Mayday's shoulder and arm continued to throb, the claws of the woman's mechanical appendage locked onto it with a vice-like grip. Her face continued to squirm, as every second felt like eons. She glanced once more at her captor, her feet on the ground as her other extra limbs roamed the room, the tense crowd remaining quiet as a result.
"P-please," she muttered, with it taking all her concentration just to get the words out through the pain. "Let these people go. It's just me you want. Please..."
"Oh, girl," the woman replied, two of her limbs raising her up so that she was face to face with Mayday. "You clearly have not been paying attention. You are the furthest thing from what I wanted, and if you're lucky, the person I do want is coming... actually, scratch that, it's still not good for you, since, spoiler alert, I plan to kill you anyway."
Her mind fighting past the horrifying implications of those words, Mayday continued.
"Y-your last name is Octavius, right?"
"Yes, and?" the woman questioned, seemingly growing more annoyed at Mayday's words. She needed to tread carefully.
"T-there's someone like you on my world too," she explained. "His name was Otto."
The woman's expression shifted, her eyebrows now raised in curiosity as her mechanical appendages brought her closer still, to the point where Mayday could smell her pungent breath.
"Well now, it seems I may have misjudged you, little one," she declared. "So, tell me about this 'Dr. Octopus' from your world?"
"My father knew him," Mayday explained, her concentration even harder to maintain now due to the woman's foul breath. "H-he was a good man once before a horrible accident. I-I'm guessing the same thing happened to you?"
"Something like that, yes," the woman replied.
"Well, the Dr. Octopus on my world... he never got the help he needed," Mayday said. "He spent his life being so angry, so bitter... and then he died, from wounds sustained from years of fighting my father. P-please... don't let that become you. You have a chance now, a chance to stop it, to turn it all around..."
The woman's expression shifted once more, with her even glancing away as Mayday's words seemed to hit her mind like a mallet to a bass drum. She then turned back to Mayday, speaking up.
"Thank you, child. Thank you, and you're right, I do have an opportunity here, and I intend to take advantage of it..."
The woman then leaned in beside Mayday whispering:
"... by killing Spider-Woman."
Suddenly, the tentacle clamped onto her arm and shoulder tightened its grip harder still, and Mayday cried out in pain before, suddenly, a mysterious figure kicked her attacker away. Mayday dropped then to the floor, with darkness overtaking her as soon as she hit the ground.
As both she and her opponent crashed through the nearest window, Gwen leapt off her opponent, flipping backwards with all the elegance of a ballerina before landing in a squatted position on a lower-level building rooftop. Olivia's mechanical appendages had saved her from a hard landing as well, and as Gwen rose to her feet, the two women faced each other as they prepared to square off.
"Well, glad to know that I actually can still get your attention," Liv said, brushing some debris dust off her left shoulder.
"Also, before we get started, I want you to know that I have no idea who that girl is," Gwen explained.
"Yeah, I figured that out, actually," Liv replied.
The woman then shot two of her mechanical appendages in Gwen's direction, with her only narrowly dodging them. Liv did not let up there though, the woman's face a poster for fierce determination as she stabbed away at her opponent, her intent to kill as clear as ever. It was taking every bit of Gwen's enhanced agility and years of skill to avoid every strike, enabling her to barely stay just ahead of her enemy.
"Wow, Liv," she spoke up at one point as their battle carried them to another nearby building, with them fighting on the side wall now. "You've been doing some upgrading recently!"
"Of course, dear!" the woman called out. "Only the best for my arch nemesis!"
"Oh wow, I'm REALLY flattered!" Gwen called out as she deflected a couple of strikes from the arms with her fists. "However, I'd be even more flattered if you did the logical thing and, I don't know, maybe just stopped trying to kill me, take over/destroy the city, all those sorts of things, just because I asked nicely."
"Sorry, dear, no can do!" Liv replied, her onslaught continuing. "We've been at this too long to stop now!"
Liv's next strike then proceeded to rip out a large chunk of the wall, the debris plummeting straight towards an older citizen below, moving slowly on a cane. Diving down as hard and fast as she could, she fired a web, barely managing to catch the individual and swipe them out of the way just in time, setting the old lady back on her feet once they were in the clear.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"Yes ma'am," the woman replied. "Thank you for..."
The woman's words suddenly weren't registering as her spider sense seemingly overwhelmed every one of her other senses. Turning around, she struck at the first tentacle that was shooting her way, managing to knock it back and keep it from hurting the old lady. Unfortunately, the second one moved too fast for her as it clamped its pinchers on her head. Gwen struggled desperately as her feet left the ground, her vision completely blocked by the clamp on her head. She suddenly flew through the air before her body slammed into something hard, likely smashing the glass of a car window, before being slammed into the concrete ground below, then likely against a building, then against the concrete one more time. The appendage then raised her much more slowly this time, with Gwen's body feeling too much like a beaten up pinata to even attempt to free herself.
"Oh, my dear Spider-Woman," came the voice of Liv, "you've always been such a softy for the average person. I don't know why I haven't exploited that more; honestly, that's kind of a bad look for a genius like me, but hey, better late than never I guess!"
The tentacle then renewed its clamp on Gwen's head, her own limbs suddenly summoning the energy to attempt to free herself again. Unfortunately, even her own strength proved only enough to hold the pinchers back far enough to delay what was likely the inevitable, so, trusting her spider sense would guide her, she shot out her wrist and fired a web, and she could tell by Liv's frustrated reaction that it had blinded her just as she'd hoped.
The pinchers then released their hold on her and Gwen fell to the ground, landing on her feet. She looked up to find one of the tentacles having nearly peeled the webbing off Liv's face, so she knew she had to act quickly. She leapt in the air, coming down on Liv just as the woman had freed her vision, driving both through a nearby construction area, the two of them ending up underground. Still on top of her opponent, Gwen began striking Liv in the face, each blow turning the woman's head from side to side.
"Why are you like this!?" she shouted. "Do you get some sick enjoyment out of hurting innocent people!?"
She was so enraged that she didn't register her spider sense trying to warn her of a threat from behind until it was too late, as one of Liv's tentacles snagged her head from behind and proceeded to slam her back and forth against the concrete walls of the New York underground like a rag doll before discarding her, Gwen rolling around in a heap before finally coming to a stop.
"To answer your question: yes, I do," Liv finally replied behind her; Gwen could hear her arms bringing her closer to her again as she gradually forced herself up. "You've taken everything else from me, and I know that hurts you, so yes, I really, really enjoy it!"
Once more, one of the arms lunged for Gwen, but she leapt backwards, flipping out of the way and bounding off the wall to avoid another strike. She continued dancing about, circling Liv as the woman vented her frustration in the form of yelling, her anger seemingly injecting the mechanical appendages with an extra dose of ferocity as well. Her opponent was getting sloppier though, so Gwen kept going, managing to just stay ahead of Liv until the right opportunity finally presented itself, springing forward and launching herself straight for her opponent and delivering a blow to the woman's face, this time hard enough to knock her to the ground, the woman moaning in a stunned daze.
Gwen then found the base of the tentacles at the harness and, turning Liv over, she grabbed and pulled hard, finally ripping them out after a great exertion. She then discarded them off to the side, breathing heavily from the effort. She could already tell her body was likely to feel the brunt of the hits and impacts she'd incurred during the fight, but that would be later tonight/tomorrow's problem.
She then turned to find Liv pushing herself up to her knees and hands, her head hung in defeat.
"Let me guess," the woman said. "You're just going to lock me up, as if I haven't already figured out multiple times already how to escape from these petty institutions of ours? You'll keep doing this, hoping that maybe, just maybe, I'll one day see the error of my ways, and I'll turn over a new leaf."
With their battle having taken them far enough away where no one could see them even through the hole they'd made upon entry, Gwen lowered her hood and removed her mask, wanting to speak to Liv woman-to-woman instead of hero-to-villain.
"Something like that, yes."
Liv scoffed.
"That's exactly the kind of talk that girl said," the woman said, turning over and sitting down, clasping her hands as she rested her arms over her knees. "I would think someone like you would know better by now. You and I, we've been doing this for over a decade now; you should know that nothing will change. We'll keep doing this until one of us finally takes out the other for good."
Gwen walked over to her, squatting down in front of the woman.
"Is that really what you want?" she questioned. "You're talking as if our lives are set already."
"People don't change, Gwen," Liv replied. "Our true selves are simply more and more revealed all the time. You and I, hero and villain, this is who we are, for better or worse."
Gwen sighed.
"Maybe, maybe not," she spoke up. "But it's believing that we can all choose our own path every day that keeps me doing this, and, sometimes, it's the only thing that keeps you alive, so if I were you, I'd learn to appreciate that idea just a little more."
Gwen then gave Liv a gentle but superpowered tap on the head, catching the woman as she fell into unconsciousness. Scooping her up in her arms, she then leapt back up to the surface and handed her over to the police before making her way back up to the Daily Bugle building. To her utter lack of surprise, the reporters were trying to get pictures even as the girl's unconscious body was being put into a stretcher to be wheeled away.
"Wait," Gwen said, flipping back down and approaching the medical personnel. "Let me take her."
"I'm afraid we can't do that, Spider-Woman," one of the EMTs replied. "This girl likely has a severe fracture of her arm and shoulder; she needs immediate care."
"I have the means to care for her as she really needs," Gwen assured the man. "Besides, she'll heal fast. There are probably others who need your attention as well."
"I'm sorry, Spider-Woman," the same man replied, "but we have to..."
"A ha, there she is!" shouted J. Jonah Jameson, causing Gwen to roll her eyes inside her mask as the man came up to the front. "I want her arrested and charged with property damage; I want you to know that, on top of prosecuting you to the fullest extent of the law, I'll be suing you for all your worth after what you did to..."
Not even looking his way, Gwen casually shot out a thin blast of webbing that was still enough to silence the man, who struggled hard against it.
"Yeah, yeah, put a sock in it, Jonah."
She then moved to reach down and scoop up the girl.
"Woah, what are you...?"
"I'm taking her," Gwen replied. "If you think I'm wrong for doing that, stop me."
The first responders just glanced at each other, but ultimately didn't even try to stop Gwen as she swung off with the girl.
The world around Mayday slowly came to view, letting out a light groan as she stirred awake. Once her vision began to clear, she realized that she was no longer in the Bugle building from before. Rather, she appeared to be in someone's home and was even lying on someone's bed. She closed her eyes, squinting as she attempted to recollect what had happened. The last thing she'd remembered is that evil woman holding her hostage and seemingly crushing her shoulder before catching the faintest glimpse of someone flying in...
Not getting anywhere, she attempted to sit up.
"Woah, easy."
Mayday nearly jumped out of her skin when she turned and saw a man who was likely in his early-mid 50s sitting next to her bed.
"Who are you?" she questioned nervously as she sat up.
"I'm the person tasked with watching you until the person who saved your life gets back," the man said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. You want some coffee?"
Glancing briefly at the cup before returning her gaze towards the man, she politely declined.
"Where am I?" she asked.
"Somewhere safe," the man replied.
"No offense, but how exactly do I know that?" she asked.
Suddenly, there was the sound of a small thud behind her; Mayday turned around to find a woman dressed on a white and black costume, the mask having eyes shaped similarly to her dad's but otherwise not much else was familiar. The individual then removed her mask and hood as she hopped into the room, revealing a blonde woman likely around her late 20s or early 30s.
"My name is Gwen, but I also go by Spider-Woman."
"Mayday," she replied hesitantly. "But I also go by Spider-Girl."
"Well, Spider-Girl," the woman said, moving over and leaning against the edge of the doorway, crossing her arms. "Let me guess: you're from another dimension, but you ended up here by accident. Am I warm?"
"Y-yeah... wait, how did you know that?" Mayday questioned. The knowledge the woman showed concerned her, yet her spider sense wasn't going off and the woman's casual manner felt the furthest thing from threatening.
"Let's just say I have some experience when it comes to the multiverse," she said. "Would it be alright if I sat?"
Realizing she was gesturing to the spot next to her, Mayday nodded, and Gwen came and sat by her.
"Oh, and this is my dad, by the way," she said, gesturing towards the man in the chair. "Retired Police Captain George Stacy."
"Oh, hello," Mayday replied with a polite wave. "I'm sorry about freaking out earlier."
"Well, it sounds to me like if anyone has reason to be freaked out right now, it would be you," the man replied.
"Agreed, but don't worry, we're going to help you get back home," Gwen assured her.
"Wait, you're going to help me?" Mayday replied; it was such a jolt to hear that from some random multiversal stranger after the rude greetings she'd previously encountered.
Gwen nodded.
"I have a feeling it's just a constant that we try and help as many as we can."
"Yeah," Mayday replied; the thought of going home suddenly jogged her memory about what had last happened there. "Except... I don't know that I can go home; at least, not yet."
"Why not?" Gwen asked.
"Because... because someone is there waiting for me," she replied, the image of her father's murderer in her mind and sending shivers down her spine. "I can't go back until I know that I have a way to defeat him. I just don't know what way that is..."
"Well, why don't you tell us a little about this person," her father said. "Does he or she have a name?"
Mayday swallowed; uttering his name, even in her head, had been borderline impossible, but if it could help her now, she had to do it.
"Morlun."
"Never heard of him," Gwen replied. "I'm not sure that I have one of those here."
"That's because he travels the multiverse, hunting people like us," Mayday replied. "He... he killed my dad, my world's Spider-Man, just before he sent me away..."
"I'm so sorry," Gwen said.
"Anyway, he's stronger and faster than anything he or I had encountered before," Mayday explained, wiping away the budding tears. "That's why my dad sent me away, using..."
Mayday then glanced down at her wrist, and that's when she remembered...
"It's gone."
"What's gone?" Gwen asked.
"My way home," Mayday explained. "My dad stole the device Morlun was using to travel the multiverse and used it to help me escape, but that Octopus lady crushed it!"
"Hey, don't worry about it," Gwen assured her. "Also, it sounds like what you really need is some reinforcements, and I think I can get that for you."
"But he's so strong," Mayday insisted. "My father had been Spider-Man for years, and he and I combined were like nothing to him. It's going to take a lot more than just us two."
"Well, then it's a good thing I have an idea on how to get more," Gwen said.
"You do?" her father replied. "I mean, you're not exactly on the best of terms with most of the other heroes here."
"I know," she replied. "But I know someone like us, who also knows some others like us."
"Wait," the woman's father replied. "You don't mean..."
"That's exactly what I mean," Gwen insisted.
"Wait, are you... but I already said my device was destroyed," Mayday explained.
"I know," Gwen replied. She then bent down, reaching under the bed and pulling out a safe. Twisting the combination lock at the front, she then opened it, pulling out a much larger device than the bracelet.
"What is that?" Mayday asked.
Gwen let out a breath.
"The way to get the help you need."
Hope you're still enjoying it! Next week, we finally catch up with The Amazing Spider-Man himself!
Continuing to pray for you all; stay safe and healthy!
"Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. Relieve the troubles of my heart and free me from my anguish." Psalm 25:16-17