Tasha got discharged early from shield medical and arrived at the cathedral bomb site to join her boyfriend and partner. They were quick to hug; for the last time they'd seen each other had been in battle at the first church attack.

They held the embrace for a long moment. It had just been hours ago when they'd laid together on the x school grounds stargazing in smitten bliss. How quick life could change from one extreme to the other.

Now here they were. "Are you really okay?" Tasha nodded while her face was pressed next to Peter's. "I am Pete. You don't need to worry." "But I will." She then smiled, which he felt as well from her face against his. "I know. I love that about you." Pause. "No one really ever worried about me before you Pete..." including whether she lived or died he knew.

They stayed in their hug, not giving a damn about devils or politics or any of that endless shit. Just the moment. Screw the rest... it started to feel like the stargazing moment again. I could stay like this forever...

"Agents Parker and Romanoff..." they reluctantly parted to see who'd spoken to them. It was reed Richards of the fantastic four... mister fantastic... "dr richards" Peter said. "I didn't realize you were here." "Sue and I just arrived. We've been following the situation closely." Peter looked off to the side and saw sue Richards speaking to feds; both husband and wife wore the distinctive costumes of their elite superhero team.

Reed "we've dealt with Mephisto before; while working with the silver surfer." Peter "did you have any luck beating him?" "Temporarily; but dimensional physics works in his favor. He's able to pull his powers from his home dimension anywhere he is. It's nearly impossible to prevent it. And it might only be temporary even if done. Mephisto is nearly ageless. He's had eons to plan contingencies."

None of this was good news; and it only served to reinforce what Peter had been thinking now all along. Peter gave a small nod.

Sue joined them. "Agents." "Mrs Richards" they said. "Reed, the feds are really worried." "As well they should be. Agent Parker is right. We are indeed dealing with a very unconventional threat. The Illuminati has anticipated this for many years."

Peter frowned at that. "Illuminati?" "Yes. A small secret group made up of superheroes from different aspects of the greater community. The point is to be able to compare notes on threats that require the benefit of all superhero groups. Hank McCoy Charles Xavier Stephen strange and Tony Stark are members, among others." Peter nodded slowly. Interesting. I might need to keep that in mind.

Sue "is it true that Asgard is making you a Thor hammer to deal with this threat?" "Yeah. Just a rumor though for now." Reed "that may prove to be our best defense against Mephisto. ...and the safe recovery of your sister."

As f4 was government affiliated they had likely known about the truer nature of the Mephisto threat from the get go. They'd always been public and shield linked. They tried to show that superheroes could be true public servants instead of vigilantes.

"Dr Richards, Tasha and I would be grateful for any assistance you could provide." "Nick fury already asked. And we will definitely do that. But the truth is agent Parker you alone may be the greatest defense the universe has against this threat."

Peter didn't know how to take that. Mister fantastic was often considered the smartest man on earth. If even he didn't have a better solution what did that indicate? It didn't make Peter feel warm and fuzzy inside.

They moved on to speak to others, leaving Peter and Tasha alone. Peter was deep in thought and Tasha saw it. "We'll do this together Pete." Now that he could truly see that she was gonna be okay made him feel better. And it helped to strengthen his confidence.

With his arm around her waist he pressed her close as a thank you.

"Agents Parker and Romanoff." Another new arrival. "Yes?" "I am war dog agent Nakia of Wakandan intelligence. I've been sent by his royal highness king T'Challa to assist you in this ongoing crisis." Peter "thank you. Please tell his highness that." "I will. This affects us all." Tasha "we're just following leads right now wherever they pop up. You're welcome to join us." Nakia nodded. "I'd like that."

Sandman and daredevil joined them. Matt "Peter, I'm sorry about earlier. You were right." "It's okay. This whole thing is mind blowing to say the least." Matt nodded. "I'm gonna be going now. Call if you need me." "Will do. Thanks." Matt still maintained a double life. Peter understood what that meant very well having done it for nearly ten years.

Sandman "I can definitely stay." "Good" said Peter. "We're the new team then." Peter then looked to his partner as she was the ranking agent. Tasha shook her head. "Take charge Pete." "Really?" "Absolutely. I believe in you." That validation meant a lot. "Okay. Our job remains the same. Stop Mephisto's plans however we can." It wasn't much but that was the big job for now.

Big boy pants adorned...

"I suggest we focus on magneto" said Nakia. "Mephisto seems to be leveraging everything on him for now." "Agreed" said Tasha. Peter "let's go to the shield monitors and see what the forensics have come up with. We'll take it from there."