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Gwen's POV
Gwen leaned back in her chair at the crowded Starbucks, enjoying a rare moment of peace after a hectic morning. Between university lectures and helping MJ and Felicia with their shopping urges, she was grateful for the break. Both of her friends shared the table with her. Felicia sat beside her, sipping from a cup, looking effortlessly stylish as always. While MJ and Gwen went for coffee, Felicia chose flavored milk. It was a strange yet fitting choice for a cat lover.
MJ lounged across the table, texting someone with a frown on her face. With Harry still keeping his distance lately, MJ had been hanging out quite often with Gwen and Felicia. Today was no exception.
The redhead put down her phone. "Next week is going to kill me."
"How so?"
"I have tests, theory papers, a massive research assignment, and a live performance piece. All in the same week." MJ let out a dramatic groan, holding her head like it was aching. "I'm gonna die for real."
Felicia barely held herself back from laughing. "Sucks to be you. Why did you even take Theatre as an elective if you hate it?"
"I want to be an actor, that's why!" MJ shot back, sitting up straight again. Her gaze went to Gwen. "She has it easy."
Felicia looked at Gwen. "That is one calm, confident, zero-stress face. Are you Buddha by any chance?"
Gwen took a slow sip from her caramel latte. "Heh. I don't even have to study that much. Lab practicals are nothing compared to the stuff I've already dealt with in the field. Aren't you in the same boat as me?"
Felicia shrugged. "Art history, criminology, and the psychology of crime are basically a joke. The research projects are going to be annoying though."
"I'd help if I could," Gwen offered. "But I'd probably just hinder you. Especially with the art stuff."
"It's alright," Felicia said with a dismissive wave. "Honestly, for the biology side of things, you can always get help from Dante. That guy is a nerd about that stuff."
Gwen felt a smile creep up on her face at the mention of his name. She would much rather spend their limited time together doing something far more meaningful. Maybe continue exactly where they had left off the other night because of Miles. The thought made her stomach flutter, but she was way too embarrassed to say any of that out loud.
"Dante?" MJ perked up, curiosity sparking in her eyes. "You mean that merc from Silver Sable International?"
Gwen immediately pinched Felicia's thigh hard under the table. Until now, Gwen had been carefully giving MJ vague excuses. That definitely wasn't going to work today.
Felicia pressed her lips together in an apologetic smile then looked at MJ. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"What's your relationship with him?"
Felicia set her cup down. "He's a friend. He's also Gwen's boyfriend."
MJ turned sharply to Gwen, quietly staring at her until Gwen became uncomfortable.
Gwen stomped on Felicia's foot for speaking unnecessary things again. "What do you want?"
"Why did you keep it from me?"
"Uh… I thought you wouldn't approve. He's a bit older than me."
MJ frowned. "How old are we talking? Thirty?"
"Twenty-five."
Yet interacting with him felt different, like someone who had been through two or three times that.
"He…" MJ hesitated, then leaned closer to speak in a low voice. "Did he kill Norman Osborn?"
Felicia shook her head. "Nope. If he had, he'd be behind bars right now."
"That's true," Gwen added quickly in support. "They must've found the real killer."
"The case is still open, actually." MJ pointed out, clearly not ready to let it go. "Harry was going to give Dante's name to the detectives, but nothing happened after that. He doesn't even talk about why they never marked Dante as a suspect."
During her recent visit to the NYPD, Gwen had learned the real reason the case had been swept under the rug. Harry had been informed about his father's crimes and given two choices: pursue Dante at the cost of permanently tainting the Osborn family name, or stay quiet. Harry had obviously chosen silence. Of course, Yuri had been behind making sure it stayed that way. Yuri Watanabe knew both Ghost-Spider and Skullfire's real identities, which she thankfully kept to herself.
MJ narrowed her eyes on Gwen. "This whole thing smells fishy. You and Harry are hiding something from me."
Gwen racked her brain for another believable lie. As sad and cruel as it felt, she had no other choice right now. Fortunately, a familiar face entered the café at that exact moment to save her from this.
Harry Osborn walked in wearing an all-black suit, which he had never done before. He looked polished and corporate in a way that reminded her of Norman—that scumbag of a human being who nearly had her father killed to turn her into one of his pawns.
'Felicia said she's on an unlucky streak. Yeah, sure.'
As for how Harry knew about their whereabouts, she had literally no idea. Maybe it also had to do with Felicia's "good luck."
Harry took off his sunglasses, and their eyes met across the cafe. Her head buzzed—a warning sent by her Spidey-sense. The single pulse made it hard to find the source. She looked around, confused. Maybe her senses had a little malfunction caused by Anti-Venom.
'It didn't come from Harry.'
Her friend wouldn't try to hurt her… right?
Harry beamed a bright grin and started walking toward their table.
MJ noticed Gwen's sudden silence and looked over her shoulder. A surprised gasp left her as she spotted her lover. She got up from the chair, reached Harry in hurried steps, and hugged him. "How have you been?"
"Great, honestly." Harry hugged her back with a faint smile. When they separated, his gaze drifted to the third person at the table. "Felicia. Didn't expect to see you here."
"Gwen drags me around everywhere like her personal cat," Felicia replied nonchalantly. "I might as well be on a leash."
"You look like you enjoy it."
"I really do." She smiled. "I hope you're recovering well."
Nobody wanted Norman to die more than Felicia. The man would've ruined her life if Dante hadn't been there. Asking Norman's son about his wellbeing while he was dealing with grief—that felt hypocritical. As Harry's close friend, Gwen was even more guiltier of this than Felicia.
"Do I look like I'm not doing well?" Harry spread his arms slightly and chuckled. "Actually, I came to find you all. Let's go break some bottles in Hellmoon Club. As they say, people come and go, but the show must go on."
MJ threw her purse over her shoulder and immediately linked her arm with Harry's. "Let's go, Gwen! I've been dying to drink until I pass out. Haven't had one of those nights in forever."
Gwen turned to her best friend. "You wanna join?"
"Why not?" Felicia smiled, but it didn't feel quite like her usual smile. It felt forced in a way. "I won't be drinking, though."
"Me neither," Gwen replied. "I want to stay sober for finals."
MJ made a pleading expression. "Just one shot. You'll barely feel it."
"No!" Gwen and Felicia refused in sync.
MJ let out a sigh. "Harry will drink with me then."
"Naturally."
They paid and gathered their things before making their way out of the café. Outside, Harry's phone lit up in his hand. He looked at the screen, then tossed his car keys to MJ.
"Important call. Be back real quick. Wait for me in the lot."
Gwen didn't find it suspicious, but Felicia clearly did. Her expression said everything. Even as they stepped onto the escalator heading down to the first floor, Felicia kept that uneasy look.
She nudged Felicia's shoulder. "What's wrong?"
"Harry is making me uneasy."
"How?"
Felicia shook her head. "I don't know. Just a feeling in my gut."
Gwen frowned. She couldn't figure out what there was to be suspicious of. Harry was her friend. He had just offered to take them out for the night. What about that raised alarms in Felicia's mind?
The moment they reached the bottom of the escalator—BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!—a series of explosions shattered the glass ceiling. Chunks of glass rained down on the ground floor below. The mall immediately became noisy as chaos ensued. People screamed and scattered in different directions.
A figure descended through the shattered ceiling on a flat, hovering board. He was muscular, green-skinned, and wore a hideous goblin mask. He hovered there, looking down at the panicking crowd below with visible delight.
"Hihahahaha! Happy Halloween!"
The goblin-masked man cackled wildly as he hurled pumpkin-shaped orbs. A few of them rolled toward Gwen's group. Acting quickly, Gwen grabbed MJ's hand and sprinted in the other direction. Her senses buzzed. The moment the warning became loudest, she shoved MJ through the nearest open doorway, which happened to be a cafe. The pumpkin grenade exploded behind Gwen and blew Gwen off her feet. She did a roll through the air and landed like it was nothing. Some small fragments had dug into her back, making her bleed. But nothing that would drag her down.
She looked around and then quietly activated Anti-Venom to heal the wounds. The black and white symbiote rolled over her injuries once and healed them. This was the perfect time to suit up as Ghost-Spider and stop this lunatic before he caused more damage… but MJ was here.
The redhead stumbled out of the cafe and helped Gwen. "Gwen, you—"
"I'm alright." She pushed MJ away. "I'll go find Felicia and Harry. You get out of here."
"No—" MJ suddenly paused and looked up. "Is that Black Cat?"
Gwen looked up just in time to see Black Cat swinging through the air toward the goblin-masked man. The man saw Felicia coming and tapped his feet on the board. Flames burst from the back of the hovering board as it did a quick dash out of Felicia's path. He threw a cluster of pumpkin bombs in a wide arc. Even with her symbiote, Felicia had to retreat from the dozen incoming explosives. Taking extreme damage to the symbiote suit would reveal her face.
The Goblin tilted his head back and snickered at the sky. "That's it for today! Green Goblin will return tomorrow to spread the love and joy of Halloween!"
He flung one last bomb behind him as a parting gift. Felicia kicked the bomb back at him, but he was too quick to be caught in the explosion. Felicia fired another symbiote line, but the self-proclaimed Green Goblin had already flown out through the shattered roof. Black Cat gave chase while Gwen hurried MJ toward the parking lot. They found Harry's luxury car right away.
"Stay here."
MJ grabbed her wrist. "Your back—I saw the blast. You need medical treatment urgently."
"I'm fine." She pulled her hand free gently but firmly. "I promise."
MJ looked reluctant, but no amount of words would convince Gwen to stay. She moved away from the lot and ducked into a quiet corner, allowing herself to be covered in the Anti-Venom suit.
She zipped back toward the chaos, returning to the ground floor where most of the wounded were. Many people were groaning in pain, wounded by the explosions. Medical personnel had yet to arrive.
She clenched her fist, feeling her anger surge. "This maniac…"
He clearly didn't value anyone's life. Far more people would've been hurt if Felicia hadn't reacted so quickly to stop him.
A portal suddenly opened above her, startling her. Dante dropped down, already in his full Skullfire costume.
"Dante…" she was unable to stop herself from whispering his real name. Whenever darkness threatened to consume her, he was always there to save her. Always so reliable.
He closed the portal with a snap of his fingers and surveyed the injured. "Save Anti-Venom for emergencies. Leave this to me, okay?"
She just nodded her head. Anti-Venom's healing energy was limited. Once consumed, it needed some time to recover.
He waved his hand, sending out a wave of warm golden energy that wove through the survivors and healed them within seconds. As always, he was ridiculously overpowered.
She narrowed her eyes on him. "You used that power."
"In limit," he said wryly. "You can check later."
"Oh, I will inspect thoroughly. Don't think you can fool me, Mister Skullfire."
If he had to pay for using his healing power, she would rather use her own Anti-Venom's healing. The worse outcome would be having to wait a few weeks for it to recover its strength back.
He moved to her side and slipped an arm around her waist. "Not the best place to talk."
"Mhmm. Let's leave."
In the next moment, they both flew up through the hole in the roof, heading somewhere nobody would disturb their conversation. He brought them to the roof of a nearby building. Gwen immediately rushed to the ledge and scanned the area. No sign of Felicia or the Green Goblin.
"Some guy named Green Goblin attacked us," she said, filling in Dante about the incident. "He crashed through the roof and threw grenades in the crowd. Felicia is currently hot in pursuit."
She glanced over her shoulder. Even though his expression was always hidden in this form, the silence alone was enough proof of his surprise.
He stepped behind her and put both arms around her waist. "This guy is a lunatic. I'll make him disappear. So don't worry your pretty head about it."
She had a hunch that he knew something about Green Goblin, and he was protecting her in his own way. It was too clear in his approach.
She unwrapped his arms from her waist and turned around. "Are you hiding something from me?"
"Not at all." He reached behind her and gave her ass a playful pinch. "This suit makes your ass look so juicy. I love it."
She moved his hand. "Don't—"
He came even closer and pulled her into a hug, getting a squeeze with both hands while she was occupied with the first one. She felt a big part of her ass being groped lewdly in his large hands.
Another pinch pulled an unwilling moan from her. She glared at him. "Stop messing around, or I'll get mad."
This really wasn't the time or place to be teasing her body. Even though she protested, he kept her in his arms. She pushed him away and crossed her arms, refusing to talk to him anymore.
"Gwennie."
She opened one eye to look at his cheeky smile and turned her head away. "Don't talk to me."
He poked her cheek. "Where is MJ?"
"Oh, shit!"
Dante's arrival had shifted her attention away from Harry. She might not be able to forgive herself if anything happened to Harry.
Gwen fired double web-lines at two adjacent buildings. "I'll see you later."
She pulled hard, using the combined tension to slingshot herself back toward the mall. On the mall's rooftop, she spotted a flash of white and black moving fast. Felicia had returned after Green Goblin had gotten away. Green Goblin's equipment had been faster than Felicia.
Felicia noticed her too and dashed through the air without symbiote assistance, giving Gwen a high-five as they passed each other mid-air.
"Gwen!" Felicia's voice came from behind her, already fading.
She turned around. There was nothing there. Just the open sky above the rooftop and the sound of the city below. Felicia had disappeared.
'She is still messing around. Silly cat.'
Gwen dropped down and began searching for Harry, only for him to be waiting in the parking lot with MJ. She should've checked the text earlier.
"Gwennie!" MJ yelled as soon as she spotted Gwen. "Let's get you to a hospital."
Harry looked confused. "What happened to her?"
"She was caught in a blast earlier."
Harry's eyes widened. He touched her shoulder and made her turn, showing impressive strength. "I see nothing."
Gwen removed his hand away. "Skullfire healed me when I was in the mall."
She had become a sort of genius at lying, which she wasn't very proud to admit. At least Dante didn't hate her for it.
MJ nodded, but Harry's expression became colder at the mention of Skullfire. Harry had a strange reaction considering he shouldn't know Dante was Skullfire. Heck, the last time they met, Harry was all over Dante.
'Harry is going through it.'
***
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