Chapter 10 - Mr. Murdock

"You... Who are you? And why did you help me?" Gwen asked.

I took a deep breath and lowered the shock stick to show that I wasn't a threat.

"I'm a new vigilante for the city. My temporary name is Dream Knight. It's a pleasure to meet you, Spider-Woman."

"That left eye of yours... are you a mutant?" She looked me straight in the eye.

I turned my face slightly, surprised not only that she had recognized the Sharingan so easily but also at her quick deduction. Considering how complex the true nature of my powers was - they weren't really mutant, but something much more complex and unique that even I didn't understand - I decided it would be easier to follow her line of reasoning when explaining my powers to other people from now on.

"Yeah, something like that," I replied.

She looked at me for a moment before smiling slightly. "Nice..."

Her unexpected compliment made me feel a bit relieved. I was about to ask if she was all right when a low rumble cut through the air. The roar of car engines, followed by the high-pitched screech of skidding tires, came from the front of the warehouse. It wasn't a sound you heard for no reason.

[There are 0 minutes left until Mr. Murdock arrives.]

If I knew the sound of screeching tires meant trouble, what about Gwen?

In the blink of an eye, she approached me, grabbed me around the waist and lifted me into the air. She used one of her webs to propel herself and used what used to be a high glass window, but was only boarded up, as a way out to get us out of this place quickly.

"Hey, what are you doing?" I asked.

"We don't have time for explanations. You helped me and now I'm going to help you. Just don't take advantage and get too attached."

The way she held me as if my weight was nothing was, shall we say, chilling. She quickly took me up to the height of the big buildings and, carrying me, showed me for the first time what it was like to swing on nets between skyscrapers. The sensation was fantastic at first, but to be honest, after a few seconds I felt a bit nauseous, so I had to close my eyes for a bit of relief.

Eventually, Gwen stopped next to an old building about four stories high. All the surrounding buildings were brick, indicating that this was still the suburbs.

Gwen looked around to make sure no one was around and then let me go.

My heart was still racing, and I leaned against the wall to catch my breath.

"Haa... Haa... Why did they do this to you? It was clearly an ambush." I asked, my head still reeling as my human body recovered.

"I don't know... Those guys were terrible at fighting, but practically all the criminals in this city are. The problem is when these incompetent idiots start organizing, and they certainly did this to me at the behest of someone powerful. Damn, I made a bad mistake..."

"Calm down, it's all right."

"No, it's all right. They know now that I'm investigating something."

"You're investigating?"

"Yes. I-I mean, it's none of your business!" Gwen said, looking very upset and nervous.

"Look, if it's any consolation, I know they don't know who you are. Apparently, they wanted to wait for their boss to arrive so their boss would have the pleasure of discovering your true identity. They said one name: Murdock."

Gwen was obviously surprised. "Murdock?"

"You know him..."

"Yes, well enough to know it's not a name, but a family name."

"So, what do we do now?"

She looked at me and nodded. "Well, 'we' don't do anything. I do. Don't confuse things, I work alone."

The Gwen of this universe was strong, probably stronger than any of her variants in Marvel's infinite universes. However, her strength was more of a barrier than a shield, a barrier erected to protect her not only from her enemies, but also from anyone who tried to get too close, and I knew I needed to get too close to complete my main quest in this universe.

"Look, I understand that you want to do things on your own, but sometimes having someone to help you can make all the difference. I'm not saying you have to trust me right away, but..."

She held up a hand, cutting me off. "You don't understand. It's not that you don't want help. It's about not being able to. The more people involved, the more dangerous it gets. For everyone."

I took a step forward, trying to find some words in my head that would somehow convince her to let me help her. But Gwen jumped back and landed softly on the parapet of the building.

"I have to go. I need to find out what else they know, and you... you need to stay out of this."

"Wait! They want you to go after them, they'll set up more ambushes, and it might be too dangerous."

Gwen smiled slightly under her mask before shaking her head negatively. "I do it all the time, Dream Knight. Don't worry about me."

With those words, she fell backwards off the ledge, shot a web at a building next door, and in one agile motion, launched herself away and disappeared between the buildings.

I sighed heavily and rubbed my temples. I was tired. My body ached, and exhaustion weighed on my shoulders like a lead blanket. It had been a very long and exhausting day.

"Well, at least I tried, but it was pretty obvious that I couldn't complete my main quest in just a few hours in this world. Still... did she really have to leave me on top of a building?"

Luckily for me, I noticed a metal door with a small sign that said "Service Elevator". I was relieved.

Inside the old elevator, I took off my hood and pulled down my face mask. I also cleaned my clothes, which were slightly dusty and frayed from the smoke.

When I finally reached my apartment building after walking a few blocks, each step to my floor felt like a journey. When I entered my apartment, I dropped the cane in a corner and threw myself on the sofa. All I wanted to do was rest, but the symbols in the corner of my vision that continued even when my eyes were closed were hard to ignore. So I opened my eyes and mentally activated the interface.

[Congratulations! You've completed the Side Quest "The Spider Caught in the Web"!]

[300 Card Points have been added to your balance.]

[You have received +5 Daily Spins for 5 days.]

[You received +1 Unique Skill Mystery Card.]

The 300 Card Points were valuable, of course, but what really caught my eye was the Mystery Card of Unique Skill. This was the first card I'd gotten without spending any points, and I was so excited to receive it that I couldn't sleep.

I reached for the notification and felt a slight resistance when I touched the line that said "1 Unique Skill Card". At that moment, the system notification expanded, and another window appeared.

[Item: Mysterious Unique Skill Card.

Description: A new Unique Skill Card is available.

Rating: D

(Click here to REVEAL the card's contents).]