Ultimate Spider-Woman: Change With the Light

Chapter 3: Sins of the Fathers

Gwen Stacy took a deep breath as she stood at the door to George Stacy's lavish upscale penthouse. She closed her eyes briefly and shook her head, her long blonde hair flying behind her, before she forced herself to reach out and ring the doorbell.

All she got from him was a raised eyebrow as he answered the door, before he looked up and down at her disapprovingly.

"You've been shopping with Jill again, I take it?" he scowled as she came in.

"What makes you say that?" Gwen replied, an acid edge in her voice.

"That skirt, for one," George said sourly. "I've told Nancy a dozen times she needs to get that little snip under control, before she-"

"Before she what?" Gwen started. She looked around George's finely decorated parlor, noting the many hunting trophies, the guns on the walls, the football memorabilia, the pictures of baseball games, and other similar decorations her father used to adorn his house.

"Never mind," George said in a slightly airy tone, waving a dismissive hand as he and Gwen went in and sat down. "What are you doing here, anyway?" George demanded as he strode over to the bar, returning to the scotch on the rocks he had been preparing before she had interrupted him.

"I've come for Mom's check," Gwen answered. "I take it you're not too busy, one way or another, to keep up the payments?"

SPIDER-WOMAN #3

"SINS OF THE FATHERS"

"So you're still spending my money?" George noted, his eyebrows knitted. "And yes, I'm keeping up the payments to my darling wife. We both know how much I love her."

Gwen flinched, even she tried to ignore the memories of her mother's screams that were aroused by the smell of George's liquor.

"And how are things with you?" George continued as he leaned back in his chair, ignoring his daughter's reaction. "Still wasting my money on that stupid Drama major?"

"It's not stupid!" Gwen snapped at her father, an ugly scowl crossing her face. "I'm much better at them than-"

"Than the Law or Accounting degrees I said you should enroll in?" George's eyes narrowed dangerously. "At least then I'd be getting my money's worth on my investment…"

"The way you do on all your investments, I'm sure," Gwen replied acidly.

George's eyes flared in a rage, and he stood up, his cheeks flushing with anger. Finally, he regained control of himself with a visible effort.

"Even so," he stopped to take a deep breath, "you at least know your place, even if I am not entirely fond of your choices of…attire," he frowned.

It took all of Gwen's effort not to string George up with her webbing.

"That's what I always liked about you and your mother, you know," George continued. "You've always known your places, not like these damned mutants, or all the blasted superheroes that have been appearing over the last decade," he cursed. "Just look at this newspaper!" he continued, throwing Gwen a copy of the Daily Globe with a picture of Spider-Woman on the front cover. "Now the mutants are trying to make themselves into superheroes!"

Gwen looked at the newspaper, then up at her father, whose face was dark with anger.

"Damned costumes," he muttered. "They won't…"

"What about Mom's check?" interrupted Gwen.

"…What?" George Stacy began. "Oh, yes…come along, then," he continued, leading Gwen into his office, where he wrote out a check and handed it over to her. Leaning back in his chair, his eyes suddenly gleamed, as a wide grin spread across his face.