We weren't ready.

Quickly, I brought my arms out shot two strands of webbing at Scorpion. The large man brought his left arm up and took the webbing on his forearm. He then quickly turned as he threw me into the air. I was a bit startled about how easily he was able to take me off of my feet, but I wasn't fazed beyond that as I flipped through the air and landed on all fours on a wall. I tilted my head upward to see him stalking towards me. He then lost his footing as if he slipped on ice, landing on his stomach.

"Should've minded the Wet Floor sign," Frictor quipped.

I smirked underneath the mask before I launched myself off of the wall and dove straight towards Scorpion. I tucked knees into my chest and flipped forward until my feet were aimed downwards. I wanted to stomp down on his back. That wasn't going to come into fruition. Before I knew it, I was wrapped up by this man's tail. I tried to struggle out of it, but the tail suddenly tightened around me, causing me to grunt out. I heard my bones crack before I was suddenly slammed down to the street.

As the tail unwrapped itself from around me, I remained on the ground. My eyes were clenched shut as I felt the pain course through my body. I then turned onto my back as Scorpion approached me.

"You're outmatched, Spider-Man," he growled out. "Just stay down and surrender."

I heard sudden footsteps. I looked towards my right to see Frictor run in. Scorpion turned towards him. At that moment, Frictor lowered his shoulder and sent it into the larger man's stomach as he tackled him to the ground. As I moved to a crouch, Frictor quickly mounted Scorpion before he tried to rain down punches towards the exposed part of his face. While he managed to hit true with all of his punches, Scorpion didn't seem the least bit fazed. Rather he sat up, grabbed Frictor by the head, reared his own head back before sending his forehead crashing into Frictor's face. The sickening crack from the blow made my stomach churn as Scorpion tossed Frictor away like he was nothing. A part of me wanted to take the opening and try to kick him in the head, but I jumped over him and rushed to Frictor's side.

Frictor was slowly reaching his knees as he held his face once I approached him.

"Frictor, are you okay?" I worried.

"I think my jaw's broken," he replied, his voice muffled by more than just his mask. "This guy's a monster."

"Stay down, man."

"I can't." He slowly moved to his feet. "Not until we deal with him."

I stood up and watched as Scorpion stood up and faced us. "Are you two going to give up? Or will I have to get nasty?"

Frictor grabbed the bottom of his mask and lifted it up just enough for his mouth to be exposed. He bent over and spewed a stream of blood out of his mouth. After wiping his mouth with his sleeved forearm, he pulled down his mask. He then looked over at me and nodded.

"Frictor, we can't – "

Before I could finish my statement, my senses went off. I looked towards Scorpion as he brought his stinger forward. The stinger transformed into a gun of sorts before it fired off two shots. Before I could dodge, I was shoved off to the side by Frictor. I saw one dart fly by me, just missing me by an inch. The second dart, however, hit Frictor in the chest. My eyes went wide as Frictor started to get wobbly on his feet.

"No, no, no!"

I heard Scorpion approach. I turned my head as Scorpion ran forward, moving a lot faster than a normal human being was able to move, let alone someone with his height and build while wearing what I assumed was some heavy armor. I moved in front of Frictor before I rushed forward, trying to meet him head on. However, I was quickly trucked over. I hit the ground, but quickly moved to my feet before I shot a whole bunch of webbing towards his feet. Once they hit, I kept on shooting webbing. Scorpion grunted as he tried to get his feet free, but I kept on webbing until he was cocooned from head to toe. After that, I stopped my webbing and ran as fast as I could around the behemoth. At this point, Frictor was on one knee.

I knew he was going to be out soon. I had to get him out of there. So, I wrapped my left arm around him and lifted him up on my shoulder.

"What's going on?" Frictor choked out.

"We're getting out of here!" I stated. "Scorpion got our number, and we need to haul before he calls it again!"

Making sure he was secure, I ran up to the nearest wall and jumped onto it. I quickly climbed up, thinking to myself that all I needed to do was reach the roof, and I could web sling out the area. Unfortunately, my senses went off again. That was when I noticed the green light that was growing in intensity on the wall I was climbing. I jumped backward and fell, narrowly missing a direct hit from the blast of energy. Unfortunately, the shockwave from the impact knocked me towards the ground and Frictor out of my grasp. I turned in the air and tried to grab him, but my right hand missed his hoodie by inches. Before I could even shoot the webbing to catch him, he hit the sidewalk hard. I flipped in the air and landed next to him and kneeled down next to him. Carefully, I turned him onto his back. I then put my finger on his pulse. His heart was still beating and I could feel the air going in and out of his lungs. However, his eyes were open and, despite his nigh-black irises, I could see that his pupils were dilated.

He was concussed.

"Oh… Oh no…"

I heard footsteps again. I quickly stood up and moved in front of Frictor as Scorpion approached once more.

"You were warned," he remarked. "You were all warned. Everything that happened tonight is your fault."

I heard the sound of an engine in the distance. I paid it no mind though as I moved into a three point stance ready to fight off Scorpion until I could get Frictor out of there. However, the sound of the engine grew louder, and I heard the sound of tires screeching. I turned my head to the left to see a black SUV zooming down the street. I didn't know what kind of SUV it was at the time. All I know was that it looked heavily armored and modified. I figured it was some hired goons from Hammer moving in to assist. It didn't slow down, though. Quite the opposite, it sped up until it slammed heard first into Scoprion, sending him flying several feet. The front of the SUV didn't even looked damaged as it screeched, turned, and slid to a stop, with the front of it facing me and Frictor.

The front doors then opened. The first person to hop out was Shadowcat. It took me a moment to recognize her as she was dressed in a midnight blue full body suit and a matching domino mask. Around her waist was a belt with pouched that was fastened together a rectangular buckle that had an X inside of its borders. The other figure took me a moment to recognize, as he was dressed in black slacks with suspenders, a white long-sleeved dress shirt with a red tie and a black trench coat, a pair of black dress shoes, and a black fedora over a matching ski mask that covered his mouth. Most striking, however, was a red visor that blocked his eyes.

It donned on me. It had to be…

"Cyclops?" I asked.

"The very same," he replied. I stood up as Shadowcat walked up to Frictor. With a grunt, she pulled him up to his feet.

"Who is this?" Frictor slurred out, definitely not all there.

"It's me, Shadowcat," Kitty replied soothingly. "We're going to get you help, okay?"

"…Okay." Frictor groaned as he allowed Kitty to move him to the truck. "Everything hurts." He paused as they reached the truck. Shadowcat brought her left arm out and opened up the rear door. "Where's Spider-Man?"

"He's here."

"I hope he's not mad at me. I couldn't do jack against that Scorpion."

Underneath my mask, I frowned. I wanted to say something, but I heard heavy footsteps. I looked to my right to see Scorpion on his feet again, stalking towards us.

"Oh look, more malcontents," Scorpion spat. "Will you guys surrender, or do I have to break you like I broke poor little Frictor?"

I felt the air go cold as Cyclops turned towards Scorpion.

"I don't know who you are or what your name is," Cyclops said in an eerily calm tone that did nothing to mask his anger. "But you chose the wrong men to mess with." That was the only warning he gave before he lifted up his glasses and let loose a red beam that struck Scorpion in the knee, causing him to kneel. Now it was Cyclops' turn to stalk forward as Scorpion groaned in annoyance. "The name's Cyclops." He lifted up his visor once again, using a blast to swat away Scorpion's attempt to stab him with his stinger. "And you officially got my attention." He let loose another blast. This was one was larger and powerful enough to send Scorpion flying into a wall. Scorpion slid down onto his butt, disoriented. Cyclops stopped in his tracks and stared at Scorpion for a moment. He then tilted his head up, lifted up his visor, and turned his head as he let loose a continuous beam across top of the building Scorpion was against, causing rubble to fall down on top of the large man, covering him up completely.

"…Wow…" I muttered out.

Cyclops turned around and walked back towards us. He stopped halfway and looked up at the Daily Bugle chopper, which I forgot was there. Some energy resonated from behind his visor. That was enough for the chopper to ascend and fly away. After that, he calmly walked back to the SUV, opened the door, and moved into the driver seat. With Shadowcat already inside with Frictor, I moved into the front passenger seat. Cyclops turned the SUV on and drove off.

"We need to get Frictor to the hospital," I said, looking over my shoulder at him. He was lying on Shadowcat's lap, his eyes slowly closing and opening repeatedly.

"We can't," Cyclops replied quietly.

"What do you mean, we can't?!" I turned my head towards him and looked at him incredulously. "Frictor is concussed and has a broken jaw! He also got darted! What do you expect him to do, just sleep it off?! Are you not going to get him help?!"

"I did not say I wasn't going to get him help." Cyclops said this so calmly that I almost wanted to swing on him. "I just said I'm not going to a hospital."

"And why not?!"

"Peter." I was given pause for a moment, jarred by him using my real name. Somehow, I had a feeling he was banking on that. "Think for a moment. That scorpion… he is working for Hammer and under the authority of The Accords, correct?"

"He is," I confirmed.

"So, when Scorpion does report back, he's going to tell Hammer and whatever government official or officials handling him about what was done to Frictor. They will have his guys searching every medical center for every person with injuries consistent with Scorpion's account. If we bring Frictor to a hospital, it won't be long until they find Craig. Do you understand?"

It took me a second to consider what he was saying. I then sighed as I looked forward. "You're right. I'm sorry."

"I usually am," he replied. "And no worries – it just shows you care."

I took in a breath to calm myself down some more. "So where are we going?"

"Harlem. We're taking her to Night Nurse's clinic."

"…I don't know who that is." I looked at Scott. "Do you think she can help Frictor?"

"She helped Luke Cage and other heroes many times. She even saved my life once."

I took one last look at Frictor I then sighed as I turned my head back towards Cyclops. "Is there anything I can do?" I asked.

"Yeah, go home," he said. "As soon as we get into Manhattan, I need you to swing home as soon as possible and get some rest. And don't even come out tomorrow. As a matter of fact, I think it'd be best if we lay low for about two weeks."

"Why?"

"Because when Frictor recovers, we're going to need to plan on how to take on Scorpion. Until then, we might be able to lull them into a false sense of security and superiority. And once we have a plan together, we'll strike."

I shook my head. "…I don't like it… but I trust you," I said. "…How did you find us, anyway?"

"Social media," Shadowcat said from the back. "The Daily Bugle was livestreaming the whole fight."

"…Of course."

Once we were in Manhattan, I got out of the car and webslinged home after I bid them goodnight and made them promise me that they'd keep me posted on Frictor's condition, even though I knew they would have done so without me asking. Once I got home, removed my suit and took off my webshooters. I put them away. I didn't even bother putting pants on, leaving me in only my boxer briefs. I placed my phone on my nightstand as I sat down on my bed.

Scorpion kicked our asses tonight. That was all I can think about. Had it not been for Cyclops, Frictor and I would have been really screwed. Frictor thought he let me down. No, I let him down. I was supposed to get him out of there but I couldn't even do that.

Fuck Spider-Man. Fuck me.

I took in a breath, only to cringe when I felt the pain in my ribs and back. I stood up and walked over to my mirror. I saw the bruising on my ribs. I then turned around and looked at my back. Yup, that was bruised, too.

"…Waking up tomorrow morning is going to suck," I said to myself sadly.

I then heard my phone vibrate on the nightstand. I walked over and picked the device up. After unlocking the phone, I saw I had a text from Kitty.

"Hey. We got Craig situated. He definitely has a concussion, along with a broken jaw and some bruised ribs. Whatever was in that dart finally got to him and put him out like a light. He's going to be looked after for some time, but Claire thinks that he'll be okay with time."

It took me a moment to realize that Claire might be the Night Nurse that Scott was talking about. I smiled sadly as I texted back. "Tell her Spider-Man says thanks. And tell Craig I'm sorry I got him hurt."

After some time, Kitty replied back. "Claire says she expects you to patronize her clinic whenever you need help. As for Craig, I'll tell him when he awakes, but you don't need to apologize. Remember what I told you. You can't hold yourself responsible for other people's decisions, and pain comes with the decision of pursuing this line of work. And if you hadn't had Craig's back tonight, he probably would have been worse off than he is now."

I paused for a moment, then scoffed as I responded. "I guess."

"I got to text DJ Veras to let her know that Craig is out of commission for the time being. Get some sleep, Peter. Have a good night."

"You, too."

I put the phone on the charger before I placed it down on the nightstand. I then dropped down onto the bed and dozed off.

I awoke the next morning to my phone vibrating. I looked over at the device then slowly sat up, grimacing as my ribs and back remind me of the state they were in. I then reached over and grabbed my phone. I unplugged the charger and check the screen on the phone.

MJ.

I sighed before I answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey Loser," she replied. I could hear the worry in her tone. "Are you okay?"

"You sound worried," I pointed out.

"Well, I got a text from Kitty asking me to check up on you," she explained. "So, here I am, checking up on you. So, I'm going to ask again, are you okay?"

"I had a rough night and Craig has seen better days, if the livestream was anything to go by. No, I'm not okay, MJ."

"What happened to you?"

"I had a bad fall." Internally, I was annoyed at myself. Maybe it was because I was still upset over last night. Maybe it was because the pain in my back and ribs made it hard for me to sleep. Or maybe it was because I was still worried about Craig. But I was getting tired of this. I was getting tired of feeding MJ, Ned, and Betty lies, half-truths, and vague statements – especially MJ. They deserved more than that. They deserved…

"Do you want me to come over?" MJ asked.

They deserved to know.

"Um…" I looked over my shoulder at the desk where the list lay. There was only one item left on the list.

4. Figure out how to do so… and prepare for the consequences.

It was at this point I remembered when I was able to reach out to MJ and Ned and tell them everything that was going on with me without skirting around certain details. And I remembered how Betty, despite not being as close to me as MJ and Ned were, still believed I was a hero when The Daily Bugle and, posthumously, Beck, smeared my name and exposed my identity.

I decided it was now or never.

"Hey, MJ," I said. "Remember the other day, when we were in Brooklyn Bridge Park. And you asked me to let you in?"

"I do. And you said you needed some time."

"I don't think I can wait anymore. I need you to do me a favor. I need you to get Ned and Betty and come over here." I paused for a moment. "…I have a lot to tell you guys. Stuff you guys might hate me for but I can't hide anymore. Can you do that for me?"

"Peter… you're freaking me out a bit," MJ replied. "…You're not messing with me, are you?"

"No, I'm not."

MJ went quiet for a bit. She then sighed. "Okay. I can do that. Just text me over the address and I'll be there around… will 3ish be okay?"

"That's more than fine."

"Okay… I'll see you then. Bye Peter."

I frowned. I wished she called me a loser or dork. "Bye MJ."

I hung up the phone laid it on my nightstand. I then smiled wryly. "Today is going to suck."