After Silk left, Gwen stood by the window for a long time.
The moonlight shone in coldly, spreading a sheet of silver across the floor.
She looked down at her hands—the hands that had just rejected a superpowered villain, the hands that could shoot webs, the hands that were now trembling slightly.
She had just rejected Silk.
Rejected her to her face.
What if Silk had turned hostile right then and there?
What if she had attacked?
Although Gwen had powers now, she had no idea how to fight.
She was still in the exploratory phase of learning how to control her powers; if a fight had actually broken out, she definitely wouldn't have been a match for Silk, who had possessed her powers for three years.
But she had still refused.
Because she didn't agree with a single word of what Silk had said.
"Let those ordinary people know that this World isn't just theirs"—why did that sound so much like standard dialogue for a chuunibyou villain?
Something about dominating the city, something about monsters hiding in the shadows—Gwen recalled a line she had seen online in her past life: The greater the power, the greater the chuunibyou.
She sighed softly and turned to go back to bed.
Then she stopped.
Wait.
She suddenly thought of a question—Spider-Man always had a suit.
The Tobey Maguire version had a homemade red and blue spandex suit, the Garfield version was also homemade, and besides that, he had made web-shooters, while the Holland version had a high-tech suit from Stark Industries.
What about her?
Did she have one too?
Gwen began to rummage through her room.
The closet still held those dresses; nothing there.
The desk drawers held some stationery and notebooks; nothing there.
Under the bed were a few dusty shoeboxes; opening them, she found only a few pairs of old sneakers.
She stood in the center of the room, frowning as she tried to recall.
In the original work, what did Spider-Gwen's suit look like again?
A white-based hooded bodysuit with black patterns and pink accents.
The white eye masks were shaped like wide spider eyes, looking both cool and stylish.
She remembered that when she first saw that look, she thought it was quite nice.
But—
Gwen looked down at her own body.
A bodysuit.
She had to wear a bodysuit?
And wear an eye mask on her face?
She imagined herself wearing a bodysuit, and her cheeks suddenly burned.
No, no, no.
It was too embarrassing.
If Peter saw this, if Mary Jane saw this, if her dad saw this—Gwen covered her face, refusing to imagine any further.
And there was another practical problem: it was September, so wearing a bodysuit was barely tolerable.
What about when winter came?
New York winters were freezing; going out in a bodysuit would freeze her to death.
She couldn't very well fight crime wearing a down jacket, could she?
Gwen walked to the closet and opened the door again.
This time, she wasn't looking at dresses, but at the few pieces of casual clothing in the corner.
Her eyes landed on a red and blue hooded sweatshirt.
It was something the original owner had bought while shopping once because she thought the colors were nice, but she hadn't really worn it since bringing it home.
Gwen pulled it out, gave it a shake, and held it up against the mirror.
It was primarily red, with dark blue sleeves and a white hood.
The color combination was unexpectedly similar to Spider-Man's classic color scheme.
She rummaged through the drawer again and found a black face mask—stockpiled during the pandemic, not yet used up.
And a pair of sunglasses, with lenses large enough to cover half her face.
Gwen put on the hoodie, the mask, and the sunglasses, and checked herself in the mirror.
In the mirror was a teenage girl wearing a loose hoodie, the hood pulled over her head, the mask covering the lower half of her face, and the sunglasses covering her eyes.
She was completely covered up; not only would no one recognize her as Gwen Stacy, it would be hard to tell if she was a boy or a girl.
It was just a bit silly.
Gwen stared at the silly-looking reflection in the mirror and was silent for three seconds.
Forget it.
If it's silly, so be it.
It was better than wearing a bodysuit.
She folded the hoodie and placed it on the nightstand.
Tomorrow, she had to go to Connors' lab.
No matter what Peter thought, she had to go.
Lying back in bed, Gwen stared at the ceiling, her mind in a jumble.
Silk's words, Connors' experiment, Peter's safety, and her own inexplicable powers—everything was like a tangled mess, knotted together, impossible to unravel.
She rolled over and buried her face in the pillow.
Deal with it tomorrow.
The next morning, Gwen woke up earlier than usual.
She put on the red and blue hoodie, stuffed the hood, mask, and sunglasses into her backpack, and went downstairs for breakfast.
"Why are you dressed so brightly today?"
Helen brought out the fried eggs, saw her daughter's attire, and smiled, "It's rare to see you in red."
"Just changing up my style."
Gwen sat down and ate her breakfast, head bowed.
George was there today too.
He was reading the newspaper and drinking coffee, occasionally looking up at Gwen.
That gaze made Gwen feel a bit guilty, as if she were being seen through.
"Come straight home after school today,"
George put down the newspaper, "I have a shift tonight, and your mom is home alone, so keep her company."
"Got it, Dad."
Gwen agreed readily, but in her heart, she was thinking: I hope everything is resolved before tonight.
On the way to school, Gwen deliberately detoured to Peter's front door.
After waiting a few minutes, Peter came out with his backpack.
Seeing Gwen, he was taken aback.
"Gwen? Why are you here?"
"Waiting for you."
Gwen tried to make her tone sound natural, "Let's walk together."
Peter nodded, not asking any more questions.
The two walked to school side by side.
Gwen secretly observed his expression.
Peter looked no different than usual; there were no dark circles under his eyes, and his pace was neither hurried nor slow.
She felt slightly relieved—at least as of last night, Connors shouldn't have started the experiment yet.
"Peter," she started, "are you still going to the lab after school today?"
"Yeah."
Peter nodded, "Professor Connors said they're doing the final test today. He's prepared the final version of the serum, and if there are no problems..."
He didn't finish, but Gwen knew what he wanted to say.
If there were no problems, Connors would conduct the live experiment on himself.
"Peter," Gwen stopped and looked at him seriously, "that serum is unstable. Connors' theory might have flaws."
Peter stopped too, looking at her in confusion: "How do you know that?"
Gwen opened her mouth.
Of course, she couldn't say she had seen it in a comic book.
She couldn't say she knew Connors would turn into the Lizard and go on a killing spree in New York.
She was just an ordinary high school student and shouldn't know these things.
"I... I have a hunch."
That was all she could say in the end, "Think about it, is limb regeneration really that easy? If it were really that simple, someone would have developed it long ago. Professor Connors might be too eager for success and has overlooked some risks."
Peter was silent for a few seconds, then sighed softly.
"I've thought about what you said, too."
He pushed up his glasses, "Professor Connors is indeed very anxious. He's been without his right arm for too many years; he wants to use both hands to do experiments again, wants to embrace his wife again—these thoughts have made him somewhat... reckless."
He looked at Gwen, a hint of helplessness in his eyes: "But I can't stop him. I'm just an assistant; I do whatever he says."
"Then you must at least stay safe."
Gwen grabbed his wrist, "If something goes wrong with the experiment, you must run. Run as far away as you can; don't worry about experimental data, don't worry about the equipment, just save your own life first. Do you understand?"
Her tone was too serious, her gaze too intense, and Peter was stunned.
He looked at the girl he had grown up with, suddenly feeling she was a bit unfamiliar.
When did Gwen become so—so concerned about him?
"...I understand."
He said in a low voice.
Gwen let go of his hand and continued walking.
Peter followed behind, watching her back, a strange feeling welling up in his heart.
He didn't know what that feeling was.
But he knew that today's Gwen was really different from before.
Gwen didn't hear a single word of the afternoon class.
She stared at the clock on the wall, watching the second hand move tick by tick, wishing she could reach out and speed it up.
Finally, the bell rang for the end of school.
Gwen grabbed her backpack and rushed out.
"Gwen!" Mary Jane called out from behind, "Not practicing drums today?"
"I have something to do today! I'll make up for it tomorrow!"
She ran out of the classroom without looking back, found a secluded corner at the school gate, put on the hoodie, mask, and sunglasses, and pulled the hood down tight.
Then she walked briskly toward Columbia University—that was where Connors' lab was.
The Columbia University campus was huge, and it took Gwen a long time to find the biology lab building.
It was an old gray building with ivy climbing up the walls.
She stood outside the building, looking up at the windows with lights on.
Which one was Connors' lab?
Just then, a scream came from inside the building.
Gwen's heart jumped violently.
Without thinking, she rushed directly toward the direction of the sound—a few steps of running, a leap, and she, like a real spider, stuck to the outer wall and crawled vertically upward.
The light was on in the third-floor window, and the curtains were not drawn tight, leaving a gap.
Gwen clung to the wall outside the window, carefully peeking inside.
The laboratory was a mess. Lab benches were overturned, test tubes and beakers were shattered everywhere, and liquids of various colors flowed all over the place.
In the corner, a middle-aged man in a lab coat was curled up, trembling all over—that must have been Connors.
And in the center of the laboratory stood a...
A monster.
With green skin, rough scales, and a long tail dragging on the ground. Its body had swollen to twice the size of a normal human, its head had transformed into the shape of a Lizard, and sharp teeth were exposed in its mouth. It was lowering its head, looking at its own hands, emitting a low, painful roar.
Lizard.
Connors had turned into Lizard after all.
Gwen's gaze quickly searched the laboratory. Peter—where was Peter?
Then she saw him.
Under an experiment table, a thin figure was curled up, hands clutching his head, shivering all over. It was Peter. He was still alive, unharmed, but he was less than three meters away from Lizard.
Lizard seemed to sense something, slowly turning its head to look at that experiment table.
Gwen's breath hitched.
She couldn't wait any longer.
She smashed the window glass with a punch and flipped into the laboratory.
Lizard was startled by the sound and whipped its head around. Its eyes were the vertical pupils of a reptile, and at this moment, they were locked onto the uninvited guest in the red and blue hoodie.
Peter also poked his head out from under the experiment table and saw the figure that had suddenly appeared—
A red and blue hoodie, a white hood pulled over the head, a black mask covering the face, and a pair of sunglasses. It looked both strange and ridiculous, like a passerby who had wandered onto the wrong set.
But that person just stood there, blocking the space between him and Lizard.
"Run," the person said, the voice muffled by the mask, but Peter recognized it—
He was too familiar with that voice.
"...Gwen?"
Gwen didn't look back. She stared at Lizard, every muscle in her body tensed. Lizard stared back at her, a dangerous light flashing in its vertical pupils.
"I said, run!" she shouted behind her.
Peter remained frozen, his legs unable to move as if filled with lead. He looked at the back in the red and blue hoodie, his mind a complete blank.
Lizard moved.
Its speed was astonishing, its massive claw slamming down towards Gwen. Peter instinctively closed his eyes—
Bang!
A dull thud.
Peter opened his eyes to see Gwen still standing there. Her hands held up Lizard's claw, the immense force causing the floor beneath her feet to crack with fine lines.
She had held it.
With those seemingly slender arms, she had held up the full-force strike of a monster over two meters tall.
Gwen herself was stunned. She knew her strength had increased, but she hadn't expected it to reach this level. Lizard's claw was held in mid-air by her, unable to advance or retreat, emitting an angry roar.
"What are you just standing there for!" she shouted at Peter again, "Run!"
Peter finally snapped out of it, scrambling out from under the experiment table and stumbling toward the door. Lizard tried to pursue, but Gwen held its claw firmly, not yielding a single step.
"Your opponent is me, ugly."
Lizard was enraged. It threw Gwen off, took two steps back, and then lunged forward. Gwen didn't have time to dodge and was sent flying backward, slamming heavily into the wall. Plaster rained down as she was embedded into the wall.
Pain.
It was so painful.
Gwen felt as if all the bones in her body were about to shatter. But strangely, after the pain, her body was recovering rapidly. She took a deep breath, broke free from the wall, and met Lizard's next attack head-on.
This time she didn't take it head-on. She dodged to the side, used the wall to spring off, and kicked Lizard in the back. Lizard stumbled a few steps, knocking over another experiment table.
Gwen landed, gasping for breath.
She couldn't keep fighting like this. She didn't know how to fight and could only rely on instinct to dodge and counterattack. Although Lizard didn't have much combat technique either, its strength and size advantage were too obvious.
She had to find a way to control it.
A thought flashed through her mind—Silk.
Yes, Silk.
Lizard lunged again. This time, Gwen didn't dodge but charged straight at it. At the moment of impact, she suddenly crouched down, dived under Lizard's armpit, and flicked her wrist—
A white stream of Silk shot out, accurately tangling around Lizard's ankle.
Lizard was caught off guard, yanked by the Silk, lost its balance, and crashed heavily to the ground. Gwen seized the opportunity to flip onto its back, waving her hands repeatedly as streams of Silk shot out, wrapping Lizard's limbs, torso, and tail, circle by circle.
Lizard struggled desperately, but the resilience of the Silk far exceeded its expectations. The more it struggled, the tighter the Silk constricted, until finally, it was bound into a white cocoon, able only to writhe on the ground while emitting frustrated roars.
Gwen jumped off its back, staggered two steps, and leaned against the wall, gasping for air.
Success.
She had actually succeeded.
"Gwen..."
A trembling voice came from the doorway.
Gwen turned her head to see Peter standing at the doorway, his glasses crooked, his face covered in sweat and tear stains, staring blankly at her.
Oh no.
She had forgotten she was still wearing this outfit.
Peter walked over slowly, his gaze scanning her—red and blue hoodie, white hood, black mask, sunglasses. His eyes finally settled on her wrist, where a small bit of Silk that hadn't been retracted yet shimmered with a faint silver light under the lamps.
"...Gwen?" he asked again, his voice even softer.
Gwen was silent for a few seconds, then slowly took off her sunglasses and mask.
Peter gasped.
That face was too familiar. Blonde hair, blue-gray eyes, cheeks flushed from strenuous exercise—it was Gwen. It was Gwen, who had grown up with him since childhood.
"...You..." He opened his mouth but didn't know what to say.
Sirens wailed in the distance.
Gwen's expression changed. Her father—Captain Stacy—should be on his way. She couldn't be seen. At least, not like this.
"Peter," she walked quickly up to him, "can you keep today a secret for me?"
Peter stared at her blankly, his mind still processing everything he had just seen.
"I..." He opened his mouth, "What on earth..."
"I will explain." Gwen interrupted him, "But not now. I have to go now."
She turned and walked toward the broken window.
"Gwen!"
She stopped and looked back at him.
Peter stood in the chaotic laboratory, behind him was Lizard, tied up like a bundle by the Silk, and in front of him was the girl in the red and blue hoodie. Moonlight shone in from the broken window, casting a silver rim around her silhouette.
"You..." He asked with difficulty, "Who are you, really?"
Gwen looked at him and smiled slightly.
"I'm Gwen," she said, "your childhood friend."
Then she leaped up and vanished into the night outside the window.
Peter rushed to the window and leaned out to look. In the moonlight, a figure in a red and blue hoodie was crawling vertically up the wall of the opposite building, moving as lightly as a real spider.
He stared blankly as the figure disappeared over the roof, unable to speak for a long time.
The sirens grew closer.
Cluttered footsteps and shouts came from downstairs.
Peter turned around slowly, looking at the white cocoon still struggling on the ground, then at his own dust-covered hands.
Everything that happened tonight had completely overturned his understanding of the World.
And that girl who had grown up with him, that girl in the red and blue hoodie who shot Silk and used super-strength to subdue a monster—
Who was she? No, what was she?
Peter stood there, his mind in chaos. In the distant night sky, the red and blue figure had completely disappeared, leaving only the moonlight coldly shining on the buildings of New York.
He suddenly remembered what Gwen had said to him that morning:
"If anything goes wrong with the experiment, you must run."
She had known something would go wrong.
She had known Connors would turn into a monster.
She had been protecting him all along.
Peter slowly clenched his fists, looking at the night outside the window.
Tomorrow.
Tomorrow, he would definitely ask her.
And for now—
He looked down at his trembling hands, realizing for the first time that in this seemingly ordinary World, there were too many secrets he had never imagined. Including the girl who had grown up with him.