"How did that happen? The spider only bit Peter — and it was dead after that. I saw it." Jack was in a panic.
Is there another spider? If this venom makes her Spider-Woman— he wasn't sure, and that uncertainty alone scared him.
"Did you find the bug, Jack?" Gwen asked, still checking her clothes.
"No — I think I might have been seeing things," Jack replied, keeping his voice steady.
"Oh. Okay then."
He helped her lean back into a more comfortable position. Looking at her face, the guilt settled in quietly. Even after reading Richard Parker's ssage — even knowing that anyone other than a Parker who got bitten wouldn't gain powers — he hadn't kept a close enough eye on her.
I should have watched Gwen more carefully, he thought. The fear and guilt twisted together uncomfortably.
"Should we take them to a doctor?" MJ asked. "Like, should we go to the hospital?"
Jack thought for a mont. Taking them to a hospital right now felt dangerous — a doctor would notice sothing was wrong.
"Don't worry — I think they just had a rough day and it caught up with them. Sleep will sort it out."
"Yeah, it's probably just a mild fever. It'll pass," Peter added.
"Sa," Gwen said quietly.
Neither of them wanted to go to a hospital. MJ looked between them, then let it go without another word.
By then the taxi was already pulling up to Peter's house.
"Hey — thanks for coming with today, guys," Peter said, climbing out. "See you."
He headed inside. After dropping MJ off, the taxi continued toward Gwen's neighborhood. That was when Jack noticed.
Gwen had gone quiet. Too quiet.
"Gwen?"
She didn't answer. Her head had dropped to the side, and when he reached over, her skin was burning.
"Gwen — hey, Gwen."
Unconscious. Her temperature was dangerously high.
I can't leave her at ho like this. This looks like an ergency.
He paid the driver, carried her inside his house, and laid her carefully on his bed. She was already drenched in sweat. He grabbed a cloth, packed it with ice, pressed it to her forehead, pulled off her boots, and got to work trying to bring the fever down.
For a while, it seed like it might be working.
Suddenly she was in pain.
"Is this a transformation or a side effect?" He wasn't sure which answer he was more afraid of.
"Red Queen — can you tell if this is good or bad?"
"No, Master. I have no data specific to this situation. However, Richard Parker's files do contain records of similar cases." A pause. "Most of the human experints ended in death."
Hearing Red Queen's answer made him panic even more.
Then Gwen's face shifted again — visibly, undeniably. A fine, spider-like texture began spreading across her skin, and she was in pain. Jack could see thin, spider-like fur starting to grow along her arms… then her face.
It wasn't stopping.
Oh no.
The worst case. It's actually happening.
He ran through everything he could think of — fast, desperate. Grey Matter couldn't solve this. I don't have ti to research a solution now. No alien in his current unlocked Omnitrix could fix this.
Nothing he had… was enough.
Suddenly he rembered the episode — Ben Tennyson using the Omnitrix to stabilize the DNA of people who had been transford from aliens to humans.
"System — is there any way to use the Omnitrix to save her?"
[The host can use the Omnitrix to stabilize DNA and preserve the subject's life. However, this function has not yet been unlocked.]
"Then tell quick — how do I unlock it? Right now."
[To unlock it imdiately, the host must spend 200 hero points from the current total.]
Jack didn't wait to hear another word.
"DO IT." He was shouting.
[First-ti ergency override acknowledged.]
[Omnitrix DNA Stabilization function — unlocked.]
The light on the Omnitrix shifted from green to yellow, then snapped back to green in a single second.
Without wasting another mont, he held it toward Gwen and activated the scan.
[Scanning…....]
A soft green light swept over her.
[Scanned subject's DNA is in critical condition. Imdiate stabilization is strongly recomnded.]
"Omnitrix — stabilize it. Now."
The device humd. The light pulsed. And then, slowly, the texture faded from Gwen's skin. Her color returned. Her breathing evened out. She settled back into a peaceful sleep, like none of it had ever happened.
Jack let out a breath he felt like he'd been holding for an hour.
"Thank God."
He sat on the edge of the bed and gave himself a mont to just exist without a crisis in front of him.
"System — she's okay now?"
[Yes, host. Both strands of DNA have been fully stabilized. She will be able to access spider-based abilities going forward. You may also remove the new DNA if you choose to.]
"Will the spider DNA affect her in the future?"
[No, host. It is in perfect condition. There will be no further complications.]
Jack looked at her for a mont.
"Then leave it. Having abilities in this world isn't a bad thing."
A thought crossed his mind.
"Can I use her spider powers?"
[No, host. The subject has gained ta-human abilities — not alien DNA. The Omnitrix cannot replicate them.]
"Fair enough."
[Host has saved a future hero for the first ti and significantly altered the course of events.] [300 hero points awarded.]
[First-ti world-altering save detected — bonus gift unlocked.]
Jack stared at the notifications, caught off guard. He hadn't even considered that saving Gwen would trigger a reward.
"System — was Gwen really that important? And she was actually going to die without ?"
"You already suspected it, host. Without your intervention, Gwen Stacy would have died today. That single event would have altered the trajectories of many people around her — Peter Parker, MJ, and others. You changed what was ant to be a fixed point."
The confirmation sat heavy in his chest. Knowing it was serious was one thing. Hearing it confird was sothing else entirely.
It's a good thing she's alive, he thought quietly.
"Alright — what's in the gift pack?"
[80% aliens, 19% items, 1% unknown — from the Ben 10 universe.]
"Wow, those are really good odds."
"Then open it."
[Gift pack opened.]
[New alien unlocked — Vulpimancer.]
[New alien unlocked — Arachnichimp.]
The Omnitrix lit up with a green pulse, and two new alien silhouettes appeared on its display.
"Two?!"
Jack stared at the screen.
"Vulpimancer — that's Wildmutt," he said, recognizing the shape imdiately. Another alien from the original ten. He couldn't help grinning.
He pulled up the second one and studied it.
"That looks like a spider monkey."
He stared at it a mont longer.
"I saved Spider-Woman and unlocked Spider-Monkey."
He laughed, mostly to himself, and shook his head. He now has seven aliens. He wanted to try them both imdiately, but Gwen was still sleeping in front of him, and the long weight of the day was finally catching up to him.
He moved to the sofa nearby, lay back, and let his mind drift over everything — the field trip, the spider, the stabilization, the notifications, all of it — until, without aning to, he fell asleep.
A/N: The Patreon version is already updated with 20 advanced chapters. If you'd like to read ahead of the public release schedule, you can join here:
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