I touched down on the roof in New York, the bubble of altered spacetime around me rippling as my personal gravity re-aligned with the gravity of earth.

Gwen was crouched on the corner of the building as she surveyed the streets.

As I strode up next to her, she absent-mindedly fiddled with the police scanner ear-piece that she used to track crime in the city.

Today had been surprisingly calm, according to Gwen.

We had started off as soon as her university classes let out for the day, tracking various crimes and swooping in to stop them.

Between the two of us, we made some excellent progress, practically clearing out downtown manhattan during the early afternoon. Sure, we hadn't expected too much, but there were enough dark alleys and enough stupid people that Gwen normally found at least one or two people on these patrols.

Instead of that, we were mainly limited to catching pickpockets and purse-snatchers.

Not actually a big deal.

Gwen sighed, "The city is quiet tonight."

"Of course it is."

We spun around, and standing across from us was Matt Murdock. The version of him that was a dirty lawyer for the Kingpin.

I let my gravity fields kick in again as I floated off the ground.

"Why so suspicious?" he asked, "Didn't I just say that we cleaned up the streets for you?"

Gwen scoffed, "So what? You saw Ripple with me and wanted to collect information about him?"

"Well, it wouldn't hurt. To find out, I suppose." Murdock admitted, "But it's not like he's on the run from the law like you are."

"Is she though?" I chuckled.

Gwen turned to me questioningly, "Ripple?"

I put a finger up to my lips before playfully turning to Murdock and looking at him, "You almost made me ruin the surprise."

Gwen stood up and put her hands on her hips, "Ripple!"

Murdock laughed, "Well, well… Spider-woman, you never told me that you had a partner. Is your boyfriend doing something nice for you?"

Gwen huffed, "Maybe?"

"You know, if the night is going to be quiet anyway, why don't we turn in early?" I offered.

I could sense Gwen's consternation, "You can keep your scanner in. If there's a big crime spree we can always duck out."

Gwen considered it before reaching out.

"Hey, don't ignore me!" Murdoc called out.

And the two of us promptly did, my flight field extending to cover Gwen and launch us into the sky.

Speeding over the streets, I saw people turn to watch us as I carried Gwen out of manhattan.

As we disappeared over the bay, I activated the holographic cloak built into my armour, wrapping the two of us in a bubble of invisibility.

Flying up, the pair of us found ourselves at the top of the Brooklyn Bridge.

As I set Gwen down, the sun began to set over the bay.

She walked out to edge of the tower, I stepped to the side and pulled out a picnic basket and a sheet.

She turned around as the two wine glasses clinked and laughed.

"Oh Jon," She sighed.

I laughed, "Come, enjoy the food!"

She reached for her mask and pulled it over her head, revealing a grinning face.

As she sat down, I put out the food and poured out some nice fruity white wine.

We stuck in, chatting about the last few days as we watched the sunset and enjoyed a nice Italian meal.

We started talking about wheat had happened in the few days that she had been missing. Elizabeth had returned Gwen, Raven and Starfire to their homeworlds in a little under a week after they had gone missing, so Spider-woman's disappearance had been felt.

While the workarounds we had put in place to make sure Gwen Stacy's disappearance hadn't been remarked upon did make sure that the missing person's case had evaporated and all the people involved no longer truly remarked on it.

Well, no one by Gwen's father.

Apparently, the man had been able to shake off the mystical effects of the spell that Strange had cast, and it had lead to a tense time in the Stacy household.

Gwen stayed in her own flat closer to the university, so Gwen's father hadn't realized that she had gone missing for a couple of days, leading to her only being known to be missing for about three days.

Gwen had played along with the illusions that Strange had cast at first when her father had subtly tried to check if she remembered her disappearance, which had somewhat strained their relationship. George Stacy was now growing more concerned.

Suddenly my present made a lot more sense.

Reaching into my coat, I withdrew a sealed envelope. "For you love."

She opened the package gently, withdrawing the thick cardstock.

There, printed at the top of the page was an eagle-shaped logo and six words.

Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate.

As she read the paper, her eyes grew wide, "Is this real?"

I nodded, "Apparently, Stark has some contacts, his father was one of the founding members of the agency and in exchange for sorting his shrapnel problem, he's willing to do us a few favours. This wasn't actually one of them, oddly enough. When he heard what I wanted, he told me that he was happy to help his new friend get a present for my girlfriend."

Gwen smiled and batted at me, "But seriously, this is amazing."

"It's not a pardon either. Apparently, some evidence turned up, so all charges against you have been dropped and the news will be forced to air a retraction of your suspected criminality in a couple of days." I said with a smile.

She leaned back, "So the police already know about this?"

"Yep, they should have been informed about the results of the investigation this morning." I confirmed.

Her face split with joy, "Jon, can you give me a lift home after this? I think I need to talk to my dad about something."

I smiled, pulling her in for a cuddle, "That won't be an issue."

As we watched the sunset, the little police scanner started to squawk.

Gwen was on it in a flash and sagged. She turned to me, her face a perfect picture of annoyance. "It seems that The Vulture is causing problems in downtown manhattan.

I nodded and held out a hand. Gwen took a hold of it, and I launched into the air.

As we approached the city centre, she kicked off of me, swinging down to attack the elderly man.

The Vulture tried to stop her, but Gwen was too fast, and the element of surprise that factored into her lightning-fast assault meant that he stood no chance.

In moments, he was captured, pinned down with webbing in moments.

And for the first time, spider-woman stuck around. As I floated down to keep an eye on the Vulture, Gwen waited for the police officers to take him away.

As she did, she spoke with a few of the bystanders, occasionally posing for photos with children and other fans.

And then came the other people. Someone brought up the fact that she was wanted for murder. Gwen was shaken, but I stepped in. "Spider-woman was unjustly accused of causing the death of a young man despite her valiant efforts to defend him from the mutated Dr Conners. It has taken some time, but evidence to the contrary has been released to the appropriate authorities, who have confirmed their veracity. A statement to that effect has been released by the Mayor's office and will be reported on tonight."

"She your girlfriend buddy?" he asked fronting up on me.

I turned to Gwen and shrugged, "We're dating, but I don't think it's final yet."

That seemed to shut him up, with him staring on in surprise as Gwen pushed at me.

Our little play-fight was interrupted as the police came, nodding to Gwen as they slapped handcuffs onto the Vulture and stripped him of his flight-pack.