Chapter 37: Just a little bit of support

A short ring of the phone snapped Gwen out of her thoughts. She found herself sitting on the parapet of a high-rise building, and she didn't even remember how she'd gotten there. Below her feet, a wall plunged into the abyss. There were no tours, and only she and the indifferent statues of gargoyles could see the mesmerizing spectacle from this insane height. Stacy caught herself thinking that she envied their impassivity. No matter what was going on below, it did not disturb the peace of the stone monsters. Even if war broke out tomorrow and human weapons destroyed the entire city, they would still be peaceful until they died.

Gwen wanted to call Peter, but stopped when she saw the traces of blood on her hands again... they could easily be washed off, but for some reason she still hadn't done so. Stacy suddenly realized that she didn't know what she wanted to say to Parker. Why, then, had she written to him and asked to see him? Just because she had no one else to talk to? The Spiderwoman had no friends to talk to about what had happened.

The girl stepped into the abyss, rushing into free fall. The sensation of flying helped Gwen snap out of her melancholic stupor. Releasing her webbing, Stacy took control of her fall and flew toward her home. Alas, even the thrill of flying the web could not cure her of her mental torment.

She knew that she was exposing herself to the risk of discovery, but she still didn't change into the normal clothes that now rested in the backpack at her back, but simply slid into the open window of her room. For some reason she didn't care at all, even if someone saw her.

Without taking off her costume, her mother wouldn't be home late anyway, Gwen walked into the living room and turned on the TV. The TV people had worked fast - the news had already been running a report on what had happened in OzCorp.

The model-looking anchorwoman gave her version of what had happened in an excited voice:

"...an attack unbelievably brutal! Four dead, dozens wounded, three in serious condition. Eyewitnesses report a bomber in a flying vehicle fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the balcony of the OzCorp building. According to initial reports, all of the dead were on the company's governing board. The Spiderwoman and the creature who most recently caused the massacre on the streets of the city are also known to have been involved in the pogrom" a recording which clearly showed the Spiderwoman attacking the criminal. "Whether they were accomplices of the attackers is determined by the investigation."

In annoyance, the girl turned off the TV.

"What the hell is the investigation?" Gwen hissed. "Have they gone completely blind?"

Actually, the reaction of the press and the police was predictable, but it was no less hurtful. She'd been everyone's favorite while she'd been on TV shows and entertained viewers, but when she'd done something truly important, a lot of people had turned their backs on her.

Important?

Four people died. She knew what was going to happen, even who was being targeted, and still she couldn't stop it. Those people might have been alive if she'd been quicker.

And now she could be blamed for everything! Gwen was torn between contradictions. On the one hand, she wanted to prevent this from happening again, since the criminal was still at large, but on the other, to risk her life and be rewarded with charges from the police... Mom has been trying to figure out who's behind the Spiderwoman identity for days... it came as a surprise to Gwen. Why is Jane Stacy, reputed to be one of the most sensible women in the police department, so caught up in this case? Why the animosity toward Spiderwoman? Their relationship wasn't particularly cordial as it was, and now it's even worse. It's hard to smile when your own mother is trashing you, and you can't even make a proper excuse.

Gwen could feel sharply how tired she'd been in the past few days, during which her senses had kept her awake. Back in her room, the girl stripped off her costume.

The white spandex was water-repellent, but the blood traces were still clearly visible on the fabric. Her mask was stained, as if all the dirt that had been spewed at her from her mother's lips and the headlines had suddenly become tangible. Stacy tossed the suit into the closet without even folding it properly, and collapsed exhausted on the bed, no energy in her body to even go for a wash.

Then the phone rang. A familiar name popped up on the display, and, yes, she had texted him herself. But she didn't want to answer it, she didn't want to talk to him... she shouldn't have written that text message. The girl felt an invisible hand of fear reeling in her gut, four people were dead, what if he blamed her for it, like the cops and the press had blamed her? After all, he had warned...

And yet she answered, she couldn't not answer.

"What's up, Spider-Girl?" Parker said cheerfully as soon as Gwen picked up the phone. "I've seen you on TV, you're good."

Gwen was afraid to move; she'd forgotten for a dozen seconds that she needed to breathe. Is this a joke? Of all people, he was the one who had the right to be angry with her. Peter had warned her about the attack, but she hadn't been able to dispose of the information...

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And what kind of stupid nickname was that - Spider-Girl? Stacy wanted to be indignant, but felt an unwelcome smile appear on her face on its own.

"Thank you... for the warning," Gwen remembered that she'd wanted to ask Peter about where he'd gotten his information, but decided to hold off, "and for everything..."

What was she going to say? For believing in me? For your support? For not doubting me for a second? Gwen didn't know it herself.

"... but I screwed up, I couldn't save those people and I didn't catch the criminal either, who knows what she'll do now, what she'll do next time?"

"Hey, Venom told me everything! You're the one who chased the attacker away and then you saved the wounded, you did everything right" Venom told him? So he didn't just call her for help, they met again after what happened... are they related somehow? "Yeah, and don't worry about Green running away. In fact..."

He hesitated for a moment, as if considering whether to speak, but quickly made up his mind.

"I'm dealing with this problem right now."

"What?" Gwen was taken aback, oblivious to her recent turmoil. "What do you mean, taking care of her? Wait, are you going to catch her yourself? She'll kill you!"

"Whoa, easy, it's under control! We already have her and I'm trying to figure out what's wrong with her..."

"We?" Gwen asked in shock. "Who's with you?"

"Well, if you want to know, come tomorrow to the address I'll send you ... and besides, you all already know each other anyway, but now get yourself cleaned up, okay? Don't be a wuss, Spider-Girl!"

"Hey, do not call me that!" Gwen shouted, but all she heard was a short laugh before Parker passed out. "What a jerk."

She tossed the phone aside, but the gesture was no longer the same doom, just mild annoyance or even... she could hardly find the words to describe her state at the moment.

Then I got a message on my phone with the address and a little note to it: "Come by after lunch tomorrow, and we'll show you and tell you everything."

"Just like that..." Gwen whispered.

Her gaze fell on the closet where the crumpled suit lay. She pondered what had happened for a few more seconds, and then she jumped briskly out of bed and pulled her tarnished heroine's outfit from the dresser.

"While my mother is not home, I can safely use the washing machine, just in time to take a shower while the suit is washing," the girl decided for herself and, whistling the melody of their new song, went out of the room. She put on the fastest mode of washing, since the fabric with spandex is easy to wash, she jumped under the shower.

Half an hour later, having washed off the dirt and folded the washed suit in the closet, Gwen collapsed back on the bed. She almost fell asleep on the move, but this time her fatigue was of a different nature; instead of painful exhaustion, she felt a pleasant languor in her whole body, like after a workout under her mother's guidance. She still felt responsible for what had happened, but the weight on her shoulders was a little lighter. When Gwen finally fell asleep, a slight smile wandered across her lips.

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