Without the slightest hesitation, Spider-Man dove into the void after Gwen, his eyes locked on her unconscious body as she plummeted toward the dark waters below.
He forced himself to accelerate as much as possible, gradually closing the distance between them while the surface drew dangerously closer.
Only moments before she could hit the water, Peter finally managed to catch her and held her tightly against him before firing a web toward the bridge’s structure.
The strand suddenly went taut and slowed their fall, allowing them to avoid the impact just in time.
— “Gwen! Gwen, can you hear me?! Gwen!!”
There was no response.
Gwen remained completely limp in his arms, only intensifying Peter’s panic.
Without wasting another second, he used his webs to reach solid ground as quickly as possible, keeping Gwen tightly against him the entire way.
The moment he landed, George Stacy rushed toward them, his face stricken with worry at the sight of his unconscious daughter.
— “Gwen! Gwen, sweetheart!”
George immediately took his daughter into his arms, completely distraught, while the sirens of the approaching emergency services were already growing louder around them.
Moments later, the paramedics arrived and rushed toward Gwen to take care of her.
— “Please, step aside!”
George was eventually forced to let go of his daughter so the paramedics could intervene.
They quickly placed Gwen onto a stretcher before carrying her toward the ambulance, not wasting a single second given the urgency of the situation.
— “Wait! I’m her father, I’m coming with her!”
— “All right. Come with us!” the paramedic quickly replied.
George immediately climbed inside with his daughter.
The ambulance doors slammed shut, then the siren blared as the vehicle sped away toward the hospital.
Left behind, Spider-Man watched the ambulance until it disappeared into the distance, unable to think about anything other than Gwen’s condition.
— “Gwen, please… stay alive.”
Despite his worry, Peter knew there was still something he had to deal with.
He climbed back up and returned to the top of the bridge, where he found Curtis Connors, now fully human again and still unconscious.
Spider-Man remained motionless in front of him for a few moments, his gaze filled with bitterness after what had just happened to Gwen, before finally picking him up.
New York — Connors’ Laboratory — Late Afternoon
Shortly afterward, Spider-Man brought Professor Connors back to his laboratory.
Martha was still there and seemed to have recovered from the blow she had taken, even though traces of the incident remained visible.
When she saw her husband back in human form, she immediately rushed toward him, overwhelmed with relief.
— “Curtis! Oh my God… you’re okay!”
She immediately embraced him, relieved to see him alive and human again.
After a few seconds, she looked up at Spider-Man, fully aware that it was thanks to his intervention that Curtis was now standing before her.
— “Thank you, Spider-Man.”
But her relief was short-lived.
Almost immediately, Martha realized that the two teenagers who had been with her at the beginning of the attack still hadn’t returned.
Her expression changed abruptly as worry took over once again.
— “What about Peter?! Gwen?! Have you seen them?! Are they okay?!”
Peter took a moment before answering, careful not to let anything show through his mask despite the worry still eating away at him.
— “Peter’s fine. He explained the situation to me and gave me a vial that allowed me to save your husband. As for Gwen… she’s at the hospital. During his transformation, your husband attacked her. Her father is with her right now.”
— “Oh my God… no! Is… is it serious?”
Spider-Man remained silent for a brief moment.
No matter how much he wished he could reassure her, he didn’t know Gwen’s exact condition himself and refused to give her false hope.
— “…I don’t know. I hope not.”
Martha’s face fell.
She instinctively tightened her embrace around Curtis, who was still unconscious, while tears began silently running down her cheeks.
— “Oh, Curtis… what have you done…?”
Peter watched the scene for a few moments before becoming serious again.
As painful as the situation was, he needed to understand what had transformed Connors into that creature and how any of this had happened.
— “Ma’am, I’d like to know… how did your husband become a creature like that? What happened?”
Martha remained silent for several seconds.
After everything that had just happened, she understood that she could no longer avoid the truth.
She let out a deep sigh, carefully sat her unconscious husband down on a chair, then turned toward Spider-Man, ready to explain what had led Curtis down this path.
— “You should know that my husband lost his arm several years ago in an accident.
On the surface, he pretended he was fine… but in reality, it was eating away at him.
I know he sometimes cried about it at night, even though he tried to hide it from me.
A year ago, he began researching reptiles, especially lizards, because of their regenerative abilities.
He believed that if he could successfully transfer lizard DNA into a human, he could regenerate at will.
He said it was for science, for humanity… but deep down, it was mostly for himself.
This wasn’t the first time.
He had already transformed before, but thanks to the DNA purifier, we managed to reverse the effects.
After that, I insisted that he stop everything.
At first, he lied to me and continued his research in secret, but I found out.
I made it perfectly clear that I would leave if he didn’t stop his research.
I thought he’d understood… but today, when I saw him like that again, I realized I was wrong.
And now, because of all this, Gwen is in the hospital…”
As Martha explained what had really happened, Peter felt a deep bitterness growing inside him, accompanied by an anger he struggled to contain as he thought about Gwen and all the people Connors had put in danger.
Yet when he looked at Martha in tears and his professor still unconscious beside her, he managed to keep his emotions under control.
He could understand the pain that had driven Connors to act this way, but that wasn’t enough to excuse his actions.
When he finally spoke again, his tone remained calm, but firm.
— “I can only imagine how difficult it must be for him. Really. But all of this… putting so many people in danger for his own personal desire… that’s a line a scientist should never cross.”
Martha looked up slightly, seemingly surprised by the young hero’s words.
— “Are… are you a scientist?”
Beneath his mask, Peter gave a faint smile.
— “Not yet. But maybe someday.”
Martha gently wiped away the tears still running down her cheeks and tried to regain her composure.
Spider-Man, meanwhile, allowed a brief silence to pass before continuing, aware that what he was about to tell her needed to be perfectly clear.
— “Listen… I’ll keep quiet. Not just out of the goodness of my heart, but also because some truths do more harm than good. But you need to understand one thing: your husband has to stop all of this. For good. Otherwise, I won’t have any choice but to inform the police.”
Martha immediately nodded.
— “You’re right. Trust me, I’ll make him understand once and for all that he has to stop his research.”
Peter nodded before turning away, ready to leave the laboratory and get to Gwen as quickly as possible.
But just as he was about to leave, Martha’s voice stopped him one last time.
— “…Thank you. Thank you for saving my husband. Thank you for saving Gwen. I truly hope she’ll make it out of the hospital unharmed… I really do.”
Spider-Man remained silent for a few seconds, unable to promise her that everything would be all right when he didn’t even know Gwen’s condition himself.
He simply gave a gentle nod before leaving the laboratory.
Moments later, his silhouette was already disappearing into the night, leaping from rooftop to rooftop across New York with only one thought on his mind: getting to Gwen.
New York — Hospital — Evening
Peter reached the hospital as quickly as he could and hurried inside the building.
The moment he entered, he crossed the lobby at a brisk pace and headed straight toward the reception desk, his anxiety growing with every passing second he spent without knowing Gwen’s condition.
— “Good evening! I’m looking for a girl named Gwen Stacy. She was brought here a few hours ago.”
— “Are you family? A brother? A cousin?”
Peter hesitated.
— “Uh… no. I’m a close friend.”
The woman gave him an apologetic smile.
— “I’m sorry, but only family members are allowed to see patients. Unless you have permission from a relative…”
Peter was about to answer when a familiar voice sounded behind him, interrupting the conversation.
He immediately turned around and saw George Stacy walking toward the desk with a calm, confident stride.
— “In that case, you have my permission.”
George reached them and gave the receptionist a serious look before gesturing toward Peter.
— “I’m Gwen’s father, and this boy is allowed to see her.”
— “I need to verify your name, sir…?”
— “George Stacy.”
The woman turned her attention back to her computer and quickly checked the information displayed on the screen.
After a few moments of verification, she looked up at them again.
— “Very well, Mr. Stacy.”
She turned her head toward Peter.
— “Young man, you may go see your friend.”
— “Thank you very much.”
George motioned for him to follow.
— “Come on, Peter. I’ll take you to see her.”
Peter immediately followed George through the hospital.
The two of them climbed a few flights of stairs before walking down a long white hallway bathed in dim light, their footsteps echoing faintly around them.
The closer they got to the room, the more Peter felt anxiety twisting his stomach.
Eventually, George stopped in front of a door, placed his hand on the handle and opened it.
Peter stepped inside after him, then George gently closed the door behind them.
As he entered the room, Peter finally saw Gwen, peacefully lying in her bed.
She was deeply asleep, surrounded by the quiet of the room, and seeing her like this after everything that had just happened immediately caused a tight feeling in his chest.
He remained still for a few seconds, watching her, torn between the relief of knowing she was alive and the worry that still refused to leave him.
— “Gwen…”
George immediately noticed the concern on his face and spoke to him in a calm voice, trying to reassure him.
— “Don’t worry, she’s going to be fine. According to the doctors, it’s an injury that’ll keep her from moving around normally for a while, but there shouldn’t be any serious long-term damage. They had to stitch her up, but everything’s under control. It looked worse than it really was. So I—”
— “I’m sorry, sir. It’s my fault. I got there too late, and because of me Gwen got hurt. I… I’m really—”
— “Peter.”
George calmly interrupted him before he could go any further.
He knew exactly what Peter was doing: putting all the responsibility for what had happened onto his own shoulders.
His gaze remained fixed on him as he continued sincerely.
— “Peter, you saved Gwen’s life. Without you, she might not be here in front of us right now. The situation could’ve been much worse. You did your best, and you succeeded. Gwen is going to recover, no one else was hurt, and you stopped the Lizard. So please, don’t put all the responsibility on yourself. You saved my daughter, Peter. Thank you.”
Peter slowly looked up at him, touched by his words.
Part of the guilt that had been crushing him since the accident finally seemed to ease, allowing a faint, sincere smile to appear on his face.
— “And after all this time… you could call me George instead of ‘sir.’ You make me feel like I’m sixty when you talk to me like that.”
A small laugh escaped Peter.
— “Alright, I’ll keep that in mind.”
George nodded, then glanced toward the door of the room.
— “I’m going to grab something from the vending machine. Want anything to drink or eat?”
Peter shook his head.
— “No, I’m good. Thanks.”
— “Alright. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
George calmly left the room, leaving Peter alone with Gwen.
The moment the door closed behind him, silence took over the room again.
Peter remained standing for a moment, unsure what to do, before pulling a chair up beside the bed and sitting down.
His gaze settled on Gwen before he gently took her hand in his.
For a few seconds, no words left his lips.
Yet everything he had never managed to tell her suddenly seemed desperate to come out.
— “Gwen… about what you told me. Your doubts about me… about Spider-Man… it made things complicated between us. I could tell you were angry with me. And I’m sorry.”
Peter took a deep breath, as though searching for the courage he needed to continue.
What he was about to say had remained buried deep inside him for a long time, something he had never been able to confess to anyone.
Yet sitting beside Gwen, still holding her hand in his, he felt like he couldn’t keep hiding the truth from her anymore.
— “The day Uncle Ben died… I was destroyed. You were there for me. But I lied to you. I told you a burglar killed him during a robbery. But… that’s not exactly how it happened…”
The memories of that time suddenly came rushing back.
Peter tried to contain the emotion overwhelming him as every image, every decision and every mistake from that night returned with painful clarity.
— “The day the Connors’ spider bit me, I got powers. And I took advantage of them. I started doing underground wrestling to make easy money. But some guy ripped me off. Right afterward, he got robbed by someone and out of pride… I let the robber get away. And later that same night, I found out my uncle had been killed by the same guy I let escape. And when I found him…”
Without even realizing it, Peter’s fingers gradually tightened around Gwen’s hand.
The frustration and guilt he had carried since that night were resurfacing as he continued his story.
— “I killed him. I threw him off the top of a building. And at first, I felt… relieved. But the more time passed… the more that feeling stayed with me. And eventually I understood my mistake: I shouldn’t have killed him. I should’ve turned him over to the authorities.”
The more Peter spoke, the more his gaze seemed to drift into the distance, as though he were no longer really in that hospital room but standing once again face-to-face with the memories of the night that had changed his life forever.
Yet in the middle of that pain, his uncle’s words came back to him once more.
— “He always used to say: ‘Just because we can do something doesn’t mean we should. With great power… comes great responsibility.’ At first, I used to laugh about it. But now I understand.”
Little by little, something changed in Peter’s eyes.
The weight of the memories was still there, but that guilt gradually gave way to a deeper determination.
The same determination that, ever since Ben’s death, had given new meaning to his life and pushed him to become someone better.
— “So I decided to be better. And to use my powers to protect other people, not for myself. I built my web-shooters, kept my wrestling suit… and that’s how Spider-Man was born. If I wear a mask… it’s to protect the people I love. Aunt May, Harry… and you.”
Peter remained silent after those last words, still holding Gwen’s hand.
Even though she still seemed deeply asleep, he couldn’t stop looking at her, as though part of him hoped she had somehow heard his confession.
After all this time spent hiding the truth from her, he had finally revealed what he had never been able to tell her.
— “And all of this… it’s because I love you, Gwen. I love you, and I don’t want you to be in danger.”
After keeping so much buried inside himself for so long, Peter finally felt his defenses collapse.
He wasn’t crying, but his slightly reddened eyes betrayed the emotions he was still trying to hold back.
For the first time, he was showing himself completely vulnerable in front of Gwen, without a mask, without lies and without trying to hide what he truly felt.
— “When the Lizard took you… when I saw you falling… I thought I was going to lose you.”
As he kept his eyes on her, Peter suddenly felt something move between his fingers.
Gwen’s hand, which had remained still in his until then, gently tightened around his.
— “Peter…” Gwen whispered weakly.
Peter abruptly lifted his head.
All the sadness on his face momentarily vanished, replaced by a mixture of surprise and hope when he saw Gwen’s eyes open.
— “Gwen? You’re awake?!”
— “Yeah… I’ve been awake for a little while.”
Peter froze as he realized what that meant.
Several emotions rushed through him almost at once: panic at the thought of how much she might have heard, fear of how she would react, but above all, an immense sense of relief. Read the latest chapters at novelping . com.
After spending so long hiding the truth from her, he had finally revealed everything.
— “So… that means you heard everything…?”
Gwen held his gaze.
— “Yes. I heard everything.”
— “But why… why didn’t you say anything when we came in…?”
Gwen briefly looked away.
— “I didn’t feel like talking right away. I needed time to process what had just happened… with Professor Connors, and… with you.”
— “About that… listen, Gwen, I—”
Gwen interrupted him before he could continue.
Her expression remained gentle, but Peter could see a certain amount of guilt in her eyes.
— “No, Peter. Listen to me, please. After hearing you, I realize I’ve been a disappointing friend. You were carrying all of that alone, all those responsibilities, all that sadness… and instead of helping you, I turned my back on you. I’m sorry…”
— “No, Gwen, don’t apologize. You didn’t know. And I’m not mad at you. Deep down… all you wanted was to understand.”
A brief silence settled between them.
This time, it wasn’t heavy or awkward.
For the first time in several days, all the tension that had built up between them finally seemed to have disappeared.
The danger was over, Gwen was safe and, above all, there were no longer any lies separating them.
— “But that’s not all. There’s something else I want to tell you. Come closer, please.”
— “Oh, uh… yeah, okay.”
Without really understanding what she had in mind, Peter gently leaned toward her, reducing the distance between them.
— “Closer,” Gwen whispered.
Peter moved closer, until he was only a few inches away from her face.
Yet Gwen seemed to think that distance was still too much.
— “Closer.”
— “I’m listening, Gwen. Tell me…”
Peter leaned in even more, enough for their faces to almost touch.
But before he could even understand what she intended to say, Gwen closed the last few inches between them herself and gently pressed her lips against his.
Peter froze in surprise as the kiss lasted for a few moments, tender and sincere, as though all the fear, guilt and unspoken feelings that had built up between them had finally disappeared.
When she pulled back slightly, Gwen kept her face close to his, a deeply emotional smile on her lips.
— “I love you too, Peter.”
Peter remained silent for a few seconds, completely frozen, as though his mind needed a moment to process what had actually just happened.
Then, when he finally realized it, an uncontrollable smile spread across his face.
Gwen immediately returned it, and the two of them simply stayed there looking at each other, relieved to finally be able to accept what they felt for one another.
— “No more secrets?” Gwen asked softly.
Peter gently nodded.
— “No more secrets.”
This time, neither of them hesitated.
Peter moved closer again and their lips met in a second kiss, just as tender as the first.
They were so absorbed in each other that neither of them noticed the door handle lowering behind them.
The door suddenly opened, revealing George Stacy, who had just returned to the room and caught them kissing.
— “Oops, sorry! Didn’t mean to interrupt… but I’m glad to see you’re awake, Gwen.”
Caught in the act, Peter and Gwen immediately pulled away from each other and sat up almost at the same time.
Both wore the same embarrassed expression, though Gwen’s was even more obvious under her father’s gaze.
— “D-Dad! And you… you’re okay?”
— “Oh yeah. More scared than hurt, thankfully!”
— “Yeah, that’s true…”
A brief silence followed, during which Gwen did her best to regain her composure.
George, meanwhile, watched the two teenagers for a few seconds before a small mischievous smile appeared on his face.
— “So if I understand correctly… you two are dating? How long has this been going on?”
Hearing that, Gwen nearly choked.
— “What?! No! I mean… it’s complicated!”
Gwen awkwardly tried to justify herself, clearly caught off guard by the question.
Peter, meanwhile, briefly looked down at their hands still resting close together before gently taking hers.
The simple gesture immediately caught Gwen’s attention, and she turned her eyes toward him.
Unlike her, Peter didn’t try to avoid the question.
— “Yeah. We’re dating.”
Gwen’s face instantly turned crimson while George, far from looking upset by the answer, instead broke into an amused smile.
— “Well then… you have my blessing! So, when are the kids coming?”
— “DAD!”
Gwen’s outraged reaction immediately sent everyone into laughter, dispelling for a few moments all the tension that had built up over the course of the long evening.
Even Gwen eventually gave in and laughed despite the embarrassment still coloring her cheeks.
Little by little, however, the laughter died down and George’s expression became more serious.
— “By the way, Peter… can I talk to you outside for a couple of minutes?”
— “No need. Gwen knows I’m Spider-Man.”
The revelation instantly wiped every trace of amusement from George’s face.
His eyebrows shot up in surprise as he looked back and forth between Peter and his daughter.
— “What?! You told her?!”
Peter nervously scratched the back of his head.
— “Uh, actually…”
Before Peter could even explain the situation, Gwen stepped in with an almost proud confidence.
— “He admitted it to me. But even without that, I already knew.”
— “Sorry. I guess you wanted to protect her by keeping her out of all this…”
George remained silent for a few seconds, thinking about the situation.
Of course, he would have preferred Gwen to remain completely removed from this dangerous part of Peter’s life, but the events of the evening had also reminded him that simply not knowing the truth wasn’t always enough to keep someone away from danger.
— “Yeah… that’s what I wanted. But maybe this is better. Now that she knows, she’ll be aware of the dangers and we’ll be there to protect her. I’m not mad at you, Peter. And besides… Gwen is just like her mother: curious to the core.”
At those words, George tenderly placed a hand on his daughter’s head and gently stroked her hair.
A nostalgic smile crossed his face while Gwen looked at him in silence.
— “So… what did you want to talk to me about?”
Peter’s question brought George back to the reason he had originally wanted to speak with him.
His smile vanished and his expression immediately became serious again.
— “The Big Boss.”
The moment that name was spoken, Peter’s face hardened.
All the lightness that had filled the room only seconds earlier disappeared, replaced by a much colder expression.
— “Tombstone…” Peter murmured coldly.
Peter clenched his teeth slightly as he thought about the man who had already tried to kill him and the many criminals he had sent after him.
Since their last confrontation, Tombstone had remained in the shadows, but Peter knew perfectly well that their story was far from over.
— “It’s been a while.” Peter thought.
TO BE CONTINUED.