239. Hope Carved from Grief. (Patreon)

Helen Stacy POV:

It was supposed to be an ordinary night and that's the cruel thing about life.

The nights that changed everything never announced themselves beforehand.

Dinner had already been cleaned up. Howard and Philip had finished arguing over which superhero would win in a fight while Simon had nearly fallen asleep on the couch halfway through homework. May was washing dishes in the kitchen while humming softly under her breath and Peter had gone out to fight crime and then pick up groceries because feeding a six-person household was practically a military operation.

And me? I was tired both physically and mentally.

The kind of tired that settled into your bones after years of pretending you were fine.

I adjusted my glasses while reviewing tomorrow’s case files on my tablet before glancing absentmindedly toward the family photo resting near the television.

George smiled back at me and beside him stood Gwen.

Her smile was perfect, her posture straight while academic medals around her neck.

Golden blonde hair tied back neatly.

She looked so alive in the picture....

God... I missed them both so much.

The knock on the door startled me out of my thoughts.

“Peter forgot his keys again.” I muttered softly.

May chuckled from the kitchen. “That boy carries enough groceries to feed half of Manhattan but somehow still forgets his keys.”

I smiled and walked toward the door.

For one fleeting moment... Everything still felt normal then I opened it and my brain stopped functioning.

Peter stood there carrying grocery bags over one shoulder but beside him was a girl with blonde hair streaked with pink, one side shaved.

Her Ocean-blue eyes that looked almost unreal in their vividness.

She had an eyebrow piercing, wearing a punk jacket with combat boots and somehow... She looked like a cartoon standing inside reality itself.

Not fake or unreal.

Just... different.

More stylized and expressive.

Like somebody had taken reality and painted emotion directly onto it.

My eyes immediately locked onto the tiny gap between her front teeth.

My Gwen used to have that exact gap before braces corrected it but this girl’s remained and before I could even process what I was seeing she hugged me so hard as if she was terrified to let go.

Quiet sobs escaped her throat while her hands trembled against my back and instantly... Instantly... I knew.

She wasn't my Gwen but a Gwen nonetheless. I don't know how but she's a different Gwen, I know it.

A daughter-shaped ache recognized another daughter-shaped ache.

My arms wrapped around her automatically.

“Don’t worry sweetheart,” I whispered while stroking her hair gently. “Mommy will find a way to help you.”

The girl shuddered violently at the word mommy then slowly broke the embrace and I finally got to properly look at her.

Light freckles dusted her cheeks. There was a manic energy to her appearance. She radiated wildness and freedom.

My Gwen had been organized, disciplined and academic.

While this Gwen felt artistic, chaotic and musical at the same time.

As if she belonged on a stage under flashing lights.

Peter watched silently beside her with sadness hidden behind his usual fake humor.

“Can we come in?” He asked softly.

I stepped aside immediately. “Of course.”

The moment they entered, every eye in the apartment turned toward them.

Howard nearly dropped his handheld game, Philip blinked repeatedly, Simon just stared and May froze mid-step.

The girl sat nervously on the couch while wringing her fingers together.

I could see her fighting tears, trying desperately to stay composed.

Finally she inhaled shakily.

“Hi,” she began quietly. “My name is Gwendolyn Maxine Stacy. I’m from another dimension. Earth-65M to be exact.”

The boys stared at her with widening eyes and she continued carefully.

“I’ve been married to my Peter Parker for two years now.”

Married.

God.

My Gwen never even got the chance to grow up.

“I...” she swallowed hard. “My mom died when I was 5 from blood cancer.”

My heart cracked.

“The Parkers practically raised me alongside Peter because dad was always busy being a police officer. We already knew the Parkers before mom died and after she passed away...” her voice trembled, “I cried on Peter’s lap while he ran his fingers through my hair until I fell asleep.”

May covered her mouth emotionally and Peter looked downward quietly.

I just sat there trying not to cry because all I could think was, "My Gwen never got that."

This Gwen had grown up surrounded by love after losing her mom while my Gwen lost George and then her own life.

God... What kind of cruel cosmic joke was that?

Simon suddenly spoke.b“We don’t exist in your world... do we?”

The question hurt everyone in the room.

Gwen immediately knelt in front of him.

“No,” she admitted softly. “But I would’ve loved having you three as my little brothers.”

That did it. Howard tackled her first, then Philip and finally Simon.

She laughed through tears while hugging them tightly.

May finally sat beside her carefully. “So... your Peter isn’t Spider-Man?”

Gwen shook her head. “Nope. I’m the Spider-Woman of my reality. Though nowadays I mostly go by Spectral-Spider.”

Howard’s jaw dropped. “You’re Spider-Woman?!”

“Professional menace and friendly neighborhood cryptid.” She confirmed proudly.

The boys instantly bombarded her with questions.

“Can you climb walls?!”

“Yes.”

“Can you shoot webs?!”

“Yes.”

“Can you lift cars?!”

“Depends on the car.”

“Can you beat Batman?”

“Wrong company but absolutely.”

Even May laughed softly at that then Philip tilted his head. “So what does Peter do?”

The atmosphere shifted slightly and Gwen’s expression became complicated.

“My Peter started as a defense contractor under Parker Defense Solutions,” she explained carefully. “But eventually turned it into Parker Industries. It makes everything from baby food to medical technology to spacecraft.”

Everyone stared blankly.

She continued.

“His company operates globally and possesses its own PMC mostly made up of genetically and cybernetically augmented supersoldiers.”

Howard blinked. “What’s a PMC?”

“Private military company.” Peter answered from the corner.

The room somehow became even quieter.

Gwen rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. “Peter’s current Earth-bound assets are valued at approximately 2.5 trillion dollars and his prototype supercarrier spaceship called the UNSC Infinity is valued at roughly 10 trillion.”

Silence. Utter silence.

Howard finally pointed weakly. “So... your husband is basically Mecha Man, Batman and NASA combined?”

Gwen burst out laughing. “Oh my God I’m telling him you said that.”

But despite the humor... I could see it.

The exhaustion behind her eyes and othing about her life sounded easy.

Howard noticed too.

“It couldn’t have been simple,” he said. “You had to do all the Spider stuff while Peter... didn’t.”

Her smile faded instantly.

“No,” she whispered. “It wasn’t simple.

"When I started operating as Spider-Woman, Peter figured out my identity in less than a week.”

Peter rubbed his face tiredly like he’d heard this story too many times.

“He was bullied constantly,” Gwen continued softly. “Ned Leeds especially loved targeting him. I always defended him but honestly... it made things worse.”

She looked toward our Peter sadly.

“People called him Stacy’s pet. Said he hid behind a girl.”

Peter looked away uncomfortably then Gwen continued.

“In almost every Spider-Gwen universe Peter Parker becomes the Lizard eventually and in most Spider-Gwen universes...” her voice cracked, “the Gwen kills him.”

May looked horrified.

“But my Peter survived.” She smiled shakily.

“Crippled from the waist down but alive.”

Peter finally looked at her again.

The love between herself and her Peter was so obvious it physically hurt.

“That accident changed him,” she whispered. “He stopped being just a nerd after that.”

Her eyes glimmered with pride.

“He built a spinal prosthesis that let him run faster than sound. Then he created nanomachines to repair his nervous system. Then regenerative serum technology to stop telomere decay.”

Philip blinked. “So he became immortal?”

“Basically, yes.” Gwen admitted weakly.

“And then,” she continued, “Peter spent the rest of his life making sure nobody he loved would ever be helpless again.”

The room fell silent and nobody knew what to say after that.

Knock knock.

Everyone jumped slightly.

“That’ll be him.” Said Gwen.

May immediately stood and when she opened the door another Peter stood there.

But not ours. He looked older somehow despite looking young.

He was carrying flowers, books, pastries, cookies, school bags, phones, electronics in the air while somehow looking both terrifyingly powerful and heartbreakingly gentle simultaneously.

“Hey Aunt May.” He greeted softly.

May immediately hugged him.

The floating gifts were suspended around them midair while he hugged her back carefully.

“God,” he murmured emotionally. “You’re beautiful in every universe.”

May started crying immediately.

“And you’re my boy in every universe.” She whispered back.

Then our Peter fake-coughed loudly from behind them.

“Wow, am I psychic or emotionally neglected?”

Everyone laughed and for one tiny moment... The apartment felt warm again.

But then the other Peter spoke and the atmosphere changed completely.

“I have something important to discuss with all of you.”

The room instantly quieted.

“After my accident,” he began calmly, “I realized just how tragic Peter Parker’s existence tends to become across the multiverse.”

His golden-green cybernetic glow beneath his skin pulsed sporadically.

“So, I pursued power relentlessly. Political power, military power, scientific power but I never allowed that pursuit to consume my family because power means nothing without people worth protecting.”

He reached behind himself and drew out the scythe.

The room temperature seemed to drop instantly at the mere presence of the weapon.

It looked ancient and terrifying but there was a wrongness to it that felt as if was rattling my very bones.

Three screaming souls writhed faintly inside its blade.

I immediately stood up in horror. “No.”

My voice cracked violently. “No no no....”

Hope hurt too much, hope destroyed people and most of the time hope lied.

“You’re going to resurrect dad, Uncle Ben and Gwen?” Simon whispered hopefully.

The other Peter nodded calmly.

“In mind, body and spirit. Not imitation. Not clones. True resurrection.”

“That’s impossible!” I screamed causing everyone to flinch.

Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably. “Do you have any idea what kind of cruelty it would be to give people false hope like this?!”

My chest heaved violently.

“Do you know how many nights those boys cried themselves to sleep?! Do you know how long May mourned Ben?!”

I pointed at the scythe shakily. “What kind of monstrous thing is THAT?!”

The room trembled with emotion but Peter never got angry or defensive.

He simply spoke softly. “The multiverse contains wonders and horrors beyond imagination. Resurrection is not uncommon in many realities.”

Then he looked directly at May.

“I ask again. Do I have your permission?”

For a few moments there was silence then May stood, wtraightened herself and spoke with absolute certainty.

“I, Maybelle Reilly Parker, grant Peter Parker of Earth-65M permission to resurrect my husband Benjamin Franklin Parker using the soul of Addler Hopkins.”

Our Peter immediately stood. “Aunt May...”

She turned and glared at him. A death glare.

“Sit down, Peter.”

He sat instantly.

Howard stepped beside me quietly, then Philip and finally Simon.

Their eyes begged me, pleaded me to try, to believe one last time.

And finally... I broke.

“Yes,” I sobbed quietly. “Yes... I accept.”

Peter nodded gently.

“I promise,” he said softly. “You'll not regret this.”

I just nodded because that's all I could do.