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Just Another Day Arc Summary: After the events of Spider-Verse and Tall Story Gwen Stacy aka Spider-Woman thinks that things are returning to normal. She couldn't be more wrong. Request from Davros Fan
On the streets of New York the girl known as Gwen Stacy was still getting used to the fact that she was a costumed heroine. Under the name Spider-Woman it had become her goal to eliminate crime once and for all, one purse snatcher at a time. Her superhuman abilities which included being able to stick to walls, superhuman strength, agility and she could even create her own webbing. She also had something that she described as a spider sense which alerted her to any danger.
She didn't want to stop crime just for the fun of it. When she first picked up her superhuman abilities she had initially tried to become famous in the entertainment industry. However her good friend Peter Parker created his own serum to try and be special like her. The serum had turned him into a monster and even killed him but not before engaging in combat with Gwen. As Peter lay dying in her arms she had promised to use her abilities to help people in any way possible.
Unfortunately many people thought that Gwen was the one who had killed Peter and ever since then there had been a massive manhunt for her. On more than one occasion they had almost caught her but she was just able to slip through their fingers. One thing that she did have going for her was the fact that they didn't know that Gwen Stacy and Spider-Woman were one in the same.
There was one person who did know that Gwen was Spider-Woman and that was her father Captain George Stacy who at one point had even been at the head of the taskforce which was tasked with capturing her. Since he found out the truth he has tried to explain to his superiors that the costumed vigilante Spider-Woman was no threat. Unfortunately his pleas had fallen onto deaf ears as the search for her continued.
Things had gotten somewhat odd for her recently. She had been exposed to a compound which had turned her into a sixteen foot giant but the experience hadn't been all bad. She had seen the world from a new perspective and she had gained a new ally. This was one of the founding members of the Avengers. Her name was Doctor Janet Van Dyne who went under the codenames Wasp and Giant-Woman. After the whole experience Gwen had even been given a gift, it was a vial which would allow her to grow to sixty feet tall for around half an hour. Gwen had decided to keep it on her person as Spider-Woman just in case she truly needed it. It would be her ace in the hole if she was ever overpowered and there was no other way out.
Since then Gwen had gone through some other crazy things that were so fantastical that if she told anyone they would think that she was losing her mind. Instead for now she merely kept it to herself. She was even part of a band called the Mary Janes but if she told them about her secret she didn't know what would happen. They would probably think it was some kind of joke but after the realisation had set in they would discover that their drummer was none other than Spider-Woman. She thought that they were likely to call the police and then all hell would likely break loose.
On this day Gwen wasn't out fighting crime as Spider-Woman or practicing with her band. Instead she was taking a much needed rest, for the last several weeks straight she had been out stopping crime and making sure people were safe. It had taken its toll on her body and she really needed some rest and relaxation.
Gwen had decided to walk to a nearby mall to do some shopping, her father's birthday was coming up and she wanted to give him a special present. She knew that he loved her dearly but since her mother died some years before there had always been a low level sadness in him since then. He would tell her that she looked exactly like her mother with her long blond hair and piercing green eyes. She did wonder what her mother would have thought about her being a superheroine if she had known.
Despite the fact that this was Gwen's day off from being Spider-Woman she always made sure that she had her costume with her just in case anything happened. Which unfortunately for her seemed to be most of the time. Practically every time she had gone out to do something that she considered normal she would spot some kind of crime in progress. More than once she had considered just letting the offender do whatever they pleased but it would be breaking the promise that she made to Peter.
There was one other thing that was on Gwen's mind and that was the fact that she wasn't feeling one hundred percent. For the last few days she had been feeling off with some kind of illness but she couldn't particularly put her finger on what was wrong. Since gaining her superhuman abilities she had become somewhat resistant to diseases. She wasn't completely immune from them but she was certainly a lot more resistant than she was before. She knew that it was a cold and she had been taking a couple of pills to try and make her feel better but if anything she was feeling worse.
Regardless of how she felt Gwen had a mission while at the mall. Her father's birthday was coming up soon and she wanted to buy him a gift. She wanted to get him something very nice after everything that had happened and she was determined to find the perfect gift for him. However she planned to go around and find a few things for herself, summer was right around the corner and she wanted to pick out some more summer wear.
Gwen had been shopping around for about an hour before retiring to the food court for some much needed nourishment. She had discovered that over the last couple of weeks she needed to eat more than she normally did. She didn't know whether it was because of her powers or her recent size changes that had caused her appetite to increase. Either way she knew that she needed to eat.
In her need to satisfy her hunger Gwen bought enough burgers and fries to easily feed two people. She felt somewhat guilty for buying so much food but she was so hungry that she had no choice but to do this. She just hoped that her increased appetite would pass and she would go back to her old way. She did sit down at a free table and she just hoped that she wouldn't have to get up and do any superhero business any time soon.
"Gwen?" said a female voice. This had come as a surprise to Gwen who was just about to take her first bite out of a burger and she looked around to try and find who had just called her. It didn't take her long to see a particularly familiar face, it was someone that she had known from school. Her name was Lizzie McKay who had long fair hair and blue eyes, the most striking thing about this girl was her height which was around six foot three. Gwen had known her for some time and she had actually been short at one point but then had the mother of all growth spurts to land her at this height. She had been part of the school basketball team but had decided not to pursue the career afterwards. Instead she wanted to have a more normal job that took more brains than athleticism. She had always been a fairly stylish girl and went out of her way to get the latest in fashionable clothing. This proved difficult sometimes due to her height but she found her ways.
"Oh hi Lizzie," replied Gwen as she was being nice. She didn't know Lizzie all that well but from what she had heard she a nice girl. She had been somewhat caught by surprise and she was thinking on her feet.
"You don't mind if I take a seat?" Lizzie had a smile on her face and Gwen could see her pearly white teeth. It almost seemed superhuman that someone could keep their teeth like that without surgery.
"No go on." She was still thinking on her feet and she didn't want to be rude to the girl so she accepted her invitation. She watched as Lizzie pulled a chair and sat herself down, it was a relief for Gwen as she didn't have to look up at her much anymore. Lizzie could see that there was a lot of food on the table and she thought that maybe there was someone else that Gwen was waiting for.
"Are you waiting for someone?" She had a somewhat confused look upon her face as she looked at the food on the table.
"Why do you ask that?" There was some confusion in Gwen's voice and when she saw Lizzie pointing to the food on the table she instantly realised what she was talking about. "Oh, no I don't." She felt a little embarrassed about this and tried to make it seem normal. "I was just really hungry and I had a bit of spare money so I thought, what the heck?" She gave Lizzie a pleasant smile as she hoped that she had just saved herself from a small amount of embarrassment.
"I know what you mean." She smiled in response as she had experienced something similar. "When I was going through my growth spurt I was eating like it was going out of fashion." She laughed a little because she still couldn't believe how much food she had eaten during that time.
"Hopefully I'm not experiencing a growth spurt, I'm tall enough already." She laughed somewhat nervously as well as she remembered her time as a giant recently and how she would probably never complain about being too tall ever. "So what brings you here anyway?"
"Some of the stores are having sales and I wanted to take advantage. Besides I thought it was time for me to get a new wardrobe."
The two women sat there for a few minutes talking to one another. They talked about several things ranging from the Mary Janes to what was happening on a couple of reality TV shows. It all seemed normal to Gwen until noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She looked at it more in focus and she could see someone who had a striking resemblance to her deceased friend Peter Parker.
Quickly Gwen stood up from the table and quickly moved towards where she had seen Peter and for the moment she had lost sight of him. Although he did look like Peter she had noticed a few differences, the first was that he didn't look like his nerdy self. He had been wearing what she would have called designer clothing and a stylish haircut. He had some amount of stubble on his face as well.
However when Gwen reached where he had been standing she looked around and she couldn't spot him. Her sight was superior to most humans thanks to her spider abilities but she couldn't spot him. There was a sea of people around her and she couldn't pick him out at all. She began to think that it might have been someone with a striking resemblance to him and that it was merely a coincidence.
Having to admit defeat Gwen walked back to where Lizzie was already sitting and the taller girl looked at her in confusion. Gwen had only given her a small statement when she stood up from the table and she wanted to know what just happened. It had been a strange occurrence to say the least.
"What was all that about?" asked Lizzie. She could see that Gwen was in a somewhat dazed state.
"I just thought I saw someone that I knew," replied Gwen. She had eaten most of her food at this point but was continuing to talk to her friend. Her voice seemed to be somewhat distant as she recounted her experience. "Turned out to be a dud."
"Are you alright?" Lizzie did show some concern as she saw that Gwen didn't seem to be the same as she was just a few moments before.
"Yeah I'm fine, believe me I can imagine much worse things happening to me." This was true in more ways than Lizzie could imagine, after Gwen's career as Spider-Woman she had seen and experienced things that not many could imagine. She had fought against her best friend who had turned himself into a giant lizard, travelled to different realities and met numerous alternate versions of Peter Parker and she still had New York's finest still trying to capture her.
"That's good but if you need to talk just give me a call and we can talk for as long as we need to." She was a genuinely nice person as she didn't have a bad bone in her body. Gwen felt that she was probably someone who in the future she could become friends with but she knew that it would be a risk. She wanted to keep her loved ones as far away from her Spider-Woman persona as possible.
Not too long after that Gwen continued her shopping and returned home but she still couldn't get the image of what she saw out of her head. She still couldn't figure out if what she had seen was really her dead friend Peter Parker or if she had just been imagining it. She still felt tremendous guilt for what had happened since if she hadn't acquired her superhuman abilities he would have still been alive. This was something that she was having to live with for the rest of her life.
To try and take her mind of things that night Gwen did decide to put on her superheroine costume and go out into the night as Spider-Woman. When she was feeling somewhat down stopping crooks and helping the weak did make her feel better and it would make the world around her that little bit simpler.
Gwen knew that every time she put on her Spider-Woman costume that she wouldn't be coming back. One of several things could happen, the first would be that the police would finally catch her, the second was that some crook could get lucky and be able to shoot her, the third was if one of her villains finally gained the upper hand and took her down. There were many more things that could happen but she knew that although there were risks there were also numerous benefits. The main one was that she would be able to help those in need and make the streets safer for everyone.
For the next few hours Spider-Woman patrolled the streets from the air and was on the lookout for any mischievous activity. If there was one thing she could count on with New York City it was the fact that some crook was always up to no good. It could range from so many different crimes that her mind couldn't comprehend. Either way it meant that she had someone to punch.
On this night there seemed to be nothing happening. She had been patrolling for hours and she hadn't seen anything that even resembled a crime. She thought that at the very least she would have seen a bag snatcher but tonight there wasn't even a pickpocket that she could apprehend. This only added to her annoyance and in the end she web-swinged her way to the top of a building and then looked down at the world below her. She sat on the edge but she didn't fear about falling off or anything like that. Her ability to stick to any surface was one advantage of her spider abilities.
"Oh god this is so boring," said Spider-Woman to herself. "The one night I want some action there's nothing. I wonder if this is God's way of punishing me for some kind of misdeed. I swear there was no label on that cookie." She suddenly stopped herself when she heard the distinct sound of police sirens. It always made her feel nervous when she heard them because it would mean that the police were once again chasing after her.
Spider-Woman looked down and saw the speeding cop car drive passed her. She was too high up to be seen anyway but she thought that whatever it was responding to would give her the action that she wanted. She also knew that there was a risk of getting caught but she still felt that she should help.
With that Spider-Woman dropped from where she was sitting and began to swing towards the speeding cop car. She made sure to keep some distance away from it and also not to get too low. At the speed that it was travelling she knew that it was something big and she just hoped that it was something that she could help out with. A bank robbery would be ideal but even just a streaker would do at this point in time.
Spider-Woman only needed to follow the cop car for a few minutes before it arrived at its destination. She saw that there were several more cop cars there and they were all parked outside of a moderately tall building but what they were responding to wasn't a crime in progress. Instead Spider-Woman could see a man standing on top of the building and from what he could see he was in a panicky state.
Spider-Woman didn't need to be a genius to figure out that what she was seeing was a man who was attempting to commit suicide. Rather than jumping into the situation right away she decided to hang back for a few moments and watch what was taking place. It was definitely a situation that had to be handled very gingerly. One false move and the man who likely jump to his death.
Despite what was happening Spider-Woman still felt an uneasiness inside of her but it was not because of what was happening. The illness that she had been suffering from was slowly becoming worse. She didn't feel like she was going to throw up or anything like that, she just felt an odd feeling in her body. She would take some more medication when she returned home but for now she would just have to put up with it.
After a few minutes of watching Spider-Woman had noticed that nothing had changed in the situation below her. If anything the man seemed to be more likely to jump and she knew that she would have to step in or else his life would come to an end. She knew that there was a risk of her being caught but it was a risk that she was willing to take.
Carefully Spider-Woman made her way to the top of the building and she made sure that she wasn't spotted by the police. She did consider just webbing the suicidal man up and then taking him safely to the ground but she didn't think that it would solve anything. He would just go and do it all over again unless he came out of the depression which had caused him to be in this situation in the first place.
After climbing up onto the top of the building Spider-Woman was still a few metres away from the man and for the moment she thought that it was for the best. For now he had not noticed her and she just stated a simple greeting and quickly he turned around to her. He was in complete shock and if anything now he was in an even higher state of panic. He was still very close to the edge and could fall at any time.
"W-who are you?" asked the man. His body was shaking thanks to a combination of fear and adrenaline.
"My name is Spider-Woman and I'm here to help you," replied Spider-Woman. She put on a pleasant voice so she seemed to be as least threatening as possible. She needed to take great care and although she knew that unmasking herself would make him calmer she didn't want to risk her secret identity yet.
"Stay back!" His words were sharp and panicked but Spider-Woman was still a safe enough distance away from him.
"It's alright I won't hurt you." She made sure to keep the distance that was required from him. "I know that you might be going through a tough time right now but believe me things will be better."
"That's easy for you to say. I've lost everything, my home, my wife, my children, my job. Everything!" It was easy for him to just take a step back and end his life there and then but for the moment he wouldn't.
"So your life might be in tatters now but it doesn't mean that it'll always be like that. You will be able to turn it around and build your life back up to what it once was. You even say that you have children, do you really want them to grow up without their father around them." She took a small sigh and she knew that she would have to reveal a small detail about herself but she hoped that it would be for the better. "I lost one of my parents while I was growing up and believe me it was hard. They died because of an illness but if had been a suicide I wouldn't know how I would have reacted. I would probably think that it was my fault for some reason. I would think that the reason for their suicide would have been something I had done. To tell you the truth I wouldn't wish that on any child, I don't think you'd like to wish it on yours would you?"
"N-No I wouldn't." Spider-Woman saw this as a good sign since it showed that what she was saying was actually getting through to him.
"See now why don't you just come with me and I'll safely take you back down to the ground." She thought that she had finally won this little confrontation and in the best way possible.
"No you're a murderer, I'm not going anywhere with you!" His voice became aggressive and it was directed right at her. "I've read about you, you killed Peter Parker in cold blood. You're a monster."
"Don't believe everything that you read." She was somewhat annoyed but she masked it as best as she could. Any kind of aggression at this point would not be taken lightly by the suicidal man. "I don't care if you believe that I killed Peter Parker which I didn't. All I care about is getting you back down to safety." She could see that he was still reluctant and she knew that she had to try better. She held out her hand towards him and even took a step forwards. "Take my hand and I promise I'll get you back down safely, all I need you to do is trust me. I don't care if you hate me for the rest of your natural life but right now I'm your best route to safety."
There were a few moments where absolutely nothing happened as the man decided whether he was going to jump from the building or allow Spider-Woman to take him down to safety. He didn't really feel that safe either way but Spider-Woman had done nothing that made him think that she would harm him. He had read in the newspapers and watched the news about her, they all stated that she was a menace but actually seeing her face to face like this made him think that there was something more to her. Despite everything she was still trying to help him when he was at his lowest point in life.
The man gently grabbed onto Spider-Woman's hand and she smiled underneath her mask. She saw that she had won his trust but she knew that she would have to have a firmer grip on him to be able to take him back down to the ground. She grabbed a hold of his waist and he did become somewhat panicked although he was perfectly safe in Spider-Woman's grip. She might not look it but she was more than strong enough to lift a car over her head with ease although there were plenty of superhumans with more strength than her.
"Ok this might get a little bumpy," said Spider-Woman. "But believe me it's a lot of fun." Her voice was bubbly and she hoped that it would calm the man down enough for what she was about to do.
Spider-Woman quickly ran to the edge of the building and at the speed she was running it seemed impossible that she was going to stop in time. She had lifted the man off of his feet so that they didn't drag while she ran. He began to scream as he thought that they were going over edge and falling to their dooms. Instead of falling her feet began to stick to the wall of the building. There was a gasp from the people below who thought that they were going to fall but instead they saw Spider-Woman running down the building as if she was running on perfectly straight ground.
It only took Spider-Woman a few seconds to run down to the ground to the police who were already down there. They were in shock over what had just happened and they didn't know really how to react. They watched her let go of the man when they were on the ground, he had been able to land on his feet and although he was shook up he seemed to be fine. His life had not come to an end that day.
"Here you go guys," said Spider-Woman to the police who were standing there. They were in such a state of shock that they hadn't even pulled out their guns. "Be gentle with him, he's sensitive."
With that Spider-Woman shot out a string of webbing at a nearby building and began to web-swing herself away. The police considered firing at her but she had just saved a man's life and for that many of them were going to give her a free pass this time. They would just make sure that their superiors didn't find out.
Spider-Woman swung on her webbing for a few minutes to create more room between her and the police. When she thought that she was far enough away she finally stopped so that she could catch her breath. What had just happened was one of the reasons why she had become a superheroine in the first place. She had helped that man when he had needed it the most. She thought that the police might have been able to have handled the situation but that was a grey area in her mind. All that she knew was that the man was alive and she hoped that he would be able to turn his life around.
By then it was late and even Spider-Woman had to admit that she was feeling tired. Despite her powers she was not immune to fatigue and plus she had a full day of band practice the next day. She had been somewhat thinking about cancelling the practice due to her not feeling one hundred percent but she thought that she could manage through it. She had endured much worse in the past and she thought that she would be able to handle this light illness.
In the end Spider-Woman landed in an alley not too far away from where she lived and first she made sure that no one was around. A check like that only took a moment but when she was sure that she was alone she changed out of her costume and to the world at large she was merely Gwen Stacy once again.
After changing back into her normal clothes Gwen began the relatively short walk back to her house which she shared with her father. She knew that the streets were not entirely safe, especially at this time of night but she was more than capable of looking out for herself. She remembered being afraid in the past but now she was as cool as a cucumber when it came to walking the streets alone.
There was a cool breeze which blew through the air and it sent a shiver down Gwen's spine. It was cooler than she had expected and it made her want to get home even more and just crawl into her nice warm bed that was waiting for her. She did have to make sure that she didn't wake her father who would most likely still be asleep.
Soon enough Gwen arrived at her home and carefully opened the door. The home seemed to be in complete darkness but as soon as she closed the door behind her a light came on and she could see her father sitting down on a chair. He was quite a tall man with short white hair and a short beard. From the clothing he was wearing it seemed that he hadn't even gone to bed. His sudden appearance shocked Gwen but her spider sense had not warned her because technically he wasn't a threat.
"Dad?" her speech had been quickened since she had been caught by surprise. This as certainly something that she wasn't expecting when she had entered the home. She could tell that he wasn't impressed with her. "What are you still doing up?"
"Waiting for you," replied George. He remained where he was sitting but there was a small amount of anger in his voice. "I still can't believe that you're going out as Spider-Woman even though you know you're the city's most wanted person. What would possess you to do something like that?"
"Because people need my help dad." She felt like she was doing the right thing and would defend herself until she was blue in the mouth if need be. "I couldn't help Peter when he needed me the most and I'm going to do whatever it takes to make up for that. Even if I get captured in the process I would still be happy that I helped people."
"Gwen I respect what you're doing but no matter how many people you save you'll never bring back Peter. He's gone Gwen and there is nothing that neither you nor I can do to change that. Every time you go out there as Spider-Woman I fear that I'll have a phone call telling me that you've been captured." He took a small sigh before continuing on. "From now on no more Spider-Woman young lady."
