~Broken Family~

Return of the Cacti

Gwen was helping Billy with some homework when someone rapped sharply on the door.

WORK CONTINUE, Gwen signed with a sigh. Billy gave her a thumbs-up, not bringing his head up from underneath the surface of pre-algebra.

Gwen peeked through the curtains, a little alarmed to see Happy staring back at her. He gestured for her to open the door, which she did without hesitating.

"Happy?" She opened the door wider, looking out at the driveway. From here, she could see two black cars. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were zipping across the property. "What's going on? What are you doing? Why do you have---"

"There's no time to explain," Happy pushed his sunglasses up farther up his nose, extending a hand to the car. "I need to you come with me, now. Hurry, before---"

Gwen crossed her arms. "No! I'm not going unless you tell me what's going on!"

"I'll tell you on the way." Happy darted a glance over his shoulder as if poor old Mrs. Brown across the street was watering her flowers with liquid radiation or something. "This is an emergency. Tony ordered you to be taken to the compound for now."

"What?! Why?"

Billy watched from the porch as Happy led her away, looking like a sad, abandoned puppy.

TEXT YOU LATER, Gwen signed with a wave before Happy slammed the passenger-side door closed.

As soon as they pulled out onto the street, Happy tried his best to explain what was going on.

"Well, you see..." He turned down the radio, which had been playing some rock song. "Forty-two minutes ago, Tony's whole home system got hacked. According to Harley, it was HYDRA. They want to recreate the spider-DNA or something."

"What?" Gwen choked, the car suddenly seeming to be driving too fast. "W--what do you mean?"

"Tony believes that that's what they were trying to do with Peter," Happy explained, waving his arm around like he was conducting an orchestra. "They wanted to use him as their weapon, like they did Bucky. They said...they said they would either have Tony give them information on your powers or they would take you."

"Take me?"

"Yeah. Obviously, Tony's not going to do either of those things. So for now, you're under the protection of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers."

Gwen slumped back in her seat, the reality of the situation slamming into her harder than when she'd accidentally swung into that brick wall. She remembered hearing about HYDRA before---the evil German people who had tried to take Peter away and who had messed up Bucky's life. She shuddered as she remembered them---was she going to turn out like that? A half-dead hollow shell of herself like Peter, infused with some dangerous power and her mind taking forever to go back to normal? Or like Mr. Bucky, stolen from her life and forced to be turned into their puppet, with no memory and no idea who she was?

Both options were disgusting, and she clenched her fists at the thought that two of her friends had had to go through that.

"So what, I'm just going to be shadowed by bodyguards all the time?"

Happy inhaled through clenched teeth, giving a sheepish shrug. "I dunno, Gwen. Tony seemed pretty stressed. I'd be surprised if they let you out of the compound."

"What?! But I have two more days of school!"

"We'll just have to wait and see."

Gwen groaned, resting her head against the window and watching the world fly past. So many people, so innocent of serious life-and-death problems. (other than half of their world being snatched away, of course.)