When Gwen walked into the living room, she saw her parents already sitting at the table, eating. She sat down with a slightly pale face, and noticing that, George looked at her with concern.
"Are you okay, Gwen? You look a little pale."
Hearing that, Gwen took a bite of her food, trying to calm herself.
"It's nothing, Dad… I just had a weird nightmare."
She said, but her mind immediately drifted back to Alex—his face, that cold, almost morbid attitude, the strange aura surrounding him… and the unsettling fact that his clothes were covered in blood.
'That was terrifying… that wasn't the Alex I know.'
She remembered how all the heroes seemed furious at him, yet he didn't care at all. How the destruction of the city seemed to come from him. How an aura of death surrounded him, as if death itself was there—
As if he was it.
The more she remembered, the more her body trembled. It didn't feel like she had seen Alex…
But a monster.
And yet—
When she thought about the real Alex—his gentle smile, his kindness toward others—
It felt impossible.
Impossible for him to become like that…
Right?
Gwen tried to push the thoughts away, to forget.
But the more she tried—
The more that gentle voice echoed in her mind.
'Don't abandon him… he needs you.'
The guilt came rushing back.
And without even thinking—
She already had her answer.
"I won't abandon him. Not in any situation."
"Did you say something, dear?"
Helen asked, since Gwen had whispered that without realizing. Gwen immediately turned red and quickly came up with an excuse.
"N-Nothing, Mom! It's just… these eggs are really good! So tasty!"
She said it without thinking, quickly eating everything on her plate so she could leave the table as fast as possible and escape the embarrassment.
But before she could—
"Gwen, come here. We need to talk about something very serious."
George's voice stopped her just as she was about to reach her room.
"Ah… okay, Dad. No problem."
Still embarrassed, Gwen returned to the table, worried she had done something wrong again—like the time she accidentally created an EMP that almost fried all the electronics in the building.
But this felt different.
Not like a scolding.
More like bad news.
"Gwen… you know how your mother and I have been away a lot at night lately? That's because I've been receiving threats from a very dangerous criminal group. I'm preparing a safe place for me and your mother with help from the police, but…"
George hesitated for a moment, looking guilty, before taking a deep breath.
"Unfortunately, they only provided protection for me and your mother. So I had to find another way to keep you safe. I tried talking to the commissioner, but it didn't work… so I had to turn to someone else."
He pulled out a key and handed it to Gwen.
"You're going to stay with Alex."
"W-WHAT!?"
At school, during break, Alex and Gwen were unusually quiet, almost avoiding each other's gaze, while Peter excitedly showed pages of project designs in his notebook.
After talking for a while and realizing neither of them was paying attention, he finally snapped.
"What's wrong with you two? You're not even excited about my laser weapon drawings!"
Hearing that, Alex—wanting to kill the conversation before it got awkward—grabbed Peter's notebook to distract him. But as soon as he started analyzing the design, his expression changed.
"Damn it, Peter… how the hell did you come up with this?"
"NOW THAT'S THE REACTION I WANTED!"
"What's going on?"
Without answering, Alex handed the notebook to Gwen. As soon as she read it, her eyes widened.
"Peter… did you do the calculations right?"
"Of course I did! Ten times, just to be sure!"
The reason the group of nerds was shocked was simple—Peter had created a functional blueprint for a real laser weapon using basically scrap materials. High energy cost, sure—but completely viable.
"But it looks incomplete, Peter."
"NOT AGAIN, ALEX!"
Alex had a reputation at school.
He was known as a talent destroyer.
Why? Because he was a genius… who made other geniuses look bad.
At the beginning of his second year, shortly after meeting Gwen and Peter, Alex was invited to the school's chess club. When he said he had never played before, the teacher taught him in a friendly match.
Alex won.
No one was surprised—the teacher was obviously going easy.
But after reading the rulebook—
Alex beat the entire club.
More than ten times in a row.
Without losing once.
Each match lasting less than ten moves.
The club's top player quit right after.
After that, Alex started getting invited to multiple clubs just to win—or accidentally make members quit on the spot.
To this day, Alex can play bass, piano, and guitar perfectly—like a "god," according to the music teacher.
(A/N: Something funny I just canonized—Alex once played a guitar and bass solo at the same time.)
"YOU'RE NOT RUINING THE PROJECT OF MY LIFE! STAY OUT OF IT!"
"Dude, I just wanted to help, no need to freak out."
"Actually… Alex, I agree with Peter this time. Remember what happened when he showed you his air purifier?"
Alex went quiet.
He remembered.
Peter had once shown him a purifier he built—but Alex pointed out so many flaws that Peter almost smashed it. Worse—
Alex described a version a hundred times better.
Without even touching it.
"Yeah… okay. Maybe you're right. I overdo it sometimes."
Gwen and Peter exchanged a glance, remembering all the geniuses Alex had unintentionally crushed like it was some kind of sport.
After that, the three kept talking about Peter's project, and for a moment, Alex and Gwen forgot they were going to live together.
Even though—
Sooner or later—
They'd have to face it.
After classes ended, Alex and Gwen stood side by side at the bus stop, completely silent, neither knowing what to say.
Normally, Alex would've already run home—he was much faster. Whenever he did that, he wore his hero outfit so no one would recognize him.
But after the last incident—
He had to buy a new one earlier that day.
Meanwhile, Gwen would normally head home by swinging through the city with her synthetic webs, already back with her parents, either studying or preparing for her adventures as Ghost-Spider.
Seeing how uncomfortable the silence was, Alex decided to break it.
"So… what do you think about this whole gang situation?"
"Honestly? I'm pretty calm. At least I'm staying with you instead of some random stranger."
The moment she said that, Gwen turned red, realizing what she had just said. She quickly tried to shift the conversation before she embarrassed herself even more.
"I-I mean… did you hear about that Spider-Woman?"
"Yeah, your dad told me about her. Said she's been a real headache lately."
Hearing that, Gwen looked a little sad, but quickly tried to recover and keep her composure.
"Okay… but what about you, Alex? What do you think about this Spider-Woman?"
When she asked that, Alex couldn't help but notice the strange expression on her face—like she was expecting a good answer.
'Better act like her dad… don't raise suspicion.'
"I think she's a danger—to herself and to others. If she really wanted to help people, she could do it as a police officer… or within the law. Like a prosecutor… like I'm going to be."
But instead of the reaction he expected, Gwen's expression fell.
Sad.
Disappointed.
She quickly hid it—
But unfortunately for her, Alex's perception and reaction speed were beyond human.
He noticed.
Still—
Despite that, Alex was also the absolute peak of not understanding people.
So instead of suspecting anything, he simply assumed—
She was probably a fan of Spider-Woman.
"But… she's not that bad either. At least she's not some villain attacking everyone."
Hearing that, Gwen felt a bit better.
But still…
A little sad.
One of her closest friends thought of her like that.
Even so—
She was determined.
Even if she had to hide her identity from everyone—
She would prove she could be trusted.
Seeing her expression improve, Alex assumed he handled it perfectly.
So the two kept walking, talking casually, the tension slowly fading.
When they arrived in front of the building, people couldn't help but stare.
One was a strange giant.
The other, a very beautiful girl.
Together, they stood out far more than they should.
Noticing the attention, both of them quickly went inside and headed upstairs.
Within seconds, they reached the apartment door.
Alex opened it and stepped in.
"I'm home, Mom. Gwen's here too."
"Oh, dear, your father already stopped by and brought your clothes. I left them in the guest room. I can show you around if you want."
Nora welcomed Gwen warmly—very different from before. When George was there, she was negotiating.
Now—
She had already accepted Gwen staying with them.
She liked the girl.
The "negotiation" had just been to get extra benefits.
Seeing the two getting along, Alex decided to move on with his own plans.
First—
A shower.
Then a quick meal.
Then—
Preparation.
For his first night as a vigilante.
He grabbed his gear and headed out.
No one suspected anything. After all, Alex always left in the afternoon for work.
Well—
Used to.
He had recently been fired.
As his manager put it—
"Unfortunately, having a mutant here attracts unwanted attention."
'Damn it… another thing anti-mutant idiots ruined in my life.'
Alex slipped into a nearby alley and quickly changed.
In less than a minute—
He was fully suited up.
"Alright… this should be fun. Let's be quick. Now… where is it… ah, got it."
After some effort, he tuned into the police frequency.
To most people, the codes would be incomprehensible.
But Alex—
He practically knew the entire book.
He listened.
Ignored one.
Ignored another.
Until—
One caught his attention.
"Oh? A hostage situation… I like it."
He pocketed the radio.
Lowered his stance.
And then—
Launched forward at incredible speed.
"DROP YOUR WEAPON NOW!"
In the middle of chaos, a man held a little girl—no older than ten—while pressing a revolver against her head.
"SHUT UP! I WANT THE MONEY NOW, DAMN IT! OR I'LL BLOW HER HEAD OFF!"
The child cried in terror.
The man screamed wildly.
Nearby, officers stood tense, glancing at a wounded person on the ground—pale, barely breathing.
"THE MONEY IS COMING! JUST WAIT A LITTLE LONGER!"
The negotiator shouted through a megaphone, clearly nervous.
"When the hell is that money getting here?!"
he whispered urgently to the officer beside him.
"Thirty minutes… but I don't know if we have that long—"
"Hey, idiot. Drop the girl."
A voice cut through everything.
Suddenly—
Someone stood inside the perimeter.
Right in front of the armed man.
Alex.
He had jumped straight into the eye of the storm.
And strangely—
He felt nothing.
No fear.
No hesitation.
"THE HELL!? YOU PIECE OF SHIT, IF YOU SAY ONE MORE WORD I'LL—"
He never finished.
In an instant—
His body was marked by countless cube-shaped cuts.
His gun shattered.
He collapsed, screaming in agony.
"AAAAAAAH!"
The man was alive—
But covered in hundreds of cuts.
Alex turned his attention to the girl.
She was crying uncontrollably.
He stepped forward, trying to calm her—
But before he could—
"STEP AWAY!"
A voice came from above.
A figure dropped perfectly between Alex and the child.
And the moment everyone saw who it was—
Even the police froze.
Spider-Woman.
"Don't come any closer to that child, you monster!"
_______________
Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed today's chapter—I made it with a lot of care… and a bit of pain, but don't worry, I've got chronic pain, it happens.
But on a more positive note, I'm really enjoying developing the characters and doing what I love… hehe.
Now, speaking seriously—there's something really cool coming in the next chapters, so get ready.
As always, if you enjoyed it, please send power stones or rate my work—that already helps a lot. And if you have any constructive criticism or anything that could help me improve, feel free to say it, I always read everything.
And just so you know, I love reading your messages—it really makes me happy to see that people are enjoying it.
Good night.