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One of the more unusal exports from Isla del Diablo is the particularly potent venoms of the island's arachnid population. Of course, obtaining said venoms firstly requires finding the spiders, which means venturing out of Haven and into the dangerous wooded portions of the island. Quite a risk, but the hunter's patrons pay well... ...especially, of course, the House of Spiders.

Here is a quick mod to the Lord of Skull Spiders. I completely rebuilt the torso and took out the grabbing gimmick to install a stud six shooter in his mouth. Cause of this I gave him articulated legs and a small abdomen. Front http://www.brickshel...2015/loss01.jpg Side http://www.brickshel...2015/loss02.jpg Back http://www.brickshel...2015/loss03.jpg Top http://www.brickshel...2015/loss04.jpg Bottom http://www.brickshel...2015/loss05.jpg Mouth open with web shot loaded http://www.brickshel...2015/loss06.jpg Picture will all 12 Skull Spiders & Gold Skull Spider Mask (Lens gave a bit of glare to the eyes but I think it makes him look more evil this way) http://www.brickshel...2015/loss07.jpg .LXF file http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/takanuinuva/Bionicle2015/thumb/moloss.lxf_thumb.jpg Comments and criticism appreciated

My entry to Round 4 of The Tourney. The category assigned to me, was, Nightmare: Portray a dark representation of a character's worst nightmares. This nightmare must not be merely reliant on a story to describe it (although you may include one if you wish); the MOC should be easily recognizable as a nightmarish scene. I decided on doing an all LEGO scene, and tried to capture a dark and scary atmosphere with the color choices, landscape, night background and monstrous creatures. The backdrop was inspired by LL, whose builds you should definitely check out: Link More pictures here: Link C&C welcome

Some time ago I rebuild him, and now I changed few things, mostly he is now shorter. I think this is one of my the best MOC. Gallery: http://imgur.com/a/yzNCy

Hey Guys welcome to my MOC of the Lord of the Skull Spiders in humanoid form during absorbing/fusioning with Pohatu. I love constracting my own canon with Bionicle and I love darker storylines, so here is what happened: When the Toa landed on Okoto, Onua just met Pohatu. They decided to search for the other Toa their Protectors have them told of. On their way they found the Lord of the Skull Spiders and his giant army. Seeing that he has no chance against these Toa, the Lord of Skull Spiders commanded his army to distract Onua and Pohatu, while he could do a ruse on Pohatu. He absorbed Pohatu and gained more power than ever before. Now he could beat Onua and bring him under his controll. It is the destiny of the four Toa left to liberate their Brothers and get rid of the Lord of Skull Spiders. This is my first MOC using CCBS since I stopped collecting BIONICLE in 2007. A wave of nostalgia lead me to buy the new 2015 Bionicle, so =D His Body is pretty simple built since it is Pohatus build. His golden armour is Onua's, I swapped the Onua's golden plates with silver ones because it looks better in my opinion. His extra arms came from the Protector of Fire and his weapons, well, just some old style Bionicle swords :D Will the other Toa defeat this powerful enemy and free their brothers?

Hey guys, here's my entry for MELO round 5. Semi finals! Category was "flies and spiders". Thanks for looking!

So here we are again, with a new story. This is the sequel to Spiders, an earlier story I wrote taking place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe/Rebooted spider-man universe. The premise of that story was SHIELD creating four clones of Spider-Man, and their discovery of this fact. You can find it in my signature, I suggest you read it before checking this one out. This one ended up a bit darker I think than the original, which was odd because I was clinically depressed during the first one and not so much during the second. Not sure what that says about me. I might revisit these characters later, but currently I have a few other projects to do and Wasp week to celebrate. Not to mention the ideas I want to do but can't (Cass, why can't you exist any more!) please leave a comment with your thoughts. With that out of the way I present: Spiders 2 "I'm telling you, it's legit." A man with the tattoo of Iron Man on his shoulder gestured to one of his companions, who stepped forward. The second man walked over to the crate, and slid open the compartment to reveal a human shaped silhouette. The parking garage was cloaked in umbra, with only a few flickering lights from the ceiling. The two forces both carried weaponry on their backs, in this garage in the shadow of a hotel. "Incredible," the tattooed man pushed his fellow aside, "How did you keep it out of the government's claws?" "I know a guy," a black haired woman smirked. "It looks so pristine," the tattooed man marveled, "Does it work still?" "Well it took a hammering in the Battle at Stark Expo," the woman stated, "But my boys and I know a think about Hammertech, enough to get it running." The tattooed man's hand felt the machine, feeling over the device. "Any idea what you gonna do with this?" the woman asked. "Oh, nothing really," the tattooed man answered vaguely, "It just speaks to me, you know? A man built a completely new power of the world in a cave, with just scraps. Ah, if only I could get some of his armor. But this, this is still beautiful." "So no plans?" "Oh I already have plenty of power," the tattooed man shrugged, before turning to the woman, "Now, I believe you wanted this?" He gestured to another companion, who walked up to a truck. With a shove he slid it open, to unveil a tray of green vials. "The good doctor's own concoction," the tattooed man stated, "all replicas of the Hulk's blood." "Impressive," the woman stated as she eyed the fluid, "That should do it." "I am glad to hear it, I was worried I might miss my meeting," the tattooed man nodded to two more workers, who began to haul the crate away. "You should call ahead," a voice remarked, "you still might miss it." Quickly guns clicked and fired out the sound of the voice, while a large figure lunged about in the shadows. Suddenly the tattooed man crumbled as a fist crashed into his skull. "Can you say 'distraction'?" a new voice smirked. Everyone swiveled to see a brief flash of a young burgundy shape, lean and sharp. In that flash it had leapt away, flipping out of sight. The burgundy vigilante twisted their spine into a curve as they returned to the shadows, bending in an inhuman shape. Suddenly four of the guards were clutched by a shadow, and swung into the distance. As others rushed to the spotted the agile darkened red hunter twirled in, before bashing two of the enemies together. "You guys are pretty bad aren't you," the second voice remarked. It was somewhat high in pitch, though there was also a deepness to the edges. As the gunfire swiveled towards them, the black hunter dragged three more guards away. As the last of them crumbled, the woman stated, "Listen, I am Agent Johnson of-" Jess smashed her fist into Johnson's back as she rolled her eyes beneath her mask, before remarking, "Well that changes things." Jess wore a burgundy suit covering her whole, body, except for her tossed brown hair and her exposed fingers. On her chest was the symbol of a ivory spider, while on her face were two white eye splotches "Wait, she is with SHIELD?" Anton asked as the agent fell. Unlike his sister he had four additional arms, and a black suit. With two of his hands he slid his mask up, exposing his eight eyes and her furry skin. "Yeah, we need to move," Jess darted over to the truck, and shifted open the crate. The Iron Drone stared back up at her, causing her to grin. She flung it over her head, and onto her shoulder. From there she raced to the non SHIELD agents, looting their wallets. Anton walked over to the tray of Hulk blood and stated, "We need to take this too." "Duh," she darted off into the night of the city. "Did you know?" Anton asked as he carried the tray in all of his hands. "Know what?" Jess leapt through the alleyways, "That we should stop doing this? Because we should." "Did you know that was a SHIELD trap?" "Your faith in me is astounding," Jess's voice was heavy with sarcasm, "No, I didn't know that was SHIELD. I'm not stupid you know, I get that we need to stay under the government's radar. I'm the one urging you to stop this, you know." "No one forces you to come here." Anton broke his serious face into a soft grin. "You would do this with or without me," Jess shrugged, "And since I doubt anyone is going to miss seeing the giant man-spider..." "It never occurred to the others," his grin grew. "Eh," she answered, "Let's focus on escaping before SHIELD finds out we were here. If they didn't already know." "So you believe my theory?" Anton raised a few eyebrows. "Maybe they are giving us space, maybe not," she shrugged, "But they tried to kill us if you have forgotten, so I don't really care. And Mac is still dealing with what happened to him." "Ahah," Anton said suddenly, "One of them cut my hand when I dragged him away." "Give it a few," Jess offered. He nodded, even as he ran the wound began to seal back up. Anton nodded as they moved, before asking, "So, um, what exactly do you remember of our - his - Peter's life?" "Like I told you," she sighed, "Ever since that mission I remember everything up to the final fight with the lizard. Quit focusing on it. Yeah, we are Spider-Man's clones, but we are not him. Got it?" "I know," Anton answered, "I just...I want to know what he was like, if he would approve." "Eh, he is about as messed up as us," she shrugged as she raced, "Although at least he isn't a clone of himself being actively hunted by the government agency that made him. That would put him over the edge." "You really think he could go villain?" "Maybe," she was bluntly honest, "Not any more, but there was a time. Man, I hate not being able to use my webs." Jess and Anton and their siblings were synthesized from the genetics of Peter Parker, a.k.a. Spider-Man. Peter had been mutated by genetic engineering and had developed numerous abilities. His clones had more, modified further by SHIELD and then by Jess. Aside from the obvious change in Jess's genome from Peter, she also possessed spinnerets in her fingertips. She could swing across webs or imprison foes with gooey webbing, but with her brothers and her on the run, she didn't want to leave a trail behind. It had been on their first mission for SHIELD, Jess was overtaken by memories of Peter. She discovered their nature as clones, before SHIELD attempted to terminate them. They escaped, and have been fleeing since. Finally the two young heroes made their way to a barren part of the street, and thrust open a manhole cover. They leapt, landing on all fours at the bottom. As they rounded a corner the pair of them ran into Kaine, his arms crossed. "I see you've been making friends," he muttered, "I take it that it's time to run?" "You really have to ask?" Jess stated as she walked through the sewer, before tossing the drone to Mac. The larger sibling had a stinger-tail growing out from between his shoulders, sharp and pointed. Quickly Jess darted to a corner of their makeshift base, digging her way through the smell that engulfed the tunnel. Besides the stream of ooze her hands caught her prey, a pair of fingerless gloves, with a series of wires peaking out through side of the fabric. As she clutched the gloves she raced to her backpack, before pulling from the bag a pair of jeans and a shirt. Centered on the shirt was the shape of a large green brute: the Hulk. She stripped off her suit, before jamming it within the bag. Immediately she threw on the street clothes, while the others gathered their own supplies. In a matter of seconds she was done, before she flung a worn jacket over her back. Stretching her back Jess looked over her brothers. "You know we have a time limit?" she offered as she slid the gloves over her hands. "Done," Anton finished hiding the vials of blood within his bag, even as Kaine slung his bag on. Mac just clutched at the drone, a bag latched around his neck and arm. With a series of nods the group darted off into the shadows, leaping and running through the sewers. With each bound they moved further into darkness, traveling beneath the city. ------------------- Jess and Kaine scouted ahead, lurking over the rooftops. With casual leaps they bounded from building to building, latching to the sides with their fingers and their raw strength. Behind them crept up Anton and Mac, both a bit too bulky to hide. "Well it took a while," Jess muttered as they stopped, "but I think we avoided all the traffic cameras. You know, maybe." The four of them stood on the roof of a train station, dawn still a few hours away. With some time to relax the youths crouched down, and waited. As Jess stretched she yawned, before gesturing to Mac. He was the largest of the four of them, and wore armor of gold and green, with a grey helmet on top. Mac walked over to her, before handing Jess the drone. From her bag she plucked a dissected gold rod, the remains of an alien weapon. It had been built of the same material of Mac's suit, and had been looted when the group had fled SHIELD. The weapon had been designed to fire energy blasts, though it had been stripped of material by Jess along with nearly every piece of electronics she had found. All in order to make her gloves. As she grabbed the drone she began to probe into it. "Crap," she muttered, "I mean I figured it was fake, but still." "If SHIELD had tech like that we would have been fighting them by now," Kaine grumbled as he peered around. "Still," Anton pointed out she pulled off the metal frame, "It has some electronics in it. So it wasn't all for nothing." "Thank you Ant," she sighed as she dissected the tracer, "So what do you want us to do with it?" "Train," Mac commented as a locomotive pulled in. "We'll wait for the third," Anton decided, "If it doesn't work we should leave it, but we shouldn't leave any systems." He crawled over to the drone, and began to pull into it. "I've got this," Jess swiped it away. As she finished removing circuits and wiring she asked, "You know SHIELD has definitely woken up by now." She jabbed the gear back in the bag, along with the rod. "Right," Anton leapt down, before slipping along the train tracks. The others followed as he explained, "Then we won't wait on the platform. We walk along, then board one mid-drive." "Fine," Kaine said, as the four of them crept along the tracks, going out of the city. As they walked there was a rush behind them. The train flew past, chugging along the rails. Quickly they leapt on, clinging onto the side. They hung on, letting their wall-gripping fingers keep them secured. As they went along they reached an intersection,while another freight train zoomed past. With a leapt they jumped onto the second, now headed in anew direction from the city. The four young heroes climbed up top, reaching the roof the a boxcar. As they rode along Mac asked over the din of the locomotive, "So what we do in three days?" "Nothing," Jess interrupted, "We aren't celebrating anything until one of us actually breaks a year." "We'll see," Anton answered Mac, who nodded in turn. The four of them held on, even as the landscape rushed past them. ------------------- "According to Johnson they took both the drone and the samples of Hulk blood," Agent Hill stated, "before abandoning our plant at a local train station. We think we have their probably location, headed south." Nick Fury nodded, "Well I guess we better go get them, shouldn't we." "Yessir." "Um...are you sure that's wise?" A scientist offered from across the room. "Something you want to add Doc?" Doctor Escarlata winced, "Well...they couldn't just leave the samples once our men were knocked out? Any common criminal could have gotten it." "I get that you don't think they are supervillains," Fury turned, "But if you think I am letting the chance of another Hulk, you are insane." "Oh," Escarlata sat back down. "Find them, and try to get that blood from them without any pointless confrontation," Fury ordered to the agents assembled. As the government agents departed Escarlata asked, "Should we really be letting Reilly go after them too?" "Oh I know this will blow up in my face," Fury answered, "But our 'beloved' council is still sh--ing on me for refusing to nuke New York. They want Reilly, they can have him. Maybe then they will stop telling us how to do our jobs." As Escarlata moved to go Fury stated, "By the way, we looked over the treatments you gave them while they were shriveled up jelly, and it turns out you spent an unnecessary amount of time on their brains." "The first batch was unstable-" "Do. Not. Lie. To me." The scientist looked away, "I...you can't start off a person with no memories and an almost fully formed brain. It...it can drive them mad. It drove the first group mad. So I tried to replicate-" "-The memories of a teenage vigilante who spent his early career hunting down any person who potentially resembled his uncle's murderer," Fury finished. Escarlata looked down as Fury ordered, "The council wants to speak to you." ------------------- Jess fiddled with her gloves as the train zoomed past, tweaking the hand covers with makeshift tools. Her hands carefully moved through them, linking wires together with alien technology. Besides her Anton was using pieces from the alien weapon and the recovered drone to modify Mac's environmental suit. As the first of the clones Mac had several anomalies, and couldn't exit his suit. The tech was salvaged from the 2011 alien invasion, though Anton and Jess were still learning how to use it. Anton nodded to Mac, saying, "Hopefully that should help with the night-thing. You know, you might not need this any more, since Jess gave us the cure-" "Not a cure," Jess commented without looking up, "There was nothing wrong with us." The four of them had suffered accelerated aging while they worked at SHIELD, though a steady stream of drugs kept them stable. Jess had managed to manufacture a drug that stopped their aging, and had the side-effect of improved healing and regeneration. "Right," Anton said, as Mac focused on his helmet. The helm was taken from the remains of the Iron Monger, one of the world's first supervillains. As Mac focused in a sudden flicker his visor lit up, casting light through the night. Mac was the first of them to remember Peter, and so far only Jess had joined him. Mac had suffered far more, his mind constantly barraged by visions of a life that wasn't his. It got to the point that SHIELD locked him up, to let him die in isolation. Mac feared the night. Night was when Peter's uncle died, when Captain Stacy died. Night was when Peter promised to stay away from Gwen, night was when he first fought the Lizard. Night was...tormenting to him. Finally Jess moved back, and slid the pair of gloves back on. "Any particular reason you made those?" Kaine laid on the train, staring at the stars, "Webbing foes up getting boring?" "Webbing leaves a trail," she muttered, "And I don't have an endless supply, I have to generate it. Not to mention SHIELD doesn't know about this." "And Peter never made something like that, right?" Jess blinked briefly, before giving Kaine a look. "Don't you have people to stab or something?" she glared at him, her body tense. He turned to face her as well, their gazes locked "...Hey look, it's another station," Anton changed the subject. Jess and Kaine nodded, their eyes still on each other. Slowly, reluctantly they turned away, and leapt from the train. Mac and Anton joined them, a little outside of the station. As they got up Jess turned to Anton and asked, "Is it safe?" The six-armed youth swung open his pack, and checked through the vials. "They held," he said, as everyone but Kaine sighed out with relief, "Okay, we really need to find a way to dispose of this." Mac nodded firmly, his tail thrashing. "Agreed," Jess's eyes won't stray from the bag, "I for one do not want to make another Hulk." Nods came from everyone, as Mac grabbed the bag. "Banner," Anton decided, "he might be able to destroy this stuff. In theory. We split into groups, see if you can find anything about where he might be." Kaine grunted in response, before walking up to Mac. "Not use smell?" Mac asked as he looked over at Kaine. "No promises," Kaine answered, though he smirked. Kaine had the ability to produce pheromones that could influence Mac, implanted by SHIELD to help control Mac. Kaine back then had a habit of letting Mac off the leash, with one times violent results. "And don't kill anyone." Anton watched as Kaine and Mac descended into the shadows, racing away. With a sigh Anton turned to Jess, and the two of them departed. ------------------- "Back-up is on route," Agent Takuya informed the other SHIELD operatives as their Quinjets flew across the United States, "The Iron-Patriot is being called into action." "So who are these guys?" Agent Prabhakar asked as he cocked his gun. "Superhumans," Agent Carpenter whispered, "experimental superheroes designed after Spider-Man." "We made them to prepare for the future threats," Takuya explained, "Though after they began pushing boundaries their handler ordered their execution. They went rogue, though so far they have kept out of SHIELD affairs. They have instead been trying to stop crimes as they go, delivering murderers to outside police and like." "So then they didn't know it was a SHIELD operation?" Prabhakar asked. "I hope so," Carpenter sighed, "They didn't kill any of our agents, just like when they went rogue. Only one of them, Kaine, has killed before, but they were all Nazis on a mission." "So he is the one to look out for," Prabhakar sighed, "Great, the one with blades." "There is another," Carpenter said softly. The other two turned to her as she explained, "When they went rogue, their handler tried to kill them himself. After binding him to the wall, Jess pumped her webs into his mouth for revenge." "Wait," Prabhakar stumbled, "That is why Agent Reilly can not talk?" "Or eat," Carpenter added, "At least without help. She did not kill him, but she left him in a living death." "Well I will not try to piss her off," Prabhakar muttered, "Why is Reilly here?" "Higher-ups think his experience with them will help," Takuya interjected, "But I worry the spiders are not the ones will will have to be worried about." The other two nodded as they did their last minute checks on their gear. ------------------- Jess and Anton were slipping through the shadows, when the two of them froze suddenly. "You feel it too?" she asked, as her eyes darted about. "We need to find the others," he stated, and the two of them took off through the streets and alleyways. Like Spider-Man himself, the four clones possessed a sense, one that flared up when danger was coming. None of them knew how it worked, but Mac suspected it tied into how Jess and him remembered Peter's life. The two of them leapt and bound over the rooftops, searching for any trace of their siblings. Suddenly Jess shot web into Anton, and yanked him behind an alley. As the two dived behind a dumpster, a voice spoke. "I am Agent Takuya of SHIELD," it declared, "I require you to come with us." "Yeah," Jess called out, "Cause the last time any of us trusted you it worked out so well for us." "I understand your lack of trust," Takuya admitted, "But you have interfered in a SHIELD operation, mutilated over twenty agents, and destroyed a man's mouth." "...Look, he starved our brother," Jess answered, "and when we tried to save Mac he tried to kill us. Yeah, it was a bit too far, but he deserved worse. And it's not like you couldn't fix his mouth? You cleaned up after my training all the time." "He tried to starve your brother?" Takuya asked, "We were...not informed of that." "Then talk to the agents I tied up," Jess shrugged out of sight, "They had Mac in a cage where they could study him while they let him rot. And yeah, I get that he was having difficulties, but there still are a hundred ways better than doing that." There was a pause, before Takuya said, "Be that as it may, you must still come with us. Do you have the blood?" "It's with the others," Anton answered, "Listen, I know what Jess did was messed up. But she has been making up for that, saving lives, catching criminals, we thought we were stopping a trade between criminals last night." Takuya answered carefully, "I understand. But SHIELD needs these questions answered carefully. Please come with us, I swear you will not be harmed." "And what is the proof of that?" Takuya suddenly appeared beside them. "I am willing to be a hostage," he returned, "Should we betray you." "...Thank you for your trust," Anton said. There was a pause, before Anton and Takuya walked towards where his agents stood. Jess hung back, before tensing up and following them behind Takuya. As the light of a SHIELD van, Takuya paused. "I was...not aware you were so young." "Eh, we look old for our age," Jess retorted as her eyes surveyed the agents one by one. There was a sudden rush of sound, when behind them a man landed with a surge of power. He wore mechanical armor, painted in red, white and blue." "... you brought Iron Patriot to bring us down," Jess whispered, "Wow, um, I am going to take that as a compliment." "How is it going here?" asked the real superhero, "Any trouble?" "They have been very cooperative," Takuya answered, "They are willing to come with us, provided I am kept as insurance." "You fine with that?" Iron Patriot asked. "It is understandable," Takuya replied, "And as long as I do not ask for their deaths or harm their brothers, I should be alright. Neither of them has killed before. The other group has the blood currently." "Um, Iron Patriot," managed Jess, "Can I call you that? Uh, what was it like fighting the Ten Rings?" "Yeah," Anton's eyes were big, "Have you met Captain America yet?" "How old are you?" Iron Patriot asked slowly. "Five month-I mean seventeen," laughed Anton nervously, "Why would I say five months, no one is five months old. Except for babies, but we aren't babies. I mean clearly we aren't, right Jess? "Idiot," Jess muttered, thought she was still grinning at Iron Patriot, "Yeah, seventeen." "...Uh huh," Iron Patriot eyed them, searching through his metal mask, "Forgive me if I don't buy that." "Okay, I forgive you," Jess remarked, "What my brother Ant here meant is that he only remembers the last five months, so to him that is his age." "Right," Anton nodded quickly, "Would we be the alternative?" "So, can we just get to the whole talking thing," she asked as she drew closer to Takuya, "I want to get this over with so I can go back to beating up criminals. Okay?" There was a pause, before the agents nodded. As they walked up Jess clasped her head before stating, "Listen, I am getting serious danger-vibes right now, something bad is going to happen. So you might want to prepare for stuff to go down. You know, if it isn't you." "Can you be more detailed?" "Nope." ------------------- Reilly felt at his face through his mask. burnt and twisted. His mind ripped itself back to that day, bound up by webs, strapped to the wall, and then that thing penetrating his mouth and sealing it up with goo. Oh it had tried to justify it, saying that SHIELD cleaned up its webs all the time. That they would know a way to remove the goo. But he knew, he knew it hadn't cared. It twisted him, muting him and ravaging his digestive system. He could only eat with a tube now, and only fluids. Nothing solid, nothing good. Just more goo. Reilly slammed his fist into the wall, before wincing from the impact. He flapped his wrist about in pain, when an agent walked up to him. "Agent Reilly," Carpenter said, " We need to go." He nodded, and followed after the others. ------------------- Kaine crawled about, leading Mac through the city. As he crept across the city Kaine froze, as sharp bony blades shot out of his wrists. "You feel that?" Kaine muttered. Mac nodded, as his tail began to swivel about, probing the area. "I smell Reilly," Mac whispered suddenly, causing Kaine to tense up completely. "So, SHIELD is making their move," Kaine snarled, "Fine. We couldn't run forever." His blades fully extended, Kaine looked around carefully. "Not kill," Mac said as he spun his light around. "Yeah, not the time to spread morality," Kaine rolled his eyes, "Okay, can you figure out where they are?" "Two groups," Mac muttered, "One to east, other with siblings." "Jess will do what she has to," Kaine grunted, "We take out the others." Mac nodded, before the two of them began to leap across the rooftops, heading towards the other group of agents. "What are we looking at?" Kaine asked. "Twenty or so," Mac answered, "Reilly there." "Wonderful," Kaine smirked, "Let's not keep them waiting." "Not control me, right?" Mac suddenly asked. "A little faith would be nice," Kaine muttered, before skidding to a halt atop a rooftop. Looking down he could see SHIELD operatives, panning out around the area. "Not kill," Mac asked as he put down the Hulk blood. "Not promising," Kaine replied, "Monster and all that." With a leap he jumped, impaling an agent in her wrist. As the agents swiveled towards home swung the operative around, using her as a human shield. Then with a toss he threw her, smashing into another agent. As gunfire erupted Kaine winced, shots crashing into him.as he stumbled Mac leapt through the crowd, rampaging through them. As he ran the foes fell to the side, knocked about by the large armored clone. As the agents stumbled, Kaine straightened up and ran at them. With a leap he stabbed another agent's palm, before tearing his blade free and assaulting another one. As he impaled the next foe, Kaine's mind flared up. Quickly he turned to spot a familiar man, with a mask clamped to his lower face. Reilly glared at him, even a he unloaded a ton of bullets "Huh," Kaine glared, "I guess Jess was wrong about her webbing. Or maybe I am not giving her enough credit." In a mad push Kaine charged, letting bullets smack into him. Reilly continued to fire, shredding through Kaine's body. A red mist exploded, even as Kaine ran on adrenaline. He stumbled, before impaling Reilly in the chest. As red dripped over his blade Kaine muttered, "That-ahahah-thing is, this will only slow me-ahah-down." ------------------- "Sir, we are under attack," a call clicked over the radio, "Two of them are massacring through-" "Idiots," Jess tensed up, her body trembling slowly. "Please, don't kill them," pleaded Anton, even as Iron Patriot flew off, "Kaine suffers from a lot of clinical issues, and he can control Mac through pheromones. They aren't evil." "Trapped," muttered Jess to herself. "They are killing our people," Takuya replied as his fellows' guns clicked up, "You are cooperating and are not threats. Please do not change that." "Okay," Anton said slowly, "I know. We aren't fighting. But please, just don't kill them." Jess continued to shake in the background, occasionally cracking the side of a nearby building. "I am not in control of the situation," Takuya said softly, "As much as I want to, I cannot control what happens over there. I do not want to kill your fellows, but my men are defending themselves." "And what if I catch them?" asked Jess through gritted teeth. Anton turned towards her, to see her gaze trailing after Iron Patriot. "If you can help us defuse the situation," Takuya said firmly, "I can promise we will not wound your brothers further." "Great," Jess glared, "That fills me with so much confidence." "I apologize, but there is nothing I can do." "I apologize for having idiots for family," she said as she sprinted towards the faint sounds of gunfire, even as half the agents followed behind her. Anton turned to Takuya just as Jess left, before he remarked, "Look, there is something I think you should know." "Oh?" "I am not sure how much SHIELD has told you about us," admitted Anton, "But don't you wonder why they experimented on four siblings?" ------------------- As Kaine and Reilly lay bleeding, Mac ran about, smashing through the agents. As he ran Mac spotted an agent swinging the Hulk blood bag onto his back. "No," Mac charged, "No more experiments." With a thrust his tail shredded the bag, sending its contents flying. Reilly struggled to sit up, and aimed his gun into Kaine's head. "Muhie muhbumination," he moaned, his eyes dripping. Then there was a smashing of glass, as a vial of blood crashed into his back. Reilly screamed through his mask, even as the fluid absorbed into his skin. He shook, before falling flat on the ground. Reilly's body began to twitch and shake, the world swirling away. There was a strange sound, like a soft whistle. Reilly clutched at his back, even as the tear in his chest began to fill with first tendrils, then tissues, then renewed flesh. He shook on the floor, as new sensations emerged from his back. Sharp blades appeared just out of his line of sight, twisting out from behind him. Reilly clutched at his head, even as thick bristles burst from his head and began to droop over his body. As he thrashed he caught sight of Kaine, who had taken some of the Hulk blood to the face. The clone was screaming in pain, his face melting from the touch. Reilly crawled to his feet, his new spiked limbs tensed up behind him. "Raaah!" he managed as the bulk of the pain tore through him, leaving the agony ripped out of him in a burst. Reilly stumbled, before clutching Kaine in his hands. With a twist Reilly pulled as Kaine's sides, creating a large rip. Suddenly Mac charged, smashing Reilly away. The gamma mutant skidded, knocking Kaine to spasm on the floor. Mac turning about, skidding as bullets ricocheting off his armor. With a shove he tackled Reilly, stabbing him hard before swinging him into a building. There was a thud, as Reilly fell to the ground. Suddenly there was an eruption of fire, as a missile smashed into the ground before Mac. He skidding across the ground, his limbs quaking. Iron Patriot landed before him, it's shoulder mounted gun aimed towards him. Mac stumbled, his eyes flashing to Kaine. Then with a shove he sprinted forward, rampaging towards his brother. As he ran Reilly stood up shakily, before charging after Mac. With a smack Reilly leapt onto Mac, and began to punch and kick at him, struggling to tear at him. As he swung wildly his blade arms pelted against Mac's armor, probing for a weak spot. Finally there was a sizzling sound as a blade arm pierced Mac's containment armor. With a roar Mac leapt against the ground, smashing Reilly into the ground. As he stood up Mac stumbled, his breath shallow. Reilly leapt at him, stabbing at him. Shakily Mac swung down his stinger at Reilly. The gamma mutant sidestepped, leaving the clone's spike to embed itself in the ground. Mac swung out his fists as he struggled to move his tail, even as he strained to breath. With a roar Reilly thrust his blades, impaling his shoulder. Mac stumbled, before collapsing as chemicals spilled onto the ground. His ruptured suit lay around him, suffocating him. Reilly towered over him, his blades ready to sting. "Stand down," Iron Patriot ordered, even as Reilly moved to strike. The mutant turned and snarled, a strange wheezing sound dripping from his mouth. Reilly charged, just as a blast of web knocked him into the ground. Web upon web sprayed over him, binding him in a sticky cocoon. Jess ran from Reilly, racing first to Mac, feeling his pulse. "Come on," she muttered, "Work." "Sis," Mac managed, "I...I be okay. Check Kaine." She nodded, and ran to her other brother, even as the others approached. As she looked over Kaine vomit pushed at her throat. His face was torn up and bloated, twisted and splotched. He lay almost completely still, stopping only to twitch with pain. Anton leapt behind her, running to Mac. Slowly he helped his brother to his feet, as Jess held onto Kaine, as agents surrounded them. ------------------- Jess stared up at Agent Takuya, her arms bound behind her. She sat in a sealed room, five gas nozzles coming from the walls. Across from her was a glass wall, from behind sat Takuya. "How are they doing?" she asked as she rolled her hands behind her. "Mac's suit was repaired before he suffered too much," Takuya said, "Though his body was a lot healthier than when he was last studied by SHIELD." "Says something about your care," she answered. "Kaine?" "You realize your brothers have killed eleven SHIELD agents," Takuya said carefully. "You realize Mac was influenced by Kaine," she replied, though personally she doubted it, "So, Kaine?" "He has suffered extensive injuries," Takuya answered, "I apologize, but it appears his brain has also suffered extensive damage." "Great," she sighed, "Just great. What are you doing about it?" "We are currently just trying to figure out what is wrong." "I suggest you have Ant look him over. He is good with neurology. And 'Tarantula?'" "He is secured," Takuya answered, "Iron Patriot is on hand in case he grows violent and frees himself." "I am guessing you already took a blood sample?" She sighed, adjusting her back. "You are not in the clear you realize," Takuya stated, "You may have no blood on your hands, but you severely mutilated-" "He did it to himself," she leaned back, "Besides, I thought you would have made sure your cleaning methods were safe." "Be that as it may, you purposely caused him harm," Takuya said, "Which can not be wiped away even including his order to kill you. Though I believe I might understand another part of the cause of your anger towards him." "Ant ratted us out didn't he?" she scowled, "Thanks a lot bro." "Why are you upset with him?" Takuya asked, "I would think SHIELD creating living weapons would give you ground. Not to mention the unnecessary modification they gave you." "See that is why it shouldn't be brought up," Jess sighed, "Suddenly we are weapons, things. And for your information I am fairly comfortable like this." "Apologies," Takuya said, "I did not realize." "Eh, at least you haven't called me an it," she looked away, "That's what Reilly did. If you need to know, I am not picky about pronouns, he and she are both fine, but if you call me anything specific go with androgyne." "Alright," he answered, "Tell me, have you seen Mac or Kaine show this kind of violence before?" "You know what happened with Kaine on his first mission," she turned to give him a glare, "But he has not since then. He is terrified of you, thinks of you like Stark thought of New York. But Mac has never done anything wrong." "I see," Takuya replied slowly. "I hope so," she eyed him like a predator, "I am not saying Kaine is a puppy or that Mac is innocent of violence, but they are people. And they are just as messed up and reasonable as that means." "These gloves?" He pointed to a box containing her fingerless gloves. "Stark will figure it out anyway," she sighed, "By the way, did he really destroy all of his armor. Even Gemini?" "Focus." "They are tasers," she answered with annoyance dripping from her voice, "Basically, they draw power from my body's bioelectricity to produce a sting. I needed a way to incapacitate foes without leaving webs everywhere." "Could you make more?" "They won't be as effective without Chitauri tech," she answered, "But yeah, I could." 　 "While you were rogue you and your brother Anton spent some of your time acting as vigilantes." "So?" she narrowed her gaze. "If you were trying to maintain a low profile, that was not the wisest decision." "Oh, I know," Jess breathed out, "But Anton would have done it with or without me. He thinks he is Captain America or something." "Like you?" "What?" Jess raised an eyebrow. "Our records reveal you have a fixation with several heroes," Takuya answered, "And I have been informed that this was long before you realized your connection to Spider-Man. You would spend much of your training scribbling down drawings of the Battle of New York and of other famous incidents. Even if Anton would go without you, it does not explain why you would go dressed in your uniform." "Think what you like," she turned away, "So you have any more questions or something?" ------------------- Reilly dripped saliva from his cocoon, even as he hung upside down. Suddenly he caught whiff of a sizzling sound, and looked down to see part of his bonds had melted free. Moved he released more acidic venom from his mouth, loosing the webbing over his back and torso. It stung, but it freed his limbs. Then with a twist he hacked with his blades, finally freeing him from the web cocoon. As he stirred he found himself in a sealed room, with a hardened glass wall facing a corridor. "Oh, you're awake," an agent approached, "Sorry about the accommodations, but we have procedures for this sort of thing. Nothing personal." Reilly suddenly felt his head as a sharp pain struck him. Then he was gone, out of the cage and in a smashed room, fighting that clone. The one who mutilated him. Reilly thrashed his blades at the glass as he returned, only for his appendages to bounce back. "Yeah that isn't going to help your case," the agent analyzed the webs suddenly, seeing the puddle of white goo on the ground aside from the shredded cocoon. Reilly suddenly leapt at the glass, letting his mouth drool over it. Smoke slipped out from the glass, as he ate through the seal and it's metal mesh. Immediately the agent pulled out his gun, while he radioed in his spare hand, "Subject Reilly is breaking free," he signaled, "He is dissolving the cage with some sort of acidic saliva." "We are headed towards your position," came the reply, just as the oozing venom melted a complete hole through the barrier. Quickly the agent fired through the crack, piercing Reilly's skull. Reilly stumbled back, before his body began to regenerate itself. As more bullets hit him, he thrust his arms through the hole, and spread them out, tearing out a large exit. With a shove he charged, piercing the agent in the chest, before flinging him into the puddle of melting web. ------------------- "What exactly do you remember?" he asked carefully. She glared as she continued to look away, "Everything up to his fight with the Lizard. Not sure why you care, SHIELD already knows who he is. And I already told them." "So nothing newer?" "I don't have wifi with his brain," Jess controlled herself, "I only have up to whenever you got his blood. I don't know how it works. Maybe it's the whole spidey sense thing, maybe it is the way you grew us, either way I don't care." "Alright," Takuya said before saying more seriously, "SHIELD is in trouble you realize. More and more superhumans have emerged into the world, and it is harder to control them. We have a division devoted to superhumans, but it is understaffed." "And you are telling me this why?" she waited for the suspected conclusion of the conversation, even as she stretched her back. The motion let her hands relax, though she kept a few fingers tense. "We grow desperate," he concluded, "Given the attempted aid you and your brother have been trying to give, we are willing to work with you." Jess glared at him in response, silently thinking. ------------------- "...Listen, you know I want to be a superhero," Anton said, " And I think Jess does too. But you know it is kind of hard to trust SHIELD after they tortured our brother and tried to kill us." "Reilly was given...too much freedom," Carpenter replied carefully, "We did not know much of what he was doing." "I want to believe that," Anton sighed, "Okay, even if we believe you, how do we know you won't try to kill us again? Or Mac and Kaine?" "We are in the middle of a superhuman revolution," Carpenter answered, "We will be imprisoning your two brothers, but if you believe we would waste two successful superhumans when we could learn more from them..." "Well, Jess will be glad for that honesty," Anton clasped his head in his hands, causing Carpenter to stumble back. "Oh, sorry," he grinned sheepishly, "I got free a little after we sat down. But you promise you will not abuse Mac or Kaine?" "I can," Carpenter replied cautiously, "In all honest we want to help them. Mac isn't going to help much research if he can hardly leave his suit, so that will need to be fixed. And Kaine currently is a good opportunity to work on healing someone of gamma radiation poisoning." "That doesn't inspire confidence," Anton massaged his head, "Can I see them regularly?" "Under guard, but yes." "I really want to trust you," he sighed, " Alright." ------------------- "...I did not honestly expect you to agree," Takuya admitted. "Well we both know Ant was going to sign up," Jess shrugged, "And he is going to be far too trusting of you." "I...very well," Takuya answered. "But get this through your head," her tone drew low, "You treat Mac and Kaine with respect, you treat them like people, and you help them get better. Because if I find out you are experimenting on them or something, I will find a way to hurt each and everyone of you and SHIELD as a whole. Okay?" "Uh, okay," he stumbled slight, "Um, what can you tell me about this chemical?" He held up the syringe, causing Jess to sigh. "It's how I helped us heal," she said, "Like I told you back-" Suddenly the lights flickered, and Takuya rose up. "That doesn't sound good," Jess remarked as an alarm began to blare. ------------------- Doctor Escarlata looked down at Kaine as he thrashed. "Hold on," he whispered as he looked at the clone. "What has happened to him?" asked Escarlata as he approached. Kaine's face was twisted and spotted now, and his hair had all fallen out. His eyes shuddered, as he jerked every few minutes. 　 "You no longer have the rank to-" "Just tell me." "He was exposed to a small amount of Hulk Blood," a scientist answered, "He has actually calmed down significantly. But his brain is still malformed by the accident." "Can you hear me," Escarlata asked slowly to the clone. "Leave me alone," Kaine whispered, "Just...just stop talking. Stop. Please." Escarlata fell silent as Kaine continued, "Stop. Stop. Why won't you stop!" His thrashing picked up speed, even as buzzing echoed across their instruments. "The damage is spreading," a scientist said, "His brain is now dissolving and reforming simultaneously. I-I don't even know what to call this." "Painful?" offered Kaine with some strain. They turned towards him again as his face shuddered . "Are...you alright?" "Sure I feel great," Kaine managed, "Aside from the voices in my head. Or the freaking rash that is my face." "We will do everything we can." "No, you had your chance," Kaine said coldly with his teeth clenched. The systems continued to buzz as he continued, "First one that comes near me ends up in a pool of death." "Wait," a scientist said as the lights flickered, "That isn't just the monitors, thats the alarm." ------------------- Reilly tore through the mob of agents, ripping at them and hurling globs of acid into them. Suddenly an explosion smashed into him,knocking him to the ground. Reilly's flesh began to regenerate even as he turned to Iron Patriot. With a thrust of speed he charged, letting his blade arms hang behind him. As he ran a blast of energy surged into him, knocking him to the ground. Reilly slowly pulled himself up, only to take a miniature missile to his face. Smashing to the ground, Reilly caught his breath as his body regenerated. Glaring he leapt onto the ceiling, and began to crawl away. "That isn't going to help much." Another missile soared through the air, smashing against Reilly. The gamma mutant crashed with a thud, only to see a hole in the ceiling had formed. Quickly he leapt up, and began to race through the above hallway. Behind him he heard a burst of jets as Iron Patriot flew up behind him. Still, the powered armor couldn't fly much in the thin hallway, so Reilly had a speed advantage. Quickly he sprinted, darting into a nearby room. ------------------- "Reilly has gotten loose," Takuya cocked his gun, "Can you-" Jess stood up free and held out her hand, "Slipped out two minutes ago," she said, "The gloves?" Takuya nodded slowly, before sliding the gloves underneath the glass barrier. Quickly she slid them on, before Takuya unlocked her cell. She ran out, joining him in a sprint. Skidding down the hall ran Anton, worried. "Are you okay?" he asked as he looked Jess down. "I'm fine," she sighed, "Can we deal with Reilly now?" Anton nodded,as the three of them ran hopefully towards the gamma mutant. ------------------- 　 "Kill them. Hack them to bits" "Ooh, maybe you could skin them. Then you could make them into affordable coats or even better: Halloween costumes." "Who would want Halloween costumes of a bunch of SHIELD scientists?" "Coats then, spoilsport." Kaine winced as the voices continued to echo through his skull. Suddenly out of the corner his eye the door threw open, as a strange spider-like beast charged in. "Wow, look at all the blood." "Hey, that was our kills, we had dibs!" "Shut up," Kaine snorted faintly despite himself, even as the hairy creature ran at him. "Muhmonation!" it bellowed, flexing it's blades. "Oh, it's you," Kaine managed, "If you are going to kill me better do it fast." "Hey Steve. It's Steve right? Cause you look like a Steve." "Hurry," Kaine winced. Reilly roared in response, before piercing Kaine's skull. A trickling of blood oozed out, as he slowly withdrew his spikes. "Ouch," Kaine remarked suddenly, as his wounds healed. With a roar Reilly assaulted him again, stabbing Kaine over and over. "Oh great," Kaine sighed, "I can't die. Well that is just great." "Isn't it though?" "No consequences!" "Let's kill everyone at SHIELD naked!" "Wait, are we naked, or are the people we kill naked?" "Why not both?" "I like the way you think." "Oh, get a room!" Kaine pleaded as Reilly continued to stab his body. "We have a room, it's called your head." Reilly suddenly lifted the table Kaine was strapped to, and smashed it into the wall. Again and again he drove him into the wall, until Kaine lay upsides down and unconscious. ------------------- Reilly suddenly felt a stinging in his head. He turned to see a scientist, shakily pointing a gun at him. "Stop," he pleaded. Reilly snarled, before impaling the scientist in the shoulder. He threw the man to the ground, just as an explosion rocked the room. Iron Patriot ran up, forcing Reilly to scamper as fast as he could back out. Quickly he raced down the hall, skidding around. Having an idea he hurled globs of acid into the ceiling behind him, wreaking the roof. Suddenly the roof collapsed, smashing into Iron Patriot hard. As the armored soldier pulled himself free Reilly crawled up above, and broke off more of the above floors in the base. The rubble soon left the soldier buried, at least for the moment. Crawling down Reilly raced across, searching for the room he had seen in that vision. As he approached a door he caught two soldiers, impaling them through their throats. Finally he reached the room, just as two of the clones and an agent ran in. ------------------- Jess immediately launched a glob of webbing at Reilly, smacking him in the mouth. The gamma mutant hardly stumbled, before a chemical ooze dripped out of his throat, melting through the bonds. Anton meanwhile rushed towards the wounded soldiers, feeling their necks. "Okay, that is disgusting," she jumped to the side as her head stung, narrowly avoiding a blast of acid. With a flip she jumped over Reilly, pushing off of his head. Reilly wheezed as Jess focused, forcing her body's bioelectricity to channel through her gloves. As he staggered she swung out again, punching him among a flurry of sparks. Reilly shoved back, before spiking his blade-arms forward. Jess jumped and weaved, leaping through the spinning claws. As she leapt Reilly's mouth shot acid, forcing her to roll into the direction of one of Reilly's spikes. The blade pierced her chest, even as she punched him again. The electricity flowed through both of them, leaving them briefly dazed. Reilly threw her quickly from his blade, causing her to land shakily on all fours. Blood dripped from her chest, even as Reilly charged. Bullets smacked into Reilly, causing him to slow. As the gamma mutant turned towards Takuya, the agent rolled out of the way. Reilly swung around to attack again, just as a whip of webbing latched into his back. With a yank Jess swung Reilly through the air, into Anton's fists. Reilly staggered as Anton pounded into him, smashing him against the walls of the room. With a roar Reilly caught himself with his spiked arms, and pushed off into Anton. Briefly paused the clone stumbled before Reilly stabbed into four of his hands. Anton winced, before using his free hands to slam Reilly to the ground. Reilly stood up on his extra limbs, not unlike a spider. With a snarl he stalked over to Anton, lobbing acid at him. As the goo flew Anton shoved himself away, just as Jess pole vaulted off Reilly, stinging him in the process. Reilly winced as Jess landed to the side, her chest still dripping with blood. Anton leapt onto Reilly as she fired globs of webbing, lashing the gamma mutant's spiked legs to the ground. As Reilly stood stuck Takuya open fired, aiming hopefully into his forehead. As Reilly struggled to move, Anton smashed his fist down hard onto his back, even as the gamma mutant struggled to move free. Reilly roared in pain, before hurling blasts of webbing everywhere. Anton jumped back in time to miss the venom, while Reilly drooled onto his imprisoned legs. The goo melted through the webs, sizzling into the spikes. Reilly slowly stood back up on two legs, his spiked arms now twisted and partially melted. As Reilly rampaged towards Anton, webbing lashed onto his back. With a tug Jess sent herself flying, ending her swing in an electric punch. Reilly fell back, before firing a burst of acid at her. Quickly Jess launched her webs, blocking the acid from impact. In the meantime Anton crashed his fist into the mutant, causing Reilly to smash into a wall. The foe paused, leaving Jess to squirt webbing all over his spread out arms, gluing them to the wall. As he lay bound she coated the rest of his body, leaving only his acidic head free. As venom dropped from his mouth Jess walked towards him, and laid her hand on his forehead. Reilly began to scream as electricity pumped through his skull, burning through his body. "Sto-" Jess pulled away just as Anton and Takuya began. She gave them a shrug, before stepping back from the mutant. Reilly lay stunned against the wall, drool oozing from his mouth. "What, you wanted him conscious?" she asked, "Pretty sure he would have escaped." "...Alright," Takuya said as he eyed her, "Come, we must secure him." Anton shook off his limbs, before using his unharmed hands to pull Reilly from the wall. Jess sprayed the mutant with web as Anton spun him, before the six armed clone laid the cocoon of sticky white goo onto his shoulders. ------------------- Kaine stood up shakily, his bonds trashed. As he stood up his head throbbed, still suffering from the violent blows and his constantly reforming head. "Well that was fun. Let's do it again." "Nah, let's carve up Reilly. I mean he did it to us, why not do it to him?" "...Not the worse argument," admitted Kaine as he turned to go, "Probably get a kick out of it." "Oh, you know what we should do?" "...What?" "We should go meet up with father." "Oh yeah, I beat he would be happy to see us." "Or not and it will be one big awkward mess!" "Hijinks will ensue." "Shut up," Kaine grimaced as he lumbered away, slowly picking up speed as his brain reformatted. "Please," a bleeding man managed from across the room, "Don't-don't go. You need help." "You people made me," Kaine said coldly, "Made me to be a weapon. I don't need your kind of help, don't want it. You know, I spared you once, but you still came after us. No more." "I...I am sorry." "Not sorry enough," Kaine walked over to the man, his blades extending. And then his brain exploded. Visions ripped through his damaged mind, stabbing into his core. Uncle Ben lying on the ground pouring out blood, Captain Stacy leaking his life away off the top of the tower, he could see it all. The memories smashed into him, causing Kaine to stumble, "I...I..." He could see the Lizard, fighting the gigantic reptile, he could see his parents leaving. But they weren't his parents. Kaine clutched at his skull as the memories of Spider-Man smashed into him. Jess and Mac rarely spoke about they remembered, and Kaine could feel why. He felt dwarfed, over fifteen years of someone else's life being squeezed into his skull. "Hey, you okay? You went a little crazy." "Yeah," Kaine laughed through the tears, "I...I can feel my brain." "Is it soft?" "Of course it's soft, it's squishy. Haven't you ever seen cartoons?" "No, we were raised in a lab." Kaine snorted, before running out of the room. The scientist struggled to move behind him, but could only lay bleeding. ------------------- Jess paused, as did Anton. The two had begun to heal, though Anton's arms still were crippled and Jess's chest stung. Quickly Anton broke into a sprint, while Jess leapt onto the ceiling. Immediately she took off, catching up to her brother. With her fingers pointed like guns she coated Reilly in a second layer, as they ran. "You sensed something?" Takuya asked as he caught up. "Yeah," Anton skidded to a halt in front of a cell before Takuya began to unlock the door. Suddenly Jess felt a spike of sensation, and flipped to the ground just as Kaine charged from behind her. With a twirl he stabbed into Anton's hand, causing him to let go. In one quick fluid motion he stabbed into Reilly, piercing through the cocoon. She quickly tackled Kaine, who promptly kicked her off. "Traitor," he regarded her. Jess stumbled before replying, "I didn't stab my brother." "You are with the enemy!" his blades leapt out, causing Jess to jump to the side. On all fours she landed on the wall, before rebounding into him. She pole vaulted off him, letting her gloves sting him. Kaine shuddered, before swinging his blade into her arm. Jess bit back tears before using her right hand to grip Kaine's arm and deliver a shock through his body. As he shuddered she forced the blade out, her left arm bleeding. Anton clutched at his arms, now bleeding again, as Takuya forced Reilly through the cell. As he sealed the mutant in he turned around and opened fired at Kaine. The clone jumped and dodged, avoiding the shots. "You're really bad," he laughed as he leapt to Takuya, slamming him to the ground. As he thrust his blade Jess punched him to a wall, before unloading a torrent of webbing into him. As the goo flew Kaine swung up his arms and worked to shred the goo as it came. Then with a shove he leapt, landing past her. Jess twisted back and winced, as she tore into her still healing flesh. With a leap he lunged at the cell, only to chip his blades off the harden barrier. He swung and thrust again and again, just as bullets smashed into him. Kaine turned towards Takuya, bolting towards him as his wounds healed. Quickly Jess shot webbing into his back and swung him to the side. "Looks like your wounds aren't healing fast enough." Kaine charged, even as Jess leapt onto the ceiling, dripping blood from the strain. While he jumped at her she grimaced, as Anton caught his leg. With a twist he smashed Kaine into a wall, staggering him. Jess flipped down as she coated her pierced arm with webbing, before doing the same to Anton's new wound. Suddenly her head tingled, and she rolled out of the way just as Kaine charged. With a shove he jumped and thrust, stabbing Anton through the heart. Time slowed, as Jess ran over to him. Kaine was forgotten, as she struggled to remember what to do. Too panicked to think straight, she reclaimed enough to grab Kaine's blade and force her strength against it, tearing it in two. With half blocking his wound Jess raked her brain, ignoring Kaine as he charged. Suddenly a blast of energy struck Kaine, knocking him across the room. Jess smiled slightly despite herself, as Iron Patriot arrived in front of them. She had more time now. As the real superhero pursued Kaine, Jess began work carefully, thinking with each action. She was better at the genetics and the systems of biology, not the physical and practical. As she worked the spike squeezed out, as the wound healed. Jess relaxed a little, but Anton lay still, immobile. Focusing she slammed her gloves into him, hoping that she knew the problem, and that this would work. Time still flowed strangely, as distant explosions came muted to her. Finally she stood back as Anton gasped. She leaned back in relief, even as SHIELD agents rushed onto the scene. ------------------- "He okay though?" "You know Anton," Jess smiled, before frowning, "He's stronger than all of us. Our former brother got away though." "I...I have hard time believe it," Mac rubbed his head. "Me either," she glared away, before softening her expression. "Mac, Mind if I ask you something?" "You ask anyway." "Right," Jess sighed, "So this SHIELD thing, what do you think?" "We trap," Mac said slowly, "Even if you flee, I and Anton still here, right? You trying best you can." "Thanks," she lay her hand against the cell, "Why did you do it?" "I not want more of us," he admitted, "Want no one else to suffer. To see shadows as death. And they will make more." "Don't I know it," she held up her head in her spare hand, "Look just tell me if they ever touch you or something." "Of course," he lay his hand against her palm through the barrier. She nodded, before slowly walking off. As she walked she came upon an old woman in a wheelchair. "Ah, Jessica," she said, "It will be good to speak to you again." "Whatever," Jess walked away from Webb, "Still not going to be honest with you." "Of course," Cassandra Webb nodded, letting Jess walk away around a curve in the hallway.

So here it is, another story. Unlike To Come Upon, The Hunt, or Living Machines, this story is a fan fiction taking place in the MCU, the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Kinda. See the basis I have for this story and its currently unfinished sequel is that the Amazing Spider-Man takes place in the same universe as Avengers. So that is the main decision I take. I wrote this kind of like a stand alone, with few direct ties to specific movies in the MCU. Instead it focuses on four other people. And here is something I must stress. Although this is an adaptation of the Ultimate Clone Saga, I diverged from it alot, in part by trying to flesh out more of the clones. Apologies for different interpratations of characters, but this was like my eighth story about Jess, and I still like this one. It mostly takes place about a year after ASM, so that should give you help on the timeline. Suggestions welcomed, just be aware I am kind of freaking out with fear. No pressure though. Spiders A SHIELD Laboratory: Three Days after the Lizard Incident "Can you use it?" "It's incredible, simply incredible. I mean, I have never seen anything like the samples you found. Even what we have of Rogers, this is beautiful." "Can you use it or not?" Nick Fury stared down the scientist, who fumbled slightly at the gaze. "Um, yes and no," he admitted. "We haven't mapped out the human genome to figure out what genes Spider-Man's powers are based off. We might synthesis all the anomalies, only to find his abilities rely in part on more mundane genetics." "So how can we use this?" The scientist winced and replied, "It isn't exactly a quick process, we might figure out the genetics of it by then." "But..." The scientist finally said, "But we should be able to make some superhumans. Just...don't put my name on this, alright?" "I won't agree to anything until you stop beating around the bush," Nick answered, "now if you please..." ------------------- "So Jessica, you have been having strange dreams," Ms. Webb stated as she looked over her. The two of them were within a SHIELD facility, with Jess laying on a couch, bouncing a rubber ball off the wall again and again. "You could say that," Jess smiled as she caught the ball, before throwing it with a twist of her wrist. The ball flew wildly, smacking off the wall at an odd angle. Casually Jess launched out her hand, plucking it from the air. "Would you mind talking about them?" "No." "...Please tell me about these dreams," Mrs. Webb specified, turning up from her notes to directly look at her. Jess had long brown hair, tossed casually behind her. She wore a shirt with an Iron-Man helmet centered on it, with a jacket laying across her back. Plain blue jeans covered her legs, crossed up against each other. "Alright," Jess answered as her mind drifted to those visions, "They are more visions than dreams really. I have had dreams before, and these feel pretty different. They are flashes of...something, I can't remember. But it feels really good." Jess's eyes kept away from Mrs. Webb, trying to stay casual. It wasn't that she was necessarily a bad liar, but she needed those visions. "How do they make you feel? What are they like?" "It's a rush," Jess's grin became mischievous, as she sunk into some of her favorite flashes. She raced over a city, flipping across the city of New York. But it wasn't her flipping, but it was. The webs she used to swing comes from her wrists, not her fingers. And her glance felt off. In the flash she swung from crane to crane, traversing the night. "How exactly is it a rush?" Mrs. Webb returned to her notes. She was on a balcony, on an building in New York City. Strange how important that city was. She was talking to a blonde girl, spinning her close with a whip of web. Excited words flew between the two of them, thoughts and words racing. Jess shook herself before her cheeks could redden. "I don't know," she shrugged it off, "But I feel like really energetic when I wake up. Just so...alive, you know?" "Alright," Mrs. Webb nodded, "Please tell me if you remember one of these dreams." "Sure," Jess stopped flinging the ball, "So are we done here, because you know how busy my schedule is." "You may go," Mrs. Webb answered, "Send in Mac on your way out." "What, why would he need a shrink?" her eyes widen, before she opened into a grin. Jess exited the room, shutting the door behind her. She walked down the winding halls of the installation, before making her way into a large common room. As she walked in her head began to throb. Quickly she dropped to the ground in a roll, avoiding a flung chair. Quickly she somersaulted into the safety of the wall, hanging by her fingertips. As she dangled Mac rampaged through the room. He was covered in a golden green armor, with a large robotic stinger-tail jetting from in-between his shoulders. Kaine stood on the sidelines, watching, while Anton tried to restrain his brother. Anton's six arms coiled around Mac, holding him down while his tail thrashed. "I could you some help sis." "On it." She aimed her hand to Mac, her fingers pointed like a gun. With a toss Anton let go, and she unleashed a burst of web from her fingers. The gooey net splashed into Mac, binding him to the floor. Suddenly SHIELD agents burst through the door, their bodies covered in armor and their guns at the ready. "You don't have the best timing, do you?" Jess observed, before turning to her brother Kaine, " And you didn't stop him why?" "As much as I enjoy brainwashing my older brother," Kaine looked over his hand with an apathy of interest, "He gets a little empty if I control him too long. Or would you rather him brain dead?" "Fine," she grunted while the agents injected Mac with a trio of tranquilizer darts, knocking him out. As they hauled him away she looked over Anton, as he rubbed over his many forearms. "They really ought to help him," Anton sighed, "All the training, all the studying, it tortures him. He can handle it in small doses, but the longer he is concentrating, the more stressed he gets." "Yeah," Jess shrugged, "So did you find out who that girl is yet?" All of them saw her in their sleep, among others. None of them knew who she was, they had never see her in their lives. But she always seemed so familiar. "No," he answered, "You think we should tell them the real truth yet?" "No!" Jess and Kaine answered in unison. They turned to glare at each other, before returning their gaze to Anton. "Face it bro," Kaine said, "We tell them the truth, they drug us until all the visions go away. And we still don't know what the drugs they do give us do." Anton looked at Jess, who shrugged. "Sorry, Ant," she urged away, "But yeah, I'm with Kaine on this one. You know they have been giving Mac a higher dosage than us, and you see what he is like. I am not giving SHIELD the chance to put more chemicals in me." "Fine," Anton looked away, his hairy face causing him to itch. He had multiple pairs of eyes, black empty spheres that looked across the room. Jess gave him a lingering look, before walking off into Herron. With a sigh she laid on her bed, gazing up at the images of Iron-Man, Iron-Patriot, and Spider-Man that covered her room. As she knew the tale, the four of them had been chosen by the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement Logistics Division, or SHIELD, to be mutated with Spider-Man's DNA. They were to be trained and educated, to the goal of one day being superheroes, though more covert. Aside from their common goal and origin, they had one other thing in common. They all suffered from large amounts of memory loss, some sort of mental condition. It had made them perfect subjects for enhancements, something about brain chemistry. The agents never really talked about it. Mac was the first to be enhanced, and it showed. He was in near constant pain, and he needed to wear a heavy suit of power armor just to survive. He had trouble thinking for long as well, after a time he would just start to panic. Then Anton had been enhanced, though his face seemed almost spider-like. Kaine had been next, with Jess as the final one to be enhanced, only three months ago. The four of them since that day had been training and been educated almost constantly, stopping only for rest and therapy. Jess snatched up her ball and tossed it against the wall, bouncing it back and forth. Soon enough the others would be done talking, and then the three of them would be back in the fray, possibly Mac too. For now she might as well relax. ------------------- Jess glanced over himself in the mirror. Her body was covered in a relatively tight burgundy suit, with the image of a white spider engraved on her chest. The suit covered up her face too, her eyes in fact were cloaked with two white ovals. The only parts of her visible were her fingertips and her hair. She crouched, tensing up her body. Then like a spring she released, swinging her fists rapidly. With a soft snort of approval she walked off, and waited. Soon enough the others arrived. Mac still wore his armor of course, though Kaine was now dressed in a black and scarlet uniform. Anton was dressed in a black skin-tight suit, with the image of a large white spider on his chest. "You coming?" she asked, leaning against the door. She slide aside, and Anton threw open the door. They walked into a large room, which began to slide up walls and devices even as they walked in. Soon enough four hallways emerged from the ground, twisting up and around the chamber. Besides them a pedestal rose, containing four flash drives within. The group plucked them, before turning to the rising maze. "Your objectives are to locate the plans and get back out," a voice said from behind plated glass. "Each of you will enter a course, this will be an individual exercise." "You really think that's smart?" Jess raised her eyebrow, "Mac only had an episode yesterday." "Thank you for your input," the voice boomed, "But we are prepared. Please begin." Jess shrugged, and made her way to the start of a passage. quickly she moved inside, while the others entered their paths. She moved quickly, letting her senses taking over. Suddenly she darted onto the ceiling, just as a cardboard cutout rounded the corner. From above she watched, before it passed behind her. She crawled on, reaching a patch of small dots lining the walls. With a keen eye she looked over the dots, projecting where their sensors led. Then carefully she bent her body, slipping between the invisible beams of light with an inhuman flexibility. As she went on she froze, reaching a metal door with a single panel. Crawling down, she ripped it open and began to readjust the wiring, memorized charts flickering within her mind. Finally she stood back, as the door slid open. She moved on, returning to the ceiling. As she crawled she peered down the turn up ahead, and spotted a cardboard figure moving back and forth. She waited, asking care to avoid its sight. Then with a launch of her web she latched onto the cardboard thing, just as it turned away. Quickly she webbed it up to the roof, and continued on, to another sealed door. Her hands flew through the wires again, and soon enough she was creeping down a curving hallway, still holding to the ceiling. Below her she could see cardboard entities rotating about, cameras mounted on them. Finally she reached a large central room, with four entrances. Kaine was already there, typing away at a monitor at the center of the room. Jess sighed, and crawled over to a computer. Quickly she made her way through, just as Anton came in, two battered cardboard heads in his hands. "Um...real people aren't so delicate, right?" he asked as he ran up from a flashing hallway. Jess smirked under her mask, before withdrawing the data into her device. Standing up Jess moved back into her path, just as Kaine began to stand up as well. Anton through his chunks down and got to work moving through the computer, even as cutouts entered from his hallway. "Good luck," she laughed, before leaping softly onto the ceiling. Quickly she raced down the hall, crawling along the roof. Behind her cardboard figures swerved, moving back and forth. She crawled on, making her way back through the open doors. As she crawled through the invisible beams she began to relax, it shouldn't be hard from here. As she made her way to the end, there was a sudden crash. With a shake of her head she raced outside, crossing the end before turning to face the fourth maze, which was currently being torn apart from within. Through the holes in that tunnel gas began to leak out, as the entrance closed upon itself. "Oh, Mac," Jess sighed with irritation, as Kaine walked out beside her. As the thrashing died down Kaine remarked, "How much longer do you think until they give up and just lock him away?" Jess chose not to respond, instead turning to face Anton as he came out. "Poor guy," Anton muttered, as the door behind them opened up. ------------------- A punch flew through the air, swiping above Jess's forehead. Her body flowed in a bend, dodging the bulk of the strike. Then with a twirl he leg threw out, skidding Anton across the ground. "Come on Ant," she blocked another strike before kicking him back, "You're usually better than this." "Where do you think Mac is?" he finally asked as he righted himself, before flinging his fists forward. "We haven't seen him for a whole day." Jess wove and leapt past his punches, her mind ablaze with sensation. Like all her brothers she could sense when danger was coming, an almost psychic ability. "I know," she grimaced, "They are probably force-feeding him all sorts of 'medicine,' trying to stop his outbursts. He probably won't know up from down by the end, if he ever did." Anton reached out, catching her arm. With a twist he spun her to the ground, smacking her against the padded floor. Breath erupted from her mouth as the wind was knocked out of her. With some strain her leg flipped out, tripping up Anton. As he stumbled Jess forced herself through the pain, flipping upright. Then with a thrust she slammed her fist into his neck, knocking him off balance. As she went for another attack, her head buzzed too late. A fist smashed into her side, knocking her off balance. With a few well placed swings Anton crashed again and again into her, causing her to collapse. "Okay, that is more like you," she laid on the ground, refusing his offer of his hand. From the corner Kaine walked up, as twin blades grew out of his wrists. "Want to go, bro?" he asked, the sharp bony blades pale and bleached. "That will have to wait," Agent Reilly stated coldly as he walked up to them. Their handler glanced down at Jess, who waved at him with disinterest. "Where is Mac?" asked Anton with concern. "He is suspended for the moment," Reilly answered, "Given his tendency to outburst. It appears your control over him is more flimsy than we thought. In the meantime, we have a mission for you." Jess forced herself upright as Reilly continued. "I believe you are aware of Hydra, the branch of the Nazis in WWII that primary fought Captain America?" The group nodded, they of course knew of the adversaries of the first superhero. The xenophobic villains had used an alien artifact to empower their worry, so they and their leader the Red Skull could take over the world. Given that that was about seventy years ago, Hydra clearly failed. "A sect of them survived to the modern day," Reilly continued, "And from what we heard they have acquired weaponry from the recent alien invasion." Jess leaned herself against a wall as she listened. A god of sorts named Loki had attacked Earth back in 2011, bringing with him an invasion of aliens. Loki's brother Thor, the revived Captain America, Iron-Man, and a few other heroes had banded to stop the invasion for SHIELD, in the large battle of New York City. The heroes called themselves the Avengers, the first team of superheroes. "And I suppose you want us to crack some skulls," Kaine crossed his arms as he retracted his bony blades. "Something to that effect," Reilly answered, "We tracked them to an island in the south pacific. We need you to break in and collect the alien technology. Stealth must be achieved, we don't want anyone knowing about you. We also need you to capture the leader in charge of the operation, a man known as the Baron." Jess grinned, "So you are saying our first mission is beating up Nazis? I like the way you think." Kaine snorted at her, which she smirked off. Anton looked away from his sibling as he stated, "Okay. Any idea what they got?" "At least fifteen of the Chitauri energy staffs," Reilly answered, as he led the three of them out of the training room, "Possibly some traces of the alien alloys. Don't fail us." ------------------- Jess shimmied across the trees, moving through the shadows. Kaine and Anton followed, the latter taking additional time to insure a lack of detection. The jungle was cast in the shadow of light, only the moon offering a glow. The three of them soon reached a cement facility, resting among the trees. Vines coiled around its sides, while guards and barbed wire surrounded its length. Trucks rested on its side, along with a few helicopters. "Alright, Ant," Jess glanced at her brother through her burgundy clothing, "What is the game plan here?" She was in her uniform, with a backpack hanging from her back. "There is no way I am going to be much help sneaking in," Anton answered, "I'm stay here as back-up. Jess, you are better with computers, you will access whatever vault their keeping the weapons in. Kaine, you are a lot better with taking people down silently..." "Pick off his guards one by one," Kaine extended his bone blades against the moonlight, "It's doable I guess. We'll go save the day while you go sit on your butt." "You run into trouble, call me," urged Anton. "And Kaine - don't kill anyone, especially the Baron. We need him alive. " "Just have a good time sitting on your butt," Kaine moved off, heading among the treetops to the facility. Jess gave Anton a look before commented, "You really shouldn't be here you know. You can't stealth to save your life." "Nice." He turned away. "SHIELD will figure that out soon enough," she disappeared into the jungle, "they'll put you on the front lines, and then you'll be an Avenger." As Jess crept away she heard Anton whisper, "Thanks," faintly enough that only she heard. She crept around the perimeter, until she found an overlapping tree. With a hoist she slung herself up, and dropped within the barrier. Quickly she darted alongside the walls, letting her instincts take over. Finally she peered along to the main door, a large metal entrance guarded by walls of cement. She waited, flexing her spine in anticipation. Then finally a soldier stepped forward, accessing the entry wall. She bolted, before thrusting herself behind him with barely a sound. Her body twisted in inhuman shapes as she shadowed him inside, her footsteps softened. Finally she made a break for it, leaving into the reaches of the installation. Jess nodded to herself, before scaling up the wall. She climbed along, making her way overhead. Her body lay crouched to the ceiling, hopefully blotting her from sight. She crawled along, making her way over to a large armory. Quickly she slipped past two sentry, and inside. "That was easy," she thought. "Crap, well I just jinxed everything. Ah, here we are." Her hands ran across the sealed section of the armory, where a collection of Chitauri weaponry and armor lay. Her eyes narrowed suddenly as she got a closer look. She knew that armor, they all did. It was just like the armor coiled around Mac's body. "Huh," Jess remarked aloud. "Well things just got weirder." Crouching down she torn off the metal casing of the lock, and began to retire it with some bemused interest. Time passed, as she let her senses feel around her. The strange sensation she felt was silent, no danger was incoming. Finally she stood back, pleased. As the door slid open she forced the panel back on, and made her way inside. As she reached the long weapons she laid down her pack, and began to load them within. Room in the bag was scarce, but just as she snapped a weapon to make it fit the pack, alarms began to flash. From her depths unleashed a grim sigh, before she smashed apart the weapons and armor she hadn't yet loaded. She raced out, finding the hallways barren. With a saliva hissing from her mouth she moved deeper into the facility, until she reached Kaine. His blades were drawn, as he stabbed and hacked through the guards with precision. He had a twisted look on his face, but it was not happy. Quickly she ran forward, spraying the foes with web and binding them to the ground. "Seriously?" she asked with a flip of her hand. "He spotted me," Kaine's gaze was fire as she cut through the foes. A few more pushed out of the woodwork, firing into the two heroes. Jess leapt and flung herself round, trying to miss the rain of bullets. As she sprayed another soldier with web, a gun smashed into her skull. She stumbled, before grabbing the enemy. With a twist she threw him into the wall, just as her mind ignited. She dropped to the ground, as an energy blast smacked into her. "I thought there - haha - was a staff missing," she managed as the operative fired again at her. Her teeth clenched she somersaulted away, narrowly avoiding the strike. Jess rolled past the enemy, before launching onto the wall. As she hung above the soldier she aimed, and then leapt. With a spin she smashed her fist into the foe's skull, swiping the staff in a clean move. Jess briefly winced, her body aching from the energy strike. In a twirl she whacked the staff into a charging soldier, before webbing him to the wall. Taking a moment to clutch her side, she spun around and clubbed another soldier. In a few deep breaths she caught her breath, as Kaine impaled the only other soldier in the current area. She gave him a look, as he pointed to door with his blade. Jess nodded, and raced over to a room on the left. The pain was subsiding, at least for the most part. She pushed the door open to see what she assumed was the baron's corpse, with a hole in his chest. As she bent over the leader, her head started to throbbed. A thumping drumbeat emerged in her head, and breathing grew scarce. She caught her head, she noticed her face was wet. Her mind raced, had she been shot, was she dying? No, the fluid was clear. This...why was she crying? Jess clutched her head, as her brain seemed to vibrate. Suddenly flashes began to tear into her thoughts, slamming into her in a sea of foreign but familiar thoughts. Thoughts that were hers, but not hers. She staggered as her parents left her, heading off into the night. She felt herself smashed to the ground, weak and vulnerable. But it wasn't her. It was a boy named Peter. Memories, memories of Peter Parker slammed into Jess, knocking her into a wall. Gwen Stacy, the accident at the lab, becoming Spider-Man, Captain Stacy's death, being taught by Curt Conners, fighting the Lizard. Uncle Ben's de- She clamped down on her lip, drawing blood. With a fierce stare she pushed back, holding onto herself in the tide. "I'm me. I'm me," she muttered to herself. Finally she leaned against the wall, as Kaine walked in, "Did it really take you that long to see he's dead?" he grumbled. "Y-yeah," Jess fought her way back to the top, "Let-let's go. Before more of them show up." "More of them already did," he grunted, leading her to the slightly increased hallway of corpses. As they ran out she realized she had forgotten to breath. Wind shot in and out of her, as she sprayed down another guard. Her lip oozed with crimson, as she sorted through herself. Finally she forced her breathing to grow stable. Distracting herself she asked, "So you didn't call Ant why?" "He doesn't belong here," Kaine answered, as they flipped onto a truck and then over the wall. "Humph," her consciousness settled as the dominant and solitary voice in her head. She was Jess, she had to be. She just...why did she and her brothers look so much like Spider-Man? ------------------- Jess flinched as Agent Reilly's voice carried through the walls of the Helicarrier. The group was currently on SHIELD's giant flying base, currently drifting in the ocean. Her head was in her hands, her tousled hair covering her face. She sat next to Anton, her head still echoing thoughts. "You okay?" Anton asked carefully, "You've been out of sorts since we went back." "...I need your help," she answered as Riley continued to reprimand Kaine, "I need you to distract them so I can check something on their database." "Why?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "I...I think I might know who the blonde girl is," she covered, "But I need to check. And I can't have them know I'm looking." Anton searched her face, before answering. "Alright. Just, be careful." She nodded, and swung up onto the ceiling. She crawled about, finding her way to an air vent. Carefully she pulled it free, and crawled inside. As she sealed it behind her she bent her body, stretching her spine to fit the narrow passage. She made her way through the ducts, her weight spread out carefully. Behind her she could hear SHIELD agents rushing, as Anton's voice screamed strange chants of cranes and scales. She shimmied to an exit, and twisted out. As she moved along she molded her spine, bending in inhuman motions. Finally she made her way to the bridge of the Helicarrier. Looking back and forth, she found it mostly empty. Carefully she crawled up to a monitor, and began to type away, softly. Her movements were frantic, as her mind uncoiled. And then Jess almost collapsed as words reached her. "...SS series failure due to brains growing malformed. Suggestion to modify SM series with Spider-Man's brain patterns..." "...SM series holds steady, thought still suffers from rapid age..." "...Decay reduced by constant supplements of variation 12B of 'Lizard' catalyst, stopping the accelerated aging..." "...Subject SM-1 suffers increased instability, aging at at least twice the rate of later versions. Increased dosage limits growth but seems to send SM-1 into spasms of pain..." "....Subject SM-4 has reached physical and mental growth enough for training, and will be given the designation 'Jess...'" "...Subject SM-2 through 4 show potential, SM-1 continues to suffer violent episodes. At times it has referred to the genetic template by name. Suggest termination." Jess pierced her lip again, as feelings of inhumanity seeped through her skull. "So," she sighed softly, "I'm a clone. I guess it makes a lot of sense in hindsight." As she half-laid in the chair, suddenly her mind reached another thought. Mac. Could he have remembered? Is that why? Those drugs... Closing the files, Jess stood up, and crept back out of the bridge. She would have some work to do. ------------------- Jess looked at herself in the reflective monitor, before snorting it off. "Guess I always did look pretty boyish," she stroked her chin, "I probably should be angsting about this or something. But honestly it won't change anything. Nothing I didn't already know." She snorted with a smirk, musing, "Although now I'm a little curious what my gooey white webs are made of." "What are you doing?" Reilly walked in, "Where you cleared to use this?" "Oh this?" she shrugged as she turned away from the computer, "Yeah, I got permission." "Mrs. Webb has been looking for you," Riley said, "You have been acting erratic since your first mission." "Well my brother slaughtered a bunch of people," she answered, "But honestly, I've got over it. This is a messy business, and there are people who have it a lot worse than me. A lot worse." She wasn't lying. "Humph," he replied, "Just wrap this up and see her." She grunted in response, waiting for him to leave. As he walked off she pulled out a needle, a green fluid floating within. Then with a casual twist of her hand she injected it into her arm, piercing a vein. "Well," she began to turn off the genetic sequencing technology, "Now we wait. Hopefully this will work better than 12B or whatever." She walked away, exiting the sterile white laboratory. As she walked her arm throbbed, but she ignored the sensation. What was important was if it worked. And if it did work, she then would have to find a way to get it to Mac. The idea that he saw those memories all the time did not stop troubling her. Jess hadn't learned how to modify DNA from SHIELD, at least to this level. No, that came from Peter. Curt Conners, aka the Lizard, had shared with him a lot of his knowledge of genetics. And now the knowledge belonged to her. She diverted into her room, swiping a rubber ball as she walked. The sphere bounced with each step she took, only to be caught on the rebound. "Good to see you Jessica," Mrs. Webb stated, "Please, lay down." Jess relented, and flopped onto the couch. She began to launch the ball back and forth as she asked, "So why do you need to see me?" "You have seemed strained recently," Mrs. Webb answered, "Missing meals, losing sleep, in general you seem more distant." "I've had a lot on my mind," she shrugged, as she began to perform trick-shots off the walls. "About what exactly?" Webb asked, " Your brother's actions on that mission?" Jess snorted, " I was more annoyed than anything. I mean, they were Nazis, piercing their skulls is too good for them." "But you didn't kill any of them," Mrs. Webb remarked. "Me?" Jess flicked the ball to the ceiling, catching it in the opposite hand, "it's not like I have retractable blades or anything, I just shoot web. And suffocating someone is just disgusting. Speaking of garbled mouths, where is Mac anyway?" Mrs. Webb looked up and replied, "He is being treated in another facility, why?" "He's my brother," Jess twirled the ball between her fingers, "Do I need another reason?" "Well no," Mrs. Webb admitted, "But you have spent several sessions discussing his tendency to lash out at everyone and how he had attacked you several times." Jess shrugged, "Eh, family is about compromise. He attacks me, I get some exercise." "Alright," Mrs. Webb answered, "Now, have you had any more visions?" "Same as always," she gave Mrs. Webb a calm stare, "Just some quick flashes, I still have no idea what they are about." ------------------- Jess lay with her legs against the wall, her body upside down. Her eyes looked up to the ceiling, surveying her collection of posters of the superheroes. Hulk's gaze looked down at her, the green ogre-like brute laying between two posters of Iron-Man and Spider-Man. "You wanted to see us?" Anton peered around the doorway, while Kaine strolled in. Jess nodded, still laying against the wall. "I probably should have told you earlier," she remarked, "But you know how we suspect the visions are memories? Well they are, and I remember everything?" "So what did SHIELD mess up on?" Kaine asked as his gaze drifted around the room. "Oh they messed up bad," Jess replied, "For one thing, I'm like four months old." There was a silence as she continued, "You know all the memories in the backs of our heads, those are Spider-Man's. We're his clones." "What?" Anton said, "But - why won't they tell us?" "Who knows?" she shrugged, "They started growing Mac about a year ago, then you two, then me. Our bodies age rapidly, the only reason we aren't adults is because those drugs they feed us keep us growing at a 'normal' pace." "I...they should have told us," Anton shook his head as Kaine started at his blades, "We could have helped. Wen- what about Mac?" "He ages even quicker." Her eyes returned to the ceiling. "I've been working on a way to stop it, it seems to work since I'm not shriveled up yet." "You tested on yourself," Anton stepped forward, " Jess, you should be-" "They are going to terminate Mac," Jess swiveled her eyes to her older brother, "I don't have time to run tests." Anton fell silent, when Kaine suddenly scrapped a blade against the wall. "I always thought I was a monster," he snorted, "Not a tool." "Anyway I thought you should know," Jess returned to watching image of the Hulk, "Just don't go crazy yet okay?" Anton sighed as he looked over his many limbs. "Why won't they tell us?" he asked, "Did they think it would change anything?" "I would say their silence changed a lot," Kaine walked off, letting his blades carve into the walls. "...I should follow him," Anton looked after Kaine. "Are you going to be okay?" "Yeah," she shrugged, "I mean my past is a lie, but I'm not." Anton nodded, and cautiously departed into the hallway. ------------------- Jess typed rapidly while Anton faked an episode elsewhere. She sat in front of a monitor, her fingers danced in an attempt to pose as a high-ranked SHIELD official. Finally she relaxed her hands, and sent the message. From her depths emerged a yawn, driving her to rub into her eyes. As she closed the computer she paused, footsteps were coming this way. Quickly she leapt onto the ceiling, laying flat against its corner. A SHIELD agent walked in, and planted himself directly beneath her. Looking back and forth, he opened a file and began to play pinball. "This is bad," she thought to herself. His fingers stumbled over the keys, even as a muted pitch buzzed. "Thor above," she thought, "He just ran out of balls again. Yeah, if he has a goal he is going to be here for hours. Better be careful." Softly she dragged herself on her fingertips, letting them carry here along the roof slowly and cautiously. She stretched out as she moved along, before reaching out and pulling herself forward. She froze suddenly, as footsteps sounded outside. "...not sure it really is destabilizing," Riley said as he walked past, "Sure it knows too much, but SM-2 has been consistently coming off too unevenly..." "Crap," she thought, as she hauled herself out of the room. With a light tap she landed on the floor to the side of the door, and walked off. She made her way the common room, where agents were departing from. As the last of the left she said, "Riley thinks you're faking." "Let him," Anton said. "So how is Mac?" "He's off his meds," she muttered, "He's aged like two years from when we last saw him. But he should be here soon enough." "We need to talk about Kaine," Anton glanced around. "I know you have been busy trying to save Mac, and all of us, but he has been getting...distant." "Speaking of which, I should have another batch ready by Mac's arrival," Jess crashed onto a couch, and laid sprawled. "This is serious," Anton said, "I know he isn't typically happy, but he has started to get physical with the guards. And he's started to imply to them that he knows what we are." "How we were made," she corrected as she blinked slowly, "But yeah, he usually doesn't get physical with the ah..." Her words drifted as she yawned. "Jess, you need to stay awake," Anton urged, forcing her to stretch, "I worry he is going to do something he will regret." "Yeah," Jess stood back up, "Right. Just a little tired. You think he is planning something, or is this just a moment of passion kind of thing?" "I don't think it really matters," Anton sat beside her, clasping his head, "He just...you know he never liked his powers." "Well yeah," Jess rubbed her eyes, "His arms grow knives and his body produces addictive pheromones that work on only one person. Not the most heroic powers." "And now he knows he was designed like that," Anton continued, "He probably thinks he was made just to control his brother and to kill." "Hey, he chooses to kill," Jess returned, "If he wanted to he could just rely on his raw strength." "Just...he is under a lot of strain right now," Anton laid one of his hands on her shoulder, "See if you can talk to him." "Alright," she nodded, "After we help Mac I'm going to sleep for a day." "Glad to hear it," he stood up, letting her lay into the couch, her body splaying like a rag doll. ------------------- "Can you honestly say it doesn't bother you?" Kaine crossed his arms. "It won't change anything if I moped about it," Jess shrugged, "Except you know, they would get suspicious." "We aren't even real," Kaine extended his blades and spread open his arms, "Just tools for SHIELD. They know it, and you know it too." "Yeah I get that we are tools," she answered, "But really, that surprises you? We know how every other word from SHIELD is some sort of lie." "The point is," Jess pushed Kaine's blades in, "We are real. I don't know how much you remember but you definitely aren't Peter Parker. And I'm not a perfect Peter either." "So you really think you're a girl?" "Truthfully it doesn't matter," she turned away, "But no." "Well at least you aren't in full denial," Kaine remarked, "So do I have to call you 'he' from now on?" "Call me what you like," she shrugged, "Honestly I don't feel particularly male either. I think the word for it is androgyne." "And you know that word why?" "I looked it up sometime ago," she answered, "Back before the whole visions-thing." "So what is Peter like anyway?" asked Kaine, "According to you?" Jess looked down, "He is...he began his time as Spider-Man as a hunter, seeking vengeance. He was trying to fight crime for revenge, only after this was pointed out did he try to help stop all crime." "Humph," Kaine said, gesturing for her to continue, "We were practically brainwashed by SHIELD. Without it we won't are until we were effected." "Except neither of us trusts SHIELD," she turned around on a dime. "True," he rounded, "Which is why you should trust me not to do something stupid. Unless you are planning to slaughter our masters." "I have felt the urge to throttle some of them," Jess sighed, "Okay look. Just try to tone down the confrontations. If they were going to 'terminate' Mac, they will jump on us if we get too rebellious. And like it or not, SHIELD is not the worse group out there." "Fine," he growled, "But when they turn on us I'll be ready." "Good," she answered with a grim grin. ------------------- Jess stabbed with her needle, piercing Kaine's arm. "That should take care of your aging problem," she twirled the needle, "Ready Anton?" "Alright," he held out his arm, letting her inject the chemicals within. He clutched his am, remarking, "You didn't mention how much it hurts?" "You didn't ask," she slide the needle into her pocket, "Now Mac arrived here two hours ago," Anton laid out a map of the facility, "And is kept here, in the second basement. We need to get the cure to him-" "It's not a cure," Jess crossed her arms, "There was nothing wrong with us, we just needed some help." "Right," Anton smiled, "But we need to help Mac now. Jess mapped out the lower levels while she was creating this, so she knows the terrain. You need to head down there be give it Mac while-" "-I'll be the distraction this time," Kaine interrupted. "...Alright," Anton said, "I'll start it off. Just be careful." "Oh fine," Jess gave her brothers a brief hug, before the three of them branched off. She slipped off, heading into the maze of hallways. She darted forward, keeping to the blind spots of the cameras. Suddenly she leapt onto the ceiling, just as two agents walked pay. She clung tight as one asked, "You hear something, Daisy?" "No," his partner shrugged, "It was probably your imagination. You're so jumpy." "I guess," he admitted, "But you can't blame me. In the last few years we've found a frozen World War II hero, discovered a race of gods, had an alien invasion in New York City, almost had that whole city turn into lizard men, and had the iPad. It's enough to put anyone on edge." The two of them walked off, allowing Jess to continue. Reaching a door she slid it open, and peered down the staircase to the bottom floor. With a faint grin she leapt, falling through the gps between the stairways. Then on all fours she landed on the bottom, with a soft thud. With a smile she walked to the door, and began to type at the entry's electronic pad. After a hot series of typing the door slid open, and she hurried inside. A odd collection of objects and gadgetry hung in the chamber. Bits of the Iron Monger, pieces of Chitauri artifacts, experimental Phase Two tech, some of the drones used on the attack on the Stark Expo a few years back. "Okay this is tempting," she ran her hands over the metal faceplate of the Iron Monger, "Really tempting." Turning away she looked through the rows of advanced technology, until she spotted her target. Mac was in a cage, still wearing his costume that was made from a Chitauri Environmental Suit. He caught sight of her as she approached, and stood up. "Sis...How you?" he grunted, "Why you here?" "I remember Peter," she answered, looking over him. He was still fairly young, but some years had definitely passed for him. "Sorry," he looked down, "You need advice?" "No," her eyes momentarily grew, "I have something that can help." She pulled out the needle and explained, "This will stop your aging, you can live without being drugged all the time." Mac looked at the needle and commented, "Life never easy. What side effects?" Jess rubbed the back of her head, "I'm not really sure. But I took it about a week ago, and I haven't noticed anything." "Might have change your mind," Mac said, as he reached through the bars, taking the needle. Then with a quick thrust he stabbed his neck, and shuddered. "Hurts little," he said as he stretched his neck. "Yeah," she answered, "So do you know why we see his memories?" "I think," Mac answered, "It sense we have. Sense know danger, what happen next. Maybe it also know what happen before. Maybe we link to him. I not know." "Yeah I'm not sure I buy the...Spider Sense? idea," Jess admitted, "Our brains were initially molded after his, so that might be why. Not that it really affected our personalities. Maybe its a combin-" She suddenly paused, as that sensation buzzed in her head, she swiveled around as SHIELD agents charged in, their gun's cocked. "Okay, what's with the guns?" she asked, "I just wanted to know if he was okay." Mac stirred, pushed against the cage. Sparks danced from the electric fence, singing his hands. There was a silence, before an agent asked, "What did you just give him?" "Respect?" she offered, as red lights hit her eyes, "Okay, stop that, I like my sight. It was a chemical that should stop his aging. You know, you could have told us." "So that's it?" the agent narrowed his gaze. "I hope so, I injected myself with it like a week ago," Jess glanced over her body, "And before you ask, I already remembered Spider-Man before that. Now can you get the gun out of my face?" "Any of that chemical left?" another agent asked as he lowered his gun. The others followed, slowly. Mac handed her the needle and she commented, "Eh, maybe half a dose? Interested in beauty products are we?" "Hand it over." Jess rolled her eyes, before tossing over the syringe to the soldier who put his gun down first. "Happy now?" she asked. " Agent Reilly," a soldier spoke over his radio, "We have found SM-4 injecting SM-1 with some sort of cure-" "It's not a cure," Jess sighed. "-for his destabilization." "Was there any left?" a voice consumed with static asked. "Yes, she handed over the remains," the soldier's eyes never left her, "Sir, she claims to remember Spider-Man." "Take it out." Jess's eyebrows raised in half-surprise, as her head began to buzz. Her body tensed, as her mind began to project. Mac immediately began to shove into his electric cage, fighting through the energy. "Uh, sir she doesn't seem hostile-" "Take. It. Out. Now." There was a pause, before guns clicked towards her. "Yeah," Jess muttered, "the pronouns should have given it away." Mac suddenly exploded through his cage, sending shards of metal flying. With a roar he crashed into them. Bullets flew at him, rebounding off his arm. As Mac tore his way through the agents, Jess darted forward, rolling and ducking through the hail of gunfire. With a twist she unleashed bursts of webbing, binding agents to the ground. Suddenly pain screamed into her, as a bullet impaled itself into her arm. She bit her lip, breaking open her ever expanding scar. Turning around she unleashed a whip of web, pelting into the face of the shooter. With a twist of her arm she swung him into a trio of other soldiers, staggering them. Jess stumbled, as she released the soldiers in a pile, falling down onto her knee. As she panted Mac tore through the others, smashing into them. Bullets ricocheted off his armor, whizzing around the room. As she forced herself up on a bent knee, Jess blasted the soldiers she had just knocked out, locking them to the ground in webbing. Behind her Mac flew through the soldiers into the ground, leaving them scattered. Jess forced herself to move, letting adrenaline shove her forward as crimson rain followed her. In a jerky charge she sprayed the soldiers Mac had pummeled, while her left arm dangling behind her. As her head ignited with sensation, she leapt over some further gunfire, splattering scarlet drops in the air. With a swing Jess smashed her fist into another soldier, before binding her to the ground. Jess flipped over the soldier, dodging another hail of gunfire. Her breath heavy, she spotted the syringe, still clutched in an agent's hands. With a roll she leapt wrenched the syringe free as she rolled past a patch of agents, before spraying them down. Jess landed back on the ground, clutching at her arm. Mac rampaged forward, sweeping his tail against the soldiers. As they smashed into the walls he barreling down upon others, letting Jess bind them. As Jess bound the last of the soldiers, the two of them looked around. Crimson dripped from her mouth and arm as Jess turned to Mac. "Want to - ahah - go rogue?" "Yes," he grunted, as he offered her his hand. "I'm - ahahah - fine," she clenched up, "Come on, we need to meet up with the others." Mac nodded, before swinging her onto his back. As Mac ran Jess shot two bursts of web from her arm, whipping the Iron Monger helmet and a Chitauri staff over. "Catch," she slammed down the helmet, covering Mac's exposed face, "If we are cutting ties, I'm looting." The two broke the surface, to see a thrown agent smash the wall beside them. Kaine walked up, and muttered, "I see things are going well on your end." his blades were out and bloody, and red dripping from his side. "Likewise," Jess forced herself off of Mac at Kaine's gaze, "So what's the plan?" "Okay," Anton massaged his head as he came up, "I-I-we can't stay here. And we need to get you medical aid." Two of his limbs lay limb, and his right leg seemed shaky. "I'm fine," Jess straightened her gaze, "But what do you suggest?" She walked over to Anton, and spread webbing over the tears in his flesh. "...I don't think we can get help from the Avengers," admitted Anton, "Maybe from Banner or Captain America, but Banner is monitored, and Cap is...also working for SHIELD." "Yeah," Jess nodded, as Kaine looked ahead, " So again, what's the plan here?" "I don't know," Anton clasped his head in his hands, "There are only like eight superheroes in the whole world, and it just..." "We aren't going to Spider-Man," Jess decided, "He has enough to deal with without a bunch of clones arriving on his doorstep." "Yes," Mac agreed, muffled inside the helmet. Suddenly a trio of soldiers ran up, guns cocked. Instinctually, Jess rolled forward and soaked the three of them in twin jets of web. As the soldiers smashed to the wall, Jess rubbed into her arm. Suddenly their heads ignited with sensation, just before machine gun fire erupted at them. Kaine grunted in agony as he stumbled, while Reilly open fired at them. The sharp bladed clone crumbled to the ground, bleeding in torrents. The group scattered under the barrage, leaping back and forth. In a rush Mac charged him, absorbing the bullets with his armor. Metal shards clanged against his captured helm, rebounding wildly. From behind Mac leapt Anton, who quickly swung his fists down at Reilly. The agent leapt back, just as Jess flipped behind him. With her fingers in the shape if a gun, Jess let fly her goo into him. As Reilly stumbled about in sticky bonds, Anton picked him up, and stuck his back to the wall. Coldly Jess walked up to him, as he struggled against the web. "Inhuman little-" Jess jabbed her fingers into his mouth, and unleashed a flood of web through her pain. Reilly coughed and struggled, as she muttered, "Oh just breath through your nose." Anton pulled her arm away, a blank state in his eyes. "He's fine," she grumbled, "It's not like they didn't study my webs." Turning away, Jess walked over to Kaine, and began to seal up his wounds with web. As she helped him over to Anton, Jess caught sight of her two oldest brothers staring at her." "What?" she asked, "Look I know SHIELD can dissolve my webs, they do clean-up for every training session. And if you think he didn't deserve it-" "Your arm," Anton managed. Jess looked at her left limb, and flexed it. It stung fiercely to move, but it worked now. In place of the tear was a scar, and the blood had stopped flowing. "Okay, I can't heal like that," she remarked, before looking at the syringe. "Well I guess there were some side-effects then." "Well that's convenient," Kaine moaned in Anton's arms, "But to get to the point, maybe we should get our stuff and go before we find out how many bullets we can take. Okay?" "Right," Anton pulled himself up, "Okay, here is what we do. We run. Head as distant and far off as we can, stopping only to get directions to remote cities and to try to help as many people as we can." "And we won't keep a low profile and not be vigilantes why?" Jess gave him a look. "Look we'll decide what to do then," Anton hauled Kaine off, "Come on." The group nodded and tore into their rooms. Clothes and a scattering of personal items were tossed inside backpacks, slung over shoulders. Then with a nod the four of them sprinted off, running as fast as they could. ------------------- "Sir, why aren't we pursing them?" Nick Fury turned around, "That is a very good question. A very good question." "Sir, Kaine maimed over fifteen agents. And you saw what Jess did to Reilly." "Do not think for a second that we are letting them go," Fury reinforced, "But in case you didn't notice, they are a bunch of teenagers with incredible power and at least some abnormalities in their brains." "Sir?" "Pretty much everyone here just tried to kill them," Fury tensed, "And they took out all of them without trying. We go up against them right now, and it will be a bloodbath. We need the Avengers for this." "Until then we are watching them," Fury rounded, "Carefully. Don't think I don't know that Kaine is a walking time bomb, and given the permanent damage to Reilly's mouth, I would agree that Jess definitely warrants some concern." "So do we treat this like the Hulk sir? "For the moment. And given how they just learned that they aren't even human, I think they have the right to a little freak out. The fact that none of my men are dead is going to keep the four of them alive." "So we see what they do. It's not like the Avengers are saints, if they want to become heroes or something then great for them. But the second they cross the line we bring them in screaming." "Yessir." "Now tell me, do we have any idea what she put in that cure?" "No sir." "Put all cloning on hold," Fury looked out, "We are not about to have a repeat of this. Did we at least isolate his mutation?" "We made some progress," the agent nodded, "But the aging took up most of our research." "Well get what we can," Fury turned away, "We have a lot of work to do. "Yessir."

Here is my entry to the Forbidden Animal Planet Contest. The Giant Spider Colony of Arachnos V has had enough of the human incursion into their territory, so decide to attack an outpost on one of the smaller moons orbiting the planet. The humans are taken completely by surprise by the airborne assault, and the outpost is soon ablaze. Defensive cannons and anti-aircraft cannons fire up at the attacking Black Widow Interceptors manned (or should that be 'spidered'?) by the elite Red Guards, but damage to the Spider ships is minimal. Wolf Spider Stealth-Recon Ships flit over the battlefield, directing the Giant Spider Shock Troopers, but this infantry has to contend with the human's Main Battle Tank as it defends the bridgehead. Will the Giant Spiders succeed in their mission to retake their territory, or will the humans 'stamp' out this rebellion? Giant Spiders Attack! by mjfirefly, on Flickr Main Battle Tank - Microscale, with Giant Spider Pilot for reference by mjfirefly, on Flickr 'Wolf'' Spider Recon Ship by mjfirefly, on Flickr More pics can be found by clicking on any of the above pics which will take you to the relevant Flickr set. Thanks!