"KYAAAA!!"
The scream came from a tanned Hawaiian girl, but instead of a feminine voice, it was the deepest voice I'd ever heard.
Everyone around us was panicking, running away from the ocean.
[Wow, this chaos is top-tier! You should thank whoever caused this later, Peter!]
'Dream on!!'
"W-What did we just witness??" Harry said, terrified.
Suddenly, Steven appeared behind Emma, Gwen, and Harry, injecting something into their necks.
"?!" I watched in shock as Emma and Harry collapsed onto the sand.
"Don't worry, it's just a sedative. Also, my name's Marc."
Huh?? I didn't even ask for your name!!
"Peter, we'll move them and then investigate that sea monster," Bruce said, scanning the area to make sure no one was around.
"Huh? Right now?"
"Yes, right now. What, you want to let it keep doing this? An entire luxury ship just got devoured along with countless people inside. We need to act fast!"
"Exactly, Peter boi. Gear up and let's check under the sea," Marc said, now wearing his Moon Knight suit.
Wait, when did you change into that?
"Get an oxygen tank for Peter. We're diving," Bruce told Marc before turning toward the ocean, looking like he was about to transform into the Hulk.
"Stop."
A familiar voice made the three of us freeze, and we turned toward it.
"...Gwen?"
She was still standing, staring right at me.
"Huh?! How?!" Marc looked at her in shock—after all, his sedative was top-grade stuff.
"Peter," she said, locking eyes with me.
"...What is it?"
"I thought you just happened to know these guys, so I didn't think much of it. But you seem awfully calm about Harry and Emma being knocked out, and it looks like you're about to do something 'heroic,' aren't you?" Gwen said in one long breath.
[Uh oh, she looks pissed.]
"Hey, young girl, we don't mean any harm. Could you... uh, help carry them? We need to handle this," Bruce said calmly, but Gwen ignored him.
"So... does she have superpowers too?" Marc nudged me with his elbow and asked.
"...She's Ghost Spider."
"What?! I thought you were Ghost Spider??"
"Peter, answer me," Gwen interrupted, still staring at me.
"Do you have powers or not?"
...What does she mean by asking me that?
[I told you to be careful around her, but you didn't listen.]
'You didn't tell me anything!'
[What?! Don't believe me? Ask the readers if I warned you about her or not!]
'Who the heck are the readers?!'
"Peter," her voice rang out again, this time even more serious than before.
Bruce and Marc looked at me, as if urging me to respond or do something.
"...Yeah, I have superpowers."
A silence fell, and her eyes went blank upon hearing that.
She then crouched down, holding her face in her hands.
"...Um, Gwen, is something—"
"No way, I crushed that spider, killed the guy who created it, took out the jerk who planned to kill Uncle Ben, chopped the head off the guy who tried to rob Peter's house, threatened those criminals—where did I go wrong? Did I miss a step? I was sure he had no intention of being a hero! I made sure he wouldn't want to! So why?"
"No way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way..."
I listened in horror as she kept muttering something in a terrifying way, some of it more unsettling than anything I'd ever heard.
Wait, what? Took out the guy who planned to kill Uncle Ben?
No wonder no one showed up to harm Uncle Ben, even though I was so careful—still am.
"Uh... Peter? Say something to her, do something!" Bruce said, clearly not wanting to deal with this himself.
I turned to look at Moon Knight.
"Hey, she's your girlfriend. Don't drag me into this. I'm crazy enough to know not to mess with another crazy person."
"..."
[Don't expect me to help. Who told you to care about her and ignore me? Serves you right.]
"..."
I stepped closer, swallowing hard.
"Gwen."
She stopped and looked at me.
"...Why do you seem so unhappy that I have superpowers?"
She stared at me for a moment, then looked down at the sand.
"Do you like cats?"
"?"
What's she asking?
"Cats are mischievous but adorable. Everyone loves them."
"Until one day, a cat gains incredible powers and uses them to save other cats."
"Then it dies in the most brutal way possible at the hands of animal killers, just because they feared its power. Sounds sad, doesn't it?"
"The cats it saved mourn for a bit, but after a few days, they move on, leaving the cat's owner alone, grieving the loss."
"What do you think? What's the problem here?"
"This..." I looked at her, sweating.
That sounds way too familiar.
"In my opinion, the problem is its power. That power is what destroyed it," Gwen answered, looking at me.
"So, tell me, why do you have powers? Since when?"
'What now? Should I say it's from an Outer God?'
[You're asking me?]
'Not really?'
[Don't worry, I don't think she has any bad intentions toward you. Just say something.]
"..."
I took a deep breath and decided to say something.
"Gwen, do you remember when you hugged me while we were shopping for clothes?"
"?" She tilted her head, looking confused.
"Yeah, right then... You're the one who gave me my powers!"
...
...
"Huh?" Both Bruce and Marc looked at me, utterly baffled.
What? A lie even kids wouldn't believe?
"WHAT?! IT WAS ME?!" Gwen pointed at herself, shouting.
Holy crap, she actually bought it???
"But... but I hugged you a bunch of times before that! Why did it happen *then*?"
"Gwen, the more you hugged me, the more your powers transferred to me, and that moment was when you fully transformed me!" I lied without blinking, my face radiating righteousness.
"N-No way... It's because of me? No... It's all my fault! NO!!!" She held her head, on the verge of tears.
But then I stepped closer and grabbed her hands.
"Don't be sad, Gwen. Your powers are super useful! Especially since I can use them to rob a bank to buy you a ring. So you should be happy that I'm willing to do anything to make you smile!"
"R-Really? You'd rob a bank to buy me a wedding ring?"
"If you think so."
"So where's my ring?"
"It got swallowed by that sea monster, which is why I'm working with these guys to get it back!"
"Peter..."
Moved, she hugged me tightly.
"I love you..."
Bruce and Marc watched the scene, then looked at each other.
No way. I can't believe she's even dumber than I thought.