"Gwen, it's me. It's- It's Hope. Your mom. I remembered everything. Something happened, but I'm- I'm back. I'm coming home, and I just- God, I missed you. I wasn't really me when I was Nadia, and I'm sorry for attacking you. I just thought you should know that even as her, I still felt like you were my daughter. I still cared about you, and I still love you. I'll always love you no matter who I am or what I remember, okay? I'll see you as soon as I can. I love you, Gwennie. Bye." -voicemail
Gwen was sitting on a rooftop — her rooftop if you asked her, when her phone buzzed in simple reminder that she had a missed call and a voicemail. Laying down, Gwen pulled out her phone and looked at the screen for a long moment. Mom. Nadia had called her. Gwen’s first instinct told her that Scott had done something stupid. But as she hit play and put the phone up to her ear lazily. It started off normal, fine. Gwen, it’s me, and Gwen nodded along with the words until she heard Hope. Gwen dropped her phone when she heard the name and down it went, over the edge of the building. It took her a second, sitting there in strange silence as her phone fell, trying to process what she had heard. It’s – it’s Hope. Your mom. I remember everything.
Looking at her hand, Gwen panicked and jumped from the side of the building, catching her phone with a web and then climbing back up to the top of the building as quickly as she could – and she hit play again. Listening to the full message. And then when it was over, Gwen hit play for a second – and then a third time. Hope was back. Gwen looked at her phone in disbelief. She was tempted to play it again just to hear her say it, that she was back. That she remembered. It felt like… like things would be normal again.
Putting her phone back in her pocket, Gwen looked around and grabbed her mask from the ground and put it back on quickly — Hope didn’t say where to meet her or when exactly they’d see each other, but Gwen knew one place where Hope would be able to find her easily. And that was home. Turning around, Gwen ran off the edge of the building and swung through the city, rushing back to their home as fast as she could.
Her mom was back and there was a happiness in her veins that not even Gwen’s aloofness could dull.
