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Chapter Text

               Gwen was still wearing the shining platinum armor Frigga had provided her with and sitting with Loki again.  Days had passed on Asgard but on her watch only forty-eight hours had passed. Like it was fully out of sync with the environment it was in.  She would have loved to ask Martha about it.  She knew Asgard was technically in another plane of existence?  Realm?  She would have loved to research the oddities of it.  Regardless, while hours were passing on Earth days were passing for her here. It meant she had more time with her new crush.

Loki’s cell looked comfortable enough.  Full of books, comfortable furniture.  The cell phone she’d left for him was on a table.  None of that was of interest to him.  The pair were sitting back-to-back again with the shimmering forcefield between them.  Gwen thought it might be set to shock people; However, it just made her skin and hair tingle where it touched her.  It was sort of like a very gentle massage.

               “You know I need to go soon.  My band is going to be pissed.”

               Loki smiled as he glanced over his shoulder at her.

               “You didn’t mention you were in a band.”

               Gwen blinked a few times.

               “I’m sure I did last night.”

               Loki shook his head.

               “I would remember.”

               Gwen shrugged.

               “So, yea, I’m in a band.  I’m the drummer.”

               Loki chuckled and rubbed the side of his face where she’d hit him with Mjolnir.

               “Yes, I suppose hitting things would suit your temperament.”

               Gwen glanced back at him with narrowed eyes.

               “Is that supposed to be a jab at me being an emotional teenager?”

               Loki who had one knee pulled up to himself and his arm laying across it flipped his forearm.

               “Possibly.  Or I may just be commenting on your predilection for hitting things.  So, is your band any good, or is this a, hobby?”

               Gwen tapped out a beat with her fingers on her armored thighs.

               “Hobby for me, the rest of my band takes it more seriously.  We have a big show coming up, oh and you made it possible by you know making a bunch of New Yorker’s homeless.”

               Loki smiled.

               “I am happy to have been of assistance to your career as a drummer.  Personally, I think you should aim a little higher.”

               “You and my dad both.  I think I will stop short of world domination.  Doesn’t seem to work out so well if you fail.”

               “Touché, Gwen, touché”

               She glanced at the clock on her holo-phone.

               “Yep, definitely need to get going.”

               Gwen made no move to get up.  Loki laughed.

               “Maybe if you say it enough times, you’ll convince yourself it is true.”

               She sighed.

               “You know, I should still hate you and want to be nowhere near you.  So why am I so reluctant to leave?”

               Loki glanced back at her.

               “You’re asking me?  I have no idea why I started giving you the time of day.  Yet here we are.  Me because I am in a cell and somehow infatuated with you.  You, here for what?”

               Gwen sighed.

               “I like talking to you.  I mean yes, your voice can get annoying, and by God is your accent smarmy sounding.  I’m kind of past those now.”

               Loki laughed for several moments.

               “What a pair we are.”

               Gwen looked up at the dungeon ceiling.

               “You know when they said dungeon, I was expecting chains, damp stone, skeletons hanging from walls.  This is more like a five-star hotel room.”

               Loki looked around his cell.

               “Yes, but you can leave a hotel.”

               Gwen held up one finger.

               “Not if it is the Hotel California.”

               Loki actually turned to look at her.

               “What does a Hotel in California have to do with a dungeon?”

               Gwen turned to him with a smile.

               “Well let me tell you about the Eagles…”

               Their conversation lasted long after dusk had settled over Asgard.  Gwen realized she really did have to go because the next day she was due to work at Stark Industries.  Her watch told her the current Earth date was July 23^rd, 2024, six pm.  If she left now she’d make it in time for her band practice.  Maybe slightly late.  That was of course if the bifrost did not drop her in Australia.  She finished her lecture on twentieth century classics which Loki had listened to in its entirety with a few questions inserted here and there.  She sighed and stood up.

               “I’m really going now.”

               Loki stood and smiled at her.

               “Very well.  Perhaps next time we can discuss some of those shows you put on the phone.”

               Gwen smiled and nodded.

               “I’ll be back when I can get permission from my dad.  Your mother is being pretty strict about his permission.”

               Gwen waved to Loki.  He nodded to her.  She made her way up the stairs from the dungeon.  She ran into Frigga who smiled when she noticed Gwen.

               “Gwen, I realized you hadn’t had your evening meal yet.  I assume you lost track of time.”

               Gwen blushed and nodded.

               “Yes.  I need to get home.  I have to work tomorrow, and I have band practice.”

               Frigga nodded.

               “Before you leave, my husband would like to give you a gift.”

               Gwen raised an eyebrow.

               “You’ve already given me so much.”

               Gwen motioned to the enchanted Asgardian leather backpack she had slung over her shoulder.

               “I just need to get this armor off so I can return it to you.”

               “You misunderstand, the armor and sword are yours as is the clip for your braid.  The All-father has recognized you as a Champion of the Nine Realms, you must have the appropriate arms and armor.”

               Gwen blinked a few times.  Yea, that was going to need to be one hell of a lie to her father.  Maybe she’d start talking about LARPing.  That would make his eyes glaze over…  Erica might be harder to deceive.

               “I am sorry if I kept Odin waiting.”

               Frigga started walking towards Odin’s throne room.  Gwen hurried to catch up.  She was several inches shorter than Thor’s mother.

               “In truth, it was I who kept my husband waiting.  I have rarely seen Loki as content as when he is talking to you.  I didn’t want to cut your time short.”

               The pair entered the throne room.  Odin was speaking to Thor, Lady Sif and the Warriors Three.  He was giving them orders to deal with a disturbance on one of the nine realms.  He finished and motioned them away.  Thor told Lady Sif he would meet them at the bifrost bridge.  He walked over to Gwen.

               “Please give Spider-Woman my thanks for her defense of my wayward brother.  Though I am angry with him still, he is family.”

               Gwen nodded.

               “I will tell her as soon as I get back.  I sure hope she hasn’t called the rest of the Avengers to track me down.”

               Thor laughed.

               “I believe if she doesn’t, Stark will.”

               He offered his hand, they clasped wrists.  He rushed off.  Odin reached down beside his throne and walked down the stairs carrying a bundle of golden silk.  He held it out to her.

               “In honor of your valiant defense of the nine realms, and in particular Midgard from the forces of Chaos, I name you Champion of the Nine Realms, and grant you this gift.  Use them wisely.”

               Gwen took the bundle of golden silk and untied it.  Inside lay a pair of dull silvery bracers they looked simple next to the ornate armor she wore.  They had the same texture and tint as Mjolnir.  She slid her fingers along their smooth surfaces.  Odin spoke.

               “They once belonged to one of my Valkyrie.  They are made of Uru.  The same metal as Mjolnir.  To replace those which you have so recently lost.”

               Gwen looked up at Odin.

               “How did you know?”

               Odin glanced at Frigga.

               “Loki told my wife, who told me of your loss.  A champion of the nine realms needs appropriate arms and armor, as my wife so recently told you.”

               Gwen looked at the bracers she was truly at a loss for words.

               “I am honored by your gift, All-father.”

               “Wear them well, Gwen Stacy of Midgard.  I understand you must return to your home world with some urgency.  Please travel across the rainbow bridge, Heimdall will send you home.  Know that you are welcome in Asgard as an honored guest and champion of our cause from this day forward.”

               Frigga gave Odin a look, he frowned slightly and continued.

               “With your father’s permission.”

               “Thank you, so much, both of you, for everything.”

               Odin’s lips betrayed the slightest hint of a smile.  Frigga was not hiding hers.  The queen of Asgard escorted Gwen to the palace stairs.

               “Until we meet again, Champion of Midgard.”

               Gwen waved and hopped down the stairs.  Gwen stuffed the bracers and golden silk in her backpack.  She glanced at her watch.  Seven.  Shoot!  Shoot!  Shoot!  She was an hour late.  She rushed across the rainbow bridge and slowed down as Heimdall’s golden gaze fell on her.  She nodded to him politely.  He motioned to a spot on the floor.

               “Do you wish to return to whence you came?”

               Gwen bit her lower lip.

               “Uh, can you do an address?”

               Heimdall nodded.

               “I see all of the nine realms.”

               Gwen listed off the address of the practice space.

               “Near there would be great, if you could, please, sir Heimdall?”

               He smiled and slammed his sword down. Gwen barely had a chance to blink before she was hurtling through the bifrost bridge.   She appeared dead center of the old garage/warehouse space the crushBitches rented for their practice sessions.  She was facing away from the band who were lounging on the old couches they’d found tossed out in the trash.  When Gwen turned to face them, she gave a small wave.  She muttered between clenched teeth.  How am I going to explain that?  She went with just not trying.

               “Sorry I’m late.  Uh, want to get started?”

               Lana was just staring at her wide-eyed.  Monica, their bassist was kicking at the rune left behind by the bifrost.  Kitty started walking over to her keyboard.  Monica sighed.

               “You think this is going to hurt our chances at getting the damage deposit back?”

               Monica walked off and poked Lana.

               “Come on.  Let’s get started.”

               Gwen looked at Lana.

               “How stoned are those two?”

               Lana opened and closed her mouth a few times.  Gwen picked up the jar of edible gummies it was much emptier than it had been three days before.

               “Okay, pretty stoned.”

               Gwen didn’t bother trying to get out of all her armor.  She just removed the gauntlets and sat down and got ready to rehearse.  Lana rubbed her hand over her face.  She still hadn’t joined the rest of the band.

               “So, our drummer just appeared in a flash of rainbow light in a chainmail bikini and we’re just going to… what?  Practice?”

               Monica rolled her eyes.

               “Come on Lana, for the last hour you’ve been complaining about Gwen not being here and now she is you’re complaining she got here?  Sometimes you’re so lame.”

               Kitty was smiling.

               “You’re all rainbows.”

               Lana wagged her finger at Kitty.

               “You took shrooms?  Seriously?”

               Lana crossed her arms.

               “No, we’re not starting until I get an explanation for this insanity.”

               Gwen spun the sticks on her palms, rolled her eyes.

               “It’s nothing.  Thor asked me to talk to his parents about something.  I was in my Maiden T-shirt and a pair of leggings.  The armor was because it was formal.  Can we get started?”

               Lana held up her dark-skinned hand.

               “Hold up, roll that back, Thor, as in the Thor, the God, Thor?”

               Gwen shrugged.

               “Yea, what’s the big deal, I mean you know Captain America is a family friend.  You were drooling over him two weeks ago when he came to see us play.  Yesh.  I work for Iron Man.  It surprises you I know the other Avengers?”

               Lana moved closer.

               “So, you, missed our rehearsal sessions because you were in Aswhasit?”

               Gwen nodded.

               “Asgard, and I’m sorry, it took longer than I expected.  I meant to be back yesterday before practice.”

               Gwen blushed slightly.  Lana snapped her fingers.

               “Hey, wait, I know that look.  You’re crushing on someone from Asgard?  Is it Thor?”

               Gwen shook her head so quickly in vehement denial that she made herself dizzy.  Lana gasped.

               “Oh, you are totally crushing on someone!  Does Thor have a younger brother or something?”

               Gwen bit her lower lip.

               “Yea, that’s it, younger brother.”

               Kitty was swatting at something no one else could see.  Monica was looking between Lana and Gwen.

               “Are you done talking about men yet?  It’s disgusting.  Can we play now?  You’re both killing my buzz.”

               Lana seemed content that she had reached the bottom of the mystery she picked up her guitar and the band started their rehearsal. They practiced until eleven.  Past curfew again.  The rest of the girls decided they were going to crash there.  Gwen was pretty sure she could make it to her nearby lair without running into anyone.  She had a good change of clothes there and she figured she could stash the armor.  She walked out of the band’s rehearsal space and hung her head.  The same two homeland security agents were waiting there. She shook her head and hefted her backpack on her shoulder.  The agent in the passenger seat lowered his window.

               “Not sure how you got by us, especially dressed like that, but there are some people who are very worried about you.”

               Gwen sighed.

               “And I suppose they want me to go with you.”

               The agent nodded.  She opened the rear passenger door, tossed her backpack and sword on the seat.  Then climbed in.  She pulled her seat belt on then started tying off the sword and gauntlets to her bag.  The agent glanced back at Gwen.

               “You are a very odd girl.”

               “Yea.  What are your names anyway?  I mean if you’re going to be my personal taxi drivers, it would be nice to know.”

               The agent laughed.

               “I’m Agent Mallory, this is Agent Henderson.  So, looking to go into battle?”

               Gwen nodded.

               “Yep.”

               She shrugged.

               “No, this is my costume for our show.  It’s bulky so I wanted to practice in it.  I tried telling Lana the cape was a step too far.”

               He pointed at the sword.

               “And the blade which is in excess of four inches long that is illegal to carry in New York City.”

               Gwen was about to disagree with him or come up with a lie but Agent Henderson spoke up.

               “There are exceptions if there is no intent to use it and you’re just transporting it from a place where she was displaying and her home.”

               Gwen nodded.

               “What he said.”

               Agent Mallory turned so he was facing forward.

               “You sure have friends in high places, Gwen Stacy.  Tony Stark, Senator Thomas, Director of SHIELD.  If only one of them called us we’d have asked how high they wanted us to jump, but all three?”

               Gwen felt her cheeks start to burn.  She really hadn’t thought about who might miss her when she wandered off to Asgard for almost three days.  She figured Tony would be busy with Pepper since he gave her a couple of days paid leave.

               “I’m really sorry about this bother guys, I know there is more important work for you to be doing, especially after the whole alien invasion thing.  I work for Mr. Stark, Senator Thomas’s son Adam is my boyfriend and Director Fury, I should know better than turning my phone off for more than a few hours.  It is totally on me.”

               Agent Mallory laughed.

               “If that wasn’t bad enough your father had the NYPD put an APB out for you.”

               Gwen sunk into her seat.  She was so grounded.  She glanced at her holo-phone, which she had on mute and do not vibrate because she was at band practice.  She figured she’d let that be a tomorrow problem.

               “That might have happened once or twice before.  Having a cop dad, sometimes is a bit… challenging as a teenager.”

               Gwen was surprised.  They pulled up in front of her building.

               “Wait, we’re not going to One Police Plaza?”

               “No, our orders are, make sure you’re safe, that you haven’t been kidnapped and that we are to get you home in one piece.  Director Fury also wanted us to pass on a couple of messages, one, he doesn’t like paperwork, two, you’re not funny.”

               Agent Mallory walked Gwen up to her apartment.

               “Did those messages make any sense to you?  Agent Henderson and I were debating if SHIELD was just messing with us.”

               Gwen nodded.

               “They were crystal clear.  Inside jokes.  If you see him, tell him: He’s not funny either.  Please.”

               Agent Mallory waved as Gwen closed the door. She locked it.  She went to her room and started getting out of the Asgardian armor.  Her tablet started dinging.  Someone was trying to reach her on a video chat program.  She sighed and picked it up.  It was her father and Erica.  Her eyes went wide and she angled it so they couldn’t see the fairly accentuated breastplate.  She plastered her most innocent look on her face and the widest smile she could.

               “Dad, Erica, Hi!”

               Her father looked pretty upset.

               “Hi?  Is that all you have to say to us?  We’ve been worried sick.  You vanished for two days!  Not a word, no posts on social media.  Did you even consider how we would feel out here in France with no answers from you after we see an alien invasion on the television?  All over the internet?”

               Gwen blushed. Her father looked at her expectantly.

               “Well, any explanation?  It had better be a good one.”

               Gwen giggled nervously.

               “I have a perfectly reasonable explanation.  I’m just trying to figure out what it is.  How about we have this talk tomorrow?  It must be late there, right?  It’s late here.  Oh hey, and I have work in the morning. Soo tired here.  Yea, you two should go back to bed.  Enjoy your vacation.  Everything is absolutely fine here!  Yes.  Great talking to you!  Oh, out of charge, gotta go!  Bye El capitano.”

               Gwen gave a small uncomfortable salute and disconnected the call.  She turned her tablet off and put it on her dresser.  She pushed it further away from her as if it was going to explode.  She pulled off her holo-phone and put it beside the tablet.

               “Definitely a tomorrow problem.”

               She started removing the armor.  It was easier to get out of than it was to get in.  She stuffed it into her hope chest and spread the comforter her grandmother had made her over it, her uniform and the Uru bracers. Gwen glanced at the tablet and held up her hands.

               “Nope, not going there.”

               She decided on a hot shower.  A late-night snack, then bed.

Chapter Text

               When Gwen woke up she looked at the tablet, shook her head and put it in a drawer.  If she couldn’t’ see it, it was a problem that didn’t exist.  After a good breakfast. She headed to the subway to get to Manhattan.  It would drop her about ten blocks from the tower because the area around the tower was still under heavy lockdown.  She was slightly amused when the national guardsman at the gate looked her up and down like she was crazy after she showed her SHIELD issued id badge.  He looked very sheepish when he waved her through after a conversation with someone over the radio.  She was about eight years too young to be a convincing SHIELD agent.  She was at least dressed the part of gainfully employed office worker.  Though she still looked like a fifteen-year-old girl.

               She made it a block before a black SUV pulled over to the sidewalk.  She pushed her sunglasses down her nose so she could see through the tinted windows.  Gwen shook her head.  The passenger side window slid down.

               “Uncle Liam.  How did you get in here?”

               Her uncle grinned.

               “I could ask ya the same thing, Wendy.”

               Gwen pointed at Stark Towers.

               “Work.  Your turn.”

               He chuckled.

               “Checking on my workers.  Best salvage team in New York.  Hop in, lass.  We’re heading your way.”

               Gwen climbed in the back seat and the SUV pulled away from the curb.  Her Uncle Liam looked back at her.

               “Bloody aliens in the streets.  Gods and demons.  What’s next the rapture?”

               Gwen shrugged.

               “They aren’t Gods, Uncle Liam.  Just people who live a long time and have superpowers.  Even Loki’s pretty uh… well normal for a sort of God.”

               Liam gave her a look.

               “And how would you know that lass?”

               Gwen rolled her eyes.

               “So, apparently, he heard of me somehow, maybe saw my file at Stark Towers, so he says to the government, I’ll tell you everything you want to know about what’s what, but I’ll only tell Gwen Stacy.  So, guess who has to go see him at the prison they have him at?  Your favorite niece.”

               Uncle Liam looked like he didn’t quite believe her.

               “Seems a bit far-fetched there, lass.”

               Gwen held up her hands defensively.

               “I swear to you on my mother’s grave it’s the truth.  I think Spider-Woman might have hit him a few times with Thor’s hammer.  He seemed really obsessed with her.  She said no, government has no way of finding her, so I guess I was his backup plan to get to her?”

               Gwen shrugged.

               “I have no idea.  Whatever.  I got the info they wanted and so I get to go to work, I kind of told SHIELD I’d only do it if I was allowed inside the perimeter to get to Stark Towers.”

               Liam shook his head.

               “No doubts what family you came from.  Remind me of your nan.  She’d demand the sun and moon before she’d look at ya.  You be careful around here.  There are still some undetonated explosives those alien bastards left lying about.”

               “Don’t touch randomly beeping alien boxes.  Got it.”

               He looked forward.

               “So, Iron Man has you coming in to work already?”

               “Yep.  I’m glad.  My dad didn’t uh, call you umm, did he?”

               Liam nodded.

               “He did for sure, lass.  Have ya spoken to him?”

               Gwen nodded.

               “Yep, we had a great talk last night.”

               The SUV pulled over at the secondary perimeter which was formed around Stark Towers.  Gwen leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

               “Thanks, Uncle Liam you’re the best.”

               He patted her cheek.

               “Be safe, Wendy.  You had better call your da’ back.  And behave yourself.”

               Gwen blinked innocently.

               “I always behave myself.”

               He laughed.

               “That’s about as believable as saying I’m an honest businessman.”

               Gwen hopped out.  She waved as the SUV pulled away.  She flashed both her SHIELD badge and her Stark Badge to the next security gauntlet and was let inside.  A few minutes later she was walking off the elevator on the eighty-sixth floor.  Everything above was being renovated, or would be once workers could be brought in.  She stopped immediately when she saw Nick Fury standing beside Tony.  She wasn’t able to make her escape before she was noticed.  Tony motioned to her.  She sighed and entered the room.  Nick Fury looked at her.  Fury reached into his trench coat and pulled out an envelope.

               “Your government thanks you for talking to Loki.  The fee that you requested.”

               Gwen nodded and took the envelope.  Nick looked at her.

               “Now where the hell were you for the last two days?  We have intel for Spider-Woman and no way to get in touch with her.  You remember me telling you I could lock your ass up to protect national security?  It’s getting goddamned tempting right about now.”

               Tony had his arms crossed and was giving her a disappointed look.  Gwen made a choice then and there.  She would go on the offensive.  She scowled and poked Fury in the chest several times.

               “It is your fault I was missing!  You made me talk to Loki.  You talked me right up to Asgard so I could be interrogated by Odin.  Do you know how scary that man is?  The guy has an Uru eyepatch riveted to his face.  I missed two band rehearsals.  My dad had the entire NYPD looking for me!  What am I supposed to say to him?  Hey dad, sorry I didn’t return your messages, I was in a different Galaxy?  Worst of all, I had two paid days off that I had plans for.  Oh, and my boyfriend probably thinks I’m dumping him.  Thanks, sooo much for your concern.  I’m fine.”

               The two men were stunned into silence with Gwen’s revelations.  She motioned to the touch video table they had been inspecting when she arrived.  It had the imaging she’d done with Steve the day before she left displayed on it.  Tony must have noticed the betrayed look in her eyes.  He motioned to Nick Fury.

               “I could not find any information on the project you were asking about.  I reached out to Director Fury and provided Spider-Woman’s video.”

               Gwen motioned to Fury.

               “I’m not sure I’m comfortable with SHIELD being involved in this conversation, Tony.”

               Nick leaned on the table Gwen would guess he was not pleased by what the pair had discovered.  He looked at Gwen.

               “I’m not here as the Director of SHIELD, I’m here as a private citizen who is wondering what the hell is going on with my tax dollars.  What is discussed here doesn’t leave this room, doesn’t go on Facebook, you don’t make a TikTok about it, it doesn’t go on YouTube.  You got me?”

               Gwen made a face and leaned on the table and looked at the display.

               “No one my age uses Facebook.  What’s up?”

               Nick tapped the screen and brought up the floor plans for a building.

               “This is a secret SHIELD facility I was unaware of, in fact everyone I’ve asked was unaware of.  It is within the Chitauri cleanup perimeter.  Four nights ago, unknown parties from within SHIELD ordered it cleared out before it could be discovered during the cleanup.  As of this time we have found no information as to what it held, except for the video Spider-Woman was able to acquire.  The mercenaries she captured died enroute to the police station in an ‘accident’.  We were able to get a location for the destination of the cargo from the original driver before he had an allergic reaction to peanut oil that somehow made it into his turkey sandwich.  Are you seeing a pattern here?”

               Gwen nodded.

               “Yea, but why are you telling me this?”

               He raised his one good eyebrow.

               “Because Spider-Woman isn’t answering my calls, but she’s answering yours.  Should I continue?”

               Gwen shrugged.

               “Whatever.  Go ahead.”

               He looked at Tony and shook his head.

               “Stark, you hired this one?  Does she take anything seriously?”

               “Sometimes.  When the pay is right.  Come on Gwen.  This is important.”

               Gwen rolled her eyes.

               “I’m listening guys, go on.”

               Nick gave a small, exasperated sigh.

               “SHIELD is in some way compromised.  Somehow someone managed to launch two fighters carrying enhanced nuclear weapons, now there’s a secret storage facility in Manhattan?  Unauthorized transfer of hazardous materials?  I can’t send anyone from SHIELD.  Stark here is too obvious.  Now if Spider-Woman were to say dress in black she could probably infiltrate the site.  Maybe see what data she could acquire with that worm of yours.”

               Gwen crossed her arms.  This was all sounding a little too cloak and dagger to her.

               “Why would she do that?”

               Nick tapped the screen a few more times and brought up a photo of a human blood cell with what looked like hundreds of goo covered nano-spiders.

               “Because this was one of her blood cells before the sample containers got shredded and black ooze spiders walked out of Stark Industries and vanished into the night.  I figured she might want to know where that black goop came from, and maybe what it is.”

               Gwen felt sick.  What was living inside her?  Tony put his hand on her shoulder.

               “She’s an Avenger.  We’ll figure this out and help her, I promise, Fury is right though.  This is a job for her.”

               “What about Natasha?  I’m sure you can trust her.”

               Nick shook his head.

               “No, they’ll notice her.  No one has eyes on Spider-Woman.  Right now, the only people who know we have the location of this black site are in this room.  If I send someone who has visibility, they might start a data purge or worse.  She has the ability to get in and out unseen.  To get one of those spider bots of yours to get us into that system.”

               “She’s not a cat-burglar.  Getting in and out unseen is not really in her skillset.”

               Nick leaned on the table again.

               “Gwen, she is our best chance.”

               Gwen shook her head.

               “Look, she almost died in that transport truck.  Now she’s got black goo floating around in her cells, now you want me to tell her she has to go break into a super-secure facility.  What if her powers are impacted by the goo?  She lost her bracers.  She lost her armored suit.    She doesn’t even have a new set of web shooters yet.  I haven’t had a chance to help her re-equip.  I’ve been too busy being bossed around by SHIELD, Asgard and my band.”

               Tony left the table and came back with a silver suitcase.  He put it down on the table.

               “I know.  That’s why I had the fabricators working all night.”

               He opened the case and inside was a jet-black version of her suit with armored plates and a pair of black web shooters.

               “I can’t replace her bracers.  I have no idea where dad sourced the Vibranium.  Latest Stark Industries ballistic weave with ceramic plates.  It has thermal reduction weave that will hide her from thermal optics.  It has carbon nanotubes on its surface that absorb 99.97% of all light.  She’ll be practically invisible in the dark.  The lenses have night vision optics built in.”

               Gwen picked up the new costume.  She ran her fingers around the inside of the neckline, it was soft.  Not as soft as the iron silk ballistic weave but if she were to do what they were asking she couldn’t use her actual costume.  This would do.

               “I’ll ask her.”

               She held out her hand.

               “Give me the details, I’ll pass it on to her.”

               Nick put a memory stick in her hand.  Gwen wrapped her fingers around it and grabbed the silver case after Tony latched it.

               “I’ll be in touch when she has something.  Tony, I’ll need the rest of the day, and tomorrow off because she’s going to need me in the chair tonight.  Paid!”

               Tony nodded.  She turned and walked to the elevator. 

*****

Gwen because she could hardly be called Spider-Woman when not in her costume was kneeling in some bushes looking at a fenced and heavily guarded complex.  Whoever was funding this from within SHIELD was really sparing no expense.  She hadn’t been lying she was no master thief.  It was a completely unmarked building.  It was on Federal land.  She sighed.

               “No use sitting around thinking about breaking in.”

               She stood up when the guards had passed and set off on a dead run towards the electrified fence.  She jumped up and did a back flip, tumbled a few times and landed on her feet between two containers.  She peeked out to verify she was in the blind spot she’d identified from the satellite images Tony had taken.  She dashed across the paved lot and slid behind a dumpster.  She waited for a few moments as a patrol passed and climbed up the wall.  Once on the roof she made her way to an HVAC vent she identified and slipped inside.  She let herself fall several feet and caught herself on the walls of the vent just before she would have hit the bottom of the vent she’d entered.  It was at this point she was going in blind.  She had no idea what the interior looked like.  She tossed down four spider bots and sat down and tapped a few commands on her new suit’s holo-display and let her bots map the facility out for her.  There were two secure warehouse-like vaults, a barracks and what Gwen was looking for an old-style mainframe.  Unfortunately, she couldn’t find an interface for her bot.  The network cables were fiber optic and whatever was translating the data from the new signal to the older one was inside the mainframe somewhere and it was massive.

               “Shoot.”

               Gwen left the bots out and on ceilings.  She transferred the video feed to her HUD and began crawling through the vents towards the single console for the mainframe.  There did not seem to be any cameras in the mainframe or console room.  The vent she picked to exit was in the dead center of the stark white console room.  She gently loosened the grate and then webbed it to the ceiling and dropped down.  She smiled under the mask and cracked her knuckles.  She reached her fingers towards the keyboard then the screen which was monochrome green came alive.  A camera she hadn’t caught with her spider bot because it was hidden under the monitor focused on her.  The screen was filled with a face which was drawn using ascii characters.  The lips on the image moved and a man with a German accent began speaking.

               “And who are you?”

               Gwen used her fake Spider-Woman deep voice.

               “No one of any importance.”

               As she was speaking her eyes caught something her bot hadn’t, copper wires her bots could use to interface with the mainframe.  She tossed one on the counter.  She spoke.

               “Drain and burn mode.”

               The spider bot crawled past the camera and onto the main data cable.  She leaned on the counter, she spoke still using her fake deep voice.

               “What are you?  Some seventies artificial intelligence?”

               The face on the screen looked insulted.

               “I am Doctor Arnim Zola you incredulous primitive woman!”

               Gwen watched as her spider used the digital key provided by the AI Martha gave her to effortlessly break past the primitive security of the mainframe.  Her polymorphic worm did the rest.

               “What are you doing?”

               She grinned under her mask.

               “Stealing all your data how’s that for primitive?”

               Arnim started shouting.

               “Cease this instant!”

               Gwen laughed.

               “Or you’ll what?  Ask me to stop again?”

               Her spider sense triggered, and she cartwheeled out of the way and ran up the wall and across the ceiling avoiding assault rifle fire.  Armin was yelling.

               “Watch my systems you morons!”

               She dropped down and crouched.  Ready to pounce.  She leapt through the air and landed on one of the men.  Her momentum and weight knocked him down.  She noticed more were coming.  She backflipped and jumped between walls, evading bullets.  Eventually there were just too many bullets and she got clipped by one.  She felt a rage building up inside her and her skin burned.  She felt like she was going to be torn apart from the inside.  She blacked out.

Chapter Text

Gwen woke up.  She was lying face down in the dirt.  She was in the wooded area that she had used to hide her pack.  She rubbed her face and tried to remember how she got here.   The sun was streaming through the trees.  Her new costume was charred and shredded.  She was basically naked at least the parts that counted were still mostly covered.  She sat up and felt dizzy almost immediately.  She held the side of her face.  She smelled the faintest hint of blood on her fingers.  She was still having trouble focusing so she moved her hands back and forth.  Then she realized they were filthy.  When she was finally able to focus she realized most of the dirt was actually dried blood which had run down her forearms.  She took a closer look at herself she was covered in blood splatter.  She was horrified.

She scrambled over to her backpack and dug through it until she found her make up kit.  She quickly opened the mirror.  Gwen’s stomach lurched when she saw the blood splatter in her hair and on her face.  The most horrific part was her mouth.  Dried blood coated her lower lip and ran down her chin and neck.   She dropped her mirror and landed on all fours.  She felt like she was about to vomit.  She dry heaved for several minutes.  Nothing came out.  She heard the rumble of diesel engines in the distance and remembered the truck stop she’d gotten off the bus at.  She shoved her mirror into the backpack and pulled herself up.  She ended up doubled over, backpack sitting in the dirt.  She tugged out her cyan Chucks, leggings and her hoodie.  She tugged them on over the remnants of her new costume one at a time. She was glad she always went baggy with her hoodies.  It would cover her hands and face.

Gwen stumbled tough the wooded area and up an embankment.  She hopped over the guard rail.  There were a dozen big rigs parked here with engines running.  She crept between two trucks and started to seriously ponder her life choices up to this point because she heard a couple very loudly having sex in one of the trucks.  She admitted she probably should have started doing that reconsideration when she realized she woke up covered in someone else’s blood.  She leaned heavily on the wall of the Truckstop’s restaurant.  She looked at her reflection in the window.  She had her hood pulled up and settled in such a way the blood wasn’t visible.  She pulled the door open and walked inside.  One of the waitresses noticed her and moved to confront her.

“Paying customers only.”

Gwen looked at the waitress.  She had the urge to punch her.  Gwen shook her head trying to clear a sudden burst of anger.  The waitress took it as a challenge to her authority and called out.

“Sheriff!”

               Gwen grimaced when a man in a beige LEO uniform started to approach.  Gwen reached into her pocket and tossed a hundred-dollar bill on the nearest table.

               “Tea and three of your biggest breakfasts, just do whatever for the eggs.  Whatever is left over is a tip.  It was a long night.  Where are your washrooms?”

               The waitress blinked a few times and picked up the bill and straightened it out.  She shrugged and motioned to the back of the restaurant.  The sheriff noticed Gwen had paid and went back to his newspaper and breakfast.  She was thankful it wasn’t her dad; He would have definitely wanted to know more.  Apparently six was too early for the Sheriff to do actual work.   Gwen made her way through the restaurant.  She spotted a couple with a baby.  They had a pack of wetnaps on the table.  She walked up to them and pulled out another crumpled hundred-dollar bill.

               “This for your wet naps.”

               The woman gave her partner a dirty look as he offered the wetnaps and took the hundred.  Gwen heard her giving him a dressing down for getting involved.  She lost the conversation when the door to the women’s washroom closed.  She pulled down her hood and started scrubbing the dried blood off her face.  Then she started on her hands.  She felt like she was tearing her skin off she scrubbed so hard.  She felt panic rising up in her again. She leaned on the sink and looked in the mirror.  She took several deep breaths trying to calm herself.  The entire room seemed to shake around her.  She jumped back from the mirror when she saw black spiders crawling out of her eyes and ears.  When she opened her mouth to scream spiders swarmed out of it too.  She stumbled back into one of the stall doors and almost fell into the toilet.  When she pulled herself up there was no sign of the spiders.

               Gwen shook her head and resumed cleaning the dirt and blood off her hands.  She looked at the pile of bloody wetnaps.  She gathered them up and dug into the large garbage bin and stuffed them underneath the paper towels.  She went back to the mirror and moved her head around looking for anything she missed.  She noticed the blood splatter in her hair.  She started scrubbing it out. 

She went into one of the stalls and pulled her clothes off.  She tore the remnants of her costume off and wadded them up into a ball.  She pulled on her t-shirt and leggings.  She felt super uncomfortable without underwear underneath them, but she had no choice at the moment.  She made a mental note to carry an extra bra and underwear next time.  When she finished getting dressed, she tugged her shoes on and stuffed her hoodie into her backpack.  The remnants of her new black costume were unidentifiable, so she just stuffed that under the trash with her blood-covered wetnaps.  Gwen pulled on her Yankees baseball cap before leaving the washroom.

When she left the restroom she noticed three plates of breakfast at the table she’d dropped her money on.  She passed the young couple with their baby and dropped the wetnaps she hadn’t used.

“Thanks.”

She sat down and started devouring her breakfast.  She was starving.  The sheriff had apparently decided to take notice of her.  He hooked his thumbs under his belt and cleared his throat.  Gwen looked up from her half-empty plate of breakfast.  She decided it was probably best to forgo her usual attitude.

“Sorry, sir, can I help you?”

He looked her over.

“I don’t recognize you, you’re a little young to be out here all alone, aren’t you?”

Gwen reached into her backpack and slapped her return bus ticket on the table.

“Just a stopover.  I fell down and missed the bus last night.”

He motioned to her backpack.

“Mind if I take a look?”

Gwen frowned at him.

“My dad’s a cop, I know you can’t do anything if I say no.  But go ahead.”

He picked up her backpack and unzipped it.  He pulled out her wallet and opened it.  Looked at her state ID card.  Checked how much money she had.  She had another three hundred dollars in various denominations.  He raised an eyebrow and put the wallet on the table.  He found her Stark Industries ID badge.  Then her SHIELD ID badge.  Gwen was very thankful she’d ditched the remnants of the costume instead of trying to salvage it.  Finally, he pulled out her holo-phone which she had powered off so it couldn’t be traced.  He held it up.

“What is this?”

“Smartwatch.  Its kind of flashy I didn’t want to risk it getting stolen on the bus if I fell asleep.”

He finally pulled the envelope she’d forgotten was in a side pocket and opened it.  He pulled out the check and he blinked a few times.  Gwen winced inwardly.  How was she supposed to explain a ten-thousand-dollar Federal government check.  He whistled then slid it back into the envelope.  She realized it might actually explain why she had so much cash.

“Paycheck?”

Gwen shook her head.

“No, sort of.  I am a highly skilled engineer, and I did some work for them with that alien stuff in New York.  All classified of course.”

He didn’t seem to have a reason to argue the point.  He put her belongings back in the pack except her SHIELD ID badge.

“No phone?”

“Lost it. My dad is going to be super angry.”

He looked at the badge and looked out of the restaurant’s bank of windows then back at Gwen.

“There was an explosion near here last night, do you know anything about it?  Did you see anything?  Hear anything?”

She shook her head.

“No sorry.  A nice truck driver let me crash in her cab.  Slept like a baby.”

“Could you show me the truck?”

Gwen shrugged.

“Sorry sir, she pulled out really early this morning.  I went for a walk afterwards to stretch out.  Got a bit muddy when I was poking at some stones.  That’s why I wanted to get cleaned up.”

He kept his fingers hooked under his belt.

“Did you get a name?  License plate?”

Gwen shook her head.

“No, she just saw me miss my bus, asked if I needed a place to crash.  Nice older lady.  I gave her some money to thank her.  She said she was excited to get home to see her granddaughter.  What was her name?  Oh yea, Cynthia.  Though they call her Cindy because she can’t pronounce her name properly yet.”

He was obviously not happy with her answers.  Gwen wasn’t really giving him anything to latch on to.

“So, why all the cash?”

“I didn’t want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere and be told they don’t accept debit.  It is so terrible when that happens.  I have a metabolism problem; Means I have to eat a lot, or I feel really sick.  I just can’t take the chance I won’t get food.  Sir, is there something you want me to answer?  My breakfast is getting cold.”

He held up one finger.

“Don’t move please.”

He picked up her SHIELD badge and walked away from the table.  He spoke into his radio.  Gwen went back to eating.  She heard the conversation he had with his office.

“Hey, it’s the Sheriff, I need you to pull a name for me.  Gwen Stacy.  She has some Federal ID badge.  SHIELD?”

“I’ve seen something that said SHIELD somewhere.”

“Yea, I’ve seen it too, on the trucks dropping stuff off at that building that blew up.  She also has a Stark Industries employee ID badge.  Her state ID says she’s fifteen, from New York City.”

               He kept glancing at Gwen who had no intention of leaving her meal unfinished.  She seemed even more hungry than normal this morning.  He got a response after a few minutes.

               “Uh, her ID is flagged by the Feds.  I’m getting access denied and a contact number for Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.  Sheriff, I think you should just let this one go.  I’ve only ever seen this kind of thing from the Feds once before and it was the… incident that got the last Sheriff retired.”

               Gwen shook her head.  Fury really wasn’t taking any chances on people tracking her down easily.  The sheriff walked back to the table and handed her SHIELD ID to her.  Apparently, he was a dog with a bone.

               “Are you sure there is nothing you can tell me about that explosion last night?”

               She smiled and slid her empty plate away.

               “Sir, if there were any information I could share with you, I would gladly do so.”

               He frowned.

               “Your bus will be here in an hour, make sure you’re on it.”

               Gwen nodded.

               “Of course, sir.”

               The waitress came back around.  She looked at the Sheriff as he made his way back to his table.  Gwen looked up at her.

               “Could I get another breakfast, same one?”

               The waitress nodded and took out her pad.  She added the new item to Gwen’s bill.  She spoke quietly.

               “Sorry about earlier, sometimes we get people who can’t pay coming in, they cause a ruckus.  Drugs, you know.  I didn’t mean to get you harassed by the sheriff.”

Gwen had the urge to say something to the effect of: but it’s alright if he harasses the homeless and poor then?  Instead, she pulled out a twenty and gave it to the waitress.

               “Don’t worry about it.  Keep the change from that too.”

               Gwen finished her meal and eventually caught the bus heading back to New York City.  She desperately wanted to see what she’d managed to steal from the strange AI before the building apparently blew up.  Maybe it was her blood after all.  She couldn’t pop out her hologram and start sifting through stolen data right here on the bus.  She wished she had an actual phone, but she hadn’t gotten around to buying a replacement.  She decided that the building blew up, so she must have been hurt and that was where the blood came from.  She couldn’t remember because she hit her head.  It was making so much more sense now.  She smiled and enjoyed the ride.

Chapter Text

               Gwen’s good mood lasted all the way to her apartment building.  She was planning on a shower then an excursion to her lair to sift through the data she acquired the night before.  Or modify her data-spider as she called her personally created AI to do it for her.  Her mood was dashed when she saw a familiar pair of agents sitting out front of her apartment building.  She could get into her apartment without them noticing she was Spider-Woman after all.  She decided against it, they were probably already suspicious.  She walked up to Agent Mallory’s window and waved.  He lowered it.

               “So, you didn’t answer your door because you weren’t home.  You know the drill.”

               Gwen sighed.

               “I don’t suppose I could go grab a shower and some lunch before we go?”

               The homeland security agents looked at each other.  Gwen motioned to her building.

               “I’m cool if you come up and wait and make sure I don’t run off.  You can even grab some cold drinks.  Please just let me get a shower.”

               Agent Mallory nodded.

               “I guess half an hour won’t make a difference at this point.”

               She led the pair of agents up to her apartment she motioned to the refrigerator.

               “Grab whatever.  I’ll be quick.  I promise.”

               Gwen rushed about gathering up a change of clothes before heading for a shower.  She was in the midst of putting on moisturizing sunblock and was checking her face over for missed spots when she saw a flash of black with two huge white eyes and a mouth of razor-sharp teeth overlaid on her reflection.  She stumbled backwards, tripped over the tub and hit her head.  She hadn’t screamed and it took her a few moments to come to her senses.  She heard one of the agents knocking on the door.

               “Are you alright in there?”

               Gwen rubbed the back of her head with a groan.

               “Yes.  Just being clumsy, almost done.”

               She looked in the mirror again checking herself out for anything odd but she looked normal for her, which was basically a fifteen year old girl who looked like she was an Olympic gymnast or professional ballet dancer with her musculature.  She shook her head and muttered.

               “You’ve been spending too much time dealing with gods and monsters, Gwen Stacy.  You need to get back down to Earth.”

               She leaned on the vanity and thought of Loki.  She felt a pang of guilt being here and him being in a cell.  She thought to herself: Come on Gwen, he’s like a thousand years old, the ultimate bad boy your mom warned you about, he killed a bunch of people and you tried to kill each other.  You’re fifteen. Oh, and you have a really hot boyfriend.  She thought she’d talked herself out of Loki  but then that little devil on her shoulder said its piece.  Loki is hot too and he is fun to talk to.  Wouldn’t it be fun to be Queen?  She held her hands up at her reflection in a ‘I can’t even with you right now’ motion and started brushing her hair out.  She selected a fresh pair of leggings and a shirt she’d purchased at the Pride parade last year.  It was black and had the blue, pink and white trans flag on it and declared in big letters Protect Trans Kids!  The Agents looked up when she came out of the bathroom.  She smiled at them.  Grabbed three protein bars and a water bottle and stuffed them in her backpack.  She declared.

               “Take me to your leader.”

               Agent Mallory chuckled.  Henderson looked less impressed.  Gwen sighed at Agent Henderson.

               “Come on, that was funny.”

               The odd trio left the walk-up and got into their SUV.  Gwen started munching on the protein bars as they drove being careful to avoid getting crumbs all over the pristine vehicle.  Agent Henderson who seemed the more severe of the two kept glancing at her in the mirror as if watching to see she wasn’t making a mess.  They parked at a building Gwen had never been to.  It was a silver office building and besides a big address sign it had no name on it.  Agent Mallory escorted her inside and left her at the front desk.

               The woman behind the front desk looked pleasant.  Somehow Gwen felt she wasn’t everything she seemed.  She pushed a clipboard towards Gwen and put a pen beside it.

               “You’ll need to sign in.”

               Gwen saw the visitor’s badge and realized this was a SHIELD facility.  Instead of signing she reached into her backpack and held up her SHIELD badge to get her in and out of the Chitauri Perimeter.

               “Will this work?”

               The woman raised an eyebrow and took the visitor’s badge and clipboard back.   She took Gwen’s badge and tapped it on an RDIF reader.  She pointed down a hallway.

               “Yes.  Clip your badge on.  There is a waiting room four doors down, please be seated.  Someone will be with you shortly.”

               Gwen clipped the badge onto her shirt and walked off down the hall.  The building was very sterile looking.  The waiting room’s black seats were uncomfortable.  It was like it was all set up to be intimidating.  She sent an email to her father.  While she was in her email she noticed an email from Queen’s general billing. She tapped it and it was the bill for Aunt May’s surgery and stay at the hospital.  She dialed the number at the bottom of the bill.  She passed her time waiting by going through the itemized bill one line at a time.  She managed to drop the price by twenty thousand dollars, so it was more in line with what they had initially been quoted.  Her nan, always said the worst criminals were the ones who said they were helping people, like hospital billing departments.  Coming from her nan who was a forty-year veteran mob-wife that was saying something before she passed away.  She made arrangements to pay the remainder right there and then.  She looked at the link to her lair’s servers and decided against accessing it from inside a spy agency.  She tapped her wrist and made the holo-display vanish when her spider sense triggered.  It was Maria Hill who came around the corner.

               “Gwen, nice to meet you officially, please follow me.  Director Fury is waiting.”

               Gwen stood up and followed her and they rode the elevator up to the top floor.  Maria led her to a corner office.  Nick Fury was sitting behind a big desk. He nodded to Maria who smiled at him and left the office.  The door closed behind Gwen ominously.  He motioned to a seat across from him.

               “Have a seat.”

               Gwen hesitated, this seemed like it was going to be one of those she gets yelled at situations, and she wasn’t feeling it.

               “This isn’t going to take that long, is it?  I have a lot to do today.”

               He stood up, leaned over the desk and pointed at the seat.

               “Sit your ass down.”

               Gwen sat down and mumbled.

               “Okay, sensitive.”

               He sat down.

               “You’re goddamned right I’m sensitive.  What part did the two of you amateurs miss about secret operation?”

               Gwen looked around.

               “Is this a safe place to have this conversation?”

               He nodded.

               “Swept for bugs and the office is soundproofed.  Now, tell me, how a simple in and out data theft turned into a building exploding?”

               Gwen blinked innocently.

               “Oh, don’t try that on me.  I know you were nearby, that Sheriff who ran your ID proved that much.”

               She sighed.

               “There were complications.”

               Fury’s one good eyebrow arched.

               “Complications, you don’t say, I’d say a goddamned building exploding with thirty agents dead is a little more than a complication.”

               Gwen’s shoulders slumped.

               “She ran into an AI on an old-style mainframe.  We did not expect that.  We thought it was just a terminal.  She got in without being detected.  The AI tripped the alarm.  Armed guards showed up and that’s when I lost the signal.  Next thing I knew the building blows up.  She somehow managed to make it out.  I found her mostly naked in a wooded area nearby.  Covered in blood.  She was unconscious until morning and isn’t sure what happened, and I lost feed, so I don’t know what happened.  She managed to get a spider bot on some copper cable, so we got some data, I’m just not sure how much.  I’m telling you this computer was ancient.  Almost as old as you.  It was slow.  Likely we only got what was being transferred back and forth to the active memory of the computer.  I don’t know yet because before I could analyze what we got, your personal attack dogs from Homeland Security dragged me in here.”

               He tapped his fingers on the desk.

               “Well access it now.”

               Gwen shook her head.

               “No, you think I’m accessing her secure server from inside a spy agency?  Hell no.  I don’t think I’ve ever been that stupid.  You want the data, let me go analyze it and send you what is pertinent.”

               “Why do you think you get to decide what is pertinent?”

               Gwen blinked a few times.

               “You don’t pay either of us, we don’t take orders from you.  You want all the data?  You send your own people into exploding buildings with armed guards.  You want her and I to do it you get what we give you.  So, either you get none of it, or you get what is important.  And by important, I mean anything that doesn’t compromise her identity.”

               She could tell by the frown he was annoyed.  He motioned towards his door.

               “Please get it to me as soon as possible.”

               Gwen stood up.

               “I’ll send you a text when I have it ready on an encrypted drive.”

               He nodded and watched her go.  Gwen mashed the main floor button in annoyance.  She was getting really tired of being SHIELD’s unpaid intern. 

Gwen decided to take the subway back to Queens.  After a very circuitous route that took her through alleys and businesses with two entrances, she reached her lair.  Which was untouched just as she expected.  Her spider bot had gotten some data but it was literally binary data so it would take time to break it into actual readable intelligence.  She sent her data spider off to do that and started reviewing the video footage from the bots.  The one she’d had watching the roof caught what looked like two missiles hitting the building just before it blew up.

               “One mystery solved…”

               She tried to get an angle on what happened after she blacked out.  She was sorely hoping it was just the explosion that caused her black out.  The problem was the timestamps didn’t match up.  She left the view of the bot in the computer room ten minutes before the building blew up.  The angle was bad so all she got was the audio of screams and gunfire.  She saw a shape appear in the doorway.  It was one of the guards.  He screamed when what looked like an organic whip with teeth wrapped around his neck.  He dropped his assault rifle and started tugging on the writhing bloodred tongue as it began to strangle him.  He was lifted up.  The tongue seemed to throw him up in the air then yank itself back suddenly.  The teeth on it acted like a saw.  Gwen turned away as his head was separated from his body; Blood sprayed everywhere.  She felt her protein bars coming back up and had to stop the video for several minutes.

Once she got over the gore she’d just witnessed, she returned to her desk and moved the video forward frame by frame and finally caught a full glimpse of whomever it was.  It wasn’t her as far as she could tell.  Whomever it was, was obviously female.  It looked like a mockery of her own costume.  The eyes were white.  The rest of it was black.  The edge of the hood looked like jagged white teeth.  The inside of the hood was a bloodred color that seemed to form into a tongue as it reached the neckline.  The long thin tongue ran the length of her body, and it was covered in what looked like large teeth.  She captured the image.  She let the video play forward.

               Gwen was in denial.  There was no way that thing could be her.  Whatever this was… it was a monster.  It could not possibly be her.  The black slime thing looked enraged and sounded feral.

               “What have you done to me?!?”

               Arnim Zola’s ascii avatar looked terrified.  As Gwenom’s claws dug into the white desk. He spoke.

               “We can discuss this.  Do you want a cure?  We can work together to find one.”

               It leaned further in, blood dripped from the toothy maw. Its voice sounded feminine but completely inhuman.  It was almost like two people speaking at once through one mouth.

               “Project Regrowth.  Black slime!”

               Arnim had a few false starts as blood dripped down his screen from her mouth and onto the camera beneath.  Then the green avatar’s eyes went wide.

               “You must be subject SW, the one from the serum tests.  Incredible… you’ve merged with the symbiote.”

               It growled.  Arnim spoke in a rush.

               “Of course, you did, of course.  We were attempting to create a superior super soldier serum with the ability to regrow lost limbs.  It caused… unstable mutation in the subjects.  Your blood acted as a stabilizing agent.  We’d managed to create a synthetic symbiote… with all the abilities and no intelligence of its own.  Unfortunately, it eventually killed the hosts with radiation poisoning even as it tried to keep them alive.  But it is obvious now, they were genetically incompatible!  Look at you the perfect unstoppable killing machine.”

               The audio distorted when it roared and then a tearing sound could be heard when it dug its claws deeper into the desk.

               “Out now!”

               Arnim just stared at her from the screen.  In response it ripped the desk in half.  That seemed to get him talking again.

               “With time we can find a solution.  I work for an organ-”

               It closed its fists and slammed the sides of the screen.  It roared a single word.

               “Now!”

               He responded with a stammer.

               “Then you need Cindy Moon she was the one who created the synthetic symbiote.”

               It snarled.

               “Where?”

               He spoke again.

               “I’ll need time to pull the information up.”

               At that point it turned as if it heard something.  The last image the video had was of it smashing through a wall like it was paper.  Then there was a flash, and the signal went dead.  Gwen stared at the screen capture she’d taken.  She could see how it looked like a dark twisted version of her costume.  She closed her eyes and turned away.  She could not go out and risk it happening again.  Who could she tell?  If she told SHIELD… if they saw the video. If Steve found out.  She would need to handle this on her own.  She opened the AI interface on her watch.

               “AI, I need you to use my backdoor through the FBI.  Use your digital skeleton key, I need you to tear apart SHIELD’s entire file system, emails everything.  Look for any references for Cindy Moon, Arnim Zola, Project Regrowth, any budget discrepancies.”

               “Of course.  The requested actions may take several days to complete.”

               “Be careful.  Do not trip their security.  Be a ghost.”

               The AI interface app displayed, Working.  Gwen tapped the holo-phone and rubbed her temples.  She opened her desk drawer and pulled out a burner and left her lair after locking the computer.  She rode the subway aimlessly finally stopping in Brooklyn.  She pulled out the phone and dialed the number Nick Fury had given her, she left a message.

               “It’s Gwen.  I have some information for you.”

               She hung up and wandered around Brooklyn for an hour before she received a response in text form.  It was an address in the Bronx.  She hopped on the subway and made her way there.  It was a hole in the wall African themed coffee shop.  She sat down across from him.  He motioned to a waitress who put an iced tea in front of Gwen. He reached under his chair and moved it closer to the table.

               “I wasn’t expecting to hear from you so soon.”

               “The news isn’t good.  All we got was a bunch of binary that is going to take weeks or months for my algorithm to sort out.  I did not find any information that was helpful to you know who.  What I found was the cause of the explosion.” 

She slid the burner over to him.  He looked at the picture on the front.

               “Those are drone launched missiles.  Likely SHIELD drones.”

               Gwen nodded.

               “I have some audio but the video just didn’t make it through.  Too much interference.  She encountered some form of AI that called itself Arnim Zola.  Said he was part of an organization.  The name of it was cut off.  She ran into heavy resistance, lots of gunfire.”

               Nick Fury’s good eye went wide.

               “You’re sure it was Arnim Zola?”

               “Yes, that part was clear.  It was archaic tech but the underlying code was complex.  I overheard the Sheriff when he was calling me in.  He and the deputy he was speaking to mentioned they’d seen the SHIELD logo before on trucks going in and out of that building.  The only other thing I can tell you is they had some secure storage areas full of stuff similar to what she ran into in the truck.  I hope that helps you at least.”

               He took a drink of his coffee.

               “It’s a place to start at least.  They’ll probably go deep again.  Someone finding their black site will have spooked them.  Good work.”

               Gwen blinked in disbelief.

               “Was that a compliment?  Does that mean you like me?”

               Fury finished his coffee off and stood up.

               “I tolerate you. If you get anything else let me know.  Iced tea is on me.”

               He walked to the counter and paid then left the restaurant.

Chapter Text

               Gwen was at yet another practice with her band.  They were coming up on the big charity concert Stark Industries and several other New York based corporations had organized.  It was going to be broadcast across the US.  Tickets and streaming profits were being donated to help the small businesses and people who were left homeless after the Chitari attack.  Gwen’s mind wasn’t in the game.  It hadn’t been in the two weeks since she found out that she was currently host to some form of parasite that was violent and seemed completely uncontrollable.  She’d pretended to be normal for the benefit of Adam, her Aunt May, Peter, Tony and other people in her life but she was feeling anything but normal.

               “Gwen!”

               Gwen blinked.  Lana was shouting her name.

               “What gives?”

               Gwen rubbed her face.

               “Song’s over?”

               Lana had her hands on her hips.

               “Yea, has been for five minutes.  What’s up with you?  You’ve been phoning it in for the last week.”

               Gwen shrugged.

               “Nothing.  Just having an off day.”

               Monica shook her head.

               “It’s not nothing, come on let’s talk about it.”

               Gwen put her drumsticks down and started to stand up.  Lana wasn’t giving up.

               “You’re obviously dealing with something.  What’s going on?”

               Gwen grabbed her backpack.

               “I’m fine.”

               Monica gave her a look of disbelief.

               “That’s not how someone who’s fine says, I’m fine.”

               Gwen stormed out.  She was starting to get angry, and she knew what that triggered.  Better to piss off her bandmates then to rip their heads off with that disgustingly long tongue.  Her wrist started vibrating.  She assumed it was her bandmates blowing up her texts.  She found a bench in the park near her walk-up and checked the status of the AI’s hacking of the SHIELD systems.  It still said working.  Since she’d launched it almost two weeks ago it has felt like her life was on hold.  She heard an explosion in the distance.  Then gunfire.  Then screams.  Gwen hesitated but she knew she couldn’t ignore it.  She ran towards danger while everyone else was running away from it.   Steve was right.  It was in her blood.

               The church, her church was the source of the disturbance.  Police had not arrived yet.  She heard more gunfire.  Gwen rushed up the stairs and was nervous because she didn’t have her costume.  As she was running up the stairs black ooze spiders started popping out of her skin and suddenly, she was engulfed in the same costume she’d seen on the video.  The difference was, she was in control.  Even her bracers solidified this time.  She shoved the doors open.  Sin-Eater was standing over Father Thomas, his vestments were bloody.  Other mass attendees were also injured.  The confessionals had been blown up. In the front of the church were the students from the local primary catholic school, none of them would be older than ten years old.  The Sin-Eater spoke.

               “Throw out anything tainted with evil.”

               He was leveling his gun at the children.  Gwen flicked her wrist and yanked the assault rifle out of his hand with a web.  She spoke loudly, quoting Matthew.

               “See that you do not despise one of these little ones.  For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.”

               All eyes in the church turned to Spider-Woman… or what she had become now.  All of the Sin-Eater’s focus was on her.  She yelled.

               “Run!”

               As she did so she leapt at the Sin-Eater.  Her fist connected with his armored face mask.  Denting it.  He stumbled backwards.  She realized she was much stronger with the symbiote than she had been before.  At least an order of magnitude.  He pulled out a pistol and she kept on top of him she reached her arm back and her fingers turned into wicked talons.  She swiped the hand holding the gun.  Her claws shredded his armor.  She saw Father Thomas’s fallen form.  She didn’t like church much, but she knew he was a good man.  She got angry.  Her mask shifted and the razorlike teeth appeared and split apart.  She snarled.  He drew a black combat knife with his good hand.

               “The Lord rebuke you!”

               She slammed his vicious stab aside and with her other hand slashed her claw across his metal breastplate.  The metal screeched as it was torn up by her talons.  His knife went flying.  The Sin-Eater stumbled backwards.  She stood over him ready to finish it she quoted her own verse from the bible.

               “For the wages of sin is death.”

               Father Thomas, who was somehow still alive, was speaking, trying to get her attention.

               “If you kill him, you will be as bad as him.  It’s not justice.”

               She looked at the father.  Sin-Eater who had lost all of his weapons and was bleeding from two claw wounds scrambled away and ran out of the church.  She looked down at the blood dripping from her clawed hands and let him go.  The weight of her refusal to go out as Spider-Woman was coming crashing down on her.  If she hadn’t come… those children.  Father Thomas was staring at her he looked terrified.  She could tell he wasn’t long for this world.  There was a lot of blood and the sirens were still sounding very far away.  She fell to her knees and the symbiote became a swarm of black spiders that oozed into her skin.

               “Gwen? You’re... you’re Spider-Woman.”

               He held out his hand.  She took it in hers.  Her fingertips were still covered in Sin-Eater’s blood.

               “I’m not sure what I am anymore, Father Thomas.  I’m so sorry I… I was too frightened to go out.  The thing inside me is dangerous.  I was afraid I would hurt people.  If I had… I might have been able to stop the Sin-Eater before he did this.  I was too late.”

               He looked up at her with his kind eyes.

               “Are the children safe?”

               Gwen nodded tears were forming in her eyes.

               “Yes Father.”

               He squeezed her hand weakly.

               “Then you were on time.  I wish… I wish…”

               He stopped breathing.  Gwen knew it was hopeless, but she tried anyway.  She put him on his back and started giving him CPR.  She didn’t stop until a firefighter shook her.

               “He’s gone kid.  You can stop.”

               He pulled her away.  An EMT rushed in the firefighter pulled her to the front steps of the church and helped her sit down.  He stood up and shouted something.  Gwen missed it.  Her brain just wasn’t working well at this point, so she was having trouble focusing on anything.  She was used to trauma but after the last month her brain was sort of giving up on her.  When she was able to focus again she noticed a female EMT looking her over.  Gwen was covered in Father Thomas’s blood.  Thankfully for her there were multiple witnesses that could verify the attacker was not her.   She wasn’t in cuffs so that likely meant no one saw her transform into… what was she now?  The EMT flashed a light in her eyes.

               “Are you hurt?”

               Gwen blinked a few times and shook her head.

               “It’s not my blood.  I’m fine.  I just need to get cleaned up.”

               The EMT frowned but nodded.  She stood up and waved her hand.  Detective Jean DeWolff, someone who Gwen was familiar with because she was her dad’s former partner.  She approached and sat down beside Gwen.

               “Hey Gwen.  I called your father when I found out you were here.  He’s worried about you.  You okay to answer some questions?  We have dozens of witnesses but they’re mostly kids, and we’re getting dozens of accounts.  Could you tell me what you saw?”

               Gwen shrugged.

               “Nothing.  I saw the Sin-Eater on Spider-Woman’s videos, so I recognized him when I saw him running out of the church.  I went inside to see if I could help.  Father Thomas had stopped breathing and had no pulse, so I gave him CPR.”

               Jean wrote down some notes.

               “Did you see who attacked Sin-Eater?”

               Gwen shook her head.

               “No, sorry.  He was bleeding.  His armor was torn.”

               Jean nodded and made an mmhmm sound.

               “Matches up.  Do you need a ride home?”

               Gwen shook her head.  Jean patted Gwen on the back.

               “I’ll check on you later.  Your father’s orders.”

               Gwen stood up and walked past the police tape.  She walked home in a daze.  She was in a daze until she started scrubbing her hands.  Then she started getting flashbacks to her blackout two weeks before.  Flashes of men’s faces showing utter terror.  Nothing concrete.  She threw her clothes in the hamper and got into the shower.  The blood from Father Thomas that had dried on her arms and legs turned the water running into the tub pink.  She wondered how Dr. Banner dealt with the aftermath of his rampages.  She knew she shouldn’t feel guilty.  They would have killed her, or worse.  She let the water run over her for what seemed like an eternity, her mother used to say, clean off the yuck.  By the time she got out the skin of her fingers was wrinkled.  She looked at them and remembered all the blood on them when she woke up after her rampage.  She pulled on fresh pjs and curled up on her bed after turning off her holo-phone.

               She was pulled from her tortured sleep by an unexpected noise from the common area of the apartment.  She rushed out ready for a fight.  When she saw her dad, she rushed over and hugged him.  He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly.  The stress of the last month drained from her in the form of tears.  He smiled at her.

               “If all it takes to get you to be my little girl again is to leave for a month.  I’m going to need to do it more often.”

               He kissed the top of her head.

               “I’m sorry hon.  If I’d known what was going to happen while I was away, I would never have left.  I spoke to Director Fury; He told me what you did for them and why you haven’t been able to visit your aunt, why you were out of contact so much.  Told me he’d ask the president to give you a medal if he could.”

               Gwen wiped her tears up and retreated to her room, she returned with two VIP tickets.  She offered them to her dad.  He took them and looked them over.

               “What are these?”

               “My band is opening for a charity concert this afternoon. I got you and Erica tickets.  I hope you can come.”

               He looked at Erica.  She nodded.

               “Of course.”

               Gwen hugged him again and kissed him on the cheek.

               “I need to get showered and ready to go.”

*****

               Gwen and her band played a fantastic show.  Fantastic for them.  She’d managed to keep focused for the whole performance.  The organizers had managed to snag the Radio City Music Hall.  They were finishing off their set when things went off the rails.  Gwen’s spider sense triggered just before an explosion rocked the building.  The lights went out briefly.  Gwen was forced to use a web to yank Lana back from a piece of falling debris.  People were starting to panic.  Gwen didn’t have time to really think about the choice she was about to make.  She sprang into action.  The symbiote engulfed her in a swarm of black spiders and she started yanking people out of the way of falling debris with her webs.  Bullets started to fly towards her which she parried with her bracers.  She looked for the source.

               The eyes on her new living costume narrowed.  It was the Sin-Eater.  She snarled.  His attacks were proving to be useless on her at a distance.  He launched a TX-01 cannister at the roof.  Spider-Woman had a choice.  Chase him down or prevent a collapse that would kill thousands.  She listened to her internal beat once again and started weaving a web to stabilize the roof.  She managed most of it but realized a piece had fallen past her web.  It was massive.  More than she could stop it was heading right for the section of the audience her father was in.  She flicked her wrists multiple times trying to grab enough of it to stop.  People were rushing away.  One little girl tripped and was left behind.  Gwen’s father turned back to help her.  Spider-Woman strained against the weight.  Her arms felt like they were being pulled out of their sockets.  Gwen’s father scooped up the little girl and managed to dive out of the way when Spider-Woman lost her grip and the section of roof hit the floor.  She stumbled towards the backstage and fell down.  She started crawling through the debris.  She’d overexerted herself and was paying the price.

               Spider-Woman was pulling herself up on a fallen lighting rig when she heard her father’s voice. He yelled, “Stop!”  She heard his safety release.  Then a gunshot.  She turned around suddenly and flicked her wrists, but nothing came out.  She had apparently used up whatever reserves her symbiote had.  She knew she could probably survive a bullet or deflect it.  There was no telling how her suit might react… it was a bullet hit that had triggered her bloody rampage before.  She couldn’t risk that, not with her dad.

               “Hands up!  Down on the ground!”

               Gwen was confused at what he wanted her to do exactly and tried pleading with him.

               “Come on, I just saved all those people, I saved the world.”

               He kept talking.

               “You’re under arrest for the murder of Ben Parker and the attempted murder of James Fisk.”

               She had a choice.  Run or risk getting shot and brutally murdering her father.  She decided to tell him the truth.  She let the costume soak back into her.  Her dad blinked in disbelief.  His gun’s barrel lowered.

               “Gwen?”

               She stepped forward and he aimed his gun at her again.

               “How long have you been lying to me?”

               Gwen lowered her hands.

               “Dad, it’s me, I didn’t hurt James Fisk that was someone else.  Just calm down dad.”

               She took another step forward. He spoke.

               “You have the right to remain silent.”

               “Dad please!”

               There was a loud bang.  Her father pressed the trigger.  Gwen flicked her wrist; It was a reflex and apparently the suit had regenerated at least some webbing.  Her father was pinned to the ground. She felt the bullet enter her chest.  Her father stared at her.  Horror in his eyes as she stumbled backwards.  More police were rushing towards the gunfire.  Tears started to drip down Gwen’s cheeks.  She felt the symbiote trying to come out.  Trying to protect her by dealing with the threats.  She didn’t trust herself to resist.  There was a burning pain in her chest near her heart.  She looked up through a hole in the roof.

               “Heimdall, Please I need help.”

               There was a flash of rainbow light and Captain George Stacy was left staring at the empty space where his daughter had been.  Knowing that he would probably never see her alive again because his bullet had struck her center mass, right where the heart would be, like he was trained.  The last words he’d spoken to her were her Miranda rights.  Her last words were her pleading with him.

Chapter Text

Earth – Rock City Music Hall

               Erica was with three other officers when she came upon her husband.  He was webbed and his hands were trembling.  He was staring at a spot in space just ahead of him.  She shook him.

               “George?  George?  Which way did she go?  Have you seen Gwen?”

               He looked at her and when their eyes met Erica saw a truly broken man.

               “George, what happened?”

               One of the officers who had accompanied Erica kneeled down and ran his fingers along the rune that had been burned into the cement floor.

               “What do you think made this?”

               Erica motioned at another officer.

               “We need an EMT to take a look at Captain Stacy.”

               The officer lifted his radio to his mouth and requested EMT to their location.  It took them several minutes to get him out of the web.  Erica took his service weapon with a gloved hand after verifying it had been discharged, she put it in a plastic bag offered by a crime tech.  The EMTs sat him down and checked him for signs of injury.

               “He’s fine to be moved.”

               Erica helped George out of the theater.  He gave her no resistance.

*****

Earth – Three days later, One Police Plaza, Interrogation Room Three

               Detective Erickson pressed record on the digital recorder.  He crossed his arms and looked across the table at Captain George Stacy.

               “Captain Stacy, you’re a decorated cop.  All you need to do is tell us what happened, and I can clear you for duty.  You discharged your weapon twice.  All you had to do was fill out the form.   Since you’ve refused now IA has to get involved.  You’re a good cop, lets just get this over with.”

               George folded his hands on the table and just stayed silent.  Erickson rubbed his face with his hands.

               “Are you refusing to answer the questions Captain Stacy?”

               George didn’t respond.  Erickson sighed and spoke to the recorder.

               “For the record, Captain Stacy has refused to answer any questions in regards to the discharge of his firearm and the failure to submit the required paperwork.”

               He tapped the button to turn off the recorder and left.  The deputy chief of police came in several minutes later and held out his hand.

               “I need your badge, George.  You’re suspended pending a formal investigation.”

               George offered up his badge and walked out.  Erica stood up to meet him as they walked out of the police HQ.  She looked up at him.

               “George, why won’t you just tell them what happened?  Or tell me?”

               Erica sighed as he stonewalled her again.  He hadn’t spoken a word to anyone.  She was the one calling every day to see if they’d found Gwen’s remains.  They were sure she was dead now.  The last person who saw her was her bandmate Lana who said she’d seen her when Spider-Woman pulled her out of the way of falling debris.  Erica didn’t know what to say or do to help George.  She’d never had a child.  She couldn’t even imagine what he was going through.  First his wife, then his daughter.

*****

Earth – Two weeks later, Stacy Apartment.

               Erica had watched George spiral into depression.  It’s like he wasn’t even trying to find his daughter’s remains.  She’d been calling ER’s where casualties had been taken for days.  He barely ate.  The IA investigation was not going well for him.  He just didn’t care.  It was like he’d lost all the will to live.  Even Tony Stark, who was basically just Gwen’s boss was showing more concern for her whereabouts.  SHIELD Agents had been asking around about her.  Her father hadn’t made a single inquiry.  Currently he was staring at the television.  The Daily Bugle’s morning show was on.  J. Jonah Jameson was talking about the terrorist attack on the charity concert.  She was getting tired of his zombie-like behavior.  She decided on a new tactic.

               “George.  Look at me!”

               His empty eyes looked up at her.

               “You need to snap out of this.  Your career is on the line. Your daughter is missing, possibly dead, and you haven’t lifted a finger to try and find her.  Do you even care about her?”

               She saw a spark of anger in his eyes.  Unfortunately, his reaction was one she hadn’t expected.  He walked to the apartment door and opened it.

               “Get out.”

               She stood there looking at him and he shouted.

               “Get out of my apartment!”

               She grabbed her shoes and stormed out.  He slammed the door behind her.

*****

Asgard – Bifrost Bridge Chamber

               Gwen appeared in front of Heimdall.  She collapsed into his arms.  He scooped her up and started running across the rainbow bridge.  He burst into the throne room.  Thor was speaking to Frigga.  Odin was nowhere to be seen. All eyes turned to Heimdall and the limp form he was carrying.  Frigga rushed over to him.  She lifted Gwen’s wrist.

               “There is still life in her yet.  Quickly Heimdall to the soul forge.”

               They rushed Gwen to a table.  Frigga motioned to the healers.  Four Asgardian women gathered around the table; A three-dimensional representation of Gwen’s body appeared over top of her.  They found and removed the bullet with ease.  It was lodged in her heart, and she would have died if they’d left it.  One of the healers pointed at something on the soul forges display of Gwen’s physiology.

               “What’s that?”

               Another looked closely.

               “It is a second life form that seems to have merged with her.  It has replaced the damaged tissue of her heart.  Filled in the wound.  Formed blood vessels.  It is keeping her alive.”

               A third inspected the read outs from the soul forge.

               “It appears to be similar to the Klyntar, however it is distinct.  It appears to be artificial. With no appreciable identity of its own.”

               The first spoke again.

               “She is healing at a rapid pace.  It is likely she would have survived her injury without intervention.  The synthetic Klyntar was forcing the projectile out of her body.”

               Frigga looked at the four healers.

               “The Klyntar are parasitic.  Dominating their hosts.  Can hers be removed?”

               The healers all looked at each other, the lead healer shook her head.

               “Not until such time as she is fully healed.  This one seems to be in a symbiotic relationship with the host.  It appears to have no intelligence of its own.  It seems to be feeding off of radioactive isotopes in her blood.  Creating feedback forcing radiation into her.  If she were a normal human, she would die quickly.  Instead, the radiation seems to enhance her natural abilities.  It seems to have merged with Vibranium and nanoscopic bots made of an unknown element.  The results of removing the parasite… symbiote would be unpredictable and we recommend against it.  We suspect her body has come to depend on it, as it depends on her for survival.”

               Frigga reached down and brushed Gwen’s hair out of her face.

               “Keep me informed of her condition.  You are not to speak of her physiology or the Klyntar with anyone, save myself and the all-father.”

               The lead healer looked troubled.

               “My Queen, why do you have such concern for this human?”

               Frigga smiled and said nothing.  She left them and went to the dungeons.  Loki was lounging on a couch watching something on the phone provided by Gwen.  He tapped the pause button, stood up and moved to greet his mother.

               “Mother. To what do I owe this visit?”

               Frigga frowned slightly.

               “Does a mother need a reason to visit her son?”

               Loki looked down seeming to be admonished by Frigga’s response.

               “No, I suppose not.  Still, we just spoke, something must bring you down here if you are here twice in one day.”

               Frigga nodded.

               “Your human friend, Gwen Stacy, is hovering between life and death.  I thought I should let you know.”

               Loki moved closer to the barrier that stood between the mother and son.

               “Who has done this to her?  Mother, release me so I may seek vengeance for her.”

               Frigga held up her hand.

               “Do not be so eager to alienate her from you, son.  Her father is the one who injured her.  She chose to let him rather than risk hurting him.  If you were to harm him, I suspect she would seek vengeance against you.  I’ve seen the smile you have when you are together.  You rarely show your true self, with her you do.”

               Loki began to pace.

               “Why would she choose to protect her father if he would attempt to kill her?  Is she mad?”

               A sad smile graced Frigga’s lips.

               “Her relationship with her father is not the same as the one with yours.”

               Loki yelled at her.

               “He’s not my father!”

               Frigga shook her head.

               “Then am I not your mother?”

               Loki lifted his hands.  He clenched his fists and looked away from her.

               “Will she live?”

               “Yes.  There is something else you should know.”

               Loki turned back to her.

               “You sound worried, what is wrong with her?”

               “Are you aware of the Klyntar?”

               Loki shook his head.  Frigga nodded.

               “They are a species of parasite that take over hosts and slowly kill them.  Evil creatures of the Realm of Midgard.  She has one inside her.  Or at least something similar.  The healers assure me it lacks any malignant intelligence, or any intelligence whatsoever.  Still, the stories I have heard, its presence concerns me.”

               Loki’s eyes went wide.

               “That is what I sensed when we met for the second time.  Is there any way to get it out of her?  I will do whatever is necessary, pay any cost.”

               Frigga frowned.

               “The healers tell me it is keeping her alive while she heals.  Taking the place of her heart, artery and skin.  Even once her body has healed it has grown dependent on it.  She may not appreciate its removal.  It is enhancing her abilities.”

               “But mother, you said they slowly kill their hosts.”

               “Yes.  However, the healers assure me this one is not killing her.  It may be benevolent.  Or merely has some self-preservation instinct.  I will keep you informed of her status.”

               “What does father think of you healing a human?”

               Frigga had been walking away.  She turned back to him.

               “He is unaware currently. Though he has declared her a Champion of the Nine Realms for her part in defeating you and your army.  He also said she was welcome in Asgard.  So, I suspect he will be more concerned that she was hurt in the first place.”

               “And how has she wormed her way into his affections so?”

               Frigga laughed softly.

               “She called him out on his treatment of you.  It takes a strong woman to stand her ground against your father.  I will see you tomorrow.”

*****

               Gwen woke up.  She was fairly surprised she was still alive.  She was in a beautiful blue silk dress that had an ethereal quality to it and she was laying on a bed that overlooked the ocean.  A soft breeze blew the wispy silk drapes.  She touched her chest.  Then she looked down and pulled her dress’s neck out.  There were no signs of the injury.  She stood up and leaned over the balcony and took a deep breath.  The air on Asgard was fresh, no hint of the stench of humanity.  She could see the bifrost bridge where Heimdall kept his watch from her room.  She realized she could see Loki whenever she wanted to, and she smiled.  She still did not understand why she was so infatuated with him, but the reason didn’t matter at the moment.  Just that she could see him again.  Two weeks seemed like it was too lengthy to not see him.

               It was easy for her to forget the mess she left back on Earth.  Her father was aware of her identity.  He had shot her.  Did he know she was alive?  How long did she sleep?  Time seemed to move differently on the realm of Asgard.  There were no cell phones.  No job to go to.  No band practices.  She looked at a table which had already been stocked with fruits.  She picked up an apple and took a bite.  The thing about the food on Asgard was it was better than Earth.  Apples tasted more like apples.  It was the same with their food and drink.  Also, there was no drinking age on Asgard, so wine was always on hand.  She heard footsteps and turned to see who was approaching.  It was Frigga who smiled warmly when she saw Gwen was awake and approached for a hug.

               “I am glad to see you are awake.”

               Gwen broke the embrace.

               “How long was I asleep for?”

               “A week and a few hours.  You were hurt very badly.  You should have died but there is another entity that exists within you that acted as your heart and lung to keep you alive.”

               Gwen sighed at the mention of the symbiote.

               “I am trying to figure out how to get it out.  I suppose that is on hold until I go home.”

               Frigga sat down on the bed and patted the spot beside her.

               “Could I speak with you candidly about your situation?”

               Gwen sat beside her.  Frigga took her hand.

               “Our healers believe that separating it from you would result in you losing the abilities that make you Spider-Woman.  There is further concern that it might kill you slowly.  Your body is becoming dependent on it, as it is becoming dependent on you.  In their opinion that dependency has reached a stage that separating you would kill both organisms.”

               Gwen’s shoulders slumped.

               “It makes me dangerous.  Unpredictable.  I did not want to admit it to myself, but I killed a lot of people, and I don’t remember.”

                 Frigga patted Gwen’s thigh.

               “As you so eloquently stated in my son’s defense.  If you were not in your right mind, then your culpability in the matter is mitigated.”

               “It doesn’t feel like it.”

               Frigga nodded.

               “Do not dwell on the past, you have no control over it, instead look forward and decide how you can do better.”

               Gwen looked at her.

               “I cannot control it.  I will always be a threat.  At least here I will never be in danger and then I will never have to defend myself.  I felt it wanting to hurt my dad.  Its like this rage once I get going… its like a runaway train…”

               “Yet you did not let it.”

               “Because Heimdall pulled me away before I could.  I knew if those police… if they showed up and had their guns out…”

               Frigga placed her hand on Gwen’s thigh again.

               “You will not solve this today.  Come, let us eat, then you can go see Loki.”

               Gwen nodded and followed Frigga out of what would be her new room.

Chapter Text

               Gwen had been in Asgard for a month.  Any lingering weakness she had from her near-death experience was gone.  She was in her favorite spot, leaning against Loki’s cell.  They had spent hours talking about anything and everything, except one topic.  The black gooey elephant in the room, or rather inside of Gwen: The symbiote.  Loki had broached the subject once.  Gwen had cut the conversation short so quickly that Loki feared she would not return, he definitely did not want to risk his one social outlet by broaching it again.  They had lapsed into a natural lull in their current discourse.  Just sitting there enjoying being near one another.  She knew he was far too old for her, yet she could not stop herself.  He glanced back at her.

               “How long will you be staying in Asgard?  You must miss your boyfriend?”

               Gwen sighed.

               “I am going to break up with him.”

               Loki’s eyebrow raised.

               “Is that so?  Is there perhaps someone else?”

               Gwen glanced back at him.

               “Keep dreaming.  I’d love to post this on social media.  Should I date him?  I (15f) have been talking to this guy.  He’s sixty times my age, he’s in prison for an indeterminate amount of time.  Oh, and he tried to kill me with a giant worm.”

               Loki chuckled.

               “You missed the upsides.  I am devastatingly handsome.  A fantastic conversationalist.  I’m a prince.  I’m witty.  I’m spontaneous.  I will age gracefully, and my mother adores you.”

               Gwen smiled and shook her head.

               “You don’t have a job.  You have no mobility.  No formal degree.  And you sound British.”

               Loki shrugged.

               “I don’t need a job, I am wealthy.  My incarceration is temporary.  And see statement one.  Finally, why is sounding British a downside?”

               Gwen smirked.

               “Well, for starters I’m Irish.  And if you knew anything about Earth history, you’d know the British and the Irish have a long history of animosity.  I’m also American.  So, there is the whole war of independence thing.”

               “You’re not from America?”

               Gwen made a face.

               “Of course, I am.  My mother was an Irish citizen when I was born.  So, I have an Irish passport.  I’d never move there.  Yesh.  My mom’s side of the family are well, let’s just say I come by my issues with the law honestly.”

               Loki laughed.

               “You come from a long line of criminals.”

               Gwen held up one finger.

               “Mostly rebels.  One of my ancestors is Grace O’Malley, the Dark Lady of Doona, The Pirate Queen and all-around bad ass.  Honestly, you look at any Irish rebellion my family played a part.  Maybe my mockery of authority is genetic.  My grandfather on that side would go on for hours about how we stuck it to the British.  He would not approve of you.”

               “Pirate Queen hmm? She sounds like an interesting woman.”

               “Oh, she was, there was one story where she wanted to go sailing with her father and he said her long hair would catch on the ropes.  So, she grabbed a sword and hacked it off.  The stories make her out to be an uncompromising woman, who would not take shit from anyone, even the Queen of England.  She was said to be quite the fighter.”

               Loki looked at Gwen again.

               “You admire her a great deal.”

               “Yes.”

               “Yet you fight criminals.”

               Gwen shrugged.

               “I admire what she accomplished and how she lived her life, not that she was a pirate.  Anyway, you and I would never work, ignoring everything else, we have nothing in common.  I love video games, you’ve probably never even heard of one.”

               Loki smiled.

               “I would learn about them, for you.”

               Gwen laughed so hard she held her side.

               “You, living a boring human life?  You wouldn’t even last a day before you started whining.  A month you’d be begging for your father to throw you back in this cell with all your powers.  A year you’d be contemplating suicide.”

               “I will take that bet.  What are the stakes?”

               Gwen turned to face him.  He did the same.

               “You’re not getting out of there before I die of old age, so a bet would be pointless.”

               Loki smiled that devilish smile of his.

               “You sound so sure of that.  If that is so, then what is the harm in a wager?”

               Gwen shook her head in disbelief.

               “You’re being silly.”

               Loki grinned.

               “You’re scared of a little wager.”

               Gwen waved her hand dismissively.

               “You have nothing I want Loki.”

               He looked her up and down.

               “Are you certain of that?  What if I could teach you magic?”

               Gwen rolled her eyes.

               “I’m not an Asgardian.”

               Loki smirked.

               “Neither am I.”

               Gwen quirked her head to the side.

               “What?”

               Loki shook his head and wagged his finger.

               “I propose a wager.  If I win, you agree to make a good faith attempt at a relationship with me and agree if it works out to be my Queen.  If you win, I will teach you how to harness Asgardian magic and dark magic.”

               “That sounds like a bad wager.  Mine is a lifelong commitment.”

               Loki hopped up and began to pace.  He kept glancing at her and tapping his lips with his index finger finally he turned to her.

               “Win or lose, so long as I live, I will give my word to stand beside you in defense of your world.”

               Gwen blinked several times.

               “So, wait, you’ll help Thor protect Earth.  All I have to do is agree to this bet?”

               He shook his head.

               “No, I’ll help you protect Earth.  My Brokher’s presence is irrelevant.”

               Gwen shook her head.

               “No, no, no.  There are a whole host of problems with this, not the least of which is you’re an adult and I’m a teenage girl. I mean logic says you’re grooming me.  I also can’t get into legal agreements…”

               Loki shrugged.

               “You are on Asgard.  We are more fluid in our beliefs and laws.  It is your choice.  Win or lose you get a benefit.  Win or lose, I will lose something.  It is a good wager.”

               Gwen felt like she’d regret it, but he would never be released from the cell in her lifetime, so it was a moot point.  She bit her lower lip.  Even if by some stretch of the imagination it came to pass she’d go on a few dates, it wouldn’t hurt anything.

               “So, you need to last as a normal human for one year, no powers, no help from Asgard.  No Asgard tech.  Just you.  My part is I will do my best to help you succeed.  If you cannot last that long, you will teach me magic.  If you can last that long, I will attempt a relationship with you.  Should you become king, I will sit as your Queen, if our relationship works out.  Win or lose, you will stand in defense of the Earth and its people for the rest of your life?”

               Loki nodded, he still looked like he thought he was winning.  Gwen couldn’t give up the chance no matter how remote at another powerful being to defend the Earth.  The Chitauri and Loki very well could have won if any of the Avengers hadn’t been present.

               “I agree to your terms.”

               She put her palm on the shimmering golden forcefield.  Loki matched her gesture.

               “Then it is a wager.”

               Gwen looked up at him.

               “Why do I feel like I’ve already lost?”

               Loki smirked.

               “We shall see.  What do you have planned for the rest of your day?”

               Gwen shrugged.

               “Go for a walk through the market.  Maybe sit by the ocean.”

               “Sounds boring.  You and I are alike.  You aren’t meant for a life of sipping wine and watching bad actors perform even worse plays.  Perhaps you should seek a more physical outlet?”

               Gwen made a face.

               “Why?  I’m juiced on super soldier serum.  I’ll always be in peak physical shape.”

               “So narrow minded sometimes, my future Queen.  You are a formidable foe with only your natural abilities, imagine if you honed them.  Learned to wield a blade.”

               Gwen motioned around her.

               “And who here would teach a human to use a sword?”

               Loki sat down on his couch, lounging back.

               “I would, if I weren’t trapped in here.  But many could.  I would start with my mother, if you are interested.  A Queen should know how to defend her throne after all…”

               “Keep dreaming old man.”

               Gwen made a face, stuck her middle finger up at Loki and walked up the stairs.  She looked like the odd one out in Asgard.  Wearing one of their flowing dresses and a pair of cyan Chucks.  She had to admit Loki was right.  She was going to get bored here.  Lazing about and having limitless food and wine was all fine and good.  She had to admit she could watch only so many plays.  She found Frigga teaching a lesson on the nine realms to a group of children.  Gwen sat on a bench beside the children.  Frigga acknowledged her presence with a warm smile.  She continued with her lesson.  Gwen was surprised when Frigga pointed her out when she started speaking about Midgard.

               “How lucky we are, we have a young woman the All-father himself declared a Champion of the Nine Realms, and Defender of Midgard with us this afternoon.”

               All of the children looked to Gwen.  She blushed a deep crimson.  She still wasn’t used to being called a champion of anything.  She looked around at the wide-eyed children.  Frigga then directed them to feel free to ask Gwen questions of her great victories.  Gwen felt put on the spot.  She had no doubt there was a plan behind Frigga’s actions.  Loki learned his ways from someone.  Gwen answered questions.  When she was telling them how she used her bracers to cause a shockwave that killed the giant Chitauri worm the bracers formed on her wrists.  There were gasps and cheers from the children.  Frigga eventually ushered the children out of the impromptu classroom.

               “Thank you, Gwen.  They will appreciate your stories in the times to come.”

               Gwen quirked her head to the side.

               “I don’t understand.”

               Frigga smiled and put her arm around Gwen’s shoulders.

               “Nor should you young Champion, you did not seek me out to speak of your glorious battles to my impromptu class, what troubles you?”

               Gwen bit her lower lip.

               “I was talking to Loki, and he suggested that I’d get bored if I just well did the normal Asgardian citizen thing and maybe I should ask someone to teach me how to use a weapon… swords.  He said I should ask you.”

               Frigga nodded.

               “I will happily teach you.  First you need a proper blade.  The one I gave you was functional but ceremonial.  Tomorrow first thing let us go to the armory and select one that suits you.  I will get my husband’s permission.”

               Gwen went about the rest of her day.  She was left to her own devices and no restrictions had been placed on her wanderings in the city or the palace.  Nothing was asked or expected of her.  She had at least been expecting some form of mandatory school, or do your part, but effectively the Asgardians treated her like an honored guest.  A rare few knew her name and she was often referred to as champion.  It felt like she was in a video game where no matter what name she had chosen she was champion, or hero to save on voice acting.  Her experiences were surreal. 

When morning came Frigga joined her for breakfast then escorted her to the armory.  Gwen wasn’t sure what to expect.  The room kind of reminded her of The Matrix when Neo said guns, lots of guns.  Only replace that with medieval weapons, lots of medieval weapons.  How she could choose one out of all of them she had no idea. 

Frigga watched her wander through the long rows of weapon racks.  Gwen did what she always did she fell back to music.  She started humming a song she had listened to way too many times on YouTube.  Eventually she started singing it softly to herself.  She was singing in the Old Norse.  Not that she could communicate in the language, but she remembered those words because the version she’d listened to was in that language.  It was called My Mother Told Me.  She would be here for hours finding something.  She was no weapons expert.  She started singing another song that had been dancing around her head since she’d arrived in Asgard the first time.  A song called Valhalla calling.

“Sails a swaying on the crimson rivers, blood and glory in the fighting fields.  Shields that shatter into splintered timbers.  Iron and Steel.  Fires are rising and the bells are ringing.  Glory take us into Odin’s halls.  Golden glimmer and the sound of singing.  Asgard’s Call.  Oh oh oh, the echoes of eternity.  Oh oh oh, Valhalla’s calling me, Oh oh oh, to pluck the strings of destiny.  Oh oh oh Valhalla’s calling me…”

She trailed off when she saw a sword.  It was a slip of a thing.  She reached her hand out and touched the dark blade.  It flickered with a magenta flame at her touch.  She didn’t snap her hand back, it did not burn her.  Frigga approached her.

“The blade of shadows.  Crafted by the Dark Elf Keth’her to slay the lover who scorned her, Malekith the Accursed.  The flame acts as iron to the dark elf flesh, it was infused with the venom of Lockan.  She wore it as a pendant and when she was close, she struck, but her blow was not true.  Or so the story goes.  Take it up.  It resists the Asgardian touch.  I have never seen the flame ignite.”

Gwen pulled the blade from the rack, it felt right in her hand.

 “Are you sure the All-father is alright with this?”

Frigga nodded and looked up at the ceiling.

“What was the spell to shrink it… it has been so many long years.”

She snapped her fingers.  And spoke two words that Gwen did not understand.  Frigga spoke them then asked Gwen to repeat them.  Finally, after several failed attempts to get the pronunciation right the sword shrunk to the size of a small pendant.  Gwen’s eyes went wide.

“Did I just use magic?”

Frigga nodded.

“Yes, but the magic is in the blade.  All you did was speak the words to activate it.  Now hold out your hand and will the blade to it.”

Gwen held out her hand and the blade appeared in it.  Frigga smiled.

“Now shrink it again.”

It took Gwen three attempts, she was still off on the pronunciation, it would take practice to get it right apparently.  The blade appeared in her palm.  Frigga smiled.

“Better, come.”

Frigga turned and walked out of the armory.  Gwen followed her.  As they walked Frigga spoke.

“You were singing to yourself, the last song, where is it from?”

Gwen blushed.

“Sorry, I just, I think better with music.  Uh… it’s from it’s about a video game.”

“My husband would like it; You should sing it for him.”

Gwen shook her head.

“Oh no, I couldn’t it’s much better if it’s the original creator.  I don’t sing.”

Frigga glanced at her.

“You lie to yourself as much as my son.  You two are so much alike.”

Gwen blushed.  Frigga had led them into the market.  She found who she sought.  It was a dwarf.  He bowed low when he saw her.

“Blessings of the All-father on you, Queen of the Nine Realms.  What can this humble metalsmith do for her majesty?”

Frigga smiled.

“So formal, Brok.  My young friend here requires a fine chain necklace.  Something durable enough to withstand battle.”

Brok chortled loudly.

“Battle, that slip of a thing?”

Frigga nodded.

“She is a Champion of the Nine Realms and has done battle with giants and monsters.  She needs something stronger than gold.  Even Asgardian gold.”

               He scratched his beard.

               “I have something.  I have been saving it for the right woman.  You say she is one of Odin’s champions?”

               “How else would a human of Midgard be walking the streets of Asgard with its Queen?”

               Brok blinked a few times.

               “A mortal, here?”

               He bowed his head to Gwen; He pulled out a shimmering golden chain of fine links.  It reminded Gwen of Odin’s staff.

               “I apologize Champion.  Here, I would be honored if you would wear this into battle.”

               Frigga held up her hand.

               “It is perfect, one more request, my old friend, the pendant, needs a loop forged around the chain to hold it.”

               Gwen offered up the blade of shadows.  He took it and put a jewel crafter’s lens over his left eye.

               “Is this, Adamantium?”

               Frigga nodded.

               “Such fine craftsmanship, such details on the blade.  Give me a few minutes.”

               He moved into his work area.  The pair of women were rewarded by their patience by Brok offering up the chain to Gwen.

               “May I Champion?”

               Gwen kneeled down.  He walked behind her and latched the necklace.  Gwen looked down at it, then to Brok.

               “Thank you, sir, it is the most beautiful necklace I have ever seen.”

               Frigga offered up payment in the form of metal slips.  Brok pulled the lens from his eye.

               “Wear it well Champion.”

               They bid farewell to Brok and headed back to the palace.  Frigga left Gwen by her room.

               “Now you are ready.  We will begin your training tomorrow.  I have matters that need attending.”

               “Thank you, so much, for everything.”

               Frigga smiled and nodded.  She headed off into the palace.

Chapter Text

               Gwen had sweat dropping down her face.  Training with Frigga was a whole new level compared to boxing with Steve.  She was fast and strong.  Even with her spider sense she was barely defending herself.  To add more stress to her training session this morning Odin was in attendance.  Frigga hadn’t told her this was where he went to relax.  He had been busy working with Thor bringing peace to the nine realms.  She’d been training with Frigga for four months.  Of course, Frigga won.  Gwen was at a disadvantage.  She was used to fighting with a different style.  Namely with webs.  Odin clapped.

               “It is a rare human who can last so long against the Queen of Asgard.”

               Frigga offered her hand to Gwen, she took it and accepted being helped to her feet.  Frigga looked at Odin with a twinkle in her eye.

               “Perhaps, you would like to see her at her full potential, husband.”

               Odin smiled.

               “Yes.”

               He motioned at several of the Guardians of Asgard who were training nearby.

               “Come.  I would see some sport.”

               Gwen blinked a few times.

               “I’m not sure that is a good idea, majesties.  I-”

               Frigga cut her off.

               “Nonsense.  Summon your bracers.  Let the All-father see why you should be counted amongst his champions.”

               Gwen focused her will towards forming her bracers.  Frigga had been urging her to try and gain more control over the symbiote while they trained.  Gwen still wasn’t fluid with making it form by force of will.  It was more of a reflex for her.  Gwen was facing off against ten of Asgard’s security force.  Gwen lowered herself into a fighting stance after returning her sword to its pendant form.  She was wearing light Asgardian armor in the form of a breastplate and pauldrons.  She had light plates on her legs as well. 

The first guard rushed at her and swung his pole arm. She shifted to the side, flicked her wrist out and yanked him towards her and did a spinning kick connecting with his chest.  There was a crack as she dented in his breastplate.  He fell backwards.  She danced between three more pole arm blows, flicked webs as she crouched to avoid another blow them leapt up to the ceiling and yanked her webs the three guards crashed together.  She flicked her wrist and caught another guard by the breastplate.  She yanked him towards her and launched herself at him.  Her foot caught him in the face.  She released the web and he went flying several feet.  She landed superhero style.  She backflipped to avoid two more polearms.  She crossed her arms and reached over her shoulders she launched webs at two guards and then yanked them forward.  They went flying through the air and crashed into a wall.  She flicked her wrists, webbing them up.  That left three.  Odin shouted.

“Skurge!  Join the fray.”

Gwen blinked as a larger Einherjar stepped up.  He had a very large axe.  Skurge started commanding the other Einherjar.  They attacked in unison and Gwen was forced to block several brutal axe blows with her bracers.  They were starting to glow.  Skurge was no average Einherjar.  She was having a bit of trouble now they were organizing their attacks and defenses.  Skurge made a fatal mistake.  He annoyed her.

“Come on little girl.  Let’s get this over with.”

Gwen threw her wrists back and the gauntlets formed.  She slammed her fists into the ground.  There was a crack as the marble fractured as she enhanced the kinetic-sonic blast with her own super strength.  All of the remaining Einherjar were thrown backwards and knocked out of the skirmish.  Skurge managed to stay up but slid back.  Bereft of his fellow Einherjar his axe was too slow to even come close to Gwen who flicked her wrist and yanked his feet out from under him with a web.  She leapt through the air, and she willed the sword to form in her hand.  When she landed, she had the tip of the shadowy blade pressed into Skurge’s neck.  He held up his hands and smiled.

“I like you.”

Gwen spoke the words to shrink her blade and offered her hand to Skurge who took it.  Odin was clapping again.  She helped Skurge up.  Odin motioned for everyone to return to their training.  Frigga watched with a sly smile.  Gwen still couldn’t get a read on the Asgardian Queen.  It was obvious Gwen had her backing.  Gwen wasn’t sure why.  Odin looked down at Gwen.

“You are indeed formidable.  Thank you.  It is rare that my Einherjar are tested these days.  They learned some valuable lessons.  You wield your blade well.  You chose wisely.”

He looked at Frigga.

“My wife, I would speak with you in private.”

Frigga looked at Gwen.

“Practice the forms I taught you.  I will expect improvement tomorrow.”

Gwen nodded and practiced for another couple of hours before deciding to call it a day and going to see Loki.  She brought her evening meal with her.  It was pretty common for her to show up still sweaty from her training sessions still in her armor.  She had grown accustomed to wearing it.  They finished their meal they resumed their back-to-back against the shield position.

“You seem tired, how did training go today?”

“Your father was there.  No one told me he spends time at the training grounds to relax.  He watched my whole session.  I felt like I was under a microscope.”

“Ah yes.  I am fortunate that learning my style of fighting did not involve the training grounds.  I am sure you impressed him.”

“I think I did.  He had me fight eleven of his guards.  Though he might be annoyed at me, I broke his floor.”

Loki laughed.

“Well at least now I know why you hitting me with that blasted hammer hurt so much.”

Gwen lapsed into silence and her eyes closed, as ridiculous as it was, being near him made her feel safe.  Loki was talking then he noticed Gwen wasn’t answering.  He looked at her and realized she’d fallen asleep.

“Yes, mother’s training does have that effect on people.”

He stood and picked up a book then sat in a chair.  He’d read a few pages and glanced in her direction.  His mother’s form shimmered into existence.

“Loki have you seen Gwen?”

Loki smiled and motioned towards Gwen’s sleeping form.

“You have exhausted her mother.”

Frigga looked relieved.

“A darkness has entered the halls of our palace.  I was concerned when I could not find her. She will be safer down here.”

Loki stood up.

“Mother?  What has happened?”

“It is what may happen.  Keep her occupied down here if she wakes if you value her safety.”

               Loki nodded.  Frigga’s illusion faded out.  He sat but put his book aside and his brow furrowed.  He saw a pair of marauders who had been brought in earlier in the day staring at Gwen’s sleeping form in a way he did not like.  He glared at them and spoke.

               “Careful where your eyes travel lest they be carved out of your skulls.”

               Loki paced back and forth behind Gwen.  His threat didn’t seem to have the desired effect. He closed his eyes and his form shimmered into existence behind the two marauders and spun a dagger in its hand.  They stumbled backwards from his illusion.  It shimmered out of existence.  Loki’s lips twisted into a wicked grin.  The marauders who had been eyeing Gwen decided to find other things to be interested in.  Loki continued to pace behind Gwen.  He was slowly relaxing, then he saw a flash of red from the cell across from him and the barrier holding the marauders collapsed.  He pounded on the barrier that kept him in his own cell.  He shouted.

               “Gwen!  Wake up!”

               Gwen began to stir but wasn’t quick enough.  The marauders who had been eying her rushed towards her.  Loki narrowed his eyes.  An illusion appeared they just rushed through it making it fade out of existence.  He pounded on the barrier.  One of the marauders reached down to grab Gwen.  Loki spoke.

               “I wouldn’t do that if I were you?”

               The marauder laughed at him the instant his hand touched Gwen’s chest her eyes snapped open.   Her new symbiote powered suit formed around her.  The tongue wrapped around the marauder’s arm.  Gwen wasn’t in her right mind.  She’d gone straight from sleep to being sexually assaulted.  The tongue shredded the marauder’s arm. Tearing it off of him.  Because the symbiote was in full control.  Its talons extended and she started ripping the marauders limb from limb.  Loki couldn’t look away from the absolute carnage she or rather it was unleashing.  She’d told him about her fears of what this new hybrid her was capable of, now he understood.

               One of the marauders had almost escaped but the symbiote controlled Gwen launched itself at him and grabbed him from behind.  Her talons tore through his armor and sunk into his chest.  It ripped.  Tearing his ribcage in half causing his organs to fall to the ground.  His scream of terror cut short.  Loki had turned away.  Then he heard a roar.  It had gone after a massive marauder, Loki realized it was no marauder but a Kursed warrior of the dark elves.  The Kursed warrior caught Gwen’s form by the neck and rammed her into Loki’s cell.  The symbiote tried desperately to pull the monstrosity’s massive hand from around its neck. 

The lack of oxygen snapped Gwen’s brain out of whatever fugue state it had been in.  She wasn’t even sure where she was or what was going on.  She did know she couldn’t breathe.  She reached her hand down and willed her blade into existence.  As it finished enlarging it pierced the creature’s gut.  There was a sizzling sound as the magenta flame started to burn its flesh.  It dropped Gwen and howled in pain.  Gwen and her sword fell to the ground.  Loki waved his hand and Gwen vanished from the beast’s sight.  It stumbled backwards and looked around.  Swatted the air a few times then turned its head as if hearing a call from elsewhere and stormed up the stairs.

Gwen held the back of her head and groaned.  The beast had managed to snap her back with its overwhelming strength so while she could use her arms her legs were not responding to her.  She couldn’t feel her legs.  She panicked.  Loki crouched behind her in his cell.

“Gwen, are you alright?”

Gwen shook her head and her mask soaked into her body tears were dripping out of her eyes.

“I can’t feel my legs.”

Loki punched the barrier between them.  Every part of Gwen was in pain.  She looked down at her hands.  They were covered in blood.  Her head began to turn towards the results of her symbiote’s rampage.  Loki cried out.

“Gwen, look at me.”

He was too late.  She turned away.

“It happened again.  Were they Asgardians?”

Loki touched the barrier by Gwen frustrated because he could not comfort her.

“No, they were marauders.  The one that nearly killed you was a Kursed.  A dark elf super soldier.  Something beyond even my brother.  It was you or them.  Obviously, your symbiote chose you.”

The palace shook.  Loki looked up as small pieces of rock fell from the dungeon’s rocky ceiling.

“That is impossible the shield… this must have been a precursor to an attack by the dark elves.”

Gwen tried to stand up again she’d started to get feeling in her legs. She pushed herself up.

“I need to help.”

Loki started shaking his head.

“No, you must stay here, Asgard can defend itself.”

Gwen rubbed the side of her head then bent down to pick up her sword she spoke the command word to shrink it.  She leaned on the barrier between her and Loki.  He put his hand over hers.

“Please, listen to me. You are not prepared for this, it is war.  You will need to kill them to stop them.  You’re not ready for this.”

Gwen looked at him.

“I will not stand by while innocents are dying.”

Loki punched the barrier.

“You couldn’t even stand five minutes ago.  You need to stop.”

The black mask and hood formed and her bracers took shape.

“Like the man says: Never give up, never surrender.”

She pushed herself off the barrier.

“See you soon.”

Loki watched her leave, powerless to stop her.  Spider-Woman ran up the stairs.  The palace was in chaos.  Sounds of battle were everywhere.  When she ran into a squad of armored dark elves, they initially didn’t seem to understand what they were seeing.  She got the jump on them.  She tried webbing them up but the spikes on their armor combined with their strength managed to cut her webs.  This left her at a disadvantage because she hadn’t been expecting them to get free so quickly.  She was forced to block several red energy blasts from their weapons.  She ended up resorting to her sword. She stabbed one and his flesh began to sizzle, and the dark elven woman screeched and clawed at her chest.  Her body was engulfed in magenta flames and disintegrated.

Spider-Woman stared at the remnants of the dark elf.  She was in shock.  One of the other dark elves shouted something in their language. The rest of the squad dropped their weapons and bolted.  Whatever this sword truly was, it was an anathema to them, Frigga had been right.  Spider-Woman hadn’t been prepared for the impact of taking a life.  She hadn’t meant to kill the elf just wound it.  She kept the sword in her hand, the magenta flames still licking off the blade.  She let her suit collapse into her when she heard Thor’s voice.  He was fighting a group of dark elves.  When they saw Gwen emerging from the shadow of some rubble, they shouted and fled.  Apparently, word of the blade had spread throughout their ranks.  Thor looked at her.

“Gwen Stacy, you should get to safety.”

She held up the sword.

“They fear this, they will not fight me.”

Thor looked in the direction the squad he had been fighting had fled, then nodded.

“Quickly, there are civilians in danger.”

He motioned to the city.  Gwen nodded and rushed in that direction.  She came upon a group of children cowering from a squad of dark elves.  She lept into action and landed in between the children and the firing squad.  She blocked every single one of their blasts.  She ran at them and kept blocking them.  She finally reached the leader of the squad, when the blade swept through him, he screamed and burst into magenta flames.  She spoke the words to shrink the blade then formed her gauntlets and slammed her fists together.  All the energy blasts she’d blocked turned into a sonic-kinetic blast of energy.  The dark elves who had remained of the squad were blasted back.  They smashed through the walls of a nearby building and were not moving.

Another squad of dark elves came rushing towards her and the children.  She willed the blade to form again and looked towards them.  They started firing a stream of red energy blasts at her.  She weaved through them and blocked what she could not evade until she was on top of them.  She flicked her wrist and grabbed their leader; A web stuck him in the chest, and she yanked him towards her.  The blade swept through his neck.  At this point where her strikes with the weapon were muscle memory.  She wasn’t really thinking about it as killing them so much as stopping them from hurting the nearby children.  Loki had been right.  She wasn’t ready for it.  There was a flash of magenta flame and the body disintegrated.  The other dark elves began to flee back to a waiting drop ship.  All over the city the ships were lifting off.

Gwen shrunk the sword and rushed back to the children.  She kneeled down in front of them.

“Are any of you hurt?”

She looked at each in turn.  They were a bit dirty and scruffy looking, but none seemed to have more than a few scrapes and bruises.  Gwen heard armored bootsteps and she spun around and reached out her hand.  The blade of shadows formed in her hand.  It was a squad of Asgardian troops.  At their head was Skurge.  He held up his hands to his men.  Gwen looked quite the sight at that point.  Her armor was splattered with blood from the marauders in the dungeon.  Her hands were red with it.  She was coiled and ready to strike.  Skurge spoke.

“We’re all friends here, lass.”

Gwen stood straight and summoned her sword back to its pendent form.  The troops behind Skurge visibly relaxed.

“They’ve buggered off for the time being.  You should return to the palace.  We’ll take care of the children.”

Gwen looked back at the children and smiled.  She recognized two from the question-and-answer session with Frigga.  Gwen walked towards the palace.  The destruction caused by the sudden attack was widespread and indiscriminate.  The palace doors had been smashed by a crashed dark elf attack craft.  She hopped up the rubble and slid down the other side.  Everywhere she looked were dead Asgardians.  She started running through the palace.  She was seeking out Frigga.  She would tell Gwen what to do, how she could help.  The throne room was empty.  She reached Frigga’s chambers. 

Gwen saw her new mentor was dead.  Blood trickling from her mouth.  Thor and Odin were staring at her remains.  There was another woman behind Thor rubbing his arms.  Gwen’s hand went to her mouth and tears began to drip down her cheeks.  She could not imagine being the one to find her mother’s body.  Gwen hadn’t seen her mother’s body after her death, but her imagination had conjured it into her dreams. Thor looked at Odin.

“Someone will need to tell Loki.”

Odin looked at one of his guards who was standing near the room’s exit, his eye focused on Gwen.  She spoke before he could.

“I will tell him, All-father.”

He nodded to her.  She did not rush towards the dungeon.  This was not a task she was looking forward to, but she understood in a way only a child that had lost a parent to violence could.  Tears were still slowly dripping down her cheeks.  Whether it was because she’d become attached to Frigga, or because she knew how Thor and Loki were feeling she could not say.  Loki saw her and rushed to the barrier that had so often separated them.  She put her hand on it.  He did the same.  He saw her tears.

“What has happened?”

Gwen looked into his eyes.

“Loki, your mother was killed during the attack.”

Loki’s eyes went wide.  She saw it, the same look she imagined she had in her eyes when her father told her about her own mother.  He stumbled backwards.  Clenched his fists and all of the furniture in his cell crashed against the barriers.  Gwen knew that rage.  She called out.

“Loki, stop.  Loki!”

He looked at her.  Tears falling from his own eyes.

“I know what you’re feeling right now.  It will not bring her back.”

Loki stormed towards her.

“You dare presume to know how I’m feeling?  What do you know of death?”

Gwen let his tone go.  She knew it was just grief talking.

“My mother was murdered just over a year ago.  I know exactly what you’re feeling, but you cannot undo this.  You want to hurt the dark elves.”

He pounded the barrier.

“Your bloody right I do!  I’m stuck in this cage and they… they walk around free!”

Gwen put her hands on the barrier she wished she could hug him, do something, do anything she could to calm the brewing storm inside him.  She’d gone down the road he was contemplating.

“Loki, I’m going to tell you something I wish someone had told me six months ago.  Before you walk the path of vengeance, dig two graves.”

Loki looked at her in disbelief.

“What is that nonsense?”

Gwen leaned her forehead against the barrier.

“It means revenge will always cost you more then you should pay.  It might cost you everything.”

He paced back and forth.

“What do you know of vengeance?”

She closed her eyes and kept her forehead against the barrier.

“When my mother was murdered… I was angry.  I’m still angry about it.  Then I got these powers.  I looked for the man who had done it.  The police were doing nothing.  So, I took matters into my own hands.  I found him.  I chased him down and I webbed him up.  I was ready to beat him to death with my bare hands.  I was so close…  It has cost me everything.  My Uncle Ben, a second father to me was killed during the chase.  My cousin… my friend who was like a brother to me has sworn he will kill Spider-Woman, he’s… lost now.  I can’t reach him.  My father… now my father knows the truth and he shot me rather than let me get away.  Do not let your lust for revenge destroy what you have left.”

Loki looked around his destroyed cell.

“Tell me Gwen, what do I have left?”

She lifted her head to look into his eyes again.

“You have your life.  You have hope you will be free one day.  And I hope you consider whatever this thing we’re doing between us worth keeping.  Because I do not want you to die.  I’ve already lost too many people.  You’re basically all I have left now.”

Loki held up his hands.

“I need time.”

Gwen held up one hand in a sort of farewell.  She did not look at the aftermath of her symbiote’s berserker rage.

Chapter Text

               Gwen stood to the right of Loki.  His hands were shackled.  They stood beside Thor and Jane Foster.  Gwen was in her armor; It had been cleaned and polished after the battle.  She had a war skirt on.  She would have preferred a dress but her actions during the battle with the dark elves and the aftermath of the dungeon escape had cemented her as a warrior in the eyes of the Asgardians.  Her days of being considered just a human child to the citizens of Asgard were over.  The entirety of the population of Asgard were gathered for the funeral of Queen Frigga and the rest of the fallen. 

As Queen Frigga’s funerary boat passed Gwen put her hand on Loki’s shoulder.  Frigga looked every bit the warrior queen even in death.  A flaming arrow was launched, and her boat burst into flames.  Then more were launched igniting the rest of the fallen.  Odin slammed his staff down and as the boats passed the horizon and fell into space the bodies became stardust and floated up into the void.  Then glowing blue orbs were released and floated up and up.  Then one by one the mourners turned away and walked back to the city.  When it was their turn Gwen and two guards walked Loki down to his cell.  They released his bindings.  Before he went back into the cell Gwen put her hand on his cheek.  He touched it with his own hand.

“I am sorry, Loki.  If I had known… if I had known she was in danger I would have rushed to her side.”

Loki released her hand and stepped back into his cell.  The barrier shimmered into existence and the guards left the pair alone.

“If you had, the Kursed would have killed you.  Even when you were not limited by your morals and ethics you were no match for him.  She would have wanted you as far away from her as possible.”

Gwen turned and leaned against the barrier and slid down it.  She looked at the dungeon.  It had been cleared of the dead and the blood was gone.  Loki joined her so they were back-to-back.  They sat there in silence.  Gwen did not know what to say and Loki was still lost in his grief.  Even so they were content to be silent together.  Both looked up when they heard footsteps.  Fandral came around the corner and looked at Gwen.

“Gwen, your presence is requested at the war council.”

Gwen blinked a few times.

“Why?”

Fandral shrugged.

“The king says, I do. Come along.”

Gwen looked back at Loki.

“I’ll be back as quickly as I can be.”

Loki nodded to her.  She followed Fandral through the palace.  It was still in shambles.  It had only been a few days since the battle.  Hardly enough time to repair the extensive damage.  Odin, Thor, and the other Warrior’s three were looking at a hologram of Asgard.  Fandral hurried up the steps it appeared it was his part of the briefing.

“We have not been able to repair the shield.  Our gunners cannot see the ship, they could be floating up there right now.  We are vulnerable to attack.”

Odin waved his hand shutting the hologram down.

“Are the Einherjar prepared?”

Volstagg stepped up.

“As prepared as they can be.”

Hogun spoke up.

“The bifrost has been locked down.”

Thor was pacing back and forth.

“Father we should be taking Jane Foster to the dark world.  Malekith is intent on getting the Aether.  He will return and many will die.  If we take her to the dark world, we can lure him out, when he removes the Aether from her it will be vulnerable.  We will destroy it.”

Thor closed his fist.  Odin didn’t seem to be in agreement based on his expression.

“And if you fail?  The conjunction is at hand.  With the power of the Aether he could cast all the realms into darkness.  No, we will keep her here.”

Thor threw up his hands.  Gwen stood back and said nothing.  She still wasn’t sure why she was here.  Odin’s gaze fell upon her finally.

“Gwen Stacy, Champion of the Nine Realms, step forward.”

Gwen stepped closer.  She was still confused.  She was still a fifteen-year-old girl regardless of what the Asgardians thought.

               “You have proven yourself in battle many times over.  You will join the warriors three and Thor at the vanguard of our defense."

               Thor stepped between Gwen and Odin.

               “Father, she is a child.  We should be sending her home.  If we fail and Malekith gets the Aether, that is where he will make is attack on the realms.  She can warn them.”

               Odin frowned.

               “Her return to Midgard is quite impossible with the bifrost shut down.  Even if it was not, her place is here now.  She earned it.”

               Gwen blinked a few times, the dark elves attacking Earth, without a warning they would not stand a chance.  So soon after the attack by Loki and the Chitauri.  She spoke up.

               “All-father, if we fail Earth will be the last line of defense.  I have to go home and warn them what could be coming.”

               Odin waved his hand dismissively.

               “You will incite a panic, and for what?  An attack that will never come?  We will stop them here.  We were unprepared last time.”

               Thor grabbed his father’s arm and spun him around, so they were facing each other.

               “At what cost father?  Look around you.”

               Odin smashed his staff into the ground.

               “Every last Asgardian if need be.”

               Thor shook his head.

               “And how does that make you different then Malekith?”

               Odin stood up straighter.

               “I will win.”

               Odin looked at everyone in turn.

               “You have your duties.  Dismissed.”

               Thor did not look happy with the outcome.  Gwen wasn’t really ready to argue with Odin, not a few days after his wife died.  Communicating with her own father after her mother’s death even over a year later was fraught with pitfalls.  She spoke quietly to Thor.

               “He’s grieving for your mother.”

               Thor nodded.

               “I know, but he is a king, he is not allowed time for grieving he has his people to consider.  Nor is he allowed to put his lust for vengeance before their safety.”

               Gwen glanced up at him.

               “And you putting Jane’s life above the safety of the rest of the Nine Realms is any better?”

               Thor continued walking on without responding.  Gwen gave up and went back down to Loki’s cell.  She was over it at this point.  She could not get home.  Even if she could, she did, she felt ill at the thought of facing her father again.  She leaned on the barrier with her forehead again. Loki spoke.

               “What did my father want?”

               Gwen didn’t open her eyes before speaking.

               “Just to update us on the status of Asgard’s defenses.  No shield.  No way to see their cloaked ship.  Basically, Asgard is like Germany at the end of World War Two with a leader too blinded by arrogance to see the end coming.”

               “My father is being himself and he no longer has my mother to temper him.”

               Gwen sighed.

               “The bifrost is closed and I have no way to warn Earth.  Malekith is going to get the Aether and he is going to go there.  They won’t even see it coming.”

               Loki moved closer, lowering his voice so only she could hear it.

               “Hope is not lost to you, my future Queen.”

               A group of Einherjar walked by and Loki lapsed into silence.  Gwen looked up at him.  They continued speaking when the patrol passed.

               “There is another way?”

               Loki nodded.

               “If the time comes, I will tell you of it.  We are not there yet.”

               Gwen leaned back on the barrier and slid down it.

               “I am so tired Loki.”

               He leaned against the barrier behind her.

               “Then sleep.”

               Gwen’s breathing became rhythmic, and Loki left her alone.  A few hours later Thor appeared.  He looked at Gwen’s sleeping form. Then to Loki.  Loki didn’t hold back.  Thor hadn’t even spoken to him at their mother’s funeral.

“Have you come to gloat dear brother?  Mock me?”

Thor frowned.

“No.”

“Well in your absence from my cell you certainly weren’t protecting our mother.”

Thor’s eyes narrowed.

“Neither were you!”

Loki punched the barrier.

“I was in this cell.”

Thor glared at him.

“You put yourself there with your actions!”

Gwen stirred in her sleep.  Loki glanced at her and moved away.  He lowered his voice.

“What do you want, why are you here?”

Thor moved away from Gwen and spoke in low tones.

“Our father is mad with grief.  He is blinded by it.”

“And that matters to me how?  You’re here because you need something, and you must be truly desperate if you’re asking me for help.”

Thor pointed at Gwen.

“Do you care for that human?”

Loki waved his hand dismissively.  Thor shook his head.

“If you do then you will help me.  Father intends Gwen to be on the front line of the defense of Asgard.  Her actions in the dungeon, during the battle with dark elves, and most importantly she can wield a weapon that is death to them have made him think she could make a difference.  She is a child.”

“You have my attention brother, what do you need?”

“I offer you vengeance.  Malekith seeks the Aether.  I say we take it to him.  When he extracts it from Jane, we destroy it, then him.  I need you to help us escape Asgard.  You know the secret paths.  Then you return to this cell.”

Loki glanced at Gwen.

“Only if you help her escape Asgard as well.  She will need access to the burial chamber of Fenris and the berserkers.  Something only, you and father can grant.”

Thor looked disgusted by the thought.

“Dark things roam the halls beneath the burial chamber.  Beyond her kin.”

“You have my cost.  Pay it and I shall help you.”

Thor looked at Gwen.

“You mean to kill her?”

Loki shook his head.

“She is in no danger from what lingers in the catacombs.  She faced the Kursed warrior and not only survived but managed to draw its blood.  Wake her please.”

Thor looked like he disagreed, but he kneeled down beside Gwen and shook her gently.

“Gwen wake.”

Gwen blinked a few times.  It took her a couple of moments to recognize her surroundings.

“Thor, is there any attack?”

He shook his head.

“My brother bid me wake you.  I will let you speak with him in private.”

Gwen stood up and looked at Loki.

“What is going on?”

“You are going home.  Listen to my instructions carefully…”

Loki related the path she should take through the burial chamber past Fenris into the catacombs below.  He assisted her in building out a map on her holo-phone.  Thor returned and lowered the barrier.  Gwen looked between the brothers.

“What are you doing Loki?”

Loki touched her cheek with his palm.

“Paying the price for your freedom, my future queen.  May I borrow your necklace?”

Gwen stepped back from him.

“Loki, your father was merciful, if he finds out you escaped…  he might have you executed.  You’re going with him to help with Malekith, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

Gwen clenched her fists.

“I told you what vengeance costs and you’re still doing it?”

Loki held out his hand.

“Your necklace please to remind me what I have left to lose.”

Gwen reached back and unclasped her necklace balled it up in her palm and slapped it down in his.

“You better give it back to me.”

“I will.  Now go with Thor while I prepare for our journey.  Follow the path and you will get home.”

He winked at her.

“See you soon.”

Thor led Gwen to a piece of wall which he touched with his palm.  It slid open and a set of stairs led downwards into darkness.  Thor motioned towards it and offered Gwen a pack with the belongings she had collected in her time on Asgard.

“You can still choose to ignore Loki’s foolishness.  There are dangers beneath our feet that not even the All-Father is willing to face.  These paths are forbidden for a reason.”

She looked up at Thor.

“Thank you for your concern.  I trust Loki.”

Thor frowned.

“Your trust is misplaced.”

               “He is not as lost as you think.  See you around.”

Chapter Text

               Gwen started down the stone steps.  This was obviously not the main entrance to the burial chamber.  She wasn’t sure what she was going to see.  She pulled out an Asgardian light globe.  It cast a glow somewhat akin to moonlight and she released it.  The ball floated beside her.  The burial chamber was so massive Gwen couldn’t have imagined it.  Everywhere she looked were the armored remains of an Asgardian warrior of old.  Their numbers seemed incalculable.  The only sound was her breathing and echo of her armored bootsteps against the stone floor.  Everything was completely still.  In truth she felt like if she made too much noise, she might wake the sleeping dead of the place.

               A massive shape formed in the murky darkness.  As she got closer the light globe illuminated a shaggy shape.  It was a giant wolf.  It was the size of a transport truck.  Maybe even taller.  Its black fur was patchy.  It lay curled up as if asleep atop a massive stone platform.  Beside his remains were weapons and shields.  She whispered his name in her awe.  Fenris.  She had heard the legends.  Fought a Fenris or two in video games.  Seeing the real creature that inspired them was something she would never forget.  She wanted to touch his fur but thought the better of disturbing the corpse, lest she disturbed his rest.  She moved past him and several urns that surrounded the stone block on which he rested.

               Her goal was a secret door in the rear of the chamber behind Fenris.  The guardian of which would be Gwen’s main barrier to getting home.  She could still turn back.  Loki had warned her that she would need to face hard truths to succeed.  She approached the secret door, which appeared to be a section of the burial chamber wall that was covered in Asgardian runes.  She pressed them in the order provided by Loki.  The stone shifted and complained but eventually it slid down.  Gwen stumbled backwards when her mother shimmered into existence in front of her.

               “Go back to Odin, Gwen, you don’t belong here.”

               Gwen stepped back again.

               “You’re dead… you can’t be here.  You’re the guardian.”

               Gwen backed up further and ran into the stone block holding Fenris.  Her mother cupped her face in her hands.  Tears were starting to drip down Gwen’s cheeks.  Her mother kissed her forehead.

               “You don’t belong on Earth Gwen.  You are too dangerous.  Go back.”

               Her mother’s touch felt so real.  The kiss was her mother’s.  This wasn’t possible.

               “You…  I need to go.  They need to know what is coming.”

               Her mother wrapped her arms around her.  Gwen sunk into the hug.  It felt so real.

               “Why would you want to leave.  You can see me whenever you want, if you just stay here.”

               Her spider-sense started screaming at her.  Gwen shook her head.  This wasn’t real.  Loki told her it wasn’t real.  He wouldn’t lie about this.  She ducked under her mother’s arms and backed away.

               “You’re trying to keep me here.  It’s the trap Loki told me about.”

               Her mother’s form shifted and her face caved in.  Her arm was twisted in a way it shouldn’t.  She was naked and blood dripped down her thighs.

               “You want to leave me?  Like you did on Earth?  Like this?”

               Gwen closed her eyes and turned away.

               “Why do you think they even want you back?  You failed me.  You couldn’t even get revenge for me.  You just let him live.  And you are friends with the man who allowed it?  You still speak to my husband who let them go unpunished?”

               Gwen shoved her mother away when she felt hands on her again.  She fell against the wall.

               “No!  You’re not real!  And if you were my mother, you would never say you wanted me to get revenge.  She would want me to be happy!  She would want me to speak to dad.  She would want us to be okay.  She’s not like you!  She would want me to go warn Earth because no matter how much I don’t want to go and face my father it is the right thing to do!  Get out of my way or cease with these illusions and fight me!  I need to get home.”

               She felt no further touches.  She opened her eyes and a shimmering gold apparition stood before her.  It was a tall woman in ancient Asgardian armor with a round shield strapped to her back and an ornate spear in her right hand.  She would have been beautiful in life.  The apparition stepped aside and spoke.

               “Go, Champion.  Follow the path and it will lead you home.”

               Gwen stepped past her cautiously.

               “That’s it?”

               The apparition nodded.

               “Your mother would not want you burdened by guilt, child.  Face your fear or it will consume you.”

               Gwen hopped further down the stairs glad to be away from the burial chamber and the memories of her mother.   Loki had been wrong.  It had been worse than he told her it would be.  She also admitted to herself if he’d told her what she was going to face she might not have come.  He had also warned her that rock trolls wandered the halls beneath the burial chamber.  She decided it was best to climb across the ceilings where she could.  Her experience as Spider-Woman taught her early on, people rarely looked up.  What she knew of rock trolls specifically was they were thuggish, unintelligent and boorish.  Mostly based on Asgardian stories.  What she was seeking was a portal to Earth that existed on an island in molten lava oceans beneath Asgard.  Inaccessible without some form of flight, or other trickery.

               During her travels she was reassured with her choice to stick to the rocky cavern ceilings.  She passed over several troll and dwarf settlements.  None seemed the wiser to her passage.  It didn’t make her passing any less panic-inducing.  There were a lot of them and every single one of them was physically her superior in all ways.  She felt like she was in one of Peter’s Dungeons and Dragons games.  He’d often put the group into situations against impossible odds that would force them to find alternative solutions.  Part of her wished she could tell him all about this.  He’d lose his mind.  He loved fantasy stuff.  The fact that she’d talked to real dwarves, real elves, fought real dark elves…

               She finished traversing the last of the massive caverns.  Loki’s map had been spot on.  He must have prepared this as an escape route in the past.  It was the only explanation of how he knew what was down here. She ran into an impassable barrier in the form of a forest of stalactites with razor sharp points. She dropped down onto the cavern floor.  It was getting much warmer.  She realized that she was getting close to her objective.  She started to rush across the cavern.  Her spider sense triggered, and she skidded to a halt just in time to avoid getting caught up by a net after she triggered a trip wire.  Two dwarves rushed out.  They were dirty and looked like they’d been toiling in the depths for a long time. They had spears.  The one closest to her spoke.

               “Yer not a cave warg.”

               Gwen smiled as innocently as she could.

               “Your right, sorry about your trap just passing through.  Kind of dangerous to just drop it in the path like that, don’t you think?”

               The dwarves looked at each other and shrugged.

               “The trolls will pay us enough for you we’ll eat for weeks!”

               Gwen sighed and got ready for a fight.  Things were about to get started in earnest when she heard a familiar voice.  Brok walked out behind the dwarves.

               “Lads.  You should have stuck with the wargs.”

               One of the dwarves looked back at Brok.

               “What are you on about?  She’s a kid!  Trolls love em.  What’s she going to do?  She doesn’t even have a weapon!”

               Brok hefted his axe over his shoulder.

               “That tale I spun you about the Champion of the Nine Realms that butchered escaping marauders so messily that hardened Einherjar threw up when they witnessed the carnage?  This is her.  So, unless you want your innards scattered about this cave you best let her pass.”

               The second dwarf pointed at Gwen.

               “This one ripped a troll’s ribcage open with her bare hands?”

               Brok nodded.  The two dwarves lowered their spears and backed away.

               “We didn’t mean nothing by it lass, just a joke.   Harmless joke.”

               His partner laughed nervously while making sure he was out of arm’s reach of Gwen.  She passed the two dwarves and looked down at Brok.

               “Not that I don’t appreciate the help, but what are you doing down here?”

               “Just gathering materials for my trade from the miners, figured with the uh, situation it was safer here then above.  What are you doing down here and away from the safety of the palace?”

               Gwen motioned towards the cavern exit.

               “Going home.”

               Brok’s eyes went wide.

               “Past the molten lake?  Surely that is suicide.”

               Gwen shrugged.

               “I have a particular set of skills.”

               She winked at Brok and gave him a wave before heading deeper.  When she could resume her path across the ceiling of the passages she climbed up.  She reached the lava ocean.  It was so vast it reached the horizon.  She slipped her light globe into her backpack.  The lava cast enough light she could navigate by it.  She followed the landmarks Loki had laid out for her.  She also used her holo-display to keep her heading steady.  It took another hour before she reached the island.  It looked like it was once part of a much larger structure.  Only the doorway with a shimmering portal still existed.  She lowered herself to the island below with a web.  It was a fifty foot drop and as much she was pretty sure she could make the jump she didn’t really want to risk missing the landing, because she was one hundred percent sure lava would melt her limbs off.

               Gwen landed on the metal island.  It was built of bricks that had a similar look to her sword.  The shimmering portal seemed to shift through all the colors of the rainbow.  Looking through it was like looking through a window into another world.  On the other side was a cave she couldn’t make out details because it was dark and the lava’s glow was not bright enough to pierce it fully.

               She reached out to touch the portal and snatched her hand back.  She had this flash of it shutting down and cutting off her hand.  Sweat was dripping down her brow.  The heat from the lava was intense and she could feel herself baking.  She closed her eyes and jumped through the portal.  She landed on the rocky floor of a small cavern.  She felt the cavern shake and debris fell around her.  She scrambled to her feet and started to rush.  Being buried alive was not on her to do list today.

               Her holo-phone started going crazy.  It was vibrating as she climbed up further.  She opened the holo-display and a flood of text messages and emails were streaming in.  Wherever she’d ended up she was near a cell tower that recognized her as an account holder.  She was encouraged by that.  It meant she was somewhere in North America.  The cave network shook again which urged her onwards.  This time she heard metal against metal.  This told her she was somewhere that had a subway.  That narrowed down her location greatly.  Once she got a bit closer to the surface her GPS kicked in and she was shocked to see she’d ended up under Manhattan. 

After another half an hour she encountered an old rusty steel door.  It was sealed.  She slammed her shoulder into it repeatedly and she burst it open.  Bricks fell to the ground on the other side.  This led her into a disused Subway tunnel.  It looked like it hadn’t been used in decades.  She ran into a chained steel gate.  She grabbed the chain and yanked.  The links complained and ripped apart. She dropped the chain and walked up the stairs behind it.  She encountered another locked door which she kicked. The metal door wrenched, and she was able to slip out of it.  On the other side was the subbasement of New York Presbyterian Hospital.  She made her way along the service tunnels until she found a stairwell.  She climbed up the stairs until she reached the main floor.

Gwen looked out of place as she walked through the hall of the hospital.  In her short red war skirt.  Knee high plate boots, chest armor, pauldrons and long bloodred cloak.  Thankfully she had no weapons so at worst she looked like a cosplayer.  It didn’t really phase her she had grown accustomed to wearing it.  She wasn’t sure what she was going to say to explain her absence for so long.  Who knew her secret now?  It was dark out, but even for late August it was muggy.  She was already missing the perfectly comfortable temperature in the palace.  She started towards home.  She didn’t want to show up in the armor and she was pretty sure she had time to get changed.  She also wasn’t sure SHIELD would let her go once she got there.

She climbed up the wall and opened her window.  She crept into her room and knelt beside her hope chest.  She sighed when she noticed it was already open and her old costume was missing.  She started gathering up a fresh set of clothes.  She could see the light of the TV flashing in the living room.  Heard a laugh track.  Gwen closed her eyes and peaked around the corner.  Her dad was passed out on the couch.  The apartment was a mess.  Take out containers with rotting food piled high on the counters and dining room table.  It reminded her of the apartment after her mother’s death.  She closed her eyes and shook her head before heading into her room and stuffing the clothes into her pack.  She’d ditch the armor and backpack at her lair.  Home was not safe anymore.

She was climbing out the window when the light came on.  She flicked her wrist when she saw the shadow of what looked like a gun and continued to leave.  She heard her father’s voice.

“Not even going to look at me?”

Gwen turned towards him with her eyes narrowed.

“What… what’s that?”

Gwen frowned.

“I’m looking at you.”

He rubbed his face he looked gaunt.  Like he hadn’t been eating.

“Can you just talk to me?”

Gwen turned away from him.

“What’s there to talk about?  You tried to arrest me and you shot me.  I think you said everything you needed to say already.”

He leaned against her doorframe.

“Gwen, I thought you were dead.”

Gwen shot him an angry look.

“I almost was.  What is this?  You have back up on the way?  Delaying me so you can arrest me?  Maybe shoot me again?”

He held his hands up in surrender and walked back into the apartment.  The look on his face crushed Gwen.  She looked out to the street below then glanced at her wrist.  She closed her eyes and let the air rush out of her mouth.  She slipped her legs over the windowsill and walked into the apartment.

“Dad?”

He looked at her.

“You made your feelings clear Gwen.  I’m sorry I’ll let you go.”

She looked at the side of the couch.  He had pulled her old costume out.  She picked up her mask.

“You’re a good cop dad.  I was just trying to do what you would do.  Help people.  Protect them.”

He sighed.  Gwen clutched her mask in her hand and shook it at him.

“I tried dad.  I tried.  I have all this power, all these abilities.  I can save the world, but I can’t save the ones I care about the most.  What was I supposed to do?”

He looked at her.

“Gwen, I always taught you to follow the rules, do things by the book.”

Gwen slapped her mask down on a corner of the living room table.

“I tried dad.  I tried to do it like you would.  But everyone is so corrupt.  What was I supposed to do just let mom’s murderer get away with it?  If you think what I did was so wrong, arrest me. Go ahead.”

She held out her wrists.  He turned away.

“I can’t.”

               “Why?”

               He kept looking away.

               “I’m suspended, probably fired soon.  After… after I shot you, I realized that my job, Erica, none of it meant anything without you.  You’re the best thing I’ve ever done.  I thought I’d lost you.  I just…  I’m sorry. I should have listened to you.”

               Gwen flicked her wrist and pulled him towards her with a web.  She hugged him tightly.  He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her.  She spoke while she was hugging him.

               “Dad, I need to go.  There is something coming, and the Earth is not prepared.  Its why I came back.  I need to warn SHIELD.”

               He broke the embrace and looked at her.

               “You need to go fight, don’t you?”

               “If I need to.  I hope Thor and Loki succeed so we don’t need to.  I will be back as soon as I can.  I love you.”

               She started towards her window.  He rushed after her.  He had her old costume in his hands.

               “Forgetting something aren’t you?”

               She smiled.

               “Help me out of my armor?”

               She held her hair aside.  It was much longer than it had been when she had left.  He helped her undo the straps.  He left so she could get into her costume.  She pulled him close for another hug.  She crawled out of the window and formed her bracers.  She began swinging through the city.  She felt lighter than she had in a long time.  She landed in front of SHIELD headquarters.  It didn’t take long for agents to rush out.  She waved.

               “Hey there boys.  Director Fury in?”

               One picked up a cell phone and started dialing.  Spider-Woman called out to them as she launched webs to swing away.

               “He knows where to find me!”

               She made her way to the top of One World Trade and sat down, looking over the edge.  It took Fury thirty minutes to show up.  He looked exhausted.

               “You couldn’t just wait for me at headquarters?”

               Spider-Woman laughed.

               “What fun would that be?”

               He leaned on a light tower and did not look over the edge of the building.

               “You’re about as funny as a root canal.  What is this all about that couldn’t wait until morning.”

               Spider-Woman hopped up.

               “You’re looking a little bit green there, are you afraid of heights?  Or are you secretly an alien?”

               He frowned.

               “You brought me here to joke?”

               Spider-Woman held up her hands.

               “Fine, if you want to be that way, there is like a group of dark elves on their way here on a cloaked ship so they can bring about eternal darkness to all the nine realms. Destroy life as we know it… ect ect.  Or well not here, here, more precisely to where the focal point of the celestial alignment is happening.  Which I predict is somewhere in Europe… or near there based on the location of the last one.  It was a long time ago.  Things have changed a lot.”

               Nick stood in silence for several moments.

               “How the hell do you know that?”

               She shrugged.

               “Because Gwen and I just escaped Asgard because it was locked down after an attack by those dark elves.  They got their asses kicked, as in Asgard did.  So, you had better start making calls. We’re pretty screwed.  Well unless Thor and Loki succeed in their mission.”

               “Slow down, Loki?  As in the Loki that tried to conquer the Earth with an alien army?”

               Spider-Woman nodded.

               “Isn’t he in prison?”

               “He was, Thor and I broke him out.”

               Fury sounded pissed.

               “You what?  Do you know how dangerous he is?”

               “Yup.  Which is why I was happy to send him after the dark elves.”

               Fury shook his head.

               “You can’t make that call.”

               Spider-Woman stepped back towards the edge.

               “I didn’t, I just didn’t argue with Thor.  Anyway, gave you my warning.  Look for gravity disturbances and you’ll find the focal point of the alignment.  See you around cyclops.”

               Fury leaned over the edge as Spider-Woman stepped down the glass.

               “You’re not going to help?”

               “Bad idea!  Gwen can’t either.  Loki has her sword.”

               “Why is it a bad idea?”

               Spider-Woman gave a two fingered salute and back flipped off the building and vanished towards the streets below.  Nick sighed and pulled out his phone.

Chapter Text

               Gwen woke up and had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.  She had slept in her own room for the first time in months.  Or at least months for her.  She heard something sizzling in the kitchen.  Her dad was in shorts and a T-shirt from her school.  He was making eggs.  He’d cleaned everything while she’d slept.  He smiled at her.

               “I called the school this morning.  Apologized for the delay.  They registered you.  Helped me set up a payment plan for your tuition.”

               Gwen shook her head.

               “I can pay for it dad.”

               He put some eggs and bacon on a plate for her and put it on the table.

               “You should save your money.  Your job…”

               Gwen shrugged.

               “I’m sure Tony will understand when I explain what happened.”

               Her father sat down with a coffee and his own plate of food.

               “Does he know about you?”

               Gwen shook her head.

               “Only you, Steve, Captain America, and Adam…  I didn’t want to tell Adam, but he figured it out after the tunnel.”

               He nodded and started eating, he finished his plate and poured another coffee.

               “So… where were you?  I… mean you didn’t call.”

               Gwen glanced upwards.

               “Have you ever heard of Asgard?”

               He blinked a few times.

               “As in the Norse gods?”

               Gwen nodded.

               “Yea, I don’t know what SHIELD told you but when I vanished for two days back in July, I was there and when… after what happened I knew I needed medical treatment I couldn’t get here so I asked for help.  No cell phone reception there and… I wasn’t sure I ever wanted to come back after what happened.”

               He looked at his coffee and nodded.  He looked like he was about to apologize again.  Gwen shook her head.

               “Don’t dad.  Just don’t.  Both of us made mistakes.  Let’s just accept that, forgive each other and try and move on.  Like mom would want.  I just watched a family disintegrate because of people refusing to forgive each other.”

               She looked around the apartment.

               “Wait, where is Erica?”

               Her father looked uncomfortable suddenly.

               “We… uh separated.”

               “You better call her and apologize right this minute.”

               He didn’t look up at Gwen.

               “Things were said.  Why do you think it was my fault?”

               Gwen raised an eyebrow.

               “Because I know you dad.”

               The land line rang.  Her dad got up and answered it.  He had a short conversation.  He looked a bit surprised as he hung up.

               “I uh, they just ended my suspension and apologized.  What did you do?”

               “Nothing.  It must have been SHIELD.  I’m betting they don’t want Gwen Stacy telling everyone she was in Asgard…  I suppose it’s the least they could do.  I mean I crossed an ocean of lava, probably earned myself a lifetime ban from Asgard as well as a cell right beside Loki and Thor if I ever return, just to warn them the dark elves were coming.”

               He put the phone down.

               “I think… I think maybe we should set some boundaries because I don’t think I can handle knowing half the things you do.”

               Gwen shrugged.

               “Up to you dad.  Probably best considering how amazingly handsome the light elves and Asgardian men were.  You’re okay with being a grandfather to a demigod, right?”

               His cheeks went bright red.

               “I really can’t hear this.”

               Gwen smirked.

               “I’ll stop as soon as you call Erica and apologize.”

               He sighed.

               “And I thought you were a handful before you went and got superpowers.”

               He picked up his cell phone and typed in a text message and looked at Gwen.

               “She’s screening my calls.”

               Gwen stood up and went to her room.  She brought up her phone’s holo-display and tapped Erica’s contact to make a video call.  It rang three times before Erica picked up.  Erica’s face appeared and she looked pissed.

               “George, I told you…”

               She trailed off when she saw Gwen’s face.

               “Heya stepmom.”

               Erica opened and closed her mouth a few times before narrowing her eyes.

               “Where have you been?  We’ve all been worried sick about you!  Except your… oh my god.  He…”

               “It’s classified.  Sorry.  It’s not dad’s fault.  I know he screwed up, but he was really upset about me.  It is really complicated but he couldn’t say anything to keep me safe.  I’m fine.  I have been fine, I just… was someplace where there was no internet, phone lines or cell phone network.  So, I couldn’t say anything.  Will you give him another chance?”

               Erica frowned.

               “It’s going to need to be a really good apology.”

               “I promise I’ll make sure it is.”

               Erica looked Gwen up and down.

               “How’d your hair get so long so fast?”

               Gwen bit her lower lip.

               “It is really classified.  Sorry.  I wish I could explain more.”

               Erica raised an eyebrow.

               “Does this have something to do with that funky rune thing burned into the cement?”

               Gwen made a zipper motion over her lips.  Erica grumbled.

               “I knew those SHIELD suits were stonewalling me.  Don’t you ever vanish on us without a trace again.  I need to go call your dad.”

               Erica disconnected the call.  Gwen looked at her phone.  She didn’t have many friends, so she only had a few calls to make.  Adam, the band, Miles and his mother.  Of course, there was her Aunt May.  What about Steve?  Did he even know she had vanished?  Would she still have a job with Stark Industries? She sighed and pulled on some clothes and her Chucks.  She peaked out of her room.  Her dad was sitting on the couch talking on the phone.  He looked at her and she blew him a kiss then popped into her room.  He rushed in to see her hopping out of her window.

               Gwen decided to go see Aunt May first.  Instead of walking in like she usually would she knocked on the door.  She glanced up at the new roof and smiled.  At least that got done.  May opened the side door and her hand went to her mouth.  She opened the screen door and hugged Gwen.

               “Gwen!  We were so worried about you.  We thought you…  what happened?”

               Gwen hugged May.

               “I’m sorry Auntie May I’m not allowed to say.  I was safe and well taken care of, I was just somewhere I couldn’t get a message out.”

               “Come in, come in.  You’re so skinny did they feed you?”

               Gwen laughed softly.

               “Yes, Auntie they did.  I’m sorry I wasn’t there for your surgery.”

               May started buzzing around the kitchen.  She yelled upstairs.

               “Peter!  Peter! Gwen is here!”

               Gwen sighed.

               “That’s probably not a good idea… we aren’t really doing great.”

               Peter came down the stairs in a rush.  He engulfed her in a hug.

               “I was so worried about you.  We thought you were dead.”

               Gwen closed her eyes and hugged him back.  She’d missed him.  She had a few tears forming.  She broke the embrace and wiped them away.

               “Sorry.  I was… somewhere else.”

               Peter gave her a nod and a knowing look. That confused her quite a bit, but she sat down and ate the cookies May put out.  They caught her up on the neighborhood news.  Eventually Peter said something that caught Gwen off guard.

               “Aunt May, I need some fresh air.  Gwen, want to go for a walk?”

               Gwen blinked a few times but nodded.  The pair pulled on their shoes.  Once they were talking Peter looked at her.

               “I know the truth.  Your dad shot and killed Spider-Woman and those SHIELD people, and the NYPD locked you up to keep you quiet.  It’s okay you can tell me.”

               Gwen looked at him.  She realized that was why he was in such a good mood.  If Spider-Woman was dead… she wasn’t helping her anymore.

               “No that’s not what happened.  I don’t know what happened to her.”

               “How… your hair is so long?  What happened to the pink?”

               Gwen hadn’t really considered how six months of hair growth would look considering how short she’d kept it recently… well on Earth recently.  She frowned.  She could lie here or she could go with mostly the truth.  She chose the truth, hoping that it might get things moving in the right direction with him.

               “Look Peter, I can tell you but if you tell anyone…  It would be really bad.  You know Thor?”

               Peter was invested now of course he was.

               “Yes.  The only one that did not speak out about how great Spider-Woman was.  What did your disappearance have to do with him?”

               “I got caught up in a… there is this bridge… a wormhole Thor uses to get back and forth to Midgard… Earth.  They grabbed Spider-Woman, I was right beside her.  Dad did shoot someone, but he missed them and hit me.  In the heart.  The only way she could save me was to pull me to Asgard.  I’ve been there recovering since.  Good news is I’m healthy, the bad news is it took me six months, but thankfully, time passes faster there than here.  So that’s why my hair is so long.”

               Peter nodded.

               “This is what I keep telling people but no one will listen!  She is dangerous.  People around her get hurt.  She’s a killer.”

               Gwen sighed.

               “Okay true.”

               He looked at her and grabbed her arms.

               “Is she back?”

               Gwen shrugged.

               “I don’t know.  She Thor and Loki were going to deal with the dark elves… they attacked Asgard, killed the Queen... lots of people died and they could be coming here.  I was sent to warn SHIELD about them.  It was so frightening.  I had to cross this lava ocean, sneak through troll and dwarf settlements… It was like one of those D&D games we used to play.  I just want to go back to my normal life.  No bullets in the heart.  No gods, no monsters and no ghost guardians that torment me with visions of my dead mother.”

               Peter hugged Gwen tightly.

               “I’m here for you.  I’m sorry I was such a jerk…”

               Gwen hugged him back.

               “What is MJ going to think of us being friendly again?”

               Peter shrugged.

               “She’ll understand.  She knows her place in our relationship.”

               Gwen blinked a few times before releasing the embrace.  She didn’t feel like getting into it right now but she was definitely not cool with his words or his tone of voice.

               “Look Peter.  I have to go.  I hurt a lot of people by just vanishing into thin air.”

               He nodded.  They parted ways. 

Chapter Text

Gwen headed to her lair in a roundabout way.  She’d finish her calls from there.  When she finally sat down at her computer, she rebooted everything.  She procrastinated for half an hour before she called Adam.  He picked up.  She heard traffic.

               “Hey, what’s up?”

               Gwen heard a woman saying something to Adam in the background.

               “Adam, its Gwen.”

               The shock in Adam’s voice was evident.

               “Gwen… wait… I thought.”

               He switched the call to video.  Gwen saw an attractive girl behind him.  She was asking.

               “Who is that, Adam?”

               Gwen turned on her video.

               “I just wanted to-”

               The lights in Gwen’s lair flickered.  Their call didn’t get interrupted, but it was definitely a degradation in service.  She realized he was in London she saw the bridge behind him.  She did a quick mental calculation based on a conversation she’d had with Jane Foster while they were in Asgard together.  Her eyes went wide.

               “Adam.  Turn off all your electronics and get somewhere safe.”

               Adam looked confused then the ground shook behind him.  The girl he was with screamed.

               “Adam go, hurry.”

               The call disconnected.  She quickly shut down all of her computers and accessed the AI on her holo-display.

               “Go to whatever minimal settings you have.  Now.”

               The AI complied.  Gwen shutdown her wrist band and rushed out of her lair.  Jane had suggested the celestial alignment might cause electromagnetic interference.  Gwen had assumed it would be localized to the epicenter.  She had been very wrong.  She rushed home and quickly started turning off all of the electronics in her house.  Her father and Erica were staring at her.  Gwen didn’t say anything until she made sure everything they had was turned off.  She turned to them.

               “You two should head to the station, there could be brown outs and black outs.”

               Her father looked at her.

               “Gwen?  What’s going on?”

               She gave him a look.

               “Dad, just trust me.  Okay.  Please.”

               Erica gave George the strangest look when he stood up.

               “She’s right.  We should go.  I did see the lights flicker a few times.”

               “George its summer and it’s hot as hell out, of course there are power issues.”

               Gwen’s father was already getting his shoes on.  Erica seemed frustrated but followed suit.  Once they left Gwen tugged on her old web shooters and her costume.  She was sure if she kept her interventions to just showing up and asking people to reconsider their actions, she could avoid any unwanted symbiote induced ultraviolence.  She hoped nobody decided to get brave and try to fight back.  She launched into action.

               Things were good for about forty-five minutes.  The brownouts were happening more frequently. Eventually it started becoming black outs.  Things degenerated after that.  Interruptions to cell phone service, radio and other communications were interfering with emergency services response times.  Spider-Woman was kept very busy.  Looters, people stuck in elevators, cats stuck in trees.  She was at it for what seemed like hours.  The only real help she had was Miles, but he was keeping to his neighborhood.  She didn’t have to worry too much about Manhattan, the feds and police had that locked down pretty tight.  At least she didn’t think she had to worry about Manhattan.  She was continuing her patrol when a cop flagged her down.  She was dubious about approaching him but he seemed pretty insistent.  She landed beside him.

               “What’s up, officer?”

               He pointed down the street past a giant snarl of traffic.

               “We have a silent alarm from the MET.  We’re not sure what it is about.  Not even sure how we got it.  Just a cut off emergency call about alien weapons.  We can’t get anyone on site soon enough to make a difference.”

               Spider-Woman nodded.

               “I got it.  Good luck with this mess.”

               She gave the officer a salute and launched herself into the air.  She swung between the buildings and with an acrobatic flip she landed in a dancer’s pose in front of the MET’s grand entrance.  She could hear shouting and screams.  People were rushing out.  A woman who was near hysteric saw her and rushed towards her.

               “There are three summer camps worth of students in there Spider-Woman.  They have those laser guns the aliens had.  You need to help.”

               Spider-Woman held up her hands.

               “I got this.”

               She adjusted her Uru bracers and walked through the front door like she owned the place.  People were starting to pull out their phones once they realized she was about to throw down with the criminals inside.  She shook her head.  She wouldn’t turn on her electronics at this point if she could help it.  She didn’t have time to warn them.  She heard children crying out and shouts of shut up.  That was all she needed to hear she started charging toward the disturbance.

               A crew of eight people armed with Chitauri weaponry were holding the kids and a few teenage counselors in one of the side chambers.  A man in a suit was being pressed against a wall by two of the attackers.  There were five men and three women.  They had salvaged Chitauri armor on.  One of the kids, a girl, maybe eight cheered when she saw Spider-Woman.  That got the closest armed robber’s attention.  It was one of the men.  He shot at her.  She blocked it with her Uru bracer.

               “Dude, you have got to be an idiot.  Did you see what I did to one of the alien worms when the Chitauri charged up my bracers?”

               She could feel the symbiote urging her to unleash it and let it rip these monsters into pieces.  She pushed the urge down but if they managed to cause her harm the chances she’d be able to resist were minimal.  She flicked her wrist and yanked the gun out of his hand as it flew at her she did a jump kick smashing it into pieces.  She cleared her throat loudly when she saw the two near the wall attaching a Chitauri explosive to it.

               “Are we going to do this the easy or hard way boys and girls?”

               The group of armed robbers started unleashing a stream of energy weapon fire at her which she blocked with her Uru bracers.  She expertly started yanking weapons out of their hands while trying to draw their fire away from the children. 

               “You don’t want to hit me with one of those.  You won’t like me when I’m angry.”

               She realized it was only a matter of time before they would connect with her instead of her bracers.  She decided to let the symbiote out.  She knew her iron silk wouldn’t withstand the energy blast she was fairly sure her symbiote-armored suit could survive it.  She didn’t form her bracers because she had the Uru bracers on.  When her symbiote’s tongue whipped up and smashed one of them into a wall they doubled down on their weapons fire.  Only three were armed, one managed to hit her but the blast did nothing to her.  One slapped their hand on the Chitauri explosive and it started counting down.  They bolted.  Spider-Woman rushed forward and knelt down.  She punched in the disarm code Loki had provided her and it powered down.  She pulled it off the wall and put it into her Asgardian backpack.  She waved to the kids and started chasing after the thieves.

               They hadn’t realized it but running away from the kids had put them in a much worse predicament.  They were on foot and there was no way they were outrunning a super soldier powered by a synthetic symbiote.  She caught up with them in a service tunnel without surveillance.  She didn’t bother holding back.  The symbiote wanted its due and she knew resisting it would just mean a bigger explosion of rage later. 

Gwenom formed her claws and slashed at the closest one’s thighs.  The woman screamed and went down.  She lunged forward and checked another one into the wall.  The makeshift Chitauri armor the man was wearing crumbled and he groaned on the ground gasping for breath.  She launched two webs and caught two of them from behind.  When they were flying past her, she held out her arms.  The pair took Uru bracers to their chins and fell on the ground unconscious and bleeding, each was missing several teeth.  She grabbed one with her tongue and slammed him between walls as she raced after the last three. 

They really didn’t stand a chance.  By this time, she was lost in the symbiote’s need for violence and beat them severely.  She walked out of the other side of the tunnel and the symbiote swarmed back inside her skin leaving her in her old costume.  She felt the symbiote’s bloodlust subsiding.  She knew coming out was a mistake.  Then she realized if she had not the children may not have survived.  She swore under her breath.  Just when her reputation was getting better, she had to go and get infested with some synthetic symbiote that had anger management issues.

She heard an explosion in the distance.  She hung her head and launched webs to swing in the direction of the disturbance.  It was in Manhattan but outside the Chitauri perimeter.  She landed on a building across the way from the source of the noise.  She groaned.  The Sin-Eater was pointing a TX-01 pellet launcher in the direction of a smoldering jewelry store.  People were rushing away.   She heard him quoting scripture again.  Proverbs this time.

“Ill-gotten treasures have no lasting value, but righteousness delivers from death.”

Considering the vileness organized religions and misquoted holy texts had spawned over the history of humanity she realized it should bother her she’d memorized the bible when she had been younger.  She’d done it before her first communion.  She somehow thought it would make her a better person.  How wrong she had been.  She had to be careful the canister of TX-01 paintballs attached to his airsoft launcher was full of primed charges, each one worth five hundred grams of TNT.  All sensitive to too much shock, like say being dropped on the ground or web-grabbed.  In other words, there was enough explosive charge in each ball to obliterate a human with a direct hit.  The initial load a one hundred TX-01 rounds, they were slightly larger than paintballs at five grams.  So equivalent to over a hundred pounds of TNT.  Enough to seriously damage several buildings and kill anyone within a hundred feet.  That wasn’t even considering the secondary explosive thermite reactions.

He was lifting his weapon towards the people inside the building.  It looked like a group of teenagers wearing hoodies and masks.  She recognized a woman, it was a police officer she was very familiar with, her father’s old partner, Detective Jean DeWolff.  Her hesitation when she saw the TX-01 caused a tragedy.  He spoke again.

“Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed!”

He pulled the trigger.  Spider-Woman launched a web but the ball of TX-01 was too small and too far away.  It collided with the vest on Jean’s chest and exploded.  Thankfully all the blast wave did was cause the teenage looters to get thrown into walls.  Jean wasn’t so lucky.  The spiders burst out of Gwen’s skin.  She became Gwenom again as the rage at Jean’s senseless death washed over her.  Sin-Eater did not know what hit him.  This wasn’t the quippy happy-go-lucky teenage girl Spider-Woman.  This was the murderous symbiote.  She tackled him to the ground.  The TX-01 launcher skidded across the pavement and came to rest on the edge of the curb.

She started pounding on him.  If he were a normal human he would have been dead after the first few punches.  He managed to get his pistol out and fired three rounds, point blank into her abdomen.  Gwenom was unphased.  He managed to get another four rounds off with no effect before he was unconscious.  Gwenom raised her fist to finish him off but Gwen managed to wrest control of her body from the rage demon and held back.  She stood over him with his blood dripping from her fists.  She looked at the teenage looters who were trying to flee.  The symbiote’s long tentacle like tongue broke from the front of her costume when she looked in their direction.

“A good cop gave her life to protect you.  Do better with your second chances!”

They dropped their bags and ran.  Gwenom looked back down at the Sin-Eater and her eyes went wide when she realized under the blood, she recognized his face.  Stanley Carter.  Jean’s long-term boyfriend and also a decorated cop.  She stumbled backwards.  She’d almost killed a police officer.  She rushed forward and grabbed the TX-01 canister.  She’d dispose of it where it would do the least harm.  In the ocean.  She swung towards the Brooklyn bridge and tossed it off the edge.  It exploded but did no harm to anything, save a few fish.  Her symbiote dissolved into spiders and soaked into her skin.  She sat down and took a deep breath.  She closed her eyes under her mask.  She sat there for several minutes, she would have sat for longer and took in the view, but she heard sirens in the distance.

Spider-Woman hoped whoever was fighting the dark elves off in London was having a better time of it then she was.  She swung towards the sirens.  They were stuck in traffic.  She landed in between two groups of what appeared to be just random people.  No weapons but there was shoving going on.  Yelling.  There had been an accident.  The day was sweltering.  There were thirty people.  It appeared they were about to start a brawl.  She landed between the groups. Just as the first punch was thrown.  It was by a large African American man.  She barely felt it.  Humans couldn’t do much to her without a firearm.  She could feel the symbiote wanting to beat him into a pulp.  The crowd gasped collectively, and the man looked pretty terrified.  The man who had struck her mumbled.

“Uh sorry… uh ma’am.”

She held up one finger while she pushed the symbiote back into its little box.  Once she could focus her attention on something other than the symbiote she tore into everyone.

“Are you guys’ serious right now?  The entire world is dealing with this mess.  The Avengers did not save this city, and the Earth from alien invaders so you could tear it apart because you’re butthurt there was an accident.  Cars can be repaired, people can’t.  It’s hot, we have no power for air conditioners.  You can’t text, you can’t check social media.  Tempers are flaring.  I understand, but this is not the way to deal with it!  Please, help each other instead of fighting.  Are y’all going to shake hands and make up or am I going to have to start webbing people up?”

Everyone stared at Spider-Woman in silence.  A woman cried out in pain.  Spider-Woman pushed her way through the crowd.  The woman had almost collapsed but someone had caught her.  She was very pregnant.  Very, very pregnant.  Spider-Woman scratched the back of her head.

“So… uh that’s happening.”

She called out.

“Anyone got a good tough blanket?  Something big and strong enough to carry someone?”

A hand shot up holding a thick grey woolen blanket with DND along the edges.  She flicked her wrist and a web hit the blanket.  She started creating handles out of web and reinforcing it.  She dropped it on the ground and called out.

“Need five big strong folks to help me.  We need to get her to a hospital.  They’ll have back up power.”

She had several volunteers, one of which was the man who had punched her and had been on the opposite side of whatever conflict was brewing.  She picked him and four others.  She grabbed the left handle by the woman’s head.  The man who’d punched her was across from her.  He looked at her sheepishly as they carried the woman through the parting crowd.

“I, uh…”

Spider-Woman shook her head.

“Don’t worry about it.  I barely felt it.”

“My dad always told me to never hit a lady.”

She laughed softly.

“I’m not a lady.”

She looked down at the woman they were carrying.  She was not looking great.  She was African American, so it was hard to tell if she was pale.  Sweat was dripping down her cheeks and her eyes seemed unfocused. Spider-Woman touched her cheek with her free hand.

“Ma’am, can you hear me?”

The woman cried out again.  She couldn’t seem to focus on anything in particular.  Spider-Woman was no expert on labor.  She’d never gone through it and as she had said countless times she did not do biology. Spider-Woman shook her head.  She turned to the group carrying the woman with her.

“Guys, we need to hurry.  Something is very wrong with her.”

The group picked up the pace.  They finally reached the hospital.  The emergency room was in chaos.  Her costume got attention pretty quickly.  A triage nurse rushed over to the group; It didn’t take her long to gather together orderlies to take the woman inside.  Spider-Woman slipped out before the police on the scene could notice her.  She doubted they’d try to arrest her but she felt better not even risking an encounter.

Spider-Woman moved on.  For every proverbial fire she put out, three more took their places.  She heard another explosion in the distance and rushed in that direction.  When she landed Gwenom came out immediately.  She perched on top of a damaged car.  Inside there were more armed individuals.  She had arrived just in time to see an officer get shot in the head.  They were spread so thin he had no back up with him.

“No!”

She was too late to do much besides launch two web strands at the man who had shot the officer and ripped him backwards.  He looked surprised.  She brought her fist down and connected with his face.  She would have kept going if not for strong clawed hands grabbing her arms.

“Girl, he’s done.  This isn’t you.”

Gwenom’s toothy tentacle tongue moved to lash out at the interloper but when Gwen saw it was the Prowler.  She fought hard against the symbiote’s urge to tear Miles apart.  Gwenom snarled.

“You don’t know us.”

Gwenom reached down and her claws extended.  Miles stepped back.  He electrified his own claws.

“Gwen, don’t do this.  You’re being what Peter says you are and it’s not you, girl.”

Gwenom crouched and got ready to pounce.  Then an air raid siren went off nearby and the symbiote started squealing.  Gwen felt like her insides were coming out as the symbiote fled inside her and squirmed there.  The pain was intense.  Worse than anything she’d ever felt.  She fell to the ground and would be in the fetal position if her limbs would respond to her.  She writhed in agony and was screaming.  Thankfully her Spider-Woman costume still concealed her face.  Miles let his claws power down and scooped her into his arms and rushed off.

Chapter Text

               When Gwen woke up, she felt her face and realized she didn’t have her mask on.  She looked around in a panic.  As her vision cleared, she realized Miles was sitting beside her and had her mask in his hand.  They were in his room.  She was on his bed.  She took a few moments to collect herself and stop hyperventilating.  He put his hand on her upper arm. He spoke in Spanish.

               “Relax, Girl, I got you.”

               He held out his hand with her mask dangling off of it.  Gwen rubbed her face.  She was still aching all over.  And her head was throbbing.

               “English, you know my Porta Rican is crap.  How long was I out?”

               “It’s called Spanish, and ten minutes give or take.  I barely got you laid down.  What’s up with you girl?  That black costume was fire, but uh… you sounded crazy.”

               Gwen blushed.

               “Sorry.  It was nothing.  I have to go. Thanks for getting me out of there.”

               She reached for her mask. He held it up out of her reach.

               “Girl, you can’t go out again.  You’re going to kill someone if you don’t stop.”

               Gwen glared at him.  Whether it was because he was eight inches taller than her or that he was making too much sense she didn’t know.  She flicked her wrist and caught her mask with a web yanking it back to herself.

               “I got it under control.”

               He frowned at her.

               “I’ve heard way too many addicts say exactly the same thing.  Whatever you’re taking you need to stop.”

               Gwen pulled her mask over her face and moved to climb out his window.  He grabbed her arm.  She looked back at him.

               “Take your hand off of me, you don’t want to piss me off.”

               He released her and held up his hands.

               “Me?  Don’t you mean Us?”

               She didn’t respond to him and just climbed out of his window and swung away.  Spider-Woman wasn’t sure where she was going.  She’d lost control three times, at least she hadn’t killed anyone but she’d come damn close.  The city was still in chaos.  Whatever had knocked her out had come out of left field.  She had no idea what the source was, but the problem was without her on the streets it was one less agent of order.  How many people would die if she didn’t resume her patrol?

               She sighed and swung into action when her spider-sense triggered.  She looked for the source it was a car accident.  The engine of one of the cars was starting to smoke.  She launched herself towards it when she noticed a woman trying to get her car door open but the car was too damaged for her to manage it.  She landed beside the car and ripped the door off its hinges and snapped the seat belt.  She heard a child crying in the backseat.  She gently pushed the woman away from the car that was about to go up.

               “Go, I’ll get your kid.”

               She ripped the rear passenger side door off and ripped the child seat out.  The boy couldn’t have been more than two years old.  She rushed away as the car was engulfed in flames.  She heard the mother screaming.   Spider-Woman did a big circle around the burning wreck to reach the boy’s mother and offered her the child seat.  The woman grabbed Spider-Woman’s hands after putting the child seat down safely on the curb.

               “Thank you, thank you!”

               Spider-Woman patted the woman’s hands.

               “I’m sure the EMS will be here soon.  You’re in shock.  Just sit down.  Hug your son and wait for them.”

               Spider-Woman launched two webs and swung away.  She continued providing assistance but avoided anything with violence involved.  She fought the urge to jump in but realized how dangerous the symbiote was becoming.  The more she engaged in some form of battle the more it seemed to feed rage into itself and her.  The black outs continued well into the evening.  She had no clue what was going on, on the opposite side of the world.  She hoped Loki and Thor were winning.  She was standing on one of her favorite perches when the lights started to flicker and then come on block by block.  She collapsed against the dome and pulled off her mask.  She let the air leave her lungs slowly as relief washed over her.  She was exhausted.  She pulled her mask on and swung home.  She figured she wouldn’t see her father or Erica for quite some time.  The city was still unsettled but with the electromagnetic interference gone they would be able to coordinate and respond.

               She started by lighting a scented candle and running a hot bath which she dropped a bath bomb in, put on her relaxing music mix and sank into the turquoise water with a contented smile.  She was far superior to a normal human, but she had been on for six hours straight save the incident with Miles.  Every muscle in her body was complaining.  The bath bomb and hot water went to work helping her relax those tired muscles.  She soaked in the bath adding hot water to it every so often to keep it warm.  She wished she was back in Asgard, the mineral hot springs that fed the baths in the palace never cooled.  She sighed when she heard a knock at the apartment door.  She pulled herself up and out of the tub and called out.

               “Just a minute!”

               It was about five minutes before she managed to be decent enough to answer the door.  She opened it and peaked out.  Thor was standing there, but he was wearing civilian clothing and carrying an umbrella of all things.  He did not look like he had good news.  She wondered what was wrong because the world was still here and she’d assumed if the Dark Elves had succeeded it would not be…  Thor spoke.

               “Gwen Stacy.”

               Gwen motioned for him to come in and closed the door behind him.

               “Can I get you something?  We have beer and soda, this isn’t Asgard by a long stretch.”

               Thor held up his hand.

               “No need, Gwen Stacy.  I am sorry I come with ill tidings.”

               Gwen shook her head.

               “Where is Loki?”

               Thor’s face fell.

               “He fell in battle with the Kursed.”

               Tears started to drop down Gwen’s cheeks and she shook her head repeatedly.

               “No, that’s impossible.”

Thor pulled her close and hugged her tightly.  Gwen sobbed into his chest.  If you asked her, she wouldn’t have guessed she would have had this reaction.  She would have assumed she would be sad.  She would never have guessed ugly crying.  He patted her back.  That was how Erica and her father found them.  Her father cleared his throat loudly.  Neither of her parental figures recognized the Norse God of Thunder.  He released Gwen and turned and offered his hand to George.

“You must be Gwen’s father.”

Her father looked up at Thor in confusion.  George was not a short or small man but compared to Thor he looked tiny.  Gwen’s father looked suspicious but shook his hand.

“And you are?”

Thor glanced at Gwen who was trying not to sob while sniffling and wiping tears from her eyes.  She gave him a small nod.  Thor answered truthfully.

“I am Thor Odinson.”

Erica and George blinked in disbelief.  Erica spoke first.

“Don’t you usually have armor and a cape?  And a hammer?”

Thor nodded.

“I am in disguise.  I did not wish to draw attention to your home.”

George stared at Gwen.  She had told him she was Spider-Woman and hence he had known she was an Avenger, the meaning of that had not sunk in until he was face to face with an actual God whom Gwen accounted among her friends.  Erica was less impressed and started wagging her finger at Thor’s face.

“And what exactly were you doing hugging my half-naked, fifteen-year-old stepdaughter?  Hmm?”

George went pale.  Thor looked confused and spoke plainly.

“She was close to my brother who died in battle.  I was providing comfort. As she did for me when my mother died.”

Erica didn’t back down.

“She’s a child, let her father or me take care of ‘comforting’ her.”

Thor looked angry.

“You should not insult her by calling her a child!  Odin, the All-father himself, called her a Champion of the Nine Realms.  She is the chosen bearer of the Adamantium Shadow Blade of the Dark Elves.  She has proven herself in battle against the Dark Elves and Marauders, tales of her prowess have reached the farthest corners of Asgard and beyond into the Nine Realms!  Her ferocity is becoming legendary.  She gutted a marauder with her bare hands.  Faced a Kursed warrior and made him retreat.  She braved the depths of Asgard and an ocean of Lava to warn Earth of the Dark Elf’s coming.  There are beings of power that fear coming to Midgard lest she join the Avengers.  My father entrusted the safety of Asgard with her.  She was among his chosen war council!  Even though she is a mortal with no powers to speak of, she is anything but defenseless.”

He snorted derisively at Erica.

“Child.  You do not know her.”

Erica stepped back.  She was a tough as nails cop, but she wasn’t sure what this man was on.  Gwen stepped between Thor and Erica and spoke in between sniffles.

“Its okay Thor, she doesn’t know what I did while I was gone, neither did my father… exactly.”

Thor blushed.

“Oh, my apologies Gwen Stacy.”

George pulled Erica aside and they had a whispered conversation.  Erica looked more and more sick to her stomach with each word.  Her nervous eyes kept glancing at Thor.  Thor patted Gwen on the shoulder.

“I will seek out your blade and return it to you.  I did not find it on Loki.  It is rightfully yours.”

Gwen tried to say something more, but Thor held up his hand and left.  George looked at Gwen.  She could see awe in his eyes, along with a good amount of fear.  Erica pointed at the couch.

“Okay you two, enough secrets.  What happened at the theater?”

Gwen looked at George who didn’t look like he wanted to answer.  He looked a bit sick at the mention.  Gwen rubbed her face.

“Look, I’m not telling you everything to protect you.  If you don’t know you can’t be charged with anything or lose your job.”

Erica looked annoyed.

“Gwen, you’re fifteen.  Let adults make those decisions.  Now spill it.”

Gwen closed her eyes.

“I’m Spider-Woman.  Dad shot me in the heart.  I went to Asgard to get medical treatment.  Time is different there.  For me it’s been six months.  I did everything Thor said.  He just doesn’t know I’m Spider-Woman.  No one does except for you, now, my dad and Adam.  I guess and Odin and Loki…  but Loki is gone now.”

Erica paused for a moment.  She nodded.

“Okay it all makes sense now.”

She looked at George.

“You could have told me George.”

George looked up at Erica with moist eyes.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to drag you into my mess… our mess.”

Erica crossed her arms.

“We’re married George, its all three of our messes.  You should have trusted me.”

Erica looked at Gwen.

“And I may not be your mother in anything but name, but what are you doing fighting in wars?  You’re fifteen!”

Gwen blushed.

“It wasn’t like that.  I was asleep and… the marauder touched me.  I reacted and the Dark Elves were about to kill children.  I am not built to ignore people in danger as much as I wish I was sometimes.”

Erica narrowed her eyes.

“Thor said you gutted one with your bare hands.”

Gwen blushed and looked at the floor.

“You know how things get exaggerated.”

Erica raised a single eyebrow.

“Exaggerated, right.”

Gwen held up her hands in surrender.

“Look, it was a troll.  They’re stronger than me.  I may have used a little more strength than I meant to.  When you’ve got people who can throw cars around duking it out and one isn’t as tough as the other, things get messy sometimes.  That’s all it was.  I mean he was trying to uh, I’m not sure if it was to eat me, or rape me.  I was just very emphatic with my no-”

There was a knock on the door.  Gwen stopped speaking suddenly at the disturbance.  Erica held her hand up and went to answer the door.  She stepped back and looked a bit surprised.  Two detectives from Internal Affairs walked in.  One looked at George and had handcuffs out.

“George, we’re going to need to take you in.”

               To say, Gwen, Erica and George looked confused would be an understatement.  Erica pushed in front of George.

               “On what charges, Leo?”

               Leo sighed.

“The murder of Detective Stanley Carter.”

               Gwen went pale.  How would they connect her father to that?  George must have noticed her reaction because he held out his hands.

               “Let’s get this over with.”

               Erica opened and closed her mouth a few times but didn’t manage to get any words out.  George looked at Erica.

               “I’m going to need a lawyer.”

               The detectives seemed content to escort George out, neither had noticed Gwen’s obvious reaction.  Erica collapsed on the couch she finally got over her initial shock.

               “Of all the… your father would never do that.  He’s as by the book as they come… but then again he… wait, you… did you do this?”

               Gwen wiped away a few tears that had started to form under her eyes, she’d barely had a chance to recover from the shock of Loki’s death.  Now this.

               “He was the Sin-Eater.  He killed Detective DeWolf, and he was about to kill kids.  I hit him.  I had to get the explosives away.  He was alive when I left him to put the TX-01 in the ocean.  If I hadn’t… it could have taken that whole city block out.”

               Erica narrowed her eyes.

               “How alive?”

               Gwen couldn’t look directly at Erica.

               “He had armor on… he’s not a normal human…  he wouldn’t stay down.”

               Erica stood up.

               “And you have webs!”

               Gwen still couldn’t look at Erica as she responded.

               “He’s broken out of them before.  He was too dangerous to let loose.”

               Erica stood up and paced for several minutes rubbing her face.

               “You’re sure he was alive when you left him?”

               Gwen nodded.

               “I stopped before… before I ended him.”

               Erica shook her head.

               “You know if your father thinks you did this, he’ll take the blame, won’t say a damn thing all the way to the lethal injection.  This isn’t some street thug, it’s a cop.  You’re sure he was alive, and wasn’t about to die when you left him?”

               Gwen had tears dripping from her eyes.

               “I don’t have x-ray vision, Erica.  He was breathing, cops were on the way, I figured they could get him to the hospital and if I hadn’t gotten rid of those explosives he would have died along with everyone in a hundred foot radius.  I can’t fucking believe I let Obadiah turn TX-01 into a weapon system.”

               Erica snapped her fingers.

               “You have a recording right?  You record everything you do.”

               Gwen shook her head.

               “No, I had everything turned off and even if it was turned on it would have been useless because of the EMI from the Celestial Alignment and the Dark Elf attack with the Aether.”

               Erica stopped midstride to look at her stepdaughter in confusion.

               “What are you even talking about?”

               Gwen sighed.

               “Its not important, we need to call a lawyer.”

               As if on cue there was a knock at the door, Erica swore under her breath and opened the door.  A man in an expensive looking dark, almost blood red suit, a black shirt with a red tie, his ensemble was topped off by a blood red fedora was on the other side.  He wore a pair of opaque ruby colored sunglasses.  If Gwen had to guess she would have guessed, he was the devil himself.  She wasn’t far from the truth.

               “Did I hear someone was in need of a lawyer?”

               He smiled.  Gwen felt sick in the pit of her stomach.  Her spider sense did not like this man, not one bit.

Chapter Text

It took Gwen several minutes to realize the man in the red suit in front of her was one of Fisk’s army of lawyers, in fact it was his first choice on his list of legal hitmen.  Matt Murdock.  Erica must have recognized him as well because her eyes narrowed.  Gwen didn’t know her stepmother was familiar with Fisk’s organization.  Gwen had dug deep with her spider-bot and hacking skills.  He smiled again.  As if sensing their discomfort and annoyance at his presence.  He tapped his ear with his left index finger.

               “Sorry, I might not have my eyes, but my hearing is exceptional.”

               Gwen went pale.  Did that mean he overheard them?  She didn’t like any of this.  Fisk must have sent him to toy with her before he murdered everyone she loved.  Gwen nudged Erica out of the way with ease and grabbed Matt by the front of his suit and lifted him up with ease.

               “Tell the Kingpin he knows the cost of coming after me and my family, my threats aren’t so hollow anymore.”

               Matt seemed unphased and he straightened out his jacket, he chuckled as he did so.

               “You give him too much credit, Ms. Stacy.  He is still deluded into thinking you are his and his daughter’s friend.  He doesn’t suspect you are the one who nearly killed his son.  Oh wait, no that was Miles Morales, wasn’t it?”

               Gwen blinked a few times.  How the hell did he know so much? He smiled.

               “I can hear your heart racing, Ms. Stacy.  Should I come in so we can discuss your father’s predicament?  Or would you rather beat me to a pulp like poor, dear, Detective Carter and you can deal with whatever overworked idiot the public defender’s office can spare?”

               Gwen was about to offer a third option which involved him on his butt Matt’s after he went flying out their walkup’s front door, but Erica put her hand on Gwen’s shoulder.

               “Gwen, he’s right, we can’t afford someone with his firm’s resources.”

               Gwen looked at her.

               “I can.”

               Erica shook her head.

               “You can maybe afford them for a month.  Mr. Murdock, won’t you please come in, I’ll pull out some iced tea.”

               Gwen stepped aside, she noted he had no mobility cane.  There was something all kinds of off about the man, she couldn’t put it into practical words but his posture, demeanor, every movement it was all wrong like he was a wolf in sheep’s clothing.  Somehow, he didn’t need to be guided to sit down at the kitchen table, nor did he need assistance finding the glass of iced tea placed in front of him.  Gwen sneered at him across the table.  She didn’t care if he could actually see her or not.  This was the man responsible for putting the trash back out on the street that killed her mother.  He probably also bribed the cops and coroner to look the other way.  She felt the symbiote yearning to get out and beat him to a pulp.  Symbiote spiders were crawling across her hands.  She didn’t notice.  Erica did though and dropped her glass of iced tea. Gwen glanced down at her hands and closed her eyes and focused on bringing the symbiote under control and getting its leash on it.  She spoke.

               “Aren’t you employed by Fisk?  I can’t see his lapdog being allowed to help the one cop he hasn’t been able to bribe… or is that what this is?  A shakedown?  We’ll get you off this murder we framed you for all you have to do is... overlook a few things?  My father will never go for that.”

               Matt took a drink from his iced tea.  Erica was turning to find something to clean up the broken glass and iced tea when he glanced in her direction.

               “Mind the glass, we wouldn’t want you to need a hospital after the day they have had.”

               Erica looked where her foot was about to step, and she’d missed a nasty sharp piece sticking straight up.  Erica looked at Gwen then made a motion with her eyes towards Matt as if to say, is this guy for real?  Matt chuckled.

               “No, Fisk doesn’t own me, my firm is on retainer with his company and for his personal matters.  The details of which I cannot discuss, of course.  No, this is about you, Gwen.”

               As he spoke the last sentence his attention seemed to focus on Gwen.  Erica’s attention snapped to him immediately.  Gwen wasn’t her biological daughter, but she’d known her since Gwen was a baby.  She was in momma bear mode all of a sudden.

               “I don’t like where this is going, maybe its time for you to leave.”

               Matt calmly took another drink from his iced tea.  Then he looked towards Erica as if he knew exactly where she was.  He pulled out one of his cards and obviously he did because the card was in a perfect position for her to take.

               “Go to the station, Officer Stacy, I will join you and your husband after I’ve finished working out the particulars with Gwen.”

               Erica took the card and looked downright insulted.

               “You think you can come into my home and talk to me like that?  She’s a minor you’re not doing anything alone with her.”

               He kept his focus on Erica.

               “Do you think that was a suggestion?  A request?  Go to the station.”

               Gwen glanced at Erica who looked like she was about to punt Matt out of the building, possibly a window, herself.  Gwen realized he wouldn’t be here if he didn’t think he held all the cards and he definitely would not be speaking like that to Erica.

               “I can take care of this, Erica.  Please go and let dad know he’s got a lawyer on the way.”

               Erica put her hands on her hips and was about to vehemently deny Gwen’s request but Matt interrupted her.

               “Your stepdaughter has defied Gods and demons.  She’s saved the world, I’m sure she can handle one, mostly harmless blind lawyer.”

               Gwen’s spider-sense told her the man before her was far from harmless.  He might be blind but he could see perfectly fine with some other sense.  Erica tossed the broken glass in the garbage bin and finished wiping up the mess before leaving silently.  Once she was gone Matt waited several minutes to continue.  He looked at Gwen.  Gwen cut him off.

               “I’m not interested in helping you break legs as Spider-Woman so don’t even bother trying.”

               He chuckled.

               “No?  Not even for your father’s freedom?”

               Gwen shook her head.

               “Not even for his freedom.”

               He smiled.

               “How about… for a solution to your synthetic symbiote problem?”

               Gwen blinked a few times in disbelief.

               “Oh, you thought I did not know every single little detail about you?  I’ve known who you are for quite some time.  You can hide your face, disguise your voice but your heart is still your heart, though it’s a little off still…  You can’t hide your scent either.”

               He inhaled.

               “I smell the fear on you, I hear the beat of your heart.  The skitter of those little spiders as you fight to keep that synthetic alien goo from rending me limb from limb.  You see Gwen Stacy, I know everything about you and made sure you encountered that goo.  Getting them to ship it out, that was easy, ensuring you were infected with the synthetic symbiote that was the real trick.”

               He took another drink of his iced tea as Gwen stared at him.

               “You did this to me?”

               He smiled.

               “I gave you a gift Gwen Stacy.  Do you know, they’re working on an antiserum to neutralize super-soldiers?  If they hit you with that, you’d die.  You have such interesting biochemistry.  Cindy was over the moon when I gave her your blood sample.  And make no mistake, you were the first target for SHIELD… or well… who they really are.  So, you see, to save you I had to make sure you were infected.  Now no one can take your powers away.”

               Gwen blinked at him in disbelief.

               “How do you know all this?”

               “Oh, it was trivial to sort out.  Fisk asked me to investigate this new vigilante.  Spider-Woman.  You weren’t very good at hiding yourself in the early days, but that is alright.  I have watched out for you.  Working directly for SHIELD?  Do you know how hard it became to hide your true identity?  Of course, I thought I’d lost you when you vanished from the concert…  I’m glad you’ve come back to us.”

               She leaned forward.

               “You know the villain usually monologues just before the hero stops them, right?”

               Matt chuckled.

               “But in this conversation who is the hero, and who is the villain?  I defend people from our countries cruel, cruel justice system and you… beat people almost to death?”

               He smiled.

               “Of course, I’m also an assassin so who am I to talk?”

               Gwen blinked at what he just admitted. She wished she had something recording.

               “Why would you think I’d side with you?”

               He smiled.

               “Because your father is going to prison at the very least, and it will not be kind to him in general population.  Then there is SHIELD and their shadowy suborganization.  They would do anything to get their hands on that brain of yours and Spider-Woman.  If they ever realized you were the same person…  Oh, you need protection and you need it bad because right now SHIELD is the henhouse and the fox.  More so, however, you and I are alike.  I see a kindred spirit, in a manner of speaking.  Of course, you try to pretend you’re civilized like the rest of the world, but you’re not.  Inside you is a monster that just wants to hurt people, even before you had the symbiote.  I’m just here to help you be true to yourself.”

               Gwen was shaking with anger at this point, her symbiote engulfed her.

               “We are nothing like you.”

               He chuckled.

               “We, is it now?”

               Gwen forced Gwenom away.  She sat in her bathrobe shortly afterwards with her fists clenched.  He smiled.

               “Ah good, so, let us talk deal, shall we?”

               Gwen sighed he could blow up her entire life in one easy stroke.  She figured she could play along until she found an out.

               “Ah, there we go, you have finally reached the reality of the situation.  I had predicted you would take longer.  Apparently, your time with the God’s has made you more of a pragmatist.  That is good, it will take me less time to beat the idealist out of you.  Well then.”

               He reached into a pocket on the inside of his jacket and slid a blood red burner phone across the table to her.

               “I’ll be in touch.”

               She glared at the phone, then him in turn.

               “You didn’t have to kill the detective.”

               He smiled as he stood up.

               “Oh, I didn’t have too.  I told you we were kindred spirits.  Now then, the first part of our agreement you can fulfill right now.  I need a list of every single one of Fisk’s logins.  Don’t bother denying it, I know you’ve had him under surveillance.  I’m not sure how, you’re very good.”

               Gwen wandered off and came back with a memory stick.  She had a back up of course.  She offered it to him.

               “Everything is on that.”

               He took it and slipped it into his jacket pocket.

“Good, good.  Now, I’ll see myself out, Gwen.  Try not to run around as Spider-Woman, beating random strangers to a pulp.  It is bad for your image.  When I call you, I want to see control…  none of this thuggery that is beneath us, you and I.”

               She looked up at him.  After he said that something broke inside.  She’d killed someone, someone she knew… It was different from some random troll… or dark elves. 

               “But you pointed them at my father.”

               He chuckled.

               “No, dear Gwen, you have Fisk to thank for that.  I suppose when he finds out I’m defending your father that will be problematic for our business relationship, c`est la vie…  I’ll let you know how things go at the station, I wouldn’t expect him home any time soon, the evidence is… overwhelming and you leaving his DNA all over the Detective’s body because your father cried into your costume so many nights… it doesn’t look good.  But I’ve gotten people off with worse.  Don’t worry, do as your told… I’ll have him out in no time.  Don’t, well… who knows what delays I may run into.”

               He pulled his hat off the coat rack where he’d hung it and slipped it back on his head.  He slipped out of the apartment door with a tip of his hat leaving Gwen staring after him.  She was still in shock from the death of Loki, her father’s arrest and now someone laying out how they had manipulated her from the start.  Her own wrist started vibrating.  She tapped and brought up the holo-display.  It was Tony.  She debated if she should answer it or not.  It dawned on her as she stared at the holo-phone that it could even have Matt who’d arranged for her mother’s death, her visit to Stark… her infection with Spider DNA.  She shook her head.  That was pure paranoia, she as a nobody before she got infected.

Chapter Text

Police Lock Up, New York City

               George rubbed his face and paced in his orange jumpsuit.  He hadn’t been sent to Rikers yet, he would be soon.  He was kept here as a courtesy, he was sure.  His legal representation, such that it was, was on the way.  He assumed given his and Erica’s financial status Gwen hired someone, he would refuse and ask for a public defender.  There was no way a public defender would be here already.  The door opened and when George saw who it was his fists clenched.  Had Gwen and Erica gone insane?   It was Fisk’s number one attack dog.  Matt Murdock put his briefcase on the table and motioned towards the chair across from him.

               “Have a seat, Captain.”

               George cracked his knuckles.

               “You really think I’m going to let you defend me?”

               Matt smiled. It was as if George was in the room with the devil himself.

               “Do you have a better offer?  Your daughter has arranged payment.  She wanted the best.  I am the best.”

               George shook his head.

               “You’re scum.  You work for scum and no way I want my daughter to ruin her future by paying her savings out to you.”

               Matt smiled again and slid his legal representation contract across the table along with a black pen.

               “You’d rather her ruin her future galivanting around as a costumed vigilante?”

               George stopped suddenly and he opened his hands.  He did not murder Stanley, but he was more than willing to murder Matt Murdock, even if it got him life, if it meant protecting his daughter from him and the Kingpin.  He could break his neck, before the officers outside could respond.  They hadn’t bothered to cuff him in here.  Matt held up one finger.

               “I assure you she is not paying me in cash.  She’s giving me her thirty pieces of silver in another way.  Her secrets will remain secret, as long as she plays along.  Now sit, and sign.  She gave up a lot for me to be here.”

               George grabbed the pen.  He still had the urge to stab Murdock with it.  Matt looked up at him.  George pondered Matt’s statement for a few moments.

               “Wait, you’re Judas in this arrangement?”

               Matt shook his head in disappointment.

               “Truly, I do not know where your daughter gets her intelligence from, catch up George.  Why do you think you’re here?”

               George glared down at Matt.

               “You and your boss wanted to get your claws into me.”

               Matt chuckled.

               “Wrong, try again.”

               George thought for a few moments.

               “You and your boss wanted to get your claws into my daughter now that you know her secrets and wanted to seal the deal by taking me out.”

               Matt imitated a buzzer.

               “Wrong again, Captain.  My boss wanted you out of play, to protect his son and you refused to accept his donations.  I on the other hand see this as an opportunity for me to expand your daughter’s horizons so, I am here in direct opposition to Fisk’s wishes.  There will come a reckoning and there will be a penance I must pay, but that is a future problem for now, sign the paper so I can get you out of the mess Fisk has put you in.”

               George narrowed his eyes.

               “No, I’m not putting my daughter under your thumb.”

               Matt shrugged.

               “She is already under my thumb.  Getting you out of this pickle is just me sweetening the deal.  You’re my leverage.  She will do anything to protect you.  Foolish girl.  You did shoot her in the heart after all.  Tell me, how did justice feel that night?  I bet you want to protect her, from herself and from the world, but it is going to be very hard to do when you’re facing a life sentence.  Imagine her, a ward of the state, a ward of SHIELD… and whatever dark aims they have, I assure you that is where she will end up if something happens to Erica, or she is… perhaps found to be involved in the murder.  There is more at play here than you could possibly imagine and Stanley Carter’s mental break and murder spree are only the ripples on the surface.  There is a multi-headed beast with designs on your daughter and there is nothing you can do to protect her from the power they wield… not like I can.  You see even less than I do with my eyes, Captain.  Do you know how close Detective Frank Castle is to finding out your daughter’s dirty little secret?  I do.  How many people has he actually brought in alive?  Your daughter has been oh so busy since she got back.  One police detective dead, eight would-be art thieves near death, one cop killer whose face has so many broken bones they had to identify him with DNA, at least he’s alive.  Someone needs to reign her in before Frank catches her scent for good.  I can be that person.  All you need to do is sign on the dotted line right there.”

               George looked at the paper and felt a lot like Judas.  He had heard rumors Frank had refused to drop the Spider-Woman case.  He swore under his breath and signed in each spot indicated.  Matt collected the contract and put it in a folder then slipped it into his briefcase he started to stand up.  George looked at him.

               “Wait, don’t you want to ask me for an alibi?  Evidence to prove I’m innocent?”

               Matt picked up the pen and slid it into a case then slipped it into his inside pocket after standing up.  He chuckled.

               “Officer Delgado is your alibi, but the leverage Fisk has over him means he’s the one who told IA he lost track of you near the murder scene.  And Officer Wilson is the one who saw you smother him and trying to clean up the scene.  Your DNA was all over the body by the way, it’s unfortunate you cried into your daughter’s costume so much…  Unless you want to come clean and tell the truth about Gwen, we have our work cut out for us.  The witness statements are easy enough to deal with.  The DNA and other physical evidence are another matter.  And let me see, all those steamy emails between you and DeWolf.  How you needed to get Stanley out of the way…  And no one will ever know Stanley was the Sin-Eater, SHIELD… or rather their secret backers don’t want that getting out, not with his employment history.  No, they’ll be happy to see this hung on your shoulders, and of course, if they pull your wife into this, they can get their nasty little fingers on Gwen.  Even without being Spider-Woman your daughter is worth a great deal to many different shadowy players.  She knows how to make an ARC reactor.  She knows how to build an Iron Man suit.  In addition to both of those she is quite frankly one of the smartest people on the planet.  Do I need to go on?  Do you now understand the depth of your troubles?  Keep your head down, let me do my job.”

               George sighed and slumped in his seat.

               “Didn’t Gwen threaten to kill Fisk’s daughter in front of him if he came after me?”

               Matt nodded.

               “Yes, I believe she did say something to that effect.”

               George stood up suddenly.

               “It won’t take her long to figure out who was behind this… if she killed…  she might go through with it.  She’s seemed off…”

               Matt chuckled.

               “She just might, wouldn’t that be spectacular, but don’t worry, I already told her who was behind it.”

               George grabbed Matt’s wrist.

               “You need to stop her, get his daughter to safety.”

               Matt chuckled.

               “Calm down, Captain.  She will not go through with it, she’s far too soft still.  One day maybe… one day she could be great.  No, I would be more concerned with her going after Fisk.  I warned him.  He is such an intelligent man, but sometimes his concern for his family and his need to be the winner, puts him at odds with intelligent decisions.  Focus on keeping yourself safe, for your daughter’s sake.  Let me worry about her now.”

               George released Murdock’s wrist and Matt made his way out of the station.  He sat himself down in the back of his car.  He quirked his head to the side.

               “Ah, good evening, Duncan.  I take it I am not going home.”

               He got no response.  He mused that his penance was upon him.  He was more than content with the thirty pieces of silver he’d gotten out of the deal.  She would be an asset in his new empire.  He had already made preparations for this inevitability.  As usual, he was several moves ahead of those around him.

*****

The Stacy Apartment, Queens New York

               Gwen sighed and decided to answer the incoming call before Tony sent an Avenger, someone from SHIELD or Happy, to grab her up.  She turned on video.

               “Gwen!  I was going to call you earlier but then…”

               Gwen wiped her tears away and tried to smile.

               “How can I help you Mr. Stark?”

               He frowned.

               “Mr. Stark?  What happened to Tony?”

               Gwen shrugged.

               “I wasn’t sure after I vanished…”

               Tony shook his head.

               “Thor explained everything before he left for Asgard.  I need you at work bright and early.  We have a mess to clean up after all that EMI.”

               Gwen sniffled.

               “Okay.  I’ll be there.”

               Tony nodded.

               “Good.  We have lots to do to get back on track.  Wear something comfortable, HVAC is out at the moment.”

               Gwen nodded.

               “Well, see you tomorrow morning.”

               Gwen released the call.  She stood up and looked around the empty apartment.  She’d been responsible for this mess.  The Kingpin had definitely had his thick fatty fingers in it.  She wasn’t sure if it was the symbiote or her who made the decision to make him understand the error in his ways.  She would not need her old costume tonight.  Gwenom would be fine.  When she arrived, she wouldn’t say she was surprised to see Matt Murdock sitting across from him…  It certainly would complicate what was supposed to happen next.  Stuck waiting she accessed her Spider-Bot to listen in on their conversation. Fisk did not look happy.

*****

Fisk Towers, Manhattan

               Matt sat down across from Wilson Fisk.  Wilson was furious and flanked by two of his heaviest hitters.  He was taking no chances with the most dangerous assassin the Hand had.  The boy he had taken in after his father had betrayed the old boss, Silvermane.  The boy he had put through law school.  The boy he had arranged to train by the best assassins he could find, with aforementioned Hand.  Now the man who had betrayed him.  Fisk was white knuckling his ornate cane with his large hands.  The most infuriating part was how calm the boy turned man looked.  Fisk was almost shaking with rage, it oozed into his voice.

               “She threatened my daughter.  And you, defend the one she protects?”

               Matt nodded, no sign of fear on his face.

               “I am trying to protect you from yourself.  Gwen Stacy will figure out you’re behind this, then she’ll tell Spider-Woman.  I don’t need to tell you how… mmm enthusiastic Spider-Woman has been with her prey of late.  You saw the photos of Detective Carter.  Of those art thieves from the MET.  She’s out of control and now you’ve painted a target on your back.  You’ve been like a father to me since mine died.  If I am defending George Stacy, it takes that target off of you because why would your ward and personal attorney be defending him, if you put him in there.   On the other side, when he gets out, because he will get out, it puts into question if he is on your payroll or not.  It is a win-win.”

               Fisk blinked a few times.  He hadn’t considered the situation from that angle.  He’d only seen an opportunity and struck in his temporary anger.  Matt stood up and pulled out two glasses and poured some bourbon in each.  Fisk watched him impassively, he still wanted to beat Matt to a pulp for daring to go around him.  Matt put a glass down in front of Wilson.

               “Now, if we’re done with that conversation, lets drink to putting Captain Stacy in his place, at least for a little while.”

               Fisk looked at the glass then at Matt before picking it up and toasting to the good Captain’s predicament.  He downed the amber fluid and put the glass down.  Matt drank his as well.  He picked up a pair of pens from the desk and started to wander around the office.

               “I bought you these for Christmas, the year I founded my law firm, didn’t I?”

               Fisk nodded.  Matt smiled as he rolled them in his fingers feeling their heft and texture.  He found their balance as he strolled around the office.

               “You helped me so much over the years.  Made sure I could survive in this cold, cruel world.  Turned my gifts into weapons… or rather had The Hand do that.” 

Fisk watched Matt walk around the office.  Spider-Woman felt like something was about to explode, she just wasn’t sure what.  She was sure Murdock would be a fool to make an attempt on the Kingpin’s life with two of his biggest hitters in the room.  She was wrong. Fisk spoke.

“What is this about?”

Matt smiled.  Gwenom could see his lips moving as if he were counting down.  He strolled around the office seeming to take in the surroundings, which was extremely odd because he was blind.

“There is a darkness in me, maybe it was my father dying in front of me, maybe it was when I killed my mother.  I had to do it of course, she was in a coma all those years, suffering in silence.  Mercy really.  Or maybe you put it there.  Spider-Woman, she’s got darkness in her too.  I’m hoping to prove it to her. Unfortunately… you’re in the way.”

Matt flung both pens, they pierced the bodyguard’s eyes and the pair collapsed.  Fisk stood up to confront Matt but then fell to the ground trying to find purchase on his desk, but his hands seemed to fail to work for him.  Matt walked up to the fallen Kingpin who tried to grab at his pant legs.  Matt kicked the grasping hand away dismissively.

“You are so arrogant.  You think you’re so smart.  You didn’t even notice the slight muskiness to the bourbon.  Jinjin weed, unique to Madripoor.  Presents like an aneurism.  Undetectable in the blood unless you test for it specifically within an hour of death.  Ingested of course.  Quick acting five minutes from ingestion to first symptoms.  Given away by a very slight musky odor and flavor to whatever you put it in, best to use with strongly flavored alcohols, preferably ones with a lot of smokiness.  Tell me, Kingpin, did you see this coming?”

Fisk struggled to speak.

“You won’t get… away… with this.”

Matt kicked at the edge of the new strip of carpet he’d had added behind the desk and under the chair.

“Oh, but I already have. 

Fisk clawed at his desk to try and pull himself up.  His eyes were filled with impotent rage.

“If… I… die… you… get Nothing!”

Matt nodded.

“All too true.”

He made a motion toward the door and four men walked in and started going about wrapping the two bodyguards up in the second carpet.  Matt stepped out of their way keeping his focus on the struggling Kingpin.  Gwenom watched on, powerless to do anything.  After the chaos of the day, there was no way help would arrive in time.  And how would she explain it.  She’d recorded it all but what good would it do?  It gave her leverage she supposed.  She felt monstrous watching Fisk suffer.  She jumped as did Matt when in a last effort of super strength and constitution the Kingpin managed to lunge at him and get his hands around Matt’s throat.  Matt managed to shove him away.  He fixed his cufflink and his collar.  The Kingpin was still conscious but once again confined to the floor.

“You are quite the superior human specimen.  But you’re still just human.  Now, where was I?  Oh yes.  I get nothing if you die.  And I said, all too true, but you’re not going to die.”

With that Matt reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like an epi pen.  He pressed it against the Kingpin’s thigh.

“I gave you just enough to put you in a coma, and I gave you the antitoxin to neutralize it.  In a few minutes you’re going to close your eyes, and with your physiology, you’ll wake up one day, but by that time the authorities will have enough evidence on you to put you away for the rest of your natural life.  Just so there is no misunderstanding, you do recall that I am your assigned power of attorney if you’re deemed unfit to run your business or make choices for your medical treatment?  You didn’t want your wife to worry… don’t worry, your family, the business, it is all in good hands.  The right hands finally.  I am the new Kingpin after all.”

Gwenom couldn’t believe her eyes and ears.  Matt Murdock had just committed a coup before her very eyes and she had all the evidence of it.  She could release it but then Matt could release her secrets.  Neither side would come out on top.

Chapter Text

               Gwen fell into a dreamless slumber when she got home.  She was physically and emotionally exhausted.  The last day had been a whirlwind.  She was thankful for the rest because her alarm came early the next day.  She had decided to show up to work at Avenger’s Tower like nothing was wrong.  Everything was wrong.  Everything was broken, even her, but it would be nice to pretend it wasn’t.  Adam had tried reaching out to her an epic feat the day after everything electronic got fried, but she decided to just ghost him.  He obviously had moved on, so had she, though her choice of future partner’s body was abandoned on a dead world, her sword lost there as well.  Erica either was gone before she got up, or had never come back the night before, because the apartment was empty.  She went through the motions of getting ready for work.  She remembered Tony’s warning so she dressed in light clothes and brought an insulated jug of ice water with her.  She had no trouble navigating the various checkpoints through the onion of security Manhattan had become. 

There were five layers at this point. The first layer was city police.  The second layer was State authorities.  The last three were all federal.  Layer three was national guard, layer four was the Alphabet as Gwen referred to the FBI, NSA, DHS, CIA, then finally SHIELD.  SHIELD’s perimeter was the smallest by far as it housed only Avengers tower and a few structures nearby at this point.  Things were much smoother than they were right after the battle of New York.  Gwen couldn’t be sure if it was the recent chaos brought on by the Alignment and Dark elves, or they had been getting things down to a science after a month.  Gwen was delayed for fifteen minutes while her ID was updated.  She made up the time easily because there was a SHIELD agent who recognized her at the first gate, facilitated her renewed ID and offered her a ride to Avengers Tower.

Avengers Tower, which was also a Stark building seemed to be more populated then before.  Though Gwen suspected many were working from home due to lack of air conditioning on a sweltering early September morning.  The front desk security were dressed casually but wearing their badges.  She swiped her Stark Industries ID and walked on through only to be stopped by an attractive woman who appeared to be in her twenties.  She was wearing a summer dress and had a tablet with her.  The woman called out to her several times until Gwen stopped.  The woman was taller than Gwen and would be even without her heels.  Her dress was white with blue flowers.  Her hair was impeccable, and she’d been smart enough to stick with only lip gloss and a bit of foundation for makeup on the sweltering day without HVAC.  In other words, the opposite of Gwen who never wore make up and preferred her hair cut in a way she could wake up shower and go without work.

“Ms. Stacy.  I am Prudance.  I’ve been assigned as your personal assistant.  I’m so sorry I missed you at the door.  I was um.  Expecting someone a little older.”

Gwen blinked a few times.  It wasn’t like it had never happened before, but a personal assistant likely should have done a bit of research first in her opinion.  Then it dawned on her, if it happened this morning there was likely no internet, even by cellular connection.  While fiberoptics were fine, the routing equipment was not, and most of the cell towers would need maintenance.  Even the reception for S-NET, aka super net, Stark’s satellite internet would be down.

“What?  I don’t need a personal assistant I’m only part time.”

Prudance smiled.

“I don’t know what to say, Ms. Stacy.  Mrs. Stark is the CEO so what she says goes, and she said you need a personal assistant, hired me herself.  Said you were a VIP employee.  I have your agenda for the day.  It seems Mr. Stark is asking for you to help with the main server closet in sublevel two all day.  You also have a hair appointment at two, a trim and a dye job, as per Mrs. Stark.  And I have your new personal cell-”

Prudance held out a new Stark Industries model phone.  Gwen held up her hands.  She appreciated the hair appointment but having someone manage her entire day-to-day schedule seemed a bit overwhelming.  She also did not want an extra phone to keep track of.

“No need.  I have a phone already it has a private line and data storage for Stark Industries.  I’ll head downstairs.”

Prudance looked a bit shocked.

“But most cell phones were destroyed yesterday, this was very hard to find.”

               “I know, but mine is shielded and I had it powered off.  I knew it was coming.  Do you have a new one yet?”

               Prudance shook her head.  Gwen smiled.

               “Then today is your lucky day.  Swap your personal SIM card to that one and it’s all yours.”

               Prudance looked caught between excited and a bit confused.

               “But Mrs. Stark said-”

               Gwen cut her off again.  She was no designer clothing genius but she could tell that none of Prudance’s clothing was expensive.  Likely she was working her first job out of school and would be struggling to replace her own phone.

               “Mrs. Stark thought I needed a new phone, but I don’t.  Mine works fine.”

               Gwen tapped her wrist and showed the hologram to Prudance.

               “See, my uplink to the satellite network means I can receive calls.  Just enjoy the bonus.  This way you won’t have to wait in line to get a new one.  At this rate it’s going to take months of production for the world to replace their cell phones, computers and everything else.”

               Prudance stared at Gwen’s wrist in awe.

               “Is that a new model?  When will it be out?”

               Gwen glanced at her wrist.

               “Yes, but its umm, highly classified military tech I’m testing.  So, let’s not talk about it much hmm?”

               Prudance hurried to keep up with Gwen as she moved towards the stairs to the sub-basement.  Gwen stopped and looked at her new shadow.

               “You can take the day off.  I’ll make sure you get paid for the day.  I know you want to make a good impression.  You have, but it’s roasting here, I’m going to be in network and server rooms all day, and if you think it’s hot out here, just add network equipment and servers and you’ll find out what hell feels like on a hot day.  There is nothing you can do to help and honestly only one of us needs to suffer.  Enjoy your new phone once the network is up and stay cool as you can.  We’ll regroup tomorrow.”

               Prudance looked like she was about to disagree, but the pair’s conversation was interrupted when Pepper wandered up.

               “Ah, Gwen, you’ve met Prudance.  Everything alright?  I hope I didn’t put oil and water together.”

               Prudance went pale.  Gwen smiled.

               “Mrs. Stark?  You guys got married without me?”

               Pepper laughed.

               “Well, he didn’t want to wait, and I didn’t want to give him a chance to change his mind.  Besides its only proper considering.”

               Pepper patted her abdomen.  Gwen blinked a few times.

               “Oh, how long?”

               Pepper smiled.

               “We just confirmed, its only about six weeks.  So, why does Prudance look like she’s just been fired?”

               Gwen glanced at Prudance who was looking pale, and also a bit surprised at how comfortable Gwen and Pepper were with each other.

               “Oh, I just told her to go home and I’d make sure she got paid for the whole day.  It’s hot in here and the network closets and server rooms will be much hotter so I figured why make her suffer, and I told her she could keep the phone for herself.”

               Pepper smiled.

               “That makes sense, she gave you your schedule already, right? Tony said your hair was long and I know how much you hate having it long.”

               Gwen nodded.

               “Yes, thank you.”

               Prudance seemed unsure of what to do.  Pepper motioned Gwen to carry on and stood in front of Prudance.  Gwen wandered off but caught the last bit of the conversation.

               “She’s right, generally her day to day is in tech labs or other secure areas.  She’ll need you to remind her about meetings, and functions but if she says she doesn’t need you for the day, you can feel free to head home.  She’s the one signing off on your time sheets so she can make the call.  Just give her a chance to get used to you.  She’s like Mr. Stark.  She’s going to need someone to remind her to eat and come out of her lab sometimes.  Possibly shave, shower and dress appropriately too.  If only he’d had someone like you when he was her age.”

               Gwen lost track of them as she swiped her badge to head downstairs.  It was much cooler as she descended.  She pondered if she should have dressed warmer.  She swiped into the main network closet.  Tony and five techs were already there and testing equipment.  One of the techs, who appeared in his fifties confronted her.  He was wearing an IT uniform, which consisted of a Stark Industries embroidered golf shirt and a pair of khaki pants.  He looked very professional, as opposed to Gwen who was wearing a sports bra under a tank top with a pair of short shorts and a pair of sunglasses pushed up onto the top of her head.

               “Excuse me, this is a restricted area.  Who let you in here?”

               Gwen held up her ID badge.

               “I did, and Hello, I’m Gwen Stacy, Stu-...”

               Tony heard the commotion and rushed out dusting his hands off.  He interrupted her mid-sentence. He was wearing a Pink Floyd concert t-shirt and cutoffs with sandals.   Gwen smiled at him.

               “Dale, that is Gwen Stacy, our President of Special Research Projects.  She is part of our leadership team for the Avenger’s Initiative Support Branch.  Your boss, three levels up.”

               Gwen blinked a few times at her new title.  It was quite the leap from Summer Intern.  She shrugged it off.  She’d have to figure out what it was all about when she got Tony or Pepper alone.  In the moment she smiled.

               “Today it won’t matter, today I’m IT support because the world had an electronics meltdown. Right Tony?”

               Tony laughed.

               “True, we’re all IT Support.  Gwen all of our equipment should be good.  We’re just checking each piece manually, so we don’t end up with random issues later.  We can’t really power it all on until the AC is fixed, obviously.”

               Gwen nodded.

               “Just tell me where to start and what diagnostics we’re running.”

               Tony grabbed a tablet.  He’d set up a temporary secure wireless network so they could share a list.

               “We’re all working in here, then breaking off to do the network closets on each floor.  Gwen you and I will be dealing with the Avenger’s servers.”

               Gwen nodded and went to work.  Everyone was pretty quiet they all knew there was a lot of work to do and that the building, Stark Industries and the Avengers would all be dead in the water until they’d finished.  It seemed no one wanted to be responsible for the ‘we’re not ready’ once the AC came back on.   Dale approached her as they finished up the main network closet.

               “Look, I’m sorry about that thing when you first got here.”

               Gwen smiled.

               “I get it.  Trust me.  I left and I was a Summer Intern, then I come back and I’m President of Special Research Projects and part of the leadership for the Avenger’s Initiative?  I’m in grade ten.  You probably have children older than me.”

               He laughed.

               “I do in fact, have twin girls, they’re twenty-two, both in law school.”

               Gwen nodded.

               “See?  I’d react the same way too.”

               He rubbed the back of his neck.

               “The thing is, I recognize your name.  I’ve seen it a few times on high level files.  Wasn’t sure who you were, but it makes sense you’re being put in the position you are.  I’m sure your parents are proud of you.”

               Gwen sighed at that.  She was fairly sure Erica was mad at her and her father… her father thought she’d murdered someone.  She hadn’t had a chance to correct his confusion.  But maybe she had… if Matt Murdoch wasn’t lying.

               “They are.  Anyway, Tony looks like he’s going to grab my arm any minute now to drag me to the server room.  Stay frosty?”

               Dale laughed.  Gwen moved off and followed Tony to the server room.  He started up his first server, which was conveniently beside Gwen’s.  Gwen was still connecting to her KVM when he started speaking to her.

               “So, a month in Asgard.  You’re looking good for someone who had a bullet in their heart a month ago.  Trust me, I know the feeling.”

               Gwen blushed.

               “Well, time is different there, it was more like six months.”

               He tapped a few keys on his keyboard while he continued speaking.

               “Do you miss it?  Do you miss someone in particular?”

               Gwen blushed even more profusely as she powered on her own server.

               “Yes, and… I know he’s a bad guy, but once I got to know him I realized he was just like us, broken in his own way.”

               Tony nodded.  Gwen continued.

               “He has some serious… had some serious daddy issues.  Odin was not a good… parent.  Anyway, he’s gone, it sucks.  And yes, I miss Asgard.  I could drink, I didn’t have to work.  All the food I could eat, and the dresses were to die for.”

               He continued to work on the diagnostics for his server and she started on her own.  He was quiet for a few minutes.

               “Well, if you cared for him… I can’t judge.  He did die trying to save you and the Earth.”

               Gwen nodded.

               “Well… he had to.  We had a bet.  Win or lose he’d protect the Earth with the Avengers.  He did his best.”

               Tony paused and looked at her.

               “What was the bet? Why would he offer that?”

               Gwen blushed.

               “That he couldn’t live without powers for a year, as a human.  If he won, I’d date him, if he lost, he’d teach me how to harness dark energy and magic.  He said I had the talent.  To make me actually agree, he said he’d protect the Earth for as long as he lived, win or lose.  I figured he was in jail for longer than my natural lifespan, so it was win, win.  I guess we’ll never know who’d win the bet now.”

               Tony chuckled.

               “Well, you drive a hard bargain.  I’m not sure what the Earth would think of him showing up and protecting it, but we’ll never know, you’re right.  I’m more concerned about… our mutual friend, and your father.”

               Gwen decided now was a good time to focus on the server she was working on and did not comment.  Tony stopped and pressed a key on her keyboard to pause the test.

               “She’s out of control since the pair of you got back.  What is going on?”

               Gwen closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

               “The black goo spiders, they’re a symbiote, a synthetic symbiote.  Someone managed to combine her DNA and the radioactive isotopes in her blood with some Lizard formula and some of an alien symbiote to make a new living creature.  It… is angry and vicious and she’s trying to contain it.  Problem is, it does not want to be contained.  She’s got it under control now and is looking for a way to cure herself.  Neither can survive without the other, according to Asgard medicine.  So, she’s got her work cut out for her.”

               He sighed.

               “She hurt some people very badly yesterday.  Enough that SHIELD is fighting with itself not to bring her in.”

               Gwen narrowed her eyes at her screen.

               “They would not win that fight.”

               Tony nudged Gwen away from the screen to get all of her focus on him.

               “I used your backdoor into their systems.  They know about the symbiote, they know how to disable it.  I couldn’t find out what they would use, but she is in real danger.  We need to warn her.”

               Gwen nodded.

               “I’ll warn her.”

               Tony shook his head.

               “No, I will, she’s far too unstable and dangerous for you to be anywhere near her.  Focus on school and work.  Let the Avengers handle their own.”

               Gwen looked up at him.

               “You don’t even know how to reach her.  How are you going to track her down?”

               Tony nodded.

               “I know someone who can.  He’s a friend of yours, or so he says.  Obadiah helped him get into your school at Spider-Woman’s behest.”

               Gwen rolled her eyes.  She thought: Miles you stupid, idiot.

               “He’s a friend of hers and he’s worried about her, and so are you.”

               Gwen shook her head.

               “She won’t hurt me.  Trust me on that.  She will hurt you if you go after her, or Miles.  You need to just stay away from her.  Everyone needs to stay away from her until she figures this out.”

               Tony looked frustrated.

               “You have a stubborn streak a mile wide, Gwen.  You remind me of Pepper so much sometimes.  Just don’t let your guard down around her, alright?”

               Gwen decided a change of subject was in order before she started bawling so she cracked a joke.

               “I hope the little one you’re expecting isn’t a daughter then.”

               Tony cracked a smile.

               “Oh, I see what you did there, but we’re not done yet.  Your father, why didn’t you say anything about him?”

               Gwen shrugged.

               “It’s a personal issue, didn’t want to bother you with it.”

               Tony sighed.

               “Gwen, sometimes you are so… frustrating.  For the previous mentioned reasons.  I have an army of lawyers, some criminal due to my colorful past.  I can get one on his case.  They can fight this.”

               Gwen shook her head.

               “Look, its complicated.  I have someone on it.  He’s handling it for free.”

               Tony shook his head in response.

               “You get what you paid for Gwen.”

               Gwen held up her hands defensively.

               “It is very complicated, and you don’t want to get yourself or any of your lawyers involved in the mess.”

                Tony frowned.

               “Uncomplicate it for me then.  You know I’m just as stubborn as you are.”

               Gwen sighed.

               “Look, my dad arrested an important criminal’s son, my dad refused to be bribed to make the case go away, the DA isn’t going to either.  So, he’s been framed for a murder he didn’t commit.  Spider-Woman did it.  This is all kinds of shady top to the bottom.  The man Spider-Woman killed has killed several people, a cop, a priest.  He’s called the Sin-Eater, but no one is saying anything about that in the papers.  My data-spider pulled references to the man from SHIELD’s research files.  He was a test subject for a new version of the Super Soldier Serum.  It broke his mind.  They put it together and then it snapped again.  They didn’t stop him so SHIELD just wants this to go away, or part of SHIELD.  You don’t need that kind of heat from them with the whole Avenger’s thing.”

               Tony looked far more concerned after her honest response.

               “We need to stop them.  What good is money and power if we let the government get away with everything that it wants?”

               Gwen held up her hands again.

               “No.  I have…  look someone took over the criminal organization… the syndicate last night.  He’s working on fixing things for my father.  I just had to give him some information in return.  Sometime to let him take over.  It’s all done now.  My dad will be out soon.  I warned Fisk, I warned him what would happen if he went against my family, Spider-Woman warned him in a more direct fashion.  Now he’s reaped what he sowed.”

               “Fisk, Wilson Fisk?  Head of Fisk Industries?  He’s who framed your father?  He’s in a coma.  It was in the papers this morning.”

               Gwen nodded.

               “Wait, he’s a criminal?”

               Gwen blinked in disbelief.

               “He’s called the Kingpin, how do you not know this?  You’re an Avenger.”

               Tony shrugged.

               “We deal with world ending threats, not criminal syndicates.  I would have never guessed… you played golf with him didn’t you?”

               Gwen nodded.

               “Why would you hang out with someone like that?”

               Gwen shrugged.

               “Keep your friends close, your enemies closer.  Look it’s complicated between our families.  He knew my mother when she was young, my mother’s family has… well is a colorful bunch.  Fisk’s son killed my mother.  Spider-Woman nearly killed his son in retaliation.  I tried to make peace by helping him with a few issues in his organization.”

               She held up her hands again to stop Tony before he started lecturing her.

               “Look, nothing criminal and it was to help get the weapons Obadiah and the Ten Rings put on the streets off the streets.  I was tired of seeing TX-01 being used in bank robberies and gang wars.  I felt responsible.  We played chess, we played golf.  I helped him get the weapons off the streets with Spider-Woman and my spider-bots.  Unfortunately, it led to his son which led to his arrest because otherwise feds would get involved.  He was hoping to use my father to get his son off, my father said no.  He was clearly warned about the ramifications of going after my family.  Now he's facing the consequences.”

               Tony went pale.

               “Spider-Woman didn’t… did she?”

               Gwen shook her head.

               “No, I did.  Though I wasn’t expecting him to poison the Kingpin and take over the organization.  But I suppose without a leader it would have been chaos and all out war to see who would take over so it’s better… I guess.  More orderly change in leadership.”

               “What did you do Gwen?”

               Gwen shook her head.

               “All I did was provide them with the logins and passwords for all of the Kingpin’s accounts, legit and illegitimate.  The rest of what happened is on them.  Now I have leverage enough we’re on equal footing because Spider-Woman recorded him poisoning Fisk and murdering two of his bodyguards.”

               Tony blinked a few times.

               “She didn’t stop him?”

               Gwen shrugged.

               “Why on Earth would she?  She was there to punish him for going after my father.  If you want to fire me, I get it.  If most companies caught wind of half of what I did to protect my family they’d ask the FBI to arrest me.”

               Tony shook his head.

               “No, I get it, the Stark Family has its own skeletons.  But two things.  One, if you decide you want help you ask me right away.  Two, you’re not an Avenger.  You have no powers, no power armor, nothing, start acting like it please.”

               Gwen held up a finger.

               “Hey, Hawkeye and Black Widow aren’t supers.”

               Tony frowned.

               “Technically correct, but they both have years of experience and extensive training.  Get back to work before I have second thoughts.”

               Gwen went back to work on the server.  She finished out the day with her hair cut.

Chapter Text

               Gwen’s sleep was anything but dreamless the next night.  She kept seeing the broken and bloodied face of the Sin-Eater.  His dead eyes staring back at her.  Loki made an appearance but then he disintegrated, and the Sin-Eater’s face and Loki’s face overlapped.  She woke up in a cold sweat.  She must have screamed because Erica rushed into her room.

               “Gwen, are you alright?”

               Gwen shook her head but waved her stepmother away.

               “I’m fine.  I’m fine.  Everything is fine.”

               Erica didn’t need to be a veteran police investigator to know that her stepdaughter was lying.  She sat on the bed.

               “Fine, huh?  Are you sick?  Your hair is wet.”

               Gwen shook her head.

               “I’m just sweating, its hot.”

               Erica chuckled.

               “Yet when I read over that medical file you gave me last night, it mentioned due to your condition you have resistance to extremes in temperature.  The kinds of temperatures that would kill a normal human are a nice day to you.  So, let’s try that again kid.”

               Gwen sighed.  She knew giving Erica the research report Stark Industries had produced on her would come back to bite her, she just figured it would be a decade or so.

               “I’m just trying to deal with everything okay.  I spent six months dreading seeing my dad, and everything was good when I got back… mostly then he gets arrested for a murder I committed but it would be self-defense and justified considering the situation.  I just can’t get Detective Carter’s face out of my head.  And Loki…  I’m just… I need time to process.  I swear he was alive when I left him.  I didn’t hurt him bad enough to kill him…  not with the super soldier serum.  I could have shot him a few times and he’d have healed up fast.  It just doesn’t make any sense.  I was shot in the heart, I’m still here.”

               Erica put her hand on Gwen’s back.

               “Look, I’ve never had to shoot someone in the line of duty, but I hear from cops who had, and killed someone.  It never leaves them.  It’s what makes the difference between people like us and actual killers.”

               Gwen looked at Erica tears had started to form in the teenager’s eyes.

               “That’s the thing.  Part of me is happy he’s dead.  Part of me wanted to kill him after what he did to Detective DeWolf.  Part of me enjoyed it…  Maybe Matt is right.  Maybe we’re the same, I just haven’t had fifteen years to come to terms with it.”

               Erica shook her head.

               “You think he has a moment of regret about any of the people he’s responsible for killing?  I honestly think not.  The man is a psychopath plain and simple.  The only reason he’s still free is he hasn’t been caught yet.  He thinks he’s so smart.  I’ll find a way to bring him down.  I know he’s responsible for Fisk and his bodyguards.  That was a professional hit.  I don’t buy Fisk having an aneurism because of his shock at the attack.  No professional hitman leaves their mark alive on purpose without a good reason.”

               Gwen bit her tongue.  She could prove Matt Murdock was responsible, but to what end?  She may as well go on national news and tell them who she really was.  It would have the same effect.

               “We cannot afford to antagonize him.  He knows my secret.  He’s dad’s only hope of getting out of this with his job and his freedom intact.”

               Erica’s face darkened.

               “I know and that pisses me off.  Look, maybe some counseling would not be out of line here.  You just lost your mother.  You have to have some form of PTSD from being shot in the heart by your father, fighting God knows what on an alien world.  Hell, aliens on this world.”

               Gwen shook her head.

               “No way, you need to be honest for that to work and I cannot be honest… not at all.  I wish Obadiah hadn’t been a bad guy.  He could have helped me out of this mess but I guess…  I guess he wouldn’t have been so good at it if he wasn’t a bad guy.”

               Erica shrugged.

               “It doesn’t matter, he’s dead.”

               Gwen shook her head.

               “No, no he is in SHIELD custody, but he might as well be dead.  SHIELD is compromised and anything I say to him would be recorded.”

               “Seriously?  Is anything they say on the news true?”

               Gwen shrugged.

               “The Yankees do suck this year?”

               Erica chuckled.

               “Like we need a reminder of that.  Think about the counseling thing, okay?  Try and get some sleep, you have work in the morning.”

               Gwen sighed.

               “Don’t remind me, first day as President of Special Research Projects… what the hell does a one of those do?”

               Erica rubbed Gwen’s back.

               “I don’t know but it sounds important.  Maybe it will take your mind off of things.  You know, we could get you a nice silk bonnet like mine.  Keeps my hair nice, yours gets kind of wavy when you’ve got it short like this, might help you not have to wash it in the morning?”

               Gwen blinked at her.  Erica shrugged.

               “Look, I know about as much about white girl hair maintenance as you know about black girl hair maintenance, but I see white women buying them same as me.  You hate getting ready in the morning.  Might help.  I’ll pick one up. See how it goes.”

               Gwen tugged Erica and hugged her.  Erica sat back down and hugged Gwen tightly.  Gwen released her.

               “Thanks Erica.  I’m glad you and dad found each other.”

               Erica kissed Gwen on the forehead.

               “Get some sleep kid.”

               Gwen snuggled up and closed her eyes.  She managed to sleep through the rest of the night she grumbled as she went through her morning routine.  Erica had already left for her shift.  Gwen got to Avengers Tower shortly after she meant to, the trip to work was slower as more people were back to work.  She was met by Prudance who looked more professional today.  Gwen did as well, the HVAC was back up and running.

               “Ms. Stacy, welcome back.  Your hair looks amazing.  Pink is an interesting choice for your bangs.  Looks good on you.”

               Gwen knew she wasn’t being honest but didn’t care.  She liked pink.  Her hair was still damp, she hadn’t dried it after her shower.  She snapped at Prudance, though it was more Gwen’s general mood than any anger at her new personal assistant.

               “First things first, its Gwen, not Ms. Stacy, ma’am, or whatever else you want to call me.  Second, you don’t need to meet me here when I’m in, I don’t need an escort to my office, while I am fifteen and do not have a driver’s license, I can use the elevator alone.”

               Prudance blushed and looked like she’d just been slapped.  She just silently walked beside Gwen.  Finally, she spoke up.

               “Ms. Sta-”

               Gwen shot Prudance a warning glance.  Prudance corrected herself.

               “Gwen, they’ve moved your office.”

               Gwen blushed and let Prudance select the floor.  As it turned out her office was on the Avenger’s logistics floor, a corner office with an excellent view.  Probably one of the best in the building.  It was large and empty except for her desk, a laptop, a holographic design system and a coat rack.  There was another office out front of hers with Prudance’s name on the door.  Prudance didn’t say anything else as they walked together.  Finally, as they arrived at Gwen’s office, Gwen looked up at Prudance.

               “Look, I’m sorry, it’s been a crappy few days which is no excuse. It wasn’t professional or right to take it out on you, you’re just doing your job.  I’m hoping we can be on friendly terms.  I’m a teenage girl sometimes it gets the best of me.  I know you’ve been there.”

               Prudance nodded and her lips broke into a smile.

               “Oh boy have, I.  Gwen I’ve put together your schedule for the day.  Mr. Stark wants you to go over the latest designs for something called the Iron Shield and hovercarrier repulser.  He’s apparently granted you access to the SHIELD and Avenger’s Initiative designs.  He wants a second opinion on all of them, but especially the ones I listed.  You have a meeting with your staff at 10 am.  I’ve taken the liberty of preparing an introduction for you.  I’ll be in attendance to take minutes.  Mrs. Stark asked me to pencil you in for a lunch date with her.  And a gentleman named Matt Murdock demanded to be let into see you.  I told him you were busy but he insisted you’d see him, I told him I’d see.  Do you want me to set up an appointment with him this afternoon?”

               Gwen sighed, of course he wanted to see her.  She decided not to be a bitch about it, she figured it would do her no good to antagonize him at this point.  Better to play the dutiful servant until she could find some way out of his clutches.

               “Yes, unless I say otherwise, let Mr. Murdock set up an appointment whenever he wants, he’s my lawyer, if he wants to see me, it’s always important.”

               Prudance nodded.

               “Is there… something I should be aware of so I can help you better?”

               Gwen shook her head.

               “My father is having some legal trouble, he’s a police officer, he made some criminals angry so they made up some stories about him.  Mr. Murdock is helping us sort out the mess.  So no, I don’t think that should impact us, needless to say if any reporters ask for appointments and want to discuss my personal or family life the answer is, no.  I’m pretty sure there’s going to be others wanting to interview about my job and if that’s the case just go with whatever legal and marketing want.  If that’s it I’m going to drink my iced coffee before all of the ice melts and look at some holograms.”

               Prudance nodded.  Gwen stood up with her aforementioned iced coffee and started the holo-projector up and started looking over the repulser designs for the hovercarriers. She at least had seen those before.  She had no idea what Iron Shield was all about.  Last she heard the hovercarriers were Tony’s priority.  Prudance watched her new boss who was deep in thought as she was inspecting different parts of a blown up large scale repulser engine.  Gwen made a correction to one of the calculations and the hologram shifted.  Prudance kept glancing at Gwen with a new appreciation.  She’d heard Gwen Stacy was a genius on par with Tony Stark but she hadn’t believed it until that moment.  In that moment it became clear she’d made the right choice to take the job.  That teenage girl could take her places.  She closed the door behind her.

               Gwen went through the motions when it came to board meetings and staff meetings.  She pretty much stuck to the script Prudance had prepared for her.  She didn’t want to manage people she wanted to manage technology.  Or rather, craft technology.  Finally, it came time to meet with Matt Murdock.  He was wearing a similar suit to the one she’d first met him in.  He sat down in one of her guest seats without being asked.  Gwen hadn’t turned off the holo-projector and sat down in her chair.  He leaned forward leaning on his cane, which she’d never seen him with before.

               “Very sparse.  Wow, President of Special Research Projects.  Very impressive, now you just need an office to match.”

               Gwen frowned.              

               “I have a computer and a holo-projector, its everything I need.”

               He shook his head.

               “Oh, dear child.  It’s not about what you need, it is about the image you want to project.  Are you going to be cold, logical and bereft of meaningful emotions and leave your office like this?  Or are you going to go warm and welcoming?  I myself decided to show off my firm’s wealth and stick with warmth.  I want my clients to feel at ease.  It is so much easier to get them to open their wallets further if they feel comfortable.  Right now there is nothing of you in this office.”

               Gwen groaned in annoyance.

               “I just found out I had it today, what do you want?”

               He smiled.

               “Ah lets get down to business then.  I could not get your father out on bail.  He is on his way to Rykers as we speak, so I apologize for that.  Also, he’s been restricted from seeing visitors still.  I asked for him to be put in solitary confinement for his own protection.  The DA acquiesced to my request.  Whether the department of corrections will honor that request, who knows.  He is an accused cop killer.”

               Gwen sighed.

               “You could have emailed me that.”

               He chuckled and stood up.  He traced the edge of her holo-projector as he walked.

               “Yes, but then I wouldn’t get to hear your voice with that hint of rage and that sweet sound of subtle resignation.  I was testing you.  Would you get me in as soon as possible?  How tightly are you leashed.  It would appear my grasp on it is quite firm.  Ah, if only we could get you in a collar with a name tag and my address, so everyone knew who your owner was.”

               Gwen seethed but said nothing.  He looked at her.

               “Good, it seems we have your… little passenger under control for the time being.  Apologies, I had to ensure you were the one in charge.   A little prodding…  Gwen.  Let’s address the elephant in the room…”

               Gwen was genuinely confused.

               “What the hell are you talking about, Mr. Murdock?”

               He shook his head.

               “Come now, we’re going to be friends for a very long time, Matt, please.  And I am talking about the video you took of me taking over for Fisk.”

               Gwen shook her head.  He held up a finger.

               “Don’t deny it, I could hear you on the window, sense your confusion.  You saw everything because I allowed it.  I wanted to show you who you could be.  No doubt you recorded it.  Yet you haven’t tried to leverage that against me.”

               Gwen rolled her eyes.

               “What would the point be?  I need you to get my father out.  Its insurance.  If you out me, I out you.  You still hold all the cards.”

               He smiled.

               “Oh, I see.  Clever girl.”

               Gwen sighed.

               “Seriously?  My name is not Clarice Starling, I’m not a dinosaur and I’m not a dog.”

               He laughed.

               “I like you, Gwen.  You understand me.  Like I understand you.”

               Gwen was getting fed up.

               “You’re very creepy, I am not interested in you and I’ve had a rough few days, so how about you finish your point and get the fuck out.”

               He tsked.

               “Language dear, what would Captain Rogers say?”

               Gwen almost cracked her oak desk as she white-knuckled the edge as it was, the wood groaned under the pressure. The symbiote really wanted to eat Matt Murdock and it was all she could do to keep it in check.

               “You really do have it mostly under control don’t you.  Amazing.”

               He produced a folded piece of paper and put it in front of her on the desk.

               “Mind you are here at ten pm sharp.  There is going to be an assassination attempt.  You’re going to prevent it.  I believe you’re familiar with the target.  In fact before your disappearing act you were on track to call him father in law.  The assassins in question aren’t exactly… surgical so I’m afraid your beau?  Former beau?  Sexual partner?  Is likely to be caught in the crossfire.”

               Gwen shook her head.

               “Impossible, Adam was in London.”

               Matt smiled.

               “Was, being the operative word in that sentence.  Daddy dearest called him home in light of the alien incursion in London.  Be a good girl and don’t be late.  I’m doing you a favor with this information, don’t let it go to waste.  Ta ta Spider-Woman.”

               Gwen glared at Matt as he let himself out.  Prudance came in shortly after and after getting one look at Gwen’s face she said.

               “Bad news?”

               Gwen crumpled the paper holding the address in her left fist.

               “When it’s a lawyer, is it ever good news?”

               Prudance smiled and nodded.

               “I hope it is sometimes, I’ve just finished law school and am working on passing my bar.”

               Gwen blinked at her.

               “Why are you working as a personal assistant then?”

               Prudance gave a small shrug.

               “Its what Mrs. Stark did and look at her now?  She’s CEO of a fortune five hundred company and Stark Industries even without weapons production was the fifth most profitable corporation globally last year.”

               Gwen smirked.

               “Yes, but she’s sleeping with the majority stockholder.”

               Prudance shrugged again.

               “She was CEO before they got married.  She’s someone I’ve always admired since we did a tour in my junior year of high school.  Its why I took this job.  She told me she’d mentor me and she told me that you’re the next Tony Stark.  And if the future Tony Stark is curious, I do like her hair cut, I love the pink bangs and I’m a lesbian.”

               Prudance blushed suddenly.

               “I’m sorry, I have no idea why I just said that.  You’re fifteen and my boss, totally inappropriate.”

               She closed the door and rushed off.  Gwen sighed.  She’d need to deal with that.  She glanced at her list of emails from her staff and decided she’d rather face off against possible workplace sexual harassment then answering questions about her plans for Special Projects and ass kissers trying to get their names in front of her.  She hurried after Prudance and found her in the ladies room.  She leaned on the door after she slipped inside and after glancing under the stalls and only seeing Prudance’s trademark heels she locked the outside door.  She knocked on Prudance’s stall door.  Prudance was sniffling.

               “So, just so I know where you stand, are you single?”

               Prudance paused in her sniffles.

               “What?”

               Gwen smiled.

               “Are you single.  I mean, it sounded like you were letting me know you were interested.”

               Prudance got really quiet.

               “I’m so sorry.”

               “You didn’t answer my question.”

               Prudance tapped her toes.

               “I broke up.  My fiancée didn’t want to move to New York City and I couldn’t turn down this job.  I’m just trying not to be a wreck.”

               Gwen pushed herself off of the stall door.  Prudance came out.  Her face was a mess.

               “I am so sorry Gwen, I have no idea what I was thinking.  You with your hair, you reminded me of my first girlfriend.”

               Gwen nodded.

               “Look, I’m going to be straight up honest with you, it’s not the weirdest flirtation I’ve ever had.   My last… situation was with someone who was way older, I can’t go into details it is one hundred percent classified but trust me, way older.  I am not into women.  I appreciate the compliment though.  If you can forgive my… bitchiness, I can forget this ever happened.  I’m good like that.  Matt Murdock is an evil sadistic son of a bitch and if I had my way, I’d lock him up forever.  Unfortunately, the world doesn’t work that way and he can help my dad, so I can promise you if I have to deal with Matt, I’ll be in a foul mood.  So do me a huge favor if he shows up on my calendar or randomly at the office, its best to just cancel any meetings or appointments I have with people for the rest of the day.  We should unlock the door and get out of here before people talk.”

               Prudance blushed and nodded.  They left the bathroom together, no one was waiting outside and apparently no one noticed, or so Gwen thought.  Then her extremely good hearing picked up someone commenting about how it looks like Gwen is more of a hard ass then they thought, making her assistant cry on the second day.  They bet on how long Prudance would last.  Gwen made it her goal in life at that moment to make sure Prudance outlasted them all.  As they walked back to her office Gwen glanced up at Prudance.

               “Prudance, have you eaten yet?”

               Prudance shook her head.

               “Let’s go out.  Wherever you want, whatever you want.  My treat.”

               Prudance blinked a few times.

               “I’m sorry, I have been eating in since I got here.  It is so expensive.”

               Gwen nodded.

               “Well, first things first, food, then we figure out how to make it less expensive.   I know people, you don’t mind Queens, do you?  Actually, I know exactly what we can do.  Two birds one stone.  There is a couple, they own a bodega by my place.  I’ll be a really easy boss to be a personal assistant too since I only work on weekends and some PD days.  Provided you don’t mind sweeping, possibly dishwashing…  They have apartments, small, but clean they rent out and have been known to give discounts on rent to people who are willing to work part time for them.  I bet you could save a bunch that way and they know me and my relationship with Spider-Woman.  I can get you in.  Also, they have the best curry in Queens, I’d say New York City but I might be lying unintentionally.”

               Prudance looked really confused.

               “Its okay… I have a place.”

               Gwen looked up at her.

               “With four roommates and cockroach neighbors?”

               Prudance shrugged slightly.  Gwen continued.

               “Trust me, you’ll love them.  And the subway stairs are literally ten feet from the front door.  You’ll love it in winter.  I also know their daughter is studying law, is single, beautiful and she and you share some preferences.”

Chapter Text

               Gwen was happily slurping up curry.  She knew she should be preparing to protect Adam and his father.  Or warning them.  At least doing something but she wasn’t sure what to do and how to respond.  Murdock could be lying.  Testing her to see how she would respond.  Maybe he was trying to make her the girl who cried wolf so the next time a real threat appeared her cries would fall in deaf ears.  How would she explain what she knew?  Prudance was gushing about how good the curry was while Gwen pondered her next moves.  The conversation changed when Mrs. Krishna appeared.

               “And another thing, Prudance, we have that girl, Spider-Woman, she shows up here all the time.  Our bodega and attached apartments are safest in the city.  You see, you need to move out of that terrible place you’re living.  And look at you, all skin and bones. You know rent comes with food too.”

               Gwen was pulled out of her musings.  Apparently, Gwen’s word carried a lot of weight because Mrs. Krisna was giving Prudance the hard sell.  Mrs. Krishna preferred to rent to single young women who were drug and drama free.  Gwen saying Prudance was gainfully employed by Stark Industries and the Avengers went a long way.  Prudance for her part was obviously tempted.  They’d looked at the apartment and it was small but clean and quiet.

               “I need to think about it, Mrs. Krishna, I barely have enough to cover rent at one place, let alone first and last.”

               Mrs. Krishna adjusted her glasses and looked at Gwen.

               “Do you believe this girl?”

               Gwen shrugged.  Prudance was literally paying twice as much for rent to share a room in two bedroom apartment in a worse neighborhood.  Prudance looked between the two.

               “I’m sure Mrs. K will let you pay last month’s rent over time.”

               Mrs. Krishna threw up her hands.

               “That is what I said upstairs.  Children these days, in one ear, out the other.”

               Prudance blinked a few times.

               “Wait, I’m so sorry I was looking at the apartment.  You’ll take first months only?”

               Mrs. Krishna nodded.

               “Of course.  Gwen is a good girl.  If she says you’re good for it, I know you’re good for it.  When are you moving in?”

               Prudance bit her lower lip.

               “I guess, tomorrow?”

               Mrs. Krishna clapped her hands.

               “Excellent.”

               She yelled out for Yash, her grandson.

               “Yash!  Yash!”

               Her long-suffering teenage grandson rushed forward.

               “Yea, what is it Nani?”

               Mrs. Krishna slapped him on the back of the head.

               “What is with the attitude with you?  Use your proper English like you were taught, it is Yes Nani…  not ‘yea’ Nani.  Your father taught you better than that.”

               Yash rolled his eyes.

               “Yes, Nani, what did you need?”

               Mrs. Krishna frowned.

               “Again, attitude.  This young lady is moving into the empty apartment tomorrow.  You are going to help her move her belongings here with the cargo van.  Yes?”

               Prudance looked up at Yash sympathetically.

               “I can hire a car or something.”

               Mrs. Krishna shook her head.

               “No, none of that young lady.  You are just out of school, you save your money.  Give him your address, he will be there when you finish work.”

               Gwen shook her head and swallowed her next mouthful.  She was just finishing her second serving of curry and rice a fact that seemed to have escaped Prudance’s notice.  This after a full lunch with Pepper.

               “I’ll give her a paid day off to get moved in. I need her comfortable and in top shape.”

               Mrs. Krishna smiled.

               “Such a good boss you have Prudance.  I told you she is a good girl.”

               Mrs. Krishna noticed Gwen’s empty take-out container.

               “Yash, her bowl is empty, get her another quick, quick.”

               Yash looked at the two empty bowls and to Gwen who was whisper thin.  He said something that got him another cuff on the back of the head.

               “She’s already had two nani, maybe she’s full.”

               Mrs. Krishna blinked at him in disbelief.

               “She’s all skin and bones.  She needs more, go go.”

               Gwen pulled cash out to pay for her next serving but Mrs. Krishna pushed it away.

               “None of that.  First your mother, then your father.  You worked here for two years.  And how many afternoons after school did you play with Yash in this very spot?  It’s like you’re family.  You are not going away hungry.  You’d still be working here if that Iron Man hadn’t stolen you away.”

               Gwen did not relent.

               “Really, I’m fine.  I can pay, ask Prudance.  I’m very important to Stark Industries and the Avengers.”

               Prudance nodded.

               “She is ma’am.  My whole job is taking care of her schedule and stopping people from bothering her.”

               Mrs. Krishna threw up her hands again.

               “Ma’am she calls me!  It’s Mrs. K.  And I insist even more, those Avengers protected us.  I will not have someone who supports them wasting away and starving.  You need color in those cheeks little Gwen.”

               Mrs. Krishna pinched Gwen’s cheeks.  This caused Gwen to blush profusely.  Then her spider-sense triggered, and she shifted Mrs. Krishna out of the way of a man pointing his gun at her husband who was manning the cash register.  It was rare and far between that someone was dumb enough to rob the place.  It was what you’d call protected.  At least most of the local thugs knew this.  Even Fisk’s crew gave it a wide berth.  Gwen knew that meant this guy was a rando street criminal probably looking for money for his next fix.  Mr. Krishna had frozen and was staring at the gun.  Everyone was, except for Gwen who swept in front of the robber putting herself between the gun and Mr. Krishna.  She was fairly sure the bullet would barely annoy Gwenom at this point.  She tried to keep her mood light because if she went to the dark place Gwenom would come out.

               The man looked at her and held the gun out in a gangster style on the side.  The way you’d injure your hand because of the kickback, and aiming was pointless.  Lessons her father had taught her when he’d taken her to the range.  Just because she didn’t use them, didn’t mean she had no experience with them.  She started with that.

               “You know, you could injure your wrist if you fire it that way, and its terrible aim.  What if Mr. K had a gun behind the counter.  I mean you’d hit the cigarettes beside him and he’d hit you center mass.  Are you a rap gangster?  Is this a video shoot?”

               He looked around confused.

               “What is your deal little girl?  Are you suicidal?”

               Gwen shook her head.

               “No, but you obviously are.  You know why this place has only been robbed once in the last thirty years?”

               He was starting to look a little nervous.

               “No…”

               Gwen nodded.

               “You ever heard of the Syndicate?”

               He went a bit pale at the mention.

               “What do they have to do with this?”

               Gwen smiled innocently and stepped closer pushing the gun to her chest.  She grabbed the top of the barrel.  This confused the armed robber so much he didn’t react.

               “Yea, its protected, they won’t even touch it for their protection rackets.   Now you’re point blank with a cop’s kid.  You are all manner of screwed now.  Shoot me you’re a dead man.  Try to pull the gun away, you might shoot me by accident.  Dead man.  Get away, well, you’re probably going to wish you were dead.  Spider-Woman protects this place and from what I hear, she’s off the leash recently oh and she’s my friend too.  You really stepped in it.”

               Mrs. Krishna looked like she was about to say something, Gwen shot her a warning glance.  She looked up at the man who was starting to shake.  He spoke but Gwen could tell his heart wasn’t in it.

               “I’m going to kill you, you little bitch.  What do you say to that?”

               Gwen grinned.  She could feel the symbiote snarling inside her.  It colored her response.

               “Do it.  Shoot me.  I dare you.  Are you man enough?  Do you want to die?”

               He hesitated and his grip loosened on his gun.  It was all Gwen needed.  She twisted the gun hard, tossing it away then she kneed him in the crotch and smashed his windpipe like she’d practiced a thousand times on Asgard.  He fell to the ground gasping for air and clutching his family jewels.  Truthfully with her strength and the superhuman speed at which she’d reacted she’d snapped his wrist so badly he’d need surgery.  Not that she realized it at the time.  She retrieved his firearm. It was a Glock so it was trigger safety.  She slid it across the glass counter.

               “I’m going to answer your question, you blinked, I didn’t.  Enjoy prison jerk.  My curry is getting cold because of you.”

               Gwen moved over to the takeout container Yash had refilled for her and started eating like nothing had happened.  When you’d faced down marauding trolls, dark elves, giant armored worms and aliens with laser rifles, a run of the mill bodega hold up was pretty much an easy day.  Prudance looked like she was about to faint.  Mrs. Krishna whose mind was always on business spoke up.

               “It really is a safe place that is the first armed robbery in thirty years.”

               Prudance finally found her voice.

               “Gwen, why did you do that?”

               Gwen blinked a few times, she was confused because in her mind why wouldn’t she do that.  If she’d gone Gwenom it would free her from Murdock’s clutches and allow her to take responsibility for the Sin-Eater.  If she didn’t, she still stopped a robbery where Mr. K could have possibly gotten hurt.  Instead of responding truthfully, she just shrugged.

               “I don’t know, seemed like the right way to respond.”

               Prudance sat in silence looking at the man writhing on the ground.  She cast the odd glance towards Gwen.  Never in her wildest dreams would she have expected the mild-mannered teenage girl sitting eating curry to press a gun against herself and dare a man to shoot her.  She knew right then and there what she needed to do and it wasn’t quit her job.  Mrs. Krishna crossed her arms and stood over the fallen robber.

               “You are lucky it was her, if it was her friend you’d be webbed upside down.  What kind of person walks into a safe business waving a gun demanding money?  You are scum.”

               Erica rushed in shortly after Mrs. Krishna’s statement of fact, along with two patrol officers.  Gwen hadn’t been lying, this place was protected, it was two blocks from the police station.  It was three blocks from her uncle’s bar, her uncle who was head of the Irish mob.  So shortly after the cops arrived her uncle showed up with a couple of his heavy hitters.  He nodded to Gwen who nodded back.  He smiled through the window and motioned to the would-be thief.  Gwen nodded.  He smiled back and blew her a kiss.  He mouthed the words, that’s my Wendy before retreating.  Erica looked at Gwen.

               “I trust you’re responsible for this?”

               Gwen nodded.

               “Yes stepmom, I am.”

               Erica pointed to a couple cameras.

               “When I review the footage, am I going to see you something stupid?”

               Gwen shrugged.

               “You know me too well.”

               Erica frowned.

               “Go see your uncle and fill him in.  I don’t want anymore noise tonight got it?”

               Gwen nodded and hopped off her stool.  She’d finished her third bowl of curry and rice.  She tossed it in the trash.  She motioned to Prudance.

               “She works with me at Stark Industries, can you get her a ride home in something unmarked, please?”

               Mrs. Krishna shook her head.

               “No, no, Yash will take her.  The Police have enough to do.”

               Gwen looked at Prudance.

               “I am so sorry, like I was saying this place is super safe, nothing ever happens here… and I’ll see you day after tomorrow at work.  Hope your move goes well.”

               Prudance just stared at her.  Gwen walked away.  Prudance shifted closer to Erica.

               “I think something is wrong with her, she pressed a gun against her shoulder.  She wasn’t scared at all.”

               Erica shrugged.

               “Probably because she noticed the gun wasn’t loaded.  She’s the daughter of two cops.  She knows a thing or two about guns.”

               Prudance blinked a few times.

               “Oh!  Wow.  She didn’t say anything.  She just said this place was protected…”

               Erica nodded.

               “It is, the police station is two blocks that way, and there is a criminal element, you might call it the Irish Mob that looks out for the place, mostly because their boss has a soft spot for his niece.  This whole block is basically off limits to criminals who know better.  Guess this guy didn’t know better.”

               Prudance blinked a few times.

               “Wait, her Uncle is…”

               Erica shrugged.

               “Head of the Irish Mob.  Why do you think Mrs. K feeds her so much and hired her?”

               Mrs. Krishna shook her head.

               “No, Gwen is a good girl, that is why I make sure she eats and when she needs a job has one.  It has nothing to do with her family.”

               Erica chuckled.

               “Okay, I have everything I need.  Just send me the footage, okay?”

               Mrs. Krishna nodded.

               “Yash will take care of it after he drops off this young lady.”

               Erica closed up her notepad and slipped the gun and magazine into separate evidence bags and offered them to one of the patrol officers who quirked his head to the side.

               “Detective, this has a full magazine.”

               Erica shrugged as they walked towards the patrol unit.

               “Why upset Mr. and Mrs. K?”

               He shook his head.

               “Captain Stacy’s daughter sure has some balls on her.”

               Erica frowned.

               “I know, I wish she was still interested in cheerleading.”

Chapter Text

               Gwen slid onto one of the barstools at her Uncle’s pub.  The bartender, a woman named Fiona put a cola down in front of her.  She also produced a plate of hot wings and gave Gwen a wink.  Gwen laughed.

               “You know me too well, how did you know I was coming?”

               Fiona smiled.

               “Your uncle said the bodega down the street was robbed.  Mentioned you were there with your stepmom.  He assumed she’d be sending you down here to tell him to let the police handle it.  Guess he assumed right then, told me to get the order in for a special order of hot wings, just the way you like them.”

               Gwen dug in.  In truth she was a bottomless pit lately.  It was worse than normal since the symbiote and she had bonded.  Like she was eating for two.  She finished it off and took a long drink from the cola after wiping her fingers clean with a wet nap.

               “Uncle said to let you finish then send you down.  You need more?”

               Gwen looked at the empty plate wistfully then decided against it. She had to put limits on her appetite.

               “Yes, thanks Fiona.”

               Fiona gathered up the empty glass and the plate.  Gwen walked through the employee’s only door and into a side room.  A beefy looking Irish-American stood in her way.

               “You going to behave yourself down there?”

               He smiled and hugged Gwen.

               “I always behave myself.”

               He thumbed towards the stairs.

               “He’s finished up and waiting for you.”

               Gwen walked down the stairs and saw a couple of guys rolling a blood splattered sheet of plastic.  Her uncle was in the middle of wiping his hands clean.  He scrubbed a set of iron knuckles as he motioned with his head towards his office.  He held up the cleaned iron knuckles.

               “Now, lass, should I be getting you a set of these for your sixteenth?”

               Gwen shook her head.

               “That’s surprising, by the looks of that idiot you’re getting into the family business.  You’re a bit late to it, but it comes natural, your ma gave her first beat down when she was twelve.  Donkey thought he could threaten your nan by threatening your ma.  He learned to regret that choice by the time your ma handed him his teeth in a plastic baggy. All clean like.”

               Her Uncle sat down behind his desk.

               “So, you’re stepmum is wondering if we’re going to go after the idiot?”

               Gwen nodded.

               “Are you? I beat him up pretty badly.”

               Her uncle shrugged.

               “Depends on what he told you.  If it’s someone testing our boundaries we need to know.  With the Kingpin down, who knows what’s going on.  All kinds of folks trying to use it to shake something loose.  Kingpin’s replacement is hitting back hard… you think it was him?”

               Gwen shook her head.

               “No, no.  He seemed like some drug addict looking for some quick cash…  totally inexperienced.  I mean you’d have to be the dumbest person alive to hit anything that close to a police station. Or… you’re doing it for a really big payday and acting…”

               Her uncle nodded.

               “You are a smart lass, always have been.  Don’t worry about it Wendy, we’ll make sure he gets bail and get the truth out of him.  Maybe I’ll just tell him my niece Wendy wants a few minutes with him out of the public eye.”

               Gwen thought, Gwenom would love that chance.

               “I think you can take care of it without invoking my wrath Uncle Liam.”

               He leaned forward.

               “I disagree, Wendy, lass, anyone crazy enough to press a fully loaded handgun to her chest is probably crazy enough you don’t want to be locked up in a room alone with them.”

               Gwen blushed.

               “Oh, you heard about that….”

               He nodded.

               “Of course I did lass, nothing happens in this neighborhood without me knowing about it and you better damn believe my runners wanted to tell me about my niece doing something nutter like that.  Rushed over there as soon as I got the picture and the call.  I know your dad is jammed up, I know your ma is gone, but there is no call to be crazy like that.  I’d be well on the side of right if I locked you up for your own safety Wendy.”

               Gwen waved her hand dismissively.

               “You think I did that without a back-up plan?  This suit is bullet proof.  Standard Stark Industries issue for valuable assets.  The gun would have exploded in his hand from the backfire.  I would have maybe bruised a rib.  Mr. K didn’t have a bullet proof suit on, neither did anyone else, it was the only way I knew the bullet would hit me.”

               He looked at her.  She could tell he didn’t believe her.  She reached under the desk and grabbed the pistol he had stashed there before he could react and formed her armored Gwenom suit under her blouse and shot herself.  His guards ran in and everyone was just staring at Gwen.  She put the gun down and then pushed the suit aside to show the red mark where the bullet had hit.  Liam motioned his guards away and shook his head.

               “I’ll be damned.”

               He grabbed the gun.

               “You scared me half to death Wendy, don’t ever do that again.”

               Gwen shrugged.

               “You were going to lock me up.  I’m not crazy or suicidal, I’m just practical I’d rather have a bruise then see an innocent person get shot.”

               She caught the bullet that slipped out from under her blouse and put the mushed thing down on his desk.

               “Suit absorbs the energy, if it’s not pressed against it the bullet just turns to mush instead of ricocheting, before you bring that up.  I knew exactly what I was doing.  I couldn’t exactly tell the cops or the public that.  It’s still top secret.”

               He nodded.

               “And lass, what if it’s pressed right against the suit.”

               Gwen shrugged.

               “Ever heard of equal and opposite opposing forces?”

               He whistled.

               “He’d shoot himself if he were right behind it.”

               Gwen nodded.

               “Exactly why I had to control the gun and him.  So, are we good Uncle Liam?”

               He rubbed his face.

               “You really scared me Wendy. I promised your ma, da and nan I’d look out for you, you pressing guns against your chest and standing in front of them is making that really hard.”

               He crossed himself.

               “Lord and saint’s preserve us, you and your ma are the reason people ask for sons.”

               Gwen made a face.

               “Well, it is good I have you, Erica and dad.  Three of you might be enough to handle me.”

               He shook his head.

               “Tell your stepmum we’re not going to do anything, we’ll let the police handle it.”

               Gwen’s brow furrowed.

               “But you said you’re going to make sure he gets bail…”

               Liam nodded.

               “Aye, and I will.  Like I said, we’re letting the police handle it until he’s out of their custody.  Rikers, or my basement, he’ll tell us what we want to know.  You best get home lass.”

               Gwen stood up to leave but then paused.

               “Uncle Liam, have you heard about any hits tonight?  Any talk on the streets?”

               He nodded.

               “Aye, why do you ask lass?  Are you planning on giving me another heart attack?”

               Gwen shook her head.

               “Are they in town?”

               Liam frowned.

               “Wendy, what’s going on?”

               Gwen sighed.

               “Look, I heard my ex-boyfriend was in danger, but it isn’t from a reliable source, Spider-Woman’s kind of on the outs with the authorities so she wanted to make sure it wasn’t a fed or police bait operation for her.  Seems a little convenient, that’s all.”

               Liam shook his head.

               “Hanging out with the likes of her after what I heard she’s done lately, not in your best interest lass.”

               Gwen made a face.

               “And sitting in the office of the head of the Irish Mob is any better?”

               Liam moved his head from side to side.

               “Well, you did not hear this from me, so it better not get back to me that I was the one who spoke, you understand me Wendy?”

               Gwen nodded.

               “Kingpin’s replacement, whoever he is, he’s brought in some out-of-town people.  professional, brutal and efficient.  They use swords of all things.  If your friend is going after them, she’d best be prepared for a real fight.  These guys are dangerous.  The kind of dangerous the worst of us won’t go near.  Government agencies have gotten out of their way.  If your ex…  wait, they’re going after Flash?”

               Gwen shook her head.

               “Catch up Uncle Liam, Flash was two boyfriends ago.  This one is Adam the senator’s son.”

               Liam nodded.

               “That would make sense, all manner of rats are fleeing the Kingpin’s ship, if that senator is one of them, offing him would be a good way to send a very strong message.  The kind of hitters his replacement has been using, could take out the president and his entire secret service team.  A senator would be nothing.  I’d say tell your friend to stay home and call in an anonymous tip, lass, its not worth getting involved with directly, even for someone like her.  These guys it’s like they have powers.”

               Gwen walked around the desk and hugged her uncle.  She kissed him on the cheek.

               “Love you, Uncle Liam.”

               Liam hugged her and ruffled her hair.

               “Please, no more stepping in front of guns, even if you’re wearing body armor, my heart can’t take it Wendy.  I like you here, not in Neverland.”

               Gwen rolled her eyes.

               “This Wendy would kick Captain Hook’s butt soundly after telling Peter to grow up.  Thanks for the chicken wings.”

               Liam held up his hand.

               “Go take a couple orders home, you look famished.  I’m not sure where you vanished too, but wherever you were, they weren’t feeding you enough.”

               Gwen glanced back as she was leaving his office.

               “If I get hungry I’ll pick up more.”

               She glanced at her wrist and realized the hit was happening soon.  She started rushing through the alley’s beside her Uncle’s pub and the Gwenom costume engulfed her as she ran.  She tossed her suit in a trash bin on her way past.  She launched her webs and pulled herself into the air.  She was going to treat the threat like it was real.  She hoped she could keep the symbiote under control because it was too late for her to report the threat and get a full response especially with the disarray the city and country were in.

               Spider-woman tapped her wrist and linked into the Stark Network.  She spoke.

               “Call Tony.”

               Her suit’s AI which still had not been named dialed him.  He picked up.

               “Gwen?”

               Gwen kept it voice only.  She was perched by the address Matt had given her.

               “Tony, uh, I have a tip on an assassination attempt and Spider-Woman couldn’t get any authorities involved in time, do you mind if I test a some of the Iron Shield prototypes?  These are bad guys and she’s going to be outnumbered.”

               Tony was silent for a few moments.

               “I told you that you needed to keep your distance from her.”

               “If Cap was in danger would you keep your distance?  Or would you help how you could without getting directly involved?”

               Tony sighed.

               “Are you sure they’re ready?”

               “No, but we’ll never know how effective they are without getting them in real fights.  Also, the only way the AI is going to learn is to put them in unique situations, these are sword wielding ninja super assassins or something.  They’re purely backup incase she gets in over her head.”

               She could hear hesitation in Tony’s voice when he finally answered her.

               “Fine.  But you keep them on a very short leash.”

               Gwen smiled to herself.

               “Thank you, Tony!  You won’t regret this.”

               Tony sighed.

               “I already do.”

               “Bye!  We can go over the logs tomorrow morning!”

               Gwen disconnected the call and activated four of the ten prototypes. Then spoke to her AI.

               “AI, take control of the Iron Shield prototypes.  They are for backup only. I’ll let you know when to engage.  Transfer their video feed to my HUD.”

               “As you wish.”

               Spider-Woman glanced at the four video feeds that appeared and smiled.  That arrogant jerk would never see this coming.

Chapter Text

Loki and the Norn - Soundtrack

Outside Space – Outside of Time

               Loki collapsed. 

He’d used dark energy to try and return to Asgard but instead he was somewhere else.  He was in absolute darkness—not just a dark room, the absolute absence of anything. 

He shielded eyes when green light flared to life around him.  An infinity of tiny threads started to interconnect above him then he could see the same energy forming the roots of an indecipherably large tree. 

Three forms shimmered into existence.  He recognized them from the legends immediately, the Norns, the three fates: Urðr, Verðandi and Skuld.

               The oldest spoke first, her wrinkled face was lined like stone weathered by eons.  There was nothing kind in it—cold only truth.  He had heard the fates were not cruel perhaps, he mused, it was his past that made her so. 

The ancient one reached out her hand a thread of green energy pierced Loki’s chest.  He felt it burn as it wrapped around his heart.  Urðr’s voice cracked with the weight of ages when she spoke:

“Loki Laufeyson. Son of two fathers, blood of none, loyal only to yourself.  You, who cast off names like cloaks and wore lies like armor. You, who forged masks from pain, who turned longing into knives.”

Verðandi, who appeared to be a middle aged woman wrapped in the roots and leaves.  She reached out her palm.  Another thread of energy pierced his chest and wrapped around his heart. She spoke.

“You strain to bend the loom to your will, seeking a throne spun for no such prince. You grasp for place, yet fate denies your name upon it.”

               Skuld hovered forward.  She was radiant and cold.  Her beauty was terrible, like starlight from the bottom of the sea.  She reached out and her own thread of green energy launched from her palm.  The thread burned into Loki’s chest and wrapped around his heart.  The binding was complete.  She spoke.  Her words fell on Loki’s ears like a curse.

               “And it will be yours—for a moment. Then it will burn. Then you will die alone. A hollow death… for a hollow man.”

               Loki writhed as his chest burned.  He spoke through clenched teeth.

               “Do you bring me here just to taunt me?”

               The Norns spoke in unison.

               “A bargain is offered, Loki Odinson.”

               The trio spoke in unison again as if they were one with three voices.

               “We grant you another choice.”

               They paused then continued.

“Choose your love… and change your fate.”

               Their voices continued to overlap, ancient and layered.

“We will grant you three acts.  Three times may you call upon the power you wield.  Three… and none more.”

               They continued speaking in unison.

               “With the first, death will stir.  With the second it will draw near.  With the third…”

               Skuld’s voice was crystalline and cruel as she finished their statement.

               “…nothing of you will remain.”

               Skuld continued to speak.

               “Three threads extended… three cut short.  This is the cost to change your fate.”

               Loki tried to stand, defiant to the end but each fate grasped their thread and pulled forcing Loki back to his knees.

               “Another walks the path beside yours.  She sees you not, yet you stand at her turning.  She wears hunger like armor.  She carries sorrow sharp as glass.”

               Skuld spoke alone again.

“She will seek to sever the thread that binds her but it is a bond that cannot be torn.  She will trespass where the Gods fear to tread.  To the edge of oblivion.  Perhaps beyond.  There she will find a ghost of failed conquest with a crimson face.”

Urðr’s ancient voice grated on Loki’s ears.

“A path you seek to walk.  A fate you will find.  A ghost that no one remembers.”

Skuld’s cold voice echoed in Loki’s chest.

“She will violate Odin’s most sacred space.  She will seek the stone that opens the way between worlds.”

Verðandi spoke again her voice echoed of bark and rustling leaves.

“You will long to aid her but you must not.  This is her thread to walk alone.  Guide her you must.  Only from the shadows.  Else her thread will be severed too soon.”

Skuld spoke again and the words sunk into Loki.

“Choose your fate, trickster: glory that burns you to ash… and a love that fates will not deny… Or an end so small not even history will notice.”

She pulled her thread tighter causing Loki to cry out then she whispered.

“Three lights.  Then dark.  Three choices.  Then silence.  Three threads extended, three threads cut short.  And in the end… nothing will remain.”

The three Norns spoke again.

“A bargain is offered.”

Loki railed against the threads that held him on his knees.  Odin and Frigga had long told him: No one, not even a god can defy the fates.

Chapter Text

Gwen's Song with the CrushBitches - Break Me Softly

Manhattan

Gwen felt the symbiote engulf her once again.  She had long gotten past the icky feelings the goo-spiders evoked.  She listened to her AI provide tactical updates on the incoming Iron Shield drones.  Each was a robot shoved into a pared down version of Tony’s armor.  She still thought this might be another one of Matt’s tests… or perhaps it was a trap.  Either way her spider sense made her feel uneasy about this encounter.  Nothing specific as was often the case about situations like this just that something was off.  A factor she couldn’t see or touch but could sense.  Her suit AI spoke.

               “Iron Shield units are in position.”

               Gwen nodded then quirked her head to the side as she watched the symbiote’s goo spiders crawl over her hand.

               “You know, I’ve never named you.”

               The AI gave a soft sound of agreement.

               “No, you have never seen fit to give me a name, Gwen.”

               Gwen smirked.

               “I’m going to call you Charlotte.  Like the book.”

               The AI sounded amused.

               “Very appropriate, Gwen.  How would you like to proceed?”

               Gwen let the glove of her costume form.  The goo spiders flattened themselves out and coated her palm she wrapped her fingers around the edge of the building.

               “Have the Iron Shield units use thermal imaging to look for any fast moving heat signatures.”

Spider-Woman lifted her right wrist.

               “Send Skully out, get us some wide angle feed.  Thermals, night-vision optics and regular optics.”

               Spider-Woman’s newest toy unwrapped itself from her arm and flew off.  It was based on the original very boring drone that Martha had given her with the nanotech suit.  This one was more Gwen’s style.  It was a spider drone that could fly and hover with no blades.  It was hot pink, with a few neon pink lights on it and a stylized skull that declared the drone’s name to be Skully.

               She settled into a perch on the edge of the building.  She watched Adam and his family through their window using her suit’s own thermal imaging.  She could feel the symbiote writhing around her.  It seemed unsettled by her being so near Adam and she had no idea why.  She sighed and shook her head. 

Letting Adam go had been the right choice.  Especially since when she closed her eyes and imagined the boy she’d end up with, she kept seeing Loki’s face.  If a dead god whom she hated at one time was more appealing, then a live Adam she had no business being with Adam.

Charlotte broke Gwen out of her what if scenarios with an update.

“Review the feeds.  Skully, and the Iron Shield prototypes are tracking inbound signatures.  They are scaling the building.  There is a high likelihood these are the targets.  I have reviewed the footage.  They came out of the sewers, which made it impossible for our tech to track.  How would you like to proceed.  There are four targets.”

Gwen zoomed into Skully’s feed.  She frowned.  They were in blood red ninja outfits with actual swords.  She did a quick calculation based on rate of assent when they would be within striking range of Adam and his family.  She didn’t like this at all her spider-sense was freaking out.  She let out a long sigh but decided to play it safe.

“Access SHIELD records through the spider-bot back door and get an identity on these guys.”

Charlotte sounded almost sad as she responded.

“Are you sure, Gwen? Redirecting will interrupt the data-retrieval process we started when we returned to Earth. It will set the symbiote research back by weeks.”

Gwen closed her eyes and leaned her head back.

“Gah.  Yes.  I can’t just go attacking random ninja-wannabes with the Iron Shield drones.  Tony will freak if I go after innocent people… though the chances weirdos in ninja costumes climbing up a hotel wall are actually innocent are close to nil… ugg.  Just do it.”

Charlotte didn’t respond verbally she just started pulling the data which was very quick as the group the ninja-wannabe’s belonged to was on SHIELD’s radar.  Gwen quickly scanned the data she read a few lines out loud then got bored.

“The Hand is ancient order of… blah blah blah.”

Gwen rolled her eyes, SHIELD did love their overly wordy reports. 

“Okay, send the Iron Shield prototypes in. Non-lethal only! I know Martha was more of an ‘end threats permanently’ kind of girl, but I’m not — so just do it the right way. No deaths.”

The blue and white iron shield prototypes arrived at each of the targets.  The hand ninjas each looked quite shocked when they were all lit up with spotlights that tracked their movements.  Gwen watched on her AR HUD and heard each drone speak.

“Climb down the wall slowly and wait for the authorities or I will be forced to incapacitate you.  You have ten seconds to comply.”

 The hand ninjas all decided to try and evade their respective drone but between Skully’s overwatch and the drone thermals it was a losing game.  Gwen’s plan had caught them flat footed and they were unable to gain any initiative.  The drones opened fire with stunning repulsor blasts.  The ninjas were stuck trying to avoid the blasts while clinging to a wall.  It still took several shots from each drone to disable their targets.  Gwen smirked under her hood as the drones caught their targets and bound them in an alleyway. 

“Charlotte, remind me to buy you some thermal paste or something.  Great jo-”

Her excitement at their success quickly evaporated as one of the ninjas had faked being unconscious and was now stabbing the vital parts of the drone like she could kill it.  The drone was still operational, but she managed to catch its thrustor controls.  The drone was in free fall and so was the ninja from about two hundred feet up.  Gwen leapt off her perch and launched webs.  She swung down and grabbed the hand ninja in her arms.  The ninja tried to stab Gwen but all she managed to do was give her a few bruises under the nanotech-symbiote hybrid suit she now wore. 

Spider-Woman was less than impressed.

“Ow! Ow! I’m working here!”

Spider-Woman snapped as she snagged the flailing ninja mid-air.  The symbiote surged—its tongue forming into a vicious spike. Gwen felt the hunger rising. The impulse to snap the woman in half or devour her was sharp and immediate. She crushed it with raw willpower.
Not here… not for this. We need her conscious. We need answers.

“Seriously, are you trying to die?”

The woman spoke with a thick Norwegian accent.

“I will not dishonor the clan by being captured!”

Gwen landed on a balcony and tossed the ninja at a wall then webbed her tightly and dusted her hands off.

“That is a really crappy retirement package, if your creepy little assassin cult has an HR department you should shoot them an email.  On the bright side? Snappy little red uniform.” 

She leaned forward slightly, tilting her head.

“So, what’s a job like this pay anyway? Ten grand? Twenty? Do you get a bonus if you take out the senator's kid or is it a flat rate?”

Charlotte spoke.

“Gwen, Skully has someth-”

Spider-Woman groaned.

“Not now Charlotte, have you never watched a cop drama? You never interrupt an interrogation!”

Charlotte tried again.

“But-”

Spider-Woman put up one finger then moved her fingers and thumb together.

“Zip it, chip-girl.”

She cleared her throat and looked back at the assassin.

“Sorry the old assistant is in beta… So... yeah. What does one of these jobs pay? Is hazard pay included? Do you guys have dental?”

The assassin glared at Spider-Woman.

“You are insane.”

Gwen shook her head and rolled her eyes.  The symbiote mimicked her.

“Sometimes I think I am, you know I had this hot rich boyfriend but like totally emotionally cheated on him with this creepy old god… but man that accent of his… anyway, where was I?  So, I mean it’s just professional curiosity really, I think your boss is trying to hire me and I mean I’m really tempted here, superheroing is this whole thing.  It certainly doesn’t make you rich, do you know the paycheck of your average Avenger?  Zero!  No dental… no bonuses.  SHIELD is like the worst.  Anyway, I guess we should get on with this interrogation now that we’re through with the small talk…”

She tapped her fingers on her hips as she pondered how to proceed.

“Erm, let me see, I’m new to this whole interrogation thing… Oops I’m not supposed to tell you that… oh well, let’s just go with the classic I’m an edgelord anti-hero thing:”

She spoke in a dark gravelling voice, or as dark and gravelly as a fifteen year old can manage. 

“You are going to tell me who hired you or I was going to let my suit eat you.”

Spider-Woman snapped her fingers, and she used her normal spider-woman fake deeper adult voice.

“Oh wait, you want to die… well let’s redo that threat… Tell me or I’ll pull your mask off and get your face video and send you out to my forty million subscribers on YouTube…” 

She held her fingers out wide like she was pitching a movie.

“Title: Must watch!  Failed assassin cries while webbed to wall! I bet your clan will love that!”

Spider-Woman’s large white eye widened slightly as she pointed at the assassin’s face.

“Are you okay?  Your eye is twitching.  Are you having a stroke?”

The woman growled.

“I am a Red Fang of The Hand! I will not be insulted by a lunatic in black pajamas!”

Spider-Woman gasped.

“Wow lady, have you seen your clothes?  Don’t you go insulting symbie.  It’s sensitive and when it gets sensitive it eats people.  So, take it down a notch would you… so like Red Fang—is that some kind of vampire thing?”

The ninja struggled violently against the web.

The woman started ranting in her native language.

“The Hand will kill you and three generations of your bloodline for such insults you #*#(*#$!”

Gwen had no idea what she was saying, but Charlotte helpfully translated it across her AR HUD.  Gwen rolled her eyes at the blanked out swear word then focused on the ninja again.

“Just some advice, optional of course, you might want to tone down the threats, I mean you have no idea who I am which makes the whole three generations of my bloodline thing a hollow threat… also we don’t swear here.  This is a safe space where you can tell me all about who sent you and all of Matt Murdock’s secrets…  If I had a spirit stick, I’d pass it to you, plus I know you’d just try to kill me with it… so you’re just going have to use your inside voice and your words. Got me?  Okay take two, from the top go villain monologue!”

Spider-Woman’s spider-sense flared.

A second later, someone landed behind her on the balcony. She didn’t turn. Instead, she lazily raised a hand, still facing the webbed ninja.

“Whoa, hold up. Private balcony. Take a number, ninja boy… or girl… it?”

The ninja she’d captured went from venomous to panicked in a blink. She squirmed in her webbing, babbling now.

“I told her nothing! I am loyal! The code of silence was maintained!”

Spider-Woman slowly turned her head to glance over her shoulder—and looked up.  It was Matt Murdock in a skin-tight red outfit, no mask but opaque red glasses. He looked… upset.

               “Oh… I understand.  So, you are their boss.”

               Matt stabbed towards the webbed ninja with his sword.  Spider-Woman grabbed his wrist.  The ninja cried out as the blade shifted as Matt struggled to finish her off and Spider-Woman struggled to prevent it.  The ninja shrieked as the sword rotated inside her shoulder — not deep enough to kill, but enough to make her blood soak through her red uniform… Spider-Woman grunted as she fought against Matt’s strength.

               “Charlotte why didn’t you tell me he was here?”

               Charlotte had that ‘I told you so’ tone to her voice.

               “I tried to tell you, but you told me to ‘zip-it, chip-girl’.”

               Matt sneered at her.  Spider-Woman looked up at him.

               “How are you this strong?”

               He put his palm on the hilt and pushed with even more strength.

               “You aren’t the only one with super soldier serum in your veins.  Take the sword and finish her.  She isn’t going to tell you anything.  If you do your dad gets out of prison… free and clear.  Just admit you’re like me.  Let the symbiote out.  Do what is in your nature.”

Gwen needed to get the sword out of the ninja.  Matt could put his body weight into it, she couldn’t and that was going to make all the difference. 

She recalled her training sessions with Skurge.  He’d said with the most wolfish grin: My boys’ll tell ya to fight with honor, but I’m gonna tell ya the real secret.  You’re smaller so ya knee them right in the Willy, stomp on their foot, claw their eyes out. Winners fight dirty.  Skurge had finished with a toothy grin: Losers die with honor. 

Gwen’s eyes narrowed.  She’d fight dirty. And maybe this ninja would live.

She spoke—in part to confuse Matt and in part to convince herself to get on with it.

“Fine”

She feinted a release of the Matt’s arms and slumping her shoulders then she suddenly spun around and slammed Matt into the balcony.  The cement snapped as the two super-soldiers crashed into the railing.  She slammed her elbow into Matt’s most sensitive spot and the blow penetrated his armored suit.  He groaned then stumbled and the sword fell to the ground a hundred feet below.  He fell off Gwen caught the front of his red armor.  She hauled him up one-handed.  His feet were dangling over the broken cement.

“Thanks, Skurge.”

She muttered quietly

 “You devious bastard.”

               Gwen let the goo-spiders crawl off of her face so she was looking at Matt with her own eyes.

               “What was that about giving into my darkness?  Being like you?”

               Matt sneered.

               “Go ahead, drop me.  How much easier would things be if I was out of the way?  If I die your father’s free, just drop me.  Prove to yourself you’re capable of doing it without the symbiote pushing your buttons.  Prove your strong enough to take what you want.”

               Gwen got a steely look in her blue eyes she lifted him up to meet his blind gaze so she could see every crease on his face.

               “No.  Bargain basement Vader, I will not join you on the dark side.”

               Her spider-sense went off.  She realized it was coming from behind her.  Her body wanted to move, if she did though she’d drop Matt and she refused to let him win.  Refused to be who he wanted her to be.  Her suit had weak points especially when she was focused on frontal defense.  The ninja proved her skill.  Gwen felt burning pain… The ninja’s sword slid into a weak point and through her abdomen. 

She cried out and struggled to hold on to Matt.  The symbiote started to go wild a tentacle wrapped around Matt’s neck and threw him into the wall of the hotel.  Gwen struggled to regain control she spun around.  The movement ripped the hilt out of the ninja’s hands.  Gwen shoved the sword out of her gut. With both palms it clanked against the broken cement of the balcony and then started falling to the ground below.  She gritted her teeth.

               “Rude!”

               She snapped as she stood up straighter.

               “Hashtag Bad Ninja!”

               Gwen grabbed the symbiote’s spiked tongue when it lashed out towards the ninja.  She held it firmly—pain lanced through her—but she refused to yield to her inner demon. 

               “No!  Bad symbie!”

               Matt shifted blood was leaking down an injury on the side of his head.  He fixed his glass which had been knocked askew.  He lifted his hand.

               “She wasn’t the target, moron.”

               He moved his hand downwards.  There was a loud crack.  Gwen scanned the buildings she didn’t have time to ask Charlotte who had fired the shot or from where.  The was a soft thud as the ninja’s head snapped against the wall of the hotel.  The ninja slumped.

               “You should have just killed her.  Your father would be free and on his way home.”

               Gwen was pissed.  The symbiote lashed out at Matt but she grabbed the tentacles that formed with a monumental effort she reined in the black ooze.  Matt pushed himself up the wall and shook his head trying to clear it.

               “Now look at you, bleeding and half dead.  Do better.”

               Gwen was panting from the fight with the symbiote, her words were barely legible as she gasped for more air.

               “You’re a monster.”

               He leaned on the railing he motioned to the still writhing symbiote.

               “No, you’re the monster, I’m just a businessman who gets things done.”

               Matt looked down at the alleyway below he split his baton in half and it latched to a balcony railing and he swung away. 

               “He’s going after the rest of them!”

Gwen’s mask formed from a swarm of black goo spiders crawling over her face.  She launched herself into air then shot two web streamers to swing down to the alleyway below.  She held her side.  The wound was even worse than the one Loki had left her with.  The symbiote was filling the void but the pain was still agonizing.  She shuffled towards the three other hand ninjas and stood there in shock as Charlotte scanned them all.

“Deceased, carotid arteries severed.”

Gwen shook her head and stumbled away from the bodies.

“What… what happened to them?”

Charlotte’s tone was much more subdued than Gwen expected.  She didn’t explain in detail she just simply said.

“The video feed from Skully is compiled and ready for review.”

Sirens screamed in the distance.  Gwen looked behind her as her spider-sense flared to life.  She shielded her eyes the police had their spotlights on her.  She heard Erica’s voice her stepmother sounded shocked and disappointed.

“Spider-Woman, don’t move.”

Gwen launched two webs and pulled herself out of the line of fire as the police started shooting their guns.  She wasn’t sure if Erica fired hers.   Gwen held her side and leaned on a building wall after she landed on a fire escape, she was still trying to catch her breath.

“Charlotte, have the prototypes gather the fallen one and get back to base.  We can’t let the tech fall into the wrong hands.”

Charlotte made an affirmative sound then she asked Gwen a question.

“Where will you go Gwen?  There is an APB out for you and Spider-Woman.”

Gwen stumbled as she tried to stand.

“The only place I can go.  Avengers tower… they’re still repairing the top floor… Tony and Pepper are out of town and no one… no one will think to look for me there.  I need to think… he got me good this time.  I should have just dropped him…”

Charlotte plotted a course for Gwen that minimized strain on her injured side.  Gwen followed it.  She landed and then collapsed on all fours her eyes finding the cracks in the tile where Hulk had smashed Loki… over and over again.  Tears formed in her eyes as she traced them with her fingers.  Her blood smeared across the cracks.  She tried to stand but she was done. 

She crawled to a wall and picked up a staple gun.  Gwen leaned against the wall and she willed the symbiote to move the costume out of the way so she could seal the wound.  She cried out as each stable pierced her flesh.  She knew she would heal in just a few hours—this just stopped her guts from leaking out.  As she finished, she pressed the back of her head against the wall and looked at the damaged ceiling and let the staple gun fall to the floor.

“Charlotte, show me the video feed from the alley now…”

*****

Asgard – Ruins of the All-Father’s hall.

               Odin didn’t turn when he heard the soft footsteps.  The gait was unmistakable, he’d heard it for nearly a thousand years, but the footfalls were softer than they had been in many centuries.  He sighed heavily.  He continued looking at his ruined throne.

               “Come to take my throne, then, boy?”

               Loki didn’t answer but the footfalls stopped at the bottom of the stairs to Odin’s throne.  Odin spoke as he turned.

               “Silence.  That is a new approach for you.”

               Loki was leaning heavily on one of the broken pillars.  His form had changed—that was no surprise for the god of lies.  Shapeshifting was one of his many gifts.  He looked no more than sixteen.  His hair was just as long and brown as it had always been but there was a haunted—perhaps even hunted—look in his green eyes.  His tunic was shredded.  On his chest three softly glowing runes were fading slowly. 

He spoke, his voice completely bereft of its usual confidence.  He sounded lost—almost broken.

               “Father… I need your help.”

Chapter Text

Queens - Police Precinct – Lockup

               Erica leaned on the bars looking at her husband.  He had his hand folded as he listened to Erica relate what she’d seen earlier that night.  George started shaking his head.

               “No, no, Gwen would never do something like that.  She’s a good girl.  She was raised right.  She’d never hurt or even kill an unarmed person who’s been subdued.  She just wouldn’t.”

               Erica wrapped her slender fingers around the bars so tightly her dark knuckles turned pale.  She kept her voice low.

               “George, you-”

               Erica stopped talking and her jaw clenched as one of the uniformed officers walked by.  She glanced to make sure they were alone again.

               “George, you shot her, she was in two battles for Christ’s sake, life or death stakes.  Your wife was murdered, probably by those guys—The word on the street is they were working for the Kingpin.  You know she was involved in that James Fisk mess.  She was in that Asgard place for six months, we don’t know what they did to her.  It looks really bad.”

               George shook his head.

               “No, not my Gwen.  She wouldn’t even let me kill spiders when she was a kid.  You’re wrong, it must be some sort of mistake.  Like when I saw her with Ben.”

               Erica closed her eyes and hit her forehead on the bars gently.

               “I’m not saying she’s evil, but she’s hurting.  I tried talking to her but there’s this wall between us.  She’s still mad about us—because of our affair.  Now it’s too late.  They have an APB out on Gwen and Spider-Woman because Gwen’s aiding and abetting her.  Or so they think.  George, if she goes back to Asgard to escape, we might lose her for good.  Just tell me where you think she might have gone.  Anything.  I’ll try to talk her down… bring her in, sort this all out.”

               George stood up and began to pace, gesturing sharply with his hands.

               “No.  Erica, even if I knew I wouldn’t tell you.  The system is broken.  People like Murdock twist it and turn it to their own ends.  It’ll put her right where Murdock wants her. This whole thing’s a setup — you’ll see.”

               Erica saw the dark look in George’s eyes.

               “When this is over… are you even going to want your badge back?”

               George ran his hand through his blonde hair.

               “I don’t know hon, I just don’t know.”

               Erica sighed heavily.

               “I’m not going to be able to keep you here for much longer.  Captain Daniels is getting pressure to move you to Riker’s.  He owes you but there are limits.  We need to get you bail.  You can’t go to Riker’s that’s a death sentence.”

               George looked at Erica.

               “I don’t matter.  Only Gwen does.  Stop wasting time on me and figure this out.  Look for CCTV cameras in the area, cell phones dash cams.  She didn’t do this and the longer they are hunting for her the more chance she will do something she’ll regret just to protect herself.”

               Erica sighed again.

               “If you tell me where to find her, I can avoid all that.  She’s a fugitive now.”

               George glared at her, his words were a harsh whisper.

               “I don’t know where she would go.  She can climb walls like a spider, Erica. Do you really think anyone can bring her in if she doesn’t want to be found? She can throw cars. Hell, she killed one of those alien worm things with one punch. They have to call this off.  They just have to.  Instead of trying find her, find out who really did this.”

*****

SHIELD HQ New York City

               Nick Fury was shaking his head.  Maria Hill had her hands folded behind her back as she watched him reading over the latest from the NYPD police blotter.  He swore a few times under his breath.

               “Idiots.  Tell me we have a fix on Gwen Stacy.”

               Maria bit her lower lip.

               “We haven’t seen her since she walked off with four of the Iron Shield Prototypes from Stark… sorry I meant Avengers Tower.”

               He frowned.

               “And Spider-Woman?”

               Maria shook her head.  Nick looked at Maria with his one good eye.

               “I could use some god-damned good news right about now.”

               Maria nodded.

               “Yes sir, all four of the Iron Shield Prototypes are accounted for, though one is full of stab wounds and was tossed off a building.”

               Nick nodded.

               “Well at least there is that.  Did you manage to pull any drone footage from Stark’s computers?”

               Maria shook her head.

               “No, sir, his AI is very deft at finding back doors.  It has been impossible to acquire any real useful data.  The intel we received about the Iron Shield Prototypes was from an asset on the inside.”

               Nick leaned on his desk and spread his fingers out.

               “So, you’re telling me, we have a rogue Avenger out there who can throw down with Asgardians and come out on top… along with her gadget girl who is basically Stark junior and we have no intel on their location, their actual disposition and all of the Avengers are off world or on the other side of the planet?”

               Maria Hill nodded.

               “Yes sir, that sums it up.”

               Nick sat down in his chair and shook his head.

               “I knew letting Spider-Woman keep her identity a secret would bite us in the ass one day.  Find them before the NYPD does.  We need to keep a lid on this.  They couldn’t stop Loki, how are they gonna stop someone who knows New York as well as they do?”

*****

Asgard – All-Father’s Shattered Throne

               Odin walked down the stairs and looked down at the teenage Loki while leaning heavily on his spear.

               “Help you say?  What trick is this now?  What’s your game, boy?”

               Loki looked up at his father.  He had no energy to stand defiantly in front of him.  This was not how he envisioned his return to Asgard.  He had planned on enchanting Odin taking advantage of his adoptive father’s weakened state after they lost Frigga.  To take his throne and wear his face.  He was meant to rule.  Instead, he was left to this—begging for scraps from a father who he despised… and whom despised him in return.

               “Not a word?  Perhaps the dark elves cut out your tongue then.” 

               Odin turned away.  He threw Loki’s own words back at him.

“I am Loki of Asgard who was burdened with a glorious purpose…”

Odin made a sound of contempt.

“Look at what you have become.”

               Loki slid down the shattered remnants of the pillar and didn’t look at his father.

               Odin looked up at the ceiling of the ruined throne room.  Above him, carved in gold and starlight, was a mural: himself seated in triumph, Frigga at his left hand and his sons—Thor and Loki—kneeling at his feet.  His heart softened—just slightly—when he saw where the painting of Frigga had her eyes cast: not to the throne, not to him, but to her sons. Mostly to Loki.

Odin turned to the boy who had once called him Father.

“Your mother would have asked me to show you mercy. To welcome you home with open arms.”

He paused. His voice turned cold.

“But she is not here.”

He slammed the blunt end of Gungnir against the shattered floor.

“Had you been a dutiful son… had you obeyed my command… she might still live.”

He looked down at Loki.

“Would that you had died in her place.”

Loki didn’t look up.  His shoulders slumped.  He gazed at the broken floor of the throne room he once coveted so dearly.  He spoke, his voice barely above a whisper.

“We both know that was never my destiny, father.”

Odin turned back to Loki.

His head tilted, just slightly. He had heard something strange in Loki’s voice — something foreign, almost forgotten.  The truth.

“The God of Lies speaks the truth.  A riddle in itself.”

Odin moved and stood above Loki, looking down at his broken son.

“I will hear your plea, Loki Odinson.  Your mother would wish it so.  I honor her memory, nothing more.”

Loki looked up at his father, meeting his gaze.  In that moment a wound long torn wide began to mend.  Odin could never admit his love for either son, even love for his wife. His one good eye showed the truth.  Loki was his son. 

Loki spoke again, his words clearer.  He kept emotion out of his voice.  He was his father’s son.

“I am powerless, and I cannot keep my word to Gwenyvere.”

Odin frowned.

“You cannot help yourself—still you speak in half-truths.”

Loki looked at his chest, his fingers traced the still fading runes.

“The Norns showed me my fate.  I died alone scrambling to keep the tesseract to myself...  They gave me a choice, chose… chose Gwen and hero’s death or die a hollow death—for a hollow man.”

               Odin wasn’t satisfied yet.

               “And what promise did you make my champion?”

               Loki looked up at Odin again.

               “Your champion?  She abandoned Asgard that’s what you said…”

               Odin leaned on Gungnir

               “She braved the depths of Asgard and the lake of fire and split herself asunder to warn Midgard.  She remains a champion of the nine realms.  Speak truth, son.  What promise did you make my champion?”

               Loki rubbed his hands along his thighs.

               “We made a bet, I live on Earth as a teenager for a single year, no powers.  If I survive without using magic or powers she goes out on a date with me.  If I fail, I teach her how to harness her dark energy.  Win or lose I will protect Midgard with my life.”

               Odin leaned on Gungnir, considering the absurdity of what he’d just heard.  Then — a single, sharp bark of laughter escaped him. Not joy. Something colder.

“You think yourself worthy to defend the realm of Midgard? You think they would even want you after what you have done?”

Loki looked at the shattered mosaics on the grand throne room floor and his voice got quiet.

“No, I just hope one day Gwen thinks I am.”

Odin’s gaze drifted backup to the once glorious mural on the ceiling his eyes landing on Frigga then on Loki.  For once instead of mockery he granted his son something real—something akin to acceptance.  A long moment of silence passed.  Odin moved towards the interior of the palace.

“You have earned your chance, Loki Odinson.  Come.”

Loki pulled himself up and followed his father.  He struggled to keep up.  Odin was walking with purpose once more and his stride showed it.  They passed Thor’s band of heroes who were drinking and staring at the broken palace walls.  Odin paused.

“Layabouts, the palace is in shambles.  Gather the builders immediately.”

Sif stood up, the rest of the band joined her and looked at Odin with wide eyes.  The spark was back in the All-Father’s eye.  Loki welcomed Odin’s pause he used it to catch his breath.  Odin continued on, leading Loki not toward the vault, but into a far older section of the palace — a place where stone had given way to roots and shadow.  There, grown through the crumbling wall, was the bark of a vast tree: gnarled, ancient, pulsing faintly with light from within.

Odin gestured to it.

“Here is where Yggdrasil pierces the skin of Asgard. Here, you will find your aid — should you be worthy.”

Loki stared at the root — and suddenly, he saw through it.

Threads of green light shimmered in the bark, woven and tangled like veins of living fate. They pulsed with something ancient… inevitable.

At the heart of it, suspended in the threads, was a chunk of crystal — amber-like, warm with inner light. It pulsed as if aware. 

Odin leaned on Gungnir, his one eye never leaving his son.

“It is a Norn Stone. Sap of Yggdrasil. Fate made incarnate.”

He paused.

“Only the most worthy may take it without losing themselves. Should you be found lacking, you will be lost to the threads of fate—lost in the echoes between moments …forever.”

Loki hesitated.  He had thought himself worthy of many things in his life — crowns, thrones, destiny.  But none of it had been true.  He had committed the gravest sin of all.

The God of Mistruth had fallen for his own lies.

No lie, no illusion, no dark energy, no magic would save him this time.  Should he fall short — and he always seemed to fall short — there would be no second chances.  Odin’s gaze sharpened. He leaned on Gungnir and spoke, each word landing like judgment.

“If this is too much… then you will never be worthy in the eyes of my champion.”

Loki clenched his fists.  His father’s mocking tone urged him into action.  The old defiance welled up in him and he punched his hand through the threads of fate.  He felt them tearing at his skin trying to pull him in infinite directions.  He wrapped his hand around the Norn stone. 

He felt his mind unraveling.  Infinite timelines converging and splitting apart.  Something guiding all of it with outside hands.  He saw infinite versions of himself.  Most not worthy to have ever lived.  One… one who could change everything.  Could… it slipped away.  He could be any one of them.  Change his fate, take theirs.  Each life looked hollow.  The temptation was visceral the more he considered it the more his consciousness started to slip away now.  He could feel the threads of fate piercing his skin climbing through his arm into his chest.  He cried out.

“I will be worthy of her love!”

He clenched his fist grasping the Norn stone with all his strength and he ripped it free by sheer force of will.  He stumbled back and the threads tore from his arm.  He clutched onto the Norn stone as the threads tried to pull it back into their tangle.  Finally, they were all gone and the stone rested in his palm.  It was unremarkable, a chunk of amber, fossilized sap.

               Odin looked at the Norn stone something sparked in his eye.  Then he met Loki’s gaze.

               “It is done; You are deemed worthy.  Asgard has no place for you Loki Odinson.  Your crimes are too great for you to remain in Asgard.  You may use the Bifrost as you deem necessary.”

Odin began to walk. Loki followed with a new urgency in his pace. He felt renewed. He felt… something for the first time in his long life—he truly felt worthy.

They arrived at the armory. Odin motioned with his spear.

“You say you are to be a protector of Midgard, then you should look the part. No illusion, no trickery. Choose — but choose wisely, son. This will be the last time you walk these palace walls during my reign.”

He paused, his gaze falling to a distant horizon. Loki glanced at his father. This didn’t feel like exile… it felt like he accepted that Loki had become a man—or with his proclivity for shape-shifting, an adult.

Odin looked at the floor briefly, and his voice resumed its gruff, methodical tone.

“Choose wisely… The fates are fickle mistresses. The Norn Stone may work one moment, then leave you bereft of power the next. If the fates will it, then it is so. If they do not… possessing that amber is putting your destiny in their hands. Do not rely heavily on it, my son. Trust the steel I offer. And when you have nothing else—when you are the end—trust wit and your will. They will be all you have left.”

Odin leaned on his spear with both hands as he watched Loki enter the armory with a keen eye.

“Youth, power, steel, love, beauty, sentimentality, thrones… as the eons pass you will lose each in turn as time strips them from you.  In the end—In the end when you come to your last breath…at the Gates of Valhalla it is your wits and your will…”

Odin trailed off again.  Leaving so much unsaid as he often did.  Loki was looking over a fine mesh of metal links that may as well have been fabric, it was so intricately woven the color seemed to shift from deep green to purple then to silver...  Loki continued to gaze around the large room while holding it, his fingers feeling the soft delicate metal clothe.  He had never been allowed into the All-Father’s armory.  He’d been quite jealous of Gwen when she’d been allowed in to choose a weapon.  He touched the sword pendant absently.  Soon he would return what she had been gifted—by the All-Father and his mother. 

               Odin snapped out of whatever vision or memory had captured his attention.  The tap of metal on stone broke the stillness. Gungnir echoed with each step as Odin approached.

               “What do you have there?”

               He looked over the fine chain mail in Loki’s hands.  Loki lifted it so Odin could see.  Odin scanned it with his keen eye.

               “That was something of your mother’s.  I know not much, but I do know a few facts.  It is ancient.  Perhaps older than the stars themselves.  I believe the Alfheim call the weave it is made of—‘starmetal’.  A remnant of an ancient war.  Gods gone long before my time.  When the universe was young and the celestials trod through the stars.  Curious it should choose you.  Your mother would use it to weave illusions when she felt the need to conserve her energy.  She would be pleased with that choice, should you make it.”

               Loki pulled the starmetal mail over his head.  It shimmered as he donned it and suddenly it became a majestic metallic green and gold plate armor with a flowing cloak.  Then it shifted to one of his green Asgardian suits then it finally settled on a pair of jeans, a white t-shirt with his stylized helmet, and the words ‘Lord of the Lies’ in dark green, almost black—a dark green hoodie formed over top leaving him looking like a roguish sixteen year old.

               Odin watched as the armor suffered through its identity crisis, mimicking it’s new host.  The old god nodded.

               “You have chosen and it has chosen you.  May it serve you well on the dark roads you roam.  Now a weapon and I have one last gift to bestow upon you, a gift your mother had hoped to give you on your wedding day...”

               Loki roamed further into the armory his eyes glanced on something that had fallen between weapon racks.  Something dark and chaotic.  He reached down without thinking and wrapped his hand around the hilt.  Odin watched as Loki inspected the blood glass dagger’s blade.  Cruel looking black veins ran through it.  It glowed with an eerie blood red light from those veins as if red lightning had struck it and become frozen in the strange red crystal.

               The teenage god of mischief was unnerved by the kinship he felt for this shard of chaos made manifest.  Something that should not be whole yet it was.  Something that wanted to be free.  The blade was hungry.  Odin raised an eyebrow.

               “You hold a curse made manifest in your hand.  Veydrasil… A defiant weapon.  As chaotic as the threads of fate are ordered.  I thought it stolen from the vault but perhaps it railed against its captivity.  In a time long before you and your brother I recovered it from Midgard.  A shard of Yggdrasil struck by the red lightning drawn from what the humans call the Darkhold… a vile tome.  I deemed the weapon too dangerous for mortal hands.  A mortal sorcerer made that terrible weapon as a means to control the Darkhold—As such things go, it controlled him.  A dark end for a dark soul.  In the hands of a god it is malleable, compliant, in the hands of a mortal—certain death.  Should you master it a very potent ally and weapon, should you fail—there are worse fates then death, my son.”

               Loki continued to inspect the blood-red glass of the dagger.  There was nothing of love in its craftsmanship.  It was rough with jagged outcroppings.  The bindings were haphazard at best.  The work of a primitive who was used to making obsidian weapons.  He moved to put it on the rack but a glint caught his eye—he paused.  An eerie voice spoke in a whisper with a cackle at the end.

               “That’s a mistake….”

               Then it giggled.  It sounded maniacal. The voice sounded like a multitude but spoke as one.

               “Lord of Lies!  God of Tricks!  Can I be your precious?”

               Loki grimaced and urgently moved to put the blade down but as he had it resting on the weapon rack it mocked him.

               “Coward!  Lord of Pies!  God of Pricks!”

               Loki narrowed his eyes.

               “Does that work for you?  Insulting those you seek to possess?  Why would I wish to suffer your presence?”

               The weapon’s voice dropped to a creepy whisper, almost a hiss.

               “It does if it fools you into taking me to dominate me because I dared mock you…”

               Loki smirked and quirked his head to the side.  Odin stood by, saying nothing, just observing.   The teenage god spun the dagger in his hand by the hilt.

               “What manner of creature are you then?  Man, woman, eldritch god?”

               Vaydrasil’s voice shifted tone, it became constitutional as if it was sharing a dark secret of the multiverse.

               “I am many, I am none, but if you must have a direct answer, I identify as a dagger…”

               Loki raised an eyebrow then smirked once again at the weapon’s wry sense of humor.

               “Are you as insane as you sound or is that an illusion?  What is your end game here?”

               Vaydrasil snickered.

               “I am as sane as chaos can be… what is sanity?  Some would say you’re the insane one.  Trying time and again to take a throne that isn’t yours and failing every single time.  That’s textbook insanity!”

               It cackled gleefully.

               “As for my end game?  That should be obvious I have a pointy end… I like being inserted places… particularly warm, moist… fleshy places.  The screams of agony are music to my non-existent ears—Go on, take me, we can laugh at their suffering together…  My daddy always said—if they’re cold set em’ on fire, if they ask for a roof over their head, give em’ a coffin.”

               The dagger dissolved into a cacophony of giggles as if a thousand different people were giggling at once.  Loki shook his head at the fake southern US accent.  This thing was a menace and quite cursed.  A danger to the unsuspecting.  He could see why mortals would go on rampages with it.  He had already decided.  It was as if the blade had been crafted for his purpose.  There was a hollow in the guard and hilt that would fit the Norn stone perfectly.  Order and Chaos… balanced.  Almost fated.  He spoke using his old tone, one that deliberately sounded like he held all the cards… and in this case he did.

               “I offer you a bargain, answer three questions truthfully and I will bind you to myself…”

               Vaydrasil’s usual unhinged tone was gone… as it sounded deathly serious.

               “I will cross the bridge of death, ask your questions three.”

               Then it cackled.  Loki pondered if he was making a mistake, but he had made a bargain… He was many things but a bet, a bargain, and his word were the three things he would never renege on he might use a loophole… but he would never outright go back on any of the three even at his worst.  Finally asked his first question.

               “Whose voices do you speak with?”

               Vaydrasil spoke with one single voice for the first time.  It was a woman’s voice, mournful and sad.

               “We are the lost.”

               It spoke with a deep male voice.

               “We are the lives torn from the loom of fate.”

               Then another, an innocent sound child’s voice.

               “We are the prisoners of chaos.”

               Then an old woman’s voice.

               “We are many.”

               Then it spoke with all its usual voices.

               “I am one.”

               Loki held the weapon in his palm and his eyes softened.  His father’s words echoing in his ears.  You hold a curse made manifest in your hands.  Brash, ego-driven, stoic, hide-bound his father may be, but rarely did he waste words, and never did he lie.  He imagined himself locked in this weapon, a happenstance of fate, a random discharge of chaos lightning, countless souls suddenly through no fault, or volition of their own wills bound forever. No wonder the weapon was insane… how could anyone—or anything be sane after that?  Loki took a breath and gathered himself before asking his next question then he stopped.  He had not given a timeline on these questions.

               “That is all for now, I’ll bring you with me, but we’ll see if I keep you…”

               The blade flared red.

               “It tricks us!”

               Loki smirked.

               “Lord of Lies, God of Mischief and Master of Tricks...  If you expected less, then you have deluded yourself.  I will keep my bargain—eventually.”

               Vaydrasil’s voice got low and menacing.

               “And I will listen for your questions… deceiver.”

               Loki picked up Vaydrasil’s discarded sheath off the floor.  It was ancient, made of lambskin and bound together by sinew.  He slid the weapon into the sheath and slung it over his shoulder and across his chest.  Odin nodded and moved to a table.  It was covered in rings, amulets, runic stones and various other knick-knacks.  Odin pointed at a beat up world war one courier’s pack, it was olive drab and ratty looking, with the tip of Gungnir

               “Your mother’s last gift to you.  Take it and I will escort you to the Bifrost.”

               Loki picked up the pack and looked it over, it wasn’t like his mother to even keep something so mundane, so drab, so mortal; He looked up to Odin with confusion in his green eyes.

               “What is it?”

               Odin slammed his gilded spear down.

               “Must I spell everything out for you, boy?”

               Odin’s gaze softened ever so slightly when Loki jumped at his tone.  With a weary sigh of a tired king—he spoke.

               “It once belonged to the mad god Xerxes.  He was once a great and powerful member of the Assembly of the Gods. It is rumored that his legendary lust for knowledge led him to the end of time and there oblivion swallowed him.  Wherever he went and whatever happened to him, when he returned he was naked and had only this bag in his possession.” 

               Odin’s voice sounded… sad as if he was speaking of a dear friend a rare thing for the All-Father.

“Whatever he saw there shattered his mind.  The only word he would speak was Alioth.  Your mother sought to cure him of his ailment, but it was for nought.  Her magic bought him a single moment of clarity.  He handed her the pack, then he spoke with a voice long disused: For your second son, when he finds love.  She was confused for we did not have a child.  Let alone a second.  Then Thor was born, then I found you and we claimed you as ours.  He named the bag Alioth’s Gullet before he was lost to insanity once again.  He still remains there in a cave beneath the City of the Gods scraping undecipherable messages in the stone with his fingers—long ago worn to the bone—surrounded by the things lost between the cracks of Yggdrasil…”

Odin’s voice trailed off then he looked back at his son, his mind had returned from that dark lonely cave beneath Omnipotence City.

“But you wonder what it will do for you… Sadly I do not know.  It is of Midgard but it is tainted by some form of temporal echo—if I were to guess I believe it is where Xerxes got his curios from.  It has never been anything but a simple bag to myself and your mother.  It is time you were gone from this place.  Come.”

Odin walked at a deliberate pace.  Loki hurried to catch up while inspecting the courier’s pack every which way finding it to be exactly what it appeared to be, but he did sense a strange energy about it, what it was, he could not put a finger on.  The pair eventually arrived at the Bifrost.  Heimdal bowed his head to Odin and then his golden eyes shifted to Loki.

Odin spoke.

“My son will travel to Midgard.  He may use the Bifrost as he requires but he is henceforth banished from Asgard proper until the time of Ragnarok.  I speak it and it is so.”

Loki glanced at Odin hoping for one last glance, something, anything to show him actual love, or respect but as usual it was absence.  He was about to say farewell without looking at Odin further but then he recalled something Odin had said of Gwen.  He paused and turned.

“You said she has torn herself asunder to warn Midgard… what did you mean father?”

Odin who had turned towards the rainbow bridge shifted and glanced back at his son.

“The portal.”

Loki turned around completely, as did Odin.

“Do not speak in riddles father, if she is in danger, if she is fractured, I must know how it happened so I can help her.  I have used the portal numerous times to reach Midgard when you had forbidden us to use the Bifrost I am fine…”

Odin leaned heavily on his spear.

“My champion is bursting with dark energy she activated the portal with overwhelming power. Unlike you she has had no training.  She overwhelmed it, bent it to her will, forced herself on it.  Transit through a damaged world portal is about finesse, focus and above all else restraint. Things your mother taught you.  The champion is powerful but without training she is uncontrolled.  When she transited, she fractured herself.  You’ve already brushed against the infinite branches of Yggdrasil, one champion became many each an individual, each her in every way, each displacing another version of themselves with tragic results…”

Loki’s eyes went wide.

“If you knew what we were up to—and you knew the danger—why didn’t you stop her… stop us?”

Odin sighed heavily, weariness clouding his one good eye.

“It is not my place to interfere with destiny.  Choices were made.  Choices have consequences.  There will come a reckoning, my son, when they start to return…”

Odin frowned slightly.

“She will need to reintegrate her other selves, or—”

He stopped abruptly.  Then, with a sharp flick of his hand he gestured toward the already open Bifrost.

“Leave me, your time in Asgard is done, and you’ve overstayed your welcome.  Be gone.”

He turned away and spoke the last words Loki would likely hear from his father.

“Your destiny is elsewhere, and it always has been.”

Loki stared after his father with his mouth agape.  He frowned and clenched his fists.  Of course it was riddles. Why had he expected anything else? That was always his father’s way.  Never direct.  Loki turned away and stepped toward the Bifrost.

In his haste and his frustration, Loki missed the last, fleeting glance Odin cast over his shoulder as he reached the center of the rainbow bridge.  In his good eye, the All-Father held a glint of love… and of pride.  Heimdal lowered his head as Loki vanished in a flash of light.  He what the gods would not—and he thought of his own son.  His heart ached for the rift between father and son—a rift that would never fully mend.  A cautionary tale for him to remember.

Chapter Text

Avenger’s Tower Ruined Penthouse

Gwen sat huddled on the ruined top floor of Stark—now Avengers—Tower. She had hoped that the next time she returned here, it would be as a fully-fledged and well-respected Avenger.  Tonight was not that night.

The only company she had was Charlotte, the howling wind, and the torn sheets of plastic left flapping after a summer storm a few nights before. She wrapped her arms around her knees and rocked gently. The motion helped distract her from the pain radiating from the wound in her gut. 

Her head drifted to the left and the symbiote’s black hood brushed against her cheek.  She stared at the spot she had stood when the Hulk had smashed Loki repeatedly.  She had laughed at the God of Mischief’s plight.  Then nearly fell down because she was laughing so hard when Hulk declared, “Puny God”.  It had taken her a quite a few minutes to recover.  The moment seemed so far away from now.  She had been surrounded by the avengers.  She had been part of the team.  Now she was alone.  Now Loki was dead and the Hulk’s antics seemed anything but funny.

Gwen leaned back and bumped her head softly against the wall. A memory surged: Erica shouting, “Don’t move!” She had wanted to run to her stepmother… but instead, she ran away.  Symbie tightened around her, like a full-body hug. It was exactly what she wanted—a hug.

She let the goo-spiders crawl away from her face and pulled her hood down. They peeled back from her hands at her command, retreating like silk unraveling. She wiped the backs of her fingers beneath her eyes to brush away the tears that refused to stop.  Finally, she tapped her wristband, and the hologram bloomed into the air. She didn’t look at it. Not yet.  After a brief pause, she addressed Charlotte.

“Show me the video.”

Charlotte spoke.

“Displaying pertinent footage.”

The hologram flickered.  Gwen watched with wide eyes as Matt walked down the alleyway.  His gait was deliberate.  The image zoomed in as he stood over the three captured hand ninjas.  He crouched and quirked his head to the side.  He grabbed the mask of the first.  The glint of steel flashed in Matt’s hand.  He spoke, his arrogance oozing with every word.

“You have failed to achieve this quarter’s goals.  I’d ask you to excel elsewhere but we all know there is no such thing as life outside our organization.”

In a fluid motion he reached forward.  Gwen turned away at the last moment and closed her eyes.  She didn’t have to see the act, she already knew how it ended.  The gurgles as the first one struggled to breathe were too much. Gwen felt her stomach turn.

“Turn it off!  Turn it off… I’ve seen enough.”

This was what she’d wanted — for him to slip, to leave proof. But this didn’t feel like winning.

 Charlotte spoke softly.

“Playback terminated.  Gwen?”

Gwen still had her eyes closed and turned away from where the hologram still flicked above her wrist.  She snapped.

“What?”

Charlotte continued in her soft tone.

“He made a mistake.”

Gwen hugged herself again and the symbiote helped.  The teenager still hadn’t opened her eyes.  She didn’t want to open them.  That way she could imagine this horrible night away.

“I know what he did.  It doesn’t mean I want to watch it happen.  He called me the monster.  He sounded like it was just another Wednesday at the office—I will never be like him.”

Gwen didn’t want to be Spider-Woman right now and Symbie complied.  Black Goo-spiders formed and reshaped her costume in a pair of leggings, a t-shirt and a pink hoodie.  She leaned her forehead on her arms.

*****

Central Park – Predicted Bifrost Target Zone

               Nick Fury looked at his watch.  Maria Hill was standing beside him.  Behind them were two full SHIELD tactical response unit.  Everyone was heavily armed and armored.  Nick crossed his arms.

               “Dr. Foster said it was here, and she confirmed Thor was with her in Egypt?”

               Maria nodded.

               “Yes, with a thirty foot margin of error.  Do you think it is him?”

               Nick frowned.

               “I goddamned hope it isn’t, but you better believe I’m shooting first and asking questions later if it is him.  The NYPD have screwed us.  Even if we could reach Spider-Woman or Gwen Stacy no way either of them would come out now.”

               There was a flash of rainbow light.  It was twenty feet ahead of their position.  No one appeared immediately.  Maria sprung into action giving orders and making a motion where her hand towards the Bifrost beam.

               “Form a perimeter nothing gets out.  Wait for the director’s kill order.”

               The squads moved up.  Nick and Maria took up a position behind the team.  Their snipers were in nests but everyone else was out in the open.  Nick Fury wanted whoever was showing up to know SHIELD was here. 

There was a flash, and the pair glanced at each other when they saw a teenager in jeans and a hoodie appear.  The teen looked around at the arrayed SHIELD troops then he gave his trademark smirk.

“Let me guess—this is the part where I strike a dramatic pose and declare, ‘I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with a glorious purpose.’ Right?”

Nick narrowed his eyes and raised his arm.  He was a breath away from giving the kill order. He slowly lowered his arm and spoke out loud, and through the radio.

“If he moves kill him.”

Loki gave a mock hurt look.

“Director after all we’ve been through together?  I thought we were friends.”

Nick’s glare became more intense.

“And I thought you were in prison… then dead.  I had heard corpses stayed where you left them, too bad it wasn’t true for you.  You’re not welcome here get your ass back to Asgard.”

Loki took a step forward; Every single assault rifle was suddenly raised and pointed at him, fingers on the triggers.  Loki gave a small motion with his raised arms.

“You SHIELD people are an overly sensitive lot aren’t you.  I know the last time I was here; I was less then—civil, no, scratch that I’m always civil—overtly hostile—Yes, much better… could we just lower the testosterone a tiny bit here?  Ah let me help.”

His form shimmered and suddenly he appeared to be a teenage girl in a hoodie and dress.  Nick was even less amused now.

“We are wise to your tricks and illusions, if you do not go, we will remove you permanently.  Do I need to translate for you?”

Loki shook his head tsked, his form shimmered, and he was back to his true self, a now teenaged Asgardian boy.

               “Director Fury, you certainly weren’t selected for your winning personality, were you?  You’re not even curious why I would return to Midgard, unarmed with no army at my back waving the proverbial white flag?”

               Director Fury crossed his arms and narrowed his one good eye.

               “No.”

               Maria leaned close and whispered.

               “Sir, if the Hulk beat him to a pulp and he is still standing here… I’m not entirely sure even the tesseract enhanced rifles are going to do much.  Maybe we should hear him out and he’ll leave on his own.  His profile says he likes to put on a show.”

               Nick grunted in annoyance.  Loki smiled.

               “Ah, the fair Deputy Director Maria Hill, the grindstone for Director Fury’s rough edges.”

               Maria glared at Loki herself.

               “You keep talking about me I’m liable to give the kill order myself.”

               For once it was Director Fury who was the calm one, he put his hand on Maria’s shoulder.

               “Fine, what do you want Loki?”

               Loki smiled it was reminiscent of a used car salesman who had his fish on the line.  A cheshire cat grin.

               “Actually, Director the real question is what do you want?”

               Nick made a dismissive sound.

               “Enough games. Give me a reason to keep you alive because right now I’m not seeing any upsides.”

               Loki smirked.

               “It would seem I’ve reached the edge of your limited patience.  Fine, if you wish to do it the boring way… You have rogue Spider-Woman and I am the cure.”

               Maria glanced at Fury.  Fury frowned.

               “Say you’re right, why do you even care?”

               Loki laughed.

               “Gwen Stacy of course.  You see after Gwen’s father shot her in the heart Spider-Woman brought her to Asgard.  My mother saved her life.  She and I commiserated about her father being consumed with duty and my father being an uncompromising ass.  She and I made a bet, a bargain if you will.  The details of which are of no concern but for her to agree she made me promise I’d become a protector of Midgard whether she won or lost, so here I am, your newest Avenger.  I haven’t settled on a costume yet… I am thinking green, maybe without the oversized golden crown, it was murder on the neck.  So shall I help you with this rogue Spider-Woman problem?”

               Nick and Maria both blinked in absolute disbelief it took them a few seconds to recover collectively.  Loki continued…

               “Truly, you seem hesitant.  I am a god.  I could have just turned invisible, teleported away, flew away… I had this conversation as a curtesy.  I have no army.  No hidden agenda.  I will, however, do whatever I need to protect Midgard and keep Gwen safe—with, or without your help. If you believe nothing else, believe that.  My word is my bond. So, get out of my way or state your terms, I have somewhere to be.”

               Fury wasn’t done yet.  He was still pondering the outcomes.  Weighing the pros and cons, along with the odds that Loki was up to no good.  Finally, he spoke.

               “And what makes you think you can find Spider-Woman when the combined resources of SHIELD, the NYPD, and NSA cannot?”

               Loki smiled and adjusted his hoodie.

               “I know several things you don’t.”

               Nick frowned, everything was a game to this guy.  Kind of like with Spider-Woman and it was making him extremely unhappy about that Loki wanted that reunion.

               “And what things are those?”

               Loki stepped closer to the director who was taller than him by a few inches now that the God of Mischief had been teenagafied.

               “One, I know she’s infected with a synthetic Klyntar.”

               No hint of recognition could be seen in either Nick or Maria’s faces.  Loki rolled his eyes.

               “You will never find her on your own, you don’t even know the rules of the game.  Fine I will explain.  There are alien parasites that feast off of the vitality of their hosts and the brains they eat…  One was on Earth decades ago.  Bad people found it.  Bad people made a flawed clone of it.  I believe she called them ‘HYDRA’.  She tried to stop an attack on a shipment, there was an explosion, and she was infected.  Now it has partial control of her.  She is stronger, faster and more prone to violence.  Consider that she bested me in single combat, a god, before she was infected, imagine her now and then perhaps reconsider trying to track her down on your own.  If you couldn’t handle me, you most definitely cannot handle her, especially if Gwen is backing her up.  That girl is more powerful than you can imagine and now she’s been trained by my father’s best warriors and is armed with Asgardian weapons and armor.  You are out of your depth.”

               Nick Fury motioned with his hand as if urging Loki to continue.  Loki was always happy to talk; It was when he was quiet you should get really worried…

               “Second, I know Spider-Woman’s true identity.  She has you all believing she wears the mask because she’s hideously deformed under it…”

               He let that hang, his appreciation for ‘Spider-Woman’s’ beauty evident on his face.

“When she is the most radiant human woman you can imagine… I’m sure you would like to know that name…”

               Loki wasn’t finished after a brief, pregnant pause he spoke again.

               “And most importantly, my good friend Heimdal can see the entirety of the Nine Realms and as a small favor to me, tracked her down.”

               Maria glanced at the director who was now almost nose to nose to Loki.  She gently pulled Nick back and addressed Loki.

               “Then you could have appeared anywhere?  Why here?  Why the big show?  Why give us enough time to intercept you?”

               Loki smirked while flicking his hoodie.  It vanished leaving him in his t-shirt and jeans.

               “Clever girl.  If you’ve figured all of that out, I’m sure you already know, share it with the class, would you?”

               Maria had a disdainful look in her eyes as she looked him up and down.  She crossed her arms, and posture shifted her away from Loki.

               “If I could figure you out, I’d be medboarded out of SHIELD and in a padded room.”

               Loki adjusted his hair and gave Maria a disappointed look.

               “I thought you were the fun one.”

               Maria didn’t miss a beat.

               “I am.”

               Loki paused.  He looked Maria up and down appraisingly.

               “Aren’t you the feisty one.  Fine, I am here because one, what good is a glorious entrance if no one sees it”

               He sighed heavily.

“And two… this is a truly sad day, me at my absolute worst—I need your help.”

               Fury watched his deputy director and the Lord of Lies interaction with a critical eye.  He stayed silent and let Maria take the lead.  Maria glanced at Fury, who shifted his head slightly to the left.  The Deputy Director of Shield’s lips moved up ever so slightly, and she asked Loki.

               “So, this performance was to soften us up, what do you—the all-powerful ‘Loki of Asgard’—need from us puny mortals then?”

               Loki smiled sadly held out his palms in surrender.

               “I wish to claim Asylum on Midgard and a small favor that will be aligned with your needs.  Nothing too hard.  In exchange I offer to serve as a member of the Avengers.  A fair exchange.  You get a God to protect your world; I get a place to live—and a very tiny favor.”

               Maria was about to answer and—by the look on her face it was likely going to be a very rude no.  Director Fury frowned.  Then he lifted his hand up.

               “We agree to your terms, Loki.”

               Loki bowed with a flourish.

               “That was decisive.  You didn’t even ask what the favor was.”

               Nick glared at Loki.

               “Wasn’t my call.  If I had my way I’d have strapped you to a nuke and launched you into space.”

               Loki dusted his hands off.

               “Well then, about that favor…”

               Maria gave the stand down command.  Fury’s jaw clenched. His shoulders shifted forward, weight subtly leaning in. His voice came low and quiet — the kind of quiet that made people stop breathing.

“What’s the favor, Loki?”

Loki smiled again.

“I thought you’d never ask, I need your help curing Spider-Woman… While I have our information on her symbiote, what I lack is specifics of who created it, where it is from, who might know how to rid her of it.  Then you need to make sure Gwen gets that information without her knowing I’m alive—or involved.  Or that it came from you.  Until it is gone Gwen is in danger and I will not abide that.”

Nick looked at Maria with a faint glance of disbelief — a slow, sideways flick of the eye that said without words: Can you believe the elephant-sized balls on this guy?

               Loki looked between Nick and Maria.

               “Are we all caught up? I need to get to Spider-Woman before she moves.”

               Nick held up his hand.

               “Hold up.  Translate this for us ‘puny’ mortals.  Why can’t she know you are alive?  And why would us giving her the intel be problematic?”

               Loki got the same look that Odin got on his face when he asked him: Must I spell everything out for you, boy?  With a heavy sigh he spoke.

               “We need Gwen focused on the problem at hand, she believes I am dead.  She’s already mourned for me.  My presence will be disruptive.  Keep up, would you?”

               He shook his head. 

“As for you—meaning SHIELD—HYDRA is behind this symbiote and SHIELD is HYDRA…”

He let his revelation sit for a few seconds then continued, always ensuring maximum dramatic tension, he was Loki after all.

“Really if I need to tell you that, you really are a useless intelligence agency, even Gwen knew that.”

*****

Avenger’s Tower – Penthouse – A short time later.

               Loki leaned against an outside pillar of the Avenger’s penthouse by the landing pad.  He glanced in ignoring the damage Hulk had done with his battered form.  His green eyes were focused on Gwen.  He watched her.  She had her arms wrapped around her shins and her forehead resting on her knees.  He could hear soft voices coming from her vicinity.  A hologram flickered off of her wrist. 

He heard his voice, then hers.  She was replaying a recording of one of their many conversations.  She was laughing.  He closed his eyes.  He had missed that laugh, her blue eyes that twinkled with mischief.  He had met the real Gwen in that prison cell.  The authentic beautiful soul.  The wit that matched his…

He recalled their first skirmish.  How he had underestimated her.  The cutting quips she’d unleashed.  Her off hand joke about his brother, Tony Stark and Steve Rogers having a dick measuring contest.  It had been in that moment as they were buffeted by the rush of air and dust that he’d become mesmerized by her.  She was in the center of a storm not of her own making and she didn’t even flinch.

His eyes drifted back to her tiny looking form.  He could hear her sobbing softly.  Seeing her like this, alone, lost and broken tore at his once cold heart.  He wanted to rush to her.  He wanted to scoop her up. He wanted to tell her she would be alright.  He was here and she was safe now.  He wanted her to know that he wouldn’t let anyone hurt her ever again.

Loki looked away and closed his eyes. He sighed heavily.  He would do none of those things, because the words of the Norn left no room for doubt or debate.  If he interfered with her quest for a cure directly, if she knew he was alive and here she would die.  That could not be allowed to happen, it would not be allowed to happen.

He looked back at her again.  She couldn’t stay here like this, frozen, powerless, broken.  She was stronger than this.  She could overcome any obstacle, any challenge.  He whispered.

“Get up!  Fight!”

His voice trailed off.

“I love you Gwen…”

Gwen’s head snapped up suddenly.

“What was that?”

Her eyes drifted to where she could have sworn, she had heard Loki’s voice but all she saw was the snapping plastic that had once sealed the windows.  She shook her head and lifted her wrist to look at the god that had won her heart.  A smile crept onto her lips as Loki laughed on the video.  She missed him.  He was gone but she would never forget him.  He would tell her to stop being a lump.  To get up.  To fight.  To take back what was hers.  Loki’s voice from her video said.

“Good morning, my Queen.”

In that moment she started laughing.  She sniffled as she laughed and wiped her tears away.  Perhaps it was the moment she finally broke, perhaps it was the start of her taking her life back.  Time would tell but for tonight she just held her side because her laughter stung.

Chapter Text

Manhattan – New York – SHIELD Field HQ

               Thor slammed his brother into the wall of Nick Fury’s office causing the drywall to crack.  Loki grunted.  Thor was shouting.

               “What did you do with father?”

               Thor released Loki who collapsed in a heap at the base of the wall.  The trickster looked up at his much larger brother.

               “Nothing, he’s as he always is, alone and bitter.”

               Nick Fury shook his head.

               “Boys feel free to beat each other senseless but leave my damn office wall out of it.”

               Loki held out his hand.  Thor looked at it with annoyance.

               “We thought you were dead.  I mourned for you.”

               Loki pushed himself up and dusted himself off.  He finished with the drywall chunks that had landed on his shoulder flicking a few off one at a time.

               “I was but the Norns had other plans.  Father sent me on my way with his blessing when I returned.  He commuted my sentence to banishment until the time of Ragnarok so effectively until long after we’re both dead… That must make you happy, brother?”

               Thor clenched his fists and finally he poked Loki’s shoulder hard causing his now teenage brother to stumble backwards.

               “Put your real face back on, I will not ask you a third time!”

               Loki rolled his eyes.

               “You think I had a choice in this?  When the Norns sent me back this is the form I was given.  If you find it so objectionable perhaps you should go tell them of your displeasure in person.”

               Thor lifted Mjolnir off of Nick Fury’s desk and poked Loki in the chest with it.

               “Why would the Norns save you of all people?”

               Loki was pressed against the wall again he held his hands up.

               “I don’t know brother, perhaps the thought of me entering Valhalla didn’t sit well with them.  Go ask them.  I’d pay to see that conversation.  The oaf trying demand answers of a primal force.”

               Thor pressed Mjolnir harder.

               “There are nine realms, why Midgard?  Do you seek to hound me here too?”

               Loki winced at the pressure of the hammer against his diaphragm, but he maintained his composure.

               “Contrary to what your inflated ego tells you, you are not the center of the universe, brother.  My reasons are my own.  Why are you here?  Shouldn’t you be sitting on the throne of Asgard?”

               Thor pressed harder, the only reason Loki’s ribs were left unbroken was the magical chain mail that was disguised as a t-shirt.

               “You know why I’m here.”

               Loki met his brother’s gaze.

               “Then you know why I’m here too.”

               Thor released Loki recognition lighting his kind blue eyes.

               “I see.”

               The god of thunder turned to Nick Fury.

               “I am sorry about your wall, Director Fury.”

               Nick Fury leaned on his desk with his palms spreading his fingers out as he glared at the two gods.

               “That’s it?  Fine.  What are we going to do about this Spider-Woman and Gwen Stacy situation?”

               Thor shrugged.

               “I trust Loki has it under control.  I need to get back to Jane.  Farewell brother. Should you need me…”

               Loki gave the slightest of nods.  For the time being the brothers had reached a common ground and understanding.  Fury was dumbfounded as he watched Thor walk out.  Loki straightened his t-shirt and dusted the rest of the drywall debris off of himself.  Loki didn’t look Director Fury when he addressed him.

               “As I was saying before the oaf appeared, Gwen and Spider-Woman are safe for the time being.  Spider-Woman was severely injured but she heals quickly.  We likely have a day or so before she is active again.  Have you made any progress on the information I requested?”

               Nick Fury got over his brief moment of shock and called out.

               “Hill, get in here!”

               Maria walked into the office; Her eyes casually scanned the drywall.  She looked at Nick.

               “I’ll get a work order in right away, Director.”

               Nick nodded then he stood up straight.

               “Have you found the data we need yet?”

               Maria lifted her tablet up and tapped a few command into it then swept her finger across it and the flat screen in the office lit up.  It was a scanned file.  The folder that covered it declared it TOP SECRET.  The project name was Ubermenschsodlat.  Roughly translated project super soldier.  The pages were all in German but each had an English translation in between the double spacing.  There were black and white photos.  Each page had the HYDRA stamp on them.  One photos had a lizard-human hybrid on an autopsy channel.

               “These are the project files I could find that were associated with the symbiote.  Took a while to track down, they were all hard copy.  They hadn’t been digitized.  While doing a deep search of our electronic archives we discovered a breach.  Someone had directly plugged into our servers with a ‘hot pink’ spider bot.  It had integrated itself right into the main switch in our data center.  From there it had access to every single record in our system without encryption.  Including this file.  I’m sorry, whoever it was got everything we had.  Our system was thoroughly compromised.”

               Nick steepled his fingers.

               “Hot pink spider bot?  We all know who that was.  Did she get any intel on Loki’s presence?”

               Maria shook her head.

               “No sir.  As per your specific instructions no references to our newest Avenger were recorded.  Only us, Thor and the tactical teams that were present at Central Park, are aware of his presence.  And whomever gave the order to grant his asylum.”

               Nick stood up and folded his hands behind his back.  He looked out of his office window.

               “Well shit, thank God for that, we at least still have one secret left.  Remind me to tell that girl all about the computer fraud and abuse act once we get her into custody.”

               Loki had been ignoring both of the SHIELD agents.  His eyes were focused on a single image and the description of his disfigurement.  He spoke without looking away.

               “Who is this man?”

               Maria and looked at the screen.  Maria didn’t speak she leaned down and moved Nick Fury’s laptop to face her.  She leaned in and typed in several letters.  Then she stood up straight.

               “Red Skull.  He was the one responsible for a coup within HYDRA during World War Two.  He was lost with Steve Rogers on a HYDRA bomber with the tesseract.”

               Loki nodded.

               “Was he ever recovered?  If Steve Rogers survived, I assume he did?”

               Nick shook his head.

               “No, his body was not recovered.”

               Loki felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.  The meaning behind the riddles of the Fates was becoming very clear.  He motioned to the black and white image of the Red Skull in his HYDRA uniform.

               “He was responsible for the symbiote research.  He likely knows how to destroy it and preserve the host.  I know what Gwen and Spider-Women need to do.”

               Nick waited impatiently for Loki to explain, of course the God of Mischief, the Lord of Lies and the Master of Secrets wasn’t immediately forthcoming. Finally, Nick spoke.

               “Well, what do they need to do?  Spit it out.”

               Loki was still staring at the Red Skull’s image.  He spoke without intending too.

               “She will trespass where the Gods fear to tread.  To the edge of oblivion.  Perhaps beyond.  There she will find a ghost of failed conquest with a crimson face.”

               Nick looked at Loki again.

               “What?”

               Loki blinked a few times.  He pulled himself back to the present and his hand touched the first rune on his chest through his t-shirt.

               “She needs to go to Vormir… they will need to go to Vormir.  That means they will need to break into my father’s vault and acquire the Tesseract.  We need to make sure they find this intelligence.”

               Fury walked over to Loki.

               “Vormir?  What is that?  Where is it?”

               Loki kept looking at the image of the Red Skull.

               “It is where God’s fear to tread, the very edge of oblivion…  The Red Skull is there.  He will have the answers that Gwen needs to cure Spider-Woman.”

               Nick was still playing catch up and he suddenly realized Loki had mentioned the Tesseract.

               “Wait, you’re telling me they need to steal the Tesseract? Has this been your end game all along?”

               Loki shook his head.

               “This isn’t about me, it never was.  Follow the plot.  If we do not do this Gwen Stacy and Spider-Woman will die and I assure you, Midgard needs them for what is coming.”

               Nick leaned over Loki looking at him intently with his one good eye.

               “What do you know, Loki?  No more riddles, no more games, spit it out, what is coming?”

               Loki looked up at him.

               “Do you think I summoned an army from nothing?  Do you think it was free?  The Tesseract and the Mind Stone were the price I was to pay.  There are things out there that your mortal minds cannot comprehend.  When the Avengers repelled my attack, when Spider-Woman lifted Thor’s hammer, when Tony Stark flew the missile at the fleet.  When Gwen singlehandedly fought off the Dark Elf invaders from Asgard… it made Midgard a threat to everyone out there.  A force to be reckoned with.  The very fact that Gwen will be able to lift the Tesseract and use it without being annihilated should put fear in your heart, not because she can, because it will be noticed.”

Nick waved a hand, cutting through the tension.

“Spare me the cosmic poetry, Loki. I’ve got two satellites down, three dead agents, and an unpaid drywall bill.”

He continued leaning over Loki.

“Why Gwen Stacy? Why now? What makes her worth the Tesseract, the risk, the eyes of whatever’s out there?”

He locked eyes with the god.

“Talk to me like I’m not some mythic footnote. Help me understand.”

Loki met the Director’s gaze.

“When I reached into the threads of fate into the heart of Yggdrasil I saw one clear moment in time split in two.  In one half, Gwen Stacy at the head of the army of light in her right hand, my brother’s hammer, in her left Steve Rogers shield.  She was in a suit of Stark Power armor made of Uru.  The other the blasted remains of the Nine Realms.  Extinct of all life. That is not a what if.  It is a choice etched in the Tapestry of Fate and the right choice is clear. I plan to be at her side on that day.”

Nick looked into Loki’s eyes seeking any hint of deception.  Any sign that what he just heard was just some fantasy that existed in this mad god’s head.  He found none he stepped back as the weight of the truth sunk in.

*****

Queens – Thompson Residence.

               Gwen glanced over her shoulder as she walked Flash’s front stairs.  If the NYPD had any investigative skills whatsoever, they would know about the bad blood between her and Flash, so this is the last place they would expect to find Gwen Stacy.  Spider-Woman would have stood out like a sore thumb.  The detectives who were doing the stakeout on Flash’s house had looked at her on her way past but then had gone back to their conversation. 

She lifted her hand and knocked on the door loudly.  Flash opened the door.  He looked down and when he saw the face under the hood his eyes went wide.

“Gwen?”

Gwen looked up at him and said, very firmly.

“Kiss me like I’m still your girlfriend.”

His confusion was total, instant.  Finally, Gwen stood on her toes and kissed Flash.  He didn’t hesitate, just out of force of habit he kissed her back, he wrapped his arm around her back and Gwen gasped as he pressed against her wound.  He released her then his eyes drifted to the unmarked police car.  He glanced over his shoulder.

“You shouldn’t be here.  Dad hates you and he knows the police are looking for you… why are you here?”

Gwen shifted trying to adjust to the pain that was shooting through her from Flash’s passionate hug and kiss.

“Invite me in, this is starting to look suspicious again.”

He stepped back and motioned her inside.  His dad called out, he sounded drunk.

“Flash who the fuck is it?  At this time of night!”

Flash peaked into the den while waving Gwen up the stairs to the second floor.

“Just Liz dad.  We forgot to pick classes…”

His dad grunted in annoyance and swore about kids.  Flash crept up the stairs.  Gwen was sitting on his bed with her arm wrapped around her abdomen. She was rocking slightly.  Flash looked her over.

“Gwen what is going on?”

Gwen pulled a flash drive out of her hoodie pocket.

“Flash, I need you to hold onto this for us.  My Uncle Liam will tell you if… or when to release it on Spider-Woman’s YouTube channel.  She was going to come by herself, but she would have been spotted.  I can’t stay; I just need you to promise me… us you won’t release it until you get the go ahead.”

Flash took the black memory stick and wrapped his fingers around it.

“Gwen they’re saying she murdered four people and that you helped her.”

Gwen shook her head.

“It didn’t happen like that.  She’s… we’re innocent.  We were framed.  That video is proof that we’re both innocent, it shows who really did it.  But… but if you… we release it my dad will be in danger.  I know… I know that we had…  I know I didn’t handle our break up well.  That’s on me.  And I have no right to ask for your help, neither does she.  If you put that video up, you are going to make some very powerful people angry.  These are people who kill to keep their secrets.  I understand if you want to walk away, I will find a way to get it out… we will.”

Flash tightened his grip on the drive.

“If I release this you and Spider-Woman will be alright?  The police will stop chasing you?”

Gwen nodded.

“You need to understand just having that is putting your life in danger.”

He got a serious look in his eyes.

“I promised you I’d always have your back.  That hasn’t changed.  I’ll keep it safe and if it comes to it, I’ll post it.  You can rely on me, Gwen.  You can always rely on me.”

Gwen stood up and had to steady herself.  The wound was far worse than she wanted to admit.  Flash rushed to her side and caught her.

“Gwen, what is wrong?”

Gwen waved her hand dismissively, her other still clutched her side.

“Just cramps… girl stuff.  I’m fine.  I’ve been here too long.  I need to go.  If the police find me here, they’ll charge you too.”

Flash shook his head.  He could see the pain, the weariness and the desperation in Gwen’s eyes.  He was just a teenage boy, but he’d seen his mother do this time after time when his father beat her, pretending everything was fine when she should have been at the hospital.

“Gwen you’re lying, you’re really hurt.  We need to—”

Gwen clutched onto him.

“To what Flash?  I’m wanted by the police.  I can’t go to a hospital.  All I can do is keep moving.  It’s all any of us can do.  I have two more stops then I’ll find call a someone Spider-Woman knows… she’s a nurse.  She’ll patch me up.”

               Gwen started to pull away.  He held her firm.  She could easily break his grip but she didn’t she let him keep her there.  He looked at her.

               “You’re lying again, you’re not going to get looked at— Gwen whatever this is you’re not Spider-Woman.  Turn yourself in you look like you’re dying.  You’re so pale.”

               Gwen pulled her arm out of Flash’s hands showing strength he didn’t know she was capable.

               “I’m not Liz, Flash, I’m not your mother.  You have no idea what I’m capable of. I’m not a precious flower.”

               Flash closed his fists slowly and he looked resigned.  This was just like Gwen.  Always secretive.  Always refusing to be taken care of.  Never willing to slow down.  He watched her walk away from him.  His eyes softened once again when he watched her lean heavily on his door frame before continuing on.

*****

Queens - Streets

               Gwen’s next stop was going to be a difficult one.  Her uncle Liam was one of the few people capable on calling her out on her bullshit.  She shuffled away from Flash’s house.  The detectives paid her no mind once again.  She moved through the streets and alley’s of Queens.  She knew the area well.  This was her home turf. She was getting close to her destination, and she was also running out of steam quickly.

               She found herself leaning heavily on a brick wall of an alley as she walked through it.  She reached the end of the alley and leaned heavily on the wall.  She clutched her side.  Charlotte spoke.

               “Gwen, you were correct.  There is an unmarked police car with two detectives in it watching your uncle’s pub.”

               The teenager peeked out and she spotted the detectives.  She spotted another unmarked car with detectives watching the back alley entrance to the pub.  She wasn’t getting through there either.  She leaned with her back against the wall she hit her head against the bricks gently.

               “Think Gwen.  Think.”

               Tears started to drip from her eyes again.  Everything since Matt Murdock had shown up in her life had been one step forward and two steps back.  Now she had him.  She could feel it.  She could see the end of the tunnel… she could taste it, but now… now it may as well be a bottomless pit between her and it.  Any move she made ended with someone else getting hurt.

               Charlotte disturbed Gwen’s silent emotional breakdown.

               “Skully is tracking your uncle’s SUV; It just left the Pub and is heading east bound on Sixth Avenue. There is no police presence.  If you can run in your injured state, you could theoretically intercept him at the next intersection.”

               Gwen took a deep breath and closed her eyes.  She didn’t say anything to Charlotte she just started running all out.  Every footfall sent waves of pain through her.  She ignored it.  This wasn’t about comfort.  This was about survival, and she would survive.  She would wipe the smug look off of Matt Murdock’s face either with her fist or with the long arm of the law.  She was probably tearing her wound open even further but that was a future Gwen problem.

               She managed to stumble in front of her uncle’s SUV in time to stop it from reaching the police cruiser that was waiting further down the street.  The SUV’s tires squealed as the driver pressed both feet on his break petal.  He barely avoided colliding with Gwen.  Who had reopened her wound so badly that Symbie was having trouble adapting to seal it again. 

Her uncle’s driver, who happened to be Connor tonight got out and slammed his door.  He stalked towards her.

“What the fuck were you thinking methhead?”

Gwen stumbled and fell.  Her hood fell off her head.  Connor rushed forward and scooped her up.  He carried her to the back of the SUV and sat her inside.  He looked at Liam and shook his head.  Gwen’s uncle motioned toward the driver’s seat.

“Drive!”

Liam leaned over Gwen.

“Wendy what ‘ave ye done to yerself.”

Liam pressed his hand against the wound.  Gwen cried out in pain.  Liam reached behind her—his hand came back slick with her blood.  He shook his head.

“Wendy, Wendy, stay wit’ me.  Breathe.”

Gwen cried out in agony.  This time it was self… or at least symbiote inflicted.  Symbie was taking drastic action now; It formed hardened spikes to rip into her flesh  and force the wound closed so it could buy time to reform the vessels and muscle that had been shredded first by the blade and second Gwen’s refusal to give up.  Liam looked down at his hands and realized Gwen had stopped bleeding out.  He collapsed back into his seat with a sigh of relief.

“Oh, Wendy ye almost gave me a heart attack.  Ye tell me which cunt did this ta ye and I will make em’ pay.  I promise ye that on ye mah’s grave.”

               Gwen couldn’t answer for several moments.  Liam leaned forward to speak to Connor.

               “Connor, take us to Doc’s.”

               Gwen forced herself to sit up and pull her uncle back.

               “No.  You need to drop me off as soon as I finish.  I’m not going to get you, Connor and Doc arrested because of me.”

               Liam shook his head.

“If ye tear it open again, ye’ll bleed ou’ before sunrise.  Yer mah… she’d haunt me till my dyin’ day.”

               Gwen shook her head.  She tried to sit up again but collapsed back into the seat.

               “I just… I need to know do you still have cops on the take in the precinct they’re holding dad.”

               Liam looked at her—he was at an absolute loss as to where this conversation was heading.

               “Ye.”

               Gwen motioned him closer.

               “Uncle Liam, I have proof I’m innocent but I gotta talk to dad.  I need to know… I need to know if it’s okay… I—I just need to talk to him first.  There’s a video.  Flash has it, you remember my ex-boyfriend.  If… if dad says it’s okay I need you to tell Flash to release it.  I’m gonna turn myself in.  I’ll be in holding beside dad.  I can talk to him.  I just… I need one of the cops you pay… I need them to get the message out to you.  Can you do that for me?”

               Liam shook his head.

“No. No, Wendy. Ye gonna go wit’ me to Doc, ye gonna get patched up — and then I’m sendin’ ye to yer nan in Belfast. Outta the country. That’s the plan.”

Gwen shook her head.

“Its more then me.  Its dad. Its… Spider-Woman.  I can’t run away.  I know you mean well but I… just can’t.  I need to face this one way or another.  I have friends.  SHIELD.  The Avengers.  I just need you to promise me you’ll get my message to Flash.  I’m not here to ask permission.  I’m here for your help. I’m doing this either way.”

Liam frowned.

“Curse yer mother.  Ye ‘ave her ‘eart. And her stubborn streak.  At least let me get ye patched up Wendy, clean tha’ blood off ye.  If they see ye bloody like this yer headed straight fer the ‘ospital.”

Gwen lifted her shirt and took a better look at her wound.  It should’ve been gapping but Symbie had filled it in with a solid shiny black material.  She was still in agony, but she was no longer in mortal danger… at least until she did something else stupid.

“I’m okay now.  I… used an advanced Stark tech prototype we’ve been developing to seal the wound.  It’s for the Avengers and SHIELD.  It worked… just not as fast as well the white paper says it is.  We can get me cleaned up.  A change of clothes…”

Liam leaned forward.

“Connor yer daughter’s about Wendy’s size right?”

Connor nodded.  Liam patted the seat with his bloody hand.

“Take us ta yer place.”

Chapter Text

Queens – Police Precinct

               Gwen was wearing clothes that were not her own when she arrived to turn herself in.  Connor’s daughter was a goth girl with a real hate for the color pink.  In other words, Gwen Stacy’s polar opposite.  She was in a casual black dress along with her chucks, her hair was still wet from her shower.  She leaned heavily on the front desk.  The old officer behind the desk held up one finger as he continued writing something down.  That was when the chaos began.

               “Hands up!”

               Gwen looked around.  She was truly confused. Then another voice shouted.

               “Don’t move!”

               It took the teenager a few seconds to realize they were talking to her she was done with this whole situation, and it showed in her response.

               “What is it?  Hands up?  Or don’t move?”

               The older officer manning the front desk looked up when he heard the commotion.  He recognized Gwen right away from her numerous visits to see her father, and more than a few police functions that involved families.  Stood up.

               “Put your guns away.  She’s an unarmed kid for fuck’s sake.  Didn’t you read the APB?  They want to question her not arrest her. Jesus Christ the idiots coming out of the academy these days.  I got this.”

               The two rookies looked around sheepishly as they put their sidearms away.

               “Sarge, they updated it, she’s wanted on murder one charges.  A witness came forward.  APB says armed and dangerous.”

               Gwen sighed and thought: Of course he bribed someone.

               Gwen’s hands grasped the ugly lime green laminate counter of the desk sergeant’s station.  He rushed around to help her stand.  He glared at the rookies.

               “Yeah, she can barely stand and sure looks like she has an arsenal hidden under this dress of hers.”

               He spoke more quietly.

               “Gwen, are you okay?  Do you need medical attention.”

               Gwen shook her head and spoke quietly enough that only the desk sergeant would hear her.

               “I’m good.  I’ll answer whatever questions they have.”

               She adjusted herself and some of the pain subsided.  Symbie could keep her alive and moving, possibly even enough to fight.  The goo could even heal her faster than even her own powers. Unfortunately, her constant ooze companion could not manage her pain.  She continued with a firmer voice.

“I just need to see my dad first.  Just… get me into his holding cell or the one beside him.  I just need to talk to him.  Please.  My dad didn’t do what they say he did and I didn’t do this.  You know us.  We have barbeques together.”

               He nodded and matched her tone.

               “Okay, just make it quick.  I’ll slow your paperwork down.”

               He stood up straight and motioned to the front desk with the hand that wasn’t helping to support Gwen.

               “Rookie, take the desk.  I’m going to get her processed.”

               He helped Gwen under the guise of keeping her restrained and took into the holding cells.  There were two banks of them.  Her father was taking up one part of pair the other was empty and he had no one else with him.  George looked at Gwen with wide eyes and started shaking his head.

He put Gwen down on the bench and did a quick check for any concealed weapons.  While he was bent to do the check, which he wasn’t even trying at he whispered.

“Make it quick.  You and Spider-Woman are enemy number one right now.  The detectives in charge of the homicide case are going to know you’re here and no amount of slowed down paperwork will stop that.  There are a lot of eyes on this.”

He left the holding cell and locked it up.

George rushed over he leaned over as far as he could.

“Gwen?  How did they catch you?  You look…  you look bad.  Are you hurt?  Why didn’t they take you to the hospital?  Why didn’t you just ask for help from Asgard?”

Gwen didn’t stand up she just leaned against the wire fence and bars of the holding cell.  She was so tired all she wanted to do was sleep.  That’s what her body needed to heal.  Sleep and food.  She had given it neither and it had been over twenty-four hours.  This was the end game.  All she had to do was do this one thing then tell Charlotte… her Uncle Liam’s cop on the inside go or not go.  She held her side as she spoke.

“Dad… dad… stop.  Just stop.  Listen to me we don’t have much time.  I’m either going to pass out or they’re going to drag me into an interrogation room.”

He crouched lower so he was at her level staring at her through the bars.

“Gwen, I’m scared for you.  You… push yourself too hard.  You should have gotten your Uncle Liam to get you out of the country.”

Gwen shook her head without moving the rest of her body.

“I’m doing what you, Uncle Ben and Aunt May taught you… what Steve taught me.  What Loki taught me…  We don’t have time to argue.  Just listen to me for once in my life, please.”

George sat on the bench and collapsed against the holding cell bars.  Gwen thought randomly how this reminded her of when she’d visit Loki and how they would lean against the cell wall back to back.  How they would talk for hours.  This wasn’t the same they didn’t have hours, they had minutes, maybe even seconds before it all came crashing down.  George took a deep breath and after a long pause he said.

“I’m here and I’m listening.”

Gwen took her own deep breath and winced as she caused pressure against her symbiote sealed wound.

“I have video dad.  Video that can put Matt Murdock away and get me out of this but if… if I share it… if I do what I’m going to do it is going to destroy any chance we have of getting you out.  He will retaliate and…”  She felt tears welling up in her eyes.  “And you’ll be the one he goes after.  I… don’t know what to do dad.  I know the right thing… but I… you… you’re all I have left.”

George was quiet.  His expression wasn’t sad.  The moment his daughter had told him why she was here, he already knew the answer.  Just like she knew the answer.  She wasn’t here to figure out what to do.  She wasn’t there to ask permission; She was here to get his blessing.  To put the decision of his safety on him. A decision he would gladly make, any decent parent would, he would free her from the guilt and he would do it with pride in his daughter.  He spoke quietly, no menace, no anger, just love and pride.

“Put that bastard away for the rest of his life.”

Gwen’s shoulders slumped and her tears that had been threatening to slip from her eyes now dripped freely.  She’d already known the answer.  Hearing it from her father’s lips made it real.  She formed her bracer and tapped the go button she’d created on the screen.  Now there was no going back. 

Charlotte would link up to a Stark Satellite.  The video would go out to every major law enforcement branch in New York City.  NYPD, FBI, State police, Homeland Security, and SHIELD.  It would also go to a thousand different media outlets.  Finally, the millions of followers on Spider-Woman’s official social media platforms would see it, until the video was removed but by then it would be too late.  It would be mirrored.  It would be saved.  It would be ripped.  Matt Murdock couldn’t stop this and he would never be able to erase it.  Her nuke was anything but tactical, she was going for full on annihilation.

She spoke softly still holding her side.

“It’s done dad.  There is no amount of political or legal influence that is going to get him out of this.  I’m sorry… I’m so sorry.”

George glanced over his shoulder, then turned fully to look at Gwen.  He’d known her for her entire life, but this is the first time he truly saw her.  The girl she was; The woman she was becoming.  She reminded him of his late wife.  Helen Stacy never backed down from a fight in her life, she always said: If they want a fight, give them a war, if they want a war, do so much damage no one ever wants to go to war with you again. 

“I’m so proud of you G-bear.  No matter what happens, I will always be proud of you.”

Gwen didn’t hear him her eyes were closed.  Her deep breathing was the only sign she yet lived.  George wished he could scoop her up and hold her.  Then he gave a sad smile and realized that isn’t what she needed from him anymore. 

*****

Former Kingpin’s office, now HQ for Matt Murdock’s syndicate.

               Matt spun his ornate platinum pen over his fist in amusement.  He looked at the video of Gwen turning herself into the NYPD.  He was blind but he could hear the voice over of one of his people telling him what was happening.  He’d let her stew for a while.  Then he’d swoop in and heroically save her.  He already owned her.  This was just him putting her in the penalty box for that fiasco with his Hand Ninjas and Stark’s white and blue toys.

               She was a pet and pets needed to be taught a lesson from time to time.  Rub their nose in the accident if you will.  If she continued to be obstinate though he would need to escalate things.  Punish her appropriately.  She had to know when she was being a bad girl.  When she was coloring outside the lines.  She had to know who held her chains.

               He smirked as guns were drawn on her.  It amused him to see her brought so low.  All that power and her foolishness in resisting what was the natural order led her to this ignoble performance.  He would get through to her.  She would learn having power came with a responsibility, a responsibility to dominate, to enrich yourself.  One day she would make a good protégé; She just needed some molding first.  Some types of clay were just harder to work with than others.

               He received a new video recorded by one of his police informants.  The voice over told him what the officer was seeing. It showed Gwen curled up on a holding cell bench sleeping soundly.  No stress on her face, no concern.  She looked comfortable and at peace.  As he heard the words: comfortable and at peace his lips twisted into a sneer.

               “Well that will not do.”

               He picked up his phone and texted: Alejandro, get my best suit ready, and then get the car.  We have a damsel to rescue.

*****

SHIELD Global HQ – Manhattan, New York

               Nick Fury leaned back in his chair and rubbed his tired eye.  Loki was passed out on his couch.  It was nice to know that even gods needed sleep.  It gave them a vulnerability.  He pondered the last twenty-four hours.  His entire world-view had been turned upside down.  SHIELD was not the bastion of Order he’d thought it to be.  For years, under his nose HYDRA had grown and blossomed.  He had Maria Hill.  His eyes moved over to Loki’s sleeping form once again.

               “And the most untrustworthy god in existence… If that isn’t the shit end of the stick what is?  Goddamned devil’s bargain.”

               He stood up and folded his hands behind his back and looked at the white board he’d had Maria pull out of storage.  On it was every single site they knew about that had been compromised by HYDRA… and it was all of them.  No piece of SHIELD was free of HYDRA’s influence.  He and Maria were playing a dangerous game now.  He’d known it was going on since Spider-Woman infiltrated that black site warehouse.  He and Maria had been investigating under the radar but HYDRA would find out and when they did, the part of SHIELD that was loyal to the organizations original principles would be outnumbered and outgunned.

The HYDRA infestation went all the way to the top, save for his mentor.  The woman he replaced.  The woman who had told him in no uncertain terms that he was to agree to Loki’s asylum request, no matter what it cost.  Now he could see why.  Loki in exchange for Nick and Maria’s help with Spider-Woman and Gwen Stacy had provided them with detailed notes on the infiltration.  Gwen had stolen SHIELD’s data and during their time together in Asgard Loki had gotten a lot of it out of the girl.

“It’s like I’m swimming in a river full of piranhas with only a comedian to protect me.”

His door opened suddenly, and he was caught flat-footed.  It was the middle of the night, and he had not expected anyone to be here which is why he had the whiteboard out at all.  He let out a long slow breath when he saw it was his Deputy Director.

“Gave me a goddamned heart attack, knock first.”

Maria was holding her tablet and appeared to be out of breath.

“Sir, there’s been a development with Gwen Stacy and Spider-Woman.  They released a video… it has gone wide.”

Fury pointed at the flat screen on his wall.

“Show me.”

The screen flared to life in the darkened office.  Gwen and Spider-Woman were standing side by side.  Gwen was doing the talking and Spider-Woman was nodding along. The pair were in the damaged Penthouse of Avenger’s tower.

“My name is Gwen Stacy and this is Spider-Woman, we have been accused of a murder we didn’t commit.  A man named Matt Murdock, a lawyer and a self-described Kingpin is responsible for the murder and I have video proof.  He hired assassins to go after a senator and his family.  Spider-Woman stopped him and in retaliation he framed us.  This video is very graphic so if there are children watching or you have a weak stomach, turn this off now.  Matt, I know you’re going to see this again and again I just want to say, you messed with the wrong women.  You called my friend the monster.  Now everyone knows you are the real monster.  You fucked around and you found out.”

The video did a blur cut to a man in a red armored suit walking down an alley.  Then it zoomed in and he spoke to three bound people in red ninja costumes then he casually slit each of their throats.  The camera caught his face.  Then the video doxed him, doxed was an understatement the video dumped his entire life onto the screen.  Home address, known associate’s, his cars, his license plates, his bank account numbers, his credit card numbers, all of his shell companies, the name of his tailor and his dry cleaner.    It even had data from his money launderers.  Nick Fury stared at it all unblinking for several moments.  Finally, he turned to Maria.

“We need to stop this from getting out.  Get a lid on it.”

Maria was already shaking her head.

“Sir, we can’t… no one can.  She used a Stark Satellite to send it out.  She got control of the Star Link network and sent it out.  There is no corner on Earth that this video can’t reach.  It is done.”

He realized he had vastly underestimated Gwen Stacy.  He knew she was smart, a tech wiz, and that she had far too much knowledge of arc reactor technology.  This was a whole new level of threat.  She had weaponized the most comprehensive internet service provider on the planet.  She could do this with SHIELDs entire data repository after her compromise of their systems.  He looked at Loki.

“Goddamn him, he was right.  She is one of the most dangerous people on the planet.  I thought Stark was bad…”

He reached down to shake Loki awake but his hand passed right through the illusion.  Sleeping Loki evaporated with a soft laugh and Nick Fury let out a string of curse words.

“Where the hell is he now?”

*****

Queens – Police Precinct

               Gwen was roughly woken up from her peaceful nap.  It was a plain clothes officer she didn’t recognize.  Probably the homicide detective she’d been warned about.

               “Get up.  You’re going to interrogation.”

               George stood up.

               “Not without a lawyer, Swolski!  I’m her father and I’m invoking her right to council you need to wait until they arrive!”

               The detective looked at George.

               “Her lawyer’s already here.”

               Gwen sighed.  He’d managed to get here before the video was viewed by someone who could do something about it.  Just perfect.  My life in a nutshell. She shuffled her feet, not out of resistance just because she was still half-asleep and in agonizing pain. 

Gwen and the detective ran into a man in a grey trench coat.  He had a goatee and soft brown hair.  If she was into older men who weren’t gods of mischief he’d been handsome.  He had a grey fedora on which he lifted off his head and greeted Gwen in a southern drawl.

“Greetings, little miss, I’m August Christopher, after Saint Augustan who coined my favorite phase: ‘Give me chastity and give me constancy, but do not give it yet.’  I am honored to be your lawyer.”

He smiled and Gwen who was barely awake, couldn’t help but think she’d seen him somewhere before, but she couldn’t for the life of her place when, where or how.

“I don’t have a lawyer yet.”

August slipped his fedora on his head.

“Bless your lil’ heart.  I must be heaven sent, little miss.  I can leave… if you’d rather, but as your current attorney I would advise against it.”

Gwen saw a twinkle in the man’s eye.  She was completely confused.  She had assumed Matt had shown up.  This man was nothing like Matt.  He had the right amount of sleaze to be a defense attorney, but his clothes were pristine.  Expensive.  She was just too exhausted to process this at all.  He took his fedora off and motioned to the interrogation room.

“I’d like to speak to my client and advise her of her rights, if you don’t mind detective, ma’am.  Just a little chat then my client and I will be happy to sit down for an interview.”

The detective took the handcuffs off of Gwen and shoved her gently into the room.  August gave the detective a dirty look.

“Now, ma’am, there is no call for that, my client came into your station of her own volition.  She is obviously exhausted.”

The detective glared at him.

“She should have thought of that before her and that freak murdered four people in cold blood, shouldn’t she have?”

He pointed the fedora in his hand at the detective.

“Ma’am, just to ensure you are familiar with and are using the correct terminology, that is allegedly killed four people.  I also do not appreciate you calling anyone a freak, especially a woman who saved this city and this world just not three months ago with the assistance of this here young lady.”

Detective Swolski sneered at August.

“You’re just as bad as the rest of the slimeball defense attorneys in this city, no matter what accent you put on.”

August shook his head.

“I do apologize ma’am, if my profession offends you so.  Now if you would be so kind as to let me and my client continue our dialogue in peace.”

The detective slammed the door closed and locked it.  August motioned to one of the chairs in the interrogation room as he pulled off his trench coat and folded it methodically hanging it on the back of his own chair.  He then placed his fedora down on the table just so.  Gwen sat down and watched August’s performance.  He took his seat and smiled at her.

“Now then, I only have one question for you, little miss, who can I call to pick you up and take you home once we sort this out?”

Gwen quirked her head to the side.

“I don’t know?  I’m not getting out of here tonight…”

August put his hand on his chest and looked indignant.

“Why I am positively sure I can get you out of here before the hour is up.  On my honor as a man named after saint.”

Gwen groaned.

“Great. You’re insane.  Well at least you’re not Matt Murdock.”

August chuckled.

“Have some faith in the justice system little miss.  Now then, do you have any questions for me before we repeatedly tell the dear detective that you refuse to answer her questions?  One at a time of course.”

Gwen grunted the words out.  She was so tired she was cranky and was so over this whole situation already.

“Who hired you?”

August smiled, it was quite charming, which made Gwen even more suspicious of him.  He spoke in his warm southern accent.

“I was in fact hired on the condition of anonymity, all my services paid for by your benefactor.  Who may, or may not be associated with an organization synonymous with defensive equipment.”

August stood up and looked at himself in the one way glass mirror.  He adjusted his coat and his hair.  Gwen groaned and let her head fall on her folded arms.  August’s eyes flashed a bright green and he admired his trademark smirk.  He spoke.

“Now I dare say you can answer a quandary for me, if you would be so generous, little miss.  My friends say I look like that pretty boy who attacked Manhattan.  His name was Loki, was it not?  I disagree, I do have the understanding you have spent a good deal of time with him.  I would truly appreciate if you could set this matter to rest, there is the matter of my honor at stake in this bet, and I would very much like to be vindicated.”

               Gwen lifted her head and looked at August with bloodshot eyes.

               “Yes, it was Loki and no you look nothing like him and sound nothing like him.”

               August smiled at his reflection in the one way glass again.

               “Thank you for settling that matter for me, little miss.  Let’s summon the detective and see what mischief we can cause.”

               Gwen rolled her eyes and leaned back in the chair.  She looked at the ceiling with the irreverence of an over-tired, bored and annoyed teenager.  She shook her head.

               “What ever floats your boat Saint August just wake me up when I can go back to my cell.”

Chapter Text

Queens – Police Precinct – Front Foyer

               Matt Murdock strolled into the police precinct with his cane, he pretended he used it to navigate due to his lack of sight, but it was a prop, nothing more.  His echolocation power made everything around him clear as day, if it wasn’t on video.  He walked into the Police station with the swagger of a man who was in absolute control.  This was part of his domain, his kingdom.  He walked up to the front desk.

               “I’m Matt Murdock, I’m here to see my client, Gwen Stacy?”

               The desk sergeant who had brought Gwen in earlier in the evening looked up at Matt.

               “You must be mistaken; Her lawyer is already here; They’re in interrogation right now.”

               Matt’s lips twitched.  An unexpected twist.  The young Gwen Stacy continued to rail against her very well-appointed cage.  He nodded.

               “Thank you, Sergeant.”

               The desk sergeant nodded.

               “Have a good night, Mr. Murdock.”

               Matt pulled his phone out and spoke into it softly.

               “Call Detective Swolski.”

               The phone rang a couple of times.  Then the line was picked up; She spoke in a harsh whisper.

               “Where the fuck are you?”

               Matt spoke with a calm tone.

               “In the foyer, why are you questioning her without me present.  I made my instructions very clear.  There are consequences for failure in my employ, detective.”

               The detective sounded annoyed.

               “Don’t threaten me.  I have the badge and gun.  This is on you.  A lawyer shows up and demands I question his client or release her what am I supposed to do?  The charges you had me put on her are flimsy at best.  Who the fuck is this guy anyway?  He calls me ma’am one more time I’m gonna fucking shoot him.”

               Matt remained level with his tone.

               “A name would be of great assistance if you want me to identify someone, which by the way, isn’t that your job?”

               There was some rustling on the other end of the line and the detective responded.

               “August Christopher, Odinson and Associates.”

               Matt’s lips tipped upwards.

               “There is no such law firm in the state of New York.  He is not an attorney.  End the interview and put young Ms. Stacy in the holding cells, away from her father.  Hopefully with a rougher crowd, we can’t let her be too comfortable.  When the fraudster comes out, I will deal with him.”

               Detective Swolski swore under her breath.

               “First you want me to put the screws to her, then you want me to put her in holding?  Make up your fucking mind.”

               Matt made a tsking sound.

               “You may want to readjust your attitude.  The information I have on your father and mother’s financial dealings… it would be most unfortunate if that reached the authorities, wouldn’t it?  Do as I tell you and always remember who holds your leash.”

               The detective hung up her end of the call without another word.  Matt slid his phone into his pocket, pressed his cane to the floor in front of his feet and leaned on it with both hands while waiting for the man who called himself August Christopher to arrive.  It took several minutes before he heard an exchange at the front desk.

               “Mr. Christopher thanks so much for looking out for Gwen.  Do you have a card in case she needs you?”

               There was a polite sounding response in a warm southern drawl.

               “I am always happy to help the Stacy family my good sir.  I am all out of cards at the moment, but it should not matter, I’ll have her out of here before the end of the hour, I assure you of that on my honor as a gentleman.”

               Matt heard a voice but when he looked at the source through his echolocation he found a shape that did not fit the voice he heard.  It was a teenager in disguise he was actually amused.  A child.  Likely a friend of Gwen’s from school using advanced Stark holographic technology. 

Perhaps her ex-boyfriend Flash, or the delinquent Miles.  She might even have pre-planned this escape.  The teenage infiltrator passes her a holographic device, and she walks out looking like any number of police officers.  He smiled.

“Clever girl.”

Matt walked across the floor and ‘accidentally’ bumped into Loki.  Matt grabbed Loki’s real arm then whispered.

“You’re out of your depth boy.  Expensive Stark Tech will not change the fact you’re a child.  What is Gwen up too?”

Loki kept his illusion in place and pushed Matt away with a shove.  It was far stronger than a human teenage boy could manage.

“Sir, it does appear that you cannot see, but it does not give you the right to accost my personage.  Step back or we are going to have an issue.”

Matt tapped his cane.

“Do you know the punishment for impersonating an attorney?  You’re in a police station I could have you arrested.”

Loki narrowed his eyes.

“Throwing unfounded accusations are a serious matter, good sir.”

Loki tried to move toward the exit, the game was no longer fun, and he had a promise to keep. Matt lifted his cane to block the God of Mischief’s path.

“I am not finished with you yet. August Christopher.  If you’re going to play at pretending to be an attorney, you could at least attempt to use your imagination instead of picking an obvious character from a movie.  Named after a saint, are you?”

Loki glanced up at a tv screen that was in the lobby of the precinct.  Likely to amuse the small-minded mortals that were forced to deal with the mazelike bureaucracy.  He noticed a familiar face on it.  There was no sound, but the closed captions said it all.  A smile crept across his lips as he spoke quietly.  Breaking character for the first time.

“You weren’t the intended audience.  I’ve enjoyed our little game of mortal-mouse and God… I believe your time has just run out.  I hope you enjoy Gwen’s present. Amusing how she is so inflexible when it comes to taking lives… yet so deliciously good at destroying them.  If only you weren’t a pathetic blind man, you’d know what is coming for you.”

Matt stared at Loki he had no eyes to see but he could see the cruel grin with his echolocation and for the first time in a long time he felt fear.

Loki pushed past Matt’s cane.  The god was finished with this plaything.  He paid no attention to the police officers rushing out of the back of the precinct, he knew their target.  His illusion shimmered and he was a blonde haired woman in a tight red dress and heels.  As Loki exited the building, Matt Murdock was thrown to the ground and pinned.  Loki never looked back he didn’t need too, he knew his lovely Gwen had already dealt with the insect.  Matt struggled but he had been caught flat-footed between his shock at Loki’s revelations and his arrogance that he would never face justice.

*****

Queens – Stacy Residence

               Erica supported Gwen as the pair entered their apartment.  The long-serving detective was consumed with guilt over how she’d treated Gwen.  Her stepdaughter was innocent, and she hadn’t trusted her to explain the situation.  She’d done exactly what George had done, she did her duty and in so doing almost gotten Gwen killed. 

Gwen pulled her old cyan chucks off and tossed them by the door.  The teenager pulled away from Erica who tried to keep supporting her.  Erica spoke as she followed Gwen towards the girl’s room.

“I’m sorry Gwen, it looked really bad.”

Gwen held up the hand that she wasn’t using to support herself.

“Just don’t.”

Erica rushed to open Gwen’s bedroom door.

“Gwen I, I just need you to know I won’t do it again.  I should have believed in you, like your dad does.”

Gwen walked into her room and with a flick of her wrist she slammed her door in her stepmother’s face.  Erica leaned on the door with her forearm and patted it silently with her left palm.

Gwen

               Gwen collapsed on her bed then regretted her decision immediately when pain washed through her.  She rolled onto her back and held her abdomen.  She looked at her ceiling.  The glowing green stars her mother had put up there were still visible in dim light of early morning.  She closed her eyes. 

She wanted to tell Erica it was alright.  She understands her position, but she just couldn’t say the words.  If her real mom had made this mistake she would have forgiven her without a second thought.  She was so very tired she just wanted it all to just go away. 

She blinked slowly and looked up at the stars on her ceiling again and remembered one of the many sayings her mother had used when she was younger and couldn’t sleep.  She whispered the words mimicking her mother’s Irish accent.

“Go to sleep little Wendy, today is gone, tomorrow isn’t here yet, in the middle you’ll find your peace.”

               Gwen drifted off to sleep with a slight smile gracing her lips as she heard her mother’s voice in her ears.

*****

Four Weeks Later – Riker’s Island Penitentiary, New York

Matt Murdock stood in the center of his cell, arms folded tight across his chest, the taut muscles in his jaw betraying a storm barely held in check. He didn’t move. He didn’t need to. His unseeing eyes were fixed straight ahead, glaring through the bars.  He was not in a good mood.

Too many plans had unraveled in too short a time. The girl, the precinct, the footage… Each loss a dagger to the heart of his plans. But none of them stung like the news that had arrived yesterday.  Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin, his former employer, Matt’s former mentor… had woken from the coma that was supposed to keep him conveniently out of the way, until he had consolidated his power and then he would have silenced the blowhard permanently.   Against all odds, against Murdock’s intricate plans... the old bastard had woken up.

And Matt knew exactly what that meant: war was coming.

He had other priorities at the moment.  The girl would need to be punished.  This slight against him, the audacity she showed… it was unbecoming of one of his pawns.  The pawn who would be Queen… as if she could crown herself.  The arrogance that she thought she could take him down.  Her attempt was amateurish; She had used a sledgehammer when she should have used a scalpel.  What a fool she was to believe that her father would be safe now that Matt was in prison.  He’d been gentle, generous even with the girl.  Once he made his next call she would know she was just like him… Sadly it would cost him a large piece of his leverage, but she had escalated this war, his only move was to meet her escalation in kind.

A guard approached his cell Matt didn’t look in his direction, he didn’t need to, he could sense him through echolocation.  The man stopped in front of the cell and rubbed his palms on his thighs.  He glanced around nervously.

“Psst, I’m here.”

Matt sneered.

“I sensed you coming from the end of the block, idiot.  Give me the phone and stay there.  Have you finished the arrangements?”

The guard shifted uncomfortably as he passed the burner through the bars.  Matt snatched it with an annoyed murmur of derision.

“I… he’s a cop and he’s in protective custody.  I can’t… this is not what we discussed… I’m going to need…”

Matt sneered at the guard.

“If you’re going to extort more money out of me, at least be a man about it or do they collect your balls when you get hired here?”

The guard ran his hand through his hair.

“Look, you’re asking a lot here.  Getting the cop into gen pop, mistakes happen but the other one… he’s a mutant.  He’s in enhanced holding.  And then getting him out… he’s a mass murderer.  Guy took out a train full of people.  He’s high visibility, high security if I do this I need to disappear… what you’re offering it ain’t worth the risk.”

Matt frowned; This was so much more difficult when he was working with bribed assets.  They were wild cards and costly wild cards at that.  The upside was that this weasel would never enjoy his money.  He let his lips slip into a smile.

“I see your point.  I can be a generous employer.  Make this happen and I can promise twice the offered payment; A guarantee you can vanish without a trace and never have to worry about being caught.  My current circumstances belay my true assets and resources.  If you ensure a private meeting between Rhino and George Stacy, then Rhino’s escape, you’ll never have to worry about money again.  You have my word.”

Chapter Text

Mid-Town High School

               Gwen felt like a ghost at Mid-Town High.  She was pretty sure if it wasn’t for her IQ and academic record they would have cancelled her admission.  She was a poison pill to their sterling reputation.  The video she’d released to take Matt Murdock down had gone viral.  She should have done it with Spider-Woman’s costume but by showing up with Symbie looking like her costume she created a undeniable space between her secret identity and her real name.

               She watched as her engineering concepts teacher picked everyone else to answer questions.  She used to be one of his favorites, now she barely existed.  She’d burned her bridges with Liz and her old friends, the ones she had when she used to be the popular girl.  Jessica Jones and her friends had gone off to university after they graduated last year. Miles was here but he had been distant since she and him got into it during the alignment.

               And Peter… Peter was no longer her friend.  Their blow up at the hospital when he slapped her had been the last time they spoke.  She saw him from across the room.  He had changed over the summer.  Grown taller.  He was dressing better.  Looking better.  Girls in their grade were definitely noticing.  She sighed.  She was definitely a ghost haunting this school now.  She was a social disease, and no one wanted to catch the plague.

               The worst part of all of this was the waiting.  She knew Matt Murdock was not down for the count.  She knew he was plotting his revenge even now.  Of course she didn’t know, know but she was pretty sure she knew how his mind worked.  No, her video was just the first salvo in a nuclear war.  This waiting for his response was torture.  She knew it was coming, and she was one hundred percent sure her father was going to pay the price for her actions.  She was also well aware of the fact that no one wins a nuclear war.  She just hoped Matt Murdock would realize it too.

               All of this was made even worse because she hadn’t gone out as Spider-Woman since she got out of jail, four weeks of pretending to be normal.  She knew she had no control over the symbiote.  Sure she felt in control most of the time but it was an illusion.  She’d learned a lot from her time with Loki in Asgard.  That control was often an illusion created by arrogance.  She didn’t know enough about Symbie to even know what control of it looked like. 

Her video had freed her and gotten the target off of Spider-Woman’s back, but her superhero identity’s reputation had been tarnished by her behavior while infected with the symbiote.  The fact that just seeing her at a crime scene had sent her mother running to call in an APB and accuse her of murder made it crystal clear she couldn’t be Spider-Woman until she was rid of Symbie or she had control over it.  Otherwise, she wasn’t a hero, she was a masked vigilante no better than the Punisher, whoever it was behind the skull mask.

               At least her time at Stark Industries, her role in the Avengers Initiative, under her real name, was going along great.  Especially with the time she could put into it now that she’d put aside Spider-Woman.  In fact, it was the only thing keeping her sane lately, that and Prudance.  Her personal assistant was a miracle worker she handled Gwen’s more annoying day to day duties while the teenager was at school.  The board meetings the planning sessions.  Gwen gave her broad goals and what to focus research on and Prudance made it happen like magic.

               Prudance also made sure Gwen did the myriad of other stupid things the ‘President of Special Research Projects for the Avenger’s Initiative Support Branch’ had to do, like signing off on timesheets and budgets.  Truthfully if she didn’t have Prudance she would probably have failed miserably at the job Tony gave her.  Instead she looked like a model executive, at fifteen years old, like… magic. 

The teenager was looking forward to the evening.  She had nothing on her schedule at work besides lab time and a meeting with Tony about the Iron Shield project.  So, each minute she was spending in class was torture because school was not fun anymore.  It was a checkbox she had to sign off for her future.

Gwen was almost running out of school when the final bell rang.  She was forced to skid to a halt when she saw her favorite teacher, Mrs. Virelli step in front of her.  Gwen looked up at her as she narrowly avoided colliding with her.  Mrs. Virelli looked at Gwen.

“Gwen… I know you’re not running in the hall because that would be against the rules.”

Gwen blushed and was pleasantly surprised.  This was the first time a teacher had treated her like a normal student since she’d started.

“Yes… totally not running.  Also, totally not late for work?  So… you’re back?”

Mrs. Virelli nodded causing her wavy brown hair to bounce.

“Yes. I look forward to seeing you in class tomorrow.  Carry on and don’t run.”

Gwen was still blushing when she speed-walked towards the exit.  Her driver was waiting outside the school.  Prudance as always was a master of scheduling.  Gwen wondered how the woman did it, it was like her assistant had a superpower and it was mistress of scheduling.

               Toby opened the door of a black SUV.  It was an unseasonably warm October day and Toby was apparently going more casual than usual because of it.  Gwen quirked her head to the side.  She always knew Toby was armed but without his suit she could see a few tattoos that looked like they had to do with military service of some kind.  The other weird thing was he was actually driving one of the armored SUV’s that Stark would sell to SHIELD and world leaders.

               “Are we expecting to be fired at by a tank today?”

               Toby smiled.

               “No, ma’am, we are not, but if Ms. Weller says bring an armored SUV, I bring an armored SUV.  Have you seen her when she gets angry?”

               Gwen smirked.

               “No but if she’s anything like Pepper when Tony gets going, I can see why you just do what she says.”

               Gwen climbed into the back of the SUV and tossed her school bag beside her and relaxed.  Toby pointed at her.

               “Seatbelt.”

               Gwen rolled her eyes and pulled the seatbelt on.  As if a car crash would kill her after she went blow for blow with how many supervillains.  She said in an exasperated tone.

               “Fine.”

               Toby smiled at her and shook his head.  Then he closed the door and got in the driver’s seat and pulled away from the road.  Gwen leaned forward.

               “So, are you like just saying no everything’s fine to keep me calm?  Like is Prudance being paranoid or is there a real threat?”

               Toby sighed softly as he pulled away from a stop sign and accelerated once they got out of the school zone.

               “There was a letter.  I am sure it’s nothing.  Prudance got concerned and took precautions.  Happy and I are looking into it.  At the moment it’s a vague threat but don’t worry, I can take care of anything that comes our way.  Just listen to me if something does happen and make sure you keep yourself as low as possible.  The SUV’s structure is way more durable than the windows.”

               Gwen sighed.

               “That video keeps biting me in the ass.  Maybe I should just let whoever it is shoot me and end the suffering.”

               Toby glanced at her in the rearview mirror.

               “Please don’t do that, then I’ll have to get between you and the bullet.  This t-shirt will stop it, but I’ll probably break a few ribs.  Do you want to talk about it, ma’am?”

               Gwen looked out of the tinted window as they passed through a checkpoint to enter the Battle of New York recovery zone.  She muttered.

               “I know that feeling.”

               Tony glanced in the mirror again.

               “Sorry, didn’t catch that.”

               Gwen smiled.

               “I was just saying we need to fix that.  What good is a bullet proof fabric if you end up out of action anyway?”

               Gwen sighed heavily.

               “Its fine Toby, sorry I’m being so dramatic.  My life has been one big suck since I released that video, well except work.  So… I saw your tattoos… you’re like not just my driver, are you?  You used to be in the military… and you’re talking like you’re my protective detail or something… I didn’t know you were with Stark Security.”

               Toby pulled into the underground parking lot of Avengers Tower.  He parked the SUV in Gwen’s spot and turned to look at the teenager.

               “You never asked.”

               Gwen shook her head with a soft smile.

               “Story of my life.  Don’t worry, I’m not upset.  I get it.  Just don’t get hurt for me, okay?  I know I don’t look like much but I can handle myself, I promise.”

               Toby shook his head.

               “Happy warned me you were Stark 2.0.  We’re a bit behind schedule you should get to your office before Prudance calls out a tactical squad to find out why you were late.  I’ll give you an update on what we find about the letter, okay?”

               Gwen laughed softly.

               “Thank you, Toby.  Prudance is probably going to order me too much food again so make sure you stop by the lab and save me from trying to explain yet again that I’m not suddenly anorexic to Prudance and Pepper.”

               Gwen was halfway out the door when she looked at Toby suspiciously.

               “You called her Prudance and you smiled when you said her name!  You two are dating!”

               Toby actually blushed at that; He rarely showed too many emotions and was always extremely professional.  He said.

               “I have no idea what you’re talking about, ma’am.”

               Gwen made a face and laughed.

               “Oh, I caught you now! Tell me all about it!”

               Toby tapped his watch.

               “You’re late.”

               Gwen fake pouted.

               “You are no fun.  That’s okay I’ll interrogate you on the way home tonight.”

               Toby pointed at the doors to the elevator.  Gwen rushed off.  She rode the elevator in silence after tapping her ID badge on the scanner.  She was on a secure floor.  Prudance was standing in front of the elevator looking at Gwen carefully.

               “You don’t look like you were shot at.  So, I cannot imagine why you’re late.”

               Gwen blushed then recovered quickly.

               “Oh, Toby was just gushing about you and his date the other night.  Which was news to me because I totally thought you were only into other women.”

               Prudance froze.  She went bright red.  Gwen continued on without missing a beat.

               “So, when’s the wedding?”

               Prudance clutched her tablet to her chest then without responding pointed to Gwen’s office.

               “Mr. Stark will be on in five minutes, and he’s only got thirty minutes before his presentation to the European Union Commission.”

               Prudance walked with Gwen to the teenager’s office.  As Gwen walked into her office Prudance muttered under her breath.

               “I’m going to kill that man.”

               Gwen giggled.

               “He didn’t say anything but his smile when he said your name did.”

               Prudance pointed at Gwen’s holo projector.

               “Mr. Stark.”

               She left Gwen in her office alone.  Gwen waved her hand over the controls and Tony appeared in holographic form.  He smiled when he saw Gwen.

               “Hey kiddo.  How was school?  Anything interesting happening there?  This political stuff is so boring it is killing me.”

               Gwen tapped her chin.

               “Well let me see, someone actually talked to me at school on purpose today so that’s a shining moment, my assistant is dating my driver and they’re keeping it secret… mmm oh and apparently someone wants me dead.  That part makes it a pretty normal Tuesday, I guess.  Anyway, Prudance said you don’t have a lot of time so we should get started on this Iron Shield thing.”

               Tony waved his hand side to side palm down and shook his head.

               “Okay kiddo, when people say you’re Tony 2.0 it doesn’t mean you have to hit every one of my typical Tuesday check boxes here.  Social pariah, check, people wanting you dead, check, assistant drama, check.  Next thing you know you’re going to put on a costume and join the Avengers.”

               Gwen rolled her eyes and brought up her modifications to the Iron Shield Bot designs.

               “No, I’ll let you guys and girls dress up in your pajamas and run around in public I look awful in spandex.”

               Tony looked off-screen and rolled his own eyes.

               “Fine, fine, Pepper back to work.  Are you going to do this with the housework too?”

               Tony said ‘ouch’ as a hand slapped him on the back of the head.

               “Oh, wow look at the time, we’d better start looking at the design modifications of yours, Gwen.”        

               Gwen tried not to laugh at Pepper and Tony as she waved her hand over the Iron Shield Bot and parts of it were highlighted in bright red.  Tony inspected it and nodded.  Then Gwen swiped her hand over the hologram again and the parts turned green as her modifications appeared.  She spoke.

               “So, the encounter with stabby-face pointed out some serious vulnerabilities in the original design when it came to close quarter’s combat with a skilled combatant.  I’ve reengineered the armored shell to eliminate the vulnerabilities while maintaining flexibility.  To counter the extra weight, I reduced the thickness of the breast plate by a small amount and added a layer of our Starkweave fabric through out the whole bot.  Most projectiles and pointed weapons will not be able to penetrate it.  The other modifications I made will protect it from slicing blows.  This new design means that most small arms and hand-held melee weapons will be ineffective against the bots.  Prudance has had my teams testing my new prototype at the range in New Jersey for the last two weeks.  Preliminary tests are showing a thirty percent improvement in survivability.”

               Tony walked around the hologram of the Iron Shield Bot.  Zooming into various parts.

               “You went ahead with fabricating the Mark Three without talking to me?  I thought this was a meeting for my final approval.”

               Gwen shrugged.

               “When you brought me into this project you said you wanted an Iron Shield for the world, and you wanted it yesterday.  You’ve been so busy with the Avengers initiative waiting for you to approve every little thing will take forever.  You put me in this role, so you had someone who knew what your vision was, trust me to do it and just tell me I’m amazing.”

               Tony grinned.

               “You got me, you’re doing exactly what I asked you to do.  Well done here, you’re showing a lot of initiative Gwen, field testing the prototypes in a real world situation, finding a critical flaw in my design and adapting it.  Great job.  Now I have another task for you.  Make something new.  Not just taking what I’ve designed and turning the dial to one thousand.  A new idea.  Since you’ve been at Stark the only new thing you’ve created for us was TX-01.  Everything else has been taking existing designs and technology and improving on it.  And the things you have made have been magical, beyond cutting edge, your new chip fabrication tech has reduced our manufacturing cost by eighty percent and improved performance on our CPU’s so we are outpacing Moore’s law.  Your arc reactor design, from my father’s old plans were a masterpiece.  For you to be the next Tony Stark, to step into my role as the mind behind Stark industries, you need to innovate and create new things.  I know you can do it; You are brilliant.  You’re holding yourself back because you don’t have confidence in yourself, kiddo.  I am not expecting this tomorrow, I’m not even expecting this next year, or even before you finish university.  I just want you to show me who Gwen Stacy can be on her own two feet.”

               Gwen was suddenly very frightened, and she didn’t know why.  Tony was basically telling her she was amazing that her contributions mattered.  That he knew she could be more and he was proud of her.  Tony noticed Gwen’s reaction and didn’t understand so he tried again.

               “Gwen, you remind me of my dad.  You have the same look in your eyes when no one is looking.  Add to that you are brilliant and you are brave.  You could be in university right now but instead you’re toughing it out through high school.  You’re letting yourself grow up.  I just see limitless potential in you.  One day, this thing I’m asking you to do is going to change the world and everyone is going to know you’re a genius.”

               Gwen opened her mouth then closed it a few times before adjusting her hair by hooking her bangs behind her ears.  Finally, she spoke.

               “So… uh, can we go ahead with making more prototypes for future field testing in squad actions?”

               Tony smiled at her and stroked his goatee.

               “Yes, lets proceed with four more and maintain the one you have for testing at the range.  Good work, kiddo.  Talk to you when I can.”

               He waved and his hologram vanished.  Gwen took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  She raised her hand and swept the bot over to production.  She spoke.

               “Hey Jarvis, Iron Shield Mark Three is ready for further production.  Begin fabrication, lets go with black, white and with gold faceplate.”

               Jarvis’s warm calming voice responded.

               “Excellent choices, ma’am.  They are in queue for fabrication, estimated time for completion of all four prototypes is 98.72 Hours.  What would you like done with the three remaining Mark Two prototypes?”

               Gwen leaned over her desk to pick up the notebook she sketched all her fancy designs in while answering.

               “Have two of them dismantled and repurpose what tech we can for future production.  Have the other one sent to my private lab.”

               Gwen was looking at a picture of a spider-woman themed Iron Man suit in her notebook as she spoke.  Underneath the design she had No powers, no uncontrollable Symbie. I can be Spider-Woman again. Written in pink marker, it was underlined in black marker. 

Prudance came into Gwen’s office. Gwen quickly closed her notebook.  Prudance didn’t take any notice and just started speaking.

“Your stepmother has been trying to reach you.”

Prudance offered her phone to Gwen.  Gwen took it and put it to her ear.

“Gwen?”

Gwen sighed, this was going to cut into her lab time her annoyance showed in her voice.

“What Erica?”

Erica stammered.

“Gwen… it’s your dad… he was transferred to Rikers and attacked tonight by a guy they call Rhino a mutant.  He—”

Gwen didn’t hear any more of the conversation, she dropped her notebook and Prudence’s phone and ran out of her office.  Prudance picked up the phone and Erica was still speaking.

“Gwen?  Gwen?  Don’t do anything rash we’re tracking him let the police handle this!”

Prudance kept her voice calm.

“Mrs. Stacy, she ran off.  Do you want me to tell security to intercept her.”

Erica sounded frightened as she spoke.

“No, no… don’t try and stop her… I’ll… I’ll take care of this.”

Erica hung up.  Prudance slid her phone into her pocket and knelt down to gather up Gwen’s notebook then she noticed it had fallen open.  Gwen had spent so much time looking at the sketch and designs for her Spider-Woman power armor the book just fell open to that page.  Prudance’s eyes went wide as she traced her finger over Gwen’s underlined note.  Her lips made the motion of saying the words but she barely made a sound.

“I can be Spider-Woman again…”

Chapter Text

               Gwen didn’t need to hear the words. She knew what the call meant: Gwen, your father is dead.  Matt Murdock had finally made his move. She knew it was coming. Yet she still wanted nothing more than to rip Matt Murdock and Rhino apart.  She knew who Rhino was. He had derailed a train to kill a single person on it.  It was the world’s first real introduction to mutants, and it had tarnished relations with normal humans.

               She didn’t even wait for the elevator doors to open; She just stuck her fingers in and shoved them apart. She leapt to the wall across from her, repeating the motion up the shaft to the Avenger’s Tower penthouse.  As she landed on the shattered marble floor where Loki was once brutalized by the Hulk.  The symbiote tore out of her skin as a myriad of black goo-spiders and engulfed her.  There would be no quarter tonight she wasn’t Spider-Woman, she was Gwenom.

Just a month ago this was her safe haven where she hid from the world.  Tonight, it was where she would launch her campaign to annihilate Matt Murdock and his minions. 

She sprang up and started running towards the shattered windows and launched herself out of it and reached out her hands launching webs towards the edge of the tower and swung into action. 

Her destination was the center of Matt’s empire, the building owned by the former Kingpin.  She used a neighboring building to sling shot herself into a window where his enforcers were gathered.  Apparently, it was her lucky night, there was syndicate meeting. 

The glass shattered and she landed on their conference table with a snarl.  Symbie’s spiked tongue whipped the spiked tongue out and wrapped around the closest thug and threw him through a glass wall.  He kept going through a sheet of drywall and landed on a desk across the way.

The men around her started reaching for their weapons but it was far too late for that.  One after another she used her webs to throw them through walls and into furniture.  Symbie tossed a few with the tongue.  She was a whirlwind of violence.  They were overwhelmed and over-powered.  No one had seen a Spider-Woman like this before.  She was a force of nature, and she wasn’t being gentle.

The last to get Gwenom’s attention was Matt’s first lieutenant, his right-hand man.  He had his gun out; He emptied his clip towards Gwenom and She parried each one of the bullets with blinding speed and precision.  Her bracers were a blur.  She snapped him up with Sybies spiked tongue.  She started moving the razor sharp teeth over his skin and he screamed in pain.  Her voice was inhuman.

“Rhino, where is he?”

The lieutenant squirmed then stopped as his attempts to escape just ground the tongue’s teeth in further.  Gwenom tightened the grip.  Some of his bones audibly snapped.

“Tell me!”

He cried out then spoke in broken words.

“H.. he… ‘ll k..i…ll me.”

A massive maw opened in the symbiote.  Gwen snarled.

“And I’ll devour you after torturing near to death, tell me!”

The lieutenant who was already in the midst of a full on panic squirmed again only managing to hurt himself more in the process.  He tried to talk but couldn’t  Gwenom eased up on the constriction.

               “He’s… he’s hiding out at… at.. Font… Fontana’s Storage.”

               Gwenom dropped him and went on a rampage through the offices.  Ripping through walls destroying computers, taking out her rage at Matt Murdock on the physical infrastructure of his offices then she leapt out of a window on the opposite side of the building.  It took her only a few minutes to land in the middle of Fontana’s Storage.

               It was a warehouse near the docks with stacks of sea-cans, transport containers for overseas shipping and transport on trains and transport trucks.  She started lifting up containers and throwing them.  Into the building.  Workers started running for their lives. Gwenom shouted.

               “Rhino get out here and die!”

*****

Riker’s Island Penitentiary

               Matt sat down across from the man who called himself August Christopher.  The Kingpin-wannabe was wearing a victorious smirk.  His plan had gone off without a hitch George Stacy was dead, Rhino was free and the guard who was the only witness was dead. This wasn’t Gwen, it was the same teenage boy as before.  He leaned forward.

               “You are a brazen little brat, aren’t you?”

               Loki chuckled, and the sound sent a chill down Matt’s spine.  He maintained his façade of superiority, but he had a sinking feeling again.

               “Do you know the most amusing thing I’ve noticed while observing you?  Your complete inability to even understand the game you are playing.”

               Matt sneered.

               “Big words from a teenage boy hiding behind a false face.”

               Loki grinned under his illusion.

               “There it is the ant who is crawling around this anthill of a world who thinks he has true power.”

               Matt leaned forward after clenching both his fists.

               “You are sure gloating a lot for someone whose friend has just lost her father and is about to show the world her true self.”

               Loki let loose a mocking laugh.

               “That is the joke in all of this.  You think you know who she is, what she is capable of, of course she is capable of killing someone.  I’ve seen her do it myself.  She literally wiped out an army.  Watched her go blow for blow with a being that took two gods to kill.  You think her going after this insect Rhino and killing him is going to prove anything to her, you’re delusional.  The only thing you’re proving is that she is so far beyond you humans she could sit on the Council of the Gods.”

               Matt was silent.  How had he miscalculated so badly?  He thought Gwen’s hesitation was a conscience, weakness, she had killed and would kill… Loki continued on.

               “You humans have a saying, the greatest lie the devil ever told was to himself.  Perhaps I am incorrect, it matters not.  That little video Gwen sent out?  That was her warning shot.  I am sure your little mouse brain saw it as a little girl lashing out.  That she’d finished you.  That was here telling you who she was.  She doesn’t play games she annihilates her opposition.  Do you know who her role model was growing up?  Ah, that look tells me you don’t, I do.  It is a pirate of all things, a woman so ruthless, so effective that she brought an empire to its knees.  That is who Gwen Stacy is and that is why you never stood a chance.”

               Matt clenched his fists so tight he pierced his skin with his nails and blood started to drop off of them.

               “You lie well.”

               Loki chucked coldly.

               “I am called the Lord of Lies for good reason… unfortunately for you, the truth was far more devastating.  I do so love watching mortal’s worlds crash around them.  Tell me, is this a lie mortal?  I ensured your former leader was cured and ensured he could interrupt your rudimentary assassination attempt.  George Stacy is quite alive.  And your former employer is quite upset with you, especially after attempting to pull his daughter’s surgery.  I have a feeling has some very entertaining plans for you.”

               Matt heard no lies; He heard no change ‘August Christopher’s’ heartbeat.  Loki leaned in close.

               “Don’t worry, he will be disappointed, I have other plans for you, and you will wish it was someone else who ended your pitiful mortal life.  You crossed my Gwen and now you will suffer the wrath the God of Mischief, Loki Odinson.”

               Loki stood up and walked away.  Matt sat there with blood seeping down his fingers and dripping to the table beneath.  He knew that name and he realized it had taken the entire team of Avengers to defeat him.  He has terribly miscalculated Gwen’s reach.  He thought she was isolated with the Avengers scattered.  He had never considered she’d be ruthless enough to align herself with someone as amoral as Loki.  The God of Mischief had been right.  Matt hadn’t even realized what game he was involved in.  Rhino would die and Gwen would walk away free because the gods willed it.

*****

Fontana Storage – New York City

               Gwenon’s rampage had devastated Fontana’s Storage.  Cargo container contents were spilling all over.  Powerlines were down and electricity was running rampant all over the yard as it arced over the metal containers from a power substation.  Lights all over the section of New York that housed the storage company were flicking. 

A cargo container came flying at Gwenom and she crossed her arms.  The bracers intercepted the kinetic energy of the attack, and the cargo container collapsed at her feet.  Rhino came charging at her.  Her spider sense warned her but instead of dodging the attack she just stepped aside and let her vibranium bracer on her right wrist absorb the attack.  Rhino was clotheslined and landed on his back.  Gwenom snarled.

“Get up!  I’m not done with you yet!”

Rhino looked up at and shook his head trying to clear it.  He wasn’t used to fighting anyone capable of withstanding his strongest hits without being phased.  Gwenom backed up.  He wasn’t dumb enough to think that was hesitation.  He pushed himself up and cracked his neck.

“Nice hit little girl.  It’s been a while since I ran into a fun fight.”

Gwenom didn’t respond she just did a running jump and spun and then hit Rhino with a powerful kick striking him with both feet.  Rhino didn’t know what hit him, he went flying.  He was thrown through several cargo containers, a gas truck, through the gas station and into a mom and pop hardware store.

She didn’t wait for him to recover she launched two webs and sling shot herself towards where Rhino landed.  He was trying to get up and Gwenom launched herself at him and grabbed the remnants of shirt and punched him in the face repeatedly.  Rhino moved his head to the side and Gwenom’s fist smashed through the tile and through the wood beneath.  He brought his knee up and grabbed the symbiote and kicked upward.

Gwenom went flying though the wall behind the pair and then through the fabric store past it.  Then she smashed through the wall of a multi-level parking garage.  Where she sliced two cars in half.  She hit another car and ricocheted upwards.  The daze started to wear off now and she was able to kick off the roof and land on her feet.  The pavement cracked from the impact.  She skidded backwards several more feet; She used the claws on her left hand to stop herself leaving a trail of torn pavement and concrete.

Rhino stood up while Gwenom was flying through the buildings and started to prepare for one of his trademark charges.  He roared and smashed through the walls Gwenom had already gone through.  She felt him coming with her spider sense.  Her right bracer was already glowing.  She held it up but crouched down punching her claws through the cement of the parking structure.

The massive mutant had enough space to reach his full potential.  Becoming an unstoppable force.  The problem was that Gwenom had set for the charge and had a bracer that could absorb massive amounts of kinetic energy.  Rhino was about to hit an immovable object.  He slammed into her bracer with his head.  There was no boom, no massive crash, just every bit of the kinetic energy he’d just unleashed pouring into the nanotech vibranium.  He stumbled back shaking his head unable to comprehend what just happened.

Gwenom flicked her wrists, and the bracers formed their energy release configuration.  She said in a low hiss.

“My turn.”

She jumped up with her left arm pulled back. She punched downwards, hitting Rhino in the chest with all her strength and the energy she’d absorbed from the cargo container he’d thrown at her.  Her punch was devastating when he slammed into the floor, it turned the concrete beneath him into dust.  It unleased a blast wave and blew a few cars back.

He was wheezing, he clutched his chest in a panic.  It was impossible his bones were unbreakable, but he could feel the pain of broken ribs for the first time in his life.  He struggled to get up.  He knew the end was near the punch had told him everything he needed to know about his opponent she fought like he fought.  She wasn’t holding back she meant to kill him and for the first time in his life there was a real possibility someone could do it.

Gwenom walked towards him at a deliberate pace.  She knew this was already over.  Rhino was dead, he’d sealed his fate when he’d charged up her right bracer.  His eyes went wide when he looked at his opponent.   Her left wrist was dark, but her right was crackling with purple energy.  He was now well aware that a glowing bracer meant a brutal hit.  The first had barely been lit up, the other was so bright it was almost blinding. 

She touched the side of his face digging her claws in and quirked her head to the side.  He tried to back away, but she wrapped her other hand around his throat and held him fast.  She collapsed on his chest, straddling it, he cried out in pain.  She snarled and lifted her right arm.  She spoke with an inhuman voice.

“Die monster.”

He looked up at her with terror in his eyes.  This was the moment he was going to die.  Gwenom brought her fist down.  Then Gwen saw her reflection in Rhino’s eyes, the vicious mask and hood the symbiote had cursed her with.  Then she remembered her Uncle Ben’s words, You get back what you put out into this world…  Then she remembered his face, his kind eyes as he told her to keep being a hero as he lay dying in her lap.  She let loose a primal scream.  She wanted to end this monster but instead of his face she brought her fist down on the pavement beside his head.

A wave of annihilation blasted out wards from the impact.  Cars were obliterated. The concrete pillars were turned to dust; the concrete floor shattered and a crater started to form.  Gwen grabbed Rhino’s arm and started jumping through the debris using her enhanced agility and speed to get them out of the collapsing structure.  She landed on the road and shielded Rhino with her own body she was pelted with debris that became deadly shrapnel as the building collapsed. The damage was not contained to the parking garage it devastated the entire block and ignited the gas she’d spilled from the tanker.

               Loki was crouched on a building watching Gwen as she stood up and the dust and debris fell off of her.  Her target was still breathing.  Loki spun Vaydrassil in his palm and looked at Rhino.  He quirked his head to the side and then slipped the cursed dagger into its sheath.  He spoke.

               “No.”

               He touched his wrist and spoke.

               “Spider-Woman has subdued the escaped mutant.  She tried to contain the damage, but he still managed to destroy a city block.  She managed to capture him alive, but he will need a healer.  She appears uninjured.  The situation is under control so to speak.”

*****
Riker’s Island Penitentiary – Prisoner Lounge

               Matt Murdock had his arms crossed.  White bandages were wrapped around his hands.  He stood beneath the wire mesh covered television as he did every day at this time.  He listened with his eyes closed, what he heard was the final nail in his coffin.

               “The mutant, Alexei Sesevich who escaped Riker’s Island Penitentiary was apprehended shortly after his escape.  Sources close to the investigation say that it was the Avenger Spider-Woman who brought a stop to his carnage.  His rampage destroyed several businesses and caused an explosion at an Acme Gas Station.  There were no casualties and only the mutant was reported as having sustained injuries.  He is undergoing medical treatment at an undisclosed government facility where he will be incarcerated for the foreseeable future, away from innocent humans.  This is just another instance of mutant terrorist activity…”

               His arms fell to his side.  He had failed completely.  He was at his lowest point.  All of his plans had failed.  His empire burned around him, and it was all for nothing.  He felt a tap on his shoulder.  When his echolocation hit the target, his heart froze in his chest.  The whisper just confirmed it.

               “Did you enjoy that?”

               Then he felt the absolute cold of a strange blade sliding into his abdomen. As the teenage boy he knew to be Loki slowly let his dagger sink into him.  Loki whispered.

               “This is Vaydrassil, it will steal your soul, and you will be imprisoned in it forever.  Screaming for a release that will never come, and I will delight in your suffering.  This is for Gwen because she would never do this herself.”

               Loki twisted the blood red glass blade and watched intently as everything that was Matt Murdock was absorbed into it.  He pulled the blade free and moved into a crowd of inmates.  His guise of a prisoner fell away and was replaced by a guard in a uniform.  He slipped away while spinning Vaydrassil in his palm.  He didn’t bother to look back at the chaos his assassination had caused.

Chapter Text

SHIELD HQ – Nick Fury’s Office

               Nick was looking at Loki with an intense gaze.  He was wondering if he should be giving the former god a medal or have him thrown in a deep dark hole somewhere.

               “You what?”

               Loki shrugged.

               “I took care of Matt Murdock permanently.  You want him gone; He is gone.  I fail to see the issue here.”

               Nick Fury leaned on his desk with closed fists.

               “I meant sent to a black site.”

               Loki rolled his eyes.

               “Oh yes, so he could be weaponized by your HYDRA problem?  Are you just upset you didn’t get to see that Black Widow in her black body suit before you sent her to kill him?”

               Loki’s image flickered and Nick was suddenly looking at Natasha Romanov in her Avengers costume.  Fury growled.

               “Turn it off, now.”

               Loki yawned and his image shifted to his teenage self, the shirt today was back to the statement: I aim to misbehave.

               “You know, you and my father would get along famously.  He likes to pretend he has the moral high ground.  Let us dispense with this blustering.  You wanted him dead, but you couldn’t because your HYDRA overlords wanted him alive.  Now you have plausible deniability.  All of this because I did you a favor.  Really Nicky…”

               Loki shook his head.

               “Now you just need to straighten out George Stacy’s legal predicament and then we can focus on the real goal, curing Spider-Woman.”

               Nick frowned.

               “You and Spider-Woman deserve each other.  And I can’t straighten out his legal issues.  The evidence is too ironclad.  Murdock did a remarkably good job framing him for the murder of that officer.”

               Loki wagged his finger.

               “Let’s call a duck a duck, Nicky.  He wasn’t just any officer; He was a product of your super soldier program.  He went off the rails and your people patched his mind back together and released him out into the world, forcing Spider-Woman and Gwen to put him down for you.  Is your hesitation to help because you don’t want SHIELD associated with the investigation or is it because HYDRA is pulling your strings?  Once Gwen and Spider-Woman find out where his abilities came from… which she could do easily should she wish to sift through that data she stole from you… well I would not want to be SHIELD.” 

               Loki picked up a chunk of amethyst Fury kept on his desk and looked it over as he continued.

“Your actions now could help.   Burying this whole thing would be beneficial in so many ways.  Gwen Stacy sees you attempted to make amends, she owes you for helping her father and HYDRA… err sorry, SHIELD’s hands are clean.  Of course, you could stick to this self-destructive path, and I can just see it now, your dirty laundry on every screen in the world…”

The Director of SHIELD was getting to the end of his patience.  He grabbed the chunk of amethyst and put it back on the corner of his desk.

“I still fail to understand why Gwen and Spider-Woman are linked in this.  Gwen Stacy is a liability and Spider-Woman has been unreliable at best in the recent past.”

Loki placed his palms on the desk.

“Let me spell this out for you. Gwen Stacy makes all of Spider-Woman’s toys.  She also has a great deal of influence over Spider-Woman’s overall goals.  Do you think Spider-Woman went after Rhino out of an abundance of good will towards the city?  Do you think she got involved with the Avengers because she got paid?  Gwen Stacy is Spider-Woman’s moral compass.  No Gwen Stacy, you’ve got a rogue super-powered individual who is a match for my brother.  Gwen Stacy is your leash for Spider-Woman.  A leash whose father almost died last evening.  How long before fifteen year old Gwen decides she’s tired of her father being a pawn in events that do not concern him and sends Spider-Woman to make a point?  Gwen is a bastion of morality, but everyone has their limits, even her.  Let’s not forget the soft spot Tony Stark and Steven Rogers have for Gwen.  That is three of your precious Avengers you risk alienating if you refuse to help her.”

Nick motioned at his door.

“Out!”

Fury collapsed in his chair after Loki sauntered out silently.  The God of Mischief didn’t have to say anything more; He’d already delivered a fatal blow.

*****

Mercy Hospital – Intensive Care Unit

               Gwen was curled up on a chair beside her father’s hospital bed.  He had tubes all over and he wasn’t breathing on his own.  Rhino had nearly killed him, and Gwen had nearly killed the mutant in return.  Somehow, she’d managed to stop herself.  Her dad would have never forgiven her but at the time she thought her dad was dead.  He may as well be at this point he was so badly beaten, and his odds of recovery were so slim there was no police presence even though he was technically incarcerated. 

The door to George’s room opened.  Gwen didn't look up, she was expecting a doctor, or a nurse.  The footsteps she heard were hesitant which caused her to glance who had joined her.  It was Peter Parker, her once best friend, almost brother, now yet another person she’d alienated in her tenure as Spider-Woman.  Peter wrapped his hands around the bars of George’s bed, and he spoke softly.

“I’m so sorry Gwen.”

Gwen nodded in response.  She wasn’t sure what to say.  Her last direct encounter with Peter had ended with him slapping her and Steve Rogers getting between them before Gwen could retaliate.  Peter looked like he was going to say something else.  Gwen sighed and leaned her head back to look at the room’s sterile ceiling tiles.

“Go ahead, tell me this is Spider-Woman’s fault.”

Peter shook his head.

“No.  It’s not.  This was the mutants.  I’m going to stop them, Gwen.  You’ll see.”

Gwen looked at Peter.  He just didn’t understand.  She wanted to hope he would see the light but the longer this went on the more she understood he was a lost cause.  She had her arms on her legs palms up almost in a silent surrender.

“Peter… you just can’t magically make things better by punching stuff.”

She sighed heavily as she left the last part unspoken: God knows, I’ve tried.  Peter tightened his grip on the bed railing.

“No one is doing anything.  Spider-Woman captured him, but he will just escape again.  We can’t just let these mutants get away with this.  One day they’ll come for the rest of us and what can we do?  They need to be wiped out.”

Gwen leaned forward with her elbows on her knees, her hands on the side of her head.  It’s like her cousin, her best friend, her brother had been replaced by a speaker that just blurted out the latest talking points of extremist right wing media.  She couldn’t hold it in; She lifted her head and looked into his eyes.

“Peter, do you even hear yourself talking?  These are human beings you’re talking about.  Most of them kids like us.  They don’t understand what’s happening to them.  Do you think Spider-Woman had a clue what was happening to her?  You think the Hulk did?  Stanley Carter?  It drove him insane because he couldn’t get help because of attitudes like that.  You’re talking about mass murder.  You may as well be talking about skin color or sexual orientation.”

Peter leaned over his Uncle George’s comatose form.

“They aren’t human Gwen.  Spider-Woman has more chromosomes than a human.  She has more spider DNA than human DNA.  I bet she didn’t tell you that.  It is the same with the mutants.  They were never human, they are like neanderthals.  Abominations against God.  We have more in common with those aliens that attacked New York then us.”

Gwen stood up and leaned on the bed railing on her side of the bed and glared at Peter.

“Peter just listen to yourself.  Please.  Don’t keep going down this path.  I want to be your sister, but you are going somewhere I can’t follow.  Please come back to me.”

Peter frowned.  Gwen could tell from the look in her eyes she had lost him.  He was just as smart as her and he would get the power he wanted.  One day this would end in a super-powered confrontation and nothing she could do would change that.  She just hoped she could stop him without innocents dying.  She hated herself for it, she could see what was to come clearly but she couldn’t go after someone for what they might do in the future.  That wasn’t justice, that was just the same mentality that had led to the mutants being persecuted for being born different.  He shook his head.

“I didn’t come to argue with you Gwen.  I came to support you and Uncle George.  Aunt May would have come but she’s trying to get the house ready to sell.”

Gwen collapsed into her seat.

“I can pay the taxes Peter.  Why won’t she let me help her?”

Peter released his hold on the bed railing.

“You know her.  She’s proud.  She doesn’t want us to sacrifice our futures for her house.”

Gwen rubbed her face with both hands.  She had been so wrapped up in her own shit with Matt Murdock and Symbie that she’d totally missed the bus on her Aunt May’s precarious position.  First her heart problems, then the roof, now the taxes… the Parker family had been suffering one near tragedy after another.

“We can’t let them do this Peter.  I have saved a lot of money.  I’m making a lot of money, like… a lot, enough I could buy her a penthouse in Manhattan.  But she doesn’t want that, she wants her house.  The house we basically grew up in.  How do we convince her?  Do we just buy it when it goes to auction?  What do we do here?  We have our differences but we both love her.”

Peter sighed Gwen could almost forget her future archnemesis was sitting across from her.  He looked just as concerned about their Aunt May as she was.  Gwen stood up again.

“I’m not letting this happen.  I have watched too many people I care about get hurt and haven’t had the courage and strength to act in their own best interests even when they wouldn’t.”

*****

Parker Residence - Queens, New York

               May Parker was in the midst of cleaning out her garage.  The last nice fall weekend was rapidly approaching, and she was preparing for a garage sale.  She struggled to lift a small dense box and heard a teenage boy ask.

               “Do you need help?”

               May stood up and held her back.  She waved her hand.

               “You’re such a kind boy to offer, yes, thank you so much.”

               The boy’s charming smile had an instant and profound disarming effect on May.  She stepped back and he easily lifted the box.  The lid flipped open as he put it down on a table.  He smiled and dusted off his hands then his I aim to misbehave t-shirt.  May looked him up and down.

               “I don’t recognize you from the neighborhood did you just move in?”

               Loki shook his head.

               “No, I go to school with Gwen and Peter.  I was looking for Gwen.  She mentioned she’d heard from Peter that her Aunt May was having a garage sale.”

               He glanced down at the box and his fingers slid across the plastic covered comics within.

               “She said there was fantastic collection of comic books that would be up for sale.  I was thinking maybe I could offer my services in setting up for first chance at everything?”

               May looked at the comics with a small laugh then waved her hand at them.

               “If you help me clear out this garage you can have all of those dusty old things as payment.”

               Loki rubbed his hands together.

               “Well then in that case, Mrs. Parker, where would you like to begin?”

               May started directing Loki on what to move to the discard pile, the keep pile, and the sell pile.  He seemed to cheerfully do as she asked without complaint.  He was playing the cheerful and helpful teenager like it was any of his many roles.  He would do far more for Gwen, this was easy.

               After an hour and a half of work May called a halt to it, toddled off inside and returned a few minutes later with iced tea and sandwiches for Loki.  She cleared a spot off the picnic table that had been the site of many family barbeques.  Loki ate the offered food quietly.  May gave him a warm smile.  Her questions were not because she was suspicious but because she wanted to know more about her beloved niece who had been so absent of late.

               “Are you and Gwen very good friends?”

               Loki smiled and there was an unintentional blush that hit his cheeks.  May wasn’t asking if they were friends, she was asking if they were dating and he understood her subtext very clearly.

               “Yes, we’re good friends, but no… not very good friends, not yet at least.”

               May sat down across from Loki and folded her hands.

               “Gwen is a very special girl.  Very special.  She’s tried so hard to be normal but who she is keeps getting in her way.  You seem like a nice boy, and she is lucky to have a friend like you but you… I’d hate to see you hurt.  She takes her responsibilities very seriously.”

               He smiled, but sadness crept into his usually mischievous green eyes.

               “My mother would have loved you, Mrs. Parker.”

               May’s sympathetic look almost melted Loki’s heart.

               “Did you lose her?”

               Loki was at the point where he couldn’t speak.  Up to this moment Frigga’s death was wrapped up in anger at himself for not being there, getting himself stuck in prison, anger at the Dark Elves who killed her.  Gwen had tried to walk him through his grief.  Now he saw part of where his beloved Gwen had gotten much of her emotional intelligence from.  He saw his grief reflected in this woman’s eyes, who knew nothing more than he was a friend of Gwen’s and had lost his mother and it was devastating.  He took a few minutes to answer using the sandwich as a cover.  His voice would have cracked and even as evolved as he was showing such weakness to a mortal besides Gwen was not something he could do.  As he chewed, he nodded.  Finally, he spoke.

               “Yes.  Gwen helped me through it.”

               He finally shook off the last of his feelings.  He was Loki, a god, and gods did not cry.  His mask was fully in place when he spoke again.

               “I know Gwen is special… she’s very special.  She knows and helps that Spider-Woman, doesn’t she?”

               May looked at the table, she knew he was avoiding a painful subject, she did it every time her Ben was brought up.  She let it go.  Her compassion wouldn’t allow anything else.  She nodded to him.

               “Yes, I’ve been meaning to ask her why she’s not around anymore… I’m worried.”

               Loki folded his napkin precisely and laid it on the empty plate.  He glanced around.

               “Can you keep a secret?”

               May smiled again.

               “Yes, but I might not be the right person to be talking too.”

               Loki reached for May’s hand and placed his on it gently.

               “I am not what I appear.  I am going to tell you the truth, but you cannot tell anyone, especially Gwen.  It would put her in mortal danger.  I mean you no harm.  I would protect you with my life because that is what Gwen would want.  It is what my mother would want.”

               May started to look frightened and she retracted her hand.  Loki spoke softly.

               “I am Loki Odinson, I am the one who attacked New York but I was not myself and Gwen helped me see that.”

               May stood up and backed away.  Loki didn’t follow her he just sat there preferring not to appear as more of a threat.  May shook her head.

               “Why are you here?  What do you want with Gwen?”

               Loki finally stood up but backed up casually to give May more space.

               “Gwen is my friend.   Gwen saved me and she did help me with my grief over my mother’s death.  She stopped me from making a terrible mistake.  Now she needs our help.  She is very sick, and I want to help her, but I am bound.  If I interfere with her, if she finds out I’m still alive… She will die.  I know what she needs to do to cure herself, but I cannot tell her.  I need her to hear what we have to say. I need to know how to make her listen.  Who would she listen to too?  Is it you?  Who could make her do something she didn’t want to do?”

               May was deathly afraid.  For herself, for her girl but as her eyes scanned the teenage boy before her, she did not see the villainous general who filled her TV screen with a declaration that he was now the ruler of the Earth.  It was a broken teenage boy who loved his mother and cared very deeply for her niece.  And it was Gwen who redeemed him. Her voice was still laced with fear but also empathy.

               “What do you mean she’s sick?  She seemed fine.  I… I don’t understand.”

               Loki took a step forward.

               “I have no right to ask you this, but I am asking you to trust that Gwen is in very real danger of losing herself.  You know in your heart who she really is what she has been doing this past year.”

               May shook her head.  Her heart had told her that Gwen was being secretive.  That things had changed for her.  It told her that voice Spider-Woman had was familiar.  Her brain had refused to believe it.  Had refused to believe that her niece had fought gods and monsters and come out on top.  Put herself in mortal danger…  She couldn’t be her.  Her heart knew though, it had always known.  The rift between her and Peter… it all became so crystal clear.  May was still shaking her head as she came to the realization, she did know who Gwen really was.

               “I… knew.  Is that why she has been hiding?  Why she hasn’t been helping people?”

               Loki moved closer.

               “Yes.  Yes.  There is creature in her it has kept her alive when she should have died but it is so mixed in with her own body she cannot separate it.  I know the person who has that information, but I can’t tell her.  Now, after last night, she will never put her costume on again.  I need your help.  I need you to convince her that she can control it.  That she can succeed because if she doesn’t believe that she will never be able to cure herself.  She is alone right now.  Her dad is in a coma and her stepmother accused her of a murder she didn’t commit.  Her trust is broken.  You are the one she can rely on now.”

               May was wiping away her tears. Gwen was suffering so much and here she was worried about getting her house ready for sale.  There was one question she needed answered one nagging thing.

               “You love her, don’t you?”

               Loki’s hands fell to his side.  Words he’d never spoken aloud.  Words that he would choke on because he was taught never to admit such things even to himself.

               “I do.”

               May walked over to him; Her compassion winning out over her fear she took his hands into hers.  She felt echoes of what she had with Ben.  A love that last through decades.

               “Every word you spoken has told me that.  I don’t understand this stuff, but I see you.  I see your love for her.  What can I do to help Gwen?  What does she need?”

Chapter Text

Parker Residence - Queens, New York

               Gwen appeared at the end of the driveway for her Aunt May’s house.  Peter was walking beside her.  They were so much different than this time the previous year. 

Gwen had chopped her hair short; The ends tinted in soft punk pink. She used to be the popular girl, with smooth waves and a polished look that fit right in with the cheer squad. Now her style was sharper and louder, more combat boots and hoodie strings than lip gloss and varsity jackets. 

Peter looked like every girl’s crush now. Clean-cut, confident, dressed in carefully rumpled layers that could have come from a fashion blog. Not long ago, he wore his nerd badge proudly. He used to show up in science pun T-shirts with a backpack full of books and zero sense of style. Now he walked like he belonged, like he had forgotten he was ever the odd one out.

They were now on the opposite ends of the ideological spectrum but today they were united in purpose.  They had so much change in their own lives they didn’t want more.  They had agreed to a temporary truce for the good of Aunt May and the home they spent their childhoods in.  Both could have sworn they heard Aunt May talking to someone.  When they arrived, they saw her gathering up lunch dishes for two.  Gwen looked around.

“Were you just talking to someone?”

Aunt May handed the dishes she’d gathered to Peter.  He took them and out of habit carried them into the house.  Aunt May dusted her hands off.

“Oh, just a local boy.  He had to go home.  He’s been helping me clear out the garage.”

Gwen crossed her arms.

“You don’t need to clean out the garage.  I’m going to pay the taxes.  I’m not letting them force you out your home.”

Aunt May put her hands on Gwen’s cheeks.

“My sweet little Wendy, always the hero even when you were only up to my knees.”

Gwen blushed a bright red.

“You haven’t called me that since I was eleven Aunt May.  Have you been talking to Uncle Liam?”

Aunt May released Gwen’s cheeks.

“Oh, pish that scoundrel.  How your Uncle Ben managed to be the kind and gentle man he was after growing up in that family I will never know.  If only Peter’s father had walked away…”

She shook her head in dismay.

“I know he is your mother’s brother, but your Uncle Liam is not a good influence.”

Gwen patiently waited until Peter rejoined them so the pair could present a united front, like they used when they were younger.  Hints of their solemn promise to always have each other’s back no matter what could be seen in their glances.  May looked at them.

“It is so good to see you standing side by side again.”

Peter stood up straighter.

“Aunt May, Gwen and I are going to pay your back taxes.  Or we’re going to buy the house at an auction.  So, either way we’re helping you.  Whether we have to spend a lot or just enough is up to you.”

Aunt May’s voice to a serious quality but still sounded gentle and warm.

“I forbid it, you are to save that money for college and starting your lives off.”

Peter and Gwen both crossed their arms and shook their heads in unison.  Gwen spoke for the pair.

“It’s already done.  So, give us the tax bill.”

Aunt May had tears in her eyes as she wandered off into the house.  The pair of teenagers followed her.  The elderly woman passed the bill to Gwen with a shaking hand.  Gwen took it and then hugged May tightly.  May took a few minutes to compose herself then she sniffled and offered two glasses which she filled with iced tea.  Then she pointed to the backyard.

“Out you two, fresh air is good for you.”

The pair walked outside looking sheepish.  Peter drank his iced tea and started poking through the boxes that Loki set aside to keep.  May came out and Peter glanced at her.

“I told you that you could throw these out, why aren’t they in the garbage pile?”

May waved her hand dismissively.

“Oh, those things.  I told that boy who was helping me that he could have them as payment.  Since you said I could throw them away, I assumed that was okay?  Is it?”

Gwen saw a glimpse of the old Peter as his fingers ran across the comics then he shook his head.

               “Well, if he wants the junk he can have it.  They’re all stupid propaganda from the people behind the Avengers.”

               Aunt May wandered off into the garage leaving Peter and Gwen alone sipping iced tea.  Gwen held up the tax bill.

               “I will take care of this, alright?  It’s not pride, I just make more than you do and have more saved.  As far as Aunt May is concerned, we went half and half though.”

               Peter’s grip tightened on his glass.  This is what his favorite YouTube personality would say: Emasculates modern men.  He spoke quietly.

               “I can pay for the whole bill; I don’t need a girl to do it.  It’s a man’s place.”

               Gwen sighed heavily.

               “Peter its twenty-seven thousand dollars.  That is like less than a paycheck for me now.  I could literally go pay it right now if I didn’t have to go to the bank.  You… Peter this has nothing to do with boys or girls or who makes more.  The deadline is Friday next week when the house gets auctioned.  Do you see the red final notice?  We don’t have time to argue about this.  I literally need to miss school tomorrow, go right to the bank, get a check and go to city hall.  I can get away with that by saying my dad is in the hospital.  You can’t so just let me do this.” 

               Gwen clenched her fists causing the tax bill to crinkle.

“God, I can’t believe you are so far gone you see everything people do as against you.”

Peter narrowed his eyes but then saw his Aunt May coming.  He raised his voice and said.

“I’m supposed to meet MJ, I hope Uncle George wakes up soon, Gwen.”

He stormed off.  Aunt May shook her head and put her arm around Gwen’s shoulders.

“That boy is always in a hurry now.”

               Gwen closed her eyes and took a deep breath.  She couldn’t understand why it was just one more thing after another.  It was like life didn’t want her to stand up, it was busy enjoying kicking her while she was down.   Aunt May’s head tilted to the side.

               “Gwen, could we talk?”

               Gwen shook off her frustration with Peter and looked at Aunt May.

               “Always, Auntie May.”

               May took her arm off of Gwen’s back and interlaced her fingers in front of her.  Finally, she released the tension and spoke.

               “You’re friends with that… Spider-Woman, person, aren’t you?”

               Gwen took a sharp breath.  She was expecting condemnation.  She wasn’t sure she could handle that from her Aunt May, not with her life collapsing around her.  Her Aunt May smiled warmly after noticing Gwen tense up.

               “I was just wondering where she’s been.  I don’t see her picture in the news often and her YouTube channel hasn’t been updated.  Is she alright?”

               Gwen’s body uncoiled slowly as the tension evaporated.  She wasn’t even sure how to answer that question.

               “She’s… trying to get her life back on track and… she’s afraid… she’s afraid she... she is afraid she could hurt someone, innocents.  I’m working on a way for her to do what she wants to do without… without having to rely on her powers, they aren’t what they were.”

               May nodded then put her hand on Gwen’s shoulder.

               “People like her are rare these days.  Heroes.  Helping other people with no expectations of reward.  People like her inspire others.  When people saw her holding back one of those terrible worms herself with her webs… it looked like it was going to tear her apart, but she still held on, it tells them they can hold on too.  It tells them they can be heroes in their own way.  We need people like her.  Heroes we can look up to, heroes we can depend on.  A hero who gives hope even when things are darkest.”

               May smiled again.

               “Gwen, I just hope she knows she has people that she can depend on.  People like you.  Maybe even people she doesn’t realize are there, in the shadows…  Doing what they can for her even when she can’t see them.”

               Gwen was holding back tears.  There was no way Aunt May could know.  How did she always know just the right thing to say to her? May ruffled Gwen’s hair like she used to when she babysat the teenager.

               “You can tell her all that for me, can’t you?  That she isn’t as alone as she thinks?  That no matter what she is going through she can handle it?  I know she’s amazing woman.  She sat with your Uncle Ben; She held him while he passed on, so he wasn’t alone.  That means the world to me.  And Gwen, I know you’ll find a way to help her.  Because you’re a hero too.”

               Gwen suddenly glomped onto her Aunt May and started crying onto her shoulder.  She let it the tears wash all of her self-doubt, her self-loathing, her fear that she wasn’t good enough.  Aunt May gently wrapped her arms around Gwen as the teenager sobbed uncontrollably. 

May glanced in the direction Gwen’s secret admirer had vanished and said a silent thanks.  He had shown her a truth she wouldn’t admit to herself; He had made it possible for her to help Gwen in a way she had no idea she could.  She held Gwen tightly to herself as a mother would.  Poor Wendy, I wish I could just tell you I know…

*****

Bronx, New York

               Loki had the last of Gwen’s allies to gather.  The delinquent.  The information had been available to him almost immediately on his arrival since Miles was under the scrutiny of SHIELD because of his self-built power claws and armor.  He told himself this was because Miles wasn’t useful, but truthfully the fact he wouldn’t admit was that Miles and Gwen could be together.  That bothered him.

               He was walking along to his destination when suddenly he was somewhere else after a flash of golden light.  He sighed.  As he appeared he spoke.

               “Human sorcery, how quaint.”

               A woman with piercing blue eyes who had no hair was standing in front of him.  She was his equal in height.  Loki slipped Vaydrassil out of its sheath and prepared for a fight.  The woman struck him in his chest and his body went flying back leaving his soul intact.  He was back to his adult self and looked at his hands then glanced back at his body.  In times past this would have been less than a minor inconvenience but currently with his magical limitations he was in a bit of a bind.

               The woman smiled and said in a very polite tone.

               “You don’t belong here.  Let’s talk.”

               Loki smiled back.

               “Well, if I’d known this was for a chat, I probably wouldn’t have pulled out my dagger.  Shall we start over?  Perhaps by getting me back into my body.”

               The woman motioned to his body.

               “Why not just put yourself back in it, you are a sorcerer and a god… are you not?”

               Loki had the sinking feeling this was a conversation with someone who already knew exactly what he was going to say.  He sensed an infinity stone near.  Of course… the time stone.

               “Very well, let us skip the pleasantries.  You know why I’m on Midgard.  You know what I’m here for and you know what I’m trying to do already, or we wouldn’t be having this conversation… I believe they call you the ‘Ancient One’.  How does a human get to be eight hundred years old without going insane?  It is fantastic to speak to someone who is almost my peer.”

               Loki felt like a spider caught in a web.  The Ancient One was in absolute control of this situation, unless he wanted to use one of his three remaining spells which he refused to do until absolutely necessary.  She smiled at him.

               “You are arrogant, aren’t you?  Brash, full of yourself, how the mighty have fallen.  What would you say if I told you I could give you all of your magic back.  Undo the binding of the fates.  Even guide you to a future where you live a long life as King of Asgard.  Respected by all, but you could never set foot on Earth again.  Never see the girl you covet.  Power beyond your wildest dreams, everything you have ever wanted.”

               Loki was tempted by the offer.  If she had the time stone, she could see every one of his possible futures.  He shook his head.

               “I would say the cost is too high for me.  I chose this for her.”

               The Ancient One raised one of her long slender fingers.

               “No, you chose this because the alternative was an ignoble death.”

               “Why can it not be both?

               The Ancient One chuckled.

               “Indeed.  The God who would be mortal for love of all things.”

               Loki watched her walk around him as he spoke.

               “Beings, great and small have done far worse for love.”

               The Ancient One smiled again.

               “True.  I have been watching you since you arrived.  You are scheming, and manipulative and for someone that is called the Lord of Lies you tell very few actual lies.  You rarely tell the whole truth, but it seems the only person you lie to is yourself.  Quite a paradox, isn’t it?  How do you know you’re not lying to yourself about this mortal girl that has brought you so low?”

               Loki was getting frustrated, not because he was completely in the Ancient One’s power but because she was dissecting his most private thoughts like she was reading them from a textbook.

               “You have seen this conversation and every other possible conversation we could have in this moment.  I would have if I had that infinity stone of yours.  So why the games?  Just tell me what you wish of me so I can be on my way.”

               The Ancient One laughed softly.

               “Perhaps the journey is the answer you seek?”

               Loki frowned.

               “It is almost like you and my father went to the same educational institution.  You could have a conversation for a decade and say nothing to each other but fill the void with words.”

               She raised an eyebrow.

               “A comparison to the All-Father… I’m insulted.  And likely guilty.  Do you know the real frustration with being a parent, Loki Odinson?”

               Loki rolled his eyes.

               “That children never do as their told.”

               She laughed.

               “No, I will give you one of those direct answers you so crave, God of Mischief.  That children never truly know their parent.  You see what your father wishes you to see, as did your mother, as does your brother.  You have never truly known Odin, only the image he projects.  One day soon you will see him for what he was.”

               Loki was vexed.  He was the one that was supposed to speak in riddles.

               “Yes, yes, yes, we do not know our parents as well as we should but you dance around the reason you brought me here so tell me so I can get on with my task at hand.”

               The Ancient One walked to Loki’s unconscious body and picked up Vaydrassil.  She looked it over curiously.

               “You are very keen.  This is the very blade that could protect you from me, if you’d been prepared for my summons.  The chaos in it attracts magic and souls.  Sadly, it does not give the gift of foresight.”

               She placed it down on Loki’s unconscious body.

               “It is the connection to the Darkhold of course.”

               Loki glared at her.  He was done with this conversation but still he refused to use one of his precious spells.

               “Do you want to hear something funny?”

               Loki frowned.

               “I find I am not in the laughing mood currently, but whether I want to hear it or not you are going to tell me so get on with it.”

               She smiled again.

               “You are so very amusing.  You see, out of the six million and change versions of this conversation, this is the only one where you didn’t use your three strikes.  What does that tell you?”

               Loki frowned and said without little emotion, almost sounding bored.

               “That my other selves have less tolerance for your random stringing together of words that sound like vague prophecies?”

               She chuckled, wagged her finger and shook her head at Loki.

               “Always with the quick words.  You may stay on Earth.  It is clear you have nowhere else to go and sending you away would be like kicking a puppy out on a frigid night.  Now then, on to the problem at hand.  You are bound by the Fates, and they’re very interested in Gwen Stacy.  Did you ever question why?”

               “Of course, I have but even gods cannot comprehend the entire tapestry of fate, the whole of the multiverse, it is infinite.”

               The Ancient One made several intricate motions with her slender fingers and then made a motion to Loki.  Her fingers passing through his astral form.  The world around them turned into mirrors then shifted.  They were catapulted into a vision. 

It was the Ancient One, when she had hair in times long past.  She stood over a bassinet over woven sticks.  A small girl stirred in it. Then there was a noise.

               The younger version of the Ancient One started throwing spells and dark red shapes started to disintegrate.  An elderly Asian man ran in and spoke, he offered her the necklace containing the time stone.

               “Take the child to your home on the isles.  Go, I will misdirect them.  You are the Sorcerer Supreme now, go, go now!”

               The younger version of the Ancient One ran her hand in a circle and dashed through a golden portal carrying the child.  She came out on the side to the shining sun.  She looked at the girl and spoke.

               “I will weave an enchantment on you little one, I will bind your power and when it is needed your descents will find it within themselves.”

               The memory vanished and they were back in the New York Sanctum.  Loki looked around himself.

               “That child was Gwen’s ancestor?”

               The Ancient One nodded.

               “When she crossed into Asgard, my spell was broken on her family line.  I felt it, then I felt her use her power to open the unstable gateway.  The damage she did to the multiverse was unfortunate.  This cannot be allowed to happen again.”

               Loki frowned.

               “I know that my father already warned me.  How do I teach her to channel the dark energy she holds in herself if I cannot go to her and interfere with her directly?”

               The Ancient One motioned with her hand and Loki’s body reintegrated with his astral projection.  Loki picked up Vaydrassil.  She continued speaking.

               “I may be of some assistance in that area; I have been known to use magic from time to time.”

               Loki clenched his fists.

               “Why the performance?  Why not just say that?”

               She motioned with her hand to the front door.

               “As I told you, the answer was the journey, I had to be sure you did not want her for her bloodline’s power.  Make sure she finds her way here and I will ensure she knows what she needs to know.”

Chapter Text

Avengers Tower, Officer of the President of Special Research Projects

               Prudance stood in front of Gwen’s desk as the teenager clicked through her email while blankly staring at the screen.  Gwen hadn’t been in for a few days, so things had piled up.  Prudance spoke softly.

               “You know that you’re supposed to read them…”

               Gwen motioned at her screen.

               “Yeah, because the memo on cooking fish in the microwave on the nineteenth floor is going to make a difference in my life.”

               Prudance tapped her tablet.

               “Yes, but the one you marked as read without paying any attention was asking for your approval on the design and draft of the new armored suit for Black Widow.”

               Gwen glared at Prudance.

               “Why aren’t they asking her, she has to wear it?  Have you seen what they put her in?  If I had to wear something that skintight, I think I’d be traumatized…”

               Prudance smiled very slightly, she knew that Gwen had been doing that on a regular basis for almost a year after her discovery in the teenager’s notebook.  Gwen sighed.

               “If you can see my email, why can’t you approve it?”

               Prudance slipped Gwen’s notebook out from under her tablet.

               “You dropped this when you rushed off.  It looked private so I locked it up.  And I cannot approve designs because I am not a tech prodigy.  You are.  That is why they pay you a ridiculous amount of money, and I can barely afford my apartment above a Bodega.”

               Gwen took the notebook gingerly and put it in her backpack she spoke in a subdued tone.

               “Thanks.”

               The teenager went back to doomscrolling through her emails.  She did not seem at all interested in work.  Prudance spoke again.

“Ms. Sta—”

               Gwen shot Prudence a withering glance.  Prudance corrected herself.

               “Gwen, Mr. Stark said he would approve the designs so you can spend time with your father, fully paid leave.  Or you could do this from his hospital room with your laptop we have a VPN.”

               Gwen grumbled.

               “At the cost of hospital WIFI?  I might make a decent amount of money but I’m not that well off.”

               Prudance let it slide.  She remembered as a teen how loathe she was to go to the hospital to see her father when he was dying of cancer.  Gwen rolled her eyes and pointed at one of the comfortable chairs in front of her desk.

               “Ugg, don’t hover, just sit down and get comfortable.”

               As Prudance was sitting down Gwen continued.

               “So, like can’t I just have them send me their designs in a list so I can like go through it on my design holo?  They get lost in all this… useless information.”

               Prudance nodded.

               “You are the president of this division you can do almost whatever you want to the process as long as you sign off on the final designs and costs.  This is just how the other divisions are set up.”

               Gwen leaned back in her chair and groaned.

               “How do they get anything done?  Just give me a check list, gah, can you make that happen?  Or is this going to be one of those, I ask for it then there are meetings about meetings, about the meetings to design it then there are meetings to determine if they’re going to use a word document or excel?”

               Prudance knowing that Gwen was Spider-Woman now knew that her boss was a very witty and quippy teenager.  So, she glanced up from the notes she was taking on her tablet.  She spoke using her most serious personal assistant tone.

               “I’ll set up an evening meeting tomorrow night with the staff to discuss how much you hate meetings.”

               Gwen did a doubletake.

               “Did you… are you teasing me?”

               Prudance shook her head.

               “No, I wouldn’t do that, it’s unprofessional.”

               Gwen started laughing.

               “Is this sense of humor going to require a raise?  Or did you finally get issued one from the PA pool?”

               Prudance didn’t meet Gwen’s gaze, but her lips did part in a slight smile.  She tapped something on her tablet and swept it to the left.

               “I’ve just sent you an email for approval to update our design process.”

               Gwen scrolled up then quickly clicked and typed: YES!!!!!!!!!  YES*INFINITY!!!!!!  Yesterday, time travel if you have to.  Gwen let loose a dramatic sigh.

               “Damn, if they invent time travel, I’ll still need to approve it under the old system to get my new process yesterday…”

               Prudance gave her a genuine smile then she responded.

               “When you invent time travel.  I’ll remind you to come back to yesterday and get that going.”

               Gwen giggled.

               “Yeah, and if I do that, I better get an honorary doctorate from an Ivy League school in Physics.”

               Prudance pointed at Gwen’s monitor.

               “Email.  You still have the final approvals to start fabrication on the SHIELD overwatch satellites.  They want them launched by the end of November.  Doctor Erickson was adamant you approve them tonight or you’ll put the whole project behind schedule.”

               Gwen made a face as she searched for the email.

               “We should not be trusting SHIELD with such high resolution satellites, these are three generations ahead of anything else.  They can find a single person in a crowd from orbit using facial recognition.  I don’t think anyone should have that and it makes me sick that my chip tech made them possible.”

               She tapped her chin then sent the designs to her floor holo.  She started spinning it.  How could she make these vulnerable… how could she prevent them from being used if HYDRA was behind the order?  She started looking over each circuit board.  Each thrustor.  Then brought up the BIOS for the satellite, the chips were hard coded, not like a normal computer.  Can’t have magnetic anomalies frying the autonomic brains.  Space was dangerous for computers.  It would need to be hard to find but easy to use.  Something she could use to disable or destroy them.  It wasn’t like she had anti-satellite missile launchers…  She snapped her fingers. 

She didn’t need to sabotage the design; she just needed to put her spider-bots inside them.  Ones with the LizMustDie malware she developed.  She could limit it to the satellite and any system connecting to the satellite.  Her spider-bots would automatically piggyback their signal to the satellites call home signal and then Gwen through the internet.  Any design flaws would be obvious but her spider bots, added after the fabrication was complete?  Invisible and hopefully never necessary…

Prudance wasn’t paying attention to Gwen.  The teenager pulled the satellite hologram into a ball and threw it at her computer.  She walked around and gave approval for the fabrication with a caveat she had to personally approve each of the three satellites for deployment. 

She knew Doctor Erickson would be furious.  He hated having a fifteen year old girl holding his projects hostage.  Gwen remembered the look on his face when she pointed out a flaw in one of his chip designs after her pre-approval review and he asked her: What do you know?  You’re acting like you designed this tech.  Then Prudance helpfully told him Gwen had in fact designed the tech.

Prudance looked up from her tablet.

“Are you concerned about the final designs?  Doctor Erickson will not be happy.”

Gwen shook her head.

“No but it is a three billion dollar sale, seems like I should do a final check before we send them out the door and into space.  If we have to relaunch them… And Doctor Erickson can suck my big toe.  His name isn’t on the final spec approval.”

Prudance nodded.

“Very presidential of you.  I noticed an email… from a Doctor Eno Tneicna, asking for an appointment with you this week, tomorrow actually?  She says it’s about some anomalies with blood work and foreign objects in the cells of a sample, you asked for a second opinion on?”

Gwen searched for the email; She read the email; She did a search on the web and found a satellite image of the building listed as the address for the appointment.

“That email address looks sketchy AF, mana.mag?  The physical address is legit.”

Suddenly Gwen realized the blood in question could be hers, she’d taken samples of her blood and labeled them Spider-Woman.  A Stark bio-analyst may have found them and sent them off to a specialist.

“I’ll send them an email.”

Prudance nodded.

“Toby and I used the tickets to go see your concert the other night.  Your songs are…”

Gwen’s assistant trailed off.  Gwen glanced at her.

“Are?”

Prudance clutched her tablet tightly and lied.

“Great.”

Gwen raised an eyebrow.

“If you don’t like our music that’s fine, I don’t mind, no need to lie about it.”

Prudance shook her head.

“No, they are really good, Toby loved them too, not that he’d ever admit it to you it would be unprofessional but… are they about Spider-Woman?”

Gwen blushed slightly.

“Uh, yeah, we talk a lot…”

Prudance nodded and lightened her grip on her tablet.

“Well, it’s just that they sound so… well personal to you.”

Gwen shook her head.

“Nope, just… I’m not her, I just take my friends stress personally… Uh… I’ll get on the rest of these approvals.”

*****

Sanctum Sanctorum, Greenwich, New York

               Gwen was still in her school uniform when she and Toby arrived at the strange looking building.  She glanced back at Toby who was sitting in the armored SUV that had become their standard transport.  He shrugged.  Gwen shrugged and pressed the doorbell.  A very serious looking Asian man opened the front door and looked her up and down.

               “If you are selling chocolate covered almonds, we are interested, otherwise we are not interested.”

               Gwen blushed.

               “I’m sorry, this is 177A Bleecker street, right?”

               He nodded.

               “Perhaps you wrote it down wrong, I do that all the time.”

               Gwen pulled out her notebook and pulled out the folded piece of paper she’d been using for a bookmark.  She’d written down the name because it was so strange she didn’t think she’d remember it.  She tried very hard to pronounce it but it sounded like she was speaking gibberish.  Gwen blushed again and held up the note.

               “I have an appointment with this doctor, are they here?  How do you pronounce it so I don’t embarrass myself.”

               He squinted and looked at the note.  Then he laughed.  Gwen looked up at him and blinked.  She was quite confused.  A woman came walking down the stairs.  She was wearing a loose fitting yellow monk robe and had no hair whatsoever.  She spoke with an amused tone.

               “Quit torturing the poor girl Wong.”

               Wong bowed to Gwen.

               “Please, come in, Gwen.”

               Gwen glanced back at Toby who motioned her onwards with his head.  Gwen walked inside, she figured at this point she was on this crazy train, whatever station it was heading towards.   Wong smiled at Gwen as he closed the door.

               “I believe in English; It is pronounced The Ancient One.  Do not forget the ‘The’ she is very particular about that, as if there is another Sorcerer Supreme who is older than most countries.”

               Gwen walked up the stairs in a bit of a hurry to keep up with the woman.  She couldn’t put her finger on it, but the woman looked very familiar to her.  The teenager was very confused.

               “I thought this was a lab or something…  Are you a doctor?”

               The Ancient One glanced back at Gwen.

               “Oh, sorry, no, you’re about two years early for him.  I’m afraid you’re stuck with me and Wong, of course.  I assure you, you will find the answers you seek here.  Also, I have something of yours.”

               She held out the fine Uru chain that held the teen’s magical sword.  Gwen’s eyes went wide.

               “That… how?”

               The Ancient One shrugged.

               “Cosmic driftwood.  Here you are.”

               Gwen took the chain her heart ached when she thought of Loki wearing it when he died.  She bit her lower lip, she felt a bit odd asking the question, but she did anyway.

               “Umm…  so… like was there someone… or like… a body attached to this?”

               The Ancient One waved her hand dismissively as she spoke.

               “Of course, but don’t worry he’s long gone.”

               Gwen kept up a brave face, but she was crushed on the inside.  The bald woman turned to Gwen and said softly.

               “Don’t be so sad, Gwen, he’s in a better place then he was.  I assure you he is in a much better situation.”

               To the teen that felt like a gut punch but in that moment, she realized something.  The Ancient One looked exactly like someone… if they had lost all their hair and she blurted it out in typical teenager fashion.

               “You look like my nan!  You’re like her twin… Nan?  Are you playing a joke on me?”

               The Ancient One raised an eyebrow.

               “Well, it is apparently true, teenagers have no filters.  No, I am not your nan, Gwen, she is happily running a criminal empire in Belfast as we speak, well not as we speak, she’s in bed but let’s not waste time, we have much to do.”

               Gwen stopped right where she was, she was done playing by everyone else’s rules just because they were adults.

               “No!  Tell me what is going on why are you my Nan’s twin and how do you know she’s the head if the Irish mob in Belfast?”

               The Ancient One turned around.

               “You’re very prickly, has anyone ever told you that?”

               Gwen glared at the woman but felt very guilty about it because she loved her Nan very much.

               “Only when I get lured to creepy houses with nan-bodysnatchers.  Tell me what is going on!”

               The Ancient One smiled pleasantly, her voice had genuine curiosity in it as she spoke as if she knew those were the only two possibilities in this moment.

               “Is this the part where you get your little spiders out and confront me with your scarry symbiote face or are you going to behave?”

               Gwen opened and closed her mouth a few times and just walked up the stairs behind the bald woman who looked like her Nan.  The Ancient One waited for Gwen by a door as the teenager arrived, she spoke again.

               “It would be nice if reality and other people bent to our will just by having a temper tantrum, unfortunately it doesn’t.  Thankfully, I can teach you another way.”

               The Ancient One opened the door for Gwen.  The teenager gave a small eye roll, a small act of rebellion in the face of overwhelming logic.  She stepped inside.

Chapter Text

Kamar-Taj, Somewhere deep in the Himalayan Mountains

               Gwen looked around herself and back towards the doorway she came through, but it had vanished after the bald nan-clone walked through.  The teenager suddenly imagined herself being used for unwanted organ donation… or worse.  She’d never been to the mountains, but she could see a peak nearby.  Panic rose in her and the symbiote was starting to react which just made her panic even worse.

               The Ancient One saw Gwen’s reaction and tapped her chest.  Suddenly she was outside of her body and her body was encased in a lattice of intricate golden lines of magic the symbols were beautiful and geometric and she struggled to understand what she was seeing.  Her brain wanted to figure out the mathematical equations they were representing.

               The artificial symbiote was railing against the barrier using Gwen’s body.  It was almost mindless running on the last emotion Gwen had which was… fear.  The Ancient One ignored the symbiote’s impotent rage and looked to Gwen.

               “That could have gone better.  Let’s talk while the symbiote tires… it.. rather your body out.  This is Kamar-Taj.  You are safe here; It is a sanctuary.”

               Gwen swiped her hand through a nearby pillar and quirked her head to the side.

               “Am I dead?”

               The Ancient One shook her head.

               “No, I have just removed the symbiote and your body from the equation for the time being.  A temporary situation, I assure you.”

               Gwen threw up her hands.

               “Well, whatever, this doesn’t look like Kansas, do I need my passport?  Long underwear?  An oxygen tank?”

               The Ancient One laughed softly.

               “No, the local authorities will never find this place, because we do not wish it, it is not cold, also because we do not wish it, and finally you will find you can breathe just fine here, it is quite important to us humans so I can assure you, we wish it.”

               Gwen crossed her arms.

               “So, what is this magic or something?  Why am I here and are you going to answer a single one of my real questions?  You are kind of mean… and like… sadistic mean.”

               The Ancient One glanced at Gwen’s body.  The symbiote had worn itself out or at least calmed down and the teenager’s body collapsed.  The Ancient One shoved Gwen’s astral projection and she slammed back into her body.  She was sore all over and exhausted.  The golden prison evaporated.  Gwen was slightly sad because the view of the strange mystical symbols was better from the inside.

               “Well, I’ll let you reassess after your final exam here.  You might even add infernal, sadistic mean…  Come along I’ll remind you that we have much to do and little time to do it”

               Gwen shook her head.

               “No, I want one straight answer to my questions.  Just one.”

               The Ancient One nodded.

               “Yes, but one will not come.”

               Gwen tightened her crossed arms and stood firm.

               “No. I’m not going anywhere or doing anything until you tell me why you look like my nan, and don’t tell me it’s because you wish it!”

               The Ancient One gave a small smile.

               “Of course, you may stay here, we should make a lesson of it, please while you remain here, contemplate the silence and inevitability of compliance.”

               The Ancient One wandered off.  Gwen hesitated but then ran after the Ancient One who looked… disappointed.  She spoke.

               “I thought we agreed you weren’t moving and would be contemplating silence and the inevitability of compliance.”

               Gwen made a face.  This woman was like a high school teacher from hell.  Only worse because if she misbehaved enough, she’d just knock the teenager out of her body.  Gwen opened and closed her mouth.  She wasn’t even sure how to respond to the nan-clone.  The Ancient One gave a small shrug.

               “Well at least you have the contemplating silence part down, come along then.”

               Gwen followed The Ancient One silently.  Finally, she found her words.

               “Seriously, if you want me to focus on your weird voodoo…whatever just tell me why you look like my nan.  I’m going to be trying to figure it out the whole time.  Teenage girl here, we don’t do cryptic… we spiral.  I totally know you’re like seventy or something, so it’s been a long time but trust me just answer one stupid silly little question and I’ll be way more focused on... whatever this is.”

               Gwen moved her hand indicating the whole of Kamar-Taj.  The Ancient One paused and glanced back and looked at the stubborn teenager.

               “Often our minds try to fill in blanks and make logical leaps, perhaps instead of pleading for answers you should look inward to find out why you believe I look like your nan.  When was the last time you visited her?  Spoke to her?”

               Gwen scowled at the nan-clone.

               “I will figure you out.”

               The Ancient One gave a soft laugh.

               “I am sure you will, you are a brilliant girl.  Now, continue contemplating silence while we walk.  Perhaps consider you’re trying to apply logic to an illogical situation.  I had the understanding teenage girls operated on anything but logic.”

               The Ancient One held up her hand.

               “Stop.”

               Gwen was about to say something and nearly bumped into The Ancient One.  A white tiger walked past the pair the predatory cat’s intelligent blue eyes scanned them.  Then he moved on.  The teenager was literally hiding behind The Ancient One.  Ninjas, supervillains, Gods of Mischief, Dark elves… she could handle all of them but giant claw wielding cats… no thank you.

               “Master Sinju is on his morning stroll.  Best you do not get in his way while you’re here.  Remember as with all cats, it is a trap.”

               Gwen was wide-eyed.

               “Yeah, giant tiger of death?  No thank you.”

               The Ancient One glanced back at Gwen who was trying to regain her composure.  She did not like cats.  They were cute from a distance but definitely not up close.  She still had no idea who thought ‘Hello Kitty’ was a good branding idea; It was horrifying.

               “The only danger you face from Master Sinju is his ability to put anyone to sleep when he holds an impromptu lesson on the wholeness of the multiverse.  He lures you in by rolling on his back then you fall for this trap and all of a sudden you are listening to him drone on for hours about his cosmic theories. I assure you it is far worse than his claws and teeth.  Let us move on.”

               Gwen had fully recovered from her shock at being so near a predatory cat roaming around free.  She spoke again.

               “I’m not going to have to take lessons from him, right?  Like, is this my Hogwarts Invitation moment?  My dad and stepmom should probably definitely need to be told and like I already paid my tuition at my high school… and science is much more my thing.  I don’t even have a wand.”

               The Ancient One forced herself not to laugh at the notion for more than one reason.

               “Well one version of you will find out that she very much does like magic in that fashion.  I thought you lot had rejected the author because of her views on perfectly natural human behavior…  It is no matter.  Kamar-Taj is a place of ancient wisdom.  Where you find your truth.  You cannot master yourself until you know who yourself is.  Normally we would expect you to seek us out but given your proclivity for disaster… I have been forced to modify our approach.  Thus, why I mentioned one version of you…”

               Gwen rubbed the back of her neck.  The last thing she expected of this wacky nan-clone was to be up on current internet events.

               “So… you’re like… online here?  You seem a bit old to be into like LGBTQ+ stuff…”

               The Ancient One chuckled as the pair walked along a long corridor of mani wheels.  Unlike the ones might you find in a Tibetan monastery these had universal magical truths in patterns you could form into long spells. 

               “We are part of this world, Gwen Stacy.  We choose to keep Kamar-Taj free of distractions, but it does not mean we are blind to the world outside.  And we have always believed you should be who you were meant to be, magic is only accessible to those who can accept who they really are, that is what students struggle the most with letting go of what society has told them they should be.”

The end of the hallway had a statue of a coiled Asian dragon.  The coils formed stairs up to a silvery pool that appeared to be a mirror, but it was liquid.  The Ancient One walked up the steps.  Gwen followed her.

               “What do you mean version of me?  Like the multiverse is really real?  I mean Martha said she was from another Earth…  She isn’t magical she just… its science.”

               Gwen’s left bracer formed and out of it popped the screen of the multiverse map Martha had given her.  The Ancient One glanced at the map.  One of her eyebrows raised.

               “Have you ever heard the term: Sufficiently advanced science appears like magic to some?  There are a people who witnessed World War Two air drops for the US military and built a religion around it.  To them airplanes were magic.  Who is to say your leaps in technology are entirely scientific?  What is magic if not forcing reality to bend to your will?  I know of your Martha and she is not entirely human any longer.  She is more connected to the multiverse then you could possibly imagine, to everything.”

               Gwen looked down at the pool with some trepidation.  As she looked at her reflection she felt like it was looking back at her…and judging her.  The Ancient One motioned to the pool.

               “This is the pool of judgment.  It shows you your greatest crime.  To know who you are, you must know what you have done to others.  No one wants to see that truth, even myself but I have when my master taught me.  It is going to show you… something you do not want to see, do not want to know but it will tell you why you are here.  The unfiltered truth.  After witnessing what it shows you, if you still want to leave without learning what I have to teach I will take you home and never bother you again.  Either way, I promise to answer the question you asked of me.  I warn you once again, you will not like what you see.”

               Gwen stepped away from the pool.  She was shaking her head.

               “I can’t live through that again.”

               The Ancient One watched her.

               “It is not going to show you what you think, and it is far worse than you believe it is going to be.  You know much of your guilt in things but what have you done that you do not feel guilty for?  Have you caused harm you aren’t even aware of?  You need to see this before you leave for your own good.  For the good of the people, you love.  If not for yourself, do it for your father, your stepmother, Flash, Prudance, Steve Rogers, Thor, Tony, Pepper and your Aunt May.  You are more dangerous than you think, and I cannot explain it to you, you need to see for yourself.”

               Gwen had tears in her eyes as she shook her head and refused to look at her own reflection.  The Ancient One spoke again.

               “Gwen, we each make choices and those choices all have consequences.  Some of us cause greater consequences with the choices we make.  Some of us can impact the entire course of history.  You cannot make informed decisions if you do not know the whole truth.”

               Gwen saw her Uncle Ben’s face in her mind’s eye.  His soft smile.  His words the last time they shared hot chocolate and pie at his favorite diner.  If she did not know what she put out into the world then she would never know what was coming back at her…  She took a deep breath and looked into the pool.  She focused on her reflection then she saw something that horrified her.

               The teenager collapsed to her knees as she watched a wave of dark energy pulse from her body into the unstable portal in the depths below Asgard.  Then she lunged through it, and she shattered into a hundred mirror fragments.  Each one pierced into another version of her and obliterated them.  She took their place.  In only two instances were her alternate selves already dead or going to die.  The rest she destroyed them.  She was dry heaving and sobbing as the image vanished leaving only her reflection which she stared at in horror.  So many innocent lives…

               The Ancient One lowered herself onto her knees and pulled Gwen into a tight hug.  She remembered her encounter with the pool even though it had been centuries she had never forgotten what it had shown her.  Gwen was inconsolable.  She didn’t try to calm the teenager down.  There would be no quick fix for this, but it was necessary.  Now the child would understand the power she wielded and the damage she could do.  If only The Ancient One could have foreseen it but the time stone had blind spots; Gwen’s passage through the portal and the unintended consequences had been one of them.

*****

Kamar-Taj, Sleeping Quarters

               Wong looked at the sleeping Gwen with a sigh then at the Ancient One.

               “Are you sure it wasn’t too soon?”

               The Ancient One shrugged.

               “Was it soon enough?”

               Wong frowned.  The Ancient One spoke softly.

               “Remember to unlock Infinite Space and leave it out, also ensure the wards on the Amulet allow her access.  Ensure you explicitly tell her she’s not supposed to touch them.”

               Wong shook his head.

               “That is not wise.  She knows so little she knows enough to be dangerous.  Giving her access to the Time stone and the instructions to another?”

               The Ancient One folded her hands behind her back.

               “We must give her guidance, or she will be frozen with grief and guilt.   Her curiosity will break her out of the cycle.  The Time stone will show her what she needs to see.  Then she will ask me for instruction, and she will be ready to listen.  Please Wong, do as I ask but ensure the Time stone does not fall into any hands but hers.  Tell her I am dealing with something and will return shortly.”

               Wong sighed and prepared everything as requested then settled down beside Gwen’s bedside.

               Gwen woke up sometime later laying on a soft mat.  Wong was sitting by her side cross legged.  She rubbed her face.  Wong smiled.

               “You’re alive.  The Ancient One will return shortly; She had matters to attend.  In the meantime, I’m supposed to take you to the library.   Of course we can always stop for food first.  I’m sure you’re very hungry.”

               Gwen grunted in response she shuffled after Wong and ate the hearty meal of fruit, vegetables and nuts.  Wong took her to the library when she’d finished.  It was underground and quite disorganized.  Gwen had expected it to be well-maintained.  Wong looked around.

               “Well, here you are, enjoy.”

               Gwen looked around again.

               “What?”

               Wong folded his hands behind his back.

               “How should I know, The Ancient One told me to bring you here.  Oh, and don’t touch that book there or that amulet.  That is all…”

               Wong wondered off after indicating the amulet that floated in light above a stone pillar and a book that was on one of the tables.  The chain that would usually bind it was left unlocked.  Gwen scratched her head and started poking around the books.  Some of which seemed to realign their language to match her known languages, English, Latin and bad Spanish. 

She kept glancing at the unlocked book that she wasn’t supposed to read.  After poking around and ensuring no one was looking she gingerly opened the cover.  Infinite Space.  She kept leafing through it and she quirked her head to the side.  The math was quickly getting beyond her.  If she had time, she’d understand it she was sure, but it was math mixed with magical writings.  She figured out it was about the Tesseract and how it interacted with fourth dimensional space to travel great distances by connecting to points in space through said fourth dimension.  It was interesting but the only thing worth knowing was how to activate it and that was on the second page.

Gwen looked around again.  No bolts of lightning, angry Wongs, or getting knocked out of her body.  The amulet caught her attention next.  She gingerly reached out and pulled it from where it was floating.  The amulet was a mini-puzzle piece with spinning parts.  Gwen bit her lower lip while she solved the pattern by hand.  She was rewarded with the revelation of a green stone inside.  Her eyes went wide.  The space stone shown at the core of the Tesseract looked exactly like this one, but it was described as blue.  This one was green. 

No one had explicitly warned her about mortals touching an infinity stone with their bare hands.  She picked it up like she would any gemstone and inspected it.  She quirked her head to the side.  She wondered if it was a fake but then she was somewhere else.

Chapter Text

HYDRA Bioscience Research Station Six, somewhere in Germany – 1944

               Gwen looked around.  The walls were concrete and had black HYDRA symbols on them.  She heard people speaking in German and had no idea what they were saying then she realized she could get Charlotte out and she could translate real time.  Her bracer formed and she whispered.

               “Charlotte, translate!”

               Her AI started translating real time for Gwen.  The teenager quickly hid behind some curtains when two men and a woman walked in.  They were wearing lab coats.  Their conversation was rather mundane.  They were complaining about the quality of meals lately.  She pulled deeper into her hiding spot and her hands found a gurney where she felt a burning pain in her palm.  She let out an involuntary ouch.  Then stumbled backwards into the curtains when she saw a seven foot tall lizard man who was obviously dead.  His claw had cut her palm.

               Her ouch had drawn the attention of the scientists in the room.  She closed her eyes and swore under her breath.  She thought this might be a vision, but it seemed like… she was actually here physically.  She wished she had a disguise.  Her symbiote obliged from somewhere in her memory and gave her a NAZI-HYDRA Science Division uniform.  She whispered harshly.

               “Charlotte, you do the talking!”

               The scientists open the curtains roughly.  Gwen slipped the Time stone into her pocket casually.  Then looked at the scientists as they started to accuse her of being a spy, she quickly did her best to lip sync Charlotte’s words which were in German.

               “I am Oberleutenant Sinclair.  I am inspecting your failures.”

               She was saved from further interrogation when a man walked in.  He was older and quite severe looking, and his face didn’t look quite right.  Like it was a mask.  He spoke and all the scientists looked at him.

               “The Oberleutenant has a good point.  All you have given me were failures up to this point why am I here now?”

               The oldest male scientist tugged on his collar.

               “Obergruppenfuhrer Shmidt a strange creature was recovered on a battlefield where… our latest Project Ubermensch was killed.  It was inside him and seems to have died shortly after.  It is a black ooze.”

               At this point Gwen became very interested in the conversation.  She prayed to God she was allowed to stay.  She glanced at her palm and was reassured nothing was amiss with her body because Symbie had already healed the minor laceration.  The HYDRA leader motioned at Gwen.

               “Oberleutenant have you reviewed their findings?”

               Gwen was basically in Charlotte’s hands, so she let the AI do the talking.

               “No, sir, I was inspecting the subject for cause of death.  To determine if we could infer what weapon killed him.  My superior officer is concerned that the allies have developed a new weapon system.  I am not a biologist.”

               Gwen was annoyed at Charlotte’s wordiness because she was having trouble keeping up with the lip-syncing.  No one was paying close enough attention to notice apparently.  The Obergruppenfuhrer laughed.

               “Ah is this what we’re reduced to our weapon development specialists having to perform post-mortems?  Still, what do you make of this… dead ooze?”

               Charlotte spoke Gwen lip-synced.

               “It is an alien life form, an opportunistic parasite feeding on the dying of this human war.”

               Gwen’s eyes narrowed when she saw a weasel of a man she recognized from her recording of Gwenom’s rampage in the HYDRA facility.  It was the ASCII AI man before he became a computer program.  He sounded as weaselly as he looked.  It was Arnim Zola.

               “Sir, an American strike team is on its way, the one led by their super-soldier.”

               The HYDRA leader sneered.

               “Again.  What good are secrets if everyone knows them?  Have you completed your review?  Is anything here worth saving?”

               Armin nodded.

               “Yes, Herr Obergruppenfuhrer, this is quite a remarkable specimen with the proper application and control we could produce unstoppable soldiers.  The Oberleutnant is quite right it is an alien entity if we could… manipulate its genetic material and remove its intelligence put it under the control of a pure Aryan…  Like the Uberleutnant here imagine what could be accomplished the subject healed from almost anything.”

               Gwen wasn’t exactly comfortable with this logical path.  The Obergruppnefuhrer saved her with a laugh.

               “A woman.  Ridiculous.”

               Armin adjusted his glasses.

               “Herr Obergruppenfuhrer Schmidt, Elise is one of our most accomplished spies and assassins.  She is a weapons specialist and has a deep knowledge of the occult.  Our only successful test of the serum.  We were desperate.  It had side effects of course but unlike... others it just made her body younger.  It is quite remarkable I have seen the photos before she was in her fifties.  She has successfully recovered more weapon schematics and relics than anyone else.  I respectfully suggest you are wrong.”

               Gwen was extremely curious how Charlotte knew about Elise Sinclair, but she couldn’t exactly ask right now.  Charlotte spoke again.

               “Hail HYDRA.  Anything for the Obergruppenfuhrer, anything for the fatherland.  No sacrifice is too great.”

               Gwen was suddenly worried that Charlotte had developed a glitch that sounded… almost to fanatical for the usually calm and even-toned AI.  The trio of HYDRA officers, in one case fake HYDRA officer heard a male screech.  They all turned to look and the younger male scientist was tugging at his clothes ripping them off as an army of black goo spiders swarmed him and started crawling in his open orifices.  Armin Zola quirked his head to the side after adjusting his glasses.

               “Interesting.”

               The teenager’s reaction was the exact opposite it was an absolute feeling of revulsion and disgust.  She remembered a memory she’d blocked out as she’d clawed at her near indestructible nano suit as black goo spiders made her feel like she was drowning as they engulfed her from the HYDRA tank in the transport truck.  It was horrific to go through and now she was watching someone else go through it.  His reaction was worse though.  He started growing extra spider limbs in real time and collapsed on the ground.  His flesh mutated into a disgusting spider-human hybrid.  Gwen silently wondered if that was her future and then she realized… she had created Symbie, her blood and the lizardman corpse…  Symbie hadn’t infected her, it had just come home to its mother.

               She wanted to turn away.  She wanted to make this stop.  Make the truth go away.  Her curiosity had created her worst enemy.  The Obergruppenfuhrer had other plans.  He grabbed the back of her head and forced her to watch.

               “You said anything for me.  Even that?”

               He shoved her at the twisted and mutated scientist with a strength that matched her own.  The force he was able to muster caught her off balance and she was in no real danger from this so her spider-sense didn’t trigger.  Further proving this was just Symbie being born.  A couple of black goo-spiders crawled onto her and merged with her flesh but nothing else happened.  She felt complete again suddenly.  She had been missing nanites and part of oozie it had just come home.  She stood up and dusted herself off.

               The Obergruppenfuhrer laughed and clapped his hands.  He offered his hand.  She took it because she wasn’t sure what would happen if she didn’t and it appeared he was another super-soldier she wasn’t in the mood to throw down and possibly cause a major paradox.  Once she stood up.  Armin grabbed her hand then her cheeks looking into her eyes.

               “She’s unaffected.  Perhaps the super-soldier serum?  Do you feel any different?”

               Gwen shook her head and Charlotte spoke.

               “No.”

               The woman started to run but The Obergruppenfuhrer grabbed her arm and threw her at the writing scientist.  She screamed.  The ooze did not try to attack her, but the crazed scientist had stuck his new spider limbs in her flesh then stuck her with his mandibles and started to devour her.  The older scientist was fleeing but stopped dead when The Obergruppenfuhrer pulled out a pistol that pulsed with blue energy.

               “Go touch him or die here.”

               Gwen wanted to grab the pistol, web people up, do something but truly she was powerless in this, not because she lacked the ability but because she had no knowledge of what she might change in her future.  Perhaps this older scientist was the one who carried Symbie.  She took a deep breath.  This had already happened eighty years before she was born. 

The scientist touched the chitin-like skin of the mutated man his face twisted with disgust because his female colleague was still screaming as her insides were being disintegrated so they could be sucked out by the man-spider.  Nothing happened at first then a web shot out of the mutated scientist and the older scientist was stuck fast to the gurney.  Charlotte spoke in German.

“You will be unsuccessful in throwing living things at it.  It will just save them for feeding later like a spider would.  It is obviously no longer sentient.  Based on the previous parasite’s behavior, it could be predicted that making its current host no longer viable would necessitate finding a new host, or it dies like its… parent.”

Shmidt nodded then casually shot the mutated scientist in the head.  It exploded along with the chest of his victim.  Her screaming ceased and then the black ooze spiders swarmed towards the older scientist.  Armin watched with cold analytical curiosity, Shmidt with almost sadistic anticipation and Gwen wanted to look away from the next horror show but she was afraid if she did that, she would further damage her cover.  The older scientist screamed and tried to crawl away, but he couldn’t move fast enough and was engulfed.  His reaction was less violent.  No visible mutations, just black eyes as the goo filled his body.

Armin adjusted his glasses and knelt down.

“Herr Doctor Wagner can you hear me?”

The doctor curled in the fetal position and was rocking back and forth.  The alarms started to go off.  Armin ignored them.

“Interesting, rather than violence he seems to have reacted with the opposite.”

Shmidt holstered his pistol.

“We must go, Herr Doctor, bring him with us.  We will investigate and separate later.  Wagner is useful.”

Shmidt picked up the canister holding the dead symbiote and looked at Gwen.

“Cover our escape, arm the self-destruct then evade, you will rendezvous with us at HYDRA base two.  Your insight into this creature will be necessary.”

Gwen nodded, she wasn’t sure what else to do.  She was left alone with the three corpses.  She spoke in whispered English.

“What the hell was that?”

Charlotte responded.

“I do not understand, you told me to do the talking, so I did the talking.  I inferred that you wanted to stay under cover because you were not willing to use English.  I found an officer that matched your general appearance from the SHIELD records we downloaded and emulated her.  Did I behave in an incorrect manner?”

Gwen threw up her hands.

“Incorrect manner?  You had me thinking you drank the kool aid.”

Charlotte spoke with a little urgency to her voice.

“I have a record of a mission completed by Captain Rogers and his team on this facility in September of 1944.  It was destroyed in a self-destruct sequence.  To maintain the timeline and conceal your presence here it would be best you proceeded to do that before the assault team and you cross paths.”

Gwen groaned.

“Is there any record of them running into ‘Elise Sinclair’ here?”

“No, Gwen, only that they encountered heavy resistance and were unable to retrieve any useful intelligence.”

Gwen shoved a gurney in annoyance.

“Remind me to tell Cap to record better mission notes!  How the hell am I supposed to figure out how to arm a self-destruct sequence with this tech?  It is the stuff dinosaurs used!”

               Chalotte spoke again.

               “It would be logical to infer that it mimics the schematics of the typical HYDRA World War Two era self-destruct systems.  Analog based timer attached to a fuse.  They were typically in the command and control room.”

               Gwen looked up at the ceiling.

               “And… like I know where that is here.  Do you have a map?  Something useful to add besides things I already knew?”

               Charlotte responded without missing a beat.

               “Perhaps the facility map that is in front of you in the hallway through the open door?”

               Gwen took a deep breath and walked to the map.

               “Genius I can’t read German, and I can’t make my costume here Spider-Woman shows up in 1944 that won’t screw up the timeline and cause a world ending paradox…noo.”

               Charlotte helpfully added.

               “Perhaps era appropriate glasses formed from Symbie?”

               Gwen glared at the map.  She’d glare at Charlotte, but she was basically a disembodied voice in her head after the merger with her nanosuit and Symbie.  She mouthed smart-ass as the glasses formed.  Charlotte overlaid English under the German on the map. 

She started down the tunnel towards where command and control would be.  HYDRA soldiers were rushing back and forth trying to respond to what seemed to be an overwhelming attack.  She heard the sounds of fighting up ahead.  Unfortunately for her she reached the Command and Control room at the same time as an old friend.

Chapter Text

HYDRA Bioscience Research Station Six, somewhere in Germany – 1944

               There he was, Captain America, Steve Rogers in the Red White and Blue.  He was with someone she only recognized from an old photo Steve had.  She didn’t even know his name.  He was handsome, but in a different way than Steve.  He was speaking as they ran into each other.

               “No self-destruct yet.  We got them this time Steve.  I’ll deal with her.”

               Gwen winced.  She knew this was going to end in a fight.  They needed it in one piece; She needed it gone.  They were at odds. 

Steve put up his arm and held his partner back.

               “Bucky, let’s try to talk this out first, she looks like a kid fresh out of basic, she doesn’t even have a weapon for God’s sake.”

               Bucky frowned.

               “Since when has that mattered for HYDRA?”

               Gwen sighed as Steve addressed her in bad German, she decided it was bad because Charlotte had a delay in the translation. 

               “You’re obviously unarmed and there is no need to fight.  You’re young yet.  I can promise you will not be harmed.”

Gwen rolled her eyes spoke in English, not concealing her native New Yorker accent.

               “Your German is awful.  And Hail HYDRA bucket head.”

               Her very authentic New York accent caused Bucky and Steve to look at each other.  She formed her bracers as Bucky responded to her comment with bullets from his M1911.  She blocked them with ease. 

Cap was frozen as his friend went for the kill on an unarmed girl who then proceeded to block and dodge every single one of his bullets with inhuman speed.  Bucky lunged at her, and she stepped aside grabbed his flak jacket and threw him into a wall.  He fell to the ground unconscious.  She made a motion at Cap indicating she was ready for him.  He looked at this blonde-pink-tipped haired girl.

“You obviously have some skills, but I’d rather not hit a kid, especially a girl so listen to reason.”

Gwen gave an exasperated sigh.

“I am being reasonable here.  I don’t want to hurt you or your friend, but I have to blow this place up so either you pick him up and get your team out of here or I go through you.  So do I go all Nazi Youth on your leather-clad butt or are we going to do this the easy way?”

She groaned when he adjusted his shield like he usually did before he made his move.  He didn’t go for his pistol.  She shook her head.

“You can get your gun out, really I’d appreciate it, cause like… never mind, you wouldn’t understand… fine let’s get it over with, I always wondered who’d win in a fight between us.”

Steve lunged at her shield first; An attack she’d seen a dozen times while they trained together.  She was familiar with his fighting style and her spider sense made her seem exceptionally agile.  This wasn’t going to go well for past-Steve.  Future Steve had learned how to fight her off in their training this one… not so much.

Gwen avoided his attack easily as if she knew it was coming. She knew his next attack would be a punch.  He was trying to get her off balance like he always did with a flurry of strikes.  Both with his fist and the edge of his shield.  The fact he was still hesitating to hit her wasn’t helping him at all.  She evaded each of his blows with little effort, she lured him into a wall strike and his shield penetrated the concrete and got stuck.  She slipped under his arm and tapped him on the shoulder.   To reinforce how outmatched he was right now she wrapped her hands under his chin, undid the strap to his helmet and threw it aside while he was still trying to get his shield free.

“The Indigenous people of North America call that counting coup.  That’s their way of saying you’re out of your depth, back off…. So, are we done yet?”

Steve ripped his vibranium shield out of the wall angrily, he was about to say something, but Gwen held up her hand.

“Wait, wait, I know, I can do this all day too…”

Steve hiked his shield up again and set for another attack.

“Who are you?  Why do you sound American?”

Gwen rolled her eyes and prepared for his next attack.  She wished should just web him and get on with it but that wouldn’t be in Elise’s wheelhouse, and she fully intended for Cap and Bucky to survive this encounter.

“Yeah, I grew up in Queens… yesh are you slow.  And I’m just a newer, younger, much prettier version of you I’m like Cap 2.0… with more style… attitude and followers on social media, oh and way more pink in her costume...  Yours is amazing by the way… but in that old dusty relic sort of way.  Oh, and I actually get paid for this stuff… so do you give up yet?”

Steve was glaring at her with anger and disappointment.  Gwen hated being on the receiving end of that look from him.

“Why would you betray your country?  Why would you join the Nazis and HYDRA?”

Gwen evaded a lunge again this time she flipped off of the wall and did a roll and kicked him in the butt, slamming him into the wall.  She was embarrassed on his behalf as she landed with the grace of a professional ballet dancer, she answered him.

“All good questions, Cap, but I don’t have any answers except maybe… uh… like I’m with the good guys and I might be here trying to stop something horrific from escaping when you give it to those evil people in the government?”

Steve was past listening at this point, she was a viper in the midst of the good old US of A.  A blemish on the red, white and blue.

“Nazi lies.”

This time his attacks were furious he struck out at her; Even with her agility and spider-sense he managed to connect a full strength punch on chin, sending her flying into a cement wall causing it to crack.  Symbie did it’s best to save her severe injury by forming enough of her nano-symbiote costume to protect her.  She shook off the hit after she landed on her butt.  He pointed at her.

“Stay down or I’ll make sure you stay down.”

Gwen rubbed the back of her head gingerly as she stood up.

“No, you’d lose all respect for me then.  Nice punch though.”

She rubbed her jaw, Steve still hadn’t realized through all of this his opponent hadn’t really attacked him with anything close to lethal force.  They had all been taps or gentle nudges.  She heard his team on the radio telling him that Armin and Shmidt had gotten away, that they were on their way to him.  She sighed; She’d have to actually try now. 

Gwen wanted to force his hand; She made a lunge for the control room.  Steve realized he was out of reach and launched his shield at her.  Instead of going for the control room though Gwen reached up and blocked it with her bracer.  The shield lost all of its kinetic energy and just fell towards the ground.  Gwen grabbed it up before it could make contact with the ground and with the expertise future-Cap had taught her, launched it at its owner with all of her strength.  She hoped it would knock the wind out of him.

Steve was completely shocked he’d never seen his shield fail before and it was a spectacular failure at that. It was like his opponent didn’t even feel the hit then when she threw it at him it was like he was watching himself in action.  It was perfect, practiced and precise like she’d done it a hundred times before.  Before he knew what hit him it collided with his hand and chest sending him flying into a wall.  Without his helmet, or the benefit of a symbiote to protect him he was knocked unconscious.  Gwen rushed over to check his pulse.  She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw he was alive.

“Sorry Cap, you’re probably going to wonder if HYDRA cloned you… and I’m not so sure how much of me is you at this point… if that spider DNA merged with mine, how much of you was in that serum it was super dosed with… and how much of me… is still me.  And at least now I know why your report was sketchy… getting your ass kicked by a fifteen year old girl probably doesn’t play well in 1944 army reports…”

Charlotte spoke.

“Based on the radio communications I am picking up, the team is on the way.  You need to get the self-destruct going.”

Gwen sighed and stood up and she rushed into the command and control room it was what she would consider a nightmare.  It was all kinds of tech but none of it was immediately recognizable.  At least with the ancient Stark inventions she had Howard’s notes… this was the deep end…  no middle of the ocean over the Mariana trench and she was sinking fast.

“Think Gwen!  Think!”

She looked around and turned her head to the side to align with the writing on the spine of a thick bound manual with a HYDRA symbol on it and it said: Handbuch zum Steuerungssystem.  Gwen scratched her head, and Charlotte helpfully translated it as control system manual.  The teenager blinked at it.

“Did people actually read these?  You know super-speed reading would sure be a handy power right now.”

She pulled it out and slammed it on the desk dust flew off it and she sneezed and quickly started leafing through it.

“Wait there has to be an index in this and this looks like gibberish not even German gibberish… just plain nonsense with pictures.”

Charlotte overlaid the translation and decryption for Gwen who made an O with her mouth.

“Oh…”

Charlotte spoke.

“Simple German encryption.  I will decrypt and translate it for you real time.  Perhaps check the back of the book for the index it is common or reference material.”

Gwen rolled her eyes and she slammed the book open to the last few pages she spoke as she scanned.

“Wow, you know I’m in grade ten, right?  I have done research projects before that did not involve the internet.  You’re such a… who programmed you to be so condescending?”

Charlotte responded and while it wasn’t meant as a slight it seemed like a lot of shade from a pretty neutral toned computer.

“I learned all my behaviors from observing you, Gwen.”

               Gwen absolutely hated when Charlotte was technically correct which was all the time with the AI.  She finally stabbed her finger at the page.

               “Ah ha!  Take that ancient technology.  Gwen: 1, HYDRA manual: 0.”

               Charlotte spoke.

               “Team Gwen:1, HYDRA manual:0 would be a more correct statement.”

               Gwen turned the manual every which way then gave up after glancing around and webbed it to the glass that overlooked the rocket manufacturing floor.  It was open to the diagram she needed.  She dusted her hands off and squinted as she traced the control diagram to find the right buttons, dials and levers.

               “Much better and how did people work like this?  This could be one button… ugg life before computers.”

               Gwen flipped six switched turned three dials and pressed a lever all the way up.  There was a small chain that prevented it from slamming all the way up but she snapped it easily.  She breathed a sigh of relief as the countdown started.  She pointed at the console.

               “So… Charlotte… like… if I smash this up it will still keep going right?”

               “Yes Gwen, you are correct.”

               Gwen shrugged and started punching the console.  The timer was still steadily counting down.  She went out to the corridor.  She looked at the flashing red lights and how far she was from the exit on the map.

               “Charlotte, can you use the recordings of Cap’s voice to generate a deepfake over the radio telling his team to get out and he and Bucky will meet them?”

               Charlotte showed the text as she radioed the Howling Commandos with the message.  Gwen sighed and looked at Bucky and Cap.

               “I’m short they’re tall.  How am I supposed to carry both of these guys?”

               Gwen sighed and threw Bucky over her shoulders, strapped Cap’s shield to her arm and grabbed both of Steve’s hands.

               “Sorry Cap I sure hope you heal as fast as me because this is going to be bumpy.”

               She started running down the hall dragging Cap behind her.  This was the deadweight of two men.  She was strong but this was awkward as hell.  She got them to the woods surrounding the underground base and leaned on a tree and watched as the base exploded. Causing a crater to form.  She saw the Howling Commando’s vehicles.   She slammed Cap’s shield into the ground beside him and tapped her chin.  There was an APC and two motorcycles.  One had a hookup for his shield at the front.  She patted his head and hopped on Cap’s motorcycle.

               She found a pair of saddlebags on the motorcycle and inside was a map and she laughed.

               “Well, they know where the base is too. At least so do I.  Uh… so motorcycle riding… it can’t be that hard right?  I don’t suppose we have GPS or anything like that?”

               Charlotte as always took Gwen’s words a little too literally.

               “No, GPS was not available until rocket technology was far more advanced.”

               Gwen hung her head.

               “I was being rhetorical.  Can you tell from this map where we need to head?”

               Charlotte spoke.

               “Yes, head east then turn north up the main road.”

               Gwen looked around herself.

               “And… east is?  North is?  Come on Charlotte I’m used to a world where I have a real time map for everything you think I know how to navigate?”

               Gwen fiddled with the motorcycle trying to figure out how to start it after Charlotte gave her a direction indicator on the Symbie formed glasses.  The teenager finally got it into gear and moving forward.  If she weren’t a highly agile super-soldier-spider-person hybrid this probably would have been a much more painful and road rash filled experience.  Thankfully her sense of balance was impeccable.

*****

Outskirts of Remains of HYDRA Bioscience Research Station Six (Bucky/Steve/Howling Commandos)

               Steve woke up first and rubbed the back of his head.  He looked at his shield, which was buried so deep into the dirt beside him the grip was barely above the surface.  He moved over and checked Bucky.  Who was bruised but breathing.  He opened his radio.

               “Come in, anyone there?”

               His team came back one at a time over the radio with Dum Dum following up with.

               “We’re all here Cap.  Thanks for your warning about the self-destruct.  We was worried about you and Bucky gettin’ out of there.  Sure, glad you’re all in one piece.  We’re heading back to the rally point.”

               Steve rubbed his head and noticed his helmet was missing, then he remembered the HYDRA officer who laid Bucky and him flat he was trying to remember giving a warning.

               “When?  What warning?”     

               Dum Dum laughed.

               “Did you two get stuck in the explosion, you alright Cap?  Don’t you remember? You told us the self-destruct was armed then a few minutes later when we was on our way out all hell broke loose red lights flashing everywhere.  You said… ‘Self-destruct active, heavy resistance meet at rally point alpha.  Sounded like you was in a fight and didn’t have time for a full on conversation.”

               Steve slid his radio into his belt.  He shook his head still trying to clear it.  What it was telling him made no sense.  The American-Nazi was faster than him, just as strong as him and could use his shield like him.  Her movements were so familiar.  He was struggling in and out of consciousness the whole time.  He swore he heard her say I’m not sure how much of me is you now. He remembered seeing her dragging him and carrying Bucky.  She was running.  Why did she save them?  Why did she apologize… like she knew him?  It was like she knew how it was all going end before it started… it made no sense.  Was she his future daughter?  They shared blonde hair and blue eyes.  Was she a clone?  What had HYDRA done?

               He quickly checked himself over beside the bruises and a concussion he seemed to be unharmed.  No injection marks, no bleeding wounds.  He looked around himself and sighed when he realized she’d taken his custom motorcycle.  He picked up a pinecone and threw it into the dirt road.

               “I loved that bike.”

               Bucky shifted and sat up.  He rubbed his arm gingerly.

               “What the hell hit me?”

               Steve sighed.

               “She was five feet tall, blonde and pink haired, hit like a truck and she stole my bike…”

Chapter Text

Road up the Austrian Alps

               Gwen’s black HYDRA uniform served her well as she made her way through the German lines.  She just looked like a short man.  No one stopped her or looked too closely.  She used Cap’s rations to keep herself fed and hydrated.  She had to cover two hundred kilometers.  As she reached the last part of her impromptu road trip she decided to start asking Charlotte questions.

               “Tell me everything we know about Elise Sinclair.”

               Charlotte spoke.

               “Elise Vera-Lynn Van Braum, Born Feb 25, 1893, German-American.  Married to German-American Robert Fredrick Sinclair, on October 31, 1912.  One child born 1926, Vera-Lynn Sinclair.  The family moved to Nazi Germany when Adolf Hitler made the call for all Aryan born Germans to return to the Fatherland.  Robert Fredick Sinclair was killed on the Eastern Front, December 24, 1941.  Vera-Lynn Sinclair died on or around May 1942, casualty of allied bombing.  Elise Sinclair signed up for Project Ubermensch in October 1942.  Code name – Viper.  She was responsible for the failure of many allied missions.  All reports indicate she is a true believer.  Due to her reaction to the super-soldier serum, she became younger but developed ovarian cancer.  She had her ovaries removed and continued working with HYDRA.  Current disposition unknown.  She vanished when the Third Reich fell in 1945.  Due to concerns around further cancerous growths, she was kept in cryostasis and was likely discovered by the Soviets as they captured the base she was held in.  SHIELD/HYDRA is unaware of her current location.  If she remained in cryostasis, or if she survived any further cancer she would likely still be alive in twenty-twenty-three as observations from surviving digitized HYDRA files indicate she was not aging at a normal rate.”

               Gwen was trying not to fall asleep while Charlotte droned on and on.

               “Wow that was… a lot.  So basically, her husband and daughter died, she drank the HYDRA kool-aid and boom, American with a vendetta against the allies.  Well at least if I speak in English, it won’t be odd.  Well, if we’re lucky and I hope we are… maybe they’ll figure out how to separate Wagner without killing him so I can do the same with Symbie.”

               Charlotte responded.

               “Yes, and yes.  You are correct on both counts.  We are approaching our destination.  Will I still be doing the talking?”

               Gwen sighed.

               “Until we see Armin or that creepy ob..whatever.”

               “Obergruppenführer is the correct pronunciation of his title, Gwen.”

               Gwen made a face as she pulled up to the gate.  The soldiers at the gate were just normal German rank and file.   She left the motorcycle there.  She figured Cap might find it, she hoped he would the Howling Commandos knew about this base.  It was chilly as her trip had taken her into the Austrian Alps.  Even with the map it had been Charlotte who had tracked it down based on old records the pair had downloaded from SHIELD in the future.

               She made her way inside and ran into no resistance right up until she ran into another HYDRA officer, an actual real one.  He looked her up and down with a sneer.

               “Who are you supposed to be?”

               Charlotte responded in German sounding just as condescending, mirroring his tone.

               “I am here under the orders of the, Obergruppenführer instead of getting in my way you should be telling him I have arrived.”

               He sent a low ranking NCO off.  When the NCO returned the officer who stopped her looked like he’d just swallowed a bug he motioned her through and pointed to the NCO.

               “Take her to see the Obergruppenführer immediately.”

               Gwen followed the NCO who didn’t spare her any glances, almost as if her very existence was a threat to his life.  She just went with it.  She was just pretending to be a snotty high ranking Sith Dark Lord from that Star Wars video game she used to play with Peter.  It seemed to be working so far.  She arrived at an office and the NCO opened the door.  Gwen heard the Obergruppenführer addressing someone, she recognized his voice immediately though Charlotte still had to translate for her.

               “Of course, Fuhrer, of course.  Your weapons will be ready for the counteroffensive.”

               He had his chair facing away from the door.  The NCO hurriedly closed the door leaving Gwen and the creepy super-soldier alone together.  He hung up and was shaking his head.  The teenager was forced to keep her face a mask of calm as she saw what had become of the man in front of her.  His face was a red skull.  He smiled and it sent a chill down Gwen’s spine.

               “The serum was not so kind to me as it was you, Frau Sinclair. Come help me put my face on.”

               Gwen tried to avoid making a face as she helped him put his mask on.  He looked at himself in a mirror with a disgusted sneer.

               “I need to appear normal lest the Fuhrer question my worthiness to lead.  His time is limited so I will only need to keep the illusion a little longer.  Does my appearance disgust you?”

               Gwen nodded.

               “Sorry, Obergruppenführer, I’m sure you’d like an honest answer and yes it is very disturbing.”

               He laughed.

               “Hah.  Faur Sinclair you are blunt woman, and I appreciate it.  Tell me something, why is it you aren’t giving birth to Aryan super soldiers instead of assassinating high ranking Allied officers and ruining their missions?”

               Gwen recalled Elise’s medical history.

               “My body reacted like yours did, but on the inside.”

               He adjusted his mask one last time.

               “Well, that is truly sad, what magnificent soldiers you could gift HYDRA… at least you are still serving how you can.  Tell me, how did the mission I give you go?”

               Gwen spoke calmly in English again; The Red Skull hadn’t seemed to care and just kept talking away in German.  Gwen assumed he’d read her file, or at least Elise’s.  She had to remember she wasn’t a fifteen year old girl or wasn’t supposed to be she was supposed to pretend to be a fifty year old woman in a fifteen year old body.

               “I kept their Captain America and his team busy while you evacuated. Once I confirmed you were safe. I activated the self-destruct and made my escape.”

               He smiled.

               “And this super-solider, did you eliminate him?”

               Gwen shook her head.

               “No, Obergruppenführer, I prioritized the mission.  I did not wait to verify if he died in the self-destruct.”

               He rubbed his chin.

               “Ah well, how did you do against him?”

               Gwen answered honestly.

               “He didn’t give me any trouble.  If I hadn’t been so pressed for time I would have been able to kill him, but his commando team was getting close, and I can’t dodge bullets.”

               The Red Skull laughed.

               “It must have been so embarrassing him to be beaten by a woman…you may call me Johan; May I call you Elise?  We are both adults here.  Experienced soldiers.”

               “As you wish, Johan.”

               He tapped his fingers before speaking to her again as if pondering his next words carefully.

               “What was your next assignment?  Where is your handler?”

               Gwen started making stuff up at this point.

               “My handler leaked the location of the base we were on, told me to get the intel he wanted then get ‘rescued’ by the Americans.  HYDRA had done such horrible things to me I just wanted to go home… my parents were dead and I’m an American girl.  I was to infiltrate the US and start eliminating targets deemed a threat to HYDRA interests.  Unfortunately, after I encountered their Captain America that cover is gone.  I executed my handler for his stupidity in releasing a HYDRA base’s location.  We could have sacrificed a secret Nazi facility instead.”

               Gwen was barely holding it together.  She was channeling every mean, evil spy she’d seen in multimedia, pretending she was dealing with Obadiah, Matt Murdock and evil Loki all at once.  The thing that kept her going was the thought of how hilarious Loki would find all this if he were alive, he’d love to be pulling this off and he’d love that she was pulling it off.  This was his kind of game, high stakes and the ultimate prank.

               Johan laughed loudly.

               “Ah, excellent.  We have lost too many bases to those Americans already.”

               Gwen threw the map she used on the table.

               “Johan, they know this base exists.  I tried warning HYDRA command but… they ignored me because I am a woman.  I am but it doesn’t make the truth any less true.”

               He looked at the map and stood up.  He swore and leaned on his desk looking out a window to a plane that was still under construction below.

               “It is good you brought this to me.  I see what Armin spoke of.  I see why the Allies underestimate you.  Answer me one question… Why the pink hair?”

               Gwen thought fast.

               “My daughter kept hers this way, it was an effective cover… if they’d done research.”

               He laughed and it grew into an almost maniacal laughter.

               “It is the irony of life that I have found the perfect woman, and she is barren.  At least you make a good spy and soldier.  I should have the man who experimented on you executed for ruining you.”

               Gwen responded.

               “I’ve already killed him when I found out what happened to me.”

               “Of course you did, Elise.  You are a woman of exquisite action.  Tell me, something else, after all you have suffered for the cause, why are you still here?  Skills like yours you could have vanished… never to be seen or heard from again.”

               Gwen tried to channel her own anger at her Uncle Ben’s senseless death into her statement, she wasn’t sure how else to sell an angry mother and wife, she had no basis for comparison.

               “I have nothing left except for HYDRA.  The Allies and their flawed serum have taken all of it from me.”

               He closed his fist and looked out at his Valkyrie bomber.  He motioned to it.

               “This will end the war if the Fuhrer doesn’t cause Germany to implode first.  I will bomb their east coast then move inwards.”

               Gwen saw a strange familiar blue glow below… she’d seen it before and not just in the Red Skull’s pistol.  It was the same glow as the tesseract.  She blinked a few times.  It was here, right now.  She suddenly felt his hands on her cheeks as he forced her to look up into his eyes.  He was stronger than her and Symbie and that was saying something.  What his serum had lacked in subtlety had made up for it in raw power.

               “What is it you want Elise Sinclair?”

               Gwen was stuck.  She answered with the truth.

               “A cure for what HYDRA did to me.”

               He released her.

               “There is no cure, Elise.”

               Gwen held the sides of her head, and she started to experience flashes.  The Time stone was stabbing her brain with an image of her entering the portal to Asgard, picking up the tesseract and then facing the Red Skull on a windswept cliff a place between life and death.   She collapsed.  He offered his hand.  She shied away from it.  It was close personal contact that seemed to have caused the vision, and the pain was more intense than anything she’d ever felt.  Every nerve in her body had burned with it.

               She quickly grabbed the desk and pulled herself up.  The Red Skull offered her a handkerchief.  She took it and held it to her nose that was bleeding.  He spoke.

               “I see the serum has had other effects.  For me the pain is constant.  It burns my skin.”

               Armin rushed in.

               “Herr Shmidt!  The artifact it is… behaving strangely.”

               Gwen leaned on the Red Skull’s desk trying to recover.  He looked back as he prepared to follow Armin.

               “Come, your insight may prove useful.  Unless you are too weak.”

               She pushed herself up and as much as she wanted to pretend to be strong and invincible the temporal flashback… flashforward? Had drained her of her energy and she had already been exhausted.  She had to use the wall to keep herself moving forward.  The trio arrived at a sealed room.  Armin motioned to thick glass window.  There were piles of glowing blue dust-slime on the ground.

               “The energy output has increased…exponentially we may not be able to contain it.”

               Gwen was still holding the handkerchief to her nose.  In her haze of pain, she recalled her conversation with Loki about the infinity stones.  What had he said about them?  They remember each other…  what… was it.  So much had happened since and yet everything was now depending on her remember why… Chaos always followed when more than one stone was in the same location… was it chaos?  Charlotte spoke.

               “Gwen I am detecting an energy build up in the Time stone and the Tesseract.  Do you recall the conversation with Loki Odinson about the infinity stones?”

               The teenager was having trouble thinking she was still trying to feel comfortable in her body with the splitting headache.  She couldn’t exactly answer Charlotte as much as she wanted to swear at the AI for not just saying it… then in her moment of distraction she remembered Loki telling her that for everyone’s best interest the infinity stones should never be in the same place at the same time.

               Charlotte spoke again.

               “I am detecting a resonance between the infinity stones.  While the energy readings have far exceeded my ability to scan their entirety perhaps picking up the Tesseract will allow the two to equalize for a time until you can leave the facility.”

               Gwen couldn’t hold it in.

               “You want me to what?!?!  No that is the exact opposite thing that Loki told me to do!”

               Armin and The Red Skull both looked at her.  She ignored them.  She watched the Tesseract pulses increasing and the arcs of energy lashing out.  She could feel the Time stone doing the same thing.  She had no better ideas and this was just… dumb enough it might work.  She sighed and started opening the armored door to the lab.  Armin grabbed her arm, and The Red Skull pulled him back.

               “No, let her.  She knows more then she lets on.”

               Armin was looking more than a little terrified.

               “The energy… it could vaporize the base…”

               The Red Skull smiled.

               “Yet Elise walks towards it instead of away from it.  We need more like her.”

               Gwen walked inside and slammed the armored door shut behind her.  She weaved between the arcs of energy as her spider sense triggered her agility.  Finally, she was within reach of the wildly pulsing Tesseract.

               “I swear to God Charlotte, if this thing disintegrates us, I’m coming back to haunt your ghost.”

               She closed her eyes and reached out with her left hand while her right hand reached into her pocket and wrapped around the Time stone.  She screamed in agony and dropped to her knees much like someone who had touched a live wire she couldn’t release either of the infinity stones.  Her body became a conduit between the two stones and the energy burned through her.  Gwen’s skin was starting to glow but the same dark energy that had scattered versions of her across the multiverse contained the power coursing through her.  The power between the two stones seemed to balance each other out.

               She couldn’t have figured out how much time had passed while she held onto both stones.  She just felt hollowed out and used.  She collapsed to her knees then fell over.  This left her in the unfortunate position of being at the mercy of her enemies because she was spent.  She survived the infinity stones, but she was much worse for the wear.  As she wavered at the edge of consciousness, she felt something even more disturbing.  Gwen felt like she’d just been hit by another particle accelerator and this time it was a cosmic one.  She did not feel right, her body didn’t feel like her own anymore.  The world went black.

Chapter Text

HYDRA - Valkyrie Base – Austrian Alps

               Armin Zola adjusted his glasses as he looked over Gwen’s unconscious form.  He was eager to see what made this woman tick.  She could hold the Tesseract when every other single human who had encountered it physically had turned into a blue dust.  Was it the super-soldier serum, or something entirely different?  It had been quite some time since he had performed a live autopsy.

               Fortunately, or unfortunately for Armin depending on who you’d asked, the Red Skull interrupted him before he could get started.   Which narrowly prevented the scientist from finding out what happens when you poke Symbie with sharp objects.

               “What are you doing, Zola?”

               Armin looked up at the Red Skull.

               “I am trying to find out what makes her so special.”

               The Red Skull grabbed a scalpel and pressed it against Armin’s neck.

               “I assure you; You are far more expendable than this woman.  She is the first human who touched the artifact and lived.  I would very much like the future of HYDRA power to be alive.  Instead of dissecting her, figure out how to fix her.  You have the symbiote, you have the lizard formula you can regenerate her organs can you not?  Do you not see the offspring she can produce?  Raised by HYDRA, for HYDRA the perfect soldiers, the perfect, dedicated and indoctrinated from birth soldiers?”

Armin who was willing to dice the woman up with little to no hesitation found himself disturbed by what he was being asked to do.   He adjusted his glasses and shifted uncomfortably.

“I will begin testing immediately on her blood.”

The Red Skull shook his head.

               “No, freeze her, her medical file shows cancerous growths are a side effect of her exposure to the serum.  We cannot risk her succumbing.  Find a cure for her cancer, use the lizard formula to regrow her reproductive organs.  Transport her to Biolab Nine.  This base may be compromised.  I did not see Biolab Nine on the American list of targets.  The Valkyrie program will mean our victory; Elise Sinclair will be our future.  An indestructible HYDRA which we will use to overthrow the Fuhrer and take our rightful place at the top of the Third Reich.”

*****

Sometime Later – Biolab Nine – Weisshaupt Keep

               Peggy Carter rubbed her hand over the frosted glass window that hid the only resident of the vault beneath Weisshaupt Keep.  As she cleared the opaque layer she saw a teenage girl with short blonde hair with pink tips.  Peggy chuckled.

               “Ah, Steve’s motorcycle thief.”

               Howard leaned over to look at Gwen’s frozen form.

               “Remember when I told you this was crazy, and you said, we’ll be fine?”

               Peggy looked up at Howard.

               “Yes, and we’re fine.”

               Howard grinned.

               “Yeah, no, we’re not.  The distraction didn’t exactly go to plan.  We’ll need to modify our plan to get this hardcore HYDRA fanatic out of here.  We could always just leave her here.  You know, because she is a HYDRA fanatic?  Instead of risking our own necks.”

               Peggy looked Gwen over.

               “Hard to believe this is the woman who has assassinated more allied commanders then have been killed in action.  She looks so innocent, young even.  So why, did she save Steve, Bucky and the Howling Commandos I wonder?”

               Howard leaned over the cyro-sarcophagus.

               “Wonder faster, we have no back up and we still need to make it back to the plane, you know the one that’s half a mile away, on the landing strip that is barely a landing strip.”

               Peggy smiled as she got an idea.

               “Well, I think we should wake her up.”

               Howard choked on his own saliva.

               “No, that was not part of the plan.  That is a terrible plan!”

               Peggy shrugged.

               “Well, you did say the plan had to change.”

               Howard ran his hands through his hair.

               “Well not if it’s to the dumbest plan of 1945.  Those are HYDRA elite troops coming for us and you want to wake up their super-soldier-assassin that our super-soldier said was a newer, faster, stronger version of him?”

               He motioned to the frozen Gwen.

               “Who knows what cryo-sleep does to a person?  She could be dead weight.”

               Peggy leaned over the cryopod.

               “Yes, but it will be a dead weight human as opposed to a steel cylinder that weighs six hundred pounds.”

               Howard backed away and motioned to the pod.

               “Yes, but it has wheels, and it won’t try to kill us unless we drop it down the stairs.”

               Peggy batted her eyelashes.

               “Howard, dear, won’t you do it for me?”

               Howard sighed heavily.

               “If she tries to claw my eyes out you will shoot her… right?”

               Peggy stepped back.

               “I’ll consider it.”

               She drew her pistol and leaned on the wall beside the door to HYDRA cold storage.  Howard was starting to flip switches and turn dials on the cryopod then his head popped up over top of it.

               “Wait shouldn’t you be waiting over here in case she wakes up rabid?  I don’t want her biting me…”

               Peggy moved her head from side to side as if pondering his request.

               “No, I’d very much like to see you screaming like a little girl and running away… that and those HYDRA elite troopers you were whining about, they’re here so I think I’d rather shoot them before they get in here…  I suppose if you’d rather have me over there…”

               Howard grumbled as he worked.

               “You always have an excuse.”

               Peggy didn’t respond as she glanced around the corner and fired off a shot.  The cry of pain indicated she took one down.  There was a lot of shouting in German.  Peggy looked back at Howard.

               “Howard, dear, could you hurry things along now, like a good chap?”

               Howard swore under his breath as the German rifles started firing at Peggy.  A few bullets ricochetted into the room.

               “Peggy!  Do some of that soldier shit.”

               Peggy waited for the right time and fired off another round.  There was one less rifle firing in her direction once the HYDRA troops had finished reloading.  They unleased another volley of rifle fire.  A bullet ricocheted off the floor and Peggy exclaimed.

               “To bloody hell with these metal floors.”

               Howard looked up as the elements inside the cryopod flared to life.

               “Peggy, you’re hit.”

               Peggy took another shot and swore as she missed then she pulled back against the wall.

               “I bloody well know that Howard, but the Germans didn’t until you shouted it out.  How American of you.”

               The cryopod hissed violently and the shell burst open.

               “She’s waking up Peggy.”

               Gwen gasped for air and looked around.  She was freezing and there was gunfire.  Which was all very confusing because the last thing she remembered was holding two infinity stones at the same time against all sense of reason.  She coughed violently and fell to the floor.  The problem was she couldn’t see a damn thing.  She was blind well, mostly blind.  There was dark and there were flashes of bright light which she assumed were the guns.

               She felt around and ended up feeling up a guy by accident he didn’t seem too happy about her invasion of his personal space she muttered an apology.

               “Sorry… sorry uh.. really sorry there… um whomever you are… are the allies attacking?”

               Peggy responded.

               “You could say that Howard be a dear and explain the situation before we all die terribly?”

               Howard readjusted Gwen’s hands, so they were no longer touching him inappropriately.

               “We are…uh… here to rescue you but hey we’re willing to surrender if you can get us out of this alive.  Just tell your friends out there to stop shooting at us because they’re also shooting at you, you’re important right?”

               Gwen laughed and tried accessing Charlotte.  If she couldn’t see at least the AI could for her she tapped her bracer.  Because of her blindness she didn’t see Howard watch it form or the look on his face when he realized she was wearing something he was just putting together back in London, only these were far more advanced they had a built in screen on the bottom.  Something that could not exist, should not exist; Yet here he was looking at a flat LCD screen that seemed to form from microscopic things along with the bracer that was sitting unfinished on his workbench.

               Gwen spoke.

               “Charlotte… wake up Charlotte… I need you.”

               Gwen listened for a response.

               “……..”

               There was nothing.  She realized now it was time to panic.  Had she caused irreparable harm to her AI?  Killed her?  What about the rest of her tech?  What had the infinity stones done?  She laughed nervously.

               “Uh sure… I’ll tell them in my uh… fluent German which I am of course fluent in because I’m a dedicated HYDRA agent… ah who am I kidding.  Yeah, I’m blind and my friend isn’t answering so… how bad is it?”

               Howard glanced over the cryopod.

               “Well, Peggy just used her last clip, and she doesn’t let me carry a gun.  So, on a scale of 1 to 10, negative six.  Only one of us is injured.”

               Gwen sighed.

               “So… like what year is it?”

               “It is a week after New Years, 1945.”

               Gwen groaned.  She would have to do something, what she had no idea, but she had to make sure Howard and Peggy got out of here alive because, based on Tony being born and Cap telling her about Peggy, both of these people survived the war.  Then she swore under her breath because she knew from her research into her Bracers that Howard had not completed them until after the war.  She bit her lower lip.

               “So… like… could you just forget you saw my bracer?  Or… well… you know?”

               Howard shrugged.

               “I can try but it’s my bracer, how old are you really?”

               Gwen showed him ten fingers then another five, he waited for more and then he laughed.

               “You’re fifteen years old?  We’re screwed.”

               He called out.

               “Peggy, we’re screwed!”

               Gwen rolled her eyes.

               “Yesh, I’m still a super-soldier.  Just… things might get weird and I’m going to have to ask you to not panic… because it’s going to get really weird.  Horror movie… wait… that might not… there will be tentacles and maybe teeth…”

               She closed her eyes and thought: Symbie get us out of this but don’t kill anyone… pretty please... pretty, pretty, pretty, please?  She felt the black ooze spiders reform and engulf her.  She was basically letting the symbiote who apparently could still see perfectly fine take the wheel.  She wondered if this was what the bumper stickers that stated: ‘Jesus take the Wheel’ had envisioned. 

               She felt the bullets impacting the symbiote and bruising her.  That was the trade off, Symbie didn’t have any of her real agility or spider sense and even that was acting all glitchy like she’d blinded it too.  Given it some sort of temporal hangover.  She could feel Symbie moving and her limbs tossing someone or something around.  Her only real clue to what was going on visually was a scream of terror from a German soldier whose words Gwen could not understand and one final exclamation from Howard as he stated.

               “That’s not right.”

               Gwen felt Symbie ooze back into her and she didn’t hear any further gunfire.  She bit her lower lip she honestly didn’t want to know the answer, but she asked anyway but her voice sounded small, and pathetic.

               “I… didn’t kill anyone right?”

               Peggy responded.

               “No, and more’s the pity.”

               Howard took Gwen’s forearm.

               “Come on, this way kid.  Ignore Peggy she believees the only good Nazi is a dead Nazi. That and she gets cranky when she gets shot.”

               Peggy gave a snappy response.

               “I was not shot, I was grazed.”

               Howard spoke as he led Gwen down the hallway.

               “Potato… Potahto”

               Peggy checked the ammo in the Luger she’d scavenged from one of the HYDRA soldiers.

               “I’m not even bleeding anymore.  Honestly Howard you’d think I’d never been shot before.”

               Howard looked at Gwen.

               “Kid, you might have a condition…”

               Gwen laughed.

               “Yeah, condition.  You could say that.”

               The trio travelled on.  Thankfully they didn’t run into anyone else that wanted to shoot them.  Gwen was at least seeing people colored blurs, green colored blurs and silver colored blurs by the time they reached the plane.  Gwen sat down where Howard put her and she could hear Peggy and Howard talking.  She silently wondered if the two were dating.

               Howard was kneeling beside Peggy and looking at the graze she winced when he rubbed it with a wound cleansing agent.  She slapped him across the shoulder.

               “Ouch you’re like a bloody gorilla with a gauze pad.”

               Howard tied off the bandage.

               “Maybe next time don’t get shot and this gorilla won’t have to clean your wound.  How’s that for gratitude?”

               Peggy shoved Howard towards the cockpit.

               “Fly us out of here before they find the plane, gorilla.”

               Howard hit his chest a few times as he backpedaled towards the cockpit.

Chapter Text

Transit – Romania to England

               Peggy was asleep leaving Howard and Gwen alone.  The flight wasn’t short and about an hour into it, Gwen was able to mostly see.  Her peripheral vision was still blurry and that was causing her some disorientation, but she could make her way to the cockpit.  She assumed the Time stone was now in the possession of HYDRA and that was very bad.  She was also sure she was in no condition to try and track it down, but she had other problems to sort out… one being Howard Stark had seen his own future tech and that was another major screw up.

               Gwen sat down beside him.

               “I’m surprised you didn’t chain me to my chair… I am a HYDRA super-assassin…”

               Howard chuckled.

               “And I am General Patton.  So, are you using my time travel tech or something?”

               Gwen rubbed the back of her neck.

               “Umm… I can’t really tell you about anything because like… paradoxes and angry … bald women who look like my nan who can knock me out of my body who told me not to touch something that… I umm touched.”

               He laughed.

               “Oh lord, you sound like my child.”

               Gwen shook her head.

               “No uh… I can’t say much but umm, I do work for Stark Industries… I’m the President of Special Research… I report directly to the boss.”

               He looked at her.

               “At fifteen?  Is there no high school in the future?  Is my company run by children?”

               Gwen moved her head from side to side.

               “Well… I… am really smart.  Like… I took a design you made and uh well… never mind.  I don’t know why I was put there.  I was a summer intern but then I made this explosive by accident… then I made this guidance chip like eighty percent smaller and then I uh… increased Stark Profits by like… a lot.  Oh and I kind of… helped save the Earth you know with… the pow—super soldier serum… thing…  It is all really hard to explain and some of the tech you just won’t understand.  Not that you’re not smart but… like it isn’t even imagined yet.”

               Howard pointed at her wrist.

               “Oh, like a movie screen and projector that fit on your wrist?”

               Gwen blushed.

               “It’s a little bit more then that… it’s just the touch interface for my… uh… its complicated.  My friend is the… best way to say it?  Though I think I fried her… with the Tesseract and I have no idea how to fix her or get her back.”

               She tapped the top of her wrist, and the hologram of Charlotte’s basic input output system appeared.  Howard blinked.  Gwen heard Peggy stirring so she quickly turned it off.

               “Projected light without a screen?  Where are you from?  The twenty-third century?”

               Gwen lifted her hand and pointed her thumb down.

               “Twenty-first and yes I am in high school… but I’m also a part time Stark Employee and superhero… like Cap… so… was he like really mad that I stole his bike, or just… sort of annoyed?”

               Howard looked at her.

               “Do you know him or something?”

               Gwen couldn’t meet Howard’s gaze.

               “I can’t say… just… he’s a hero and like… someone I look up too.  So, like… if he was really, really mad I would be sad.”

               Howard laughed again.

               “He was sad.  He wasn’t angry.  He still calls you the blonde-pink-haired HYDRA girl who kicked his ass… well butt, you know him and language.”

               Gwen dissolved into giggles because she totally did know him and language then realized she’d just given more away than she wanted.  Howard snapped his fingers and pointed at her.

               “You do know him.  Is he your father?  He’s sure you’re a clone of him.”

               Gwen shook her head.

               “No, my dad is an Irish American Cop, and my mom was a ballerina.  I am not related to anyone here.  Unless you count the super soldier serum laced blood… that gave me my powers… anyway how long until we land, refuel and head back to Germany?”

               Howard did a double take.

               “Woah, you think I’m taking you back there?  You’re a kid. I’m going to figure out how to get you home before you destabilize the world… universe with a paradox.”

               Gwen tapped her fingers on the arm rest of the copilot’s seat.

               “Well… you see that’s the problem… because time travel hasn’t been invented yet I used a… well a sister to the Tesseract and HYDRA has it now… so… like I need to get it back… but in my defense the Tesseract and it… didn’t really get along at first so I like had to… act like umm a… fuse? Circuit breaker… and or like the Alps would have been evaporated but its no big deal I stopped it but fried most of my tech and lost my way home in the process.”

               Howard stared silently out the front of the plane.

               “So, you…”

               He took a deep breath.

               “So, you’re telling me they have two Tesseracts, and we have zero… and one can time travel?”

               Gwen bit her lower lip and looked at the red carpet on the floor of the plane.

               “Yes… but like… if anyone tries to use it, they’ll die… horribly… I’m pretty sure.  It has no case.  And I mean… their doesn’t ever seem to have been recording of the Nazi’s having both so like maybe it fell behind a desk… or something.  It was in my pocket when I fell unconscious, they would have found it.”

               Howard looked at her.

               “Just a stab in the dark here… but have you checked those pockets of yours?”

               Gwen blushed a bright red as she reached into her pocket and her fingers wrapped around the Time stone.  She pulled it out and opened her hand just to confirm she still had it.

               “Oh… oops… just forget that whole conversation happened?”

               Howard pointed at the Time stone.

               “That has the same power as the Tesseract and you’re just carrying it around in your pocket?  Holding it in your hand?  Are you insane?”

               Gwen pouted slightly and she felt very called out in that moment, probably because Howard was one hundred percent right.  She had inadvertently travelled into the past and caused who knows how much chaos in the timeline.

               “Well, no, it’s not like the Tesseract its different.  The Tesseract is a fourth dimensional object this is just…  whatever the only time it did anything to me was when I brought it near the Tesseract but it’s not like someone told me that HYDRA had it in the 1940’s… or that… I may have… read about it in a bunch of data I stole from… someone not named SHIELD… and I had no idea it was where it was…”

               She paused.

               “And how was I supposed to remember every little thing I was told about the… thingy… things. It was almost a year ago to me and like I’m stuck eighty years in the past…  I’m fifteen I should not be dealing with this crap.”

               Howard was trying to process Gwen’s semi-rant they hit some turbulence, and he finally said.

               “Do us all a favor and put that back in your pocket before you drop it and we end up being hunted by dinosaurs.”

               Gwen slid it into her pocket.

               “I’ve seen that movie, I like my chances… I’d rather fight dinosaurs then go near Red Skull again…  Maybe I wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone back then.”

               Howard glanced at her.

               “You sound a bit… I’m not good at this stuff.  This sounds like a Cap or Peggy conversation.”

               Gwen shook her head.

               “There will be no conversations with Cap.  No way, no how that is a paradox waiting to happen.  The first time we’re supposed to meet is when I get dragged to him after a piece of malware I wrote went homicidal on my archnemesis… okay my former best friend who started dating my boyfriend.  The only report mentioning any encounter with me specifically just says ‘they encountered heavy resistance’.  Translation we got our butts kicked by a fifteen year old girl and no one wanted that on the record.  I’m guessing this ‘rescue’ isn’t on any official records?”

               Howard nodded.

               “Yes, Peggy asked they denied, and I flew her anyway.  That is how the world works my young friend.  Half the time she almost gets me killed for nothing the other half, well let’s just say I’m glad I listened to her on this one.  I really don’t like the thought of you under the control of HYDRA.”

               Gwen shrugged.

               “Well thanks… I’m kinda disappointed, I mean frozen I might have made it all the way to twenty-twenty-three… maybe even before the bald nan-clone even realized I was missing… or her fancy gem was…  I, can’t do whatever Peggy wants me to do.  There is no record of Elise ever being pulled out of the cryopod.”

               Howard looked at the pocket that held the Time stone.

               “Well, you still can technically, you time travelled you could show up just after you left.”

               She pulled the Infinity stone out and glared at it.

               “I have no idea how to use it.  The worst part is it dragged me back here, fried most of my tech and I am still no closer to a cure.  Stupid HYDRA and their stupid symbiote… stupid me for getting cut by stupid lizardman claws.  They digitized stupid files on stupid super-soldier assassins but nothing about alien stupid symbiotes.  Stupid Time stone and its stupid brain melting stupid visions.  Stupid Wong for peaking my stupid curiosity and stupid Ancient One for…stupid Gwen.”

               She groaned and looked at the top of the cockpit with an exasperated sigh.  Howard looked at her.

               “So, your name is Gwen. Pleased to meet you, Gwen.  Would you like to fill the class in?”

               Gwen put the Time stone in her pocket.

               “The Ancient One… she’d be around now I think she’s really… really old and she could tell me how to get home… and that bald nan-clone witch… I’d use the other word, but she could be watching me… so uh… how hard would it be for me to get to Napal… Katmandu? The Himalayas?  Now remember… I am a brilliant, young engineer who was trained by Captain America, has super-soldier serum, a synthetic-alien-infested extremely advanced nanotech almost power armor and a highly advanced artificial intelligence that I need to get working because I can’t read a map or compass.”

               Howard glanced back at Peggy.

               “Tibet is isolated, and its winter, lots of blizzards, avalanches and… how do you feel about heights?”

               Gwen laughed softly.

               “I climb buildings like a spider and swing on webs through New York City… but I’ve never parachuted, I can glide though if I make web wings…”

               Howard did another double-take.

               “You are human spider?”

               Gwen moved her head side to side.

               “Sort of, I mean before I had Symbie I had to make my own tech-based webshooters but when Symbie infected me they became part of me… look its really hard to explain but we were at a Stark Industries Science Park in New Jersey, a particle accelerator was accidentally triggered… there was a spider that had been pumped full of a concentrated version of the super-soldier serum and Steve Roger’s blood… my friend was in the way I knocked him out of the way and the spider and I were merged… along with the highly concentrated dose of super soldier serum.  The particle accelerator accelerates particles to like .9999999999… infinity the speed of light and all kinds of random quarks, radiation and energy are released, along with antimatter… and possibly subatomic sized singularities… and poof.  Me.”

               Howard rolled that all over in his head for several minutes then he looked at her.

               “Wait, so you have an IQ of what?  High two hundreds?  I mean you’re fifteen and based on everything I’ve heard you are way past me.”

               Gwen shrugged.

               “Something like that they couldn’t really test me.  We don’t do IQ tests in the twenty-first century… they are considered slanted towards higher income… or something.  Why?”

               Howard picked up a compass and a map which he used to plot their flight plan.

               “And you don’t know how to use these?”

               Gwen rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

               “Easy for you to say; Where I’m from literally everything has a live-update map with constant global positioning tracking.  Why would I bother?  My AI can give me real-time map and directions on my HUD.  Or I can just pull out my cell phone… which I’d show you, but I left it at the office because… reasons.”

               Howard put the map and compass down.

               “I’ll tell you why you’d bother, kiddo, when all that fancy tech gets fried you can find your way home.”

               Gwen made a very teenage girl face.

               “Just because your right doesn’t make you right… you know.”

               Howard sighed.

               “I am so disappointed in our educational system now.  Don’t they do orienteering anymore?  Boy Scouts?  Scratch that last part… you’re a dame… Okay I have a burning question, and I just need an answer:  What is with the bracers?  How did you get your hands on them and what did you do to them?”

               Gwen blushed.

               “Okay well remember this is eighty years in the future… ish.  My first job at Stark was over my Christmas break when I was fourteen… I was hired by someone… who I’m not going to tell you about even under painful interrogation… who wanted to inventory an old storage room of Stark prototypes and designs for anything useful and toss anything that wasn’t… product worthy.  Most of it was your stuff.  Like the arc react… never mind that… Anyway, I was told I could keep anything I was going to throw out.  Now they had no idea what Vibranium was, neither did I, I was a fourteen year old whose biggest accomplishment was not breaking my clumsy-self’s bones when I did cheerleading… well I realized about this time I was getting… abilities and that getting shot in bullet proof iron-silk meant the bullet’s kinetic energy still broke ribs… bruised me and like…”

               She sighed.

               “I wasn’t quite up to dodging bullets yet still get hit sometimes… well there were these shiny bracers, but they were missing most of the spec sheet, but they were bullet proof... didn’t quite realize they didn’t just dissipate the energy but stored it…  almost blew my arms off after I took a couple of missile hits… anyway like… then I got into a fight on the Brooklyn bridge and got infected with a symbiote that I may or may not have grandfather paradoxed into existence…  uh… okay this whole stinking mess is my fault because I used the stupid Time stone okay… don’t even bother I’ve already yelled at myself in my head way too many times… oh I missed a part; Martha she developed the nanotechnology with … someone who I won’t name… ever.  Anyway, she figured out how to nanotech the bracers and the computer I had built in… and then I got infected with Symbie who gobbled up my nanites so now I have a bionic nanotech infested synthetic alien symbiote… it is a really long story and just thinking about it is giving me a headache.”

               Gwen squirmed in her seat and looked at Howard, who was trying not to laugh.  She blushed and stared at her hands.

               “So… you time travelled back to find a cure for a symbiote but created the symbiote that would eventually infect you?”

               She blushed even more profusely and didn’t respond.  He shook his head.

               “That is some cosmic level irony right there and God I am glad I was nowhere near as smart as you at your age.  All that intelligence and no common sense to go along with it.”

               He started flipping switches.

               “You must drive your parents nuts.  I have a feeling I’d barely be able to keep up with you and I’m usually the smartest guy in the room.  Here’s a nickel’s worth of free advice kid, you don’t have to prove anything to anyone.  Take a breath, be a kid.  Whatever one of my children you ‘aren’t’ going to name hired you, tell them you quit.  The world will keep on turning.”

               Gwen kept right on blushing she spoke quietly.

               “I think they hired me because if they didn’t SHIELD was going to throw me in a research lab where they could keep me under control… the government isn’t really sure what to do with someone as smart as me… and well I know how to make a couple of things that could seriously change the global balance of power… or at least that’s what the senate committee on something to do with weapons and the military says…”

               Howard started his descent.

               “I’m surprised you’re running around free at all with super soldier serum in you if I’m being honest.  They keep Steve a tight leash.”

               Gwen put her seatbelt on.

               “Well only Steve and my parents know about my accident… And maybe my Aunt May… we had the weirdest conversation shortly before the bald-nan-clone kidnapped me… is it still kidnapping when they take you to another continent… or is that human trafficking?  So… like anyway, I wear a mask when I’m out saving the world… and usually just cats in trees…  Maybe the odd mugging.  Symbie has kind of forced me out of the superheroing business.”

               Howard radioed in his approach then looked at Gwen.

               “We should find you a change of clothes… that uniform is going to get you shot.”

               Gwen closed her eyes and sent a mental plea to Symbie to make her less conspicuous.  The black goo spiders reconfigured themselves into jeans and a t-shirt with a hoodie all the colors were subdued like a faded movie.  Kind of how Gwen remembered the old World War Two movies she’d watched way back when with her Uncle Ben.  Howard took another look at her.

               “Interesting trick… do the spider’s bother you?”

               Gwen shrugged.

               “Meh, I’m long past it… mostly… mostly.”

               An involuntary shudder passed through her as she remembered watching the two scientists get infected with an entity she created because she came here.  She spoke softly without meaning to, this part was supposed to be her inside voice.

               “I’m not sure I’ll ever be okay…”

               Gwen got lost in her thoughts.

Chapter Text

Stark’s Private Estate – Blackthorn Hall – Late night

               Peggy was glaring at Howard Stark with a stiff British upper lip and daggers behind her eyes.

               “You cannot be serious, you American bastard.”

               Howard held out his hands palms down as the pair stood by the roaring fire.

               “Just calm down, Peggy.”

               Peggy wagged her finger.

               “Oh, don’t you tell me to calm down Howard Anthony Stark.  That girl is a British war asset now.  I didn’t risk my neck or yours so she could bloody well sit out the war.  Do you know the intelligence she might have?”

               He shook his head and turned away.  He pulled out two tumblers.

               “Bourbon?”

               Peggy was still fuming.

               “Your American dog water isn’t going to change my mind, Howard.”

               Howard poured himself a solid drink and he took a sip as he turned back to her.

               “Well, it will sure as hell to make your screeching more tolerable.”

               Peggy Carter’s eyes went wide.

               “My screeching? How dare you, you stubborn horse’s ass?”

               Howard held out his hands in surrender.

               “Okay, that was out of line, but you are being unreasonable here.  She’s fifteen year old American citizen.  I don’t know about British war doctrine, but I thought there were rules against people under eighteen taking part in a war?  Also, she’s a fifteen year old girl, they barely acknowledge you and you expect them to first off, take your word for her authenticity and second if they do, do you really think they’d use her?  Steve’s a super-soldier and they treated him like a side-show act right up until he proved them wrong.  At best she’s stuck in interrogations about things she knows nothing about, at worst she’s a lab rat.  After what she told me she went through, she’s been through enough for any adult, let alone a child.  We can do better than the Nazi’s and HYDRA.  We have to be better.”

               Peggy rubbed her hand across her forehead she put her other on her lower back and hip.

               “You know what, I will take that drink now but make it the good bloody scotch.”

               Howard smiled and poured the requested drink.

               “Forty year aged scotch, I’m glad we’re just friends; You’re a dame with expensive tastes…”

               Peggy looked at the painting of Howard above the roaring fire and sipped her scotch while keeping her hand on her lower back and hip.

               “As if you could compete with Steve Rogers and this painting is bloody ridiculous Howard.  You look like a right proper prat.”

               Howard looked up at it after taking a sip of his drink.

               “Only because I was pretending to be a pretentious British Lord.”

               Peggy sighed and turned to him she motioned with her hand.

               “Stick with the crazy excentric American inventor… you’re better at that.”

               Howard chuckled.  Peggy shook her head.

               “Howard, you’re one of my best friends but sometimes you’re too blinded by your emotions.  That girl is a valuable resource we can’t just ignore her.  What if she can save lives? If she can take on Steve and win at her age… just imagine what she can accomplish with the right training.  We should at least give her the choice in the morning.”

               Howard finished his drink and poured another without turning around, he responded.

               “Peggy, the problem is she will say yes.  If you took you, mixed in a little bit of Steve and a lot of me she’s who you would get.  She’s brilliant but tortured and probably the most dangerous human on the planet… right now in ways you cannot imagine, and I cannot explain.  The only way to keep the world and her safe is to keep her out of it…  Peggy, you ask me to trust you more often than I care to admit and I do after I grumble about it, I do.  Now, I’m asking you to trust me, just this once.  I talked to her, and she cannot help the war effort, she can’t even help herself.”

               Peggy turned away from Howard and looked at the fire.  He was asking so much, and he never asked for anything besides a field test here or there.   She took another drink of her scotch as if to fortify herself.

               “Howard if she is as smart as you why can’t she just work with you then?”

               Howard frowned.

               “Peggy, there are some things we weren’t meant to know, like our futures.  Do you understand?”

               Peggy moved closer to Howard giving her complete focus.

               “What are you saying Howard?  Out with it, the whole truth.  Are you saying this girl a bloody psychic?”

               Howard finished his bourbon in a single gulp.

               “If only I was saying that. It is so much worse and she’s a teenage girl with no filter left.  You won’t understand it.”

               Peggy was staring at Howard in abject confusion.

               “Well bloody well make me understand then.  If she is as dangerous as you say she is why did you bring her here and not a prison cell?”

               Howard put his tumbler down, he was about to pour another drink, but he put the crystal bottle down and put the stopper back in.

               “Peggy she’s from the future.  She’s a time traveler.”

               Peggy blinked a few times and tried to maintain her British manners, but she couldn’t help it, she burst out laughing.  When she managed to calm down, she put her hand on her chest.

               “You expect me to believe that a fifteen year old girl figured out how to time travel and someone let her come back here on her own?  Howard next time, come up with a better bloody lie.”

               Howard took Peggy’s empty tumbler and put it down beside his then made a come with me motion.  Peggy was still scoffing and shaking her head.

               “Oh, you have proof now?  Howard there is a proper time for humor, and this isn’t one of them chap.”

               Howard led her to his workroom; He pointed at a sketch of a set of extendable bracers on paper, then the date which was just before they left for the rescue mission.  He pointed at the half finished frame for it and the forged Vibranium parts to craft the rest of the first of the pair.

               Peggy’s expression was still tinged with amusement as she looked over his proof.

               “And?  Howard this is the dumbest idea you’ve ever come up with, who is fast enough to block bullets with a pair of bracers… really.”

               He pointed at the mockup of Steve’s shield.

               “You remember when Steve told us the blonde-pink-haired Nazi girl blocked his shield with her wrist?  How it had lost all forward momentum?  Look at what the bracers are intended to do.”

               He moved his tracing paper showing written notes and pointed to a passage about absorbing and then releasing kinetic energy at points.  Peggy looked at him after reading the passage.  Her face had lost all traces of amusement.  He moved off and motioned her to follow him.  He led her to where Gwen was passed out in the bed and moved the sleeve of her hoodie up and pointed at his bracer sitting on her wrist with the LCD screen and then the miniature hot pink drone that was docked in the other bracer with a skull and the name SKULLY across the top in stylized letters.

               He quickly motioned Peggy away when Gwen shifted in her sleep.  The pair went back to the fireplace.  Peggy held her hand on her forehead and motioned to the drink cart.

               “I need another drink, lets use the cheap stuff I think I need to get drunk.”

               Howard poured her a drink of the 40 year old scotch this time he almost filled the glass.

               “We’ll stick with the good stuff… now you know why I downed two…”

               He let out his breath slowly which Peggy mimicked after drinking half of her tumbler in one gulp.

               “What was that pink thing, I didn’t see it on your designs or that strange screen.  What was all of that.”

               Howard patted the top of his bourbon and decided he’d had enough. 

               “It is some sort of spy device she showed me while you were getting your wound redressed.  Flies around no propellers.  Glows hot pink too… doesn’t quite seem like standard HYDRA issue, does it?  The screen? It’s the interface for her powered suit that is made up of hundreds of millions of things that are smaller than human cells.  Oh, and she figured out how to turn my bracers into those millions of tiny things when it’s all I can do cut it or shape the vibranium.  That kid could probably build an atomic bomb with what I have on the estate… do you really want to hand her over to the Allies?  She could wipe herself from existence if she steps on the wrong blade of grass and she has been tightlipped about my children, but I have at least one who’s running my company.  I shouldn’t know any of this, I could make it, so they don’t exist.  And worse, Steve is training her in the future.  That’s why she could kick his ass he taught her everything she knows.”

               Peggy smiled slightly.  Howard glared at her.

               “Why are you smiling?”

               Peggy shrugged.

               “It is nice to know Steve survives the war.”

               Howard leaned on the bar cart.

               “You don’t get it Peggy.  What if he doesn’t because she came back?  You know Steve’s main target is Shmidt, especially after Bucky… The Allies want the Tesseract.  Steve is on a collision course with Shmidt who she had a lot of interactions with and if she is to be believed the Tesseract which apparently fried most of her really scary tech.”

               Peggy tapped her chin and took another sip of her scotch.

               “Did we win the war?”

               Howard made an ‘I don’t know motion’ with his whole body

               “I didn’t ask, and she didn’t say.  She’s American and she speaks like a New Yorker, I’d say the US is safe.  She didn’t seem in a rush to get away from London so take that for what you will.  Peggy, she is not an intelligence asset, she is a walking talking teenage apocalypse who literally confessed everything to the first person who treated her like a human being.  What if even asking her, or even knowing changes the course of the war and we lose?”

               Howard shook his head and moved his hands as if calling a player out on the baseball diamond.

               “No, what we need to do is get her out of London, away from prying eyes and where she said she needs to go to get home.”

               Peggy glanced up the stairs to where Gwen was sleeping.

               “Oh, we’re letting the fifteen year old girl take the lead here?  Do you really trust her judgment over ours?”

               Howard threw up his hands.

               “I don’t know.  You know how much I know about time travel?  This morning, I knew next to nothing but you better damn well believe I started reading research papers the minute her head hit the pillow.  I still know nothing.  She succeeded and she says she knows who can help her get back to her time… I want to say no.  I want to disagree hell I want to drop her on a deserted island with a lifetime supply of food and water… but she has parents back home who will miss her and something about the Avengers.  You better bet they’ll track her down and bring her back.  I honestly don’t know what the right side of history is anymore I just want her out of our hair and our time.”

               Peggy finished her drink and put the tumbler down then crossed her arms.

               “Alright Howard, I cannot believe I’m bloody well even entertaining this bolloxed notion but where does our young apocalypse in the making need to go?”

               Howard pulled down a decorative map that he inherited when he bought Blackthorn from its previous owner’s estate, and he pointed at Kathmandu.  Peggy frowned.

               “Why not Herr Hitler’s private bunker?”

               Howard gave her a look.

               “I need a plan; Not disgusted disbelief. You’re the spy here.”

               Peggy shook her head.

               “It is limited access especially to westerners.  It is in the middle of the Himalya’s hundreds of kilometers from the nearest airstrip.  Not to mention on another continent… past the German lines, both sets and I bet she can’t even parachute.  It might as well be Hitler’s private bunker and bloody hell that would be a damn sight easier to infiltrate.  We would need ID’s, Which I’d have to use favors from MI6, I don’t think the lads in SSR are going to be of much help.  I will be laughed out of the MI6 offices.  Not to mention we land in India.  Burma and Malaya are out; Japanese forces are occupying both.  We’re looking at Calcutta then train to Napal.  Then a climb.  The only other option is you use the Hump flight path, and she parachutes nearby, which the Nepalese government is not going to appreciate so it would be a nighttime job and as I said, I doubt a fifteen year old girl has any experience with parachuting, super-soldier or not.”

               Howard was still looking at Peggy, expecting one of her genius plans to blossom into existence.  Peggy looked at him and shook her head.

               “This would be a challenging mission even with experienced paratroopers and commandos, a fifteen year old girl, a terrible pilot and an SSR agent, only one of which knows how to use a parachute?  Near impossible.”

               Howard gave his trademarked smiles.

               “Come on Peggy, you’re always the dame with the plan.  Oh, and one small little detail… she has no idea how to read a map, use a compass and she’s probably never climbed a mountain in her life…. But she has climbed… things.”

               Howard made one last attempt.

               “Keep these things in mind, she’s smarter than I am, faster and stronger than Steve.  Given the right incentive, like going home she can probably learn the map, compass, climbing and parachuting things. Given time she may be able to fix her technology.”

               Peggy shook her head at Howard’s gaudy portrait one last time.

               “Well, if we could hold off until at least March, it would give us time to prepare her.  I might be able to get a team of cold weather commandos, Canadians, to assist her.  This would make it so you and I don’t need to go, I could likely get the proper papers forged by then.  We can make her some sort of European princess or something.  It would be a good five to ten days hard trek, and climb… or they could take the train but no, better to go overland with full military support as opposed to trying to blend in with the locals.  It’s probably late enough in the winter that a local guide could be hired.  We could get her paratrooper training…  SSR field training.  We’ll just falsify her ID and papers, make her twenty, she can just say she looks young, cut off that atrocious pink hair.  Make up an actual mission and give it an absolutely silly code name like:  Sparklesnow or Pink Skirt give it the highest security clearance rating… put it under my authorization so men will disregard it as more stupid Peggy Carter nonsense…  Give me until March and we can do this, and you won’t even have to come.”

               Howard rubbed his hands together.

               “Perfect, can’t wait to see her face when you tell her you can help get her home.”

               Peggy put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes.

               “Why am I going to have that conversation?  She opened up to you, Howard.  No, its more bloody likely you want me to tell her she has to go through basic training.”

               Howard shrugged.

               “You’re both dames, dames talk… right?  You got this Peggy.”

               Peggy frowned.

               “Howard Anthony Stark you are the most irritating man I have ever had the displeasure of dealing with.”

               Howard smiled.

               “And you still love me for it after all these years.”

Chapter Text

Blackthorn Hall – January 9^th, 1945

               Gwen jumped when she heard someone saying Hey, you, wake up!  She looked around and took a minute to overcome the shock of being in a nineteen-thirties era bedroom.  Peggy was in her uniform and had her arms crossed.

               “Quit lazing about.  We have work to do.”

               Gwen rubbed her eyes.

               “What are you talking about?”

               Peggy looked at Gwen expectantly.

               “If you want to go to Kathmandu then you need to start preparing, yesterday.  So up and off you go.  I brought you some appropriate clothes for a young woman. So, let’s move it.  Bracers and whatever this outfit is, is not what a lady wears even a teenage girl in London so sort it out.”

               Gwen looked at the clothes

               “I don’t need clothes… I—”

               Peggy held up her hand and closed her fingers.

               “Shht.  I do not know what passes for proper behavior for teenage girls in your time but in this time, my time, children do as adults tell them and do not talk back.  This is the first day of your training as a SSR Field agent and you’ll wish you were training with the men for the army.”

               Gwen rolled her eyes and Peggy flicked her ear.  Gwen grabbed her ear.

               “Ouch, Peggy, what was that for?”

               Peggy wagged her finger.

               “You bloody well know exactly what that was for, young lady.  I am not Peggy to you, I am ma’am, and when I tell you to do something you will do it after very politely saying, yes ma’am, right away ma’am with no eye rolling.  You are a child and until you can prove to me you can behave like a young lady of this time and place, I will treat you as one.  Now get dressed and come down for breakfast.  Don’t get used to this comfortable bed of yours.  You’re moving to the barracks as soon as I get your ID sorted.  Move it and that is not a request.” 

               Gwen was still stuck in the transition between getting out of bed and getting dressed.  Peggy smacked the back of Gwen’s head which resulted in another audible ouch from the teenager.  The SSR agent pointed to Gwen’s clothes

“You have just over six weeks to learn military discipline, how to use a parachute, climb a mountain and navigate by land, and if I had my way I’d want triple that because I’ll need to spend the first five weeks teaching you discipline.  Tomorrow, you had better already be up or you’ll see me bloody well angry.”

Gwen glared at Peggy.

“I’m trying to get home not join the fucking army.”

Peggy narrowed her eyes she spoke very firmly and did not raise her voice.  She’d hit that calm anger stage parents could find that put the fear of God in their children.

“You will never use that language again and if you want to get home, you’ll do exactly what I say when I say it because you are in no way ready to cross the Himalayas let alone survive the train ride out of India.  What you want to do is going to be suicide if you do not receive the proper training.  To accomplish your goal, you need to focus and work for it and that seems to be a new concept to you which makes me weep for the future.  You need to be prepared to jump from a plane in some of the most dangerous conditions imaginable, you need to hard march and climb almost a hundred kilometers.  It will require training, it will require military discipline, and it will require my help to get you the resources you need so you need to prove to me that the men I’m sending with you will survive and will reach the destination in one piece and not be hampered by your soft upbringing.”

Gwen opened her mouth to say something more, but Peggy held up her finger, shook her head and pointed at the clothes.  Then she held up her fingers.

“No arguments, no excuses dining room—five minutes.”

Gwen was left to her own devices.  Peggy stormed down the hallway and then the stairs then into the dining room where she leaned against one of the doorframes.  She looked up at the ceiling and said.

“Bloody hell its like I’m looking at a mirror of me at her age.  She even has the vocabulary to match.  Thank God I reached adulthood in one piece.  Is this a mistake Howard?” 

Howard looked up from his breakfast then said with a small laugh.

“Probably but we’re always at our best when we’re failing our way to victory.”

Peggy straightened her hair and skirt out.

“This is going to do me in, Howard, I sounded like my mum, and I hate that it worked.”

She sighed and sat down at her breakfast.  Howard took a drink of his coffee.

“What is on the schedule today?”

Peggy started stirring her tea.

“Let me see, haircut, teaching her proper decorum.  More decorum…  are all American teenagers like her?  How does your country survive?”

Howard laughed.

“Blissful ignorance and copious amounts of alcohol my dear Peggy.”

Peggy sipped her tea and shook her head again.

“How to parents do it?  I just cannot fathom it.  At this rate I’m libel to strangle my children if they’re anything like me, or her.”

Howard swallowed his last bite of food.

“Peggy, imagine how her parents feel, they know all about her abilities, so how do you discipline a child who is literally the smartest person in the room, no matter where she is, a super-soldier and can figure out time travel?  What do you say to that?  You’re grounded? I’m getting the belt?  After what we saw in that castle she looks like she’d just eat it…”

Peggy sighed.

“I have no bloody clue, and you’ve made it my job to find one.  You owe me after this, and I will not forget it.  It absolutely terrifies me that that child has enough knowledge just from going to school to absolutely devastate the entire world with one misspoken word.  One random encounter with the wrong person.”

Gwen showed up as Peggy was speaking.  Her face darkened.  Peggy’s words hurt, not because it was intended, but rather because they were absolutely true and now Gwen had screwed up even more because Peggy found out.

“I know, alright. I know.”

Howard’s face softened.

“She didn’t mean it like that Gwen.”

Gwen didn’t respond, she sighed, and she started eating.  She was feeling pretty morose, but Symbie and her super-soldier-serum enhanced body needed food, so she ate and kept eating.  Neither adult said a word, they knew the kind of calorie intake Steve Rogers required.

Howard kept looking at Gwen as he ate his breakfast then he spoke up.

“Do you think cutting the pink of is the right call here, Peggy?”

Gwen looked between them.

“No.  No way the pink is part of my identity.”

Peggy slid her plate away as she finished her piece of toast.

“You cannot walk around with pink tipped hair.  One, how do you even dye your hair pink?  Two, you stand out like a sore thumb.  Howard is right, if we cut your hair much shorter it will look American… we want you to fit in.  Fine you’re going to be a brunette.”

Gwen opened her mouth but then closed it when she saw Peggy wasn’t going to debate this further, then the SSR agent spoke.

“Speaking of which where is your hair scarf?”

The teenager across from Peggy bit her lower lip and pretended to have not heard her.  Peggy frowned.

“Do not try the ‘I didn’t hear you’ gambit on me young lady, I know them all.   You’re not going out in public with that pink hair if it’s uncovered and until you get your hair dyed, you’re not going to start training which means your trip home will be pushed further out.  Steve is looking for a blonde-pink-haired Nazi assassin do you really want his attention right now given what we all know?”

Gwen didn’t look at either of the adults and instead stared at her food as she continued to eat like a pouting child, finally she blurted out.

“It’s not like I know how to wear a hair scarf or tie it off… I could barely figure out this bra which feels like sandpaper and is uncomfortable as hell.  It’s like you people never heard of sports bras.”

Gwen slumped in her seat.  They hadn’t because the materials used to make the ones she used weren’t invented yet.  She kept pouting and muttered.

“Never mind… stupid Time stone.”

Peggy sighed.  She wanted to slap some sense into Gwen but truthfully, she imagined herself in whatever strange future the girl was from then realized how lost and frustrated she would be.  Gwen sighed.

“Can’t I just get Symbie to give comfortable underclothes no one will know the difference…”

Peggy folded her hands.

“No.  No powers.  No super strength, no super agility, no tentacles, no moments of super-genius.  No bracers.  No futuristic clothing.  Your bra looked wrong, you looked like you weren’t even wearing one and that will not do here.  You will wear the clothing you’re given, and you will not complain about it because it is what we all wear.  It works fine for every other woman in British Empire; It will work for you.”

Howard abruptly stood up.

“I am going to let you two discuss this dame stuff, I have… work… elsewhere.”

He wandered off and Peggy mouthed the word: Coward.  Gwen laughed softly as Howard hurried off like he wanted to be anywhere but here.  Peggy looked at her.  Gwen shrugged.

“That’s just like my dad.  I start talking about underwear or my period and he’s like here’s my debit card just deal with it…then he runs the other way as fast as he can.  It has been eighty years, and they are still the same way.  It’s not manly to know such things.”

Peggy was now curious; She was after all an intelligence agent.  Surely the teenager’s family history was not a matter of time-paradox-inducing-apocalypse.

“What about your mum?”

Gwen shutdown at that point and mumbled.

“Don’t want to talk about that.”

Peggy nodded and finished her tea.

“My mum is still far too invested in my life.” 

She imitated her mother with a far more posh British accent.

“You should be marrying a fine young man, not off playing at war Peggy.”

Gwen looked up at Peggy with a sad smile.

“I’m glad she’s still around.”

Peggy put her teacup down and nodded. The smile made things quite clear for Peggy and also gave her an idea on how to approach the teenager.  She was so brash and rough around the edges because she had no mother.

“Ah, well then, let us be off, shall we?”

The pair made their way to the front of the house.  Peggy motioned toward Gwen.

“Come now, time for the scarf.”

Gwen pulled it out of her top and offered it to Peggy.

“Now, the art of tying a hair-scarf is quite a simple thing.  Easy to tie, easy to loosen.”

Peggy tied it off after gathering Gwen’s hair then she undid it with a swift tug.

“Your turn.  We use these on windy days.  We can’t have our hair blowing about and we can’t have our hats blowing away, can we?”

It took Gwen five attempts to master the knot each was done with the appropriate amount of twenty-first century teenage annoyance.

“Well, for a genius you sure are bloody terrible at the simple day to day things, aren’t you?  What do you do with your hair in this twenty-first century you’re from?”

Gwen shrugged as they walked outside.

“Hair tie, hair band, hair elastic, hair clips… baseball cap… you know… normal stuff.”

Peggy blinked a few times as they waited for their car.

“Baseball cap?  As in the American pastime?”

Gwen nodded.  Peggy shook her head.

“How positively manly of you.”

Gwen made a face.  Peggy didn’t respond.

“And the hair, why the pink?  Is it common for girls to have their hair so short?”

The teenager shrugged again.

“I guess it can’t hurt, its not really common for anything I could shave it off and I wouldn’t be stared and pointed at and I had hair longer then yours but it wouldn’t fit under my mask and hood it got everywhere and it got sweaty on my back and I snipped it off but then I missed my long hair so I got the pink.  My boyfriend lost it though.  Anyway, it’s me now but totally not like… pick me because I’m not one of those ‘pick me’ girls.  I wanted to do it, so I did it I don’t care what anyone thinks my body, my choice.”

Peggy tried to understand both the American accent and future terminology but found she failed almost entirely at both.

“What is a ‘pick me’ girl?”

Gwen snickered.

“You know the girls who are like, look I have huge boobs and they’re wearing the push up bra or the short skirts, the fancy nails the outrageously dyed hair.  Look at me?  I’m amazing, I’m awesome, I’m not like all those other girls I’m different and you want me because I’m ‘special’… those girls?  Like the stupid laughs and the stupid hair flips the now my name is ‘G’linda not Glinda…  So obnoxious… makes you almost want to unleash a malware laden bot that destroys their entire digital presence along with all their obnoxious kissy face selfies and electronic devices… which works just fine until it turns homicidal… never mind that last part.”

Peggy raised an eyebrow.

“I see.  Your time sounds bloody terrifying.  How does Steve even survive there?  He must be confused the man can barely follow a briefing.”

Gwen giggled.

“He cannot text worth a crap, and he insists on using full words for everything and he totally does not get emojis.  There are these little pictures with animations…sometimes never mind.  He does fine as long as he can talk to stuff instead of typing.”

Peggy smiled then laughed softly.

“A world where men type, I think I want to see that world.”

Gwen shrugged.

“Its… you’ll see eventually.”

Gwen kicked the gravel driveway with the toe of her uncomfortable forties style lady’s shoe which had a low heel.

“I’m really sorry I am telling you so much about the future.  I wouldn’t want to know about mine… didn’t when I saw it.  I guess.  It’s not fair. I’m just really… I’m just sorry you have to deal with me and have to do all this.”

Peggy looked up.

“Our car is coming; Your name is Willow Thompson.  You are a twenty year old American woman.  You are here to train for a secret mission.  The details of which you are not authorized to share.  If anyone asks, you direct them to me.  You’re from Queens, New York and were recruited to the Strategic Science Reserve because of your particular set of skills.  Don’t ask me I haven’t figured out what those are.”

Gwen laughed at the set of skills a joke which Peggy didn’t understand.

“This is serious, Willow.”

Gwen nodded.

“I’m so sorry you just looked so serious when you said particular set of skills and there’s this mov.. never mind.  I get it.  I’m Willow Thompson spy in training.”

The car pulled up and the pair got in.

Chapter Text

Achnacarry Castle, Scotland – February 22, 1945

               Gwen collapsed and pretended to be winded as she and the team of commandos she was training with finished a rugged terrain run with an eighty pound pack of gear.  That was the hardest part of the whole exercise.  She could climb easily she was Spider-Woman after all.  She could outlast pretty much any normal human when it came to exercise and the pack may as well have been empty compared to what she could lift and carry.

               Peggy had been crystal clear.  She was a normal human girl.  That was what she had to portray but it was nearly impossible to sweat as much as a normal human would.  She was juiced with super-soldier serum and under the right circumstances could throw a tank.  It was actually worse because she had to pretend that she couldn’t keep up with the men.  Not that she cared about saving face.  This was about getting home.  She really didn’t care if people thought she was just a weak little girl.  If she cared about that she wouldn’t wear a mask.

               The part she felt the worst about is that she saw the frustration and disappointment in the eyes of the Canadian commandos who felt held back by her.  It was evident every time they didn’t make the course records.  Every time one of them had to help her up something they could do alone.  She wanted to just do as good as them, but Peggy had been so adamant that she not outshine them ever and that she should always be last.

               She laid back and looked up at the grey February sky.  She could hear the training officer, or TO complain about her to Peggy.  Today it was about her performance at the range.

               “Agent Carter, your trainee is not performing up to our standards in any category.  She’s slowing the team down and that could be fatal where they are being sent.  Her target scores have been well below average, and they continue to be well below average with no signs of improvement.  They actually got worse! If the team runs into resistance, she is a liability.”

               Peggy responded.

               “Captain, their job is to get her to the target location alive and well.  Her job is to survive.  If she can do that, that is all that is necessary.”

               He sounded angry.

               “And if the rest of the team dies and she can’t pull herself over a rock face edge?  What then?  Or if she’s stuck in a firefight alone?  I cannot recommend this mission move forward with that asset.”

               Gwen sighed.  The worst part is she already knew how to shoot and had been going to the range since she turned twelve and was allowed to go, not by her own choice, it was her father’s.  No daughter of mine is going to be firearm illiterate.  She wasn’t the best shot in the universe; Obviously she had to have a clue, she’d been consistently not hitting the point locations on purpose.

               Peggy spoke again.

               “Let me talk to her.  She’s been told from day one to make sure people underestimate her, it’s part of her intelligence training.  Surely you must have realized that if she consistently scores low, she’s actively trying not to hit the point targets, pure blind luck should mean she’d score higher on some days than others if she had no skill in firearms.  Really Captain, the fact that she’s fooled you and your entire staff and your team means she’s actually perfect for this mission.”

               The captain sounded unimpressed.

               “Fine, you call her to the range and prove it then I’ll sign off on the rest of the training.  A woman a good shot… absurd.”

               Peggy took a few minutes to find Gwen.

               “Trainee Thompson, on your feet report to the range and would you kindly quit being a bloody show off and pass the blasted test?”

               Gwen hopped up then realized she was supposed to be exhausted after the four hour march.  So, she slowed her step.  Peggy glanced at her as Gwen made the glaring mistake that could reveal she was no normal ‘woman’. 

The pair arrived at the range and the captain and range officer both crossed their arms.  Gwen picked up the rifle and started the test.  She actually tried.  She had fired rifles and pistols weekly up until her mother died but that was an AR-15 this was not a modern rifle, so it was markedly different then she was used too but she had just spent the last two weeks pretending to suck so she’d been practicing aiming it.  She finished the range test and put her rifle down and stepped away.  The range officer that had been observing ran to the target and did the score count as he walked back.

“Scored average.  It’s a pass.”

Gwen felt a bit disappointed she’d tried her best and she was… average.  The captain looked at it and recounted.

“Well, there you go I guess the training continues.”

Peggy pulled Gwen aside as she took her back to the commando squad.

“Okay, you need to be a little less bad at this, can you do that?”

Gwen tried not to make a face; She mostly succeeded, mostly but not enough to conceal it from Peggy.

“Yes, how… much less bad?  One of the other trainees is passing because the trainers are letting him slide and you told me to do worse than the worst man…”

Peggy appeared to be confused.

“Why are you with the trainees?  You should be training with the team you’re going with.”

Gwen clenched and unclenched her fists.

“Because I’m a girl, and because they feel like I’m going to get them killed because I can’t keep up.  So, they said to the trainer when I can beat their worst overall time for the climbing course, I can join them for training.  There is some stupid competition and they’re trying to win it.  I am doing exactly what you told me to do.  To the letter. I only slipped up a couple of times.  I don’t care if they like me, I don’t care if I look like girliest girl who ever lived… but what I can’t take is the disappointed looks on their faces.  They let me try again today and one of them ended up carrying me and my pack for like the last quarter of the run because they wanted to make up time.”

Peggy shook her head.  Gwen tried to hold it back, but she was so frustrated it just came out.

“They’re looking at me like I’m a complete failure and I could finish the climbing course in a like fifteen minutes and that’s if a stop for a snack in the middle.  I need this if I kept going the way I was going at school in gym class, in sports someone would figure me out eventually.  It’s just grrr! This is so frustrating.  If I am too good, they won’t send me on the mission because they’ll notice I’m a valuable resource but if I suck too bad, I will never be allowed to go because it’s too dangerous for me and everyone else.  And if I’m too good or do something super-human it will be HYDRA all over again only this time with the Allies.  It’s like this impossible situation.”

Peggy put her hand on Gwen’s shoulder.

“Here is what you’re going to do, middle of the pack.  Do your best to finish at about the same average time as your team.”

Gwen sighed.

“That won’t look suspicious, then they’ll know I’ve been playing them all along.  I don’t think that’s going to earn me any friends.”

Peggy frowned.

“You have five days of training time left then the two days of leave then you head for Kathmandu.  I wish I had known about these problems a week ago.  It can’t be helped now.  We don’t have time to be subtle.  Chin up, carry on you’re almost home.” 

Peggy tapped Gwen’s shoulder.

“You need to do better on the range. I thought you said you had used rifles before.”

Gwen gave her a deadpan look.

“Yeah, modern ones, somehow rifles from a war sixty-plus years before I was born aren’t exactly commonplace or taught by cop dads. I’ve fired assault rifles, I’ve fired long rifles, I’ve fired like ten different types of pistols, I even fired a couple of shot guns and a full on machine gun but no World War Two rifles… and I spent the last four weeks trying to suck at firing them.  I did my best, I knew if I didn’t, I wouldn’t have passed.  Those rifles are awful.  And like all gun types are different and every gun is different even if they’re the same damn thing.  I am only good with my dad’s Glock and his AR-15.  And it’s not like I fire them every day or even month now, but I could, Stark Industries has full range I have access to and I could even fire rocket launchers and smart bullets if I wanted too... I don’t because well they use my guidance system now and it bothers me that they are used to kill people.  So, you just… temper your expectations, I don’t kill people.  I shoot webs which I happen to be amazing at by the way.  And… and you should see me with a sword.  I’m really good with my sword… that I am not going to summon for you because… magic.”

Peggy nodded then spoke quietly.

“What are smart bullets?  You make rocket guidance systems?”

Gwen blushed.

“Just bullets that can go around corners and angle to hit a target.  No… I didn’t make the guidance system I just shrunk it by a lot it was Tony-”

Her hands went to her mouth.

“Ignore that name.   The only thing I’ve ever invented was TX-01 and that was a horrific creation, also a complete accident I misread Howard’s handwriting I was trying to make a web compound.  Everything else has just been me adapting tech which I already had the base schematics for… I don’t want you thinking I’m this brilliant inventor or something.”

“I’ll ignore that name but what is TX-01?”

Gwen got a dark look in her eyes.

“A war crime waiting to happen.  Imagine an explosive compound that explodes on contact and when it interacts with most materials turns into unstable thermite.  If you fire it at a car, or a tank or anything really it explodes then turns the shrapnel and remains into unstable thermite which then explodes.  A gram of it is worth five pounds of TNT and you can fit that in a ball this size and that is just the initial payload.  It’s horrific and I have nightmares about it.  I can’t imagine how bad the inventors of atomic bombs sleep.  I just keep imagining when someone decides to load it up into Tomahawks or bombs and drops them on military or civilian targets.  War crime doesn’t even begin to describe it, and I brought that into the world.”

Gwen made a loop with her fingers the size of a paintball.

“By the way that’s a gram of it and you can load them to a paintball gun and turn it into a terror weapon.  And the worst part?  I could go into someone’s house and make a batch right now, that’s how easy it is to make.  Just imagine if the Nazi’s got a hold of that.  Why am I even telling you any of this?”

Peggy was staring at Gwen with a newfound fear, but it was tempered by compassion.  The more she learned about this teenager the more she wanted to just sit her down and tell her that everything is not her fault.  That the weight of the world is not on her shoulders, but then she realized… maybe in her strange future it was.  She saw so much of Steve in her.  She knew why he’d taken her under his shield.  Why, he had trained her.

“You are frustrated, and you are under a lot of pressure, that is what Military Training is about.  We see the world in very different ways, I am imagining what that TX-01 and your rocket guidance systems could do for the Allies and all you see if the death toll it can inflict.  You cannot focus on what is done with the things you create, they are not evil, they are not good.  Anything can be used to cause harm, you cannot let what bad people do with your inventions land on your conscience.  I’m not going to press you for the formula or guidance system because Howard has illustrated with great detail the harm such knowledge can do.  You are a good person.  If Steve trusts you, if he cares about you, that means you are a good person because he is the best of us.  I have killed people, and I will more then likely have to kill more.  I have to be confident in my choices, that I made the right ones and that it was all in service to my duty to my country.  You need to ask yourself a question, who do you serve?  Then use that to gauge where your moral compass needs to land.”

Peggy and Gwen both turned their heads when they heard a man calling out to Peggy the voice as familiar to both of them.  It was Steve Rogers, though he was in a military issue coat along with his field uniform.

“Peggy!  Err… Agent Carter.”

Peggy pointed Gwen back to her training.

“Move along Trainee.”

Gwen was about to make her escape but then Cap said.

“Is this your newest recruit?  Commando training huh?”

Peggy smiled at Steve.  Gwen could tell it was genuine and that there was something there.  The look on Steve’s face made it quite clear he was in love with Peggy.

“Captain Rogers, this is Trainee Willow Thompson.  I’m just here giving her the talk; She’s not been keeping up with the boys and it’s becoming a problem.”

He offered his hand.  Gwen took it and shook it.  Steve looked at her closely.

“You look familiar, have we met?”

Gwen shook her head.

“No sir, I’d remember sir.”

Cap released her head.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get it, I remember my commando training, it was a real challenge.  Just listen to Agent Carter here and you’ll get through it.  She got me through mine.”

Peggy motioned to the training course as the trainees were starting their trek to the next climbing challenge.

“Better move along Trainee Thompson, you’re already on thin ice as it is.”

Gwen nodded

“Yes Ma’am, right away ma’am.”

Gwen left Cap and Peggy on their own.  She easily timed the climbing course and beat out the entire class of commando hopefuls.  She ensured it was an average time for the Canadian commandos she was supposed to be embedded with.  She also took pains to appear to be wiped out from the rapid ascent.  The lead trainer stood over her and looked down at her as she lay on the cold stone.

“Trainee Thompson I do not appreciate you wasting my trainer’s time!  Go down and make the climb again.”

Gwen stood up and rappelled down to the beach below.  When she’d finished, she’d looped the last two trainees.  She pretended to be completely finished as she climbed over the edge.  One of the other trainees was forced to help her up.  The trainer was frowning at her.

“Why do I feel like you just put the bare minimum effort into that, Trainee?”

Gwen was bent over and pretending to try and catch her breath.

“No sir, I did the best I could, sir.”

He pointed to the two stragglers.

“You two, go again you let a girl lap you and you should be ashamed.”

The entire squad of trainees gave Gwen the dirtiest look.  She was really annoyed at this whole gender dynamic.  If she was as good as the men she was used as an example of why they sucked and if she was not as good as them, she was too weak to be here.  She was so over it all and was already counting the days until she was back in the twenty-first century, it was bad there but nowhere near as bad as here.

The trainer pointed at Gwen.

“Thompson. Join your squad.  They’re at the Tarzan Course.  Double time.”

Gwen ran off she reached the Canadian Commando squad who were pulling their combats off and were putting on running shoes with no socks.  Their squad CO shoved a pair of runners into Gwen’s stomach.

“Skivvies run lads.  The record is ten minutes fifty one seconds including the rappel down; I expect us to beat it.  No one quits, no one is left behind!”

He looked Gwen up and down.

“Use the runners but you can keep your clothes your ladyship wouldn’t want anyone saying I was cruel to the fairer sex.”

Gwen frowned then pulled off her surplus combat top and pants then her undershirt and her long underwear leaving her in granny panties and an archaic bra.  She tossed her clothes aside and pulled on the running shoes.

“I’ll do it like this unless it offends your sensibilities.”

The entire team was staring at her.  She wasn’t curvy, it was in fact the exact opposite she was all muscle because of the super-soldier serum.  No one had seen her in anything that showed off her muscles.  She looked at them.

“What you’ve never seen a woman in a bathing suit before?  Let’s do this before we freeze to death, yeah?”

She was so focused on the squad that she didn’t notice the Colonel in charge the base, Steve Rogers and Peggy watching from a distance.  Peggy was mortified that Gwen would strip down like that, but she was also proud of the girl.  The Colonel was also less than impressed.

“I was kind of enough to let you have that woman train here but this is indecent what if the press got ahold of this the army stripping young women to their underwear.”

“Colonel she’s here because you asked MI6 for a favor and I made sure it happened.  Let it go, please, sir.”

Steve was adjusting his hat.

“Peggy what did you do to her; She looks like she’s all muscle.”

Peggy shot Cap a look.

“I did nothing, Captain Rogers, she’s a ballet dancer it is a grueling occupation that requires intense training and grace.  Which is why she is going to navigate that training course with ease now that she doesn’t have to use ill-fitted combat boots.”

The trio watched the squad get started.  Gwen was in the rear.  Peggy smiled as the girl kept up with the squad easily.

Gwen was focused on moving forward and keeping up with the squad this time.  The course would have been ridiculously treacherous for a normal human.  With her spider-powers she could pretty much grip onto anything and her super-soldier serum made it so she could literally do this all day for several days with small breaks. 

The course was one of the most despised at this training camp.  It was rope swings.  Under rope climbs.  It was like a children’s play center only it was ice covered with icy cold water everywhere and it was sized for adults.  Everyone hated it and if you did fall you had to do twenty pushups in the freezing water and then start again until you either quit or succumbed to hypothermia.

The last obstacle before the rappel down the cliff was a long rope and wood bridge about thirty feet over an ocean inlet.  The water would be frigid and dangerous.  The wood was slick with black ice and the wind currents were flinging it back and forth violently.  Gwen saw the man in front of her, Corporal McDavid slip and without thinking she lunged forward and caught his hand.  She grasped onto the frozen rope beside her with her bare hand and pulled him up with ease.    He’d done the same for her numerous times over their training here, but this was the first time she’d actually saved one of her squad from a very uncomfortable swim. 

It was force of habit.  She hadn’t even thought she’d been too focused on keeping up without looking overly skilled.  Her natural instinct was to help people who were in trouble, and it had finally bit her in the ass because he was a two hundred pound man and there was no way with her track record she should have been able to dead lift him with one hand on a frozen bridge with no equipment.

She motioned him forward holding onto the rope railing and getting ready to catch him.  He was looking very cold.  Nothing was said between them, but his eyes had told her everything.  He hadn’t seen a girl, he’d seen a squadmate who risked herself for him.

Peggy, Steve and the Colonel had seen the whole thing.  Peggy was livid and trying to prepare for damage control.  Steve was smiling and nodding.  The Colonel was just plain perplexed by what he had just witnessed.  A woman deadlift a squad mate back onto the bridge to hell.  He’d never seen it done not even by a man for another man.  She hadn’t just lifted him a bit so he could grab on she had literally tossed him on the bridge.

“What do they feed them in New York City?  Can I get some for my men?”

Steve grinned.  Peggy shifted uncomfortably and said.

“Adrenaline is a powerful thing.”

Steve looked at Peggy.

“I told you she could do it.  Where is she from in New York?”

Peggy wasn’t thinking when she answered she was too focused on damage control, explaining this away.

“Queens.”

Steve shifted his coat.

“That HYDRA super-soldier I ran into, she said she was from Queens…”

Peggy realized her mistake immediately.

“She was blonde, Thompson is a natural brunette. Quit seeing enemies where there aren’t any, people might think you’re paranoid.”

Peggy gave an exasperated sigh.

“I recruited her myself, Bucky mentioned he knew a ballet dancer who was looking to join the war effort before he… was KIA.  I kept my promise and recruited her.”

Chapter Text

Blackthorn Hall – March 1st, 1945

               Gwen had just finished eating supper the night before she was supposed to leave for Kathmandu.  A servant brought out a cake that said: To the Future!  Howard laughed and rubbed his hands.  Peggy rolled her eyes.

               “Let’s wrap this up.  I have a meeting to get to.”

               Gwen giggled as she spoke.

               “You mean a date!”

               Peggy blushed.

               “You are a bloody gossip, that is what you are young lady.”

               Howard stood up and grabbed an ornate wooden box.  It wasn’t large but it looked old.  He slid it and an envelope over to Gwen.  She looked it over.

               “What is this for?”

               Howard smiled and nodded.

               “Open it.”

               Gwen blushed and opened the box.  Inside was a beautiful gold and platinum compass with diamond inlays at each cardinal point.  It was ornate and engraved with many different kinds of spiders.  Howard pointed at it.

               “So, you can always find your way home.”

               Gwen’s lip was quivering, and tears started to drip from her eyes.  It was beautiful and when she flipped it upside down it had an inscription which made her cry even more.  So, you’re never lost again.  Your friend, Howard Stark.

               He shook his head.

               “Is it awful?  It was a joke, you know because you didn’t know how to read one?”

               Peggy shook her head at Howard.

               “You really are a hopeless American, aren’t you?  She’s not upset, she’s happy, those are happy tears.”

               Gwen looked at the envelope.  Peggy put her hand on it.

               “Best you save that for when you’re not going to make them soggy with your tears.”

               Gwen sniffled and kept tracing the friend.  They shared the cake, and Gwen finally opened the envelope.  Inside was a picture of her with her Canadian Squadmates, black and white of course, one of her and Peggy, and another of her and Howard.  Then one of all three together.  Howard and Gwen were making silly faces.  It made her laugh softly.  Peggy and Howard had wandered off.

               The pair were sharing a drink in his study.  Peggy shook her head.

               “That compass was a bit much wasn’t it, Howard?”

               He smirked.

               “Yeah, but she’s my granddaughter, I figured I’d be long gone before she was born so I’d make sure she had something to remember me by.”

               Peggy laughed.

               “That is absurd.  She looks nothing like you.”

               He took a sip of his amber drink.

               “It all adds up, she avoids talking about my children.  Yet she speaks affectionately about her boss.  She’s brilliant.  She’s fifteen and working for my company.  The only way someone that age, brilliant or not has a title like president is her parent is the owner and CEO.  It all adds up Peggy, you’ll see.  I’d bet you but I doubt either of us will see her born. I’d be a hundred and you’d be older.  I was right too.  Did you see her cry.  Those are tears for her granddad.  I nailed it for once in my life a woman was happy, I gave her an expensive gift.”

               Peggy swatted at him with her hat.

               “You are wrong.  I bet you she is not related to you.”

               Howard smiled.

               “I’ll take that bet.   What do you say, if you win a bottle of scotch, if I win, a bottle bourbon?”

               Peggy snapped her fingers and pointed at him.

               “And the loser has to drink it with the winner.  I can’t wait to see the face you make when you drink the scotch.”

               Peggy put her empty glass down.

               “I need to go see Steve.”

               Howard shook his head and called out.

               “You two should kiss already this is getting ridiculous.”

*****

RAF Greenham Common, Southern England – 11 PM – March 2, 1945

               Gwen had two bundles of gear, one was her actual pack, the other was a leather belt bound bundle of her cold weather gear.  Hidden in the center was her disassembled rifle, pistol and other weapons.  Each of the commando’s in her team had one.  The only difference was she had a white woolen hat, the Canadians seemed to call it a tuke, she just called it a knit hat.  The other difference was her bundled coat, which was soft grey with darker grey patches.  MI6 standard issue for women on cold weather missions.  The gear for the men was much too large for her.

               They were waiting to board the military cargo plane.  It was American.  Gwen dropped her packs with a sigh.  The Canadians were in the same mood.  There were six in all, including Gwen.  The commanding officer of the squad, an army captain named Charlie Fortin was arguing with the pilots and shaking a paper that held their orders. 

Gwen had expected a bigger plane, not that this one was small but the only military cargo planes she’d seen were massive monstrosities from the late twentieth century.  They could carry tanks and drop them with parachutes and even helicopters.  She’d seen one at an air show.  That isn’t even taking into consideration the SHIELD helicarrier, or the Version two, which was technically more of a hover carrier, Tony had her design the repulsor thrustors for.  Corporal McDavid was looking at the plane like it was the most amazing thing he’d ever seen.

“I always wanted to fly on one of these C-87’s.  She’s a beaut’ isn’t she?”

Gwen yawned.

               “I’ve seen bigger.”

               He and a few of the other commandos chuckled.

               “Good one.”

               She shook her head.  She wondered if McDavid’s head would explode if he saw the helicarrier.  Gwen sighed as she realized how nice a Quinjet would be right now.  It would take them no time to get to the target; They could probably land it in Kathmandu.  Then her face darkened as she remembered her ride on it with the Avengers and a captured Loki.  She tried to hear his voice again.  She had wanted to punch him really hard at the time but now she’d likely give anything to hear him tease her again.  McDavid who was the only half emotionally mature man in the squad looked at her long and hard.

               “Hey, Yank, you okay?”

               She shook her head and shrugged.  She wiped away her tears trying to hide them.  McDavid stood between her and the squad.

               “Wanna talk about it?”

               Gwen sighed heavily and said quietly.

               “I had another squad… one of them didn’t make it back from a mission.  Just bringing up memories.  We were close.”

               McDavid gave her a nod then he said with a self-deprecating smile.

               “You better not cry for me when I bite it.  Just laugh and toast my name, eh?”

               Gwen laughed in spite of the grief tearing at her gut.  She shook her head.

               “Nope, in 2023 you are I are going to shake hands and give each other a nod.”

               McDavid laughed out loud.  Corporal Dugan, who was from Newfoundland walked over.

               “Share the joke b’y I could use a laugh about now.”

               McDavid motioned at Gwen.

               “Thompson here says she and I are going to shake hands and share a nod in 2023.”

               Dugan laughed.

               “Aye b’y if we’re still alive in seventy-eight years we should have a right party, eh?”

               The Newfoundlander looked towards their commanding officer.

               “I wonder what the fuck is going on there, b’y.  Fucking Americans I thought the Brits were bad for their paperwork, eh?”

               McDavid poked Dugan.

               “There’s a lady present.”

               Dugan smacked Gwen’s arm hard.

               “Thompson’s no lady, she walks into a bar five minutes later the sailors come running out.”

               Gwen gave a slight eyeroll.

               “That was one time and only because I lifted my arm after a four hour run in full cold weather gear around London when it was fifty out.”

               That got a laugh from both commandos.  The captain walked back; He looked pissed and was unleashing a string of French curse words that would make Satan himself blush.

               “Apparently another plane had a mechanical failure, and this one is being used to replace it.  We don’t have a ride boys.”

               Gwen kicked her pack.  She looked around and noticed a much, much larger cargo plane.  She knew what that was going but that would be a very bad idea.  She looked around.  She really didn’t want to be around after the fourth of March.  Captain Fortin swore several more times.  Then he looked at Gwen.

               “Sorry looks like the mission is scrubbed.”

               Gwen let her breath out slowly.  This was going to suck.

               “Captain… that plane over there is heading to Aviano that was our first stop and switch to the British plane, right?”

               The entire squad looked at her.  Dugan spoke up first.

               “And how the hell do you know that b’y?”

               Gwen shrugged.  She couldn’t exactly tell them that she’d figured out this was the day Steve Rogers left for the mission he never returned from.  Or that she saw the entire unredacted file on the mission plan and after action reports.  Information she’d figured out the night before in her desperate attempt to resurrect Charlotte.  The SHIELD database was corrupted from her interaction with pair of infinity stones and Charlotte trying to integrate that into her knowledge matrix on boot up was crashing her… All she had to do was delete the SHIELD/HYDRA database and Charlotte would be up and running.  She had the full bundle of stolen data on her server in 2023, but here and now if she deleted it, she might lose some vital piece of data that could save a life, or her own life, or get her home.  Or if she was stuck here the data could be used to navigate the timeline.  With nothing else that she could say she went with a stupid old joke.

               “I could tell you but then I’d have to kill all of you.”

               McDavid laughed.

               “You’d have to hit us first, just a pointer, the end the bullet comes out is pointed at us.”

               Gwen shook her head.

               “Oh my God.  Fail every single range test on purpose and you never hear the end of it.  Look, I was staying with Howard Stark, and I overheard him and Peggy talking about a secret mission.  Peggy set all of this up she’s going to be on that plane, she can get us on it.”

               The captain looked intrigued.

               “This could work.  Let’s go.”

               The squad picked up their kit and double-timed it over to the C-54 Skymaster.  They were loading vehicles under tarps as they arrived under the watchful eye of a full bird American Colonel.  Captain Fortin walked up to him and saluted him.

               “Sir, I understand you’re heading to Aviano we have a rendezvous with a transport to India.  Do you have any space?”

               The older man looked past Captain Fortin and grumbled.

               “Two women on my god-damned plane.  This world is going to hell in a handbasket.”

               He shouted.

               “Agent Carter!”

               Peggy walked out with Steve who nodded to the Captain.

               “That is one of yours, right?  That mission into the damned Himalayas?”

               Agent Carter nodded.

               “That is right Colonel.  I’m afraid it’s a damn sight worse.  She’s American.”

               Colonel Phillips swore under his breath as he put his hands on his hips.  Steve spoke up.

               “Colonel, the least we can do is give them a ride.”

               The colonel looked at Steve.

               “Rogers you’re pain in the ass.”

               He pointed at plane.

               “Stow your kit then help load the plane, no free lunches around here even for the ladies.  Once you’re done your assignments grub is in the hangar and ladies if you throw up on my plane you’re going to scrub on your hands and knees.”

               He put his hands back on his hips and muttered under his breath.

               “Next thing you know it will be dogs flying the plane.”

Chapter Text

C-54 Skymaster – Somewhere over Europe – March 3 – 3 AM

               Gwen swayed back and forth as the massive prop plane she was on flew across the darkened sky of Europe.  She had the Time stone in her fingers she rolling it back and forth and looking at it.  She was thinking some very dark thoughts.  She had a lot of power in her hand all she had to do was use it when she figured out how and she could change every bad thing that happened in her life.  McDavid sat down beside her.  The rest of the squad was asleep as were most of the plane.  McDavid, Gwen and Steve were the only people awake.

               He rubbed his hands together.  He was wearing a jacket and gloves.  The plane was pressurized but it was frigid.  Gwen hadn’t noticed.  The super-soldier serum made her somewhat resilient in most temperatures where humans operated.

               “You look like you’re holding the world in your hand and pondering what to do with it.”

               Gwen glanced up from the Time stone.  She gave a half-smile.  The young corporal who was nineteen was really close to the real truth.  He pointed at the gem.

               “That’s a huge emerald.  Is it a bribe?”

               Gwen closed her fingers around the Time stone.

               “Nope.  Just a piece of green glass.”

               She looked over at Steve.  She could change things right here right now, warn him.  McDavid looked at her again.

               “You have a lot going on in that head of yours don’t you, Thompson?”

               Gwen glanced at him and clutched the Time stone tightly.  She had a sudden thought.  She could go after the Red Skull… be the one on the plane.  Replace Steve… be the one to get thawed out in 2022…  She could give him the life with Peggy he obviously wanted.  She hit her fist on her knee.  She finally answered him.

               “Girl stuff.  We get in our heads a lot.”

               McDavid sighed.

               “You remind me of my sister.  She was quiet.  Always thinking.  Always three steps ahead.”

               Gwen looked at him.

               “You have a sister?”

               He nodded and rubbed his face.

               “Had. Sorry just tired, I should get some shut-eye, you should too.”

               Gwen reached out and touched his arm.

               “I’m sorry for your loss. If you ever want to talk… I’m here.  I am terrible at it but sometimes talking is just what you need…  It’s better to remember then then forgot, right?”

               He looked at her again.

               “Just when I think you’re one of the boys… you go and say a girl thing.”

               Gwen shrugged.

               “I am a girl.”

               He leaned back on the plane’s airframe.

               “That is easy to forget.  You tossed me up on that bridge like I was a sack of hay.  Shit you have muscles on your muscles.  Okay is this a weird question… but do you have trouble with guys?  Are they intimidated?  Disgusted?”

               Gwen glanced at him.

               “You’re a guy how do you feel about my body?”

               He blushed.

               “Nothing, you’re on my squad.  It’s like being attracted to my sister.”

               Gwen laughed softly.

               “Yes.  I have had trouble with guys.  I do things other girls don’t and sometimes I miss dates… then I beat them at sports, and they get annoyed… or I’m… the guy I really fell for was way older than me and the worst, but he thought I was amazing as I am.”

               McDavid nodded.

               “Is he the one who?”

               Gwen nodded and her face fell slightly.  They both got quiet.  McDavid shrugged.

               “How did you meet?  When did you know?”

               She glanced at him.

               “Are you asking me for love advice?  You’re really asking the wrong person.”

               McDavid shook his head while blushing.

               “No, no, I just… it’s hard to talk to girls.  They’re scary.”

               Gwen laughed.

               “I’m a girl, you’re talking to me.”

               He shook his head.

               “You’re like my big sister… look I’m not good with girls.  I get flustered.”

               Gwen patted his forearm.

               “Us girls, we’re people.  That’s the secret.  That and chocolate.”

               He smiled sadly.

               “That’s something Spring would say.”

               Gwen looked at him.

               “How about this?  You tell me about Spring, and I’ll tell you about my Nordic bad boy.”

               He rubbed his hands together.

               “I don’t know, she was like you.  Strong… well not strong, strong, she was just like this pillar.  Like I knew if I was with her, I was safe.  She was always sick.  She had to take that insulin stuff, but she was always there for me.  Mom and Dad were always busy with things.  It was her and me.”

               Gwen smiled.

               “I don’t have any brothers or sisters… not anymore… I’m so glad you had her, and she had you.”

               He leaned forward and looked back at her.

               “She didn’t wake up one morning.  It was a coma or something.  I didn’t understand.  I just knew she was asleep forever.  She never woke up and died…  I felt kind of lost since.  Haven’t actually talked about it in a few years.  What happened to your brother?  Sister?”

               Gwen let the Time stone roll into her palm.  Peter… she could fix it.  Save her Uncle Ben make sure Peter had him to keep him from falling into that pit of misogyny.   Just make sure her Uncle Ben was a few minutes later leaving… it would be so easy if she could use the stone.

               “His name is Peter.  We had a falling out… he was like my brother but then…  He told my dad I was going to do something with my boyfriend when I was fourteen.  I had kept all of Peter’s damn secrets… he’s gay.  Err homosexual… I didn’t tell anyone.  I told him he was dead to me.  Then our Uncle Ben died… it was my fault… things got worse, and he hit me.  I outed him… If you could go back, if you could save Spring.  Just make sure she took less insulin, or more… would you?”

               He didn’t even hesitate.

               “Yes.  Absolutely not even a second thought.”

               Gwen sighed.

               “What if… what if the cost was super high.  Like it could lead to the end of the world.  Like… the Nazi’s invaded New York City and because you did it… they would win?”

               He looked at her.

               “I… I really don’t know.  I’d hate to have to make that choice.  God, it would kill me.”

               Gwen looked at the Time stone and held it up, she spoke quietly and glanced at Cap.

               “What if this could take you any place in time, show you any time?  You could kill Hitler as a baby, you could get rich off the great depression, strike the first oil.  Buy stocks… get lottery numbers…  know who wins every world series… fix every single bad thing that happened in your life?  All you had to do was just wish it and it happened?  You could become Captain America.   You could prevent tragedies before they happened, save someone you care about… take their place…”

               He looked at the ‘green piece of glass’.

               “I’d want to be as far away from it as possible.  Nothing is free in this world.”

               Gwen threw the stone up and caught it then slipped it into her pocket and said softly.

               “And I wish I’d never picked it up.”

               McDavid watched her.

               “Nodic bad boy… I showed you mine, now you show me yours.”

               Gwen groaned.

               “Okay well he was attacking… some civilians and I punched him.  He tricked me then stabbed me… then we captured him…  Then his brother showed up.  Things got messy and he escaped then I smacked him in the head with a hammer twice.”

               She sighed.

               “It should have ended there but I asked for leniency at his trial, because he wasn’t in his right mind… and then my dad shot me accidentally and while I was recuperating, I was at the same… uh base he was imprisoned on so we got to talking… Then the base was attacked I helped fight off the… uh Nazis and then he went after the Nazi General… got killed and … that’s all there is to say about it.”

               McDavid looked at her again.

               “Guy stabs you and you still asked for leniency at his trial?  Wow.  I don’t care how good looking a girl is…  She stabs me I’m running the other way.”

               Gwen shrugged.

               “I told you he was bad boy.  Got me out of there though… I just wish he’d come back.”

               McDavid motioned to her necklace that had popped out of her combat top.  The black sword was swaying back and forth from the motion of the plane.

               “Did he give you that?  Always wondered where you got it, looks so intricate.”

               Gwen looked at the chain and sword.

               “No, his parents did.  I told him to give it back to me, but it was found… It doesn’t matter.”

               She got quiet as Steve walked over to them with Colonel Philips who had woken up and had been talking to Cap in their corner of the cargo plane.  The colonel spoke, looking annoyed at having to ask the question.

               “Agent, your country needs some of your men, can you do your mission with four of you?”

               Gwen looked like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car.  She had no idea what she needed for the mission.  Peggy and Captain Fortin had done all the logistics.  They’d already cut the squad down from twelve. 

She would love to just make the call, look brilliant, tactical and decisive.  She was brilliant and could be tactical, but it was really hard to be decisive when she was friends with all six of her squadmates.  Some more than others but the mission Steve and the Colonel were going on was dangerous.  HYDRA, an infinity stone.  She’d be worried about Natasha and Clint surviving.  They were peak human, what could her team of misfit Canadians do in the face of supervillains? 

This was technically Gwen’s operation, an MI6 op which she was now legally part of, if under false pretenses.  She hadn’t had anything to do with the planning, but the file Peggy had put together for her said she could absolutely make this judgment call.  Theoretically she should know the answer.  She did the same training for the mission as the rest of her team.  She knew the mountain pass they had to take.  The overland route.  How many supplies they would need.  How much each of them could carry. 

It wasn’t any of that though, she knew this mission was going to cost Steve everything and some of the people on it did not come back from it they were awarded medals for their participation but like Falstaff said in the book her English class was studying — ‘What is honor?... Who hath it?  He that died o’ Wednesday?’  Her friends wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for her changing the past.  Gwen stood up.

“Let me do some math, please and Captain Fortin and Peggy need to sign off… When I signed up for this, I gave them the wheel.  They’re the Captain’s men.”

Gwen walked into the maze of tarped transport vehicles and when she was sure no one was looking she lifted her wrist and summoned her bracer.  She tapped an SQL query on the touch pad with the rapid pace of a teen who grew up texting with one thumb.  She waited for what seemed like an eternity for the casualty list in the after-action report.  Then she searched the database for each one of her squad.  The only member she couldn’t verify the status of in late 1945 was McDavid, he was there… listed on an SSR/MI6 mission which could be Steves or hers because Peggy was embedded with the SSR but the report was garbled.  Random ASCII characters from the corruption.  She swore.

“Language.”

Gwen waved her hand over the touch screen, and it went dark.  She quickly hid her left wrist behind her back until the bracer soaked into her flesh.  She smiled after she got over her adrenaline rush of almost being seen with what for this time was hyper-advanced technology.  Her response came naturally; She’d been told numerous times in 2023 to watch her language by the ‘old man’.

“Sorry, Cap.”

She swore at herself inside her head.  Her response had sounded far too familiar for someone who’d only met him in passing.  He looked at her while she stood in the shadow of the tarped equipment.

“I can’t help but feel like we’ve met before.”

Gwen shrugged.

“We’re both from New York.  Maybe there.  Even if you are from Brooklyn.  Which I won’t hold against you… much.”

She wrinkled her nose as she said Brooklyn.  Steve laughed.

“Oh, those are fighting words.”

Gwen shrugged.

“I like my odds.”

He leaned on one of the covered APC’s then got a serious look on his face.

“Look, Willow, we wouldn’t be asking if it wasn’t important.”

Gwen nodded.

“I… don’t know what to say or do.  In a situation like this at home?  I’d ask my dad… or my boss, or this guy who’s teaching me how to box, he used to be military… but here… your mission someone’s not coming back from it.  These guys are my friends.  If… if they’re with me I can keep them safe.”

Gwen kept rolling a line from a movie over in her head about doing something long enough that you would lose people… At the time she and her mom had just been gushing over the actors.  Never in her life did she think anything from a military movie would apply to her.  Steve smiled.

“That guy teaching you to box… where did he serve?  What would he tell you to do?”

Gwen’s lips turned into a sad smile.

“Europe… He would tell me to do the greatest good.  He’d say sacrifice is part of being who we are and sometimes you need to know when to let go.”

Steve nodded.

“He sounds like a smart man, one of the people we should be listening too.  I have no advice for you, Willow, I just have one thing to say, and that is anyone you send with me I’ll do everything in my power to get them home alive.”

He turned to leave after his statement.  Gwen thought wistfully… you can’t even get yourself out of this ‘alive’… She moved to catch up.  She opened her mouth to say it, warn him what was coming.  Tell him about the Valkyrie tell him to hold Peggy tight.  He turned to her.

“Do you need something?”

Gwen clamped her mouth shut tightly and shook her head.  Her hands were shaking.  Every fiber in her was screaming for her to say something.  But no frozen Steve, no Avengers led by Captain America.  No Spider-Woman with his guidance.  No Steve to stop her from beating Peter within an inch of his life in the hospital.  Maybe… maybe no Loki who had somewhat redeemed himself…

Steve noticed Gwen’s body language and he turned to her.

“Willow if you know something, anything that can help with our mission, that can keep people safe… you need to tell me.”

Gwen opened her mouth, but she couldn’t do it.  She could not say the words.  She was paralyzed with the fears of what if… If there was no Cap, there would be no Spider-Woman who was ready to fight Loki or his army.  He was staring at her.

“Cap you need to promise me… you need to understand if I know something and I’m not sharing it the cost… the…  that you’d do the same thing in my shoes.  Don’t hate me.  Please don’t hate me.  I couldn’t take that.”

She had tears in her eyes.  He was her hero.  He was the white knight on a horse.  She could save him the biggest heartbreak of his life.  But she wouldn’t.  For the same reason she would not use the Time stone to save her mother, stop her and Peter from setting foot near that particle accelerator, save Uncle Ben, stop her father from getting beaten to near death, save Loki or change anything that had happened to her, because that wasn’t her.  She was the girl that her father, Uncle Ben, mother, Aunt May and Steve taught her to be.  To do the right thing even when no one understands.  Even when she was tearing her own heart out, she was the broken hero they had made her. 

She had the power to be a Time god in the palm of her hand but she knew she didn’t have the wisdom, or the right to change the course of history.  She’d already done so much wrong back here she would not make it worse if it was within her own power.

Steve looked at her, really looked at her.  He saw himself mirrored in her eyes.  Whatever she was holding back was destroying her.  He barely knew this woman and she looked at him like he was her hero.  It was almost like she was begging him to ask her one more time so she could just let it out.  He knew if he asked again, she would tell him everything.  He put his hands on her shoulders much like he would do in seventy years by her mother’s graveside.

“I believe you.”

He wasn’t sure what to do with what happened next.  She grabbed him with a strength equal to his own and just hugged him tightly while sobbing into his chest.  Peggy came upon the two and kept her distance.  Steve gave a small shrug.  Peggy motioned with her head.  Steve wrapped his arms around Gwen.  He released her then said as gruffly as Steve Rogers could manage…

“I’ll go discuss the situation with Agent Carter, I’ll let them know you’re still rethinking the plan.”

*****

Peggy & Steve Rogers – enroute to Aviano, Italy 1945

               Steve walked towards the front of the plane with Peggy and asked in a confused voice.

               “What just happened back there?”

               Peggy glanced back in the direction of Gwen.

               “I’ll explain it one day.”

               Steve nodded and looked towards the front of the plane then paused and took Peggy’s arm gently with his hand.

               “She’s like me, isn’t she?  She nearly broke my back with that hug.”

               Peggy sighed and rubbed her forehead.

               “Yes, she bloody well is, and you know what you went through after the blasted injection.  That’s why I didn’t tell anyone, and you won’t either.”

               He frowned.

               “She’s just a kid.  Who would do this to a kid?  I can’t believe they did that to her and then you turned her into a soldier.  She’s barely holding it together.  She can’t go into combat like that.  I can’t believe you’re playing along.”

               Peggy turned away from him and tapped her foot finally she turned back to Steve.

               “Right now, she’s a lost fifteen year old girl trying to get home to her dad who is in the hospital dying.  All I’m doing for her is getting her as close to home as I can.”

Chapter Text

Aviano Air Base - Aviano, Italy – March 3, 1945 – 0900 Local Time

               Gwen was standing with her squad.  Captain Fortin was speaking to Peggy, Colonel Philips and Captain Rogers.  He was being polite, at least for his usual French-Canadian self but he was not happy.  Finally, he threw up his hands and once he was out of earshot of the Colonel he swore a few times in French.  He motioned at Gwen.

               “Thompson, come here.”

               Dugan shoved Gwen gently.

               “Oh, oh, looks like someone’s in trouble.”

               Gwen shot him a dirty look and jogged over to Captain Fortin.  She hadn’t really appreciated just how much facial hair the man had before.  Aviano was warmish today and for once he wasn’t bundled up and she was seeing him in full morning light.

               “This is your operation.  We’re just here to make sure you get there safely.  They want three of my men, three of the men assigned to your operation.  That means we need to split eighty pounds of supplies between the four of us.  That’s twenty more pounds for you.  Don’t go trying to be all tough, can you do it, that’s almost two hundred and fifty klicks on foot. Twenty extra pounds.  Can you do it?”

               Gwen tried not to look incredulous she could easily carry all of it… ignoring the fact she wasn’t tall or broad shouldered enough to do it without basically be walking pack with eye holes.

               “If I was taller, I’d carry all of it, sir but as it is I can do twenty.”

               He gave her the smallest of nods.  He wasn’t a man to throw compliments at people.  He was career military who had signed up before the war and would be in the army long after the war.  It showed in his attitude.  He was about to say dismissed and Gwen could tell, so she interrupted him.

               “Sir?”

               He stopped.

               “What is it, Thompson?”

               She glanced back at the squad remembering the garbled line of useless characters her query about McDavid had returned from the SHIELD database.

               “We should keep McDavid with us.”

               Her eyes drifted to Steve then back to Captain Fortin.

               “People aren’t coming back from where they’re going, he’s safer with us… he’s young and he’s the only kid his family has left.”

               He nodded curtly before saying.

               “This is about logistics and the mission not about emotions.”

               Then he looked at his squad.

               “Canucks! Front end center.  Leave your packs.”

               The whole squad ran over.

               “Form up, what are we Americans?”

               He looked each over.

               “I need three volunteers to go with Colonel Philips and the Howling Commandos, step forward if you want to spend the next three weeks in luxury of a small trip into the alps where the lazy people climb.  Agent Thompson here tells me this is going to be more dangerous than our trip into the real mountains. Any of you lazy sacks want to take the easy way out?”

               They all stepped forward.  It wasn’t that they didn’t support Gwen, but this was going to be taking the fight to the Nazis it’s what they all signed up for and each knew it was a mission of vital importance.  They all knew it was going to involve real combat.  Captain Fortin growled.

               “I knew you were all soft.  McDavid, Dugan step back.  No freeloading for you.  The rest grab your weapons and rations then report to Captain Rogers for your assignments.  Move it!”

               And that was it, then there were four.  Gwen, Captain Fortin, McDavid and Dugan.  Everyone said their goodbyes.  Peggy motioned for Gwen to come over.  Captain Fortin addressed Gwen.

               “Agent, check in with your commander.  Warm food at the base mess last good meal you’re going to get for a long time.  Wheels up in forty-five.  Don’t waste time.”

               Gwen ran to Peggy.  The older woman folded her hands behind her back and looked Gwen over.

               “You broke cover.  I’m not impressed.  Are you sure you’re okay?  I can still twist the Colonel’s arm… get him to give the three men back.”

               Gwen made an ‘I don’t know’ gesture.

               “What do you want me to say?”

               Peggy looked Gwen over.

               “That this is the right choice.  You know what happens here.”

               Gwen shook her head.

               “I couldn’t tell Cap; I can’t tell you.  I’m sorry.  I don’t even know anymore… what did I change?  Did me being here delay you so everything changes?  New York is a nuclear ruins… I just don’t know anymore.”

               Peggy was almost pleading when she spoke.

               “Just tell me that Steve and I get our dance.”

               Gwen broke inside.  It felt like Peggy had stabbed her in the heart.  It was the question Agent Carter had been wanting to ask for the whole trip, but she dared not here at the last minute she did it.  She took a few moments to find her voice before she spoke.

               “If I told you, it wouldn’t change anything.  Cap will still do what Cap always does.  What he taught me to do, what he expects me to do.  He will be the hero he was born to be.  And in the future when the Earth… the world needs him he will lead the charge, and I will be at his side because of who he is.  Whatever happens today remember in seventy years he leads us in saving the world.”

               Peggy looked at Gwen in a new light, then she looked back at Steve.

               “I didn’t understand before.  I see it now.  He’ll see it too one day.”

               Gwen hugged Peggy who had a reaction much like Steve did initially but then hugged her back.  Thankfully for the British agent the teenager did not use her full strength this time around.  Gwen whispered.

               “I know it’s not in your nature but hug him tight and kiss him like you want too before the mission.  Thanks for everything I have another hero now.  See you in another life.”

               Gwen released Peggy and fought back tears as she ran off towards the mess hall.  Peggy watched the teenager’s shrinking form, and her thoughts drifted back to her debate with Howard whether to wake the girl up or not.  With everything she knew now… it had been the right choice.  She saw the light Steve had in his eyes in the girl and she realized she’d helped forge a hero.  She pondered if she’d live to see Steve and Gwen saving the world… and if she was invited.

*****

Himalayan Mountains – March 10, 1945.

The commandos and Gwen had ridden trains across India, walked through wetlands then into a jungle and then to foothills, now they were a stone’s throw from her destination. They had just crested a one of the high points.  The local guide had steered them away from the standard path due to a recent rockslide that had blocked the pass with unstable debris. 

The man’s name was Tenzin, and he spoke bad English.  Gwen was terrible with adult ages, but she could tell he was younger than he looked.  Years of traversing the mountains as a guide had weathered him like the stone he’d spent so much of his life traversing.  Convincing him to even come with them had been a real challenge right up until Gwen spoke the words Kamar-Taj.  Every other Sherpa had made a very hasty escape, but Tenzin had nodded, stated his fee and told them where to meet in the morning.

Tenzin kept speaking to the mountain as they travelled like he was talking to the stone.  He’d nod every so often as if it had spoken back. They were only a quarter of the way up the rise; It had taken two hours.  He stopped suddenly and spoke.

“A storm is coming.”

Dugan laughed after looking up at the sun that was shining on them.

“Aye, and the mountain told you that did it, b’y?”

McDavid glared at Dugan.

“Have some respect man.  He knows these mountains he’s lived here his whole life and if you’d read the mission briefing the weather can change here faster than it does in Edmonton, and I can tell you it changes fast at home.”

Meanwhile Gwen’s spider sense was screaming at her that a whole lot of danger was coming their way.  It was pervasive and it was making her skin crawl under her cold weather gear.  She said quietly.

“He’s right.  Something dangerous is coming.”

               She looked at Tenzin.

               “What do we do, sir?”

               He looked down and then looked up.  They were out in the open and there was no place to hide, then he said with his gravelly voice in broken English.

               “Survive.  Move.”

               The group continued on.  Tenzin had been right.  A blizzard slammed into them as they crested the rise.  The wind was tearing at them.  They could move but when it gusted it nearly knocked them all down, save for Gwen whose super-strength made her able to resist it better. 

She could have pressed ahead but what was the point.  She’d leave her team behind, her guide.  When they fell, she picked them up.  When they couldn’t move forward, she pushed them forward and she shoved them onwards as gently as she could.  If she had her way they would make it through this.  They had lashed a rope between each other, so they did not get lost in the white-out conditions.

They reached the other side then there was a terrible rumbling and Gwen’s spider sense spiked from a just this background noise to screaming at her that hell was on its way. This is all dangerous to do something you’re about to die levels, but she couldn’t do anything.  Once again, she knew it was coming but all she could do was brace for impact and hold on to the others who were in danger. 

She grabbed onto the ropes and yanked them.  Her squad and Tenzin were flung towards her but even with all her power she couldn’t save them from the wrath of nature that came crashing down on their heads in the form of an avalanche they couldn’t see coming.  The world seemed to collapse around them.  Gwen couldn’t hang on and the ropes snapped. 

The wave of snow engulfed her, and she was tossed along the mountain.  She felt herself falling over a cliff into a ravine.  She tried desperately to grab onto the mountain but even with her spider-grip powers and massive super-strength she lost her grip almost instantly and fell a hundred feet.  She slammed into the wall of the ravine and hit her head.  The world went black as snow buried her.

Chapter Text

Somewhere deep in the Himalayan Mountains – March 10, 1945

               Gwen woke up.  She could feel pressure all around her.  She couldn’t breathe.  Her lower right arm felt like it had been run over by a mountain full of snow.  She punched through the snow with her left arm and launched a web.  It caught something and she pulled, then wrapped web strand around her left wrist and pulled again.  She was only a few feet under the snow, but it felt like it was miles of snow before she could fully breathe again.  She gasped for air after spit snow out of her mouth.

               She could tell that she’d broken her right arm, it wasn’t sitting right.  She took a few deep breaths and looked around.  She could see their equipment scattered all over but she wasn’t seeing any signs of her squad or their guide.  She let Symbie engulf her under the heavy winter clothes and looked around.  Her optics were useless without Charlotte to interface with them.  She didn’t have time to think.  Every second was another second less air her team had.

               Gwen didn’t think she acted, and it caused her unbearable pain.  She lifted her arm and formed the bracer which half set her arm, and she cried out in agony.  Tears were dropping down her cheeks and freezing before they reached her chin.  Her whole body was shaking from the cold, from the pain.  She quickly tapped in the command to delete the SHIELD database.  It was not worth anyone’s life.

               Her nanosuit started to boot up the OS and Charlotte spoke for the first time since Gwen picked up the Tesseract.

               “Suit Online.  Gwen you are injured.  You have suffered a distal radial fracture to your right arm.  You have a fractured skull.  You have a severe concussion. You are in need of immediate medical attention.  The temperature is dropping rapidly you need shelter.”

               Gwen growled through clenched teeth.

               “I know my arm is broken I need thermal imaging now.  There are four other people buried here, and I need to get them out now.  There was an avalanche.”

               Her optics flared to life, and she could see the men she had been with clearly under the snow.  She rushed to the closest heat signature and with a shovel from one of their packs she dug.  It was McDavid.  She couldn’t get down to him with a broken arm so she flicked her lift wrist and hauled him up the same way she’d hauled herself up with one hand.  He was coughing but conscious.  He hadn’t looked up at her or even noticed he had thick spider web attached to his chest.  The wind was still howling.  Gwen shouted over it and pointed.

               “Can you move?  Go there it’s sheltered.”

               McDavid held his hand in front of his face and crawled to the shelter Gwen indicated.  Gwen looked around again with her thermal imaging.  She rushed to the next commando and dug him out.  He was unconscious.  She grabbed him by the collar and dragged him across the snow.  She wasn’t wasting time letting Charlotte assess their vitals or injuries.  Gwen rushed back out into the storm.  McDavid stared after her because now that she had Symbie out she looked like Gwenom and it was pretty horrifying to someone from the 1940’s he had never seen anything like it before.

               Gwen rushed out again and pulled Captain Fortin back, he was also unconscious. The teenager ran out again and the wind was gusting through the ravine with such force she was having trouble breathing as it pounded her lungs.  She found Tenzin and hauled him out of the snow.  He was conscious and shivering.  She dragged him back to the shelter.  Then she rushed out again.  She gathered the packs and weapons she could find.  All and all she retrieved most of their gear.  It wasn’t easy and she was using every sensor Charlotte had access to find it then gather it and web it together in sacks.

               Even with Symbie and all of her cold weather gear she was near frozen solid by the time she got out of the wind.  She collapsed and Symbie oozed inside of her desperate for her warmth.  McDavid was shivering and staring at her.  She collapsed on her knees and looked at McDavid.

               “McDavid, I need you to set my arm it’s broken.”

               He was still staring at her with wide eyes.  Like she was an alien and Symbie was as close to one as you could get so he wasn’t far off.  Gwen snapped her fingers in front of his eyes.

               “Corporal!”

               He was still in some form of shock.  She shook him.

               “James!  I need you to snap out of this or we’re all going to die.”

               He looked up at her as she stood over him.

               “What are you?

                Gwen collapsed onto her knees.

               “I’m Willow Thompson, the one who reminds you of your sister and I need your help to save us.  I am who I’ve always been.”

               He was still trying to process it all.  Gwen could empathize but they didn’t have time; Minutes would count if she was going to get the shelter up and get the heater going.

               “James, I need a hero.  I can’t be the hero alone today.  I need you to set my arm and then I need you to start assessing everyone for injuries.  Spring would want you to live.  Help me.  Be the hero I need today.”

               He blinked slowly then looked at her arm which was still looking like it was bent at a weird angle.  He looked up at her face.

               “I’ll hurt you.”

               Gwen offered arm.

               “I’ve been stabbed, I’ve been shot, and I’ve been blasted with lasers.  I can survive this, but I need it to set before it can heal.  We’ve practiced this.  You can do it.”

               She grabbed a belt that had snapped and had been dragged along with the kit she grabbed.  She put the leather strap in her mouth and bit down.  Her grabbed her arm and forced it straight.  Gwen almost passed out from the pain.  She screamed but it was muffled as she bit down on the strap.  Tears rolled down her cheeks.

               She tried to stand but lost her balance and collapsed on her butt.  She clutched her arm to herself.  She tried to force Symbie out but the symbiote was apparently not okay with the cold.  She was sobbing.

               “Charlotte use the nanosuit to make a cast.”

               Charlotte complied and Gwen cried out again as her broken bones snapped together fully.  She wanted to just curl up and sleep, but she knew she couldn’t.  McDavid was looking at her like he wanted to reach out, do something, anything to help her.  She held up her left hand.

               “No, them.  I’m conscious they’re not.”

               She pushed herself up with her left arm.  Then she started pulling out the tents and used their climbing pitons to spike them into the stone above them.  It was awkward for her because she was right handed but she was able to use her right to at least hold things up but her wrist couldn’t move which is exactly what the nanosuit cast was for.  It was already starting to warm up with their body heat.  Then Gwen got the stove going.  It was small but it would do what she needed.  Boil water.  Eventually cook food.  But right now it would mean they wouldn’t freeze to death.  As she finished, she collapsed and thanked Peggy for forcing her through the Commando training because without it she wouldn’t have had the first clue how to survive this mess.

               Gwen leaned against the rockface under the outcropping and let her eyes close.  Charlotte had been quiet until now she spoke.

               “Gwen, I have assessed your allies.”

               The teenager looked at Dugan and could see the medical scan results.  Concussion, hypoxia.  Captain Fortin the same with some CO2 build up and internal injuries that would need medical attention within two or three days or they would be fatal.  She was about to look at Tenzin but McDavid came to her and crouched down.

               “Thompson, they’re in bad shape.  Tenzin… multiple broken bones and he’s coughing up blood.  He’s asking for you he’s having trouble talking.  He’s not going to last through the night.  I gave him a morphine injection it’s all I could do.”

               Gwen gave a nod and stood up unsteadily.  Tenzin looked up at her and coughed up some blood.  Charlotte’s medical scan report was grim for him.  Fractured skull, broken legs, crushed pelvis, one of his ribs had pierced his lung.  There was nothing they could do for him.  He was dying and Gwen was surprised he could even be conscious.  He offered up the fist of his good arm when he opened it there was a golden ring with a flag bar on top that would be worn on two fingers.  He spoke through the gurgling blood his English still broken

               “Kamar-Taj.”

               He pushed it into Gwen’s palm and then made a circle motion with his hand with a finger pointed out then he pointed at Gwen then his head lulled back, and the life left his eyes.  She collapsed while clutching onto the ring.  That was the second time she had watched someone die and it wasn’t any easier.  If she’d been faster, if she’d understood her spider sense better… if she had grabbed him shielded him… if… if…

               One day she’d realize that this was a sling ring used by mages to make portals and he had been trying to help her save everyone but that wouldn’t be today.  She was staring at the Tenzin’s lifeless form into his dead eyes.  McDavid knelt down and closed the guide’s eyes.  He put his hand on Gwen’s left shoulder.

               “He’s gone Willow.”

               Gwen looked at the golden sling ring in her palm.  McDavid looked at it.

               “What is that?”

               Gwen shrugged.

               “I don’t know.  He wants it to go to Kamar-Taj it is where I’m heading.”

               McDavid looked at her.

               “I thought we were going to Kathmandu.”

               Gwen put the ring in one of her pockets and held up her left hand.  McDavid pulled her up.

               “Kamar-Taj is in Kathmandu.  I need to collect snow so we can boil water and get some hot water bottles filled.  Then we need to eat.”

               He looked at her long and hard.

               “Then you will tell me what is really going on, you owe me that much, Thompson.”

               Gwen sighed.

               “My name is really Gwen Stacy.  The rest… we will see.”

               An hour later the two were sitting by the stove eating rations.  Gwen was on her third ration pack, but she had packed four times what the other had because she knew her nutrition requirements were immense.  They had Dugan and Captain Fortin in blanket bundles with hot water bottles to keep them warm and ward off hypothermia.  Tenzin’s remains had been wrapped in his tent and hidden under a rock outcropping respectfully, away from the shelter.

               They were eating silently but McDavid kept looking at Gwen.  He was caught between all the memories he had of her as a teammate and the realization that she was some sort of monster in a human skin.  Things were starting to align in his memory.  When she saved him on the rope bridge so easily.  How she almost never shivered or how she didn’t sweat half as much as any of the commandos.  How it always seemed she wasn’t quite right… the heavy breathing that seemed fake.  Her appearance as Gwenom had given him an entirely different lens to look at her through.

               Gwen felt McDavid’s eyes looking through her.  She made a face as she ate the pemmican then she laughed to herself as she remembered a cooking YouTube video she watched about it that explained the history and gave a recipe.  She’d wondered at the time what it would taste like, what the texture would be like and she’d been eating for almost a week.  McDavid fell into old habit as he tried to process the reality of who this woman was, he glanced at Dugan and said with a badly imitated Newfoundlander accent.

               “Share the joke, eh, b’y?”

               Gwen blushed.

               “It is hard to explain but I know a lot more about pemmican then I think I ever wanted to know, and I was wondering about trying it… and now I have.  We’ve been eating it for days…”

               McDavid opened the wrapping on the chocolate Gwen had tossed at him.   She always ended up with extras, she needed protein not sugar.  He glanced at her as he ate the first one.

               “You could always try.”

               Gwen sighed.

               “I’m going to show you something and maybe… maybe you’ll understand why I am not sure you could.”

               She pulled her right arm out of her coat and there was a pink nanotech cast with cyan web patterns on her hand, wrist and forearm it faded into white as hit reached her elbow.  The vibranium bracer formed.  It glinted against the flame of the stove.  Nestled in it was her hot pink drone Skully and she waved her hand over it and the screen formed.  He stared at it wide-eyed.

               “Charlotte… hologram, my saved cooking YouTube videos, Pemmican.”

               Charlotte spoke in her head.

               “Accessing…  Opening…  Playback initiated…”

               Gwen’s holo-projector flickered into existence and a man in his early thirties appeared he had a can and started speaking.  Gwen waved her left hand over the hologram, and it vanished.  McDavid was staring at her wrist with a half-eaten chocolate bar in his hand.  She looked at him.

               “Say something?  Anything?”

               She let the bracer sink into the nanosuit and slid her arm back into the coat.  He finally took another bite of his chocolate bar and started chewing it while staring off into space.  After several minutes he spoke.

               “So… that’s a movie projector on your wrist? That is the strangest movie I’ve ever seen.”

               Gwen started laughing.  It was so mundane and so ridiculous at the same time.  It was abused.  After a few seconds she lapsed back into their uncomfortable silence.  The howl of the wind through the ravine reminded them both that they were surrounded by danger. 

He finished his chocolate bar and then opened the second one Gwen had given him and started melting it in a couple of cups on the small burner he added snow and turned them into hot chocolate.  He handed one to Gwen.

               “You… could tell me about who you really are, Gwen Stacy.  I’m not going to get much sleep, and I don’t think you are either.”

               Gwen leaned against the rockface and sighed cupping her hands around the hot chocolate and soaking up the warmth.

               “I am from Queens.  I do have a cousin who was like my brother named Peter.  My Uncle Ben did die… and it was my fault.  I did have a frenemy… who stabbed me in the gut and I hit him with a hammer… a really big hammer twice… I did speak at his trial, and he was maybe almost my boyfriend who died in battle, but I’m fifteen years old.  Before I started training with you guys, I couldn’t even read a map or use a compass…”

               She got sad suddenly as she looked at the cup of hot chocolate.

               “My Uncle Ben, he took me for hot chocolate just before he died.  Told me to let it go… and I ignored him, and he died because of that.  I used to love hot chocolate…”

               McDavid took a drink of his makeshift hot chocolate and spoke without looking at Gwen.

               “I used to love it too…  Spring would make it for us.”

               He eventually looked directly at Gwen.

               “You’re from 2023.”

               She gave a slight shrug in response.

               “You got me.”

               McDavid finished his hot chocolate and pulled his mittens off and held his hands near the burner.

               “Why are we here Gwen?  Why did we risk our lives? What is so important in Kathmandu, Kamar-Taj, is this about the war?  Are you here to fix something?  Is this why you told the captain not to let me go with Colonel Phillips?”

               Gwen pulled the Time infinity stone out.

               “This isn’t glass, James.  It is a powerful artifact that lets me travel through time and I used it by accident.  I don’t know how to use it, and I am going to Kamar-Taj to speak to its current owner so she can tell me how to fix this.  Everything I do here risks destroying everything I know.  Risks derailing lives from…  I am a child with the power of a God, and I am lost.  We are here so I don’t destroy the world by killing the wrong mosquito and it just keeps getting worse.  I just want to go home and Peggy… Agent Carter is helping.  That is why here so I can get back to 2023.  I would have come alone I would have done this myself.  I would never willingly risk anyone else’s life.  I have all this power, and I can’t save anyone, not even myself.  So why are we here?  Because I’m a sad, useless human being who has power I shouldn’t all I do with it is hurt people.”

               McDavid pulled on his mittens and collapsed on his blanket.

               “I don’t understand any of this really, I’m just a boy from Alberta.  I should be working on Dad’s oil find.  Not here.  Not in a war.  I guess I don’t really know you but for a fifteen year old… you seem really smart.  You saved us.  Pulled us out of an avalanche we should have all died in.  Built a shelter…  I’d say you’re not useless… unless its with a gun but I suppose you don’t have use for those in 2023… no wars…”

               Gwen laughed in spite of her self-loathing laced rant.

               “I used to go shooting with my dad once a month at least, sometimes once a week.  He’s a cop… But…”

               She kicked her rifle.

               “These are terrible!  You should me with a real assault rifle.”

               McDavid looked at the Captain and Dugan.

               “Gwen, can we make it to Kathmandu?  I didn’t find a map in any of the packs.  It was in Tenzin’s and you couldn’t find that.  Do you have anything that can find out where we are and where we need to go in that wrist thing of yours?”

               Gwen looked at her arm and spoke.

               “Yes, once the storm passes.  Charlotte can use Skully and her own scanners to pick the safest route and scout for Kathmandu.”

               He scratched his head.

               “I don’t understand.”

               Gwen formed her bracer and tapped to make Charlotte’s voice audible to others.

               “Charlotte introduce yourself, please.”

               Charlotte projected a spider with Gwen’s holo-projector it was a pretty pink and cyan spider that mimicked the colors of Gwen’s actual costume.

               “Hello Corporal McDavid, I am Charlotte, I am Gwen’s artificial intelligence.  I assist her with controlling her nanosuit, scanners and drones.  I act as her personal assistant, tactical analysist, medical analyst amongst other things.  I am named after Charlotte the Spider.  Is there anything else you would like to know?”

               He stared at the holographic spider for a few minutes before speaking.

               “What is an artificial intelligence?  And… uh who is Charlotte the spider?”

               Charlotte responded.

               “Charlotte the Spider is a character in a children’s novel written by E.B. White.  It was first published in October of 1952.  It also included a pig named Wilbur and a human child named Fern.  It has been in print consistently for the last seventy-one years.  Several plays and movies have been produced utilizing the rights to the intellectual property.  Would you like me to list them?”

               Gwen muttered.

               “Did you just give him all that because you don’t want to discuss what an AI is?  Is it too personal for you?”

               McDavid looked at Gwen.

               “It’s… an artificial person?  It… talks.”

               Gwen shook her head.

               “No, she isn’t, erm… she’s like a mechanical brain.  She can be emotional, but she rejects that part of herself.  She calls emotions inefficient.  She is her own… I guess person works… soon someone is going to show the world something called a computer.  I think there was one in World War 2… for decryption or something.  They take up football stadium sized rooms when they first show up but… by 2023 everyone has one in their pocket and they’re phones too.  No wires…  like radios only we can call anywhere in the world where there is service…  I shouldn’t be telling you any of this.”

               He started packing up their garbage.

               “Can I ask what happens to me?  Do I live until 2023?  Is that why you said you’ll shake my hand?”

               Gwen shrugged.

               “I can tell you honestly, I have no idea what happens to you in the future.  It is a long story but… I had some information but by the time I met you… I couldn’t read it anymore it was broken.”

               He stuffed their refuse into his pack and knelt on his blanket.

               “How about the other mission, did they stop the plane?  Did our team make it out alive?”

               Gwen shrugged.

               “In my time yes.  But Captain Rogers didn’t make it, they lost some Americans… but me being here could have changed things.  I don’t belong here and it’s not like the data is going to update retroactively.  I have no idea.  I am flying completely blind in that way so I couldn’t even tell you.  I’ve changed so many things.”

               McDavid was starting to prepare for sleep.

               “I have one more question… what… are you really?”

               Gwen waved her hand over the hologram of Charlotte and it vanished she wasn’t even sure how to answer it finally she spoke.

               “You know Captain Rogers is different right?  You saw him in the USO shows lifting a motorcycle…”

               McDavid nodded.

               “He was injected with a serum.  I was dosed with a stronger version.  I… am a spider-person.  I can climb walls, shoot webs… I’m stronger, faster… it doesn’t make me better.  It just makes me dangerous.  And the costume?  That’s a synthetic alien life form the Nazi’s created and I got infected with in 2023… maybe I created it when I came back, I don’t know.  I’m not a monster, I’m just a fifteen year old girl who got zapped and got powers.  I’m not the chosen one; I’m not the best of the best so I was chosen.  It was two kids being stupid kids and then there was a terrible accident.”

               He snuggled into his blanket.  He leaned his head on his elbow and looked at Gwen again.

               “When you get home… what day will it be?”

               Gwen shrugged.

               “I have no idea; The stone didn’t come with an instruction manual… if it’s when I left it was the middle of October.”

               He smiled wryly.

               “Name the place I’ll be there on Halloween 2023… if I’m alive.  I’ll buy you a hot chocolate and you can shake my hand like you promised.”

               Gwen let a sad smile grace her lips.

               “Crown Diner, Queens, New York and I’ll buy the hot chocolate…  wouldn’t want you wasting your old age pension.  I’ll wake you in four hours for your watch.”

               He chuckled and closed his eyes.  Gwen noticed him tossing and turning.  She did something that surprised even her.  She started singing softly as she went about checking on the Captain and Dugan.  The song wasn’t one that would normally be a lullaby, in fact it was one of the angry-girl-punk songs she’d written and performed with the CrushBitches but she sang it softly here.  After a few minutes of soft singing Corporal James McDavid was sleeping soundly.  Gwen knelt down and pulled his blanket up higher to ward off the cold.

               She trailed off with the last lyrics of the song.

               “The Cheshire Cat, My Almost Friend…”

               She smiled sadly because when she was singing about the Cheshire Cat it was actually all about Loki and their relationship.

Chapter Text

Himalayan Mountains – March 11, 1945

               Gwen was bundled up as she launched Skully.  She was concerned about her poor little drone.  She hadn’t designed it with cold weather in mind but the repulsor it was using was version four and it was designed for high altitude and space flight.  She hoped that would be enough.  The wind was calm.  She walked back into the shelter and tugged her scarf down and pulled off her hat.  Corporal McDavid was already getting the water boiled to keep their unconscious comrades warm as they started the approach to Kathmandu.

               He looked up as she entered.

               “How does it look out there?”

               Gwen pulled off her outer parka and laid it away from the canvas that made up their shelter walls.

               “Clear, not a lot of wind.  Sun is shining.  Charlotte is mapping the terrain.  She’ll give us an optimal route.  She’s already figured out where we are in relation to Kathmandu.  She had a map, and she assures me the geography of the world doesn’t change in eighty years so… take that for what you will.’

               He pulled a pot of boiling water off and filled a water bottle.

               “Eat your breakfasts I’ll keep working on the ski sleds.  Are you sure you can pull them both?”

               Gwen nodded.

               “I can throw transport trucks a couple of unconscious men, is easy.”

               He tugged some rope tight and tied it off as he finished the second ski-sled.

               “You ever worry about hurting anyone with that much strength?”

               Gwen ate a spoon full of her breakfast ration.

               “All the time.  Especially when I’m angry… I’ve made mistakes.”

               McDavid didn’t pry further.  He was starting to see the real Gwen.  He’d seen hints of her all along in their training, and the mission but with the truth out there it was becoming clearer.  He tested the ski-sled that he was kneeling by to make sure it was solid.

               “So, all through training you were purposefully holding back.  And you just let us treat you like a disease we needed to get rid of… And the whole time you could have left us in a cloud of snow.  You fell in that freezing cold water on purpose.  That would take some real willpower.  I guess you’re used to it though.  Just letting everyone think you just a normal girl?”

               Gwen shrunk against the wall.

               “I’m sorry.  Peggy told me to do worse than the worst man there.  And the worst man there shouldn’t have been there at all he was failing everything barely, but he was still failing.  And yeah, I hide it from almost everyone.  I don’t want people to look at me like you looked at me last night.  People are scared of what they don’t understand and in the stupid US in 2023 a strong girl is a scary girl.  I wear baggy clothes a lot of people see my muscles they’re libel to call me a transgirl and make me do DNA testing to prove that I’m a girl.  That probably won’t go over too well considering I’m part spider now.”

               He stopped and looked at her.

               “You’re part spider?  I didn’t see any extra legs… where do your webs come from?”

               Gwen blushed.

               “No… my webs were based on these chemical webs I made they would shoot out and form… but now its Symbie… it makes my webs for me.”

               He shook his head and stood up.

               “How long will it take to get that map thing?”

               Gwen shrugged.

               “Skully’s fast but it depends on the winds at higher altitudes.  It’s also super small.  Basically, I have no clue it was built for New York City not the Himalaya’s.  I mean technically it could work in outer space… not that it could get there…”

               Charlotte spoke out loud because Gwen hadn’t turned off the audio.

               “I believe I have the first leg of your trip mapped out.  If you can make a couple of two hundred foot climbs you can cut a day off your travel time and the overland route will be less demanding.  The climbs appear dangerous for non-spider-people.”

               Gwen glanced at McDavid.

               “He’s an experienced climber but I can just pull him up with a web if I have too.  Form my nanosuit so I can get a real time map as we travel.  I guess we should pack up camp.”

               Gwen’s non-Gwenom costume formed.  James looked at her and shrugged.

               “I like that one better the other one was… a little bit… okay a lot creepy.”

               The pair walked silently and worked together to get their unconscious team members up the vertical climbs.  It wasn’t an easy trek and McDavid was trying to conserve energy and body heat by trying not to communicate.  They camped in another outcropping Charlotte had found.

               The next day passed in very much the same way.  There was a five hundred foot climb but after that and a short walk across a snow field they were back on the main caravan path.  From there it was relatively easy going.  When they got close enough to Kathmandu that they could run into other people Gwen hid her technology and McDavid started dragging Dugan up the incline.

               The pair had to stop because they were in full cold weather gear and apparently it was in the seventies in Kathmandu.  They were stopped and pulling their clothes off and scratching their heads trying to figure out how to proceed with Captain Fortin and Corporal Dugan their ski-sleds were of little use on the floor of the valley where Kathmandu resided.  A Gurkha patrol in a jeep pulled up.

               They spoke to Corporal McDavid who kept looking at Gwen for guidance.  Gwen didn’t say anything and just let him handle it.  The Gurkhas didn’t seem interested in what she had to say.  Twenty minutes later a British army truck rolled up and the commandos and Gwen were loaded into the back.  And an hour later Gwen was dressed in her warm weather SOE uniform and standing in front of the British Allied Commander in Kathmandu.

               Gwen despised the uniform it was scratchy and a hideous brown color.  Also, it was stupidly warm for the temperatures in Kathmandu this time of year.   She tugged at her collar.  She thought her school uniform was bad; This was so, so, so much worse.  She hadn’t seen the corporal since they arrived in Kathmandu proper.  He’d been whisked away with the rest of the squad, and she had been corralled to command and told by a cranky British Colonel to get a uniform on and report to the Allied Commander.

               He was the typical high ranking British commander.  Impeccable uniform, snotty sounding accent and tiny mustache that Gwen thought looked absurd.  She was holding the file she’d been sent with to her chest.  She wanted none of this, she was hoping to sneak into town, find Kamar-Taj and get the hell out of 1945, but if she didn’t play the game here Peggy would be in trouble, so she just played along. 

He was reading a field report and didn’t seem to care that he was wasting Gwen’s time.  Finally, he looked at her with a disdainful glance.

“Agent Thompson.  I hear your trip here was eventful.”

She nodded.

               “Yes, sir.”

               He raised an eyebrow.

               “You’re a bloody yank?  In MI6?  Interesting.  I understand you have a confidential file that had to be hand delivered.”

               Gwen offered the file.

               “Here it is sir.”

               He opened it up and leafed through it briefly.

               “Looks to be in order.  You’re dismissed.  You have today to recover but then I expect you to admin pool for work.  We have no time for idle hands here.”

               Gwen spoke up.

               “Actually, sir, I have orders to continue on to Burma once I had recovered.  I’ll be leaving tomorrow.  I’ll need a resupply.”

               She produced another folder with her new orders.  Peggy had considered that local command might try to admin-nap her.  The Colonel read over the order.

               “Burma, someone must dislike you, yank.”

               He offered the folder back after signing it.

               “Report to supply then.  Good day.”

               Gwen spoke firmly.

               “Good day, Sir.”

               She followed her orders to the letter and started prepping her kit for the next leg of her fake journey so that anyone watching her would think she was doing exactly what was expected of her.  She heard a familiar voice behind her through the open door of her small bedroom at British Command.  She glanced back.

               “Corporal, it’s good to see you’re up and about.  Marry any nurses while you were gone?”

               He smiled.

               “No but Dugan and the Captain are awake.  Dugan’s already gotten slapped by three of them.  You’re getting ready to leave already?  I heard you were going to Burma…”

               Gwen nodded.

               “Yes.  You got me here with the package and now I have to go onto Burma…  I’ll stop by and see Captain Fortin and Dugan before I leave.”

               His eyes said he understood.  Gwen was well aware there could be ears anywhere here, especially during wartime.  Even the allies spied on each other.

               “I saw this amazing temple on the way here.  One of the locals called it Kamar-Taj, I can show you if you’d like.”

               Gwen turned to face him.

               “You found it?”

               He nodded.

               “Where is it?”

               He motioned with his hand.  Gwen put her uniform cap on and followed him.  He led her through the streets of the city, and they found a pretty run down looking temple.  She was unimpressed and it was definitely not Kamar-Taj.  Or at least not the one she remembered.

She was actually wondering how they fit that huge temple into the city.  Then she spotted her.  The bald-nan-clone.  The woman looked identical to how she did almost eighty years in the future.  The Ancient One had her hands folded behind her back and she was staring right at Gwen.  When Gwen started walking towards her the bald woman simply shook her head as if to say, not yet.

Gwen realized she was right.  She had to wait, pretend to leave for Burma and then come here.  Then no one would miss her.  The temple looked deserted besides the Ancient One, so James sat on the steps.  Gwen joined him.  He looked at her.

“Is this it?”

Gwen nodded.  He glanced around.

“Really doesn’t seem like much.”

Gwen shrugged.

“That’s how they want it to look.  Thanks, I was wondering how I’d find it.”

He smiled and rubbed his thighs.

“I guess this is good-bye for now then?”

Gwen shook her head.

“No, I have to look like I’m leaving for Burma if I am gone and my gear is here someone might go searching for me.  Peggy had it all worked out.  So, I’m just going to stick to the plan.  Say my goodbyes to the team and then late tonight I’ll come back.”

He sighed.

“How is this going to work?  When I see you in the future… what, you’re going to look exactly the same?”

Gwen looked down at herself.

“Minus the hideous uniform and depending on how long it takes the dye to wash out.  I’m blonde and I usually have the tips frosted pink.  But Peggy thought that was ‘anachronistic’ why do the British huge such big words?  Who are they trying to impress?”

He laughed and looked at her again.

“I thought the brown hair looked wrong on you.”

Gwen smiled and looked around them as the city bustled with life seeming to ignore their existence.

“Hey, McDavid, what do you call a blonde who dies her hair brown?”

He gave her a confused look then said.

“Gwen Stacy?”

Gwen laughed.

“No, artificially intelligent!”

He shook his head.

“I don’t get it.”

She smiled again.

“You will one day, and you’ll laugh.”

*****

Kathmandu – Temple of Kamar-Taj – 0300 Hours, March 15, 1945.

               Gwen had her full cold weather pack and was dressed for mountaineering in above freezing temperatures.  She had said her goodbyes and thanked the commandos for getting her here in one piece and she hadn’t let them thank her.  Now it was time to do the hard part.  Face up to her mistake.  She walked into the temple and the Ancient One was standing there waiting for her.

               “I have been waiting for you, Gwen Stacy.”

               Gwen offered up the sling ring.

               “I don’t know why but our guide who died in the mountains wanted me to bring this here…”

               The Ancient One looked it over then smiled.

               “Yes, Tenzin, he was one of us.  He would guide seekers here.”

               Gwen moved her hand in a circle mimicking his gesture.

               “He wanted me to say that… I guess.”

               The Ancient One gave a soft chuckle.

               “Oh.  Let me show you, pick up your things.”

               She pulled on the sling ring and performed the same motion, and a portal slowly formed, and Gwen blinked.

               “No… no I could have saved him.”

               The Ancient One motioned her through.  Gwen went but she was crushed.  How much her squad had suffered because she hadn’t understood.  They arrived at the temple Gwen was familiar with.  The Ancient One spoke.

               “No, it was his time.  I will ease your conscience.  You were always here.  You changed nothing because you were already here and already did all of this before you were born.  I know, it is all very confusing, but you were meant to be here.  Which is why my future self knew to let you have access to the Time stone.”

               Gwen pulled it out of her pocket.  The Ancient One held up her hand.

               “Put it away.  No one must know you have it.  It is currently sealed away, far from here, so they do not exist in the same space.  I will teach you what you must know.  I have seen it, and it will be so.”

               Gwen put the Time stone in her pocket.

               “I had a vision… when I touched the Red Skull… I used the tesseract to reach him, but I don’t even know where he is, I am looking for a cure…”

               The Ancient One nodded.

               “I know.  You do not understand the power you hold in your pocket.  You can use it to see every possible future so you can choose the right one.  I have seen this meeting.  I know what you need.  I will ensure you receive the training.  What you saw was a world called Vormir.  It is a dead world.  You will find what you seek there.  But I caution you.  What we want and what we need are often very different things, Gwen Stacy.”

               Gwen nodded.  She was confused because this version of the Ancient One was… more informative.  Friendlier.  Less aloof.  Then it dawned on the teenager.  She had risked life and limb to get here.  Frozen and nearly died along with her commandos.  She earned this knowledge and that is what the Ancient One had wanted all along.  Gwen here, in the past could learn magic for months and years but still show up the moment she left 2023… no would even know she was gone, she’d look older but that had happened before.

Chapter Text

Kamar-Taj – 1945

               Gwen was wearing the typical training garb for Karma-Taj as The Ancient One walked around her trying to break her focus with a stick and verbal jabs.  The teenager wasn’t learning flashy magic.  The Ancient One had been teaching her to control the dark energy that welled out of her, the energy that could wreak havoc on magical portals, artifacts and sites.   It was harder than it sounded at first.  Gwen was usually anything but focused.

               She closed her eyes again and imagined all the energy inside of her focused on the wooden ball in front of her.  At least she could feel the energy now that had only taken a day.  Keeping it under control was an entirely different beast.  She had been at it for two months.  It had been long enough that the brunette dye had washed out of her hair.  She could feel the dark energy passing from her into something.  This wasn’t a jedi thing she didn’t have the Force.  Her body was basically a reactor that constantly produced dark energy like a nuclear reactor generated heat.

               She smiled.  It was working then… THWAP!  The crack of the bamboo stick across her back.  Then the inevitable explosion of wood splinters.  She opened her eyes and looked down at the charred remains of the focus ball.  Gwen then glared at the Ancient One.

               “Do you know how hard it is to keep focus when you keep smacking me with a stupid bamboo stick?”

               The Ancient One poked at the remnants of the wooden ball.

               “Do you think the world is going to stop just because you need to focus, Gwen Stracy?  Do you think it revolves around you?”

               Gwen pouted.

               “I’m teenager, yesh, it’s not like I’ve been doing this for a zillion years like you.  Maybe let me do it without distraction and I’d be done already!”

               The Ancient One leaned down so they were eye to eye.

               “Do you know what your real problem is Gwen Stacy?”

               Gwen narrowed her eyes.

               “You keep using my full name?”

               The Ancient One maintained eye contact as she continued her instruction.

               “You do not believe in yourself.  You never have.  Your humor and sarcasm are your armor.  You have inside you the potential to change the universe, but you only see your failures.  Those you have lost.  And that is the arrogance of your existence.”

               Gwen was pissed now she stood up.

               “How can I be arrogant and not believe in myself at the same time?!?”

               The Ancient One’s tone remained calm and that was yet another slice at Gwen’s tether on her temper.

               “Perhaps that is the question you need to answer before you control the power you’ve been granted?  Did you not learn the lesson Tenzin taught you?”

               Gwen was yelling by this time.

               “What that I’m fucking loser who can’t even save herself let alone a poor guide that was just doing his job?”

               The Ancient One’s calm voice cut through Gwen’s fury and stuck her in the heart of her ego.

               “No, Gwen Stacy, the arrogance of your existence is that you believe you can save everyone; That it is you that has to save everyone.  Like a juggler spinning plates you try to spin them all and then one by one they shatter on the ground around you.  You have it in you to understand that sometimes sacrifice is required, and it is not you that has to make the sacrifice.  One day you will learn this lesson and the cost will be a great deal of suffering for you.”

               Gwen was caught between tears and unbridled rage.  She didn’t know how to respond.  She couldn’t process what she was being told.  The Ancient One continued.

               “It was you who made the call to seal the portal that would have left Tony Stark stranded in space.  Not even Steve Rogers was willing to do it.  Now look at you?  Why take a step forward then a hundred steps back?  How can you possibly think you could control the power of Eternity if you regress into a child every time someone you love gets hurt?”

               Gwen was still yelling, and she was loud enough to make herself hoarse.

               “I don’t want the fucking power!  Take it back!  I want to be a cheerleader!  I want to play the drums, and I want to have a normal boyfriend!  I don’t want any of this!  I never did!  It has cost me everything and you want more!  The world always wants more!”

               The Ancient One was silent for several minutes as Gwen panted her whole body shaking with rage at how her life had turned out so far.  The Ancient One spoke softly.

               “This is where perception comes in, Gwen Stacy, does the world want more? Or do you just believe it always wants more?”

               The Sorcerer Supreme’s words were a knockout punch to Gwen’s core beliefs.  The teenager stared at The Ancient One.  The elder woman spoke.

               “You have been taught that having power means you have to use it responsibly.  That you are required to use it to help those weaker than you.  These are noble ideals.  One must question, however, what is left for you Gwen Stacy, if you sacrifice everything and then the world asks more, what is left of you?”

               Gwen was near collapse, the Ancient One was effortlessly deconstructing her entire ethos and the teenager didn’t know what to cling to, all the things she thought were pillars of her life were crumbled to dust and her entire belief system was crashing down around her.   Her voice was barely above a whisper.

               “I don’t know.”

               The Ancient One.

               “Excellent answer.  Do you know what lesson I have been trying to teach you now?”

               Gwen wasn’t sure what to say, the bald-nan-clone had eradicated her self-confidence.  Then she realized what this had all been about and her sense of self flickered back into existence.

               “That I can’t hold myself to other people’s expectations only my own?”

               The Ancient One didn’t give her confirmation.  She just tapped the bamboo pole on the stone of the temple floor a few times then motioned it towards the gardens.

               “We are done for today, reflect on what we have discussed.”

               Gwen turned to leave but then paused and glanced back.

               “Was me trying to channel my dark energy just a way to annoy me?  Or was there a point?”

               The Ancient One spun the bamboo pole and responded with.

               “What do you think?”

               Gwen made a face and wandered off.  The Ancient One let the hints of a smile grace her lips as the teenager entered the gardens.  She spoke softly to herself.

               “Close, Gwen Stacy, so close.  One day soon you will understand.”

               It took another two months for Gwen to be sufficiently in control of the dark energy to channel it into the training instruments without blowing them to bits.  She had many failures and many angry outbursts of frustration.  She was watching the monks train.  She held one the wooden balls in her hand, this was her first success.  The Ancient One walked up next to her.

               “It would appear that it is time for you to go back to your own time then.”

               Gwen looked at her.

               “I… did it once!  I’m not ready.  I haven’t learned how to use the sling ring for portals… I haven’t even learned one spell; All I’ve done is make a wooden ball glow.”

               The Ancient One gave a slight frown.

               “Nevertheless, your time at Kamar-Taj is done for now.  There comes a time when learning becomes a hiding place from life.  The answers you seek do not reside here, Gwen Stacy.”

               Gwen looked around panic rising.

               “Symbie hasn’t acted up or taken over once here and there are times I wanted to rip your spine out myself.  I’m safe here, everyone is safe here.”

               The Ancient One took the dark energy charged ball.

               “Yes, and while you are here, in the past your father is still alive in your present.  Once you return the clock starts again, does it not?  While you are here the friends you have made here are still alive here.  There is a chance to see them again, but when you return to your time, you will find out how they died.”

               Gwen grew sullen.  The Ancient One literally saw right through her, and it was frustrating.

               “That is fear.  What is your fear hiding from you?”

               Gwen pouted.

               “Maybe my dad will live, maybe my friends had happy fulfilling lives.”

               The Ancient One inclined her head slightly.

               “Gather your things, meet me in the library.”

               Gwen sighed heavily and nodded.  She was in no rush to leave but she knew The Ancient One was not really someone you said no to by now.  She had heard a great many things while at Kamar-Taj.  That there was a great deal of evil out in the multiverse and across the dimensions and The Ancient One, with the Time stone kept the Earth safe.  The Time stone she could not have in Kamar-Taj while Gwen was here with the future version.

               Gwen went to her room packed and everything she owned, including her commando kit and uniform she carried them to the library.  She had used Symbie to get her back into the outfit she had when she was in Kamar-Taj in 2023.  The Ancient One was standing waiting for her with a book in her hand, it was from the forbidden knowledge section of the library.  The Ancient One placed the book on a reading table.

               “This will tell you how to use the Time stone.  I caution you that you can use it to see all future paths, but such knowledge can be paralyzing.  It is addictive…  I cannot stop you from choosing to look but consider the lessons you have learned.  When you picked it up the first time, it used you for its own ends.  Bending it to your will is another matter entirely.”

               Gwen pulled out the Time stone and looked at it with a frown.

               “Why would it bring me here?”

               The Ancient One looked at the stone with an appraising eye.

               “Like recognizes like.”

               Gwen blinked at the Ancient One, but she didn’t expect more.  The Ancient One seemed to have two settings: obliterating your world view, or cryptic bullshit.  The teenager wasn’t sure which setting she hated more.  She sat down and started reading.  She was expecting spells, but this was a diary of experiments and recorded results, along with theories written by someone named Doctor Stephen Strange.

               As she read things started to seem odd.  This was scientific.  Deliberate.  Modern.  This was no ancient book, it was from the future.  The further Gwen skimmed the more unhinged the writing became.  The author had been trying to correct a fixed point in time where he lost someone he loved.  Each time he tried he made things far worse until in the end he wiped out his own universe.  It looked like it had been through wars.  It was charred on the edge.  It smelled like death.  It also felt wrong.  Like it didn’t belong here, in this world.  She glanced at the Ancient One

               “This isn’t from our universe.”

               The Ancient One inclined her head slightly.

               “It is the only known record I have seen of someone wielding the Time with intention to travel through time.”

               Gwen wanted nothing to do with the journal, or the Time stone.  Yet she tried to find where he described the first time he’d used the infinity stone to travel through time to the past.  She glanced at the patterns he made with his hands and started to move her hands in the same way.  She glanced at the Ancient One.

               “Am I doing this right?”

               The Ancient One wore a sad smile as she answered.

               “I do not know.  Once I realized what this was, I realized the temptation was too great to undo the mistakes I have made.  It is the arrogance of my existence that I think I can hide dangerous knowledge away and believe it will never be needed.” 

               The Ancient One was not blind to what her pupil needed, so she spoke and taught her the first steps of magic because it was necessary for the next step in the teenager’s journey of self-discovery.

“There are two fundamental principles upon which all sorcery is built.  The first is: Focus.  A singular focus on what you want to happen.  The second is: Intention.  Your intention must be clear.  In the Kamar-Taj, where this Stephen Strange was trained, much like here we show these with intricate hand gestures.  For you, that would work, with training.  You may want to consider that, when you empowered the wooden training device you did not use any hand gestures, you just channeled your focus and intention into it through your inherent Dark Energy.  Other traditions use song and music to make their intention clear.  What matters is that it is clear.  I offer you guidance, nothing more.  How you accomplish this act is for you to decide.”

Gwen blinked a few times and looked at the Ancient One.

“Wait?  Music?  As in I could sing a song or drum a beat and… magic?”

The Ancient One folded her hands behind her back and struck her instructing pose.

“Does it already not cast a spell on those who listen to it? Some are enraptured, some focus, some dance, music is inherent to the sentient consciousness.  Not all of us have the talent for it.”

Gwen blushed a deep red as she realized she had probably been overheard working on a song she had written about her experience in Kamar-Taj and the Ancient One’s brutal emotional takedown.  She didn’t say anything as she rushed over to her pack, she’d been writing a song about wanting to get back to her own time.  It was perfect for this.

She opened her notebook which was a repurposed British Army mission logbook.  She looked at the Ancient One who was watching her.  The Ancient One gave Gwen a slight nod.

Gwen placed the time stone on her notebook and took a deep breath. She focused on her time.  She began to sing.

(Song:  Thread of Light)

“I am out of time, a shadow cast, walking echoes of a future past, my name is lost in winds unknown, But I still bleed, and I still grow. I hold the thread, I feel the strain, one heartbeat stretched across the pain. Let memory be the map I trace, to find my time, to find my place.”

The Time stone began to hover above her book and Gwen’s hair lifted off her shoulders.  Because of the Ancient One’s brutal training her constant interruptions when Gwen was trying to channel Dark Energy she was able to continue singing the chorus.

“Wind unwind, the thread of fate, Show me the hour, reveal the gate. Let my soul return, not fall, To those I left, I give this call. Time, be kind, don’t leave me small, Catch me, hold me, if I fall.”

The Time stone glowed a bright green.  Gwen’s eyes glowed the same green.  Her voice was connecting her with it.  She understood now, the chorus was the repeated chant how they would repeat hand gestures for spells.  Reinforcing her focus and intention.

“I walked with gods, I flew with ghosts, I broke the things I loved the most.  But still I reach with open hands, For second chances in shifting sands.  Not for glory, not for gold, Just for stories left untold, And voices I have yet to hear, Calling me from yesteryear.”

The Ancient One stepped back as the energy from the Time stone arced towards Gwen, black electricity arched from the teenager and interwove with it.  She launched into the chorus again and her feet lifted off the ground.  The Time stone was fighting her but her song was overwhelming it.  She sang the bridge and the shelves around her began to shake.

“I don’t know the path ahead, Just echoes of the things I said. So light the way in stars and stone. Bring me back. Bring me home.”

Her voice strengthened and became commanding as she sang the last chorus.  The Time stone struggled against her voice but then something snapped—Gwen, and her belongings vanished as if sucked into the Time stone and then the Time stone collapsed in on itself and vanished with a small pop as the air rushed into replace the void it left.

               The Ancient One picked up a few papers that had been disturbed in Gwen’s departure and stacked them neatly on the table.  She smiled with a slight bit of pride.  She knew the teenager had it in her and Gwen had surpassed her expectations.   She had made sorcery her own on her own terms and that was the first spark of greatness.  She silently hoped Gwen would realize it.