Just a heads up, I replaced all mentions of San Francisco with San Fransokyo to fit with the Marvel aesthetics and Mary Jane name dropping it in the last volume. I also changed all mentions of Francisco to Fransokyo in previous chapters to fit this.

Anyway, this chapter is more Gwen focused. Writing the 'fan' segments was difficult since I didn't wanna go full neckbeard/simpsons comic book guy even though I know from experience those people do exist. I'm not really satisfied with it but hopefully I can make up for it in the upcoming comic-con chapter.

Also, Felicia is leading with 14 votes. Dunno why since she hadn't shown up in the previous chapters. So much for Frog-Man and Daredevil being the top picks...


VivirionX: Alright it's that time again. Who's the hottest male Defender? We've got a wide variety, ladies and gents! Spider-Man, Daredevil, Moon Knight, Iron Fist or Punisher. Place your votes!

reply from knifewieldingwomen: Punisher for me. Guy has total DILF energy.

reply from Squee Machine: Moon Knight gets my vote. You saw his unmasked face, right? That guy in a suit is just mmph!

reply from Emperor Maidelgard: Big agree! Did you see that pic of him shirtless someone spread? Guy has abs you can grate cheese on!

reply from Dank Bear: Is this even fair for Daredevil or Iron Fist? We don't know what they look like :/

reply from Zack 93: Who cares lol? Have you seen their bods? They could look like nosferatu and it wouldn't change my mind. I pick Iron Fist by the way. Guy is the goodest boi and deserves everything.

reply from Julia'sJujuMinx: Ya'll are sleeping on Spider-Man and Daredevil! Spider-Man's got that nerdy charm and Daredevil totally looks like he's got something going on. People don't put on devil masks if they aren't freaky :3

reply from Rnd0MIzed: Second Spider-Man and Iron Fist. The others look like they're way too old. We know Spider-Man's like 18 and Iron Fist definitely sounds pretty young.

reply from the power COSMIK: Seconding Punisher. We also know he's free since his family died. RIP.

reply from OnlySaneMan: Jesus Christ people are thirsty...


After a couple of years at the celebrity thing Gwen got used to it. Sure she didn't like people obsessing over her relationships or assuming that they had some deep connections cause of a few tweets, but she learned to live with it. And god did that make her sound pretentious as all hell. Yeah, she could 'live with' being famous and being part of an international (except not really cause of politics) superhero team.

But it really wasn't all just fan and games. She wasn't going to pretend it was some terrible burden and woe was her but she also wasn't gonna ignore how crazy people could get. One wrong post or even if someone just wanted to make up some outrage to get some attention and it was her head on the chopping block. Shulkie called it a balancing act. No matter what you did someone somewhere would find some kind of reason to hate you. The best you could do was do enough good so that your fans drowned out the people screaming that you're the second coming of Hitler. Cynical, but true.

She was reminded of that when they got mobbed as soon as they left the airport. Tony Stark's private plane only meant that their flight was solo - everything that came after was a free-for-all. Gwen bit her tongue to keep from cursing when the mob of fans, journalists and paparazzi pushed each other aside to get their attention. If it were any other time she would've already swung halfway across the city but Cap told them to keep together.\

"Hawkeye, can you confirm or deny the rumors that you were adopted into the Bishops?!"

"We're here live with Spinerette, Thor's previous lover! Could this be the rekindling of an old romance?!"

"Captain America! What do you say about the accusations leveled by congress that you're co-opting the Initiative for your own goals?!"

"Spider-Woman, is there any truth that Spider-Man is blackmailing you into a relationship?!"

"Wasp is here with her daughter Hope! Could we be seeing a passing of the role?!"

"It's She-Hulk! I'm such a fan! Sign my book!"

"OMG, it's Spider-Woman and Spinerette! I can't believe they're walking together! I thought they hated each other?!"

"Spider-Woman, Spider-Woman! Any truth to the rumors that you'll unmask in the con?!"

"Captain America, what about the allegations that Tony Stark bribed you to let James Rhodes into the team?!"

And so on and so forth. It was enough to make her wanna tear her hair out. People always wanted to stir shit up; and if there wasn't anything to stink they'd crap on the floor themselves. Yes, clearly she was just a damsel being victimized by the big bad Spider-Man and Captain America was secretly a H.Y.D.R.A agent trying to destroy the American way of life. Whatever got people to click their articles and subscribe.

Thankfully She-Hulk's advice on mixing truths and lies was enough to get them to the hotel. Another Stark property and it was kitted out like the presidential bunker. Their rooms were on the top floor, the windows were one-way bulletproof glass, thick curtains you'd need x-ray vision to see through and no security cameras (and both she and Cindy would know if that was a lie). Their little sanctuary.

"Man, I'm exhausted!" Kate groaned as she chucked off her boots and flopped on the bed. Gwen, Cindy, Kate and Hope were sharing a room, mostly at Hope's pouting request. Gwen didn't mind much. They were one of the few people she didn't need to feel paranoid or on-guard around, "Can't believe those paps! Ugh, so futzing annoying! I really wanted to deck that guy who said I was taking drugs to keep up!"

"I know." Gwen sighed and leaned back on her own bed. As excited as she was about the A-con the grind always got to her, "I'm sick of people crawling up my ass too," she said, forgetting to censor herself for Hope. The little girl in question was thankfully too busy browsing the net to pay attention.

"We knew that coming in. Higher you are the more people wanna knock you down." Cindy grabbed a bottle of wine and smiled slightly, "Least the accommodations are nice and private. And we get this."

"I'll hold off." Gwen waved her right hand idly. One of them needed to set a good example for Hope.

Besides, her mind was on other things right now...

Gwen breathed out softly and leaned back on the (silk!) sheets. She was still thinking about Peter and MJ. Peter was going to do that honor duel bullshit and MJ...who the hell knew. She was killing people less, but that wasn't saying much. Still hanging around Murderdock too.

Kate sat next to her with an easy smile, "Penny for your thoughts?" She swirled the glass of deep red wine with her left hand. It was hard to remember most times but Kate was used to all this. Rich rooms, vintage wines and fancy limousines was an everyday life for the Bishops.

"Just worried about stuff back in New York." Gwen forced a smile. She wasn't ashamed to admit she was a homebody. Sure she'd gone all over the world with the Avengers but she never felt as happy as when she was back in the familiar streets. Or over the streets, in her case.

"Come on, we're supposed to be having fun!" Kate slapped her leg lightly and took a sip of the wine.

"Hard to have fun when you remember what you have to go back to." Cindy sat on the bed across from them. She'd already downed one glass, "All I can think about is the stuff I gotta do back home."

"Oh yeah, you told me about your new fling with Prince Silver. How's that going?" Kate asked with a smirk.

"A prince?" Hope asked excitedly. She jumped on the bed next to Cindy, nearly spilling wine from her glass when she jostled the surface, "I didn't know you knew princes!"

"You've met the king of Wakanda, Hope," Gwen said.

"Yeah, but he's boring! All he did was talk to mom about using the shrink powers to grow food and make deliveries easier!" Hope huffed.

"Royalty isn't as exciting as the Disney movies make you think," Cindy snorted, "Honestly I'm more worried about the whole 'gangsters stealing power armor' thing. Groups like the Hand or the H.Y.D.R.A remnants are on their last legs but whenever there's a vacuum you're gonna have people trying to take advantage. Then I have to worry about the criminals who think putting on a Halloween mask makes them invincible."

"How's the Spider-Cop thing going, by the way?" Kate asked.

"Paperwork. So. Much. Paperwork." Cindy put the glass on the bedside table and flopped down on her back, "Jean talked to me about making it a more permanent gig but...I dunno. I like knowing the guys we catch stay in prison and most of the force is pretty good, I guess. It's just...such a pain in the butt most days. Prince Charming's just another headache I have to deal with."

"Really? Heard you and him went out on a date."

"Oh please. That was a power play." Cindy snorted again, "You've been in S.H.I.E.L.D for at least a couple of years, Kate. You should know when people do things for appearances. Besides, I'm actually seeing someone else..."

"Ooh, do tell." Kate smirked and leaned forward.

"No thank you. I didn't come all the way to San Fransokyo to talk about guys." She sat up again, "Actually, you guys wanna go out? I've been at this dimension for a while now but some of the things are still freaking weird. Like this place. Did Japan take over America here? Is that why everyone thinks I'm Japanese?"

"There was an earthquake in 1906 and Japanese immigrants rebuilt the city after. We talked about it in school," Hope said.

"I wouldn't mind going out. We didn't actually get a chance to tour Japan when we visited." Gwen said. You'd think helping evacuate people would get them some goodwill but the government couldn't have kicked them out fast enough once the relief effort was done. Like Tony Stark said, having a walking american flag for a leader tended to make other countries nervous.

"I'm coming too!" Hope said excitedly, "Are we flying? Let's fly!"

"Uh...hate to ruin your parade, Hope, but I can't fly or swing or anything. No powers, remember?" Kate shrugged.

"We probably shouldn't be swinging around anyway. Don't wanna draw any more attention," Cindy said, "Let's all meet up through the back to avoid the paparazzi. I'll tell Cap we're going out so she doesn't freak."

An hour later and they were at one of the premier sushi places around. Like Cindy suggested they kept a low profile: Gwen shifted her face, Cindy and Kate wore hoodies and even Hope had to put on a baseball cap. Felt like they were on the run but it was a small price to pay to avoid the crowds and roving tourists. A lot of people came here to attend A-con.

Hope stuck her tongue out at the fish, "Not a fan of sushi?" Gwen asked.

"It's fine, I just think it tastes kinda weird. I wish Laura was here too."

"She couldn't just skip school. Her grades are pretty rocky." Cindy frowned, "Speaking of Laura, do we know how long this symbiosis thing is gonna go?" She asked Gwen.

Webster jutted out of her shoulder slightly. Good thing they picked a corner booth, "It depends on the individual. Gwen and I are taking it slow and it was temporarily stalled due to my 'death' a year ago. Mary Jane and her partner are bonded at a higher capacity but that's because it came to her at a...traumatic moment." Yeah, right when she was being raped. A part of her still felt guilty, stupid as that was. Maybe if she'd been back home instead of DC she could've helped somehow. Dumb thought, but whatever.

"You know you're really getting into the whole mom thing," Kate said lightly.

"Don't knock it till you try it." Cindy smirked.

"We should follow her example, Gwen. We don't talk to Chocolate as much as we should."

"We check in on Gabbie as much as we can, Webs." Laura tended to be busy with schoolwork. Smart girl but she liked watching TV and munching on chips more than doing her homework. Which gave Cindy a lot of headaches, "Changing the subject. You guys have any idea what we'll be doing in A-con? Besides introducing Thor and Iron Machine, I mean. Cap was pretty vague about the whole thing."

"From what I heard it's her trying to give us a small vacation. Even when we took down H.Y.D.R.A a few months ago we've been pretty busy." Kate swirled her straw idly, "Cindy's swamped with the Spider-Cop thing, you've got college, that new blob baby and being Spider-Woman and I'm dealing with Madame Masque's weird hate-crush. And the whole 'my mom apparently never died and was just a Vampire' thing."

"...I still don't get how you're so casual about that," Gwen said. Sure her mom came back from the dead but she wasn't a Vampire or anything. She offered to help but apparently Kate had it handled so far.

"Eh, you get used to it." She shrugged, "Cap's just worried we're gonna crash and burn without a break. And I guess she figured the paparazzi's gonna be worth it once we get to the non-creepy fans."

"I hate those guys. They keep trying to ask mom who my dad's supposed to be." Hope frowned.

"Yeah. Those as- jerks wouldn't know the meaning of privacy if you smacked them in the face with a dictionary." As much as Gwen hated to admit it, people did have legitimate reasons to question her relationship with Peter. He really was a vigilante with a body count and not a licensed hero so of course people would get nervous. Fine, she didn't like it but it made sense.

What she didn't get were the ones that wanted TMI details or the ones who really wanted her to spill her dirty laundry. Cause apparently the world just had to know if Peter was really good in the sack, if she really had an abusive dad that drove her to be a hero or if it was true that she was secretly in love with Captain America and was just using Peter as a beard.

The less said about her secretly being in on the Lizard attack at prom in some kind of long-planned scheme to be New York's premier hero, the better.

"Bright side, Thor and Iron Machine are gonna be the focus for the next few months. People always like to pick on the new guy." Cindy said, "I should probably help out Thor, though. Somehow I doubt they had paparazzi up in Asgard."

"Sure that's the only reason." Kate waggled her eyebrows exaggeratedly and Gwen laughed.

"For the last time, Katherine, I am not talking about my dating life."

They chatted for the next half hour about whatever came to mind. Gwen had to admit, Kate was right about it feeling like a vacation. As much as she loved New York also knew that it was Supervill central. Everyone had their own theories on that, but she just figured it was bad luck. Or maybe there was some king of giant artifact of doom under the city attracting every Supervill in the country. Either or.

It was nice not having to worry that any second she'd suit up and have to fight Dr. Sharktopus across town or something.

Webster leaned forward and sipped the chocolate shake from a straw. Hope leaned forward and rubbed her snake-y head, "Aww, who's a good girl! You are!" Hope beamed.

"I'm not a pet." Despite her grumbling she leaned into Hope's finger before going back to her drink.

"One of the things the paps said made me curious," Cindy said, "Do you ever plan to unmask?"

"Nope." No hesitation at all. It was a dumb question.

"Yeah...you might wanna think about it at some point." Gwen looked at her like she grew a second head. Again. Cindy rolled her eyes, "You're the only Avenger whose identity is still under wraps."

"So? Rules say only specific people need to know." Cap and a few high up Government people that put it in some hyper encrypted database hidden in one of Stark's blacksite servers. She even called up Peter when they asked to make sure they weren't H.Y.D.R.A agents in disguise.

"It's a matter of trust. You dating Pete is already questionable enough, but when you can be literally anyone under the mask it starts rumors. I'm just saying, even if it can be a pain in the butt it might be better if you control when and where you tell people."

"Cap already told me the same argument, Cin. Not buying it. If I can keep my face hidden I'm keeping it hidden. Last thing I need is a media circus." Peter still hated how people knew who he was. Made people think they had his number just cause they knew his real name. Like he was a demon from D&D. I know your true name shit.

"Fine, but you really should think about it. Some things you can't hide forever."

"Sure, sure." Gwen waved her off. After the shit she had to go through for those first two years she wasn't exactly keen on telling people her address.

The rest of the day was spent on exploring all San Fransokyo had to offer. It was so different from New York that she almost got culture shock. Sure she'd been to places like Chinatown (Ringer loved going there for some reason) but this was a whole new thing entirely. It was like a little slice of Japan mixed with America to make a perfect blend. She was so tempted to swing through the air and see it all from above before Cindy reminded them to keep a low profile.

Oh well, they'd be here for a couple of days after the con. She could wait.


FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderFan: OMG! About to attend Avengers con!

reply from CapewatchInc: So lucky! I was too late to get my ticket :(

reply from Ecurotain: Don't forget to take pictures!

reply from Quiet Grimm: And don't forget to socialize! Places like this are great for getting your name out!

reply from jluaxina: See if you can get Thor's autograph! That's sell in a couple of weeks!


The next day didn't start off very well.

She hit her personal tweeter to ping her for any Spider-Man news. Sure it was probably going to be about bullshit secret love affairs or rumors that he was secretly eating people but maybe something would hit. Maybe she'd get 'lucky'.

And then she got a hit...

The Professionalist: Yo GPool just posted a vid before the Defenders vs Supervill fight. Looks like Spider-Man and some old dude were having a knife fight?

reply from Fesh: Lol what the hell?

reply from Nice Gator: What's with the reverse grip? My man here trying to be a jedi.

reply from Mawk: Actually it's a real technique called the icepick grip. Several self-defense forms and martial arts like Eskrima use reverse grip in some of their forms. Knives like karambits can also be used for it. It can get really nasty. My guess is Spider-Man got some training.

reply from Brainwave101: Forget the knife, why the eff is Spider-Man fighting an old man?!

reply from The Professionalist: Probably the Hand judging by the martial arts and katana. I heard Spider-Man was dealing with them and that's why he went on a world trip.

reply from Jt Ho: They're still kicking? I thought they died when the Defenders killed that demon thing.

reply from The Professionalist: Nope apparently still going. Hope he gets rid of them already. Don't need any more wannabe illumanati.

reply from Kori McCree: Defenders are fighting villains while the Avengers are at a con. Who are the real heroes again?

"Gwen, you alright?" Kate put a hand on her shoulder. She nearly jumped out of the bed and dropped her phone, "Woah! What's the damage?"

"Uh...nothing. Peter just got into something." Again. Thankfully it looked like he got away. Not so thankfully he was with Frank freaking Castle and they had to shoot their way out of there. Perfect. She eyed the clock. Almost noon. The con would last till midnight. Not like they had to worry about the lights, "I'm gonna call him to check in."

"No need." Cindy said. She was helping Hope put on her harness and threw Gwen her phone, which she caught with her free hand, "Just got a message from Moon Knight. Apparently they offed that Murakami guy and took down all the Supervills. Most of the baddies are still breathing so they'll be going to prison. Said Pete's sleeping off his injuries too so might wanna leave it alone."

"...Do I even wanna know why you have Moon Knight's number?" Gwen asked.

"We're sharing a couple of safehouses. It's nothing serious." She finished up the harness and patted Hope's back. The girl in question frowned, "Something wrong?"

"Is d- uh, Moon Knight okay?" Hope asked. Gwen winced. Right, she wasn't the only one who had someone to worry about. Moon Knight wasn't exactly a dad you told your friends about but apparently he was talking to them again. It was slow, but he was trying, "I heard him and mom talking about something dangerous they had to do. He's working with Spider-Man, right?"

"They'll be fine, Hope. They're tougher than they look." Gwen stood and ruffled the girl's hair. Saying it out loud made her feel better, at least, "Now come on, let's check out the con!"

The con itself was...something. She'd been to conventions before - dressed as Captain America with Peter as her Bucky when they were both 10 - but this was another thing entirely. It was at least three times as big and she was one of the guests of honor.

Gwen swung through the convention and smiled at the cheers from the con goers below. The official announcement would happen at 3 pm so they had about three hours to kill. They all agreed to split up and check out the con separately with Hope tagging along with Kate, 'This place is very...loud.' Webster said. Another bout of cheering came when she landed and she was practically swarmed by eager fans.

She caught more than a few cosplayers around. Some of them were in Spider-Woman costumes but others were dressed like the rest of the Avengers. Two Captain Americas - both guys - shoved their books to her asking for an autograph while a Spinerette in the back was livestreaming and taking selfies, "Okay, okay! One at a time!" She laughed. It was...nice. Maybe it was egotistical of her to say but having fans who didn't push her on too many details and rumors was really cool.

And of course they had questions.

"What was it like to fight the Skrulls?!" A Spider-Woman cosplayer asked. A pretty good one, actually. If all con-goers didn't require an ID badge around their neck people might've figured she was the real article.

"A pretty big pain in the butt. They kept trying to pretend they were Cap or someone else I knew." That was annoying. Thankfully she wasn't fooled...more than once.

"Ooh, ohh! You went giant that one time to fight that bigass monster! You ever gonna do that again?!" Another Captain America - a girl who looked maybe 15 - asked excitedly.

"No way. You know how many times I almost tripped and sat on someone? Or how that thing almost knocked me into the Empire State? Not a chance." Lana still teased her sometimes about how she nearly landed and crushed her under 'that giant ass of hers'. So did Cindy. Well excuse her, it wasn't her fault the Skrulls decided to fuck them with Godzilla when they lost.

"Is Spider-Man around here? I wanna get his autograph!" A Spinerette asked.

"Ah...no, sorry! He's back in New York!"

She spent the next ten minutes answering the next barrage of questions and selfie/autograph requests before she swung off elsewhere. Cap told them to enjoy themselves and go around as much of the con as possible. She went for the east side next and laughed under her breath at the gigantic merch stores, VR tech demos and everything that was signed with the Stark brand. Guess Tony Stark had to get his clip in somehow.

She hopped down and went into the store. No one noticed her yet, 'Huh...' She picked up the Avengers set action figures and grinned when the Spider-Woman let out a catchphrase about swinging in to save the day, 'What do you think? Should we get it for Helli?' Her little sis loved it whenever she played peekaboo wearing the mask. And hey you could do worse than having Spider-Woman for a big sister.

'I'm not sure. Doesn't that feel, what was that word...narcissistic?

'Someone's learning the big words.' She mentally snorted, 'And how's it any worse than her and that Tsum doll?'

'Peter isn't related to her.'

'...I'm buying it anyway.' She took the pile and looked at something for Gabbie. Technically she was less than a year old but Laura was about 12. Kids liked video games, right? 'So what do you think? I know what Gabbie likes but I'm not really sure about Laura. How much do hosts influence what the symbiote likes, anyway?'

'It depends on how well they synchronize. Mary Jane and her partner are frequently at odds. We share some similarities - I received my love of music from you - but others are separate. It's why I have to keep changing our webflicks preferences.'

'You always pick the history programs and documentaries!'

'And you always choose murder mysteries and comedy shows. What is the point? You need to learn from the past so you don't make the same mistakes.'

'Webflicks is for funtime. I don't wanna use it for homework.'

'It's not work if it's fun-'

"Um, are you Spider-Woman?" A new voice asked. Gwen turned and looked down at the kid who looked maybe 13 or 14. He wasn't wearing a costume but he had a Thor shirt and Avengers bracelet on his right wrist.

"Yep." Gwen grinned. She always liked younger fans more. Less chance they'd be assholes or think she had to change to meet their demands, "What's up?"

"C-Could I get a picture?" He held up his camera shyly and Gwen almost laughed. An actual camera instead of a phone. Reminded her of how she and Peter were back when they went to the cons.

"Sure!" He handed her the camera and she raised it up to take a selfie with the both of them, "Say webs!" They both made webshooting gestures and Gwen snapped a few pics. Kid looked like she just made his day, "Anything else you need?"

"No, thank you! This is really-"

And that was as far as he got before he was practically shoved away by someone else. Gwen scowled and moved to yell at the jerk before he the new arrival cut her off, "I have a question for you, Spider-Woman," he said, like he was doing her a favor. Gwen looked him up and down and grimaced. He wasn't particularly fat or thin and his greasy hair and beard added a few years to his pasty face. Besides that shirt and shorts looked like he wore them for a week straight and the stench of something awful was already wafting up her nose.

Kate made jokes before but it still made her cringe. Sure, a lot of comic and hero fans were cool - she'd know considering she was one of them as soon as she learned to read - but sometimes they really did live up to the stereotype.

"Is it true that you're back together with Spider-Man?" His voice was deep and scratchy, like someone who didn't have enough to drink. She resisted the urge to growl at him. Did Peter have to deal with people crawling up his ass about their relationship? God she hoped not. The thought of Castle or Murdock looking down their nose at him cause he wasn't a lonely, desperate fuck with nothing to live for like they were pissed her off.

Gwen ignored him and helped the kid up, "You alrig-"

"Excuse me, I'm talking to you," he snapped.

"And I'm ignoring you." The eyes of her mask narrowed, "First, you're an asshole. Second, my relationship is none of your business." People were staring at them now. Great, this was the last thing she needed. Ignoring the crowd, she turned to the kid again, "Sorry about that. You alright?"

"Y-Yep! Thank you."

He nodded and (very smartly) ran off. Gwen was about to follow his lead when greasebeard stepped in front of her again. Gwen cringed; he smelled like BO and chips, "I asked you a question."

"Yeah, I heard." Damn it. She didn't think she'd run into one of those fans so soon. Gwen crossed her arms in an obvious 'don't fuck with me' gesture. Cause apparently the super strength, tentacles and spitting out bullets wasn't enough to make people back off, "And it's none of your business."

"Of course it is. You're an Avenger, how can we trust you if you're making stupid decisions or hiding things from us?" Gwen's eyes narrowed. Hiding things? Another person who wanted her to unmask. And okay, she saw their point. It was the reason people argued police needed body cams. And having a mask just made it easier for Jameson to smear her - it could've been anyone under the mask and it was easy to convince scared and angry people there was a monster wearing it.

But it wasn't just her, was it? She was used to danger and putting her neck out. But what about her dad, Jessica and Helena? Dad and Jess could take care of themselves but Spider-Woman made enemies that a police chief and a P.I didn't go up against. And what about her friends? MJ could take care of herself now. Betty and Glory would've had targets on their heads just because of her.

"Huh, I guess me helping people for years doesn't count for anything?" Gwen snarked.

"Like it's hard. Anyone can be a hero if they had your powers."

"If you say so, pal." She wanted to argue, she could raise a fist and make him piss his pants, but what was the point? She'd dealt with jerks and assholes for two years and she knew enough from experience that it'd only end in two ways: either he wouldn't be convinced or he'd play victim. Or both, probably both. Either way she didn't have any interest playing chicken so she did the next best thing.

She swung off, cause he sure as hell couldn't follow her. He'd probably go on the net crowing about how he 'verbally destroyed' Spider-Woman but he'd just be one asshole in a sea of screaming turds. She wasn't too worried.

Gwen swung around the convention till the allotted time. Greasebeard put her in a bad mood but the rest of the convention was fine. A few more assholes - guys and gals in their 20's and 30's asking stupid shit that she wasn't gonna tell them about. Least they didn't shove kids around so it didn't ruin her mood too much.

Eventually she made her way 'backstage' - actually a private balcony above the stage - to where the rest of the Avengers were, "Ah, woman of Spiders! Please come join us!" Thor shouted happily. He raised his mug of ale before quickly downing it. He was sitting across from Cindy and judging by the look on her face he'd just gotten finished telling her one of his stories about what it was like to grow up in Asgard.

She spotted the other Avengers not too far off. Cap was talking shop with Colonel Rhodes while Kate was chatting with Hope (who begged and promised she wouldn't jump down with them no matter how tempting it was), Jan and Shulkie. They looked just as excited as she was.

"Yo." She hopped onto the chair and crouched down to balance on two feet. The holographic sun and clouds that took up the windows meant no one could peek in. It was part of the showmanship. As soon as the announcer called up Thor and Colonel Rhodes they'd jump down and stylishly appear. Personally she thought it was a little over the top but what did she know.

"I was just telling Cindy about my battles with Jörmungandr."

"Yeah. It was pretty epic." Cindy leaned back, crossed her arms and grinned, "With Thor and Iron Machine on our side most supervillains are gonna think better about messing with us."

"I wouldn't be so sure. You have no idea how stupid supervills get." She tried not to think of greasebeard again. Even regular people could be wads, "Sure you should be drinking before your big entrance?"

"This? Ah, it's nothing! It's tradition in Asgard to drink before every battle."

"Uh...we're not fighting anyone, though," Gwen said. Or at least she hoped not.

"He's just looking for an excuse to drink." Cindy rolled her eyes playfully at Thor's look of mock hurt. Before she could say anything else the door opened and unfamiliar, red-haired woman stepped in. Her outfit - a gray button down, cotton pants, fashionable boots and a black pea coat - screamed business casual but the way she walked was anything. Every movement was measured, her expression was stony and Gwen could barely hear her footsteps even with her enhanced senses.

Gwen was about to ask who she was before Cindy suddenly stood up.

"Nat!" Cindy smiled and went to meet her. The redhead's expression softened to a slight smile, "What are you doing here? Planning to join the Avengers?"

"Not likely." 'Nat' shook her head slightly. Kate and Cap joined Cindy while Gwen leaned a bit to listen in. From what she could hear she was a former S.H.I.E.L.D agent and she didn't want to butt in too much.

"What's going on?" Kate asked.

"Something's come up." The redheaded woman crossed her arms. Even that somehow looked poised, "I've heard there's been sighting of Gifted running around the past few nights. Not sure if it's dangerous but I figured you all needed to know in case something happens."

"Thanks for the warning." Cap nodded, "We'll be in San Francisco for a couple of days so we'll see if we can help out. With any luck it'll just be a few kids who got overexcited."

"Hopefully." It was obvious she didn't share Cap's thoughts. She looked to Cindy again, "If you ever get tired of the serve and protect assignment you know where to find me. You did decent work before."

"Yeah...somehow I don't see me being a good spy after I outed my identity."

"You never know." Again with that slight smile. She turned and left though not before eyeing the rest of them that didn't join in on the conversation. Gwen tried not to feel too uncomfortable. It was similar to how Peter and Cindy acted during team-ups. Always assessing the room, taking note of who was dangerous and which one needed to be taken out first if the crap hit the fan.

She was about to ask Cindy who the heck that was when the light above them turned from white to blue, "Guess it's showtime." Colonel Rhodes said. She didn't really know a lot about the guy compared to Thor. Cindy joked(?) before that he Stark's spy but she wasn't sure if she believed that. Mostly cause she didn't think a guy in bright red and gold armor was capable of spying on anyone.

"Good luck!" Hope cheered.

Gwen waved to her little friend before she jumped to the roaring cheers of the crowd below. It was actually easier than going around solo. Up here on the stage everyone's voices all blurred together. Every insult or put-down was drowned out by the even louder cheers of the crowd. Thankfully Thor and Colonel Rhodes got most of the attention. The new members - the first guys in the Avengers, no less - would make anyone curious.

As Cap answered the questions everyone had Gwen found herself thinking of her friends. She wished they were all here, Peter and MJ especially. She hated the idea that she was here lapping up the cheers while they were running through alleys hunting down organ harvesters or sleeping in bloodsoaked beds after another day of thankless heroics. She wasn't going to convince them like this.

Her musings were cut off by the sudden tingle of her spider-sense. Gwen looked to the side and saw Cindy's eyes widen too, "Look out!" She webbed Cap's back and pulled her hard just before a bunch of blinking red spheres the size of marbles suddenly dropped on the stage. They didn't roll and instead stuck to where Cap just was and Cindy quickly covered them in a net of webbing.

The explosion that came after was far larger than she expected. If Cap was there she would've gone up in chunks, "Protect the people!" Cap shouted. Gwen looked up and saw the source. Guys in gliders wearing all black. More spheres dropped all over the stage and the crowed Gwen moved, gathering up as many as she could in a web net before she tossed it straight up seconds from exploding. Just barely she saw Hope fly out of the booth and shrink out of sight. Good, they didn't need to worry about her.

The rest of the Avengers did the same. Kate fired as many EMP arrows as she could at the clusters while Cindy and Colonel Rhodes shot down as many as they could, "Everyone evacuate to the exits!" Jan shouted. She and Shulkie led the evacuation. Cap tossed her shield and took down three of the glider freaks before Thor and Colonel Rhodes took to the air.

"Cowards! Attacking a place of festivity!" Thor shouted. He swung his hammer and the guy crumpled at the impact. Dead, probably. Gwen tried not to feel too bad considering the circumstances. Thor threw his hammer like a boomerang and got two of the glideder freaks in the chest. They fell to the ground, completely unnoticed by the panicking crowd.

"Who the hell are these guys?!" Colonel Rhodes shouted. He shot the gliders down with his repulsor gauntlets but with every one he took down more took their place. It was eerily familiar.

"No clue! Keep shooting! We'll Q&A later!" Kate shouted back. She flipped to avoid the cluster of bombs and hid behind Cap when one of the glider freaks shot a laser blast from his wrist. Cap raised her shield to block the attack before Kate rolled, nocked an arrow and shot the glider, making it sputter for a moment before it suddenly exploded with the guy on top.

Gwen webbed herself over to a glider freak and webbed his face before he could shoot her off with a laser, "Let's take a ride!" She tugged the webs like reins and aimed his wrist laser at the rest of his friends. She managed to drown three gliders before she led him to the wall, "This is our stop!" She tugged him off the glider and webbed him to the floor while the glider exploded above them.

The crackle of lightning above made her look up. Thor's eyes glowed blue and her spider-sense tingled before he spread his arms and a wave of lightning covered the entire surface above them. Gwen covered her eyes eyes and looked away as the sounds of screams and crashes came from all around her.

When she looked back the sky was empty except for Thor. All around them were the crumpled forms of the goblin freaks - dozens on dozens of them - along with their destroyed gliders, "God damn..." Colonel Rhodes said.

"You can say that again," Cindy holstered her pistols as Thor landed on the ground. Really put the whole 'god' thing into perspective.

"...Is that all of them?" Kate asked.

Gwen was about to reply when Cindy's head suddenly snapped to the direction of the Torii Gate bridge, "Something's-" She was cut off by an explosion loud enough that they heard it even from where they were. Gwen webbed herself up and gasped at the fireball coming from the bridge.

"That doesn't look like an accident," Kate said next to her.

"It's not." Cap's eyes narrowed, "Spider-Woman, Thor, Spinerette, Iron Machine, you all check and make sure everyone there's safe. Hawkeye and I will assist She-Hulk and Wasp in the evacuation. We'll keep in contact on comms."

"Got it." Gwen nodded and took Thor's hand while Cindy did the same with Colonel Rhodes. Couldn't exactly webswing over open water. She tried not to shout in surprise when Thor suddenly took to the air and flew to the bridge. She'd been up in the air more times than she could count but actual flying was something she'd never done. Every time she swung she knew it was only temporary.

Different feeling now.

"Spider-Woman, are you alright?" Thor asked.

"Yeah, just...this isn't the best position." He was flying with Mjölnir in his right hand pointing ahead which left her to hang awkwardly by her right hand on his left, "Actually I'm gonna try something. Don't be offended, okay?"

"Try me!"

She swung herself like a pendulum and flipped up to Thor's back, making sure her hands and feet were sticking. Last thing she wanted to was to take a dip in the San Fransokyo bay.

"Ah, ingenius! I've used a similar idea myself in the past! We called it 'get help'!"

"You're gonna have to tell me that story later." She looked back and saw that Cindy was being held up by her armpits and looking none too pleased for it. Gwen threw her a thumbs up and she gave a one finger salute back. Rude.

Her forced cheer disappeared as soon as they saw the bridge. Fire hot enough to make Webster uncomfortable along with piles bodies and cares stuck in the center, "Shit, we gotta get down there!" She hopped of Thor's back and ran to the closest burning car with someone pinned underneath. She grabbed the side to lift it and stumbled back, 'Shit, that hurts! Webster, can you do anything?'

'Fire is our weakness, Gwen. All we can do is power through it.'

'Fine.' She coated her hands with as much biomass as she could and lifted the car again. Her mind started flooding were with panicked instinct but she forced it down, "Hey, can you crawl out?!" she shouted to the guy below.

"I-I think so!" It was agonizingly slow but eventually he managed to crawl out on his hands and knees. Gwen let go as soon as he was safe and winced at the red skin on her palms before they were covered up again. That'd sting in the morning.

The rest of the team did the same. Thor was the quickest, easily lifting the vehicles with one hand and dragging people out with the other. Gwen looked around the bridge and winced at the cracks along the surface. This place wasn't safe, "We need to evacuate everyone," Colonel Rhodes said, "This bridge could collapse at any moment. Let's take them to the other side and-"

Spider-sense.

A truck was barrelling straight for them,. It was big, black and covered in armor with a large crate strapped to its back "...An odd tactic." Thor spun his hammer then tossed it straight ahead. Mjölnir impacted the front and forced it to a stop. Thor pulled the hammer back and they all moved to check it out when the crate suddenly opened to expose what was underneath.

"Wait...that thing on the back," Colonel Rhodes said. It looked like a bomb of some kind but way larger. Thing looked like it weighed tons, "That's a sonic bomb. UN outlawed those years ago. That thing goes and it'll take down everything in a 10 mile radius."

The driver stepped out and Cindy snarled. Hobgoblin, or at least one of his flunkies. His orange cloak was tattered and with a flick of the wrist the hilt on his right hand expanded to a burning sword. On his left was a small detonator, "...We gotta take him down now," Cindy said.

"Sounds like a plan." Gwen was about to swing when he pushed the detonator and the oversized bomb lit up a bright blue. The people behind them screamed as the entire bridge shook and the cracks around the surface widened. Webster screamed too and the sonic waves nearly peeled her suit off. But she had bigger problems, "Shit!" Gwen jumped and grabbed one of the cables. She webbed one end to the other grit her teeth as another wave hit her. Wouldn't hold for long, "We need to evacuate the people!"

"Thor, Spider-Woman, you handle the cables! Iron Machine you get the people out. I'll deal with him."

"Got it!" Thor flew off to the left side while Gwen took the right. She reinforced as many of the cables as she could while Colonel Rhodes led the civilians out, 'This is a nightmare!' She winced at the next wave and just barely saw Cindy jump off the edge of the bridge and grapple the jetpacked goblin, 'Fuck, that thing hurts! We need to turn it off before we get peeled!'

'Cindy is going after the one with the detonator. We have to wait for her.'

'Not sure I can but I'll do my best.'

"Spider-Woman, the bridge is crumbling!" Cindy shouted into the comms.

"I'll handle it!" She swung under the bridge and webbed the cracking stone before they crumbled, "Iron Machine, you need to get the people out now! This bridge isn't going to last much longer!" She webbed another chunk before it could fall and winced when a large piece dropped and nearly took her head off. Least there wasn't a body following after it.

"Going as fast as I can!" Colonel Rhodes shouted back.

She swung up to see if she could help before another wave forced her on her knees. Her brain felt like it was being caved out of her skull, "Spinerette...would really appreciate it if you could turn that bomb off..."

"Working on it!" Gwen looked up. Cindy grinded the goblin's face against the bridge before she grabbed the detonator and pressed it, "I've got it! Now focus on the civilians!" She pulled out her pistols and jumped onto the highest torii. Shaking her head, Gwen forced herself to stand and ignoring the ringing in her head. Thor was still securing the base of the bridge so that left her to help Colones Rhodes with-

Spider-sense.

'Are you fucking kidding me?!' She dodged to the side to avoid the bolt of electricity. Not Thor's; this one was bright yellow and much smaller, "Really not a good time for this..." She looked up and glared at the woman wearing yellow and green who had a huge grin on her face. She recognized her. Francine Frye, an Initiative graduate who figured that she could make more being a villain for hire than being a hero.

And now she was here.

"This isn't a good time, Frye! I'll kick your ass next time!" Not now, not with all these people here.

"Sorry, Spider-Woman. You're my next payday!"

Gwen dodged the next bolt, took to the air and swung to the torii. Cindy was gone and she only had a second to see her back down on ground level wailing on the flaming goblin when another bolt whizzed by her head, "You wanna fight? Come on!" she shouted. She had to keep her away from the people below, "I'll knock you into the bay, you overgrown lightbulb!"

She swung around the torii and grabbed a piece of debris. Francine turned around just in time for Gwen to chuck the rock straight at her head. She wasn't too worried - Frye was bulletproof and she could survive a concussion.

A bolt of electricity blew it to pieces. Gwen zipped towards her and, after making sure her hands were covered with web, punched her right in the face. Even with the covering a jolt of pain ran up her hands and she only managed two more punches before an electric beam got her right in the chest.

'Gwen, be careful! The bomb has made us unstable!'

'Yeah, I got it!'

She looked down at the incoming bay and righted herself again. Okay, no more frontal assaults, "You want me?! Come and get me!" She swung under the bridge taunted louder to make sure Frye would follow. She had one shot at this.

Gwen swung low and, just before Frye could fire off another shot, made a 180 turn and kicked her right in the chest. Frye panicked and, just before they hit water, let out another blast that tore the lower left half of her mask off.

She grit her teeth to keep from screaming and shot a webline behind her. Gwen was pulled back hard enough to make her grunt while Frye sunk into the water. She screamed and thrashed as the circle around her lit up with bright yellow electricity. Gwen just hung there, watching and waiting, till Frye eventually passed out and the electricity disappeared.

She webbed her chest and pulled them both back up to the other end bridge opposite Colonel Rhodes and the civilians, "Fuck me..." She dropped Frye to a non-crumbling part of the ground and, after making sure she wasn't choking on water, webbed her down under a metric ton of webbing. Hope she liked the Raft.

"Is everybody alright?" Cindy called into the comms.

"Yeah..." Gwen leaned against the wall and practically collapsed.

"The base of the bridge is secure," Thor said.

"I got all the people out," Colonel Rhodes said last. Gwen heaved a sigh of relief. At least that was one good thing, "What about you? Did you take down that terrorist?"

"No, he got away. Still got the detonator, though. No one touch the damn bomb. Last thing we need is the bridge actually collapsing." She sighed, "Let's regroup at the East End where Iron Machine is. I just got a call from Kate that the evacuation went off."

"I'll be there in a minute. Just need to catch my breath," Gwen said. She closed her eyes briefly then looked at the unconscious wannabe Electro. She said this was her payday. Someone hired them for this. But for what? What would anyone have to gain attacking the con and blowing up a bridge? Maybe H.Y.D.R.A?" Fit their M.O but what about the guy driving the truck? Was this Hobgoblin's plan? Didn't fit. From what she got from him he was more into running supervills like a crime family, not terrorism.

Fry would probably have answers.

"Come on, we're gonna meet some friends of mine." She wrapped up Fry in a cocoon and slung her over her shoulder. Just another problem to deal with.


Smug Life: Holy shit the Avengers con got attacked!

reply from Zarbait: Yeah I saw it on the news cams! The Golden Torri bridge got hit too!

reply from dogs rule: Cousin was in the crowd. Said he saw Spider-Woman yank Captain America back before she could get gibbed. Go Spider-Woman!

reply from xcelltasticx: First a bunch of supervills fight the Defenders and now the Avengers con gets attacked. What the fuck is going on?

reply from Stolen KING: Dunno but I'm just glad the Avengers stepped up. According to the news so far no one's died, though there are some people who need to go to the hospital.

reply from Emi Roche: Maybe for the con. There's a bunch of dead people on the bridge.

reply from Dr. Drama: Dude what the fuck. The Avengers couldn't save the people on the bridge! What kind of heroes are they?

reply from FrogDonnieMan: They're not psychic dude. And the news said they Spider-Woman, Spinerette, Thor and Iron Machine went over there as fast as they could. They did their best.

reply from Guts: Mom was on the bridge. She said Iron Machine got them out. Props, Iron Machine! Thank you!

reply from Devils always cry: Looking at the footage. Spider-Woman and Spinerette were fighting supervills while Thor was keeping the bridge from collapsing. The electro psycho looks familiar.

reply from EllieYeet: We're just lucky it was the Avengers and not the Defenders. No way Spider-Man's group could stop a bridge from collapsing.


Chapter done. I know I basically ripped off the Avengers game at the end there so sorry. Next chapters should avoid any more blatant rip-offs, especially since the much wanted comic-con chapter is upcoming.

And yes, Cindy had the Black Widow vs Taskmaster fight from the game. But because we're seeing from Gwen's POV she doesn't really see it and has her own mini-fight with Electro II. Maybe next time.

Next chapter will either continue with Gwen or return to New York for some more Noir action. Still undecided.

Review answers:

Brave2000 - Like I said before it's more whether the characters and readers forgive him. Matt himself considers his sins unforgivable.

rc48177 - So you consider him forgiven for his actions in V1? Unexpected but refreshing.

roxasdualwielder - There are porta potties. We also don't know if Noir shits considering he doesn't seem to need to eat or sleep.

Tricksterverse - In the past chapters he was depowered so he can't really be picky. Even after getting his powers back he fights against Hand goons, which he did generally kill on sight.

Guest - The reason you read? Now that's flattering :) As for Gwen, how would she change? I doubt she distrusts people on average like Noir does.

Questions:

1. Does Noir kill too much? I've gotten a comment that he seems to go for throat slits and neck snaps far more readily than before. I thought it was consistent since in the past chapters he was non-powered and now he's fighting Hand mooks, which he did always kill in the previous volume. Even the supervills are working for Gao.

Still, should I tone it down?

2. Should I add Laura to the comic-con chapter? It was meant to be friends outing kind of thing so adding Laura might change the tone, particularly for Cindy and Gwen. OTOH bringing her along means I can add some interactions Gwen and her kid. She rarely ever talks to her 'baby' once it bonds with Laura so it might make sense.

3. Would you guys prefer if the comic-con chapter got interrupted with a villain or it's just a legitimate break chapter? The former allows for all the protags (plus possibly Laura) to team up while the latter has more interactions and bonding.