Ch: 113 [The man in blue]
[AN: That's it for this week. See you next week. Released 4 chs.]
Ghost Spider cautiously observed Kraven from the ventilation shaft above. Her spider-sense didn't tingle for some reason. Kraven, the famed big game hunter, was known for his ruthless pursuit of powerful prey. This situation was entirely out of character for him.
Kraven paced the storage room, his fur-lined coat adding to his imposing figure. He seemed agitated and confused, muttering to himself in a language that she couldn't understand. His distinctive mane of hair and the scar over his eye made it undoubtedly Kraven, but something was off.
"Where the hell am I? That explosion should have killed me!" He punched the piller, shattering it to pieces, "It's real. I am still alive! But how the fuck did I get in here?"
'Wait! He isn't the leader?'
Gwen looked at the watch that she received from Janet years ago during the Kang invasion, to help her read the energy signature to check if the target was a time strangler or in short a drifter from another timeline. The watch's energy signature scanner began to analyze Kraven. The results were surprising. It indicated temporal displacement, which meant he was indeed a time drifter from another timeline.
She webbed down the hatch, revealing herself to him.
"Another spider kid?" He looked at her without showing any sign of hostility. "A woman at that."
"You seem lost and looks like you could use some help. So, how about we talk like two peaceful people without trying to kill each other," Gwen swiftly landed on the floor of the mall's storage basement.
"Sure kid." He sat on the ground, looking visibly shaken which even surprised Gwen for a second.
Gwen decided to start things by introducing herself first.
"I am Ghost Spider, you must be Karven, right?"
"Sergei Kravinoff or simply Kraven," he responded with a small nod.
"So Mr. Kraven, care to explain why are you in this universe."
"Look kid, I don't know how I got here either. Last thing I remember is being blasted by those rockets and a man in a blue suit before everything turned dark, and the next moment I found myself in this storage," he explained calmly.
"Let me get some answers for you," She activated the scan mode on her mask to analyze Kraven more closely. According to the results, Sergei Kravnoff was a dimensional drifter from Earth-001. "Yeah, just as I feared. You my friend are a drifter from another timeline, another reality. You must have fallen through some kind of dimensional crack. And you are more calm-headed than the Kraven of our dimension. Had to beat him up to a pulp to calm him down... Anyway, come with me. I might have a way to send you back to your reality."
"So the multiverse is real, huh? And did you just say there is a hot-headed version of me somewhere in this city?!" Kraven stood up looking excited.
'Looks like his bloodlust has returned.' Gwen thought.
"Now, now. No need to get all excited. This Earth is different than yours, trust me. We have heroes and villains who are way stronger than you can imagine," She tried to warn him not to take on anyone lightly.
"Oh, Kid! Let me tell you one thing. There is no beast I cannot hunt! Not matter if they are humans, superhumans, or even my counterparts. I Kraven will always be the greatest hunter across realities," He announced proudly.
Gwen facepalmed under her mask after hearing him boast. 'This guy really is crazy! I shouldn't have said that. Anyway, at least there ain't any more terrorists.'
"Haaa... Whatever you say, dude. Now follow me," She opened the door leading outside while he followed her behind.
They walked around the empty shopping mall with Gwen constantly checking her surroundings using her spider-sense in case anything went wrong or any strangler terrorist was hiding. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her neck, and her vision instantly went blurry, "Fuck!" She pulled out a needle from her neck and threw it on the ground.
Her senses didn't pick up the attack and the reason was simple... There was no attacking intent or bloodlust, to begin with, or someone must have used something to dull her senses... Someone who knows how spider-sense works and this whole fiasco was a trap from the start.
She looked behind. Kraven's body flickered and transformed into someone else. 'Transformation Mask?! Fuck!' A man in a blue suit, but she couldn't see the face due to her blurry vision. Before she could do anything, her consciousness faded away, and her body fell on the ground.
[4 hrs later] [Location: Shield's private hospital]
As Gwen slowly regained consciousness, she felt a pounding headache and a sense of nausea. Her surroundings were unfamiliar, and she couldn't quite place where she was. The last thing she remembered was being in the shopping mall with Kraven, but something went terribly wrong.
With her eyes still closed, she attempted to assess her condition. It was then that she noticed a strange sensation in her body. She felt weaker as if something was missing, "Drugs?!"
The room she was in looked like a hospital, and she was lying on a bed with medical equipment nearby. She tried to sit up but groaned as dizziness washed over her. Her head was throbbing with pain, and she had to take a moment to steady herself.
"Damn!" she muttered to herself, her voice weak.
As Gwen's vision slowly cleared, she was surprised to see Director Fury sitting in the corner of the room, reading an old, worn-out book. The sight of him was unexpected, as he had retired along with some of the Avengers shortly after the formation of the Illuminati, and no one had heard from them since. She tried to speak, but her voice came out weak and raspy.
"Mr. Fury..." she managed to say.
Fury looked up from his book, his one good eye fixing on Gwen, "Well, well, if it isn't Ghost Spider. You're finally awake," he said in his typical gruff tone.
Gwen's memory was still foggy, and she struggled to piece together what had happened. "What... what happened?" she asked, her head still pounding.
He closed the book and leaned forward, his expression serious, "You were injected with a serum that nullified your powers permanently. You were found unconscious in a shopping mall with no sign of the person who did it. We brought you here for observation."
Gwen's eyes widened. "Who did it? Where's Kraven?" She remembered the strange man who had posed as Kraven. "There was a man in a blue suit using transformation mask to pose as Kraven, but..."
"A drifter from another reality or maybe someone from this reality..." He asked as he stood up. "Anyway, it doesn't matter anymore. You are just a regular human now. Forget about the past and move toward the future, and if you need help, feel free to reach out to me."
As Fury left the room, Gwen felt a mix of emotions swirling inside her. The realization that her powers were gone, possibly permanently, was a heavy blow. She had relied on her abilities for so long, they had become a part of her identity.
With a sigh, she pushed herself into a sitting position, swinging her legs over the edge of the hospital bed. Her head still throbbed, but she needed to come to terms with her new reality. She looked down at her hands, no longer tingling with the familiar sensation of her spider-sense.
For a moment, she felt vulnerable and lost. How could she continue to be a hero without her powers? It was a question that gnawed at her, but she refused to be defeated.
She stared at the hospital room's ceiling as memories of her time as Ghost Spider flooded her mind. The battles, the victories, the losses, and the friends she had made along the way. She remembered her training with Janet Van Dyne, the guidance she had received from Fury when she first started as a small timer hero.
"Shit!" She punched the wall in frustration.
She clenched her injured hand, feeling the pain shoot through her arm. The realization hit her even harder – without her powers, she couldn't even heal quickly like before. Her knuckles were bruised, and a small trickle of blood oozed from the minor cuts. She has no super strength anymore.
Her mind racing with a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. The sense of vulnerability and loss was overwhelming. She felt like a part of her had been ripped away, leaving her incomplete.
Without her powers, she was just an ordinary human, and that thought gnawed at her. Her senses were dull, her reflexes were slower, and the familiar focus she had possessed was now shattered. The world around her seemed different, even menacing. She couldn't rely on her spider-sense to warn her of danger, and it made her feel exposed.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she realized the enormity of the situation. She couldn't be the hero she once was. The battles, the agility, the web-swinging, all of it was now out of reach. She felt like she had lost a part of her identity.
She curled up on the bed, her body trembling with a mixture of fear and frustration. How was she supposed to face the world without her powers? How could she protect the people she cared about? The weight of her powerlessness pressed down on her, and she couldn't stop the tears from flowing.
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Next chapter: Gwen's emotions