Spider-Gwen 3 || The Fall

Better || Gwen Stacy

"Your eyes meet mine, and I implode; I guess I'll love you on my own"

-23, The Warning

The lights across New York City began to go dim as curfew came, with the city's residents all quickly ducking inside their homes hoping the best, while simultaneously fearing the worst. The familiar sound of sirens paired with the sight of red and blue lights as the NYPD zoomed through the streets, searching for any Oscorp troops that were planning something sinister.

Above it all, Gwen Stacy was laying flat on the side of a building that faced Oscorp Tower, her powers allowing her to stick to the wall as she reflected on last night's events.

You cost us our opportunity... we will not let it happen again.

The symbiote's cryptic warning before it had knocked Gwen (and itself) out replayed in her mind. Oddly enough, the symbiote had been quiet today... she hadn't even sensed a hint of it trying to assert itself ever since she'd woken up in Columbia's laboratory. But even that hadn't been a perfect reprieve, as her fight with Otto had left her as drained and exhausted as ever and unable to fully enjoy the temporary silence in her own head.

What was it trying to say to me?

Gwen folded her arms over her stomach, trying to piece the puzzle together. Originally, the symbiote had wanted Gwen to die for Otto's experiment... then it seemed to be eager to fight Otto... now, it only wanted Otto aware of its power? Claiming it was 'the answer'?

The symbiote clearly had ulterior motives... Gwen couldn't trust it, but she also couldn't understand what its end goal was.

A scoff made her look over-someone was laying on the wall several feet away from her.

"You had your chance to be a part of what we are striving for," Owen Octavius said, holding his hand up in front of his face. "Circumstances change... we're simply changing alongside them."

Gwen was getting sick of these visions that explained nothing to her. She scoffed back at the vision. "You're not Owen." Gwen told him, looking back at the tower before her. "You're just the thing in my head that won't explain itself-"

"Are you sure?" Owen questioned, turning his attention to Gwen. "How can you know that I wasn't something that was always inside of you? Something buried deep that is breaking free, and could have offered you the control you always sought...?"

His hypotheticals made Gwen shut her eyes, trying not to consider what he was saying as Owen leaned towards her.

"...Something that could have offered you the chance to realize your true power? The things that you've truly wanted all along?"

As Owen smiled at her darkly, Gwen looked over, taking a deep breath as she made her move to stand up to the symbiote. "I don't want what you're offering. Find a better sales pitch."

Owen sighed, clicking his tongue while shaking his head ruefully. "Shame... we could have shown this world what it truly means to live. To be free, with no weakness or frailty whatsoever."

"By killing people?" Gwen snapped. "By only thinking about myself?" She scooted away from Owen, her discomfort shifting to annoyance quickly. "I never asked for my powers... I never asked for anything you could give to me... but being strong comes with more responsibility than just fighting the crooks and creeps of the world-it comes with being strong enough to control yourself and not force your own way when it can hurt people." Gwen told him.