Chapter 19: Gwen Stacy
The people trapped on the top floor huddled together, their faces pale with fear, eyes reflecting the dread of imminent death.
Even though the situation was dire, panic hadn't fully taken over.
"Please stay calm. We will be rescued. Trust the NYPD," Gwen Stacy urged, doing her best to steady everyone's nerves.
"Trust them? The NYPD is useless. They only care about their reputation. Look at us. With things this dangerous, they won't bother coming up here," someone said bitterly from the crowd.
"Relax. I guarantee the police won't abandon us," Gwen replied.
"And why should we believe you?" another person challenged.
"Because I'm George Stacy's daughter," Gwen answered plainly.
"You mean the George Stacy? Captain of the NYPD?"
"Yes."
A murmur rippled through the survivors.
"Oh my god… she's Captain Stacy's daughter?"
"We're saved. No way the police would ever leave the captain's daughter behind."
The tension slowly unraveled. Learning Gwen's identity gave everyone something solid to hold on to.
Gwen exhaled quietly. For the first time, she understood her father.
If calming a dozen terrified people was this difficult, how did he reassure an entire city day after day?
Just as she managed to settle the group, Spider-Man arrived.
"If the officers working tirelessly below could hear the citizens of New York doubting them like this, they'd be heartbroken."
"Spider-Man?!" Gwen gasped.
Behind her, several people flinched and folded into themselves at the sight of him.
"Guess I'm not exactly the crowd favorite."
"That's not true. You're exactly who we need right now." Gwen stepped forward with resolve.
"You're not afraid of me?"
The Daily Bugle's smear campaign had spread like wildfire. In less than a day, they'd managed to turn Spider-Man into a walking public nuisance in the eyes of half the city.
"No. You're a hero, Spider-Man. And we need a hero to save us," Gwen replied with steady confidence.
As the daughter of the NYPD's captain, she knew more than most about the good Spider-Man had done. In her heart, she never doubted he was a hero.
She just didn't expect his voice to sound so young. She'd always imagined Spider-Man as a middle-aged veteran.
"You're the first New Yorker to call me a hero. I like you already. You've got great instincts."
"The Bugle's reporters love nitpicking the people who actually help this city," Gwen said. She'd never liked how J. Jonah Jameson constantly trashed the police under her father's leadership. They frequently described her father's New York police force as utterly incompetent.
"Uh… let's not get into that. How many people are trapped up here?" Spider-Man shifted awkwardly.
"Thirteen including me. How do you plan to get us out?"
"Let me think… Iron Man handled something similar before, but I can't use his methods. I've got my own style."
He snapped his fingers. "Got it. Have everyone group together. I'll web you all up and take you down safely."
"Alright." Gwen nodded.
She turned back toward the others.
"Everyone, gather together! Spider-Man is going to get us out of here!"
But the survivors only traded uneasy glances. No one moved.
Spider-Man let out a sigh. "Nice going, Jameson. I could've saved everyone in minutes, but thanks to you nobody trusts Spider-Man anymore."
He lifted his hands in a friendly gesture. "Folks of New York, I'm your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. I promise I'll get you down safely."
Gwen stepped forward again. "Please listen to him. Jameson is wrong. Spider-Man isn't a menace. He's a hero. Last night he stopped that runaway truck, caught the criminals, and kept several officers from getting hurt."
"Please. I'm asking you sincerely. Trust him. Let him take us down."
Her earnestness softened a few faces in the crowd, though quite a few still clung to the Bugle's narrative.
Just as Spider-Man and Gwen ran out of options, the entire top floor lurched violently.
The structure tilted toward Spider-Man's side, knocking everyone except him off their feet.
"Hurry! Get together, now! We're out of time! The floor is going to collapse!" Gwen shouted from the ground.
In that moment she despised the Daily Bugle more than ever. If not for their smear campaign, none of this resistance would be happening.
Spider-Man braced himself. If they still refused to cooperate, he was about to resort to force.
Thankfully, the threat of death snapped everyone awake. The crowd finally scrambled together, forming a tight cluster.
Spider-Man and Gwen both exhaled in relief.
"Spider-Man, what now?" Gwen asked as the group stood together.
"This."
Webbing shot out with rapid precision. In seconds, Gwen and the twelve others were wrapped in individual cocoons, each one connected by thick strands of webbing.
Curious, Gwen brushed her palm along the webbing. Despite using all her strength, she couldn't move a single strand.
"Ladies and gentlemen of New York, Spider-Man Airlines is ready for departure. Please prepare yourselves and try not to throw up on the webbing."
Spider-Man grabbed Gwen's cocoon and vaulted off the collapsing top floor.
The officers below watched as Spider-Man jumped with thirteen cocoons.
"So… this is his plan?" one officer said.
"Trust him," John and George answered together.
"Aahhh!" The civilians inside the cocoons screamed as they looked down at the scene below.
Gwen glanced down and swallowed hard.
"Spider-Man… this is your method?" she called out.
"That's right."
Timing his swing, he fired another line across to a different skyscraper and arced the entire cluster safely toward its rooftop. With a final controlled swing, they landed gently on the building.
"Spider-Man Airlines has arrived safely. Passengers, please take your belongings and go downstairs via the elevator over there," he announced, pointing toward it.
"Umm… We're still stuck in the cocoons," Gwen reminded him.
"…Right. That's awkward."
He walked up to the cocoon and, with a slight effort, the webbing that Gwen couldn't break with all her strength snapped one after another.