All In The Family

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this," Randy Robertson said to his girlfriend as they put on their costumes.

"Come on, what's the harm?" Gwen Stacy grinned, as she put on her wig and glasses. "Besides, it'll be fun!"

"Yeah, I guess," Randy sighed as he adjusted his beard. "I've just never been very good with kids."

"What's to know?" Gwen shrugged. "Just be nice to them, and they'll be nice to you. And practice your laugh, too!"

"You realize you owe me big time, right?" Randy groused at Gwen.

"Think of it as our getting to spend more quality time together," Gwen grinned. "Now come on-laugh like you mean it!"

Randy rolled his eyes, but he gave it his best as he emerged from the back room into the display.

Acting as Santa to Gwen's Mrs. Claus initially made Randy feel ridiculous, but he realized that Gwen was right when she'd told him how good the laughter and cheer of the children would make him feel.

SPIDER-WOMAN #85

"ALL IN THE FAMILY"

"See, what did I tell you?" Gwen smiled widely as they changed out of their costumes at the end of their shift.

"No, you were right," Randy returned her smile. "But how did you ever get them to approve this couple display?"

"Neither one of the Santas was available, so I had to improvise," Gwen shrugged. "My boss was wondering if I could get any actors on short notice, but I figured I could do it as well as anybody."

"So what about the other guy they had as a backup in case the first one couldn't make it?" Randy asked in confusion.

"He got hurt in a superhero fight," Gwen shook her head. "Darkhawk was trying to stop Megatak, and the guy got a really nasty shock. He's going to be alright, but he's in no shape to be working right now."

"Damn," Randy shook his head. "Sometimes I really wonder what it is with this town."

As he glanced at Gwen, he thought he saw a pained look on her face for a moment. It wasn't long before she was calm again, with only a small frown to indicate her distress. For a moment Randy thought about asking her about it, knowing full well the problems that keeping secrets between him and Gwen could cause, but he realized that Gwen would probably tell him about it when she was ready.

"So where are you meeting this guy again?" Randy changed the subject, hoping to distract Gwen. As the spectacular Spider-Woman, Gwen had likely seen all too many examples of how innocent people could be victimized by supervillains, and Randy didn't want her dwelling on it any more than she had to.

"Papa Cicero's," Gwen explained. "It's this little pizzeria a few subway stops from here," she explained. "Zane says it's delicious."

"Yeah, and why did he ask to meet you?" Randy asked, a little more skeptical now. "Is he-"

"No, he isn't," Gwen assured him. "He said he's scheduling a few of these meetings with the rest of the cast to get to know us a bit better. He says that it'll help our characters interact better if we interact with each other more outside of the set too."

Randy just nodded, having heard similar words from other veteran directors, including his friend Tom Ferguson, who was also his boss at the HABQ-FM radio station.

"Have a good time, then," he smiled, kissing Gwen on the cheek. "See you tomorrow?"

"Always," Gwen assured him, returning the kiss.

Papa Cicero's was bigger than Gwen's expected, but it had a homey charm that seemed warm and comforting all at once. Scenes of Venice canals mingled with black-and-white images of old New York, and the walls were decorated both with memorabilia both of the Italian national soccer team and of the Knicks, the Yankees and the Rangers. Soft Italian music and the dim light added to the ambience, and Gwen felt herself almost warming up as she stepped into the restaurant.

Zane Richardson, the director and star of the new independent film Gwen was appearing in, was already waiting at their table. He greeted her with a warm smile as he stood up to shake her hand, before they sat down together.

"Sorry if I'm late," Gwen apologized as she pulled up her chair. "The subway was delayed-"

"Don't worry about it," Zane assured her. "I only got here a few minutes ago myself. Don't let the way I organize the film fool you-I'm lucky if I remember to put my shoes on before I go outside…"

He and Gwen shared a laugh at that, and once again Gwen was struck by how well Zane handled the scruffy look. Gwen had never liked the way so many people, especially celebrities, seemed to neglect their appearance and their hygiene on purpose. However, she could tell that Zane's clothes, while wrinkled, were still washed. He had a few days of stubble on his face, and he still had a substantial amount of bedhead, but he'd clearly taken the time to groom himself that morning, as his teeth and hair were appropriately clean.

More likely he's just a bit forgetful, Gwen realized, thinking of her friend Kenny Anderson. Like Zane, Kenny had tended to neglect his personal appearance a bit, although never to the extent that he looked like a slob.

"I appreciate your taking the time to join me," Zane smiled, clasping his hands on the table in front of him. "I really like getting to know the people I work with-it helps me shape the film appropriately."

"It's fine," Gwen assured him. "Though I have to say, you already run a pretty tight ship."

"Glad to know someone thinks so," Zane grinned. "I can't help but think about all the things I've screwed up so far…"

"Come on, you're one of the most professional directors I've ever had," Gwen assured him. "I mean, compared to Archibald Llewellyn, you're practically James Cameron…and a whole lot nicer," she giggled.

Zane's smile grew wider at that.

"Yeah, the man's an asshole, but he delivers at the box office," Zane chuckled. "You've worked with Archie Llewellyn? When did-"

"A performance of A Streetcar Named Desire," Gwen explained, "almost two years ago now. He was…let's just say he wasn't as easy to work with as you are."

"You mean, he's still the same uptight crank he's always been," Zane laughed.

"You said it, not me," Gwen returned his smile, before they both laughed.

The waiter came and took their orders, before they resumed their conversation.

"Yeah, I try to be professional," Zane nodded. "That's one of the interesting things about studying film history-not only do you get to see what past directors did right, but you also get to see what they did wrong. It's like the old saying goes-a smart person doesn't just learn from their own mistakes."

Gwen blinked in surprise at hearing that.

"So, tell me a bit about yourself," Zane continued, abruptly changing the subject. "What got you interested in working on this film?"

"Jonathan Caesar set it up for me," Gwen explained, a trace of embarrassment in her voice. "I met him when I auditioned for a job at the Gloom Room A Go-Go," she continued. "He was nice enough to help me get the role with April Reese, and then he introduced me to you. He was really sweet, helping me out."

"Yeah, Johnny's like that," Zane nodded. "I never would have gotten this project off the ground if he hadn't helped with the financing. He introduced me to the rest of the investors, too."

"How did you meet him?" Gwen asked curiously.

"He was good friends with one of my film school professors," Zane explained. "He said he saw potential in the stories I wanted to tell."

"What kind of stories do you want to tell?" Gwen asked curiously.

"About being a mutant, for one," Zane continued.

"How do you mean?" Gwen blinked.

"I've…had some bad…" he trailed off.

"My friend Kitty's a mutant too," Gwen replied gently. "She had to deal with a lot of shit from anti-mutant bigots."

"Somehow I doubt it was like mine," Zane said quietly, a somber tone in his voice. "My own…" he trailed off again.

"I know what that's like," Gwen said, her tone lowering to match Zane's.

Zane looked up at that.

"…How do you mean?" he asked, an edge in his voice. "Are you-"

"No, I'm not," Gwen shook her head, "but I know what you were about to say. I had problems growing up, too."

"But…you're not…" Zane blinked in surprise.

"I didn't have to be," Gwen explained.

They sat in silence for several moments.

"So how do you see that fitting into your role?" Zane asked.

"Easily," Gwen replied, a smile crossing her face. "I can't know what it's like to grow up as a mutant, much less come out as one. It doesn't mean I can't understand what the pain can be like, and how I can help someone who needs it."

Zane returned her smile.

That was delicious, Gwen thought to herself as she left Papa Cicero's. That lasagna was molto bene, as the Italians say…I should come back here with Randy some time!

Her thoughts on her conversation with Zane, Gwen was fortunate that she managed to avoid bumping into the man coming up the street.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Gwen said in alarm as she stopped short. "Are you okay…" she trailed off in shock, as she noted just who she was talking to.

People with unusual appearances were increasingly common on the streets of New York, so while the man was attracting some stares, many other people otherwise seemed to be ignoring him. Gwen would have recognized him even without his snow-white skin and hair, or his ice-blue eyes, given how she'd previously fought him as Spider-Woman.

"You okay, babe?" Donald Gill, alias Blizzard, asked her affably. "Don't worry about me…let me guess, you're surprised at how I look, aren't you? Long story short-I got superpowers. The rest of it just comes from my natural studliness," he grinned.

Gwen just blinked in astonishment, unable to say anything.

"…Is something wrong?" Donald asked her, concern coming into his voice. "Look, I know I'm a hottie, but-wait a minute, I know you!"

Gwen's eyes widened at that.

"You do?" she asked, wondering if he'd somehow figured out her secret identity.

"Of course I do," Donald grinned. "You're Tarot's friend, the one who's always visiting her in prison! Don't you remember me?"

"…Oh, right! We met one time last year, didn't we?" Gwen nodded, making sure to seem like it was just coming back to her. "Tarot told me how you got your relatives to protect her in prison."

Donald beamed proudly, as Gwen flashed a brief smile.

"So, did you just get out or something?" Gwen asked, putting a bit of interest in her voice this time. "Are you out on parole, or-"

"Yeah, for now," Donald smirked. "Not that it ever does any good for the Gill family, mind you. The way we usually celebrate parole is by trying to find some way of breaking it."

"Really?" Gwen asked, blinking and putting an interested half-smile on her features as she realized she might be able to get some more information on whatever Blizzard was planning. "What do you have planned?"

"Nothing yet," Donald shook his head. "I'm just here to see my old buddy Cicero, the guy who owns this place. I was just here to let him know that thug who's been harassing him finally got dealt with."

"You…" Gwen blinked.

"Nah, nothing like that," Donald shook his head as he realized what she was implying. "The bastard's in jail and all that. And not a moment too soon for Cicero, the way things were going."

"What do you mean?" Gwen asked in surprise.

"The economy's hit this neighborhood really hard," Donald shook his head. "I don't know what part of town you're from, sweetie, but that whole Wall Street crash cost a lot of people here their jobs."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Gwen frowned.

"I just hope Cicero will be alright," Blizzard shook his head. "It's good to see his business is picking up again-hopefully he'll be alright."

"It was delicious," Gwen nodded. "I'm definitely going to recommend it to my friends."

"Every little bit helps," Donald grinned. "It's too bad that he had to go through this in the first place, though. It's those sons of bitches on Wall Street that really should have gotten it!"

"Are you sure?" Gwen asked, hesitation in her voice.

"I sure am," Donald scowled. "Believe me, honey-somebody's going to make sure they get theirs, sooner or later."

With that, Donald abruptly marched past her, an angry look on his face, as he walked into Papa Cicero's.

Gwen resumed her walk towards the subway station, now suddenly very worried, both about what Donald might be planning and the fact that she sympathized with him more than she would have cared to admit.

The Bar With No Name was known for its ironic moniker, which some people had come to interpret as a commentary on its being an open secret among New York's criminal underworld. It was a high-end establishment with drinks, dancers, and all manner of pleasure, an establishment where criminals gathered to socialize, spend their ill-gotten loot and plan new jobs. Criminals of all kinds, from old-school wiseguys to ethnic gangs to Russian and other foreign mobsters, had made it their hangout. In recent years, no other criminal group had become more identified with the Bar in recent years than the costumed supervillains. Patrons in bizarre outfits and displaying weird powers were not just accepted by the management, but also given the VIP treatment, as they were known for their free-spending ways.

Will O' the Wisp was one of those patrons, his long golden hair and the green tint of his body, altered only by the golden starburst on his chest, being quite familiar to the bar staff. Since he had recently escaped from prison, the Wisp had been lying low, engaging only in subtle crimes using his hypnotic abilities, a side effect of being able to control the electrons in his body. The bright flashes of light he could emit as one of those abilities could entrance anyone unlucky enough to gaze on them, putting them entirely under his spell.

The Wisp had been coming to the bar every night in the week since he had escaped from prison, enjoying some high-class beer but otherwise keeping to himself. A few of his fellow criminals had tried to make conversation with him, but they quickly gave up after seeing his noncommittal responses. Most of them weren't that interested in talking to him anyway, agreeing with his second-rate reputation in the supervillain community.

Not that the Wisp had minded the solitude, since it gave him more time to think.

Finally, he saw her stride into the bar.

Even among the supervillains, she stood out with her long blonde hair, golden body armor, and silver gloves and helmet. Born Karla Sofen, but better known as Moonstone, she was not only one of the other villains who'd managed to escape in the breakout the Wisp and the mutant terrorist Mystique had engineered, she was a fellow member of the spectacular Spider-Woman's rogues gallery.

"Buy you a drink?" Will O' the Wisp smiled at Moonstone as he sat down at her table.

"With what?" Moonstone asked coldly, a skeptical frown on her face. "Since when have you ever been in the money?"

The Wisp remained calm, noting the contempt in Moonstone's voice. His getting that kind of reaction from another supervillain wasn't surprising by itself. What was surprising was Moonstone's buying into it so easily-he would have expected her to keep her guard up more around her fellow supervillains, and not buy into established reputations so easily.

Not that it was a bad thing from his point of view.

Reaching into the pocket of the coat covering most of his body, the Wisp tossed a pair of hundred-dollar bills onto the table between them.

"I've been around," he said enigmatically. The robberies he had pulled were fairly straightforward, using his powers to disable the security systems and electronic locks of the boutiques he was breaking into, before taking some choice pieces and re-arming everything before going on his way. Making the security cameras show what he wanted them to see was just as easy, as was hypnotizing any guards he encountered to forget the encounter.

The look of surprise on Moonstone's face as she looked down at the bills, then back up at Will O' the Wisp, gave him the moment he needed.

His eyes glowed golden briefly, their light reflecting off the silver of Moonstone's helmet. He was immune to his own lights, of course, but they shone through Moonstone's helmet.

"Pretty impressive," Moonstone replied, a smile in her voice. "What did you have in mind?"

"A Bordeaux, perhaps? Or a Chianti?" Will O' the Wisp asked.

"By all means," Moonstone nodded.

"Now then, what brings you here?" Moonstone asked. "Any particular reason you chose to come in tonight?"

"Just enjoying a bit of downtime between jobs," Will O' the Wisp smiled. "How about you?"

"Much the same," Moonstone nodded. "I've had to think about ways to rebuild the capital I might like for larger-scale projects."

"Well, what about engaging in a thought experiment, or something like that?" Will O' the Wisp asked.

"…Pardon?" Moonstone asked, intrigue in her voice.

"What would it be like to manipulate other criminals to your own end, use them in a team without their entirely knowing it? That was the fatal flaw of the Sinister Six, for instance, as Jack O' Lantern once pointed out to me. Either they fought Spider-Man one at a time, allowing him the opportunity to beat them, or they all attack him at once and likely get in each other's way. And how many super villains really have the patience to train as a team to kill a single hero, when they would all want the glory of killing the hero for themselves?" Will O' the Wisp asked.

"…Indeed," Moonstone said softly, rubbing her chin.

"Of course, you'd need to determine which villains would be most suitable to manipulate, and how to get the most of their abilities," he continued. "That's something you'd be especially good at, wouldn't it?"

Moonstone just smiled maliciously.

Over the next few hours, she gave Will O' the Wisp a lot to think about.

Katie Randolph, nee Katie Duffy, only shook her head as she looked over the account. Bennett Advertising had lost yet another client to the recession, as Down Home Foods had filed for bankruptcy protection. It wasn't too surprising, really-the company's credit was so overextended even before the recession, and the massive drop in sales that had come with the mortgage crisis was the last nail in the coffin.

Not that it made things any less frustrating for Katie, however. In the twelve years she'd been working her way up the ranks at Bennett Advertising, she'd had to deal with a number of crises, but nothing as bad as this. With so many families making an effort to cut costs and dealing with financial crises, they were cutting back on consumption…something that made her job as an ad executive all the trickier.

Normally, Katie relished such challenges, eager to take them on the way she had in her youth. She had passed her exams with flying colors, won multiple scholarships and awards for her drive, and leapt straight from university into a coveted position at Bennett Advertising, handpicked by Arthur Bennett himself.

Now, though, she was less keen about this challenge. The mortgage crisis was one of the reasons people were stretched so thin, but another one had to do with the costumed supervillains that seemed to infest the city like a plague. Even when they were prevented from robbing peoples' businesses or assets, the supervillains also caused an abhorrent amount of property damage, which cost many people and businesses dearly in lost business, repair costs and insurance hikes.

She could only shake her head in frustration at the mayhem the supervillains caused.

Frustration, guilt and a fair amount of shame.

He was once called Thomas Duffy, but now the monstrosity of flesh and metal preferred to be called Polestar. Ever since the laboratory accident that had fused his body with the suit of mechanical armor, allowing him to absorb and channel the suit's bizarre abilities to channel and control magnetism, Polestar had done as much as he could to distance himself from his old identity.

That life, of always being second best to his athletic brother and brainy sister, and constantly being reminded of it by his shaming parents, of being left by his wife for their TV repairman, of having to work along junior technicians ten years younger and more than him, was a constant source of rage to Polestar-that, and his repeated defeats at the hands of the spectacular Spider-Woman.

His previous crimes had been to personally enrich himself, and attempt to humiliate his family by association. Unfortunately, his efforts hadn't gotten him publicly associated with the rest of the Duffy clan, much to his dismay. His defeats at the hands of Spider-Woman hadn't helped his efforts, either.

That said, until he'd recently escaped in the prison jailbreak engineered by that Will O' the Wisp character, he'd been brushing up on his studies of magnetism.

And, in the group therapy sessions held by the prison psychiatrists, he'd learned about the old saying about Mohammed and the mountain.

Another day of filming had ended, and Gwen continued to be impressed with Zane Richardson's organizational skills. Now, webswinging her way home in her Spider-Woman costume as a way to get some solitude, she thought again of how well things were going.

'Triple threats' are people who can act, sing and dance, Spider-Woman mused, referring to the old theatre term. But Zane can act, write and direct-I wonder if we should be using the term 'triple threat' for that?

Production of the film was going well, and Spider-Woman was pleasantly surprised at how well things seemed to be going for her in general. Besides the film, she was confident she'd passed her final exams for the semester, things were going great between her and Randy, her Mrs. Clause gimmick was a hit at the Santa Claus display, and she'd made good money so far from working at the display and modelling for Vaughn-Pope's spring collection.

She felt a pang of guilt at that, recalling the issues Zane had described to her, as well as her conversation with Donald Gill. The anger Donald had demonstrated worried Spider-Woman, but now that she thought about it more she was even more worried by the way the economy was going.

What's going to happen to Mom or Aunt Nancy? Spider-Woman wondered with concern. And what about Liz, or Kitty, or-

The loud explosion and screams jolted Spider-Woman out of her reverie, leading her to swing around and head towards the building where she could now see the flashes of light.

The loud crash had irritated Katie at first, absorbed as she was in writing an e-mail on the negotiations with Roxxon. When she'd looked up, however, she'd seen her worst nightmares come to life, as the monstrosity that was her brother was tearing through the office where she worked. Metal debris, much of it sharpened into spikes and blades, orbited around him, as did glowing rings of energy. Every few seconds, those rings expanded at his gesture, passing through the computers and other office equipment in the agency. A loud crackling filled the air as the equipment was supercharged and blown out, the computers' hard drives destroyed by the powerful magnetic waves.

Several of the other office workers screamed and shouted at Polestar, but he ignored them all, locking his stare directly on the one woman he had come to see.

"T…Tommy?" Katie gasped in horror.

"Is that any way to greet your brother?" Polestar rasped, his voice distorted and crackling with energy. "Shouldn't you be using the words 'disgrace', or 'failure', or 'embarrassment'? Or could you have actually learned something in the last few years?"

"What the hell do you want, you bastard?" she demanded, her voice rising from the repulsion she felt.

"Isn't it obvious?" Polestar grinned. "Remember what it was like, when everybody made me feel like a worthless, useless piece of garbage? When everybody told me I was a failure, even though I kept trying to make them happy? When everybody made me realize that nothing I'd ever do would be good enough for them?"

Katie only stared back at him in horror.

"How does it feel, Katie? HOW DOES IT FEEL?" he screamed, as the rings of energy around him grew into a full globe, his body visible through it as a dark silhouette from which his eyes glowed wickedly.

"Tommy…please…" Katie gasped.

Polestar only laughed as he sent a flurry of blades flying towards Katie.

Katie closed her eyes, thinking she was done for, until Polestar's enraged cry led her to open them. To her astonishment, a large spider web had sprung up between her and Polestar, catching the blades before they could reach her. Polestar was no longer looking at her, instead staring hatefully at the slim, dark-haired frame of the spectacular Spider-Woman.

"Of course, it'd be you," Polestar spat at Spider-Woman. "Still trying to get by playing things straight? Or are you just too stupid to realize this is a sucker's game?"

Spider-Woman merely sprang at Polestar, spraying a double line of webbing at him, but the magnetic villain easily raised a wall of metal debris to protect himself, even as he rose into the air. As Spider-Woman's webs splattered harmlessly against his barrier, he bent it down and sent it flying at the arachnid heroine. Spider-Woman sprang into the air to avoid it, but this left her unable to dodge the electrical blast Polestar struck her head on with. Reeling from the bolt, Spider-Woman fell back and landed on one hand, forced to flip awkwardly out of the way of Polestar's follow up attacks until she was finally able to counter with a sting blast.

To Spider-Woman's dismay, Polestar easily absorbed it into the energy globe that surrounded him, even as it seemed to glow more brightly. Her eyes widened in horror as the globe concentrated into a single ball of energy in Polestar's hands, which then came flying directly at her.

Only Spider-Woman's amazing reflexes and agility saved her from being caught head-on by the blast. She managed to backflip once again, but this time she sprang into the air, flying feet first at Polestar and slamming him head-on with a vicious flying kick. As Polestar reeled from the blow, his concentration disrupted, Spider-Woman entangled him with her webbing and began following up with a series of vicious punches, determined to take Polestar down before he could recover.

Unfortunately, it never came to that. Although Spider-Woman could never have known it, her blows were weakened by the magnetic fields Polestar was projecting around himself. The magnetic levitation, as it was called, could repel diamagnetic substances, like the water in a human body. Scientists had been using the technique to levitate small animals, but now they reduced the effects of Spider-Woman's physical blows. They were not enough to shield Polestar from Spider-Woman's blows entirely, but they were enough to keep her blows strong enough to hurt but not strong enough to knock him out.

The mass of power cables and wires exploded from the floor of the office and entangled Spider-Woman, forcibly pulling her off of Polestar. As she struggled to break free, Polestar generated a surge of energy through the wires, electrocuting Spider-Woman. That wasn't enough to finish her, but it stunned her long enough for Polestar to cut and pulverize her with a barrage of metallic rubble, leaving her hanging limply in the wires, too weak to continue fighting back.

Polestar considered her for a moment, before he turned to the rest of the office. He smiled wickedly as he saw Katie cowering underneath the desk, too frightened to flee.

With an almost casual toss, Polestar flung the desk aside and stared down hatefully at his sister. She swallowed hard, realizing she was likely done for, but Polestar just laughed at her.

"Why would I kill you now, Katie?" Polestar laughed. "You were the one who told me once about the damage supervillains caused, and how that drove up operating costs for the businesses stupid enough to operate in this city. I just wanted to prove you right, you know. So tell me, sister-what's it like to feel totally worthless, like nothing you do ever comes out right? That you've got nobody to blame for your problems but yourself? Remember, Katie-you brought this on yourself, and on everybody else here. Remember what you told me about Arthur Bennett not being a forgiving man?"

So saying, he rose into the air and flew out of the broken window he'd used to break into the office, leaving the broken Katie and Spider-Woman in his wake.

Katie put her head in her hands as she contemplated the destruction all around her. After a few moments to gather her resolve, she dared to look up again.

She saw Arthur Bennett, the founder and president of Bennett Advertising, glaring angrily at her.

She put her head in her hands again.

Freeing herself from the tangled cables and returning home was a long and painful experience for Spider-Woman, especially with having to deal with the insults and berating from that Arthur Bennett character. Spider-Woman would have liked to deck him for his nasty language, but she could hardly do that considering that her failure had led to his office being trashed. Worse yet, she'd seen how Bennett had alluded to Katie Randolph having to wear the destruction of the office, and she knew that the next few weeks would not be pleasant ones for Katie.

Spider-Woman was pained by her physical wounds, but that paled in comparison to the shame she felt at letting Polestar get the better of her. Because of her, yet another group of people were going to be suffering, their suffering made all the worse by the economic crisis New York was experiencing.

Hiding her wounds with makeup, Gwen showed up for work at the Santa Claus display and the Richardson film over the next two days. Her acting skills helped her keep up a brave front, but the things she'd seen over the last few days remained on her mind.

It was with those things in mind that she filmed her latest entry in Fire Heart-Fire Passion, the online vlog she'd established as part of her social media presence. She started by summarizing her experiences with the Santa Claus display, with Desiree Vaughn-Pope, and Zane Richardson, before explaining a bit more about Richardson's filming techniques, and then finally moving on to her final subject.

"I know things are difficult for a lot of people right now, likely including people watching this video," Gwen said into the camera. "I've had to deal with some problems in my life, but I realize that I'm really lucky to be where I am right now. That's why I want you to know, whatever you're going through, I believe in you. I believe you've got the ability to overcome your problems, to get to a better place."

"Please, don't give up on yourself, especially now," Gwen continued, staring intently into the camera. "There are people who depend on you, who need you to be strong for them. They believe in you, just like I do…"

She trailed off, staring with concern into the camera, before she shut it off.

I let you down, Gwen though to Katie Randolph, and I won't let it happen again. I'm going to find Polestar, and make him pay.

Whatever it takes, Gwen finished the thought determinedly.

(Next Issue: Gwen begins her hunt for Polestar, even as she continues work at the Santa Claus display and the Zane Richardson film. Meanwhile, Randy tries to patch things up between Gwen and his parents, by arranging a lunch date between Gwen and them so they get to know her better. Meanwhile, Will O' the Wisp tries to enlist Polestar in his revenge plot against Spider-Woman. None of that may matter, however, when Blizzard goes on a robbing spree, determined to strike back at the people he blames for the problems faced by the people of New York! All this and more in Spider-Woman #86: Robbing Hood!)