"George, you just got out of the hospital today. Sit down. I already told the teams to search for your daughter — they'll find her soon. She must be hiding somewhere nearby," Jean said, trying to calm George down as he tried to search for Gwen in his current condition.
"This girl, where did she run off to now?!" Mrs. Stacy also tried to calm George, but her own eyes were scanning the surrounding area, looking for Gwen. In the chaos around them, people were helping others who had been injured during the monster attack.
As time passed and George was about ready to go searching for himself, he spotted Gwen running toward them from a side street. The others noticed too.
"Gwen, where did you run off to? Do you know how dangerous it was out there?" Helen started to scold her.
"Sorry, Mom. I just went to take a look. Who could have imagined there'd be a monster? I hid in a safe place," Gwen said, apologizing to everyone.
"Since Gwen is safe, let's not say any more about it," George said, cutting Helen off.
"I'm glad she's back safe," Jean said, relieved — partly because Gwen was fine, but mostly because George was her friend and she had seen how worried he was. "But it's better to avoid going outside in a situation like that."
Gwen had no choice but to promise she wouldn't do anything like that again. As she looked around, she noticed that alongside the police, there were a few people in black suits quietly searching the area.
Jean noticed Gwen looking at them and said, "They're from an organization that handles extraordinary things — like that monster." Gwen nodded and left with her parents shortly after.
"Hello. I'm Phil Coulson. I'm the agent in charge of this case," the man said with a simple smile. Jean felt immediately that he had a very kind-looking face.
"Hi. I'm Jean DeWolff. I assume you already know who I am."
Coulson smiled. "Who doesn't know the youngest female captain in the New York Police Department?"
Jean skipped the small talk. "Have you found any clues about where that monster came from?"
"Not yet. No solid leads for now. But before the attack, the monster seemed to target Oscorp transport vehicles first, so I suspect this is connected to Oscorp somehow."
Hearing that, Jean immediately thought back to what Peter and Jack had told her earlier that day about the lab accident and the missing Dr. Connors. Her instinct told her both things were connected. She filled Coulson in on the lab incident and Dr. Connors' disappearance.
Coulson thought about it for a few seconds and decided it was worth investigating from that angle.
That night was sleepless for many people
The next morning, Jack was getting ready to visit George's house as they had planned with Peter and MJ.
"I think I need to buy some new clothes. All my old ones are getting tight," Jack muttered to himself while getting dressed.
"Alright, let's go." He grabbed some fruit to bring along — showing up empty-handed felt wrong.
Gwen opened the door.
"Welcome."
Jack gave her a quick hug and asked about Peter and MJ.
"You're the first one here. They should be coming soon." Gwen took the fruit from him and let him in.
In the living room, George was sitting on the couch watching TV with some bandages on his leg and chest.
"Mr. Stacy, how are you feeling?"
"Better now. Just a few weeks of rest and I'll be back at the office."
"That's good to hear." They chatted for a bit before Peter and MJ arrived and joined them.
After a while, the news about the Lizard came on.
"I hope they catch that monster soon. Otherwise, the whole city is going to feel unsafe," MJ said, watching the screen.
"I hope so, too," Helen agreed.
"The government will catch it," George said.
"I don't know," MJ said, not sounding convinced. "That monster is probably a government experiment to begin with. Catching it might lead to them making more."
The news changed.
[WHO ARE THE SPIDER COUPLE?]
A segment about Spider-Man and Spider-Woman — referred to as a couple — started playing.
Both Peter and Gwen coughed at the same time.
"Here, drink some water," Helen said, handing them both a glass.
Jack had to work very hard not to laugh.
"Wow, the spider couple! They're so popular now," MJ said, scrolling through her phone. Fan pages, posts, edits everywhere. "I think I'm a fan now."
"I think they're just friends, not a couple," Peter said, recovering from his coughing.
"Peter, look at them. Same powers, matching costumes, fighting together like that. How do you know they're just friends?" MJ wasn't buying it. She turned to Gwen. "What do you think?"
Gwen sided with Peter.
"You too?" MJ looked at Jack. "What about you, Jack?"
Jack didn't even think twice. He backed Peter's theory immediately. He knew very well that Gwen was his girlfriend — even if neither of them had officially said it out loud, there was zero doubt in his mind.
"You all—!" MJ couldn't figure out why all her friends were saying the same thing. She felt like she was missing something.
At least Peter and Gwen felt better that someone believed the truth.
"Both of them should be arrested," George said.
Everyone looked at him.
"Dad, what are you saying? They were saving people. They're heroes," Gwen said, trying to reason with him.
"No. Whatever you say, what they're doing isn't legal. That's the police's job. They have no right to be out there doing this." Gwen tried to change his mind but George wasn't moving on it.
After some time, Jack and the others said goodbye and headed out.
Back at his place, Jack was resting after the visit when the doorbell rang.
"Who's coming to visit me now? "
He looked through the peephole. Standing outside was a small blonde girl who looked about ten years old.
He opened the door. "Who are you, kid?"
The girl didn't say anything. She slipped past him through the small gap beside him and walked right into the house.
Jack leaned out the door and looked both ways down the street to see if someone was filming a prank. Nothing. The street was empty.
He turned around and went after her.
"Hey, where do you think you're going? You can't just walk in here. Where are your parents?"
He caught up and stopped her.
Then the girl turned around and gave him a light smile — small, calm, and just a little bit cunning. She pressed something on her watch.
And transformed into a female version of Four Arms.
Jack stood there.
Who is she? Where am I? Am I dreaming?
Those were the only thoughts in his head.
📢 A/N:
Hi readers,
If you are reading this chapter, thank you so much for your support. Without you guys, this novel would never have reached 100+ chapters.
I really want to thank each and every one of you who gave Power Stones, and especially those who encourage me daily in the comments. Your support truly means a lot to me.
I read both positive and negative comments. Many comments helped me notice things that I had missed, and some even gave me fantastic ideas. Since it has been many years since I watched Ben 10, sometimes I forget certain details, so your feedback really helps me.
Thank you all for your suggestions and support.
And sorry if I didn't reply to some comments. There have been many comments recently, so I may accidentally overlook or miss some of them.
Once again, thank you all for supporting this novel. ❤️