"We got another one Yuri?" Gwen asked gravely as she dropped down and landed next to the detective who didn't even flinch having long grown used to Gwen's tendencies for surprise visits.
"Yeah, and I'm afraid this one is gonna make the front page," Yuri muttered as she sipped from her fifth coffee of the day and looked up at the writing on the wall, left behind with large slashing cuts.
'Scourge'
All of the traffic had come to a standstill not only due to the police diverting traffic around the crime scene, but people stalling their cars to take pictures of the word carved into the side of what used to be a brokerage firm. However, that was only a front, the building was really a high-end brothel with what Yuri assumed were some high-end clientele.
"How many?" Gwen asked softly and Yuri quickly glanced over before responding, "You know it's impossible to get a body count that quickly with this guy's MO-"
"How many?" Gwen repeated more forcefully as her hands balled into fists.
Yuri sighed, "Our estimates say fifty, but it's probably closer to the high seventies. So far we're assuming that all the victims were either clientele or muscle. Everyone else was either left unharmed as it all went down or simply disappeared with those white-robed bastards."
"Let me guess no luck tracking them down?" Gwen asked sarcastically already knowing the answer.
Yuri shook her head equally frustrated, "None. We barely catch a glimpse of them despite all the CCTV cameras around here. It really shouldn't be possible, but something making sense is more unusual than nothing making sense nowadays."
"Can't say I disagree with you," Gwen agreed as she glanced down at her suit, an eye-catching gold and white that stood out in broad daylight, "But I think that's the point, someone's making a smoke screen, and making sure we can't see through it."
"You're thinking that this is one big old conspiracy?" Yuri asked as she took another sip of her coffee, "The body vanishing, the underground savior cult, the new vigilante who is going around dismantling the largest prostitute and human trafficking ring that the NYPD had no clue of?"
Gwen looked over at Yuri who looked back at her with an unreadable expression, "I know it sounds insane, but things like this don't come up by coincidence."
Yuri nodded, "I think you're right Spidey...but I'm afraid that you're on your own for this one."
Gwen blinked, "O-on my own, what are you talking about?"
"Got orders from the top brass, I'm supposed to only investigate the prostitution ring, not the deranged serial killer going around chopping people up like vegetables," Yuri answered though she looked like she was biting on a lemon as she did so.
Gwen fully turned to face Yuri and despite her face being covered anyone could read her expression, "How can they say that when we're standing in front of a literal bloodsoaked building?"
"Because so far neither this Scourge character nor the Cult is planning to destroy the city or kill a bunch of civilians." Yuri replied reluctantly, "Right now they're more focused on optics, trying to spin this as a positive thing, and keep the public calm and collected."
"That's like putting a bandaid over a gunshot, it may look like something's being done but the root cause isn't been dealt with!" Gwen shook her head in disbelief, "They have to know that something bigger is looming on the horizon!"
"Yes, but the election cycle is about to start up and the mayor wants to bust the trafficking ring as soon as possible to increase his ratings," Yuri replied whispering the last part as if afraid of being overheard, "Between you and me there's a whole other side of all of this that we're not seeing. We still don't know why Fisk initiated a hostile takeover which kicked over the bucket of worms to begin with."
"You think that he's involved with all of this?" Gwen asked praying that the answer would be no.
Yuri shrugged, "Maybe not directly, but like I said he shook things up which is decidedly not like the Kingpin, meaning he's desperate and anything that makes the most powerful crime boss in New York City desperate makes me, terrified."
Gwen opened her mouth to respond when an alarm went off and she reached down as her suit magically summoned a pocket allowing Gwen to pull out her phone.
Watching the scene Yuri couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, "You still haven't told me the story behind the sudden costume change."
"I got a new tailor," Gwen muttered off handily before stowing her phone away, "Look Yuri I gotta get going, but we'll talk later alright?"
Before the detective could answer Gwen took off swinging her new golden webbing catching the sunlight and causing it to shimmer like gossamer.
Shaking her head at the crusader's antics Yuri drained the last of her coffee and immediately craved another cup, 'Today is going to be a long day.'
---
Whistling through the air Gwen made it across the city into Queens to the unassuming neighborhood of Forest Hills. Swinging from a power pole Gwen landed in her backyard before quickly running to and up the side of her house before vaulting into her open bedroom window.
"Shit, shit, shit, I'm so fucking late," Gwen cursed as she ran to her closet looking through all her clothes, only to pause when her suit transformed into an oversized hoodie, jean shorts, and a pair of leggings, 'I keep forgetting it can do that.'
It had been nearly two weeks since Gwen had been 'blessed' by Genesis granting her a semi-sentient shape-shifting suit. And while Gwen hated to admit it, the suit had made her life a whole lot easier. She was faster, stronger, and barely needed to sleep making her double identity far easier to manage.
Still, with the suspect origins of the suit's creator and the fact that it was somehow bonded to her body, Gwen was waiting for the other shoe to drop, 'If it's too good to be true that means it probably isn't true. And this is definitely too good.'
Just then a blaring horn came from outside and Gwen ran over to look out her window to see a car that looked far too expensive for her neighborhood. Leaning out of the passenger side window was Betty who grinned as she waved for Gwen to come down.
'Out of the pan and into the fire,' Gwen thought as she made her way out of the house.
"Please don't tell me that's what you're wearing?" Betty asked with a disappointed and exaggerated sigh.
"Just because my ass isn't hanging out doesn't mean there is anything wrong with what I'm wearing, besides we're just going to the mall," Gwen replied as she walked up to the car that probably cost as much as college tuition.
"Leave her alone Betty," Liz interjected as she rolled down the window revealing her and MJ sitting in the back seat, "We should just be happy that we managed to drag her out of her house. Regardless we can fix the wardrobe disaster at the mall, thanks to Mr Money Bags over here."
"Three years and I still end up paying for everything," Harry muttered as Betty sat before leaning over and kissing his jaw, "Stop complaining, you know you love showing off."
Gwen couldn't help but stare at Harry and his golden amber eyes, 'I don't know how, but I know you're involved.'
Gwen couldn't dismiss the fact that Harry was invisible to her senses in the same way that Genesis and his followers were, 'He healed you didn't he, that's why you suddenly recovered...it's another one of Osman's experiments that got out of control...like that one that gave me my powers.'
Tearing her eyes away before her intense gaze could be noticed Gwen forced a smile across her face, "Come on let me in the car already, and let's get this over with."
"That's the spirit!" Betty cheered as Liz unlocked the door and slid over to let Gwen in.
A second later the car roared as it peeled off and shot down the street.