Reconnected

The quiet creaking of a door was accompanied by a few giggles and soft shuffling across the hard wooden floor. Even if they were doing their best to keep quiet, it was more than enough to wake Gwen. Peeling open her sleep ridden eyes, she was able to make out four silhouettes in the doorway of her room. Her mother paused once she realized they had accidentally woken her up, but still walked into the room. One small cupcake was in her hand, the candle sitting atop it already lit.

“Happy birthday Gwen!” Her dad’s loud voice rang out in the silent room, causing her to wince at the noise. Peter and MJ filed in after her parents, their sleeping bags forgotten about on the floor.

“How’s it feel to finally join the adults?” MJ laughed, knowing that out of the three of them, Gwen was the ‘baby’ of the group. Peter and MJ both having had their eighteenth birthdays months ago.

Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes with a yawn, Gwen sat up fully to look at her family. A small smile grew on her face as they sang their usual birthday song. Even though her family did the same thing every year for her birthday, Gwen would never tire of it. Blowing out the candle caused the small group to cheer, and the cupcake was handed to the birthday girl.

“Get dressed, breakfast will be ready in a minute.” Helen spoke as Gwen dug into the treat. A soft kiss was placed on the top of her head before her parents both left the room to finish cooking.

“So, what’s on the agenda today?” MJ asked as she fished her brush out from her overnight bag.

Gwen shrugged as she finished the cupcake, tossing the wrapper into the small waste bin on the other side of her room. “Bookstore and then the mall? I have work tonight though, so we can’t be out all day.” MJ visibly deflated.

“Really? You have to work on your birthday?” Peter let out a groan as he sat down on her desk chair. Gwen shrugged and got up to gather some clothes. It had been about three weeks of Gwen’s internship at the Life Foundation, and there was no way she would risk her position by calling out.

“I know, I know. I promise, I will make it up to you guys.” Gwen chuckled as her friends finally relented.

“Why not come by my place after you get off work? Movies and pizza sound good to you?” MJ suggested, not wanting one of her best friends to spend the entire night working and then being alone on her birthday.

With plans to head to MJ’s after her shift, they headed out into the living room for breakfast. Gwen’s dad made the best pancakes, and she would argue with anyone who tried to say otherwise. With a loaded plate of delicious breakfast, Gwen sat down at the table. In the background the news was on, giving the citizens the newest updates on The Sinister Six, and The Prowler. Prowler had popped up about a year and a half ago, as if New York needed anymore bad guys. George sighed before changing the channel, not wanting to hear about the same things he dealt with at work.

After breakfast, the trio rushed to get dressed for the day. Their first stop at the bookstore allowed both Gwen and Peter to grab a few new books, and Gwen was finally able to grab the sequel she had been wanting to pick up. MJ had pestered them to hurry up from the moment they stepped through the door, and she was ecstatic when they were finally heading to the mall. Gwen wasn’t the biggest shopper, mainly tagging along with MJ every other weekend just to spend time with her. Every store that MJ dragged Gwen to however, she was bombarded with things to try on.

By the end of the trip, Gwen felt like she had an entirely new wardrobe. MJ loved to spoil her friends, and Gwen’s birthday was just an excuse to get her things she didn’t need, but felt she deserved. After parting ways with her friends, Gwen found herself back in her room, just in time to get ready for work.

Half-way into Gwen’s work day, she was finally able to go on a meal break. With her noise canceling headphones blasting her usual rock music, Gwen scrolled through the messages on her phone. MJ and Peter had been arguing over which movie to watch for their movie night tonight. They argued for two whole hours. Gwen chuckled as she read through their conversation, wandering the dimly lit halls of the Life Foundation in search of a vending machine.

Before she knew it, Gwen had accidentally wandered a little too far, having missed a turn or two earlier in her walk while she was distracted with her phone. She pocketed the device as she continued to walk down the long stretch of hall. Peering into the room to her right, the big glass window showcased rows and rows of glass pods. Putting her hands up to the window to try and get a better look inside, she noticed that one of them was open. Her eyes scanned the room, but she wasn’t able to see much else inside.

The door to her right slid open with a pneumatic hiss. Her heart sped up as she slowly backed away, unsure of what had opened it. What was even in this wing of the building? Gwen quietly continued to back up, her eyes trained on the doorway. A tall, sickly looking man slowly walked out, his face looking down at the ground. The blue of his hospital-esque clothing did nothing to conceal how pale he was, and the top of his shirt was drenched in what Gwen could only assume was sweat.

The slow movements of her walking back were quickly caught by the man, and his head snapped towards her with a questionable quickness. Gwen wasted no time in realizing this was now the time to run. Pivoting on her heel, Gwen turned and started to sprint down the hallway. A quiet groan left her lips as the sinking feeling of fear spread throughout her body. With how pale the man was, and the way his head snapped to look at her, Gwen didn’t want to find out exactly what was wrong with him.

The sound of heavy and fast footsteps could be heard sprinting after her, and against her better judgment, Gwen had turned around to see how far from him she was. A panicked scream left her as she realized he was catching up to her with an inhumane quickness. The man was not far behind her, grunting as he sprinted. Trying to turn a corner in hopes to throw him off a bit, Gwen’s vision started to get blurry. Tears welled up in her eyes as she was being chased, internally wondering what she had done to deserve this.

Her internal panicking was abruptly cut off as she was tackled to the ground. The sound of her head smacking against the linoleum floor was nauseating, and she did her best to try and get the man off of her. Their scrapple didn’t last long, as the man had quickly overpowered her with an inhumane strength. Gwen watched in fear as veins of thick, black goo peeled off the man and crawled up her arms. Within no time, the goo seemed to absorb into her skin, and the man on top of her quickly fell limp at her side. Gwen screamed at the sight of the now dead body, and she quickly pushed herself up off the floor. Racing back down the hall, she left behind the body and her headphones, too overwhelmed in the moment to even realize that they had fallen off her neck when she was tackled to the ground.

By the time Gwen had made it out of the Life Foundation building, leaving behind her bag and other personal items in her employee locker, she could finally feel herself somewhat calming down. Her mind raced with thoughts as she tried to go over what had transpired in that hallway. The man had looked sick, but he was too agile and strong to really be as sick as he looked. And what was that black goo that seemed to disappear onto her skin? Gwen tightly wrapped her arms around herself, shivering in the cold february air. Sweat rolled down her face, which she wiped away with the sleeve of her shirt.

Her body started aching, and the back of her head throbbed in pain. Gwen tried to focus on what street she was on, trying to map out her way home. With her vision blurring every few seconds and her body starting to get profusely more sweaty and hot, she leaned against the brick wall of a building. Gwen concluded that these symptoms were likely from her hitting her head so hard, blocking out any thoughts of it possibly being from the goo, she didn’t want to think about that possibility.

Pushing herself off of the wall, she took a few shaky steps forward before feeling a violent wave of nausea roll over her. Rushing into the alley beside her, Gwen bent over into a displaced trashcan and expelled the contents that were in her stomach. The stomach acid scratched at her throat as she threw up. Gwen heaved before thinking it was safe to back away from the can, tears running down the fats of her cheeks as she slid down the gross wall behind her. The blonde sobbed into her arms as she wondered what was happening to her. Being so preoccupied with what was happening to her, Gwen was oblivious to the pair of eyes watching her.

“You need to calm down!” A loud voice demanded, causing another scream to rip out of her already raw throat.

“Who said that?” Gwen’s eyes danced around the alley, finding it empty.

“I did. You’re going to make yourself pass out, your heart rate is too fast.” The voice was too loud.

Gwen covered her ears with her hands, hoping that if whoever was speaking spoke again, it wouldn’t be too loud. Her cries quieted down, and she tried to regulate her breathing as best she could. Burying her head in her arms, Gwen continued to softly cry. A ringing sound in her ears as she heard multiple footsteps walking closer to her. Whoever was walking towards her was whispering, but the ringing in her ears prevented her from being able to hear what was being said.

“Miss Stacy?” An unknown voice called out to her.

Gwen lifted her head up slowly, her complexion sweaty and pale. Three men stood before her, wearing all black with microphone earpieces. She didn’t say anything, her throat suddenly drying up. A feeling of dread settled in her chest and she almost started to cry again.

“We’re from the Life Foundation. We need you to come with us.” None of the men showed any emotions as they spoke.

Gwen was a bit shocked at how quickly she had been followed out of the building. While she figured it had something to do with the encounter she had earlier with the sick man, she felt like she would be in more danger if she went with the men. Gwen shakily pulled herself up off of the ground, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“What’s this about?” Finally able to find her voice, she spoke. Her breathing was shaking and another feeling of nausea that she bit back surfaced.

“That’s confidential. We just need you to come with us, or else we have to use force.” Two of the men moved their hands to their belts, and Gwen could faintly make out what looked like either a taser or a gun. She hoped it was only a taser.

In the midst of her panicked thinking, a black tendril sprouted from her right shoulder. The men standing in front of her looked terrified, and as they went to draw their weapons, the tendril attacked. It grabbed the guy on the right first, slamming him into the wall beside her. The guy on the left shot his taser at her, hitting her in the side. Her already unsteady balance mixed with her muscles seizing up caused Gwen to fall over again, and unable to catch herself, her head hit the concrete. If she didn’t have a concussion from earlier, she was sure to have one now.

The world around her buzzed violently, and all Gwen could do was stare up at the stars as her body seized. By the time her muscles had finally stopped seizing, a warm sensation flooded throughout her body as it was becoming completely encased in the black goo. Gwen was no longer in charge of her body, but she could see everything in front of her clearly. The two remaining men tried to flee in horror, only to be grabbed and picked up by the monster that took over her. Without warning, one of the men was brought closer and closer to their face before his head was quickly bitten off.

Gwen screamed out, having just had to witness the whole thing. “What the hell are you doing to them!” No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t gain control of her body again.

In the midst of her screaming, the monster had done the same to the other man, and was even walking over to where the third one had been discarded earlier. Gwen screamed for this thing to stop, to not kill another person, but it didn’t listen to her.

“I am saving us! You should be more grateful! They would have killed you if you went with them.” The voice she heard from earlier spoke again, and it wasn’t until now that she realized it was this thing speaking to her.

Gwen was confused on why this thing was helping her. In just a few seconds, the goo seeped back into her body and her own two feet were on the ground once more. A shiver ran down her spine and she tightly shut her eyes, not wanting to look at the three dead bodies on the ground. A sinking realization washed over her and she heaved once more.

“Please at least tell me that we have different stomachs.” Her eyes welled with tears at the thought.

“Of course we do!” Gwen felt just a bit better with the confirmation.

“So, what exactly are you? Are you inside me?” With a small voice, Gwen had started asking the most pressing questions that came to her mind.

“I am from the planet Klyntar, and for the moment, you seem like the best place to hide.”

“What are you hiding from?” Gwen asked, fear creeping into her voice. If something was after this alien, then surely that means she would be hunted to, right?

Gwen slid down the wall until she reached the floor again. Her body was starting to flare up in heat again, and now, she was sure it was because of this thing inside of her. Being some kind of host for a man-eating alien was definitely not something she was interested in. The sound of something falling at the entryway of the alley caught her attention, and Gwen turned to see a silhouette of another person. Not just any person, however. The purple glow of their mask was constantly on the news, and she immediately recognized this person as The Prowler. A sob bubbled it’s way out of Gwen’s throat and she tried to scoot herself far away from the masked villain.

“Please, please, please don’t try to eat another person.” Tears fell down her face as she begged the alien.

Prowler’s head tilted to the left at Gwen’s words. He took a moment to survey the area, looking down at the three headless bodies. As he looked back up at the cowering blonde who was muttering apologies, he took a few steps closer. Slowly walking passed the bodies, Prowler stopped in front of Gwen and kneeled down. Her eyes were glued shut as she tried to hold in her sobs. His mask shut off and slowly peeled back, revealing his face.

“Gwen?” A voice called her name.

A voice she knew so so well, even if they hadn’t spoken in two years. She shook her head, not believing that he was really there. When she peeled her eyes open, a groan left her lips as she finally saw his face. Miles Morales. An odd sound left her, a mix of a sob and a laugh before Gwen broke into a quiet but sad laugh.

“Now I’m fucking hallucinating.” Her voice was strained, and she took a deep breath to try and calm herself.

Gwen’s whole body ached and hurt. Her throat, her muscles, her eyes. She was just so tired. The back of her head was throbbing and felt like it was being split in two. Slowly, Gwen lowered her head to the ground to lay down. Her eyes felt heavy, and even as they tried to close, she was still staring at what she assumed to be an apparition of her best friend. As Gwen found herself drifting off into the void, she felt her hand being held, the warmth comforting her as she drifted off to sleep. The last thing she heard was the soft whispering of someone speaking to her.

“Happy Birthday Gwen.”