I'd bloody hope so. That's not a collection of beings anyone sane wants to be on the wrong end of.
Ship of Fools: A Taylor Varga Omake (Complete)
- Thread starter Derek M
- Start date
- Crossover
JoshuaSweetvale
Insectovore
- Location
- NL, 65 Million Years Ago
Where's the Proselyte?
Hug-Squid isn't in the lineup of Emotion Entities here, when Empathy is exactly what the Guardians need.
Hug-Squid isn't in the lineup of Emotion Entities here, when Empathy is exactly what the Guardians need.
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- Location
- Lake superior, Minoc
In there own setting by them selfs. There useless space hippies.
When you bring in so much other stuff like this with just piles and piles of TRAMA ever fucking place. There god damn merical workers.
Probably the happiest the nox have ever been.
- Location
- Bosnia
- Location
- St Joe MO
You missed Proselyte and the Guardians are truly going to need that Compassion.
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It feels like Destiny would be more likely to worry about causality.
- Location
- Maryland
Yes, but I got the impression that Dream was often the spokes-being, as it were, of the Endless.
- Location
- Maryland
Fixed that. I was never a huge Green Lantern fan, so I guess I'm not surprised I missed one.
- Location
- Maryland
I would think that anything that had the complete agreement of the Endless, the Old Gods, the New Gods, the Fifth Dimension, the Lords of Order and the Presence is likely to occur regardless of any opposition pretty much anybody could muster in that universe. That group could snuff Darkseid in a heartbeat if they were all truly working together.
- Location
- Finland
Considering every other of the Endless, he is the most PR friendly of them all.
Ace Dreamer
Verified Reality User
- Location
- Between The Unknown & The Known
Should that be 'piqued'?
Nice mix of characters being lizarded, and being reasonably sensible about it...
If they can persuade Delirium of the Endless to consider spending some time as Delight, then they may be heading towards some fundamental shifts...
- Location
- Beyond the Unknowable Veil
Breksta: Heh heh heh.
Chapter 32: Coping
- Location
- Maryland
Chapter 32: Coping
"Well, that was awkward," said Willow nervously.
Kennedy grimaced. "It wasn't really what I was expecting."
"So, are we going to do it again?" asked the redhead.
"I think we need to. I mean, if we're going to make this work, we need to be honest with each other," said Kennedy reluctantly, "though I'm not really looking forward to it."
Willow had tracked down Xander eventually, and he had reiterated the advice that she spend some time talking with the Nox. Kennedy had come along for moral support...and about twenty minutes into the conversation, Willow was starting to wonder if it was a good idea.
Noraeus had an almost magical ability to ask extremely low-key questions that managed to reduce both of the young women into anxious piles of insecurities. Kennedy was deeply embarrassed about fully exposing her daddy issues, her deep-seated sense of entitlement, her own doubts about her self-worth, and how she flaunted her sexuality as a way of compensating. Willow, on the other hand, came to some harsh realizations about her overconfidence in her mind and her magic and her sometimes questionable wisdom, her lingering social anxiety, and her lack of closure relating to her relationship with Tara. By the end of the session, both of them had recognized that they each had a tendency to channel some of their parents' behaviors, and not the ones that they felt showed them in a positive light. Both women were now worried about each others revised opinions.
"Dr. Strange invited me to join Harry Dresden and his apprentice in magic school," said Willow.
Kennedy snorted slightly. "You're going to go to Hogwarts?"
Willow gave her a small smile. "I don't think a big castle in Scotland is in my future. I'm looking at it more like vocational training."
"So you're going?" asked Kennedy quietly.
"I'm seriously considering it. Noraeus made some really good points about the gaps in my understanding. I never really had a formal teacher -- just what Giles and Miss Calender could pass on to me, plus some things Tara taught me that her mother had taught her. The rest has been mostly self-study," explained the witch.
Kennedy didn't look at Willow's face. "When are you going?"
"Time is pretty flexible around here, in case you haven't noticed," answered Willow. "I was also kind of hoping that it would be when are we going?"
Kennedy quickly raised her gaze to Willow at that. "You want me to come along? What would I do at a magic school?"
"Xander said that Harry brought his daughters and his girlfriend along. He apparently hasn't had enough time to spend with any of them, so this was their chance to get to know each other better. I thought maybe we need to spend some time actually getting to know each other without an apocalypse in the background," said Willow hopefully.
"What happens if we get to know each other and decide we don't like each other?" asked the Latina slightly petulantly.
Willow rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm sure our hosts will be happy to let you go home early. We're not going to a prison. I kind of want to look on the bright side and hope it works out well."
Kennedy smirked at her, slightly teasingly. "Well, good. I still don't know what I'm going to do while you're studying magic."
"Xander said Harry's girlfriend is an expert in like, five different martial arts, and his daughters are going to be there, and at least one of them is too young to study advanced magic. You could babysit," suggested Willow, teasing her back.
Now, Kennedy got a slightly horrified look. "I am NOT a babysitter. I don't get along with small children."
"They can't be scarier than an army of Turok-han, Kennedy," said Willow with a hint of exasperation.
Kennedy shook her head. "I'm not allowed to slay children, and kids can smell weakness."
"Do you need me to protect you from the scary little girls?" asked Willow, amused.
"Why don't we agree to look out for each other?" asked Kennedy seriously.
Willow's smile was enough of an answer for now, at least enough to mix hope in with the anxiety.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"Are you Anya?" asked the leather-clad brunette.
They had found the woman they were seeking doing research on a laptop in a small office. She had looked up when they opened the door. "Yes, who's asking?"
"I'm Vala, and this is Seven," she said, gesturing to the tall, impassive blond woman standing quietly behind her. "I was told that you were the person to see about going shopping?"
"The Family did provide me with some local currency equivalents. What exactly do you need?" said the currently-blond-haired ex-demon.
"I think the phrase I heard once was, 'retail therapy'?" said Vala with a smirk.
Anya looked at her for a moment. Then, she closed the laptop screen and rose from behind her desk. "I think I have just the thing. Follow me."
The two women followed the former Vengeance Demon down a hallway, where they shortly ran into another woman dressed in black leather pants and a red halter top. The woman looked over Vala and Seven, taking in their outfits, and said, "Hey, Ahn, who are your friends?"
"Faith," acknowledged Anya with a tight smile. "This is Vala and Seven. They want to go shopping, so I'm taking them someplace Samantha mentioned."
"Wait, you mean that planet she was talking about?" asked Faith.
Anya nodded. "Yes, it sounds intriguing, and Vala here asked specifically for retail therapy. Do you want to come along?" That last question came out slightly doubtfully.
Faith appeared to consider for a moment, then said, "Sure, why the hell not? It's not like I got anything pressing to do."
The four women proceeded through a teleportation station to the local Stargate. Anya dialed in an address from memory, and they watched the wormhole activate. "Impressive," commented Seven. The free-standing wormhole technology in this universe was beyond even the capabilities of the Borg.
Vala was the first one to move toward the event horizon of the wormhole, already being familiar with Stargates. "Come on, it's easy once you get the hang of it."
After passing through the artificial wormhole, the four women came out in a receiving area on an obviously technologically-sophisticated world. There were a series of guards and agents waiting to clear visitors. One reptilian humanoid met them as they came down off of the Stargate platform. "Welcome to Hebridan. Please state your business."
Anya stepped forward. "We're here to go shopping." She held forth a small, flat disc. The reptilian agent scanned the disc with a handheld scanning device. His eyebrow ridges rose as he read the result. "Nova class credit? If you'll give me your names, you can pass straight through." After providing their names and planet of residence, the four passed out into the main transport hub of the capitol city of Hebridan, mingling in with a crowd that was mostly human, but with a few reptilians and a scattering of more exotic aliens.
Vala put her hand on Anya's arm excitedly. "How did you get a Nova-class credit disc?"
"Is that good?" asked Faith.
Vala nodded happily. "It means unlimited credit. We could buy our own starship with a Nova-class disc."
Anya regarded the disc in her hand with slightly widened eyes, then she smiled. "So it's like a black card?"
"Cool," said Faith.
"If price is no object, I would like to obtain some examples of local technology," said Seven, interested now in the opportunity.
"I don't think that will be a problem," said Vala, "but why don't we get something to eat first?"
"And drinks," said Faith.
"There appears to be a public directory over there," pointed Seven.
The group walked over to the public terminal, which had a voice interface. "What's the nicest restaurant in this sector?" asked Vala.
"Please present your credit disc," asked the limited AI running the public directory system. The system beeped cheerily when Anya presented her disc. "The Celestial Table is a four-circle Gal-ranked restaurant featuring delicacies from across the known galaxy. Would you like to reserve a table for mid-day meal?"
"Yes, please, reservation for four," replied Anya with a smile.
"This is going to be fun," said Vala.
Back on the Nox home world, Xander paused his work on another carving. For some reason, a shiver went down his spine. With a shrug, he went back to his work.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"So, what have we discovered about Miss Hess so far?" asked Piggot. Armsmaster and Miss Militia were both standing in front of her desk.
Miss Militia spoke first. "I've checked with the local hospitals. The reptiles were right about there being a pattern of wounds matching Sophia's crossbow bolts. The injuries also coincide with times when she wasn't present at headquarters."
Piggot pursed her lips. "Do we have any witness accounts that would point to Shadow Stalker?"
"Unfortunately no. Many of them didn't get a good look at their attacker. Others just described a figure dressed in dark clothing that may or may not match Sophia," replied Miss Militia.
"Armsmaster, what have you discovered?" Director Piggot regarded him critically. She was still pissed at him for his subterfuge, and they had had a long discussion that she was sure he had not enjoyed at all. She suspected he was also frustrated at being shown up in front of Legend, but it was his own damned fault.
"There was an incident of bullying similar to what our visitors described. Taylor Hebert was admitted to the hospital with a number of injuries consistent with being confined in a small space filled with toxins." He paused for a moment with a look of distaste on his face. "The attending physician reported the incident to the BBPD, but the investigation never got off the ground because somebody from the PRT notified them that it was a parahuman matter."
Piggot's eyes narrowed. "Were you able to track down who made that call?"
"The call came from Janice Woodman," answered the armored cape.
"Shadow Stalker's case worker? You're telling me the woman was stupid enough to intervene directly in covering up her assault on another student?" Piggot was clearly not as shocked as her words suggested.
"Apparently so, although we don't have any explicit evidence that Hess was involved in the incident in question...although I admit it is suggestive," said Armsmaster grimly.
"Why didn't the school contact the police?" asked Miss Militia. "Doesn't it seem odd that it was up to the girl's attending physician to make the call?"
"That's a very good question," agreed Piggot. "Armsmaster, I want you to investigate the school. I want to know what happened, and why the police were never called."
"I suggest we also pull the GPS tracking on Shadow Stalker's phone," said the local Protectorate leader.
"Do it," agreed Piggot. "Now what about Calvert?"
"We were able to verify that Calvert is actually the head of Fortress Construction, just like the materials from our visitors suggested, meaning that he runs the company that constructed the supposedly cancelled Endbringer shelter in the city's financial district," said Miss Militia.
"I was also able to verify at least a dozen different system security holes and booby traps, located exactly where our visitors' information suggested they would be," said Armsmaster unhappily. "The only safe way to circumvent these issues may be to replace the entire network, just as Saurial and Raptaur suggested. I've already reached out to Dragon to source the necessary components, and she's agreed to help."
"We also found evidence that at least two of the suspected moles identified have received payments from unknown sources in the last twelve months," added Miss Militia.
Piggot sighed. "So it looks like the Family's information is accurate. Do we have any more information on Dinah Alcott?"
"No," answered Armsmaster without elaboration.
Emily Piggot frowned, considering their next steps. "You've both seen that video they gave us?" she asked. Both of the capes nodded. "My first inclination is to think those lizards are trying to play us for fools. Most of that video looks like a well-made horror movie."
"I checked the video for signs of manipulation, and it appears to be genuine," said Armsmaster. Privately, he was impressed with the efficiency of the lizards' psy-ops, but he withheld his opinion given the Director's mood.
Miss Militia looked at him. "If that video is accurate, then they have ratings in brute, shaker, thinker, stranger...pretty much every category. I would think that unlikely."
"And yet," said the Director, "we have reports verifying their strength, speed, and matter creation abilities from when they were running search and rescue, and the other two are obviously accomplished healers."
"They could be trumps like Eidolon, or a lot of it could be tinker work. They have access to technology that is obviously very advanced, and it is unclear how much of it is actually tinker tech," added Armsmaster. "Then there's the question of why Leviathan retreated as soon as they appeared on the scene. Something caused him to retreat."
Piggot frowned. "I don't like it. What do these lizards want? They show up in the middle of an Endbringer attack, scare it off, and spend the rest of the day rescuing and healing people and fixing the city better than it was before the attack, and nobody has ever seen or heard of them before. Now, they want to help us take down a super villain and help another villain team switch sides. If something seems too good to be true..."
"It probably is," finished Armsmaster. "Still...they haven't done anything yet, other than be helpful."
"Can we afford to decline their help?" asked Miss Militia. "They've pointed out exactly how compromised our own security is, and there's Dinah Alcott to consider. If she really is a precog being held by Coil, then we can't afford any delays."
"No, we can't," admitted Piggot grudgingly. "Though I would be happier if we had some type of insurance in the event that these visitors aren't as friendly as they seem."
"Legend is still here," said Miss Militia. "He's rather good as far as insurance policies go."
Armsmaster nodded. "We could also see if Eidolon or Alexandria could be on hand. If the Triumvirate can't handle the Family, I'm not sure what could." Having the full Triumvirate might be enough to de-escalate any problems, at least.
"Unless Scion deigns to show himself," commented Miss Militia.
Piggot scoffed. "I doubt we would ever be so lucky."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Karrin paused on her way across the compound. She was heading to the shooting range set up on the far side of the old lab complex, and from the sound of it, it was already in use. Given that she had thought the only people nearby were herself, Harry, and the girls, and the other three were back at their apartment, she wasn't sure who would be using the range. Murphy made sure the flap on her holster was loose before she continued.
Her view of the firing range was obscured by one of the prefabricated buildings used for dry storage. As she rounded the corner of the building, she could see the range's current occupant. The woman wasn't tall, though she was still taller than Karrin by a few inches. She looked to be in her late twenties, fit, attractive, and with red hair past her shoulder. Her clothes were suited to the climate, blue jeans with a grey pullover sweater. She was firing a Glock 26 with a two-handed stance, and doing a damned good job of it based on what Karrin could see of the target papers. The woman emptied the magazine, then put the gun down on the bench and took off her ear protection. She turned to look at Karrin, obviously aware of her presence despite previously being focused on shooting. "You must be Karrin Murphy," she said.
"I am. Who are you?" replied Karrin bluntly.
The woman smiled at her. "Stephen Strange asked me to come by and spar with you. My name's Natasha."
"Spar?" asked Karrin with interest, somewhat mollified by the mention of Harry's future teacher. "What do you practice?"
"Jujitsu, Aikido, Savate, Kung Fu, Judo...a little bit of everything, really," answered the redhead. "You?"
"Mostly Aikido and boxing, though I've studied Krav Maga, Taekwondo, some of the things you've mentioned." All of them, actually, though Murphy didn't consider herself an expert in most of them.
"Did you want to use the range?" asked Natasha, gesturing toward the targets.
Murphy thought about it, then decided she was curious to see how good the other woman was on the mat. "I can come back later. Why don't I show you our gym?"
The other woman smirked, clearly reading the former police-woman's intentions. "All right."
Murphy led Natasha to the building that had been refurbished as a gymnasium, including an area set up to practice various martial arts. She loaned the woman a set of workout clothes, then went to put her gun back in its locker. Harry was fiddling with something wizardy and noticed her come back.
"Is something wrong with the range?" he asked, knowing she had gone to practice.
"No, Strange sent somebody to help me spar, and I want to see what she can do," answered the short blond woman.
Harry looked up from whatever he was carving at that. "Who did he send?"
Murphy quickly changed into a pair of sweats as she answered. "She just said her name was Natasha, and that she's studied a bunch of different martial arts."
She noticed his eye's widen a bit as he asked, "Does she have red hair?"
"Yes...why? Do you know her?" she asked slightly suspiciously.
"Possibly," he said. "Do you mind if I watch?"
"Of course not, but why? You've seen me fight before." she asked, now sure that Harry at least suspected something about the woman who had come to visit.
Harry grinned at her. "I'm just curious."
She narrowed her eyes at him, but finally just shrugged her shoulders and motioned him to follow. The two of them returned to the gym to find Natasha waiting patiently in workout clothes. Karrin noticed that she wasn't stretching or warming up. She also didn't appear to be fidgeting or trying to keep herself occupied while she waited, which was unusual. "Natasha, this is Harry Dresden," she said.
"Mr. Dresden, Stephen told me a bit about you when he asked me to come by," replied the woman with a nod.
"Natasha, that's a Russian name, isn't it?" he asked with a knowing smile.
"Yes. I was born in Russia, though I've lived in America for a long time now," she replied casually. "Shall we start?" she asked, looking to Karrin.
The two women faced each other across the mat. They gave each other a shallow bow. Harry watched from the sidelines as the two small women sized each other up. Finally, Murphy moved first, moving in with a series of competent but obviously not full-speed probing strikes. Natasha avoided or deflected all of them with ease, then responded with a few, slightly faster, strikes of her own. At that point, both women backed off and looked at each other, smiling.
After a few moments, Karrin gave her opponent a nod, and the two moved forward much more quickly. Harry tried to follow the two as a series of punches, kicks, and attempted grapples flowed back and forth between the two women. They spent five straight minutes moving back and forth without either woman gaining the upper hand. Both managed to land the occasional hit, but none of them were decisive. Finally, the two of them split apart and moved back to their starting positions. Karrin was starting to breathe a little faster, though Natasha looked as fresh as when she started.
"Do you want to stop holding back?" asked Murphy.
The redhead raised a single eyebrow. "Are you sure?"
Karrin smirked. "I'm curious."
The redhead nodded, and the two women moved together again. This time, however, Murphy was quickly forced off balance and pushed to the mat, where she was pinned until she tapped out. The two women got back up and began again, only to have Murphy again flat on her back from an unexpected Judo throw. She kipped back up to her feet, and turned, only to have her opponent flip behind her and catch her in a headlock. After acknowledging her loss, the two tried one more time. The final time, the redhead proceeded to strike Murphy in the kidney, solar plexus, temple and throat, just light enough to be felt without doing any actual damage.
The short blond finally paused, breathing heavy with her hands on her knees. "All right," she said. "What exactly are you, because I know you're moving faster than a human?"
Natasha smirked, then looked over at Harry. "Do you want to tell her, Mr. Dresden? I assume you know who I am."
Harry asked, "Natasha Romanov?" At her nod, he looked to Karrin. "She's a former Soviet super-soldier trained as a spy and an assassin, kind of the Russian version of Captain America. Assuming the comics are at all accurate, she changed sides and fights with the premiere superhero team of her world, the Avengers."
Murphy looked at her opponent with a serious expression. "You're an assassin?"
The redhead pursed her lips. "I was trained as one. I'm not that person anymore."
"If it helps," added Harry, "I'm pretty sure she's helped save her world more than once."
Karrin looked at him. "It helps. What do you think of her?"
Harry shook his head. "I don't know her as a person. The stories about her made her look like one of the good guys...and it's not like I'm one to judge about a person's past."
"Harry..." said Karrin as she started to walk toward him. "You always did what you had to do."
"I know," he said with a sad smile, "and I also know it usually seems that way at the time. It doesn't make it any easier in the long run." Karrin just put her hand on Harry's shoulder in support.
After a minute of silent introspection, Natasha spoke. "So, would you like me to stop by from time to time and help you out with your fighting skills?"
Karrin looked over at the woman. "You won't be bored?"
Natasha gave her a genuine smile. "You're good, Karrin, very good. You've got enough skill to keep it interesting, and I have to keep in practice despite my inherent advantages. I would be happy to spar with you. I may even be able to teach you some things."
"Then I'd be happy to spar with you," said Karrin with a smile.
"Now I just have to wonder when we'll start seeing Doctor Strange stop by," commented Harry.
"You don't have to wonder any longer," said a voice from the entrance to the gymnasium. Harry looked over to see Stephen Strange standing in the doorway. "So, shall we get started?" asked the Sorcerer Supreme.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"All right, we're pretty far outside town now," said Kevin from the front seat of the van.
Peter and MJ were watching the forested terrain pass by. "I think anywhere around here is fine. We're just here to try out some things."
Kevin pulled the van over to the side of the road. "OK, man. I'll just wait here with the van. If you get too far away, give me a call on your phone."
"You don't mind waiting for us?" asked MJ.
"Nah, it's cool. I've got my tablet and some work," said the tinker.
The Parkers got out of the van and looked up at the trees. "So...what do we do first?" asked MJ.
Peter pulled his sweatshirt over his head, revealing his new costume underneath. "First thing for all new spider folk is web-swinging."
"Have you taught anybody other than me and Miles?" asked MJ with a smirk.
"No, but tradition has to start somewhere. Now, the trick to this is knowing when to grab and when to release." Peter gave a hop and shot off a web to a high branch, grabbing the end and beginning a swing. His new costume had integrated web shooters, each filled with about twenty gallons of web fluid. While Saurial could have easily created a larger repository, the fluid starts to break down after approximately six weeks, so creating too large a supply was counter-productive.
Mary Jane tried to duplicate Peter's swing, only to find herself landing on her bottom. Luckily, her new costume was made from the same dirt-resistant material as her husband's. Peter swung back and manfully managed to avoid laughing out loud at his wife's mistake. "You let out way too much web. The solidified webbing is elastic, so your weight is going to stretch it out a bit." He demonstrated by letting out another strand of webbing and then leaning back, letting it take his weight. It was obvious that there was a noticeable amount of give on the line.
MJ was soon swinging through the trees, adapting to the motions quickly with the natural flexibility and strength that came from her new genetic enhancements. Peter found himself enjoying the act of web-swinging more than he had in years, both from his wife's obvious joy, and from his happiness at being able to share this with her. The two played in the treetops for the better part of an hour before taking a break in a clearing.
Instead of sitting down, MJ decided to "rest" while doing a one-handed hand-stand. "Having fun?" asked Peter.
She smiled up at him from her upside-down perspective. "This is amazing! I don't know how you can't want to do this every minute of the day."
He regarded her fondly. "It was pretty much like that at first when I was a teenager."
"So what changed?" she asked.
"Well, when my uncle died, it kind of dampened my enthusiasm." Peter paused for a moment and looked at the sky. "Eventually, I think I just got too used to it. There wasn't any novelty?"
His wife frowned at him. "Peter, swinging hundreds of feet over the ground shouldn't be just another boring commute to work."
"Don't get me wrong, honey. Swinging over the traffic is better than being stuck in it. It's just...moving around kind of shifts to autopilot while I worry about other things." Peter looked a little sheepish.
"Well, we're going to spend some time just enjoying ourselves when we get home," said MJ determinedly.
Peter smiled at her. "I look forward to it...speaking of which..." Peter picked a stone up off of the forest floor and hurled it at MJ's head from outside her field of vision, hard enough to break skin if it connected.
She flipped out of the way automatically. "Hey, what was that for?" she asked, shocked and a little annoyed.
"Spider sense demonstration. What did that feel like?" he asked seriously.
She paused, and her expression became thoughtful. "I'm...not sure how to describe it. Do it again?"
Peter went into a handspring and than flipped, tossing another stone mid-flip at his wife. She did a sideways flip out of the way.
"OK, that was weird. It's like, I could sense the danger, but it was also like my body wanted to move to get out of the way," she said, puzzled.
"Mister Fantastic explained his interpretation of it once. Our danger sense isn't just a precognitive warning of danger. It's also wired into an instinctive threat avoidance in our brains. Most of the time, it works great. It requires a little more focus if there are a lot of different threats from different sources," explained Peter.
"Give me an example," prompted MJ.
Peter considered the request. "Well, part of how I ended up getting pushed through the portal to another dimension was because Fisk and his hench-villains were all attacking me at once."
"Why didn't you ask for help from somebody? There are lots of heroes in New York," she said.
He shrugged. "There isn't always time to get help. At the time, Kingpin was already starting up the dimensional portal equipment, and reality quakes were breaking out all over Manhattan." She frowned, unhappy but unable to argue with his logic. "You want to head back to the van?" he asked.
The two got back to the van, only to pause when they heard a deep, male voice say from the front of the truck, "Juicy!" The two spider folk looked askance at each other. Peter looked in the driver side window to find Kevin playing a matching game on the tablet. He looked up. "Oh, hey, you two done?"
"Yep," said MJ. "Is that work?" she asked with a smile.
"Nah, it's a game Dragon got from Jimmy Olsen's world. It's simple, but kind of addictive." He put the tablet down between the seats as the other two got in the van. As they were driving back, he asked, "So how did it go?"
"The suits are awesome, and MJ is a natural at web swinging," said Peter.
Kevin looked at her in the rear view mirror. "Cool, so are you going to start patrolling?"
"I want to tag along with Pete at first," said MJ.
"Wait, patrolling? You mean, going out in costume?" he asked, surprised.
She raised an eyebrow at him. "It would be kind of hard to keep a secret identity if I went out without it."
"No," he stammered, "I just...didn't really think you would be going out."
"Then why did you want me to get the enhancement?" she asked, slightly irritated.
He thought about it, having been married long enough to know not to voice his immediate thought. "Mostly, I just wanted you to be able to take care of yourself if super-villains went after you."
"So, I was supposed to just stay at home while you go out at night and risk your life?" she asked sharply.
"Dude," interjected Kevin before Peter could dig a hole for himself. "Once you've got powers, almost nobody has the willpower to not use them. Even if your world's powers are a little different from ours, not using them is like...I don't know, being the world's best basketball player and never playing the game."
"And besides, didn't Saurial say that these costumes are almost invulnerable?" asked Mary Jane in a reasonable tone of voice.
Peter put his hands up in surrender. "I didn't say I expected you to stay at home. I just hadn't thought about it."
"Well, look at it this way. You're a lot less likely to be caught without backup now," she replied.
Pete considered that as they drove back into Brockton Bay. The part of him that was happy to have help, especially if it meant spending more time with his wife, warred with the part that was naturally worried about her safety. One thing he knew for certain -- when MJ set her mind to something, changing it was a lot of work. Before he even tried, he needed to figure out if he even should.
"Well, that was awkward," said Willow nervously.
Kennedy grimaced. "It wasn't really what I was expecting."
"So, are we going to do it again?" asked the redhead.
"I think we need to. I mean, if we're going to make this work, we need to be honest with each other," said Kennedy reluctantly, "though I'm not really looking forward to it."
Willow had tracked down Xander eventually, and he had reiterated the advice that she spend some time talking with the Nox. Kennedy had come along for moral support...and about twenty minutes into the conversation, Willow was starting to wonder if it was a good idea.
Noraeus had an almost magical ability to ask extremely low-key questions that managed to reduce both of the young women into anxious piles of insecurities. Kennedy was deeply embarrassed about fully exposing her daddy issues, her deep-seated sense of entitlement, her own doubts about her self-worth, and how she flaunted her sexuality as a way of compensating. Willow, on the other hand, came to some harsh realizations about her overconfidence in her mind and her magic and her sometimes questionable wisdom, her lingering social anxiety, and her lack of closure relating to her relationship with Tara. By the end of the session, both of them had recognized that they each had a tendency to channel some of their parents' behaviors, and not the ones that they felt showed them in a positive light. Both women were now worried about each others revised opinions.
"Dr. Strange invited me to join Harry Dresden and his apprentice in magic school," said Willow.
Kennedy snorted slightly. "You're going to go to Hogwarts?"
Willow gave her a small smile. "I don't think a big castle in Scotland is in my future. I'm looking at it more like vocational training."
"So you're going?" asked Kennedy quietly.
"I'm seriously considering it. Noraeus made some really good points about the gaps in my understanding. I never really had a formal teacher -- just what Giles and Miss Calender could pass on to me, plus some things Tara taught me that her mother had taught her. The rest has been mostly self-study," explained the witch.
Kennedy didn't look at Willow's face. "When are you going?"
"Time is pretty flexible around here, in case you haven't noticed," answered Willow. "I was also kind of hoping that it would be when are we going?"
Kennedy quickly raised her gaze to Willow at that. "You want me to come along? What would I do at a magic school?"
"Xander said that Harry brought his daughters and his girlfriend along. He apparently hasn't had enough time to spend with any of them, so this was their chance to get to know each other better. I thought maybe we need to spend some time actually getting to know each other without an apocalypse in the background," said Willow hopefully.
"What happens if we get to know each other and decide we don't like each other?" asked the Latina slightly petulantly.
Willow rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm sure our hosts will be happy to let you go home early. We're not going to a prison. I kind of want to look on the bright side and hope it works out well."
Kennedy smirked at her, slightly teasingly. "Well, good. I still don't know what I'm going to do while you're studying magic."
"Xander said Harry's girlfriend is an expert in like, five different martial arts, and his daughters are going to be there, and at least one of them is too young to study advanced magic. You could babysit," suggested Willow, teasing her back.
Now, Kennedy got a slightly horrified look. "I am NOT a babysitter. I don't get along with small children."
"They can't be scarier than an army of Turok-han, Kennedy," said Willow with a hint of exasperation.
Kennedy shook her head. "I'm not allowed to slay children, and kids can smell weakness."
"Do you need me to protect you from the scary little girls?" asked Willow, amused.
"Why don't we agree to look out for each other?" asked Kennedy seriously.
Willow's smile was enough of an answer for now, at least enough to mix hope in with the anxiety.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"Are you Anya?" asked the leather-clad brunette.
They had found the woman they were seeking doing research on a laptop in a small office. She had looked up when they opened the door. "Yes, who's asking?"
"I'm Vala, and this is Seven," she said, gesturing to the tall, impassive blond woman standing quietly behind her. "I was told that you were the person to see about going shopping?"
"The Family did provide me with some local currency equivalents. What exactly do you need?" said the currently-blond-haired ex-demon.
"I think the phrase I heard once was, 'retail therapy'?" said Vala with a smirk.
Anya looked at her for a moment. Then, she closed the laptop screen and rose from behind her desk. "I think I have just the thing. Follow me."
The two women followed the former Vengeance Demon down a hallway, where they shortly ran into another woman dressed in black leather pants and a red halter top. The woman looked over Vala and Seven, taking in their outfits, and said, "Hey, Ahn, who are your friends?"
"Faith," acknowledged Anya with a tight smile. "This is Vala and Seven. They want to go shopping, so I'm taking them someplace Samantha mentioned."
"Wait, you mean that planet she was talking about?" asked Faith.
Anya nodded. "Yes, it sounds intriguing, and Vala here asked specifically for retail therapy. Do you want to come along?" That last question came out slightly doubtfully.
Faith appeared to consider for a moment, then said, "Sure, why the hell not? It's not like I got anything pressing to do."
The four women proceeded through a teleportation station to the local Stargate. Anya dialed in an address from memory, and they watched the wormhole activate. "Impressive," commented Seven. The free-standing wormhole technology in this universe was beyond even the capabilities of the Borg.
Vala was the first one to move toward the event horizon of the wormhole, already being familiar with Stargates. "Come on, it's easy once you get the hang of it."
After passing through the artificial wormhole, the four women came out in a receiving area on an obviously technologically-sophisticated world. There were a series of guards and agents waiting to clear visitors. One reptilian humanoid met them as they came down off of the Stargate platform. "Welcome to Hebridan. Please state your business."
Anya stepped forward. "We're here to go shopping." She held forth a small, flat disc. The reptilian agent scanned the disc with a handheld scanning device. His eyebrow ridges rose as he read the result. "Nova class credit? If you'll give me your names, you can pass straight through." After providing their names and planet of residence, the four passed out into the main transport hub of the capitol city of Hebridan, mingling in with a crowd that was mostly human, but with a few reptilians and a scattering of more exotic aliens.
Vala put her hand on Anya's arm excitedly. "How did you get a Nova-class credit disc?"
"Is that good?" asked Faith.
Vala nodded happily. "It means unlimited credit. We could buy our own starship with a Nova-class disc."
Anya regarded the disc in her hand with slightly widened eyes, then she smiled. "So it's like a black card?"
"Cool," said Faith.
"If price is no object, I would like to obtain some examples of local technology," said Seven, interested now in the opportunity.
"I don't think that will be a problem," said Vala, "but why don't we get something to eat first?"
"And drinks," said Faith.
"There appears to be a public directory over there," pointed Seven.
The group walked over to the public terminal, which had a voice interface. "What's the nicest restaurant in this sector?" asked Vala.
"Please present your credit disc," asked the limited AI running the public directory system. The system beeped cheerily when Anya presented her disc. "The Celestial Table is a four-circle Gal-ranked restaurant featuring delicacies from across the known galaxy. Would you like to reserve a table for mid-day meal?"
"Yes, please, reservation for four," replied Anya with a smile.
"This is going to be fun," said Vala.
Back on the Nox home world, Xander paused his work on another carving. For some reason, a shiver went down his spine. With a shrug, he went back to his work.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"So, what have we discovered about Miss Hess so far?" asked Piggot. Armsmaster and Miss Militia were both standing in front of her desk.
Miss Militia spoke first. "I've checked with the local hospitals. The reptiles were right about there being a pattern of wounds matching Sophia's crossbow bolts. The injuries also coincide with times when she wasn't present at headquarters."
Piggot pursed her lips. "Do we have any witness accounts that would point to Shadow Stalker?"
"Unfortunately no. Many of them didn't get a good look at their attacker. Others just described a figure dressed in dark clothing that may or may not match Sophia," replied Miss Militia.
"Armsmaster, what have you discovered?" Director Piggot regarded him critically. She was still pissed at him for his subterfuge, and they had had a long discussion that she was sure he had not enjoyed at all. She suspected he was also frustrated at being shown up in front of Legend, but it was his own damned fault.
"There was an incident of bullying similar to what our visitors described. Taylor Hebert was admitted to the hospital with a number of injuries consistent with being confined in a small space filled with toxins." He paused for a moment with a look of distaste on his face. "The attending physician reported the incident to the BBPD, but the investigation never got off the ground because somebody from the PRT notified them that it was a parahuman matter."
Piggot's eyes narrowed. "Were you able to track down who made that call?"
"The call came from Janice Woodman," answered the armored cape.
"Shadow Stalker's case worker? You're telling me the woman was stupid enough to intervene directly in covering up her assault on another student?" Piggot was clearly not as shocked as her words suggested.
"Apparently so, although we don't have any explicit evidence that Hess was involved in the incident in question...although I admit it is suggestive," said Armsmaster grimly.
"Why didn't the school contact the police?" asked Miss Militia. "Doesn't it seem odd that it was up to the girl's attending physician to make the call?"
"That's a very good question," agreed Piggot. "Armsmaster, I want you to investigate the school. I want to know what happened, and why the police were never called."
"I suggest we also pull the GPS tracking on Shadow Stalker's phone," said the local Protectorate leader.
"Do it," agreed Piggot. "Now what about Calvert?"
"We were able to verify that Calvert is actually the head of Fortress Construction, just like the materials from our visitors suggested, meaning that he runs the company that constructed the supposedly cancelled Endbringer shelter in the city's financial district," said Miss Militia.
"I was also able to verify at least a dozen different system security holes and booby traps, located exactly where our visitors' information suggested they would be," said Armsmaster unhappily. "The only safe way to circumvent these issues may be to replace the entire network, just as Saurial and Raptaur suggested. I've already reached out to Dragon to source the necessary components, and she's agreed to help."
"We also found evidence that at least two of the suspected moles identified have received payments from unknown sources in the last twelve months," added Miss Militia.
Piggot sighed. "So it looks like the Family's information is accurate. Do we have any more information on Dinah Alcott?"
"No," answered Armsmaster without elaboration.
Emily Piggot frowned, considering their next steps. "You've both seen that video they gave us?" she asked. Both of the capes nodded. "My first inclination is to think those lizards are trying to play us for fools. Most of that video looks like a well-made horror movie."
"I checked the video for signs of manipulation, and it appears to be genuine," said Armsmaster. Privately, he was impressed with the efficiency of the lizards' psy-ops, but he withheld his opinion given the Director's mood.
Miss Militia looked at him. "If that video is accurate, then they have ratings in brute, shaker, thinker, stranger...pretty much every category. I would think that unlikely."
"And yet," said the Director, "we have reports verifying their strength, speed, and matter creation abilities from when they were running search and rescue, and the other two are obviously accomplished healers."
"They could be trumps like Eidolon, or a lot of it could be tinker work. They have access to technology that is obviously very advanced, and it is unclear how much of it is actually tinker tech," added Armsmaster. "Then there's the question of why Leviathan retreated as soon as they appeared on the scene. Something caused him to retreat."
Piggot frowned. "I don't like it. What do these lizards want? They show up in the middle of an Endbringer attack, scare it off, and spend the rest of the day rescuing and healing people and fixing the city better than it was before the attack, and nobody has ever seen or heard of them before. Now, they want to help us take down a super villain and help another villain team switch sides. If something seems too good to be true..."
"It probably is," finished Armsmaster. "Still...they haven't done anything yet, other than be helpful."
"Can we afford to decline their help?" asked Miss Militia. "They've pointed out exactly how compromised our own security is, and there's Dinah Alcott to consider. If she really is a precog being held by Coil, then we can't afford any delays."
"No, we can't," admitted Piggot grudgingly. "Though I would be happier if we had some type of insurance in the event that these visitors aren't as friendly as they seem."
"Legend is still here," said Miss Militia. "He's rather good as far as insurance policies go."
Armsmaster nodded. "We could also see if Eidolon or Alexandria could be on hand. If the Triumvirate can't handle the Family, I'm not sure what could." Having the full Triumvirate might be enough to de-escalate any problems, at least.
"Unless Scion deigns to show himself," commented Miss Militia.
Piggot scoffed. "I doubt we would ever be so lucky."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Karrin paused on her way across the compound. She was heading to the shooting range set up on the far side of the old lab complex, and from the sound of it, it was already in use. Given that she had thought the only people nearby were herself, Harry, and the girls, and the other three were back at their apartment, she wasn't sure who would be using the range. Murphy made sure the flap on her holster was loose before she continued.
Her view of the firing range was obscured by one of the prefabricated buildings used for dry storage. As she rounded the corner of the building, she could see the range's current occupant. The woman wasn't tall, though she was still taller than Karrin by a few inches. She looked to be in her late twenties, fit, attractive, and with red hair past her shoulder. Her clothes were suited to the climate, blue jeans with a grey pullover sweater. She was firing a Glock 26 with a two-handed stance, and doing a damned good job of it based on what Karrin could see of the target papers. The woman emptied the magazine, then put the gun down on the bench and took off her ear protection. She turned to look at Karrin, obviously aware of her presence despite previously being focused on shooting. "You must be Karrin Murphy," she said.
"I am. Who are you?" replied Karrin bluntly.
The woman smiled at her. "Stephen Strange asked me to come by and spar with you. My name's Natasha."
"Spar?" asked Karrin with interest, somewhat mollified by the mention of Harry's future teacher. "What do you practice?"
"Jujitsu, Aikido, Savate, Kung Fu, Judo...a little bit of everything, really," answered the redhead. "You?"
"Mostly Aikido and boxing, though I've studied Krav Maga, Taekwondo, some of the things you've mentioned." All of them, actually, though Murphy didn't consider herself an expert in most of them.
"Did you want to use the range?" asked Natasha, gesturing toward the targets.
Murphy thought about it, then decided she was curious to see how good the other woman was on the mat. "I can come back later. Why don't I show you our gym?"
The other woman smirked, clearly reading the former police-woman's intentions. "All right."
Murphy led Natasha to the building that had been refurbished as a gymnasium, including an area set up to practice various martial arts. She loaned the woman a set of workout clothes, then went to put her gun back in its locker. Harry was fiddling with something wizardy and noticed her come back.
"Is something wrong with the range?" he asked, knowing she had gone to practice.
"No, Strange sent somebody to help me spar, and I want to see what she can do," answered the short blond woman.
Harry looked up from whatever he was carving at that. "Who did he send?"
Murphy quickly changed into a pair of sweats as she answered. "She just said her name was Natasha, and that she's studied a bunch of different martial arts."
She noticed his eye's widen a bit as he asked, "Does she have red hair?"
"Yes...why? Do you know her?" she asked slightly suspiciously.
"Possibly," he said. "Do you mind if I watch?"
"Of course not, but why? You've seen me fight before." she asked, now sure that Harry at least suspected something about the woman who had come to visit.
Harry grinned at her. "I'm just curious."
She narrowed her eyes at him, but finally just shrugged her shoulders and motioned him to follow. The two of them returned to the gym to find Natasha waiting patiently in workout clothes. Karrin noticed that she wasn't stretching or warming up. She also didn't appear to be fidgeting or trying to keep herself occupied while she waited, which was unusual. "Natasha, this is Harry Dresden," she said.
"Mr. Dresden, Stephen told me a bit about you when he asked me to come by," replied the woman with a nod.
"Natasha, that's a Russian name, isn't it?" he asked with a knowing smile.
"Yes. I was born in Russia, though I've lived in America for a long time now," she replied casually. "Shall we start?" she asked, looking to Karrin.
The two women faced each other across the mat. They gave each other a shallow bow. Harry watched from the sidelines as the two small women sized each other up. Finally, Murphy moved first, moving in with a series of competent but obviously not full-speed probing strikes. Natasha avoided or deflected all of them with ease, then responded with a few, slightly faster, strikes of her own. At that point, both women backed off and looked at each other, smiling.
After a few moments, Karrin gave her opponent a nod, and the two moved forward much more quickly. Harry tried to follow the two as a series of punches, kicks, and attempted grapples flowed back and forth between the two women. They spent five straight minutes moving back and forth without either woman gaining the upper hand. Both managed to land the occasional hit, but none of them were decisive. Finally, the two of them split apart and moved back to their starting positions. Karrin was starting to breathe a little faster, though Natasha looked as fresh as when she started.
"Do you want to stop holding back?" asked Murphy.
The redhead raised a single eyebrow. "Are you sure?"
Karrin smirked. "I'm curious."
The redhead nodded, and the two women moved together again. This time, however, Murphy was quickly forced off balance and pushed to the mat, where she was pinned until she tapped out. The two women got back up and began again, only to have Murphy again flat on her back from an unexpected Judo throw. She kipped back up to her feet, and turned, only to have her opponent flip behind her and catch her in a headlock. After acknowledging her loss, the two tried one more time. The final time, the redhead proceeded to strike Murphy in the kidney, solar plexus, temple and throat, just light enough to be felt without doing any actual damage.
The short blond finally paused, breathing heavy with her hands on her knees. "All right," she said. "What exactly are you, because I know you're moving faster than a human?"
Natasha smirked, then looked over at Harry. "Do you want to tell her, Mr. Dresden? I assume you know who I am."
Harry asked, "Natasha Romanov?" At her nod, he looked to Karrin. "She's a former Soviet super-soldier trained as a spy and an assassin, kind of the Russian version of Captain America. Assuming the comics are at all accurate, she changed sides and fights with the premiere superhero team of her world, the Avengers."
Murphy looked at her opponent with a serious expression. "You're an assassin?"
The redhead pursed her lips. "I was trained as one. I'm not that person anymore."
"If it helps," added Harry, "I'm pretty sure she's helped save her world more than once."
Karrin looked at him. "It helps. What do you think of her?"
Harry shook his head. "I don't know her as a person. The stories about her made her look like one of the good guys...and it's not like I'm one to judge about a person's past."
"Harry..." said Karrin as she started to walk toward him. "You always did what you had to do."
"I know," he said with a sad smile, "and I also know it usually seems that way at the time. It doesn't make it any easier in the long run." Karrin just put her hand on Harry's shoulder in support.
After a minute of silent introspection, Natasha spoke. "So, would you like me to stop by from time to time and help you out with your fighting skills?"
Karrin looked over at the woman. "You won't be bored?"
Natasha gave her a genuine smile. "You're good, Karrin, very good. You've got enough skill to keep it interesting, and I have to keep in practice despite my inherent advantages. I would be happy to spar with you. I may even be able to teach you some things."
"Then I'd be happy to spar with you," said Karrin with a smile.
"Now I just have to wonder when we'll start seeing Doctor Strange stop by," commented Harry.
"You don't have to wonder any longer," said a voice from the entrance to the gymnasium. Harry looked over to see Stephen Strange standing in the doorway. "So, shall we get started?" asked the Sorcerer Supreme.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"All right, we're pretty far outside town now," said Kevin from the front seat of the van.
Peter and MJ were watching the forested terrain pass by. "I think anywhere around here is fine. We're just here to try out some things."
Kevin pulled the van over to the side of the road. "OK, man. I'll just wait here with the van. If you get too far away, give me a call on your phone."
"You don't mind waiting for us?" asked MJ.
"Nah, it's cool. I've got my tablet and some work," said the tinker.
The Parkers got out of the van and looked up at the trees. "So...what do we do first?" asked MJ.
Peter pulled his sweatshirt over his head, revealing his new costume underneath. "First thing for all new spider folk is web-swinging."
"Have you taught anybody other than me and Miles?" asked MJ with a smirk.
"No, but tradition has to start somewhere. Now, the trick to this is knowing when to grab and when to release." Peter gave a hop and shot off a web to a high branch, grabbing the end and beginning a swing. His new costume had integrated web shooters, each filled with about twenty gallons of web fluid. While Saurial could have easily created a larger repository, the fluid starts to break down after approximately six weeks, so creating too large a supply was counter-productive.
Mary Jane tried to duplicate Peter's swing, only to find herself landing on her bottom. Luckily, her new costume was made from the same dirt-resistant material as her husband's. Peter swung back and manfully managed to avoid laughing out loud at his wife's mistake. "You let out way too much web. The solidified webbing is elastic, so your weight is going to stretch it out a bit." He demonstrated by letting out another strand of webbing and then leaning back, letting it take his weight. It was obvious that there was a noticeable amount of give on the line.
MJ was soon swinging through the trees, adapting to the motions quickly with the natural flexibility and strength that came from her new genetic enhancements. Peter found himself enjoying the act of web-swinging more than he had in years, both from his wife's obvious joy, and from his happiness at being able to share this with her. The two played in the treetops for the better part of an hour before taking a break in a clearing.
Instead of sitting down, MJ decided to "rest" while doing a one-handed hand-stand. "Having fun?" asked Peter.
She smiled up at him from her upside-down perspective. "This is amazing! I don't know how you can't want to do this every minute of the day."
He regarded her fondly. "It was pretty much like that at first when I was a teenager."
"So what changed?" she asked.
"Well, when my uncle died, it kind of dampened my enthusiasm." Peter paused for a moment and looked at the sky. "Eventually, I think I just got too used to it. There wasn't any novelty?"
His wife frowned at him. "Peter, swinging hundreds of feet over the ground shouldn't be just another boring commute to work."
"Don't get me wrong, honey. Swinging over the traffic is better than being stuck in it. It's just...moving around kind of shifts to autopilot while I worry about other things." Peter looked a little sheepish.
"Well, we're going to spend some time just enjoying ourselves when we get home," said MJ determinedly.
Peter smiled at her. "I look forward to it...speaking of which..." Peter picked a stone up off of the forest floor and hurled it at MJ's head from outside her field of vision, hard enough to break skin if it connected.
She flipped out of the way automatically. "Hey, what was that for?" she asked, shocked and a little annoyed.
"Spider sense demonstration. What did that feel like?" he asked seriously.
She paused, and her expression became thoughtful. "I'm...not sure how to describe it. Do it again?"
Peter went into a handspring and than flipped, tossing another stone mid-flip at his wife. She did a sideways flip out of the way.
"OK, that was weird. It's like, I could sense the danger, but it was also like my body wanted to move to get out of the way," she said, puzzled.
"Mister Fantastic explained his interpretation of it once. Our danger sense isn't just a precognitive warning of danger. It's also wired into an instinctive threat avoidance in our brains. Most of the time, it works great. It requires a little more focus if there are a lot of different threats from different sources," explained Peter.
"Give me an example," prompted MJ.
Peter considered the request. "Well, part of how I ended up getting pushed through the portal to another dimension was because Fisk and his hench-villains were all attacking me at once."
"Why didn't you ask for help from somebody? There are lots of heroes in New York," she said.
He shrugged. "There isn't always time to get help. At the time, Kingpin was already starting up the dimensional portal equipment, and reality quakes were breaking out all over Manhattan." She frowned, unhappy but unable to argue with his logic. "You want to head back to the van?" he asked.
The two got back to the van, only to pause when they heard a deep, male voice say from the front of the truck, "Juicy!" The two spider folk looked askance at each other. Peter looked in the driver side window to find Kevin playing a matching game on the tablet. He looked up. "Oh, hey, you two done?"
"Yep," said MJ. "Is that work?" she asked with a smile.
"Nah, it's a game Dragon got from Jimmy Olsen's world. It's simple, but kind of addictive." He put the tablet down between the seats as the other two got in the van. As they were driving back, he asked, "So how did it go?"
"The suits are awesome, and MJ is a natural at web swinging," said Peter.
Kevin looked at her in the rear view mirror. "Cool, so are you going to start patrolling?"
"I want to tag along with Pete at first," said MJ.
"Wait, patrolling? You mean, going out in costume?" he asked, surprised.
She raised an eyebrow at him. "It would be kind of hard to keep a secret identity if I went out without it."
"No," he stammered, "I just...didn't really think you would be going out."
"Then why did you want me to get the enhancement?" she asked, slightly irritated.
He thought about it, having been married long enough to know not to voice his immediate thought. "Mostly, I just wanted you to be able to take care of yourself if super-villains went after you."
"So, I was supposed to just stay at home while you go out at night and risk your life?" she asked sharply.
"Dude," interjected Kevin before Peter could dig a hole for himself. "Once you've got powers, almost nobody has the willpower to not use them. Even if your world's powers are a little different from ours, not using them is like...I don't know, being the world's best basketball player and never playing the game."
"And besides, didn't Saurial say that these costumes are almost invulnerable?" asked Mary Jane in a reasonable tone of voice.
Peter put his hands up in surrender. "I didn't say I expected you to stay at home. I just hadn't thought about it."
"Well, look at it this way. You're a lot less likely to be caught without backup now," she replied.
Pete considered that as they drove back into Brockton Bay. The part of him that was happy to have help, especially if it meant spending more time with his wife, warred with the part that was naturally worried about her safety. One thing he knew for certain -- when MJ set her mind to something, changing it was a lot of work. Before he even tried, he needed to figure out if he even should.
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Oh, Peter.
Short answer: NO.
Long Answer: Nooooooooooooooooooooooo.
Zanji117
Blood Wolf
- Location
- Bakersfield, CA
- Pronouns
- He/Him
And my favorite: Desperate man falling off a cliff"NOOOOOOOOoooooooo....... wait for it (SPLAT)
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- Location
- Lawton Ok
I think Nat would have better taste in guns than the overhyped piece of garbage that is the glock. Eh whatever other than that minor gripe this was an excellent chapter.
- Location
- Maryland
Eh, I used to own a Glock 19, and thought it was quite nice to shoot and maintain.
Regardless, Scarlett Johansson was armed with a pair of Glock 26's in the first Avengers film.
Cyclone1969
Lurker
- Location
- Stockton-on-tees, UK
thing is the glock is everywere so if she loses one its easy to just pull an issue piece make sure its workable and go for it dont forget shes trained as an assassin she could be running around with silenced .22s ;P
- Location
- Here
As others have mentioned, Glock handguns are readily available, and are in use by so many police and government agencies she likely just requisitioned one instead of spending her own money on something better. Plus, most agencies that issue firearms will issue ammo at no cost to their employees as well. If the specific agency requires the free ammo is for the issued gun, then it would make sense to use it for recreational shooting. (Besides, it likely helps to know the quirks of the specific gun before using it in the field.)
Are there better guns for her to use? Of course. Do any with a significant advantage over a Glock exist that both use the same caliber ammo and are reasonably enough priced to risk loosing in the field? Not so much....
Ultimately, Glocks are decent, run-of-the-mill 9 and 10 mm pistols. They have all the advantages and disadvantages of any other decent, run-of-the-mill pistol in the same caliber. I suspect government agencies get a discount on bulk purchases of the guns, which is why they are so often selected over other, similar weapons by said agencies. That this has given many the perception that they are better then they are has, of course, led to many private purchases, more then making up the reduced profits from the bulk discounts. Isn't marketing a wonderful thing....
The Black Widow.........never trust her. And Kennedy.....cannot stand her. She temp put me off Willow and I adore Willow.
For FUCKS SAKE Pete NO......Jesus if they ever have any kids I'm going to feel sorry for them.
Pete mind your own fucking business and you wont be cloned, or body snatched, or your ex girlfriend killed ect,..ect! Dude just mind your own business for once, just about every problem you had you caused it.
For FUCKS SAKE Pete NO......Jesus if they ever have any kids I'm going to feel sorry for them.
Pete mind your own fucking business and you wont be cloned, or body snatched, or your ex girlfriend killed ect,..ect! Dude just mind your own business for once, just about every problem you had you caused it.
Jonn Wolfe
(Verified Sarcastic) (Not a Wolf)
- Location
- Beyond Sanity Since 1971
Oh, Peter. 
You have a headstrong woman that was crazy enough to marry you. OF COURSE she's going to want to join you in your patrols.
Oy Vey!
I second the Kennedy hate. Could Not Stand Her.
Nice Chapter!
You have a headstrong woman that was crazy enough to marry you. OF COURSE she's going to want to join you in your patrols.
Oy Vey!
I second the Kennedy hate. Could Not Stand Her.
Nice Chapter!
Dreamlord
Norse Pettifogger
- Location
- Hogwarts
The last time he minded his own business, his uncle was killed. He's clearly decided to regret the things he's done instead of regretting the things he hasn't.
SHIT happens, and sticking his nose into shit is how Gwen Stacey got killed, his aunt threatened. Peter is his own worst enemy. ALL the bad stuff that happened to him was because of his choices, it was fine when he was single he only threatened his safety and May.
He's married now its time to let that crap go.....if all the stuff that happened to him in the past isn't enough to get a new lease on life with the family helping him now nothing is.