JohnJuanRamboJr35: Ben and Black Cat's meeting will not be for a bit longer if I can fit it in, but I'm sure you can picture exactly how that would go down if they did meet.

Spectacular Webhead 11: Ben is a clone, but he believes he is Peter's cousin.

Little Authors Note here: After this arc ends, the chapters will probably be a lot longer than what you're used to as I have two Spider-Men to work with that each has their own journey through this season. Updates will probably have more time between them due to that factor.

Also, I felt it necessary to let y'all know that my college semester will start on Jan 10, so when that starts, you'll probably start seeing only 1-2 chapters per week. I apologize, but I'm in my final year and I want to do good and get a job in the industry that I can live on. So I hope you can bear with me during that time.

Ok, let's get into it. Hope you enjoy!

Extended Family Part 3

Peter sat in his final class of the day with his eyes trained on the back of Ben Reilly's head. The teen had his head spinning in dizzying circles.

For starters, he drew entirely too much attention to himself. It was bad enough that he openly displayed just how ridiculously in shape Spider-Powers made someone in a class outside of PE–I mean, seriously, this is Chemistry. Cover up before someone spills something–but he seemed to go out of his way to use them to mess with people. More than once did Peter watch Ben use his sticky hands and enhanced dexterity to mess around with the equipment in Chemistry as they went about their lab. He had a feeling that Ben was not only doing it because Peter told him not to but because Gwen was sitting at the same lab table as him.

Please tell me I wasn't like this when I first got my powers, Peter thought as he returned to his lab work. There was something else that had been nagging at him all day. I have a cousin? Why didn't Aunt May tell me?

As the bell rang, Peter's phone vibrated. "Hello?"

"Hello Peter!" came Aunt May's cheerful voice.

"Aunt May, perfect timing," Peter said, walking through the halls with his eyes trained on his blue hooded cousin and the nerdy blond walking beside him. "There's something I need to talk to you about—"

"I know Peter," she interrupted in a calm voice. "I was going to tell you about Ben, but you left before I could."

"Wait, so he really is my cousin?"

"Well, technically there's no blood relation between you two," Aunt May said. "But as we both know, blood isn't what defines family."

Peter smiled. "Yes ma'am."

"Do me a favor Peter," Aunt May said, "Jan told me in her letters that Ben's had a tough time in his life, so please, help him feel welcome. Maybe introduce him to your friends?"

Ahead of him, Peter saw Gwen throw her head back in laughter. "You know, I don't think that'll be as tough as it sounds," he told Aunt May.

"Thank you, Peter," Aunt May responded. "I'll see the both of you for dinner tonight."

Peter bade Aunt May farewell, then bounded out into the courtyard to catch up to Ben. The two blondes were still conversing, only now Gwen was sitting on the fountain watching Ben tell a story. Peter caught the last of it.

"…in the end, I got dared to jump the gap."

"No way! You didn't try to do it, did you?"

"Oh, I didn't try," Ben answered, his eyes twinkling, "I did it, it's how I got this." Ben pointed toward the scar crossing his left eye.

Before Gwen could say anything, Peter skidded in between them. "Hey, Gwen, I need to borrow Ben here," he said, his voice rapidly gaining speed as he grabbed Ben by the hood again. "We have some catching up to do in the Gym."

"Gym? Did you tell MJ?" Gwen asked, standing up.

"Tell me what?" the redhead asked, walking up to the three. Peter watched her look at himself and Ben with a funny look on her face that confused him.

"Ben and I need to talk about some things," Peter said, forcing a convincing smile on his face. "It has been a long time since we've seen each other, and I think there are some things he should be aware of about Midtown."

Peter pulled Ben, who obliged, but not before saying, "Why don't you guys join us? I'd love to get to know my big cuz's friends more!"

Peter's eye twitched as he watched Gwen clutch her books eagerly, and MJ give him a shrug. "Fine," he said. Gwen did a little jump in place and locked arms with MJ. Ben tried to follow the two girls as they moved for the entrance of Midtown high, but Peter held him back by the hood, making the young blond cough. When Gwen and MJ looked back, Peter waved them on. "We'll be there in a sec; Aunt May wanted to tell Ben something."

Much to Peter's relief, the girls accepted his excuse and walked off. The moment they and anyone else around were out of earshot, Peter rounded on Ben, but the blond beat him to the punch. "Dude, what's your deal?"

"My deal?" Peter responded, a hint of outrage in his voice. "What do you not get about secret ID?"

Ben scoffed and gestured in the direction Gwen and MJ walked off in. "Oh come on, they know about Spider-Man."

"How do you know?" Peter asked, narrowing his eyes at Ben. That one thought had nagged at the back of Peter's mind for the entire day. How did Ben know who he was, and how did Ben even have powers?

"Dude, did you really think no one would look more into you after Venom exposed you?" Ben retorted, crossing his arms.

Peter opened his mouth to argue, but no sound came out. To tell the truth, he did think it was a little odd that no one came knocking after that.

"Seriously," Ben said, giving Peter a 'come on' look, "MJ and Gwen know right?"

"No they absolutely do not," Peter hissed. "That mask is not just for the criminals, it's to keep them safe."

"You telling me they don't know how badass you are?" Ben asked, his eyebrows raised. "Dude, have you seriously not taken your girlfriend on a midnight swing across New York? What do you tell them when you have to go stop the bad guys?"

"That's why I'm in the Creative Writing class," Peter answered, rubbing the back of his neck. He motioned for Ben to follow him as they walked for the Gym. "Look, I saw some of your work on my way to school. You're good, but you nearly put half of those crooks in the hospital. You need to hold back in everything, that's how strong we are. That's why I pulled you back from Flash."

"How have you not decked that guy in the face yet?" Ben asked angrily.

Peter stopped Ben just outside the door to the Gym, looked around, then when he saw no one, he told Ben, "Hit me."

Ben looked at Peter with a confused smile. "What?"

Peter opened his arms and gestured to his chest. "Hit me, as hard as you can."

Ben shrugged, retracted his arm, and punched Peter with all his strength. Peter slid back on the hallway floor as the wind got knocked out of him. HOLY SHIT! He'd been hit hard before, hell Moon Knight made him see stars when they crossed paths, but he'd never gotten the wind knocked out of him before.

Peter gasped, finally taking in air. Massaging his chest, Peter looked at Ben, who had an excited glint in his eye that Peter did not like the look of. "Look–"

"Parker!" a voice called. Peter mentally groaned. "Since when could you take a punch?"

"He can take more than a punch!" Ben growled at Flash.

The jock and his friends walked up to the two young heroes. "I'll be the judge of that," Flash said, then he turned to Peter. "What do you say, Parker, wanna go a few rounds?"

Peter glared at Ben, who looked delighted at the idea of Peter fighting Flash. As much as he hated the scenario, Peter had to admit that getting a free pass to finally lay one on Flash was enticing. It was something he'd wanted even before he got his powers, and there was practically no danger to him now. Nothing Flash could do would leave so much as a scratch on Peter.

Then, the light bulb in Peter's head went off. Ben needed to learn control, needed to know when to use his powers and when not to. This was the perfect moment, plus, he could finally punch Flash in the face practically free of consequences. "Sure Flash, you're on."

Ben grinned as Flash set off in search of two sets of boxing gloves. His big superhero cousin was about to put a bully through the wall! This is gonna be great!

Ben pushed the door to the Gym opened with a dramatic flair, announcing "Come one and all to the Midtown Magnet High School boxing event of the semester!" He reached back and grabbed Peter's arm, raising it into the air like he'd won a prize. "In this corner, your friendly neighborhood—"

Peter jabbed Ben in the ribs with his elbow and shook his head vigorously at him.

"What are you talking about, Ben?"

"Well, Gwen," Ben said as if Peter never interrupted him. "Flash just challenged our boy here to a boxing match, and now he's gonna teach the jock a lesson."

MJ and Gwen looked at each other for a moment, then they burst out laughing. Ben furrowed his brow at them and looked back at Peter expecting him to at least look offended, but instead, he found a small smile forming on Peter's face.

"I'm sorry, Tiger," MJ said, holding her side. "You are the bravest person I've ever met, but you're not a fighter."

"I'm scrappier than you might think," Peter said, his eyes twinkling at MJ as he spoke.

"Don't I know it," she responded. Then her voice took on a slightly more serious tone. "Are you really going to fight Flash?"

Peter shrugged. "It's all in good fun, besides, I'm doing it more for Ben."

The door to the gym opened with a bang, and in walked Flash Thompson, Rand Robertson, and Hobie Brown. Rand tossed a pair of blue gloves and headgear to Peter as Flash took off his shirt then put on the boxing gear. "You sure about this Parker?"

Peter caught the gear and nodded. He then took his own shirt off, revealing his extremely athletic physique, causing Rand's eyes to widen slightly. "Nothing like a Flash Thompson punch to kick off the new school year," he said cheerfully. Peter then beckoned for Ben to come close to him as he put on the head protection. "Watch closely alright, this is something you need to see."

Ben grinned. "I can't wait to see that dude go through the wall!" Ben chuckled at Peter in the headgear, he looks ridiculous! Like one of those Rock-em Sock-em Robots. "What's with the headgear? You took a punch from me, compared to that, this guy is gonna hit like a feather."

Peter shook his head. "It's not about whether I need it or not," he told Ben, "its about keeping the identity a secret. Plus, you need to learn when to use your powers, and when to dial it back. You hit me with everything you had, and it knocked the wind out of me! If I hit Flash with even a fraction of my strength, he'd go down in one flick. Then it's game over."

"But you would've put that bully in his place," Ben argued.

"It's not about that," Peter said, wrapping the straps around his gloves tight. "Flash is already less of a bully than he used to be. That's thanks to the anonymous Spider-Man and to his girlfriend Sha Shan. If he knew he'd been picking on his hero all these years, how do you think he'd take that?"

Ben paused. He didn't know Flash thought of Spider-Man as his hero, or what discovering that secret would mean. He hadn't really been back to his mom since he woke up from the coma that the Spider put him in when it bit him. He'd never had to deal with keeping his identity a secret; Professor Warren had known right from the get-go, he even helped him create his web-shooters and web. "Not well?" he answered cautiously.

Peter tapped his nose with his gloved hand. "Now you're getting it," he said. "Now sit down, watch, and learn." Peter clapped his gloves together, then walked to the mat where Flash was already waiting.

"Okay guys," Rand said, standing in between the two seniors. "First to five hits wins, and let's just have a gentleman's agreement of no below-the-belt shots."

Peter and Flash both nodded vehemently.

"Alright, touch gloves," the two did so, "fight!"

Ben backed to where MJ and Gwen sat on the bleachers as the two girls nervously cheered on Peter.

"Did you know that Peter had been working out?" Ben heard Gwen ask Mary Jane in a slightly breathless voice.

"No," MJ answered in an equally breathless and stunned voice. "We never exactly got past first base before I left for the Acting Program."

Ben snorted at the girl's reaction, but his amusement quickly faded into frustration as he watched the way Peter moved. It was like he was deliberately trying to look clumsy. Oh wait, he is.

Flash swung the first punch and it was one that Peter easily avoided. Peter countered with a fast wild jab that Flash barely blocked, then he pushed Peter back. There was a slight pause as Ben watched Flash tilt his head curiously at Peter until Peter sent two jabs at Flash that left him open for a counter. Flash capitalized on this opening, landing a solid blow to Peter's chest.

Flash smiled victoriously as the girls reassured Peter he was doing good. Ben, however, was laughing now. Flash looked so pleased that he landed his strike that it broke through Ben's opinions on Peter's tactics. Only because Ben knew the truth that Flash was blissfully unaware of: his punches felt like a light breeze.

The next four points were scored fairly quickly by Flash, with all of them landing before Peter seemingly had a chance to block or dodge. That's when Ben saw a glint in Peter's eye that he'd recognized seeing in himself in the mirror. As Peter and Flash reset for a fourth round, Ben watched Peter's right arm tense up in preparation to block Flash's haymaker. Then, with a surprising amount of control and speed, Peter's left hand bolted out and clocked the Midtown High QuarterBack in the jaw, dazing him.

The sound echoed through the gymnasium, then, it was quickly lost beneath the cheers of Mary Jane and Gwen. Flash stumbled around for a moment before regaining his bearings, then shuffled toward Peter.

Ben leaned back in his seat in the bleachers, Message received, cuz. He knew what Peter was about to do, he landed the one hit he planned on landing, and now it was time to hand in the towel. Flash sent a flurry of wild attacks at Peter, who dodged most until he made it seem like it was too much for him, and one connected with his cheek. Ben snorted at Peter's exaggerated dive to the mat and stood up to meet Peter.

Mary Jane beat Ben to Peter, lifting him up to his knees and removing the headgear for him. The blond teen snickered at his cousin's girlfriend as he watched her gaze flicker back and forth from Peter's face to sweaty his chest. He would've said something snarky about it, but he figured just this once, he'd hold back. This was Peter's lesson he was supposed to be learning from, and hamming it up to receive attention from a pretty girl didn't seem like a bad lesson to learn.

"Damn, Parker," Flash grumbled, gingerly touching his jaw, "you hit hard."

"Learned from the best, Eugene," Peter remarked, flashing the QuarterBack a smirk. He stood up from his knees and grabbed his shirt off the floor. Ben could've sworn he saw a hint of disappointment on MJ's face as Peter put his shirt back on. "Do you guys mind if I take Ben on a little tour of Midtown? We could use a little time to ourselves to actually catch up, plus, I figured he'd appreciate a swing by the Bugle to see what's up in fashion."

MJ raised her eyebrows. "Going to introduce him to some of your model friends?" she asked in a teasing voice.

"Don't confuse co-workers and friends," Peter warned. "You do that, and the next thing you know I'll be out golfing with J.J. on the weekends."

MJ laughed then shrugged. "Have fun with him. There's an open house happening at the theatre by the Silver Spoon in a few hours," she said with an eager smile. "Time for me to put all that money I spent on California to use!"

"You're gonna crush it," Peter said, wrapping her in a hug. "I'll see you tomorrow."

MJ pulled Peter close for a kiss, as Ben and Gwen stood to the side. Gwen swayed awkwardly from side to side while Ben stood with his usual laid-back hand's-in-pockets stance. Peter's mention of swinging got his blood pumping, and he really wanted to get out of here to see what Peter was going to show him. Did Pete have a secret lair? Am I gonna see the Spider-Cave?

"So, uh, it was nice to meet you," Gwen said, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

Ben swiveled. "Yeah, you too. It's nice to get a group of friends on the first day in a new place," he said, before turning back to Peter and MJ who were still bidding each other farewell. He pointed unsubtly at them. "Do they do this often?"

Gwen snorted. "Usually they're not this bad, but Mary Jane did technically just get back," she answered.

"Really?" Ben said, looking back at the couple then back at Gwen with a mischievous grin. "Well, we better not let bad habits form." With a wink, Ben walked up to Peter and Mary Jane and grabbed his cousin by the back of his shirt. "Come on Romeo! Plenty of time for romantic good-byes later, we have places to go and sights to see!" Ben shouted dramatically as he dragged Peter to the doors of the Gym and waved back to the giggling girls.