Chapter 14

Kumo stood ramrod straight, with fists curled and head-up. Her mask hid her facial expression, and the white eye pieces hid her eyes. Spider-man couldn't quite read her mood as result. The fact that her fists were curled was not encouraging though. After leading the way to this roof top, she'd simply turned around and remained silent. Now it was just him and her, standing a distance away from each other and staring. It was making Spider-man feel awkward.

"I uhhh… see you've been helping people," he began.

"I have," she replied.

"What brought that on?" Spider-man asked, "Last time I saw you, you were all violent and angry."

It was a bit unnerving how she just kept staring. Being on the receiving end of her gaze, Spider-man conceded that white eye pieces were probably a terrible costume choice now that he was thinking about it. No emotion whatsoever. But it'd been what he could find as a high school kid with no job and now it was his iconic look, for better or worse.

"No."

"No?"

"No."

Spider-man frowned. "I don't get it, no what?"

"No."

"You're gonna have to be a bit clearer with me here, Kumo," Spider-man said, spreading his arms, "I've got no clue what you're getting at."

"No as in, I will not talk about myself. What do you want?"

"I dunno Kumo, I think it's important," Spider-man said, "You don't live in a vacuum. Your actions have consequences and affect others. You could have easily gotten hurt yourself or others hurt."

The girl cocked her head. "I can understand the argument for other people, but I fail to see how my health is any of your concern."

Spider-man paused in surprise. "What?"

"I will not repeat myself."

"Kumo, you have great power, and with that comes great responsibility," Spider-man said, "Your actions can cause great harm-"

"I understand that, I'm asking 'Why do you care?'."

Spider-man hesitated before pointing a thumb at his chest and putting on his best grin, not that she could see it. "It's what I do. I'm the 'Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-man'!"

Kumo was silent for several seconds. Then she grunted, "What do you want?"

"I want to understand you," Spider-man confessed.

Somehow, Kumo's entire posture seemed to tighten.

"You popped up one day wreaking violence at every turn, then suddenly you're rescuing store clerks and saving delivery boys. It doesn't make sense and as one of the people who tries to help out in this city it's important that I know if you're here to help or not. Even if it's only for my own peace of mind."

"I only attacked criminals," Kumo said.

"You're strong enough that even criminals deserve some leniency, don't you think?" Spider-man retorted, "I'm sure you're aware how easy it is to kill with our kind of strength."

"You assume we share the same strength…"

"I've watched your work," Spider-man said with a shrug, "It's a safe bet."

Maybe if he…

"You know, I started like that too," Spider-man said, watching her carefully.

She twitched. A slight cocking of the head and nothing more. A normal human might not have caught that. Yet still she said nothing.

"I tried to use my powers selfishly in the beginning so when I had the chance I refused to stop a criminal. Said it wasn't my problem," every time he told the story it was still so raw, "On my way home I found that the very same criminal had killed someone dear to me. So I went after him. I was too late and I was angry but I went after him regardless and I was… less than gentle."

Kumo shifted for the first time since they'd started speaking. Her fists loosened, her posture was not quite as straight as before.

"I almost went too far," Spider-man admitted, "but that was also the moment I realized that great power comes with great responsibility. I had the power to prevent that entirely and in choosing to act selfishly I let someone else suffer something they didn't deserve."

Kumo was still quiet but it wasn't the unnerving silence of before. It had a new quality that Spider-man couldn't quite place his finger on.

"It has something to do with Yukino Arthur doesn't it?" he asked. "You went up to her suite. You fought."

Kumo shifted again, this time with a mesmerizing smoothness. "Spider-woman told you about that."

Spider-man rubbed his head sheepishly, "Yeah she did. She's been looking for you and asked for my help."

Probably shouldn't tell her that I'm only getting around to it just now…

Kumo snorted, "It is past. There is nothing further to discuss there."

"I think there is," he shook his head, "She's done something that has the attention of some of the most dangerous people in the criminal world. Her security is superhuman too. Just one of them was enough to catch me sneaking around and throw me out. You're one of the best leads I've got."

"Why not ask the Arthur's directly?" Was it just him or did she sound reproachful? "I'm sure they would have told you as much as you wanted to know."

Spider-man blinked, caught off guard by the question. "Well, Spider-woman was helping them so I decided to let her handle things on that end."

"Then why not allow her to continue?" Kumo pressed, "Why come to me now?"

Because Gwen's been trying to catch you for weeks now with no luck. Though Gwen had a number of handicaps making her search harder.

"I…" Spider-man paused and then sighed, "You're right. I should've gotten involved long before things got so far out of hand. Sometimes my best just isn't enough and there're too many things going on." He looked directly into her eyes, as much as the mask would allow anyway. "But the thing is, Spider-woman and I are stuck. We've got nothing left to try. Yukino runs a tight ship. The only one who seems to know anything is you."

She burst out laughing.

Spider-man frowned in confusion. "What?"

"Oh nothing…" Kumo said, recovering her composure, "I don't know anything more than you. She has something criminals want. That's it."

"Wait. Then why did you go and attack her?"

"That is none of your business."

"I think it is. You can't just go around attacking civilians. Especially not with our kind of strength."

Kumo's guard was back up. "Don't lump me in with you. Your principles are not my own."

Spider-man tensed, "You're telling me attacking civilians is okay?"

"You're putting words in my mouth," Kumo replied, "Keep it up and I will put my knuckles in yours."

"Then what are you saying?"

"If it serves my purposes to attack a 'civilian' as you call them, then I will. It's that simple."

Spider-man took a deep breath in an attempt to relax. This did not need to escalate. "I need to know that you won't just attack random civilians on a whim, Kumo."

That seemed to strike a chord with her. She visibly tensed, seeming to briefly sink into a far more menacing pose, coiled up and poised to strike.

"A whim?" her voice was soft. "A whim?"

"If you'd just give me some idea-"

"I will leave this roof, Spider-man," she interrupted. "If you follow me, I will hurt you. If you ever see me again do not approach me, or I will hurt you."

She took a run and dove over the opposite side of the roof.

Spider-man slapped his forehead. "Way to go, Pete."

He hadn't even gotten to ask her how she knew the Arthurs. Not that she would've answered the question. Spider-man sighed thinking about what to do next. The Kumo bridge was burned. He'd have to find some other source of information.

…Or he could follow her.

He watched her swinging away for several seconds. She was pretty amateur. She'd be easy to keep track of.

"This is going to go swell. I can feel that old Parker luck brewing," he muttered and jumped off the roof.

A flick of the wrist later and he was swinging after her. So long as he stayed well behind her and a few stories higher, and maybe parallel her movements a few blocks over, why… everything should turn out just fine.

xXx

That absolute pretentious prick! I snarled mentally as I flipped through the air.

I twisted just in time to run along the side of some offices before leaping back into the air and swinging again. I was moving violently, kicking and swiping at imaginary opponents mid-air. My movements were wild and out of control… but I couldn't care less about that even this high up. If I landed on my hands I did a handspring, if I landed on my feet I jumped again. I was strong enough that my own body weight meant very little to me.

The ground was far below me. A distant thing that I had ample reaction speed to avoid crashing into. I slammed down on top of a roof, not even bothering to roll to dissipate the force. I felt the impact rattle my knees and imagined it was me landing a double kick on a particularly tough opponent. I straightened up and stared at the city of New York, laid out before me in all its cramped, noisy glory.

The anger simmered in me, like an oven on low heat. I didn't want to go home angry but I had no idea what to do to burn it off. I couldn't even train either. I felt contained, invisible walls of impotence, closing in. All this rage and nothing to do with it.

Who does he think he is?!

I punched an AC unit next to me and it folded into twisted metal. I had just cost someone money. I pulled back, furious once more. I needed somewhere to vent. Something physically tiring enough to take my mind off things. But nothing came to mind. I took off again aimlessly. I swung around and around until I found myself somewhere near the Financial District. I didn't bother to check where exactly.

The building on my left had a number of flagpoles that I used for aerial maneuvering practice. I flung myself between them and the traffic lights below, with the odd street lamp thrown in because why not. I wasn't sure how long I did that for, what I did know for certain is that I wasn't calming down. I landed on a flagpole bearing the American flag, bounced once to eliminate my momentum and then crouched when I had landed again. I watched the streets below, still full of people and cars and vendors even at whatever late hour this was.

"A whim…" I hissed.

I looked into the glass of the window pane I was next to and froze, felt the rage building.

"I warned you…"

xXx

Ah it was always awkward when they weren't moving anymore. Then you had to find cover that was safe enough to keep watching. But the thing was, in order to watch you had to break cover every now and then or your quarry might decide to move and you'd miss it. Spider-man leaned away from the corner and restarted his 60 second count before he would check again.

It was at this point that his Spider Sense decided to bang a drum in his skull. [MOVE!]

Spider-man leaped off the wall just as a black blur slammed into his hiding spot with an incredible crash and the sound of crumbling concrete. Floating backwards, Spider-man got the full view of Kumo standing in a hollowed out chunk of a wall and turning back to glare at him.

"That looks structurally unsound," Spider-man's mouth said.

Kumo dove at him and Spider Sense warned him again. This time Peter was prepared and swung out of the way, coming to a stop at the next building. He looked up to find Kumo right in his face and in the middle of a landing a punch somewhere painful. Peter hopped backwards and she smashed the window he'd been standing on.

"Kumo the glass will land on someone-"

The girl pivoted mid-air, sticking a landing on the patch of wall just past the open window and slamming a punch in Peter's sternum that launched him clean off the wall. Peter found himself resisting the urge to vomit as he flew through the air at speed. He crashed through a window and rolled on the floor until he fetched up against something. An office desk. He was in an office.

God, she hit almost as hard as Rhino…

"Maybe we don't have the same strength," Peter muttered to himself as he struggled to his feet.

Kumo landed smoothly in the opened window, flowing directly into a run that turned into another haymaker. His Spider Sense was way ahead of her and Peter flipped sideways, trying for a kick of his own as he did so.

"I can dodge something like that while singing McLuhan backwards," because of course he had to keep running his mouth.

Kumo blocked it with her shoulder, caught his leg with the hand of the same arm, spun and hurled him through the wall ahead of her. Peter smashed right through the wall and slammed into the one behind it. He was in a reception. He fell into the receptionists chair just as Kumo walked through the wall.

"I warned you," she stated flatly.

"I'm sorry, do you have an appointment?"

She moved. Spider Sense flared. Peter dodged nothing at all but suddenly she was in front of him and her fist was buried in the wall right next to his head.

What speed!

Peter made to dodge but she caught him again, drawing him back for a blow. He bent backwards and her fist soared above him. He jumped clear telling himself to keep his distance but he felt the tug of rope at his back and suddenly he was yanked backwards. Kumo was already mid-spin and her heel was lashing out. The kick caught Peter cleanly in the jaw and he was knocked back into the office he'd been punched out of.

Peter tried to get up, but his brain felt like it was full of pins and needles. The room was hazy.

C'mon Pete, you've endured worse!

He staggered to his feet, thinking as fast as he could through the haze. She was stronger and faster and clearly better at fighting than he was. Getting close was suicide. His Spider Sense seemed to agree. As Kumo walked into the room and began closing distance his Spider Sense was slowly dialing up from a steady drone of tingles to the realm of clanging bells. Close combat was off the table. What else could he do?

Her aerial movement skills were crap, Peter remembered.

He leaped backwards just as Kumo lunged- but she was too late. He was outside and swinging. She jumped after him and tried to follow but she did not have his familiarity with free-fall forces. Peter bounced and zipped around her, constantly changing angles so she always had to turn to keep up with him. The cold air and adrenaline helped wake him up and he began to speak again.

"Alright, I know how this looks-"

She kicked at a wall he had briefly stopped on and broke some concrete free.

"Look you gotta stop doing that. Those might land on someone."

She leaped for a spot in the air but Peter had already jerked himself out of the way with a web line.

"It doesn't bother you?" he said, hoping against hope that it would get her attention.

"I'll worry about that after I break your legs," she replied.

"Oddly specific intent you got there," Peter's mouth said, but his mind was racing.

"Looks appropriate from here," she blandly replied.

"Some might call it extreme…"

He got no further reply.

He'd have to lead her away if she was going to keep causing collateral. He had to change environment to somewhere he could keep the aerial advantage while also being away from the average civilian. Were they still doing that construction job on the Second Avenue?

xXx

Gwen was tired. She spent a lot of time helping Alex catch up on her school work and that left less time for patrolling and Kumo hunting. That and general crime fighting along the way. She'd been searching in Brooklyn before Kumo had come up on the news in Queens. Then she began searching after her meetings with Alex. She hadn't had much luck. Usually, by the time Kumo seemed to be out and about Gwen was either in Harlem or on the verge of having to return to Harlem. Who would've thought that teaching someone required actual preparation and forethought?

Gwen knew that Alex did not have many people to rely on. The smile the darker girl would direct at Gwen when she said thank you made it so Gwen could not find it in herself to be a flake. Not for that. Not after she promised. She just so happened to stop on a rooftop and play around with her phone a bit to entertain herself before heading home when she saw a new viral video: Spider-man tussling with Kumo mid-air in the Financial District.

Gwen turned back around.

xXx

Spider-man was running away and I had no intention of letting him go when he was clearly going to follow me. If his word couldn't be trusted I'd make sure that he couldn't follow me home before the night was out. That was easier said than done. He was way more familiar with moving at these heights than I was. People were dots below us as we bounced and swung between buildings.

Spider-man found a sky scraper under construction and bounced between it and its surrounding buildings, ascending all the while. Ever since I caught him in the office space he'd been real careful about not staying still. I followed him regardless, doing my best to keep up. I came up on the roof to find a small metal beam flying my way.

I caught it with both hands and set it down, webbing it to the floor. "All that talk about collateral and look what you do."

"I know my physics," Spider-man replied perched on a steel beam up above.

The floor we were on was the highest, dwarfing the buildings next to us, but it was also incomplete. Stacks of metal beams littered the floor, an incomplete frame of the next few floors hung above and a bunch of other materials and tools that could prove a hazard if stepped on.

"This doesn't have to be a fight," Spider-man said while I was taking the place in.

"I disagree."

"Clearly," he replied, "What I'm trying to say is we can still get along. I just want to know you're trustworthy. That's the only reason I even tried to follow you."

I laughed. "You want to know if I'm trustworthy?"

"Okay so maybe it was a mistake to follow you-"

"There is no maybe," I cut in. "I will remove your ability to follow me. I will not compromise."

Silence hung between us, tense and heavy.

Spider-man cocked his head. "That sounds lethal."

I leaped for him and he jumped clear, plastering me to his previous perch with a blast of webbing. I was caught completely by surprise.

"I can't believe that worked," he said from another perch.

I dug my hands in between me and the beam and slowly began to shove myself off.

"Sorry chuckles but I'm gonna have to say no freedom for you," Spider-man landed on the beam I was attached to and started firing more web at me, "I'm much too concerned about my pretty little hide."

I curled all my limbs beneath me while he worked until I was completely wrapped up. He turned me over, sticking me facedown to the underside of the beam. I braced my back against the metal, placed palms beside them for as much leverage as I could get it and raised my legs as close to my chest as my bindings would allow while Spider-man flipped to the ground and stared up at me.

"Maybe you can cool off while you're up there," he said, "and as a gesture of goodwill I'm actually going to go home now." He paused. "For real this time-"

I shoved downward with as much muscle mass as my impromptu chamber positioning would allow. I tore through his webbing and slammed into the floor feet first, cracking it badly. Without pause, I zoomed in close, already primed for a punch. To his credit Spider-man started dodging. He just started dodging too late.

My fist collided solidly with the side of his head and he went flying, slamming into one of the support beams of the floor we were on so hard that it bent around him. He groaned, started to speak, then made to dodge again only for my follow-up knee to the gut to drive him deeper into the metal. I caught him before he could finish falling and slammed him into the floor, pinning him there.

He was completely at my mercy. All I had to do was follow through and cripple him. But I could not move. I saw him breathlessly trying to get up, his hands scrabbling at mine as he tried to recover and I couldn't bring myself to hurt him. The idea of actually going through with it… bothered me.

For a moment I saw Grandpa's gentle smile, Your heart and mind are at odds, Yukiko.

Spider-man kicked me off him. I flipped through the air, landing on a beam up above just in time to catch him yanking on a web-line.

What? When did he-

Something solid slammed into the back of my head, knocking me off my perch. I fell to the floor with a ringing head and double vision. Metal clanged next to me masking almost all sounds. But I could still catch faint footsteps rushing toward me. I forced myself up preparing to swing a fist blindly.

"That is enough!"

xXx

Gwen landed between them and reached out, stopping Kumo's punch and holding her other hand up in a 'Halt' gesture. Peter cut his run at Kumo short.

"Gw-Ghost Spider," Spider-man's voice said.

"What's going on here? Why are you fighting?" she couldn't truthfully say that she wasn't a little hurt. Peter had been very kind to her and Kumo had been friendly, in her own weird way. Then the attack on Yukino happened and now the two of them were fighting.

Without even waiting for an answer she turned on Kumo, "And you. I've been trying to find you. Do you have any idea how I felt when I came to talk to you and you were missing? You were injured and then you disappeared."

Kumo was still recovering the metal beam Peter had yanked into the back of her head. She seemed dazed.

"Well," Peter spoke up, "I was just trying to figure out if she was dangerous or not."

Gwen turned to him.

"You've gotta admit her track record has been pretty violent," Peter pointed out. "When I first saw her she had knocked over an armoured truck and was in the middle of throwing down with Shocker. She was not gentle about any of it."

That was true. Gwen had actually been meaning to talk to Kumo about that as well.

"I don't see why that means the two of you should fight," Gwen replied, "You're both nice people."

Peter seemed taken aback. Kumo let out something that seemed remarkably like a snort.

Gwen looked between them. "Did I say something wrong?"

Peter rubbed his the back of his neck, "Well… I mean… I try my best… don't always succeed but-"

"There is no such thing as an inherently nice person," Kumo said, "It is learned."

Wait. Kumo didn't talk like that.

"You're not Kumo," Gwen frowned.

"I am," the other girl replied, now resting lightly on her feet.

"Kumo doesn't talk like that."

"I learn fast."

That was a possibility. She wasn't going to talk in blunt, broken English forever and it had been, what, a month?

"You want me speak like this?" Kumo said.

That was Kumo alright. Down to the syllables.

"How-?"

"I learn fast."

All Gwen's doubts flew out the window. That kind of specialized obtuseness was a craft in of itself.

"You know, I still can't tell if I hate you or I like you," Gwen confessed.

Kumo laughed. It was very brief but it was the very first time Gwen had ever heard her laugh. She had one of those laughs that made your heart all warm inside. Maybe it was the genuineness. But then how did you measure a laugh's genuineness? Pure didn't describe it either. It was rather plain as laughs go. Perhaps it was the clarity of her amusement. A single laugh and Gwen was smiling too.

"So it is you," she said.

"I was me the last time I checked, yes," Kumo replied, "It's been a while."

Peter raised his hand. "I'm lost."

"It's fine," Gwen said, "There's a lot that needs to be said."

The reminder of the severity of the situation sobered the mood.

"Let's start with why you two were fighting," Gwen said, "Spider-man's already said his piece. What's yours Kumo?"

"I was going to cripple him."

The statement was made so matter-of-factly that it took Gwen a moment to realize what she'd just said. "What?"

Kumo remained silent.

"You can't do things like that, Kumo!" Gwen said.

"I will do what I think is necessary," Kumo replied, voice flat, "Regardless of who disagrees."

Gwen's heart froze. "Spider-man's a hero, Kumo. He's saved countless lives."

Kumo cocked her head. "I don't see what that has to do with me."

"If you cripple him, you take away one of the guys keeping New York safe!"

"That's not my problem."

She couldn't be serious. She couldn't really be… She hadn't seemed like that before…

"I'm sure your confusion stems from your interactions with her. I'm sure she appeared calm, even friendly to a degree. Those things are true… to a point."

Mr. Arthur's words resurfaced in Gwen's mind. As she stared at the girl in black she began to wonder…

Do I… know her… really?

Peter was looking at her as well. A stranger wouldn't be able to tell because of the mask but Gwen was no stranger. He was surprised too. And wary.

"The consequences of his actions are his. The consequences of mine are mine," Kumo stated, "He lied and followed me. If I cripple him so he can no longer do so, I fail to see how his inability to save people becomes my problem. When you stick your hand in fire, do you blame the flame for burning you?"

"Fire doesn't have thoughts and feelings," Peter pointed out, "You do."

"Stop shoving the responsibility for your behavior on me," Kumo replied, voice growing cold. "You seem to be under the impression that I owe you something."

"I'd say we all have some basic responsibilities towards each other," Peter said, "Haven't humans as a species come this far by helping each other?"

"That's your entirely subjective opinion."

Things were breaking down.

"I understand your reluctance to take my word for it but this is important. If you go in blind, you will only make things worse."

Holding Kumo to her expectations was only turning her away. If there was to be peace, Gwen had to see how Kumo was thinking.

"Alright, let's talk about something else," Gwen suggested, looking between the two of them.

There was tension now, hanging between them. A thin line that could snap at any moment.

"Kumo, you went and attacked Mrs. Arthur," Gwen said, "Why? It doesn't seem like you."

And you seemed so miserable afterward…

"I already tried-" Peter started.

"I attacked her because she is the problem," Kumo answer, "So long as her ambition exists, John and Alex can never be safe."

"And did you ask how Alex feels about it?" Gwen couldn't quite keep the accusation out of her tone.

"I'm well aware of Alex's feelings," Kumo replied.

"I dunno, that didn't sound like an answer," Gwen said. "It was a yes or no question."

Kumo paused. "…No."

"If you didn't ask how can you know that what you did was right?" Gwen couldn't help getting angry. "You don't get to make decisions for other people."

"But their responsibilities when they get in my way are my problem?" One could hear the raised eyebrow in her tone.

"That's not-"

"Whatever," Kumo interrupted, "Don't answer that. I don't want to know."

She's like a completely different person…

Gone was the hard-working, dutiful person just trying to help her family. The Kumo Gwen was looking at felt a lot more sinister and moody.

"When Kumo reaches a certain point, she ceases to be reasonable. It is much like a switch."

Gwen needed to talk to Mr. Arthur more. After this discussion.

"What about Mrs. Arthur makes you say she's the problem?" Peter spoke up. "What's her ambition?"

"I don't know what it is exactly, only that it is called Utsugi," came the answer. "Wilson Fisk wanted some of it."

Gwen glanced at Peter. "Wilson Fisk. He's the Kingpin here right?"

Peter looked at her oddly. Then Gwen remembered that she was not supposed to say things that made it obvious she was not from this Earth. But Kumo was too new to catch the error. It should be fine.

"Yeah, he is," Peter replied. He held a hand up to his chin thoughtfully. "What's an Utsugi?"

"It's Japanese for a type of hydrangea," Kumo shrugged, "That's all I can tell you."

"What would Fisk want with flowers?" Spider-man cocked his head quizzically.

Kumo shrugged again. "I've removed myself from such thinking. I have other priorities."

Gwen stared at Kumo. The other girl's stance and tone of voice gave away nothing.

"What kind of priorities?" Gwen asked.

Kumo stared at her, glanced at Peter and then stared back at her. "I'm growing strong enough to protect my family. That woman can do as she pleases."

There was no waver in her tone, only rock hard certainty. A flat, blunt statement.

"There is background that you lack. She can and she will, especially because of Alex's feelings."

"You already wrote her off when you went there that day…" Gwen realized.

Mr. Arthur, bedridden and holed up in a hospital away from the action, relying only on incomplete news reports had seen it coming. Gwen who had helped Kumo grow into her power, hadn't seen it coming at all. Had not thought Kumo truly capable of cruelty. She'd seemed so worried about hurting people too much. In their first brawl Gwen had seen the way she'd been concerned about hitting people too hard.

I really don't know her, Gwen realized. All I have are bits and pieces.

Bits and pieces of a very concerning whole…

"You have been kind to me, so I will be blunt," Kumo said, "You're talking about things that you know nothing about. If my silence means that you hate me I don't mind that one bit."

That kind of hurt, surprisingly. Gwen couldn't quite place when… but she'd gotten invested. All that time spent with Alex as her only fresh normal friend from this Earth had influenced her thinking. Kumo too, had been becoming kind of a friend. They'd done patrols together and had hotdogs on the rooftops together. For her to say something like that so easily…

Kumo glanced at Peter and inclined her head toward him. "Thanks to Spider-woman, I won't harm you. Be aware, this will not happen twice."

Kumo turned away, "If that's everything…"

"Wait!"

Kumo paused and turned around. Gwen's words caught in her mouth. She wasn't sure what to say. The only thing she was certain of was that she didn't want this moment to end like this. It felt like she was losing a friend, odd as the situation might be. There was something about Kumo, painfully rude as she had been just now, that said that her nature was forged in pain. Gwen remembered Kumo injured and crying as she carried her away from a broken and battered penthouse balcony. Gwen also remembered a period in her life when she was also this callous.

"You're right," Gwen said.

Kumo twitched in what seemed like surprise. The mask made it hard to tell.

"We don't know much about you beyond the bare basics," Gwen said, "So, maybe everything I just said is out of line. But, you know, if you do want help at any point my door's always open."

"I don't know where you live."

"I was speaking metaphorically."

There was a distinct air of smugness around Kumo now.

Gwen sighed, "But you knew that and said it to get on my nerves."

Kumo shrugged, "Maybe."

She stepped backwards off the roof and dropped out of sight.

"Why'd you go so easy on her?" Peter asked after several minutes had passed.

"She reminded me of myself when I thought I lost everything," Gwen replied. "She lost the fight with Yukino."

"Oh…"

"Yeah. I saw her reaction. She's carrying something on her shoulders for sure."

"That sounds worrying" Peter said, "especially given how dangerous she can be."

"Yeah," Gwen said, "I'll be keeping an eye out for her as much as I can. It's just coming down from Harlem every time is taxing, especially with school eating up my time and crime on the way."

Peter sounded amused. "Can't ignore it when you see it, huh?"

Gwen snorted and nodded. It was like an itch left unscratched. It just bugged her in all kinds of ways.

"So the facts now are that Yukino has a means of making people super-powered and the thing people want from her is called Utsugi," Peter said, getting back on track. "I'm seeing a pattern there."

"The thing that is making her super-powered might be the Utsugi," Gwen agreed. "It's worth a look."

"I'll ask Miles if he can pitch in," Peter said, "You focus on Kumo. Lord knows we've got enough villains on the loose."

"She's not that bad," Gwen replied as Peter ran past her.

He leaped off the roof backwards so he could make eye contact, "My aching back begs to differ."

Then he too disappeared over the side of the building.

Gwen sighed. "So now I'm a chaperone. This is gonna go great."

xXx

Tombstone listened to the report quietly. He did not rage, he did not shout or even twitch. Like his namesake he was silent and still.

"The Spiders seem to be concentrating their activities around Queen's," the peon reported, "Especially around Queens. Operations in that area have been down. Our surburban jobs are still going strong, but they're the small time. They're not making up for the losses."

"It's that short black one that's been in the news," Tombstone said, absently rubbing his fingers along the edge of a knife. The knife edge was turning blunt against his skin, letting out a horrible screeching wail with every stroke of his thumb. The secretary, one of the many required to manage the logistics of his operations at the scale he had achieved, flinched at the noise.

"She hangs around Queens the most," Tombstone mused. "Queens has been productive ever since the Spider started focusing on Manhattan. And the other black one is in Brooklyn."

The Spider, of course, was the one he'd first encountered back when he was just an enforcer. The red and blue one. The first and greatest.

"Sir, if this keeps up we're going to have to find another way to lower our expenses, Queens can't be a crutch anymore."

They were in his office. A nice place in a nice building. A far cry from the kind of places he used to occupy.

"Do we know why they're concentrating on Queens?" Tombstone asked, resting his elbows on his desk.

It was good quality wood. Mahogany. Polished until smooth.

"No sir."

"Find me someone who's willing to take a crack at the new Spider."

"Uhmm sir how much-"

"Within the usual price range."

"Yes, sir."