Author's Note: It has been a while. But we're here, and we're back. There will be some reviews to address, but we'll keep it at the end as always. Next update will most likely be Spider-Man 1648, do check out that story if you want. I've been getting into Miraculous Ladybug as of late. It's not a new thing by now, but I'm kind of loving it. Any Ladybug fans out there?
Anyway, enjoy the chapter.
#26:This isn't the 50s
Jean rubbed at her eyes. The remnants of her hangover buzzed in her ears as a ray of sunlight glared at her through her cubical window.
A soldier in pulsating blue armor glanced at her through the lens of his visor. He looked especially out of place next to the disorganized clumps of police officers around him.
Jean shook her head, she must not have been as sober as she'd thought.
The soldier tapped a hand on his helmet, momentarily lighting up a panel seen through his armor. He nodded and tapped his helmet once more, as if confirming something.
He walked away from her office with a practiced stride.
Jean hadn't time to sigh in relief before she saw an identical soldier marching through the hall, a rifle filled with God knew what strapped to his belt. Then a third, a fourth, and another and another came, indifferent to the police who could do little else but stare, dumfounded.
Muffled orders came from earpieces on their suits, a string of orders and replies Jean couldn't make sense of. More importantly, they moved about as if they owned the place, and for all she knew, they already did.
Jean felt a knot of tension in her throat. Assuming she wasn't dreaming or drunk, they couldn't be anyone else.
"What's going on?" Jean asked a nearby officer. "Did the Outworld finally invade or something?"
"S.H.I.E.L.D. is going on," the officer said before running off. "Oh yeah, DeWolff, right? They want you in the Chief's office."
"The Chief's? But Carter is..."
The officer was already gone.
Jean did not know what to think. Eventually Carter would have been replaced, she knew that much. But if it was a simple "Meet the New Boss" procedure, why was S.H.I.E.L.D. there? Didn't they have world-ending threats on their plate?
Nevertheless, she went to the office, hoping it would shed some light on the unfolding events and/or give her another excuse to drink herself to sleep again.
She found more and more rows of soldiers, marching on, doing drills, and target practice along the way.
Definitely not a dream, too many clothes.
Jean stopped to watch the latter. A soldier readied his rifle at a target. One moment later, it was obliterated in a ball of blue flame and smoke, along with a good chunk of a wall behind it.
"Holy crap..." Jean whispered in awe. "And I'm still stuck with a revolver..."
The Chief's door was guarded by two S.H.I.E.L.D. soldiers.
"Identify yourself," one of them stopped her. His voice, muffled and mechanical, had a hard time passing for human.
"Detective DeWolff," Jean showed her ID. "I was told I'm expected here."
The soldiers exchanged glances with each other, then opened the door.
She hardly recognized Carter's office. Gone was the messy, trashy, paperwork-filled look of Carter's, instead every desk was clean as a hospital, papers meticulously stacked, the windows shone with polish, even the plants had been watered.
Jean was speechless. Whoever the new boss was, they were already alright in Jean's book. Maybe, just maybe, things were about to improve.
The office being presentable for once in its life distracted Jean so much, she didn't even notice its occupant - a woman with long black hair, with a streak of pink in the front, wearing the same blue armor as the soldiers sans helmet.
"Detective DeWolff, I presume?" she adjusted her glasses.
"Yes, ma'am!" Jean saluted her.
"At ease," the woman dismissively waved her hand. "I am Agent Victoria, here to supervise the NYPD. Technically, that makes me the Chief of Police."
An agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. as the Chief? Jean could hardly believe it.
"I understand, but..." Jean said. "But why inform me personally?"
"Why indeed..." Victoria turned her chair to the window. "You know, I was in space just yesterday. Right out there, fighting actual aliens. Have you ever seen an alien, detective DeWolff?"
Jean chose not to mention the soldiers and their odd attire.
"No, I haven't," she said.
"Of course," Victoria adjusted her glasses. "And now I'm here, stuck in this place that doesn't even have a honest-to-God quantum coffee maker."
"What is a quantum coffee ma..."
"So I want to resolve this problem as soon as possible," Victoria drummed a manicured nail on her desk, a sound that quickly irritated Jean. "And you are going to help me with that."
"Help you... how?" Jean asked.
"God, I wish the Captain were down here," Victoria shook her head. "She's better at dealing with civs."
"She?" Jean raised an eyebrow.
"Nevermind that. Remember this?" Victoria took out a file from one of the stacks. When Jean had opened it, it became clear to her.
The picture of George Stacy.
The date.
Police Chief George Stacy was found on the 15th floor of Oscorp Tower. The cause of death was ruptured internal organs. Signs of armed struggle present. All surveillance footage of the incident had been destroyed. A suspect had not been found.
Jean clenched her hands. Last thing she wanted was to revisit those memories.
"This is Ge... Chief Stacy's murder case," Jean plainly stated. "Why..."
"I have reasons to believe the perpetrator of this act is within..." Victoria took out another case file. "The so-called Superior Force."
Jean examined the file. It had numerous photographs of Superior Force members on streets and rooftops, taken from afar. Octavia, Scorpion, Rhino, all of them sans Shocker and Mysterio were photographed all over the city.
After the photographs came the financial records. Chains upon chains of Swiss bank transactions, dummy accounts, redirected loans, and short-lived businesses centering on one client in particular.
"Carolyn Trainer?" Jean asked. "The Oscorp scientist?"
"The very same. Oscorp's leading scientist who vanished from our records the day George Stacy died" Victoria said. "There is, of course, a connection."
Jean had heard of it. A number of Oscorp personnel, including her, had gone missing. Most had left the company after the incident. Carolyn however, had never been found.
Jean's blood boiled. She'd given up any hope of finding George's killer years ago. And yet, S.H.I.E.L.D. came closer to finding an answer in a few short days.
But if it were true, George's killer could finally be found...
She should have felt relief.
She didn't.
Instead, she felt like goddamn furniture. Completely useless.
"If you're still with me, Detective DeWolff..." Victoria pointed to a file containing photographs of what had become of the Raft.
"The Superior Force then orchestrated an attack on the next Police Chief, Stanley Carter," Victoria pronounced the name with slight disdain. "And although they were beaten to the kill, they managed to destroy his 'project'."
"Here's what I'm getting at. Both Chiefs have been closely affiliated with Oscorp," Victoria pointed to yet another file, a collection of photographs with Silvermane, Stacy, and Carter.
Jean sighed. She knew, of course she did. Half the time she was there herself, swallowing her pride each time Allan had cut another "deal" with his "friends".
When George did it, it seemed pragmatic, even necessary. Another criminal off the payroll and out of the streets. As uneasy as she'd felt, Jean couldn't argue with results.
Not so much with Carter...
"There was also a recent, uh... incident at the Oscorp-funded orphanage," Victoria reached for a file, but decided against it. "Our findings among the dead are consistent with the behavior and abilities of the Raft..'s most dangerous prisoner."
Jean resisted an urge to shudder. She'd seen it all over the news, everyone had...
"Octavia has gone out of her way to denounce it," Victoria continued. "Don't you find it a bit suspicious?"
Jean stopped to think. Perhaps Victoria was right. Criminals who fancied themselves intelligent would always attempt to feign innocence. Especially if Octavia was really Carolyn...
"You think she did it?" Jean asked.
"Naturally," Victoria nodded. "It fits perfectly. She projects her image of a superhero leader, but her real target is Oscorp. With that in mind, it's highly likely that an attack on Oscorp Tower itself is her endgame."
"And with all due respect..." Jean said. "Where do I come in?"
"According to our sources, you know a particular vigilante..." Victoria leant back. "Spider-Woman."
Jean was taken aback. Not that she was surprised they knew, that much was obvious, but what would they want to do with Gwen?
"I want you to find her for me," Victoria continued. "We're still missing important pieces to this puzzle, and I have a hunch that she just might clear them for us."
Jean felt a tension building between her shoulders. That's all she was to them? Gwen's speed dial?
She could not escape the feelings of bitterness. Always second. Always someone's sidekick. Always told to stay out of the way. By George, by Carter, by Matt, and even by Gwen...
"I'll... try to arrange that," Jean forced herself to say.
"Good, good," Victoria nodded. "That will be all for now, then. God, I can't wait to get back to space..."
Jean left Victoria to her space ramblings. Once out of the office, she tried to call Gwen.
No response.
"Come on," Jean sighed. "Where could she possibly be at this time?"
From inside Oscorp Tower's secret 14.5 floor, Kraven the Hunter spent the day over his crossbow. Every part had to be disassembled and cleaned, lest the weapon could fail its wielder. A task of supreme importance.
And supreme boredom.
"A hunter has to be prepared..." Kraven told himself. "Still, it could be less overwhelmingly slow..."
One twitch of his hand made him miss a bolt, which had flung itself out and straight into a mess of razor bats and pumpkin bombs.
"Da shto za twouy mat..." Kraven went to find the bolt when he got a call from John Jameson.
"Allo?" he picked up the phone.
"Hey, thanks for yesterday," John nervously said. "It was pretty good."
"It is the least I could do, my friend," Kraven smiled. "This place is somewhat lonely at the moment."
"I understand," John bitterly laughed. "I bet there's still a line at the HR with all the resignation letters."
"Three rows at least," Kraven nodded out of habit. "If this keeps up, these halls will become more empty than a jungle after a fire."
Kraven wondered if he wasn't even being facetious. How quickly people run away at the sight of danger. But it was meant to be so. Not everyone was a hunter, and most were keepers of families.
If anything, doubt started creeping in Kraven's own mind. When he tried to talk to Harry about what happened at St Estes, Harry refused him entry into the office.
The shareholders aside from Harry rarely showed up for his meetings. Refused to answer calls. No one knew what was going on.
Kraven had a hunch, as hunters often do.
The remains of a fire and ashes found at St Esters.
They were no accident.
He must have tasted blood, but not of the one he had sworn to kill.
Kraven could no longer tell if Harry had the resolve he needed. Uncomfortable questions had to be asked.
"Hey, John..." Kraven walked over to the focus of their conversation, the pod where a suit of black armor rested inside, connected with countless plugs, sockets, circuits, and monitoring equipment.
"Are you still sure about this... E-Series project?" Kraven asked.
"What do you mean?" John replied with surprise. "We've been through this. I thought I-I made it clear, if it gets me a step closer to seeing the stars, does it really matter?"
It was time to tell the obvious.
"You do know that's not really a space suit?" Kraven sighed. "It's a cyborg body. They're going to transplant your brain in there. I don't know the details, I'm no man of science... but are you sure you're prepared to pay this price?"
"Of course..." John said with only a moment's hesitation. "This body is dying. Maybe later rather than sooner, but I'm trapped, it gets harder and harder to move this worthless shell. Even if I'm a machine, what do I have to lose? Anything is better than this."
"You don't know that..." Kraven shook his head. "Medical science has gone a long way, and technology has improved to make the mind and body closer than ever. What you do know is the space between the stars. Enough to probably apply to NASA without actually being an astronaut. Isn't that... enough?"
The silence was brief, but thick with things unspoken. Kraven said what needed to be said.
"I'll... think about it," John said. "See you, Sergei."
When John hung up the phone, Kraven expected to return to his searches.
But the phone rang again.
"What?" Kraven picked it up, unable to hide a touch of irritation in his voice. "I am busy here."
"Mr Kravinoff, sir!" a trenchcoat man was on the other end. "This is the South East Team Five! We're under attack! The Superior Force, they... aaagh!"
"What?!" Kraven screamed. "Answer me!"
But there was no response.
"I see how it is," Kraven packed his weapons. "It is time for me to hunt."
Gwen spent the evening at Peter's house, sleepily curled up in Peter's bed with a t-shirt that didn't fit her.
The sex had been good. For a time, she had forgotten all her worries amid the creaking of bed springs, scattered pillows, and a broken lamp Gwen was sure wasn't covered in its warranty.
Gwen hoped the feeling would last forever, so she wouldn't have to come back to her world, where she was surrounded by evil. It'd be a nice change of pace to think about nothing but a tongue between her...
"Hey, before we got... sidetracked," Peter sat next to her, wiping sweat off his face and hastily putting on the nearest pair of pants. "I was gonna show you an update on what I'm working on."
"Right," Gwen snapped right back to reality. "Did you make that forgery I asked for?"
"Oh that?" Peter opened his laptop. "Yup, got it right here."
He showed her the video of Mortimer's conversation with Anastasia Hardy. None of the rough edits, static, or camera inconsistencies were present - it all was as if they really were talking in the same room.
"This is perfect," Gwen smiled. "Thank you so much!"
"Hey, all in the day's work," Peter smiled back. "And copious amounts of low-grade coffee. Oh and, speaking of things that cause massive headaches..."
Peter rushed to his closet, from which he took out a weapon. Gwen recognized it as Oscorp's laser rifles, but the wider barrel and overall added bulk puzzled her.
"What's this?" she asked.
"Oh it's nothing, it's just my Bass Cannon!" Peter cocked it.
"What..."
"Check this out," Peter opened the window. "But do cover your ears."
Isn't that massively dangerous...
But before she could object, Peter shot a pulsating blast of pounding vibration straight into the sky.
Gwen could not believe her eyes, so she just stared in awe.
"Are you playing that awful... tubstep... music again?" aunt May shouted from downstairs.
"No..." Peter closed the window. "I mean, yes!"
"Please keep it down, dear, I'm trying to read," aunt May said.
"Okay, maybe a demonstration wasn't such a good idea..." Peter scratched his head.
"Is this... the Shocker's weapon?" Gwen finally said the first thing that came into her mind.
"Yes and no," Peter put down the weapon. "It's the same principle, but runs on a counter-frequency."
"Wait a minute, how can you know the counter-frequency to the Shocker's weapons?"
"Remember the Technodrone?" Peter walked to his laptop. "How you beat the Shocker the first time? I tracked down what speakers they were using, what song they were playing, and used that as frequency. This gun now shoots Hans Zimmer."
Gwen could not decide whether to call Peter a genius, a madman, or a mad genius. Such a weapon could incapacitate the Shocker in one shot... how many times had he run away? escaped from her and other people pursuing him, especially with the backing of Octavia behind him? All of that, would soon be over. Seemed too good to be true.
"But really, we're calling it the Bass Cannon?"
Peter smirked. "I built it, so I think it's fair I get to name it."
"Even if it's a dumb name?"
Peter laughed. "Especially if it's a dumb name."
Gwen punched him playfully on the shoulder. "Fine. But I get to name the next thing you build."
"Deal," Peter pulled her close.
They shared a playful kiss.
"Peter, there's someone to see you!" aunt May shouted from downstairs. "Her name is Mary Jane."
"You called MJ here?" Peter looked at Gwen.
"Yeah..." Gwen awkwardly nodded. "She just... wanted to take me home herself or something like that..."
That's not true.
But are you really going to go through with this?
Telling them both everything you've seen?
I know what you're going to say.
Hiding this is pointless.
It might not even be the real future.
And if something happens to them, they deserve to know.
Gwen imagined a scenario in which she'd kept it secret for months. All the unnecessary, pointless lies she'd have to come up with. No reason for it indeed. Perhaps she could even clarify her other lies...
Mary Jane knocked on the door, then came in, witness to a barely-dressed Gwen and Peter holding each other close. Naturally, she came to her own conclusion.
"So were you about to..." she laughed, waving at the embracing couple.
The two shared an embarrassed look.
"No, we were just done..." Peter was the first to say.
"Peter!" Gwen threw a pillow in his general direction. "Too much detail!"
Gwen stared at her roommate and back to her date.
"Uh, give me just a second..." Gwen blushed before grabbing her clothes and retreating to the safety of the little spider's room.
One change of clothes later, everyone sat down in a circle, sharing in the awkward silence. Gwen wanted to say something, but didn't know where to start. She couldn't exactly begin with "Hi, here's this awful future I saw..."
Or with a "Hi, let's start with how Peter probably dies in the future..."
She began to think that there was no real way to open such a topic up, so the solution was to just wait until someone else did.
Which took a while, until Mary Jane spoke first.
"So... you didn't really call me here to get home, right?" Mary Jane scratched her head. "Doesn't really seem like you were in a hurry anyway... so what's up, Gwen?"
Gwen took a deep, long breath and exhaled in a sigh.
"I have to talk with both of you," she started. "About something very important."
Mary Jane and Peter exchanged confused glances.
"That day with Mysterio..." Gwen lowered her head, gathering all of her mental fortitude to speak. "I saw what could be a possible future for me. For all of us."
"Let me guess, some kind of catastrophe?" Peter tried to smile. "Leather and deserts everywhere? Evil AI takes over? Vaguely angelic monsters versus teenagers in giant robots?"
Gwen's complete lack of reaction to the jokes made Peter lose his smile.
Gwen hadn't even registered the attempt.
"I..." Gwen swallowed, struggling to speak. "I saw a red sky..."
"That's probably a bad sign..." Mary Jane said.
"And... I was on some kind of podium making a speech about how I repelled someone's attacks..." Gwen continued.
"An enemy in the future," Peter nodded. "Sounds likely."
"Then..." Gwen's cheeks again reddened.
There had been dozens of ways she'd thought about breaking the news, practiced in of the mirror more times than she'd count.
All she had to do was pick the right one.
"I saw you in my costume, MJ. Then I slept with you!"
The silence was deafening. Mary Jane's face turned red as her hair.
She stared at Gwen. Her eyes widened, lips separating in a silent gasp as she visibly attempted to process what she'd heard.
Gwen could only stare in return. Feelings of shame slowly crept through her stomach.
She'd blown it. She blew it so bad and could no longer take it back. Mary Jane was going to hate her for sure.
"So that's how long it's gonna take," Peter smiled again. "Anyway, about the red sky..."
"Peter!" both girls shouted.
"What?" Peter shrugged. "I knew from the start. Thought it would happen a bit sooner, you know..."
"You knew?" Mary Jane barely uttered.
"What do you mean 'sooner'?!" Gwen added.
"It was kind of obvious?" Peter shifted his eyes. "You liked her, but didn't think she was into girls, so... you set her up with me."
Gwen didn't know what to think. Could that be really the reason? On the one hand, it was weird to do that... on the other hand, Gwen wouldn't know what was going to happen if Mary Jane straight up confessed.
Gwen watched as MJ lowered her head, her embarrassment and shame read plainly on her face.
"Oh no, I said too much, didn't I?" Peter said. "I'm sorry!"
"No, it's ok," MJ shook her head. "You're right. Gwen, I've always... had feelings for you..."
So it was true.
All of it was true.
It felt like Gwen was stuck in a centrifuge.
What are you going to respond? Are you going to accept right in front of Peter? But I see you the way you are. You don't really want to reject her either.
What will you do?
Gwen took a deep breath. She could do only one thing in such a situation.
"I don't know what to say," she looked MJ in the eyes. "I really don't know. I... I don't want to reject you, I care about you... but I'm already... with Peter..."
Peter clapped for attention.
"Well, Gwen, this isn't the 50s," he cracked a small laugh. "Ever heard of polyamory?"
"Oh yeah..." Mary Jane tilted her head.
Gwen froze. She felt like she'd been falling from a cliff, only to find her feet safe on solid ground without her realizing.
She couldn't help but laugh at her own worries and fears, broken like glass before her.
"Just... like that?" she laughed louder. "You're gonna say it just like that?"
"I'm not opposed to the idea..." Mary Jane quietly said.
"See?" Peter smiled. "We're in the modern age, where monogamy isn't the absolute. Imagine how horrible our lives would have been if we were stuck in a triangle and things like that... all that web of jealousy and mistrust. That's why I've been waiting for you to just say it, MJ."
"I couldn't..." MJ shook her head. "I was scared. Gwen, I couldn't fathom what to do if you rejected me... and I wouldn't want to inflict this burden upon you."
Gwen had stopped laughing.
"But Peter..." Gwen quietly said. "You weren't there. Anywhere. Something might... might happen to you..."
Peter quieted down. Gwen hoped he wouldn't take it as an incentive to quit helping her, but at the same time, there would not be a better way to protect him...
"Peter, I'd understand if you wanted to walk away from all of this..."
"I could have just been out buying groceries," Peter absent-mindedly said. "Fancy red sky future groceries."
Gwen had to do a double take.
"What?"
"Just because I wasn't at that specific place of your vision, doesn't necessarily mean I'm dead, right?" Peter said. "It's only logical that I could just be somewhere else."
"But..."
"And besides, all it proves is that your costume is hot. Kind of sounds like my idea..." Peter smirked.
Somehow, that was all it took to lift the weight she'd been carrying on her shoulders. Logically, she knew he hadn't proven anything, that for all any of them knew, there could bee so many other possibilities left unsaid. And yet...
There was no way to prove he wasn't right, either. Maybe in all that time, they'd simply worked it all out. Nothing stopped her spirits from turning as light as a feather.
"You silly... you're all so *&^ silly..." she gave both of them a tight, warm hug.
"So on the polyamory idea... is this... a yes?" Mary Jane hesitantly asked.
"Or at least a 'we'll work this out'?" Peter grinned.
"Yeah..." Gwen closed her eyes in a happy smile. "At least a 'we'll work this out' for sure..."
It was silly. Undoubtedly, completely silly. But maybe she reflected, that was what she needed. As long as she could laugh at times like this, she knew there was always a way out.
She thought of the criminals and villains she'd faced and how serious they were. She wondered, a part of her sad to think they took the world so intensely seriously.
It was good to laugh.
Gwen managed to somehow hug them even tighter. It was then when Peter's grip slipped and he fell butt-first straight onto the TV remote.
"This is Ned Leeds from the Daily Bugle," naturally the TV opened on the Bugle channel. "We've got several reports of escalated street violence across multiple locations between members of organized crime and the self-proclaimed Superior Force..."
The TV itself showed footage of trenchcoat men having a shootout with Superior Force soldiers on city streets, alleyways, and rooftops. Whatever police units moved to intercept found themselves overwhelmed with rapid gun and laser fire.
"Duty calls," Gwen sighed.
Deep beneath the hangars shielding the Superior Force base, the Shocker headed through a corridor few other members had seen, save for a few chosen.
The few chosen, who were confined to the test tubes to his left and right, barely visible through the orange liquid that filled them.
Even so, few were recognizable as conventionally human. Just looking at one of them, at its hunched form trying to hold several arms spread left and right. It waved them through the liquid, looking for a way out, pressing its six-fingered hands against the glass. Even if he could not see its eyes, the Shocker knew they were looking at him.
He felt no pity.
Those creations had something he did not; a choice.
Each one of them submitted themselves to Carolyn's experiments knowing exactly what would happen and what their role in the coming days would be. No matter how much the Shocker pleaded to his father, his "no" had gone unanswered.
And if they regretted the state they were in now, that was not his concern. Life was full of such regrets, his no different.
In a way, he was jealous.
But soon, his purpose would be fulfilled. The end of Silver-Oscorp Conglomerate and everything his father had brought into this world would be destroyed.
It was a shame Norman and Emilia wouldn't see the fruits of their labor, but the Osborn legacy would end there, and he could rest.
Carolyn could do it. Her plan, her brilliant plan would ensure no other outcome.
He walked further down the corridor, to the heart of the twisting, turning maze of machines, monitors, containment tubes and test subjects. Their prisoner, their Weapon X, was shackled to the chair, her eyes closed and the rest of her face concealed by a respirator.
He remembered her. They had carried her, and her alone from the Mutant Wing at the Raft. But something was eating away at him... he didn't remember her making a choice.
"Exceptional, isn't she?" he heard Octavia's voice from behind. "To think that she was born with so much power, such luck of the draw... when others like us had to work so much for it."
"Yes..." the Shocker nodded. "It is incredible... and horrifying as well. But Carolyn..."
The Shocker turned to her. There she was... his queen, his master, standing in her black suit, cape, and helmet.
"Did she make a choice?" he asked. "Was she willing to support you like this?"
"Of course," Octavia pressed her hand against her helmet. "We had rescued her. It is only natural that she would choose to support us."
In one swift motion, she took off the helmet. Seeing her eyes overwhelmed Shocker. He knew. He knew he could trust her, and her alone completely.
If she said their prisoner chose this, then it could only be true.
His mind was at ease.
"I give you a choice as well," Octavia stood next to the Shocker. "There's still time. I can find someone else to commit to this alteration. You don't have to..."
The Shocker smirked at the irony. The one time he had a choice, the right answer was as clear as day. If he wanted anything less, he could have walked away a long time ago.
Octavia needed him. And it was enough of a reason to stay.
"There is no someone else," Shocker shook his head. "I choose this. And I shall not fail you."
"I know," Octavia pointed at the tanks. "None of this could have been possible without you, Alison. Thank you."
Words of gratitude. They alone lifted his spirits like nothing else could. He wished for something else he could do to prove worthy of them.
"That orphanage," he said. "We are searching for the one who sent the mutant, are we not?"
"Yes," Octavia gave a nod. "They will be found."
"Before the alteration, I wish to assist with this effort."
"Are you certain?" Octavia raised an eyebrow. "There is no need to risk you for this."
"Completely," the Shocker gazed at his queen. "When your master plan commences, there won't be anything left. Before that happens, I want to help you any way I can. While I... still have a chance."
"Of course you would," Octavia took out a small tablet with a map display. "Then you can assist me here. Scorpion is already heading out. I wish for you to join him."
"It shall be done," the Shocker gave a nod and left.
He headed out, back through the rows of tubes, strait into a wall. By pressing against it, he opened it to an elevator chamber. One eye scan away and he was outside, right behind the hangar covering the base proper, exiting out through a basement entrance.
Outside, he bore witness to Scorpion, assembling his troops.
"Listen, soldati," Scorpion stood in front of them. "We go interrogate. To Don spots. We do not kill - anyone could talk. This orders. Understand?"
Each soldier gave a nod. Shocker cloaked himself in a robe and walked to them.
"Scorpion. I am to join you under Octavia's orders," he said.
Scorpion threw a suspicious look at him. Something told Shocker he still held a grudge over the power plant. Back when he was Maxim Garganov...
How did he become Scorpion anyway? He never talked about it, said Octavia saved him. It came to Shocker's mind that he looked similar to Octavia's creations at the...
[Unit 01 deviation detected.]
[Activating brainwave rearrangement.]
[Brainwave rearrangement successful.]
No. No way that would have been possible. The incident on the power plant must have had awakened his mutant powers, and Octavia gave him a way to control them.
So great was her power and benevolence.
"Shocker, going?" Scorpion and the soldiers were entering a van.
"Yes," without a thought, Shocker followed them.
He had a mission he chose to complete.
All else was but noise.
On the streets of New York, Spider-Woman swung by for the first time in many weeks. The sensation of the wind going through her spandex-clad skin made her remember just why she loved it all.
It wasn't as perfectly comfortable as she had hoped - carrying the Bass Cannon on her back (she'd argue the name later) made certain flips difficult to perform without the weapon's butt smacking her own.
"Wow, the view from here is great!" Peter said through the earpiece. "This thing is working wonders."
"Did you think it wasn't going to?" Gwen jumped across a rooftop.
"High altitudes could mess with the signal," Peter said. "If that happened, I'd have to scrap all the Metal Gear Solid memes I've prepared for this."
"Oh no, don't tell me you actually have a list."
Thanks to the sounds of paper on the other end Gwen knew he did indeed have a list.
"Alright, Snake, this is a sneaking mission," Peter put on his best condescendingly commanding voice.
"Does that make me Naomi?" Mary Jane spoke through the earpiece. "I don't want to be Naomi."
"It's either that or Rosemary," Gwen landed on a traffic pole.
"Okay, Naomi it is," MJ said without hesitation.
"So how are we going to make this work?" Gwen wasted no time to ask. "You know... the whole polyamory thing."
"We... date at the same time?" Peter said. "Or do you want alternating days? Dibs on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday in that case!"
"That would still leave the seventh day," MJ added.
"Oh yeah..." Peter quietly laughed. "I guess both on that one?"
"Guys, I'm pretty sure I won't have the time for dating every single day," Gwen slid into an alleyway from a roof.
The scene unfolding below gave her pause.
"You will tell me exactly what I need to know," Shocker, hidden by a robe, towered over several tied up trenchcoated men. The Scorpion stood next to him, sharpening his giant claw. The Superior Force soldiers held steady aim on their hostages.
"I swear, I don't know anything!" one trenchcoated man cried. "I don't even know if that orphanage thing was us! Why would we hit our own charity?!"
"It was someone who knew, well in advance, when that orphanage was going to open," Shocker aimed his glove at him. "It's the only way they could prepare for something like this."
"Now talk, who knew that?!" the Shocker fired a blast of vibration. Every captured trenchcoat man screamed.
"He's gonna kill them," Gwen whispered. "I have to stop him."
"But can you take him and his cheerleading squad all at once?" Peter asked.
"I don't know," Gwen growled. "Not in a confined space like this... way too easy to get shot."
The wheels in Gwen's mind began to turn. She had to take one of them out, then lure the others out of the alley.
Yet, if she did that, they could kill their hostages before chasing her.
She had to make sure they'd forget about the hostages completely.
Which meant, it was time for some theatrics.
"Stop right there, Alison!" she jumped to the ground as loud as she could.
"I'll know that irritating tomboy voice from anywhere," the Shocker turned to her. "It's you!"
"That's right!" Gwen assumed a mix of a fighting stance and a modeling pose. "Warrior of Love, Spider-Woman, is here!"
Is this how you're going to distract them from the hostages? Okay.
"What the hell are you babbling about?!" The Shocker roared. "You think this is a joke?!"
"It isn't?" Gwen giggled. "Then why are you dressed like a Nazgul? Yellow fishnets went out of style?"
"Girl thinks she funny," Scorpion readied his tail. "We kill girl."
"Go ahead and try, you incompetent *&^!" Gwen slapped her own butt before leaping out of the alley.
"Interesting strategy," Peter said into the earpiece.
"She mocks me..." the Shocker growled. "After all this time, after all the height I have achieved, this pest still haunts me! I will end her once and for all!"
Having forgotten about the hostages, Scorpion, Shocker, and their soldiers stormed outside the alley. Spider-Woman awaited for them on a wall near the rooftop, her Bass Cannon ready.
Once she had her sights on the Shocker, anticipation boiled her blood.
That nuisance would finally be captured.
She wouldn't have to put up with that pretentious fishnetted moron constantly escaping under her watch.
She could almost taste the victory.
As long as she didn't screw things up.
"There she is!" one soldier pointed upwards.
But it was already too late.
The pounding pulse of the Bass Cannon assaulted Shocker like a raging jackhammer. The soldiers and Scorpion were taken aback, watching him convulse and helplessly scream.
"Raaaaaaaaaaaargh!" the Shocker shut his ears as the last desperate resort. "What the hell is this?! Someone... someone stop her!"
The soldiers snapped back, their concentrated fire roaring onto Gwen.
But she readily dodged it, Bass Cannon in one hand and web lines in the other, yanking soldiers one by one as she dropped to the ground.
"I can't... I can't take it!" Shocker clenched his hands, trying to summon his own vibration to counteract the effects, but it was all for naught.
"It's working!" Gwen and Peter exclaimed in unison.
"No, no, no, no, no!" the Shocker twitched uncontrollably. "These can't be my memories!"
"Keep it steady on him!" Peter shouted. "A bit more and he should destabilize completely."
"Just a bit..." Gwen held the weapon forward, its pulsating bass distracting her from all sound and emotion.
Including her Spider-Sense.
"Stop!" Scorpion struck her with his tail, knocking the weapon off her hands. It fell to the ground with a dull thud, scraping against the pavement.
Freed from the relentless assault, the Shocker fell unconscious.
"Retreat at once!" Gwen heard Octavia's voice through the soldiers communications. "Rescuing Shocker is top priority!"
"Gwen!" Peter shouted. "The gun! If you can fire even a quick burst at him..."
"Got it!" Gwen rushed to the discarded weapon, when her Spider-Sense acted again.
Dodge!
She jumped to the side, narrowly evading a tail strike from behind. She then tried to web the gun to herself, but Scorpion's tail knocked it out of her grip.
"Forgot, this bastard's not as dumb as he looks."
When Gwen turned to face the Scorpion, she saw the soldiers carrying the unconscious Shocker into the van.
He was about to escape.
Again.
"Oh no, you don't get to run away, not this time!" Gwen tried to dash past Scorpion, but was knocked away by a claw swipe.
"Damn it, let me through!" she leapt into the air, but Scorpion's tail wrapped around her leg and pulled her down.
"Gwen!" Peter and MJ screamed.
"I your protivnik!" Scorpion raised his claw.
All of Gwen's mind was preoccupied with the thought of the Shocker getting away. She pulled herself back on her feet, and while still wrapped in Scorpion's tail, lunged upward for a headbutt.
With a vicious crack, it struck the Scorpion's head.
"Graaaagh!" the impact pushed Scorpion away from her, freeing her from his tail, and giving her a massive headache.
"Ow..." she rubbed her forehead. "Damn, that hurt a lot more than I thought it would..."
She shook her head, vision momentarily blurred from the impact.
"Duly noted," Peter said.
While the Scorpion recovered, the soldiers were already packing into the van. In a desperate last-ditch, Gwen fired her webs around its tires.
"That's probably not gonna be enough to stop it," Peter said.
"I don't plan to stop it, I'm gonna..." Gwen self-demonstrably propelled herself onto the speeding van.
"Latch onto it and punch everyone on board?" Peter sounded excited. "I support this strategy!"
In unison with the horrified shrieking of the driver, Gwen landed on the van's roof. She didn't even want to bother getting through the windows anymore, just a punch through the roof and she finally could...
Spider-Sense!
"Stoy!" a claw swipe went right over her head, as Scorpion climbed on top of the van.
How the hell did he do that?!
"Why are you so goddamn persistent?!" Gwen shouted at him.
"Octavia help me," he climbed to the roof. "I help Octavia."
"I don't have time for you!" Gwen threw a punch as hard as she could, just to push him off.
On the deafening sound of breaking metal, the punch sent Scorpion clean off the van.
"Fina... aagh!" his tail tied itself around her leg, dragging her with him to the pavement.
The rough concrete struck her head like a jackhammer, throwing her thoughts into disarray.
"Gwen!" MJ shouted. "Gwen, are you ok?"
"Ow... not so loud..." she groaned while getting up. "Where's... the Shocker?"
She looked around, finding no van in sight.
"He got away it seems," Peter sighed. "We could have put a tracker on him, but what's the point... we know they're probably at their base by now."
It could only mean one thing.
He escaped her. Again!
"Damn it!" Gwen punched the pavement hard enough to make a crack. "Every goddamn time! Always escapes, always finds a way out! He's not even smart, doesn't even dress with dignity, yet here I am getting constantly duped by him! I'm so goddamn sick of it!"
Everything ceased to exist for her. She wanted nothing more but to strangle the Shocker by his fishnets and send whatever remained to Octavia's mailbox.
So absorbed in her anger was she, Gwen barely registered the sound of metal falling next to her.
Scorpion's helmet. Cracked open.
Gwen raised her head.
Scorpion stood in front of her, a hunched, shambling wreck. His malformed, stitched-together head, no longer concealed by the helmet, oozed acid.
"Graaah... haah... uuuggh..." his mouth desperately tried to scream.
"Holy crap..." Peter could only say.
"What is that..." MJ added.
He's reverting to how he was before Octavia "helped" him...
Gwen braced herself for another fight. Her body ached and pained, but she had been through worse. She could take him on.
"Raaaaaaaaargh!" Scorpion roared into the sky. "Nyet! Nyet! Geeyaaaaargh!"
The Scorpion flailed around like a confused child. One sight of Gwen made him jump back from her. Gwen, who was preparing herself for a merciless battle, was taken aback.
"He... he looks scared," Mary Jane said. "Scared of you."
"Of me?" Gwen stepped towards the Scorpion. "Why would he be afraid of me?"
"Maska..." Scorpion mumbled. "Maska... maska... maska..."
"What are you talking about?" Gwen approached, slowing her steps.
"Maska!" Scorpion turned tail. "Pomogite! Graaaah... graaaaaah!"
Gwen ran in pursuit, her knees aching in protest. She was prepared for a fight; a chase was another matter.
"Put a tracker on him, quick!" Peter shouted.
"Right!" She tossed a tracker onto his shoulder, as he tossed the nearest manhole open.
"And there he goes..." Gwen watched him disappear into the sewers. "Damn it..."
With nothing to gain but a broken helmet next to her, Gwen resisted the urge to punch the ground again.
"Bzzzt... bzzt..."
That's coming from... the helmet?
"Scorpion..." Octavia's voice powered through the static. "Come in, Scorpion!"
Well, look what the octopus dragged in.
"Scorpion's not available right now," Gwen's laugh sounded tired to her own ears. "Take a message?"
"What?" Octavia said. "Who is this? Identify yourself at once!"
"You've already forgotten me?" Gwen picked up the helmet. "I'm hurt. Well, not really, that could just be my ankles."
"Spider-Woman," Octavia sighed. "This is your doing, I presume."
"Congratulations, you've won the lottery," Gwen mockingly raised her hand. "And a buttload of tax returns."
"Immature as ever," Octavia calmly said. "Where is Scorpion?"
"Feasting on sewer rats somewhere, I dunno," Gwen shrugged.
"Was it difficult?" Gwen could hear the cruel smile in her tone. "I inquire because what is about to come is far worse, I assure you."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Gwen tensed.
"Oh, you shall see," Octavia said. "When the time comes, they shall also see."
"They?" Gwen asked. "Who's they?"
"Here's a question for you, Spider-Woman... Do you think of God?"
The sudden question took her aback.
"I... don't?"
"That is an answer, I suppose," Octavia sighed. "But I am sure you have heard of the Problem of Evil."
"Of course," Gwen said. "I do read YouTube comments."
"Quite. Why does God allow evil? Everyone has their own answers to that question. Some take the obvious route and proclaim he's not real. Others attempt to justify it as some part of a grander scheme involving free will..."
"There is another answer, as probable as any. What if God is... preoccupied?"
Gwen had no idea what Octavia meant.
"Preoccupied?" Gwen asked. "As in... he's just busy? That doesn't sound like a good answer."
"Not just busy. Busy fighting. Locked in a struggle with countless beings just powerful enough to require his attention."
"And so he assigns others to rule us in his stead," Octavia continued. "But rather than angels, he has seen fit to bless beings mortal and flawed. They are not concerned with the burdens of ruling, only with the spoils of power. Content to grow arrogant in the decades that follow their once-noble work."
Somehow, the mental image of Silvermame appeared in Gwen's mind.
"So they inherit God's fondness for outsourcing," Octavia said. "Even now as we speak, those who could crush the entire city with a few kicks of their jackboots and a few sparks of their plasma rifle... are seeking to acknowledge the city's next ruler."
"And you think it's gonna be you," Gwen spoke with naked contempt. "Like every other wannabe megalomaniac."
"Who is going to stop me?" Octavia smiled. "Osborn is a timid weakling, unsuited for any responsibility. And you are still, a directionless child, quick to shout and throw her tantrums."
"Keep telling yourself that," Gwen growled. "When I drag you out by your oversized cape, you'll sing a different tune."
"You do not have what it takes," Octavia plainly stated. "Even if you won, you wouldn't know what to do with it. You will never secure power and they... will never acknowledge you. Time's arrow marches forward, Spider-Woman. Either lead the masses, or be trampled under the boots of progress."
Octavia's voice faded into static, then silence.
Securing power...
Gwen thought back to the vision of herself behind a podium, giving a speech to a hopeful crowd beneath a reddening sky.
Was that power?
Was it what she was destined to become?
Becoming as ruthless as Octavia... yes, it does seem like what you should do.
She has an army at her disposal. Imagine what we could do with an army. Even a small squad, and neither Shocker nor Scorpion would be escaping today.
We could have stormed the base and rescued Weapon X by now.
How long are you going to spend building your allies as she rots in captivity, doing only God knows what for Octavia?
Have you not promised to save her?
Gwen wanted to tell the voice exactly where it should shove itself, she hadn't liked what it had been telling her lately. But Peter and MJ would hear her. Instead she just webbed the helmet into a makeshift bag she could take with her.
"You can get some useful data out of this, probably," Gwen wrapped it like a purse.
"I hope so," Peter sighed. "Or else this would be a total bust. And I have to say, it was strange to hear Octavia's voice when she's not on television."
"So... are you going home?" MJ asked.
"I gotta think first," Gwen sat down. "The Scorpion is out there now, frightened and confused like he was before Octavia "helped" him. He might start kidnapping doctors again or something like that. I gotta find him first."
She heard footsteps behind her, yet her Spider-Sense was not triggered.
"Perhaps I could assist with such a cause," Kraven walked behind her, with her Bass Cannon in hand. "By the way, you appear to have dropped this."
To Be Continued
We have a bunch of subplots going on in a while. Do tell me what you want to see the most, if you have a suggestion. Do you want to see this triple date Gwen might going to have eventually? A team-up with Kraven to capture to Scorpion? What the Shocker meant with "not my memories"? Some characters we haven't seen in a while? Anything is possible. Now, let's talk to some reviews.
Guest 1: Hey, thanks! Always nice to hear the "I'm enjoying this more than the official one". It's one of the highest praises. Most likely Harry will take a brief rest, but you will see what happens to him eventually, so stay tuned.
Guest 2, Tomkatan, Angry naptime, Roro3, and Jackii: I understand nothing I say will likely change your minds, but I encourage you to approach the story with an open mind. Do you really thing if this was a typical thing that I would only explore this stuff more than 20 chapters in? It really sounds like a lot of people only read the latest chapter, which is not the optimal way.
Stephan422: As you can see, you are indeed correct. Props for predicting this one!
Metacllica: Thank you very much. Hope you'll like him more when he shows up again.
Icemaxprime: Venom will happen eventually - I just feel something of that magnitude needs lots of buildup. I am going to say for sure - the character who will eventually become Venom has been with us since chapter 1.
SkippingThrough: Aww... that is so wholesome. Thank you very much for such heartfelt words.