Ultimate Spider-Woman: Change With the Light

Chapter 31: Behind the Mask: Devil's Night

Everyone sees what you appear to be.

Few know what you really are.

-Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince

"Talk about a coincidence," Gwen Stacy quipped to Kitty Pryde as they put away the groceries they'd brought back to their apartment.

"What do you mean?" Kitty asked in confusion.

"I mean the music," Gwen explained, gesturing towards the radio, which was playing Geri Halliwell's cover version of It's Raining Men. "It kind of sums up how I'm feeling right now."

"You mean with Randy, Ben and this Mark guy?" Kitty scratched her head.

"Yeah," Gwen nodded. "Remember what you told me about needing to make a decision on one of those guys?"

"Right," Kitty recalled. "So, does that mean that-"

"No," Gwen frowned. "I'm still trying to figure it out," she explained. "I mean, you're right that I'm not being fair to them, but...I..." she hesitated. "They're all really sweet guys, and I kind of hate to let any of them down, you know?"

"I do," Kitty nodded, "but like I said, you're going to end up letting them all down if you don't make a choice."

Gwen just leaned back against the counter, a faraway look in her eyes, as she tried to figure out what to do.

SPIDER-WOMAN #31

BEHIND THE MASK, PART THREE

"DEVIL'S NIGHT"

Maggie Beck stood up from her work with a smile, satisfied that her preparations were complete. All the work she'd put into her criminal psychology studies was about to pay off, particularly with what she was going to accomplish over the next few weeks. All the supervillains she'd spoken with, and more particularly all the things she'd done, were going to culminate in the final phase of her studies.

A wide, eager grin crossed her face as she thought of the benefits she was going to reap from all her efforts.

"Glad to have you aboard," Lydia Ryan smiled as she shook hands with her latest hire. "Hours are pretty straightforward, 8:30 to 4:30, entry-level salary, business-casual attire with fully casual Fridays, health insurance with our company provider, you start tomorrow. Sounds fair?"

"Sure does," Helen Lieber-Stacy replied with a smile. "It looks like a really nice place to work."

"That's because it is," Lydia assured Helen.

Working as a receptionist at Richmond Industries wasn't exactly what Helen had grown up dreaming of doing. However, after everything she'd been through with George Stacy she was just glad to have some stability in her life and to be earning some money to help out her family.

Jason Phillip Macendale pored intently over his plans for the next few days, particularly everything to do with the fall of Norman Osborn and his outing as the Green Goblin. Now, with the destruction of the Maggia and Osborn being revealed as the Green Goblin, there was even more of a void in the New York crime world, as two of the five major syndicates were no more. From all his experience with New York's criminal class, Macendale knew that Philippe Bazin, Crimewave and the Kingpin would peacefully expand to fill the void left behind by the Maggia and the Goblin without any more violence. They weren't interested into going to war again, not when there was no profit in it.

But in the meantime, Macendale realized, the gap was wide open for any new criminal cartels who wanted to establish themselves.

He smiled widely at the thought of it, and started to laugh.