Sorry this took so long. I've been busy with family circumstances. This took me about three days to write, though I was mostly distracted and lazy for all of it. Hopefully it still manages to satsify people.

Anyway, I've been reading Gwenverse and watching Moon Knight. The former doesn't really do anything for me while the latter is giving me some ideas for Noir's segments with Bakuto.


Well...here they were.

Mary Jane took a deep breath and stepped out of the small, non-descript sedan. Gyrich told them that they'd leave the city and that meant a two hour drive over to Philadelphia on a sedan that didn't look like a super spy car. Not exactly the countrywide trip they expecting, but apparently they didn't want to take them too far before they got out of the training phase.

"So now what?" They looked back at the driver. Instead of an MIB he looked like any old taxi driver...except for the faint outline of a pistol on the right side of his jacket. Funny, just a year ago they wouldn't have been able to see it, but spending time with Tiger and Cindy made their paranoia rub off on them.

"Get in and show the guy at the counter this card." He didn't say anything else and just handed them the card before walking away. Rude much? Then again he probably didn't like playing glorified taxi driver to someone who was barely old enough to drink.

Mary Jane flipped the card over in their hands. Didn't look like anything special, but that was the point, wasn't it? They weren't going to be an Initiative Hero, saving the day and waving for the cameras. They were training to be a glorified assassin, cutting the heads off of bastards the world could do better without. And all while no one knew they existed. Heh, not too long ago they would've scoffed at the idea of being some behind the scenes worker. How quickly some things changed.

'Stop being nostalgic and get in there already.'

"You know this is your fault, right?" They stepped inside and flashed the card to the old guy at the counter. He nodded and nudged his head to the back, "We would've been heroes if I didn't get attached to such a needy little bastard."

'And I would've been back to doing what I did if I chose someone who didn't so many pesky morals. We make do with what we have.' It sighed melodramatically. Little shit, 'No point in complaining now that we've got our compromise. Admit it, no matter how famous you got you wouldn't feel happy just throwing monsters in the penalty box. You want to give them what they deserve.'

'Ah, shut it.' They looked around till they saw the card reader on the wall. Mary Jane made sure no one was looking in before they pressed the card against it. The wall to their right opened with a light hiss, 'Secret government base. Neat.'

'I've been through a couple. Not a fan.'

They looked down at the sleek, silvery stairway and gulped nervously. Gyrich warned them that the place was just like the previous S.H.I.E.L.D bases they went to, meaning it was underground in both the metaphorical and literal sense. That also meant no cell signal. It made them pretty wary, but honestly if Gyrich wanted to catch them then nabbing them while they were sleeping was a hell of a lot easier then making up a test after giving them that offer.

That and they told the others they were leaving today for a couple of weeks, maybe a month. It wasn't exactly like they didn't prepare. Had to tell their family and even take one of those official leave of absences from uni to make sure they didn't get expelled. Gyrich helped out with that one, thankfully. Guess having a government agent who wanted you to work for him had some perks.

Mary Jane reached the bottom of the stairs and wrung their hands together. All around them were men and women in suits going to and fro. A bunch of them were on computers while others were talking in separate groups. The place itself looked sleek but apart from the weird amount of computers it didn't look anything out of the ordinary. If they didn't know better they would've assumed it was just a particularly busy office instead of a black ops site.

They were about to ask someone for directions when a somewhat familiar voice suddenly called out to them, "Yo, Red, over here!" They turned to the source of the voice and blinked when Shadowcat gestured them towards her with a grin. She looked extremely out of place in the sea of suits, but then again so did they. The blood red tanktop and ripped black jeans and chucks didn't exactly scream proffesional assassin.

Mary Jane walked over to the grinning brunette and forced a smile when the shorter girl wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "About time you got here! Rude to keep your guide waiting."

"Wh-What? Wait, you're my guide? I thought..." Thought Gyrich would send a government agent to keep an eye on them . Then again it made sense now that they thought about it. Mary Jane wasn't one for being fake humble and they weren't ashamed to admit that even a trained agent probably couldn't do anything to them. There was only so much training and experience can do against someone who could tear you in half without trying too hard. Shadowcat could probably kill her without much trouble.

'I think we have a decent chance.'

'I've seen her in action. I don't like our odds.'

Shadowcat practically dragged them down another hall that only had a few agents(?) walking to and fro. She still had a big, carefree smile on her face and didn't seem to care about how out of place they both looked.

"So, uh, Gyrich sent you to be our tour guide?" Mary Jane asked.

"No. Well, kinda." She finally let go of them and shrugged, "I was supposed to take you to meet the rest of the team, but Cindy asked me to keep an eye on you and I owe her a lot of favors. So from now on consider me your unofficial big sis." Shadowcat clapped her own chest and grinned up at her.

"Uh...you're younger than I am."

"Age is just a number, Red." Shadowcat continued walking and they followed after, "Don't take it too seriously, alright? It's just like Cindy and the midget playing mom and kid, it's all fun." Mary Jane didn't think Cindy did that for fun but they weren't going to argue, "And for fuck's sake, stop looking like the new kid on the block. No one's gonna respect you if you play the wallflower here."

"Hey, we're not wallflowers."

"You're also not using pronouns properly. That a new thing you're going for?"

"We...I don't know either." Yeah, that was another thing. Started after that whole mess with Damage and didn't stop. Gayle was pretty weirded out but didn't say anything. Honestly they were tempted to blame Crimson but it didn't seem to know anything either. So far it was more annoying than anything and if it didn't pass they'd go to Wasp for a checkup. Mixing their I's wasn't the worst thing they dealt with.

"Whatever, we're all weirdos and freaks here. You'll see soon enough. Come on, let's give you the tour first."

The place was pretty big despite being underground. According to Shadowcat, the first place they arrived at was the briefing room. That was where all the agfents gathered info about any threats that needed dealing with. Terrorists, war criminals, foreign saboteours, and people who left the toilet seat up. Real scum of the earth type. Already Mary Jane could feel Crimson salivating at the buffet they were being given.

"That's the training room. Get a good look at it, Red, that's where you're gonna be staying for the next month." Mary Jane looked inside and whistled. It was clear where a lot of the budget went. There were already a couple of agents inside going through some drills, "People around here call it the Danger Room. Don't worry, no one's actually died yet."

"Yet?"

"Anything can happen." She waved cheerily to the agents inside and continued the tour. It reminded them of their visit to the Initiative. Except instead of looking like some pristine utopia for future heroes it was filled with people like her...well, not like her, but close enough.

Shadowcat took them through every room and Mary Jane took note of them for later. This was gonna be their home for the next few weeks so they might as well get comfy, "Hey, if you don't mind me asking, why are you here?" Shadowcat looked back but kept walking, "I mean you're a mercenary, right? Is Gyrich really paying you that much? Cause I doubt you came here just as a favor for Cindy."

"You'd be surprised, Red." Shadowcat scoffed, "But no, that's not the only reason. Bossman actually offered me something better than cash. Me and my boyfriend are kinda doing the long distance thing and I can't just call him up. Then in comes bossman saying that if I do some work for him he'll give me access to what I need to pay him a visit whenever I want."

"That Gyrich guy...seems like he makes those offers a lot, doesn't he?" Mary Jane hummed.

'I get the feeling he knew this would tempt us.'

"You don't get this far without knowing how to pull strings." Shadowcat shrugged and led them to one last room, "This is the home base, I guess. It's where us super special field agents hang around. Remember, no wallflower."

"Ah, shut it."

Shadowcat went inside and they followed. The place wasn't too big but it was definitely packed. Even with just three people inside besides them they felt like an outsider. Each of the three took up their own little space doing their own thing. There was a redhead to to their left scanning through a holographic tablet while to their right were two older men who looked like they were in their 30's or 40's either inspecting weapons (was that a katana?) or speaking to an earpiece.

Mary Jane suddenly felt intimidated even though they were sure they could keep up if a fight broke out.

"Honeys, I'm home! Take a look at who I got!" Shadowcat practically dragged them along, "Saw her out in the rain and I felt so bad for her. Can we keep her? Please, please, please? I'll feed her and take her on walks."

"Seriously?" They tugged their arm away from the younger woman with a slight glare.

"Katherine's humor takes some getting used to." The other redhead stood up and offered her hand with a light smile. She was pretty, and the black spysuit hugging her curves only made that more obvious, "You're the new recruit Gyrich told us about. My name is Natasha Romanoff."

"Uh, yeah. Mary Jane Watson." They shook her hand carefully with just a tad too much energy. Thankfully Natasha didn't seem to mind, So, uh, you're one of those agents?" Mary Jane cringed. Yeah, obviously she was.

"You mean one of the dogs Gyrich sends to play fetch." A male voice cut in. It was the guy sharpening his katana, "Don't be too nervy, kid. We don't bite." He offered his hand too, which Mary Jane took with a bit more confidence than before, "Don't worry, we were all the new kids once. You get used to it. Name's Clint Barton." Mary Jane looked him in the eyes and felt something...off. He was smiling and friendly but...

'He's looking past us,' Crimson said. It didn't sound mocking in the least, 'His eyes are empty too.'

'How the hell do you know that?'

'I've seen your memories. Your mother was the same when you were a child.'

'Hey, stay out of those! Don't care how much we're getting along, that's personal!' Their thoughts got heated enough their her grip on Clint's hand tightened uncomfortably. Thankfully he didn't notice and just raised a brow slightly till Mary Jane let go, "S-Sorry, just...nervous, we guess."

He didn't comment on the odd pronoun and just looked back at the last guy, "Hey, you gonna introduce yourself, Captain?"

"Hm." The last guy cut the call and offered his hand too, "Sorry, I was distracted. John Walker. Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Watson." His grip was strong and firm even to someone like them. They weren't ashamed to admit they looked him up and down a couple of times. Guy looked like he did work, "I was there during your test a week prior."

"Yeah." Mary Jane winced, "Screwed up real bad at the end there, huh?"

"You did above average for a new recruit."

"That was the powers, but thanks." They felt a bit better now. Sure everyone around them except Shadowcat was older than they were, but Gyrich wouldn't bring them into the group if he thought they couldn't keep up. Didn't seem like the guy to give handouts.

Speaking of the guy, the door hissed behind them and Gyrich walked in. His cane clicked loudly even against the padded floor, "Good, you're all here." He looked at each of them in turn before eventually settling his gaze on Mary Jane, "I heard that Ms. Pryde took you on a tour of the facility. I had assigned someone else to do that but I suppose this will do well enough. I trust you've all introduced yourself."

"Yeah. Don't worry, we all played nice." Ronin smiled. Now that Crimson told them about his eyes the gesture looked even more off.

"Good. Ms. Watson here will spend the next few weeks training. I expect all of you to help with that so long as you're not undertaking any missions." Everyone around them nodded, "Judging by your performance in last week's test we've decided on a prelimentary training regiment both to strengthen your already existing skills and make up for any defiencies."

"Sure. Cool." They gave a thumbs up.

"Take this." He handed them a tablet along with an earpiece, which she put on, "Signals don't come in and out of here, as I've mentioned before, so this'll ensure we keep in contact without needing to use the PA system. I trust you understand why we'd rather avoid that." Mary Jane nodded, "Good. You'll have your own room while you're here. Adhere to the schedule and try not to make a fuss. This sort of recruitment is hardly orthodox."

"Not for nothing, but should you really be saying that considering you have Shadowcat here? No offense." Mary Jane smiled at the younger woman slightly.

"None taken."

"Despite being a mercenary, Ms. Pryde has worked with S.H.I.E.L.D for years. You, Ms. Watson, are an unknown. Not only that you're an unknown working in a specialized group. Your age and lack of experience would mark you under many circumstances. So please, don't disappoint."

"We get it. We'll do our best." Mary Jane crossed their arms and looked Gyrich dead-on.

"Good. Take the day to acclimate yourself with both the facility and personnel. Your training will begin tomorrow. Agent Romanoff will teach you infilitration, Ms. Pryde and Captain Walker will attempt to improve your close combat capabilities, and Agent Barton will teach you in the use of firearms."

"Wait, guns?" Mary Jane asked.

"Yes. Is there a problem?"

"No, it's just...I thought you brought me here because of my powers? I didn't think..."

"You're going to be an agent, Ms. Watson, and that requires adaptability. As formidable as your powers are they still have definiciencies. If you had firearms training you could eliminated Ortiz without needing to put yourself at risk to gunfire." Well...he had a point there, "I don't expect you to be a marksman, but even rudimentary knowledge of firearms could be helpful under different circumstances."

"Don't worry too much, Red. I know how to use guns but never really needed to for the most part. It's a just in case thing." Shadwocat clapped their shoulder.

"Right, sure, I get it."

"Good. Then if there's nothing else we'll leave you alone."

"Wait. Uh, we wanted to talk to you. Alone."

"Of course. I'm sure you have some questions." The others left the room till it was only them and Gyrich left. Crimson popped out of their right shoulder as soon as the door shut, "What's your concern?"

"How much does everyone know? About me and Crimson, I mean."

'I doubt they'll be happy if they knew the whole story.'

"The rest of your team are aware of your symbiosis, but not the rest of the agents stationed here. As far as they're concerned you're a Gifted in the same vein as Spider-Woman. No more and no less."

"You also said we'd be going after bad people."

"Yes. I trust that fits the criteria of your crusade?"

"Don't call it that." Mary Jane let out a frustrated breath, "I need more details on that. You said something bombings and terrorists. You mean groups like H.Y.D.R.A right? Or whatever replaced them?"

"Yes. Despite your possible misgivings on the government, we see no reason in killing philanthropists. What we aim for is stability and those who murder innocents for the sake of some mad dogma involves that." He grabbed the tablet from their hands and opened up a page, "Bombings in Berlin, weapons smugglers funneling in high yield explosives in Chicago. All things we aim to stop."

"And remember, you promised to help me with my own thing. Don't forget."

"I haven't. Don't worry, I don't see the point in antagonizing you."

"Alright." They crossed their arms, "...What's the deal with my...team members, anyway?" Another thing she had to get used to.

"You're already aware of Ms. Pryde's circumstances, so I'll give you the cliffs notes version. Natasha Romanoff is a spy known as the Black Widow. She's been alive and active since the 1940's and has worked with my predecessors for decades."

"1940? She doesn't look-"

"If you wish to understand her history you should ask her," Gyrich cut them off, "Captain Walker was the recepient of an experimental variant of the Super Soldier serum. While not to the extent of Samantha Wilson, he's experienced and has succeeded in numerous missions under many aliases. Right now it's Patriot, though he had others in the past such as US Agent."

"Seriously? US Agent?"

"Is it that much sillier than Captain America?"

"...Fine, whatever. What about that Barton guy? He have a super secret codename too?"

"Not in the normal sense, no. Agent Barton used to work for S.H.I.E.L.D and now he works for us. His skill with weaponry of all kinds is hard to match. On missions he goes by the designation Ronin."

"Shadowcat, Black Widow, Patriot and Ronin. Feel like we just joined the circus" They brought a hand through their hair as Crimson slunked back inside, "Guess we'll play along. Call us Scarlet." No Spider. They didn't deserve to tie themselves to Gwen after the choice they made.

"As you wish. Is there anything else?"

"No, we're good. I'll see you around, boss."

They spent the rest of the day looking around and introducing themselves to the other agents. They were all nice, but professional. Worked for them. By the time their tablet said it was 7 pm they had a quick dinner at the cafeteria and went to their new room.

The room was pretty spacious for one person but it was as sleek and clincal as everything else. Mary Jane sat on the bed and shifted the suit to a tanktop and pair of shorts "Well, here we are." Her luggage was already there. They rummaged through the stack and pulled out the guitar. Now that Crimson and her were bonded so deeply even the itch at the back of their head at the sounds was gone.

'Still thinking about that band?'

"Yeah..." They strummed a few strings and smiled, "...Gonna tell the others we're officially disbanding when we go back."

'Stacy won't be happy.'

"Please. She's been ditching for how long now?" Mary Jane snorted, but it was more forced than they wanted to admit, "We haven't had a gig in months and with this new thing we've got going? Not a chance. Can't exactly be a world famous rockstar if we're gonna be sneaking around out of sight. No, this is for the best. Band's been in the hole since we got together. Just making it official."

'...For what it's worth, I am sorry.'

"Nothing we can do about it now. This is where we're at." They strummed up the guitar again and played the first tune that come to mind, "You gotta face it tiger, face it tiger, I'm your last shot..."


Boness - Anyone else notice that Spider-Woman's been kinda pissy lately?

reply from Benniha - wdym?

reply from Boness - Like check out this video of her taking down She-Bodega Bandit. She kinda forces her jokes and even tells She-Bodega Bandit that she's nothing and no one.

reply from Numbinder - Damn, she's savage!

reply from ShinHero - Seems like she's been pissed off ever since Spider-Man fought the Bullseye Killer. Probably pissed that her boyfriend got his shit rocked in.

reply from Sporksha - Not everything's about relationships. Spider-Man's been in danger before and she wasn't super pissed before. Guessing it's something else. My guess it's something about the attack in San Fransokyo.

reply from InLovePanet - Why doesn't someone ask her? She has an account, right?

reply from Selfridi - Most people get filtered out since she'd be getting hundreds of messages a day otherwise. You need to get her attention some other way, same with all the Avengers. Spinerette's basically AFK for weeks now too.

reply from ThaJayMan - Am I the only one weirded out that there's a She-Bodega Bandit now? Like of all the people to emulate you pick this guy?


He could do this. He could do this.

Eugene squirmed in his seat and did his best not to sweat. It took them a week but he and Ms. Winters eventually found a lead on the Jekyll DM...well, Ms. Winters did. He didn't really do much. That was why he was here now playing the bait. He wasn't any different than the rest of his friends in the forum so this Jekyll guy or whatever his real name was wouldn't really look twice at him. Just another teenager who wanted powers.

The interview was pretty quick. Guy didn't even really ask them any questions besides verifying their identities. This time being Frog-Man actually did help him. A wannabe superhero who got humiliated by an actual hero, no one would think he had a tracker in his phone. Ms. Winters told him that phones were actually pretty good places to plant bugs. Something about them already emitting signals so they were pretty easy to mask.

"Y-You nervous?" He asked his seatmate. They were bunched up in a van, him and five other people. Besides him everyone else looked really excited and eagerly talking about what kind of powers they'd get. Just a few weeks ago he would've done the same.

"A little." The woman to his right smiled anxiously. She didn't look much older than him and they even had the same shade of red hair. Her name was Mary something, "I mean it sounds a bit too good to be true, doesn't it? Just getting powers like that?"

"Most of the Gifted in the Initiative got their powers by accident, so why can't we get them on purpose?" It was the same argument his friends used on the forums before they disappeared. Even now a part of him hoped that this was legit and that he'd see his friends again with shiny new powers.

"Yeah, I guess so." Her smile looked a bit more confident than before.

The building they were taken to was an out of the way place in Harlem. Eugene stepped off the van and gulped as the bad feeling in his gut grew worse. This was the start of a bad readdit horror story.

They followed the driver inside and Eugene couldn't stop himself from being just a little excited when the guy took off a fake panel on the wall and put in a code. As soon as the last digit was hit the dirty floor split apart to a much sleeker looking set of stairs and walls, "Follow me," the driver said. He didn't talk much the entire trip, "Don't put your hands on anything. Oh, and give your phones. Don't want anyone taking any videos." He opened a thick, metal box.

The rest of the group gave them up without any hesitation. If he joined his friends when they invited him would he have done the same thing? Eugene took a second before he followed their lead. Something told him the tracker wasn't gonna work anymore, "Alright..." He lagged behind the group and, once he was sure no one was looking, dropped his Spider-Woman keychain on the ground before following after.

The stairs led to a maze of hallways he would've gotten lost in if not for their guide. No armed guards, which made him feel a bit better, "So what are you hoping to get?" Mary asked him.

"Oh, you know...super strength, maybe super speed? Just the classics. You?"

"I...I dunno, I'll take what I can get." She shrugged, "I...I have a friend. She has powers. Like, really good ones. She could be a superhero if she wanted it."

"Is that what you're gonna do? Be a superhero?"

"Maybe? I dunno, guess I didn't think that far." Yeah, neither did he, "We'll see when we get our powers, right?"

"I guess we will."


Coperiba - Someone posted a leak of the upcoming Spider-Man game! Click at your own risk!

reply from Baseemar - Wait, they're adding a morality system? The fuck? The Spider-Woman game didn't have that.

reply from Praveler - Makes sense to me. Spider-Woman's a superhero and she never really kills anyone. Spider-Man goes around with a gun so of course he can slip down the slope.

reply from Jungmatter - Doesn't seem like killing's the only thing that influences it, though. The vid has a choice on going after the bad guy and leaving his victims behind or staying back to help innocent people. Guess it's a Save Innocents vs Punish Villains mechanic?

reply from BigGrand - There's also a weapon system. You start off with just pistols but then you can get more stuff like explosives, assault rifles and snipers.

reply from Baseemar - Weird, Spider-Man doesn't use those weapons, right?

reply from Praveler - It's a game, dude. Gotta have fun.

reply from Hooddo - Holy shit, there's a clip of a Spider-Woman boss fight a the end! This game's gonna be fucking awesome!

reply from Rilsmake - I'm calling bullshit right now. There's no fucking way Spider-Woman is someone you can beat, she's way stronger than him! She can spit out bullets, what the hell can you do to damage her?

reply from Praveler - Again, it's a game. I don't mind them switching power levels around.

reply from Podka - Sounds like it'll only happen if you do enough bad karma stuff since she yells at the beginning that she has to stop him before he goes too far. Wonder who you'll fight at the end of the good karma route?


"Where the hell are you, Eugene?" Norah looked down at her phone with a scowl. The signal of the tracker was working just fine until it suddenly went dead, "Damn it..." She pocketed the phone and looked up at the building. A dilapitated building, cause of course it was. Bad guys weren't really creative where they hid their secret lairs. It was either this or another warehouse on the docks.

Guess she'd have to get in there.

Norah looked around the abandoned street and went to the back of the building. Places like this tended to be guarded but she'd snuck into worse before, "Here we go..." She got down on one knee in front of the back door and brought out a lockpick. Bright side of places like this was they couldn't get any fancy locks. Something looked out of place and people got curious.

It took her only a few seconds to jimmy the lock open and slip inside. Norah closed the door behind her lightly and looked around. No guards, and the place looked as dilapitated as any other condemned shithole. Probably underground then, "Come on, Eugene, gimme something." She took another scan then laughed under her breath when she saw the Spider-Woman keychain close to a wall. That was his, and he wouldn't have dropped it by accident.

It took a bit of searching but eventually she found the panel where the keypad was. Norah took out her phone and tapped the hacking program. Little gift from Page for a job well done a few months back. It took jus a couple of minutes but eventually the program bruteforced the combination and the floor behind her opened with a slight hiss.

Time to get some answers.

She picked up the keychain and walked down slowly, taking the tazer out of her fanny pack. Wasn't nice giving someone thousands of volts but it was better than a bullet. Then again, her hands were hardly clean after what she gave MJ and Frank, "Hm." She stopped and looked both ways. No guards and no cameras. Weird. Place looked a bit too high tech to skimp.

She spent the next few minutes walking from one hallway to the next. The place was a damn maze and the lack of people was beginning to make her nervous. Eugene was definitely right that something was up, but what? Her first thought was human trafficking - just grab some desperate suckers that no one would miss - but this place looked too advanced for that. No way someone would spend this much just to grab a few people.

Eventually she heard footsteps besides her own. Norah hugged the wall and peeked around the corner. There was a guy there, and he looked just as out of place as she did. He scratched his thick beard and rummaged throught he pockets of his dirty jeans before pulling out a card. She'd definitely need that.

He pressed the card against a reader on the wall and the door opened. Norah rushed ahead and slipped through just before the door closed, "Hey, what the-" He was halfway around when she pressed the tazer against his side and pulled the trigger. He crumpled to the floor in a spasming heap while Norah grabbed both the card and his phone. Every little bit helped.

She grabbed the guy and dragged him out of sight. Didn't want anyone seeing him.

Now where the hell was she?

The room looked like a lab of some sort. She half-expected to see cages or a Frankenstein monster on some table, but everything looked perfect. Too perfect. Never trust anything that looked too good to be true, "You better be here, Eugene..." She crept forward slowly, tazer held in a vice grip. The weight of the revolver on her fanny pack felt heavier with each step she took. A part of her wanted to just leave right now and come back with others.

She kept going ahead till she reached another door. The next room over was smaller than the last...and it had someone inside. The guy in the labcoat didn't turn arond and she walked until she was right behind him, "Don't move." The pressed the tazer against his back. He was a scientist so she wasn't exactly expecting a fight, "Turn around slowly and keep your hands where I can see them. Alright?"

"A-Alright, I'm doing what you said." Despite the stutter he sounded way too calm for someone being sticked up. He turned around slowly and Norah took a small step back so she wasn't in grabbing distance. He looked...normal. Kinda creepy with those thick glasses and frizzy hair, but nothing out of the ordinary. He kept his hands raised and just looked at her, "Does this satisfy you, miss...?"

"Don't need my name." In hindsight maybe she should've worn a mask. Too late now, "What is this place?"

"Y-You broke in here and you don't even know what for?! I can't tell if you're brave or crazy!"

"Not in the mood for jokes, Frankenstein." She kept the tazer aimed straight at his chest. A single move and he'd be spazzing, "I heard that you've been taking deseprate suckers looking for powers and then suddenly no one sees them again. But this place is too big for a little hostage taking, so what's the deal? What are you doing?"

"Are you a private investigator? Cause if you're searching for people then they're alright. "

"Yeah, I totally believe that." Norah rolled her eyes, "If you're not gonna give me something then get out of my way." God, she was never good at playing the tough girl. Even the threat sounded limp.

So instead she squeezed the trigger and stepped over him as he spasmed on the ground. He was standing in front of a computer so that was something she could. Just had to pull some files out, grab Eugene then get the hell out. She could leave the actual superheroing to the actual super-

"Need some help there?"

Norah's eyes widened and when she looked back the scientist was standing there like nothing was wrong, "What the fuck?!" She squeezed the trigger of the tazer again and...nothing. The bolt hit his chest harmlessly and he looked extremely unimpressed, "How the hell...?"

"I'm sorry for the show. My partner can be somewhat jumpy." She shot him in the chest again. This time he didn't even bother to pretend he noticed, "This is why I always advised him to have guards, but of course he thought minimal human involvement and recordings would be the optimal solution. And now I have a mess to clean up. So if we could make this quick-"

"Back off!" She grabbed the revolver from her pack and aimed it at his head, almost dropping her tazer in the swap. At this distance she'd definitely hit, "I don't know what the fuck you are, but stay away from me. I doubt you can take a bullet."

"Should we test-"

Norah shot him once then ran past him to the door. Hands fumbled for the key and when she pressed it against the reader she only got a high pitched beep in response, "What the fu-"

"It's no use, Miss. You won't be leaving this place." She looked back and nearly fainted then and there. Gone was the scrawny scientist who looked like he could barely lift a beaker and in his place was some kind of hulking thing that was almost twice her size. His clothes were stretched to their breaking point by the too large muscles and everything from his face to his hands was almost unrecognizable.

Norah put the gun up and fired every single bullet in the chamber. He just kept walking towards her without a care and she jumped to the side to avoid his meaty hands, "There's no need to prolong this, Miss." She fumbled and only managed to get two more bullets in the chamber before he was on top of her again. Both shots went straight to his gut and he ignored them just like he did before.

This time she didn't get a chance to dodge before he grabbed her by the neck and raised her up. Norah grabbed at his thick fingers desperately as she struggled to breath, "I assume one of our new volunteers was the reason you found us? I'll have to be more careful with who we take in the future." Her vision swam and everything was going dark, "I'm sorry you had to be here, miss, but as the saying goes, curiosity killed the-"

She took the half-charged tazer from her pack and shot him in the face. By some miracle the shock hit him straight in the right eye and he backed away with a scream. Norah fell to the floor and gasped, grabbing at her throat as she desperetely gulped down air. She had to leave before-

The monstrosity lashed out with his meaty fist and smacked her hard. Pain engulfed her right side and she flew through the air without enough force to crash through the sealed shut door.

She skidded across the tables, glass shattering around her, and kept going till she eventually smashed against the opposite wall. The pain was enough to scream and tears went down her tightly shut eyes. Everything hurt, and even though she knew she had to move her body refused to cooperate. Norah opened her eyes and, through bloody vision, saw her body crumpled unnaturally with shards of glass embedded on the skin.

The monster scientist let out a frustrated breath and stepped past the broken door to her prone body, "Now why did you have to do that? I was going to give you a quick and painless end, but now I think I'll..." His voice trailed off and he stopped to just...look at her.

She realized why as soon as she looked down again and saw red blobs of flesh push the shards out and desperately try to knit her skin back together. Mary Jane's tagalong, the one she gave her back when the last met up, "Fascinating." The monster watched eagerly as her body slow and painfully stitched itself back together.

It wasn't perfect. Even now it felt like she was being held together by a thread and every single movement caused spasms of pain to shoot up her body, 'Move, Norah. You gotta move!' She shut her eyes again and tried to move her hands and feet. His surprise wouldn't last forever and eventually he'd finish what he started.

He was just about to move on her when gunfire erupted behind her. Most of the bullets impacted harmlessly against the scientist's thick skin but one eventually hit his still-red eye and he stumbled back.

"What-"

"Move." A powerful grip on her right arm forced her up and she saw Frank's scowling face for just a second before he dragged her down the hall.

"F-F-Frank..." Even her voice was weak. She tasted blood, "Wh-What are y-y-you..."

"Saw the notes you left at the safehouse and thought you'd get in trouble. I was right." He tugged her hard and pressed a detonator. Explosives loud enough to almost make her deaf came from behind her, "We need to leave now."

"C-Call MJ, s-s-s-she c-can help us!" She fumbled for her phone and pressed it against his hands. The screen was cracked but somehow it was still working, "Sh-She'll be here, w-w-w can-"

"No signal. We need to leave first." He detonated something behind them again,

"Just call her!" Norah shouted, forgetting everything else in her panic.

Including the fact that Mary Jane told her she was leaving the city today.

They finally made it back to the abandoned building. Frank slung her right arm over his shoulders and they rushed out into the back alley. Just barely she saw her reflection on a nearby window and if she had the strength for it she would have screamed. She looked like one of the Carnage monsters from last year's attack.

"She's not answering." Frank grit his teeth, "Anyone else?"

"T-Try everyone e-else on s-s-speed dial." Everything was swimming now. Norah's head spun and she couldn't stop herself form vomiting out a thick wave of blood while Frank continued to practically drag her past the alley down to the open street.

They were barely a couple of minutes down the street before another explosion came from behind them. Norah looked back and her blood froze when she saw the monster step out of the inferno, singed but alive. And angry, "Shit." Castle grabbed his pistol and opened fire. The monster roarched and charged towards them like a raging bull. They wouldn't survive another hit.

Frank grabbed her with both arms and and heaved them over, just barely missing the charge that would've turned them both to paste. The monster turned around and Frank tossed a belt full off grenades at his feet. The last one had its pin removed, "Get down!" Frank covered her with his body as an explosion of heat and shrapnel came from behind them. Norah screamed and shut her eyes in both pain and fear.

The monster was still there, "Very amusing." He kicked Frank aside and looked down at her, "Now you'll be coming with me-"

*thwip*

Gwen swung in and kicked the monster in the face with both feet. The hit was strong enough to make him stumble back and he didn't get a chance to recover before Lana sped in and hit him point blank in the gut with an energy blast. This time he flew through the air and he just finished rolling when Gwen jumped down and smashed his face with a powerful stomp.

The monster threw Gwen away only to get a face full of claw from Cindy, "Stay away from her!" she shouted. He stumbled back and Ben appeared clinging to his back in a wisp of smoke. He slapped a brick of explosives at his jaw and jumped away as it exploded.

Still standing, of course, but he didn't look that confident any more, "Well now, seems you've got some interesting friends." His misshapen face was marred with a wide sneer, "I think I'll take my leave for now, Miss."

He jumped up to a building behind him out of sight, "Fuck, we need to go after him!" Lana yelled.

"Alright, me and Striker will follow. You two stay and watch over Norah!" Cindy shouted. They exchanged nods before two of them followed after the monster.

"Norah!" Gwen knelt down and gently cradled her broken body. Her masked eyes were wide as she looked over her, "Oh God, what happened to you?"

"Not the time, Spider-Woman. We need to get her out of here. Castle too." Ben nodded to the unconscious vigilante and grabbed him too, "Come on, I know a place that can take care of them. Let's go."

"Right. It's gonna be okay, Norah. You're safe now." Gwen took her in her arms and swung over to where Ben led her. The adrenaline and every bit of energy she had left finally passed and she passed out.


Alright, now feels like the perfect time to go back to the Magical Girl chapters! ...Okay, no, I'm not that big of a dick. Anyway, we've got Mary Jane meeting her new Weapon X teammates while Norah's plot armor finally dents a bit and her PS4 Mary Jane segments bite her in the ass.

The next chapters will probably go back to either Cindy or Lana since they haven't had a lot of main plot focus lately. Mary Jane and Norah are also going to be out of commision for a bit since the former's on no contact training while the latter has to get her everything fixed. Hopefully this means we can move forward with both Cindy's Scorpion plotline and Lana investigating the Terrigen Mist.

Question:

1. As a reader, is there any single character that comes across as normal and/or not messed up in some way? Norah previously had that role but the last chapter indicated that she's as much of a freak as the rest of the cast now if she wasn't before.

2. So if I am going to do a guys night out or girls night out, which one of the two do you wanna see first? The former has Noir, Matt, Moon Knight and Iron Fist trying to actually bond while the latter has Gwen, MJ, Cindy and Lana more trying to have a day off after all the insanely stupid shit they have to deal with.

3. Among Jack, Matt, and Bullseye which villain made the most impact to you as a reader? I've had one review actually argue that the Bullseye fight taking place in Jack's carnival actually made Bullseye's actions seem less impactful compared to the shadow of Jack's effect on Noir.

Review Answers:

rc4817 - Beach chapter was more for the five main protags. The guys night out is the four male defenders trying to bond before things go belly up as they always do and they get dragged into some plot to explode the city.

If Peter didn't think of Matt was a friend why insist on Lana saving him when she was all too willing to let him die?

Hardlight - There are indicated to be religious debates in-universe ever since the demons and then Asgardians showed up, except now it's more heated since all sides have proof. And yeah, demon con men are just the worst.