Blade returned about half an hour later. She looked grim and even a little tired. Turning off the laptop, I climbed out of the van through the back door, but didn't get a chance to ask any questions.
"He ran off," she explained reluctantly, starting to remove her sword from its mount.
I wasn't surprised. It had seemed like a stupid plan from the start. If you can fly, it makes moving around a lot easier and makes it much harder to be chased.
Something fell on the edge of the car roof, or rather, someone landed. Large white eyes stared at me. Hm… lenses? A short, athletic female figure dressed in a characteristic red and blue costume. Just a couple of minutes ago, I had seen a photo of this girl on the internet, and now I was seeing her in person. I have to admit, this time, 3D definitely wins over 2D!
The rather ridiculous suit barely hid anything. The thin material hugged every muscle and curve of the girl's body! Damn, now I won't be able to sleep at night!
However, Spider-Woman didn't have particularly outstanding features. Her chest was a bit smaller than I had expected, which slightly disappointed me, but at the same time, it made sense—she would need that agility for the acrobatic stunts Spider-People are known for. She did have strong and shapely legs!
"What's this?" I mumbled, stupidly staring at Spider-Woman, who was sitting on the edge of the roof in a rather ghetto pose.
"She's tagging along," Erica replied, clearly upset, falling back into her familiar way of speaking.
"Hello!" Spider-Woman cheerfully greeted.
Her voice was surprisingly high-pitched, almost childish. Hm, strange. Did I misjudge her age? She seems younger than I thought.
"Yeah, same to you," I said, pulling myself together, adjusting my bangs, and trying to put on a smile.
Though, it almost faltered when I heard Masquerade's voice in my head:
"Shit! I hate these stupid costumes! Can't tell what's under the mask, whether I should disfigure that face or if it's already a lost cause!"
I staggered slightly, but it seemed no one noticed. Erica was lost in her thoughts, probably cursing herself for the failed hunt. And Spider-Woman…
"Wait!" she suddenly exclaimed. "You... you're a guy?"
As they say, on the third day of imprisonment, the Watchful Eye noticed that the back wall of the cell was missing!
"Believe it or not," I rolled my eyes and simultaneously tried to block out the mental echo of Masquerade's personality in my head.
"Oh my god, I'm talking to a guy!" she said, once she got over her confusion. "A-and you're a vampire hunter too?"
"No," I replied, quickly glancing at Erica. "If I can put it that way—I'm still learning."
"Cool!" Spider-Woman pressed her palms to her cheeks. "I never thought I'd meet a male hero! First a villain, now a hero! Who knows, maybe I'll meet Phoenix himself!"
"Phoenix?" I asked.
"Are you kidding?!" she was astonished by my ignorance, and I realized that in this universe, Spider-Woman was still very young. "He's a member of the X-Men and one of the few male heroes in our country!"
Judging by her rambling monologue, my new acquaintance clearly admired Phoenix, or something like that. It seemed Spider-Woman had a deep respect for every male hero she had heard of.
So, I learned that in this reality, Captain America hadn't changed gender and was still very famous during World War II. He was essentially the first male superhero, at least the first one Spider-Woman had ever heard of. Apparently, men on this planet rarely let their testosterone out—if they even had any.
"Sorry, sorry," I waved my hands when the girl started again, praising Captain America and Phoenix. "Of course, I've heard about those guys. It's just your pose is throwing me off."
"What's wrong with my pose?" she asked, confused.
"Hm, legs spread apart, chest propped up by hands, thin suit..." I started listing.
"Oh!" she exclaimed, pushing off the roof and gracefully flipping through the air, landing on the asphalt. "Sorry, it's just my spider reflexes!"
Ah, so that's why the forum was flooded with her photos in all kinds of provocative poses, professionally taken, with much better quality than the pathetic one-pixel cameras of local mobile phones!
While Erica went to work on the van's engine, I decided to ask my new acquaintance about Morbius.
"I have no idea who that is," the girl surprised me with her answer. "I found out there were some strange attacks around Columbia University. All the girls survived but lost a lot of blood, and they couldn't remember much. Only two of them mentioned a pale guy. When I got the chance, I patrolled around the university area and today I was lucky enough to run into that... vampire. Never met one before!"
"I see," I said.
Spider-Woman seemed like she had only just started her hero career, so it wasn't surprising that she hadn't encountered vampires, mages, monsters, aliens, and all kinds of other things.
But at the same time, she was hiding something. I couldn't see her face, but she was clearly not telling the whole truth.
"He was so strong!" she continued, showering me with words. "I didn't think guys could be that strong! But I'm no slouch either! I hit him, and he fell!"
"Right on our car," Erica grumbled.
"Sorry?" Spider-Woman said, sounding like she was asking if it was okay to apologize.
"Stay out of it. Leave it to the professionals. I'll track him myself."
Oho-ho, Erica was definitely in a bad mood and decided to take her frustration out on our new acquaintance. I could understand that, but it wasn't a reason to be nasty.
"Is she always like this?" Spider-Woman whispered loudly. Now, there was someone who didn't lack positivity.
"Of course!" I whispered back, earning an angry look from the brunette.