Chapter 17 Gwen's Story

After hearing Noah's question, Gwen sorted out her thoughts and began to speak.

This happened during the summer vacation.

That day, Gwen went out with her family. They visited many places, enjoyed a lot of delicious food, and took her younger siblings to some museums and science and technology centers.

Gwen had a lot of fun because it had been a long time since the whole family went out together. George, as the police chief, was usually very busy and didn't often get the chance to spend time with the family.

When Gwen got home that night and went to shower, she suddenly noticed a small wound on her neck. It was tiny but red and slightly swollen.

At the time, Gwen didn't think much of it, assuming it was just a mosquito bite.

But after falling asleep, she felt her body heat up

Her head was spinning, her thoughts a complete mess. She wanted to vomit but couldn't, no matter how hard she tried.

Gwen couldn't call out for her family. She spent the night rolling around in bed, feeling miserable.

It wasn't until the next morning that she slowly regained consciousness.

When Gwen woke up, she found her room in complete disarray. Her bed and clothes were soaked with sweat and smelled sour.

The tables and chairs had been torn apart somehow, and there were webs strung up around the walls.

Unsure how to explain it to her family, Gwen quickly cleaned up before anyone could see.

She changed the bed sheets and pillowcases, threw out the broken chairs and webs without giving it too much thought, and made an excuse about the table being of poor quality when her family asked about it.

After everything was tidied up, Gwen locked herself in her room to think over the strange events.

She checked herself in the bathroom and found the wound on her neck had disappeared.

She also noticed that her figure had improved.

"You've got a nice figure," Noah suddenly interrupted.

"Don't interrupt! Besides, you don't even know what I looked like before," Gwen retorted, rolling her eyes at Noah.

Noah shut his mouth, opting to listen quietly.

After her shower, Gwen realized her strength had increased.

Although she felt sore and weak that morning, as the day went on, she noticed her body becoming stronger—almost to a ridiculous degree.

When she tried to lift her bed, she accidentally almost threw it up to the ceiling.

Terrified, Gwen stayed still, afraid to touch anything and worried she might hurt her family by accident.

She told them she had homework to do, asking them to leave food outside her door while she worked on controlling her newfound strength.

After two days of practicing, Gwen finally gained enough control to carry on normal activities, though she couldn't allow herself to get emotional.

Luckily, her family didn't get suspicious during those two days.

Once Gwen had control over her strength, she discovered another issue.

Her senses had sharpened to the point where no sound, no matter how tiny, could escape her ears, and she could see the trajectories of fast-moving objects.

She hadn't noticed these changes while she was focused on controlling her strength in her room, but once outside, the overwhelming input hit her hard.

Gwen spent the next few days trying to filter out the unnecessary noise and distractions.

Each day brought new discoveries, and Gwen had to adapt to her evolving abilities.

One time, George came to check on her, but when he opened the door, he didn't see her—though she was sitting right by the bed. Then Gwen realized that she had the ability to disappear.

These odd incidents continued until Gwen eventually uncovered more of her abilities: shooting webs from her wrists, sensing danger before it happened, and even producing her own toxins.

Despite these powers, Gwen carried on with her life as usual.

It wasn't until the appearance of the vigilante known as Venom that Gwen began to think about using her abilities for good.

At first, it was just a thought. But when Venom's actions went viral online, Gwen felt sympathy for this lonely hero.

That's when she decided to step up and fight for justice herself, while hoping to show Venom a less extreme path.

Gwen enlisted Mary Jane, a tech-savvy friend, to join her cause.

The design of her Ghost-Spider suit was inspired by Venom's own outfit, including the hood, though she found the bald look a bit off-putting.

After hearing Gwen's story, Noah nodded in agreement. "Yeah, a bald look isn't flattering."

Then, remembering something, he asked, "Wait, you have toxins?"

Because Noah's powers didn't necessarily copy all of Gwen's abilities—especially given how many she had—he wasn't aware of everything she could do.

"I knew about the webs, but I didn't know about the toxin," Noah added, recalling their previous fight when he hadn't felt it.

"Yeah, it's a neurotoxin," Gwen explained. "It's not deadly, but it can paralyze someone pretty quickly. I've only used it a few times."

"Mostly, I release it through my fingernails or palms. Whether it'll get stronger over time, I'm not sure."

Noah, still confused, asked, "So, you didn't use it in our fight? I didn't feel anything."

Gwen gave him a helpless look. "I did use it. It just didn't seem to work on you."

Noah then realized Venom must have blocked the toxin. "Why didn't you tell me last time?" he asked Venom.

Venom blinked, looking puzzled. "Huh? I didn't feel anything!"

Both Noah and Gwen gave Venom questioning looks.

Venom rubbed his chin thoughtfully before exclaiming, "Oh! Now I remember! I didn't feel any threat at the time, so I didn't say anything. And I forgot about it afterward."

Before Venom could continue, Noah quickly covered his mouth.

With an awkward laugh, Noah said, "Haha, no big deal. Looks like your toxin has room for improvement."

Gwen chuckled. "No need to worry. It may not work on you, but it works just fine on others."

Noah nodded. "True, but we should still be careful. We only have one life, and I'd hate to see you get hurt."

Gwen agreed with Noah's earlier points. Though she hadn't been hurt that day, it was still a wake-up call.

But hearing Noah say he'd be heartbroken if she got hurt made Gwen blush. She shot him a reproachful look. "You're so smooth-talking. And you said Venom didn't pick up bad habits from you!"

Noah just laughed.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Noah said, pulling out a small black sphere.

The orb looked solid, but ripples moved across its surface like water.

Gwen asked curiously, "What's this?"

Noah explained, "This is high-tech gear. Once bound to you, it can transform into whatever you need—like a battle suit."

"It stays hidden in your body and can cover you instantly when you need it. It's super convenient and highly durable."

"Normal bullets and blades won't harm you. Even machine guns would barely leave a scratch."

"But if it's a rocket launcher, I'd recommend finding cover," Noah joked.

Gwen's eyes widened in amazement. "That's incredible!"

Noah smiled. "Just put a drop of your blood on it, and it'll lock to your genes. No one else will be able to use it."

He handed the sphere to Gwen, ready to activate it.

But to his surprise, Gwen shook her head and handed it back. "Noah, I can't accept this. It's too valuable."

Noah smiled gently. "You're overthinking it. I've got plenty of these. And I've been wanting to make things right between us."

Reluctantly, Gwen accepted the gift with a smile. "Thank you! Even though you downplay it, I know this is special."

Noah grinned. "If you really want to thank me, give me a kiss."

Gwen blushed deeply but hesitated only for a moment before giving Noah a quick kiss on the cheek.

Feeling her soft lips, Noah beamed with happiness.

Gwen, embarrassed, turned away to hide her reddening face, pretending to admire the night view.

Under the dark sky, the two of them stood side by side, slowly drawing closer.