An old friend

"Oh my god! Gwen!" MJ exclaimed, hugging her friend.

"Hey, MJ. Hey, Felicia." Gwen was dressed rather slovenly; baggy jeans and a baggy black hoodie, which the other women knew was hiding a very sexy figure underneath. Her demeanor was still decidedly sullen, and although she did smile as she hugged MJ and Felicia, it was a very sad smile.

"It's so great to see you," Felicia said. "We've been really worried about you."

"Yeah, about that... sorry for showing up out of the blue like this. I know we haven't really talked in a while..."

"You have nothing to apologize for," MJ reassured her. "After everything the Goblin and Sinister Six put you through, we totally understand."

Felicia nodded in agreement. "Yeah, don't worry about it. Seriously, we're just glad to see you again."

"Hmm. Thanks," Gwen said, a slight smile on her face. "Honestly, I'm still not over losing Pete. I'm feel like I'm nowhere near being back to my old self. But I woke up today and I realized that I really wanted to see you guys today. I wasn't sure how you'd react -- I thought I might've pushed you guys away."

"Hell no!" reassured Felicia. "You have no idea how much I wanted to reach out to you. I just thought you didn't want to talk..."

"I thought the same thing," MJ agreed. "I really wanted to help, but I thought you needed your space..."

"You guys weren't wrong," said Gwen. "I didn't want to talk or socialize. For months, all I've wanted to do is take my anger out on the bad guys out there. And trust me, I've put plenty in the hospital... right now, though, I want to move forward. I want to get out of the dark place I'm in."

"We want to help," MJ said, with Felicia quick to agree. "You can talk to us any time."

Gwen answered with a somewhat happier smile. "I appreciate it. And, just so you know... it's good to see you both again."

"You too, Gwen. We missed you."

"I gotta say, I never pictured the Black Cats working with SHIELD," said Gwen.

"Officially, they're not," Natasha corrected Gwen. "They're working with me."

"So this is off the books?" Gwen said. "Who's SHIELD trying not to piss off?"

MJ and Felicia looked at Natasha. "Can we tell her, Nat? You can trust her, and she'd be a huge help to us," said Felicia.

Natasha nodded. "We're going after Wilson Fisk. Fury wants to take him down."

Gwen's demeanor immediately changed from somber to stern and determined. "I'm in. I don't need to hear anything else."

"You're sure?" Natasha asked.

"Absolutely. Wilson Fisk was involved in Pete's ****, and nobody's done anything about it... if you're taking that son of a bitch down, I want in."

MJ and Felicia looked at Gwen sadly. She used to be such a light hearted person, never seeming to take anything too seriously. She was so much fun to be around. They both hoped that bringing Fisk to justice would bring the fun, playful side of their best friend back.

"...All right then. These are our options..."