Luck of the Draw

Gwen Stacy slowly opened her eyes as she awoke from sleep, her long blonde hair flowing around her as she sat up in bed. Glancing over her body, she found that most of her burns and injuries from yesterday's battle with Firebrand had healed, although her feet were still a little tender. She turned around and groaned as she noticed the time on her clock radio-5:37 AM.

I slept…all evening and through the night? she realized. Damn, a night of studying completely wasted…

A long, cool refreshing shower restored Gwen's spirits, before she set about making herself breakfast. After eating and finishing her meal, she went to the door of her apartment and gathered up the Daily Bugle, to which she had begun subscribing, mostly to see Kitty's work in the paper. Although she took little interest in politics or sports, or much of anything else the Bugle had to say besides its editorials on mutant rights, Gwen found herself enjoying Kitty's work in the paper's Arts and Entertainment Section.

Any excitement she may have felt at reading the A&E section was spoiled as she flipped through the paper and stumbled across the article. Headlined FIRE TRAP, the article detailed her fight with Firebrand, complete with Eddie Brock's pictures of the flaming wreckage. Disgust turned to anger as she read the article.

…It appears that Spider-Woman is at least partially responsible for the damage inflicted by Firebrand, as her interference with the work of the police and fire crews hindered their efforts at rescuing trapped civilians and bystanders and increased Firebrand's anger, strengthening his flames and increasing the damage wrought by the villain. In a trend that has become distressingly common in New York over the past decade, Spider-Woman's battle with Firebrand caused further property damage and ruin for many city residents, even as innocent citizens were endangered…

It was all Gwen could do to avoid breaking her kitchen table in two. All the frustration and anger of the past few weeks seemed to return as she took several deep breaths, as her hands trembled and shook. Finally, as she calmed down, tears appeared in her eyes.

They soon disappeared, however, when she recalled the crowd of people trapped in the bus that she had saved upon smothering the bus's flames before they could reach the gas tank, and then smashing it open so they could flee the scene. She recalled the people who had clung desperately to her as she carried them out of the burning buildings, how the parents had made her carry out their children first, before she ran back in to retrieve them, and then taking off to battle Firebrand once again.

Gwen had done it all as if by reflex, without even thinking about it.

That realization caused her to lean back in her chair, anger fading as it became replaced by confusion and…relief?

SPIDER-WOMAN #6

"LUCK OF THE DRAW"

Shaking her head, Gwen left her apartment and made her way to Empire State University, trying to force herself to concentrate on other things as she made her way to her first class for the day, arriving some twenty minutes before it began-she preferred to get there early to prepare for anything that might come up.

She was snapped out of her reverie by a sudden voice calling her name. Looking around, she saw Randy Robertson, grandson of the legendary journalist Joe Robertson, who had become famous as J. Jonah Jameson's second-in-command at the Daily Bugle in the turbulent days of the 1960s, leading the way in the Bugle's fight for integration and the Civil Rights Movement…and incidentally making the Bugle the most popular newspaper among New York's Black community.

Gwen didn't know Randy all that well, having only met him a couple of times when Kitty had introduced them, as she shared Randy's admiration of his grandfather. She raised an eyebrow as he came towards her, seemingly flustered and nervous, his hands clenching and unclenching nervously.

"Look, uh…Gwen...can I talk to you for a moment?" Randy asked.

"Not now," she answered brusquely, waving her hand dismissively. "And whatever your problem is, save it-I have enough to deal with right now without someone else dumping on me," she spat as she headed for class.

Randy didn't respond, his mouth hanging open in astonishment.

Gwen suddenly froze, as she felt a wave of remorse fall over her. Turning around, she considered Randy for a moment.

What's wrong with me? Gwen wondered. First I blow up at Harry and Liz, and now this?

"I…I'm sorry," Gwen gently apologized as she came back towards Randy, sitting him down on a bench and coming down next to him. "I've just been under a lot of pressure with exams and everything…what's the matter?"

Randy glared at her for a moment, before he calmed down and began speaking.

"Kitty told me you were in Drama, right?"

Gwen nodded.

"Well, I could use your help," Randy continued. "I'm doing this movie for Film Studies class, and it's in serious trouble."

"How's that?" Gwen asked softly.

"One of the actresses broke her foot, so she's going to have to be in a cast for the next six weeks," Randy groaned, clenching his hands in frustration. "I'm screwed unless I can find someone to replace her-I need to get this thing done by the end of January, and her breaking her foot is going to throw my entire schedule off the rails."

"What's the movie about?" Gwen asked curiously.

"I don't know whether Kitty told you this, but I'm really interested in Black cultural history," Randy replied, calming down. "I mean, too many people overlook the social and cultural contributions Blacks have made, from the doo-wop and jazz music that influenced white artists like Elvis Presley and Eric Clapton, to the dancing of guys like Savion Glover and Gregory Hines, stuff like that. I'm really into stimulating that kind of Afro-American pride, you know, by showing just what we've contributed to this country, and to make everyone in general more aware of our heritage and what we've accomplished."

"Alright, but what does that have to do with me?" Gwen wondered, raising an eyebrow.

"See, the film is about Broadway tap dancing, how guys like Glover, Hines and Sammy Davis Jr. popularized hoofing and things like that. I cast a couple of black actors and a couple of white actors, to show off the similarities in their styles-but now, like I said, one of the white dancers broke her foot. I'm sunk unless I can find someone to take her place. Kitty suggested I ask you, since you're probably more up to speed on the Broadway scene and know someone I could get as a replacement," Randy explained.

A rare smile crossed Gwen's face.

"Hey, I could probably do it," she offered.

"You will?" Randy brightened.

"Sure," Gwen nodded. "Hines, Glover and Davis are some of my heroes. I took almost twelve years of tap classes, and I learned a lot about hoofing and similar styles. Besides, if I'm going to have a Broadway career, I can use all the experience I can get."

"Gwen, you're a lifesaver," Randy said, looking palpably relieved. "Can I have your e-mail address, so I can send you all the details?"

"No problem," she nodded, as she wrote it down for him. Thanking her once again, Randy walked off in the other direction as Gwen made her way on to class, oddly feeling better than she had in quite a while.

"Isn't your Chemistry exam today?" Ben Parker asked his nephew Peter as they ate the bacon and eggs Ben had prepared for breakfast, sitting at their kitchen table in Forest Hills.

"Not until this afternoon," Peter replied absently, his eyes narrowed as he studied the Daily Bugle intensely. Tossing it back, Peter leaned in his chair and stared absently at the ceiling for several moments. Ben looked curiously at Peter, before picking up the newspaper to see what he had been reading, his eyes widening as he considered the article on Spider-Woman's battle with Firebrand.

"Upset that someone's stolen your motif?" Ben asked, as Peter continued to look at the ceiling.

"…Peter?" Ben tried again.

"It's strange," Peter finally muttered to himself.

"Strange?" Ben repeated. "You've got someone stealing your moniker, and that doesn't-"

"Something doesn't make sense about her," Peter continued, still staring at the ceiling in intense thought.

"Like the fact she apparently can't find an original gimmick?" Ben asked half-humorously.

"…I don't think she can," Peter finally answered, as he closed his eyes and came back to face Uncle Ben.

"How do you mean?" Uncle Ben wondered, confusion slipping into his voice.

"Her powers are so similar to mine, in many ways," Peter explained. "She's got superhuman strength and agility to match my own, the ability to stick to walls, her own webbing. I'd have to do an analysis to compare her webbing to my own, but there are two hypotheses-either she's devised a web formula of her own, or her webbing is naturally produced."

"Could she have stolen your formula?" Ben asked, referring to the chemical compound devised by his brother Richard Parker, Peter's brilliant father, which Peter had used as the basis for the webbing he used as Spider-Man. Peter had completed the formula and devised a number of variations for dealing with supervillains as necessary.

"It's possible, although unlikely," Peter shook his head. "If my formula had spread wide enough for someone I've never met to get their hands on it, every criminal in the city would have found a way to counter it. Anyone devising a chemical counter to my webbing would have made a fortune by now. That hasn't happened, so it's pretty clear that isn't the case."

"…So where does this girl come from?" Ben scratched his head. "And how could she possible have powers so similar to yours?"

"That's a good question," Peter frowned, reflecting on the trip to the science laboratory where he had been bitten by the genetically altered spider, an incident that had permanently changed the course of his life. "What happened to me was an anomaly-it's unlikely you'd replicate that unless you precisely replicated the conditions and controlled for variations."

"Don't forget, she's got those electric stings, too," Ben reminded him. "Maybe she's a mutant, or something like that? You've hung out with those X-people, right?"

"Maybe," Peter conceded. "In any event, we don't have enough information to really say for sure. She seems to be on the right side, at least."

"Is she?" Ben questioned that assertion. "From what I heard, she could have hurt a lot of people during that fight she had with Blizzard, and she really beat up that Brothers Grimm character when she broke up his performance."

Peter had no response to that.

On exiting Drama class that Tuesday, the last one before final exams, Gwen and Kitty were confronted with an all-too familiar scene-Felicia Hardy and her cat pack surrounded Marie-Ange Colbert, keeping her pinned up against the wall as she tried to push past them. Gwen noticed how pale Marie-Ange appeared, as if she had gone without sleep for several days.

"You know, Colbert," Felicia sneered, "if you're going to go for the pale goth look, you might want to go for makeup. All you're doing is just making those crow's feet of yours even worse."

"She's still good for Drama, though, right?" Sally Avril, one of Felicia's sycophants, set her up.

"Well, I suppose…" Felicia started, "if she wants to get a job as a street mime. I mean, if you already dress like one, you might as well go all the way, right?"

Felicia and her friends cackled out loud, as Marie-Ange clenched her head, sinking to her knees.

"That is it!" Gwen finally snapped at Kitty, who looked over at her. "I'm going to knock Felicia into next week!"

So saying, Gwen advanced on Felicia and her friends, with Kitty hesitantly following behind. They stopped short, as Marie-Ange finally stood up, and burst out screaming in a rage.

"You've always had it, haven't you, Felicia?" Marie-Ange spat venomously, as people in the corridor stopped and turned to watch in silent amazement. "Always drawn the right cards, always had things come up right. Fortune always smiled on you. Am I right?"

"…What the hell are you talking about?" Felicia finally asked, as Gwen stopped.

"If I need to explain it," Marie-Ange replied, her voice becoming as cold as ice, "you'll never understand. Sooner or later, everyone's luck runs out, everyone's time ends…and what happens when the time comes to pay up?" Her eyes glittered brightly, as her skin seemed to get a shade paler.

"Marie-Ange, are you-" Gwen finally began, as Felicia and her friends began to back away, while Kitty stood by in mute silence.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Stacy?" Marie-Ange spat venomously. "I don't need your help, I don't need your pity, I don't need you, I don't need anyone."

"What do you mean?" Kitty finally ventured, coming up behind Gwen.

"I mean I know how the luck of the draw works," Marie-Ange replied, her voice becoming calm as ice. "And I also know how to make my own luck…and what happens when someone else's luck has to balance out," she shifted to a thin smile, staring directly at Felicia.

No one could say anything as Marie-Ange pushed her way past Felicia's stunned friends, past Gwen, through the intangible Kitty, and out the front doors of the building.

"Marie-Ange sounds like she's really starting to lose it," Liz noted to Gwen and Kitty as they sat with Harry that afternoon in the cafeteria at the Students' Union Building. "Just how long has this been going on?"

"A year, at least," Gwen sighed. "I just wish I'd done something before now…"

"We all should have," Liz said glumly.

"What do you mean?" Kitty asked curiously.

"Back at Midtown High, everyone was always making her life hell. She was always sitting by herself, reading these thick books, dressing really strangely, everything like that. Felicia Hardy was always picking on her. She got it even worse than Peter Parker did," Gwen informed her.

"Well, what can you do now?" Harry asked matter-of-factly. "If she keeps telling you to get lost, Gwen, that's pretty much all there is."

"I know, but…" Gwen trailed off, shifting uncomfortably. "I didn't do anything to help Peter either, or…"

"We all didn't," Liz sighed. "All we can do is learn from it, I guess."

Gwen barely noticed as the conversation shifted to other topics, dwelling on the merciless bullying Marie-Ange had suffered.

Gwen herself had taken her popularity for granted in high school, although she had gained a reputation as something of an ice queen for her apparently cold and haughty attitude, and her tendency to blow off any and every guy who asked her out, not to mention the fights Felicia had picked with her out of sheer jealousy.

She was suddenly reminded of Marie-Ange's words about the luck of the draw, and she found herself reflecting on that for a long time, even as the conversation shifted to final exams and what they were doing for the Christmas holidays.

Her eyes cold as ice, Marie-Ange slowly walked down the street, occasionally shaking her head.

The Lovers…

Something that was surely bitter irony, Marie-Ange realized. Love could lead to creation…but was creation always the product of love, or simple rash stupidity?

Temperance…

Ah, if only temperance was still considered a virtue!

Justice…

But what was justice, then, if it were not what she had received?

The Wheel of Fortune…

Fortune…was that all it came down to? The luck of the draw? The whim of the cards?

Marie-Ange paused for a moment, the images that flashed through her mind becoming more and more intense, as she felt a whispering beginning to build in her ears.

The luck of the cards, those cards Marie-Ange had cherished for so long, her consolation in dark times…could they be controlled?

A wide smile grew across Marie-Ange's face as the whispering in her ears became clearer.

With her knowledge, and her power, Marie-Ange Colbert could make her own luck.

How, then, could the instrument of shame and sorrow be turned to other purposes, to take the position in life she knew to be hers by right?

Whoever made their own luck, made their own destiny.

Gwen continued reflecting on Marie-Ange's angry departure, and her conversations with Liz and the others, as she came home that afternoon from her Dance exam, before putting the thoughts out of her mind as she sat down to check her e-mail.

The first letter was from Karen Page, Helen Stacy's attorney for the divorce proceedings she planned to launch against George.

Dear Ms. Stacy:

Upon further reflection, I believe that we possess a substantial case against your father George. Please advise your mother that I am ready to initiate the proceedings at any time. I understand that you and Ms. Nancy Stacy are acting on your mother's behalf, and so I have sent a copy of this letter to her as well. Enclosed in the attachment is a draft of the legal brief I plan to file. Mr. Nelson agrees that it would be to your advantage to proceed as soon as possible. Should you agree, I will have the initial papers filed with the courts by the New Year.

Sincerely Yours,

Karen Page,

On behalf of Nelson, Page and Murdock, Attorneys-At-Law

A sad smile crossed Gwen's face. Foggy Nelson, Karen Page and Matt Murdock headed the law firm Gwen and her Aunt Nancy had hired to handle Helen's divorce from George. The firm took on a wide variety of cases, with Page handling divorces and other civil matters, Foggy Nelson handling high-profile criminal or corporate cases, and Matt Murdock acting as a public defender or otherwise offering pro bono legal aid to poorer clients who otherwise couldn't afford legal help.

Returning to her inbox, Gwen's blood suddenly ran cold when she saw an e-mail from her father George. Her hands trembling, she could barely move her mouse to open it.

Gwen:

I have been informed that you and Nancy are advising Helen to initiate divorce proceedings against me. At the moment, I would consider this highly inadvisable, owing particularly to financial considerations. For the present, you can ill afford the potential costs to your education, in both time and money, that would arise from the complications of a divorce hearing. My own income earning, and by extension your own and Helen's, would be severely disrupted. I would advise you to thus consider the potential consequences of filing for divorce, that may prove to be infinitely more complicated than you or Nancy would at first consider.

Sincerely,

George Stacy

Gwen sat staring at her computer for several minutes, as quiet and calm as a statue, before she shuddered and slumped in despair, holding her head in her hands as she tried to restrain the tears.

(Next Issue: Gwen is confronted with the dilemma of what to do about her mother's divorce from her father George, even as Marie-Ange Colbert mysteriously disappears. As final exams end, and the Christmas holiday season begins, Spider-Woman finds she cannot rest as she is confronted by the insane cyborg menace known as Polestar! All this and more in Spider-Woman #7: Polar Opposites!)