In the home of Gwen Stacy, two girls who look identical are seated on either side of the dining table. One sits erect, her legs together, hands resting in front of her, appearing gentle and calm. The other has one hand on the table and the other casually resting on her leg, wearing a light-colored uniform.
George stands between these two girls, glancing at his actual daughter and then at the girl who isn't his daughter but appears exactly like her.
"Alright, Chief George, is the interrogation over? Can I leave now?" The girl in the uniform asks.
"This isn't an interrogation, you know it isn't." George says, looking at her, "I just want to understand why there's another girl who looks exactly like my daughter, and she's Spiderwoman."
"I've told you, I must be Spiderwoman. It's non-negotiable. Involving your darling daughter was my mistake, and I won't contact her again, that's it."
Having said this, Gwen Spiderman stands and heads towards the door. George moves quickly, stepping forward to block her path.
George, naturally more robust than the Gwen Spiderman who's just out of adolescence, backs off a step, ensuring the proximity isn't too intimidating. This seasoned cop knows how to play it smart. After all, he can't oppress her like she's a criminal, not when she looks exactly like his daughter.
"You say you're Gwen Stacy from another universe, but what baffles me is why would your father agree to…"
"He didn't." Gwen Spiderman interrupts, shaking her head. "He still doesn't understand, but I don't care."
"What made you become like this?"
"Hard to say." Gwen Spiderman shakes her head: "Many factors. My world is far worse than here. Many criminals have established super companies, I became a fugitive due to an accident, Kingpin of the East Coast was sent to jail recently, Matt Murdock became the new head of a criminal empire. In short, a whole lot of trouble."
"So, the police…"
"The police are useless. Aside from causing me trouble, they serve no purpose." Gwen Spiderman seems impatient. She tries to walk past George, but he grabs her arm, stopping her.
"Don't treat me like your daughter, Chief George. We're completely different people. Do you think Gwen would join a band as a drummer in high school? If she wouldn't, then it's not strange for me to be Spiderwoman now."
"Then what about Peter Parker…"
"He is Spiderman in this universe."
"I mean, Peter Parker in your universe. If you're Spiderwoman there, where is he?"
Gwen Spiderman falls silent. Given his extensive investigative experience, George skillfully raises the crux of the matter: "Something went wrong between you two, right?"
"Can't call it wrong, exactly. He just died, and I'm still alive."
George's facial expression softens. He looks at this young woman, possibly younger than his own daughter, and says, "I'm not blaming you for anything you did with Gwen. I just want to know what you and the other Spider people are up to."
"We're just working here," Gwen Spiderman says, looking down. "We're here to acquire knowledge, earn academic credits, and better save our world when we return to our universe."
George frowns. He had never imagined that his universe was one of the safer and more advanced ones. If that's the case, just how bad are the other universes?
"Dad, getting involved in these things was unavoidable." Gwen steps forward, pulling George's arm: "Almost every Gwen across multiple universes can't escape death. I can't just wait passively. At least this uniform and these weapons give me some ability to protect myself."
"You can always stay away…"
"If staying away worked, those Gwens wouldn't be dead. This is a sort of unalterable fate," Gwen looks into George's eyes. "I may have dodged a bullet once, but I won't always be so lucky."
A look of sorrow washes over George's face. He puts his hand on the kitchen island, seemingly on the verge of collapsing.
"Someone's got to be the unfortunate one, right?" Gwen Spiderman puts her hands out, "Either Gwen Stacy dies, or Peter Parker does. Your daughter is already the luckiest one in the cosmos. Don't ask for too much."
With that, Gwen turns, leaving the room, leaving father and daughter alone to cope with their grief. Grieving for the Gwens of other universes will take George some time. Gwen Spiderman doesn't have the luxury to comfort them. She has chores to do, like tonight's shopping, and then she can stay in her apartment for two weeks without leaving.
Gwen Spiderman knows that George will find it hard to accept his daughter's look-alike soaring over the New York sky. So, she plans to stay at home for a while, maybe listen to the latest albums, or go out for walks.