On the morning of the competition, Gwen stood in front of the mirror, staring blankly at herself.
She had gone out on patrol again last night and didn't return until one in the morning. But she didn't feel tired—ever since gaining her powers, her energy levels were far better than before, and she could recover with just three or four hours of sleep.
However, it wasn't sleep that was making her stare blankly right now.
It was the Universe problem.
As Gwen braided her ponytail, she sorted through the clues she currently possessed in her mind—
The Hand existed. Silk existed. Kun-Lun existed. Her dad was Captain Stacy, Peter was her childhood friend, and Mary Jane had formed a band.
What kind of Universe was this, exactly?
If it were Earth-65, it should be the World of Spider-Gwen. In that World, her mother Helen had passed away during Gwen's childhood. Gwen had been bitten by a spider, Peter had turned into the Lizard and died in her arms, and because of that, she was wanted by the entire city. After George discovered her identity, he resigned as Captain Stacy to focus on being a stay-at-home dad.
But if it were the animated movie "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse," her mother had also passed away, and George was also alive. After Gwen confessed her identity, he resigned as captain to support Gwen in helping Miles...
—Stop, that version is too disgusting, that's a Black guy... I don't want to think about it.
Moreover, Earth-65 had a fatal problem: Daredevil.
In that Universe, Daredevil was not a hero; he was a subordinate of Kingpin, a villain.
Gwen recalled the comic book settings she had seen in her previous life, and a chill ran down her spine. If she were really in Earth-65 right now, she absolutely could not go to Daredevil for help. Not only could she not seek him out, but she also had to avoid him.
But if it wasn't Earth-65, could it be Universe 66 or 67?
If Daredevil was still that Guardian of Hells Kitchen, that blind lawyer, then she might be able to have another ally.
Gwen sighed and tucked the last strand of hair into her hair tie.
Forget it.
Thinking about this now was useless. She didn't even know if Daredevil existed, let alone whether he was good or bad. What was most important right now—
"Gwen!" Helen's voice came from downstairs. "If you don't leave now, you'll be late!"
"Coming!"
Gwen grabbed her backpack and rushed downstairs, where Helen was already waiting at the door. Her eyes lit up when she saw her daughter.
"You look beautiful today."
Gwen looked down at herself—to make drumming easier, she was wearing a dark blue dress with a small white cardigan over it. It was simple and elegant, but certainly more formal than her usual jeans and T-shirt.
"Thanks, Mom."
"Are you nervous?"
"A little." Gwen admitted honestly.
Helen smiled and helped her straighten her collar: "It's normal to be nervous. You were nervous during your first stage performance when you were little, too, but you were fine once you got up there. Remember? You played the piano that time and played a wrong note, but no one noticed."
Gwen paused for a moment.
The original body's memories indeed contained this fragment. A five-year-old Gwen, wearing a puffy dress, sitting in front of the piano with her little face tightened. She had played a wrong note, but no one heard it, and the audience was full of applause.
"After that time, you said you wouldn't play the piano anymore," Helen shook her head with a smile, "saying the piano was too boring and you wanted to play the drums. It gave your dad quite a scare."
Gwen laughed, too.
Those memories felt like hers, yet not entirely. She could "see" those scenes and "feel" those emotions, but there was always a thin veil separating them.
But that was okay.
Now, she was Gwen. These were her memories.
"Let's go," Helen linked her arm with hers, "Mom will take you."
The competition was held at the music hall in the city center.
By the time Gwen arrived, Mary Jane and the others were already there. Betty was tuning her bass, Glory was holding a tablet to check the lyrics and music one last time, and Mary Jane was standing by the window, staring blankly at the sky outside.
"Nervous?" Gwen walked over.
Mary Jane turned her head and smiled: "A little."
"You get nervous too?"
"Of course I do." Mary Jane took a deep breath, "But nervousness is a good thing. It means I care."
Gwen nodded, stood next to her, and looked at the sky outside together.
The weather was great today, clear skies and bright sunshine. A long line had already formed at the entrance of the music hall, full of spectators and family members who had come to watch the competition. Gwen saw someone in the crowd holding a sign that read "Go Mary Jane Band".
"Someone made us cheer signs?" Gwen was a little surprised.
Mary Jane glanced at it and smiled: "Betty's younger brother organized it. He said he was going to bring his whole class to cheer us on."
Gwen imagined the scene and couldn't help but laugh.
"By the way," Mary Jane suddenly turned to look at her, "Is Peter coming?"
Gwen was stunned: "Huh? I don't know."
"He didn't tell you?"
"Why would he tell me?"
Mary Jane looked at her, her eyes carrying a hint of a subtle smile.
"Nothing." She patted Gwen on the shoulder, "Let's go, let's warm up."
Gwen was pulled inside by her, but she couldn't help but think: Would Peter come?
He should come, right?
No, wait, why did she care whether he came or not?
Gwen shook these strange thoughts out of her head and focused on warming up.
The competition officially started at two in the afternoon.
Gwen and the others drew the spot to perform fifth. The previous bands each had their own highlights; there were pop singers, rock bands, and even a heavy metal band whose drummer played so loudly that the audience in the seats covered their ears.
Gwen sat backstage, listening to the sounds from the front, her palms sweating slightly.
"Nervous?" Betty leaned over and asked.
"It's okay." Gwen flexed her fingers.
"Don't be nervous," Glory pushed up her glasses, "We've practiced for so long, it'll be fine."
Gwen nodded.
Just then, a hand reached over and held hers.
Gwen turned her head and saw Mary Jane looking at her.
"No matter the result," Mary Jane said, "We're in this together today."
Gwen paused for a moment, then smiled.
"Together."
"Fifth group, Mary Jane Band!"
As the announcer's voice faded, Gwen took a deep breath and followed her partners onto the stage.
The lights were very bright, so bright that it was almost impossible to see the people in the audience. But Gwen could feel those gazes, like countless thin threads interwoven on her.
She walked behind the drum kit and sat down. With the drumsticks in her hand, the familiar touch made her feel a little calmer.
Mary Jane stood in the center of the stage, holding her guitar, and said something into the microphone.
"This song is dedicated to everyone who is being themselves."
Gwen was stunned.
They hadn't discussed saying this beforehand.
But Mary Jane had already strummed the guitar strings.
The intro began.
Gwen didn't have time to overthink; her body had already instinctively moved. The drumbeats fell, precisely locking into the rhythm of the guitar. The bass joined in, the keyboard joined in, and the four voices merged into a river, flowing through the music hall.
As Gwen played the drums, she gradually forgot that she was in a competition.
She forgot about the Universe problem, forgot about The Hand, forgot about Silk, and forgot about those unsolved mysteries. She only remembered the drumbeats, only remembered the rhythm, and only remembered Mary Jane's singing.
Mary Jane sang very well.
No, not "very well," but "extremely well."
Her voice had a special texture—clear but not thin, powerful but not piercing. The high notes were like a beam of light, and the low notes were like a gust of wind. She was singing a song they had written themselves, with lyrics by Glory and music composed together by everyone, telling the story of a group of girls in this messed-up World, striving to find their own place.
Gwen played the drums, listening to Mary Jane's singing, and suddenly felt her eyes grow a little hot.
It wasn't because of being moved.
It was because she suddenly realized that this was the life she wanted.
Not fighting and killing, not matching wits with villains, but doing what she loved with her friends.
Even if only for this moment.
The song ended.
The applause was thunderous.
Gwen panted, put down the drumsticks, and looked toward the audience. The lights were still very bright, but she vaguely saw those waving arms and heard those cheering voices.
"Amazing!"
"Mary Jane!"
"Gwen!"
Someone called her name.
Gwen was stunned and looked in the direction of the voice. In a certain spot in the audience, a few young people were waving at her—it was Betty's younger brother and his classmates. They were holding signs and shouting at the top of their lungs, their faces flushed red.
Gwen couldn't help but laugh.
Just then, her gaze swept across the crowd and she saw a familiar figure.
Slender shoulders, thick glasses, messy brown hair.
Peter was standing in the crowd, not holding a sign, not shouting, just watching her quietly. When he noticed her looking over, he was startled for a moment, then slowly raised his hand and waved at her.
Gwen's heartbeat skipped a beat.
She didn't know why either.
But she just felt that it was good to see that he had come.
Backstage.
"Ahhhhh, we were amazing!" Betty started screaming as soon as she entered the lounge, "Did you hear the applause? It was so loud!"
Glory pushed up her glasses, but the smile on her face couldn't be suppressed: "I heard it, my ears are still buzzing."
Mary Jane sat down on a chair with a smile and looked at Gwen.
"How do you feel?"
Gwen thought for a moment and said seriously: "I want to play again."
All three of them laughed.
Just then, there was a knock on the door. Gwen opened it and saw Peter standing outside, holding a bouquet of flowers.
"Uh," he was a bit awkward, "Congratulations to you all. The performance was wonderful."
Gwen took the flowers and looked down—they were white daisies, paired with light green wrapping paper; simple, but very beautiful.
"How did you know I liked daisies?" She blurted out.
Peter was stunned, and his ears turned red again.
"I... I didn't know. I just thought this color suited you."
Gwen looked at his flushed ears and suddenly felt it was a little funny.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome." Peter lowered his head, then as if remembering something, "Oh right, I found some new information about that Kun-Lun Trading Company. When you have time—"
"Peter," Mary Jane's voice came from inside, "Since you're here, come in and sit down. Why are you standing at the door?"
Peter became even more awkward and looked at Gwen. Gwen turned sideways to let him in.
There was an extra person in the lounge, and the atmosphere became a bit subtle. Betty and Glory exchanged a look, while Mary Jane looked at Peter with a smile, making him feel completely uncomfortable.
"Well," Peter cleared his throat, "Your song was really good. Although I don't know much about music, I could tell... it was very emotional."
Mary Jane raised an eyebrow: "You could tell it was emotional?"
"Uh, it's just..." Peter thought for a moment, "The lyrics were about real things. Not that kind of empty, pretentious stuff, but the kind that people can feel."
Glory's eyes lit up when she heard this.
"You really think so?"
"Yeah." Peter nodded.
Glory pushed up her glasses, her lips curling slightly.
Mary Jane looked at Peter, then at Gwen, and suddenly said: "Peter, you can come watch us rehearse more often in the future."
Peter was stunned: "Can I?"
"Of course you can." Mary Jane smiled brightly, "You're Gwen's childhood friend, not an outsider."
When Gwen heard this, she felt there was some other meaning in Mary Jane's tone, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
On the way home, Gwen and Peter walked together.
The sunset dyed the whole street orange-red, just like the day they walked home together for the first time.
"You played really well today." Peter said.
"Didn't you hear me practice before?"
"It's different." Peter shook his head, "Practice is practice, and the stage is the stage. Today, when you were on stage, it felt like... the whole person was glowing."
Gwen was stunned and turned to look at him.
Peter wasn't looking at her, walking forward with his head down, his ears red as if they were bleeding.
"That's what I meant." He whispered, "Glowing."
Gwen looked at him, suddenly remembering how she felt on stage just now.
That feeling of forgetting everything and focusing only on the drumbeats.
That feeling of being illuminated by the lights and surrounded by applause.
And the feeling of her heartbeat skipping a beat when she saw him in the crowd.
"Peter." She spoke.
"Hm?"
"Thank you for coming today."
Peter raised his head, looked at her, and quickly lowered his head again.
"It's nothing. We're childhood friends, after all."
Gwen laughed.
Yeah, childhood friends.
childhood friends are pretty good.
At night, Gwen lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling.
Everything today was great. The competition was great, the applause was great, the flowers Peter gave her were great.
But she knew that all of this was only temporary.
The case of The Hand hadn't been cleared up yet. Silk was still watching her from the shadows. And that Kun-Lun Trading Company—Peter said he would send her the new information tonight.
Her phone vibrated.
Gwen picked it up; it was a message from Peter:
"Found it. There will be a batch of 'cargo' arriving at the Kun-Lun Trading Company warehouse in Brooklyn in three days. Do you need me to go with you?"
Gwen stared at the screen, silent for a few seconds.
Then she replied:
"I do."
After sending this message, she put her phone aside and continued staring at the ceiling.
The sound of the night wind came from outside the window, and there were sirens wailing in the distance. The nights in New York were never quiet, just like her life, always with the next thing waiting for her to do.
But at least for now, she wasn't alone.
Gwen closed her eyes, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly.
Goodnight, New York.