"Ghost-Spider, can I ask you something?"
Cindy Moon stepped closer to Gwen Stacy.
She had to figure this out. Ghost-Spider was clearly a girl—so why did she feel this strange pull toward her?
"Hey, Cindy… huh?"
Gwen also froze for a second, feeling a sudden, inexplicable warmth toward Cindy. She felt an urge to be closer to her… to spend time with her… to do fun—no, intimate—things together.
Wait, what the hell?
The thought jolted Gwen, and she quickly crushed the shameful notion down. She tried to keep her voice neutral. "What do you want to ask?"
Cindy reached out a slender hand toward Gwen, almost as if she couldn't stop herself. "Were you… bitten by a spider?"
Something tugged at Gwen's instincts, and she found her own hand lifting, reaching toward Cindy's. "Are you saying you were too…?"
Their hands drifted closer and closer—until their index fingers finally touched. Even through their respective suits, a spark of tingling energy raced up Gwen's arm.
"What is this…?"
Gwen's eyes flickered with alarm, and she instinctively tried to pull away. She only ever felt that kind of electricity with Jack Kadere—not with anyone else, let alone another girl.
Cindy, on the other hand, felt a surge of relief. Finally, someone else understood that strange, magnetic sensation. She slid her fingers between Gwen's, locking their hands together, and asked with a faint smile, "So you feel it too?"
"I—uh—I…" Gwen stammered helplessly. The warmth seeping through her glove made it impossible to think straight. Why is this happening?
From the side, Jessica Drew raised an eyebrow. "Uh… what are you two doing? Since when are you so close?"
To an outside observer, the way Cindy and Gwen stood there, fingers intertwined, could easily be mistaken for a couple's gesture.
…
Maybe it was because their suits dulled the sensation a little, or maybe because they were both women—but the attraction wasn't as overwhelming as the bond Gwen shared with Jack. Still, after a few moments, Gwen pulled her hand away.
"What's going on with you?" Gwen asked warily. "Some kind of power? Mind control?"
Cindy shook her head. "No. I think… it's because we were bitten by the same spider."
The thought clicked for her. That spider—the exact same one—had bitten both of them.
Inwardly, Cindy marveled, That little spider… what a legend. It bit three people!
What she didn't know was that Gwen's unique pull toward Jack came from the fact that the system had copied Gwen's own "template" into him, giving him the same genetic resonance.
"Huh? Wait—where are those two?" Cindy suddenly noticed Hawkeye and Doctor Octopus had vanished.
It turned out Otto Octavius had caught sight of the approaching Ghost-Spider, the knightress, and Cindy—another person with Spider-like powers. Realizing the odds, he decided to withdraw rather than risk being surrounded.
And once Doctor Octopus made his exit, Clint Barton—ever the pragmatic Hawkeye—had no reason to stick around either. His job was only to provide combat support.
Details like "someone was spotted with powers similar to Ghost-Spider, but isn't Ghost-Spider" could be left to the intel division. That kind of follow-up wasn't his department. If he had to guess, the assignment would probably land in Barbara's lap before long.
"Ah-choo!" Barbara, lounging in the Fan Club's rec room with a coffee in hand, suddenly sneezed. She frowned. "Huh… feels like the Bureau's about to dump a new mission on me…"
...
Meanwhile, Hawkeye was already on comms with the tactical team: [Enemy has pulled out. Melinda, did you manage to catch anyone on your end?]
[Barton, we've got a situation — ran into hostiles…] came the reply.
....
A few minutes earlier…
Walter "the Cat" Hardy had taken advantage of the chaos from Doctor Octopus's brawl with Hawkeye and the others to slip out of the precinct.
Thanks to his incredible agility, neither the NYPD officers nor the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents chasing him managed to close the gap.
Once I get clear, I'll take Felicia and the others, change our names, and disappear somewhere they can't find us…
He pushed himself harder, every muscle burning, his thoughts consumed by how to protect his wife and daughter.
They must be worried sick. My poor girl… I hope she's not crying over me right now…
Just as he turned into a dimly lit alley, a blur dropped from above.
Melinda May twisted mid-air, catching his neck between her legs in a perfect scissor-lock, flipping him to the ground with a thud.
"Get off me!" Walter snarled, trying to wrestle free — but May's hold only tightened, both arms and legs locking him down with precision.
"Who the hell are you?!" he demanded.
"Oh, you know me," Melinda said coolly. "Walter Hardy. You're carrying some very dangerous knowledge. You're under suspicion of stealing classified government material. You're coming with us."
Classified…? Walter froze, memories flashing back.
Years ago, he'd already made a name for himself as one of the most skilled thieves in the country — a man with a flawless photographic memory.
One day, someone claiming to represent the U.S. government offered him a fortune to infiltrate a research facility and copy down a set of formulas and experimental data.
But when he delivered, he realized too late he'd been played.
It wasn't the U.S. government that had hired him. It was Johann Schmidt — the infamous Red Skull, head of HYDRA.
After the Super Soldier Program's lab was destroyed, Walter had carried that dangerous knowledge in his mind ever since… and had been running from it ever since.