Ultimate Spider-Woman: Change With the Light

Chapter 48: Hell Hath No Fury Like A Villain Scorned

Her sleep had been restless and fitful, her nightmares plagued with grinning, flaming pumpkin heads, ghoulish laughter, leering skeletons, demonic bats, screaming ghosts and other horrifying sights. Waking up the next morning hardly brought any more relief, as the laughter continued to echo at the back of her mind.

Slowly getting up out of bed with a groan, Gwen Stacy walked into the bathroom, rubbing her forehead as she tried to organize her thoughts. Turning on the light, Gwen looked into the mirror and briefly gasped at her appearance. She looked as if she hadn't slept at all last night, the pained expression on her face dovetailing with the haunted look in her bloodshot eyes and the paleness of her complexion.

It had all started last night, when the psychopathic Jack O' Lantern, arguably the most deadly of the many villains that Gwen had fought as the spectacular Spider-Woman, had called her last night. The pumpkin-headed killer had taunted her about the fact that he somehow always knew where she was, the fact that he could strike her or her loved ones at any time, the fact that he had every intention of going on a rampage and the fact that she'd somehow been foolish enough to let him discover her secret identity.

Now, Gwen felt on edge, expecting Jack O' Lantern to strike at any moment. She felt like she should be out patrolling for him, to track him down and bring him to justice, but for some reason she couldn't use her spider-senses to track him down with the pheromones she'd marked him with. Gwen had also reminded herself that she had other responsibilities, both to herself and her loved ones, and that obsessing over what Jack O' Lantern might or might not do would be allowing him to win.

Of course, Gwen could tell herself all that.

But the memories of the horrifying crimes Jack O' Lantern had committed continued to echo on her memory, as did that same sick, twisted laughter, the laughter of a damned soul who knew what he was and who reveled in what he could do.

Wherever Gwen went, and whatever she did, she knew that Jack O' Lantern knew where she was.

Putting her head in her hands again, Gwen suddenly began breathing heavily before she managed to calm herself down and begin breathing normally.

SPIDER-WOMAN #48

"HELL HATH NO FURY LIKE A SUPERVILLAIN SCORNED"

Gwen managed to keep up a brave face during the day's classes, somehow able to concentrate on her studies. She was also fortunate to have something else to occupy her mind later that afternoon after her last class was done, meeting her mutant friend Kitty Pryde for lattes at the Coffee Bean.

Gwen hadn't even been waiting in line for two minutes before Kitty came in to join her, taking her place in line behind Gwen.

"Hi Gwen," Kitty greeted Gwen, hugging her briefly. "How's it going?"

"Pretty well," Gwen lied, summoning all her acting skills to keep calm despite her churning insides. "How about you?"

"Same old, same old," Kitty lied in turn, although Gwen caught the way Kitty's eyes flickered. The more experienced actress by far, Gwen could tell that Kitty was very upset about something. She suspected that it was something to do either with Kitty being a mutant, or more likely because of something to do with Jack O' Lantern, whose true identity was that of Steven Mark Levins, Kitty's uncle and brother to her mother. "So, what's up?"

"I need your advice on something to do with mutant rights," Gwen explained before they came up to the counter and placed their orders. As they got their coffee and walked over to a table to sit down, Gwen noticed that Kitty had flinched at Gwen's words, looking distinctly uncomfortable. Kitty preferred to downplay her mutant heritage, having refused to join both the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants when they'd tried to recruit her, and was otherwise uninterested in using her mutant phasing powers except whenever it was convenient for her.