Ultimate Spider-Woman: Change With the Light

Chapter 41: I Am Legion

Yawning as she got out of bed, Gwen Stacy pushed back her long blonde hair and took a moment to admire herself in the mirror. Ever since she'd moved back home and become a couple with Randy Robertson, her stressed and harried demeanor had been replaced with a new brightness and warmth, as her eyes sparkled with a vibrant blue light. Surrounded by her friends and family, Gwen had begun to enjoy life once again.

Getting showered and dressed, Gwen came downstairs to the kitchen, where her mother Helen, her Aunt Nancy and cousin Jill were already cooking breakfast. Gathering up some toast and orange juice, she sat down to read the Daily Bugle, when she saw the front page story.

The Bugle's lead story described the people who were still in the hospital from the electrically-powered psychopath Supercharger's rampage at Macy's Department Store. Although the heroic Spider-Woman had managed to eventually defeat Supercharger, he'd murdered several people and sent many more to the hospital before she could stop him. Supercharger had originally tried to demonstrate his "love" for Spider-Woman by killing several people who'd criticized her online, although his "love' had turned to an insane hatred when the disgusted Spider-Woman had rejected his attempts to win her affection. That was the whole reason Supercharger had attacked Macy's, namely to force Spider-Woman to fight him so he could kill her for rejecting him.

Gwen would have been horrified and saddened by what had happened to Supercharger's victims no matter what. In this case, though, their suffering was doubly painful to her, given that she was the spectacular Spider-Woman and she was the reason that Supercharger had hurt all those people. She couldn't help but feel responsible for what had happened to them, particularly in that she hadn't been able to stop Supercharger before he hurt them.

Pushing her chair back and getting up from the table, Gwen hastily made her way back upstairs as she struggled to keep calm.

She'd woken up filled with happiness at how well things were going for her, but it still didn't take much to bring Gwen crashing back to Earth.

SPIDER-WOMAN #41

"I AM LEGION"

Doing her level best to hold back her emotions, Gwen didn't hear her mother Helen coming into the room. Sitting down next to her daughter, Helen put her arms around Gwen's shoulders in a comforting hug.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Helen asked gently.

"That headline in the Daily Bugle," Gwen muttered sadly.

"That was pure bull," Helen shook her head. "I mean, how could the paper possibly blame-"

"You don't understand," Gwen interrupted her, before explaining about her first encounter with Supercharger and the whole reason he'd become a supervillain in the first place.

"He killed all those people to get to me," Gwen concluded, unable to look her mother in the eye. "It's…I feel like it's my fault…"

"No it isn't," Helen said firmly. "You did exactly what you needed to do, Gwen-Supercharger is the one who chose to kill all those people. Who's to say he wouldn't have just gotten obsessed with some other woman if he didn't focus on you?"

"I know, but…" Gwen trailed off. "He's not the only one of my enemies who'd do something like that to get back at me, either. Jack O' Lantern actually knows that I'm Spider-Woman! He already went after Dad to hurt me-what if he goes after you, Jill or Aunt Nancy?"

Helen frowned at that, trying to think of what she could say to Gwen even as she tried to keep her own worries under control.

It was then that Gwen remembered what she'd told herself the night she'd finally defeated Jack O' Lantern and brought him to justice.