🕸️ Chapter 1 — When the Void Smiled Back
"So… this is it? Am I dead?"
The words left her mouth, soft and uncertain, swallowed by an endless darkness.
No air. No heartbeat. No sense of up or down — only silence stretching beyond imagination.
Gwen floated there, light as a feather, a lone spark adrift in eternity.
> "If this is death," she whispered, "it's… kind of boring."
A voice answered — deep, smooth, threaded with amusement.
> "Not death," it said. "Merely between."
The darkness rippled. Something vast was watching her, though she couldn't see its shape — only feel its gaze, like the universe leaning closer.
> "A soul without direction," the being mused. "Yet burning bright enough to catch even my eye."
Gwen swallowed. "Uh… thanks? I guess?"
> "Tell me, child," the voice continued, "would you like to live again?"
Her pulse — or whatever counted for one — quickened. "You can do that?"
> "I can do many things. But there is a price."
> "Let me guess," she muttered. "You want my soul?"
> "I already have it."
That earned a dry laugh from her. "Fair."
> "No, little one. I only ask you to entertain me. Be my story. My chaos."
The void shimmered with faint colors.
> "You will be reborn in a world of heroes and monsters — where masks hide hearts and justice bends easily. You will live as one among them. But first… choose your power."
Gwen hesitated. Then, with a flicker of resolve:
> "Spider powers. All of them."
The being stilled, then chuckled — low and delighted.
> "All of them, she says. Ambitious… I like ambitious."
Twelve silhouettes bloomed in the dark, glowing in different hues — twelve Spiders, twelve lives, twelve instincts.
> "These are the templates. They will rest within you — their skills, their memories, their instincts. A library of selves. And you… their new vessel."
The light spun faster.
> "Your base template will be my surprise," the being added. "Mystery makes stories sweeter."
Before Gwen could respond, the world folded in on itself.
> "One last gift," the being whispered. "A companion — an AI system, bound to your soul. You'll need it when the web begins to pull."
Light consumed her.
> "Good luck, little spider."
And she fell.
---
💫 Elsewhere in the Void
The being remained behind, watching the fading trail of light.
> "Twelve templates and a reckless spark… delightful."
But then, something unexpected rippled through the void — twelve threads flaring alive, their power brushing reality.
> "Oh? A premature awakening?"
The being smiled wider.
> "Chaos comes early this time."
---
🌍 Earth-16 — Central City
A baby's cry broke the silence of a hospital room.
Helen Stacy, scientist at S.T.A.R. Labs, smiled through exhaustion as her husband — Captain George Stacy — held the newborn.
"Her name's Gwen," Helen said softly.
Outside, Central City glowed beneath its usual evening calm.
---
Years passed.
Gwen Stacy grew into a sharp-tongued, curious girl with a knack for getting in over her head.
Her father taught her discipline, her mother science; her twin siblings, Ben and Bella, taught her patience… mostly through chaos.
To anyone else, she was ordinary — bright, clumsy, always humming to herself.
But destiny was patient.
---
⚡ The Day It All Changed
The explosion hit before she heard the sirens.
One moment she was walking home, an ice-cream in hand; the next, a blinding shockwave tore through the street.
The world tilted. Heat, noise, impact — then silence.
---
💀 Inside the Mind
Darkness again.
But this time, twelve lights encircled her, pulsing with rhythm — alive.
> "What… what is this place?"
Her voice trembled, but the answer came not in words — in echoes.
> "Ghost-Spider — active."
"Spider-Man 2099 — active."
"Scarlet Spider — active."
"Assassin Spider — active."
"Spider-Woman — active."
"Arachnid Prime — active."
"Spider-Girl — active."
"Noir Spider — active."
"Silk — active."
"Miles Morales — active."
"Venom Spider — active."
"Spider Spirit — active."
Power flooded her — light, sound, motion — every sense exploding.
Images: skyscrapers, masks, pain, victory, loss.
Voices: laughter, battle cries, silence.
Her breath caught. "Too much—!"
And then, calm.
The storm settled. The voices faded. And Gwen opened her eyes.
---
🌆 Back in Reality
She lay on cracked pavement beneath a crimson sky. Smoke curled upward; distant alarms echoed.
Her body felt different — sharper, stronger, alive with energy. Every movement thrummed with control she didn't understand.
> "This… isn't normal."
Then a clear tone rang in her head.
> "System initializing. Connection to host: complete."
Her pulse jumped. "Who—who's talking?!"
> "Greetings, Gwen Stacy. I am your soul-bound AI interface. Please remain calm."
"Calm?" she gasped. "You're inside my head!"
> "Affirmative."
> "That's not calming!"
> "Understood."
She pressed her hands to her temples, half laughing, half trembling. "So I did die."
> "Incorrect. You merely awakened."
Slowly, she forced herself to breathe. The voice — mechanical but faintly warm — continued:
> "Twelve Spider templates registered. Current synchronization: ten percent."
> "Ten percent, huh…" Gwen exhaled. "Then what happens at a hundred?"
> "Unknown. But probability suggests chaos."
Despite everything, a faint smile touched her lips.
> "Figures."
She rose unsteadily, glancing toward the sirens.
The city was still alive — and so was she.
> "All right, System," she whispered. "Let's see where this web leads."
> "Acknowledged, Miss Stacy."
And with that, Gwen Stacy — the girl who died, laughed, and returned — took her first step into a world that had no idea what it was about to meet.