Peter stepped off the elevator to the smell of MJ's coffee. It had become a soothing scent...just like the smell of engine grease and other lab smells, it was something that told him he was home.

MJ looked over at him and smiled. "What did you do with the other four?"

Peter leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "They're one level down. Dad is one level up."

MJ frowned. "Everything go ok last night?"

Peter slid into the seat next to her. "Everything went fine. We're just grounded for life."

MJ took a sip of her coffee. "You're not grounded for life. Maybe for a couple weeks." She looked down at her phone as it buzzed. "Betty...it's too early." She turned to look at Peter. "So everyone is fine? No one got hurt and you got Amanda and Kitty back?"

Peter nodded. "Even captured the bad guy." His phone buzzed. "Huh...Betty." He hit the screen to answer it and switched over to speaker. "Hey Betty."

"Have you seen the news? You don't sound like you've seen the news. I'm sending it to you and MJ."

Peter frowned and looked over at MJ who had picked up her phone and clicked on the link in the text Betty had sent. An online article from the New York post came up. "Hobgoblin arrested." She skimmed through the article. "It doesn't say anything about Ned."

"Yeah, but if Hobgoblin...the real Hobgoblin was caught red handed then that means Ned's case has to be dismissed...right? MJ, you're studying law...he should get released, right?"

"Corporate law, Betty...we'll call his lawyer and let you know what he says. Give us a couple hours to figure it out and we'll call you back."

Peter disconnected the call. "Does it say anything else? Like how he got caught?"

MJ shook her head. "No, but the other article on the front page is an editorial piece about vigilantes in New York causing damage. It's specifically aimed at Daredevil, Iron Fist, and some guy named Luke Cage." She frowned when she saw the look on Peter's face. "It doesn't mention Spider-Man." She flipped over to the internet and pulled up some other articles and videos. "I think they may have been involved in taking down Hobgoblin...and it looks like it got ugly." She watched the expressions on Peter's face. "You're not telling me something."

Peter shook his head. "It's not my secret to tell." He pushed himself out of the chair. "I'm going to go see if I can track Matt down and see if I can find out something. Are you ok here?"

MJ nodded. "If you're supposed to be grounded, you might want to tell your dad where you're going." She could tell the thought hadn't even occurred to Peter. "Just a suggestion."

Peter scooped up his backpack from where he had dropped it by the elevator. "Right...tell dad first." He stepped into the elevator and quickly debated. "FRIDAY, take me upstairs."

Tony looked over at the elevators when he heard the door close. He pulled the towel he had been using to dry his hair down pausing on his trek to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. "What's wrong?"

"I need to go out and check on a few things...I'm not entirely sure exactly how grounded I am so I thought I should check with you first." Peter shoved his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels at the edge of the kitchen as he watched his dad go through the automatic motions of making coffee.

"If your asking it probably means that Spider-Man wants to go out and not Peter." Tony leaned on the counter and looked over at Peter.

"Kingsley was arrested last night...as Hobgoblin. He was robbing a warehouse. I can't get Matt to respond to texts or calls so I need to go see him."

Tony pulled himself away from the counter and turned to grab a mug out of the cabinet behind him. "It's Saturday...not sure Nelson and Murdock is open on Saturday." He turned to face Peter, putting the mug next to the coffee pot. "Would it help this conversation if I told you I know Matt is Daredevil?"

Peter let out a sigh of relief. "Immensely." He frowned for a moment. "How did you know?"

Tony shrugged. "I make it a point to know exactly who my son is doing superhero team ups with...so what's the actual problem?"

Peter pulled his phone out and pulled up the same story MJ had shown him downstairs and handed it to his dad. "I'm worried."

Tony skimmed through the article. The vigilantes in New York had come under fire in the past but this time seemed a little more serious. The police had opened fire on and given chase after Kingsley had been captured. The editorial piece was tinged with the same anti-mutant rhetoric he had been hearing for months. Fear if the unknown was making people act irrationally. When the vigilantes had been called out before, it was generally after one of the more violent and destructive interactions, but the consensus was still that they were the good guys. This article did not have the same consensus. "And you want to go as Spider-Man why?"

Peter frowned. "Because I can move faster? And Spider-Man breaking into Matt's apartment is less suspicious than if I did."

Tony shook his head. "That makes no sense. Go, but don't go in Miles' suit. You can take it back to him after you find Matt."

"So I can't go as Spider-Man?" Peter instantly felt as if his suit was being taken away.

Tony could see the wheels turning in Peter's head and sighed. "I'm not taking your suits away. I'm asking you to be smart. If the sentiment on the street is that masked vigilantes are the bad guys, I don't care what kind of rep you think you have, someone is going to call you out and the last thing you need right now is to tangle with the police or a civilian. Hell's Kitchen is only a few subway stops always." He reached down and loosened his watch. Slipping it off, he held it out to Peter. "But do me a favor and wear this so if you run into trouble I have a way to find you."

Peter debated for a split second, then reached out to take the watch. Slipping it on his wrist he fastened it. "I'll be back."

XXXXXXXXXX

Peter glanced around the alley to make sure he was clear before jumping up to the fire escape. He had texted Matt again on his way there with no response. Making his way up to the top, he rapped on the window. He looked through the glass trying to see into the apartment. He hadn't been there before but like his dad, he liked to know who he was partnering with, so he had researched everything he could about Matt. He couldn't see any lights on in the apartment but between Matt being blind and the number of windows he wasn't sure the lights were ever on. He studied the lock on the window and had it open within seconds. Sliding it up, he hopped through and landed softly on the hard wood floors. Walking through the apartment he rounded the corner and saw Matt sitting still in the center of the floor.

"Hey Peter." Matt let out the breath he had been controlling. The meditation had helped, Claire had stitched him up last night, but he still hurt everywhere.

"You look like crap." Peter walked over, unsure if he needed to help Matt off the floor.

Pushing himself up in a fluid motion, Matt moved slowly to the kitchen and retrieved a bottle of water. "Disturbingly enough, I've looked worse. Do you want anything?"

Peter shook his head. "No thanks. When I got back this morning I saw the news about last night. And you weren't answering texts so I got worried." Peter was cataloguing Matt's injuries. At least a couple of broken ribs, probably a concussion. He frowned. "Did you get stabbed?" There was definitely a thick bandage on Matt's side.

Matt chuckled, "Actually, I got shot. It's just a graze and it's been stitched up." He took a sip of water and gingerly lowered himself into one of the chairs at the table. "How did your thing go last night?"

Peter smiled. "It went fine. Saved some people, got the bad guy." He hesitated for a moment. "I wish I'd been there to help you last night."

"I had help. This..." He gestured to the bruising, "is temporary. We also got the bad guy."

Peter smiled. "Are the others in just as bad shape? Iron Fist and Luke Cage?"

"You have been reading the news. Everybody is ok. I think Luke got grazed too but he doesn't have to meditate to heal." Matt took another sip. "I have an appointment Monday morning at 8am to petition to have Ned released. I think Kingsley confessed enough to ensure the charges will be dropped."

"That's a relief. Thanks." Peter studied Matt. There hadn't been a doubt in his mind that Matt would get Ned released. He realized he genuinely liked Matt and was worried about him. He kind of reminded Peter of Bucky. "What happened last night? What set the police off?"

Matt gave a tiny shrug, careful not to aggravate any of the setting bones. "Wrong officers at the wrong time. It just seems like there's more and more wrong officers and wrong times." He took another sip of water. "They've been after me before. I leave too much blood and cause too much damage. But..."

"The consensus before has always been that you're still one of the good guys."

Matt smiled. "And now, not so much. I thought with the anti-mutant rumblings dying down this would too. It's not, I wonder sometimes if it would make a difference if they knew?"

"Knew what?" Peter frowned. He wasn't sure where Matt was going with this. "That we're not normal? I'm pretty sure they figured that out the first time I climbed up a wall and the first time you fought someone."

Matt chuckled. "No...not what...who. My dad used to tell me 'better the Devil you know'. The better choice is the known instead of the unknown. I'm just a guy in a mask. I'm the unknown. I like to think that I do the things I do to protect the innocent. Sometimes I'm not sure. The bad guys in Hell's Kitchen call me The Devil. The innocent bystanders, the people I rescue, call me The Man Without Fear. The reality is I'm always afraid. It's what keeps me alive." Matt leaned forward slightly to look at Peter. "The Devil is a little closer to the truth. I question my motives almost every second of every day. Do I do what I do because I have to or because I want to."

Peter shook his head. "I think I may have met the Devil and you're definitely not him." He sighed. "I've thought the same thing though. Is the secret worth it. I put a mask on to protect those around me...and if I were honest, to keep people from seeing how scared I actually was." He looked down at his hands. This conversation was one he had been wrestling with for a while. "Now, I can protect MJ. My aunt is dating my dad's former body guard and head of security so I think she's protected. So why am I still wearing the mask." He looked up at Matt. "People are fearful of what they don't know and don't understand. Mutants have been around a whole lot longer than anyone realizes. But they don't know because everything is kept in a dark closet because if people knew what was really out there..." Peter took a deep breath. "The bad guy we took down last night...he's been experimenting on mutants for years. There's no telling how many have died because of what he's done. That's my reality. I can't help but wonder if people knew some of the horrible stuff if it would make it easier to understand that we're not something to be afraid of."

Matt took another sip of water. "Peter, you are wise beyond your years. It's a great theoretical discussion but I'm not sure I see either one of us giving up the mask." He put the almost empty water bottle down. "Oh, by the way, Foggy is quite taken with Jen. I think they've teamed up to take on a new client. Something about industrial accidents."

Peter chuckled, somewhat relieved to let the previous conversation drift to the back of his brain. "It'll keep her occupied. Let me know if I need to get MJ to call her off."

Matt nodded. "Peter...thanks for coming to check on me. There are very few people in this world right now who understand any of this. It's nice to know that you are not alone."