Part 1 - Fires of Revolution

Chapter 6 - Comic Con

Nearly a week had passed after Gwen's incident with the Ethereal Plate. A couple of days ago she had returned to her duties as Spiderwoman, protecting her New York from crime. However, she had been steering clear of bank robberies. She had just finished practice with her band, and was heading home. Suddenly, a golden wreath of flames appeared in front of her as she rounded the final corner onto the street where her house was. She looked around; there was nobody to see her enter, so she stepped through.

Conall was pacing up and down beside his office window. Gwen gave a small cough to get his attention.

"I know you're there. I'm just thinking."

"I hope you aren't about to send me on another mission. I haven't got my suit."

"I will in a bit, but first you and I need to talk."

"About what? Miles explained the Ethereal Plates to me."

"Not about that. Well...a bit about that but something else as well. Sit."

Gwen pulled a chair out and sat. Conall stopped and stared out the window.

"I assume you still don't know how I saved you."

"No. You never told me or Miles."

"I did it by injecting my own blood into yours. I have the power to withstand the strength of the plates. By injecting my blood your body adapted quickly to the energy coursing through your veins."

"Right. So I can touch the plates now?"

"Maybe. There's more to it than that, though."

"Ugh. There always is."

"Your body has adapted to the energy. The only problem is you still have all the residue built up and stored inside you. It isn't harmful, in fact it may be useful."

"How?"

"As a weapon like Miles' venom strike, but a lot more powerful. That being said its uses are limited. How long were you in contact with the plate?"

"Maybe a couple of seconds. I thought you knew all the details?"

"No. Just that Doc Ock robbed a bank, you tried to stop her and ended up touching a Plate. I know what the police officers saw. That's one of my abilities: I can get information from anyone if I'm close enough. But I prefer not to as I get all or nothing. And quite frankly there're many things I don't want to see about people."

Gwen chuckled.

"I'm sure a lot of people don't want you to see that either."

"No. Anyway, so a couple of seconds."

"Max."

"Then I'd say you have enough energy stored for three strikes. Use it wisely."

"If I'm resilient to the effects, couldn't I touch a plate and get recharged?"

"Possibly, but good luck finding one. And that's another thing we need to discuss. Did Octavius mention anything about where she was taking the plate?"

"Not really; just that her boss wanted it. Apparently her they took her on after Miles busted Kingpin."

"Then finding them is the top priority right now."

The room went silent apart from the howl of the wind. Gwen looked around the office, taking in the details which she had never bothered to pick up. Its walls were a shiny grey colour which reflected the light. At least Conall owned something which wasn't gold. The desk was wooden, but didn't seem to show any signs of rotting.

"If that's everything, I'd better go. My dimension needs me."

"No. There is one last thing."

"Please hurry up. I have homework."

"The fate of every existence could be at stake and you're worried about homework?"

"Sorry...I was..."

"Looking for an excuse to go. I get it. Me throwing up gateways in front of you randomly must be a pain. But what you do for me, you do it for your dimension as well. When this all blows over I'll let you and Miles get back to normal life, plus your Sundays. But for now this is what it is."

Gwen bit her lip. She certainly had been looking for an excuse to go. He had seen right through her. Did he know she didn't trust him? Most likely. Then again, her trust had grown substantially after he had saved her life. Yet there was still something which disturbed her that she couldn't quite put her finger on. Conall turned and sat down in his chair. He clasped his hands together and closed his eyes.

"Injecting my blood into you had more effects than just making you heavily resilient. From now on you'll be able to form objects. Only weapons really. Daggers, swords, that sort of thing. But it's quite the step up."

"Oh. Well that's..."

"Another bonus in a way. You'll have to work out how to do it. But you figured out the whole spider thing. If you keep going like this you're going to end up more powerful than me."

"I don't think I want that."

"No you don't. I'll step down from my job and go see the sights if that happens."

Gwen laughed.

"Any tips for working out this blade thing?"

"Just be careful what you pull out of your pocket."

"If that's everything, I'll be on my way."

"Yeah. Can I grab you for a mission tomorrow?"

"I think I'm free. Nice of you to ask for once."

"Hmm..."

Conall opened his eyes and opened a gateway.

"See you tomorrow then." Said Gwen as she walked through.

He nodded.

"Corbo, do you think they hate me?" He asked his robotic assistant after he had closed the gateway.

"I don't think so, sir. I think they're warming up."

"I must say I've never felt so attached to any two people before in all my ninety five billions years of life."

"You feel responsible for them, sir. They keep getting hurt and they're just kids."

"Maybe I should stop asking for their help."

"Then you would have to do this all yourself. Neither has had the opportunity to use their full potential. Gwen's ability to absorb the plate's energy could be incredibly useful and powerful. It could turn the tide of any temporal conflict. Miles' ability to turn invisible is equally useful for stealth missions."

"Do you believe there is a conflict coming?"

"This is certainly bigger than Octavius and that plate. But you know I can predict the future no better than you can."

"This is disconcerting."

"Very much so, sir."

Overnight, Gwen worked restlessly to try and figure out her new ability to create weapons. She wasn't perfect at it, but most times she could summon something. At the moment she had her most successful creations sheathed on her back: two katana blades. The handle on one was slightly warped due to her inexperience, but it had a negligible impact on the performance. Currently she had her mission: Doc Ock had been sighted in 9633 by one of Conall's numerous temporal ambassadors. Gwen's mission was simple: get her revenge. However, she wasn't alone. Conall zipped from roof to roof, trying to avoid being seen by the local population. His warning had been clear:

"If they see you, they'll get their phones out and film you. You'll be viral before you're halfway across the street."

Gwen was doing parkour across the gaps between the buildings. She hated running. Swinging was faster and had much more thrill. However, if she did that here Conall would most likely take great pleasure in saying 'I told you so'. Their target was a convention known as Comic Con.

Half an hour later, the pair arrived at their destination. People were cheering and whooping in some places in reaction to certain things. What surprised Gwen most were the number of people dressed up.

"Stay close. Octavius is here somewhere, I can sense her." Whispered Conall, falling back beside her.

"What is this?"

"Comic Con, like I said. People come from all over the world for it."

A kid ran past. They looked between Conall and Gwen and yelled one word before disappearing:

"Simp!"

Conall looked around in the direction they went.

"Well screw you too."

"What's a simp?"

"Not really sure of the details. I just know it's something insulting."

"Why'd that kid say it to you?"

"Most likely to do with your...'costume'. I said it before: 9633 has no superheroes. Just stories. That's what Comic Con is about. That and a number of other things. So they don't expect the real Gwen Stacy to be walking amongst them."

Gwen narrowed her eyes, slightly concerned by people's lack of respect for people that were real. Then again they clearly didn't realise they were real. She rolled her eyes as she spotted someone dressed up as her.

"Oh jeez..."

"Miles would have been so much better for this."

"I'm surprised nobody has come for me about the katanas."

"True, let's speed up before they do. Then again...nothing compared to that."

Conall nodded at someone dressed up as an assassin. A number of knives and other tools hung from their belt.

For over an hour the pair searched. They had split up. Gwen felt tense. She felt like she stuck out like a sore thumb. Yet nobody looked at her. Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice and her spidey sense gave her a warning.

"There you go, one cornetto."

She turned to see someone dressed up as Doc Ock serving ice cream at an ice cream van. No...it was the real Doc Ock. Gwen wondered how she could get Ock away from her post. She also wondered why she was here. Gwen sat down on a bench and watched as the line grew steadily shorter. Finally, Ock slammed the shutter down to reveal a closed sign. 'Closed due to exposure to COVID-19', it read.

"What's COVID-19?" She wondered.

Suddenly, Ock appeared at the side of the van. Gwen stood up and began to follow her carefully so as not to attract attention. Ock turned through the many rows of stalls until she came to an alley between two buildings. There she disappeared into the gloom. Gwen stopped at the entrance. She could just make out two voices talking.

"..have it?"

"Yes. But the payment first."

"I have no time. Hand it over now or I'll have your head on a plate."

Gwen spotted Ock's claws and blades extending over the piles of bin bags. She snuck around and almost walked into Ock's back.

"What the...scram, kiddo." Said the man Ock had been speaking to.

Ock turned and examined Gwen.

"Oh, this is no kid. It's the real thing."

"Real thing?"

"Of course."

Gwen took a step back as Ock's claws approached. However, one suddenly turned and grabbed the man by the throat. The second grabbed a box from the man who tried desperately to free himself but in vain.

"Now, Spiderwoman. How did you survive?"

Gwen didn't reply, only continued to back away. If she reached the main throng of the crowd then Ock surely wouldn't risk exposing herself.

"How are you here?" Ock pressed, her claws and blades approaching once more.

Gwen turned and began to sprint away.

"Not so fast! You've seen too much!"

She heard the crunching of Ock's claws propelling her forwards. Her spidey sense alerted her to danger. She ducked in the nick of time, avoiding a spinning blade by less than an inch. Gwen burst into the crowd and dared to look back. Oh no...not good. Ock burst out into the open, brandishing her blades.

"Where are you Spiderwoman?" She laughed hauntingly, then spotted something to her side.

The crowds started to whoop and cheer, thinking this was some extremely fancy costume, or someone on strange stilts. Gwen looked at what had caught Ock's eye: even worse...it was the person dressed up as her. Ock's claw flew forwards and snatched the person, lifting them high into the air. Some of the crowd began to realise this wasn't a costume and began to run, screaming. Gwen fired a web at Ock and pulled herself up. She planted her foot in her nemesis' face. Ock gasped in surprise and dropped the fan. Gwen leapt down and caught them. She hit the ground hard, but she had protected the fan who got to their feet and ran for their life. A few bystanders still stood by, filming with their phones. Gwen leapt for Ock again, but was caught by a claw which began to squeeze her. She reached for her back and swung the katana with the warped blade at the tubing of the claw. It split through the top, but the sudden blast of highly compressed air sent it flying from her hands. The claw released Gwen who landed gracefully and ready to fight. She drew her second blade and twirled it threateningly. Ock laughed, sending her remaining claw and two blades at Gwen simultaneously. Gwen parried the first blade, but felt the sword crack a little. The second blade struck, splitting the her sword in half. She leapt to the side as the claw came in for its attack. At the last second it moved to follow her, and caught her around the neck. Ock brought the two blades round again and held them threateningly near Gwen's head. Gwen tried to think of a plan. Should she use some of the plate's energy? This seemed like a desperate situation, but if she did that she would only have at most two more uses left.

"You're going to tell me everything I want to know!" Screamed Ock so Gwen could hear over the blades.

"No. She isn't." Replied a voice from nearby.

Conall was in his full combat armour again, cape flowing from his back and weapons hanging from his waist. Ock hurled Gwen away and turned to her new opponent. She sent her two blades at Conall who raised both his hands. They glowed gold as he thrust them forwards. The blades suddenly acted as if they had hit an impenetrable wall over a metre from Conall. Conall began to twist his hands. The tubing for the blades began to twist with them until it tore and compressed air hissed out. Ock's face twisted into one of fear, but she didn't wait to give Conall a chance to make his own move. She sent her last claw at him. Conall lowered his hands and gave a sheepish grin as the claw snatched him by the throat and began to squeeze as hard as it could. In a flash, a golden blade tore the claw apart, leaving Ock with no defence. Conall leapt into the air. A pair of golden wings spread out behind him as he dived at Ock. Ock's eyes widened in fear. The tips of the wings smashed into a wall as Conall's feet struck Ock in the chest, throwing her against the wall. The wings folded up and disappeared. Conall raised his hand again and clenched it hard. Ock began to squirm frantically, trying to pull at some invisible hand which was choking her.

"You are going to tell me everything I want to know. Who do you work for?"

Ock shook her head frantically. Conall rolled his eyes.

"Guess I'll do this the old fashioned way."

He closed his eyes and focused on Ock. Instantly his mind was filled with every memory of hers, every thought, everything she had ever said. He opened his eyes again and released his fist. Ock gasped for breath and pulled herself up as close to the wall as possible. Gwen walked over to Conall who had just pulled the box from Ock's suit pocket. He pulled it open. Inside was a stone plate: it was a turquoise colour and was a circular shape. Gwen looked over his shoulder.

"Another Ethereal Plate?"

"A quarter of one."

"A fragment."

"They're called the Relics of Eden. Together they form river nine's Ethereal."

Conall turned back to Ock.

"You're of no use to me or anyone now."

He drew a sword as she stood up, and hurled it at her. The blade buried itself in Ock's heart and then jammed itself in the wall. Gwen took a step back in horror. Conall had just killed Ock, despite her being defenceless.

"What the...why did you just..."

"Because she'd rebuild her suit and come back with vengeance in mind. Plus I know all I can learn from her."

"That's no excuse to just kill someone! You should hand her over to the authorities!"

"So they can do what? Let her bust out?"

Gwen shook her head.

"You're crazy."

"I do what I have to do."

"I want to go home, right now."

"Then go."

Conall opened a gateway. Gwen sprinted through it leaving Conall alone with Ock's body, a number of security people and a random person dressed up as Captain America who was still filming. Conall opened another gateway, leaving them all behind.

Gwen sat on top of the Empire State building, watching the people and cars far below. Conall had just murdered someone in cold blood. This was it. This was that thing that disturbed her about him. He was merciless. Once he had no use for someone he disposed of them. Was that fate reserved only for his enemies? Or was it her and Miles' fate as well? The pair had, in a way, started off on the wrong foot with him, having been jumping without permission. Or maybe they knew too much? Gwen took a deep breath and closed her eyes. It was time to do some of her own work. She was supposed to be looking out for the neighbourhood, but if there was no neighbourhood left because of a temporal war then what use was that? She looked at her dimension jumping watch. What was it that meant it couldn't jump now because of the lack of the sandpaper machine? Was it not enough power? If so, she had a temporary solution. And a couple of destinations. Now she just needed the time to do it.

Note

I've never been to Comic Con, so this probably isn't very accurate.

Crossovers in this Chapter

There were none, unless you want me to include the cameo from our favourite virus...