AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hi everyone, and welcome to the third story in my 'Gwen Stacy: Sensational Spider-Woman' series, which is based on the "What If...? Dark: Spider-Gwen' comic released last year.

This latest story is a direct remake of 'The Deadly Dust' by Robert Janes, a 2-part adventure from the short-lived Amazing Spider-Man live action series from the 1970s, with my version substituting various characters from the TV version with ones from the original comics. It also incorporates elements from 'Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #47' and the 2014 graphic novel 'Amazing Spider-Man: Family Business'. In particular, I've decided to introduce my own version of Peter Parker's sister, Teresa, into my continuity, giving her a slightly different backstory compared to the official one in the comics, and I've also opted to feature the Rose as my main villain, establishing him as an even more ruthless and coldblooded baddie compared to the main continuity version.

Many thanks to MayoTango131, for giving some great story suggestions here, and to jettmanas, who helped establish a new look for Teresa.

As always, all characters and concepts are owned by Marvel. This story is purely written for entertainment purposes, with no copyright infringement intended.

High up at the top of an tall office block in New York City, a scene of considerable drama was unfolding, which looked set for a potentially tragic ending. A young woman by the name of Pam Talbot had climbed out through a window and was now standing on the edge of the ledge, preparing to make the ultimate decision. Life had not been particularly easy for her in the last few years, and recently, events had reached the point that she felt she could not cope with life anymore and just wanted to be rid of it all. Yet despite this conviction, Pam was still a bit unsure of her decision, which was why she had remained on the ledge for the last hour, morosely contemplating her life, as she gazed down at the mass of people and emergency vehicles that had gathered at the very bottom. She could almost feel their eyes bore into her, as they waited with bated breath to see if she would indeed make that final leap.

As Pam teetered perilously on the edge of the ledge, trying to gather her resolve, she was distracted by the voice of the priest leaning through the window next to her. He had been urgently called over by the police fifteen minutes ago, and was trying desperately to get Ms Talbot to reconsider her choice.

"Please, my child!" pleaded the Priest. "Do not do this! Consider what you're throwing away!"

"Just leave me alone!" sobbed Pam tearfully. "Nothing in my life has ever gone right and I can't take it anymore!"

"My dear, you must reconsider," said the Priest gently, hoping at least that he could delay the distraught young woman long enough for the emergency services to arrive and rescue her. "Life is too precious to throw away. However bleak things may look now for you, you must have faith that the future will be brighter."

There was a moment's pause that seemed to last an eternity, and then, Pam Talbot slowly nodded her head, her earlier conviction crumbling like dust, and she held out her hand towards the Priest.

"You're right, Reverend. This isn't what I really want. Will you help me back in?"

"Of course, my child," said the Priest in relief, as he reached out his own hand towards her.

But before Pam could get hold of the Priest's hand, a sudden gust of wind hit that particular side of the building, causing her to lose her footing on the ledge. With a cry of terror, Pam found herself plummeting downwards towards the streets below, and she thought she could hear equal screams of alarm from the huge crowd of spectators that had gathered there. In that moment, she realised that she had made a dreadful mistake, but it was now apparently far too late to change her mind.

However, just as all hope seemed lost, there came the blurry outline of a masked figure in a blue hoodie in the corner of Pam's eye, and the next second, she was surprised when someone grabbed her and sent them both flying upwards.

SWOOSH!

It all happened so fast, that the shocked Pam Talbot did not know what was happening. But the crowd below could clearly see what had just miraculously happened.

"Hey, look! It's that Spider-Woman!" cried one bystander in amazement, pointing upwards. "She managed to grab that girl in mid-air!"

Swinging upwards on a web-line, whilst keeping a firm hold on her passenger, Spider-Woman breathed a huge sigh of relief. She had scarcely arrived at the scene of the emergency, when she had spotted the young woman falling downwards to her doom, whereupon Gwen Stacy had swung downwards with all her speed and just managed to grab the woman before she could make a very messy splat on the pavement. Then, she sent herself swinging upwards with Pam, landing on the side of the building next to the open window, where the Priest was waiting with a look of both relief and astonishment on his face.

"Here ya go, Vicar, special delivery!" smiled Spider-Woman, as she helped a breathless and weeping Pam clamber back into the room and fall straight into the comforting arms of the Priest.

"God bless you, Spider-Woman," said the Priest gratefully, before the young superhero swiftly swung away on her web-lines, the crowd of bystanders below cheering and clapping loudly away.

"Phew! That was a real close one," remarked Spider-Woman to herself, thinking how lucky it had been that she happened to have spotted all the emergency vehicles heading over to the building while she had been patrolling the city . "Now I better get back to ESU, before I end up being late for work!"

It took Spider-Woman virtually no time to reach the campus at Empire State University, and after finding a quiet spot where she would not be noticed, she took off her mask and quickly changed back into her civilian identity of Doctor Gwen Stacy, specialist in biochemistry. Since getting her doctorate and starting her job as a scientist at ESU, Gwen had gone for wearing outfits of a more business casual style. Her most common look these-days consisted of a white shirt with the top collar button undone; a skinny straight black tie loosely done up around her neck and under the collar of the shirt; a light-beige blazer jacket; black jeans; and black leather shoes. Overall, this particular outfit made her look quite smart and elegant, and she had taken to wearing it regularly, even on days when she was not at work.

After making sure her costume and equipment were safely stored in the hidden compartment of the satchel bag she tended to carry around with her, Gwen emerged from hiding and gave a cheery smile as she walked briskly across the campus and headed for her lab, feeling the welcoming warmth of the sunlight that was beaming down on the university. But as she made her way inside the main building, she spotted three irate-looking students having what appeared to be a very intense discussion indeed.

"I tell you, it's just asking for trouble!" said a handsome-looking young man by the name of Craig Jefferson firmly. "Bringing even a small amount of plutonium onto campus, with next to no security, is irresponsibly dangerous."

"I agree," said Carla Wilson, an attractive young woman with short blonde hair. "What if someone stole it and used it to build an atomic bomb or something? It could be disastrous for the whole city!"

"Whoa there! What's all this talk about Armageddon day?" asked Gwen as she came over to join the students.

"Oh, hey, Doctor Stacy," said Ted Stevens, an intelligent guy with glasses and curly brown hair. "We were just talking about Doctor Baylor. He's planning to build and operate a nuclear reactor, right here at the university! He's had five kilos of plutonium brought onto campus just today. It's stored in the lab's so-called 'safe' room right now."

"Oh yeah, I had heard about that from the Dean," sighed Gwen, as she recalled hearing how Baylor had been granted clearance for his planned experiment a couple of weeks ago. "I can understand why you guys don't much like the sound of that, having a potential atomic bomb right on campus."

"Sure we don't like it!" said Craig bitterly. "Even if Dr Baylor does succeed in building his reactor, what if the plutonium gets exposed to the atmosphere?"

"Yeah, if anyone inhaled plutonium oxide, they'd be dead in a matter of hours!" added Carla.

"They don't call that stuff the 'Deadly Dust' for nothing," nodded Ted.

"The doc just can't see the dangers," continued Craig wearily. "The security here is not good enough. Anyone could just waltz in here and steal that plutonium! Then we'd really be in trouble."

"Hey, take it easy, you three!" said Gwen soothingly. "I'm sure Dr Baylor will be taking every precaution to prevent any risk of contamination. But I do appreciate your concerns. I will talk to the Dean about possibly tightening security a bit more. After all, you can't be too careful where radiation is concerned, can you?"

"Thanks, Doctor Stacy," said Carla. "Though maybe the doc still needs a push to realise the hazards."

Gwen raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

"Uh, I dunno, maybe you could ask your friends from the police force if they might help to better guard the plutonium?" said Carla quickly. "That might encourage Doctor Baylor to take matters more seriously."

"Hey, that's not a bad idea!" smiled Gwen. "I'll certainly give it a try. Anyway, I need to get going, and you three better get to your next class."

Later on that day, Gwen met up with Dr John Baylor at the staff common room, and told him about her talk with Craig, Carla and Ted, and their fears about the plutonium.

"Gwen, believe me, I appreciate and understand their concerns," said Baylor gently. "But I also believe the potential benefit is well worth the risk. Nuclear power is the way of the future."

"There are more than a few environmental groups who would strongly disagree with that line of thinking, John," said Gwen somberly. "Especially where nuclear power is concerned and the way it's handled in major population areas. But in any case, I think that Carla's suggestion of tightening security is a good one. I've just had a quick word with the Dean, and he thinks it's a sensible idea too. When I finish my work in the lab today, I'm going to go and talk with Jean DeWolff, and see if she's happy to try and arrange for some officers to be sent over to keep an extra eye on the plutonium. "

"If it'll make you feel easier," said Baylor wearily. "But I think you're all fretting over nothing. Even if someone did manage to break in and steal the plutonium, they'd hardly have the knowhow to build an atomic bomb."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that either," said Gwen, slightly annoyed at Baylor's complacent attitude. "With so much information in the public libraries and on the internet, anyone with some knowledge of physics could build one. Think of how the public would react if that happened! I know this sounds like paranoia to you, but I've a feeling that this is a potentially explosive situation, quite literally!"

"Well, at least you won't be around to worry about it for a while, Gwen," grinned Debra Whitman, as she came over to join in. She was a friendly young blonde-haired woman with a sharp intelligence, who worked in the biophysics department, and has often helped Gwen out with her biochemistry experiments in the lab. "I hear that you'll be off in a few days to spend a couple of weeks in sunny California."

"That's right, Deb," smiled Gwen. "It's going to be something of a busman's holiday. You see, there's going to be a major science conference in Los Angeles, just a day after the President will be attending the governors conference there, and guess who's been selected to go and represent ESU?"

"Lucky you! I for one am really jealous," smirked Debra, as she straightened the glasses perched on the end of her nose. "Well I sure hope you have a great time there. And try not to worry about NY going bang while you're away. All that nasty plutonium is going to be kept safely out of harm's way here, where no-one can get at it."

Alas, Debra Whitman's assurances were to prove premature and Gwen's fears of an 'explosive situation' were to turn out to be prophetic. For at that very moment elsewhere in New York, a rather unscrupulous-looking middle-aged figure with short scruffy red hair was in his rundown and slightly smelly motel room, talking agitatedly with his current employer over the phone.

"But, Sir, you can't seriously expect me to steal plutonium from the University?" he protested. "That stuff is lethal! I'd come down with radiation sickness or something!"

On the other end of the line, the man known simply as 'the Rose' chuckled. "My dear Prowler, the plutonium will be quite safe so long as it remains in the lead container. I have every confidence in you that you will be able to sneak into the building and extract it right from under the noses of those incompetent security guards. But you must do it tonight and no later. My sources have just reported reported that the NYPD may be sending over some men in a couple of days to act as extra security. Apparently, it seems one of the professors who works at the university has some close friends in the police department. So you will need to move fast."

"If you say so, boss," mumbled the Prowler. "You really want that stuff?"

"Well of course I want it! It's my business. Once it's in my possession, I shall sell it to the highest bidder."

The Prowler sighed. "Okay. But you better be ready to take it off my hands as soon as possible."

"Relax, my dear fellow. I will be arriving in New York tomorrow and shall meet you to personally take the merchandise off your hands. You shall be handsomely rewarded, I promise you."

"You can rely on me, boss."

"I should hope so. For should there be any slip-ups, or any sign of you attempting a double-cross, then I shall be most displeased. And you would not like me when I'm displeased. Remember that."

The Prowler gave a nervous gulp as he put down the phone and started gathering up his gear. The costume and equipment he had stolen a few months ago from the basement of that guy, Hobie Brown, had proved ideal so far for the jobs he was now doing for the Rose. But he doubted it would offer much protection if any of that radioactive material leaked out of its lead container while he stole it. Still, whatever the Rose wants, the Rose gets, no matter what...

Meanwhile, a scene that would prove to be of some considerable significance was taking place at John F. Kennedy International Airport, as a passenger jet from San Francisco gracefully touched down on the runway. Inside the plane, a young woman, of about twenty-one or twenty-two years of age, leaned forward in her chair and peered through the window as the jet slowly came to a halt, her heart feeling some considerable excitement, as well as some trepidation. She was an attractive girl with dark-green eyes and ginger hair done in a trendy pixie cut with a stylish quiff on the top. Her attire consisted of a red leather jacket, a colourful abstract-patterned top, petrel blue grey jeans and red lace-up ankle boots, an attire that made her look quite the modern-day adventurer.

The young lady's name was Teresa Durand, and she was hopefully nearing the end of her quest to discover her past, which until recently was a total mystery to her. She had been adopted when she was just a newborn baby, and no-one knew where she had come from, not even her adoptive parents, as her birth records, oddly, apparently did not exist. As she grew older, Teresa became more and more curious as to who her true parents were and why they had seemingly abandoned her. So at the age of eighteen, she took up a job as a freelance journalist, becoming a rather successful one for her young age, and she travelled all over the world, searching for any clues to her hidden past. For the past three-to-four years, she had explored every nook and cranny, and more than once, she sadly thought that she might never find out who she really was.

But then, one day, a DNA search to track down Teresa's genetic heritage found a match, with a man who had died a few short years ago. A man who may have been Teresa's older brother, who had been brought up by his Aunt and Uncle, unaware that he ever had a younger sister.

That man's name was Peter Parker.

With this first clue to the identity of her true family, Teresa began searching through the records concerning Peter's parents, Richard and Mary, and she learnt that they had been undercover C.I.A. agents who had been killed whilst on a mission. After their deaths, they had been framed as being traitors by the third individual bearing the moniker of the Red Skull, and their names had ultimately been cleared a few years ago by the masked adventurer known as Spider-Man. There was no mention of the Parkers ever having a daughter, so it seemed that if Richard and Mary were Teresa's parents, then she must have been born whilst they were on an undercover assignment and just before they had died, resulting in her being orphaned to foster care.

As it happened, Teresa's search ended up drawing the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D., and one evening, she was surprised to find Nick Fury himself waiting for her in her hotel room. Fury had been the one who originally recruited Richard and Mary into the C.I.A., and he was curious to know if Teresa might indeed be the Parkers' daughter. So, he took Teresa to one of the top-level safe houses that Richard and Mary had used years before, where they discovered a hidden room, containing various files and information about the Parkers' missions. It was there that Teresa found her missing birth certificate and photos of her as a newborn baby, in the arms of her mother, Mary Parker.

There was no longer any doubt that Teresa Durand's birth name was Teresa Parker, but it still seemed a somewhat sombre conclusion to her search, since her parents, her uncle, and her brother were all dead now before she had even gotten a chance to know any of them. However, she did have one surviving relation in New York, and Teresa was about to meet her in person for the first time.

As Teresa disembarked the plane with her fellow passengers, she quickly picked up her luggage and made her way to the arrival area, where she was greeted by a kindly-looking old woman, accompanied by a man of the same age in a wheelchair.

"Uh, hi there," smiled Teresa, feeling understandably nervous at meeting the sole remaining member of her birth family. "I guess you must be May."

"And you must be Teresa," smiled May Parker, as she gave her newfound niece a heartfelt embrace. "My word, I can hardly believe it. It's so good to finally meet you. When you first got in touch with me a few weeks ago, well, I just didn't know what to think! It was like something out of a fairytale."

"Yeah, I know exactly how you feel," smiled Teresa, as she wiped a small tear from her eye.

Reluctantly breaking off the embrace, May took in the appearance of her niece. "My goodness, you do have so much of your parents in you, like your mother's eyes. You also remind me so much of Peter, the dear sweet boy."

When Teresa had first contacted May a couple of months ago and explained that she was Peter's sister, the old lady had been surprised to say the least and naturally wanted to make sure that was neither a mistake or a cruel hoax. Teresa understood and had sent over all the details she had uncovered to May. After verifying the authenticity of the evidence regarding Teresa's original heritage, May became quite keen to meet her niece and get to know her, just as Teresa was keen to learn more about her real family. Now, seeing Teresa in person for the first time, May had no further doubt left. In her heart, she knew this young woman was indeed Peter Parker's younger long-lost sister.

She then gestured to her companion in the wheelchair. "Oh, I'm forgetting my manners. Teresa, this is Nathan, my fiancé, who helped me set up my home into a boarding house."

"It's good to meet you, Teresa," said Nathan Lubensky cheerily, as he shook Teresa warmly by the hand. "It was swell of you to come down here. It really means a lot to May."

"It means a lot to me too," said Teresa happily. "I've been searching for my real family for so long, and I've still got so many questions..."

"Well, I'd be happy to tell you all I remember about your parents, dear," said May, as they began to make their way out of the airport and towards the taxi. "And about your brother too. As a matter of fact, I think I know someone-else who'll be able to tell you much about dear Peter. We can perhaps meet up with her on the way."

"Sounds terrific," said Teressa. "So what's her name?"

"Gwen," said May. "I'm afraid I haven't gotten a chance to tell her about you yet. Gracious, she'll almost certainly be surprised to meet you!"

"Sorry, Gwen," said Jean DeWolff, as she leaned back in the comfy chair behind the desk of her office at police headquarters. "But a few extra patrols around the block is the best I've been able to arrange at such short notice. I might be able to arrange for some more men to head over to ESU to help with security, but not for a few days at least."

"That's okay, Jean," sighed Gwen, as she stood on the other side of the desk. After finishing her work at ESU for the day, she had headed over to the precinct to make her extra security request to Jean in person. "Thanks anyway. Perhaps the appearance of more patrol cars alone might reassure the students, and discourage anyone who may want to get their grubby hands on the plutonium."

"You're really worried about that radioactive stuff getting swiped, aren't you?" observed Jean, noting the anxious expression on Gwen's face.

"Sure I am! Can you imagine what would happen if someone stole that plutonium and used it to build a bomb? It's frighteningly more easy to construct than you realise. Heck, I could build one, and nuclear physics isn't even my main field of expertise!"

"So it could blow up the city and turn it into a radioactive wasteland," said Jean with a slight shiver. "Guess it's just as well that this thing hasn't already been publicised in the news. After all, the fewer people who catch on to the fact that this stuff is at ESU, the less likely it'll be to get snatched."

"Perhaps," said Gwen. "To be honest, I'm also a bit worried how some of the students already aware of the plutonium are feeling about it. I was talking to three of them earlier today, and they're none too happy about the material being on Campus. I'm hoping that they won't be encouraged to do anything foolhardy."

Picking up her satchel bag, Gwen prepared to leave. "Anyway, I'll catch up with you later. I've got a text from Mrs Parker, asking if I could meet her and her fiancée at a restaurant in town. Rather short notice, but it seems that there's someone she wants to me to meet."

"Oh? Playing matchmaker is she?" said Jean teasingly.

"No idea," grinned Gwen. "But it wouldn't hurt to find out. And with Mary Jane away in Paris doing modelling work for Janet Van Dyne's fancy fashion gala, it has been fairly quiet around here lately, and it would be nice to catch up with Peter's aunt and see how she's doing. I'll catch you later!"

With a friendly wave, Gwen made her way out of the precinct and hailed herself a taxi, which soon got going to take her over to the restaurant where May had asked Gwen to meet her and Nathan. Leaning back in the passenger seat, Gwen pondered why May wanted so suddenly to see her. Maybe the dear old lady had finally decided on a date for her and Nathan's wedding. Gwen smiled a little at this thought, thinking how lucky May was to have found Nathan Lubensky. He was a friendly and cheery kind of person, if a little gruff at times, and he was very much devoted to May. And after all that May had lost, it was good that she had found someone to share her life with.

Gwen hoped that someday she might find love again too. She had largely moved on from the grief of losing Peter, especially after the Secret Wars that she and Mary Jane had recently endured in that far distant galaxy, and she had no intention of spending her life all alone. But between being a scientist and a costumed crime-fighter, Gwen had not exactly found time to form a solid relationship, and she wondered if May was indeed playing matchmaker, finding a potential boyfriend for Gwen, as Jean had jokingly implied.

"Well, I'll soon find out," Gwen thought to herself, as the taxi pulled over by the restaurant. After paying the cabbie, Gwen walked pleasantly through the main doors and made her way to the reception area, where she was greeted by a waiter.

"Hi there," said Gwen. "I'm looking for a table booked by a Mrs Parker?"

"Ah yes, madam," said the waiter courteously. "The charming lady said that you were coming to meet her party. They're just over there."

He gestured to a booth, and Gwen immediately recognised May and Nathan sitting at the table, accompanied by a young woman with short ginger-coloured hair. Upon taking in the appearance of the girl, who seemed to be in her early twenties, Gwen paused. She was certain that she had never met the lady before, and yet, there was something about her that seemed strangely familiar. She almost looked like...

Gwen shrugged to herself and dismissed the crazy idea, as she made her way over to the table. Perhaps she had simply seen the woman's face in a magazine or something. Whoever she was, she seemed to be getting on well with May.

"Gwen, dear, how lovely of you to come," greeted May, friendly as ever in her manner, yet the look in her eyes seemed slightly nervous for some reason.

"My pleasure, May. It's nice to see you and Nathan again," smiled Gwen, as she gave May a quick hug, before sitting down at the table. "So, what was it you wanted to see me about? If you don't mind me saying so, your message sounded quite cryptic to say the least."

"That's because we've got a bit of a bombshell to tell you," said Nathan with a mysterious grin, before he gestured to the young girl with them. "This is Teresa. She's come to visit her Aunt in New York for a few days."

Teresa smiled and held out her hand in greeting. "Hi! You must be Gwen. May and Nathan have been telling me much about you. It's nice to meet you."

"Ditto," said Gwen as she accepted the handshake and smiled back, though she was still unsure what exactly was going on. "So, do I take it your Aunt is a friend of May's?"

May Parker drew her breath, before she carefully delivered the bombshell that Nathan had mentioned. "Actually, dear, I'm her aunt. You see... Teresa is Peter's sister. The one he never knew he had."

Upon hearing this, Gwen's eyes bulged like those of a fish and her jaw dropped fast, the shocked expression on her face so hilarious that Nathan had to restrain himself from chuckling.

"Wha... What did you just say?" Gwen managed to say after finding her voice again.

"It's true, Gwen," said Teresa gently, understanding the young blonde woman's disbelief. "I'm Peter Parker's sister."

For several seconds, Gwen did not know what to say, and she slumped dazedly back in her chair, her mind trying to process this surprising twist. Then, pulling herself together, she managed to say:

"Waiter! I think I'm going to need a really strong drink, please, while my friends try to explain to me what the heck is going on?!"

TO BE CONTINUED!