Prologue: The Night Gwen Stacy Died

If you want to know what death will be like, ask someone who has a panic disorder.

Or ask Peter Parker.

Ask him what it feels like to wake up from his nightmares that feel so real that he forgets how to breathe while his eyes search the room for someone to reach out and yank him back into reality – no matter how painful his reality might be.

Ask him about the time he allowed himself to hope against all hopes when he walked into his Introduction to Advanced Mathematics class on the first day of university and saw a girl with too similar a shade of blond hair sitting in the front row. But then, ask him about the sudden weight in his stomach as he forced his feet to take him to the empty seat beside her where he sat without hearing a word for the next hour and fifteen minutes of his life.

Or maybe you want to hear about the notification his phone sent the morning Gwen would be turning 19.

Only she didn't and she wouldn't.


Peter walked amongst the tombstones alone, holding Gwen's favorite flowers in his left hand and his unfinished homework in his right hand. The nearby street was quiet, save for the empty bus making its rounds downtown. It was six o'clock in the morning and approaching seven. Few lights lit the cemetery. But he had memorized the path to Gwen's resting place within the first week following her death.

"Hey Gwen," he spoke as he approached and his throat caught on her name. Trying again, he cleared his throat. "Happy birthday. I brought you flowers – not crushed ones from my bookbag this time. Maybe I can try and bake a cake later. We know how well that went last time!"

He chuckled lightly and ran his fingers through his dark, brown hair. "You know, usually that's the part where you'd laugh."

"If the dead laugh back, you should really run far, far away," a girl's voice chimed in from behind Peter and he whirled around, almost falling backwards onto Gwen's headstone. But a pair of hands reached out and grabbed his jacket, yanking him upright…

But his momentum sent him hurtling on top of his would-be-savior, who immediately shoved him away with a high pitched yelp of surprise.

Peter leapt to his feet and looked down at the petite girl, who was sprawled out on the ground in the pale, morning light. She cocked her head to one side and furrowed her brow before shaking her head and sighing… still content lying in the grass and looking up at him.

"Sorry," she finally sputtered out as she attempted to stumble her way to her feet. She graciously accepted Peter's outstretched hand who had yet to reply. "I'm sorry," she said again as she wiped the grass off the butt of her worn jeans. "My dad always said it was rude to sneak up on people. I just – didn't expect to see anyone else here this early in the morning."

The tall, lanky boy squinted his eyes as the sun began to rise on the horizon.

"Not much for words?" the girl continued to ramble on. "Well, maybe you would talk if I hadn't just crept up on you like a serial killer – not that I'm a serial killer. I'm totally not a serial killer. I just – sorry."

"You keep saying that word," Peter finally commented as his brained tried to process the odd girl in front of him.

"Sorry, I – sorry." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again. "Can we try this again?" Peter motioned for him to go on. "I'm Hannah Morgenstern. You're Peter, right?"

"How did you…?"

"I work for The Daily Bugle. You are the one who took those really awesome pictures of Spider-Man for the paper."

His shoulder's tensed at the mention of Spider-Man, but she failed to notice.

"Anyways," she took a deep breath and then seemed to notice how loudly she was talking and that Peter had yet to say more than a few words. "I was just surprised to see anyone else out here this early in the morning. It seems that this is the only time that I can visit in peace… which is probably why you are here too. So, I will let you get back to talking to…" She trailed off and took in the name engraved on the tombstone. "Gwen."

She paused and smiled, brushing a strand of her dirty blond hair behind her ear. "Gwen is a really pretty name. She was always really nice when she stopped by The Bar. I was sad to hear about her passing. The world could use more people like her. Like her and Spider-Man. There are enough Green Goblins in the world."

"Well, the Green Goblin isn't a problem anymore." Peter rocked back and forth on his heels and then noticed that the flowers he'd brought were scattered on the ground. He stooped down to pick them up and Hannah leaned down to help. "And it's not like the city needs Spider-Man."

Hannah jolted back to her feet. "Are you kidding me? It's been three weeks since the last sighting of Spider-Man and the amount of crime has risen like crazy! It's not that Spider-Man can stop every little crime that happens, but he at least keeps the criminals on edge around here."

She carefully removed the flowers from Peter's hands and started neatly placing them by Gwen's headstone. "We've been so busy Mr. Jameson actually had me writing some of the obituaries." Her shoulders slumped at the words.

The small girl gently wiped the dirt away from Gwen's name. From her crouching position, she looked up at Peter with sad eyes that threatened tears. The moment passed and she popped up to her feet, clearing her throat and wiping at her eyes. "Sorry," she muttered another apology and then offered a smile. "But if Spider-Man isn't around the save the day… it's only a matter of time before someone else steps up – and that could be a good thing or a bad thing. We'll just have to wait and see."

She tottered off down the dirt path and paused a few yards away. "But I'm serious about one thing," she called back over her shoulder. "Run if the dead start talking."

He waved. "I'll try and keep that in mind."


Author's Note: Thank you for taking the time to read this! I'm really excited about this story and its characters. It is not going to follow any particular arc from the comics or from the movies. However, you will be seeing some familiar characters. :) I'll post some of the face claims I have in mind if y'all are interested. Thank you again for reading.

-cheesecake