As composed as Gwen seemed, her mind was racing and trying to process everything. About a week ago, she was living out her normal life in her room, when some black hole sucked her in and dragged her into this other dimension that's near identical. Except this dimension had its own Spider-Man, who recently died. And the man behind the mask was Peter Parker of all people, the guy who resembled her late closest friend from her dimension all too well. They even shared the exact same name.

But then she encountered another Spider-Man: Miles Morales. When she asked what dimension he came from, he answered with Brooklyn. Hilarious, but it was safe to assume he always lived here. But then she encounters another Spider-Man who goes by Peter B. Parker. Unlike Miles, he came from a different dimension, so he and Gwen were on the same boat. Although, seeing Miles, she had no problem with. Seeing Peter B. Parker, however, was hard on her. This man looked like an older version of her late friend.

"Here we are." Peter said, stopping Miles who was following him while carrying Gwen on his back. The three saw the house they were supposed to go to: May Parker's house. The three had a computer they stole from Alchemax, the company responsible for making the Super-Collider, a machine that accidentally brought Gwen and Peter into this dimension. They needed this computer so that they could make an override key, aka goober, to take control of this Super-Collider, and send them back to their respective dimensions. The three had never met this May, but knowing she was related to Spider-Man, going to see her was their best bet of getting any help. The front yard was accompanied with memorials mourning Spider-Man's death. Gwen tried to ignore it. She even tried to tell herself that it was only Spider-Man being mourned. But deep down, she couldn't deny who was behind the mask. The Peter in this dimension is dead, just like her Peter. She was practically reliving an emotionally destructive experience.

She has just finished grieving over her best friend. She doesn't want to do it again. Not now. Never again.

She was distracted upon seeing May open the door and be fascinated by Peter B. Seeing her interact with another Peter Parker was somewhat… beautiful and depressing. She could sense the melancholic joy inside May as she reunited with a Peter Parker. However, the moment was ruined by the older lady's comment on his attire. "…Are those sweatpants?"

Thankfully, May knew what to do with the broken goober they brought. They were led into her house, which looked typical yet comfortable. That was until Gwen saw more photographs of Peter around the place. She sighed. It's not your Peter.

May asks them an intriguing question before leading them into the living room. "You think you're the only people who thought to come here?" Gwen was about to ask what she meant until she went in the room and found out for herself.

"Hey, fellas." In front of them were three more Spider-People who stood up. That greeting came from a man wearing a long dark coat. His face was more or less identical to Peter's, save for the round spectacles.

Next to him was, to put it bluntly, a cartoon pig. "This could literally not get any weirder," commented Peter. Gwen seconded that, and she bet Miles thirded it.

Then there was the third person, standing partially behind the first guy. Gwen felt most relieved from this one, realising she wasn't the one and only female Spider-Person. The third person in question was a smaller anime-looking girl, and while she may be wearing an oversized hoodie with no sign of a Spider suit, Gwen's Spidey senses confirmed this girl is in fact just like her. Her stare must've scared the smaller girl as the latter shied away and hid more of herself behind the man. Gwen internally sighed to herself for looking too intimidating.

"Alright, guys," the elder lady announced, "Take your time to get to know one another. I'll be back in a few moments."

A friendly icebreaker event was nothing like what Gwen had in mind, and from the looks on Miles and Peter B's faces, she'd be speaking for them too.

Or perhaps not, as those two guys simply made a beeline for the other guy and pig. They seem mostly fascinated by the pig, and while she doesn't blame them, she thinks his dimension must be ridiculous. He probably has some comedic origin story or something. Speaking of which, she overheard him introducing himself as Peter Porker, and giggled to herself. Yup, ridiculous.

Gwen does a second take and then realises she's feeling a little left out. She realises the smaller girl on the other side of the room seems to not only be quiet as well but is also shooting glances right back at her. Gwen contemplates whether she should approach her after scaring her earlier.

Peter Benjamin, the guy with the round spectacles, noticed the smaller girl using him as a shield. "What's the matter, Peni?"

"Oh. I'm just shy… That's all."

He follows the girl's line of sight, then points at Gwen and asks in an unsubtle volume, "You shy about that girl?"

"Peter!" Peni grabs his arm and forces it down. While Peter Benjamin means well, he's blunt and rough around the edges when it comes to socialising. He didn't go unheard by Gwen, but she felt reassured knowing Peni was just shy and not scared. Now begs the next question: should she go there right now, or wait until the smaller girl is isolated and thus comfortable enough to be approached?

"Now she knows we're talking about her," scolds Peni quietly.

Peter Benjamin rubs the back of his neck. "Sorry."

"I'm just shy because," Due to Peni's expressive nature, it's easy for her to get red, "she looks really cool. But… I'm scared that she might not want to talk to me."

Peter Benjamin puts a finger to his chin in deep thought while looking ahead, unknowingly staring at Gwen in the process. A moment later, he turns back to Peni. "You know, Peni? A curse about being a Spider-Person is it's impossible to find someone who is like you. But thanks to the collider bringing us together, we're probably the coolest people that girl's ever seen." Peter Benjamin reassured Peni with a boop on her nose. "You might be even cooler because you're the only other girl in here. Might make her feel more at ease."

Peni nodded, feeling much more determined now. "Thanks." Taking a moment to compose herself, the younger girl begins making her way towards Gwen, albeit while looking down. However, her field of vision allowed her to see Gwen's feet that were also approaching her. That almost stunned her, but she continued walking slower until they're in front of one another.

"…Hey, there," were the first words she heard from Gwen.

Peni managed to stutter out a "Hi", and it was only now she realised she was starting to sweat.

"My name's Gwen."

Peni looked a little to the side. "My name's… Peni."

Gwen noticed the sweat and anxiety. "Nervous, are we?"

Peni looked up. We?

The taller girl resumed. "It was only about a week ago when I found out I wasn't the one and only Spider-Person. And now I find out there are three more of you. It's pretty overwhelming, huh?"

"Erm… Yeah. But that's not exactly why I was nervous…"

Before Gwen could ask for the reason, May re-emerges from the corridor, with a tray. "I hope you guys are getting along nicely." The group's attention was brought to what May was carrying with the tray. Some of them didn't even need to see it, for its scent was enough to attract them: wheat cakes.

As expected, Peter B. was among the most excited and the first to take a piece with a rhetorical question. "Oh, May, how did you know I love these?"

"Lucky guess." One by one, the guys took a piece, and so did Gwen.

Her best friend loved this treat. Great, now she's being reminded of him, and it's making her unable to stomach not only this cake, but also unable to stomach being here. "Um… May? Can I use your bathroom?"

"Sure. It's the first white door upstairs."

She nodded gratefully and excused herself rather too quickly, which didn't go unnoticed. The others were rightfully a little worried. As she was about to go up the staircase, she saw a photograph of this dimension's Peter by the stairs. That's when she decided going to the bathroom wasn't enough.

The others heard a different door open and close, implying Gwen had left to the backyard.

Peter B. turned to Miles. "Any idea what's up with her?"

"I uh… think this place reminds her of Peter. He was her best friend in her dimension. He's dead too."

The other looked down. "Poor girl," May commented.

"Peni," suggested Peter Benjamin, "Why don't you go check on her? I think it'll do her good."

Peni looked at him and turned to the others who were in approval.

"I think it's a good idea," Miles said, "she needs to know there are more people who'll be there for her."

Honestly, she was already considering going, but she didn't want to risk making Gwen feel worse. But as a good friend, she'll try to console her anyway and give her space if Gwen demands it. "Okay."

Passing the kitchen and grabbing her backpack, she opened the door as quietly as she could and saw Gwen lying spread-eagled in the middle of the grass. Gwen looked peaceful and it made Peni reconsider whether she should interrupt the peace.

"I can hear you being quiet, Peni."

Peni was startled, but she decided to make her way over and sit down next to her. She put a hand in her backpack and placed some candy between the two of them. "Help yourself," she said.

"Thanks." Gwen eyed some of the candy and stuffed a cherry flavoured jawbreaker in her mouth.

"You like cherry?"

"Yup. It's a good balance of sweet and sour for me."

Peni nodded and moved more cherry flavoured candy in front of Gwen. She decided to join her and lay down.

A minute or so of silence passed while laying down and eating candy together, Gwen finally opened up. "That was bitchy of me earlier. You and May and the others were nice to me, but I couldn't stand being in that house."

"It's okay. You've got your reasons."

Another minute of blissful silence passed until Gwen spoke. "You're like me, right? Then, maybe you can understand what I'm going through?"

"I'll try to be helpful."

"Okay. So, a long time ago, something happened in my dimension. I had a best friend. His name was Peter Parker. Long story short: he basically died. And for the past week, ever since I got sucked into this dimension, I keep getting reminded of him. There's the two Peters who are alive and well in May's living room as we speak, who look just like him. Then there's news about this dimension's Peter's death. Then there's May. She's being nice, but I almost lost it at her offering that cake. They were Peter's favourite too. And then there's memorials about him decorated around the house. All these things make me feel like my best friend had died only yesterday. I thought I got over it, but I don't want to have to get over it again."

"I'm sorry about your Peter, Gwen."

Gwen turned to her. "Um… Have you ever… lost someone important like that?"

Peni nodded. The other girl couldn't tell whether she should press on, but her silence was enough for Peni to be more specific. "It was my father." She noticed Gwen looking more pained, so she was quick to reassure her. "It's fine. I'm fine. But… if I was in a universe where another version of my dad had recently died and I was constantly reminded of him, I think I'd lose it too." She took a moment before asking, "Would you be okay with telling me how Peter died?" She knew she ran the risk of upsetting Gwen more, but since the latter had done a pretty good job at talking about him, Peni figured talking more about him will likely do her good.

Luckily, Gwen only sighed and sat up, then gave her answer. "He turned into a literal monster. I think he wanted to have revenge on the bullies. I didn't know the monster was really him and I just fought him as Spider-Woman. At some point during the fight, a pillar fell on him. He started transforming back into the Peter I know, but he was already dying, and it was too late to do anything about it."

Gwen didn't notice it, but by the time she had finished talking, her head was hung low and she brought her knees up to rest her head on. Her breaths were shuddered while reliving the moment, but she hadn't teared up. Peni wanted to do something to make her feel better.

She sat up.

She then shuffled closer to Gwen and hesitantly placed her hand on Gwen's back, gently rubbing it on occasion. It seems to work as her breathing was starting to gentle.

Gwen looked up and continued. "You know what makes it worse? My dad comes in while I was mourning him, but I fled because he was threatening me with a gun. And now, he thinks Spider-Woman was the one who killed Peter. I can't even come out as Spider-Woman to my dad who's supposed to be the closest person in my life. If I did, he'll probably try to arrest me."

Seconds passed by with the two girls being silent with one of them doing the back rubbing.

"Sometimes, with how I feel and what I've been through, it's hard to get along with my dad. All because he doesn't know I'm Spider-Woman. If the closest person to me wouldn't understand, then neither would anyone else. Not even my band members. It's why I didn't do friends after Peter died."

While Peni was somewhat glad for helping Gwen open up, she couldn't help feeling rejected as well. Gwen didn't do friends after all. She stopped rubbing and began retracting her arm when Gwen leant sideways against Peni's shoulder, stunning the latter. It was then she realised Gwen said the word "didn't", as in past tense.

"But, as you know," said Gwen, "having no friends really sucks. It gets so lonely. But I think I want to do friends again, especially with you and the others. I uh, I always thought people wouldn't understand me, but you're probably the only ones who do understand. So, uh…" Before Gwen could get any sappier for her taste, she stopped leaning on Peni and turned to hold a hand towards her. "…Friends?"

Peni held onto the hand and gave a sincere smile. "Friends."

Gwen smiles back, and it's the biggest smile Peni's seen yet. It looked as if Gwen was experiencing something happy for once in a long time. Her leg even started bouncing. "Sorry, uh, I'm just a little excited. Haven't had a friend for God knows how long, you know?"

A few moments later, the leg bouncing comes to a stop, and she signals for Peni to stay silent. The little girl obliged albeit confused, until she heard faint footsteps coming from behind them. Gwen smirked and continued staying silent, and so did Peni.

"She can hear us being quiet, can she?" That voice sounds like Peter Benjamin.

Gwen rolled her eyes and the two girls looked back. Everyone was there.

"Sorry," Miles apologised, "We got kind of worried."

Peter B. playfully snitched on the smaller boy despite him already coming out guilty. "Yeah, you should be sorry," he turned to Gwen and pointed at the suspect with a thumb, "it was his idea."

"Seriously?"

Gwen giggled. "How much did you guys hear, anyway?"

Miles rubbed his neck. "Uh… You know… the whole thing?"

She sighed. "I'm kinda glad. All I wanna do right now is get over Peter's death."

"We're here for you. You don't have to do it alone."

"If it makes you feel better," May offered, "Whenever you guys are here, I'll clear away the memorials."

"Are you really okay with that?"

"I am. Besides, I'm sure it's weirder for Peter over here to be reminded of a Peter Parker dying."

"Oh yeah," Peter B. agreed, "It's like a really strange out-of-body experience."

"On another note," Miles said to Gwen, "Just wanted a follow-up on whether you're ready for friends."

Gwen giggled. "Yeah. Friends. Same goes for the rest of you."

Peni felt relieved and strangely comfortable; despite meeting Gwen only an hour ago, this girl already feels like a best friend she's known for much longer. And seeing her happy definitely beats seeing her wanting to be alone.

"Well, that's great," said May, "Why don't we spend a little more time introducing ourselves, and then we can move onto talking about the collider." Everyone looked at her like they've forgotten about an impending doom to the universe. "No pressure."