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Marvel: King of The Swarm: Chapter 21: Gift From a God
🕑 Added 2025-06-04 23:41:11 +0000 UTC"Y-you're not a god!" Gwen spat back as she tried to free herself only to find that the golden arms simply ignored her superhuman strength not even budging in the slightest.
"No...not yet," Genesis agreed as he stepped down from his alcove, though instead of falling to the ground more golden tentacles emerged from the walls, latching onto his back and gently lowering him down, "But I am in the process of correcting that small practicality."
Gwen's jaw clenched as she continued to struggle refusing to give up, "You think you can become a god, by brainwashing people with this free from pain and suffering bullshit?!"
"So far it seems to be working," Genesis replied with an audible smile, and as he walked barefoot across the golden floor the arms holding Gwen maneuvered so she was positioned upright facing him, "And brainwashing is such a barbaric term, it lacks any true depth or nuance"
Every word out of Genesis' mouth was dripping with a smug arrogance that made Gwen want nothing more than to shatter his jaw with an uppercut, "You can't seriously expect me to believe that all of these people willingly of their own free will chose to live here, underground, in this demented knock-off wonderland?"
Standing in front of Gwen, Genesis stared into the white lenses covering the heroine's eyes with only a few inches separating them, "Most of my followers lived in this tunnel before I arrived, when it a cesspool of disease, crippling addiction and the worst aspects of humanity because they had no other option but survival. Gideon was the first man I cleansed, and our first interaction was when he and two others attempted to mug me for clothes in order to sell for drug money. Tell me, Spiderwoman what would you have done in my situation?"
Gwen fell silent, not bothering to reply, able to pick out the verbal trap from a mile away. Her lack of response didn't seem to bother Genesis as he resumed his speech, "Please do not take this as a shaming, you alone can't be responsible for every poor decision that leads people to make unwise decisions. That is just a nature of life, people must compromise their morals in order to survive. Before he came to live in these tunnels Gideon served in the army, before being discharged with a purple heart after suffering a spinal injury that left him with chronic pain that he combated with painkillers. Unfortunately, he ended up addicted to the medication, and from there the details become rather unpleasant."
"And you somehow got rid of his addiction, just like that?" Gwen asked skeptically no longer trying to break free, instead slowly shifting her arm so that her wrist would face out.
"Yes I healed Gideon's addiction and the injury that led him down such an unfortunate path," Genesis replied as he spread his arms, "Now he will never feel pain again, and corruption will never take hold of his being, just like all of my followers."
Gwen frowned beneath her mask, "And you're doing all of this out of the kindness of your heart? With no ulterior motives?"
"I never claimed my work to be charity," Genesis corrected as he folded his hands behind his back, "But I already told you what this is all about."
Gwen paused for a moment before recalling Genesis' earlier words, "Wait...you really think you can become a god?"
"I've been told by a credible source that this is the first step, though of course there are strict qualifications to even make it this far down the path to godhood," Genesis replied confidently before staring directly into Gwen's eyes, "Now are you done stalling for time, or do you need another minute?"
"Nope, I'm all done," Gwen replied merrily as a trail of webbing shot out from her wrist, slicing just past the hem of Genesis' hood and sticking to the ceiling. Using all of her strength and the elastic tension of her webbing Gwen pulled herself free of the golden appendages as she launched herself at Genesis, her foot extended out in a sidekick.
With his arms still folded behind his back, Genesis glided out of Gwen's path using the tendrils emerging from his back instead of his legs, "Is this really necessary?"
Flipping around mind flight Gwen's feet stuck to the roof and she looked up to stare down at Genesis, "I feel like letting you become a god isn't in the best interest of the city, so I'm afraid so!"
Gwen's arms shot up as she rained down a barrage of web bullets before following as she pushed off the ceiling.
Staring up at the silken rain Genesis calmly raised a hand and swiped to the left causing the corresponding side of the chamber to erupt, spewing for a geyser of vicious golden ooze.
Gwen's jaw clenched as she latched back onto the ceiling with her silk, barely avoiding the golden tsunami that slammed into the far wall and instantly solidified.
"I always wondered what motivates heroes like you," Genesis spoke as a swarm of tentacles emerged from the wall behind him, "To live such selfless lives, dedicated to the services of others, willing to do anything and everything to ensure that those who can't fend for themselves live to see the sunrise the next day."
Gwen grunted as the swarm of tentacles lurched into motion snaking through the air as they locked onto her position with unerring accuracy, "I can't say I really understand it myself either."
Taking off at a sprint Gwen ran upside down across the chamber ceiling, jumping and rolling as the tentacles slammed into the roof behind her causing the entire room to shake.
"Maybe you don't understand it, but you know why you do it," Genesis replied as he slowly turned leisurely watching Gwen from beneath his hood, "It's become second nature to you...to protect both the innocent and those who are not so deserving of protection. A very admirable cause...but I imagine that the toll is quite immense."
Gwen growled at Genesis as she slid under another tentacle managing to pin it down with a burst of webbing though it only bought her a split second as another emerged from the wall to take its place, 'Just how is he pulling this off, nothing I think of comes close to explaining his powers.'
"Constantly sacrificing your health and safety for the sake of others. That takes a toll on the mind, and I imagine you have the regular stress of your civilian identity on top of it all as well. It is a miracle that you haven't succumbed to the corruption festering within you." Genesis praised, "But there is no such thing as eternal grace, eventually you will be forced to make a decision, where you must compromise for the sake of survival...and that is when the corruption will finally seep through the cracks."
"Thanks for telling me my soul is doomed or whatever unless I let you brainwash me or something," Gwen yelled back sarcastically as she jumped off the ceiling with a flip soaring through the air as the swarm of tentacles reached out extending to lick at her heels.
"You may not be ready to accept my light, but that doesn't mean I will let corruption spread within the sphere of my influence," Genesis decreed as he pointed his palm up at Gwen.
From his sleeve, a thin strand of gold shot out flying through the air faster than a bullet and hitting harder than one as well. Gwen felt the air rush out of her lungs as the tendril slammed into her diaphragm before splintering apart into a series of smaller strands that wrapped around Gwen's body and limbs trussing her like a turkey.
Panic immediately blossomed within Gwen as she realized that the thin unassuming strand was far stronger than the tentacles for seemingly no explicable reason, 'Not that logic can explain anything that's happened to me tonight, but this is really starting to get tiresome.'
Once more Gwen was held aloft in front of Genesis, who addressed her after a short pause, "Today I will let you leave my Kingdom unharmed, as an olive branch to show I truly mean you no harm."
"Wow, how generous of you," Gwen replied her voice dripping with sarcasm, "I still don't buy it just so you know, this is all probably just a scam to take over the city."
"I can not outright deny your claim, I do not know where my journey to godhood will take me," Genesis admitted as he extended his hand toward Gwen, with droplets of liquid gold collecting on his palm, "However I want to show you what a world under my influence can accomplish."
Before Gwen could object Genesis placed his palm against her sternum sending a wave of gold flowing across her suit and a burning power flooding through her veins.
Gwen felt her entire body lock up as she tried to fight against whatever Genesis was doing to her, but the supposed god didn't seem to mind.
Once the gold had covered Gwen's entire suit head to toe, it embedded itself into the fabric, turning her black and pink accents an illustrious gold while the rest of the suit became a stark white. The change however went far deeper as Gwen felt her body surge with strength, and she couldn't help but remember the night she had gotten her power.
Gwen didn't know how long the transformation lasted, but eventually, she felt herself drop to the floor her entire being feeling raw, but refined like every bit of her latent potential had been squeezed to the surface.
Picking up her head Gwen gazed up at Genesis through blurred vision as he spoke, "Now you see a fraction of what I can offer my followers, what I offer for free. Use my boon to continue your crusade, I look forward to our next meeting, Spiderwoman."
The last thing Gwen saw before she lost consciousness was a pair of solid golden eyes.
