Sorry for the delay. I felt a major lack of motivation but I managed to finish most of this on one day so hopefully it's not too bad. Don't worry, we'll be going back to plot instead of magical girl stuff.

Anyway, this is a Gwen and Mary Jane chapter. I was debating adding Norah in but I decided to save her for the next chapter. That'll be a shorter update but hopefully I can delve into her character a bit more since she's been majorly out of focus.


'Looks like this is the place.'

Mary Jane looked up at the worn out building and pulled her hood closer over her messy head of hair. The place was decrepit even by New York slum standards. The walls and foundation were probably three times older than she was and the place reeked of misery. Felt like she'd need to shower for three days straight once she got out of here.

This was a test. Gyrich already knew what she was capable of but he wanted a demonstration. She expected to be put through training like boot camp but apparently he needed a gauge for what she was and wasn't good at. Hence the live camera feed over her right eye and the...familiar setting. A burnt out crackhouse filled with gangsters who'd shoot anyone that looked at them funny.

She exhaled a soft breath and walked down the alley, hands inside the pockets of her jacket. It was dark out, meaning it was time for the monsters to come out and play.

Speaking of...

A mugging...or maybe it was just a guy looking for someone to beat up. Guy in a gray hoodie was tussling with another who looked comparatively better dressed and screaming about needing just a couple of bucks for his next fix. Junkie. Sometimes she felt sorry for them, especially since she was nearly one with those suppressants, but she knew they weren't all victims. A lot of them didn't get hooked through prescriptions or had the needle forced into their veins.

She grabbed the back of his head and smashed the side of it against the wall. He crumpled to the ground with a small gurgle, "You alright?" She asked softly. Her face was only slightly altered, hair still red and eyes bright green, but she didn't worry too much. Places like this no one went to the cops.

"Y-Yeah." He nodded nervously and fiddled with the collar of his shirt, "Thanks."

"No problem." She eyed the unconscious druggie. Not a member of the gang, but she wasn't surprised. Places like this, pockets of the worst New York had to offer, was a nest of people like him. Even without Murdock's devil there were places like this everywhere, "You should get out of here."

"Good idea." He thanked her again and fastwalked out of there.

'Playing hero again?'

'Don't tell me you're complaining.'

'Doesn't matter. We'll still get where we want in the end.'

Oh, so it was 'we' now? Convenient. Shaking her head, Mary Jane looked up the side of the building and saw her ticket in. Broken window that hadn't been replaced. Probably never replaced, actually, knowing this place. Making sure the guy was out of sight, she hopped up the 20 foot height in a single leap and landed past the edges of broken glass into the room.

Her 'mission' was clear. Go through the building and take out Jamie Ortiz, codename 'Damage' cause of course everyone needed a badass street name. And she thought Carnage was cringy, "Hm..." She knelt down and inspected a few of the shards still stuck on the windowsill. Brown flecks across the sharp edges. Dried blood. She'd done enough to pick it out even days after it stopped being fresh.

'Someone commited a murder here.' Crimson sounded excited. Just the right motivation for a revenge killing.

'Keep it in your pants. We're here for one reason.'

'Didn't stop you from playing superhero.'

'Taking out a junkie doesn't make me a superhero.'

'No, it just makes you feel good about yourself.'

Mary Jane didn't answer. Footsteps came from outside and her body immediately tensed, almost changing into her costume on instinct before she remembered Gyrich's instrunctions. He wanted to see how far she could go before turning into Scarlet Spider. She always had powers, came with the whole molecular bond thing, but Crimson was stronger when she was covered. So of course he wanted to see how far she could go without needing it.

She opened the door slightly and peeked outside. Just a couple of guys with her back to her talking about something stupid. Mary Jane rushed to them and took them down quick. The one to the left she slammed on his back and stomped on his face while the one on the right got his nose smashed with a powerful elbow. Blood squirted out of nose and she covered his mouth with her hands before he could let out more than a brief scream.

"Shut up." She looked around to make sure no one heard her. Nothing. Mary Jane sharpened the tips of her fingers then slammed the guy against the wall, "Tell me what I wanna know and you don't get your throat cut. We clear?" She pressed her fingertips just slightly against the flesh of his tattooed neck.

"Yeah, yeah! Just cool it!" He raised both hands in slight surrender.

"If you got a piece on you, toss it. Shoot me and I'll spit the bullet out and shove it up your ass." She wouldn't actually do it, but she heard that Jones lady say it once.

He hesitated for just a couple of seconds before he took the gun from the back of his pants (cause gun safety was lame) and tossed it to the side, "There, see? Ain't gonna do nothing."

"Alright. Tell me where Damage is, that's all I want to know. " Alright, this was...going better than she expected. She didn't do a lot of interrogation like Tiger and Cindy did. Things she did didn't leave a whole lot of room for talking.

And then what he said next made her change her mind.

"D-Damage? He ain't here." Her eyes narrowed and a growl escaped her lips, "Hey, I ain't lyin'! Whole crew got a big job, like really big! Just left a few guys here to make sure no one fucks things up. Ain't never seen that much cash..." She tightened her grip on his neck, "I can't call em back! You want Damage he's at a warehouse down at docks in Lincoln with the rest of the guys! Big place, can't fucking miss it."

'He could be lying.'

'Doubtful. Most of you humans will tell the truth if it means avoiding death.'

'Glad to know you think we're all like that.'

'I said most. Take it was a compliment.'

She knocked him out with a quick elbow and made sure to bind both the goons' hands, legs and mouth down with some nearby duct tape. As close as her powers were to Gwen's the webs weren't actually part of that. Crimson could copy the webswinging, but if she needed to tie someone up then this'd have to do. Another thing she didn't have to worry about before.

Mary Jane looked out the window and frowned at the almost black sky. It'd be nighttime in just a few minutes, "Gotta hurry..." She shifted to her costume and swung over to the address. She did her best to keep a low profile. If the gang realized there was a Costume coming for them they'd scramble.

It was actually night by the time she finally got there. Mary Jane stuck to the side of a crane and surveyed the area. This was just a gang, but the heat they were packing was anything but. Nothing like the lasers from the last shitshow, but still heavy. Rifles - AK's, she noted -, a bunch of sniper rifles, SMG's...felt like she was in a Cry of Valor game. Cops would've gotten massacred if they tried to storm the place.

She was about to drop down when a bit of static hit her right ear, "You've arrived." Gyrich's voice chimed.

"No thanks to you." She looked up at the highest sniper standing at the edge of the crane above her head. Brave. One push and he'd got splat, "Thought he was in the building."

"Sometimes intel can go wrong. I wanted to see how fast you could adjust." Mary Jane rolled her eyes, "Don't worry, there won't be any more surprises. Your mission parameters haven't changed. Take out Damage before the so-called package arrives."

"So-called? Meaning you know it's not coming." She snuck up behind the sniper and grabbed his neck to pull him back. Her first instinct was to cut his throat or stab him through the gut. Instead she choked him out long enough for him to go limp and dragged him out of sight. The only one she had to kill was Damage. Everyone else was extra and she needed to be sure.

"Of course. We were the one who hired them." Why was she not surprised? Then again it made sense. Why send her on an actual mission before she proved herself? "As far as the gang's concerned they're to be guarding a shipment of premium drugs that will be sold for millions of dollars. That also means they won't be careless. The promise of a payday will make anyone salivate."

"Who the hell are these guys anyway?" She dropped on top of a crate and kicked another goon at the back of the head, grabbing his gun mid-air before it could clatter to the ground.

"Some no-name gang that isn't much different from the ones you killed in your crusade." Mary Jane frowned. He always called it that, her 'Crusade'. Like it was a lifelong quest or holy war or something, "Kill them or not, it doesn't matter. I'm sure New York won't mourn the loss of a few more lowlives. Someone will replace them all by the end of the week."

'I like this guy.'

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind..." She took out two more goons and her eyes lingered on the guns. She couldn't use them anyway - too loud and draw attention - but she still wondered if keeping it on her wasn't a bad idea. Tiger and Cindy always had a pair on them even though they had powers. Then again, what did she know about guns? Closest she had to holding one was playing gun games at the arcade.

'We don't need it. We're more than dangerous for these meatsacks.'

'Calling them meatsacks totally doesn't make me think I'm going crazy.' She left the guns behind. Till she was sure she wouldn't shoot her foot off it was a bad idea to experiment. Another quick scan showed just half a dozen more people wandering around. Probably more in the actual warehouse, though, "This Damage guy...what's his deal?" she asked Gyrich.

"Nothing special. Typical thug who killed and intimidated enough people to make others want to follow him. If you're looking for justification to soothe your conscience then don't worry, he won't make a blip. If you want a list of crimes then that'll take longer. He's a smuggler, he ran a few protection rackets and, yes, he killed innocent people who couldn't pay his exorbitant prices. Is that good enough?"

'Plenty.'

"Sure."

A part of her wanted to go out there and kick the door down, fuck stealth. It wasn't like Gyrich told her she had to be sneaky or she had to worry about getting shot. Somehow she doubted these guys had any lasers or sonic guns.

But still she kept to the shadows. The next goon's throat she slit cause another was rounding the corner and she didn't have time to be gentle. The tattooed thug's eyes widened and she rushed towards him before he could get a shot off, "Shh." She kneed him in the gut and he fell down on all fours. Another kick to the side and he was out like a light.

'Kill one but not another? Seems arbitrary.'

'Lemme guess, you'd rather we kill everyone?'

'It'd make it perfectly balanced. All equal. As all things should be.'

'You need to stop watching those old sci-fi movies.'

'You were the one who wanted me to have other interests.'

She rolled her eyes and took out another guy milling around on the warehouse's roof, "Hm..." She looked back to the maze of crates. Technically all she had to do was take out Damage. He never said she had to take everyone down...

Fuck it.

She crawled in through the window and hopped up to rafters. She was right, there were more people here. More people she didn't need to deal with, "Where are you..." She looked through each goon's face. The picture Gyrich gave her was an older guy, probably late 30's or early 40's, with tan skin, curly hair, and a thick, black mustache. Pretty generic, but she could definitely pick him out.

It took another half a minute of searching before she caught him, "Gotcha." Her mouth split into a grin without her realizing. There he was, sitting at the office like he owned the place. Now all she had to do was-

"You've got a problem," Gyrich said suddenly.

"What?" she asked impatiently.

"Seems you didn't hide your handiwork well enough. One of the sentries found him and he's already alerting the others?

"How the hell do you know that? Are you having someone watch the place?"

"Yes."

He didn't say anything else. Mary Jane cursed and moved up the rafters as everyone below went from calm to a frenzy, 'This is what happens when you don't finish your meal.' Crimson tutted. She ignored it and kept her eye on Damage. All she had to do was take him out. Once she did that she could get out of here.

Damage shouted something down to his goons and rushed down the stairs. He was packing a shotgun. Wouldn't be nice to get shot with it but she'd live, "Who the fuck is fucking with us, huh?! When I get my hands on that bastard I'll-"

Mary Jane jumped down and landed on top of the guy. She grabbed his head and prepared to pulp his skull in when a shot to her right shoulder nearly knocked her off balance, "What the-" She just barely turned around when another barrage of machine gun fire hit her chest. The pain was barely there, but it was enough for Damage to slink away from her and out the door.

'Let's finish the extras. Then we can have our dessert.'

'Fine.'

She transformed both hands into a shield and rushed towards the closest gunman. He emptied his magazine and was in the middle of reloading when she tackled him to the ground and stomped on his head, 'Three more.' She grabbed the discarded gun and threw it another one's head. The gun made a painful crack on impact and the guy crumpled to the ground.

The last two she grabbed with a web each. The thin, blood red tendrils stabbed them painfully in the chest and they both screamed when she pulled them in. A couple of hits each was enough to take them down and she was already rushing out the door.

'They'll be waiting for us outside.'

'I know.'

She formed the shield again then kicked thick metal door down clear off its hinges. The surprise was enough to knock off the aim of their makeshift firing squad. She charged ahead, blocking the few bullets that managed to make contact and didn't stop till she was at the center of the the remaining goons. Biting back a growl, she turned her hands from a shield to a pair of long, spiked tentacles.

Mary Jane extended the tentacles wide and spun around. Each of the remaining thugs were caught in the barbed length and were taken clear off their feet. A couple of circles later and they were flung away from her in pained, bleeding heaps, 'Where's Damage?' She hopped up one of the crates and looked around frantically. If that bastard got away from her then she failed.

"He's-"

"I see him," she cut Gyrich off. Truck was moving. The panicking bastard was on the driver's seat and trying to crash through the gate. If he took it to the streets then people could get hurt.

Mary Jane ran along the length of the crate and, just before he crashed through the gate, jumped and kicked the truck's left side. The large vehicle fell to its right with a large crash and Damage screamed. She shot multiple lines of tendrils at the trucks back and pulled, stopping it before it crashed through anyway from the inertia. Had to keep them all inside. Cops were gonna come anyway cause of all the noise but still.

She let go of the webs with a sigh and absorbed them back to her body. Mary Jane walked to the left, right hand already transformed to a blade, and raised a brow as Damage crawled out of the upturned side then fell on his back on top of the shattered glass on the ground. Had to give it to the guy, he was real determined. He tried to crawl away, a trail of blood following behind him. She almost felt sorry for the guy.

She shot another web at his back and dragged him to her. He let out a weak scream and looked up at her through pleading eyes, "D-Don't kill me-"

The blade stabbed him straight through the heart. No need to drag it out. Mary Jane let out a tired sigh and and looked back at the ravaged warehouse. That could've gone better, "...I'm done."

"I can see that." Well, he didn't sound pissed off, so good news, "...Better than I expected."

"Seriously? Felt like a shitshow at the end there." She hopped up the containers and swung away before anyone could stumble in.

"Considering you're an untrained vigilante whose only formal training is copying those more experienced than her I'd say you did above average." Alright, did he honestly think that or was he just trying to make her feel better? "The point of this exercise was to test what you were good at and where you were lacking. If I expected perfection I would've sent you on an actual mission instead of this."

"And I fucked up at the end cause I didn't take out everyone."

"Perhaps. Or maybe you could have simply hidden the bodies better. Or not attacked anyone save for Ortiz so they wouldn't have reason to think anything was amiss. We could debate alternatives and what-ifs all day, but at the end of it you accomplished your mission with no civilian casualties. The rest of your deficits can be made up for in training."

'You're too hard on us.'

'I think I liked you better when you were creepy.'

"And now I suppose you'll want to help Spider-Woman with her inane plan with the Roxxon board of directors."

"Yeah." She stopped at an abandoned rooftop, "You know...you could help her out."

"I could, or I could do something else that wasn't planned by a woman whose last plan required her to sleep with an egomaniac." Didn't actually sleep with him. She was very adamant about that, "I won't stop you if that's what you want. Your training will start in a few days. Make any preparations you need to and inform anyone that needs it. You'll be leaving the city for a while."

That was another thing she had some doubts in. Despite all her fantasies about going on a worldwide tour she was a homebody like Gwen. The fact that she'd need to leave for at least two weeks minimum to go to boot camp made her somewhat reluctant. Still, this was where she was and she'd deal with it.

Worst part was that, apart from Gwen and the rest of their makeshift team, no one else knew. As far as Gayle, her mom, Glory and Betty knew she was just doing some hero training, not being a government assassin.

Still, it felt...right. Maybe that was fucked up for them to think, but it was how they felt.

"Yeah, we'll be ready. See you around." Scarlet cut the call and sighed. They passed their test. Now they just had to make sure they could live the rest of their life like this, "Hope we made the right choice."

'We did. We both know it.'

"We guess so." She stopped. Wait, did they just say we instead of I? ...No, nothing to bother themselves about. First they had to help Gwen.


KinoMega:A bunch of students were suspended when teachers found out they brought a Ouija board to school. -embedded link-

reply from Vitalka: Serves them right. People know that demons are real now so how the fuck are they still doing shit like this?

reply from SpoiledIdol: Don't you think that's going a bit too far? People have been using ouija boards for years now and no one got possessed.

reply from Vitalka: Yeah and a few years ago there weren't superheroes but look out your window now. Obviously the rules have fucking changed so it's dumb as fuck if people don't shape up.

reply from Newscash: Still a slippery slope. What next, we gonna rugby tackle kids who say Bloody Mary in front of a mirror?

reply from Myndis: Sure, go easy on them. When a demon comes out and eats your head off I'll be there to watch.


Gwen had been with Peter long enough to see him at his highest and lowest. She fought back to back with him and held him as he died. Twice. Because of that she understood him better than almost anyone. He wasn't just Peter Parker the bullied kid or Spider-Man the vigilante. He was both, even when he hated to admit it. He might have had another Peter's memories but there was still something there that made him unmistakably different.

One of those was that he hated losing control, hated feeling helpless. Maybe it was the memories of being bullied, or maybe it was something he picked up from the other Spider-Man. Either way it always colored how he acted. It was the reason why he had a gun under his pillow even when he slept next to her, why he never stopped putting his life at risk even after he got turned into a kid or lost his powers.

Losing his friend a few days ago made him feel helpless, that he had no control, and he hated that. It took everything Gwen had to not let him self-destruct trying to reassert everything, to prove that he wasn't helpless even after everything he lost.

"G...Gwen..."

Even when they were together he couldn't stop himself from acting like that. He was always the more reticent of the two and sometimes it seemed like he had to force himself to be open - be vulnerable - to her. She didn't resent him for it. She was overprotective and he overcompensated. Sure she got frustrated sometimes, but they loved each other enough that they understood it.

"Peter..."

And now he was at the bed under her, his hands and legs bound together with webs while his eyes were covered with a thick blindfold. They'd used webs before - Wasp joked before that the second thing anyone did with their powers was figure out how to use it in the bedroom - but the blindfold was new. They both had their doubts about using it but Gwen needed to be sure.

She reached a hand out and touched her fingertips to his bare chest. He flinched away from her and she pulled back with a wince, "S...Sorry..." he muttered. His face was flushed and his breaths came out in raspy gasps. Was it just him or whatever magic that weird Asgardian witch did?

"Should we stop?" she asked softly.

"No." He shook his head, "I'll be okay." He was always like that. He hated being touched by people he didn't know. Back when they toured ESU she remembered how he always made sure to keep distance from the other students without even knowing. She and the rest of the people he trusted were an exception, but with the blindfold on he was going back to first instincts. Back to not wanting to feel helpless.

"It's okay, Peter. I'm here." She cupped the right side of his jaw. He grit his teeth for just a second before he let out a deep breath and leaned into her touch, "You don't have to worry when you're with me."

"...It's hard," he said eventually, "I just...want to scream, I want to go find something to take my mind off everything. Bullseye, The Hand, Matt..."

"Don't think about them now." Her hand traced down from his jaw to his neck. His pulse was loud and fast, "Do you trust me, Peter?"

"Of course I do."

"Then say it."

"I trust you, Gwen."

"Then relax. No one's going to come here and hurt us." He never felt safe. Even when everything was fine she knew a part of him always expected a fight. She got up and took the gun from under the pillow. He bought a pillow holster and kept the safety on but it still worried her. Like he expected to get out of bed shooting, "I'm putting your gun away."

"But..."

"Nothing's gonna happen, Peter. Trust me."

He pursed his lips before, eventually, he nodded. She put the gun out of sight and got back on top of him. She understood why he thought like that, but going through the day always expecting some gunfight to erupt wasn't a way to live life. If he went through every day like that he wouldn't be any different from Castle, just going from one fight to the next till it eventually killed him.

Gwen looked down at him again and swallowed, her own face flushed. Karen Page's words rang in her head again. Was Page right? Was she nothing more than a control freak who wanted the people she loved to do everything how she wanted it? Gwen shook her head forcefully. No, she was wrong. She didn't collar Peter and drag him on a leash like Page did to Murdock.

"...Tell me if it's too much, alright? I'll stop as soon as you say so." He nodded, "Alright..."

Hours passed. By the time she woke up again the sun was up in the sky and she felt more rested than she had in days. Gwen got out of bed and smiled at Peter's sleeping figure behind her. It was only when he was sleeping that he looked relaxed, "Sweet dreams, Pete." She kissed his cheek then stepped out of the bedroom. Webster finished the chocolate she left out for her on the dinner table and jumped to her.

'Today's the day.'

'Yeah.'

She got that favor from Harry. Today at noon they'd have a meeting with Norman to discuss him making Roxxon becoming a subsidiary of Oscorp. Then she'd crash the meeting with 'Donald' on a livestream and see if anyone acted fishy. She didn't have Peter's busted spider-sense but she could still see if anyone looked like they were about to crap their pants.

'Are you sure we shouldn't get Peter's help for this? His abilities would be helpful for this.'

'Today's his first meeting with Doc Samson. He needs it to get better.' A part of her thought he wouldn't actually accept going, but he actually asked last night. One call later and he had a two hour session the next day, 'He needs this. We both do.' She took out a packet of bacon from the fridge along with some eggs and bread. She wasn't a Michelin chef or anything but Peter's lessons were doing wonders.

The food was only slightly burnt when she prepared it along with a note for when he woke up. She didn't wanna wake him now that it seemed like he got such a good sleep.

She swung over to the Roxxon building and waited for the next half hour till the meeting started. MJ was already waiting on standby but apart from that they hadn't talked much. Gwen checked the portable screen over and over again and remembered last night's rehearsal. From just looking at a screen it was practically foolproof. Mary Jane studied up on the guy and the way she puppeted him around was practically indistinguishable from the real thing.

Her phone buzzed. Must've been Norman's message, "Time to do this." She took a deep breath and swung up to the top floor. Good thing they had clear windows for that oh-so great view. Made making an entrance way easier.

She stuck to the large windows and knocked cheerfully. The suits who weren't already facing her turned around and she their eyes went as wide as dinner plates. For a second she thought a couple of them would have a panic attack, but they barely managed to keep a lid on it.

Norman smiled with equal cheer and opened the automated glass with a remote, "Spider-Woman, a pleasure to see you."

"You too, Mr. Osborn." She flipped inside and the window closed behind her. No way out for anyone, "Thanks for inviting me to the meeting."

"Wh-What is the meaning of this?" One of the suits said. Henry Mitchell. 57 years old, one of the old guard. One of the suspects higher on the list, "I thought you came here to discuss your acquisition of Roxxon corp?"

"I am. And we're all aware of why you're in such a position despite your attempts otherwise." Norman placed both hands on the large table and kept his expression neutral, "For those a reminder, it's because your CEO was conducting inhumane experiments on innocent people."

"We've already proven we had nothing to do with that." Peter Jacobs, 40 years old. He was one of the ones who looked like he'd get a panic attack. He tugged on the collar of his extra large suit, "While it's regrettable that Donald did such things, should the rest of the company suffer for the actions of one man?"

"Not to mention bringing in an Avenger like this to intimidate us is juvenile." Victoria Neumann, 45 years old. She looked remarkably calm as she stared at Gwen behind the frames of her stylish glasses.

"I'm not here to be hired muscle. I'm actually here to ask some questions." She spread her hands casually and walked along the length of the table, "I saw that PR cast you guys did. About how Donald Duck totally didn't have anyone's help and he did it all by his lonesome. Except I don't buy it." The eyes of her mask narrowed, "It wasn't some backdoor bunker he had. No way he could afford that by himself.

"Donald was well-off even discounting company assets. He could more than afford that wretched experiment ground." Jackson Villers, 33 years old. Youngest person on the board.

"Right. And those scientists? The people he had kidnapping those Gifted? Sure he just paid for all that out of pocket without any of you noticing." As she passed by every single chair a bit of Webster jumped and snuck into their backs without them realizing, "Cause I talked to Donald. Guy couldn't think his way out of a cardboard box so I really doubt there wasn't someone helping him."

"If you're accusing us of something then make it plain." John Augustus, 50 years old. Despite the brave front he put up she saw the sweat matting his forehead, "You have Donald under custody, do you not? If so he must've already talked and you know which of us are his so-called conspirators."

"Great idea. Except someone here tried to cover their tracks and make sure he couldn't talk." To their credit they all managed to give varying degrees of surprise, "Emphasis on tried, though."

"You're telling us Donald is alright?" Janine Turner, 39. She only joined a couple of months ago so she was pretty low on the list of suspects.

"Yep." Gwen pulled out the portable screen and set it in front of Norman, "Say hi, Donnie."

"Spider-Woman, I'm not in the mood for your games." On the screen was Donald Roxxon looking as up his own ass like he always did. She eyed the board and caught a couple looking more scared than the others, "But more than my current animosity with you is my dislike for the wretches who decided that killing their superior was in any way acceptable."

"Donald, you're-"

"Alive? Yes," 'Donald' said, cutting Augustus off, "Did you really think your pathetic excuse for an assassin would silence me?"

"I didn't-"

"I was referring to all of you, ingrate. Or perhaps someone specific. Was it you, Victoria? You always did worry about every other loose end." The spectacled woman's hands balled into shaky fists, "Or perhaps it was you, Henry? You always were obsessed with the company's reputation. No doubt you wished to make me the sacrificial pig in the vain hope you could stay afloat."

"You're not-"

"I could list your sins one by one, but I don't have the desire or the patience." And they didn't have everyone's dirty little secrets. They just had to pretend they did, "I just came here to tell you that your attempt to silence me has backfired. Not only did you attempt to kill me, but you did so in a particularly torturous manner. And that I can never forget."

"Are you saying that some of the men and women on this board were complicit in your crimes?" Norman asked.

"Yes."

"Any names, Donny?" Gwen asked.

"All of them."

It was a panic after that. Personally Gwen doubted they all had something to do with it, but what they needed more than anything was to give them a reason to panic. When the ship was sinking and there weren't enough lifeboats people started pushing others off the edge. A bit cynical for her taste, but she knew it'd work here. People like this had everything to lose and they'd do anything to keep it.

The bus throwing commenced. Most of them tried to keep their mouths shut, but as soon as Janine started talking about 'some things she heard' some of the others were quick to blab. Gwen had no proof, no actual hard evidence, but the panic did all the work for her. As soon as she had enough justified suspicion she could haul them in to ask questions, and even if they didn't crack the news of board members being hauled in again would be a death sentence. Their attempt at making Roxxon the one bad egg would fail.

She was about to announce her intent to take some of them in for questioning when she saw it. Jacobs was tugging harder at the collar of his suit and his face went bright red, "Hey, you alright?" When she touched his shoulder he practically collapsed face-first onto the table, "Shit!" She put two fingers to his neck. No pulse, so she really doubted he was faking.

"H-He's dead!" Neumann shouted.

"Someone call an ambulance and the police!" Turner shouted after her.

Gwen was torn between doing that or shouting at them all to stay inside when something passed by to the right of her vision. At any other time she might've just ignored it, but her hand moved on instinct to grab it.

She felt something struggle in her palm for just a second, she didn't exactly grip too hard, before a guy grew seemingly out of nowhere and kicked her in the chest hard enough to make her smack hard against the wall.

"You must be Roxxon's assassin." Her face knotted in a scowl. She barely even noticed the board members and Norman running out of the room. She could track them later, "Why don't you make it simple for both of us and tell me who you work for and who got you those particles?"

"Real tempting offer there, but I think I'm gonna pass." She could practically see his smarmy grin even through the face-covering helmet, "Bossman told me not to touch ya, but I think he'll let some self defense fly."

"You asked for it." She charged ahead to punch him in the jaw. He shrank out of sight and hit her in the gut, "Gotta hit harder than that!" She spun around and kicked low. He shrank even smaller than before and, before she could even finish the attack, grabbed onto her foot and flipped her on her back.

Gwen kicked him away and flipped into a crouched position. Fighting a size shifter wasn't exactly something she had experience with. The only person in the world who should've been capable of it was Wasp, and they didn't exactly have any reason to throw hands.

The only bright side was it looked like he couldn't fly.

He charged towards her this time. Gwen shot two lines of webbing and he shrunk out of site. Her spider-sense rang and she leaned her head back to avoid the the inch sized uppertcut. Wasp told her how the particles worked. Shrink down but keep the strength of a normal person. But what happened when you put an average adults strength and concentrate it to the size of a needle?

That question was answered when he suddenly surged forward and dropkicked her right eye. Her powers dulled most of the damage but she still felt an uncomfortable pressure as she stumbled back, growling, "Damn, did you even feel that?" He grew back to half his normal size and landed on a chair, "This is why I don't like fighting with superheroes. Never play by the rules."

"Says the assassin." And thief.

He shrunk out of sight again. Gwen looked around until her spider-sense rang again and she felt a pressure at her face mask, 'He's trying to bypass the suit, Gwen. Don't worry.'

The surface of the suit thrummed and flung him away to the table. He grew back to his normal size and the impact made the long wood topple over to its side, "Yeesh, guess they were right about that suit of yours! And here I thought they were exagerattin' how freak that thing was!" He knew about Webster? Not good, "Was hoping I didn't have to use this but hey, I'll apologize to the bossman later."

She shot a line of webbing at his chest just when he pulled something out of his belt and aimed it at her. The little device in his hands beeped and Gwen was suddenly forced on her knees when a loud, distorted sound echoed around the entire room.

'Sonics, Gwen. We need-'

'I know' Gritting her teeth, Gwen shot out a tendril and threw a chair straight for his hand. He stepped to the side to dodge the projectile and she charged ahead, knocking the emitter from his hand and stomping on it, "...Well, shit." She grabbed his shoulder and he shrunk, making her lose her grip. He was going to run now.

No, she wouldn't let him get away.

She grabbed at him again and again, forcing him to shrink smaller and smaller till eventually he was just a few inches tall. Then she grabbed him with both hands and held on tight, 'Webster, cover my hands!' Gwen grit her teeth kept her palms pressed together even as he struggled. A lack of oxygen knocked most people out in just under a minute. If she couldn't fight him normally then this'd have to do.

His struggles weakened half a minute in and by the time she reached 60 seconds he'd finally stopped. Gwen pulled the suit back, letting oxygen back in, and when she separated her palms he was knocked out in her hand.

She carefully covered him in a coccoon of webbing till only his head stuck out and called Wasp. She was the only one who could hold a guy who could shrink like he did.

Gwen made double sure he was covered and couldn't escape even after he grew back to normal before she opened the windows again. Wasp flew in, suit and all, and looked past her to the knocked out assassin, "He's the one who was using the particles?"

"Yeah." Gwen nodded, half distracted, and swung out the window. The board members were gone but she could still track them. But who? The trackers told her they were going in different directions. She couldn't get them all, "We need to figure out which one of them..." she stopped.

'Gwen? What's wrong?'

"Neumann was the one who screamed, said he was dead before I even said anything." She'd barely even checked his pulse, even. Either she panicked or she knew he'd be dead and it'd give them an out, "Where's she going?"

'Follow the tracker, Gwen. We can catch up to her.'

She tracked Neumann's limousine to a private hangar. They barely made it inside before she landed in front of the car, arms crossed, "...We can do this the easy way or the hard way." She raised a brow, as if challenging the driver to try and run her over. Thankfully Neumman didn't pay the him enough and he decided to cut his losses and run. Smart guy.

Neumann came out just a few seconds later with both her arms raised, "Why are you going after me? I didn't do anything."

"Funny, cause most people's thoughts when they see someone die isn't to take a private jet out of town. Think a trip to Hawaii will help?" She stepped closer and Neumman flinched back, "Not sure if you were Roxxon's only helper or other people were there, but you look the most suspicious right now. Your assassin talked, Neumann. Said you were the one who told him to kill the guy in the board room." It was a big bluff, but she knew Neumann was gonna fold.

"I didn't-"

"So either you tell me everything you know or you or I decide you're Roxxon's partner and you go to the cell next to him."

Neumann was quiet for a minute, trying to gauge her options. A physical fight wasn't even an option and being publicly accused by an Avenger wasn't a scenario she could win either. Gwen watched each and every scenario go through her head and slowly but surely the mask of indifference and control began to crack. There was no ending where things went her way.

Her hands lowered down to her sides and she stared at the ground, "...If you guarantee my protection, I'll talk."

"Deal."

She called up Cindy and made sure to put Neumann with some contacts she could trust. The rest of the board could still be guilty but going after them all before she got any info from Neumann wasn't gonna work.

She did everything she could today. Next step was to meet up with Gyrich and share that info. As much as she didn't really like the guy he was the one who could handle this kind of thing. And he was MJ's boss.

The facility was a different one from where Roxxon was held; made sense since that place was compromised. She input the stupidly long code he gave her and got waved through by the door guards. Gyrich was in his office, they said. Once she told him about what happened maybe they could talk about what would happen with MJ. Hopefully she could get a better view of what she was gonna be doing.

She was about to knock when she heard voices coming from inside. One was Gyrich but the other was robotic and artificial. Was he making friends with his voice app now? Gwen forgot about knocking altogether and slid her access card inside.

The door opened with a soft whir and Gwen took in the scene inside. As much as they said it was Gyrich's 'office' it was just a bare room with nothing but a table, some chairs and a computer. Gyrich stood in front of the dull metal table with a...robot head on top? Gwen blinked in confusion and it took her a couple of seconds to remember where she saw it before. It was one of those LMD things evil Cindy used except without its skin...or anything but the head.

She was just about to ignore it when it suddenly spoke to her, "Spider-Woman? What are you doing here?"

"Ignore her." Gyrich didn't turn around and continued to talk to the severed head, "Tell me everything you know about what happened with your experiments. Who was funding you, where did you get the personnel."

Again the severed head ignored him and talked to Gwen again, "Spider-Woman, how could you do this to me? Why would you choose that murderer over me?" Gwen's eyes widened and she broke out into a cold sweat. Even through the neutral, electronic tone she knew who it was supposed to be.

Roxxon.

"Spider-Woman, this is your fault. If you only chose me over that pathetic cretin we could've-"

Gyrich let out a frustrated breath and tapped a remote in his free hand. The cold, emotionless rant stopped and the head shut down, "I suppose I should've seen this coming." He pocketed the remote and finally turned around to look at her, "I assume you're here to tell me you've had rousing success?"

"...What the hell is going on here?"

"An interrogation. Now if you can keep on topic-"

"Cut the crap!" She almost reached out and grabbed the collar of his shirt but she held back. Maybe there was still an explanation that made sense, "That...thing was Roxxon, wasn't it?" Gyrich didn't say anything but the way he pursed his lips told her enough, "What the fuck did you do?!"

"Like I said, an interrogation," he replied, still nonplussed, "There was a reason I didn't back your frankly juvenile plan."

"How the fuck is he in a robot head?!"

"Technically 'he' isn't. If you want to use the proper term then this is a duplicate of Roxxon's mind transferred to an LMD." The way he said, so calm and without a care, made Gwen's stomach churn, "The real Roxxon is still trapped in his personal purgatory. Since he wasn't capable of answering any questions in that state we underwent an experimental procedure to transfer a copy of him and program him to be more cooperative."

"Program...?"

"Yes. As you can see it didn't work, though that can be partially blamed on being exposed to such an extreme stimuli." Meaning he was blaming her, "Hardly surprising, however. The duplication procedure already came with its own risks and the success rate is already questionable. It's not out of the real of possibility that we wouldn't be able to perfectly program him to be pliable."

"You're telling me you created a person and you're just fucking with his head like he's a computer program?"

Gyrich raised a brow, "Need I remind you of what this man has done and his current state? Or are you so enamored with fighting for his rights that you're perfectly willing to ignore that he wasn't the mastermind and there are doubtless other innocents being victimized right now?" Gwen bit her lip and said nothing, "If you care so much about showing Donald Roxxon mercy then I suggest you shut off his life support. It'd be more humane than leaving him in that state."

"...What are you gonna do with him?" She nodded at the deactivated head.

"Keep altering his program till he becomes fully cooperative."

"And after?"

"He'll be deactivated and the head scrapped." Gwen's hands shook, "What, did you expect us to give him a body so we can put him in jail? Not only is that a spectacular waste or resources but also utterly pointless. This thing, for all your empathy, is not a human being."

"...Is that what you think of MJ too?"

"Don't be stupid. Ms. Watson may be altered but she was a normal human until a year prior. Equating her to a collection of programmed neurons is projecting." He stepped past her to the door, "I can see that you don't want to talk any more. If it's any easier you can just message me the details of what happened with your plot. With any luck you might've gathered something worthwhile."

His hand was about to press the card on the reader when she spoke up, "I got two leads. The shrinking assassin who took out Roxxon and one of the board members, Victoria Neumann. I got them both." He stopped, "Wasp is holding the assassin and I'm having Spinerette's contacts keep an eye on Neumann. Those two should be able to spill something useful now that they're caught."

"Hm. Good work."

She grit her teeth and barely held back from punching him, "Yeah. Being a prick like you isn't the only way to get what you need." She shoved past him and walked out of the facility. She needed to get some air.


Wayat: Luna Snow just did a farewell concert dedicated to Spinerette. Guess she was really grateful for her help with the Watchdogs.

reply from DoodleRise: Yeah I saw that fight on youwebs! Those two were freaking insane! Nothing like a couple of Supers taking out a buncha racists :)

reply from Dorotel: Whatever, like it's anything to gush about. Pretty convenient that the big time Avenger only steps up to help when those guys target a popstar. Guess those other people the Watchdogs killed don't matter.

reply from Kilomni: Oh god, here's another 'Avengers only care about the 1 percent' truther. Ever think maybe Spinerette just didn't hear about the other attacks cause they weren't in front of a stage?

reply from Dorotel: If she needs a live broadcast to see crime then she's not a very good superhero.

reply from Kastech: I miss the days when we could talk about the Avengers and no one bitched about an agenda.


Writing fight scenes for Gwen is the most difficult part of this fic. Unlike Noir she's just so absurdly strong compared to her opponents that I can't write a realistic struggle. Until I bring out someone on par with her powerwise there's really no reason she can't just overpower every enemy she fights unless they can exploit her weaknesses really well.

That and I've been reading webtoons like Weak Hero, Viral Hit, and To Not Die so I'm kinda itching to try writing fight scenes with a sense of desperation where the character has to use every dirty tactic and the environment to win a fight. I get that's not really feasible when writing most Superheroes but it is what it is.

Questions:

1. Do you guys think Gwen is right to try and 'normalize' Noir in this chapter? Normally it'd be a no-brainer Yes but comic books like Moon Knight, Punisher and even Daredevil kinda prove that not being overly paranoid and prepared just ends badly for people who tackle the darker sides of comic books.

2. I'm curious, between Gwen/Venom and Mary Jane/Carnage which symbiosis do you guys prefer? The former are completely lacking in conflict while the latter has a more push-pull dichotomy like Flash and Venom in the comics.

Review Answers:

KasugaRomio - Power Ranger? Maybe. Depends when I update it again.

Dr Crow - I guess with five protagonists not all of them are gonna be winners :P

DARKAI - When I find inspiration. Just not really good at writing too much romance.