115

Chapter 115 Black Superman is Coming

Gwen was with Banner when they received the news. However, while Hulk could leap great distances, she had to rely on her webbing to get there. 

Although her spider silk was perfect for city travel, it was impractical for long distances. Plus, Loki's troublemaking was in Germany! How was a little spider supposed to cross the ocean to get to the scene? Even with her tech suit, flying wasn't an option.

In the end, she had to use SHIELD's channels to arrive in time. After all, she was a hero, and she couldn't sit this one out. But when she arrived and saw the chaos, she was dumbfounded.

"I thought we were here to capture Loki. Where is he?" Gwen asked.

"Our people are searching," Coulson, returning from Fury, replied. "The team members are out of control and in chaos. Maybe you should stay out of sight, and we'll find a way to solve it."

Like Fury, SHIELD was unaware of Gwen's full potential. Although Gwen appeared early on and her physical fitness far surpassed ordinary people, her abilities seemed mediocre compared to Tony's sky-high tech and the Hulk's infinite strength.

Of course, SHIELD's assessment of Spider-Woman was that she was relatively docile and kind-hearted, posing no great harm to society. Even her association with Black Superman didn't elevate her threat level.

To put it bluntly, honest people aren't valued, and Gwen was often overlooked.

"No, I can't just stand by and watch," Gwen said instinctively.

Coulson glanced at her, "Do you have any ideas?"

Gwen focused on the problem at hand, "I think I can give it a try." She soon joined the battlefield.

In the command room, Fury noticed Gwen's approach and was displeased. "Didn't I ask you to keep an eye on her?"

"She said she wanted to try, sir," Coulson replied quickly. "I think we should let her."

Fury pointed at the surveillance screen. "What is she trying to do? Even the captain and Stark can't handle this kind of battle. She's just adding to the chaos!"

"Well, it seems to have some effect."

"Huh?" Fury looked at the projection.

The battle between Hulk and Thor was destroying mountains. Luckily, they were far from the city, or the aftermath would have turned it to ruins. The heroes caused more damage than they prevented.

The two super-strengthened by Black Superman fought like tireless beasts, their strength seemingly endless. Thunder, hand-to-hand combat, and collisions were constant. Steve and Tony risked injury if they got too close.

All this changed with Gwen's arrival.

"Mr. Stark, what happened? Why are they fighting?"

Gwen's voice reached Tony through the tech armor's communication. Seeing her, Tony's heart felt a rare pang, signaling how much he trusted her.

"It's a long story, Gwen. We have to stop them! Steve and I tried everything, but they're like on a drug and going too far."

"Maybe we can try my way?" Gwen approached the fighting Hulk and Thor. Hulk was pressing down on Thor's hammer.

Gwen accessed the control panel in her tech armor, custom-made by Peter, allowing quick and intelligent spider web switching.

"Switch, spider silk bomb!"

Several spider silk bombs shot out, landing next to Hulk and Thor. They had no lethality and were ignored. But soon, they exploded, forming sticky, tough web cages.

Hulk and Thor struggled against the web, which only made it stickier and tighter, binding them together. Their resistance was futile.

Thor found himself stuck face-to-face with Hulk, "Damn it, didn't you brush your teeth!?" He tried to pull away from Hulk's face.

Hulk, unable to think of a solution, kept struggling, making it worse. "Hulk hates restraints!"

"Stop! This will only get tighter!"

Steve greeted Gwen, "Spider-Woman, glad you're here." He liked Gwen, as she hadn't tricked him and was kind-hearted.

"The new spider silk is good, Gwen," Tony said, finally taking a moment to breathe. "You've really mastered it."

Gwen, humble and honest, replied to Steve first, "Hello, Captain Steve, good to see you again."

Then to Tony, "Peter helped me make this, including the spider silk bomb. Even I'm surprised how much silk he packed into the suit."

"Well, there's actually a lot. The stock of special spider silk is limited, and the spider silk bomb can only be used once or twice."

"This is amazing. You have a good boyfriend."

Hearing Tony praise Peter made Gwen happier than if he'd praised her. She wasn't modest, "Of course, I don't know what I would do without him."

The spider silk's strength was limited. After a while, Thor used his divine power to burn the silk away with lightning, freeing himself.

Still, Thor was shaken. The memory of rubbing faces with Hulk disgusted him, "Damn it, how dare you treat the future king of Asgard like this!"

"Hey, is he playing Shakespeare?" Tony muttered.

"We don't mean any harm," Gwen said, "Maybe we should talk."

"I must take Loki back. He's protected by Asgard's law."

"But he took the Cosmic Cube, and we need it back," Hulk, now free, aimed at Gwen.

"Stop him!" Tony shouted.

Hulk charged, and Gwen, remembering Banner's talk about Black Superman, quickly shouted, "Black Superman!"

Hulk stopped and looked around in panic, "Where is Black Superman?"

"You're lying to Hulk!"

"No, if you keep causing trouble, Black Superman will come!"

"Black Superman, disgusting!" Hulk muttered, walking away and sitting down, defeated.

Thor, surprised, asked, "Black Superman?"

Tony, quick to realize the solution, spread his hands, "So, it was as simple as saying Black Superman? What have we been doing all this time?"

Sometimes, simple things stump even geniuses.

Thor, like Tony, wouldn't have thought to use Black Superman's name to stop Hulk. Only Gwen, taking Banner's words to heart, remembered in time.

**Aircraft Carrier**

In the conference room, the heroes gathered. Thor leaned against the wall, Tony and Steve sat at opposite ends, and Gwen and Felicia sat nearby. Felicia, as one of New York's heroes with an unexplained connection to Black Superman, was present, though she wished SHIELD would ignore her.

Banner, in new pants, squatted awkwardly, feeling guilty for the trouble Hulk caused. Natasha, like in the original, watched Fury lock Loki into a special cage, unable to let go as Hawkeye was still in Loki's hands.

Loki started sowing discord, hinting Fury was using the Cosmic Cube for weapons and mocking the cage designed for Hulk.

"Hulk is stronger now. We may need to reinforce it," Banner said.

Felicia added, "Yes! Me too," even though she had been fishing the whole time.

The comfort from the two charming girls made Banner feel a bit better, "Thank you."

Steve brought the topic back, "Loki is stalling for time." He looked at Thor, "Thor, what's his plan?"

Thor's info from Asgard was better than anyone else's on Earth. "He has an army of Chitauri. He plans to lead them to invade you."

"I guess in exchange, he will hand over the Cosmic Cube."

"Then he must have kidnapped the leader who built the portal?" Banner asked.

"An old friend and enemy of mine. I handed him to SHIELD, but it doesn't look good now."

"SHIELD will explain," Natasha said, "But what's more important, Loki also kidnapped one of our agents."

"So, what exactly does Loki want to do? He also stole some material," Tony added, "That can be used as a stabilizer to prevent the Cosmic Cube's portal from collapsing, allowing him to open and maintain it."

Tony, secretly planting an intrusion program, concealed his true purpose by directing SHIELD agents. He never trusted SHIELD, especially after Fury's failed conspiracy.

Various discussions and work assignments followed. Banner and Tony would study the scepter and track the gamma signal from the Cosmic Cube. Gwen and the others, free for now, joined Tony in the studio, feeling it was no different from being at Stark Tower. Gwen thought it would be perfect if Peter were here, though she couldn't bring him to such a dangerous place.

But there were differences.