Ultimate Spider-Woman: Change With the Light

Chapter 22: Short Circuit

"Alright ladies, once more from the top!" Roderick Kingsley called out to his models, as they prepared to go around again. "Go slower this time, so the buyers get a really good look! Try and show them every angle!" The skinny, tanned and blond man grinned brightly as he surveyed his girls, while his tall, pale and brown-haired brother Daniel stood behind him impassably. Roderick eagerly watched his models spin and twirl, silently congratulating himself both on the impressive quality of his fall collection and the high quality of the girls he'd gotten to display it.

Gwen Stacy was one of those girls, wearing a stunning yellow sundress. To no one's surprise, she got the most attention from the cameramen, the technical staff, and the Kingsley Cosmetics investors, to say nothing of Roderick Kingsley himself. Even when she had her back turned, she could feel Kingsley's grin and stare, and couldn't help but imagine his eyes flashing every time she passed him by.

Aside from her lovely attire, Gwen's naturally photogenic appearance and her playful, inviting smile made her the hit of the rehearsal. Everyone, even the other models, congratulated her on how well she'd done.

Gwen did her best to show gratitude for all the compliments, as she knew that most of the people who gave them were simply wanted to congratulate her.

It was just that, every time she felt Roderick Kingsley leering at her, she had to fight the urge to vomit.

SPIDER-WOMAN #22

"SHORT CIRCUIT"

It was with considerable relief that Gwen left the studio where the photoshoot was taking place. She waved to Harry and Liz as they pulled up in Harry's car, hopping into the backseat before the car took off again.

"How was the photoshoot?" Harry asked.

"Pretty good," Gwen nodded, "except for Kingsley. He just…ugh…" she shuddered, all of a sudden feeling very dirty.

Harry was about to ask what she meant, before Liz touched his arm and briefly shook her head. He wasn't too sure why Gwen had wanted this modeling gig, if Roderick Kingsley bothered her so much, but he and Liz had already agreed to respect Gwen's privacy.

There was something else he couldn't help but wonder about, though.

"Are you so sure about this?" Harry asked, as he drove the girls towards Riker's Island, New York City's infamous island prison. "I mean, are you sure that Marie-Ange Colbert chick will even let you see her?"

"It can't hurt to ask," Gwen shrugged. "I haven't heard about anyone else going to see her?"

"That's probably because she kidnapped just about everyone else she knows," Harry replied acidly, as they pulled into the prison parking lot. "Why do you want to do it?"

"Well…" Gwen paused awkwardly as they got out of the car. "I just…I don't know…I mean, no one's ever even tried to reach out to her before! Maybe if I'd actually done something back at Midtown…"

"Gwen, you don't need to blame yourself," Liz interjected as they entered into the prison and prepared to sign in at the registration desk for visitation. "People like Felicia and Sally were the ones who bullied Marie-Ange."

"And we didn't do anything about it," Gwen shook her head. "I mean, we should at least try, shouldn't we?" she said in a slightly awkward tone.

As Gwen went ahead to go through the prison metal detector, Liz and Harry looked at each other, before shrugging in unison.

Even though it was the smallest size the prison could provide, the orange uniform hung off Marie-Ange Colbert's thin frame like a loose sack. She had remained sitting on her bed since her arrest more than a week previously, blankly staring up at the ceiling and emerging only for mealtimes. Having pleaded guilty at her trial, Marie Ange, alias Tarot, had quietly accepted her fate without comment. She never interacted with her fellow supervillains, finding them to be hateful lunatics who were mostly concerned with hatching some sort of inane revenge scheme against whatever superhero had arrested them.