Ultimate Spider-Woman: Change With the Light

Chapter 17: Bad Moon Rising

Dr. Karla Sofen typed away contentedly at her computer, ignoring the sounds of the marching Guardsmen as they passed by her office. In the three weeks since the horrific jailbreak at the Ravencroft Asylum for the Criminally Insane, when the asylum's entire security system had been mysteriously disabled and all of its super-powered inmates escaped in a massive jailbreak, security at the mental hospital had been tripled. Rotating groups of no less than four Guardsmen watched over each of the major control areas that controlled the mansion's security system, which had been split into several separate and specially isolated mainframes. No single administrator could disable the entire security system by themselves anymore, with different administrators being given top-secret passcodes that only they were given.

Such procedures didn't bother Dr. Sofen in the least, given her appreciation of proper regulations and careful attention to detail. Indeed, she had been fascinated by the lengths to which the government had gone to reinforce security measures at the asylum. Money was no object, as state and federal coffers alike had been opened to pay for more guards and doubly reinforce security measures. Citizens who routinely groused about paying taxes usually tended to clam up when they were afraid that they would be in genuine physical danger, after all.

And then there had been the reactions of the supervillains, most of whom had been infected by Psyko's insanity and forced to continuously relive their worst nightmares over and over again, even as their bodies became puppets under Psyko's control. Some of them had been traumatized by the experience, and were just as horrified as any ordinary person, while others had simply shrugged it off before resuming their normal thought patterns. Many of the villains who had managed to avoid capture after Psyko's defeat had returned to the same types of crimes they had always committed, picking up their fights with their heroic enemies as if nothing had ever happened.

Shaking out her long blonde hair, Dr. Sofen leaned back in her chair as she reflected on these questions.

Almost instinctively, she fingered the bright golden pendant around her neck, which was normally hidden underneath her clothes.

In spite of herself, Dr. Sofen couldn't resist bringing the pendant out into the open when no one was around.

It was so beautiful, after all.

SPIDER-WOMAN #17

"BAD MOON RISING"

Groaning in frustration, Gwen Stacy rose from her chair and stomped into the kitchen to get some coffee. As she made herself a fresh pot, she reflected on the irony of fighting crime as a superheroine being so much easier than trying to make sure one's bills were regularly paid on time. For the moment, she had the apartment to herself, as Kitty Pryde wasn't back from her afternoon classes. And to be honest Gwen was actually grateful for the solitude, as it gave her time to get caught up on her bills...her homework...her mother's alimony payments...her waitressing job...her lines for A Streetcar Named Desire...

Yawning wearily, Gwen checked her watch. To her surprise, it was only 2:30 in the afternoon, even if it had felt like much longer. She realized she had been up far too late last night, trying to finish her Biology assignment after she had spent much of the evening getting caught up in a hostage-taking at a local office building. With her help as Spider-Woman, the police had managed to capture the hostage-taker and release his prisoners...except for the fact that it took over six hours, cutting well into the time Gwen had intended to spend working on her Biology project. Between that and all the other work she had needed to get caught up on, she had been up until almost 2 AM.

Fortunately, she'd had the evening off from work, but tonight she was working the early shift, something that didn't please her at all. That realization had made Gwen more than a little grumpy, and she'd gone the whole morning with a fairly sour look on her face. Wisely, Kitty had realized Gwen wasn't in a talking mood, and had left her alone. Gwen's mood hadn't been improved by her having to work out her grocery bills, her half of the April rent, and the amount of money she still owed Kitty for paying the March rent...