The Peter/Gwen date chapter won out with a Cindy focused segment coming in second. For the sake of not bloating I'll do these two chapters back to back and then go back to the plot. The Mary Jane and Lana plots can wait till later.

Hope everyone's staying safe out there. As always, italicized tweeter segments are from Nerdman.

Side Note - Seems like most of my older reviewers came back :) Hopefully this keeps up. :D


Jameson:"Welcome back to Just the Facts with J. Jonah Jameson. Sorry about the delay, folks, but apparently my new producer decided it'd be funny to be an incompetent moron who couldn't find his brain if he was holding it! You'll be pleased to know that I've fired him and put Jared back on track.

"Now, the first thing on everyone's mind is if I've changed my mind now that Spider-Man is a child. Do I believe that he deserves different treatment now that he's changed? NO, I DO NOT! Actions matter, people, and Spider-Man has proven that whether he's an adult or a child that he's the same menace he always is! And that means he DESERVES WHAT HE GETS!

"And I've just gotten more 'tweets' that the adjacent menace known as Spinerette might be his new girlfriend! Tell me, citizens of New York, do you feel safe knowing that the heroes you place your trust in are thinking with their webshooters instead of their brains? Because I most certainly do not! Spinerette, if you're listening to this then take my advice. Put that menace where he belongs: in a prison cell! Yes, we've got a caller!

Caller: "Hey, this is Spinerette. Uh, just wanna say first off: fuck you. Second, practice what you preach. I'm sick and tired of Bodega Bandit ending up on my desk. Why don't you put him where he belongs? Cause if you don't I will, and no amount of bribery will keep him out."

Jameson: "Jared, cut the call! I said cut it!"


"Please help my daughter." The old woman frantically grabbed his shoulders hard enough to almost hurt. Her eyes were red and puffy and she looked like she hadn't slept in days - probably hadn't considering how long it'd been before he heard it. It was an all too familiar sight. Places like this didn't have much in the way of a support system. Apartment buildings leased out to the needy and the desperate - illegal immigrants, small time criminals and anyone else that didn't need or want the law looking over their shoulder.

Peter gently pushed her away and walked to the room at the end of the hall. Everyone stared at him in a mixture of relief, suspicion and (for a rare few) fear. They expected a priest, someone who looked like they at least red the scripture. He just glanced through the good book in his spare time. That and the suit was hardly standard wear for any priests.

He stopped at the door and put a hand on top of the wooden surface. Even with most of his powers numbed he still heard the raspy growls inside, 'Page owes me for this.' He wasn't even supposed to be here. Sure he'd dealt with his share of demons and the supernatural but it wasn't exactly his specialty. For the most part he tried to leave this kind of thing to the people who really believed.

No time to dwell on it now.

The room on the other side was sparse with nothing more than a bed at the center and a shabby cabinet over by the side. Peter set down his half lit coffin nail and walked towards the covered window, ignoring the growling figure tied to the mattress, "Hm..." He ripped the curtains down to expose the sunset and the figure behind him growled and struggled against her bindings.

He turned around and finally got a good look at the bound figure. She was a girl, probably no older than 15 or 16, and judging by her (distorted) features she was of Asian descent. She turned back towards him and Peter almost sneered at the face that greeted him - wide and veiny with sharp teeth that didn't look look it belonged to a human being. Typical signs of possession.

Time to get this over with.

He rolled up the sleeves of his suit and straddled the struggling demon. She growled up at him and muttered, "Watashi wa subete no anata o korosudeshō." I will kill you all. Japanese. Peter sneered and tugged Martin's rosary off his neck.

"Sure."

He pressed it against her forehead and she screamed. The skin burned at the contact and he tried to ignore the smell of burning flesh that wafted up his nostrils as he muttered the prayer. Behind him at the doorway was her mother, her face frozen in fear while she weakly raised a rosary and held a bible close to her chest. Past her the other tenants had gathered around to look on from a safe distance.

Peter pulled the rosary back and frowned when he saw the fresh scar on the skin. It shouldn't have been there after she was freed, "What the...?" He leaned forward and his spider-sense blared. The skin at her throat pulled taut and a mouth tried to chew through the flesh, "Shit!" He wrapped the rosary around his fist and punched it. The girl fell back on the bed and didn't move.

Now he knew why Page sent him here.

"I need a mirror..." he muttered. No one heard him, "I need a mirror! Five feet high, and some rope too! Go!" The people behind the mother scrambled while he got off the bed. He grabbed a chair and smashed the window open, thanking small mercies that there weren't any bars on it. He looked over the edge and, finding the street below abandoned, dragged the bed till it faced the window.

He took the rope one resident offered to him and tied it over the window. Four more men carried the window into the room slowly, "Put the mirror over her and tie the rope into a knot over the frame. Each of you hold one end and whatever happens, don't look."

They all nodded and closed their eyes as the girl stirred. Peter did the same and covered her eyes with one hand and held her down with the other, "In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti." He said it again and again and again in a mantra. The girl struggled and growled as he chanted. The demon was getting angry.

And then his spider-sense blared.

The man to his right, either out of curiosity or fear, opened his eyes. He gasped and stumbled back against the wall, his hair turning from brown to shocking white as he scratched at his face desperately, "No!" Peter opened his eyes and tried to keep the mirror up with his free hand only for the girl to tear through the bindings on her left wrist and grab his throat hard enough to choke.

Peter growled in turn and pushed her face down harder. Page sure picked a hell of a time to ask him for help. No enhanced strength, no webs, nothing. Just a sixth sense that he might as well didn't have for all the good it did, "Come on..." He continued chanting. The girl's struggles weakened and he saw the something tearing at her throat again.

Finally.

He threw himself over the side to the ground and watched as the demon's reflection 'fell' and hit the glass. It was an ugly little thing, pasty white with emaciated limbs and a sharp row of teeth. It had no eyes or nose and it reminded him of a half finished mannequin.

He stumbled over to the rope and tugged...only for the wooden sides of the window to stop it, "God damn it..." He hopped onto the bedframe and tugged. Right now he really could've used Cindy's help, but of course she had to be called back to her work. The demon's reflection punched at the glass and he saw cracks appearing on the surface. If that thing got out it'd make good on its promise.

He gave one final tug and the demon managed to to push one arm through the glass before the wooden barriers finally gave way. The demon screamed all the way down till the sounds of shattering glass reached their ears. Coughing and rubbing his throat, he walked over to the window and looked over the edge to the broken mirror. It was gone.

From behind him the girl gasped, her sweat soaked (and normal) face looking around frantically, "Okaa-san...? Okaa-san!" The woman and another resident rushed into the room and quickly began untying her.

Peter made his way to the man who opened his eyes and knelt down in front of him, "Are you alright...?" No point in telling him off. The white hair would be enough of a reminder.

"Y-Yes..." He nodded weakly.

"Your hair should go back to normal in a week. Just make sure to be careful." He pulled out a chocolate bar from his pocket and offered it to him, "Eat it. Should help you calm down." He stood back up and made to leave when the girl's mother stopped him.

"Domo arigato! Ah...thank you! Thank you so much!" She held his right hand with both of hers and cried.

"Dou itashimashite." His Japanese wasn't the best, but he could tell she appreciated the attempt, "Take care of her. And...here, pass it around." He handed her a few hundred dollar bills. Wouldn't be enough to last, but hopefully it'd give them a reprieve.

"You have done enough. We can't-"

"Just take it." He pressed it against her hand and looked her in the eye, "Look after your daughter."

She thanked him again. He waved her off and made his way back to outside, dialing Page on his phone as he did, "It's done, I presume?" she asked in that oh so calm way of hers.

"Yeah. One of Lilith's. It was harder than usual." He rubbed his throat again and hoped there wasn't going to be any bruising. Last thing he needed was for Gwen to worry, "That's why you sent me, isn't it?"

"Correct. Most priests wouldn't be able to handle the...physicality." She hummed, "Regardless you have my thanks."

"Save the thanks. You owe me a favor." He cut the call and walked back to their apartment. After this people would know he was back to normal. Least criminals would stop running out of embarrassment now.

He was the only one there when he arrived. Well, at least it gave him time to make a little welcome back thing, "Tch..." He clicked his tongue when he saw how sparse the fridge was. Considering Gwen and Mary ate enough for three people they were remarkably lazy when it came to the actual shopping. Oh well, he'd make do with what he had.

He was just about finished divvying up the three (more like seven) portions when the door opened and Gwen walked through. She only managed two steps before she stopped and looked at him with wide eyes, "Welcome back." He smiled and set the apron down by the sink. It was nighttime now, "Mary not with you?"

"No, she...she said she was staying over at Felicia's. Wait, are you back? How did-"

"Teresa. Met up with her earlier today and she...fixed me," Peter replied, "Sorry for not calling, but I wanted to surprise-"

Once again he was reminded of just how dulled his reflexes were when Gwen practically surged forward and pushed him against the counter. He barely had a chance to say something before she pressed her mouth against his in a kiss, "Mmm, Gwen, wait-" his words were cut off when she deepened the kiss, her tongue practically wrestling against his while she pushed him harder till he was practically leaning on the tabletop.

The kiss lasted for almost half a minute before she slowly pulled back. He idly noticed there was a bridge of saliva between them, "God, I've been waiting days to do that." Her face was red, though it definitely wasn't because of embarrassment. She swallowed audibly and chewed on her lower lip, "You don't mind if we skip dinner, do you? I'm not hungry right now."

He felt an all too familiar warmth in his gut at her goofy smile, "Ah...I should probably tell you that there were some side-effects when Teresa brought me back."

Her smile faded and she looked at him warily, "Please don't tell me she took your little Peter away? Cause I'm still willing to go for it but-"

"No. Nothing so severe." What was messed up was it wouldn't have been the first time it happened. Just another reason he hated France and those damn cartoon mascots, "Bringing me back...severed my connection to the Spider-God for a bit."

"Meaning...?"

"Meaning I don't have most of my powers. Actually, I just have my spider-sense right now." He didn't try to see if he could turn invisible or focus his senses just yet. Wasn't exactly keen to test out the feedback without the rest of his powers, "So, uh...we're going to have to be careful."

"Careful. Right. Wasn't like I was looking forward to this or anything." She shook her head and (thankfully) smiled again, "Alright, let's do this."


SakuraInConcrete: For everyone who was worried, thank you for the kind words. Yes, sis was legit possessed by a demon, but she's okay now. Thank you, Spider-Man. :D

Reply from Dawn Smith: Wait so he legit performs exorcisms? The hell?

Reply from ThePaimon: Yeah, you didn't know? He's been moonlighting on the exorcist gig since he came back. He usually helps out at the lower income areas where even a lot of priests don't wanna go.

Reply from Dawn Smith: Wait, so SakuraInConcrete your sister was possessed?

Reply from SakuraInConcrete: Yep. She was messing around with some people at school and they thought they could summon like an incubus or something. All they summoned was a big ugly white demon.

Reply from DarkSpider: I'll say it once and I'll say it again: stop messing with the supernatural. Demons aren't your friends, despite what your romance stories tell you. All you're good for to them is a foothold, nothing else.

Reply from Jazzbear69: So bad news for all Baby Spider fans out there, I heard Spider-Man is back to normal. Some of the apartment tenants said he most definitely was not a child anymore.

Reply from EmeraldArcher101: Yeah I heard it to. It sucks :C He was so adorable!

Reply from Jazzbear69: I know right? Way better than before.

Reply from DarkSpider: You people wanted me to stay stuck as a child?

Reply from Staniacool: Yup. You were cuter that way.

Reply from DarkSpider: ...And I thought Murdock was messed up.


Being with Gwen for as long as he did allowed him to pick up on her habits. The way she had her heart on her sleeve, how her fingers tended to twitch when she lied. Little things that she probably didn't notice herself.

Most of all was how affectionate she was. Friends, family, as long as she cared about them she didn't hesitate to get into their personal space - skinship, to use the 'proper' term. It was one of the few things that caught him off guard his first weeks here. Back in the other Spider-Man's home people kept their distance. It was just how things worked back then.

Now he woke up in bed with his phone ringing and realized he was stuck cause she had both arms wrapped around his chest, "...Gwen?" He tried to move only for her to tighten her grip and press her head at the back of his neck with a soft growl. Judging by the clock it was close to noon. Another side-effect of his temporary downgrade - actually needing to eat and sleep, "Gwen, it's late. Come on."

She still didn't move.

"Come on, Gwen. I'm feeling trapped here." He reached for the cellphone on the desk and barely managed to grab it. It was Cindy, "...Hello?"

Her face appeared on the screen (stupid video call) and she raised a brow when she saw him, "Uh...am I interrupting something?" she asked, obviously amused. Thank God the phone was high enough that she could only see their shoulders.

"No, just...why'd you call?"

"Well I did some research and the party we need to go to is taking place in a couple of days. Should be able to snag us a couple of invites once I do some digging. But that's not all. Tell me, how much do you know about Lana's school?"

"Not much apart from what she told me. Apparently it's a prison from which no joy can be had."

"Sounds like her." She smiled wryly, "Anyway, something happened over there and the school got exposed to the Terrigen Mist. Thankfully most of the students were out but Lana needs some help investigating. She thinks that this wasn't an accident."

"What does she need us for?"

"The key witness, one Grace Holloway, is apparently refusing to talk to her. The mist being released isn't actually a criminal offense so the cops can't just barge in there. Apparently Grace will only talk if you and Gwen both go there personally. Apparently she thinks this is the perfect chance to get some more swiftgram followers and Lana's stuck since threatening her isn't exactly a good idea."

"Do we really need to investigate this? Like you said it's hardly a crime."

"Lana has a bad feeling about it so just go and help her out. She said she'd be free by this afternoon."

"Fine."

He cut the call and, after another two minutes of hassling, finally managed to make Gwen let go of him. Peter changed back into the suit (apparently Gwen liked it) while she put on a loose sweater with a spider insignia at the front along with a pair of (surprisingly tight) jeans and black trainers. He looked back at her and blinked when he finally noticed that she was taller than before. Hadn't changed back fully after her trip to the club?

"You're staring. Something wrong?" she asked lightly.

"You're taller."

"Huh? Oh, shit, didn't even notice. Made Webster give us some alone time before I changed back fully." She rubbed the back of her head.

"It's fine. Just don't call me a midget like Grant does and we're good." No, he did not have a complex about his height and he didn't care that his 'brother' somehow clear 6 feet easily. Don't be absurd, "Hate to be 'that guy' - am I saying that right?" She nodded with a soft laugh, "Right, well shouldn't you be in class? I mean you made a big deal about how important college was."

"Not today. They're having an international food fair so most of the students are manning stalls..." she trailed off and he practically saw the lightbulb over her head, "Hey, why don't we both go? Webster can hold the fort here."

"To a food festival? If you want food I could cook something. Just need to actually buy stuff."

"No, I meant a date. The fair's open to the public and this'll gimme a chance to give you the the campus tour." The hesitation must've shown on his face because she'd suddenly pouted in a far too exaggerated way, "Come on! We're just a couple of weeks to November and enrollment's not far behind. If we're gonna get you in by the Spring Semester we can't keep putting this off."

"Ugh, fine. Just...let me get that damn wig."

Gwen grinned all the way to ESU, which made looking like a tool almost worth it. Peter made sure to keep his head down as she led him to the fair, which really reminded him more of a farmer's market than anything else. The stall owners hawked their wares while students and outsiders practically shoved over each other to get to the front of the line. Reminded him of that concert he had to sneak his way into.

He stopped when he saw a metal figure easily over 7 feet in height close to the Russian stall. At first glance you might've mistaken him for a statue but his energetic womens and loud laughs immediately put a stop to that idea. Gwen followed his gaze and laughed, "That's Colossus. He's-"

"I know who he is." She looked at him curiously and he shook his head, "I told you about Wade, right? Well that guy's convinced Wade can give up the mercenary gig and join the Initiative. Hounded him across one mission." Bright side having the 7 foot tall walking tank made the fighting easier. Not so bright side Colossus seemed to think he needed his 'encouragement' too, "Probably best he doesn't know who I am."

"Got it." She held his hand and led him to the stall selling burritos and tacos. Not too far away Peter saw Patillio, frog suit and all, twirling a sign next to the French stall, "The French group's selling frogs legs so I guess they thought Eugene would be the best mascot." Gwen took a big bite of her burrito, "Personally I think it's kinda weird. Like making a giant pig the mascot for your hotdog place."

"Better he's there than getting himself in trouble. You know he tried to 'join in' fighting the Hand?"

"Yeah..." She shrugged pityingly and finished off her burrito, "I mean I get wanting to help and all but there's only so much a frogsuit can do." She looked up at the campus, "We should probably do the tour now while the place is still empty."

"I still don't exactly feel good about you paying for this..."

"Oh god, would you let it go? Trust me, it's not a big deal!" She held his hand again, "Besides, we already owe you for cooking those five star meals. Me and MJ were eating instant noodles and takeout till you came back."

"Speaking of Mary, I was thinking about going to work at the theater. Apparently they're always hiring and I think we'd both feel better if I could keep an eye on her." He trusted Mary. He didn't trust Matt.

"Mmm, maybe, but don't you think MJ'd be suspicious?"

"Well it's either that or I work for Summers, Howard or Bishop. Summers wants me to be her 'official photomonkey', whatever the hell that means, and both Howard and Bishop think I could help them out with the P.I business." In all honesty the latter seemed to be his best bet. Jones made a living as an investigator and he always felt more at home with a goal to search for than working behind a counter.

"Pick whichever one you want as long as you're not gonna wear a trenchcoat again."

"I hardly think you of all people have any right to judge," he snarked back.

She rolled her eyes and took him to the largest building. This one was filled with classrooms, "You've already seen this part of the campus, but I figured a refresher's a good idea. Most of the profs are cool with not attending every day as long as you pass in the coursework. Should help keep you flexible."

"You said you were taking criminology, right?"

"Yep, figured it'd be useful considering my line of work. Oh, good timing." She waved over to an older man who was easily in his 60's. His head was shaved bald and he had a neat goatee that complimented his casual gray suit, "Professor Hickey! Hey!"

He looked at her and nodded, "Stacy." His voice was rough like gravel. He looked from Gwen to Peter and his eyes narrowed, "Who's your friend?"

"Oh, this is Ben Reilly. He's planning to enroll this Spring and I figured now was a good chance to give him a tour." She clapped Peter's shoulder, "Ben, this is Professor Mike Hickey the Criminology professor. He's an old friend of dad so that pretty much means I'm guaranteed to pass no matter what I do."

"Hehe, yeah, you keep telling yourself that, kid." Despite the sarcastic tone in his voice the smile was genuine, "So you sure you wanna take my class next year? George didn't want ya following in his footsteps."

"Well it's my choice," she said, surprisingly firm, "Anyway, we just wanted to say hi. I gotta take Peter to the rest of the places around here."

"You say so. Word of advice, Reilly, don't take any classes with that cuckoo Morbius. Guy's obsessed with some shit you don't wanna get into."

"I'll...keep that in mind, thanks."

They said their goodbyes to the old professor and Gwen led him to the rest of the facilities. Pools, a football field, computer rooms, a fountain at the center to serve as a gathering spot and various other places. He had to admit, this place was well-equipped. He was particularly interested in the science labs, which Gwen rolled her eyes at and accused him of being a nerd.

They stepped into the laboratory and were immediately greeted by Miles Warren, "Oh, hello!" He waved before going back to look over the microscope. Focused on his research. Peter could respect that.

"Hey prof. Not going to the fair?" Gwen asked.

"Not yet. Monica's bringing the kids in a few hours so I thought it would be a good chance to do some last minute experiments." He adjusted the nozzle, "Judging by your presence here, Mr. Reilly, I imagine that this means you're planning to enroll?"

"More or less."

"Splendid. Then I hope that you choose my class for your beginning year. It's clear by our last conversation that you have a knack of science."

"I'm not sure what I'll be majoring in, to be honest." Both his 'brother' and Parker wanted to focus on the science track, but was that what he wanted? Sure he loved it, but he doubted he'd be able to do anything with it; something told him Wasp's offer of work didn't hold up now. Sadly there was no studies on how to be a better vigilante, "I guess we'll see when I take some classes."

"Too right." He nodded happily and adjusted his glasses, "Ah, you might be interested to know that starting next year onwards ESU is offering a course on Superhuman studies. A majority of our science majors complained that trying to understand the science of the Gifted in their old courses was too difficult so the school decided to split it off to its own course. Judging by what I've heard apparently more than a few students are interested in it."

"Yeah, good luck trying to explain how She-Hulk works." Gwen snorted, "Good seeing ya, doc. I'll catch in class on Wednesday."

They finished up the makeshift tour and went back to the fair. Thankfully the line for the Italy stall was pretty short and soon they had a bag of pizza, breadsticks and various other Italian cuisine to work as their (second) lunch.

They were almost out of the crowd when Gwen bumped into someone all too familiar, "Ugh, watch where you're going!" Sally Avril looked to Gwen her face warped in a sneer, "Gwen, of course you'd be pigging out." She looked down at the boxes judgmentally. Witch.

"Avril, so nice to see you," Gwen shot back, sickly sweet, "Shouldn't you be off posting selfies to your swiftgram about how hard being a struggling artist is?"

"Like I haven't heard that before." She rolled her eyes and when she saw him her brows raised, "Who's your emo friend?"

"Ben, but I'd really appreciate if you don't talk to him. I kinda wanted him to avoid seeing ESU's human garbage." It was surprisingly callous remark but Peter wasn't going to judge. Avril made his life hell and as far as Gwen was concerned she and King were the main reasons that he injected himself with that serum. The fact that Avril played off any responsibility once people found out the Lizard's identity only worsened her in Gwen's eyes.

Avril's right eye twitched but she (thankfully) left without another word. Mary was right; she only picked fights she knew she could win.

Gwen led him to the back of a building and, after making sure no one was looking, webbed them both up to the roof. The best view on campus, she said. They sat side-by-side on the edge, legs dangling off to the side with the box of food behind them. From up here he saw just how big this place was. A part of him felt he didn't belong, but he ignored it. Gwen wanted him here and that was enough for him to give it a chance.

"So, what do you think?" Gwen asked after finishing off her first slice of pizza, "Did I tempt you away from the dirty streets to trying to live the normal life?"

"You know I was never against it, I just didn't want to feel like a burden." He took a small bite of his own breadstick and stared down, "I'll be honest, Gwen, I...I don't know how to be normal. Ever since I woke up in that alley I've always been Spider-Man. I haven't had a chance to be anything else and..." He sighed, "I don't know if I can be."

"Why not?" she asked, soft and not at all judgemental.

"Because I don't even know who I am. I have two sets of memories in my head and I know I don't own either of them. I'm not the Spider-Man who got trapped here but I'm not the kid who wanted to be the next Tony Stark either. I know that I have to make do and become my own person but it's harder than I thought it'd be. Being with you and the others helps, but..."

He trailed off. Gwen didn't say a word and just held his right hand with her left gently, "If you need anything you know I'm here, right?"

"I know." He smiled back at her, "It just...it feels like I can't be normal. I did try, you know. That year long trip a part of me wondered if the next place I went to was the one I'd finally be normal for just a week. But no matter where I went I got dragged into this madhouse's insanity. I think...the Spider-God won't let me be normal. He brought me back for a reason and it's not because he wants me to earn a diploma and get a 9 to 5 job."

It'd always been at the back of his mind, festering. The Spider-God wanted a hunter - a killer - so where did that leave him and Gwen? How long could he really keep doing this before it all became too much? The vigilante streak couldn't last forever.

"Do you believe in fate?" she asked suddenly.

"What?"

"Do you believe in fate?" she stared straight ahead, still smiling, "Cause I don't. I don't give a fuck what Teresa says, we make our own choices. If you want to be normal then we'll both try, damn what some big fucking extradimensional spider says. I lost you twice already, Peter, I'm not losing you a third time. Whatever happens I'm there with you. No matter what."

"Almost sounds like you're proposing marriage there." He laughed under his breath.

"Maybe I am." There was that grin again, "I mean is that terrible of an idea? I'm pretty sure this isn't a college fling or anything so..." Despite her joking tone he caught her chewing on her lower lip. She was nervous, "It's just I know we're way too young to be thinking about that shit but I do wanna get married someday and I don't see us breaking up any time soon so-"

He kissed her. Her eyes widened briefly before she closed them and reciprocated the gesture. This time the kiss was soft and lasted for only a few seconds before they pulled back, "I love you, Gwen. Trust me, I wouldn't have even thought about coming here if I didn't." He looked down at the people below, "I know I'm not...good at this sort of thing, but I do want to be a good boyfriend."

"You're doing a pretty good job so far." She squeezed his hand, "Just...I wish you'd be more open sometimes. We are together but sometimes it feels like you don't want to touch me. Like I have to be the one to initiate or we're just gonna be sleeping on opposite sides of the bed. I mean you do initiate here and there, but I still feel like it's disjointed."

"...Sorry." He looked down, cheeks slightly red, "I'll try my best. like I said, I'm still not used to this whole thing. Having a 'normal' relationship. Being someone outside of the mask. It's slow going, but that's why you're here, right?"

"Definitely." She scooted closer and put her head on his shoulder. It was times like this that she cherished the most. Sure she loved being Spider-Woman, even if she went through hell, but she loved being Gwen Stacy much more. It was one of the biggest reasons why she refused to give up her identity. Cindy might've been able to deal with being out in the open but she couldn't.

"...What are they doing over there?" Gwen followed his hand and stifled a burst of laughter when she saw the mob at the edge of the plaza.

"Oh, they're rallying. Or protesting. People get really pissy if you don't get it right."

"For what?"

"I dunno. ESU's a pretty liberal college so chances are you're gonna find someone offended by something and most people join in. Personally I think most of em just use it as an excuse to not attend exams when they didn't study." She squinted her eyes till she made out the signs, "Oop, looks like they're protesting cause there aren't enough countries in the food fair. Guessing they think that's offensive somehow."

"...Is it too late to back out?"

"Haha, nope, you're stuck. Enjoy the insanity, Pete, we're gonna be here a while."


FCOL C: FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman, I need a favor.

Reply from FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman: Sure, whatcha need?

Reply from FCOL C: I'll be straight with you. I'm been feeling really depressed the past few weeks and it's hard to even come up with motivation to get up in the morning. Seeing you saving lives and kicking ass on the news helps me keep going.

Reply from FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman: Uh, thanks? I'm still not sure what the favor is though.

Reply from FCOL C: I'd like to have your phone number. Not the Avengers line that always goes to voicemail but your personal one. I think if I could just talk to you every couple of nights it'd be really good for my mental health.

Reply from FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman: ...Are you serious?

Reply from HawkeyeBishop: Dude are you serious? Like you realize you're like the millionth person whose tried to get her number right?

Reply from FCOL C: Fuck off, I wasn't asking you. FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman, yes I'm serious.

Reply from FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman: Listen, I'm sorry but I really can't do that. My identity's secret for a reason and I can't just go handing out my personal number to anyone who asks.

Reply from FCOL C: But I'm depressed. Don't you care about what happens to people? I thought you were a hero?

Reply from FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman: That doesn't mean I'm just going to give out my personal details. If you need help then I can swing by when I get the chance, but honestly you're better off going to talk to friends or a psychiatrist.

Reply from FCOL C: Fuck off. Shows what I get for thinking heroes actually cared. Hope you enjoy my hanging on tonight's news!

Reply from Spinerette: Just tracked his IP and called the police for a suicide risk. You really need to pick your fans better, Spider-Woman...


There we go, sap chapter done. I'm actually looking forward a bit to writing Cindy's chapter more since it allows me to write two contrasting dates and which one is considered more intimate/romantic. Anyway, tell me what you guys thought of this chapter. I thought it became too cringy at the end but I also know people want more romantic stuff since the past few chapters have been mostly plot, angst and action.

The first part with the exorcism was mostly there cause I had readers asking to see segments like it so it comes across as disjointed compared to the rest of the chapter. Don't worry, it'll tie in later. And yes, I stole it from Constantine. I'm not very creative.

Question:

1. Does every lead come across as decently competent? With five protagonists vying for POV I wonder if some come across as less capable than others. Lana and Mary Jane come to mind. The former spent multiple chapters comatose in a hospital and the latter, up until recently, was crippled with self doubts and seems to let Carnage do most of the fighting.

2. Did I write the Cindy/Noir and Lana/Sue pairs in a romantic way last chapter? I thought I did it well enough platonically but apparently a RL friend who reads thought the former were a tad too flirty and that the latter are meant to be romantic in nature due to the body language ie making kissy faces or holding hands together in bed. I dunno, I thought it was fine but maybe I'm wrong.

Review Answers:

RedHood001 - Hope you liked this chapter since you chose it :) As for the love triangle, that'll come later.

Cyclopz - Lana and Mary Jane will have to be delayed, sorry. Least we still get Cindy.

Crieger - I feel dirty reading it...

Ch4os4ever - I made the Jameson segment up top just for you.

Titan616 - Peter might be able to tank a death note since the Spider-God controls his soul. Ditto Moon Knight cause of his god. As for Lana, she's used to it but that doesn't mean she's not annoyed. Sue is legitimately one of her closest friends so she gets annoyed people assume they're fucking.

Dr. Sugarcakes - I thought you fed on nightmares and despair?

AlextheSouthParkGhostRider - Hey, you're back. Don't worry, Bullseye's role isn't quite done yet. He still needs to fight Daredevil and Noir.