Amazing Fantasy

by The Infamous Man

Izuku Midoriya was once Quirkless, but a twist of fate gave him great power. Power that he will use to become one of the world's greatest Heroes! But first thing's first: he needs to know how to use them responsibly. And he will with the help of his mentor... Peter Parker? Hang onto your hats True Believers, because this is the birth of the world's strangest Hero... Spider-Man!

24. Issue 23 - Bedeviled!

Earth 2018.616:

---

THE RED DIAMOND

Krakoa's number one news and gossip site

Sinister Secret #1

Little Ruby Summers has really grown in the past couple of years, but Honey can you be more desperate with that tacky outfit? I understand that you want to show off that boob job that you totally didn't get in Madripoor during your last mission but there are better ways of pissing off your dear old dad's ghost.

But at least she isn't like her older brother Nathan. Seriously overcompensating with those guns and pouches, sweetie.

Sinister Secret #2

Rina Logan is dating an Avenger! That's right, you're hearing it here first dear viewer! The test-tube baby of the original slice-and-dicer of the X-Men and Daredevil's old girlfriend has finally hooked up with someone! I'd rather not name names just yet, after all where's the fun in that, but he's rather on the big side.

I'll let you know if Logan's little girl is a wild thing in bed or if nothing can truly stop her beloved in the future!

Sinister Secret #3

For a country that boasts to having the most telepaths and precogs under their employ, Krakoa's still at a loss in the search for Manhattan's wall-crawler. Methinks that Ruby and the Quiet Council will have to eat crow and admit defeat to those pesky humans.

Oh how I wish I had a camera!

Sinister Secret #4

Another day, another Mutant goes missing in the human world. The X-Men don't have a clue, the Avengers are at a loss, and there's no Punisher to show us the Purifier bodies! What will the children say when their heroes cannot save the day!?

Won't someone please think of the children!?

---

Mr. Sinister, once known as Nathaniel Essex, chuckled as he took another sip of his wine glass. He loved the fact that Ruby let his little hobby of spreading harmless gossip slide so long as he did nothing to reveal his identity.

"After all, I'm supposed to be truly dead."

Oh, Scott and his little band of Mutants made a big show of his death. Televised and explained how the X-Men had tracked down and eliminated all his labs and clones. Emma had even gone in-depth to explain how he wouldn't be able to project his consciousness to anything like a hapless civilian, a robot, or an animal.

But in truth, the suitably named Quiet Council that had been slowly forming had other plans for him.

They left one clone alive, one that had the DNA of John Proudstar and had him get to work with perfecting his cloning process. They weren't interested in making true copies of their dead friends. Their pesky 'morals' got in the way of that, but they were interested in him helping to make designer babies. Sleek and new models that were the genetic children of two or more deceased X-Men.

For the Mutant race they had recruited the ever-dreaded and always fabulous Mr. Sinister.

No one besides the leaders of Krakoa knew he still lived in this bunker. He was their dirty little secret.

He had once asked Ruby during a monthly check-up if the name 'Project: Paperclip' meant anything to her.

She ripped his head off for that. It hadn't done anything besides inconvenience him for a bit, but it was worth it.

Sinister opened his e-mail and rolled his eyes at the first couple of lines. New messages telling him to edit his latest Sinister Secrets posts, some demanding to know when his proposed Children of the Atom project will be done, and a nice little message from Nathan telling him to die already.

"A little firecracker that one. He has both his father and that demonic clone's genes."

The ones below them were what grabbed his interest.

Advancements in Quirk and Mutant hybrids! OMG!

Sinister tapped his temple twice, having half of his brain focus on topics relevant to Krakoa's 'best interests' while the other half was able to think freely on much more important things.

The Quiet Council deemed it necessary to tell him that experimenting on others was forbidden. That he would be closely monitored and any deviation would result in true death.

They didn't say anything about playing around with his own body.

And that had been the beginning. All these little cracks in the carefully built system that the Summers Family had set up in this new country were where he thrived. They didn't expect the fact that he knew a thing or two about code, so it was child's play to hack the robots that he had to use to collect samples. With those he managed to slowly but surely build a lab away from the lab, where he made a new clone that would continue their glorious work.

She was a bit half-baked, a teenager with a teenager's temperament, but she was a Sinister through and through.

And she had brought to him Quentin Beck, who provided him with some… unique subjects.

A world where the Mutant gene was a bit more… varied. Weaker, perhaps, but with more unknowns and an actual physical marker in the body! Their 'awakenings' happened earlier and there were consistent generational powers that only grew in strength depending on the parents.

"I would've picked a better name than Quirk… but beggars can't be choosers."

In exchange for more access to these wonderful subjects, his clone gave Quentin both mutants for his otherworldly associates and experimental cancer-treatment procedures that would extend his miserable life.

A fair trade all things considered.

So far, Sinister's clone had trouble stabilizing a hybrid of these two similar but different species. It seemed that the 'Quirk' gene kept rejecting the X-gene that mutated with every generation. But now it seemed the clone had actually discovered a way to make a creature that would reap the benefits of both. A new power every generation while keeping the baseline ability along with the mother's mutant or Quirk power.

"I just have to have first dibs on that perfect little being… perhaps 'Miss Sinister' will be willing to donate an egg for research…"

But when he was contemplating names for this new subspecies, and ruling out Homo Perfectus while cursing the U-Men for taking the perfect choice, he got another email from his clone.

Check this out! This'll piss Beck off! XP

Sinister opened the email and saw that it was a live feed from Roxx News. He didn't put on the sound since the braying of moronic sheep didn't interest him in the slightest, but he did see the small picture of two enhanced beings fighting.

One was a Hobgoblin in a horrendously tacky outfit. "Why on Earth did he get rid of the cape? It was a fabulous addition to that gaudy costume! And black armor!? My god, supervillains have no sense of fashion these days!"

The other, however… aside from that beaten up motorcycle jacket she wore a costume that was exactly like…

Slowly, a smile spread across Sinister's face.

"Oh, this is going to be lovely." He took another sip of his wine that seemed to taste all the sweeter with the news.

He would tell his clone to inform Beck of this new development if she hadn't done so already.

For now... he would watch and remember the past.

"I wonder what you would've thought about this development, Sergei."

---

"YES! I actually got to say my name!" Mayday looked over her shoulder to the spinning form of the supervillain that she had just kicked. "Man, he's still upright? I held back and stuff but that should've floored him!"

It had been a trip to get all the way above the Hobgoblin with her webs. She had never swung so high in Queens and she had to circle around the block in order to get the needed momentum, but it was the only way she could get the drop on the Hobgoblin in a way that looked pretty badass.

"Come on Mayday, don't lose focus! This is still a supervillain and the people below are in trouble." Twisting her body while letting go of her web, she shot another line and began swinging towards the newer, meaner, Hobgoblin. "You can congratulate yourself while watching the YouTube videos later! Right now it's time to kick butt!"

"You…!" Hobgoblin righted himself, the glider ceasing its spinning as he looked towards Mayday. The eyes didn't emote anything with its metal brows and red glass eyes, but she could tell that the guy was glaring at her. "Who the hell are you!?"

"Sheesh! Did that hood clog your ears?" It was probably the wind. She needed to shout so that the guy could hear her. "I'm Spider-Girl, buddy! Accept no substitutes!"

Hobgoblin growled as he reached into his right pouch. "So… Kingsley's now using kids!?" He took out an orange metal orb with a red glass button on the top. "This is an adult party, kid!" He pressed the button and it began to flash on and off. "Stay out of it!"

He chucked the orb at her and Mayday's Spider-Sense only gave a low hum. "His aim's way off!" Letting go of the line she allowed gravity to bring her down and away from the path of the bomb. Turning her body, she used her right hand to hit the bomb with a wad of webbing.

She expected it to just explode when it was hit. Like in those movies where missiles blew up when they hit flares.

Instead it changed direction and stuck on top of a building.

"You idiot!" Hobgoblin screamed just what she was thinking right before the bomb exploded. Windows shattered and pieces of debris began jutted out before beginning their descent.

"Crapcrapcrapcrap!" She fired web after web, catching the falling debris and sticking them back onto their original building. "There's too much! I'll never be able to catch them all!" She needed to change tactics and fast. Glancing down at the street below she saw that most of the people had cleared the way except for an old glasses-wearing guy with grey hair and a full facial beard. "Okay, time to see if I can outrace gravity"

Shooting a line of webbing to the street below, Mayday pulled with all her strength to launch herself like a rocket down at the man. "GO LIMP!" She shouted, but mentally cursed herself. Right, go limp at the command of a screaming fourteen-year-old while bombs were going off overhead. But it was the only advice she could give as she made contact with the man. She knew enough about whiplash that fighting against the momentum suddenly was a bad idea. With her left arm tucked under the old guy's knees while her right hand reached up to keep his head upright, she twisted her body so that her back made contact with the ground.

"Hope that Dad's jacket is made of sturdy stuff."

She let the asphalt grind against the leather for a few seconds until she was sure that they had slowed a bit. With an aching back, she planted her feet on the ground and launched both of them into the air in a backflip. When Mayday landed on the ground she looked at the old guy who seemed to be blinking in mute shock. "H-Hey! Hope you enjoyed your one and hopefully only trip on Spider-Uber!"

Gently setting him down while the debris smashed harmlessly on the ground ahead of them, the old man shakily pushed up his now empty nose, the glasses probably lost during the chaos. "T-Thank you?"

"Sorry for the rough treatment! Your ride is on the house. No need to tip me!" God, she was babbling again. How did her dad quip in the middle of all this insanity? "A-Anyway, you should probably go see an ambulance just in case. Again, I'm really sorry!"

"N-No worries…" He then pointed up to the sky. "Shouldn't you be handling that?"

Mayday looked up and cursed when she saw that Hobgoblin was now gliding towards the balcony he shot two of his bombs to. Was he trying to finish off Daniel Kingsley? "Right!" She began running and aimed her right hand at the fifteenth story of a skyscraper. "Sorry, I'm just starting out!"

Crap! Did she just advertise that!?

"Yeah! We noticed!" Someone from the crowd shouted after her as Mayday began her ascent. Within seconds she was reaching Hobgoblin's height.

"I need to end this fast before anyone else gets hurt!" After wetting her lips under the mask she shouted, "Hey, chuckles! We're not done!"

The Hobgoblin glanced over her shoulder at her. "Kid, I'm not playing here! This is a discussion between adults and the last thing I need is to babysit inexperienced little…"

"Well, an adult should have better manners!" Aiming her right hand at the glider's left wing she launched a line at it. In the split second it made contact she grabbed the end of the line. "For example, when a lady takes a fall she expects a guy to catch her!" She pulled hard on the web. "Let me show you how it's done!"

Hobgoblin let out a shout of surprise as his glider was pulled out from under him. She let go of the line as the machine spun out of control in the air and let go of the web to change direction. She swung towards the falling Hobgoblin, her left hand outstretched to catch him during her ascent.

"He'll be too freaked out to do anything. I can just throw him at a building and stick him to the side with my webs!" She could see it now. She would pose for some pictures that the people below will shoot, news copters will come in to take video, and some reporters might be on board to ask her questions! Hell, Nova might finally show up to offer her membership to the Champions! "Not bad for a second supervillain battle!"

She didn't expect what happened next.

Something burst out of Hobgoblin's back. Two massive bat-like wings that glinted as if they were made of metal, their outlines black while the 'membrane' was colored orange. They flapped to stabilize Hobgoblin, who was shaking his head before focusing on her.

"Fine! Looks like the rookie needs another lesson!" He reached back as his wings began to flap more so that he would ascend and Mayday's Spider-Sense began to go off.

"Another bomb?"

What he brought out was a massive sword that was soon engulfed in flames. She wasn't near enough to feel the heat, but they would probably leave a massive burn if they so much as grazed her!

"Uncle Hobby's first rule about fighting supervillains…" In the blink of an eye, Hobgoblin shot over her and swung his sword. Her eyes widened when she felt her web-line tug for a split-second before she couldn't feel any resistance. "...Never underestimate your opponent!"

Mayday let out a small scream as she began to fall, her limbs flailing about while her mind tried to register what was happening. "Calm down! Calm down! Just shoot another web and you'll be fine!" Her Spider-Sense was blaring out like a fog horn in her brain as she took aim at a building across the street.

She realized why when only greyish goop sputtered out of the nozzle.

Her dad's old web-shooters crapped out on her!

"OH COME ON!"

As she began to fall to the cold, hard, and unforgiving pavement Mayday's mind raced towards all the stuff she could've done in hindsight.

Number one was never leaving Brad's side to go and fight the crazy supervillain that ruined their sorta-kinda date.

---

Mayday flicked her bangs out of her face as she stared at her reflection on a store window. She was pretty, or at least she hoped so. Not too much makeup but enough that people wouldn't think she was one of those girls who didn't care about their looks. She traded in her usual graphic t-shirts for a plain long-sleeve white t-shirt, blue jeans, and yellow Converse. Sure, she had her old red backpack but she needed her costume close and plenty of other people had their bags. "God, I can't believe this is actually happening…"

For the first time in ever, she and Brad were actually going to go on a date! Well, that wasn't exactly true. Davida was just going to lure Moose away so that she and Brad could be alone for a bit. But it was close enough to a date!

She hadn't asked Mom for any advice. The last thing she needed to hear was her and Dad's love stories, and what advice her mom did give would probably be decades out-of-date. "Plus, it's just too embarrassing… I don't want to come off too desperate."

The streets were bustling with activity. The Ned Talk brought in crowds with everyone excited to see the newest superheroes out there. The big-name Avengers and Champions never showed up, but heroes like Queen Cat had their own legion of fans who were anxious to see who the newest star would be.

"Too bad I can't join." The Kingsley Corporation and the Avengers-affiliated groups never seemed to get along. Oh sure, the Hobgoblin was a reserve member of the Avengers but Captain America always distanced himself from what Roderick was doing when he was alive. Some like Ms. Marvel had said that being a hero meant more than paying a monthly fee and attending classes, a not-so-subtle jab at the program that started the Hob-Heroes. "And if I want in on the Avengers who are investigating Dad's disappearance, I need to play ball."

But the process was excruciatingly slow. There were no reports about how she beat the Demons and Mr. Nobody last night, just a blurb on the Daily Bugle about how an unknown vigilante disrupted a police stake-out.

"No description or anything! I know the cops probably want to keep things quiet until they nail Nobody again, but this is ridiculous!"

She needed something big to fight against! A crime to stop where there were tons of on-lookers with their phones so they could take pictures and stream the entire fight!

But what were the chances of that happening in a street fair where there were tons of superheroes on location?

"May!" Mayday turned around to see Davida walking to her with a guy flanked on both sides. One was a sx feet tall, a bit on the chubby side, blonde, and had a buzz-cut. His expression was… dopey. Not completely out-of-there but the familiar look of someone who was passively taking in things. He wore a Giants jersey, green shorts, and brown boots that seemed to shake the ground with every step he took.

Anyone who saw him and attended Midtown High would instantly recognize Maurice "Moose" Mansfield.

Just as they would recognize Brad Miller with his silky smooth blond hair that was combed to the right, strikingly blue eyes, abs that his tight green t-shirt barely hid, and the designer jeans he always seemed to get a new pair of every week.

"Okay, Mayday. Be cool and don't drool!" She grinned while waving at them. "Hey guys! How's it going?"

"Great now that you're here!" Brad grinned at her, and Mayday's heart almost skipped a beat. "You won't believe how long we've been combing through this crowd!"

"Aw, it wasn't so bad." Davida rapped her fist on Moose's arm. "Not when this guy is parting them with every step!"

Moose's cheeks flushed and he scratched his cheek. "Aw, come on. It wasn't like that. They were just bein' polite!" He nodded at Mayday. "Great to see you, Parker. Especially since you don't have Yama huggin' your arm."

That comment stung Mayday a bit. Her jock friends didn't make it a secret that they couldn't get why she hung around Courtney and Jimmy, and seemed to love to badmouth them whenever they weren't around.

Plus there was the fact she heard rumors that Moose was picking on Jimmy…

"Moose, lay off." Brad admonished with a frown. "Jimmy Yama's like half your size and he's not even here. Forget the guy already."

If there was another thing she liked about Brad, is that the guy at least reeled Moose in.

"Well said, Brad." Davida pointed back at the stalls and milling crowd. "So how about we go and have some fun instead of talking about the brainy crowd?"

There was plenty to see and do at the stalls that were run by the Kingsley Corporation. Sure, the almost obscene amount of Hobgoblin and Hob-Hero merchandise was a bit off-putting but there was stuff like a Goblin Glider simulation and a shooting gallery where people put on replicas of the Hobgoblin's gloves.

Moose missed every shot, but Brad hit enough that he won a stuffed Hobgoblin Bear.

"I'm not someone who likes this kinda stuff." Brad tossed it to her, and Mayday caught the bear instantly. "You take it, Mayday."

"T-Thanks, Brad…" She glanced nervously at Davida who winked at her.

"Hey, big guy!" Davida snaked her arms around Moose's left arm and led him away. "How about you accompany a girl to the movies?"

"Huh?"

"There's a documentary about Roderick Kingsley that I wanna check out."

"Want us to come?" Brad asked Davida, who shook her head.

"Nah, it's cool. Besides, Moose needs to get a bit of culture in him." Davida led the big guy away who looked over his shoulder with a look pleading for help.

"Sorry Moose… and thank you, Davida! I owe you a burger and shake!" She glanced nervously at Brad. "S-So… where do you wanna go?"

He grinned at her. "How about you lead the way?"

She smiled at Brad as they walked from stand to stand, but inside she was nervous as hell. What the hell should they talk about? Was talking about their teams just more of the same, since that was what they talked about anyways when they were in a group? It wasn't like she could mention how she was now moonlighting as a superhero. "I gotta say something!" Swallowing her fear she said, "Um… so, what's it like to be captain of the team?"

Damn it!

"Oh, y'know it's not that difficult." He shrugged his shoulders. "Just gotta tell the guys what to do, help clean up after practice, and talk with the coach about how the guys are doing. To be honest I'm sorta glad. Was kinda afraid that it would be a lot more work."

"Well that's good." God, were they really talking about this? This was just as bad as talking about the weather! She needed to change tactics. "Are you having fun here?"

"Yeah, it is pretty nice." He nodded up at the giant blow-up Hobgoblin. "I mean, that guy really knew what he was doing. Giving regular people a chance to become real superheroes rather than just letting mutants have a shot."

"Would it… y'know, be really bad if mutants got into the program?"

Brad scowled. "Please. Mutants get all the luck. They're born with powers and when they're unlocked they're whisked away either to that freaky cult island or that Neverland Ranch in Westchester where they get free education." He raised his hand up. "Not that I hate them or anything! It's just that they've got more opportunities because they hit the genetic lottery."

Mayday bit her lip and looked away. This was something that she didn't get: the stigma against mutants. None of them asked to be born with powers, yet somehow they committed a crime just for existing in people's eyes. Sure, Krakoa's weird from what she heard about it but was it so bad that they were trying to make their own home? "Yeah… but some of them don't want to go to Krakoa."

"Maybe so, but Kingsley got the right idea for recruiting regular folks as superheroes. Gotta show that anyone can become a hero." Brad chuckled. "Man, you and your nerdy crap is starting to rub off on me!"

"It's not that bad of a series, Brad." Mayday's cheeks burned. "If you read a volume you would understand!"

"Mayday, I like you and think you're cool but I put away picture books in the sixth grade."

"Just play it cool, Mayday. He's just teasing you…" Wasn't this what teasing was like? Playful, kinda hurtful but not completely mean? She should be laughing with Brad because it was a joke. That's all it is.

So why did it sting so much?

"Yeah, well I haven't seen you pick up a book since the fifth grade!" She forced herself to laugh. "But forget all that! Come on, lets have some fun! I heard that Post Malone is playing at…"

That's when her Spider-Sense began to buzz.

"The hell…?" She muttered while holding to the side of her head. There was danger here of all places?

"Mayday?" Brad was by her side and had his hand on her back. "What's wrong?"

"B-Brad, I…"

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Mayday lifted her head and squinted her eyes. Was that the Hobgoblin? It looked like him… but more in a vague sense. It was as if a member of the Power Rangers decided to cosplay as the Hobgoblin. "TRICK OR TREAT, NEW YORK!"

"Huh. Is this part of the show?" Brad asked while scratching his head. Everyone was cheering, believing this was part of the show. But if it was, why was her Spider-Sense going off?

"Of course, I'm bringing…" The Hobgoblin then threw something at a balcony down the block. "THE TRICKS!"

The balcony erupted in green smoke and those cheers transformed into screams of terror. Everyone was running away and past both Mayday and Brad. They just stood and watched with wide eyes.

"Supervillain… this is a real supervillain attack and it's happening right in front of me!"

"W-We need to go!" Brad shouted as he turned on his heel. "Come on, Mayday!"

"But what about Davida and Moose!?"

"They'll be fine! We need to move before we get caught up in all this!"

"JERK!" But he was probably scared out of his mind right now. Fear was overtaking any compulsion to do the heroic thing. She scanned the crowd and breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted Davida next to Moose and running away from the scene. With her friends safe she pretended to run after Brad, but slowed down and let dozens of people move past and in front of her. Then, when she was sure that Brad couldn't see her anymore, she made a bee-line for an alleyway.

It was time for Spider-Girl to make her grand entrance!

---

Changing had been a nightmare. She didn't know how Dad managed to slip into a spandex onesie in a dark alley anyone can walk into with his butt hanging out without dying of embarrassment. When she found him, she was going to ask for tips. Not helping her anxiety was her phone going off with Ganke's caller ID flashing on the screen and she could only imagine he was somewhere in this mess.

She dumped her bag and clothes on a roof and came swinging in, mind racing with catchphrases until she managed to land a solid blow on the Hobgoblin.

"Which leads into my current predicament…"

Her mind raced while everything around her slowed down a bit. She could see the Hobgoblin reaching out at her with his right hand and smoke coming out of his glove. Was it a long-range attack so he could finish her off while she was in free fall? "Come on girl, think!" Okay, so her right web-shooter was kaput. So that meant that she needed to rely on her left one. "Hope that it's got enough fluid in it!" She aimed her left hand up and fired a line at the corner of a building to her left and grabbed it with both of her hands.

As the line went taught she pulled up with all her might, ignoring the pain in her arms as they fought against the inertia. She shot up like a rocket, barely managing to avoid five armored claw tips coming at her. "Hey! It's not polite to point!"

"Are you crazy!? You could've gotten yourself killed!" Hobgoblin screamed at her as his wings flapped to the right, avoiding her punch with a meter to spare. "Just go away already! You're outclassed here, kid!"

"You know, I'm really getting sick of you saying that!" She used her left hand to shoot web after web, changing her arms with each swing so that neither got tired. Letting go, she kicked out with her right foot at Hobgoblin's chest. "Kid this and amateur that! Well, guess who's going to feel stupid when this so-called ki-WHOA!"

Mayday brought her leg up higher and curled her lower body up to avoid the supervillain's flaming sword. Her Spider-Sense was buzzing like crazy. "If that connected he would've chopped by leg off!" Aiming with her left hand, her webbing made contact with a flag pole and she pulled herself away from the Hobgoblin. "Okay, Mayday. You need to keep the pressure on. Gotta strike harder and faster, before that guy can swing that stupid sword!"

Not letting go of the web, she spun twice on around the pole before dismounting at the top. Pulling her legs to her chest, Mayday allowed herself to rise up in the air. "Don't let him know what you are doing…" Peeking out of the corner of her eye, she saw that the Hobgoblin was just flapping his wings in place while staring at her. His glider was just floating there, not moving an inch and awaiting for its rider to mount on it. "NOW!" The web made contact with the Hobgoblin's chest and she pulled. The supervillain let out a cry of surprise as he found himself lurching towards her.

"That's not going to work!" He cried before the mechanical wings began to beat against the air, halting his movement.

But leaving him directly in her swing path!

"Yeah! Thanks for the heads up, Hobby!" Mayday's foot made contact with the Villain's face and she watched in satisfaction as one of the lenses cracked. He began to spin, the wings spazzing out as he tried to right himself while she began circling back. "Gotta keep up the pressure!"

This guy wasn't used to his gear. If he was, then he would've brought himself up before her foot made contact. "That evens up the playing field, jerk!"

"Damn it!" Hobgoblin pressed something on his left arm. "Why won't you quit!?"

"Well, maybe because I hate having supervillains cut into my downtime is!" She kicked Hobgoblin in the side, the supervillain being forced back by a couple of meters while his wings tried to keep him level. "I was on a date!"

"Oh, well I'm just so sorry about that…"

Mayday's Spider-Sense spiked up and pulled her attention to the right. The glider was now facing her, two slots on the sides now standing up to reveal circular holes.

"How about these party favors as an apology!?"

Two orange orbs came out with the tops flashing red. She let go of the web and twisted her body to avoid them, but they soon exploded. She cried when the force and heat hit her back, making her fly towards Hobgoblin who had his left non-sword wielding arm out.

"CRAP!" She began drawing her head back and that was probably what helped her not snap her neck when Hobgoblin successfully clotheslined her. Her ears were ringing and her face stung, but she was alive. Reaching behind her, she fired a web at the Hobgoblin only for the glider to get in her way. "Is he controlling that thing remotely?"

Mayday let go as the glider fired two more bombs her way, using another web to zip her to safety as they detonated in the air where she was just occupying. Hobgoblin continued to cackle as bomb after bomb came for her as she continued to swing, ducking and weaving whenever they got too close for comfort. "I can't keep this up! I'm not going to get anywhere close to that jerk with his glider guarding him!"

Which meant that she needed to get rid of the glider.

"I can use a webline to mess up a wing, but Hobby might cut it with his sword before I can do real damage." As another bomb went off behind her an idea formed. "Okay, yeah! That'll work!"

Letting go of her swinging line she turned towards the glider while spinning in a pirouette. She watched the slots begin to fill with the orange orbs that were their payload. "Now!"

Just as the glider released the bombs, she fired two web-lines at the bombs. As expected, they didn't detonate and she began to drag them with her spin. "Hey, Chuckles! You shouldn't throw your toys around…" When she made a full circle with the bombs to her right she released them, making the projectiles sail back to the glider. "...because you might get yourself hurt!"

"Damn!" Hobgoblin drew back as the bombs' lights flashed with more intensity.

Two plumes of green and red fire came from the bombs, shredding the glider's right wing inseconds. "YES! I did it! I…!"

That's when things went wrong.

The wrecked glider spun into a death spiral. The turbine spat fire everywhere, red lights flashing like the bombs she'd used to destroy it. Mayday's eyes widened in horror as it fell to the stage below. There were still people below, civilians and a few cops trying to get them away. Screaming! Everyone was screaming! "NO!" She shouted while aiming her right hand at the falling glider.

But the all that came out were sputters of grey liquid.

"No, No! This can't be happening! It can't be…!"

But as the glider crashed into the stage and exploded, sending chunks of wood and metal hurtling through the air, Mayday was forced to confront reality.

A reality she created.

"NO!"

---

"This is insane!" While most people had the good sense to get inside or clear the street, there were dozens of people just standing where they were watching the fight between Hobgoblin and the new superhero. Some were talking out their phones, snapping pictures or recording, or just making asinine comments to each other.

"Damn, she's really new to this."

"I've seen Spider-Woman, all of them, and Silk fight and they would've wrapped this up by now!"

"What's with the jacket? Kinda unnecessary for the costume…"

"What, would you prefer if she wore belts of pouches?"

"God, no!"

"That costume's way too tight on her…"

"I don't mind!"

"Dude, she's probably a teenager. Don't be creepy."

"Miles? You okay, man?"

Miles looked at Ganke who was shaking a bit. Despite being a superhero enthusiast, he'd never glimpsed at a real superhero fight up close before. They only ever saw videos or stumbled upon the aftermath with those Damage Control guys making the superheroes sign some forms.

"Are these guys crazy?" Miles asked him rhetorically while motioning at the people. The cops and guards were also trying to push them away while issuing orders into their handheld transceivers. "They'll be killed if they just hang around like this! If a bomb is thrown their way they are dead! And… and…"

"I've always heard that Midtown guys were desensitized, but this is taking it to a whole new level." Ganke breathed out while looking up. "At least Mayday seems to have that guy on the ropes."

"On the ropes!? She almost became sidewalk pizza!" Miles almost had a heart attack when Mayday came tumbling down, a web not firing from her right hand when it should've. He wanted to just jump up and catch her but what would've been his landing plan? That fear was what kept him rooted to the ground.

"She got back up, didn't she?"

"That's not the…" His eyes then drifted back to the stage. Post Malone, his crew, and most of the various concertogers had abandoned it. However, there were still a few kids hanging around the place with one actually sitting on it pointing to the aerial battle.

There was also one cop trying to guide them away.

"Dad!"

His dad's face was grim. He was shouting something at the kids, but Miles was too far away for him to hear. "Probably lecturing them about hanging around."

But that was his dad. A lecturer… and a cop who took his duty seriously.

Miles heard the sound of a car exhaust sputtering from above, different enough from the various deafening explosions ringing in his ears to make him look up. The glider was now tumbling out of the air, little fires erupting from its main body as it dove towards the stage.

Before Miles knew what he was doing, he was already running towards the stage… and his dad.

"EVERYONE GET CLEAR!" Dad's thunderous voice rang through the street, and the kids giving him so much shit began to run for it. But the one on the stage had tripped, his arm outstretched as he fell to the ground. Something must've went wrong because he was rolling on his side clutching his arm.

Ganke was shouting something from behind him, but Miles couldn't hear him. Everything seemed to slow down and the noise entering his ears were being filtered through cotton. "No…" Dad was turning to the fallen kid and rushed towards him. There was no hesitation, no second wasted on thinking the act through. "No, don't do this. This can't…" Dad's powerful arms arms wrapped around the kid as he dragged the young boy off the stage and brought both of them to the ground. "No, Dad! Run! Run while you…!"

The glider made contact with the stage and for a moment Miles' vision was filled with white light. Something slammed against his body, throwing him back against the ground before everything went dark.

"...iles! Miles, wake up!"

He groaned as his eyes opened to see Ganke over him. The stinging pain in his right cheek clued him in that his friend had been trying to slap him awake. Ganke was already drawing back his hand for another go, but Miles shot out his right hand to catch it.

"Stop that…"

"Oh, thank God!" Relief poured out of Ganke as he pulled Miles to his feet. "You were out for a couple of seconds! I was worried that…"

"Oh my God…" Miles whispered to himself as he surveyed the damage. The stage was now a flaming wreck. Metal beams, wood, plaster, and chunks of the road and sidewalk were scattered around. Windows were blown out from the heat and the force of the explosion, with several people clutching their ears and crying in pain.

"Wait… where's Dad?"

He ran towards the wreck on almost numb legs. "Dude, where are you going!?" Ganke called after him.

"My dad's still in there!" Miles shouted back as his eyes searched frantically through the wreckage. Part of him hoped that his father wasn't there. That he was chewing out the kid he saved with some fellow officers and getting treated for minor burns by an ambulance.

But it didn't take long for him to spot his dad.

He was underneath the metal scaffolding that held up the stage lighting. The wooden bits of the stage had turned into shrapnel were embedded into his back and his jacket was soaked in his blood. The kid he put under him was still unconscious.

"DAD!" Miles was right by his father's side. "Oh God…!" His dad was so still, he wasn't moving! "He might be crushed…" He needed to get this metal piece of crap off of him! He needed to get help, to get his dad help from…

"I'm here… and I've got super-strength." Miles kneeled down and put his hands underneath the metal. He heard his skin sizzle against the hot iron, but fear and adrenaline had already numbed the pain. "Come on, make it work! I've got to get him out from under this thing…!"

It was almost frighteningly easy. The scaffolding crumpled in his grip, the nuts and bolts pinning it to the floor popping as he ripped the flaming wreckage out of the ground. A half-ton of twisted metal might as well have been a paperweight in his hands. "Dad! Dad! Come on, please move!" He looked down at his dad and saw he wasn't trying to crawl out.

Dad, a mountain of a man who seemed larger than life when he was a kid, looked so helpless. So fragile. Blood continued to flow from his wounds with no sign of stopping.

Miles turned to his friend who was standing back with wide eyes. He was just as shocked, his feet rooted in place while his mind was processing the scene before him. "Ganke! Ganke, you've got to get help! Please, I need someone to help…"

"I'm here, Miles!" He felt the weight leave his arms and looked to his right. Mayday was there lifting up the beam, the light of the flames reflecting off the silvery lenses of her mask. "Get your dad out of there!"

Without hesitation, Miles was dragging his dad and the kid out from their spot. When they were in the clear, Mayday grunted and tossed the beam further into the burning wreck.

"I'll go get help! There's gotta be some medics around here!" Ganke turned and left but not before shooting Miles a fearful look. "He's going to be fine! Don't freak out!"

Those words were cold comfort.

"Dad…?" Miles brushed his hand against his father's cheek. It was still warm and tears came out of his eyes when he felt the weak breath against his arm. "Thank God... he's still alive…"

"I'm sorry." He looked and saw that Mayday was kneeling next to him. Her voice was cracked and he could see the spots of her mask underneath her lenses darkening. "I'm so sorry Miles! I-I didn't mean to… I was careless! I was so stupid and because of me he's… everyone's…!"

Despite his grief, Miles found himself shouting at her. "What are you still doing here!?"

"W-What…?"

"That Hobgoblin bastard is getting away! He's the one that did this, not you!" He pointed up and said, "So go and get him already! Just go!"

Mayday seemed to snap out of whatever funk she was in. Shakily, she got to her feet and nodded at him. "Right… right! I'll get him! I'll bring him down!" She reached up with her left hand and shot a web. "I'll take that bastard down! He's not getting away with this!"

As she swung away, Miles gripped his father's hand.

The same big, strong hand that rustled his hair whenever he brought in good grades. They were attached to arms that hugged him, to shoulders that gave him rides when he was little. His dad was a man that used to assure him that everything was alright in the world so long as he was there.

And now… he was so still.

"And I could've stopped it. I could've helped her stop that guy and none of this would've happened. I had all this power and yet…"

That thought just made him cry all the harder.

The only person he could blame for this, besides the Hobgoblin… was himself.

---

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

Phil grit his teeth as his wings carried him to the balcony the fake Daniel Kingsley was on. He had turned around as soon as his glider had gotten hit, knowing that Spider-Girl would be too busy with that than dealing with him.

The explosion he heard had confirmed his worst fears.

"This wasn't how it was supposed to go down! I was just supposed to scare everyone away, maybe fling a few bombs at some lackey 'heroes' that weren't put to sleep by the gas, and get in before getting out!" He landed on the stone rails of the balcony while scanning all the bodies that were lying on the ground. "But then that stupid kid had to get involved!"

Nobody was supposed to get hurt during all this. Sure, some people and maybe a few cops would get some scrapes and bruises. Kingsley's paid superheroes would get it the worst, since they were just glorified celebrities and willing cogs in the former Hobgoblin's corrupt machine, but nothing serious!

And now because of one inexperienced kid hero's antics it had gone all pear-shaped.

"But I still need to keep going. I'm too deep to back out now." The glider didn't matter. Osborn had kept a spare model in that hideout. But if he didn't at least get something out of this, it would all be for nothing.

His eyes narrowed at the body of Daniel Kingsley, still clad in his iconic white suit. A person who he was pretty damn sure he killed and dumped the body. With one flap of his wings he landed before the form and picked it up by the back of his neck. The helmet's system instantly told him it was a robot and the fact that it was still online.

"Well, looks like someone had a backup in case you bit the bullet." Phil willed his wings to help bring him up, the lenses giving him an almost perfect look inside Kingsley Towers and the concentrated mass of heat signatures on the twentieth floor. Turning his head to his captive Phil said, "I know you aren't really unconscious. You can quit playing the part… Roderick."

As if that were the magic word, 'Daniel's' head snapped up and glared at him. "Whoever you are, you're dead. You have signed your death warrant with this little stunt."

"Well, at least I now know for sure who I'm dealing with." Phil hovered across from the first tower's twentieth floor and fished into his pouch. "That simplifies things."

"I don't know who you think you are or how you came across my identity…"

"Your brother was an idiot and a braggart. Wouldn't shut up about his relationship with you nowadays." Good. He needed to act tough while dealing with Roderick so that the old Hobgoblin would know he meant business. It also helped that he wasn't telling any lies. "Now, Roderick, you're going to help me get into your server room…"

"Why, in God's name, would I help you?"

Well, he was prepared for this. "Because if you don't…" Taking out a Goblin Bomb, he rolled it in his hands in front of the robot's face. "...I'll head back down there, put this in your mouth, and then blow you up in front of all the cameras. I wonder if you've got a spare that'll explain why a lifelike robot was being paraded around here."

When 'Daniel' said nothing, Phil grinned beneath his mask. "Then I guess we're in business!" He activated the bomb and threw it at the windows. In a plume of smoke and flame, Phil flew through the explosion with his charge and raced down the hallways to the server room. The door was practically a bank vault: solid stainless steel with bars crisscrossing in front of it like a castle's gate. Spotting the small control pad to the right, Phil set the robot double of Daniel Kingsley in front of it. He pointed the tip of his flaming sword at the back of the robot's neck. "Get to work."

The robot sent him another glare before doing what he was told. While his bombs and the strength given to him with the Goblin Serum he downed before this job might've been enough, Phil found doing things this way a lot easier.

Plus, the feeling of power he was getting… holding the former Hobgoblin at his mercy and opening the very thing Phil wanted for him… was amazing.

It was even better than that wave of accomplishment he got from rescuing people as the Green Goblin, surprisingly.

"Probably because I'm actually going to get something out of it while taking Kingsley down a peg."

Within seconds the bars retracted and the door swung open revealing rows of servers humming with activity. A lone IT guy was huddled under his desk, shaking in fear with the computer still on overhead.

Bringing 'Daniel' close, Phil put the edge of his sword near the thing's neck and said, "Get lost."

"Do what he says, Michael." The robot said calmly. "Use the stairs and report everything to the police. I'll handle things from here."

Meekly, the employee nodded and rushed past the two. "Good little Nice Boss act." He commented while taking the sword away and using his right foot to kick 'Daniel' inside. "Now stay on the ground while I work, Roderick."

"Better enjoy this while you can…" Roderick growled out from inside the robot. "Because after this, you'll never be safe. Every supervillain in New York will be after your head."

"Oh, I will." Walking to one of the server racks, Phil spotted the USB port and took out the stick from his pouch before inserting it. Glancing at the computer he saw a progress bar appear on the screen with the message 'TRANSFERRING FILES' written on top. "And you've got too much faith in your dollar-store crazies in costumes. None of them hold a candle to me, and when I'm done your entire empire will be burning to the…"

"BASTARD!"

Two feet slammed into Phil's back, sending him flying into the nearest wall. He felt his skull rattle on impact, the feed from his helmet's lenses briefly filling with static. Coughing, he got onto his feet and turned around only for Spider-Girl's fist to impact against his helmet's left cheek.

"Do you have any idea how many people you've hurt!?" She sounded like she was half screaming and sobbing. Phil swung his sword at her chest, pulling back his arms just a bit so that the tip would only cut a bit and instantly cauterize the wound. She leaned back and kicked with her right leg. It hit his hand and the flaming sword clattered against the ground. "All the people you've probably killed because of your stupid bombs and glider!?"

"Nobody who wouldn't have deserved it if you hadn't gotten involved!" Phil reached down to get his sword only for a wad of webbing to stick the handle to the ground. Retracting his wings, he rolled to the right to avoid Spider-Girl's second kick. "This is bigger than you know!"

"SHUT UP!"

"Damn it… she's too angry to listen!" He had been trying to avoid seriously injuring Spider-Girl. Just a few moments fighting her had clued him into the fact that she was just some newbie unaffiliated with Kingsley. Hell, this was probably her first serious supervillain fight. He had thrown off the trajectory and telegraphed the path of his bombs and swings so that she could avoid serious injury. Hell, he'd even tried to save her when she fell and her web-shooter didn't work! "This is nuts! I didn't do this so I could fight kids!"

But if he continued to hold back, she'd beat the crap out of him and leave him for the cops. Everyone would know that Phil Ulrich was the 'new' Hobgoblin who couldn't last past his first mission. His affiliation with Snatcher and his boss would be revealed. His entire career would be flushed down the toilet. MJ and Mayday probably wouldn't even want to look at him!

"And those are the two who I'm doing this for…" Phil clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes. "And I'm not going to be taken in. Not now! Not when they're counting on me!"

Spider-Girl turned around to let fly another spin kick. "Lights out for you, chuckles!" Her left leg flew, the path to his head clear…

...but he reached up and caught it by the ankle with his right hand.

Phil wasn't the best fighter. He would be the first to admit that to anyone who asked. He relied on his gadgets and Lunatic Laugh to do the job for him. But he had been in enough scrapes to pick a few things up, even in his current rusty state.

And that made him a hell of a lot better than Spider-Girl who was just flinging her arms and legs around.

"Sorry…" With a grunt of effort, he spun her around and threw her to the wall. "...But I don't intend to go down that easy!"

She caught herself well enough with both her hands out, but Phil leapt forward and kneed her in the small of her back. She went through the drywall and plaster, landing on the ground on her knees groaning.

"Especially not to a little kid who hasn't been in a real fight!" Going through the hole in the wall he kicked out with his right foot towards her head. As expected, she caught it but he simply took his left foot off the ground and smashed it against her right cheek.

He may have landed on his back, but he was soon on his feet while Spider-Girl was staggering to hers. "I have to hit her hard and fast. If she's anything like Spider-Man…"

Spider-Girl threw a sloppy right hook, but he simply ducked and jabbed her in the stomach. She was staggering back now, clutching her midsection and wheezing in pain.

"...She can take the punishment!"

He rushed forward as Spider-Girl jumped onto the ceiling and fired a line of webbing at him. But Phil knew the playbook. He had trained with good ol' Spidey for a bit, and the trick to dodging the webs was usually to just keep moving. It didn't take Spidey long to adjust his aim to where his target was going to be rather than where he was, but Spider-Girl didn't have that experience yet. The web sailed right over his head as he leapt up, raised his right fist, and threw an overhand punch against Spider-Girl's jaw.

To his surprise, Spider-Girl came right off the ceiling with the blow but he couldn't just congratulate himself. "Time to end this!"

Picking her up by the back of her head with his right hand and his left clutching her shoulder, he smashed her face against the wall hard enough to make an indent. Before she could recover, he did it again through the small glass window of an office door. The shards cut through the mask and made little lines of red appear on her cheeks.

When he brought her back to do it again, to his surprise whole chunks of the wood door where her hands landed came off. "What in the world…?" She elbowed him in the ribs and he released her, but Spider-Girl landed on the floor and tried to crawl away.

"S-Stay back!" He lifted her hands, pieces of wood still stuck to them. "I-I'm warning you!"

Phil took a step forward, debating whether to warn her or just knock her unconscious and return to the server room. But the moment his foot touched the ground, the pieces of wood shot from her hands and rammed into his chest with enough force to knock him back a couple of feet, the wood exploding into splinters.

"What the hell?" He rubbed his chest while looking back at Spider-Girl, who seemed to be looking at her own hands in amazement. "She didn't throw them… it was more like they were pushed out of her hands and towards me! Is that a new power this kid has?"

Before he could speak up about it, an object smashed against the back of his head nad a leg swept him off his feet. He landed on the ground just as a blood red billy club appeared in his vision.

"If you know what's good for you, stay down." A gruff and hard voice ordered.

Phil glanced up and saw that it was Daredevil, but not the one he knew back during his costumed hero days. This was the new one wearing a mostly black costume, but with dark red boots, gloves, a belt, and twin 'D's emblazoned on his chest. Even his mask's eyes were red, giving the street-level hero a more sinister look.

"No wonder people call you Darkdevil." Phil chuckled while quickly scanning the hallway. Daredevil's sidekick, Blindspot, was nowhere to be found. He was probably on the street helping the first-responders. Phil knew that while he could handle Spider-Girl, Daredevil getting involved tipped the odds unfavorably. "Well, sorry to tell you this… but the fact that you think you'll be the one to end the Hobgoblin's career is a gasser!"

His chuckle transformed into laughter, slowly morphing into the cackle of his Lunatic Laugh. Daredevil stumbled back, clutching his hands to his ears, closing his eyes, and screaming. Spider-Girl was doing the same, kicking her legs while crying out in pain.

He just bought his way out of this.

Getting up, he ran through the hole and yanked his sword from the ground. The webbing had hardened enough that his hand wouldn't stick to it and just had to deal with the chunks of plaster that came up with the handle. Glancing at the progress bar on the now cracked screen he saw that it was only halfway done. "That'll have to do!"

Continuing to laugh, he took out the USB from its port and activated his wings. He flew out the door of the server room and through the hole his bomb had made in the floor's glass windows, spreading his arms to the people below.

"YOU'VE BEEN A TERRIFIC AUDIENCE, NEW YORK! SEE YA NEXT TIME!"

And there would be a next time. Roderick Kingsley wasn't going down with just this little hit that wasn't even completely successful.

But at least he had been able to bloody his nose a bit, and secured his employment with Snatcher's boss.

Hell, with the cameras he had set up on the rooftops nearby he would get some extra dough from the Daily Bugle!

"Not bad for a first day as a supervillain, Phil. Not bad at all…"

Maybe he would take Mayday out for ice cream later today. They both deserved it.

---

When the piercing pain that was like an icicle being rammed through her eardrums faded away, Mayday cautiously took her hands off her ears. Everything was swimming, objects multiplying and overlapping one another. "What was that? It was… it was horrible!" Each second that passed made her brain feel like it was being turned to mush and her stomach was doing somersaults!

Speaking of her stomach, her mouth was rapidly filling with saliva while her muscles burned. "No… no way! Not here! Keep it down!" She rolled up her mask to spit out the excess saliva only to hear some unearthly gurgle come out of her own throat. "Oh God, this is happening!"

Mayday retched out everything she had eaten today, the taste now soured and putrid. "Eggs and bacon!" The thought of all that grease made the second upchuck come out not long after the first.

"Let it all out. It's better that way." Mayday looked behind her while wiping her mouth with her wrist Daredevil was on his feet and staring down at her with his arms crossed. The man who basically had Hell's Kitchen on lockdown was now here and had seen her screw up so spectacularly.

"I think I'm gonna die…" Her eyes shot open as she screamed. "The Hobgoblin! Where…!?"

"He escaped." Daredevil turned his back on her and began walking through the hole in the wall the supervillain had knocked her through. "And since he flew out without his glider, tracking him is going to be trickier."

"The glider…" Mayday shakily got onto her feet and covered her mouth while she followed behind the veteran hero. "All those people…!"

People like Miles' father and God knew who else that had gotten injured from that explosion.

All because of her.

Daredevil grunted as they walked past the servers. "I took a quick scan of the street. Nobody is dying, but it's up to the paramedics to make sure that happens." He stopped in place and turned towards her. "What you did back there was reckless and endangered countless people."

Anger, frustration, and despair welled up inside Mayday. "I-I was just trying to help!"

"You were trying to make your spectacular debut and kept your fight overhead the civilians rather than move it inside, where less people would be hurt." He pointed at her. "You have no training, I can tell. What, did you think that getting some superpowers and putting on a costume was enough for you to get involved in this life?"

This was unbearable. Didn't this guy think she was ashamed enough by what happened? She should point out that no superheroes were around to stop the Hobgoblin. That she was the only one around and likely prevented more injuries than what could've happened?

But the image of Miles clutching his dad's body entered her vision for a second and silenced her.

She hung her head low, not looking Daredevil in the eyes. The man clicked his tongue and went to the edge of the roof.

"Sign up for Avengers Academy or go home. Either way…" Daredevil jumped out the window and said only two more words. "...You're done."

Mayday waited for a minute or two, but it seemed like hours. When she was sure that Daredevil was out of sight she stepped forward and allowed herself to fall two stories before shooting a web and swinging to where her clothes were.

"Stupid… I'm so stupid! I screwed everything up and other people paid the price for it!"

She had started the day thinking that she had a wonderful secret to share to the world. That the world would soon be welcoming its newest hero and she would be one step closer to finding Dad.

But she didn't feel like a hero now.

---

"He's so still…"

Miles' father laid motionless, mummified on his hospital bed. His entire body had been wrapped in bandages. Everything below his chest was in a cast. His eyes were closed shut and tubes had to be shoved down his throat to let him breathe. The sound of the IV drip synchronized with every beep of the heart monitor, assuring Miles that against all evidence on the contrary, his dad was still alive.

"If he's still alive, why hasn't he woken up yet?"

His dad had been brought to an ambulance when other superheroes finally arrived on the scene. Blindspot, Alpha, and other members of the Champions helped to clear the rubble while he rode with his dad to Mount Sinai. Ganke hung back promising to meet him later, but he knew that his friend wanted him to be alone with his dad.

Alone if this was the last day he would be with him.

"And you wouldn't even be like this if I acted sooner. If I had just helped out Mayday." But he was scared. He didn't want to get involved because he wasn't a superhero and didn't want to be one. "And now look where that got me."

The door opened and Miles saw him Mom still dressed in her scrubs. Tears were rolling down her cheeks and he found that ones were welling up in his eyes again.

He got up and hugged her, holding her close as if she were going to blow away with the wind.

"Gracias a Dios que estás bien, Miles." She whispered to him before reluctantly releasing him. "I don't think I would've been able to handle you getting hurt too."

"Yeah." Miles wiped away his tears. "Mom, what did the doctors…?"

"They said that right now he's in a medically-induced coma." A small, reluctant smile sprouted on her lips. "But he'll be fine in a couple of months."

Miles felt a small weight leave his chest. "T-That's great! Oh… oh man…" He bit his lip and shook his head. "I-I argued with him before all this, Mom. I was angry and said so many stupid things and I…!"

And that's what made all of this worse. What if that stupid argument had been the last thing they said to one-another. He would've never been able to take it back. His dad would be dead and he would've spent the last moments he had with him talking about unimportant bullshit.

He was crying again into Mom's chest and she held him there. "Don't cry, honey. You know your Dad doesn't blame you. It's not your fault…"

"Yeah, it was that asshole in the Hobgoblin suit."

The familiar voice perked up Miles' ears and he lifted his head and looked towards the door. Leaning against its frame was Uncle Aaron. He was dressed in a white t-shirt, green jacket, and purple jeans that met his designer dark green shoes. His bald head gleamed in the fluorescent light, his favorite brown hat clutched in his right hand.

He gave Miles and Rio a sad smile. "How you guys doin'?"

Mom shot his uncle a glare. "What are you doing here, Aaron? I thought we told you that you weren't welcome in our home."

Aaron sagged a bit, his face filling with sorrow for a second as he said without his usual hint of good cheer, "He's my brother, Rio."

The anger in Mom's face washed away slightly, and for the first time in forever she seemed ashamed with herself. "You're… you're right, Aaron. I'm sorry." She shook her head. "It's just…"

"I know. It's a lot to take in." He nodded and sat down on a chair in the room. "I came as soon as I heard. Wanted to make sure you two were alright. I know me and Jeff haven't been close, but the last thing I want is for him or you guys to be hurt."

"I'm fine. But Dad…" Whatever Miles had planned to say died in his throat when the doctor poked his head in.

"Mrs. Morales? I know this is a difficult time but I need you to fill a couple of forms for your husband's treatment, care, and insurance."

"Alright…" She glanced at Miles before steeling her gaze at Aaron. "Listen, I'm going to leave him in your care until I'm gone. Do not take him with you to your place…" She then pointed at Miles. "And do not follow him there or you'll be grounded until you father gets a full and clean bill of health!"

With that she left and closed the door behind her.

"I don't get it, Uncle Aaron." He sat next to his uncle and sagged in the seat. "Why do Dad and Mom hate you so much?"

"Don't worry about it, Lil' Man." Uncle Aaron looked at his dad as he said, "Me and your dad used to do a lot of stuff together, but he became a cop while I…" He shrugged helplessly. "You're dad's a good guy and both he and your mom are trying to raise you right. Don't sweat it too much."

"That doesn't explain a thing…" He knew that his uncle had been to prison for stealing stuff, and his dad tip-toed around the subject whenever Miles tried to ask why he's still treating Uncle Aaron like a hardened criminal if he already did his time. But hearing his dad used to do the same thing as his uncle? "He's probably lying to make it not seem so bad…"

Still, it did make him feel a tiny bit better knowing that his uncle still cared for Dad.

"The same uncle who says I got talent in the thing Dad and Mom tell me to ignore. The same guy who knows what I'm good at…"

"Uncle Aaron... if you're good as something, do you have a responsibility to do it? Like if you've got the skill and moves…"

His uncle raised an eyebrow at him. "What brought this on, Miles?"

"Please answer the question."

If there was anyone he could trust with something like this, it was his uncle.

Uncle Aaron scratched his goatee. "Well… that's kinda up to the guy asking this question."

"Huh?"

"Look at it like this, Miles." He set down his hat and put his finger on his palm. "All the people out there, society and all that jazz, will keep spouting all this crap about duty and responsibility. But most of the time they're just hypocrites relying on others to make decisions that they can't." He then put his finger on Miles' forehead. "But all those skills and moves… those are yours, not theirs. And if you think you can make something outta them, then you gotta take that chance, no matter if people agree or disagree with what you do."

Uncle Aaron shot him a grin. "Who knows? Maybe it'll lead to something good."

Slowly, Miles began to nod in agreement. Right. He might not have been born with these powers, but they were his. Maybe he didn't have a responsibility to use them just because they were dumped in his lap, but he had them; and he wouldn't forgive himself if he continued to sit on the sidelines waiting for Mayday or the other superheroes to nail Hobgoblin. "I'm probably making a huge mistake… but screw it. I need to take this guy down. And to do that…"

He got up and said to Uncle Aaron, "I gotta use the bathroom. Be right back."

"Hey, don't sweat it. Take your time. Today's been busy for all of us."

Miles flashed a grin at his uncle as he left the room. Taking out his phone, he dialed Ganke's phone number and held it to his ear. "Come on, pick up…"

On the third ring he heard Ganke's voice. "Dude! Are you okay? How's your da-?"

"He's in a coma, but he should be fine. Listen, Ganke, do you still have Mayday's number?"

Ganke paused. "Uh, yeah. But why would you…?"

"I wanna set up a meeting. And…" He couldn't help but wince as he said this, "...I wanna see if she's got any spares of her dad's gear."

Miles ripped the phone away from his ear just as Ganke let out a fanboy scream from the other end.

He was already starting to regret his decision, but there was no turning back now.

He was going to be a superhero.

---

Aaron Davis watched as his nephew walked past the windows and left him alone with his brother. "Damn, Jeff…" He shook his head and took out his phone. "Don't worry about a thing, brother. I'm gonna handle this."

His gaze hardened as he dialed his boss' number and put it against his ear.

"Prowler." Roderick Kingsley's smooth voice came from the other end. "I was just about to call you."

"About the Hobgoblin thing, right?"

"Yes…" For the first time in years, Aaron heard the hate and fury in his boss' voice. "He dies by the end of the week, Prowler. Let the word out. Anyone who brings me his head…"

"I'm gonna handle this solo, boss."

Roderick paused on the other end of the line. "Really?"

"Yeah." His grip on his phone tightened. "This asshole just got on my personal shit list."

Even though it was stupid, he ended the call and placed his phone back into his pocket.

He and his brother hadn't seen eye-to-eye in years. Hell, Jefferson didn't want anything to do with him if he could help it. But despite all the bullshit, Aaron loved his brother and would do anything for him in a heartbeat. If Jefferson were in trouble, he would be there at his side.

"I'm putting your ass in the ground, Hobgoblin." Aaron Davis, the Prowler, glared at the still form of his brother.

"Nobody fucks with my family. Nobody."

---

"Damn girl… you look like crap."

"Tell me about it…" Mayday groaned as she rubbed the bruise that had swelled up on her right cheek. No amount of makeup was going to cover this up.

After she had gotten dressed, she had called Davida to ask where she, Moose, and Brad were. Turned out that Davida and Moose had gone to Times Square to hold up in the Hershey Store.

Brad never bothered to rejoin them, and Moose said he called and said that he was at his place.

They hugged in relief, neither of them commenting on her scratches and recently forming bruise. Maybe they were just in shock from the events. Moose had to go home since his dad was freaking out, and when Mayday got the call from Ganke she and Davida went to a cafe in Queens to hang out.

She hadn't told Davida about Miles. As far as her friend knew, Mayday just wanted to avoid going home.

"You're lucky, you know."

"Yeah?" Mayday snapped Davida's makeup mirror closed and handed it back to her. "Why's that?"

"Being close enough to all that crap yet only getting a few scratches and bruises." Davida pointed to her face. "They already look like they're healing up."

"Right…" That was her cover story for her injuries. She had gotten close enough to the fight and was banged up by the blast of one of Hobgoblin's bombs. It was simple and Davida hadn't even seen her in the crowd so she couldn't have that contradiction in her memory. It sucked lying to her friend like this, especially when there were people who were actually hurt by the battle, but what could she do? "I'll be sure to let this shiner know that it isn't that bad."

"Damn, I know you're still sore over Brad but…"

Mayday crossed her arms and looked away. "I don't want to talk about Brad."

Davida blinked. "What? You, Mayday Parker, don't want to talk about the guy you've had a crush on since middle school? What gives?"

She looked down and bit her lip. "During our… date I guess… he said a lot of things I didn't think someone like him would. And then when the Hobgoblin thing happened, he ran without checking for you guys and just went home. Without seeing if any of us were alright." She sighed and shook her head. "Brad Miller isn't the guy I thought he was."

Getting her ass kicked by a supervillain changed her perspective on things. When she had gone to help Miles and his dad, Ganke had stuck around to make sure that his friend was alright and helped in any way he could. Meanwhile, Brad had just turned and ran. He hadn't even bothered to call any of them! It went beyond being scared. It was cowardice. The thought of it alone made her want to punch a hole in a wall!

"I guess I was right the first time. Brad Miller is a jerk."

Davida put her hand on Mayday's. "Okay, alright fine you don't want to talk about Brad. I get it. But, do you wanna talk about anything that went down? How you're feeling and all that jazz?"

"More than you could know, but you wouldn't understand any of it."

And the one person who would was currently calling her.

She reached into her pocket and saw that it was another missed call from Mom. One of fifteen that she sent along with twenty messages. "Cat's out of the bag now." Mom was probably super pissed now and a lecture was waiting for her at home, but she was going to have to deal with it no matter what.

"That your Mom?"

"Nah." Mayday peeked over Davida's shoulder and saw Miles waving at her. Smiling, she got up and said, "Look, I gotta go deal with some more family stuff. You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah." Davida looked over her shoulder and whistled when she saw Miles. "Damn! You recover fast, May! But isn't he a bit young for you?"

"Come on, it's not like that!" She waved her friend goodbye. "See you tomorrow!" Running up to Miles she pulled him into a hug. "I'm so sorry, Miles. Is your dad okay?"

"Yeah, yeah he's fine…" He cocked his head to the side. "Mind if we talk outside?"

"Sure." They left the cafe and started strolling down the sidewalk. People were too busy with their phones, talking, or just zoning out to listen in on their conversation. "So… what do you wanna talk about?"

"I was wondering if you've got some spares of your dad's gear." Mayday's eyes widened at Miles, who took a deep breath before nodding. "Yeah, I'm probably going to regret this later… but I wanna try being Spider-Man."

"Holy crap…" A smile broke across her face. "No way! That's awesome! What changed your mind!?" The answer came to her after the question left her mouth. "Oh…"

"My dad was hurt because of him. So were other people, and if he stays on the street who knows how many others." Miles' hands clenched into fists. "I'm not gonna sleep well unless I make sure that guy's behind bars. I gotta make him pay, and since I've got this power I can do it."

"So it's kinda like a vengeance thing? Like Batman?"

"Yeah, except I'm not a billionaire kicking poor people's heads in." He put his hands into his pockets. "I want to take Hobgoblin down, and maybe if things go alright… I'll keep at being Spider-Man. Who knows?"

"This is awesome!" Mayday squealed out, stomping in place and ignoring the looks of the passersby. Sure, Miles' dad got hurt and that sucked but he finally decided to become a superhero! "He can train with me and we can have each other's backs on patrols! Yes! This is perfect!" She snapped her fingers and pointed to the subway. "Alright then, follow me! I've gotta hook you up with Dad's old swag!"

"I'm already regretting this…"

"Don't be such a sourpuss!"

The trip to her apartment was pretty uneventful. She and Miles talked a bit about the Hobgoblin, and that didn't stick out because everyone was talking about him. Who was he? What did he want? Was he funded by rogue AIM cells or was he a lone wolf? "A lot of his stuff was pretty advanced. Those wings are kinda like the original Falcon's."

To her surprise, Miles had a lot to say about the tech. A lot of it was technical stuff that flew over her head, but it showed that Miles was a hell of a lot smarter than her and it didn't shock her when he said he attended Visions. He even offered to take a look at her web-shooters and figure out what caused them to jam! "This is going better than I would've thought!"

When they reached her apartment she handed him the malfunctioning web-shooter. Closing one eye and inspecting it up close he said, "Some of this looks rusted… just how old is your old man's stuff?"

"Honestly? I have no idea. Maybe a couple of years?"

"And you just took it out for a spin? Please tell me that you know how to make more of that webbing stuff."

Mayday's cheeks reddened when they stepped into the elevator. "Of course! My dad left a couple of recipes for the webbing in that trunk of his. I just need to get the ingredients and we'll be set."

"Well let me take that with me tonight. Ganke's got more of an eye for chemistry than me. I'm more of a tech guy." As he handed the web-shooter back to her he asked, "So… what about your Mom?"

"She should still be at work, so you won't have to deal with her." They reached her floor and Mayday led him to the door of her apartment. "Mom's super against this superhero thing, and the last thing you want is to be caught in the middle of an argument between us."

She reached for her wallet to take out the keycard but the door swung open to reveal Mom. She wasn't crying as expected, only glaring with disapproval at her.

"M-Mom?" Mayday took a step back. "What are you doing…!?"

"When you didn't answer your phone I rushed back home." She seemed to notice Miles and asked, "And who's this?"

"Uh… hi?" He raised his hand and grinned awkwardly. "Name's Miles. Miles Morales. It's nice to meet you Mrs. Parker."

"Watson." Mom smiled sickeningly sweetly at her. "Mind if you say goodbye to your friend, Mayday?"

God, she was shaking. This wasn't how the conversation was supposed to start! "N-No…"

"I'm sorry?"

"Look, if it's that big of a deal I'll just…" Mayday grabbed Miles by his arm and pulled him back.

"No! I'm going to give Miles some of Dad's stuff because…" She lowered her voice. "He's got some of Dad's gifts."

Mom blinked a few times before slowly getting out of the doorframe. She and Miles got in before shutting the door behind them.

"How…?" Mom raised an eyebrow at Miles before asking, "Radioactive spider? Mystic spider-god giving you a gift?"

"Not sure if it was radioactive, and I really doubt that the spider I slapped is a god." Miles bit his lip and looked away.

"God, he probably doesn't even want to be here…"

Miles' body turned invisible at that moment, making Mom let out a surprised scream.

"Damn it, not again!" he cried.

"Yeah, so he has this invisibility thing, a zappy Venom Blast power, and I think all of Dad's powers." Mayday ran past Mom and towards the closet that contained Dad's trunk. "Which is why he needs Dad's old costume and gear if he's going to be the new Spider-Man!"

"What!?" Mayday ignored her Mom as she pulled out the trunk and opened it. "Young lady, are you hearing yourself!? Did you even listen to anything I said two days ago!?"

"Yeah, I listened but I wanted to become a superhero anyways." Sifting through the papers she found the costume and a pair of old and semi-rusted web-shooters. "It was the only way…"

Mayday felt Mom's hand grab her chin and turn her face to the right. She could see tears forming in her mom's eyes.

"May, look at yourself! I watched what you did on the news… do you have any idea how close you were to dying!? Did you even know or care that I would be watching you, my own daughter, fighting that maniac in the Hobgoblin suit over fifteen stories in the air!? Not to mention how many people almost died…" She shook her head. "May, you may have gotten away with a few bruises and scrapes but this isn't a game! That Hobgoblin would've killed you if he had the chance, and I cannot let you or that young man…!"

"What did you expect me to do!?" Mayday screamed as she tore her head away and grabbed the costume, web-shooters, and Dad's web-fluid recipe. "Stay on the ground and let that asshole get away!?"

"YES! There are other superheroes in Manhattan! The world is full of them! They would've handled it and…"

"And what!? Kept me safe!?" God, why did her Mom have to be like this? Her words and Daredevil's were stabbing her in the heart all the time. Who the hell were they to judge!? She stood up and turned to Mom. "It's so damn easy for you to judge from the sidelines, isn't it!? Telling me and Dad how wrong we are for getting involved and risking our lives to put criminals away! Well, if we did who knows how many people guys like Hobgoblin would've killed!? He could kill you a couple of days from now if I had the opportunity to stop him and didn't like you wanted! You would end up like Granduncle Ben!"

Mom looked like she had been slapped by the accusation. "That's not the point, May! I'm just trying to make sure…!"

"What!? That I don't throw my life away like Dad!?" The tears were flowing down her cheeks now. All the anger and frustration built up over the years had reached their boiling point. "Admit it, you don't even want him to be found! You're happier that he's gone!"

"How could you say that?" Mom asked softly, almost as if she were whispering the question. "Of course I…"

"Then you would've tried harder to find out what's happening from his friends! Like I am!" She saw the outline of Miles' invisible form and stomped over to it. Her mom didn't even try to stop her as she shoved the gear in Miles' arms. "Well, guess what Mom!? I'm going to follow Dad's footsteps, find out where he is, bring him back, and there's not a damn thing you can do to stop me!"

Before she knew it, Mayday began running to the door and flung it open. "Mayday, wait!"

She didn't turn back and slammed the door behind her.

Leaning against the wall, she put her hands against her face and began to cry.

"God damn it… Why did I say all those mean things?" But she knew those mean things were true, or at least stuff she wanted to say. Part of her was glad that they were out in the open but another wished she could take them back. "Why couldn't you just support me and Dad, Mom?"

"Mrs. Watson…" She heard Miles' awkward voice come from behind the door. "Look, I'm really sorry… but I can't let the Hobgoblin get away with this."

"...Why?" asked Mom, her voice low and weary. "I can tell you don't want to do this… why can't you just leave enough alone?"

"Because the Hobgoblin hurt my Dad real bad. Because he's going to hurt others until he's caught, and I can't just let that slide." She watched as the doorknob turned. "I dunno if I'm superhero material but I gotta try."

Mom heaved a long, deep sigh. Mayday could already imagine her pinching the bridge of her nose the way she always did when she stressed out. After another agonizing moment of silence, she said, "Promise me that you'll keep her safe. Please, Miles?"

"Yeah, no problem."

Before the door opened, Mayday was running for the stairs. She couldn't deal with seeing Miles or Mom right now. Part of her was ashamed. Of the things she said, of how things went, and especially of how she screwed up Miles' life with her carelessness.

"I need to talk to someone…"

It couldn't be her friends. None of them would understand.

One name came to mind, and she took out her phone to dial his number.

---

"Yes…" Phil grinned as he patted his pockets, stuffed with hundred-dollar bills. "Things are finally going my way!"

He had rendezvoused with Snatcher and handed him the flash drive. Even though it hadn't loaded the entirety of Roderick's files, it had enough juicy info to fill his backpack to the brim with cash.

But Phil didn't allow his glee to be apparent and he had done something he should've done during their first meeting.

He recorded Snatcher using his helmet's feed.

"Because I'd be damned if I just let a Neo-Nazi puke like him walk away scott-free if I go down."

Now he was in the Daily Bugle, stuck inside his cubicle staring at the five hundred dollar advance check he had gotten for those photos of himself and the small piece he would write accompanying them. He had made a story about simply being at the right place and time to write up the action, and he had made sure to come with a sample of the article to provide further proof. Everyone was going to go crazy about the new Hobgoblin and the new superhero that screwed things up, and he had an exclusive scoop that needed to be struck while the iron was hot.

"Everything's going to be alright…" He had enough money to get a new apartment, a much nicer one at that, to invite MJ and Mayday to see. He would tell them that he got a raise and invite MJ for dinner. A really romantic one in a five-star restaurant so he could sweep her off her feet. "And they'll never know the truth. Hell, they probably won't care."

His desk phone rang and he picked it up. "Urich, here."

"Hey, Urich. The Parker kid's here. Says she want to talk to you."

Well, that was surprising. Mayday hardly visited the Bugle. "Mayday? Sure, send her up."

"I ain't your secretary, Urich."

"Bitch." He thought while hanging up. "Wonder what she wants to talk about? It's too early in the year for pre-test jitters."

In a few moments Mayday was in front of his cubicle and his jaw dropped. "Oh my God… Mayday!" He pulled her inside and inspected the bruise that swelled on her right cheek. "What happened to you!? Were you… were you in that mess in front of Kingsley Towers?"

If she were injured by him, even unintentionally, then he had no idea how he would be able to forgive himself.

"That's what I'm here to talk about, Uncle Phil." She took off her backpack and began unzipping it. "I had a fight with Mom over something… and I need to talk to someone I can trust. If I don't, I'm not sure I'll be able to handle it."

"What are you…?"

Mayday began taking out something from her backpack and he saw the mask. The mask that had cuts on it and was darkened slightly from blood.

"Wait… that bruise… those cuts!" Phil's heart sank as the realization settled in. "No… no… NO!"

"Uncle Phil…" Mayday took a deep breath and gave him an awkward smile. "This is weird to say since I don't have much of a career yet… but I'm Spider-Girl."

---

Earth 2018.1610:

---

"Izuku! Your phone is ringing!"

"Thanks, Mom!" Izuku scrubbed the towel against his still wet hair as he left the bathroom. Nothing relieved stress like a nice hot bath.

And he had plenty to stress about nowadays.

After the Villain attack on U.A, he had tons of microphones shoved in his face by eager reporters. Ouka Oosawagi, the reporter who badmouthed Peter on television, had actually cornered Izuku for a short interview. She was a lot nicer than her tirades against Peter would suggest, but she stunk of cigar smoke.

Then there was the news he had gotten from her that Peter had escaped the hospital… and aided by two Villains of all things?

"Well, Villains is stretching it a bit."

He'd watched a couple of the videos made by the 'Gentle Criminal' and his unseen assistant La Brava. They were more like pranksters than anything. They stole, sure, but then they returned the stuff by the end of the video because starring in a video with Gentle was payment enough.

"Though I doubt Peter contacted them…"

He often worried about Peter. What if he was kidnapped? What if he was bleeding out somewhere? Why hadn't he contacted him if he wasn't being held against his will?

If it were up to Izuku, he'd be searching for Peter. But lately, Mom had been keeping a closer eye on his activities. Heck, she had him download an application so that she knew where he was after school! "Though I can't really blame her. She's worried sick after the Villains attack on top of what happened with the Prowler all those months ago."

So he would just have to deal with it for now.

Izuku picked up the phone, "Hello?"

"How's it going, kid?"

Izuku l screamed with delight before clamping a hand over his mouth.

"What happened, Izuku?" Mom asked from the kitchen.

"Stubbed my toe, Mom! I'm fine!" He then whispered into the phone, "Peter!? Is that really you?"

"Yup! Sorry about the delay, but I needed to heal up a bit before making this call." He could hear Peter's amused chuckle from the other end of the line. "Let me tell you, the superheroes of this world are as stubborn as the ones in mine!"

Izuku sniffled. He couldn't believe he was hearing his mentor's voice again. "I-It's so good to hear from you again! Why did you leave the hospital?"

"I think you can guess."

"The Villain attack…" Izuku groaned while leaning against the wall. "Peter, it was so scary. I'm pretty sure I almost died against Nomu and my classmates were…"

"Nomu? What the heck is a Nomu?"

Izuku cursed himself. Peter likely left the hospital before details about the Villains came out. "It… was sorta like the Hulk and Juggernaut."

"...Oh man. Kid, are you okay? Usually you have to get at least a couple of fights in before you take on behemoths like that."

His heart swelled. It's been ages since he'd been able to speak freely like this. "Yeah… yeah. My classmates and I held him off before the teachers saved us from it and the Living Brain."

"I heard about that! Can't believe that Quentin brought over that hunk of junk… Though from what I heard he gave it a serious upgrade."

Izuku couldn't deny that. The Living Brain wasn't anything like the one from Peter's old comics.

"But all that matters is that you're safe."

"What about you?" He asked tentatively. "Are you at the park, or…?"

"Tell me, Spider-Man…" He heard a more mature voice ask from the background. "Are you in the mood for another cup of tea?"

"I'd prefer coffee."

"Sacrilege! As if I'd serve anything but the finest tea in this esteemed establishment!"

"Who's that?" Then he remembered the video every news station was sharing. "Is that Gentle Criminal!?"

"Yeah…" Peter's voice dripped with embarrassment. "He's letting me heal up at his place so long as I do a live-streamed fight with him."

"B-But he's a Villain! How can you trust…!?"

"Please, he's a joke. The hospital food was more dangerous than he is." Izuku heard something smack against Peter's face. "Hey, knock it off!"

"Don't you dare badmouth Gentle again!"

"Jesus, I was just joking!"

"Well, it sucks!"

"Who's the girl?" Izuku hated to admit it, but she sounded kind of cute.

"Gentle's little assistant. Listen Izuku, I gotta go before she bites off my ankles or something. Call you back soon."

With that, Peter hung up and the line went dead.

"He's alright…" Izuku let out a shaky breath and smiled. "Thank goodness…"

It was a load off his chest. Even if Peter was in a Villain's house, he didn't sound too worried, so Izuku probably shouldn't either. Right now, all he needed to know was that his mentor was safe for the moment.

"Who was that Izuku?"

"A friend, Mom!" He pocketed his phone and walked to his room. "Just a friend…"

"We'll see each other again soon, Peter. And when you see me again… I'll make you proud."

---

To Be Continued...

---

Notes: Time for a new chapter! Special thanks goes to reppuzan for the beta!

So yeah, things are chugging along! Things are heating up in the Marvel side of things, and I'm hoping that you're beginning to see just why this is in the main story and not just another side-story.

I love Spider-Girl aka Mayday Parker as both a concept and a character. But unfortunately, her comic is kind of... dated in a way. Both in writing and the tropes it uses, stuck in the nineties and deep in nostalgia for the original Spider-Man adventures. I'm not saying it's bad, but the original Spider-Girl comic does show its age in places. Here I was hoping to apply modern writing standards and tropes to revitalize and remix Mayday's stories. Much like her dad, her first forays into being a superhero are filled with various fuckups because of her inexperience. But that doesn't mean she isn't trying and won't get better. Not even Peter was perfect when he first started up.

And now she has help in the form of Miles Morales! And yes, his dad being caught in an explosion is part of his video game origin story. But I wasn't going to kill off Jefferson Davis! We've got enough superheroes with a dead parent thank you very much. Not every superhero needs a tragic backstory.

Anyways, hope you all enjoyed that adventure! Make sure you check out the TV Tropes Page and add whatever you see fit!

Be sure to leave a review!