Marvel: I'm a Symbiote

Symbiote 0284: Announcement (1/2)

“Wrap things up, guys. We have a debrief in ten.”

Everyone received the same message from what Gwen gathered after the look Jessica gave him.

“Done!” Black Cat finally stood up and dusted her hands off. “Now if you can stop urging me …”

“But I’ve never gotten any powers even remotely as useful as teleportation. We can get so many more than done in the time I run out,” The redhead spoke urgently.

“First, we need to meet with Captain America for the debriefing, so no more bombs for now. Second, why are you stealing our job?” Jessica asked. She wasn’t happy that they had to fight off so many goons, only to have someone else steal the credit. But of course, she wasn’t going to directly say that.

“I feel like I know you,” Gwen was clearly in her own thoughts and spoke to Jackpot.

“I hope not,” Jackpot spoke with a sudden coldness in her tone. “You seem like the kind of hero that kills people.”

“Well that’s no way to talk to our teammate,” Iron Fist came to Gwen’s defense.

“Ask her if I’m lying,” The redhead spoke.

‘Seriously, Alex. If it’s her and you’re the reason, I’m going to beat you up so bad. I don’t care if I get charged for domestic violence.’ Gwen wasn’t completely sure, but her suspicions were solidifying as the situation progressed.

“I believe what happened before was a mistake. An error in judgment that cost someone their life. She has done nothing but her best to protect the people of New York City selflessly,” Jessica spoke up as well. “One mistake cannot define someone.”

“That mistake cost someone their life,” The woman spat murderously.

Hearing the blunt words and the increasingly familiar tone of voice, Gwen shrunk. It was as if her infinite strength was completely useless in the face of this confrontation.

“That’s enough,” Black Cat squeezed the agitated redhead’s shoulder. “I believe that Peter Parker must have been an important person in your life. But right now, we have bigger concerns at hand.”

“Hey, you okay?” Jessica patted Gwen’s back. She was aware that such an event at the height of her career must have left a mental scar on someone as righteous as Spider-Woman.

“Yeah,” Gwen nodded with difficulty. “We should get going as well.”

[I just thought of something.] Gwen heard Alex’s voice in her head. It had an instant calming effect on her.

[Where were you? You didn’t say anything …] Gwen was aggrieved.

[You could’ve called. I was busy doing something important.]

[What did you think of?]

[How about I turn back time to bring your friend back to life?]

Gwen got silent and moved along with the other people in the group to the debriefing location.

[It’s not like I haven’t thought about it …] She sighed. [I still killed my best friend. Nothing’s going to change that.]

[It’s not difficult to bring him back if you want me to. All I need to do is pull his soul out of the Soul Stone and use the Time Stone to revert the time on his body to bring him back to life. Without the dimensional rulers interfering with my actions, I can do something like that relatively easily.]

A faint smile couldn’t help but appear on Gwen’s face as she heard Alex’s offer.

[Only you would say something like that in the name of comforting me … Wouldn’t you be jealous?]

[I have many ways to make sure that you don’t even have the opportunity to make me feel jealous.]

[Let’s talk about that later. Why are we being called back?]

[You’ll find out soon enough.]

[Ugh. You’re turning this into another surprise for me. I’d rather you just keep things simple.]

[There’s no fun in that.]

[Also what’s the deal with this Jackpot woman? Her little eye mask isn’t doing shit to hide her identity from me. Are you cheating on me with MJ?]

[Of course not. On the contrary, the only reason I orchestrated that situation with the threesome was that she has those powers.]

[And what are those powers exactly?]

[Exactly what she said. Jackpot. It’s a random power every time.]

[So is she a mutant who just awakened? Or some kind of alien bloodline?]

[Nothing that complex. It’s just an alien bracelet. I’m considering taking it from her and giving it to Cindy.]

[She is a friend, Alex … Albeit one who hasn’t completely matured from her high school antics.]

[What with all her attempts to steal me from you?]

[Pretty much. But still. She has been there for me in the past. Especially after Peter died … I may have cut contact with her after the whole debacle with the band, but she did support me.]

[You can weigh in when the time for that comes. Don’t worry.]

…

Soon enough, Gwen found herself back at the Stark Tower with the Defenders, Black Cat, and Jackpot. They were all led to the top floor, into a large conference hall. Many people were already there and more were coming in after them. Though Gwen’s attention was soon captured by the two figures on the stage. One of them, she’d expected to see — Captain America. The other, she couldn’t believe her eyes after seeing.

[Alex … Did they clone you or something?] After the time he’d spent hiding himself, Gwen wasn’t sure if she was hallucinating or not.

[And that cute O-face is the reason I like to surprise you with this stuff.] Alex chuckled in her head as he met her eyes from the stage momentarily before continuing his conversation with Captain America.

[How? What? Huh? …] Gwen’s thoughts were all over the place, only making Alex laugh.

[Say hello to the new owner of your planet, my beautiful Spider-Gwen.]

[Already?] Gwen finally recovered. [I thought you would take years to take over my planet. It’s been what … less than four months since you landed here.]

[Shang Chi’s plot helped me accelerate many things. Plus the looming threat of the Scarlet Angel behind him was the major catalyst.]

[Fuck me …] Gwen intended it as a curse, but Alex chuckled in her head.

[I will. After we deal with Shang Chi and pull your planet into Gaia, that will be my biggest priority.]

[So what now? Why are you introducing yourself to these people?]

[Patience, darling. You will know all in good time once we start the announcement.]

“Hmph …” Gwen pouted and looked to the side, only to end up looking at Jackpot’s side profile. The redhead’s jaw was dropped completely. She couldn’t believe the figure that she was seeing on the podium. Gwen inwardly chuckled at her reaction and her mood got better.

Moments later, she felt her phone vibrate. She had received a message.

‘Fuck, Gwen! You aren’t going to believe this … Your boyfriend has a secret identity,’

Ignoring the subsequent texts, Gwen looked at MJ, only to see her furiously typing on her phone. It only made her laugh once again.

“What’s so funny?” Jessica asked, hearing Gwen’s laughter.

“Nothing, just a funny text,” Gwen was quick to hide her phone back in her pocket.

Jessica gave her a look but then shook her head, “Let’s grab some seats before they all fill up.”

Gwen could count roughly almost two hundred seats facing the stage. Half of them were already filled up with more and more people filing in. She didn’t particularly recognize anyone but was still surprised at the number of people.

[Hey Alex, how many people in this room are Mutants and Inhumans?] She asked.

[Not as many as you’d think. Barely half the people in this new team are mutants. As for Inhumans, there are none. They were planning to abstain from this conflict.]

[Were?]

[I yanked Blackbolt through space and forced him to surrender along with the other Illuminati.]

[How’d you deal with Emma Frost? Doesn’t she have mind powers like Professor X?]

[I splurged a little and used the Mind Stone to keep myself safe from her influence.]

[Looking at your usual trend, I’d thought that you would either bond with her or devour her for her ability.]

[She’s a strong Telepath, no doubt, but she’s still a little weaker than Jean Gray Or Xavier. And devouring her would lead to a level of resistance from these people that I don’t want to deal with just yet. As for bonding with her … I think seven is more than enough.]

Gwen hummed amusedly before a frown appeared on her face, [Where’s that seventh bond you had? I only sense six, including me. Did something happen?]

[About that … I decided to discontinue my bond with MJ. I didn’t have any feelings for her, and she was more of an experiment to find ways to generate more Bioenergy than anything.]

[You can just … get rid of these bonds? Without any issues?]

[Of course not. I had to spend three years slowly wearing down the bonds with her skin. Even then, it was unbelievably troublesome for me to deal with it.]

[So … hypothetically. You can break the bond?]

[Only if the other party is also willing. MJ’s situation is complex, but if you’re worried about me breaking any more bonds, then rest assured, it’s impossible. Just MJ took me three years. If the bond is any deeper, I would need at least a century or more to even figure out a way to pull myself away.]

Hearing Alex’s words, Gwen’s concerns hadn’t completely ceased, but she decided to put it in the back of her mind for now. [When’s this dumb meeting going to start?]

[Soon. Let everyone appear first.]