The Widow's Attack

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***

16 April 2013.

Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson's flat.

Five o'clock in the morning.

Carefully climbing home through the window. I hop inside and look around.

The fact that the suit flew out of the flat and I woke up only after an unknown amount of time flying around the city was frightening, but I decided that I would deal with it after the symbiote learnt to communicate normally.

Seemingly sensing my displeasure directed at him, the suit hurriedly drained from me.

"Now that's new!"

I realise I'm still in my classic red and blue attire. And the alien is gone.

"Um...are you here?"

I'll have to figure out how to address him. It's not like calling him Venom.

After a second, a one-word answer comes.

"Yes."

And that's when I think of that thing from Venom.

"Are you absorbed into my body?"

"Yes."

Okay. That's scary. Cool, but scary.

- Okay, I'll talk to you later," I say out loud.

I don't have time for reflection, I have school soon.

I threw off my suit and threw it in the washing machine and started making breakfast, taking a shower beforehand.

Cutting up the omelette, I pick up my phone.

A few missed calls from Mary and a text with the following content:

"Hey Tiger, I'm at Gail's."

"Pete, call me when you're free."

I'm dialling fast.

- Hello, Peter?

- Hi Carrot, sorry I didn't answer, I got back late from patrol and passed out.

My near-death experience, my miraculous rescue and my unexpected acquaintance, we'll keep it to ourselves until better times.

- It's okay, Tiger. I just wanted to tell you that Gail and I are doing great. Babysitting Timmy. Will you come over tonight?

- I will, sweetheart.

- Oh, and Felicia called, she's flying in five days, shall we meet her?

"So it's Friday."

- Sure. Are you going to school? - I asked, putting the milk in the fridge and taking a sip of coffee.

- It's a day off, I'll be at the theatre all day. Vicki recommended me as a costume designer, so I'll see if I can sign up for their courses.

- Good luck, Carrot-top.

- Have a good day, love you.

- I love you too, see you later.

I put the phone away and wash the dishes after I've finished.

I take my uniform out of the washing machine and throw it in the dryer.

It's a good thing it'll be dry in time for second period today.

As if sensing my mood, the Symbiote completely streamlines, embodying the Spider in Black costume on me.

"No, thanks of course, but I don't need a costume for homemade clothes, much less just underwear.

I can already imagine the precedents.

Obeying my request, the suit disintegrates.

While I have time, I decide to log on to the Bugle site via my admin profile.

Ahhhh, yum.

Since I've been in charge of web design, the site has risen from the ashes like a phoenix. Fifty times as many people a day visit the news page as before.

Advertising offers are pouring in.

I advised accepting offers for computer hardware and various devices, Stark Industries even sent offers. Even their corporation needs to promote fresh merchandise.

But for now, Jonah grumbles, though he's learning to gradually plunge into the new-to-him information space of the twenty-first century.

After putting a few pages on refresh, I open the drawer of my computer desk.

I take out and put on the table the rest of my father's works, which I haven't been able to familiarise myself with all these months. Both my workload and, amusingly, my lack of knowledge were to blame.

Einstein-level IQ is fun of course, but it won't help much if you don't focus on the question and don't learn to understand the material.

It's only by knowing the alphabet that we can form words.

It's the same in the exact sciences. Even more important.

I had to figure out all of Richard Parker's formulae. But I've improved the web, developed a new formula, learnt all sorts of tricks.

And now the finale. Dad's paper on genetic retroviruses. It's a small notebook, but considering how much information and ciphers it contains. It's going to take a long time to sort through.

Shield communicator beeping.

What else is it?

"Going out tomorrow night. Jess is in. Have you notified Luke and Fist?"

Shit!

I'm gonna run out and get my costume.

I promised Matt. Looks like I'm gonna be late for school.

I put on the suit, and the Symbiote spreads over the top.

Okay, that's acceptable.

I carefully climb out the window and crawl to the roof. Once I'm up, I calmly shoot out a web and soar into the New York sky.

*

An hour later.

Harlem.

Rand Company office.

- Danny, what are you suggesting again?

- This building belongs to my company, you offered to start an organisation called Heroes for Hire, and I want to rent the office for free," the Iron Fist wielder explained calmly.

- Why would you do that? - Lucas asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise.

- Well, first of all, you're my friend, - the blond began to curl his fingers, - secondly, in fact, the organisation will represent Rand Corp, and since besides you I'll be in "Heroes", I'm not worried about my reputation.

- Why do you want Heroes for Hire to represent your company? - Luke said, folding his arms across his chest.

Cage trusted a friend he'd once met while fighting gangsters, but he didn't have much faith in big corporations.

Even if the CEO was Danny.

- Luke, maybe I'm not as good a businessman as my father," at those words, despite the cheerfulness, Rand's voice grew sadder. Parents had always been a sore subject for Fist. - And yet I can sense change. And, people like you, me, Daredevil and even Spider-Man. That's a big change. At the end of the day, it's good to have some political power behind you. My company will be fine," the blond explained to his partner.

- I see," Luke nodded, "then it's a deal.

The friends shook hands.

- A beer?

Just before Rand approached the mini-fridge in the office, Spider-Man jumped in through the open window.

- Hey, guys! - Spidey waved to the twitching heroes.

Rand jumped back in a somersault and Cage took an aggressive stance.

- Who the fuck are you?!

- Seriously, guys? - Arachnid asks, mentally ordering the symbiote to drain from his face, revealing his classic red mask.â

- YOMAYO, Spider, you don't scare me like that! - exclaimed an unfamiliar phrase to Iron Fist.

- And if I hadn't shown the classic mask, would they have attacked? - Spidey asked.

- Why," Cage confirmed, approaching the arthropod, "what's with the outfit?

- I've decided to change my image," Spidey said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

- Some kind of technological mumba-jumba? - Cage waved his palms indefinitely in the air, hinting at the principle of Symbiote's spreading and its return to its place.

- Something like that.

- It looks good on you," Danny said suddenly.

- I agree with blondie," Lucas nodded, "at least you look cool that way, because you were too ridiculous in red and blue, frankly.

- Um...thanks," Danny nodded, "and thanks, I guess," Luke nodded.

- You're welcome," Cage answered for both of them. - What's up, Wallbreaker?

Meanwhile, Danny opened the fridge and took out three cans of beer. He tossed one to Luke, grabbed one for himself, and offered the third one to Stenolaz.

- No, thanks, - the Spiderwebber raised his palm, - it's only morning. What are we celebrating?

- The start of a new business," Luke replied, uncorking the can, "Heroes for Hire," Cage continued, spreading his arms "in the shape of a sign. - What do you think?

- It's a cool name," Arachnid nodded.

- There's still room, you want to join us? - Rand suggested.

The heroes have worked well together over the months, and Spider has quickly gained the monk's trust. Not immediately, but Lucas gave in to his friend.

- That's a great idea, your reputation has improved since you started your YouTube channel and social media pages. People love you, so what do you say, Wallbreaker? - Carl was quick to smell the profit.

- Thanks for the offer, guys, but I don't have much free time anyway, maybe someday? - Friendly Neighbour shrugged uncertainly.

- Either way, the offer stands," Rand notes, "so what are you here for?

- Daredevil and I have dealt with another cell of the Hand and decided it was time to hit Kingpin's point. You in?

- Of course I'm in.

- Will Jess be in?

Fist and Strongman said at the same time.

Peter and Danny looked at a confused Luke.

- I didn't know you liked our alcoholic detective," Spider said.

- Hey, that's not funny! - Cage shrieked, shifting his attention, "Jones is in trouble and could use some help," Mr Unbreakable Skin said, once again taking on the tough guy persona.

- Yeah, yeah," Danny continues snidely.

- You too?

Rand and I just give each other a high-five.

- Fuck you!

- All right, all right, I'm sorry," the black-clad hero stops, "Jess said yes. Meet me tomorrow night at the Hell's Kitchen Warehouse. Got a pen and paper, Danny?

The owner of the Rand Company handed Stenolaz the required.

Arachnid quickly scribbled down the address.

- You can be there in an hour. I'll definitely be there at that time," the spider-man said, handing over the sheet.

- Got it," Danny nodded.

- Alright guys, have a good day and I'm running late," Spidey saluted and jumped out the window.

***

16:00,

16 April.

Spencer Smythe's lab.

- Are you all set?

The silence of the room was interrupted by the booming voice of the robotics genius' employer.

- All of the Widow's systems are fine, Mr Fisk," Spencer replied to his employer.

- How will you locate the target?

- Observer drones, sir," Smythe demonstrated his brainchild.

- Excellent," said the king of the underworld, "but remember, success will bring rewards, but it's better if you don't know how failure will turn out," warned Ambal, ending the communication session.

Spencer exhaled in relief.

- Why are you working for him?

The sound of the voice made the man flinch.

- You're still young, Alistair, and you don't understand everything," Smythe tried to explain to his son.

- I'm not that stupid, father," the boy blurted out, "Fisk is a criminal and we developed Black Widow to hunt Spider-Man, right?

Spencer squeezed his eyes shut as if in pain.

- Unfortunately yes," he finally nodded at his son's question.

- So let's go to the police or-

But his attempt at persuasion was cut short by Smythe Senior's thunderous shout.

- No! Alistair, you're all I've got. If Ambal finds out I've betrayed him. I can't take that risk.

Spencer sat back in his chair and clutched his head with his hands.

Walking over to his father, Smythe Jr. put his hand on his shoulder.

- 'I get it, father. We don't have a choice.

***

Same night.

Spider-Man.

Whew! The day is finally over.

Study, study, study, study. More lectures, seminars, making up absences.

At least working in the lab is a lot more exciting.

But now, home, then patrol, then Mary and Gail.

Still need to buy some wine this time.

Pondering all sorts of information while flying across the rooftops in my brand new black suit.

And yet the Symbiotic suit is fabulous. We'll have to explore what this baby can do. So far, I've stayed away from the classic enhancement of normal powers.

My musings were interrupted by a familiar ringing in my head.

Spider sense!

I land on the wall of an outside building and see five eye-shaped drones following me.

It's a familiar design.

As I try to break away from my pursuers, I'm involuntarily distracted by something else.

"It's weird, usually my gut reacts normally, but now, it's like I felt like it was trying to stroke my skull while it was triggering, and I tensed up. We need to figure out what it is."

While I was pondering, one of the drones separated from its brethren and swiftly lunged straight at me.

Jumping up, I push the eyedropper back into the roof slate, the crashing machine exploding.

To my surprise, the rest of the 'eyes' fly away.

"Weird."

Hooking onto the water tower, I try to fly after the drones.

Gotta figure out what the fuck is going on.

The chase doesn't last long.

A few hundred metres into my flight, there's the roar of engines overhead.

When I turn round, I freeze.

Another shot of nostalgia distracts me, but not for long.

"Black Widow. So either Spencer or Alistair Smythe is behind this. Or maybe both."

As I regarded the behemoth, a spider landed and started moving in my direction.

- Okay, scarecrow, let's dance!

Jumping down, I shoot a web at the limbs the robot is using to move. I tighten the thread, tying the machine's legs together, knocking it onto its side.

- Ha! Looks like your creator needs to work on his notion of advanced technology if you're his masterpiece! - I shout gloatingly at the Widow.

Unfortunately for me, something like a laser slides out of the machine's mouth and cuts my bonds.

- Good, maybe you're not so useless.

At my comment, several rigs come out of the robot's back.

"Oh shit!"

After a moment, I begin to dodge the missiles flying at me.

"Are they heat-seeking?!"

I manage to dodge the projectiles by making them collide with each other.

- Okay, let's try this.

I fire the web-shooters with thread and activate the electric web mode.

An electrical discharge passes through the robot and I see the Widow's eyes go out.

After waiting a bit, I start to move closer.

No reaction.

I hop onto the robot's body and feel her start to move again.

- "System rebooted," comes from the Widow.

- So you can talk," I joke lightly.

The Spider Huntress, for her part, makes clanking noises, trying to throw me off.

- It's no use, gorgeous, I could spend all day on you.

"Vile."

Spider Sense's signal, however, makes me jump off the hull of the car.

A second later, a burst of light blue sparks passes over the spot where I was previously positioned.

- It seems that you also have mechanisms that prevent others from entering your personal space?

In response, thin metal cables fly out of the robot's mouth in my direction.

I almost dodge, but the steel ropes wrap around my ankle.

Mechanically, the machine begins to pull me towards it.

I find myself right in front of the Widow's chewing jaws with an electric shock interrupting between them.

"Well, no."

I grab the ropes and rip them apart. Leaping under the jaws, I look right at the bottom of the car's 'belly'. Bringing my fist in, I apply much more of my strength, in an attempt to punch through the metal.

My fist goes through like a red-hot knife through melted butter. The symbiote amplified my already considerable abilities.

- "Error! Error! Hull damage. Return to base immediately."

I didn't realise a computer voice could sound so panicky.

A minute later, the Widow takes off, upwards.

I'm thinking of starting a pursuit, but tomorrow we, with other street heroes, will attack Kingpin's warehouses, so such not especially important figures as Smythes will wait.

Decision made, I fly in the opposite direction of the "escaped" Spider Huntress.

***Later that night.

Spencer Smythe's lab.

- Dad, what happened! - Alistair watched in surprise as the red error message burned across the screen.

- "The Widow has suffered a hull breach," Spencer began immersively, "it looks like Spider-Man managed to damage her hull plating and almost got to the core.

- Has the automatic return to base been activated? - Alistair asked a little apprehensively.

The guy didn't want the hero to find them and arrest them.

- Yes, but I redirected the Widow by entering the coordinates of my old warehouse, and also sent observers to inspect the route of her movements.

- You didn't send them after Spider?

- No point. Our main weapon is damaged. And besides, he's always gotten uneasy when we've sent drones in the past. It's like he can sense them," Spencer said in a low voice.

- What do we do now?

The elder Smythe froze.

- I don't know, son.

***

An hour later.

Forest Hills.

Peter Parker.

I stand on the doorstep of the Watson family home and ring the doorbell.

A few minutes later, the door opens.

- Hi, Peter," Gail Watson smiles at me from the door.

- Hi," I hug my girlfriend's sister, "and I have some presents," I shake the bag.

- Come on in," Gail invites me in, taking the bag, "Mary's in the living room.

Taking off my trainers, I walk inside.

Mary Jane is sitting on the couch, smiling and cooing with Timmy, Gail and Jason's son.

The opening picture makes my heart sink. MJ, with the baby. Such a cosy picture.

- Hi, Tiger," the redhead greets me, smiling.

- Hi, Carrot," I die out after my girlfriend's words.

- Say hi to Uncle Peter, Timothy," Mary takes the baby's small hand and lightly shakes it, "Hi, Uncle Peter.

- Hi little one, how are you?

In response, the little boy starts pulling his arms towards me and breaking out of the younger Watson's embrace.

- I swear, sometimes I think he loves you more than all of us put together," MJ said with a laugh, handing the baby into my arms.

And there was a kernel of truth in her words.

I don't know why, but whenever Timmy saw me, he was always active, smiling, holding out toys. Often, due to uncontrollable emotions, he even peed, to the displeasure of his mother and aunt, who immediately went to change his nappies.

No one, including me, could figure out what it was about. The boy's dad, Jason, was even jokingly jealous. He's a humorous guy, though.

Gail came over with the wine and cake I'd bought and started pouring the red liquid into glasses.

The girls began to talk about what had happened in the last two days. I, on the other hand, was more modest in sharing my progress in school and in the lab.

Of course, I couldn't share my heroic days in front of Gail.

After a while, Timmy began to snooze in my arms, and the oldest of the Watson sisters picked him up and went upstairs to tuck him in.

I walked over to the sofa and collapsed, resting my head tiredly on the back.

Mary Jane immediately snuck under my right arm.

- You're tired," Watson argued.

- More like exhausted, there was a little robot attack on the way home, no big deal," I fixed my hair, "and tomorrow I have to cover Kingpin Point with the other heroes.

- I see, you're nervous," the redhead concluded.

- Why would I be nervous? - After all, I've been working with Matt for over a year now, Luke and Danny not much less. Even Jess has helped out with a few detective enquiries.

- As far as I remember, you've never acted on a team with so many heroes before," Mary said, rolling her eyes slightly.

Apparently she remembered how excited I was to share with her the information about how many of us would be taking Ambala's bases.

And yes, I may be a little nervous.

And it's not because of the crowd of heroes or the fear of making a mistake. It's about tactics. If things go badly, we're each going to do what we're used to. Alone. At most, Luke and Danny will pair up out of habit.

And that's fine.

But we need to work as a team. Allies' strengths and weaknesses, the whole deal. After all, not everyone is bulletproof like Luke. Matt has definite trust issues. He wouldn't have opened up to me if he hadn't been injured during one of his scuffles with the Hand and I hadn't had to drag him to the Night Nurse.

That's where they took his mask off. Except he didn't ask me to leave. Although I would have left if he had.

Luke and Danny don't hide their identities, except for Rand, but "he trusts hero allies with no problem." Not the best approach either.

Jessica Jones doesn't care about identity secrecy. That's what it means to be a professional private investigator.

Here comes another little pebble, I'm the only one whose identity none of them know. Sure, Murdoch has no problem recognising me by my heartbeat in a crowd. But it's still not the same as knowing my first and last name.

There's a little tension on my part, for I'll probably have to offer to work in a team and take on the burden of leadership. Which could turn into something bad.

- Eh," I sigh and rub my eyes.

Mary's palms rest gently on my shoulders. My girl begins to slowly massage my interscapular area.

- Yeah...right there," I guide the redhead in a broken tone.

That feels so good.

- You're amazing," I intercept one of MJ's palms and leave a light kiss on it.

- Tiger, relax," the green-eyed girl gently turns my face to hers, "you're the best superhero in the universe, a true champion, so calm down," she kisses me softly, "you're ready.

In response, I move closer and bring our lips together again, deepening the kiss.

Mary lies down on the couch, I find myself on top of her....

- Guys, not in the living room! - Gail's harsh shout and the loud whimpering coming from the first floor spoilt the mood.