Random art
Psylocke watched Ororo standing by the window. The former weather goddess was frowning in contemplation. The phone conversation with Dante had clearly left an impression.
"You should never use 'must' when making a request."
From everything she'd learned about Dante, he and Emma shared a similar philosophy. They rarely bowed in the face of threats. Push them and they would push back harder. Emma had chosen death over submitting for the second time.
Ororo nodded softly, calmly accepting the criticism. "I'll keep that in mind."
As Psylocke picked up her katana from its stand, a knock echoed through the room. She crossed the floor and swung the door open. The entire Hellions squad stood crammed in the narrow hallway. Most of them were in uniform. All except Empath, who stood at the back in civilian clothes, looking like someone had just canceled his birthday.
"I'm sitting this one out," he said with a somewhat depressed look. "My powers don't mesh with symbiotes."
Roulette, standing front and center with her arms crossed, snorted in disgust. "Most useless leader ever. At this point, just make me the leader."
Empath glared at her. "Don't be surprised if you wake up tomorrow madly in love with a street dog."
"You fucker," Roulette snarled, stepping toward him. "I'm gonna kill you."
Roulette seemed ready to start a fight, and Empath wasn't backing down either. His combat skills were more or less at the same level as hers. His ego wouldn't let him retreat even if she was stronger.
Psylocke put her hand on the sheath of her katana. "Every hallway has surveillance. Do either of you want Emma to see it?"
Empath stepped away first, muttering something under his breath. He turned on his heel and walked away.
Roulette spat on the ground. "Asshole."
The rest of Hellions shook their heads in unison. Even Sharon, usually the most neutral, gave both of them a look of pure scorn. As close as Roulette and Empath were, they always ended up clashing due to having similar personalities. Like magnets repelling each other.
Psylocke sighed and led the group through the staff exit—a service corridor that spiraled down into the underground parking lot. And there, leaning against Emma's pristine white Limo with his arms crossed, was Logan in his bright yellow suit.
"Psylocke," Logan grunted. "Take me along."
Psylocke set her katana on the limo's hood and opened the rear compartment door. "Get in, then. Don't let Laura hoard all the glory."
"I'm not doin' it for her," he growled and slid inside. "It's for myself."
The Hellions joined Logan in the second compartment, falling utterly quiet in Logan's intimidating presence. Nobody wanted to mess with him when he sat there with his adamantium claws out.
Ororo took the passenger seat beside Psylocke. "This will be one violent day for symbiotes."
"They started this war."
Psylocke closed the door, started the engine, and pulled out of the garage. The city streets were quieter, but the Hellions weren't afraid. They had gotten used to fighting symbiotes for days. The black monsters with their scary fangs and superhuman strength had a way of training.
***
(Gwen's POV)
DAKKA-DAKKA-DAKKA-DAKKA-DAKKA.
BRRRT. BRRRT. BRRRT.
The dual assault rifles roared across the area. Shell casings rained down in golden arcs and bounced off the asphalt.
Gwen pressed her palm against the glass face of a corporate tower twenty stories up, holding herself in place. Below, the carnage was... a lot.
Twenty-three SHIELD agents had been slaughtered in her absence. They had come fully prepared with two heavy sonic disruptor units mounted on vehicles. All of them were left with bloody holes in their tactical gears.
All defeated by one symbiote.
He stood in the middle of the intersection. He was massive but far slimmer than other symbiotes. In each hand, he wielded a heavy semi-automatic rifle and mowed down anything in his path with his sharp shooting skills.
He raised his rifles to the sky and fired like a maniac.
"Bring it on, assholes!" he screamed. "I'm going to annihilate all the corruption with my GODDAMN BULLETS!"
Gwen tilted her head, ready to swing.
"I'll shut him."
Laura dropped from the wall beside Gwen and swung into the open air. She loved web-swinging so much that she spent more time in the air than helping out with symbiotes on the ground.
Gwen couldn't blame her.
Web-swinging was intoxicating. The way the world blurred and her heart leaped at every fall before every arc was electric.
But today, somehow, it felt a little less electric.
'Focus.'
Laura absorbed the rain of bullets with her symbiote suit and dove at the gun-wielding symbiote with her claws pointed out. Gwen zipped to the rifleman symbiote before Laura killed him. It wasn't their duty to judge him.
Gwen flew over him and shot a double web at his back. With a press of a button, the full charge of her web-shooter detonated against the symbiote's back. The symbiote seized and dropped his rifle, the black mass convulsing as the electricity disrupted its molecular stability.
The host—a muscular man with short hair and tactical gear—collapsed sideways, twitching in the aftermath.
"Phew."
Gwen swung down to collect the symbiote, and everything suddenly lost colors. The intersection, Laura, the host, the entire block—all of it folded inward and smeared into a tunnel of streaking light. She felt herself moving impossibly fast through a corridor that curved and twisted in ways that challenged multiple laws of physics.
Then, as suddenly as it started, she found herself dropping on an elevator platform.
Gwen stared at the approaching ceiling and saw a door sign upside down. She turned to the side and watched the world outside through the glass walls.
The sign wasn't upside down—she was.
The vast city outside was like those future societies depicted in science fiction movies. Very white and pristine without any character whatsoever.
'So dystopian.'
The elevator came to a stop. Gwen pulled back her hood as she stepped out, her eyes and lenses opening wide at the sight.
A giant, layered structure of platforms and bridges and pathways connected like an enormous three-dimensional web. And every one of these pathways was filled with people in costumes. Some flipped and did all kinds of tricks through the air with web-swings. Hundreds of people with spider powers like hers.
Plenty of hands waved in her direction, but many gave her looks of disappointment.
'This is what Dante told me about.'
Gwen awkwardly raised her hand in a greeting. "Hi, folks…"
"Hey, Spidey!" A man in a classic red-and-blue costume was leaning against a railing, sipping coffee from a paper cup like he was on a lunch break. He pushed off the wall with his elbow. "Don't think I've seen you around before. And is that a symbiote suit?"
"Sure looks like it," said his companion—a figure in a sleek black costume—studying Gwen with narrowed white lenses. "Did she give up on herself to bond with a symbiote?"
Gwen quickly unequipped her Anti-Venom suit and walked up to the two. "Hey, I haven't given up on anything."
Red-and-Blue tilted his head. "Then why is Venom controlling you?"
Gwen raised her eyebrows under her mask. "This isn't Venom. It's Anti-Venom. Nothing is controlling me?" She put a hand on her chin and narrowed her eye-lenses. "Unless this is all a dream created by the symbiote. In that case, I might be under its control—"
Her spider-senses buzzed.
THWIP.
She fired a web at the object flying at her before her brain fully registered the motion. She pulled it back and saw it was a matte silver arm band with glowing indicators.
A woman stood a dozen feet away, staring at Gwen through golden lenses. Her spider costume was red-and-black accented with gold.
"Put it on," she said, her voice warm but firm. "Before—"
Gwen suddenly fell to her knees, seeing a part of her arm glitching out.
"Or that happens…" The woman said and walked down the bridge. "Hurry up before you lose yourself."
Gwen weighed her options, which took about one second, and then clipped the armband around her wrist. She stood up and rolled her shoulders. "What was that?"
"I'm Jessica Drew." Jessica straightened and gestured behind her. "Welcome to the Spider Society."
Gwen looked out over the vast structure and the hundreds of spider-people going about their business. Part of her wanted to gawk at every single one of them.
"Okay, Jess. Why am I here?"
As excited as she was to discover such a spectacular place, she was still needed elsewhere. Besides, she still needed to have that talk with Dante.
…Or maybe not.
She wasn't shameless enough to ask Dante to be her exclusive. That would be betraying Felicia's trust.
'Forget the kiss ever happened. Forget I have a crush on him.'
One day of attraction wasn't that deep anyways. It would go away if she didn't see him for a week.
Jessica waved a hand in her face. "You there?"
"Yeah, Jess. Can I call you that?"
"Of course." Jessica grinned. "You're probably wondering why you're here."
Gwen crossed her arms. "You wouldn't if someone teleported you out of nowhere?"
Jessica patted her shoulder and walked ahead. "Follow me."
Gwen walked by Jessica's side, passing by spider-people who gave her friendly greetings. Some even called her by her name Gwen.
"How do they know me?"
Jessica shrugged. "You aren't the only Gwen. Like I'm not the only Jessica Drew." She pointed to a man in a red and blue costume, who waved back. "Like he isn't the only Peter Parker in the multiverse."
"Multiverse…"
"You'll learn about it soon. First, you should meet Miguel. He wants to talk to you."
Gwen felt her spider-senses buzz at the name drop. "Why am I hearing a boss theme from that name?"
Jessica chuckled. "Just answer a few of his questions. Then we'll send you back home."
"Is it about my Canon Event?"
Gwen had successfully overcome her Canon Event without her father's death. She owed everything to Dante.
Jessica stopped in her tracks and stared at her. "Who told you about it, girl?"
"My friend... He knows things he probably shouldn't."
Just remembering Dante's pale, handsome face made her chest tight. He might be a bit older than her, but that only made him more reliable and responsible.
Jessica gestured forward and began walking. "Don't hide anything from Miguel. He can be… a tough cookie when it comes to Canon Events."
Gwen pulled over her hood. "I hope he can get it done fast. My dad's waiting."
***
"Wait… oh god, my legs…"
Emma Frost stopped and put a hand on the pole before plopping down on the bench. Her thighs were screaming. Her calves felt like someone had poured liquid flame in them.
Her SUV had run out of fuel a few blocks back. In the current state of Manhattan, refueling or calling a replacement car was out of the question.
She really wanted to lie down and forget all about this.
On the bright side—if there was a bright side—the cheers weren't bad. Everywhere they defeated a symbiote, people shouted gratitude and recorded the White Queen gracing their neighbourhood with her presence.
Emma had to dial down her telepathy whenever it happened, though. Too many minds broadcasted at full volume. Too many horny young men and women had freaky fantasies about them.
"Old woman," Jean muttered as she sat beside her. "Why don't you work out?"
"I do." Emma glared at the redhead. "How else do you think I maintain my figure?"
She did cardio and light weights—all she needed to stay lean and sculpted after having a fair share of sugary treats.
Jean looked her up and down, as though appraising her, and let out a soft, mocking laugh. "Then why do you look like you're forty?"
"Just call me granny at this point." Emma rolled her eyes and pulled her phone from the inner pocket of her suit. "Signal's back."
"Really?" Jean leaned in to see if she was lying and then checked on her phone. "Let me check how the media's reacting to us."
She tuned into a live broadcast—
"THIS GIRL MUST THINK WE'RE STUPID, HUH?!"
—and physically recoiled as if the man with a moustache could spit through the screen.
"Ignore that guy."
She agreed with Emma for once and swiped to the next clip. Then the next. Surprisingly, the reaction was... positive. Overwhelmingly so. People were praising their efficiency and coordination. When two telepaths worked in tandem, symbiotes were finished off without violence. Not even hordes could touch them.
She glanced at Emma, who was typing furiously on her phone. "What are you doing?"
"Making preparations for a party," Emma said without looking up. "Everyone who fought today is invited. That includes you, by the way."
"What are you scheming?" This was Jean's question for Emma's goodwill.
"Stealing connections," Emma admitted shamelessly. "Dante got himself a whole cake. It would be a waste if I didn't take a slice."
Even Jean had to admit Dante's network was impressive. Ghost-Spider. Silver Sable. Black Cat. White Tiger. Laura. Logan. Psylocke. Natasha Romanoff who was probably the strongest human besides Dante. And the most absurd of them all—Death, a cosmic entity who made Emma as meek as a kitten with her mere presence.
"Talking like you didn't try to murder him when he was at his most vulnerable," Jean said coldly. "You're just ridiculous, Emma."
"Did you conveniently ignore the part where I stopped myself?"
Emma's response was calm and unapologetic like she had accepted her flaws.
Jean looked at her phone. "You still wanted to betray him. I'm sorry, but that's disgusting."
"What he did to me wasn't?" Emma shot back without looking away from her phone. "He tried to break me, humiliate me."
"It was deserved," Jean replied. "You tried to exploit a daughter's love for her father. You forced Felicia into an impossible situation."
Jean had absorbed most of Emma's recent memories through their telepathic link just as Emma had taken hers. She knew how Emma planned to use her Hellions in the Hellmoon Club to bolster her power and find even more mutants to do the same.
Honestly, it had been tamer than she'd expected.
Jean had expected blackmails, cruelty, violence, and destruction in every moment Emma spent awake. Instead, she had found Emma managing Frost International, sabotaging her competition, drafting training plans for her students, indulging in luxury spa treatments at the club, and spending too much time buying clothes and making herself prettier.
Ruthless but not a monster.
"Whatever," Emma muttered, shoving her phone back into her pocket. "I'm too exhausted to argue with a child. Talk to me as an equal when you're out of the X-Men crib."
Jean laughed brightly as if Emma had told her a joke.
Emma's eye twitched. "Did she finally crack?"
"Guess what I'm going to do next?" Jean said, pointing directly at Emma's face with a grin. "Join Skullfire."
Emma froze. She had known Jean would quit the X-Men eventually. The girl was too much to stay under Xavier's zero act policy. But she'd assumed Jean would strike out on her own—or, optimistically, join her. In her mind, Dante wasn't even in the picture for Jean's next plans.
"Why do you want to join the guy who ignored you for days?" Emma asked skeptically. "Are you a masochist?"
"Because he isn't as terrible as you believe," Jean whispered. "SHIELD won't fight him if I use my powers under his protection."
Emma understood her intentions. Jean didn't want to be a vigilante in the shadows, knowing that SHIELD would sniff her out. She wanted to be like Skullfire and act in the open under Dante's umbrella of protection.
Emma shook her head. "Why not join my side? His protection from SHIELD extends to me. I have more resources."
She needed a telepath of Jean's caliber far more than Dante did. Especially with Selene lurking in the background, waiting for an opening to seize complete power.
"And get stabbed in my sleep?" Jean snorted. "No, thanks. I'll do my own thing."
Emma stepped closer, placing a hand gently on Jean's cheek. "I don't eliminate people of value, Jean."
"Still no. And besides…" Jean pushed her hand away. "Dante won't protect you after this anyway."
Emma's eyes widened at the realization. She was too happy and positive to consider what came next after this. Her alliance with Dante only extended till they dealt with symbiotes. Now that the crisis was over, he didn't need her anymore, especially when his own strength had grown so drastically. He could fly faster than a jet using that glowing golden object in his chest.
'I can't let it end like this.'
This alliance was too valuable. She had to think of a way to extend it. Something he wanted that only she could provide.
"Silvija is back."
Emma looked up. Silvija Sablinova swung through the air on a black tendril and landed right in front of the bench. The mask peeled back, revealing an exhausted but satisfied-looking queen.
"Everything's clear." She smiled and put a bag in Emma's lap. "We can leave now."
Emma immediately felt her stomach growl at the spicy aroma coming from the bag. The three of them sat on the bench, enjoying sandwiches and soft drinks. One of the most satisfying meals of Emma's life, and it was from a cheap fast food joint, not in a five-star restaurant.
***
You can read more chapters on my Patreon!
Patreon.com/Lordheaven