Crouching Spider, Hidden Scorpion

"Cut!" April Reese shouted as the actors relaxed their poses. "Damn it all, Gwen, can't you even get this right?"

Gwen briefly stammered, flustered by the sudden interruption of her lines. Taking a moment to regain her composure, she took a deep breath before she spoke.

"What did I do wrong this time, April?" Gwen asked, frustration evident in her voice.

"Everything, you stupid bimbo!" April shouted, before stomping off. "Clear the sets for today-everything's fucked, thanks to Caesar's little squeeze toy!"

Most of the rest of the cast and crew looked on edge, some of them giving Gwen dirty looks as if they also blamed Gwen for how badly the filming of the independent film was going, while others looked much more sympathetic to her.

As angry as she was at April's thinking that Gwen had simply slept her way into the role, Gwen couldn't really blame April or some of the cast and crew for being upset. As the spectacular Spider-Woman, she'd failed to prevent the Nasty Boys mutant street gang from wrecking the Gloom Room A Go-Go, she was having problems at school again because of her messed-up university schedule and of what she'd inadvertently revealed to her boyfriend Randy Robertson.

As Spider-Woman, Gwen had learned that the sociopathic Felicia Hardy had begun dating a lieutenant in the new organized crime syndicate that was setting itself up in New York City, and had convinced her boyfriend to order the bombing of a political rally in Harlem. Felicia had convinced her boyfriend to order the bombing specifically to get back at Randy, who'd rejected her advances both before and after he started dating Gwen. Now, Randy was blaming himself for the bombing, tearing himself apart with guilt, while Gwen blamed herself for her stupidity in telling Randy.

All of the guilt and frustration had taken its toll on Gwen. In the two days since she had told Randy the truth, the stress she was suffering from had made it hard to concentrate on her schoolwork or her acting work.

Of course they're going to be mad at you, Gwen told herself. It's your fault you're screwing this picture up-just like it was your fault you told Randy!

Stop fucking up, you idiot!

Can't you do anything right anymore?

SPIDER-WOMAN #75

"CROUCHING SPIDER, HIDDEN SCORPION"

Randy hadn't answered his phone, and according to his roommates he was staying with his parents while he got his head together. Gwen hadn't had the opportunity to do so before now, but once she had finished with the movie shoot she made her way to the Robertsons' townhouse to see if she could stop by to see Randy. Ringing the doorbell, Gwen could only hope that Randy was well enough to see her. She could only imagine what he was going through, and she hoped that her visit would be able to cheer him up.

The door to the Robertsons' place was flung open by a middle-aged woman that Gwen recognized as Louise Robertson, Randy's mother. An angry glare crossed her face as she regarded Gwen, who sighed inwardly as she recalled how much Randy's parents disliked her. They were none too pleased with Gwen's desires to be a model and actress, disapproving of the way that, in their view, she flaunted her looks and her body to sell things.

"Hello, Mrs. Robertson," Gwen nodded, as she made an effort to smile. "Is Randy-"

"You've got a lot of nerve showing your face here, you little tramp," Louise glowered at Gwen, interrupting her before she could finish. "What the hell did you do to my son?"

"…What?" Gwen asked in confusion. "I…" she trailed off, not entirely sure what to say and unable to divulge the truth about what she'd told Randy because she didn't want to explain how she'd come across the knowledge and give away her secret identity as Spider-Woman. She realized that Randy apparently hadn't told the truth either, likely because it would have been too awkward for him to explain to his parents either without compromising Gwen's secret.

"You can't even spit it out, can you?" Louise continued at Gwen's hesitation. "I should have known-I bet you didn't even try to stop yourself!"

"…Mrs. Robertson, what do you mean?" Gwen asked in confusion. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Don't you dare lie to me," Louise replied, her eyes flaring. "I know you cheated on my boy. He's barely spoken to anyone for the last two days, ever since the last time he met with you! What the hell else do you think could have upset him like that?!" she spat angrily.

"No, that's not what happened!" Gwen pleaded. "I'd never cheat on Randy-I love him! It's just that…" she hesitated again.

"…Well?" Louise demanded.

"I…" Gwen replied, unable to think of what to say.

"Typical," Louise sneered. "You little whores are all alike-you think you can use people like my son for a good time, and then expect him to just come crawling back! Women like you make me sick!"

"What? No, it's not like that!" Gwen protested. "I never…"

"You can't give me a straight answer, can you?" Louise scowled. "Little Miss Pageant Winner's upset that someone actually called her out on her bullshit?"

"No!" Gwen protested.

"Get out of here, you little brat," Louise continued. "And God help you if you ever set foot on my property again," she continued, before slamming the door in Gwen's face.

Before she'd rung the Robertsons' doorbell, Gwen had been bothered by a recurring headache and the chill of the cold October winds.

Now, she barely felt the chill or her headache, as they were replaced by a searing pain in her stomach and the coldness of the tears in her eyes.

Some celebrity gossip websites called him the "prince of the nightclubs" owing to his socialite lifestyle, but Carl Wilkinson, alias Crimewave, felt more like the king of the world at that moment. Not only had he successfully dismantled whatever plan the new would-be crime lord had hatched at the Gloom Room A Go-Go, but he had also damaged several of the new crime lord's installations, too. The Nasty Boys, the supervillain street gang he'd hired to act as his enforcers, had exceeded all his expectations, and now the new guy, whoever he was, was on the defensive. Some of the Boys had been defeated by Spider-Woman, and the rest had been stopped by the Heroes For Hire, but not before they'd accomplished their final missions.

He didn't intend to stop there, of course-he had to anticipate whatever his opponent might try next, to say nothing of whatever Philippe Bazin, the other major crimelord of New York, might have planned. Not that Crimewave particularly minded, of course-he had survived where the likes of the Maggia, the Green Goblin and even the Kingpin had not, and he knew that he would survive this, too.

A wide smile crossed his face as he texted an order for some of his finest cocaine and his finest women.

It was party time.

Alistair Darkholme, alias the Chameleon, alias the Rose, normally prided himself on his acting skills and his ability to adapt new personas. However, even he could not fully conceal the tangible rage he felt. Months of work building up a new crime syndicate, using a combination of profit-generating criminal acts and random violence to keep the police and other potential enemies guessing as to his true motives, making strikes to undermine the operations of Bazin and Crimewave, establishing the Gloom Room A Go-Go as a popular retro bar where he could eavesdrop on everyone from criminals to business figures to politicians to police officers, had all been culminating in his plot to mentally enslave many of New York's most influential figures.

The power base he'd established with his crime syndicate, and the random violence, had only been the surface, a distraction from his efforts to plant the Winkler mind control chips on so many of New York's power elite. Once he'd planted those inconspicuous chips, so small in size, on his victims, they would faithfully carry out his commands, using their influence and resources in ways that would benefit his syndicate, all without so many of the paper trails, bank records, and other materials that the police and detective superheroes like Moon Knight used to trace cases of powerful figures being manipulated by crime syndicates and supervillains.

However, the interference of Crimewave, not to mention heroes like the Heroes For Hire and especially Spider-Woman, had ruined some of the most important parts of his plan. The Gloom Room A Go-Go was now in shambles, likely needing weeks to repair, assuming it was at all salvageable. The police had gained inside knowledge of many of his operations, apparently thanks to Spider-Woman, although he had no idea how the little web-slinging tramp had gotten ahold of the knowledge. Spider-Woman had also prevented his attempt to have the police commissioner's daughter killed, which would have made the commissioner too depressed to direct the NYPD effectively, and caused him still more trouble that he could have done without.

Rage filled him as he considered his plans, the plans he'd spent months carefully cultivating, pruning and grafting the same way one would a rose garden. That garden, that cherished work of art, was now being torn by parasites, poisoned by toxins, and suffocating from a lack of water. In his guise as the Rose, Alistair Darkholme had come to develop a love of gardening, and one wall of his office was decorated with a gorgeous bed of roses fit for a king, roses that he had lovingly raised to the beauty they now displayed.

As much as he preferred subtlety, the layers and layers of deception to make people think what he wanted them to, the situation had reached a crisis, and called for drastic action-action that he knew how to apply very well.

In other guises as a spy and manipulator, the Chameleon had become very skilled with loaded, destructive weapons.

And Elaine Coll fit the description perfectly.

Her acting skills, combined with long experience growing up in a broken home, had made Gwen very skilled at putting on a brave front for those around her, so that no one would realize anything was wrong. However, that didn't allow her to keep from dwelling on her worries about Randy, her problems at school, or the issues she'd had with her director April and Randy's mother Louise. She cursed herself for her foolishness in what she'd told Randy, and reproached herself for being unable to focus on her schoolwork despite her problems, but her encounters with April and Louise added an extra layer of frustration and anger on top of the frustration she was already feeling.

Ben Reilly's parents called me a gold digger, Gwen thought to herself resentfully, April called me a whore, and Louise just calls me a slut, she continued. So I go from just being after a reward, then sleeping around for it, and then just sleeping around because it's fun.

Damn it all, where do they get off saying that shit about me?! Gwen continued. They all think that…

Giving an annoyed sigh, Gwen stood up and paced restlessly around the room, wondering what to do. She desperately wanted to talk to someone about it, but who?

Talking to Mom or Aunt Nancy…I…it would just feel weird, Gwen thought to herself. Besides, they'd probably just tell me what I want to hear, and I don't know if that would work…

Uncle Ben and Peter Parker wouldn't work either, Gwen continued. What would they know about this?

Liz and Kitty would probably understand, Gwen thought, referring to her girlfriends Kitty Pryde and Liz Allan, but I haven't seen them in a while. It wouldn't be fair for me to just drop in on them out of the blue and expect them to be a shoulder to cry on, Gwen knew.

So who else would there be? Gwen wondered.

Then she realized who might be able to help her.

"How's it going, Marie-Ange?" Gwen asked Marie-Ange Colbert as they sat in the visitor's area of Riker's Island Penitentiary.

"As well as it could, all things considered," Marie-Ange replied with a half-smile. "How about you?"

"Well…" Gwen trailed off. "Remember how you told me you were studying Psychology to help some of the other inmates in here?" she continued.

"Of course I do," Marie-Ange replied with a chuckle. "You'd think I'd remember something like that, wouldn't you?"

Gwen laughed at that.

"Yeah," she replied, "that's part of why I stopped by. I was wondering if I could ask you something. It's not something I'm all that comfortable asking anyone else."

"What's that?" Marie-Ange asked, her curiosity piqued.

"I know how this is going to sound…" Gwen frowned, realizing how her problem might come across.

"Come on, Gwen," Marie-Ange prompted her. "After everything you've done for me, it's about time I helped you. Whatever it is, you can tell me!"

Briefly, Gwen explained to Marie-Ange about her problems with April and the parents of both Randy and Ben Reilly.

"They all assume that just because I'm attractive, I'm just whoring myself out for whatever I can get," Gwen continued, her voice rising. "If I was really like that, I wouldn't have stopped that pervert Roderick Kingsley from groping me! Not that they give a damn-no, there's no way I could have gotten an acting role because I'm actually good at it, just like there's no way I could ever actually love Randy and not cheat on him! Of course I'm going to sleep my way to the top-isn't that what a dumb, trampy slut like me would do?!"

Gwen took a deep breath and calmed down, realizing that several other people around them were staring at her.

"I'm sorry, Marie-Ange," Gwen shook her head. "I know I sound like I'm just whining about how hard I have it being pretty, it's just that…I get so…"

Inwardly, Gwen was cursing herself for unloading her problems on Marie-Ange, whose problems made Gwen's look trivial by comparison. When she looked at Marie-Ange, however, she was surprised at the sympathetic look on Marie-Ange's face.

"Do you follow politics or business much, Gwen?" Marie-Ange asked.

"No," Gwen shook her head in surprise. "Why do you ask?"

"Because women are always getting judged by their appearance when they try to advance in a lot of careers," Marie-Ange explained. "People make cruel jokes about Hilary Clinton being frigid, or they compare Margaret Thatcher to the Wicked Witch of the West. Everyone has to deal with a different kind of problem-unattractive women are called fat and gross, attractive women are considered stupid. Women who don't put out are called frigid or bitchy, women who do are called sluts. You have every right to be pissed off-they're just prejudging you the same way women get a lot of the time."

Gwen smiled gratefully at Marie-Ange. She'd heard similar arguments in her Women's Studies courses, of course, but hearing them from Marie-Ange was a powerful reminder. Even just finally being able to talk to someone about it was a welcome release.

"Thanks a lot, Marie-Ange," Gwen smiled gratefully. "You don't know how much this means to me…"

"Funny, I could be saying the same things to you," Marie-Ange just winked back.

Oswald P. Silkworth didn't look particularly out of the ordinary, his crisp grey suits, grey hair and grey eyes all making him look like a particularly respectable, and even more particularly boring, bank manager, tax auditor or economics professor. That appearance meshed well with Silkworth's skills as "arranger" for Crimewave, looking after many of the details of his boss's criminal syndicate. He had been an invaluable help for Crimewave during his war with the Rose's syndicate, and had long since earned his prestigious position through a combination of worthwhile talents and not demonstrating any ambition to displace his boss.

Emerging from the subway station after a long day at the office, Silkworth was looking forward to a relaxing evening at home, preferably with some light PBS viewing. Apparently there was a pledge drive featuring some Lawrence Welk reruns on tonight, and he was looking forward to enjoying some real music, distinct from the trash that Crimewave and his generation listened to.

Silkworth's mind was so occupied, he was caught completely off guard at the explosion of energy that struck down several people in front of him. Stumbling back, barely able to stand from sheer shock, Silkworth could only watch in horror as the bodies fell in front of him, covered in burns from the energy blast. All around him, people were screaming and falling back at the horror that strode into view in front of him.

She was clad in padded dark green body armor with a matching facemask, which left the lower half of her face and her flowing brown hair exposed. The tips of her gauntlets ended in wickedly tipped claws, but even that did not horrify Silkworth as much as the slithering, dancing mechanical tail attached to her back, which moved with a mind all its own as a twisted smile crossed its owner's face.

"God, you're boring even by accountant standards," Scorpia leered at Silkworth, who began to break out in a cold sweat. "I ought to kill you just for that alone."

Silkworth tried to say something, but all that came out was meaningless stammering. Paralyzed by fear, he couldn't move as Scorpia's grin became even wider.

"Then again, I'm supposed to do it anyway, so…" Scorpia laughed, as her tail lashed out and impaled Silkworth directly through his chest and out his back. Blood gushed out of Silkworth's mouth, and out of the gory wound, as the light left his eyes. Scorpia continued cackling as she withdrew her tail from Silkworth's body, the sickening sound making many of the horrified surrounding bystanders cover their ears and avert their eyes from the disgusting scene. Scorpia's tail was covered with blood by the time she had withdrawn it from Silkworth's corpse, blood that was scattered all over the crowd as it shook itself dry.

Everyone around Scorpia was too horrified by what they'd just seen to move, as Scorpia used her tail like a spring to launch herself into the air and vanish out of sight.

All they could see was the blood, and all they could hear was the laughter.

Over the next two hours, Scorpia killed seven more targets, using the disguise technology the Rose had purchased from the supervillain Mysterio to blend in with her surroundings, until she was ready to strike. Once she'd done her murderous deed, Scorpia slipped away in the confusion, most of the people who witnessed her deed either too shocked to react or too busy trying to treat the dead and wounded bystanders who had become collateral damage in her rampage. It was then a simple matter to disguise herself and make her way to the next killing.

The killings were precise and perfect, the product of someone who had aspired all her life to her position and was now living out her greatest dream. The targets were people related to the NYPD, to Crimewave or Philippe Bazin, people that the Rose had directed were to be killed to undermine the organizations that had gotten in his way. The Rose's intelligence had directed her to where the targets would be, and from there it was an easy matter for her to strike them down.

The police were trying to track her down, but they were stretched thin by responding to the problems being caused by several chapters of the anti-mutant Friends Of Humanity hate group in some of the other boroughs. The Rose had chosen his moment to strike very well, having established contact with several of the Friends' senior leaders when his syndicate had provided illegal arms and money laundering services to them.

Scorpia was having the time of her life.

Making her way back to Midtown Manhattan, Gwen reflected on what Marie-Ange had told her. While Gwen had heard those things before in her Women's Studies classes, somehow it meant so much more when she heard it coming from someone else outside the classroom setting. She made a mental note to try and find some way to repay Marie-Ange the next time she visited, and to get Marie-Ange some more of that incense she mentioned she liked as a way of thanking her. She burned the incense while doing her tarot readings and divinations, and while Gwen didn't really understand how or why the incense actually did anything, it was clear just how much Marie-Ange cherished being able to do it.

Gwen was thinking about how happy Tarot had been to receive those crystals that Gwen had gotten her for her birthday when she heard a cackling, familiar laughter. Whirling around in alarm, she was horrified to see Scorpia materialize as if out of nowhere, brandishing a blood-covered mechanical tail and gauntlets as she laughed hysterically.

For a moment, Gwen wondered if Scorpia had discovered her true identity and had come to kill her, but she quickly noticed that Scorpia wasn't looking at her. Rather, she was looking around as if sizing up her prey, looking for the exact target to strike. It only took a moment before she lashed out, firing an energy blast at her tail, but after her previous battles with Scorpia Gwen knew what to expect. Leaping forward, she tackled several of the people standing near her, knocking them out of the path of Scorpia's blast. The blast streaked across the street and struck a car, blowing a large hole in its side, as Scorpia cursed.

"Ooh, that's being a naughty little girl," Scorpia sneered angrily, shooting a murderous look at Gwen as she and the other people she'd helped tried to scramble away. "Naughty children need discipline, and I suppose your Auntie Scorpia's going to have to give it to you!" she continued, as she raised her tail to lash out at Gwen.

Gwen clenched her fists, her mind racing frantically as to how she could keep herself from getting killed without giving away her secret identity. She didn't dare use most of her powers, not when she was still wearing her street clothes and her hair was still colored blonde, but she knew that if she tried to defend herself without them Scorpia would likely tear her apart.

The sounds of police sirens were Gwen's salvation, as was the gunshot fired by the first officer who sprang out of the police car. Hissing in annoyance, Scorpia turned around to fire an energy bolt from her tail at the interfering officers, giving Gwen the opportunity to turn and run.

Gwen might have been trying to run and find a place to hide, but escaping was the very last thing on her mind at that moment.

Scorpia cursed her luck, realizing that the police's interference would likely give her target time to escape. It was bad enough that little blonde brat had tackled him down and out of the way of her blast, but now the police's arrival meant she couldn't go after him right away.

Cursing, she charged forward, easily deflecting the police officers' gunshots with her tail and blasting one of them dead on with her tail, killing him instantly as the other officers ducked for cover. A slash of her tail shattered one of the squad cars, even as the officer hiding behind it rolled out of the way. Scorpia slashed her claws at him, but the courageous policeman didn't flinch as he ducked most of her strike and retaliated with a strike of his baton, gritting his teeth against the bloody gash Scorpia had torn in his arm. Unfortunately, his baton strike hadn't hurt Scorpia at all, and her tail was streaking down to finish him off, striking a blow he knew he wouldn't recover from.

The tail struck short, however, restrained by a silvery gray strand. The officer and Scorpia both looked in surprise to the side, seeing that the strand was held by a beautiful young woman with black hair, dressed in a red and gold costume. The officer only smiled in grateful recognition at the sight of the spectacular Spider-Woman, even as Scorpia screamed a curse at her.

"I suppose you think this is funny, you little bitch?" Scorpia shouted as she slashed the webline Spider-Woman had attached to her tail and charged forward, firing a powerful energy blast at her. "Don't you know you're on my list too?" she continued, as Spider-Woman rolled forward under the blast and came up with a double sting blast from her hands, which Scorpia blocked with her forearms. Scorpia followed up with a vicious slash of her tail, and a one-two combination with her claws, which Spider-Woman dodged with an expert backflip, blasting Scorpia in the face with another double bolt of energy. Spider-Woman followed up with a spray of webbing, entangling Scorpia and slowing her down.

"I'm insulted," Spider-Woman shot back as she tangled Scorpia in the webbing. "Didn't you think that you'd be on my list?"

"Always thinking of me," Scorpia leered, as she slashed most of the webbing away with her tail and caught Spider-Woman with a deadly energy blast, sending the younger woman flying. "I knew we had something special together!" she continued, using her clawed gauntlets to cut away most of the remaining webbing. As Spider-Woman landed on the ground and came back to her feet, Scorpia lashed out down low with her tail, forcing her to jump into the air. The taller woman then brought her tail back the other way, higher this time, its scything blade tearing into Spider-Woman's hip and leg and knocking her off balance. Screaming in pain, Spider-Woman landed awkwardly, bouncing once and then rolling on the ground as she tried to avoid Scorpia's slashing tail. Catching it with her webbing, she yanked forward, pulling Scorpia off balance as Spider-Woman scrambled to her feet. As Scorpia pulled her tail back, Spider-Woman fired yet another double sting blast from her hands, catching Scorpia squarely in the face. Screaming in pain, Scorpia fell down on her back, struggling to get to her feet as Spider-Woman sprang forward.

Spider-Woman struck her larger foe from every angle, ducking and dodging as Scorpia tried to strike back. One moment Spider-Woman was driving an elbow into the back of Scorpia's head, the next she was punching Scorpia's kneecap. Another sting blast to the face sent Scorpia stumbling back, until Spider-Woman caught her tail with a webline and flipped it through the air, taking Scorpia with it and brutally slamming her headfirst into the pavement.

To Spider-Woman's dismay, Scorpia came back to her feet, a look of murder on her face. She was clearly in pain from the beating Spider-Woman had inflicted on her, but she was clearly ready for another round with the smaller woman. A manic grin crossed Scorpia's face, and Spider-Woman prepared to dodge, but to her horror Scorpia's tail lashed out at some of the nearby bystanders, who screamed in terror as they tried to run. Spider-Woman caught Scorpia's tail with her webbing, but this time Scorpia was the one yanking her forward, pulling Spider-Woman into her arms and tearing at her with her gauntlet claws.

Screaming in pain as the claws raked her all over, Spider-Woman struggled to break free as Scorpia began laughing maniacally. Unfortunately, Scorpia was far stronger than Spider-Woman, and the younger woman seemed completely unable to break free.

"Dying in my arms," Scorpia cackled, amused by Spider-Woman's struggles. "You should have realized you never had a chance, sweetie-you're just a pretty little morsel to me, and now I really am going to eat you up and spit you out…"

Her entire body wracked with pain, Spider-Woman felt ready to faint, random images flashing before her eyes. She saw images of the last few days, images of her problems at school, in her film career, and with Randy…

…and of her battle with Jack O' Lantern in his lair, when she'd very nearly lost her identity, flashed through her mind.

Her eyes flashing angrily, Spider-Woman quit trying to break free and raised her arms straight up. A line of webbing came out of one hand, catching Scorpia in the face and off guard. As she recoiled in surprise, she relaxed her grip on Spider-Woman. Wriggling free, Spider-Woman blasted Scorpia at point-blank range in the face with her sting blasts, causing Scorpia to stumble back in pain.

Screaming in fury, Scorpia charged again, firing a series of blasts at Spider-Woman, who skilfully dodged them all one after another. She countered with her sting blasts, but instead of firing both of them at once she fired one and then then other in quick succession, aiming at the same part of Scorpia's tail.

Spider-Woman smiled as the tail flashed and sparked from the impact of the blasts. As the tail lashed out again, she backflipped through the air, shooting a webline with one hand to grab hold of the tail. With her other hand, she fired a sting blast at a nearby fire hydrant, causing to burst open and begin spewing water. With all of her might, Spider-Woman pulled Scorpia's tail forward, pulling the broken and exposed part of the tail into the reach of the water and letting go just as she did so.

The tail glowed brightly, a loud booming sound echoing through the air as it began to short out. Even the booming sound was drowned out by Scorpia's screaming as she was electrocuted by the feedback of the shorting tail. The shock didn't last long as the tail's mechanical safeguards activated, but Scorpia was still stunned, barely able to keep her balance. Spider-Woman didn't waste the opportunity, striking Scorpia with her sting blasts and then catching her with a webline as the larger woman fell off balance. Leaping straight up into the air as high as she could, Spider-Woman swung her webbing again, this time taking Scorpia herself into the air.

Flipping the larger woman up and around, Spider-Woman slammed Scorpia headfirst into the pavement once again. Not taking any chances, Spider-Woman flipped Scorpia up one last time before smashing her again and finally releasing her webline.

Gasping for breath as she staggered forward, Spider-Woman stared intently at the collapsed form of Scorpia, who did not move as Spider-Woman approached. Behind her, the police officers who'd arrived during the battle came up, as did the few remaining bystanders who hadn't already fled.

Scorpia was still breathing, although she was completely out cold. One of her arms was splayed out at an odd angle, and more than one bystander shuddered as they realized that it was broken in at least two places. Her hair danced on end from the electrocution, and her face was cut and badly bruised, with one of her eyes swollen shut.

Despite Scorpia's grisly injuries, several of the people observing the scene began to cheer Spider-Woman, as two of the paramedics who'd arrived came forward to begin treating her injuries. Three more waited for the police to put the power-restraining shackles on Scorpia and pull her up towards the police wagon, intending to travel to the prison with her.

As physically pained and exhausted as Spider-Woman felt, she was in high spirits. Thankfully, her interference had prevented Scorpia from hurting anyone here, and she'd finally brought justice for everyone that Scorpia had wounded, maimed or killed. Likely, she'd also inflicted another serious blow on whichever mysterious crime lord was Scorpia's employer, just as she had when she'd shared the secrets she'd learned from Felicia Hardy to the police and the Heroes For Hire.

Spider-Woman smiled to herself.

Whatever her other problems at the moment, today had been a good day.

The whole matter has been so…Shakespearean, in a way, Philippe Bazin mused to himself as he reviewed his lieutenants' intelligence reports of the battle between Spider-Woman and Scorpia. Crimewave plays the role of Hamlet, the emotionally wrought boy-prince struggling against Claudius, played by an older man, a usurper who seeks the throne of Denmark for himself...and the drama is even accented by its own Ophelia in the form of Spider-Woman, who has unwittingly intervened in the conflict, even as she is almost certainly driven by her own internal struggles to act as if mad-as indeed one would have to be to continuously risk her life in a gaudy costume for no apparent reward.

A thin smile crossed Bazin's face.

If we are indeed performing Hamlet, would that not cast me in the role of Fortinbras, the Norwegian prince who ends the play as the sole survivor and rightful ruler of Denmark? The one who survives when all the other players in the drama have perished?

Of course, Fortinbras made sure to assure his ascension with a suitable amount of power to back his claims…a technique I intend to replicate.

Our mysterious new crimelord, playing Claudius, sought to use Scorpia as a tool of wanton destruction and murder to achieve his ends...

…only my chosen weapon is far more effective at spreading that destruction, providing that he is aimed in the correct direction.

Typing on his computer, Bazin examined the status of his latest project, contacting his main laboratory via Skype.

The video feed showed an elaborate laboratory, centering on an operating table with a large humanoid figure strapped down on it like an experimental cadaver. The strange creature looked like it was clad in a suit of golden plates, with the plates on its legs and arms scorched a bright red. Disturbingly, on closer examination the plates did not look like clothes so much as lumps of metal melted into the creature's skin, including a facemask of broken and twisted smaller metal plates that had melted together, giving the mask a broken and cracked look to it.

He had once been known as the violent, sociopathic Harvey Russell Broxtel, but ever since the gory accident he'd suffered while escaping from prison he'd come to be known as the pyromaniacal killer Firebrand, a name he'd earned all too well with his fire-manipulating abilities and his destructive rages.

The cleansing fire destroys the old and rotten growth, so that only the strong and powerful survive its annihilation…

The smile on Bazin's face grew all the wider.

(Next Issue: Gwen makes an effort to patch things up with her professors, April and especially Randy, even as she takes advantage of the Gloom Room A Go-Go's closure to concentrate on her schoolwork. Larger conflicts still loom in the background, as with the Rose's position weakened by Spider-Woman's interference, Philippe Bazin lives up to his reputation for finishing gang wars by unleashing a mind-controlled Firebrand All this and more in Spider-Woman #76: Spider, Spider, Burning Bright!)