Sorry for the wait. Like I said in the previous chapter, the votes for Sleeping Beauties won out over Watchdogs so we'll be getting a Noir and Lana focused arc. This one's a bit of a nostalgia trip since he and Lana haven't really spent a lot of time one-on-one after Volume 1 despite how close they are.
This arc should be short, just about two chapters including this one. Like I said it's mostly a break for the characters while they wind down/set up for the next main plot.
Oh, and at the suggestion of my friend Zeke Carmine, I'll be adding interview snippets in adddition to twitter segments. He was the one who did this example and similar to Nerdman3000 all segments not made by me are italicized.
AA-VFX: So I see a lot of people saying they wanna date superheroes and I'm like...why? First you'd always be in danger from their enemies, second you'd never be sure they wouldn't dump you for another superhero, and third if any of them have super strength or durability or whatever then that's a shattered pelvis right there.
HeheHuhu: Counterpoints - She-Hulk's abs, Spider-Woman's ass, Hawkeye's boobs and Spinerette's thighs. All of them worth dying for.
Noobmaster69: I'd pay money for any of them to step on me.
ballistic80: Wow, one fucking post for the degeneracy to start. This has to be a record.
INeedMorePOWER: She-Hulk sleeps around and last I checked we didn't get a bunch of dudes having to go to the emergency room to get their sausages reattached so I'm guessing they know how to make it work.
Ginger-Anarchy: Spider-Man too. He's way less stronger than Spider-Woman and he doesn't seem crippled. Either that or he's not doing the horizontal tango.
Hound: Wouldn't surprise me. Guy like him seems like he's too busy brooding to ever put out. Poor Spider-Woman.
Reyziak: Back on topic, it's pretty similar to people who wanna date celebrities. People don't actually wanna date the person, just the image they see on the screens. How many people who wanna date Taylor Swift or Ariana Grande actually know anything about them off-camera? Hero crushes are the same.
af9: Yeah it's pretty sad. My college roommate has it down bad for Moon Knight. I mean she's got posters, has a fansite and I swear she's convinced they'll get married someday. Fuckin' wild.
Chairman Meow: Every day we stray further from God's embrace...
One year of being away from the city didn't really change Peter's mind on how he felt about hospitals. Even now when he looked up at the pristine building he felt nothing but an uneasy churning in his gut. It was a private hospital, nothing fancy like the one Lori went to, but it was all the same to him. Didn't matter where it was. State of the art medical facilities, third world butcher shops, France...never stopped him feeling uneasy either way.
He snuffed out the cigarette under his boot and looked around to the side. He couldn't exactly walk into a place like this through the front door. Even if they didn't recognize him - which was likely since he didn't exactly have the most unique face - the 'peasants' couldn't just strut in like any other hospital. They'd stop him at the front door and make sure his credit card was exclusive enough to be worth not immediately getting thrown out.
Lana knew it too and she apologized profusely. Apparently she had one of her Initiative friends - one Nico Minoru - with her and the hospital had a plus one rule for every visitor. As much as she wanted to take him along he could go invisible so it was a no-brainer on who was better to sneak inside.
Thankfully the opened door to the women's restroom was right where she told him. Peter shifted to smoke, jumped and peeked inside, internally sighing in relief that it was empty. He'd killed people while they begged for their lives and stolen money from their cooling corpses but the idea of seeing a woman do her unmentionables left him feeling sick. How proud May and Ben would be of the upstanding boy they raised.
...
Damn it, he needed stop being so self-pitying. Bullseye was dead, beating himself up about it wouldn't change that.
He hopped up quickly, peeked through the door to make sure there weren't any people around then slipped out into the hallway. He took another look to make sure that there weren't any cameras around before appearing in another haze of black smoke, "Tch..." He blew into his cold palms and made sure to keep the hood of his jacket up. Now that he was inside they were less likely to ask questions.
Peter made sure to avoid the front desk and made his way to the second floor. Room 205, Lana said. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he kept his head down and avoided eye contact with everyone that passed. Last time he went to a hospital to visit one of Lana's family the entire place got sacked by that Carnage bastard...and after what happened with Jack there was that electric dame looking for revenge. He halfway expected the place to be bombed now that he was here.
He'd barely rounded the corner when a rapid tap of footsteps approached and he was practically tackled back in a sudden embrace, "Hey, Pete..." Lana's voice was soft and muffled by being pressed against his shoulder. Memories of his crying fit with Gwen a couple of days ago made his hands shake before he forced himself to exhale and hold her arms in turn. Lana needed him to be strong. It was her sister on the line here, not his grief.
"Hey..." He shared her embrace for a few seconds before she separated with a sniff. She'd been crying, though she showed no signs of it. Her eyes weren't red and she looked as fresh-faced as ever. The only sign of tears were the stains that marred her cheeks that she quickly wiped away. Maybe it was because of her powers? He'd seen her heal from bulet wounds in seconds after her second mist bath.
"Sorry I couldn't get you in..."
"It's fine. Isn't the worst way I entered a building." Nothing could beat sneaking backstage to that idol concert. In-and-out, Domino said. Ended with him having to fight onstage in front of her frothing fans, "Can you tell me what happened to your sister? I couldn't get much from our last call."
"Thinks it's better if I show you. Come on."
They stepped inside the brightly lit room and he frowned when he saw who was inside. There was Lily Hollister, asleep on the bed without any signs of injuries, but the man standing to the right of the bed made his blood boil.
William Hollister looked up at their entrance and his barely held look of neutrality shifted to a slight scowl when he saw who his 'second daughter' came back with. Peter scowled back and growled under his breath. William Hollister was the kind of man he hated more than the average criminal. He was a parasite who put on the flashy suits and perfect smiles for the cameras while hiding how much of a tick he was underneath it all. A man who abandoned his daughter then separated her from her mother the second he realized what he had to gain.
"Spider-Man..." His voice sounded restrained all things considered.
Peter didn't share the same self-control.
"Guess I shouldn't be surprised to see you here." He looked around the room. It was lavishly decorated as far as hospital amenities went. A far cry from what he and Lana could afford for Lori after their run-in with Carter, "Funny how you treat one daughter like a princess and ignore the other one till you can use her for something."
He expected a biting remark, or at least a stare of disapproval about how he was too far from the esteemed mayor to be making those sorts of comments, but it was Lana who answered, "Not the time, Pete." Her voice was soft and through the worry in her eyes he caught a hint of gratefulness before it quickly went away, "We're here for Lily, not to talk about him."
"Yeah. Sorry." He let out a frustrated breath and only then noticed the room's fourth occupant. Not a suited bodyguard like he expected but a young woman of Asian descent. Juding by her features she was probably Japanese. Must've been Nico Minoru.
The two of them shared a glance and a quick nod before they both turned their attention back to the woman on the bed. Lily Hollister looked pristine without so much as a hair out of place. He knew there were a lot of ways to end up in a deep sleep without leaving any marks but Lana wouldn't have called him over here for a stroke or drug overdose. Something had her rattled.
He stepped closer to the other side of the bed and his spider-sense rattled. Not danger, something else. Reminded him of whenever Moon Knight shifted around or Teresa got too wordy about her spider society insanity.
Judging by the look on Minoru's face she felt it too.
"I knew I felt something off," she muttered. Lana gave her a look between worried and hopeful, "This isn't a normal condition. I've been feeling traces of foreign magic in the air recently. Thought it might've just been my imagination but..."
"Magic?" The human shaped lump of garbage scowled, "How did she fall into that nonsense?"
"Best guess? She was targeted for a reason." Minoru put a hand on her chin, "It's doubtful this is an accident or she got hit by something while walking down the street. Spells that can put someone in a comatose state have to be prepared and done deliberately, and since I didn't hear about any magic duels going around I'm guessing this was specially prepared for her."
"But why? Who'd want to hurt Lily?!" Lana practically screamed.
"That's what we'll have to find out." Peter crossed his arms. He hated dealing with magic but for Lana he'd drown himself in it, "A part of me wants to think that this was done to get to either of you."
"Are you blaming Lily's condition on me?!" The garbage pile snarled. Funny how he didn't include Lana even in that.
"It's a possibility, like I said. I have my doubts." Noir scoffed and threw Lana a brief apologetic look, "Lana's an Initiative Hero and you're the mayor of New York." And he thought the city was bad under Jameson, "Still, neither of you know anything. If someone did this to get to you, maybe blackmail or a threat, then why don't either of you know about it? And if they wanted to hurt you then killing her would've been a hell of a lot easier than putting her in a coma."
"I'd have said it more tactfully, but Spider-Man's right." Minoru nodded, "The spell's still active, but I'm not sure what it's doing besides keeping her in this state." She put a hande to the blonde's forehead and frowned, "I'm still new to tracing magics. If my master were here he'd be able to do this quick and easy."
"Your master?" The sack of shit asked, "Could we rely on his expertise then?"
"I...don't think so."
The asshole's eyes narrowed, "That wasn't a request, Miss. Minoru. My daugter's in danger and if you withhold assistance then I'll-"
"Mr. Hollister, threatening me won't make me summon Mr. Mordo out of the aether." Minoru said, her tone suddenly low and serious. He liked her, "I know you and Lana are grieving and I'm sorry, but I don't think you understand the kinds of things Master Mordo has to deal with. Remember the demon of Times Square?" Peter and Lana winced, "The threats he keeps contained make the Beast look like child's play. He won't leave the sanctum for a woman who's gone comatose. Not even if I ask him to."
"Nico..." Lana bit her lower lip and looked torn between agreeing and pleading.
"I came here both as a member of the Initiative and as Lana's friend. Don't make me regret it." In any other situation he would've found the mayor of New York being cowed by a woman who looked barely old enough to drink funny, but Lana was right. They could wring Hollister's neck later.
Peter decided to cut in. They needed to do something besides jawing their heads off, "First things first, we gotta figure out what this spell is." Ugh, even saying that out loud made him feel like a wannabe magician, "Skull's blaring but that doesn't tell me anything. You're the magic expert, Minoru. Why don't you fill us in?"
"I can't tell you much, though like I said before this is definitely foreign magic."
"What the fuck does that even mean, 'foreign'?" Lana asked.
"Means that you're not gonna see any normal Sorcerers using it." He resisted the urge to comment on the oxymoron of there being a 'normal sorcerer', "It also means that we're either dealing with someone who learned some lessons from someone a little out of this world or actually isn't from here. As for the spell itself." She leaned closer to Lily Hollister and made some vague gestures with her hands. Her eyes closed and a faint glow emanated from her palms, "...Gonna have to look a bit deeper."
And then she pulled out a pocket knife and made a small incision on her left palm. Neither he or Lana reacted to the sudden move while the oh so esteemed mayor cringed. Nico paid them no mind and muttered an incantation under her breath. Peter watched with morbid fascination as the blood glowed a faint blue and floated above the comatose woman after falling from her palm.
There was nothing but the faint incantations for half a minute. Lana's left hand gently slipped to his right and he gave her a comforting squeeze in return. Judging by her laser focused expression he half-doubted she even noticed she'd done it.
Minoru finished her chant and let out a soft breath, "Hm..." She wiped the blood from her palm and turned back to them, "I still don't have a full picture, but I've got a general idea of the spell. It's definitely what's keeping her in this state. Think of it like a form of stasis. The spell is still active and stopping the 'flow' should wake her up, so to speak."
"That won't have any backlash? Last I checked magic never comes off so quick and easy," Peter said. Another reason he didn't like dealing with it.
"On the contrary leaving her in this state will only make things worse." Minoru frowned, "In some spells the best course of action is to let it pass. Not this time, though." She put a hand on her chin, "How to explain this...I guess the proper word for it is a siphon? Whoever cast this magic is...taking something from Lily Hollister."
"What?!" Lana did scream that time. She wrenched her hand from his and grabbed Minoru's shoulders, "Is she alright?! What's happening?! How much time do we-"
"Lana, calm down!" Minoru held her shoulders in turn. Peter looked to the oversized fly in a suit and saw William Hollister making a valiant effort to look calm and composed. He didn't feel sorry for him, "Whatever this spell is I can tell it's not fatal. I checked her physical and spiritual signatures and they're stable. Weirdly so, actually. A siphon like this reminds me of somewhat of Vampire draining but that leads to obvious results. Not so much here."
"Think a Vampire did this, Minoru?" Peter asked.
She shook her head, "Doubtful. Like I said it looks like foreign magic and I've dealt with Vampires before, this isn't it." She clicked her tonge, "And I still can't tell what's being siphoned out. Her physical and spiritual condition is stable and I did some magic to make sure it stays that way. Whatever this spell is it won't kill her, but..." But that didn't mean she was safe. He knew from personal experience - death wasn't the only way to hurt someone.
"Whatever...this magic is, it doesn't matter. All that needs to be done is finding a way to save my daughter." Peter didn't bother looking at Hollister. He didn't want to make himself sick.
"I actually agree." Lana sighed and let go of Minoru, "Anyone got any ideas?"
"I found something while I was examining her. There are other victims, not just her. It's like they're all tangled in a web...uh, pun not intended." Minoru gave him a quick look. Guess she figured who he was even without the mask, "Of course we don't know the source. Could be one sorcerer running around cursing people or it could be an entire cabal. I tried tracking the siphon back to its origin point but its...hazy, like something's scrambling the path the more I trace it."
"Whatever it is those victims are the only leads we have." Peter said, a plan already forming in his head. "We should split up. You know more about magic than any of us, Minoru. If what you said about backlash is true then you might wanna start there. Need to make sure no on explodes if- when we find whoever the hell's doing this." Had to look strong for Lana.
"That was the plan anyway." Minoru nodded.
"Shit, this is gonna take a while." Lana sighed and looked to her pathetic excuse of a sperm donor, "Could you flex those mayoral muscles of yours and get us a list of names? All those other people have to be in hospitals so you can probably call someone up and lean on them." Blatantly illegal but so was spending time with a wanted vigilante. Something told him Lana didn't particularly care for legalities right now.
He expected him to glare or sputter out an excuse. Instead he just asked, "Why on earth do you need their names?"
"Because we need to investigate," Peter said, "We'll check on what your daughter's been doing but that won't narrow anything down. If we can see what the other victims were doing then maybe we find any similarities and start from there." That was assuming this wasn't all just random and the people didn't get hit with magic from orbit or something. God he really hoped not. He was tired of dealing with screaming magical teenage girls.
"...Fine. You'll have it within the hour as soon as Ms. Minoru tells me which hospitals she needs." He looked down at his daughter again, "I'll hire some investigators of my own. They'll investigate at least half of the names I uncover while you deal with the latter half."
"...Thanks," Lana muttered. Peter didn't say anything. The old bastard was doing it for himself. If Lana was the one on that bed he wouldn't have lifted a finger. Hell, he'd have already had cameras in minutes to talk about how tragic it was to make himself look good.
"Keep in mind that not all of them are at hospitals. I'm guessing not everyone can afford the bills." She frowned. Hah, and Urich gave him crap about his socialist beliefs. Least you didn't have to pay when you went comatose.
"We can decide which ones to investigate first when we get the names. Come on, let's get out of here. I'll meet you outside?" Lana gave him a quick nod and he opened the window, disappearing into smoke as he fell.
Subject - Audio surveillance.
Location- Initiative facility.
Time - Redacted.
Start playback.
"Knock, knock."
Xavier - Yes, yes come in Kuan-Yin.
"Door opens"
Audio interference detected. Source Unknown.
Xorn - Working late as usual, you should really take better care of yourself.
"Chair movement."
Xavier - No rest for the wicked, when there is so much left to do. So instead of worrying about me, how about we talk about your last mission?
Audio interference detected. Source unknown.
Xorn - It seems like events are progressing faster than we have anticipated. The gangs have acquired modified weaponry to set-up a trap.
"Deep breath and a motorized sound of a wheelchair."
Xavier - In your personal experience, can our possible recruit be rehabilitated and added to the team?
Audio interference intensifies. Source unknown.
Xorn - No, it is too late.
"Motorized wheelchair sound getting closer. Shuffling around. Audio device moved out of place."
Xavier - Looks like we will have to leave her in your care Mr. Gyrich.
Audio device terminated. Switching to back-up.
Lana crossed her arms and tapped her foot as she leaned with her back pressed against the alley wall. She'd been waiting for thirty minutes for William and there was still nothing, "Fuck..." She suppressed a scowl and tapped her foot quicker against the dirt. He couldn't go any faster, she knew that, but a part of her still wanted to blame him for Lily's conidtion. As if getting those names would just magically make her better.
Her pissed off thoughts were cut off when a sudden chill went down her cheek and she practically jumped, "Gets you every time." She glared and grabbed the soda from his hands with a muttered thanks. He was just trying to help, but she really wasn't in the mood.
And as soon as she thought that she felt like a dick. He just finished up with that bullshit with Bullseye and here she was already dragging him along on another thing that would've put his life in danger. He shouldn't be here, a voice at the back of her head hissed. He should be back at home recovering from killing the guy who saved his life a year ago. But instead she called him out here because she was useless and had to come crawling for his help. Again.
She remembered Bullseye's damn grin when he forced her to that room, the smug way he talked about how she was going to be their damsless in distress, the prize Pete had to fight for while she just sat and watched. If it wasn't for Aracely she would've just had to watch him die with Bullseye and Murdock.
Lana took a sip of the soda and gave him a sideways look. He looked...okay. Kinda emo with that hood up but what else was new? She didn't fall in love with him cause he was a cheery good boy.
She wanted to say something. An apology for dragging him into her mess or maybe even ask him how he was doing. How could she just ask that, though? 'Hey, wanna tell me how you feel after killing Bullseye?' As much as she hated that asshole he and Pete were friends and he went back for him when the rest of their 'team' didn't. Of course, she thought bitterly, she would've gone back too if he didn't treat her like a kid and leave her out.
She ignored the voice telling her she'd be dead too if he did take her along.
Pete didn't go for a soda. Instead he jus smoked another cigarette like the walking fumigator he was. The smell of nicotine in the air made her sigh. She promised to cut back on the smoking for...actually, just about everyone. Sue and Lily worried about cancer - like she wasn't gonna get shot to death before she ever had to worry about that - and Anya complaied about the smell. So of course she had to be the nice girl that she was and promised she'd knock it off.
"...Gimme one."
Promises were made to be broken.
He didn't ask why or even raise a judgy eyebrow. He just offered her the packet then tossed her the lighter when she got a stick out, "Thanks..." She lit it somewhat clumsily and took a deep inhale. The flash of nicotine in her system calmed her down more than anything else she'd tried the past couple of days.
She'd been through enough that being kidnapped by a deranged psychopath didn't even give her bad dreams anymore. No, what weighed her down was the guilt and how pathetic she felt. Her friends and mom were quick to reassure her that they were alright and that it wasn't her fault but it only made her feel worse. She should've taken that fucker out the first time he attaked them in the F.E.A.S.T shelter.
And now Lily was in trouble and the first thing she did was come crying back to him. She was so fucking useless.
"You're stewing again," Pete said. She opened her mouth to counter but the previous puff she took made her cough out a plume of smoke instead, "Don't bother with any kind of fib. Won't really work." He tapped his right temple with a wry smile.
"Right, your lie detector." She rolled her eyes and took another drag of the cigarette, trying to pretend she didn't look like an idiot just a few seconds ago, "I'm fine. Kinda just worried about my sister, you know?" They both knew it was bullshit but he didn't say anything. It was one of the things she appreciated about him. He was always there when she needed him but he never pushed when he knew she didn't want to talk.
The two of them stood together in silence for another few minutes. Lana kept checking her phone, glaring at the screen like it'd somehow make daddy dearest give them the names faster. It was by the third time she checked the phone when Pete spoke up again, "Giving that thing the stink eye won't make it go any faster." He finished his cigarette and opened up a new one. He really was a walking fumigator.
"Hate waiting around like this." A part of her wanted to go out on patrol to maybe let off some steam but she knew it wasn't a good idea. That and she didn't want to leave Pete behind. She felt guilty enough dragging him to her problem when he just finished dealing with his. Most people would take the next month - hell, maybe even the next year - off after what just happened. But looking at Pete now he looked...well, not happy, cause she was pretty sure it actually hurt him to smile, but...not much worse than how he usually was.
She didn't know how to feel about that. Sure it was better than him bawling his eyes out but she could tell he was keeping every suppressed. Again. As much as she wanted to call him out on it she didn't really have a leg to stand on.
"Surprised that Minoru woman was there," Pete muttered.
"Huh?"
"The...sorcerer."
"Oh, yeah..." She smiled faintly, "Come on, Pete, gimme some credit, I do have some friends in the Initiative."
He laughed under his breath. A good sign. As crappy as she felt right now she didn't want it spreading to him, "Coulda fooled me. My whole trip you'd never stop complaining about how much you hated the training and how you missed when he had to duck around alleys while being hunted by a demon."
Lana snorted, "Like you can talk, asshole. You never stopped bitching about how much you hated France and Japan. Like seriously, you made it sound like they were fucking killing you over there. Was it really that bad?"
"You have no idea." He let out a thick cloud of smoke. Drama queen, "...You know, you don't talk about your Initiative training a lot. Besides complaining about it, that is."
"It wasn't exactly a big deal." She looked down at the ground, "Me joining was more of a plea deal than anything. Fast tracked my training while a bunch of people I don't even know made some deals in the background so I wouldn't get arrested. Shit, I'm pretty sure me being a 'top graduate' is to make it look better. 'Oh, look at this girl. She was a vigilante criminal and now she's a top graduate'! Probably got some real good propaganda from that." Not that she was complaining too much. Between this, jail or being worked in some government black ops team she'd take the Initiative.
"I think you're being too cynical."
She looked at him like he grew another head, "Seriously? This coming from the guy who fought a fucking magical girl and acted like he was being crucified."
"Hey, you don't know what it was like. Getting shot at and dealing with freaks like the ones in the Raft? That I know how to do. But those dames? Logic just disappears when you're dealing with em." He legitimately looked traumatized when he took another drag, "Nothing I did worked. You know when they're in the middle of transforming they're practically invincible? She just ignored the bullets and kept posing. I actually ran out and had to reload in the middle of it."
"Oh, you poor baby." She pinched his cheek and surprised herself by grinning widely. Even with Lily and the carnival still on her mind being with Pete was enough to make her smile.
Pete seemed to notice it too and gave an exageratted shudder, "It was awful, Lana. I'll have nightmares about it for the rest of my life."
"Well now I feel bad about wanting to complain about the training." She gave a big, stupid frown.
"Misery loves company."
"You'd know, huh?" Lana finished off her cigarette and stomped it underfoot. She didn't get another, "No bullshit, training was...okay. It was nice actually learning how to fight without worrying that I'd get my head blown off." Not that she had to worry about that nowadays either. She almost wanted to thank Diamondback. She'd be sure to say thank you before she knocked out all her teeth.
"What about the rest of the group?"
"What about them?" Lana snorted again, "I mean most of them are good guys, I guess, but then you get assholes like Alpha." She clicked her tongue, "Got no fucking clue how she didn't get kicked out when people caught her faking crimes for clout."
"...Probably the same reason you, Gwen and Cindy aren't in trouble for being friends with me?"
She wanted to counter that it was different but kept her mouth shut. Sure, she knew that Pete was a good guy, but for a lot of people he was just a violent vigilante. As much as she hated to admit it they were lucky he was considered 'useful' enough to keep around free.
"...Hey." Lana bit her lower lip. She knew asking would probably tank the mood but she was curious, "You ever...think about what'll happen in the future?" She wanted to ask about Bullseye but as soon as the name was at the tip of her tongue she felt a suffocating weight in her chest. She was never close to the guy- fuck, she probably hated him. But he was still Pete's friend and he had to kill him.
"What future? I'll probably be dead before I have to worry-"
"I'm serious." Her eyes narrowed and his slight smile disappeared. The weight in her chest was almost enough to choke, "Maybe I don't have any room to talk since I was forced into the Initiative, but we both know being a vigilante's not a long game." They barely survived last year. Bullseye was a reminder of that time, another mistake that came back to haunt them.
"No clue." He shrugged and looked up at the cloudy gray sky, cigarette hanging loosely between his lips, "Gwen wants me to go to college. Maybe actually use this brain of mine to do things besides figuring out where to shoot." He let out a tired breath, "It's not like I don't know why she's worried. People like Castle or even Moon Knight...they're dead men walking. There's no retirement there that doesn't end in a bullet."
"I actually agree with Spider-Gwen here."
"You're in the Initiative and she's an Avenger."
"Yeah, but that means we have a fallback, a safety net. And for me..." She chewed on her lower lip again, "The Initiative...I'm not sure how long I'll be at it. I mean I'm not quitting any time soon, fuck that, but I'm not sure if I'll still be there in ten or twenty years." She took a deep breath and continued, "Why do you think I didn't drop out of school? Initiative pays pretty well already and they made sure that you don't even need a high school diploma to sign up. Guess it'd look pretty bad if they kicked out the Flaming Dude cause he didn't pass 8th grade math."
"Why don't you drop out then?"
"Because I don't know how long this can last and I think that maybe getting a college degree for something realistic might be better." She crushed the alreay flattened cigarette under her shoe again, "Seeing Lily like that...I know you said it's pretty unlikely she got hurt because me or William, but what if next time it did? Bullseye-"
"That wasn't your fault-"
"Then whose fault was it?" she shot back. Pete didn't answer, "Back when that asshole put me in the hospital...I felt like shit, but at least back then I was the only one who got hurt. I knew what I was getting into with this life. What about the other people I care about? Mom, Sue, Aracely, Gabe...they aren't trained for this shit like Anya and Michael are."
"Maybe it's not my place to stay, but maybe you should talk to your friends about it?" She didn't look up to meet his eyes, "You said that they aren't trained for it, but they still chose to be friends with you. And your mom...before I really knew anything about her she did everything to save you from Carter. If you really want to quit then I won't stop you, but my advice? Make sure the people you're doing it for agree with you first."
"Glass houses, Pete." She still smiled again. The weight was gone and she felt it easier to talk about the next thing, "Pete...are you alright?" She didn't need to elaborate. He knew what she meant.
"...I'm surviving." He took out another cigarette. Before he could light it she snatched it from his hand, "Don't tell me you think I should quit too."
"I need to know if you're alright. I know I panicked and called you, but if you need to rest then do it. I can handle it on my own." It'd be harder, sure, but, she could still do it. She'd just have to make sure that she paid attention to make sure when somebody wasn't telling the truth."
"I'll be fine." He took the cigarette from her hand and lit it before she could snatch it back, "I talked with Gwen and had a...well, let's just say it wasn't pretty. Whoever told you crying was graceful was talking nonsense." Crying? Well, she guessed that made sense, but the image of him crying still felt alien to her, "Guess those studies about catharsis were right. Point is I'm fine."
She was going to point out that one cry session didn't exactly fix grief like that till her phone rang. Lana opened it and they both read the message, "Looks like William came through." She scanned through the list quickly. Eight hospitals with four of them already assigned to whoever he hired. Pete raised a brow when he saw one of the investigators.
"He hired Jones? Guess he's really serious about this."
"Of course he is. The guy's a prick but he loves Lily."
"If only he treated the rest of his family like that."
Lana rolled her tongue, "Fuck him. Me and mom were just fine before he showed up again." Just cause she and him agreed on saving Lily didn't mean they were friends now. Hard to walk back your dad admitting he should've had you aborted, "Nico's still doing that counterspell and she said that'll take a while. We should investigate these people now and ask their friends and family about anything odd."
"It's doubtful they'll know anything more than you or Hollister. The best thing we can do is find a similarity, something most if not all of the victims did. Friends and family are a good start, though checking their 'social medias' is a good idea too."
"Social medias? You sound like an old dude." She rolled her eyes playfully and searched them up on a few tabs. Thankfully everyone had theirs on public cause screw privacy, "Hmm...not seeing a lot of similarities."
Pete looked over her shoulder and tapped a few of the tabs, "Varying age ranges, races, marital status, and economic standing. Everything from high schoolers and retail workers to lawyers and housewives. No similarities," She handed him the phone and he clicked through the rest of the list, "Apart from the fact that they're all women, that is. Really hope we're not dealing with a Jack the Ripper copycat. The real one was bad enough."
"Really starting to think your trip was just one sucky thing after another." She took the phone back and pursed her lips, "William said he'd send his guys to scope out the hospitals so we should go somewhere else." She looked up at the cloudy sky, "Still pretty early in the afternoon. Most people are gonna be at work, school or at home. Best chance we have is to go there and ask around."
"Good idea." He fiddled with his hood for a second then tossed the cigarette, "Let's head out."
"Hold up. Should we put on masks?"
"What's the point?"
"Uh...cause people are gonna want to talk to a couple of Superheroes intead of randos asking about their comatose friends?"
"Maybe if you were alone. Something tells me people aren't gonna be too keen to talk to the not-so-friendly neighborhood Spider-Man." He shook his head, "I say we go in as just us. Doesn't matter who does the talking. Point is we need to gather info. If any of these people are lying then I can give you a heads up."
"And how exactly are we going to convince them to open up? Couple of strangers walk in asking about a couple of coma patients doesn't exactly scream that we're on the up and up."
"There are other ways to get close." He tapped her phone again and focused on the profile of one Suzanne Kimball, a 40 year old woman. One of the older victims, "Businesswoman who works for a big tech company. If the family asks then just say you're an intern." Another tap, "This woman's in college. Just say you're a schoolmate. You look old enough to pass for a college student."
"Or you could do it since it's not exactly like either of us have a secret identity anymore." Not that either of them were Avengers-level famous. Probably helped that they didn't exactly stick out without their masks, "Whatever, we'll do it your way. If they catch us bullshitting then it's your fault."
The first place they went to was Kimball's. According to her socials she lived in a picket fence place in the suburbs, "Nice place..." Lana whistled and stuffed her hands to her jean's pockets. Definitely higher class than Ben and May's old neighborhood. They had to jump over the concrete wall and make sure the guards didn't see. If Pete wanted low profile that's what he'd get.
Lana knocked on the door of the two story house and held her breath. A few seconds later and it opened to another teenager, "Yeah...what do you want?" The guy looked maybe a year or two older than her with dark curly hair and a half-focused look on his face. A college student judging by the gray RPI hoodie he wore. Must've been Theo; he showed up on her feed a couple of times.
She put on a pleasant smile and removed her hands from her pockets, "Hey, sorry to bother you. My name's Sarah and this is Gabriel. We work for with your mom over at Cloud Solutions. Actually, I'm an intern, so not really a full time employee." Her smile turned more awkward. So sue her, she wasn't the best at acting. Just cause she was friends with America's Sweetheart didn't mean she was a movie star.
"Really...?"
"Yeah." Pete said. His hood was off now, though the blonde wig he wore masked him good enough, "A couple of new hires, actually. Bosses sent us out to check in on your mom to make sure your mom was alright."
"Surprised those pricks care." He scoffed. Lana sympathized.
"Honestly? They probably don't, but it looks good on the webpage to show how employee-oriented they are." Lana shrugged, "We're real sorry about this. They just wanted to make sure that her condition was...well, I don't know all the details but apparently there was something off about it?"
"Off? Fuck, that's what they're calling it." He shook his head, "Ugh, come in. You should talk to dad, he was the one who found her a few days ago."
They went in and Lana gave Pete a discreet thumbs up. They got inside but this was still risky shit. If her husband called the company then things were gonna go tits up. From what they got from his feed the guy was a stay at home architect so hopefully not.
Jackson Kimball didn't look at his best. His gray-streaked brown hair was messy, the shirt and sweats he wore were covered in days worth of wrinkles and the bags under his eyes made it clear he wasn't sleeping. His head raised up slowly when Theo led them inside, "Theo? Who are these two?" His voice was rough and scratchy. The cup of coffee in front of him was untouched and probably long cold.
"A couple of people who worked with mom. Apparently the company wanted to ask about her condition."
He let out a frustrated sigh, "Of course they did. Isn't it enough that she's already in this state, now they're pawing at her while she's hospitalized."
"We're really sorry, Mr. Kimball." Lana pressed both hands together, "I know this is really hard for you, but me and my partner do actually worry about your wife and not just because the company sent us. I only worked with her for a few days but she was really nice to me. She covered for me when I really fucked some of the data up. Probably be fired if it wasn't for her."
"Heh, yeah, that's just like her." he cracked a small smile at that and looked down at the untouched coffee, "There's no change in her condition. She's still..."
"We were actually hoping to ask if she was acting odd before she got hospitalized. Any off behavior or signs that she might've been sick?" Lana asked.
Theo gave them a narrow eyed look and said nothing. Thankfully his dad didn't notice how odd the question was, "Not really." He shook his head and let out a soft breath, "She was fine. A bit tired, maybe, but that happens sometimes when new contracts come in. A lot of the time she has to work overnight and she's back to normal after a couple days of rest. Nothing unusual."
"She wasn't going anywhere or did anything different?" Pete asked.
"No. Like I said a new contract came in and she had some late nights, but that's nothing she hasn't done before. Happens every few months." Lana gave Pete a discreet look and he nodded. Guy was telling the truth then.
"I see. Thank you, Mr. Kimball." Lana made a show of looking at her phone, "Our shift's coming up. I'm sorry we bothered you and we'll be sure to tell the company that you really helped us out. I hope that your wife will be okay."
"So do I."
"I'll show you two out." Theo said.
The both of them followed the quiet teen out. Lana looked down with a glare at the floor. She knew exactly how they both felt after what happened to her mom. Once they found the asshole who did they she'd feed them their own teeth.
They were outside when Theo closed the door behind them and spoke up, "You two don't work for the company, do you?" Lana's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to deny the accusation when he continued, "I had a hunch when you two showed up but the way you asked dad questions proved it. You two are looking for reasons why
"You do know the company'd ask those kinds of questions too, right?" Peter raised a brow.
"They would. I'd know that cause that's exactly what they did a few days ago." Oh...crap, "Dad was at the hospital when they called so I answered all the questions. Didn't bother telling him cause he has enough on his plate. If you two really worked over at Cloud Solutions you wouldn't have acted like this was the first time you asked about her."
"If you knew that then why'd you let us in?" Lana asked.
"Had a hunch, and you proved it when you started digging. Figured there was foul play here and looks like you do too. You're investigating, either trying to find out something or covering your tracks. Which is it?"
"If we were covering our tracks then this is a really shitty way to start a fight." Lana and Pete shared a look before she sighed and pulled out her Initiative card, "I'm from the Initiative. Name's Striker."
"Striker? Huh, knew you looked familiar. Guess that means you're..." He gave Pete a sideways glance before focusing back on her. Guess he figured it out, "This means someone did attack mom, huh?"
"In a manner of speaking," Peter said, "Your mom's coma isn't natural. Probably not gonna believe us, but it was caused by magic."
"Why wouldn't I believe you? We've had aliens, demons and supervillains running around for a couple years now. Magic isn't that weird."
"You'd be surprised where people draw the line." Pete scoffed, "Point is that your mom isn't the only victim. Problem now is that apart from being all women there isn't exactly anything that links them together." She read up once that most serial killers (or serial comatosers, she guessed) tended to pick a type of prey. Something about their areas or about how they were beaten as children or something. Guess this one bucked the trend.
"According to your dad she was acting the same as usual." Lana shrugged.
"That's...not exactly true." He looked back at the closed door and when she saw his face again he looked conflicted, "I...I don't know if this is related, might be nothing, but she actually wasn't working on a new contract. She was...seeing someone." His hands shook, "She was acting odd so I decided to do some investigating. Found him with this other guy and..."
"Hm." Peter hummed non-judgementally. She wasn't gonna say anything about it either. None of her business and it wans't like she didn't see it a lot growing up, "You think the person she was stepping out with might've done something?"
"All I know is that she didn't start getting tired and acting off till after this happened."
"Might be something. You got a picture of this guy?" Lana asked.
"Y-Yeah, snapped a couple when I spotted them. Was gonna sit mom and dad down to talk about it before, you know..." Lana winced sympathetically. Once they managed to save these people they were gonna have a lot to talk about.
He brought up the photo on his phone screen. It was somewhat blurry and it was obviously taken in a rush, but the face was clear enough to see. Lana's eyes narrowed for just a second before she gasped, "No fucking way." She took out her own phone and scanned through Lily's personal feed, the one she shared only to friends and family. A few more taps later and she saw a selfie with Lily and another guy at the park.
The same guy who was mid-embrace with Suzanne Kimball in Theo's phone.
"Two women end up comatose after both step out with what looks like the same guy. If it's a coincidence then it's a hell of a big one." Peter clicked his tongue, "You know this guy, Lana?"
"Nah. Lily dates around so when I saw this guy on her feed I didn't even think about it. She gets a new beau every few months, why would this guy be any different?" Her grip on the phone tightened, "That's a start, at least. You know where your mom met this guy?" she asked Theo.
"No. Like I said I was gonna bring it up so we could talk about it but this happened instead."
"Shit. I don't know where Lily met this guy either." She let out a frustrated breath, "We gotta check up on the other vics, see if any of them know this guy." She sighed again before forcing a smile at Theo, "Thanks for the heads up."
"No problem, just hope it can help." He looked down at the ground for a few seconds then continued, "Make sure the bastard who did this pays, alright?"
"That's the plan," Pete said.
They left the gated community as quietly as they came. Lana dropped down the wall with a soft grunt and pulled out her phone again. A quicck search through the other socials didn't give them much luck. None of them said anything about finding a new guy in their feed, "Fuck, the one thing they all decide to be private about..." She swiped through a few more profiles till she finally hit gold. A young redhead by the name of Samantha Seers.
"Found something?"
"Yeah, I think so." They stood closer together and she tapped the picture. It was blurry, so much that she figured the girl holding the phone for the selfie must've been drunk, but the guy was definitely there. Dark hair, blue eyes and a chiseled face like a painting come to life, "It's the only picture with the guy in it. Maybe she didn't even notice that she posted it?"
"Timestamp says it was nearly a week ago. One of the fresher victims." His eyes narrowed, "Guy in the pictures looks like he's in his 20's, surprised he didn't get caught for dating a teenager."
"She's 17 according to her profile, probably just lied about her age if anyone asked. Says here she moved from California so family's out." Another tap, "Here, says she attends Emma Willard, a private school for girls. Best friend's one Sarah Moretti. Shows up the most in her pics. If anyone knows about this mysterious boyfriend it's her."
"Another girls school? Think you better handle this on your own?"
"What? Why?" She looked at him incredulously.
"After what happened last time I had to interview one of your friends? I don't think I'll be much help."
"Dude, it's not an anime. Girls in these schools actually do know what guys exist and they won't jump you just cause you have a schlong."
"Lana, I literally can't get in. The only reason they let Spider-Man into your school is cause Gwen was there to vouch for me. We both know we couldn't have gotten away with it if it was just you." Right, she wasn't nearly as connected as Spider-Gwen, "Go there without a mask and I'll be more a liablity than anything. Guy dressed like me wandering around a school? Cops'll be called before we even find this girl."
"Shit. I guess I can go in there myself, but I'm not as good at the whole 'reading people' thing like you and Cin are."
"Way I see it we got three options. We wait outside and hope we can find her when school's out, and that's assuming she even leaves considering this is a boarding school. Or you go in there and flash that card to try and get a private room so you to can chat. You can keep me on a phone and I can tell you if she's acting out of the ordinary. Third option you sneak inside and fib about being a student."
"I'm starting to think the whole 'bullshit your way in' approach isn't working. If Theo didn't sniff us out we'd have no leads." She shook her head, "I'll go in on my own. Maybe Striker showing up will get em more chatty." She sighed and stuffed her phone back in her pocket, "You know I think you're literally the only guy I know who makes excuses when I tell him he can go to a girls school."
"If that's true then you need to get more friends." He smiled wryly, "Come on, let's get out of here."
Addo: So does anyone have an idea on why American has the most heroes? Besides the Initiative there's more people with powers or even just wearing costumes compared to other countries.
Agent Fuse: I know, it's bizarre. Good thing Supers aren't in the army or the cold war would get even frostier.
GREG TSO: Other countries do have their own super teams, there just aren't as many. Personally I chalk it up to comic books being the most popular in America. Cultural divide and all that.
Agent Fuse: Is that why only Japan gets Magical Girls, cause they made anime?
Derek Drake: I mean maybe? If so I really hope we don't get Cthulhu showing up just cause of Lovecraft books.
Done. This chapter ended up pretty meaty so hopefully it was worth the wait. Next chapter should be the last one for this arc and then we can finally get some Gwen focus again.
Questions:
1. Are you guys still okay with Gwen's portrayal? Despite my original plans she tends to get the least amount of action in the story and it feels like her role right now is to be Noir's comforting girlfriend, which is really bad considering she's meant to be the strongest and most straightforward superhero of the five protags.
2. Additionally, are there complaints/comments you have for the other characters? A friend said he considered Mary Jane's choice to be a government killer unsympathetic and just spitting in Gwen's face after everything she did for her.
3. I wonder, would you guys have preferred another character rather than Lana to be Noir's sidekick/pseudo-sister? Early on I got comments from people who would've preferred Jubilee or Negasonic Teenage Warhead.
Review Answers:
x1923 - Gwen having a black-white worldview is pretty expected considering she grew up upper-middle class to a policeman father. Her morality is bound to be more rigid due to the way she was raised and lacking a harsh upbringing. Compare her to Lana who is generally still nice but is far harsher and loses her reluctance to kill far quicker after hanging around Noir and the Defenders.
Mithre - Lana mentions Ms. Marvel in New Jersey, though she seems unaware it's Kamala.
Paranormal17 - I'd argue that Noir's more than just a 'little' better than Bullseye. Noir at least doesn't get off on torturing people (provided he's not unstble on Lizard serum), doesn't kill all enemies and still has restraints. Bullseye's only rule is no innocent people and even then he only counts direct consequences.
