Ultimate Spider-Woman: Change With the Light

Chapter 29: Behind The Mask: The Gathering Storm

An afternoon at Bloomingdale's always cheered Gwen Stacy up, even if she was forced to mostly do window shopping these days due to her rather limited finances. Even then, she had fun looking at all the latest summer collections and posing with them in front of the mirror.

After her life or death fight with the Constrictor, when she'd managed to save her mother and Aunt Nancy from being murdered by the serpentine killer, Gwen had wanted to unwind. For all that she'd enjoyed being able to get back to a normal routine after everything that had happened over the last few weeks, at the back of her mind Gwen was constantly alert for any sign that Jack O' Lantern or any other member of her rogues' gallery might try something.

Then again, maybe I'm worrying too much, Gwen thought to herself as she tried on a lovely Donna Karan sweater. Mom's doing a lot better now, and I've got the lead role in that new production of The Wiz, she smiled.

And yet, try as she might, she couldn't forget the memory of Jack O' Lantern's hellish, bone-chilling laughter as it echoed in her mind.

SPIDER-WOMAN #29

BEHIND THE MASK, PART ONE

"THE GATHERING STORM"

One thing that provided a useful distraction was the collection of super-cute Converse All-Stars that caught Gwen's eye as she passed by the shoe store. If there was one thing Gwen just couldn't get enough of, it was shoes. While she already had various boots, platforms, high heels, ballet flats, sandals and about fourteen pairs of Converse sneakers, Gwen was always ready to add another pair. Even better, these ones were on sale, something which Gwen always appreciated.

At first, Gwen was so busy glancing through the display to find a color that she liked that she didn't hear the argument behind her. It was only after she was jolted out of her reverie by the loud, shrill yelling that Gwen recognized the uniquely obnoxious customer that the voice belonged to. Turning around with a distinctly sour look on her face, Gwen recognized Mrs. Jannetty all too well. Gwen had waited on Mrs. Jannetty one night at the coffee shop, and her rude, nasty treatment had been the final straw after Gwen had already been extremely stressed out. She'd snapped and yelled at Mrs. Jannetty, who'd gotten her in trouble with her boss.

Mrs. Jannetty was in rare form today, angrily throwing a pair of pink pumps at the hapless shoe salesman who was waiting on her. The shoes bounced off the head of the salesman, who merely rubbed his temples and tried to stammer out a reply to her continued demands.

"Does this look like pink to you?" Mrs. Jannetty thundered, before grabbing the next pair the salesman offered to her and throwing them over her shoulder. "I said pink, you idiot!"

"Ma'am, I-" the flustered salesman stammered.

"Let me guess," Mrs. Jannetty sneered. "You've never been Employee of the Month, have you?"

Several of the other customers in the store looked at Mrs. Jannetty in shock, but they all seemed too intimidated to speak up.

Gwen had no such reservations.

"Maybe not, but somehow I doubt he's been banned from every all you can eat restaurant in town, either," she interrupted, coming around into Mrs. Jannetty's line of sight.

"WHAT?" Mrs. Jannetty screeched in anger, rising up from her chair to confront Gwen. While she was at least a foot taller and a hundred and fifty pounds heavier, Gwen wasn't intimidated in the last.

"You heard me," Gwen shot back, disgusted by the larger woman's attitude. "Maybe if you took some money out of your fried cheese budget and actually took some classes on manners, you'd know how to actually behave in public."