Hey everyone :) New chapter out, and with that a new question that I'll place here since the bottom AN is bloated: I'm legitimately curious, before the swerve in the last chapter what did people think was up with Noir? I mean the injection with the serum, bleeding effect memory recall, lack of signs of aging etc etc weren't normal regardless of how you sliced it. What did you guys think the reason was, if you had a theory at all?
Second, is everyone...cool with the plot twist? I mean it changes the tone of a lot of the story for both protagonists and calls into question Noir's continuous search for Octavius, which built up a large part of his background and motivations in the story. It's unlikely Noir will identify as 65-Peter now, but I'm wondering all the same if people still regard him as the same protagonist knowing that he wasn't who he was originally advertised as?
More a side-note than anything else, but does everyone just take 65-Cindy's words at face-value or believe it's a bit more complicated than 65-Peter going through a Persona 5-esque change of heart?
After 5 years of being Spider-Woman it was fair to say that Gwen had gotten used to strangeness. Even ignoring the fact that she got superpowers from a radioactive Spider, nowadays she usually found herself dealing with others guys and gals in costumes so much that she'd become numb to shock. After all, what was another person in a costume to her? She didn't have a monopoly on the whole costumed hero gig, so who was she to judge, right?
Still, Peter's friends - if she could even call them that - were enough to make her gape like a fish.
Now, she'd seen a lot of weird shit in the 5 years she'd been Spider-Woman, but the gathered group was enough to make the most jaded war vet choke on his food. Gwen knew about Felicia and Castle well enough. Their relationship wasn't exactly what someone would call warm and caring, but she knew them: The former wanted to avenge Murderdock killing her father while the latter was just sick in the head and wanted to kill as many people as he could even if it meant leaving his traumatized family behind.
...She didn't like him. Felicia at least she could understand even if she couldn't exactly condone her actions, but Castle was just a nutcase...who also happened to know her identity. Honestly, she was surprised he hadn't tried going to Jameson or something.
The other 3 definitely caught the lion's share of her attention. The guy wearing the leather jacket with a bullseye tattooed on his forehead seemed almost mundane compared to the guy standing next to him, 'Shit, I've heard of Owl-Man fans, but isn't he going a bit too far?' she thought, staring at the figure covered head to toe in white looking over the edge of the roof. She was tempted to call him a ninja, bit she couldn't think a single one of those that wore bright white that practically screamed their presence to anyone who cared to listen.
And yet, those 4 had nothing to the teenage girl who was getting into an argument with Castle, her shouts carrying across the breadth of the rooftop. She was the only one who wasn't loaded with an obvious gimmick and her disguise - if she could even call it that considering it was nothing more than a hoodie with a surgical mask plastered across her mouth - made her look terribly out of place compared to everyone else in the ragtag group.
"You should stay behind, kid. You're only going to slow us all down."
"What makes you think I can't help, asshole!? I can do a fuckton more damage compared to that paintball gun you have!"
"Exactly." Castle adjusted the place of the sniper rifle on his arms and slung it over his shoulder, his face impassive, "I can make accurate shots, but you? You're going to cause a lot of unnecessary damage. There's a reason they give soldiers rifles, not an entire pack of grenades they just throw at anything that looks at them funny."
It was an argument that sprung up only a couple of minutes ago, but for Gwen it felt like hours. Another thing she noticed about the group: While they seemed to be 'friends' with Peter, they sure as hell weren't friends with each other. This was only the latest argument they'd had in the 20 or so minutes they were waiting for Star King or whatever his name was to scope out the so-called underground hideout with one of his drones; whoever he was, he was definitely loaded if he could afford one of those.
But hell, she couldn't deny the fact that she was getting pissed off with the constant yelling. Last time with was Target-Man making fun of Felicia for 'thinking this was an S and M convention' followed by her insulting his only gear being 'a deck of cards and some paperclips'. And before that Felicia, Castle and Target-Man looked at her like she was a fungus growing into their walls. She knew why the first two didn't like her, but what the hell was the last guy's problem? She never did anything to him.
And now Castle was arguing with an underage girl about how she was useless and should have been left behind...and God help her, Gwen actually agreed with him.
So far she'd stayed out of their little pissing contests, doing her best to keep quiet even though she was severely tempted to snipe back at their not-so-mumbled insults. Besides Star King the other teen was the only one who didn't look at her like she was an unwanted tick - even vouching for her when most of them suggested they not include her in this little raid - but she couldn't help her reservations. Powers or not she didn't feel good including someone who was blatantly underage and inexperienced into this little...thing they were planning.
...She tried to ignore the voice at the back of her head reminding her she started at the same age.
Taking a deep breath, she forced her voice to steady and spoke up, "...I think Castle's right," she said. All heads (except for Star King) snapped towards her, their expressions varying: Target-Man looked surprised, Felicia and Castle looked at her with the patented scowl of theirs while Lana - that was her name, right? - looked like she'd just been sucker-punched, her mouth parting in surprise before she threw a glare her way.
"Oh, what the fuck!?" Lana threw her hands up, looking between her and Castle, "What, you two are working together now!? You didn't even want her to join in!" She gave Castle an accusatory glance, the older man giving her a distinctly unimpressed scoff in response. "Me and the white ninja over there had to convince you three assholes to take her along!"
"Look, I just don't think it's safe to bring along someone so young," Gwen said, "It's too dangerous-"
"Fuck safe!" She spat, her glare turning almost murderous, "Right now Pe- Spider-Man's down there probably getting his fucking spleen torn out and you're worried about me!?" Rings of light spread to cover both her hands and Gwen winced. She hadn't seen her actually destroy anything with her so-called powers yet, but she got the feeling that it would've been bad to test her, "I'm not gonna sit my ass here when I can do something!"
"Here, here!" Target-Man said, a wide grin on his face, "I've seen her in action, and she's definitely gonna be useful to this little search and rescue we got going on here. I mean she ain't the sharpest tool in the shed, but with her superpowers she doesn't have to be. All she's gotta do is point and shoot." He picked out a single card from the deck he held in his hands and flipped it between his fingers, "I'll handle the hard parts."
"Much as it pains me, I actually have to agree with Spider-Woman and Punisher," Felicia said, lips curled in an annoyed frown, "Something like this doesn't require overwhelming power. How well can she control her powers? I'm not afraid of fighting, but I don't want to look over my shoulder the entire time because a little girl lost control of her 'gifts' and catches any of us in the fallout."
"Hey, I can control my 'gifts' just fine, bitch!" Lana snapped, "I can choose who to aim at, so don't fucking tempt me-"
"Enough." Star King stood up to his full height and turned to face them all, "This arguing is pointless. We cannot save Spider-Man without aid, and right now all we can only rely on one another." He looked at each of them, his expression unreadable behind his mask, "You share no love with each other, I understand this, so focus instead on the rescue of our mutual ally. We have different reasons for wishing his freedom, but his rescue is something it all has in common. Understood?"
They looked at one another, each of their expressions (even her own) bearing the same conclusion: Suspicion and distrust. If it was possible they would have rescued Peter all on their own, Gwen herself included, but SK was right. She wanted to call S.H.I.E.L.D, but after Agent 47 took her stuff it'd have taken hours to try and find a proper facility and get Cap on the line. Time she wasn't willing to risk considering what those sick fucks did to Maxine in a day.
"Miss. Baumgartner's presence cannot be argued either," SK said, "According to what I've gathered the entrance to the base is protected with a reinforced metal barrier." He held up a hand to prevent Gwen from interrupted, "While you might be strong enough to break this barricade, it's not a risk that I would bet Spider-Man's life on. Miss. Baumgartner's willing to use her abilities to rescue him, the same as you."
"...Fine." She looked away and crossed her arms. She didn't like it, but beggars couldn't be choosers; and right now she was probably the poorest girl in a costume this side of New York. She'd just have to watch out for Lana while they did this; with any luck the S.I.L.K agents would focus all on her and the rest while ignoring the other teen, "What's the plan?"
"A frontal attack, overwhelm them before they have a chance to counter properly," he replied.
"All in, huh? I like it." Target-Man's face split into a wide grin again and he picked up 2 more cards, balancing each between his fingers. Gwen saw him eye the crude map of the 'secret hideout' the would-be ninja drew; an abandoned storage building, or at least that's what SK claimed. It reminded her way too much of S.H.I.E.L.D's own hidden field offices for comfort, "Guards shouldn't be a problem with all of us, huh?"
"This is foolish." Felicia scoffed, "Why bother attacking openly and exposing ourselves? It'd be better to find an alternative way in, sneak in without getting caught and get Spider-Man out with none of these 'Silk' enfoirés any the wiser."
"The facility is underground, Black Cat." Gwen raised an eyebrow. 'Black Cat'? Felicia wasn't even trying, was she? It'd be like if she called herself 'The Mary Jane'...though she was pretty sure MJ would've loved the idea of her using her name as a Superhero alias, "To find an alternate route you'd have to find a sewer and blow a hole in the walls, at which point you would be exposed and your plan for stealth rendered useless."
"So we just go in and you want me to blow open the gate?" Lana asked, SK giving a muted nod in response, "Seems kinda stupid, but shit I can't say it didn't work before. Guess we just have to watch for tripwires so we don't get a face full of shrapnel." She stuffed her hands into her pockets and shrugged nonchalantly. Gwen wondered just how Peter met the girl with comments like that, "I'm in."
"Let's do this quickly." Castle grunted, "Sooner we finish this the sooner we never have to see each other again."
Again Gwen found herself agreeing with him, though that feeling quickly faded when she saw him prep the tripod at the end of the gun's barrel and set the rifle down on the edge of the roof, "Hey, what are you doing?" she asked, already feeling self-conscious when the other 4 looked at her like she was brain-dead. Castle didn't even bother looking up from the gun, focusing instead on adjusting the scope in lieu of answering her.
She knew exactly what he was planning and she found her fists clenching on reflex. The tattooed bald man rolled his eyes exaggeratedly and sighed, "Oh boy, here we go."
"Castle, are those filled with live rounds?"
"What do you think?" He still didn't look up. He made one last adjustment to the scope before going prone, balancing the gun against his shoulder like she'd often seen in action movies, "I'll provide covering fire then follow afterwards," he said, more to SK than to her.
"A good plan. We shall-"
"Wait, wait, wait. Hold on a second, you can't just kill them!" She looked to the others and found them looking at her in various shades of disbelief and annoyance. Even Lana raised an eyebrow at her, though she seemed marginally less put-off compared to the others, "Look, I wanna save Spider-Man just as much as of you, but we can't do it wading through a sea of fucking bodies! It's-"
"Wrong?" Castle interrupted, finally meeting her gaze, "Tell me something: What's your plan? These people have guns and they're going to shoot to kill. Are you willing to risk all our lives - the life of that kid - just because you're afraid of a few nightmares? These are terrorists, they kill innocent people every day. They don't deserve the kid gloves, and none of us are going to give it to them."
"We have to be better than that. We can't just-"
"Better? Is that your only reason for judging others for the same standards you hold yourself?" Felicia sneered, the thin mask doing little to hide the hate in her expression, "Life's not a fairy tale, Spider-Woman. Just because you believe justice catches on to everyone eventually doesn't mean that it will, or am I mistaken that Murdock's still a free man because you considered it 'wrong' to kill him in order to stop him from hurting more innocent people?"
"Plus, I kinda have to point out that S.H.I.E.L.D kills people, too," The tattooed bald man cut in, "You're their Golden Girl, you can't be so stupid to think they wouldn't put a bullet between each of these bastard's eyeballs if you call them in here...probably on most of us here except Boomgal over there, actually." He shrugged, "Just saying, these guys are dying either way. Only thing that changes is who's pulling the trigger. "
"That's not an excuse-"
"Oh my fucking god, would you all stop your fucking bitching!?" Lana screamed, "God, at this rate we're going to kill each other before we get anywhere near that place!" She stamped her foot, "Look, I don't want to kill anyone, but if it's between them or Spider-Man getting put in the ground then it's gonna be them! You can bitch us out when you're done, but I'm not gonna leave him there and I'm not getting shot in the face because I don't wanna hurt the poor little kidnappers!"
"We can avoid casualties if we can, but asking us to lay down our lives for your ideals is unreasonable," SK cut in, his voice eerily calm, "If this isn't satisfactory to you then you're free to leave. While I would regret not having your assistance, it's far better than the restrictions you wish to impose upon us."
Get bit her lower lip and looked down, her fists shaking. This was the same argument she'd had with Peter...Spider-Man, and she hated the fact that she never had a rebuttal that could convince him or deny that he had a point. It was easy for her to be the hero, to make sure that no one died because of her powers. Would she hold her dad to the same standard? Or Kate? Hell, even Cap? Despite everything they were still fully human and a bullet would kill them dead just like it would anyone here.
...Fuck.
'God damn it...' She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "...Alright, fine. Just...try your best not to kill anyone if you can, but...if it comes down to it then...do what you all have to do."
"So glad to have your permission," Felicia said, voice dripping with sarcasm and barely hidden contempt. Gwen got the feeling it wasn't going to go away any time soon, "Come on, then. Let's get this over with."
The building wasn't too far away; just a short run down the street from the rooftop they'd gathered themselves. Gwen swung through the air quickly, the rest following her in their own ways. She didn't know if it was deliberate or a coincidence - though she was leaning on the former given everything that's happened so far - but the street was almost eerily empty, cars diverting elsewhere before even getting near the street.
The half a dozen guys in suits standing front of the building was suspicious as all hell, too. If they were trying to blend into the background then it was a pretty big fail on their part: Matching black suits, shades at nighttime and even pairs of dark gloves on each hand, 'What is this, Ex Machina? How did no one find this place before?' She swung on a high arc, giving a small flip before allowing herself to free-fall. The place was manned either by S.I.L.K agents or mercenaries for hire, so she didn't feel too guilty about what came next.
The first of the agents fell when she kicked him right in the jaw, landing flat on his back with a pained groan, 'One down.' She pivoted around and delivered another punch to the suit next to him, her fist impacting against gut and forcing him on his knees, 'Two.' She covered him with a burst of webbing and grimaced. She really hoped SK was right about these guys being S.I.L.K agents; she didn't want another misunderstanding after barely 2 months of her name being cleared.
The third fell before she could round on him. The suited goon had barely managed to pull out a gun before a playing card embedded itself on his hand, the thin cardboard somehow cutting through the skin like a hot knife through butter, "Trying to hog all the fun?" Target-Man flicked another card at the back of the guys leg, the rent-a-thug falling on his face at the sudden injury.
'How the fu...' She shook her head. Now wasn't the time to worry about that; right now she was more glad that none of those cards went anywhere near the guy's neck...though the grin on the bald man's face and the way he was laughing didn't do much to inspire confidence.
Felicia and SK joined quickly to help mop up. The would-be ninja definitely knew how to fight; she wasn't an expert on hand-to-hand combat despite Cap's attempts to rectify that little flaw, but the way he moved was definitely a cut above most people she'd seen. Felicia also surprised her, though not by much. She knew the popstar could fight - she had to considering she lasted as long as she did against Murderdock and his ninja groupies - but the whip was definitely new. Fit the outfit, she supposed...
As soon as the last thug fell more rushed out of the entrance, each of them carrying firearms of various kinds. Gwen grimaced before she heard someone scream behind her.
"Get down!"
Gwen ducked into a crouch - along with everyone else - just before she saw a beam of light pass over her and almost the entire group of suits was engulfed in a deafening explosion. She covered her eyes briefly and let the ringing pass before she looked again, "Well...shit," she muttered. Most of the henchies were on the ground; and still alive judging by the groans of pain and complaints about their legs. It was going better than she thought.
Of course, as soon as she thought that fate decided to fuck her.
One of the men in black struggled to stand, hands groping for his radio and warning whoever it was on the other side that they were under attack. Gwen raised a hand to web his mouth shut before she saw the red laser settle on his forehead and her eyes widened.
"Wait!"
Too late. She didn't hear the sound of the gun firing, but she definitely saw the man's head snap back at the force of the impact when the bullet collided with his forehead just before he fell down, a pool of blood quickly seeping through the hole at the back of his skull.
Dead...it hadn't been the first time she'd seen a life taken right in front of her, but whoever said that people would grow numb eventually was spewing some bullshit. Even now she felt sick, wanted nothing more than to forget that very second someone had been alive and then...not. Clenching her fists, she forced herself to stand and tracked the laser's movement, watching as it moved to the other suit brave or stupid enough to try and pull a gun on them.
'Not again.' She attached a webline to his chest and pulled, knocking him out of the laser's trajectory and closer towards her. The older man stumbled before she kneed him in the stomach, webbing him to the floor and rendering him immobile, 'Better they're puking vomit than blood,' she thought grimly, webbing the rest of the prone thugs before they could get up and provoke Castle's next kill.
That done, she turned to Castle's direction and crossed her arms. She couldn't see him, but she knew exactly where he was, "No one else," she muttered, more for herself than for him. The laser shifted and rested at the man groaning close to her and she moved towards it, blocking him from sight till the laser rested on her own stomach. For a painful moment she thought he'd pull the trigger, even expected it considering their last meeting before that shitshow with Peter, but eventually the red light faded from sight.
"...Well, that was dramatic," Target-Man cut in, an amused chuckle escaping him, "Hey, Golden Girl, you do remember we're supposed to be fighting S.I.L.K and not protecting them, yeah? You wanna stay behind, maybe patch up their boo-boos and make sure they make it back to their mommy's okay?"
"Shut up..." She let out an annoyed growl, ignoring the way he grinned in response. She didn't know how Peter met the guy, but he was definitely a pain in the ass, "Let's just get in there before I change my mind about kicking your ass."
"Peter, wake up!"
Cindy banged on the glass separating the two of them with a frustrated growl. Her hands hurt from the movement, a little 'present' from her evil twin, but that didn't matter right now. At that moment all she could focus on was the fact that Peter was lying on his side facing away from her, a pool of blood seeping onto the floor of his cell from the crudely stitched cut on his stomach.
She'd seen it before, and not just with him. She wasn't privy to the exact details of the experiments her counterpart did, but whatever they were her victims broke within days. The longest one she'd seen lasted two weeks and he'd even managed an escape, but even then it wasn't long before Mac was taken back and...'educated'. Again she didn't know what that really meant, but considering her track record she doubted it was anything good.
"God damn it, Peter, get up!" She banged on the glass again, voice growing more desperate. She wasn't going to let it end like this; she wasn't going to watch that monster who had her face break him down again till he practically begged for death. That mad scientist had hurt too many people already, "Whatever she did to you, you can't just give up again! Come on!"
She didn't know if God answered her prayers or she'd just used up all the karma she was owed for that near-decade in the bunker, but she wasn't going to complain either way. The light above her went from cool blue to bright red, the door to the front of her cell suddenly sliding open with a soft hiss.
"What the...?" She took her eyes off her fellow prisoner and made her way to the doorway, each step cautious. The lights usually signified when someone was about to be taken for experimentation, but for all of them? She'd never seen that happen. That and the doors opened only after the gas was pumped to knock the occupants inside, never before, "A glitch?" Did it matter, the sensible part of her mind asked. She could get out of here.
She'd barely steeled herself to move past the doors of her cage before a line of S.I.L.K agents stomped through the entrance at the end of the hall, each of them holding a shock-stick in their hands, "Everyone back in your cells!" The one in front screamed. Cindy almost rolled her eyes; after all the torture and experiments it was doubtful most of them would even understand English, and those that did wouldn't have much motivation to listen.
'Gotta play this smart...' She walked back to her cell, stopping only when her back was pressed against the wall and her hands were up. Ezekiel trained her to use her powers and fight, but besides the old bastard himself she'd never actually gotten into fights unless someone counted her hockey shoves; it certainly didn't make her confident enough to take on a dozen armed guys when she couldn't even use her webs.
'Play it cool...' She raised her hands higher when the agent trudged into her cell, the electric tip pointed right at her chest. She winced; she was tougher than most, but a prod from that would hurt, "Wh-What's going on!?" she asked in forced panic, doing her best to make her expression fearful and meek, "A-A-Am I being taken!? Why-"
"Quiet!" He screamed, stepping closer to her. He was confident, thought he was in full control. Probably used to it after all the time he'd spent here, "Just stay in your cell till the alarm passes! We will-"
That was as far as he managed before Cindy grabbed the stick and tugged, ripping it out of his grasp and making him stumble forward. That done she twirled the baton around till the end was facing him and struck, the agent clad in green convulsing at the sudden electrical attack before he fell on his back with a soft gurgle. Cindy could only hope that he was still alive; despite everything she didn't want to kill him.
The rest of the agents didn't serve any better. A few turned to face her, their focus entirely on their fallen comrade.
Big mistake.
It only took a second of the shock-sticks being faced away from them before the occupants of the cells attacked. She saw Edward tackle the two agents guarding him to the ground, claws cutting through one while the other had his neck bitten through by the transformed man's rat-like teeth. Another two down the hall were covered by a swarm of snakes, screaming and clawing as the poisonous fangs pierced their flesh.
"Oh, god." She held in her disgust and rushed to the other cell. She couldn't worry about them now, "Peter, can you walk?" She knelt down in front of the frozen young man. He looked past her blankly, his eyes half-closed with tears that trickled down his sides, "Peter, we need to get out of here..." She looked back down at the hall. The experiments weren't on their side. She couldn't rely on them not to attack her, too.
"Peter!" She shook his shoulder, but again he said nothing. A part of her - the angry, desperate part that she wanted to ignore - screamed at her to leave him. She'd already saved him before, right? She didn't owe him anything anymore. It was because of him that she was trapped in that cage and he didn't even have the decency to remember what she'd done. She could have left him without feeling guilty.
Of course, she knew that she couldn't do that. Conscience, guilt or just plain old masochism wouldn't let her.
"Shit..." She dropped the shock-stick and picked him up in her arms, ignoring the trickling of blood at the front of her patient gown, "It's gonna be okay." She clenched her hands. She didn't believe it herself, but she figured someone had to be the Superhero and it sure as hell wasn't going to be him, "We're going to get outta here..." She took a deep breath and turned around, only to come face to face with Edward stalking into the cell with a hiss.
"Damn it..." She backed away, her grip on Peter tightening, "Edward, I don't want to hurt you..." She knew he couldn't understand her, but she couldn't stop the vain hope that maybe her words would push through, "We can all get out of here, just-"
Her third sense blared, the pounding almost deafening despite the circumstances. Moving on instinct, she ducked over his attempted lunge and let him smack against the wall with a loud thud, 'Too close!' She circled around and kicked him in the jaw, wincing at the feeling of blood smearing across her bare foot. She'd definitely need a bath when this hell was behind her.
"Sorry, Edward..." She gave the unconscious man a pitying look before running down the hall, giving Blanche and her snakes a wide berth. She doubted the deranged woman even cared about leaving; she'd stopped caring about anything save 'feeding her babies' months ago. The rest of the prisoners here were so out of it that they cared more about attacking anything in front of them than trying to escape.
She crashed through the door at the end of the hall and looked around her. She knew this place; her memory wasn't the best after all the drugs, but she remembered enough to know what went where, "Exit's to the right..." The hallways were a maze, but if she remembered right she could make her way to the exit. As soon as they were past that they were home free...well, besides the fact that she was trapped in an alternate dimension that is, but what else was new?
Cindy took only a few steps to the right before she looked back. Her corridor wasn't the only one that contained cells; they were segregated by designation, but the newbies - fresh blood, her evil twin called them - were placed away from the other subjects. Hadn't been 'broken in yet', she'd said. It made her sick, but she was too much of a coward to do anything before. She'd taken Peter because he was just one person, but how many fresh subjects would be there in the other room? She always told herself she'd come back for them, but...
"...Damn it." She groaned and turned back, adjusting Peter's place in her arms before she crashed through the door shoulder-first.
The cage was 'communal', not like the separated arrangements she and Peter had. She saw at least 8 people huddled together in the wide cell, 2 S.I.L.K agents with shock-sticks barking orders at them stay put. Cindy felt her blood boil at the sight of it and she charged, jumping onto one of their backs and smashing him to the ground with a painful dropkick, almost forgetting to rein in her strength in her anger.
"What the-"
"She's not going to hurt anyone else!" She kicked the next one right in the head, a dull crack resounding through the room before he joined his buddy on the ground. She probably broke his jaw, but screw it; he'd live, and it was better than he deserved after working for that harpy.
"Is everyone alright?" She looked down at the mass of people, feeling a stab of pain in her chest when they looked up at her in fear. Did they see the similarities with her and her evil twin or were they just scared of what she'd done? She shook her head; it didn't matter, she had to help them, "It's alright, I'm here to help you..." She smiled, doing her best to inject some cheer into gesture despite having to carry Peter's bleeding body in her arms, "I know the way out of here. Follow me."
All of them looked at one another in uncertainty before one of them stood and gave her a shaky nod. The girl looked no older than 11 or 12, and again Cindy felt her blood boil at the thought that any version of her could honestly consider hurting an innocent person. She wouldn't have said no to getting some payback, but not like this. She could come back when she wasn't shackled and dragging 9 innocent people who needed her.
The hallways were a maze, as expected. They ran into a few S.I.L.K agents, but besides that the halls were mostly empty, "Is someone doing a raid?" she asked aloud. The doors wouldn't have opened normally, right? Someone had to have been here, but for what? A rival organization? Maybe S.H.I.E.L.D, considering how much her evil twin griped about them ruining her plans? She hoped it was the latter. She didn't fancy getting out of one cage only to get stuck in another...again.
"We're almost there." She looked back at the group. Scared, but at least they didn't look like they'd been experimented on. She'd take what she could get, "It's just past here..." She pressed her eye against the retinal scanner and let out a sigh of relief when the door opened; guess her twin couldn't counteract against that, "Once we're out we can call the police, maybe-"
Her third sense rang.
"Look out!" she screamed, the crowd not even getting a chance to scream before the wall next to them broke down with a loud crash. Cindy closed her eyes and pressed Peter closer to her, shielding him from the dust, debris and broken glass, "Ah..." She clenched her hands and focused on the collapsed wall. Her instincts were screaming at her to jump and run, but she couldn't leave these people. Couldn't just let them die to some-
"Mac!?"
Cindy gaped as the dust settled and she saw the large figure standing at the center. Mac Gargan, the only one besides that Maxine girl who escaped; and he'd managed it on his own, unlike her. She didn't know how exactly he'd done it, and to be honest she didn't care. He'd managed to escape and gave her evil twin a black eye, she was happy for him no matter how he did it.
Still, seeing him now she felt all that relief fade. His eyes were blank, eyelids parted wide unnaturally while his mouth was practically frothing like a rabid dog, "Mac! Mac, can you hear me!?" she yelled, voice desperate. She didn't know what her twin did to him, but he'd lasted the longest among all her victims. If anyone could break through whatever experiment she did it would have been him, right?
She got the distinct feeling her faith was misplaced when his tail came right for her, the stinger piercing through where her neck would have been if she hadn't dodged in time.
"Everyone, run!" She tossed Peter aside - it was the lesser of two evils - and delivered a punch to the older man's armored stomach, wincing at the pain that met her knuckles, 'Damn cuffs!' She ducked under his swipe and delivered a kick to his side before running to the other side of the open room. She couldn't win, she knew that, but she could give everyone else a chance to make it out of here. She'd already done it before.
"Peter, get out of here! Go!"
This was chaos.
Gwen ducked under the agent's clumsy punch and twirled, smashing her foot to the back of his head and forcing him onto the ground before webbing him down. How many did this make now? She'd lost count past the entrance. Whoever owned this place definitely wasn't shy about throwing disposable goons at them, that was for damn sure; S.H.I.E.L.D was going to make a lot of arrests before the night was done.
Her attention shifted to her two remaining 'teammates'. Star King and Felicia were fighting their own share of rent-a-goons, and despite first impressions they were definitely doing better than she expected; and they weren't as crazed as Castle or Target-Man about killing or crippling the opposition. She could only hope Lana was alright; the two were separated from the rest of the group in the chaos earlier.
She wasn't sure if freeing all the prisoners was such a good idea, but what choice did they have? They had no idea what cell Peter was in and the people had to have been innocent, right? Still, she could only hope that all of them played nice. She didn't want another repeat of what happened with Maxine, especially with Castle and that damn rifle of his around.
"Door's closing!"
Gwen's head snapped to the end of the room and she grimaced at the sight of the metal door slowly lowering down. She didn't know if the doors in this place were made of fucking Vibranium or something, but lifting the damn things were a pain her ass. Granted she could still do it, but it definitely took a lot more effort than she expected. She hated to admit it, but SK was right about bringing Lana with them. Definitely helpful.
She shook her head; Lana wasn't here now, she was. Giving one last look at the two other vigilantes, she rushed towards the door and held onto the bottom, groaning at the sudden weight pushing down on her arms, "Hey, guys! Hurry up!" she grit out. The barricade was nearly closed by the time she'd gotten to it and any longer and the only way they were getting out of it was after they were pancakes.
Thankfully the pair got the memo. SK and Felicia rushed past her and slid down the slowly narrowing gap without so much as a thank you, 'Right, my turn...' She took a deep breath and-
Spider-Sense.
'Shit!' She rolled to the side and barely avoided the green blast of energy, "We gotta stop meeting like this." She stood up and balled her hands into fists, glaring daggers at the red-suited agent standing a fair distance away. He was the one who took Peter, the one who tried to attack her after she helped Mac. She would've been lying if she said she wasn't looking forward to some payback.
"Sorry, kid. You've become more trouble than you're worth, even the boss says so." She could practically see the cocky smirk on his face when he stepped forward, "Orders are dead or alive, which in her words pretty much means dead." He shook his head and clicked his tongue, "Just so you know, it's nothing personal. You just didn't know when to leave well enough alone."
His next move surprised her: Not an attack or one of his annoying as hell energy blasts. No, instead he clicked one of the metallic balls at the end of his holster before suddenly tossing it at her direction, "Here, catch!"
She saw the gas and held in her breath, but it was no use. He rushed her and delivered an overhead punch; an attack she ducked easily enough, but she found herself breathing in the toxic fumes when her face made contact with it.
Immediately she felt a weakness overtake her, her eyes turning woozy despite the adrenaline rushing through her, "You won't..." She raised a hand to punch him, an attack he blocked easily followed by a patronizing click of the tongue, "What did you..."
"Gas developed by my boss. Coded to your DNA specifically, Ms. Stacy. You could say she's an expert on you." She blocked her second attempt at a punch and shook his head, "Won't drain your powers completely, but it should be enough to soften you up."
He tightened his grip on her arms and threw her. Gwen flew through the air for an almost familiar moment before her back smashed against the wall and she landed with a pained groan, "Ah..." She grit her teeth and resisted to urge to let out a loud cry. It hurt; far more than she was used to ever since she'd gotten bitten. Nowadays landing on a car from 20 feet up would've just been a bruise, not...this.
'Come on! Move!' She tried to force herself to sit up, but her body refused to cooperate. Just barely she managed to see Agent 47 walking towards her, taking his sweet fucking time to finish her off, 'He's playing with you...' Her head was spinning, and she felt her vision fading to almost nothing. If he killed her now would she even feel it? Was he waiting around because he was trying to be 'merciful' and not have her feel it?
"Sorry again, kid. But you chose the wrong side."
What happened next was hard to describe. The last of her vision finally faded and she thought that just maybe she'd finally passed out, but if so why did she feel like she was suffocating? 'What...the fuck's going on?' She blinked - and she definitely felt her eyelids moving - but the overwhelming darkness persisted, 'Can't...need to breath...' She was beginning to feel lightheaded. Was he choking her? No, it felt different than that.
Breath suddenly returned to her, followed by a sense of overbearing warmth. Gwen felt as if she'd been covered under a hundred blankets, the heat spreading from her feet up to her head in a sudden rush. It was unbearable at first, like being baked inside an oven at max temperature, but eventually settled into an almost comforting warmth and feeling return to her body.
"Let go of me! It's taking control of you!"
Her sight came back all at once. She was standing again, definitely not what she'd been doing last, and in front of her...
Agent 47 hanging in the air with what looked like black tendrils wrapped around his neck, arms and legs, 'What the hell...?' Her eyes followed the tendrils down to their source and her breath caught in her throat when she saw the black substance latched onto her right arm, 'Uh...that's not normal...' She twisted her hands, the tentacles following her command and tilting the struggling agent with almost pathetic ease.
She felt...weird. Good, actually; more than herself. It reminded her of the first time she'd been bitten and when she first discovered her powers, the first thrill when she realized she could casually break the law of physics into tiny little pieces every time she jumped or clung to a wall.
Gwen flicked her hand to the right, the tentacles obeying her command and smashing 47 against the wall with a painful crash, "...He's done." She let out a soft breath and looked down at the tentacles' origin point. Her costume was different, a weird shade of blue-black. Part of...whatever the hell this thing was? No clue, but she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
"Uh...retract?" She spoke aloud. The new appendages still held onto the unconscious agent, "Er...come on, how do you control this? New powers, right?" She clenched her hand, the tentacles' grip growing tighter, "Alright, I think I got this..." She took a deep breath and relaxed her mind. She could...feel the tentacles calming as well, the wriggling appendages releasing their death grip on him and coming back to merge with her new costume.
"Well...that's new." She pointed her arm at the agent and retracted her middle and ring finger. Rather than expected string of white webbing she saw dark colored cables cover his prone form, "...Definitely new." What the hell happened? One moment she was about to be killed and the next...this. Part of her powers was it one of the experiments that got loose? She honestly didn't know...
And why did she get the feeling the next few days weren't going to be sunshine and rainbows? "No time for that now." Gwen shook her head. She had to find Peter and the rest...or maybe find her phone so she could call Cap for some backup or something. Something told her Peter's 'friends' weren't going to react very well when they saw her now, but she could worry about that later.
"Alright...whatever you are. Time we got outta this hellhole."
They were going to die here.
"Peter, get out of here! Go!"
Peter watched through half-empty eyes as Cindy struggled against the mutated man...monster. She wouldn't be able to fight him, not in her state - She was strong, she was cursed with power like Gwen and himself, but that monster...it would kill her if she didn't run, didn't stop fighting. And she knew that; she was distracting it, trying to save those people, trying to save him.
Again.
His fingers twitched. Just barely he could see it: A large black spider crawling through the floor, the arachnid almost disturbingly calm despite the carnage going on around it. Peter heard the screams of the innocents as they ran, leaving each other behind in their panic. He heard Cindy urging them to not look back, for Peter to get up and for any one of them to take them with him because he couldn't walk.
'She's going to die...' He blinked, the action slow and languid. He felt the blood on his stomach, the tears that continued to escape through parted eyes. Why was he crying? From the pain? No, not that. He'd gotten numb to hurt months ago...or did he? It could have been someone else, and he was just a idiotic kid who turned himself into a monster all for the sake of petty jealousy and wanting to be admired.
The spider skittered onto his palm, legs digging into the raw flesh. It was the same one; the same one that bit him, that...what did it do? Transfer his memories? His soul? Give him a copy of recollections and thoughts that didn't belong to him? He didn't know...and that, more than anything, hurt him. The doubt, the uncertainty that everything he'd done for the past 4 months was nothing more than a lie. A facsimile of someone else's life.
Will you lie there and watch her die?
His fingers twitched again. He could feel the spider's legs digging harshly onto his right palm, feeling slowly returning to the limb, "...I can't do anything," he muttered, voice almost unheard in the cacophany of screams. If that scientists was right, if he really was nothing more than a copy that deluded itself into thinking it was him, then...then what? It was never really his, "Who...am I?"
Does it matter?
Of course it did. If it didn't then...what was the point of it all? Trying to find Octavius, wanting to go back home and leave this madhouse behind him...was it nothing more than a delusion? Trying to find his way back a place where the one who really deserved it was long dead and he was here just trying to fill in his shoes? Would the May Parker of that world even want him back? Would Mary Jane?
"...Tell me who I am."
You are my Chosen.
He almost laughed. Almost. Hollow platitudes and words of encouragement; he'd heard it all before. So he was 'chosen' now? He doubted it. That night at the docks was a fluke, nothing more than random chance. If Urich hadn't been high off of heroin he would've been the one there, would've been the one who was 'cursed with power'...or maybe it would have killed him like it did with Fancy Dan. Who knew?
If you wish to die here, then so be it. I can find another.
He didn't want to die. He didn't know who he was, or what he would do after this nightmare, but he wasn't going to lay down and die, "I'm not dying here..." The spider skittered to his wrist, its mouth hovering over the vein.
So be it.
The next bite hurt, but not in the way he expected. Peter felt a cold chill run through him, as if his entire body had been dipped in frozen water, "What's happening...?" He took quick, shallow breaths to try and stave off the cold, but it didn't help. He saw Cindy's eyes widen, screaming something at him that he couldn't make out just before the monster threw her aside and knocked her unconscious.
"Cindy..." He struggled to stand, the spider jumping from his palm back onto the shadow where it came. He couldn't let her die here, not like this; not after everything she'd done to try and save him before. Wisps of smoke passed through the side of his vision, almost engulfing what little of his body he could still make out through his fading vision. He looked down at his hands and-
...He couldn't see his hands...or any part of his body.
Peter clenched his hands, fingers curling inward and the nails digging into the skin of his palm. He could still feel his body, knew where everything was, but he couldn't see them, "...Another one of your gifts?" he asked, getting nothing in response. It was about what he expected, though right now he didn't have time to question it. It would help, that was all he needed to know.
He knelt down and picked up two large shards of glass, the pair disappearing as soon as he made contact with them, 'Can't fight him head on. Need to take him apart piece by piece...' He narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on the shards. Cindy couldn't take him down, but he saw the chips and dents from where she managed to do some damage and expose the bloody flesh underneath
Peter rushed towards him, jumping onto his back and jamming the glass through the small gap in the plates Cindy managed to make. He heard the mutated man roar, hands reaching for his back to try and grab for him.
'Move.' He jumped off the nearest pillar and landed in a crouch, one hand still holding onto the shard of glass while another pressed against the floor to keep himself upright. He could feel the chill growing worse, a sudden pain spreading across his skull. Peter grit his teeth and picked up another shard of broken glass, trying to ignore the feelings of discomfort. He needed to make this quick.
The next few seconds passed by in a haze. Peter's body moved on instinct, stabbing the glass to whatever flesh he could reach as he tried to pry the carapace that served as the monster's armor. It couldn't see him, and the more he fought the more it's movements seemed to slow; almost as if he was wading through a sea of cement. Again, he didn't question it; couldn't afford to.
He'd lost count of how many times he'd stabbed the makeshift knives through its body, but by the time the chill was becoming unbearable and the headache almost debilitating the behemoth finally fell, its mid-section covered in innumerable gashes and wounds along with glass that had been embedded inside.
"...I did it." Peter fell onto his knees, finally catching sight of his limbs again. He felt the biting chill rush through him worse than before, the pain in his head making it hard to stay conscious, "Cindy...?" He tried to stand, but quickly found himself falling onto his side as the pain and exhaustion worsened. Everyone else was gone, ran for the exits as soon as they could. He didn't blame them; it was what he expected them to do.
The door behind him opened with a loud crash. Footsteps...a lot of them, if he heard it right. Peter forced his head up and saw hazy figures make his way towards both him and Cindy, one of them kneeling down in front of him. Even through the haze he saw the stylized eagle logo on their shoulders; Gwen's spook friends, here to save the day...if only they'd gotten here earlier.
Peter closed his eyes and let himself fall into the lull of sleep.
You're mine now.
So...second surprise: I gave them both power-ups! One for each theme: Gwen being sci-fi with the symbiote while Noir has his totemic connection with The Pariah deepened. Before we go anywhere here's a list of all of them, which is slightly spoilery since they don't use all of them in the chapter:
Peter Parker/Spider-Man - The Pariah:
New powers:
- Invisibility/Stealth Camouflage. Can't be picked up even via thermal goggles.
- Hyper Senses/Super Awareness. Able to pick out weaknesses and subtle movements.
- Bullet time.
- Enhanced Spider-Sense. Almost akin to Murdock's radar sense.
- High resistance to outright immunity to mind control, hallucinations and pheromonal manipulation.
- Enhanced Speed. Noted to be faster than Gwen, Matt Murdock and Cindy Moon.
- Energy Draining/Paralytic Webbing. Needs contact with flesh to work.
Weaknesses:
- Invisibility drains body heat, leaving him freezing if sustained for too long.
- Bullet time and Hyper Senses can induce feedback and leave him with crippling headaches if constantly used without cooldown.
Gwen Stacy/Spider-Woman - Gwenom:
New Powers:
- 25 ton strength. Can reach 70 if sufficiently motivated and enraged.
- Even stronger durability. Can take a barrage of high caliber bullets and attacks from Metas with super strength while only getting light injuries.
- Organic Webbing.
- Limited shapeshifting abilities.
- Stronger Healing Factor.
- Matter Generation.
- Costume and Clothing Manipulation. Can alter appearance dependent on Gwen's choice.
- (eventually) Poisonous Claws and Fangs.
Weaknesses:
- Weakness to fire.
- Weakness to sonics.
- (Possibly) Enhanced aggression.
- Increased hunger. Murder on her food bills. Worst weakness of all.
Yeah...Gwen definitely feels like she got the better end of the stick, though they're both good in different ways: Gwen's new powers are passive and by themselves they hold no penalties while Peter's are activated and specialized, albeit at the cost of not being able to use them as much since he can't instantly heal from the sapped body warmth and migraine-like headaches.
And of course the practicality of these powers are questionable, especially Gwen given that 25 ton strength is an active liability against human targets when trying to avoid killing them...not to mention weaknesses to sonics is reallyshitty when you're a drummer in a band. Still, I hope I didn't make them too strong now. Gwen sort of went from 'kinda overpowered' to 'hilariously overpowered' in one go while Noir goes from 'trying to be like Batman' to 'Basically Batman without having to get training'.
That and I'm not sure if I'm going to have them keep these new toys. Venom being rejected and turning evil as a result is practically tradition now and The Pariah's words about Noir being 'theirs' now is also rather eyebrow-raising given what we know of stuff like 'The Other'...though maybe he'll luck out and his totem will be benign like Silk and 'The Bride'. We'll see where it goes.
Review answers:
NeverendingZero - Depends if you believe 65-Cindy fully or not. It could be a body transfer. Anyway, the uncertainty's going to be plaguing him a lot in the coming chapters.
TheOkWriter - No other Spider-Men, as for the Cindy who helped him? Who knows. Inheritors aren't banging down their door, so either Spider-Verse passed off-screen or she's another Cindy. Let's just designate her 12131-Cindy and call it a day.
Mingyu - To be fair, Peter did try not to say anything at first but Gwen insisted on answering that love life question rather than leaving it be and just swinging away :/ Next time when he says they should leave she should probably realize that he means they should leave before he says anything to start more rumors and fanclubs for her.
TralfamadoreUndone - Another chapter? We're past 40 chapters at this point, I think it's safe to say I spaced it out long enough ;) As for Noir 'dying', again that depends on whether you believe 65-Cindy fully or consider it might have been a bodyjacking. Also, Noir's world doesn't need him: As Spider-Verse indicates he actually retired since the age of super big crime gangs ended in his world and he was reduced to stopping drug store robberies.
As for how he deals with it, it's probably not going to be as simple as choosing one path and sticking to it; particularly with the Lizard's split personality manifesting and The Pariah gaining more control like Koshnu over Moon Knight. That and his relationship with Gwen...yeah, it's all a mess. Though the Spider-God isn't a Big Bad; it's more an apathetic neutral figure, as with most deities. Good, Evil, Selfish, Selfless...it's all up to the host to decide for the most part.
Crieger - So I shouldn't have updated? Cure my poor timing! :P Anyway, still looking forward to that review. And I didn't plan this twist from the beginning, FYI. Just in case you thought I masterminded this since Chapter 1, because I didn't.
KasugaRomio - New and Innovative? Eh...not really. This is a pretty generic plot twist. Still, I hope you keep reading and reviewing :)
