Back to standard with a pure MCU Peter POV chapter. Not much romance in this chapter but we do move along the plot more as both Peter Parker and Spider-Man.

Peter woke up to the smell of eggs and bacon, "Bwuh?" He sat up on the couch slowly and rubbed his eyes. Peni and Mayday stayed over last night so they all decided to have a sleepover in the living room. It was fun. Back when he was in Gwen's dimension he got used to staying up all night with Gwen and Betty, just gorging on junk food and watching webflicks (netflix with a weird name). A lot of the time MJ and Glory came too and then he'd watch them practice or brainstorm ideas for new music.

He really missed them...

"Rise and shine, Pete..." Gwen passed him on the couch and clapped his shoulder. She was just as sleepy as him, hair messy and her baggy sweatshirt and shorts disheveled from a rough night of...playing board games. That was it. They totally didn't sneak off while Mayday and Peni were watching an old horror movie (May left for a sudden SA meeting) to do anything they wouldn't want anyone else to see.

"I'm up, I'm up..." He waved a hand lazily and almost stepped on the sleeping Peni curled up on the floor under the table. Her spider hissed at him protectively before returning to his place next to her cheek, "Sorry," Peter mumbled. He knelt down to the sleeping mecha pilot and gently shook her, "Hey, Peni, up and at em." She grumbled and waved him away like an annoyed cat, "...Mayday's making bacon."

Her eyes opened and she rolled out from under the table, "You should've said that first." He didn't say anything and just sat at the table between her and Gwen after offering to help Mayday. His theoretical daughter waved him off and said it was no big deal. Back home they split who did the cooking depending on who was the least busy. Apparently older him wasn't a fan of fast food, which was pretty blasphemous.

"May still at her meeting?" Gwen asked.

"Yeah. New influx of Salvation Army refugees. Apparently some kind of attack on Morocco," Peter replied. The news was vague on the details but a google (not giigle) search last night had people posting about a 'walking cyclone' or something. Weird.

They helped Mayday set down the food and Peni beamed, "Itadakimasu!" she shouted happily before quickly digging in. Ever since they got here she'd been gorging herself on as much food as she could get. Whenever he dropped by to visit she was always munching on one snack or another. Back home in 3145 most people ate food supplement - all the nutrients of a meal in one convenient pill. Even the candies she usually kept on her was frowned on, according to her.

"You heading to school?" Mayday asked him.

"Yeah. Same old, same old." He was sure Ned was gonna grill him as soon as he got in, but that was the least of his problems. There was Michelle too. She didn't know anything - or at least he was sure she didn't - but she was definitely suspicious. Her grilling him yesterday wasn't a good sign and he definitely didn't make it any better by running off with no explanation. He'd have to deal with it.

"Is something wrong, Pete?" Gwen asked.

"I...think my classmate's suspicious of you," he replied. Gwen raised a brow back and waited for him to continue, "I'm talking about Michelle. She...yesterday she was asking about you. I introduced you as Gwen Stacy when you saw them and I...kinda forgot that we have an exchange student with the exact same name. And that you're both being raised by police chiefs."

"Oh...shit." Gwen winced, "Fuck, that's my fault. I shouldn't have dropped in on you like that. Sorry."

"No, it's not your fault! It's just...it'll be harder to talk to her now that she's suspicious. I mean, it's not like I can avoid her: she's the head of the decathlon team! But I know she's gonna keep asking me about it and I dunno what to do."

"I'm guessing you can't just tell her it's all one big coincidence?" Mayday asked with a wry smile.

"Why don't you tell her our Gwen's a clone that had some Spider DNA mixed in? No one ever questions clones," Peni added.

"We don't have clones here!" Peter said back. There were a bunch of conspiracy theories about the government trying to clone Captain America but there wasn't any actual proof of that, "Besides, french Gwen doesn't even look like our Gwen. She looks more like my other friend Betty." He only vaguely recalled what this dimensions Gwen looked like but he definitely remembered her having black hair.

"Hmm, that complicates things." Mayday sighed, "How much do you trust this Michelle girl? Is she like that Ned guy from yesterday?"

"No. I mean I don't not trust her, but I really don't wanna just tell her everything that's happened, you know?" Michelle was cool, but he wasn't sure if she was that cool. She kept her cards close to her chest, "But didn't you guys say the less people knew about you the better?"

"That's pretty much standard operating procedure, yeah, but it's really just Noir and Jessica who are paranoid," Peni said, "Apart from you none of us are from this dimension so I don't really mind if people know who I am. It's not like it'll bug me when I go back home." She shrugged, "I have an open identity back home, too. People needed to trust SP/dr and that's pretty hard if there's no face behind the cockpit."

"I agree with Jessica and Noir. The less attention we draw on ourselves the better," Mayday said, "I don't really know what to tell you, Peter. Maybe try to convince her it's all just a big coincidence? It's not like you were close to the Gwen Stacy of this dimension."

"Worst case scenario just play dumb. Always works." Gwen gave him a goofy thumbs up.

"Thanks, guys..." He rolled his eyes and swallowed the next egg whole.

Ned was on him as soon as he got through the school entrance, "So when can I come visit again?" he asked excitedly. Peter looked around and gestured for his best friend to follow him, "They were really cool! That Peni girl's got really cool stuff about tech and energy and Jessica had some really cool stories about what being a super spy's like. I really gotta talk to them-"

"Ned, chill!" He dragged him to the bathroom and slammed the door behind them, "Yes, you can talk to them again, but please keep it quiet! We're trying to keep it on the down low, you know?"

"Dude they've been running around New York for weeks now! Like, people think the guy with the trenchcoat is your dad or something." Peter had to hold back a laugh at that? Noir? His dad? Yeah, next they'd say Scarlet was his mom or something. Just cause they were the grumpiest in the group didn't make them the parents, "Anyway, when are they going back? Are they gonna visit again after they do? Could I-"

"Shh!" He looked around the (empty) bathroom again and pulled him close to whisper, "I told you, they'll go back once the dimensional gate things aren't busted anymore. And I don't know if any of them are coming back except for Gwen." They'd already agreed to visit each other whenever they could. It wasn't like it'd be hard - with their portal watches it was quicker and cheaper than taking the bus.

Karen kept asking where they'd live once they got married, but he ignored that thought. They were way too young to be thinking about that stuff.

"Oh, cool..." Ned suddenly seemed bummed. Peter led him out of the bathroom back to classes, keeping an eye out for Michelle as he went. It was silly. Spider-Man, the guy who helped fight Thanos and got taken to another dimension, scared because he couldn't tell a lie to a way too pushy classmate. Then again it was always like that. Michelle always seemed to know way more about him than everyone except Ned. She wasn't obsessed with him, she said, she was just very observant.

They were about to get inside the class when he spoke up again.

"Hey, Pete." Peter looked back. Ned looked...embarrassed? No, that wasn't the right word. Unsure, maybe? "So, uh...how well do you know all those guys?"

"Depends. I talked with Noir, Peni and Mayday a bunch but I really only met Scarlet and Jessica during the whole you know what. Why?"

"Well...do you know if Jessica and Mayday are dating anyone?"

"I...don't think so? But why do you-" Peter stopped and his eyes went as wide as the animal he was named after. This couldn't- was he seriously- no, couldn't be, "Er, I mean I'm...why do you wanna know?" Please, please, please tell him that his best friend wasn't in love with his possible future daughter and a female clone version of himself from another dimension. Please.

"Well, you know, I was gonna...maybe sorta ask one of them out?" Ned smiled awkwardly. Peter just looked at him with a blank, unreadable looked that masked the rising horror underneath, "Nothing too big or anything! There's just this cool pizza place that got built when we were all blipped and I thought it'd be cool to invite em over, maybe see if they liked pizza here than back in their own dimension."

"Oh...I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

Cause one of them's my future daughter and the other's a female clone of me, he didn't say cause he wasn't stupid. Instead he said the only other thing that came to mind, "Cause...they're gay." Ned just looked at him, as if that somehow needed elaboration, "You know...they like girls. Not guys."

"Oh, like...both of them?"

"Yep, totally. Both of them, not into guys. At all." He shook his head forcefully while mentally apologizing to them both. Okay so he didn't know if they did or didn't like girls but Mayday definitely mentioned a couple of ex-boyfriends and a few guy crushes so that was definitely a lie. Still, it was a white lie for the greater good. Cause there was no way he was gonna tell Ned how weird it was that he found his future daughter and female clone hot.

"Oh...bummer."

"Wh-What about Scarlet? She's pretty hot." Also scary, but still hot.

"Eh...I agree with you there, but she's a bit too old for me. How old is she? Like 29 or 30?" 22 if he remembered right, but the way she acted he wasn't surprised Ned got it wrong. Hard to believe Noir was only 24 considering how he acted, "So I don't think that's happening. Jessica and Mayday are the same age as us, at least."

"So's Peni."

"Yeah...but she looks like she's 10."

"True."

Class started on that awkward note. Peter did his best to pay attention to the lecture and not at all about the weird implications on his best friend's two crushes, 'Just don't think about about it...' He tapped his pen and listened to the teacher repeat the same lesson he already learned five years ago. Cause even though they get blipped away halfway through the year they still had to go back to beginning. And take midterms again.

Ned slid his chair next to his, "You're dating Spider-Gwen, right?"

"Yeah. And don't call her that," he whispered back.

"Okay but like...isn't she too old for you?"

"She's 20, Ned. It's not that big." 3 years. Why did people make such a big deal out of it? It wasn't like she was 40 or something. Even back in Gwen's dimension the Bugle kept trying to bring it up to discredit her. It made them both mad.

"So...who made the first move?"

"Ned! Not the time!" He shoved him away lightly and focused back on his notes. Yeah, he definitely wasn't going to tell Michelle. As pushy as Ned was at least he was his best friend and had his back. He wasn't so sure about Michelle. What would she do if she found out he was Spider-Man and that he knew other Spider-People from different dimensions? She wasn't a big twitter-holic or anything but she was a conspiracy theorist. He definitely remembered her joking(?) about how the Eiffel tower was used to brainwash France's populace.

Thankfully Ned got the hint and let him alone for the rest of the class, which allowed Peter to get some studying done. The peace and quiet lasted till lunchtime when Michelle walked up to their table with a pleased smile on her face, "Sup nerds," she said. Better than when she called them losers, even if Peter found it weird. They were all nerds, "Gonna attend the decathlon later?"

"Definitely." Ned nodded.

"I'm...not sure. Might be busy with something." It technically wasn't required but most of them still went. Solidarity and all that jazz.

"Hanging out with your neighbor again?" Before Peter could give back an epic and well-crafted excuse she waved her hand to gesture someone forward, "Oh well, I was gonna introduce her at today's meeting but since Peter's skipping might as well do it here first."

The girl behind her, who Peter didn't even see before, stepped forward with a slightly shy smile. She was tall and thin with pale skin, brown eyes and an outfit that looked a cross between goth and punk - a black skull jacket with an oversized hoodie, skinny jeans and boots. Her black hair was pulled back in a ponytail and hidden under a purple beanie that had a cross pattern on the hem.

She looked...vaguely familiar.

Peter's stomach sank as Michelle introduced her with that all too knowing smile, "Ned, Peter, this is Gwen Stacy." Michelle looked him straight in the eyes, "Considering we're lacking in members I decided to start recruiting. I decided to ask Gwen here and she said yes."

"Y-Yeah, cool..." Peter wanted to run, but that'd just lead to even more questions.

"Nice to meet you both." Despite her loud appearance her voice was soft. The shy smile remained even as she held a hand up to shake theirs. Peter idly noted the multiple bands and rings on her fingers as he and Ned accepted the gesture, "I was actually thinking about joining five years ago before...you know what happened. Figured now's a good chance to make up for it, yeah?"

"T-Totally." Ned gave him a sideways glance and Peter resisted the urge to shrug back. Don't show anything. Don't give MJ any more ammo to use against him, "S-So, MJ, you find anybody else besides Gwen?"

"No luck so far. Most people aren't into the whole decathlon thing after coming back from the dead." She shrugged in a 'what can you do?' way that made Peter squirm in his seat, "But hey, even getting one more person's good and Gwen here's a real wiz when it comes to chemistry. Since Cindy graduated we really needed someone to cover that so it really works out."

"I'll do my best." Gwen - this dimensions's Gwen - laughed softly. Peter looked away? "Um...is something wrong? You two have been stiff since Michelle introduced me. " She looked legitimately worried at that. Great, that just made him feel worse, "Did I do something wrong?"

"Don't mind it. These two dorks just get googly eyed when they see pretty girls." Michelle looked right at Peter again, "Especially if they're smart. You should see her write-ups, Peter. Bet she's good enough to get into college."

"Alright. Michelle, we need to talk." He stood up, grabbed the taller brunette's wrist and dragged her out to the hall while Gwen and Ned just watched in confusion.

"...What was that about?" Gwen asked. So far this was a weird first introduction. She figured the remaining decathlon members would have a hard time accepting someone new after what happened five years ago but it was worth a shot. Didn't help that all of the friends she made five years ago were the lucky ones and didn't get blipped for five years. Making new friends was hard.

"Just...stuff. It's kinda their thing, ya know?" Ned shrugged awkwardly.

"O...kay then? I'll see you at the auditorium later, I guess." Gwen walked away slowly and stuffed her hands in her pockets. So far not a good first impression, but the two seemed nice enough. She heard Ned was really into computer games so she could talk about that. First step to making friends was finding common ground, according to her dad.

And Peter was...well, 'weird but cute' probably fit him best. She'd find some way to make friends with him.

Out in the hall, Peter let go of MJ once she was sure they were alone, "What are you doing?" he rounded on her and did his best to make an intimidating stare. Judging by her smirk it wasn't succeeding.

"Finding new members." She crossed her arms and leaned with her back against the lockers, "What's wrong? You don't have a problem with Gwen, right?"

"You know what you're exactly what you're doing!" Peter hissed. Or at least he tried to. It sounded more like he really needed to cough, "Look, I'm telling you right now I don't care what you do, I'm not telling you anything."

"So you're telling me there's something that I'd want you to answer?" she asked back.

"That's not what I-" His phone rang. The two of them looked at one another in complete silence before Peter slowly pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked at the screen. It was Mayday, "Mayday, now's not really a good-"

"Emergency Spider meeting. Now." Her voice was clipped and screamed 'don't argue with me if you value your life'. Peter just thanked whatever God was out there that it wasn't on speaker, "Find a way to cut the rest of your classes. This is important."

"But-"

She cut the call. Peter looked down at the screen again when Michelle spoke up again, "Got somewhere to be?" He didn't get a chance to reply before she continued, "Go ahead. I'll tell the teach you had food poisoning and had to go. Just make sure to get a sick note from your aunt or something."

"Wait. You're helping me? Why?"

"Just cause I'm curious doesn't mean we're not friends." She said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Now go on, do your really important something. I'll make sure no one asks any questions."

"...I'm still not telling you anything."

"I know." She smirked again, "Don't worry, I'll find out on my own. It's not any fun if you just tell me all the answers." She began to walk down before she stopped and looked back at him, "Oh, and I didn't just get Gwen to mess with you, if you're wondering. We really do need more people and the decathlon and she was the only one who said yes so far. Don't wanna get disbanded or anything."

"Sure." He nodded blankly and walked the opposite way. First he had to figure out what Mayday wanted.

"What do you mean you two kidnapped someone?!" Gwen shouted at Noir and Scarlet. To her right Mayday was pinching the bridge of her nose while across from them Scarlet and Noir just stood with their arms crossed with no signs of guilt.

So...apparently they kidnapped someone. Scarlet told them that the guy was planning to bomb an entire city block but Mayday and Gwen still thought it wasn't the best thing to do. He, Jessica and Mayday weren't exactly sure on where they fell. Sure he'd never kidnapped someone before, but bombing a city block was a pretty big deal. That went past criminals straight into terrorists.

"Mommy and daddy are fighting again," Peni said sarcastically, idly rubbing her spider's thorax with one finger. She was sitting on top of her deactivated mech and hadn't said a word in favor of or against either side so far.

"I agree with Noir and Scarlet on principle, but this is hardly the best spot for an interrogation." She looked around the shabby room. It was spacious, but that was the only good thing to say about it. The walls and floor were dilapidated, it smelled like mold and the furniture looked older than he was. Hard to believe Noir slept here without needing a decontamination afterwards.

"Listen, Stacy, it was either this or we give him over to the crime lord. Least this way we can find out who tried make the city go boom," Noir said.

"Why not try the police? You know, the people who can probably help out with this sort of thing?" Mayday shot back.

Scarlet snorted, "Please, when was the last time either of you two let the police handle something?" They both didn't say anything, "Let's not forget we're all vigilantes, even Tiger there." She nudged her head to where Peter stood, "We can't exactly just drop this guy off at the station then pretty please ask them to keep us in the loop. Best they'll do is not arrest us."

"Still, kidnapping someone?" Gwen asked.

"Know a better way? The bulletproof man didn't exactly give us a lot of options." Noir scoffed.

"Wait, did you say bulletproof man?" Peter asked. Noir let out a barely heard grunt, "I think I know that guy? Luke Cage, right? The Hero of Harlem?" They didn't have any official team-ups or anything but Peter knew about him and the Devil of Hell's Kitchen. Both of them had a reputation before he got blipped. So much happened he forgot to check if they were part of the dusting or not.

"Your 'hero' is running a crime family, Tiger," Scarlet said.

"What? That...doesn't make any sense. He was trying to help people last I saw him."

"Five years can change a person." Jessica said grimly, "Either way we have to decide what we're doing here now. Noir, Scarlet, what's the plan?"

"We were hoping we could 'ask' this guy what he knew about who supplied him the bomb and see if we can go from there," Scarlet said, "Figured we should tell the rest of you guys what was up, especially Tiger. It is his city and someone's trying to blow up city blocks. I thought you'd want in on this."

"I'm not really good at the whole interrogation thing." He still remembered the last disaster interrogation mode was.

"You can leave that to us." Noir said. Mayday didn't look pleased with that, "Point is you know this city better than anyone and..." He trailed off and suddenly put his mask back on. Peter was about to ask what was wrong before all their spider-senses (sans Gwen's) suddenly rang in tandem, "Masks on! Now!"

They all hurriedly put on their masks and Peni barely managed to scramble into her mech before the ceiling above them suddenly collapsed, scattering dust and mold everywhere as everything went black, "Lights are gone! Can anyone see in the dark?!" Jessica shouted.

Noir and Peni replied in the affirmative while Peter turned on his suit's nightvision. Even with his new sight it was still hard to see. The dust and mold was scattered everywhere and he could barely see in front of him. Even the flashlight from SP/dr's chassis didn't help, "Ugh, Noir, you should've picked a better place!" Peni shouted.

"Thought that gizmo of yours could see just fine?"

"This is a scouting unit! And I haven't fully repaired it yet-"

Four figures dropped down from above. Peter looked around frantically till Peni suddenly shrieked as one of the figures punched through SP/dr's chassis with a single fist. Peter moved immediately, jumping onto guy's back and pulled him away before he could grab at Peni, "Hey, pick on someone your own-" He reached out behind him and grabbed Peter's leg, "-size?"

He was smashed against the ground and rolled to the side to avoid the stomp aimed straight at his chest. He webbed two of the hooded figure's feet while he heard the rest of their group fighting, "My mech!" Peni shouted in a rage. She grabbed the man's hands with SP/dr's pincer like hands and pulled him while Peter did the same in the opposite direction.

The big guy fell with a loud slam and Peter pinned him down in a ton of webbing, "Stay there for a sec, okay?" He webbed his face one last time for good measure then looked for the others. Noir and Jessica were fighting someone with a glowing(?) fist while Scarlet was doing the same with someone else he couldn't make out. That left Mayday and Gwen fighting 2-on-1 against a guy who looked weirdly familiar.

Peter tried to hit his back only for the guy to dodge and toss a stick at his head, "Woah, close one!" He grabbed the stick out of the air and looked down briefly. Looked like a nightstick with a wire attached.

He webbed it to the ceiling and jumped up behind the guy. He was doing a good job dodging both Gwen's and Mayday's kicks and flipped over Peter when he tried to hit his back, "Fast!" He looked back and, for the first time, clearly saw the devil-like mask through the dust and mold.

Peter knew who he was.

"Wait, guys, hold up! STOP FIGHTING!" The enhanced interrogation shout was enough to stop all of the fights. Daredevil knelt down in a wary position but titled his head to the side, just waiting for his next move, "We're fighting heroes! Heroes!" He shouted again, " This is Daredevil! He's the big-time Superhero over in Hell's Kitchen! We shouldn't be fighting him!"

"Bit late for that, isn't it?" Noir snarled.

"This must be a misunderstanding or something! Let's talk this out!" Peter put his hands up and slowly walked towards the crouching Daredevil. Even from his position Peter could tell he was much bigger than him, "I dunno why you attacked us, but I think we should talk. Unless you secretly became evil the last five years. Please tell me you didn't." Make jokes. Jokes always broke through the tension. Mr. Stark taught him that.

It was only for a second, but he definitely saw Daredevil crack a smile, "Not when I last checked." He stood up properly, "Hmm, I didn't think you'd suggest a parlay. From what Luke told us you Spiders weren't much for conversation."

"Luke Cage?" He looked back and, through the thinning dust, saw said hero pushing through the web blankets while Peni glared down at him through the hole in her screen.

"Yeah. He said he tried to play nice and two of you just ignored him." Another man's voice said. The one with the glowing fist was pinned to the ground with Jessica holding both his arms down while Noir pointed a gun at his gut. He either didn't notice or didn't care, "If we can talk this out then I say we go for it. That's how I wanted to do it in the first place."

"Could we have this talk when we're not in this dark shitpit?" The last one groused. Scarlet had her slammed against the wall, one hand holding her neck while the other was morphed into a blade with the edge almost cutting her stomach, "And could you back off on the gutting? You heard Spider boy, he wants to talk."

"...What do you think?" Scarlet asked them.

"If Spider-Man's right then we can do this all peaceful like. I'm game," Gwen said.

"I'm not! They broke SP/dr's chassis!" Peni shouted in-between her coughs.

"We can fix it later, Peni. If there's a peaceful solution we should take it." Mayday said, "What about you, Daredevil? You wanna play nice or you wanna keep fighting?"

"Considering you outmatch us I don't think we have a choice. Yes, let's talk."

Jessica, Noir and Scarlet reluctantly bulled back and let the rest of Daredevil's group up. The dust thinned even more and Peter got a better look at them. There was Daredevil in his armor, which made him stick out compared to the other three. Luke Cage wore a dull gray hoodie and track pants while the woman next to him had a leather jacket with jeans. The guy with the glowing fist was the only other one who tried to disguise himself with a cloth covering the lower half of his face and a tracksuit that covered the rest of him.

"So...we all friends now?" The woman with the leather jacket asked.

"Not yet." Noir smiled sardonically through his slightly torn mask, "But let's follow what the kid wants and...talk."

So we've got progress on two fronts. First Michelle pushed hard and adds MCU Gwen Stacy to the decathlon team while on the superhero front the Spider gang and the Defenders are now forced to talk like adults. Oh and Peni's mech gets wrecked again, cause being the one person with a mech means you're free game to get injured.

And yes, MCU Gwen Stacy will be a supporting character alongside future segments assuming people don't violently hate her from her first appearance. Might be fun to see how she interacts with Peter and 65-Gwen, especially with her being determined to make friends with Peter despite his initial discomfort.

I'm sorry for people expecting a better Defenders vs Spider Gang fight but it's the only way I thought to make it slightly fair. Apart from Luke the Defenders are far weaker than their comic counterparts while the Spiders have comic book levels of strength, and they're outnumbered to boot. In a straight up fight it would've ended with a total stomp for everyone except for Luke, and even then Scarlet or Gwen could've taken him down eventually.

Question:

1. Do you guys still want romance shenanigans? While Spider-Gwen and MCU Peter are already set some people did want to tackle Michelle's canon crush on Peter as well. Also, while not a full romance, I could add some lighthearted/goofy moments between Peter and MCU Gwen. Nothing serious, but it could lead to some funny convos.

Review Answers:

Dragon Rider 66 - Peter doesn't really need to be the 'next Iron Man', though? He could just be Spider-Man.

AACM25 - Popularity. Luke has two seasons on Netflix while Noir had three miniseries comics and Scarlet is a fanfic character. People tend to default side with the one they know more.

JonyBoy6 - Scarlet already fits that role since she has the Carnage symbiote and is an anti-hero Spider.