Initiative 2030
Spider Woman Returns
Dressed in her Spider Woman gear, Riley Parker frowned as she slipped into her apartment, her spider sense buzzing a little. SOMEONE was there, but not an enemy.
(Her spider sense warned her of threats, but she had learned how to tell how dangerous it was based on the intensity. It wasn't an exact science, and a few times she had misjudged.)
"This is a truly AWFUL wine," Silver Sable noted, her old friend casually sitting on her living room couch.
"I was saving that," Riley pouted as she pulled off her costume hood
Anna Sable, the niece of the original Silver Sable, looked amused, "For a late night moping session?"
"Yeah, yeah. Do you mind if I change?" she asked.
"Go ahead," Anna shrugged.
Riley ducked into her bedroom, swiftly changing to a simple t-shirt and slacks, then she went back out to her living room. "You could just call instead of sneaking in," Riley noted.
"Where's the fun in that?" Anna offered, chuckling.
"So, Wild Pack job?" Riley asked. She, in exchange for Symkaria citizenship, had remained a freelancer for their mercenary team, Wild Pack.
"Yes," Anna admitted, "and no. We got a request that directly involves you."
Riley tensed a bit, "Oh?"
"Venom has finally reappeared," Anna said to her flatly, "and we've been hired to hunt it down and capture it."
Once upon a time, LONG ways back, Spider Man had a team up adventure on a alien world. He acquired a new black and white costume that he thought was alien tech, with built in web shooters and the ability to mimic various street clothes. Later on Spidey discovered that it was alive and FEEDING off him... he got rid of it, but at that point the suit had copied his powers and would go on to various hosts as VENOM.
"I had hoped the thing was dead," Riley sighed.
"No luck," Anna shook her head.
"Will the whole team be involved?" Riley asked, already thinking of how this might go. She got along with most of the current Pack, at least...
"The US is limiting me to just a core team of six," Anna admitted. "I think President Richards doesn't trust me."
"I am shocked. Shocked I say," Riley deadpanned.
"Ha!" Anna shrugged.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
John Walker did NOT look happy, the grizzled blond haired man nodding to them.
"So, we have to team up with THESE bozos?" Scarlet Spider-1 asked, dressed in the sleek Iron Spider armor.
"Treat the Wild Pack with respect," John chided.
Scarlet Spider-1 winced, "Sir."
"The only reason I'm not shooting you now is that your government would go after mine," Anna told John flatly.
John Walker sighed, "So you know it was me that lead the Symkaria op?"
"Yes, MR US Agent," Anna agreed. "You SHOT my Aunt, not to mention injuring other citizens."
"It was meant to be a fast in and out op!" John defended himself, "You were never meant to even know we were there!"
"Well, it didn't work out that way," Anna scowled.
"Well, while the bosses fight," Spider Woman nodded to a Scarlet Spider and asked, "do you do this stuff often?"
The Scarlet Spider gave her a LOOK.
"Too soon?" Spider Woman asked.
"Break it up, please," the redhead member of Wild Pack addressed Walker and Sable, the team all in matching suits.
Anna sighed, backing up a bit as she said, "Sorry, Hope."
John Walker also sighed, echoing, "Sorry."
"Ahem," the heavily muscled bruiser asked, "Are we going to get briefed, eventually?"
"Right," John Walker brought up a map on New York on the screen, "we've had sightings of SOMETHING in this area."
"Bad part of town," Spider Woman noted, "and wasn't that Daredevil's territory?"
"Yup," John agreed. "We tried combing the area with Scarlet Spiders, but no dice."
"We think something in the tech repels the symbiote," Scarlet Spider-2 offered.
"It REALLY doesn't like sonics," the Wild Pack member in sunglasses noted, "or fire."
"NO ONE likes being burned, Alex," the while haired woman on the team added.
"Right, Copycat," Alex conceded.
"So just sending us in?" Spider Woman checked, "No Initiative teams?"
John Walker sighed, "The official New York team got stood down for corruption. It just hasn't hit the news yet."
"WHAT," Anna blinked.
"You're kidding," Spider Woman added.
"Long story involving mt assistant, pretending to be taking bribes, then ACTUALLY taking bribes," John added, shaking his head.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Wait.. you're HOPE SUMMERS?" Spider Woman blurted as they moved through the wrecked building. "The X-MEN'S Hope Summers?"
Hope chuckled, "Well, not X-Men. I had issues with Scott's messiah complex."
"I'm Copycat," the albino woman jumped in, "that's Grizzly and Agent X."
"We'd normally have our buds Tank and Hammer along, but Sable said only we could go," Agent X added.
"The US won't let either Hammer or Tank into the country actually," Sable noted. She noted, "Aren't we near the church that Eddie Brock encountered Venom?"
"That either is a weird coincidence or...?" Hope muttered.
"We'd better check it out," Spider Woman agreed as they advanced.
The old church itself was in ruins, boarded up for demolition. They ripped off some boards and went in, sweeping the now deserted building. Broken pews lead up to the altar, and the room was dim and shadowy,
"Tactical lights aren't doing much," Agent X noted.
"Hope?" Sable asked.
"Not sensing anything telepathic, but it could be operating on a animalistic level," Hope noted.
"Spider sense!" Spider Woman yelped, then pushed Sable out of the way as black goo exploded from the shadows.
"Thanks," Silver Sable grunted.
"Hssss!" the creatrure leaped at them, mouth stretched wide to how a huge number of teeth.
"Sonic blasters!" Agent X ordered as they fired the modified rifles.
Venom HOWLED as it was driven back, but the shifting ooze revealed a human for under it.
"There's a host," Spider Woman noted, "we've got to separate them."
Silver Sable hesitated, clearly debating just SHOOTING whomever.
"Separating them weakens Venom," Hope reminded them.
"Right, use the sonics to disrupt Venom, Spider, grab the host," Silver Sable ordered.
Spider Woman nodded, even if she was disturbed by the idea her ex would shoot a victim. As the sonic weapons blasted again, Spider Woman darted in. The child staggered, then Spider Woman yanked her away.
"Ok, get the containment vessel," Agent X barked.
"So, we capture it, and President Richards gets it?" Spider Woman asked.
"Not exactly," Hope said as they bottled up the Venom ooze.
"What," Silver Sable started.
"BODYSLIDE BY FOUR," Grizzly ordered then he, Hope, Copycat and Agent X vanished with the trapped symbiote.
"I take it that wasn't the plan?" Spider Woman asked as she tended the stunned kid.
"NO," Silver Sable barked.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"They did WHAT," John Walker blurted.
"The Six Pack went rogue and swiped the Venom sample," Anna Sable said, "no idea where they teleported too, too."
John gave her a look, "Really?"
"Yes," Anna nodded.
(Actually, she had arranged with Franklin Richards to use Six Pack, and let them escape with Venom. There was no way she was handing that over to Val Richards and friends. But Riley and John Walker didn't need to know that.)
"You realize you won't get paid," Walker added.
Anna smirked, "Wanna bet? Our contacts are airtight."
To be continued...