Spider-Gwen || Caught in a Web

Running Late || Gwen Stacy

"I'm lookin' to the sky to save me, lookin' for a sign of life"

-Learn to Fly, the Foo Fighters

Oh, yeah. I'm definitely gonna' be late this time.

Of all the things going on that Gwen had imagined herself finally being late to, she would never have guessed that band practice-the most laid-back, unstructured event on her calendar, would be the one to finally trip her up. Yet here she was, spinning head over heels through New York's morning breeze as the amount of time left until band practice ticked away. This time it hadn't been her normally busy schedule that had tripped her up-although the struggles to balance homework, band practice, and web-slinging vigilantism hadn't been anything to sneeze at. No, this time it had been Gwen's playlist.

As she flicked her wrist, sending another stream of webbing towards the top of a skyscraper, Gwen continued to scold herself for letting herself relax too long-while listening to her playlist atop the Chrysler Building was her usual decompression routine, she usually didn't stay longer than thirty minutes. But today her playlist had reached the 'nostalgic' section-the songs she'd put on when first getting wrapped up in this new life, and thirty minutes had turned into forty... then an hour...

I need a less distracting place to unwind... Gwen mused in her thoughts, letting off the steam of having lost track of time by twisting and spinning with every swing through the air. ...Maybe Rockefeller Center will do?

But her train of thought was derailed quickly as the echoes of police sirens reached Gwen's ears. While the thought of putting another gang of criminals in their place would typically be right up Gwen's alley, this was NOT the time or place. She groaned in frustration, immediately starting up an argument in her mind-would it be okay to let the police handle it this one time so she could make it to Felicia Hardy's house somewhat on time, or was she outright obligated to intervene due to these 'gifts' that she hadn't even asked for?

Maybe... maybe just this once... Gwen almost let herself off the hook, spinning another web and swinging her legs forward to build momentum, when the sight of a car chase below caught her eye. A vehicle was swerving recklessly in and out of traffic, gaining ground on a line of police cars that were desperately trying to avoid pedestrians.

...Nope. That looks like a 'me' job.

With a tight grip on her backpack, she flicked her left wrist at a downward angle, pulling herself closer to the streets below as the lead vehicle swerved. Gwen's eyes widened as she saw it barreling towards a makeshift hot dog stand on the sidewalk. No way whoever was selling stuff out of that thing would get out of the way in time...

"Heads up!!" Gwen's shout reached the stand owner's ears just before the roar of the oncoming vehicle, making him look up as a jet of webbing latched onto his shoulder. He shouted frantically as Gwen pulled him off his feet and into the air, out of the way of the vehicle that plowed his stand down and spun onto the sidewalk. Shards of metal and uncooked hot dogs flew everywhere, scattering across the sidewalk as Gwen swung over the scene. 

"Hate to see a New York classic take damage..." She quipped, catching the man on her shoulder before sticking the landing and letting go of the former hot dog stand owner.

As the man gasped for air, frantically staggering back and surveying the scattered remnants of his beloved business, Gwen dusted her shoulder off and sighed softly at the rough scene. "Yeah, um... sorry about your stand. Do you... do you at least have insurance for this sort of thing?" Her lighthearted question was met with a blank stare from the person she'd saved, who was clearly too overwhelmed by so many things happening at once.