Spiderman, Into the Spiderverse, and all other canon characters are copyright Marvel Entertainment, LLC.

Chapter 13

Gwen jumped off the building, shooting out a web to swing to the next one. Friday didn't have any classes for her but she had still spent a little time at the university studying. She found she had to force time inside away from the hustle and bustle of things otherwise she'd get caught up as Spiderwoman. It cut a lot into her time as the heroine but it was the only way Gwen could figure she could do both. High School had been interesting trying to juggle her new found powers and staying active. She had almost gone the extreme, spending so much time as Spiderwoman that there had been schedule conflicts and issues. She still hadn't completely got it figured out. In order to work, go to school, and occasionally be in the band, Gwen had found she had to cut out a lot of Spidey time. It was frustrating but she didn't know exactly what a perfect equilibrium was.

During the week, she'd spend a little time here and there as Spiderwoman. Usually going between places or into the evening. Fridays and the weekends gave her the most available time – though even then she had to be careful not to spend too much time. Like tonight. She had to get back to her apartment, change into something worthy of going out, and then meet with her dad. It meant not so much time out swinging through the streets of the city but she couldn't cut in on time with her dad. First off, he'd get worried. Which would lead to suspicion. Besides, with her mother died, she was basically all he had.

"I just need to figure this out a bit more," she mused as she did a flip in the air.

She loved being Spiderwoman. It was exhilarating. Flying through the air, the thrill of gravity pulling her down before she'd use the momentum to swing back up. The rush of adrenaline as she dealt with crime or some other issue. If she wasn't careful, it could consume her. Thus why she tried to keep a tight grip on it.

Her senses suddenly tingled as an alert of danger hit her. She let go of the thread dropping suddenly as she felt something whiz by her – close enough to hear though barely missing. The unmistakable sound of a gunshot was right behind it.

Someone had shot at her!

Shooting a thread to stop her fall, Gwen quickly glanced around even as she swung one direction before shooting a thread up and yanking herself upward. She kept moving in what she hoped was a random enough pattern even while she glanced around for a shooter.

Landing on the top of a building, she hunched down and scanned the street and rooftops. Her body was tense ready to jump at the slightest tingle. But none came. No whizzing of a bullet. No loud gunshot.

Slightly shaken, Gwen waited a moment. Then two. Being shot at while stopping criminals was one thing. Being shot at while just swinging through the air was another. It was a bit unnerving. And not knowing where it came from didn't help. Her eyes scanned the area continually all the while she braced herself. Nothing happened. A couple of pigeons that had been disturbed by her landing on the roof slowly flew back and resumed their pecking. The sound of traffic and sirens in the distance filled the air. But no gunshot. No sound of a struggle.

Her heart rate returned a bit to normal as the minutes went by. Was it an accident? Maybe someone was fighting someone and a gun went off. She was no longer near the area it had happened. Gwen straightened cautiously. She didn't like to run from a fight. Though she wasn't stupid. A bullet could kill her. And it was never wise to rush into something if you didn't know where the enemy was.

Keeping low to the rooftops, Gwen made her way back the way she had come. She kept an eye on the roofs as well as the streets. Returning back to the alley she had been swinging over she glanced down. Nothing.

Had she imagined it?

No. She was certain she hadn't. The tingle she had felt had been extremely strong. The whiz of the bullet close. The sound of the gunshot was loud. Sirens were approaching. Someone must have called it in. Gwen didn't really want to stick around too long for the police but at the same time not knowing the facts made her uneasy.

Who had shot at her? Had it been intentional or accidental? She doubted the latter. The bullet had been too high for some street holdup or shootout. Not to mention, she would have heard that commotion.

So what then? There had been no one around when she came back. Or when she looked. Had they fired and then ran? Had they tried to follow her?

Gwen moved away from the edge and headed across the roof. She kept looking over her shoulder, glancing here and there just waiting. She waited until she was several blocks away before she started swinging again. Still, the unease followed her. She moved quickly, her pace picking up as she made her way in the direction of her home.

This time her spider tingle barely gave her notice as the bullet cut the thread above her. She landed on her feet in the alley, quickly rolling into cover her gaze looking around sharply. Being on the ground in an alley was probably not the best place to be if you were being shot at.

Come on Gwen, she told herself trusting her instincts. You've been in worse.

Though she had to admit she usually knew where the gun was in those instances.

Keeping close to the wall and the shadows, Gwen moved away from the dumpster and toward a door. Her back to the wall, her face to the alley, she felt the handle.

Locked.

Pushing down hard, she broke the doorknob and pushed it open. Darting in, she slammed the door shut.

She was on the ground floor of a building. A hallway ahead. Darting forward to put some distance between herself and the alley – and whoever was shooting at her Gwen tried to think what to do.

Seeing a restroom, Gwen ducked into it and quickly closed the door. Checking to ensure it was empty, she made her way to the far stall. This way if someone came in she'd have a bit of room to maneuver and see who it was. She could handle herself fairly well – or she thought – if she could see the person who had the weapon. She wasn't insanely fast but her spider sense gave her enough heads up that she could manage to avoid getting shot at times.

Waiting Gwen could feel her heart pound in her ears.

She was a bit annoyed at herself. She fought criminals all the time. She took on the vulture. Why was fear squeezing on her heart?

Anger replaced the fear as she clenched her fists. Just wait until she caught whoever shot at her.

The hallway sounded quiet. No sounds. Nothing. A few minutes of waiting again helped her heart rate settle slightly. Still, she was on full alert as she moved forward.

There was no spidey tingle as she approached the door. None as she peered into the hallway. Turning the opposite direction of where she came in, she headed down the hall of what looked like an office building. Every fiber of her being felt tense. She passed offices, an elevator, the stairway. No. She wasn't going to go to the roof. Whoever shot at her might be out there.

Approaching a door, she paused. It was locked but thankfully it was one she could unlock from this end. Doing so she cautiously opened the door. Right into the sight of flashing lights and several police officers moving toward her.

It was a bit difficult to see who was more surprised: them or her. Nearly jumping out of her skin, Gwen quickly ducked backward shutting the door. It cut off their surprised shouts. Turning she headed back the way she came to see several more officers coming in the back way.

"Stop!" One shouted seeing her.

Yeah. That was going to happen. Ducking into the stairway she fired a thread upward and pulled, avoiding walking the stairs.

Had an officer shot at her earlier? That didn't make sense. They usually gave a warning. They didn't just shoot.

Either way, she didn't have much time to ponder it as she could hear them enter below.

"Stop!" One called as Gwen pulled herself up to the third floor.

She ran up the stairs, heading to the roof. It was either that or try to jump out a window. She placed her bet that whoever shot at her would be gone. Though honestly, she couldn't rule anything out. Either the police or someone else.

Reaching the door to the roof, Gwen hit the emergency bar, setting off the alarm. She burst out into the sunlight again. There was no one there – a relief.

Running across the roof she jumped swinging to the next. As she flew over the alley she could see several police cars on the street below. A few officers looked up.

She hit the other roof before they could do anything. She didn't stop running as she continued. She kept running for a good ten minutes putting as much distance between the building and herself. She changed directions a few times, still going further away. Spotting a subway entrance, she quickly dropped down to the ground ignoring the startled surprise of those around her. Running down into the subway station, she quickly moved toward the dark tunnel. Jumping to the roof, she crawled down it, away from the people.

She could feel the rumble of a train coming and braced herself. As it flew past, she dropped quickly catching the roof of one of the cars, her hands sticking to it even as the speed of the train almost knocked her backward.

Crawling forward slightly, she dropped between two of the cars and hung on there until they approached another station. Moving off to the far side of the train car, opposite of the platform, Gwen waited again until it shot away.

She stayed with the train through several more stops before finally disembarking. Now would have been a good time to have her backpack so she could change. As it was, it was safely stored near the university – who knew how many miles back.

The fact of the matter though was she was safe for the moment. Irritation filtered through her. She was getting really tired of running from the police. She had done nothing illegal. There was no crime to run around stopping criminals. She hadn't done anything. The very fact they treated her like a criminal made her furious.

Of course, her anger was really directed at being shot at. It was hard to think that it was the police that shot her. But then why had they been there waiting for her to exit the building?

Finding her way to the surface, Gwen ducked into an alley and crawled up to the roof. Finding a spot next to the stairway door, she hunched down. She pulled her mask off and ran a hand through her hair.

It didn't add up. The gunshots. The police. Something was going on. And she was going to need to figure it out quickly. She couldn't let fear keep her from being Spiderwoman. She was going to have to get to the bottom of this.

Perhaps her dad might have an idea of what was going on. Just how to ask him without getting angry or giving herself away?

Gwen's head shot up and she quickly pulled out her phone.

She had forgotten she was meeting her dad. She looked at the clock. Five minutes. Five minutes before he was going to arrive. She unlocked her phone and, turning on her location, she opened maps. She winced as she saw how far away she was. There was no way – even swinging – that she would make it back anywhere soon. She was way out of queens, deep into Manhattan.

Gwen rubbed her forehead. Great. Just great. She stared at her phone. What was easier –letting him know she wouldn't be able to make it or pretending to lose track of time? Both would require some lie of sorts.

Annoyed again, Gwen turned her location off and then put the phone on do not disturb. She tucked it back away. If she texted him, he might call. Then she'd have to come up with something. If she didn't text, she would still need to have some explaining to do but it would give her a bit of time to think of something.

Either way, they were going to miss the movie.