Can't Stand The Heat

"You should have come to me sooner, Gwen," Dr. Emma Hudson frowned as she finished bandaging Gwen's arm. "Did you try and give yourself first aid?"

"I thought it was enough," Gwen Stacy said in some embarrassment. "I guess I was wrong."

"How did this happen?" Dr. Hudson asked, as Gwen stood up. "You were clearly attacked by somebody."

"Yeah, by some crazy lady," Gwen nodded, wincing as she stretched a bit. "I don't know her real name, but the police have her in custody already."

"That's New York for you," Dr. Hudson sighed. "You should be all right now, but you should still have a day or two of bed rest."

"Bed rest?" Gwen asked in dismay. "But I have classes-"

"-which aren't as important as your health," Dr. Hudson reminded her firmly. "No buts, Gwen-you need to give yourself a break. You're still suffering from stress. Have you been doing anything to deal with that?"

"I've decided to just focus on my studies for now," Gwen replied, trying to keep the agitation out of her voice. "I'm not trying to balance it with a job or anything like that."

"Well, that's a start," Dr. Hudson nodded approvingly, "but I'm not sure it's enough."

"What do you mean?" Gwen asked curiously.

"One of the challenges in practicing medicine is making sure you treat the cause of a problem, not just its symptoms," Dr. Hudson explained. "It's good that you're taking more time for yourself, but is that all you need to do?"

That thought remained with Gwen as she settled her bill and left Dr. Hudson's clinic.

SPIDER-WOMAN #89

CAN'T STAND THE HEAT

Relaxing on the couch the next day, Gwen closed her eyes and took several moments to absorb the Enya music she had playing on her smartphone. Her Drama 300 class was going on at that moment, where the class would be discussing what they, as actors, could bring to whichever character they chose to play as.

I was going to choose Cosette, what with how my own life growing up could help me understand what Cosette had to go through, Gwen thought to herself. With the way things seem to be going, I probably should have gone with Desdemona-her name means 'unfortunate', or 'unlucky', after all, Gwen continued sardonically.

Gwen had been trying to deal with the stress of trying to balance her career, her schoolwork and her superhero activities as the spectacular Spider-Woman by focusing solely on her schoolwork. She'd also cut back the amount of time she was patrolling as a hero, devoting it to her studies instead.

Unfortunately, Gwen had been forced to confront her old enemies Polestar and Scorpia as Spider-Woman. While Gwen had won those battles, she'd been badly hurt. Her battle with Polestar had left her too injured to meet her boyfriend Randy Robertson's mother Louise, preventing her from trying to build a better rapport with Louise. Gwen's battle with Scorpia had been even worse, forcing her to miss several days of classes.

Even when she'd been able to attend, Gwen had trouble keeping her focus. She was worried about everything from her missing out on good-paying work and being broke, to her problems with Randy's parents, to her guilt over the chaos Polestar and Scorpia managed to commit despite her best efforts, to her bad grades over the previous semester, to the disastrous tea leaf reading she'd received from her friend Marie-Ange Colbert, which had portended bad luck and hatred.

It figures, Gwen realized. The moment I actually start listening to everybody and start taking more time for myself, I keep having to get involved as Spider-Woman!

Taking a deep breath, Gwen tried to get some sleep, realizing that she was just making things worse by dwelling on her problems.

Instinctively, she squeezed her teddy bear Theodore, a Christmas gift from Randy. Gwen briefly stared into Theodore's eyes, recalling what they meant to her, as her mind flashed back to what Dr. Hudson told her the previous day.

She took another deep breath.

I need to keep resting up, at least for today, Gwen thought to herself. I get that. And once I'm done, I can keep sitting around here feeling sorry for myself and waiting for Mom or Randy to give me a shoulder to cry on, or I can actually do something about it.

Gwen drifted off to sleep, but ideas were already stirring in her mind.

"You know, I'm surprised someone didn't think of this sooner," Liz Allan grinned before turning the spinner. Moving her token forward six spaces, Liz grinned widely at the space she landed on.

"'TV game show winner'! I get $95,000!" Liz grinned, before she turned to Ben Reilly, who was acting as the banker.

"Just give me a $5,000 bill and you can have this $100,000 one," Ben offered, before they traded bills.

"Your turn, Gwen!" Liz nodded.

It was Gwen's turn to smile as she turned the spinner. Although she preferred Clue and Frustration over the Game of Life, she was happy that all her closest friends had come out for the game night she'd proposed. Along with Liz and Ben, her other friends Harry Osborn, Kitty Pryde, Bruce 'Kong' McFarlane, Julia Winhill, and Kenny Anderson had all shown up, as had her cousin Jill Stacy and her boyfriend Randy Robertson. Gwen had realized that many of them were likely feeling the stress from trying to balance their studies and their schoolwork, and so she'd organized this evening as a way for everyone to relax and hang out with each other.

So far, everything seemed to be working great.

Gwen finished moving her token and collecting the LIFE card, and then it was Ben's turn. Before his hand reached the spinner, he and the rest of the group suddenly heard the doorbell ring. A wide grin crossed his face as Ben jumped to his feet, involuntarily licking his lips as he did so.

The delicious smell of hot pizza filled the dorm room as Ben came back with the group's supper. Setting the pizza down on a long table, Ben turned around to collect everyone's share of the money they owed him for buying dinner. Gwen was able to keep the relief off her face as she handed Ben her payment, happy that she'd been able to scrape together enough bills to chip in without having to borrow anything from her mother Helen, her Aunt Nancy Stacy or Jill.

Despite herself, she couldn't help but wonder whether she would be able to do that again, or if she'd be forced to borrow the money from her family.

Gwen and her friends finished the Game of Life while eating their pizza, before most of them switched to Trivial Pursuit. Randy and Kong begged off joining them, though, wanting to face off in an electronic game of Battleship. They had lost track of the time, and it was almost 11:00 PM before the group separated for the night.

"This was a terrific idea, Gwen," Jill told her cousin as they rode the bus home. "I had a great time!"

"You and me both," Gwen grinned back. "University hasn't driven you too crazy yet, has it?"

"Come on," Jill smirked back. "If you can handle it, then so can I!"

They giggled at this, before Jill spoke again.

"I'm glad you're doing better, Gwen," Jill said, more quietly this time.

Gwen blinked in surprise at Jill, before realizing that she probably shouldn't have been surprised at all.

"That obvious, is it?" Gwen smiled sadly.

"I can't be the only person who's told you you're a bad liar," Jill pointed out half-jokingly.

Gwen laughed at that.

"Didn't think so," Jill chuckled. "But seriously, Gwen-you're too hard on yourself. We can see how stressed you're getting."

"I know that," Gwen sighed. "My conscience just keeps pushing me to-"

"Screw your conscience," Jill interrupted Gwen, a blunt tone in her voice. "What's the point of living if you're just going to be miserable all the time?"

"But-" Gwen tried to protest.

"But nothing," Jill shook her head. "You're doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing now, Gwen. Sure, you can focus on your schoolwork, but don't worry about all that work stuff yet. We're still getting by, and you've got plenty of time yet. Besides, weren't you the one telling me about how lots of actresses had to wait before they got their big breaks?"

Gwen tried to counter Jill's arguments, but she found that she simply couldn't, despite her best efforts.

She began laughing, falling back against her seat.

"What's wrong?" Jill asked in concern.

"Nothing," Gwen replied. "I just realized you're so, so right."

Relieved, Jill joined Gwen in her laughter.

Indeed, Gwen was feeling tremendously refreshed and ready to go back to class on Monday. She had a few things to think about before then, notably how she could catch up on the things she'd missed in class. Several of her fellow students had been forming study groups to help each other out, and Gwen knew she could easily join them.

She also remembered some of the special services Empire State University offered its students.

"I know that I need to take more time for myself, and that's what I'm doing," Gwen said, an edge of frustration in her voice, "but my conscience keeps eating at me when I think about everything I'm messing up, all the responsibilities I'm not keeping up with, that sort of thing. I keep wondering what I'm missing out on, and how that could affect me."

"So why do you feel the need to do these things?" Dr. Claire Temple asked her curiously.

"I feel like I'm wasting my potential if I don't," Gwen replied. "I have the skills and the brains to go as far as I want, so I should be able to do it!" she continued, her voice becoming more strained as she spoke.

"That's a common feeling for young women, unfortunately," Dr. Temple frowned, writing something in her notebook. "Many young women feel like they have to take advantage of every opportunity available to them, that they have to be perfect. That's one reason for the elevated stress levels you see a lot of girls."

"That's what we talked about in my Women's Studies classes," Gwen noted with a sad smile. "I never even stopped to think about how it applied to me."

"These types of challenges can affect different people in a lot of different ways," Dr. Temple returned Gwen's sad smile, "and in a lot of different ways. And it's normal for a lot of people to notice things sooner in other people than they do in themselves."

"Yeah, but…" Gwen trailed off.

"What's wrong?" Dr. Temple asked curiously.

"I suddenly felt myself thinking that I should have noticed that in myself," Gwen shook her head. "I never-"

"Do you think that's maybe the reason why you're always so hard on yourself?" Dr. Temple interrupted her quickly. "Because you're letting yourself down? Or that you're letting your friends or family down?"

Gwen was about to reply, until she remembered something her Uncle Ben Parker, who'd discovered her identity as the spectacular Spider-Woman, had told her.

"A friend of mine once asked me whether I was living up to other peoples' standards, or the unrealistic ones I was setting for myself," Gwen realized. "I forgot what he told me…"

"…and that's normal too," Dr. Temple said quickly.

"Something I really ought to remember," Gwen said, before she sat up, noticing that their time was almost up. "Could we have another session sometime soon?" she asked hopefully.

"Of course," Dr. Temple assured her, smiling warmly. "Every student is entitled to ten free counselling sessions. This is the first one you've had?"

"If I'd thought of this sooner, I'd probably have run out long ago," Gwen laughed as she got to her feet. "Thanks again, Doctor-you're really, really good at your job, believe me."

"I do what I can," Dr. Temple smiled, flushing a bit with pleasure.

Taking a deep breath as she left the counselling office, Gwen smiled determinedly as she headed to her first afternoon class, feeling more than ready to take on any challenges she might have to face.

"So it's just the three of us, then?" Moonstone asked her colleagues as they sat down at the table. She almost seemed to glow as she did so, the shimmering of her golden body armor and silver helmet, boots and gloves hinting at the impressive light-manipulating powers she could channel.

"Not just us, mind you," Will O' the Wisp smiled evilly at Moonstone, crossing his hands together as he did so. "Our friends Polestar and Scorpia played their parts too," he continued, as he and Moonstone gazed at their third partner, the Wisp's eyes flashing as they did so.

"And they failed," Firebrand said slowly, the jagged cut in his face mask that served as a mouth moving in time with his lips. Like all the metal plates that made up his ghoulish costume, Firebrand's face mask was melted into his face, created a ghoulish suit of armor that was fused with the charred flesh that was visible beneath the plates. "And I'm getting sick of sitting around doing nothing-when are we finally going to make her suffer?" Firebrand demanded, his entire body starting to glow with flames.

Will O' the Wisp and Moonstone looked at each other warily, knowing full well the danger of setting off the unstable flamethrower, whose fires became more intense with his rage.

"Why do you think it's your turn?" Moonstone asked, an evil smile crossing her face. "Polestar was merely to start by getting Spider-Woman upset over her failure to stop him from killing his brother. Scorpia was next, to build up on her shame and her disgust at Scorpia's insanity. And now, she'll be pushed right to the breaking point…assuming she survives!"

"She won't even live long enough to beg for her life," Firebrand hissed, a ghastly smile of his own crossing his face. "And she won't be the only one to suffer…oh no, she won't…"

"It's like Jack O' Lantern told me," Will O' the Wisp joined in on the wicked smiling. "It's one thing to form a group to kill Spider-Woman, but it's another thing to do it right. Everyone has their talents to contribute. Moonstone was the one who realized how we could break her down, I helped everyone escape from prison…"

"…and I'm going to kill her," Firebrand finished for him.

Moonstone didn't miss how Will O' the Wisp's eyes were glowing when he spoke.

"Exactly," the Wisp agreed.

"So now I'll kill her…" Firebrand stood up, and turned to leave. "Once I find her, the fires…oh, the fires…" he muttered to himself.

"And how are you going to find her?" Will O' the Wisp asked Firebrand pointedly.

"I'm done with you, Wisp," Firebrand snarled as he glared back over his shoulder at the golden-haired villain. "And if you think you'll stop me…"

"I don't intend to," the Wisp grinned. "Just a friendly suggestion-if you want to attract her attention, why not a local university, some place like Empire State University?"

"Why there?" Firebrand demanded, his eyes narrowing. "What do you know, Wisp?"

"Simply that it's full of students who need scholarships, who work to pay their bills, people who aren't fit to serve you drinks…" the Wisp replied, his eyes flashing again.

A murderous look crossed Firebrand's face, as he became completely enshrouded with flames. Moonstone and the Wisp could see the seething hatred on his face, a hatred that had begun when Firebrand was still the wealthy and violent young sociopath Harvey Russell Broxtel.

"Make…them…burn…" Firebrand muttered to himself as he turned to leave, his mind whirling with the possibilities.

The Wisp just smiled.

Moonstone's mind was whirling with the possibilities as well.

She was well aware of the way Will O' the Wisp could induce suggestions in peoples' minds with the way his eyes glowed, suggestions that led them to see the advantages of whatever he was proposing. The special lenses in her helmet allowed her to filter the light so that it could not affect her, although she'd pretended it had. She was intrigued by the Wisp's ideas, and the 'thought experiment' he had been conducting.

Now she was also intrigued by Will O' the Wisp's suggestion of Empire State University as the place Firebrand should attack.

It was a strange choice, particularly given that there were other universities and colleges closer to where they were staying that Firebrand could have attacked. She doubted that Will O' the Wisp had any real grudge against Empire State-given how up front he was about the grudges he held, he likely would have mentioned it by now-so why would he suggest it as Firebrand's target?

Did he believe Spider-Woman was a student there in her civilian identity?

How did he know that?

And what else did he know?

Moonstone was smiling more widely than ever at the thought of it, and of the intriguing new directions the thought experiment could take.

"I'm sorry we couldn't get together tonight," Gwen told Randy over the phone, "but our study group was meeting tonight. I really didn't want to miss it."

"Hey, it's all good," Randy assured her. "You can make it up to me by coming to a family gathering we've got coming up this weekend. Everyone will be there?"

"Including your grandma Martha?" Gwen asked curiously, though Randy didn't miss the trace of hesitation in her voice.

"You bet," Randy smiled. "Who do you think organized the whole thing?"

Gwen just giggled, although Randy could still detect a trace of strain at it.

"I'd love to come, then," Gwen assured him. "See you soon, sweetie!"

"Love you, kiddo," Randy replied, before they hung up.

Putting his phone into his pocket, Randy emerged from his bedroom and walked into the hallway, before stopping short. His mother Louise Robertson was standing in the hall waiting for him, and she didn't seem pleased.

Randy groaned inwardly, his good mood suddenly gone. He knew how much his parents disliked Gwen, and didn't approve of her dating him. Despite his best efforts, he hadn't been able to change their minds about Gwen, much to his frustration.

"Why are you inviting that girl to our gathering?" Louise demanded, hands on her hips.

"Because she's my girlfriend?" Randy asked, more sharply than he intended. "And a lot of the other guys are bringing their girlfriends?"

"She can't come, Randy," Louise said sternly, her eyes narrowing. "You should know that."

"Why not?" Randy demanded, his voice rising.

"How many times have we been over this?" Louise shot back, her voice rising. "She's flaunting her body as a career, she keeps God knows what kinds of secrets, and she can't be trusted to meet her commitments," she continued pointedly, referring to a lunch date that Randy had arranged between Louise and Gwen. Gwen had been too wounded from her battle with her old enemy Scorpia to meet Louise, but she and Randy couldn't explain that to Louise without giving away Gwen's secret identity as Spider-Woman.

"She's just not good enough for you," Louise concluded, folding her arms.

"Is that what you think?" Randy asked, putting his own hands on his hips. "Even after Gwen has never been anything but polite and respectful to you? Even after you've seen how happy she and I make each other feel? Even after you've hardly ever given her a fair chance?"

"I don't recall this being open for discussion!" Louise exclaimed, her eyes flashing. "She can't come. Is that clear?"

"Mom, please-" Randy tried to answer, before Louise spoke again.

"One more word, and you won't be able to come to the gathering either," Louise said, an icy calm in her voice. "Do you understand?"

Randy could only nod at that.

"So now I can't come?" Gwen asked in dismay, as the strain in her voice became more evident.

"She said if I tried, then I couldn't come either," Randy said, suddenly hating himself at that moment.

"Alright, I don't know what I'm supposed to do," Gwen replied, the strain in her voice now replaced with anger. "I can't change who I am, or what I care about! What, am I supposed to do that just to please your parents?"

"Gwen, she's my mother!" Randy said, the strain coming into his own voice. "I can't just ignore what she thinks!"

"Alright then, you tell me," Gwen replied. "What am I supposed to do? What are we supposed to do?" she continued.

"I…I don't know, Gwen," Randy said, as he felt his head begin to throb.

"Well, we need to decide," Gwen replied.

"…and soon," she finished, the tension all too clear in her voice.

The tense feeling hung heavily in the air for Randy as he hung up.

Gwen wasn't feeling much better as she hung up, and took a deep breath before she put her phone in her pocket.

She felt the frustration rising up again, but she reminded herself of what Jill and Dr. Temple had told her.

She also remember what else she'd been through in her life, and how she'd overcome it.

Gwen smiled determinedly, remembering how much she loved the man she'd just been speaking to.

Gwen's mood was better as she emerged from her last class the next day. The month of February 2009 had just begun, and the sky was clear and sunny, shimmering beautifully off the snow that blanketed Empire State University's campus. It contributed greatly to Gwen's relaxed feeling, as had the way her day had turned out.

Gwen had gotten in touch with the study groups several of her classes were forming, and they'd eagerly accepted her. One of them had already had its first session that morning, and it had been everything Gwen could ask for. English 330 was still her worst class, and Professor Huddleston was widely known for his strictness. Gwen had noted the disapproving way Professor Huddleston looked at her, no doubt thinking that she was more beauty than brains.

That irked Gwen, but she knew that she hadn't given Professor Huddleston much reason to change his view of her. It didn't matter anyway-there were four more months in the semester, and Gwen had plenty of time to improve her English marks.

She brightened as she hurried towards the Students' Union Building, where the ESU student counselling office was located. She had another appointment with Dr. Temple, and she didn't want to miss it.

Firebrand looked like any other typical Empire State student, disguised by one of the illusion devices Will O' the Wisp had bought from Mysterio. He looked around as he walked across the campus, a hateful scowl on his face at the calm and serenity all around him. Will O' the Wisp had asked him to attack the university campus today, and it had taken everything Firebrand had to keep himself in check.

Now, surrounded by peace and happiness, Firebrand could feel his rage building within him, a seething volcano preparing to explode.

Screaming in anger, Firebrand released his flames and rage. Soon, everything and everyone around him were wreathed in flames, an extension of the fires' hateful master.

The screams of Firebrand's victims matched his own.

Any pleasant thoughts Gwen had been feeling vanished the moment she heard the burning students screaming. Hurrying to investigate, Gwen saw the flames before she saw the monster projecting them, but she didn't need to see him to recognize Firebrand's grisly handiwork.

Running back in the other direction with several fleeing students, it wasn't long before Gwen found a suitable hiding place.

From there, she needed barely a minute to make the change.

There was chaos all around Firebrand, many of the nearby trees on fire and the snow melted into a hissing slush. Some of the terrified students were coughing from the smoke, while others rolled in the slush to try and douse the flames consuming their bodies.

There was more than one corpse around Firebrand already, but many more people were still trying to escape. Firebrand's rage only increased at that, as he cast long streams of fire all around him. Several more people caught fire, their agonized cries sweet music to Firebrand's depraved ears.

Any happiness he felt at his victims' pain vanished when he turned and saw his old enemy Spider-Woman charging at him. His rage increased again at the sight of the one person he hated more than anything else in the world. Firebrand cast a wave of fire at Spider-Woman, its bright glow reflecting his inner anger.

Spider-Woman cast a wave of webbing onto the ground between them before she flung it up as a barrier. Dampened by the slush, the webbing absorbed the flames with a loud hiss, as smoke filled the air. Advancing quickly, Spider-Woman tossed the mass of webbing through the air so it landed on Firebrand, half-burying him beneath its mass.

As Firebrand struggled to free himself, Spider-Woman struck him with a double sting blast, sending him rolling back along the slush, slipping as he tried to get up. Spider-Woman blasted Firebrand again, before entangling him with her webbing, until Firebrand screamed in rage.

Memories of his past defeats at Spider-Woman's hands flashed through his mind, as he began to glow with fire. A loud hissing sound filled the air as the slush melted right off of him, and the webbing entangling him began to burn. Before Spider-Woman could react, Firebrand caught hold of the weblines she was holding. Twin flames crossed the weblines from Firebrand's hands, burning Spider-Woman's arms as she tried to let go. Her arms throbbing in agony, Spider-Woman couldn't use her webbing or her sting blasts to defend herself as Firebrand got to his feet and threw a huge fireball at her.

Spider-Woman tried to roll out of the way, dampening herself with slush to try and shield herself from the increasing heat, but Firebrand redirected the fireball so it exploded all around her. Steam and fog filled the air as Spider-Woman screamed in pain, struggling to her feet. She leaped over the strands of flame Firebrand swung at her, knocking him off balance with a sting blast before she caught him with a webline. Twisting around, Spider-Woman flung Firebrand into a burning tree, which came crashing down around him as it broke apart.

Spider-Woman continued to press the assault, striking Firebrand with sting blasts and dousing his flames with slush. She could see Firebrand staggering under her attacks, and she felt a rush of hope, thinking that she would be able to finish him off before he could strike again.

Those hopes vanished as Firebrand got his second wind. Quickly rolling to the side, he cast a wave of fire down at the slush between him and Spider-Woman, blowing it up into a wave of water and steam towards her. Spider-Woman instinctively flipped back to avoid the wave, landing beneath a smoking tree dripping with melting snow and burned by multiple small fires.

Spider-Woman expected Firebrand to cast his next fireball at her, and she was caught off guard when he cast it well above her head. She moved to attack again, but then she cried out as the mass of melted snow and burning branches came crashing down on top of her. Pinned underneath the snow and branches, Spider-Woman couldn't dodge in time to avoid the next wave of flame Firebrand cast at her. The blast caught her head on, smashing her through the tree and into a large rock on the other side.

Pain exploded through Spider-Woman's body as she tried to move, but her body wouldn't respond. The melted snow had protected her enough from Firebrand's flames that his last attack hadn't been fatal, but she found herself falling passing out as Firebrand laughed hysterically, his cackling still ringing in her ears.

Spider-Woman regained consciousness several minutes later, her entire body throbbing in agony. Slowly struggling to her feet, she crawled out from under the mass of snow and debris she was buried under, fighting the urge to collapse and pass out again.

She could see carnage all around her. Firebrand was gone, but there were more than a dozen corpses that she could count, and gaping holes in some of the nearby buildings where Firebrand's flames had blasted through them. Many of the beautiful trees and bushes that had adorned the Empire State campus were gone, their charred remains all that indicated that anything had ever been there.

Students and staff were holding one another, grieving the deaths of Firebrand's victims. Paramedics and police were gathering up the bodies, and a few firefighters were dousing the fires still smoldering in some of the buildings. None of them seemed to notice Spider-Woman crawling by, so occupied by their own dismay.

Slowly, painfully, Spider-Woman found her way back to where she had hidden her school bag and her street clothes. Changing back into her street clothes, Gwen slowly made her way to where a group of paramedics were treating some injured survivors. The students' faces bore stunned, numb expressions, as if they had not entirely processed the horror they had just experienced. Gwen felt much the same, somehow feeling empty, as if something had broken and she wasn't entirely sure what.

Passively, Gwen sat down and began receiving treatment from one of the paramedics.

Everything she had been telling herself, everything she'd heard from Jill and Dr. Temple, flashed through her mind again.

This time, it all seemed hollow.

(Next Issue: Gwen tries to keep her spirits up despite her defeat by Firebrand, as she tries to track her old enemy down and bring him to justice. However, she may have bigger problems as Will O' the Wisp continues with his evil plans for revenge, and Moonstone plans to twist them to her own advantage. All this and more in Spider-Woman #90: Honor Among Thieves!)