Across the rugged terrain of Battleworld, the heroes under Captain America's command hurtled on their way toward the stronghold of Doctor Doom and his forces, their hearts filled with the desire to avenge the death of the Wasp and hopefully prevent She-Hulk from meeting a similar fate. They moved with all possible speed, with those unable to fly being carried on a large flat rock lifted up by Iron Man. Soon the massive and formidable fortress rose menacingly up on the horizon, its appearance as dark and foreboding as its supreme master.
"Hurry!" called Captain Marvel, as she moved at top speed in her light form. "She-Hulk's in trouble! I know it!"
"I sure hope she's okay!" said Spider-Woman worriedly. "I know she's tough, but so are Doom's goons, especially that woman in the wrestling costume, whatever her name is! I mean, just think of the way she clobbered the Fantastic Four back at our old base!"
"My Symbiote and I think we heard one of the baddies call her 'Titania'," said Crimson Spider, thinking back to the big fight earlier at the village. "She's certainly a tough cookie with a huge chip on her shoulder!"
As the heroes landed on the ground, they charged straight for the side of the building, a little surprised to find it seemingly undefended.
"I can't believe Doom hasn't detected our approach!" said Mr Fantastic suspiciously. "Why didn't he send out a sortie to intercept us?"
"Maybe I'll ask him that while I'm twistin' his tin nose off, Stretcho!" said the Thing. ""C'mon, Thor! Shout somethin' corny an' poke a hole innat overgrowed quonset hut!"
"Nay, I have no vainglorious oath to utter, Thing," said Thor as he whirled his hammer around in his grasp, building up momentum. "Only a prayer that we have but one to avenge!"
With that, Thor released his hammer and sent it flying right into the fortress wall.
KATHOOM!
The hammer smashed the wall like a heavy truck crashing its way through a pile of lego bricks, creating a huge hole in it that was large enough for all the heroes to go through with ease. They then proceeded to make their way deep into the fortress, with the Hulk using his powerful fists to smash paths for them through the various armoured corridor walls.
"I'm going ahead to search for the She-Hulk!" said Captain Marvel, as she flew ahead. "In my light-beam form I can cover miles of corridors in the blink of an eye!"
"Go ahead, Captain Marvel!" said the Human Torch, as he and Iron Man flew ahead and took the lead in another direction. "We'll flush out the bad guys!"
As the two men flew on and reach a corner, the Wrecker leapt out from hiding and struck Iron Man with his crowbar!
KLONG!
"Hiya, Iron Man!" chortled the Wrecker, as the armoured avenger hit the ground by his feet with a lound clang.
"Oww! You lousy...!" growled Iron Man, as he quickly recovered and fired a repulsor blast at the Wrecker, at such close range that the villain was sent crashing right through the wall!
"Eeyagghhh!" the Wrecker managed to scream in agony, before he crumpled down in an unconscious heap.
It was lucky for everyone that Iron Man was the one in front, as the Wrecker's mystic-powered crowbar would have cut anyone-else in half! As it was, Rhodes' armour had protected him, and had only suffered minor damage, as had Rhodey himself, only managing to bruise his ribs when the unexpected blow had come.
"It's an ambush!" cried Mr Fantastic, as the other villains leapt from hiding and went on the defence. "Johnny, look out!"
Reed's warning was just too late, as the Hobgoblin tossed at pumpkin bomb at one of the oversized cooling pipes, blowing a large hole in it that released a huge wave of water, that hit the Torch and put out his flame.
"Welcome to our place! Have a drink, Torch!" laughed Hobgoblin, as the Torch plummeted downwards. Luckily Reed was able to catch him, but now Bulldozer was charging straight at them while their backs were turned!
BWHAMM!
"Hey pal! Remember me?" grinned Spider-Woman, as she leapt forward and gave Bulldozer a roundhouse punch to his jaw, knocking him out cold before he could complete his attack.
Seeing Bulldozer get taken down, the Absorbing Man quickly touched one of the alien steel walls and changed his body into a matching material, before he swung his ball and chain right at Spider-Woman.
KRANG!
"Whoa!" yelped Spider-Woman, her spider-sense and reflexes just barely enabling her to leap out of the way, as the Absorbing Man's attack instead struck a girder, leaving a huge gap in it!
"Why don'tcha pick on somebody as ugly as yerself, 'Sorby?" said the Thing as he charged right at the Absorbing Man. "In which case, you'll hafta leave everybody alone!"
But before the Thing could complete his attack, he was dismayed when his form suddenly changed back to that of plain old Ben Grimm!
"Oh no! Not again!" cried Ben, as 'Crusher' Creel grabbed him and tossed him about in the air. "What'ta revoltin' development!"
"Haw! Tough luck, Bozo!" gloated the Absorbing Man at his helpless victim. "This'll just make things quicker!"
Suddenly, Crimson Spider leapt forward and grabbed hold of Creel, lifting him up in the air and causing him to drop both his intended victim and his ball-and-chain.
"Huh?! Who in blazes are you?" exclaimed the Absorbing Man.
"Just call us the Crimson Spider," said Mary Jane as she used her new strength and speed to toss Creel into a metal wall, with such force that the whole panel buckled and bent, and the felon found himself wedged right into the tight steel board, which had crumpled around him.
"A broad!" cried the Absorbing Man as he struggled to pull himself free. "As soon as I peel myself outta this wall, lady..."
KLANNKK!
Creel never got a chance to complete his sentence, as Crimson Spider had grabbed hold of his ball and chain, and thrown it right at his face, knocking the villain out with his own weapon!
"All right! A clean knockout!" grinned Crimson Spider, as she perched herself on the wall and surveyed her unconscious foe. "You know, I think I'm getting the hang of this superhero lark!"
"So do we," replied the Klyntar cheerfully.
Observing the fight from his glider, the Hobgoblin swore under his breath. Having one Spider-Woman to deal with was bad enough, but two? That was totally unacceptable!
"Pah! I don't know where this new wall-crawler came from, but I'll soon deal with her!" he sneered, pulling out a pumpkin bomb which he intended to toss at this new foe.
"Nay, grotesque one!" came the booming voice of Thor from directly below. "It is thou who shalt be dealt with! Have at thee!"
Before the Hobgoblin knew what was happening, Thor had thrown his mighty hammer right at his glider, striking right through the engine and causing the surprised villain to tumble out of the sky, the pumpkin bomb falling out of his hand and landing instead on top of Thunderball, the explosion blasting the Wrecking Crew member across the chamber!
"Nice going, Thor!" cheered Crimson Spider gratefully.
Hitting the floor with a thump, the Hobgoblin managed to get achingly back on his feet and made to pull out another weapon from his satchel. Moving fast, Crimson Spider fired out web-lines from the back of both of her hands, which managed to snag the Hobgoblin and enable her to yank the villain toward her. Unable to defend himself, the Hobgoblin cried in alarm as he flew towards Mary Jane, who delivered a strong pulled-back punch to his jaw once he was in close enough range, sending him crashing back down in a crumpled daze.
"So much for the 'oh so scary' Hobgoblin!" smirked the Crimson Spider, as she used her webbing to ensnare the groggy bad guy. "Now, let's see who this creep really is!"
"No...!" began the dazed Hobgoblin, but his desperate protests fell on deaf ears as Crimson Spider grabbed his mask and tore it right off.
"Roderick Kingsley?" said Mary Jane Watson in some surprise, recognising the dismayed man's real face from photos in various fashion magazines. "Man, I heard you were a pretty shady guy, but I never took you for being a supervillain! Sheesh, what a crazy twist!"
As the battle raged on all around, with the villains getting increasingly overwhelmed, Spider-Woman had spotted Titania on the rafters above, using all her might to shove along a forty-ton steel beam, which she evidently intended to drop on the heroes below. Firing a web-line, Spider-Woman swung up with all speed, bounded her way forward, and delivered a strong, flying karate kick, which knocked Titania away from the beam before she could drop it over the level's edge and send it crashing on everyone's heads!
"Spider-Woman!" snarled Titania, casting a furious glare at the hero, who had stuck herself on the wall.
"That's the name, lady!" chuckled Spider-Woman. "How about you do yourself a favour and surrender right now?"
"To a scrawny little runt like you?!" bellowed Titania, storming towards the web-spinner. "You're talking to Titania, bug-girl!"
RRAKK!
Titania struck out with her fist, but Spider-Woman's speed and agility enabled her to dodge the attack, which left a large tear in the wall!
"Nice try, missy!" said Spider-Woman as she landed on the floor. "But I don't intend to just stand still and let you hit me!"
"I don't have to hit you!" retorted Titania, as she pounded her fist into the floor, causing it to crack and burst apart into huge chunks!
"Whoa!" cried Spider-Woman in astonishment, as she was knocked off her feet. Quickly recovering, she had to dodge again, as Titania grabbed one of the biggest broken pieces and threw it at her.
"I used to be the shrimp!" fumed Titania as she continued her merciless attacks, years of frustration and built-up hostility boiling up to the surface. "I used to be the scrawny one who got her face rubbed in the dirt! Now I'm powerful and it's my turn to crush anybody who gets in my way, especially little wimps like you!"
"Oh boy! This lady clearly has major issues!" thought Spider-Woman. "Still, however strong she is, her short-temper has made her careless, and that's my best advantage towards taking her down a peg or two!"
All-too eager to show off her strength, Titania grabbed hold of the huge metal beam and swung it like a club, intending to flatten Spider-Woman with it. But Gwen's spider-speed enabled her to roll out of the way just in time!
THBOOM!
"Impossible!" exclaimed Titania, as the beam crashed onto the spot where Spider-Woman should have been reduced to a messy splat. "Nobody can move that fast!"
"You mean nobody else!" grinned Spider-Woman, as she swiftly flipped through the air and bounded from wall to wall, easily evading Titania's punches. "That's the problem with hotheads like you, girl! You think with your muscles instead of your brains!"
Using all her speed and agility, Spider-Woman managed to get behind Titania and slam the heel of her booted foot into the back of the villainess' head, causing the strong woman to stumble forward and strike her forehead on the wall.
CRACK!
"Oww!" yelped Titania, shocked that she actually felt the pain of that attack. She tried to recover herself, only for Spider-Woman to strike a powerful fist punch at her jaw. Gwen did not bother holding back any of her strength as she had to previously with other foes. She gave Titania all she had and more!
"Aggh!" howled Titania, struggling to focus through the unforgiving series of blows to her person. "When I'll get you, I'll..."
"All you're going to get is frustrated and trashed!" said Spider-Woman, as she managed to land another punch on Titania, continuing to use her speed to confuse Titania, moving so randomly that the woman had no chance to work out where the wall-crawler would strike next. Gwen knew that brute strength alone was not the way to beat her opponent. She had to also use her speed, and make sure her opponent was left disoriented and unable to think straight.
BAM!
"Oof! No! It's not fair! Uhh!" wailed Titania, as Spider-Woman landed on the ceiling before her and struck the super-strong villainess on the jaw again with both her fists, before managing to splat a dollop of webbing over Titania's right eye.
"Oh, and I suppose you beating the rest of us up like punching bags is more fair, huh?" said Spider-Woman icily, as she relentlessly continued with her own attacks. "Cuddles, I've seen a lot of bullies in my time, and you're probably one of the biggest and nastiest I've ever had the misfortune to meet! You talk tough and nasty down at us 'little people', but when you're losing, that's when creeps like you wimp out!"
Half-blinded by webbing, Titania was beginning to panic and lose her nerve. Just before the heroes had come crashing in, she had virtually singlehandedly been able to beat the invading She-Hulk almost to a pulp, and it had made her feel like she was queen of the world. But now, all the arrogance, boasting attitude and self-confidence that she had quickly developed, since the first moment she had gotten her powers, had shattered into fragments, and she was feeling as frightened and confused as she was when she was plain 'Skeeter' MacPherran! All because of one tiny girl in a skinny costume and a ridiculous blue hoodie!
"Stop it!" the staggering Titania screamed, almost pleadingly. "Stop it! Stop...!"
But Spider-Woman had no intention of stopping, not after she had seen the way Titania had fought previously. The web-slinger knew that she could not afford to give Doom's muscle-woman a chance to recover, as it would mean Gwen's certain death. So instead, she fired a web-line which snagged Titania by the ankle, enabling the hero to wrench the evil woman off solid ground and whirl her around in the air like the spinning blades of a helicopter, making MacPherran completely dizzy.
"Oh, and by the way," said Spider-Woman, before she made the final move to end the fight. "This one is both for what happened to the Wasp, and for you and your buddies dropping that mountain on our heads!"
And with that, Spider-Woman used all her strength to toss the shrieking Titania across the chamber like she was a rugby ball, sending her crashing right through the nearest exterior wall!
FWHA-BLAMM!
As the flying form of Titania smashed through the metal panel, she found herself outside the fortress, tumbling helplessly down to the rocky plain far below, striking it with a loud thump!
"N-not... fair..." she barely managed to squeak pathetically, as she tried fruitlessly to get up. Then everything went black, and the once mighty Titania fell forwards, her face hitting the dirt with a very painful thud.
The rest of the battle progressed well in the heroes' favour, with the various remaining villains either taken down hard or forced to surrender, and after dealing with the last one of the goons remaining, the robot Ultron, who had been put out of commission by the Human Torch's nova-flame, Captain America had marched straight into the chambers of Doctor Doom himself.
"Looks like it's come down to just you and me, Doom," commented Captain America at the figure lolling upright on the bed. "Which is how it ought to be!"
But the greatest of all villains did not respond, and as Captain America stepped forward, he could now see what a sorry state Doom was in, his head in his hands, his armour still smoking slightly, and his whole movement disoriented.
"Doom? Doom!"
But the armoured tyrant did not respond to Captain America's words, or even seemed aware of his presence. He just sat there, seemingly a pathetic shell of the proud man he once was.
"Whatever happened to him, he's barely alive," Rogers said to himself, almost pityingly. "And it seems, completely out of it. He's... harmless."
With the battle over, the victors began to tend to the injured on both sides. She-Hulk had been found in a corridor, beaten and bloodied, apparently having been thrashed by the combined might of the villains, and she was rushed straight to the central infirmary, where she was placed in a cell-regenerative cubicle. Luckily, Reed Richards understood how to operate the device, and Spider-Woman volunteered to give him a hand, managing to pick up from him how the medical machines work. The injured members of Doom's army were placed in similar booths, and after their wounds were healed, they would be placed in the cells with the rest of the bad guys. Doom's injuries, however, could not be attended, since his booby-trapped armour prevented anyone from dealing with whatever wounds he had suffered, and so he was put in the cells with the rest of the prisoners.
"I'm sure relieved that we got to She-Hulk in time," sighed Spider-Woman, as Captain America came over to join her and Reed by the cubicle holding the unconscious Jennifer Walters. "Losing one Avenger is already too much to bear. I'm frankly amazed that Jennifer survived that beating."
"Not by much," said Reed. "Even this technology couldn't have saved her if we'd gotten to her a few seconds later."
"You know," said Captain America sadly, "I can't help but think that if I'd done things differently... Maybe the Wasp wouldn't have died..."
"Don't torture yourself, Cap," said Reed. "What could have happened... did! No one could have led us better or more wisely than you!"
"You can say that again!" agreed Spider-Woman. "Look, Cap, since Reed seems to have things in hand here, I'm gonna go with Hawkeye and Captain Marvel to bring Wasp's body here. Since this is our base now, they thought we ought to give her a decent burial."
Cap nodded solemnly, and Spider-Woman took her leave. Despite what Rogers and the others said, Gwen still felt responsible for Janet's death, just as she still felt responsible for Spider-Man's death years ago. She knew it was not rational to feel that way, but then it was the sort of feeling that set the forces of good apart from those with evil in their hearts. It was just another of those things she would have to live with.
"Hey, Spidey!" called Crimson Spider as they passed each other in the corridor. "You okay?"
"Not really," admitted Spider-Woman. "But I'm coping. Say, you did a great job out there, taking down Absorbing Man like that."
"Thanks!" grinned Mary Jane. "And nice work dealing with Titania. Anyway, all the bad guys are locked up, including Kingsley. I still can't believe he was the Hobgoblin!"
"Doesn't surprise me too much," said Spider-Woman, thinking back to the time when she had got caught up in the feud between Kingsley and the criminal woman known as Belladonna. "He was already a nasty piece of work in his civilian identity! Strange thing is, I saw Hobgoblin and Kingsley side-by-side just a few days ago, while I was investigating an elaborate blackmail caper! But maybe that was all an elaborate trick. Ah well, I guess the answer to that puzzle will become clear when we get back to Earth. Anyway, I'll catch you later, MJ. Hawkeye and Captain Marvel are already waiting for me."
Doombase had a variety of vehicles and aircraft at its disposal, and it was in one of these futuristic shuttlecraft that Spider-Woman and the two Avenger members used to travel back to Zsaji's village. The journey in the small four-person sized craft had been a quiet one, giving the three heroes a chance to reflect on the tragic loss of their teammate and friend. No words could soothe the wounds left by the terrible blow that the Secret Wars had dealt them, the death of one of the founding members of the Avengers.
It was therefore with considerable and understandable surprise and joy that after landing near the village, Spider-Woman, Hawkeye and Captain Marvel headed over to the hut where Wasp's body had been moved to, only to find:
"No way!" exclaimed Spider-Woman in wide-eyed shock.
"It... can't be!" added an equally bewildered Hawkeye.
"I want to believe it, but..." said Captain Marvel in astonishment.
"That's comforting!" grinned Janet van Dyne as she sat on the end of the couch she had been lying on earlier, seemingly dead. "If you didn't want to believe it, I'd really be upset!"
"Janet!" cried Spider-Woman, as she rushed over and lifted the Wasp up in a joyous hug. "You're really ALIVE!"
"Yeah, thanks to Zsaji, I suppose," said the Wasp happily, as the ecstatic Spider-Woman lowered her gently down. "She must have..."
Janet's face suddenly fell as she realised something. "Oh! Oh no! I just realised! I don't have any make-up on! And my hair must be a mess! Oh goodness!"
So happy were they at seeing their comrade alive, Spider-Woman and the others could not help but laugh at this. It was all more than any of them could wish for! Gwen in particular was relieved to see that she no longer had the death of an Avenger on her conscience.
"Girl, you had us so worried earlier!" chuckled Spider-Woman. "Wait till Cap and the others hear about this! I better go and find Zsaji to thank her!"
Leaving Hawkeye and Captain Marvel to fill Wasp in on all that had happened since she had been shot, Gwen Stacy ran happily over to Zsaji's hut. Upon entering, her joy immediately turned to concern as she saw her friend lying unconscious on her couch with a worried Colossus sitting by her side.
"Zsaji! What happened to her?" cried Gwen as she hurried over to her weak-looking friend, who seemed to be on the edge of death.
"Do not concern yourself, Spider-Woman," said Colossus gently. "I believe she will recover. I learnt what had transpired using the bottle of mind-linking vapours you spoke of earlier. The Wasp was not dead. Merely wounded, but also in some kind of death-like stasis. And when the stasis wore off, Zsaji healed her wounds and saved her life, but nearly at the cost of her own."
Now understanding what had happened, Gwen looked down at the sleeping Zsaji with gratitude and an even greater level of respect than before. She also realised now how much they had all taken Zsaji's healing powers for granted, as none of them had considered the possibility that over-exertion of her abilities might harm her.
"She risked her own life for a stranger from another world," breathed Spider-Woman. "If you ask me, she's perhaps the greatest hero of us all on this world, maybe the universe itself! If only more could be like her."
She looked back at Colossus, who continued gazing gently at Zsaji, clearly very much in love with her, and Gwen knew deep down that the Healer was already in good hands.
"You take care of her, Colossus," said Spider-Woman with a small smile behind her mask. "I better go and tell the others what happened."
Taking her leave of Colossus and Zsaji, who had more than earned her rest, Spider-Woman began to head back to join Wasp, Captain Marvel and Hawkeye. Suddenly, she found herself thrown off her feet as the ground shook violently. No, not just the ground... Gwen realised with shock that the whole planet was shaking!
"What the heck...?! A planetquake?" she spluttered, as she quickly got back up, before a terrible thought came to her. "Oh no... It can't be...!"
Her whole body feeling ice cold with terrible fear, Spider-Woman slowly turned around to look in the direction of the mountain. Her expression behind the mask was one of total dread, as she saw that all their worst fears had become a reality. The terrible world-consuming machine was complete and humming with fantastic energy. There was no doubt what it all meant...
Galactus had begun to devour the entire planet of Battleworld!
NEXT TIME: ASSAULT ON GALACTUS