Spider verse: The Twist

Chapter 6: Enter Gwen Stacy

Gwen's POV

"Alright, that's enough for today girls," Em Jay said as she placed her guitar back in it's case. "Although, brainstorming here, as I was singing the chorus, a whole new verse came to me," she said excitedly.

"Em Jay, stop," I exasperated as I slouched in my seat, in front of my drum set.

"Y'know you can't keep tweaking songs every time we play them," Gloria added as she crossed her arms and leaned up against the wall, a smirk tugging at her lips.

"I know. I just want us to be perfect," Em Jay answered.

"And we will be, someday. But we're still in high school. You know?" Betty giggled.

"Yeah, garage bands are garage bands for a reason," I agreed as I lightly hit the cymbal on my drum set.

"And it's name is the two hours of Pre-calc homework I still have," Gloria groaned, rubbing her temples in annoyance.

"Look, let's call it a day and go home. Gloria can not fail calc, Betty can rearrange her YA first editions again, and you can record your tweak," I said pointing my drumstick at Em Jay, "and if it's still better in the morning we'll listening to it, okay?"

"And I can get out of here so that Spider-Woman can go on patrol."

"Fine. But it's gonna be so great, you'll be dying to change it," Em Jay assured with a grin as she swiftly turned to head out of the garage.  Her long, bright red hair swaying with her movements. "See you around, Stacy," She called as she exited, Betty following close behind.

Gloria headed for the door, but came to a stop before exiting. "So, Gwen, what are you going to do?" she asked, her dark brown eyes staring into my blue ones. I pressed my lips firmly into a smile that I really wished could have been real. Glory knew it was fake as well, but I just couldn't help it. The girl had felt the need to check up on me ever since... Peter, but I really would rather not think about it.

"Oh. Umm... Y'know just... the usual," I mumbled as I rubbed the back of my neck nervously, hoping that would get me out of the conversation.

She raised an eyebrow in disbelief, squashing my attempts like an ant under a shoe, "Well I'm probably just gonna... watch Netflix and eat pizza rolls," I lied.

She stared at me for a moment, contemplating if she should believe me, before letting out a sigh, "Okay, well see you tomorrow then." She knew that was the most she would get out of me and while a part of me felt bad, another slightly larger part just wanted to shrug it off with indifference. I had chosen this. I had chosen not to have friends... and it was better this way.

Maybe if I told myself that enough times I would believe it.

"Yeah, see ya," I replied as she walked out. I gave her a small wave right before the garage door closed. As soon it did, I shot up from my seat and I then reached over to my bag. I fished around for a moment before pulling out my black and white spider-suit. "Alright let's see what you're hiding Doc," I said, looking into the eyes of my mask intently.

*******

I swung through the city with my phone in one hand. Was that safe? Absolutely not. I constantly checked it for the tracer I had put on Doc Oc when he wasn't paying attention and was rambling about one of his rather stupid schemes.

"I mean seriously the guy doesn't know when to shut up."

The tracer locked onto a signal and I stopped on a nearby rooftop to look down at my phone. Suddenly, I felt a disturbance in my spider-sense. I instinctively ducked my head and wasn't surprised when a large rock flew by where my head had just been.

"Well, that's pretty rude," I joked mostly to myself as I turned to face my abuser on the street below.

He had a disgusted scowl plastered on his face. "One day the NYPD will put you behind bars, murderess," he spat.

"Yeah... Somehow I doubt that." I replied sarcastically, before leaping off my perch and swinging away.

Murderess.

I mean it's not the worst thing I've been called, but... it still hurts. I mean, even my own dad wouldn't believe that Spider-Woman didn't kill Peter. I just wished that one day someone would see me as something other than some murdering psychopath. Maybe that's what I was. Maybe I deserved it, but I just... maybe someone could see the good in me too.

I continued on my path until I found myself across the road from an old abandoned warehouse. "The tracer says he should be here," I whispered to myself. I made my way to a window on side of the building and launched myself through it, shattering the glass as I did so.

My spider-sense alerted me of Otto's presence and I flipped away just in time to dodge one of his metal arms that flew past me. "Why, Spider-Woman, so nice of you to join me. Would you like a tour of my facility?" he asked with a smug smirk.

"Can it, Oc," I retorted, as readied my fists.

"Alright," he began in a sinister tone as his mechanical arms began to flail aimlessly. "Have it your way," he finished, before launching two of his mechanized arms in my direction. I gracefully cartwheeled out of the way just as the they collided with the wall behind me, leaving two massive dents. I ran up to him with my enhanced speed and kicked him in his jaw as I backflipped and landed a few feet away from him.

"Arg! You pest!" he roared as he massaged his jaw. I gave a satisfied smirk as I attached two webs to a cargo container behind him. I yanked on them causing the container to fall forward, onto Otto.

I waited for a moment and when I didn't see any movement I assumed that he was out cold. "Well, that wraps that up then," I spoke to myself as I relax my shoulders.

Once I turn to leave I hear a small commotion. I turn my head to see the container being torn in half as both sides were flung carelessly in opposite directions. Doc Oc raised himself from the rubble pile and barked, "I'm not done yet."

He rapidly flung his arms at me as I elegantly flipped away from each of his brutal swings. His arms crashed into multiple objects behind me creating small explosions. He began to throw large object at me; crates, pieces of metal, containers of gasoline, basically anything he could get his metal claws on.

"Hold still," he growled as he used two of his tentacles to toss a cargo container at me. Of course, I dodged with ease, using a web to fling me around to the other side of the room.

"Are you being serious? You know what yeah, maybe I will. With your aim, I doubt it'd make difference." I quipped as I stuck to the side of a wall.

Suddenly some glowing, colorful spiral appeared in the wall. I didn't have time to wonder what strange void was before it absorbed my hand. I tugged on it in hopes of freeing myself, but was just sucked farther in, until this blotchy, spiral of light completely encased me.

"What's going on?"

The next thing I knew I was being dragged through was looked like... space? My body was being tossed around aimlessly, out of my control. I felt a splitting pain like nothing I had ever felt before ripped through my body. It felt like every fiber of my being was being slowly torn apart. To my relief it ended when I landed on a rooftop in what looked like... Brooklyn, New York?

"But not my New York."