Spider-Woman
Gwen was out as Spider-Woman for the first time in just over a week. If she hurried, she could make it back for her birthday party with Flash. She had to get this done sooner than later. The longer those weapons were on the streets the more people would be hurt. She felt personally responsible. It was like Uncle Ben told her. If you use your gifts for self-gain, they will be abused. She sighed.
The police had been a real hassle lately. The Daily Bugle was eating it up. Unfortunately, what she needed to do wouldn't work as Gwen Stacy. She swung her way through Manhattan, then when it gave way to the shorter buildings of the Bronx, she jumped between rooftops to avoid being seen on the streets. Eventually she ended up at her destination, Aaron Davis's converted bar. She rang the buzzer. He opened the door and motioned her inside. He sat down and opened a beer.
"I'm told you're our friend now. Miles told me to tell you whatever I knew about illegal military weapons making it to the streets."
Spider-Woman nodded.
"If I can find the source and get evidence, I can trade it for Miles's freedom."
Aaron looked her up and down.
"Now you're on our side? I thought he had to pay for his crimes."
Spider-Woman moved closer to Aaron.
"Yes, but his mother shouldn't. And he's a kid. The DA is dragging his feet. You don't have to like me; You just have to tell me what you know."
Aaron held up his hand.
"I get you. So, this is what I know. The Sorera cartel has been pushing into the city. To fight for territory, they've been buying up weapons. They're fighting Fisk for control. They're coming in by sea, along with drug shipments from Afghanistan. Pier fifty-one seems to be where the Sorera cartel security is the heaviest. Whatever is happening is coming in through there."
"Thanks."
As Spider-Woman turned to leave, Aaron grabbed her upper arm.
"I know you got powers or some shit, but these guys do not fuck around, Spider-Woman. Miles didn't tell me who you were, but he said you and him were the same. So, if you're just some kid in a mask, don't do this. My family owes you. You're good people, don't throw your life away."
"The driver of the limo those weapons killed was a good person. My… a wise man once told me that evil prospers when good people do nothing. I can take care of myself."
Aaron sighed and released her arm.
"Shit, let me get the Prowler exoskeleton on and help you. I can't let you go after them alone."
Spider-Woman turned to him and shook her head.
"I'm not going to fight them. Stopping them at the docks will just mean they'll bring them into the city somewhere else. I'm just going to plant some tracking devices. See where things are going. I promise if I'm going to confront them, I will let you know."
Aaron nodded and watched her go. Spider-Woman slipped out of the building and climbed on top of it. Then made her way to the docks. Aaron hadn't been wrong. She crouched down on top of one of the stacks of shipping containers.
A group of six openly armed men and women stood and waited while a container was unloaded. Aaron had also been right about the cartel. The people guarding the shipment were armed to the teeth. Each had a Stark Industries assault rifle. She watched them unloading a stack of boxes. Behind them were the weapons. Each crate was labeled Stark Industries. There were several workers who started unloading the crates. The workers were all armed as well. Spider-Woman needed to get closer but there was nowhere to hide her approach to those crates and while her spider-bots had decent range, it wasn't good enough to crawl from where she was to the crates that were fifty feet away.
Spider-Woman sighed. Looks like she was going to get into it with them. She jumped down from her perch on top of the stack of cargo containers and shot webs at two of the guards, incapacitating them. The rest realized they were under attack. They started running to cover and opening fire. Spider-Woman weaved and dodged through the flood of bullets. She was forced to block several with her bracers. As she did so, she dropped a hand full of trackers in the center of the crates and then danced her way out of the kill box she'd found herself in.
Spider-Woman managed to get on top of another stack of sea cans. She laid flat, panting. She was amazingly agile, but even with her spider sense she'd taken several rounds. Her body felt like it was one big bruise. She shifted to her side in an attempt to get up. Her ribs felt wrong. She realized she'd likely bruised or broken several. Or at least the bullets had. She could hear the cartel soldiers searching for her. She groaned softly and came to the realization she had a lot to learn about this superhero thing. It would be nice if she had some sort of guide, or a mentor for this part of her life. The pain was unbearable.
She could hear the cartel soldiers move around. Speaking on their radios as they tried to coordinate their search. Seconds turned to minutes and almost an hour had passed. If she didn't leave now, she'd miss her party. She tried to move and clutched her side. She clenched her teeth to avoid calling out. The cartel soldiers were still searching for her even now. She'd heard the trucks start and drive off. There was no way she could move any distance like this. Jumping and swinging were out of the question. She felt her phone vibrating. She knew it was Flash calling. She quickly reached into the courier pack she'd attached to her costume and hit decline without pulling the phone out.
Eventually the cartel soldiers moved the search to another part of the dockyard. Spider-Woman whimpered as she shifted to pull her phone out. Her heart broke when she heard the hurt in Flash's voice on the message.
"Gwen, I have tried. I have tried so hard to make this work. You're off and then you're on. I know it's your birthday, but if you can't even be bothered to call me to let me know you'll be late, or can't come… You're so flakey now. It's like I don't even know you anymore. I just… I just can't do this with you anymore."
She quickly dialed Flash back. Tears rolled down Gwen's cheeks behind her mask when she didn't even get a half-ring before it disconnected. She tried again. Same result. She held her side with the broken ribs and sobbed silently. Every sob and gasping breath sent pain shooting through her. She heard the cartel soldiers coming back her way. Through the haze of agony, she realized she needed help. She almost pressed her dad's name then stopped. He'd arrest her. She hesitated before pressing Obadiah's personal cell contact, her spider sense twitched, she pressed it anyway. And put the phone to her ear. Between the badly broken ribs and sobs her breathing was ragged.
"Obadiah… need help… traced weapons. Armed… please."
It was the most she could get out. She started to fade in and out of consciousness. In that space between the waking world and unconsciousness she heard spits of gunfire. Then voices.
"We found her."
Another touched her neck.
"Good pulse. No blood."
She heard Obadiah's voice as she was gently carried off the seacan she had taken shelter on.
"We got you. You're going to be alright."
The next thing she knew she was scooped up in Obadiah's strong arms. The pain became too much, and she lost consciousness completely.
Tony
Tony was piloting the bare metal Mark II he had just recovered from nearly crashing into the ground at terminal velocity after his suit lost power at high altitude.
"Jarvis, how we doing?"
"After your ill-advised ballistic climb, not well sir. You should land as soon as possible."
Tony banked and started towards his private island. He saw gunfire near the commercial docks.
"Sir, why are you turning."
Tony smiled as he banked and started to descend.
"Never been to the docks, let's go check them out."
"Sir, the Mark two is not equipped for combat maneuvers, descending into an active firefight is ill-advised."
"Stop worrying so much Jarvis. You'll live longer."
"As I am a computer sir, that statement is nonsense."
Tony smirked and descended. His targeting system started identifying threats. What it pointed out was that all the weapons in use were made by Stark Industries. There appeared to be two factions, one was in black tactical gear and were moving in an organized fashion. Obviously trained mercenaries. The others were dressed in street clothes and were completely overwhelmed and outmatched. He frowned and landed on the highest pile of seacans he could find and kneeled down. He noticed some Stark Industries crates. The optics zoomed in and pulled batch numbers from several.
"Jarvis, uplink to the Stark Industries servers and check the shipping manifests for those crates."
"Sir, it would appear that several crates amongst that number were in the same batch that you saw while you were imprisoned in Afghanistan."
"What are they doing here?"
Tony looked over the dock. The gunfire had settled down. He saw two of the mercenaries climb on top of a stack of cargo containers. When he zoomed in he saw them kneeling beside a woman in what appeared to be a superhero costume. It was white and black with magenta highlights. His optics identified the material as being made out of a Stark Industries ballistic weave and the costumes mask were also sourced from Stark Industries.
"What's wrong with her Jarvis?"
"She is struggling to breathe sir. It would appear there are injuries to her ribs. Based on the ballistic weave and caliber of bullets I would project several internal organs are damaged and a high likelihood of internal bleeding."
Tony's optics zoomed into a phone.
"That's a Stark Industries phone. Can you find out who its registered too?"
"No sir. Breaking the encryption is beyond my current capabilities. It appears to be next generation. Sir her injuries will require hospitalization, should I notify the local authorities?"
Tony shook his head.
"No, with the mercenaries here that might put first responders in danger. No idea who they're working for."
"I suspect they are working for your business partner, Obadiah Stane."
"Why?"
"He is present on the scene directing the mercenaries."
Tony zoomed in on Obadiah. He was kneeling beside the costumed superheroine. He patted her gently before ordering the mercenaries to get into a vehicle. He pointed to two of the mercenaries.
"You two stay here, guard the weapons and drugs. I'll send a truck and crew to clean up this mess."
Tony zoomed back into the fallen crime fighter.
"Do we have any records on her Jarvis?"
Jarvis displayed several news stories. Tony leafed through them while he waited for the bulk of Obadiah's mercenaries to clear out.
"According to news sources, she has been called Spider-Woman by the media. She appeared shortly after your capture. There is a YouTube channel of her exploits if you are interested, sir."
"Review it for me. Let me know what her capabilities seem to be."
"Of course, sir. Processing now."
Tony stood up.
"Well time to get a closer look."
"Sir, once again, I advise you the Mark Two is not combat ready."
Tony laughed and jumped down. The mercenaries unloaded on him. The bullets ricocheted off the armored suit. He punched them both in the face and broke their weapons in half. They ran away when they realized if their armor piercing rounds weren't going to do it, small arms fire from pistols certainly wouldn't. Tony kneeled down by one of the crates.
"Definitely ours. What is this?"
He held up a small clear plastic ball filled with yellow and green fluids. There was a membrane in the middle. His suit's optics scanned it.
"That appears to be a TX-01 explosive round, sir."
"I don't recall TX-01 as a type of round from Stark Industries."
"That would be because they were created shortly after your capture, sir. The name on the schematic as lead researcher is-."
Tony frowned.
"Gwen Stacy?"
"Yes, sir."
Tony shook his head. After seeing the schematics and glancing at the safe handling page he shook the ball up, breaking the membrane, the liquid turned into a green gel and he threw it against the ground. It exploded showering the area with thermite. He growled. He looked down at the crate of TX-01 and grabbed two tubes of rounds he violently shook them and tossed them one after another into the cargo container. He turned and walked away as the drugs and weapons were engulfed in a fireball and a rain of thermite.
"This is my fault Jarvis. I pulled her into it, hired her. Now Obadiah has her… She's fourteen and that TX-01 compound is a war crime waiting to happen. How would she even think to come up with something like that? This needs to stop."
"As you say, sir. I have a report on Spider-Woman's capabilities sir."
Tony continued to fly towards his island home.
"She has demonstrated enhanced strength. Enhanced reflexes, so much so she is able to dodge and block bullets. Based on the injuries she has received and her ability to do what she does night after night, I predict she has an increased healing factor. She has the ability to climb walls and cling upside down from a completely horizontal surface. She can jump at least twice as far as the world record. She produces some form of webbing. Whether it is biological or mechanical in nature is unknown. And sir, we appear to have a passenger."
Jarvis focused the optics on a small metallic pink spider that was slowly crawling up the armor's leg. Tony landed on the island and snagged it with his finger and held it in his palm. Jarvis started analyzing the drone.
"Sir, this appears to be made from a new alloy of titanium and copper. Its composition is unique. Sir, this alloy was recently registered in Stark Industries systems by Gwen Stacy."
The spider bot not restrained by the air flow from Tony flying at a high speed skittered into a joint of the armor.
"Sir, it appears to be trying to interface with the Mark Two's integrated circuitry. Now it is attempting to find an open wifi signal. It is now attempting a brute force attack on my firewall. The attacks are simple. Unsophisticated. There is no risk, sir."
Tony walked down the ramp to his garage and workshop.
"Well, if it's a tracker, it already knows where we landed. No help for it now. Transfer back to your main system. We will fish it out and take it apart while the Mark Three is fabricating. We'll need to deal with that icing problem."
Obadiah
Obadiah paced, rubbing his forehead with the back of his hand. He had a cigar between his fingers. In his other hand was a glass of whiskey. The doctor he'd found was a meek seeming man of Indian descent. He had grey balding hair. He was wearing a tweed jacket. Dr. Arn was checking Gwen over. She was unconscious. Obadiah had removed her costume and hid it before calling the doctor. She was in her bra and underwear. The doctor was shaking his head looking at the extensive damage to her chest and legs.
"Mr. Stane, this is highly irregular. Where is her legal guardian? What did you do to her?"
Obadiah's eyes went wide. His voice got louder.
"Me? You think I did this to her? She called me for help, we found her like this."
Obadiah waved his hand over Gwen's unconscious form as if to illustrate his last point. Dr. Arn wiped sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.
"She's been badly beaten. I just don't know. She needs a hospital. A CT scan for possible head injuries. An ultrasound to look for internal bleeding."
Obadiah took a drink of his whiskey, he still sounded aggravated.
"Dr. Arn, I'm paying a lot of money for your discretion, and your medical expertise. You want an ultrasound machine; I'll get you an ultrasound machine. You're here to make sure she isn't going to die. Can you do that for me?"
Dr. Arn wiped the handkerchief across his forehead again and then on the back of his neck.
"I just don't know. Her heart is strong. Her pupils are reacting to light as they should. If she's bleeding internally, she could die in minutes."
"Do you have any proof she has internal bleeding?"
"No, no, but her dense muscles make it hard to determine if there is swelling. These injuries have healed. The bruises shouldn't be this purple if this just happened. You should have called me sooner, not days later. If she is bleeding internally, she could be critical by now."
Obadiah finished his glass of whiskey.
"Is there anything you can do right now with the portable equipment here."
Dr. Arn looked over the supplies.
"I can do a blood test, get a red cell count."
"Then I suggest you do it doctor."
Gwen started to stir. Dr. Arn looked excited.
"Give her something to keep her out doctor. Now."
Dr. Arn shook his head.
"I can diagnose her better if she is awake, Mr. Stane."
"Give her something, or I'll let the New York State Medical Board know about your side business."
Dr. Arn wiped more sweat from his brow. He pulled on a pair of rubber gloves and dosed Gwen. Once he was sure she wasn't waking up he took out a vial to draw blood.
"Take three. Please, Doctor."
"But I only need one…"
"Three doctor."
Obadiah walked to the panoramic glass windows of his penthouse and leaned on one with his forearm. He scratched his forehead with the hand holding the cigar. His eyes scanned the New York City skyline. Finally, he took a long, slow pull from his cigar. He glanced back every so often to make sure the doctor was still working diligently. He started to pace and rubbed his bald head a few times before inhaling more cigar smoke. He breathed out a slow puff of smoke. The doctor seemed to be finished with his test.
"Well Doctor?"
The doctor seemed relieved.
"No signs of internal bleeding. But I cannot rule out any subdural hematomas."
Obadiah took another pull from his cigar and breathed out slowly.
"In plain English doctor."
"Brain bleeds."
Obadiah pointed at Gwen with his cigar.
"Is, there any signs of a blow to the head?"
"Well, no, bu-"
Obadiah cut him off.
"I think we can safely assume there is no head injury. Leave something for the pain. You may go."
The doctor seemed even more relieved by that statement but then he noticed something on Gwen and looked closer.
"Wasn't that bruise bigger when I got here?"
Obadiah shook his head.
"You must be tired doctor."
Obadiah tossed him an envelope.
"You'll find that more than covers your usual fee. This never happened."
"Whatever you say Mr. Stane."
The doctor picked up his bag and made his way out of the apartment. Obadiah picked up one of the extra vials of blood and looked at it with a light behind it and shook it. He smiled.
"For eighty years every government in the world has been trying to make Erskine's serum work and she does it in less than a month."
He chuckled to himself and shook his head taking another pull from his cigar. He looked down at Gwen.
"I found the new golden goose."
Gwen
Gwen woke up. She jumped when she realized she wasn't in her room. Her first clue was the satin sheets. She looked under the blankets that lay over top of her. She breathed a sigh of relief when she realized she was still in her underwear. She sat up and rubbed her face. She noticed she wasn't alone. Obadiah was there. Elbows leaning on his knees. His hands were folded. He smiled at her. Gwen tugged the sheet over her chest she blushed.
"Sorry, didn't think you wanted the doctor to see you in your costume. Weren't sure if you'd wake up. I'll let you get dressed. You'll find clothes your size in the ensuite. Wear what you want, take the rest home."
He put his hands on the arm rest and pushed himself up.
"Cook is preparing breakfast."
Gwen continued clutching the sheet to her chest.
"Where is my…?"
He pointed to a new pink backpack.
"Everything's in there. Impressive designs. I see you kept the best for yourself."
Gwen blushed then felt panic rising up.
"Obadiah I can explain."
He held up his hand.
"No need. No need. The money you've already made Stark Industries has more than made up for your little side projects. You keep producing for us, I have no trouble looking the other way. I'll see you at breakfast."
Obadiah walked out closing the bedroom door behind him. She glanced around. It was obviously a guest room and not his main room. She pondered what his wife and children would think of him having a half-naked teenage girl in his guest room. She shook her head and figured that would become clear at breakfast. She rubbed her face. The night before was a haze of pain. She barely remembered calling Obadiah for help. She shuffled to the bathroom and into the shower. She was halfway through washing her hair when her eyes went wide.
"Dad!"
She rushed through the rest of her shower. She quickly pulled on one of the sets of clothes. She chose black leggings and T-shirt. She grabbed up the other outfits, which were jeans and a skirt. Along with the excess underwear. She paused before stuffing all of the clothes in the pink backpack to ensure her entire Spider-Woman kit was there. She was relieved to see it was. She stuffed the rest in and hurried out to the penthouse proper. Obadiah was sitting at a table overlooking a wall of windows looking out over the city and his pool. He was reading a newspaper. He smiled when he saw Gwen.
"I thought you'd want longer after last night."
Gwen shook her head.
"I need to go, my dad is going to freak out."
Obadiah chuckled and folded his paper up.
"Calm down Gwen. I've already dealt with all that. I told him you ran into some trouble, some men following you. You called me because you knew I was in the area attending a function and since I knew he wasn't home I let you stay over in my guest room. All smoothed over. Nothing to worry about. So, sit down, relax, enjoy a well-earned meal."
Gwen slid into the chair across from Obadiah. She sighed and buried her face in her hands.
"I'm so sorry I dragged you into all of this Obadiah. I was impulsive and stupid. I don't even know where to start with this sp-"
He held up his hand to cut her off and leaned forward.
"Gwen, I appreciate the trust you showed in me when you called me for help. I'm glad our business relationship has evolved into a friendship based on trust. We'll discuss the rest after breakfast."
The grey-haired cook interrupted their conversation when she arrived with several plates of assorted breakfast foods. Obadiah smiled at her.
"Thank you Elsa I appreciate you coming out to cook breakfast. You can take the rest of the day. Paid of course."
Elsa gave a wide smile.
"Oh, thank you, Mr. Stane."
"I hope that visit to the zoo with your grandkids goes well."
Elsa nodded and wiped her hands off on her apron. Obadiah and Gwen started eating. Gwen ate enough for three of her. Her body was hungry from healing all the abuse she'd done to it. Obadiah watched her finish.
"So, the serum increases your dietary requirements?"
Gwen blinked at Obadiah in confusion. Obadiah expanded his question.
"The super soldier serum you developed. The one that made you what you are."
Gwen nodded.
"Makes sense, file says Steve Rogers required ten to twenty thousand calories a day after he was dosed."
Gwen was growing more confused by the minute.
"I have no idea who that is."
Obadiah leaned forward.
"It was his blood that you used to reverse engineer the serum. That's what those samples are in the liquid nitrogen in the Trove."
"Didn't know whose it was. Just the project name."
Obadiah chuckled.
"Übermensch. German is such a direct language."
Gwen shook her head.
"I don't remember seeing that on the project list."
Obadiah snapped his fingers.
"That's right, it was Rebirth in the US."
Gwen didn't like where this was going. She had no idea about any Superman project. She decided to try and slow down this train.
"This… was an accident. I have no idea how to reproduce it."
Obadiah shook his head.
"Don't be modest. You reproduced the TX-01 didn't you?"
"That was a planned experiment. This was accidental exposure to an unshielded particle accelerator."
Obadiah frowned slightly.
"So, you didn't develop a super soldier serum?"
"No, admittedly if I had I would have used it on myself. I um, wanted revenge on someone."
Obadiah tapped his finger on the desk.
"James Fisk?"
Gwen nodded.
"He killed my mother."
Obadiah stood up and leaned on a window with his forearm much like he had done the day before.
"That is why you and I are working together, we're going to change the world. You're willing to do what you need to accomplish your goals. I have no doubt if you had access to a super soldier serum you'd use it on yourself. That's what I'd assumed you'd done."
Gwen stood up and walked beside Obadiah. She looked out over the city.
"You know, one day you'll have a penthouse like this. Hell, you'll have mansions all over the world, yachts. Stick with me, I'll make you wealthy and powerful, Gwen."
Gwen gave him a weary look. Obadiah shook his head.
"Nothing like that Gwen. I'm talking business partners. You keep making me weapons. You figure out that serum. It will be my name on the building, not Stark's. World leaders, they'll fall over themselves to have a Stane weapons system. Designed by you."
Gwen folded her hands behind her back. She loved the view. The lifestyle. Obadiah was right. She could have it all. No more cramped two-bedroom apartment in Queens. She remembered how much her family struggled to pay for school and pay the rent and food before she got the job at Stark Industries. Obadiah smiled.
"You see it don't you? You're not going to waste your life like Tony. The man couldn't take anything seriously if it shot him in the heart. Was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. You're working your way up. Tony, such a disappointment, now he talks of peace and stemming the tide of weapons."
He looked at Gwen.
"Peace is a lie. I'll tell you a secret Gwen. Humans despise peace. They crave conflict. They crave war. They're going to buy weapons. Why not be the ones selling them? Someone will. Why shouldn't we profit from it? Tony, Tony lost the script. He lost the hunger. But you'll always be hungry. That is what makes you different."
Gwen let out a long slow breath.
"I want… I want to make you happy. You've helped me. You've made it so I'm not worried if I'll have food in the fridge in the morning. You've given me access to a lab so I can do things I could never imagine with my resources. But I just don't know what that serum is. I'm sorry. I was on a school trip at the Research Park. My friend was between the particle accelerator beams and I knocked him out of the way, then two days later I woke up like this."
Obadiah glanced down at her.
"That's funny. Your blood is swimming with it. Twenty times the concentration as Steve Rogers. The only man to have survived the process."
Obadiah chuckled.
"Maybe they should have picked a woman."
Gwen was extremely confused now.
"I don't… how is that even possible?"
Obadiah smiled at her.
"You tell me, you're the genius."
Gwen shook her head.
"This is biochemistry, physiology it's not… I work on machines. I don't deal with squishy things. Living things. Unless…"
Obadiah leaned close.
"Go on."
Gwen crossed one of her arms across her chest and held up her elbow her other hand tapping her chin.
"There was a spider, size of my palm. Had hundreds of eggs on its back. It vanished when… oh, it was hit by the particle accelerator too. And the eggs… There's… a shadow of a spider on my..."
Gwen touched her chest. Obadiah rubbed his hand on his head and was deep in thought.
"Well, I recall from the file on the original experiment that gamma radiation was involved. Is that a byproduct of the particle accelerator?"
Gwen snapped her fingers.
"The iron silk project. Doctor…"
She rubbed her forehead.
"I can't remember his name. He was feeding the spiders a specific type of blood and hitting them with gamma rays. I looked it up because I took one of the spiders that was encased in resin home with me. I was curious why someone would want to engineer such a huge spider."
She continued to rub her forehead with her left hand while her right hand was on her hip.
"What if… that blood was the super soldier blood. What if that spider I ran into escaped the lab… it somehow… our genetic material mixed. Probably would have killed me but it had the serum in it… maybe it even passed it to its babies. The gamma radiation from the particle accelerator activated it... Activated whatever my rapid healing is. Maybe I was coughing up spider…bits."
Obadiah rubbed his hands together.
"You might have something there Gwen. Maybe by filtering the blood through the spiders Dr. Tobias managed to accidently extract the serum?"
Gwen shrugged.
"I told you, I deal with machines, not living bits."
Obadiah approached Gwen and patted her on the back.
"You've done enough. Now about the weapons you said you'd managed to track last night…"