an ax. Once she landed, she sized up the heavyset Demon who was gripping his glowing weapon and cruelty walking over the body of his captured ally.
She needed to end this fast.
Melissa ran towards the Demon, who likely smirked behind his mask as he raised his ax. When he brought it down, another energy blast tore through the asphalt to meet her. Melissa jumped up and over the blast and the Demon at the last second. Twisting her body, Melissa launched two webs on either side of the Demon and pulled.
She shot down like a bullet, kicking the Demon in the back and making him fall onto the ground. Leaning down, Melissa wrapped her arms around the man's midsection and brought him up.
"It always feels weird when I do this!" She leaned back and let gravity and her limber spine to do the rest. Her hair pooled on the ground, but her head never touched the asphalt. That pleasure went to the Demon, whose head and shoulders hit the ground with a floor-cracking crash.
The German Suplex. One of the moves that Hogan had taught her and said she did like a pro.
Melissa pushed her feet off the ground, allowing her body to sail through the air while still gripping the Demon's body. At the apex of the arc, Melissa let go and landed on her feet while the criminal flopped like a dead fish. She webbed him to the pavement just in case.
It was amazing. Just a year ago, Melissa never thought she would be in a fight. Oh sure she took a couple self-defense courses. "You'd have to be an idiot to work in the Support Department and not expect a Villain to try and go after you."
But fighting alongside Heroes, learning wrestling moves and using them against Villains who fired at her with actual bullets…!
She was ripped from her thoughts by her Spider-Sense and the sound of guns cocking behind her, and Melissa's Spider-Sense went off once more. "The two from the manhole!" She should have covered the damn thing when she had the chance.
They were too close to do anything that would involve turning around or moving her four limbs.
Luckily, she had a few extra.
The Demons screamed when four rosy pink mechanical spider legs burst from her back in a blinding flash. The top two hit the bottoms of their hands, bringing the guns up and making them fire uselessly into the air. The bottom two hit the Demons in the chest, knocking them back and giving Melissa an opportunity to turn around and cocoon them.
When they fell to the ground, struggling against their webs, Martin landed a spin-kick to the lead Demon's head. The man crumpled to the ground, dropping his weapon. It flickered for a second before returning to looking like an ordinary but extremely sharp sword.
"And that's how it's done!" Martin declared, placing his hands on his hips and turning to Melissa. "Great job, but you have a lot to learn! The only reason you were able to handle the small fry so fast was because you had the element of surprise."
Melissa blinked. "But… isn't that a good thing?"
"Oh yeah, totally. But what'll happen when you don't have that big hunk of junk to soften them up even more?" Martin walked over to the vehicle and rapped it with his knuckles as the police moved to arrest the struggling Demons with their guns still drawn. "You gotta learn to handle yourself in a real fight without help from your toys, even if it's against small fry I softened up for you."
Before Melissa could answer, cheers erupted from behind the barricade. She turned to see the grateful faces of people who were held back by the police assigned to keep back civilians from the crime scene.
"That was amazing, Spider-Woman!"
"Oh my God! It's Wraith!"
"The Spider-Mobile is so goddamn cool!"
"He's so dreamy…"
"But way too damn loud!"
"I thought I was gonna die!"
"The Demons don't stand a chance with you two around!"
"You're my Hero!"
Melissa's heart swelled from their gratitude, from their happy smiling faces as they waved at her and took pictures.
This was it. This is what she admired Heroes for. What she admired Uncle Might for.
The ability to make people smile in the worst of times, to tell them that everything was going to be okay.
"If only you could see me right now. Uncle. Papa. Deku…"
"GYAHAHAHAHA!" Martin's laughter rose above the crowd's cheers as he paraded around the ring of civilians and passed out slips of paper. "No need to thank me folks, just doing my job! I mean, I would be a pretty lousy Hero if I showed up too late to put a stop to these creeps' crimes."
Melissa had to stifle a groan when she saw what he was passing out.
"He brought his own autographed headshots!?" It was a picture of Martin in full Hero costume, leaning on a table with his right hand on his chin and giving the camera a 'dreamy' look. Really, all it did was make Martin look needy.
Most people who got them either stared at the pictures in confusion or dropped them. Some girls, especially the younger teens, discreetly put them away in their purses or pockets.
"No accounting for bad taste, I guess."
"And remember, if you wanna really wanna show your support to me…" Melissa coughed. Martin rolled his eyes. "...And my sidekick, be sure to volunteer or donate to F.E.A.S.T! There's only so much us Heroes can do on patrol. Any help you provide will make you the Heroes of someone who needs it!"
Martin basked in the applause until something else crossed his mind. "Oh crap! I almost forgot!" He ran over to Melissa, eyes wide with panic. "Melissa, you gotta help me get to the F.E.A.S.T Center right away!"
"Huh?"
"Come on, it's an emergency! Life or death, do or die!" Martin caught himself and tried to lean on an invisible wall with his arms crossed. "I mean, a cool guy like me can only be fashionably late so many times before it becomes uncool, you know?"
Melissa bit her lip. She had two hours before she had to work with Max. She could give Martin a lift to the F.E.A.S.T Center and still have time.
"Besides, he is my boss." Martin was giving his headshot to a toddler, who instantly stuffed it in the corner in his mouth to the Hero's dismay. "Unfortunately…"
"Okay…" Melissa's shoulders sagged before he motioned Martin to follow her. "Come on, or else we'll hit traffic."
"Sweet!" She bit back a curse when Martin jumped into the driver's seat of the Spider-Mobile. It was her car goddamnit! "Come on, Melissa! Time's a-wastin! YAHOO!"
"Whatever's got him riled up better be worth it…"
"Happy birthday, dear Alex~!" People of varying age groups, gender, and cultural backgrounds sang as Martin Li and Melissa brought a massive Dominican cake onto a table in the dining area of the F.E.A.S.T center. At the head of the table was a nine-year-old girl wearing clothes that were obviously worn down and used. Next to her were her mother and brother, Mary and Freddie Freeman, in similar states of dishevelment.
The family had fallen on hard times and was recently evicted from its apartment last week, forcing them to stay at F.E.A.S.T until Mary could find work again. She smiled as they brought the cake down, the eight candles blazing and ready for the coming event. "Happy birthday to you!"
With that, the girl blew out the candles to the applause of everyone around the table. Melissa joined in as well, clapping and giving a high-five to the delighted birthday girl before helping Martin to cut the cake.
Despite her initial annoyance of being dragged away from her plan for the day, this little event made it worthwhile.
F.E.A.S.T., or Food, Emergency Aid, Shelter, and Training, was an organization Martin had started when he was just fourteen with the small fortune his parents had left him when they died. The organization had started with a few rented floors of a run-down building in Queens, the aides mostly comprised of civilian volunteers and any Heroes Martin could pester into helping him drum up support. Then, through various sound investments by family friends and some deals of his own, Martin was able to expand his fortune and rent out entire buildings for his organization
It turns out when one side thinks the other is or is representing a loudmouthed idiot, the 'idiot' can walk away with the better deal.
Just because one looks and acts like an idiot didn't mean they actually are one.
Martin's meteoric rise as a Hero was another boost to his business. He had gotten his license when he was just sixteen while Melissa was still Quirkless. As the Wraith, Martin was able to get more volunteers and have money flow into F.E.A.S.T through a constant stream of small donations from his growing fanbase.
Having a Hero save someone's life made people a bit more inclined to donate to charity when asked.
This got them better equipment, healthier food, and commodities that helped make those who needed to stay around feel a bit more comfortable.
The job training and drug rehab programs also made the organization a boon to those who needed it.
"Martin…" Melissa turned for a second to see a crying old woman wearing a worn green jacket and fingerless gloves shake Martin's hand. "Thank you so much… I was able to get the job…"
Martin beamed while returning the warm hug she gave him. "See? What'd I tell ya Maggie?! I told you that I would fight tooth and nail to open that door for you, and I did! The rest was up to you, and let me tell ya you earned it!"
Melissa smiled a bit at the scene. "You know, I prefer this side of you, Martin…"
She noticed a new presence by her handing out slices of cake. It was a woman her age with dark blue hair tied in a ponytail and dressed in a black business suit and, amusingly, a floral-patterned apron stained with flour and icing. Her silver eyes glittered in the light as she handed out pieces of cake with an equally brilliant smile on her face.
Asuga Shiki was Martin Li's personal secretary and, apparently, childhood friend. He hired her to help him with all the 'boring stuff' running an organization like F.E.A.S.T. and managing his sizable wealth would entail. She did it all effortlessly. Melissa could scarcely believe how a nice and professional girl like her could handle someone as bombastic and hyper as Martin Li.
"Because it takes someone like that to really make a difference."
Asuga had said those words to her when they first met. They helped to remind Melissa that despite his loud, egotistical, and annoying behavior… Martin Li was someone who wanted to go above and beyond what being a Hero meant.
"Had a little accident in the kitchen?" Melissa asked her, and Asuga just gave her a smile with her eyes closed. In that moment, Melissa could see the exhaustion that Asuga was hiding beneath the mask.
"Well… I never considered myself a cook, but I think I did pretty well."
"I'll say!" A man with a piece of cake said while holding it up. "Your stuff is amazin' sweetie! You should be on one of 'em cooking shows!"
Melissa looked at the cake and her stomach growled at her to take some. "No. Bad. Everyone else first…"
"Melissa!" She turned to Martin, who was waving at her. "Go to my office and wait for me. I wanna talk to you about some things."
"But…!"
"It's okay." Melissa looked back to Asuga who was shooing her off. "Go see what Martin wants with you. I'm not too tired to pass around a few more slices of cake."
Melissa bit her lip. She wanted to argue against it, but instead nodded and got up. She walked through the dining room and the main living area. Miniature beds, sleeping bags, and chairs created a miniature town in what used to be a basketball court that still had the baskets from when the building was a gym.
"...still lookin' for someone who's hiring…"
"It sucks goin' cold turkey, let me tell ya…"
"...wouldn't know what to do without Martin…"
"...Asuga helped me get an interview for a janitor job up in Washington Heights. Commute's gonna be a bitch but what can ya do?"
She passed by the TV to get to the stairway and ignored the politics on display.
"Earlier today, President Wilson Fisk downplayed the threat the criminal organization known as the Inner Demons has on New York City…."
Melissa climbed up the stairs, passing by others who were either returning from the bathroom or meeting with their sponsors. Her eyes caught on the door of Martin's office, the small sight which was just an autographed piece of paper, and went in.
Martin Li's office was surprisingly clean given his usual habits. Asuga was likely tidying up after Martin or chiding him until he did it himself. A silver laptop sat atop a proud oak desk in the center of the room. A stack of paperwork and an All Might action figure laid on either side of the computer.
A purple hoverboard was propped up against the wall on the right. The neon green light in the center indicated it was charging. A punching bag hung from the wall on the left and dumbbells were tucked underneath it. A cork board hung on the opposite wall. Pictures of the city and small notes, written and circled in red marker, were pinned to it with tacks.
Behind the desk was a small drawer that had only two things on top: a sheathed dao sword whose black scabbard gleamed underneath the LED office lights. Next to it was a framed picture of a man who looked like an older Martin hugging a black-haired Chinese woman, both smiling as they held a small baby sucking his thumb.
"His parents…" Melissa closed the door behind her and looked to the right to see a small glass smart table with a coffee maker on top. "I could use some of that." Coffee has been her best friend since middle school.
She walked over to the table and tapped on the glass, which displayed several different flavors of coffee. "One French Vanilla pod."
"Five cents please."
"Huh?"
"Five cents." The table sounded like a stuck-up waitress at one of I-Island's snootier eateries. "If you require cream, that will be an additional two cents. Each packet of sweetener will cost a cent each. I am sure you have the funds needed to complete this transaction."
"Aw, don't worry about that." Melissa turned to see Martin grinning as he stepped into his office. "Asuga set that up after she read some book. She thought it was funny. You don't actually need to pay for the coffee, but it's a great way to donate some money." Martin leaned down and tapped away at the glass.
"H-how dare you!" The artificial voice shouted. "This is an outrage! I'll sue!"
"Don't give me that, you hunk of junk!" Martin kicked the table repeatedly. "Give it up or I'm gonna sell you for scrap parts! Ya better believe it, tin can!"
It relented and brown gold poured into a ceramic cup that rested underneath the machine. "Thanks."
"No prob. When the robot apocalypse comes, you can count on me to put them in line." Surprisingly, he was silent for a few seconds. "Seriously, thanks for helping out. It means a lot to me."
"No problem." Melissa set the now empty cup down on the table. "I love helping people out. That's why I became a Hero in the first place."
Well, originally she just helped those who helped others. But now she could do that and bring happiness to others herself.
"I know. That's why I took you as my sidekick." Martin sighed as he looked at the picture of his parents. "Mom and Dad always believed there's just too much bad in the world. That's why they always helped others whenever they could. There needs to be a balance, and I can't do everything on my own no matter how awesome I am." He walked over and picked up the frame. "Besides, even if most of the guys outside eventually leave… they need this place. A home with a family and people who care…"
"And you're the one who gave them that home, Martin." Melissa gave him a reassuring smile. "I'm sure they would be proud of what you did."
F.E.A.S.T does lot of good every day. The fact that he went out of his way to build it spoke wonders of his altruism to the downtrodden. It was one of the things that Melissa actually admired about him.
Like her own father, Martin used whatever he earned to help those who needed it.
As annoying as it was, his drive to do whatever it took to back up his insanely egotistical boasts was pretty inspiring.
"Yeah, they probably are. This place… it really shows the best of me, doesn't it?" The small, gentle smile on his face darkened for a moment. He placed the picture down and moved to the board. "But before they can rest easy, I gotta take the Inner Demons down!"
"Aren't those the locations of raids the police and Heroes did on suspected Demon hideouts?"
'And where the Demons do most of their dirty work." Martin walked over to the board and glared at it hard. "They've been popping up more than usual, stealing guns and cash from stores, banks, and other gangs… Mr. Negative is up to something big. What is that son-of-a-bitch planning?"
The sheer venom in Martin's voice almost made him sound like a different person… but Melissa knew the history behind Martin's hatred for the elusive leader of the Inner Demons.
He and his parents immigrated to the United States in search of a better life. Martin had been diagnosed was a rare disease as a child. An experimental procedure funded and developed by Oscorp was his only chance at survival. The treatments were long, grueling, and expensive, but Martin's dad had brought a considerable fortune with him.
On the day of the final treatment, the Inner Demons made their first appearance, massacring everyone in the medical ward and research lab. Scientists, doctors, nurses, interns…
...and Martin's parents.
The self-proclaimed Mr. Negative had declared that the bloodshed was necessary to make a point to his hated enemy, Norman Osborn. Martin attacked him out of grief, but Mr. Negative knocked him to the side and taunted the young, sickly boy for his weakness.
"If you seek to avenge your parents… to fight for those whose blood runs on the floors of this accursed building… then grow strong. I shall be waiting, child…"
Martin only lived because Mr. Negative let him.
Any Demons that were captured in the past few years said nothing save for their master's name and how they were his tools for his crusade. Nobody knew anything about their leader besides Martin's description of a man colored like an inverted photo negative. His skin was pitch black, while his eyes, hair, and suit glowed a deathly pale white. His Quirk was a mystery and the only theory was that it was some sort of power storage Quirk, explaining the Demons' enhanced weaponry.
"And Martin made good on his promise." Martin trained and studied constantly whenever he wasn't on patrol or running F.E.A.S.T, striving to become the best Hero in not just the States, but the entire world. "Even his attitude makes sense. He was a sick kid when his parents died, so he wants to become someone who's anything but a sick or weak."
"We need to hit Mr. Negative where it hurts!" The board rattled when he slammed his hand against it. "We're gonna figure out what he's planning, stop it, and flush him out of hiding! I'm gonna show that evil bastard what a big man like me can really do now that he's not just some kid!"
Now that made Melissa worried. "I want to stop the Demons too, but…" She still had a life. She had responsibilities, and it wasn't like they could just drop everything to focus solely on the Demons. "We still need to do patrols you know." Noticing Martin's scowl, Melissa added, "I-I mean, it's great to hear you say that, but the Demons aren't the only Villains around."
Martin ruminated on her words for a moment before responding, "Please, as if I would let the small fry off the hook. We're still going to kick the stuffing out of weaklings that pray on the weak, but finding where Mr. Negative slunk off to will be our top priority!"
She breathed a sigh of relief. "At least he isn't completely obsessed over it." Still, the look in his eyes scared her. It was like a dark determination, as if his mind had been made up despite what he said.
Before she could comment on it, her phone vibrated. She fished it out and cursed. She had half an hour to get back to the lab and set up the eels. "Sorry, but I need to go."
That snapped Martin out of his funk. "Alright, but don't think you can slack off!" He grinned at her. "I can take on the Demons myself, but you need to take notes if you even hope to become as badass of a Hero as me!"
"Yeah, sure…" Melissa rolled her eyes, but the implication was clear.
When he called her next time, she better be ready to haul ass and take on the Demons by his side.
Melissa ran out of the office, saying short goodbyes to everyone she passed before pressing on her bracelet. The Spider-Mobile beeped and opened its windshield, allowing her to jump into the driver's seat and buckle up.
The faster she got back to the lab, the faster she and Max could finish.
Melissa's hands opened the drawers of her worktable, searching for her spare four-inch torque wrench. "Come on, it's gotta be here somewhere…"
The eels had arrived on schedule as did the chemicals she ordered for their water, meaning that all that was left was the assembly of the Electro System.
She had stumbled upon a thesis about enhancing the electric eel's bio-electricity through a combination of various chemicals and siphoning off of it to power homes. She saw its potential and created a working prototype with her lab as the first test site. While the building's solar panel windows gave her plenty of electricity for everyday usage, sometimes the experiments she performed consumed too much. The Electro System would act as the primary electricity source for her lab with the building's system providing the extra power when the need arose.
Sure, she would have to feed them and occasionally clean out the tank, but Melissa always found sea life fascinating, so it wouldn't be a chore to her.
Melissa's eyes drifted to the pictures on her desk. There was her as a kid riding on her father's shoulders. "It's so weird seeing Papa so young." Her heart ached despite knowing she could always call her father. After all, he was away on I-Island in the Pacific Ocean while she was on the east coast. "But that's what I get for wanting to get into a school with the best late start Hero Program."
Another picture was her holding her diploma from I-Island academy, tears in her eyes as David stood next to her. The next was her in a hospital gown trying to block the camera from taking a picture of her with All Might laughing in the background. "He was so shocked when I showed him my new powers, but happy too."
But that was Uncle Might for you. Always happy for others and encouraging them.
Even when things weren't going right for him.
The next photo was her in her Spider-Woman costume minus the mask, posting a photo with Izuku Midoriya and his friends after beating Wolfram and his men during their assault on I-Island. The arms dealer hadn't expected her to be visiting her father that day, nor how surprisingly experienced a bunch of first years from Japan's best Hero school were when it came to fighting Villains.
The battle was brutal and hard-fought, but they had won in the end and Melissa made friendships she knew would last a lifetime.
"I can't believe I'm seeing you in person! Spider-Woman, a Hero born without a Quirk who gained power through something that straight out of a comic book! I-I'm sorry, but I was following your story ever since I first heard about it a couple of months ago and I just… well…"
Melissa giggled remembering her first meeting with Izuku, how nervous yet excited he was to see her. That went into overdrive when he remembered her dad was All Might's former sidekick. "I wonder what Deku is doing right now." She should probably give him a call when she was free.
Finally, she looked to a picture of her mother holding her as a baby. Her eyes softened as she looked at her mother with blond hair and blue eyes so much like Melissa's own. "I look so much like her now…" Melissa picked up the photo and stared at it.
Her mom had died when Melissa was still just a baby, so she never really got to know her. The only information she got about her mom was from her father and what she could get from Uncle Carl and Cousin Eddie before they drifted apart.
She was a kind woman who had loved watching horror movies for fun above her parents' protests. She played video games and listened to the classical band called The Rolling Stones. She and David met in college as lab partners, and sparks flew from there.
She had been looking forward to watching Melissa grow, but life had different plans.
"I hope you're proud of me, Mama…"
"Melissa! Where's that wrench!?" Max shouted from the lab.
"Coming!" She put down the picture of her as a baby, David Shield, and Mary Shield-Brock before grabbing the wrench and running back to the lab.
"Finally!" Max sounded as exasperated as he looked while pointing his index fingers at two wires. All of his fingers had a small, metal needle-like extension at the tip, a sign of his Quirk.
One of the reasons why Max was a great technician was because of his Quirk, Current Process, which allowed him to harmlessly take in and transfer electricity from part of his body to another. It let him test the connection of wires and ensure that the equipment was working properly.
"It ain't really my style, but you need to get your head out of the clouds boss." Max released himself from the wires and began the necessary attachments. "Otherwise, you're gonna miss out on what really matters. Like getting your fancy-schmancy new age eco-friendly generator up and running." The eels in the tank just next to him seemed to understand, and they were glaring at the technician with their dead fish-like eyes. "Also, said generator's freakin' me out so let's do this."
"Again, I'm really sorry Max." Melissa sighed as she screwed in the bolts of the tank's skeleton. The metal beams helped ensure that the tank wouldn't shake more than necessary and the glass wouldn't hit anything that would shatter it and short-circuit thousands of dollars in equipment. "Did you at least have a good time while I was gone?"
"Well, I used your 8K TV while I worked." He grinned at her. "You sure had a busy day."
"The life of a Hero usually is, but I like it." Melissa fished out another bolt from her bucket and continued. "Besides, all I did was assist. The Spider-Mobile and Wraith did most of the work."
"Dunno. The German Suplex was pretty badass." Max shrugged. "Lord knows that I wouldn't be able to do any of that crap.'
"Well, I wouldn't advise it." Melissa giggled. "In all seriousness though? Yeah, just go to a Hero or the police. We actually get paid to help you."
"Kicking around thugs and getting beaten up in is just a perk then. Prime time programming that's completely free. That's great. I mean, for guys like me. Not for you."
Before Melissa could reply with an equally witty remark, her phone rang and Melissa groaned. "Hold on, I need to take this." She pressed on the screen and brought it to her ear. "Yes?"
"Melissa!" Melissa moved the phone away from her ear as Martin's voice continued to torture her eardrums. "I was able to get the chief of police to authorize a raid on a Demon stronghold, and we need every available Hero to provide backup… for me, of course."
She had to stifle a groan of frustration. Damn it, why now!? "Can it wait a couple of hours?"
"WHAAAAAT!? You can't be serious Melissa! Remember what I told you earlier!? If you want to be a badass like me, you can't slack off!"
"It's just that you caught me in the middle of something and I need to…."
"One hour! That's all you've got Melissa!" Martin hung up and Melissa did groan.
"Bad news, huh?" Max asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Your boss has a boss, and my boss just told me to get to his place in an hour." Melissa looked at her phone as it received a text with the location of the stakeout. "We're going to have to speed this up."
"Hey, it's your call, but remember you have to make sure everything goes where it should."
In record time, Melissa finished putting the cage together and Max finished with the connections. They stood back and marveled at their handiwork, a tank of eels attached to a metal platform with rows of thin power cells on a rack to its right, each one having the necessary measuring equipment attached including voltage meters. "Alright, activating vibration platform." Melissa took a remote from the floor and pressed the first button. There was a low, almost inaudible hum as the tank lightly vibrated. This allowed the chemicals mixed with the tank water to become active without disturbing the eels. "Everything looks good. Now for EL-Emission."
Melissa pressed a second button and the bottom of the tank glowed blue, emitting low-wavelength light radiation that activated the eels' bioelectricity without disturbing the animals. Like magic, flashes of electricity sparkled off the animals to random points of the tank. Specks of green glowed with each flash, matching the power cells whose lights and meters whirred to life.
The lights over Melissa and Max flickered for a second before they returned to normal. Two grinned at each other, realizing the implication of the event.
"Well, looks like you're the first person crazy enough to use eels a power source." Max crossed his arms. "The little bastards are ugly as hell, but apparently they're giving you power without frying themselves."
'Well, we still need some time to test this. This is just test one out of who knows how many." Melissa sighed and looked at Max pleadingly. "Do you mind staying for another hour and checking the voltage? You can turn it off after and head home."
Max hummed before checking his watch. "If ya pay for some Chinese delivery I'm about to order for dinner, then sure."
"Deal!" Melissa quickly ran through the instructions of shutting down the Electro System before running out the door.
It wasn't until she got to the first floor when she noticed something was clinking in her pants pockets.
When she reached in and fished out what was causing the noise, she saw two screws in her hand.
"What? But I used them all already." She had put in all the screws to the cage, right? "Yes, that's right. These must be the spares." With a shrug, Melissa put them back in her pocket and ran out the first door, waving goodbye to Aleksei who was going off to his favorite street vendor for a gyro.
Time to get to her other job.
"Where's Mr. Negative?" Martin growled, holding a Demon by the collar while Melissa watched anxiously.
The raid had gone well, or at least as well as busting around twenty-five Demons without any big guns or cash could have gone. The Inner Demons had cleaned house just a short while before the raid commenced.
Still, the sheer number of Heroes and police involved meant the fight ended quickly and nobody was seriously hurt. The Heroes were bringing the struggling Demons to the police or scouring every nook and cranny for some clue towards the whereabouts of the base's former contents.
Martin was more interested in what the Demons knew about their boss.
"I know he was here. I can feel that bastard's presence. So where did he slink off to? Huh!?" Martin shouted at the Demon, shaking him.
"Wraith, take it easy." Melissa advised to the normally cheerful Hero. Martin losing his need to boast was scary enough. But shaking down a criminal who had no way to defend himself? "You could get in serious trouble if you push things any farther."
"Martin, I know you want to take down Mr. Negative but this is…"
The Demon chuckled at Martin's demands. "肏你祖宗十八代."
The translation her mask's software provided went along the lines of 'eff your ancestors to the eighteenth generation'.
Martin's eyes blazed with fury. "操你媽!" After saying some... not very nice things about the Demon's relationship with his mother, Martin raised his fist only for Melissa to grab it by the wrist.
"Wraith, that isn't how Heroes do things! Let him go!"
For a moment, things were tense. Nobody moved or even breathed as Melissa held Martin back. She only had the assurance of a lack of Spider-Sense that Martin wasn't going to try and attack her. Goosebumps crept along her skin as she spoke.
"Y-You always said you were a big man, right? The best Hero in the world, who small fry couldn't even hope to touch? So why are you letting this creep get to you?"
It was the safest bet she could make, playing on Martin's ego and desire to be a Hero. "Please let that be enough to snap him out of this…"
Luckily, Martin's hand relaxed and unclenched. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right. I'm the biggest Hero around." He dropped the Demon to the ground. "Why am I letting a little guy like you get to me?" Martin walked back to Melissa, shaking his head. "Thanks for reminding me. Sometimes I forget the kind of person I am, especially when it comes to these creeps."
Melissa let a small, nervous smile grace her lips from behind her mask. "No problem, Wraith."
"He's just riled up because of Mr. Negative. Remember what he went through. This makes sense. Anyone would react just as badly, desperate to try and find a man who tore away their family from them."
The explanation was logical, so why did she feel so scared?
Her phone rang and Melissa saw on her HUD that it was Aleksei. She tapped her right ear and asked, "Hel-?"
"Melissa! You need to get back! Something's happened!"
Melissa was paying attention the moment she heard Aleksei's panicked voice. She heard the sound of something crackling in the air not unlike popping firecrackers. It made it hard to hear most of the security guard's message.
What came next was loud and clear.
"AGGGGHHHH!"
It was Max's voice, sounding as if…
...as if he were dying.
"It's Max! Jesus, he's in the middle of it and…!" The connection ended abruptly, and Melissa stood still for a second processing it all.
She ran.
"I need to go!" Not even waiting for permission and ignoring anyone who called out after her.
She left the Spider-Mobile behind and swung through the city as quickly as possible. There was no time to be graceful or polite about this. "What happened!? What could have gone wrong!? Could Max have made a mistake during the shutdown process!?"
No, that was insulting to Max. The man was always careful when it came to expensive and experimental technology. It had to be something else. Did the eels react negatively to the radiation or the vibrations and slam against the glass? Did one of the power cells explode from an influx of electricity?
She spun web after web, pulling herself up the skyscraper to reach the top. She could already see the cracking of yellow electricity from inside, scorching the wall and breaking the glass as it escaped. Melissa launched a web to the screen that separated the inside of the penthouse from the balcony, pulling herself forward and curling her body into a ball as she broke through the reinforced glass.
She instantly jumped to the ceiling when her Spider-Sense flared. On the floor was a pool of water glowing green from the electricity coursing through it. The barely twitching eels were flopping on the soaked tile, gasping for water when they weren't being electrocuted by the writhing mass in the center of the lab.
It was vaguely humanoid, but it glowed with electricity that crackled and burst randomly. She could make out two blue dots that one could see as eyes, if only because below it was an open mouth with teeth and a blackened tongue screaming in pain. The air was filled with the nauseating stench of burnt flesh and ozone.
"Oh god, is that Max!?" She had no time to lose. Melissa launched a web to the small blue cylinder that looked like a fire hydrant complete with a nozzle, but had a cartoon with an eel behind a red X. She aimed the nozzle and pulled the handle in one quick motion, shooting a white foam comprised of a neutralizing agent that nullified the chemicals in the water and reduced the bioelectricity emitted by the eels.
Just in case anything went wrong, as it was right now.
The foam covered the screaming thing that was once Max. She continued until he was completely covered and the floor around him was coated as well. When it could fire no more, Melissa tossed it to the side and jumped down, wiping the foam from Max's face. "MAX! Max, oh god don't be… don't be…!" Melissa couldn't stop tears from rolling down her face when she saw him.
Max wasn't screaming anymore, but he was moaning in pain. He looked like he'd been dipped in the sun. Melissa felt a glimmer of hope as she watched his charred and raw skin slowly reform right before her eyes.
She jumped back when a spark danced off Max's skin.
The worst wasn't over.
Thinking quickly, Melissa called 911."Yes, I need an ambulance here right away. One of my employees made contact with several chemicals that are reacting negatively with his Quirk…"
"Jesus…" Aleksei muttered as he walked in from his hiding spot by the entrance. "I-I came when I heard glass breakin' and Max shouting, but I didn't… is Max…?"
"H-He's breathing. Thank god, he's…" Melissa's eyes widened. "D-Did you say the glass broke?"
"Yeah. Why?"
She said nothing as she got up and walked to the Electro System. She launched a web to shut it down for good as she drew near and inspected the cage.
There was a missing screw from the top left and right corners.
With those missing and several loose in her rush to leave, the glass tank would have vibrated and hit the metal so frequently that it…
...Shattered.
Melissa's clasped her hands over her mouth, remembering the two screws she found in her pocket.
"Oh, Jesus… Oh, God no. Max… Max I..."
This was all her fault.
Rise Above: Part 1
To Be Continued...
Note: Woo! This is finally done, thanks to no small part from my beta Reppuzan! Seriously, the guy is great and I cannot thank him enough for this.
Originally, this idea was going to be one whole chapter but due to length I split it into two. I just had so much fun exploring Melissa's world, her relationships, and making this world feel lived in that I got carried away. Part 2 will come eventually. I just wanted to have a small break from the main story and explore another corner of the Spider-Verse.
Had a lot of fun with Martin Li who I intentionally made to be basically Black Star from Soul Eater with a bit of Naruto. What can I say? I love the annoying little shit and thought that his hyper personality contrasted nicely with Melissa's calm, friendly, and professional one.
Also for those of you who couldn't tell, I based Max Dillion's appearance on Jamie Fox, though I leaned a closer to how he looks in real life than the Max Dillon he played in Amazing Spider-Man 2. Kept the teeth gap though.
Melissa's costume is a bit of a mix between the costume worn by the Ultimate Comics version of Jessica Drew aka Spider-Woman (Who's also a clone of Peter, which is a long and weird story) and Peter's Parker Industries suit from Dan Slott's run. Thought it would be nice to give Melissa her own unique costume while highlighting her more tech-heavy approach.
As for how buff Melissa is... I would say it leans more to Korra than Mikasa Ackerman from Attack on Titan.
Hope you guys enjoyed this trip to the Spider-Verse!
You should be returning to your regularly scheduled programming soon.
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