SPIDERMAN [JMJ]

4

Ken lay in bed, the weight of the day’s events pressing down on her. The moonlight streamed in through her bedroom window, casting soft shadows across the room. Her body was exhausted from both school and her patrols as Spider-Man, but despite the fatigue, sleep didn’t come easily. She tossed and turned, her mind restless.

Finally, as the night deepened, Ken’s eyelids grew heavy, and she drifted off into a fitful sleep. But with sleep came the memories—the ones she tried so hard to forget. The ones that always brought her back to that fateful day.

---

In her dream, Ken was back in her old hometown, years before she had moved to the city. She was just a teenager then, carefree and rebellious. She didn’t worry about responsibilities or secrets. Her biggest concern back then had been getting through school and figuring out what to do with her life.

That all changed the day she visited the science expo with her uncle, a memory that replayed vividly in her mind.

Ken walked through the massive hall filled with the latest in scientific technology. Her uncle, a man with a keen interest in science, had insisted she come along. Ken hadn’t been particularly thrilled about it, but something about the expo had piqued her curiosity. As she wandered from exhibit to exhibit, something caught her eye—a display on genetic mutations and experimental research.

That’s when she felt the sting.

A small, barely noticeable pain in her hand. Ken looked down to see a spider crawling up her arm, one that had escaped from a nearby research area. She flicked it off, thinking nothing of it, but the bite left a small mark on her skin. Little did she know, that single bite would change her life forever.

---

The dream shifted, and now Ken was back in her room a few days later. She remembered feeling strange—her body was different, stronger. At first, it was confusing. She didn’t understand what was happening. But soon, the truth became clear.

One morning, as Ken got ready for school, she accidentally knocked over a glass of water. Instinctively, her hand shot out, and to her surprise, a thin web shot from her wrist, sticking to the glass and pulling it back toward her.

Ken stared in shock. “What the—?”

Over the next few days, she discovered more abilities. Her reflexes were faster, her strength had increased, and she could scale walls as easily as if she were walking on the ground. It was terrifying at first, but as she learned to control her powers, Ken realized something incredible—she had become something more than human.

---

The dream shifted again, darker this time. Ken’s heart ached as she remembered the night her uncle had been killed.

She had been out, testing her newfound powers, swinging through the city. But when she came home, she was greeted by flashing police lights and the sound of sirens. Her heart raced as she ran toward her house, only to find her uncle lying on the ground, a bullet wound in his chest.

"No..." Ken whispered in the dream, reliving the pain of that moment. "Uncle, no..."

His last words echoed in her mind: "With great power comes great responsibility."

Ken had failed him. She had the power to protect people, and yet, she hadn’t been there when it mattered most. That guilt had stayed with her, shaping her into the hero she had become. It was the reason she took on the role of Spider-Man—to make sure no one else would suffer the way she had.

---

Ken jolted awake, her heart racing. Her room was dark and quiet, but the memories of that night still lingered. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Even after all this time, the weight of her uncle’s death still pressed down on her. It was the driving force behind everything she did.

But being Spider-Man wasn’t easy. It was a burden that kept her from living a normal life, kept her from getting too close to anyone. And now, with Wenny starting to enter her thoughts more often, Ken feared that her carefully constructed world was beginning to unravel.

She lay back down, staring at the ceiling, wondering how long she could keep her secret hidden. The path she had chosen was filled with danger, and the last thing she wanted was to drag someone else into it.

But deep down, Ken knew that things were changing, and soon, she wouldn’t be able to keep Wenny—or anyone else—at arm’s length anymore.

TBC.