Swinging through midtown, Gwen narrowed her eyes as she landed on the edge of a high rise, perching herself at the corner to catch her breath.
It had been two days since Peter ran off, and stopping a few crimes and one bank robbery did nothing to distract her. She was worried for him, and the lack of memories didn't help either…did he even have a place to sleep?!
A sudden siren made the white clad hero look up, narrowing her eyes to see a police car chasing a van speeding down the street, two thugs sticking out of the window with their guns aimed high.
Okay teen drama aside, time for spider-woman to do her job…if only she got paid that is. Taking off swinging, Gwen got back into her routine as she knew she had a bit of time to kill before she needed to meet with MJ and Gory about the gig.
A few hours later and Gwen was blowing a few strands of her hair out of her eyes, placing her drum down on stage with a short sigh. Looking up, the blonde watched as MJ was fixing the position of her mic, Glory and Betty wiring the keyboard up off to the side.
She smiled to herself thinking about how this night would go, the first of a few bigger gigs the band had going on. And for once she wasn't going to skip out of her friends to be a hero…New York could keep itself safe for the night.
Spying Glory waving her over, Gwen grabbed her drum sticks as she went to her them with the keyboard, letting her thoughts and worries disappear for the night…tonight she was just Gwen and she was going to have fun.
"Face it tiger! I'm your last shot!" Mj sang, the music fading as the crowd cheered for the band. Gwen was sweating as she held the symbol of her drum tick, her smile wide and infectious as her bandmates cheered.
The gig was going great and the last song for their set and definitely set the mood for the club night. Grabbing a towel, Gwen dried off her forehead as she met up with Betty and Glory backstage, the girls throwing her a jacket as they looked to get out on the dance floor as the next band set up.
"Wooooo" Mj cheered, meeting up with the other three as she threw an arm around Gwen. "That was amazing! We were amazing! I…was defiantly amazing" Mj said, getting an eye roll from Gwen as Glory wacked Mj on the shoulder.
"Come on, let's get out there, your adoring fans are waiting" Betty teased, making her way onto the dance floor as Mj hurried after her, Glory following them as she gave Gwen a smile. Pulling her jacket on, Gwen slipped into the crowd and towards the bar…she couldn't get a real drink but right now she needed water to cool her down.
Waving down the bar staff, Gwen grabbed the glass of water as she turned to watch the dance floor, wondering if she should go out there for a bit, maybe get a dance with Glory or betty.
MJ was already making moves on some jock looking guy in the corner…no surprise there really.
Seeing her best friend getting with a guy so easily made Gwen pause, thinking about her horrible dating experience since she was bitten by that spider. Leaving dates early, cancelling them altogether, rumors about how she was ignoring guys just made dating something she stopped trying to do altogether.
And the thought of actually doing anything with the guys she said yes to just made her wince slightly…she didn't have the best taste in men since…since Peter died. Looking down at the glass in her hand, Gwen thought about the boy again, wondering if maybe she had went to the fall formal with him none of this would have happened.
She honestly was looking forward to dancing with the shy Nerd back then…if only things had turned out differently.
Before she could think of it further, a hand grabbed her shoulder as she looked up to see some dude leering down at her.
"What a pretty thing like you doing here?" he asked…could he sound any more creepy?
"Just relaxing at the bar…alone" Gwen replied, hoping that the guy would get the hint. But hope didn't help her right now.
"I think you could use some company right now, why not a dance and maybe some fun back at my place" he continued looking down at her, as if him being taller made her want to change her mind.
All it did was make her want to knock his lights out with a well placed fist between his eyes.
Before he could say anything else…or Gwen to make a move to cause him bodily harm, another voice made the two of them look up.
"She's taken buddy" the familiar voice said, a low growl making the thug narrow his eyes as Gwen was stuck staring at the person in surprise. Dressed in a much nicer looking hoodie, and a pair of new jeans was Black.
The sudden sight of him made Gwen pause as his words suddenly caught up to her…taken, wait what?
"By you tiny" the taller man asked as he stepped towards the teen, looking down at him as intimidating as he could. Before Gwen could say anything Black stepped closer to him, the man hunching slightly as the teen buried his fist into his stomach.
"Yes…me" Black snarled, letting the thug drop to the floor as he looked at Gwen, a slight wince crossing his face before he gestured to a table at the back of the club. Gwen didn't think twice before following him, sitting down at the table as Black rubbed his head.
"You okay there? I didn't think being my boyfriend would give you a headache" Gwen snarked, getting a chuckle out of black as the teen glanced at her, smiling slightly…in a way Peter did years ago.
"Yeah I'm okay, I get a few headaches when I think I remember stuff" Black replied, getting a pause from Gwen as she looked at him carefully. Did…did he remember anything about her?
"Anything specific, that line looked practiced" she teased as the other teen looked away with a blush. "No way…did you practice that one?" she laughed as Black swatted her on the shoulder.
"I don't think so" he spoke up as Gwen got her giggles under control. "It was more of a feeling I guess, say some guy trying to hit on you and then I was already over there before I noticed, sorry if I said anything weird" he looked down embarrassed as Gwen smiled at him.
He really was like her Peter.
"Don't sweat it, if I ever need a boyfriend to get the creeps to lay off I know who will come to my rescue" she laughed, getting a chuckle out of Black in return before the teen winced again. "Those…those headaches happen a lot around me don't they" she asked getting a small nod from Black.
"I don't even know why Gwen but there's something about you that just makes me want to remember, but I just can't get a hold of any of the memories" Black replied as Gwen looked at him with a surprised expression.
She hadn't told him her name yet.
A smile made its way to her face as she reached out to grab Black, taking hold of his hand as the teen met her gaze. "I have…I could tell you some stuff that might help you remember, if you want" she said,. Feeling unsure of how she could go about this.
Helping someone with amnesia wasn't really the same as beating up some thug in a super suit.
"I…maybe, I don't know right now, kind of got some stuff going on right now so.." he trailed off looking down at the table as Gwen looked at him with concern, what had he got himself caught up in now?
"Everything okay, did something happen after you left my place?" she asked as the teen beside her shrugged, leaning back in the seat as the music boomed around the two of them.
"Keeping an eye out for something big happening, been hunting a myth turned real of all things the last few days, that and getting some money to keep a roof over my head has been tricky…not knowing who you are doesn't help legal matters right?" he chuckled at that as Gwen looked even more concerned.
"Do you need help Pe-Black" Gwen caught herself as Black raised an eyebrow at her but refrained from calling her out on it. "I know it's not perfect but you could stay at my place till we sort something out, could get in contact with Cap about getting some papers to help as well" she offered as the boy tensed slightly.
"I…don't know if I could trust them" he replied quietly as Gwen mentally kicked herself. Of course he wouldn't trust the people that tortured him, what was she thinking! Oh yeah she was thinking that she might have a chance of getting her best friend back, great set of priorities Gwen.
"They…still need you to come back, the blood tests they did turned up something dangerous and it needs to be checked out" she said looking at Black directly as the teen lowered his eyes at his hands, Gwen noticing he had taken out the firewall card without her noticing.
"I…I'll think about it, there's a lot going on so getting stuck in a cell isn't on the table" he replied getting a wince from Gwen at the mention of SHIELDs last treatment of him. Yeah they really didn't make a good impression on him that's for sure.
"The whole demon hunting thing is getting out of hand…hopefully we can take care of it tonight" he mumbled as Gwen just about caught his words.
"Demon?" she asked, as Black shook his head, pocketing the card as he made a move to stand up. Before he got to his feet, Gwen grabbed his hand, making the boy wince as something rushed through his head, a feeling of wanting to stay.
"I…I get the feeling that I might have wanted to ask you for a dance in the past…if I wasn't needed somewhere…would you…" Black trailed off trying to figure out what he was even saying as Gwen found herself smiling at his words.
"I…" before she could reply, the two took notice of a dark haired woman making her way through the crowd, gesturing for Black to follow towards the exit of the club. Before Gwen could say anything Black had disappeared, following the women as Gwen blinked in confusion.
"I think you need to go after the boy toy spider-Gwen" MJ's voice broke her out of her thoughts, turning to see the red head smiling teasingly at her as she had a drink in her hand…one she definitely shouldn't have been able to buy herself.
"Not the time MJ, get back home safe and make sure Betty doesn't do another one night stand" Gwen said, rushing after Black as MJ laughed behind her, going back to chatting up some guy into buying her another drink.
"What do we got?" Black asked, following Jessica out into the street as he threw his hood over his head, Jessica glanced back at the teen, making her way down the street as they passed a few people disappearing off for the night.
"Hawkeye spotted a couple going down an alleyway about twenty minutes ago, nothing else happened until she spotted them being followed by a large figure jumping across rooftops" the PI explained, turning the next corner in a hurry.
"Location?" Black promoted following after the dark haired women as he pulled the firewall card out of his pocket again.
"Two blocks ahead, Bullseye already following above them and hawkeye is keeping tat thing in her sights, once it goes in to attack we move" she replied as the teen nodded, holding the card in his hands before his body faded away, the white and blue coloured metal dragon appearing in his place.
"That's really freaky" Jessica replied as the dragon shrugged, following the woman around the next corner before they stopped. Jessica could spy the couple they were following at the end of the alleyway…not even waiting to get home to do their business it seems.
A shadow passed over them, perching itself above the couple, ready to pounce at any second.
"Now" Bullseye's voice broke the silence of the night as everyone jumped into action. An arrow flew through the air, hitting the demon as it jumped, sending it tumbling into the fire escape as the couple below screams, running out of the alleyway in fright.
Bullseye was next, two cards with small explosions placed on them careering threw the air, hitting the demon before it could recover and sending it flying with a surprised shriek.
Right in Jessica's waiting hand, halting the demon mid-flight as she turned, throwing the demon into the air as Firewall came down on it like a comet, his leg held high as he sent his heel down on the airborn demon with a sickening crack.
The demon hit the ground, hard enough to crack it as the four fighters waited, watching for any sign of the demon getting back up.
And it did…angrily.
An explosion of red sent Jessica flying into a dumpster, Hawkeye hitting the wall behind and falling on top of the older woman. Bullseye had avoided the energy attack, ducking behind the roof while Firewall dug his talons into the ground to keep his footing.
Just barely bringing his claw up, the pulsing red energy shield blocked the demon fist as he made Firewall slide back further, gritting his jaw to keep himself from toppling over. Shifting his stance, the dragon twisted as his tail swung out to catch the demon legs.
Only to miss as Sin Eater took flight, going up the buildings to get away from the fight.
"Not this time!" Bullseye called out, throwing another set of cards as they dug into the demon back, forcing it to crash into the edge of the building, desperately crawling at the brick work so it didn't fall back to the ground.
"How do we beat this thing?" Hawkeye asked, shaking her head as she helped Jessica to her feet.
"How about a good ass kicking, think that'll help?" a new voice spoke up, a second later a white figure shot around the sky, hitting the demon off the edge of the roof with a vicious double kick. Flipping backwards, Spider-women landed in front of Firewall, her mask appearing to give him a smile as she jerked a thumb towards the stunned demon.
"I don't think demon hunting is on my resummay yet…want to help me add it?" she asked cheekily as Firewall cracked a grin himself, igniting his shields again with a flick of his wrists.
"Any extra help is appreciated, even from a bug" Jessica spoke up, watching as the demon climbed back to its feet with an angry snarl. "It's doing that thing again!" she yelled, watching as the demon pulsed with red energy.
"Spider-woman help me" Firewall growled, laughing himself forward as he shoulder charged the demon before it could unleash its attack on them, sending the two of them crashing through the brick wall of the alleyway and out into a construction sight.
Firewall rolled off of Sin Eater, avoiding its claws as Spider-woman came in a second later, swinging her arms over her head as a webline attached to a bundle of bricks cracked against the demon head, sending it flying into the metal work across from them.
"What is that thing?" she asked, looking back at Firewall as the white dragon climbed back to his feet.
"It's a demon, don't know where it came from but its been the cause of multiple murders and disappearances for the last year, now we can put an end to it" he growled, lowering himself into a couch as the demon righted itself, looking rightful pissed at the duo.
Before it could move, Bullseye had run up Firewall's back, leaping into the air as he threw an array of cards towards the demon, scoring a good hit on its shoulder as it cried out in pain. Hawkeye followed, launching an arrow from her vantage point and hitting it directly in the face with a smoke bomb.
Firewall launched himself forward as soon as Jessica caught up to him, skidding to a stop as he threw the women forward, her fist reared back and cracking the demon across the jaw with a painful shatter of bones being heard by all.
The demon snarled painfully, throwing out a backhand to swat the women away, only to be blocked by Firewall's energy shield, his free hand following as he smashed the demon in the chest, lifting it off the ground.
Spider-women followed up on his advantage, webbing the demons wings together before she flipped over it, pulling it along for the ride and sending it careering towards the pile of bricks and metal and it landed with a harsh clatter.
"Think we got it?" Bullseye asked, keeping an eye on the downed demon carefully, ready to throw a card between its eyes if it even twitched wrongly.
"I…think we got it," Jessica said, walking forward as the rest took notice of the thing convulsing on the ground. A second later it seemed to shrink down, leaving behind a rugged and homeless looking man curled up on the ground mumbling to himself as he clawed at the ground like he was insane.
"Was…not expecting that" Gwen spoke up, looking concerned at the man on the ground as the others relaxed slightly.
"Was he possessed?" Hawkeye asked, watching the man carefully as he continued too mumble to himself. Yep definitely crazy that one.
"Could be, doesn't really give us any evidence to take him in thou?" Jessica replied wondering what she could actually do now that they had beat the demon. "Would it come back, or is it gone" she wondered aloud as Bullseye shrugged.
"I say we put a bullet through his head and call it a night" he supplied as Gwen rounded on him.
"We don't need to kill him, he's already beat!" she said, glaring at the bald man as he smiled challengingly at her in return.
"Oh don't worry about that my friends, I've got this one just for you!" a new voice crackled as the group of five looked up, blinking in confusion as someone with a burning pumpkin on their head was now standing beside the man, tilting their head slightly as if waiting for them to respond.
"Who are…" Firewall was cut off from asking anything as the new person suddenly pulled a gun from his tattered jacket, leveling it with the man's head and with a pull of his finger a resounding boom deafened the group.
The man's body going still, twitching slightly as blood and brain matter littered the ground, some getting on the new comets shoes as he laughed at himself like he just told the best joke in the world. "Oh I do love how it just goes pop don't you!" he cackled as Gwen was half a second ready to tackle him for what he did.
She didn't get the chance as Firewall beat her, his fist descending on the man with an angry snarl following. Only to miss as the pumpkin wearing maniac leaped backwards, landing on a flaming broomstick of all things as he laughed in firewall's face.
"Oh I like you! I'm Jack, I hope we can kill each other soon!" he cackled, flying off into the sky before disappearing in a ball of fire and vanishing from their sites.
"What the fuck!" Gwen yelled, trying to even understand what had happened within the last minute there.
"Language!" Bullseye laughed, finding the whole thing kinda funny as he started walking off, not having anything else to do with what was going on.
"I don't get enough sleep for this, let's get home Hawkeye" Jessica spoke up, leaving the site as Gwen looked so lost at everything that just happened. Did they even care that someone just died in front of them?
"Let's get out of here for now…someone bound to come looking at what happened" Firewall spoke up, pulling at Gwen's arm before taking flight, leaving the area as soon as possible. Landing a few buildings down, Firewall watched as Gwen sat herself down at the edge of the building, breathing in slowly as she tried to take everything in.
And screamed out as many curses as she could within five seconds.
Yeah she wasn't handling the stress well that's for sure.
Placing a claw on his shoulder, Firewall kept watch over the girl as she calmed herself down, breathing in slowly as she gently shook her head. Looking up the spider hero gave the dragon a nod of thanks, climbing to her feet with a heavy sigh.
"Right, well as embarrassing as that was, I think I'm going to call it a night" Gwen spoke looking up at Firewall as the dragon nodded. His eyes met her white lenses before he hunched over, holding his head with a painful wince.
Flashes of images invaded his mind, the same white lenses narrowed in anger. Pain, so much pain, flashes of spider-women coming in and out of his vision, attacking him with everything she had.
The images ended not a second later, Firewall blinking in confusion as he found himself kneeling the ground, his claw digging into the rooftop as Spider-woman was beside him, asking him something he couldn't make out.
He had to leave, just…just being around her hurt.
"Hay, hay just breath okay" Gwen's voice finally made the dragon look up, wincing slightly as he saw those eyes again.
"I…I have to leave" he said, slowly climbing to his feet as Gwen grabbed his arm to keep him steady. "I…So much pain…did…did you ever attack me?" he asked quietly as Gwen stepped away from him, her mask reflecting the fear on his face as Firewall held his head again.
Before she could say anything Firewall launched himself off the building, heading off into the night to try and recover from the painful images he had just experienced.
Gwen watched him go, wanting beyond anything to follow him and to help. But she couldn't.
He…remembered, vaguely but fuck he remembered her attack him. That means…he was going to hate her.
"Fuck" she cursed, falling back on his butt as she held her head in her hands. "Fucking damnit, just when things were going right!" she yelled into her hands, shaking her head as memories of that horrible night came back to her like a damn bursting open.
"Fuck this…I'm not losing him again" she promised, shaking her head as she felt tears running down her face behind her mask. She could dry them later…she had to find him first.