Sorry this took a while. Bunch of games came and are coming out but I wanted to update before Cyberpunk 2077 dropped. We're gonna finish up the San Fransokyo segment here then continue with Gwen and Cindy back in New York to continue their plotlines.
Side Note - For some reason italics and bolded letters aren't working. Blame the site.
KoreanVergil: DarkSpider, what's the most annoying supernatural creature you've dealt with?
reply from DarkSpider: Why are you asking?
reply from KoreanVergil: Just curious. Criminals are criminals but big supernatural creatures are another thing entirely.
reply from DarkSpider: Point. Assuming you mean aside from demons? Vampires. I've ran into a few that used bloodbags and donations but most of them prefer to treat people like they're cows. Then they cry and scream when you drag them out into the sunlight. Real headaches.
reply from Mono8706: Oh yeah didn't you and Blade take down those vamp cheerleaders a few weeks ago?
reply from DarkSpider: Sure. They were pretty old so they could survive in the sun, least long enough that no one got suspicious. Most aren't that strong.
reply from cee kay: Every fought werewolves?
reply from DarkSpider: No. Fought alongside one once and he never attacked innocent people so I didn't bother to push it. Generally I try to avoid fighting them. Leave that kind of thing to Blade or Bloodstone. I have other things to worry about.
Gwen was never good at interrogation. Her dad taught her to spot a tail when she was five but actually getting into a criminal's head was something he kept close to his chest. Even now, as a full blown Avenger, she still found it hard a lot of the time. Usually she could bluff or even intimidate someone if she needed to but info gathering was never her forte.
Which was why she felt supremely out of place next to Cindy inside the small, dimly lit interrogation room.
The place was cramped, a tiny square with just enough room for them to walk a few steps from one side to the other. The walls were a dull gray while behind them the one way glass hid the rest of the Avengers from view. It was just the three of them in the room. Her and Cindy standing side by side in front of the gray, rubber table the same color as the walls with Electro II sitting on the other side.
She looked like shit. Gone was the cocky smile and self-confidence, replaced instead by a young woman who looked like she was way in over her head. Her costume was replaced in favor of a blood red jumpsuit just like Peter wore when he snuck into the Raft. Meanwhile her hands and feet were bound in heavy shackles and a blinking explosive collar was strapped tightly around her neck. It was overkill, and Gwen personally disapproved, but it wasn't like an electric collar would work on someone who was a living superconductor.
Gwen didn't like it. As much as she liked that the prisons were more secure than ever it always made her feel leery at just how...dehumanizing some of it was. Shock collars, shrinking down...she couldn't deny it worked, and maybe more than a few of them deserved it, but still.
"We need to talk," Cindy said. She dropped thick folder on the table and a few papers slipped out. Elec- Francine flinched at the pictures on the first page. Blurry images of her frying her teammates, "I read up on your file, Frye. Young woman from Los Angeles who just wanted to be a hero. Then you were in New York when the Terrigen Mist hit and voila, instant superpowers."
"..." Francine looked away and pursed her lips.
"You joined the Initiative just a couple of weeks after exposure and by all accounts you were doing great. Good grades, got along with your teammates...a real model student. Instructors and fellow Initiative trainees said you were a real go-getter, someone anyone would want on their team." Cindy shoved the pictures closer to her till they almost fell over the edge, "And then on your first week you turned your teammates to ash. Guess you really did want to copy Electro, huh?"
Francine grit her teeth and looked up at them both with a scowl, "It wasn't my fault."
"I wanna give you the benefit of the doubt, Francine, but the evidence speaks for itself," Gwen said. She was supposed to play the good cop to Cindy's bad cop. A cliche even when her dad was still in diapers but somehow it still worked. When you had no friends the one who acted like your friend was the only one you could rely on, "We were there at the scene after what happened. We saw the bodies." Or what was left of them.
"...It was an accident," Francine said eventually. She sounded guilty but Gwen wasn't dumb enough to take it at face value. Just cause she didn't have a liar detector spider-sense didn't mean she was stupid, "I just...I lost control of my powers. I didn't know what I was doing and by the time I realized it they-"
"You turned them to ash," Cindy said. Unlike Gwen her voice had no trace of sympathy, "And then what do you do? We get reports of you working as a mercenary. Anyone who pays gets the services of the all-new Electro."
"What other choice did I have?" Francine growled back, "My teammates were dead and everyone around looked at me like I was some kind of monster. If I went to the Inititative or the rest of the Avengers they would've tossed me into the Raft and thrown away the key."
"You could've made your case! Instead you did this!" Gwen shouted.
"Oh, and who was gonna listen? I'm not like Spider-Man. I wasn't fucking an Avenger so people would look the other way!"
Gwen grit her teeth and balled her hands into tight, shaky fists to avoid slamming the table in a rage. Thankfully Cindy kept her cool and just crossed her arms in a distinctly unimpressed way, "That's your excuse? 'I accidentally committed murder and because I didn't wanna explain I'll just commit more murders for money'? Yeah, really not buying it. You're no different than any other criminal crying how it's not their fault. I heard how you were grinning about your payday over Spider-Woman's comm."
"What did you expect me to do? Tell her I was sorry that I wished it didn't have to come to this? Even if that's what I felt no one would have believed me." She clicked her tongue and looked down at her cuffed hands. It might've just been her imagination but Gwen swore she saw a flash of guilt cross her face, "It wasn't anything personal. Guy who hired me wanted me to keep Spider-Woman distracted and that's what I did. Everyone's gotta eat."
"Then tell us something." Gwen said, turning around to face her fully. Even with the mask covering her face she looked way more friendly than Cindy's passive scowl, "You said you were just a hired gun, that means you don't owe the guy who hired you anything. He's not going to give you anything now that you're here so give us all you know and I promise that I'll put in a good word for you."
"Do you think I'm an idiot? I saw what happened on the bridge. I...I didn't know they were going to go full terrorist back there. I thought we were just gonna attack the Avengers, make you look bad in front of your adoring fans. That bridge blowing up? As much a surprise to me as it was to you."
"So you're a Supervillain but you draw the line at terrorism. But you didn't mind putting the people at the convention in danger just to 'make us look bad', right? Big round of applause." Cindy actually clapped. Each and every one she did made Francine's face twitch and she looked a split second from lunging across the table to grab Cindy's neck when she spoke up again, "But you know what? That's not good enough. When you help out terrorists and blow up landmarks you don't get to skate on by with 'I didn't know they were gonna be that evil'."
"What do you want from me?! I don't have anything to tell you! Some asshole in a purple suit just gave me the instructions and left! That's it! They didn't tell me any names or anything! They were covering their asses in case I got caught..."
"That's not good enough!" Cindy slammed her hand on the table, "Do you know what's going to happen to you if you don't help? You're gonna go into the Raft and you're gonna spend the rest of your life the size of ant with a collar around your neck." She leaned in closer to whisper, "I'm going to personally drop you into the deepest, darkest hole I can find and make sure you can't ever crawl out."
Gwen's brows furrowed, "Spinerette, that's enough."
"Back off..." Francine muttered. The barest hint of a spark flashed across her face.
"You're going to be shrunk down so small that an ant will look like a giant. And what happens after you die? There's not gonna be a funeral. They're gonna take your body and flush it down the toilet." The sparks flashed again and Francine's collar beeped loudly. Cindy stood back up to her full height and glared down at her, "That's what's waiting for you if you don't tell us something! So unless you wanna end up dumped in the sewer tell us something we can use!"
"Spiner-"
"I said back off!" Francine's eyes lit up with yellow energy and she lunged for Cindy. Gwen raised a hand to web her down but Cindy was faster. Without missing a beat the older Spider punched her in the face hard enough to make her slam back on the rubberized chair. If it hadn't been bolted to the ground Francine and the chair both would've crashed into the opposite wall.
"Don't do that again." Cindy's glare was chilling. Gwen had to remind herself she was just putting on an act.
"I..."
"Francine, you can still help us," Gwen said. She had to remember her role here, "I believe you when you said that you didn't know this would happen. So just tell us something, anything that you think we can use. Please."
"But there's nothing I can tell you!" she cried, "I'm a mercenary! That means I'm disposable, you get it? They don't tell mercenaries anything except who we're hitting and how much money we're going to get."
"Were you paid upfront? They must've given you at most half to make sure you couldn't just bail on them. The other half must be in a dead drop somewhere." Cindy said.
"They paid in full. It was a surprise to me too, but the guy in purple said that if I bailed they'd know and that I wouldn't like what'd happen."
"You could've just run..." Gwen said.
"And piss whoever that guy was working for? Not a chance. You know how they hired me? They showed up in the place I was crashing at and showed me pictures of every place I'd been in the past week. They knew everything about me and I didn't even notice." She smiled wryly up at Gwen, "I know you offed the Carnage Killer but I figured I had a better shot not getting my neck cut with you than those guys."
"That's...flattering."
"So you don't know anything." Cindy frowned and gathered up the scattered documents and photos, "Then I hope you like your stay in the Raft. I wouldn't hold my breath for anyone coming to visit."
For a second, Gwen thought Francine would try to lunge at Cindy again. Instead she threw a glare at the back of Cindy's head that could strip paint as they walked out of the room and shut the door behind them with a loud click.
"Well, that didn't do much," Kate said as soon as they were outside. Between all of them she looked the worst off with cuts and bruises lining her face a particularly large bandage on her right cheek that she got from an exploding glider goon. That was another thing they had to deal with: those guys on the gliders were apparently low tech Life Model Decoys. Not enough to fool anyone with functioning eyes but that didn't matter when they were just banzai chargers.
Which meant Francine was their only in. Emphasis on was.
"Not sure if the bad cop routine really helped there," She-Hulk said. Cap, Wasp, Thor and Iron Machine were somewhere else trying to find their own leads. Or trying to get wasted.
"Maybe," Cindy said distractedly. She looked back at Francine through the one-way glass, a frown still on her face, "Something she said makes me wonder, though."
"What about?" Gwen asked.
"When I was fighting that gremlin he mentioned something about how I made the wrong deal. Don't think he noticed it considering I was grinding his face across the bridge but Electro II saying something about a guy in purple makes me thing that Scorpion's involved."
"Scorpion? You mean your evil twin's old toady?" Gwen asked.
"One and the same." Cindy nodded, "I've been investigating that purple guy who chased me when I got that Miles kid out. Scarlet Spider ran into him too, apparently. His name's Prowler, and from what I found he's tied to Scorpion. Not sure what the exact relationship is but apparently people have seen him hanging around Scorpion whenever he goes on any meetings."
"But why would this Scorpion have his goon hire someone to attack us? Even if you and he don't like each other is it really worth antagonizing all of the Avengers?" She-Hulk asked.
"Gotta agree with She-Hulk. Madame Masque hates me but she's not dumb enough to piss off all of the Avengers at once." Kate crossed her arms.
"Remember this guy used to be part of S.I.L.K. If he was willing to work with a group fighting S.H.I.E.L.D I doubt the Avengers are off-limits. But you're right, I don't think he's the mastermind here." Cindy put a hand on her chin, "I think he's more of a middleman. Those LMD's are cheaper than what my evil twin had a year ago but that's not something a resurging crime lord can afford. Someone else is bankrolling things."
"Any idea who?" Gwen's brows furrowed. Ever since the Avengers were founded Cap told them that they'd have enemies. Take one down and another will come up to take its place. If it wasn't S.I.L.K it was H.Y.D.R.A or the Skrulls or some other group that figured they could make a name for themselves if they took down the big names. And she thought she had it bad when she was going solo.
"No. At least not yet." She sighed,
"I think I do. That guy you were fighting, creeper with a sword, he reminds me of that Hobgoblin guy. Remember, Kate?"
"You mean the guy who exploded me and Striker? Yeah, I remember." She smiled wryly.
"But why would he risk exposing himself by sending a lackey? Why go through all the trouble of getting all those LMDs and hiring Frye only to have his guy drive a truck with a bomb on it?" Cindy pursed her lips, "Shit, this is a giant mess. Let's just go back to the hotel for now. Nothing else we can do." Gwen looked at Francine one last time and followed Kate and Cindy back to their temporary place.
Gwen had spiders in her stomach all the way back on the walk to their room. A part of her was expecting to get attacked on the way there but she also knew it was the safest place in the city. Say what you will about Tony Stark but his security systems were second to none. Place could probably survive a nuke falling on top of it.
There somebody there when they arrived.
"Nat!" Cindy's face broke out in a smile and the redhead sitting on the bed smiled in turn. Still had no idea what the deal with the two was. She knew Black Widow. Well, she knew of Black Widow. She was a real life superspy, the kind you made Bond movies about. Apparently she and Cindy worked together a few times but she was pretty mum on the details. Secrets and all that.
"I'm guessing you had no luck with your electrified guest." She crossed one leg over another. As happy as she was with Peter she couldn't help but notice how well the dark pants clung to the muscled limb.
"Just hints, nothing we can use."
"Then I think we can help each other." She pulled out a USB from her pocket and tossed it to Cindy. She caught it while barely even looking, "Besides investigating the Gifted sightings in the area I have my own mission here. You're all aware of A.I.M, I assume?"
"Mad science guys. Worked a lot with H.Y.D.R.A before we shut them down," Gwen said. They did some work with S.I.L.K too, now that she thought of it. Either way they were bad news. And their robots were gigantic pains in the asses.
"I've been looking in on them, trying to make sure they don't fill too much of the vacuum H.Y.D.R.A left behind. I found out that they have a base in the city."
"A base in the middle of a technological metropolis? That's not good," Kate snarked.
"Indeed. I was planning to handle it myself but I think that the attack a day prior is related. Transporting LMDs and gliders en masse like that couldn't have been easy and I doubt that whoever planned that attack could do it without help even if they planned it in advance."
"If it's really Hobgoblin then that fits his M.O. pretty well," Gwen said.
"So what's your suggestion?" Cindy asked.
"I won't ask for all of the Avengers to help - that would draw far too much attention - but we can work together. Assuming your infiltration skills haven't gotten rusty you and I can sneak inside while two or three of your group can distract them outside. With any luck we can get information that benefits us both."
"Sounds good to me. What about you two?" Cindy turned to her and Kate.
"Seems as good a lead as any. But, I think you should stay here, Kate."
"Oh come on!" She huffed.
"You're injured! I know you're a badass and everything but it's better safe than sorry." Kate rolled her eyes but didn't protest any further. Good. As much as she trusted Kate she didn't like the idea of putting her in needless danger.
She stayed with Kate in the room while Cindy and Black Widow went to another to make their plans. She plopped down on one bed while Kate took the other and slowly took off her hoodie. Gwen winced. Even through the loose tank top she wore the skin was mottled with bruises. At least they were covered in various creams and there wasn't any trace of the expected dried blood.
"Sure you don't need me to sit in?" Kate craned her head back to look at her.
"It's cool. I'll get Shulkie and Iron Machine." Webster slithered out of her shoulder and she scratched her head idly. Right now all she could think about was who'd risk so much just to attack the Avengers. She doubted they really thought they could win considering the Avengers had the literal god of lightning on their side. Or maybe they really were that dumb. Seemed like every criminal or wannabe supervill in the city thought they had her number.
She thumbed through her phone idly and smiled when she saw a photo of her, Peter and MJ together. They took it after they watched the Spider-Woman movie and MJ never stopped giving her shit for how dumb the entire thing was.
She couldn't wait to get back home.
Hamonion: Lol did anyone else see Frog-Man's livestream?
reply from Onkarian: Yeah. Scarlet Spider was freaking savage lmao.
reply from lonewolfradio: But he totally deserved it though. Like he fucks up helping that woman with asthma then he colossally screws over that kid by letting that kidnapper get away. Scarlet Spider is right to be pissed.
reply from Magnus Melo: But don't you think she went a bit too far? I get being mad but she told that guy he was completely worthless and a waste of space.
reply from Hamonion: Yeah so? Guy's a complete joke. I've been watching his livestream cause he's a walking cringe compilation. Reminds me of that guy who licked a toilet cause it got him attention.
reply from Alex Shun: Who the heck is Frog-Man? Is he an Initiative hero?
reply from Hamonion: He wishes. No he's just some loser trying to be like Spider-Man or Daredevil, a badass vigilante that doesn't work for the government. But really he's just some guy in a mascot suit that's a giant lolcow. He took down his channel after he got wrecked but some guy saved his videos here.
reply from Magnus Melo: Wouldn't be surprised if he decides to give up. Scarlet Spider really wrecked his shit.
Cindy never imagined herself as a spy. Sure she loved James Bond (and made sure to bring every DVD of it she had to the bunker) but she always thought it was a bit too fantastical. A guy in a fancy suit who was the world's greatest spy but somehow everyone knew his name, face and exactly what he could do. Even as a kid she figured that if you were really a good spy no one would know who you were.
Nat sometimes made her think otherwise. Natasha Romanoff, the infamous Black Widow, and despite all that people knew about her she still managed to make it work. She didn't have any problems accomplishing her mission or turning people to putty in her hands no how much they thought they prepared. It was amazing and kind of scary. She'd seen firsthand how she tricked, convinced, and seduced people who had a gun aim at her head with a few gestures and sweet words.
"Are you ready, zaika?" Nat asked. Zaika. Her Russian was pretty bare bones but she knew it meant bunny. It was her own little joke, she said. Cindy reminded her of a bunny, so fast and harmless looking that it made people underestimate her long enough to regret it. Cindy rolled her eyes
"Ready as I'll ever be." She swung down and clung to the side of the window with Nat joining her soon after. Gwen, She-Hulk and Iron Machine were out front making a mess which got everyone else's attention, "Hurry. I don't wanna be here if anyone stayed behind." She watched as Nat pulled out a small laser from her jumpsuit and deftly cut through the reinforced glass.
Cindy kicked the man-sized hole down and grabbed the glass before it crashed against the ground, "Your reflexes are sharp as ever," Nat hummed.
"Flatterer." They crawled inside. The interior reminded her of just about every A.I.M facility she'd been through: sleek silver walls, smooth hallways and an inside that didn't match outside at all. The exterior was pretty shabby by San Fransokyo bricks. Dull bricks, chipping paint and a receptionist out front that was probably just a low level intern who had no idea that he was working for mad science terrorists.
Alarms blared overhead but she knew it wasn't for them, "You know where to go?" Cindy asked.
"Yes. Let's proceed with caution."
They rounded two corners when she heard two pairs of footsteps. Without a word said Cindy hopped up to the ceiling while Nat pressed herself against the wall, "The breach came from-" She shot a line of webbing to the A.I.M goon on the right while Nat took the one on the left. Cindy covered the struggling goon's mouth then stuck her to the ceiling while Nat pressed her tazer glove against the other one. The goon spasmed for a second before crumbling with the ground without a sound.
"Guess they know we're here." She hopped back down to the floor.
"I wouldn't worry too much. The majority of their manpower will be too busy dealing with your friends." She eyed the struggling woman on the roof before nudging ahead, "We're close, don't worry."
They ran into a couple more sentries on the way there. This time Cindy didn't bother with the fly on a web trick and just shot them both in the head with ICER rounds. They'd be concussed for the next couple of weeks but she didn't feel sorry. A.I.M didn't exactly get as far as they did by hiring people with functioning moral compasses.
That and maybe she wanted to impress Nat again and prove she hadn't gotten rusty. Kinda hard not to feel like you had to impress someone who was superspying while your grandpa was still in diapers.
The room Nat led her to was a server of some kind. Half a dozen A.I.M goons were guarding it and she went after half. Cindy kicked the first one across the jaw then tossed him to his buddy before she could raise his rifle. The last man shot a blazing hot laser where her head was and she ducked, "Don't really need a haircut!" She webbed his chest and, after a painful tug, elbowed him him in the neck. He crumpled to the ground, both hands clutching his throat, while she webbed down the other two before they could get up.
Cindy looked back just in time to see Natasha slam a poor goon to the ground in a spinning hurricanrana. Even without powers Nat somehow made it look more effortless and cool than Cindy ever could.
"We're here. Watch my back while I get as much information as I can." Cindy turned around and checked her ICER gun's magazines while Nat got to work. Much as she hated to admit it her hacking wasn't really up to par. She had no idea how Norah made it look so easy. Or why a journalist had hacking skills that would make cyberterrorists weep with envy. She was kinda scared to ask someone who could probably leak her search history for all to see.
Cindy made sure to destroy all the cameras and tuned in her silk-sense to see if she could spot any listening devices. Thankfully there weren't any"You about done there?" she asked Nat.
"Not yet. Say what you want about A.I.M. but their encryption has always been top notch." Half a minute with nothing but the sound of clicking keys passed when Nat spoke again, "Your skills are as sharp as ever."
"Thanks," she said, cool and nonchalant. Or at least she hoped it looked like that, "You know my offer from before still stands. We could use your skills far more than a police station ever could."
"Oh yeah, that'll work. It's not like my face isn't plastered all over the net." People knew about Black Widow but she wasn't some worldwide celebrity or anything. Nat was meticulous about having different disguises if there was a risk of her being caught out in public. Cindy could hide but she needed to make sure something was blocking her face.
Which reminded her; dating Scott was gonna be a pain whenever they had to go somewhere with people. Nevermind that they both had kids...
"Not every spy has to be a people person. And we do have masks." She didn't turn around but she could practically see Nat's smirk, "You know I wouldn't ask if I didn't think you were capable. And someone I can trust."
"Flattering, not gonna lie, but...you know what, let me think about it. I've been getting a lot of job offers lately."
"Oh?"
"Yep. One of my friends in the station was wondering if I could make the gig a permanent thing and Go- uh, Norman Osborn asked me to be his corpo sponsored hero too." Technically those two didn't contradict one another but being a superspy - in more ways than one - would. Couldn't exactly go on cases or advertise the latest Osborn brand shampoo if she was hunting terrorists in some third world country.
Speaking of...
"Hey, what do you about Symkaria?" The clicking stopped for just a second but it was enough for Cindy to get the hint. The name definitely meant something to her, "Prince Silver's been on my back the past few weeks and he's definitely worried about something."
"Would you be more specific?"
"Something called Devil's Breath."
Nat's breath hitched before she quickly regained her composure. Yeah, that didn't sound good, "I've heard some rumors."
"Wanna tell me?"
"Later. When we're done here." Right, topic shelved. Got it. She checked her guns again and tried to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach. There weren't a lot of things that could give Black Widow pause, "But I think I should warn you, if that topic is something you're going to pursue then you might have to talk to some...unpleasant individuals. Are you up for it?"
"Depends on the 'individual'?"
"I assume you remember Fury?"
Cindy's face knotted in a scowl behind her scarf. Yeah. she remembered Fury. Ex-head of S.H.I.E.L.D and one of the people older than her great grandfather alongside Nat, former Director Carter and Shadowcat's not-so-great dad. She only got the cliff's notes version of his dossier but what she read up on was enough to give her a bad impression. There was a reason he was called America's Monster back when S.H.I.E.L.D wasn't international.
He more than lived up to the name. The first and only time she had the 'pleasure' of working with him he kept her from catching a terrorist with a triple digit body count and scoffed that it was for a greater plan. Let some evil loose to get at a greater evil somewhere. Maybe he believed that, and hell maybe it was true, but it was cold comfort to the victims of his next bombing.
And that was one of the least horrible things he did. Nat told her once that he viewed life like a chessboard with everyone - including himself - as pieces. People, places, even entire countries could be given up if it meant some victory down the line.
"Yeah, I remember..."
"Then you know what kind of danger this Devil's Breath is. I've only heard rumors but I'm willing to tell you what I can. Anything else you'll have to talk to Fury." Great, just what she needed. Prince Charming better appreciate this.
Nat finished gathering up all her data and they were out of the building in no time. Cindy swung out and was about to help when she saw Cindy slam down a giant robot on the ground and throw her a thumbs up. Looks like they didn't need an assist, "We should get out of here," she told Nat. She waved to Gwen and followed Nat out of sight. With any luck there'd be some good data in there.
They both stopped only when they reached an abandoned rooftop. Cindy pulled down her scarf while Nat leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, "Alright, spill. You said you knew something about it."
"Just vague intel. Nothing concrete." She sighed, "The name cropped up when I was hunting down H.Y.D.R.A remnants. From what I could gather, Devil's Breath - GR-27 - was a chemical weapon they planned to use. If what that scientist said was true then it was meant to target people with specific genetic codes and kill them by inducing rapid immunodeficiency. People can die within days or even hours."
"That...doesn't very vague to me."
"It is considering the project apparently never got off the ground. It was still in the testing phase when you and the rest of the Avengers dismantled H.Y.D.R.A. The remnants are too busy regrouping and trying to stay alive to create a chemical weapon of that scale, which makes me wonder just how exactly word of it got somewhere as far off as Symkaria. That means we can't completely trust the information I was given. If we could trust it at all."
"Speaking of, you paused for a bit when I mentioned Symkaria. What's the story there?"
"Fury and I met with its king a few months ago. He's a...repulsive man, but despite his numerous human rights violations he provided us with intel on some individuals the world could do better without. Granted he only did so because they encroaching on his territory but in this line of work you can't afford to turn down intelligence because you disagree with their motivations."
"That's why I doubt I'd make a good spy." Cindy smiled wryly. Scorpion was her first and last mistake of choosing the so-called lesser evil.
"Either way you'll have to talk with Fury if you wish to know more. He is closer - to use the proper term - to the king than I am, though I think even he finds the man disgusting." Cindy scoffed. Yeah, she really doubted that.
She said her goodbyes to Nat and sat at the edge of the building, watching the San Fransokyo sunset. A part of her was tempted to go touring before they went back home. This was as close to Japan as she could get, complete with its very own Akihabara and host clubs. But another, larger part just wanted to sit down and finally relax. This was supposed to be a vacation but they were already up another creek.
She didn't turn around even when she heard the telltale sounds of webswinging and Gwen landed behind her, "Hey." She sat next to her and tossed a sub at Cindy's lap, "Just got ham and cheese. I don't know what you like."
"This is fine." Cindy took a small bite out of the sandwich and swung her legs idly. Next to her Gwen's symbiote popped out of her shoulder and quickly ate the chocolate she held up with one hand while the other held her own sub. Her mask was pulled halfway up to her nose, "You ready to go back home?"
"Definitely. So much for this being a vacation, huh?" She let out a soft breath and mentally began filing her schedule for the next week. She still had a backlog of cases to catch up on, she promised to take Laura out again, and of course she had to deal with Cloak and Dagger. Curt was still hanging around trying to look for leads on his missing friends but those two hadn't left the church since the fight Lana had with them. Any offers of joining the Initiative were refused due to mistrust on government agencies and so far they kept to themselves but she didn't count on that lasting forever.
At least comic-con was coming up...even if the attack soured her mood on cons right now.
"Hey, could I ask you a question?"
"Hm?"
"The way you were acting back there in the interrogation room...that wasn't all just an act, was it?"
Cindy sighed. This really wasn't a conversation she wanted to have, "Guess not." She took another bite out of the sandwich and tried to focus on the taste, "Might seem nasty to you but you can't just appeal to someone's better nature all the time, Spider-Woman. You've been at the hero thing long enough to know that a lot of people could've chosen to turn their lives around. They chose not to, and other people suffer for it."
"You mean the people on the bridge."
"Yeah. Don't tell me you aren't pissed at her for it, too."
"Of course I am. I just...I don't know, it just seems cruel. Telling her all that."
"You don't feel too bad whenever you tell the same thing to Murdock." Gwen winced and Cindy immediately felt bad, "Sorry. Point is, you know what it's like. Murdock made it personal for you and Pete and Frye just...the whole sob story about how she 'had no choice'? Bullshit. I could've given up and let my evil twin experiment on people just cause she was treating me nice but I didn't. I spent two months getting cut up and you know what? I don't regret a single damn thing, so she doesn't get to slide by being a Supervillain just cause something bad happened to her."
"Yeah...I get it." She nodded.
A moment of quiet passed till Cindy clicked her tongue and stood, "Screw it. I wasn't planning to go but now that you made everything awkward. Let's go."
"Uh...go where?"
"A host club. Kate wanted to check it out for shits and giggles but since she's recovering I guess you'll have to be my date."
"Host clubs? Uh, aren't those the places where you pay hot guys to pretend they care about you? I dunno doesn't that sound kinda...sad? Not to mention I'm dating someone. You might know him."
"Dude, it's just for fun. Come on, we'll go in our costumes and freak everyone out."
"...Alright, screw it. Let's go."
TWON: Holy shit, Spider-Woman and Scarlet Spider just walked into our host club! -embedded image-
reply from Big Bang Sensei: What the hell? Are the rumors that Spider-Woman's having relationship issues true?
reply from JustMonika: I doubt it. Legit who goes to host clubs expecting a relationship? That's like saying your barista likes you because she smiled. It doesn't work that way, my guy.
reply from pingu: Agreed. Besides it looks more like the hosts are falling for them than the other way around.
reply from TWON: Yep. I'm listening in on them now and Satoshi (one of our top hosts) is pretty starstruck. Or is it herostruck? Oh shit, he just gave Spinerette his number!
reply from Big Bang Sensei: Don't leave us hanging! What happened?!
reply from TWON: Oof, she just smiled and put it down on the table.
reply from JustMonika: Lol rekt.
reply from Big Bang Sensei: Still could mean Spider-Woman's having relationship issues. A lot of people go to host clubs to try and vent. The guys there are pretty much required to pay attention to you.
reply from TWON: Doubt it. She just said that going over here was Spinerette's idea.
reply from TWON: Oh wait they spotted me. Gotta go.
Not much happened in this chapter but I did advance the Devil's Breath plotline and give a hint for Scorpion and Hobgoblin. Next chapter we'll go back to New York and maybe have some romance scenes either for Gwen/Noir, Cindy/Scott or Mary Jane with either Matt or Felicia.
Questions:
1. So after playing through Yakuza: Like A Dragon I'm wondering if you guys want the Defenders to act more like an actual party. Every time Noir's with them he either separates or sticks to partners (usually Matt). I'm wondering if I can do a full 4-5 man party with them fighting all at once and mobbing on certain villains like boss fights.
2. Do you guys want the con next chapter or do we advance more plot, particularly in the case of Mary Jane and Lana? They're pretty lagging behind when it comes to actually fighting their villains, especially compared to Noir.
Review answers:
RedHood01: I get that calling him to kill himself is bad but wouldn't the insults she gave beforehand also be too cruel?
Tricksterverse: Should Mary Jane apologize? I get that she went too far but you could also argue that Eugene's actions set her off and that this is the wake up call he needs. That and it seems out of character for her to track him down to say sorry. That and Eugene didn't apologize either.
