[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/XV1PIyT.jpg?2[/img][/center] [quote=@Simple Unicycle] I rush at her, swinging the blade, which she easily avoids with a sidestep. She slings one of her webs at me, using it to throw me through another wall; just as planned. The building groans in protest, and I pull myself back to my feet again. It's already close to collapsing in on itself, and I'm sure a bunch of the people around here weren't happy with the eyesore. I'm just doing them a favor, which just so happens to help me out too. I wipe the blood from the corner of my mouth as she approaches, knife still at the ready. [color=black][b]"... That the best you got?"[/b][/color] [/quote] He comes at me again, swinging wildly with the blade. I dip below the strike, grab his arm, and toss him with another judo-like throw. At least I think it's judo-like. I dunno. I watched a lot of judo at the Olympics a few years ago. It's in a moment like this that I realize I really have no clue how to actually fight. I'm just getting by on my powers. Maybe I should work on that at some point. [color=ec008c][i][b]Focus, Stacy![/b][/i][/color] Castle slides across the grimy floor and slams into another wall, which buckles from the impact. He doesn't stay down though. He spits blood all over the floor, probably not the first time that's happened in this germ trap, and smiles at me. That red and white grin just tells me all I need to know. Frank Castle enjoys this. He enjoys getting his ass kicked, and if this continues, I could really hurt this guy. Usually the bad guys stay down after I hit them a few times. But this? This is crazy. This guy is legit nuts. The knife comes at me again, but he follows up his strike with a fist, and then a foot. He's a whirlwind of strikes. None of them land, but all of them slam through the walls of the derelict building. I dip and dodge out of the way as the two of us dance in this dusty dump. He doesn't stop though, at least not until I manage to web his hand to the floor. I flip back away from him to catch my breath, when I realize the groaning of the building as become a constant. All around me, the walls continue to crumble. A huge chunk of ceiling from the floor above slams down, separating Punisher and I. As it does, I see him cutting the webbing away from his trapped hand. But at this point, there's more important problems to deal with. The sounds of crashing steel, glass, and plaster fill my ears, and I realize this building is coming down. Now. I start firing webbing off left and right in an attempt to solidifying the structural integrity of the rotting complex. But I'm not gonna do any good inside. [color=ec008c][b]"Shit,"[/b][/color] I curse my luck, realizing the Punisher is either going to escape or die here tonight. But if this building comes down, it could injure innocent people around it, and I can't have that. I turn and fire a webline out of a gaping hole in the side of the nearest wall, and escape into the fresh air. [color=0054a6]"What the hell is that!?"[/color] Peter asks about the sounds he hears through the comms. [color=ec008c][b]"The bastard 'Super Shredder'ed me!"[/b][/color] I respond as I swing around the building. I attach lines from the building to its neighbors, as I wrap the webline I'm swinging on around it. Dust, debris, and dirt shoot out the sides as the walls buckle and crumble. It looks like a full soda can being crushed by a vice, if I'm being honest. A soda can full of pee mattresses. Disgusting. Thankfully, my webbing holds, and the final creak of the collapsing building echoes down the streets of New York. I let out a deep sigh, but the relaxation is brief, as the momentary silence is replaced with the scream of sirens. Before long, cop cars choke the street I'm on, and out of one of them comes my dad. [color=ec008c][b]"Hey!"[/b][/color] I do my best to mask my voice, more than I normally do. The cops point their guns at me, and I put my hands up, with my feet sticking to the side of a fire escape, [color=ec008c][b]"Don't shoot. Punisher is in there. Well, at least he was. Be careful."[/b][/color] Before any of them can respond or, knowing cops, shoot at me, I swing off. [center]**********[/center] [color=92278f][b]"Impressive,"[/b][/color] Black Tarantula smiles as the scene plays out on the screen in front of her. [color=92278f][b]"And you have the drone constantly follow her?"[/b][/color] [color=c4df9b]"No,"[/color] the man next to her responds. [color=c4df9b]"So far it's not fast enough to keep up with her swinging. But it shows up when there's sufficient police presence. Where there is crime and suffering, there will be Spider-Woman. The more data I acquire about her, the more I can refine my designs, and find out how to replicate the process that created her."[/color] [color=92278f][b]"You want to make more of them?"[/b][/color] the Tarantula asks in horror. [color=c4df9b]"No, not exactly,"[/color] the bespectacled man chuckles softly. [color=c4df9b]"Similar...but more...let's just say obedient. Our contract says we need to start human trials years from now. But this is science. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I hope to provide the world with a new generation of Captain Americas, my dear. To ensure the human race can protect itself for the day that these...gods and monsters decide to subjugate us. Across all history more advanced races always wiped out the less advanced ones. It's only a matter of time before that happens again."[/color] [color=92278f][b]"Mhm,"[/b][/color] Black Tarantula nods. [color=92278f][b]"And how can you guarantee obedience?"[/b][/color] [color=c4df9b]"A matter of biology,"[/color] Doctor Otto Octavius leans forward, his bespectacled face suddenly illuminated by the screens and drone footage. The Oscorp scientist had tracked the crime lord down days ago, after the Spider-Woman had foiled the hit at the docks. How he knew about the Silk Syndicate's presence in the city was unknown, but he wanted to help with the Spider-Woman situation. He is ambitious, possibly more so than the tarantula. All he wants is to push his field of understanding and combating the new metahuman threat forward, in a way others seem to be afraid to do. [color=c4df9b]"All across the animal kingdom are examples of workers and warriors compelled to protect their homes at the command of their kings and queens. All it takes is discovering the correct combination of variables, my friend."[/color] He smiles as he watches Spider-Woman swing away. He was handsome, if disheveled. A true scientist in look. His auburn hair hangs around his ears, and is in a perpetual state of mussed. His strong cheekbones save his slightly-chubby face from being plain. [color=c4df9b]"Just a question of variables. Shall we proceed with the next experiment?"[/color] [color=92278f][b]"Let's,"[/b][/color] Black Tarantula smiles before putting a finger to their ear. [color=92278f][b]"Enforcers, I'm sending you Spider-Woman's coordinates. Move in, and neutralize the target."[/b][/color] Octavius leans back and produces a bowl of popcorn from below his desk. He trows a handful into his mouth and begins munching on the popped kernels, [color=c4df9b]"I do hope this show is as good as you're promising. So far, it's living up to my expectations."[/color]