chapter thirty-three:
❛ gwen stacy's and peter parker's ❜

PLEASE DONT BE A GHOST READER!!!!
COMMENT AND VOTE! IT HELPS US WRITERS STAY MOTIVATED:)

introducing...
madelyn cline as gwen stacy 2

✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸

Gwen sat curled up on the worn couch in Ned's apartment, knees pulled tightly to her chest, her arms hugging them close as if trying to make herself feel smaller. The dim, flickering light from the old television illuminated her pale face, washing her features in a cold glow as the evening news droned on in the background. The reporter's voice echoed like a dull throb in her ears-each word digging deeper into the pit of guilt twisting in her stomach.

"Today, the Daily Bugle has officially declared Spider-Man an anti-hero following the tragic death of May Parker. Parker, the legal guardian of local student Peter Parker, was killed earlier this evening during the violent conflict involving the group of individuals known as the 'reformed supervillains.' Sources say that Spider-Man, who had previously been attempting to rehabilitate these individuals, was present at the scene but failed to prevent the fatal incident..."

Gwen's heart clenched painfully. May was dead.

Peter's aunt. His only family. Gone.

The words felt like a hammer to her chest. She stared at the screen in stunned silence, but her mind kept spiraling-flashing back to everything that led up to this. Peter had just been trying to do the right thing. He always did. He had believed-so deeply-that he could help those villains, that he could save them. And now? Now the world had turned on him. The media called him reckless. Dangerous. A threat.

But all Gwen could think about was that she hadn't been there for him when it mattered most.

Her fists clenched at her sides, knuckles going white as she trembled slightly. A painful, gnawing guilt dug deeper with every passing second. She should've stayed. She shouldn't have pulled away from Peter after what happened with Vulture. He'd needed her back then, and she had convinced herself that keeping her distance was best. That she needed space.

And now...

Aunt May was dead.

Gwen exhaled shakily, blinking against the burning in her eyes. Beside her, MJ sat stiffly, her arms crossed, face pale and drawn as she stared blankly at the screen. Gwen felt her own composure cracking as she leaned over, resting her head lightly against MJ's shoulder.

MJ flinched at first, caught off guard-but then, without saying anything, she gently leaned her head against Gwen's, the warmth of the gesture the only comfort they had in that moment.

Across the room, Ned was slumped in a chair, his grandmother hovering near him. She murmured soft words in Filipino, holding his shoulder while he pressed his phone to his ear for the fourth-maybe fifth-time.

The call went straight to voicemail.

Again.

Ned lowered the phone slowly, exhaling a heavy, defeated breath before MJ finally spoke.

"Still nothing?" Her voice was quiet, tinged with exhaustion.

Ned shook his head, swallowing hard as he set his phone down on the cluttered coffee table. "No. It's... it's just going straight to voicemail. I've tried. I don't- I don't think he wants to talk to us right now."

A painful silence fell again.

Gwen stared hard at the coffee table, her gaze catching on the strange, golden object lying just inches away.

Doctor Strange's sling ring.

Its shimmering surface seemed to glint in the dim light, almost like it was calling to her.

A spark of desperate, reckless determination bloomed in her chest.

"I'm gonna press it," she announced suddenly, sitting up straighter.

MJ and Ned's heads both snapped toward her in unison, their expressions shifting from grief-stricken to bewildered.

"What?!" MJ exclaimed.

"Gwen, are you-" Ned started.

"I need to do something!" Gwen interrupted, voice cracking slightly. She reached for the ring, fingers brushing the cold metal as she stared at it like it might hold the answers she was searching for. "I can't just sit here anymore. I feel like-like this is my fault! If I'd just-if I had gone with Peter to London, if I'd stayed with him-maybe none of this would've happened. Maybe Aunt May would still be alive."

Her voice wavered, but her grip on the ring only tightened.

"He needs us," she whispered.

MJ and Ned exchanged a look. MJ's lips parted, but she didn't say anything-just pressed her own trembling fingers together tightly, while Ned shifted uncomfortably.

Ned's eyes dropped to the ring. Then, without thinking, he mumbled under his breath, "I just... I just wish we could see him."

As he spoke, his hand moved, the ring still loosely wrapped around his fingers.

A spark.

A faint golden ember ignited in the air before them.

Gwen flinched. "Ned...? What was that?"

Ned's grandmother gasped, muttering something in Filipino again, but Ned just blinked down at his hand in shock.

"I-I don't know," he stammered.

"Do it again!" Gwen urged, leaning forward now.

Ned hesitated, but then, carefully, he lifted his hand and traced a circle in the air.

The spark returned-brighter this time.

And then, as if tearing through the very fabric of space, a swirling golden portal opened before them.

All three of them jumped back as the shimmering circle expanded, crackling with energy. Through the portal, the outline of a figure appeared-someone standing in a dimly lit alley, clad in a red and blue Spider-Man suit.

"Is that... him?" Gwen whispered, eyes wide as she clutched MJ's arm.

The figure noticed them. He raised a hand in a hesitant wave.

MJ squinted. "Yeah... yeah, it has to be him."

"Peter!" Gwen called out, her voice breaking with hope.

"Peter!" MJ echoed, standing beside her.

"Peter!" Ned joined in, waving both arms.

The figure took a step forward-and then cautiously crossed through the portal, stepping into the apartment.

The moment his feet hit the floor, Ned's grandmother screamed.

"Wait, no-no! It's okay! I'm nice!" the figure stammered, throwing his hands up defensively as she hurled a pillow at him.

The boy yanked off his mask-

Gwen's stomach dropped.

It wasn't Peter.

"Who the hell are you?!" she demanded, stepping in front of MJ and Ned protectively.

The boy blinked. "I'm Peter Parker."

MJ narrowed her eyes. "Not possible."

"I-I'm Spider-Man," the boy tried again.

"NO SHIT, SHERLOCK!" Gwen snapped, voice sharp with frustration. "Where's our Peter?!" She whirled on Ned. "You opened a portal to a different universe!"

"Sorry!" Ned yelped, holding up his hands.

"Wait-wait-hold on!" the other Peter said, backing up. "I am Spider-Man! Just... not from here. I was fighting... some thing in my world and then I ended up here!"

Gwen raised her wrist, web-shooter primed. "Back off! Don't make me web you to the wall!"

The other Peter blinked at her wrist. "Wait-you're a Spider too? I mean, Spider-Woman?"

"Yes!" Gwen shot back. "Not as long as my Peter, but yes! And for the record-it's White Spider!"

Ned clutched his head. "Oh God... I broke the multiverse..."

Gwen exhaled sharply, narrowing her eyes.

The air in Ned's living room felt tense and surreal as they all stared at the portal crackling with golden energy, still buzzing faintly from where it had just sealed shut behind the stranger. The other Peter stood there, glancing around nervously, his Spider-Man mask clutched in one hand while he shifted his weight, clearly overwhelmed by everything happening.

The light from the TV cast strange shadows across his face, highlighting his hesitant expression as he finally spoke up.

"So... string theory? Multi-dimensional reality? Matter displacement? That's... all real?" his voice was slightly breathless, like he was still trying to process the impossible.

Ned, Gwen, and MJ exchanged looks before answering in tired unison.

"Yeah."

Peter blinked, running a hand through his messy hair, clearly trying to hold back a grin.

"Knew it," he muttered, as if this chaotic, mind-bending situation somehow confirmed a theory he had been tossing around for years.

Ned, looking slightly more stressed than amazed, leaned closer to Gwen and MJ, cupping his hand around his mouth to whisper.

"This has to be because of the spell," he hissed, voice trembling slightly.

The other Peter's head snapped toward them, narrowing his eyes. "Wait-what spell? Like... a magic spell? Actual magic?"

Gwen, visibly tense, snapped, "Hey! None of your business!" Without thinking, she flicked her wrist, a web shooting out toward him with sharp precision.

Peter's reflexes kicked in instantly. He flipped back, narrowly dodging the web as it splattered against the wall behind him. His eyes went wide with genuine shock.

"Holy shit! You-You weren't lying!"

"Yeah, no kidding," MJ muttered under her breath, folding her arms across her chest.

Gwen, still tense, shot a glare toward Ned, her voice tight. "See? This is crazy. We don't know who he is! He could be some imposter or-"

She didn't get to finish.

Peter froze, his expression shifting from startled to... something softer. Almost haunted.

"Wait," he whispered, taking a hesitant step closer. "Gwen? Gwendolyn Stacy?"

Gwen stiffened, her eyes narrowing as suspicion flared to life in her chest.

"What, have you been stalking me since you got here? Doing some creepy background check or something?" she snapped defensively, raising her web-shooter again.

Peter immediately shook his head, his voice quieter now, laced with something Gwen couldn't quite place.

"No... I just-" he hesitated, then murmured, "I knew a Gwen once."

The room fell silent.

Gwen blinked, caught off guard. There was a softness in his eyes, a sadness that made her heart ache in a way she didn't understand. She exchanged a quick, confused glance with MJ before clearing her throat, masking her discomfort with sarcasm.

"Right. Sure you did."

Peter shifted uncomfortably but didn't argue further.

Instead, he refocused on Ned, who was still fidgeting with the sling ring, clearly distracted.

"So, wait-magic is real here?" Peter asked, trying to make sense of everything.

Ned opened his mouth to respond but fumbled. "No, it's not- I mean, kinda-"

"Shut up, Ned!" Gwen and MJ snapped in unison.

"I mean, technically, yeah-there are sorcerers and mystical stuff but-"

Gwen smacked her hand over Ned's mouth before he could dig himself deeper. "What Ned meant to say was that it's complicated and none of your business."

Peter stared at them for a beat, then shrugged.

"Okay. Sure. So... prove it."

"Prove what?" MJ asked, arms still crossed.

"That you're Peter Parker," she clarified, standing her ground.

Peter blinked, then gestured to his suit. "I don't exactly carry a driver's license when I'm swinging around the city. Kinda defeats the whole 'secret identity' thing."

MJ narrowed her eyes. Without warning, she grabbed a random piece of bread off Ned's table and hurled it directly at Peter's chest.

It bounced off with a soft thud.

Peter blinked. "Um... why did you just throw bread at me?"

MJ shrugged. "Testing your spider-tingle."

"My what?"

"You know, the tingle thing. The whole spider-sense... danger thing? Thought you'd dodge it or something."

Peter looked mildly offended. "I have the tingle thing! It just doesn't go off for bread! It's for, like... actual danger."

Gwen squinted. "I dunno... seems kinda sketchy. Feels like you should be dodging everything if you're the real deal."

She grabbed another piece of bread, preparing to throw it.

Peter held up both hands. "Could we not make this a bread-throwing interrogation? Look, you two are the most deeply distrusting people I've ever met, and honestly? I respect it."

Then, without warning, he jumped straight up and pressed his hands and feet flat against the ceiling, sticking effortlessly upside down. He hung there, looking at them with an unimpressed expression.

Satisfied, MJ nodded slowly. "Okay. Fine. That's... convincing."

Gwen raised an eyebrow. "Crawl around."

Peter blinked. "Seriously?"

"Yes," MJ and Gwen both said in unison.

Peter groaned, clearly exasperated. "I'm not gonna crawl around your grandmother's ceiling like some kind of-"

Gwen aimed her web-shooter at him again. "Then I'll web you to the wall and tickle you until you spill your entire life story."

Peter sighed heavily, then rolled his eyes before crawling awkwardly across the ceiling.

Ned's grandmother, who had been watching in stunned silence this entire time, suddenly pointed at him and muttered something in Tagalog.

Ned blinked. "Uh... my Lola's asking if you can clean the cobweb up there since you're already on the ceiling."

Peter sighed but reached over, plucking a stray cobweb off the corner.

"Thank you," Ned's grandmother said with a satisfied nod.

Peter dropped back to the floor, dusting his hands off. "So... we good?"

MJ exchanged a glance with Gwen, who nodded.

"For now," MJ said cautiously.

"You passed the test," Gwen added, though she was still eyeing him carefully.

Ned, still holding the sling ring, suddenly whispered, "Okay, so I definitely opened the wrong portal to the wrong Peter Parker..."

"Let me try," Gwen said suddenly, snatching the ring from Ned's hand. She narrowed her eyes, holding it up dramatically.

"Show me Peter Parker!" she demanded, moving her fingers in a circular motion just as she had seen before.

A spark ignited.

The portal flared open-

And a figure stepped through, clad in a sleek, white-and-black Spider suit.

"Hey!" Gwen exclaimed, eyes widening. "That looks like my suit!"

The masked figure hesitated, then yanked off her mask to reveal a girl with platinum blonde hair tied back in a bun.

Her eyes narrowed as she looked around the room.

"Where the hell am I?!"

Gwen, MJ, and Ned all stared in shock.

"Okay, this just got freaky," Ned muttered.

The air in the room felt even heavier now as the portal fizzled shut behind the mysterious girl in the white-and-black suit. She was breathing hard, clearly on edge, her mask clenched tightly in her gloved hand. Strands of platinum blonde hair stuck to her forehead, and her sharp blue eyes scanned the room with suspicion.

The silence was broken by Gwen, who instinctively stepped forward, her web-shooter still raised, finger hovering over the trigger.

"Who the hell are you?" she demanded, voice sharp.

The girl in the white suit took a cautious step back, raising her hands halfway in a show of defense.

"Relax, I'm not here to fight."

"That doesn't answer my question," Gwen snapped. "What's your name? And how did you come through that portal?"

The other girl hesitated, her lips parting as if she was searching for the right words. Then, as if deciding honesty was her best bet, she finally answered.

"My name is Gwen. Gwen Stacy."

The words echoed in the room like a gunshot.

Gwen's heart practically stopped.

MJ blinked. "Wait-what?"

Ned's eyes were wide as he turned to his own Gwen. "Uh, Gwen...?"

But it was the other Peter who looked the most shaken. His eyes softened with recognition, yet there was pain behind them. His breath caught audibly.

Gwen's grip on her web-shooter tightened, her voice sharper now.

"That's funny," she said bitterly. "Because I'm Gwen Stacy. So, try again."

The other Gwen-no, this stranger-scowled. "I am Gwen Stacy. From my universe, I guess. If you haven't noticed, there's some serious multiversal weirdness going on here."

MJ blinked, looking between the two girls. "...Okay, this is officially the weirdest day of my life."

Gwen, still not convinced, took another step forward. "Oh, sure. And I'm just supposed to believe that? You think you can just pop out of a portal, claim my name, and that's it? Prove it."

The other Gwen's brows furrowed. "How the hell am I supposed to prove my identity? Should I show you my driver's license or something?"

"You got any ID in that fancy spider-suit?"

"Uh, no. Kinda defeats the whole secret identity thing, remember?"

"Convenient," Gwen muttered, narrowing her eyes.

The other Peter, who had been silent up to this point, finally spoke up. His voice was soft but carried weight.

"She's telling the truth."

Gwen whipped around to face him. "And how would you know?"

Peter hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck. "Because... I knew a Gwen Stacy too. Back in my world."

The room went still.

The other Gwen looked at him sharply, eyes narrowing with curiosity. "Wait... you knew a me?"

Peter swallowed hard, his face pale. "Yeah... and she... she didn't make it."

The other Gwen's expression shifted from confusion to quiet realization.

"Oh," she whispered, looking down. "I'm... sorry."

The tension in the air shifted. Gwen lowered her web-shooter slightly but kept her guard up, still processing everything.

MJ, clearly fed up with the vague responses, crossed her arms. "Okay, seriously-both of you need to explain. Like, now. What the hell is going on?"

The other Gwen sighed, glancing at her own suit as she set her mask down on the nearby table.

"Look, where I'm from, I'm Spider-Woman. Or... Ghost-Spider. I protect my city, fight bad guys, y'know-superhero stuff."

Ned squinted. "Wait, you're a Spider-Person too?"

Gwen nodded. "Yeah. I got bit by a radioactive spider when I was younger. My best friend... Peter... he-" Her voice caught for a moment before she forced herself to continue. "-He died. And after that, I kept going. Fighting for him. For my city."

Gwen's throat tightened at the mention of Peter's death, but she held her ground. "So what, you're saying you're me from some alternate universe where you're the hero instead?"

The other Gwen nodded. "Looks like it."

Peter spoke up again, softer this time. "It's not impossible. I mean, I've seen it before... people who should be... different. Or not here at all." His voice trailed off, as if the memory still haunted him.

Gwen inhaled sharply, trying to process it all. Her mind raced. If this girl was telling the truth-if there were different versions of herself out there-it meant the multiverse was way more complicated than she could've imagined.

But she wasn't ready to let her guard down yet.

"Okay. Let's say I believe you," Gwen said slowly. "How did you even get here?"

The other Gwen pointed toward Ned. "I don't know. Your friend over there opened a portal and-"

"Hey! Don't blame me!" Ned interrupted, holding up his hands. "The ring thing is super complicated! I was just trying to find our Peter Parker."

"Clearly not complicated enough," MJ muttered.

The other Gwen shook her head. "Look, I didn't come here to fight. I was in my world doing my thing when suddenly-boom-portal, and now I'm here. And I'm just as confused as you guys are."

Gwen exchanged a look with MJ, who nodded cautiously.

"Okay," MJ said. "Fine. We believe you-for now."

The other Gwen exhaled in relief.

"But if you are Gwen Stacy, then why did he-" MJ gestured toward the other Peter, who looked away awkwardly. "-look like he just saw a ghost?"

Peter shifted, clearly uncomfortable. His voice was strained as he answered, "Because where I'm from... Gwen didn't make it. I couldn't save her."

Silence fell again, heavier than before.

The other Gwen's face softened. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Peter gave a small nod but said nothing.

Ned cleared his throat awkwardly. "So... what do we do now? Do we try to send her back? Or..."

Before anyone could answer, the sling ring in Ned's hand sparked again.

A new portal flared open.

And a third figure stepped through, this one tall, in a classic red-and-blue Spider suit.

He pulled off his mask, blinking in confusion.

"...Did I miss something?"

"Holy shit."

ASH SPEAKS!!!

i changed the scene a bit bc why not and i was getting annoyed at how long the scene was lol

PLEASE DONT BE A GHOST READER!!!!
COMMENT AND VOTE! IT HELPS US WRITERS STAY MOTIVATED:)