Moving quickly, Spider-Woman managed to grab the bottom of the glass cage with her gloved hands and stop its movement, before it could hit the floor and trap her. Using her incredible spider-strength, Gwen forced the cylinder upwards with a tremendous heave, enabling her to leap clear. As she did so, releasing her grip on the cylinder in the process, her would-be prison hit the floor with a loud crash behind her, prompting alarm sirens to begin wailing.
Before Spider-Woman could catch her breath, two figures came bounding through an open doorway to confront her. One was a large, muscular individual, whose body looked like it was made of orange rocks, while the other was a young blonde-haired man, dressed in a slim-fitting blue jumpsuit with the number '4' on his chest. Gwen instantly recognised them as respectively being the musclebound Thing and the flaming Human Torch.
"Okay, what the Sam Hill is going on 'round here?" demanded the Thing.
"Hey, it's that Spider-Dame that's replaced old web-head!" exclaimed Johnny Storm, pointing an accusing finger at Spider-Woman. "Flame on!"
Before Spider-Woman's startled eyes, Storm's body instantly became engulfed in flames and he flew up into the air, and dived right at her. With a yelp, Spider-Woman jumped out of the way and began bounding from wall-to-wall, trying to avoid getting hit by the Human Torch or one of the fireballs he sent flying her way.
"Hey! Is this the way you greet all your visitors?" complained Spider-Woman as she continued dodging the Torch's attacks, annoyed that she had not even been given a chance to introduce herself.
"Visitor or gatecrasher?" said the Torch, as he continued pursuing the masked girl back and forth along the corridor. "Besides which, I betting you're connected to Spidey's recent disappearing act and I'd like some answers!"
"Sheesh, you really are as hotheaded as I've heard!" snorted Spider-Woman, as she swung about on her webs. Spotting a nearby water cooler, she quickly snagged it with a web-line and swung it right into the Torch. With a crash and a splash, the Torch collided with the cooler, which burst apart and drenched him in water, putting out his flame and sending him falling to the floor with a loud thud.
"Okay, you two, pack it in!" snapped the Thing, as he stomped through the resulting steam and towered over Spider-Woman. "Right lady, perhaps you better start explainin' yerself, before I start getting nasty myself."
"If you must know, I need to see Reed Richards," said Spider-Woman irritably. "It's a matter of life and death!"
Hurriedly, Spider-Woman explained her reason for coming, and as she did so, the expressions of the Thing and the Human Torch grew more serious as they realised the gravity of the situation.
"Dang it! Of all the times for Reed and Sue to be away on vacation!" grumbled the Thing, slapping his forehead in frustration. "But don't worry, kid. I'll contact Reed on the radio and see if he has some gizmo here that might help yer furball pal."
As the Thing marched off to contact the leader of the Fantastic Four, Johnny Storm shot Spider-Woman an apologetic smile.
"Hey, uh, sorry about the unfriendly welcome," said the Human Torch sheepishly. "But we do get some pretty mean visitors here sometimes, and besides which, I'm kinda worried about Spidey. I keep hearing rumours that he's... well, do you know if he's...?"
"Dead?" completed Spider-Woman quietly, her voice faltering as she found herself unable to meet Storm's eyes. "Yes. Yes, he is."
Johnny Storm's face crumpled at hearing this. Although he and Spider-Man had not exactly been the best of friends, they had worked well together in the past, and Johnny had had a grudging respect for the wall-crawler, noting that his scientific skills were almost as good as Reed's. Johnny had hoped that the rumours were wrong, but seeing this new Spider-Woman's reaction left no further doubt. The Amazing Spider-Man was dead.
But however great Johnny's grief was in that moment, he could tell that it was nothing compared to Spider-Woman's, her bowed head and slumped shoulders showing all too clear just how greatly her predecessor's demise had affected her.
"Hey, I'm... I'm sorry," said Johnny gently. "You and he, were you...?"
Spider-Woman did not speak. She just gave a simple nod of acknowledgment.
"Sorry," Johnny said again, trying hard to find the right words. "Spider-Man was one of the best, you know. He'll be missed."
"He already is," sighed Spider-Woman, deciding to take a risk and divulge some small details to the Human Torch. "He died saving me. One of his enemies had taken me hostage and Spidey saved my life, but at the cost of his own. I took up his mantle to try and honour his memory, but sometimes, it feels so hard you know."
"I get what you're saying," said Johnny. "I guess the pain will never go away fully, but you know, it will ease over time, if you let it. I mean, I wish I could help more, but..."
"It's okay," said Spider-Woman, giving a small, unseen smile behind her mask. "And you are helping in a way. I haven't been able to talk to anyone in my normal life about what happened. You're actually the first guy I've gotten to properly talk to about this."
"Hey, no prob," smiled Johnny. "And if you want to talk any further, you drop in anytime, okay?"
Just then, Ben Grimm came back over, holding in his hand an unusual-looking device that resembled a computerised neck-brace.
"Okay kid, I've been through to Reed and he reckons this little baby may help your astronaut bud's problem," said the Thing as he handed the device to Spider-Woman. "It's a gizmo designed to drain weird energies and render them inert. Reed built it for me, so I'd be normal again, but it didn't work. But it just might work on the rock stuck to astro-wolf's neck."
"Thanks," said Spider-Woman gratefully, as she took the device from the Thing. "I'll get this back to you as soon as I'm done with it. Now I better get back to the precinct. The moon will be up any moment!"
"But why can't I see John, Captain?" demanded Kristine Saunders angrily. "I hear that this Spider-Woman lady found him and brought him here, and when I come up here, I find that you've locked him up like a criminal! What's more, you're trying to get me to leave without even letting me see him!"
Jean DeWolff leaned back in her desk chair, a little weary of the angry protests coming from the young woman standing in her office. "Ms Saunders, as I have tried to explain several times over, it is not safe for you to visit your fiancée. Colonel Jameson has confessed to being implicated in what happened to his father, and has agreed to allow himself to be put in... protective custody. Now you simply would not believe me if I told you the facts behind all this."
"What could possibly be more unbelievable than the idea that John would deliberately harm his own father?" snapped Kristine. "I've never heard such a load of..."
But Kristine's complaints were cut off by some loud and violent noises coming from the direction of the cells, and before DeWolff could bellow any questions, one of the guards watching Jameson came barging in, his face a mask of fear and shock.
"Captain, the space Colonel..." he panted. "He transformed right in front of us! Grew fur all over his body, his teeth turned into fangs..."
"Never mind the details and the hysterics, man!" snapped DeWolff. "Is he still in the cell?"
"That's what I came to tell you, Captain. He's in there, but he's using his teeth to tear through the cell bars like they're blocks of candy! The other guys are trying to hold him back with tear gas, but..."
SMASH!
Another violent interruption came in the form of a terrific crashing sound, followed by horrified screams. Racing out of her office, DeWolff was shocked to see the snarling Wolf-Man standing in the doorway leading to the main cells, the door knocked off its hinges by the thrown bodies of the guards who had, just a few minutes ago, been keeping watch on their unusual prisoner. DeWolff could not tell if the prone guards that lay over the floor were dead or merely stunned, but she knew that she could not risk any more lives getting endangered by this unholy creature that had once been a man.
"Shoot to wound only!" barked DeWolff, as several officers drew their guns with trembling hands and fired upon the Wolf-Man. But the beast's instincts were razor-sharp, and it managed to dodge the bullets with lightning-like speed, before swatting several detectives aside with one swipe of its powerful arms.
"Ms Saunders, get out of here, NOW!" commanded DeWolff, as she tried to put herself in front of terrified young woman who stared in voiceless horror at the monster that was tearing its way through the room.
Upon hearing the name of the woman that John Jameson loved, the growling Wolf-Man turned. Catching sight of Kristine, the beast charged forward, leapt right over Jean DeWolff's head, and grabbed John's terrified fiancée with its strong arms. Before anyone could stop the Wolf-Man, it then made straight for the exit, carrying a terrified Kristine along with it.
"Don't shoot!" cried Jean at her fellow officers. "You might hit the girl!"
Bursting through the double doors of the main entrance to the precinct, the Wolf-Man bounded onto the streets, carrying the limp form of Kristine Saunders, whose absolute terror had caused her to faint. Snarling down at its intended victim, the Werewolf was about to tear into her with its sharp claws, when fortunately, a familiar figure in a mask and green jacket choose that very moment to appear.
Having realised that the full moon was now high in the sky, Spider-Woman had swung as fast as she could on her webs back to Police Precinct. As she flew over the street on her web-line, Gwen caught sight of the drama taking place outside Police Headquarters and realised that she had to act fast to prevent tragedy. Moving with all speed, Spider-Woman swung right at the Wolf-Man, her feet colliding right with its jaw! Dropping its unconscious captive, the Wolf-Man was momentarily dazed as it crashed against a wall, which shook with the impact. Taking advantage of the monster being momentarily stunned, Spider-Woman raced over and slapped the electronic collar that the Thing had given her around Jameson's throat. As the device began to bleep and flash its lights, the Werewolf recovered itself and swatted Spider-Woman aside before she had a chance to get clear.
"Unnnnh!" grunted Gwen as she hit the pavement hard. "You know something, poodles? I'm getting real tired of you treating me like a punching bag!"
Seething with rage, the Wolf-Man tried to tear the collar off its neck, but with no luck, as it was constructed of a highly resilient material that even the Incredible Hulk would have some difficulty removing. Deciding to direct the focus of its venomous rage on its prey, the Wolf-Man tried to grab hold of Kristine, who was stirring on the pavement. Leaping forward, Gwen seized hold of the murderous werewolf and desperately pulled it back with all her superhuman strength.
Struggling to keep hold of her monstrous adversary, Spider-Woman realised that she had to give the collar enough time to drain the energy out of the stone adhered to John's neck, so that he would turn back to a normal human being. But as the Wolf-Man struck her head with her elbow, causing her to lose her grip, Gwen began to wonder if the device would work at all, and if it did, would it be in time to prevent someone's death, possibly her own!
Fighting the urge to hold back her strength, Spider-Woman delivered a powerful punch to the Wolf-Man, causing it to stagger backwards. But the inhuman animal quickly recovered and lashed out at Spider-Woman, trying again to slash her with its sharp claws.
"Oh lord, I don't know how much longer I can keep this up!" Gwen thought to herself, as she jumped back and just narrowly avoided getting cut to ribbons by the Wolf-Man.
But at that very instant, the Wolf-Man stopped in its tracks and started shaking on the spot, giving out a loud howl of distress. As the creature grabbed hold of a post box for balance, both Spider-Woman and a now-awake Kristine watched with wide, startled eyes as the fur on the figure began to recede, the fangs vanished, and the pointy ears changed back to the form they used to be. As the transformation neared its end, Kristine Saunders' eyes became blank with horror as the identity of the monster that had grabbed her became all too painfully apparent.
"John!" cried Kristine, as she rushed over to the side of the man she loved, who laid unconscious on the ground, just as Jean DeWolff came charging outside with several of her men.
"Colonel Jameson! Is he all right?" asked Jean, as Spider-Woman checked on the exhausted astronaut.
"He's just fine, Captain," said Spider-Woman. "Mr Fantastic's gizmo has sure saved the day. The rock stuck to the Colonel's neck should be harmless now, though you better call in a surgeon to have it removed in case it causes any further trouble."
There was much clearing up to do over the next hour, as Jean was finally able to clear channels and get through to someone from S.H.I.E.L.D., who quickly sent a containment team and some medics to look after the fallen Colonel Jameson. Soon, John was whisked off to hospital, with a shaken Kristine by his side, while DeWolff and Spider-Woman explained the situation to Nick Fury, who listened calmly and puffed on his cigar.
"Hmm, quite the real-life horror story you ended up with," Fury said when they had finished. "Don'tcha worry, we'll get that rock safely off Colonel Jameson's neck and get it stored away out of harm's way. Of course, he'll probably get a right dressing down from his superiors at NASA when they hear of this incident, but I don't think it'll be too bad."
"But what about John's dad?" asked Spider-Woman worriedly. "Will he be okay?"
"He'll live, Spider-Woman," said Jean. "I've been through to the hospital and the doctors say that Mr Jameson should recover all right. Although, it may be some time, if ever, before he starts publishing again, at least until the fallout from all this blows over."
"Well, I'm glad Mr Jameson is out of danger now," sighed Spider-Woman, glad that no-one had died as a result of all this. "Now, if you boy and girls don't mind, this tired little spider is going to head home to get some shuteye time."
"One moment, kid, there's something I'd like to say first," said Nick Fury. "You did a great job today. And I don't know what your connection to the previous web-head is, but for what it's worth... I'd think he'd be real proud of yer."
There was a moment's pause, then Spider-Woman said, "Thanks Colonel Fury. That means more than you can ever know."
And with that, Spider-Woman swung off on her webs, the full moon shining brightly over her as she headed home, her heart elated at the thought of the lives she had saved and the knowledge that she had freed a troubled man from the living hell that had threatened to consume his life.
NEXT TIME:
THE PREY OF THE VULTURE