Author's note: Comment and enjoy.
******
The morning sun over Queens was deceptively bright, casting long, sharp shadows across the Stacy kitchen. To any passerby, it was a picture of domestic normalcy: a police captain nursing a lukewarm cup of black coffee while his daughter pushed a piece of toast around her plate. But beneath the surface, the air hummed with a secret frequency.
"They're calling her the 'Black Cat' in the morning briefings," George Stacy said, his voice gravelly from a lack of sleep. He rubbed his eyes, the fluorescent kitchen light catching the deep lines of fatigue on his face. "She didn't just hit Aether Biotics; she's linked to three other high-end corporate breaches in the last month. We have zero leads on her identity, zero fingerprints, and the security footage is... well, it's like she's a ghost."
Gwen took a sip of her orange juice, her expression a mask of practiced concern. Inside her mind, however, the silence was broken by a dry, resonant hum.
A 'ghost' is a generous description for someone who leaves a scent of expensive perfume and violet smoke, Leo remarked. Her technique is flashy, Gwen. It relies on the incompetence of standard human surveillance. If your father knew she was sitting at Vane's terminal for nearly six minutes, he would likely experience a significant spike in his blood pressure.
"Is it true she stole top-secret research?" Gwen asked aloud, keeping her voice steady.
George sighed, shaking his head. "Vane says no. He's insisting it was just administrative data—shareholder lists, boring corporate accounting. But the man is sweating, Gwen. He's terrified, and people like Aris Vane don't get terrified over simple spreadsheets."
He is half-correct, Leo analyzed. The data was financial, but it was the kind of financial data that leads to prison sentences for tax evasion and illegal offshore dumping.
"I'm just glad you're okay, honey," George said, reaching across the table to pat Gwen's hand. "When I heard there was an intruder while you were on shift... I almost lost it."
Gwen smiled, a genuine pang of guilt hitting her chest. "I'm fine, Dad. Really. I stayed in the lab and only got to the rest room forrefreshment."
Maybe we should use this incident to leave them. We learned what we needed and Vane don't seem as good as we tought.
"Maybe" Gwen echoed.
******
The moment the front door clicked shut and her father's cruiser pulled away, she moved up the stairs. Once inside her room, she locked the door, pulled the shades, and sat cross-legged on her bed.
I finished the analysing of the DNA of parker-boy.
"Really?," she whispered. "Show me."
I have finished the sequestering and mapping of the sample, Leo announced proudly. It took nearly two months of background processing to ensure no viral contaminants or unstable mutations were present. But the results... are incredible.
Suddenly, Gwen's vision flickered. She wasn't seeing the posters on her wall or the pile of laundry in the corne, projecting data directly onto her vision. A shimmering, three-dimensional double helix appeared in the center of her field of vision. It was pulsing with a soft, amber light, different from the violet hues Leo usually favored.
This is the DNA of Parker, Leo explained. It is a masterpiece of accidental engineering. The ionizing radiation from what seem to be arachnid genome fused with his genome, even I don't know how it's possible without external intervention, normally it would need something to ensure it don't destroy everything.
Gwen watched as Leo highlighted specific sequences. "Can we use it?"
Yes, there some of these that or really usefull, there an overall capacity enhancer, what seem like to be a sicth sense fault of better term.
"A sixth sense," Gwen repeated, fascinated.
Precisely. When integrated, your reaction time will move from beyond human chart. You will not just react to a punch; you will move as the muscle in your opponent's shoulder twitches. Shall we begin the slow-drip integration tonight?
"Do it," Gwen said, her jaw setting. "I'm tired of being the slowest person in the room."
Gwen pulled out a fresh, black-bound notebook. She liked the tactile feel of pen on paper; it felt more real than a digital file.
"Okay, Leo. We' need a plan. We need a list."
You and your love for list, Leo sighted. But your right, we need to know what we are doing.
Gwen began to write as they spoke.
1. FINANCES
"We need money," Gwen noted. "I want a lab and a High-end lab equipment isn't cheap, and I can't exactly put a mass spectrometer on Dad's credit card."
I could do stocks markets, Leo said, a hint of smugness in his tone. It not that difficult, I will just need you to let me go on the pc in the morning and the evening and after a while we should be okay.
Gwen blinked. "You're going to be a day-trader?"
It is far safer than robbing banks or criminal, it would just create more problems.
2. A Base
"We need a place," Gwen wrote.
Criteria: Underground. It must be 'off-grid' regarding electricity— we can use a generator first and something better after. It must be forgotten. Somewhere inacessible for those without capacity. And at a certain distance from your house but that we can go in less than an hour.
"I'll start looking at old city blueprints in the library," Gwen added.
3. TRAINING
"I need to learn how to fight, Leo. Really fight. Not just swinging my arms."
You could first ask your father for self-defence class, with what happened he did agree. Then we could analyse different style on the web.
Gwen stopped writing, her pen hovering over the page. She looked at the word "Hero" she had scribbled in the margin and then crossed it out.
"I want to help people. But I don't want to be a celebrity. I don't want a fan club."
A wise instinct, Leo responded, his voice turning uncharacteristically serious. Celebrity are easy to hit. A shadow, however, is isn't. We don't play idiotic hero, we don't have backing like stark.
"Incognito," Gwen agreed. "If they don't know I exist, they can't hunt me."
And your identity must be absolute, Leo added. With me covering you fully you they won't see any feature on you.
Gwen closed the notebook, the weight of their plan settling into her bones. For the first time since the meteor crashed, she didn't feel like a victim of circumstance. She felt like an architect.
"It's a start," she whispered to the empty room.
Now time for school.
Like that she got up and leaved for Midtown.