Arc Nine. Chapter Two-Hundred Sixty-Four. The Next Gweneration

Cindy and Poison were easy. Cindy was given a physical, cleared for exercise, given a once over through the groups exercise regime, then Nat, and Logan even gave his opinion as well, as he had taken to coming round more often now he was also bonded. Once that was all done, Poison simply slid from Mr Squeakers, who hid in his house during the process.

"We are Poison" Cindy laughed as she was bonded once more, "but we know it is not fair. We are now Ghost-Spider," and Peter nodded.

"GS huh?" Gwen snorted, and Cindy shrugged.

"I feel kinda bad I'm taking her, I mean, she was yours but uh, yeah" and she awkwardly rubbed her arm, "and uh, if the, uh offer," and Gwen smiled and nodded,

"Only after the next round of physicals," to which Cindy groaned and Peter just shrugged and went to speak to Logan.

Logan was table sparring with Laura, a simple game of slap tag. Elbows on the table and the goal was to touch the other person's hands without moving anything but your arms. As they laughed, Peter approached and sat in his chair,

"So, Rage behaving?" and Logan snorted,

"Yeah, Charles had a little bitch about it, but uh, yeah, that ain't my story to tell you. Just no comin' to me yelling about it."

Peter looked confused but left it. He knew Erik and Charles had a plan in motion but didn't really care,

"As long as Laura, Wanda or Jean aren't affected, I don't care what Charles and Erik get up to," and as Laura clapped the back of Logan's hand with a tendril he laughed,

"That's cheatin'," but she shrugged,

"Coney Island," and he sighed,

"Fine, Fine. Once the weather clears up, we'll go." and Laura beamed at him,

"Thanks, Dad." and he rubbed his forehead

"Yeah, well, Pete here can supply the spendin' money, Charles ain't runnin' the X-Men anymore, and the school's closed for now," and Peter frowned,

"I could get you a job if you want, I mean, we need more security?" but Logan shook his head,

"I gave up those kinda gigs years ago kid, Nah. After squirt here gets her field trip I might head on out into the wilderness, been a while since I just wandered, an' Rage here ain't seen the Rockies."

Peter knew better than to argue. Logan was prone to wanderlust and he had already warned Laura that one day he might just pack a duffel bag and disappear off, and not to worry too much about it.

Rage, Cindy is going to host Poison, are you okay with that?

We are, we prefer Logan, he is more like us, we are glad she is happy though,

"Good," Peter said, "and you?" and Logan laughed,

"Oh I'm great, and you, you are in so much trouble." but Peter gave him a confused look, "A couple of teachers hit on me, seems Rage here takes after her daddy, an' she really likes the ladies." and while Peter shook his head Logan just laughed more at the bemused Peter, he wasn't about to mention that Rage wasn't one of Peter's Symbiotes and that he really needed to speak to Flash about that.

"It's fine though, we learned that nanoskin thing you got goin' on, no one did anything they didn't want to, and well, sorry. I figured you were just being a teen, and well, a man and that you'd be rarin' to take advantage of a power like that. Ain't the first time I'd seen it and prolly won't be the last." but Peter shrugged,

"Better than being called a killer I guess," and standing Logan clapped Peter on the shoulder,

"Still worse things bub," and as he climbed to the labs Gwen was finishing up with Cindy, who had taken Poison and morphed a newer set of clothes and costume. It was similar to Gwen's old one, with a black bodysuit but the hoodie part was now grey with a red border, and the mask was a half-mask covering her mouth, leaving her eyes clear.

"Lookin' good. Rage tells me you got the bad end of a nosey doctor, thinkin' I might go have a look for him. Want to come?" but Cindy shook her head,

"Thanks but no. I never want to see Hank Pym again," as she rubbed an arm with her hand, "I might not be able to hold back," but Logan nodded,

"Ain't saying it'd be a social call Cindy, even Rage here is wantin' a small chat with him."

"Does she, does she share with you?" and Logan gave her a surprised look,

"Nope, an' I ain't been askin'. What you did together is none of my business, but I do know you need trainin', and these guys can help. Listen to Natasha, hell listen to Pete, he ain't too bad when you get to know him." but he leaned in close, "just make sure he keeps his hands to himself," and Cindy laughed and nodded, her cheeks going slightly red.

Poison had already been inappropriately honest about not making Cindy lust after Peter,

We understand you only like the softer ones, even if the Peter is magnificent and fills Gwen until we both scream.

Cindy had to take a few moments after that, as the mental image of Peter's manhood still lingered in her thoughts. She tried to be angry but they had already told her that the Symbiotes didn't understand, and it was pointless to even try. She had just gently asked Ghost not to show her things like that, and while she was laughing, she had agreed.

Gwen made a note on her clipboard and then set it down, "Logan, Nat will be taking care of that, and Cindy isn't interested in Pete, stop embarrassing her," and he smiled and shook his head,

"Yeah, ain't happening. She ain't learned yet has she?" and Gwen shook her head, mentioning Peter had Cindy thinking about Gwen and Felicia and the room was thick with pheromones. "Cindy, Logan needs a physical, go downstairs and see Pete, I think he and Laura have plans for you," and nodding she gave Logan a small sad look.

Bye Silk, and she walked down the ramp and into the breakfast area.

"So, Gwen said you had something for me?" and Peter slid over a bottle of neutraliser and some thick absorbent pads.

"Yeah, I know it looks strange, but until you learn to coat yourself properly you'll need it," and while she scowled she took the items.

"But I'm not into guys," she complained and Peter nodded at Laura.

"Doesn't matter if they are into you, but you're giving off a lot more than just lust. I can smell the apprehension, the little tinge of fear, and a hint of anger at us all treating you like a kid," and Cindy frowned,

"I thought it was just horny juice?" and Peter laughed.

"Oh hell no. You can make grown men piss themselves if you want, " and he sighed, "you'll just find that being attractive you'll mainly give off signals to attract. Keep the spray, use the pads and when Nat starts up classes she'll be teaching you armour techniques to stop pheromone leakage, and how to use them during combat. Making grown men piss themselves while fighting is handy, making grown men drool over you while out shopping isn't."

"This was easier with Silk," and Peter patted her shoulder while heading to the kitchen,

"Silk was drugged into a near-comatose state, and you still lost control and killed someone. Ghost won't be easier to control but she will be easier to work with. Some pair bondings just won't work, so far we've only had the three that refused to listen, so it's been alright."

As he set down a coke in front of Cindy he handed one to Laura and pulled the tab on his own, "But, for now, go home, get some rest then go apartment hunting. Pepper said she needs a few days to get the contracts finalised before you and Eddie sign them. You're one of us, take some petty cash and go shopping, just put the receipts in the tin once you're done."

Cindy gave Peter a look, "What? Okay, so it's my polite way of telling you to scram for the afternoon, or would you rather I just threw you out?"

Raising her can she drained the whole thing and then looked around, "I uh, don't let Ghost tell me things, cause of well, you know. So how much can I take and how long do I have to be out for?"

"A hundred is fine, the tins in the third cabinet on the left and til four. Take two and grab food on the way back, this time though ask Ghost what we like, and Ghost, if you bring back nothing but danishes I'll spank you."

Ghost made a pbth noise in his head and while he laughed Cindy looked horrified,

"Touch me and die," she hissed, and Peter rolled his eyes at her,

"Lighten up. We got that crap from Felicia. I'll just get Nat to beat it out of you. Now, politely but firmly, screw off," and handing her the money in several notes he motioned her towards the door.

And if this goes wrong, don't come back until we say it's safe. He sent her and Laura nodded,

We will, but Cindy opened her mouth to complain but Ghost had already started to walk her to the exit.

"Right, one pain in my ass dealt with, come on short stuff, " and Laura nodded. Normally her height was an issue, she did hate being so small compared to the rest but today, she was here on a mission to watch over Peter while Logan dealt with Gwen if things went wrong.

Gwen had let the pair know she was ready, and after Logan had been given his physical, and Rage had been given hers, it was Gwen's turn.

They had decided to do this in the warehouse. The Parker Inc building was slowly starting to get civilian staff and had a fully installed security system. Having to explain why it was shut off, or why they needed to evacuate if something went wrong was a big risk added to the already big risk they were taking.

With Nat working at the main building, it had been decided they would ask Logan to do the deed if Gwen went bad, and Laura volunteered to protect Peter if he was incapacitated while using the Stone. With the Extremis and symbcell infusions already prepared, it was a simple case of setting Gwen on a gurney, strapping her down and allowing both IV's to start while Peter exposed her and then monitored her through the Mind Stone.

Peter took a breath and slowly let it out, as he helped Gwen hop up onto the gurney. She had taken the de-powering formula a few days ago, and it was completely out of her system. Liv had given her the all-clear and nothing remained, no Enhancement formula or residual bonding chemicals. Gwen was back to as near human as possible, and it was now time to change that.

Peter had been practising but Gwen insisted and as she inserted the cannula Peter brought over a wheeled swivel chair,

"I can focus on Gwen but maybe standing behind me might be a good idea anyway, just in case," and Logan and Laura both moved back, tense and ready.

"Okay, drip in five, four, three, two and one," and as the liquid began to drip into Gwen's arm Peter slowly brought the Stone to the surface of his chest and it glowed a pale yellow light, casting an eerie shadow over Gwen's face,

"Oh god Pete, oh fuck, oh fuck me," Gwen cried out and as her hands clenched Peter took one and held it, "so much, so beautiful," and he could see small lights dancing in her eyes.

As the bags slowly drained, Peter could smell the changes before her muscles began to adapt and tighten once more. Her skin rippled and trembled slightly as bone and skin changed, absorbing the Extremis and even as her hand began to heat up he saw her core temperature was steady. "More," was all she said and he nodded.

Exposing her to the Stone wouldn't grant her powers. After experimenting it was only enhancing what was there. Extremis wasn't a mental formula, only a physical one and she would remain a blank slate, unable to project her thoughts, but, the hardier body would protect her against the effects of the Mind Stone and he could sense the activity in her brain going crazy as she took in more and more of its power.

Peter noticed the lights that were flickering in her eyes had slowly faded, and as he looked up, the bag of symbcells was nearly empty and the Extremis bag was about half done. Reaching over he stopped the drip and allowed the Stone to retract back into his chest.

"I think that's enough, there is only so much a normal person can take Gwen, let's not push it okay." and she weakly nodded.

Looking over at Logan and Laura he smiled, and they both relaxed,

"That it?" Logan asked and Peter nodded,

"I know you have doubts, but we do take this seriously," and Logan shrugged,

"Going for a smoke, short stuff here can watch her." but Laura huffed.

"Coming too, got a map." and she pulled out a huge map of Coney island and Logan groaned,

"Listen, I got work, I got-" but she interrupted him,

"No, you said, you promised. No work, Charles being a douchebag, so trip. Got rides planned," and Logan shook his head and looked over at Peter who shrugged,

"Gwen needs me, for uh, a checkup," and as Laura grabbed Logan's hand and dragged him away Peter looked over at the sleeping form of Gwen, who really only needed rest and a blanket, but who was Peter to come between daddy-daughter time?