In posting this I completely forgot to do any kind of intro or anything at all to be honest. I'm doing that now.

Hello. I write for fun but I'm trying to hone that skill into something respectable and reliable, and to do that, I decided to share my stuff online. To be frank with you, I have no actual idea where this story is going. Most of my work is that way for me. Some say that's good, some say that's bad. I'm just trying to figure out what works.

Feel free to offer feedback... and enjoy.

EDIT:

I received some feedback that the involvement of the Spiders is not immediately obvious. A number of the cues I have left can simply be read differently than I expect and the story would still make sense. So I included a section to address that here.

Prologue

Gwen Stacy was hoping not to see this woman again.

"Can I come in?" Julia asked.

Gwen nodded and made room, "Sure."

Julia Carpenter stepped into the apartment and looked around. "Nice place."

Gwen knew she was trying to be nice so she tried not to snap.

"Peter helped me get it," Gwen said. "Since I'm starting over I didn't have the necessary documents- You can have the seat."

Julia glanced at Gwen's desk and said, "Don't worry I don't plan to stay long."

Gwen sat on her bed, "So…"

"How have you been settling in?"

Gwen shrugged, "I'm alright. It's been peaceful. Between Pete and Miles there isn't much for me to do crime-wise. I can just live, you know?"

The way she never got the chance to once her powers came in.

Julia observed her quietly, "Did you think about what I asked?"

Gwen sighed, "I came to this Earth so I could start over."

"And how's that been going?"

"I visited a coffee shop today. It was peaceful."

"Made any friends?"

Gwen flinched but she muscled through it to say, "Peter and Miles-"

"Barely visit you because of their double lives," Julia finished, staring through the window. "And you barely see them because you're trying to be normal."

Gwen found herself looking everywhere but Julia.

"And you don't talk to anyone," Julia said.

Gwen swallowed, "It's just… hard."

Julia nodded, "That's okay."

"So did you think about it?"

Gwen sighed and rubbed her shoulders, "I can't help, Julia, I'm tired."

"She's important somehow. I don't know how but… the Web needs her."

"So she's one of us?"

Julia shook her head, "No. Maybe. I don't know. But she's relevant. She's the turning point. A key."

"A key to what?"

"I'm not sure yet."

Gwen hesitated, glancing at the wallpaper on her phone. It was Peter. Her Peter. Before he died.

"I get that she's important… but it can't be me… I can't…"

"You're the only one who gets what she's going through."

"Julia… I can't…" Gwen raised her legs up and curled into a ball. "I'm sorry."

Footsteps. A vague pressure settling on the bed next to her. An arm around her shoulders. "I understand."

Gwen looked up at Julia's face. The woman was smiling, "That's why I came to you."

"She doesn't need a hero, Gwen. She needs a friend," Julia said.

Julia stood up and patted Gwen's shoulder twice and withdrew. "And so do you."

She left then. Gwen looked to her right to find a photo with a name on it.

Alexandra Arthur.

xXx

Gunfire rang. There were screams. Spider-man came in low and knocked three men down in a single swing.

"Hey boys, what's cooking tonight?"

Gunfire was dodged effortlessly. Gangsters were dispatched like errant children.

"You've all been very excited these past few months. Is there a party?"

The warehouse was crammed with people. Not a single one touched the red and blue blur that was New Yorks Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-man. The room was hot and humid. Armed men clashing against each other, now tried to run away as a hero more powerful than them entered the scene.

But Spider-man was very, very fast…

….

A few minutes later there were sirens in the distance and Spider-man stretched and yawned as the last thug went down.

Cops about to show up? I'm getting slow… he thought to himself.

There was a new crime wave in the city. Fights. Backroom deals that got innocent people caught in between and open violence alike. When crime waves happened, it was usually because criminals were pulling on their resources more than usual.

Spider-man left the warehouse swinging up to the heights of New York city. What is it all for?

Spider-man headed toward his rendezvous with Daredevil and arrived only to find a note on a wall. He read it and sighed. Daredevil was chasing down a new lead. In the meantime there were seven more potential trouble spots to patrol.

It isn't too much to ask that there'll be nothing going on when I get there is it? Spider-man asked himself mentally.

He worked out a route that would let him visit all seven spots. There was trouble in all seven of them.

….

As Spider-man beat down his last thug for the evening he sighed.

And I've still got to be early at the Bugle tomorrow… he noticed the sky lightening and corrected himself, Today.

"I need a vacation…"