Post by John Kilroy on Mar 3, 2024 1:17:08 GMT -7
COLD OPEN
What was she supposed to say, that she was a clone of the dead daughter of a well-respected NYPD police captain who was equally dead? That was assuming that even WAS her actual story. Four times she had been given different explanations to the nature of her existence, well three if one wanted to get technical as the 4th explanation was a confirmation of the 2nd explanation, but if Joyce was honest with herself, she didn't know what was real anymore. How long would it be before someone came in and gave her yet ANOTHER "True" origin story?
her face scowled as she read yet another hit peace from the daily bugle before crumpling it up and muttering a swear or two. She had her reasons to not like the wallcrawler in fact she had more understandable and personal reasons to dislike him than about 99.99% of the population of New York, but for all his faults he wasn't a menace to society. A jerk and a pain in the butt sure but not a menace.
"Hey Joyce..."
Joyce looked up to see the bartender look at her with sympathetic eyes.
"Need a refill love?"
"Thanks for the offer, but I'm not looking to splurge.
"It's on the house."
"Again, thank you, but no. I'm also trying to watch my figure."
"Suit yourself."
As the Bartender wiped a recently washed glass, the he did a double take.
"you know, I never noticed this before but did anybody tell you look like that young woman that died several years ago? George Stacy's kid. Gale Stacy Glen Stacy..."
Joyce's eyes widened. "You mean, Gwen Stacy?"
The bartender snapped his fingers. "Yeah! Dat's her! Good kid, had a lot of potential, shame what happened to her, I heard Spider-Man was dere some even say he was da one dat did her end. Personally I'm one of those consperacy theorists that say dat goblin freak did it on behalf of Osborn. George was trying to nail him for years. Osborn probably got mad dat Octopus freak got to George first so he had Goblin freak kill his daughter out of petty spite. Anyway, yeah you look a lot like her. Kinda scary how much to be honest with ya. Anybody tell you that?"
Joyce cleared her throat and started to fidget a bit. "Um yeah, I get that a lot actually...
"ah well I'm sure it's just coincidence. After all, it ain't like someone can just come back from the dead or have a perfect doppelganger made of them am I right? hahaha!"
"Aahaha...yeah...right...you know what I think I will take that drink if you don't mind. extra milk extra brown sugar."
The Bartender nodded and gave her the drink. "Dere you go detective, on da house."
Joyce nodded and proceeded to guzzle the drink after about halfway through she wiped her lips leaned her head against the chair and gave out a sigh.
*Why didn't I move to England and go into medical science like I planned?* as she continued to drink, she heard the sound of a chair being pulled up next to her.
"Well Well Well, Joyce Delany, color me surprised when I learned you've been in good ol New York this entire time."
Joyce made a sideways glance as she heard a voice that sounded nearly identical to her own and saw a woman in some bizarre-looking White and Pink pajama-type outfit. She had seen some costumed freaks in her time but this woman's costume looked particularly tacky. Joyce saw the woman's gun and let out a sigh.
"look if you're some hired gun settling a score on behalf of someone I put away can we take it outside? I'd rather not have a gunfight in here."
"Relax, I'm not here to shoot you...BUT, you and I do need to talk...not here though. Too many normies."
Joyce had to stifle laughter. "Did you seriously just say normie outside of the internet unironically?"
The woman in the tacky outfit blushed. "I...That's not important. Look is there a place we can talk in private or not?"
Joyce got up and led this mysterious woman to a private room in the back. She had her hand in her holster just in case things were about to get ugly. She closed the door, placed the jacket on a nearby chair and turned around.
"Alright, I don't know who you are but you got about 30 seconds before I..."
Joyce's jaw dropped as the woman in the tacky outfit pulled back her mask, revealing a face identical to Joyce's. Joyce began to giggle uncontrollably though it sounded like she was on the verge of screaming before she finally buried her face inside her hands.
"(muffled) Argh!....*sigh*...how many blasted clones of Gwen Stacy did Miles Warren make?" Joyce asked. Her hand slid down her face as she did so.
"Too many, but fortunately for your sanity I'm not a clone."
"Oh really cause based on how you look and sound you certainly pass for one. If you're not a clone then what are you? As a matter of fact how about we start with WHO are you?"
"My name is Gwen Poole, My hero name is...er....Gwenpool, I guess technically I am you, I mean you as in Gwen Stacy but I'm from another earth."
"So...you're me from another dimension?"
"Mostly speaking, I mean there are some differences. I think our moms are different. I don't know for sure but I think my mom was a variant of someone else in this universe."
"Great so we're going by Rick and Morty Multiverse logic. That's good to know. Mind explaining to me what exactly you're doing here?"
"Sheesh," Gweenpool remarked with a giggle. "Since when did you become so sarcastic?"
"Don't know how much you know about me, but in case it's not much, I've been through a lot. So are you going to tell me what the point of this is or can I go about my night while it's still young?"
Gwenpool proceeded to explain the whole situation to Joyce. How Gwen believed her to in fact be the REAL Gwen Stacy due to something she called the Karkoanian Principle of Cloning, and how there was this near-perfect clone of Peter Parker called Spidercide that Gwenpool wanted to Joyce to meet.
Joyce in the meantime just butted her head against the wall.
"Why? Why??? Why?!? Why do you guys keep doing this to me?!? Why can't you just leave well enough alone and let me live my life in peace?"
"Gwen..."
"No! Don't, don't you dare call me Gwen. Do you know How many different stories I've been told about who I am and how I came to be?!? Now you come along and try to give me yet ANOTHER one based on...what a fan theory?!? you think you can just speculate my life like it's some badly written comic book?...No, let's get something straight. I'm NOT the real Gwen Stacy ok? She's dead! she's buried! I know, it sucks! But it is what it is. I'm Joyce Delany, I'm a clone, a Gwen Stacy Knockoff just trying to live her own life in this crazy mixed up world. Parker doesn't care Jack Squat about me! Why should I suddenly start caring about him? Do me a favor. Take your stupid costume and your comic book fan theories, shove them up your tailpipe, and leave me alone."
Gwenpool's jaw dropped and for the first time, she found herself at a lost for words....and then inside something in her started to rise. Her anger rose until it reached a boiling point. Gwen gritted her teeth and got nose-to-nose with Joyce.
"you know what sister, maybe you are the real Gwen Stacy, maybe you're not. I don't know and honestly, at this point, I really don't think it matters in the grand scheme of things! It's not like the ghost of Gwen Stacy is going to come out and confirm or deny otherwise! But, one thing I do know. Whatever the heck, you are, whether it's the real deal, a clone, a look-alike, or a freaking alien sleeper agent in disguise suffering from amnesia, if you're anything like Gwen Stacy as she was before she died. Then deep down you still love Peter Parker. Deep down you'd love him even if he was a clone, and deep down you still want to be with him. Heck, I think deep down part of you thinks I'm right, I mean why stay in New York and not move to England like you orginally planned? Why seemingly pick up where Gwen left off? So, you made a career change, you know how common that is for young people in general, especially after going through a traumatic experience that makes them rethink their priorities? You followed George Stacy's footsteps and took his old profession for crying out loud! That's one of the most common things a child trying to re-rediscover themselves would do. Maybe you're right! maybe my beliefs are just a fan theory that I can shove up my tailpipe as you so eloquently put it. Personally, I'm inclined to believe that if it walks like a duck, quakes like a duck, and acts like a duck I'm very inclined to believe it's a duck! But hey, you want to shout to the heavens insisting that you're not a duck, you're a faux-duck?, Fine! You're not Gwen Stacy, you're Joyce Delany glad we finally got that settled! ...So stop with the cloning blues bullcrap. It's gotten really old really fast!"
Now it was Joyce's turn to be silent. Part of her wanted to slap Gwen across the face. But she didn't. she just stared at her with an icy stare that slowly softened. In truth, something about hearing herself tell her off gave Joyce the kick in the pants that she needed (and wanted). As much as Joyce wanted to deny otherwise, Gwen Stacy's mark was still deep within her, She had all of Gwen Stacy's memories and experiences, and those were as real to Joyce as Peter's memories were to one of his clones. As much as she wanted to convince herself that she hated Peter Parker, Gwen was right she didn't. When Jackel came back she helped Peter and his clone stop him, and if another Peter Parker needed her help, be it the real thing or a clone, of course, she'd help him. Besides, if she really wanted nothing to do with Peter Parker or Gwen Stacy, she could have left,. Yet, she didn't. She chose to Stay in New York, took up a badge, and followed in the footsteps of her template's father.
She bit her lip and began to curse and swear under her breath. "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in." she muttered to herself. she then looked up at Gwenpool.
"Just how much like Peter is this Spidercide clone?"
"Power-wise, He's got the powers of Spider-Man plus the ability to heal and shapeshift like John Carpenter's The Thing. Personality wise. He's VERY much like Peter Parker ...probably too much for his own good, he's got all of Peter's memories, and unlike the original or the orginal clone, Spidercide doesn't have a Mary Jane or a Black Cat to cope with losing Gwen. He still cares. even for a ghost."
Joyce sighed. Was she really going to do this? Was she going to jump back into the thick of it? Did she really want to do this again? She could just as easily have walked away from it all but but the question Gwen had asked echoed in her mind nonstop, in fact it had done so ever since she took up a badge. If she really did want to walk away from it all, if she really did want nothing to do with her Gwen Stacy, why did she stay and pick up the pieces of Gwen's life?
*Ring Ring*
Joyce looked to Gwen and gave her a one moment sign. she then picked up the phone and answered the call.
"Joyce Delany...what why what's wrong...ok...can you at least give me some idea of...*sigh* that kind of thing huh? Yeah, yeah sure I'm on my way."
She put her phone back into her purse.
"I've got to go, you probably have an idea why. here's my phone number. We'll keep in touch...Look, *sigh* I'll meet this Peter clone friend of yours, but I'm not guaranteeing anything Miss Cupid. So don't get mad if your ship ends up sinking and we end up friend-zoning each other."
"H-How did you know I...?" Gwenpool asked practically stuttering.
"Call it a hunch," Joyce said with a smile before her face turned icy again. "One more thing Gwen Poole...Gwenpool? Gwen Stacy from an alternate universe. If I die again due to some costumed joker, I want you to stay away from my funeral, You, Peter, whatever Peter-clones, you're friends with, all of you."
With that, she put her jacket back on and walked out the door.
"Here we go again" She mumbled under her breath.
