Wyatt had stopped pacing a while ago. Now, he just stood in an observation room, watching Dr. Cho and her team work on Jen. He knew where they were. The very first time they came to the compound with Peter, they had been given a brief tour of the facility. The area they were in now was a highly specialized series of rooms. There were layers of walls with the intent of preventing radiation from leaking into the rest of the compound. The center room, the one he was observing now, not only prevented radiation from permeating the compound but it also prevented other things from leaving. It was shielded with what was quite possibly vibranium. It was bullet proof. It was bomb proof. It was Hulk proof.

He glanced up at the light over the observation window. It had turned green a long time ago, but Dr. Cho and her team were still in radiation gear. If there was no radiation risk he didn't understand why they were still protected. A monitor next to the the window showed the patient's vitals. Jen was small but she was a force to be reckoned with. Her heartbeat was strong, although it periodically spiked. Her brain waves also showed plenty of activity. He'd need Davis in here to stand a chance of understanding what it meant...or Dr. Cho, but Dr. Cho was very much occupied at the moment.

Johnny watched his friend stare intently at the gurney that held Jen. He hadn't even tried to distract Wyatt. He had known him long enough to know that his focus would be solely on Jen until he knew she was ok. He glanced over at the door when it pushed open and Peter, Bobby, and Davis walked in.

Peter slid down the wall, landing next to Johnny. "Any update?"

Johnny shook his head. "Radiation light is green but they're still suited up. Vitals seem somewhat normal but they're still working."

Peter nodded. "FRIDAY didn't have any info either."

Johnny looked over at Peter. "You ok?"

Peter nodded. "It's been headed that way for a while. Pepper is just going to be pissed off that she didn't control the release."

Bobby leaned against the wall. "It'll give her something to do. You know she loves this stuff."

Peter shrugged. "Maybe, it's just never fun when Pepper's mad. Usually it's at dad...I don't think I've ever been on the receiving end before."

"What did MJ say?" Johnny glanced back over at the window as he saw movement. It looked like some of the techs were coming out. Rising to his feet he looked back at Peter as he did the same.

"I haven't talked to MJ yet. FRIDAY is making sure everyone is safe. Tower is locked down. Plus, Amanda, Kitty, Kurt, Doug, and Warren are there." Peter watched Dr. Cho make her way out of the room. Hoping she was headed their way he moved further out of the doorway. He noticed Wyatt hadn't taken his eyes off Jen.

Within moments Dr. Cho walked into the room. She wasn't surprised all of them were there. "She's stabilized."

Wyatt glanced back at Dr. Cho. "But..."

Helen studied Wyatt. "She should not have survived that level of exposure. Instead of killing her, her body absorbed the radiation. My guess is we look close enough at her DNA panel we'll see some similarities between her's and Dr. Banner's."

Wyatt frowned. "Banner." He glanced back at Jen. "She's stable."

"Yes. Not awake. Her body is adjusting. We're not sure...". Dr. Cho paused. "Bottom line is we're just not sure of anything. We're trying to keep her sedated while her body adjusts but she's fighting it."

Wyatt nodded and turned back to the window. Most of Dr. Cho's team had left, leaving just a few monitoring Jen. It was going to be a long night.

XXXXXXXXXX

Hearing a thump in the hallway outside the apartment, Ned debated getting up. On one hand, he was tired and comfortable. On the other hand, there could be something going on outside the apartment. Deciding that both options seemed to be convincing him he should just stay in bed he pulled the cover up and rolled over, adjusting his pillow. His eyes popped open when he heard another thump in the hallway. Pushing himself out of bed he made his way out of the bedroom and towards the door, rubbing sleep out of his eyes as he went. Looking through the peephole, he didn't see anything. He almost just turned to go back to bed, but he found his hand on the deadbolt. Opening the door he looked down the hallway. At first he didn't see anything. Then, he caught movement at the far end. Frowning, he watched until he recognized the figure. "Warren?"

Warren turned around when he heard his name. He had been hopeful that Ned would just stay oblivious to what had just happened. "Hey Ned." With a foot, he shoved the arm belonging to one of the assailants into the alcove and out of sight. Glancing back to make sure the figures couldn't be seen he made his way down the hall.

Ned wasn't sure how he had missed them before, but his eyes focused on the two things protruding from Warren's shoulders and back. "Are those wings?"

"Yeah." Warren debated elaborating but decided that 3am was not the right time to have this conversation. Plus, Peter had said Ned was cool and somewhat used to mutants and enhanced individuals. "So, there was an incident tonight. If you and Betty had gone to your apartment, you would have been secured but you didn't so I thought I'd hang out and make sure you were ok."

Ned frowned. "What kind of incident?"

"Apparently Peter's secret is out. All we know is that he's ok and he's at the compound with Tony and everyone else." Warren glanced back down the hall to make sure the two guys weren't moving. He'd have to figure out who to call to pick them up.

"Wow. Ok. Tony has contingency plans in place." Ned looked at Warren a little closer. "So you're what...supposed to be my guardian angel?"

Warren chuckled. "Something like that. I'll get someone to pick these guys up and I'll lurk until Tony or Peter tells me what to do."

Ned nodded. "Cool." He started to close the door but paused and looked back at Warren. "Betty doesn't know anything about any of this. She'll find out if Peter's identity has been revealed but I'm not sure I can deal with her finding out that you have wings tonight."

Warren laughed and tapped the side of the watch he was wearing. The hologram concealing the wings flickered into place. "Done. Have a good night Ned." He watched Ned shut the door and heard the lock click into place. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he called Bobby. He couldn't keep two thugs hidden in an alcove forever.

XXXXXXXXXX

Bobby hung up the phone and looked at Peter and Tony. "Warren's got Ned covered. He needs someone to come pick up some thugs that tried to break in."

Peter rubbed a hand over his face and looked over at his dad. His excuse for keeping his identity secret over the years had always been to keep everyone safe from anyone who might want to get revenge. He really didn't think the attacks would start so quickly. "I think it's safe to say that there are some on the police force that don't like Spider-Man."

Tony shook his head. "I don't understand why any of this is a surprise to you." He looked over at Bobby. "Call a SHIELD team in to help Warren. We can sort out the police issue tomorrow with Captain Stacy."

Davis walked up as Bobby dialed a number they had all been forced to memorize. He waited until Bobby had moved away from the group. "I just transported Daredevil and the others back to a very inconspicuous alley in Hell's Kitchen. Luke said to tell you he may have more info on Windsor and to come see him next week and Daredevil said for you to call him tomorrow." He studied Peter's face. This was not how any of them had been expecting to spend New Year's Eve. Peter's identity reveal was just the cherry on top. "Are you sure you don't want me to take you back to the tower?"

Peter shook his head. "I talked to MJ. She's fine and Amanda and Kitty more than have it covered. When the car pulled up I don't even think Amanda gave them a chance to get out of the car much less actually fire any of the weapons they had with them."

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. "That girl has got way too much pent up anger."

Peter chuckled. "FRIDAY did say the fire department appreciated her putting the fire out. A fully engulfed vehicle is apparently hard to put out on the streets of Manhattan."

Davis glanced between the two. "Last chance. I probably have one or two more portals in me before I crash."

Peter shook his head. "I'm ok here. Plus...". He glanced over at the observation room where Wyatt was still watching Jen through the window.

Davis nodded, cutting him off before he could finish. "I know. Any update?"

Tony shook his head. "So far she's still sedated but she's fighting it." As if on cue, they heard a crash from the room.

Even without enhanced reflexes, Wyatt beat Peter and everyone else to the door leading into the room that was housing Jen. He wasn't sure why he thought he'd just be able to pull the door open. The room Jen was in was probably one of the most secure ones in he world. He tugged on the door in vain until he felt it give. He realized two hands had joined his on the door. Between Peter and Johnny the door gave way. Peter and Johnny paused at the door, but Wyatt did not. He did skid to a stop about two feet from Jen's bed.

"Wyatt...what's happening?" Jen looked up at him with true fear. The last thing she remembered was Foggy being attacked. She looked down at her hand that was reached out to Wyatt. A scream escaped her throat as her arm turned a shade of green before turning back to her normal skin color.

"Jen, you're ok. You're at the compound." Wyatt held both of his hands out as if she were a horse that had been spooked. "You're ok." He took a step closer. "Jen, look at me."

Jen looked up and met his eyes. He looked different. He definitely looked worried, but it was something more. She looked down at her hands as they changed again. "What's happening to me."

"You were exposed to radiation. Your body absorbed it." Wyatt waited for Jen to lift her head and meet his eyes again. "It probably saved you."

Jen closed her eyes and felt herself change. Not just her hands this time, but her whole body. Opening her eyes again she looked down. The petite legs were gone. In their place were legs that looked impossibly strong. And green. Memories started flooding back. "I am so going to sue the guys that stuffed me into that stupid barrel." She looked over at Wyatt. She wasn't sure what she had expected but the grin on his face wasn't it. "What?" She thought her voice even sounded different.

"You don't sound like the Hulk. You sound like you...just bigger." Wyatt took another step forward and reached out his hand. He smiled when the larger green hand reached out and took his, then transformed back into the small hand that had been interlocked with his own so many times. "You can control it?"

"Maybe." Jen frowned. "Yes." She smiled at Wyatt. "What do I do with it?"

XXXXXXXXXX

MJ smiled and straightened his jacket collar. "It'll be fine."

Peter frowned. "I should just wear the suit. And the mask. It'll be easier."

Tony picked up Morgan. She was definitely taking after him. She currently had on a pair of his glasses. At least she had Pepper's fashion sense and the red lenses matched the outfit she had on. She had insisted on wearing red and blue. He figured it was her way of supporting her big brother. "The cat is out of the bag. The police didn't release a statement about it but enough people talked that every reporter out there already knows what you're about to say. So just walk out there and say it."

Pepper's heels clicked on the tile as she walked into the room. "No...walk out there and stick to the cards. It gives them enough information where they won't ask too many questions."

Peter nodded. "Right. Cards." He slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out the cards. Taking a deep breath he looked towards the door. Beyond the door lay a sea of reporters, all with microphones, cameras, and recorders. He watched Pepper walk past him and pull open the door. She walked determinedly towards the podium. The room quieted instantly. He wasn't sure exactly what she was saying. All he knew was that his dad and Morgan had followed her out and were standing to the side. MJ grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the door. He was through it before he realized what was happening. She propelled him towards the podium and squeezed his hand before moving to stand next to the rest of them.

Peter looked at the crowd of reporters. He could feel panic start to rise in his chest so he looked down at the podium, placing the cards down. He steeled his nerves and looked up. "We're here to put to bed some rumors that have been circulating over the last week. Rumors can be a dangerous thing. There's generally enough truth to make them believable but enough theory and exaggeration to make them challenging to live with." He paused for a moment and looked down at the cards. So far so good. He looked back up and any memory of what had been on the cards left his brain. "The truth is...I am Spider-Man."

Tony couldn't help but to chuckle. He'd deal with the glare Pepper was giving him later. Right now, he was enjoying the fact that Peter was very much showing off the fact that he was his son.

XXXXXXXXXX

Epilogue

All Roads Lead to...

"Alaska. You want to go to Alaska for Spring Break." Peter's brain froze with the idea of temperatures being zero. Winters in New York was bad enough. Alaska was a whole other level.

"Yes. March is supposed to have unusually high solar activity this year. I've already contacted Geophysical Institute. They said the activity should be concentrated south of Anchorage. There's a little town called Whittier that is isolated enough I can get the readings I need. I've even found a place to stay and the hotel said they'd accommodate whatever equipment I need." Johnny looked between Peter and Bobby. Davis had heard the word 'Alaska' and had thrown his hands up in the air and walked out of the room. "I can knock out all of the research I need for my thesis. And, none of us have ever been to Alaska."

"Because it's cold. New York winters are bad enough. Alaska is a whole other level of cold." Peter stared at Johnny trying to decide if he was joking or not. He was losing hope that he was joking. "You know MJ, Amanda, Jen, Kitty, and Wanda have all convinced Pepper to let them stay at the house on Maui for Spring Break. We could go with them."

Wyatt looked up from the pot of chili he was stirring. "I was told under no circumstance were we allowed to go with them on Spring Break. They have some misguided notion that they'll get kidnapped again and Jen said she needed an actual vacation."

Bobby, Johnny, and Peter answered in unison. "That wasn't a kidnapping."

Wyatt chuckled. "Tell that to the concussion and gunshot wound." He put the lid back on and walked out of the kitchen. "Bottom line, we can't go with them."

Davis walked back in. "Snowboarding. If I can't go surfing for Spring Break I want to learn how to snowboard. It can't be that different."

Bobby patted Peter on the shoulder. "Just wear your suit and turn on the heater. You'll be fine."

A/N: That's it...that brings us pretty much to the end of To Meet A Need. The story dictated changing the Press Conference at the end a little from the original one I posted in the last chapter of TMAN. I know I left a couple of loose ends. If i decide to write the Alaska story they'll tie into it. We actually went to Alaska for Spring Break. And, yes, at one point it was zero degrees. Whittier is a real town. Population 200. You have to drive through a one way tunnel that doubles as a train tunnel to get into the town. There's a hotel there that looks like a smaller version of the hotel from The Shining. There's also a giant 7-story abandoned military building (almost 300,000 square feet...its huge...and creepy...just like a supervillain's lair...). Perfect location for the boys to get into trouble. Would wrap in Windsor (who's escaped by the way) and Power Broker who is not Sharon. Not sure if I'm going to write it. If I do, I'll write a lot of it ahead of posting. I hate it when a story lingers (like this one did). Thanks for sticking with it!