Chapter 9: Revelations and Resolutions
In the middle of the night in the household of the Stacy's, after returning from the theater...
'Hello...Gwen...'
'Peter!?'
Suddenly, Gwen's consciousness awakens in what appears to be a dream, most likely a place within her own mind. She was disturbed by a voice that almost sounded like Peter, but in a tone unfamiliar to her.
'Hello?' Gwen looks deep within her consciousness before spotting an entity that looks like the black-suited Spider-man crawling above her.
'Hello...Gwen…' the entity snuck up to her from behind and startles her.
'Wait, you're not Peter, but you sound like him...who—who are you!?' Gwen demanded while keeping her distance from the black Spider-man lookalike.
'Relax Gwen, I will not harm you,' says the entity.
'Wh-who are you! And wha-what do you want with me?' Gwen demanded while avoiding the tendrils creeping up close to her.
'Nothing much, just a little gift for you to see,' the entity replied as it lunges over to Gwen and forcefully grabs her wrist while injecting its memories with its past hosts namely Eddie Brock and Peter Parker, into her consciousness and mind.
From the overflow of memories involving Eddie and Peter, she fell to her knees with mixed emotions and great realizations concerning the people closest to her, especially the fact that Peter is Spider-man.
'Eddie….no—you turned him into that monster! And Peter...you were abusing him and his powers! It was all your fault!' Gwen yelled out to the entity.
'Well, they were pretty choosy, and beggars can't be choosers,' the entity quipped.
'Wow, you must've stolen Peter's humor, creep,' Gwen hissed, crossing her arms in disgust.
With a sly stare into her eyes, the angered entity vanishes and reappears in front of her, startling her on purpose before looking straight into her eyes.
'Oh yeah, look at your pitiful self. A stick in the mud after the good times being with that traitorous buffoon Peter,' the ooze taunted.
'Peter is not like that!' Gwen protested.
'Oh really? Where is he now when you need him?' the ooze taunted again.
'He's...he's…' she nervously trailed off after all the trouble she put him in from shattering his relationship with Liz and staying with Harry out of guilt.
'Look Gwen, apologies in advance for reading your mind, but didn't you want the power to understand what he's been up to?' the entity questioned in a taunting manner. 'Don't you want to help that poor boy out?'
'He is more than capable of handling things himself...that's why he dumped you, didn't he?' Gwen smirked back, hitting a nerve.
'And what about you? Dating a spoiled brat with an inferiority complex who has power that's just so easy to abuse,' the entity hissed back.
From that statement, she went silent in shame of the truth about Harry while being reminded of the trouble Peter went through for her sake. At that point, the ooze scooted closer to the depressed geekette with a great and tantalizing temptation...
'Gwen...as I've already said: I wish to offer you power, not to just help your friend, but also for you…' it trailed off.
'Power…?' Gwen wondered what it meant.
'Yes, power...the power to stand on your own feet, no matter the odds,' the entity offered.
'But wait, is there a catch? That sounds too good to be true,' Gwen points out.
'Well, the catch would be gaining a power that can make you say 'no' to that Osborn kid without a care in the world as he did with you,' the entity replied. 'All you have to do...is just take my hand…!"
'Wait, are going to hurt someone? Like really harm someone? Like…Peter…?' Gwen asks, just inches away from its hand.
'Hmmmm, maybe, maybe not, but we shall see, only if you wish to see it, together,' the entity offered, stretching out its hand to her.
Hesitant but wavering with a heavy soul, she reluctantly takes its hand, enabling the creature to envelop Gwen's mind and body with its power while enhancing her physical capabilities.
"Huaagh!" Gwen exclaims and awakens from her sleep before trying to wear her glasses, but giving herself a painfully blurry vision as she wore them. "Whoa what…?"
She looks at her mirror and interchangeably wears her glasses then removes them repeatedly before laying on her bed from a pleasant surprise.
'This is only the beginning, Gwen, as we promised,' the ooze points out. 'Trust us…'
"...Fine, but if anyone gets hurt because of us, then it's better for you to find someone else," Gwen replied to herself out loud before going back to sleep.
—
Creeping in the dark sewers of Manhattan, near the headquarters of the great L. Thompson Lincoln, the symbiote continues to randomly travel around the dark paths in search of a suitable host. However, as it makes its way around the tunnels, it stumbles upon a small canister and is forcefully pulled into it as the canister detects its presence and its lid closes itself.
"Well well well, just what I've been waiting for.."
Coming out of the door adjacent to the canister was the humiliated scientist Dr. Miles Warren, slightly giddy over the long-awaited appearance of the lost alien symbiote that was known to have escaped from the Empire State University's laboratory.
"Well hello there little fella," Miles smiled as he picked up the canister and watched the panicking symbiote lifeform bouncing and clinging on and off the canister walls. "Amazing! To think I'd be the one getting my hands on you instead of that scally rat Connor, after all the mishaps under his management. Now, things are about to change…"
—
After the end of another bright school day in Midtown High….
"Man, I think I may need to make more compartments for my web shooters, but they cramp up my wrist painfully," Peter thought out loud after easily using up all of his web fluid in that last battle.
"My advice: try putting something to cushion in between like bubble wrap or hand wrappings instead of wearing them like ordinary watches, like how I do 'cause my gauntlets are heavy with all the equipment I bring," Hobie suggests.
"Hmmm, sounds, I'll keep that in mind on how I could fix that...and how much I could afford for that," Peter thought out loud before checking his half-empty wallet with a sigh.
"Petey, if you'd like, I could—"
"It's okay Liz. I know you'd love to help, but it's not that big of a deal. I just hope I can get some more pictures to show for the Bugle. Though, the tempting offer from the Daily Globe still stands for me to come to them," Peter assures while thinking out loud, making Liz chuckle from his response.
"Tell you what bro, mind if I look and see what I could do with them?" Hobie suggested.
"You mean that, Hobie!?" Peter hysterically asks.
"Yeah man, a rare deal like this...it ain't easy to come by," Hobie smirked.
"Oh yeah? Then by all means, thanks," Peter accepts, fist-bumping Hobie's fist.
"Gwen, are you serious!"
Suddenly, the fun atmosphere died down in front of them and stopped them in their tracks. Quarrelling near the classroom door were Harry and Gwen, with Gwen seeming to be the reason for Harry's angry expression.
"Harry, let's just stop things right here and right now," Gwen sternly demanded while carrying some books and wearing another whole new look.
What caught the three male crimefighters' eyes was stunning as she now wears a black long-sleeved turtleneck and green slim cargo pants along with a black hairband, a pair of black sneakers and white anklet socks. Surprisingly, she also caught the eyes of Liz and Kitty as much as she did with the boys, leaving them in jaw-dropping awe of her appearance. A minute goes by as they watch the restless couple argue, Gwen then notices Peter and smiles when they make eye contact.
"Peter!" Gwen exclaimed with her face lit up before getting pulled back from Harry's strong grip on her shoulder, which was then loosened by the symbiote on Gwen's shirt as a defense mechanism, allowing her to shove his arm away. "Harry, this charade has gone far enough. It is time for you to truly grow up. I'm not going to be your buffer anymore!"
"Babe, c'mon!" Harry pleaded, facing off against an angry Gwen, with her glaring daggers at him and sent a chill down his spine that left him speechless out of fear.
"Just go, Harry…" Gwen trailed off, turning his back on him.
Hiding his rage under his downcast face, Harry ran far away with a wretched heart while avoiding the eyes of nearby students.
'Oh no, nononono,' Peter thought to himself with concern over what he's just witnessed, which also made Liz look at him with concern and discomfort from this incident. 'Crud, scratch smooth sailing. I feel a storm coming.'
"Ehehehe, I'm sorry about what happened earlier," Gwen apologized.
"Gwen, did you just…?!" Liz wonders out of concern.
"As you can guess it...Harry and I are over…" Gwen trailed off while flipping her sidebangs. "He left me, ignored me, and only noticed me when I decided to stand up to him. I'm such an idiot for not realizing it sooner..."
Peter and Liz awkwardly exchanged looks from the sudden occurrences before Gwen got their attention.
"Anyways, Dr. Curtis and Martha Connors wanted the both of us to return back to his lab tomorrow! You...can come back if you still want to…" Gwen suggested.
"Uhhmm, uhh…" Peter stuttered before feeling a tap from Hobie.
"Dude, sorry for saying this on the fly, but I forgot that I have some unfinished homework to do. Catch you later," Hobie replied before leaving the scene.
"Bro, mind if we go with? I bet it's going to be—gyagh!"
"Sorry Pete, but we got some stuff to deal with back at our place. We gotta hurry or else Mr. Logan's gonna kill us, see you tomorrow!" Kitty bade while grabbing Bobby's collar from behind and dragging him away.
After they leave, awkward silence rolls in as Peter and Liz are forced to face the one that broke the relationship between them while witnessing the end of her relationship with Harry. Suddenly, Peter breaks the silence…
"So um, uhh, you were saying about Connors wanting me back?" Peter nervously repeated for confirmation, avoiding eye contact with Gwen.
"Y-yeah! Though, they went through a lot of trouble back then after the many times the lab has been ransacked or just robbed with missing inventory, but right now they've been able to get back on track," Gwen answered. "Also, Dr. Miles Warren has been removed from his post in ESU."
'Okay, that last bit is strange. Heck, he did seem strange already in the first place, so I guess it's only a matter of time,' Peter thought to himself before exchanging looks with Liz. "Okay then, let's go together."
'Wait, am I going with you or what?' Liz whispered to Peter with a concerned look.
'Why not? It's okay, isn't it?' Peter points out, making her sigh and give in to his straightforward answer.
"Alright, you guys go on ahead and do your thing, I still gotta return this in the library. See you tomorrow!" Gwen excitedly replies as she makes her way to the library.
—
"Hey Doc, what you got in the can?" Hammerhead wonders upon looking at the canister over Dr. Miles' table.
"Oh this? This is the alien life form brought back from the astronaut's ship and was supposedly being studied back at ESU. However, some...complications arose and resulted in its disappearance. I did have faith of finding it to study it for myself and not with that dreadful Connors," Miles hissed.
"Well, do you have any plans this time? The big man wants a new guy to rely on, from our own turf. No more mercs in tights," Hammerhead scolded with his arms crossed.
"Well, I suppose I do have plans that could satisfy what you need, but then all that I have is left back in the laboratory at ESU. You know that I cannot possibly go back there as if nothing happened," Miles pointed out.
"Tell me what you need, I know a guy who can help us out, and I'm gonna be yer errand boy for today, as my superiors have ordered me to," Hammerhead replies.
"Great, first order of business: I need my files that are left back at the lab if I want to be, well, "inspired"," Miles relays the description and possible location of his files that the police possibly could not find before he was arrested. "Another would be a sample of tarantula DNA would be good as well."
"Wait wait wait, why that last bit? Are you planning to make another Spider-freak? Have you knocked a screw loose?" Hammerhead questions his request.
"Trust me, Hammerhead, I have plans to turn in our favor if you do so. While you are at it, I will continue studying the life form and see how it could benefit us or if I could use it against Spider-man," Miles assures.
"You better, or else you're nothing but a mad mook that shoulda stayed in jail," Hammerhead barks before leaving the room.
"Having fun with your current position…?"
Startling Hammerhead from behind was his former crime boss and leader, Tombstone, looking displeased from meeting the rat that backstabbed him. Without a single word, he discreetly leaves the annoyed Tombstone while trying to contact the phone number of the mercenary Dmitri, aka the master of disguise known as the Chameleon.
"Yes, what is it?" Chameleon responded over the phone.
"Dmitri, I have a favor to ask...again," Hammerhead requested before relaying the task to the master of disguise.
—
"Petey, you doing alright?" Liz calls over the phone while lying on her bed.
"Hm? Yeah, never better!" Peter responded while holding his phone with his shoulder, currently taking Hobie's advice while trying to add more cartridge compartments before heading to bed early for tomorrow's arrangements.
"Petey, don't you feel anything, uhm, off? Around Gwen?" Liz thought out loud.
"I think it's just stress from their strenuous relationship, it might soon pass away, I think," Peter answered back. "Also um, thanks for checking up on me, it means a lot."
"Anytime Petey," Liz smiled over the phone. "So um, when can we stop by the lab?"
"Hmmm, tell you what, let's hit the Silver Spoon first for something warm at around 8 before getting there, sound good?" Peter suggests.
"Sounds great," Liz responded.
"Awesome! Sorry that I can't talk too much now, not exactly the best time, but it's good to hear from you. Good night, and take care," Peter bade.
"Night, Petey," Liz bade back before ending the call and sighing on her bed, contemplating her thoughts again. 'Geez, if only I could actually know how to help him and his "hero-ing" gig, at least it could take the stress off him...hmmm.'
Suddenly, an idea came into her mind and she went over to her recliner and desktop to skim around the internet.
"Let's see…" Liz thought out loud while typing the words "parkour gyms near me" on the search engine. 'Since Hobie himself is powerless, but not totally powerless, might as well give it a shot.'
—
The next morning, after Peter and Liz had a light breakfast with their folks, they slowly met up at the Silver Spoon for coffee, but even after they got there…
"Huaagh," Liz yawned modestly.
"Did you sleep well?" Peter wondered, sipping on a cappuccino.
"Yeah, just surfed around the Net last night before bed, no biggie," Liz plainly replied, a bit startled from his being concerned for her.
"Hey, Liz, you can tell me," Peter assures, holding and caressing her fingers. "I'm right here."
"...Thanks, Petey, but it's nothing really, trust me," Liz responded with a smile, keeping her unknown plan a secret.
They then looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds of bliss, and all was peaceful until the bus near the bus stop honked its horn so loud that it snapped the two of them back into reality and awkwardly turned their gazes away. Afterwards, they smiled and laughed out loud at their silly reactions.
"Well, um, the bus is here now. So um, shall we get going?" Peter nervously suggested.
"Yeah, let's," Liz smiled, snuggling up to his arm as they entered the bus and took their seats.
—
Time passes and the bus stops near the campus entrance of ESU. Peter and Liz immediately drop off the bus and notice Gwen walking towards the lab.
"Gwen!" Peter called out, getting her attention as she turned around.
"Peter!" Gwen responds with glee until she notices Liz with him in locked arms and tries to put on a smile. "You guys made it! Hurry! They might be waiting to welcome us again, I think."
"You think?" Peter joked, lightening up the mood.
"Maybe, we'll see," Gwen replied back, walking to the lab's entrance with them.
"Ah, Gwen! Good to see you!" Dr. Curtis Connors greeted as he turned around from looking through his desktop. "It has been a very long time."
"We're glad you could make it back," Martha Connors adds, holding a cup of coffee before turning to Peter. "You too, Peter, welcome back."
"Thanks Mrs. Connors. Say um, where's Dr. Warren?" Peter pretends to notice—after having heard from Gwen concerning his unknown whereabouts.
"Oh, him, about that, he's been dismissed by the board. He was engaging in illegal human experimentation and I caught him red-handed," Curtis answered. "He got what is coming to him, I hope."
'Human experiments, now that's just so wrong, brrrrgrhugh,' Peter thought to himself, feeling uneasy from hearing his shady business behind everyone's backs. 'That guy did have 'creepy' written all over his face.'
"Hey, you the kids Dr. Connors mentioned?"
From the far side of the laboratory came another associate scientist with Dr. Deborah Whitman. He's got brown hair and eyes, wearing an orange shirt under his lab coat while carrying what appears to be his files and personal research materials.
"Oh guys, meet our colleague and an old classmate from college, Dr. Vincent Stegron," Curtis introduced.
"Curt, c'mon, don't make me sound old. Vince is fine," says the associate scientist.
"Is Dr. Vince okay with you?" Peter asks.
"Better than Dr. Vincent, I suppose," Vincent shrugged.
"So um, what do you do around here?" Gwen kindly asked.
"Like Dr. Curtis, I am also a geneticist on reptiles, well, primitive reptiles to be exact," Vincent nervously answered.
"Wait, you mean dinosaurs!?" Peter and Gwen geeked out.
"You kids are quick to catch on," Vincent commented. "Yes, I am also quite interested in some of the research that Dr. Curtis introduced back then when we were colleagues. Though…"
While Peter and Gwen are listening to Vincent's past experiences with the Connors' and their research, Liz looks around the lab after a long time before noticing somebody in a uniform entering Dr. Connors' office and discreetly but unsuspiciously tries to glimpse inside.
—
"It's supposed to be somewhere around here," Chameleon thought to himself while looking around the desks, wearing a stranger's face for a mask while in some kind of uniform, possibly belonging to the janitorial staff of ESU. "Of all places, why hide it in someone else's office, a mad man he surely is."
As he looks around under the desks, he spots a flash drive hidden in the handle of the cabinet and takes it.
"Well that was easy," Chameleon thought out loud while looking at the flash drive before taking out a medium-sized vial with a label saying "tarantula" on it. "Got this one in the bag too, now time to bail."
"Hey! What do you think you're doing, mister?! That's off-limits!" Liz yelled as she opened the door and spotted the Chameleon disguised as a janitorial staff member.
With haste, he vaults over the desk and then roughly pushes Liz out of the office doorway before leaving the lab.
"Ow! Hey!" Liz groaned from falling on her rear, startling everyone's attention—especially Peter.
"Liz!" Peter turns around with concern and runs to help her up with Gwen following behind. "Liz, you alright?!"
"Forget me! That guy in a janitor uniform stole something from the office!" Liz cried out while pointing to the thief leaving the lab, making Peter nod and chase down the thief by her request, quickly donning his Spider-man suit on the run.
"Wait, what's Peter doing?!" Gwen asked.
"Something, I hope," Liz replied, showing her unconditional trust in her boyfriend to her rival in love.
"But he can't do this alone….not anymore," Gwen thought out loud before storming out of the lab.
"Huh? Gwen, wait!" Liz pleaded, getting back up on her feet and chasing her down, only to realize that she'd instantly gone, which shocked and spooked her. "Gwen? Gwen?!"
—
"Hammerhead, where are you now?!" Chameleon barked over the communicator in his ear while running down the streets away from the Webslinger.
"Just keep runnin' pal, you won't hide from me either way!" Spider-man quipped while swinging in pursuit of the disguised Chameleon.
"I need backup, stat!" Chameleon demanded over the communicator.
"Backup is coming, straight at you," Hammerhead plainly replied.
Suddenly, a cloud of green mist and sparks block the roads, catching him and the Webhead off their guards.
"Aw no, not—"
"Greetings! It has been too long, Spider-man! Now you shall face the wrath of the mighty Mysterio!" Mysterio declared like an angry infuriated magician as he appeared in the midst of the mist.
"Aw c'mon, Bubblehead, not you again," Spider-man groaned, latching onto a wall.
Seeing this as a chance to slip away, Chameleon immediately dashes into the mist to get out of Spider-man's sight.
"Oh no you don't!" Spider-man orders as he tries to zip over to catch Chameleon's shirt, only to get smacked to a building by a tail of Mysterio's illusionary dragon mounts. "Ugh, I hate it when you do that!"
"This time, I shall have the honors of putting you out of your misery, little spider! Unless...you would choose to crawl back into your itsy bitsy web for a change," Mysterio quipped, hovering over his intimidating mechanized mount, disguised under his flying dragon illusion.
"Sorry, but I'd rather put an end to this dangerous show of yours," Spider-man quipped back as he tried to swing over to the streets and face him head on.
He then runs under the mechanized mount, thinking that it might be a blind spot, but then notices it dropping what appears to be acid bombs under what could be the belly of the dragon mount and dodges the falling projectiles.
"Ewww, gross! Since when were you able to do that!?" Spider-man retorted as he latched onto another building.
"Since now," Mysterio amusingly answered back as he chants another one of his fake spells and makes it seems like he summoned some sort of stone golem—which is basically just a giant robot in illusion tech—out of his green mist.
"Wow, okay, you gotta admit, now that's a cool toy," Spider-man geeked out before his Spider Sense snaps him back and makes him dodge the rampaging golem rushing towards him.
Accompanied by the golem were Mysterio's bat drones chasing after the Webhead, and keeps him completely occupied, allowing Chameleon to escape at this point.
'Wait, this has to be too much for Bubblehead to handle, but how is he doing this?!' Spider-man thought while dodging and destroying all of the annoying drones, only to be caught in the strong grip of the golem robot's huge hands. "Yup, urgh—someone's definitely giving this faker the good stuff."
"Well, Spider-man, any last words before I squeeze the life force out from your tiny body," Mysterio wonders.
"Gimme a minute!" Spider-man replied, struggling to break free from the golem's hands.
Suddenly, swinging over the streets at an astounding speed, a black-suited figure rushes to the scene and strikes a huge dent to the golem's side, destroying the illusion tech and its main core to render it offline. There, the stranger lands safely alongside Spider-man, who escaped the golem's grip to meet the stranger.
"W-whoa!? Wh-who are—what!?"
Before the Webhead was a mix of horror and attraction, as the black-suited person has a feminine figure while wearing a hood over her head and a spider-like symbol over her chest. What mostly scares Spider-man, however, is that it appears to be the same Venom symbiote, the ooze that he rejected and supposedly latched onto Eddie.
"Are you hurt?" the black-suited person asked in a gentle tone unfamiliar to Spider-man, to possibly hide her identity while snapping him back into his senses while in a defensive stance.
"I uh—yeah! I'm good! Thanks!" Spider-man replied while getting into an offensive stance.
"Well what do we have here! A female arachnid has come, quite interesting. But it's a shame that you must die as well!" Mysterio thought out loud as he summoned more of his annoying bats.
"We got company!" Spider-man warns. "I go right, you go left!"
"We got them!" the black-suited person responded.
The both of them attack Mysterio from both sides and fire rapid web bullets against the mount and Mysterio's face. As they also web his face from their flurry of sticky projectiles, Spider-man then lunges over to Mysterio and grabs him off his platform atop his mount while the black-suited person lands a strong uppercut underneath the mount's abdomen, causing it to fall and explode as it hits the ground.
"Fool!" Mysterio barked as he fired a "mystic" bolt of energy at Spider-man and blasted him away before engaging in a standoff against the Wallcrawler and staring at his new armed gauntlets. "Astounding I must say. I shall give Phineas his regards for his assistance."
"Now you're getting even more annoying," Spider-man groaned as he kept his distance.
But as they kept their distance, his Spider Sense was triggered and prompted him to jump and dodge the black-suited person lunging aggressively towards Mysterio. In a fit of panic, Mysterio fires multiple mystic bolts, but misses them because of her swift and agile movement before being tackled hard to a nearby building and takes him down with a flurry of fists to his bubble helmet.
"You hurt Spider-man…! Say, we hurt you harder!" says the person as she slams her fists down and cracks his helmet like an egg.
"Wait! Stop! What do you think you're doing!?" Spider-man pleaded while zipping his way to them.
"No! Please! W-what are you!?" Mysterio begged in fear with his hands shielding his face.
"Weee...are...Venom…!" the black-suited person roared as she formed a giant monstrous mouth with her upper half, preparing to chomp Mysterio's head off.
"No! Stop!" Spider-man cries out as he lunges and stops her, only to be whipped away by her stray tendrils.
The "She-Venom" then proceeds to bite Mysterio's upper half off with ease, only to realize that she bit off half of a robot's body,
"Ho boy, for once, I'm glad that he's just a bot," Spider-man sighed with relief from that sight before being startled by the She-Venom's loud rage.
"You shall payyy! For harming Spider-man!" She-Venom roars before chasing down the scent and swinging away.
"Aw crud, now I have to deal with a "She-Venom", can't this day get any worse…?!" Spider-man groaned and retorted before swinging fast with all his might to chase her down.
They then went on a swinging spree around the city, with Spider-man chasing down the rabid She-Venom who appears to be angry for some reason. The problem for the Webhead, however, is her great speed and strength in getting farther and farther as he chases her down.
"Ugh, I hate this! This is getting ridiculous!" Spider-man panted as he fell on his knees over a rooftop before seeing two poles in front of him, giving him another adventurous idea to try.
He gets in between the two poles and webs both of them to make a string sling with him in the center while aiming at the female symbiote host running amok over the streets and buildings.
"Cowabunga!" Spider-man cried as he pulled and launched himself away at an alarming speed that allowed him to catch up to She-Venom.
Before she could react, Spider-man catches and pins her down on a nearby rooftop, keeping her in a struggling headlock.
"Lady! Lady! Calm down!" Spider-man pleaded while being swung around as she struggled in his grasp.
"Back off, Spider-man! I'm warning you!" She-Venom then reaches for him and grabs his back before throwing him away. "Stay out of my way! I'm doing this to help you!"
"Help?! You almost gave me a heart attack chomping off that guy in half, even though it was actually a bot!" Spider-man screamed hysterically. "Look, just calm down! You need to—!"
"No!" She-Venom screamed back before tacking and pinning Spider-man on the floor. "All I was trying to do was to help!"
"Ugh ow...w-who are you!? Or why are you doing this!?" Spider-man demanded, pinned on the floor while struggling to break free.
"It's because we missed you...Peter," the She-Venom answered, leaving Spider-man speechless from hearing his secret identity and as she unmasked her face, revealing her identity as Gwen Stacy.
"No...no, how!? Gwen!?" Spider-man screamed with his eyes wide open. "Gwen! You—!"
"It was kinda a coincidence, really. But...we actually got similar things going on, and we don't mean to hurt you, we swear!" Gwen assures.
'So that wasn't just any piece of gum last night, I should've known!' Spider-man regretted. "Gwen, you gotta take that off. It's too dangerous and unstable for anyone to handle, including me!"
"Are you kidding? Thanks to this, I finally understood why you disappeared a lot...why you always seemed tired...and why Eddie was…" Gwen trailed off, suddenly sad after remembering the torn relationship between Eddie and Peter because of his being Spider-man.
"Gwen, I know I messed up, and not-how-to best friend till now...maybe later even, but you gotta trust me and take the suit off!" Spider-man pleaded with great concern in his tone.
"But...but…" Gwen stood up stunned from Peter telling her to let go of the suit. 'So, is this how far your trust can go? Or what…?'
"Gwen? Gwen, are you okay?" Spider-man asks before getting grabbed by his neck and lifted an inch off the ground. "Gwen—ugh, what are you doing!?"
"Sorry...Peter, we are no longer just a weak girl...now...together...we are Venom!" Gwen roars before masking her face with an intimidating face similar to Brock when he was Venom.
"I thought of a funnier name, how about Gwenom?" Spider-man quipped, which angered the symbiote controlling Gwen as she prepared to slash him with her talons.
"Goodbye, Peter," the She-Venom, now named Gwenom, bade while raising her arm to slash him into meat strips and grips his neck tightly.
"Agh—sorry Gwen!" Spider-man apologizes in advance before kicking her in the gut and flips over into a defensive stance while she latches over the near stairway wall and roars with a more fearsome face.
"Now we're mad!" Gwenom screamed before lunging and tackling Spider-man off his feet and hops over the ledge to jump onto another rooftop and slam him to the ground.
"Urrgh—Gwen! Snap out of it! You're not thinking straight!" Spider-man cries out before webbing up her face and escapes her grip again.
She then rips off the web in a furious manner before unsheathing shape talons made from the symbiote's body.
"Whoa um, Gwen, we need to get you a manicure after this," Spider-man gulped upon noticing the sharp talons on her hands.
As she lunges and then proceeds to try lacerating and slashing the Webhead with her sharp talons, he easily dodges with the help of his great Spider strength and agility by an inch away from grave wounds. Blinded by the symbiote's rage, Gwen misses every attempt to wound Spider-man while he's aware of her unstable condition, thanks to the symbiote poisoning her mind.
"I gotta get her to stop, before anyone gets hurt!" Spider-man thought out loud. "Including herself…!"
From there, he tries to lead Gwenom to the church found just three blocks away from their position, the same church from where he dumped the symbiote as its first host. He nimbly dodges her pounces and slashes while luring her close to her own doom.
"Almost there, big ugly!" Spider-man quipped while jumping over a tall building and angering the symbiote.
"Hey! Spidey!"
Stopping him in his tracks was the elusive Shadowcat in her suit and everything, shocked from her sudden appearance out of the ground.
"K-Kitty! What are you doing here!? You gotta get outta here, it's not—"
"Sorry 'Petey', but Liz called me, and she sounded like she's worried," Shadowcat replied. "She told me you were in trouble and—whoa!"
Without thinking, Shadowcat embraces Spider-man upon glancing at the angry Gwenom lunging at him from behind, only to phase through the both of them and stare at them in confusion.
"Wow, now that is creepy, but cool!" Shadowcat thought out loud before turning to Spider-man. "Lemme guess, friend of yours?"
"Yes, and no time, we gotta run!" Spider-man pulls and wraps his arm around her waist before swinging away with her to the church's bell tower and free fall over the building straight down towards the tower. "Shadowcat! Phase us through, please!"
"Gotcha! Hang tight!" Shadowcat warns as they phase through the roof of the bell tower and land safely on their feet while catching Gwenom off her guard. "Whew! Okay, so now what?"
"Umm, we wait for her to get in here near this bell. The suit she's wearing is extremely sensitive to sonic vibrations, so make sure you brought ear plugs!" Spider-man warns as he webs a line to the clapper of the bell.
"Oh cool!" Shadowcat responded while looking around until she noticed Gwenom crawling inside over the top of the window and tried to warn Spider-man. "Spidey! She's—!"
To silence her, a tendril lashes her at the side and almost incapacitates her as she hits the wall, which immediately caught his attention.
"Kitty!" Spider-man turns around to see her hands bound against the wall by Gwenom and her tendrils. "Gwen! No! Don't do this!"
"Careful spider, stay where you are and her head stays where it is," Gwenom hissed with her talons close to Shadowcat's neck. "So, what will it be...Spider-man?"
At that moment, he froze with his hand ready to pull the bell clapper, but worried about Shadowcat's life in her hands. As he and the symbiote were at a standoff…
"Spidey! Go!" Shadowcat yells while mustering the last of her strength to phase out of Gwenom's tendrils and phase through the floor, catching her off guard.
"No! You—!"
Without any moment to spare, the Webhead strongly tugs the clapper to strike the bell, making loud vibrations to resound within the room and causing excruciating pain for Gwenom as she screams in agony. Again, he pulls the clapper and makes more loud vibrating sounds that brought the agonized Gwenom to her knees.
"Peterrr!" Gwenom screamed before feeling the symbiote slowly disintegrate and melt, revealing her face under her hood. "Peter, please, kill me!"
"No Gwen! You got this! Fight it! It will be more painful if I force it!" Spider-man pleaded, unmasking his face. 'Crud! If only I had some gene cleanser on me, I could've—!"
"Aaahhh! Peterrr!" Gwen screamed while holding her head in pain and having her face forcefully masked by the symbiote, shrieking loudly in the room.
"No!" Peter cries out as he pulls on the clapper and makes more loud vibrations to paralyze Gwenom to her knees. "C'mon, Gwen! Fight it!"
"Urgh—agh!" Gwen then screams in pain from the third strike of the bell, which greatly weakened the symbiote's hold on her that she begins to slowly fight back until she forcefully causes the symbiote to disperse in an explosive manner, leaving her unconscious on the floor while being surrounded by a pile of black lifeless ooze and sludge.
"Gwen!" Peter cries out, letting go of his web line and runs over to kneel and carry the unconscious Gwen Stacy. "No, no no no, please…!"
He then tries to feel air with a finger near her nostrils and then laying his ear on her chest, which surprised Shadowcat from what he's trying to do.
"Aw thank goodness...she's beating…! She's still…beating..." Peter sighed in relief, feeling a little faint before being sat upright by Shadowcat.
"We um, better take her to the hospital, Peter," Shadowcat suggests in a soft yet urgent and concerned tone, receiving his nod as his answer.
—
"Are these everything you really needed?" Chameleon clarifies, taking out a medium-sized vial and a flash drive out of his pocket before unmasking his blank white face.
"Yeah, that's everything. You done good," Hammerhead complimented as he gave the items to Dr. Miles before turning back with a wad of cash. "Oh yeah, and here's your pay."
"Pleasure doing business with you," Chameleon smirked as he took the cash.
"Although, we could continue the business relationship for a longer term if possible, unless…" Hammerhead trails off.
"Unless what….?" Chameleon wonders, raising his eyebrow line.
"Unless you stay here to willingly work with us, taking on any job that we deem to be of interest for you when we send you out. How 'bout that?" Hammerhead suggests, breaking a smile.
"Hmm, tempting, but for now, I work solo. Call me again for any 'favors' of yours," Chameleon replies before leaving the facility near the Big Man's headquarters.
"Well done Hammerhead. But um, now the issue for me is to find a possible candidate for my experiment to be completed," Miles adds, examining the vial with the label "tarantula" on it. "I am honestly relieved though that he was able to pick the right one."
"Don't worry, I know a guy. He might be more than willing to help you in your li'l science project 'cause he owes me. You met him too, so it shouldn't be hard," Hammerhead assures as he taps on the number with the caller's name saying "Blackie Gaxton".
—
At the hospital, Peter and Kitty sat on a bench with worried looks after calling Gwen's father, Captain Stacy, to come see her in a room near them. Remorse and guilt filled Peter's mind after all the dangers and pains Gwen has put through from Harry to encountering the Ooze.
"Oh man, I really did it big time now," Peter whimpered and groaned, holding his head in shame before feeling a tap on his shoulder.
"Hey hey, Peter, there is nothing much we could do. I mean, her relationship and choices aren't directly your fault," Kitty assures. "Okay, maybe the thing with that black goo could be your fault, but you did your best, Peter. It's not like you can handle everything on your own shoulders, 'kay?"
"You don't know that. I could've easily made that go away if I just...just…" Peter sighs, remembering the mistake he made of just sparing and burying the symbiote in concrete instead of eradicating it.
"Oh Peter…." Kitty whimpered in a sad tone.
"Petey!"
Suddenly, Liz comes running to their direction and tackles Peter into a tight hug with a distressed look.
"Are you alright Petey? Gwen left the lab! She said she wanted to help you and then she—"
"Yeah Liz, we know, and…" Peter trails off, turning to her hospital room that's currently occupied by George Stacy and Dr. Bromwell. "She's currently inside, resting…"
"She will...be okay...right?" Liz looks at him with great concern.
"I-I honestly don't know," Peter honestly replied. "It's all my fault, and I don't know how to fix it."
"No, Petey, it's not all your fault. And no, you can fix this. Just calm down and relax for now, please," Liz urged, making him sit down with Kitty before sitting beside them. "Thanks for answering my call, Kitty. Sorry for all the trouble when you were in your mission or stuff 'n all."
"Nah it's fine, anytime Liz," Kitty assures.
A minute goes by while they are talking and Dr. Bromwell leaves the room, making Peter stand and walk up to him.
"Dr. Bromwell! How is she?" Peter asks.
"So far, she is still resting at the moment. Hopefully she could wake up soon, otherwise it would lead to a coma with what she went through. Very odd really, but we'll monitor her and see what we can do to help her," Dr. Bromwell assures. "Also um, Captain George Stacy would like to have a word with you inside, if you please."
Nervous from what the doctor just said, he reluctantly enters the room where Gwen's father sits beside her while holding and caressing her hand with a depressed look. Captain Stacy appears to have sensed his presence as he doesn't turn around but…
"Peter, is that you?" George asked.
"Y-yes sir…" Peter replied, closing the door.
"Did you close the door?" George asks again.
"Yes sir," Peter replied again, standing near his side. "You...called for me, sir?"
"Yes, I did, because I wish to talk with you, Peter, or should I say, Spider-man?" George bluntly put, catching Peter off his guard from calling his secret identity.
"S-sir, I think you got me confused. I am just—"
"Don't try me, Spidey, I've known it was you since the many occasions we've bumped into each other," George warned, making him sit close to him and far away from the door. "But it's okay, there are no surveillance cameras inside and I don't have any recording tech on hand. Your secret's safe in here."
"B-b-but sir...I failed you. I failed in protecting your daughter. Today was all on me, I—"
"Now now, Peter, I know my daughter from a different angle. She made her own choices, stupid choices like I once did," George cuts him. "Not everything is your fault, Peter."
"But sir, I stole the ooze that roamed free and hurt your daughter, hurting Gwen. How can that be not my fault…!?" Peter confessed with his face downcast, ashamed to look him in the eyes.
"Peter, I'm pretty sure you won't stoop to a thief's level, even though you actually could—as Spider-man," George remarked. "But with all the good you did for the city, it's hard to believe in my opinion."
"Sir, it does not change the fact that Gwen got into this mess because of me...and my decisions," Peter replied before feeling a hand over his nape and back.
"Like I said, Peter, we make mistakes. I may be an officer of the law, but that does not mean I am perfect and bring every criminal to justice with all I got. We're not all perfect, and things happen as time goes. It hurts to make mistakes, but it is only through those mistakes that help us ensure that we avoid doing them again whenever we can," George assures, trying to comfort Peter. "Do you understand that, Peter?"
"I...I understand….sir…" Peter responded.
After their talk, Gwen slowly groans and awakens on her bed, catching their attention as she looks around the room.
"Good talk Peter. Please take care of her for a while. I'm actually not on break today, so I have to go," George requested before looking at his daughter. "Take care, Gwen."
He then leaves the two of them in the room and departs from the hospital for his work again. In the room, Peter and Gwen are left in an awkward situation after everything crazy that happened. But then, Peter breaks the silence…
"So uh...how are you feeling, Gwen?" Peter nervously asks.
"Pete, I'm sorry," Gwen answered, confusing Peter from her response. "Pete, I almost tried to kill you, and then it was so sudden with all the awful emotions that thing got over me and used my body against...you…"
"Gwen, it's okay, you weren't thinking straight, and you were not in control for a while," Peter assures before embracing her tightly. "I'm just glad you're alright."
"...Peter…" Gwen returned the embrace, relieved and content with Peter's presence before giving him the "look". "So, Spider-man, is there anything you have to say?"
"Um—ugh, yes," Peter sighed in defeat from her sudden mood change and tried to briefly explain his beginnings as Spider-man and all the troubles he's been through working his butt off with two different identities. "Look, I'm sorry about not telling you all of this. I didn't mean to completely hide it from you, because I was going to tell you sooner if it weren't for the Goblin and….you know the rest…."
"Yeah...I can't imagine what it's like being in your shoes," Gwen remarked in a sympathetic tone. "I'm sorry again, I was being too insensitive, but that is because you wouldn't tell me. And I respected that because I….!?"
From there, Gwen shuts up because she was about to say those three heartfelt words to Peter, remembering how much Liz meant to him when he was left alone from her and Harry. But then Peter takes and caresses her hand, to show that he genuinely cares for her as well, causing her to shed some tears.
"G-Gwen? Is something wrong?" Peter asks.
"I just, I just feel like I've let you down, didn't I?" Gwen confessed, referring to her moments wearing the suit.
"Well uh, to be honest, you surprised me a lot in more ways than one when you were wearing that suit," Peter nervously complimented. "You were able to use the suit in ways that I couldn't do, if only you could actually control it somehow or just keep it under wraps, you know what I mean?"
"Hmmmm, maybe so, but what if there actually could be a way to control it? Or specifically, agree with it?" Gwen proposes, sounding like herself again around Peter.
"Sounds great, but how exactly?" Peter wonders.
"Um, that...still needs some thinking, but I believe it could work," Gwen replies. "I'll probably get an idea after a good night's rest."
"Yeah, you need it. After all, you did exercise harder than the athletes back at school," Peter joked.
"Thanks Peter," Gwen smiled brightly before embracing him warmly,
"Of course, Gwen. Anytime," Peter replied back as he returned the embrace while keeping in mind of Liz's presence outside of the room.
"Ah Peter, there's something I wanna tell you," Gwen replied.
"Yeah, and what is—"
Before Peter could finish, Gwen plants her on his cheek and leaves him stunned from the sudden kiss.
"That's for...believing in me, Pete. Thank you," Gwen smiles with content, making Peter blush in response.
"Ehehehe, no problem Gwen! Anything for you," Peter answered back with a smile before opening the door. "See you later Gwen. Get some rest."
"Take care Peter," Gwen bade, waving him goodbye as he leaves the room.
'You could have asked him to stay, right?' The symbiote, severely wounded after the last battle, deadpanned in her mind in a new tomboyish voice and tone—probably from Gwen's female DNA.
'Oh be quiet! Anyways, um, Venom, is it?' Gwen awkwardly asks.
'Yes? And by the way, Venom is the just name of my parent, just to be clear,' the symbiote replied.
'Oh I see, hmm, so then what should I call you?' Gwen asks.
'You tell me, it's your call,' the symbiote backfired.
'Hmmmm,' Gwen strolls on her train of thought, thinking of possible names. 'Is...is Mania alright with you?'
'Why Mania? Anything special about that?' the symbiote wondered.
'Just thought of it, why?' Gwen plainly replied.
'Hmmm, whatever you say, your call,' the symbiote now named Mania, accepts her new name.
'Cool, and um, back to business, I have a proposition for you,' Gwen proposes with Mania and explains her detailed proposition that enables them to coordinate and see eye-to-eye, something even Peter hasn't thought of.
'You think I could easily adjust to you, just because you're my host, I don't think so,' Mania protested.
'But without me, you are gonna have to find a better host than me, which is like, a low chance of finding,' Gwen smirked at the thought, taking Mania aback.
'Urrgh—fine, I get it, girl. You win, your choice,' Mania gave in, laying down in Gwen's mind comfortably. 'By the way, with me around, you know you won't stay in this hospital for long, right?'
'I probably guessed that, thanks,' Gwen thanked before tucking herself in the hospital bed. 'G'night.'
'Yeah, sure,' Mania replied back, leaving her host to sleep and rest from all the trouble she put her through.
—To be continued
