Jessica Drew
SPIDER-WOMAN
Chapter 2
Previously in Spider-Woman
It has been 2 weeks since the Skrulls unsuccessful attempt in taking over the earth and enslaving humanity. As cities begin rebuilding, a newly sanctioned peace-keeping agency known as HAMMER was formed under the leadership of Norman Osborn.
Jessica Drew who was abducted and replaced by the Skrull queen Veranke has now regained her life back, with obvious side-effects. Nightmares of her childhood, her initiation into HYDRA and the torture she endured during the Skrull invasion still haunts her unceasingly.
Then Nick Fury decided to pay Jessica a surprise visit, informing her that her long lost mother could still be alive. What’s more, report of a crashed Skrull battle cruiser has surfaced in Peru. Nick Fury has dispatched a team of loyal agents to investigate and wants Jessica to lead the mission, fearing that any surviving alien technology could fall into the hands of HYDRA. Jessica accepts the mission knowing that there’s now hope of reuniting with her mother.
The city of Lima is an awesome site under the bright morning sun. Located on the Peruvian coastal plain, the capital city of Peru slopes gently from the shores of the Pacific Ocean and connects into winding valleys and sparse mountain tops. Surrounding the thriving urban sanctuary are unexplored desert hill chains as far as the human eye could see. With sub-tropical temperatures and mild humidity, Lima has long been well-known for its near perfect weather, which makes it one of South America’s most popular tourist destinations.
Amidst the breathtaking cityscape stands one of Lima’s most reputable hotels – the Pacific Inn. Jessica alights from her taxi, with only her backpack and walks into the hotel lobby through a golden revolving door. She heads towards the front desk and is instantly greeted by a friendly woman in blue uniform.
[Spanish] “Checking in Miss… Linden?” the woman looks at Jessica’s passport as soon as it is shown to her.
[Spanish] “Yes. I believe you have a package for me as well?” Jessica replies.
[Spanish] “Let me check. Ah…yes! This came just a few minutes ago.” The woman responds cheerfully, handing over a brown parcel to Jessica. “Here’s your room key Miss Linden. Enjoy your stay here with us and have a pleasant day!”
[Spanish] “Thank you.” Jessica replies with a hint of a smile.
Jessica retrieves her belongings and rushes over to the nearby elevator. She opens the door to her room and begins to unwrap the brown parcel, revealing a small black notebook computer. Jessica rests the laptop on the table and switches it on instantly. The computer loads up and a small window appears, highlighting an encrypted message on screen. She enters a password and immediately the message begins to decode itself in front of her eyes. A few seconds later, another window pops up to reveal several classified SHIELD documents, together with a mission directive.
Without hesitation, Jessica focuses her attention on the classified documents, which details full background information on 4 of Nick Fury’s agents. She then hits a button on the mission directive and a video begins to play.
“Jess, by now I assume you have arrived in Lima without any problems. From here, you are to make contact with a local named Vasquez at an eatery across the street 2 hours from now. He’s been given strict orders to make sure you get to Cajamero safely. From there, you need to locate a small textile shop called Alfredo Textiles. You’ll know what to do after that. Once you’ve familiarize yourself with the 4 agents you’re going to be working with, destroy this computer. All the best Jess! Nick Fury out.” The video stops at the end of the message.
Jessica promptly shuts down the laptop and releases a small concentrated blast of bio-electricity from her hand, disintegrating the hard drive completely. Putting her backpack on the bed, Jessica enters the bathroom, turns on the shower and closes the door behind her.
Moments later, Jessica exits the hotel and drops whatever is left of the notebook computer into a trash can. She crosses the street, enters the café quietly and proceeds to a vacant table at the far corner of the eatery. She surveys the café intently and notices nothing unusual or out of the ordinary. Simple yet tastefully selected decorations are used to spruce up the place. There are only a handful of customers, all foreigners. The bartender can be seen cleaning up drinking glasses near the cash register, with a tired-looking waitress clearing one of the tables. Seconds later, a short burly man walks out of the washroom and orders a beer from the bartender. He glances at Jessica, grabs his glass and walks straight up to her.
[Spanish] “Agent Drew? I’m Agent Vasquez. Commander Fury sent me to take you to Cajamero.” the short burly man remarks as he sits across the table, showing Jessica his SHIELD ID tag and a recent photograph of her.
[Spanish] “Perfect timing! I like that. How long does it take to get there?” Jessica responds immediately, looking at her wrist watch.
[Spanish] “Not long. The village is just 120 miles from here. My car is at the back. Shall we go now?” Vasquez replies confidently.
[Spanish] “Please, lead the way.” Jessica answers as both of them walk out of the café and head towards the back of the building.
Not long after that, the waitress of the café runs out of the washroom, screaming in horror, hands and knees shaking uncontrollably. The bartender immediately dashes in and on the toilet at the far corner of the washroom, the lifeless body of a man is found lying on the floor, with blood oozing out from his forehead.
An hour later, under the hot desert sun, a black sedan can be seen heading down a lonely highway across barren wastelands and winding hills. Driving towards an intended destination, the car suddenly takes a sharp detour, proceeding to one of the hills nearest to the highway.
[Spanish] “I got to take a leak! There’s a gas station just behind this hill. A friend of mine runs it. It will only take a minute. Sorry.” Vasquez explains.
[Spanish] “It’s alright. Go knock yourself out!” Jessica remarks, obviously amused at all the beer bottles she secretly found at the back seat of the car.
Moments later, the car comes to an abrupt stop just a few meters away from a run down gas station. Vasquez hastily jumps out the vehicle, leaving the engine running with Jessica at the back seat waiting impatiently. From what appeared to be a short bathroom break drags on for minutes. Suddenly, a small indistinct sound begins to emit from the car, inaudible to the human ear. As Jessica concentrates and focuses on her superhuman hearing, the small beeping sound gradually becomes louder and louder.
“Oh Shit!” Jessica remarks as she grabs her backpack and opens the passenger door without a moment to lose. As she leaps out of the vehicle with every ounce of her strength, the black sedan explodes into a ball of flames, engulfing the entire car into a raging inferno.
Seconds later, Vasquez and 2 unidentified men begin to survey the blazing carcass of the car. Branding sub-machine guns, they walk out from the gas station cautiously. One of the men walks towards the gas pump and grabs a fire extinguisher and immediately puts out the flames. He then proceeds to look into the car, hoping to find Jessica dead when a voice shouts out to them from behind.
“Looking for me?!” Jessica yells out from the roof of the gas station, ready for action.
Without hesitation, Vasquez and the 2 men turn around and before they could react, Jessica unleashes her venom blasts on 2 of the unidentified men, throwing them up into the air like rag dolls as their bodies land on the hot desert sand, motionless. Vasquez then retaliates in a fit of rage by firing his sub-machine gun at Jessica, emptying the entire cartridge but his target was no where to be found. Suddenly, there is a small tap on his shoulder and as he turns around, a well-placed punch connects to his face and he goes down. Jessica grabs Vasquez by the collar and lifts him up.
[Spanish] “Who sent you to kill me? Talk!! Talk now and I’ll let you live!” Jessica screams.
[Spanish] “You are not getting anything out of me. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!” Vasquez responds with a twisted look on his face. Within a split second, thick white foam starts to flow out from his mouth and all Jessica could do is watch Vasquez die from cyanide poisoning.