Chapter 452: Spider-Sense Gwen
"Loki was my brother too," Thor growled, his eyes fixed on Peter.
"Enough! This is not the time for the Avengers to be fighting amongst ourselves. We need a plan," Steve stepped in to play peacemaker.
"A plan?" Thor gestured broadly. "We don't even know where Thanos is. What good is a plan if we can't find him?"
"You all stay here and discuss it. I'm going to kill Thanos," Carol Danvers said, refusing to wait a second longer. She turned to leave.
"Hey! Wait! We usually work as a team," Natasha called out to her back. "Even if you're powerful, we're a unit. Besides, do you even know where he is?"
Carol stopped and looked back. "I'll find someone out there who knows."
"You don't have to. I know where he is," Nebula said as she walked into the room from the corridor.
The room went silent as everyone looked up. Peter rushed over to her, gripping her shoulders. "Where is he!"
Seeing the desperate hope in their eyes, Nebula paused for a moment before briefly recounting her past experiences with the Titan. Finally, she said, "He is at 'The Garden'."
"That's just great. Thanos has a retirement plan," Rhodey quipped.
Rocket jumped onto the conference table and activated a holographic display. "Ever since Thanos used the Stones, Earth became the epicenter for a cosmic-scale energy surge."
"That surge was unprecedented, but two days ago, a second surge of the exact same signature was detected on this planet," Rocket explained, pointing to a remote world on the star map.
"He used the Stones again. What did he do this time?" Natasha asked, shocked.
The last time he used them, he wiped out half of all life. What kind of insane scheme did he have now?
"It doesn't matter what he did. Now, we only have one job: take the Stones back," Peter said, his eyes fixed on Silas's holographic ID.
"Take them back? Is it really that simple?" Banner asked, skeptical.
"Yes. It is that simple," Steve agreed. Simple and direct.
Carol cracked her knuckles. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go."
"But what if we lose like last time?" Banner urged caution. After all, Thanos had defeated the Hulk with his bare hands.
Carol raised her head with supreme confidence. "That's because you didn't have me last time."
"You? Do you have some kind of special ability?" Banner asked. He was the only one there who hadn't seen Carol in action. The others had already witnessed enough of her power to know she wasn't exaggerating.
"Did I say something wrong?" Banner asked when everyone went silent.
Natasha spoke up first. "Banner, we have to fight for the friends we lost. Even if the hope is slim, we have to take this chance."
Banner nodded, realizing he was being too hesitant.
"Alright everyone, let's move," Peter urged. He was desperate to leave.
As the Avengers headed out, Peter was stopped at the door by Uncle Ben.
"Where are you going now?" Ben asked, taking a deep breath.
"To bring back everyone who was sacrificed," Peter said, patting Ben's back before turning toward the hangars.
As he walked, a brand-new spider emblem flew into his hand—a spare nano-spider suit. It had been kept at the base for emergencies. No one could have predicted Peter would end up on Titan, where the suit's summoning range couldn't reach him.
The Starship
The Avengers gathered in front of a new starship. It was a one-to-one replica of the Chitauri craft, modified with Earth technology and materials.
"Wait!"
Misty suddenly appeared through a golden spark portal.
"Misty?!" Peter gasped. He didn't expect her to know the Doctor's portal magic.
Misty looked at the assembled team. "I'm coming too. My 'player' and my 'idiot' need me."
"Uncle Hugh, he..." Peter started, then went quiet.
"Whatever. The more the merrier," Rocket shrugged.
"Then count me in too," Gwen said, stepping out of the portal behind Misty.
"Gwen!" Peter was flabbergasted. He could wrap his head around Misty being there because of Kamar-Taj magic, but Gwen didn't have any powers—or so he thought.
"It's me, Peter. Don't worry! I won't hold anyone back," Gwen said, worried they wouldn't let her come.
Steve glanced at Natasha, who understood the silent command.
"If you want to go, girls, you have to prove you can handle it. Defeat me," Natasha said, stepping into a fighting stance. She was doing it for their safety; Thanos was a death sentence for the untrained.
"Can we start now?" Misty asked calmly.
"Sure," Natasha nodded. She didn't expect much from two young girls.
But the moment the words left her mouth, Misty vanished in a blur. Before Natasha could even react, a magical shield was pressed against her throat.
"Combat over," Misty said, retracting the shield and walking past a stunned Natasha to stand by Peter.
The fight had ended in the blink of an eye. Most people there didn't even see what happened. Only those with enhanced reflexes, like Peter, saw the truth. His dynamic vision caught Misty moving at a speed that defied human biology.
Natasha blinked, still processing. "I... I lost?"
"Okay, fine. Your turn," Natasha said, trying to recover her dignity. She turned to Gwen, hoping to regain some ground.
Gwen squared up, and Peter's expression became even more bewildered.
"Oh my god... the world has gone crazy." Peter felt his head throbbing—his Spider-Sense was buzzing like a live wire the moment he looked at Gwen.
"What's wrong, Peter?" Misty asked.
Before he could answer, Natasha and Gwen began to spar. Intent on not losing twice, Natasha focused entirely, throwing a lightning-fast jab at Gwen's chest.
To everyone's shock, Gwen simply tilted her body slightly, letting the punch whistle past. She grabbed Natasha's arm and executed a perfect shoulder throw.
Natasha's experience kicked in; she tried to use the momentum to flip Gwen over. But she found that Gwen's strength was terrifying. She couldn't budge the girl. In a desperate move, Natasha leaped up and locked her legs around Gwen's neck.
Gwen didn't panic. With a calm face, she used her bare hands to physically pry Natasha's legs apart.
"What?!" Natasha gasped. To break that hold with raw strength meant Gwen was pulling at least a ton.
Gwen gripped Natasha's legs and swung her toward the floor, dragging her into a ground grapple. Now, Gwen moved like a professional fighter, her fists raining down a series of controlled strikes. Natasha barely managed to keep her guard up to avoid a knockout.
"That's enough, ladies! Stop!" Steve called out.
Regardless of who would have "won," it was clear that Gwen now had the power to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Black Widow.
Whoosh~
With a final gust of wind from her fist, Gwen stopped her punch inches from Natasha's nose.
"I'm sorry," Gwen said sincerely, helping Natasha to her feet.
Natasha patted the dust off her back, looking at Gwen with shock. "You are incredibly strong."
"Am I? I'm not sure. My strength has just... increased a lot lately," Gwen said sheepishly.
"Gwen!" Peter ran up to her. As they locked eyes, a powerful, resonant Spider-Sense flared in both of their minds, as if their souls were recognizing one another.
"Peter... I can't believe it. You were my Spider-Man all along!" Gwen smiled warmly and threw her arms around him.
"This is getting way too sappy. Let's go find Thanos already," Rhodey muttered, being the first to board the ship.
"Tell me about it," Rocket rolled his eyes and followed. The other Avengers followed suit.
"Once we save Silas, I'm going to have a sappy scene of my own," Misty said, turning to board the vessel.
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