It was now early December in New York, and the majority of the city was currently covered in a layer of thick snow. In the parks and streets, children were out sledging and throwing snowballs, couples were building snowmen together, and families were out doing Christmas shopping before taking their kids to visit Santa at his grotto. The general mood of the city was jolly, but not at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport, where a small group of unscrupulous figures in overalls and coats were waiting by a helicopter for their nefarious employer to arrive. As several more minutes past, one of the men glanced impatiently at his watch.
"Sheesh, the Boss should have been here ages ago," he grumbled, shivering in the cold air and rubbing his gloved hands.
"Well, we were meant to meet him at the jail with a car when they let him out," said second man, his expression being more nervous and apprehensive than his colleague. "He's probably having to make his way here now."
"Man, he's not going to be pleased that we forgot what time they were letting him out," sighed the third man, kicking at the snow in frustration. "Once he gets here, we better make all speed getting him to the hangout at Westchester."
"You mean the house that's being looked after by that old lady he hired?" said the first. "I don't know why he bothered getting involved with that old bat in the first place."
"Seems she's gotten herself some major inheritance," explained the second. "Only she doesn't realise it! But the Doc knows, and he wants it for himself. That's why he's keeping her around."
"Oh, I get it," grinned the first, with a cruel glint in his eyes. "And once the boss gets what he needs from her, we get rid of her!"
"Uh, I don't think that'll be the case, Jim," said the third. "I hear that the boss has become quite fond of the old bag. He's planning to marry her and keep her as his wife!"
The first man could not believe his ears. "The Boss? Getting hitched? You must be joking!"
"Shh! Keep it down, Jim!" hushed the second man urgently. "Here's the boss now!"
All three men turned and saw the familiar figure of their employer, Doctor Octopus, walking towards them, with a large coat over his shoulder and a pair of suitcases being carried by two of his mechanical arms. As the infamous supervillain drew closer, the three men could see that the Doctor was in a very bad mood indeed.
"Doc! Man, are we sorry," greeted the first man in an apologetic manner. "We wuz gonna meet ya at the jail, only we didn't know when..."
"Silence, you bumbling half-wit!" snapped Otto Octavius, as he swatted the man aside with one of his free metal tentacles. "I'm not interested in your excuses. Because of your error, I was forced to walk thirty-four blocks. Be thankful I don't make you walk thirty-four miles!"
As their colleague lay in a crumpled, unconscious heap at their feet, the other two henchman gulped nervously, hoping to avoid getting the same treatment from their furious employer.
"Heh, sorry, boss," said the second man nervously. "Uh, the chopper is all fuelled and ready to get you back to the hideaway."
"Good!" said Doctor Octopus, as they all began to clamber into the copter, leaving the body of the first henchman behind. "I am impatient to get back to that sweet, charming lady. Since her annoying nephew got himself killed some months ago, she has now agreed to become my wife! And since that confounded Spider-Man has disappeared from sight also, there remains nothing to get in the way of my plans!"
"That's good to hear, Boss," said the third man, as he got into the pilot's seat and began to lift the copter off the ground.
But as the helicopter began to rise into the air, the second henchman happened to glance out of the window and spotted a flash from a nearby block, from which a shiny object appeared and headed towards them, leaving a trail of smoke in its wake.
"Uh, Boss, we may have a problem," he gulped, as he pointed with a trembling finger at the object, which was now close enough for them to make out in the clear sunshine.
"Missile! Evasive manoeuvres, you fools, quickly!" yelled Doctor Octopus.
Too late. Before the pilot even had a chance to get the copter clear, the missile struck home, right on the fuel tanks.
KA-BOOM!
There came a tremendous explosion, and all too suddenly, Doctor Octopus and his men knew nothing more.
From his position on the roof of the block overlooking the Heliport, the man who had fired the fateful rocket whipped out some field binoculars and watched with satisfaction as the flaming remains of the helicopter crashed into the river water and began to sink to the bottom. A tough-looking man, he wore a full-body suit of kevlar with a white skull splashed across the front, a symbol of doom to the scum who had infested this fair city for so long. Certain that there was no possibility of survivors, he gathered up his equipment, including the rocket launcher he had just used, and swiftly took his leave, before the authorities would have a chance to get on the scene.
Reaching the safety of his armoured van, known as the War Wagon, the grim-faced man got into the driver's seat and got the vehicle moving at top speed along the roads. As he did so, he began to speak into a voice recorder to log the details of his latest mission:
"War Journal Entry Number 102: Target Octopus has been successfully eliminated. With the recent demise of Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin, many of the other major crime bosses are lying low at present. But undoubtably, they will eventually re-emerge, and when they do, I intend to be ready for them. War Journal Entry Number 102... Concluded."
"Have you read this issue of the Daily Globe, Gwen?" asked Mary Jane Watson, who had been scrutinising a newspaper whilst sitting in a comfy chair next to the fitting rooms of the 'Van Dyne's' clothes department store. "Seems this 'Punisher' character has been keeping busy since he turned up in New York, waging a one-man war against all the big gangsters around here!"
"Tell me about it," came Gwen Stacy's voice from behind the curtain of the booth in which she was trying on a new outfit. "I was chatting to Jean DeWolff the other day, and she reckons that he's too much of a loose cannon. Heck, some of the creeps he's wasted may have deserved it, but there are laws, you know, and I think Jean's worried that this 'Punisher' might endanger some innocent bystander."
"And what do you think?" asked Mary Jane.
"Well, I'm tending to agree with Jean. The Punisher's methods are questionable to say the least, and he seems to have no regard for the law. He's taken it upon himself to be judge, jury and executioner, and heaven help us if he snaps and decides to start targetting civilians, just for failing to pay their parking tickets on time or something like that!"
"I've heard that Doctor Octopus was amongst his latest victims," remarked Mary Jane. "Now he was a nasty piece of work, but I know that Peter's Aunt May was fond of him, though I can't see why."
"Mrs Parker is convinced that Doc Ock was a misunderstood individual, who actually tried to benefit mankind, and she refuses to believe otherwise" said Gwen sadly. "Frankly, I'm torn on that point, MJ. I should be relieved that Octavius is gone, especially since he was partly responsible for Dad's death. But then I think of what Mrs Parker must be going through, especially so soon after Peter's death."
"I get what you mean," said Mary Jane. "She's staying with my Aunt Anna at the moment. Why don't we pop over now to see how she's doing?"
"That's a great idea!" smiled Gwen, as she threw back the curtain and emerged, clad in a stylish and lavish looking crimson red velvet three-piece suit, consisting of a formal blazer jacket, a close-fitting waistcoat with a V-neck opening, and wide-legged trousers. "Now, how do you think I look, MJ?"
"Fabulous, Gwendy!" grinned Mary Jane as she took in Gwen's new look approvingly. "You look absolutely stunning!"
Gwen's smile broadened at this, and she disappeared back behind the curtain and changed back into her original clothes, before heading over to the counter to pay for the suit. She was glad that she had taken Mary Jane's advice about doing some clothes shopping. Although Gwen's wardrobe and selection of clothes at home was pretty decent and not exactly sparse, there was definitely something relaxing about the simple act of shopping, a normal everyday activity that a lot of people tended to take for granted. But since Gwen had become Spider-Woman, she had found it hard to find time to live like an ordinary person, to the point that even just buying a hot dog at the park was a definite luxury. So being able to go out shopping with a friend was something she had come to appreciate much more than she had before.
"Wow! I just remembered," said Mary Jane as Gwen completed her payment and picked up the shopping bag containing her new suit. "Next Monday is Christmas Eve, and Betty Brant told me that she and Ned Leeds are throwing a party. Just what we need, hey, Gwendy?"
"Sure, why not? It would be ideal for me to show off my new velvet look," said Gwen as the two girls exited the store and made their way along the streets. Gwen had to admit, that with both her Father and Peter now gone, she did not much like the thought of spending Christmas alone and wallowing in self-pity, so it would be good to spend Christmas with friends and help raise her spirits that little bit more.
BAAROOM!
The sudden sound of an explosion from the opposite street made both Gwen and Mary Jane jump in surprise, and as they turned their heads towards the source of the disturbance, they could see a pillar of thick smoke emerging from one of the buildings.
"Aw, shoot!" exclaimed Gwen. "It's the Second National Bank! Must be a robbery in progress. I'll have to check it out."
"You go ahead, Gwen," sighed Mary Jane. "I'll meet you at Aunt Anna's later on. Just try not to damage that new suit of yours."
Gwen gave a wry smile at this remark, knowing full well that Mary Jane was not referring to the blonde girl's red velvet suit, but the new spider-outfit that MJ had recently put together for the basic look was similar to Gwen's old outfit, Mary Jane had redesigned the main suit to one with a red-and-white colour scheme, while the dark green hoodie jacket had been replaced with a light blue version, and the knee-length leather boots were now dark navy blue and had heels. Gwen loved the new more upbeat looking outfit, which was actually quite resilient, thanks to being given a generous unstable molecule treatment by the Fantastic Four, making it much harder to tear and damage.
As Mary Jane headed off in the opposite direction, Gwen ducked into an alley to change into her new spider-suit, taking care not to be seen, lest someone discovered her secret identity as easily as MJ had. After pulling her tight-fitting mask over her head and hiding her everyday clothes somewhere where she could easily retrieve them later, the new-look Spider-Woman crawled her way up the wall, before dashing across the rooftops towards the source of the loud explosion. As the bank came into view, Gwen could see that the front window had been blasted apart, and judging by the way the police were surrounding the place, the thief (or thieves) must still be inside.
"Now what kind of nut robs a bank in broad daylight?" Spider-Woman mused to herself.
The answer came in the form of something that came shooting out of the bank via the hole in the shattered window, and zoomed right past the police officers, at such a speed that New York's finest did not have time even to react. As Spider-Woman fired a web-line and proceeded to pursue the speeding object, she was just able to make out what it was: A dark-skinned young man, dressed in a red-and-yellow suit with an eye visor and headphones, riding what looked for all the world to Gwen like a rocket-powered skateboard!
"Outta the way, suckers!" called out the unusually attired bank robber, as he pushed past several pedestrians whilst clutching some large money bags in his hand. "The Rocket Racer is comin' thru!"
"Rocket Racer, huh?" thought Spider-Woman as she frantically struggled to keep up with the thief as he whizzed through the streets on his skateboard. "Just where do these bozos keep springing up from?"
Swinging downwards, Spider-Woman made an attempt to grab hold of the Rocket Racer, but the laughing crook managed to duck and swerve his board around, enabling him to avoid Gwen's grasp as she swung over his head.
"Uh-uh, lady! You ain't getting your sticky little fingers on me!" mocked the Rocket Racer, as Spider-Woman landed onto the side of a truck running alongside on the road. "I spent months on this board, till it's become like a part of me. An' with its micro-rockets, there ain't nothin' less than a guided missile that can touch me!"
"Phew! This kid's no pushover!" said Spider-Woman almost enviously to herself, as she propelled herself off the truck and resumed her pursuit. "Not even this heavy traffic seems to be bothering him!"
The Rocket Racer certainly seemed to be as much an expert at skateboarding as he apparently was at building electronic gadgets. At one point, a car unexpectedly pulled in front of the Racer, but he simply leapt off the board, which moved right under the car, while he ran over the top, before jumping back on his rocket-powered transport when they were both in front of the motor vehicle. Then, he began racing right up and along the side of a building, continuing to laugh merrily on his way.
"Man, I wonder that Peter would have made of this guy!" said Spider-Woman, impressed by the gyroscopes and magnetic clamps that enabled the Rocket Racer to defy the laws of physics and gravity.
Sweeping through the air on her web-lines, Spider-Woman tried again to grab Rocket Racer, but the crook swung a arm in her direction and fired off a series of explosive mini-rockets from his glove!
"Yikes!" squeaked Spider-Woman, as she just barely managed to dodge the first projectile, which hit the side of the building. Hurriedly, she used her webbing to whip up some shields, which managed to block the other missiles, before they could cause further damage to the building, or worse, to her!
"Nice moves, cutie!" said the Rocket Racer, almost impressed by his pursuer's efforts. "But the Rocket Racer is better!"
"Cutie?! Did you just call me cutie?!" exclaimed Spider-Woman, who was growing increasingly annoyed with the Rocket Racer. "Buddy, when I get my hands on you..."
But Spider-Woman's sentence cut off, as her spider-sense began to tingle urgently, indicating that there was some danger coming from the opposite side of the street. Turning her head towards the source of the danger signal, Gwen was shocked to see a guided missile flying through the air right towards them!
"Racer, watch out!" she cried, as she leapt out of the way, while the Racer, startled by this unexpected development, tried to race ahead and avoid getting struck. But the missile seemed to be homing in onto his rocket-powered skateboard, and the alarmed Racer realised he would have to abandon his mechanical marvel to save himself. Hurriedly, the Racer leapt off his board, which just two seconds later, exploded with a very loud bang, as the missile hit it dead on target.
The Racer gave a cry of alarm as he found himself in free-fall, heading for a very large splat on the ground. But luckily for him, Spider-Woman managed to swing over on her webs and grab the terrified thief, just seconds before he would have made a permanent impression on the pavement.
"What the heck was that?" fumed Spider-Woman, as she quickly webbed the whimpering Rocket Racer and his loot to a signpost for the police to pick up. "Someone just tried to waste this annoying kid. But why?"
Swinging her way in the direction that she reckoned that the missile had come from, Spider-Woman spotted a figure racing away across the rooftops, a tough-looking man in a black bodysuit with a white skull on his chest.
"Say, it's that Punisher guy, the one who bumped off Doctor Octopus!" realised Spider-Woman, as she swung after the man, who seemed to be heading for an airshaft. "He must have been in the neighbourhood and decided to deal with Rocket Racer in the same manner."
Letting go of the web-line, Spider-Woman sent herself flying downwards, her feet colliding right with the Punisher's back. The vigilante was flung face-forward by the impact, but to Gwen's surprise, he quickly recovered, performing some acrobatics that enabled him to get back to his feet without even stopping, till he was right next to the chimney.
"Impressive moves, Killer," said Spider-Woman dryly. "But I don't aim to let you run out on me, till you've answered some questions, starting with why you tried to blow up that kid back there!"
"I make it my business to deal with criminal scum, girl," growled the Punisher as he whipped out a rifle of some kind, that had been hidden inside the chimney stack. "And I'm afraid I can't let soft-hearted do-gooders like you get in my way!"
The Punisher fired the trigger, and Spider-Woman braced herself to dodge any projectiles. But to her surprise, what emerged from the barrel of the gun was not a series of bullets, but some kind of titanium alloy wire, which shot right at her! Before the startled web-slinger had a chance to leap clear, the wire managed to wrap itself around her, pinning her arms firmly to her side!
"Hey! No fair!" complained Spider-Woman, as she struggled against the tough wire binding her.
"I have no quarrel with you or the police, Spider-Woman," stated the Punisher. "But you don't have it in you to properly deal with the parasites that infest this city. They're all alike, using whatever means to get control of the public. Drugs, gambling, loanshark operations. Some of it may be legitimate, but all of it is evil."
"So is murder, mister," retorted Spider-Woman. "And that's exactly what you've been committing since you first showed up. And what about the people around the street when you fired that firework of yours? Didn't you stop to think about the risk you were putting them in, blowing up the side of that building like that?"
The Punisher shrugged. "I'm careful not to endanger civilians, Spider-Woman. I admit, I do wonder sometimes if that evil's rubbed off on me, but I know it doesn't matter. All that matters is the job. It's not something I like doing. It's simply something that has to be done."
"Pal, I don't know what your backstory is, but I for one think you're a total nutcase!" snapped Spider-Woman, as she summoned all her strength, flexed her muscles, and managed to break free from the strong cable that had ensnared her!
"What...?!" cried the Punisher in surprise, taken completely off guard. "That cable was strong enough to hold ten men! You can't...!"
POW!
A resounding strike from Spider-Woman's fist cut off the Punisher's protests and sent him crashing into the airshaft, the brickwork actually cracking from the sheer force of the juddering impact.
"Maybe it could hold ten men," snorted Spider-Woman, as she delivered another pulled-back punch to the bewildered Punisher's square jaw. "But one seriously irritated girl with super strength? I think not, buster!"
Struggling to think through the blows being delivered by the furious Spider-Woman, the Punisher realised that he had seriously underestimated the masked girl's strength. Quickly grabbing hold of a gas pellet from his belt, the Punisher threw it to the ground right by Spider-Woman's feet. There was a terrific flash as the pellet exploded, sending out a thick load of smoke, which engulfed the young hero, causing her to cough and splutter as her vision was obscured by the thick smog-like fumes.
It was only a momentary distraction, but it was enough for the Punisher to break free from Spider-Woman's grasp, before he quickly dashed down the fire escape towards the War Wagon parked in the alley below. Recovering from the gas attack, a dizzy Spider-Woman set off in pursuit, but by the time she had reached the alleyway at the bottom, the Punisher was already driving off in her van, and Gwen was feeling too woozy for another chase. Hurriedly, she whipped out a spider-tracer, which she threw at the van, just managing to score a direct hit on the tailgate before the Wagon disappeared from sight.
Taking deep breathes to clear her head from the after effects of the gas, Gwen cursed herself for letting the happy-trigger vigilante escape her grasp. She would have to track him down later, hopefully before he tried to kill anyone else, but for now, she needed to recover her strength before the next round. One thing was certain though. Spider-Woman and the Punisher would meet again, and when they do, Gwen was determined not to let the murderous outlaw get away a second time...
TO BE CONCLUDED!