Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Gwen Stacy sat in her bedroom, looking at the bloodstained strip of cloth she held in her hand. Her head whirled with everything that happened over the last several days. Jack O' Lantern, the worst enemy she'd ever fought as the spectacular Spider-Woman, was stalking and threatening her. He'd also firebombed the house of his niece, Gwen's friend Kitty Pryde, killing her parents and seriously injuring Kitty.

When she tried to track Jack down as Spider-Woman, Gwen instead met a mysterious woman who almost seemed to be her identical twin. Her doppelganger had the same costume and spider-powers she did, in addition to Jack O' Lantern's ghoulish weapons. The doppelganger claimed that she was set to be Jack O' Lantern's heir, taking the place Gwen rejected. She said something about a 'masterpiece' Jack had planned, and smeared some of her own blood on Gwen's costume as a way of explaining who she truly was.

Gwen was desperate to understand what Jack O' Lantern and her mysterious doppelganger were planning, determined to pay them back for what Jack did to her and Kitty, and struggling to keep her fear and stress under control. She'd already needed medical attention twice from the shocks she suffered at Jack O' Lantern somehow entering her home and writing threats on her bedroom wall. Jack also seemingly had the ability to track her at will, always knowing where she was. That knowledge haunted her, as did the realization that Jack could potentially strike at her or her loved ones at any time.

The strip of cloth in Gwen's hand, smeared with her doppelganger's blood, might provide an answer. Her friend Peter Parker, alias the amazing Spider-Man, might be able to somehow analyze the blood. She hesitated to approach him, though.

She was desperate for an answer.

She was also terrified of what that might answer might be.

SPIDER-WOMAN #109

CLONE SAGA, PART THREE

BLOOD IS THICKER THAN WATER

Entry #6:

My masterpiece is nearing its climax. It is, I hope, a fitting tribute to the old Gothic masters such as Poe, Browning and Stevenson. My conceiving an heir to my legacy, while also redeeming the potential of my most hated nemesis and destroying her at the same time, would no doubt be fitting Gothic themes.

The deuteragonist tells me that she faced the star of my masterpiece and gave the star a sample of her blood. If I know the star-and I flatter myself that I do-she will no doubt have it analyzed. She will be motivated to avenge my dear niece Kitty Pryde's suffering, and will seek any advantage she can.

Despite her lengthy record combating evil, the star is still but a naïve child.

She would do well to be careful what she wishes for.

Gwen was startled as her bedroom door opened. Looking up, she saw her boyfriend Randy Robertson walk in and close the door. He didn't say anything as he sat down next to her, but the despairing expression on his face spoke volumes. He took Gwen in his arms, letting her lean into him for several long moments, before he finally spoke.

"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner," Randy said, as Gwen looked up at him. "I was visiting Kitty at the hospital. I take it you've already seen her?"

"…More than once," Gwen said, looking from Randy to the bloody cloth she still held.

Randy looked down at the cloth, and suddenly realized what Gwen meant.

"You went after Jack, didn't you?" he said.

Gwen didn't bother answering, since they both already knew the answer.

"What are you doing with that cloth?" Randy asked her. "Is that part of Kitty's-"

"No, it's not," Gwen said, cutting him off. "It's…I don't even know what it is."

"What do you mean?" Randy asked, his concern growing into full alarm now.

Taking a deep breath, Gwen revealed everything she'd gone through as Spider-Woman when she tried to track down Jack O' Lantern after he firebombed Kitty's house. Randy paled at Gwen's describing her confrontation with her mysterious doppelganger, and how the doppelganger gave Gwen a sample of her own blood.

If Randy was pale, Gwen was nearly ashen. With all the stress and terror she felt at Jack's stalking her, and her shock and horror at what he did to Kitty, Randy realized Gwen was barely holding it together. He was afraid she was going to have a full-on nervous breakdown if things continued this way.

That was when he realized he had to ask her something he'd thought about for a long time. He'd held off doing it because he thought he knew what the answers would be and that his asking her would be hypocritical, since he'd probably be doing the same thing if he was in her position, but he pushed all that aside.

"Gwen…have you ever considered stopping all this?" he asked her.

Her eyes widened in shock at his words.

"You…you can't be serious," she said. "After everything Jack's done to me, to Kitty and God knows how many other people, you're saying I should just let it go?"

"Of course not," Randy said, shaking his head. "But let the police deal with him. Let the Heroes For Hire do it. Let Spider-Man do it. Look at yourself, Gwen-look at what this is putting you through."

Gwen sat in silence for a while.

"…I can't let him go," she said. "Who knows what else he could do between now and whenever someone finally does stop him? How many more people could he hurt?"

"Okay, then what'll you do once you finally take Jack O' Lantern down?" Randy asked, not willing to give up just yet. "Are you still going to keep being Spider-Woman? Why don't you just pack it in?"

Gwen opened her mouth like she wanted to say something, but then she fell silent.

"Look, I know about all the good you've been able to do as Spider-Woman," Randy said. "I'm proud of you for it…but I'm worried about you too. Aren't you the one who told me about all the problems being Spider-Woman causes you? The problems with your grades? The trouble getting good acting and modeling work? All the times some costumed psychopath has nearly killed you? The stress you suffer from trying to balance everything? The guilt you always feel whenever things go badly? When is enough finally enough?"

Gwen sat silently for several long moments again. She was outwardly calm, but her eyes reflected her inner turmoil.

"It'd be so easy, wouldn't it?" she said, looking past Randy. "I could finally focus on my studies full-time and graduate. I could build up my Fire Hearts-Fire Passion social media network and really connect with my fans. I could take all the time I wanted to act and model. I could spend all my free time with my friends and my loved ones," she continued, smiling as she turned her glance back to him, "and help you with the causes that mean so much to you."

"I'd be so happy…"

Then her shoulders slumped, as she closed her eyes and took another deep breath.

"But then I remember how helpless I felt when my Dad assaulted Mom and I," she said. "I wished I could have done something, anything, to protect her and stop him. There was nothing I could do. How many other people feel that way whenever this city's criminals put them through hell?"

Randy tried to answer Gwen's question. Try as he might, he simply couldn't.

"That's the thing-New York has so many villains and so few heroes that every one of us has an enemies list as long as both their arms. Remember how you told me in the Coffee Bean that I was the only hero who was able to try and stop Firebrand?" she said, referring to a confrontation with her flamethrowing enemy at Empire State University several months ago. "What if I wasn't there? Who else could suffer if Will O' the Wisp, Scorpia, the Brothers Grimm or Netshape do something and someone like me isn't there to stop them?"

Randy tried to think of something, anything, to answer Gwen's question. He realized there were any number of other villains she could have cited, villains like Supercharger, Blizzard, Moonstone, the Squid, Ms. Fortune, Joystick and Polestar.

"I can't stop, Randy," Gwen said, her voice barely above a whisper as tears formed in her eyes.

"I…I just can't."

Randy took Gwen in his arms again. He should have known that would have been her answer, but he had to try. He also knew that he probably would have said the same kinds of things if their roles were reversed.

He also knew that, whatever his other feelings, he was very, very proud of her.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" Peter Parker, alias the amazing Spider-Man, asked Gwen when she met him as Spider-Woman two days later. "With everything you've been through-"

"No," Spider-Woman said. "Absolutely not. I'm not leaving you to do this. I have to know who that woman is, and what she has to do with Jack O' Lantern. I appreciate your setting this up for me Spider-Man, more than you know, but I'm not leaving other people to fight my battles for me."

"If you say so," Spider-Man said as he led Spider-Woman into the Baxter Building. The iconic building was headquarters to the Fantastic Four, one of the very first superhero groups to start operating in the modern era. For more than a decade, the Fantastic Four had pushed the boundaries of human knowledge and defended the Earth against everything from conquest attempts by the European dictator Doctor Doom to destruction by the alien entity Galactus. Although Spider-Woman never had any dealings with the Four, Spider-Man did and he'd asked them if they could help Spider-Woman with Jack O' Lantern's threats.

Two members of the Four were waiting for the spiders in the Baxter Building's lobby. One was a blonde woman in her mid-thirties, whose calm, confident demeanor was that of a leader. She was Susan Richards, alias the Invisible Woman, and she smiled a greeting at Spider-Man and Spider-Woman as they came into the lobby. Spider-Woman's eyes lit up at meeting Susan, who was the only other female superhero in New York City. Spider-Woman was inspired by Susan, who she saw as a role model, and wondered if she could live up to Susan's example.

The other member of the Four was a brown-haired man about a year older than Susan. His inquisitive, thoughtful demeanor, accented by his piercing blue eyes, was that of a scholar. He was Reed Richards, alias Mr. Fantastic, Susan's husband and one of the world's foremost scientific geniuses. If Susan was an inspiration to Spider-Woman, Reed was an inspiration to the scientifically-minded Spider-Man. Peter had admired Reed for years, long before he'd gotten his superpowers, and he was always thrilled to meet the older man.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Susan said to Spider-Woman once everyone had introduced themselves. "Spider-Man told us all about your problem, and we're happy to help."

"I appreciate it, believe me," Spider-Woman said, looking gratefully to Spider-Man.

"You brought the cloth, of course?" Reed asked. Spider-Woman was slightly surprised at how eager he seemed to analyze it, and how much his eyes shone as he spoke. She was surprised and slightly annoyed at Reed's enthusiasm, given how much she had at stake. Then she realized that Reed wasn't dismissing her problems. He was just eager for a new scientific challenge, and he'd be sure to give it his all.

"I've got it here," Spider-Man said, as he removed a container from his utility belt and handed it to Reed. Reed stared at it reverently for a few moments before he snapped back to reality, and led Susan and the spiders into his lab.

Spider-Man looked around the laboratory with a mixture of envy and admiration, but Spider-Woman simply felt lost. The lab was filled with everything from books to shelves of chemical supplies to computers and monitors to machines whose purpose she couldn't even begin to fathom. It all seemed like a chaotic mess to her, but Spider-Man had assured her when she'd called him that the lab was immaculately organized. Spider-Woman felt relieved at that, given how much better-equipped he was to judge these kinds of situations.

Spider-Woman had called Spider-Man for help figuring out how the piece of cloth stained with her doppelganger's blood could reveal the truth to her about what was going on with her doppelganger. Biochemistry wasn't Spider-Man's strong suit, so he offered to do Spider-Woman one better and have the cloth analyzed by Reed Richards. Having worked with the Four on previous occasions, Spider-Man could attest to Richards' brilliance in just about any scientific field one could name.

Finally, Reed led the group to one particular machine that had what looked to Spider-Woman like a camera lens at one end and a plexiglass container on the other. In between them the machine's main unit had a large monitor and a control panel that made Spider-Woman's head spin just looking at it. Reed placed the bloody cloth in the plexiglass container, before walking over to the camera lens.

"From what Spider-Man told me, I wondered if your doppelganger was some manner of clone," Reed said to Spider-Woman as he adjusted the lens. "With your permission, I'd like to get a readout of your DNA to compare with that of the cloth. By analyzing any similarities and subtle differences between your genome and that of your doppelganger, I could determine her exact nature. Given how personal one's genetic code is, I fully understand if you don't want-"

"Do it," Spider-Woman said, interrupting him before he could finish. She recalled how the X-Man Forge had used some device to analyze her DNA, dispelling her original belief that she was a mutant. Forge confirmed that she was actually a mutate, a human whose DNA had been altered by some outside force. She was also inclined to trust Reed, since Spider-Man vouched for him. More than anything else, she was desperate to learn who her doppelganger was, and what she had to do with Jack O' Lantern.

Then, finally, she could start to deal with this living nightmare.

The lens flashed briefly as it scanned Spider-Woman's DNA, before Reed walked over to the control panel in the machine's main unit. He entered several commands on the control panel, and a light flashed in the plexiglass container as it scanned the doppelganger's DNA from the blood she'd smeared on it. Two sets of DNA helixes appeared on the monitor above Reed as he worked. A flurry of numbers passed between them, which Reed explained was the machine running a comparative scan of the two DNA sequences.

Spider-Woman was on edge for several minutes as the machine worked, half-anticipating and half-dreading the outcome of Reed's scan.

Finally, the machine stopped and displayed a strange readout on the monitor that she couldn't quite understand. Susan didn't understand it either, while Reed and Spider-Man only exchanged confused glances.

"…What's wrong?" Spider-Woman asked, becoming increasingly alarmed.

"How can this even be?" Reed said, scratching his head at the readout. "There's only a 50% commonality between yourself and your doppelganger," he said to Spider-Woman.

"That's impossible!" Spider-Woman said. "She looks almost identical to me. Where does she get the other half of her…"

"I'll see if I can scan," Reed said, as Spider-Man moved to support Spider-Woman. He entered another series of commands on the control panel, and the monitor started blinking with a variety of faces and DNA profiles. "I'm cross-referencing your doppelganger's DNA with other potential profiles that might be in law enforcement systems…"

Spider-Woman barely heard him. She suddenly felt like she was falling into an abyss, completely powerless to save herself, as the awful truth dawned on her.

It all made sense.

The doppelganger's superior strength and fighting skills.

The doppelganger's resembling her enough to pass for a relative, but not enough to pass for a twin the way a clone would.

The doppelganger using Jack O' Lantern's weapons like sonic toads and pumpkin bombs.

Spider-Woman realized it a split second before the monitor of Reed's machine displayed the source of the other half of her doppelganger's DNA.

Steven Mark Levins, alias Jack O' Lantern.

Entry #7:

For whoever is reading this, perhaps a bit of context is in order. The whole object of my masterpiece has been to destroy Spider-Woman, first mentally and then physically, as punishment for rejecting my offers. I'd then formally replace her with a Spider-Woman who not only has her merits, but also the suitable personality and drive to act as my heir.

Embezzling the money for my magnum opus from Andrew Reilly, taking a sample of Spider-Woman's blood from a piece of equipment she damaged in one of our previous battles, hiring the geneticist Dr. Karl Malus to combine Spider-Woman's DNA with my own to produce my heir and accelerate her growth, hiring the Fixer to rapidly educate my heir with his advanced neural technology…such was the beginning.

From there, it was a process of slowly but surely breaking Spider-Woman down mentally. Threats to terrify her…enraging her with my attacks on Kitty Pryde's family…sending my heir to confront her with the knowledge that she would join me one way or another…hinting at my heir's origins by equipping her with some of my weapons…and having my heir give her a blood sample, knowing she'd be desperate enough for answers to have it analyzed.

During one of our first battles, our confrontation at the Plaza Hotel, I jabbed Spider-Woman in the back with one of my razor bats. What she never realized was that bat injected a tiny tracking device into her body. Ever since then, I've known exactly where she is, every hour of every day.

I've always been watching her. I've always been with her.

Now, I see she's at Four Freedoms Plaza, no doubt getting the blood analyzed by Reed Richards.

I wonder how she's taking the news?

Everything became a blur for Spider-Woman when she realized the truth. When her vision cleared, she was lying in what looked like a hospital bed, surrounded by Spider-Man, Reed and Susan. Hospital equipment monitored her vital signs, and Reed glanced from them to her with concern. Susan and Spider-Man each held one of her hands, releasing them as she struggled to sit up.

"…What happened to me?" Spider-Woman said after a moment. "Where am I? Is this the hos-"

"No, it's a medical sickbay I designed to treat injured superhumans. I often use it to treat my teammates and I," Reed said. "You collapsed when my scanner showed the results of the DNA analysis. My analysis shows you had a really bad shock, and it doesn't look like this was your first one, either. Am I right?"

Spider-Woman couldn't bring herself to answer. She'd already had a full-on panic attack the first time Jack O' Lantern threatened her, and his second threat made her collapse completely.

"Acute…" Spider-Woman said, unable to finish it.

"Acute stress disorder," Reed said, unwittingly repeating the diagnosis the paramedics gave Gwen after the last time she fainted. "You seriously need to take a break from anything to do with superheroing right now. Go back to your civilian life and focus on that."

Spider-Woman lay back in bed, remembering her conversation with Randy. How could she just let Jack O' Lantern go, especially after what he'd done to Kitty and the threat he posed to her family? Who else would suffer because she didn't do anything?

Suddenly a monitor on the wall started flashing and blaring, as Reed and Sue looked at it in alarm. Spider-Man stood up, and Spider-Woman tried to lift herself up, but Reed and Sue shook their heads.

"This is something we need to deal with," Sue said. "You kids sit tight."

When they were alone, Spider-Woman lowered herself back into bed and Spider-Man sat down next to her.

"If you have any idea how to find Jack O' Lantern or that…thing he created," Spider-Man said, barely able to force the word out, "just let me know. I'll take care of them for you, I promise."

To Spider-Man's surprise, Spider-Woman immediately sat up in bed, all traces of anxiety seemingly gone.

"No," Spider-Woman said. Her eyes were covered by her mask's lenses, but Spider-Man was sure they were blazing behind them. "Not now, not ever. You are not risking your life for me while I sit around helplessly. He's my responsibility Spider-Man, and I'm going to be the one to deal with him."

"But Gwen, I mean Spider-Woman-" Spider-Man tried to interrupt.

"How am I supposed to live with myself if he and my doppelganger kill you too?" Spider-Woman said, dismissing his attempt to discourage her. "Don't say it won't happen, because we both know it could. I can't let them harm anyone else!"

Spider-Man tried to protest, but Spider-Woman wasn't listening as she climbed out of bed and left the room. He followed her out, wondering if he should try to stop her, but that would likely upset her even more. The last thing she needed was any more stress.

Spider-Woman ignored his pleas as she left Reed's lab and swung out of the Baxter Building. He explained everything to Reed and Sue, but there wasn't much they could do. There was some major crisis happening in Mexico with Kang the Conqueror, and the Fantastic Four needed to get down there immediately.

Spider-Man swung home in resignation, deciding to try and do some homework while he contemplated his next move.

He had a pretty good idea what that move would be, and he'd already taken steps to make sure he could act on it.

When Jack O' Lantern first started stalking her, Spider-Woman was so terrified she could barely function. She'd collapsed from the strain more than once, unable to bear her terror and stress at Jack O' Lantern's actions. Tonight was no different, as she'd fainted from learning the full truth about Jack O' Lantern's depraved plans to carry on his legacy.

Now, as she swung home under a rapidly darkening sky, Spider-Woman still felt all that same fear and worry. Something was different now, though. Unlike Jack's previous threats against her, Spider-Woman's head was remarkably clear. She felt a seething, boiling rage at him and his little science experiment, a rage she hadn't felt since she'd first put on her Spider-Woman costume.

She knew it was only a matter of time before they struck again. Her spider-senses, which allowed her to track anyone she'd marked with her pheromones, would lead her to them. Jack had found a way to block her pheromones, but he could also use them to trigger her spider-senses so she knew where he was. Her spider-senses could also activate on their own, alerting Spider-Woman when anyone else she'd marked was in some particularly dangerous situation themselves.

The sky above Spider-Woman was now a purplish black, indicating a particularly violent storm was about to start. She could already hear thunder in the distance, and the very air around her seemed tense with anticipation.

When her spider-senses triggered, she wasn't at all surprised.

Ben Reilly rubbed his eyes as he shut the door to his apartment. He'd gotten back from his evening walk just in time. There was a hell of a storm starting up outside, and he was relieved to have shelter from it.

In fact, Ben had a lot to be relieved about. His family was getting back on its feet after it had been mysteriously bankrupted several weeks ago. His father Andrew Reilly had gotten a job with a trading firm, his mother Karen Reilly was working as a psychologist again, and he'd gotten approval for his student loans to resume his medical school studies in September. His own job working in a medical office had been valuable frontline experience, and the money he made had helped ease the family's financial troubles. New York's economy was still in rough shape after last year's recession, and the Reillys had to really stretch their budgets, but Ben was confident they would get by.

His parents were in the next room watching the evening news. He was going in to greet them when he heard a bizarre cackling sound. It seemed to echo all around him, and he heard his parents shout out in alarm as they heard it too. It was a sickening, ghoulish laughter, one that seemed maddeningly familiar to Ben. He felt as though he'd heard it in a half-forgotten nightmare, one that instinctively made him want to scream.

Running into the TV room to join his parents, Ben looked around frantically as he tried to find where the cackling laughter was coming from. The Reillys were shocked when they finally saw the laughter's source, a flock of bizarre winged creatures that smashed through the wall of their apartment from outside the building.

Too surprised to react, the Reillys stood in amazement at the creatures. They stood three feet high, bright purple in color with long, clawed hands and feet. Their faces and builds were those of distorted gremlins, their smiles reaching nearly to their ears as they laughed hysterically. In the one part of his mind that wasn't frozen with terror, Ben realized that the creatures were robots.

The robot gremlins' source was all too clear when the Reillys saw the pumpkin bombs each of them was carrying, each bomb bearing the same demonic pumpkin grin as its creator.

The pain the Reillys felt was mercifully brief as their worlds exploded into fire.

Roars of thunder filled the air around Spider-Woman by the time she reached the Reillys' badly damaged apartment building. Her blood ran cold as she realized who lived there, and she swung down for a closer look. She saw police gathering up the broken remains of pumpkin bombs and robotic gargoyles, and ambulance crews treating badly injured tenants.

Her worst fears were confirmed when, in the light of a sudden lightning flash, she saw the body of Ben Reilly being wheeled out on a gurney, followed by the bodies of his parents. Her cry of despair was drowned out by a sudden burst of thunder, but it continued to echo in her ears along with Jack O' Lantern's hysterical laughter, which flashed through her mind once again.

Her spider-senses triggered once again, pulling her in another direction. Jack O' Lantern was calling her, daring to confront him and her doppelganger, the version of her he'd chosen as his heir apparent.

For all the pain, stress and anger Spider-Woman had been feeling over the last several days, her thoughts were remarkably clear as she swung towards his lair. There was only one thing on her mind.

Tonight, she was going to settle things with Jack O' Lantern.

Once and for all.

(Next Issue: Spider-Woman risks her life to confront her most dangerous enemy of all in their most brutal conflict to date. Not only does she have to face Jack O' Lantern, but she must also face her dark mirror image, the doppelganger who possesses both her powers and Jack O' Lantern's. Can Spider-Woman hope to survive against such powerful enemies? All this and more in Spider-Woman #110: Tonight Someone Dies!)