Vigilante Man

It wasn't unusual for Gwen Stacy to have mixed emotions these days, and this morning was no different as she caught up on her e-mails between classes. She'd gotten an email from Desiree Vaughn-Pope, the head of Vaughn-Pope Cosmetics, who'd contracted Gwen for a modelling campaign featuring a new line of thigh-high socks patterned with the colors of the teams of the National Football League. According to Vaughn-Pope, sales of the socks were through the roof, something Vaughn-Pope attributed to the outstanding work Gwen and the other models had done. As an added bonus, Vaughn-Pope had taken the models' photos and used them to produce a series of posters of Gwen and the other models. The posters had also racked up huge sales, and Vaughn-Pope had written to tell Gwen that she would be getting paid a second time for her modelling work. Her first cheque had been for the photoshoot itself, and the second cheque would the posters that had been developed from the modelling shoot.

That was the good news, and Gwen knew she'd be able to make good use of the money Vaughn-Pope would be paying her. Unfortunately, the bad news came in the form of an e-mail from her boyfriend Randy Robertson:

Hi sweetie,

I'm so sorry I haven't written or called lately. I've just been so busy lately, working at the radio station and keeping up with my schoolwork. I also went to my cousin's wedding-I wanted to bring you, but Mom said that it should be a family-only affair. I don't know what she was talking about-when I got there, I saw that a bunch of the other guys brought their girlfriends.

I really don't know what's going on with my parents, Gwen. Every time I try to talk to them about my bringing you to anything they do, they always find some excuse for me not to do it. I'm going to ask them about this-it's not fair to me or to you.

Love,

Randy.

Gwen frowned at that. She didn't doubt that Randy would do everything he could to try and get his parents to change their minds, but she knew he probably wouldn't succeed. When she and Randy had met his parents for lunch a week and a half ago, Gwen had gotten a chilly reception from Isaiah and Louise Robertson, particularly once they'd learned that she was an actress and a model. She wasn't entirely sure why they seemed to dislike her so much, but she suspected it probably had to do with her career choices.

Not that this was the first time she'd gotten a less-than-warm welcome from a potential boyfriend's parents. Ben Reilly's father Andrew had been especially hostile to the idea of Gwen dating his son, to the point where he'd outright threatened her over the phone. Things had pretty much fizzled out between her and Ben after that.

Now, she hadn't spoken to Randy in over ten days, not since she'd stormed out of the From East To West restaurant. Her frustration had gotten the better of her when she'd had to deal with Randy's parents' dislike of her on top of all the other problems in her life, and she'd come to regret it since then. Unfortunately, in between following up on helping Tarot, preparing for her midterm exams, fighting her old enemies Will O' the Wisp and Firebrand as Spider-Woman and working for Desiree Vaughn-Pope, she hadn't been able to talk to him.

Gwen only sighed as she started typing a reply to Randy.

I've never broken any mirrors, stepped under any ladders, spilled any salt or had any black cats walk in front of me, she thought to herself, and yet the old Stacy luck strikes again…

SPIDER-WOMAN #51

"VIGILANTE MAN"

This is the life, Roderick Kingsley mused to himself, enjoying the company of a beautiful woman while the wife is out of town. I mean, yes, Rebecca still turns me on, but she turned thirty last year! What am I supposed to do? She's only getting older, after all-she's going to be thirty-one in May!

Rolling his eyes in mock frustration, Kingsley looked over at the figure of the beautiful woman whose company he was enjoying. She was at the bar mixing some fresh drinks, her long, silvery-blonde hair hanging loosely about her shoulders and contrasting nicely with the black teddy she was wearing. As she turned around, Kingsley basked in the devilish look on her face and the seductive look in her eyes.

"Stirred, not shaken, just the way you like it," Felicia Hardy purred as she sat down in Kingsley's lap and handed him his martini. "And believe me, I make them better than your wife ever did."

"You make it with me better than my wife ever did, too," Kingsley grinned back at her lasciviously. "Was the first payment enough?"

"You bet," Felicia laughed back. "I have to admit, I love the 'company benefits' too," she tittered.

"You and me both," Kingsley laughed. "So, tell me-have you ever been to Hawaii?"

"A couple of times, when I was little," Felicia replied, adjusting her position in Kingsley's lap, "but Daddy never really liked going there. He always had a miserable time, and only went because Mom insisted on it."

"Gee, that's too bad," Kingsley frowned. "What if I were to say that your new Daddy planned to take you to Hawaii because of all your good work?"

Felicia squealed with pleasure and kissed Kingsley, before falling back giggling.

Kingsley only laughed at that, reflecting on the irony. He'd originally recruited Felicia after seeing her on stage in that production of Les Miserables in New York, when things had gone sour with Gwen Stacy. Imagine Kingsley's delight, then, when Felicia turned out to be Gwen's old rival from high school, and had beaten out Gwen for the part of Eponine!

Kingsley had neither forgiven nor forgotten the way Gwen had struck him after he'd groped her, and he'd been thinking of a way that he might try and get a suitable revenge on her. Smearing her to his fellow modeling executives hadn't really helped, as many of them hadn't really believed him. Still, now that Gwen was getting exposure once again thanks to that bitch Desiree Vaughn-Pope, she'd probably be getting some new offers for modeling work.

Fair enough, then, Kingsley realized.

If I have to play hardball, then that's what I'll do, he concluded, before bursting into laughter once again.

Sitting in Professor Vargas's Criminology class later that day, Gwen listened intently as the class reviewed in preparation for next week's midterm exams. Empire State University had reworked its schedule compared to last year, which meant that Spring Break had been moved back another year. Most of the students were predictably unhappy about it, although in Gwen's case it was for different reasons than most. She'd intended to dedicate Spring Break to tracking down Jack O' Lantern and bring him to justice, and was none too happy that she'd have to wait another week before she could do so.

All of a sudden, her spider-senses began blaring. Gwen's spider-senses worked differently from Peter Parker's spider-senses, which warned him about immediate threats and attacks. Gwen's spider-senses functioned as a sort of biological tracking system. She had marked many of the people she knew, friends and enemies alike, with special chemical pheromones that she could home in on with her spider-senses. That ability had proven useful on more than one occasion in tracking different people down. Her spider-senses could also activate on their own when someone she had marked with her pheromones was in a situation that she would have had a strong emotional reaction to, whether a friend who was in danger or an enemy committing a crime.

Immediately, Gwen leapt to her feet, dropping her books and papers, looking around in alarm as she tried to figure out where her spider-senses were leading her. As Professor Vargas and the rest of the class looked up at Gwen in surprise, her spider-senses immediately stopped. Gwen stood there in hopeless confusion, staring awkwardly at Professor Vargas and the other students who were looking at her in surprise.

"Are you okay, Gwen?" Professor Vargas asked in concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Gwen said in embarrassment, picking up her books and papers as she sat down again. "I just had a back spasm," she hastily added.

Shrugging, Professor Vargas resumed the class and the students turned back to pay attention to what he was saying. The only exception was Gwen, whose head whirled with what had just happened.

Why had her spider-senses suddenly gone off like that?

Was the situation they were reacting to resolved?

Were the pheromones stimulated by something?

Or were her spider-senses starting to malfunction?

She spent the rest of the class and most of the rest of the day puzzling over it, but she just couldn't figure out what was wrong.

Gwen wasn't sure what alarmed her more-the fact that someone marked with her pheromones may have needed her help or committed a crime, or the fact that her powers may have been starting to go haywire.

Setting out later that night on patrol as Spider-Woman, Gwen tried focusing her spider-senses to see if she could home in on whatever it was that had disrupted them earlier in the day. Concentrating intently as she swung above the city, Spider-Woman found that, whatever the source was, her spider-senses simply couldn't get a fix on it.

That was bad-what if her spider-senses really were malfunctioning? Landing on a rooftop, Spider-Woman concentrated again, this time thinking of her friend Kitty Pryde, one of the many people she'd known and marked with her pheromones in case she needed to track them down.

Her spider-senses responded to her mental command, and the knowledge of Kitty's location sprung into her mind. Spider-Woman's spider-senses were directing her in the direction of Kitty's family home, and Kitty was probably at home this evening. Satisfied with that test, Spider-Woman switched her focus to her mother Helen Stacy. Again, her spider-senses responded the way they were supposed to, leading her back in the direction of her home.

Okay, so my spider-senses are working alright now, Spider-Woman thought to herself as she leapt into the air and resumed her web-swinging. But why did they just act up in the middle of the day? Was someone I know in trouble? I didn't hear anything on the news, so what happened?

Did Jack O' Lantern do something?

The idea sent chills down her spine. Jack O' Lantern was still on the loose, still waiting, still watching, still plotting…

Spider-Woman forced herself to stay calm as she began to shudder involuntarily. She couldn't afford to think too much about her hated archenemy, especially not if she ran into another criminal and was too distracted to fight properly. Although she'd done her level best to concentrate on her daily life and her other commitments, the thought of Jack O' Lantern had always remained at the back of her mind, lurking in the shadows of her thoughts with the knowledge that he knew who she was and that he knew where she was.

Always following her, always watching her.

Spider-Woman jumped off her webline and landed on a wall, anchoring herself with her feet as she rubbed at her temples, trying to get a grip on herself. Jack's laughter was echoing in her mind again, and-

Laughter?

No, that was just her imagination.

Then what was Spider-Woman hearing?

Screams?

Screams from that apartment?

Spider-Woman could see shadows moving in that apartment across the street, and flickering lights.

Anger replaced Spider-Woman's fear, as she spun a webline and swung towards the apartment, a determined look in her eyes.

It had been a peaceful night for Mario Calamino, his wife Isabella and their two children. They led fairly conventional lives, Mario working as a construction worker while Isabella pocketed extra money taking care of the neighbors' children when their parents were at work. They didn't pay much attention to the news or to politics, and had only spoken up once to defend the superheroic Spider-Woman. They'd done that after Isabella had taken their youngest daughter to Macy's Department Store last Christmas to see Santa Claus, and had witnessed the attack of the electrically-powered psychopath Supercharger.

Supercharger had gone on a rampage to force Spider-Woman to fight him, and he'd succeeded. Although Spider-Woman had successfully subdued the maniac, Supercharger had killed a number of innocent bystanders and wounded many more. The people who'd been caught in the crossfire had mixed views on what happened. Many people blamed Spider-Woman for the deaths and injuries of their loved ones, since Supercharger had gone on his rampage to lure her there, but Isabella and Mario had made a point of defending Spider-Woman in the media and giving some fairly blunt rebuttals to her critics. That was as much fame as the Calaminos cared to receive, and once it was done they'd faded back into obscurity.

Or so it seemed, at least, until the gang of thugs had broken into their apartment. They were all dressed the same, clad in black sweaters and jeans and wearing black ski masks over their faces, making them almost impossible to identify. Mario and Isabella had tried to fight back, but they'd been easily overcome. The entire Calamino family had been tied up, and now Mario and Isabella were being forced to watch as their daughters were viciously beaten. The ugly looks in the thugs' eyes, which Mario and Isabella could see even in the dim light of the thugs' flashlights, made all too clear what they intended to do after they'd had their fun beating the Calaminos.

The sound of the balcony door being forced made everyone, prisoner and thug alike, look up in surprise as the spectacular Spider-Woman burst into the apartment. The two thugs standing over the Calaminos' daughters hesitated, the tire irons they were using the beating still held in the air. Spider-Woman didn't waste the opportunity, blasting the thugs unconscious with her sting blasts. Two of the other thugs raised their guns, but Spider-Woman spun too quickly for them to react and doused them both with a spray of webbing, clogging their guns and tripping them up as they tried to run. They quickly fell on their faces, unable to break out of the sticky webbing.

The last thug had a murderous look in his eyes, screaming in rage as he charged Spider-Woman with a wicked-looking dagger. He ducked under the sting blast Spider-Woman fired at him and came up in surprising speed, forcing her back with repeated swipes of his dagger. Dodging quickly, Spider-Woman managed to catch his arms in her hands. Using her superhuman strength, she twisted the wrist holding the thug's dagger, forcing him to drop it, before she shoved him back. As he stumbled, Spider-Woman struck him with a sting blast and then began wrapping him up in a burst of webbing. The dazed thug sank to his knees, kept from falling by the netting of webbing that now entangled him. Dragging him forward, Spider-Woman reached out and yanked off his ski mask, thoroughly disgusted by the thug's actions.

If Spider-Woman's blood had been hot with anger, it now ran cold as she stared into the face of Vincent Gonzalez, the man behind the mask. Vincent Gonzalez had been the leader of the public hate campaign that had been started against her, which he'd later grown into Citizens For A Mask-Free City, a more general anti-superhero group. As Spider-Woman had later discovered after Vincent had started his movement, one of Supercharger's earliest victims had been Vincent's sister Michelle, who ran an anti-Spider-Woman hate site. Supercharger had murdered Michelle as part of his original campaign of declaring his sick "love" for Spider-Woman, and Vincent had later claimed that the deaths of Supercharger's victims were Spider-Woman's fault.

Before, Spider-Woman had only felt guilt and shame whenever she saw anything Vincent Gonzalez wrote or said, wondering if he was right in what she said. But now, as she untied the Calaminos, all she could feel was anger and disgust as she gathered up Vincent and his thugs and bound them all with more of her webbing. Turning around, Spider-Woman looked back at the Calaminos. Isabella was cradling her battered children, while Mario had just finished calling the police. He came down to join his wife and daughters, embracing them all as Spider-Woman turned back to keep an eye on the thugs who'd invaded their home.

Vincent Gonzalez glared back at her with hatred in his eyes, even as the rest of his goons tried to avoid her gaze.

"You hate me," Spider-Woman scowled at Vincent. "I get that. I can even sympathize with you after what happened to your sister. But what the hell, what in God's name, do they have to do with this?" Spider-Woman demanded, gesturing back at the Calaminos.

"They defended you, you fucking bitch," Vincent spat back, hatred dripping from his voice. "You think I'm just going to let that shit slide? It's your fault Michelle's dead. IT'S YOUR FAULT!" he repeated, his voice rising into an angry shout.

"So because of that, you start attacking people who defend me?" Spider-Woman asked in horror. "People who've suffered the same way you did, and who didn't do anything more than like me?"

"They don't care, and neither do you!" Vincent shouted back, his face now red and the veins standing out on either side of his neck. "Supercharger killed all those people because of you!"

"You think I don't know that?" Spider-Woman answered, more calmly this time. "You think I don't feel guilty about it, knowing that Supercharger killed all those people to get to me? I can't even count the number of times I wondered if you were right, and if I was responsible for psychopaths like him!"

"Well, you are!" Vincent replied.

"So that justifies attacking people who've never done anything to you? Letting people write those disgusting posts on your website about wanting to sexually assault me? How does anything justify that bullshit?" Spider-Woman asked calmly, no longer fazed by Vincent's angry shouting.

"It doesn't," Mario Calamino spoke up. "You saved our lives tonight, young lady, and it isn't the first time you've done it, either."

"What do you mean?" Spider-Woman asked in confusion.

"I was taking Joanna to see Santa that day when you fought Supercharger," Mario's wife Isabella chimed in. "He would have killed us all if you hadn't save us."

"It was her fault Supercharger was there in the first place!" Vincent protested.

"No, it wasn't," Isabella pointed out. "Supercharger made his own choices, and so did you. You make me sick-what would this Michelle person think of you now?" she demanded.

"DON'T YOU SAY HER NAME!" Vincent screamed, struggling to break out of Spider-Woman's webbing as the police arrived.

It didn't take long for them to handcuff Vincent and his thugs and read them their rights once Spider-Woman had peeled her webbing off of them. Vincent and the rest of his thugs, all now unmasked, were led out of the room as the other tenants of the apartment, who'd all been too terrified by the sounds of violence to respond, now poked their heads out of their doors to see what was happening. Many of them recognized Vincent Gonzalez, mumbling to themselves as they realized what he'd been doing.

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Spider-Woman asked Mario and Isabella, as a team of paramedics entered into the apartment to treat the Calaminos' injuries.

"Thanks to you, we will," Isabella assured her.

Smiling gratefully, and satisfied that the police and paramedics would take care of the Calaminos, Spider-Woman stepped out onto the fire escape of their apartment and swung off into the evening. She felt an equal amount of disgust and relief. She was deeply disgusted at the sickening things Vincent Gonzalez and his goons had done. At the same time, she also felt as though a burden was lifted off her shoulders, a relief that came from knowing that, for all the people that hated her as a menace, there were others like the Calaminos who appreciated her efforts.

The next morning found J. Jonah Jameson in the same place he always was, seated at his desk while chain-smoking cigars and issuing orders to the staff of the Daily Bugle like a field marshal. Longtime employees of the Bugle could attest to the fast pace of work there, and no one worked harder than Jameson, who personally reviewed every letter of every word of every sentence of every paragraph of every story in every section on every page of every edition of the Bugle before it went to press.

Jameson was working feverishly on a new editorial when he was interrupted by a loud BAMF sound and the smell of brimstone. Looking up from his computer, still typing all the while, Jameson noted the arrival of the mutant Kurt Wagner, the Bugle's political editor. With his mutant teleportation abilities, Wagner could frequently ferry himself and other important messages around the Bugle offices, and often proved himself more reliable than the fanciest new technology.

"Kelly, Gonzalez or Riker's Island?" Jameson demanded, referring to three of the major stories he'd ordered Wagner to give priority to.

"Numbers two and three," Wagner said. "Vincent Gonzalez was arrested last night," he explained, before briefly summarizing the attack Gonzalez and his thugs had made on the Calaminos and their rescue by Spider-Woman.

"The bastard was so two-faced, I could have sworn he was a younger Rudy Giuliani," Jameson scowled, as he stubbed out his cigar. "So-"

"That's not all," Wagner interrupted, as he handed Jameson a set of handwritten notes. "Joy Mercado's been doing some digging, and she noted that a lot of the other people who've been attacked by groups of masked thugs similar to Gonzalez and his pack were all supporters of Spider-Woman, so-"

"-so that's the reason they were attacked," Jameson scowled. "At least the heroes have a good reason to get people angry at them. How much property damage has the wall-crawler's grudge matches caused?" Jameson asked, referring to the amazing Spider-Man, the superhero who'd become the primary target of Jameson's anti-superhero editorials.

"There's also-" Wagner tried to start.

"-something to do with Riker's Island," Jameson finished for him, before snapping his fingers. "Well, come on, I don't have all day! What do you think this is, my playing golf with Michael Bloomberg?" he demanded.

Sighing inwardly, Wagner handed them over as Jameson snatched them out of his hand, scanning intently.

"I want this typed up for tomorrow," he nodded in satisfaction. "If they think they can pick on mutant prisoners on my watch, they're going to be sorry. I fought the Japanese, I fought the Klan, I fought Nixon, I fought Carter, I fought the Friends of Humanity, I fought Ward Churchill, I fought Giuliani, I fought the Mutant Registration Act, and I won every time! I'll be damned if I let this slide!" he finished, lighting up yet another cigar.

"Get to work on this," he ordered, handing the papers back Wagner as Wagner nodded.

"Now get out of here and don't come back unless you have something new on Senator Kelly!" Jameson ordered.

"Wait!" Jameson ordered, as Wagner prepared to teleport.

"Yes, Mr. Jameson?" Wagner asked.

"You can come back if you have something else in the Gonzalez case," Jameson said, "if you have something on Obama's next move in the primaries, if you get any more information on that attack the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants is planning, if you get anything else on support for the Superhuman Registration Act, or if you get anything on what the Friends of Humanity are planning," Jameson finally concluded.

"Now, get going!" he ordered, as Wagner merely sighed and teleported away.

Jameson then pulled out his cell phone and texted a message to his city editor Glory Grant with one hand, ordering her into his office, even as he used his other hand to continue frantically typing away at his computer.

"So, what's the verdict?" Gwen asked Dr. Hudson after she'd gotten dressed and come back into the exam room.

"You're in excellent health overall, Gwen," Dr. Hudson explained, reviewing her notes. "There are a couple of little concerns, though-are you getting enough sleep at night?"

"I try to," Gwen replied hesitantly, "but I'm having problems with nightmares."

"I'm afraid I'm not surprised," Dr. Hudson frowned sympathetically. "You're suffering from stress, Gwen, and you need to deal with it."

Gwen only sighed. She'd scheduled an appointment with her doctor to determine if she had some sort of health problem that was causing her spider-senses to misfire, but that clearly wasn't the case. After all, even during the nervous breakdown she'd suffered last year, her spider-powers had still functioned the way she wanted them to. Stress and anger hadn't caused her powers to malfunction, so what was it?

"I just have too much on my plate," Gwen said.

"Well then, you need to think about what to give up," Dr. Hudson pointed out. "You need to think about yourself, too," she reminded Gwen.

"I'll definitely give it some thought, Doctor," Gwen nodded. "Thanks again!" she nodded, before leaving to settle her bill.

Once she'd left the exam room, however, she suddenly felt her spider-senses activate on their own. Jolted into alertness, Gwen looked around instinctively before her spider-senses stopped functioning.

Realizing that her spider-senses had activated by themselves again, Gwen only shook her head and resumed walking down the hall. She settled her bill and then headed for the door, but then she stumbled as her spider-senses activated for the second time. Nearly tripping over her feet this time, Gwen had to grab onto the wall to keep from keeling over with surprise.

Now trembling, Gwen made her way out of the doctor's office and began walking towards the subway station…and her spider-senses activated again, surprising her so badly that she lost her balance and gave a cry of surprise. Stumbling forward again, completely off balance, Gwen grabbed onto a lamppost and leaned on it for several minutes, gasping for breath as she tried to overcome her shock. This time, she was shaking as much from anxiety as from surprise.

Three times.

Her spider-senses had activated three times in almost as many minutes.

What was wrong with her?

To her immense relief, Gwen didn't feel her spider-senses activate any more after she returned home. Catching a glance in the mirror as she passed by it, Gwen was struck by how pale and stressed she looked, shaking like a leaf and looking like she hadn't slept in days.

Taking some Tylenol and water to ease her headache, Gwen sat down to try and relax. She must have been even more tired than she thought, as she found herself slowly waking up as she heard the front door closing. Realizing she'd fallen asleep in her chair, Gwen got up and went to see who had come home. It was her mother Helen, who looked as fresh-faced and cheerful as Gwen looked weary and exhausted.

Of course, that changed as soon as Helen saw her daughter.

"Oh my God," she said in horror, hugging her daughter. "What happened to you, sweetie?"

"It's kind of hard to explain," Gwen replied, but she managed to do so anyway, telling Helen about her spider-senses and why they seemed to be activating just at random.

"And the doctor couldn't find anything wrong?" Helen asked.

"No," Gwen shook her head. "That's why I'm so worried about it. About the only thing I can think of is that it's just because of stress."

"Well then, maybe this will help," Helen grinned, as she led Gwen into the living room and they sat down in front of the TV. "Did you know that today was actually my day off?"

"So where did you go?" Gwen asked, as Helen turned on the TV and activated its TiVo function.

"It was the start of my TV career," Helen joked, as she made a selection from the recordings.

To Gwen's surprise, the recording was an episode of the TV show Branded, a prominent New York talk show hosted by pundit Mark Branden. Gwen was baffled as to why her mother would have taped an episode of the show, and became even more surprised when Branden mentioned the roster of guests for that episode, including a panel discussion on superheroes that included, among other people, Helen Stacy.

"How did you get invited on the show?" Gwen asked in astonishment.

"Remember when Jill, Nancy and I were kidnapped by the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants?" Helen reminded her. "It was all over the news, especially once people learned about George's…'connections'," she explained, referring to George Stacy, her now-deceased ex-husband and Gwen's father, who was outed as a notorious anti-mutant activist by the Brotherhood.

"Once you exposed that sicko Vincent Gonzalez, I was contacted by the producers of Branden's show," Helen explained. "They were looking for people to participate in a panel discussion about the impact of superheroes on the city."

Helen fast-forwarded through to the segment where the panel discussion was held. In addition to Helen herself, the panel included several other guests, including Senator Robert Kelly. Gwen grimaced, recognizing Kelly as the senator who had proposed a Superhuman Registration Act to deal with the rising rates of supervillain crime.

The debate went back and forth for several minutes, Helen constantly and persistently supporting the presence of superheroes in New York. Eventually, the discussion led into a rather heated debate between Helen and Senator Kelly over the benefits of the Superhuman Registration Act.

"That lunatic Vincent Gonzalez advocated for superhuman registration," Helen said pointedly, "and he was beating people who disagreed with him half to death. And it was a superhero who finally stopped him!"

"The same superhero who was responsible for putting Gonzalez down that path in the first place," Senator Kelly replied, an angry look in his eyes. "Supercharger murdered his sister because of Spider-Woman!"

"And how was that Spider-Woman's fault?" Helen shot back. "I did some research before I came on this show, which is more than you can say. It turns out that this Supercharger character got his powers specifically to kill people who criticized Spider-Woman. How, exactly, was that Spider-Woman's fault?"

"She led him to do it," Senator Kelly replied. "Supercharger became so obsessed with her that-"

"You mean it's her fault she attracted a crazed stalker?" Helen asked incredulously. "Was it Teri Hatcher's fault? How about John Lennon's? Maybe Jodie Foster should be in jail because that guy who tried to kill Ronald Reagan to get her attention?"

"But, she led him to-" Senator Kelly fumbled.

"Why is it always the superhero's fault?" Helen demanded. "A supervillain causes a lot of property damage, and people blame the hero that fought him. A supervillain kills people who get in his way, and people blame the hero that couldn't get there in time. A supervillain manages to rob a bank, and people blame the hero who tried and failed to stop them. Why is it always the hero's fault?"

"Because the hero screwed up," Mark Branden pointed out.

"Oh, really?" Helen scoffed. "When we're not yelling at superheroes for screwing up and telling them to get out of town, we're berating them for not being everywhere at once. It's a miracle that we still have people like Spider-Woman who are willing to risk their lives for us, and what do they get out of it? Insults? Threats? The risk of being jailed by the government if they don't register?" she spat, fixing an angry glare on Senator Kelly.

"So what's your point?" Mark Branden asked.

"My point is that we take superheroes for granted," Helen pointed out. "Daredevil, Darkhawk, the X-Men, pick whichever one you like, we abuse them when they don't help us and then act like ungrateful jerks when they do. Why would somebody like Spider-Woman risk her neck to save me and my family? She didn't get paid and she didn't get thanked by most people-she did it because it was the right thing to do."

"After all the city's superheroes have done for us, do you think it would kill us sometimes to show a little gratitude?" Helen asked, as Senator Kelly and the other guests looked at each other awkwardly.

"…And that's all the time we have," Mark Branden noted. "Stay tuned, because after the break…"

Gwen felt her spirits rise again, leaning against her mother, who hugged her daughter again in a warm, comforting embrace.

All of her problems seemed to fade away as she fell asleep in Helen's arms. Despite her fatigue and her worry, Gwen felt a smile cross her face, a smile that came from the knowledge that she was not alone.

(Next Issue: Gwen goes out with Randy for the first time since the disastrous lunch date with Randy's parents, and Randy finds himself increasingly uncertain how to reconcile his feelings for Gwen with his love for his parents. Meanwhile, J. Jonah Jameson's fiery editorializing and the fallout from Vincent Gonzalez's public exposure lead to an expose of the appalling treatment Tarot and other mutant prisoners are facing at the raft, something that leads Tarot to even more trouble than . As much as Gwen might like to help, she finds that she has bigger problems when the criminal scientist Gregor Shapanka, the original Blizzard, takes a group of hostages to force Donald Gill, the second Blizzard, to fight him! All this and more in Spider-Woman #52: Cold Shoulder!)