I’m Not Becoming Spider-Man - Chapter 70: Quentina's Inspiration (Patreon)

"I'm not in a hurry. Pay me back when you've got money again," Peter told Gwen. "Meanwhile, I'll see if I can think of a way for us to earn some..."

Harley scratched her head. She couldn't understand why these two worried so much about money, though she'd never lacked it herself.

"Oh, Gwen, are you going to band practice today?" Peter asked.

"Oh, crap!" Gwen jolted upright. She'd almost completely forgotten. How many days had it been since she'd last shown up for rehearsal?

"Don't bother. Practice is already over."

Mary Jane pushed the door open and stepped inside. "Gwen, if you don't want to be part of this band, you might as well come get your things. Leaving them on the stage is just getting in everyone's way."

"I'll be there tomorrow..." Gwen murmured.

"We're performing this weekend. I don't understand what could possibly be keeping you so busy that you keep canceling rehearsals you agreed to ages ago." Mary Jane didn't soften her tone. "And what happened to that promise you made me, Gwen? Didn't you say you wouldn't let me down?"

"..." Gwen had no excuse. She really had missed far too many practices lately.

"Personally, I think it's pretty rock and roll," Peter offered.

"And you, Peter! What have you been doing lately? I haven't even seen you at school. I hope you haven't been running around with Gwen!" Mary Jane snapped.

Truthfully, Gwen's attendance wasn't what bothered her. Gwen always managed to keep up with the band, despite missing rehearsals, and her musical ability was surprisingly good.

The trouble was that whenever Gwen was out of Mary Jane's sight, Mary Jane had every reason to suspect she was making another move on her Peter!

"Ahem. I've just had a lot going on..." Peter said awkwardly.

"Then I suppose I'd better pray you don't disappear on the day of our performance, too."

"I promise I won't!" Peter assured her.

...

Elsewhere, Quentina sat with both feet propped on her chair, eating a sandwich she'd bought from a street vendor and scrolling through videos online.

Clips of the Lizard fighting Spider-Woman were still drawing enormous attention. Monsters like that had always belonged in movies. Who could have imagined one would appear in the middle of the city, along with an actual superhero?

"This is amazing!"

Quentina studied the footage again and again. Comparing the real battle to her own work revealed all sorts of shortcomings in the visual effects she'd created before. It took seeing such things happen in reality to notice how many details she'd gotten wrong.

She'd also uploaded the animated version of The New Batman that she'd produced. With everyone suddenly obsessed with superheroes, her video had taken off almost immediately, giving The New Batman yet another surge in popularity.

She was making money!

Admittedly, the video earnings barely covered her expenses. But the excitement and praise from her audience meant far more to her than sitting in an office smelling stale coffee and musty wood all day.

Maybe she could become an online video creator full-time.

Quentina spun around in her chair, contemplating her future. She could certainly keep making The New Batman videos, but was that really enough?

Her eyes drifted back to the footage of Spider-Woman swinging between skyscrapers, and an audacious idea took shape.

What if she became a superhero herself?

But how would she pull that off?

She'd need a costume, for starters, and some way to gain extraordinary abilities. Otherwise, how could she possibly fight monsters like the Lizard?

The problem was that making special effects for movies and television was the only thing she knew how to do.

Wait. Special effects?

Her thoughts began racing. Maybe she could design a set of equipment perfectly suited to her abilities. Batman was an ordinary human who was simply in better shape than most people, yet his advanced gadgets let him accomplish incredible things. If Batman could manage it, why couldn't she?

Somehow, Quentina had completely overlooked Batman's enormous fortune and iron determination.

But with a little money finally coming in, she was already dreaming up her next ambitious project.

"Oh, right! I should send the video to Peter first. He'll be thrilled to see how popular Batman's getting."

Quentina chuckled to herself as she forwarded it. Deep down, she was hoping he'd shower her with compliments.

He did exactly that. Peter sent back a long, enthusiastic message praising her work, leaving Quentina absolutely delighted.

The video also reminded Peter of something he'd forgotten.

"Wait a second! Weren't we supposed to submit The New Batman to the Daily Bugle?!"

Peter poked his head out of the kitchen, a spatula in one hand and his phone in the other.

"Oh, yeah. I think we were," Harley said.

"I'd almost forgotten about that," Gwen admitted while peeling an apple. With one disaster after another over the past few days, it had completely slipped her mind.

"If we submit The New Batman, won't they pay us for it?" Peter asked.

Gwen looked up, suddenly realizing the obvious. "You're right! We'd get paid. It might even be a pretty big sum!"

"That's true," Harley agreed, rubbing her chin.

"Then we shouldn't waste another second..." Gwen started to rise.

"They're probably closed for the day," Peter pointed out, stopping her before she could rush out the door. She was so desperate for money that she could barely contain herself.

"Hey, Peter?"

Flash Thompson opened the living-room door and poked his head inside.

"What's up, Flash?" Peter asked. "Have you eaten yet? You can stay for dinner if you haven't."

"Uh, no, that's not why I'm here. I wanted to show you guys something!" Thompson said eagerly. "Look at this! The New Batman! That blogger called Mysterio made an animated video, and it's incredible!"

"You're a little late, Thompson. We've already watched it a bunch of times," Harley replied.

"Right? It's amazing!" Thompson grinned. "And what about Spider-Woman? Man, there are real superheroes out there!"

Gwen couldn't stop a pleased smile from creeping onto her face. Hearing him praise her secret identity felt wonderful.

"I wish I could become a superhero someday," Thompson said.

If he could, he'd give his alcoholic father a good beating and make sure his mother and younger sister were protected.

Gwen's smile faded at once. "Thompson, being a superhero takes a lot of money, you know."

"Sure. Batman's rich, isn't he?" Harley said, still playing her video game. "You'd need equipment, obviously. Maybe Spider-Woman's suit is some kind of cutting-edge technology, too."

In truth, it was just a breathable suit Gwen had designed herself.

"Exactly. For all we know, it's bulletproof, waterproof, fireproof, the works," Peter added. "Flash, stay and eat with us. I've already made enough for you, so don't be shy."

"Oh. Okay..." Thompson agreed.