Desperation
She glanced down at the package her dad gave her. Her eyes were still red and puffy from crying.
Miles...
God, she still couldn't get him out of her head and it's already been almost 10 hours since Miguel sent her home. There were only maybe two days at most before his dad would die. And it would all be her fault, just because she wanted to live up to the seemingly absurd expectations of Miguel. God, she wanted to knock his fangs out of his face.
Her spider sense had been going off none stop recently. And every time it did, she swore it was warning her of Miles. Something bad had most likely happened with Miles.
She knew he was in danger.
Maybe Miguel got to him, maybe he got stranded in another dimension far from his home all alone, maybe he die-
She let out a soft irritated cough, her throat was already aching from the crying. Her suit's gloves were stained with red as her nails dug harder into her clenched fists.
Her dad had left not too long ago, the Parkers had asked him to fetch them something from the pharmacy.
She wiped her tears away as she glanced down at the black box her Dad gave her, the black circular symbol printed on its back radiating the mysterious secret government-like aesthetic of the box. She carefully sliced the small plastic opening package open with her nails and it opened smoothly.
She found a card taped to a small watch-like device, which looked similar to the gizmo Miguel and Lyla made.
Gwen found herself frowning, ripping the small card from the watch, it read:
Dear Gwendolyn Maxine Stacy,
We, at the SCP Foundation have recognized your exceptional tallent that you posses. We have been impressed by your enhanced capabilities and have unanonimously decided to request for your permission to join our ranks.
Gwen froze like a deer paralyzed by some headlights of a truck, her eyes wide open, almost forgetting every emotion she had felt earlier.
What. The. Fuck. Someone knew who she was. Someone knew that Gwen Stacy was Spider-Woman.
Foundation? SCP? Enhanced? What the fuck was this letter!?
She only continued to grew more confused as she moved from word to word.
I swear to God, if Matt's messing with me again I will snap his neck the time we meet.
Should you ever join our ranks, we urge you to follow the coordinates already encrypted on the "Spectral Plexus of InterDimensional Exploration and Retrieval" or S.P.I.D.E.R for short.
Remember to bring this letter for further instructions from our Field agent in the designated location.
Hell no, there was no way she was complying with whatever the fuck that letter just told her. She already had enough of shady organizations once in her lifetime. She did not have the mental capacity to handle another.
There was a zero chance she was joining these "Foundation" guys. It could have been a ploy or trick by the Kingpin or any of the thousand assholes she's pissed off.
And S.P.I.D.E.R? Whoever decided to name this thing definitely had an idea who they were giving this to.
Well, that was the case until she read the last line.
We currently understand your suspicion at the moment. With the recent events revolving the Person Of Interest (P.O.I.)-1610-S "Spot" & P.O.I.-1610-M.M. We at the Foundation can guarantee help and support with your current conflicts if you decide to join our ranks.
Sincerly yours,
O5-14
What? Whoever this O5-14 was, they definitely knew what had happened with the Spot fiasco. She was confused, Miguel had never told her of this. Sure he was pretty aggressive and cryptic and definitely loved keeping secrets. But this? There was no way someone else, this "14" figured out dimensional travel and didn't get into Miguel's list of people to punch in the face.
Especially someone who seemingly knew what happened with Miles and the Spot recently. Whoever this 14 was, they were stalking her and maybe even the entire Spider-Society.
Maybe it was Hobbie? After all, she did see him nag some spare parts in the HQ for a watch.
No.
The way the note was written was too professional and soo... government-like? So there was no way Hobbie could have sent this. Maybe Peter? He's smart, but no, he wasn't this formal either. Margo? The watch lacks her flair in the design, too smooth and more government-like again.
So, her list ends pretty quickly.
Basically, a most likely government-funded shady organization was inviting her to join them.
Great. She thought sarcastically, having more than enough to deal with. If this letter had been sent like... 6 months prior maybe she would've joined without a second thought.
But after the fiasco with the Spider-Society, there was no way she was joining these guys.
Then it struck her again.
Her spider-sense flared hard. I mean really hard.
Her head ached causing her to drop the package with a thud, toppling the watch out of its container. Gwen clutched her head, grunting as her sixth sense blared what felt louder than a school alarm point blank on her ear. She swore for a moment that her eardrum ruptured from the constant ring. Voices flooded her head, screams, wails and pleas for help.
For a moment, she swore she saw miles in front of her, chained in front of her, hanging on a punching bag, with the fucking Prowler in front of him.
Her heart stopped at the sight, it was heart-wrenching.
Miles was in the wrong universe.
And he was in danger. All her fault, once more.
Her second friend, and perhaps even more, bloody, bruised, and scarred. Alone in another dimension.
"Miles!!!", she cried out, her eyes watering again. As she pathetically reached out for Miles lunging herself across the room towards him and then he disappeared.
Her hand crashed first on her favorite drum set. Punching a hole right through it. She hissed almost-animalistically as she pulled her hand back flinging her drum set into a wall. If it hadn't been destroyed before, well now it was.
She sobbed, sobbed and sobbed. Miles' name left her mouth in desperate whispers.
This would have gone on for hours and hours if she hadn't caught the shine of that damned watch.
Gwen glanced back at the note she crumpled on her hand, stained with her own blood. She glanced back at the watch and without a second thought, grabbed it. She slid it through her right hand, tightly securing it on her left arm.
The screen of the watch flared to life, the circular logo displayed itself on the screen as it loaded.
[NASA Technological Development Complex]
[222 North 20th Street]
[Philadelphia, PA 19103]
[United States]
The second the display fully loaded in, and the very second the watch gave her coordinates she dashed out her window. No second thoughts, just Miles. At this point, she didn't care anymore. No matter how long she had to swing or ride a train, as long as it meant getting to Miles she was taking the chance.
Gwen swung, fast. Her usual style was now more kinetic and more grounded. She felt the air slam resist as she zipped past the skyline of New York as she barely caught up with the last available train in the station.
In the distance, security cameras trailed the train carefully. Before suddenly a burst of electricity hit the area, disabling every camera in the vicinity. Just in time for Spider-Woman to arrive and get herself a free ride on the train.
One by one, the seemingly lifeless lenses of the security cameras glowed brightly.
Blue, Red, Green.
In the same order, with every three sets of cameras. It felt trippy. As all of them turned in unison, squinting their lenses at the spider.
"All according to plan"