As I swung through the city, a part of me felt a bit nostalgic. I remembered all of the times I swung through the city to get to Midtown as soon as possible so I wouldn't be late or too late to class. That feeling of nostalgia was far from my biggest concern. I was a bit more concerned about the fact that my sixth sense was suddenly acting like a compass and a lot more concerned that Midtown was being held hostage, which meant that MJ, Ned, and Betty were in danger.

I didn't stop for anything. I kept on swinging until there were no more skyscrapers to swing from. I swan dived forward before I somersaulted and landed on all fours. I looked forward. Midtown was in sight, but it was still quite a bit of ways off. I could easily run the rest of the way – I could actually hit 70 miles an hour on foot when I put my all into it.

But I didn't have to worry about hoofing it. I heard a honk behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see a black SUV speeding towards me. It was the same armored one that Cyclops and Shadowcat arrived in Brooklyn with to bail me and Frictor out. Sure enough, as I stared at the window, it was them. The SUV showed no sign of slowing down. Realizing that, I waited for a few moments. I then jumped into the air, flipped backward, and landed on the roof of the still speeding SUV. I hung on and looked forward as the vehicle covered the rest of the distance.

Just outside of the school premises, the SUV turned and drove between two trees in a small wooded area before it came to a stop. I hopped off of the roof as Cylcops and Shadowcat exited the vehicle. Kitty was dressed in that full body suit of hers with the domino mask. Interestingly, she had a holster strapped to each of her thighs. Cyclops, on the other hand, was dressed in black cargo pants, a pair of black Under Armour athletic boots, a black t-shirt, and a black tactical vest. On the upper left side of the vest was an encircled X in red. He also had on a black ski mask much like the one he had on during that night in Brooklyn. Over his eyes was another visor. It had a heavy frame with long sliver of a red lens. The visor wrapped around Cyclops's temples.

"Nice outfit," I commented. "You look like you're about to infiltrate the SWAT team."

"Thanks," he replied humorlessly. "I figured it would be appropriate. It does remind me of my days serving."

"Serving?" I tilted my head.

"I was in the U.S. Air Force for eight years. It was part of a compromise. I'll explain later."

He pulled out his cellphone and pulled up YouTube. He then pulled up CNBC's channel, where their news report was being streamed live. He played the video. Shadowcat and I flanked him as we looked down at the screen as the field reporter explained what was going on.

"…what we know now, most of the students has been released. However, the entirety Midtown High's Academic Decathlon Team remains as hostages as the NYPD continue negotiations. What their demands are and their affiliation have yet to be disclosed. I'll continue to keep you posted. This is Trish Tilby reporting live from Midtown School of Science and Technology, CNBC."

I felt my heart sink as my mouth went ajar. "MJ, Ned, and Betty are in there!" I exclaimed. "We got to – !"

"Patience, Spider-Man," Cyclops interrupted as he locked his phone and tossed it into the truck. "We have to do this smart way. These are people's lives at stake. We need a plan of attack."

"So what do we do?"

Cyclops didn't say anything at first. He looked towards the school. "Spider-Man, how did you and MJ meet?"

I tilted my head in confusion, but answered him anyway. I started to realize that there was always a method to his perceived madness. "I met her here. I used to go here. And we were both a part of the AcaDeca team. Prior to The Spell, that is."

Scott nodded. He then looked at me. "I'm assuming that AcaDeca is short for Academic Decathlon." I nodded. "Since you were a part of the team and this school, where do you think the team would be at this time?"

I closed my eyes and bowed my head. I dredged up memories of my time on the team and how MJ operated when she became team captain. I then lifted up my head.

"They might be in the library," I finally said. "MJ would call a meeting in the morning every now and again."

"Okay, we can go from there. Most likely, they'll have men sweeping the hallways. Shadowcat, you'll get us inside. Once inside, I'll take on the guards doing sweeps while you two handle the rescue efforts."

"Got it," Shadowcat said with a nod. She then looked at me and smiled. "Don't worry. We'll get your friends out."

"Not just them," I added, realizing I was being a bit selfish earlier. "All of them."

Shadowcat smiled. "Of course. Shall we?" I nodded. Shadowcat placed a hand on my shoulder. Cyclops walked up to Shadowcat's other side, and she placed a hand on his shoulder. Shadowcat looked at me. "Whatever you do, just walk naturally and stay with me, okay?"

"Okay."

We all walked forward. With each step, she gradually sunk into the ground until we were completely "submerged". We travelled through the ground, walking right through the sprinkler system and other things buried in the earth. We walked through the school's foundation until I saw a set of pipes. I looked at Shadowcat and pointed up. She nodded before she pulled us upward.

Eventually we ended up in a boy's bathroom.

"We're in," I said with a whisper. "I guess we can try to figure out the best route from here and…"

I trailed off when I heard the sound of a toilet flushing. The three of us turned around just in time to see a masked man walk out of one of the stalls. The masked man looked at us, his eyes wide. He then looked over at the rifle that was laid out across a sink. He took one more glance at us before he turned to try and rush for the weapon. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't quick enough. I webbed his feet to the ground while Cyclops shot a beam at the rifle, blasting it into pieces.

The masked man looked at us with wide eyes, realizing how screwed he was. Cyclops walked up to the masked man and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"I'm Cyclops," he said in a quiet tone. "And they are Shadowcat and Spider-Man. I'm going to assume you can tell which is which. Anyway, we have a… thing… about people who hold children as hostages. With that said, I'm going to ask you a few questions. I am going to get an answer. Whether or not we get that answer from you willingly is up to you." I looked to my left to see Shadowcat pull out two kunai out of one of her holsters. She then palmed each one and rubbing the blades together. Realizing she was underscoring Cyclops' threat, I laced my fingers together and pushed them outwards, cracking my knuckles rather audibly. The masked man audibly gulped. After that, Cyclops continued. "Now, let's start. How many men are here, you included?"

"T-T-T-Twenty-five."

"Where are the hostages being kept and how many men are looking over them?"

"In the library, and it's six."

Cyclops looked over his shoulder at me and nodded. I smiled underneath my mask and nodded back. I knew he was silently giving me a compliment. He turned his attention back to the man he was interrogating.

"Why are you guys here?"

"…We're taking the students hostage so we can negotiate the release of one of our own who is in prison."

"Who are you guys and who are you trying to get released?"

"We're The Friends of Humanity, and we're trying to free our revered leader Graydon Creed!" the gunman replied with a bit of pride.

I felt the air go cold as both Shadowcat and Scott looked at him. Scott turned away and walked a few steps. He then turned around and looked at me.

"Spider-Man, please web him up before Shadowcat and I subdue him by less… savory means."

I didn't question him – at least, not yet. I brought my hands out and cocooned the gunman from head to toe. As the man struggled, he tipped over, hitting the ground. After that, I looked at Cyclops.

"What was that about?" I asked. "And who are The Friends of Humanity?"

"It's a long story, so here's the truncated version," Scott replied. "Shadowcat, Frictor, and I? We're mutants." I tilted my head, not knowing what that meant. "Basically, we get our powers from a very specific gene – the X-Gene, if you will. A lot of people have that gene, but most of those people can go their whole life without their X-Gene becoming active. However, when the gene does become active in them, they become mutants and can get a wide range of abilities."

"Mutants are widely hated," Kitty added. "As a matter of fact, there are quite a lot of mutant hate groups, such as The Friends of Humanity, who classify their hate as 'protecting the human race'."

"And I'm guessing these guys are like the Ku Klux Klan for mutants," I commented.

Shadowcat nodded. "Basically. As a matter of fact, there's quite a bit of overlap in membership between those two groups, and other hate groups for that matter." She scoffed. "Cyclops and I probably cover at least three different groups these people hate."

"Three?" I asked. "I mean, your'e both mutants and Cyclops is black. So that's two groups. What's the third?"

"I'm Jewish, Spidey," Shadowcat informed.

"…Oh. Oooooh." I sighed, remembering that MJ and Ned were amongst the hostages. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if these Friends of Humanity were side eyeing them because MJ and Ned were, respectively, Black and Filipino. "Just what we needed – a bunch of bigots with guns."

"The plan is still the same," Cyclops reiterated. "But… I might actually get to enjoy this. You two go out first. I'm going to start a ruckus."

"Are you going to be okay?" I asked. "We're talking 19 people out there at least since six are in the library."

At this, Cyclops chuckled as if he found what I said humorous. It was a bit unnerving, given the circumstances. "They might have had a modicum of a chance if they brought 19 more. Now go!"

"With me, Spider-Man," Shadowcat said as he grabbed my shoulder. I nodded.

"Be careful, Cyclops," I said.

"You two be careful as well."

I nodded before I went with Shadowcat. I moved with her as she guided me with through a wall. As we moved inside of the walls, I guided her towards the custodian closet closest to the library. Once in there, Shadowcat took a moment to phase her face through the door briefly before pulling her head.

"Okay, there are two gunmen in front of the library entrance," Shadowcat said. "I can take them down. Since you know the layout of the library, you think you can handle the six that's inside?"

"Yeah," I nodded. It made sense.

Kitty look one more glance towards the library. "How's your night vision?"

"Very good, actually. Why?"

"Wait here for a few moments."

With that said, she phased through a wall. I didn't understand what she was doing. But I figured she knew what she was doing. So, I stood there, alone with my thoughts for a few minutes, just wishing that everyone was okay. After that, Shadowcat phased back in.

"There," she said. "I just took out almost every single light in the library. It's pretty dim." She looked me up and down. "Perhaps next time you should come with a dark costume."

"Perhaps," I conceded. "Can you take me in?"

"Of course."

Shadowcat grabbed me and took me into the wall before pulling me upward. As I moved with her, I finally took a moment to appreciate how cool her ability was. I wish I had that kind of power. It probably would have made my life as a hero a lot easier. Eventually, we were just over the ceiling tiles of the library. She lowered me gently until I was on one of the A/C vents.

"I got it from here," I whispered to Shadowcat. "…Please be careful."

"You too, Spidey," she whispered back as she smiled.

I nodded towards her before I looked down at one of the ceiling tiles. Slowly, I placed my hand on it. I then lifted up my hand just as slowly, picking the tile up. I moved it to my right, leaving an opening for me to look down through. It was almost pitch black, but I could see more than well enough. Carefully, I squeezed through the opening and attached myself to the ceiling. I then reached for the tile and pulled it back into its place.

I slowly moved, keeping my eyes on any guards. It didn't take long for me to spot two of the gunmen chatting.

"…and you guys thought I was crazy for wanting to bring flashlight attachments!" he commented in a smug tone.

"We were invading one of the most funded schools in broad daylight," the other gunman pointed out. "You're acting like we were invading an abandoned warehouse at midnight."

I kept on crawling until I was in a corner. I shot a strand of webbing into the ceiling before I hung upside down from it. I took a moment to survey the area. There were indeed six gunmen. All of them had rifles on them. All of them were spread out, standing still, no doubt because of the lack of light. I then looked down around for the students. The students were spread out all through the library. I looked all around to see MJ, Ned, and Betty huddled in the corner.

Oh, and Flash and Brad were there, seated a few feet away from them.

I suppose they were important, too.

I huffed out a quiet breath before I stuck to the ceiling again before I crawled over to them. Once I was over them, I once again shot a strand of webbing and lowered myself until I was hanging in front of MJ, Ned, and Betty.

And Flash and Brad. They were there, too.

"Please talk in a whisper," I said to them, causing all of them to look at me. From the corner of my eye, I saw Flash's eyes go wide before he took in a breath. Figuring he was going to yell, I webbed his mouth shut. "Or don't say anything. That'll work, too."

"Dude," Ned whispered. "How'd you sneak in here?"

"Shadowcat. Cyclops is here, too." I turned my head when I heard the sound of a blast out in the distance. I looked back at Ned. "He doesn't like these guys very much, to say the least." I looked over at MJ, who looked at me. She didn't look thrilled. "You want to give me and your friend a moment?"

"Yeah, sure," Betty said. She and Ned scooted away, shooing Brad and Flash away as they did so. I cut my line and landed quietly in front of her. I took a knee and looked at her.

"Hey," I greeted quietly. I got a good look at her. The right side of her bottom lip was swollen and busted open.

"…You didn't stop by Peter Pan yesterday," she whispered just loud enough for only the two of us to hear.

"I figured you wanted your space. I did lay a lot on your lap."

MJ sighed. "Yeah, you're right." She gave me a glare. "I'm still going to kick your ass for what you did."

"I know. I know." Gently, I brought my hand up and cupped her chin. A bit to my surprise, she didn't pull away or swat away my hand. I leaned in closer, looking at her lip. It was busted open badly, with the clotting of the blood preventing the wound from bleeding further. "…What happened?"

"One of those assholes said some real racist shit to Ned," she explained, her face twisting into a look of disgust. "I decked him – knocked him to the ground, too. But then another one hit me in the face with the butt of his rifle."

I felt my chest start to vibrate as my heartbeat rose. I took in a breath, giving me just a moment of clarity before my anger took over. "…They're going to pay for that."

I stood up as MJ looked at me with a look of worry and surprise on her face. I then turned around and stalked away. I closed my eyes, letting my sixth sense take over.

"Six," I said to myself.

I heard footsteps to my right. I opened my eyes looked in that direction, just in time to see one of the gunmen aim their gun at me. I shot a strand of webbing towards the rifle. Once it hit, I yanked the rifle out of their hands, caught it in midair, and broke it across my raised thigh. I then ran forward and smashed my forearm into their face, causing them to crumple to the ground. I looked down at the gunman, making sure I could hear a heartbeat. Once I heard it, I webbed him down before I walked away.

"Five."

There were more footsteps. I looked forward to see two men running around the corner and towards me. I plucked a hardcover book of the shelf and tossed it straight at the head of the one on the right, beaning him. The one still running towards me reared back his hand. I saw the knife he held. I almost chuckled – he thought he was going to get a chance to use it. As soon as he was close enough, I reared my right foot back, sent it forward, and kicked him in between legs with so much force I actually lifted him up about one foot off of the ground. I withdrew my foot, letting him fall to the ground. I webbed him down.

"Four."

I looked over at the guy I hit in the head with a book. He was slumped against a bookshelf, holding his head as he groaned. This was almost too easy. I shot two strands of webbing at the top of the bookshelf. Once they hit, I grabbed the ends of the strands and pulled, bringing the bookcase down on him.

"Three."

I walked forward, stepping onto the bookcase and ignoring the students that were gawking at me. There were three gunmen left in the middle of the library. All three of them aimed their guns at me. I wasn't the least bit concerned.

"I already took down three of you guys," I informed them. "One of them has a fractured skull. Another one had both of his testicles shattered, and the last one is underneath a bookcase nursing a severe headache. As for your men outside, Shadowcat and Cyclops are throwing them a party. Normally this would be the part where I would say surrender, but one of you guys gun-butted a young lady." I lifted my finger up and waved it back and forth. "Which one of you was it?"

One of them did speak up and proudly admit to it. I can't bring myself to write what he referred to MJ and Ned as. All I knew was that it was enough for me to rush in, yank the rifle out of his hand, and smashed him in the face with it.

"Two," I said grimly before I dropped the rifle and webbed the guy up.

I looked over at the last two men, who dropped their rifles and brought their hands up. I was about to just web them up when one of them spoke up.

"We're not the bad guys here!" he yelled out.

I was actually momentarily given pause. "…I beg your pardon," I uttered.

"We, are not, the bad guys, here! We only want the release of our esteemed leader, who was wrongfully convicted and incarcerated for crimes he didn't commit. All he did was try to keep the human race pure from these unnatural mutant animals! They're a danger to humanity!"

"Mhm, mhm, mhmmmm." I took in a breath. "Have you ever heard the phrase 'Black Lives Matter'?"

The man's face twisted into a scowl. "Yes, I do. And I think - !"

He didn't get that far into his response before I ran up and dropkicked him in the chest, sending him flying backward into a wall. Before he could slump down to the ground, I webbed him to the wall.

"I also believe that Mutant Lives Matter," I stated. "Also… One."

I looked at the last remaining guy. I walked up to him and placed my hand on his shoulder. "…You're going to jail after this." During this, I webbed his feet to the ground. "If I were you, I'd take this opportunity to rethink every belief you have held in your backwards brain. Because I'm pretty sure every decision you made based off of those beliefs led you right to me." With that, I shoved him backward, sending him into his back. I webbed his hands to the floor. I sighed before I looked all around me.

"…Zero."