Ultimate Spider-Woman: Change With the Light

Chapter 37: Mayhem!

Whatever other problems Gwen Stacy had in her life-and she had plenty of them-there were times when she could just leave them all behind. Tonight was one of those times, as she prepared for one of the Fright Night Halloween parties that Empire State University had set up to help its students relax after the stress of midterm exams. After the debacle that had been midterm week, when Gwen had almost certainly failed her Biology exam because she'd tried to confront the villainous Moonstone as Spider-Woman. She'd also missed her English exam altogether, having slept the whole day away due to her exhaustion from fighting Moonstone.

Looking herself over in the mirror, Gwen was able to forget all that. She'd been planning her Halloween costume for months now, and she was distinctly pleased with how good she looked. Dressed in a silk top hat, a white dress shirt, a black bow tie, a black formal evening jacket, a pair of white gloves, a perfectly scandalous short black skirt, dark fishnet stockings and a pair of dark red Manolo Blahniks, the latter a birthday gift from her Grandpa Lieber, Gwen played the role of the formal magician to perfection. Her sparkling blue eyes and long, blonde hair made a lovely contrast with the black and white of her costume, which itself emphasized her beautiful curves, angelic face and shapely legs.

Smiling widely, Gwen blew her reflection a kiss as she mentally ran down her checklist.

Hollow magician's cane, in which she'd hidden her Spider-Woman costume if trouble struck at the party?

Check.

Just the right amount of eyeliner and lipstick to complement her attire?

Check.

Arrangements to meet with Kitty and the rest of the group at Oldred Hall, where the Fright Night party they'd decided to attend was being held?

Check.

The knowledge that she was going to have every guy in the place drooling over her?

Check and mate.

SPIDER-WOMAN #37

"MAYHEM"

"Hey, Gwen!" Kitty Pryde greeted Gwen as she got off the bus. "You look amazing tonight!"

"So do you!" Gwen gushed back as she hugged Kitty. Indeed, Kitty looked very nice indeed-dressed in a deliberately tattered red gown, she played a very lovely Ann Darrow in comparison to her boyfriend, Bruce "Kong" McFarlane, who had come dressed as the ape monster that gave him his nickname. Kong himself wasn't saying anything, his face hidden behind his gorilla mask, although Gwen could tell from the delighted look in his eyes that he was admiring both her and Kitty and was no doubt enjoying every minute.

Gwen just smirked at that thought, before turning back to Kitty.

"Are you guys the first ones here?" she asked.

"Yeah," Kitty replied. "We're just waiting for-"

"We're not late, are we?" Liz Allan interrupted as she came up to join them, her boyfriend Harry Osborn in tow. Despite the chilly night, Liz was dressed in a flattering Middle Eastern belly dancer costume, while Harry was dressed like Blackbeard the pirate.

"No, you're right on time," Kong assured them. "We're not heading in just yet, anyway-the party won't really get started until about 8 o'clock or so."

The group fell to chatting for the next few minutes as they waited for the rest of the group to arrive. Gwen and Liz became so busy complimenting each other on their makeup jobs and trading cosmetics tips that they initially didn't notice the handsome young man in the forest-green tights and plumed hat come up to join them. An archery bow was strapped to his back, and a winning smile was plastered on his face.