Two crime lords sat across from each other as their attendants and guests stood beside them, the tension was so palpable that power tools couldn't cut through it, or at least that's what Eris Night thought. She was sweating like she had just ran a marathon, and could you blame her? The one job she had she absolutely blew and here were some of the most powerful people in New York expecting not only a million dollar payment, bit a powerful piece of tech and she's got nothing except some stupid cube.

On one side of the table was her boss, Alonzo Lincoln or better known as Tombstone, a well dressed albino man with some serious strength and a scary sounding voice. Next to him was his top enforcer/right-hand man Hammerhead, no he wasn't named that because of his dumb looking head (no one tell him she said that), it's because of his steel plated skull that can go right through walls. Both of them equally terrifying in their own regards but that ain't mean the big guy on the other side isn't just if not more terrifying. Wilson Fisk or as the Underground calls him, Kingpin is probably one of the most dangerous people in New York if not the most.

Money? More than she could ever dream of seeing in her life.

Fame? New York sees him as a pretty stand up guy.

Power? Both man power and physical power, seriously she heard from Prowler that this guy twisted a guy's arm off during a fake deal when he offered a handshake, like it actually came off.

Not to mention he's got this group called The Enforcers with him, she's worked with them once in the past and they are well worth the money Kingpin is paying them. But there's also this unfamiliar scientist looking chick who looks like someone who would teach at a high school science class or someone's mom, actually kind cute but doesn't fit the vibe of this room at all when they got some of the most terrifying people sitting in one room where one bad sentence could mean a fight or even worse, death.

Should she start writing her will?

Let's see here…

Moros probably gets all her money, he needs it for college anyway. That guy has a good future ahead of him though she never said it to him outright.

Charon gets her baby The Adamant Rail, he would probably sell it because that dude sure does love his money. At least sell it for 100k at the very least!

Hypnos gets her mattress, king sized bed and comfy as fuck. He probably would never wake up from his first nap on that thing.

Thanatos… well she hasn't heard from the guy since he broke up with his boyfriend of five years, he was gonna propose and everything till he went off the deep end, real shame. He can take whatever he wants or split it among her other brothers.

Nemesis can go suck her metaphorical dick, that stuck up bitch can go-

"Vulture!" Hammerhead shouted at her which brought Eris back to reality. "The Arc Reactor, if you may."

Oh yeah that's right, they were still in a meeting, if there truly are any gods out there? First of all fuck you and please let them buy this excuse long enough for her to fly out of the country and to someplace nice like Sweden…

"Yes sir." Eris reached into her bag and pulled out the strange cube she stole and placed it right in the middle of the table. "Here you go, one Arc Reactor. Now about that tip?"

"Do you take me for an idiot?" Kingpin asks Tombstone as both he and Hammer head stare daggers- no, bullets at the winged thief. Eris could taste how pissed they were with her and she had to come up with a good excuse. Meanwhile, when no one was looking, that scientist lady Kingpin brought snatched the cube to take a closer look, putting on some fancy looking goggles.

"Where is the Arc Reactor Eris, do you take us for fools?" Tombstone questioned sternly.

"Is that not what you wanted?! Hammy over there told me to grab the blue thing!" Eris defended herself.

"I told you in explicit detail what to snatch you dumb broad! Photos and everything, where's the goddamn Arc Reactor?!" Hammerhead pulled on Eris' jacket wanting answers.

"S-Spiderwoman must have taken it! Look I tried to get away like you asked but that girl is fast and she webbed up my wings before I could even hit-" Eris was swiftly shut up when her head was smashed against the table causing her to fall to the ground. She rubbed her head and when she opened her eyes she saw the barrel of a gun pointing right between her eyes, only a miracle could save her now. She had so much she wanted to do in life but she's probably gonna end up cut up and dumped into the sea, no one will even know she's gone because she lived her life as an inconsiderate, annoying, friendless crook that pushed everyone away. Just as the trigger was about to be pulled, the scientist began to speak.

"Hold up-" Everyone turned to the scientist. "This… this is ten times better than any Arc Reactor could ever be! Where did you get this from, Vulture was it?"

"F-F-F-From my snatch and grab job this day m-ma'am!" Eris told her, she sounded like she was gonna piss herself.

"Wherever this 'Cosmic Cube' came from, it could power a whole city for years on end! Kingy, let me run a few tests on this baby, then we'll have your collider."

"Hm… I gotta admit Tombstone, your little birdie did you one hell of a favor." The comically large crime lord stood up as Tombstone followed suit, Hammer Head even put his gun away which allowed Eris to stand up. "What did you say your name was birdie?"

"E-Eris Night sir! Vulture is my codename!" Eris stood as upright as she possibly could even though she nearly died just moments ago.

"Night? As in Nyx Night, correct?"

"Yeah, t-that night."

"Well , good job on today's heist." Kingpin turned to Tombstone and Hammer Head "You wouldn't mind if I borrowed her for a bit would ya? Just until my collider is finished."

"Send us the payment for our trouble and she's all yours." Tombstone walked up to Kingpin as they shook hands agreeing on the deal, this time without anyone's arm getting ripped off.

"Saves us the trouble of having to manage her." Hammer Head remarks.

Somehow Eris managed to luck her way out of a bullet through the skull thanks to her thinking to grab that cube, looks like she'll still have to hold off on writing her will because not only is she working for the Kingpin, but she's now got a grudge for Spiderwoman. The next time she sees that stupid wallcrawler she's gonna blow her up to a million pieces! But for now she needs a nap, today has been anything but easy and she needs a nap more than ever, I mean it's not the first time she almost died on the job but that doesn't mean she likes it.


"Just breathe."

Melinoe took deep breaths as she sat under The Altar of Ashes, processing every little detail, reaching out towards it, letting it speak to her, revealing her path…

Then… it spoke back to her, and in her hand was the card chosen by the altar to help her on her path.

"The Scorceress." Melinoe opened her eyes to the card lined with gold, all the while the roman numeral for the number 1 was the only piece of information the card held.

"Good." Hecate held out a hand to help her pupil stand back on her feet, the card in Melinoe's hand disappearing as it was fused into Melinoe's soul. "Well done Melinoe, you are now attuned to the arcana. The secrets of the arcana are nearer to your grasp."

"Thank you Headmistress, but what changed? I don't feel that much of a difference in my abilities at the current moment?" Melinoe asked, confused.

"Of course one card won't make much of a difference but once you've attuned yourself further where all of its secrets have been revealed. Then you will notice the monumental change in your abilities that the arcana will unlock." In Hecate's hand manifested her school bag. "Now you best be on your way, I've kept you at home long enough and we can't have you being late on your second day."

Melinoe's flushed in embarrassment "H-How did you know about that?"

"I didn't, you just told me." Hecate dropped Melinoe's bag in her hands before heading back to her tent to oversee her duties, Melinoe on the other hand facepalmed herself of how she fell for such a simple trick. She really needs to be more aware of those kinds of tricks.

Melinoe with a quick spin, had her clothes change from her witch attire to her Spiderwoman outfit thanks to her attire swapping spell as she ran down a flight of stairs from the Crossroads in order to head back to New York. Reaching the bottom of the stairs were simply two basement doors, Melinoe pushed against them and shielded her eyes against the bright sky that the sun brought with it. Melinoe exited through the doors to find herself in Central Park, and by using the surrounding environment, Spiderwoman would swing into action while on her way to Visions Academy.


And Spiderwoman sticks the landing into being on time! Surprisingly an easy commute today where she only had to stop a purse snatcher. But at least now she could chat with Dora and Moros before they all have to head to their separate classes—

"Where were you?!"

"Sup Mel."

Two voices spoke behind Melinoe in very contrasting tones of voice, Moros clearly worried sick and Dora just as nonchalant as she usually is.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack yesterday Melinoe, the office said you had a family emergency when you left during lunch, then you wouldn't answer your phone so it had us worried even more about your condition!" Moros was worried over Melinoe's well being, practically over his own well being.

"She had you worried, I told him not to sweat it and it turns out I was right." Dora smugly comments.

"Relax Moros, my aunts needed me for something and just needed an excuse for me to get out of school early." Melinoe told them as while it was a lie, it was a lie for their own protection.

"What exactly was so important that they needed to pull you out of class for?"

"No comment." Melinoe crossed her arms.

"What do you mean no comment?!" Moros gasped in disbelief of his friend's refusal to answer.

Dora seemed to find the whole situation funny and just laughed "You better get used to hearing that in the future, journalist."

Melinoe couldn't help but laugh as well while Moros slumped over in defeat. But their fun was short lived as the morning bell that told them to hurry up and get to their classes. "Let me make up to you two later over lunch, okay? My treat."

"Sure, I'm never saying no to free food. Catch ya later then dorks." Dora said as she walked to her class, not in any sort of rush to get there.

"I suppose I should get going but please don't scare me like that next time, I really worry for your safety since you and Dora are really the only few friends I've ever had." Moros asked as his expression displayed genuine worry that definitely worked in causing Melinoe to feel a twinge of guilt forming in her throat.

Melinoe picked one of his hands and held onto it for a moment "I promise I'll be okay, I'm not some princess that needs to be looked out for every second of everyday. Things have just been 'changing' in ways that I prefer to keep secret but I'll be fine, alright?"

Moros let out a sigh "I suppose everyone has secrets to keep… sort of like the way I keep secrets hidden about what Nemesis says about you."

"What does she say about me?!" Melinoe's tone changed from serious to flustered.

"No comment." Moros smugly smiled as he proceeded to walk towards his classes with Melinoe following him.

"Wha- I, you!" Melinoe frustratedly scrambles her words but knowing that she should have expected this sort of payback when she gave him that same answer not too long ago. But that now had Melinoe questioning, what did Nemesis say? Were they good things? Appearance? Personality? Good? Bad? Ugh damn you Moros for putting these thoughts in her head!

Meanwhile at Alchemax Labs…

Olivia Octavius was hard at work in her own lab along with the 'Cosmic Cube' as it has so been dubbed by her. From what she has been able to deduce, it's made from a completely foreign element that's not from this world. She just hopes whoever dropped it doesn't want it back anytime soon, now after performing some tests on the cube not only is it powerful enough to power a machine that will open a hole through dimensions, but by itself it quite literally can take you anywhere in the universe! So not only did she just prove multiverse theory exists, but she also just discovered teleportation!

How many awards will she get for this discovery? How many people will try to steal her discovery? She needs a patent on this as soon as possible, but wait she's doing this illegally with illegal technology so she can't get a patent without people growing suspicious. Is It this hard just to get credit for your work? Why should she have to wait around for the world to tell her when she's allowed to make progress? It's all these barriers people put up that prevent humanity from moving forward, the legal system, money, morality, the world would be so much better off if minds like her could actually work on science instead of having to worry about if what they are doing is right or if they have the budget to get and power the necessary equipment.

Olivia Octavius the Mother of Teleportation, it has a nice ring to it doesn't it? Now all she has to do is be the one to birth it, of course she can't start making holes through dimensions now. She'll probably end up making a black hole or worse, probably worse but for now baby steps. Teleport a wildcat a few feet and document the side effects on the animal, if the calculations are correct then say hello to the future of transportation!

The doctor fired up the machine as it began to warm up, the wildcat inside blissfully ignorant of the mark it will have on human history as it licked its fur. It took a full five minutes for the machine to warm up but after those five minutes the cat began to feel afraid as sparks in the air began to scare it. It scratched at the walls of its glass prison before the room itself began to shake and the lights in Octavia's office began to flicker with the amount of power she was using. "Come on… almost there…"

The shaking grew more intense as objects around the room began to float as if gravity wasn't a factor. Then a huge flash of light appeared from the test chamber as a shockwave broke the glass and sent the Doctor flying backwards into a wall along with various other objects in her office. Olivia sat for a minute and readjusted her glasses before standing up to go see the results but was shocked to see that the wildcat was nowhere to be found. "Crap… I hope it's not lost in the building… Wait, I should just check its camera collar!"


"So how has the little poppet been as of late, Hecate?"

"Ah yes, do tell. I don't watch the news too much but whenever I do nowadays it's almost like your little sorceress is all they love to blabber on about. 'Villain or menace' one headline called her, I must admit that got a chuckle out of me."

Hecate believed it or not was a mother of two, both of her children being powerful witches in their own right thanks to Hecate but unlike most of the witches, these two went off to experiment more with their craft. While Hecate is proud of both of them she doesn't approve of some of their uses of magic, but they are her daughters and Melinoe's unofficial aunts so she chooses to keep her mouth shut about their use of magic. The three were enjoying a late lunch together in The Crossroads' taverna, where they usually discuss events going on in the world related to the mystic arts. But the topic has seemed to have drifted back to everyone's favorite webslinger. To her left was Circe, her eldest daughter, she's kind hearted and maintains a cheerful demeanor, text book definition of an aunt. To her right was her more sadistic and dark daughter Medea, she doesn't visit often due to often being focused on her work and experimenting with curses, once when both Circe and her were needed elsewhere she tasked Medea to babysit the 8 year old Melinoe, she's no longer permitted to watch over her since then.

"For once in a long time I'm unsure of my feelings, should I be proud of her for pursuing the life of a protector? Or should I be worried that there lies a chance that every time she puts on the suit, there's a chance that she'll return to my arms a corpse? Just because she is strong, doesn't mean that the world isn't stronger. The best I can do for her is to continue to teach her to be better so that dreadful day will hopefully never come." Hecate laments as she takes a sip of tea from under her veil.

"I believe letting her figure things out on her own is the best course of action, in my experience the best way to learn was under intense life threatening pressure. 'The greatest teacher is out there' as you like to say" Medea told Hecate adding a little impersonation of her mother in order to quote her.

"That girl is 17 and is far more mature than most of the teens her age. This is her decision to make, you've always wanted her to have the courage to have her own independence, continue to guide her but let her figure things out on her own if she wants to go down this path." Circe added on.

"Did we just agree on something?" Medea looked towards Circe while raising her eyebrow.

"Yes we have, is there an issue with that?" Circe asked, confused.

"Not at all, usually you are the first to put down anything I say when we get together."

"Well most of your decisions derive from the suffering of others so excuse me for being more reasonable in my decision making."

The two witch sisters begin to argue and bicker with each other as Hecate sighed, they always get like this about the most minor of subjects and Hecate just learned to simply wait it out. But her senses were telling her something as Hecate looked towards the middle of the Taverna and she could swear she saw a couple of sparks fly from seemingly nowhere, she mumbled under her breath "What…?"

"Is there something wrong mother?" Circe asked but just then a gust of wind began to blow from the middle of the taverna. The three witches stood up as some sort of magical energy unlike anything they have seen was being summoned inside The Crossroads, Hecate had summoned her pair of magical torches Ygnium, Circe brought out her wand to summon sharp crystals, and Medea stabbed her hand with the knife she kept at her side as blood began to flow and manifest as a ring around Medea. The three witches ready to combat any intruder who dares to step on their mystic grounds, but a flash of white blinded all three of them which caused them to shield their eyes. The winds quickly began to dye down and they heard the meow of… a cat? The three witches looked down to see a wildcat that stretched before going to take a nap.

"Strange…" Medea whispered.

"Certainly a simple cat couldn't do all of that?" Circe questioned.

"No, someone else must have access to a magical artifact. So either this was just a simple accident, or someone is trifling with powers that they can't possibly hope to understand." Hecate moved past the sleeping wild cat and moved towards her cauldron as her daughters followed her. "I just have to track the source of this anomaly."

The three witches went into Hecate's tents looking for the ingredients to cast their tracking spell, after a quick search and adding the contents into the cauldron, Hecate cited a chant "By will of night, reveal to me the magical powers of that In which I cannot see."

The cauldron created a magical puff of smoke that signaled the spell's completion as the three witches looked in the cauldron to search for instances of high amounts of magic used over the last 24 hours and around New York excluding instances of Spiderwoman's magic was one instance of magic being used at Alchemax labs. Very much out of the way of Melinoe's usual route so it was highly unlikely it was another Spiderwoman fight, so judging by it being a laboratory, scientists must be trifling with powers they should have no right playing with. "Blasted fools… I shall have to see to those matters at a later date…"

"A suggestion, Hecate?" Medea asked.

"Speak your mind Medea." Hecate looked towards her younger daughter.

"How about we have melinoe deal with this problem, or more accurately 'Spiderwoman'? Think about it, Melinoe is strong enough to handle herself so she could easily go and take whatever artifact those scientists are playing with from their clutches. Plus this acts as on field experience for what she'll be doing when she officially becomes a fulltime witch."

"That's not a bad idea, Medea." Circe agrees.

"I know, none of mine are."

"I certainly wouldn't go that far…"

Hecate replies before the two would start another pointless bicker war "I suppose I can let her complete this task in my stead as a learning experience, well that's only if she wishes to complete this task on her own since it's my responsibility in the first place. I will call her once she's done with classes to let her know."


Melinoe stretched as the final class of the day was over and everyone had the option of going home, but Melinoe had to get to her part time superhero job. Shame that Spiderwoman doesn't get paid but it's not like she has much material need, college funds would be nice though, but to study what exactly? At this current rate she would just be studying just to study so what's really the point if it's just going to get in the way of her witch life and Spiderwoman life?

Farewell to all the earthly remains—

Melinoe's ringtone began to play while vibrating in her bag as the girl pulled out a flip phone (being a witch isn't exactly the most profitable profession, excuse her for not having a smart phone), the caller ID displaying 'Hecate' so it must be important. She never calls Melinoe unless it's an emergency so Melinoe hastily answers while running to a safe place to talk to the witch, fearing that something was wrong. "Headmistress, what's wrong?"

"Nothing yet I hope, I simply have a request for you. Do you plan on going out as Spiderwoman this afternoon?" Hecate asked.

"Even if I wasn't, I know fate would have me dawn the costume anyway so yes. What do you demand of me, headmistress?"

"Alchemax Labs seems to have been trifling with some sort of magical artifact, I normally would go grab it myself but Medea has suggested that I have you handle this in my stead. Of course this is only a request but I would be most grateful if you've completed this task for me."

"Of course I'll do it headmistress! I promise not to let you down, I'm headed there right away!"

"Thank you Melinoe, Moonlight guide you." Hecate hung up.

Melinoe silently celebrated as she couldn't contain her excitement of getting a real task. Of course being Spiderwoman is a hard job in of itself but it's one she gave to herself, and while stopping criminals and accidents from occurring is fulfilling and all, this is where she could fully prove herself as a witch and truly make Hecate proud. Melinoe ran to find somewhere to change into her Spiderwoman outfit but she turned a corner too fast and bumped into a brick wall of muscle, aka Nemesis.

Melinoe nearly fell backwards but she managed to keep herself up right before looking up into the giant woman's eyes. 'Oh gods…' Melinoe thought as she could feel her intense gaze metaphorically melt her to a puddle of embarrassment, it was pretty hard to guess her mood as she seemed to always be angry for some reason. She put a hand on Melinoe's shoulder and said to her "Just the person I was looking for, can I talk to you for a second? It won't take too long."

"Me?! Sure Nemesis, ask me anything!" Melinoe said as she started to fidget with her hands.

"Thanks for hearing me out, let me walk with you since you seem to be in a rush." Nemesis moved her head to signal to walk as Melinoe obliged, but not really having a set destination in mind she just went north and acted like she was actually going somewhere. "I don't like to ask for favors from people I can't pay back, so please understand that I'm pretty desperate when asking you this."

"It will stay between us then, I have no intention of saying anything you tell me with anyone." Melinoe looked up at her as they stop at a crosswalk with a red light, cars passing them by as Nemesis looks down at her and grew a smirk which was certainly a rarity, but a pleasant one at that.

"I trust that you will." The two crossed the crosswalk when it was their turn to pass "I need you to help me study this year."

Melinoe raised her eyebrow "That's it?"

"Is there a problem with me asking for a study partner?" Nemesis asked with a hint of aggression in her voice.

"N-No not at all! Just why me?"

"You're the only person at this school I can tolerate to be around for long periods of time because you're not a privileged brat or someone who sees me for my family's name. Plus you're friends with my brother so if anyone could get him to come out of his shell, they must be alright at the very least. My mother wanted me to go to a good college so I owe this to her, if I don't get the credits then I'm letting her down. So are you willing to help me out or what?"

"Of course! I have no problem helping you study, it would be my pleasure! I'm very flexible so any schedule you want to run with I'll do my best to fit in." To normal people this seemed like simple study sessions between two acquaintances, but to melinoe this was the closest thing she was getting to a date and life couldn't be more perfect.

"Good, I appreciate your help. Really I do, I can pay you for these sessions if you'd like?"

"No no no, I couldn't possibly-"

"Then I'll buy you dinner then, it's not fair if I'm the only one who benefits off this exchange. I'm not gonna take advantage of your generosity, okay?" Nemesis interrupted her as the secret superhero could feel her heart flutter as it sounded more and more as if Nemesis was taking her out on a date.

"If you insist then I agree." Melinoe nodded.

"Thanks Mel, can I call you that? Your name is a mouthful and that Dora girl always calls you that?"

"C-Call me whatever!" Melinoe stuttered.

"See ya next week then Mel." Nemesis walked away presumably back to her place, and once Melinoe was alone she couldn't help but want to celebrate a little. But for now she needed to put on the Spiderwoman suit, she was late to her task at Alchemax.


So when Melinoe looked up Alchemax labs only to find out that it was all the way in Hudson Valley, where no wards were set for easy travel, she knew that Spiderwoman was not gonna like this trip. More so because she has to swing through New Jersey and anyone who lives there could tell you how fun traveling through there is. But webslinging is more convenient and faster then any car so it was about an hour and a half trip when you count the dinner break melinoe had to take before Spiderwoman went swinging towards Alchemax again. What made the trip more bearable was that Nemesis' proposition was still fresh in her mind and she was still smiling about how she wanted her help, and complimented her (more so why she can tolerate her but it's progress).

But Melinoe can gush over Nemesis later because she needs to have a focused Spiderwoman mindset in order to pull this heist off, now that she thinks about it this likely won't help with her image. I mean Spiderwoman stealing from Alchemax is bound to get her criticized because they aren't allowed to have the full picture. But the world doesn't get to choose their heroes and they're gonna have to put up with her, so here's the infiltration plan.

Step one: Slip in through the top vent to sneak her way into the lab.

Step two: Find the head scientist, thankfully during her classes the teacher played a documentary and Melinoe knows that Olivia Octavius is the head scientist of the facility.

Step three: Follow Olivia until she either brings her to the artifact or she learns it from her.

Step Four: Steal the artifact and head back to The Crossroads.

Seems simple enough right? Well just like everything in Melinoe's life, it almost never ends up being that simple.

As Spiderwoman approaches the facility she examines the area while camouflaged within the autumn leaves thanks to her orange suit. A glass building makes it easier to see inside the facility but nothing important to see from the outside besides the scientists who run from place to place. Obviously going through the front is a no go, alarms will get raised and she doesn't need law enforcement getting in the way. Through the ventilation it is then, Spiderwoman swung towards the rooftop and stuck the landing as she silently walked towards the metal grating then tore it off with one swift tug. Using her ability to cling to a majority of surfaces, Spiderwoman crawled downwards, quiet as a mouse to not attract suspicion.

But unbeknownst to Spiderwoman, a black limousine pulled up to the facility, exiting the vehicle were three hired mercenaries and the Kingpin of crime himself. Two security guards greeted Wilson Fisk as they held the door open for him, allowing him and his hired help to enter the facility. With The Enforcers at his side they walked through the facility to meet the head scientist, Olivia Octavius. The Alchemax company was owned by him so nearly everyone in the facility knew not to get in Kingpin's way, much less attract his attention if they knew what was good for them.

As Spiderwoman traveled through the ventilation system while peeping through the grating to see where she was and to find the head scientist. It was almost like traversing a maze with how large this laboratory was, and she knew there had to be more to traverse underground thanks to her catching the sight of an elevator so that will be 'fun', gods this was going to take all night…

"Ah ! Look at this data-" Or maybe it won't. She remembers that voice and eagerly crawled towards it as Spiderwoman stared down from the vent door, there was the head scientist in a meeting with a bunch of people in suits? "I know you probably won't understand this but we've got a few problems." Turning over a computer monitor Olivia presented photos of various imagery of… The Crossroads?! "As you can see my tech works and teleportation is possible, but the subject's location was very of course and ended up in some sort of cult of witches? I'm not too sure but what I'm trying to say is I need more time, because we aren't ready to start hoping dimensions just yet without the risk of creating a black hole under New York."

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that none of what she was saying was good, and what is this about a collider

"You got a month." Kingpin tells her before he walks out of her office with his enforcers, Olivia follows him to protest his decision as she needs more time.

With everyone gone, Spiderwoman opens the vent door and pokes her head out to scout the office, the coast was clear but not for long. She had to get those pictures off of her laptop and a mental note for when she gets back to smash that camera if Hecate hasn't already. But what about the artifact? She could find the room it's located in then grab it so she could get out of here, she doesn't have much time to make a decision before the scientist comes back…

After debating with herself about what should be done, she came to the conclusion that the secret must be kept. Five people being witness to The Unseen is bad enough, she doesn't need more finding out about them. As she zips over to Olivia's work computer Spiderwoman comes across a problem in that this woman's desktop looks to be in more disarray than a crime scene. Seriously, how does she find anything in this mess? Spiderwoman can't even keep track of where her mouse is.

Screw it, just hope she doesn't have those photos backed up. Spiderwoman rips open the case and tears out the cpu (now who's gonna tell her the information is stored in the hard drive, I can't because I'm the narrator). She just hopes Olivia doesn't come back anytime soon to check on her files, glad that they were still arguing outside about deadlines but the later the better because she's only had three months to be Spiderwoman, stopping a machine that could create a black hole was not in her qualifications. Melinoe pocketed the cpu and jumped up to grab the vent then pulled herself up along with closing the vent so as to not give anyone any clues where the intruder came from. She slowly crawled over to Olivia's and who Spiderwoman could assume is her boss.

"—look I'm not refusing, I just need more time." Olivia attempted to argue.

"Enough excuses, have it done by the end of October." Kingpin told her as he walked away, leaving Olivia to groan out of frustration as she headed towards an elevator, Spiderwoman was quick to follow her which ended in her taking a ride on top of the elevator as it descended to the underground floors. Spiderwoman waited for the sound of the elevator door to close before she carefully opened the hatch, Spiderwoman opened the elevator door and quietly sneaked up to Olivia entering a room which conveniently had the label 'Olivia Octavius'. This should be where she's keeping that artifact, just what exactly is it?

Spiderwoman's senses began to tingle towards the door as she quickly ran for cover as Olivia came out of her lab while mumbling to herself. "I forgot my keys, of course I forgot them why wouldn't I—" she stormed off while incoherently mumbling to herself.

Things are just going her way today aren't they? She left the lab door unlocked meaning Spiderwoman could easily sneak in to check if she was the one with the Artifact. All she just needs to do is grab it and no one will even know she was here, that is unless they check the camera footage… Blasted, she nearly forgot about that part but that's Spiderwoman's problem for a later date. Spiderwoman opened the door to the laboratory and after a quick scan of the surrounding area for any potential witnesses or security but the coast was clear.

Entering Olivia's spacious but very messy office (seriously organize yourself lady) with various machinery, blueprints, papers, and food wrappers littered throughout. Nothing that really piqued her interest because in the middle of the room was what Spiderwoman really came for, she recognized it almost instantly, it was that strange cube Vulture stole yesterday. There's no way that this wasn't the source of that magical anomaly, she was absolutely sure of it, Spiderwoman grabbed the cube and tossed it around as she couldn't believe how easy of a job this was, now all she has to do was cast her return spell and… wait-

She looked around the room and saw a camera on the ceiling, she shot some of her webbing to obscure its vision. Better safe than sorry about exposing these scientists to any more magic. Now in New York there's a couple of wards around the boroughs that allow Melinoe and Spiderwoman to quickly return to The Crossroads at a moment's notice, unfortunately Hudson Valley was quite the distance from the nearest ward so Spiderwoman needed a moment to reach out and link herself to a ward. The only problem was that this process needed concentration and Spiderwoman was on a time limit until Olivia would eventually return to her lab.

'Just breathe…'

Spiderwoman began to float as she prepared her return spell, her eyes shut as her mind and soul began to search for a ward to link herself to. The best way to describe this feeling was like swimming through an endless deep dark abyss, trying to search for a light. The process always used to frustrate her as an early teenager, where the littlest things seemed to mess with her concentration and made swimming through the abyss feel as if she was swimming through mud. Of course back then she hardly could cast an incantation to save her life.

Nowadays it comes to her as easily as breathing or walking, she knew how to traverse this abyss and where she could find the light. Within five short minutes Spiderwoman could feel the link with the nearest ward, and through that link she could feel the source of this network of wards. "There."

Spiderwoman found her connection and spun around so she could recite the phrase "Return to shadow no-"

"Spiderwoman?!"

Spiderwoman let out a surprised yelp as she stumbled on the floor, nearly tripping but quickly regaining her balance as she turned around to face who other than the head scientist. Alright calm down Melinoe, you just have to use your spiderwoman charm that you are totally so famous for using.

"Oh hey, I didn't see you there, lovely place you got here it really gives off the… hard working vibe…" She does her best to flatter the scientist but does a terrible job with it, thankfully she's more interested in just meeting Spiderwoman.

"Oh my gosh Spiderwoman I'm such a huge fan! I mean you've only been around for like three months but I just have so many questions!" Oliva begins to zoom around Spiderwoman with no regard for personal space as she takes in every feature. "Are your spider powers something you were born with or given? How are you able to stick to walls through your clothes? What's the maximum amount of weight you can carry because I remember when you stopped that train back in July. Where did you get your burning feet from, because Spiders don't usually have on fire feet, does that mean you're a mutant? What material is your webbing made out of because I hear some people say that it's natural while others say you use some sort of web shooters? What about effects on your metabolism? Do you have an appetite for insects? Does webbing come from anywhere other than your wrists? Why do you wear a mask?"

Too many questions and too many Melinoe did not want to answer as they were either personal, witch related, or she didn't know the answer to. "Well… I certainly don't eat bugs or any kinds of living creatures I can assure you."

" Vegan? So that strength was definitely given to you by your powers…" Melinoe doesn't know if she should be insulted by that or not. "Can I propose something to you? It's gonna sound pretty crazy but trust me you're gonna love it."

"I'd love to hear you out but unfortunately , I have places to be. Spiderwoman never rests despite how much she needs it."

"Trust me it'll be quick!"

Spiderwoman sighs "Ask away."

"What do you think about being the next step in evolution?!"

"Excuse me?"

"Think about it! Where's my notes on this, I need to explain it better…" Olivia frantically scrounges through her lab to find her notes on this strange topic. "Here it is!"

Olivia flips through a notebook and presents its pages to Spiderwoman "From what I've been able to gather since your first appearance in New York during the summer, your body seems to be far beyond what normal humans are capable of doing such as being able to lift multiple vehicles, fast enough reaction speed and body speed to dodge bullets, along with the ability to scale any surface. It's undeniable that you are the pinnacle of human evolution and with your compliance, whatever DNA altering procedure caused you to gain the abilities of a spider we can replicate that! Every human on earth will no longer be such fragile unreliable creatures, we alone can be the next step in human advancement and history will remember us forever! What do you say, Spidey, wanna change the world?"

Okay just the thought of villains going around with her powerset is scary enough, just imagining some of her bigger opponents being able to climb walls and have spidersense would be a living nightmare. Secondly, Melinoe isn't exactly one who enjoys attention especially as part of The Unseen (quite literally it's in the name). Third, it's another reason she keeps a secret identity as if the world knew what Melinoe was hiding they no doubt pursue her for this exact reason of personal gain, though Olivia's proposition does have wide benefits for the world she can see right through this facade and how really Olivia just wants the credit and fame that comes with the discovery.

"Listen, I'm flattered you put so much thought into this, but I'm not exactly a fan of being experimented on. Not to mention there would be thousands of other problems with giving spider powers to people." Spiderwoman began to back up towards the door. "I'd love to stay and chat but I have places to be, farewell Olivia."

Olivia sighed as she put her glasses aside onto a nearby desk "I was expecting this but it never hurts to ask."

While Spiderwoman's back was turned to her Olivia sheds her lab coat from her shoulders as she ties her wild messy hair, Spiderwoman's spider sense begins to flair. She turned around but couldn't move fast enough to avoid her body being slammed straight through the exit of Olivia's office as Spiderwoman was slammed against a wall with some inflatable tentacle around her neck. Olivia was being propped up the ground by three other tentacles as her attire completely shifted to a black and green color scheme, Spiderwoman attempted to free herself from Olivia's tentacle that was attempting to suffocate her. Air pressure was constantly being applied to the bind making it harder and harder to breathe, think Melinoe think!

A metaphorical light bulb lit up on top of Melinoe's head as she held her arms out as she shot both her webs at Olivia's chest, the doctor looked down confused until Spiderwoman pulled her arms back and with both of her scorched feet, kicked Olivia in the stomach which knocked the wind out of her system along with two fresh burn marks on her outfit. It seems that was enough to get Olivia to drop her as Spiderwoman ran away, she just needed to get out of the facility, no need to fight Olivia at the current moment.

"You're not getting away from me Spiderwoman!" Olivia began to chase the arachnid themed hero through the underground hallways while using her inflatable tentacles to give chase. Spiderwoman is forced to use her enhanced agility and reflexes as she switches between running on the floor then to the ceiling while incorporating acrobatics to weave through her attempts to grab her. The two soon fought through a stairwell leading to the main floor, Spiderwoman using her strength to kick the door off its hinges then proceeded to cling onto walls then jumping upwards through the stairwell while Olivia tried to catch her while following not too far behind with her tentacles. It was probably the most intense game of cat and mouse in history as Spiderwoman narrowly escaped Olivia's clutches, as they reached the top of the stairwell Spiderwoman's brain got to thinking as she busted a door off its hinges once again. But instead of running, Spiderwoman shot two lines of webs at the sides of the doorway, Spiderwoman stepped back as far as she could, using her ability to cling onto surfaces to pull back further as she prepared to slingshot into Olivia.

"Hey Doctor Octopus, come get me!" She just came up with that nickname right off the dome, honestly it sticks. Just like how Olivia will be when she fell for Spiderwoman's trap, she saw the doctor try to move through the narrow doorway as the wallcrawler slingshotted herself into Olivia as the doctor groaned in pain and caused her to tumble down a flight of stairs. Spiderwoman shot a few webs at her which clung her to the wall "Stick to the bottom of the sea next time."

"Funny, I was just about to tell you the same thing." Olivia with her one free hand, fixed her goggles as Spiderwoman's spider sense began to flare. One of Olivia's tentacles turned began to whirl almost akin to a buzzsaw, Spiderwoman flipped backwards as Olivia attempts to cut the wallcrawler while another one of Olivia's tentacles cut through the webbing. The chase was back on, using two steel doors that her tentacles ripped off the hinges, Olivia used them as makeshift flyswatters to try and crush this spider and she finally was able to catch her by sandwiching Spiderwoman between the two doors. Melinoe squirmed and grunted in pain as she felt as if she was literally about to be flattened just as the doctor moved in close "Wow, you are even more impressive than I thought Spiderwoman. My boss would love for me to squash this spider but I got way bigger plans in mind, plus I can't have you getting away with our cube so do me a favor and give up!"

Along with the cracking of bones, Melinoe couldn't breathe. She needed to come up with a way out and fast, but she couldn't move her arms to pull that kick trick again. Air was running low and consciousness was fading, she could feel her webbing leak out naturally into her hands without her activating them. She chalked up to her body losing cognitive function of her webs but the webbing in her hand didn't leak out onto the floor like it normally would, in fact they were creating a shape, a ball in her hand they grew greater in strength as it felt as if it was going to blow. All it just needed was a little bit of magic to go boom.

"Say goodnight Spiderwoman." Olivia taunted with a wide maniacal grin until she saw two web balls fall to the floor that violently pulsed once they hit the floor. "What is that, oh shi—!"

The two web balls exploded and painted the entire corridor in webbing as Spiderwoman was shielded by the doors. Once she was freed and back on her feet, she stood up to see Olivia encased in webbing as she was trapped against the wall. Her tentacles were all trapped and unable to move or cut herself free, Spiderwoman breathing a sigh of relief then looked down at her hands. What just happened, since when did her webbing move on its own like that? She would need to ask Hecate about this when she returned to the Crossroads, she'll have to try and get those web bombs to come out on command next time. But for now she should just leave before Doctor Octopus over here manages to free herself.

She webslinged as fast as she could out of the Alchemax building, almost like a blur as she left the cafeteria while stealing a bagel. Spiderwoman swung past any security and into the forest unbeknownst to her the four onlookers who upon seeing her quickly ran inside the Laboratory.


"Ah, your back." Hecate acknowledged as her pupil ran towards her the second she left her tent.

"The task is finished, Headmistress. One magical artifact, safe and sound." Melinoe, now in her silver adorning witch outfit, presented Hecate with the 'cosmic cube' as the witch took it from her hands and examined the artifact.

"Excellent work on your first task Melinoe." The head witch instinctively went to pat Melinoe's head but stopped herself to instead pat her on the shoulder. "I'm proud of you."

"Thank you Headmistress." Melinoe smiled as her cheeks flushed from the praise Hecate gave her after completing her first mission. But she shook her head as she now had some questions to ask specifically about her web ball but her thoughts came to a halt as she felt something furry rub against her leg.

"Mrroow."

Melinoe looked down to see an orange wild cat rubbing itself against her leg. Hecate chuckled behind her veil at the adorable scene "It seems our guest has taken a liking to you Melinoe."

"A cat? A cat… the collar!" Melinoe now suddenly remembering the camera collar around the wildcat's neck she quickly plucked it off and smashed it under her foot.

"I take you aren't a fan of collars?" Hecate jested as she wondered why her pupil would do such a thing.

"That collar was a camera, while I was at Alchemax I overheard how they used the artifact to teleport this cat. They took photos of The Crossroads but I destroyed them, thankfully they don't suspect us of anything more than an ordinary cult."

"Well, good that this is out of our hands. Now I believe you have to return a few items to someone." Hecate tossed back the artifact over to Melinoe who grabbed it but was confused.

"Wait, you want me to take this back to Alchemax?"

"Of course not, you have a delivery to make to Stark Industries since you stole their technology. Plus I doubt footage of Spiderwoman breaking into a laboratory to steal a magical artifact would not do you any favors for being looked at positively in the public eye. Of course I will retrieve the artifact on a later date but it would be best not to tarnish your image any further."

"I… suppose I understand Hecate. I shall be on my way." Melinoe saluted as she prepared to leave.

"While you're gone, think up a name for our little guest." Hecate told her, clearly referring to the cat.

"Of course Headmistress!" Melinoe said as she ran for the exit of the Crossroads.


It was 10pm with the crescent moon lighting the night sky while encasing Spiderwoman within shadow. Stark Tower was not only Stark Industries main base of operations, but also the home of its founder Tony Stark. Billionaire genius who was responsible for advancements of the tech industry and creating various weapons, though recently announcing that the company will no longer be creating anymore weapons for some strange reason. Though the less missiles and nuclear weapons the better, humanity really doesn't have good reasons for starting wars or fighting amongst themselves.

Spiderwoman climbed the tower to reach the top floor where she planned just to leave her delivery on the balcony and head straight home. As she climbed higher and higher, climbing over the large glowing 'STARK' logo in order to get the balcony of Tony's penthouse, she took a minute to check for any possible security or anyone who was possibly home but no one was around, not even Tony himself. Must have been at some party or something, not that it really matters since she didn't plan to stay for long. Melinoe walked over to the balcony door then stuck both the Cosmic Cube and Arc Reactor to the door with a web, she also decided to leave a handwritten note to tell Stark that she was the one who returned it as it read 'Delivery from your friendly neighborhood Spiderwoman!'

Spiderwoman stretched And let out a sigh of relief at this day finally being over. "At last I can finally relax, now all I just have to do is get my homework done then I can head to bed."

"Spiderwoman does homework?"

A voice from behind the wallcrawler startles the arachnid themed superhero "Ah!"

(Seriously what is with everyone trying to scare her today?)

Spiderwoman swiftly turned around to see a casually dressed CEO staring at her with an amused expression. "Since when were you there?!"

"Cloaking technology." He pressed a button on a remote he held revealing an entire cloaked helicopter on the helipad not too far from the balcony. "You should probably be more aware of your surroundings but nice to know that it actually works. So mind explaining to me what you were doing with my tech and why you decided to return it instead of selling it to someone like Hammer, Oscorp, Night Industries, Alchemax, or anyone of the sort?"

"Well I planned on returning these items yesterday but I got caught up in a few situations, hence the late delivery. I'm just trying to do the right thing sir." Spiderwoman spoke with honesty as Tony snickered.

"Really? By the way The Daily Bugle talks about you, they make you seem like the Anti-Christ, thanks a lot kid." He patted Spiderwoman on the back. "Really you saved me a lot of time and paperwork, anything I can do for you Spiderwoman? I can make you a new suit, equip you with some tech and you'd be pretty unstoppable."

"I appreciate the offer but I'm not much of a tech person, I can barely operate a computer. I'm just doing my job so you don't owe me anything ."

"Whatever you say, but feel free to swing by if you need anything. I'd love to run a few ideas by you as well."

"Will do , have a good night." Spiderwoman shoots a web and swings away into the night.

"Hm, nice kid." Tony looked towards the webbing delivery on his balcony door and attempted to rip the stolen items free. Only to get his hand stuck and no matter how much he pulled he couldn't seem to get his hand free as he let out a sigh. "Jarvis, call someone to get me unstuck."