Marvelous [1x1]

[Unraveling Fate]

Private Marvel roleplay between Sweet Devil Prince and Unraveling Fate.
Please do not post but readers are welcomed!

[Sweet Devil Prince]

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xxxxxIt had been almost two years. Two years that felt more like an eternity in solitude. That day had changed his life forever, and there wasn't a single day that hadn't gone by where Gwen hadn't been on his mind. It still hurt, it likely always would, and there wasn't anything he could think to do that would make things right. His intentions had always been nothing but good, but good intentions hadn't been good enough. The world knew him as Spider-man, even after losing the only girl who mattered, knowing it's what she would have wanted. He chose to continue being Spider-man at his own expense, his choice this time. If not for the sake of the city, then he would continue with the comfort of knowing that no one would have to suffer a loss as he did, not if he could help it. Most of his time went into crime-fighting, more often than not just for the sake of being able to take his mind off of the hole left in his life.

xxxxxPeter had received a call that morning. The call had been from Doctor Connors, a man who had become well known as the lizard monstrosity terrorizing the town. Connors was out on good behavior, under close surveillance of course, but he seemed back to his normal self, with all illusions of grandeur out of his head. At least, that was what everyone else thought. Peter wasn't sold, especially with how Connors sounded on the phone. His tone was urgent, but Peter was still wary to rush to Oscorp to see what the doctor had to show him. It wasn't that he didn't feel he could handle himself, it was just that, well, the last time Connors had a lab kit s**t had gone down. Besides, the doctor wanted him to come at night, when the building was closed, which just screamed sketchy.

xxxxxPeter ended up where he always went when he had a lot on his mind; the cemetery. Standing in front of Gwen's grave with his hands buried in his pockets, Peter stared at her name for a long moment, not moving a muscle. He had read the same familiar name a million times before, knowing every subtle curve of the text by heart. "What do you think I should do?" He finally spoke, his voice so soft that he could hardly hear himself. The breeze blew in and after hearing the rustle of trees, he laughed softly and murmured, "Yeah, it figures." Perhaps he was crazy, but Peter spoke to Gwen often, mostly when he couldn't make up his own mind, which was most of the time. With a sigh, he turned away from the grave, casting a quick glance over his shoulder before heading down town.

xxxxxWhen night came, Spider-man was swinging his way further downtown, and it wasn't hard at all for the wall-crawler to sneak his way inside, even without the credentials. Hiding in a storage closet, Peter changed back into his own clothes, slipping his street clothes over his costume and slinging the empty book bag on his shoulder haphazardly. Sneaking his way out of the closet, Peter stepped through the building silently, taking the scenic route to avoid cameras. When he arrived in Connors' office, he looked around for any signs of the doctor before calling out quietly, "Hello?" It was hard, wanting to warrant the doctor's attention without drawing further attention.

[Unraveling Fate]

Gwen was hanging on for her life. There was nothing underneath her that could save her now that the gears had fallen. The string of webbing she was holding on to was shaking as the gears above were grinding. She couldn't tell what was going on, Peter was fighting Harry and all she could do now was hang there uselessly. Gwen knew the risk of coming here, she chose to come here. They defeated Electro but all of that was in the back of her mind now. Even though she chose this, she was absolutely terrified.

The gears above let out a horrible noise and then her heart caught in her throat. Her family had barely moved on from her father dying, she couldn't leave them yet. She couldn't let Peter lose her too. It felt like slow motion watching the webbing she was holding onto fall and then suddenly gravity took a hold of her. Peter would save her, or he would try his best to. That's all that mattered in those moments. Gwen refused to think about the ground quickly approaching, Peter was reaching for her, firing his web shooter to catch her. It didn't help her stop being terrified as it was now a race between the webbing and the ground. It seemed like the web was going to win though, she let out a sigh of relief believing that it was going to turn out okay Then it all abruptly stopped.

Gwen woke up, a rather strange experience this time considering it was in a pod. The last thing she remembered were the events that happened in the clock tower which she clearly was not in anymore. Gwen sat up looking around wide eyed, where the hell was she? Doctor Connors was there which confused her even more. He was supposed to be locked away what was he doing in a lab? What was she doing in a lab? Where were her clothes?! Where was Peter and what happened in the clock tower? Connors was explaining something to her but Gwen wasn't taking any of it in. Between trying to cover herself and getting over the initial shock of waking up in a pod her mind was a bit occupied. She was finally given a lab coat to cover herself up with and after that she tried demanding answers. Instead Gwen was led away, Connors said something about making a phone call then left.

All day he blew off her questions, he kept saying he would explain everything when Peter got there. That calmed Gwen down a little bit but she still didn't have a very good feeling about all of this. He kept running tests all day to see if she was stable and treated her like an experiment more than a person. It was setting off many red flags in her mind but she secretly denied having any knowledge of what was going on. Night arrived and Gwen hoped that Peter would get here soon. Hopefully he could explain to her what happened. Connors told her he was going to look out for Peter and left her alone in the lab once again. Instead of waiting around doing nothing she figured now was a good time to look for clues.

Doctor Connors hurried down the hall and shortly after he left the lab he heard Peter's voice. "Peter..." he said quietly waving the boy over. "I'm glad you're here, I have a lot to explain before I show you what I've done. She turned out different than I expected, better even," he said already starting to walk back to the lab. It was clear his mind was focusing on many things at once as he led Peter toward his lab.

[Sweet Devil Prince]

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xxxxxPeter's attention was directed to the doctor shortly after hearing his name called, glad that he had indeed found the doctor and not some form of security. Connors seemed thrilled to see him, although why he was so excited was worrisome to him. When he was beckoned closer with a wave, Peter listened, stepping closer to see what all the fuss was about. He was already worried about what the doctor could have possibly done, but it worsened as he spoke more about it, feeling his stomach drop at the mention of a certain word. "Wh-whoa wait, she? Doc, what did you do?" Peter's concern was written all over his face, but it seemed to be disregarded.

xxxxxConnors began to lead the way to his lab, and Peter kept pace with him, his curiosity being the only thing keeping him from stopping in his tracks right then and there and demanding for answers. He had a feeling he wouldn't get answers until he saw what the doctor wanted to show him. Passing through the door of the lab, Connors and Peter turned the corner before spotting a woman, one dressed in a lab coat and seemingly searching for something. Peter felt his heart stop. Was this a hallucination? A hologram perhaps? Peter could only stare, his mouth hung open in an attempt to speak, but he found that no words would come. His brain told him this wasn't possible, but his heart was screaming that it had to be true. Gwen Stacy was back from the dead. "She's back, Peter. Gwen Stacy is back." Connors said, standing himself closer to Gwen like he was showing off his prized pig at the county fair.

xxxxxPeter's eyes finally moved from Gwen, flickering over to the doctor as he asked, "H-how?" He could hardly believe this was real, and he was doing his best to keep himself from getting choked up.

xxxxx"Well, the process of fully functioning cloning procedures had only been a myth... until now. And Gwen happened to be first on the list of genetic donors." Peter continued to stare, his eyes bouncing back and forth between Curt and Gwen, letting everything go silent for a long moment. Seeing that Peter still seemed to be in disbelief, he added quietly, "It's really Gwen, Peter. She's back."

xxxxxPeter could hardly breathe. Was this all real? Staring at Gwen, his voice began to quiver as he asked, "Do you... remember anything?"

[Unraveling Fate]

Gwen was searching everywhere and couldn't find any clues on what happened at the tower. What she was finding though was clues on what was going on now and her stomach dropped even more. She didn't even hear Connors and Peter approaching as reality sunk in. Turning around she felt even worse seeing the look on Peter's face. It looked like he was looking at a ghost.

Then Connors spoke the word she was trying so hard to avoid. She was just a clone, the real Gwen Stacy died that night in the clock tower. Peter was staring at her like he had seen a ghost because he really was looking at one. It didn't make sense though, shouldn't she just remember everything up to the point where she donated her DNA? Why did she remember everything up to the end. The silence weighed down on her and she felt like her entire world was crumbling.

Peter asked her if she remembered anything and hearing his voice quiver made the lump in her throat grow even bigger. Nodding, Gwen pulled the lab coat tighter around herself. "I remember... e-everything," she said her own voice cracking. Gwen felt like somebody had yanked a rug from underneath her. Her family... they had already lost her dad, and now they lost her. Oh god, Peter. How did Peter handle not being able to save her. Was he still the same, was he still Spiderman, did he move on? There were a million question involving her death floating through her mind and it was weird to think about the world going on while she was gone.

"H-How long?" Gwen asked choking back a sob. "How long has it been?"

[Sweet Devil Prince]

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xxxxxPeter was heartbroken to hear that Gwen remembered everything. Part of him had hoped that she wouldn't remember, and that he could make her fall back in love with him all over again, and they could just forget the past. But she remembered everything, including the fights, the numerous break ups, his secret identity, and the tragic accident that had cost her her life. He felt so terribly guilty, far more so than he had in the past few years. Never did he think that he would be looking Gwen face to face again after the horrible mistake he had made. It was enough to twist his insides. How could he ever apologize, let alone explain what happened that night?

xxxxGwen asked him how long it had been, and his blood ran cold. Swallowing thickly, Peter answered slowly, "Almost two years." Two miserable years of nothing but grief, nightmares, and anger. And Gwen happened to come back and see him this way. He was ashamed, but astounded all at the same time.

xxxxxHearing Gwen try to keep herself from sobbing, Peter could feel his heart breaking for the second time, the first being when he had lost her. He stared at her for a long moment, judging whether this was in fact real or a dream. He decided that either way, he was going to make the best of it. "Oh Gwen..." He murmured before rushing to her, wrapping his arms around her in an embrace before burying his face into her hair. She'd been gone for so long... she still felt the same, even smelled the same. He didn't even care that she was only wearing a lab coat. "I'm so sorry." It was all Peter could bring himself to say, his shoulders trembling as he held her tight.

xxxxxThe room was silent for a brief moment before Connors cleared his throat. Peter had nearly forgotten the doctor was there. "Peter, I asked you here for a reason. I need you to take her home with you. This procedure is still relatively experimental, and well... I didn't really have the clearance for this. I need you to give her a place to stay, and keep her secret. This is a small town after all, and she is supposedly dead."

[Unraveling Fate]

Two years... two years she had been dead. It didn't feel that long, then again she was dead. There was no more feeling anything. Gwen was trying so hard not to have a breakdown in the lab but when Peter rushed to her she lost it. She clung to him tightly as she buried her face into his shoulder.

"P-Peter..." Gwen wanted to tell him so many things but she lost the ability to speak. She wanted to tell Peter she didn't blame him, that she knew what danger she was putting herself into and the fact that neither of them could have predicted Harry showing up. The only think Gwen could do was cling to Peter since he was the only part of her old life she might be able to keep.

Doctor Connors spoke up and Gwen honestly forgot that he was there. She still didn't know how he wasn't locked away anymore but it probably happened in the past two years. It twisted her stomach to know that she was just an experiment. An experiment that didn't have clearance as Connors continued to speak. Gwen had no idea how Peter was going to hide her. He would have to hide her from Aunt May if he still lived with her and she wouldn't be able to leave without being noticed. As much as she would like to see her family again Gwen knew that there would be problems with that.

[Sweet Devil Prince]

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xxxxxPeter continued to hold Gwen tightly in his arms, as if she would fade out of his life again at any moment. He was almost afraid she would. Just hearing her say his name was sweet enough, but to know she was actually alive- it was almost too good to be true. He could feel her clinging to him just as tightly as he was clinging to her, and he wondered if she had missed him as much as he had missed her while she was gone. He was trying not to think of it as death- more so as a very unfortunate vacation, equipped with sun burn and jet lag. This had been far worse than that, but with the bonus of her coming back to life several years later. It was hard for him to think of her as a clone when she was so real, with memories and all.

xxxxPeter listened as Connors spoke of why he was there, and what he was asking him to do, all the while keeping his face pressed into her hair. It would be hard to keep Gwen a secret in such a small town, but it wasn't impossible. He was a little astounded by the fact that this experiment was done without clearance, and that Connors had managed to keep this whole thing secret from Oscorp for so long. He could only imagine how that was possible. Pushing these thoughts aside, Peter lifted his head to look at the doctor before answering immediately, "I'll do it." He'd do anything for Gwen, and whether the doctor knew that or not was irrelevant. This was his second chance, and he was going to make it up to her.

xxxxxWith Peter having agreed to take care of Gwen, the doctor's work was done, and he was soon packing up to leave the building. Normally, Peter would have swung his way out of the building, but with Gwen... he didn't want to take the chance. No, instead he gave her his hoodie to put over the lab coat so that she could at least hide her face, and while it looked rather silly, it was still better than nothing. He assumed she didn't really have any personal belongings considering that she was created right here in the lab, but that was a thought he tried not to have. Instead, he smiled at Gwen softly, glad to have her back before he asked quietly, "Are you ready to go...?" It was a stupid question considering there wasn't much else for her to do here, but he felt the need to ask regardless. She wasn't just an experiment to him. This was Gwen Stacy. His Gwen.

[Unraveling Fate]

Gwen kept holding onto Peter hoping that any minute she would wake up. She wouldn't be a clone, she would be alive and nobody would have to feel the pain of the past two years. Unfortunately, Gwen knew that this wasn't a dream, and that from here on her new life would be completely different.

It didn't surprise Gwen when Peter said he would watch her. She had no idea how he would be able to hide her but as far as she remembered he was able to hide being Spiderman from Aunt May. He handed her a hoodie and she was happy to have something else on and a bit more familiar than a lab coat. Putting the hood on she tried to shrink in it to make herself less noticeable. She wondered how they were going to sneak out of the lab without security saw them too. Before she didn't really care about swinging across town with Peter, but considering last time she was kind of wary about it now.

Peter asked her if she was ready to go and she nodded slowly. "Y-Yeah..." she replied barely audible still trying to soak up everything that she learned today. Even if she wasn't the "real" Gwen Stacy she was going to try her best to live her life. She still had her memories, and she was still the same Gwen. Even if she couldn't fully get her old life back, at least she got a second chance to live again.

[Sweet Devil Prince]

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xxxxxPeter nodded after hearing Gwen say that she was ready, albeit she sounded a bit shaken still. He wouldn't blame her for being shaken. It was probably hard to remember dying and then all of a sudden be alive again like nothing happened. Clearly time had not passed for her while deceased, otherwise she wouldn't have asked how long it had been. Her memories of that day were still fresh, and it killed him a little on the inside to know that.

xxxxxRefocusing on the matter at hand, Peter put his arm around Gwen's waist, escorting her out of the lab while glancing around at the surveillance cameras. None seemed to be facing their way so far, which was good. He wasn't sure if Connors had managed to turn off the cameras for this experiment, or if he had taken any precautions for security. For the most part it seemed like the doctor was just going to walk out of the building. Still, Peter could never be too careful, especially not with Gwen.

xxxxxThey took the scenic route out of the building, finding every staircase they could and avoiding security and cameras at all cost. It wasn't too hard with his spidey sense. Once out of the building, Peter led the way towards his apartment downtown, his pace probably quicker than it should have been. The sooner Gwen was at his home and safe, the better. Still his apartment was quite a walk downtown, which would have been nothing for Spidey- but for Gwen and Peter, it was probably best to take a bus. Stepping onto the nearest bus, Peter found two seats and offered Gwen the window seat, still unsure what to say. This was so unreal.

[Unraveling Fate]

Gwen felt like she was falling again. The whole world as she knew it was puller under her feet like a rug and she didn't know if anything of this would ever sink in. Peter wrapped his arm around her waist and she instinctively moved closer. If the security cameras saw her it would be all over the place. Her family didn't need that, Peter didn't need that and she definitely didn't need that. Once they got outside she shivered a bit as her barefoot touched the concrete.

They walked along a bit before they they waited for a bus. Gwen pulled the hood over her even more now that they were actually out of Oscorp. Once they got on the bus Gwen was suddenly very aware on how strange she looked. Just wearing a lab coat and a large hoodie wasn't very normal. At first she was afraid they would't get on since she was barefoot, but the bus driver was barely paying attention. It was that time at night where almost everyone on the bus wasn't really in the right mind. Peter offered her the window seat and she stepped carefully over to it before sitting down just as carefully.

The whole time since they left the lab they hadn't spoken a word to each other. Well they were sneaking around for a while but now the silence was bothering her. Trying to think of something to say she looked out the window as the town whirred by. "Do you still live with Aunt May?" she quietly trying to figure out where they were going. She was afraid that someone would recognize her by her voice so she was barely above a whisper even though she knew how unlikely that would happen.

[Sweet Devil Prince]

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xxxxxPeter sat down next to Gwen on the bus, not making a single sound as he looked down at his shoes. He wasn't sure what to say. What was there he could say? It almost felt like talking to a ghost, except she was actually there. This wasn't a dream, or at least if it was it was terrifyingly realistic and cruel. He was surprised that he couldn't find the words to speak to her, especially since he had so much to say every time he visited her grave. To think that she was actually there, alive was... well, unimaginable. His eyes traveled to her bare feet, and he concentrated on not staring at her face like a creep. All he wanted to do was stare, to make sure she was the same Gwen he had known and loved, but he feared that would draw unwanted attention to her.

xxxxxThe bus was horribly silent, making the silence between them seem even more hollow. He just wished they were there already. If he were Spiderman, he could have swung his way downtown and been done by now. But with Gwen... no, he refused. If her feet never left the ground again, he'd be content. And while that was unlikely, he could at least do his part to keep her safe, which meant keeping her away from Spidey. Far, far away. When he did glance up at Gwen, he caught her looking out the window, and for a moment he did stare, as if he were looking at a dream. It was the only way he could describe what he saw. Breaking away his glance, he looked to his hands in his lap as he began to fidget with his fingers nervously. God this silence was killing him.

xxxxxGwen seemed to feel the same way, breaking the silence shortly after he had the thought. She asked him if he still lived with Aunt May, and shook his head without thinking. Although it was possible that she'd seen his reflection in the window, he found in unlikely, and answered quietly, "No. No, I thought it'd be easier living by myself." What would be easier, you might ask? Well, keeping his secret, duh. It wasn't exactly easy to not tip off your Aunt that you crawl walls in your spare time. So he lived by himself in a terrible little apartment, where everyone was safe from him. But he would never say that was why, at least not out loud.

[Unraveling Fate]

Gwen's mind was working in overdrive as she waited for Peter to answer. It was just so much information to process at once. The town looked the same, she felt the same she always had. It was hard to wrap around the fact that time had passed differently. The real her was still buried rotting away in the cemetery. Well that was a grim thought. It didn't make it any less true though. Even if she was just a clone she would still try to live her life to the fullest now that she had a second chance.

Peter answered her question and Gwen forgot what she had asked for a moment. She kept glancing at the reflection of Peter in the window not being able to look directly at him. She felt horrible knowing how he probably felt after her death, and she wasn't really surprised that he didn't live with Aunt May anymore. "Ah," she responded quietly unsure what to say. The silence was uneasy though and she couldn't get rid of the pit that had formed in her stomach.

Glancing toward Pete finally, she stared for a moment before clearing her throat a bit. "So nobody else knows about... who you are?" she asked quietly trying to word it carefully. Even if they were on a bus where everyone wasn't paying attention she didn't want to take risks. There were a a fair amount of people who knew he was Spider-Man though, Doctor Connors, herself and Harry. To her knowledge anyway thanks to the latter.

[Sweet Devil Prince]

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xxxxxPeter's answer to her question led her to answer 'ah', and he almost feared the conversation would come to a dead halt again. He couldn't deal with this silence again. For two years he had been talking to a silent grave, imagining the words she would have to say to him, and yet here she sat next to him, with neither of them having much to say. Perhaps it was due to the pursuing silence of the bus, and the fear that they might be recognized. Either way, all Peter wanted to do was get off this bus and go home with Gwen, and try to get his thoughts sorted out properly. Gwen looked towards him, and he could feel her eyes on him. Caving, he looked towards her face, listening as she asked if anyone else knew who he was. Giving a small nod, he agreed quietly, "Right." It was safer not to let anyone else know. He couldn't let anyone else die, couldn't have their blood on his hands like he had Gwen's.

xxxxxGlancing out the window, Peter caught sight of a familiar building, and reached across Gwen to pull the yellow line hung by the window. Stop requested, he heard the bus chime before it slowed to a stop. Getting up from where he sat, he instinctively grabbed Gwen's hand gently, leading her off of the bus and back outside again. The bus stop was directly in front of the apartment building, and he didn't take long to get inside the building. "I live on the second floor." He explained as he led the way to the stairwell before ascending the flight of stairs. Luckily, no one seemed to be out and about, which was better for them. The less people there were to ask questions, the better off they were. Once he unlocked his apartment door, Peter gestured for her to head inside. He felt a bit bad that she had to see his apartment like this, but it wasn't as if he had been given advance notice or anything. It was a mess, with junk laying around just about everywhere. It almost looked like his bedroom at Aunt May's, except it had spread to the rest of the apartment as well.

[Unraveling Fate]

Gwen watched Peter carefully as she waited for an answer. When he did answer she was once again not surprised by his answer. It was still hard to believe that two years had gone by and everything was different now. She was slightly startles when Peter leaned over her to request the bus to stop. Gwen had almost forgotten that they were on a bus in the first place.

Peter grabbed her hand and once again she pulled the hoodie closer to her. He led her out of the bus and she watched where she stepped carefully. Getting injured was the last thing they needed right now. The silence only to be broken when Peter mentioned living on the second floor. Once they got there he opened the door to reveal a messy apartment. It looked like his room, just everywhere. "It looks like a nice place," she said quietly for the sake of conversation. Plus it did really look nice, just a mess.

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