They were picked up on the road. The Ozcorp security personnel sent by Hera's mother had arrived at the meatpacking plant in three groups. Armed with assault rifles and heavy weapons. They looked more like military than pharmaceutical company security guards.
The main task of the arriving Ozcorp officers was to rescue the daughter of Norma Osborn, their immediate superior.
After putting Hera and her friends in cars, the heavily armed men simply drove away. They didn't care about the fate of the rest of the people rescued from the terrorists' captivity. Gwen was embarrassed by their attitude to the other victims of the terrorist attack, but she did not say anything. It was not in her right to express any opinion. To the Ozcorp officers who had arrived, she was an outsider. It was only because of Gwen's connection to Hera that the security officers didn't leave her on the road.
In armoured cars, the security guards first took Hera home, and afterwards drove Gwen and Petra around. The next day, Hera, along with bodyguards assigned by her mother, arrived at Gwen's home and demanded that she undergo a medical examination at the Ozcorp clinic. The younger Ozbourne wanted to help her friend, but Stacey refused the physical. She didn't want to bother her friend unnecessarily. The weakness had already receded last night, she felt quite normal this morning.
After reading some material on caracourts, the venomous spiders that had supposedly bitten her that day at the exhibition, Gwen had calmed down.
Yes, and even more so, Gwen was worried about her heightened senses. She assumed that because of the severe stress caused by the events at the exhibition, in her awakened dormant mutant abilities. Mutants in the United States, and in the rest of the world, were treated with prejudice. Mutants earned this attitude from people for a reason.
In obtaining their powers, mutants often turned to crime. They wanted to use their newfound powers to improve their financial situation. Ordinary people suffered. Only this year in the United States was recorded twelve cases of use of mutant powers. In the course of which more than a hundred people died.
Gwen did not want to reveal her awakened abilities, afraid of the consequences. Therefore, she refused to help her friend, which even upset her a little.
Three days passed after the awakening of her abilities. Gwen began to notice changes. Her already athletic body had become even more athletic thanks to her athletics. Her flat tummy had acquired a well-defined relief and cubes of muscle. Her thighs and calves became a little bigger. Most of the fat in them had turned into muscle, and now her legs looked like those of a well-drained weightlifter. Her face had changed a bit too, taking on predatory features.
Looking at herself in the mirror, Gwen couldn't help but marvel at her beauty. She was completely transformed. If before she was a bit complex about her appearance, comparing herself to Hera. Now Stacey was sure that Hera was no match for her in beauty.
"Only her breasts haven't changed," Gwen said grudgingly, standing in front of the mirror and feeling her rather small breasts. The changes had not affected her upper womanhood in any way.
"Gwen, where are you going so late? - George called out to his daughter.
"Dad, I'm going out with my friends," Gwen replied, putting on her trainers. - I'll be back in a couple of hours.
"An hour.
"Well, Dad, we want to go to the shopping centre with our friends. I can't go there in an hour," Gwen protested, pressing her lips together and folding her arms across her chest.
"Fine, have it your way. You know that I love you, so you'll use it, - George came to his daughter and embraced her and kissed her on the forehead. - Just don't take too long and bring your phone so I can call you.
"Don't worry about me, it won't happen again," Gwen hugged her father back. George did not want a repeat of the "August massacre", he had not yet recovered from the last time his daughter had been kidnapped. He used to let her walk whenever and wherever she wanted, but since the incident he had tried to control her to keep her out of danger.
Leaving the house, Gwen headed to a poor neighbourhood in New York City, the Bronx. There were several abandoned neighbourhoods where Stacy explored her newfound powers. In addition to her improved physical abilities, she had gained extraordinary flexibility. Her body could literally twist at different angles like rubber. This new ability would be the envy of any gymnast.
She also gained an extraordinary ability to attach herself and move on steep surfaces. But perhaps Gwen's greatest ability was the web. The girl could release from her pores on her wrists a strong web that could support the weight of an entire car.
Today, a thought popped into Gwen's head. Given the web's properties, what if she tried using it to get around? With her new physical abilities and heightened senses, Stacy thought she could do the job. She should have the stamina and reaction time to move this way. The key was to practice in a safe place.
It took Gwen twenty minutes to get to the right neighbourhood in the Bronx. There used to be a lot of people living in this neighbourhood, but then there was a confrontation between the police and a mutant with fire abilities. The mutant had completely burned out this block. A lot of people died. The whole neighbourhood burned down, leaving behind stone ruins. The authorities relocated the victims to another neighbourhood. The burnt-out block was left standing in the middle of the Bronx.
"It's a little scary," Gwen mumbled, standing on the edge of a high-rise and holding onto a web attached to another building. - Okay, I'll do it!
And after her words, Stacy took a step into the void. Her body flew sharply downwards. Everything inside her clenched with fear. She closed her eyes hopefully and gripped the web in her hands tighter. A jolt and a change in the direction of flight! Gwen opened her eyes to capture the first successful moment. A triumphant smile played on her face, which after a while was replaced by fear.
"How do you stop!!! - Gwen shouted before the impact. At full speed her body slammed into the concrete wall and slowly slid down. Only her ability to attach herself to sheer surfaces saved her from falling from a great height.
"My head! - Stacy grabbed her head painfully. The powerful impact, which could crush a person into mush, did not affect Gwen outwardly. Her body was extremely strong, which she only noticed now. If her body had not been so strong, perhaps a minute ago the most ridiculous death would have occurred.
"To hell with those birds! I shouldn't have watched that bird video before bed! - Gwen scolded, getting to her feet. Her clothes were ruined.
"When they feel ready, they jump out of the nest! That's ridiculous! - Stacy recalled the words from the programme with rage in her eyes. The pain in her head was slowly going away. - Tomorrow I'll come back here and try again!
For several days, Gwen practised flying on the web. In mastering such an unusual movement, she was helped by a new ability that had appeared. She called it premonition. The ability was triggered when danger arose, slowing down the world around Gwen a hundred times. During this time she had time to calculate everything and make the right choice. The premonition greatly accelerated her learning time.
"Ehuuuuuuu!!! - shouted contentedly at the top of her voice as Gwen flew at breakneck speed through the burnt out houses on her web. It was day five of her web training.
Stacy was now wearing a deep hooded sweatshirt and a bandana hiding her face. Although the burnt out Bronx neighbourhood was abandoned, sometimes the local youths would hang out here. Gwen didn't want to accidentally reveal her identity, so she covered her face securely.
"HELP!!! - Suddenly there was a prolonged male shriek from beside the passing Stacy. She shot her webbing at a lamppost and used it to turn around, jumping onto the nearest building's roof.
Directly below the building she had jumped onto, a man leaning against a wall stood in an alleyway. A trio of women approached him with an ominous look, one of them armed with a folding knife. The steel blade gleamed brightly against the light of the moon.
Gwen never thought she would witness a crime while training her superpowers. Her body froze in anticipation, she didn't know what she should do. Should she call the police? The police obviously wouldn't make it in time and the man would get hurt. Help on her own? Inside herself, Gwen was thrashing around and didn't know what she should do. Suddenly she remembered the words of her friend, Hera:
"With great power comes great responsibility."
"Maybe there's something in those words, isn't there? - Gwen mumbled thoughtfully, adjusting her bandana on her face and then taking a step into the abyss. As she flew, she twisted round and grabbed the fire escape ledge with her hands. Securing herself on it, Stacy fired a couple of shots with her web. The web aptly flew into the legs of the two bandits, rendering them immobile. Only the woman with the folding knife remained on her feet.
"Fucking hell! - shouted loudly before a clump of spider webs flew into her.
No matter how hard the bandits tried, they couldn't break the substance that blinded their legs. Soon a petite girl in an inconspicuous sweatshirt and a white bandana on her face came down from somewhere above.
"Are you all right? - Gwen addressed the man.
"Y-yes, thank you for saving me! - Stammering, the man thanked sincerely. Stacy was pleased with the man's gratitude. Men of this calibre had avoided her before, but now Gwen didn't know what to say as she stared into the loving eyes of the man she had rescued. - What's your name?
Well, Gwen didn't expect that, and now what to say to him?
"I'm spider-girl! - Stacy blurted out the first thing that came into her head.
"Thank you, spider-girl! - The man began to approach her, apparently to embrace her.
Gwen's face, unprepared for such a thing, turned completely red under the mask. Afraid to accidentally reveal her real identity, the girl pushed off the pavement with her feet, jumped into the air for a couple of metres and after shooting a web, anchored above the ground.
"I've tied up the criminals and already called the police. She should be here in a couple of minutes, wait for her, - and waving goodbye, Gwen flew away from the scene.
After flying to the outskirts of the Bronx, Stacy landed in an inconspicuous alley and removed the bandana from her embarrassed face. Afterwards, she wasted no time in heading home. It was only in her room that she was able to catch her breath. The next day she missed her daily workout, and a day later she found an interview on the internet with the man she had rescued. The interview was the final trigger in choosing her path forward. She spent the rest of the month working out and creating a suit that was comfortable for her.
With the beginning of the following month, Gwen Stacy began her superhero career.
The start of the new academic year at the university did not change Gwen's usual schedule. She spent her mornings and afternoons studying and doing other things, and in the evenings she would go on patrol in New York City. The purpose of patrolling was to help people in trouble. This is not only crime prevention, but also quite domestic issues. One time Gwen even helped her grandmother take a cat out of a tree.
Her fame as a superhero on the internet and in the media was growing rapidly. This gave Gwen the energy to accomplish new feats. After patrolling, she liked to spend some time surfing the internet to read what was being written about her. The girl at such moments felt like some kind of celebrity.
This day was no different from the previous ones. Gwen as usual spent time at the university, then went for a walk with her friends and spent the rest of the time on homework, and then put on her white and black hooded suit, her signature superhero outfit of Spider-Girl and went on patrolling the city.
This time, Gwen decided to give her full attention to Brooklyn, the most crowded borough in New York City. It had a population of over two million people. Brooklyn was a quiet neighbourhood, it rarely had any incidents. All because of the police stations that dotted the neighbourhood.
Flying on the cobwebs, in one of the yards Gwen's sharp eyes spotted an expensive sports car. It seemed vaguely familiar, only she couldn't remember where she'd seen it. Perhaps it was a sports car Stacey had seen on the internet, watching a YouTube video of a car blogger.
Stopping on the roof nearest the car, Gwen sat down at the edge and dangled her legs.
"Eh, I wish I had such a car... - sighed the girl, dangling her legs in the air. - I wonder how much it costs? Two or three hundred thousand?
While Stacey sighed sorrowfully, dreaming of driving an expensive car. Two black women slowly shadowed the sports car. They were dressed in dark tracksuits and it was almost impossible to spot them at night.
"What are they doing there? - Spider-Girl wondered. She first thought that perhaps the two women were the owners of the sports car, but following their strange actions, she realised that the car did not belong to them. - Did they really want to steal it?
This was the first time Gwen had seen the work of car thieves in person. She was about to jump from her seat to stop the two thugs when she saw a man approaching the women.
The man walked with a slow, calm gait. His leather shoes beat a steady rhythm against the pavement. A black, well-tailored suit encased his slender body. Unfortunately, Gwen could not see the face of the man who had appeared, the angle did not allow.
Stopping in front of the car thieves, he started a dialogue with them. Seeing how during the short dialogue a couple of women began to approach the man, Gwen decided to act and shot a web from both hands. She used one as a rope to fly to the car, and used the other to charge straight into the face of the bandit woman closest to the man.
Gwen could have dealt with the car thieves from the roof, but she decided to show off a little in front of the man. Apparently, the owner of a sports car. So she decided to make a spectacular appearance.
Having already landed, to create a bigger effect, she decided not to look back at the man right away, but to deal with the remaining bandit first. One accurate shot and the fleeing black-skinned woman fell to the pavement, smashing her nose in blood. Gwen cringed under her mask, imagining the pain of the bandit's unfortunate fall.
"Man don't worry, I'm spider girl! You're safe! - Stacy said loudly, turning round to the rescued man with a confident pose. What was her surprise when she came across a familiar face. It was as if she was paralysed from the tips of her toes to the top of her head.
She was met by the impassive face of Augustus, devoid of any emotion. He stood in a relaxed posture, showing no tension. It was as if he had not seen the scene that had just taken place in front of him.
"Thank you, you have a nice suit, I like it.
Gwen's heart jumped and her fingertips clenched a little. August's praise of her homemade costume spread through her body like honey. But then from somewhere inside came the fear of a belated realisation.
"Did he really recognise me!"
Gwen had not disguised her voice in any way, nor had the proportions of her body been altered in any way. An observant person who knew her without the costume could easily guess everything!
***
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