Felicia was racing over rooftops and swinging between buildings in a fervor in search of any signs of Eric or Gwen. After she had managed to secure Eve in a location nearby the apartment, she raced back and checked through her HUD for any news or clues as to where they might be since their suit trackers were dead for some reason. That meant that they were both injured enough for their suits to be that damaged in the first place and that the nanites were using reserve power to keep them alive.
Frantically scanning the news and searching high above yielded no concrete results as there were little to no actual clues to narrow down her search area from their last sighting at the now mangled skyscraper they had been spotted at. Only news about the strange phenomenon possibly linked to Web Weaver were being made and none of the police or emergency response communication lines told her anything about two heavily injured civilians or criminals at large. Not knowing where they were with their injuries made her panic enough to where tears were starting to form at the corner of her eyes.
She begged for anything. Something to just give her a hint as to where they may be. Without them, she would have to live with the fact that she was the only one who could have saved them and let them die. They mattered too much to her for them to just leave her behind.
"Mreow."
A jingle of a small bell caught her attention, for some reason. Such an innocuous sound should've gone completely ignored as she was battling high winds while swinging through the city, but the sound was as clear as church bells for her. Felicia stopped herself to scan around for the source of the noise when she could just catch the retreating figure of a cat running around the corner of a nearby apartment building.
For some absurd reason, the compulsion to follow had her launching her grapple hook at the rooftop and swung down to follow the feline.
Rounding the corner of the building only revealed a large gravel lot that was the shared open space between the bottom level apartments all standing at each corner of the space. Now things went from desperate to confusing as she asked herself why she was chasing after a stray cat when there were those in need of her help. About to fire off another line towards the rooftops, she heard that same bell ringing in her ears with such disturbing clarity.
Turning just in time let Felicia see that same black cat as it's behind ran around another corner ahead of her. Again, that same compulsion was drawing her to follow. Whatever was happening didn't make sense as she decided that her instincts were better at finding them over her previous method.
Her boots carried her as fast as she could with that same cat meowing and chiming their bell ahead of her. No matter how fast she went, it always managed to turn the corner far ahead of Felicia. She followed it to a nearby parking garage where she fired a line up to the rooftop and found herself on top of an empty lot. Scanning around, something caught her attention on the other end of the lot.
Underneath an alcove where a dingy yellow bulb was barely alive was shining a spotlight down at the ground. In that spotlight was none other than the unconscious bodies of Eric still holding Gwen in his arms.
"Eric! Gwen!"
Sprinting over to them and quickly checking their vitals with her own suit unveiled a litany of critical injuries and much needed medical care for them both. Her enhanced strength would be able to bring them back all in one trip, but she needed to go now.
"Meow."
Behind her was a black cat with emerald irises that pierced her own emeralds. It wore a red collar with a small golden bell and stared at her with purpose while sitting there in silence. Only one thing came to mind as she looked on in gratitude.
"Thank you."
Its eyes slowly blinked in a cat kiss before turning and heading back to the darkness of the abandoned parking structure where it completely vanished. Felicia felt thankful that whatever had her best interests at heart was able to help her in her time of need.
Eric's Apartment The Next Afternoon
The first thing he could notice as he awoke was the smell of the sofa. An opulent material that had been cut from only the finest of aged bull hides and tenderized expertly from leather workers in Sicily to render the cushions to be as saying as they were durable and soft. A flagrant item bought without Eric's input since he didn't have any real attachments to the old ones. Gwen had some attachments, so Felicia decided to have it sent to a storage locker where she kept her valuables in well maintained containers. She did so since Gwen found the chairs too sentimental in value.
His eyes were heavy as he felt like he had been asleep for a decade. Taking deeper breaths as he woke up unveiled the deep seated agony wedged into the left side of his back that explained why he had been on his front instead of facing the ceiling. Tidbits were coming back to him as he remembered more about that dreadful night with every passing second. The memory of him blacking out with Gwen in his arms suddenly stopped when he remembered a voice in his head. Nothing came to him after that.
Tilting his chin to the left got him the perfect view of Felicia sleeping right next to him with her face just inches next to his face. Compared to her usually cocky confidence, seeing her so at peace did make her plbeautiful to just the few whom she let into her lives like this. They made her feel safe, so she let her guard down for just them. That vulnerability was what made her who she was in addition to all the other amazing things about her.
Turning his head from off of the cushion propping his head up sent air into her sensitive eyelashes. She took a moment to grumble in an exhausted state as she cracked her eyes open and found herself staring into those dark drown irises that were inly brown under the right lighting and distance. Her emeralds became damp with tears of relief as she let out choked sobs that she tried to play off as laughing. His face was apologetic and understanding as he said the first thing that came to mind.
"I'm sorry."
She both adored and hated that he said that. Here he was, a massive wound in his back, and all he could think about was the fact that he made her cry. Any woman who ever wanted that from their man was insane as Felicia was somebody who didn't want this to be proof of their love. All she wanted was to live with those she loved happily and content. Their lives were hard enough as it was.
One Hour Later
Gwen had woken up and was told that Eric was bedridden on the couch since they knew he wanted it that way. Her injuries were nothing to laugh at with so many contusions, lacerations, broken and dislocated bones, and even stab wounds. Eric had a cut in the upper left section of his back that several of his ribs actually managed to become severed. How he didn't die was beyond anybody's guess. Eve carried Gwen over to Eric and let the two lovebirds reunite and share a moment before Eve carried her back to the bed. Her request that he be moved as well was denied since Eve and Felicia wanted to still sleep in the bed. Eric just laughed before coughing and said he was fine and wasn't keen on being moved so soon after being nearly bifurcated. Although he did get frequent visits with all of his family doting on him, even Gwen at times.
Thinking that word felt odd. This was his family. Far from being unpleasant, it just felt… odd. Yet here he was, more injured than he ever has been before and he couldn't be happier. He loved these women and they all had the strangest of stories with none of them feeling out of place in this crazy series of events they called life.
One Month Later
Recovering for Gwen and Eric was strenuous at times as they got as much help from both Felicia and Eve for minor things like bathroom breaks, meals, changing, etc.. Taking things in full stride was all they could do as they needed to let the healing process do its thing. Eric took a bit longer with Gwen finally being fully back onto her feet within three weeks.
Eric took an additional week to even be able to move around with some discomfort while still raising his left arm. Still, at least he was mobile again. One thing that he wanted to get to once back in his lab was understanding Eve's condition. Making sure that she could at least not have to worry about such a major compromise to her biology had him working with her on top of the regular work he had been making his most recent priority. Needless to say that Eve showed her gratitude in various ways while both in private and out in the open.
Integrating a modified version of his suit to work as a sort of audio buffer where a directly oppositional frequency would keep her cells stable was tested and seemed to work extremely well for how easy of a fix it was. Nobody complained since there was now more time for Eric to go and retrieve the thing sitting in his truck for just over a month now.
Gwen was over the moon over her new drum set that his past self had secretly slipped into the recorded files in her piercing via a receipt he had of the old set he first bought. He matched the dates perfectly and still managed to purchase them without issue. Though the only difference was that now Felicia utilized her suit's noise canceling option for peace at home more often. It still was a joy to see Gwen look so happy with her new toys.
From there things sort of fell into this pattern that felt right for everybody.
They all got to learn more about each other naturally and began to find things that made them more compatible. Despite their challenging start, they all managed to get through the rest of it all with some good ol fashion elbow grease.
One Month Later
Things were finally coming around for these four.
Eric needed some time to add in two more orders for devices for Felicia and Eve if he and Gwen wanted them to come along. They both eagerly said yes as even Felicia put in to her office that she would be out and would only be coming back sparingly for her occasional check ins to see how her money has been doing. While everybody felt like they needed to get their affairs in order, Eric fell into his own conundrum all on his own.
He noticed how he could feel this sort of cold sensation through him at times. Following that instinct one time out on patrol engulfed his hands in that strange fire reported the night he somehow killed Hobgoblin and was marked a monster with otherworldly powers as a major threat to public safety. He didn't care if that meant less criminals would be inclined to pop up from this incident. It still broke her heart a little to see Eric look so indifferent since she knew what he bore as his mark to ensure public safety. To be the monster that eats monsters.
Working through these strange abilities took time and diligence, though he was a quick learner. He never introduced a new factor until he was certain he could reverse engineer the solution and just took things as they presented themselves to him. Frustration or impatience would only push him in the wrong direction, after all. That's how he's always done it, after all.
His process involved numerous trials with himself as the subject with careful parameters so that he wouldn't cause any harm to those closest to him. A secured office door that he requested be shut at specific hours was an easy enough request with the women in his life giving him his privacy without issue.
Activating his costume and becoming enveloped by this strange new ability of his weren't necessary for one being with the other. They were two separate things, so that marked off one theory he had. Next thing he looked into was what this was and how it interacted with the world around him.
Studying the surface these cold flames sprouted from was bizarre to him. These flames weren't actually tendrils or physical constructs, but the reaction of the surface coming in contact with a different environment which produced the burning like reaction visible to the naked eye. Even the way the black flames responded pretty much acted the same as the white parts with just a change in color scheme. Another limitation he soon realized was how he should come out of these transformations and would feel incredibly frigid after returning to his original body. Doing additional testing on himself showed a decrease in his overall body temperature depending on how long or how much of this unique ability he utilized. It actually became something to keep a reading on in his suit as he didn't want to overextend his limited time and be left a hypothermic corpse who keeled over from his own negligence.
The next few days of experimentation had him studying how much this warped state of his had affected himself and the rest of the world around him. Testing the way he could move and navigate in this state was an oddity to say the least.
His cloak moved as he would if he fought normally in an accelerated manner. Like a spectre with a sheeted look from certain media or creative works. It did improve his ability to make sharper maneuvers and even let him navigate without having to be affected by simple laws of physics like inertia and the conservation of movement.
Moving his new altered state was also strange at first as he now could manipulate his cloak like a free moving mass of liquid or something of similar visual comparison and even control them freely. His only limitation was the motor skill he possessed to manage the shape and tasks he was attempting. Testing the range of his new physical transformation placed the area of influential reach at roughly about thirty five or forty meters. It really depended on how much focus he had and how complicated of a shape he tried to control. Making a circular disk and walking away from it with just a thin line between it and himself didn't surpass the forty meter mark. To him, he felt as though he could manage to lengthen this range if he tried to work on it on his own time.
Other tests like sensory detection through his transformation, changing the physical properties of his transformation, creating different constructs of more complicated mechanisms, etc. were all things that needed further testing over a long period of time. Things he could do at a later time as he traveled with Gwen since he finished everybody's dimensional travel devices.
Giving them their rings all led to them just lounging with each while the women all were snuggling on the couch while admiring their new jewelry with Eric asleep at the end with Gwen's left thigh acting as his pillow. They all knew how hard he had been working all of these months and knew he deserved a break. Felicia leaned up against Gwen's left side while Eve used Felicia's right thigh as a pillow as she carefully observed her own ring. They all had these complex solitaire that revealed different color schemes of emerald, opal, black, and white depending on how you held it up to the light. The band was a dark charcoal Grey of metal that looked like the swelling waves of the ocean on a calm day. Their lives were tied together and their rings represented that bond they all had. This was their way to navigate their lives and find their way back to each other, no matter how far they ever became from one another. For them, not even reality could ever separate them from each other.
Their family mattered too much to them for that to be an acceptable outcome.
One Week Later Nueva York City Earth - 982
A blue dimensional rift opened up 0with the transparent blue box containing Eric, Gwen, Felicia, and Eve. When it dissipated after their feet touched the ground, Felicia grabbed Eric and let him hold his arm out for her to use as a perch. She just threw him a very flattering compliment for being so strong that he casually chuckled at genuinely. All around them was this ascending platform clearly made for spiders as Felicia needed some assistance to use it.
"Hey guys, watch this…"
Everybody turned towards Gwen as she directed their attention to one wall of the elevator. In a well timed reveal, all of them were left speechless as the sight of a truly fantastical place once thought to be a wild fantasy and nothing more.
Spires of gleaming metal and glass all pierced the heavens with lush platforms of greenery alongside the numerous winding roads below. Lining the city skylines were the numerous lanes of cars that were flying at incredible speeds and precision all around and between the skyscrapers. Seeing their wonderment at the city for the first time made Gwen giggle as she leaned up against Eve and took the taller female's hand for her to squeeze. Feeling that affection returned felt nice.
Once the elevator arrived at their destination, they all made their way into the arrival bay with Felicia finally able to stand on her own two feet without issue. They all joined Felicia on the ground as they finally made their debut after Gwen had brought them all alongside her back into the Spider Society.
As Gwen was feeling a sense of nostalgia for this place, Felicia could quickly pick up on something else all around her. Many of these similar spider people in all sorts of different costumes of wild and varying colors were all looking at their group in slight shock and awe. Though it didn't seem as though they were being universally seen as welcome guests.
Many were whispering under their breaths that Gwen had finally returned after being gone for almost half a year while others were remarking how a Black Cat and She-Venom were able to enter this place. Some voices were much more concerned with the way that Web Weaver was making them feel uneasy. In fact, a lot of them were backing away with a sense of unease at the sight of this one hooded spider who emitted this feeling of instinctual fear. Nobody wanted to even get near him as they all backed away from Eric while keeping their eyes on him.
He didn't care since he was only there to be with Gwen and the others. On the other end of the spectrum was Gwen. She predicted some pushback for possibly Felicia or Eve being scrutinized for being brought to the Society; witnessing Eric being completely alienated was a complete shock to her. He should be seen as a spider person, not as a freak or a ticking time bomb. Seeing everybody she saw as one of the kindest people all across the multiverse treat him like some outsider unwelcome in their midst filled her with a sense of shame as she was the one who brought him to this place. Her feelings were hurt by those she once considered comrades in arms.
"Hey, don't worry about them. I only care about how the only spider in this place that matters to us thinks of me."
A playful bump to her left shoulder did make her feel better as Felicia dipped down on her right and pecked her on the cheek. Looking up at the seductive feline woman had her smiling through her mask as she knew everybody there was at her side. They all walked together towards the one place that Gwen knew she needed to make an appearance first and foremost.
Ahead of them was a triangular entrance with several reddish-orange lines that all led into what looked like a prison holding area with countless energy holding cells. Orange energy barriers all lined the sides of the hallway as they were each holding dangerous criminals all across the multiverse. Many were criminals that Eric was unfamiliar with as he hadn't had to run into them back in his home dimension. While Eve was observing the place in wonderment, Eric and Felicia were already seeing some problems with the shielding being implemented with these containment cells. The wrong current could pop these things open like a pressurized plastic bottle over pumped with gas.
"Gwen! Where have you been for the last five months?! We were worried sick about you, girl!"
Gwen had to reassure Lyla, the personal AI assistant of the esteemed leader here, that she was fine and that she got help from the three individuals who showed up with her out of nowhere. Things were a bit awkward for Gwen, but Lyla was the more free spirited on between herself and Miguel O Hara.
Peering over Gwen's shoulder, she got a good look at her party and took notice how hot the two females she came with were with their full womanly figures and with Felicia Hardy's costume being so tight and accentuating her flawless body. Studying Web Weaver, however, made the AI a bit more cautious about this individual.
Passing by one version of Lizard, the thing was easily twice the height of the man who it snapped at. When Web Weaver just gave it a passing glance, the mutated lizard man began to concede and even turned to look away submissively with its eyes to the ground. That Lizard was a real piece of work as it took a team of spiders to get it contained. How this guy gave it a look and made it calm down left her speechless.
A bit further up ahead, Gwen showed her family the Go Home Machine. A very creatively named machine that took criminals all brought together here to the Spider Society and shot them back to their home dimension. They even got to see it in action with a version of Venom that Eve could already sense was a much less evolved version of herself going berserk as the machine wove together a laser web before finally sending it back to the detected dimension of origin. Felicia and Eve were impressed while Eric remained silent. He remained silent and withheld his words for the method of which this Spider Society was trying to fix the collapses of other dimensions.
Up next was the actual reason why Gwen wanted to come back to this place. Her hands were shaking a little the closer they all got to their destination. Eric easily slipped his left hand into her right to offer her some much needed confidence while Eve just went for it. Being taller didn't give her the opportunity to be subtle, to which Gwen giggled at their completely opposite approaches to things and gave them both a loving squeeze before letting go with a newfound center of balance.
Meanwhile, the man who already had his eyes on Gwen's return was observing her as she approached. His hidden cam zoomed in on the back of Web Weaver's head. He didn't like the way this spider made everybody instinctively scared when he entered. Even the dominance over that version of Lizard conceded so easily with just a passing glance. Who this guy was felt wrong to the observer.
Without warning, Web Weaver's eyes zeroed in on the camera angle he was currently using to observe from the shadows. It almost felt like their eyes met as the camera feed was maintained before it was promptly closed. His suspicions over this spider were only growing in strength.
"Eric? What's wrong?"
Felicia noticed how he was just looking up at a piece of metal grating up on the ceiling behind him.
"... Sorry, I thought I saw something."
This place had too many eyes everywhere for how noble it was built up to be. A place that needed this level of surveillance only made Eric second guess the actions being made by this Spider Society. It made his skin crawl with how many things that were off for being a hero run organization and headquarters.
Spider Society Central Command
Entering a large cathedral sized space with a multitude of pillars crisscrossing the open dark space, Eve and Felicia let their eyes wander while Gwen scanned around for those who were there. Web Weaver had his eyes focused on the one individual who he could already sense was likely at the center of this whole operation. What he felt from them wasn't similar to all those naive spiders he passed by outside. This one felt wrong.
"Jessica? Miguel? You guys here?"
"Gwen? Is that you?! Where have you been?! It's been months since we lost communication with you! Why haven't you tried to reach back out to us?"
A spider with a large amount of curly ebony hair cascading over her back with a red leather riding suit meant for high speed motorcycle racing and a mask that only covered her upper face sported a large pair of yellow tinted goggles in the same shape as the other spider eyes. It made Felicia realize she had a similar design with her mask to a lesser degree. She stormed up to Gwen when Eric suddenly took a step forward with his right arm slightly lifted to use himself as a temporary barrier for Gwen.
"She needed help getting back here. Her device broke and I needed to discover dimensional travel in my world for the first time with how little I had to work with."
He leaned a bit more into his words as he made his intentions clear to Jessica Drew, the motorbike riding Spiderwoman.
"So I would appreciate it if we could tone it down a little and be more understanding. Is that fair?"
Staring into his mask made her feel unreasonably small. She even took a step back instinctively as Web Weaver wasn't just gonna let Gwen get an undeserved lecture for things outside of her control. Even Even and Felicia were being wary of Jessica as she looked as though she was going to chew out Gwen for no good reason.
"... Sorry. I may have come on too strong. I apologize."
Seeing the genuine apology for what it was, Eric conceded and stepped back for the mentor and student to reunite with Gwen giving Jessica an unexpected hug. It took a moment for Jessica to register before she gently returned the embrace.
"I missed you, Jessica."
That actually got to her a little. She almost let her concern and fear ruin what this was just now. Jessica just returned the embrace a little tighter as she told Gwen she missed her too.
Returning to the Society still put Gwen in a precarious position as she had been absent for so long. Her explanation of her absence made sense for the most part, though somebody there still had something to say when their platform finally descended all the way into the docking station. His stance on the issue wasn't one that had compassion or understanding so much as it was filled with suspicion and coldness.
"So how is it you haven't glitched once since arriving?"
The esteemed leader of the Spider Society finally spoke.
Miguel O Hara. Spiderman Twenty Ninety-Nine. Somebody who was already rubbing Web Weaver the wrong way.
"Oh, um… Yeah, if I could just-"
"I just asked you a direct question, Gwen. Answer."
Even the way he walked towards Gwen had this air of authority that Eric found pompous. Those feelings of being watched were confirmed to be Miguel as Eric scanned the console on the platform and saw the live feeds of the countless cameras he had active. Now he finally understood why he felt so unsettled by this place when he first arrived. This place was designed for everybody else to trust the leadership of this one guy while he didn't trust anybody else except himself.
Before Miguel could get too close to Gwen, he suddenly felt a hand on his chest keeping him from moving forward. Looking down at the pitch black hand holding him back, Miguel turned his sharpened glare at Web Weaver who stood just to his left.
"I made something personal for her and the others to keep them stable. It's something we all cherish, so we don't want to just surrender it to complete strangers…"
Their eyes met out of the corner of their eyes. Neither of them were willing to back down from each other as the tension was steadily tightening to uncomfortable levels.
"... We're going to need to study them for any potential-"
Instead of just cutting off Miguel, Eric did something that everybody found to be infinitely worse.
He just shoved Miguel backwards and made them stumble back mid sentence. Again, cold stares clashed with Eric not budging against Miguel.
"Like I said. No. Sale."
As much as she wanted to break the tension, Gwen really didn't want to surrender her ring. It meant so much to her as it was the thing that would bring her back to the others if they ever lost each other. Eric being the one to say no made things both easier and more difficult with how he challenged Miguel without hesitation. Since it was also only him, he would be able to stay so long as Gwen could play her cards right.
"You're not getting them. Got it?"
Very few dared to question Miguel's authority in this place. Many just placed their faith in his ability to lead and knew the importance of the mission to save the multiverse. Eric just didn't trust the guy who couldn't trust even one other person other than himself. To him, Miguel stunk of deception and withheld information that was only putting more lives on the line for some selfish reason only known to Miguel alone.
"Who are you to tell me what to do here? A stranger. Who developed unknown dimension tech that could be a threat to the safety of our mission?"
The accusations didn't affect Eric in the least. Instead, he just approached with this eerie calmness before he stopped about a meter away from Miguel. One thing that was made abundantly clear was how much they were growing to hate each other.
"I don't give a shit. You're not taking something that matters to us."
Several beats passed.
A violent strike made by Miguel trying to lodge his left claws into the side of Web Weaver's neck stunned everybody. Not even Jessica expected her leader to act in such a manner after one guy pushed back against him. She always saw him as cutthroat but focused. This was the first time he completely lost his cool against one person. Not even she could react fast enough to stop Miguel from killing the guy.
Rather than the satisfying sensation of his claws burying themselves through a solid object, he couldn't even move his arm anymore. Everybody, including Jessica, were just realizing that Web Weaver had caught Miguel's arm by the forearm and prevented him from closing in.
Knowing that Miguel was somebody who used a genetic serum with spider DNA as the baseline didn't subtract the feats that Jessica had seen over their long history together within the Spider Society. There were times where she saw Miguel move in ways that could easily outpace the impressive speed of the spider sense that a majority of spiders possessed. His physical prowess warranted genuine respect and praise, even if it was from an external source.
This was perhaps the first time she had ever seen another keep up with her leader.
Miguel wasn't as starstruck as he quickly swiped with his right arm and hit nothing but air. A solid blow against his liver vacated all the air in his lungs. This time, a push kick sent Miguel down to the floor as he was struggling to get air back into his body. Getting a left hook in the liver would fuck anybody up; especially if it was from a bare knuckle blow.
Letting this escalate would only lead to a level of violence that Gwen knew would be completely out of control. She immediately pulled Eric with some webbing so that he stumbled back towards her so that she could catch him by his face. Staring into her eyes even through the mask helped even out his temperament as he conceded against Gwen. Still, there was the matter regarding Miguel. Pulling himself off of the cold metal ground ended when he almost ran face first into Jessica standing between him and Web Weaver with a disapproving look that illustrated her disappointment in what just happened.
"Take five, Miguel. I can debrief her myself."
Both men were sent out of the room to prevent a full bloody melee from going off. Miguel knew he acted out of line while Eric apologized to which Gwen touched their foreheads together to let him know she wasn't actually mad.
Once they were able to talk, Gwen debriefed with Jessica regarding her time in Web Weaver's dimension while omitting some details less than appropriate for a mission report. When asked for the items that were keeping them stable over being given temporary passes until Gwen could get another dimensional travel watch, Felicia and Eve both gave her a cold glare that made it clear that Web Weaver had spoken for them all when he refused Miguel. She trusted Gwen to keep them all in line as any trouble they caused would be on her head. That was a more than agreeable term as she exited with the others. Jessica then went to go and have a discussion regarding what his sudden burst of anger had been all about.
Spider Society Main Atrium
Eric was exactly where Gwen expected him to be. He leaned up next to the entrance with a large amount of spiders who were just giving him a wide berth with how unsettling he felt. Gwen had pulled him into a gentle hug by his neck to thank him for standing up for her, Eve, and Felicia. Felicia jumped and hugged him from behind and even gave him a kiss on the cheek to show her appreciation. What Eve did was just pull Eric up by the front of his costume and just outright kiss the life out of him in front of everybody passing by. A lot of surprised spiders were watching in awe with some even feeling a twinge of jealousy until Eric was let back down as Eve licked her lips and teeth out of satisfaction.
After that bit of fun, Gwen wanted to show everybody a restaurant she found that had some pretty good noodles. The ones who ran the restaurant were nice enough spiders that she hoped would let her and her family come in to sit in for a meal. If not, then there was this spot she always liked that she hoped wasn't discovered by some other spider that she and the others could enjoy some takeout with. Whichever would suffice, so long as she had those who mattered to her there with her.
That Evening
A new dimensional travel watch was issued to Gwen within hours of her return. A delivery drone reached her as she and Felicia were shopping around the unique stores in the HQ of the Spider Society when it delivered it to her directly. She graciously put it on and checked it quickly to see Jessica calling her. They spoke briefly as the mentor to Gwen apologized about earlier and apologized on behalf of Miguel as well. His gruff grunt in the background was enough of a confirmation that he was sorry.
Giving them temporary living quarters wasn't too much of an issue since many spiders never really took one of the shared units in the HQ. Gwen landed them a spacious unit with two bedrooms with decently sized beds and a shared living space and amenities for their needs. All of them were just happy that she wasn't told to go pound sand for living accommodations. It was even a bit nice as Felicia was happy with the arrangements as well.
On the dining table was a card and a basket of beauty products all spider themed as it had been addressed to Gwen. She plucked the card up and read a short but sweet apology that was from Jessica that welcomed her prized pupil back. Felicia was given the first try to see how these products worked for her needs. Not that it mattered all that much since the bathroom shower stall was more than spacious enough for all of them with a rain shower setup.
Felicia tossed her bags of goods on the couch while Gwen inspected what was in the fridge for dinner. Some basic ingredients were there, but she was too tired for any home cooking. She asked if sushi would be acceptable, to which Eric, Eve, and Felicia from the bathroom all agreed to. They each put in their order through the holographic kiosk Gwen knew of and got everything placed for the delivery spider to make their appearance.
Gwen was just happy to still be with her family after getting over the hardest part of their integration into the Spider Society. Though she was now aware of the fact that her loving fiance had made mortal enemies out of himself and Miguel within the first few moments of their meeting each other.
What actually bothered her about the encounter was how incessant Miguel was to take away something she clearly showed sincere sentimental value for. She had heard horror stories rumored over how he was this brutal iron fisted asshole from some lingering rumors. Running into those always felt like over exaggerations of his normally calloused attitude. Witnessing first hand his unwillingness to back down from requesting something of Gwen shook her a little. Sometimes rumors were seated in some form of the truth.
Eve had followed Felicia into the shower where the last thing heard as the door closed was Felicia playfully reprimanding Eve for being such a naughty girl. Deactivating his nanite suit left Eric in a plain white tee shirt with black denim joggers and gray running shoes. An outfit that matched his tastes in modest flair.
First thing that Eric did was fall onto the long couch and let out a long sigh with his left arm over his eyes and his right draped over his abdomen. Gwen could see that he was likely still drained from that momentary interaction with Miguel more than anything else throughout the day. Deactivating her suit revealed her casual outfit of a black tee with fitted jeans and white skate shoes. Her sense of fashion had somehow become influenced by Eric as she now found the simple setup of colors to be rather attractive.
Hopping over the back of the couch and landing face first into his chest didn't elicit a single reaction from Eric since he had the physique to tank more than just a young woman landing on top of him. Peeking out the bottom of his arm, Gwen was staring at Eric with an inquisitive stare regarding what was bothering him. He removed his forearm from his face and brought the same sided hand down to her right cheek to just lay his hand against the side of her face. His thumb brushed over her cheek gently while her eyes smiled at him from how much she enjoyed his attention. Feeling her snuggle into his hand just cemented how much he treasured her.
"Sorry. Just can't shake the way this place feels."
Hearing that comment got Gwen curious. Eric clearly wanted to tell her something that weighed on him which involved the Spider Society.
"How does this place feel to you?"
Wiggling his other hand from out underneath Gwen, he draped it over the small over her back as he spoke honestly about what he saw.
"Why does a guy who doesn't trust anybody demand so much loyalty from everybody else?"
Eric needed to elaborate for Gwen as he saw the extent of the surveillance system that Miguel ran all over this place. Tapping into the Society's feeds had been what he was doing all day and it even slightly startled Gwen that he would do so without telling her. Apologizing for his lack of honesty, Eric elaborated that the only reason he could speak now was because now there wasn't a way for Miguel to peep in on them as long as Eric maintained a certain distance with everybody.
Letting Miguel know he knew he was watching him and his family right before he cut the available feeds was the highlight of his stay in this place. If Miguel confronted him about it, then he would be openly admitting to all the unwanted surveillance he had been pulling this entire time. Many were willing to ignore the possibility while others would very much have an issue of their leader doing something that was so incredibly invasive of their privacy. Allowing Eric and his privacy was the lesser of the two evils for his mission.
Listening to Eric made a lot of sense to Gwen. There were always things that she was reprimanded for in the past that she hadn't included in her updates that always amazed her when he brought them up. Marking it up to his incredible skills of observation rather than thinking he had a secret recording device installed into every single watch that all spiders possessed in the Society seemed to be the more logical conclusion to arrive at.
Proving it to Gwen was a quick project for Eric.
Grabbing her watch and opening it before installing several nanite cables before interacting with the system running inside of the watch through his holographic interface let him uncover the mapping program that was currently still trying to broadcast a full rendition of everything around it. Seeing the hologram being created in real time through Eric's own program made her feel uncomfortable to say the least. Her arms moved in sync with the model in the program as well as transmitting audio in real time.
"... Please remove this. Now."
Not a second was wasted as Eric both uninstalled the software and ripped out the sensor before crushing it with a good deal of satisfaction. Gwen was in need of a shower after discovering such an invasive piece of surveillance tech in her watch. She remembered bringing that thing everywhere with her, including the bathroom. Having her trust so thoroughly violated made her barge into the bathroom where she just joined Eve and Felicia in the shower. They didn't mind at all as the more the merrier. Gwen just wanted to be able to be intimate now knowing she wasn't going to be peeped on anymore.
While she and the others were enjoying themselves, Eric simply stood back up and put his suit back on before leaving silently. There still remained the matter that he just couldn't leave alone. It just commanded too much of his anger to be ignored.
Spider Society HQ Central Hub
Everything about Web Weaver made Miguel upset. He was far too direct and lacked any sort of angle he could work to intimidate the mysterious spider that Gwen had brought back with her. The others were of no concern for him since they seemed to be uninterested in him at most.
Having that guy be unwavering in the face of his intimidation put strain on the control he worked so hard to establish within the Spider Society. Only he knew what it was that needed to be done to save the multiversity. Too many sacrifices till this point couldn't be for nothing as he went over all the data of recent temporal events in other dimensions.
"I once knew a man like you."
A voice from the hall that led into the central hub made Miguel activate his full suit and take a full battle stance as he confronted the direction the voice came from. Just the sounds of somebody's footsteps against the metal floor echoed out of the shadows.
"An ambitious man who had only the best of intentions. All he could do was work and sacrifice everything he was."
Miguel recognized that voice. Nobody in his entire life evoked his spite so easily as that singular person.
"You, oh the other hand…"
From out of the darkness emerged that insufferable white cloak that draped over the spider who did nothing but challenge his authority. Their eyes pierced his through their masks as the hatred between them was palpable. Compared to Miguel, Web Weaver was completely calm in his demeanor and posture.
"All you do is give tribute."
His boots were even in pace as his soles collided with the floor.
"Paying with sacrifices that are of no consequence to you."
Stopping before he reached the halfway point of the room, Web Weaver looked up at Miguel with this amused disgust that ignited every fiber of his rage against this individual. That look stabbed between the gaps of his mental armor to elicit actual anger.
"I'm almost impressed with the scam you're pulling here."
Nothing would get in the way of this. Before Lyla could even detect the event, Miguel deactivated her temporarily so that only he and Web Weaver were the only ones allowed in this room at this time of the night. Walking off the platform that was moving far too slow for his tastes for the first time ever let Miguel land with a loud slam in his spider pose. His elbow blades ignited and illuminated him in the shadows like the mane of a hellhound.
Contrasting Miguel's aggressive entrance, Web Weaver produced a sliding sound of metal sliding against a sheathe before revealing two bladed weapons in his grasp that were equally as dark as his costume. He brought his arms back into his cloak and lowered his stance in the soft glow of the blue light pouring into the room high above like a guiding star.
All that existed in that room at that moment was their desire to kill each other.
Miguel lunged in like a wild animal swinging their claws at an animal who challenged them for their territory. Rather than dodging, like Miguell predicted, Web Weaver saw through the ruse of Miguel baiting him into thinking the claws were the focus of the attack. The right knife exited the cape and collided with the elbow blades and binded up with the lethal cutting tool without giving. Miguel's hesitation from seeing Web Weaver's weapons not give out at all allowed Web Weaver to step on Miguel's right foot and lead into a right roundhouse kick that landed flat against Miguel's left side ribcage. The lack of power was more than made up with the fact that Miguel couldn't properly defend against the blow since he couldn't see it with the cloak in the way.
Fighting and moving with a dragging piece of clothing usually is a hindrance not worth enduring. It was usually another weakness that one's enemies could abuse by grabbing and would only seriously limit the wearer's movement due to the risk of getting tangled up.
In his earlier years before becoming Web Weaver by reputation, Eric saw a major weakness in fighting with a skintight suit. His movements were far easier to read as his body lines were so visible to those who he couldn't confront in a situation where he would be outnumbered. Something he knew about as a young child who was trained in combat against multiple skilled attackers. Blocking his movements would make others more hesitant to approach him, but he needed to remove the limitation of just draping a cumbersome piece of fabric over his body. So he decided to experiment with nanite tech to try and create his ideal costume.
Stealing from a convoy transporting some highly confidential tech ended with him almost dying from a gunshot wound to his chest. He just barely managed to get a cannula tube into his chest cavity to get his lungs to inflate again, but he had the basis of his perfect suit. Now he advanced the tech to be a deadly weapon for his style of fighting.
Slamming into the pillar to his right sucked all the air out of Miguel's lungs. He recovered in a flash and cut through an attempt of webbing him against the same pillar with a swipe of his left forearm blade before lunging back at Web Weaver.
Returning the lunging attack was Eric. Closing the gap with his left knife jobbing forward let Miguel grab at it without issue. Going on the right with the other knife made Miguel block the blow with his left forearm blade. That just left his left hand free to try and swipe at Web Weaver's neck. Pulling that arm away as well then gave Miguel the chance to just go in for a full force headbutt at the top of Web Weaver's skull.
Both staggered away from each other, but Miguel was staggering just a hair less than the other guy. The fastest strike he could use against Web Weaver was a snap kick that was aimed at his neck. He did just that and caught them off guard to send them flying to their right. Watching Web Weaver soar through the air and slam against the floor filled Miguel with a twisted glee.
When he landed, he didn't go tumbling into a mess. Miguel was already jumping the gun and trying to close the distance and was punished for his lack of patience. Complete and utter darkness blinded him just a split second before a violent blow to the right side of his head sent him flying as well.
Catching Miguel's head with his cloak to temporarily blind him was one of his more classic fighting techniques. Web Weaver still needed a moment to reorient himself while Miguel shook his head before standing back up with a vengeance. Their faces were still cold and focused on each other in order to find a moment where they could cut the other guy's head off.
They dove back at each other with only their genuine disdain for the other man keeping them at it for some time. Their hatred felt greater than what should have been warranted.
Four AM
Getting back to the others at an ungodly hour of the night left Eric bruised and slightly cut up when he finally made it back. He knew he was stealthy, but he just entered the apartment with enough stealth to respect those who were already asleep. Coming back the way he was didn't feel great as he just ended up feeling like he didn't get enough licks in to make Miguel really feel his righteous beating. The only reason Miguel didn't call for backup was because he too wanted to brutalize Eric with his own hands. If he reported him, then he would lose the opportunity to do so with his own two hands. Only when he got to really cause pain upon Web Weaver's body would he let the unwanted killer rot in a maximum security facility.
Letting him go back to his home dimension felt too kind for Miguel's tastes.
The apartment was understandably dark with only his enhanced abilities being able to peer through the darkness. Gwen had been nice enough to leave out some fresh clothes for him when he came home. He grabbed the spare change of clothes and snuck into the bathroom with relative ease. Closing the door behind him, it was only then he turned on the light switch.
Behind him was the sight of Eve standing with her arms crossed underneath her impressive breasts. Eric knew he was in trouble as he saw the frown on her face in the mirror. He gave up and led his head droop before turning around in acceptance of his punishment. His eyes were closed as he just waited for the initial bitter words.
Touching his bruised left cheek made Eric flinch a little as he opened his eyes involuntarily. What he saw on Eve's face wasn't disappointment, but concern. Deep down, he was hoping for a more abrasive treatment over this. Taking Eve's hand and pressing it into his bruised face was quite pleasant as she was so soothing to the touch. She brought him in and let their foreheads touch while embracing him with her right arm.
"We were worried."
"... I'm sorry."
Eve just let out a frustrated sigh as she helped undress her man gently. His body sported some bruises that weren't nice to look at. At least he didn't have any broken bones or serious wounds.
She got the shower hot for them and let Eric in before following him in and running her clawed hands over his body. Her touch was extremely gentle when she wanted it to be as she made sure not to hurt him as she washed off his sweaty skin. Pulling him into her softer frame, Eve squirted some shampoo into her hands while massaging his scalp. Rubbing his scalp while letting him feel her supple body against his back almost lulled him to sleep.
"... I confronted Miguel."
"... We know."
It didn't feel good to hear that. Doing something so irrationally felt idiotic in hindsight, yet he didn't stop himself at the moment.
"I… I don't know what-"
"We know…"
After rinsing his head off, Eve just embraced Eric from behind and pressed the side of her face against the right side of his head. Her pillow softness was truly something he felt privileged to feel.
"He did things that made you angry. You can tell us if you are going to do these things. Don't think you're alone in this life anymore."
He didn't know what to say to her after hearing her say something so prolific. All he could do was carry her by the back of her thighs as they kissed going into the shared bedroom for them that night.
They did their best to keep it down for the others.