Owner	Pose
Peter Parker	The slave trade has existed ever since ancient time, when one person looked at another and said, "Hey...THEY can do my work for me." These days, the slave trade has little preference for color. Any race is fair game for the modern human trafficker. But white people, especially young white girls, seem to make up a fair slice of the pie. Usually from some Eastern European nation, where girls with dreams of work in America find themselves groomed for a very dangerous type of "modeling job," which is where 50 women ranging from 14 to 23 are expected to arrive here, for a very special auction. Various groups and people are here to bid at auction, from Serbian mobsters to Arabian royals. And two uninvited guests... <Okay, Spider-Woman...they're in there.> Spider-Man is focused on the warehouse two streets over, behind an electrified fence topped with razorwire. He is crouched on the rooftop of a savings-and-loan building, frowning as he looks down into a hive of scum and villainy that AIN'T Mos Eisley. <My waypoint's up. What's your ETA, Spider-Woman?>
Jessica Drew	Whenever Jessica imagines the horrors that the people taken into slavery are subjected to, she gets queasy. Being lured into the promise of a better life and being duped by those making the promises is too close to her own experience as a young teenager though she is careful not to overdramatize what happened to her and HYDRA. She wasn't sold but given to them without her consent. <Copy that Spidey. I have eyes on the target. Where are the lookouts? They are awfully sure of themselves.> She returns immediately, crouching on another building at an angle to him.
Peter Parker	Spidey took a deep breath. <I haven't done much recon yet. I am a little out of my league here...and I was wondering how you would handle it. I have the camera drone, it's picked out twelve cameras on the roof edge, five on the long edges, and one at each end. Uploading info now.> After a couple of seconds, red camera icons appear in Jessica's Spider-Comm HUD at the places they are located on the building. Yellow cones denote their fields of view, and she can see that the one on each end sweeps the side it is connected to. <If you have any tricks or ideas, I'd love to hear them.>
Jessica Drew	<Likely with a larger team otherwise I'm with you in feeling a little outclassed. If they are serious about security they will spot your drones, Spidey. 12 cameras sounds serious to me. Any idea where the control room is for their cameras? Ideally we'd take that out first before they can give the alarm. Or we could paste little picture up in front of the lens that would keep them from seeing us?> Jess shakes her head at herself for the last joke, hoping that Spidey won't think it out of place.
Peter Parker	Spidey chuckles...then stops. <Wait...hang on.> A message comes up. <RF SCAN IN PROGRESS. PLEASE WAIT.> The scan completes...and each camera suddenly gets another icon, one that looks like a tiny radio icon. <...Maybe we CAN paste little pictures. Each of those cameras has a wireless signal. I can hijack that signal, record the data, then play it back on a loop. Think a five-minute loop could do the job?>
Jessica Drew	<Holy spider web, Spidey. That is brilliant. Five minutes feels short to me, depending on our objectives. We are busting today's lot for sale out, right and going for the ringleaders?> She rises just high enough to peer over the parapet of the building.
Peter Parker	<I'll start now. Okay...the info I was able to gather. At least 20 buyers. Fifty women. Four...handlers...and two masterminds. A husband-and-wife team, the Chenkovs. A FAMILY business, apparently. I want to get all of them. Gang and buyers. I have Jean DeWolff of the NYPD and Janelle Williams of Homeland Security on speed-dial.>
Jessica Drew	<The buyers should have their own private security too. Great recon - you have going there, Spidey. I'm impressed by the tech. That's six at least. What do you think? Can we get a heads up on how much security the buyers are running?">
Peter Parker	Spider-Man sighed. <Well, I counted while I was waiting. Hang on...> An electronic notepad page appeared in the HUD, with a list of names like Arab Sheik #2 and Russian Mobster #2, with a number next to each of them, totaling up to 47. <...forty-seven private security, four handlers. Twenty buyers, and the Lovin' Couple. Seventy-three total. There's thirty guards outside of the forty-seven. You want to flight-test some of that organic webbing after we bollix up the cameras?>
Jessica Drew	With a whistle < Only 73 total that makes for a lot of people to wrap up for the two of us, Spidey. Reinforcements would be welcome. I've been practicing in the gym.They are not happy about it. One of the senior agents got some on her and said that it is hellish to remove.> Jess doesn't explain the circumstances of her twipping web at a senior agent and let's the com go silent.
Peter Parker	Spider-Man is quiet for a few moments. <Okay. I have something vaguely approaching a plan. We're going to PRUNE them after I bollix the cameras. Pick them off. One by one or in twos or threes if you can handle it. No shots being fired. Web up weapons when you can, web up mouths, too. If your aim isn't that precise yet, just knock them out. Now, the vehicles they came in are at one end. The truck with the girls is coming in at the opposite end, at the loading dock. Wait for them to unload, then take the loading crew and web up the truck. We want to immobilize every vehicle we can find before they know we're here...>
Jessica Drew	<How do you see us getting them separate? I don't fight with live arms as a rule. I'm carrying an ICER today which could get me in a world of trouble using it outside a sanctioned SHIELD operation. But I can venom blast them without being sanctioned. Non-lethal.>
Peter Parker	Spider-Man chuckled. <Check the grounds. There are a lot of cars, crates, and stacks of pallets. Besides, they don't have radios, and I'm not picking up any chatter. They are all from different companies. So...they are not organized. I think we can do this, Spider-Woman...without any loss of life.>
Jessica Drew	<Let's do this. I'll go for the trucks once they begin to unload. The security is my major preoccupation if they are professionals.>
Peter Parker	Spider-Man nods. <Okay...I have six minutes of footage, and the panel truck with the women is coming in. Give me ten seconds to bollix, then we can swing over to the warehouse and I'll show you a few things I picked up about picking people up...> Vladimir and Costa were huddled near the white SUV. "<It's getting cold now. Should have work my winter coat,>" Vlad said in rough Russki. Costa chuckled, looking over to check his reflection in the window. "Should check the weather like I do," he replied in English, turning...and Vlad was gone. He was about to say something when a net enveloped his head and upper torso, and then he was yanked up, spun around, and then laid out on the roof, wrapped up in webbing. <See? Quick, no muss, no fuss. Want to give it a try with that girl with the MAC-10? Do just what I did...>
Jessica Drew	<Righto!> She marks the spot on the warefhouse roof then marks a spot for herself on the building nextdoor to the one she clings to and twips webbing to it. <Good pointers,> she breaths as she pushes off the wall to back flip off her building, coming in for as soft a landing as swinging on the web allows her. She lands in a crouched position and waddles to the edge of the warehouse to look down on the two men talking next to the SUV. With a quick open handed flip of her wrist, she shoots webbing that knocks the two men's head together. There is a shout of surprise as they struggle to separate from one another. She whips another thread around them. Then taking Spidey's advice, ties up their feet and yanks them upward with her considerable strength, they roll up the web like a yo-yo and she finishes the wrap. <We need to get them out of sight!>
Peter Parker	Spider-Man points to the roof, where Vlad and Costa lay next to each other. <Lay them out next to these guys. We can make a nice, long row of them.> He nods at Jessica's technique. <You're pretty good, Spidey-Lady. Twenty-six to go in...5 minutes, 23 seconds. Shall we get to it?>
Jessica Drew	The theme seems to be armored SUVs, the net one that drives into the lot has a couple in the back seat. burly man hops out to open the door on the woman's side and Jess sees an expensive black high heeled shoe descend to the tarmac. A woman elegantly dressed in black fur unfolds from the car while on the other side, the driver of the SUV opens it for a man in what she recognizes as a designer suit, who comes around the back of the car to join the woman and offers her his arm. The guards each keep a vigilant eye outward, but don't see the webbing that is aimed from on high at them.         TWAP The webbing wraps the couple together at the arm. A brief sharp scream from the woman alerts the guards who search for the threat, following the web upward to the roof. As they look up, Jess whips another line of web at the guns in their hands. She is double handing the shots. Following Spidey's advice she wraps their heads and feet in the sticky line and pulls.
Peter Parker	Spider-Man watches her go "fishing" and she seems to be pulling up keepers, that's for sure... 4:52 Right...time to get to work. Twnty-four guards to go. Along the other side of the warehouse, Spidey works to pluck heavily be-weaponed individuals, cherry-picking lone wolves and not-so-dynamic duos. He has to be a little more cautious on this side, but by the time the truck his finished off-loading its two-legged cargo, another ten "fish" are laying on the roof, and REALLY wishing they had called in sick tonight. Spidey also gave many of the vehicles the webbed-wheels treatment, essentially turning them into two-ton paperweights. He hasn't heard any alarms, so he figures Spider-Woman is holding her own, but he has to ask. <How are things going on your end? We still got two minutes to go...>
Jessica Drew	<Yikes. Where are they keeping the merchandise? On your side? Two minutes to go? Are the others inside?> She flips her wrist at a man carrying a P-90 guarding a portly, middle-eastern man. He rips off a shot reflexsively and there goes their margin of error. Shifting into high gear, Jess wraps the portly man and with a "Umph!" pulls him to the roof to join the other catch.
Peter Parker	<It looks like they are being brought inside. Like some kind of Green Room, then parade them in front of the buyers. I count ten left to go before we go inside. Is it getting easier the more you do it? The webbing, I mean.>
Jessica Drew	<Oh, absolutely! Though I am as hungry as the dickens if I use a lot of web in a short period of time. Great for the figure.> She twips a web at the wheels of the well-heeled couple's SUV. Should we go in and stop the show?">
Peter Parker	<I was thinking about that. Now, there's two entrances using roof access hatches. One goes to the control room, and the other goes to the bidding floor. Naturally, the bidding floor is more...LIVELY. Would you like to take care of the control room, then meet me on the bidding floor?> A pause. <See what you are hungry for and what foods do a better job of replenishing. Is calories of any kind enough, or is there a need for carbs or proteins?>
Jessica Drew	<Lively, you say? I don't mind the booth but I like lively, too. Take care in there! I need both carbs and protiens. But not junk food."> Jess rises and walkf to the hatch he indicated. <I'll *ahem* wrap them up so they can't put out an alarm and join you at the lively party.>
Peter Parker	<Perfect. Send me a message when you've got them all...secured. With your winning personality, of course.> Spider-Man walked lightly over to the hatch, then wrenched off the padlock and pulled it open. <Ladies first. When you drop down, head south to get to the control room. I go north to the bidding floor.>
Jessica Drew	She holds up a fist to demonstrate her winning personality, <Will do!> Crouching by the edge of the window she works her hands around the edge and pries it open. <Here goes! See you on the flip side.> She lays down a web for her to descend into the hallway leading to the booth.
Peter Parker	Spider-Man nodded, then headed north. The control center was a relatively-relaxed atmosphere. With all the security outside, there wasn't much point in having any of that inside. The relatively-soundproofed room as quiet enough for the three techs to monitor the screens and send out alerts. There had been a fuzzy second on the screens, but it had cleared up immediately. However, Ethan was looking closer at one screen and frowning. He had heard the truck had arrived...but if the camera on this screen was jake, why wasn't he seeing it...?
Jessica Drew	Jessica pulls back the door leading into the booth and leans in, "Enjoying the scene boys?" She asks languidly as she marches in and collars the man sitting at the main control board. She catches the other man reaching for an alarm, "Nu-uh! NO you don't" Up close and personal, she uses a modified venom blast which wraps them in a green haze causing them to stiffen and then slump to the floor. On screen she can see a cage of girls huddled together next to an impromptu-stage with chairs lined up in front of it. A car arrives in the parking lot.
Peter Parker	Spider-Man crawls through the ductwork until he arrives at the grate set right before the heavy-duty fan. He looks down and sees rows of chairs, five rows, five columns. All the movers and shakers needing house slaves. He really wished he had gotten the kinks out of the web-grenade design. <Spider-Woman, it looks like the show is about to start. Security is at the doors and roaming the halls. How is Mission Control doing?>
Jessica Drew	<Mission control is asleep at the wheel, Spidey. Though there is a light flashing on the board that looks urgent. But there is no one to answer it." Jess wraps the guards into webbed packages. One of them groans coming out from under the stun faster than normal. < These folks look like the type to take hostages,> she says reluctantly. <I can be right with you.>
Peter Parker	<Yeah, I think so, too. Be ready to use a LOT of webbing. Want a couple of energy bars before we ruin their day?> Spider-Man looked around, then took a deep breath. <I'm going to call Richards and DeWolff now. They can get here before anyone escapes, even if we miss them. I'm sending pics of the two ringleaders to you via Spider-Comm. If you see them, get them if you can...>
Jessica Drew	<Got it. Thanks. Look at those ugly mugs! Good to have someone on the outside to clean up the trash on the streets. I'm good to go. It doesn't hit me right away. I'm heading down the hall to the stairs leading to the main room now.> As she says that, she hears footsteps on the wooden stairs. "Hey, Ivan. Why you not answering? Boss man does not like!" the owner of the feet moving up the stairs, calls out. His eyes widen and the professional hand holding the gun comes up to aim at Jess as she steps into view and twacks him with a web to pull him up the stairs. With her other hand she hits him in the chest with a blast of venom, as good as any taser. He goes down like a stone into water and is held upright by the web strung from her wrist.
Peter Parker	As Spider-Man watched, an elderly gentleman stepped onto the small stage area, holding a microphone. "Greetings and welcome to you all. I trust everyone is ready to begin?" "Uhm...I don't have a bidding number?" Spider-Man dropped to land in the center of the aisle, then stood up. The faces of the people ranged from shock to disbelief, none more than the emcee himself, Mr. Chenkov...
Jessica Drew	The microphone makes an awful noise as the emcee clutches it in shock. It covers the sound of Jess's arrival at the bottom of the stairs. She silently paces up behind the group looking at Spider-Man in shock. "I'm ready," she calls from the back row. "I bid you quit this right now! She doesn't hear the man coming out of a side room with a gun pointed at her back. She lifts a hand to shoot a web at Chenkov simultaneous with the gun going off behind her.
Peter Parker	Spidey's Spider-Sense kicked in with a low, hard buzz, and he turned to see the gun in the gunsel's hand. His hand rose and he fired almost without thought. The guy WAS able to pull the trigger, but by the time the hammer fell, there was a noticeable quantity of webbing covering the gun from the center back, webbing the gun to the man's hand while blocking the firing pin. There was no BANG, not even the CLICK of the hammer, just a tiny, muted THUMP. Spider-Man turned, arms akimbo, pointing at the 2- and 10-o'clock position. "Don't nobody move!" he called out. "Spider-Woman, check the exits, we may get some company from security outside this room!"
Jessica Drew	Too late, Spider-woman realizes someone is behind her as her webbing hits the emcee in the mike hand glueing it to his chest. She follows through, ducking the shot she imagine aimed for her back, and webs his feet, which she pulls hard from under him. He makes a resounding boom as he hits the stage. "Don't anyone move!" she calls loudly. "You'll join your master of ceremonies if you do."
Peter Parker	There are many who look menacing when they have five or ten bodyguards around them. Without them, they seem content to sit and wait as the sound of sirens can be heard getting louder. If one is going to go to prison, it is probably better to go while you still have the use of hands and feet. Thirty minutes later, the black woman in the sharp government suit steps away from talking to the blonde detective and wanders over to Spider-Man and Spider-Woman, who are hanging out next to the warehouse. Both cops and crooks are giving them the eye, and Spider-Man was telling Spider-Woman about the best energy bars she can get...and the worst ones ("No Sugar, No Salt...No TASTE...") "Hey there, Webhead. This your date?" Spidey grinned. "Like I'd be in her league. Say hello to Spider-Woman." The woman nodded, then nodded to Jessica. "Agent Richards, Homeland. Pretty nice work in there."
Jessica Drew	"He is always putting himself down. She offers a hand, "Thank you Agent. I've got to say how much I enjoyed wrapping this up with Spider-Man. He got it all tied down. What will happen to those girls?"
Peter Parker	Richards sighs. "Well, they will have to remain in custody. Most will be sent back to wherever they came from, but that's still better than joining some sheik's harem...or a mobster's brothel. Compared to that, working on a farm in a small village sounds like a little slice of heaven. None of them are in trouble, and we might be able to accept a few. I'd like to see them all becoming successes in America, but I'd wanted a pony since I was seven, and THAT never happened, either."