Sorry for the wait. Thesis got officially approved so I can start data gathering, meaning I should have a bit more time to start writing. Anyway this chapter was long enough that hopefully it was worth it.

Read the AN at the end. It'll determine what happens to the future chapters.


As much as Gwen wanted to call it a day she had something else to do. Despite Cindy saying it was a day off they were back to work the second the con ended. Peter was working with Lana and that Gabriel kid to get a lead on the Terrigen case, Cindy had a backlog that she had to get back to, Norah was going back into hiding and MJ...well, she was pretty tight lipped about what she was doing.

Which didn't worry her at all. Nope. Totally cool with that.

Gwen swung over to the all-too familiar address, Nirvana blaring in her ears through her headphones. She made sure to keep an eye out for any crimes in progress but, to her (happy) surprise, there wasn't any. While crime did cut down ever since the Initiative started it was still somewhat rare for her to go a day without a single thing needing her attention. Peter just shrugged and told her that criminals just kept their heads down during the day. When the sun went down that was when the monsters came out to play.

She flicked him on the nose for being such a drama queen.

Gwen made her way to the designated location cradled at the alley in-between two buildings and crawled along the walls. Roxxon couldn't exactly be treated in a public hospital - too many eyes and ears - and they needed something more specialized considering his condition. Didn't exactly want him phasing through the floor to the center of the earth. Apparently it happened before, which was just...terrifying to think about.

She flipped down to the ground and fished the keycard out of webster's 'pocket'. Even with S.H.I.E.L.D disbanded it didn't mean all their stuff just went away. Those resources, safehouses, weapons and personnel were too valuable to just throw into a corner and be forgotten about. So they were re-used. Agents went elsewhere, weapons were handed out to different agencies and the safehouses...well, they were used for this.

The small slit on the brick wall read the card and the wall pulled back with a small hiss. Gwen looked around to make sure the coast was clear then slipped inside, the door quickly closing behind her.

Safehouse no. 17, aka Donald Roxxon's personal prison hospital. She checked in every two or three days before they went to San Fransokyo to make sure that Roxxon was still breathing and, more importantly, if he was capable of talking. Last she checked he couldn't really do much of anything but blink or make some angry groans. They'd tried interrogating him before with yes-or-no. He'd just blink rapidly and glare at them.

"Hey, Bob." She smiled at the door guard.

"Mornin, Miss Spider-Woman." He saluted her back with a big grin of his own. She liked Bob. Nice guy, kinda whipped by his wife. Apparently he might've even joined H.Y.D.R.A for the free dental if he didn't find this place.

"Anything new?"

"Actually, yeah! Some red-haired guy with a cane came in here screaming about some incident. Don't know what." Red hair and cane? Either Murdock or Gyrich then. She really hoped it wasn't Murdock.

"Do you know what about?"

"Nope, sorry. I just guard the door. First line of defense and all."

"Sure. See you around." She waved and made her way through the winding hallways. What was with S.H.I.E.L.D and making everything look like mazes? Especially since it was only semi-private this time around. Roxxon was too big to be considered just a common criminal but thanks to Cindy they had a couple of cops she could trust helping to keep an eye on him. Better that way. She didn't exactly want tall, blonde and creepy to be shuffled off to some black ops prison before he could spill something.

She arrived at the room and saw Gyrich (not Murdock, phew) seething and almost yelling at poor DeWolff and another officer she didn't recognize. DeWolff was pressing a cold compress against her swollen right cheek while the other male officer was tenderly rubbing his forehead through the thick swath of bandages covering it. As sympathetic as it looked Gyrich didn't have any pity to give.

"And make double sure there aren't any bugs in here- yes, check it again! Check it a dozen times if you have to! Even if the first three searches turns up nothing it can't hurt to be sure!" Gyrich shouted into his phone?

"Am I cutting in?" Gwen asked, trying to lighten the mood. Gyirch gave her a sideways glance and his frown worsened, "Take that as a yes?"

"Spider-Woman, I'm not in the mood for any jokes." He cut the call and let out a ragged breath.

"Then let's cut to the chase. What happened?"

"What happened is that I was proven correct in that trusting the local boys in blue was a mistake," Gyrich said.

"Not for nothing but your agents didn't come off so hot here either...sir." DeWolff said, "At least we're still conscious."

"For all the good that's done." Gyrich scoffed.

"What happened?" Gwen cut in again. The last thing she needed was an argument right now.

"Our prime witness is a drooling imbecile, that's what." Gyrich's frown somehow got worse, "An assassin slipped by somehow and now Roxxon's recovery, slow as it already was, has permanently stalled. All that waiting has amounted to nothing."

"What the hell do you mean? You said assassin but he's still alive, right?"

"In the technical sense, yes. In the same way a man in a permanent coma is still lives." Gyrich nudged his head to the door, "It would be better if you saw it for yourself."

Gwen followed Gyrich inside, her steps heavy. The sterile white walls made her feel uneasy and the grim-faced doctor standing beside the curtained bed didn't help her nerves any, 'Hey, doc." She waved casually. She tried to be friendly to just about everyone here but most of them (aside from Bob, bless his heart) kept their distance. Working for a secret, disposable unit (who she still didn't know the real name of) tended to do that to people.

"Spider-Woman." He nodded to her politely then turned to Gyrich, "I had one of the boys earlier did another scan and found no trace of any bugs or subsequently any clues leading to our culprit. Regardless, I assume she's been briefed on the situation?"

"Only in general. You'd be better fit to explain than I." Gyrich sighed.

"Of course." He nodded again and, without any hesitation, opened the curtain with a loud rattle. Gwen looked to the sole occupant on the bed and winced. Roxxon didn't exactly look good by the time she and Peter were done kicking his ass but he was still capable of getting better. Now he looked...half-melted, like a wax doll that spent too much time close to the fire. The left half of his face was drooped down with his mouth partially open. His body was still covered by the white blanket but she knew it wouldn't look any better. It reminded her of stroke victims she sometimes saw whenever she visited the hospital.

"What happened to him?" Gwen asked softly.

"Our assassin was either feeling merciful or particularly cruel." The doctor frowned, "After you and Spider-Man subdued him his body became unstable, not helped by the sudden lack of what he used to empower himself. Keeping his physical form stable proved a slight struggle given that we didn't want him recoving his powers-"

"I already know this, doc. Can we get to the part where he looks like he had a mega stroke?" Gwen interrupted.

"An accurate phrase. Are you aware of what an embolism is?" Gwen shook her head. Medicine wasn't exactly her forte, especially not after Webster made it less of a priority. She didn't even have that time of the month anymore, "In laymans terms, think of it as a condition caused by a foreign body blocking an artery. The most common causes for such things are a blood clot or an air bubble."

"And that's what happened to him?"

"Indeed, or at least the closest equivalent given his altered physiology." The doctor crossed his arms, "I'll assume you aren't aware of locked-in syndrome." She actually was - she saw it in a documentary once - but he continued before she could reply, "He was already in such a state after your fight with him but he was at least still capable of slight movement. Blinking, fingers twitching, it wasn't much but his recovery was slow and steady."

"And now he can't do even that," Gyrich said.

"More or less. While he refused to answer our questions he was, at least theoretically, capable of responding in a limited capacity beforehand. This assassin has exacerbated his condition and now he's incapable of even that. Truth be told it's a miracle that he's still breathing given his already poor state prior."

"Is he...awake?" Gwen leaned forward slightly and resisted the urge to snap her fingers in front of the blankly open eyes. Roxxon was staring straight up at the tiled roof and hadn't moved or said a single sound.

"Yes. He's as conscious as he was when he first arrived, it's his physical condition that's worsened. Preliminary testing we've done indicates that he's aware and relatively cognizant, at least in as far as he can be considering his current state." So he was awake. Gwen felt...it was hard to call it sympathy after everything he did. Pity, maybe? Roxxon was a horrible person but she wasn't sure if anyone deserved to live like this. Awake and aware but trapped, forced to watch while the world moved around you.

"More importantly it means that he's useless for interrogation purposes." Gyrich growled, "All of our effort this past two weeks has amounted to nothing."

"Isn't there any other way? Maybe use that machine that turns people's thoughts into speech?" She read an article about it before.

"Ignoring the fact that such technology is still in the experimental testing phase?" The doctor asked back coolly. He was at least nice enough to not look at her like she was an idiot, "Even if we did have access to such a device I'm not sure it would be the best idea to use it. As I said before he's relatively cognizant. Whether his thoughts are capable of being converted into words at all is debatable."

Gwen almost suggested mind reading before she stopped herself. She'd heard about that Aracely girl's abilities from Lana but she also knew that the younger hero did not want Aracely near any kind of government agencies. Gwen agreed. As much as Cap 'trusted' Gyrich she wasn't exactly keen on the idea of telling him about a mind reader with no legal records or documentation. Way too easy to abuse.

"So that's it then? We're stuck?" Gwen asked instead.

"Unless you have a miracle cure on hand? Yes." Gyrich growled again.

Gwen put a hand on her chin and frowned, "Don't know of any meds and I don't think that chi thing can work..." She'd asked Peter about it before. He told her that even curing the hellfire (still sounded like a weird status effect) was hard enough with Roxxon's body so altered and he doubted even Iron Fist could do anything, at least not without months of studying Roxxon's exact changes and condition. A cut or a stab was a hell of a lot easier to fix than nerve endings and brain damage, especially for someone whose genes were altered.

"Pardon me for overstepping, but I do think you'll have to find another lead. Barring a miraculous recovery, Mr. Roxxon isn't going to be talking to anyone," the doctor said.

"What about the other people involved? There were a bunch of scientists and other people who got caught," Gwen said.

"They knew as much as you'd expect some peons to. Useful information and data on the experiments, but not about any connections Roxxon might have had. It seems like there were some things he did keep close to his chest." Gyrich stared down at Roxxon with a look of distaste. No response, of course, "I've tried to interrogate the board of directors, see if any of them knew anything about their CEO's dirty side-business. All of them claimed innocence, of course. 'They had no idea he was doing such an awful thing'."

"Guessing you don't believe them?" Gwen asked.

"I've been through this long enough to know when I'm being fed a line of bullshit, Spider-Woman." Gyrich waved a hand. The doctor seemed to take that as his cue to walk away, leaving just Gwen, Gyrich and the fucked up sleeping beauty alone in the room.

"Can't you just interrogate them again? Flex your government secret agent muscles or something?"

"And then what? Even on the off chance that they do let something slip this time I imagine they'll be far more prepared than the first go around. They'll have an army of lawyers to delay any summons, and if I, in your words, 'flex my secret agent muscles' you can expect there'll be blowback. Unless I have a guaranteed confession along with proof like you managed with Roxxon this'll be the first and last time I can flex these so-called muscles. I need a better guarantee than a 'maybe'."

"Are you serious?" Gwen gaped at him, "The CEO of the company was literally kidnapping people and experimenting on them! What the hell more do you need?!"

"I don't think you understand just how accountability works. What you're proposing is the idea that because the CEO was responsible for a crime that the entire organization is therefore free reign to be treated as criminals. If that were true, then it wouldn't simply be the ones in S.H.I.E.L.D responsible for the Carnage incident that would've paid for that crime. Every single agent and anyone connected to the organization would be hauled in prison. That would include your precious Captain America." He gave her a knowing look that she didn't like, "As it stands, any and all evidence we've gathered points only to Donald Roxxon and his hired flunkies."

"You gotta be fucking kidding me..."

"I assume you I'm not. Why do you think that large corporations survive like gnats? You might be too young to remember it but this isn't the first time activities like this have been exposed. This case was more fantastical, certainly, but it's hardly unseen. Do you know how they keep going?"

He rapped the side of his cane against the metal bedframe. For a second she thought she saw Donald move, but that was impossible.

"Because they always have a sacrificial pig ready. If not the actual criminal - and often times it isn't - then they'll have a convenient patsy. The organization will take a hit, throw apologies and money as a sign of remorse, perhaps even have to sell their majority stock or rebrand to try and gain their reputation back, but people's memories are short and eventually it's back to business as usual."

"But this can't be it." She gestured to the still-frozen Roxxon, "The trail can't end with him! Tell me there's something else we can do!"

"What we need is proof. Once this useless vegetable was taken into custody all blame was placed on him. Say we follow our mutual suspicion, then what? Unless by some miracle they drop a connection straight into our laps it won't go anywhere. And you can be damn certain that they'll pull some strings to ensure that any and all forms of future 'harassment' will be stopped before we can try anything again."

"Roxxon has that much influence over the government?" Gwen raised a brow. Felt like she was in a bad cyberpunk story. Mayday joked before she left that all the neon made her feel the same.

"Certain parts of the government, yes." He sighed, and for just a second Gwen saw the tired old man underneath all the anger, "Roxxon Corp has defense contracts and other backdoor dealings even I'm not privy to. Make no mistake, they don't control the entire government - that would be ludicrous. However, all it takes is the right politician or connection in their back pocket to ensure that we'll be stonewalled."

"Then why didn't they do the same with old Donald here?" She gestured to the room's third occupant. A part of her almost expected to hear him snarl at her or at least roll his eyes but he was still trapped staring up at the ceiling. Creepy...

"Because plausible deniability went out the window when you and your boyfriend recorded his confession live and plastered it all over Times Square. Same reason why Matt Murdock was able to be the Kingpin for almost a decade - because so long as the depravity's kept out of sight people are all too willing to not search for it. It's also the reason why this useless wretch is now being pinned as some criminal mastermind when we both know the man can barely tie his shoelaces together and someone else must've helped him set this all up. The same one who sent our assassin, no doubt."

"But we have to do something." She put a hand on her chin, the eyes of her mask narrowing, "What if...What if we bluff? Say that Roxxon here spilled something dirty about his pals and that we got em by the balls."

"And how exactly do you plan to do that given that he's off into wonderland right now?" Gyrich raised a brow.

"Like this." With a snap of her fingers (hey, a little drama never hurt) her face morphed to an almost exact copy of the newest resident in comaland. Just almost. Couldn't match his smarmy grins or the exact way he looked down at people through his nose.

"Hm." Despite the awesome display, Gyrich just nodded slightly. Killjoy, "I'm well aware of your shapeshifting capabilities, Spider-Woman. You are aware of how paranoid you've made certain people in the government with those skills?"

"Yeah, I know, already got the lecture from Cap. So?"

"A good start, but you're missing one specific thing." He raised the cane and held it inches from her throat. Gwen raised an unimpressed brow, which must've looked even weirder considering she had a guy's face and still had boobs, "Your voice. While you can change your appearance, you still sound like a woman. And I don't have to tell you that anyone with two brain cells to rub together can see what's wrong with that picture."

"Can't you just digitally alter my voice or something? I go and make a recording fingering someone and I show that to the board?"

"Doubt it would work. They would claim it's a fabrication, especially since I'm damn sure at least one of them was involved in this attempted assassination. No, if we really want to unbalance them then we need to do it live. Claim that this assassin failed or that he made a miraculous recovery then show him at the other end of a screen sneering and throwing accusations. From there we can gauge from their reactions who takes the news...badly." He clicked his tongue, "That is unless our mysterious culprit is a master actor with a mask of stone. Then this is all pointless."

'Hm...Webster, can you change my voice?'

'No. Sorry, Gwen. Not something from by bag of tricks.'

'Ah, it's alright.' She shifted her face back to a mask and sighed as she looked at Roxxon, "Damn it, back to square one. Maybe..." she trailed off. A conversation she had with Mary Jane suddenly replayed in her mind.

"A new idea?" Gyrich asked.

"Maybe. Does Donald Duck's vocal cords here still work?" Mary Jane told her once about how she 'puppeted' a guy and made him shout out something to lure his buddies over. She was pretty vague on exactly how she did it (and Gwen didn't ask) but Webster said it wasn't something they could do. Same way they couldn't infect people and turn them into rage zombies like that fucker Casady did. Something about the Lizard serum's replication mixed with the Hyde Formula or whatever.

"If you're aiming to rip his vocal cords out then could you at least wait till I've left the room?"

"What?! God no!" She groaned. Worst part was she couldn't tell if he was joking or not, "I have a...friend who can...uh- ugh, fuck it. She can put her hand up his ass and play him like a marionette." Not literally...hopefully, "If all we need is a livestream then she can...puppet him around and make him answer any questions. You feed her what she has to say and I'll be at the actual meeting keeping a close eye on anyone acting twitchy."

"This 'friend' of yours, I'm assuming she's not with the Initiative?"

"Nope, and I'd really appreciate it if you looked the other way for that."

"Hm. For an Avenger so proud of her ideals you seem easy to ignore them whenever convenient." Gwen flinched and didn't say anything. As much as it stung it was also right. Killing was wrong, but she had friends like Peter, Mary Jane, Cindy, and even Kate who went for the eyes. She watched over Peter and MJ like a hawk but let Harry go because she didn't want to put him in prison."

It just became easier and easier. She still did her best to live up to what she claimed, but she wasn't perfect.

"Really not looking for a lecture here. Point is, can we use this plan or not?"

"It's still shaky, but it's better than barging in without any sort of leverage." He sighed again, "Fine. Now you simply need to determine a way to get this planned meeting to actually happen."

"Uh...isn't that your job?"

"If I was certain that this plan of yours was foolproof? Yes. But I'm not, and as a matter of fact I want any and all record or knowledge of any of my possible involvement on this expunged. In the event that you fail I still need my one chance to place them into custody."

"Liking the vote of confidence there, Henry." She crossed her arms and watched him leave without another word. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. Even if everything went according to plan how could she be sure that whoever they fingered would crack? This was all pretty reliant on the guy actually breaking. If he didn't they'd put on this show and tell for nothing.

It was only a few seconds later that she looked down at Roxxon again. His mouth was partially open and covered with a respirator while his eyes were half-closed in a sleepy, slack-jawed expression. Gwen had to remind herself that he was still aware. Trapped in his own body while the world moved around him. Almost made her consider Peter's words about mercy killing.

'Gwen, are you alright?' Webster asked.

'Yeah, just...' She shook her head and pointedly looked away from him, "It's just...creepy to think about, you know? He's still in there somewhere. He's probably screaming at us right now, promising revenge or whatever, but I still...' She still felt sorry for him. Even after everything he did to Peter and all those innocent people, all the lives he ruined, she still didn't think he deserved this.

'I know how you feel, Gwen.' The familiar warmth in her stomach came again, 'Even despite everything you still have empathy for him. I'm glad you're my host. I'm sure I wouldn't be the way I am now if I'd bonded with anyone else.'

'Flatterer.' She smiled for the first time since she got here, 'I'm glad I got you too.' She took a deep breath before continuing, 'Hey...do you ever feel like that?'

'Like what?'

'Trapped.' She let out a soft breath and began walking out the room, 'I mean let's face it, I'm the one with my hands on the controls most of the time. Does it ever bother you, being the spectator?' Then again, what was the alternative? She was fine with giving Webster control whenever it was needed but she didn't exactly like the idea of switching their seats around.

Webster jutted out of her shoulder and nuzzled her right cheek with a soft hum, 'Not really. I'm not human, Gwen. Remember, I was created for the purpose of bonding to a host. While I do enjoy the occasional moment of separation or control, spending too long in such a state...it's akin to losing a limb. To be separated from you would be like losing a part of myself.'

'Feel the same way nowadays.' It's been over a year since they bonded. Even if they did it slower than how Mary Jane and her own blob did it was still an irreversible change.

'Let's not talk about this now. First we need to focus on how we'll get this meeting. Any ideas?'

'A few.' She said her goodbyes to Bob and swung up into the air again. Being out in the open helped her forget about Roxxon's fucked up state, 'Could go to Cap and pull some Avengers cred but I'm not sure how much pull we actually have.' Not a lot, she was guessing. Sure, companies were eager to line up when it came to merch deals and licensing, but she couldn't just demand a meeting. Especially after what she did to their former CEO.

'Maybe we could just break down the window and start interrogating people?'

'Yeah, no. Somehow I don't think that's gonna work.' She landed in a crouch at a nearby office building's roof, 'Hm...maybe Tony Stark? He's a big-time CEO and he can probably swing a meeting. Wait, no, he's off in Wakanda for the month.' Something about Wakandan tech or something. She wasn't too sure. Either way it meant they'd have to find another way.

'I guess you don't know have any other CEO's on speed dial?'

'Not that...' She trailed off. She did know someone, but...well, it wasn't like she was particularly close to him.

'Gwen?'

'Norman Osborn.' She stood up straight and looked down over the edge, 'Roxxon Corp's been doing some business with Oscorp lately.' Actually, it was more like Oscorp might buy out Roxxon Corp and turn it into a subsidiary. They were still trying to hold out - didn't want to put themselves under Norman's thumb, she guessed - but it wasn't looking good for them. Guess that's what happened when your CEO was someone like Donald Roxxon.

'Would he help us?'

'I dunno. Even when me and Harry were in high school I never really got to know the guy.' Harry had...issues with his dad. Better now, but it wasn't perfect, 'He's trying to get Cindy to be his sponsor hero but as for Spider-Woman...' She shook her head, 'We don't have a choice.'

'I'm guessing you have a plan.'

'Yeah. Gotta call Harry and ask for a favor.'


It was a weird being alone again, and even weirder that Mary Jane thought going solo was something abnormal. It wasn't too long ago that her nights started with her slinking off to some dark alley and finding some bastard to try and feed Crimson's craving. Now she rarely went somewhere without Felicia or Murdock (or both) watching her back.

Except for today.

Felicia was off on personal business, which knowing her meant either stealing something or playing hero for hire, and Murdock had to do something for Page. So now she was alone again, and she didn't know why it bugged her so much.

'Could you stop with your pining? Your hormones are giving me hell.'

'Nice to know you care so much, Crimson.'

'Just sleep with one of them and get it over with. First it was Stacy and her boytoy now it's the burglar and the devil. You do have such fun tastes, don't you?'

'What? Where the hell did that come from?' She thought back heatedly.

'That's all you, partner. I'm curious how you'll convince the two of them to share the bed.'

'Know what, I'm not even gonna pretend I care about your bullshit' She landed on the closest building's rooftop and ignored Crimson's snickering. Little shit.

She was following up on a lead. One of the people on Murdock's list. Not quite as bad as someone trafficking little girls, but corpse disposal was pretty out there. It was simple enough. When the mob or some supervillain or the IRS wanted to get rid of a body they couldn't just dump them in the river with cement shoes like the good old days. Needed to find a way to make sure they were untraceable. Cut their body to pieces, dunk them in acid, make sure no one came looking.

Even better, she was sure there'd be something there that can lead her to another thread in this tangled web.

The place was a (supposedly) abandoned office building at the edge of Yancy Street. No surprise a place like this was home to something like that, she guessed. Saddest part was she was damn sure it wasn't cause of some big demon fucking things up, 'Let's finish this quick.' The sun was going down and night was coming. Even after everything she couldn't have an actual day off. No rest for the wicked.

It started simple enough. Crash through the second floor window in style, give them one chance to surrender and beat them down when they didn't.

Or at least it should've been.

Mary Jane had lost count of how many times she'd been shot at by now. When she first started out she still had that instinctual fear, the one that made you freeze up when you saw a gun pointed at you. But after a while the fear just...stopped. When bullets were something you could just ignore or spit out like candy it was hard to think guns were something you had to be afraid of.

Which made the searing hot pain at her side so much of a surprise.

'Agh, shit!' She flipped to the side to avoid the next barrage of fire. Not bullets, she realized just a bit too late. Lasers, plasma...not exactly something you could get on the corner store. Mary Jane grit her teeth and jumped up to the roof just before blue ball of concentrated energy hit the wall behind her. The explosion blew the concrete apart into large chunks and she coughed as dust and debris flew through the air.

It was only then that she realized it was a trap. Lasers, plasma, and grenades. Not something people carried around day to day. And they were too prepared. She'd barely even shouted her warning before they unloaded on her.

Maybe she'd gotten careless and people knew she was coming, or maybe they were expecting some other hero and not even her. Either way she had to deal with it, 'Those weapons are familiar.' Crimson growled. Mary Jane pulled herself to the one holding a rocket launcher (seriously?!) and kicked him in the face before he could get a shot off, 'I remember now. These are the same ones my creators used.'

'S.H.I.E.L.D? Why the hell do these assholes have government weapons?!'

'Why don't you try asking them?'

'I'll pass.'

She smashed another one to the wall and pinned him his arms with blood-red webbing. Just like she promised she wouldn't kill any of them no matter how tempting it was, "Really rolling out the red carpet for me, huh?!" she shouted. Another goon aimed behind her and Crimson suddenly jutted out of her back, looking like an almost exact copy of her, and clawed through his hands. It didn't cut the limbs off, but he'd need bandages for the next couple of weeks.

'Watch your back.' It slinked back into her body.

'Thanks.' Alright, so it was going to be harder than she expected. Fine. She'd had harder sells before.

She took down all of them in the next few minutes. As strong as the weapons were she was still faster and stronger than they were. She punched one of the goons with a plasma rifle down to the ground, blood, teeth and spit flying at the harsh impact. Alright, so just because she didn't kill them didn't mean she was going to let them off easy. Especially considering they were throwing bombs and lasers at her.

She let go of the cleaner when she heard another click behind her, "Die you fucking bi-" She turned, already ready to counter, when a multi-colored disc flew through the air and smacked the side of his head.

'What the hell?' Her eyes narrowed and she stood up straighter as the disc - shield - rebounded against another thug's head then turned back to its owner. Mary Jane looked back at the hole made by the grenade and raised a brow when a guy in red, white and blue caught the shield and attached it to his wrist.

She knew the guy. Then again, it was hard not to know the Initiative's prime graduate. Michael Van Patrick, codename MVP a.k.a Captain America Junior. She saw his face on billboards sometimes. The face of a new generation of heroes and proof that you didn't need anything but skill, determination and a carefully planned exercise and diet to become a hero.

Also Lana's friend.

"That was close." He smiled at her. Somehow it didn't make her feel better, "Are you alright...uh, Scarlet Spider, right?"

"Yeah, Scarlet Spider. And sure, I'm good." She raised a hand to wave before she remembered the blood coating her fingers. Even with her red costume it stuck out like a sore thumb.

The pile of bodies probably didn't help either.

She finally got a look at the goons around her and flinched. None of them were dead, but they weren't exactly harmless either. Gwen usually left people webbed down with a funny note for the cops. At worst they were hit only as hard as they needed to be knock them out. Not the same here. Most of the thugs had the beginnings of bruises already showing, and those were the lucky ones. Others had limbs bent, teeth missing or were coughing up blood.

...Might have gone a bit too far.

She was about to say something when two more people came through the hole, 'What is this, a birthday party? What's with all the uninvited guests?' Crimson snarled. Mary Jane ignored it and looked at the two new arrivals. One was a woman who looked about her age wearing goth clothes. Black boots, lace, long skirt, the works. In her right hand was a black and gold staff with a big circle at the tip.

The last one to join was definitely the weirdest. Unlike MVP and the goth wizard he wasn't standing. No, the guy was freaking floating in the air in a meditation pose like some kind of fantasy monk. The way he looked wasn't any less weird. His body was covered in a black and yellow robe that left everything but his hands covered and his face was hidden by some kind of metallic mask that looked more like a cage than anything else. There was an eerie blue glow coming from the slit eyeholes that made her shiver.

She had no idea who the hell they were, but if she had to guess they were probably Initiative members like MVP. Great. Past year almost never running into these guys and she runs into them now of all times. Shit.

"...Gonna introduce me to your friends?" Mary Jane asked.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. Uh, this is Sister Grimm and our team leader Xorn." MVP pointed at the woman then the monk.

"Hey." The goth mage nodded to her casually.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance." The monk...well, said was a weird way to describe it. His voice seemed to echo all around the room and in her head at the same time, "I've heard about you. It's a shame we met in such circumstances."

"Yeah..." She shifted from one foot to another, "Hey, listen, as much as I really want to chat I should probably run."

"Hold on a second, Scarlet Spider." MVP knelt down next to one of the moaning goons and carefully grabbed the bloody laser rifle from his cut-up hands, "I'm not sure if you know but these are S.H.I.E.L.D weapons. They're-"

"I know what they are," Mary Jane interrupted. She crossed her arms and tried not to look too suspicious, "I don't know why these guys have lasers but I'm guessing their mob or supervill buddies set em up."

"You know who these people are?" Sister Grimm raised a brow.

"Yeah, they're...cleaners. You know, got a body you wanna make sure doesn't get found? You call these guys." She waved a hand casually, "They've got some pretty deep connects from what I've gathered so I'm not that surprised that they have someone giving them the fancy toys."

"Hm, I see." Xorn looked down at the bodies and Mary Jane tried not to feel like she was being judged, "We were called here due to citizens worried about the explosions and sounds of fighting but it appears we've stumbled into something far deeper than a simple crime in progress." He looked at her again. It took everything she had not to look away, "Could you give us these details you've gathered? We can't let a crime like this go on."

"I-"

'Don't do it.' Crimson suddenly said. Even through the annoyed growls she sensed its actual worry, 'You've killed how many people on that list? It's probably the reason why these ones got bigger guns. Do you really want these government lapdogs to know? They'll throw you into prison, and unlike Stacy's boytoy you aren't sleeping with an Avenger. They won't let you go.'

Mary Jane wanted to argue, but was it really wrong? The Initiative weren't vigilantes. They were heroes with rules and it was obvious they already didn't like what they saw. What would they do when they found out she was a serial killer? That she was responsible for the mangled bodies around town?

"I...can't." she said eventually, "Trust me when I say this is something deep you three shouldn't be involved in. I can handle it on my own." The excuse was weak. They knew and she knew it. Didn't matter. All she had to do was make sure to keep a lower profile the next few weeks.

She moved to walk past them when Sister Grimm suddenly extended the staff to block her way. Shit, "I think we can handle ourselves fine." She smiled at her. It was genuine, but that only made her feel worse, "Look, I get it, you're not actually part of the Initiative so of course you'd be worried. But we promise you we just want to make sure these guys are put in jail. I think we can look the other way to someone trying to do good."

"Listen, I really can't. I'm sorry." She moved the staff out of the way and was almost to the hole when MVP rushed in front of her, "...Move."

"We can't just leave it like this. We don't want to step on your toes or anything, but this isn't something we can just ignore. It's bad enough the crimes they actually did commit but to have S.H.I.E.L.D weapons on top of that? That's even worse. We were lucky this time that it was you who stopped them, but what if it was someone who couldn't handle something like this? We can't just ignore this!"

"But I don't know anything! I have no idea why these guys have laser guns!"

"And yet you were aware of these criminals being present here," Xorn said, "We aren't asking for you to hand us all the information that will help us solve this case, merely that you share what you know so that we may have a starting point."

"You're friends with Lana, right?" MVP said. Mary Jane didn't say anything back, "So am I, so please trust me when I say that we aren't going to ask you to unmask yourself or expose any secrets. We just want to make sure that no one else gets hurt."

They were being so reasonable that she almost wanted to say yes...but then she remembered the blood on her hands and the memory of lifeless eyes staring back at her.

"...I can't. Move out of my way." The 'or else' was left unsaid. MVP didn't move so she shoved past him, trying to ignore the guilt she felt. All she had to do was get out of here then-

"Scarlet Spider, arrĂȘte!"

Mary Jane snapped her head back and just barely saw Sister Grimm cut her wrist before the blood flowed out and seeped into her staff. She turned back to leave when she just...stopped, 'What the?!' She tried to scream but her mouth refused to open, still frozen shut. Her arms, legs...nothing moved. Even her fingers felt like someone hit stop on the remote.

"We're sorry about this." Sister Grimm stepped closer with an apologetic look on her face, "MVP's right, we can't just leave this be. Listen, we'll take you somewhere more private and we promise we won't unmask you or anything, but we won't unmask you or try to do anything. But we can't just let you leave after all this."

'What are you doing?! Move!' Crimson snarled.

'I can't! Whatever she did put me on pause!' Mary Jane thought back. She tried to move her fingers again, 'We're stuck!'

'I'm not!' She felt Crimson move, subtle enough that no one else but her knew, 'Give me control and I can get us out of here!'

'But...' How long was it since she gave it full control? No matter how much they got along or agreed nowadays she was always clear to draw the line there. She was in control, not Crimson.

'Fine, whatever. Maybe being put in prison will give you a taste of what I feel like all the time.'

It was baiting her, she knew that, but it also wasn't wrong, 'Fuck...fine! Just do it!'

Her hand suddenly moved and, without warning, punched Sister Grimm in the face hard enough to knock her out, 'She's the most dangerous one. We can't let her stop us again.

"Grimm!" MVP shouted. He rushed to help his friend and Crimson moved her again. She felt like a puppet on a string as she watched Crimson move her body around like a meatsuit. The fight with MVP, if it could even be called that, was quick. Maybe he was distracted by his friend, or maybe he was still trying not to hurt her even after what she did. Either way it was over and done with in less than a minute.

Crimson turned her head to Xorn, 'Don't bother fighting! Just run!' she mentally screamed.

'Fine-'

A sudden bright light came from where Xorn's head was. Mary Jane tried to close her eyes but again her body refused to follow. In the end she was forced to stare full-on as the light turned blinding and her vision went white, 'Ow, son of a bitch!' It was like she was hit by a flashbang- no, worse than that. The total blindness lasted for just 10 seconds but everything else stuck. There was a ringing in her ears, she was dizzy enough that she would've puked if her body could still move, and even after the white faded away everything was still blurry.

And through it all Crimson still moved her around. Past the loud ringing she heard the sounds of struggles till, just barely, she saw her hand move to shoot a web and swing away out of that damn building. For the next few minutes everything came to her in a blur. She was vaguely aware that she was swinging past buildings up in the air, but besides that she was completely helpless.

'Crimson for God's sake at least close my eyes! I feel like I have to throw up!'

'Fine! You humans with your eyes and noses, so inconvenient.'

It actually did close her eyes. The sweet relief of nothing helped her feel better even as Crimson continued to puppet her around. The swinging lasted for a couple more minutes before she felt her feet hit solid ground, 'Wh-Where are we?'

'The cat burglar's place. Figured you'd want to go somewhere familiar.'

'Yeah...thanks.'

'Can you move now?'

She moved her fingers. Stiff, but it was progress, 'Kinda.' Crimson didn't say anything and just gave her back control. Mary Jane stumbled and grabbed the wall to keep from falling on her face. A part of her thought Crimson would keep its hands on the controls, "Shit..." She stumbled into the bedroom, her steps shaky. Felt like she was weighed down with rockets.

She limped her way to the bathroom and clumsily pulled the glass shower divider. A few more clumsy movements later and she managed to turn on the shower head, "God..." she sat with her back against the wall and let the warm water wash over her, the suit peeling back till she was naked. Mary Jane raised her right hand and watched as the water washed away all traces of blood from the pale skin.

Mary Jane let out a soft breath and let the hand drop down next to her as she closed her eyes. What the hell did she just do? Stupid question, she knew exactly what she did. She picked a fight with the fucking Initiative. Idiot. All this time she tried to avoid getting in trouble with the authorities. No cops, and if she had to deal with them she'd still make sure there was no way to trace it back to her. Different costumes, different skills, different everything.

"We just fucked ourselves..." she mumbled.

Crimson jutted out of her shoulder so they could talk face-to-face, "What are you so worried about?"

"Seriously? We just attacked the Initiative! Do you have any idea how screwed we are?!"

"We always knew we'd get into trouble eventually. The people who pretend to be moral will always look at us as if we're monsters no matter how many people we save and criminals we stop. This just makes it more official."

"What if I don't want to be a monster, huh?"

"This again? We've already had this talk. I think we both know that this point you could've stopped any time you wanted. You wanted this just as much as I did."

Neither of them said a word after that. Crimson went back inside and left her alone with nothing but the running water for company. Mary Jane took a deep breath and looked up at the light through half-lidded eyes. She wanted to scream, wanted to go back and somehow explain herself to those three and try to make up for what she did.

In the end she just stayed in that damn shower till she felt confident enough to move again. Mary Jane pulled herself up and grabbed the silk bathrobe after drying herself off. There were a lot of things she wanted to do right now but more than anything she wanted to sleep and pretend it never happened. So she stumbled back into the bedroom and collapsed face-down into the satin sheets.

By the time she woke up the moon was still high in the sky...and she wasn't alone, "Finally awake, hm?" It took all she had not to scream at the stranger sitting on a chair next to the bed. He wasn't anyone she knew. An old guy with red hair, but not Murdock. Much older, and the the cane was an actual walking cane made of wood.

'Fuck!'

'What's wrong now?'

'Didn't wanna warn me about the creeper in the room?!'

'I had to recover. Even if I don't sleep it's been a long time since I've had full control.'

'Now you tell me!' She scowled and sat up, trying to ignore the fact that she had nothing but a bathrobe on. She wanted to shift to her costume and punch his head off but the way he acted made her hesitate. Not a thief and definitely not an assassin; a hired killer wouldn't wait till she was awake. No, he had to be here for a reason.

"Nothing to say?"

"Trying to decide what I wanna say first. Oh, here's a good one: who the fuck are you?!" Now that she could think better she knew she wasn't in any trouble, at least not physically. Unless the guy was secretly Amazingman in disguise she figured she'd win any actual fight.

"Henry Peter Gyrich, though I'm guessing that name doesn't mean anything to you." He smiled like a shark that smelled blood, "But I think your name's the more important between us, Ms. Watson. Or do you prefer Scarlet Spider?"

He knew. The sinking feeling in her stomach to something hard and cold. Fear, but not for her. Gwen once told her that what always scared her wasn't dying. She'd accepted the idea that it was much more likely she'd find her end at the end of some villain rather than going out in bed. No, what scared her most was the thought of anything happening to the people she loved because of her. That because of her they'd get hurt.

Now she felt the same fear. Her mom, Gayle, Glory and Betty...

"...Who are you?"

"I just told you-"

"You know what I mean." Her face shifted to something more monstrous. Gyrich just leaned back on the chair and tapped his cane against the ground, "I'm not fucking around. Tell me what you want and how you found me. Now."

"Straight to business, then? Fine, I can respect that. The first thing you should know is that I'm with the government. And no, I won't tell you what part. It wouldn't do you any good." He leaned forward again and pressed his hands together, "As for how I found you? You haven't been as subtle as you think you have, Ms. Watson. That's assuming you've been trying to be subtle at all."

Her face shifted back to normal and she swung her legs over the edge of the bed, "Is this about what happened with the Initiative team earlier?"

"Not at all. Well, not completely. I am aware that it happened but would you believe that they didn't file an actual report? Apparently Mr. Van Patrick decided to trust you due to your mutual friendship with Ms. Baumgartner." The feeling of guilt came back stronger than before, "While I could say that this attack was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back the truth is I've always been meaning to talk with you. This incident just accelerated my timetable."

"...What do you want?"

"What do you think? A vigilante whose power appears on par with the likes of Spider-Woman or She-Hulk and she's beholden to no one? You might not be aware of it but you make a lot of people scared."

"Why me, huh? Why aren't you giving creepy midnight visits to Moon Knight or Spider-Man?"

"Who says we aren't?" He scoffed, "More to the point, it's a difference in use and scale. Their powers and abilities are containable and, at least for now, they remain useful in their own way. Not mention their conflict with the Hand and their bouts with the supernatural frees up resources we can use for other things. I'd rather spend time working on actual important things instead of ninjas clamoring for immortality or teenagers playing with ouija boards."

"Uh-huh, and where do I fall in?"

"You? Well, you're more of a wrecking ball. Tell me, do you have any idea of the effects of your actions? Actually, don't answer that." He stood up and looked down at her, "I know you think you're doing good, saving innocent victims and killing those who deserve it, but life isn't that easy. Are you aware of the concept of a power vacuum?"

"I went through high school, so yeah. Get to the point."

"Your little crusade has done more harm than good. Say you kill the person, then what? You think that no one else will take their place?" He clicked his tongue, "The problem, Ms. Watson, is that you're quick to assume that there's only one card in a house full of them. For a vigilante that takes to extreme methods you certainly have a habit of only going through half measures."

"Just tell me what you want. I'm getting tired of this shit."

"What I want, Ms. Watson, is for you to stop your crusade. It's that simple."

"Hm...and if I say no?" She knew she was treading on thin ice. The guy knew her identity and he worked with the government.

"Then we'll put you in prison. I'm well aware of your capabilities, but we both know you're not invincible. It doesn't have to come down to a an open fight. There are many ways to skin a cat, as the saying goes." She glared up at him and didn't say anything, "Regardless of how you resist it'll end with your imprisonment in the Raft. Afterwards I'm certain that Spider-Woman will clamor for your freedom and it'll end in one or two ways. She'll be rejected due to her blatant hypocrisy or, far more likely, they'll come to an agreement where you're put into her custody, at which point I expect she'll put you into a hamster cage in her room to ensure you don't get into anymore trouble."

"Bullshit. She wouldn't do that."

"Wouldn't she? It's from my understanding that Ms. Stacy will do anything if it means keeping her friend safe." So he knew who Gwen was too. Perfect, "I'm giving you two options to avoid that. The first one is simple: just stop. No more crusade, no more nighttime dealings. For Spider-Woman's sake I won't continue to pursue this and you'll be given a clean slate. It'll be as if it never happened."

"And the second?"

"Come work for me." She raised a brow. That...wasn't what she expected, "I'm not so stupid as to ignore your capabilities. You're skilled, Ms. Watson, but more than that you're powerful. You could do a lot if you actually had any idea on where to direct your capabilities."

"Yeah...I'm not too keen on being a government assassin."

"Why? Is being a serial killer any better?" Her hands clenched tightly, "It's not as if I'll be sending you after orphanage nuns. The people I go up against aren't any different from the kind of filth you've decided is your responsibility to kill. Would you really shed any tears if you killed a terrorist responsible for bombing churches or extremists that decided poisoning a school will get their point across?"

'He has a point.'

'You shut up.' She took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes, "There's a third option..." The tips of her fingers sharpened into blood red claws.

"Kill me? I suppose that's an option." He hummed, "That is of course ignoring the fact that there will be ramifications for killing a government official. And the fact that this isn't me." He laughed under his breath, "An LMD, if you don't follow. Ms. Moon left quite a stockpile even after her factory was destroyed. So I would discourage any attacks for your sake."

"So that's it, huh? Either I pretend there's nothing else I can do or I turn into your pet assassin?"

"If that's how you choose to view it, yes." He pulled a phone out of his pocket and set it down the bedside table, "This phone has only one number and the internals will be destroyed in three days. You'll have three days to contact me if you agree to my terms. Once the three days have passed and you haven't contacted me I'll assume you've chosen to go with the first option. Breaking that agreement means you won't get any more warnings."

Mary Jane grabbed the phone and stared down at it as Gyrich left the room. A part of her wanted to crush the damn thing or chuck it against the wall but she reined it in, "...That just happened," she muttered.

'You should think about his offer.'

"Seriously?"

'Why not? He's not wrong. Whether you do it on your own or because he tells you to, people who 'deserve it' will still end up in the ground.'

"Not too keen on being someone's pet."

'Hm. Then I guess you know how I feel most days.'

She tossed the phone beside her and took out her own cell. Bunch of messages. One from Felicia telling her she'd be out for the next couple of days, a couple from Gwen talking about a favor she needed...and a blasting voicemail from Lana screaming about her attacking MVP. Great, just when she thought they were actually getting along.

She called Gwen, "Hey, MJ. I gotta-"

"It'll have to wait, Gwencent. Something...big just happened." She told her everything. Tracking down the cleaners, attacking the Initiative, that Gyrich asshole. Gwen was weirdly quiet throughout the entire thing and Mary Jane half-wondered if the signal cut out or something by the end, "So...thoughts?"

"Thoughts? Yeah, a fucking lot of them! What the fuck, MJ?!"

"I know. Now I need to figure out what to do?"

"The first option isn't even an answer, is it?" Mary Jane clenched her free hand and didn't say anything, "Okay...fine, let's meet up tomorrow."

"What for?"

"Gyrich wants to make you his black ops agent? Let's cut him off. You can join the Initiative."

"Seriously?" Mary Jane almost laughed. It sounded like a bad joke, "You do realize I just attacked like three of them, right?"

"You said they didn't file a report. And...I'll try to pull some strings. I know it's not ideal for you, but isn't it better than doing what Gyrich says?"

"I...I dunno." Being an assassin wasn't her thing, but could she really be an Initiative Hero knowing what she knew?

"Just think about it, okay? Look, I gotta go. Let's meet up at the apartment early tomorrow, 'kay? We can visit an Initiative training camp and you'll see it's not so bad."

"...Okay." She cut the call and lied back down on the bed. This day was absolute shit. Mary Jane closed her eyes and forced herself back to sleep. She'd deal with everything tomorrow.


Gwen and MJ are kinda busy now. Gwen has to drum up a new lead now that Roxxon's toast and Mary Jane either has to stop, turn into a government assassin or become an Initiative hero. Oof. I think the choice is already pretty obvious, but at least we can milk it for some good character interactions.

Question:

1. I'm thinking of making another half-filler arc. Half filler in the sense that it doesn't involve the main plot but it does expand the world better than if I stuck to the plotted line. I currently have two arcs in mind.

- The Watchdogs. Visiting popstar Luna Snow is attacked by extremist group the Watchdogs who are infamous for their hatred of any and all Gifted and Powered individuals. Cindy and an insistent Luna investigate the group and see just how the less powerful Gifted have to live in a world where they're easy victims for people with prejudice.

- Sleeping Beauties. Women of various ages and backgrounds are falling into seemingly unexplained comas all across the city. Lana and Noir find themselves tangled up in the case when Lana's older sister Lily ends up becoming one of the victims. Can they find the true cause of the the incident before these women are put into a permanent slumber?

As noted above the two arcs have different focus. Watchdogs is more on prejudice and how the people who have weak or debilitating mutations have to live in the world. Meanwhile Sleeping Beauties is more magic focused and expands more on the mystical side along with having Lana and Noir in the focus as partners again after they stopped pairing up.

Unlike before this isn't a choice of what comes first. As of right now the plan is that only the one that gets the most interest will be written while the other arc will happen 'offscreen' and only be referred to secondhand. So pick which one interests you more :) I'll also put up a poll on my profile page.

Next chapter will be a shorter one for Noir. Both to have a bit of a break and so people will have time to decide which chapter they want.

Review Answers:

Brave2000 - Wide as the grand canyon and deep as a puddle, or so how Constantine's magic is described.

rc48177 - Doubt either of them would be as nice to their stalkers as Gwen is.

Isaac the Mechanoid - I get Felicia or Lana but why would Norah have a stalker with a crush? Besides Goblin Knight Phil Urich I mean, and he's canon.

ArkT - So what kind of stalker do you imagine Noir would have?

Paranormal17 - Shatterpoints sounds similar to Mayday Parker's ability to pinpoint weaknesses with her spider-sense. Less magic and more spidery, I think.