[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/oQJAsoY.png?1[/img][/center] The winter wind whips through the streets of New York around me as I pace on the sidewalk outside the Osbron compound. Conflicting feelings rush through me as I consider all the ways this night can go. Will MJ and Harry be annoyed that I actually showed up? Will they be cool with me being here? Maybe even happy? I don't know. All I know is that I'm more nervous to see the people that, up until a few weeks ago, I consider my best friends than I am to ever go up against a super villain. That's probably a bad thing, right? Peter eyes me suspiciously as he leans on a pole nearby, "You're sure you're okay with this? We don't have to go in." "Of course we have to go in," I grumble. "It's my homework." Sensei insisted that I come tonight. After a talk, he decided that it would be a prime place for me to practice emotional control and on the spot meditative techniques. I didn't fight that, as it, unfortunately, does make a lot of sense. If I can't keep my head when talking to normal people, I'm never going to do it in the heat of battle. "I don't think you should be thinking about a party with your friends that way," he says helpfully. "No, I shouldn't," I agree. "But right now I do." "Well, should we go in?" he asks. "Sure," I shrug. "No turning back now." The two of us walk into the grand foyer of the Osborn Manor, something that never fails to take my breath away. A grand set of marble stair cases wrap around in front of us, representing the strands of DNA, just like the design inspiration for Oscorp Tower. The gleaming white of the entrance way shocks the sytem, and the size of the house has always been too big for the family, even when Harry's mom was still alive. But Norman doesn't do anything half way. People fall into hushed whispers as I walk by them, leading me to believe no one thought I was going to show up. "Oh man, she's here!" Flash Thompsons calls out as if he's a pro wrestling announcer. "Things are about the heat up!" "Drama!" Liz Allen exclaims, wrapped around his arm. I take some deep breaths, trying to gain my center like Dragon has been teaching me to do. Normally I'd probably have yelled something back at those two. So, hey, progress! I spot Glory and Betty standing by the big fire pit outside, and decide that's probably where I should start with my apology tour. The two of them were innocents caught in MJ and my war of words. No reason I shouldn't try and mend that fence before dealing with MJ. "Hey," I sidle up to the two of them, brushing my hair back, pinning it behind my ear. "How's it going." "Whoa," Betty gasps, yet still talks in her normal, monotone voice filled with an unimpressed tenor. "I did not think you were gonna show." "Yea, girl," Glory offers me a drink, but I wave it away, "you guys gonna have it out again?" "I hope not," I wince at her. "Sorry for that. Didn't mean to put you guys in the middle like that." "I mean, you weren't totally wrong," Betty admits. "Neither was she, to be fair. But she was being a diva." "She's been a lot better since then, if I'm being honest," Glory adds. "So maybe you got through to her a bit." I look surprised, "You guys have been practicing without me?" "Kinda," Betty rolls her eyes. "We had two sessions." "Yea, I dunno if you know," Glory chuckles, "but it's really hard to play rock music without a drummer." I laugh along with the two of them. I know it's only been like a week since I stormed out of the last show, but it still feels longer. Maybe Pete is right. This is going to be good for me. "Well, you came," Harry's voice almost makes me physically flinch. I turn to find him eyeing me suspiciously. I don't blame him. I didn't even tell him what I was feeling to his face like I did with MJ. Instead, he heard it all second hand. That makes it worse. That always makes it worse. "I'm glad your here. Hope it's not too over the top for you." The dig hits hard, and I hear Betty and Glory shuffle away from the two of us. A spike of anger rises in my throat. Who is he to throw that back in my face? He's the one that's been acting like a spoiled sweet sixteen chick. He's the one that's been bragging about his daddy's money and robots who want to kill me. I just told his girlfriend how it is. How is he the one that gets to throw things back in my face? Richard Dragon's words about control and balance float through my head, interrupting that train of thought. I take a deep breath, and look back up at Harry, who seems to be waiting for the blow up. "Listen, Harry, it was wrong of me to say those things the way I did," I begin to apologize. "If I had a problem with how you or MJ were acting, I should have come to the two of you as a friend. We've known each other forever. There's no reason I should have kept it bottled up inside until it exploded out of me." "Yea, well, maybe we were being a little-" Something catches his attention behind me, and I turn to see something going on at Times Square. More of the party goers begin to flock to the TV as their phones begin to alert them of the disturbance at the famous New Years gathering space. I stand back from the crowd, but get a good vantage point. I can't hear what the panicked reporters and emcees are saying on the broadcast, but I can see the events unfold. A weird, bubble-like force field envelops the area, coming straight out of the streetlights in Times Square. That means whoever is doing this had a plan long in the making. It's not easy to do that kind of thing in a tourist area, at least not quickly. Suddenly, the screen turns to fuzz, and replacing the scene is a man with fiery red hair and a gleaming white suit. He twirls a cane around in his hand, smiling broadly as he does it. He tosses it into the air before snatching it and taking a bow as if waiting for applause. "Ladies and gentlemen of New York," he starts, sounding almost like a carnival barker trying to entice the viewers into playing a game, "happy new year! Well, not yet, I guess. But I'm here to make the last few hours of the year some you will never forget. As you can see, I've encased Times Square and everyone in it in a little bubble of my own design. Neat, huh?" He raises his eyebrows to the camera, "Nothing can get in or out...including air! By my calculations, everyone inside that bubble has until the stroke of midnight for it to come down before suffocation becomes a real problem, and this New Year becomes a tragic one." Walking around, he continues, "But how can we save the people, you may ask? Simple. You can't. My game is only made for one. I have covered New York in challenges for the amazing Spider-Woman to complete. If she does so in time, everyone lives. If she fails? Well then, she has even more blood on her hands." A sinister, chesire grin appears on the screen as he stares into the camera, "Time is running out, Spider-Woman. You have three hours. Better get to the Empire State Building so our little game can begin." He backs up and opens his arms, presenting himself to the camera, "Ladies and gentlemen of New York! My name is Arcade, and I will be your host for tonight! Allow me to welcome you to Murderworld: New York!" The feed cuts back to a live shot of Times Square as I begin to head out. Before I can, MJ gets in my way, "Gwen, you can't leave now. It's clearly not safe. Plus I thought we could talk." "MJ, I would love to talk, but I need to go," I try and protest, realizing I have absolutely no good excuse to get away. "I...my dad will probably want me to be home with all this going on." "Going out there is dangerous, Gwen," she looks at me like I'm crazy. "Are you so afraid to be stuck somewhere with me that you'd risk you life?" "What? No," I recoil and shake my head. "I just...you wouldn't understand." "Yea, clearly there's a lot I don't understand about you anymore," she rolls her eyes and bumps past me in order to join the rest of the party. "Ouch," Peter sighs. "There's no good way that could have ended." "Can you get somewhere to help me out? There's no way this is going to be easy tonight," I plead with him. "Yea, I'll figure something out. Now go. Those people are counting on you." I kiss him on the cheek, then move as fast as I can towards the middle of Manhattan.