Symbiote 0231: Tracking Leads

"Try not to get yourself in so much trouble, okay, kid?" Gwen ruffled the fifteen-year-old kid's hair before shooting a web at a building and pulling herself away.

"Thank you, Spider-Woman!" The kid waved at her with an awestruck look as her shrinking visage was reflected in his glasses.

"I don't even remember his name but I'm sure that I've saved this same kid three times since I woke up three days ago," Gwen said with a shake of her head.

[Some people are trouble magnets.] Alex told her, [Then again, it's possible that he's fabricating these situations just to interact with you for a bit. Your very own underage stalker, sounds interesting doesn't it?]

"I only barely got rid of one Murdock and Cindy, Alex. I don't have it in me to deal with another stalker," Gwen said with a shudder.

[I'm kidding. I didn't bother reading his mind, but I doubt a fifteen-year-old is going to be too troublesome of a stalker. That is, even if he is stalking you.] Alex shrugged her concerns off. [Oh, I've got something.]

"Point me," Gwen said, abruptly shooting a web at a poll on top of an apartment to swing off of it. Using it, she was able to make an abrupt turn without losing any momentum as she continued forward at the same speed. She had to travel for a while, bringing her out of the main downtown Mantahhan area and closer to the Bronx.

[There.] Alex guided Gwen, [They are in that motel.]

"That is a crack house," Gwen said, pressing her lips together.

[You can't cover the entire city, you know. At best you can take down the top-level drug lords and take care of some small-time dealers. But you can't crack down on the entire drug business. At least not by yourself.]

Gwen didn't respond and landed in front of the door to one of the rooms of the motel. Her nose was assaulted by multiple smells that came from all kinds of hard drugs. She twisted her head unnaturally, uncomfortable from the smell as it stopped assaulting her nose moments later. "You don't need to filter it out, Alex," She said before knocking on the door.

[Yes, my Gwenny is a big girl and can take her hard drugs.] He said with schadenfreude, [Let me do what I do best — act as the perfect be-all-end-all outfit that takes care of all your needs.]

"You really do do everything for me, don't you?" Gwen said as a smile crept up on her face. As she waited for someone to open the door, Gwen felt her spider-sense flaring and instantly stepped to the side as the sound of multiple gunshots registered in her ears. She felt the bullets whizzing past her as she calmly stepped around them at ease. It almost felt like Gwen wasn't in sync with reality considering how easily she was dodging the bullets that were being shot at her.

The gunshots only stopped after half a minute, leaving the door and some parts of the wall riddled with holes. Gwen didn't waste any time and kicked the damaged door, shattering a part of it due to the force of her kick. It hung off of a single hinge as it swung open. Another shot whizzed past her ear as she tilted her head to the side before her eyes zeroed in on the man who had shot at her with a pistol. The whites of her suit eyes narrowed at the man as she took in the surroundings of the room.

The small motel room already felt overcrowded with around ten people who were shooting at her, without accounting for the unconscious people who were lying all over the floor, making it hard to even walk without stepping on someone. She could notice signs of a drug overdose in multiple women — most of them presumably prostitutes — alongside signs of struggle as she observed them. She was sure that the smoke that was filling the room would've made it very uncomfortable for her to breathe without Alex filtering it out.

Having taken in the situation within a split second, she looked around at the hostile expressions of the people before speaking, "I think you know the killer vigilante that I am," She said. "I'm going to give everyone here an option. Take me to your boss and you can live. Otherwise, I have a close friend who loves to collect human bodies. What do you say?" The eerie smile behind her mask was only made more prominent by its outward depiction as the maw on Gwen's face opened to show a series of sharp canines with a red tongue extending outwardly. Even the hood of her suit took an eerie texture as the inner red seemed to start wiggling as if excited about the prospect of eating someone.

[You're overdoing it.] Gwen chided Alex. She could easily feel what he was doing with the suit and felt that he was going too far with the overacting.

[Like you know what scares people the most.] Alex defended himself, [I'll have you know that I have the knowledge of a peak level psychologist whose abilities border on supernatural levels.]

[Whatever you say, Alex. It doesn't change the fact that you're trying too hard. Someone with a discerning eye can easily see that.]

[They are all far too spooked to notice this kind of nuance. Think of the normal person. Ten of them just emptied the clips of their automatic rifles at you and there isn't a single scratch on you. And they ambushed you. Their legs are shaking, their knees are weak, their palms are sweaty, their foreheads are visibly getting wrinkled in real-time and their hearts are thumping as if about to burst out of their chests. Trust me. Overacting is beneficial here.]

"All that's missing is a mom's spaghetti line somewhere in there …" Gwen mumbled amusedly, making the occupants share a confused look.

Moments later, a clicking sound sounded out through the eerily silent room as Gwen followed her spider-sense and shot her web before pulling the man's now-loaded gun away from him. The others quickly followed the action and reloaded at the same time. Sadly for them, before they could even press the triggers after loading the new clips, Gwen's webs had spread all around, grabbing all of the guns and pulling them away from them.

"Let's talk guys," Gwen said as she leaped and punched the guy closest to herself square in the jaw. "You all should really understand how to talk to people first before shooting," She said as she punched the next guy who was about to reply to her words. "Think about it, how would you feel if someone kept attacking you without letting you have a chance to speak?" She asked while jumping at the next guy and kicking his face, using it as a springboard to attach her hand to the ceiling and make a split with her legs, hitting two other guys. "That really wouldn't feel good, would it?" She asked before shooting her web at the face of the next guy who was about to speak. The mere force of the shot sent the guy tumbling backward as he collided with the wall, making a loud creaking sound as if the drywall had ruptured.

"Right?" Gwen asked. "It doesn't feel very good, does it?" She approached the last guy. He was the one who had shot his gun at her just as she kicked open the door.

The man didn't seem to have the courage to speak as he stayed quiet, suppressing himself from making any reaction.

"You can speak," Gwen said, smiling under her mask. "I really do want to find out where your boss is. I have something very important to talk to him about."

"I-I don't know where he is," The man said, stuttering.

"Fine, I don't have the time or patience for this. You can take over, Alex," Gwen said and the whites of her suit eyes seemed to swirl momentarily before stabilizing. A chill crept across the man's spine as he gulped before the maw of Gwen's suit opened again to speak.

"Carter," An almost demonic voice came out of the maw, spooking the man.

"How do you—" He was interrupted as the demonic voice continued.

"I know a lot more than just your name, Carter," Alex said, "But I wish to hear from you. Where is Shang-Chi?"

The man gulped as his face showed signs of struggle, "The leader," He spoke fluently and stably as if his speech capabilities were detached from his body, rendering any resistance meaningless, "is at the warehouse. At a private port in Queens."

"Who owns that warehouse," Alex asked, "Where is it exactly?"

"We commissioned the place from The Hand. Namely through a contact of the leader, Mr. Murdock." Gwen's expression twitched when she heard the name come out of the man's mouth. Then the man described the location of the warehouse, making it easy for Alex and Gwen to pinpoint the location.

"Appreciate it," It was Gwen's voice that came out of the suit once the man finished speaking. She then followed it with a roundhouse kick to the man's face, most likely breaking multiple bones in his face.

[I would've preferred it if you didn't hold back. Seeing his head fly off his neck as a fountain of blood spurted out would've been fun.] Alex's words made Gwen growl.

"Didn't you say you were keeping an eye on fucking Murdock?" She asked, her tone aggressive. "How'd these people come into contact with him when you are keeping such a close eye on him?"

"Gwen." Alex's flat, inexpressive voice reverberated through Gwen's ears, "I understand that you're stressed out, but try not to lash out at me because of that."

***

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