Hey. Sorry this took a while it's been getting busier for me and finding the motivation to write has become a bit harder. Maybe the next chapter will come easier, maybe not. Licensure exam reviews, thesis proposals and gaining requirements for everything are a bitch.

Speaking of those those who are reading Two Spiders on a Web. No I didn't abandon it but please be patient. Unlike Looking Glass I never expected it to run so long so I need to plan out the plot more. That and I'm not as good at writing lighthearted stuff so it's definitely not gonna be fast.

Anyway, I'll postpone the MJ romance vote for now and replace it with one asking on who should take the lead between Matt and Noir for fighting Bullseye. I'm still leaning towards the former but regardless I wanna hear what you guys think.


BoneDaddy: Alright poll time! Avengers or Defenders, who do you prefer?! Go!

Reply from Ps1000: Is this really fair? The Defenders broke up a year ago and the new one only has two returning members.

Reply from BoneDaddy: Why not? They still made an impact. I'm a Defenders man myself. Their costumes are BOSS.

Reply from TheEnvironmentalistAgenda: Avengers most def. I prefer heroes who save people vs just killing bad guys.

Reply from 25000: I dunno, I think there's something appealing about the Defenders doing what they do even after they got branded as fugitives. It's like Spider-Woman being a hero before she got proven innocent.

Reply from BoneDaddy: Plus they feel more relatable. I mean every one of the Avengers have product deals and probably live in penthouses.

Reply from Ps1000: No offense but you gotta be really fucked up if you think Punisher is more relatable than anyone in the Avengers. Also, the penthouse thing is clearly not true. Hawkeye works as a PI and owns an apartment over in Hell's Kitchen on her non-hero time.

Reply from BoneDaddy: Hawkeye's the exception, not the rule. All I'm saying is I can see the appeal of the Defenders more.

Reply from EPFrog: I dunno, I think the Protectors were good even if their run was short...

Reply from StrikerNotBombshell: Self-promotion's never flattering, frog boy.

Reply from HahaHoho: Avengers most definitely. I mean, have you seen how tight their costumes are? Definitely got some NSFW pictures :P

Reply from Spinerette: Didn't Spider-Woman ban you? How are you back?


"Listen, Pete, I gotta go. Good luck with the house arrest."

"Wait, Cin, don't-"

Cindy ended the call before Peter could make his impassioned plea and sighed. It wasn't like she didn't get why he was antsy, but she was kinda busy with her own thing too. Case in point: the absolute boatload of cases (heh) piled on her desk, "Ugh..." She started stacking them into three piles: Deal with ASAP, double check later, and toss in trash when Captain Watanabe wasn't looking.

It was depressing just how big the latter pile was compared to the first two.

The time on her watch said it was close to evening. Cindy sighed and reminded herself that she was doing this for the greater good and that it was better than dodging tank fire or swinging across alien ships.

Oh, who was she kidding? She'd take another Skrull invasion over this.

Another soft beep from her phone notified her that she got another right swipe. Cindy sighed again and idly looked through her list of 'admirers'. Ever since she outed her identity getting a date was far easier - being a member of the Avengers and, not to too her own horn or anything, hot to boot really gave you a leg up once people realized you were single and looking for dates.

Unfortunately it was definitely quantity over quality. Before got a bunch of hits and it'd only take her a few minutes - half an hour at most - to sift through anyone she thought would be a decent date. Now she had spend over an hour swiping left because 90% of the people who swiped her weren't even close to having any similar interests; just people who wanted to say they dated Spinerette.

There were also a bunch of women too despite her profile quite clearly saying she was straight.

Cindy ignored the pop-up message and logged out. That was another thing she had to deal with now: persistent messages. Before when she unmatched from people they just shrugged and moved on; other fish in the sea and all that. Now there was a 50/50 shot she'd got bombarded with texts saying that they should 'give them a chance' or that 'they weren't a hero but they still wanted to give it a shot'. One guy even tried the true and tested 'be a sexist douche' approach, cause apparently threatening the woman with super strength was a good idea.

The door to her office opened and she gave a forced smile when Jean walked in, "What's up? I'm kinda busy here." Cindy gestured to the pile. No more missing persons cases so far, but there'd been some rumblings about another Lantern gang. She tried to keep it on the downlow when she was around Pete. He'd be useful without a doubt, but the last thing she needed was Spider-Man going on a rampage.

Or Gwen going apeshit that her boyfriend was involved with pumpkinhead. Again.

"You have a visitor."

"If it's Feli then tell her she still owes me and I'm not paying for car repairs, and if it's another guy who thinks going to my work with flowers to 'surprise me' tell him I'm not interested and to unmatch." Wouldn't have been the first time. At first it was flattering, but now even Masters felt sorry for her. Masters. That was just depressing on a whole 'nother level.

"It's not a guy-"

"Please tell any prospecting Flint matchups that I'm straight and not interested in women."

"Would you let me finish?" Jean said, annoyed, "As I was saying, a little girl's outside looking for you."

"Little girl..." She only knew one little girl who'd visit her here. Cindy dropped her pen and rushed past Jean only to find, sure enough, Laura standing proud as a peacock near the entrance. The little girl rocked on the balls of her feet and played with the straps of her backpack, completely ignoring the officers and other milling people around her. Most of them only spared her a quick glance before returning to what they were doing.

"Laura!" Cindy grabbed her hand and dragged her to her office before she could say anything. Jean was still there, arms crossed and a brow raised. Cindy completely ignored her and shut the door, "What the hell are you doing here?" she hissed.

Laura rummaged through her backpack and pulled out a small stack of papers, "My grades got better."

Brows furrowed, Cindy took the offered papers and scanned through it quickly. Math, Science, English...all her subjects with C pluses and B minuses. It was above average at best, but still an improvement from before, "Um...okay? I'm proud of you, kiddo?" Cindy ruffled her hair. It wasn't a lie, but she was still pretty damn confused why she came here just to say that.

Laura nodded and looked up at her expectantly. The silence lasted for a few more seconds till she eventually said, "I want my dog now."

"What? Now? It's late." Half an hour past six in the evening, according to her watch, "And how did you even get here?"

"Shadowcat drove. She's outside." And she didn't bother to come inside with them. No surprise there: Kitty didn't have the best relationship with the cops considering her line of work. Jean gave her a look of 'what kind of friends do you have' and Cindy just shrugged. It was an opens secret that despite being Spider-Cop not all of her friends were on the straight and narrow.

"Still..." Cindy sighed. She knew from experience that Laura wouldn't let it go, but she didn't exactly have time to blow off work.

"Shadowcat said she also had to talk to you. Something about a fuzzy friend?"

Well...that changed things, "I gotta go," she said to Jean. The older woman opened her mouth to protest and she cut her off, "It's about a case, trust me. Tell Captain Watanabe I'll be back with a couple of leads tomorrow."

Laura tugged on her hand and dragged her out of the building. A few of her coworkers smiled and even took pictures, which she just knew were going up on tweeter later. Cindy didn't get a chance to stop and tell them off, "Come on, come on!" Laura shouted excitedly.

Shadowcat looked up from the window of the van (seriously?) and wiggled her fingers, a cocky smile on her face, "...Nice car," Cindy said flatly.

"Ah shut up. We're getting her dogs and I ain't gonna have have little furballs shitting all over my convertible."

"Wait, dogs plural? Last I checked I said one dog." Cindy gave Laura a pointed look.

"I got better grades on all my subjects." Laura said, smug in the way only a little kid could be, "You agreed to give me a puppy if I improved Math. Since I improved more I get more than one puppy."

"Well, that logic is foolproof," Cindy snarked.

"Don't whine, I'll pay for the other one," Shadowcat said, "Now come on, let's go look for a pet store around here."

"I actually know a place. Lana told me about it." Cindy took her seat on the other side of the vehicle and shut the door, "Come on, I'll point it out."

The place they arrived at ended up being a shelter. Shadowcat gave her a doubtful look while Cindy just shrugged and walked inside. According to Lana she had an old friend friend who worked here, a teenage girl by the name of Sophia 'Chat' Sanduval, who was really good with animals. On the bright side they'd even get a discount and some free kibble

Besides, she figured Laura'd prefer rescue animals to something from a regular pet store.

"Welcome to the Animal Estates!" The teenage girl at the front desk greeted cheerfully. She was young, easily a decade Cindy's junior, with a nametag that had 'Chat' written in big, red letters.

"Hey. Um...are you Lana's friend?"

The teenager blinked then smiled, "Oh, you must be Ms. Cindy! Yes, Lana told me about you. I didn't expect you to come today, though."

"Yeah, well, this little munchkin insisted." She ruffled Laura's hair again while the girl in question puffed up her cheeks in annoyance. Height jokes were the easiest way to set her off, "Anyway, we were hoping we could get a couple of dogs?"

"Sure! All of the dogs are out in the playroom by now. Do you want to-"

"I want to meet them all," Laura said, practically bouncing in excitement.

"Go ahead. Me and Kitty'll stay here, we've got some business to talk about. Just make sure you don't get a pug!" Norah's doggo wouldn't like the competition. Cindy waved them off and watched briefly as Laura dutifully followed the teenager to the other room. She smiled. It was nice, seeing Laura so happy. Almost made her forget about the claws and the growling and body count.

Shadowcat waited till they were alone, "Just the two of us now." The younger girl's grin was way too gleeful. It was the same one she used whenever she knew there was gonna be a bodycount, which was never a good sign.

"Seems so." Cindy crossed her arms, "Where's Kurt?"

"Scouting a place out." She pulled out her phone and Cindy's own cell buzzed, "Sent you a map. Fuzzball thinks he can find a lead on those friends of his." That was the reason he came to her all those days ago. He and his friends came here to New York for a fresh start - easy thought considering it was Superhero (and villain) central. If a guy with blue fuzz and a tail could start off new anywhere it would've been New York.

Or at least that was the thought. They barely lasted a month before two of them got picked off without a trace. It didn't take a genius to figure out that it was probably the same person who was kidnapping every other Powered person around.

"Now? He said he'd keep a low profile till I found something."

"You know his type. Gets a whiff that his friends are in trouble and he comes in running." Despite the insulting tone there was a small smile on the Mercenary's face, "Anyway, we'll get munchkin her new toys then drop her off."

"You really wanna leave her alone with two new pets?"

"Don't worry, she won't be alone-"

Cindy didn't get a chance to ask what that meant before the door behind them opened. The increasingly exasperated hero turned around and froze when she saw Albert with his parents right behind him, "Come on, boy." He tugged the leash at his side to pull along the mid-sized golden retriever.

The three of them stopped when they caught sight of her. Cindy tried to say something but Albert talked first, "Hey Cin...didn't expect to see you here. Getting a pet?"

"We-"

"Oh, who's this, Cin?" Shadowcat suddenly grabbed her right arm with both hands and pressed it against her chest. The older woman glared down at the teenager and she just stared up with that look on her fac. The 'I'm gonna fuck your life so hard and laugh about it' look, "Oh, this is is your family, right? So nice to finally meet them! You told them about us, right?"

"Us? Wait..." Nari looked between the two of them and gasped softly, "Are you two-"

"Whatever you're thinking, it's not-"

"Of course." Shadowcat's grin was almost manic now. She looked like the freaking Joker, "We were getting a pet for our kid. A little reward considering she did so well in school."

"That's not-"

"Oh, we didn't know you were dating." Why did Sr. have that 'I hope you're happy smile'? He shouldn't have that smile! "Well, don't let us get in your way. You two kids have fun."

"Will do, pops!" Shadowcat winked.

"Alright, that's enough!" Cindy wrenched her arms from the teen's hand, "We're just here to-"

The door to the back slammed open and Laura charged out, "Mom, I have them!" The little girl held up a furry - seriously, little thing looked like a sentient dustball - pomerenian pup while a pure white Japanese Spitz trotted alongside her happily. It didn't take Cindy long to see that the pomerenian's right back leg was broken, "I want these two. We can have them, right?"

"I-"

"Of course, munchkin. Mama Cindy'll give you anything you want, right?" Shadowcat threw her an all too smug smile. Cindy seriously wanted to pull out her gun and shoot her in the face, "Come on, let's go buy you your new friends."

Shadowcat went with Laura to the counter, leaving her with her (not) family in awkward silence. Cindy pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, "I'm not actually with her, if you haven't caught on," she said.

"And the kid?" Albert asked.

"Long story. The two of them are sisters - kinda - and I've been looking after Laura while Kitty's out of town on work. She started calling me mom."

"I...think you skipped a few steps there," Sr. said, "Well, it's your business. Just know that we won't judge you-"

"I'm not sleeping with her!" Cindy snapped, causing the cashier to jump up slightly. She took long, deep breath, "I'm sorry, but I'm just getting tired of people thinking I swing both ways just cause Spider-Woman does. Me and Kitty are friends, sorta, and she was just fucking with you. She does that all the time; it's how she gets her jollies."

"That little girl seems familiar," Nari said.

"Best not think about it too much." Shadowcat didn't have an actual secret identity and there were videos of her and Laura caught during their fight with her evil twin. The only reason they didn't draw too much attention was cause Kitty didn't really do the superhero thing (though she did do the occasional vigilante outing during jobs) and Laura promised she'd keep a low profile in school.

She said her goodbyes to her (not) family and went back to Shadowcat's van. Laura took up the backseat with her two new pets. Cindy looked up to the rear view mirror and smiled when she caught the little girl petting the crippled pomerenian while the spritz nuzzled her side. She never had pets when she was younger and Ezekiel's suggestion to bring one with her to the bunker was vetoed. She didn't want to put anyone else through what she did.

They stopped at the house and Laura's head immediately snapped up, "...He's here." Her eyes were wide and, without any warning, she practically crashed through the van's right door and rushed to the house, the spritz chasing after her.

"...What the heck was that about?"

"My surprise for her."

Cindy opened the door and found Laura yelling happily as she hugged a (barely keeping himself balanced) Spider-Man. Despite the mountain of size difference between them the tank-like Spider found himself unable to move as Laura pressed her face against his chest and and her arms tightly bolted around his sides. It was both cute and kinda vomit-inducing.

The spritz, seeing its new owner was preoccupied, immediately jumped to the other two children on the couch, "Doggie!" The little boy shouted happily with his sister quickly joining in. She knew them, kinda. Spider-Man's kids with his world's Black Cat. She didn't actually see them since since she didn't come along, but Pete and Gwen told her enough details for her to guess.

Shadowcat walked next to her with a small smile, "Figured I owed her a reward for being a good little munchkin. And cause I haven't been around much."

"And I'm sure you getting your boyfriend back for a bit doesn't hurt." Shadowcat smirked back at her, "Isn't he supposed to be dealing with World War II?"

"He is. Already killed Hitler and a few other big names and dismantled a bunch of concentration camps so he's just waiting for a bit for someone or something else to hit. Apparently he's working with his world's Captain America now." Yeah, she figured that'd happen, "Apparently he's trying to get intel about some Johan Schmidt asshole."

"Red Skull?"

"I guess."

Shaking her head, Cindy walked inside and found herself sharing Laura's infectious smile, "Looks like today's your lucky day, kiddo." She ruffled her hair and turned to Spider-Man, "Look out for her for a bit, yeah? Me and Shadowcat gotta do something."

"Sure. Take care of her, alright?" He looked to Shadowcat.

"Yeah, I think she'll be fine. I'm more worried about anyone else we'll run into," Cindy said.

"Sure...hey, how's Parker doing?"

"Laying low. Gwen wants him out of sight and out of mind after he got put into a fucked up Saw game." That got her a questioning look, "Long story. Point is he's keeping a low profile, so if you wanna do the awkward brotherly hang out thing you gotta go visit Gwen's house. She's keeping him under house arrest.

"Ha, whipped." Shadowcat snorted behind her.

"Anyway, we'll get out of your hair. Have fun you two."

She kissed the top of Laura's head and joined Shadowcat in her car. She sent a quick text to Lana (Felicia was doing something, apparently) and started fiddling with her guns, "Never get why you use those," Shadowcat said lightly, "I mean you're strong like Spider-Girly and you can cling to walls and dodge bullets. What's the point of using guns?"

Cindy shrugged. Why didn't Gwen just web everyone down instead of using those fancy punches and kicks? Why didn't Peter turn invisible all the time and just avoid fighting altogether? They probably didn't think about it and neither did she. S.H.I.E.L.D trained her like she was an agent and that included guns. Besides, she had I.C.E.R rounds and she could just as easily kill with her fists as well as bullets.

Lana was already there by the time they arrived, "Yo." She waved casually and stepped off the wall, ignoring the occasional people who tried to take pictures. She was still dressed in her school uniform, though she'd wisely decided to switch out her loafers for a pair of worn sneakers.

"What's with the getup?" Cindy asked.

"Costume's in the wash and you didn't really give me a lot of warning." She eyed Shadowcat, "I saw you back in Maggie's church. Darkcat, right?"

"Shadowcat. Darkcat makes me sound like a fucking cartoon villain." Cindy refrained from commenting that Shadowcat wasn't much better, "We should probably get this out of the way first: I kill people and I don't spend days whining about it afterwards. If that's not cool with you then tough."

"Not gonna hear me complaining. If these assholes are anything like the ones who took Aracely they have it fucking coming." Was it hypocritical for her to be worried about how easy Lana took to killing? "Speaking of, we doing this or what?"

"Yeah. Shouldn't be too far now." The map said it was just a few blocks away. Cindy grabbed Shadowcat for a swing-along while Lana rushed forward in a burst of light after her. Her new powers definitely made Cindy feel far less awkward about bringing her along for team-ups. Now she didn't have to worry that every gunshot could end with the younger girl taking a bullet to the face and then having to explain to Peter that his little sister was dead.

The building was mid-sized and nondescript. Cindy landed on the roof with Lana running up the walls immediately after, "Least it ain't another fucking warehouse." The teenager muttered. Cindy silently agreed - seriously, couldn't the bad guys be at least a little more creative? - and made her way to the rooftop vent. According to Kurt's pictures this was the place.

The vent had opened by just an inch when her spin-sense screamed, "MOVE-" The words were just barely out of her mouth when the explosion hit. Cindy shut her eyes and was flung to the closest wall, heat and flames all around her. The impact across her back knocked the wind out of her and she could only thank whatever luck she had left that she didn't get any shrapnel through the face.

She blacked out for just a few seconds. When Cindy opened her eyes again she saw Shadowcat;s unconscious body lying a few feet away with Lana nowhere in sight, "Damn it..." It was a trap; of course it was. Sucking in a pained hiss, Cindy grabbed the wall and pulled herself up. Everybody in a five mile radius must've heard that explosion.

Her spin-sense rang again and she flipped back to avoid the next bomb that landed where she just was, "Nice reflexes!" She looked up and grimaced at the figure above her. He was large, a fact helped by the extremely bulky armor and the frayed cloak he wore. It was an orange and black ensemble that reminded her of the heavy S.H.I.E.L.D units who fought against H.Y.D.R.A.

"What, nothing to say? No banter?" The mask that covered his face was shaped like a gray goblin or gargoyle of some kind with the mouth curled up in a demented grin. Even that looked almost normal compared to what he was riding: a sleek silver glider that looked way too similar to the one Gobby used a year ago. The bombs too now that she thought of it.

"And who are you supposed to be?" She looked past him to Shadowcat. Still unconscious.

"Oh I've got a lot of names, but you can call me...Goblin Knight."

She almost laughed, she really did, but then he pulled out a flaming sword and nearly sliced her head off. Cindy dodged the blow and slipped past him to Shadocat's prone body, "Kitty, a little help here!" She grabbed the unconscious mercenary and jumped off the roof. Still no sign of Lana, which she took as a good thing. It meant she could've been just fine somewhere else.

Cindy swung away to a less crowded area. If those bombs were anything like Gobby's then the last thing she needed was innocents getting caught in the crossfire, "Hey, where ya going?! We're just getting started!" Cindy dodged another bomb and cringed when it blew up a nearby water tower, showering the streets below. Yep, those things definitely packed a punch.

It only took her a minute to find a good spot: a mostly empty parking lot with only two cars taking up the corner spot. Cindy dropped Shadowcat off at a nearby building and turned around to meet, ugh, Goblin Knight, "Done running?" She could practically see the sneer under that ugly mask of his. First thing she'd do after this was tear that mask apart.

Her hands went for her pistols and she grimaced when she saw the mangled frames. Her guns were made of sterner stuff than the average weapon but a point blank explosion would mess anything up, 'Guess I gotta do this mano-e-mano...' She lowered herself into a fighting position and scanned the area for anything she could use. Like Natasha said: the one who plans is the one who wins.

Goblin face threw a bomb straight at her. Cindy webbed and threw it back at him before taking to the air again. He batted the bomb down to the ground and blew up both of the parked cars, "Gonna have to do better than that!" He charged towards her sword drawn and she swung past him to avoid the swipe. It was clear from the way he struck that he wasn't actually trained. Just a guy swinging a big stick around.

Cindy landed on the closest roof and shot two lines of webbing to his back and tried to pull him off the glider. He didn't budge at all, 'Either's got stick em powers too or those boots are magnetized.' She let go of the webs before he could drag her along and and jumped to the ground. Needed to avoid sticking to walls; she couldn't be sure there weren't people on the other side.

"So what did you think was gonna happen, huh?" Cindy ignored the question and swung up to kick him. The glider lowered suddenly and she found herself hitting air, "Think you could just come in and we wouldn't do anything about it? Did you think we were that stupid!"

He tried to slash at her again. She shot two lines of webbing to a nearby lamppost and pulled herself towards it. Cindy let go of the webs, grabbed the pole and used it to swing herself around back to where he was flying. Goblin face didn't get a chance to dodge again before she kicked him straight to the wall.

"Ow, you son of a-" She webbed a nearby manhole cover and chucked it straight to his neck. She hit his chest, but she considered it good enough, "Hey, you nearly took my head off! I'm supposed to be doing that!" Ugh, great, just what she needed: another psycho who thought making jokes was cool.

She jumped again and webbed his sword to pull it towards her. If she wanted to fight the guy head on then she'd rather do it without a flaming sword of death. She was only half-surprised when his grip on it refused to budge. Super strength or a powered suit; either way wasn't good for her, 'Damn it...' She tugged him towards her and she ducked the sweeping slash.

Her counterattack was met with him flying off again, "That glider's really pissing me off." Cindy sorely wished that she had her guns again. Webs weren't doing here much good here.

She prepared to take to take to the air again when he chucked an entire belt of bombs at her. Eyes widening, she pulled herself away to the opposite end of the parking lot. The bombs exploded behind her and, while, she managed to avoid the brunt of the blast, the force of the explosion still sent her impacting against the building wall.

'Really getting tired of this.'

Cindy coughed and glared up at him as he flew down. She was so busy glaring that she almost missed the blur of yellow light surging up to her left, "What, got nothing to-" Lana materialized and dropkicked him straight through the wall to their right.

"...Took you long enough." She accepted the teenage hero's offered hand.

"Dude, there was another villain back there! You're lucky I got here as fast as I did after you ditched me." She scoffed, "Speaking of, where the fuck is Shadowcat?"

"Here." The mercenary 'floated' down to the ground, one hand rubbing her head and a murderous look on her face, "Just point me to who I gotta shishkebab."

Goblin face burst out of the rubble and shot up into the air again, "Three on one, huh? Not liking my chances here. Whadda say we even the odds?" He tapped his gauntlet and a whirring sound blared all around them. At least a dozen more goblins, each of them riding a glider, surrounded him. Cindy narrowed her eyes. If what she knew from Gobby was right then those were drones.

"Those are drones," Shadowcat said.

"No shit." Lana rolled her eyes, "Come on, let's do this."

They came all at once. Cindy dodged the first barrage and focused on one that was slightly farther from the rest. Lana blew up at least three in one go while Cindy webbed and threw hers towards Shadowcat, "Heads up!" Shadowcat cleaved the bot in two and Cindy punched the next one coming towards her. Its head flew clean off and she punched it in the chest again to make sure. Surprisingly punching robot heads off didn't always end them. Who knew?

She'd taken out her third bot when Goblin face finally joined with another dozen bots in tow, "Shoulda left it alone!" He slashed down overhead. Cindy dodged to the side and retaliated with a kick. It hurt them both, "Wooh, you pack a hit! Good thing I got this fancy suit!" The next slash grazed her side. Cindy stepped back and hissed as blood ran down her side. That'd hurt in the morning.

Shadowcut cat through another drone and gave her a handsignal. She knew what it meant, 'Damn it, Kitty...' This was gonna hurt. She covered her hands in a thick sheet of webbing and waited for him to strike.

He charged towards her cackling and swinging. Any attempts to web the sword were met with the silk immediately burning, "Gonna have to do better than that!" he jeered. Cindy got as close as she could to try and grab his wrists but came up short. So she grabbed the next best thing, "Oh man, you are crazy!" She grit her teeth to keep from screaming. He still hadn't let go, too busy laughing at how stupid she was being.

So he didn't see Shadowcut come in and cut his hands off till it was too late.

Cindy quickly let go of the flaming sword while Goblin face looked at the stumps where his hands used to be. Lana finished off the last drone and hit him with an explosive blast that smashed him against the wreckage of the still-burning cars, "Knew it'd work." Shadowcat grinned. Cindy just glared at her and peeled off the web that had melted into her skin. She was gonna pay her back for that later.

"Haha...haha..." Goblin face just looked down at his bloody stumps and kept laughing. Lana gave her a wary look, "Hahahaha...hahahaha...hahahahahHAHAHAHAHA!"

Her spin-sense blared way too late. Cindy fell on her knees and screamed, both hands pressed against her ears to try and block out the sound. It felt like someone was scratching a knife against her brain. Next to her Shadowcat and Lana fell too, the former looking like she was going to gouge her own ears out if it meant blocking out the sound.

She didn't know how long they stayed there helpless, but by the time she realized the sound was gone so was Goblin face. Cindy slowly lowered her hands and grimaced at the blood on her palms and the drops that fell down her ear, "What...the fuck...was that?" Lana muttered next to her. Cindy didn't answer her, "I...ugh, feels like someone cracked my skull open and pureed everything inside..."

"That's a nice picture." Shadowcat scoffed, "Considerin' Fuzzball ain't here I'm guessin' he led us to a trap or that asshole got him."

"Either way we need to look for him. Come on, let's get out of here..."


SlayerOfThicness: -embedded video- GPool just posted a vid of a Spinerette, Striker and Claw Lady team up. The end gets cut off but apparently it's for our own safety.

Reply from Saviorofman: Man, Spinerette's really pushing the limits to that whole Spider-Cop thing. First she's friends with Spider-Man now she's teaming up with unlicensed Gifted. How is she not in trouble for this?

Reply from 1stEditionorNothingNerds: Pretty sure some Supers have a 'do not touch' rule even if they aren't licensed. I mean you don't see people mobilizing to capture Moon Knight or that Daredevil guy, right? Government's got more to worry about than some vigilantes. 'Sides, no one's gonna cry over some rapists getting maimed.

Reply from SlayerOfThicness - Don't think Claw Lady is a vigilante. Least I've never seen her doing hero work before.

Reply from 1stEditionorNothingNerds: She was there along with Claw Girl when they fought evil Cindy Moon, so she has that going for her.

Reply from Beachgal: Off-topic, but anyone else think it's weird Striker's doing hero work in her school uniform?

Reply from HahaHoho: Don't see me complaining. She makes it work.

Reply from 1stEditionorNothingNerds: Dude she's underage. And didn't you say you're 35 in another post?

Reply from HahaHoho: She's 17, so that's New York legal ;D

Reply from StrikerNotBombshell: How the fuck do you keep getting unbanned...?


This was hell.

Peter groaned and looked up at the ceiling. He read through a book Helen lent him and was very pointedly not thinking about what happened with Mary just a scant few hours ago. Sure, she'd kissed him back then, but that was just desperation; a need for comfort after the things that monster made her do. She didn't like him, and he was pretty sure he'd know if she did.

So what in the hell was that...?

Groaning again, he set the book down at his side and closed his eyes. At his side Norah looked up from her laptop with a wry smile before continuing her work. She was the one on babysitting duty now, her and Helen. Captain Stacy and Jones were out on a case (date) while Ben and May were with Helena, so that left just the two of them to watch over the grounded (cause that's what it was) Spider.

He groaned again and Helen set down on her own book, "What's wrong, Peter? Need something? Hungry?"

"No..." He sat up and rubbed his eyes, "I'm just going insane staying here. I didn't come back to New York just to be confined."

"Yeah, but we know you are cause you're whipped," Norah said, not looking up from her article. Peter glared at her, "Not that I blame you. I wouldn't wanna piss off someone who has tentacles either."

"Please don't use my daughter and tentacles in the same sentence. Thank you," Helen said.

"Oh yeah, you're her mom. Still kinda weird," Norah replied nonchalantly, "Anyway, how much longer we gotta stay here? I kinda have an article to write and I left poor Gabe to hold down the fort. I don't pay that kid nearly enough for that."

"I don't think you're getting paid enough considering what you do," Peter said.

"Action is my reward, Benjy." The blonde smiled cheekily. Peter rolled his eyes. God, he hated that theme song. And Gwen wondered why he didn't watch her show, "But yeah, you got a point. Still I can't exactly get paid more. Technically breaking and entering is still a crime and I only get away with it cause Bossman Urich's nephew's got a crush on me. And because I'm a badass, but hey."

"Good to know you stayed humble while I was gone." She spun around on the swivel chair with a teasing smile and he saw something on the screen that drew his attention: an old picture of Jack from a year ago, "...Hey, Helen, I'm actually kinda hungry. Could I ask you to..."

"Huh? Oh, sure. You too, Norah?"

"Yes please!"

He waited till her footsteps faded before he faded and walked towards Norah. She pressed the laptop to her chest but he easily grabbed it from her hands, "Hey!" She tried to take it back and he just put a hand on her face to keep her at bay. It was child's play even if she was an inch taller than him (a fact that she loved teasing him over), "This is theft of property and I will not stand for it! I will taze you!"

"Keep your shirt on, Summers." He scanned through the written article quickly, "New Lantern gang? Why the hell were you hiding this from me?"

She took the laptop back and hugged it to her chest protectively, "If you must know, Cindy wanted it kept on the down low. Didn't want you going off on a rampage or Gwen to get even more protective."

"I wouldn't have gone on a...rampage."

"Uh, bullshit? You look like you want to right now!" She rolled her eyes at his rebuke, "Whatever. I figured I was safe since you never pick up a newspaper and you never check the Front Line blogs. Even though I totally sent you that recommendation link."

"You know shameless self-promotion isn't an attractive trait, right?"

"Says the guy running around with his own logo'd jacket." She stuck her tongue out. Childish, "Anyway, I actually gotta go soon. Picked up a lead on the gang and I'd rather not wait till it gets cold. You understand, right?"

"Yeah. Where is it?"

"That's strictly nunya." Ugh, she knew he still didn't get all the lingo here, "I don't wanna be the one getting a tentacle up my ass from little miss Spider-Gwen, so how about I just go and you pretend we didn't have this conversation."

"You really think that's a good idea? You know what the Lanterns are like." He couldn't believe they were still alive. Just like the Hand; cockroaches to the last.

"Nice of you to worry, but I can take care of myself."

"Didn't say you couldn't, but it's still better to be careful than regret it later. Look, just let me come with you. I can watch your back and maybe I can get a lead on who's bankrolling these bastards. I got a feeling it's connected to that Hobgoblin guy Gwen's going after." Seemed to fit his M.O of running some kind of 'villain union', at least. Or at least that's what he'd tell Gwen when she asked.

"...You're that bored?"

"I'm going insane here." No use in mincing words to a journalist, "Come on. How'd you feel if someone tried to keep you locked up 'for your own good'."

"I'd probably scratch my own eyes out," she said without a hint of hesitation, "But that's just me. Still, as your best friend-"

"That's Cindy."

"...As your best journalist friend-"

"I dunno, I actually kinda like that Eddie Brock guy-"

"Right, goodbye."

She packed up her laptop and made to leave before he grabbed her hand, "Alright, I'm sorry. I'm just trying to make more jokes. Gwen thinks I should lighten up."

"W-H-I-P-P-E-D." She made a whip sound effect and grinned while he gave her a flat stare, "I'm being serious though. You don't think Gwen's gonna be pissed? Those tentacles are not an idle threat." Why did she keep bringing those up? Was it any worse than the teeth or the strength to punch through a tank?

"I can deal with it. Besides, she'll be fine once I show her what's going on. I think this is connected to another bastard she's going after."

"Alright, fine, but when she catches us I am throwing you under all the buses. And I won't even feel bad."

"If I'm going down then I'm taking you with me, Summers."

Both he and Norah snuck out through the window and made their way to the nearby train station. The late night train was practically abandoned save a sleeping woman with a bag of booze next to her. He was almost tempted to sneak a couple out; it'd been days since he had a drink, "You know, this is a pretty far stretch to go on a date with me," Norah smirked, "If you just wanted to ask me out you could've been more upfront."

"Oh yeah, you hired me to be your photographer-"

"Photo monkey!"

"Photographer because you wanted an interview with Spider-Man. And you didn't realize it was me for about a month. You're definitely the gal for me."

"Sorry, Benjy, I'm just not into dating right now. Focusing on my career, ya know? Though you are my type, so you got that going for you."

"You gotta be messed up if someone like me's 'your type'."

"Ooh, don't let Gwen hear ya say that. She'll go off on a rant about how you're better than you think you are."

"Heh, you're probably right." She always tried to look for the best in people...except for Matt and Moon. Far as she was concerned they were nothing but bastards to their core, "Hey, I been meaning to ask. What the hell's up with you and Castle?"

"Frank? Uh...we're friends, I guess?"

"Last I checked Castle didn't do friends." Or family. Made it clear they didn't matter much to him, even if he was willing to fight Murdock for revenge, "I'm really hoping your 'type' doesn't include psychopaths."

"What is this, an interrogation?" He raised a brow. That sounded far more defensive than it should have, "Hey, don't look at me like that. I know when I'm being psychoanalyzed."

"Don't have to. You're so damn defensive it's obvious something's there." He scoffed, "Wanna tell me?"

"Uh, I am not nearly drunk enough for that. Try again."

Norah watched in confusion as he stood and made his way to the sleeping woman on the opposite side of their chairs, "'Scuse me..." He picked up two cans of (lukewarm, cause of course it was) beer and left 20 dollars in their place. Seemed fair, "Here. Best you're gonna get." He handed her one of the cans. She stared at it warily and grimaced when she took the first sip, "Not your thing."

"I generally prefer my beer cold, yeah." She rolled her eyes, "Why are you asking anyway? You actually wanna ask me out?"

"I'm...worried about you," he said slowly. She blinked languidly in response, "Despite everything we are friends, and as much as I know Castle isn't a total bastard that doesn't exactly mean I completely trust him."

"Yeah, I get it." She sighed softly, "Well...we slept together."

"I gathered that. You weren't exactly subtle." She didn't announce it to the world or anything, but he could make an educated guess based on how she was acting, "I'm not gonna judge you for it. That last month a year ago wasn't exactly a field of roses and we took any kind of reprieve we could. I just...wanna make sure there's nothing deeper than that."

"Trust me, there isn't." She smirked, though it was weaker than she might've wanted, "I just...alright, realtalk for a minute. One of the reasons I became a journalist is cause I wanted to spite my mom and grandma. They wanted me to stay in buttfuck Wisconsin and, I dunno, make cheese or baskets or something. I wanted away and figured being a journalist was the easiest thing."

"And here I thought you found your calling in exposing injustices."

"We can't all be saints like Gwen, hm?" She took a long sip of her beer, "I mean I do want to do that, but...I dunno how to say it. You ever get that high when you're in danger or getting into a fight?"

"No. Fighting is...it's something you do when you have to. No fun in it."

"Look at you, Mr. Zen." She finished off the can, "Some of the things I've been doing. You know, sneaking into gang hideouts, tangling with darkweb hackers...I get nightmares from that, but a part of me loves the rush. Like the guy who weaves through traffic or Gwen when she goes on one of her swings through town. It's a part of me, you get?"

"So...Castle was just another high?"

"I guess? Like I said it's hard to explain. I do trust him, and I think he's got more of a heart than he lets on, but that danger and the idea of going with the freaking Punisher? Yeah, there's kind of a rush there." She smiled, though it was noticeably crooked, "One of my psychologist buddies in college said I probably just never grew up. I'm still that teenager rebelling against her parents."

"Most teenagers kill themselves diving through dumpsters for a high. Least you're doing something."

"I like to think so."

The rest of the ride was spent in a heavy but not uncomfortable silence. Peter looked across to his impromptu partner and caught her fingering the scar on her cheek, "You know I could do something about that," he said. She always paraded it around as a mark of accomplishment; something she and Cin shared, "I picked up some tricks. Could help fade those out." Stick would've tanned his hide if he knew he was offering Chi for skincare.

"You offer the same thing to Cindy?"

"Yeah, she didn't want to. Says she wants to remember."

"Same here then. Kinda. I dunno, I just think it looks cool." She shrugged, "Ooh, but I do have a bruise on my side that's getting really purple. Katzenberg bumped into me 'accidentally'."

"Sure. Show it." She pulled up the side of her hoodie and shirt to expose the right side of her waist. The bruise wasn't too large, though it did stick out considering the paleness of the skin around it, "Surprised you didn't pay this guy back."

"Who says I didn't?" She squirmed slightly when his fingertips grazed skin, "Kicked him in the balls. Accidentally. Seriously, though, I've got no clue why Robbie still accepts freelance work from that guy. I feel slimy just looking at him."

"Pragmatism wins the day." A dull yellow light seeped into her flesh and when he pulled his hands back the bruise was gone, "There. Tell me if you need anything, but don't abuse it. I'm your friend, not a miracle worker."

"Sure, sure. I'll hit you up when I find any more nasties." She looked up, "We're coming up on the station. Let's go."

The walk to the location was short. Peter made sure to keep his hood up and his mask close at hand. Norah said she just wanted to meet a contact and gather some info, preferably without any punching, "This guy better be worth it for the money I'm spending," the blonde muttered next to him. Her hood was pulled up as well with one eye partially covered by her hair. It was definitely a different look on her.

"Aren't you worried he might recognize you? You're pretty well-known for exposing Matt." Apparently she was going to pretend to be an aspiring recruit.

"Best part of being a journalist: fame in our world is way different. Pretty sure most people just know I'm a blonde, and good luck narrowing that down." She stopped and looked around, "He's not here."

"Should we wait?"

"Yeah, I'm getting my money's worth, damn it."

The wait ended up being for naught. Barely 15 minutes had passed before a pair of footsteps reached them...and it definitely wasn't who they were looking for, "There you are!" Helen stopped and put her hands on her knees as she panted, glaring up at them. Real nice leaving me waiting down there."

"How the hell did you find us?" Peter asked incredulously.

"Find my phone app," Helen said nonchalantly. Peter opened his phone and cursed when he saw said app on the screen, "What the hell?"

"You know I think the blame is partially on you for not password locking your freaking phone," Norah said. Peter glared at her, "What? I'm not the one who put that in there so don't look at me like that."

"It doesn't matter." Helen stood up straighter now, "Point is you two snuck out. Let's go back."

"We're doing something right now, Helen. Just give us some-" Spider-sense. Not danger, something else. Peter looked around and narrowed his eyes when he saw a bunch of masked figures going into a building on the next street over, "...Tell me I'm not the only one who saw that."

"Nope, saw em too. Spider-Worshippers." He wanted to wipe that grin off Norah's face, "Looks like your fanclub got here ahead of us."

"Just great..." Helen sighed.

"They're gonna get themselves killed." He put on his mask and followed with Norah coming after him. Helen stayed behind called someone - probably the police - on her phone. This was why he never saw the appeal of fame - too many idiots who got themselves hurt 'for you'. He didn't know how Gwen dealt with it, "I'm gonna go up. You should probably stay here-"

"Not happening. We're partners, so you're not ditching me."

"Your funeral." He grabbed hold of her with his right arm and shot a line of webbing from Gwen's webshooter with the other. The biocable pulled them up quickly and Peter ran towards the nearby skylight. Spider Worshippers were fighting against a buncha mooks dressed up in green and pumpkin masks, "Damn it, I gotta get down there. You stay here. No arguments."

"Fine. I'll take some pictures."

Peter jumped and crashed through the skylight, raining glass down on everyone below. Most them looked up in shock just before he threw the smoke grenade, 'Focus...' He charged towards the pumpkin masked figures through the smoke. He wasn't blind anymore, but he could still see the world through more than just his eyes.

Peter disarmed the closest one's knife and snapped his wrist. The pumpkin headed bastard screamed and Peter kicked the knife into the corner before slamming him down to the floor. It was tempting to use it himself, but the last thing he needed now was anyone dying.

He webbed down two more stumbling figures and focused on another. The smoke was dissipating now and both sides were going back to their fighting. He just hoped his 'fans' could take care of themselves.

"Holy shit, that's the real Spider-Man!" One of his 'fans', a woman by the sounds of her , screamed. Peter ignored her and webbed down a couple more who tried to attack him.

He headbutted another Lantern thug and looked around to assess the situation. No firearms from what he could see, just pipes, knives, crowbars and anything else they could grab. Hopefully it meant no one would end tonight bleeding out of their skull.

There were only a few left by the time he saw a few of the Lanterns cut and run. Peter punched away the Lantern trying to grapple him and chased after them, "Hey, wait up!" Norah jumped down from the fire escape and shot one of the Lanterns running below her with a tazer. The pumpkin headed bastard convulsed briefly and fell to the ground.

Peter shot a line of white webbing and snagged another. The Lantern tried to struggle only for Peter to slam him against the wall and web him to the surface.

Only one left.

The last Lantern ran like a man possessed. Peter was forced to wait a few seconds for Norah to land before finally giving chase again. She doubted the guy knew anything worthwhile, but Norah insisted that they catch him anyway.

He'd almost caught up when he heard a *thwip* that definitely didn't come from him. Peter looked up at the source and stopped when he saw Gwen's all too familiar figure swing overhead and tug the Lantern up by a string of webbing. The pumpkin headed bastard screamed and struggled till Gwen webbed him from head to toe and left him hanging from a nearby lamppost.

...Was it too late to run?

"Yes, it's too late to run." Did he say that out loud? Peter stepped back slightly as Gwen landed on the ground, the eyes of her mask narrowed. Not a good sign, "Hey Peter, funny seeing you here." Her voice was calm and sickly sweet. Another not good sign. He couldn't see Helen anywhere but he got the distinct feeling it wasn't the cops she called.

"Hey Ben I got-" Norah stopped when she saw just who was in front of her, "Oh...well, you seem busy, I'll just uh..."

"You stay right there, Norah. I gotta talk with you too."

"I'd really rather leave-"

"Take one more step and my vengeance will be slow and painful. And filled with tentacles." Norah completely froze. Peter raised a brow; it was clear she was in a bad mood and it wasn't just for them sneaking out, "Now, do you mind explaining just exactly what you were doing here?"

"Following a lead." He nudged his head to the hanging Lantern, "Heard there was was a new gang following Jack's insanity and Summers said she had a source."

"And then his fanclub showed up and made giant mess," Summers added quickly, "Speaking of they're still back there so I really should-"

"Move and your orifices will be violated." Alright, something definitely put her in a mood. Gwen sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Peter, what part of 'keep a low profile' do you not understand?"

"The part where it means I'm under house arrest until people stop wanting to kill me," he said, "I get that you're worried, Spider-Woman, but neither of us do this because it's safe and easy. I'll admit Sowande caught us off-guard, but that doesn't mean I can run and hide till someone else solves my problem. I know you're worried, but that's not how this is going to go."

"You're unbelievable." She sighed again and looked him in eyes, "Unbelievable and so lucky that I actually need your help to make any headway on this bounty thing. Norah too."

"Does that mean there won't be unmentionables stuffed up my unmentionables?" Norah asked warily.

"Yes. I was kinda pissed, okay? Sorry about the threats." She shook her head and swung them both up to the nearby rooftop for a little more privacy. Norah stepped away and patted herself down, "...Do you seriously think I left a piece of Webster on you?"

"Can't be too careful."

"This from someone who's best friends with MJ."

The mask peeled away and exposed the troubled expression she had kept hidden, "...What's wrong, Gwen?" Peter asked.

"Good news is I know the guy who put the bounty on you- put that gun down." She glared at him half-heartedly, "Even if I did agree to just let you off this guy we can't be sure killing him will just end the bounty."

"She's got a point," Norah said.

"Point is that we need to do this without throwing punching. So to make a long story short: Peter, we need to break up."

...

"Please make the story longer. I feel like I missed something here."


MyChemicalHatred: Anyone else find it weird that the Defenders were being led by a guy who can't even legally drink?

Reply from KingdomheartsisDARK: Not any weirder than a 15 year old being one of their past members.

Reply from BottlesnotPLASTIC: I'm more curious on where Spider-Man keeps finding these people. The Avengers I get since most of them are public figures but where in the fuck did he get Punisher, Black Cat, Striker, Bullseye, Moon Knight, Daredevil, Fire Biker and Ninja Lady? And why are they on his team? Something tells me he's not paying them.

Reply from Neetman: Striker said a year ago that they worked together because they all hated Matt Murdock. Think there's another Big Bad for the new Defenders to join up?

Reply from HandHoldingisLewd: Personally I think at least a couple of them are there cause they wanna fuck Spider-Man. I mean, did anyone else see how tense he and Daredevil were during Arcade's torture show? And Spidey definitely looked heartbroken when that ninja chick fell. Spider-Woman should watch her back.

Reply from KingdomheartsisDARK: Just cause you've made it clear you wanna fuck Spider-Man doesn't mean everyone else does.

Reply from HahaHoho: I'd like to interject (and totally derail this topic) by saying that Spider-Woman has a great ass. That is all :D

Reply from HandHoldingisLewd: Meh, I think Spinerette's is better.

Reply from FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderwoman: Seriously, how do you keep coming back?!


I definitely enjoyed writing Norah and Noir's back and forths. Jouranlist/Vigilante friendships are always fun and since they were meant to be the original romance the chemistry still sticks around.

Next chapter will be Matt and MJ going after Fancy Dan's crew and, if I have enough time, Gwen enlisting the help/getting advice from the other protagonists plus Norah on her break-up with Peter. And in case you didn't catch on, they're not actually breaking up.

Questions:

1. Do you guys want more cross-villain encounters? In this chapter both Noir and Cindy end up fighting against baddies more related to Hogoblin than their own bad guys. I'm also planning for another hero to encounter Cloak and Dagger. Should I keep it up or keep them more segmented?

2. Do you guys want another date chapter? Apparently romance sells and I'm nothing if not hungry for reviews and readers.

Review answers:

Raw Prodigy - No real plans to include the multiverse outside of a few mentions. Wanna keep the scale focused on New York.

SpiderGod766 - I think I've had enough symbiotes.

Titan616 - Somehow I doubt Felicia's willing to share with Matt. Also, Gwen being criticized does have merit sometimes, just not when people are being salty cause they didn't get their dream date or they're jealous they don't have powers.

Vengeance208 - I think Peter and Lana dated in 'TSA the Amazing Spider-Man vol 2'. Also, too late for MJ. He's with Gwen and now the threesome was most definitely voted against.

Noisy-Cricket - The Hellfire Knife already feels like a bit of a power scale mistake.

Chaos4Ever - The post credits feels kinda iffy. If people legit believe him and Peter gets shit from the majority despite being a season Avenger who helped save the universe I'm calling shenanigans.

KeepCalmAndDrink - Jessica was 32 and George was 51 during V1, a 19 year age difference; incidentally the same age Gwen was for the majority of that volume. It's pretty large, but Jessica doesn't strike me as the type to care.