Crash Pad

The group of young heroes known as the New Warriors were just given a surprising piece of information. They discovered that their youngest member, Spider-Woman—seventeen-year-old Mattie Franklin—was pregnant with her boyfriend’s child. That boyfriend being another New Warrior, Gravity—college freshman Greg Willis.

“…damn,” said Ricochet. He noticed Spider-Woman had turned her back to the rest of the group and he tried to comfort her. “Mattie…I’m sorry, I didn’t know, I just—”

“Not now, Rico,” she said. “Just…not now.”

She extended her arm, a psionic web firing from her fingertips and latching onto the skylight. The web retracted, propelling her through the opening and out into the sky. Ricochet looked up in silence for a few moments before he asked, “…was it something I said?”

“I don’t think so, she’s probably pretty hormonal right now,” said Joystick.

“I’ll go after her, she shouldn’t be jumping from rooftops anyway,” said Gravity, but Joystick held up her hand.

“I don’t think you’re the person to talk to her right now,” she said. “She probably needs some girl talk.”

“This isn’t any of your business, Janice,” said Gravity.

Joystick shot him an angry glare. “You made it my business when you decided to announce this to the whole team.”

“I—” Gravity paused and sighed, letting his head drop slightly. “—I’m sorry, you’re right. Go. Just…watch out for her, okay?”

Janice offered a slight smile. “I will.” She left the meeting room, off in search of her young teammate. Once she was gone, Gravity slumped down in one of the chairs. He pulled his mask off and dropped it on the table.

“Damn…I fucked up.”

“It’ll be okay,” said Speedball. “Joystick can talk to her.”

“Instead of dwelling on this, I say we get back to the plan,” said Ricochet. “Now that Joystick’s out, I’m still up for beating the tar out of Hammerhead.”

“No, I’ll handle it,” said Gravity, standing from his seat. “I’ve got strength and I think I’ve got more steam to blow off than you do.”

Ricochet gestured with his hand towards Gravity. “Have at it, man.”

Gravity pulled his mask back on and faced Blink. “You okay with that?”

The young mutant shrugged. “Whatever works for you guys.” She turned to Speedball. “By the way, thanks for letting me join up with you guys.”

“Oh right, no problem,” said Speedball. Blink’s eyes glowed as a portal appeared above her and Gravity. It lowered down, transporting them away and once they were gone, the portal vanished.

Ricochet looked at Speedball. “…she’s on the team now?”

Speedball shrugged. “Guess so.”

“Yeah, but no meeting, no consultation, nothing?” asked Ricochet.

“The Warriors aren’t that selective.” Rage patted him on the shoulder. “We let you join, didn’t we?”

Ricochet frowned beneath his mask. “Everyone’s a comedian.”

FULL CIRCLE

Part V: Identity Crisis

By Dino Pollard

Ryker’s Island

The man known only as Hammerhead sat inside his prison cell, stewing. Thanks to Blink, he had suddenly been transported to the prison. The warden decided to keep him in a holding cell due to his outstanding warrants until a trial could be arranged.

As he sat there, he thought about the Left Hand and the Folding Circle. About how he could get revenge on them for ruining his business. They thought they were some sort of new Kingpins but he had news for them—if the big man was dead, that means it was his right to claim the throne. And only his.

A flash of light appeared in his cell. It was an energy signature he recognized immediately. The same energy signature that put him here in the first place. Hammerhead rose to his feet and once he saw that lavender-skinned bitch, he grunted.

“You…”

Hammerhead charged at her with his metal-plated skull aimed right at her. Gravity stepped forward, raising his hand and Hammerhead just hovered harmlessly above the ground. “What the—?”

“We’re not having any of that,” said Gravity. “I can manipulate your gravitational field however I like. So if I want you to stay floating up there, that’s my decision.”

Gravity pointed down at the ground and Hammerhead suddenly fell like a ton of bricks. He tried to get back to his feet, but his body felt like it weighed the same as a semi. “Wh-what the hell are you doing?”

“I can also do the opposite,” said Gravity. “Increase the pull of gravity on your body so you can’t move at all. So now, the question is, are you or are you not going to tell us what we want to know?”

Hammerhead was able to raise his head just enough to glare at his attacker. “Blow me, ya pansy-ass little fairy.”

Gravity’s facial expression remained stoic, not betraying the slightest hit of rage or even anger. “You see, now that wasn’t a nice thing to say.”

Hammerhead shot up to the ceiling, his body pinned there and then fell right back to the floor again. Gravity repeated this several times, treating Hammerhead like a rubber ball. “I could do this all day. You don’t scare me, Hammerhead. I’m stronger than you and to me, you’re nothing more than a third-rate Joe Pesci wannabe. Seriously, is there a superhero in this city who hasn’t kicked your worthless ass?”

Hammerhead stopped flying back and forth between the floor and the ceiling and Gravity caused him to hover in front of him. He pulled his fist back and punched, the force of his blow unlike anything the mobster had ever felt before.

“I should warn you, I’m not having the best day,” said Gravity. “So I think you should start talking about the Folding Circle before I really lose my temper.”

“They’re tryin’ to take over the Kingpin’s rackets,” said Hammerhead. “Make themselves the new crime bosses of New York. They struck fast, all our guns weren’t enough t’ compete with freaks like that. They’re operatin’ out of some Vietnamese restaurant in the Kitchen.”

“That seemed pretty easy,” said Blink, watching with her arms folded.

Hammerhead spat out blood. “Thanks to those freaks, I’m stuck here and my business is goin’ to hell. You get rid of ’em, I may even pay you.”

“Exchange one scumbag for another?” asked Gravity. “No thanks.” He delivered another punch, knocking Hammerhead into the wall. He stood and Blink stared at him. “What?”

“You were a little harsh.”

“He’s trash,” said Gravity.

“Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t lower ourselves,” said Blink.

“Look, you don’t even know me.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry. Not my place.”

“…forget it,” said Gravity. “Let’s get back to the others and see if we can get a bead on where these guys are.”

Blink nodded and created a portal, transporting the pair of them away. Once they left, the light seemed to bend as a figure dressed in a long, red cloak materialized in the room. He knelt down by Hammerhead’s side, tapping the metal-covered head with the end of his gun.

“Wakey-wakey.”

Hammerhead’s eyes opened and once they did, the Hood inserted his gun into the man’s mouth. “Now you’re going to listen to me very carefully. I know how you spat in the face of the Circle. That doesn’t sit too well with them. So they sent me here to take you out of the picture—permanently. And with that plated skull of yours, I imagine this bullet will ricochet several times around your brain. Not a pretty way to die.”

Hammerhead mumbled something and the Hood removed the gun. “Sorry, didn’t catch that.”

“I said just do it already so I don’t have to listen to any damn speeches. Fuckin’ capes, always gotta make your goddamn speeches. Like anyone gives two shits what you have to say.”

“Actually, I’m not going to kill you.” The Hood stood up straight and backed up slightly to give Hammerhead more room. He moved his hands into his cloak and when he brought them forward again, the guns were gone. “I’ve got a proposition for you.”

Hammerhead cocked an eyebrow. “And what would that be?”

“You want to take on the underworld for yourself, make yourself the new Kingpin, am I right?”

Hammerhead nodded.

“I want to work for someone I can trust,” said the Hood. “Casseas is too unstable. He’s liable to tear the city apart if someone looks at him the wrong way. He’s just power-mad. But you, you’re a businessman.”

“Yeah, I am.” Hammerhead stood up, sitting on the small cot that served as his bed. “So what you got in mind?”

The Hood smiled.

Spider-Woman sat atop a building with her mask off, staring out into the horizon as the sun slowly began to set. Her entire life had now been thrown into upheaval and she wasn’t sure what she was going to do about it now.

“Secret identity tip.”

Mattie looked over her shoulder and saw Joystick standing there, her arms folded. “Don’t take the mask off while you’re still wearing the rest of the costume. Although taking the rest of the costume off may not be appropriate either, unless you’re working at one of those superhero-themed strip clubs.”

Mattie looked away and Joystick walked over to her, sitting beside her. “Sorry, guess my jokes are even worse than Rico’s.”

“I’ve got a lot on my mind right now and I’d like to be alone.”

“Too bad, because I’m not going anywhere.”

Mattie glared at her. “What’s your problem anyway? You don’t even like me, why the hell do you care about what happens in my life?”

“Wait, what?” asked Joystick. “I like you just fine.”

“Yeah right…”

“So I’m a bit rough around the edges, what do you want? Ex-supervillain over here, remember? Never needed anyone or anything, all that mattered was me and the thrill.”

“So what happened?”

“You’ve gotta grow up some time, I guess.” Joystick looked down at the gauntlets that generated her namesake. “The whole reason I paid for these powers and this tech was because my life was boring. Needed something new. Problem with that is eventually it gets old, too. All that hiding out, trying to stay a step ahead of the cops and the capes—it’s fun at first, but eventually you’re always on the run, during a job and between them and it gets tiring. So I decided to give it up, go back to school and that’s when Patriot tracked me down. He basically blackmailed me into joining this group, so it’s no surprise I was a bit touchy when we first met.”

“A bit?”

“Hey, you were the one who wanted to cart me off to the Vault on first sight!”

“Sorry about that,” said Mattie.

“Don’t mention it,” said Joystick. “Look, you irritated me, okay? You and your happy-go-lucky ‘I’m a superhero!’ attitude. You were like a cosplay fangirl, only with powers. But over time, you grew on me. Like a fungus.”

“…wow.”

“What?”

“You’ve really never given a pep talk before, have you?” asked Mattie.

“You know what I mean,” said Joystick. “You’re like that little sister I never wanted, but I’m glad you came around anyway. And Greg…he means well. Things are just very…hectic right now.”

“…I can’t have this baby,” said Mattie. “Greg wants to keep it, but this is going to ruin everything for me. My life before I became Spider-Woman was boring, too. I didn’t have many friends, couldn’t really connect with other people at my school. But once I got these powers and met up with you guys…I found people I could relate to. And now I’m supposed to throw all that away?”

“Just because you leave the team doesn’t mean you’ll be out of our lives.”

“Yeah but…it’s more than that. I want to go to college, I want to do things with my life. This could ruin all of that. Plus, there’s the matter of these things.”

Four giant spider legs sprung out of Mattie’s back. “I’m not a mutant, Jan. My powers are mystical. So with something like this hidden inside me, how do I know my kid won’t end up looking like something out of a Cronenberg flick?”

“You just have to hope for the best, I guess.” Joystick dangled her legs over the edge of the building. “Let me ask you something—do you really want to get rid of it?”

“I—I don’t know,” said Mattie. “Part of me keeps saying this is impossible, I can’t do it. But another part of me wants this baby. Every time I think about getting an abortion, I also start thinking about how I always wanted to end up having kids. And every time I start going back and forth, I just keep on going in circles, always coming up with a different argument for or against.”

“It’s something you’ll have to work through.”

“Is this the part where you convince me to keep the kid?” asked Mattie.

“Ohhh no,” said Joystick. “That’s something you have to figure out on your own. I’m not here to tell you what to do, I’m just here so you can talk about it if you want.”

She stood from the roof and Mattie watched her. “But would you keep it?”

Joystick offered her a half smile. “That’s not really important, is it? It’s not my decision to make.”

“But…if it was, if you were in my position…”

Joystick sighed. “I don’t know. It’s easy to say how you’d react in a situation like this, but you really have no clue until you’re actually in it. Plus, even if I was pregnant, it wouldn’t be the same situation. I don’t know anything about your personal life outside of that costume. But I do know one thing.”

“What’s that?” asked Mattie.

“Whether you keep this kid or not, you have to be sure that it’s really what you want. No one else can tell you what to do.”

“Thanks,” said Mattie.

“Don’t mention it,” said Joystick. “Look, you go on home. Get some rest. We’ll take care of the Circle.”

Joystick leapt from the building, her powerful leg muscles propelling her to the next one as she made her way back to the Crash Pad. Mattie stood and pulled her mask back on, leaping off the edge and gliding on the air currents. From the shadows, a small, demonic creature emerged.

“’Bout time. Hate those goddamn chick flick moments.”

And he scampered off, following Spider-Woman, staying far enough behind so he could avoid being seen.

Crash Pad

Once Joystick returned to the Crash Pad, Gravity and Blink had already returned from their meeting with Hammerhead. Gravity was the first to address her: “Where is she?”

“She went home,” said Joystick. “She’s fine, we talked for a bit and now she’s back home resting.”

Gravity sighed. “I’m sorry about all this. I just—”

Joystick held up her palm. “Don’t bother. You fucked up, let’s just leave it at that. I’ve already met my Mother Theresa quota for the month.”

Gravity nodded.

Joystick turned to Blink. “So, what about Hammerhead? Are we ready to do some pounding?”

“Gravity and I went,” said Blink.

“You did?” asked Joystick. Gravity nodded and she grinned slightly. “No wonder you’re less stressed. What’d you guys find out?”

“That’s what she was just telling us,” said Speedball. “Doesn’t look like much to go on, though. Just that the Circle was holed up in some Vietnamese restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen.”

“Shouldn’t be too difficult to find, how many Vietnamese restaurants you figure they’ve got in the Kitchen?” asked Rage.

“I checked the phone book, found at least three different ones,” said Hornet. “Maybe we split up, check each one and let the others know once we find out?”

“Works for me,” said Speedball. “How about me an’ Rage, Rico and Hornet, and Gravity and Joystick?”

“What about me?” asked Blink.

Speedball grinned. “You’re the teleporter, you’ll be with all three teams.”

Once Mattie arrived in her neighborhood, she dropped in a secluded spot. She swung by Greg’s dorm on her way home to pick up her backpack. Now, she removed her street clothes from it, pulling them over the form-fitting black and red costume. She slid the mask and gloves back inside and moved to the sidewalk, walking to her house.

As soon as she unlocked the door, a massive hand wrapped around her head and lifted her above the ground. She struggled against it but to no avail. Finally she was dropped and she could see again. What she witnessed was her uncle, J. Jonah Jameson, tied up with the Smiling Tiger’s claws at his neck and Silk Fever blazing behind him. The man who grabbed her was Bloodstrike and sitting in her Uncle Jonah’s favorite chair was the Left Hand himself, his eyes crackling with ebony energy.

“I don’t believe we’ve been introduced yet. My name is Diego Casseas, the Left Hand,” he said with a sly grin. “Nice to meet you, Spider-Woman.”

NEXT: Spider-Woman and J. Jonah Jameson are at the mercy of the Folding Circle! Can the Warriors get to them in time? And what exactly is the Hood planning? Find out in the conclusion to FULL CIRCLE!