The Spectacular Spinnerette: A Marvel AU fanfic

[Nesh]

Chapter 1: Secret Origins

 

Gwendolyne "Gwen" Stacy from all outside appearances had it all. Even at the young age of fifteen she was the most popular girl at Standard High School, a true beauty, to the point of people calling her "Beauty Queen Gwen". Beauty wasn't all she had to offer though; she was also one of the top students in her class, especially in science. Not to mention being the police chief's daughter. Beauty, brains, and social standing, it really did seem like Gwen had it all, but that was an illusion.

Her life was not all sunshine and daisies, far from it. Gwen had grown up without a mother, she'd died when Gwen was very young; in truth she didn't even remember her mother. Her parents had been older than most when they'd had her and unfortunately her mother had never fully recovered from the stress of birth. So, she'd been raised by her father. Well as much as a police chief could raise a daughter. Her father was approaching retirement age; maybe they'd be able to spend more time together then.

Gwen dabbed her face with a handkerchief, the August heat was beginning to get to her as she walked across campus. Summer was a horribly uncomfortable season; she could feel her make-up. What little she wore and could wear at this age, sweating off. At least classes were over for the day and now she could relax somewhat.

"Hey Gwen," She heard a voice say. Gwen turned to find her friend Harry Osborn approaching her. Like her Harry came from a very influential family, his father owning a large corporation and he too lacked a maternal figure in his life. Their fathers got along amicably enough which was good, so the two saw each other often outside of school, "Heading home?"

"Not quite yet Harry," she said, "There's a science exhibition on radioactivity at Empire State University later, would you like to come with me?"

"I'd like to Gwen, but you know my dad gets when I don't start on my homework right away," he said.

"I understand. I'll see you tomorrow." Gwen adjusted her book bag and kept walking. A subway ride later she was in the Science Hall at ESU waiting for the radioactivity experiment to start. People were giving her strange looks. Women interested in science weren't exactly all that common, especially ones as young as her. However her being the police chief's daughter gained her enough respect that no one actually did more than glance at her.

It was hot in the Science Hall. The air conditioning must've been out, so between the August heat and the room being packed full of bodies it was just sweltering in there. Gwen squirmed trying to get comfortable as he watched. Unfortunately, fifteen-year-old girls such as herself just weren't very tall so it was hard for her to see anything.

"Here, take my spot so you can see better." A rather awkward looking boy in glasses said. Gwen nodded and the boy let her in front of him.

"Thanks, uh…" Gwen blushed as she realized she couldn't properly thank the boy as she didn't know his name.

"Uh, my name's Peter, Peter Parker," he stammered. Wow, he really was an awkward kid. Gwen gave Peter the proper thanks and turned her attention back to the experiment.

No one noticed a spider cross the beams of radioactivity that were part of the experiment, and no one noticed said spider land on Gwen's hand and bite her except for Gwen herself anyway. Immediately feeling sick she got up to leave, her head pounding.

"It looks like our little demonstration unnerved Ms. Stacy," one of the scientists running the exhibition said.

"This is why you shouldn't let women in the lab," his partner said. Gwen turned to give them a piece of her mind but feeling faint she lost her balance and fell backwards into that Peter Parker kid.

---

Gwen woke up slowly. She groaned and stirred; her head still hurt. She was on something soft, where was she? It was dark. How long was she out?

"Oh Gwen, you're up!" She knew that voice, she turned toward it and the lamp that was the only light in the room. She now recognized her surroundings: her room.

"Dad," she said groggily, "What happened?" Gwen managed to sit up a little bit causing pain to shoot through her head and a wave of nausea to hit her stomach.

"Here sip this," He handed her a glass of water, which she sipped slowly; it helped her headache a little. "You collapsed at that science exhibition at ESU. Near as I can figure, it was either dehydration or heat stroke. It was really hot there." Gwen nodded slowly.

She knew it wasn't dehydration that had caused her to collapse. She'd been bitten by a spider. She remembered it glowing. Had it been radioactive? Should she tell her father, after all it could be serious. No, that would worry him too much and he had important things to do, besides she felt fine now, except for a small headache.

"How'd I get back here?" she asked.

"I got a call down at the station and came to pick you up," her father said, "A boy stayed with you, a Pete something."

"Peter Parker," Gwen corrected.

"You know the boy?" her father asked with the classic concern any father would show when his daughter knew a boy's name.

"He let me have his spot so I could see the experiment better, that's all dad," she said, "I'd like to thank him in person for staying with me. Could you find out where he lives?" Her father looked uncomfortable at that prospect. Gwen gave him a sweet pouty look.

"I'll see what I can do," he said, "but you need to rest for now young lady." Gwen smiled him.

"Good night, Dad," she said.

"Goodnight sweetheart," he said as he turned the lamp off and left the room.

---

As usual her father was gone when Gwen woke up. She sighed. Sometimes she resented his job as a police officer; they been much closer before his promotion to police chief, now between that and her growing load of schoolwork it was like each of them kept just missing the other. All that said she was proud of her father's work and respected the need for him to do his job, even at her expense.

Gwen quickly got up and got dressed and started to make her breakfast. She'd done this so many times in her life that her body moved without her thinking as she made her eggs. Sunnyside up, in her opinion the only way to eat them. Everything was going well until she tried to take a drink from the glass of orange juice, she poured for herself. The glass shattered in her hand and Gwen found herself absolutely dripping, covered in sticky orange liquid.

By the time she got dressed again she had to leave for school without eating. So, the day started badly. Still, she managed to grab one of her dad's old pulp magazines to read on the subway. She was an especially big fan of The Spider.  She really hoped this day would get better. When she got to school, she immediately approached by Harry.

"Hey Gwen, are you alright, I heard about what happened to you at that science exhibition yesterday," he said.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just got a little dehydrated is all," she lied. If she wasn't going to tell her own father she was bitten by a radioactive spider she wasn't going to tell Harry. She wasn't even sure what effects, if any that it had on her. A lot of really strange things had happened this morning.

"Alright, but if you need anything Gwen, you know where to find me," Harry said.

"Actually, I was wondering if I might be able to come over to your house today. You know how quiet it gets at my house with my dad on the beat."

"Sorry Gwen, but my dad's going to be at Oscorp meeting with some big client. Since he's not going to be there, having company, especially a girl would be a bad idea."

"You're right, I guess we'd better get to class," Gwen said. The rest of the day didn't go much better than her morning, with her randomly sticking to and breaking things. This all culminated in her nearly being hit by a car on her way to the subway. When she jumped out of the way she found herself on a roof and she accidentally crushed a steel pipe like paper. This was just getting weird. When she tried to get down she found herself sticking to the wall. Well at least that was useful.

Gwen looked around, it didn't seem like anyone had noticed, but that was New York for you. This made one thing clear though: that spider bite had done something to her, she just needed to figure out what.

---

Norman Osborn was not a happy man. He knew how this meeting was going to go. The answer was not well. Despite all the money that had been sunk into this project Oscorp had little to nothing to show for it.

His client, Colonel Nick Fury was a gruff man, and Norman didn't particularly like him. He saw Fury as unkempt at best with his perpetual five o'clock shadow, eye patch and the fuming cigar hanging out of his mouth. He did like Fury's money though, and he had a lot of it given that he was the head of a secret arm of the U.S. government known as S.H.I.E.L.D.

"You know you really shouldn't be smoking in a chemical plant, Colonel," Osborn said trying to be as polite as he could while choking on the pungent smoke.

"I'll smoke wherever I damn well please, Osborn. Now you better have some good news for me. How's that little project I put you on coming?"

"Not very well, I'm afraid. As you well know Dr. Erskine never fully committed the formula for his Super Soldier serum to paper. From what we do have we can tell the man was a genius. Of course, just the fact that he created Captain America is enough to show us that. Without the full formula though this is just guesswork. We need more time."

"More time? You're skating on thin ice Osborn. We don't have a lot of time. Our sources say that the Soviets are gathering up superpowered beings of their own. We need some way to combat them, and the Super Soldier serum is the best way. Your country needs you."

"My country? That's your mistake, Colonel, you think I care about my country. I don't I'm helping you in your little fight with the communists for my own reasons."

"Mainly that they don't like businessmen like you, and you don't want them getting in power over here and stringing you up. Look, Osborn, I don't like you and you don't like me. Just fine with me, but I'm giving you lots of money and I can take it away. If I had another option, I would take it away." Fury said. That made Norman smirk.

"Ah, so you really do need me don't you, Colonel?"

"You were the last resort Osborn and don't you forget it. Richards won't work with us, Stark's gone missing somewhere in Korea, probably dead. Not to mention that fiasco with Banner's gamma bomb… The sad fact is that you're our last hope, Osborn, as much as that statement makes me sick. We sure as hell don't trust our 'friend' Von Doom in Latveria enough to ask him for help."

"Tony Stark is missing?" Well now, that was interesting. His company must be trying to keep things quiet.

"That's not your concern, the Super Soldier serum is," Fury snapped.

"Yes yes, my chief scientist Doctor Otto Octavius was muttering something about a possible breakthrough. If it produces any results I'll let you know. In the meantime, why don't you recruit some of those Mutants that are popping up?"

"Most of them are underage and civilians. We can't control them. We're not forcing anyone to join the military, this isn't the Soviet Union! Now get me that formula or I'm taking the money back!" Fury said storming off.

---

"Okay Gwen, stay calm. Everything is going to be fine, you just have superpowers, nothing to worry about." Oh, who was she kidding she was freaking out. How had she gotten powers? She'd been hearing things about Mutants lately. People born with powers that manifested during puberty. She was about the right age, could she be a Mutant?

If she was, maybe there was someone who could help her but that would take some research. Right now, she needed to calm down. Unfortunately, her father chose that moment to come home. Gwen felt a tingling on the back of her neck and was able to jump out of the way before the door hit her.

"You okay sweetie? You seem a bit jumpy." Captain Stacy said.

"Yeah, you just surprised me is all."

"Ah, how was school, Gwen?"

"It was fine, Dad."

"That's good to hear." Captain Stacy turned the TV on to the news.

"Our top story today is about yet another disturbance at the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters in Westchester County. The recently opened school for Mutants has been a frequent target for less than peaceful protests. The school has been accused of being a training center for a Mutant revolution by people such as Senator Robert Kelly, despite Professor Charles Xavier's protests that his school is meant to guide Mutants to a peaceful place in society. A police presence has been set up around the manor to prevent any sort of confrontation."

"I'm glad I don't have to deal with that mess. With the powers those Mutants have they can be very dangerous. People are afraid, I don't know if I could keep the peace. By the way, Gwen, I found out where that Peter Parker kid lives, would you like to go see him tomorrow?"

"I can't dad, I have to go to the library and study for a big test tomorrow, do you think it can wait until Saturday?" That was a bit of a white lie. She was going to the library tomorrow, but only to find the address for the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters and then she was taking a bus to Westchester County.

---

The next day around 4:30 in the afternoon Gwen was stepping off the bus and heading toward the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, it looked more like an old mansion than a school. As expected, the place was surrounded by police. It seemed it was time to put them to the test hopefully these guys weren't as vigilant as the NYPD.

It wasn't easy but using her new powers she was able to sneak past the police parameter. It paid to have a dad on the force. She didn't know everything, but she knew a thing or two about the procedures.

"I don't know why we don't just storm this place and arrest these Mutants. They're the dangerous ones," she heard one of the police say as she passed by.

"We have our orders, at least we can still keep normal people safe by keeping them away." Another replied.

Great, even the police don't like these guys. What have I gotten myself into?  Well, there was only one way to find out. She rang the doorbell. The door opened to reveal a bald man in a wheelchair.

"I thought I sensed someone approaching the mansion. I am Charles Xavier, who might you be?"

"I'm Gwen Stacy, I came here because I think I might be a Mutant. Wait, sensed, does that mean you're a Mutant too?"

"Not publicly, but yes, I am a Mutant. A telepath to be more precise. Please Ms. Stacy come in, my students have been made aware of your arrival and are on their way down. The inside looked as much the part of a manor as the outside did. A group of six teenagers were coming down the stair to greet her.

Most of them looked normal, but there were a few oddities. There was on with usually large hands and feet and far more striking was the one with blue fur and a tail. Gwen was starting to wonder if she was going to turn into some hideous spider monster but seeing as most of them looked normal that fear was muted.

"Everyone, I would like you to meet Ms. Gwen Stacy. Ms. Stacy, allow me to introduce my students," Xavier said. He pointed over to a red-haired girl "This is Jean Grey."

"Hello Gwen," Jean said, like most of them Jean looked to be slightly older than Gwen.

"This is Scott Summers." That was a brown-haired boy wearing some sort of red sunglasses, "Hank McCoy." That was the one with the large limbs. Gwen nodded to each one.

"You can call me Anna Marie." It seemed the rest of them weren't going to wait for Xavier to introduce them. The girl had brown hair with a white streak in the front and a southern accent. She also looked to be overdressed for the weather.

"I'm Kurt Wagner," said the blue furry one. the last one, who looked to be a normal brown-haired girl a little younger than Gwen looked to be a bit uncomfortable as Kurt spoke with a German accent.

"I'm Kitty Pryde," she said.

"It's nice to meet all of you," Gwen said politely.

"Gwen here thinks she might be a Mutant, so she's come to us, although I do have some questions, Ms. Stacy. Does your family know you are here?"

"No, I didn't tell my father. I wasn't sure how to tell him. I figured if I turned out to be a Mutant you could talk to him. I'm afraid, these abilities came out of nowhere, but if you can help me control them…"

"Well then, let's take you to the Danger Room and test your powers," Professor Xavier said.

"Danger Room? Don't tell me this school really is training Mutants to fight," No one said anything, "You've got to be kidding me."

"You have to understand, Ms. Stacy, there are Mutants that are less peaceful than us and someone has to stop them," Professor Xavier said.

"How about the Fantastic Four?" Gwen snarked. The group went to the "Danger Room" which turned out to be a big stainless-steel room with nothing special about it or so it seemed.  As they got into the room Scott left the group and went into a control room above them.

"Now Gwen, what sort of powers are you exhibiting?" Professor Xavier asked.

Enhanced strength, agility, I can stick to walls and have a danger sense."

"I see." Xavier presumably sent a telepathic message to Scott and a large number of weights, and an obstacle course appeared out of thin air. Gwen gasped.

"This is amazing, the technology in this room is beyond anything I've read about." Kitty and Hank seemed to be intrigued by this.

"Might you be interested in science, Gwen?" Hank asked.

"Yes, very much so, but right now I should probably show you my powers." Gwen started with the weights, and it was discovered that her strength topped out at five tons. The obstacle course was a different matter with many moving parts that pushed her agility to the limit. Then her danger sense went off and she dodged just in time to see an energy beam on the wall leave a crater in the floor.

"Was that a laser? Those are only theoretical!" Gwen kept dodging but eventually she just got tired of it and jumped on the wall, crawling away as she weaseled her way between the lasers' aim. Then as suddenly as everything appeared it disappeared.

She was met was applause. The gathered Mutants seemed very impressed. Kitty was the first one to run up to her.

"That was amazing, Gwen! I can't wait to work alongside you!"

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Kitty, we still have to talk with her father," Jean said.

"Hopefully, it goes better than when you talked to my parents," Kitty muttered. The rest of the group looked uncomfortable.

'We'll do better this time, Kitty." Kurt put his hand on her shoulder causing her to flinch.

"You were quite impressive, Gwen, none of us have been able to clear the course that quickly and you recognized the lasers for what they were. I think you would make a great asset to our team," Hank said.

"Wait, I'm having second thoughts here. I didn't come here to be part of a strike force. Even if you are trying to be a force of good and peace, and let's say I believe you are. Well, my dad's a police officer, I believe in using the law to achieve your ends. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with being part of a vigilante group."

"We understand, you'll have time to think it over of course," Jean said.

"That is if I accept her, as it turns out Ms. Stacy isn't a Mutant." Professor Xavier wheeled himself back into the room. Gwen didn't even notice him leave due to the excitement with the obstacle course.

"What do you mean I'm not a Mutant?" Gwen asked.

"I have a machine called Cerebro that allows me to sense Mutant brainwaves. As it turns out you aren't a Mutant."

"I have powers though."

"And when did these powers manifest?"

"A couple of days ago when I was bitten by a radioactive spider."

"That is probably what gave you your powers, your abilities are strikingly similar to that of a spider."

"I still don't know how to control these powers, how to deal with this. Is it possible you could still help me?"

I would have to discuss this with my students. Kitty, will you stay with Gwen while the rest of us talk?" Xavier and the rest of the group went one way while Kitty led Gwen back to the front room.

"Kitty, will you stay with Gwen while the rest of us talk?" She mocked.

"I'm sorry I'm such an inconvenience," Gwen muttered.

"It's not you, it's just I'm the newest, and youngest member of the team and they keep treating me like a kid."

"Oh, I see," Gwen said, "So why are you so uncomfortable around Kurt?"

"My parents are from Poland, they're Holocaust survivors. They spent time in Auschwitz. With Kurt, it's nothing personal. It's just… he's German." Gwen nodded not sure what to say to that at first.

"I'm sure he's not a Nazi…"

"I know, it's just after all the stories it's hard to be around a German."

"And you said something about your recruitment to this school not going well?"

"Professor Xavier and Jean showed up to my house in Illinois to offer a scholarship to the school. It went well at first but when they found out it was a school for Mutants by parents backed out; our family had been persecuted enough but I was afraid, scared of my powers. So, I tried to run away and come with them. My parents called the police thinking I'd been kidnapped, and Professor Xavier had to wipe the memories of everyone involved back to the point before they revealed they were Mutants so I could join."

"That doesn't strike me as something heroes would do," Gwen said.

"It was a rocky start, but they really have helped me with my powers and the normal schooling here is amazing." The two of them chatted for about half an hour about various things. Despite all the strangeness of the last few days and the serious matter being discussed in the other room the two girls were laughing before long and had really hit it off. Being able to talk about more normal things eased the stress that Gwen was under. Eventually Xavier came out of the other room with the rest of the students.

"We discussed it, and my students can't come to a consensus about whether we should let you enroll in the school and since I can't have a dysfunctional team, I'm afraid I can't help you."

"What?" Gwen asked.

"While some of us think that you would make a great addition to the team others of us think that it would be wrong to accept a non-mutant," Hank said.

"You got your powers from an accident. You weren't born with it like us. A lot of us had to go through traumatic experiences because of our powers. This is a place where we can commiserate and work toward a world that accepts Mutants," Scott said.

"This isn't fair I came to you people for help!"

"We understand that, but you realize that this would have the public brand you a Mutant and you'd have to deal with the same discrimination. Plus, we have Hank who has a similar powerset," Jean said.

"We can't force that on someone else in good conscience," Kurt said.

"But I still need help controlling my powers. People might confuse me for a Mutant anyway and I won't have a group to back me up. If something happens to me because I get mistaken for a Mutant, it's on your heads. Don't you people know what it's like to be alone?"

"I'm sorry darlin', if it were up to me. I'd let you at least think about joining, but it's gotta be unanimous, Anna Marie said.

"She could be a big help to us!" Kitty protested.

"Don't bother, Kitty, if they don't want me, I'm not going to stick around. You claim you want to have peace with regular people but build a school to train Mutants to fight and keep its true purpose hidden. No wonder people are afraid of you." Gwen began to storm off but then grabbed a piece of stationery and a pen off the table and wrote her address on it, handing it to Kitty.

"What's this?" she asked.

"My mailing address, keep in touch. That way if things go south with these guys, you'll have a friend you can contact." And with that Gwen left the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters.

---

The next day was Saturday and Gwen and her father were going to Peter Parker's house so that Gwen could finally thank him properly. As it turned out he lived in the neighborhood of Forest Hills. The pulled up to the house and her father rang the doorbell. A man answered the door.

"Hello, can I help you?" He asked.

"I'm George Stacy, as you probably know your nephew Peter Parker attended a science exhibition on radiation at Empire State University."

"Yes, I know, what's this about sir?"

"It's nothing to worry about. It's just my daughter Gwen here, collapsed at that demonstration and Peter stayed with her until I could pick her up. We're here because Gwen wanted to properly thank him for that."

"Oh, I see, please come in and you can call me Ben." The inside of the house was nice enough, though it was clear the Parkers didn't live as nicely as they did. The smell of chocolate chip cookies was wafting from the kitchen.

A white-haired woman stepped out from the kitchen with a smile on her face. "Ben, would you like to introduce me to our guests?" she asked.

"May, this is George Stacy and his daughter Gwen. They're here to thank Peter for staying with Gwen when she collapsed at that science exhibition."

"It's nice to meet you both," Gwen said.

"Thank you dear," May said, "Would you two like some cookies?" May asked.

"Yes, thank you, I would love som,." Gwen said.

"I'll go get Peter." Ben said. Gwen was quickly given her cookies and began eating them while Ben brought Peter from upstairs. Peter's eyes widened when he saw them.

"Hey, you're Gwen Stacy. The girl I gave my spot to at ESU what are you doing here?" Gwen gave him a confused look.

"I don't remember giving you my name, Peter." The boy in question blushed in embarrassment.

"I overheard your dad say it when he picked you up." he said.

"Ah, okay, I just wanted to thank you for staying with me the other day."

"It's no big deal," Peter replied modestly, "Hey, my aunt and uncle bought me a new microscope, you want to see it?" Gwen gave her father a questioning look.

"Go ahead, sweetie," he said. Gwen and Peter went upstairs to his room, and he began showing her his new microscope. Her first impression of Peter Parker had been that he was an awkward shy kid. That wasn't entirely inaccurate but once you got the kid talking about science he became very articulate. Thankfully she knew more than enough to keep up with what he was saying.

The Stacys spent another two hours at the Parker household and generally agreed that they were a nice family. Before they left Ben and May made it very clear that Gwen was always welcome in their home. As the days went by Gwen found herself taking them up on that offer. With her father almost always on the job and the Osborn house being off limits because Harry's dad was working overtime on some big project, she found herself at the Parker house nearly every day.

Talking science with Peter so often made them very close, though sometimes she was out of her depth with him as he was more a tinkerer than she was. She'd spent more time with Peter in one month than she had with Harry in the last three and they were fast becoming good, if not best friends. She'd also gotten a handle on her powers, though she hadn't told anyone about them since her visit to Xavier's school. She'd also kept a weekly correspondence with Kitty to make sure everything was alright with her.

It seemed like everything was finally reaching something close to normalcy again. Then tragedy struck. It was late at night; her father woke her up with an urgent tone in his voice. "Gwen. get up, we need to go."

"Dad, what is it?" She asked groggily.

"Honey, I have some bad news. It's Peter, he's been shot."

"What?" Gwen jumped up immediately.

"A burglar broke into their house, and Ben Parker confronted him. The burglar was aiming for him, but Peter pushed his uncle out of the way at the last second. He's at the hospital undergoing surgery right now. I thought you should know. I've called a cab to take you to the hospital; Ben and May will be waiting for you in the lobby. I don't like leaving you home alone after something like this."

"What about you?"

"They've tracked the crook to a warehouse, and they want all available units there. We're going to catch the guy who did this, Gwen, I promise." Captain Stacy said. With that said the two left the house and parted ways Gwen didn't even bother to change out of her nightgown.

The ride to the hospital was torture. She was doing her best not to panic. When she got there Ben and May Parker were waiting for her just like her dad said. They went to the waiting room and things were quiet except for a lot of praying. It was a couple hours later when the doctor finally came out. He was a young blonde man.

"Mr. and Mrs. Parker, I'm Dr. Donald Blake. I have good news and bad news. The good news is we were able to save your nephew, but the bullet did severe damage to his spinal cord. He'll never walk again. I'm sorry, I've done all I can, there was once another surgeon who could've done more. but unfortunately, after that car crash last year Dr. Strange can't practice anymore."

May Parker broke down and began crying. Ben held her. "Thank you, Dr. Blake," he turned to his wife, "It's going to be alright May, at least he's alive." Gwen finally broke down as well. Yes, Peter was alive but now that he was a paraplegic his hopes of being scientist would be almost certainly completely destroyed this wasn't fair.

It wasn't long after that that her father arrived. Gwen ran into his arms and held him tight. "Oh, Daddy, it's horrible they're saying Peter will never walk again. Please tell me you got the man who did this."

"Yeah, we got him Gwen, but we could've got him sooner. It turns out he'd robbed a wrestling event earlier tonight and escaped the police, eventually breaking into the Parker home. If we'd just been a little faster..." Captain Stacy's voice was mournful.

"Daddy, aren't the police supposed to keep people safe?"

"We do, sweetie. We do our best anyway. Sometimes our best isn't good enough."

"I'm worried about the Parkers they can't afford they can't afford the medical bills they're going to have."

"I'll take care of that, Gwen. Norman Osborn owes me some favors and I'll pitch in as much money as I can."

"Thank you, Dad, I just wish we could do more." Maybe she could. She had powers, maybe it was time she used them for something. She respected the police, she had to her father was on the force after all. They did their best, but it seemed they needed some help.

Over the next couple weeks Gwen designed a costume that she could use when she was using her powers she didn't exactly want to be known as a vigilante after all. She decided to make it form fitting of easier movement. Black and blue for the stealth and to pay tribute to the police, the blue was mostly on the limbs. A classic domino face mask like her pulp hero the Spider. She even made her own ring with a spider seal on it as a homage to the classic character.

She wouldn't use guns though. For one she couldn't get her hands on any and for two she only wanted to catch criminals not kill them. She still believed in the system after all. There was just one thing missing: if she was going to be a spider themed superhero she needed some kind of a web. After all that's what spiders were known for.

She didn't want to use a grappling hook or rope; it'd be tough to carry around. She could probably make some sort of webbing with chemicals, but she'd need a shooter of some sort. Maybe she could turn to Peter for that. He was a tinkerer after all, and he needed something to do.

---

As soon as Peter was released from the hospital and settled back home Gwen went to visit him. "Hey, Peter, how are you doing?"

"Gwen, what are you doing here, I didn't think someone like would want to hang out with a cripple. My life is over!" Peter was shouting at the top of his lungs.

"It's going to be okay," Gwen said soothingly.

"Okay? I'll never walk again, Gwen! I can't take regular classes at school, people are always going to be taking care of me, pitying me. I don't want pity! Who would actually want to be around a worthless sack like me?"

"Peter, I'm still your friend. I'm here for you, I'm not going to abandon you or pity you. Right now, though I need your help." Peter laughed coldly but at least he wasn't yelling anymore.

"What I possibly do to help you in this state? I can't even do anything for myself anymore. My own uncle has to carry me into the bathroom. Can you even imagine how embarrassing that is?"

"No, I can't and I'm sorry that you're hurting. As for what I need. well, you're better at building things than me and I need something custom made to order. A pair for mechanical apparatuses that can be mounted on the wrists and shoot a chemical compound out of a pressurized cartridge and make webbing."

"That's… oddly specific," Peter said, "Why do you need this?" Gwen took a deep breath. This could be a big mistake what she was about to tell Peter could make him feel much worse about the accident, but she didn't want to lie to him. Not when she was doing this because of him.

"Of course, you remember that I collapsed at the radiation demonstration at ESU. What you don't know is why. I was bitten by a radioactive spider, and it gave me superpowers. Super strength, agility, I can stick to walls, I have a danger sense. I'm thinking about call that last one my Spider Sense."

"If I hadn't given you my spot…" Peter mused connecting the dots, "I would've have stopped that robber… I'd still be able to walk and follow my dreams."

"You can't think like that, Peter. If you'd gotten those powers, there's no telling what you would have done. You might not have even been home," Gwen said firmly, "I need these webshooters because I'm going to use my powers to become a superhero, and a spider themed hero needs webs. I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that what happened to you doesn't happen to other people."

"You're right, it's just so hard," Peter said with a sigh, "Now then webshooters well you'll want multiple setting for different web thicknesses. A trigger mechanism that can't be set off accidentally… I can get my aunt and uncle to get me the materials I need, give me about a week and I'll have what you need, Gwen." Gwen smiled at this glimmer of the Peter she knew shining through.

"You're the best, Peter." Before she knew what she was doing she'd pecked him on the cheek. Both teens blushed furiously.

"Uh, Gwen…" Peter stammered.

"Let's keep that between us for now." Gwen said. Peter nodded in reply.

"So, if you're going to be a superhero do you have a costume and a cool name like the Fantastic Four?"

"Yeah, I've already designed and made the costume. I'm just waiting on those webshooters to make my debut as for a name. Well if I'm going to be spinning webs how about Spinnerette? You know like the spinnerets spiders use and -ette for female." Gwen said. That made Peter laugh.

"Spinnerette, I like it. The Spectacular Spinnerette!"

[Nesh]

Chapter 2: Friends Lost, Enemies Gained

 

So, I just press this button with my middle and index finger, with exact pressure the web will come shooting out?" Gwen asked as she examined the mechanical webshooters on her wrists.

"Yeah, that's right. You load the cartridges into the carousel at the back there. It'll rotate the empty cartridges out automatically. I also added a small valve to allow you to shoot a thick web line or a fine wide stream." Peter explained as he pointed out the features so Gwen knew exactly where and what than me.

"Wow, that's amazing, I never would've come up any of that. Okay, maybe I would have but I wouldn't know where to begin to build it. You're a genius Peter."

"I'm just glad I could help. These hands are all I have left to work with."

"I'm sure Spinnerette will have plenty of work of them to do as time goes on. Gwen Stacy on the other hand is just happy to be with Peter Parker."

"Thanks, Gwen, but it's getting late, you should probably get home soon."

"You're right, Peter. I'll see you tomorrow. I'll probably test these when I get home." Gwen quickly put her books back into her bag, they'd been doing her homework before he'd shown her the webshooters and then she laid the shooters on top of them. She actually had her costume on under her clothes and her mask in the bag. She then headed downstairs. She paused in the stairwell as she heard Ben and May Parker talking in the kitchen.

"This just isn't right," Ben said, "They want to just shove our Peter in a room with a bunch of other damaged kids. His legs don't work but his brain's just fine he doesn't belong there with them!" Gwen heard a hand slam down the kitchen table.

"I kno,w Ben, but there's nothing we can do, Peter has to go to school and get an education," May said.

"An education? He won't be getting much of an education where they want to send him. I'll get a lawyer and fight for his rights!"

"We can't afford a lawyer. We're already getting help with the medical bills."

"I'll pick up extra shifts at work. I'm going to do to whatever it takes to fight for Peter's rights and win."

Gwen snuck past them and out the door. She never realized just how bad Peter was going to have it in the coming days. He'd have to struggle every day for things she took for granted. Well, that was why she'd decided to become Spinnerette wasn't it? So things like what happened to Peter wouldn't happen to others, to give the police a helping hand.

She'd been planning for Spinnerette to make her debut later tonight, sneaking out her window to do some crime fighting before going to sleep but why not start right now? For Peter.

Gwen found the nearest alley she could and ducked in so she could change and strap on her webshooters. She shoved her street clothes in her bag and shot a web line toward a streetlamp and swung on it. Gwen had made her webbing more than strong enough to support her weight and with her enhanced strength and a running start the swing carried her several yards forward and into the air. When she felt herself starting to fall, she webbed another object to keep her momentum going and her Spider Sense made sure she didn't hit anything.

"This is so much faster than the subway!" Gwen mused as she made her way to the main streets and climbed higher using the skyscrapers. Despite the seriousness of what she was setting out to do Gwen couldn't help but laugh.

Being above the city like this made it all look so peaceful. The wind blowing her hair back. She could get used to this. Then just as quickly as it began her bliss was shattered by an alarm. Someone was breaking into a bank.

Gwen was on the scene in less than a minute, placing her bag on a nearby rooftop and jumped down in front of a pair of men in ski masks who were making their way toward the getaway car.

"Hello boys, a bit late for a withdrawal, isn't it?" she asked with a smirk. To say that two burly men were surprised to be confronted by a teenage girl in spandex was an understatement. To their credit they got over it quickly and began laughing.

"I think it's a little late for you to be out, girly," one of them said, "It's dangerous to be out on the streets at night."

"Am I out late? Yes. Is it dangerous? Not so much." Gwen quipped. Her Spider Sense went off as the two men pulled out handguns Gwen was already dodging as they fired, jumping on and sticking to the wall of the bank. Her heart was pounding and her ears ringing. If it hadn't been for her superpowers, she'd be dead right now. Maybe she wasn't cut out for this.

No, she thought steeling herself, I'm doing this for Peter, I can't back out now.

"What are you?" the robbers asked in shock as they saw her stick to the wall.

"The name's Spinnerette and I'm your worst nightmare. I guess you could say I'm a spider and this entire city is my parlor, I guess that would make you the flies." The thugs moved to draw a bead on her but she shot webs on to their muzzles before they could fire.

"What is this junk?"

"Oh, that would be my webbing. I wouldn't recommend trying to shoot those guns, my webbing will stop the bullet and the recoil will tear your arm clean off. Very messy. Not that I'll give you the chance," Gwen quickly encased the would-be bank robbers in cocoons of webbing.

Upon seeing this the getaway driver, tried to, well, get away. Well Spinnerette wasn't about to let that happen. She hopped back down on to the street and shot a web line onto the frame of the car. She pulled hard using her super strength stalling the vehicle. She felt the driver floor it and strained slowly pulling the car back toward her. The driver panicked and got out of the car only to have Gwen put him in a matching cocoon to his comrades. She laid the river with the other two, removed their ski and used her ring to leave her spider seal on their foreheads.

"There, three nice little presents for the NYPD, too bad I don't have a bow to put on it, but I do have gift tag for it. Jumping back on to the rooftop that held her bag and pulled out a specially made calling card. She laid it on the ground in front of the robbers and was on her way home before the police arrived.

When the police did arrive, they were baffled to find the three robbers trapped in webbing with red spiders stamped on their foreheads. The only clues to who might have done this were the physical descriptions the would-be robbers gave of a young blonde teenager in a halloween costume and a small index card that found on the ground. On the front of the card was the same red spider. On the back was a short message: "A gift to the NYPD from your friendly neighborhood Spinnerette." It seemed New York had a new superheroine.

---

J. Jonah Jameson was fuming, and it had nothing to do with the cigar in his mouth. Over the past couple of weeks people and been sighting some new costumed crime fighter known as Spinnerette. The eyewitness accounts were vague, all that was know was that she was a young blonde teenager with strange powers.

Jameson as a rule wasn't a prejudiced man. He'd hired Joseph Robertson, a black man, to work on his paper, he had no particular hatred for Mutants like many others did. He didn't have a problem seeing a girl as a hero, but he wasn't convinced this Spinnerette was in it for the heroics.

No, he was convinced she wanted attention. Sure, she was stopping crimes, but she always left a calling card like she was trying to upstage the police. Add to that the fact that no one had any actual proof that this Spinnerette character even existed, and she was already fast approaching urban legend status, and J. Jonah Jameson one of two things: To either prove that this Spinnerette didn't really exist or to expose her for the glory hound she was.

Back in the day he would've automatically jumped to this whole thing being a farce but with Mutants appearing, the Fantastic Four and Namor, he couldn't dismiss Spinnerette as a myth so easily anymore. It looked like he might actually have to discredit her, but to do that he needed something on her other than vague descriptions and he didn't have any. That was why his best journalist was in his office right now.

Eddie Brock was a well-built man and a well-respected journalist. It had been quite a steal for Jameson to get him from the Daily Globe, and an expensive one at that but Brock had more than paid for himself as time went on.

"You wanted to see me, J.J.?" Eddie said as he sat down in the chair in front of the desk.

"I've got a new assignment for you," Jameson said in his rough gravelly tone, "Spinnerette."

"You mean that new girl hero everyone is talking about, but no one is sure actually exists?" Eddie asked.

"That's the one, Brock. From now on you eat, sleep, and breathe Spinnerette unless I tell you otherwise. Is that clear?"

"Is this some sort of punishment, J.J.? What did I do that was so bad you're sending me out to find urban legends?"

"This isn't a punishment, Brock, quite the opposite. Spinnerette is making the NYPD look silly. Beating them to crimes and stopping those crimes before the police can even arrive and leaving her cute little calling cards calling the criminals 'presents'. It makes the city look bad. That's why I want Spinnerette either disproved or exposed. You're the best journalist I have. If anyone can do this, it's you, Brock."

"I won't let you down, J.J.!" Eddie Brock was positively glowing from the praise.

"I'm sure you won't," Jameson replied.

---

Gwen scowled at one of the headlines in the pages of the Daily Bugle "Spinnerette: A menace it read. J. Jonah Jameson seemed to have some sort of gripe with Spinnerette. He seemed to post some disparaging story about her alter ego every day, he was even giving public anti-Spinnerette talks. He went on and on about how she was a glory hound who was upstaging the police or how she was dangerous because her exploits would inspire children to fight crime.

She tried to not let it get to her, after all she was helping people, helping the police. Sticks and stones and all that, but being attacked in the newspaper every day, even when only one other person in the entire world knew it was you wasn't easy on a girl's self-esteem. Still, she was proud of the work she was doing, and several women's rights groups were sending angry letters to the Bugle over the articles.

No one had managed to get a picture of Spinnerette and Gwen wanted to keep it that way. There was always the chance that a good picture would blow her cover. Spinnerette had already been identified as a teenage blonde girl and the number of sightings was going up every day. Still, many were skeptical that she even existed because of the lack of photographs. That made her smirk just a bit. Gwen Stacy had dreamed of being many things over the years but an urban legend wasn't one of them.

"Dad, why does Spinnerette get so much bad press? I mean she's just trying to help, what does Jameson have against her? The Fantastic Four and Ant-Man are doing the same things she is." Gwen asked. Captain Stacy laid his paper down and looked her in the eye.

"I've known Jonah for years, Gwen, he's a hard man but not unfair. When he was a boy he saw Namor the Sub-Mariner battle the Human Torch, not the one on the Fantastic Four, this was an earlier hero by the same name. After that he became convinced that no one with superpowers who worked outside the law could be trusted. The Fantastic Four's identities are known, Ant-Man works with the police. They're just easier for Jonah to swallow than Spinnerette is."

"I guess I can see that, what do you think about Spinnerette dad?"

"I think she means well and is trying to help. The others down at the station love her because she's making their jobs easier. Personally though I think Jonah has a point. Spinnerette, whoever she may be, from all the descriptions is just a child and a child has no place fighting crime. The thought of you going against the kind of thugs that are on the streets scares me to death, Gwen. You're all I have left." She had to resist the urge to flinch as she saw the emotion in her father's eyes. She hated to imagine what it would be like if he found out she was Spinnerette.

"I love you too, Dad." That was all she dared say to that. There was silence for an extended moment before Captain Stacy picked up his paper again.

"Speaking of Jonah his son John is going up in a rocket tomorrow. Would you like to go see it? I know you like that sort of thing, sweetie." Gwen sighed. He was right. She really wanted to go to the launch, but she had a job now. Spinnerette needed to be out on the streets fighting crime and she couldn't do that if Gwen Stacy was watching a rocket launch.

"I was going to go visit Peter."

"Oh, you've been spending a lot of time at the Parker house, Gwen." There was a note of concern in his voice.

"You know as well as I do that Peter needs friends right now and no one seems to visit him other than me. It's not like I have anywhere else to go after school anyway. Harry's dad has been working on some big project almost nonstop, so I haven't really gotten to see him lately."

"Probably trying to find legal loopholes so he can buyout Stark Industries. Tony Stark has been missing for some time but until he pronounced officially dead no one can make any deals that would affect the company's future like that. Of course, with Stark gone his company's stock has been dropping so when he is pronounced dead it'll be easy for Norman to buy it all up and merge it with Oscorp."

"I see..." Gwen didn't have much business acumen so she really didn't see, "Anyway, if it's alright I'm going to see Peter tomorrow." It wasn't a lie; she would go see Peter tomorrow, but she would also be doing more crime fighting as Spinnerette.

"Yes, that's fine. You're right, the boy needs support right now."

"Thank you, Dad."

---

The next day would go down as black day in history for the American space program. As Colonel John Jameson shot up in the rocket and reached Earth orbit everything seemed fine, but that was not the case. A small piece of the guidance system broke off causing the rocket to reenter the atmosphere and crash, killing Colonel Jameson on impact. His father newspaper mogul J. Jonah Jameson famously broke down in tears and kept repeating "Where are your superheroes now?"

---

The funeral for Colonel John Jameson was a lavish public affair. That was to be expected given that he was an American hero. The death of such an upstanding young man was always a tragedy so that was part of the reason Gwen was here at his funeral, to pay her respects. The other part was that she was expected to be here. Her father was a prominent police officer and a friend to J. Jonah Jameson so of course he was here and as his daughter it was just kind of assumed that they were a package deal. It was proper decorum for these things after all.

Gwen hadn't really known John all that well, she'd met a couple times in passing but nothing more than that, but she'd heard nothing but good things about him. She wasn't sure how someone could turn out so nice with that J. Jonah Jameson grump for a father, but miracles happened every day. Speaking of Jonah, she could see him at the front of the church crying, she may have had no love for the man because of him constantly trying to drag Spinnerette's name through the mud but even he didn't deserve this.

The service was a rather boring and somber as funerals often were. When the service itself was over a lunch was being served. Gwen didn't really want to stick around for that though. There had been a rash of mysterious bank robberies that no one had been able to solve, and she figured it was about time Spinnerette tried her hand at catching the crook. Unfortunately, there was no way she could just up and leave.

Her first instinct was to go and offer her condolences, but she could see that Jameson was with a group of presumably very important people. More importantly she could hear him. He was ranting about how the so-called superheroes had failed to save his son a real hero and how was wasn't going to rest until he exposed them all.

Gwen didn't need Spider Sense to tell her there was danger in approaching him. So instead, she sat down at a table and began writing a letter to Kitty that would detail her latest exploits as Spinnerette and check on her to make sure everything was still on the up and up at Xavier's school. She didn't get far though as her old friend Harry Osborn approached her.

"Hello, Gwen, it's been a long time," he said. as he sat next to her.

"That it has, Harry," she said stashing the letter to Kitty in the small purse she was carrying, "It's been over a month since we've really talked, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, since the day after you fainted at that science demonstration at ESU. How have you been?"

"It's been crazy, Harry, a lot has happened."

"So, what was that piece of paper you put in your purse?"

"It was just a letter to a friend, nothing you need to worry about," Gwen replied.

"Since when do you have friends that you need to write letters to, Gwen? I thought all your friends went to our school. Well almost all of them." Gwen's eyes narrowed at the obvious jab at Peter. What was Harry playing at?

"It's someone I met very recently, no one you know."

"Oh really, tell me about them," Harry said with interest, "I know it's not that Parker kid, from what my dad told your dad you go and see him almost every day so you wouldn't need to write him."

"I don't think that would be a good idea, Harry." She had no idea how to even begin to tell Harry about Kitty anyway. She'd have to be incredibly vague about how they met in order to not reveal that Kitty was a Mutant and that she had similar powers of her own because of a bite from a radioactive spider. That wouldn't satisfy Harry though.

"What going on with you, Gwen? I've seen you at school you're always tired. I'm your best friend and you don't talk to me anymore; you're always running off to that Parker kid's house and now you're writing letters to mysterious 'friends' you don't want to tell me about. I'm worried about you."

"I'm fine, Harry. I've just gone through… changes you can't even begin to understand. I'm sorry I've been neglecting our friendship, but I have a lot of things on my plate right now and people in my life who need my attention more than you do. Please try to understand."

"Oh, I understand. I understand that only thing the Osborns are only good for anymore is asking for money to help the family of your cripple friend. I understand that you can't even find the time to say a simple hello to me, your childhood friend because you're too busy fawning over Peter Parker, a guy you just met a month ago." Harry's voice went from level to shouting in the space of three sentences.

That was it, Gwen had had enough. Without thinking she stood up and grabbed Harry by his necktie lifting him into the air with her Spinnerette strength causing the little worm to gasp and struggle in surprise, but Gwen's grip wouldn't budge She spoke with a voice made of ice. "Peter Parker is twice the man you'll ever be. He has been nothing but kind and considerate to me since I met him, and he is going through the one of hardest things a person can. I'm sorry you lack any empathy, Harry. Maybe someone should shoot you in the spine so you can see what it's like. I'm done with you." With a flick of the wrist Gwen tossed a very stunned and pale Harry about five feet.

Not wanting to be caught in the fallout of her own spectacle, Gwen ran out of the room where lunch was being served and into the church foyer. There she found a blonde woman in her late teens to early twenties sitting on the couch crying her eyes out. If Gwen were one to judge she'd say this woman was beautiful even in this compromised state.

"Go away, I don't want to be consoled. I just want to be alone," she said.

"Oh no, I was just trying to get away from some drama. I had a falling out with an old friend Ms.-"

"Hardy, Felicia Hardy," she said.

"Felicia Hardy? Heiress to the Hardy fortune and John Jameson's girlfriend?" Gwen tended to keep up with high society gossip due to the influence her father had she was technically a part of said high society so it would be a bad idea to not stay informed.

"Now you see why I don't want to be in there. I don't want to hear how sorry everyone is for my loss. They don't understand. I was sure John was going to propose after that mission. Now that will never happen. I loved him like no one else did. Most of them were his friends because of the influence he or his father held. They didn't care about John. Why am I telling you about this? I don't even know you."

"Maybe you don't want to be as alone as you think you do, Felicia. By the way I'm Gwen Stacy."

"Maybe you're right, Gwen. Maybe I just need to get that off my chest. I had to talk to someone. I can't even talk to my mother right now because she's trying to do her best to keep the Hardy Foundation together. One of the recent bank robberies hit us hard."

"Well, I'm happy to listen if there's anything more you need to get off your chest."

"No, I'll be fine for now, thank you," Felicia said regaining some composure.

And you'll be even better when Spinnerette catches that robber, and your family gets its money back.

---

Spinnerette sat perched on the roof of a bank. She was sure that this was where her target would strike next. She'd analyzed the locations of the previous robberies and was fairly certain this was here her target was going to strike next.

She'd been waiting here for a couple hours now and was afraid maybe she'd gotten it wrong when a silver skinned woman with a shaved head appeared. Considering that normal business hours were over this probably wasn't a friendly visit.

"Hello there, what do we have here," Gwen sent out a web line that caught the would-be crook's arm and pulled her up on to the roof none too gently, "My name's Spinnerette, what's yours?"

"So, you're real after all. Well, that's a pain; I'll have to finish you quickly and get on with robbing this bank. Though I suppose I should be happy I ran into you and not the Fantastic Four. You can call me Swiss Miss because I'm the human Swiss army knife." Swiss Miss didn't look so good. Gwen pulling her up to the roof must have dislocated her shoulder.

Gwen's Spider Sense went off and the web line on Swiss Miss' arm began to bulge. The next thing she knew a knife had shot from Swiss Miss' arm and was flying right at her. Thankfully her agility let her dodge it easily.

"Mutant?" Gwen asked cocking her head a bit.

"Mutant." Swiss Miss said as she popped her shoulder back in place. That looked like it hurt. Then a pair of steel blades grew out of the sides of her arms, and she charged swinging wildly. Gwen had no trouble dodging the attack though.

"Neat trick, but it's not good enough. Now let's put an end to this, Shall we?" Jumping inside Swiss Miss' guard Gwen tried to punch her in the face but a steel plate spouted over Swiss Miss' face. Gwen puch dented it and sent the Mutant criminal skidding backwards but Gwen got a bruised hand for her trouble.

"Dance for me, little hero." Swiss Miss retracted the faceplate and blades and pulled a Thompson machine gun out of her right arm and opened fire. Again, Gwen was able to dodge the attacks but this time they were only near misses due to the speed of the bullets.

Gwen fired a web line and pulled the gun away throwing it to the street. "Why does everyone try to shoot me?" She asked rhetorically as she put Swiss Miss in a web cocoon. Sadly the cocoon didn't last as numerous blades popped out all of Swiss Miss' body and shredded it.

Gwen got ready to fight again but was distracted by a flash of light from the next rooftop over. Her Spider Sense tingled and she turned to see her opponent holding a bazooka. The weapon fired and a rocket powered explosive was something Spinnerette couldn't dodge. She took the explosion square on the chest and went flying off the roof into an open dumpster.

"Ow..." Gwen moaned as she climbed back out and went to continue the fight. Not only did she ache all over, she smelled like garbage and she'd have to repair her Spinnerette costume. Oh, Swiss Miss was going to pay.

Speaking of Swiss Miss, she was peeking over the rooftop. "Still alive little hero? Well as much as I'd like to fix that, the police will likely be here any minute and I'd rather not deal with them and you." With that Said Swiss Miss popped a jetpack out of her back a flew away.

"Well," Gwen mused, "that could've gone better."

---

Eddie Brock was ecstatic as he climbed down from the rooftop next to the bank. JJ was going to love this. Not only had he proved that Spinnerette existed he'd witnessed her first defeat! On top of that he'd solved the recent rash of bank robberies. From where he'd been standing, he'd heard everything. It had been a Mutant called Swiss Miss. Oh he could expect a big paycheck for this.

---

Gwen watched as Peter crumpled up today's Daily Bugle. "I can't believe that Jameson guy. Saying Spinnerette teamed up with Swiss Miss to rob that bank! I have half a mind to go down there and give him a piece of my mind." That made her chuckle a bit.

"What are you going to do, roll yourself down there and tell him you know Spinnerette wasn't trying to rob the bank because she's your best friend?" she asked.

"Okay, I see your point, but still, it just seems wrong that he can get away with it."

"The Bugle isn't exactly the most reputable paper Peter. Besides my actions will speak for themselves. A lot of people already see me as a hero."

"You're going to fight Swiss Miss again aren't you, Gwen? Are you sure that's a good idea after last time? I mean she pulled out a bazooka on you. It might be too dangerous."

"I have to. The police can't handle her. A superhero has to."

"There are other heroes Gwen. Let the Fantastic Four or Ant-Man deal with her. If anything happened to you…"

"I understand your concern Peter and thank you for worrying about me, but this is something that Spinnerette has to take care of. Swiss Miss beat me because I made a rookie mistake and got distracted by Eddie Brock's camera. If I don't beat her and redeem myself, no one will ever take me seriously as a hero again."

"Gwen, I don't care about Spinnerette, I care about you. You don't really need to be a superhero, do you?"

"Yes, I do have to be Spinnerette. I became Spinnerette because of you, Peter. You know that. I couldn't help you but I can help other people with these powers, it's the right thing to do."

"Alright, you've made your point. I still don't see how you're going to beat Swiss Miss, though," Peter said.

"That's something I could use your help on, I need a stronger batch of webbing," Gwen replied.

---

Eddie Brock was marching through the Daily Bugle exuding an aura like a demon walking out of hell itself. It was plain to everyone he passed that the Bugle's star reporter was livid and he had a copy of today's front page in his hand. Without a word he stormed right into Jameson's office and slammed the paper on to the editor's desk.

"What the hell is this, J.J.?" he roared.

"It's the front-page, Brock."

"Yeah, well it's not the article I wrote, so what are the pictures I took doing on this story that's slinging mud at Spinnerette?"

"I decided to handle the Spinnerette story myself. Let the public know the truth about their new 'hero'." Jameson replied coolly.

"Ever since your son died you've lost it, J.J. Every day the front page is a story slinging mud at some hero or another, and if not an outright hero, some anti-Mutant piece. You done a complete 180! I hear the Fantastic Four are planning on suing you for libel. The only reason Ant-Man and Spinnerette probably aren't, is because they have secret identities to keep."

"It's my paper and I'll print what I want Brock and I've made it my mission to expose these costumed freaks for the menaces they truly are. I'll have you know that our sales have gone up since I made these changes. You have no right to question my business practices."

"Your sales have gone up because you're appealing to close-minded bigots who don't want to read the truth. I reported what actually happened on that rooftop and you printed the opposite. I can't work for someone who has no journalistic integrity, I quit. I'll find a job at another paper J.J., and I swear I'll expose you!"

"It'll be your word against mine Brock and I'm a respected member of the community. No one will believe you. Besides you have no proof, for all you know Spinnerette and the other woman really were working together."

"The truth always wins in the end, J.J. You'll see."

"I'm counting on it, Brock. Now get out of my office! Just know you'll never work in this town again!" Eddie didn't have to be told twice. He went straight to his desk and started cleaning it out. Surprisingly he found Joseph "Robbie" Robertson doing the same thing.

"Robbie, what are you doing?" Eddie asked the African American man.

"The same thing you are, quitting. I found the article you wrote after Jonah threw it away. I can't work for a man that would print things like he did. Omitting facts, coloring the truth. I used to respect Jonah as a newspaper man and a friend but ever since John died, he's gone crazy. That's why I'm going to use my savings and take out a loan to start my own paper, one that only prints the truth."

"Sounds good, Robbie. You'll need journalists right, because I happen to be looking for a paper to write for."

"I'd be happy to have you on board Eddie."

"Good, though you might want to let me take out the loan, no offense, but some people might not want to give you a loan for rather stupid reasons."

"Thank you, Eddie." Robbie said.

"So, what are you going to call this newspaper?"

"I was thinking The Pulse, to show that the truth is still alive."

---

"Alright, Swiss Miss, where are you?" Gwen mused as she swung through the city. She was ready for some payback on Swiss Miss, but she needed to find her first. Swiss Miss had gone underground after their last encounter, but Gwen was willing to bet she wanted a rematch just as much as Gwen did. The question was where that rematch was going to happen.

She needed to figure this out and redeem Spinnerette's name. If she were a criminal, perish the thought where would she strike next? A thought occurred; no Swiss Miss couldn't be that predictable, could she? Following her instinct Gwen went back to the bank they'd fought at and waited on the roof for Swiss Miss to show up.

She didn't have to wait long. Gwen jumped down in front of her Mutant adversary taking her by surprise. "You know, I always heard criminals returned to the scene of the crime, but I never believed it. You're really sad and predictable."

"Spinnerette, come for another beating? A sane person would've hung up the Halloween costume after I shot them with a bazooka. Do you just have a death wish?" Swiss Miss asked.

"No, no death wish, I just believe in justice and since the police can't bring you in it falls to me to do it."

"Well, I'll be more than happy to fight you again, Spinnerette, only this time it'll be the last fight you ever have." Gwen's Spider Sense went off as blades appeared on Swiss Miss' arms. Gwen was able to dodge the attacks easily just like she had before. She was taken by surprise when Swiss Miss fired the blades at her. She was able to dodge it, but it was a close shave.

"This will put you down just like it did last time!" Swiss Miss pulled out the bazooka again and fired. Gwen had been waiting for this though, so she was ready for it. She fired a web line and caught the rocket. She tossed the rocket into the air with her web line and watched it explode harmlessly in midair.

"Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. I don't fall for the same trick twice." Gwen leapt at Swiss Miss and attempted to punch her in the chest, but several steel plates appeared, armoring the area. Gwen was able to dent them but could do little more than that.

"You don't fall for the same trick twice huh? Did you forget about my armor?" Swiss Miss taunted.

"No," Gwen said simply as she used her free hand to chop Swiss Miss' neck knocking her out. That had been easier than she thought it would be. Then again, she'd had all the physical advantages and only lost the first fight because she was distracted by the flash from Eddie Brock's camera.

Well, the police would be arriving soon thanks to that explosion. So, it was time to leave, but before she did that, she webbed up Swiss Miss and left her calling card and making sure to leave her Spider Seal on Swiss Miss' forehead. Spinnerette had redeemed herself. Now it was time to go home.

---

Peter smiled as he read the retraction J. Jonah Jameson had been forced to print in the Daily Bugle. After Gwen had caught Swiss Miss and the Mutant had denied to the police that she'd ever worked with Spinnerette he'd had eat his words.

"So, how's it feel to finally have that guy off your back, Gwen?" he asked. Gwen put down her pen, she'd been working on a letter to someone named Kitty Pryde that she'd met at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.

"I don't think I've heard the last of J. Jonah Jameson unfortunately," she said with a sigh, "He's a very rich man and ever since his son died; he's had a bone to pick with superheroes. I'm sure he'll find some other reason to attack Spinnerette and others like her and he'll probably go broke trying to discredit us."

Peter took a moment to muse on just how sad that was before speaking, "You're probably right, but I can't help but feel bad for him. He lost his son and he's looking for someone to blame."

"Yes, but that doesn't make what he's doing right." Gwen said.

"So, what were you writing to Kitty?"

"Oh, just the usual, making sure everything is still on the up and up at that school she's at. Though it occurs to me that her replying to my letters doesn't mean much with a guy there who can modify memories. Still, I can't just abandon her to be possibly brainwashed by those people. That's why I'm writing the second part of this letter."

"Second part?" Peter asked.

"I was asking if she can come visit next weekend. If she can I'll go get her and come back. If she can't… I'll go anyway because I'll be worried something is going on. Plus, I thought you might like to have someone other than me to come see you for once." Gwen explained.

"I like it when you come see me, Gwen. Are you worried you can't trust yourself alone with me anymore?" Peter asked with a teasing wink.

"Why wouldn't I trust myself to be alone with you?"

"Well, you did kiss on the cheek me that one time, something we really haven't addressed since then." Gwen blushed.

"When did you get so confident?"

"I guess being around a pretty girl you like almost every day will do that to you. I've just gotten comfortable around you."

"I've gotten comfortable too. I won't lie. I'd be willing to explore being a couple… when we're a little older. After all we're only fourteen and I have a lot on my plate right now. This isn't a no, Peter, it's just a rain check."

"I understand," Peter said with a smile, "and I'm going to hold you to that, Gwen."