Anybody still reading this? If so then apologies for the delay. Hitting some serious writer's block and this chapter didn't do much to improve it. Maybe you guys could give some suggestions on what you wanna see? Might help me come up with ideas. Only one that sticks out are people wanting at least a slight crossover with Falcon and Winter Soldier.
Peter had to admit he felt kinda out of his depth. Sure, he'd crossed dimensions, fought an alternate version of his mentor, and even helped save the world from a big purple guy who was crazier than the Joker, but those were...okay, he couldn't say simple cause they definitely weren't. Maybe instinctual was the right word? He didn't really get a chance to think about it. It was fight or flight and if he didn't 'do' he would've died.
Now he was planning to raid a triad base with Scarlet Spider and Iron Fist and he couldn't help but feel somewhat nervous. He was sure he could handle it - he'd handled way worse at this point - it just felt...off. He'd taken it easy ever since he got back. Aside from the occasional random crime he hadn't fought anyone serious till they got caught up with the other heroes. Heck, he hadn't seen a single Supervillain since he got back.
"Remind me again who these guys are?" Scarlet Spider asked. They were all parked up at the building across where the triads had a base, the cloudy night sky hiding them from sight. Scarlet was crouched over the edge while Iron Fist scouted the building with a pair of binoculars. Peter himself was doing some last minute scans to make sure nothing was busted.
"Yellow Lotus triad." Iron Fist secured the mask over his head, "I don't know much about their history but they're one of the oldest triads from the mainland. From what I gathered they've gotten into some really nasty turf wars with the Red Dragon triad and they've taken some heavy hits. Now they're desperate to recoup their losses."
"Which means working with actual terrorists," Peter said. Most criminals tried to avoid working with terrorists, or at least not get caught doing it. Once you started doing that it wasn't just the police that went after you. That and most criminals didn't exactly like being connected to people who blew up buildings and killed tons of innocent people.
"Like I said it's just a lead. For all I know they might not be involved at all," Iron Fist said.
"Even if they aren't you can't really say these guys don't deserve a kick in the ass. Maybe it's just me but back where I'm from Triads are in the running for the nastiest gangs. Pretty sure only the Cartels beat them on how much depraved shit they can get into. Trust me, turning to dust almost seems merciful compared to death of a thousand cuts," Scarlet said.
Peter winced. He really didn't like being reminded of the Snap. Thankfully Iron Fist spoke up for him, "The way you talk I'm guessing you weren't hit a victim of the blip?" he asked.
"You could say that." She looked back down at the restaurant. They didn't tell the other heroes about the whole Alternate Dimension Thing. It wasn't like they could use it for anything but it was probably better not to advertise after what happened with Thanos. Most people outside of the Avengers didn't even know they used time travel to fix everything.
Not that Peter expected they'd keep it secret for long. Something would slip eventually.
"Same here. Living through those five years was hard, huh?" He put a sympathetic hand on her right shoulder. It was genuinely friendly and well-meaning but even through the mask Peter saw Scarlet cringe, "I hope you at least made it out okay with friends and family afterwards. That was one of the hardest for me."
"Yep...could say that again," she said awkwardly.
"So, we ready to raid the place?" Peter said just a little louder than necessary.
"Ready whenever you two are." Iron Fist nodded, "Remember, the guy we're looking for is Cheung-Sing Lo, also known as "Rooster" Lo. He's one of the biggest moneymakers for the Yellow Lotus so if anyone knows anything about smuggling high grade weapons it'll be him."
"So we just kick down the front door?" Scarlet asked, "Cause I'm totally up for just kicking down the front door. Noir's better at the whole sneaking thing anyway."
"That's definitely an option. Lo has the entire place rented out. Apparently he's really into the peking duck." Iron Fist smiled goofily, which looked kinda weird considering the half mask, "We need to be careful, though. Heard he's got some big guy with him by the name of Tang Niu."
"Name means the Ox, doesn't it?" Scarlet asked.
"Yeah...how'd you know?"
"Dealt with Triads before. These guys really love their 'badass' nicknames." She scoffed, "Remind me to tell you about The Talon and The Leopard."
"What about the people in the restaurant? I don't want anyone innocent getting caught in the middle," Peter said.
"Already dealt with that. Me and the rest of my friends actually went to this place before when we were dealing with this group called The Hand. Know about them?"
Peter shook his head, "Don't think so." Gwen mentioned them once or twice but only ever in relation to that Murdock guy. Apparently they were a bunch of immortal ninjas or something. Sadly there weren't any ninja turtles fighting them.
"Not me personally but I had a friend who had to put up with a lot of their bullshit." Scarlet waved a hand through the air idly.
"Really? Guess it wasn't just the Chaste and Daredevil who they messed with." He frowned, "They're bad news, that's all you need to know. Anyway, I gave a heads up to the owner a while ago." He looked down at his watch and nodded, "They're gonna 'take a break' in 5 minutes so the place is gonna be empty. Lo always picks a private booth on the second floor so he won't even notice they're gone."
"That's assuming you can trust these guys." Scarlet hopped down and sat with her back against the edge, her arms crossed, "These guys could just tip-off Chicken for a payday. Wouldn't be the first time."
"They wouldn't do that! Besides...I paid them off." Iron Fist scratched his chin somewhat self-consciously then shook his head, "Trust me, they're good. All we need to worry about is making sure we can get Lo. Besides Tang Niu there's going to be a bunch of other guys there and they're definitely going to be armed. Lo's also not much of a fighter from what I heard. Second something happens he's gonna start running."
"That means going all-in on one direction isn't a good idea." He hopped up to the roof's barrier and tapped the side of his mask, "Gimme a sec."
"What do you need, Peter?" Karen chirped. She was a lot more cheerful lately, though maybe that was just his imagination. It didn't take him long to figure out that it was her attempt to cheer him up after what happened to Mr. Stark. The other Spiders, especially Gwen, were all sympathy and patience but Karen was the one to really try and push him out of his slump. First time he went out on patrol was because she'd kept prodding him.
"Could you do a scan of the building? Need to highlight any windows, doors and emergency exits."
"Of course."
"Uh...who's he talking to?" Iron Fist said behind him.
"His suit has a fancy AI. Don't question it." Scarlet laughed and clapped Iron Fist's shoulder.
Karen highlighted all of the areas he asked for and even gave an approximation for where Lo was based on the noise levels. Just like Iron Fist said there wasn't anyone on the ground floor, "Alright, here's the plan." He flipped back and tapped the side of his mask again, "This Rooster guy's eating with a bunch of guys on the right side." He pointed it out, "Problem is that it's actually pretty close to the fire exit. If we all just bust in through the window he'll get away."
"We need to pincer him in then." Iron Fist put a hand on his chin and nodded.
"Exactly." Peter pointed to the door leading to the emergency exit then the front entrance, "Let's split up. Iron Fist you go through the front entrance, Scarlet you take the emergency exit and I'll go through the window to the room. If any of them try to run you two can stop them." He paused, "Uh...I might have to break the window. I'm really hoping your friend doesn't get too mad..."
"Ah...should be good. I'll make sure to replace it." Iron Fist rubbed the back of his head.
"Maybe I should do the busting in part? No offense, Tiger, but you're not exactly the most intimidating," Scarlet said.
"I can do it." He ignored the slight heat on his cheeks. Okay, so maybe he wasn't growly like Noir or (sometimes) Jessica, but he could handle himself. Besides... "I have this." He tapped his throat and the eyes of his mask turned to a narrow red, "How you like me now?" he asked, his voice coming out in an exaggerated baritone. Interrogation Mode, perfect for making a criminal wet their pants. Ned called it Mr. T mode.
"Woah, is there anything that suit can't do?" Iron Fist laughed.
"Takes more than a weirdass voice to scare people, but hey, you do you." Scarlet cracked her knuckles and hopped up next to him on the barrier, "Alright, we know what to do. Give us the signal, Tiger."
They jumped and headed for their positions. Peter swung over to his spot and watched as Iron Fist went through the front entrance while Scarlet did the same for the emergency exit, "Karen, activate rapid web." She responded with a cheery 'acknowledged' and he clenched his right hand with a small grin. It'd been a while since he got to use any of the suit's upgrades.
"Are you ready, Peter?" Karen asked.
"You know it," he whispered back.
Peter took a deep breath and kicked off from the building to get some momentum. He crashed through the window in a shower of glass, which was quickly followed by screams and curses, "Everybody freeze!" he shouted. There were ten people in the room, Rooster included. And they were packing. Almost all of them had pistols while a big guy who Peter assumed was Ox hefted a shotgun. The guy must've been really paranoid.
His spider-sense rang and he flipped to the side to the barrage of pistol fire, "Hey, I said freeze!" He shot a barrage of webbing to the ones closest to the left wall and pinned them to the surface.
"Fuck, it's one of those Spiderfreaks!" One of them shouted.
"No need for names!" He flipped over another one and shot a quick web burst at Rooster's right hand. The web pinned him to the wall and he tripped mid-run as the momentum pulled him back, "Stay over there for a sec! Need to talk to you about something!"
"Help me you fucking idiots!" Rooster screamed. A couple more tried to gun him down but the rest took a quick look at one another then bolted out of the exit. They probably thought he only cared about Rooster, "Where the fuck are you assholes going?! Get back here!"
"Shut up!" Ox raised his shotgun and fired. Peter dodged the first shot then pulled one of the triad goons out of the way before he could get peppered by the shell. Friendly fire much? "Hold still, you little shit!"
"Ah, ah! Language!" He webbed Ox's feet then pulled the shotgun out of his hands. The guy barely had time to scream out what was probably another curse before Peter swung the shotgun around and smacked him in the chest with it. Ox groaned and crumpled to the ground in a heap. It'd definitely hurt, but at least he didn't aim for the face.
He finished up the rest of the remaining goons and made sure they were nice and cozy under web blankets before he checked outside, "Good over here, Spidey." Iron Fist waved cheerily after he handcuffed one of the goons on the floor. At the other side Scarlet slammed another goon's head against the wall then let him drop to the ground. Ouch, "Did you get Lo?"
"Course I did." He gave them both a hands up.
Scarlet kicked one of the writhing triads and knocked him unconscious, "Then let's get some answers."
They all went back to the room and shut the door behind them. Rooster, who already looked like he was about to pass out, looked like he was gonna have a panic attack when he saw that he wasn't alone. Peter kinda felt bad for the guy, "You're gonna answer some of our questions," Peter said first. Interrogation mode was still on so he was definitely the best for it.
"You...You d-don't scare me," Rooster stuttered.
"Sure, totally believe you. Not like your legs are shaking or something." Scarlet scoffed, "Look, Chicken, we don't have time for the runaround. Why don't you cut to the part where you tell us what we want and we don't start chopping bits of you off."
"That sounds a little...extreme." Iron Fist stepped up next to him, "We just need some information. We know you're one of the big moneymakers for the Yellow Lotus so if anything huge comes into town you would've at least heard about. I know the Yellow Lotus has been dabbling in high tech weapons smuggling, something more than just a few smuggled AK's and revolvers."
"What are you-"
"Don't you tell him shit!" Peter looked back and saw Ox squirming on the ground. He made sure to tie his hands and legs together. Didn't want him running around, "You fucking know what the bosses are gonna do to us if you squeal, you little shit!"
"And what makes you think you're safe here right now, big boy?" Scarlet crossed her arms.
"You don't scare me, bitch! I ain't scared of a freak in a costume!"
Scarlet didn't say anything. The red surface of her right arm shifted and then, without any warning, the limb elongated to a jagged blade. Rooster's eyes turned as wide as saucers and he watched Scarlet slash through the wooden table, cutting it clean in half, "Holy sh-" He didn't get to finish before Scarlet swung the bladed arm again straight at him. The edge of the sword stopped just a few inches from his neck.
"Hey, Scarlet..." Peter's eyes narrowed. She was just bluffing...right?
"Still think keeping quiet's a good idea?" she asked.
"I-I..."
"Don't say anything!" Ox screamed, "You know what'll happen if you talk! It ain't just you who's gonna go down, you cowardly bastard! You'll drag all of us down with you."
"Think of who you're scared of more," Iron Fist said, "You can run from your bosses. You can't run from us."
"And even if you do manage to escape we'll just track you down again. We knew you were here, we'll know where you go if we have to," Peter said. They had to lean into his paranoia if they wanted to get anywhere.
"...Alright, fine. I'll tell you."
"You fucking coward! You goddamn-" Peter webbed his mouth again.
"Wh-What do you wanna know?"
"We wanna know about this." Iron Fist raised a phone close to Rooster's face. On the screen was a picture of the bomb, "A couple of days ago someone tried to bomb Harlem's Paradise. High yield and advanced tech. Bomb like this isn't something you get from any other gun trafficker."
"A-And you think I know something about it? The Yellow Lotus aren't the only weapon smugglers in the city!" "
"Well you better start talking before my hand slips." Scarlet twisted her hand and faked a yawn, "Better hurry, arm's getting tired!"
"Alright, fuck! I...I know something about it." Mary Jane pulled her arm back and changed her hand back to normal, "We ain't producing these things, if that's what you're thinkin'. Yellow Lotus has some connections in certain places and this guy told us he'd cut us in if we just make sure we get some components into the city without people looking twice.
"Guessing it isn't something you can order from Amazon?" Peter snarked.
"Nah, it's components. Tools. Don't order it all at once, that'd draw way too much attention. Instead he smuggles it through our contact and then he does that shit here, I think. There ain't any bombs in the crates."
"Hmm, this complicates things." Iron Fist put a hand on his chin and paced slightly, "Who's your contact?"
"Even if I did know that, you'd think I'd tell you?"
"Oh yeah, cause what you've told us already is totally harmless," If she wasn't masked Peter could imagine she was rolling her eyes.
"Look, I don't got anything else! Guy who made the deal wasn't gonna talk to the boss so me and another guy were a middleman. Guy didn't even use his real name, neither of us did. It's all business."
"What'd the guy call himself?" Peter asked.
"Fuck's it matter? I just told you it wasn't his real name!"
"Answer the question!" Peter actually screamed that last part out.
"Shit, fine! Clown called himself Shocker, alright?! Dunno his face. Guy comes in with a fucking yellow mask. Felt like I was talking to some crazy asshole." He took a deep breath, "That's all I know, alright?"
"Shocker..."
"You know him?" Scarlet asked.
"...Nah, don't think so." The name sounded vaguely familiar but he didn't remember running into any electric villains lately. Which was good cause they were always a pain.
He turned off interrogation mode and kept quiet for the rest of the time as Iron Fist and Scarlet interrogated him on whatever else they could think of. Eventually time ran out when they heard police sirens outside, "We should probably go. Something tells me the cops aren't going to be happy about this." Neither would the restaurant owners. He didn't say anything before but the busted table was definitely something Iron Fist would have to pay for too."
They swung away from there before the cops arrived. Scarlet took Iron Fist with her while Peter followed behind. He'd definitely have to keep an eye on those guys for the next couple of days. Judging by how scared they were of getting on their boss' bad side he didn't want to turn on the news and find out they were dunked in the harbor with cement shoes or something. Maybe one of the Defenders knew someone in the cops?
He asked as soon as they landed on a far enough rooftop.
"I do know someone," Iron Fist said, "Since we're pretty close to their station I'm sure those guys will fall under their jurisdiction. I could ask her to keep us in the loop, but I don't think we'll get anything big. The whole vigilante thing's a touchy issue." Scarlet snorted, "My guess is they'll be put into witness protection and Lo will take it. Only other choice he has is taking his chances escaping the Yellow Lotus by himself."
"So what do we do now?" Peter asked.
"We managed to get some information. I say we wait to meet up with the others tomorrow then we can decide what to do. Sound fair?"
"Fine with me." Scarlet shrugged.
"Definitely." Peter nodded and, after a moment of hesitation, offered his right hand, "It was...cool working with you. Too bad I couldn't see you fight."
"Heh, same. Don't worry, I'm sure we'll get a chance next time." He accepted the hand shake and grinned back at him, "I'll head out. Told my friend that I'd meet up with him for some work stuff and he said 'Immortal Iron Fist stuff' isn't a good excuse anymore."
Peter and Scarlet waited at the roof till Iron Fist was out of fight. He was about to leave when Scarlet suddenly said, "Hold up. Gotta talk to you about something."
"Something wrong?"
"Not really, just something I couldn't say while Iron Fist was around." She sat at the barrier and put her right knee up, "Maybe it's just a coincidence since I'm still pretty new to this whole alternate dimension thing, but I know a Shocker."
"A villain back home?"
"Bingo." She mimicked firing a gun, "He's a supervillain me and Spider-Woman had to deal with sometimes. Ignore the name, he doesn't actually have any electricity. He has these weird gauntlets that make really big shockwaves and loud sounds. A real bitch to fight." The surface of the costume near her shoulders thrummed, "Sticks out like a sore thumb too. Wears this yellow quilted suit that looks like his mom made for him."
"Wait, I think I remember him. Back in, uh, my Gwen's dimension me and a bunch of other Spiders fought with the Sinister Six." Even though there was only five of them. Peter pursed his lips, "Hm..."
"Got something?"
"Not sure. Back when I was a freshmen I had to deal with this big Vulture guy. He was selling weapons too." Also his old crush's father and tried to rob the Avengers, "When I was running out of school I got ambushed by this guy. Didn't call himself Shocker but he had these gauntlets. He could flip buses with those things." Shame he was in such a rush. He would've loved to see what made that tech work.
"Think he's the same guy?"
"I doubt it, but it can't hurt to check, right?" He didn't know if Mr. Toomes got snapped either. He didn't really have much of a reason to check, right? It wasn't like they were friends or anything, "Hmm, I'll ask Ms. Stark to see if she could ask anyone if he's still in Rykers." Prisons were another messy thing that people were still fixing after the Blip. Facilities weren't downsized since there would always be new criminals (a train of thought he didn't like to dwell on) but that meant when the old criminals were brought back a lot of them just didn't have the space. It was the same as the homes and hospitals.
"Sounds good to me." She stretched her arms above her head and groaned, "I'm gonna go on patrol before going back. Not sure I see the point, though. No one ever seems to get in trouble around here."
Peter said his goodbyes and just swung around idly to try and kill some time. He was about to call it quits when he heard a scream below, 'Someone's in trouble?' Despite Scarlet's comments there actually was still crime, they just weren't as...open about it as they were back in Gwen's dimension. Still, they did happen. He'd be a pretty crappy superhero if he never actually got to do anything.
It was a mugging, a guy in a hood tugging at a woman's backpack in an alley. It was one of the more common things he had to deal with. Between people losing homes, jobs and relationships there were at least a few who figured they didn't have a choice. He felt bad for them, but it still didn't change that they were stealing from innocent people who had to deal with the same things they did.
The mugger tugged the backpack away and the woman (girl?) let out a scream when she was pushed to the ground, "Sorry about this," the mugger said. He turned and tried to run out of the alley when Peter yanked the backpack out of his hands with a line of webbing, "What the-"
"Sorry about this." He stuck him to the wall with an apologetic wave. He actually did feel sorta bad about it.
"Hey wait, you assh- oh."
Peter landed with a small flip and presented the bag...only to almost fall on his face when he saw who it was, 'Come on, are you kidding me?' He did his best to look absolutely heroic and not at all someone familiar as Stacy stopped right in front of him. Her hands were on her knees and her breaths came out in tired pants. She must've been doing the tug-of-war for a while before he got there.
"Thanks." She let out one last pant then looked him in the eyes, her mouth curled in a weak grin, "I totally had him, though, just so you should know."
"Yep, he was one the ropes." Okay, wrong. He shouldn't be joking back. He should act like a professional hero so she didn't put two and two together. Which, okay, that sounded really egotistical but MJ was really making paranoid.
"Okay, I lied. You totally saved my ass." Stacy accepted the backpack gratefully and opened it in a rush. She rummaged through it for a few seconds then heaved a sigh of relief, "Oh thank god it's still in one piece."
"Something important?" What was he doing? Just swing away!
"Huh? Oh, yeah..." Her smile became strained and she put the backpack over her shoulders again, "Just...something from my mom. Sentimental value, you know?"
"Totally." Great, now they were having a conversation. Okay, it was cool, he could play this off, "You need to be more careful about walking in alleys...miss."
"Yeah, I know. Hey, it's not completely my fault. Chuckleshit over there-" She pointed at the mugger who was stuck to the wall with his mouth gagged, "-acted like a bum and that he was injured, ketchup blood and everything. Felt bad for the guy but when I got close he pulled me over here and grabbed my backpack. Didn't even have a gun or a knife or anything."
"You should probably call the police."
"...Nah, it's fine." She sighed, "I still kinda feel bad for the guy...and I don't want my dad getting on my ass. Overprotective, you know." Well she did get snapped. Made total sense.
"Listen, I gotta go. Are you alright? Hurt anywhere?"
"Gonna get a bruise on my butt, but I'll live." She fingers the straps of her backpack and just...looked at him, "Hey...I know this is gonna sound like a really cringy pick-up line, but do I know you from somewhere? Swear I've heard your voice before..."
Oh crap.
"Peter, I suggest leaving now before she realizes 'the jig is up'," Karen chirped.
"I just have one of those voices!" He almost considered turning on interrogation mode again before thinking better. That'd just make him look even more suspicious, "Anyway, be careful going back home! And stay away from hobos near alleys!"
He didn't wait for her to reply before he swung right out of there. Alright...that sucked. It was only after he was well out of sight that he groaned. He should've asked her to keep the assist on the downlow. Now she'd probably mention it at school tomorrow and then Michelle would give him those knowing looks cause she was suspicious and smug and he wasn't doing anything to make her think otherwise.
Peter crawled through his apartment's living room window and took off his mask. Gwen was already there lying on the couch with her costume off and her right hand covering her eyes, "Hey..." He tapped the chest insignia and the costume flopped down to the floor, leaving him in just his boxers. Considering Gwen was also in just a tanktop and shorts anyone walking in might've assumed something.
But right now it was the last thing on his mind and he got the feeling it was the same for Gwen.
She scooted her legs back without a word and let him sit on the other end of the couch, "...How was your team-up?" he asked.
"Great. We walked in on a guy who wasn't wearing any underwear and pretty much interrogated him." She let out a tired breath, "Or really, Daredevil interrogated him. Me and Mayday kinda just stood around and made him feel even smaller."
"Yeah, same." Though in his case it was Scarlet. He wondered how Noir, Jessica and Ms. Jones were doing, "Bright side we managed to get some info...and a name. Apparently someone calling himself Shocker
"Herman? Seriously?"
"Maybe? Alternate dimensions, remember." He smiled weakly.
"Yeah, don't remind me..." She groaned.
"...Wanna talk about it?" He placed a hand on top of her knees and gently squeezed.
"Ugh, I made a complete ass of myself. Promised I'd be on my best behavior and I kept giving Daredevil shit. He didn't even fight back, cause that'd make it way too easy. No, he was totally nice and just confused on why I was being such an asshole. Mayday grilled me afterwards and just...ugh, I feel fucking awful. Like I know it's not really him I hate but I still couldn't stop myself."
"Hey, you're not the only one who made that mistake, remember...?" Even now thinking of Mr. Stark still hurt, and it only got worse when he remembered what happened before. He was so desperate to see him again he ignored all the warning signs.
"Yeah, but I've been at this alternate dimension stuff longer than you. I've dealt with this shit already but then I just see Murdock and everything turns red and I can't..." She clenched her fists shakily, "I don't even know why it's just him. I mean...when I look at you I don't see my Peter."
"Let's not talk about it, alright?" It was always something that lingered in the background. He didn't know Gwen Stacy but she knew Peter Parker. It was way better than when they'd started but he knew that fact would never go away, at least not completely. They just learned to live with it, "Speaking of alternates, did I tell you that I ran into this dimension's Gwen Stacy?"
Gwen raised her arm slightly and peeked one eye open at him, "Seriously?"
"Yeah. MJ - uh, Michelle - introduced her to the decathlon team. She's an exchange student from France. We're...getting along, I guess. Promised to help each other out on our weakest subjects after she told Flash to screw off." He leaned back on the couch and looked up at the ceiling, "...I also kinda helped her out before I got here. She was being mugged and, you know, Spider stuff."
"Oh my God. Peter, if you tell me that you're falling for my alternate dimension counterpart I'm gonna chuck you out that window."
"Wh-What?" He coughed, "Of course not! I was just-"
She flipped up to a sitting position and flicked him on the nose, "It was a joke, you goober." She rolled her eyes then stretched her arms above her head, "Look, sorry for my angst fits, alright? I'll deal with it. Promised Mayday I'd apologize to Daredevil tomorrow and hopefully we can put it all behind us."
"If you say so." He smiled and reached for his phone, "Wanna order some pizza?"
"Sure. I'll put on a movie; just wanna forget today ever happened."
Sorry for the meh chapter. There were some pretty big changes. Originally the Triads were going to be fought in a warehouse where they were doing some much nastier shit, leading to more violence from Scarlet. I toned it down because I didn't want the fic getting too dark since I get enough of that in Madhouse Blues. This also had the POV change from Scarlet to MCU Peter.
I'll do Scarlet's POV when I can. Maybe when they start investigating Shocker, especially since it damages her more due to her having a symbiote.
Likewise Noir was supposed to have a POV segment with both Jessicas but I decided to save it for the next chapter due to the word count surpassing 5k. I just wanted to update since people have been asking and I wanna confirm that I haven't abandoned my fic despite the block. Hopefully the next update doesn't take another half a year...
Review answers:
Dragon Rider 66 - Peter seems to be handling it fine for now, but then again he's not sure if it really is Vulture. As for Noir, gonna have to wait for the next chapter.
RandomComicFan - Nope, coincidence.
Ultimatrix Bearer - Nah...I think Peni's warming up to him.
Titan616 - Honestly I had no plans for Defenders after the New York arc. Mostly cause this story was meant to be shorter and New York would've been the only arc before we get to Mysterio.