SPIDER GWEN: EXPOSED CH7: THE SETUP

After a quick snack to quell the hunger and a can of ice tea, Gwen was now back at the Avengers Mansion,telling what she found when she was exploring Martin Li’s office. Janet, Marc, Curt and Luke were listening, all poker faces and not interrupting her. The next obvious step was finding a way to get inside Oscorp’s server farm in order to see what was so important there that Mister Negative was willing to kill for.

“What the hell would be so valuable that Li is willing to commit mass attacks to get his hands on?” asked Luke, after Gwen paused in order to catch her breath.

“Probably some weird experiments that Martin could use to empower himself further..” said Connors, looking at the records of Oscorp’s activities, those that were public.

“Or something scandalous that can ruin Mayor Orsborn. Take him down and then run for City Hall himself and run New York.” said Marc, tapping one claw on the table while thinking what the next step should be “... ok, let’s not think theories, we need a starting point. First, we need to locate where exactly the server farm is. Oscorp HQ is a massive skyscraper, we cannot waste time searching every floor until we all reach retirement age. We’ll have to get hold of the building's architectural plans, blueprints, layouts, everything. And most important, we all need to be careful. Norman’s really paranoid, especially after the City Hall bombing. If he even suspects any of us, he will hang our heads on his wall.”

“Ha! Good luck getting those.” replied Janet letting a short sarcastic laugh “Norman made sure those aren’t public records. He made a big deal to keep them out of the Planning Department.”

Before she could enter the group brainstorming session and make a suggestion, Gwen felt her phone vibrating. Looking at the screen, her face turned paler than usual after seeing the notification: it was reminding her about her upcoming first date with Harry. She completely forgot and now that she remembered she is supposed to see him in the evening, it made her incredibly nervous. 

“Hey, what’s wrong?” asked Janet, after she saw Gwen fidgeting. Her face then lit up after seeing the notification on the phone and then Gwen’s face red with embarrassment. “Ohhhhh, someone here is having her first date.”

“And who might be the charming blue prince here?” asked Marc, intrigued and also happy for Gwen, but her face was red as a tomato, at some point starting pulling her hood to cover her embarrassment.

“Harry!” exclaimed Janet in a celebratory tone, embracing Gwen, her excitement not being reflected by the young girl, as she didn’t react at all “Great job, you need this!”

“Guys, please…I…I don’t even know what to do. I will simply make a fool out of myself..” said Gwen, unable to hide her agitation, but Janet placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down.

“Gwen, come on. No need to panic or get scared. Harry asked you on a date because he likes you. I remember my first date, I was also a bit nervous, but five minutes later it was all like a beautiful dream.”

“I remember my first date with the woman who became my wife. Samantha and I accidentally fell into a shallow pond back home in Chicago. And that was pretty much how we fell in love.” said Agent Specter, as he reminisced about those wonderful days in the past… before everything went downhill for him. 

“See, Gwen? No need to be nervous. Just have fun and spend some quality time with Harry. You know him, you two go along really nice before he invited you out. Who knows? Maybe we’ll all see a nice romance blossom between you two.” said Janet, giving her a friendly elbow bump, making Gwen smile a bit.

“Ok, ok. I’ll… do my best not to make it awkward.” said Gwen, rubbing the back of her head, still nervous over the fact she was about to have her first real date “I might need help getting ready… and I might get to regret asking a certain someone for assistance.” Turning around, she quickly exited Janet’s lab, leaving the rest of the team to continue with the planning. This time, her friends were leading the operation, letting her have some breathing room.

“Ok, now the fun part is over, let’s get back to business. How the hell are we going to get our hands on Oscorp HQ’s building plans? They might as well be inside Norman’s personal office.”

“Actually, Mr Cage…” replied Connors, browsing the internet on the computer, until he found what he was looking for “...we can look at the person who designed the building. Look…” he then turned the screen for everyone to see: a middle aged man, with a balding top of the head, glasses and a facial expression that implied a severe lack of sleep “...architect Otto Octavius, the person who designed every square inch of Oscorp HQ. The architect always has a copy of his work, just in case modifications to the initial blueprints need to be done at a later date.”

“And how are you so sure about that?” Asked Marc while drinking coffee directly from what looked like a jar. 

“Otto was the one behind the construction of the Alchemix facility. I got a couple of drinks with him when the labs were settled up… rather an introverted guy with not much alcohol resistance, but he told me about how he operates when constructing these types of places… before he passed out on the floor and I had to take him to his condo in my car.”

“Curt, come on, if he designed the building, means he is in a secure place, having more protection than The President himself.” said Cage, in a skeptical tone, but Curt was unfazed.

“He has his own office in Manhattan. The skyscraper on the northern end of Times Square. Is not like that project paid enough to allow him to retire at the age of 50.”

“Hmm…still, stealing his computer in the night or infiltrating his office after closing hours is impossible. He will surely tip off Norman if something goes missing.”

“Not if the idea that just came to my mind will work!” interjected Agent Specter, with a confident smirk, before looking at Janet “Van Dyne, you’re coming with me. Take your suit… and that bottle of extra strong laxatives I see on the table next to you. Come on, let’s go!”

“Whoa! Wait, wait, wait. What do you have in mind?” asked Janet, taken by surprise, as she was taking her suit and also the laxatives, putting it in one of the pockets, trying to close up the outfit while running after Marc.”

“I’ll tell you on the way to Times Square. We cannot take his stuff, but we can keep him distracted and away from his computer. Trust me, we have a high probability for success.” replied the lizard agent, as both exited the lab. It seemed that a plan was now set in motion.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, Gwen was in the last place she would want to be: She Hulk’s luxury condo. It was an emergency, but not superhero-related. She was seeking her help in getting ready for her date with Harry. It was a choice she didn’t take lightly, but she was already starting to regret once She Hulk was already showing her ideas about what to wear tonight.

“No f*cking way! I am not wearing that in public!” shouted Gwen, visibly irate, because of what She Hulk was holding: it was a tight red high leg one piece swimsuit with a pair of elbow long gloves and knee high boots.  “Forget it!”

“Come on, this will put you in the spotlight. Plus, you said the schedule includes a walk in the beach area. So, ‘shiny and tight’ makes sense.” replied She Hulk, trying to sell the idea, presenting the swimsuit.

“The answer is hell no!”

“Pffft…. fine. Dress is the option, then.” Jennifer, visibly disappointed because she was unsuccessful. She then opened her dresser and started to look at all her dresses, examining each one, visibly thinking and debating in silence “...hmmm, nope. not this one… nuh uh, this is too bland… interesting… but no.” she kept moving dresses left and right, trying to make up her mind “...oh, this is promising, and compliments your eyes quite nicely.” She then pulled out what looked like a simple but elegant blue sleeveless long dress.

“Finally! Something that I can say is good enough.” exclaimed Gwen, giving a sigh of relief, as she looked at the elegant dress. It was a match for her height, as it was something Jen used only in her non-gamma form.

“Attire part is solved, now for the haircut, makeup and also to make your… smexy features more discreet.” She Hulk then grabbed a large mirror and placed it in front of a chair, creating a makeshift make-up booth “Take a seat and let Mama Jen do some cooking!”

Two hours later, she was already having a perfect manicure, some tan that helped conceal her pale skin, some red lipstick that hid the black lips and even an eyepatch that was hiding her white eye and scar. It was even more discreet than it initially looked, plus, it gave a cool vibe. The only thing left was the hairstyle. Jen was already doing her best in arranging something that would look really stylish and impressive.

“You will look stunning for your first date, sweetie, believe me.” said She Hulk, as she was brushing Gwen’s hair and fastening it in places, preparing it for some hair foam. “First date is the perfect opportunity to… get some action.”

“What…?”

“You know… the after hours part. Piece of advice: don’t flex during sex. Especially the lower half. I did it once and broke someone’s… manliness, to put it lightly. Ever since, I am legally obliged by court order to warn my dating partner to avoid liability for any injury during-”

“S-S-SHUT UP ALREADY!!!” shouted Gwen, embarrassed over what she heard “I am not like you, ok? Nothing like that is going to happen. It is just an evening with my friend!”

“Ok, ok, I was just giving you some advice from my experiences…” replied Jen, trying to diffuse the situation, while working more on Gwen’s hair “But let me ask you something honest: You have feelings for Harry?”

“I…I…ugh….” said Gwen, blushing while failing to find her words, but the gamma heroine’s kind smile understood the answer immediately “Y-yes, but I don't know what to do.  I fear what will happen if he finds out that I am… you know.”

“Oh, the ‘secret identity’ issue. You fear he might not take it well.”

“That is an understatement, considering what I have done…” replied Gwen, lowering her head, visibly upset.

“By the way, what is your deal with Osborn Jr? Heard from our reptile friend that you two and the Parker kid were quite close.”

“We were really close… years ago, Harry came to Midtown High, after he failed to fit in that private school his dad enrolled him for the first time. The first time we saw him, I was with Peter and both of us saw him being picked on by the football jocks. We stood up for him. I got shoved and Peter ended up with broken glasses, but they left Harry alone. He was grateful and in time, we all became quite the trio.”

“Ohh, high school life. How I miss the old days… still, what went wrong?”

“That tragic night… that went wrong…” replied Gwen as she tried her best to hold up the water gathering in her eyes “At the funeral, Harry took Peter’s death hard. Harder than anyone else. Afterwards, he applied to finish his exams early and then simply disappeared, enrolling in the military. For a while, we kept some contact with occasional letters, but they were vague. At some point, they stopped. Haven’t heard from him ever since… until he simply showed up at May and Ben’s house.”

“And you fear he will push you away when he finds out the truth…”

“...yes…”

“Well, this is quite a complicated situation, girl.” said She Hulk in a more serious tone, as she was almost done with her hair.  “The problem is not IF he finds out, but WHEN he finds out, because eventually it will happen. My best advice is to try and soften the situation, let him see how Spider Woman saved so many people. Will make the situation hurt less and see how much you are trying to make amends by protecting others.”

“...I don’t know…” whispered Gwen, but more for herself. She then raised her head, looking in the mirror at her new look, ready for the date “...what I did is beyond forgiveness.”

“Time can heal a lot of wounds my dear, you never know, but… a piece of advice is to always expect the worst in these circumstances. Expecting the worst always helps to lessen the pain, and therefore, prepares you for a solution to the issue.”

“... You know? you are quite the person when you are horny 24/7, hehehe….”

“Don’t push your luck so much, little spider, unless you want to have a ‘surprise’ guest on your date!” Jennifer said in a… somewhat menacing tone, which made Gwen laugh and also feel a little concerned… 

To be continued…

Previous chapter: https://www.patreon.com/posts/149596432

a plan is forming...