Gwen's Last Dance

The spectacular Spider-Woman spun through the air and made a perfect landing on the side of the skyscraper. Four Freedoms Plaza was in sight, and she didn't want to be late for her appointment with Spider-Man and Reed Richards, alias Mr. Fantastic. She'd make it in plenty of time, but she needed a moment to process everything that was happening.

She'd finally overcome Jack O' Lantern, her archenemy and the most dangerous of the many supervillains she'd fought as a costumed hero, and his depraved plans for her. Weeks of stalking and threats culminated in Jack's effort to kill her and replace her with a doppelganger, made from combining both their DNA and their superpowers, who would be his heir. It was a living nightmare for Spider-Woman, one that nearly drove her insane with terror, but she'd finally won her battle with Jack thanks in no small part to help from the amazing Spider-Man.

Her appointment with Reed and Spider-Man was another example of Spider-Man's helping her. Jack O' Lantern seemed to be able to track Spider-Woman at will, always knowing exactly where she was. She had no idea how he was able to do it, and she'd never been able to figure it out no matter how many times she recalled their battles.

Now, Spider-Man asked Reed to see if he could try and find out how Jack O' Lantern could track Spider-Woman. Spider-Man needed a spider-tracer to trail Spider-Woman to the mansion where she'd had her final fateful battle with Jack O' Lantern, and he was sure that Jack used some similar tracking technology.

Spider-Woman didn't know how that could be possible, but Reed and Spider-Man were the scientific experts. She trusted their judgement, and even more she trusted their abilities to get rid of whatever tracking devices Jack used.

Peter had helped Gwen multiple times before this too. He'd explained how Gwen got her spider-powers, revealing their shared origin. He'd always been willing to listen and give sound advice when she wasn't sure how to handle the problems she faced as Spider-Woman. He'd offered to hunt down Jack O' Lantern when she'd needed to recover from the panic attacks Jack's threats caused her. He explained that he didn't appreciate anyone threatening his kid sister, and he'd make sure they regretted it.

That was why Gwen loved him so much-not romantically or sexually, but as the older brother she never had.

SPIDER-WOMAN #111

GWEN'S LAST DANCE

It didn't take Spider-Woman long to be admitted into Four Freedoms Plaza or be escorted up to Reed Richards' lab. Reed and Spider-Man were both waiting for her, and she hugged Spider-Man tightly as he came to greet her.

"Thank you very much for this, Dr. Richards," Spider-Woman said, bowing respectfully as she turned to him. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate this..."

"You don't need to," Reed said with a smile. "Don't worry, this'll be quick and painless," he continued, as he led the spiders deeper into his lab. They stopped in front of a machine Spider-Woman recognized, one that had a large camera lens at one end and a plexiglass container on the other. It was the machine Reed had used to compare her DNA with that of her doppelganger's, confirming the horrifying truth about how they were related.

"Let me guess," Spider-Woman said as she stepped in front of the camera lens. "This is going to scan my body to find any sort of tracking devices, right?"

"Not just devices," Reed assured her as he started typing at the machine's control panel. "Magical tracking spells, chemicals, anything like that."

"Magic?" Spider-Woman said, astonished, as the camera lens emitted a beam of light that passed down her body. "So everything Tarot did..."

"Who's Tarot?" Spider-Man asked in surprise, turning to face Spider-Woman as the camera's light faded and she walked over to him and Reed.

"One of my old rogues," Spider-Woman said, not wanting to reveal too much about her dealings with Marie-Ange Colbert, alias Tarot, in her civilian identity. "She did things like read tea leaves and tarot cards. It's kind of a private thing."

Spider-Man nodded, respecting her privacy, before they both looked at the monitor Reed was still staring at. Finally, an outline of Spider-Woman's body appeared on the monitor, along with a red light glowing in her lower back. A line of text appeared next to the outline, reading FOREIGN OBJECT DETECTED-CONFIRMED AS TRACKING BROADCASTER.

Spider-Woman felt both relief and rage coming over her all at once as she took in the news. She finally realized how Jack O' Lantern was able to track her at will, and probably how he'd also learned her secret identity as Gwen Stacy. The question had bothered her for years, and in spite of wracking her brains, she'd never managed to figure it out.

Then another question occurred to her.

"...Why didn't I ever notice that thing before now?" she said.

"It's nearly microscopic," Reed said, entering a command so the machine monitor gave them a close-up look at the tracker. "You likely never would have seen it."

"And you don't know how Jack O' Lantern stuck it in you?" Spider-Man asked. Spider-Woman had already told him about how Jack O' Lantern could track her, and her inability to figure out how he did it.

"No!" Spider-Woman said. "I never would have allowed him to-"

"He may have inserted it using some other weapon," Reed suggested. "His pumpkin bombs, his clawed gauntlets or his razor bats..."

"...His razor bats," Spider-Woman whispered. Her mind flashed back to one of her earliest battles with Jack O' Lantern, when she'd fought him at the Plaza Hotel.

"Spider-Woman?!" Jack O' Lantern shrieked, as he fired his wrist lasers at her. "You dare to interfere in my fun?"

"Fun?" Spider-Woman shouted in disgust. "You call robbing innocent people fun?" she countered, as she deflected the blasts with her own stings before coming at Jack O' Lantern with a swing kick.

"Robbing them?!" Jack O' Lantern came back in a rage, cutting through Spider-Woman's webline with a razor-edged crescent moon that came back to his hand like a boomerang. "You honestly think that's all I intend to do to these people? I'm going to terrorize them, torture them, make them scream!"

As she used her wall-crawling abilities to land on the side of one of the pillars in the room, Spider-Woman wasn't sure what horrified her more, Jack O' Lantern's words or the increasingly frenzied tone in which he was speaking.

"Why?" she shouted in anger, springing into the air as Jack O' Lantern came towards her and catching him right in his pumpkin face with a vicious uppercut, before spinning another webline and swinging away, as the partygoers down below broke free of their fear and began to scream.

"Because I know I'm not supposed to," Jack O' Lantern seemed to grin despite the blow. "Because I'm the bad guy. Because I'm evil!" To emphasize the point, he reached into his belt and tossed almost a dozen boomerang bats at Spider-Woman, who tried to dodge frantically. They seemed to home in on her, despite her best efforts to avoid them. She destroyed several with her sting blasts, and smashed a few more, but the rest tore her across her body. Several sliced her limbs and torso, even as one stung her painfully in the back.

"Two years..." Spider-Woman said, seeming to forget the presence of Reed and Spider-Man. "That sick son of a bitch has been tracking me for two years...can you guys get this thing out of me?" she asked, looking pleadingly back and forth at Reed and Spider-Man.

Spider-Man only shook his head sadly. He was an expert chemist, but he didn't know much about medical treatment or surgery. Reed didn't answer right away, rubbing his chin thoughtfully and then glancing at all of the other high-tech scientific devices and equipment around his lab.

"Sue and I have some first aid skills," he said, "and the medical facilities I set up to treat our injuries will probably serve well too, but I'm not a trained surgeon. I can make a few calls, though, and I'm sure I can find someone. Would you be willing to wait a week?"

"If that's what it takes," Spider-Woman said with a nod. "And I really appreciate both your help-I'd probably be lost without it."

"What are older brothers you never had for?" Spider-Man asked, before he and Spider-Woman burst into laughter.

Reed just scratched his head in confusion, wondering what the younger heroes were talking about.

Gwen checked her tote bag one last time to make sure she'd collected everything Marie-Ange Colbert, better known by her mutant alias of Tarot, had requested as she walked towards the bus stop that would take her to the launch to Riker's Island. Marie-Ange was one of the first villains Gwen fought as Spider-Woman, and she'd worked ever since to overcome her old demons in prison. Gwen regularly visited her, often bringing crystals, incense and other materials Marie-Ange needed for her spellwork and divinations. It'd been a while since Gwen's last visit due to al the chaos in her life recently, but she intended to make up for lost time.

Once the bus arrived and Gwen sat down, she started scrolling through the Daily Bugle's website with her ClarkePhone while she waited for the bus to reach her stop. One of the first articles she saw described Jack O' Lantern's arrest and the tremendous sense of relief many of the people he'd stalked and harassed felt, including Gwen herself. She'd left any reference to her being Spider-Woman out of her interview with the Bugle reporter, but she meant every word she said about the joy and closure Jack O' Lantern's defeat gave her. Her heart ached when she read the part of the article where her friend Kitty Pryde described the loss she felt from Jack murdering her parents.

Still, Gwen knew Kitty would be alright. She and many of Kitty's other friends had pooled their resources to help Kitty out, and she was now staying with her cousin Ben Reilly and his parents. Jack bankrupted the Reillys to finance his depraved schemes, but they were starting to recover too. The police recovered some of the money Jack embezzled, which helped Ben's parents find new jobs and start to rebuild their lives.

The article about Jack gave Gwen a bittersweet feeling, but an article she saw in the entertainment section just made her bitter. It was about Trish Tilby, the actress who'd beaten her for the role of Stella in the Winx Club movie. Winx Club had been a box office smash, and Tilby was hailed for her performance. The article called Tilby one of Hollywood's hottest young stars, and described the various lucrative roles she'd been offered.

Another article described the latest starring role of Patsy Walker, the actress who'd landed a role as Eponine in Les Miserables that Gwen auditioned for a couple of years ago. Gwen lost the role due to an unlucky streak that was particularly bad even for her, much of it having to do with being Spider-Woman.

Walker and Tilby were stars, and their careers had nowhere to go but up.

Gwen started rubbing her temples.

"Are you sure you're okay, Gwen?" Marie-Ange asked Gwen once they'd sat down at a visitor's table and Gwen handed over the supplies she'd requested.

"It'll sound silly," Gwen said, "and I don't need to dump on you. I'm really sorry I haven't been around recently-"

"Who cares," Marie-Ange said, waving Gwen's apology away. "I'm just glad you're coming back again, and that you brought me all these things. The least I can do is let you vent," she said with a slight grin.

"Well, alright," Gwen said, rubbing the back of her head in slight embarrassment. "I've seen other actresses almost become overnight stars thanks to roles they beat me out," she said, before explaining about Tilby and Walker. "Those roles would have been dreams come true for me, and it really hurt losing out on them."

"Is that all, though?" Marie-Ange said. "Lots of actors fail auditions. I can see there's something else, Gwen."

Gwen took a deep breath before she answered.

"...I'm wondering if I screwed up somewhere along the way with my career," she said. "I kind of got a late start at acting because my Dad never would have allowed me to get an agent or do too much when I was a kid, and the only reason he let me do modeling was because we needed the money. But I have so many things I need to do now, I keep worrying they'll get in the way of my career. I'd love to be a star, Marie-Ange, but at the rate I'm going I'm not sure I'll ever make it."

To her surprise, Marie-Ange burst out laughing.

"Come on, Gwen, you're still just a kid," Marie-Ange pointed out. "You've got your whole life ahead of you still, and you never know what could happen. I mean, I'm not an expert, but wouldn't a lot of actors have only really gotten famous later in their lives?"

"Well, I guess..." Gwen said, knowing Marie-Ange was right.

"And even if you don't become really famous, does that take away from what you've already done?" Marie-Ange said. "I've been following Fire Hearts-Fire Passion," she continued, referring to Gwen's budding social media network, "and a lot of people really enjoy it. Besides, how many celebrities have gotten messed up by fame?"

That was something Gwen hadn't considered. The stress of fame had taken its toll on actresses from Judy Garland to Lindsay Lohan, and that was the last thing Gwen needed when her life was stressful enough already.

Now it was Gwen's turn to burst out laughing.

"I never thought about it like that," she said with a grin. "Thanks, Marie-Ange. I really appreciate it."

"No problem," Marie-Ange said, returning her smile.

Gwen was in much better spirits as she left Riker's Island. She still dreamed of being a star, and she wouldn't stop working towards it.

But even if being Spider-Woman undermined it, she knew she could still have a career to be proud of.

"You didn't have to do this," Gwen's boyfriend Randy Robertson said as he led her into his new apartment. With the Fall 2009 semester rapidly approaching, Randy moved into a new apartment with some friends to be closer to Empire State University. It was also closer to the Stacys' townhouse, which was an added bonus for him. Gwen hadn't been able to help him with the move, since she'd had a photoshoot with Vaughn-Pope Cosmetics for their new autumn collection. She felt so bad about it, despite his assurances, that she insisted on coming over later that evening.

"Yes I do," Gwen said as she shut the door behind her, "and this isn't just about the move. It's about you getting your just desserts...and I mean that literally," she finished, grinning playfully as she held up the cloth bag she was carrying.

"Literally?" Randy said, shaking his head in confusion. He couldn't do anything else before Gwen pushed him into his favorite easy chair. Before he could react, Gwen hopped up into his lap, stretching her legs over the armrest.

"Okay, I have to admit I like this," he said, as Gwen giggled. "But still, what did you mean by literally?"

"This," Gwen said, as she reached into the bag. She pulled out a large box and pulled it open, her smile growing wider as she showed him the chocolate chip cookies it contained.

"You made these?" Randy said. "Wow, I...I appreciate it Gwen, but why'd you-"

Gwen cut him off by stuffing a cookie in his mouth, before she took one for herself.

"It's my way of thanking you for always being there," Gwen said, as Randy chewed on the cookie she'd given him, a look of bliss on his face. "These last few weeks have been a nightmare, and I don't think I could have made it without you..."

She started munching on her cookie as Randy swallowed his. He took her into his arms, stroking her long blonde hair for a few minutes without saying anything.

"How could I not, Gwen?" he finally said. "You've been there for me, I've been there for you..."

"Yeah, but I was at my breaking point," Gwen said, and Randy was dismayed at the haunted look that came into her eyes. "You saw how I was after Jack O' Lantern's first note. Without you, and Mom, and everybody else-"

"And you've been there when I needed you, Gwen," Randy said. "Whenever I've needed to try and figure things out, you've always been willing to listen. I could go on for hours, but you'd-"

"It's fine," Gwen said. "Those things were really important to you. I'm just glad I could help."

"And here I didn't make any cookies to thank you," Randy said, shaking his head.

"You've done more than enough," Gwen said, giving him another cookie. "I'm just playing catch-up."

They sat in silence for over an hour after that, finishing the box of cookies. Gwen cuddled in Randy's arms again, smiling at how safe and happy she felt.

"Black knights are the best knights, I don't care what the fairy tales say," she said, causing Randy to chuckle.

He looked into Gwen's eyes, marveling at their beauty. The haunted look he'd seen in them earlier was gone, replaced with a sense of peaceful joy. That was one of the things he loved about her, the way she always managed to keep going no matter what her usually rotten luck put her through.

"Girl, I don't know why, but I can't get enough of your love, babe..." he sang quietly, quoting the iconic Barry White song.

"No matter how you try, just like the more I give, the more you want..." Gwen sang back.

"Tell me, what am I going to say? What am I going to do?" Randy said.

"How should you feel when everything is me?" Gwen said.

"What kind of love is this that you're giving me?" Randy said.

"Is it in my kiss, or just because I'm sweet?" Gwen said.

They stopped singing then, and simply stared into each other's eyes.

They realized what would come next, and that they didn't need to say anything else.

Spider-Woman was more annoyed than alarmed as she swung towards Four Freedoms Plaza the next morning. She hadn't intended to spend the night at Randy's place, and didn't bring a change of clothes. She ended up having to rush home for some breakfast and a quick shower before she headed out on her appointment with Reed Richards and Spider-Man. It wouldn't do to keep them waiting, especially after all the trouble they'd gone to setting everything up.

Spider-Woman had no trouble getting past security, and she was soon upstairs in Reed Richards' lab. Reed Richards and Spider-Man were both waiting for her, as was a powerfully muscled ape-like man covered in blue fur. A wry grin played about his lips as he stood on one foot, using his hands and his other foot to juggle several items. To Spider-Woman's surprise, the items were sophisticated medical equipment, everything from a scalpel to a microscope.

"Before you say anything, yes I know these are all very delicate," the blue-furred man said with a grin as he finished his juggling and put every item on the table next to him as he caught it with his foot. "I just wanted to assure you of my manual dexterity."

"I'm sure I don't need to worry," Spider-Woman said with a grin. "Hello, everyone," she said with a bow. "I appreciate your all coming to help me with this. I take it you're the Beast?" she said, shaking the blue-furred man's hand.

"Some people call me that," the blue-furred man said, returning her curtsy with a bow. "Others call me Hank McCoy, MD."

"...You're the X-Men's team doctor?" Spider-Woman said in surprise. "You didn't have to-"

"Yes I do," the Beast said, waving away her protests. "After the way you helped us protect Nate Grey from the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, this is the least of the ways we can pay you back. And there's a reason I volunteered for this," he said, his expression turning much more serious. "I've become quite an expert in treating unusual superhuman physiologies. Conventional medicine hasn't necessarily advanced to the point where it can provide suitable treatments in all cases...and sometimes it doesn't want to, especially when it comes to mutants," he finished, shaking his head sadly.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Spider-Woman said with a frown.

"Oh, it's hardly your fault," the Beast said, his cheerful mood returning almost immediately. "Now, Reed told me all about this tracking device of Jack O' Lantern's that you want removed, but I was hoping you could show me exactly where you believe it is. Once that's done, we can prepare you for surgery. With Reed helping me, it won't be more than a couple of hours before you're rid of that evil thing for good."

"And I'll be right there every step of the way," Spider-Man assured her. "Every step."

Spider-Woman beamed at that, the warmth she emanated filling Reed, the Beast and Spider-Man too.

Three days later...

Gwen hopped out of bed and tossed her hair back, smiling widely. She felt like a new woman, especially with Jack O' Lantern's tracking device removed. Her surgery had gone off without a hitch, and she diligently followed the Beast's directions in ensuring she drank plenty of fluids and got a lot of rest while she recovered.

She couldn't afford to sit around much longer, though. August was almost over, and Empire State University's Fall 2009 semester was set to start. Gwen was meeting Randy and several of their other friends for lunch as a final gathering before classes started next week, and she didn't want to miss it.

Once she'd had some breakfast and a shower, Gwen sat down to check her Fire Hearts-Fire Passion social media network. She'd been out of it for the last couple of days while she rested from her surgery, and she was eager to get caught up.

Most of the correspondence waiting for Gwen were the usual things she got. General fan mail, comments on some of her recent posts and videos, fan art depicting her in different outfits, and other people passing articles of interest on to her. One Facebook message in particular stood out, though.

Hi there Gwen,

We know you love Converse sneakers. So do we-that's why we sell them. And when we saw the photos and videos of your Converse collection, we knew you'd be the perfect person to spread the joy of Converse to the world.

We're looking for models for our Fall collection, and we're inviting you to join us for a photo session. We're flexible when it comes to rates, and we'll be happy to let you post some of the photos on Fire Hearts-Fire Passion when the time's right.

And if you want to keep some of the shoes for yourself...well, we can't blame you!

Gwen managed to avoid crying out in delight. She loved all of her massive shoe collection, but her eighteen pairs of Converse high-tops were some of her absolute favorites. A modeling job with Converse was almost like a dream come true for her, especially if it allowed her to get some new Chucks in the bargain.

Gwen wouldn't give up on her dreams of stardom, but even if she never achieved them she knew she could enjoy the journey.

"Did you get all the classes you wanted?" Gwen asked Randy as they walked towards the Blue Star Restaurant.

"I sure did," Randy said with a grin. "I even got the last spot in this filmmaking class I had my eye on. I looked at the syllabus online, and I'm probably going to need your help with at least one of the assignments."

"You don't even need to ask," Gwen said, leaning into Randy with the smile that set his heart pounding, "but what would we actually be doing?"

"The assignment involves creating a music video to an established song," Randy said. "I had my mind on doing a video of John Mellencamp's song 'Jack and Diane'."

Gwen needed a moment to remember what that song was about. It was released several years before either of them were born, and she hadn't heard it in a long time.

"Wasn't it about a teenage couple in the suburban heartland?" Gwen said. "That doesn't really sound like your kind of thing."

"It wouldn't be, but then I learned about the story behind it," Randy said. "Jack and Diane were supposed to be an interracial couple, but Mellencamp's record label freaked out and made him change it. My video would change it right back to what it originally was."

"So we'll be Jack and Diane?" Gwen said. "Sure, I can do that. Let me guess-you want to piss off everybody who gets angry at interracial couples, right?"

"Not just that," Randy said, glancing up loftily. "So many images of the suburbs are plain and white-bread. Where are the Black people, the Asian people, the Native people? How's that the real America?"

Gwen just laughed at that, and at where she was in life. Even with the long road she'd traveled, and all the problems she'd faced, she was still in a really good place. Now it was going to be even better, when she met her friends...

...and her anticipation at meeting her friends vanished the moment she heard the explosions and screams coming from a couple of blocks away.

"...And of course, the old Stacy luck just has to strike again, doesn't it?" Randy said, as Gwen jolted out of her reverie.

"How'd you know I thought that?" Gwen asked as they looked around for a place where she could change costume.

"You mean besides my seeing how happy you were and how fast you switched to being worried and upset?" Randy said with a half-grin. "But don't worry, Gwen-I know you've got this."

"I know that...and I also know no matter how bad my luck can get, I can also be the luckiest person in the world," she said, kissing him before she ran off down an alley.

A few minutes later, Spider-Woman swung towards the violent confrontation she could already see in the streets a couple of blocks away, her eyes burning with purpose.

Spider-Woman knew that her long road would be longer still. She'd have new problems, face new enemies, have new instances of bad luck...

...but she was ready to face them, both as Gwen Stacy and the spectacular Spider-Woman.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Ultimate Spider-Woman: Change With The Light has come to an end. Writing Ultimate Spider-Woman has helped me grow tremendously as a writer and given me countless hours of fun.

The late, great Derrick Ferguson deserves special mention. As an American Black man, he provided invaluable critiques and feedback in helping me develop Gwen and Randy's relationship in a way I never could have by myself. I can only hope that my depictions of their relationship did him justice and justified the support he gave me.