Gwen had her Bluetooth earbuds in and was bobbing her head to Fall Out Boy's Immortal as she waited backstage for her band to be called on stage. She was trying to get herself into the right headspace after her blow-up with Peter and her aunt's hospitalization earlier in the day. Lana, the lead singer, tugged on her arm. Gwen smiled at her, pulled out her ear buds. Lana smiled back.

"You ready for this? Quite the crowd tonight. So just like we rehearsed. I'll introduce you, we'll start our set."

Gwen nodded.

"Got it."

Gwen pulled her hoodie up and followed the band on stage when they were announced. She slipped onto her stool by the drum set and picked up her sticks. The light was on Lana so she could see the audience clearly at the moment. Adam was there, she expected that, she'd gotten him tickets. She was quite surprised to see Steve there too. She almost fell off her stool. The rest of the audience were women and girls ranging from fifteen to fifty plus. Their target audience tended to be lesbians. Not out of a focus, just they tended to drift towards the sentiment the band went for. Also, the other women in the band were lesbians or bi, so there was a certain kinship there. Lana pointed at her.

"Please welcome our newest member, Gwen on drums!"

The crowd cheered. Gwen drummed out a solo. Lana smiled. Then the band started on the first song of their set. The music of CrushBitches could only be described as angry girl punk. It was loud, proud and unapologetic. The target of their musical rants was the establishment and the anti-LGBTQ crowd. They were what the conservatives feared. If schools wouldn't teach it, they would. They were the Sex Pistols mixed with Genitorturers. They were anarchs for the twenty-first century. Gwen loved it. So did their audience. Gwen lost track of Steve and Adam. She was lost in the beat. It was when she was at her best. It was what she heard when she fought crime. It was what she searched for when she tried to make new discoveries.

The show ended after two encores. Lana patted Gwen on the shoulder as they walked into the back.

"You did good, kid. They loved you."

Gwen glanced up at Lana.

"Kid?"

Lana shrugged. As the band made their way to their dressing room they ran into Adam. Gwen pounced on him as soon as she saw him and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her to catch her and laughed as their kiss broke.

"Gwen you were amazing!"

Lana looked between the two.

"This is the boyfriend?"

Gwen nodded and wrapped herself around Adam. She'd sworn she'd never be one of those girls she couldn't help it. Adam was just so huggable and kissable. After her aunt, her blow up with Peter she just needed to be wanted by someone. Adam held her close for a few moments. They broke their embrace when Steve showed up. Lana, who was still with the pair, looked up at him. Gwen noticed Lana's expression. She spoke quietly to her twenty-one-year-old lead vocalist.

"Trust me, he's too old for you."

Lana shook her head.

"He doesn't look that old to me."

Adam looked at Gwen.

"You know him?"

Gwen nodded and approached Steve who was waiting at a discrete distance.

"Hey Steve."

Steve glanced at Adam and Lana.

"Hello Gwen, you did good out there. Music was… uh… interesting."

Gwen blushed and pushed her blonde bangs behind her ears.

"Yea… its uh, different then what you're used to, actually most music. We have something to say, and we have to yell it to be heard."

He put his hands in his old leather jacket. And motioned towards Adam with his chin.

"That your boyfriend?"

Gwen's cheeks turned an even brighter shade of crimson.

"Yea, that's Adam."

Steve looked Adam up and down.

"Looks a little old for you… Does your dad know about him?"

Gwen nodded.

"Oh, he totally does. Yes, absolutely."

Steve raised an eyebrow. He looked pretty skeptical but changed the subject.

"How is your Aunt May?"

Gwen's shoulder slumped.

"I think it's pretty bad. She needs some surgery… But uh, she wants to meet you, she says if I'm spending time with you, she needs to know who you are… she's kind of old school… I guess you're used to that though."

He smiled.

"Yes. I'll go visit her. How about you come by the gym tomorrow first thing and we'll go see her."

Gwen bit her lower lip.

"Uh, I can't tomorrow is the fourth. I have a charity golf thing."

He nodded.

"Good for you. Afterwards then."

Lana popped up beside Gwen and was just in front of her. Lana looked like she was on the hunt.

"Gwen, why don't you introduce us!"

Gwen grimaced slightly behind Lana's back.

"Steve, this is Lana, Lana this is Steve. He's a family friend."

Lana smiled.

"Hello Steve, it's so nice to meet you! Gwen didn't tell us she'd have friends in the audience we would have gotten you a VIP pass. Wanna come hang out with the band."

Gwen furiously shook her head behind Lana. Steve smiled.

"I would love to, but you know Gwen's aunt is in the hospital and I promised I'd check on Gwen's cousin. Next time."

Lana sighed softly.

"Hope we see you again."

Steve gave a small salute to Gwen and wandered off. Lana touched her chest with her hand.

"They broke the mold when they made that one."

Lana punched Gwen's upper arm gently.

"You need to get his number."

Gwen rolled her eyes slightly.

"I'm telling you he is way too old for you Lana. Trust me."

The pair returned to where Adam was waiting. Gwen put her arm around Adam's waist and leaned her head on his arm. He looked down at her.

"Did I hear you right, Aunt May is in the hospital?"

Gwen nodded. Adam pulled her in for a tight hug and kissed her on the top of her head.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Gwen. Are you sure you want to do the golf thing tomorrow?"

Gwen shrugged slightly.

"Aunt May would be upset with me for cancelling. She'd say, you made a commitment and people are depending on you."

She kissed Adam again.

"Besides how am I supposed to trounce you and Tony if I'm not there?"

Adam shook his head and laughed softly.

"You really do like to win, don't you?"

Lana motioned for the pair to follow. The backstage area was pretty quiet. There were VIPs sitting there drinking beer along with the partners of her bandmates. Lana was bisexual and had broken up with the last drummer of the band. Which was where Gwen came in. A couple of the fans who were on the younger side looked a bit disappointed to see Gwen hanging off of Adam. She was the lone member of the band who wasn't into other girls in that way. Adam and Gwen sat down on a couch. Lana threw them bottles of water then opened a vodka cooler and took a long drink. Adam looked at Gwen and whispered.

"So, who was that guy?"

Gwen motioned him closer and whispered into Adam's ear.

"You know… that thing I do? He's helping train me, so I get shot less."

Adam blinked a few times then clued in and nodded. Gwen nibbled on his earlobe and opened her water and took a long drink. She was pretty dehydrated from the show. Adam leaned back and put his arm around her shoulders.

"I'm kind of jealous. He looked ripped."

Gwen laughed and elbowed Adam.

"Trust me, while I think he's every woman's type, I'm not interested. He's way too old for me. He's in love with someone else anyway. Peggy…"

Adam glanced at her.

"Peggy? What kind of name is that?"

Gwen shrugged.

"British and old. I donno. He's not the share his life story kind of guy."

Adam hung his hand over Gwen's shoulder. She leaned on him. The pair watched her band mates and the VIP's having a small after party for a while. Gwen glanced up at Adam and spoke quietly.

"Hey, did you bring your car?"

He nodded.

"Could I get a ride home, I should get some sleep."

"Sure thing. Are you sure you want to go home? I can get you a room at the hotel. We can pick your clubs up and you can grab an overnight bag. Mom and dad would love to have breakfast with you."

"I guess it wouldn't hurt. I can pay for the room."

Adam shook his head.

"No way, mom and dad would kill me. I'll take care of it."

Gwen sighed in resignation.

"Fine."

The pair stood up and said their goodbyes before heading off. They had a quiet night before parting ways to their own rooms at the hotel. Gwen hadn't expected a suite at a five-star hotel. She would have loved to enjoy the luxury of it, but she was exhausted after her aunt, the fight with Peter, the show and the subsequent afterparty. She was just about to pull her clothes off to shower when she heard sirens. She sighed heavily and picked up her phone. She'd made an app that hooked into a police scanner she ran at her secret lair. She opened the app and listened to it; the news wasn't good. Someone with some form of superstrength and heavy weapons was tearing through The Bronx. Gwen sighed and started to pull on her costume. It looked like sleep would have to wait.

By the time she arrived several police cars were smoldering from what looked like her TX-01 compound. She clenched her fists and followed the trail of destruction. It led to a man in body armer loading a canister of TX-01 and pointing it at an armored SWAT van. He yelled as he aimed his grenade launcher.

"You shall not distort justice; you must not show partiality; and you must not accept bribes, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of those who are in the right!"

Spider-Woman wasn't about to let a van full of police officers get obliterated. The projectile was looping through the air. She acted quickly and yanked it to herself with a web. Though she was in agreement the police force shouldn't be taking bribes from Kingpin and she knew a lot of cops in New York were, she didn't think murdering them all was a good solution. The TX-01 cannister grenade in her hand started to beep as the contents mixed. She sighed and thought, not good this is enough to take out half a city block.

The armored man started running at her after dropping his launcher. He pulled out two pistols. She dodged what she could and used her free hand's bracer to block what she couldn't. Any impact on the TX-01 cannister would mean death. He tossed his empty pistols aside and tried to hit her. She was having a hard time avoiding him. He was good. Too good. One blow landed on her cheek and it actually hurt.

"Are you crazy? If I drop this, we both die!"

She could make out a pair of intense brown eyes under the mask. He spoke as he tried to hit her.

"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints."

Spider-Woman back flipped away from him landing on a delivery truck. She flung out her hand hitting him in the chest with a web she yanked him up and towards her. As he flew towards her, she brought her knee up and hit him in the face plate hard. Then she flung him away on the web. He smashed into a car denting the roof and breaking the windshield. She yelled at him.

"Why are you quoting Psalms? You're no saint."

He pulled himself out of the wreckage and pulled out another pistol. He tried to shoot the cannister which Spider-Woman protected with her free arm and body. He kept quoting the bible.

"The wages of sin is death!"

Spider-Woman jumped behind the truck and yelled back.

"What about: Brothers and Sisters, if someone is caught in sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently?"

Spider-Woman heard more gunfire, but it wasn't directed at her she looked around the corner and it she blinked under her mask. The silhouette and glowing chest looked like Iron Man, but the armor was far too short for his six-foot-tall frame. Once it hit the light, she realized it was also metallic pink. Totally not Tony's style. It was definitely housing an arc reactor though. He was firing his pistol at the armored girl and it was having absolutely no effect on her. Spider-Woman realized she had a solution to the problem in her hand. She jumped on top of the truck and motioned at the beeping TX-01 cannister in her hand while calling out.

"Hey… uh Iron Barbie can I get a hand here? I can take care of the bible thumper."

Iron Barbie, as Spider-Woman referred to the new combatant glanced at her after grabbing the man's armored chest piece and slamming him on the ground. She flew up and grabbed the cannister and went ballistic. Spider-Woman moved her head side to side stretching out her neck. Then she looked down at the man.

"What should I call you while I'm kicking your ass?"

He pulled himself up. Obviously, strength wasn't his only power. That only meant Spider-Woman wouldn't have to hold back as much as she usually did.

"You can call me Sin-Eater, but you will not live long enough to tell anyone else."

Spider-Woman shook her head.

"Seriously? Y'know I'm bulletproof, right? What are you going to do? Quote me to death with bible verses?"

She jumped down towards him, slamming him into the pavement with a flying tackle. She heard him groan under his get up. She heard an explosion in the distance and assumed that meant Iron Barbie would be heading back her way. He threw her off of him and she smashed into a car crumpling the drivers side door. She pulled herself out of the twisted metal. By the time she was ready to go again she had a mini-missile flying at her. She noticed the building behind her was a restaurant with people in it still. She crossed her bracers and took the missile hit directly on them. It sent her flying backwards again into the same car. The force of the blow sent the car sliding onto the sidewalk and into a lamppost. Spider-Woman shook her head and pulled herself up again.

"Dude! A missile? Really?"

He was reloading the launcher with another mini-missile. Spider-Woman flicked her wrist and yanked the launcher out of his hand and crushed the barrel.

"That is enough of that. Now am I going to have to keep breaking your toys or are you going to surrender now?"

He pulled out his pistol and fired several more shots at her. She weaved between the bullets and launched two webs at him. She yanked him towards her and as he was flying past her, she clothes lined him. He slammed into the pavement hard enough it made Spider-Woman wince. She saw pink light and groaned. Miles had shown up dressed as the Prowler.

The Sin-Eater was trying to pull himself up. Spider-Woman kicked him in the abdomen. Though it was covered by armor he definitely felt it.

"Go home. I got this."

The Prowler charged up his clawed glove.

"Nah, girl, this is my hood, I got this, step back."

Spider-Woman groaned. Then her spider sense went off and she back flipped away from a grenade that let loose a torrent of electricity. Prowler wasn't so lucky and went down as the stun grenade acted like an EMP to his suit. Sin-Eater stood up and was aiming his gun at Prowler. Spider-Woman lept to Prowler's defense while blocking bullets with her bracers. They were already glowing magenta after the rocket and all the bullets. She dragged Prowler behind cover while Sin-Eater reloaded.

"Damn it I told you to go home."

Prowler groaned and flopped against the mailbox she'd hidden him behind. She held up her finger.

"You stay right here."

Prowler waved one of his claws at her and shifted. He sounded like he was in pain.

"Yea girl. I got you."

Spider-Woman rolled her eyes under her costume and peaked out. Bullets flew towards her. There was no sign of Iron Barbie. So far Spider-Woman felt like she was carrying most of the weight of this team up. She heard Steve's voice and she could have cheered.

"Now, sir, I'm going to ask you to put down your weapons and surrender. I think this has gone on for long enough."

Spider-Woman patted Prowler on the shoulder.

"Calvary is here."

Spider-Woman stood up and walked out from behind the mailbox. There was Steve Rogers in his full Captain America costume shield and all. He nodded to her. She nodded to him. Iron Barbie landed on the other side of Sin-Eater. Holding her arms up fists closed which sort of weirded Spider-Woman out because that was how Tony would launch his missiles. Spider-Woman held up her hand.

"Whoa hold up there, Iron Barbie, no need for missiles. I think there's been enough destruction for one night."

Iron Barbie did not lower her arms seemingly ignoring Spider-Woman. Sin-Eater spun around looking at them. Finally, he reached into pouches on either side of his utility belt and pulled out two more TX-01 cannisters and he activated them. Spider-Woman stumbled back. He launched one at Iron Barbie and the other at Captain America. Spider-Woman lunged and caught it in mid-air. Sin-Eater bolted. These were not like the launcher ones. These were set to detonate on their own without an impact. Spider-Woman's eyes went wide when she realized exactly what she was holding. She grabbed the one Iron Barbie was holding and shouted.

"Everyone get to cover! They're going to go! Get out of here Iron Barbie!"

She lifted a sewer cover and dropped them into it. She turned and tackled Cap. She shielded him with her body. He put his shield between both of them and the ensuing explosion. TX-01 had one weakness. Water neutralized the thermite reaction so all they would need to deal with was the explosion. Spider-Woman took the brunt of the rock and metal shrapnel. To her lower back and legs. She cried out as she was pelted by small projectiles with the velocity of bullets. Steve helped her up as she stood. Looking at the street which had turned into something out of a warzone. Spider-Woman's quick thinking had saved the buildings, though none of the glass in their vicinity was in one piece. Spider-Woman leaned heavily on Captain America. He looked down at her.

"How did you know?"

She sighed and whispered because it was all she was capable of through her tears of pain.

"I designed them."

He frowned and helped her away from the fires that had started. He looked up when he heard more sirens in the distance. She stood up on her own. She looked around as did he. There was no sign of Iron Barbie or the Sin-Eater.

"I need too… I need to go before they get here. The last thing I need to do tonight is go three rounds with the police."

Captain America looked at her with concern in his eyes.

"You need medical attention."

Spider-Woman waved her hand dismissively and limped slowly away from him.

"I'm good Cap. I'll be better by morning. Thanks… I need to go help my friend out of here before the police get here."

He watched her go. Spider-Woman leaned down and helped Prowler up and the pair limped into an alley. With a great amount of pain and effort she managed to get him to the roof of his building while carrying him over her shoulder and crawling up the wall. He started pulling his get up off. She noticed his braids were gone.

"Where are your braids?"

He smiled.

"Girl, you got me into that fancy ass school, I need to look proper."

He looked down at his exosuit.

"Damn it he fried everything."

Spider-Woman pulled off her mask and let her hood slip down to her shoulders.

"I have some ideas to stop it from happening again, if you're interested."

She was avoiding meeting his gaze but hazel eyes met blue eyes eventually. She could see him looking her up and down.

"Girl, you look fine in that costume."

Gwen blushed and motioned him away.

"Just go hug your mom for me. I need to go get cleaned up. I can't believe Sin-Eater got away."

Miles smiled at her.

"He'll show up again and I'll be ready next time."

Gwen punched him in the shoulder.

"Just stay out of it. He's got my weapons."

Miles shook his head.

"No way girl, I'm not letting you fight that guy alone. You almost got killed tonight."

Gwen sighed.

"Only because I was worried about you."

He leaned close and Gwen pulled away.

"I gotta go. Adam might be getting suspicious."

She pulled her mask on and leapt off into the night.