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"Thanks, Gwen. I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Mm-hm." Gwen said, keeping her eyes focused on the wound as she finished bandaging up Peter's side. "It's no problem, really."
"Still, you're really helping me out here. Aunt May's getting more and more suspicious, and I can explain away a lot of things, but a rhino-horn-shaped stab wound in my side - not so much." Peter stood up and inspected the wound. "Nice work."
Gwen shrugged. "I know first aid. ...My dad made me take a course when I was younger." Her eyes fell, obviously thinking of the father whose death was still raw in both their minds. Peter, seeing the look in her eyes, sat down and placed his arm around her.
"I'd understand if it's all too much for you. You shouldn't have to deal with giant monsters stomping in and out of your life."
"Didn't we have this conversation already?" Gwen quirked an eyebrow at Peter. "You tried to give me a way out, and I told you you were being an idiot, and that I was all in as long as you were? Honestly, I just wish I could do more."
"You're doing a lot, Gwen. I've lost count of the number of times you've patched me up since this whole thing started."
"I know...but it's all after the fact. You're out there getting beaten up by some guy in a Rhino costume, and all I can do is wait, hoping you're not too badly hurt to make it back here." Gwen sighed. "I wish I could actually keep you from getting hurt, not just play cleanup."
"Like when you stared down Connors at Oscorp?" Peter sighed. "You were amazing, but I never want to put you in a position like that again. If anything had happened to you..."
"You'd never forgive yourself. And you do enough of that already." Gwen said, a smile creeping across her lips. "But I can't very well keep letting this Rhino use my boyfriend like a hackey-sack, can I?"
"Believe me, I'm not a fan of this either. But this guy... he's tougher than Conners ever was. It's like he doesn't even seem to feel it when I hit him. Fortunately, he's just robbing banks so far, but if he starts becoming a bigger threat, well... I'm not sure I can stop him."
Peter's shoulders drooped as he sunk back onto the bed next to Gwen. She put her arm around him, thinking about how much Peter Parker had to be carrying on his shoulders. For a few moments after her father had died, she had blamed Peter for bringing this horror into their lives. But in the light of day, it was clear to her that Peter was fighting to keep countless other families from losing people like she did. Like he did with his Uncle Ben. As scary as some of the things Peter faced were, she would have given anything to be able to keep him from getting hurt.
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The irony didn't escape Gwen. Just weeks earlier, she had stared down a psychotic lizard-man and escaped from a top-secret genetics lab completely unscathed. But a misstep into a six-inch hole in the ground while playing softball in gym had landed her in the hospital. And her broken ankle was actually a more serious injury than anything Peter had sustained since he became Spider-man. It was obvious that someone up there had a rather warped sense of humor.
"This is going to be a really crappy month." Gwen grumbled as Peter took her crutches and helped her over to the bed. "I've got a 4.0 GPA and an internship at Oscorp. I'm not really sure why I'm expected to play softball in order to graduate."
"I've been asking myself that same question for ten years." Peter smiled sympathetically as he helped Gwen prop her cast up on a pillow. "Do you need anything?"
"I'll be fine. Mr. Osborn told me to rest up, and he'll send over my files on the computer, so I can keep busy looking over those. And my mom will be here to fuss over me, so you can go do Spidey-stuff."
"You're sure?" Peter dug into his pockets, pulling out a pair of small devices that looked like compact cell phones, each with a spider-web pattern on them. "Well, I've been meaning to show you this. It's something I've been working on for a while. I call them Spider-phones."
"Spider-phones? Really?"
"Hey, it fits, right?" Peter grinned. "Anyway, they're pretty much smart phones designed for Spider-stuff. It gives me access to city maps so I can track any disturbances, look up anything I need, and contact anyone I need to. And I want you to have the other one, so you can contact me any time you need to."
"Wow." Gwen picked up the small phone. "You trust me with this?"
"Well, who else?" Peter flipped the phone open and showed Gwen the map software. "You've been helping me out so much, I want you to have anything that'll make it easier."
"Plus, now I can call you at any time to ask you to bring over take-out."
"That too." Peter laughed as he leaned in to give Gwen a soft kiss.
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Gwen tried to keep busy over the weeks as her ankle healed, but that was harder than it looked. She got ahead on her homework, did some extra research for Oscorp, and worked on her college application essays. But that still left her with a lot of free time, and she usually found herself spending it on the Spider-phone with Peter, keeping him company from afar while he was on patrol. This occasionally caused problems, like the time Peter got distracted and wound up getting tangled in the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, but they both enjoyed their frequent chats.
"I know they say you only have to do one, but I still can't help but feel like NYU is setting me up to fail here. What do you think? Should I do only one of the essay questions like they say, or all three? But if I do all three, maybe that's not following directions?"
"Huh. Maybe do all three, but save the other two for an interview, in case they're interested in seeing them?"
"That's actually pretty smart." Gwen nodded
"Well, I - Whoa."
"What's wrong?" Gwen asked, hearing the concerned tone in Peter's voice.
"Rhino." Peter was trying to keep his voice calm, but Gwen could tell he was rattled at the sight of the one villain he had never been able to take down. "He's breaking into the vault at Midtown Bank. I've got to go."
"Sure, sure." Gwen said. "Just...keep your phone on? Just in case."
Peter muttered his agreement and quickly hung up before swinging into battle. Gwen closed the phone and quietly willed herself to calm down. Peter had been okay - well, mostly - in every fight with Rhino before. He'd make it back. But this time, she felt like she was closer than ever. With the phone, she could zero in on Peter's location, keep track of the battle through streaming video. She wasn't sure if she should look, afraid of what she'd see, but as time ticked by and news reports came in of the battle spreading to Times Square, she knew she had to watch.
Flipping open the phone and cueing up the stream to Times Square, she gasped. Peter was being batted around like a rag doll. No matter how many times the Rhino hit him, he always got back up, but it was clear the battle was taking its toll on him. He was favoring his left arm, his right held tightly by his side. She winced with every blow, feeling closer to him than ever but still too far away to make a difference. She maneuvered the stream around, desperate to do something, anything - and gasped.
Quickly turning the stream off and pressing the call button, she rang Peter, praying he had remembered to keep his phone on.
"Ngh - Gwen?" Peter's pained voice came into the phone. "Can't really talk..."
"I know! Listen - I know how you can beat Rhino!"
There was a loud crash as Peter went flying into a nearby lamppost. "I'm okay... Did you just say - "
"Yes! There's a control panel on the back on his lower back. He's always charging at you, so you didn't see it. His suit is probably electronic, so if you destroy that, you'll probably shut him down!"
"You're the best. Gotta go."
The phone call ended, and Gwen switched back to the video stream. Rhino charged at Peter, who used his good arm to web-swing over the rampaging criminal. Landing on the Rhino's back, he pulled out a small patch - a Spider-stinger, designed for shutting down technology, Gwen recognized - and planted it square on the villain's back. He jumped clear as the electric current shot through the Rhino, and the hulking villain collapsed with a loud thud onto the pavement. And at the same second, Spider-man and Gwen both breathed a huge sigh of relief.
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"I suppose I can't really ask you to carry my books anymore." Gwen eyed the sling on Peter's arm
"I guess not. My shoulder should heal in a week or so, though, so I'm all yours again then."
"I want Spider-healing too." Gwen pouted.
"I could try to round up another Spider." Peter joked. "But seriously - you saved my spider-butt the other night. That was amazing."
Gwen shrugged. "I was able to look at all angles because I wasn't getting pounded from all sides by a guy in a Rhino costume. I'm just glad I was able to help."
"Well, you were pretty awesome. And that's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about. See, I wound up getting some...extra attention after taking out the Rhino."
Peter flipped open his phone and showed Gwen the message he had received shortly after the fight.
Kid. You're doing good work as Spider-man, but you're raw. You've been lucky so far, and you need training. Show up at Stark Tower as soon as you're healed to begin training.
Director Fury
"Whoa." Gwen gaped.
"Yeah, that's pretty much what I did too."
"So...does this mean you're an Avenger now?"
"Maybe." Peter shrugged. "I don't know. I do think it means I'm getting my butt kicked by Captain America, though, which is kind of exciting enough on its own."
"Awesome. I'm jealous."
"Well..." Peter ran his hand through his hair. "That's actually kind of what I wanted to talk to you about. It won't be the first time...but if I'm joining the Avengers, I want them to know about you. You're as much a part of this as I am now."
"What? I mean, I helped you out a few times, but - "
"Gwen." Peter kneeled down, looking Gwen in the eyes. "You're the only reason I'm here, talking to you instead of splattered all over the pavement. I didn't realize this until last night, but I can't do this alone. The Avengers are going to be part of that, and if you want it, so are you. You're amazing, Gwen. And without your brains, I don't know what I'd do."
Gwen took all this in for a minute. It seemed a bit surreal. "Well, I guess I could call myself...Miss Web or something?"
Peter burst out laughing. "I like it.
"Just don't wait too long to introduce me!" Gwen smiled. "I want Captain America to sign my cast."