Gwen sat at the kitchen counter, Mj and Glory making the four of them some food while Betty was busy playing with the webs she was using to keep the destroyed window covered up.
It had been a few hours since Black had disappeared into the city and she couldn't find him at all. The blonde was getting more and more worried, and feeling even more like shit when she remembered how he didn't remember her at all.
That one had hurt a lot honestly.
A sudden tap on her shoulder made Gwen look up, seeing Mj looking down at her with a plate of pasta in his hands. "Come on, my cooking isn't great but you've been running around for hours on empty spider-gwen" she said, handing the blonde her food as Gwen accepted it with a smile.
"So what's the plan?" Betty asked, moving away from the window and grabbing her own plate. The others joined them at the table, watching Gwen carefully as she thought for a moment.
"There's nothing I can do, I couldn't find him last time and I don't think I'll have any luck this time honestly" Gwen admitted as Betty gave her a sympathetic smile, the other two getting concerned at Gwen's one tracked mind.
"Okay, so are we still on for the gig Gwen, or do you need to swing out?" Mj asked as Gwen lowered her head to the table with a light thunk. Glory shot Mj a look as the redhead shrugged in reply.
"I'll be there, this is big for us and I am not missing it for anything…maybe if a building is on fire but that's only if Cap phones me directly" Gwen replied, looking up at her three bestfriends with a smile while they smiled back at her.
"So…can you get me Falcons number?" Betty asked as Glory hit her in the arm, getting a laugh out of MJ while Gwen dug into her food, her spirits lifted a bit. Putting the thoughts of Peter out of her mind for now, Gwen let herself relax for a bit.
She would find him, and she would help him no matter what.
A sudden call from her phone made Gwen look up, eyeing the device from across the room as she saw the familiar call sign for Captain America on the screen. "Guys keep quiet for this okay" Gwen spoke,. Marching over to her phone and answering it, letting it go to loud speaker for everyone to hear.
"Spider-woman, good you picked up" Caps voice came through with an sharp edge, making the girls flinch as Gwen narrowed her eyes at the phone. This was going to be serious wasn't it.
"Theres not much time, do you have Black with you right now" the soldier asked as Gwen sighed.
"No, he freaked out when he woke up and left as soon as possible, got a broken window for it, but he was at least doing okay…i think" Gwen replied softly as Cap sighed in the other end.
"Not good, we need him to come back to SHIELD as soon as possible" Cap said as Gwen stared at the phone with a slight glare.
"What for those bastards to taser him in a chair again?" she asked dangerously, not liking the idea of going anywhere near SHIELD right now, with or without Black beside her.
"That is being dealt with, what we need Black for is much more serious" Cap replied smoothly as the spider hero readied an eyebrow at the phone. "The serum, its still; active in his blood, the blood samples we took mutated a few hours after you both left the carrier…he could change again" Cap said as Gwens' eyes widened at the news.
"But…he transformed before leaving, but not into the lizard Cap" Gwen replied as the other girls shot her a look, one demanding an explanation as soon as she was finished. "I've tried to look for him but he's disappeared, my best guess would be laying low in hell's kitchen again" she added as Cap muttered something to herself on the other end of the phone.
"If you hear anything let me know, this could mean the difference in finding a cure Gwen…or having another outbreak" she said, hanging up the phone as Gwen just barely stopped herself from crushing the phone in her grip. She was not going to let that happen to Peter again.
"Ahem" Glory cleared her throat as she shot Gwen a glare. "Peter, Peter Parker was the midtown Lizard" she said slowly as Gwen ;et her head fall into her free hand. This was not going to be fun to explain.
Above the streets of Hell's kitchen, the black rose dragon soured through the air, its red eyes looking for a place to land as its thoughts ran wild. Who was Gwen, why did he remember that name, why did thinking about the blonde girl hurt, did it have anything to do with spider-woman.
All these confusing thoughts made the dragon wince, almost falling in its fly before it corrected itself. Slowly coming down, the dragon landed softly on one of the wider buildings roofs, curling its wings up as it huffed in frustration.
He wasn't going to get any answers like this and the only source of information currently made his head want to split open when he even looked at them.
This was just a huge mess to the teen dragon.
"You look familiar" a voice spoke up, scaring the red dragon as he flung a few petal-like scales in the direction of the voice. Just barely missing its target as they jumped over the surprise attack, rolling into the light as the red dragon caught sight of the unknown bald head.
And the distinctive target like tattoo at the centre of it.
"Wow wow, calm down scaly, friendly remember" Bullseye said, keeping his hands up as the dragon huffed to himself. Curling its wings back in on itself, the dragon regarded Bullseye with a narrowed eyed look as the man sauntered over to them.
"So, you're gone for like a day…and you're already hitting the news buddy, loved your work on that lightning chick btw" Bullseye joked as black rose grumbled to himself in response. Holding up his phone, Bullseye gestured to the dragon to look at the screen.
Numerous videos of people reacting to Hamon killing the girl in front of all those people. A few people were being interviewed at the scene after Hamon left with Spider-woman chasing him. Wow he really made an impression huh.
"Some of these people just can't seem to see the good you did buddy" Bullseye spoke up, making the dragon raise an eyebrow at his words, waiting for him to continue as he put his phone away. "They kept saying stuff loike your a murderer and how you should have let the police handle it…one interview called you the devil and ranted on about how you were here to kill us all" he laughed as black rose sighed at his words.
Just what he needed right now.
"But…the police chief at the scene actually stood up for you, colour me impressed at how thankful he was that you saved all those people from getting killed…you did the right thing ya here" bullseye gave him a grin at that making the dragon pause as he took it all in.
"Now…you going to stay as a dragon all night or are we going to hit up a bar and talk, I might need your skills for something" Bullseye turned to the edge of the building, glancing back at the dragon for a response.
Black rose sighed, letting his body fade away as Black reappeared to the world, his hood pulled up over his head to keep his face hidden. "This bar have any food?" Black asked, getting a good chuckle out of Bullseye as he swung himself over the edge of the building and climbing down to the alleyway below.
Arriving outside a well lit bar, Black kept his hood pulled over his face as he and Bullseye marched up to the door, ignoring the line of people waiting to get inside. The bouncer eyed the two as bullseye walked forward, about to make it past the man before he ehdl an arm up.
Black almost thought he was going to be turned away…only for a second later to have the bouncer screaming as the bone of his arm was sticking out of his elbow. "Waist of good help" Bullseye said, walking inside as Black followed, trying not to think about the man they left behind.
Finding a booth on the second floor, Bullseye ordered the two of them some drinks from a very skimpily dressed waitress, said girl winking as Black as he looked away flustered. "You know you can buy a dance, this place triples as a strip club and a low end whore house" Bullseye pointed out as Black shook his head. "Suit yourself"
"So…what do you need me for?" Black asked, pulling his firewall card out of his pocket to keep his hands busy while the two waited for their drinks. Bullseye eyed the card in his hand, looking at it carefully as he leaned back in his seat.
"I got some info on SinEater" he said, making Black look at him with interest, his hand resting on the counter as the firewall card glinted in the light. "Since you left a few attacks have happened around this district, mostly on hookers outside that wouldn't be missed if you weren't looking that is" he explained as Black nodded.
The waitress returned before Bullseye could continue, handing the two of them their drinks as Bullseye knocked his shot back with a satisfied sigh. Black eyed the shot in front of him, taking it carefully before looking back to Bullseye. Said man was giving him a gesture to go for it.
With a bit of hesitation, Black knocked the snot back, immediately regretting it as he coughed violently in his fist. Bullseye laughed at his misfortune, grabbing his glass of chosen drink to sip at while Black recovered.
"As amusing as that was, let's get serious, we can get drunk after kid" he spoke up as Black nodded, sipping at his own drink to help his burning throat a bit. Alcohol was not his strong suit apparently…not surprised to be honest but disappointing all the same.
"The pattern gives us a window of a few hours between 1am and 4 so that will be our best chance to hunt him down and put a stop to him" he explained as the teen nodded.
"Hay bullseye" Black spoke up, looking down at his firewall card as the bald man gave him a raised eyebrow. "Why are you doing this, your hunting this thing down but…aren't you a mecarnery for hire…what do you get out of this?" he asked as the man leaned back in his seat, looking up at the ceiling in thought.
"I'm not a hero kid, if that's what your thinking, but…I;ll do some good every now and then, I'm not perfect but this thing is dangerous for everyone, and the spandex wearing guys looking for a cheering crowd are ignoring it all…might as well clean it up myself" Bullseye explained as Black nodded.
He wasn't a hero either but…he wanted to do some good with his powers, and Sin Eater was dangerous. Hamon would enjoy fighting that thing, that's for sure. Said card pulse with an excited spark in his pocket as Black rolled his eyes, great one of the spirits was a battle junkie.
Just what he needed really.
"With that said, we got a few hours to chill while we wait, so you in kid?" Bullseye aske,holding his glass up as Black looked between it and his own glance. Fuck it might as well.
"Let's do it" he said, smiling a good true smile for the first time since he woke up in that alleyway. Clinking his glass with Bullseye, the man laughed as the two chatted about what he knew about the demon already and what could be useful against it.
Black nodded along, giving some input and a bit of basic information on what he could do when he transformed into one of his dragons. Bullseye made some comments on the Hamon card, saying that it could come in handy with its own lightning powers.
Hours passed as the clock struck 12, bullseye off chatting up some waitress as Black stayed in his seat, going unnoticed by everyone as he eyed the cards in front of him. The red eyes card continued to ignore him, giving him a quick heated feeling every time he looked at it.
Looks like he wasn't getting any help from that one.
Looking towards the firewall card, Black noticed the dragon's eyes looking back at him, a faint whispers filtering into his ears as if it was speaking to him. Trying to listen, Black let the music of the bar drain away as he heard the spirit speak for the first time.
"...defence…redirection" the voice spoke slowly as Black tried to concentrate on it better. " We are the wall Black…we will defend them all for it is our nature" firewalls voice was clear to him now, speaking to him as Black felt relief at hearing the dragon for the first time.
"We…are we in this together?" he asked quietly as the voice stopped, the dragon glinting slightly as the dragon looked back at him.
"We are…prove that you can defend the ones you care for and my power will always be there for you" firewall replied before the card grew silent once more, leaving Black to stare at it in thought. Turning to the Hamon card, Black almost flinched back at a snarling voice made itself known.
"Agony boy…we are your power, the pride to fight back and win because we don't give in…we are not weak and we will not be wielded by someone who decides themselves weak" the voice was sharpe, speaking like a booming thunder in his ears as Black kept his gaze on the fiend like monster.
"Good, keep striving forward and you will make a fine lord of thunder…we will kill, our pride demands sacrifice for us to strike back…be ready for the trials ahead" the lord of thunders voice faded aw3ay into a snarling chuckle as Black wondered what he was about to get inot.
Before he could look towards the black rose card, Bulllseye returned to the table, looking at him as he threw his head towards the door.
Guess it was time to start hunting.
Pocketing his cards, Black kept the Hamon card in his hands as the fiend pulsed through his mind, eager to fight this so-called demon. Outside the bar, Black and Bullseye walked down the street, Black following the bald man closely as he seemed to be eyeing every random hooker and couple out that night.
Each person seemingly in the idea of heading home with their current partner for the night for some fun.
A sudden shift in the air made Black tense, a growl pulsing through his mind as Hamon felt the presence of something as well. Slipping off to an alleyway, Black noticed Bullseye backing up into the entrance as well, his eyes narrowed towards the roof tops.
A second later Hamon was standing in the shadows of the alleyway, out of view as Bullseye jerked his head upwards. Nodding the fiend leaped into the air, bullseye following close behind as the two jumped over the edge of the building.
Three builds away the two spotted a winged figure disappearing down the side of a building, without pause they gave chase, hamon taking the lead as he flew silently above the rooftops.
Down below the fiend narrowed his red eyes, spying a body being thrown into a wall with a painful crack, slumping to the ground out cold. Nearby a larger figure was looming over the kneeling women, said women unable to scream as a large clawed hand was wrapped around her face.
Before a fanged filled mouth could reach out and tear into her neck, Hamon dove, tackling the hulking winged beasts into the alleyway wall. The two struggled against each other, Hamon taking note that the women had run off, leaving the unconscious male in the alleway and in the way of the fight.
Before Hamon could think further a clawed fist slammed into his face, shaking the fiend as he stumbled back. Barely bringing his shields up, the golden fiend blocked the demons next hit, snarling as a pulse of lightning coursed through them, jumping up the demons arm and making it snarl and back off.
"Keep it busy!" Bullseye's voice rang out from behind Hamon, the fiend narrowing his eyes as he lunged forward, tackling the winged demon into a dumpster as itr crumpled under the two monsters' weight.
Bringing his claw up, Hamonjust barely missed punching the demon head as it shifted its neck to avoid the hit. Before he could try again, Hamon was flung backward by the demon's legs, hitting the wall with a crack as he landed in a crunch.
Sin Eater didn't give him any room to recover, the demon already upon him as a powerful fist sent the fiend careering off to the side with a hiss of pain. Rolling into a crouch, Hamon met the demon mid lunge, his shield coming up and sending the beast into the wall with a crack.
Turning to attack again, Hamon was blown backwards as Sin Eater snarled, a wave of red energy exploding from its body and sending the golden fiend into the wall head first. His vision blurred as the monster scaled the wall of the alleyway, disappearing over the edge as a barrage of cards followed it, slicing into its wings and back before it disappeared out of his sight.
"Fuck it got away" Bullseye cursed watching as the demon disappersared, fading away in a plume of red smoke with a final snarl towards Hamon. "How's the head buddy" he asked, looking back at Hamon as the fiend tried to stand, stumbling slightly as the last hit really scrambled his brains.
"Looks like you two need some help" a new voice spoke up as Bullseye looked back towards the entrance of the alleyway. He watched as a female figure walked towards him and Hamon, the fiend narrowing his red eyes at the newcomer before groaning at the headache he felt coming over him.
"Easy big guy Sin Eater is crazy strong" another voice spoke as Hamon looked up to see a purple clad woman landing beside him, her eyes looking directly at his head as she sheathed a bow of all things on her back.
"Well I'll be, Jessica jones and who …wannabe hawkeye?" Bullseye laughed as the older of the two gave him a scowl.
"Do you want our help with this case or not baldie?" the now named Jessica said, glaring at bullseye as he laughed, nodding his head to her question anyway. "I think your friend there needs help first" he added, gesturing to Hamon as he cradled his head in his claw.
"Guy looks like he might have a concussion…if they act the same for monsters that is" the archer spoke up as Hamon groaned, his boding fading away and leaving Black on the ground nursing his head. "Okay not monster…thats cool" he added with a laugh as Bullseye helped the teen stand.
"Lets get back to the my place, we have some info on Sin Eater and could use your help" Jessica spoke up, gesturing for them to follow as Bullseye nodded.
"Take it this case came to your office not too long ago" he asked as the woman nodded, keeping her face forward as the four of them made their way down the street, Black being supported by Bullseye as the archer girl checked him over as best she could.
"Yeah, some hookers going missing and the sighting of a demon going around gets my attention, helps business if you don't have to look over your shoulder for a monster to eat you" Jessica snarked back as the four continued on.
Inside his head, Black could hear Hamon grumbling to himself and thinking about how he was going to tear that demon limb from limb for this defeat.
Black just wished he would shut up so he could let his head rest for a bit.