Ultimate Spider-Woman: Change With the Light

Chapter 46: Lying Truth

The early February morning was decidedly chilly, but it brought a bright glow to Gwen Stacy's cheeks as she stood waiting for her boyfriend Randy Robertson. It had been over two and a half weeks since they'd last gone out together, and the pall over their relationship had only gotten worse in that time. They'd gone days at a time without speaking to one another, and Gwen worried that they were drifting apart. She suspected that it had to do with his suspecting her dual identity as the heroic Spider-Woman, and that she'd lied to him about why she'd run away when the Brothers Grimm had gone on a rampage on New Year's Eve. Gwen had hesitated about telling Randy, given his professed dislike of costumed heroes, and how she thought he'd react. Now, though, she realized she'd probably made a serious mistake in not telling Randy before now.

So it was that when Randy called her yesterday and asked her to meet him outside the Student's Union Building at Empire State University, she'd eagerly agreed. It was just before the appointed time, and she was looking around anxiously for him to arrive. When he finally rounded the corner, Gwen ran up to him and wrapped him in a tight hug, catching him off guard.

"Hi, sweetie!" she said brightly, eager to see him again.

Randy stumbled back for a moment before he regained his balance, surprised by Gwen's warm welcome. He managed to extricate himself from her hug, and took her hands in his, nodding briefly at her. He gave her a small smile in return, although it wasn't nearly as large as the wide, hopeful grin she was giving him.

"What did you have planned?" Gwen asked as they started walking.

Randy opened his mouth as if to say something, before sighing and shaking his head.

"...Is something wrong?" Gwen asked in surprise.

"No...it's...alright," Randy shook his head. "I just need to..." he trailed off, before closing his eyes as if to must up his courage. He glanced around to determine just how many people were nearby, and nodded in satisfaction as he realized that the only other students in the area were far enough away that they couldn't hear the conversation.

"There's something I need to ask you, Gwen," he finally said, forcing himself to say it.

"...What is it?" Gwen asked him. Now it was her turn to muster up her courage, waiting for him to answer the question he knew was coming.

"Are you Spider-Woman?" he finally asked her.

For too long, Gwen and Randy been dancing around the question, but now it was out in the open. They'd both correctly suspected that the other one was thinking about, and now they were going to have to deal with it.

Taking a deep breath, Gwen gave her answer. She been grossly unfair to Randy in hiding the truth from him, and now she intended to make up for it.

"Yes I am," Gwen nodded calmly. "I'm Spider-Woman, and I have been for over a year now."

They walked in silence for several minutes, as they let the implications of what they'd just said, and everything they'd previously said and thought that was related to it, sink in.

SPIDER-WOMAN #46

"LYING TRUTH"

"So you lied to me about where you had to go on New Year's Eve," Randy finally pointed out.

"I suppose I did," Gwen replied. "But you told me about how much you hated superheroes. I wasn't sure how you'd react if I told you the truth."

"It's not so much that I don't hate them," Randy explained, "so much as I don't trust them. There's no way we can keep superheroes accountable if they screw up. How do we know they won't go bad at some point?"