The Monster on the Bridge

The sun sank beneath the horizon faster than Peter expected, and with it came the realization that this world was different from the one he knew.

There were no Avengers, no other superheroes. It was a world for a solo Spider-Man—or, as he now thought, a Ghost Spider world. He felt a mix of relief and unease.

On the one hand, no superheroes meant no supervillains to contend with. He only had to deal with Spider-Man-level threats, which, though still dangerous, were manageable.

The downside was that his own powers couldn't grow much stronger. The Predator ability could give him powers from villains he devoured, but the options were limited, and the powers he gained wouldn't be as potent as the ones in other timelines.

That day, Peter mostly spent time browsing the internet, getting familiar with the world, and brainstorming ways to make money. While they are not poor, it is good have some financial stability.

The stock market seemed like a good start—he could predict trends and make investments in technologies he knew would explode in a few years. It was still 2012, and Peter was from 2025.

There was a chance his predictions might be off considering this is a parallel world, but if nothing else, he could always invent popular games like Candy Crush or Subway Surfers. But that was a plan for another day.

As the evening wore on, Peter relaxed for the day. Then, just before dinner, Aunt May called to let him know she would be staying out at a friend's house for the night. Peter was fine with that and told her to enjoy herself.

About half an hour later, Gwen's mother, Helen Stacy, showed up at Peter's door.

"Hi, Peter," she greeted him, smiling warmly. "May told me about her plans, and I thought I'd invite you to dinner at our house."

Peter was surprised but agreed, despite some hesitation. It wasn't uncommon for him to have dinner at the Stacy household.

When he arrived at their house, Gwen opened the door, clearly caught off guard by his presence.

"Hey," Peter smiled at her surprised face. "Didn't know you were expecting me."

Gwen raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

Helen chimed in from behind. "I invited him. May's out, so Peter's joining us for dinner."

Gwen didn't respond, but simply walked away toward the dinner table. Peter followed her and reluctantly sat opposite her.

Helen called out to her two sons, Simon and Phillip, who came down and greeted Peter. Phillip was the older brother, and Simon was younger than Gwen.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, George Stacy joined the table, sitting between Gwen and Peter, with Helen beside Gwen. Simon took the seat next to Peter, and Phillip sat next to Simon.

The conversation at the table started off casual. George always liked Peter, having watched him grow up. He's always been a smart kid and well-behaved too.

As the dinner went on, Phillip casually asked, "So, Dad, When are you going to catch that Ghost Spider?"

Peter nearly choked on his drink hearing that.

Helen looked at him, concerned. "Are you okay, Peter?"

Peter cleared his throat. "I'm fine, thanks."

George didn't notice his reaction and continued, "We'll catch her soon. Whoever she is, I'll put her behind bars myself."

Peter's gaze flicked to Gwen, who was maintaining a perfectly neutral expression, though he could tell she was hurt by the conversation.

Peter cleared his throat and spoke, trying to remain calm. "Uncle George, why do you want to arrest her?"

George leaned forward, his voice firm. "She's a vigilante causing harm. It's my job to put people like that down. People who think they can take justice into their own hands."

Peter kept his tone steady and continued, "With all her powers, if Ghost Spider really wanted to hurt people, there would be lasting damage. She's trying to help, not hurt."

George raised his voice in frustration. "Help? By hurting others? That's not what helping looks like!"

"Even police have to hurt criminal to bring them to justice. She is doing what police should do."

"Exactly. That's the problem. See, I have a badge to put them down Peter while she is someone who is acting on impluse. She is not a good person, she is someone using violence to cause harm to others."

The atmosphere began to tense a bit as Peter said, "Then what about the people she saved. You can't ignore the people she saved right?"

George's eyes softened but his voice is still strict, "She indeed saved some lifes, Peter. But no matter what, she can't take justice in her own hands."

Peter's frustration started to rise. "When did she do that. She just brought the criminals back to police station and she helped people in need. And if you still really want to catch her, you should try to understand why she does what she does. Try talking to the people she's saved. If she wanted to cause harm, she could have done a lot worse—she could've robbed a bank, done a heist, anything. But she's not. She's helping, Uncle George."

Before Peter could go further, Gwen interrupted, her voice quiet but firm. "That's enough, Peter."

Peter paused and looked at her, he calmed down a bit, "I'm sorry, Uncle George. I didn't mean to—"

Helen stepped in, sensing the rising tension. "It's okay, Peter. Gwen, why don't you take Peter to the roof for some air?"

Gwen silently nodded and stood up, leading Peter upstairs. He followed her, his mind still reeling from the heated exchange at the table.

"Sorry about that," Peter said quietly. "I didn't mean to disrespect your dad. I just..."

Gwen glanced at him, her face softening slightly. "It's fine, Peter. My dad's just doing his job. He has his reasons, even if they're hard to understand."

As they reached the roof, Peter took a deep breath, feeling the cool night air against his skin. "Yeah. I guess I just wish I could make him see it."

Gwen gave him a small smile. "Sometimes, it's not about making people see things your way. It's about understanding where they're coming from."

Meanwhile, back downstairs, Helen and George exchanged a quiet conversation.

"I'm sorry I got carried away," George said, his voice a little softer now. "But... Peter's words did make sense. If we want to catch Ghost Spider, we need to think like her. We need to understand why she does what she does."

Helen sighed, a weary expression on her face. "Please, George. Can we just have a normal dinner now?"

George nodded, though his mind was clearly still on the vigilante.

.

.

.

At the rooftop, Gwen and Peter stood side by side, gazing down at the quiet streets below.

Peter hesitated for a moment before asking softly, "Are you okay?"

Gwen glanced at him with a faint smile. "What do you think?"

He studied her for a moment. "You want me to say it, don't you?"

She shook her head quickly. "No. Don't."

A few seconds of silence passed between them before Peter slowly stepped closer to her.

Noticing his approach, Gwen raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing, Mr. Parker?"

He grinned slightly, "Nothing."

"Good," she said and turning to leave. But before she could take a step, Peter shot a web at her waist, pulling her back toward him.

"Peter!" she exclaimed and her eyes wide as he wrapped her in a gentle hug. "What are you doing?"

Peter smiled as his hand is brushing lightly through her hair. "Why did you feel disappointed when I said 'nothing'?"

"I did not," she muttered, while trying to break free from the hug but was unsuccessful.

Peter held her steady. "Gwen, I can tell what you feel."

Before she could respond, Peter leaned down and kissed her. Her eyes widened in shock, and she instinctively tried to push him away. But after a moment, her arms slid around his neck, and she kissed him back.

After a few seconds, he broke the kiss and smirked. "I'll take that as an yes to both my confession and to being my host."

Gwen glared at him, though her cheeks were flushed. "Shut up," she muttered, pulling him back into another kiss.

Their moment was interrupted by the sound of Helen's voice. "Gwen, your father wants yo—"

Helen stopped mid-sentence as she stepped onto the rooftop and saw them locked in a kiss.

Peter and Gwen quickly pulled apart, standing awkwardly.

Helen gave them a knowing smile. "Your father's heading out soon. He wants you to stay inside." She paused for a moment before adding teasingly, "You can... continue later."

Gwen's face turned red as Peter scratched the back of his neck, grinning sheepishly.

Below George already got on a police car and started to head out.

"Thanks for the dinner, Aunt Helen," Peter said quickly, excusing himself.

Helen watched him leave and turned to Gwen with a smirk. Before Helen could say a word, Gwen snapped, "Not. A. Word."

With that, Gwen hurried to her room. She closed the door and let out a sigh—only to see Peter sitting casually on her bed.

"What are you—" Her words were cut off as her spider sense flared. She froze and turned toward the window.

Peter stood up and smiled knowingly. Without warning, his body transformed into a black, liquid-like substance and flowed toward her, merging with her.

Gwen gasped in surprise as the symbiote enveloped her.

Soon, her dress turned into her usual white, pink, and black Ghost Spider suit materialized, but then it morphed, turning completely black with a striking white spider symbol on her chest.

Peter's voice echoed in her mind. "Let's go, partner."

A smile spread across Gwen's face as she opened her window. Without hesitation, she leapt into the night.

.

.

.

The Williamsburg Bridge was in chaos. A massive, green, lizard-like monster rampaged through the area, hurling cars and sending debris flying. Its monstrous roars echoed, causing panic among the civilians.

The creature moved with purpose, seemingly heading toward a specific target.

Police officers were scattered across the scene, desperately firing their weapons. The bullets did little more than annoy the creature, ricocheting off its tough scales.

Amidst the chaos, George Stacy arrived, taking charge of the situation. "Evacuate the civilians immediately! Get them off the bridge!" George barked, his voice cutting through the noise.

Officers scrambled to guide panicked drivers and pedestrians to safety. But the monstrous lizard paid no attention to the evacuation. Its eyes were locked on a car stuck in the traffic jam, where a terrified passenger was trapped.

The creature leapt onto the car, its massive claws tearing through the roof as the passenger screamed in terror.

Suddenly, a web shot out, wrapping around the lizard's arm. Before it could react, the web yanked it backward, throwing the beast several feet away from the car.

The monster landed with a loud crash, shaking the land slightly. It growled and turned its attention toward the source of the interruption.

A sleek, black figure landed gracefully on a nearby car.

Ghost Spider stood there, her head tilted slightly to the side as she assessed the situation. Her new black suit with the white spider emblem gleamed under the streetlights.

"Hey there, big guy," she quipped, her tone light despite the tense atmosphere. "Did you skip lunch or something? You look hangry."

The lizard roared in response, clearly unimpressed by her humor.

Gwen sighed dramatically. "No sense of humor. Guess I'll have to put you to bed, then."

With that, she leapt into action, swinging her web as the lizard lunged at her. It was time to take this monster down.

(A/N: Image of Gwen's new suit is in character section)

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