Gwen spent her eighth day of imprisonment staring at the vial. She hadn't gotten a chance to ask Riri to analyze it and hadn't figured out a good excuse to contact her either, so she just stared.
If Murderdock was telling the truth and that serum would give back her powers to her, she'd take it in a heartbeat, even if it had some side effects; but more likely it'd do something awful to her, something irreversible that'd eat away at her sanity or leave her wishing for death.
She wondered what it could be, how it would ruin her life, about as much as she fantasized about getting her powers back. Though, every time the fantasy involved opening the vial it would end horribly, so she tried to imagine they came back on their own, or that Riri would help her.
In the afternoon of her eighth day in limbo, robots attacked the city. It was the same robots who had fought the Avengers a few days earlier, but this time there were a lot more, and they weren't just going after heroes.
The news showed the Avengers fighting the robot army, but they seemed to struggle more than last time. That had probably just been a trial run. These are the finalized versions.
The reporters said other heroes were picking up the fight all over the city, while the screen showed the fights from several different helicopter cameras. Other than the one showing the Avengers, there was also one for the Fantastic Four, and another for Spider-Man.
The professional footage was interspersed with amateur clips taken from social media showing less known heroes, including some she didn't know, and for a moment the screen showed her team.
A big robot with tentacle arms copied straight from Doc Ock had captured Iron Heart, who wasn't moving at all. Judging by the lack of a glow from her suit's arc-reactor it seemed possible that it was just because her suit was offline, but it could be much worse. Ms. Marvel and Squirrel Girl were struggling against three smaller robots that were out-speeding them and tying Ms. Marvel in literal knots. Another tentacle from the big robot caught Squirrel Girl just as one of the smaller ones landed a powerful hit on Patriot.
The proactive target switching worried her, spoke to how advanced their AI's teamwork was. The distinct lack of America also worried her.
Daisy wasn't looking too well either, bleeding from her head while holding her side. Gwen had been hurt worse, many times, and some of her friends had too she suspected, but being unable to help Daisy was tearing her up inside.
She kept her eyes on the TV, hoping that they'd show her some hint as to where the Secret Warriors were fighting.
She wanted to help somehow, and would have called someone for backup if Daisy hadn't obviously done it already. She was a great leader after all, and that situation was not good.
On the TV she saw Daisy attack the smaller robots directly with a sonic blast, but she didn't see any obvious effect of it at first. That is, until they hit Inferno much harder than before, so hard he wouldn't get up again. They stepped over him without any care as they approached Daisy, who made a protective dome for herself that the three robots immediately started digging into.
The camera refocused, showing more of the street, which let Gwen see the Avengers fighting in the background. She knew where they had been fighting, of course, had recognized it especially well thanks to the high angle from the news helicopter. Without hesitation Gwen opened the vial Murderdock had given her, and she would've chugged it immediately if it hadn't moved before she got the chance. The liquid stretched over her skin, under her clothes, until it had completely covered her.
She charged out the door, out of her safe house, without wasting a second, then web-slung the rest of the way. Mind was laser focused, disregarding everything that wouldn't help destroy those robots.
Muscles didn't hurt yet, pulled harder, pushing self to move faster, swung past other robots on the way, irrelevant. Took a corner fast, didn't see the robot hovering there before Spider-Sense alerted of the danger.
It was small, punched through it, kept swinging down the streets, muscles aching from lack of oxygen.
Saw a big robot holding several people, as well as a girl untangling her limbs, swung past. A mound with three robots digging into it. There. Pulled to the ground, or rather a robot. Crushed its head, leg well into its body.
One of the robots charged, webbed the chest, swung it around once before tossing it into the other robot. Both were getting up. Attempted to get closer. One robot fired an energy blast of some kind, dodged before it had even locked on, webbed the other robot in time to make it stumble down nearby. Pulled off the armor panels, bending them.
Another blast from the other robot, used its friend as a shield while pulling apart its contents. Only sensed motionless scrap instead of a robot, tossed it at the last one, before charging at it. It was faster, but it didn't run, tried to fight. Big mistake.
When Rayshaun woke up the big robot was holding him in its arms. It also had Iron Heart, Squirrel Girl, and Inferno. Ms. Marvel was just getting herself untangled, and the three smaller robots were attacking a dome, Quake was probably using it to shield herself from their attacks, it didn't look good for them.
Before he knew what was happening a black figure landed on one of the robots, taking it out instantly. The black figure, a woman, was wearing a stretch-suit with spiked shoulders and a hood like razor sharp teeth with a tongue-like scarf trailing behind her.
He didn't know of any superhero with a suit like that, no villain either for that matter, and Ms. Marvel seemed equally unsure about the new combatant. She looked between the lady in black and the big robot, distracted by her even as the robot got ready to attack.
"Focus on the big one for now!"
She nodded and readied herself.
She was worn out, and needed to pull herself together, literally, so she focused on avoiding the tentacles that came grabbing for her. The robot had eight arms so even as it held four of them, he himself included, it had another four arms to attack her with which meant there was a lot to dodge.
Next to him Squirrel Girl was unhurt, and Iron Heart had gotten her suit online, but Inferno was still unconscious. The three of them struggled as best they could, trying to make it harder for the robot to land a hit on Ms. M and keep holding them at the same time.
Behind Ms. Marvel the lady in black ruthlessly tore the robots to shreds before she turned on the dome and started digging. The big robot swung one of its arms like a whip, stretching long enough to hit the lady in black if she hadn't dodged it. Instead it hit the dome, tearing away a few chunks of it. Not a second later she was charging at the robot.
This one was bigger than the ones she had destroyed before, and had thicker armor, but she targeted the spots where the tentacles joined with its body, punching them clean off and freeing both Iron Heart and him in the process. She used the holes in the armor to get a better grip as she pulled at it.
The robot tried to grab her but before its tentacles got close enough Iron Heart blasted them with enough power to cause a malfunction. As if the wires had been cut where she blasted it, the arms fell limp beyond that point. Ms. Marvel, who had gotten a moment to rest, wrestled with its remaining two arms.
The lady in black bent the robot's armor panels enough to reach inside and tore out its components, much like she'd done to the second of the three smaller robots, and it didn't take long before it broke down.
Once it stopped moving, she turned back to the dome Quake had made, or more accurately: where the dome used to be. Quake had opened it up again and Squirrel Girl was taking a look at her. The lady in black rushed towards them.
"She's going for Quake, stop her!" he shouted, still unsure of whether she was friend or foe, but unwilling to risk his partner to give her the benefit of the doubt when she was charging.
The lady in black, webbed both of his arms, pulled them together and to his right, before vaulting over him. Ms. Marvel embiggened herself and made a grab for her but missed both tries, Squirrel Girl made herself combat ready as the lady in black got close, but was pushed away like she was nothing.
The lady in black stopped abruptly and began checking Quake for injuries.
"Ookay... I guess it was fine."
"Kind of weird how she charged all of a sudden, though," Ms. Marvel said.
"Everyone else alright?" their team leader asked, as the lady in black kept checking her for injuries.
Out of the corner of his eyes, Rayshaun just barely saw the streak of golden glow in the sky that usually meant Captain Marvel was around, but it was gone before he could get a proper look. There were nods all around, except for Inferno who was still out.
"Inferno isn't up yet, but everyone else seems good," he said. Ms. Marvel quickly ran over to him, scared.
"They hit him harder than you, like they'd gone insane or something. It's why I had to hide in that dome until backup arrived. He'll need first aid."
"On it." Patriot hurried over, but left both Iron Heart and Squirrel Girl with Quake.
After having fussed over her for well over two minutes the mystery hero took a step back with a nod, apparently satisfied that she wasn't injured. Something about how she did it, maybe in the pose or in the self satisfied little sound she made, reminded Quake of Gwen.
"Ghost-Spider?"
The mystery hero jumped back slightly. She looked around for a second before she left, web-slinging away. She even has Gwen's powers.
"Should we... go after her or something?" Squirrel Girl asked.
"I don't know." Daisy wasn't sure what to think about her. The way she'd acted was just like Gwen but...
"If that is Ghost-Spider," Iron heart said, "why didn't she say anything?"
"Don't know. But for now, since it seems like the robots have something built in to stop you, see if you can't provide backup to the mystery hero." She hoped that she was making the right call, could be trouble if she wasn't.
Iron Heart hurried after the mystery hero.
"Is Inferno alright?" She turned her focus to the rest of her team and what they could do to help in the crisis. If they could keep going that'd be the best course of action, but she suspected not all of them would.
"Not sure, it could be anywhere from no problem to a serious concussion. Best to take him to a hospital just to be sure," Patriot answered. Not good.
"Alright, take him, then group back up with us. The rest of you: we've still got robots swarming the streets and other villains taking advantage."
"Right," Ms. Marvel said with a nod. She was obviously worried about Inferno but, like Daisy, she was trying to focus on what they should be doing.
She swung away. Daisy was safe, the robots obliterated. She was happy.
It didn't take long before she noticed an enemy following her, completely out in the open. They hadn't set off her Spider-Sense, but she already knew that it wasn't flawless so that didn't necessarily mean anything.
After getting around a corner she quickly changed direction and stuck herself to the buildings wall. Her pursuer stopped after rounding the corner, probably because she'd lost her.
? shot away from the wall readying a swing, but she stopped, instead landing on her pursuer, Iron Heart. Her friend.
Iron Heart pulled back, probably on reflex since it wouldn't help when she was already attached.
She crocked her head before jumping off swinging down the street, robbed of a battle. SHe, they? noticed someone looting a broken display window, and jumped down to fight them.
It was a big green reptile in a lab coat that quickly swung at their head with its claws. They ducked under it and hit back a few times. Iron Heart fired at the reptile, which wasn't appreciated.
They shot a web in Iron Heart's direction, hoping she'd understand. And she did, flying back a bit and staying out of the fight.
What followed wasn't like with the robots, no destruction, but they got to hit the Lizard quite a bit before he ultimately went down and they webbed him in place on a wall. After they put the pile of electronics he had taken back into the display window they swung away, with Iron Heart still following them.
After their battle with the Lizard, ? let Iron Heart in on their battles which ranged from normal robbers they could take down by just webbing them up, to the robots they could destroy, to super criminals which were fun but in a different way.
All in all it lasted a few hours with little boring between-fights-time. They were exhausted, but in the best way possible. ? was still patrolling, looking for more enemies, but figured that since the fighting had died down it was time for them to head home.
They stopped. Where was home? What was a home even supposed to be? And who were they? Iron Heart was still following them, was that okay? Should they escape? They weren't sure but figured it'd probably be for the best if they got away. Got some time to figure things out for themselves.
? took off again, moving as fast as they could in their tiered state. They swung fast, making quick turns whenever they left Iron Heart's view, doubling back below her, turning into narrow alleyways, and even at one point going through a building.
It took a while but they got away, hid carefully and waited. Iron heart moved on after she failed to locate them, and ? went down into the sewers to avoid getting spotted again, too tired to repeat their escape.
As they moved around they tried to figure out their situation. They knew a lot about a lot of things. They knew who their enemies were, knew who their friends were, but they didn't know what 'family' or 'dad' really meant anymore. And most of their friends weren't really their friends; they were her friends , Gwen's. But who was 'Gwen'? Who were they? What were they? And were they one person or two?
They left the sewers next to a dumpster, and without a clear home to return to, after all they could only think of homes that belonged to 'Gwen', they decided to sleep there that night.
Riri met up with her team late that evening. It hadn't been physically exhausting really, since her armor and A.M.I., her AI, had done most of the heavy lifting, but she was still tiered from working nonstop for hours like that.
When she came down the elevator the team was waiting for her.
"What's up?"
"It's Gwen. She disappeared during the attack." Kamala said.
"So like I said GiB could definitely be Gwen," Doreen said.
"Are we really calling her GiB?" Kamala asked.
"Do you want to keep saying Girl in Black? No? Then we're calling her GiB."
"Except she would have said something, right?" Daisy looked at her.
"Well she didn't say anything while we were fighting together, even in the end when we split up."
"Could be that Murderdock got to her." Patriot said, and Kamala shot him a glare.
"Do we know where this GiB is now?" America asked. She was the only one there who hadn't met her, since as a heavy-hitter she'd been in the thick of it together with Captain Marvel. Technically Inferno hadn't met her either but he wasn't there, presumably because the hospital had wanted him to stay the night for further observation.
"It seemed like she wanted me to leave her alone so we separated ten minutes ago. She could be anywhere by now."
Daisy slammed her fist on the wall she was leaning on. It was unusual for her to lose her cool, but then that day wasn't really a usual one anymore. One teammate missing and another in the hospital, as their leader that must have been awful for her.
"For now, let's reach out to anybody she might have contacted as well as S.H.I.E.L.D. and any heroes who know her; let them know that she's missing and to tell us if they hear from her or spot her somewhere," Riri suggested.
"Yeah." Daisy said with a grim frown. She didn't say anything, didn't clue them in on her thoughts, as she went to the OPS room.