Earth-65 Gwen Stacy stood on the reinforced flight deck, the roaring wash of four massive repulsor turbines violently whipping her choppy blonde hair around her face. She stared up at the sprawling, matte-black superstructure of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, completely numb. The air smelled of heavy ozone and jet fuel.
"You guys have a flying aircraft carrier parked over Manhattan?" Gwen yelled over the engine noise, clutching her white mask in her hand. "How did I not know this was up here?!"
"If we broadcast our location to the six o'clock news, Miss Stacy, we lose our primary tactical advantage."
An older woman stepped out from the shadows of the hangar bay. She wore a pristine, dark leather trench coat. Her white hair was pulled into a severe bun, and a stark black eyepatch covered her left eye.
Gwen swallowed hard, stepping forward and awkwardly extending her hand. "Oh. Uh, hi. I'm Spider-Woman. I was honestly trying to workshop a better codename, but the media kind of forced it on me."
"I know exactly who you are," the woman said, shaking Gwen's hand with a grip like a bench vise. "I am Peggy Carter, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Welcome aboard."
The journey up to the Helicarrier had been agonizing. Sitting in the back of the stealth Quinjet, Gwen had finally ripped the band-aid off. She had looked Harry Osborn dead in the eye and confessed the ugly, unvarnished truth about that night event. Peter Parker hadn't been murdered by a random vigilante. Unable to handle the relentless bullying at Midtown High, Peter use his Lizard Serum. He had injected himself. He had become the Lizard. Gwen had fought the monster to survive, entirely unaware it was her best friend until the scales melted away on the gymnasium floor.
Harry hadn't investigated the rumors. Fueled by blind grief, he had volunteered for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s experimental program for one singular purpose: to hunt down Spider-Woman and avenge his best friend.
Now, standing near the hangar bay doors, Harry rested his heavy, taped hands against the emerald plating of his power armor. He didn't yell. He didn't draw a weapon. He just closed his eyes, dropping his chin to his chest as a long, rattling sigh escaped his lips. The blind vengeance that had driven him evaporated in the freezing wind, leaving only a hollow, crushing exhaustion.
"This entire situation is more complicated than any of us realized," Harry finally rasped, opening his dark eyes. "We need to debrief in the CIC."
Five minutes later, they stood around a glowing, circular holotable in the Combat Information Center.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen," Director Carter announced, pulling up a massive web of encrypted data. "Let me bring everyone up to speed. Thanks to the intelligence provided by our interdimensional guest..." She nodded sharply toward Peter. "...we have finally identified the true leader of the tech-terrorist syndicate known as S.I.L.K. It is the CEO of Moon Institute Dr. Cindy Moon."
Earth-65 Gwen stared at the holographic mugshot of the brilliant, 26-year-old geneticist. Peter had dropped a lot of terrifying lore in her living room last night, but the sheer scale of the conspiracy was staggering.
"Dr. Moon is the true mastermind behind the Lizard serum," Carter continued, her single eye scanning the room. "Years ago, Oscorp recovered a highly toxic, extraterrestrial parasite—an alien spider. It nearly bit Cindy Moon. She spent the next decade obsessively attempting to replicate its venom. She eventually succeeded."
Gwen knew the second spider was the one that bit her at the science fair. She desperately needed to know the rest.
"It wasn't just the spider," Harry interrupted, his voice a low, angry growl. "Dr. Connors based his cross-species genetics on that alien blood. Connors was a sadist. He mentally and physically abused his interns. Peter was his favorite target."
Gwen's breath hitched. She looked at Harry. "Wait. You're saying Peter's Lizard formula..."
"Although Peter stole the formula from Connors," Harry said, his jaw clenching. "Cindy sold Connors the raw, unstable materials."
"She used Connors as a blind beta test," Carter confirmed, swiping the holotable. Blurry images of multiple, monstrous reptiles filled the air. "Cindy Moon manufactured dozens of Lizard-variants across New York to refine the serum's effects. S.H.I.E.L.D. intervened before they could overrun the city. Mr. Osborn volunteered to inject a highly stabilized, perfected iteration of the formula to help us fight fire with fire."
Harry looked down at his calloused hands. "My skin still turns a sickly, permanent green. And if I sustain massive physical trauma, my bone structure forcefully mutates into a reptilian state to keep me alive. I wouldn't call it perfect."
"You're going to take down S.I.L.K.?" Gwen asked, looking at the hardened teenager.
"I'm going to rip Cindy Moon out of her ivory tower," Harry corrected, his eyes burning with fresh purpose. "For Peter. It's the only justice I can give him now."
Standing near the bulkhead doors, 616-Gwen leaned against the steel wall, watching the briefing in complete silence. The irony was suffocating. In her universe, Cindy Moon was an awkward, fiercely loyal ally and rival. On Earth-65, Cindy was a homicidal syndicate boss pulling the strings of the entire city. It made 616-Gwen genuinely wonder if there was a universe out there where she was the terrifying supervillain.
"We are officially volunteering for this op," Peter said, stepping up to the holotable and crossing his arms over the spider emblem on his chest. "We need to find some information and find this earth Connors. So, what are the numbers? Who exactly is standing between us and Cindy Moon?"
Carter tapped the console. Three new holographic profiles rotated into view.
"Dr. Moon possesses no inherent combat enhancements," Carter detailed. "However, she retains three elite enforcers. Target one is Agent 77. He possesses superhuman speed, dense musculature, and kinetic jumping capabilities. Target two is a rogue engineer named Herman Schultz. He wields a pair of highly customized, concussive shockwave gauntlets. Target three is probably Dr.Connors who might already turn himself with the Lizard serum."
Peter smirked beneath his red mask. "Three supervillains against three heroes? I like those odds."
Carter turned her attention to the punk-rock drummer standing nervously by the table. "I am providing you with the exact coordinates of Cindy Moon's primary facility. You are a civilian, Miss Stacy. You do not have to deploy on this strike."
Gwen looked down at her white mask.
Carter let a thin, calculated smile touch her lips. "However. If you assist S.H.I.E.L.D. in dismantling this syndicate tonight, I will personally ensure that J. Jonah Jameson's murder accusations are permanently scrubbed from the public record."
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