We were all able to fly back home without any more incidents. By the time I was awake, we were already just outside of New Jersey, getting ready to land. Well, not really land – but hover in place. Since we had everything packed away in the SUV already, we were ready to go by the time the Airbus "landed" in Teterbero Airport.

As we stood outside of the SUV, Happy and Scott had a short chat.

"Pepper is going to want to know what happened," Happy informed.

"Tell her to call me, and I'll explain everything," Scott replied. "But for now, I think we need to get as much rest as possible, as soon as possible. After what we did, Justin Hammer will want his pounds of flesh."

At that, Happy scoffed. "Shocking news, I'm sure." He then looked towards me. "Um… can you guys give me a few minutes with Peter?"

"Everything okay?" I asked, a bit surprised by his request.

"Yeah, kid, it is. I just wanted to have a word alone with you in the kitchen, if that's okay."

"Go ahead, man," Craig assured. "We're not going to leave without you."

"It's not like we'll have to invade a secret facility to come and get you," Carmilla deadpanned. Everyone turned and looked at her with slight glares. She looked back at us and scoffed. "Look, it's either I laugh or I cry, and I've been all cried out for months. Let me laugh at my pain, okay?"

I raised my eyebrows briefly before I looked back at Happy. "Okay, let's go."

The two of us walked into the kitchen. Happy gestured me to stay in on spot before he made his way over to one of the fridges. He opened it up and reached inside before he pulled out two bottles of Ironbeer. After closing the fridge, he walked back to me and handed me a bottle. Quietly, I took the bottle before I twisted off the cap.

"How are you holding up, Peter?" Happy asked. "You're not injured or anything, are you?"

"No," I replied. "But honestly? I feel stuck between being happy that the mission was a success and worried about what Justin Hammer has in store for us next. I'm no expert on evil masterminds or anything, but I'm pretty sure they tend to get pissed off when the heroes gets away with invading their secret facility."

Happy nodded as he twisted off the cap of his bottle. "Yeah, I remember reading that in this book called Hero-Villain Relations for Dummies. I think that might've been chapter four." I chuckled as I took a sip of the soda. "You're not shook, are you?"

"No, I'm not. I'm just…" I trailed off for a moment. "…I'm just… I just want to be done with Scorpion and Hammer already. I fought him all of two times and came across Justin Hammer once, but just their very presence is enough to make me want to dropkick them into the path of an incoming train." I shook my head. "How you ever felt that way about a person before?"

"Hmmmm…" Happy looked up at the ceiling in thought. "Well, there are the people we have in common – Justin Hammer and Quentin Beck, that is. Um, other than them… I say a few exes, all the mothers of said exes, my ninth grade math teacher…"

I tilted my head. "Way to live up to your nickname, Happy," I deadpanned.

"Well, blame Tony for giving me that nickname," Happy responded with a scoff. "His love for acronyms is rivaled by his sense of irony."

I was given pause as I raised my eyebrows I then nodded slowly. "Okay… you're not wrong."

Happy nodded. "Listen kid." He pointed at me. "I just wanted to make sure you're okay. I know you can handle yourself. You went up against Toomes and beat him, and that was despite the fact that Tony took your suit away, forcing you to wear that thrift store outfit of yours. You went up against Beck when he had Edith. Granted, I did help out by providing the fabricator, but you did all of the heavy lifting, and things turned out fine… until, you know…" He cleared his throat. "And now you're a part of the X-Men. I get all that. But… I still feel… well not obligated, but… compelled… to check up on you every now and again."

I looked at him for a moment. I then nodded. "Thanks," I said. "I really appreciate it. I always have, really." I really did. Really, I felt like he was really downplaying how much he helped me during my struggles with Mysterio. If it wasn't for Happy, I don't think I would have been equipped to defeat Mysterio. That meant he had a huge hand in saving my friends, my classmates, a whole lot of innocent people… and Flash and Brad.

"Just remember I'm in your corner… along with a lot of people," Happy reminded. "But, for now, go home and rest. Catch some Z's, read a feel good book, go watch Star Trek with MJ… Just do something for leisure, okay?" I really wanted to correct him and say I watch Star Wars. But I was really touched by the sentiment, so I couldn't bring myself to do so. So, instead, I nodded.

"I will," I promised.

It was during this time that Craig and Joanna walked into the kitchen.

"I hope we didn't interrupt anything," Craig apologized.

"No, we're just about done," Happy replied. "I understand you guys really want to go home, but it's only been a few minutes."

"Yeah, we didn't come here to grab Peter," Joanna explained. "It's just that… well… this whole trip we took happened during when I usually do grocery shopping."

"And Carmilla said she was starving and insisted we all have dinner tonight," Craig added. "So… yeah, we're raiding the kitchen. I hope that's not a problem."

Happy stared at the two of them, looking a bit dumbstruck. Meanwhile, I looked up at the ceiling in thought.

"I could use some food for the house, too, now that I come to think of it," I mused.

Happy glanced at me. He then looked off to the side in thought before he tilted his head briefly.

"I mean… it's not like it's even going to scratch the surface of S.I.'s hospitality budget," Happy conceded. "Okay, because it's you guys, and you all had a long weekend, grab what you want. But Peter, Craig, you two can't grab alcohol."

"Fair enough," Craig conceded.

After we raided the fridge, we made our way back to the SUV. Once we were inside, Scott drove off. During the drive back to New York, I dozed off, only to be shaken awake by MJ when we arrived at the secret base. While Scott, Joanna, Craig, and Carmilla stayed behind, Kitty drove the rest of us home. Ned was dropped off first. He quickly apologized to Kitty for bringing up the idea for a group date. Kitty assured him it was okay. After that, Betty and MJ were dropped off at Betty's place. It was Betty's idea, figuring that MJ should spend at least some time at her place in case she gets called about the sleepover that never happened. That also meant that she needed some of my clothes.

"I can't promise you'll get all of these back," MJ told me as I hoisted the suitcase containing my clean clothes out of the trunk of Kitty's car.

"Even the boxers?" I joked.

"Not my usual type of undies, but I do find them rather comfortable. So… yeah, you might be missing a few." I chuckled. But I knew she wasn't really joking about that. I didn't mind, though. Lots of couples wear each other's hoodies and jackets, and us wearing each other's clothes was our version of that. MJ smiled at me. That smile faded when she looked down towards the ground. "…Hey Peter… I think I'm going to take you up on that offer and take that spare key from you."

I smiled. "I'll have one ready for you by Tuesday."

MJ looked up at me and smiled. "I'll see you in a few hours." She leaned slightly and placed a kiss on my cheek. My smile became wider. "See you at dinner." With that, she grabbed the suitcase and made her way to the front door of the building, where Betty was already waiting. Betty waved at me, and I waved back at her. I then walked around to the passenger side of Kitty's side before I opened the door and moved into the shotgun position. I closed the door and put on my seatbelt. Kitty drove off.

"So, how'd you enjoy your first time in California?" Kitty asked.

I took a moment to think about it. "You know, all things considered… I didn't hate it," I replied. "We got Carmilla back. I can't ask for much more."

Kitty scoffed. "Don't pretend you didn't have fun. I saw you and MJ on the dance floor at The Bar. I didn't know you could get so… frisky."

I cleared my throat as I looked out the window, getting a bit warm in the face. "It was the alcohol."

"…You do know we could still hear you over the communicator, right?"

I suddenly turned my head towards her with my eyes widened and eyebrows raised. "…That means you heard…"

"The moonshine story? Yes I did." She smiled slightly. "I wanted to laugh. A part of me did find it funny. But… at the same time, it just makes me glad that we all got to you when we did. Because, sweetie, that story is pretty sad."

"I told Joanna this at the gas station, but you guys – the American Idiots and the X-Men – you saved my life figuratively and likely literally, too." I turned my head and looked out through the windshield. "I didn't recognize it then, but… with the way things were going for me, I wouldn't have lasted long." I looked back at her and smiled. "So… thanks for that."

"Hey, we're family, Peter. We're supposed to be here for each other."

I nodded as I looked at her. I then frowned. "But, seriously… are you okay? You kind of gave Ned a glare he brought attention to your relationship status back in Cali."

Kitty sighed. "I'm fine, really," she assured. She paused for a moment. She then briefly tilted her head. "It's just…" She trailed off for a moment. "Look, I'm happy we got Carmilla back, since Craig missed her for a good while. And I'm happy that Scott may or may not have found someone in Joanna, because his dating life since his wife Jean has been dry, save for the occasional flirting with a certain woman who runs a gentlemen's club and…" She looked over at me and gave me a wry smile. "Well, I'm not exactly her number one fan." At that, I chuckled. She looked forward as she continued to drive. "But… as happy as I am for them… I'm also a bit envious.

"I wouldn't say I'm desperate for a relationship, but I'm far from opposed to being in one, and I do feel a bit lonely. It was easy to deal with it before. Scott, Craig, and I were three single people in a household with a lot of time on our hands, jobs aside. So we would often hang out and do stuff together, mostly at home. But now, with me being the only American Idiot and X-Man that is single, I'm starting to miss my old relationship." She frowned.

I gave her a sympathetic smile. I felt what she was saying because I knew that feeling, in a way. I remembered the days after Liz left Midtown and moved to Oregon. During those days, it seemed like people around me were either getting into relationships or showing how much they enjoyed their relationships in a publically affectionate way. Add the fact that Flash had to constantly remind me how I blew things with Liz and, well… I really wanted to quit being Spider-Man. I didn't tell Kitty this, though – not during this conversation, anyway.

"I'm sure you'll find someone," I told her in a near-whisper.

"Are you saying that to be encouraging, or do you really believe it?" she asked jokingly.

"I believe you will. You're an awesome person all around. And if someone like me can actually end up with someone like MJ, then it's only a matter of time until you find someone."

Kitty smiled as she shook her head. "While your self-deprecation wasn't necessary, it was appreciated." She glanced over at me. "You wouldn't happen to have a brother who is at least 6'4", would you?"

I chuckled as I shook my head. "No. Well, not that I know of, anyway."

"Well, if you do, tell him I'd like to meet him."

When I got home, I didn't do much. I checked my messages. I put my clothes and suits away, making sure to put my dirty clothes was put in the hamper. I then set my alarm and went to bed. After I was awakened by my alarm, I took a shower and got ready before I headed out.

I arrived after MJ and Betty, but before Ned, Joanna, and Scott. The latter had to step out to talk to a detective named Misty Knight. I never met her at that point, but I heard her name come up quite a bit in Queens. Apparently, her name held a lot of weight in Harlem.

I greeted everyone before I grabbed a drink from the fridge. I noticed that Carmilla no longer had the metal cylinder over her left forearm. However, she now had on a silver metallic gauntlet that left nothing but her fingers exposed.

As promised, Craig cooked, making oven roasted beef ribs, stove top cornbread, cooked peppers, and mashed sweet potatoes. When the food was ready, we took our seats at the table. On one side of the table was Betty, Ned, MJ and I. On the other side was Kitty, Carmilla, Craig, and Joanna. Scott sat the head of the table, adjacent to Joanna. After the food was served and a few minutes into eating, we all took time to explain to Carmilla everything that happened since she's been gone. That meant me, once again, telling my whole story regarding The Spell to a couple of people not in the know – namely Joanna and Carmilla.

Once the explanation was done, Carmilla looked at all of us with a blank expression. She then closed her eyes, took in a breath, and shook her head.

"Okay," Carmilla blurted out as she opened her eyes. "…I don't even know what to say. That was just…"

"It's a lot, I know," Betty replied soothingly.

"I'm like… I'm still stuck on The Spell part," Joanna stated as she looked at me. "Like, goddamn, kid. How are you still able to keep it together? I've heard of servicemen eating their gun over lesser things."

"Like I told you at the gas station, the people you see here are the reasons I'm still able to live again," I replied. At that, Joanna tilted her head briefly in acknowledgment.

"I'm still a little mad I thought that Mysterio was on the up and up," Craig spoke up.

"Yeah, about that." I looked towards Craig. "Did you feel some type of way about me? About Spider-Man, I mean."

He shook his head. "Nah, not really. I just figured the video was doctored. It was The Daily Bugle who dropped the video in the first place, and we all know The Daily Bugle ain't exactly a news organization that Nellie Bly would approve of." He then looked at Betty. "Respectfully."

"Craig, my boss has a hand in Justin Hammer sending Scorpion after Peter," Betty pointed out. "By all means, slander away."

"Speaking of Hammer," Scott chimed in, his mouth slightly full. He took a moment to continue to chew before he swallowed. He looked at Carmilla. "How did you end up being captured by Hammer in the first place?"

"Yeah, turns out, when I'm heartbroken, I can be quite the dumbass," Carmilla replied as her expression became a bit downcast.

"Join the club," I commented, prompting MJ and Ned to chuckle while Betty gave me a sideways glare.

Carmilla took in a breath. "Okay so… after Craig and I had our huge argument and breakup over the phone, I was more than a little upset, to say the least. I was angry at Craig, angry at myself, angry at my whole situation. So, I just left. I left the X-Men, I took a leave of absence from SHIELD… I self-isolated, for the most part. For a few months, I took different jobs from different people, mostly to make money. I was in mercenary mode, caring less and less about what kind of jobs I took and who I took them from. I did some jobs for some very awful people and I was doing everything I could to try and distance myself from the X-Men. But, no matter what, I was still Scorpion. I didn't want to be a Scorpion anymore, and I spent days wishing I wasn't. Well, you know what they say about being careful what you wish for."

Carmilla paused for a bit as she looked down towards her plate. With a fork in her hand, she jabbed at a bit of cooked peppers. "I was contacted by Hammer Industries. I didn't think I'd be hit up by a legit corporation. But there I was. They wanted to talk to me about a potential job that could pay me a ridiculous amount of money. I wanted to say no, but I figured the money they offered was worth the conversation. So I fly out to California, and I end up meeting with Hammer Industries executives in Palm Springs. Lo and behold, Hammer himself was there. He talked about how he's a changed man who turned over a new leaf and how he wanted to redeem himself by helping support the Accords. And he wanted me to help with his efforts. He wanted to make me the new arachnid hero of New York. Apparently, the government wanted someone to sway public opinion in favor of The Accords while also hunting and taking down the vigilantes in The Big Apple.

"I declined. I may not want to be Scorpion anymore, and I was no longer an X-Man at the time, but…" She looked over at Craig and smiled slightly. "No matter how upset I was… I still cared about the X-Men. I still cared about Craig." Craig smiled back at her and nodded. Carmilla turned her attention back to the rest of us. "I wanted to come back to you guys, if only to warn you about what Hammer Industries had planned. I figured I owed you guys that much. When I left the meeting, I thought that'd be the end of it. So, stupid me, I violated one of my own rules – never stay at a hotel longer than you need to. Instead of checking out early and going straight to the airport, I decided to just stay the night. So, of course, the hotel gets raided by quite a bit of armed men that were heavily trained and were looking for me. I tried to escape – I ended up gunning down quite a few of them, too. But I barely reached the front doors of the hotel before I got taken down with XREP shells."

"XREP shells?" Betty asked as a look of confusion came over her face.

"They're basically Taser projectiles in the form of shotgun shells," Ned explained. Betty nodded as she mouthed an "Oh". "Please Carmilla, continue."

Carmilla nodded and did just that. "Well, once I was down, I was handcuffed and got a bag put over my head before I was dragged off and put into the back of a vehicle. And then I ended up in cell, dressed in a stupid prison uniform. That was when Justin made his presence known, telling me that he was going to take my name and give it to someone more deserving." At that, Carmilla scoffed. "Apparently, I was less deserving of my name than a criminal who is a multiple offender. Anyway, I was trapped there for a while. That day, when I sent you guys the message, there was a whole breakout on the fifth floor. During it, there was enough damage done to the door of my cell to allow me to slip out. I grabbed a keycard from one of the downed guards and managed to get to the ground floor. There was one lone guard there. I took him down and grabbed his cellphone. After using his phone's GPS to find the coordinates of the place, I used it to send an e-mail from his company account. I got captured and put away again. And then you guys eventually came to get me."

We all stayed quiet when Carmilla finished speaking. I closed my eyes and bowed my head. I heard MJ turn in her seat.

"Are you okay, Peter?" MJ asked.

"I'm fine," I replied. I took in a breath before I lifted my head, opened my eyes, and looked towards Scott. Scott had a stone like expression on his face. "Scott, I know you like to do things at your own pace, but I really think we need to – "

"Deal with Scorpion?" he asked rhetorically. He paused for a moment. He then looked around at all of us. "Do you think six days is ample time to prepare?"

"Honestly, if you say the word, I can be ready tonight," Craig replied. "Granted, I'd prefer to rest, but…"

Scott nodded. "And rest we shall. I'll take the next couple of days to think of some plans."

"Some plans?" Ned asked. "Like a Plan A, Plan B, Plan C?"

At that, Scott chuckled. "Ned, I never label my plans with letters. That implies I go into a situation with 26 plans at most." He looked at everyone. There was a red glow behind his glasses. I knew that what he was going to say next was going to be rather serious. "We've been dealing with Scorpion and Hammer for weeks now. And during that time, we've basically been playing defense. While I'm sure Hammer and the people backing him will be a long term problem, Scorpion is one we can put away. He's been lucky enough to only have to fight one or two of us directly. But if we work together, things should go in our favor." He then turned and looked at Joanna. "I know you already fulfilled your job, but… I could use your help on this."

"…I'll do it," Joanna said quietly. "But it's going to cost you."

"How much this time?"

At that, Joanna scoffed and shook her head. "The cost won't be monetary. I'll tell you the details later. But, you can consider me on board." She then turned her head and looked at MJ, Ned, and Betty. "And I'm going to ask that you three don't make another surprise appearance. If you do, I'll carry you guys home personally. And you do not, want, that. Understood?"

"Understood," MJ replied calmly Betty nodded frantically and Ned visibly gulped. She then smirked as she looked at Scott. "Your girlfriend is rather pushy."

Scott breathed in. "She's not my girlfriend," he insisted.

"Yet!" the rest of us replied, causing Scott to groan in annoyance.

After the dinner, we all went home. When I went to bed, I stared up at the ceiling. I had the next couple of days off. Homework and my daily trip to Peter Pan aside, I didn't have anything I needed to do other than getting MJ a spare key for my place. I was ready to take full advantage of the next two days. So, I closed my eyes, ready to sleep. That was when I heard my phone vibrate. I reached over and grabbed my phone before I checked the screen, seeing I got a text. I unlocked my phone and checked my messages. I saw one from Scott. I opened it up and read it.

"Wednesday. The Daily Bugle. Tune in."