Been a while. Sorry for the wait but games, papers and work have kept me pretty swamped. That and the usual anxieties.
This chapter is kinda shorter than my usual but it's setup for the next arcs anyway. It shows the leadup to both Sleeping Beauties and the Watchdogs, though as mentioned above only the one voted in will be shown. The arc that loses will be dealt with offscreen to avoid dragging the pace too much.
Side Note - I'm doing a study and need people to answer a google form survey. Anyone interested please send your email :) I need as many people as I can. Survey is done online and can be finished in about 10 minutes.
Page was too busy to meet with him for the next few days. Apparently a new case came up with another crime boss turning snitch and she actually had to do her job. Worked with him just fine. He still needed to think and apparently time didn't matter much to souls. Harder to keep track of things when you didn't need to do the daily necessities or even do anything besides existing.
Which left him alone with his thoughts. Gwen tried to be there as best she could but she couldn't put her life on hold for his forever. She was making plans to expose the Roxxon board of directors. Plans that somewhat hinged on Mary being there and considering the two weren't on speaking terms at the moment she had to adjust. Not to mention classes and another investigation about who attacked them at their shindig in San Fransokyo.
He understood and promised her that he wouldn't go out with the mask for now. Better to avoid all that when he couldn't focus properly.
Peter sighed and looked up at the ceiling. He hadn't really left the apartment and none of the others on his 'team' called him. They probably figured he and Matt weren't in any condition to help them track Bakuto or Gao. Before they went on the hunt for Bullseye Moon Knight mentioned seeing a lack of activity on the Hand's usual fronts. He figured they must've left the city if not the country.
They'd still follow them no matter where they went. Still, he didn't like the idea of telling Gwen he'd have to leave again.
Taking another deep breath, he stood up and took the jacket hanging from the nearby chair. It was just a few minutes past noon and the sky was an overcast gray. It'd rain soon but he couldn't stay cooped up in here any longer. Maybe taking a walk would help clear his head.
Peter pulled the hood up and left the apartment building. He made sure to keep his phone on in case Gwen got ansty and called him. She'd been more worried than usual considering what happened to him and Mary. Probably felt the same way she did a year ago. Didn't help that they hadn't seen any sign of Mary at all. Even Felicia said that she hadn't come back to the penthouse, though she wasn't too worried.
He stuffed his hands into the jacket's pockets and kept his head down. He didn't check the news - mostly at Gwen's insistence - but he got a message from Cindy that his and Bullseye's fight was already making the rounds. Not sure how but at this point he stopped questioning it. Apparently it was impossible to keep a secret in this damn place. Least there weren't any actual videos so people couldn't psychoanalyze and make theories because they had nothing better to do than insert themselves into something they had nothing to do with.
It took him almost an hour of walking before he finally stopped. He hadn't really paid attention to where he was going, more focused on keeping his mind distracted. The bright neon sign above him burned with chinese letters and the various buildings followed, 'Must be in Chinatown...' He hadn't been here a lot despite all the time he'd lived in the city. He was never here for 'business'. Apparently Gao wasn't obvious enough to make a base here.
It felt...different here. Still distinctly New York, sure, but less...fake than he would've expected, "Hm..." He put his hood up and made his way to one of the nearby market stalls. The awning was shaded well enough and the owner didn't show any care of the gray clouds above, "What are you selling?" he asked softly.
"Pork buns. My own special recipe." The older man grinned.
"I'll try one then." Peter handed the man a crumpled bill and waved away the change. He turned around and looked up and down the street again. The sky's color was growing darker and the people were shuffling out of the open into shelter. He pulled out his phone and debated calling someone. Cindy and Gwen were busy and Mary...who the hell knew? She wasn't picking up Gwen's calls so he doubted she'd pick up his.
Still...wouldn't hurt to try, right?
It rang only a couple of times before it stopped, "Tiger?"
"Mary? Surprised you picked up."
"Yeah, well..." She drifted off. Neither of them said anything for a few seconds till she coughed, "So...any reason you called?"
"Just worried, I guess." He took the pork bun with a mumbled thanks and looked for somewhere else to hang around, "Gwen's been antsy about you screening her calls."
"Look, I didn't need a lecture. You saw what she thought of me doing this." She sighed, "What, don't tell me you're gonna lecture me, too?"
"Do you really need me to answer that?" It was starting to rain now. He turned to a narrow street and flinched slightly at the glare of the neon signs. They stuck out even more with the rainclouds overhead, "Your life, your choices, Mary. And...I can't say that I might have done different." As much as he loved Gwen he couldn't follow in her footsteps. Some people weren't made to be superheroes put up on billboards for people to idolize.
"Yeah, figured you'd get it." Another soft breath, "To be honest I had my doubts on it too, but..." She paused, "When she took me to that place I just...it felt like it wasn't for me. They go out, stop the bad guys then leave em to the cops with a fancy card. I can't do that. You know what kind of people we deal with, Tiger. It's never as clean as cuffing them and calling it a day."
"You don't have to justify yourself to me, Mary." It wasn't like he disagreed. The Hand, Jack...Bullseye, none of them were as clean as your garden variety clown in a fancy costume. Only reason Jack was alive was cause he wasn't living. Being trapped in that fleshy coffin was worse than death, "You've survived this long. Just be careful. Gwen didn't seem to trust that Gyrich."
"You think I do?" She scoffed, "He doesn't trust me and I don't trust him. Point is he needs what I can do. Even if he doesn't like me as long as I play ball and do what he says we shouldn't have a problem."
"I get it." He slipped under an empty awning and shook his hands to wipe away the water, "Liste, just...please call Gwen? Or at least don't screen her calls. She's worried about you."
"I don't need another lecture." Her voice wasn't as hard as she wanted it to be.
"Not saying you should get one. Hey, you know what we were like just a year ago." She let out a small laugh. A good sign, "Point is that no matter what happens you and Gwen are still friends and she's worried about you. Not saying she's right or wrong, but you two need to sit down and talk. Trust me, Mary, friendship like that you don't want to end this way."
"Damn it. For someone who isn't judging you're guilt tripping super hard." She sighed again, "Just...gimme some time, alright? I promise I'll call her but I still need to get used to the whole thing. Not everyday you become some government sponsored whatever the hell I am."
"Alright. Thanks, Mary." He unwrapped the pork bun and took a small bite. Tasted good.
"Hey...are you alright?" He swallowed and didn't say anything, "Maybe I'm not the right person for this but I could tell you and that Bullseye guy were close. I only met the guy once so I'm really not the right person for it. Still, if you need someone to just rant to then I'm here."
"Heh. Appreciate the gesture, but I'm actually all tapped out on that front." He was tired of screaming and crying. Now all he needed was to make a decision, "Take care of yourself, Mary."
"You too, Tiger."
The phone call ended and he was alone again. The light drizzle of rain turned to something stronger and the sounds of falling raindrops surrounded him, "Bullseye..." He took a deep breath and took another bite of the steaming bun. Fighting ancient ninjas, dealing with souls...it was something far above someone like him. He was barely an adult who got lucky because a giant Spider wanted a pawn. He should've been dead many times over by now.
But he was still here. Guess he was lucky that way.
*mew*
He looked down at the ground and smiled slightly at the brown cat looking at him- no, not at him, "Want this, huh?" He shook the half-finished bun. The cat didn't say anything, of course, "Alright, fine." He pulled it out of the wrapper and set it on the ground. The soggy feline walked forward warily and poked at the white surface before taking a tentative bite.
Cautious. He liked that.
"A stray, huh? Hope you're not expecting me to take you home." He wasn't the best owner; Dog could attest to that. Peter pulled out single cigarette and lit it quickly. The warmth in his lungs came as a relief and he felt some of the anxiety ebb away. He knew it was temporary. Just like a few days ago all he wanted to do was find somehting to distract himself.
He leaned against the wall and tapped the back of his head against the concrete. Bullseye. Hell. Purgatory. Redemption. Everything was still a jumbled mess and he wasn't even close to making sense of it. He needed to ask Page more questions. How much of that was just Bullseye versus what the Hand did? Was he just blind to what Bullseye always was because he cared about him?
"Damn it..."
Footsteps came from his right. Peter didn't look or care about the new arrival till a somewhat familiar voice suddenly called out, "Fancy seeing you here."
Peter turned to the source of the voice and raised a brow at the old man wearing a suit, "...Ezekiel, right?" He took another drag of the cigarette and eyed him up and down. He looked better than when he saw him last, though that might have just been the lack of a prison jumpsuit. The dull green cane he had before was replaced with a newer one made of rosewood and the black suit was only lightly drenched despite the rain. .
"I'm happy you remember me."
"Sure don't sound like it." He looked ahead again. Spider-sense didn't ring at all, not like when Teresa showed up. Either he was just like Gwen or he really wasn't involved with Teresa's group like he said, "...How the hell are you standing here now?"
"I'm assuming you mean why I'm not the size of an ant." He let out that raspy laugh again, "I didn't escape in the turmoil your enemies caused, if that's what you assume. I made a deal and managed to procure a tentative release in exchange for something." He didn't say anything after that. Peter didn't bother to ask finer details; people like him never gave a straight answer when they didn't want to.
"Right. Mind telling me why you tracked me down?" Cause he sure as hell wasn't dumb enough to think this was actually a coincidence.
"I wanted to talk to the Pariah." Peter sighed. Again with the fruity names and titles. He was getting sick of it, "My knowledge of recent events was limited while I was imprisoned and it took some time for me to catch up. You have been a busy young man, haven't you?"
"I don't think I need to tell you how creepy you sound right now."
"It's an honest compliment. For someone who woke up barely two years ago you've spent quite a lot of time pleasing your patron."
"Tell me why you're here. You're not here to make friends." He'd heard all about Ezekiel Simms from Cindy. Even if this was a different dimension the stories were enough to make her wary. A man who looked at everything as an asset or a liability. He was only too happy to make her his personal assassin till the paranoia of her being the Bride made him seal her away.
This Ezekiel wasn't making a good impression either.
"Tell me, how much do you know about your patron?"
"About as much as any person knows about their God." He shrugged. Even after all their talks it was just as alien as it always was, "Lemme guess, you're here to give me some never heard bombshell of information you're planning to dangle over my head with vague promises and half-truths. If so you can just stop. I'm done playing those kinds of games. Did enough of that last year."
"I'm not Teresa." He wanted to defend her, he really did, but it was hard to argue there, "I assume your patron warned you of something that's coming. Sparse on the details, wasn't he?"
"You telling me you know?"
"I assume you've never heard of the name Adriana Soria." Peter took another drag and looked at him flatly, "I suppose it'd be odd if you did, especially since she only took that name a little over 50 years ago. She'd prefer to call herself the Spider-Queen."
"...Is that supposed to be a joke?"
"Says Spider-Man?" He bit his tongue and resisted the urge to blow smoke in his face, "She's gathering power now, but rest assured that when she comes she'll bring this world to its knees. The web of life and destiny concerns more than just Spiders. The very fabric of fate binds every soul in this dimension and if she gains control of it then everyone it connects to will be hers."
"Hm..." He finished off the cigarette and stamped it underfoot, "Where is she, then?" Lets nip this in the bud."
"If I knew that we wouldn't be having this conversation. She's hidden herself from sight. It's possible she's not even on earth as we know it." Peter rolled his eyes. Just great. Even when he was being told everything straight up there was always a catch, "Lemme guess, you came here because you want my help to kill this 'Queen'. That about right?"
"Yes."
"Fine."
He smiled. It looked off on him, "I expected you to be more hesitant."
"Why should I? Spider-God warned me something was coming and you're telling me it can destroy the world. Considering I live here I can't exactly afford to let it get taken over by some deluded monarch, can I?"
"A show of self-interest. I think we both know that's not the reason you're so willing to help." Ezekiel fished a card out of his pocket and offered it to him. The glossy surface was lined with the fancy letters 'WEBCORP'. How clever, "This is my contact information. Please call me in a few days so I can give you an update."
"...Guessing you don't want me to tell Spider-Woman and Spinerette?"
"Why would you assume that? By all means, tell them. The more allies we have against her the better."
"Don't supporse you're willing to tell me why you were in prison?"
"I wasn't there involuntarily. It was a...willing sacrifice, that's all I'm going to say." Great, back to the vague nonsense, "The only thing that should matter to you is that we are on the same side. I have no wish to have the Queen place this world under its thrall than you do. We do not have to be friends, Spider-Man, but that doesn't keep us from being allies in this."
Peter's phone rang before he could say anything. He looked down at his pocket for just a second and when he looked up again Ezekiel was gone, "...Guess I know how Gwen feels now." He pocketed the card then looked at the screen. It was Lana, "Lana, hey."
"Hey, Pete." His brows furrowed. Her voice was softer than normal and there was an edge to it, "Um...I-I know that you're still dealing with what happened a few days ago but-"
"Lana, what is it?" Whatever grief he had could wait. She needed him.
"I-It's my sister, Pete. She's at the hospital and..." She took a shuddering breath, "J-Just come meet me, alright? Y-You don't even have to fight or anything, I can take care of that. Just...I need you here. Please?"
"Text me the address. I'm on my way." He sent a quick message to Gwen and ran to the address Lana sent.
burgerboy: You guys heard about that explosion in that abandoned carnival?
James zan: Yeah anybody have any idea what it's about?
Luna Remus: I have a friend of a friend who knows some cops. Not sure how real this is but apparently Spider-Man and the guy with the bullseye on his forehad had a fight. There were other bodies there too. Most of them were dressed in body armor and packing heat.
swarmdevoursall: Those two? Shit I watched Arcade's game and I saw that those two were screaming at each other. Any reason why the two are fighting?
blackblooddoomwolf: How the hell would anyone know? The only one who would are Spider-Man and the other Defenders and they ain't saying shit.
lolking FTW: It's still weird that he turned against the rest of the group. Wasn't he one of the OG members?
Rohit Sunil: Dude always came across as deranged. Work with a psycho and you get a psycho. Big shock.
Grey Wolf: Guess so. I mean you have people like the Punisher and a ninja chick that looks like a scarecrow. Surprised they held up this long.
guardian fortress: Legit feels like a group of horror movie monsters. Shit they're scarier than Pamela Voorhes and Leatherskin.
isuffer: So...no one gonna say anything about a cop just telling people who blab on twitter about ongoing investigations?
Day 23: The cops are incompetent, I'm so shocked /s. News flash, if the police were halfway decent we wouldn't need vigilantes like the Defenders. Remember when they didn't even investigate the giant fucking Lizard and blamed Spider-Woman for 'killing' Peter Parker.
isuffer: I blame Jameson more for that. A big target looks good for mayoral campaigns. Still can't believe that guy didn't get sued into oblivion for that.
Life returned to normal for Cindy. Well, as normal as an Avenger-slash-Cop could be. She did her cases, wrote her reports, dealt with Masters' shit, checked in on Laura, and made plans to go out on a date with Scott again next week. Busy as always.
Especially with her new issue.
Cindy leaned back on the chair and groaned. How was she supposed to tell Laura she ahd to drop out of school? Even if the principal couldn't legally kick her out - at least not without opening up a whole can of worms on discrimination and equality - she wasn't sure if Laura staying there was a good idea anymore. Sure, they all wanted her to have a chance at a normal life, but with her new tagalong and her making it clear she wanted to be a superhero, that was getting less and less likely.
The Initiative was starting up a new program at the suggestion of Charles Xavier. The average recruit needed to be at least 17 years of age to sign up and anyone below could get early registration and training, but no actual work. Lana was a special case considering her cirumstances and even then she was already 17 so it wasn't like anyone could complain about it.
So Charles Xavier came up with a plan. An offset of the Initiative focused on children and teens being given training alongside schooling. Kind of like a scholarship program for the Gifted. It made sense, especially coming from the guy who made the X-Men in another dimension, but it wasn't exactly gonna be an easy sell telling Laura that she had to leave all the friends she made. Even if she didn't want to be normal those kids were the first friends her age she had since she was born.
'Maybe...if I try to sell how easier it'll make being a hero?' She chewed on the tip of her pen and frowned. The paperwork at her desk was still ignored and her laptop screen showed a half-written page she'd stopped writing in about 15 minutes from now. The program wouldn't start up proper for another month but the sooner they dealt with this the better. Wouldn't do to spring it on her at the last second.
"Ugh..." She pressed her head against the desk and covered her face with both arms. She really didn't think she'd end up being a parent. And sure, she loved Laura and would kill half the city for her, but it also meant attending parent-teacher conferences and thinking about her future.
The door opened without a knock. Only people who did that were Jean or Masters. She raised her head up to either say hi or tell them to go fuck themselves when she saw Cap looking down at her, "...Hi." She sat back up properly and gave her a small smile. She wasn't as close to Cap as Gwen or the other 'grown-ups' but they didn't not get along. It was mostly professional.
"Spinerette." Cap nodded and looked around her office. Felt weird seeing her out of costume. Instead of the trademark red white and blue she wore a brown shirt, a dark green jacket, blue jeans and dark combat boots. Always professional, "I see you're keeping busy."
"Yeah, well, no rest for the wicked." She raised up both arms in a stretch then stood up to greet her properly, "What brings you over here. ma'am?"
"Just checking in to make sure you were alright. I know the attack was a bit ago now but I thought it couldn't hurt. Sorry I couldn't come here sooner, following leads has been time-consuming."
"It's no big deal. You didn't have to check on me." Wait, that sounded way more hostile than she wanted. Shit, "Uh, I mean, I'm fine. It's not the first time we dealt with something like that." She looked past her and saw a few officers trying to look despite the one-way glass. Did she tell people who she was or flashed her prioricard? She'd been pretty strict about visitors ever since she exposed her identity.
"I still felt the need to." Cap smiled. It still ended up looking professional, like an officier giving praise to her subordinate, "It's also been a while since you took up the position of a liaison. It was my suggestion that you take this role so I can't help but feel responsible if anythning happened."
"It's fine. Totally. Handling it like a champ-"
"Cindy." Cindy shut her mouth. She never called them by their real names, "I understand that talking with me may be a bit...difficult, but I want you to be honest with me. You're an Avenger and my teammate. I don't like the idea that we might be keeping things from one another."
"I'm not keeping anything, I'm just..." She let out a slow breath, "I wasn't lying, alright? Most of the cops are cool except Masters but I can deal with him. And I'm always swamped with work but what else is new? I like keeping busy." She shrugged, "I'm investigating the con attack too along with Spider-Woman. It's just slow going since we don't have any leads and cause we have a lot of other things to deal with."
"I can see that." Cap eyed the stack of paperwork, "What...is that exactly?"
"My case files." She picked up one of the folders and frowned at the 'Lantern Gang' written down at the front, "Masked crime goes to me so I've been crashing at my desk a lot more nowadays." She put it back on the table, "Doesn't help that a bunch of these guys run into other heroes and vigilantes out in the city so I gotta keep filtering in and out." The Vulture guy who stole the acid and the Lantern gang had their run-ins with Peter. Weren't exactly in talking positions when he finished with them.
"Case files?" Uh...why did she sound confused?
"Uh...yeah? It's part of my job. Wish someone else did the reports, though."
"I...think we might be having an error of communication." Great, fancy way of saying something was fucked up, "I sent you here as a liaison in order assist the police in order to assist them in the rising Masked crime activity."
"Yeah, what do you think I've been doing? I've been busting my hump solving cases and helping these guys out. Hell, I haven't even told you about Silver Sablinov and that mess with the Maggia getting Symkarian weapons."
"I actually did read your report on that, but that's not the point." Cap sighed, "Cindy, when I sent you here to help the police I didn't mean that you should do your job for them. If I wanted to you solve crimes then making you a liaison would've been pointless. You could've done the same thing as Spider-Woman. The police are obligated to give you details on any ongoing cases as needed given your position as Avenger."
"So what exactly was I supposed to do?"
"You were supposed to help train the police officers on how to deal with Masked crimes. The reason you were chosen is because, aside from myself, you're also a former agent who worked alongside non-powered individuals. If anyone on the Avengers could help teach these men and women how to adapt it would be you."
"So what you're saying is I did all that paperwork for nothing." Cindy covered her face with both hands and groaned, "But seriously though, what happens to the cases I was involved with? Don't tell me those are gonna end up as mistrials or something."
"No, your position as an Avenger does allow you to work with the proper authorities and make arrests, but my intention of sending you here wasn't to carry the force on your back. I'm sure you're aware of the proverb of teaching a man to fish?"
"Yeah, no need for the reminder."
"Then you understand. You can't be here forever, Cindy. When you leave then what happens? If these officers don't learn then they'll be back to where they started."
"Suppose now's a bad time to tell you Jean wanted me to make this gig permanent?" Cap just crossed her arms. So much for that idea, "Fine, I'll deal with it. Problem is now what do I do about the caseload?"
"Let the police do their jobs. I was aware that you'd have to assist them out in the field but joining along on a case isn't the same as doing it by yourself. You don't have to take the burden of the world on your shoulders."
"Yeah, thanks..." This was...relieving? Her workload just crashed down and she could probably make that date earlier, but she still didn't know how to feel about this. And it didn't really solve her big issue.
Maybe...
"Hey...could I ask for some advice?"
"I'm not sure how helpful I'd be, but I have no objections."
"You know about Prof Xavier's school pogram, right? The one for Gifted children and teens?" Cap nodded, "Well I was thinking of enrolling Laura there ever since she got her new tagalong but I'm having a hard time figuring out what I'm supposed to tell her. Even if she can keep in contact with her friends it's just not the same as going to the same school as them or seeing each other every day, you know?"
"I understand your reluctance. I've never had children myself but the feeling of losing touch with your friends is a painful one."Cindy winced. Cap only came back when her friends were on their deathbeds and she lost any chance of reconnecting with any of her friends when her evil twin took her here. Both of them had to start off from scratch, "Still, you're doing this because you think it's the best for her, right?"
"Of course I do. Wouldn't do it if I didn't." Cindy crossed her arms, "I'm her mom, I gotta think about her future. She's made it clear she plans to be a hero so this is the best thing I can do for her." And maybe it would help her feel less like an outcast if she was in a school of the Gifted.
"Then just tell her that. I'm certain that she's going to have her issues and perhaps even throw a tantrum, but that's to be expected. Children often don't understand the hardships their parents had to face. My relationship with my own parents was strained."
"Oh?" She'd never heard personal details from Cap.
"My parents were religious. When I refused to join their church they gave me books on faith and other theologies. At first I thought that it was them trying to convince me to see their point of view. I realize now that they giving me my own choice. If I wouldn't follow their faith then I could decide which I would follow. Still, I was so angry that I never reconciled with them before I was forced to leave."
"Sorry..."
"We all make our choices, Cindy. There's no point on dwelling on what-ifs or being so reluctant that time passes us by. Just do your best."
There was a knock on the door. Cindy opened it at Cap's nod and barely held in a gasp when she saw who was on the other end, "Hey. Um, sorry I'm interrupting something." Luna freaking Snow smiled at her. Was she dreaming? Was this real? Somebody pinch her!
"Uh who bwuh?"
"Uh..."
"I think she means it's a please to meet you, Ms. Snow." Cap said for her.
"Wh-What she said...!" Cindy numbly took the offered hand and ignored all the officers staring at them. Made sense. Cap at least bothered to look lowkey. Luna was still dressed in her silver and black popstar outfit and she looked absolutely stunning except for some slight frizz in her hair. Ugh, she should've made a different outfit for today. But she didn't know she'd be meeting Luna Snow!
"I assume you're not here for a personal visit?"
"Oh, not at all. Well, not exactly. I was hoping to meet with Spinerette, of course, but not under these circumstances." Luna Snow wanted to meet her?! She really was dreaming! "I want to report an attack."
The word attack felt like a cold shower. Cindy's eyes narrowed and she shifted back to professional mode, "I'm guessing it wasn't just a mugging if you had to come here?"
"No, it definitely wasn't." She shook her head, expression grim, "My concert got attacked by armed men. They were aiming for me specifically and said that someone like me being idolized is a 'disgrace'."
"Not your garden variety terrorists then. Did they say a name?" Cindy asked.
"They called themselves the Watchdogs."
Cindy and Cap shared a grim look. The Watchdogs. A radical hate group that decided they'd pick on the newest minority on the block: the Gifted. Just like the Sons of Serpent - who, incidentally, they were seen working together with - they were aggressive about their bigotry and tried to get away with as much as they could. An attack in New York was pretty brazen, though. A lot of them were cowards and they didn't wanna risk an open fight with the Avengers, the Initiative and the vigilantes.
"Do you know who these men are?" Luna asked.
"A big bunch of assholes looking for people to hate." Cindy scowled, "You wouldn't know about them since they wouldn't pop up in Korea." They were a homegrown terrorist group. The vast majority of Gifted turned up in America, especially after the Terrigenesis, "Was anybody hurt?"
"They managed to injure a few people in the audience but I managed to heal them." Right, one of her powers was healing ice. Awesome, "Still, I can't let this stand. These people tried to attack me and they hurt innocent people."
"Guessing you don't plan to sit back and let the cops handle it?" Cindy asked. She already knew the answer.
"No. I've fought crime back in my home and I'm well within my rights to investigate someone threatening me."
"Of course you'd say that..." She looked to Cap and smiled wryly, "Sorry, Cap, guess I'm gonna have to take a raincheck on delegating."
"I understand. Be careful, both of you. The Watchdogs aren't people to be underestimated."
As mentioned above despite both arcs being setup only one will be shown. The reason both are set up are since I planned for the events there to blow back into later arcs even though they aren't shown. Please vote on the profile and state in the reviews which one you want to focus on. Watchdogs is leading the vote but comments/reviews add more to Sleeping Beauties. The one that gets the most people who want it will be the next arc.
Also, both Devils Breath and Spider Island have been referenced despite only one being finale. The one that gets voted to be the finale will be the final arc and the one that doesn't will be 'nipped in the bud' by the heroes, so to speak, meaning that stopping one lets the other go on unimpeded to reach a crisis point. I'll put up that poll again as needed later on.
On a side note, I had to rewrite Noir's segment. Originally he was going to be attacked by a Wasp demon sent by Lilith and Ezekiel would save him, thus making Noir trust him easier. I took it out since I realized that I had this weird oxymoron of hating writing fight scenes but also have a habitual need to set up plot points in an intense manner. I'll try to curb that in the future.
Questions:
1. Probably asked this before, but do you guys want the other four protagonists dealing deeper with magic? By that I mean fighting magic bad guys without having Noir as a guide/buffer. Lana's the closest since she helped fight Matt and Sleeping Beauties is magic based but the other three are sorely lacking.
2. As readers, do you think Bullseye deserves a chance to escape from Hell or Noir should reneg on his deal for something different? I already made my choice, for those worried I'll re-write, but I'm still curious on what people think. My friend, for example, believes that Bullseye isn't brainwashed and thus Noir should reneg.
Review Answers:
x1923 - Generally speaking I follow the Gotham TV show's rule of one resurrection per character. Moon Knight and Ghost Rider break this trend due to their abilities but everyone else follows the rule.
As for Gwen and MJ, it's clear that Gwen puts Cap and Hawkeye in a different field from Noir and MJ. She does have a point. Kate and Cap don't look for bad guys to kill nor do they activively seek out people who can't be redeemed or jailed to justify their worldview.
roxasdualwielder - But she has no problem trusting Kate who has no powers at all. I think it's more Gwen is wary of MJ's source of powers rather than her having powers at all.
FanFictionForTheWin123 - How is Gyrich's squad any more worrisome than Noir hanging around Punisher, Matt Murdock and Moon Knight? Gyrich is at least a safety net with government backing. The Defenders have no one and yet Gwen didn't throw nearly as much of a fit.
Cha04ever - More than current releases? You flatter me :)
Mithre - Why those three specifically? Also, not a fan of Lana or MJ?
Guest - The biggest obstacle for Matt is whether you believe he's responsible for all those horrible things or it was the Beast. Gwen clearly conflates him and the Beast but Noir, despite still hating Matt, does mark the two as distinct. MJ is more sympathetic as well given that she had to struggle in those early days of losing to Carnage and Matt had to deal with that for ten years.
Also, why not Peter and Matt being friends? Again he seems to recognize Matt and the Beast as separate entities. As for Karen/Matt...kinda killed because Matt hates Ruth. That and the power imbalance of Matt being Ruth's 'pet', as said by Gwen.
