"Are you sure you want to do this, Gwen?" Helen Lieber-Stacy asked doubtfully as her daughter handed over the cheque.
"Of course I am," Gwen Stacy blinked in surprise. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Just how much money did you make working at the Gloom Room, anyway?" Helen replied, referring to the Gloom Room A Go-Go, the '60s retro nightclub that Gwen had been working at as a waitress before the place had been wrecked by the supervillain gangbangers who called themselves the Nasty Boys.
"I made enough," Gwen shrugged. "Seriously Mom, why are you so worried about this? I'm just trying to help the family out..." she continued, not quite certain what her mother was getting at.
"I know you are," Helen nodded, "but-"
"-but we've got to pay university tuition for me and Jill," Gwen interrupted, referring to her cousin Jill Stacy, "utility bills, property taxes, groceries and all those other things," she continued. "I'm sorry about the Gloom Room, but once I find another job I should be able to-"
"No, Gwen, you don't need to be giving us this much money!" Helen insisted, reaching out and covering Gwen's mouth before she could protest. "You have things you need to do too-and you're not getting another job right now, either."
"But -" Gwen protested.
"-but you're going to drive yourself crazy if you keep pushing yourself like this, Gwen. Again," Helen reminded her. "And don't give me any of that bull about how everything's all right-I know that it isn't."
"Yes it..." Gwen began before she trailed off, remembering how many other people had seen through her attempts to reassure them that nothing was wrong. Her friend Liz Allan had been merely the first one to actually point out what a bad liar she could be, unable to entirely conceal her inner turmoil.
"So what's wrong, honey?" Helen asked, a thin smile crossing her face.
"Lots of things," Gwen explained, before touching briefly on the problems she'd been having at school, her being blamed for the slow progress of the indie film she was appearing in, the grief she'd unwittingly given Randy and the fact that she'd failed as Spider-Woman to keep the Gloom Room from getting wrecked and prevented a number of innocent people from getting killed by the Nasty Boys.
"And how much of that is really your fault?" Helen asked her. "Rationally, I mean."
"Not all of it, I know," Gwen admitted reluctantly. "But I just can't help but feel like it is."
"That's the thinking that nearly drove you crazy, remember?" Helen reminded her. "You shouldn't be doing this to yourself, Gwen. You might have super-powers, but you're Spider-Woman, not Superwoman," Helen continued, referring to Gwen's superheroic alter ego as the spectacular Spider-Woman.
"So what am I supposed to do?" Gwen asked. "I can't just leave the rest of you hanging, and I still need to-"
"For one thing, Nancy and I are the ones who are supposed to be looking after most of the bills," Helen pointed out, referring to Gwen's aunt Nancy Stacy, "and if we need any extra help we can ask you. But for now, I'm not so sure the Gloom Room being wrecked is an entirely bad thing."
"What do you mean?" Gwen asked in shock.
"Well, for one thing it gives you some extra time to deal with the other issues you're having," Helen explained. "And more than that, it gives you a bit of a chance to relax. When was the last time you actually took some time to unwind with your friends?" Helen asked.
"I..." Gwen trailed off. "I'm really not sure, to be honest."
"Exactly," Helen pointed out. "You've done more than enough saving the world for the time being-you deserve a break!"
YOU ARE READING
Ultimate Spider-Woman: Change With the Light
FanfictionAs Gwen Stacy, Empire State University Drama major, finds herself developing strange superhuman powers, she is faced with her own inner demons. As she copes with the stresses and difficulties of her home life, a strange idea comes into her mind...
