Ultimate Spider-Woman Issue 12: Dawning Of Dusk free porn video

Issue 12: Dawning of Dusk "Wait - don't go! I need you! Please stay! Don't leave me!" Spider-Man pleaded. "I'll be so empty without you!" "You only want me for my body!" I said in revulsion. "Not true... I want you for your brains too!" Spider-Man cried plaintively. That's just what every girl wants to hear, isn't it?! Except I'm only technically a girl and Spider-Man's designs on my were less carnal and more gastronomic. Voraphilia? Uh uh. No way. No. How did it come to this I hear you ask? Well true believers. Let me tell you... Two hours ago... As soon as I'd arrived here I'd figured it was the wrong place - but by then it was too late to go back. I facepalmed, realising that this was the place Reed had warned me of. The piles of gnawed human bones were a dead giveaway... Dammit I'd mixed up the numbers. Worst butt dial ever... I crawled through the upper floors of the fire gutted skyscraper, the stark ruins of this Baxter Building ominous and grim. Familiar yet eerily wrong. The stench was horrible and I was glad for the filters in my mask. It was night and I nervously swung out onto the smashed upper structure to get the lay of the land. Utter ruin and desolation as far as the eye could see. In the distance I could see a few flying heroes but they looked wrong. Some were missing limbs and there was on with only half a body. Apart from them the city was a lifeless charnel house. I went back into the ruins of the Baxter Building, wracking my brain. This was the worst. How could I survive here?! I had too. It was that simple. I went hunting for supplies, scavenging a Hello Kitty back pack with some sneakers and clean exercise gear that looked to fit me. I set about filling my bag with whatever high energy food I could find. Food was in short supply, looters must have gotten it weeks ago. There was lots of compact advanced technology scattered about that looked useful though. A tablet, a few satellite phones, a hard drive and other things that I grabbed in passing. Unfortunately there was no power - and no interdimensional inverter. I was in serious trouble. Then I found a life saver. In a ransacked high security storage area I found an impact resistant steel container beneath a half eaten corpse. I gingerly moved the remains and wiped down the metal box. So gross. The unit was marked 'negative zone samples'. The name summed up my life and for some reason it piqued my interest. It took all my strength but I ripped the storage unit open. Inside was a number of strange rocks and bits of technology, including an utterly black costume. Like it didn't reflect light at all. Impossible. But I was drawn to it. I read a small inventory printout summary attached to the suit. It was alien tech that allowed shadow leaping, shadow blending and limited flight. Yeah that sounded useful! I quickly shed my clothes and put it on. I marveled at how the cloth shrunk skin tight to my body. I packed my clothes and spider costume in the backpack then moved stealthily through the shadowed darkness, a part of it. Yeah. This was useful. I felt oddly lighter in it. I'd been about to leave the Baxter Building when the Reed from my universe contacted me by projecting a hologram. The Reed from my universe! Thank god! "Jessica. We, the other Reed and I, are working on a gate. Be ready in exactly an hour where you first arrived. Don't get bitten or ... well it would be very bad for you..." "Good advice," I agreed as I looked up at the glowing hologram. When I say up I mean up... Sadly Reed hadn't been subtle - presumably because he didn't know if I was still where I'd arrived. Yeah, unfortunately he'd contacted me with a ten storey hologram that hung high over the city. He'd basically rung the dinner bell advertising an all you can eat zombie buffet with me as the main dish. The remaining zombies were ravenous and they converged upon the Baxter Building, ready for a feast. I watched from the shadows as they flew toward the building. Flew... how were they flying!? They all glowed with some cosmic energy. Wolverine sniffing the air like a rabid hunting dog. The Hulk, pure blind rage and hunger looking about with a baleful apish intensity. The nightmarish top half of Iron Man - somewhere along the way he'd lost his legs, his spine dangling out of the chest plate of his gore stained armour ... Spider- Man missing the lower part of one leg and his mask bare to reveal a jagged skeleton jaw. Giant Man, a huge behemoth of horrid rotting flesh. Luke Cage, vile undead thing... their costumes and ages differed but I knew them. I think the scariest part of them was their teeth. No lips, just huge vermicious teeth that glistened in the darkness ... and they wept and wailed and gnashed their teeth as they hunted me... none wanting to share their next meal... they weren't human anymore. Not even close. I avoided Wolverine from the start, intuiting he would be the hardest to escape once he got my scent. Assuming he could still smell... I bounded about the Baxter Building, creating as many false scent trails as I could before fleeing out into the city. I'd been Wolverine once - long story - and I knew how acute his tracking sense was. I played cat and mouse with my rotten new friends in the desolate city for a nail biting hour. I quickly figured out how the black costume worked. It allowed me to glide and move between shadows with a very limited teleportation. And in this abandoned metropolis there was an abundance of darkness. Like I said, a life saver! I had a near miss as I rounded a corner high above ground and nearly swung into a flying Iron Man. "Hi Tony..." We stared at each other for a moment. "Who are you?" His eyes were cloudy yellow puss filled glaucoma's and his thick black purplish tongue darted out and licked his teeth lasciviously. "It doesn't matter. You're Elevenses to me..." "Really? You sure know how to make a girl feel wanted." I shot webbing at his helmet, blinding him. "No witty banter, no conversation, no meeting of minds just straight to what you want. You didn't even stop to think what I want. Honestly, you should stop objectifying women. I mean look at yourself. You're way past your prime and you've really let yourself go... you can forget any below the belt action from here on... and that egocentric playboy approach may have worked before the apocalypse but times have changed... you need to respect a girl in this new era... make her feel like an equal. Wine and dine her..." What was I rambling on about? "Argh! I will dine on you! You're nothing but a tasty little morsel to me..." I shuddered as I nimbly dropped into shadows and teleported away and he fired and howled in frustrated ire. I kept Stark behind me and it was a near thing with the Hulk a moment later, the jolly green monster launching impossibly fast at me through an explosion of building materials, swatting at me as I twisted and spun into more shadows. "Get In Hulks belly!!" he snarled. Without the premonition of my spider sense he would have had me. "Hulk Hungry!" "Hulk need balanced diet. Hulk must go eat vegetables!" I moved away, leaping from one shadowed ruin to the next. His roar was like thunder as he raged at my escape. In a violent tantrum he utterly destroyed three city blocks as I got the hell out of there. I teleported into a hospital wing, dead bodies everywhere. There was a disturbing snikt sound and an animal growl as Wolverine flew madly at me through the tattered curtains in the ICU. Again my spider sense saved me and I dodged the swiping claws of the zombie mutant. "I'm the best at what I do Bub and what I do ain't nice..." he snarled. "Wolverine. I do appreciate you calling me Bub. More than you'd know," I reparteed. "And if what you do now is rot and stink then yes, I agree you're the best and, yeah, you're absolutely right, it isn't nice... but between you and me, I wouldn't go bragging about it..." "You smell like Parker but you're a girl... what are you?" he snarled as he lunged with his one good arm leading. I dodged and he landed on a gurney that went rolling away from me. "Better..." I evaded. Not who... what... that hurt a little. Unfortunately Giant Man was there too, anticipating my dodge, grabbing me through a gaping window, my spider sense alerting me too late! "Hey... giant man... can you shrink down to the size of a fly? You know. A cute, teeny-weeny, itsy-bitsy housefly? I'd go much further like that... you know, nom nom?" I suggested hopefully as his dirty big hands wrapped about me. I could swat a fly... "Maybe you could try being a BFG?" I asked hopefully. I was in serious trouble, his grip was too strong to break. Wolverine lunged at me and Giant Man clutched me possessively. "She's mine runt." Thankfully his clutching hands left me in darkness and that allowed me to shadow leap away. I looked back to see him peering hopefully into his clutching fists, Wolverine pointing madly at me and firing cosmic blasts my way. I shadow teleported again. I had barely gotten away before Luke Cage was chasing me, smashing his way through office partitions in some dead lawyers office as I evaded. "Sweet Christmas, you sure wriggle about a lot girl!" he said as we tousled, me dancing around him deftly as he swung power punches like crazy. I threw a hole punch at him and it exploded in a shower of confetti which he spat from his mouth. I grabbed a stapler and stapled him. Yeah. These were ineffectual office supplies. "Dude, I gotta know, what is it with the silver tiara? The matching metal wristbands, heavy chain belt, Robin Hood boots and flowing, low- cut yellow shirt work... they are completely macho. But seriously? A tiara? If you're going for a village people circa 1970s disco look you want flares and platform boots. But a tiara... dude. No. Just no. What were you thinking? I mean it's like you're being dressed by a committee of middle aged white guys..." I asked. "Quiet fool. Your jokes are as bad as Spider-Man's," Luke snapped as he self consciously adjusted his tiara. "I resemble that remark..." I agreed as I leaped to a building across the street. He started to fire away with some energy power. I moved away as quickly as I could, weaving erratically into buildings. With the shadow leaping ability of my new suit dodging the moldering Wolverine, Spider-Man, Hulk, Giant Man, Iron Man and Luke Cage was possible. Barely. Like I said, they all had an interesting new power that scared the hell out of me. Some kind of cosmic energy that they started to use more and more indiscriminately to honeycomb any building I sought to refuge in. I realised they were getting desperate to catch me. If I was hit there would be less to eat but less was better than nothing in what remained of their hunger addled minds. Soon parts of the city were on fire, reducing the wealth of shadows into which I could flee. But it was a big city. After my hour of hide and seek I returned to where I'd arrived with Zombie Spider-Man hot on my tail. The other zombies were lurking around the Baxter Building, smart enough to know where I needed to be after my hours evasion, but it was a big building and they had no idea where I arrived, so teleporting to the rift had been terrifying but not impossible. True to his word Reed opened a gate where I arrived and I leaped through it to get the hell out of there. I appeared on the other side of the rift in Earth-1610. Well that's what I hoped, it looked like my universe at least. My spider sense made me duck as Spider-Man's webbing followed me through. In the distance I could hear the other zombies converging upon the shrinking rift, arguing and fighting like dogs over a bone. The undead Spider-Man had been the nimblest, the best at following me, but being a moldering corpse had slowed him down enough that I could evade him. If they'd been working together I would have been a zombie happy meal. I shuddered. That's all I want to say on it. That place is going to give me nightmares for the rest of my life. Honest. "I'm glad I got you. Just in time too it seems. How did you end up there?" Reed asked nervously. "That universe is doomed..." "Misdial," I explained from my small admantium cage, clutching my bag. Reed wasn't taking any chances. "I thought you said we were from Earth- 2149..." "Oh. Right. That explains it. We're Earth 1610. I did mention the zombie universe to you... should figure out a way to block that one. But... Just stay right there. I need to make sure you aren't infected," Reed said as he activated defences and scanned me. "Thanks Doctor Richards," I said is I lifted the shadow mask to show my face. The suit was so black! "But I'm zombie bite free. It was a close thing, they had cosmic powers or something but their hunger made them stupid. And this suit did the rest..." I said as I noticed big powerful guns training menacingly on me. "Honest. No bites. Not even a nibble." "Hmmm, yes, you're clear thankfully ... Interesting reflective properties to that costume..." he said. "Some kind of flight and shadow teleporting for short distances too," I explained. "Really. Very interesting." "Yeah. I found the suit and some other things in the zombie world's Baxter Building. This came from the negative zone. It sure saved my bacon..." I laughed. "Ah, yes, I've been investigating the Negative zone... But I digress. I spoke to the other me from Earth-602636 and he helped me find you. Their earth is quite... quaint," Richard's observed. "That other universe, um Earth-602636... it seemed like a teenage romance world. So weird. I'm amazed they reproduce at all..." I agreed. Although that second kiss from MJ had been rather more hotblooded than I'd expected. "Yes..." Reed smiled. "I have to ask though. What are your plans?" Reed enquired as he powered down the guns and opened my cage. I climbed out and shrugged. "Well, I've enrolled in high school. I'm looking for work and a place to live..." as said as I emptied out my bag and looked at the tech I'd salvaged from the other alternate Baxter Building. The tablet was crazy advanced and the satellite phones were next generation. Reed examined my finds and easily paired the devices all up with the Future Foundation's satellite as I talked. "I doubt the FBI are done with me so... I'll probably need to do something about them whilst keeping a low profile." I watched him working. "Can you leave these here for me to look over?" Evidently some of the things I'd grabbed even he couldn't easily figure out. "Sure. I'll keep the suit, the tablet, the phones and the are drive though if that's ok..." I agreed. "Yes. That's fine... they should be useful. Hmm. We have an internship program and you seem exceptionally bright, but I don't think this is a good place for you to lie low. We don't want the FBI, SHIELD or someone else causing us problems. The attack the other night is all over the news. No one was arrested and the press is passing it off as a turf war between gangs. If it was the FBI and they are willing to attack you at a train station with automatic weapons and grenades then I wouldn't put it past them to try something here. Sorry." He apologised sadly as he passed me back my stuff.. "I need to lay low. I get it." I put my haul away in the back pack. "Thanks for this by the way..." I grinned, excited by the possibilities of new tech. "But about the FBI. I heard the lead FBI agent Henry Gyrich talking to Senator Stern. Stern is a piece of work. Total slime." I shuddered in revulsion at the memory of his designs on me. It made me sick. Reed noticed I think. "Still I'm not certain it was the FBI. It could be a military black ops team or even a mercenary team hired by someone to clean up this mess." I paused, thinking about it. "The thing is, someone is kidnapping street kids to experiment on, I'm certain of it. There was this girl, Krystal..." I said. "And the equipment they were using to make me and the other clones was cutting edge. You can't just buy that stuff off the rack," I observed. "Hmmm. I don't think the FBI have the resources for this kind of research and as far as I know they don't usually go in for black ops." Reed said. "But Stern... he's bad news. He chairs the House Committee of Superhuman Control that investigated Oscorp's 'alleged' violations of the Superhuman Test Ban Treaty - and cleared them." I nodded as Reed spoke. "The HCSC is of concern in itself. It's an aggressive body and with Stern chairing it is generating an environment of Superhuman paranoia. Supers under the bed stuff straight out of the Cold War paranoia playbook," he scowled. "If Stern is directly involved in the project that created you... and with HCSC under his control... I'll need to look into this." "Wait, Stern is creating super soldiers whilst persecuting supers?" I asked, confused. "That makes no sense." "This superhero arms race is a cutthroat business. The profits are obscene and the ethics are questionable at best. The more Superhuman fear and havoc in society, the more profitable it gets. One side feeds the other. And there are a lot of companies and entities lined up at the trough... Oscorp, Hammer Industries, ROXXON and Mandarin International are the worst... But even Stark International, The Future Foundation and SHIELD have their fingers in the pie." "That many," I worried. At least I had some names of companies to look into to hopefully find Krystal. Reed waved a hand dismissively. "That's the world we live in now." "You don't have to tell me," I sighed. "Well, that was my weekend. Funny. It was Saturday morning when I entered the gate, Tuesday afternoon when I arrived on the alternate romanceverse, Thursday morning there when I left for zombieworld and now it's Sunday afternoon back here. Time moves differently in alternate realities doesn't it?" "The multiverse is a strange place. I wouldn't dwell overmuch on the time differential Jessica. Just be glad you're back," he advised me. "I won't. Now if you'll excuse me I have a school to break into and some academic records to falsify," I said. "I don't want to know. Good luck Jessica." He clapped me on the shoulder. "But wait just a moment..." He went to his computer and plugged in a USB, put some software on it then passed it to me "That should get you past any pesky passwords." "Thanks!" I pocketed the USB. "Um... actually... you couldn't spot me a twenty could you?" I begged hopefully. Reed flipped out his wallet and gave me fifty dollars. "Oh thanks. You're a superhero! Er... And is there a shower I can use before I go?" I'd not wanted to risk showering at alternate universe Peter's house. That would have caused all kinds of problems if May found out... so after my weekend of being shot at by the FBI, chasing Eldritch Abominations and running from Zombies in a post apocalyptic wasteland I was pretty ripe. Reed rolled his eyes and nodded at the ladies room. "Thank you!" I went in, stripped with my normal amount of complete self consciousness and washed. The hot water was sublime and the shower head pumped out so much of it. I luxuriated under the constant spray in bliss, face up and eyes closed, water running down my body and washing away the dirt and grime and smells and memories. An entire dead and rotting world... I shuddered as I forced that memory down. It wasn't real. Was just a possible fate we'd avoided here. A what if...? The same as MJ's incredible kiss. No. That had been real. Intimately so... I blushed at the memory. She had liked me. Wanted me... female me. I smiled fondly and shook off that memory too. Must. Shower! The shower cubicle even had scented soaps, shampoos and conditioners - and clean fluffy towels. Male me would have never have noticed most of this, but the new me? Heaven! I changed and stuffed my smelly shadow suit, spider suit and dirty clothes into my backpack. There was an odourless deodorant spray in my bag that I used. They had disposable toothbrushes and I used one and took it. I put on the clean gym gear. It was my size thank goodness and was a snug comfortable fit. They were as revealing as my spider costume but with me face uncovered I felt strangely more exposed in them. Damn this mane of hair. I still wasn't used to drying my long hair and it made my gym top damp. As I exited I stepped directly into Sue Storm. I blushed at the sudden contact of our bodies. She wasn't much older than me but she seemed so mature. And I'd just been thinking about my kiss with MJ. The little bump was very pleasant and brought back all those memories. Soft yielding body pressing against soft yielding body. Just like I remembered. And to make it even more lurid she wore her Fantastic Four outfit. The one that clung tight to her every feminine curve. The one I'd just been pressed against. The one that appealed to the tastes of heterosexual 15 year old boys. And my brain was still pretty much that of a 15 year old boy. Oh. My. Sue stared at me, seeing my blushing state and jumping to a completely wrong conclusion. "Hello... um... wait. Who are you? What are you doing here? Why are you wearing my gym gear?" She asked, pushing me to arms length, eyebrow raised suspiciously, turning to look at Reed. "Huh?" I responded, confused as I looked down. These were her clothes? I was looking at my chest and, well, no bra, stray guilty thoughts, and, yeah, things were pronounced. My blush deepened guiltily. I looked to Reed for help. He was working. Why couldn't I think? "And that is my back pack... Reed? Who is this girl and why does she have my clothes and sports bag? Did you give them too her? Why is she using the shower?!" Sue asked, voice rising. "I can explain. Reed was showing me one of his experiments-" I started, flustered. "He was, was he? Reed?" She asked, living up to her surname. "I think you have some explaining to do!" Was she jealous? Did she think that Reed and I were ... ew. No. I mean Ew! Reed sighed in exasperation. "Sue, that's Jessica Drew. One of the Spider-Man clones," he said. "She has Peter Parker's mind and memories." "What? You're kidding. Oh, I see." She back peddled as she processed this new and unlikely information. "Wait. His mind. But she's a girl..." she stared at me and I blushed once more. Sue Storm blinked as she realised my embarrassed excitement had been due to bumping into her. Her mouth made a cute little oh of comprehension. "She's standing right here and she doesn't like people knowing about her condition. It's private," I stressed, not wanting to make eye contact with Sue. I didn't like these feelings. They were frustrating and confusing. "Okay?" Reed waved off my comment. Sue gave me a mixed look of sympathy and worry. She stepped further back, understanding my sexual tension was due to her and not Reed. "Sorry Jessica... Er Peter...? I thought... I was wrong. But, um, why do you have my sports bag?" She asked, recovering. "It's Jess. Peter is a different guy," I stressed but it felt like a lie still. "This bag is not yours. It's from the zombie world. If it looks like yours then it must have belonged to your alternate self. I got stuck there and Reed rescued me. I was, um, dirty from being stuck there and I asked Reed to use the shower. If you want the clothes back..." "Oh. No..." she went to a locker and pulled out a bag identical to mine. "Heh. That's strange..." she observed. "So... um..." I blushed again. "Yeah," I said looking into her blue eyes. She was so pretty. "Rough day then?" she asked, head tilting. I made a vague gesture with my hand. "Well. About normal for me..." "I see..." Sue said with a nod. "So... do you have anyone to talk too? These must be confusing times." "No. Not really. I, Er, yeah. It's hard. But I'm getting there. Slowly," I said. Reed was watching with a look of clinical curiosity that creeped me out suddenly. "Look. I have to go. Thanks for saving me Reed. Later Sue. Say hi to Ben for me..." "Wait, Jessica, if you need someone to talk too I... you can talk to me. Ok?" she offered. I looked at her. She was cute. Why couldn't I stop thinking that? The more I tried not to the more the thought stuck. "Ok. Um... yeah. Thanks. See ya." I awkwardly went on my way. *** Breaking into Mid Town High's records office was simple the second time round. It was almost the same as Earth-603636. I found Peter's and a few other smart kids records and photocopied them, then with white out and pen I doctored them up into my name, changing them just enough. I felt guilty doing this... but they were my grades... kind of. I lowered a few just a bit. I then filed my new academic record away and accessed the school computer to create a false record of my enrollment using Reed's USB to break the password. And that was that. I was officially enrolled and finished with Mid Town High. I felt strangely nostalgic. On a whim I headed to my old locker and unlocked the combination lock, the movements familiar and practiced. I looked at my notebooks and the picture of Kitty Pryde taped to the inside door. I touched the picture, the tactile sensation filling my mind with memories of her. I pulled out a folder and rifled through my chemistry notes. In my lithe feminine hands the pages seemed bigger somehow. Stuffed in the back of my former locker was an old hoodie. I took it out. This wasn't mine anymore but I took it anyway. I smelt it. It smelled slightly of stale sweat. Of how I used to smell. Boys stank. It was true. But I put it on because it was mine... I scribbled a note, thanking Pete for the hoodie and signing it Jessica. I also took the picture of Kitty Pryde. Just cause. Ok, I was starting to feel like creepy stalker girl so I got out of there. I swung to the Astoria Soup Kitchen to line up for a free feed. A couple of rolls, some soup, an apple and an orange. As I was cleaning my bowl with a piece of bread feeling self conscious in my gym gear Lyfe came in. He was sporting a black eye and swollen, broken lip. "Heh! You're alive! I was kind of worried. You were on the train that got shot up... I heard it. Everyone heard it... What happened?!" he asked as he sat down opposite me, evidently in pain and a wary downtrodden look in his eyes. "I don't know. I got out of there. I didn't stop to look back. But... more importantly, what happened to you?" I asked in concern. It wasn't just a physical beating. He looked demoralised. He shrugged. "Mo Money... they were looking for you. They found me and asked me to pass on a message..." he winced and touched his broken lip. "Jess... why does trouble follow you around?" I sat back in my chair. "I don't know. I'm really sorry." I felt frustrated. These guys... they knew they couldn't get me so they went after him. I shouldn't have been hanging with Lyfe. Me I could look out for. Other people, normal people... couldn't be part of my life. I'd come to that realisation when I broke up with MJ. It was a fact of my existence. "Yeah Jess. You should have left them alone. You're a great girl, but you went looking for trouble..." He sighed painfully. "And you caused me trouble. I'm living in a car and just getting by. It's stressful and depressing enough, I feel like my future is slipping away from me every day. I can't deal with being homeless and Mo Money beating me up and stealing my stuff. I'm sorry. We have to stop hanging out..." He looked afraid and small. He'd been crying. "They have me in their sights now. I can't be looking behind my back all the time. I just can't do that again. So... I'm gonna move to another place. Another school." "I can-" I started. He made a slashing motion with his hand. "You can what? You can't reason with these guys. Some of them you can, sure... some of them are in the gangs because of peer pressure - but not all of them. It's a gang. Some of them are just no good and rotten. And you can't beat them al. It will always escalate and you become like them. If you hurt one then they will hurt you and your friends. You can't win. It's a horrible atmosphere of fear, helplessness and frustration. And the kids at school, they aren't even the real gang members. The hard core ones are pushing the young ones around. Making them prove themselves... You should change schools too. Get out of their orbit before you get hurt." He said. "I'm not running away from them..." I muttered. Lyfe stood. "Yeah. I figured. There is something about you Jess. I see that. But I?m not like you. I?ve been bullied before. I was outed in my last school and I?ve had to look behind my back because of it, before, during and after school. The fear and worry... I can?t cope with it. Not again." He stood up and placed a hand on my shoulder. "I?ll be seeing you I guess." He said. Then he turned and left. I watched him go, feeling like I?d failed him. I had. "God dammit..." I grumbled. I pushed my bowl away, my appetite gone. My jaw muscles worked and tightened. I sat there for a moment turning things over in my mind. If Mo Money were after me then I couldn?t afford to have any friends. Spider-Woman could go after the gang but I?d not been very careful with my spider powers around them and they might add two and two together. The fact of it was I?d been an idiot. I felt like going out on patrol as Spider-Woman and cleaning some criminal?s clocks... but I was angry and that was a bad idea. There was a kill squad hunting me. I had to lay low. "Right then..." I stood and walked out of the soup kitchen. Three blocks later I was outside the Astoria Fight Club, a local mixed martial arts academy focusing on Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, Judo, Kickboxing and... parkour? I walked in and looked around. There was a class doing circuit work and the music was pumping. I nodded to the beat. I wanted to be doing something physical to take my mind off my mental troubles and this looked like what I needed. A young man in the office grinned at me. He had the look of someone who could handle himself. He sized me up. "Hey. I?m Aaron. You?re a new face. You wanna try the gym out? It?s not for everyone, but... free trial session?" He offered. "Sure," I agreed. "Am I in the right gear?" I asked, motioning to my gym gear. "Yeah, that?s fine," he said. I nodded and went out and joined in the circuit work. I pushed myself as hard as I dared without using any super strength. It was frustrating. What was most peoples upper limit was nothing to me. It felt pointless. The parkour elements were fun but a little basic. Aaron seemed to notice my frustration. "You don?t look it but you?re pretty tough aren?t you... hmmm..." he said during a two minute break. He motioned me over. "Do you know any martial arts?" he asked. I shrugged. "Not much." "Ok show me what you know..." We sparred for a bit and he gauged my skill level. "Well, you have raw talent but not much finesse..." he observed. "You could benefit from some training. Your form is good but not great." I frowned. I?d trained relentlessly under Gong, enough to realise I didn?t know as much as I thought I did about fighting. I sensed that Aaron was experienced in a range of martial arts and he seemed like a good teacher. "Yeah. But I?m keen to learn." The problem with being Spider-Woman was that I relied heavily on my powers. My speed, grace, spider sense, and strength weren?t the same as training and skill. I had experience but I?d also learned some bad habits. That was why sometimes a normal human with excellent training could present a challenge to me. I wanted that training to augment my innate physical advantages. "Well... you?ve come to the right place. I run classes every night of the week," he said. "How much are lessons?" I asked. "Forty bucks an hour," he said. "Two hour lessons are eighty bucks." I sighed. I couldn?t afford that. I really needed a job. He could see the disappointment on my face. "It?s not cheap but it?s worth it." I nodded. I went back to the circuit class but it was pointless. I wasn?t breaking a sweat. I didn?t need exercise, I needed training. If the free weights were an order of magnitude or two heavier this might be worth it. No. I needed training but I was broke. Money... I really needed a way I could use my powers to get some quick cash. Moving stuff? Demolition work...? Yeah physical labour seemed the trick. But finding a job on a Sunday night seemed unlikely. I finished up in the circuit class and filled in the paperwork for classes. "Hold a place for me," I asked Aaron. "I?ll have the cash... I?m good for it." "Sure thing," Aaron agreed. Walking back to the abandoned warehouse where I was squatting I looked up at the buildings about me... "Hmm..." I sat down on the concrete entry stairs to the nearest building and grabbed my newly acquired tablet with its crazy intuitive interface, plugged in the USB hacking device Reed had given me and dialed into the power companies records. With the technology at my disposal it was simple to search through power consumption by address in this street. I found a number of very low power consumption addresses. I copied those down in a spreadsheet. Then I checked gas and water on my list. A few addresses had standard gas or water consumption, probably solar or battery power hence low power consumption, but I found three addresses that were low or nonexistent in their combined utilities usage. Empty houses... the lack of usage was long term. Hmm. I grinned. I was going to upgrade my squat! I checked my properties on real estate rentals and sales on the net and eliminated one address currently on the market and open for inspection by appointment. Of the two remaining, one was a ground floor level apartment which surrounded it with neighbours. That likely made it more secure and anyone squatting there would also be obvious from the street. The last option was a penthouse, as near as I could tell, and looked promising. Walking up the street I spotted the address and, ducking into an alley, I wall crawled up to the top floor apartment. No lights on but from the balcony looking in I could see it was fully furnished. I found some wire that was being used to hang a dead pot plant, unhitched the balcony lock with it and slipped stealthily inside. I groped in the dark for a light switch and turned it on. Light flooded the room. "Well this is perfect!" Open plan modern kitchen and living with a decent entertainment system. I checked the kitchen. The fridge was unplugged and empty. I plugged it in and turned it on. The draws had cutlery and plates. There were some out of date tins of food in the pantry. Exploring the other rooms I found a master bedroom with a queen bed and walk in robe with a linen cupboard. There was clean linen in the cupboard and I made up the bed. I grabbed a towel and went into the en- suite and checked the water. Yay, hot water! There was another cupboard with laundry and dryer. I sighed in contentment, thinking that this was almost too perfect. Who owned this place? I did a bit of research on the Utility records and found the bills were paid by a tech company in Silicon Valley. A quick check online showed that they were a small Dotcom and they?d restructured recently. Hmmm so this was an unused company asset, maybe for travelling corporate staff and it seemed they weren?t travelling. Maybe the company was keeping the asset as a corporate investment? I shrugged. That made sense I guessed. I put down my bag and sat on the couch. Well I had a place to stay. Just needed to get my gear from the warehouse and my roof stash. Change the locks and switch the utility bills to my name. Best to limit utility consumption till then as well I supposed. With a plan of action I headed to get my stuff and do a grocery shop. On the way there I spotted a run down building with ?future apartments? written on it. The building was partly demolished and fenced off. There was also a builder sign on the front. I called up the demolition company. "Habala Demolitions. Sal speaking," a voice said with forced politeness. Clearly Sal didn?t want anyone bothering him on Sunday night. "High Sal, my name is ..." I thought a moment. I should use a different name for demolitions. I had four fake identities I could use "...Charlotte Witter. I have an offer for you." "An offer?" he asked. "Yeah I?m at the Twelfth Avenue demolition site in Astoria. I can demolish this building for you... how much would you pay me?" I asked. "Is this a prank. Listen I-" "No prank Sal. This is an offer. I have unique skills that I think can be mutually beneficial to us. Strength. Super strength. I can demolish and move materials. Think of me as a compact wrecking machine... cash in hand. No paperwork. Everything kept quiet." I offered. "You?re serious. Hmmm. A super. Really strong huh? Well Charlotte, meet me on site at six thirty tomorrow. City ordinance says we can?t start till seven." "That?s fine. But I have school from 8am to 3pm. So my window of opportunity isn?t great," I said. "Wait. You?re at school? This is a prank, right?" Sal grumbled. "Look, I?m not sure. My guys are in the union... maybe if you meet me we?ll talk..."he seemed to be backing out. "I can work a job solo. I promise, you?re not going to regret this. We?re going to make crazy money." "We?ll see. If something sounds to good to be true it often is I find," Sal said warily. "You?re right Sal. For this to work for us we need to keep it quiet. In my experience supers attract the attention of other supers or worse. You go telling people you got a super working for you... you?ll probably have more problems than City Ordinance and Unions. SHIELD. The Ultimates. Punk super villains wanting to make a name. There are all kinds of shady elements whose attention we don?t want," I said. I needed to be up front. "You aren?t really selling this to me Charlotte.." Sal said. "But... ok. I have another job lined up. It?s in the old warehouse district." He gave me an address near my warehouse squat. "Meet me there at 5am tomorrow. It?s industrial so different ordinance. We can start early. This?ll be your job interview." "Ok Sal..." I hung up then went and got my stuff stashed at the warehouse and rooftop, bought some staple groceries and toiletries and went to sleep in my new bed. *** That night I had bad dreams of voracious zombies chasing me through a deserted charnel world. I awoke with a start, webbing the ceiling reflexively and I felt a moment of disorientation. Of dysphoria. Where was I? Was I on the zombie world?! This wasn?t my room... this wasn?t me... no wait... I wasn?t Peter Parker. I was the clone. I checked. Yeah. I was still a girl. Still Jess... in my apartment. God I was stupid... I closed my eyes and forced myself to sleep but Eldritch horrors outside space and time kept searching for me, slimy tentacled nightmare things that circled about me relentlessly at the edge of my mind. I couldn?t sleep. I got up, grabbed a glass of tap water from the kitchen and went to the toilet. I washed my hands and face and stared at myself in the mirror. I still wasn?t used to my reflection. Would I ever accept this? I bit my lip in frustration and went back to bed. Thoughts of Lyfe, of Mo Money gang members beating him up and him leaving plagued me. Of Doc Ock being my progenitor- I couldn?t call him s father, the dead clones, the Stacy Experiment, MJ turned into a monster, Aunt May knowing about Peter and whether she could ever know about me ? I missed my famiy, about not doing my homework... worries hemmed me in. I focused on a recent memory that was good... kissing Mary Jane, our bodies pressed together. I closed my eyes and sought comfort in that memory... her gentle skin, her soft hair. The safety and contentment and completeness I felt in her embrace. I breathed and relaxed and felt myself calming... but as I finally slipped off into sleep MJ turned into an angry, jealous Sue Storm who pushed me away and demanded her clothes back. Interrogated me suspiciously. Questioned my existence in her world. I had to remove my clothes, because they weren?t mine. She knew who I was. She could see me... I was naked and exposed and - I awoke again in distress. Sleeps over rated. It was three am and I was unable to sleep. I googled my enemy and practiced sketching Senator Sterns face... *** I arrived a little early and checked the area around the ?job interview? site carefully, then I set up my suit goggles to record the ?interview?. I wasn?t so much worried about a trap but had decided to be cautious... I also wanted to keep a record of any work I did. I needed to be a law abiding citizen, a legal person, not property or a clone. I definitely did not want to be a criminal. They got Capone for tax evasion and I was intending any money I earned would be able to be scrutinised and investigated and vindicated. I planned to lodge a legitimate tax return. Sal rocked up in his big RV, pulling into the gravel car park, splashing through muddy puddles, and climbing out carrying a frog burger bag and a hot drink. He was a short, swarthy, stocky guy and dressed like a blue collar worker - although his clothes were pretty expensive and boots were fancy. He yawned and stretched as I walked across the street and into the factory yard. "Sal," I greeted him. "Charlotte. Glad you turned up. Ok kid, I got up early for this, now show me what you got..." Sal said opening his trunk, rummaging about then throwing me a six foot crow bar and motioning to the old factory brick building. It was three storeys tall and over a hundred years old. "Sort the materials. Bricks there ? try not to break them cause they can be recycled. Clean and stack the good ones on the pallet. Scrap metal over there in that skip. Glass there. Again see if you can keep the frames intact with the glass in them..." He sipped his coffee and took a bite of his danish, grinning. I think he still though I was joking but he was playing along with the prank. I wore a face mask I?d got from the drug store to cover my face. I hefted the crow bar and leaped up to the top of the building and got to work. I?d decided not to use my webbing or wall crawling and I had my hair up under a cap. Hopefully this was a good enough disguise. The bricks were easy. With my strength and agility I quickly removed large sections of wall and then jumped down to the ground with them and broke them apart, rapidly cleaning and piling bricks. Sal watched, impressed with my speed and accuracy. I kept going. An hour later I had a large stack of cleaned bricks, unbroken windows in timber frames sorted by size and a very large pile of scrap metal. By 7:00am I was about a quarter done. Sal licked his lips. "Ok. In the time it took you to do that a ten man team would have just started to set up the union required safety equipment. That?s about..." He blinked as he did the math. "Ok. A grand an hour...?" he asked hopefully. I sensed he was being cheap. I did some of my own math. I was happy. "Sal. I know I?m worth five to ten times that. But I?ll settle for a grand an hour. The thing is... any work I do for you needs to be like this. No one else here to see. Off the books. There are very, very dangerous people after me. I can look after myself. You though, you have to keep quiet - that?s how you keep safe. The work sites need to be remote like this..." "Heh. I?ll keep this quiet. If my guys found out about you they?d go on strike and my business would be black listed by the Union. And I?ve read about you supers. I get it?s all black bag stuff. This is on the down low. You work from 5am to 7am here this week. I?ll have empty skips here to fill for you daily. Ten grand cash by the end of the week, easy." I nodded. "Deal... now... the only thing is... can I get paid for today... I?m flat broke." "Sure kid. You keep this up and I?ll have a good amount of work for you." He flipped out a wad of cash and gave me the money for my first two hours work. Two grand. And that was how Spider-Woman Demolitions got started. I had barely enough time to swing by my new apartment, shower, change, grab a bite to eat and get to school. First period was drawing class. I missed Lyfe and didn?t chat with Michelle or any other students. I noticed most weren?t making eye contact and that a couple of the Mo Money gang members were keeping a close eye on me in the class. Everyone was aware that the gang members were giving me ugly looks. The atmosphere was not good. I was setting up my paints when one of the gang kids, Alex his name was, walked by and tried to bump me and spill my supplies. My spider sense kicked in and I grabbed him. He seemed surprised and pushed my hand away. "Careful there..." I suggested calmly. "We don?t want any accidents." "Skank," he muttered and walked away. It just seemed so childish. It was also weird hearing that word directed at me. So strange. Alex didn?t seem concerned by my response. The other students still wouldn?t look at me. This was not good. Mr Jones noticed the exchange with a raised eyebrow but said nothing. I saw the pattern then. The students and teachers were fearful of the gang. They felt powerless and were reluctant to intervene in bullying incidents ? maybe out of concern for their own safety or because the school lacked effective disciplinary measures or support from administrators. I looked over at Michelle. Mr Jones had a daughter to protect too. I remembered the gang tag on the stairway door to the roof. It should have been painted over by the school janitor. I?d not thought to wonder why it hadn?t been. Obviously the gang held sway here. I exhaled in frustration. I wanted to blend in here. Get an education so I could become something more than just a vigilante. I also wanted to become a skilled fighter and... I had to find Krystal and the madmen that made me. And to do that... I wanted to paint stuff after school. I couldn?t afford to patrol the school or the neighbourhood ? that would draw attention to me and alert the FBI, or whoever was after me, of my location. I just wanted to make some money and set myself up. But I had power and responsibility went with that. Yeah, I couldn?t get in fights at school or draw the attention of the authorities. But I had too. I needed to break the stranglehold the gang had on this school. But if Spider-Woman was seen around the school I might as well paint up a sign saying ?death squad kill here?. It was a conundrum. When I went to the toilets after first class Michelle followed me in. "Hey Jess. I saw what Alex tried to do..." "Yeah. Mo Money has an axe to grind against me," I said. "Um I can?t chat for long. Roger told some of his friends what happened to him, how they sent you a message and why he left. The news is all round the school. Sad to see him leave. He was a great guy." She seemed disappointed in me. I didn?t like that. Her opinion mattered to me somehow. "You need be careful, like you said, Mo Money have it in for you - and anyone else you?re close to... sorry Jess. You?re gonna be persona non grata till this blows over unfortunately, just letting you know..." "Yeah. I had assumed as much. Do you know where they hang out?" I asked. "Aside from the roof." "Jesus Jackson?s place. He?s in charge of the gang ? he lives on Fifteenth Avenue... um... you?re not going to approach him? I hear that Jesus is... a mutant or something. He?s really tough. His reputation could be hyped. You never know." She said as she took out a pen and scribbled an address on a piece of paper and passed it to me. "Mutant? That?s not good. But I just want to talk..." I said as I took the paper. "Yeah..." she agreed. "Later." I moved onto Calculus II. How to deal with this gang? I needed an identity that didn?t point at me. I had that green power armour I?d stolen from the FBI. It was custom made for my male physiology but it should fit me at a squeeze. My chest wasn?t that big... yet. I was slighter overall than my male self, even my hips were slimmer. There was that shadow stealth suit from the zombie world or negative zone or whatever. It gave me new powers different to my spider powers. It shrunk to its wearer so it should fit over the top of the armour. With it I?d be just a silhouette. I?d need to attach a few things to the suit so the silhouette didn?t look quite the same as the suit... in case the FBI were looking for the suit as well. If I made it bulky enough I should be able to pass for a male hero. Use some kind of voice distorter, one of my phones. This had possibilities, real possibilities. But... I needed a name and a clear persona. No wall crawling or webs. Minimise the acrobatics. No jokes... that was going to be hard, although most of my banter wasn?t funny... yeah. A serious, menacing, shadow fighter. But how to deal with the gang? I couldn?t just catch the Mo Money crew dealing drugs or robbing people and have them arrested. I had to break the cycle. Maybe... I laughed. Maybe I should take over the gang. Become its leader. It was so crazy it might even work. I had a decent income now. Stop the drug dealing and petty crime and get them organised and legal. Give the gang members a chance. I had a suspicion that most of the crew were in the gang because they had such bad options. Besides I didn?t need the crazy money I was earning ? I could use it to help the gang members. Ok. So I wasn?t going to be a hero. I was going to be an anti-hero. Twilight, The Shadow, Dusk? Yeah I liked the last one. Dusk. The dark hero Dusk, a living shadow taking over Mo Money- "Jessica, can you please tell us the answer?" the teacher asked, snapping me back to reality. "Um..." I looked up at the whiteboard, focusing on the problem on the board. "It?s, that is, the derivative is x squared plus 4x." "Yes. But please pay attention," he said. "Yes sir..." I agreed ruefully, then grinning. I felt Michelle?s eyes on me and tried to ignore her. I failed. "What?" I whispered. "You?re plotting something..." she accused. "No. I?m not," I lied. *** After school I hung around the library and did my homework then worked on some sketches to plot out my mural. Satisfied with my mural I headed to the mixed martial arts class where I paid up front for the next two weeks, two hours every night. Aaron was a really good instructor, he clearly knew his stuff, and I felt like I was making progress immediately which was a relief. At least something seemed to be going right in my life. He wasn?t as rough as Gong and he explained things in much more detail. After the class I practiced for an hour, making sure what I?d learned stayed in my muscle memory. I swung by my new apartment after martial arts, had a shower and a bite to eat as I turned one of the phones I?d scored into a voice modulator attached to the body armour helmet, put my body armour and the Dusk suit in my back pack then went out again to buy a ton of spray paint. I then put on my spider suit and headed across town to work on the mural I?d been sketching. I chose an old grain silo adjacent to the metro rail line and a major vehicle bridge into Manhattan - nowhere near Astoria. It was in a prime location to get the attention I wanted but wouldn?t point a finger at where I lived. I worked on it until till ten pm. I broke up a mugging and a pimp beating on one of his girls. The dealers cleared out soon after they figured I was around. Being able to swing about on webs and wall crawl, and being blessed with super human agility, reflexes and speed allowed me to get down a primer base and do the first part of the mural on the first silo in record time. It was of a hundred dollar bill with Benjamin Franklin replaced with a grinning, demonised Senator Stern. It was pretty clear who I was painting. Nailed it... I had a bit more time so I primed the other silos as well. I changed into my body armour and pulled the Dusk suit over the top then flew and shadow jumped to Jesus Jackson?s pad. The gang leader had a large apartment. Some of the Mo Money crew I knew were there out on the balcony. I stashed my backpack on the roof then emerged slowly from the shadows in front of them and floated down onto the balcony to join them. "Hey. Who?s the crazy cosplayer?" Alex asked as he stared at me, not understanding how I?d stepped out of nowhere. There were some other Mo Money gang members I knew - Julio Hernandez aka brow, Emile Jackson aka Hipster and they stared at my pitch black countenance. They were pandering to an older guy. Jesus I assumed. "Hello kids. I?m Dusk..." I said, my voice augmented and sinister. Thank god for the App Store. They didn?t like being called kids but that?s what they were. "Hah." Julio laughed. "Putting on a costume don?t mean shi-" I grabbed him by the mouth to shut him up and wagged a finger. "Uh Uh. I?m talking." I?m pretty sure I looked bad ass. Alex stared. "How the-" I stepped into the shadows, crossed the distance between us, emerged and lifted Alex up by his shirt front one handed. I casually shadow jumped over to the balcony edge and easily held Alex out over the six storey drop. "This is now my turf. You either join my crew or I let you go," I dropped Alex. He cried out as he dropped. I shadow jumped, grabbed him and shadow jumped back onto the balcony. I was glad that worked. Otherwise I would have had to use my web line to catch him and pull him back up onto the balcony. "Alex. Are you in my crew?" I asked. "Yes," he stuttered, white as a sheet. I put him down "Glad to hear it." I patted him on the shoulder. "You?ve just passed your initiation. Welcome to Dusk?s crew." I stepped into the shadows, grabbed Julio and Emile by the feet and shadow leaped so I hung them both over the side, upside down, one in each hand. "I?m a strict leader and believe in clear rules. No stand over extortion, no weapons and no drugs. So Julio. Emile. You boys want to join my gang?" I asked politely. They both nodded apprehensively as they looked downwards at the lethal long drop to the ground. I gave them their free fall initiation, catching them in time and shadow leaping them back up. They were both terrified. I turned to Jesus. "You Jesus Jackson...?" "Yeah." He responded sullenly eying me without any fear as he sipped a beer. That wasn?t good. "You got some nerve. You mess with my crew, you mess with me," he said as he stood menacingly. He was tall and muscular and lean. "Good to put a name to a face. Jesus... do you want to join my crew?" I asked. "You?re serious. Dusk huh? That?s a cool name." Jesus rubbed his jaw in thought. "But you need to be educated..." He shook his arms and his hands started to glow with a sickly purple light. My spider sense told me to move and I sidestepped the first ball of energy easily. The second a ducked under. The energy blasts took out the balcony. I closed on him and threw him out into the air, jumping after him. He let out a cry of fear as we both fell. "Can you fly?" I yelled. "No!!!" he cried. I grabbed him and shadow jumped back onto his balcony. I looked down at him huddled on the floor. He?d wet his pants. His little drop initiation had been worse than the others but he was a harder case than them. "Welcome to my crew Jesus." I smiled under my mask. I?m not normally a mean person but Jesus was a predator. Jesus scowled. "I sell drugs to make ends meet... you can?t shut me down like this." "Yeah," Julio grumbled. I sighed. Clearly their employment opportunities were rubbish. "No hard drugs ? meth, heroin, crack." I considered. I didn?t like these guys. I really didn?t. They had tried to... Yeah they weren?t good guys. But maybe some of them could be salvaged. "Give me your phones..." They handed them over. I shadow jumped up onto the roof and grabbed my new tablet from my Hello Kitty bag. I paired it with the phones, using Reeds hacking software to bypass their security. I put away my tablet then jumped back to the balcony and gave them their phones back. "I?ll be in touch?s See you later." I jumped off the balcony into darkness, circled around and grabbed my back pack and headed home. Things would have been perfect except I spotted guy in a plastic iron man mask doing a car jacking and had to stop it. Dressed as Dusk I emerged from the shadows between the car jacket and the car. And then he shot me. At point blank range. It hurt but the armour absorbed to blast. At least I think it did. The shadows about me writhed as though in anger and wrapped about him. He let out a scream and when the shadows receded the car jacker was a pale, shivering, terrified wreck. "Who are you?" the awed middle aged driver asked as he gaped at me. "I am Dusk. This is my territory!" I said and swirled in darkness and jumped up into the shadows above. Once I was home I removed my outfit and made myself a peppermint tea then checked all the contacts, software and SIM card data I?d paired off the Mo Money crews phones. I set up some GPS tracking software to map their movements. Effectively anywhere they went or anything they did on their phones I?d know. I set up some keyword alerts for my name, Dusk, spider-woman and a few other slang terms for drugs, killing or hurting. I?d monitor and refine things later but I had all their social media, phone calls and texts intercepted and recorded.