George Stacy stood by his apartment door and pointed to it.

"Gwen, get inside. You have a lot of explaining to do!"

Gwen rolled her eyes and walked inside. She kicked her heels off and started towards her room. Her father didn't yell, but it was very close to a yell.

"You stop right there Gwendolyne Maxine Stacy."

Gwen froze. Her father never used her full name. Not once in her entire almost fifteen years of inhabiting the Earth had he ever said her full name in anger. She was much paler than usual when she turned around. He was wagging his finger.

"What the hell were you thinking Gwen?"

Gwen opened her mouth a few times and eventually just shrugged. Her father started to pace.

"I knew this was going to happen. You teenagers see someone like Spider-Woman out there and then you start emulating her. You are not a superhero Gwen!"

Gwen finally found her voice though when she spoke, she was very quiet.

"Dad, we would have died if I had done nothing. He was shooting explosives at us. The mailbox we were behind would not have saved us."

Her father looked exasperated.

"How do you know that, Gwen? Are you an explosives expert?"

Gwen closed her eyes and exhaled slowly, her voice was barely a whisper.

"I know because I invented the explosive he was using."

Her father was about to start on another long tirade then he paused and looked down at her.

"You what?"

Gwen shook her head and looked at the floor.

"I made it for Stark Industries. It's a military grade explosive. It turns whatever it blows up into a thermite shrapnel. If he had shot the mailbox, it would have exploded, it would have sprayed all over Flash and I. We would have burned to death."

When she looked up her father was staring at her. His face was a mask of shock. He looked speechless. After several moments he managed to speak.

"Why would you make something like that?"

"I was making something else, something, completely non-lethal. My research said it would be non-lethal. It wasn't. Stark Industries manufactures weapons dad. You've seen their commercials. Stark Industries: Bringing Freedom to the World. What would you expect them to do with a new explosive that is stable unless mixed together, that could be fired from a modified paintball gun? That has a secondary effect that melts the rest of the armor of a tank with the armor it blew up?"

Her father continued staring at her in disbelief.

"You're not going back there."

Gwen waved her hand dismissively.

"If you think you or I have a choice in that you are way naiver than I am."

Her father narrowed his eyes at her.

"You are not going back, that is the end of it."

Gwen shook her head.

"Dad, Obadiah Stane is on a first name basis with most of the politicians in this city, there is no way he lets me quit without consequences. Hell, I was just sitting at a table eating supper with a United States Senator. Just don't start a fight you can't win."

Her father looked confused.

"What senator?

Gwen shrugged.

"Senator Thomas, he's the chairman of some armed services committee. Dad, the Senator loved me. You think Obadiah is going to give up someone who's made two new multi-million-dollar weapon systems for him in four months, that the man who decides if Stark Industries gets some six hundred-billion-dollar contract said with no humor intended, that she should be at all of the Stark Industries weapon demonstrations? I really think he's going to not want to lose them."

Her father shook his head.

"No, you're not going back. I won't have it."

Gwen took her father's hands.

"Dad, just don't. Please."

Her father squeezed her hands.

"Gwen, how did that sort of weapon even end up on the streets? Does Stark Industries sell them too just anyone?"

Gwen released his hands.

"No dad, I don't believe they do. Someone's selling them on the side. I'm going to ask Obadiah in our meeting tomorrow."

Her father touched her cheek.

"Hon, what if he is the one selling them on the side?"

Gwen shook her head.

"He's a powerful man. He's connected. He is rich, why would he risk all of that?"

Her father sighed.

"To get richer. People don't need an excuse to want more money."

Gwen turned to go to her room.

"Dad, I need to go to bed. I have work in the morning."

"No, we're not done yet."

Gwen rolled her eyes.

"Don't you roll your eyes at me, Gwen. Why did you call a lawyer tonight? How did you afford that lawyer?"

"Dad, I did nothing wrong tonight. Erica told me it doesn't matter what I'm talking to the police about, to always ask for a lawyer. I called Obadiah and told him there was an incident and that I needed a lawyer to talk to the police with. He sent him."

Her father crossed his arms.

"Why didn't you call me Gwen? Why did I have to find out about this from my detectives?"

Gwen looked at the floor and white knuckled her clutch.

"Because I needed a calm voice of reason, not you barging in there and getting yourself suspended again. I don't get the big deal; They got their statement. I had my constitutionally allowed lawyer."

Her father clenched his fists.

"Because it makes you look guilty of something Gwen."

Gwen clenched her own fists and growled at her father.

"That is exactly why I needed a lawyer dad! I can't believe you. All I did was throw two baseballs at a guy."

"Gwen, you killed a man tonight."

Gwen turned back and fully faced him, it was her turn to raise her voice.

"I am not responsible for that. He killed himself!"

"You threw the baseball, Gwen."

Gwen threw up her hands and growled at him.

"My God you are so frustrating dad! His stupidity killed him. If you don't mix the explosive, it isn't volatile, he mixed all of them! Even the ones that weren't loaded. I had no way of knowing he had done something that stupid! If he tripped, he would have killed himself!"

He crossed his arms and glared down at her.

"So, you take no responsibility in this?"

"No! I didn't sell him the weapons; I didn't tell him to mix all of the TX-01's up! He is the one that didn't follow safe handling procedures! He did it to himself the minute he bought them!"

Gwen swore under her breath. Her father appeared to be finished berating her.

"Go to your room."

Gwen glared at him.

"Gladly!"

Gwen walked into her room and slammed her door. She started pulling off her dress. She looked at the locked hope chest where her Spider-Woman costume lay waiting for her. She shook her head. It was too late, and she wanted to get to work early the next morning. She got out of her dress and curled up on her bed under the blanket. To say she slept easy would be a lie. Contrary to her denials she kept seeing the man's surprised look just before the TX-01s exploded on his chest.