Guess who's got FF7 remake downloading on his comp right now :) Figured I should get this out before that game takes up all of my attention.

This chapter felt easier to write than the previous one, even taking just a day rather than the couple of days I usually take; and that's with my procrastinating ass.

The last chapter didn't get much feedback so hopefully this one does better :)


Random Hikes: So I think I figured out why Spider-Woman and Spider-Man broke up. It's cause she's part of the #1Percent.

Reply from sleepyboi: ...Wut?

Reply from Random Hikes: It makes sense, doesn't it? Spider-Woman said in an interview that the Spider-Man our Spidey got his memories from had socialist leanings. Considering the fact that Spider-Man sticks around low income areas and the rumors about him helping out the homeless it figures that some of that stuck around.

Reply from Leo: And that explains the break up how?

Reply from Random Hikes: Think about it. Spider-Man's a socialist who helps out the poor while Spider-Woman is one of the gals up top.

Reply from sleepboi: Is she? Last I checked she wasn't swimming around in a yacht or dumping waste in rivers to save a few bucks.

Reply from Random Hikes: She still makes mad bank. Just look at how much her merch and likeness sells for and count out how much cash she must be making from the royalties alone. Hell, all the Avengers count. Captain America gets merch money too, She-Hulk's a famous wrestler and celebrity, Wasp has a fashion and science line, Hawkeye's the daughter of a billionaire and even Spinerette gets paid like Spidey and Cap do. It's a whole group of 1 percenters.

Reply from HawkeyeBishop: Uh...so we're just gonna ignore the fact that Spider-Woman gives 90% of her earnings to various charities? The rest of us give a decent chunk too, especially Spinerette. BTW my dad doesn't support me. I work as a P.I and a landlord and most of that money goes to arrows.

Reply from Random Hikes: It's still pretty noticeable compared to, say, the Defenders. Apart from Moon Knight none of them look like they're rolling in dough compared to the Avengers.

Reply from FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman: The reason for our breakup isn't anyone's business, but Spider-Man's political beliefs aren't a part of it. We both try to help out where we can as far as the poor are concerned.

Reply from Random Hikes: Says the Superhero who probably lives in a mansion.

Reply from FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman: You do realize that comic's fiction, right? Cause if not then I suggest not being so gullible. Have a good one.


As far back as Cindy remembered she was never the girliest person. She never really liked the Disney princesses and any attempt her mom had to put her in dresses was ruined when she was inevitably found roughing it out in the field. No one made a big deal about it. Her mom just cared that she kept her grades up and her dad was pretty freewheeling as far as parenting went. It wasn't like she was born in the 30's like the other Spider-Man where she'd be seen as some kind of social deviant.

It did, however, mean that she found herself spectacularly not giving much of a crap that she was having dinner with an honest to god prince.

Prince Charming came up to her office tonight to check in on how the case was going. She was pretty honest about it - they had a lead they'd follow in a couple of days but nothing was set in stone. He seemed satisfied enough with that and for a second she thought he'd invite her to another sparring match to 'celebrate' when he suddenly asked her out to dinner.

And to be honest? The place he took her to was suffocating. She'd been to fancy places before. Madripoor was expensive and she'd been on a handful of undercover missions the past year, many of which were in places that made the Dubai back home look like a slum. But back then she wore a disguise and played a character. The fancy food, dresses and lilting, flirtatious giggles were to accomplish a goal. A means to an end, as Nat always used to say.

Now her identity was open and she felt markedly out of place even in the fancy black dress she'd made herself. It wasn't like she expected a prince to take her to a burger joint but the fancy restaurant, whose name she didn't even try to pronounce cause it was some French word that she was pretty sure they made up just to look exclusive, felt like it catered to the 0.0001%. The skylight view of New York at night afford through the elaborately designed glass window would've given most normal people pause.

Her 'date' was equally fancy, wearing a white suit that looked tailor made for him. A passing touch earlier confirmed her suspicions. The fabric was almost indistinguishable from the real thing but she'd been around enough to realize it'd been altered. Built to be better against bullets and knives, similar to the Melvin Potter guarantee suits Peter and Kate ran around with.

"Is something the matter? You seem put off," Prince Charming asked, still delicately cutting at his duck. Cindy herself ordered a turkey dish, mostly cause it was the only thing she could pronounce without looking like an idiot. Her foreign language skills had gotten rusty the past couple of months.

"You'd be put off too if everyone stared at you." Ever since she got in here the 0.0001 percenters wouldn't stop looking at her. Even now over a year later she didn't like being gawked at. Spending 10 years in complete isolation meant even going to the nightclub - which she felt way too old to go to despite Gwen and Kate's assurances - was an anxiety attack waiting to happen.

"I wouldn't be. You get used to it after the first ten years." His smile was dry and she felt the exasperation in the small gesture.

"Yeah, guess you would, Prince Charming." So far he hadn't said anything about the nickname. She chose to think he liked it, "So, why'd you bring me here?"

"I wanted to take you out to dinner as a thank you for your help. It felt like the least I could do."

"Yeah...cut the shit." Cindy's smile turned cold while Prince Charming raised a brow. He definitely wasn't expecting that, "I may not have been at this as long as Black Widow but I know a play when I see one. You 'just so happened' to pick a restaurant that had its capacity filled so you had to use your princely credentials? Then you put is in a spot where anyone who wants to gawk just has to turn their head. You're trying to send a message."

"And what would that message be?" he asked back lightly. Still wasn't admitting it.

"The higher up the food chain you go the thinner the line between entrepreneur and criminal becomes. Betcha at least half the people here have done worse than a little tax evasion. So you know what I think?" She leaned forward, smile still in place, "I think you want to scare them. You want to show to everyone that if they dare mess with the Prince of Symkaria they'll have to deal with one of the Avengers. After all, we must be close if you're willing to take me to a dinner in such a fancy place. And an Avenger for a friend is really useful, hm?" She wouldn't have been surprised if a few Maggia heads were here tonight.

She wasn't an idiot. She knew that was also the main reason Gobby's dad wanted to recruit her as their 'corporate sponsored hero' (read: mascot). Messing with Oscorp meant they'd have to mess with her, and if they messed with her the rest of the Avengers (theoretically) weren't far behind. It was a cold war on a local scale, and she was playing the game.

It was also why the Hand never attacked Gwen. They could deal with a few vigilantes, but the Avengers would decimate them.

"Are you always so paranoid?" He put his chin atop the back of his right palm and looked at her, genuinely impressed.

"You don't last long in this kind of business without a healthy dose of paranoia." There weren't many people she trusted. Hell, she didn't even trust all of the Avengers. She figured Kate and Gwen would have her back but Cap was part of that damn cover-up and She-Hulk always felt like she judged her for the guns she carried and the way she fought. Wasp she just didn't talk with too much so it was hard to establish a rapport.

Her therapist told her it was unhealthy, but she shrugged it off. Last time she trusted someone without making sure she lost 10 years. That and she didn't really trust her therapist either, which kinda just proved the point.

"So if you thought I was here doing some kind of gambit why did you come along?"

"Because it's my job." She sliced off a thin piece of turkey and bit down without taking her eyes off him, "You pulled some strings to get me and the rest of the 89th to investigate the attack and right now helping you helps me. A guy I'm after has ties to the Maggia and I have the distinct feeling that he's involved with this. Organized crime suddenly attacking an embassy? They avoid terrorism. Bad for business when you from being seen as businessmen to fanatics and enemies of a state. So I actually kinda owe you."

"Well now, that's interesting." He took a bite of his own duck in a precise manner, "Who is this man that you're hunting and why do you think he's the one who masterminded my attack?"

"Let's just say he has previous ties to a terrorist organization and leave it at that." She had no interest in spilling everything to him. Just cause their goals aligned didn't mean they were friends, "All you need to know is that I'm interested in stopping the Maggia as much as you are and that means we're allies." The for now was left unsaid. She'd read up on Symkaria and it wasn't exactly something she'd read to Laura.

It was a tyranny. A royal family that ruled for hundreds of years and they weren't exactly shy about throwing their weight around. The current king, one Ernst Sablinova, was well known for his humans rights abuses. Peaceful protests put down hard and a nation in poverty while he lived it up in the palace. No one else did anything because he'd made enough deals with the likes of Latveria (another war-torn pit) and even the US to keep everything in-house. That meant no one but humanitarian groups ever did anything.

And Prince Charming was the heir to that dumpster fire.

The only reason she wasn't more put off with him was because from what she'd read he hadn't actually done anything. The S.H.I.E.L.D reports even described him as a 'stabilizing influence' on dear old daddy, and coming from S.H.I.E.L.D that was saying something.

"You don't trust me." It wasn't a question despite the way he said it.

"I don't really know you." She shrugged non-comitally and leaned forward again. His eyes flicked down to her chest for the briefest second before meeting her stare, "So why don't tell me what your plans are after this? Cause I doubt you wore that bulletproof suit for fun."

"You would be surprised." He chuckled under his breath, "To get to the point then: I have it on good authority that a good deal of these Maggia goons are going to be present at the warehouse, and I believe I know the reason for their attack on the embassy." He pulled out a photo from his suit pocket and slid it to her. She picked up and raised a brow when she saw the blurry picture of a mafia goon wearing a freaking jetpack, of all things.

"Guessing that's not standard issue." She slid the picture back.

"Symkarian tech. My father considers the funding of weapons to beat down his subjects even harder to be a worthy investment." It was just for a second, but she saw the pure, unfiltered disgust in his eyes before he looked normal again, "This is just one warehouse, mind you. I don't expect we'll find the mastermind there, but stopping even one could prove helpful. And if not it should be cathartic to me."

"We?" She asked back wryly, "Last I checked I'm the supercop around here, not you."

"Well I hardly expect you to have all the fun." He pocketed the photo and stood, "Are you finished with your meal? I'd like to get to the dessert."

"You know saying that makes you sound like a dork, right?" She snorted and rolled her eyes as she stood, "And what makes you think you're coming? Some of the other officers already give me enough shit, having the prince of Symkaria shot on my watch isn't gonna do me any favors."

"Well we either work together where you can minimize my chances of getting shot or I go on my own and increase the risk to my life. Your choice."

"...We're taking ice cream to go."

Fifteen minutes later Cindy and Prince Charming were back to back in a warehouse surrounded by maggia goons and all she could think about was that her Häagen-Daz was melting. Cindy lowered into a crouch and narrowed her eyes. Judging from what she picked up these guys were members of the Costa family, meaning Don Costa had a lot to explain...assuming his lawyers didn't get him out on a loophole.

One of the thugs with jetpack beelined towards her. She rolled to the side and tugged herself onto his back with two lines of webbing, "Should've stuck to doing donuts." She grabbed the clasps Silver showed her and pulled the jetpack off the flailing thug. She webbed him to the wall and threw the jetpack to Prince Charming, who was busy flipping between two guys and shooting with the ICERs she loaned him.

He grabbed the jetpack and quickly put it on before taking to the air. Cindy focused on the goons wearing fancy armor while Silver flew around raining bullets from above. The dark part of her mind wondered how many times Symkarian soldiers did the same to protesting villagers.

She headbutted the last goon then kicked him to the air. Silver hit him twice in the jaw then Cindy webbed his chest and slammed him to the ground with a painful crack. Might have been overkill but they both needed to blow off some steam.

Prince Charming landed next to her and handed her the guns back, "Interesting weaponry." He took off the jetpack and put it to the ground.

"It does the job." She holstered the pistols and wiped the sweat from her forehead. Her heart was pounding and it was clear Prince Charming felt the same way. It'd been a while since she had a fight like this. Jetpacks and weapons that looked like they belonged in a sci-fi movie, it was definitely...different from her usual fights. Harder. She felt the adrenaline pumping and it still hadn't worn off.

Which was the reason she'd give later as to why Prince Charming was pinning her against the wall and practically violating her mouth. She didn't know which of them started it, but if anyone asked she was thoroughly seduced and did her best to resist. She almost forgot that they were in a warehouse surrounded by unconscious Maggia goons.

Almost.

She pushed him off and wiped her mouth, "Later. Deal with this first." She gestured to the unconscious goons and Silver, after a moment of obvious hesitation that felt kinda flattering, nodded and pulled out his phone. Cindy cuffed the goons with her webs and just finished up the last one when she saw a figure duck under the window from a roof above. Someone trying to be the sole survivor?

She webbed herself up while Silver took the stairs. She unholstered her guns and, with a quick nod to her impromptu partner, kicked the door down.

"Woah, woah, woah! I come in peace!"

Cindy let out a soft breath and holstered her pistols, "What are you doing here, Norah?" she asked the blonde. It'd been a while since she saw her last, though that wasn't a surprise. She often had to lay low and cool off after her latest 'hard hitting look at the truth'.

"The same thing you two are, I'm guessing." She gestured to the knocked out Maggia goon in the corner. Tazer hit, "I got a tip that some Costa family grunts were here smuggling in something real heavy and I figured I'd check it out."

"And you didn't call the police because...?"

"Because I figured that the boys in blue wouldn't exactly be a match to guys with jetpacks and laser?" Norah asked back rhetorically. Cindy didn't disagree, "I was hoping to get some pics and send it up to someone higher when you two jumped in on your date. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. Everyone was so busy attacking you guys that they didn't even see me hacking into their systems."

"Forgive me for being rude, but I think introductions are in order?" Cindy cut in.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. This is Norah Winters, a friend of mine. Norah, this is-"

"Prince Silver Sablinov, heir to the Symkarian empire." She shook his hand eagerly while Prince Charming just looked surpised at being treated so casually, "Yeah, I did my homework. You roped Cin here into investigating the Embassy bombing, though I'll admit I'm surprised you came here by yourself. I figured when I sent you the info you would've called Cin and she'd handle it."

"You were my anonymous tip?" He smiled, pleasantly surprised.

"Yeah, but I really just gave the info to one of your guys. No biggie." She waved a hand and turned to Cindy, "Sorry I didn't message. I figured it'd be better if I came back with some proof and I thought Prince Silver here would've waited a while to tell you, not like the hour I sent it to him."

"It's fine, just be careful. I don't wanna see you sleeping with the fishes cause you got in over your head."

"Aww, it's nice that you care." She smiled cheekily then turned back to Prince Charming, "So hey, if you wanna pay me back for that tip you can gimme an interview. But first..." She gestured to the laptop on a nearby desk, "I was about to finish my investigation when you two oh so rudely interrupted. Mind letting me get back to it?"

"Alone? Yeah, no." Cindy rolled her eyes and looked over Norah's shoulder as she finished the hack. Silver took up her other side and they both watched as Norah got a copy of the files into a hardrive, "Hey, what's that?" She pointed to the folder with a jumbled name.

"Encrypted. Hold on." A few keystrokes later and the folder opened to a single file, "Huh...'Devil's Breath'? With a name like that I doubt it's anything good."

"Know anything about this?" Cindy asked Silver.

"No. I'm afraid my father keeps his secrets even from me." He sighed, "Regardless these files should prove useful. Do you mind giving us a copy?"

"Sure, just lemme re-crack it first. Don't want anyone tracking this." She deleted all the files in the laptop and closed it. Cindy heard sirens, "Looks like the coppers are here. I'll head out if you don't mind. A lot of the boys in blue don't like journalists."

"Sure. We'll catch up later."


Cindy woke up the next day with a raging headache. Consciousness came back slowly and when she opened her eyes she realized two things: one, this bed definitely wasn't hers and two, that was her bra hanging from a lamp.

"...Shit."

"Morning." Her head snapped to the voice and she cringed when she saw Silver Sablinov sitting at the foot of the bed, one leg crossed over the other and a smile on his face. The silver (seriously?) nightrobe didn't leave much to the imagination, "Pleasant night?"

"Could've been worse." Right, she remembered now: she came back to his place to 'debrief' (and there was a pun there about what they really did last night that she refused to acknowledge), they had a few drinks from some vintage Symkarian brands, and then she fucked the crown prince of Symkaria. If she hadn't slept with Thor a couple of months back she probably would've thought that was more impressive, "Were you...watching me sleep? You know how creepy that is, right?"

"Really? Everyone always talks of how romantic it is." He gestured to a cup of coffee on a nearby table, "I assumed you'd want this."

"You assumed right." She stood and put on the closest robe, not caring that she was stark naked underneath. Bit too late for that, "So...are you going to tell me who that cop was you bribed last night or do I have to coax it out of you?"

"You don't miss a single thing, do you?" He shook his head and laughed, "If you must know, I simply ensured that those weapons wouldn't fall back into my father's hand. I think he has enough tools he can use to oppress Symkaria's people that he can afford to lose some."

"And why would you do that?"

"Because I'm planning to overthrow him." Cindy raised a brow. That was...candid.

"Sure you should be telling me that?"

"And why shouldn't I? Last I checked the Avengers had no ties to politics. You could warn him if you wish, but something tells me that you aren't exactly fond of my father's current policies."

"Mmm." She took a sip of the coffee and breathed out. Even his caffeine was fancy, "You're right, it's none of my business." She wasn't sure if Silver would be much better, to be honest. Revolutions had a way to going 360 from what she'd read.

"It could be." He looked up at her with a confident smile, "What say we extend this partnership, hm? When this case is over you could come with me back to Symkaria and help free her people. That is what heroes do, yes?"

"Okay, I am not nearly drunk enough to think fighting a revolution's something I wanna do." She sympathized with those people, but she couldn't be sure her presence there wouldn't just make things worse, "Besides, bit early to be making plans to elope, isn't it?" She smirked.

"Passion is fleeting. Why worry for time?"

"Pick that up from a novel, Prince Charming?" She checked her phone and sighed when she saw the message sent an hour ago, "Shit, I gotta go."

"Another case?"

"No, my kid just got called to the principal's office." He gave her a curious look but she didn't explain further. She webbed up a decent copy of a decent enough looking top and pants and swung all the way to the school. She was probably late by now.

She stepped into the office and winced when she saw Mrs. Toynbee sitting at one of the chars to the principal's right with her spawn next to her nursing a bloody nose. On the bright side Scott was there too with frowning Cassie while Laura sat with an empty chair next to her on the principal's left side.

"About time you got here! See, she doesn't even take this seriously!" Mrs. Toynbee - who she'd decided was now The Witch - sneered up at her.

"Please calm down, Ms. Toynbee. I'm sure she has good reason," The principal said. His tone made it clear he was as tired as she was.

"Work kinda comes up, you know." No, she was not going to tell them she just had a one night stand with a soon to be rebel prince, "What seems to be the problem."

"Laura-"

"The little monster hit my son!" The Witch screeched. As if on cue the little brat's smirk turned to a pained cry, "She should be expelled! She-"

"Mrs. Toynbee, calm down!" The principal looked down at her with narrowed eyes. She looked like she wanted to complain but eventually held it in, "Now as I was saying, it seems Laura hit young Mortimer here."

"He hurt Cassie." Laura growled, "He put a nail in her water bottle! If she drank it she would've gotten hurt."

"Yeah, I think that's what she's ignoring here," Scott said. She was very much relieved that there was someone on her side here, "This little bas- kid put something in my kid's drink and she drank it a little choking would've been the best case scenario. I think Laura did the right thing."

"She hit my son!" The Witch hissed, "She stopped your brat from getting hurt so what was the harm? That little monster-"

"Call her that again and I'm going to fucking-"

"Enough," the principal cut Cindy off, "Mrs. Toynbee, Ms. Miller's right. One more outburst like that and I'll be forced to call Mortimer's father. Are we clear?" She shut her mouth and nodded, "Good. Now, the teacher inspected and there was in fact a nail in the water bottle. Mortimer, would you care to explain?"

"I-I thought she'd notice it and drop the bottle. Honest!" That little shit...

"Even if she did that's no reason to pull this kind of 'prank' in the first place. If there's even a slight chance that someone could be hurt then it's not something you should ever attempt. Are we clear?" The little monster continued pouting until he saw it wasn't working and nodded like her mom, "Now, as for Laura. While I will admit that Mortimer's actions went too far she went and attacked him first while Cassie was the one who told the teacher."

"Teachers did not listen before." Laura grit her teeth, "He is a bully and he keeps doing it again and again. He deserves it."

"Why you-"

"Maybe next time you should control your budding little socipath there?" Cindy cut The Witch off, scowling.

"How dare you-"

"They will both have in-school suspension starting tomorrow," The principal interrupted. He was completely done, "Laura for two days with Mortimer receiving two weeks." The Witch was about to protest till he cut her off again, "Mrs. Toynbee, you are aware of how serious the situation could have become? You're lucky that Laura stopped this 'prank' from continuing. If she hadn't Cassandra would've been injured and Mortimer would've been put into juvenile detention. Do you understand that?"

"For a prank?"

"No, for trying to give my little girl internal bleeding," Scott said. He looked like he wanted to punch her, "You should count your lucky stars that it didn't go that far."

"Now, I think that should be all." The principal stood and looked between Laura and the little stain, "I don't to see either of you two here again, especially you, Mortimer. You got lucky this time."

"But-"

The principal waved them off without a word. The Witch glared at them as she walked her little 'prankster' out. Cindy just sneered back, silently daring her to do something. She didn't. Shaking her head, she took Laura by the hand and gently led her by the hand out with Scott and Cassie following. It was already noon so they had an hour and a half to kill before classes started again.

"Well, that just happened." Scott sighed and rubbed the back of his head, "Thanks for looking out for Cassie, Laura."

"She is my friend." Laura smiled and Cassie's frown finally faded into a little half smile of her own, "...I'm sorry for not going to the teacher first. Am I in trouble?"

"No. You're already suspended, and I can't really blame you. Seems like that little sh- uh, brat's a real piece of work."

"Apparently the kid's mom had a habit of getting her way with the old principal. Her brat thinks he's invincible and it hasn't kicked in yet that the new guy's not taking any of his...nonsense." Least she wasn't the only one who felt the pain of having to censor herself, "So listen, I can't really do much to thank you both so why not I treat you to some ice cream?"

"Baskin Robbins again?" Cindy asked back jokingly.

"They have the best flavors!" Cassie chirped. Least she was happy again.

"Mmm...why not? I could go for some ice cream right now."

Soon enough they were all sitting around a small table and digging in to their frozen treats. Laura happily ate her caramel brownie mix and, when she was sure no one was looking, put her spoon down at her stomach so Gabbie could snap out and take her share. So far their partnership was apparently going well, at least as far as Laura told it. Shadowcat hadn't complained either so that was a good sign.

Cindy may or may not have discreetly fed it (her) a few spoonfuls herself.

"People are staring." Laura mumbled. Cindy looked around and, yes, there were at least a few people whispering to one another and taking pictures. Another downside to exposing her identity. Kate assured her it'd stop (or at least slow down) eventually.

"Just ignore them."

They took the kids back to school when lunch was over. Miraculously enough she had nothing to do. Captain Watanabe said she didn't have to go in till after the party with Mr. Brownstone and Norah was still too busy to meet up, so she was actually free. It was...weird. She wasn't used to not having someone hounding her to do something or another.

"So-"

"Wanna go out?" Cindy asked. Scott gave her a surprised look and she shrugged, "I don't have anything to do and I figured you know this part of town better than anyone. It's fine if you don't want to."

"No, it's just...I figured you'd be swinging around on patrol or something. Isn't that what you superheroes do?"

"That's more Spider-Woman's thing. I mean I still patrol around sometimes but I'm usually at a desk nowadays."

"Sure you wanna be seen with a former burglar?" His tone was joking but the crooked smile told her he was legitimately worried. It was kinda sweet.

"Yeah, trust me, I'm not the type to really care. People with a chip on their shoulder'll find some way to hate me no matter what." She stretched her arms above her head and groaned slightly. It'd be nice to stick to the ground again, "So, know any fun places?"

"Hmm...how about the bowling rink? I know the owner and they make the best wings."

"Bowling, huh? Last time I went was..." Ten years ago when she went with her entire family. Two weeks before they died, "It's been a while. Might be a bit rusty."

"Don't worry, I'll take it easy on you." He smiled cockily.

"Oho, big words. Lets see if you can back em up."

Cindy won, though in fairness Spider powers kind of stacked the deck against her. She hit the final strike and jumped up in the air when the score tallied, "Yes!" she cheered. Scott clapped behind her with an easy smile. He was a remarkably good sport, though that might've just been because she bought him all those wings. She told him it was payback for the ice cream and he'd reluctantly accepted.

"Spinerette 3, Scott 2."She sat down beside him with a grin and grabbed a wing. They'd played five games and Scott was pretty close. He'd bragged earlier that he was the bowling champion of his high school. She was more surprised high schools actually had bowling tournaments.

"Yeah, rub it in why don't ya?" He rolled his eyes good naturedly and took his own wing, "Gotta say I'm surprised. Thought you superhero types were into the fancy stuff. You know, golfing with Tony Stark or something."

"Okay, I can say without a doubt that there isn't a single Avenger who'd think golfing with Tony Stark is a good time." She snorted. So silly, "I'm a woman of simple tastes. I like hockey, old video games, putting criminals in their place, and bowling."

"Same here. Except the criminals thing, I'm trying to cut back on that." She laughed. It wasn't funny, but hey, "So I really gotta thank you again for Laura. If it wasn't for her Cassie might be in the hospital right now."

"I can't really take a lot of credit, to be honest. I really only started the whole 'mom' thing...6 months?" Felt far longer than that, really. Just half a year ago she couldn't imagine anyone calling her mom, "You can thank her dad and sister for how she turned out."

"Dad...he your boyfriend?"

"Haha, no. No, no, no. He's with Shadowcat. Uh, the sister." His face was a cross of surprised and horrified, "That's not- uh, okay, Laura's adopted. She's related to Shadowcat but not the dad. He and Shadowcat found her and the adoption just kinda happened."

"So...this guy's together with this Shadowcat girl but Laura, who's her little sister, calls him dad." Cindy nodded, "...Do I have to tell you how weird that is?"

"Trust me, you do not." The less said about Laura trying to set her up with the other Spider-Man, the better, "But hey, it works for them and I can't really judge considering I'm from another dimension and all."

"Right, the whole other dimension thing." He took another wing, "Doesn't that make you feel weird?"

"It did, but then I figured it was better than ten years alone in a bunker. Don't ask," she said before he opened his mouth, "Let's just say this place is home sweet home now and my evil twin doesn't have anything to say about considering she's paralyzed in prison."

"Right, dropping the subject." He waved a hand through the air.

Their phones suddenly rang. Laura's name popped up on the screen and she answered, "Hey. Bit early, isn't it?"

"The teacher let us out early to do a project. I was grouped with Cassie and another two girls and Jubilee suggested we have a 'sleepover' to do the project. Could I?" she practically saw her pout. She couldn't blame her. The first sleepover was something special, especially for someone like her.

"Sure, you need a ride?"

"Jubilee's mom is picking us up and will take us to school tomorrow so we do not need to be picked up."

"Alright, stay safe." She cut the call and turned to Scott who just finished his own talk, "Guess we're free the rest of the day."

"Anywhere you wanna go next?"

"...Know any good bars?"

Not too long after that and she was into her sixth glass of tequila. The place - Josie's, he called - was a simple little place. Not a lot of customers but she appreciated the fact that the bartender didn't even look twice at her. Scott kept the drinking light, nursing one cup of a mix drink despite her reassurances she'd pay for it. Apparently he was trying to cut back for Cassie's sake.

"Alright, so you interrogated me last time so now it's my turn." She prided herself on the fact that her speech was remarkably clear. In fact she felt pretty sobert apart from the slight buzz.

"That's how it works, huh?"

"I'll keep it fair. You asked about family so I'll do the same. You said it was just you and Cassie. No mom in the picture?"

"No, just us. Peggy..." He shook his head and took a small sip of the mix, "She's not dead or anything, it just...didn't work out. Even before the whole burglary thing we had our fights. Got the divorce papers when I was in prison."

"Sorry."

"Don't be. I mean, what was I thinking playing Robin Hood when I had a little girl? Peggy was right." His shoulders sagged, "I had 5 years, spent 3. When I got out Peggy was...she'd started taking." Drugs. Of course, "Court was a circus. One side you got a dad straight out of prison and on the other you have a mom who spent most of the past year coked out. Had to prove I could take care of her. Honestly I think the judge just didn't wanna deal with it."

"Cassie seems fine now. You're doing good." Cindy squeezed his left arm.

"Ex-con dad and an addict mom, it's a miracle she turned out like she did. I can't take any credit for it. It's cause of her, not me."

"Hey..."

"...Sorry, didn't mean to make the mood so heavy."

"I was the one who asked." Cindy shook her head, "Seems like we've both got our issues with the whole parenting thing. What say we help each other out? Seems like our kids are friends so I figure it works out."

"Ain't gonna say no to that, but I really don't see how I can help you unless you want a recommendation for Baskin-Robbins."

"Give yourself some credit, Scott. You've got years of experience over me." She finished off the glass and breathed out deeply. She felt that one, "So tell me more about that little burglary thing. Playing Robin Hood, you said?"

"Yeah. Know Vistacorp? Wait, nervermind, other dimension. Yeah, so it's this place based in San Francisco. Cybersecurity and data storage. People paid big money to make sure they were safe and these assholes overcharged. Thought it was just a code thing so I 'fixed' it. Well, boss did not like that. Made me change the code back then fired me. Thought I'd get some payback and give the money back."

"A real modern day Robin Hood." She grinned.

"Yeah, well, I got sloppy and got caught. Like I said, 5 years but I got out of 3 for good behavior. Right now I'm just trying to keep on the straight and narrow." He grinned back, "Sorry it's not that interesting. Can't really compare to the woman who helped destroy H.Y.D.R.A and fought aliens."

"Oh please, everyone always talks about that. Yes, aliens exist and we fought them, woohoo. Sorry for not being more impressed considering one of my teammates is a radiation amazon." She rolled her eyes, "For what it's worth I do think it's pretty cool that you tried to help. Most people would've just cut their losses and decided it wasn't any of their business."

She smiled at him and he smiled back. Cindy tried to ignore the heat on her cheeks and just focused on the soft rock song coming from the speakers. Maybe it was just the buzz talking but it felt like she couldn't hear anything else. The two of them just stared at one another for a few more seconds before Cindy licked her lips to get the last of the alcohol out. Scott's eyes flicked downwards and she leaned in...

Then swerved to the left and got his drink.

"Hey!"

Cindy took a sip from the straw and hummed, "I think I like yours more." She laughed. Scott mock glared before joining her in laughing. The rest of the night passed by in a blur after that and she distinctly remembered Scott inviting her to his place since it was closer than hers. She was too tired to disagree.

This time when she woke up the headache didn't feel as bad. Cindy sat up on the old (but oddly comfy) couch and looked down at the patterned blanket. That was new. She looked around the apartment. It was pretty small with just two bedrooms and a combined living room and kitchen. Not too far away was Scott, whistling to himself as he cooked what smelled like eggs.

"Hey, you're awake." Scott said, "Uh, didn't know what you wanted so I hope eggs are good."

"That's fine." She stood up and walked shakily over to the chair. Second day in a row with a hangover. Good thing she healed quick, "So...this might be a bit awkward to ask, but did we..."

"Huh? Uh, no, definitely not." Well he didn't have to sound so defensive about it, "I mean you were pretty drunk and it was pretty late. Just put you on the couch."

"Huh...well, thanks." She meant it. It was nice having someone to watch her back, "So remind me did I say anything stupid last night?"

"Not unless you count you gushing about Laura and how much you really want your future kids to be like her." He grinned. Cindy couldn't tell if he was joking or not, "It's fine. We've all been there."

"Some of us more than others." She brought a hand through her hair and picked up the other pan, "Scoot over, I'm not just gonna let you cook for my drunk butt."

"It's fine."

"Seriously, it's cool." She clapped him on the shoulder, "Come on, let's get cooking."

They cooked the hearty breakfast together and spent the next couple of hours exchanging parenting tips. It was the first time in a while she didn't feel like Spinerette and that the city would blow up while she wasn't looking.


UntouchedFlower: Went to dinner with the parents couple nights ago and saw Spinerette out on a date with Prince Silver Sablinov. Are we looking at New York's nest #powercouple? -embedded image-

Reply from Cryo Lockdown: Huh...guess it makes sense. Of course a prince would be dating a superhero.

Reply from Submaranian: I'm not too sure about that. My brother was at the food court yesterday and caught this. That's definitely Spinerette eating with a guy and two kids. -embedded image-

Reply from anony mouse: I recognize the kid to her left. That's the girl who helped them fight the evil Cindy Moon on top of Dyne tower last year.

Reply from Crimsop3nny: She's been coming to my little girl's school anytime that kid gets in trouble. I guess she counts as her parent? Weird.

Reply from anony mouse: Think she's dating that guy with the kid?

Reply from UntouchedFlower: Lol there's no way someone like Spinerette would date someone so lame looking. Like if you had to choose between an actual prince and a guy who looks like he hasn't changed his shirt in a week who would you pick?

Reply from Spinerette: I'd pick the guy I actually liked, who is none of any of your business. Please, and I say this sincerely and from the bottom of my heart, get a life and stop prying into mine. Thank you.


Date chapter ended. This one was pretty light but we'll go back to the plot next chapter. I tried to write these two in a semi Betty and Veronica kind of thing. Silver's has less trust but more physicality (sex), he can fight on par with her and there's the potential for Cindy to trust him in the future. Scott, on the other hand, is much warmer and friendlier right out of the gate but, as he says, he can't really talk about Superhero stuff cause he doesn't understand it as a civilian.

So what do you guys think? Who comes across as the better romantic interest? Gimme your thoughts I'll put up a poll on my profile as well.

Questions:

1. Big thing. I planned for Spider Island to be my final arc but I'm wondering if I should leave it more contained to New York like the PS4 game and just use the Devil's Breath. The latter fits the street level hero theme while being big enough to see how disastrous the consequences are. OTOH Spider-Island has a more epic feel since Queen could doom the entire world if she wins.

2. As above, who's the better romantic interest between Scott or Silver?

What do you guys think? The more high stakes, epic Spider-Island or the city level, grimmer Devil's Breath?

Review Answers:

Brave2000 - He even switched to a suit just in time :P

Sly Assassin - Um...what?

Cha0s4ever - Out of curiosity, what were those few chapters that came off as lacking? As for Morbius, depends on whether cut arcs return. He was meant to be a Gwen villain with Wasp as backup.

Alexthesouthparkghostrider - Yeah, I doubt Doomslayer's here.

Titan616 - Something tells me it'll be the latter for demons. As for Gwen, it was a slip, but don't forget his full alias is Benjamin Peter Reilly. If the prof catches on they can just explain it away.