1964-11-24 - Ray Of Darkness
Summary: Gwen Stacy faces her tormentor with the help of some friends…but is it enough?
Related: If there are no related logs, put 'None', — please don't leave blank!
Theme Song: None
gwen-stacy peter-parker mary-jane-watson gidget kwabena 


Gwen wrote furiously on the notepad. If she got this wrong, Mary Jane would die at the hands of a madman.
She took a deep breath, then hung up the phone and dialed again. The first call was to the number Kwabena had left for her. A helpful voice said that the person on the other line was not answering.
"Okay. Janet. I need you to call this number until you get someone. When they pick up, the message is "1315 FDR Drive. Pier 19. Ray is there. He has Mary Jane."
Janet, the girl who handled her answering service, sounded troubled. "Of…course, dear."
Gwen hung up, then dialed another number quickly. "Come on, Gidge…don't stiff on me. Please."


Hearing her phone, Gidget groaned a bit as she laid there for a second before rolling out of her bed….literally….and hit the floor like a sack of potatoes. Groaning she would slowly stand up as she dragged a sheet with her that was wrapped about her to grab the phone. Needless to say…she had a long night and an even rougher day and was just done for the most part.
Shaking her head bit she'd answer the phone, her voice soft but willing herself to sound awake. "Gidget here!" Okay…maybe overkill.


Gwen exhales. "Hey there…you'll hear a constant beeping. That means no one is listening in. Gidget…Ray kidnapped MJ. He wants to trade her for the genetic samples. He's at the warehouse at 1315 FDR Drive, near the Brooklyn Bridge. He wants me to be there on one hour. And he wants me to come alone, so if he sees anyone else…MJ's dead." She pauses. "Can you help? Wait…don't answer that. Meet me at the empty lot across from Pier 16 if you can. If you can't…I'll understand."


If it's one thing that Mary Jane Watson has ever been was late for a date. Peter Parker late? Only on days that end in '-y'. But there's that once in a blue moon where Peter Parker was on time. Standing outside the theater where Mary Jane told him to meet her for 'Fiddler on the Roof'. He had even dressed up a little. Suit jacket and trousers with button up shirt. But.. thirty minutes have gone since the play started, and Mary Jane was a no-show.

Now, Peter gets a little taste of what happens every time that he stands up MJ. But he always has a good (if somewhat lame) reason. At least that's what he tells her. Mary Jane had said that she was visiting Gwen before going to the theatre, so that's where Peter is showing up at, knocking on the front door. "Gwen?" he calls out, peeking in the window for a moment. "MJ around?"


"Woah woah! Calm down!" Gidget snapped awake real quickly as she heard that. Scrambling for a pen on her drafting table she'd start to write the address down. "Gwen look….I….." There was a pause when she heard her don't says 'don't answer'. Those brown eyes would cut over to the mannequin in the corner with a drape over it. Nibbling her lower lip she would just stare at it as she cleared her throat. "….let me….get changed."
Dragging the phone with her she would move to that corner and snatched that drape off of it and just shook her head to herself. Man…..Robbie was going to kill her for this. "Just don't do anything dumb……or reckless. I'll see you in a bit." She didn't even wait for an answer and hung up the phone. No time for that as she had to get dressed in that costume….and figure out how to get there incognito and as quickly as possible.


Gwen hung up the phone, tore the note from the notepad and stuffed it in her pocket. She had to work fast if she was going to beat the…
…well, crap.
Peter was at the door.
She opened the door quickly, giving Peter a smile that was as real as any clown's.
"Uhmmm…yeah, she was here, but she left. She was downtown scoping out some things, got stranded. She needs me to go get her. I'll take the car, pick her up, we'll be home in a few hours."
Her voice seemed natural and relaxed, but to Peter it sounded as easygoing as machinegun fire as she moved just a little too quickly towards the garage, the sleek red Corvette Sting Ray waiting, a steel horse ready to mount up and ride.


"Gwen.." Peter starts to say, then stops. He doesn't need to know that Gwen, a girl he's respected for years, is flat lying to him. But he nods. "Well, alright. I'm sure she'll call later tonight." he offers quickly with a reasuring smile. Did Gwen's ruse pay off?

Not a chance in hell.

Shortly after Gwen leaves in the Stingray, a figure in red and blue is weblining well above her, following the car on it's course to the docks. Gwen lied to him. Mary Jane's missing. Something stinks, and it's not the East River or New Jersey.

…Spider-Man has joined the party.


Ray rubbed hin chin, the bruise already beginning to show, as he glared down at Mary Jane Watson. It had been a nickel-plated bitch to get her tied up, even with two other agents helping him.
But she was now safely gigged and gagged.
"You are ALMOST more trouble than you are worth, Miss Watson. But that's okay. Soon I'll have everything I want, and Gwennie…well, she gets you."
The smile was pained and predatory.
"HOW she gets you…well, that's the fun part."


Thirty-five minutes later, the Sting Ray pulls up to the lot. It is surrounded by fencing, which provides some cover. Gwen looks from left to right, finding the street empty—not meny people drive along this stretch of road unless they are making or picking up deliveries.
She grabs the backpack, locks the car, then runs up to the ten-foot-high fence…
…vaulting it one-handed to land inside.


MJ is gagged right now, which is probably for the best considering what her muffled yelling would be translating as. She narrows her eyes, no longer straining at her bonds… but trying the more subtle track. Which is to say, finessing her way out somehow while waiting for Gwen to arrive.


Ray winces. "Jeez, Red. You kiss your boyfriend with that mouth?" He chuckles. "Shoulda known. All looks, no class. Well, don't worry about Petey-boy. After I'm done here, I'm going to pay him a little visit. Him and his aunt. When the cops show up, they'll find that oh-so-special brain of his as a doorstop."


Someone's been eating their Wheaties (tm). Spider-Man has followed the Stingray this far. But now that Gwen is on foot, he's hanging back further, looking at the larger picture of the situation. He's learned a long time ago not to go diving headlong into a situation. Sticking to the rooftops, Peter moves silently, his footfalls light as he spider-ninja's towards the pier, and there's a rise of a mirrored eye towards Gwen.

Usually, at this point, he'd drop in, upside down - and go 'Hey, blondie, was in the neighborhood, and I'm your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Want to talk about it over a coffee?' But she's already lied to him once already. So. Nope. She gets the silent and aloof way up on the roof treatment!

Probably for the best, really.


Standing on her building's roof she'd lean over the edge to look down. "…..whooooo….." Backing up she would just shake her head a bit. "…come on girl….you can do this….same concept right?" Sure.
Looking like something out of a Three Musketeers novels, there she would stand on top of that building. Her face and neck covered with a blackout mask, it hid her even more in the shadows of the hood of her attire. The coat and hood of the ensemble was a steely grey lined with a a deep royal purple and a hint of red on the lapel and hood. Black gloved hands tugged that jacket tighter on her upper body that was clad in a white shirt and same shade of purple vest. Her legs crapped in a pair of smelly grey pants with a red accents thought the rest of her legs were hidden by black over the knee boots. The back side of her coat had the same red as a center panel that went down he back of the split of the oat, gold accents gleaming in the moonlight. The back of her hood held that same read but instead there was a symbol in gold….the same one that was now seemingly tattooed on her chest though it was hidden.
"….you got this….." She was psyching herself up now as she started at a run to the edge of the building and let out a slight scream as she jumped off….closing her eyes as. "I'm gonna die!" But then she just felt…solid under her feet. Cracking an eye open she then looked around to see she was on the next building. "…holy crap!" Well….building hopping it was!! And off she went!!!


Mary Jane Watson's eyes flare at the threat, but she keeps her cool, still fiddling with her bonds as she's pretty much living on borrowed time now as it is. So, what has she got to lose. Though, if she had a super power of killing people with her gaze, Ray would be all kinds of dead already and this wouldn't be a problem.


Gwen took the binoculars out of the backpack, hopping up to grasp the top of the fence to look at the warehouse. At first glance, nothing. Just a vaguely nondescript warehouse.
Except for the four men at the entrance, the ones that gave her the tangle of nerves at the nape of her neck a tingle. They looked armed.
Yeah. Ray seems to run true to form. No witnesses planned for this outing.
She checked her watch. Fifteen minutes. She hoped Gidget would show up soon.


Ray picked up the large walkie-talkie. "All teams report in."
"Alpha on." "Beta on." "Gamma on."
"Good. Keep an eye out for the Corvette."
All three chorused as one. "Hail Hydra."
"Hail Hydra." Ray clicked off and smiled to MJ.


MJ rolls her eyes, looking decidedly unimpressed. Meanwhile, she keeps working on wiggling her hand free. If she can just get that free when Gwen shows up… well, surprise could be worth quite a bit!


Gwen's not the only one feeling special tingles. "Oh, Gwen, what have you gotten yourself into." Peter starts to say when he notices another figure leaping from building to building opposite of the webhead. Spidey watches the woman leap from building to building and sighs. "..I remember my first time." he says in mild fondness. But Peter needs information.

Thwipping a line, Spider-Man's path moves and directly intersects and intercepts Gidget as she lands on the next building. "Department of Building Leaps and Landings. I need to see your permit for building jumps." he offers to Gidget. "…and what connection you have to Gwen Stacy. Quickly."


Well she'd finally make her way almost there until she came to a screeching slide in those boots, almost tripping. Blinking behind that black fabric she'd take a step back as she adjusted her coat……that red not cape slightly hanging over her right shoulder….okay it was a caplet….okay a half cape. She knew she'd never hear the end of it from Gwen.
Looking at Spider-Man she'd just stand there, silently. Crap. "I'm….a friend of hers." I mean it wasn't a light. "She said she wanted help so….I'm here to help. Not sure what I can do but….I'm here for her." Cracking those knuckles she'd nod a bit then. "So….please move?" She'd take a step then to move past him. At least she was polite.


"Sure. I'm a friend of hers too. So. Yeah. I'm moving." Spidey takes a sidestep. "By the way? Capes? So last year - and they get tagled in stuff so easy." he offers as he moves, but of course, his direction is parallel to Gidget. However, when they arrive at the building in question, he notices the guards and takes a little further cover.

They're expecting a blonde.

And Peter left his wig in his other bag. If he had a wig.


Ray checked his watch. "Almost time." He beckons to another man, one dressed in a green jumpsuit and carrying a military rifle. "Watch her, Omega. When I say 'Say hi to daddy,' put one between those green eyes."
"Yes, sir."
Ray began to make his way up to the roof-level control room.
The show was about to begin.


Gwen frowned. Three minutes left before she had to make her way to the front door. "Come on, come on…I'm winging it as it is…"


MJ slips her hand out, finally, but keeps her hands behind her back in the chair so she doesn't give it away, working on getting the other hand free. Though, she does look at the guard, eyes widening a bit as she asks a muffled question, tilting her head and looking at him curiously. Hopefully luring him a bit closer.


Omega smiled. She was actually a very pretty young lady. There was something about her, something that seemed to elevate her beauty. Charisma. Yeah. She had it in spades.
Pity this was her farewell performance.
Still, what was she saying? He began to move closer. "If you want to plead for your life, you can try. It won't work, but…"


Mary Jane's eyes go wide as she looks at Omega, that soft muffled something something just not that clear as he moves closer. Her head tilting a bit as she regards him…

And when he's close enough, that's when her now freed hand swings out in a sucker punch to his jaw. The fact that she's been keeping a roll of quarters with her for added force on punching probably helps a lot. Omega staggers back, which allows MJ the chance to untie her legs from the chair. Bringing up the chair, she ungags herself long enough to say, "Hail this!" And *BAM* comes the chair down on Omega's head, knocking him unconscious. Gasping, she grabs Omega's rifle, and quickly goes to find a hiding place… not that she really knows how to use the rifle, but they don't know that, right? Right!

Probably best for Ray that she doesn't know how, either…


The moment of scuffle draws an unexpected surprise from somewhere in the darkened rafters above. A cloud of black smoke drops into the harsh light, and quickly forms into the shape of a man. African, somewhat tall, in impossibly good shape, and absolutely buck naked.

Kwabena spins about on his bare feet, but he doesn't find what he expected. Yes, he can hear, feel, and in a strange way, he can even see while in his gaseous phase, but it's different. Garbled, muted, distorted. He's only enough time to catch a glimpse of MJ disappearing, and the unconscious Omega.

"Well, shit."

Time for a nice disguise. Kwabena moves over and begins yanking Omega's clothing free, starting with his boots.


In the meantime, from the window above, Spider-Man makes his way into the building, just in time to see Mary Jane take down Omega and head into hiding. The amount of pride that he has for her is immeasurable at the moment, and he was about to go find her, that is until Kwabena arrives - nude, natch - and starts to strip Omega. "I didn't know HYDRA had an insta-relacement soldier program. Neat. Were you in a pellet? Seeems like an awful tiny living space."

Though Peter hasn't attacked yet. He doesn't get that tingly from Kwabena's presence, and there's no need to drag Mary Jane into a firefight. "Unless you're here to help."


Gwen took a deep breath, then leaped the fence to get back to the 'Vette. Five minutes.
She drove into the lot a minute later. The four men let her pass, watching impassively, although Gwen guessed they were wondering who was going to get her car after Ray had her killed.
She parked near the large door, then got out. She was aware she was being watched as she grabbed the backpack and headed towards the door, stepping slowly inside and heading down the center of the room between the rows of crates.


Though it wasn't see, she just Watching Spider-Man wander off to get inside, she stood there alone. Gidget just took a deep breath….good thing she let Gwen talk her into a dang costume….no on ewould see her face.
That car went through and then she would just frown a bit. Hrm….alright then. Crouching down she'd just make sure she was out of sight as that cape of hers detached from her jacket and flew off the side of the building toward the men guarding the entrance. "…okay…." Murmuring to herself she would peek up then blinked as she waited….and waited until she grinned.
That large piece of red fabric would float down then just suddenly wrapped around the head of the two men by the entrance and proceeded to pull and smacked their heads on the ground hard enough to knock them out. Of course as quick as it happened….the cape would wash, rinse and repeat on the other two almost in a flash.


The two men of Beta had indeed been sulking after Alpha insinuated they got first crack at the 'Vette. They might have been comforted by the fact that 30 seconds after they had been knocked cold, Alpha followed tumbling after, like Jill after Jack.
Not a single shot had been fired.


"Easy," Kwabena answers, lifting a hand to make a 'stop' gesture toward Spider-Man. "I'm with Gwen."

With a heave, the Ghanaian bodily drags Omega out of the light and strips him of his jumpsuit. "I'm de sahprise," he says. and flashes Spidey a toothy grin while stepping into that stanky jumpsuit. "Sahprised?"

Boots in hand, he scoots further into shadow. "Any idea where de rest of dese clowns ah hiding?" he calls in a quiet hiss toward the catwalk.


Before Kwabena/Omega can answer, a light suddenly flares to life, and Gwen is spotlighted like a deer in the headlights. She flinches, but holds steady where she is.
"GWENNIE!" came a voice over a loudspeaker. "Right on time. Mary Jane will be very happy, won't she?"
"Ray, you murdering bastard. WHERE IS SHE?"
"Oh, first things first, Gwennie. Let's see the evidence bags."
Gwen grimaces, but opens the backpack and takes out seven evidence bags. The bags tinkle and chime as the glass vials clink together.


"Oh yeah. Like finding a Captain Midnight Secret Decoder ring. I'm the uninvited guest, so no ruining the surprise." Spidey offers before moving back into the catwalk. "Towards the front. Think they didn't expect Gwen to bring help." he comments before glance back. "I'm gonna go find Miss Watson." Can't call her MJ after all.

"Looks like the party started. And me without a dish for the pot luck."


"Oh….good to know that works…." Standing up she'd just twitch for a second, that cloak flying back up and reattaching to its place on that jacket. Taking a deep breath she would just look at that entrance, putting that booted foot up on the edge and nodded. Seems she was testing a lot tonight. Hopping off the edge she'd jump and braced herself and landed…..tripped…rolled. "….ow…..need to work on that." Getting up quickly she would move to that entrance and took a deep breath. Well….it was now or never…so in she went. Hopefully….Spidey had gone in to help because the crap that was about to happen…woowee.
Stepping in to where Gwen was…she'd stick to the shadows and keep quiet. Now….to wait. She can see Gwen…but it was time to wait, staying close to her friend for now.


Kwabena grimaces a bit at the harshness of the spotlight, but the benefit of it is that it further defines what is light and what is shadow. He crouches back a bit, but the expression upon his face is telling.

The shadows may keep him hidden, but a very quiet sound comes from his direction. Small pops and cracks, the audible sign that his mutant body is doing the opposite of adopting its gaseous state, but rather, becoming super solid. He waits as well; either he and Gidget are likeminded, or they were properly prepared for this moment.


Ray smiled and moved behind the rifle, the twin of the one he used on Captain Stacy. "There's a metal box in the floor, Gwennie. Two steps in front of you."
Gwen stepped forward. She saw it easily. It was not so much a box as a trap door.
"Put them in there, Gwen. Then you get your precious Mary Jane."
Gwen scowled, then opened the metal lid and dropped them into the hatch, closing it immediately. "Now…let MJ go!"
It was all going precisely to plan. He flipped the safety off with an audible click.
"Say hi to Daddy," he said with an evil smile, the telescopic sight filled with Gwen's angry face.
He pulled the trigger.
The head suddenly disappeared.

The rifle shot seemed to fill the warehouse as the bullet flew straight and true, a hot red light of evil intent.
Gwen moved…and the bullet tore through the air an inch away from her right ear, impacting the pavement behind her.
The light came on around Kwabena and an empty chair.
MJ was gone.


"Oh, just a bit outside." comes the voice from the shadows. One of the guards will find himself turning around to the voice to a figure in red and blue. "Hi." Spider-Man offers before slugging him in the face, sending him spinning before he starts to spring away. "You know, tampering with evidence is a pretty terrible crime. But pissing off a woman? That's probably worse."


"Oh for…." Sighing she would make her way out into the light when she heard the shot ring out. Raising her hand up she would just stare at Ray and his gun, concentrating only to move her hand to the side as that gun would come flying out of the mans hands. "….moron…." Her voice was soft though as that gun came flying towards the tall masked woman but caught it, stumbling back some. Now what? She's only shot with her dad but….might as well fake it as she looked around for Gwen.


Kwabena is already moving; the moment that trap door closes, he is bursting forth from his hiding place. Dents are left in the floor from the change in his body, but it makes him faster than normal. He's on a beeline for Gwen, and when the shot rings out, it tells him audibly where it's coming from.

"GET DOWN!" he calls to Gwen, and means to put himself right in between Gwen and Ray's line of fire.

Seems he's completely missed the fact that Ray's been disarmed.


There is a profound moment when Ray realizes he missed. He COULDN'T miss at that range, but he had.
He is still trying to process it when the rifle is suddenly ripped from his hands and towards the…woman? Who is that? What was SHE doing here?
He looked down to Omega. Omega had to have killed the redhead. He'd heard the signal, clear as day. But he wasn't turning the gun on the woman, and the redhead…she was gone, and Omega was running towards Gwen. Maybe he could still…
"GET DOWN!"
Ray's eyes went wide.
That was NOT Omega!

"Hello, 911 dispatch."
"Yes, this is Julie from the answering service. I wish to report the sighting the sighting of Ray Fiegler. The warehouse at 1315 FDR Drive. I am told he will not be armed."

Gwen turns and then she is gone, diving into the darkness, heading up to the stairs to the catwalk.
Ray suddenly realized that things had gone completely sideways. Time to run to attack another day.
He suddenly heard a CRUMP sound, below the concrete. He looked down.
The samples. He knew as sure as he knew his own real name that Gwen had rigged them somehow.
"STACY….GOD DAMN YOUU!!!"


In another part of the warehouse, Mary Jane was still hiding with her rifle. That is until there's a quiet thwip of webline, and Spidey's outside her spot. "MJ?" he asks, and then the woman nearly shoots him before he moves aside. "Whoa whoa, it's just me! You know, you're favorite webhead?" There's a moment of relief before Spider-Man is picking her up to get her out of harm's way.


Gidget would look up and just laughed at the yelling. Dropping that gun, her hands would go up in the direction of Ray and suddenly, there was a soft glow at the chest of the Musketeer looking woman, though faint beneath all of that of that fabric. Suddenly, there was flash around her but then the flash happened once more….but around Ray. That man would find himself encased in a golden force field….good luck trying to get out of that. Her head was down slightly in that hood, breathing heavily as she focused on holding that around him.


"HAIL HYDRA!"

The bellow comes from Kwabena. No, he is not Omega; Omega did not have skin the color of matte obsidian, nor silver eyes, nor a mutated body capable of deflecting most bullets. He's only hoping that the masked figure of Gidget will recognize that this is a ploy, an attempt at stalling Ray, perhaps convincing him that Kwabena is on RAY's side. Anythjng to slow him down, for Gwen is already gone and Kwabena already knows that she is faster than him.

"Come down!" he shouts toward the control room. "I saw where de bitch went!"

Well, that wasn't exactly a lie. He knows exactly where Gwen is going. Secretly, he's only hoping the attempt at misdirection won't backfire.

Then, there's an odd glow, and Kwabena is looking from Ray to Gidget and back. His falsehood fades, and he smirks ruefully. "Or we could just do dat."


Ray couldn't move. He could barely breathe. He looked around. Where were those Hydra specialists??
Then the other member of Gamma showed up. "Sir! It's Spider-Man! He…"
Then the steel door to the control room seemed to explode inward. The door flew at the last solder, sandwiching him against the wall, and that was it for him. The concussion put him out for the count.
Ray looked from the Gamma soldier to the figure in the doorway.
It was Gwen. Her hands were balled into fists, and her eyes were dark with rage.
For one long moment, Ray was certain she was going to kill him.
Then the rage seemed to die in her eyes, replaced with a resolute anger.
"Hello, Ray."


Dropping down to a knee she would pant heavily as she slowly looked up, though her blacked out face couldn't show what was really going on. "…..Gwen!" Calling out she was panting heavily as she finally said out. "….are the cops coming? I…I don't know how long I can do this….."
Anyone around her would feel a pulse come from her then….that cape on her right shoulder starting to slowly move around as if in the wind but….they were inside.


Time for a bit of cleanup. Kwabena makes for the snoozing Omega, all down to his underwear and all, and hefts him up against a wall. He then grabs hold of a pair of metal rails and begins bending them around the thug's torso, but halfway through, Omega begins to stir.

"Oh no you don't."

Kwabena puts a hand against Omega's collar, holding him in place. The other rises and points with all fingers toward Omega's face, but as a snarl forms on the HYDRA dude's mouth, a grin forms on Kwabena's. His outstretched hand begins disassociating into tendrils of black smoke, which then force themselves into Omega's mouth and nose.

"Baaaack to sleep, big guy," Kwabena murmurs over Omega's choking and gagging. After a few long seconds, the thug's eyes roll back into his head and he passes out again. The smoke immediately withdraws and forms into a human hand again, and with one final tug, Omega is firmly tied down and ready for the fuzz.

That done, he turns a stark look upon the control room. He's not going to intervene. This is between Gwen and Ray. That being said, he can't help feeling nervous… he's not sure just what he might do in her shoes.


Gwen walked over to Ray and grabbed him by his shirt. "They should be on the way, now. You can let go…I've got him now."
Ray struggled in vain, then looked closely at Gwen.
He didn't take long to add everything up—everything he had seen, had known, or had suspected.
"THAT'S how you survived, Gwen." His face creases in a smile. "Oh, Gwennie, it's not too late."
"Too late for what?"
"To get rich, of course. You survived because of the mutated animal…and the Living Oil."
Gwen frowned. "'Living Oil?'"
"Yeah…the North Koreans discovered it, had no idea what it was. It rebuilt you, along with one of the animals. That's why you're not a charcoal briquette."


Gasping she'd let go and just fell to all fours. Panting she would just ball her hands up into fists before slowly reaching one up to pull that hood off of her head, exposing just that tight blackout mask. "….merde…." That French rolled off of her tongue as she slowly stood up, leaning against Gwen's car a bit. Man she was going to feel this in the morning and she was going to get an earful from Robbie. "….Gwen!" Looking up she would just move to pull that mask but stopped herself and kept it on. "Don't do anything crazy….don't stoop to his level!" She'd slowly look up and looked over to Kwabena. Staying quiet she'd be silent and just kept herself up with the car. Pulling a glove off of her hand, she'd slowly bring up that bare skin to that mask and touched near her nose and pulled back…..blood….great. Quickly she'd pull that glove back on and slowly stood up straight, taking a deep breath.


Finally feeling as if he can let down his guard, Kwabena's body makes a crackling sound as it reverts to normal flesh, blood and bone. As he walks away from Omega, he flips up a middle finger in the snoozing thug's direction. He looks briefly toward Gidget and, seeing that the masked woman is winded, diverts into her direction. However, his eyes remain fixed upon the control room. He's still not going to interfere.

"You ahkay?" he asks Gidget quietly. "Gonna have to get out fast when de cops show up." He knows he can make it, but he's not so sure about the mystery woman.

That voice though. Awfully familiar. Kwabena glances Gidget's way again, brow furrowed.


Gwen began dragging Ray out of the control room and along the catwalk.
"Gwen…listen to me? Do you realize what you have in you? Do you know how much something like that is worth? The people I know will pay MILLIONS for what you have!"
"This bunch you call Hydra? Forget it." Gwen listens and hears the far-off sounds of sirens.
Ray looked at her. Didn't she GET IT? "Gwennie, listen…they're going to come and take it if you don't make them an offer. They're just going to take it. Give them a decade with it, and this war in Vietnam is going to be as important as a pinochle game at the VFW. Ten years, Gwen! Ten years, and they will CONTROL THE FUNCTION AND FORM OF ALL LIFE ON EARTH!"
She planted him against the wall. "I hope they spell your name right, Ray, when they book you."
"You OWE me, Gwen! I MADE YOU WHAT YOU ARE!"

Gwen glares at him, then exhales. "All you MADE me…is you made me more like my FATHER."


Looking up she'd look over at Kwabena and then nodded. "….I'm fine." Taking a final real deep breath she'd center herself as that cap just fell flat against her. That glowing on her chest stopped as she then shook her head a bit. "I don't know if she wants me with her or not….."
Looking up to the control room she'd call out. "Look..I hate to interrupt this but…" She'd point to Gwen's care then to herself. "Am I waiting here for you or….should I start walking now because….I think I'm tapped out kind of….." Gidget was dizzy is all hell but she wasn't about to admit that now…not at all. Glancing to Ray she'd just smirk before looking away as Ray would feel his mouth being held shut. His voice was annoying her…and she already had a headache.


"Bullshit," Kwabena murmurs under his breath in response to Gidget. "Gwen!" he calls out. "Ride's leaving!" He turns and walks around the car, climbing right into the driver's seat.

Hey. He drives for a living, after all.


Gwen nods. "Yeah…you two get going. I'll wait here for the cops." She looks to Ray. "And I'll take it as if comes." She drags Ray to the entrance to the warehouse. "Go on. I'll catch up with you both later…" She smiles as though she isn't worried about being outed by this lunatic.


"Gwen!" Frowning under that mask she'd just walk around, a bit wobbly then got in the car. "…..I swear….." Pulling that hood back but keeping that mask on she'd sigh as she leaned back. Looking out the window she'd take a deep breath. "Let's get out of here before we get in trouble…."


"You don't have to ask me twice." Kwabena fires the engine, then hops the stick shifter into reverse. He hooks an arm around Gidget's headrest and bends his neck back. "Hold on," he warns before gunning the engine. The tires squeal against the warehouse floor for a moment before catching, then the 'vette peels back the way it came.

Once clear of the building, he hooks the car into a spin, pulling the emergency brake as he goes, then throws the car directly into second gear. There's a jump, but the hot rod catches, and goes tearing off down the road.

"She'll be alright," he tells the masked woman riding shotgun.

"I hope," he adds under his breath.


The cop cars pass by the 'Vette, and Gwen watches it go with a sad smile. Spider-Man and MJ are gone, too. Might be just as well.

The two cops handcuff Ray as another sits with Gwen. They lead him out towards the sea of squad cars as the cop next to Gwen asks, "You going to be okay?"
"Yeah. I'm sorry about the evidence room."
"A judge will say you were coerced. Mitigating circumstances."

Ray sighed, "Well, pigs, I guess it's gonna be jail, then a long court trial, and then I'll be free as a bird again."
The cops were silent.
"And wait until I get on the stand. Oh, have I got a tale to tell about Gwennie."
Inside, he was seething. Gwen was going to get off scot free. Going to be Little Miss Hero again.
He looked behind him and saw Gwen being walked out, the picture of propriety and dignity.
A sudden, unreasoning hatred of her, of what she had said to him like he was NOTHING…
He reached for the gun of the cop on the left, yanking it free, an all-consuming hatred of Gwen seeming to fill his mind.
He had to kill her.
HE HAD TO KILL HER.

"OH, GWENNIE!" he yelled joyously, swiinging the service revolver up to point at her head.
And just like that, it was all over.

The pistols, rifles, and shotguns of 34 wary police officers opened up on Ray before he could pull the trigger. Gwen and the cop dove for cover as bullets and buckshot pounded into Ray's body, knocking him off his feet and against the warehouse door and stiill they kept firing.
The coroner would later note over 76 entry wounds. Eight of them were in the soles of his feet.


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