Riches To Rags

Gwen Stacy was proud of the good she'd done fighting crime as the spectacular Spider-Woman. She was proud of her fighting skill, her courage, and her spider-powers. She was proud that she'd been able to help so many people, and bring so many supervillains to justice.

Gwen was proud of all those things, but she also loved how warm, safe and protected she felt in the arms of her boyfriend Randy Robertson. Her recent encounter with the monstrous Tendril, whose plans for her had been too horrible to think about, left her badly shaken. When she asked Randy if he could hold her, he was more than happy to do it.

Randy was happy to comfort Gwen, but his feelings about her being a superhero were more mixed. He was proud of the good Gwen did too, but he hated the impact it had on her mental health. She was often upset by the horrible things her enemies did, and they left her an emotional wreck more than once.

As Randy stroked Gwen's long, vibrant blonde hair, he considered encouraging her to hang up her costume and quit being a superhero. The thought had crossed his mind more than once, but he could never bring himself to do it. He knew Gwen would never agree, not with how important it was to her. Her experiences growing up made her determined to do something to protect people who couldn't defend themselves, especially since she had the power to do so.

And Randy had to admit he'd probably feel like a hypocrite if he told her to quit. He realized that if he was the one who'd somehow gotten superpowers, he'd probably be doing the exact same thing Gwen did and she'd be the one comforting him.

All Randy could do was hug Gwen more tightly as she shuddered involuntarily, a memory from her fight with Tendril coming back unbidden.

SPIDER-WOMAN #104

RICHES TO RAGS

Ben Reilly looked at the despondent expressions his parents Karen and Andrew Reilly bore as they sat down in their new apartment. They were exhausted from the effort of moving out of the upscale house they'd built, and if they were only physically tired Ben wouldn't have been worried. Karen was deeply stressed, but Andrew looked like he'd almost lost any desire to continue living.

For the last several weeks, the Reilly family's wealth had systematically disappeared from all their accounts. Neither the police nor the banks could find any record of what happened to it, much less retrieve it.

Now, all of Andrew's hard work and sacrifice seemed to be for nothing as he gave up everything that he'd accumulated with it. He had to sell the family's upscale house when they could no longer afford the property taxes. He had to sell possessions like his coin collection, his Cartier watch and his Porsche to pay for a half-decent apartment and groceries. He couldn't bring himself to look his wife or his son in the eye because he felt that he'd failed them.

Ben didn't know what the Reillys were going to do. He thought they might ask their relatives for help, but Andrew and Karen both abhorred the idea of going to them cap in hand. They likely wouldn't be able to afford to continue sending Ben to medical school either, which meant that Ben would either have to drop out or take on large student loans.

Ben wanted to reassure his parents, to tell them that they would get through this, that even with all their problems they still had each other.

When he saw the despair they suffered, Ben honestly had to wonder if they'd listen to him.

Entry #2:

I've acquired enough money from the Reillys to pay for everything I think I need. The Fixer truly is a genius-his embezzling programs were just as untraceable as he promised. Everything was deposited into my own offshore accounts, safe and sound.

I only wish I could see the look on that smug bastard Andrew's face. Always strutting around like his shit didn't stink, acting like he was better than the rest of us. The pain and humiliation Andrew probably feels right now would make this all worth it by itself.

Of course, ruining the Reillys is just the prologue. Their money is the initial incident, which finances so much of the rest of the story. And there's so much to pay for-new equipment for my personal use, contacting a worthy scientist (Mister Sinister? Arnim Zola? The Wizard? Dr. Karl Malus?) to provide the supporting antagonist, equipment to prepare the antagonist appropriately (contacting AIM, or going exclusively with the Fixer or Tinkerer?) and acquiring the necessary materials from and about the heroine of the story.

Ah, Gwen Stacy.

Every time I close my eyes I see you. Every time I open my ears, I feel as though I can hear your voice. I'm always by your side, even when you don't realize it. My hatred is the bond between us, a bond that grows with every passing moment.

I have plans for you, my dear child.

And when those plans are fulfilled, you'll regret ever being born.

This chick has it right, J. Olivia Yanizewski realized as she scrolled through the  Fire Hearts, Fire Passion Twitter feed. More and more, it's all about the branding these days. All the fun and passion she shows, and she gets to share it with everyone who follows her…

J. Olivia (as she preferred to be called, hating her first name of Janice) was a huge fan of Gwen's Fire Hearts, Fire Passion social media accounts. Gwen started several social media accounts to try and improve her chances of getting new acting and modeling jobs, using the title to tie them all together. She'd gained thousands of followers who kept up with everything she posted to Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Tumblr. J. Olivia was one of those followers, eagerly noting Gwen's advice on presenting and marketing herself. Like Gwen, she was determined to raise her social media profile, thinking that it would help her career.

J. Olivia was no ordinary social media influencer, though, being more commonly known as the costumed supervillain Joystick. She'd become a criminal to relieve her boredom, as the bisexual flings, designer drugs and sex scandals of ordinary hedonism all lost their appeal for her. In her brief career as a supervillain, J. Olivia had more fun than ever before. She didn't feel any remorse at the people she'd killed during her crime sprees, or any anger at being defeated by Spider-Woman. In fact, she was eager for another rematch with the sexy web-slinging heroine.

J. Olivia was eager for something new in her villainy, though. She wanted more recognition for her crimes, but she'd been stumped as to how to achieve it until she started following Fire Hearts, Fire Passion.

She planned to personally thank Gwen for the inspiration to start her own social media brand, although she knew Gwen likely wouldn't appreciate the way she did it.

J. Olivia never could stand competition, after all.

Several days later…

Although Gwen was still unhappy about losing the Winx Club role, she was in better spirits after being cast as Miranda in the Shakespeare In The Park staging of The Tempest. The competition was tough, but being rejected for the Winx role lit a fire under Gwen and she nailed the Tempest audition. The only disappointing part was that Randy hadn't been able to join her. He was likely going to be tied up helping Derrick Deja and Tom Ferguson at the HABQ-FM radio station for the rest of the summer.

As Gwen walked towards the bus station on her way home from the audition, she rounded the corner of a street and just barely managed to stop herself from running into a young man coming in the opposite direction. The man kept walking, and Gwen had to reach up and catch him by the shoulders to stop him. The man began thrashing, trying to break free, but he couldn't get out of Gwen's spider-strength enhanced grip.

"What the hell's your problem?" Gwen asked the man, who shook his head violently.

"Let me go, you stupid bitch!" the young man shouted in her face.

"I will once you calm down," Gwen said, not releasing the man. "Why are you so…wait, Ben?" she said in surprise as she finally recognized Ben Reilly.

Ben stared straight at her, and it seemed like he was about to shout at her again, until he seemingly recognized Gwen as well. He suddenly calmed down and relaxed in Gwen's grip, to the point that Gwen realized she was probably the only thing keeping him upright. She was horrified at how haggard he looked, as his eyes were bloodshot and ringed with dark circles and his skin was pale and clammy.

"W…what…Gwen?" he said, seeming like he was in a daze.

"What happened to you?" Gwen asked, still holding Ben up. "Do you need to go to the hospital?"

"No…I…I'm sorry I screamed at you," Ben said, shaking his head. "It's just…"

"Whatever's wrong, you need to talk about it," Gwen said as she took Ben by the arm and led him down the street. "And we're going to get some food in you-you definitely need to eat something."

Ben followed Gwen quietly, the tension in his body easing as Gwen led him into a nearby café she'd been wanting to try. Soon, they were seated comfortably and eating a hot meal. Gwen waited patiently until Ben was ready to speak, realizing that he clearly needed some time to get his thoughts together.

"My family's ruined, Gwen," Ben said once some color returned to his cheeks. "We have almost nothing left," he continued, before telling Gwen how the Reillys lost almost all their money through some mysterious embezzlement. "Mom and Dad are falling apart, and with the way I've seen Dad talking to himself about buying a gun…" he trailed off, not wanting to take the horrible thought to its conclusion.

Gwen took Ben's hands in hers, upset by Ben's distress.

"Who could be doing this to you?" Gwen asked. "Did one of your Dad's competitors-"

"We thought of that," Ben said, shaking his head. "The police investigated everybody who might have done it, and they all came up clean. Besides, none of them really would have hated Dad enough to go this far!"

"I hate to ask…" Gwen said, hesitating because she hated talking about the subject as much as Ben did, "but do you think that somebody Jack O' Lantern hurt wants revenge on your family?" When Gwen's archenemy Jack O' Lantern was exposed as Ben's uncle Steven Mark Levins, his relatives had been harassed by people whose own loved ones had suffered from Jack's twisted crimes.

"No," Ben said, shaking his head again almost immediately. "That only happened for a while after that Spider-Woman person exposed him. And that was things like vandalism and harassment. I think if somebody was going to attack our family like that over Jack O' Lantern, they'd probably have done it by now."

Gwen wasn't so sure about that, recalling how the Squid and Ms. Fortune had attacked their friend Harry Osborn several years after his father Norman caused the death of the Squid's father. She let it go, though, not wanting to upset Ben any more than he already was.

"So the police have no idea who's doing this?" Gwen asked in surprise. "Or why they're targeting your family?"

"No," Ben said again. "That's the most frustrating thing about it, Gwen. We don't know who's doing this, or why! Who could hate Mom and Dad that much? I wish I knew, Gwen. I wish I fucking knew."

Gwen patted Ben's hands again, wishing she could do more for him. She would've been able to protect him or his parents as Spider-Woman if they were being physically threatened, but their assets being looted was something completely out of her experience. She doubted her friend Peter Parker, alias the amazing Spider-Man, would have been able to do anything either.

The only silver lining Gwen could see was the relief Ben felt over talking about the problem, and she realized all she could do in this situation was listen.

"You're sure you want to do this, Liz?" Harry Osborn asked his girlfriend, a hopeful look on his face.

"I'm damn sure I do, Harry," Liz Allan said with a scowl. "I don't care if somebody like Doctor Octopus comes after us this time. We're meant to be together Harry, and this'll just confirm it."

Harry was nearly overwhelmed with joy as he hugged Liz. He'd asked Liz to marry him several months ago, but the dinner party where he'd proposed was attacked by the murderous supervillains Ms. Fortune and the Squid. Spider-Woman defeated the villains and saved Liz and Harry, but then their wedding rehearsal was attacked by the flamethrowing villain Firebrand. Again, Spider-Woman saved them, although Firebrand killed some of their relatives.

Their loved ones' deaths made Harry decide to wait a while before broaching the subject to Liz again. When he finally did after he and Liz had taken some time to grieve, a part of him was afraid that Liz would reject his proposal. He realized he should have known better, though-Liz had refused to break it off with him when he said he couldn't marry her due to the likes of the Squid and Ms. Fortune wanting revenge on him for Norman Osborn's crimes.

"You're going to have to plan the ceremony, though," Harry pointed out to her. "I don't know anything about this sort of thing."

"What, and you think I do?" Liz said, a playful smile playing around her lips. "I needed Gwen to help me with all that stuff the last time. She's probably going to have to do it again."

"How'd we ever get on without her?" Harry said with a laugh.

Liz knew Gwen's secret identity of Spider-Woman, having figured it out after Gwen saved her from Firebrand.

She also knew that Harry was more right about Gwen than he could possibly realize.

"Hi there!" J. Olivia said, smirking flirtatiously at the camera. "I'm your girl J. Olivia, but you can call me Joystick. And yes, I know how hot I am, so don't bother pointing it out."

Joystick lived up to her boasting. She was in her mid-twenties, with long blonde hair and a slim, lovely frame. Her green eyes shone with a manic glint, and her smile was both bright and unnerving all at once. She wore a skintight black bodysuit with a gold-colored chestplate, boots and gauntlets, all of which were connected to each other with cables of the same color.

"I'm a part time rich bitch, full time supervillain who lives life to the fullest. You might be familiar with some of the shit I've done before, but now I'm going to give you an inside look. I'll be posting videos of my crimes, showing you how I waste the money I steal, laughing at the reactions of the people my crimes affect, and more! So like and subscribe if you want to follow my journey! Bye!" Joystick said before she finished the video with a wink and a blown kiss.

Joystick's camera was a fancy new device courtesy of the Tinkerer, the criminal engineer who'd built her battle armor. It hovered in the air behind Joystick, following her as she leapt off the roof of the building she was standing on. Her armor's flying capabilities activated, carrying her down to just above street level. She gestured with her wrists, and each one generated a baton of black energy. She slammed the batons together, and they generated a blast of dark energy that blew open the doors of the bank across the street.

Joystick flew in and easily overcame the guards, striking them down with her batons. Some of the tellers tried to deter her, saying they didn't have a lot of cash on hand, but she just laughed. She extended some wires from her gauntlets into the bank's computers, which took control of them and looted most of the bank's assets in a moment. Finally, Joystick turned around at the bank staff and customers, slamming her batons together repeatedly to generate a series of energy blasts that ripped through her targets.

By the time Joystick flew away, two of the people in the bank were already dead. Six more were seriously injured, and two of them would later die of their wounds in the hospital.

The Tinkerer's camera recorded Joystick's entire rampage, before she uploaded it to her new website and social media accounts later.

The videos were swiftly deleted from Joystick's social media accounts, and the accounts themselves were quickly suspended, but she became an overnight social media sensation.

Gwen often enjoyed corresponding with her growing fanbase through her Fire Hearts, Fire Passion social media accounts. She loved reading how people found her acting and modeling suggestions useful, how they enjoyed productions she was in and how much they admired her beauty. She enjoyed the fan art some fans drew of her, and she appreciated how some of her fans called out people who made lewd comments about her. She was touched by how much value many people seemed to find in the work she did, saying how much it meant to them.

Any joy Gwen felt reading through her social media feeds vanished when she checked the accounts of some of the people she followed. The video of Joystick's bank robbery had gone viral, seen by more than a hundred thousand people. As Gwen watched the video, she wasn't sure whether she was more appalled by Joystick's intro or the closeups the video showed of the injured and dead people she'd left in her wake.

Gwen felt a sense of angered disgust rise up within her as the video ended. She knew that Joystick wasn't going to stop with just one video. Joystick would be more likely to feel a twisted high from the attention the video got, and she was almost certainly going to do more of them.

Glancing over at her closet, where she'd put the tote bag containing her Spider-Woman costume in a hidden pocket, Gwen knew she'd be putting it back on very soon.

Several days later…

Spider-Woman sighed as she watched the socialite gathering through the window of the mansion, using her spider-grip to cling to the wall. She didn't have any way to really track Joystick's movements, so she'd spent the last few days patrolling when she had some free time in the hope that she might get some indication of where Joystick was. Unfortunately, Joystick robbed a fancy art gallery and then held a wealthy family hostage in their own brownstone, uploading both of the videos to her website. Spider-Woman didn't find out about Joystick's crimes until she got home and checked her social media accounts. Joystick's videos had gone viral again, and each one got even more press than the last. Both times, Spider-Woman had been tied up with other things, whether performing at Shakespeare In The Park or helping the police with a hostage situation that had gone bad.

Spider-Woman cursed herself for not being able to stop Joystick, but the videos gave her an idea. The Criminology course she'd taken as an elective in university had told her about how some criminals escalated their crimes, becoming increasingly more violent with each new one. Spider-Woman knew Joystick was obsessed with the narcissistic thrill of her crimes, and each of her crimes was more drastic than the last. The first was a conventional bank robbery, the second was the robbery of a high-end art gallery with many wealthy clients, and the third was robbing a wealthy, high-profile family themselves.

Spider-Woman wondered if, now that Joystick had terrorized one wealthy family, she might try terrorizing several more wealthy people at once. Through searching several of the popular social media accounts she followed, Spider-Woman found announcements for a house party set up by some of New York's most famous and upscale young socialites. Spider-Woman swung to the mansion where the party was being held, and was now watching it in the hope that she'd be able to confront Joystick.

Her patience paid off as she heard a faint whirring sound from behind her. Turning around, she saw Joystick streaking towards the air through the mansion, coming from another angle. Joystick didn't see Spider-Woman hiding in the shadows underneath one of the mansion's gables next to the window, and Spider-Woman didn't waste the opportunity. Spider-Woman caught Joystick with a double shot of her sting blast, sending Joystick spinning through the air before she regained control of her flight. Joystick shouted and cursed in surprise before she saw Spider-Woman leaping at her, shooting a double blast of webbing.

"I wondered when you were going to show up!" Joystick said, an evil smile crossing her face. She dodged Spider-Woman's webbing and countered by slamming her batons together, hitting Spider-Woman with a blast of energy that knocked the web-slinging heroine back into the wall of the mansion. As Spider-Woman bounced off the wall and caught herself with her spider-grip, Joystick blasted the mansion's window open and flew into the room.

Spider-Woman came in right behind Joystick and caught Joystick with her webbing before slamming her into the floor. As Joystick reeled, struggling to her feet, Spider-Woman blasted her again with her sting blasts while the partygoers scrambled for safety. Joystick shot an energy blast towards a large group of partygoers, forcing Spider-Woman to protect them with a web barrier while Joystick flew towards the stage where the DJ had been playing music.

Extending several wires from her gauntlets, Joystick used them to take control of the strobe light machine next to the DJ's music equipment. She made the lights flash erratically, causing Spider-Woman and the partygoers to cry out and stumble, unable to keep their bearings. She then slammed her batons together several more times, sending energy blasts into the crowd. The first one took down Spider-Woman, and the rest of them blasted several groups of partygoers, causing them to scream in agony.

Joystick laughed hysterically at the chaos around her. She felt more of a rush than she had in months, and relished the thought of how the public would react to her latest video. She glanced over at the mobile camera device recording all of her exploits, and winked and kissed at it. Finally, she stopped the strobe light and came back down to ground level, intending to use her gauntlets' wires to hack the partygoers' phones and rob them blind.

Joystick was caught completely by surprise when Spider-Woman leapt up and fired her sting blasts, shattering her camera device. She stood there stunned for a moment before Spider-Woman sprang forward and began viciously punching her. Joystick took several hits before she regained her wits enough to generate her batons. She struck Spider-Woman once, but she was still in shock from her camera being destroyed and her rush being broken. Finally, Spider-Woman blasted her at point blank range, making her collapse.

The partygoers cheered Spider-Woman as she stripped Joystick of her armor, and several of them asked her to pose for pictures with them. Spider-Woman was happy to do so, the pleasure she felt offsetting the pain of her injuries from the fight.

She knew she'd done right here today, and she was doing right in her civilian life too.

At the back of her mind, though, her thoughts went back to what was happening with Ben and his family and whether she could help him.

(Next Issue: Gwen previously faced a backlash online as Spider-Woman, but soon she has to deal with a backlash as Gwen. As a distraction, she helps Liz and Harry with their wedding, but she soon runs into bigger problems when she's confronted with the return of the wasp monster Swarm! All this and more in Spider-Woman #105: Wasp's Nest!)