It was over.
AIM was gone.
The Avengers and JSA ended the war on time.
Kang the Conqueror was defeated.
Right?
The group was all relaxing outside of Courtney's house as they could all finally take in the relaxing day of summer.
"It's finally over." Courtney sighed as she laid back against the steps. "It finally feels like summer."
"It feels like things are gonna be okay." Yolanda agreed.
"So... what happens now?" Mayday asks the group. "What do we do?"
"Now..." Peter strolled over and sat down next to her and held out a hotdog. "We eat."
Mayday looked at the food and picked it out of his hand. "What is this?"
"Right." Peter nodded, remembering where she came from. "You... came from a dystopian future. It's a hotdog. Take a bite."
Mayday decided to trust him and took a small bite, immediately entranced by the processed meat. Taking bite after bite, the others watched as she munched it down in less than a minute.
"Well, if I grew up eating canned beans, I'd devour the first thing with flavor," Bobbie commented as he looked around. "So... what's the story this time?"
"No need," Phoebe said as she sat on the porch. "I and my sisters blocked off the memories of the whole falling city. We figured the city suffered enough from the DA and ISA."
"Can't say you're wrong." Rick had to agree with them. "So, what's gonna happen next?"
"Clint is still helping out with finding where Fury is," Kate told the group. "He can be anywhere in the world."
"And we stopped Kang, right?" Teresa asks the team. "The Conqueror isn't going to just show up one day out for revenge before we stopped him?"
"You watched Dark Fate, didn't you?" Cindy M asks her friend.
"I'm gonna be sticking around," Phoebe admitted to the friends. "My sisters...they wanna head to the X-Mansion. Help others understand their powers."
"And I'm gonna go with." Cindy M said, getting their attention. "I found out where my folks are. They're just on the edge of New York. So... while I'm catching up with them, I'm gonna have a job with the X-Men. This city doesn't need two Spider-People swinging around."
"You think there's room for one more?" Bobbie added, getting their attention again. "This city doesn't need Iceman for a while."
"You guys just gonna up and leave?" Peter was curious to see his friends leave.
"Come on, Pete. A.I.M's gone, but there's still a lot of powered individuals who need teachers." Bobbie sighed. "You helped us. Now it's time we returned the favor to others."
"Besides..." Cindy M said as she looked over to Courtney. "You need to talk to a certain person."
"What are you talking about?" Peter was not understanding what his friends were saying.
"Peter... come on," Bobbie rolled his eyes. "You saw what the figure will bring because you bottled up your emotions. Time to let them out."
And with that, the two walked off and Joey opened a portal to the Mansion.
"This isn't goodbye." Cindy M promises. "Just... till our next communion."
Peter rolled his eyes at his friends as they entered the portal, which closed behind them.
Jane walked over and pat Peter on the shoulder. "Suppose you're next to leave?"
"Actually...I'm sticking around." Jane admitted to him. "Odin says I should stick around. Heimdall says he saw something coming and knows I should be around to help."
"Welcome back to Earth, Jane Foster." Peter was happy to see he had at least one friend.
At the pit stop, Pat was saying goodbye to Hank who was taking the girls home now that A.I.M. was gone.
"It's about time that I go to find Janet," Hank said with a sigh, packing up all of his essentials.
"What about this guy?" Scott asks as he kicked the container containing the V.I.S.I.O.N. body.
"V.I.S.I.O.N...was always meant to be a program for world peace," Hank commented as he walked over and traced his hand against the glass. "A.I.M. wanted to use him as a weapon." He then looked at Scott with a smile. "He can be a great asset if you find the right power source."
Scott looked down and a few ideas came into his mind on how to activate him. "Hm...I could think of a few ideas."
"Already replaced me?" Hope asked as she walked over to say goodbye. "Boys and their toys."
"Hey, let's not forget who attacked who," Scott recalled how they first met.
Hope rolled her eyes at the reminder. "Hey, if you recall, that was to save my father."
"If you recall, you could have just told me," Scott replied in a snarky tone. "Hell, could have even given me a call."
Hope then got an idea and held her hand out. "Give me your phone."
Scott didn't see that coming and just went with it. "Alright."
Hope then took his phone and typed her number inside of it before tossing it to Scott. "There. If you need us again... don't hesitate."
"I just might." Scott shrugged and sat on the container. "See you soon, Wasp."
"Kidnap you later...Ant-Man." Hope stared as she leaned in and pecked his cheek. "Don't keep me waiting."
"So what do we do?" Cho wonders.
"Your powers, if ever combined again, can still create the Cosmic Cube." Joey was sorry to inform the Forces.
"We need to keep you all separated," Robbie added.
"Hidden all across the globe." Mark finished.
"That makes sense." Alison guessed. "We all basically go our separate ways."
"Well..." Joey said as he looked around them. "It would be better if you guys went to some places where you can get help."
"We'll get you guys where you can live safely," Fallon assured them. "Live a subnormal life at least."
"Well...before we go..." Alison looked over to Peter and Courtney. "I think someone has something to say."
Peter decided to grow the courage as fast as he could as he walked over to Courtney. "Hi."
"Hey." Cortney blushed. "What's up?"
"Well, just about everything," Peter commented. "Been a crazy year."
"One thing after another." Courtney had to agree with him. "A bit of an update from last year."
"Yeah... there's something from last year that we didn't really go over." Peter saw it was time to face the music. "I confessed that I liked you...and you kissed me."
"Oh. That." Courtney saw that's what he wanted to discuss. "Yeah, I suppose we never really discussed it."
"You said that we weren't meant to be, but you kissed me just a few hours later." Peter recapped their Battleworld adventure.
"Yeah... guess that was a bit of a mixed message." Courtney had to agree.
Alison was starting to get bored and rolled her eyes. "You mind?"
"I'll give you a hand." Joey decided.
"Music and magic working together," Alison said as she sent out a music field around the two of them.
Joey then quickly used a force field to try and keep them from trying to walk away from one another for this. "Just focus your energy."
"You know I want you." Peter started, causing Courtney to look up at him and remembered when he already sang this song to her. But that might be their point. "It's not a secret I try to hide." He keeps singing and looked towards Courtney. "I know you want me. So please stop sayin' our hands are tied."
Courtney turned away from him, but the force field kept her within a walking distance of Peter.
"You claim it's not in the cards and fate is pullin' you miles away and out of reach from me." Peter kept going, hoping that this is what it takes to finally admit how he feels. The second time. "But you're here in my heart, so who can stop me if I decide that you're my destiny?"
"What if we rewrite the stars? Say you were made to be mine?" He asks as Courtney wonders if they could somehow make it work in their crazy world. "Nothing could keep us apart; you'd be the one I was meant to find. It's up to you, and it's up to me. No one gets to say what we need to be!" Peter kept singing whilst Courtney stopped trying to run for it and just waits for him to finish. "So why don't we rewrite the stars? Maybe the world could be ours...Tonight."
Courtney crossed her arms and closed her eyes as she thought of what she was going to say next when Peter guesses she isn't going to admit it. Even after he finally confessed how he feels, she doesn't feel the same...guess he can't blame her.
"You think it's easy," Courtney whispers, getting Peter's attention as she turned to look him in the eyes. "You think I don't wanna run to you? But there are still mountains and doors that we can't walk through. I know you're wondering why, it's because we aren't able to be just you and me within our world." She keeps singing before shaking her head, this being a ridiculous plan in her mind. "As I know that tomorrow, you're gonna wake up and see that this was hopeless after all. We can't rewrite the stars! How can you say you'll be mine? Everything keeps us apart!"
"And I know I'm not the one you were meant to find," Courtney stated while caressing his cheek, almost identical to how she did in Battleworld, and looked back and knew Peter doesn't have feelings for her.
"It's not up to you. It's not up to me. When everyone tells us what we need to be. How can we rewrite the stars?" Courtney questions as she spins around when Peter catches her before she could fall over. "Say that the world can be ours...Tonight?"
"All I want is to fly with you." Courtney and Peter sing and he holds onto her. "All I want is to fall with you. So just give me all of you!"
"It feels impossible!" Courtney started as the two swing back at one another and they link arms and start spinning around.
"It's not impossible," Peter replied.
"Why can't it be possible?" Courtney begins to reconsider.
"Believe that it's possible!" They sang together as they begin to spin one another. "How do we rewrite the stars? Just say you were made to be mine! Then nothing can keep us apart! 'Cause you were the one I was meant to find!"
All the timelines have kept the two of them apart because they decided it wasn't worth it. This was the one timeline where the two finally decided to put their feelings out there.
"It's up to you. And it's up to me. It's time for us to let go and be free!" They kept singing together with wide smiles and the two stopped spinning around. "So why don't we rewrite the stars? Changing the world to be ours..."
The two are now inches away from one another as they keep gazing into each other's eyes, waiting for the other one to do something.
But with the chance to catch their bearings, Courtney smiled at him. "You know I want you...It's a secret I've tried to hide. But if I can have you... why don't we try it?"
Peter smiled at her as he leaned in slowly letting her decide and Courtney gave in as she grabbed him by the head and pulled him in for a kiss. Just for a moment that felt like an eternity, it was the two of them. They're the ones who decide their destiny. It is their fate and they're going to be in control of their story. If they're going to confess their feelings to save the world, might as well go all the way.
Their destinies crossed paths because of heartbreak. But that heartbreak grew into a partnership, followed almost immediately by friendship. But that friendship grew from there, risking their lives for one another day after day, they finally decided that their paths crossed for a reason.
This was one of the many reasons that their stars crossed.
"Took them long enough," Beth commented.
"Finally." Rick smiled.
"I was getting sick of the eggshells." Riri agreed with them.
With that finally done, Joey opened a portal back to the Sanctum and returned the Black Diamond.
"Clea, we're back!" Joey called out to the house.
"Where is she?" Mark wonders.
"Oh wait..." Joey realized that there was only one place she could be. "Get away!"
The group quickly raced out of the way and allowed Joey to open a portal to the Mirror Dimension. Clea came stumbling out of the location with a groan and sigh.
"I have been floating over the remnants of New York for ten hours!" Clea cried in anger to the group.
"Yeah, sorry about that. We've been a bit busy." Ami apologizes.
Clea sighed as she dusted herself off. "Well... what did I miss?"
The next day, Sylvester assured everyone he wasn't coming back to just take the Cosmic Staff back from Courtney and was just looking for answers. Courtney and her family then sat down for breakfast the next day when they got a knock at the door.
Going to answer it, Pat was surprised when he saw it was the Crocks.
"Howdy, Neighbor," Lawrence told Pat with a smile.
They moved in next door.
"Good morning, Mr. Dugan," Artemis says with a smile.
"We brought muffins," Paula said as she held out a basket.
Pat didn't quite know what to say about that and looked over to the group. All of the criminals who helped fight against A.I.M. and MODOK were now sticking around.
Courtney was just as confused. "What the fu-"