Nothing mattered more to Helen Lieber-Stacy than the well-being of her daughter Gwen Stacy. When she heard Gwen's horrified scream, Helen immediately stopped what she was doing and ran into the foyer of the Stacys' townhouse.
Helen found Gwen kneeling on the floor, holding her head as tears streamed down her face and she sobbed hysterically. Kneeling down next to Gwen, Helen hugged Gwen tightly, whispering reassurances to her. Gwen didn't respond, and seemed completely shut off from everything around her.
Helen couldn't fathom what made Gwen have a full on panic attack, until she saw the note lying on the floor next to Gwen.
Helen knew that Gwen was a costumed superhero, the spectacular Spider-Woman. She also knew that fighting crime as Spider-Woman had earned Gwen a list of enemies as long as her arm. One of those enemies in particular terrified Gwen, given everything he'd put her through. He knew Gwen's secret identity as Spider-Woman, and he'd apparently let her know he was out of prison.
BEWARE, BEWARE!
NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO, JACK O' LANTERN IS COMING FOR YOU!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN, GWEN!
SPIDER-WOMAN #107
CLONE SAGA, PART ONE
DOUBLE IDENTITY
Six months earlier…
"First of all, let me assure you that I'm not mad, Dr. Jefferson," Steven Mark Levins told his prison psychiatrist as he stretched comfortably in his chair. "And not in the sense that I'm not angry, but rather that I'm not insane."
Dr. Charles Jefferson frowned at his patient as he took notes. Levins was forty-four years old, but his looks and physique were the envy of many men half his age. His temples had turned a distinguished grey, contrasting with his dark brown hair to make him a silver fox. His expression was thoughtful and inquisitive, as eager to receive as to share information. He almost seemed to radiate energy, which reflected his inner drive and intelligence.
Dr. Jefferson knew better, and was reminded of it whenever he looked into Levins' bright green eyes. Those eyes burned with a look that Dr. Jefferson typically only saw in serial killers and cult leaders, belying his handsome, distinguished appearance and hinting at the twisted monster within. As Jack O' Lantern, Levins reveled in his depravity, openly bragging about the dozens of murders and other crimes he'd committed and saying that he did them because he knew full well he shouldn't.
Dr. Jefferson had years of experience dealing with murderers and sociopaths, but Levins sent a chill down his spine in a way few of his other patients ever did.
"Despite the fact that, when you woke up in your cell, you started raving and screaming about revenge?" he asked Levins, referring to the last time Levins had been arrested as Jack O' Lantern.
"I was merely overwhelmed at the time," Levins said, waving Dr. Jefferson's claim away dismissively. "Yes, overwhelmed…rather like the protagonist of The Telltale Heart."
"…What do you mean?" Dr. Jefferson asked, baffled as to why Levins would refer to the classic Edgar Allan Poe short story.
"Overwhelmed by the sound of her heartbeat, I mean," Levins said, looking at Dr. Jefferson as if it were obvious.
"Whose heartbeat?" Dr. Jefferson said, feeling a growing sense of alarm.
"Spider-Woman's, of course!" Levins said, his expression showing his doubts about Dr. Jefferon's intelligence. "I constantly hear it over and over and over again…is it any wonder I want to end it?"
"You still have a vendetta against Spider-Woman, then?" Dr. Jefferson said. "A woman young enough to be your daughter, who never crossed you until you-"
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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...
