The Way You Make Me Feel

Gwen Stacy lay unmoving on her bed, staring blankly up at the ceiling. She'd been in that same position since the day before, ever since her life had all but fallen to pieces around her. Her grades at school were absolutely terrible, she'd been sexually harassed by Roderick Kingsley, she'd been fired from her job at the coffee shop, her modeling career was almost certainly ruined, she'd lost the theatre role she'd been dreaming of since childhood, and she was about to be evicted from her apartment.

All of those things were just part of one much larger reminder-namely, her failure to live up to her responsibilities.

About all she seemed to be able to do right anymore was fight crime as Spider-Woman, and even now she was glad to be able to help people the way she did.

But that didn't help her deal with her other responsibilities.

SPIDER-WOMAN #39

"THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL"

It was only after Kitty Pryde had headed out to do some errands that Gwen finally rose from her bed. Coming out of her room, she ate some breakfast, showered and dressed without saying a word. As she did so, she stared blankly ahead, as if she was in a trance. Her head felt strangely heavy. She didn't feel the same tension and stress headaches she used to, and indeed didn't feel much of anything beyond a dull weight in her mind. Gwen felt almost detached, watching herself go through the motions of leaving her apartment and starting to wander the New York streets as if she were in someone else's body.

She wasn't sure where she was going or how she was getting there, just that it was all she seemed able to do anymore. Looking around at the people she passed, Gwen didn't recognize any of them, and in fact she preferred it that way. She didn't think she could really face anyone she knew, not after the way she'd been screwing things up lately.

It was only when she'd gotten off the bus that she realized that she was passing through Midtown, surprisingly close to where she'd grown up as a child. Looking around in surprise, Gwen wondered what could have possibly led her back here. Then again, the answer probably wasn't too hard to figure out-as a little girl, at least she'd had an excuse for messing things up as badly as she had.

Gwen was dwelling on that thought as a voice called out her name. Looking up in surprise, she found that she had just passed by Peter Parker's house, and the person who'd called out to her was standing on Peter's front lawn. The person wasn't Peter, though-it was Peter's Uncle Ben, the man who'd raised Peter as his own son after Peter's parents had died in a tragic accident. He had been raking the leaves on his lawn when he'd seen her pass by, and was now coming over to join her.

"Hey there," Ben Parker greeted Gwen, who briefly smiled and nodded. "Were you looking for Peter?"

"What..? No, no I was just passing by," Gwen shook her head, speaking too quickly for Ben's liking. "Take care, I'll see you around!" she smiled briefly and nodded, but Ben caught her arm as she turned to leave.

"Are you okay?" Ben asked Gwen, concern in his voice as he saw the pained look in her eyes. In response, Gwen looked down and away, unable to face Ben.

"It's alright, I'm fine," she muttered as she tried to walk away, but Ben kept a firm grip on her arm.

"No, you're not," Ben shook his head. "There's something bothering you, I can tell."

"Really, it's..." Gwen trailed off. "...It's nothing you need to worry about," she finished.

"Maybe I don't need to worry about it, but I want to worry about it," Ben replied gently. "Did you want to talk about it?"

Gwen hesitated, not wanting to dump her problems on him.

"I was just about to go inside for some lunch," Ben continued, a smile on his face. "I could use someone to share my wheatcakes with..."

"...What about Peter?" Gwen asked.

"He's working at the DailyBugletoday," Ben explained. "We usually have wheatcakes for lunch on Sunday, but half of them are going to go waste if he's not here."

That was when Gwen realized just how hungry she was.

"...Thank you..." she smiled back at Ben.

It was a small smile, one that still reflected the sadness on Gwen's face, but it warmed Ben's heart all the same.

"How are they?" Ben asked Gwen as she ate.

"They're really good," Gwen nodded gratefully as she finished her first plateful. She was a lot hungrier than she thought, and realized that she hadn't eaten any breakfast at all before heading out.

"Do you still want to talk about whatever it is that's bothering you?" Ben asked her again, more gently this time.

"Well..." Gwen began. At first she was hesitant, but she quickly found herself opening up to Ben as she told him about everything that had happened to her over the last couple of days. Even if she had wanted to, she couldn't have stopped herself once she started.

"I barely know what to do anymore," Gwen finally concluded.

"You sound like you're pushing yourself way too hard," Ben frowned.

"I know," Gwen said, recalling what her Aunt Nancy had told her about her father George and the disastrous consequences of his pushing himself too hard. "People have been telling me that, but every time I try to relax my conscience starts bothering me. I feel like I'm ignoring my responsibilities to everyone. If I don't do what I do, the guilt drives me nuts."

Ben thought on that for several moments.

"...What about your responsibilities to yourself?" he asked Gwen.

"What do you mean?" Gwen asked, not entirely sure what he was saying.

"I mean looking after your own needs," Ben told her. "Taking time to relax and enjoy life, and look after your own health. You're making yourself miserable with the way you keep trying to do a hundred things at once. Is that really what your mother or anyone else would want you to be doing?"

"That's the thing, though," Gwen persisted. "If I don't make an effort to keep finding good-paying modeling and acting jobs, or working at places like the coffee shop, I'll lose my apartment and I won't be able to support my mom. That's exactly what's happened. I don't want to be sponging off Aunt Nancy again!"

"Does your aunt consider it sponging if you stay with her?" Ben asked.

"Well...no," Gwen replied awkwardly. "Aunt Nancy actually invited me to stay back with them, but it just wouldn't feel right. And my mother..." she trailed off again, recalling how Helen Stacy had taken charge and taken care of Gwen after her brutal beating at the hands of Jack O' Lantern, and how she'd taken charge again when the Constrictor had tried to kill the Stacy family.

"What about her?" Ben asked curiously.

"She's so much better than she used to be," Gwen said slowly. "The therapy we got her has been working wonders."

"It sounds to me like you've already done plenty for your mother," Ben pointed out. "So why are you still beating yourself up over not doing enough to help her?"

"I..." Gwen stammered, unable to think of a reply.

"Whose standards are you trying to live up to?" Ben continued. "The unrealistic ones you're setting for yourself, or the standards other people actually have?"

Now it was Gwen's turn to think for several moments.

"But I can't just stand by and not do anything when people need help," Gwen said. "What if-"

"Who said anything about just standing by?" Ben interrupted her. "When it comes to being Spider-Woman, of course you're never going to ignore anyone who needs help. But other than that, you should just focus on what's really important."

Something about the way Ben was saying it made the weight lift from Gwen's mind, as her eyes began to sparkle with a new inner light.

"...You're right," Gwen finally said, "about everything."

Ben only smiled sympathetically back at her.

She's just a kid, and she's already gone through more than anyone should ever have to, he realized.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Parker," Gwen continued. "This means a lot to me. It really does."

"Who are you calling Mr. Parker?" Ben raised an eyebrow. "That just doesn't sound right."

Gwen thought on that for a moment.

"Thank you so much...Uncle Ben?" she tried again.

"That's more like it," Ben smiled paternally, as he hugged Gwen tightly. "You ever need someone to talk to again, my door's always open. Got it?"

"You bet," Gwen smiled back, pecking Ben on the cheek before she left the house and went on her way with a renewed determination.

Most of New York's supervillain criminals, when they were captured and convicted, were typically sent to a conventional prison. The ones without powers typically went to Attica Prison, while the ones with powers were typically sent to the Raft, a special wing of the Riker's Island prison. One thing the supervillain residents of Attica and the Raft had in common were that they had been found sane enough to stand trial. The villains who were found insane were instead dispatched to the Ravencroft Institute for the Criminally Insane. Ravencroft was meant to be a place where the insane villains could receive special psychiatric treatment, although in practice the vast majority of them were lost causes and had proven to be totally untreatable. Rather, they were locked here so they could be studied and monitored, with the intent of keeping them from getting back out into the wider world so they couldn't cause any more harm.

Dr. Karla Sofen was one of the therapists assigned to monitor and evaluate the supervillain criminals imprisoned at Ravencroft. Unlike the more austere middle-aged professionals who made up most of the rest of the staff, Dr. Sofen wasn't even thirty years old, her bright blue eyes, long golden hair and beautiful figure making her stand out from the other psychiatrists. In some respects, Dr. Sofen found her appearance very useful, particularly in that many of the male villains were more willing to open up to an attractive woman than an older man.

As she walked down the halls to see her first patient of the day, she heard his reedy, static-edged voice faintly singing. The singing became clearer as she arrived at the patient's cell and opened the door, looking down at the young man in front of her. He couldn't have been more than sixteen years old, but his youth didn't detract in the least from the manic look in his eyes, or his nightmarish appearance.

His hair was a bright bluish white, standing on end as if he'd been electrocuted. His skin was a deeper shade of blue, with wide streaks of red passing down the middle of his face, across his torso and over his arms, all of which gleamed with a metallic sheen. Most disturbingly, his entire body was crisscrossed with electrical wires threaded in and out of his skin like semi-exposed veins or stitching. When he spoke, his voice was thin and reedy, but crackling with an electrical edge to it.

"You made a fool of me, but them broken dreams have got to end," the creature sang. "Hey woman you got the blues, cos you ain't got no one else to use. There's an open road that leads nowhere, so just make some miles between here and there. There's a hole in my head where the rain comes in, you took my body and played to win. Ha ha woman it's a crying shame, but you ain't got nobody else to blame..."

"That's Electric Light Orchestra, isn't it?" Dr. Sofen interrupted the electrical thing as she sat down across from him. Formerly known by his name of Ronald Hilliard, he'd developed a bizarre obsession with the costumed heroine who called herself Spider-Woman and spent his entire trust fund to gain his bizarre electrical superpowers. He'd then tried to show his 'love' for Spider-Woman by murdering people who'd criticized her online, but she'd been disgusted by his actions and called him a sick freak. That had caused Hilliard, now calling himself Supercharger, to have such a psychotic break that he attempted to kill Spider-Woman herself, and he'd nearly succeeded until she'd subdued him in battle.

"You're a classic rock fan?" Supercharger raised an eyebrow, noticing her for the first time. "I love them all-Paul Anka...Eric Clapton...the Police...they all speak to me. I feel like I can really identify with what they're singing about, you know?"

"Are you talking about their music in general, or just specific songs?" Dr. Sofen asked curiously. "From what I've heard, you sing the few same songs over and over. The only Electric Light Orchestra song I ever hear you sing is EvilWoman."

"What the hell does that matter?" Supercharger spat, an angry look crossing his face.

"The lyrics tell an interesting story," Dr. Sofen pointed out. "Anka's Lonely Boy is about a young man looking for love, Clapton's Layla is about a man who's fallen in love with a woman and is trying to tell her about his love and begging her to love him back, the Police's Every Breath You Take is about a man who develops possessive, obsessive feelings for a woman who doesn't know him, and ELO's Evil Woman is about a man who's angry over being jilted and exploited by his lover."

Supercharger sat and stared intently at her, his eyes flashing dangerously.

"She made me look like a fool," Supercharger finally muttered. "I loved Spider-Woman and I thought she loved me, but then she publicly humiliated me after everything I did for her! I spent my entire trust fund so I'd have powers like her! I killed all of her critics! She was a goddamn tease! A TEASE!" he screamed, his voice rising several octaves. "She publicly humiliated me and called me a sick freak in front of everyone! Now I hate her! I HATE HER!" he shrieked, bursting into tears as he finished speaking.

"Why did you think Spider-Woman loved you?" Dr. Sofen asked curiously.

"She fought to protect me from that psychotic Jack O' Lantern at that high society party earlier this year," Supercharger explained. "Why else would she have tried to fight him? She knew I needed help...she was there when I needed her the most! But it was all a lie! Spider-Woman just did it so that she could embarrass me!"

"You don't think she could have been trying to protect anyone else?" Dr. Sofen asked.

"Of course not!" Supercharger scoffed at the ridiculous assertion. "My mother said the same stupid thing! She's just trying to make me feel bad about myself! She didn't understand! You don't understand! No one understands! I thought Spider-Woman did, but she was just making fun of me!"

"Well then, help me understand," Dr. Sofen replied, as she wrote something in her notebook. "What do you want me to understand about you?"

"I've just been so lonely all my life," Supercharger said sadly. "I have a lot of love to give, but I've never met anyone who ever really deserved it. Spider-Woman was the first girl I met who I actually felt that way about. She was the only person who was beautiful enough to really deserve me-everybody else is...well, they're so shallow and stupid!" he spat in disgust.

"How interesting..." Dr. Sofen nodded. "So now you feel isolated and lonely, betrayed by the one person who you thought cared for you."

"That's right," Supercharger nodded. "She broke my heart! And if I ever get out of here, I swear to God that I'm going to break her heart right back! If I can't have her, no one can! NO ONE!" he screamed.

Dr. Sofen did well to hide her intrigue.

"We'll need to schedule some more sessions," she realized.

"Private sessions," she finished.

Gwen returned to her apartment to find Kitty eating lunch, glancing through a textbook as she caught up on some homework. Getting a glass of water and her schoolbag, Gwen joined Kitty at the table and they sat in silence for several minutes, working on their assignments. As she completed her homework, Kitty looked up and broke the silence.

"How'd things go yesterday, Gwen?" Kitty asked.

"Not good," Gwen frowned, before she recounted the whole disastrous day. As Gwen spoke, the look on Kitty's face changed from disgust on hearing about Roderick Kinglsey's groping her to dismay at hearing that she didn't get the part of Eponine to sympathy at hearing that Gwen had been fired from her job at the coffee shop."

"Oh my God..." Kitty gasped. "Are you going to be alright?"

"Yeah, I'll live," Gwen frowned, "but it looks like we're back to square one. You can't pay the rent on your own for another month?"

"No," Kitty shook her head. "Did you forget about the rent hike Mrs. Muggins gave us? The only way we could cover it would be with both our paychecks."

"Oh yeah, right," Gwen nodded. "So what are you planning to do?"

"I'm probably going to have to move back home," Kitty sighed. "How about you?"

"Same here," Gwen frowned, putting her head in her hand as she looked down at her school notes again. "It's going to be pretty crowded with my mom, me, Jill and Aunt Nancy all sharing the place, though."

"You're not beating yourself up about this, are you?" Kitty asked in concern. "Because you really need to-"

"Don't worry, Kitty," Gwen assured her. "I'm fine, really. And I appreciate your concern-you were right about my pushing myself too hard."

"Well, I'm just glad you're alright," Kitty replied. "So, you're..."

"I'm focusing on my studies from here on out, and probably just working when school is out, or if we really need the money," Gwen nodded.

"I'm glad to hear it," Kitty smiled. "And I want to thank you for your help before, Gwen."

"What do you mean?" Gwen asked, her water glass halfway to her lips.

"I mean after those bigots trashed my dorm room," Kitty explained, "and you helped me find a place to stay. Even with everything that happened with Avalanche, and-"

"Hey, it's all good," Gwen assured her. "Besides, like I said before, it doesn't matter to me or to Kong that you're a mutant."

"And I've really enjoyed it here," Kitty smiled back. "Just don't forget, Gwen-whatever happens, I've got your back."

"Funny, I could say the same thing to you," Gwen grinned.

They both burst into giggles.

Dr. Sofen's next patient was a man in his early thirties, a man who was widely considered to have multiple personalities for the way he continually argued with and yelled at himself. He rarely left his cell, particularly since the arguing between his personalities made him frequently go out of control during group therapy sessions or other outings, and so like Supercharger Dr. Sofen visited him in his cell. The man was tall and thin, a thick mop of wild brown hair framing his narrow face and bright brown eyes. Outwardly, he wasn't that unusual, although Dr. Sofen had continually noted how the light in his eyes changed depending on which personality was speaking at any given time.

As a supervillain, he had been known as the Brothers Grimm, a warped "performance artist" whose idea of putting on a show was to kidnap people, force them to watch his demented shows, and then rob them blind. His bizarre conjuration abilities were matched only by his outlandish attire-his last costume had consisted of a black and white striped Beetlejuice suit, a straitjacket worn as a vest, a jester's hat with bells and a grinning harlequin mask covering his face.

"Hello, nurse!" the Brothers Grimm leered at Dr. Sofen as she came into his cell and sat down. From past experience, Dr. Sofen had learned that this personality was the one that called itself 'Barton', and tended to be much more manic and outgoing than his 'brother' personality.

"Good morning, Barton," Dr. Sofen said calmly as she opened up her notebook. "And good morning-"

"Do you realize how hot you'd be in a nurse's uniform?" the Brothers Grimm grinned lecherously, before a sudden scowl crossed his face.

"Why do you have to be such a perverted fool all the time?" the Brothers suddenly shouted at himself once again, this time in a somewhat different voice. "The only things worse than your conjurations are your disgusting manners!"

"Good morning to you too, Percy," Dr. Sofen nodded with a smile. "Have you both been having a constructive dialogue the way I recommended?"

"I've been trying, but Barton won't listen," the Brothers Grimm replied in his 'Percy' voice. "All he does is sit here and think about how he's going to try and get revenge on Spider-Woman!"

"Revenge, my ass!" Barton shouted back. "I'm just trying to come up with some fresh material! And why wouldn't I think about how to involve Spider-Woman? She's our straight woman! And she's actually contributed to the act-all you do is piss and moan about how she hurt you, and how you're scared of me, and all that other whiny shit! You're holding the act back!"

"I'mholding the act back?" Percy said incredulously. "You never listen to any of my ideas for new material!"

"That's because all your ideas suck!" Barton snapped.

"A touch of the macabre sucks?" Percy asked incredulously. "The works of Dali, Goya and Munch suck?"

"They're not the kind of things our audience wants!" Barton replied as the Brothers Grimm shook his head.

"How do you know unless we try?" Percy asked, as a wicked grin began to spread across the Brothers Grimm's face. "Just imagine the chaos we could cause if we actually scared the audience, instead of focusing on childish-"

"And how would your idea affect your conjuration powers, Percy?" Dr. Sofen finally spoke up, having watched the Brothers' two personalities argue with the keenest interest on her face.

"We're capable of conjuring up much more than just warped fairy tale creations," Percy explained. "It all depends on which of us is in control."

"And that's me!" Barton interrupted. "I'm the one with our conjuration powers!"

"But if Percy were the one in full control, that would change, wouldn't it?" Dr. Sofen asked thoughtfully.

"Why are you asking this?" Barton asked her suspiciously.

"Simple curiosity," Dr. Sofen replied unflappably.

"Thanks again for your help, guys," Gwen said to Kitty, Randy Robertson, Bruce "Kong" McFarlane, Liz Allan, Ben Reilly and Harry Osborn as they sat in Nancy Stacy's kitchen that next weekend. Between them, they had helped carry the last of Gwen's belongings into her Aunt Nancy's townhouse. Gwen, Liz and the guys had already helped Kitty pack her things and helped her move back into her parents' house, and now it was Gwen's turn.

"No problem," Ben assured her, before pausing to catch his breath. Taking a long drink of water, he went back to Nancy's kitchen sink and filled his glass up again before taking another drink. "So, is your aunt charging you rent?"

"No," Gwen shook her head, still feeling a little guilty about that. "With the way things have been going, I really need to concentrate on school more than anything else."

"I get where you're coming from," Ben nodded. "Oh man, look at the time," he said as he checked his watch. "I've really got to go. Catch you all later!" he nodded to the rest of the group as he headed for the door.

Harry and Liz were the next to leave, followed by Kong and Kitty. Soon, Randy and Gwen were the only ones left, munching on apricots as they got a late lunch.

"Isn't your birthday coming up?" Randy suddenly asked her, as if out of nowhere.

"Well...yeah, it is," Gwen realized, having almost forgotten about it herself.

"December 3rd, right?" Randy continued.

"Yeah," Gwen blinked in surprise. "How did-"

"I asked Kitty," Randy continued, a smile crossing his face. "Since we haven't gone out in a while, I was wondering if you'd like to do something special for your birthday!" he grinned.

"You bet I would," she grinned back. "What did you have in mind?"

"You just leave that up to me," Randy asserted confidently. "All you need to know is that you'll enjoy yourself. I promise you that!"

"Sounds great," Gwen replied, smiling that perfect white smile that made Randy feel weak. "And I really want to thank you for everything you've done over the past year to help me out," she continued, coming over to Randy and wrapping him in a tight hug.

"Hey, it's my pleasure," Randy smiled back, returning the hug twofold. "Besides, it's no more than you would have done."

"Well..." Gwen frowned at that. "I'm serious, though-you've been like a rock for me."

"Believe you me," Randy assured her, reaching out and taking Gwen's hand in his. "It's meant just as much to me. More than you could know, in fact."

They stood in silence for several moments, before Randy winked at her and left, leaving Gwen feel lightheaded and lighthearted all at once.

"We're really glad you're back, Gwen," Nancy Stacy told her niece as they sat having coffee with Gwen's cousin Jill and her mother Helen Lieber-Stacy that evening. "You seemed like you were having some real problems before."

"I kind of still am," Gwen sighed, before she explained to them about everything that had happened over the last few days, ranging from losing her job at the coffee shop to losing the role of Eponine to her failing her midterm exams to being sexually harassed by Roderick Kingsley. Nancy, Jill and Helen's reactions went in turn from sympathy to horror as Gwen told them what happened.

"...so that's why I had to move back in here," Gwen frowned. "I'm sorry, but-"

"But nothing," Nancy interrupted her. "We're glad you're back, Gwen. And like I said before, don't worry about the rent-we just want you to focus on your schoolwork and take care of yourself," as Helen and Jill nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, you were putting too much pressure on yourself," Helen reminded Gwen. "You've done more than your part, sweetie."

Gwen only smiled sadly, thinking of how many times everyone from Kitty to Nancy to Kenny Anderson had been telling her that.

Ofcourse,Iwastooheadstrongandstubborntolisten,she thought, shaking her head. Notanymore,though.

"You don't-" Jill interrupted, before she checked her watch. "Oh no!" she gasped. "It's time for DancingWiththeStars!"

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Nancy ordered her daughter. "Let's go, let's go!" she urged Jill as they ran out of the room, leaving Gwen and Helen sitting by themselves.

"You're not joining them?" Gwen asked her mother.

"No," Helen shook her head. "Are you?"

"No, I just want to take it easy tonight," Gwen sighed. "I've just had so much on my mind lately..."

"...I noticed," Helen realized. "Maybe..." she paused.

"What is it, Mom?" Gwen asked curiously.

"Well, there were a couple of things I wanted to ask you about, but if you need a break..." Helen paused again.

"No, I want to hear it," Gwen insisted, wondering if Helen was starting to have problems again. "Are you-"

"No, I'm fine," Helen interrupted her. "Now, are you really sure you're ready to hear this?" Helen asked.

"When you say it like that, you know I won't be able to stop wondering what it is if you tell me," Gwen rolled her eyes. "So yes, I'm ready!"

Helen hesitated for several seconds, as if gathering her courage.

"Okay..." she breathed, as if continuing to gather her nerves.

"Mom, what's the big deal?" Gwen pressed.

"I..." Helen started, before hesitating once more. "...I know, Gwen," she forced it out with a considerable effort.

"You finally...know...what?" Gwen blinked in astonishment, before she felt a creeping realization of what her mother was talking about slowly rise up within her.

"...I know you're Spider-Woman," Helen finally said.

Gwen just fell back against the couch, stunned by the revelation.

"You...know...?" she gasped. "How long did you know?"

"You remember when Nancy, Jill and I were kidnapped by the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants?" Helen told her. "And you saved us from Spiral?"

"Yeah...but how did you recognize me?" Gwen frowned. "My hair was black, and I was disguising my voice-"

"You didn't think I'd recognize my own daughter, even when she was in a costume?" Helen shook her head. "Once I saw the way you moved and the way you spoke as Spider-Woman, I realized who you were."

"Why didn't you tell me before now?" Gwen asked curiously. "I mean, I probably should have told you, but-"

"I thought that you'd tell us when you were ready," Helen explained, "and for a long time I would have had trouble mustering up the nerve to talk to you about it anyway. I still needed therapy, after everything your father put me through. I'm sorry, sweetie-I thought you'd want to do it yourself. I didn't want to force the issue. But now, with everything you've had to deal with, I didn't want you to have to deal with keeping the secret anymore."

"You knew I was risking my life as Spider-Woman, and you never tried to stop me?" Gwen asked in amazement. "It doesn't bother you that I'm...well..."

"Of course it does," Helen said sadly. "Whenever I see you on the news as Spider-Woman, there's a part of me that gets incredibly worried. But then I remember how you helped us, and how you've been able to help so many other people with your powers. That means more to me than you'll ever know-when I saw what you were capable of doing, even after everything you had to go through growing up, I realized that I could deal with it too. It helped me gather up the nerve to get the therapy I needed."

"Well, it took me a while to really get over what Dad did to us," Gwen frowned. "The whole reason I originally became a superhero was just to spite him, because he hated them so much. It was the same thing with my powers-I thought I was a mutant, and so I figured I could use my powers as a way to stick it to Dad. I lost my temper a few times, and I was really lucky not to hurt any innocent bystanders."

"...So why did you keep doing it?" Helen asked her.

"...That's what I've been asking myself over and over again," Gwen smiled sadly. "I mean, even with all the problems it's caused me, I just can't help myself when I see people who need help. People like Jack O' Lantern, Firebrand, Will O' the Wisp...they just remind me of Dad, picking on people who can't fight back. I always felt so angry and helpless when I saw what Dad did to you, wishing there was something I could do...I can't stand seeing people get hurt that way."

"And that's what you're doing now, isn't it?" Helen pointed out. "You're using your powers to protect the people who can't fight back against these villains, because you actually cando something about it, can't you?"

"...Yeah, I guess I can," Gwen smiled.

"That's why I'm so proud of you, Gwen," Helen said, leaning forward and hugging her daughter. "You've done so many things for so many people...I couldn't have asked for a better daughter."

As she sat there in her mother's embrace, Gwen felt all her troubles slowly fade away.

Today was a fresh start for her, and she was going to take full advantage of it.

(Next Issue: Things are looking up for Gwen, as she goes back to focusing on her studies, starts managing to balance her responsibilities and even finds new potential . However, there are darker signs on the horizon as Jack O' Lantern broods over his goal of revenge on his hated archnemesis. Even as Jack plans revenge on Spider-Woman, Moonstone weaves darker plans of her own, as the true extent of her crimes and her plans are finally revealed. To make matters even worse, Supercharger escapes from Ravencroft and goes on a rampage in New York, seeking to murder Spider-Woman for his past humiliations! All this and more in Spider-Woman 40: Love and Hate!)