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The only silver lining here was Nebula. He had made close friends with her. Even though she was bred to be an emotionless raging machine, he slowly made sure that she opened up to him. They talked about all sorts of things, and while she always scoffed at his dumb jokes, he sometimes caught the slight tilt in her lips before she turned away. He talked about what life was like with Aunt May and Mr Stark. Nebula spoke about her life at the hands of Thanos and his goons.

"So, wait wait, you're telling me that every time you lost to your sister, he would replace a body part with a cybernetic enhancement?"

"Yes. And I never won."

"Oh my god. You know, I thought he was a monster for wanting to destroy half the universe, but at least he had some sort of twisted reasoning for doing that! But this! This is just cruel!"

Nebula hesitated for a moment, and then looked at him. "Thank you."

"For what?" Peter asked confused, but she just walked away.

Other times, Peter taught her human games that he knew to pass the time.

"So when you hold a fist out like this, it means rock," he said, showing his fisted hand. Nebula slowly imitated the fist, looking like she was about to throw a punch. "No no no, you don't have to act like you're going to fight," he responded, gently putting her fist down. "Just show a fist, like you're going for a fist bump."

"Fist bump?" she asked slowly, confused.

"Yeah, fist bump," he said enthusiastically. "What friends do. Show me your fist."

She slowly brought her fist forward, and he gently bumped his fist against hers.

"See? We're friends now."

"Friends," she slowly tasted the word on her tongue, before her lip twitched. He grinned back at her.

"Anyway, back to the game."

Both of them worked together to repair both the ship and his suit. The suit was almost fixed, with Tony Stark's nanotech self repairing over time. The ship, though, didn't have any extra fuel cells.

"Quill always was shortsighted and idiotic, but I assumed my sister would temper his stupidity." Nebula shook her head sadly at the reminder of her deceased sister.

"Hey, this was a guy who thought Footloose was the greatest movie of all time. I'm not sure anyone could temper that much stupidity."

Nebula looked at him confused. "Every time you speak, I somehow get even more confused."

Peter looked at her bewildered, and gasped. "Oh my god, Nebula, you haven't seen any movies! Oh, I'm going to show you all of them, and then we can talk vines. It'll be the best!"

"Why would we talk about creeper plants? You can't even grow any fruit from them."

"Oh my god, Nebula!"

But as the days went by, the hope of rescue dwindled in both of them. Nebula wasn't too worried about herself, as her cybernetic enhancements would prevent her from dying too fast. But she could see the effect of loss, grief and hopelessness on Peter. Peter, who for the first few days was always cheerful trying to keep their minds off their devastating defeat, slowly sunk into depression. Due to the lack of food, the injuries he received from Thanos and the moon fall weren't healing, and she could see the limp he carried exacerbate.

One day, Peter sat down in front of his Iron Spider helmet, and tapped the face. A blue beam of light appeared from the eye holes and covered his body, illuminating his tired, gaunt expression and skinny body in a tank top.

"Testing, testing, is this thing on? Eh, it doesn't matter. Though if it is on, and this thing does reach some civilisation at some point, please direct this towards the planet Earth, or Terra, or whatever it's called."

Peter slowly adjusted his weight, visibly grimacing in pain. "Now, for those on Earth. To the Avengers, or whoever's left, this is Peter Parker. Most of you would have no idea who I am, but I'm Spider-Man. I've been swinging around for the past few years, and I helped Mr Stark at the airport battle a couple of years ago.

I'm sorry to say that we couldn't stop him. He came at us, we gave it everything we got, but he was too strong. I'm sorry." Peter wiped his eyes and sniffed a couple of times. "By we, of course, I mean those Guardian people, Dr Strange, Mr Stark, and me. I don't know if those Guardians had any loved ones, or if Dr Strange did, but I know about Mr Stark. Colonel Rhodes, Ms Potts, Happy, I'm sorry. I did my best. I know you may never forgive me, but I will never forgive myself, so I guess we're even. Though if you guys are gone, then you can see Mr Stark before I do.

Ned, MJ, if you guys are still alive, you're the best friends a guy could ever ask for. Thank you for always being there for me, and sticking through all my shenanigans. And MJ, I'm sorry I didn't tell you I'm Spider-Man. You're one of my closest friends, and I just wanted to protect you. If you guys aren't around, well, I'm about to see you very soon. I'm on my way.

Finally, May. May, you've been with me through everything, stuck with me through thick and thin, and raised me basically my entire life. Thank you, May, for everything. I never got to say how much I love you, and I wish you the best of luck in the future. You've had enough bad luck to last a lifetime.

Oxygen is getting kinda low here. There's probably a few hours worth at this point, and food got over two days ago. You can bet that when I drift off, though, I'll be thinking of you." Peter smiled wryly and looked out the window. "You know, I always thought that I would go out in a blaze of glory, sacrificing my life in a massive fight to stop some grave threat. Never once did I think I would be staring into the endless void of space and being confronted with my own mortality." Peter refocused his glassy eyes on the camera at this point. "But hey, that's life I guess. Expect the unexpected, as Uncle Ben always said. Don't worry Aunt May, I'll be seeing him soon enough. I'll give your love for him." Peter smiled a broken, tired smile at the camera. "I love you, May."

Saying this, he slowly moved his hand under the helmet, and turned the recording off. He slumped over, passing out from the exhaustion of that simple task. A few minutes later, Nebula carefully approached him. Seeing that he wasn't conscious, she lifted him over her shoulder and sat him down in the captain's chair, staring at his face, as she knew it would be last time she would see him breathing. She slowly put her hand on his cheek, and then moved it down to his shoulder in a sign of companionship. "Friends," she whispered. Her hand slowly left him as she walked away.

About an hour later, a bright light interrupted Peter's nap. He unconsciously attempted to shield his face, and repeatedly tried to swat it away, but it didn't disappear. Peter slowly opened his eyes, squinting in pain from the sharp light after weeks in darkness. As his vision adjusted, he looked out into the light and saw something impossible. A woman was hovering outside the ship and smiling down on him.

"Oh, I'm definitely dead," he muttered.

The ship touched down at the Avengers compound, though it was barely lit. A few figures could be seen hastily making their way over the grass towards the new arrivals. The doors of the Benetar slowly cranked open, and two figures could be seen hobbling out. Two of the running figures moved even faster to help the obviously injured one who was being helped by the other. They quickly moved to secure the boy on either side, taking him from the alien that was helping him.

"Hey, hey, you okay?" said the one on the left. Peter's mind had been sluggish ever since he woke up, but even then he could easily recognise one of the preeminent minds in the world, an expert in the field of astronomy and astrophysics.

"Dr Foster?" Peter asked confused. He wasn't expecting to find her here.

"That's me," she said with a tight smile. "That's Valkyrie on your other side. She's an Asgardian."

"Huh. Nice to meet you," Peter replied absently. His thought process was interrupted with the arrival of another woman, one he recognised.

"Peter," Pepper said, holding her hands over her mouth. Peter's closed his eyes and mournfully shook his head.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. That was enough for Pepper to shed a few tears, but remarkably quickly, she wiped her face and gave him a big hug.

"It isn't your fault," she whispered in his ear. He wasn't too sure he believed that, but he nodded along anyway.

While Peter was gently being escorted inside, a racoon came and sat next to Nebula. She shook her head at him, and his furry head dipped in grief. He slowly sat down next to her, and gently put his hand inside hers.

Peter was quickly given a wheelchair and an IV bag to replenish his health. Luckily, Mr Stark had his unique biology studied, and they had specialised nutrition bags at the compound. Peter could already feel his injuries healing, and he wasn't feeling dizzy anymore.

Peter asked about May, but all he got was a solemn shake of the head from Ms Potts. Peter closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, before asking Friday to look for Ned Leeds and Michelle Jones-Watson. Both came up as dusted, causing Peter to shout in impotent rage. He quickly decided that he would grieve later. He had a job to do. Pepper wheeled him into the common room.

He looked around the room to see who was there. He could see Pepper standing off to the side. Her arms were crossed and she was leaning against a wall, dressed casually. He turned his head to see the woman that had rescued Nebula and him. From what he could gather, her name was Carol Danvers, and she was some Human-Alien hybrid friend of Nick Fury. She was dressed in a tank top and jogging pants, and was standing and watching the holographic display in the centre of the room.

Peter looked around to see the two women who helped him off the ship. He of course knew Dr Jane Foster, but she was much taller and buffer than her pictures, and she carried a large axe with a wooden handle. Apparently she had the same powers as Thor, which was cool. The other woman was also buff, but she carried a large spear, and wore a white bodysuit. This was Valkyrie, who was an expert warrior from Asgard, who was Thor's friend. Dr Foster was standing in front of the display, while Valkyrie was pacing around the room.

He saw Nebula sitting off to the side, and next to her was her friend Rocket, who was an actual talking racoon. Peter was utterly done with life at this point, and didn't even react to his appearance.

Dr Foster started off the briefing. "It's been twenty three days since Thanos snapped, and the world is in chaos. It appears he did exactly what he set out to do. The governments of the world are performing a census, but it looks like half of everyone is gone." There was a moment of silence as the grief seeped through the air. Most closed their eyes, but Peter watched the display, which showed all the heroes that were lost in the snap, and clenched his fist. His attention was grabbed by the panel which showed Tony Stark, and he could see Pepper stifle a sob off to the side.

"Peter," started Carol, "you fought him. What can you tell us?"

Peter was silent for a few moments, but then looked the whole room in the eye. "I could tell that he was different from your run of the mill bad guy. Not just in terms of power," he spoke, cutting off Valkyrie as she made to interrupt. "Thanos genuinely believes that what he did was for the greater good. He thinks he's right, and he's the only one capable of taking the hard choice. He told Dr Strange, the wizard that went with us," he clarified to the confused gazes, "that 'the hardest choices require the strongest wills'."

Peter got out of his wheelchair and hobbled closer to the display. He swiped the hologram to show a display of Thanos. "He was calm, methodical, and cold about the steps he needed to take. This was his pilgrimage, his holy struggle for the good of the universe. Thanos thinks of himself as a saviour."

Valkyrie scoffed. "So not only is a monster, he's a delusional monster."

"Nebula," Peter called suddenly, "you know Thanos. He told Dr Strange that after he was done, he would sit back and 'watch the sun rise over a grateful universe'. Do you have any idea what he could have been talking about."

Nebula hesitated, but then spoke unsurely. "Yes. He used to tell us that after the mission, he would settle in what he called 'The Garden'."

"I know where that is," said Rocket. He swiftly moved forward and commandeered the holographic display. He showed an image of Earth and a ripple exuding from it. "Twenty three days ago, Earth was witness to a release of energy so massive it echoed throughout the whole universe. No one's ever seen anything like it. Until," here he switched to show a different planet with the same kind of ripple. "Two days ago, on this planet, where a similar surge of energy echoed again throughout the cosmos."

"So that's where he is," Peter said, staring at the planet.

"You realise that we'd be going in shorthanded?" Jane asked, "Thanos kicked the crap out of the Avengers, all of them. Can we really take him with the six of us?"

Carol stepped forward. "I can-" she started before she was interrupted.

"No," Peter declared firmly. Gone was the shy nerdy kid, and here stood Spider-Man, the hero who fought the Mad Titan, the only surviving member of the Avengers. "We do this together, as a team. I understand your point, Dr Foster," he told the brunette, "but we have to try."

Jane looked at him, scared and lost, but after a second her features hardened, and she nodded at him. Peter nodded back, then looked at the others. Carol looked ready to go to battle, as did Valkyrie. Nebula's expression was as blank as always, but she stood up and had her hand on her sword. Rocket stood beside her holding his oversized gun in his hands. He then looked over at Pepper, whose eyes held unshed tears.

"Peter, I know we don't know each other too well, but I've already lost Tony, Rhodey, and Happy to that madman. You're all I have left," she pleaded.

His expression softened as he looked at her. "I know Ms Potts, but what kind of hero would I be if I didn't even try?" His eyes displayed his conviction. He turned to look at the charging Iron Spider suit in its case, seeing his hazel eyes reflected back at him. He looked back at her and smiled softly. "You're all I have too. But I have to do this."

He took the IV out of his hands and walked towards the display. He shifted it to show the face of the creature that haunted his dreams.

"Let's go get this son of a bitch."

"FRIDAY, run diagnostics please?" he called to the room.

"Running diagnostics," came the reply, before beams of light came from around the room and bathed his entire body in blue. Once the scanners shut off, the Spider design of the suit glowed gold for a moment, before FRIDAY responded again. "Iron Spider Mark 1.3 is at 79.4% functionality. Responsive systems are delayed by 3 nanoseconds. External stinger 4 has a slight issue in full range of movement."

"Stingers?" wondered Peter.

"The six spider like arms that come out of your back, Peter."

"Oh."

"Peter, I have to ask. Are you sure you wish to go on this mission? I detect multiple contusions and lacerations along your body, as well a barely healed femur."

"I don't have a choice, FRIDAY. If we succeed, we can bring everyone back. We can bring Mr Stark back."

"Boss wouldn't want you to trade your life for his, Peter."

Peter stopped adjusting his suit for a moment and stared at the ceiling. FRIDAY's voice was more human like than he'd ever heard. She seemed to be genuinely distressed about what he was doing. At that moment, he could empathise with her. She had just lost her creator, her father, and now, someone else she knew was going away, possibly to never come back.

"I'm not trading my life for his, FRIDAY. I'm trading my life for half the universe's."

FRIDAY remained silent. Peter sighed. "Tell me FRIDAY, what would Mr Stark do? Wouldn't he do the exact same thing?"

"I wouldn't want him to do it either!" she said.

"I know. But that's what being a hero means. It means getting up to do what's right even when it's hard. Mr Stark was a real hero. He never quit. Every time he was beat down, he always upgraded his armour, made himself better. You know, on Titan," he began, sitting down on a stool, "Thanos was just so overpowering. He busted through everything we threw at him. Eventually, I think we pissed him off a bit, because he used the stones to throw a moon at us."

This prompted a loud gasp from not just FRIDAY, but the other occupants of the room. Peter looked over to see that Pepper, Jane, Rocket, Carol, and Valkyrie were all standing there. They were all fascinated and horrified by the story. He looked at them shocked, but they just gestured from him to continue the story.

"When the whole surface of the planet was being shaken, tossed, and turned, I was busy trying to rescue the Guardians who were all unconscious and almost crushed. But Dr Strange faced Thanos alone with all his magic powers. It was a wacky thing to watch. I think there was a black hole created, which suddenly became butterflies. Dr Strange made like a hundred copies of himself, and all of them tried to stop Thanos, but he just threw him aside like a rag doll. Then Mr Stark flew over and said," here Peter put on a deep voice to imitate Mr Stark, but it didn't really work, "'You throw another moon at me, and I'm gonna lose it'."

The audience laughed at the quote and the imitation. Peter himself was stunned. How could someone casually shrug off having a moon thrown at them? It baffled him then, but it didn't really affect him now.

"Then Mr Stark flew over at Thanos and fought him hand to hand. The guy who throw a moon. Hand to hand."

Pepper was shaking her head at his stupidity, but Peter's deadpan expression made her chuckle. Carol, Jane, Rocket, and Valkyrie had no reservations and started laughing heartily. This was probably improper, but at this point all of them were far too deep into grief, and needed some humour to light up their mood.

"Surprisingly, Mr Stark did really well. He hit him really well a few times, and even made him bleed."

Carol and Rocket went wide eyed, while Pepper let out fresh tears at the thought.

"The point is, a hero gets back up and tries again. Thanos beat us down again and again. Now it's time to get back up and hit him where it hurts. Mr Stark was beat down repeatedly, but he tried with everything he had to take Thanos down. So I can't expect to do anything less. Do you get it, FRIDAY?"

FRIDAY and the rest of the room was silent, but eventually FRIDAY spoke up. "I understand, Peter. No matter how many times you fall, what matters is that you can pick yourself up."

"Exactly, FRIDAY," Peter remarked, before turning to the rest of the room. His mask came over his face, and the eyes of the suit were illuminated. "So let's go kick his ass."

Before they got on the ship, Pepper came up to Peter. "Hey Pete, can I talk to you for a moment."

"Of course, Ms Potts," he replied, walking over with her slightly away from the ship. He deactivated his mask and stared at her still teary eyes. "What's up?"

"I wasn't joking about you being the only thing I have left, Peter. My family's all gone from the snap. But you were part of Tony's family, and that means that you're a part of mine."

"I was a part of Mr Stark's family?" Peter asked, his eyes wide open. He deeply respected and admired Tony Stark, but he always imagined that Mr Stark thought of him as an unruly troublesome teenager that's more trouble than he's worth.

"Oh, honey," Pepper said smiling. "Tony always had trouble showing his emotions, but never doubt that he was proud of you. You can't imagine the number of times he came blasting through the door, bragging to Rhodey and I about what new achievement you had, whether be it stopping a crime ring in the city, or winning first place in a math competition. He loved you, Peter, and you meant a lot to him."

Peter blushed red and looked at the ground.

"The point of this is that I can't lose you too, Peter," Pepper continued, "So if it goes south up there, get on the ship and get back here, you understand me?" She looked at him sternly.

"I'll get on the ship, ma'am, once everyone else is on it too," Peter replied. Seeing her changing expression, he hastened to add, "They're my team, Ms Potts. I won't be leaving them behind. Maybe Thanos is too much for us, but if he is, we'll simply have to retreat and try again later."

Pepper stared at him sternly for a few seconds, before letting out a deep sigh. "You don't always have to be the hero, Peter." Seeing him about to respond, she waved her hand. "I know. But please, come back," she pleaded, before grabbing him in a tight hug.

Peter responded eagerly, and they held on to each other desperately for a few moments. Each of them thought about who they've lost, and that they were each other's anchors. Peter eventually pulled back, and started to trudge back to the ship, where the rest of the team was waiting.

"Peter!" came the call from behind him when he was a little bit away. He turned around and looked at Pepper questioningly. She smiled gently at him. "Call me Pepper."

Peter grinned at her with all the enthusiasm he could muster. "I'll see you around, Pepper."

As the Benetar flew towards the Garden, Peter was sitting in the back of the ship, with his head down between his legs. Frowning in confusion, Jane walked up to him and sat next to him.

"Everything alright?" she asked.

"Yeah," came Peter's reply from still between his legs. "It's just, I was stranded out here in space not four hours ago. It's a bit traumatising to come back here so soon."

"Oh yeah!" said Jane, taken aback for not even considering it.

"I'll be fine," said Peter, groaning before finally raising his head from below his knees walking towards to the front.

"So, Spider-Man?" asked Valkyrie from the front. She turned back to face him. "Why Spider-Man?"

"I actually want to know too," said Carol.

"Maybe the kid had a weird relationship with his pet spider as a kid," came the suggestion from Rocket.

"What!" yelled Peter.

"Or do you, you know, like-like spiders?" asked Carol with a hidden smile.

"NO!" Peter cried, "I just got my powers from a radioactive spider, that's all!"

"So do you shoot webs out of your butt?" questioned Jane.

"Ugh" moaned Peter, "how many times do I have to be asked that question. No, I don't shoot webs out of my butt. I developed a special compound that acts like a spiderweb when exposed to open air which I can shoot from some specially made web-shooters attached to my wrists."

"So you're something of a scientist yourself?" asked Jane, with a curious look on her face.

"Well, I like science, so..."

"Well, regardless of your poor naming sense, Nebula tells me you're a mighty warrior, Peter," said Valkyrie.

"Did you?" asked Peter with a massive grin. "Aww, thanks Nebs!"

While Nebula scoffed, rolled her eyes, and turned away, the rest of the team erupted in laughter. They could all clearly see the slight upturn of Nebula's lips, though.

"You actually managed to make the blue attack droid smile? You're somethin' else, kid," said Rocket, making them all laugh again. Nebula growled at the walking racoon, which increased their laughter even more.

Once the laughter calmed down, Peter turned towards Jane. "So, Dr Foster-"

"Just call me Jane," she said. "It would be exhausting to constantly call me Dr Foster on comms."

"Jane," Peter began, "how exactly did you get the powers of Thor?"

"I don't know actually. I was just minding my own business, drinking some coffee at an outdoor cafe, when suddenly this fella shows up," she indicated towards the axe, "and I catch it, only to be struck by lightning and wind up in this armour."

Her armour was very reminiscent of Thor's own, with a red flowing cape and round metal plates along the torso. She had a winged helmet at well that she kept on her armrest.

"Rocket tells me that the axe is called Stormbreaker."

"Whoa, that's an awesome name!"

"Right?"

"So what, you just hold the axe, and you get the power of a god?" asked Carol.

"No, with Thor's death, the axe became bonded to her," replied Valkyrie, as she was more knowledgable about Asgardian weapon traditions. "If any of us lifted it, it would simply be another axe. For her, she can channel the power of Thor."

"Ohhh." said Carol.

"Speaking of which, we're gonna need callsigns on the field. I can't keep calling you guys Ms Danvers, Ms Valkyrie and Dr Fos-Jane," said Peter.

"I can just be Thor, for now," answered Jane. "I can keep Thor until the actual Thor comes back, and then I can quit this whole superhero business, which isn't for me anyway."

"Fair enough," mumbled Peter.

"My old airforce callsign used to be Avenger, but I feel like that would be poor taste," said Carol. "Also, Peter, forget the Ms Danvers. Just call me Carol."

"Yeah, not a great choice of name," muttered Peter, before brightening up. "How about Warbird?"

"Warbird?" questioned Carol bewildered, before her face turned thoughtful. "Warbird. Warbird. I like it!"

"Cool," said Peter definitively. "Now you two," he pointed at the two Guardians, "I'm assuming, would like to keep your given names," prompting nods from two aforementioned two, "which leaves us with you," he finished, looking at Valkyrie.

"Valkyrie is not my name. You can call me that." This caused everyone in the ship to turn to Valkyrie with an incredulous expression.

"You mean this whole time we've been calling you something that's not your name?" asked Jane incredulously.

"Yes," Valkyrie replied blankly. "The Valkyrie were a group of elite female warriors in service to Odin Allfather, King of Asgard. I was simply one more of them, now I am the last one. It is a title, nothing more."

"Then what's your name?" questioned Peter.

Valkyrie hesitated for a moment, before she said her name for the first time in more than a millenium. "My name is Brunnhilde."

"Nice to meet you, Brunnhilde," said Peter, sticking his hand out to her, prompting laughs from everyone on the ship. She smiled at him and shook his hand.

"Do you Terrans never stop talking?" Nebula bit out, causing all the 'Terrans' on board to burst out in chuckles.

"Alright, people, we're coming up on the Garden," came Rocket's voice from the front of the ship.

Peter's face was wiped clean of emotion. He was trying to emulate how Mr Stark would think and act in this situation. "Carol, once we get there, get out and do some recon. We need to know the numbers on how many we're dealing with."

Carol nodded at him, and booted up her helmet while walking towards the airlock. Her helmet settled around her head, covering most of her face, except for her mouth and jaw. A transparent energy shield came up to separate that part from space. Her hair was also mostly covered, with only a thin line of hair sticking up from her helmet in the style of a mohawk.

As the ship weaved its way through the last space gate, they came upon their destination. The planet's lush green vegetation could be seen from outside its atmosphere. It was no wonder Thanos chose this place to retire.

Carol quickly flew off towards the surface to scan for lifeforms while the others gathered around the table in the center.

"Alright," started Peter. Inwardly he was shocked that the others were listening to him, before he realised that he had the most experience with Thanos and his Gauntlet. "Our main objective is to get the gauntlet. We have to hit him hard and fast before he can use it. Surprise him and then take it."

Carol came back, hovering in front of the window. "There's nothing there. No ground troops, no air support, nothing. It's just him."

"Then that's enough," came Nebula's haunting reply.

Peter thought for a moment, before he turned to the rest. "Okay, this is the plan..."

It was the slight hum in the air that alerted Thanos. He had just finished watering his crops and was now cooking the fruit he had picked in the gardens. When he heard the hum, he stopped and stared at the roof in confusion, only to widen his eyes when the temperature rapidly picked up. A blast of energy shattered his roof and struck him, only for him to put his palm out to block the blast. The approaching energy took the form of a woman that decked him in the face, only for him to grab her and with his right hand and throw her away.

She swiftly righted herself and came back for more. As he drew his hand back for a punch, a spiderweb came out of nowhere and attached itself to his right arm, pulling him backwards. With the combined force of the pull and punch from Carol, he was sent hurtling into the back wall of the house. Carol came and dodged his flailing fist only to jump on his back and hold him in a headlock, while Peter showed up to pull his left hand up straight. Jane showed up here with Stormbreaker and swiftly chopped off his left arm.

Thanos screamed in pain at the unexpected loss of a limb, while Nebula, Valkyrie and Rocket climbed into the makeshift shelter. Shaking Carol off his back, he attempted to punch Peter, but Peter ducked under the fist only to uppercut him in the jaw. Thanos stumbled back into Nebula who struck him with her electric sword, sending him reeling forward into Carol energy blast and Rocket's shot. Jane tried to strike him in the side with her axe, but was blocked by a recovering Titan. He shoved her away, only to get a web to the eyes, blinding him, while Valkyrie hit him in the back of the leg, sending him to one knee. Peter jumped and grabbed his chin, only to move past him in mid air and bring the back of his head crashing to the ground, sending Thanos flat on his back. His hand closed around Carol's throat and lifted her in the air as she struggled, strangling her, until Jane cut off his other arm as well. Carol coughed to regain her breath as the others went towards the armless downed giant.

"Uh, guys," came Rocket's voice from Thanos' severed left arm, "we have a problem." He turned the arm to reveal that there were no stones in the gauntlet.

Peter stared at it wide-eyed, before deactivating his mask and looking Thanos in the eyes. "Where are they?" he growled.

Thanos looked at him, and then the stones, before letting out a low chuckle.

Peter exploded. "WHERE ARE THEY!"

Carol punched Thanos in the face. "Answer the question."

"They're gone," came the low drawl at last. "Lost forever to us. I used the stones to destroy the stones. They have already fulfilled their cause, and served no other purpose beyond temptation."

This is when the team noticed the wandering burns that emanated from the left arm stump up towards the left side of his face. Seeing where they were looking, he explained. "The price to pay for channeling the most powerful forces in the universe."

Peter was numb. This whole mission was contingent on the fact that they could reverse what Thanos did, but that option was now lost to them. May, Ned, MJ, Mr Stark, Happy, they were all gone, forever. His mind was caught between rage and sorrow, and each was so powerful that couldn't move or speak. He could vaguely make out Jane hyperventilating in the background, while Valkyrie screamed in rage and Carol frantically searched the house in the hopes that Thanos might have stashed the stones somewhere.

"No no no, i-i-it's g-got to be here somewhere!" cried Rocket. "Right guys? Right? He has to be lying!"

"My father is many things," said Nebula softly, "but a liar is not one of them."

"Thank you, daughter," said Thanos, staring at Nebula in contemplation, and what looked like regret. "Perhaps I treated you too harshly-"

He couldn't finish his sentence before Valkyrie plunged her blade inside his throat with a scream. He gurgled, choking on his own blood as all of them looked on. Eventually, he lay still, his death a bittersweet moment as he had irreversibly damaged their universe.

Peter's gaze drifted from the cooling body to the sky outside. Jane came up to him and shook him. "Peter?" she asked softly, "What do we do now?"

Peter could only stare mournfully at the setting sun.

The ship travelled through the vacuum of space faster than light. As compared to the trip before, the trip back was made in complete silence. Each person was lost inside their own heads. To Peter, it hadn't sunk in before this. He always assumed that when he came back to Earth, he would have another chance at getting revenge. He, and everybody else, somehow assumed that there would be a solution, a way to fix this loss. Only now did the truth of this devastating defeat and the decimation of their friends, and the universe at large, seem real.

Valkyrie was clenching and releasing her fist repeatedly, and Peter's enhanced hearing could pick up her teeth grinding from where he sat. Her emotions seemed to be stuck in a perpetual rage to compensate for the deep emptiness in her soul. All her friends were gone, and she was now left with a massive responsibility to care for all her people. She had left Korg and Miek in charge temporarily, but she knew she had to go back before. She only arrived at the Avengers Compound to search for a way to save everyone, but that was impossible now.

Rocket was steering the ship, but one could see his hands shaking if they looked closely. While he initially started off completely indifferent to their lives, his crew had become as close as family. Quill, Gamora, Drax, and Mantis were the people he was closest to, and they were gone. The only person he was closer to was Groot, his best friend, and nowadays almost his own son, and he was gone too. Rocket had almost lost them multiple times, but this time they were all gone for good. A tear sneakily made its way out of his left eye and drifted downwards.

Carol's head was leaned backwards against the headrest and her eyes were closed, but a few tear tracks could be seen on her face. While it had been many years since she had stopped anywhere in the galaxy long enough to make a good friend, she still remembered her friends from before. After arriving on Earth, the first thing she did was check the status of Maria and Monica Rambeau, but both of them were missing. Nick Fury was dusted too, along with his right hand Maria Hill. They were all that Carol could remember from her past life. She still remembered her best friend, and her kickass attitude towards anything in life. Monica's cheerful and bright personality. Fury's deadpan stare that gave you no indication about what he was feeling. All of that existed only in her memories now.

Nebula was completely still, lost in thought. For the longest time, she was indoctrinated with Thanos' ideas. Her sole wish in life was to make her father proud. Gamora was the one who first rebelled against him. She had her beat there too. Nebula eventually understood what she tried to do, what she fought for, and she didn't like it. She did everything possible to try and take him down, almost succeeding in killing him in his bed before he caught her. She was tortured for a year at his hands, but she never lost sight of her hatred. Her seething emotions towards Gamora had cooled down to what could loosely be called sisterly, but her rage at Thanos knew no bounds. Now that both of them were dead, though, she was confused as to where she could go from here.

Jane was sobbing quietly in the corner, Stormbreaker resting beside her seat. Jane was the newest to the hero thing and to combat, and had never dealt with loss of this scale before. Her closest friends, Eric and Darcy, were snapped away, as was her ex-boyfriend Thor. She had nobody left and nothing to do. She had hoped that the other heroes would have an idea about what to do, but they all seemed equally clueless. Despite having the powers and skills of a god, she still found herself to be useless.

Peter himself was blankly looking out into the passing nebulae and stars. His hands seemed to be twitching, and he wasn't even paying attention to the journey. He was stuck inside his own mind, with every enemy he had taunting him for his failure to win, his failure to be a hero. He imagined May denouncing him, Mr Stark mocking him in that sardonic tone he used when Peter messed up, Ned's face scrunched up angrily like never before, and MJ turning away from him. Tears came to his eyes, but he blinked them away. He had to be strong now for the future. He could grieve later.

The ship went through the last space gate and came up on Earth. Rocket piloted the ship towards the Avengers Compound, where the ship's docking happened quickly and quietly. Opening the doors, all six of them trudged out in various shades of grief. Pepper, who was waiting outside, had a hopeful face that crumpled when she saw their expressions. Carol shook her head in silent sorrow at her while helping a crying Jane inside. Rocket walked a little bit away from the others with his gun and started firing madly at the ground, screaming in frustration. None of them had the heart to stop him.

Peter came up to her while the others went inside. Without saying anything, he grabbed her in a tight hug. Slowly, he started sobbing, repeating "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," under his breath to her. Pepper too shed some tears, but gently carded her hand through his hair trying to calm him down.

"It's okay," she crooned. "It's not your fault, Peter."

After a few minutes of calming down, both of them walked back in silence to the Avengers common room.

Peter went and sat down in a chair off to the side with his head in his hands. Valkyrie paced around the room, joined this time by Carol. Pepper stood off to the side, Nebula and Rocket sat down on the couch, and Jane collapsed into a loveseat, her bloodshot eyes staring brokenly at the rest of them.

"What happened?" asked Pepper softly.

"He'd destroyed them," Jane said softly, "He'd destroyed the stones."

"We killed him, but there was nothing we could do about what happened," added Nebula.

"So what now?" questioned Rocket. "What, do we-do we find something else, ask someone else to help? What now?!"

"Nothing," replied Carol quietly, "There's nothing we can do."

"No! That's not true! I refuse to accept that!"

"It doesn't matter what you accept you insufferable rodent," exploded Valkyrie, "because the truth is WE LOST! THERE'S NOTHING WE CAN DO! IT'S! OVER!"

At the end of her shout she collapsed into the nearest chair and held her head. Everyone could see her shoulders shaking. Carol approached her and carefully lay a hand down on her shoulder in comfort.

There was silence for a few moments before a quiet voice spoke up from the corner. "That's not true." Everybody's heads swivelled to Peter. The boy in question slowly raised his head and gazed at the rest of the room with glassy eyes. "It isn't over. We do have something we have to do."

"And what's that?" Jane asked in a shaky voice.

"Help," came the reply. "We aren't the only ones who lost someone. But we sure as hell are the only ones who know what went down. There's a whole world out there that I'm sure is mighty confused about what's going on. It's our job to help them. We're the only ones who can." Turning to Pepper, he asked, "What does the public think is happening?"

"They have no idea what's happening. There have been numerous calls to Stark Industries and the Avengers Organisation to ask, though, because they saw Tony going to space on that ship."

"We need to talk to them," said Peter.

"I'll set a press conference tomorrow. But, I think it should be held by you, Pete."

"What!" exclaimed Peter.

"Peter," said Jane, trying to move past the grief, "you're the only one who was there during the fight itself. You know what happened. It makes sense."

"I'm only a teenager!"

"Nobody knows anything about Spider-Man. They won't know he's a teenager, they'll only know he's a superhero," replied Pepper.

Peter contemplated the thought for a few moments before sighing. "Fine, I'll do it. But I don't think the super secret identity is necessary now. I want them to look me in the eye when they blame me for the loss of their loved ones. It's what I deserve."

Pepper and the others were stunned. "Peter, you can't possibly think this is your fault," said Carol.

"I almost had the gauntlet in my hand. If I had just pulled a little harder..."

"Peter, don't do that," warned Valkyrie. "The 'what if I done something different' thought process is a dangerous slope. You fought an enemy unlike anything you have ever dealt with. You performed admirably, but it was too much for you. There is no shame in losing a fight to a stronger enemy."

"But this fight had grave consequences, didn't it, Brunnhilde?" replied Peter wryly. Before anyone could add anything else, he swiftly stood up. "Anyway, it's time to get some sleep. Goodnight guys." Saying that, Peter quickly walked off towards his room.

The next morning, muttering and confusion filled the room. Nobody knew what was going on, and this was the first time that the world's greatest heroes were breaking their self imposed silence to speak. The grief hung like a fog over the room, illuminated in every action and movement of the hundreds of reporters in the chamber. This was also the most watched and live streamed video in the world even before it started. People everywhere were crying, screaming, and begging for answers, and hoped that the Avengers had them.

Pepper Potts entered the room and approached the podium. Everyone could see that she too was grieving. Who, people didn't know (they hoped it wasn't who they thought). Her makeup, perfectly done as always, still couldn't hide her red eyes, while her hands visibly quivered until she steadied them over the podium. Tapping the microphone twice, the reporters all sat down and listened, having great respect for the CEO of Stark Industries. The world seemed to stand still in order to listen to her words. She was engaged to Iron Man, of course she knew what was going on.

"Thank you for coming," she began, voice steady despite her hands shaking again. "I know that everyone in this room, everyone around the world is having a tough time. I know people are asking what happened and why, and they deserve to know the truth." Muttering began after the conclusion of her sentence. Speaking over the whispers, she continued louder. "That's why I have someone here who can explain what went on."

Saying this, she stepped to the side and looked over to her left. The reporters and cameras followed her line to sight only to make out a wounded teenager. He slowly hobbled towards the podium, limping due to the large cast over his right leg. He was dressed in a shirt and jeans, but seemed to be covered with bandages and bruises. His sunglasses were clearly to shield his eyes from the flashes of the cameras. Completely ignoring the shouts of questions to him, he made his way up and hugged Pepper, who helped him forward to lean on the podium.

Looking out over the crowd, he patiently used a strategy that Pepper had taught him earlier: to wait for the journalists to exhaust themselves before speaking to a silent crowd. In the back corner, he could see Carol, Jane, and Nebula in disguise, wondering what he was going to say.

The crowd stopped speaking and sat down, understanding that he wasn't going to start without their silence. This was an old Pepper Potts trick, after all. As all of them sat down, he took off his sunglasses and stared out with dead eyes. The bruises on his face seemed more apparent now, as was the black eye. He then looked down at the stack of notes he had with him.

"Hi," he began. Clearing his throat to hide his nervousness, he continued in a louder tone. "So, I don't know how this is usually done, but I'm going to say my piece, and then open the floor to questions, okay? Okay." He took a deep breath, and began again. "My name is Peter Parker. For the past two and a half years, I have been operating in New York City as the vigilante known as Spider-Man."

A flurry of shouts and flashes filled the air. Spider-Man was considered Iron Man's superhero protege, and most were wondering who he was. All over New York, people stared in shock as a teenager declared that he was their protector. More importantly, he was last seen with Iron Man on the ship that left New York a few days ago.

"Please, ladies and gentlemen!" Peter called out, trying to get them to sit down. The security for the event also helped usher the journalists to their chairs. As the shouts died down, Peter looked down at his notecards and continued. "Thank you. I know it's a shock. I have an explanation about what happened. I was there."

"As I'm sure you know, an alien craft was spotted over New York a few days ago. That was the start of this. The occupants of this craft were hostile, and were confronted by Iron Man, and a couple of sorcerers. Yes, sorcerers exist," he said over the shouts of confusion and denial. "Just as the Avengers protect," here he stumbled a bit, but recovered, "'protected' the world against physical threats, the secret order of sorcerers protect the world against mystical threats, the likes of which we never encounter in our lives."

"Back on topic, at this time I entered the scene to provide further back up, and we managed to take down one of the two hostiles, while the other one kidnapped one of the sorcerers and escaped into space. Luckily, I managed to web myself to the ship, and Iron Man's newest armour allowed him to catch up to the ship before it left the atmosphere."

Peter paused for a few moments, before deciding to abandon the notecards. He tapped a few buttons on his watch, and a holographic projection was created in the middle of the room. It showed a nine to ten feet tall, bald, purple giant with a serrated chin. He had a cold expression, and was very muscular. He wore what appeared to be an armoured tank top and something like cargo pants. The other very noticeable feature was the golden glove he wore on his left hand.

The reporters all gasped and scrambled backwards, before realising that it was just a projection. Peter gave them all a minute to calm down, before continuing.

"This," he gestured at the projection, "is Thanos. He's the one responsible for what I'm terming 'The Decimation'. He's a genocidal alien warlord with a twisted agenda. He believed that population of all intelligent species was growing too fast for the resources of the universe to keep up. He also believed that the only solution to this was to kill half of all life in the universe."

Peter scoffed loudly at the thought. Several cameras were capturing the alien's image. All of them wanted to hear what Peter had to say, though, so they kept quiet.

"To this end, he assembled a massively powerful weapon with parts that were scattered across the universe. One of the parts was with the sorcerer that travelled with Mr Stark and I to the planet Titan, where we attempted to stop Thanos once and for all. Another part was hidden in Wakanda by the Black Panther and the rogue ex-Avenger fugitives led by Steve Rogers. Both our teams attempted to stop him, only to fail. Which brings me to the other reason I'm here today."

Peter's eyes grew teary as he looked over at the crowd, who seemed to be listening to him in fascination. He looked straight at a video camera, before continuing. "I'm here to apologise. The Avengers were created to protect the world from threats that regular people couldn't face themselves. This time, they failed. While I may not be an Avenger myself, I've definitely worked closely with one in the past, and am in the same line of business. I failed in what I set out to do, protect people. Just yesterday, the few remaining heroes and I went on one last mission to find this monster and try to undo what he's done. We killed him, but we found out that he's destroyed the machine. No one can rebuild it. So, I'm here to beg for forgiveness. We really tried, I swear. But sometimes, even our best isn't enough."

There was silence for a few moments. Peter closed his eyes to regain control of his emotions while the reporters were stunned. Nobody expected an apology for not doing the job well enough. They weren't going to blame him, but they couldn't speak for everybody on the planet.

"Hm-Hhm, so, any questions?" Peter asked when he had cooled down.

There was a moment of stillness, before everybody in the room jumped to their feet and erupted into noise. Pepper moved forward seeing that Peter was visibly uncomfortable. Quieting the crowd down slightly, she pointed to a blonde male reporter in the front.

"Mr Parker, Joseph Bell, Evening Post, do you think this could have been avoided with either the acceptance or retraction of the Sokovia Accords?"

Peter frowned in confusion. "I don't know what that has to do with the issue at hand, but I'll answer it anyway. Maybe it could have. Maybe, if the Avengers were together, they could have stopped him. Maybe, if Ultron and the Sokovia Accords never happened, Captain America and Iron Man would have been best friends. Maybe, if Captain America wasn't so stubborn, we might have had a fighting chance. But we can't dwell on what-ifs," he said, paraphrasing Valkyrie's advice to him. "We can only ask ourself 'what next'."

Pepper looked over and picked a black haired woman from the back.

"Mr Parker, Sofia Carlsen, Schengen Herald, you've always been protective of your secret identity, why are you telling us openly now?"

"At this point Ms Carlsen, I don't think it really matters anymore. My whole family's dead. The risk of my identity getting out and causing harm isn't there anymore. And besides, I would rather have people look at my face and into my eyes when I apologise so they know I'm sincere."

"Alright, one last question," said Pepper, looking around, before selecting a tall, dark skinned man in the middle.

"Mr Parker, Michael Stern, Daily Globe, some of us have lost everything in The Decimation. What do you think we should do now?"

The room was silenced with this question. Everyone wanted to know what the young man had to say. Peter stood silent for a few moments before opening his mouth.

"I know what it feels like to lose everything. My last remaining family, my best friends, my mentor, they're all gone. I understand all of it, the rage, the helplessness, the terror. Not being able to do anything as your family faded to dust around you. I know you want to break down and cry. I know you want to scream and yell and should and rage, so do it. Let it all out of your system, because your life isn't over. You want to know what to do? Help. There are so many children out there who have lost their parents, old people without anyone to take care of them. This can't be the time we let out differences come between us. Each and every single one of us, wherever you are, have lost someone. But we cannot let this be the end of the human race. It would be insulting to their memory to do that. So grieve, mourn, pray, cry, but we have to get back up. Help each other do that, regardless of who you or they are. Your religion doesn't matter, your creed doesn't matter, age, nationality, gender, skin colour, none of that matters anymore! Remember those we've lost for who they were, and then focus on who you will be. Thanos thought us a weak race, who can be easily broken. I intend to show him that we won't bend, and we won't break. So, in their memory, because they would want you to, move on. Lean on each other, trust each other, and help each other, and we'll build our way back together, together as a race, as a team, as a people."

The whole room was quiet. Not a whisper was heard after he finished his impromptu speech. Feeling embarrassed that he ranted so much, he quickly spoke a thank you into the microphone and hastily tried to exit the stage. Before he could take a step, though, he heard a clap. He looked over to see the same reporter, Michael Stern, standing up and clapping. He was slowly followed by everybody else. All his friends stood up and joined them. Not one person in the room didn't have teary eyes, but all of them were filled with a new blaze of hope. They all agreed with the message. Grieve, but it's time to move on.

"Earth has suffered from a catastrophe the likes of which we have never seen before-"

Click

"Avengers associate Spider-Man of New York, spoke earlier today about what exactly caused this great disaster, which he termed 'The Decimation'-"

Click

"World governments have conducted a census that proves his claims about the genocidal alien terrorist known as 'Thanos'. Populations worldwide seem to be half of what they were-"

Click

"This is without a doubt the darkest event in our history, but as said by the Spider-Man, we must move forward-"

Click

"In other news, notoriously secretive vigilante Spider-Man has been unmasked as teenager Peter Benjamin Parker of Queens. Mr Parker, 17, is a student at the Midtown School of Science and Technology, and reportedly one of their brightest. He seems to have a flurry of absences, that the surviving staff now attributes to the presence of Spider-Man in other locations. Spider-Man, widely considered to be the protege of Tony Stark's Iron Man-"

The loud smash of a remote crashing against the wall echoed through the room. Peter sat in the dark, with tears streaming from his eyes. The TV turned off automatically. Everything around him reminded him of Mr Stark. The angular design of the compound, the presence of advanced technology in every corner, the pulsing blue lights that illuminated the otherwise dark compound. He looked at the decorations in his room, and he could make out the Lego sets that he had brought here earlier because he didn't have space in his apartment to keep them. He kept forgetting to take them back in order to build them together with Ned. He also saw one of his favourite t-shirts. It was given to him by his friend MJ when they went shopping together. Peter had been nursing a (not so small) crush on MJ for a while, and he had immediately bought the t-shirt when she suggested it. It was a bland grey t-shirt that had the words 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun-damental Human Rights' emblazoned on it in white, but he wore it all the time. May used to tease him for being such a sap.

May. The one person who was in his thoughts more than anyone. He just wished he could call her, and hear her voice over the tinny speakers of his phone. He wished he could go back to their tiny apartment and watch her fail to cook her infamous pot roast. He wished he could hug her one more time, tell her he loved her, and thank her for taking him in as a kid even when she and Ben weren't ready for a kid.

But he couldn't. She was gone, lost to him. Just like the others. Everybody he knew and loved were gone forever. 'Hey, maybe not forever,' he thought. 'I'll see them again. Once I die, we'll have a huge party just like old times.'

Peter couldn't figure out what to do know. He wished Mr Stark was here. Mr Stark was the smartest person he knew, and always, always, had a plan. He was sure that Mr Stark would have thought of something, but Peter wasn't Tony Stark. He wasn't a genius billionaire with personal and political capital. He wasn't a charismatic leader who could bring all sorts of people to work together, a pillar of innovation who revolutionised industries on a whim. That man would have been helpful to have around right about now. That's why he got so angry whenever anyone compared him to Iron Man. How could he compare to a legend of that stature? But now wasn't the time to sit around and think.

Peter cleared his throat, and spoke in a broken, cracking tone. "FRIDAY," he coughed, cleared his throat one more time, and tried again. "FRIDAY." There. His voice sounded close to normal now, right?

"Yes, Peter?" came the solemn response from the ceiling.

"What's the global reaction to the press conference?"

"Social Media trends indicate that almost everyone currently alive is grieving, but the vast majority were very impressed by you, and agree with the your sentiment that we need to move on."

"Good, good. That's the message I was trying to give."

"They're also mightily impressed by you, a teenager by day and a superhero by night. You're a hero in the eyes of the world."

"I shouldn't be. The only thing I did was fail."

"Peter-"

"Not now FRIDAY," he cut her off. "Now, who needs my help?"

"Well-" for the second time, she was cut off.

"FRIDAY, mute," came a voice from the door.

Peter looked over to see Pepper walk into his room. He instantly thought about how messy he looked, but decided that wasn't important at the moment. He stood up and looked at her.

"There are people out there who need help. I need to-"

"You need to rest, Peter. You've gone through a very stressful few weeks. You're still hurt from both battles with Than-Thanos, and until you're healed, you're not going out there." She looked at him up and down sternly, daring him to argue.

Peter looked defiantly at her for a moment, before sighing in resignation. "Alright, fine. But once I'm healed, I'm going back out there."

"Alright," Pepper agreed. "Now sit down. There's something I'd like to talk to you about." She sat down on his bed, and waited until he sat down next to her. "I don't have anybody left, and I know you don't either." Peter swallowed hard. "So, if I'm not being too forward, would you like to come live with me?" Her eyes were filled with a soft hope and fragile trust.

He would feel like the worst person if he rejected her, but he had no intention of doing so in the first place. He wasn't ready to lose the last person that he had. "YES! Of course I'll stay with you!"

Pepper jumped up from the bed and dragged him into tight embrace. He hugged her back fiercely, for a brief moment forgetting their terrible circumstances.

But Pepper quickly pulled back from the hug and looked at him in tears. "Peter that isn't my only news. I have to let you know before you move in." She took a deep breath. "I'm pregnant."

There was blank silence for the next few seconds. Slowly, Peter's brain rebooted itself. He looked at her in shock. "Pregnant," he said faintly.

Pepper nodded. "I'm about a month along. On the day Tony l-left," she sniffled, but hastily moved on, "he was talking about some crazy dream he had, about us having kids. I didn't think so, but I checked anyway, you know, maybe he had a hunch, or something. Turns out, they didn't call him 'The Futurist' for nothing. He was right on the money."

"Pregnant," Peter said again. "Pregnant, with Tony's baby?" he asked, just to be sure.

"Yes, Peter," Pepper replied patiently, waiting for his reaction.

It was safe to say that his reaction wasn't what she was expecting. She didn't know if he would shout, or congratulate her, but she was bewildered when he burst out in tears. Hard, shaky sobs rocked his frame, and she didn't hesitate to put her arms around him and let him cry on her shoulder. She gently rocked him in her arms, carding her hand through his hair, as her own mother used to do to her.

"I-I-I'm sorry!" he sobbed. "He's going to be a-a-a f-father, and I couldn't even bring him back to you! He's not even going to see his kid!"

Pepper finally understood what the problem was. "Oh, honey," she soothed. "Under no circumstances do I blame you for what happened to Tony. Nobody in the compound, nobody who knows you, does. And bar a few morons, the vast majority of the world doesn't blame you. In fact, I thank you for going up there and watching Tony's back. It was the luck of the draw, Peter," she added. "There was no way to predict that Tony would have been dusted."

She gently extricated herself from his hug and slowly turned his sniffling face towards her. "Now, you're right. The baby doesn't have a father." Seeing Peter's eyes fill with tears again, she rapidly moved on. "But she does have a mother, and if you let her, she'll have the best big brother around. So, the question remains, will you be my baby's big brother, looking after her and playing with her and keeping her safe?"

Sniffing and drying his eyes, Peter looked at her with conviction. "Of course I will. I'll always be around to help out."

Both of them stared at each other in content silence for a moment, before a thought occurred to Pepper. "Well, if you're going to be staying with me, then you get to have a say in where we're going to live."

Peter only needed a moment to think about it. "New York City. I'm still going to be Spider-Man, and that's my city. If an Avengers level threat rears its head, then I'm close enough to the compound to get here quickly."

"And Stark Industries' North American hub is still in New York," Pepper continued, "meaning I could work from there without issues."

"Mr Stark told me you haven't sold the tower yet. Maybe we could stay there?" he suggested.

"That," said Pepper with a smile, "sounds like a wonderful idea. I'll get right on it. I assume we'll discuss your education at a later date?"

"Yeah, we'll talk about school and whatnot later."

"Alright. Catch you later."

As she got up to go, Peter stopped with a hand on her wrist. "I had this idea earlier. There are many people out there who need help. Can we open free clinics and housing centers to help those who've lost everything. I think we need to take care of people's food, clothing, shelter, and safety before anything else."

Pepper smiled wryly. "Always the hero, huh Pete?" Just as she was about to continue, FRIDAY suddenly interrupted them.

"Boss-Lady, Peter, you're gonna want to see this." A feed opened up with a sight that confused them both. A teenage girl appeared to be standing in front of the members only door. She was average height for her age, seeming to be about fourteen or fifteen. She had brown hair, and stood with ratty clothes and a backpack full of stuff. Weirder still was the fact that she was carrying a toddler of about three years in her arms. She looked pleadingly into the camera, as if she was begging for help.

"Is this old footage?" asked Peter in confusion.

"This is live from the front door," answered FRIDAY.

Looking at the image a moment, Pepper said, "Let them in, and direct them to the common areas."

Frowning at each other, Pepper and Peter went into the group area to greet their guest.

Carol and Jane met them in the common room.

"Hey, what's going on?" asked Jane, "I was told we had guests."

"A teenager and a toddler somehow managed to find the staff only entrance to the compound. They looked desperate, so we let them in, and we're gonna talk," replied Peter.

Both of them looked at each other, shrugged, and sat down on the couches. They were simply drowning in their own guilt and misery in their rooms, so any distraction was better than nothing.

They waited in silence, before the sound of footsteps caught their attention. They all turned towards the entrance to find the girl shyly making her way in. It was easy to see that she had had a tough few days. She had massive bags underneath her eyes, and her clothes were worn and torn. She wore a maroon hoodie and a pair of jeans which were frayed at the edges.

Holding her hand was a young boy. With the same brown hair and brown eyes as the girl, it was easy to tell that they were related, probably siblings. She looked nervously at all of them, before Peter stepped forward with a hand out and a smile on his face.

"Hi there!" he said "I'm Peter Parker."

Her eyes lit up with recognition, before she quickly shook his hand. "You're Spider-Man! I saw your press conference earlier at the bus stop. What you said about moving on and going forward, it was really moving."

She seemed to realise that she was rambling to him, and blushed red before shutting her mouth. Luckily, Peter simply smiled at her. "Thank you for that. I tried my best."

Pepper stepped forward and held her hand out. "Hi sweetie, I'm Pepper."

The girl smiled at her in awe. "You're Pepper Potts, the woman who led Stark Industries to become the first trillion dollar company! I'm a huge fan."

"Thank you so much, dear," said Pepper.

"This is Jane Foster, and that's Carol Danvers," introduced Peter, before continuing, "but I think we need to ask you your name and how you found that entrance. It was a secret area only for the most exclusive staff and Avengers."

"Right right. Sorry, it's just been a long few days," she said, looking down. She looked up and looked Peter in the eye. "My name is Lila Barton. This is my brother Nate."

"Barton?" asked Peter. "As in Clint Barton? Also known as-"

"Hawkeye? Yeah. He's my dad."

Peter read between the lines quickly enough to determine that the rest of her family was gone.

"I'm so sorry," he said.

"It's okay," she replied tearily. "It's just, with Mom and Dad gone, I just didn't know where else to go, and Dad always told me to come here if anything happened to them." She stifled a sob with her hand as her tears fell faster.

"Hey, hey hey hey," crooned Peter, gently pulling her into a hug, letting her cry on his shoulders. "You did the right thing, okay. You made it, and you're safe now. Both you and Nate are gonna be just fine, alright. We're gonna take care of you."

Peter looked at the others over Lila's shoulder, only to see Carol and Jane holding back tears, and Pepper looking at him proudly. He stared pleadingly at her, and she nodded her head. Peter gently pulled back from Lila.

"I'm sure you're exhausted, why don't you follow Pepper here, she'll lead you two to a room where the both of you can relax. We'll talk about what to do next when you're feeling better."

Lila nodded head shyly, grabbed the groggy Nate's hands and slowly walked towards Pepper, who put her hand on her shoulder and started guiding her towards the living quarters. Before they could get too far though, they heard a sound of sparks behind them and turned to look behind.

Peter tapped his wrists against each other twice to activate his nanotech web shooters. Carol stood up, clenched her fists, and charged up her energy blasts, while Jane held out Stormbreaker which started to spark lightning. All of them turned their gazes and weapons towards the glowing yellow portal that had materialised out of nowhere. They could see what looked like a dojo on the other side, before their view was swiftly overtaken by a white haired, purple eyed, female that quickly strutted towards them.

"We have a big problem," she announced.

"Yeah, some random chick just waltzed into our living room," replied Carol incredulously. "Who are you and what do you want?"

The woman stared at her as if she was speaking a foreign language. "Hmm? Oh, that's right, I haven't introduced myself. So sorry, trying to save the universe and all that. Anyway, the name is Clea. There, we're friends now. Can I get on with the problem?" Seeing none of them budging, she sighed in annoyance. "I'm Doctor Strange's appren-Doctor Strange's former apprentice."

"Oh," said Peter, relaxing slightly. This caused the others to also relax, though none of them let go their weapons. "So, what's the problem you had that you had to tell us about?"

"Well, this requires a little bit of a back story. So, long long ago, in a galaxy far away, there lived a race of über-powerful space gods called Celestials. They got into a schoolyard brawl with some, shall we say 'cosmic entities', and they fought for billions of years. Although the entities were waaaay stronger than the Celestials, there were just too many Celestials around for the entities to fight. Despite their best efforts, they were eventually overwhelmed. Thank the creator, because otherwise the cosmos itself might have been destroyed if that fight had lasted longer."

The audience was completely enraptured with the story. It wasn't often you heard about a battle between space gods that could have destroyed the universe. Pepper and Lila had drifted towards the couch to listen better, while Peter's, Carol's, and Jane's hands had gone down. Clea herself had primly sat down on the loveseat after closing the portal.

"The Celestials channelled all their immense power, and imprisoned the six primordial entities into prisons that could never be escaped."

Suddenly Peter had a thought. "Don't tell me," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose

"Yep, knew you were the clever one. Each entity was imprisoned, and their essence used to power, a device known as an infinity stone."

The entire group groaned here, with the exception of Lila and Nate who had no idea what anyone was talking about.

"Let me guess," sighed Jane, "when Thanos destroyed the stones, the entities were released into the open?"

"Bingo! Nobody thought someone would destroy an infinity stone, an item of unlimited power. But someone did, and now some of the most dangerous and powerful beings to ever exist are in the wind. Well, not literally, since there isn't any wind in space, but you know what I mean."

There was dead silence from everyone as they tried to process this apocalyptic news.

"So what are the odds that these 'entities' are out for our heads?" asked Peter calmly. It was an exact contrast to how he felt inside.

"And can we stop them?" questioned Carol. She was always the best in problems she could solve with her fists.

"Look," snapped Clea, "nobody knows anything about these things, okay. You would not believe the number of information gathering charms I cast to even identify their names."

"Okay," soothed Peter. It was obvious that Clea was close to losing it, which wouldn't help anybody right now. "Do we at least know what these entities are and what they look like?"

Clea waved her hand and snapped her fingers. A magical projection opened, showing the figure of giant humanoid being. He was dressed in some kind of futuristic purple armour. The helmet was tall, and had what looked like two handles coming up from the ears. He extended his hand towards a planet, and touched it. He was so large that the planet wasn't large enough for him to stand on. Some sort of energy flowed from the planet's core to him, and it kept going even where physical parts of the planet entered him as well. Eventually, the entire planet was consumed by him.

Everybody in the room was shaken. They had just seen what looked like a giant, funnily dressed, man, absorb a planet. Most couldn't believe this kind of being and power existed at all. Clea was the only one who was mournful.

"Galactus," she said softly. "The Devourer of Worlds. He is the entity of fate. He is the one who ended planets when their natural life had ended. He is actually a sentient energy, but appears human to our eyes because it's the life form we're most familiar with."

She swiped her hand to show a white haired old man shooting beams of energy from his eyes. "Khatylis, entity of possibilities. The antithesis to Galactus. He creates life on planets with life energy while Galactus destroys them."

The image changed to a large blaze of fire that looked almost like a bird, "The Phoenix Force, entity of Creation. It can create life itself, and is as temperamental as a living being."

The image changed to a similar blaze of black fire. "The Goblin Force, entity of destruction, antithesis to the Phoenix. Its mission is end life everywhere. Its violent tendencies are balanced by the Phoenix."

The image changed again to a hellish domain. There was fire and brimstone everywhere, with lava streams flowing and geysers soaking people in boiling water. At the centre of the throne room was a large throne. Atop it sat a monstrous creature. It looked very much like the Predator from the movies, only it wore all red.

"Cyttorak," said Clea, "Entity of Chaos. He's the universe's first demon, and the master of all Chaos Magic. He used to rule Hell, or the dimension we call Hell. In fact, he's the one we've interacted with the most because of one person."

The screen changed to show a familiar person. Her red hair and the red wisps of magic that surrounded her hands left no doubts as to her identity.

"Wanda Maximoff," Peter murmured.

"Correct," said Clea. "Her power, though given by the mind stone, was due to her being a herald of Cyttorak through the reality stone."

The screen flashed one final time, and out came a blue and white bird-like figure. "The Nova Force, Entity of Order, Antitheses to Cyttorak. The Nova Empire, which was based in Xandar, was created to worship this entity before they became atheist."

"And you're telling me they're all out there?"

"They're all out there," Clea confirmed. "See the problem now?"

"So let me get this straight. Thanos, the universe's supreme douchebag, just messed with our reality on a level that we don't fully understand, correct?"

"Check."

"Because of his shortsighted and monstrous plan, we're now at risk from giant all-powerful space gods, who could wipe us out with a twitch of their pinkie, right?"

"Check."

"And we don't know if they're mad, or pissed, or altogether indifferent about us, and the rest of the surviving universe?"

"Check."

"Oh my god," Jane moaned. She put her head down under her legs in helpless terror.

"I have a question," Peter said, getting off his chair in the corner. "Why come to us?"

Clea looked at him for a moment, deep in thought. "The Order of Kamar-Taj is decimated. Most of our best and brightest have faded away. Dr Strange was in line to become the Sorcerer Supreme, the leader and strongest of us, but he's gone. Wong, the next in line, is gone too. It's just me, and a few other disciples, apprentices, and knights. I'm definitely the best of us, but there aren't enough to protect our world from everything that's out there. While we'll certainly do our best, sometimes we might need some extra help. And what better help can we get to protect our world than the Avengers themselves? So that's why I'm here, Peter Parker, because you needed to know about the newest threat to the universe that affects both our spheres of influence. I'm also here to ask that, should we ever need it, you help us in keeping this planet safe."

Peter looked at her with a blank expression, his face not showing a hint of what he thought. Everyone in the room looked at him for his response.

"Only if," he began finally, "we can count on you for your help should we need it." He stuck his hand out.

Without hesitation, Clea shook it. Peter held her hand in place and smiled at her. "Welcome to the Avengers," he said.

"Happy to be here," she replied, smiling back.

"Wait," interjected Carol, "how come you never asked us to be Avengers?"

Peter turned around bewildered. "Well, we all went on a mission together to save the universe, and I didn't think you needed to be formally invited. I assumed it was implied-"

"How? Unless you ask us, we wouldn't know! We thought we were temporary teammates for an 'end of the world' type situation-"

"I hate to break it to ya, Carol, but that's exactly what the Avengers are. A response team for 'end of the world' type situations-"

"But you have to ask!"

"Fine!" He then dramatically got down on one knee, to the amusement of everyone else in the room. Holding out one hand, and looking her in the eye meaningfully, he said "Will you, Carol Danvers, make me the happiest man on Earth by being a part of the Avengers?"

Staring at him in mock contemplation, she then regally nodded at him and put her hand inside his. "I will," she said with her nose stuck in the air. They both stared at each other, before exploding into laughter, followed by everyone else in the room.

Nebula, Valkyrie, and Rocket wandered into the room at this point. Being attracted by all the noise. "Hey, hey, hey, what's so funny, Humies?" asked Rocket.

Jane opened her mouth to respond before staring incredulously at the racoon. "Humies?" she questioned, bewildered.

"Yeah, you people."

"Doesn't that seem a little..." before she could figure out a word to finish her thought, she was interrupted by Carol, who waved her away with a sigh.

"Don't," she called, shaking her head. "Just don't."

"Okay..." Jane said slowly.

"That actually reminds me that I have something to ask you guys. Pepper, will you get Lila to her room?" Pepper nodded and started leading Lila and Nate, who waved adorably at everybody, away. "I wanted to ask if you'd stick around." Before any of them could comment, he hastily continued. "I know, that three of you here have lives outside the Earth, while the other two have obligations and positions away from here. If you need to get back to your family and friends, I completely understand and support you 100%. But, the world still needs help, now more than ever. If you would agree, I would like some help keeping the people on this planet safe. If you can't, no harm no foul. But please, consider it."

All the occupants of the room looked deep in thought. Carol was the first one to break the silence with a sigh. "I only went around the universe to fight the Kree, but even they would be reeling from this. I think it's fine if I take a vacation, and spend some time at home."

"I... don't really have anything to go back to," said Jane. "My parents are gone, Thor's gone, Darcy and Eric are gone. I have nothing left, so I'd rather be with the only people I know."

Valkyrie shook her head solemnly. "Although I will definitely help if the situation demands it, my primary responsibility is towards Asgard. They have nobody, and need a leader. Though, I will be staying on Earth, so reach out if you need it."

"Alright," Peter agreed amiably. "Please let us know if there's anything we can do."

"Actually, we need a place to stay."

"I'll get on right away."

"Thanks."

"You already know my answer, I'll be managing the sanctums, but if there's a big enough threat that you need my help with, I'll always be ready to assist," answered Clea.

"I'm sorry, who is this?" asked Rocket.

"Right," said Peter, realising that Nebula, Valkyrie, and Rocket didn't hear what Clea had to say. "This is Clea. She's a sorceress, and helps protect Earth from mystical threats. She came to us with some information that I'll tell you about later."

"Alright, kid," came Rocket's uncaring reply, before he sobered a bit. "Look kid, my only family were the other Guardians. With them gone, I really got nothing going on. Sure, I'll stick around. I'm sure there's some rich asshole to fleece 'cough' 'cough' liberate of all his belongings."

"You said we were friends," said Nebula. "Friends help each other. If you need it, I'll stay to help."

"Thank you all," replied Peter gratefully. "FRIDAY can hook you up with communicators. Those of you who are staying here, you can keep the rooms you're in as you're permanent residence. Do anything you want with them short of breaking the walls down. Now all we need is some sort of coordinator to alert us to what needs to be done."

"Alright," said Rocket. "I've had enough of the mushy stuff for a while." He walked back towards his room. Nebula did the same.

"He's right. Let's get some rest. We start tomorrow," announced Carol.

Peter and Pepper began the move to the tower the next week. They slowly packed their most essential items: their clothing, their shoes, and their devices, and started putting them in boxes. Peter took most of his lego sets, leaving a few behind for future use of the room.

Carol had gone to London, where there seemed to be a large fire that had engulfed the city due to the rioting. Nebula and Rocket were in India helping them with transporting food to the major cities to feed the people. Jane was in her lab, calculating the effects of the snap on astral bodies in the cosmos. Valkyrie was with her people in Norway, where they had been temporarily granted refuge. Clea was in Kamar-Taj, conducting rapid lessons for all the initiates to get them up to speed quickly so they could have better trained sorcerers around to help protect the dimensional gateways, which had been slightly loosened by the snap.

Pepper and Peter had approached Lila and Nate about moving in with them, and they were both enthusiastic. Well, as enthusiastic as they could be given the circumstances. They agreed to move with the two to New York.

Peter and Pepper drove to the city to look at their new residence. New York seemed to be a ghost town. There seemed to be an eerie mist that further served to scare them. As they drove to the tower, they saw no faces, only silhouettes hidden in the shadows. They quickly made it to the tower, where they selected their own rooms, as well as one for Lila and Nate. As they were in the living room, chatting about how they would like to position things, Peter spotted a fire breaking out among one of the low rise buildings in the distance.

He swiftly walked towards the window while calling for FRIDAY.

"There appears to be a fire which has broken out at the F.E.A.S.T shelter in Manhattan. Emergency responders are en route, but they won't make it in time."

Peter looked at Pepper, who simply smiled at him softly. "Go," she urged.

Peter grinned at her, before double tapping his chest. The nanotechnological Iron Spider activated and covered his whole body within a second, and he launched himself out the opened window. Pepper's metaphorical heart stopped, before she saw him swinging rapidly into the distance.

"That boy," she said, shaking her head.

All over New York, citizens stuck their heads out to see the Spider-Man return to action. They had seen him in the press conference, but he appeared to be injured. Now, he was back, and whispers and cheers swept through the city. While Peter did not realise the positive impact he had, the average New Yorker was more familiar with Spider-Man than they were with any of the Avengers, who only seemed to go on Black Ops or world ending missions. Peter was the one who stopped thieves and rapists, who talked down suicidal jumpers from rooftops. While the rest of the world was confused on how to feel about Spider-Man, New York had already made her choice, and they stood by the teenager who was always there for them.

Peter was completely oblivious to the reaction that his presence was having, and he quickly swung along a webline towards the shelter. Reaching it, he noticed that it might be collapsing.

"FRIDAY, scan the building integrity!" he shouted.

"Building integrity at 73%. At current rate, it will destabilise in half an hour, if not for major structural changes, like punching in a wall."

"Scan the number of lifeforms inside."

"There appears to be 57 humans and 3 cats."

Peter jumped into action, and catapulted himself through the topmost window. He noticed two young boys huddled in the back of the room, and quickly made his way towards them.

"Hey guys," he said when he got there. Seeing how their eyes widened, he continued. "I need you guys to grab on to me and not let go. I'm gonna get you outta here."

The boys grabbed with both hands, and he hurtled through the window and left them on the ground. He repeated the process, slowly going through different windows in the shelter.

"Hey, FRIDAY, can we get some Iron Man suits here to help contain the blaze?" Peter remarked while clearing the building.

"Boss kept the Mark L with him at all times, but stored the others at the compound. They're inbound, but won't make it before the building comes down."

Before he could reply, her urgent voice cut across him. "Peter, first responders attempted to breach the door to start evacuating, but caused major structural damage. The 17 minutes now has become 7 before complete collapse."

Peter's eyes widened beneath the mask. He needed to evacuate an impossible number of people in 7 minutes.

Thinking quickly, he shot four web grenades at the walls of two surrounding buildings, creating a giant spiderweb between them. Lunging insider, he began throwing people out the window towards the web. More and more people stepped out of their homes to view the bizarre scene, but all of them started cheering as more and more people were saved by their hero and held securely and safely on the web.

Peter launched the last lady and himself out just in time, as the building began to fall to the ground.

"FRIDAY, talk to me," Peter panted.

"All lifeforms were evacuated, Peter."

Peter gasped in relief, before moving to help those trapped on the web down. Civilians all around him started cheering him on.

"We love you, Spidey!"

"Go Spidey Go!

"You did it, Webhead!"

Hundreds of different calls rose up into shouts as Peter turned towards them after finishing with the trapped people. Peter, in response, did something he would never have done before. He lowered his head, before deactivating his mask and helmet and exposing his true face to the crowd. Thousands came forward to swarm him, but luckily he was strong enough to push them back. Making their way past the wild crowd were three reporters, who immediately after making their way to the front pushed their microphones into Peter's face.

"Mr Parker, do you plan to stay in New York?"

"Absolutely," he said, and the loudest cheers of the night started up around him.

Peter looked at his wrist as if mimicking a watch, before turning to the crowd. "Sorry guys, but I gotta run." Saying this, he quickly webbed a line to a nearby building and rose up faster than they could respond.

As Peter ntered the Avengers Tower living room, he saw Pepper waiting for him.

"Well done," she said, indicating towards the news on the television, showing his rescue of the F.E.A.S.T residents.

"Thanks, Pepper," Peter called.

"Now, there's something I want to talk to you about."

"What's up?"

"School."

"School?"

"School."

"What about school?"

"Do you want to continue it?" Pepper gently held him in a hug as he thought about the question. "I will respect your decision, don't worry, but do have something to do look forward to everyday."

Peter pondered on the question, before he finally gave his answer. "Yes, I'm going to continue my education. But I'm going for an early GED. I can't spend the next two years in mind-numbing school."

Pepper frowned. "If you could, why didn't you test out earlier?"

"May didn't want me to not socialise with my peers." Peter shrugged                                                                                                                                                     

"Then are you sure that you want to now? Again, no judging."

"Yes, I can leave school behind and get to start serious studies and work. This is what I want." Peter had conviction in his tone.

"Alright, Peter. I trust you," said Pepper.

Peter went to the restroom to remove the Iron Spider to see if there were any wounds he was unaware off. As he caught the eye of his own reflection, he spoke with conviction.

"I know you didn't want me to, May, but this is the only way I can start helping people."                            

Peter looked solemnly at the mirror. "I will make you proud, May."

Peter, Pepper, Lila, and Nate spent the next few months in two stages, grief or anxiety. All of them had mood swings that seemed very strange to their pre-Snap thought processes, but they still endeavoured to comfort the others and learned how to cohabitate. Pepper was the most temperamental, which could be attributed to her pregnancy. Still, Peter and the other kids did their best to make her comfortable. Lila remembered how her mother used to act when she was pregnant with Nate, and did everything she could to make Pepper's life easier. From hot-water bags, to supplying Pepper's cravings for pineapples, she did everything she could to help out. The deep-rooted sadness was still there, though. If Peter listened carefully, sometimes he could hear her crying in her room.

Nate was a cheerful boy, but there were times that he still missed his parents. Sometimes the other three had to get up in the middle of the night to comfort him and rock him to sleep gently. Lila helped him during the day, but she herself was so young that Peter and Pepper helped during the night. Regardless, Nate's presence in the penthouse proved to elevate the mood of its occupants during the initial months after the adjustment. He would wander into the rooms at full speed, blabbering something or the other in a mix of English and Gibberish that never failed to make even Pepper, during her worst moods, smile. Peter's somber mood would sometimes fall away before Nate's excitement. He had always loved kids, and very quickly, Nate became the little brother he never had. You could often find Peter, Nate and Lila sitting in the living room watching television, or simply staring out into the city in silence.

Lila, on the other hand, clearly showed the effects of losing her parents and older brother. Peter would often find her staring out in a random direction blankly for long periods of time. He didn't know how to react to that, so he simply left her until she 'woke up' on her own.

One day, he heard some sniffling from her room. Quietly opening the door, he slipped in and saw her sobbing on the bed. He knocked on the already open door to alert her to his presence.

"Hey," he said softly.

Lila hurriedly wiped her eyes and stood up, not looking him in the eyes.

"Hey hey hey, don't get up on my account," he joked. It barely elicited a weak smile from her. Peter sighed heavily before making his way to her bed and sitting down. "Come on," he gestured at the spot next to him. Lila slowly padded forward and sat down gingerly next to him. "You know," he started, "when my parents passed away, I was six years old. I couldn't understand that there were mysterious circumstances, that a plane crash over the Alps took them, all I knew was that they weren't coming home. I tried my best to put on a brave face, because my aunt was always crying, but in my room, I sometimes used to see something that reminded me of them, and I would break down."

Lila slowly looked up at him, and moved closer to him. He gently put his arm around her shoulders. "One day, my uncle passed the room and saw me crying. I tried my best to hide it, but a six year old isn't the best actor. I thought that he would tell me off, tell me that 'boys don't cry', but he sat down and told me, "Crying doesn't make you weak, Peter. Every time you cry, you heal a little bit. All of us do it, and you don't ever have to be ashamed of crying, understand?" I learnt a lot that day, and I want to let you know that you can always come to be if you have a problem. I know, I'm not your parent or your brother, but right here, right now, we have each other, and that means that you can trust me, okay?"

Lila stayed nuzzled in his chest for a while, completely silent, before she slowly started shaking. Peter held her trembling form to him, rubbing her shoulders and whispering sweet nothings to her. Lila's sobs eventually entered the audible range, and she completely broke down on him. They spent the next hour curled up, with Lila continuously crying while Peter shed a few tears of his own, thinking of the good times when he curled into May like this.

"I just miss them so much!" Lila sobbed.

"I know," whispered Peter, "So do I. But if they were here, they would tell us that we have to live our lives. We can't be hung up on the past. I know it's hard, but we need to move on. And as long as that takes, I'm here, okay?"

From that day on, Lila stuck close to Peter. Every time that he went out as Spider-Man, she was waiting for him when he got home, ready to treat any wounds that he gained. When he was studying for his high school finals, she would come and sit next to him quietly and focus on the work Pepper assigned to her while school was out. Sometimes, when watching TV, she would lean in and snuggle up next to him while he stroked her hair. This prompted Nate to be even more affectionate towards Peter, inciting Lila's jealousy, much to Peter and Pepper's private amusement.

Pepper's increased workload could be seen by the lines on her face and the bags under her eyes. Her position as CEO, and now largest shareholder, of Stark Industries International meant that she had an ungodly amount of work to get through. This increased her mood swings and exhaustion from her pregnancies. Peter had slowly started helping her in the business by shadowing her in meetings where he could, and sometimes going downstairs to R&D to help the scientists like he did when he was an intern. Now, however, he acted as de-facto head of R&D, though he didn't know how that started. Most of the scientists started coming up to him to present ideas or double check their work, like they did with Mr Stark when he was here. Pepper laughed when he expressed his confusion to her. It was amusing to her that Peter couldn't see how much of Tony was in him. Despite Peter's self-delusion, she knew that Tony believed Peter was just as smart, if not smarter, then he was. Peter was already a brilliant mind before he even finished high school, and now he was reading all the advanced content he could get his hands on, and with FRIDAY that was a lot, in natural sciences and engineering. Of course they were coming to him for advice, he was basically being groomed for the position.

Peter also tried helping her in public by making a frequent appearances in the Maria Stark Rehabilitation Centres. He sat beside the beds of those who were injured and talked to them, read stories for children, and brought food from the Stark warehouses whenever he could. He gave all the Centre managers his phone number so they could reach him for emergencies. Knowing that they were under the personal protection of Spider-Man made the Centres a very attractive option for many in New York.

This shot up donations and aid coming into the centres, not just in New York, but around the world. Stark Industries, always a conscientious company (of course they were, their owner and face was a superhero), was now looked at with awe for spearheading the relief movements in the wake of the decimation. Pepper had also, without Peter's permission, put on a press release that the relief movement was Peter's idea, bringing even more acclaim to young superhero. He was considered very much like Tony Stark. Just like how Iron Man got up and apologised after the fall of Novi Grad, Spider-Man was seen by many as his spiritual successor for having done the same thing after the Decimation. Some still blamed him, the superheroes being a very easy scapegoat for them, but the vast majority of the world followed his words and tried to move on. Many drew parallels between Spider-Man and Iron Man, which never failed to infuriate Peter, and make Pepper give a wistful smile.

One day, Pepper walked into the lab to call Peter for dinner, when she saw him working on holographic design for something that didn't look anything like any of Stark Industries current projects. It looked more like a futuristic box with stilts and wheels. AC/DC's best hits were playing in the background, almost bringing tears to her eyes.

"What're you doing, Pete?" she asked.

Peter turned around surprised, as his hearing didn't pick her up over the music. "Oh hey, Pep."

The first time he called her that, she had suddenly burst out crying and lunged into his chest. It was only later that he learned it was because he sounded exactly like Mr Stark. He thought maybe the nickname was personal, but she explained that, as the person who held her hair back when she threw up during morning sickness, and who comforted her when she got low, he was more than entitled to call her by a personal nickname.

"I was just working on something," he continued.

"I can see that," she replied, moving towards the workstation. "Is it some sort of spider gadget?"

"No, no no no. This," he elaborately gestured to the design, "is a cradle."

"A cradle?" Pepper asked astonished.

"Yes," Peter replied proudly, "the most advanced cradle in the world. It has automatic thermostat, the best surround sound system today, holographic displays that show both recorded and voice activated data-" before he could continue, he was crushed in a hug by a laughing and crying Pepper.

"You are so over the top with your gifts, Peter."

"Mr Stark's baby girl can't just have any cradle," he replied, offended by the insinuation, "and since he isn't here to make her the most awesome cradle ever, so she'll have to settle for mine."

"Oh sweetie," Pepper said, "Any crib from you would be the best cradle, simply because it was made by you."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure," he answered sceptically, "but this is the actual best cradle in the world. It's built to be so safe that nothing short of a Jericho missile can break the shielding."

Pepper just shook her head smiling. Peter might be too young for those 'love trumps all' sentiments anyway.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Boss-Lady, but Peter, the latest edition of the Daily Bugle is out," called out FRIDAY.

"Put it up on the display, FRI," Peter ordered, swiping the cradle design to a different folder. He then sat down and started reading the latest headline from the controversial newspaper.

"Daily Bugle?" muttered Pepper bewildered. "Why on Earth would you want to read the Daily Bugle?"

"They represent part of the public sentiment about me, Pep. While I'm happy it's not all of them, a great many people believe things like what J. Jonah Jameson says. I need to know what they're saying."

The Daily Bugle was famously anti-Superhero. During the Sokovia Accords incident, they were the first media forum to publicly denounce it for being too soft on the 'Masked Madman Epidemic', as they called it. Of course, the paper was always a local, New York based paper, and didn't have wide circulation throughout the country, let alone the world, so they went after the local heroes as much as they could. While they might have sometimes been critical of Iron Man, their favourite target was always Spider-Man, New York's local hero. Therefore, J. Jonah Jameson was seen as the face of the anti-Spider-Man movement, a movement that had now gained a bit of traction.

'ARE SUPERHEROES REALLY NECESSARY?' read the headline. Below that were two pictures, one of the airport battle during the so-called 'Superhero Civil War', while the other showed Spider-Man and Iron Man standing on a rooftop together. The article was, of course, written by Peter's strongest critic.

'Today, we see a sharp upturn in crime numbers. If you've been reading our previous issues, or really any news at all, you'll know that this is because of the decimation. With people's lives and livelihoods at stake, despite the existence of projects like the Maria Stark Rehabilitation Program and others like it, some people still feel that stealing and vandalising are a better option. Any post-apocalyptic movie or book features a run down world where store windows and offices are broken. This is because it is inherent in human nature not to let you or your family starve. That's known, and understandable.

What isn't known or expected is the rise of the so-called 'Supervillain'. Those criminals that have such enhanced powers or technology that regular law enforcement is unable to stop them. The term was first applied to the WWII Nazi Johann Schmidt, otherwise known as the Red Skull. He was only matched by Captain America himself in combat. Other famous examples include Obadiah Stane, the 'Iron Monger', Aldritch Killian, also known as 'The Mandarin', Adrian Toomes, or 'The Vulture', all the way up to Ultron himself (this reporter doesn't count extraterrestrial entities such as Loki of Asgard, or Thanos, as supervillains, simply because they are not of our planet. The more appropriate term, in my opinion, is invader).

But would there have been such a rise in the 'Supervillain' population if there wasn't a matching increase in the 'Superhero' population? It is a matter of opinion whether the villains rose to match the heroes, or the heroes rose to challenge the villains, but it doesn't matter. With the advent of the 'Superhero Era', which most agree began with Tony Stark's proclamation about his armoured activities, we see so many new threats, threats that grow more and more powerful and dangerous simply because there exists a challenger. Nature wants balance, so if the 'good guys' become stronger, so too would their opposites, right?

Many criticize me for being too hard on Queens's 'Friendly Neighbourhood' Spider-Man, but I'll tell you right now, he's not the source of the problem. He is just the symptom of a larger issue. A teenager with ropes coming out of his wrists tries to play hero, which is fine. I'm all for ambition and helping people. But why must we sit back and be damsels in distress for him, for all of them? Why must we rely on a minute number of champions and gods to protect us, instead of them helping us uplift ourselves?

It has become increasingly clear over the last few years that in terms of power, we are considered a backwater planet with a weak people that are easy to kill, which is true on a galactic scale. Would it not be better if every man and woman in our armies were stronger, hardier, better? Maybe if they were, we wouldn't have to have relied on these 'heroes', and those we'd lost would still be here today. Food for thought.'

Pepper's eyes were wide open, reading about a viewpoint she'd never considered. She turned to look at Peter, who only looked back at her with a mirthless grin.

As Spider-Man, which was how Peter was spending the majority of his time, he patrolled New York every day. Spider-Man was far more active then ever before. While there were indeed few who despised his very presence, most of the people he met were overjoyed and thankful. While the grim and mournful atmosphere was very much still there, he could visibly see that the cloud was rising. People were walking the streets again, and little by little, he could hear the laughs again. Peter was seen everywhere. In Queens, in Brooklyn, in the Bronx, in Manhattan, he covered as much land as he could before coming home each day completely exhausted. On top of this, he helped Lila with her studies, babysat Nate, helped Pepper with whatever she needed, and did his schoolwork for his GED. It was clear to everyone but him that he was working himself to exhaustion, though no one knew why. No one knew that he wanted to tire himself out so he didn't see May yell at him and call him a disappointment in his dreams, so he didn't hear his parents and Ben say they wish he was never born. No one knew.

It was three months after the Snap that Midtown School of Science and Technology reopened its doors. He was given an invitation to attend the session, but he wrote an email asking for an early graduation with a GED. They swiftly sent their approval, but he needed to come back on the first day of school to write the tests.

So, Peter slung his webs through Manhattan towards his school. Ignoring the media parked outside, who immediately shouted questions to him. He quickly shot through the doors and walked over to his locker, ignoring the stares from the students around him. He opened his locker as fast as possible, and kept his books inside.

"Peter?" he heard from behind him. He turned around to see who was calling him, because while he expected a lot of staring, he didn't expect anyone to actually talk to him. He was elated to find that he actually recognised the person who spoke.

"Cindy?" he asked incredulously.

"Oh my god, it's great to see you!" she exclaimed, running forward to hug him. "I saw your press conference, and, dude!" she hit him in the arm, startling him. "You're Spider-Man?! Like, what the hell, man?"

"Yeah," he chuckled nervously, glancing around at the surrounding students who weren't even pretending to not listen in. "It's a recent development."

"You're the one who saved us in D.C," came from a voice from his other side. Peter turned and saw Abe Brown swiftly making his way forward. He came forward and hugged Cindy with one arm and Peter with the other. "Thank you, Pete," he said gratefully.

"No problem, dude," he replied, very uncomfortable with the display of gratitude.

"Now, what are you doing here?" Cindy asked. "I thought you'd be doing homeschooling wherever you're staying now."

"I'm actually graduating early," he said to both their surprise. Not because they didn't think he was smart enough, but because he had always seemed intent on staying back in the same grade whenever he was asked. "I'm just here to sit for my tests and drop off some paperwork."

"So, I guess we won't be seeing you around here anymore, then, huh," Abe replied with a sad smile, one that Cindy mirrored.

"Hey guys, c'mon," Peter protested, not liking that expression, "we still have each others' numbers, right? Just call, and we can still hang out!"

"Yeah, you're right," realised Cindy with a slow smile, "We can-"

Peter's Spider-Sense exploded in his head, while Cindy's eyes widened at something behind him. He quickly spun around to find a boy holding a gun at him. He was probably a year younger than Peter. Chubby, black hair, blue eyes. It was obvious that he didn't know what he was doing, and the gun was shaking in his hand.

"You!" he cried, his eyes full of furious tears. "It's all your fault!"

"Billy," Peter said slowly, pushing Cindy and Abe behind him as the whole corridor screamed out in shock. "You need to calm down." The teachers came out at this point and quickly pulled the students to the edges of the corridor.

"Calm down? CALM DOWN? I lost EVERYONE. EVERYONE I EVER LOVED! THEY WERE TAKEN FROM ME! They were taken from me. And now," here he gave a bitter chuckle. "Now I'm going to avenge them."

"I know, Billy," Peter replied quietly. "I lost everyone too."

"Y-you w-w-were supposed to p-protect us!" Billy sobbed.

"I know," Peter whispered, taking a step forward. "And it kills me every morning that they're gone and I'm not." Another step. "But look at what you're doing. Is this what they would have wanted?" One more step. "Would they want to see you kill in their names? Will you disrespect their memories?" Now he stood directly in front of the barrel. "I know I deserve it. I failed. But don't do this. Not for me, or for you. Do it for them."

Billy, who was steadily crying harder with each word that Peter uttered, broke down completely and fell to his knees with lung-breaking sobs. Peter swiftly kicked the gun away, before kneeling down and wrapping Billy in a hug. As Billy cried into his shirt, Peter closed his eyes, and directed his thoughts to the spectral figure of Thanos that hung over his every moment.

'How many more lives will you ruin before you're satisfied, Titan?'

"Peter," called Pepper, coming into the lab, where Peter now semi-resided. "We have a guest, and they're asking for you."

Peter turned back to her in confusion. "So what, Pep? Lots of people have asked for me, but we've always told them no, right?"

"I think you'd want to meet with this one, Pete."

They got up and left the lab, moving through the corridors of the compound. After the Snap, Peter had made it a habit to come back to the compound once every week to see how everything and everyone was progressing. Jane had now moved in completely to the compound, and was a frequent visitor to the tower. She and Peter would spend hours discussing theory about the stones, astronomy, and every subject in between. Jane's entire group of friends had been snapped, so she spent most of her time with whomever she could. Luckily, the compound had other inhabitants as well.

Carol was a semi-permanent member of the compound. She had neglected to buy an apartment after Pepper offered her a room there permanently. Aside from going on trips around the world when the situation called for it, she stayed almost exclusively in the compound, getting along fantastically with Jane and Nebula. Carol had used FRIDAY and Peter to sync her up with local law enforcement, and now she was known around the world for being a sort of enhanced peacekeeper, along with being a very public sign, along with Peter, that the Avengers weren't dead.

Rocket and Nebula both stayed there as well. They were looked at strangely for their appearance elsewhere. While people on Earth were accustomed to strange looking beings (Vision being one of them), they were not used literal animals that could talk, while Nebula was too much of a cyborg for anyone's taste. Slowly, though, public sentiment had been turning towards them, as despite the shock of their appearance, they still were using the Benetar to transport essentials from and to places far apart from each other. While various authorities were not initially trusting, a holographic call to Spider-Man, the world's currently premier superhero, made them much more amenable to the aliens. However, when they weren't out on a mission, they stayed in the compound, trying not to let the devastating loss affect them even more. Rocket found great joy in playing in the lab along with Peter and Jane, both of whom he declared were 'passable'. Nebula, though, made quick friends with Carol and Pepper, and could also be seen spending time in front of a television with Peter.

Valkyrie was the one they saw the least. She had approached the United Nations along with Peter and Pepper to talk about a place to stay for the Asgardian refugees. After much discussion, where Peter first learnt to speak and debate on a public forum, they finally agreed to grant them a small patch of land in Eastern Norway, in an area called Tønsberg. The refugees had settled there, and were in the midst of starting a small fishing village. Pepper used part of the vast Stark fortune to fund and expedite the construction of the town, which would henceforth be called 'New Asgard'. Valkyrie usually made her way to the tower for meetings every month, and different dignitaries from all over the world, businesspeople from various companies, and historians would all try to sneak in a meeting with her and the heir to the Stark empire.

Peter and Pepper made their way into the common room, where the rest of the Avengers, bar Valkyrie, were waiting already seated.

"Oh hey guys," said Peter, "Anyone else know who we're meeting?"

"Not a clue," came the answer from a confused Jane.

"Might be a new Avengers candidate," suggested Carol.

"We do not know anything, so it would be foolish to speculate," Nebula said robotically.

"Yeah, but it's fun," replied Carol mischievously. "Hey, what if they're some sort of religious cult leader here to declare us their gods?"

"Or a supervillain who's planning to mind control us with their super evil powers!" Peter excitedly exclaimed.

"Well, it's not any of those," Pepper called, walking into the room with the guest trailing behind her.

They all took the moment to observe the visitor. She was of medium height, and had long blonde hair, and blue eyes. She wore a one piece bodysuit fully in white, which looked flexible and strong enough to withstand some punishment. She was clearly very athletic, but was not overly buff. They could all see the gun holstered to her hip, and the two knives on each arm of hers. This put them on alert, though Peter didn't feel his warning sense go off, so he assumed she wasn't a threat at the moment. She had a very neutral expression on her face, showing no indication of what she thought.

"Everyone," Pepper said, "This is Yelena Belova. She's a former Black Widow, and Natasha Romanoff's sister."

"She had a sister!?" Peter yelled.

"Yeah," Yelena said with a grimace. "She didn't really like to talk about her past." Her Russian accent was heavily apparent in her words.

"Oh," Peter whispered, looking like his world was blown. Quickly shaking off his shock, he stepped forward and thrust his hand out. "Hi, I'm Peter Parker."

"I know," she replied, shaking his hand. "I saw the press conference. That's why I'm here."

"Well, what can we do for you, Ms Belova?" asked Carol.

"I-"

"I'm sorry, ho-hold on a minute here," interrupted Rocket. "Who's she, what's a Black Widow, and who's Natasha Romawhatever?"

"In order," Pepper began, "This is Yelena, the Black Widows were a famous group of female assassins, and Natasha Romanoff, who used the title of 'Black Widow', was a member of the Avengers before the Snap."

"Ohhh, okay," said Rocket, sitting back. "Continue."

"Thank you so much for your permission," she answered sarcastically, before sobering up. "I'm here because I want to honour my sister."

"And how do you want to do that?" asked Peter curiously. He had only met the Black Widow for a few hours, and didn't know her too well, but he still regretted and mourned her loss. If only he was a little faster, a little stronger, he could have got the gauntlet off of Thanos, and they would all be alive.

"I met my sister during her exile after the 'Civil War'. We shut down the Red Room, the place that makes Black Widows, and we were reconnecting. Suddenly, she's taken away from me, and I don't know how to move on."

They all looked sympathetic and understanding towards her situation, and all of them knew that feeling of loss. They had all lost someone, and were all burying it in different ways. Yelena shook off the depression.

"So I came here to find out why she liked this job so much. And looking around," she said, glancing around theatrically, "you guys seem a little shorthanded."

Peter glanced at Pepper, who gave him a slow nod, indicating that she had FRIDAY check the story out. Then he glanced at his teammates. All of them looked neutral or mildly approving. Seeing that they didn't have any overt problems, he asked one final question.

"You know this isn't a game, right? Why do you want to do this?"

Yelena stared at him stonily. "Yes, I know this isn't a game. But Nat gave her life for this cause. What kind of sister would I be if I couldn't even do justice to her life's beliefs after her death. I have all of her skills, but I've either been an enslaved mercenary, or trying to live a normal life, while my sister tried to make the world a better place. I've decided I'm not going to stay quiet any longer."

Peter stared at her thoughtfully for a while, before a smile bloomed on his face, and he extended his hand. "Welcome to the Avengers," he declared, "We take in all sorts of wackos, so no matter what, you'll always fit in here."

"HEY!" came the collective cry from all the team members, including Yelena, though they all had small smiles on their faces.

"Now, I have just got to understand," Yelena said suddenly. "Is that actually a talking raccoon?"

"Hey! Who do you think you are calling me a raccoon, blondie?"

"Aren't you a raccoon, though? That's the name of your species!"

"I'm Rocket. That's my first name, middle name, last name, and species, clear?"

"So your name is Rocket Rocket Rocket, and you're a Rocket?"

Everyone burst out laughing here, while Rocket growled menacingly at the newcomer and prepared to pounce. Carol, stifling her laughter, quickly moved to break up the growing conflict.

"Oh yeah," Peter chuckled, "you'll be just fine here."

"Mr Parker," an aide called, making two heads rise from where they were waiting. "You can go in now."

Peter nodded his thanks to her, and looked over at his companion. Jennifer Walters looked towards him with a resolute glance. Jennifer was Tony Stark's independent legal expert that he'd brought in to negotiate the Sokovia Accords before the Civil War. She was an icon as a human rights lawyer, and was one of the most reputed and famous names in the field across the world. Of course, the fact that she was Bruce Banner's cousin didn't hurt Tony's choice. They had worked together to ensure that the deal they had would be the as fair as possible to both sides, the UN and the Avengers. However, everyone knew the end result of that.

Now, here she was again to help Peter and the Avengers navigate the post-Decimation politics of enhanced persons. Peter was looked at as Tony Stark's replacement as the enhanced community's ambassador. The same community which had been growing exponentially for the past few years, with the Avengers at the forefront of the movement. The enhanced community's rights were dealt a blow when Captain America decided to rebel against the Accords. It proved the paranoids right that there would be no one to stop the so called superheroes and supervillains should they decide to go rogue. Tony had campaigned for ages, schmoozing politicians, making generous donations, and appearing in the press constantly to ensure that the Sokovia Accords amendments went smoothly, and not like the antisemitic laws of Nazi Germany.

But Tony Stark was gone now. In the new era, it was Peter Parker that had to pick up the slack. Jennifer knew that Pepper Potts had stepped up to take care of all relief efforts and logistics, but Peter had firmly volunteered to take care of all enhanced matters. As a teenager that had no experience with this kind of work, he was performing admirably. Frequently appearing in the press, he had pushed the message that the Avengers still existed, and they were there to help people.

There were many who made a comparison between Tony Stark and Peter Parker, both as their civilian and superhero alter egos, but Jennifer didn't think so. The resemblance was certainly there, with the way that they commanded the room with their presence (Peter doing so unconsciously), the way both of them had no need to showcase their enormous intellect, as it was already apparent, and the way they both were at the forefront of multiple areas, from business, to politics, to super-heroics. She could clearly see why he was seen as the next Iron Man, but she didn't agree.

Peter still had that optimism in him. That belief that people are good, that fellow men help each other. That was what inspired him to move forward, because he believed that what he was doing is what anyone would have done. Tony Stark, who became a global superhero after decades of doing business in the dark part of the arms industry, was far too jaded from day one. Peter's mindset could be called anything from naïve to idealistic, but it was very different from the Merchant of Death's outlook on the world. Jen only hoped that Peter's ideals wouldn't be crushed as he grew up, because the world needed that kind of thoughts.

So when the Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross asked for a meeting with an Avengers representative on behalf of the Accords council, Jen immediately packed up her briefcase and made her way to Stark Tower, where Peter and her got on a Quinjet to Berlin. She knew that her experience was the maximum in this field and arena, and by the looks of it, Peter knew it as well.

They entered the council chambers to see the twelve person Sokovia Accords council sitting inside the vast room. All of them wore neutral expressions when they looked down at the pair entering. Peter gazed over at the placards in front of them. The delegate from the UK was the council chair, while the delegates from the US, China, Russia, Japan, Germany, Nigeria, Argentina, Indonesia, Sokovia, Papua New Guinea, and Chile made up the rest of the seats. There was an election in the UN General Assembly before the whole Thanos mess that put these specific country representatives onto the panel.

"Good morning," came the voice from the Chair. "Welcome to the Accords Council, Mr Parker. I thank you for taking the time to come talk to us."

"Of course," Peter murmured, before clearing his throat and speaking louder. "Of course. You represent the people of the world, and I am always held accountable to the world."

Now, he could spot the vaguely approving expressions on the council members, apart from the blank expression of Thaddeus Ross, the US representative.

"We've called you here to discuss how we can move forward into a new age, much like you said in your speech," said the Chilean representative.

"The Avengers failed in their attempts to stop the alien known as 'Thanos', correct?" called the sardonic voice of the Indonesian delegate.

Peter took a deep breath at the reminder, before nodding his head. "Indeed they did, councilman. But, may I ask, what this has to do with me?"

"Well, as one of the only remaining Accords signees, as well as the only signee who has worked with the Avengers before, you are, at the moment, the de facto leader of the enhanced response team known as the Avengers in the eyes of this council," explained the German representative.

"We are aware of the group of individuals operating out of the Avengers Compound in New York who are providing relief to many different places," added the delegate from Papua New Guinea. "While we are certainly grateful and thankful for their aid, the fact remains that they are not licensed or allowed to do so."

"When did it become a crime to provide aid and relief to people, councilwoman?" cut in Jennifer.

"When they are enhanced individuals in direct violation of the Accords, Ms Walters," said Ross sharply.

"As I remember it, the Accords simply discussed the actions of superhumans in the sphere of law enforcement, not in search and rescue and relief work," rebutted Jennifer, glaring slightly at the former general. Both of them still harboured hard feelings for each other because of the fiasco involving Jen's cousin.

"The fact remains, ladies and gentlemen," put in the British councilwoman, averting the oncoming conflict. "While these individuals have not acted in violation of the Accords, they are very likely to do so should they encounter a criminal. Moreover, in these times, we would like them to do so, especially with the new range of enhanced criminals coming out of the woodwork."

"So you'd like my friends to sign the Accords, then?" asked Peter.

"We are debating whether to keep the Avengers active at all," said the Sokovian delegate harshly. "They have had a string of very public failures and mishaps over the past few years. First the Ultron event, which devastated my country's capital, then the following Crossbones missions, creating increasing amounts of collateral damage, to the Civil War, when one man's word caused several enhanced 'superheroes' to go against the will of the world. And now we have perhaps the greatest failure of all, and what is the result? Half the world is gone! So are the Avengers actually necessary, Mr Parker?"

Peter admitted that the man in front of him had some legitimate grievances. There was much evidence that the Avengers didn't work as they were meant to.

"May I answer?" he asked the chair, who nodded her permission. "Well, councilman, I can't dispute the points you've put forward. You certainly have good points. But I think you've confused the Avengers with a certain incarnation of the team."

Here all of the members were confused, including Jennifer, who decided to let him take the lead for the moment.

"The Avengers Initiative was an idea, to bring together a group of remarkable people. To see if they could become something more. So that when we, the world, needed them, they could fight the battles that we never could. It was a SHIELD idea, and perhaps they chose the wrong team. History shows us that Captain America and Iron Man never got along.

But the Avengers name still means something. That's why Mr Stark didn't retire it even after the Civil War. He could have, there were no members left other than him, Colonel Rhodes, and the Vision, for Christ's sake! But he understood that the name still brings hope to the people. Yes, the Avengers team was riddled with problems. Yes, they caused several problems. But people still trust that name. So, forgive me for disagreeing with you, but I don't think you should retire the brand. The Avengers team, the one that caused all of those problems you spoke of, they're gone. We have a chance to build a new team, a better organised, better trained team. A new Avengers. And that's a dream that shouldn't go unfulfilled."

There was stunned silence that permeated the room. Several delegates looked genuinely impressed with him. Jennifer was looking at him with approval, knowing that his words had swayed several bitter representatives to their side. The Sokovian councilman sat back in his seat with a thoughtful look, while Ross looked slightly disgruntled.

"I still think the Avengers have failed their mission, and they should be scrapped," said Ross. "We can build a new team, one built to follow our orders."

"There is no quota on enhanced squads, Representative Ross," replied Jennifer. "If you wish for such a team, submit an application to the council and make a team."

"Motion to keep the Avengers Initiative functioning?" called the British representative. All the hands of the delegates, apart from Ross, raised their hands. "Passed. The Avengers Initiative remains functioning. Mr Parker, I have also taken the liberty of changing your status from 'Unaffiliated' to a part of the team, and until the team fully comes together to decide on the leadership and chain of command, I ask you to serve as Avengers representative to the Accords council."

Peter was stunned. He was just a seventeen, almost eighteen year old, kid, and the decision makers for all the world superhumans had asked him to represent the premier superhero team. He knew over the past few months that he was gaining a reputation, but this was absurd. Still, it was just until a team came together, which shouldn't be too long.

"Now, we have the profiles of all the current members operating from the Avengers compound, and the vote to place them on the team will take place at a later date. However, Mr Parker, the council has a prospective member who has been scouted by us. Would you consider talking to him and integrating him in your team. Even if he does not join the Avengers, you might still be sent on joint missions by the council."

"Of course, councilwoman. Any help is welcome at this point."

"Bring him in!" the chairwoman said to the aide, who nodded and left the chamber. She returned shortly followed by a tall blonde man. Peter could see he was well built, with defined muscles on his frame, and that he was trained in combat. His blonde hair and blue eyes were easy to remember, and Peter knew that this man was powerful.

"Hi," he said with a strong British accent, striding towards Peter. "I'm Dr Brian Braddock. I look forward to working with you in the future."

"Peter," came the voice from the ceiling, "you have a call on the line."

Peter looked up from what he was doing. He was reading over his university applications for various colleges. Pepper was convinced that no one would be stupid enough to reject him, but he wasn't so certain. There was still some hostility towards him in public. While most people seemed genuinely thankful to him, some still had harsh words on their lips towards him or the others.

"Who's calling me, FRIDAY? Who has my Stark line? Put it on the screen."

He turned towards the screen in confusion, because nobody, apart from the Avengers and the Accords Council, had access to his private Stark line. Cindy and Abe still had his old cell number, that he kept active for exactly that reason. But if it was any of the above, FRIDAY would have announced it.

The display turned on to show a video call. The person on the other end was a middle aged African American man. He was bald, and his eyes shone with intelligence. He appeared to be sitting in an old fashioned office, but the most striking thing was the wheelchair he was in. It was steel grey, but had a very futuristic look to it. The large wheels on either side had four large spokes, giving the image of a cross, or an X.

"Good evening, Mr Parker." he said genially. "My name is Dr Charles Xavier. We need to talk."

"So, we go and talk to this guy about sensitive magical and scientific knowledge that we would normally keep to ourselves? Is that wise?"

"Hey, he's the one who came to me, okay? He's the one who told us about this."

"I know, but seriously? Some guy off the street?"

"He's not some guy, alright? Charles Xavier is one of the world's foremost experts on the genetics of evolution. He's the one who identified that the next stage of human evolution would be determined by activating the X-Gene, and even coined the term 'mutant', which is what they're called now."

"A disgusting name."

"I know, but it is how it is. And, according to what he says, he's a mutant himself, and the world's most powerful telepath."

"What do you know about him?"

"Born to Patrick and Anne Xavier in 1978, he passed out of Bard's College, an expensive prep school, at the age of 16. Acknowledged as a genius all his life, he went to Oxford on an academic scholarship, and came back with two PhDs in genetics and biophysics. He's been a prominent researcher in evolutionary biology for the past fifteen years, and whatever time he doesn't spend on that he spends in championing and protesting for various causes."

"So he's an activist?"

"For just about every cause you can think of."

"Does that mean he sees himself as a champion of this cause?"

"Which cause?" Peter asked, stopping in his tracks.

"You know," Clea said, gesticulating with her hands. "The mutants. Does he see himself as their Moses? There and able to guide them to the promised land?"

Peter opened his mouth, before pausing and thinking. "You know what? He just might. But I do think he genuinely wants to help them."

"Then should we be giving this kind of information to him?"

"Regardless of what he sees himself as, he's still one of the most brilliant minds on the subject. We could use his help to figure out what to do."

Clea and Peter continued down the corridor. It had been two days since Peter had been contacted by Charles Xavier. The researcher had asked Peter for a meeting, to discuss a problem that had sprung up recently. After hearing about it, Peter had agreed, and promptly consulted Clea. So now they were walking to their meeting with Charles at Stark Tower.

They reached the room and opened the door, seeing a man raise his head to view them. A smile appeared on his face, and he wheeled around the meeting desk and towards them with his arm outstretched.

"Mr Parker, an honour to meet you."

"I assure you, Dr Xavier, the honour's all mine. And please, call me Peter."

"Then you must call me Charles." Turning towards the other occupant of the room, Charles extended his arm again. "You must be Mr Parker's friend. A pleasure, I'm Charles Xavier."

"Nice to meet you, Dr Xavier. I'm Clea."

Gesturing with his arm, Peter led them to the table where they all settled down.

"Now, the reason we're all here," started Charles. "As you know, there has been a sudden and rapid increase in the number of mutants worldwide."

"Yes," said Peter, "that's why I've invited Clea. Clea, here, is the current leader of the sorcerers and our resident expert on all things mystical. Clea?"

"I've analysed the energy readings, Dr Xavier, and you are right. There has been a rise in the number of mutants, and I've been able to figure out why."

She cleared her throat and snapped her fingers. A three dimensional model of Earth appeared out fo thin air, startling Charles for a moment, though he recovered admirably.

"When Thanos unleashed his weapon," here Wakanda shone brightly on the globe, before the glow expanded and covered  the whole planet. "He unleashed a surge of energy into the cosmos that was unlike anything ever seen in a very long time. This includes all forms of energy, some explainable by science, and some yet to be discovered."

The projection changed to a view of a DNA strand. "This energy, while harmless to the vast majority, jumpstarted, for lack of a better word, the evolution of our species." A particular base pair in the strand was highlighted. "There was an activation of the X-Gene in a percentage of the population, who will slowly mature, develop, and display different abilities over time. By my estimate, in the next twenty years, there will be a global population of 4.9 billion people due to the, latest events," she coughed at the end, "and roughly 100,000 of them would be mutants. In thirty years, that number would climb to a million."

The room was silent after the predictions of the sorceress. Peter took it upon himself to dispel the awkwardness. "It seems that every time I see you, Clea, you're always warning me of something. You're like my personal bad luck messenger pigeon."

It worked like a charm. "Excuse me?" Clea asked offended, while Charles stifled a chuckle. "Did you just compare me to a bird that poops everywhere?"

"Is that the part you want to focus on?"

"Moving on," cut in Charles hastily, seeing the argument in Clea's eyes. Clea huffed, before becoming serious again. "May I ask what kind of weapon Thanos used? It may help my studies to identify the effect on the DNA of a mutant."

"I'm afraid that's classified information, Dr Xavier," answered Clea before Peter could speak.

"Of course," Charles responded genially, but the disappointment was visible in his eyes.

"I think the more important point is what do we do to help these people?"

"From my estimates," said Charles, "most of the people who have an active X-Gene at the moment are below the age of 15."

"Yes, and by the way, how do you keep track of mutants?" Clea asked suspiciously.

"Ah," Charles said, expecting this question, but not so bluntly. "As you know, I am a telepath. Some years ago, with the help of a friend, I created a brainwave enhancer that allows me to boost my powers on a massive scale. I call it 'Cerebro', and it allows me to identify mutants around the world. I have built a small group of contacts over the years, of those who have also awakened their mutation."

"So you have mutant friends?" asked Peter.

"Indeed. One of my closest friends, Dr Henry McCoy, was born with a physique similar to an ape, with unusually large hands and feet and a superhuman physique. He's the one who helped create Cerebro. Another friend is a young lady with the ability to manipulate the weather."

"What, like Thor?" cut in Peter.

"Very much like Thor, actually, with the ability call down similar bolts of lightning. I've also met a man with the ability to generate and manipulate magnetic fields, as well as a woman capable of looking like anyone. And whispers of reached my ears of a man who's lived for 200 years and fought in every war since the American Civil War, and looks no more than thirty years of age."

"Coming back to the point, any ideas to deal with the new mutants?" added Clea, getting them back on track.

"I had an idea some time ago," said Charles. "What if there was a school? After all, the vast majority of them are children. What if there was a place where these children can learn to harness their powers in a safe environment?"

"A mutant school?" asked Clea sceptically.

"Yes, indeed. All those people I mentioned earlier, they are all ready and willing to help teach. Apart from the immortal warrior, all of them have approved of my idea. Mutants are a new species, and as we've seen in history, humanity does not take kindly to what is different. We want to help these children, who will be ostracised from society. We can help them ensure that they do not lose control, and teach them to integrate into the rest of the world. And eventually, one day, mutants and humans can coexist."

"That sounds great, Dr Xav-Charles," replied Peter after a moment, "But if you already have a plan, why come to me?"

"Because, Peter, at this moment, you are the world's premier enhanced individual. I would like you alongside when I pitch my idea to the government and the United Nations."

"The United Nations?" asked Clea bewildered.

"I believe we need the support of the world, and the Avengers, to help these children. You carry enormous power in your words, and when you speak, especially on a subject like enhanced individuals, the world will listen."

"I think you overestimate my influence, Charles," answered Peter bashfully.

"On the contrary," Charles said, smiling. "You underestimate yourself, Peter. So, will you help us, Peter?"

Peter was silent for a while. "Alright," Peter said eventually. "I want to help. But we have to take this slowly. I know an great human rights attorney, and we can come up with a strategy together, but we cannot expect the world to listen immediately." Peter even six months ago would have immediately jumped the gun, and gone out to speak on the subject with anyone who would listen. It showed how much he had changed, and understood the need to draw out a plan and think through his actions. "In the meantime, why don't you start your school, and approach these children and their parents individually to convince them to join you. You can even give my name if you need it."

"Thank you very much, Peter," Charles replied smiling widely. "That sounds like an excellent idea. I already have a few people in mind for the school."

"Great. Once you have some actual evidence and testimonials of your success in helping mutants, we can use that reputation to help in pitching the case to the international community."

"Wonderful!" said Charles, clapping his hands. "Thank you, Peter. Would you like to come to the school's campus sometime? Perhaps you can talk to some of the students once we start the school, tell them what it was like when you first got your powers, and help them with theirs."

"I would be delighted, Charles."

All of them got up from their seats and started saying their farewells. Before he made it out the door, Charles turned around. "One more thing," he said.

"Shoot."

"How come I can't feel either of your minds? While I don't actively try to read them, I usually am able to perceive minds around me."

Peter and Clea looked at each other and started laughing. "I'm sorry, Charles, but you didn't think I was going to walk into a room with a telepath and not take precautions, right? I think you're a good man, but you can never be too careful."

"How?" Charles asked stunned. His telepathy had never been blocked before.

"You didn't think you were the first telepath that Kamar-Taj has dealt with, did you?" asked Clea sardonically. "There are entities out there in different dimensions who would make your skills look like a child stumbling around. We have countermeasures against telepathy, don't worry. Nobody's taking our thoughts from us."

"Come on," Peter laughed, "I'm sure he wasn't that bad."

"You'd think," Pepper answered. "But as stern as he was when spoke to you, he was so much of a proud dad when he you weren't around. I remember so many times that he burst into the room yelling with joy when you won a spelling bee, or the science fair, or the decathlon."

Lila and Nate were giggling off to the side. "Wait," Lila said breathlessly between giggles, "you were part of a decathlon team?"

"Academic decathlon, Lila," Peter clarified.

"Yes, Petey, much like Tony, was and always will be a nerd. No sports for this guy," Pepper mocked.

Lila and Nate burst into renewed laughter while Peter was offended. "I'm definitely a nerd, but you've got to be the only person in the world who calls Tony Stark a nerd. He was, like, the coolest person ever."

"Oh, honey," Pepper laughed, shaking her head. "Tony was always a nerd deep down, no matter how much he tried to act like a cool guy. And unlike the rest of the world, who loved Iron Man as a superhero, you and your friends have to be the only people I know who fanboyed after Tony Stark for the Stark laws of engineering."

"Don't judge me, okay?" he yelled to the loud laughs. "The Stark laws of engineering are a masterpiece!"

"See what I mean? Nerd." Pepper whispered the last word to Lila and Nate.

"You guys are mean," Peter humphed exaggeratedly, crossing his arms comically across his chest.

"Moving on," Lila asked after the laughs calmed down. "How long until the baby gets here?"

"We have two months before Pepper explodes," Peter said, causing Pepper to swat him in the arm.

"You're going to explode?" yelled Nate with his eyes wide.

"Nobody's going to explode," Pepper soothed, glaring at Peter who sat unrepentantly eating his dinner. Lila simply started laughing again. All of them were at the dining table after a long day. They all endeavoured to have dinner together every evening, though Peter sometimes didn't make it as he would still be out on patrol.

"Peter just meant that in two months, Pepper's going to have a baby," Lila said after she stopped laughing.

"Speaking of new life experiences," Pepper changed the topic abruptly. "Peter, any updates about university?"

"Apart from that being the worst subject change transition I've ever heard," Peter began, causing Lila and Nate to again howl in laughter, "I have in fact made a decision. I received acceptances at both of my top choices, those being MIT and ESU, and I think I've made a decision."

"Well?" Pepper urged.

"I'm going to stay in the city. They need me here, and it's my city to take care of. I know Mr Stark wanted me to go to MIT, but I need to be here, and ESU is only one step down from MIT. So, I've decided that I'm going to Empire State University."

"Congratulations, Pete!" Pepper shouted, while Lila circled the table to hug him. Nate, despite having no idea what was going on, joined the hug with an enthusiastic jump, causing all three of them to fall to the floor while Pepper laughed from her spot at the table.

"You hear that, Nate? Peter's staying with us!" yelled Lila, ecstatic that her closest confidante wasn't leaving town.

"Yay!" babbled Nate, hugging Peter as tightly as he could.

"Alright, alright, munchkins," Peter chuckled, "now get off of me."

"Hey," exclaimed Lila. "Don't call me munchkin!" she said smacking him on his chest with her fist. Peter noted, though, that she didn't leave his embrace.

"Okay, I won't call you munchkin," Peter uttered solemnly, before gaining a mischievous smirk, "gum-ball."

Lila gasped in outrage. "Gum-ball is so much worse! Go back to munchkin!"

"Sorry, I always listen to exactly what you say. I cannot call you anything but gum-ball."

"Nooooo!" Lila howled dramatically to the ceiling, causing all four of them to burst into laughter.

"But seriously," Pepper started once everyone had sat down again. "what do you plan to study?"

"I'm going to be studying both mechanical engineering and biotechnology simultaneously. I've asked to take the advanced path, and I'm going to be writing my Master's thesis paper in three years for both subjects."

"Are you sure, Pete," asked Pepper worriedly. "It seems like a lot of work."

"It's not that difficult, Pep, don't worry."

"Not that difficult, he says," muttered Lila under her breath.

"Don't worry, honey, these genius types are very different from us normal people. Their standards are impossible to match."

"Well, I have to, Pep. I'm going to finish, and then head back to Stark Industries in the R&D division. Madison said that I have a job waiting for me."

"Yes you do, Pete. Head of R&D."

"What?!" Peter gasped.

"The job that's waiting for you," Pepper clarified, "it's head of R&D."

"What? No! Madison is Head of R&D!"

"Peter," Pepper said, chuckling softly and shaking her head, "Madison was always a placeholder. She's good, but she's not a revolutionary. That job was always yours."

Peter's bewildered face caused Lila to break out into laughter. "You r-really didn't notice?" she asked between laughs.

"Notice what?!"

"Peter, every time there's an important meeting, you're always invited. Every project proposal, you're asked for your opinion. I even take you to management and budget meetings!" exclaimed Pepper, almost incredulous at Peter's cluelessness.

"I thought you just needed the help for a while, Pepper! I didn't know you wanted me to head a department straight out of college! The scientists will never accept some twenty year old heading the department!"

"Of course they will! They know you're being groomed for the position, Peter, and they're all in full support. Look," she added in a softer voice after seeing Peter look like he was having a mental breakdown. "There's no pressure. You finish college at your own pace, do what you like, and enjoy yourself. The job will always be waiting for you. But I know this. You've been helping both Madison and me with our jobs. It'll be a piece of cake to you.

And anyways," she said, tucking back into her meal, "you still have three years."

"Okay," murmured Peter. "Okay. Okay okay okay. I can do this."

"That's the spirit!" cheered Lila.

"Okay, Peter, topic change," Pepper said, causing laughter in Lila and Nate. "How's the new guy settling into the team?"

"Brian?" Peter clarified, "He's fine. He lost his parents in the Snap, so he's moved into the Avengers Compound. I have to admit, the council knew what they were doing with the guy. He's good."

"Who is he?" Lila asked.

"Dr Brian Braddock. PhD in Biology, and six years spent serving in the army. He's disciplined, prompt, and follows orders. Carol and Jane like him. About two years ago, a few months after the Accords were introduced, and the Avengers fell out, he was walking along a lake in England, when he was gifted a sword from a hand beneath the lake. When he wields the sword, he has enhanced strength, speed, and durability, even comparable to me. Also, and here's where I'm actually jealous, he can fly. He spent the past two years being trained by England as their enhanced special forces operative, but after this, they think he can do some good in the Avengers."

"Sword from a lake? What, like King Arthur?"

"Exactly like King Arthur. In fact, the sword he wields is actually Excalibur."

"Whoa!" Nate exclaimed.

"That's awesome!" Lila cheered. "What's his superhero name?"

"You're not going to believe it," Peter said, laughing under his breath while drinking some water. "The United Kingdom has actually called him Captain Britain."

"Lame!" Lila said, while Pepper started laughing. "Couldn't they use their creativity even a little bit?"

"I know," Peter chuckled. "He's really embarrassed by it. Carol teases him about it all the time."

Before anyone could continue, FRIDAY interjected. "Apologies for interrupting, but Peter, there's something you have to see."

"What's up?" he asked, standing up immediately.

"There's been a robbery at the Fisk warehouse on the Upper West Side."

"Why's a robbery that urgent, FRI?" questioned Pepper.

"It's the seventh straight robbery with the same MO. The locks were cut by what appears to be claws, the safe was picked without a single alarm going off, and only cash was taken. Police also have no footage or evidence about the suspect."

"And Fisk isn't exactly the cleanest guy in the neighbourhood."

"Correct. In fact, all seven robberies were in properties belonging to those who are prevalent in the underworld. Fisk, Manfredi, and Marshall properties were the ones that were hit."

"When was the robbery reported, FRIDAY?" asked Peter, making his way towards his charging suit.

"It appears to have been reported five minutes ago, but the robbery itself had commenced twenty minutes previously according to reports."

"Are you going to stop them?" asked Lila, "They seem to be only going after the bad guys."

"That's not an excuse," Peter retorted, "But for now, I just want to talk to them. Find out why they're doing this."

The Iron Spider armour formed around him, covering him in seconds.

"I'll be back soon, but don't wait up." Saying this, he sprinted towards the opened window and hurled himself off the ledge.

Peter activated his web-shooters as his masked helmet came up over his face. Swiftly throwing a web-line at a nearby building, he used its momentum to slingshot him back into the air, where he repeated the process again and again. Citizens hollered and cheered when they saw him in the air, even though it was late in the evening.

He made his way to the site of the robbery, and observed the location as he approached. The police had cordoned off the area around the warehouse, and were present investigating the scene. He could clearly make out the yellow tape around the open door.

He made one last massive jump, and entered on the inside of the taped area. The surrounding detectives all looked startled, reaching for their guns, before relaxing at the sight of Spider-Man. A short woman made her way forward towards the vigilante. Peter could see that she was clearly very good at her job, because she was alert to everything around her, and her eyes constantly scanned for threats.

"Spider-Man, nice to see you," she said. "I'm Detective Yuri Watanabe, and I'm charge of this investigation. What can I do for you?"

"Hi, detective, sorry for stepping on a crime scene, but I've been tracking this thief for the past few weeks."

"Is this related to the clawed thief from those four other warehouses?"

"Yeah, my preliminary analysis indicates that it is in fact the same person who robbed this one."

"Damn," she cursed. "We probably just missed them. Mr Fisk is gonna be pissed."

"I'm on it. Anything I need to know before I chase them?"

"We know they're mid-sized, very agile and fast, and has sharp claws."

"Thanks, detective."

"And Spidey," she said, making him turn around in his tracks. "Let me know what happens. You need my number?"

"Nah, I've got it. I'll keep in touch."

He turned around and made a jump onto a nearby streetlight. "FRIDAY, simulate their most likely trajectory with nearby cameras."

A glowing line appeared in his display, showing the most likely path over the nearby buildings that the thief could have taken. Peter took off after it. He knew that they had a massive head start, but he was fast. He believed he could catch up, or at least find some clues as to their identity.

As he progressed further and further, he spotted someone on the edge of his vision, going in the same path as the trajectory. They were clearly very agile, and able to jump great distances. He watched as they shot a grappling hook over a particularly large gap, and spanned it without any problems.

"I think," he muttered to FRIDAY, "we've found our burglar."

"I believe so, Peter," came the response.

As he got closer, he was able to spot long silver hair, to the point that it almost glowed in the streetlight.

"Tch tch," he tutted, "Not a great idea to keep brightly coloured hair when you're trying to go unnoticed."

"Perhaps the idea is not to go unnoticed, but taunt the pursuers."

"That," Peter paused for a second, "actually seems pretty smart."

"Yes," FRIDAY agreed, "very similar to how a certain young man wore a brightly coloured tracksuit to attract the attention of criminals, and ensure that they're distracted from the civilians."

"You don't have to rub it in," Peter grumbled.

He was able to identify the target as female, and swiftly caught up with her. He positioned himself on the next building she was going to run through and waited for her to approach. He was dramatic, sue him.

"You know, I gotta ask," came a voice from the shadows, halting the stride of the thief. "Why claws?"

Peter got his first good look at the offender. She wore a black and silver body suit, clearly highlighting her very athletic body. Her hair flapped in the breeze, and she wore a large domino mask on her face, which didn't really cover much of her identity or her blue eyes. He could see the sharp metal claws on fingers, and the large duffel bag over her shoulders where he assumed she carried the money.

She was startled by his voice, but that turned to shock when she saw who had spoken.

"Spider-Man," she whispered.

"That's my name, don't wear it out," came the fast quip. "So, what are you doin' all the way out here, uh..."

"Black Cat," she replied, still in shock with the appearance of an actual Avenger, and New York's iconic hero.

"Black Cat," Peter pondered, "Very creative. I assume it's for the whole cat motif you have going on, and the fact that you're a cat burglar?"

"Something like that," she answered, coming out of her shock. "Now, I hate to cut this short, but I have places to be, things to do, so see ya."

As she tried to take another step, a web came flying out of Peter's wrists and pinned her leg to the floor.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

"You going to stop me, Spider?"

"Time to find out, Cat."

With a swift movement, she cut the web holding her foot in place with her claw, and lunged towards the arachnid. Spider-Man swiftly dodged her claw, parrying a double kick. She was clearly an accomplished gymnast, and had extensive knowledge of martial arts. Peter himself had been trained by a couple of former SHIELD agents at Mr Stark's request. Mr Stark was worried about what would happen if Peter came across someone with a higher skill level and powers than Peter. That knowledge was what was helping him keep up now.

"You are really good at this," he complimented while continuously dodging or blocking her limbs.

"Thanks," came the reply, "You're not so bad yourself."

A lucky scratch hit his armour, causing four deep scratches to appear on the chest-plate.

"Hey," Peter complained, "do you know how expensive this armour is?"

"Sorry, I'll pay you back, just let me just get my wallet!"

She kicked him away, and attempted to run, but he lunged and pinned her to the ground with him above her.

"Just stop for a second," he panted.

"Sorry," she answered, "too slow." Saying this, she kicked him off of her and pinned him to the ground just as he had done with her.

"Bye Spider," she winked at him, before grabbing the bag and running off the building. She turned around and blew him a kiss before she fell off the side of the building.

"Whoa," Peter declared, breathing heavily. "That was new."

"Indeed, Peter," FRIDAY replied, "Your heartbeat is elevated to 145 bpm. According to my files, that fight should not have been particularly strenuous for you. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," Peter breathed, "I'm fine. Tell me you got a tracker on her."

"Of course!" said FRIDAY, sounding offended. "Who do you take me for, an incompetent AI?"

"Sorry, sorry," Peter apologised, "I never doubted you for a second. Now give me a way to get to her current location, please?"

Peter leaped off the building and swung on his webs over the city, enjoying the breeze and night sky. He followed the marker on his display, and perched on a gargoyle opposite the target destination. He watched Felicia get down from her grappling hook, and open the duffel bag, taking our wads of cash. Homeless looking children crowded around her, and she gave each of them a wad, listening to them patiently and ruffling their hair. Peter smiled as a young boy attached himself to her side, refusing to let go. She didn't appear to have any problems with that action, and happily continued playing with the kids.

"Facial recognition?" he asked in a soft voice.

"There's an 87.43% match with a 'Felicia Hardy'."

"Felicia," he pondered.

"19 years old, former second year college student before she dropped out following the Decimation. Her father, one 'Walter Hardy', was listed on the SHIELD threat assessment index due to him being a master burglar."

"Like father, like daughter, huh?"

"Quite. Trained since a young age in gymnastics, martial arts, and codebreaking, and praised by her teachers as a model student. Her father and mother were both taken in the Snap, and she was moved into one of the Oscorp rehabilitation centre, but disappeared within weeks."

Peter hummed, before he simply observed her for a while longer.

"Peter," FRIDAY called after some time had passed. "I think we should go."

"Yeah!" he said with a jolt as he woke up from his daze. "Yeah yeah yeah. I think so too."

"Peter, your heart rate is again higher than normal parameters. I also detect a higher blood flow to the facial area. Does you feel attracted to her?" FRIDAY asked curiously. It was the nearest behaviour in her servers to what she was seeing, but she'd never dealt with an emotion like that before.

"WHAT!" he yelled, his voice almost reaching the kids below him. Looking around to see if anyone heard him, he continued in a lower voice. "No, what? A crush? Me? Pshhh, don't be ridiculous." He shot a web and zipped away from the scene.

The next morning, Felicia got up from her ratty bed in an abandoned building. Well, not abandoned any more. There were ten adults and forty children living there at the moment. She was one of the sole providers, and in the current times, that meant whatever you could get your hands on.

Last night, she had met Spider-Man, and she had managed to escape with the cash she had taken. She knew that if he had been fighting seriously, she wouldn't have stood a chance, but he had underestimated her.

She would have to be more careful from now on, though. She had attracted too much attention, something that her father had warned her never to do.

"Felicia?" came a small voice from beside her. "What's up?"

Bobby was a young boy of eleven. She had found him on the streets after fleeing the rehabilitation centres. He had been eating dinner with his family when his parents and sister were snapped from the dining table. She had helped him, given him a safe place to sleep, and from then on, he had been completely attached to her.

"Don't worry, honey," she soothed, "I was just thinking of something."

"Something from last night?" he asked innocently. While he knew that she was a thief, he was adamant about believing that she was a hero. It moved her that someone could look at her with such worship, even when what she did was blatantly against the law.

Unfortunately, the only person Bobby idolised more than her was a certain wall-crawler, who had saved him and his family from a fire a year ago. It would have been a very bad idea to tell him that his two heroes had fought each other last night.

"Yeah, buddy," she said, "but don't worry about it."

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Relax. I'm going to be just fine. In fact, why don't we go to the library today? We'll get that book you were talking about."

"Really!" Bobby squealed. Though he was eleven, sometimes he acted way younger. She supposed it was a consequence of losing his family.

"Sure, buddy," she agreed. "Why don't you go put some outside clothes on, put on your shoes, and we'll leave."

Like a shot, he had bolted out of the room. Felicia finished her morning absolutions, and got herself ready just in time to meet Bobby at the lobby.

"Ready?" she asked rhetorically, though Bobby's brown hair got displaced by his rapid nodding. Stifling a laugh, she ruffled his hair, and then parted it to give some semblance of order.

'God, please let today be peaceful,' she prayed. Unfortunately, that wish never came true.

"Thank god they had the books, Felicia, otherwise, I would have screamed," Bobby ranted.

Felicia absently nodded her head. The walk to the library was peaceful for both of them. While there was a sudden upsurge in crime shortly after the Decimation, it had largely calmed with the crackdown by the police, the opening of the rehabilitation centres, and the return of the Friendly Neighbourhood Web-Slinger. She was happy that there weren't any problems in the journey.

"And I just finished reading the fourth book, and the fifth one is the last in the series, and-"

Bobby was cut off with the sudden emergence of four large figures in front of him. Felicia glanced back to see five more people behind her. They had wandered into an alley to take a shortcut between buildings, and unwise choice on her behalf. 'Me and my big mouth.'

"Look what we have here, boys," said the largest man in front of them.

"Seriously, can you get more clichéd than that," Felicia shot back, wrinkling her nose. Her eyes were repeatedly scanning all the figures and her surroundings to figure out a plan of action. She was scared, not for her, but for the small figure that had attached himself to her.

"Oh, lookie lookie, a smart mouth," The man replied with a lecherous grin. "You know, I like my girls with a little fight in 'em."

"Look," Felicia said, trying to calm the situation down, "we don't want any trouble, we were just on our way to-"

"Yeah, we don't particularly care," said the man slightly to her right. "You guys walked into our alley. And a pretty thing like you? I think I'm goin' to enjoy this." This prompted chuckles in all the surrounding men.

Felicia was about to spring into action just as the men stepped closer, when a voice rang out through the alley. All the men froze, while Felicia lost all colour in her face.

"Felicia," came a sharp voice from the end of the alley. "I was wondering where you got off to."

Everyone present turned to look over where the voice came from. All the thugs and Felicia curiously had the same reaction. Meanwhile, Bobby was almost exploding in excitement.

The most famous man in the world strode into the alley like he owned it. Peter Parker walked in wearing nothing more than a hoodie, a pair of jeans, and a pair of glasses, but everyone knew that he could take them all down even in that attire should he choose to. It was surreal for the muggers, as they didn't think they would ever see Spider-Man outside his suit.

Peter walked past the frozen thugs like they weren't even there, making his way over to the cat burglar and her charge. Completely ignoring Felicia for the moment, he crouched down next to Bobby and ruffled his hair.

"Hey dude," he greeted, "what's your name?"

"My name's Bobby, Bobby Drake," he whispered, barely breathing in his fanboying mode. "I'm such a huge fan! Oh my god, you're actually here! You're Spider-Man! Felicia, you didn't tell me you knew Spider-Man!"

"That's me," Peter answered, slightly bashful at the obvious praise. He got up and looked around at the thugs surrounding them. "Do we have a problem here, gentlemen?" he asked with a blank stare.

"N-no, no no," stuttered the leader, "There's no issue, Mr Spider-Man, is there guys?"

Rapid head shakes answered the statement.

"Great," Peter said with a bright smile, before his expression faded into a glare. "So scram."

All nine of them rushed out of the alley as if the devil was on their tail.

Peter turned back around to the last two occupants. Felicia was the first to find her voice. "Wha-how?"

Peter raised an eyebrow, before he cut her off. "Why don't I walk you guys home? Make sure that something like this doesn't happen again."

Felicia was about to flatly refuse, but Bobby spoke before she could. "Awesome! I'll introduce you to everyone!" Both Bobby and Peter looked at her expectantly, causing her to reluctantly give in.

Felicia was silent for the rest of the journey, thinking in her head how things could have gone so wrong. She was just going to the library with Bobby, but she had been almost mugged, only to be rescued by the person she had fought last night, the city's hero.

'Does he know?,' she wondered to herself. 'Of course he does. Don't be stupid, Felicia, he called you by your name!'

She watched Peter happily chatting with Bobby, who was overjoyed with the presence of his favourite hero. She saw him entertaining Bobby's every conversation, very different from most adults who quickly grew tired of Bobby's never ending stream of words. It was endearing how much Bobby was gushing, and Peter was entertaining his every whim.

"Do your webs come out of you?"

"No, I made specialised pieces of equipment I call webshooters which let me shoot webs."

"Whoa, you made that yourself?"

"I did. I used equipment from my chemistry lab at school."

"Oh! I never cared about chemistry at school, my teacher was always so boring."

"I know, but I love the subject."

"Wow, you must be really clever, Spider-Man!"

"I think it would be easier for everyone, Bobby, if you just call me Peter."

As Felicia was looking at him out of the corner of her eye, he brushed up against her and put his mouth to her ear.

"Did you really think you could escape me that easily?"

Felicia's breath caught in her throat. She had been trying to convince herself that this meeting had nothing to do with what happened last night, but it seems that was in vain. 'Now he's going to give me over to the police, the rest of my life is ruined!'

Before her thoughts could go further, they reached her apartment building. She could vaguely hear the sound of Bobby attracting all the attention of the occupants over her beating heart. All the children living there immediately swarmed him, hugging him and asking him questions. It became a cacophony of noise, which did not help her rising anxiety at all.

All of the adults there were also in awe, though hiding it a little better than the kids.

"What brings you here, Spider-Man?" asked Martin, one of the residents.

"Oh, I just saw this place last night while I was swinging, and was wondering what I could do to help."

Felicia's ears perked up at that, and she turned her gaze up to see his expression. While he wasn't looking at her, she knew that his words were directed towards her.

"Kids, why don't you go play for a bit," she suggested quickly. "I need to talk to Peter for a bit, okay?"

"Aww," came the collective cry from the children, but the adults shepherded them away, leaving glances towards the two of them.

She grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him inside, up the staircase, and onto the roof.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed at him.

"I thought it was pretty obvious," he commented. "I came here looking for you."

She took a deep breath. "Are you here to arrest me?"

"Depends."

"On what?" she asked, knowing that she would regret it.

"On why you're doing this."

"You do know who I've gone after so far, right?"

"Exactly, and you've made some dangerous enemies."

"You would defend those scum?"

"I'm not defending them, Cat. I just want to know why you're doing this." Saying this, Peter moved away, not taking his eyes off of her. She turned away, looking at the ground.

"I'm doing this because it needs to be done."

"I get that they're not great guys, but-"

"No, you don't get it, Spider!" She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. "After the Decimation, people were kicked out of their homes, stolen from, and abused by a group of big shady underworld mobsters. They called in all the loans they had taken, they took back all the property, and even started kidnapping and trafficking people!"

She looked out at the city around them. "I remember when the city was bright. Do you?"

"Of course I do," he answered. "Every time I wake up in the morning I wish it goes back to what it was like before. Before Thanos, before the battle, before the Decimation. Before I lost."

"Well there are people who need help, and I intend to help them."

"What about the-"

"-rehabilitation centres? They're a good idea, in theory, but they're being run completely by the families. Even the Stark centre has been bought by Fisk. People don't have any money."

"So you run around trying to take it for them? That isn't a great idea."

"Well, what the hell else am I supposed to do? Do you know what it's like to slowly starve to death every day?"

Unbidden, his memories of the time aboard the Benetar came to the forefront of his mind. The unending, mind-numbing ache in his stomach, the parched feeling in his throat, the general lethargy. He remembers what it was like to find it an effort to sit up, or move around, or simply stay awake all day.

"More than you think," he said solemnly. "But this isn't the way to go about it. Guys like Fisk, or Manfredi, they didn't get to where they were by being careless. The more times you rob them, the more patterns they can establish about your MO, and the more precautions they take. And you're good, Cat, but one day even you'll lose."

"I don't have a choice!" she yelled. "This is the only thing I can do to help them!"

"How about this," he suggested calmly. "Tomorrow, you and I head to the Stark rehabilitation centre together, and figure out how much of it Fisk has taken control of."

"You want me to work with you?" she asked doubtfully. "How do I know this isn't a trap?"

Just as Peter opened his mouth to answer, his phone rang, showing an incoming call on the Spider-Man hotline. It was a number that Peter and Pepper had given to the police so they could get in touch with them. FRIDAY screened the calls. He noticed the caller ID, one Yuri Watanabe. Asking FRIDAY to put it on speaker, he turned back to the Black Cat.

"Spider-Man, do you have any information about the thief from last night?" came the detective's voice from the speaker.

Peter stared at the feline burglar in front of him in thought. She gazed back anxiously, wondering what he would do.

"Spider-Man?" the phone prompted.

"Sorry, detective, but they got away. I got to the scene too late."

A large sigh accompanied the detective's words. "Alright, thanks for the help, Spidey. I'll keep in touch for further cases."

"Thanks, detective," he said, not taking his eyes off Felicia. Her eyes were wide, and her jaw had dropped.

"Why?" she asked when the call was cut. "Why would you lie for me?"

"You told me yourself, right?" he asked with a lopsided grin. "You have people counting on you. Who would I be to bust you when you're saving people, even if it isn't the right way?"

She stared at him blankly for a moment. "Thank you," she said tremulously.

"So, about my offer?" He extended his hand.

She took it and shook it hard. "Alright. Tomorrow." With that, she withdrew her hand and leaped over the edge of the building.

Peter watched her go. Once she was safe on the ground, he activated his webshooters and launched off into the skyline, observing the children playing in the grounds one last time.

"She was right," Peter declared as he burst into the office room. Pepper looked up from her PC at him in confusion when he collapsed on the sofa in the corner.

"You do know I have no idea what you're talking about, right?"

"Felicia, she was right."

"Who's Felicia?" Pepper asked.

"Felicia Hardy is the thief that's been going after the warehouses."

"Okay," Pepper said slowly, "and what was she right about?"

"I confronted her to ask why she was doing this, and she told me that the rehabilitation centres in the city were completely bought out by the mob. Today, both of us went to fifteen centres, seven Stark centres, four Hammer centres, three Oscorp centres, and an Alchemax centre. Of the fifteen, eleven have been bought out. I counted Fisk, Manfredi, Lincoln, and men from the Maggia."

"Are you saying," Pepper said softly, belying her rage, "that our foundation's charity outreach centre, that's meant to help people, has been taken over by loan sharks and criminals?"

"Yes, Pep," Peter intoned solemnly. "We need to do something."

"Agreed," Pepper declared. "I'll contact the security department, have them head over to the Stark centres and root out all the naughty elements."

"They might not be sufficient," Peter warned. "Remember, you're going to war with the families."

"Like you haven't done that before," Pepper snorted. "I remember a young man who wanted to stop crime at fourteen."

"Hey, I'm not telling you not to," Peter surrendered with his hands up, "I'm just warning you that this is going to be dangerous."

"I'll be fine, Pete," Pepper said, before smiling softly. "Besides you'll protect me, right?"

Peter put on a thinking face, earning a smack on the arm. He laughed it off. "Of course I will. I'm not going anywhere."

"Now, about that thief," Pepper said, with a mischievous grin peeking out the corner of her mouth. "FRIDAY told me something really interesting."

Before Peter could come up with a suitable response other than a red face, FRIDAY spoke from above.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you, Boss Lady, but this is urgent."

"What's up, FRI?" Peter asked sitting up, while Pepper moved closer to Peter.

"A distress signal has been activated from the Sanctum on Bleecker Street. It appears Ms Clea requires help."

Peter shot up from his spot. Clea was the best they had at magic. While he knew that there were things that she would need help with, Peter had never put a thought to how he was going to go about helping her. After all, if she couldn't do anything, what could he do? Despite that, however, he would always, always answer if one of his friends needed help, and he proved that now.

Peter exchanged a worried glance with Pepper, before making his way out of the office towards the living room where he kept his suit.

"FRI, contact the Avengers Compound. Find out if anyone's there today. We might need all the help we can get." He spoke while rushing to the case.

"Peter," FRIDAY answered after a few seconds, "while there's no one on duty at the compound, Dr Braddock was taking a free day today to explore New York. He has informed me that he'll meet you at Bleecker Street."

"Great," Peter replied. It would be much better to have someone around rather than going in without backup. "Remind me to thank him when I see him."

While Peter went to the Avengers Compound every week, he hadn't exactly spent a lot of time with Brian. Sure, they had trained together, and spent time talking and watching movies, but this would be the first time that they would be involved on a mission together, so he didn't know how to feel.

"Do we have any information about what the issue is at the Sanctum?" Peter asked as the suit formed around him. His helmet and display came online as the answer reached his ears.

"We don't have any information coming in and out of the Sanctum. All the internet has been disabled, as has the connectivity. As far as technology is concerned, it's a virtual dead zone."

Peter sighed heavily. This was getting worse by the second. "Alright, thanks, FRI. Keep me posted."

He spotted Pepper who had made her way there with her enormous belly. She was looking at him with a worried expression. While his own feelings weren't much better, he knew he had to pacify her anxiety.

"Relax, Pep," he soothed, "I'll be back before you know it."

"Make sure you stay safe, alright?" she warned him. He promised her with a smile under his mask.

"I'll see you soon." With that, he vaulted out of the building windows towards his destination.

Peter dropped down onto Bleecker Street within ten minutes of his departure. He checked all his equipment, and FRIDAY perform a systems check. He knew this was going to be a tough fight. After all, if their resident expert in magic asked for help, it was something serious.

"Now, FRIDAY, I'm going into the deadzone, so can you still communicate with me?"

"Yes, Peter," she replied. "I'm inside the armour, and will always be with you, even if I can't connect outside."

"Alright," he said, but was distracted by the roaring of a bike coming towards him. Perched on it was a familiar face, who parked it, took off his helmet, and strode towards him.

"Brian, thanks for coming," Peter said gratefully, extending his hand. "I'm sorry I'm calling you in on your day off."

"Don't worry about it, Peter," Brian replied easily, shaking the offered hand strongly. "Trouble waits for no man." He turned towards the building in front of them. "Speaking of trouble, do you have any idea what we're facing in there?"

"Not a clue," Peter shook his head. "I'm sure you know, but this is the one of the headquarters for the magical sorcerers, right?" He clarified, receiving a nod. "Well, I made a deal with Clea, the leader of the sorcerers, that if there's trouble on either end, we could count on each other for help. Now, she's calling for help, so I don't intend not to answer."

"Good," Brian said, nodding his head sharply. "This is why I signed onto the Avengers. Helping people, no matter who they are, no matter what we may face." He turned to Peter with a grin. "And I must admit I'm excited to be sharing my first real Avengers mission with you, Peter."

"Thanks, Brian," Peter replied happily. "I look forward to working with you too." His expression turned serious. "Do you have your magic sword with you?" he asked, looking at the man dressed in a brown jacket, jeans, and not much else.

Brian smiled cheekily, and swiftly drew his sword from where it was sheathed beneath his jacket. "Never leave home without it," he quipped. He took off his jacket to leave on the bike, exposing his suit. Peter had been the one to design and fabricate it, so he knew it pretty well. It was a cannibalised version of Captain America's armour, which Peter had included as a cheeky nod to his name. The blue armour was enough for blocking most knives, and served as a fairly bulletproof wear. However, it's manoeuvrability was simply spectacular. Both Steve Rogers and Brian himself were able to move as if they weren't wearing anything at all, which was very important for both fighters.

Brian's blue armour was, however, stylised differently. He had a large red 'X' going over his chest, while his central torso was white as a nod to the English flag. He wore armoured steel wrist bracers which functioned as shields that could block incoming blows and bullets. He had a belt with many different compartments and canisters, and the belt buckle proudly boasted a Union Jack. A scabbard was attached to his back, so he could sheath and unsheathe the sword rapidly. Brian had opted to forego the helmet, leaving his face open to the air.

Both armoured figures made an impression on the bystanders around them. Many were taking photos of the pair of Avengers standing on the sidewalk, but neither of them cared enough to comment.

"Shall we?" Brian asked with an arm extended.

"Age before beauty," Peter answered, mockingly mirroring his colleague by extending his arm in the same manner.

Laughing, they strode up the stairs towards the entrance of the Sanctum. While the jokes were nice to relieve the tension, they both quickly sobered up in the face of the unknown. Brian had his sword extended in front of him while Peter aimed his webshooters at the door.

"On three," Peter declared, and Brian made an agreeing nod.

At the count of three, both kicked in one of the doors and rushed inside, only to freeze. They found a site befuddled the both of them. A horde of black humanoids were all fighting together. Well, fighting was being generous. They seemed to be moving around in no discernible pattern. Upon observing them, they seemed to be made up of nothing more than coagulated mist. Their arms and legs were smoking as they moved around, as if they were dissolving before their eyes.

In the centre of the horde, there appeared to be what could only be described as a Minotaur. He appeared to be the opponent the shadows were so ineptly facing. It was obvious they could not beat the creature in terms of technique, but the sheer volume of shadow creatures was beginning to overwhelm it.

"A mythological creature fighting a horde of shadows," Brian remarked incredulously. "Are all your adventures like this?"

"Believe it or not, this is a first for me too," Peter answered, not taking his eye off the mind boggling scene.

Just then, two Tao Mandalas erupted out of the Minotaur's hands. The golden shields kept the horde at bay for a little bit longer as they tried to climb on top of him.

"There," Peter pointed. "That means it's a sorcerer. We deal with the shadows first, and then we talk to it, alright?"

Brian agreed, before he cracked his neck and readied himself. "You think it can talk?" he asked sardonically, before lunging at the horde. He proved instantly why his country was interested in putting him in the Avengers. His smooth motions flowed like water as he lunged, blocked, slashed, and stabbed his broadsword lightning fast. Not one of the shadow creatures could touch him as he whirled around to stop blows from every direction.

"FRIDAY, activate instant kill mode," Peter ordered. His suit's eyes turned red as four stingers erupted from his back. Peter instantly launched himself straight into the centre of action. His robotic limbs moved faster than ever as they punctured and stabbed shadows, while his webs shot out of his wrists to instantly swat down any rogue shadows in his way. He utilised his Spider-Sense like never before, responding instinctively to even the barest activation of his sixth sense. His agility was what allowed him to avoid and block blows.

Peter and Brian had trained together, something clearly shown in how they moved. Their actions were in sync, as if they had been fighting together for years. Brian was definitely more skilled than Peter, but Spider-Man's agility more than made up the difference. Brian ruthlessly mowed down multiple shades with each swing of his sword, while Peter was a mass of limbs that pushed all the shadows away and killed them before they could even finish their move. They worked in tandem as they made their way towards the sorcerer, who had been made aware of their presence by the lessening of the stampede in his direction.

He quickly made the correct hand movement, reactivated his broken Tao Mandala, and brought his hands together before spreading them out. Magic surged in all directions around him, reducing the demons in the immediate vicinity to ash. He fought with a renewed fury now that he knew this fight wasn't totally hopeless.

Peter and Brian moved back to back in order to protect themselves from attacks from behind. Both of them cleaved their way through the shadows, rapidly decreasing their number, but they made an important discovery. For each shadow they killed, the shadows dissolved into wisps which then created more shadow wraiths. This meant that there was never a change in the number of shadows attacking them. Meanwhile, the both of them could be exhausted.

In the meantime, both of them worked to give the sorcerer some breathing room, which turned out to be the smartest decision they could make. When the quantity of shadows on top of the Minotaur decreased, he immediately started chanting a spell. He repeatedly brought his hands together and took them apart, almost as if he was clapping. However, each time he pulled his hands away, a bright golden light glowed, brighter with each successive clap. Finally, his voice reached a crescendo, before he slammed his hands into the ground. A bright flash overwhelmed the vision of all the combatants. When Peter and Brian looked around them after uncovering their eyes, they found no more shadows around them, only a heavily breathing Minotaur.

"Thank you for coming," the creature rumbled.

"Well, I guess that answers your question," commented a panting Peter to his partner, who only answered with a wry laugh.

"What?" the bull-man rumbled, before shaking his shaggy head. "That isn't important right now."

"You're right," Peter replied, turning serious. "Clea sent a distress signal. Are you one of her allies?"

"I am," the Minotaur answered. "My name is Rintrah. I am the current master of the New York Sanctum. Clea sent me to wait for you, but I was almost overwhelmed. It was Agamotto's blessing that you arrived on time."

"Er, of course," said a confused Brian, while Peter hastily stifled a laugh that threatened to bubble out of his throat. "Can you give us any information about who exactly is responsible for this?"

"Well," Rintrah frowned, "I-"

A booming laugh echoed around the room, freezing all of them in place. They immediately circled up with their backs against each other.

"These are the champions of the age?" came the voice. None of them could place its origin, but its voice seemed to reek malevolence, as well as chill them to their bones. "I must admit, I'm disappointed. Hurry hurry, little heroes, your sorceress is in trouble! Ha ha Ha HA HA HA!"

"We must hurry!" declared Rintrah, marching off inside the Sanctum. Brian and Peter rushed to catch up to him.

"Any idea who that was?" Peter asked.

"I cannot say for certain, but I have some suspicions," The bull-man answered.

"Well, can you let us in on your suspicions?" Brian asked sarcastically, quickly growing tired of facing things without a clear idea.

"I cannot," replied the sorcerer apologetically. "I understand your frustrations, but saying the name of a being of that caliber would allow them to notice our presence. If I am wrong in my deductions, we could be bringing other dangerous enemies to our plane of existence."

"So, we're fighting gods here?" Peter asked worriedly.

"Most likely," Rintrah said. "Now come, the gateway is ahead."

They made their way to an opened door. Both Peter and Brian could instantly tell that something was different about this door, because the gateway was shimmering, as if it was a mirror. However, they could see to the other side of the corridor, which was unfortunately filled with more shadow monsters. This time, though, the monsters were of all shapes and sizes. Some were the same size as humanoids, some were Rintrah's size, and some even larger. They could make out some with large tails, some with claws, some with jagged teeth, which were somehow perceivable even through the shadow. Peter could even make out a demon that looked reminiscent of the Hulk.

"Bloody magic, man," Brian swore as he held his sword out.

"Couldn't agree more, bro," Peter agreed, bending down to place his right hand fingers on the ground in his signature posture.

Rintrah created what seemed to be an energy blade with both his hands. He let out a roar that shook the building, before all three of them charged through the gateway. They immediately fell on the wraiths, cutting them down by the dozens. Brian leaped into the air, utilising his flight for a brief moment to summersault over the first line in order to cut them down from the back. Rintrah's blades seemed to extend and contract at will, allowing him to cut down and block with maximum efficiency. His strength was crucial in mowing down the larger shadows.

Peter, meanwhile, went straight for the masses. He kicked off the head of the first demon, before punching down on the next one with all his strength. Peter had never really let loose with all his strength before, because he was scared of doing irreparable damage to anyone he came in contact with. His stingers shredded the nearby shadows into pieces, while he vaulted over one of the shadows to hit one behind it.

An alarm bell rang in his head, and he ducked to avoid a tail that would have swatted him into the wall. He webbed the wall on either side of the creature, before delivering a punishing kick to it that completely destroyed its head.

"At least it isn't bleeding," Peter muttered underneath his breath, before webbing away.

Brian faced a creature that looked excessively like Rintrah himself. It roared and charged at him like a mad bull. Brian roared and charged at it with his sword held like a lance. As they approached each other, Brian timed his movements to stab the creature in the skull. He then swung his sword around to cleave the nearest demons in half.

Rintrah himself faced the Hulk facsimile. He quickly dodged a blow that cracked the marble floor, proving that the creature was much stronger than Rintrah himself. He attempted to gore the monster with his horns, but got swatted away by it. He quickly regained his bearings before launching the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak, which held the monster firm in place before Brian stabbed it in the back.

Finally, the tide of shadows slowed down, as these ones didn't regenerate like the earlier avatars. While they were definitely more troublesome, when they died, they died. When all the creatures were killed, all three of them assessed their injuries. Brian and Rintrah had a few cuts and bruises, while Peter's suit prevented the vast majority of the damage.

As they made to step forward, clapping interrupted their advance.

"Well done, well done," came the same voice from earlier. "Perhaps you're not so hopeless after all. Yes, this will be fun."

"Who the hell are you!" Peter yelled, fed up with the being's attitude. "Do you think we're toys for you to do what you like?"

"You're right," the voice said contemplatively. "I've been exceptionally rude. Forgive me, and allow me to introduce myself."

A black mist swirled in front of them. They all stood at the ready to fight whatever abomination was released now. However, the smoke faded to reveal what looked like a teenager. He wore a black t-shirt and black jeans, with a necklace that had a skull insignia. The skull motif was present throughout the rest of his attire as well, with one earring, a bracelet on each wrist, and an anklet all carrying it. His black hair was slicked back to reveal his deathly pale skin. His eyes were completely black, void of any sclera or irises, and they glittered in cruel amusement. His mouth widened when he grinned predatorily, exposing his pointed teeth that did nothing to lessen their apprehension.

"I," he declared dramatically, "am Nightmare. This world will be mine."

He started hovering in the air, causing them to become even more nervous.

"Now I do believe it is time for you to FACE YOUR FEARS!"

With the last booming command, thick black smoke enveloped the whole room, blinding them all.

Peter woke up harshly. He looked around to see if her could recognise where he was. The last thing he remembered was being absorbed into the black smoke that Nightmare emitted.

He paled as he recognised his location. The orange surroundings and lower gravity was unmistakable. The place haunted his dreams every night. The place where he had his greatest failure.

Titan stretched out around him, its eerie silence a stark contrast to the frenetic battle that took place the last time he was here. Peter still remembered the somber but hopeful mood that had come upon them when the Avengers and the Guardians were planning for the fight, or the adrenaline filled, no holds barred expressions during the fight itself. Now, however, he only remembered the last moments he'd spent on this world.

"FRIDAY, do you copy?" he asked shakily.

"I do, Peter, but according to my scanners, this is impossible. No data in my system accounts for the instantaneous transportation from the Sanctum to Titan."

"This is magic, FRIDAY. We don't know anything about it."

"It appears to me that you don't know much of anything at all," came a hauntingly familiar voice from behind him. Peter spin around with his heart in his throat. Standing there, looking as if it hadn't even been a day, stood May. She wore her slightly burnt apron, as if she'd just been cooking before he arrived from school. She smiled softly at him.

"May," Peter choked out, his voice beset with grief. He stumbled his way towards her, almost falling over several times, but refusing to give up. His body seemed to be warning him about something, but he ignored it in favour of his lost relative. "May, I've missed you so much."

He made his way to her and collapsed on his knees before her. She gently put her hand on his face, and cooed at him with a soft smile. "Oh, Peter."

Her face turned ice cold. "Such a disappointment."

Peter looked up, shocked and hurt. "Wh-what?"

Her hand left his face, before whipping back with a sharp whap that startled him. He was pushed back more out of surprise rather than any meaningful force, but he put his hand to his face where she'd slapped him.

"You could have stopped this," May snapped, her face contracting into hateful snarl. "You could have saved us." Her hands angrily gestured to him, and he began to notice her smoking slightly. Piece by piece she faded away.

"Nooo!" Peter howled, trying to make his way to her, but being pushed back by some invisible force.

"I don't know where Ben and I went wrong with you. We should have never taken you in."

Her last words stunned him long enough to simply watch her dissolve to dust. Tears flowed freely from his eyes. Before he could so much as move, a shuffle to his left alerted him.

Ned Leeds stood there wearing exactly what he wore when they last saw each other on the bus. He looked accusingly at Peter, as if he was responsible for all the sins in the world.

"I was your best friend," he said, stepping forward. "But you couldn't even let me live."

"Ned, I swear I-I-," Peter stammered.

"I told you, right," a sharp voice cut across from behind him. The girl he had a crush on, the girl he hung out with without even realising, scoffed at him in disgust. "He's a loser, he always will be." Michelle Jones turned away from him. As opposed to every time she called him 'loser' affectionately, this time he knew that she was mocking him.

A sharp blow to the head cut off his thought process. Ned had moved impossibly fast and made his way to him. His hand was still extended. Peter was shocked that he was actually hurt from the blow. A push from his other side sent him toppling over the edge of a cliff he hadn't seen. Peter was sure this drop wasn't there before, but now he tumbled down the sheer drop, approaching darkness.

Before he could shoot a web to stop his fall, a heavy object collided with his side, sending him crashing into the rocky cliff. Such was the force that he broke through the orange rock only to find a hidden cave. He bounced on the floor a few times before coming to a stop, groaning in both extreme physical and emotional pain. Groggily looking up at the hole he had made, he came face to face with a terrifying sight.

Iron Man hovered in front of him, the mask seeming to glare down at his figure. The stern disapproval was apparent, just like after the ferry incident. The armour's helmet dematerialised, revealing the face of a beat up Tony Stark.

"So!" he spoke in that acerbic, biting tone Peter hated. The tone full of sarcasm that never failed to cut the target down to size. "Peter screws the pooch. Again. What else is new, huh?"

His Spider-sense rang out, but before he could react, the repulsers on the suit's hands struck him straight in the stomach, sending him flying straight into a stalactite. The blow knocked the breath out of him and burnt his stomach, leaving Peter coughing up blood. He opened his eyes to look up, only to see glowing blue eyes staring down at him and a red fist coming down over his head. Peter widened his eyes, and rolled to the right, only to find himself in the open air of Titan once again. He shakily got to his feet, only to be hit in the back by a flying Iron Man suit.

"Failure!" came the slightly mechanised voice of Iron Man as it let him go over a ravine.

Before he could move, his leg was seized by claws, and he was rapidly lifted into the air. Struggling to release the grip on his foot, he flapped around uselessly in the air, before being dropped harshly onto the ground, provoking a cry of pain from the hero.

As he massaged his definitely broken ribs, he noticed the Vulture come to a hovering stop out of the corner of his eyes, his large wings, and Chitauri core jet pack allowing him to levitate. The helmet came off, only to reveal May's rage filled features.

"Disappointment!" she crowed.

As he slowly stood up, a force sent him flying forward. He tumbled to the ground again, giving a strangled whimper. Ned stood there, equipped with the gauntlets of the Shocker.

"Liar!" he yelled in anger.

"You could have saved us!" Iron Man said as he shot forward to deck him in the face. Peter hastily dodged the blow, only to be struck in the side by the Vulture's wings.

"You should have saved us!" May shouted. He was pushed forward, only to be uppercutted by Ned.

"You promised nothing would ever happened to me!" Ned shot more vibrations towards a grounded Peter, making the ground crack around him.

Peter shot a web at Ned's gauntlets, but Iron Man struck him in the side with a repulser.

"I-I tried to save you!" Peter yelled in pain, from their words or his wounds he didn't know.

"You didn't try hard enough," came an apathetic voice from right behind him. Before he could turn, a burning pain passed through his back. Through his experience, he knew that he had been shot in the back.

"M-MJ?" he stuttered, looking at the girl he had a crush on for a long time.

"Don't call me that!" she snapped at him, hand still holding the gun at him. "Only my friends call me MJ. We are not friends, Parker." The last word was spat at him with venom.

"I told you before, Pete," his mentor commented. Peter struggled to move his body, but managed to look over at him. He was standing there in nothing more than a shirt, jeans, and a jacket. A casual look Peter didn't think Tony Stark would ever where. "If you die, I feel like that would be on me. And if they die," he continued, pointing his hand in a random direction. "If they die, that would be on you."

Peter followed his mentor's hand only to find Pepper, Lila and Nate standing there in confusion and fear.

"Peter?" Pepper questioned. "What's going on?"

"No," Peter said desperately. "You won't kill them." Tony looked over at him with a neutral expression.

"You're right, kid," he said, putting his hands in his pocket. "I just can't save them. I'm dead, remember? Because of you?"

Michelle bent down and whispered in his ear maliciously, "Of course, that doesn't mean that someone else can't kill them."

"Who-" Peter started, before he was interrupted.

"Dread it, run from it, destiny arrives all the same."

The deep voice from his right chilled his blood in his veins. It had haunted his nightmares every night, and he wished he had never heard it. Peter slowly turned his head towards it.

There he stood, in all his glory. The cargo pants, the armoured tank top, the muscular purple arms. The gleaming gauntlet shone on his left hand, all the slots for the stones filled. His cruel scarred visage gave a disgusting grimace as he stepped forward towards Pepper and the kids, who shrunk back in horror.

"No," Peter whispered, before his voice became louder and louder "no, No, NO, NO!"

Peter hurried to get up, but the Vulture's clawed legs came down on his back, provoking and agonised scream and trapping him in place.

"May!" he begged as Thanos got closer. "May let me go, please!"

"You couldn't save us, Peter," she cooed, "and now you can't save them either."

Peter didn't listen and kept thrashing violently, causing himself untold amounts of pain as he scrambled to get free from both the Vulture's claws and Shocker's blasts keeping him in place. Finally, he slumped down, closing his eyes hoping not to see the oncoming massacre.

"-peter! Peter! PETER!" a voice shouted at him.

"FR-FRIDAY, they're going to die!" he sobbed.

"This is in your head, Peter. These are only your fears given form!"

"It hurts, FRIDAY," he shuddered. "That's not in my head."

"These are your fears, Peter. But you need to understand that what happened isn't your fault. You might think it is, but it wasn't. Everyone tried to stop him, but they all failed. Doctor Strange tried, Captain Rogers tried, even Boss tried. It was too much for all of us. But right now, in real life? Ms Clea needs you. Dr Braddock needs you. Boss Lady, Lila, and Nathaniel need you. So will you give up?"

"No," he whispered. "I'm Spider-Man. I can't give up. As long as I'm around, no one loses their life."

Peter pushed himself up slowly, straining against the massive force on his shoulders.

"Come on, Spider-Man, get up. People need your help, so GET UP!"

With the last roar, he pushed the Vulture off of him, and webbed Ned up to send him flying. He stumbled to his feet, feeling all the wounds on his body.

"These are my fears. They don't control me."

"Kid?" Tony asked cautiously.

"I'm sorry, Mr Stark. I'm sorry I failed you. But I understand now. It was my fault. But it's time to move on."

"No!" Tony roared, lunging at him with his fist raised. The Iron Man suit formed seamlessly around him, giving him overwhelming force.

Peter caught the punch. "I'm not scared anymore," he declared. "And you're not Mr Stark. He was a good man."

Peter threw his own punch with all his strength, breaking the Iron Man helmet and sending Tony flying. The world swirled around him, the surroundings dissolving into black smoke.

Peter coughed and looked around. He found himself exactly where he last remembered, the corridor in the Sanctum. The shimmering gateway was behind him. Rintrah and Brian were on the floor, their features pale, almost bloodless. Their eyes were as black as night, and they shook as if they had seizures.

Peter could still feel all the injuries he had gained during the vision, with his body facing immense pain. He looked ahead to find Nightmare glaring hatefully at him, before vanishing in a cloud of black mist.

"FRIDAY?" he asked hoarsely as he limped towards his companions. "Do you remember that, or was that just me?"

"I, too, was part of your illusion, Peter. I remember."

"Thanks, FRI. I couldn't have done it without you."

"I'm always here, Peter. And I'll always be here."

Peter was touched by her words. He sniffed, trying to stifle the tears that were constantly falling from his eyes. Wiping his cheeks, he pushed forward to his teammate.

"Brian," he called, "Brian, wake up. It isn't real."

He leaned down to shake him. The moment Peter's hand touched Brian's shoulder, he was sucked into what appeared to be a black hole.

Peter landed hard on the grass. Gasping in pain, he looked around to see a large manor style house. Peter was currently on the lawns, but the scene looked all wrong. For one, the house was burning around him. The blaze was so intense, he could feel the heat all the way here.

Peter rushed into the house, hoarsely shouting his companion's name. He limped as fast as he could towards the place where the blaze appeared to be stronger. The suit, luckily, had a cooling feature.

In the central chamber of the house, Peter found three people. His eyes found Brian, kneeling down amongst the wreckage. His expression looked completely defeated. The other man in the room was trapped by what appeared to be a steel beam from the ceiling. He was yelling, pleading for Brian to save him. His arm was stretched out towards Captain Britain, as if asking for mercy.

The last individual was a young woman. She had pale skin, but eye-catching purple hair and eyes. Her long hair brushed her waist, and she wore a large overcoat. Her features were stern, and hatred could be seen in her eyes. Peter moved just in time to catch her last words.

"-and it's your fault, Brian. You're fault that our family isn't whole. You are unworthy of the sword you carry, Captain Britain!"

"Betsy," Brian said softly, "I..." he couldn't finish his thought, and simply hung his head.

Before more could be said, Peter knelt next to Brian. "Hey," he said gently. Brian hardly looked at him. Peter knew that he would need to try harder.

"Brian, it's me. Peter. You know, the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man?"

Brian, again, didn't react. "Brian, all of this? It's all in your head. None of this is real, okay? These are your fears. They're here to break you, so you need to snap out of it."

"How?" he asked mournfully. "They're right. I tore my family apart. I was given the sword because I was a good man, but I'm not, am I? Not really."

"Yes you are," Peter disagreed vehemently. "You are a good man. Even on your day off, you came to help simply because I asked. I don't know much about you, but I can tell you right now, I trust you to watch my back. Now, shake off the rust, and put the hurt on these guys."

As Peter spoke, gradually a light came back into Captain Britain's eyes. He stood up and drew his sword. "No nightmares will defeat me," he proclaimed.

"Brian," Betsy growled, her English accent very apparent in her rage. "Put the sword down. You'll just cause more pain."

"I'm sorry, Betsy," he said, holding his sword before him. "But you're not my sister. He's not my brother," he gestured the man beneath the beam. "And I am very annoyed right now." He swung the sword down on the girl. The moment the sword made contact, the illusion dissipated. Much like last time, both Brian and Peter were left standing in the Sanctum.

Both of them breathed heavily. "Thanks," Brian whispered.

"Don't mention it," Peter replied just as quietly.

Both of them stared at each other, and slowly started chuckling, which evolved into full blown laughter. Neither knew why they were laughing, but they couldn't stop. Leaning on each other, they attempted stifle their grim amusement, only to see a large shadow in front of them. Slowly turning around, they found a scary sight.

Rintrah stood before them, ready to fight. His fur had lightened a couple of shades from brown to almost bleached white. His eyes were jet black, and hatred could be seen circling in them. He carried an axe in his hands, whose handle was larger than Peter's leg.

He roared and charged at the pair, who dived in separate directions. He attempted to swat Peter, but Peter backflipped away. He hissed in pain from his earlier injuries, but knew he didn't have time to dawdle.

Brian tried to calm the Minotaur down. "Rintrah, it's us. Remember? It's Brian and Peter, here to help you and Clea. You brought us here. Try to think!"

The efforts seemed to be in vain, though, as Rintrah bashed Brian into the wall. Brian was almost embedded inside, but collapsed to the floor. Just as Rintrah was going to try again, a web came out of nowhere and struck him right in the eyes. He stumbled and growled, tearing frantically at the sticky substance.

Peter helped Brian up. "Any ideas?" the Englishman asked him.

Peter thought for a moment, before he replied. "Yeah actually."

Peter leaped as much as he could in the cramped space, slinging a web to the ceiling, and flipping past Rintrah, who roared and turned to follow him. Peter shot out webs to circle the beast, and held him back as hard as he could. The Minotaur frantically tried to free himself from the adhesive, but Brian jumped onto his back and slammed the pommel of his sword down on the bovine head.

Rintrah roared in pain, and slowly collapsed to the floor unconscious. Both of them panted heavily, and looked at each other.

"What now?" Brian asked.

Peter observed how the fur of the bull-man darkened significantly. He crouched down to observe his eyes, which were brown once again. "I think he's passed it. But we have to keep going. Clea needs our help. He'll catch up."

"Face more magic without a magician on our side? What fun," Brian grumbled, but stood up with his sword all the same, ready to do battle.

"I'm definitely ready to go and kick some pasty white arse," Brian grumbled, wiping gunk off his sword.

"You don't like white people? I never noticed," retorted Peter in his direction. He was still limping along, trying to hide the gunshot wound in the back which his suit was slowly healing. The broken ribs were being iced by the temperature control system, but the ever present pain didn't wane.

"Shut up," Brian hit back. "You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I really do," Peter sighed. "I'm gonna punch the breakfast our of our dear spooky friend."

Brian wasn't as injured by comparison. His vision seemed to be more psychological torment rather than physical like Peter's, not that Peter was less affected. He was doing what he so often did, bottle up his emotions to deal with later (or never).

"So, any idea who that guy was? Nightmare, or whatever he called himself?" Brian asked.

"Dude, I don't exactly have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the magical world," Peter replied annoyed. "That's what Clea was for. That was what Rintrah was for."

"Right, and about giant screaming cow-" Brian started sardonically.

"Shhh! You can't call him a cow!" Peter chastised him, before breaking out into a cheeky grin. "He's at least a bull."

"Of course, of course," Brian said, smiling slowly. Both of them made an effort to leave behind their bad moods. It would only affect their fight moving forward. "When do you think we can expect some help from him?"

"I'm not exactly an expert on the biology of aliens, or mythological creatures, or whatever he is."

"Okay, relax, relax," Brian soothed with his hands up. "You have any idea where we are?"

"I think-" Peter started, but Friday interrupted him.

"You are currently in Kamar-Taj in the city of Kathmandu, Nepal."

Peter and Brian both stopped in their tracks, looking at each other in stunned silence. After a few seconds of thought, they both came to the same conclusion. They looked over at the shimmering gateway at the end of the corridor blankly, before looking back at each other for a few seconds.

"Magic is bonkers, mate," Brian sighed. He looked absolutely done with life.

"Yeah," Peter said with a similar grimace. "Let's never do this again."

Both of them continued their trudge down the, what seemed to be, longest corridor in the world. Both sides where full of art painted on the wooden walls, which they admired as they steeled themselves for what they could find inside. They turned through random corridors with no idea how to proceed, haphazardly navigating through the confusing passages.

"I know you want to ask," Brian suddenly commented, not looking at Peter.

Peter glanced at him. "It's none of my business. Do you want to talk about it?"

Brian sighed heavily after a moment. "Not particularly, but you are meant to be one of my teammates, right? Perhaps I should."

"Hey, I'm not pushing you dude," Peter replied. "I'm here to listen if you want to."

"Thank you," Brian said. After a few moments of silence, he began. "I was born to an aristocratic family in England. My father was actually Lord James Braddock."

"Wow," exclaimed Peter. He had only read novels about English nobility, but never thought he would meet someone like that. "That's awesome."

"I suppose it was 'awesome', as you said," Brian chuckled, before sobering up. "We were raised in the lap of luxury, me and my siblings. I had two. Jamie, or James Jr, was my elder brother, while Elizabeth, or Betsy, is my baby sister."

Peter noted how Brian used 'was' to describe his elder brother, while talking about his sister with 'is'. This gave him an idea of how the story would end.

"While I did my best to make my parents proud, my brother was not like me. He was greedy and avaricious. Always wanting more, more money, more power, more fun, more drugs, more cigarettes. More, more, more. Eventually, my parents found out what he was doing, and cut him off. So he turned to other sources of income."

Brian's face contorted into hate. "He got involved in the flesh and slave trade. None of us had any idea. To us, he was still our lovely elder brother. He always made time for us, and never stopped talking to us. We thought he was recovering from his addictions. But he wasn't. He was becoming worse."

The guilt could be seen lining his face. "Eventually, his sins caught up with him. Our parents passed away, and he inherited the vast wealth of our estate. We were grieving, all three of us, when suddenly a bomb went off in the manor. It started crumbling around us. Neither Betsy nor I had any idea what was going on, but I picked her up and ran out. When she was safe, I ran back inside to save Jamie, but he was surrounded. It was a tribe of Ivorian tribals. He had been kidnapping and selling their people, so they came to take revenge. He was pinned underneath a steel beam, as you saw in the ..." He twirled his hands behind him to indicate the illusion from earlier.

"They were taunting him and spitting on him with hate. I heard them from my hiding spot. Eventually, they left, and the ground around him started burning. I was so filled with hatred and betrayal that I went to him and asked if it was true. He tried to lie, but he couldn't look me in the eyes. That was when I knew. It was true. My elder brother, my hero, was participating in slavery. He begged me to save him, but ..."

Brian looked absolutely wrecked. Peter looked over at him and saw the tears slowly dripping from his eyes, while his left hand fingernails were digging so deep into his palm that glove almost seemed to give way.

"Till today, Betsy still doesn't know about it. I don't want her image of our brother to be tainted. She still loves him. I told her that I couldn't save him. There's nothing I regret more than allowing my rage to overcome me. Even if he was the cruelest man alive, he was still my brother, and I left him to die." His voice trailed off at the end. Peter could hear him holding back tears, and patted him on the back.

"I can't even begin to understand what you're going through," Peter finally said. "But if you feel that you need to atone for your sins, you're a hero! You're well on you way to making up for it. Maybe you couldn't save your brother, but you can, and you have, saved many, many other people."

He looked at the floor. "When I first got my powers, I wanted to help my uncle and aunt pay the bills. So, I entered a wrestling tournament. I thought I could make some easy money in the wring, I mean, I was enhanced, man! There was nobody who could compete with my strength and speed."

Here Peter looked away. "After the show, I went to collect my winnings, which should have been $3000, but the guy at the desk stiffed me. He gave me three hundred and sent me on my way. I was so angry at him, that when he was robbed a few seconds after I left, I just let the thief go by me. I thought it was karmic justice, you know?"

Peter laughed grimly without any amusement. "When I came out, I say my uncle lying on the floor with a bullet in his chest. He said his final words, and he ..." Peter sniffed and continued. "I heard over the police radio that they'd surrounded the one responsible at a nearby warehouse. I was so angry that I rushed over to the warehouse to confront the guy that took my uncle, my father, from me. And you know what I found? It was the thief from earlier, the one I let go. If only I had done the decent thing, the responsible thing, my uncle would still be alive. That's when I swore that I wouldn't let something like that happen ever again.

My uncle had a phrase that he used to say. He said 'with great power, there must also come great responsibility'. So that's why I do this, so I can make my uncle proud."

Brian listened carefully, and saw something very different in the young boy he met. Originally, he thought that Peter was a good boy, young, naive, but good. But now, he saw what truly made Spider-Man a hero. He could see why he so inspired the city of New York, so much that they revered him as their hero.

Just by looking at him, he knew he was seeing the next leader of the Avengers. When he first joined the team, he thought the leader would be Major Danvers, or Valkyrie, but neither of them were actually interested in the position. Now he could see why.

The Avengers already had a leader. They were just waiting for him to realise it.

Peter and Brian shared a few seconds of silence as they both regained their composure. They finally approached the end, where a large double door stood gleaming against the wooden panelling.

"Once more unto the breach, huh?" quipped Brian, smiling wryly.

"You know it, dude."

Both of them kicked down the doors at the same time to rush inside. The foul black smoke that affected the both of them earlier was seeping through every crack in the room and invading every crevice. The creepy feeling that they both received, reflexively shuddering in fear and disgust, was only amplified by the aura the mist gave off.

In the centre of the room stood Clea, both arms extended wide, with orange Tao Mandalas spread out from both palms. The shining shields were blocking the advance of the gas, but it was slowly encroaching closer and closer to her body. Her face relayed her exhaustion, letting them know how long she had been fighting. She spun around in every direction, pushing the gas back when the light touched it.

Slowly, without her noticing, a large shadow emerged from the gas directly behind her. The towering smoke swirled and formed a figure that both Peter and Brian were familiar with.

Clea was getting desperate now. While she was definitely a talented sorcerer, she was still an apprentice. Her apprenticeship with Stephen Strange was actually half way through when the Snap happened. She might have been the best among her remaining peers, but Nightmare was a different league.

He was the ruler of a separate dimension, one where he served as God. He was responsible for all the fear created in dreams, and grew more powerful with each nightmare a person had. And given the number of creatures that dreamed in all the universe, he was immensely powerful. Her only chance was that he wasn't as powerful outside his realm.

She was praying that she would receive some help. The rest of the sorcerers were all fighting the shadow demons in the courtyard or the Sanctums, so she was pretty much alone. Even if he was weakened, he still was powerful enough to deal with all of them. The last person to fight Nightmare was the Ancient One, her master's master, and one of the greatest sorcerers of all time. Even she couldn't beat him, not in his domain. She just pushed him out of their dimension, and sealed the barriers around Earth. Now the barriers were weakened by the Snap, and so the evil god was back.

She felt a cold breath on her back, and froze.

"Poor Clea," a sinister voice crooned. "No help, no friends, no backup. All alone, like you always will be."

She turned around slowly, and saw the being responsible for this madness. His fully black eyes gleamed with cruelty and sadistic amusement. She knew that she would be tortured slowly, engulfed in her worst fears for eternity. She wasn't strong enough to stop him alone.

"Are you ready to die?" he asked mockingly.

"We aren't," came a voice from their left. Both of them spun around, and had different reactions. Clea breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that she had some help. Nightmare, meanwhile, growled in annoyance.

"Stupid bug," he roared.

"Rude," Peter quipped, shooting a web at Nightmare's face, which pushed him back. "Spiders are arachnids, man. Didn't they teach you anything in evil god school?"

Peter lunged at him and kicked him in the face before Nightmare could clear the web. The entity went flying head over heels onto the courtyard.

Brian made his way to a kneeling Clea. "You must be Clea," he greeted, holding his arm out towards her.

"That's me," she stated, taking his hand and lifting herself up. "And you must be the new recruit."

"Brian Braddock, ma'am," he said, pointing his sword towards the recovering god.

"Can you guys introduce yourselves to each other some other time," Peter cried, jumping onto Nightmare's back and pulling him back with webs. "Evil god to beat here!"

Brian chuckled, and jumped in to join the fray. He stabbed his sword down onto the god, who blocked the sword with his bare hands. This gave Peter the opportunity to deck him in the face.

He stumbled back a step, before he lashed out at the spot where Spider-Man was, but the vigilante was too quick for him. He backflipped to avoid the blow which would have surely killed him, judging by the spiderweb cracks on the wall where the punch landed.

The fear demon thrust his arm out, and a surge of dark energy rushed out towards Captain Britain. Luckily, Clea got in the way with a magical shield. She was still pushed back, and the shield broke after a second, but the it was enough for Brian to get out of the way of the blast.

Clea was sent flying back from the impact, but a web caught her and set her right. Peter webbed both of NIghtmare's knees and pulled hard, sending the god to the floor. Growling in rage, the entity grabbed the webs and pulled as well. Spider-Man was pulled towards him, and he punched the arachnid in the chest, breaking the suit he was wearing and embedding him in the wall.

"No!" Brian yelled, charging with his sword out.

Clea made her way to Peter. Peter was on his knees, coughing for breath. The spider on his chest piece was cracked in half. Luckily, he wore his regular Spider-Man suit underneath the Iron Spider. Clea helped him sit up, before waving her hands and allowing the Iron Spider to repair faster.

"Come on," she urged. "We need to move."

"I know," Peter panted. He stood up and lunged at the god. He webbed the god's face and pulled to the left, while Brian punched the god in the chest. Clea ran behind them, and bound the god with the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak. He roared in hatred, before breaking out of the spell, only for a giant Tao Mandala to send him flying. Before he hit the wall, he dissolved into smoke, swirling around the room.

All three of them stood back to back, staring warily at the mist.

"Any idea how to deal with this guy?" Peter asked.

"I need to you distract him. I'll open a portal, and we'll push him in together."

"We can do that, right?" Peter said, looking at Brian.

"We most certainly can," the Captain replied.

They braced themselves, and when the god came roaring out of the smoke, Brian and Peter fell on him with all their fury. They channeled every bit of their hatred from the harrowing visions he'd inflicted on them.

Bouncing back and forth, they gave the entity no room to think or act, working in perfect sync to leave no gaps between hits. Peter punched him in the face, and Brian kicked him in the side towards Peter. Peter pinned a web on both the surrounding walls, and launched himself at the Fear Lord. Nightmare was pushed straight into Brian's sword, which mercilessly chopped off his arm.

A roar of rage and pain echoed throughout the room and even echoed into the courtyard below. Nightmare stared at the stump where his arm once resided in absolute disbelief. Two mortals had managed to wound him. Before he could think any more, a sharp kick to the back sent him to the floor. He shot a stream of dark energy with his remaining arm, but it was flipped over by a certain arachnid.

Clea was busy muttering a chant in an unknown language under her breath. An orange circle started spinning in the air, gaining speed with every spin. Her chant got louder and louder with each successive turn, and eventually the circle imploded, resulting in a grey and black psychedelic swirling tube leading to a deep blackness that put fear in all their hearts.

"Now!" she shouted, binding the god in magical ropes and pulling him towards the portal with all her strength.

Brian and Peter lunged at him and punched forward with all their combined might to send him flying in. At the last moment before he was sent in, however, a rope of black energy emerged from his hand and bound itself to the floor, letting the god stay in this dimension.

"ENOUGH!" he roared. A black surge of energy emerged from every pore and exploded in every direction. It threw all of them into the air, and even disrupted the portal behind him.

"You," he started, showing his burning hate, "actually thought you could beat me? A GOD?" He broke into hysterical laughter. "Let me show you my true power, insects." Black mist swirled around his stump, and formed into the shape of an arm. It dissipated to reveal a brand new arm, as if his old one was never destroyed at all.

He began floating in the air, and swirls of darkness started orbiting him, as if he was charging up. He pulled his arms back in order to push them forward.

Peter knew he wouldn't survive this, so he closed his eyes. He imagined every moment he had with May, with Ben, with Tony, with Pepper, with Lila and Nate, with Ned and MJ, and all his happy memories. It was very unlikely he would ever feel happy again, if he was a prisoner in the realm of the god of fear.

Before anything could happen, a voice echoed throughout the room.

"Oh, please," the voice scoffed sardonically.

When all of them looked around in confusion, Clea closed her eyes in annoyance.

All of a sudden, a bolt of energy came from nowhere and struck Nightmare on the chest. He yelped in pain, before looking around in madness.

"Who are you!?" he shouted out to the darkness.

More bolts emerged from every corner of the room, pushing him closer and closer to the portal. Finally, a massive blast of energy struck him full frontal, and he was sent flying into the portal with a yell of rage.

The three of them stood up. Brian and Peter stood on guard cautiously, while Clea gripped her forehead as if massaging a headache.

A form started shimmering where the now closed portal stood. The purple miasma cleared to reveal what was the most beautiful woman that either man had ever seen. Their eyes widened, and a blush crawled onto both their faces. Peter thanked all the stars above that he still had his mask on, because Brian's blood red face was visible to everyone in the room.

The woman had jet black hair that flowed down her shoulders, and purple eyes that looked vaguely familiar. She had a sharp nose, and perfect lips that made them think only of doing one thing. She wore a strapless purple one piece dress that did very little to preserve her modesty. There was a huge slit over her right leg, and the dress was lowered down to see much of her cleavage.

"Hello, darlings," she chirped melodiously.

"Uh, um gah," were the only sounds that came out of Peter's mouth, while Brian firmly refused to say a word.

"How sweet," she giggled at their reactions.

Peter shook his head, and with great willpower pushed his mind to think beyond how attractive she was. "Can I ask who you are?" he asked with a shaking voice that broke at the end.

She passed him like he said nothing at all, before approaching Clea, who was watching all of this with a deadpan expression.

"Embrace me!" she cried as she raised her arms towards Clea. She swiftly threw her arms around the sorceress, who simply rolled her eyes.

"Hello, Mother."

"Mother?!" both Brian and Peter shouted.

"Indeed," the woman said. She turned towards her daughter. "I see you're still ashamed of me. Refuse to tell anyone about me, do you?"

"I see no reason why I should," Clea commented annoyed. "It's not like they can't survive without that crucial fact."

"Well, aren't you at least going to say thank you? For saving you?"

"Fine. Thank you, mother, for saving us at the absolute last moment."

"Beggars can't be choosers, honey."

"Obviously, you couldn't have intervened a single second earlier. That would have ruined your dramatic entrance."

"See, this is why we don't talk. Somehow, you find a way to criticise everything I do. I helped you, yet you insult me. I saved you and your friends, and you simply act so ungrateful!"

"Ungrateful? Mother, you appeared just when my life flashed before my eyes. Besides, when have you ever done anything for anyone other than yourself?"

"Are you implying that I'm selfish?"

"No, no no no. I wasn't implying it. I was stating it."

Brian and Peter stared blankly at the ongoing argument before them. They looked at each other, and subtly pointed their fists at each other. After shaking them up and down twice, they both showed the shapes they'd made. Brian extended a fist, while Peter gestured with an open hand. Brian threw his head back in annoyance, while Peter secretly gave a fist bump.

"Uh, ladies?" Brian interjected cautiously.

"Shut up!" they both shouted, before they went back to shouting at each other's faces.

"You could never do anything simply because it's good!"

"How dare you? I've helped so many people!"

"You only help people when you want them in your debt, mother!"

"Does it matter? I've helped them, haven't I?"

"And you've also completely ignored people begging for help if you get nothing from it! You are an opportunist of the highest caliber!"

"I simply expect my services to be repaid. Is that so wrong?"

"It is when anyone who makes a deal with you basically sells their soul to the devil!"

"I am most certainly a better person than that fool Mephisto. Way better looking, too."

"That's not - stop changing the subject!"

"Alright, that's enough!" shouted Peter. Both women glared, intimidating him a little, but he steeled himself and continued. "Thank you for saving us, but why are you here, uh..."

"Umar, honey," the newcomer replied. "I like this one," she remarked to Clea, before turning back to them. "I'm here, because I have some business to speak to the sorcerers about. Since the both of you gentlemen are here, you may as well help me too."

"Help?" Clea asked sarcastically. "What is the problem so vast that even the all-powerful Umar needs to ask us lowly souls for aid?"

"Sarcasm is not a nice look on you dear," Umar commented lightly. "But the problem, as you described, is, unfortunately, my brother."

Clea's eyes widened before her expression grew ice cold. "Absolutely not."

"You haven't even heard what I was going to say!" Umar protested.

"This is a suicide mission, mother," Clea shot down coldly. "I will not allow the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj to fight a Greater Lord for no reason, especially as weakened as we are."

"Perhaps," Brian cut in before another argument started, "we should first tend to the sorcerers? They surely are injured after the battle we just had, right?"

"Capital idea, darling," Umar said cheerily, provoking a blush from Brian while Clea glared at her.

They busied themselves over the next hour, helping and healing the sorcerers. While Peter, Brian, and Clea faced Nightmare, the rest of the sorcerers had all been fighting the hordes that he'd brought, the same shadow monsters they'd seen earlier. Many had fallen to the Fear Demons, as Peter later learnt they were called, and still more were injured. Peter went around helping people get to the healer's beds, clearing rubble and collecting the bodies on the way. Brian, with his experience in the army, was assisting the healers to save people, bandaging injuries and feeding potions to the sorcerers. Clea was being assisted by the remaining healthy sorcerers to frantically reconstruct Kamar-Taj around them. The rubble was being cleared as if it wasn't there at all.

Clea sat Peter down, against his express command, to scan him for injuries. What the medical team found shocked them. He had what appeared to be a bullet wound in his back, but the bullet was missing. He also had several broken bones, especially around his ribs, and massive internal bleeding. Despite all that, he was still up and fighting things like Nightmare. They all worked together to get him back into proper shape, as thanks for coming to their aid.

Eventually, Clea gathered the masters of the Sanctums, the highest authorities at Kamar-Taj. Clea herself was the leader of the sorcerers, but did not have the title of 'Sorcerer Supreme' yet. Apparently, that was a title that needed to be attained after a ceremonial challenge. The other masters were Rintrah for the New York Sanctum, Sara Mbedu for the London Sanctum, and Charlie Mitchell for the Hong Kong Sanctum. Peter, Brian, and Umar also entered the private meeting room, and started their discussion.

"Run that by me one more time?" Peter asked incredulously.

"She wants us to help her launch an invasion," Clea answered tiredly.

"Not an invasion, dear, just me reclaiming what is rightfully mine," Umar said.

"And what exactly would we be invading?" Brian asked cautiously. Umar seemed rather temperamental, so it was best not to get on her bad side.

"The Dark Dimension, a realm of incalculable power," Umar replied, provoking sharp intakes of breath from the three Sanctum Masters, but blank incomprehension from the two Avengers.

"Okay..." Peter said slowly.

"Are you mad?" Charlie asked in disbelief. "The Dark Dimension? That is expressly forbidden! And to invade it, would mean to challenge, Him!"

"Expressly forbidden?" Umar asked, snorting in amusement. "Please, your own former leader used to harvest power from the Dark Dimension, or do you think there was another way to live as long as she did?"

"You lie!" Sara shouted. "The Ancient One would never use the Dark Dimension's energy!"

"She did," interjected Clea grimly. "Doctor Strange told me. That's why Mordo left. He couldn't take the fact that his mentor disobeyed her own words."

"What does the Dark Dimension have to do with you two?" Rintrah spoke up, looking at the mother and daughter before him.

"I'm a Faltine," Umar answered simply.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" came the shout from all three masters.

"The Faltines were all massacred! He killed every last one of them!" yelled Charlie.

"Does that mean that Clea is half Faltine?" Sara asked softly, feeling her faith in her friend break down slightly.

Clea looked over at everybody. She was struggling to answer the question, because the answer would render her a pariah in the magical world.

"Yes," she finally said softly.

Rintrah pushed his chair back in horror, Charlie stood up and backed away from her, while Sara stared at her in shock and betrayal. Peter and Brian looked at each other in complete confusion.

"What is going on?" Peter asked to the silence in the chamber.

"Allow me to explain," Umar said, ignoring all the tension in the room. "The Dark Dimension is a dimension where the fundamental laws of the universe work differently. The race of beings born there were known as Faltines, extremely powerful entities that spent their entire life absorbing the vast energies of the realm. One of the Faltines, however, grew power hungry. He wanted more. That was my brother, Dormammu. He killed every last one of the Faltines, except me. I ran away to different realms before he could kill me too. Dormammu has spent the past millenia trying his utmost to increase the size of his empire, succeeding in taking over many dimensions which could not hold out.

Not too long ago, he attempted to take over Earth, as he'd done multiple times in the past, but he was faced down by my daughter's predecessor, Strange. I know not the details, but they made a bargain, which made him back away from this planet. But now that the barriers have weakened and Strange is gone, he turns his sights here once more."

"So this mysterious 'He' they keep mentioning, that is this Dormammu character?" inquired Brian.

"Indeed," replied Umar. "He is a terrifyingly strong and powerful warrior, considered a God in his realm, much like Nightmare."

"Nightmare wasn't that bad," protested Peter.

"Nightmare wasn't that bad here," corrected Clea. "He's weakened in this dimension. It wouldn't be possible to face him in his home, because his powers would be absolute there. Dormammu, unfortunately, would not possess a similar weakness in a different realm. He cannot be allowed to come."

"But why the drastic reactions?" questioned Brian once again, gesturing to the still shell-shocked masters.

"Because Faltines were vile and evil long before The Dread One," answered Rintrah. "He's simply the latest in a long line of would-be conquerors. He's only the most powerful of the bunch. Agamotto, the founder of our order, faced his predecessor, Sinifer, in combat."

"Yes," Umar said dryly. "Father did not stop ranting about the defeat he endured from those 'pitiful humans' till the day he died. I'm confident my brother killed him simply to avoid hearing him speak about it one more bloody time."

"Clea, how could you not tell us?" asked Sara incredulously.

"We deserved to know, especially when you started leading the Sanctums," remarked Charlie harshly.

"Did Strange know?" questioned Rintrah.

"Of course he knew," sighed Clea. "Wong did too, as did the Ancient One. Mordo and Hamir were others."

"Oh, please," scoffed Umar. "As if you can even call her a part of our race."

"What do you mean?" inquired Peter cautiously.

"It's simple," Umar answered, though it was clear that her words were for Clea. "She doesn't even use her birthright."

"And I never will," Clea declared firmly.

"Wait, I'm confused here," said Brian. "What are you talking about?"

"As a Faltine, even half of one, I'm able to use the limitless energies of the Dark Dimension to power my magic," Clea replied. "I would be much more powerful than I am right now, but at the cost of a piece of my soul."

"We're getting off topic, here," Peter cut in, seeing that she was visibly uncomfortable with the topic at hand. "Ms Umar, why are you here?"

"Well, as I told you before, my brother is looking to invade the planet. What better way to stop him permanently than to kill him?"

"Kill Dormammu?" Rintrah asked incredulously. "That's impossible."

"Not for me," Umar shot back. "I'm a Faltine, too."

"If you could kill him, why haven't you already?" asked Sara, pointedly not looking at her former friend.

"Because," Umar's face twisted as if tasting something unpleasant. "He's stronger than me. That's why I've come here. We have similar goals. You wish to prevent him from taking over this planet, while I wish to take revenge for the deaths of my family. So, I propose we work together."

"We would all die!" yelled Clea.

"Not quite," Umar said smugly, indicating that she knew something the rest of them did not.

"Then please, mother, illuminate us," Clea replied irritably, sitting back. "What is your master plan?"

"There exists an object in your vaults," Umar began, "that even Dormammu fears. We can use that and end him once and for all."

"Which object?" Charlie asked curiously.

"The Staff of One." This shut down all the murmuring in the room. All the sorcerers knew what the Staff of One was. It enabled the user to use any spell with just spoken words and a drop of blood, but the same spell would never work again. Everyone in the Order always assumed that the Staff was simply a crutch, but if Dormammu himself fears it, then it must be much more powerful than they thought. Too bad the wielder of the Staff, Tina Minoru, was snapped away.

Clea observed the confused faces of Brian and Peter, and explained to them what exactly the staff was. To say they were shocked would be understating it. The Staff could even allow one of them, a person untrained in the magical arts, to use sorcery.

"We will discuss it and let you know," Charlie declared, looking at the Faltine relaxing at their table. Understanding the hint, Umar got up and flounced out of the room.

After hours of discussion, with the exception of Clea and Peter, the sorcerers and the Avenger came to a decision. This would serve as a preemptive strike against their greatest enemy. If they manage to kill him in one go, then all the better. Either way, he would be weakened significantly, and wouldn't attack them for a long time, if ever. Hopefully Umar can live up to her end of the deal, and end him once and for all.

Dormammu had been bothering the Sorcerers of Kamar-Taj since the time of Myrddin, or Merlin as he was more commonly known, the fourth Sorcerer Supreme in its history. He had tried to take over Earth at least once every century since then, and had faced the Ancient One many, many times. Doctor Strange had used the Time Stone to halt his most recent invasion, but that was now impossible to replicate. As such, they pinned their hopes on Umar wielding the Staff of One.

Clea sat on the step leading into the courtyard from the main hall. She gazed at the sky above in deep thought. Peter slowly made his way towards her, and gingerly sat down next to her, caressing his still healing injuries.

"Penny for your thoughts?" he asked, stifling a chuckle when she jumped.

She glared at him playfully for a moment, before turning back to the sky. "You know, I don't know how to feel about this."

"About what?" he inquired, tilting his head like a puppy.

"This," she replied, gesturing in a circle with her hands. "This plan of ours."

"As I remember, you and I were against it," Peter reminded her. "Brian thinks like a soldier, which I admit is not someone I can be. The other sorcerers are too sure about the idea of finally killing Dormammu to worry about the consequences."

"I don't understand, my mother is not a nice person," Clea exclaimed, clenching her hands into fists in impotent disbelief. "She always, always has an angle, but no one in this stupid place will trust me anymore because of what I am."

"Eh, don't worry about it," Peter shrugged. "They'll get over it soon enough. Why'd you hide it, though?"

"I didn't," she replied. "Upon my arrival, the Ancient One told me not to let people know the truth." She turned towards him. "I'm half Faltine, right? My mother, as you know, is that lady in there, while my father is from a different realm. When I was born, my mother grew weaker, and developed a dislike towards me because of that. So, she abandoned me with my father. Prince Orini was the crown prince of G'uranth. He raised me, and taught me everything. When I was ten, though, Dormammu invaded. He and his servants, the Mindless Ones, decimated the realm, slaughtering everyone and turning them into other Mindless Ones. My father, in his last moments, opened a portal between dimensions and brought me here. I spent four years on the streets of Kathmandu before I was found by the Ancient One. She gave me a home, and a family. When Strange came along, a complete prodigy in sorcery, she told him to choose any disciple. He asked for her most gifted one, and she pointed him towards me. That's how I'm here.

My mother, though? She only came to me when I was sixteen. She told me that she loved me, and that she was very sorry for giving me away. She gave me this sob story about how she couldn't take me in because she was in danger, and that was no life for a child. And I, like an idiot, believed her. She told me that to be safe, she needed an artefact from the vaults. The Wand of Watoomb. It would free her from her oppressors. I was desperate to matter to my mother, so I gave it to her, even against the advice of the Ancient One. I thought I was really sneaky, you know? I got it under the nose of every master here, and gave it to her, only to see her dismiss me the next moment as inconsequential. She then struck some poor guy who'd cheated her it, turning him to ash. As she was about to go ham with it on all the souls she'd tricked, the Ancient One appeared. Turns out, she knew the entire time what I was doing, and simply let me do it to see what my mother was up to."

She sniffed. "She banished my mother, and gave me a second chance. I swore to myself that I would never help my mother with another one of her schemes again, but here we are. That's why I refuse to use the powers of the Dark Dimension. I know they would make me stronger, much stronger. But if there's even a chance that I could end up like her, rotten to the core, then I don't want anything to do with it."

Peter was silent for a moment as he digested all of that. "Well," he said eventually, "why don't we figure out her angle together?"

Clea looked over at him and smiled. "Sounds like a pl-"

They were interrupted by a rushing Rintrah. "Clea!" he shouted. "You need to see this."

They made their way over to a private room where Brian stood waiting.

"What's going on?" the Englishman asked.

"No idea," answered Peter. "We got called in here, same as you."

"This is important," Rintrah whispered, sounding hurried and forcefully lowering his voice. He put up a few hand symbols, and a golden glow emanated around the room, seeping into every surface before vanishing.

"Silencing spell," he declared seeing their confusion, before taking a book from his back pocket. "Look," he said, pointing at the open page he left it on.

All three of them looked at the book, before all their eyes widened. In the centre was a drawing of a large purple figure next to a slightly smaller figure of the same colour, although this one didn't look female. The first one was labeled 'Dormammu', and it didn't take a genius to figure out who the second figure was, even without reading the text accompanying it.

"Oh mother, what have you done," Clea whispered hoarsely, rubbing her forehead.

"Thi-this means..." Peter stuttered. "She never escaped the massacre of the Faltines."

"She was one of the perpetrators." Brian threw his head back.

"They did it together," Rintrah finished, looking at Clea. He quickly turned the page and they all read the words.

"Dormammu grew power hungry and banished her as well, so now she wants revenge," Peter summarised.

"But she isn't less ambitious at all," Brian replied solemnly.

"That's her plan," realised Clea, snapping her fingers. "She wants us to help her with her dirty work, and then she can swoop in and take care of us too. Then Earth is ripe for the taking, with no one who can stop her!"

"Leaving both the Dark Dimension and Earth under her rule."

"This is bad," Rintrah stressed. "This is very, very bad."

Before any of them could say a word, the door suddenly opened, revealing Umar who carried a very strange instrument. It was a long staff, but the end was a large golden ring.

"Ready to go?" she asked, smiling at them.

All of the occupants of the room looked at each other, before simultaneously turning to her and nodding. None of them let on that they knew her plans. They stepped outside, to see the entire Order of Kamar-Taj looking ready for war. They all carried at least one weapon, and all of them had glowing whips in hand. Most of them looked scared out of their minds, but the determination was visible from each of them. There were over seventy sorcerers in the room, and at the head stood Sara and Charlie. Rintrah made his way over to stand next to them, as was his place befitting his position of Master of a Sanctum. Clea also made her way there. Neither Sara nor Charlie looked her in the eye, making her put her head down as she moved past them. She stood next to Umar, who seemed to have just finished giving her speech for them.

Umar looked over at the two stragglers. "Coming, boys?" she asked sweetly.

Peter and Brian looked at each other and shared a nod. Peter activated the helmet of his suit, while Brian unsheathed his sword. They moved and stood to the side of the gathering, ready to do battle once more.

Umar raised her hands and moved them wildly, muttering a chant that grew louder with each passing second. When she finally the screamed the last syllable, the sky above them appeared to crack, giving way to an ominous purple miasma that floated above them. The feeling of oppression was clear even from the ground. They could all make out various small bodies floating in the sky, with all of them being different shades of purple or pink. They were in the Dread Lord's domain.

Umar grinned. "And here. We. Go."

The sorcerers travelled through the Dark Dimension in silence. They were surrounded by the particle like planetoids, stopping every so often on the foreign bodies to rest themselves. They had summoned large glowing platforms to transport themselves through what passed as air in the Dark Dimension. Umar was leading the group, flying forward to guide them through the oppressing space. Clea hovered her platform shortly behind her with a grim face. Clea was also responsible for the platform underneath Peter and Brian's legs, bringing them along with the travelling wizards.

Peter looked out at the desolate space on all sides with revulsion. He could feel the anguish and suffering in the region. While not as intense as the portal they'd banished Nightmare to, it was still affecting his senses. His Spider-Sense refused to stop ringing in his head, making him feel as if a bell was pounding inside his skull. As they followed Umar, it gradually grew louder and louder, telling him the ever-present danger was getting closer. Or rather, they were getting closer to it.

Umar came to a halt on a flat planetoid. Grey rock stretched out in every direction, giving them an area of probably a square kilometre. The sorcerers assembled on one side in orderly lines, each of them dissolving the platforms underfoot. Half of them summoned glowing golden whips, while the other half brought out large Tao Mandalas. Peter could see their formation clearly. It was a standard medieval military formation, with half ready to attack, while the other half defended themselves and their partners.

Umar relaxedly observed the preparations before looking over at her daughter, who conjured a 'Shield of the Seraphim', one of the most powerful shields in the magicals' repository. It glowed a deep red, indicating it was fully active.

Umar clucked her teeth in disappointment. "It seems despite everything I've taught you, you still stick to the safe little teachings of that puny human."

"That puny human did more for me than you ever did," Clea shot back without missing a beat.

"You will die, Clea," Umar commented. "You will, unless you use your heritage."

Clea dissolved the shield and stalked up to her mother. "I will never do it," Clea whisper-shouted right in Umar's face. "Never."

"Unbelievable," Umar scoffed. "You have virtually unlimited power at your fingertips, and you refuse to use it? Sometimes it astonishes me that you're my daughter."

"That makes two of us," Clea muttered poisonously under her breath. She turned away from the less clothed woman and resumed her previous position, summoning the shield once again.

"Everything alright?" Peter asked cautiously from next to her. Brian, next to Peter, also looked over curiously.

"She's driving me nuts," Clea murmured.

"We need a plan," Brian muttered. "Something that she won't see coming."

"Once the fight starts, we have to get the staff before she can use it. Otherwise, it will be bound to her until she decides to deactivate it. Which, trust me, she never will." Clea's resentment of her mother came through clearly in her voice.

Before any further conversation on this subject could take place, Umar's voice echoed throughout the rock.

"Sorcerers," she started. "I know you're scared. You face one of your greatest foes. But worry not, for you have me. Deal with the Dread One's soldiers, while I take care of the great villain myself. So chin up, relax, and just remember, the fate of the world depends on you."

"Greatest speech I've ever heard," Brian commented dryly.

Umar took a deep breath, before exhaling. "DORMAMMU!" she cried. Her voice echoed throughout the whole region around them, rumbling as a wave throughout what seemed to be the entire dimension. Peter covered his ears in pain from the shout. In fact, all of them on the rock did the same.

They waited for a moment, before Peter doubled over and clutched his head. Brian held him, and steadied him on his feet. Peter's danger sense went crazy. Every nerve in his body seemed to be trying to tell him to run.

A gigantic shadow encompassed the sorcerers, who took a step back, intimidated. Everybody looked up to see the massive figure towering over them. Peter couldn't even fully perceive the form of the being before him. His face was purple, and his face was constantly shifting, rippling from the centre of his face outwards. His eyes, glaring down at them, would have sent shivers down even the most hardened warriors' spine. They were purple whirlpools which seemed to suck out every bit of their soul and pull it towards the entity. For the first time, Peter fully understood why they called the being 'The Dread One'. He knew without a doubt that no one on Earth could stop this thing if it got loose on their planet.

The entire Dark Dimension seemed to stand still when the god opened his mouth. "Sister," the being boomed in his deep voice. "I did not think I would ever see you again."

Peter could confidently say now that he had much greater respect for Doctor Strange now than ever before. Suddenly, fighting against Thanos on Titan didn't seem to be so impressive anymore. Somehow, the former surgeon was able to go up against this thing and win, even extracting a promise to not attack the world.

"Bugger me," Brian gasped from next to him. "How the hell are we supposed to beat that?"

"Well, I simply couldn't resist, brother," Umar called back to the god. "You know how much of a sucker I am for family reunions. I've even brought my daughter!"

"Make your jokes," the ruler of the dimension dismissed. "You know as well as I do that it will all be inconsequential in the end."

"Perhaps not this time, brother dear," Umar winked, as if sharing some private joke. She brought her hand out from behind her back, and showed the staff in the realm lord's direction. "Look familiar?" she asked, smiling cheekily.

It seemed impossible to comprehend, but the being seemed to be startled. The god even moved backwards a little bit. "What!" he roared in rage and, if Peter was reading it right, a little bit of fear. "How do you have that!" He then saw the sorcerers behind Clea, looking terrified but ready to do battle. "Have the earthlings sunk so low as to deal with the likes of you?"

"I would say that you've made them desperate," Umar remarked as if she was talking about the weather. "They were so willing to do anything to get rid of you that they'd even come to me."

"RAAAAAGH!" the demon roared. With a wave of his immense hand, thousands upon thousands of black zombie-like monsters formed opposite the sorcerers. Each one had a single eye, and appeared completely burnt. Some were standing on the rock, while others were floating the purple ether around them. The Order of Kamar Taj were completely surrounded by the monsters on all sides.

"Mindless Ones!" came the cry from many sorcerers, who grew increasingly nervous in the presence of an army. It was scary enough facing one enemy, and now they had to face an army too. The sorcerers at the edge quickly whirled around and turned their shields and weapons towards the opposing horde. They formed a tight circle, with the more experienced wizards standing on the outer edges.

"Stand," Brian called over the din. "Stand and ready yourselves!"

The horde then rushed out to meet the sorcerers, who launched their glowing whips in the direction of the army. They fell by the dozens, but more simply climbed on top of the dead bodies to get to their prey. When the Mindless Ones came into contact with the Tao shields, they disintegrated, but slowly, Peter noted the sorcerers being pushed back into the circle, making it smaller and smaller. The horde was slowly starting to overwhelm the defenders, and they didn't know what to do.

Peter and Brian lunged into action. Working together as they had been for the past day, they whirled around using each other as a fulcrum. They had each other's backs and cut down any zombie that appeared near them. Brian's sword whipped out as if it was a beam of light, it swung by so fast. Peter's eight limbs, both human and mechanical, all worked in tandem to kill any monster that started surrounding them. Peter for the first time understood the damage that a Stark suit could do when fully unleashed.

While the two experienced combatants were making their way forwards, Clea, Rintrah, Sara, and Charlie were also in a small circle. Clea held her shield strong, along with Charlie's own shield, while Rintrah and Sara stood behind them and leveled devastating attacks on the army before them. Rintrah waved his hands, and two large bolts of light appeared out of thin air, from where they bounced on the ground twice before impacting against the Mindless Ones and slaying hundreds.

"The Bolts of Balthakk," Clea panted. "Nice work."

"Thanks," he grunted.

Sara thrust her hands out, fingers spread, and out of her fingers came golden blades, cutting down the monsters before them.

"Less talking, more fighting!" she yelled.

Umar stood before a legion all by herself. She waved her hand, and the very ground before them started mutating. Rocks and crystals formed out of nowhere, and impaled the zombies before they could take a step. She raised her hands to the sky, and a shower of glowing lances fell from the ether, slaying thousands. Yet, despite the efforts of all the combatants, the number of soldiers did not seem to decreasing. Umar looked over and glared up at her brother, who was watching over the battle with an inscrutable face. Catching her eye, he roared. A beam of power blew out of his mouth like dragon fire and headed straight for his sister. Umar hastily pushed her arms out and summoned a purple magical shield, which blocked the power of the tremendous attack. She skidded back a few steps, but held the shield. When Dormammu stopped the attack, she unsheathed the staff from her back. Clea, observing this, yelled to Peter, and gestured at her mother. Peter nodded once, and began the plan.

Umar slit her palm, and prepared to put a drop on the ring of the staff. Just as she raised her hand, a sticky substance attached itself to the other side of the staff.

"What?" Umar muttered in confusion.

The staff was pulled from her hands towards the direction of the Queens' vigilante. Her frown quickly transformed into disbelief.

"What are you doing, boy?!" she shouted. "Give the staff to me, now!"

"Not a chance, crazy lady!" came the reply.

Umar took a step towards Peter, before a glowing golden bolt caught her unawares. She turned to look at her glaring daughter with betrayal.

"Clea!" she yelled. "What are you doing! I need it to stop him!"

"Yes, Clea, what are you doing?" asked Sara softly.

"She isn't who you think, Sara," Rintrah answered her under his breath. "She's trying to take both this and our world for her own. We need to keep her away from the staff."

"Trust Clea?" Charlie asked doubtfully.

"Has she ever lied about anything apart from her heritage?" Rintrah asked him accusingly.

Sara and Charlie looked at each other. They would have a long conversation with their friend after the battle, but for now, they would trust their friend. They simultaneously turned and attacked Umar together.

Clea ran towards Peter. Brian was keeping the monsters away from them.

"What do we do now?" Peter asked her frantically.

"We need to seal them here," Clea muttered. "Seal them away from our world."

"Clea," Brian warned. "You know that includes your mother, right?"

"I know," she replied solemnly, observing the ongoing battle. Sara, Rintrah, and Charlie were all trying to keep Umar at bay futilely. Umar was brushing off every one of their attacks as if they were nothing but light breezes. She flicked her hand, and the three masters of the Sanctums flew off their feet.

"You will pay for this, daughter," she growled.

"Ha ha ha," the dark god chuckled. "How predictable, Umar. You would have double crossed them, but they double crossed you first!"

Dormammu waved his hand, and the Mindless Ones abandoned the sorcerers and rushed towards the Avengers, intent on getting the staff for their master. Umar, too, made her way towards them. The sorcerers tried their utmost to stop them.

"I can't stop them," Clea cried. "I'm not strong enough."

"Clea, what about the power that your mother mentioned?" Peter pondered. "Would that give you enough juice to trap them?"

"Yes, but," she waved her hands in frustration. "I told you. If I do, it would take a piece of my soul. I would become like them." She gestured towards Umar and Dormammu, who were both gaining ground.

"No you won't" Peter said softly. "I don't really now much about all this magic stuff, but I do know you. You are a good person, Clea. Even if the power makes you susceptible to corruption, I believe that you won't let yourself become corrupted. Even when they've accused you of betrayal, you're still here, trying to help them and the world. Power itself is not good or bad, Clea. It's how you use it that defines you. My uncle told me, that 'with great power, there must also come great responsibility'. As long as you use that power well, and responsibly. There's no reason that you would ever become like them."

"Thanks, Pete," she spoke after gazing at him for a few moments. Tears dripped down her face as she turned to face her mother and uncle. She moved her arms around, and a purple circle materialised out of thin air. It was inscribed in runes, just like the golden ones.

"Anything we can do?" Peter asked curiously.

"I need a distraction. Put a drop of your blood on the staff, and it activates at your words," she commanded, before flying into the air and increasing the size of her spell and chanting a ritual.

"Distraction," Peter muttered faintly. "Right."

"Chin up, Pete," came Brian's voice from next to him. "Now get on with it. She said something about putting blood on the staff, right?"

"Yeah, yeah yeah." Peter deactivated the nanotech suit around his left hand, and one of his stingers came and opened a shallow cut. He dropped a single drop of blood onto the ring, just like how he'd seen Umar about to do.

"Nooooo!!" came the collective cry from both Faltine siblings. Everybody stopped fighting for a moment, to look at what they were yelling at.

The staff glowed an intense gold, making all the humans shield their vision. This caused the Mindless Ones to overcome them for a brief moment, but Peter pointed the ring of the staff in their direction.

Something ancient spoke in his mind, somehow guiding his instincts on what to do. He held the staff towards the Faltines, and the hordes of zombies, with only one thought in his head.

"Back," he declared, his voice amplified across the plain. A gigantic force pushed the entire horde of enemies back several yards. Even Umar and Dormammu were affected, each of them flying off. Umar landed on her back at the very edge of the rock, while the giant god was pushed backwards, colliding with one of the mini-planetoids behind him.

"Huh," Brian mused quietly next to him. "That's useful. Could have probably used that some time in the past."

"Right?" Peter asked incredulously. "This is amazing!"

They didn't have any chance to talk more, because Clea's chanting reached a crescendo. Dormammu shook off the blow, and turned to the invaders. He launched thousands of crystal lances straight at the sorcerers, but hastily conjured shields protected most of them. Unfortunately, some of them passed away.

A glowing purple gate seemed to slowly appear in mid air. The purple runes seemed to carve a gate out of pure energy, coming to sit directly in the middle of the rock they were on.

"No, Clea!" Umar cried, upon seeing that she was stuck on the wrong side. "What are you doing?!"

"I'm sorry, mother," Clea solemnly said, "but I cannot allow you to threaten my world ever again."

"You would trap me here!" She howled. "LEAVE ME TO DIE?!"

"If the choice comes to you, or the planet, it is no choice at all." Clea had small trails of tears flowing down her face. While she may have hated her mother, it was still her mother. Now, she was basically sentencing her mother to hell.

Once the gate was fully formed, the purple miasma seemed to be slowly draining out of the skies. The sorcerers quickly opened large portals to the main courtyard of Kamar-Taj. As the last of them stepped through, the last thing they could make out before the portal closed was the other side of the gate. Umar had grown rapidly, assuming her true form as a giant purple god-like being. She glared at them with hatred, before turning around to block an attack from her brother.

Once the portals were closed, Clea thrust her arms out wide, before slowly bringing them together above her head. The purple, already rapidly decreasing, seemed to bend together as it shrunk to just a line in the middle of the sky, before that to vanished. All that was left behind was a large crack in the middle of the sky, as if looking at a broken mirror, before everything looked normal again.

Peter looked at Clea, seeing that she was barely holding herself together. He quickly took her by the arm through a random door, closed it behind him, and hugged her tightly. She broke down on his shoulder, completely exhausted both physically and mentally. While not close to her mother, she still grieved for what they could have had.

Both of them spent some time in the room, before exiting to find the sorcerers trying their best to recover. The injured were rushed to the healing chambers, while the bodies were laid respectfully in the middle of the courtyard with a cloth over their faces. Both Peter and Clea closed their eyes tightly in pain. Peter turned to his friend, and gave her the staff that he still held in his hand.

Clea looked at him in shock, but Peter shook his head softly. "This belongs to you guys. I just borrowed it. Besides, I feel that you could use it in the future."

A golden glow came from the staff once again, and once it cleared, the staff looked like faded bronze gold once more, instead of the magical glowing staff look it had before.

"I just don't wanna look like Gandalf anymore," Peter quipped. "Hopefully I don't grow a big grey beard anymore."

"I don't know, Pete," Brian said, walking up to them. "It might suit you."

Knowing that the sorcerers had a lot to discuss, the two Avengers hastily said their goodbyes and made their way out. Peter and Brian shook hands at the entrance of the New York Sanctum, and separated towards their respective destinations. Brian rode his bike towards the Avengers Compound, while Peter swung towards the tower.

He entered through the window, and found Pepper waiting for him on the sofa.

"Peter?" she asked, worried. "Is everything alright?"

Peter simply shook his head, before deactivating his suit and clinging to Pepper. He put his head on her shoulder and burst into tears.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he sobbed. Pepper, not having any idea what happened, simply patted his head, and embraced him tightly.

Two months passed as peacefully as it could in their chaotic life. Peter was preparing to enter university, and was trying to spend as much time with Pepper and his pseudo-siblings as possible. He binge watched the best shows he could find with Lila, and played catch and baseball with Nate. Not that Nate was super coordinated or anything, but it was fun to watch him toddle around trying to catch the ball. Peter, Lila, and Nate became closer than ever, sharing most of their life together, including the sorrows and grief they had, but eventually, they were starting to move on. Peter provided a rock for the younger kids. He understood that, as the eldest of the bunch, he had a responsibility to take care of them. Besides, Peter was seventeen. He could take it.

Pepper was getting more and more pregnant. She was having difficulty moving from place to place, and was unable to work for a long time. Peter was spending more and more time in the office. He, with the help of Pepper's hyper-competent secretary, Kathy, was making sure they picked up the slack of what Pepper left behind. She was getting moodier and moodier, too. Several times, he would find her crying on the floor, desperately sobbing for Tony to come back. Peter understood, and simply dropped whatever he had in hand, and knelt on the floor with her, hugging her and rubbing her back as she simply sobbed into his shoulder.

Peter's time in Stark Industries was getting more and more productive. He was able to hold meetings with not only the R&D department, but most of the rest of the company as well. Peter was taken seriously by almost the entire company because they knew that he was the apprentice of Tony Stark. Also, he was Spider-Man. Most people wouldn't try to mess with a superhero, let alone the one who was the most famous member of the Avengers.

A couple of months after the problem with the sorcerers, Peter walked into the penthouse munching on an apple.

"Hey Pep," he called out, seeing the aforementioned lying down on the couch with Lila and Nate. Pepper waved back at him, and slowly stood up, carefully balancing herself with Lila's help.

"Peter," she greeted. "How was patrol?"

"Oh, same old, same old," he waved her away. "Caught a bunch of robbers. Get this, the guy who was supposed to be their safecracker couldn't even open the locked door to the apartment building. It was hilarious, watching them fumble around and insult the dude."

"Well, that certainly sounds interesting," Pepper spoke, hiding a smile when she saw Peter's amusement.

"Can we go swinging around the city?" Lila asked suddenly. Peter, at her insistence, had taken her swinging around the gym at the tower. She had enjoyed it so much that she was trying to persuade him to take her in a larger area.

"Swing!" Nate giggled. "Let's swing!"

"Yeah, swing, buddy!" Peter indulged, before glaring at Lila. "You see what you did?"

"Sorry," Lila said, but the smile on her face showed that she wasn't at all sorry.

"Lies," Peter huffed. Lila simply grinned cheekily at him. Pepper looked at them softly.

"Peter," FRIDAY cut in. "You should watch this."

They all turned towards the television, which changed channels to show an interview. The talk show host wore a standard suit, and there was nothing very remarkable about him. He was a middle aged caucasian man, who looked average.

"Welcome, everyone, to the Later Tonight Show. I'm your host, Alex Roberts." Here he had to stop talking because of the deafening cheers from the audience.

"I know this guy," Lila realised. "My mom used to watch him every now and then."

"He's a very popular talk show host," Pepper explained. "The Later Tonight Show used to be the third most watched late show, but after the Decimation, that changed to the most watched show in the country."

During their conversation, Alex had finished giving his humorous monologue summarising the weekly news.

"So, before we get to Academy Award Winning actor Simon Williams, we have a special guest tonight who's, well, let's say he's a bit of a firebrand."

Lila frowned in confusion, thinking about who it could be, while Nate observed the TV blankly without understanding anything about the program. Peter and Pepper, however, had already guessed who the mysterious guest was.

"He's a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, global influencer, and Editor of the famous New York publication, 'The Daily Bugle'. Please welcome to the stage, Mr J. Jonah Jameson!"

"Oh, bullsh-"

"Language," Pepper chided Lila.

Peter didn't take his eyes off the screen. A man of medium height walked onto the stage, waving at the clapping audience. His hair was white on the sides, but brown on the top, and he had cropped it in a very peculiar style. The sides of his head seemed to be almost rectangular, and the top of his head appeared almost flat. In short, his head seemed to be of a cuboidal shape. He wore a brown suit, and although he didn't have it at the moment, Peter knew that he would normally have a cigar hanging from his lips. The sharp expression on his face didn't change as he shook hands with Alex, and sat down on the couch next to Alex's desk.

"Mr Jameson-"

"Call me Jonah," he cut in sharply.

"Jonah," Alex began again. "Thank you for coming on the show tonight."

"Nowhere I'd rather be."

"I know that you've been rather critical of this show in the past for our views on several topics."

"I have," Jonah replied evenly.

"Most commonly, we've differed on our view on superhumans, or enhanced, individuals. Those who have powers, to put it bluntly."

"That is correct."

"Now, I know that you don't like the enhanced people-"

"Let me just stop you there, Alex," Jonah interrupted. "I have nothing against enhanced individuals. Some people are just born with abilities, or the more recent term, mutations, that they cannot help. Some of them look different, some of them act different, but it would be cruel of us to condemn them for a quirk of nature. The people I dislike are those who think that simply because they have powers, they should 'save' us."

"Okay, let's just dive right in," Alex muttered, before continuing in a louder voice. "Are you telling me, that the next time there's an alien invasion in Midtown, you wouldn't want the Avengers to save you?"

"I'm saying that I would be glad to have the Avengers help me, even as diminished as they are now. But why must a boy of seventeen catch thieves and interfere in police operations? If he's such a hero, then on his birthday, let him hang up the mask and join the police! Let him have training, an understanding of the way things work!"

"Spider-Man, you mean? He's not jeopardised any situation to such an extent that lives were lost, Jonah."

"Yet. He's not endangered lives yet. Even fully licensed officers are caught up in charges of police brutality and assault. How can we trust that this kid can actually control his massive, superhuman, strength to only catch the bad guys and not kill them? What if, tomorrow, he punches someone just a little bit too hard, and collapses their ribcage?"

"I think you're being a little bit alarmist, Jonah."

"I'm being realistic, Alex. Alright, forget Spider-Man. We've received reports of a new member of the Avengers. A woman with powers comparable to Thor! We've seen her fly, and shoot beams of light out of her hands. Just last week, a man drove a truck into her, and she didn't even move! What if she loses control, or even worse, what if she turns? What if, like Captain Rogers, she decides that the only one capable of taking care of bad guys, of judging them and punishing them, is her? At least with Spider-Man, we can assume that there's someone out there who can take him down if he goes rogue. Who'd stop her?"

"The Warbird," Alex explained to the audience who didn't understand whom they were talking about. "That's her official code name. She's apparently a member of the Avengers that came out of the woodwork after the Decimation. The signing ceremony next week is going to be where she and the new lineup of the Avengers will debut. But back to the point, Jonah," Alex diverted, turning back to his guest, "The Accords were put into place for exactly that reason."

"The Accords?" Jonah scoffed. "Who's going to enforce the Accords to someone like her?"

"I'm sure they have contingencies in place," Alex replied, before hastily continuing. "Another point I wanted to talk to you about is, as mentioned before, the new lineup of the Avengers. We've already heard your opinion of Spider-Man, but at least he's been around the block. We've seen him and his actions over the past two years, and can we at least agree that, even if he doesn't have the training, his intentions are good?"

"I don't think so, but fine," Jonah said irritably, wanting to move along with the talk as well.

"Well, what do you think about the mysterious new squad they're whipping up in the Avengers Compound? We don't have much information about them, but we can identify most, if not all, of them."

"Yep. We know that Brian Braddock, an elite British military trained enhanced, is going to be on the team. The previously mentioned 'Warbird', and ain't that a terrifying name. We also have a Thor lookalike, except female this time. With the flowing cape, long hair, silver armour, and oversized weapon as well. We've also seen the two weird lookin' aliens."

"Initially their appearance certainly was scary, but they have been seen to be helping people immediately after the Decimation with their spaceship."

"I don't care. Until they've come forward and answered questions in the public eye, to the reporters, and my, satisfaction, I'm goin' to consider them a dangerous unknown."

"Well-"

"FRIDAY," Pepper commanded. The television shut off immediately.

"That was stupid," Lila declared imperiously.

"No it wasn't," Peter responded calmly.

"Yes it was!" Lila exclaimed. "He always puts you down, despite all the good you do! Why are we even paying attention to this clown?"

"We're paying attention, Lila, because he has a point," Peter answered.

"Peter."

"Jonah may be a bit paranoid, but he has a point. More importantly, he has a point that will resonate in people's heads."

"Peter?"

"How do we enforce the Accords? How do we-"

"Peter!" Pepper yelled.

"What?" Peter asked, slightly annoyed.

"Pepper peed herself," Nate giggled.

"My water just broke."

Peter's brain ground to a halt for a few seconds. He blinked once, twice, in absolute disbelief. Lila too was in a similar situation.

"Peter!" Pepper snapped again.

"Right," he said slowly, his mind slowly rebooting. "You're water broke? That means... The baby! The baby's coming!"

"Yes!" Pepper shouted again. "Hurry!"

"Right! Lila, grab the bag and bring it here. FRI, ring down to the medbay and tell Dr Andrews that we're on our way!"

They instantly followed his commands. Lila rushed to the side of the living room and brought out the go bad they had created just for this occasion. FRIDAY called down and informed the OB/GYN they had brought in for this that she was needed immediately. Peter grabbed the bag from Lila, told her to take Nate with her, and slowly helped Pepper to the elevator.

They made it to the medical floor in record time. Dr Andrews was waiting for them readily, her nurses arrayed behind her. They all shot to work as soon Pepper stepped out of the elevator. Two of them came forward and took Pepper from Peter's shoulders, while the others rushed into the private room they had organised. Peter handed the bag off to one of the nurses, and turned to Lila and Nate.

"Is Pepper going to be okay?" Nate asked worriedly.

"She's going to be fine, buddy," Peter soothed.

"Why's she in the hospital then?" he inquired doubtfully.

"Do you remember what I told you earlier, Nate?" Lila asked softly.

"You said that Pepper's going to be a momma."

"That's right," she replied.

"And to be a momma," Peter continued, "there's needs to be a baby, right?"

"Yeah?"

"So, the baby that's gonna call Pepper 'mom' is on its way. The same thing happened when you were born, Nate."

The three of them sat quietly in the waiting room. Every so often, the nurses passed by, rushing from here to there. Luckily, the room itself was soundproof, or else the screams would have terrified Nate. Peter's hearing, advanced as it was, was able to pick up her shrieks of pain.

Somewhere in the second hour, when Peter was about to send Lila and Nate back upstairs, Jane and Yelena rushed through the elevator.

"We came as soon as we heard," Jane fretted. "Is the baby here yet?"

"Still ongoing," he replied. Before he could say more, a nurse came out to see them. All of them stood up, as if she was in life threatening surgery.

"How's it going, ma'am?" Peter asked.

"The dilation is complete, and it looks like the baby is coming," she replied calmly. "Mr Parker, Ms Potts is requesting you inside the room."

"Me?" he inquired incredulously.

"Yes, sir."

Peter turned towards the others. Before he could say anything, Yelena gripped his hand.

"Go," she said softly. "We'll be here with the kids."

He nodded at her gratefully, before making his way into the delivery room, hearing Lila's complaints about how she wasn't a kid.

As soon as he entered, the smell of sweat, blood, and bodily fluids hit his nose sharply. He could make out Pepper, lying down on the bed, a towel draped over her lower half. Her red hair was completely drenched with sweat, and her face was pinched with indescribable effort.

"You're here," she gasped.

"Well, you asked," he shot back.

"Mr Parker, good," said the doctor swiftly. "Sit next to her, and speak normally."

Peter followed her instructions. He took a seat right next to her, and gripped her hand tightly. At that moment, he thanked god that he had super strength, or his hand might have broken with the force Pepper exerted.

"Thank you for coming, Pete," Pepper whispered.

"Why me?"

"Who else would I ask?" she replied.

Peter simply turned his head away, his mind still swirling with dark thoughts. It wasn't him that should have been here, it was Tony. It was Tony that should hold his wife's hand when she was having his baby, and it was Tony that should be one of the first to see her.

"Alright Ms Potts," commented Ms Andrews. "it appears all that's required is for you to push."

"Come on, Pep, you heard the doc," coaxed Peter. "Push. Come on, push!"

"AHHHHH!" Pepper shrieked. Her voice almost broke his eardrums, but he held on, gripping her hand tightly to provide support.

"Come on, Pepper!"

"Push, Ms Potts!" shouted one of the nurses. Dr Andrews glared in her direction, and she quickly shut up.

"Push, Pepper, push!" Peter said. "You can do it, come on!"

Pepper gripped the top of the large stomach, and pushed forward to aid her momentum. Everyone in the room apart from the doctor cheered her on, convincing her and pressing her to push and let the baby out. After what seemed like hours, with lots of sweat from everyone in the room, they all stopped except for one loud voice.

The shriek of a newborn cut through the air. The doctor brought her head out from underneath the towel. In her hands was a bright pink writhing mass of flesh. The shrill wails continued, baffling Peter about how something so small can be so loud.

One of the nurses stepped forward, and worked together with the doctor to snip the umbilical cord, and tie its ends up. Another came forward with a cloth, and swiftly wiped down and swaddled the baby.

"Congratulations, Ms Potts," commented the Doctor calmly. "You have a beautiful baby girl."

She offered the bundle to Pepper, but Pepper motioned to Peter instead.

"Give her to her big brother first," Pepper said softly. "I think she would want to meet him."

Smiling, Doctor Andrews put the bundle into a catatonic Peter's arms. He moved on autopilot to position his arms like the doctor in order to support her head. He slowly moved his head, and looked down at her.

He could make out a tuft of brown hair, and a hint of intelligence in those eyes that firmly reminded him of one person. He could see the button nose and soft chin she had gained from her mother, and his eyes unconsciously started to water.

Peter, not for the first time, wished that he and Tony's places were swapped. This was Tony's place. He was supposed to be the first to hold the baby, not Peter.

Tears flowed down his face as he gazed on her drowsy expression. Her eyes opened briefly to look at him, and her lips moved to form a small upwards curve.

'I'm sorry' he chanted desperately in his head. 'I'm sorry, Tony. I couldn't even let you see your daughter. I couldn't save you, but I swear on my life. and my mother's grave that I won't let anything touch your daughter. Not ever'.

He slowly moved his arms to hand her her mother, who looked at the two of them softly. She gently took the small bundle from his arms, and looked down at the tiny face with love only a mother could have.

The doctors and nurses moved away to give the family a little time to themselves. The door burst open to reveal Jane, Yelena, and the kids, who all crowded around Pepper to see the new addition to the family. All of them cooed, or in Nate's case, cheered, when seeing the new entrant.

"Does she have a name?" inquired Jane.

Pepper looked at Peter, before, her lips quirked into a grin.

"Morgan," she replied. "Morgan Howard Potts-Stark."

"I've never done a big press event like this before, so what is this going to be like?" asked Brian. He was visibly nervous, a fact that amused Peter to no end. Brian could stand against the scariest of enemies without batting an eyelash, but a televised event caused him to break out into shivers.

"Oh, relax man," Carol soothed, though everyone could see the grin she was trying to hide unsuccessfully. "It's nothing to be worried about. You're Captain Britain, remember? Ready to save the world from the forces of discount Red Skulls."

"I wonder how long it would take you to stop finding my code name that amusing, Carol," he sighed. Brian rubbed his forehead in frustration. The others didn't hesitate to burst into laughter.

"Don't tell me that Captain Britain is afraid of big bad reporters?" Carol asked mockingly.

"God save the Queen, and all that, but not in front of a camera, chaps," Yelena put in with an exaggerated British accent. "Cheerio!"

"So wait wait, what do they call you? The Jack Spangled Man with a Plan?" Peter wheezed, still breathless from laughter. "The Sentinel of Colonialism?"

"Okay, first of all!" Brian cried, over the howling laughter of his friends. "I did not choose the name! I certainly would not have chosen something as banal and ridiculous as Captain Britain! Secondly, it's definitely not that funny a name."

"God save the Queen!" cried Carol. "Oh wait, never mind god, we have Captain Britain!"

A renewed spurt of laughter echoed throughout the room. Even Clea, who had just entered the room, chuckled at the sight. Brian threw his hands up in exasperation, but slowly started laughing along with his colleagues.

Peter, Brian, Jane, Carol, Yelena, and Clea were here to sign the new contract as members of the Avengers. Peter's eighteenth birthday was today, and they'd organised the signing ceremony today to finalise the new team as soon as possible. Currently, they were in Geneva, at the UN Accords Council headquarters. The world's largest news agencies had sent representatives to photograph and televise the signing, and the advent of a new team. Rocket and Nebula were going to sign on as consultants along with Valkyrie, the latter because of her responsibilities to New Asgard, now a prospering town, and the others because nobody knew when or how long they would be spending on Earth. However, Valkyrie was busy with her people today, and it was collectively decided that until people got more comfortable with aliens, perhaps it was better for Rocket and Nebula to stay in the Compound. The world had still not healed from Thanos's actions. It might never fully heal, but the wound was still too raw to poke.

The chain of command, the leaders, the functions of the Avengers, none of that was public. That would strictly remain between the team and the Council, but today was about introducing the new members to the public eye.

In the earlier iteration of the squad, there were never any public appearances. It was always just Tony Stark and the excellent Stark Industries PR team doing all the press meets and public interactions. Captain America was too uncomfortable, Clint and Natasha were spies, Bruce was easily triggered, and Thor was completely unfamiliar with human traditions to do so. Later on, Sam was considered small fry, and Wanda was a traumatised girl, so they decided that it would be too much for her. Only War Machine, and later, Vision, joined Tony on camera for publicity.

Luckily, the current team wasn't that maladjusted to real life. They knew that this was important, and were giving it their all. It was specified in the contract that public appearances were a must, because they helped establish the trust between the team and the people they protect.

Pepper had coached Peter and the rest, at his request, on what a press conference looked like.

"It's best to imagine them as hungry sharks," she had said. "Anything small weakness you show, and they'll pounce on it like it's blood in the water. So, bottom line, do not show any weakness whatsoever."

They had taken that advice to heart. While they might have all been teasing Brian, all of them were slightly nervous for their first time in the limelight. Of course, some of them were more experienced than others. Jane was a renowned scientist, and had her share of media interactions. Still, her regular audience were mostly old scholars, who were experts in their field, or students interested in her subject. Brian, although he was known to the public, had never spoken out on camera. He was mostly sent on missions, and spent his downtime in his penthouse apartment in London with his sister. She was off at boarding school now, and was not coming to conference. However, he had promised to introduce her to the Avengers, or more specifically Spider-Man, because he was her favourite hero.

Carol was mostly flying around the Galaxy like a nomad. She was always a saviour figure for different planets, but never stuck around long enough to interact with the public. She had spent years trying to help the Skrulls and fighting the Kree, but eventually grew disgusted with both sides. The Kree were monsters, that she knew even before she set off on her journey, but the Skrulls, despite claiming they were innocent refugees, were just as bad when they wanted to be. She had seen them infiltrate a planet full of innocent people, and tear them apart from the inside in the name of research. They told her that they only way that their society can thrive is with a slave labour force. That was when she drew the line, and got out of that hot mess. Although she said she was taking a break, she was here on Earth to stay. Clea, meanwhile, had been secluded all her life. This was a totally new experience for her.

Peter was perhaps the most experienced in the field, because when he was out as Spider-Man, after a particularly dangerous battle, he always took it upon himself to calm people down and apologise for not getting there sooner. Spider-Man's approval ratings, while consistently high, fluctuated with every article of the Daily Bugle written by Jameson. When he released one, the public's approval of him dipped, before it shot back up again. Peter had taken Pepper's advice about Tony's early days, and made himself approachable to the public eye. Yelena, on the other hand, was a spy and assassin before this. This was practically anathema to her.

They all stood in a side chamber, before the actual event was due to start. As they waited and joked around to ease the tension, an aide entered the room and made his way forward.

"Uh, Mr Parker, sir?" he started hesitantly. The eyes of the world's premier superheroes turned to him, making him gulp and sweat.

"Don't worry about the sir or mister, Peter's fine," Peter replied with a smile. "What's up?"

"Someone wants to meet you, Mis-Peter," he said. "She seems important, and Ms Leung told me I should get you."

Peter frowned. Kathy Leung was a Stark employee from the Public Relations division that had accompanied them. She was considered one of the best in the world at her job, which made sense because she was former agent of SHIELD. She had been in charge of the public interaction that the organisation had before the HYDRA uprising. After the leaking of the files on the internet, she was found inside her home by HYDRA agents and tortured for days. At the edge of her sanity and her life, she was about to give up when Iron Man burst through the doors and rescued her. Since then, she had sworn to make it up to him. She worked in PR at Stark Industries, working to manipulate the field she once controlled. If Kathy was the one calling him, it must be important.

"Alright, guys, I'll check it out," he assured the group, before following the aide out the door.

When they got to a separate room from the main waiting chamber, he opened the door to meet two different people. He already knew Kathy, who wore a modest pantsuit and glasses, making her seem like the average office goer. The other person was somewhat different. She wore a black trench coat, which covered her tactical jumpsuit. He could make out the bulge on her right side indicating her gun. She had a pair of thick glasses on her, and it was only Peter's advanced hearing that allowed him to comprehend the small voices coming from the earpiece on her left.

"Peter," Kathy greeted, getting up from her seat. "Come on in. I'd like to introduce you to someone."

Peter slowly made his way in, looking at the stranger in the room with visible confusion.

"Hello, Mr Parker," the mystery woman greeted. "My name is Victoria Hand. I'm the current director of SHIELD."

"SHIELD?" Peter asked, bewildered. "I thought SHIELD was defunct."

"You're not the only one," Kathy muttered.

"Well, to answer your question," Victoria answered, "SHIELD rebuilt itself. We just went underground, like we used to. It was only Fury and HYRDA's actions that pushed us into the limelight."

"Alright," Peter replied slowly. "So what're you doing here?"

"I just wanted to introduce myself, seeing as we're going to be working together in the future. We are still the best intelligence agency in the world. If there's a threat out there, especially one that requires the Avengers to deal with it, then we'll probably know more about it than anyone else."

"Okay," Peter said. "Does that mean that if I need some info, I can, like, pop by your office?"

"Maybe just a call?" Victoria suggested. "That would probably be easier."

"Yeah, yeah yeah, of course, a call, that-that's what I meant," Peter stammered.

"Great," Kathy cut in, saving her future boss from his embarrassment. "We're all friends now, so I think we can get back to it. Pete, you need to be out in the meeting room any minute."

"Alright," Peter agreed. "I'll see you then, Director Hand."

"Mr Parker," she nodded.

Peter followed Kathy back outside and to the meeting hall.

After a moment of silence, he broke it. "You know, if you want to go back, you can, right? I don't think Pepper would think badly of you if you do."

Kathy was thoughtful for a moment, before she made up her mind. "You know my name before Stark Industries, Peter? It was Kate Lee. Kate was very good at her job, and loved working at SHIELD."

Peter took a breath, waiting for her resignation, but it never came.

"Kate died, Pete. She died because her organisation, her family, betrayed her. It was rotten on the inside, and she never noticed. I'm not Kate, Peter. I'm Kathy, and my home is Stark Industries."

Peter's eyes widened, before he smiled at her. She returned his grin.

After a few steps, he had another thought. "Can I trust her? Hand, I mean."

"No," Kathy replied immediately. "She's completely self serving. If there's a chance to stab you in the back to elevate her position, then she won't hesitate. But one thing I can say about her is that she's serious about protecting the world. She also knows that the Avengers are the best bet to do that against forces regular people can't face. So, I would say, her interests align with yours at the moment, but don't trust her completely. She won't return the courtesy."

When they returned, the others asked after them, but Peter told them that they'll talk later. He was saved from an interrogation by a UN employee who came to inform them that the Council was ready. Steeling themselves, they marched out together and entered council room.

The world watched as its heroes stepped up into the light. First out was Jane, clad in armoured Asgardian regalia. She had her iconic axe in her hand, and it was glowing, giving her a very powerful image. Her helmet was off, letting the cameras and the delegates see her face. There was a large gasp of surprise. While people were aware there was a new Thor lookalike, they did not expect it to be Thor's famous ex-girlfriend. A large round of applause rang out after the shock wore off, though.

Yelena came next, and the cheers were muted for her, to no one's shock. She was an unknown, and still had to earn her stripes. She wore a tight tactical combat suit, but in white, very much opposite to her sister's black suit. The logo of the Widow was prominent on her belt buckle, an hourglass shape coloured in red shining in contrast against her white. Two escrima sticks stuck out of her back, ready to be wielded at the slightest provocation.

Clea came out after her. She wore the typical robes of Kamar-Taj, in the colour of purple unlike the others of her order. Her stark white hair flowed behind her, and violet orbs observed the audience neutrally. People had no idea who she was, but they could make an educated guess. A while ago, news broke that the sorcerers had made an alliance with the Avengers, and while people had never seen an actual sorcerer, they had a pretty good guess that she was one of them.

Brian stepped out onto the stage, to loud cheers. Captain Britain had been the focus of a very aggressive ad campaign by the British Government, and so he was rather well known. This was his first public appearance, and he smiled and waved at the audience, causing many to swoon. Brian had worn his armour that Peter had made for him, and his sword was sheathed behind his back.

Carol was next, and the crowd went even wilder for her. She had been seen in many places helping out, and she was quite famous, even more than Brian. Her status as an international defender was known, and she had gone on a few missions around the world, more than the rest of her colleagues. People were fond of her, and she was always seen with a smile on her face. She wore her standard attire, her Kree designed armour improved by Peter in the Lab. The only major change in appearance was that her colours had changed. The star was still gold on her chest, but the rest of the suit was black, with glowing yellow lines spread across the suit.

Finally, Peter came out into the room, to the loudest cheers of the day. Almost everyone around broke into applause and praise, while newscasters frantically spoke into the microphones about him. Peter was clad in his Iron Spider armour, the red, blue, and gold parts gleaming against the light. His helmet was down, and he smiled wide. Spider-Man was the most famous superhero in the world, bar none. Even Carol, who had been going out on missions around the world, was not even close to as famous as Peter, despite the fact that he mainly operated in New York.

All of them stood forward and shook hands with the Accords Council chairwoman. She wore a smile on her face as she did so. She gestured invitingly towards a table in front of them, where a piece of paper was lying. They had all read the Accords separately, and so were confident in signing straight out without reading, which was what the council was hoping for.

One by one, they all signed, to renewed applause every time the pen hit paper. Finally, Peter signed the paper with a flourish, and the crowd burst into cheers. They all shook hands with the delegates, and hugged each other.

Slowly, everyone moved into the next room, where seats were organised for the press, and a table with microphones was in front of the room. It looked rather similar to a press conference after a sports game. All of them chuckled at the arrangement, before making their way to their seats.

All of them settled in, before tapping the microphones to make sure they were operational.

"Well, you sure are popular 'round here, aren't ya, Pete?" Carol asked jokingly.

"What can I say, Carol, they probably adore my charming personality," he quipped back, before both of them broke into laughter along with the press.

"Alright, everyone," Kathy called. "Settle down, please." The stragglers found seats, and the noise level fell as the conference began. "This is their first time in first time in a press conference, so I'm going to ask you to take it easy on them, alright?"

The reporters assembled barked out a laugh at the idea, and the questions began.

"Mr Parker, Jackson Mills, The Globe, first of all, happy birthday," a reporter started, getting cheers from everyone. Even Brian and Jane on either side of him slapped him on the back and ruffled his hair respectively. "So how does it feel to be a fully recognised Avenger at long last?"

"Well, it's a great honour," Peter answered. "The previous team had a lot of problems, but they were our world's first and most iconic superheroes. I hope to honour their legacy and the good they left behind."

"Mr Braddock, Samil Jawani, Al Jazeera, many consider you a knockoff Captain America, what is your response?"

"While I have great respect for Captain America, and, as my friend said before, hope to honour his legacy, I think most of those comparisons come from a poor naming sense, is all." He glared at Carol as he spoke, seeing her holding in her laughter. "I'm not here to represent hope for my country in a war, or to sell bonds. I'm here to help people."

"Ms Clea, Willa Theos, BBC, are you a sorcerer, and if you are, what is a sorcerer?"

"I understand your confusion, Ms Theos. Yes, I am indeed a sorcerer. I am not the Antichrist, as I read online. Sorcerers are much like the Avengers, or even conventional soldier, in the sense that we're protectors. While the Avengers were created to protect this world against physical threats that assault us, the sorcerers do the same against mystical threats, the likes of which regular people will never encounter in their lives. As the acting leader of the Sorcerers of Kamar-Taj, I've decided to create an alliance with the Avengers because of our smaller numbers. In fact, just a couple fo months ago, there was a mystical threat that attempted to take over the world, but with the combined effort of myself, the sorcerers, as well as Spider-Man and Captain Britain, we were able to repel the invaders."

"Dr Foster, Jennifer Caruthers, the Post, the previous groups of Avengers we've seen have mostly been male. Only the Black Widow, and later Wanda Maximoff, stood as a representation of females in your line of work. Now, the team is more female than male. What are your thoughts about it?"

"Thank you, Jennifer, for a thought provoking question..."

The press conference went off well. For over an hour, the team patiently answered the burning questions of the public. There were some negative questions, as well some gossip mongers, but for the most part, there was enthusiastic support for the new squad. The team camaraderie was visible throughout the conference, and the way they were joking around with each other, and having fun, showed a very different picture from the previous team.

"Alright, one final question," Kathy announced, before looking at the sea of hands, and picking one at random. In fact, it was not random, and it was a voice that hadn't been heard all night.

"Major Danvers, J. Jonah Jameson, Daily Bugle."

Carol's eyes, which had been full of laughter till now, immediately went cool. In fact, apart from Peter, everyone else on the panel stiffened up. All of them considered Peter a good friend, and maybe even a younger brother, so none of them liked it when he was so publicly disparaged. While Peter considered Jonah's arguments as valid counterpoints, the others had begun detesting him. Yes, he criticised all of them, but most of his vitriol was focused on Peter, who just sat there and took it. Peter simply sat forward with a curious look on his face. Even the journalists quieted down, knowing that this was going to be a controversial point.

"What contingencies do you have to ensure that you don't go out of your bounds? I'm not even insinuating that you'd be compromised, but factors like mind control do exist. Do you have any countermeasures at all for you or your team going rogue?"

"I think, Mr Jameson," she started, glaring at him, "that we're adequately prepared. There are multiple individuals and organisations that could, if the situation calls for it, neutralise and incapacitate us. Should all the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj go against us, we'd probably be defeated. Also, the Asgardian Einherjar would perhaps be able to handle us. More to the point, we all have defences against the most advanced of technology thanks to Peter and his connection to Stark Industries, and we're also insulated against most subtle and malignant forms of magic like mind-control thanks to Clea. Don't you worry, Mr Jameson, we won't go rogue tomorrow."

The tension in the room could be cut with a knife. Everybody was frozen, until Peter cleared his throat. Kathy picked up the cue, and quickly ended the conference. She thanked the press for their attendance, as well as the newly formed Avengers for their participation.

Once they were back in their private room, Peter turned to Carol. "Why'd you antagonise him, Carol? He just asked a question. Quite a valid one, too."

"Pete," she huffed. "Every day that man spits vitriol about you in his paper. You really think I'm going to entertain guys like him? We're family, Peter, and that means that guys who hate you, I hate them. I think I was actually really nice, all things considered."

Peter looked around to see everyone nodding in agreement, and scoffed in disbelief, before smiling wryly. "Thanks, guys."

"Do you really need to go?" Lila asked, pouting at him. She was the most resistant to Peter's admission.

"For the thousandth time, Lila, yes!" he replied exasperated. "This is what happens when you finish school, you go to college."

"I'm never going to college," she declared, startling him and Pepper who had been fussing over him.

"What!" Pepper cried. "Why not?"

"Because I'd have to leave my family," Lila explained, looking pointedly at Peter. "I love my family, and I'd never leave them."

Peter narrowed his eyes at the attempted emotional blackmail. "Nice try, young miss," he said, poking her nose with his finger. "I still have to go, though."

"Don't go!" little Nate cried, hugging Peter's leg desperately. "Stay!"

"Oh buddy," Peter sighed. He bent down and picked up the toddler. "Don't worry, I'm not gone forever. I'll be back every weekend. Besides, I'm not even leaving the city. Anytime you want, I can come see you, alright?"

Nate buried his face into Peter's shirt, sniffling slightly, before looking up at him with teary eyes.

"You promise?" he asked solemnly.

"You bet," Peter replied, kissing him on the forehead and setting him back down.

Peter briefly separated himself from them and made his way into Morgan's room. Ever since Morgan was born, all of them had pitched in to help Pepper out. Peter, for the first time, understood what it meant when they say that it takes a village to raise a child. Nate spent most of his time next to Morgan, adorably trying to help her move around, and they all left him there because it was easier to watch both of them when they were together. Lila was always around Morgan whenever she could, so when Pepper and Peter were both out, Pepper on her duties as CEO, even when on maternity break, and Peter off as Spider-Man, Lila was put in charge of Morgan, a role she took to with gusto. It gave her some way to take her mind off the gaping hole in her heart for her family. While the feeling of loss was slowly diminishing, she still grieved for them, and Morgan gave her an excellent distraction.

Pepper had taken a break from the majority of her duties as CEO to spend time with Morgan. Morgan wasn't a fussy child or anything, but she still found it exhausting. God knows what she would have done without Peter and Lila. Every time she looked over at Morgan, she found Tony in her hazel eyes, gazing back at her with all his prodigious intelligence. She just knew that when Morgan grew up, she was going to be just like her father with her genius. She knew that she would never be able to keep up, but luckily she had another genius in the house to help her.

When Pepper observed Peter, she knew he was suffering more than everyone else. FRIDAY told her that he exhibited the typical symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and survivor's guilt. She had dealt with Tony's PTSD (far too late, but she got there), and so she knew roughly what to do to identify the symptoms. The problem was that he never put down his responsibilities long enough to take a break. Either he was acting as the unofficial head of R&D at Stark Industries, or out as Spider-Man, or in the lab working on both his gear and Stark Industries products, or taking care of Morgan. He had severe insomnia, and it was only due to the fact that his advanced physiology allowed him to be awake without sleep for much longer than an average person that he hadn't collapsed in exhaustion yet.

Peter was the person who spent the most time with Morgan. He had made a vow in his head to Tony's memory that he would keep her safe, and so he was always with her when he could be. He even cut short his patrol times as Spider-Man to spend more time at home. If someone looked for him at a random time, it was a reasonable certainty that he was in Morgan's room, or, failing that, Morgan was with him. He had introduced Morgan to DUM-E, U, and Butterfingers, Tony's 'robot children', who took an immediate liking to the young Stark. Peter spent most of his time in Morgan's room, either reading, studying, tinkering with virtual designs, or simply sitting next to the cradle. It was also adorable to find Morgan lying swaddled in the middle of the lab asleep, while Peter worked on the holograms.

Peter dropped a kiss on Morgan's tiny head, and made his way out. He was dressed in a black shirt that had been rolled up to the sleeves, exposing his toned forearms, and a pair of jeans. His laptop was securely fastened inside his backpack, which was slung over one shoulder. He also wore a pair of glasses he had made. They were almost a fully developed HUD system, and FRIDAY was connected to them. He had made them to warn him if his presence was needed elsewhere in the city.

"Ready to go?" Pepper asked softly.

"Yep."

Pepper was leaving Morgan with Lila and Nate, and was taking a day off to drop off Peter at college. They made their way out to the elevators, and took one of Tony's less fancy cars. While Peter did have a driving license, Pepper had asked to drive, her reason being that she had spent too much time with a chauffeur, and she needed to get back int the groove.

They chose a Mercedes Benz E-350, which to Peter kind of defeated the subtlety aspect of the ride. Either way, they drove off into the city, chatting idly to pass the time.

After a twenty minute car ride, they arrived at the campus. Peter took a deep breath, feeling butterflies circling his stomach.

"Nervous?" Pepper asked.

"No, of course not," he denied, before a few seconds of thought. "Okay, a little bit."

"Really? You dive headfirst into danger as Spider-Man, but this makes you nervous?"

"Well, Spider-Man is reckless. They aren't gonna meet Spider-Man. They're meeting Peter Parker, the nerdy kid who was bullied in school."

"Well, I'm sure they'll love Peter Parker," Pepper soothed.

When they parked and stepped out of the car, the entire campus went silent. Many students had gathered in the courtyard in front for the first day of school, and so everyone saw who had just exited the car. Pepper Potts, CEO of Stark Industries was pretty famous, but she paled in comparison to her companion. Peter Parker, Spider-Man, was attending college with them! The rumours and whispers travelled throughout the campus in seconds.

Peter grimaced and made his way forward. Everywhere he looked, people were looking at him with awe. He saw one or two looks of disgust here and there, but for the most part, everyone was fanboying over him. This was exactly what he would have liked to avoid. Still, he made the decision to be a public figure for a reason, so he pushed through and walked quickly. He smiled at people around, causing huge waves of gasps and giggles to echo through the courtyard.

"Come on, Pete," Pepper said. She was inwardly amused at how uncomfortable he was in the public eye. Peter wasn't a bad looking boy. In fact, he was very good looking, a fact that, combined with his publicity, made him a desirable guy for many girls. He was a superhero, for god's sake. What else did he expect?

They made their way to the Dean's office as quickly as they could without seeming like they were rushing. When they entered, Peter shut the door swiftly behind him. He breathed out a deep sigh, and marched forward like a man on death row. Pepper stifled her laughter and followed.

When they made their way to the secretary, she didn't even bother to look up.

"Do you have an appointment?" she asked monotonously.

"Yes we do," Pepper replied, slightly irritated with the unfriendly atmosphere. "Peter Parker and guardian here to speak to the Head of School, please."

"Peter Par-PETER PARKER!" the secretary cried, quickly looking up. Upon seeing him, her eyes widened, before she hastily stuttered an apology.

"Don't worry about it," he soothed, grimacing again at the obvious fanboying. "We have an appointment right now, please."

"O-of course," she nodded, before rushing into the office. After a few seconds, she shot back out again.

"Dr Strickland is waiting for you," she announced. "And I'm a huge fan, Spider-Man," she finished with a blush on her face.

"Thank you," Peter replied slowly, before shaking his head and entering the office.

When they entered, they spotted two men inside. One of them was a rather tall man, standing at around six feet and two inches. His hair was greying, and he wore a tweed suit with a pair of horn rimmed glasses. He looked like your typical academic.

The other man in the room could not look more different. He was slightly shorter than the first man, and was clearly much heavier. His blue shirt's buttons seemed to be about to explode. He had red hair which was styled in a ponytail. A swirling tattoo that could be seen peeking out over his collar.

"Welcome, Mr Parker, and Ms Potts," the taller man started. "I'm Harry Strickland, Head of School here at Empire State University, and this is my colleague Max Modell," he gestured towards the other man. "Dr Modell is the coordinator of our accelerated program. I've asked him to join us."

"Hello," Peter greeted, extending his hand towards the elder men. Dr Strickland shook his hand, but Dr Modell gripped it tightly and pulled him into a hug with a jovial laugh.

"Quite a grip you have there, young man. But then again, perhaps that should have been expected, eh, Spider-Man?" Dr Modell winked cheekily at Peter, tapping him softly on his chest.

Peter felt his apprehension rolling away in the face of Dr Modell's attitude. His lips quirked up at the coordinator's teasing.

"Now, before we begin the orientation, I believe there are a few points to consider," Dr Strickland started. "We generally ask students to stay on campus, at least for their first year."

"And I will," Peter responded. "I've already booked a dorm room, and I'll be using it until the end of the academic year. Of course, there're going to be days when I can't. I also have another job, I'm sure you know."

"You understand my concern here, Mr Parker, right? What's stopping you from booking the room, and spending the entire night elsewhere, after your exhausting 'other job'?"

"I think Peter will try to spend time here, Dr Strickland," Pepper cut in. "The only thing he would need is curfew not to apply to him."

Dr Strickland and Dr Modell looked over at each other, before looking back at their guests. "Will Peter have enough energy to function in the accelerated program?" The red haired man asked concerned. "If he's too tired after every night, it could affect his academic performance."

"I function on much less sleep than an average person due to my abilities, so it's not a problem," Peter replied calmly. He knew this was new ground for both men in their educational careers. He resolved to take it slowly with them.

"Well," Dr Strickland began slowly, "While I normally wouldn't make an exception for any student, I think your other job warrants a different approach. Which brings me to my other point of concern. While I would be proud to say that Spider-Man is a student at my school, I also have a responsibility to my other charges about their safety. While I'm loathe to agree with Jameson, what if a criminal, or worse, a supervillain, tracks you down to the campus? How do we ensure the safety of everyone else here who isn't enhanced?"

"Excellent question, Dr Strickland," Pepper said. "We do have contingencies for this situation. Peter's glasses are connected to the same system that makes up his Spider-Man suit and Tony's Iron Man suits. In an emergency, they would inform Peter about an incoming threat, and he would do his best to divert its attention. Also, the system is connected to the Iron Legion at the tower, and it would take the suits two minutes to reach the campus and contain a threat. Don't worry, you're as safe as possible."

Dr Strickland blinked. He didn't think they would have that level of preparedness for the simple situation of a college student. Then again, one of his other students was a prince, so he supposed this was how things worked in the new world. Either way, his campus was probably the safest university in the world.

"Well," Dr Modell cut in, clapping his hands together. "I think that sorts that out. Ms Potts, Peter, would you like to join me on a tour? Come on, I'll show you around and introduce you to your peers."

Peter, Pepper, and Max made their way out of the office after saying goodbye to the head of school. Luckily, classes had already began for the regular students, so there weren't many people lingering in the corridors. He did his best to ignore the stares as Max led him forward. They chatted about the college, with Max answering any questions they had. He showed them the many labs, the gym, the pool, the classrooms, and the study rooms.

"So quick question," Peter started.

"Shoot."

"Are there any other students in the accelerated program this year?"

Max chuckled. "You know, before this year, there was probably one student every three years. But this year, I guess everyone decided to graduate early. We have five other students apart from you in the accelerated program, Pete, so don't worry."

"Oh," Peter blinked. "Can I meet them?"

"Of course!" Max exclaimed. "You'll all be doing everything but your classwork together. Why don't you settle down in your room, and I'll introduce you."

He lead them towards the dorms. When they got to Peter's room, he did his best to block out the curious and astonished eyes of the students around him. Pepper led the way into the dorm room, and hummed in thought.

It was pretty small and basic, with two beds, two desks, two shelves, and a television. The bathroom was pretty normal as well. Peter and Pepper set their luggage down on one of the beds, and slowly arranged his clothes into the shelf next to it. It didn't take them very long, because Peter reasoned that with the tower so close, he didn't exactly need a lot of clothes in his room.

Peter turned towards Max with a question on his lips. "Is there someone I'm sharing this room with?"

"Yes there is," he said, before looking down to the pieces of paper in his hand. He rapidly flipped through them to look for the answer.

"You'll be sharing a room with-"

"Well well, look what the cat dragged in," a loud voice cut him off. Peter's eyes widened at the voice, while Pepper whirled around. The speaker was a smirking young man, with curly brown hair sitting in an uneven mop on his head. He partially camouflaged it with a beanie, but it still looked unkempt. He wore a t-shirt so faded that the words printed on it were illegible, and carried a duffel bag over his shoulder.

"Harley Keener," Peter breathed in disbelief. "As I live and breathe."

Harley and Peter had met before, of course. Tony, seeing the opportunity to introduce both the genius teens he had taken under his wing, did so without hesitation when found the time. He had dragged Harley from his house in Tennessee to New York, and invited Peter to the tower. Harley and Peter got on like a house on fire, sometimes making Tony regret introducing them. They gave him a massive migraine every day they spent together. Luckily the trip only lasted for a week, or Tony might have lost all his hair from stress. Peter and Harley kept in touch by text and phone calls since then.

After the Decimation, Peter had contacted Harley to find out whether he had survived, and found to his relief that Harley, his sister Ivy, and their mother Joan were all fine. He contacted Harley whenever he found the time, once getting a massive scolding for not telling him before the press conference that Peter was Spider-Man. Regardless, they were close friends, and it was a surprise to see him here.

"Harley!" Pepper exclaimed, quickly making her way over and wrapping him in a tight hug. "What're you doing here? Why didn't you tell us that you were coming?"

"Well I thought I'd try my hand at hiding something important for a change," he answered, staring pointedly at Peter, who simply rolled his eyes.

"So you know each other?" Max asked.

"Yeah, we're friends," Peter replied.

"Good, so it won't be too difficult to adjust to your new roommate. He'll be joining you int he accelerated curriculum. Come on, let's go meet the others, then."

Pepper, Peter and Harley, who just dumped his duffel bag on his bed, followed Max to an office a little bit away. When they entered, they found four people inside.

The first guy was pretty lanky. He was regular height, and wore thick black-rimmed glasses. he was wearing a blue shirt, fully buttoned up, and had a dark blue tie in the middle. His black hair was slicked back, and his eyes observed them, and quickly looked away. Just by looking at him, Peter could tell that he was slightly nervous with so many people, and was slightly socially awkward. He nervously fiddled with his glasses in anxiety.

The second man was very different. He was tall, blonde, and handsome. His cold blue eyes stared out at them with no emotion, but one could see the arrogance and disgust if they looked deeper. He was clearly well built, and observed the new entrants like they were dirt under his nose. He was clad in a three piece suit, making him look too formal and out of place in their group.

The third person was a beautiful woman. She was blonde and blue eyed, much like her companion, but was very different in terms of attitude. Her warmth could be felt when she gently chided her nervous friend to stand straight. She wore a blouse, jacket and a pair of jeans, looking like a mix of her companions with her blue attire. She smiled at the new entrants, and Harley blushed red.

The last man was clearly much older than the others. He was greying, and had a little bit of a paunch, but the raw intelligence could be seen in his eyes.

"Ah good, almost all of us are here," Max announced. "Allow me to introduce everyone. This is Dr Franklin Storm," he said while gesturing to the old man. "He runs the Baxter Foundation for Gifted Students, and is here to register three of his students in the accelerated program."

"Dr Storm," Peter greeted excitedly. "I'm a big fan of your work on matter-antimatter collisions, it was simply mind blowing."

"Nerd!" Harley called from behind him. Peter turned and glared, while everyone else laughed.

"Thank you, Mr Parker, and I have to say that I'm also a big fan of your work. Thank you for going out every day and saving the people of this city. It means a lot to many of us," Dr Storm said. Peter had a light blush colouring his cheeks at the obvious compliment.

"Right," Max continued, "these are his students from the Baxter Foundation. Meet Susan Storm," he indicated the girl, who smiled and waved, "Prince Victor Von Doom of Latveria," the blonde boy simply sniffed, "and Reed Richards," the lanky boy greeted them softly.

"Hey guys," Peter greeted back. "This is Harley Keener, and I'm Peter Parker. It's nice to meet you."

"Cause obviously no one in this room knew who you were before you introduced yourself," Harley muttered.

"Shut up," Peter shot back, stepping on his foot.

"Ow, don't do that!" Harley cried, shaking his fist in mock rage. "I will have my revenge, Parker!"

"Looking forward to it," Peter rolled his eyes, to the amusement of everyone else in the room bar one.

"Children," Victor sniffed.

"Alright," Max chortled, "we're missing one more person, so-ah! Here they are!"

Everyone else turned to the entrance of the room, where two more people stepped in. One of them was a girl about Peter's age. She had frizzy brown hair that reminded him of Michelle, and a bright expression that betrayed her excitement. She wore a t-shirt and jeans, and jumped excitedly in place.

The other person was a tall man. He wore a thick suit, but you could clearly see that he was well muscled. He had brown hair, and cold hazel eyes that observed everyone in a microsecond without an iota of warmth. The temperature in the room cooled down significantly when he entered, and tension filled the room. He was very famous, though, and just like with Peter and Pepper, everyone knew who he was.

"Virginia," the man greeted with a deep voice. His face split into a smile that contrasted with his emotionless eyes. "It's a pleasure to see you again."

"And you," Pepper replied with what Peter knew was her fake smile. It looked genuine enough, but if you knew her personally, it was the smile she offered to people she detested. "Peter, come here let me introduce you to someone."

She turned towards the tall man. "I'm sure you've heard of him, but this is Peter Parker. Peter, I'd like you to meet one of Stark Industries's rivals."

"My name is Norman Osborn," the man announced. "This is my daughter Harriet. It's a pleasure to meet you, Spider-Man."

"So why'd you ask me to meet you here?" Peter asked, slowly sipping his cup of coffee. His eyes were covered by sunglasses, and he wore a baseball cap on his head. It wasn't the greatest disguise, but it was enough for him to blend into a crowded shopping area.

"Remember when we hit the Stark centre to find out if it was dirty?" Felicia inquired. She had worn a black wig over her unique silver hair, and also wore a pair of thick sunglasses which hid her slightly bloodshot eyes. She delicately took a bite of her croissant. "Well, someone found out. I received a letter saying that if I didn't give them ten million dollars, they would tell Fisk that I was the one who sold him out to you."

"You're being blackmailed?" Peter shot up, sitting forward in his chair.

"And they have my apartment. I can survive on the run, but what about the others?" she asked. "What about the kids? They would just kill them without hesitation."

"Do you have any idea who it is? If you have any leads, I can chase them down."

"None," she replied. "The letter came in an envelope to my doorstep. They know who I am, what I can do, and where I live. I'm scared, Spider. That's why I called you."

"And you did the right thing, alright?" Peter soothed. He put his hand on hers gently in support. "We'll deal with this together. Everything's going to work out, okay?"

"Okay," she agreed after taking a deep breath. "So what's the plan?"

Peter sat quietly for a moment, before looking back up at her. "How do you deliver the money?"

"They've asked me to leave it on a rooftop tonight, at 9 PM. I think someone should be there to collect it. That person will also give me the proof that it was me."

"Alright," Peter muttered, in deep thought. "Here's the plan. This is obviously a trap, so we're gonna spring it."

"That's your plan?" Felicia asked disbelievingly. "Where can I possibly get that kind of money?"

"I'll have the systems at the tower print out cash that looks real at first glance, but is actually fake. FRIDAY, Mr Stark's AI, could easily do that."

"And what if we get caught?" She inquired. "You might be able to get out by virtue of being a billionaire's ward and a superhero, but I could go to jail. In case you forgot, I'm a notorious burglar."

"Eh, notorious might be pushing it," Peter muttered, before refocusing. "Look, they clearly don't want to be seen either. Trust their legwork to make sure that there'd be no one there, for no reason but their own self interest."

Felicia looked at him doubtfully for a moment, before sighing heavily. "Fine, but if this blows up in my face, I'm gonna blame you."

The both of them paid for their food at the small cafe they met at and made their way to the tower. On the way, Felicia started conversation in an attempt to distract herself from her situation. She asked him how his new college was, and he answered honestly.

Peter had made immediate friends with Harriet Osborn. While her father was intimidating, Harriet was an excitable girl that was a bundle of joy to be around. Harley was also exactly as he remembered him, even after the Decimation, and they picked their friendship off exactly where they left it. The three of them immediately clicked, and started doing everything together. Peter, Harley, and Harriet were seen around campus simply hanging out, prompting lots of questions from just about everybody.

While Peter and Harriet were well known, Harley was not, and even Susan Storm asked how he got into such an exclusive group. Harley replied that it was because of his charming personality, but Peter explained that they'd known each other for a while. Peter was doing a double degree, so he took half his classes with Harley, as they both did mechanical engineering, and half with Harriet, who also did biotechnology. Both of them were clearly geniuses in their field. They were able to keep up with Peter when he spoke, and contributed intelligently. Harley was probably his equal in engineering, while Harriet and Peter were around the same in biotechnology. Given Peter's greater preference for the latter, that made Harriet all the more impressive.

Reed, Sue, and Victor were also close to him. Reed and him immediately bonded over being nerds. Reed was doing his degree in applied mathematics and astrophysics, a double just like him. He quickly established himself as one of the smartest guys around. When Reed, Victor, and Peter started bouncing ideas off each other, the rest of them had to keep their ears peeled to understand even a little bit about what they were talking about.

Victor was doing the exact same courses as Reed, and Peter quickly figured out that he was highly competitive about everything. Victor had the arrogance that came with being a prince. His father, Werner Von Doom, was the reigning monarch of Latveria, and had sent Victor to the United States for better educational opportunities. Without a doubt, Victor was a genius, but his attitude was appalling. The only one he spoke to normally was Sue, probably because of his massive crush on her.

Sue was perhaps the nicest person Peter had ever met. She was Dr Storm's daughter, and one of the main reasons he even started the Baxter Foundation. Peter and Sue, unlike with the rest, spent a lot of time bonding over normal things. They talked about their lives outside of school, the rest of their family, and many other things. Peter told Sue about being a superhero, and all the amusing situations that entailed. Sue talked about her younger brother Johnny. He was a social media influencer and model, and seemingly loved attention of any form. He was also extremely smart, if not at Sue's level. Sue was doing her degree in biology, and was probably the most diligent student he'd ever met. She also had a temper that belied her gentle attitude. It was only thing that made Victor and Reed behave.

Reed and Victor were rivals for a long time, and that rivalry continued into college. They joined the Baxter Foundation at around the same time, and constantly competed with each other. Reed came from a middle class background, with his parents having a house in the suburbs, and going to regular middle management jobs. It irked Victor that such an ordinary person could match him in intellect. Their rivalry was already turning more sour. Still, they worked well together, and Peter, who was able to keep up with them, gave each of them some breathing room by being an extra participant.

Felicia talked about how things had been going at the rehabilitation centres since they'd last talked. Peter and Felicia had gone in disguise to a few of them, some owned by Stark, some by Oscorp, and some by others like Hammer and ROXXON. All of them had illegal shipments of goods to different places. Food and essentials that were needed for the people at the shelters were shipped off, and only the bare minimum stayed behind. Pepper, upon hearing about this, immediately ordered Stark Security (a division almost fully made up of former SHIELD members) to take care of the centres owned by them, while calling the FBI for the other shelters.

Felicia agreed to keep watch over them, and tell him if something like that ever happened again. Pepper, upon Peter's request, also bought the building that Felicia lived in, and turned their occupation from illegal squatting to legal tenancy.

They reached the tower, and Peter entered the front door, with Felicia following behind him slightly apprehensively. She was understandably nervous with the extensive security measures in place. When Peter came here with Tony for his internship, the place was free. While he had no doubt that FRIDAY"s own security system would have taken care of any invaders, now there were physical security guards in place. Metal detectors were set up, and the batons at the security booths looked intimidating. After the Decimation, there were some protesters who wanted to react violently, especially in front of an Avenger. Peter, just after he returned, faced many people who blamed him for his failure. He never disagreed with them, but over time, the whispers started dying out.

"Mornin', Mr Parker," greeted one of the security officers.

"Good morning, Bob," Peter answered. "Hope you're having a good day so far?"

"Everything's going fine," Bob replied as he frisked Felicia with a metal detector. "She's fine."

"Thanks for that," Peter finished, before making his way for the private, out of the way elevator. Felicia followed him hastily.

"What's with the presidential blockade?" she whispered, looking around to see if anyone heard them.

"Security needs to be tight around these parts," Peter said as he stepped into the already opened elevator. FRIDAY was extremely intuitive like that. "FRIDAY, take us to the materials lab, please."

"Who're you talking to?" Felicia asked, squinting, but yelped as the elevator started moving upwards. "WHAT WAS THAT?!"

"FRIDAY is an AI created by Tony Stark. She's the one who manages the tower, the Iron Man suits, and the Spider-Man armour I wear."

"Greetings, Ms Hardy," FRIDAY greeted from the ceiling. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"So she's controlling the elevator?" Felicia asked incredulously.

"Yep."

"This is insane," Felicia muttered under her breath. "This is something out of Star Wars or something."

Peter turned to look at her blankly, making her realise that he had heard her. "You've never seen Star Wars, have you?" he deadpanned.

"No, I'm more of a Star Trek girl," she replied.

"What is wrong with you?" he exclaimed in disbelief.

Felicia and Peter bickered for the next few minutes as the elevator reached its destination. Felicia's nervousness had all but ceased to exist in the face of her vehemence in defending her preferred franchise. They made their way into the materials lab, where FRIDAY was already making copies of 100 dollar bills with one of Stark Industries's 3D printer.

"That's nuts!" Felicia murmured. "It looks just like real cash!"

"That's the idea," Peter commented from across the room. He was analysing some of his plans and blueprints while waiting for the fake money to finish printing. "If it can fool you, hopefully it can fool the guy who's threatening you too."

Before they could say more, a soft series of footsteps made themselves heard over the general din of the machinery. They got louder, causing Felicia and Peter to share a wide eyed look. The door opened to reveal Lila who was carrying some papers in her hands.

"Hey Pete," she greeted without looking up. "Why didn't you tell us you were in the tower? Pepper's been going cra-" she cut herself off when she looked up and found that it wasn't only Peter in the room. All three of the rooms occupants glanced at each other without saying a word.

"So, uh," Peter started, coughing lightly to dispel the awkwardness in the room, "what're you doing here, Lila?"

"I, uh," Lila stuttered, still shocked at the unexpected presence in the room. "Wh-who's this?"

"First of all, manners," Peter chided, making her look down sheepishly for a moment, before looking up again. "Secondly, this is Felicia Hardy. Felicia, this is Lila Barton. Lila lives with us, and Felicia is helping me with a case."

"Ohhh," Lila realised, and then smirked widely. "You're Felicia! It's so nice to meet you!" The smirk promised bad times ahead for Peter.

"Yes," Felicia greeted confusedly. "Did Peter talk about me or something?"

"You could say that," Lila answered, her smirk still not diminishing. "Though FRIDAY had a most interesting tale to tell about-"

"Aaand we're done," Peter cut off, pushing Lila out of the room.

"It's great to meet you, Felicia!" Lila called before she was through the door. "I'll look forward to talking to you later!"

"You didn't need to do that," Peter gritted out to her once they were outside.

"I wanted to," Lila grinned.

"You really didn't need to," Peter emphasised.

"I really wanted to," Lila confirmed.

Peter sighed, shaking his head and smiling in reluctant amusement. He'd never thought about having a younger sibling, but somehow, he'd ended up with three.

"Do you need anything urgent?" he finally spoke, after dismissing his frustrations.

"Not at the moment, no," Lila's grin finally died. "You should come by more often, Pete. Pepper needs a bit of a break from the baby. I try to help out where I can, but she thinks I'm 'too young', or something like that."

Peter sighed regretfully. He had been engaged in his life as a college student and superhero, not spending too much time at home. Morgan was growing faster than ever, and she was repeatedly calling for attention in the middle of the night. When Peter was there, he helped lull her to sleep, while Pepper got some shut-eye.

"You're right," he agreed. "I should spend some time at home. I miss you guys, and I miss Morgan. I'm sorry, Lila."

"Just stay here sometimes," she sighed, burying her head in his chest to feel his familiar warmth. After the loss of her family in the Decimation, Peter was the one who had stepped up for her. He had taken on the role of father, hero, role model, and brother simultaneously, and made her immensely dependant on him.

"I will," he promised, before lightly pushing her off. "Now, I'm working on a case, okay? It's a dangerous one, so get out of here, and stay upstairs."

After saying bye to Lila, he slowly made his way into the room, to find a smirking Felicia staring at him in curiosity.

"What?" he sighed.

"So," she started mischievously. "You've been telling your family about me, huh?"

"I tell them about all the crazy people I come across," he dismissed, striding over to the 3D printer.

"No no no," Felicia wagged her finger. "You don't get to walk away from this. What did you tell them about me?"

"Nothing," Peter tried to deny, gathering the finished notes in his hand, taking a hundred notes each and tying them up in a rubber band, before stuffing them in a duffle bag. "Now help me bundle these up, would you?"

Felicia's smirking face didn't fade for a moment even when she moved over to help him.

"You told them about how I kicked your ass, huh?" she chuckled.

"First of all," he turned to her sharply, his face reddening slightly. "You didn't kick my ass. I went easy on you, and stuck you with a tracker, remember?"

"Doesn't take away from the fact that I kicked your ass!" she sang. "Or did you tell them about how you couldn't take your eyes off me because I'm the hottest thing you've ever seen?"

Peter abruptly choked on his saliva, sending Felicia into fits of laughter. His face darkened further, showing his embarrassment at the thought.

"Don't worry, sweetie," she patted him on the arm, barely holding back another surge of amusement. "I think you're hot too."

She burst out laughing again when he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and shook his head.

They got ready, and made it to the drop site. Peter was hidden in the shadows, while Felicia stood openly holding a duffle bag. They waited for a while, not speaking in fear of someone hearing them.

Eventually, half an hour past the deadline, a figure arrived onto the roof. He was tall, and clearly very strong and agile. He leaped with catlike grace, revealing his purple mask and glowing blue eyes. He wore a gaudy cape on his back, but it seemed to do little to hinder his movements. His fingers extended into sharp claws, appearing like they could easily pierce concrete.

He stalked over to Felicia, who looked slightly apprehensive at his presence.

"You were told to leave the money and go," he growled. His voice was modulated, and seemed to be several different voices overlapped with each other.

"I wanted to see who was dumb enough to threaten me," Felicia replied, swallowing her fear. "I'm not exactly easy prey, honey."

"You are to us," the man responded, not letting her phase him. He stomped forward and grabbed the bag that Felicia had in her hand, ripping it open to look inside.

"Ten million, just as agreed," Felicia confirmed, something the man agreed with after a moment.

"Very well," he said. "I won't tell anyone you were here." He zipped the bag up and ran towards the edge, withdrawing a grappling hook from his belt. He was about to launch away, when a blow struck him in the side of the head.

"We're not quite done, darling," Felicia purred. She launched at him with fierce kicks, but even when dazed, the man was a skilled combatant because he quickly backflipped and countered. Nothing Felicia did seemed to faze him, and he calmly blocked her blows with little effort.

"You made a mistake, Cat," he growled. "You shouldn't have started any trouble. Now I'm gonna have to kill you."

He ducked under two fists coming for his head, and grabbed her arms, holding them apart. He head butted her hard, making her falter, before he slammed her head against the floor. She was almost knocked out at the brutal thrashing, when he seized her by the neck and held her up high. She desperately tried to break his grip, but nothing she did seemed to work.

Just as her vision began to darken, something slammed into the man from the side, sending him flying across the roof. That something was a metallic armour coloured red, black, and gold, with webbed designs all over it.

Peter approached Felicia, who was coughing on the floor, trying to get her breath back. He gently helped her up.

"You alright?" he asked softly.

"What, you get stuck in traffic?" she retorted hoarsely.

"He didn't come alone," Peter answered. "I took care of the goons first. Now let's deal with this guy, shall we?"

Both of them stood up and looked over at the purple man who'd also gotten up.

"Spider-Man," he growled.

"That's my name, don't wear it out," he replied glibly.

"You shouldn't have interfered, bug. This isn't any of your business."

"First of all, spiders are arachnids," Peter retorted. "Secondly ..."

He lunged forward and slammed into the man, who quickly tried to scratch him with his claws. Dodging the blow, they both rolled and got up quickly. Peter jumped into the air and attacked him with two kicks from above, which the man deflected, before he threw a grenade at the hero. Peter swatted it to the side, causing a small explosion and attracting attention from below. In the brief moment of distraction, Peter slammed his fist into purple mask, breaking it. It cracked in half, showing his eyes screwed up with rage.

The purple man decked Peter across the face, sending him tumbling over. He lunged forward, trying to slice him up, when Peter webbed both his hands and pulled him forward. He flew to Peter, who kicked him hard in the chest. A stray hand caught Peter in the side, though, and Peter felt his suit get shredded under the sharp claws. Whatever they were made of, it wasn't any normal material.

A kick caught the man in the side, letting Felicia launch her own. She knew she was outmatched in a fight with two enhanced individuals, which she was sure that this man was, but she still wanted to help. He punched out at her, a blow she barely dodged. She risked a look back only to see the wall where the fist had impacted crumble inwards.

The next blow was about to reach her when Peter deflected it off to the side. Felicia moved to kick him on the chest, but he leaned backwards, an inhuman act, before lurching forward towards her throat. Luckily, before he reached her, two webs struck his back and dragged him off his feet. Felicia seized the opportunity to leap forward and kick him on the chin, firmly knocking him out.

"... I always help my friends," Peter told the unconscious man, before ripping off the rest of his mask. "FRIDAY, scan and identify."

"Scanning," came the response from his suit.

"Is that what we are?" Felicia asked slyly, panting to recover her breath. "Friends?"

"I like to think so," Peter replied. "Am I wrong?"

Felicia slowly walked towards him, and cupped his cheek. "Friends," she whispered, a ponderous expression on her face.

"Peter, I've identified the man," FRIDAY cut in. Seeing the opportunity to move away from the confusing girl, he quickly asked FRIDAY to elaborate. "His name is Hobart Brown. He lost his family to the Decimation, and gambled all his money away. It seems he'd gotten himself into massive amounts of debt. Then, sometime ago, he disappeared, and all his debts were paid off."

"He seems enhanced," Peter wondered.

"He does appear to be, yes," FRIDAY agreed. "His action and reaction speed were beyond human parameters. Perhaps even more than Captain Rogers'."

"Alright," Peter sighed after a few moments. "I'll take him to lockup. Do some digging and let me know what you find." With that, he turned back to Felicia, who'd been staring at him with an unreadable expression. "You're all set," he told her. "FRIDAY and I'll investigate exactly who and why they were after you, but you should be safe from here on out. If there's a problem, give me a call."

Peter turned around to jump off the roof, when a sudden hug caught him off guard. Felicia was gripping his side tightly.

"Thanks, Spider," she murmured.

He softly settled his arm around her back. "Anytime, Cat," he whispered.

Unfortunately, neither of them noticed the flash of a camera from a nearby building. Neither saw the glimmering eyes in the shadows, either.

"Awww!" Harriet cooed.

Morgan giggled happily, reaching with fat hands for Harriet's fingers that were tickling her stomach. Her slow chubby hands were unable to grasp Harriet's fast moving ones, but she didn't relent.

Peter smiled at the sight, an action echoed by everyone else in the room. He had brought Harriet and Harley to the tower for the weekend to let them meet his family. Harley already knew Pepper, but he had never met Lila, Nate, and Morgan, so Peter brought him and Harriet home to introduce them to his family.

Lila giggled at the pampering that Morgan was going through, curled up against Peter's side. Nate was positioned on top of Peter's lap, a place he hadn't relinquished since Peter walked in the room.

Pepper was smiling at the interaction, but Peter could see the slight unease in her eyes. She had a very bad opinion about Harriet's father, and despite Peter's attempts at convincing her that Harriet wasn't anything like Norman, she was still doubtful.

Norman Osborn was a legend. He was widely considered to be the Howard Stark of the biotech world. Much like the elder Stark, he had inherited a fledgling company, and elevated it to heights unknown. While he may not have been as intelligent as Howard or Tony, he made up for it with pure ambition and hard work.

That was precisely what had alienated him among his peers. His ambitious, what most would call greedy, nature made sure that no one could ever be friends with him. You would always be too worried about when he would stick the knife in your back.

However, Peter had never seen an inkling of her father's nature in Harriet. She was a genuinely excitable, jolly, nice girl who had simply joined their group to hang out with them. At the beginning, Peter had been concerned about her true intentions, and so had kept her at arm's length, but soon that proved to be unneeded, and more importantly, impossible. Her personality simply drew in everyone around her, and her gentle nature made her exude warmth.

Harley was seated on the other sofa, staring at the scene with fascination. When he had entered, Pepper had introduced him to Morgan as her other big brother. He had since not taken his eyes off the baby. Peter knew that he was already enamored with the kid, and would protect her from anything and everything in the future.

Harley's sister, Ivy, was still in middle school, going to start the ninth grade next year. His mother had been working hard to support both her children, so he had been the one to take care of Emily most of the time. Now that he'd just got another sister, one that was the daughter of his idol and father figure too, Peter knew that he could count on Harley to look after her, and all of them, should anything happen to him.

Shaking his head to distract himself from the scene, Harley turned to Peter with a grin that promised trouble for him.

"So, Cheeks," he started, "what's this Lila tells me about a girl?"

Peter paled. Pepper sent him a quizzical look, wondering what Harley was talking about. Peter had specifically not spoken to her about Felicia beyond what was necessary, but Lila had asked FRIDAY about his patrol before he could tell FRIDAY not to tell anyone about it. Since then, she had taken every opportunity to tease him about it, resulting in a miserable and terrified Peter.

"A girl?" Pepper asked. "What girl?"

"Lila!" Peter hissed.

"Oops," she shrugged, not seeming the least bit apologetic. Her mischievous grin, a mirror of Harley's, reinforced this belief.

"You like a girl?" Harriet commented with what Peter thought was an unnecessary amount of disbelief. "You?"

"No," Peter frantically tried to deny. "No, I don't."

"Girls are yucky," Nate solemnly agreed.

"Really?" Lila raised an eyebrow, before transforming her face into a mocking swoon. "Thanks, Spider," she said, a breathless tone adding to the atmosphere. "You're my hero. Now why don't we go an-oof!"

Her commentary was interrupted by an elbow in the side from Peter, who frowned.

"That was not what happened," he gritted out to her.

"So you admit that something did happen?" Harriet picked up, a small smirk making it's way to her face.

Pepper frowned softly. "Peter, it's okay to like a girl. What's her name?"

Peter was clearly not going to speak up, so Lila answered instead. "Felicia," she said, staring at Peter out of the corner of her eye. He closed his eyes and braced for the oncoming explosion.

"Felicia," Pepper repeated softly, trying to remember where she'd heard the name, before her eyes widened. "Felicia Hardy? As in the cat burglar you caught a while ago?"

"Cat burglar?" Harley asked, his smirk not lessening in the slightest. "So Cheeks likes naughty girls, huh?"

"I do not like her!" he almost shouted. "Can we talk about something else? Anything else?"

Pepper, vowing to talk to Peter in private later, acquiesced to the demand and changed the topic. "Why does he call you Cheeks?" she questioned curiously.

"Well-" Harley started.

"Shut. Up." Peter snapped at him.

"Peter and Harley went swimming one day," Harriet picked up.

"Harriet," Peter warned.

"And when he got out of the pool, there were some girls sitting on the bleachers," Harley continued.

"Listen to me-" Peter tried.

"And when they saw him in swimwear, they said-" Harriet crowed, before dodging a wild arm from Peter.

"'Mmm, what fine buttcheeks!'" Harley finished, before yelping and running around the room with an angry Peter on his heels.

Pepper, Lila, and Nate were all laughing heartily, just like Harriet and Harley. Morgan, hearing the laughter joined in with a giggle. Peter, seeing the joy in the room, worked to stifle his own grin and keep his façade of rage. He failed, and a fond smile found its way to his face.

He sat down with a huff in his old place, grabbing Morgan in the meantime.

"They're being mean to me, Morgie," he fake sobbed, blowing a raspberry on her stomach. She burst into infectious giggles at that, prompting them all to laugh again alongside her.

Pepper decided to table the teasing for a later time, while also postponing her conversation with Peter for a different evening. While she wasn't his mother, she was a bit concerned over his spending time with a criminal. Even though Peter had assured her that Felicia Hardy only stole from the corrupt to help people, Pepper was understandably worried about her company, and the implications about what it could reveal if it went public. Peter had still not gotten used to being a public personality, but Pepper had been one for years, and was very close to Tony Stark even before that. She knew what it meant to be in the public eye, for every action to be analyzed over and over. There was no semblance of privacy for them, and it was even worse for Peter, who was the most famous man in the world. The last member of the Avengers, the youngest superhero, the man who kept the Avengers running, New York's hero, there was no end to the legends about him. He needed to be really careful about what his future relationships looked like.

"So," Pepper said, after the laughter had died down. "What's college like, guys?"

"It's-"

"-horrible," Harley cut Peter off. Peter shot him a glare, before trying to continue.

"No it's not, it's-"

"-so boring!" Harriet moaned.

"Shut up!" Peter cried, making Lila beside him burst into laughter. "Ignore the buzzkills," he shot his friends another glare, "and you, little missy," he poked Lila in the side, making her squirm away from him. "You're supposed to be on my side, gum-ball!"

"But that's not the fun side!" Lila shot back, making him glare at her, but only receiving an angelic smile. Everyone else started chuckling at the interaction between them.

"In all seriousness, though," Peter answered Pepper once the amusement had died down, "college is surprisingly nice."

"He's right," Harley agreed grudgingly. "While the classes are kind of simple, the work they're giving us is at least a bit challenging. I mean, they know we're in the advanced program, right? Why don't they just give us material to our level, I don't know, but I've seen some of the first year stuff. That would be mind-numbing."

"The staring's a bit much, though," Harriet added hesitantly, looking at Peter worriedly. "It never stops. Like, I know Peter's a superhero, guys, but they've been around him for a month, and they should have really gotten used to his presence."

"At least, we've made some good friends," Peter finished. He looked at Harley and Harriet, but turned to Pepper to clarify. "The others in the program, Sue, Reed, and Victor, are really nice, more or less."

"I'd be okay if you'd just said Sue," Harley grumbled. His rivalry with Reed Richards was famous across the campus. Both of them were geniuses in their fields, but one day, Harley was challenged on one of his theories on quantum mechanics by Reed. Their argument escalated to almost physical violence, for despite Reed's generally mousy demeanor, he was extremely passionate about science. Both Harriet and Sue did their best to calm their friends, but the fight only ended once Peter returned from patrol and got involved in separating the two. Ever since, Harley and Reed couldn't bare to even be in the same room together, much to their friends' collective consternation.

"Not Victor Von Doom?" Pepper asked him. He was the prince of a nation, so Pepper thought that if there was anyone Peter could talk to about the fame and scrutiny, it would be him.

All three college kids scrunched their faces up in disgust. Peter, at least, tried to remain neutral about their friend, but the other two didn't even bother.

"He's a di-," Harley suddenly stopped after seeing Nate stare curiously at him, and Pepper's icy glare. "-dumbo," he finished.

"He's the worst," Harriet cried.

"Let's just say that Victor's, well, not the nicest person around," Peter replied diplomatically.

"What do you mean?" Lila looked up to stare at Peter.

"He's an arrogant jerk who believes that everyone around him is a plane of intelligence lower than his Supreme Majesty," Harriet answered bitterly.

"He's not that bad," Peter tried to protest, but deadpan glares from both of his friends stopped him in his tracks. "Alright, I'll admit he's a bit abrasive." That statement brought snorts to everyone else. "But he's an extremely intelligent guy, and I genuinely think that he could do a lot of good for the world with that kind of mind and ambition."

"Reed doesn't like him either," Harriet told Pepper. "Sue's the only one who can tolerate him, but I think that's because he's always nice to her."

"I think he has a crush on her," Harley put in his sage wisdom.

"Really," Harriet raised an eyebrow. "And I suppose you're the expert on crushes and relationships, Mr Don Juan?"

"Better than you, Ms Kissinger!" he shot back, prompting an offended gasp from the girl. That name had come up due to Harriet's love of gossip. Both Harley and Peter called her Ms Kissinger due to her wanting to know all the secrets about everyone on campus.

"What are they talking about?" Lila muttered to Peter next to her.

"I think this is their way of flirting."

Peter strode out of the elevator, onto his second favorite floor of the tower. Lila walked alongside him, gazing in wonder at all the sights of experiments and inventions around them.

They were on the R&D floor, which was the department that Tony Stark used to head, a position Peter will take up sometime soon. Right now, it was in the very capable hands of Madison O'Brian, one of the foremost experts on cold fusion reactors. Tony had personally gone to scout her out when he'd been planning to make the Arc reactor public, shortly after his first appearance as Iron Man, and had offered her a very generous signing bonus to join them. She'd never regretted it.

Tony's policy of differentiating Iron Man and the Avengers from Stark Industries was a very wise move. Despite the various scandals and triumphs of his heroic adventures, it resulted in very little blowback for SI's business around the world, even if stock prices rose and fell with Tony's alter-ego. SI's insistence on being completely carbon neutral, and in some cases, even a carbon sink, opened many doors for them around the world. Even countries opposed to the Avengers, like Syria, Chile, and Uganda, let in SI due to both their fair business practices, and the Maria Stark foundation, one of the largest charities in the world.

Peter had done similarly, not wanting to completely associate his Spidery self with a company that employs tens of thousands of people worldwide. While he was still associated with the conglomerate, it was purely in a consulting capacity. The world knew that he was Iron Man's protégé, and that he lived with Pepper Potts, but no one knew about the fact that he was going to be leading the company soon. Even Peter himself hadn't made a decision about that.

Pepper had a meeting to get to, so she'd asked Peter to check on the status of the department in her absence. While they both trusted Madison to be completely honest and responsible, it didn't hurt to check over everything. Lila had asked to accompany Peter, and knowing her interest in taking things apart and putting them back together, Peter had seen no harm in allowing her to join him.

"So this is where everything happens, huh?" she asked, not taking her eyes off the labs.

"Well, not everything," Peter explained. "This is R&D, research and development. There are many other parts of a business, especially one as large as SI. Manufacturing is actually the biggest division of the company. In essence, R&D develops an idea and a manufacturing process. Manufacturing makes the product for customers. Sales and Marketing figure out how to sell the products, and the other departments are allied to these."

"So why do you like this one best, then?" Lila asked him curiously.

"You kidding?" he grinned. "I love to watch stuff blow up!"

Lila burst into giggles just as they entered the main lab space of the tower. A group of people were gathered around a worktable (holographic, of course. What else would you expect from Stark Industries?) and arguing fiercely.

"Absolutely not!" roared a female voice. Madison was a slight woman, not older than forty, who was capable of bringing the most belligerent of people to heel. She had a voice that betrayed her frame, but it more than made her able to draw the attention of everyone around her. "Stark Industries doesn't manufacture weapons anymore, Dr Cornelius! Especially if those manufacturing processes consist of experimentation on people!"

"Dr O'Brian, please," tried a small, balding man. He wore a pair of rounded glasses that were awkwardly perched on his nose. "Just listen to me, I beg you! I can give you proof, proof! that there are people out there with strange differences in their genes. Mutations, they're called. We can harness the power in these genes, these strange abilities that are granted to people unworthy of these gifts, and give them to people who deserve them!"

"And who decides who deserves them, Dr Cornelius?" came a sharp voice from the side. Peter stalked forward, his expression as stormy as a hurricane. "You? How dare you try to play god?"

"M-mr Parker," the old man stuttered. "I-I, uh-"

"You're fired? I quite agree," Peter shot him down. He looked over at Madison in case he was overstepping his bounds, but she just nodded encouragingly. Mollified, he turned back to the trembling scientist. "We do not, nor do we support, condone, or encourage experimentation on humans. How would you propose to harvest the gene from those who have this mutation?"

The doctor just stuttered in shock in front of the famous superhero, whose glare didn't abate, but rather increased when the old man didn't have an answer.

"You would kidnap and torture them?" Peter seethed. "Hold them against their will and pump them full of chemicals, taking samples, and seeing how they react to different stimuli?"

"I-it's for the betterment of humanity!" Dr Cornelius cried, hastily wiping beads of sweat from his forehead. "These-these freaks don't deserve them!"

At those words, the entire room was silenced. Everybody stepped back from him, wearing a mixture different expressions. One thing that Stark Industries wasn't, was bigoted. That was an extremely strict policy that Howard Stark had implemented, and Tony Stark continued to emphasize. As a company, they didn't tolerate hate speech like that, ever.

Peter's glare never faltered, being joined by half a dozen more.

"Get. Out," he growled at the doctor, who looked horrified at what slipped out of his mouth. Seeing the man make no move, he raised his voice. "OUT!"

That was enough for the man to scramble to his desk, take his messenger bag and rush out of the lab.

"FRIDAY, make sure that the door hits him on his way out," Peter called out to the room in the ensuing silence.

"Well, good riddance," Madison sniffed. "He was a pain anyway."

Peter sighed, losing his combative expression, and ruffling his hair tiredly.

"That was awesome!" Lila squealed from where she stood at the door. "You just looked at him, and he started shaking, and then you screamed one word, and he ran like a rabbit!"

Peter huffed out a laugh. "Yeah. Hopefully, that's the last we've seen of him."

Abraham Cornelius rushed out of the building, shaking in fear. The look on Spider-Man's face was legitimately terrifying, and there was no way he was about to face off against a superhero. He ran and ran, eventually collapsing, panting for breath, in an empty alleyway. He leaned against the trashcan, and tried desperately to keep his lungs in place.

Slowly, all-encompassing rage overwhelmed the fear in his mind. 'How dare he!' he raged. 'How dare they kick me out! After all I've done, for them! For the company!'

Abraham had spent years in the underworld, expanding his scientific prowess and doing things that weren't, morally sound, in the pursuit of greater knowledge. He had experimented on many people before, even being part of the infamous (in certain circles) Weapon X program. He truly wanted to help people, though, so after that, he quit the program and made it to Stark Industries, trying to give everybody equal advantages. His dream was to make sure that everyone on the planet would be better. More evolved. With his knowledge on genetics, this seemed like a real possibility.

Then, the mess with Extremis happened, and he realized that most people were not ready to have god like abilities. Most people didn't deserve them. They would misuse them, and cause harm and havoc. That was why he hated the 'mutants'. Yes, he'd read the paper by Charles Xavier. In his opinion, that was a perfect name for the godforsaken species. These random quirks of nature who couldn't be trusted with powers that they had, and would definitely one day destroy the world. So he started working to make sure that only those who deserve the power get it.

And now? He'd been kicked out for expressing his beliefs. How dare they! Well, he'd show them. He'd show them all.

He snatched the phone out his jacket pocket, only belatedly realizing that he was still wearing his Stark lab coat. He dialed a certain number that he'd saved, but never thought he'd actually use. He held it to his ear, waiting as the line connected. A hum sounded through the phone.

"Dr Osborn? This is Abraham. Abraham Cornelius. I'd like to talk to you about that offer you gave me a while ago, assuming it's still active, of course."

For a moment, there was silence, but a deep voice answered from the other side. "Always, Abraham. Why don't we start with how I can help?"

"Thank you for having me, Dr Xavier," Peter greeted, as he stepped off the Quinjet and shook hands with the wheelchair bound man. The man had his permanently genial smile plastered to his face.

"No thanks necessary, Mr Parker," Charles waved off. "I told you that you're welcome to come anytime, and I meant it. Come, let me show you around."

Peter looked out and saw the expansive area in front of him. The gardens were vast, and clearly manicured. There were carefully grown hedges, and neatly mowed lawn as far as the eye could see in any direction. All in all, they reminded him of the gardens of palaces in medieval Europe.

Ahead of him, over the top of the hedges, he could see the school itself. It took his breath away momentarily.

"I see you're impressed," Charles commented from the side, a grin playing across his face. He slowly started rolling down the garden. "It's my family's mansion. We were, well, a bit nouveau-riche, if you would. My family was one of the first of my skin color to move upwards in terms of financial status. I suppose they wanted to emulate the standard behavior for all rich families at the time, with the large mansion and the carefully cultivated gardens, unaware that other families were transitioning away from that. So now, I'm stuck with the, frankly, ridiculous maintenance costs of this giant property, all because they wanted to show off."

"I think it's a fantastic looking school, but I don't know about it as a house," Peter pondered. "It looks a bit too large for me."

Charles hummed in agreement. The mansion was constructed in an ancient Victorian style of architecture, with it's soaring turrets and aged facades. It was extremely large, big enough for, if Peter had to guess, over three hundred people living there simultaneously. As they got closer to the house, he could make out the large 'X' that was emblazoned on the outer wall, looking almost like a coat of arms for the house.

"So," Peter started. "How's everything going?"

"First of all, I must think you, Mr Parker, for putting me in touch with Ms Walters. She's simply fantastic at her job."

"She is, isn't she?" Peter smirked. "And please, it's just Peter."

"Charles, then," he replied. "We're putting together a proposal to discuss before the UN Accords Panel, because she feels they have more experience with the enhanced community, and would perhaps be more amenable to our introduction rather than the UN general assembly."

"Makes sense," Peter nodded. "I've spoken to the Accords Panel multiple times. They always seem to me like sensible people. Speaking of, Kathy was talking to me the other day."

Kathy was one of Stark Industries foremost PR reps. Peter, with Pepper's permission, had lent both Jennifer and Kathy to Charles to help them put together an approach to introduce the mutant race to the world.

"Oh, pray tell," Charles encouraged.

"Well," Peter said hesitantly. "She was ranting about some man with a superiority complex, who was making her job infinitely harder. Someone called, Eric?"

"Ah," Charles sighed. He knew that Eric was a good friend, but sometimes, the man's attitude just rubbed everybody the wrong way. "Well, you'll meet him today. Everyone knows that you're visiting, so expect them all to ambush us at some point."

Peter just laughed. While he was a little nervous with the mention of this Eric (people with powers who think they're better than everyone else were not great news, in his experience), he was still eager to meet everyone at the school.

"How many students do you have, so far?" Peter asked curiously.

"Just two, at the moment," Charles sighed. "One of them is an orphan, and the other's parents rejected her because of her abilities."

"Oh, god."

"Quite. However, despite that, they both are settling in quite well. They've taken to Ororo, one of my staff members, who seems to lend a sympathetic ear towards them whenever they need one. Also, they're both big fans, so don't be too surprised if they ambush you for some autographs and photos later on."

"I'll keep that in mind," Peter smiled.

They got to the entrance of the mansion, and the wheelchair slid up the ramp easily, making Peter raise an eyebrow, but he ignored it and climbed the stairs to the front door himself. The door opened by itself, letting them into an elegant entrance hall with tall, wooden staircases on either side. The brown tone of the mansion made it more homey, in his opinion, but he still preferred the ultramodern glass/metal of the Stark Tower penthouse.

"Professor," called a voice from the above them. "Has our guest arrived?"

Peter looked up to see a strange looking woman. She was of a dark skin tone, looking like she was from Africa, but her hair ruined the image. It was white, almost exactly like Felicia's. She wore a t-shirt and jeans, and bounded down the stairs to meet them.

She was relatively young, but clearly not young enough to be a student.

"Good morning," she greeted primly, extending a hand towards him. "My name is Ororo Munroe. I teach Languages here at the Xavier Institute."

"Nice to meet you," Peter greeted, shaking the offered hand. "I'm Peter. I go to college in the city."

He could see by her blank expression that she had no recognition for who he was, so he introduced himself in an ordinary way. She smiled at him and nodded, before turning to Charles.

"Is he a new student, Professor?" she asked curiously, not seeing the gob smacked expression on Charles face.

Peter coughed, bringing Charles back to the present. Charles scrambled to compose himself, prompting Peter to laugh gently. Ororo shot a glare at him for finding amusement in her mentor, and Peter quickly shut up.

"No, no no, Ororo," Charles explained. "Mr Parker is one of the sponsors of our institute. He's a dear friend, and I am simply showing him around. Would you like to join us?"

"Of course!" she stated excitedly, before standing next to Charles's wheelchair as he wheeled forward. She bid them to wait for a second, before shooting into the kitchen to get some water. Charles quickly leaned into Peter, trying to make sure he took no offense.

"Please excuse Ororo," he spoke softly. "She's quite new to the country, and before this, she was simply a young pickpocket on the streets of Nairobi. I told her we had a guest, but I didn't tell her who you were, or what you do."

"Relax, Charles," cut in Peter, amused at his scrambling. "It's fine. It's actually good that she didn't recognize me. I'm not a big fan of the fame that comes with my job."

Charles sighed in relief. "Thank you."

"So, if she was a pickpocket, why is she a teacher here now?"

"She's a pickpocket with a unique talent for languages," Charles explained. "She's mastered more than three dozen of them, and can fluently converse in seven more. More importantly, she's an extremely powerful mutant who can control the weather."

Peter's eyebrows shot up. "The weather?"

Charles nodded. "I've seen her make a sunny day stormy in a few moments, and she can call down rather frightening bolts of lightning from the clouds."

Just then, Ororo returned, refreshed and ready to go. As they slowly started moving down the side corridor, she sidled up to Peter.

"Thank you for helping to set up this place," she said softly. "I know it's pretty new and risky, but it's quickly become my home."

Peter smiled softly. "That was the goal. To make a refuge for those who need one."

Ororo smiled, before narrating the paintings on the wall, to which Peter listened patiently.

As they got to a certain corridor, a door on the other end opened, and out stepped one of the most astonishing creatures that Peter had ever seen. It was furry, like a gorilla, but completely blue. The fur, the skin, everything was blue. More peculiarly, the thing seemed to be wearing a lab coat, and a pair of glasses, while intensely reading through a file.

"Ah, Hank!" Charles called, and the man turned to see the three of them. His eyes widened, before he strode forward to meet them.

"Peter, this is Doctor Hank McCoy," Charles introduced, looking at him a little warily. "Hank, Peter Parker."

"Of course," Hank rushed, shaking Peter's offered hand repeatedly. "I heard you were coming, but I just want to say that it is an honor to meet you, young man."

"The honor is mine, Doctor," Peter replied, letting his arm be pushed and pulled, and almost ripped out of his socket. "I read your paper on the genetic abnormalities in the X-gene mutation, along with Charles's explanation on the diversity of the genetic code, and I must say that it was enlightening."

Hank grinned in pride, his fangs sticking out of his mouth. "Thank you, Mr Parker. I'm also a big fan of your exploits."

Peter chuckled a little sheepishly, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck. "Don't worry about it," he grinned. Ororo merely stared between the two of them in confusion.

"I was just giving Mr Parker the tour of our facilities," Charles explained. "He is one of our closest allies after all."

"Of course, of course," Hank agreed, before hastily saying goodbye and walking away, still engrossed in his files.

"I apologies, Peter," Charles sighed, rubbing his forehead with an exasperated look. Peter just waved him off, having been more than familiar with the behavior of eccentric scientists. Most of his friends were like that, after all. Reed was the absolute worst, sometimes not registering anything when he was caught up in his research, to the annoyance and amusement of his friends (Peter didn't act like that, what are you talking about?).

"Charles, I work closely with one of the smartest groups of people on the planet over at SI," Peter chided softly. "Trust me when I say that I've met people much ruder than you think possible. You don't need to keep apologizing for people. They all seem nice."

Charles merely breathed in relief. He was desperately trying to give a good impression about his school to one of the most important people on the planet, and one who could likely make or break the future of his dream singlehandedly. Luckily, Peter seemed to be exactly what he appeared: a good person, non-judgmental, and something this institute sorely needed.

"I don't understand," Ororo cut in. She frowned in confusion over the interaction. "Are you also a scientist of some kind? How did Hank recognize you?"

"Ororo," Charles started leadingly. "Don't you watch the news at all? Peter's a very famous man around the world, after all." He was very clearly hinting towards something, and Ororo turned back to the amused teenager once more in deep thought. While she didn't follow the news much, not wanting to see the suffering encompassing the vast majority of the planet, he still did look vaguely familiar. Slowly, the bells started ringing in her head, as her eyes gradually widened under the watching eyes of the professor and the superhero.

"Spider-Man?" she asked softly, her voice shaking in mortification. Even though she was actively trying to block out her connection to the outside world, even she knew the name of the Last Avenger.

"Hi," Peter waved, holding back his laughter at her obvious embarrassment. With a squeal, she quickly shot out of the corridor and towards the other side of the mansion. Peter lost his battle with his laughter, and Charles quickly gave in as well.

After a few minutes laughing at the reaction from the stormy mutant, they slowly started moving on.

"So, Peter, tell me," Charles started suddenly. "How is your family doing?"

"They're doing great, actually," Peter enthusiastically replied. The fondness was visible in his tone. "Pepper just got back to her full time job after Morgan's birth, so things are still a little clumsy in terms of scheduling and such. But Lila and Nate, Hawkeye's children," he explained to the confused teacher, "they're really picking up the slack. I'm there as often as I can be, but between college, SI, and my other job, that's not often enough."

"I see," the older man hummed. "And why do you take so much onto your shoulders, young man? Don't you think you should live a little?"

Peter turned a mournful look at the mutant. "Too much to do, Charles. I'm the only one that can do it. That's why Spider-Man exists. He has to do what normal people can't. He has a great responsibility, and I have to do whatever it takes to keep people safe."

Charles abruptly stopped his wheelchair. "Peter," he said seriously. After spending much time talking and planning with him, Charles had almost forgotten that he was indeed still a boy. Peter was seventeen, not much older than his oldest student, after all. "It's not just Spider-Man. Peter Parker also needs to have a life. Do not let this overcome you. Spider-Man's a hero, yes, but Peter Parker is a person. Maybe you should think about taking care of his needs instead of the rest of the world's once in a while, eh?"

Peter remained in deep thought, even as they started moving. Pepper, Lila, Harley, the Avengers, and many others had been telling him the same thing, and if even an acquaintance like Charles was able to notice, then maybe they were right. Maybe he was taking too much onto himself.

Suddenly, one of the ornate wooden panels rose to reveal a hidden door, one that opened to show a starkly different type of room than the rest of the house. While the house was clearly built to look antique and luxurious with it's overuse of wood, the room with metal and glass paneling was a large contrast to the rest of the house.

"This is our training room," Charles guided, rolling forward as he spoke. "The area has been reinforced to handle the various powers we predict we could see in our students. It was designed by Dr McCoy, and all of us at the institute have tested it to prove that fact."

Inside the room, they could see three people. The eldest of them was a short, hairy man. His gruff expression wasn't helped by the sideburns and beard on his face, making him look scarier. He was barking at the other two to run faster.

The two children running laps were both about his age. The boy wore red sunglasses, which Peter suspected had something to do with his mutation, while the girl wore a hairband, holding her long red hair high in the air. Both their clothes were stained in sweat as the effort of exercising was obvious to everyone.

Charles cleared his throat, drawing their attention. Both kids stopped their run and turned to the entrance of the room, showing the two entrants. The girl squeaked and almost fell over in surprise, while the rising eyebrows was the only sign of the boy noticing who stood there.

"Logan, Scott, Jean," Charles introduced, pointing at each one as he called their name, "this is Peter. You might have heard of him before."

"Yeah, just maybe," Logan quipped sarcastically.

"SPIDER-MAN!" Jean shouted, recovering from her shock. "Oh my god, it's you!" She rapidly shook the shoulder of her best friend, not that he was doing better. Scott vibrated in excitement alongside her, astonished at seeing the greatest superhero on the planet in person.

Peter chuckled at the display. "Please, it's just Peter," he replied, stepping forward and holding out his hand. Both teenagers excitedly shook his hand. "Are you enjoying yourselves here?"

"It's great!" Scott cheered. "Professor Xavier is so nice, and Logan can be a bit grumpy-"

A loud growl from behind cut him off, making him squeak in fear. Peter looked behind him to see the short man staring at him.

"So you're the kid that's been playin' hero, huh?" he asked gruffly.

"Logan!" Charles reprimanded, but Peter waved him off. He was used to talk like that; after all, many people paid attention to what Jameson said about him on the news.

"Who said anything about playing hero?" Peter asked with a raised eyebrow. "I'm just trying to help people."

"Sure, bub," Logan scoffed, before heading out of the room.

"Excuse Logan, Peter," Charles consoled. "He's a little bit brusque, but a good man underneath it all."

"It's alright, Charles," Peter sighed. There were still many people who thought that he didn't have a place in the hero business. They were used to more mature heroes like Captain America or Iron Man, or didn't like any heroes due to the mass casualties they leave behind. He had gotten used to that, and didn't let it discourage him from saving lives.

"The famous Spider-Man, himself," came a deep voice from behind him. They all whirled around to find a tall, dark skinned man, imperiously walking into the chamber. His face was utterly blank, showing no emotion at all, but his eyes showed a glimmer of intrigue if you looked hard enough.

"Peter, this is Eric," Charles introduced, inwardly sighing at the coming meeting. Eric was a prickly person at the best of times, and had an attitude that took a little time to get adjusted to. While he was caring to the children, often helping them out whenever they needed something, no one would call him the friendliest.

"Ah, the famous Eric," Peter realized, striding forward with his hand stretched out. Eric took it after a moment of studying him intensely. "Kathy was talking to me about you earlier."

"Yes, the irritating Ms Leung. She presumed to tell me that she knew better than I how to talk about my people," Eric grumbled darkly.

"Well, she is a PR expert," Peter commented, slightly put off by the tall man. "I suppose it would be her job to do that, right."

"She cannot imagine the struggles we have gone through, which will be dwarfed by the ones we will go through very soon," Eric replied tightly. "I was there, Mr Parker, when your people decided that humans with my skin color were second class to the ones with yours. Forgive me if I don't wish to see that happen again."

"That's what we're all trying to prevent, Eric," Peter agreed, nodding his head. "I agree, no one wants to see something like that happen again. That's why Kathy was here, that's why Jennifer has been coordinating with Charles. Because, while I can't imagine what you've gone through, and hope to god the next stage won't be so bad, they are experts at getting people to believe what they tell them. This way, you get to frame the narrative, Eric. You get to tell people who you are. Isn't that what you want? To be accepted and acknowledged as people, with equal rights to everyone else?"

"I'm afraid I don't share your faith in people, Mr Parker," Eric grimly stated.

"Give them a chance," Peter tried. "They'll surprise you."

Eric hummed, before slowly walking away. Charles sighed in relief.

"Well, that wasn't so bad!" he put in brightly.

"Expecting something else?" Peter viewed the professor out of the corner of his eyes.

"I must admit," Charles coughed, slightly embarrassed, "I thought there was a decent chance it might have broken down into a fight."

"I'm hurt, Charles," Peter put his hand on his chest in a mock offended way. "Did you really think I'm that barbaric?"

"Eric, has the tendency to bring out the worst in people," he admitted. "I do not wish to see one of my teachers get involved in a conflict with a superhero. That would be a death knell for my school before it even started."

"You would have won, anyway," Jean cut in from the back. The two swirled around to reveal the two teenagers they'd forgotten. "You're an actual superhero. Speaking of which, can we show you around?" Scott nodded rapidly from the side.

Peter chuckled before agreeing, prompting a squeal from both of them, before they grabbed his arms and dragged him away.

"Nice school you have here, Charles!" Peter called out behind him.

"Enjoy the tour, Peter!" Charles replied to the retreating teenager, laughing all the while.

"Hey, did you hear the news?!" Harriet asked excitedly as she came skipping to a stop next to Peter.

"I was very busy yesterday, so I probably didn't," replied Peter with a straight face. In truth, he was actually babysitting Morgan after Pepper asked him for help. She had an urgent meeting in Tokyo, something about a breach in security in the factory there. Pepper had to fly to the region headquarters immediately, so she asked Peter to take a day off from swinging around and stay with Morgan, Lila, and Nate. The four of them had spent the day watching movies and eating ice cream on the sofa, a rare break from their frenetic lives.

Lila had started attending school nearby, not too far from the tower. She was comfortably able to walk to and fro, but that didn't stop Pepper and Peter putting a guard detail on her. Unlike Peter, Lila couldn't protect herself from any danger, so they went all out with her security. Peter, especially, was terrified that any of his enemies, or people that the Avengers had put away during their tenure, would go out of their way to take revenge on the daughter of one of the original six. The fact that Lila was Clint Barton's daughter wasn't mentioned to anyone outside of the family and the Avengers, but they were understandably wary of the possibility of it happening. Her guards were specifically made up of former SHIELD agents, who were experts at blending in, so as to not cause too much obstruction in her life. Despite that, she still regularly complained about the breach in her privacy and life, resulting in Peter, more often than not, having to buy her ice cream to bribe her.

"We've got a guest lecturer today, for the entire biology department," Harriet told him, bouncing on her heels. Harley slunk in behind them, throwing his arm over Peter's shoulder to hold his weight up. Peter, more than used to his lethargic behaviour in the morning, didn't have any trouble holding up an extra person. Neither Harriet nor Peter reacted when Harley let out a groan, bemoaning the evil administrators who'd designed the class schedule under his breath. They all slowly shuffled forward towards their classes, artfully ignoring the staring students around them.

"Really?" Peter asked curiously. "And who is it?" ESU was known for being one of the greatest universities in the world, so the lecturers they had were all the top of their field.

"Curt Connors," Harriet replied with a smile.

"Wait," Harley frowned, trying to clear the sleep from his brain. "You mean, Dr Curtis Connors, pioneer in genetic engineering? I read his work on combining human and animal DNA to increase human attributes, it was inspired. He's here?"

"He is!" Harriet cheered. "And guess what, you're not invited, Buzz!"

"Hey!" Harley shouted, waking up fully to glare at the unrepentant girl. He'd gotten the nickname after one too many times of annoying Harriet in the morning, causing her to label him a buzzkill. "Why the hell am I not invited?! I attend the accelerated program too, you know!"

"Didn't you hear me earlier?" Harriet smugly asked him, basking in his annoyance. "It's only for the biology department. That means Peter, Sue, and I, and His Supreme Majesty's got an exception pass as well. Reed's gonna be looking at one too, so I guess that it's just you who won't be joining us. Too bad, so sad!"

"How'd Victor get an exception pass?" Harley asked, his expression rapidly settling on determined. Just because he was an engineer at heart didn't mean he didn't want to listen to such a renowned biologist.

"I guess he asked Max," Peter finally inserted himself back into the conversation. It never failed to amuse him, the interactions between his friends.

Harley snapped his fingers, pointing at Peter. "Smart," he realized, before seeing the cheery program coordinator making his way towards them. Max Modell was absorbed in some papers, but looked up to see them when Harley stepped in his way. His face lit up in a grin upon recognizing the three of them.

"Hey y'all!" he greeted.

"Hey, Dr Modell," Harley replied, before swiftly moving into what he wanted to talk about. "I heard that we've got a guest lecturer tod-"

"Peter!" came a loud shriek from behind them. Susan was racing towards them, her face lit up in excitement, which Peter bet he could guess the reason for. She pushed forward, grabbed him by the shoulders, and shook him hard. "Did you hear! Did you hear! Curt Connors is-"

"-g-giving a lect-ture to the biology d-department!" Peter got out as he was being rapidly shaken. "I know! I heard!"

Sue realized that she was in the middle of a crowded room, while Harriet, Harley, and Max all stared at her with amusement. She immediately went red, and took a hasty step back from Peter.

"Sorry," she whispered, embarrassed at her slip up.

"Don't worry about it," Peter calmed her down with an soft smile. "I'm excited too."

"As am I," came a stern voice from behind Sue, causing Harley and Harriet to close their eyes briefly to calm their feelings. Victor Von Doom sauntered forward, his arrogance radiating out of him. Peter's eyes immediately shuttered. While he endeavored to keep up a neutral, if not friendly, facade around the prince, he didn't think too highly about him either. He just kept his emotions more tightly buried than either of his friends.

"It would be an honor to listen to one of the most revolutionary minds in modern biology speak on his field of expertise," he purred, wrapping a careful arm around Susan's shoulders. Susan examined the arm gingerly for a moment, before letting it lie.

Peter smiled back at the prince politely. "Yes it would, Victor." The dark expressions of the two bodyguards behind him did little to ease his worries.

"Dr Modell!" came the cry from next to them. A lanky, messy haired boy with a thick pair of glasses ran up to them. He clutched a large stack of papers to him in a cumbersome way, and he stumbled awkwardly trying to keep hold of the stack. Just as he reached them, he tripped, and several papers fell out of his hands. Peter acted faster than ever, grabbing the papers that had fallen out, before smoothly coming up and steadying the boy as he caught his footing.

"Careful, Reed," Peter chided, handing the papers back to the clumsy boy.

"Thanks, Pete," Reed panted. "Sorry 'bout that."

"As uncouth as ever, Richards," Victor sniffed in disdain.

Susan elbowed Victor in the stomach. "Victor, be nice," she scolded, letting his arm fall off her shoulders. She turned to Reed to check whether he was okay after the close call, missing the hateful look that flashed over Victor's face before he smoothed it away. Peter, however, did not, and neither did Harley nor Harriet, further adding to their unease around the royal.

"Well," Max cut in before anything else could be said. "What was it that you needed, Harley, Reed?"

"I wanted an exception pass to attend the lecture," Harley burst out before Reed even opened his mouth, making the lanky genius scowl at the brown haired boy.

"So did I!" Reed quickly followed up.

Max just looked down at the piece of paper on top of his pages. "Well, by the looks of it, Harley, you have a Physics class right then, while Reed, you have a Calculus lecture." Max raised an eyebrow at the boys, sternly looking at them. Only Peter noticed the amused twinkle in his eyes.

"Oh, come on, Doc!" Harley whined, and in a strange turn of fate, Reed also agreed with him, staring at the professor pleadingly over the top of his glasses. "This is so much more interesting than some dreary old class on electromagnetism. Like, hello? I've been working with electromagnets from, like, ten! I don't need someone to teach me how they work!"

"Yeah, Professor!" Reed chimed in, not even realizing that he was arguing his rival's point. "I could do partial differentiation in my sleep!"

"Are you telling me that the university isn't challenging you enough, boys?" Max asked them. "Well, how 'bout this? During your Physics lesson, Harley, and your Calculus class, Reed, why don't you come on up to my office, and we'll see what we can do about speeding things up, huh?"

Both boys stared at him, betrayed. Their bewildered expressions were too much for Harriet and Sue, who burst out laughing at the looks. Peter quickly followed suit, and Max was the last to join them, his belly heaving from the loud guffaws he let loose.

"I'm joking, I'm joking," Max panted, as the last of his chuckles faded away. He swept up two pieces of paper from the pile in his hands, before handing one to Harley and the other to Reed. "There. Your exceptions."

"You-you already had them?" Harley asked disbelievingly.

"Then why'd you tell us about our classes?!" Reed looked up at the teacher.

"It was funny!" Max explained, laughing again as he walked away from the group. Both geniuses stared at his retreating back, before turning to each other and scowling.

"This is your fault!" They shouted at each other simultaneously. The girls, still shuddering from laughing so hard, slowly approached them and pulled them away from each other. Peter chuckled along, walking towards his classes along with a surly Victor.

As the day went by, excitement for the lecture set in among both Harriet and Harley, both of whom couldn't stop ranting about Dr Connor's various achievements. He was one of the most decorated biologists alive, after all, and it was a huge honor to be able to learn from him.

Eventually, the time came for the event. The entire biology department, students and staff, all gathered inside one of the larger lecture halls on campus. Clearly, everyone respected the hell out of the scientist, which was evident due to the anxious and excited expressions on everyone's faces.

Once everybody was seated, the Dean slowly walked up to the stage, and tapped the microphone to call the room's attention to the front.

"Good afternoon, everyone," Dr Strickland started. "It's great to see you all here. As I'm sure most of you know, today, we have a renowned scientist who's here to speak to us about the applications of genetic engineering in the real world. He's a brilliant man, who graduated summa cum laude from Johns Hopkins Medical School, before doing a dual doctorate in biology and biochemistry at Florida State. He's been an associate professor at his Alma Mater, before joining the Mayo Clinic, then moving on to Harvard Medical, and now he's an independent researcher. So please, join me in welcoming to the stage, Dr Curt Connors!"

The room erupted in applause as, from behind the stage curtains, and unassuming man walked forward. He was of average height, brown haired, and wore a thick pair of glasses. A lab coat adorned his torso, and he looked completely ordinary, save for one small detail. His right arm was missing, and a stump was clearly visible under his rolled up right sleeve. He walked forward to the podium, carrying a small remote, before clearing his throat and pressing the button. A screen behind him started displaying the slides he'd made earlier.

"Good afternoon," he started softly. "My name is Curt Connors, and yes, I am left handed." When the room chuckled at the slightly morbid joke, he started the lecture.

It was clear to Peter immediately that the man was really a genius. He knew what he was talking about, and explained his research in simple terms to the audience, all of whom were looking at him in awe. A glance around him showed that his friends were just as enthralled by the presentation as he was. He explained his idea on using animal DNA to supplement something in people's, generally an advanced healing factor.

"-and so, the most likely case would be to use something like reptile DNA to aid the human healing capability. For those of you who don't know, a lizard is able to regrow its tail within sixty days. Imagine, for a second, a case where a human being can regrow an arm or a leg in two months. Just imagine that!"

Curt Connors was clearly a man with vision. Peter could see the sparkle behind his eyes, showing the world he'd imagined.

Suddenly, a blinding sensation struck Peter. He knew it well, though, and his eyes widened. Faster than anyone's eyes could follow, he leaped out of his seat, straight up to the ceiling. In the middle of his jump, he grabbed a spear that was heading towards the scientist on stage. He landed on the ceiling, gripping the spear tightly. The entire room had gone silent at the display. Peter had always pointedly refused to demonstrate any of his abilities to the rest of the students. Even the scientist on stage had gone quiet, his eyes wide and pale at the sight.

Peter turned behind him, to see where the spear had come from. He noticed a hulking figure hidden in the shadows of the open door. Secretly pressing the panic button in his pants to call for Iron Man suits from the tower, he leaped off the ceiling to land behind the last row and stare at the figure in the shadows.

"Dr Strickland," Peter spoke without turning around. "I would evacuate the room if I were you."

"No," the man in the shadows growled, his thick Russian accent coming out in his words. "Curt Connors is my prey. Give him to me, and I will not harm anyone else."

"I can't do that, buddy," Peter shrugged at the muscular figure.

"Everyone out!" Strickland came out of his shock to shout to the rest of the room. Everyone else started running to the other exits, leaving the main one to Peter and the man.

The mystery man stalked forward. He was a tall man, maybe six and a half feet tall, and had the muscles to go with his frame. He looked like he could lift a car. His blond hair was cropped short, and he wore what looked like a lion's pelt on his upper body. It didn't cover much, and showed his muscles, as well as the variety of knives that he carried with him. His eyes were animalistic, and the strangest thing was that his pupils appeared to be slits, like a cat.

Peter observed out of the corner of his eyes, as Harley shepherded Connors out of the room, while the teachers were quietly getting the students away. They all looked up at him to watch the confrontation. He cursed to himself at the realization that he left his suit at the tower, because he wanted to recharge it. FRIDAY was currently updating the settings to it, so he left in her tender care. That meant that he had to do this hand to hand.

"Last chance, Spider," the man growled. "Out of my way. Otherwise, I kill you too."

"Not happening, pal," Peter glibly replied, throwing the spear away before crouching to prepare himself. "Before we start though, can I get a name?"

"I am a hunter, boy. That is all you need to know," the man spat, quickly unsheathing one of his knives. He lunged for the superpowered teenager at full speed.

Peter noticed that the left side of the room was still being cleared, so he jumped high to avoid the slash, webbing both sides of the door, and kicking the man hard in the chest to send him flying out into the corridor. The hunter rolled before coming up in a crouch, his knife held in an icepick grip. Growling animalistically, he launched at the teenager, slashing at his face.

Peter ducked under his slash, before blocking one that came the opposite way. For a split second, he noticed the blade pointed right at his eyes, before he twirled around the man, who threw the knife at Peter. Peter caught it, throwing it away just in time to avoid another couple of slashes from a new knife. Blocking a downward slash with his forearm, he punched the man using his left hand. The man twisted away, kicking both legs out to put some distance between them. Peter, unwilling to give him room to breath, jumped to the ceiling before redirecting back down with a strong cross that sent the man crashing to the ground.

Webbing a desk from a nearby classroom, he yanked it towards the hunter, who simply punched it with his bare hands, shattering it. Peter's eyes widened slightly. The man was clearly enhanced, as he'd just broken a metal table like it was piece of cardboard. Grabbing one of the broken halves, the man threw it at Peter, who ran forward and slid underneath the flying piece of metal. As he passed below it, he webbed it, pulling it back to himself when he ran forward and turned just in time to use the desk to stop a knife coming at him.

The man tried to stab him twice more, both of which Peter blocked with the table. Peter webbed a fire extinguisher beside them on the wall, pulling it towards his assailant. It succeeded in knocking him off course, and the man roared loudly in frustration. He pulled another knife from his belt, and held one in each arm. In response, Peter held the table in front of him, before breaking it in two. He attached both pieces to his forearms, using his powers to get them to stick and act like reinforced gauntlets.

The two men just stared at each other for a minute, before, on an unspoken signal, they rushed at each other. The hunter brought both knives down in overhead slashes, which Peter blocked with his left arm. His right arm pushed out and nailed the man in the gut. Recoiling, the man tried for a sideways slash that was similarly blocked, except this time, the knife stayed embedded in the wood and metal. Another punch hit the man in the face.

Peter was completely acting on instinct. While he definitely had combat training from the former SHIELD agents at Stark Industries under Tony's guidance, and afterwards with Yelena, he wasn't good enough to tangle with this guy, who clearly knew what he was doing. This was entirely his sixth sense that was acting.

The man's leg suddenly snapped out and knocked the wind out of Peter. He was sent sprawling on the ground. The man roared again victory, bring down his remaining knife on Peter's head. Peter quickly moved his head, and the knife landed to the left of his head. Again, he moved his head when the man tried, and the knife sunk into the floor inches to the right of his head. Growling in frustration, the man climbed on top of Peter and brought his knife straight down. Both of Peter's arms snapped up to hold the knife away from his face.

They were at am impasse for a few seconds, the man pushing down, and Peter resisting. Suddenly, Peter changed the direction of his force, bringing the knife down on his left again. In an immense act of strength, he pushed himself into the air, flipping both him and his opponent over. He immediately webs both of the hunter's hands to the floor, before punching him squarely in the face.

Just then, a metallic suit of armor bursts through the nearest window, shooting metallic cuffs from the suit's hands that break Peter's webs, and pull the man's arms and legs together. The man screams out in disbelief of his own defeat, squirming and moving around as if to pull the cuffs apart, but to no avail. Tony had built those cuffs to hold even the Hulk. Though it would have probably failed against the jolly green giant, it was still effective against the hunter.

Peter panted heavily, slowly getting off the man. He patted the suit's arm in thanks. "Right on time, FRI," he breathed out.

"I'm sorry it took so long," FRIDAY replied solemnly. It was a two minute flight from the tower, but one of the suit up processes was delayed by a few seconds.

"Don't worry about it," Peter waved off, only to be sent back to the floor by the impact of a body against his. Frizzy brown hair splayed out in front of his face as he held a sobbing Harriet, closely followed by a tense Sue. Reed and Harley both approached too, looking as pale as ghosts.

"What the hell was that?!" Harley barked.

"I don't know," Peter sighed. "But I'm willing to bet that someone does," he finished, pointedly staring at the one armed scientist standing with the rest of the students.

"So, just to clear this up, you have no idea what's going on?" Bobbi Morse asked the trembling scientist flatly.

"No!" Curt cried out, shaking in delayed shock even now, minutes after the attack had taken place. "I don't know who that was, or why that madman chose to attack me!"

Barbara Morse was one of Victoria Hand's best agents, and was immediately sent to the ESU campus upon learning that an enhanced had attacked the place. Police had responded as well, and Yuri Watanabe was standing nearby, watching the questioning. Despite not showing it on their faces, they were both worried about this situation. One thing was going after Spider-Man, a known hero, for a grudge, but going after a scientist wasn't something that made sense. Besides, the world had seen the effect of crazed scientists and their experiments too often in the past. Ultron was a clear example that came to mind.

Slightly behind them, Peter watched on with a slight frown, his mind rapidly working to connect the dots. There was something going on here, something that he'd have to investigate. There were ambulances and police cars flashing their lights outside, as well as dark cars with tinted windows. The students were being evacuated out of the building, sent back to their dorms or answering questions for the various law enforcement agencies. Peter had assured his friends that he'd be with them soon, and remained behind inside the biology building to talk to the others.

"Alright," Bobbi sighed, "thanks for the help, Doc. Make sure to get some rest, alright?"

Both the SHIELD agent and the detective walked away, towards where Peter was located. He nodded towards them as they approached.

"Anything?" he asked, hoping that they might have picked up something he'd missed out on on.

Both of them shook their heads.

"Did you see or hear anything from the attacker, maybe something that leads to a motive?" Yuri asked.

"Well," Peter thought back, "like I told you, he was enhanced. He was stronger, faster and more agile than a normal person. His eyes also had slits."

"Like a snake?" asked Bobbi, puzzled.

"Like a cat," Peter corrected. "He was trained, better than me. I only held him off because of my powers. Did he give you anything before you guys took him for interrogation?"

"Not really," Bobbi sighed. "He just kept snarling and growling at everyone. Thank god for those Stark restraints. They were really the only thing holding him back from going through everyone."

"You're one of those science nerds, right?" Yuri asked Peter, who raised an eyebrow at her, but nodded anyway. "Can you tell us what the good doctor specializes in? Maybe there's some motive in his work?"

"Curt Connors is probably the world's greatest expert in cross species genetics," Peter explained. "His entire research is about mixing the genes of different animals to give them certain traits."

"What does that mean?" Bobbi frowned.

"Say you wanted to give a dog better eyesight, to help it hunt better. Dr Connors says that you can do that by isolating the sight gene in, say, a hawk, and artificially implant it in a dog's DNA, thereby giving the dog the ability to see the distance a hawk can."

"Interesting," Yuri pondered, "but why's it so controversial?"

Before Peter could answer, Bobbi cut in. "Because it doesn't just stop at animals, does it? It can also work with people."

Peter nodded. "Connors has been working to incorporate many different aspects of animals into human genes. Foremost among them is healing, for obvious reasons."

All three of them glanced at the doctor, who was tiredly clutching the stump of his right arm.

"Alright," Peter clapped his hands, "I'll do some research into Connor's work and try to work it from that end. Agent Morse, if you learn anything from the crazy animal guy, will you let me know?"

"Sure," Bobbi nodded. This case would definitely go much easier with the help of Spider-Man, and maybe even the Avengers if it got serious enough. "Detective Watanabe, you'll be here on the ground? I assume Spider-Man will cooperate with you if he has any leads."

All three of them shook hands, and parted ways. Peter made his way outside the building, where he saw his friends waiting for him just past the police cordon. Seeing him, they enthusiastically waved their arms, indicating that he should come to them. Shaking hands with some of the officers nearby and thankful students, he quickly walked towards them, ducking under the yellow rope line before being bombarded by hugs. Harriet clung to his neck, while Sue buried her head in his chest. Reed and Harley were a little more restrained, but even they pulled him into a back breaking embrace.

"Peter," Reed breathed. "That was so incredibly..."

"Terrifying," Sue declared.

"Cool!" Harriet immediately shot back, pinning Sue with a glare, who responded with an equally harsh one.

"Any idea who that guy was?" Harley asked, slightly calmer than the others as the only one who'd ever experienced life or death situations before.

"Not a clue," Peter shrugged. "Guess I know what my next case is. Hey, where's Victor?"

Harley's face quickly soured, an expression mirrored by all of them except Sue, who just gazed disappointedly at the floor.

"His Royal Douchebag ran off with his bodyguards as soon as we made it outside," Harriet snarled.

"Didn't even stay to check if you were alright," grumbled Harley.

"Anyway," Reed cleared his throat. "Back on topic. You're gonna be investigating this?"

Peter observed his excited face with a hint of wariness. "Yes?" he replied slowly.

"I'll help," Reed quickly declared.

"No," Peter shot him down.

"Oh, come on! I can-"

"Absolutely not, Reed," Peter cut him off. "This isn't research for a thesis paper. This is serious work. People can die from this, alright?"

"But we're all involved in this now!" Harriet cut in. "We can help! It's not like we're saying we'll join you when you're fighting bad guys, but come on, Pete! Sitting in Stark Tower and investigating over a computer? What's the harm?"

"You don't know some of the crazies out there," Peter put in firmly. "Being on a computer is enough for them."

"How would they possibly hack a Stark Industries computer?" Sue asked curiously.

"You too?" Peter groaned, before looking at Harley pleadingly. Harley just smirked at his friend, shrugging his shoulders and not saying anything to help him.

Peter took a deep breath, before looking back at everyone. "Not happening," he declared. "This is my work, I'm trained in this. I told you from the very beginning that I'm not gonna be mixing my job with college. That's exactly what this is. You're not getting involved. Period."

"Hey-"

"But-"

All of them tried to protest, but Peter determinedly strode forward, ignoring their complaints. He would not budge on this. They had no clue what kind of crazies he had to fight and catch. Sometimes, even trained police officers couldn't handle it. He knew the feeling of wanting to be part of the action, a sentiment that had gotten him in trouble more than a few times with Mr Stark, but this was different. They were looking for possibly a group of enhanced, something that was dangerous for anyone. Who knows, this might even have to involve the Avengers.

As he stalked towards the dorms, a familiar set of footsteps caught his attention. He turned around just in time to catch a brown haired missile barreling into him. Thin arms wrapped around him, and face buried itself into his shirt. He looked up to see a very flustered scientist hurrying towards them.

"Sorry!" Jane cried. "She got away from me!"

"It's alright, Jane," Peter pacified, wrapping a comforting arm around his pseudo younger sister's shoulders. He could feel Lila's rapid heartbeat, indicating both her stress and the exertion from running towards him. "You alright, gum-ball?"

"You were attacked!" Lila declared accusingly, resting her chin against his chest to stare up at him dolefully. "You told me you'd be safe at university!"

"Lila-" Peter sighs, but he's quickly cut off.

"It's one thing for you as a superhero to get hurt, but this isn't that!" Lila wailed. "This is your school! If they can get you here, where can't they?"

"Everything's fine, Lila," Peter soothed, kissing her forehead. "I'm fine, no one was hurt, isn't that what's important?"

"No!" Lila disagrees. "What's important is you coming home with me. You don't need to go to college anymore!"