THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-WOMAN: EARTH 2501
By Anguirus1955
Disclaimer: Spider-Woman, Spider-Man, and the other characters therein are all the intellectual property of Marvel Comics and, subsequently, Disney, and Sony for the time being.
And here is the second chapter. I would like to state that, when writing this story, I do imagine the voice of Emma Stone (who played Gwen stacy in both The Amazing Spider-Man 1 & 2 (2012 - 2014)) when writing Gwen's dialogue, because... well, she did a damn good job playing the character in both of those movies. That being said, I actually imagine the voice of Tobey Maguire when writing Peter Parker's dialogue (because he is the definitive Peter Parker in my opinion, although I do think that Andrew Garfield did an excellent job as Spider-Man in his respective movies, just not as Peter Parker).
Also, for the record, this story does feature mutants from the X-Men. However, for this first story arc, those characters will only be mentioned, not shown, as this section of the story focuses on Gwen Stacy as Spider-Woman and Nora Osborne as the Green Goblin.
Soundtracks I listened to while writing this include Spider-Man (2002) by Danny Elfman, Can't Buy Me Love (1987) by Robert Folk, Project A-Ko (1986) by Joey Carbone & Richie Zito.
Please note that listening to this music while reading the story is not a requirement. I simply provide this as a little something extra to help enhance the reading experience, if you the readers so wish to do so. Most of this music can be found and heard on YouTube or any number of anime soundtrack websites.
Sudden and Suspicious Disclaimer: I also advocate the purchasing and obtaining of official soundtracks through legal means.
Music From Spider-Man (2002) - Complete Score: Backyard Connection, New Powers, Something's Different, First Web, A New Man, Web Slinger, Costume Montage - Web Practice.
Music From Can't Buy Me Love (1987): Geek Groove, Broken Moon, For You.
Music From Project A-Ko (1986): Morning Light Type-C, Follow Your Dream.
Track Order Listing
01. A New Man (Gwen wakes up), 02. Something's Different (Bathroom inspection), 03. First Web (Dishes/Second bathroom inspection), 04. Morning Light Type-C (Wall crawling), 05. Costume Montage - Web Practice (Leaving the house/rooftop shortcut), 06. Web Slinger (Web slinging to Glory's house).
CHAPTER 002: My New Body And Me
The Stacy Household, Queens, New York City, New York, Saturday Morning, March 10, 2040
Slowly opening her eyes, Gwen Stacy blinked away the cobwebs of sleep. Noticing that the world was on its side, she soon realized that she was lying on her side. Pushing herself up off the floor, Gwen reached up to rub her neck before getting the cricks out of it.
Looking down at her chest, Gwen realized that she was still wearing her clothes from the previous day. How long was I out? Slowly pushing herself to stand up, Gwen looked around the room, noticing that her vision seemed somewhat... sharper. She blinked curiously as she inspected her room before walking over to her desk. Her laptop had entered sleep mode due to inactivity, the power cord and the adapter still plugged in to both the computer and the wall outlet.
Looking around, she also felt somewhat more... aware of her surroundings than usual. It was as though a strange subtle sense of hyper-awareness was constantly tingling at her from the back of her mind. Stepping over to her laptop, she quickly closed out all of her opened applications and windows before shutting down the machine. She then turned around and began walking over to her closet.
Gwen soon noticed that her stride was quicker than usual. Reaching up to her face, she felt her arms feeling slightly different. She looked down at her hands and arms to see that they appeared to be slightly more muscular than before. The amount of new musculature wasn't considerably dramatic in comparison to her prior musculature, but a small increase was definitely noticeable.
Walking over to the mirror on her closet door, Gwen took in her reflection. Nothing seemed to different about her, aside from the slight increase in musculature. Taking off her shirt and unhooking her bra, Gwen checked for any other changes. Her breasts seemed to be the same as before, and her skin didn't look discolored in any way. Picking up her bra and clasping it again, Gwen then grabbed her shirt and put it back on before grabbing some new clothes from her dresser drawers, picking out a pair of blue jeans and a red T-shirt along with some clean socks and underwear.
While she couldn't see it, the spot on her neck where she had been bitten was colored deep purple. After grabbing fresh clothes, she opened her bedroom door and marched down the hallway to the upstairs bathroom. She quickly closed the bathroom door behind her.
"Gwen? Are you finally awake up there!?" George Stacy called out from downstairs. Gwen turned around and opened the door. "Yeah, dad! I'm just getting a shower!" Gwen responded before closing the door again.
Locking the bathroom door, Gwen sighed and placed her clean clothes on counter space of the bathroom sink. She then quickly brushed her teeth and tongue to get rid of her morning breath before sitting down to use the toilet. Sighing, Gwen began replaying the previous day's events as she relieved herself.
"Okay... I was bitten by a spider at the university. And when I got home... when I got home... okay, I..." Trailing off, Gwen glanced down at her arms. "I started getting a fever," she said quietly to herself. "And then... I felt like I was dying," she continued grimly. "Then I blacked out. I guess... I guess my immune system just finally did its job," Gwen rationalized.
"Still, though... where'd I get these muscles?" she asked herself curiously. I don't really work out. I guess constantly playing the drums just built them up over time, she rationalized in her head. Yeah. That's... that's it. That's gotta be it. Spider bites don't give girls muscles, Gwen thought to herself with a snort before shaking her head.
Having convinced herself of everything being normal, Gwen cleaned herself up before stripping down and getting in the shower after throwing her dirty clothes in a basket. As the water cascaded down her body, she let out a sigh of relief, as though all of the pain and agony of yesterday's fever was being washed away with the dirt, grime, and sweat. Smiling, Gwen began lathering her body with soap.
About halfway through the process, she lost her grip on the wet soap bar, only to quickly catch it mid fall with her left hand as it fell from her right one. She quickly resumed cleaning herself, before eventually moving on to conditioner for her hair. Once she was finally rinsed off, she turned off the faucet before shaking her head to wipe the water from her hair.
Finally, she stepped out of the shower and realized that she had forgotten to grab a towel from the bathroom closet. Sighing in frustration, Gwen pressed her feet onto the mat in front of the shower before quickly marching over to the closet to grab a large towel to dry herself. After several minutes wiping herself down and drying off, Gwen allowed herself to look into the bathroom mirror above the sink.
She carefully looked herself up and down, taking a quick moment to inspect her breasts for lumps or any other possible signs of disease. There were none to be found. Letting out a sigh of relief, Gwen inspected her arms and legs, taking in the toned subtle muscles of her limbs. Despite what she tried to tell herself, those muscles had not been there yesterday when she woke up.
Walking over to the closet, Gwen pulled out a small stepping scale and gave it a moment to calibrate before standing on it. Her weight seemed to be within close range of what had been recorded at her most recent doctor appointment, albeit with a slight increase by three pounds. Looking at her arms and legs to take in the sight of the newly developed muscles, Gwen shrugged the minor weight gain off as being part of the package.
She then stepped off of the scale before opening a drawer in the cabinet to fish for a hand-held mirror. She then turned herself around and angled the mirror so that it reflected the reflection of her backside, showing her the bite mark on her neck as she lifted her hair out of the way. There was definitely some purple and light red discoloration, but it didn't appear to be aggravated or swollen to any significant degree.
"Huh," Gwen muttered with a shrug before turning around and putting the smaller mirror back in the drawer. "I guess my immune system is pretty spectacular," Gwen said to herself as she began getting dressed, first putting on her fresh bra before hiking up her clean panties. She removed the belt from yesterday's pants before looping it through her new jeans after tucking in her shirt. March weather was still rather cold, and she didn't want to have any skin exposed if she could avoid it.
After dressing herself, Gwen inspected herself in the mirror again. No matter how many times she looked into it, she saw a seemingly normal reflection of herself. And yet, somehow, she felt that something was different... aside from her new musculature. She didn't appear to be any taller than usual either. Shrugging her shoulders, Gwen opened the door and exited the bathroom, quickly heading down the stairs.
Meanwhile, Downstairs...
Sitting at the kitchen table, Police Lieutenant George Stacy looked up from his bowl of cereal to see his daughter entering the kitchen. "Good morning, Pumpkin," George said. Gwen glanced at him and nodded her head in return.
"Mornin', Dad," she replied as she opened the refrigerator door. George watched as his daughter searched the fridge for something to eat, before he glanced over at the box of breakfast cereal and jug of milk already on the table. He listened to Gwen rummaging around for a couple of minutes before he cleared his throat to get her attention.
"Gwen, honey? Breakfast is already on the table," George said. Gwen stood up straight and looked over at the table before nodding her head and slowly closing the fridge door. "Don't worry about the milk. It hasn't been sitting out that long," George said reassuringly.
Gwen nodded her head and sat down before pouring the cereal into her bowl, followed by the milk. After capping the milk, Gwen began eating her breakfast, almost diving into it as though she were starving. George watched his daughter eat with a raised eyebrow.
"Geez, didn't you have any dinner last night?" George asked his daughter. Gwen looked up at him and shook her head.
"I wasn't feeling too good after the field trip," Gwen said. George nodded his head quietly in understanding.
"Yeah, that can put a damper on your stomach," he said in agreement. "You're feeling better now, though, right?" he then asked her before bringing a spoonful of cereal and milk to his mouth. Gwen nodded her head in response as she continued eating.
"All right. But, uh, don't eat too fast, or you'll just make yourself sick," George warned. Gwen looked up at him and slowly nodded her head as she chewed her food before swallowing.
The duo continued eating in relative silence for a few more minutes, before George looked at his watch and frowned. "Well, I gotta get going," George said apologetically as he stood up and took his empty dishes over to the dish washer.
"Don't you normally have off Saturdays?" Gwen asked her father curiously.
"Normally, but I changed shifts with Sergeant Danforth this weekend," George said. "His wife is in the hospital, so I decided to take over his shift today so that he can spend more time with her," he explained as he turned around and made his way through the kitchen and into the living room before heading upstairs to gather his things. Gwen nodded her head and continued eating.
A few minutes later, George Stacy came back downstairs, fully outfitted in his uniform. "I'll be back around nine tonight. Don't push yourself if you start feeling sick again, okay?" George called out to his daughter.
"Okay!" Gwen responded. George nodded his head and then he was out the door. Looking back down at her bowl, Gwen finished eating before lifting the bowl up and drinking what was left of the milk.
Standing up, Gwen took her dishes over to the dish washer and began to put them away. After arranging the bowl, she grabbed her spoon and moved to put it in the utensil holder, only to find it refusing to budge from her hand. Narrowing her eyes, Gwen held her hand up and looked at the spoon.
Grabbing it with her left hand, she slowly pulled it away from her right hand, only to notice something stringy and white connected to it. Looking down at her wrist, Gwen saw that the white string was coming directly out of her skin. Her eyes widened in surprise before she disengaged the spoon from the string and placed it in the dish washer.
Closing the dishwasher door, Gwen made to step away, only to find her hand stuck to the handle. Frowning, she slowly flexed her fingers and pulled away, seeing the string coming out of her left wrist as well. "What the hell?" Gwen asked herself as she grabbed the string and yanked on it, wincing as it was sharply pulled from her skin.
She repeated the process with her other wrist before taking a closer look at the slight discoloration of the splotches on her wrists. Gwen quickly marched over to the exit of the kitchen, accidentally placing her left hand on a chair. She then realized her mistake after hearing the chair creak behind her, prompting her to turn around and see the ridge of the chair stuck to her left hand.
Gwen pressed the back of her right hand to the chair and pushed as she pulled her left hand back. Grunting in frustration, Gwen added her right knee to the chair, soon freeing it. Bringing both hands up to her face, she quickly strode over to the stairs and marched back up to the bathroom.
Turning on the light, Gwen rushed over to the sink and washed her hands before drying them with a hand towel. As she tried to let go of the hand towel, she found it stuck as well. "Oh, son of a bitch!" Gwen swore in frustration. Pressing her head to the towel, she pulled her hands back before finally freeing them, watching as the hand towel fell down onto the counter top.
"What the hell is going on here?" Gwen asked herself fearfully. "What is happening to me!?" she reiterated as she looked at her hands, not seeing the tiny, tiny barbs that had grown out of her skin to cover her fingers and palms. Taking a deep breath, Gwen looked at her reflection in the mirror.
Balling her hands into fists, Gwen took another deep breath as she placed her fists on the counter. "Okay... that spider... that spider bite was not from a normal spider," Gwen said to herself as she began putting the obvious clues together. She then held her hands up and looked at them carefully.
Pressing her fingers against her palms, just above the wrist, she saw the white string shoot out again, this time in a much more defined fashion, clearly resembling webbing. Gwen's eyes widened as she looked at the spots on the mirror where the webbing was attached, before trailing her eyes down to her wrists again.
"Okaaaaaaayyyyy," she said in bewilderment to herself. "I'm shooting white sticky stuff out of my body. I thought this only happened to boys," Gwen muttered, just before her eyes widened as a terrifying thought occurred to her. She then disengaged the webs from her wrists before reaching down to undo her belt and pull down her pants and underwear. She looked at her crotch for a minute before sighing in relief as she pulled her pants and underwear back up.
"Oh, thank goodness," Gwen said happily to herself. "At least I don't have to worry about that," she added as she buckled her belt again. Looking back down at her hands and wrists, Gwen sighed as she contemplated how to handle hew new abilities.
"Does this make me a mutant?" she asked herself quietly. She then shook her head. No, mutants are born with their powers, right? But then again... most of them don't start developing those powers until they reach puberty, she thought to herself. "But I was bitten by an experimental super spider. So maybe... that makes me an accidental mutant or something?" she asked herself.
"Well... at least I won't drop my drumsticks, right?" Gwen asked herself in an effort to stay positive. I need to call MJ and the others to let them know I'm okay, Gwen thought to herself as she walked out of the bathroom and marched toward her bedroom. Stepping into her room, Gwen looked around for her phone before grabbing it and calling Mary Jane.
She waited for the ring tone to halt as MJ picked up the other end. "Hey, Em-Jay?" Gwen asked into the phone. "Gwen? Hey, Gwen! Are you feeling better?" MJ asked her over the phone.
"Oh yeah. Much better," Gwen replied. "That's good. So, are you gonna be able to make it today for practice?" MJ asked her. Gwen smiled at the thought. "Definitely. Just, um... I might be a little bit late, though. I only recently got out of bed and I need to shower and eat," Gwen lied.
"Hey, I totally understand. You'll get here when you get here. But if you start feeling sick again, call to let us know, okay? Don't push yourself; that'll just make it worse," MJ said over the phone, prompting Gwen to smile. "Don't worry. I'm not gonna push myself that bad. I'll see you guys after... um, some time in the afternoon. Bye!"
"Yup! Bye!" MJ replied as both girls ended the call. Stuffing the phone into her pants pockets, Gwen looked around for her shoes and a jacket in her closet. She quickly put on some sneakers before grabbing a white and black track jacket that her father had bought for her last Christmas.
Carefully, Gwen grabbed her drumsticks and stuffed them into her jacket, being mindful to not get them stuck. Unfortunately, her newfound adhesiveness kicked in. "God dammit!" Gwen whined before taking a deep breath. "Okay... maybe... maybe I can control this by focusing on it or something," she said to herself.
Evening out her breathing, Gwen concentrated on her hand. A faint change in sensation soon occurred within her palm as she felt the drumsticks become unstuck. "Huh. Look at that," she said to herself. She then pressed her hand to her bed and held it against the cover before lifting it up, taking the cover along. She focused again before she felt the fabric of the cover fall away from her hand.
Bringing her hand up to her face for closer inspection, Gwen finally noticed the tiniest hint of those small barbs covering her skin. "Son of a bitch," she muttered to herself before curling her fingers and uncurling them repeatedly. Wait a minute... what else can my hands stick themselves against?
Looking at the wall of her room, Gwen slowly walked over and placed both hands against the wall before looking up. "I wonder..." she trailed off as she eyed the ceiling. Slowly, she began moving her arms and hands upwards, eventually planting her feet against the wall as she held herself in a crouch against the wall.
Carefully, Gwen began to turn herself, not even noticing how her equilibrium stayed intact as she slowly spun herself in a circular fashion, looking down at the floor as she kept her hands and feet against the wall. "Ho...Holy SHIT!" Gwen gasped in amazement, her eyes wide and a big grin spread out across her face. "Ah-ha! Ha! Oh my god!" Gwen babbled excitedly as she began reorienting herself before crawling along the length of her bedroom wall.
"I... I-I can... I can walk on walls! I CAN WALK ON WALLS!" Gwen cried out in excitement. This is... this so fucking cool, Gwen thought to herself as she soon transitioned from the wall to the ceiling, crawling from one corner of the room to another in a matter of seconds. Craning her neck to look at the floor, Gwen narrowed her eyes and let go of the ceiling, falling through the air before twisting her body in order to land on her feet.
Looking back up at the ceiling, Gwen crouched. She took a breath and then jumped, her body angling itself so that she landed on the ceiling with all for limbs. Eyes wide, Gwen looked around before leaping from the ceiling to the wall near her closet, her balance and equilibrium never faltering. She then crawled down the wall and stood up on the floor.
"Oh... Ha-ha! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!" Gwen chanted happily as she looked at her hands. "This is awesome!" she exclaimed with a grin. "I could get used to this," she soon added. She then looked over at the clock on the wall.
"Still... band practice," Gwen said to herself as she felt her jacket to make sure that her drumsticks were secure. She then checked her pants pocket to make sure that her cell phone was still inside, smiling as she felt the rectangular outline of the device through the jeans. "All right," she said to herself as she began grabbing a few more items to take along on her trip, along with her backpack.
The Grant Household...
Mary Jane Watson sighed as she looked at the cell phone in her hand. "Well?" Glory asked her curiously as she entered the garage. "Is she feeling better or not?" she asked.
"Yeah. She said she'd be here around noon, but I'm still not sure that she'll be staying," MJ replied. Glory raised and eyebrow at her statement. MJ noticed this. "Well, if she pushes herself while trying to get here, she may just end up making herself sick again, and then we'll be back to just three people during practice again," MJ explained.
"Yeeeaaaahhh... that would probably suck," Glory said, nodding her head in agreement. "So, any word from Helen yet?" she then asked. MJ shook her head in response.
"She said she'd be here today, but she didn't say when, sooo... I dunno," MJ said. "I guess I could try calling her just to be sure," she added before dialing Helen Osborne's cell phone number. The phone rang as she waited for Helen to pick up.
The Stacy Household, A Short Time Later...
Stepping out of the house, Gwen quickly locked the front door before walking down the front steps. With a bounce in her step, Gwen confidently strode down the sidewalk, a smile gracing her face as she began her journey toward Glory Grant's house. Glancing around the neighborhood, Gwen began to notice a strange sensation as a car drove up behind her. She could almost feel the car itself and its position as it drove forward. The hairs on her arms and legs began to stand up as a new sixth sense took over her body.
Before the car even passed her, Gwen already knew how fast it was going. She used her peripheral vision to watch the vehicle pass her by as it sped down the road before taking a right turn and disappearing around a corner. Gwen paused mid-walk as she contemplated this newest ability to manifest itself. She then felt hairs all over her body stand up, along with a slight tingling sensation in the back of her neck as something sped through the air toward her.
Reacting faster than her brain could catch up, Gwen spun around and caught the rogue football in her left hand, her adhesiveness taking effect immediately. She looked at the object before glancing over at the fenced-in yard where two young boys where standing, one of whom was her neighbor, 10 year-old Miles Morales. "Hey, Gwen! Can we have that back!?" Miles asked her.
"Sure," Gwen replied with a smile after her brain finally caught up with everything. She then tried as carefully as possible to toss the football over to Miles and his friend. Miles smiled as he caught the football.
"Thanks, Gwen!" Miles shouted as he waved at Gwen. Gwen waved back and nodded her head before resuming her trek. Despite her earlier confidence, she now felt somewhat wary as she walked down the sidewalk, constantly noticing things around her thanks to her newfound ability. She noticed birds on power cables, cars driving by too fast, a dog in a yard staring at her, and a squirrel shooting past her feet to speed across the road.
'In some specimens we have observed a special precognitive ability that allows them to sense danger before it can reach them. We like to call it a Spider Sense'.
Spider sense, Gwen thought to herself as she slowly walked toward a corner, only to stop and step back just before a kid on a bicycle sped by. So, what does this make me? Some kind of Spider-Girl? As Gwen continued walking, she reached down and pulled out her cell phone to look at the time.
It was already past 11:20 am. Sighing, Gwen pocketed her phone before looking up at the buildings around her. "I'll never get there before noon," she said to herself in frustration as she noticed the increase in traffic on the streets. Walking toward a crosswalk, Gwen waited for the various cars and trucks to slow down and stop. She waited... and waited... and waited.
Retrieving her phone again, Gwen saw that the time was now 11:34 am. With a growl of frustration, Gwen pocketed her phone and looked around for a shortcut. Seeing only an empty alley between two buildings behind her, she looked at her hands as an idea formed in her head.
Rushing into the small narrow alley, Gwen placed both of her hands on the brick wall of the building to her left. Slowly, she began to climb, carrying herself up the brick wall with her hands and feet, her adhesiveness somehow transferring through her shoes to her own surprise. Soon, she pulled herself up onto the roof before standing up to take a look around.
Walking over to the edge of the roof, Gwen looked down at the traffic on the street below, before looking up again and staring off into the distance, in the direction of Glory's house. "I wonder..." Gwen muttered to herself as she stepped backwards until reaching the back of the roof. She looked at the building across the street. It was taller than the one she was currently standing on, but remembering her practice in the bedroom, Gwen grinned.
"Okay. Nothing ventured, nothing gained," she said to herself as she charged forward, her legs carrying her faster and faster with every step. As soon as she reached the edge of the roof, she leaped into the air, her body carrying itself high above the street and towards the other building in an arc. Adrenalin rushed through Gwen's body as she felt a sense of near weightlessness before she began descending just shy of the roof. Quickly reaching out, she planted her hands on the building's face, stopping her fall before pulling herself up and hoisting her body over the ridge to somersault onto the roof, finally coming to a stop with her hands and shoes planted firmly on the rooftop.
Looking down at her feet before standing up, Gwen turned around and walked over to the edge of the roof. Gwen looked down at the street before glancing over at the roof of the other building she had just been standing on. A smile broke out over her face as she took in her accomplishment. "Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!" she repeated in amazement. "Ha-hah! this rocks!" she exclaimed happily.
Turning around, Gwen made her way to the other side of the roof and looked out across the city, smirking as she began planning her rooftop route. Backing up from the edge of the rooftop to the other side, Gwen took a deep breath and focused before charging forward again, leaping off of the roof. "Yaaahooooooooo!" Gwen cried out joyously as she soared through the air before landing on the next rooftop.
After landing on the next roof, Gwen smirked. "Oh yeah. I could definitely get used to this," she said to herself as she prepared for her next running leap. "Yippee-kai-yay!" she cried out as she leapt through the air before landing on the next roof.
She leapt from rooftop to rooftop, her stride never breaking, and a smile planted firmly on her face as exhilaration surged through her body. Gwen began to experience a thrill she had never known before as she raced forward after each landing, never stopping, and never slowing down. She felt powerful. She felt alive. She felt like a brand new woman.
After reaching another rooftop, Gwen paused as she saw the buildings around her. All of them were taller than the one she was standing on. Looking them up and down, she started to frown as she analyzed the height differences between them. I can't leap onto them like the others, Gwen realized sourly.
She looked around the rooftop as she tried to find a solution to her predicament. Balling her one hand into a fist, Gwen remembered her incident in the bathroom earlier. Looking at the nearest building, Gwen held out her hand. "Okay. Go web!" she said firmly.
Nothing happened.
Gwen frowned and looked at her hand. I don't get it, she thought to herself. She held out her hand again, this time in the Vulcan greeting formation. "Fly, web powers!" she said.
Nothing happened.
"Huh," she said to herself as she looked at her right hand. So... how did I shoot webs in the bathroom? Balling her hand into a fist again, Gwen carefully pressed her two inner fingers against a point just above her wrist, leaving her pinkie, pointer finger, and thumb out. A small slit opened up in her wrist just as the white webbing shot out. Surprised at the sight, Gwen relieved the pressure.
Looking out at the string of web sailing through the air, Gwen watched as it landed on the next building. She then looked down at her wrist again. Looking upwards, she aimed her hand at the building before reapplying pressure to the spot above her wrist, watching as the string of web shot out again, this time much longer. "Okay. So, that's how it works," Gwen said to herself.
Pressing her fingers above her wrist again, Gwen held them as the web shot out and attached itself to a billboard on a nearby building. She then let go and grabbed the rope of web with her other hand. Smirking, Gwen backed up and then ran forward before jumping into the air, hoping to use her web to carry her up further than her leap.
Gwen stopped smiling when she realized that she was swinging much lower than anticipated, and her smiled soon turned into a worried frown as the side of the building became much larger and closer than she expected. "Oh shit," Gwen muttered with wide eyes just before she crashed into the building. "Oww," Gwen moaned as she removed her face from the brick wall of the building.
"Oh, my nose," she whined as she reached up with one hand to rub the orifice. Holding the web rope steady, Gwen began climbing up to the roof of the building. As she pulled herself up over the ledge, she looked up at the spot on the billboard where her web was still attached.
"Okay, let's not do that again," Gwen muttered to herself. Looking up at the billboard, Gwen aimed her hand at the large rectangle before shooting a string of web at it, this time jumping at the same time to pull herself up onto the face of the billboard after her web planted itself. "Whoa!" Gwen let out in surprise as she planted her feet against the face of the billboard.
Inhaling and then exhaling slowly, Gwen spun herself around before leaping back down to the roof, landing on all feet and hands in a crouch. Standing up straight, Gwen looked out at across the city as she eyed her path to Glory's house. Holding her wrist up, Gwen smirked. "Practice makes perfect," she then said to herself.
The Grant Household, A Short Time Later...
MJ checked her watch before looking out the opened garage. Helen had just arrived a few minutes earlier and was getting her keytar set up. "So, any word from Gwen yet?" Helen asked MJ and Glory as she checked her keytar's batteries. Glory was busy checking her own guitar and its strings.
Holding up her phone, MJ checked it again for any new messages before looking back out at the opened garage. "Well, not... speak of the devil," MJ said as she saw Gwen stepping into view and walking into the garage. "Gwen! You made it!" MJ exclaimed happily. Helen and Glory both looked over at her with a smile.
"I told you I'd be here," Gwen said with a smirk. She looked around at her friends and prepared to tell them about her new abilities... before a small feeling of doubt crept its way into her head. What if they didn't accept her? What if they viewed her as a freak?
Gwen had heard the news reports regarding violence against mutants in various parts of the country, including protests at schools by concerned parents and even Congressional hearings regarding policies regarding the treatment and identification of mutants. Am I a mutant, though? I mean, I wasn't born with these abilities. But how will my friends react? How will their families react when they learn about what I can do? Glory's parents are nice people, and my own father is somewhat open-minded... I think. I know almost nothing about Helen's mother, though, and MJ's family... ugh. Gwen knew from spending time at J's house that MJ's father wasn't exactly the most accepting and tolerant person around, although to be fair the man was also an abusive alcoholic who was unpleasant to just about everyone.
Gwen looked at her friends again before deciding to play things safe and simply not say anything for the time being. I'll tell them when the time is right. I'm sure they'll understand... in time, Gwen told herself. "So, who's ready for practice?" she asked excitedly, pushing her fears and doubts to the back of her mind as she pulled out her drum sticks.
Helen looked at Gwen with slight concern. "Are you sure you're up to it? I mean, after yesterday, are you sure that you're feeling okay?" Helen asked Gwen.
"Never been better," Gwen replied with a smile.
TEASER FOR NEXT TIME!
On the next issue/chapter of The Spectacular Spider-Woman, Nora Osborne learns that her company's contract with the military is in jeopardy, while Gwen continues exploring her new powers while she and The Mary Janes practice for an upcoming gig at a club.
Author's Notes: And this was Chapter 2!
So, as all of you can see, I've chosen to incorporate the organic web-shooters from the Sam Raimi trilogy, because... well, I honestly think that's really neat. It does tie in with the whole puberty metaphor thing, and it also makes for some fun moments as Gwen learns to control her powers throughout the story. It also means that she doesn't need to rely on a hi-tech suit or fancy gadgets later on when she becomes Spider-Woman. I mean, yeah she's still gonna have a suit, but if she's in trouble and she doesn't have the suit, she can still shoot webs to help herself get out of a sticky situation, and that's something that I've only recently started appreciating about the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man in the Sam Raimi trilogy, as well as Venom in his 2018 film.
After watching both Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) on Blu-Ray again, I feel that the tech angle for Spider-Man's abilities has gone a bit overboard recently. In TASM, I thought it was balanced in how the tech angle was approached, but in Homecoming... that wasn't a Spider suit. That was an Iron-Man suit that resembled the Spider suit. And I'm gonna be honest... I'm not a big fan of Peter being a Tony Stark fanboy. Yes, I know that in the comics Peter looks up to Tony as a mentor figure, but I prefer Spider-Man (or Spider-Woman) to be someone who relies mostly on themselves to get the job done, instead of relying on hi-tech gadgets made by someone else!
Still, following the ferry scene and Peter being forced to rely on himself, I enjoyed the movie's third act, especially when Peter met Toomes in person. That was easily one of the best Villain meets Hero moments in the entire MCU.
Anyway, yes I have Gwen geeking out over realizing what her powers can do just like Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker did because, let's be honest, that's what any of us would do if we were in that situation.
Also, yes the X-Men do exist in this story's universe, but I plan on keeping them relegated to background most of the time for sake of fleshing out the world itself, although I do plan on having Gwen interact with a small number of them in future story arcs.
Anyway, please be sure to let me know what you all think of the chapter and/or story so far in your reviews!