Another interlude chapter, but this one is different from the others. This will focus on Kaine and Peter's lives in Marvel since Ben left. It's mostly fluff with some sad stuff, but also to give a brief glimpse into the lives of the Ben's "brothers".

This is mostly to help get my creative juices flowing again.

Interlude: Other Side of the Multiverse, Peter.

2 months ago, Manhattan, New York City...

"Cat, give it up! Please! I'm having a really bad day and I really don't want to fight you again." Came the exasperated voice of Peter Parker, AKA Spider-Man. He'd been chasing one Felicia Hardy, aka Black Cat, for the past 10 minutes. It was not a fun time to be the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. First, MJ had broken up with him that a few weeks ago, with a degree of finality that hadn't been present in their prior break ups. As a result, he'd been in a bad mood and went to blow off steam on patrol. As he'd been swinging through Manhattan, he'd spotted Felicia jumping out of the Fisk Building, with the big fellow screaming at her from the roof.

So here he was, chasing down another of his exes, and trying to get answers for why she was stealing again. The dance they'd been through a thousand times over the years played out of the Manhattan roof tops, as she toyed with him before she suddenly whipped around and leaped at him. He made to dodge but she shifted he angle and was still able to tackle him. They shot off the roof, and tussled midair, before Peter had the presence of mind to create a web for them so they didn't splatter on the ground. He shot weblines from both his wrists, in a spiderweb pattern, with them landing safely, though Felicia had a look in her eye Peter didn't like.

"Hello, Peter." Felicia purred at him, lightly drawing a finger down his face. He slapped her hand away, prompting a surprised expression on her face.

"What are you doing, Cat? You told me you were done with stealing. You promised me, even." Peter grit out, trying not to let his frustration get the better of him. He narrowed his eyes at his one time girlfriend.

"Cat? Why so formal?" She asked, while trying to take his mask off again. He had none of it, and webbed her hand to her stomach. She tried to get it free, but had little success.

"Because I'm pissed you lied to me, and because I'm not here as the guy you strung along for the better part of two years, Cat. You showed me I didn't matter to you in more ways than one, be it as a friend or as your boyfriend. So I ask again. What did you steal from Fisk, Black Cat."

That same hurt expression, with guilt flitting across her eyes, settled on her face. She stopped trying to get free, and instead looked him in the eyes.

"Peter...I...we were just kids. I was a stupid teenager, trying to say I bedded the spider. When you tried to get real, I panicked." She tried so hard to explain. "Stablity has never been easy for me."

"And you think that makes what you did better? I loved you, Felicia. And for you to demand I keep the mask on when we were together hurt more than you could ever know."

"Pete...I'm sorry. I had difficulties reconciling that this cool superhero was really just some dorky guy from Queens." She lowered her head in shame.

"So you admit that you only loved the mask. Well, I guess it's better to know that for sure, rather than wonder." Peter muttered bitterly, before standing to leave. Felicia looked at him shocked, and reached out for him.

"Where are you going. Peter?" He glanced back at her, before resuming his movement.

"Away from you."

Peter didn't know it that day, but he'd finally managed to hurt Felicia Hardy the same way she'd hurt him 6 years ago.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

4 weeks later... Manhattan Subway Tunnel, New York City...

Peter was struggling to help people get out of the collapsing tunnel after Hobgoblin had set off a bomb in the subway. He'd gotten out a lot of people, but there were still so many more. He jumped over rubble piles, lifting what he could to help anyone who was trapped. He was about to move further when his suit's AI notified him of a gas leak intensifying up ahead.

"Damn it. That complicates things. Thermals picks up at least 2 more people." He cursed under his breath before shooting forward down the tunnel. After freeing a teenager he ended up at a rubble pile, a thermal reading underneath it, unharmed but trapped.

"Hang on! I'm going to get you out!" He tried to sound reassuring, but the gas leak was going to complicate the rescue.

"Peter? Is that you?" Aaaaaaaand Peter cursed. Of course it would be Felicia.

"Yes, Felicia. It's me. I'll get you out, just hang on." He reached into his belt and grabbed a Spiderbot, before placing it inside the rubble. "Did you get the bot? If so, place it over your mouth. I recently added an oxygen mask and filter feature for rescue ops. There's a gas leak, so you need to do that quickly. "

"I got it, Pete."

"Alright, Felicia. I'm moving the rubble now." As he began to move it, he realized that he was pushing his weigh limit for how much he could weigh. "Felicia, I need you to move the second you can, I can't hold this up long."

She didn't respond, but figured she heard him, as he heard her scraping against the gravel with his enhanced hearing. About 10 seconds later, he saw her by his feet, before she rolled out from under it. She then caught her breath, before she stood up, and walked over to him. Her silver hair and clothes were covered in dirt and residue, and she had some cuts on her forehead. She still offered a thankful, albeit weak smile, though.

"Fancy seeing you here, Peter." She tried to hug him, but he took a step back. "Right. Sorry. Habit."

"We need to get out of here before the gas ignites or the tunnel collapses-" Suddenly, his spider-sense went haywire, prompting him to look around. He then noticed a delayed action bomb on the pipes beside them, which was about to explode. Immediately, he pushed Felicia away before shooting webbing behind her to cushion the shove. He tried to move, but he only made it about 5 feet before the bomb exploded. The explosion ripped across his body, causing searing pain as the flames and shrapnel tore at his skin. He was thrown into a wall, which he then heard collapse, before he cried out in pain as he felt the debris begin to crush his left arm.

"PETER!" He managed to hear Felicia scream through the ringing of his ears, though just barely. He tried to look for her, but he was barely remaining conscious. He felt as she placed a hand on his face, and put his head on her thighs, trying to keep his airway cleared if he lost consciousness.

"F-Felicia...get out before the tunnel collapses." He croaked out. "I'm trapped, and I can't lift the rubble off my arm."

"No! I won't leave you. I came back to New York to try to fix things with you. I still love you, Peter, and I'm not going to leave you to die!"

Peter wanted to respond, but he blacked out. Felicia noticed this, and realized there was only one way to get him out of there. She teared up a bit, but steeled her resolve. She pulled out a vibranium knife she kept on her thigh, crying as she raised the knife.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

4 days later... Metro-General Hospital, NYC...

It was to the smell of disinfectant and the sounds of both his Aunt and a younger woman crying that Peter awoke to. He wasn't sure where he was, or what had happened to him. He tried to open his eyes, before he was promptly blinded by the sunlight flitting into his room.

He tried to speak, but it ended up as a croaking sound instead. Immediately, the crying paused, before he heard the shuffling across the floor, and a slender hand began to stroke his face...

"Peter? It's me, Felicia." Concerned was etched into her normally confident voice, something Peter wasn't used to hearing. He managed to open his eyes, before the beautiful face of New York's most infamous cat burglar came into his vision. He wanted to ask why she cared, and why he couldn't feel his left arm at all. But above all that he was thirsty.

"W-water." He tried to ask but ended as a statement. Immediately, she rushed over to the pitcher on his bedside table, before filling a cup and holding it to his mouth. He drank it greedily, before he laid his head back on the pillow. "What happened after I blacked out, Felicia?"

She looked really guilty for some reason, and she began to shift uncomfortably.

"Well, you were trapped, Peter... Your arm was caught under a pile of rubble, and you couldn't get it out. If I did nothing, you would have died, and I couldn't leave you either, because well..." Her fidgeting got worse, and Felicia Hardy never fidgeted. She took a breath, before she pressed onwards. "I had to cut off your arm, Peter, or you would have died. I didn't have any other options."

Silence. Peter said nothing, but his pulse monitor began to accelerate, before becoming erratic as he started to hyperventilate. Immediately, a nursed rushed in and began to check him, before trying to sedate him. He thrashed around the bed, hoping this was just some sick nightmare. Felicia rushed over to him, placing his head on her chest, and began stroking his hair, whispering reassurances into his ear. Slowly, as both the calming voice and sedatives worked their magic, he calmed down. He remained awake though, which he chalked up to his enhanced physiology. Felicia glanced over at his Aunt, who was sitting at the foot of his bed, rubbing one of his legs in an attempt at comfort.

"Aunt May, can I talk to Felicia alone for a moment? Please?" Aunt May looked like she wanted to object, but nodded, stepping out after she placed a motherly kiss on Peter's forehead.

Felicia let go of him, before pulling up a chair beside his bed. He noted that she didn't try to take his hand this time. He opened his mouth to break this oppressive silence, but Felicia beat him to it.

"I'm sorry, Peter." He looked at the normally confident and unshakeable woman beside him. She looked devastated.

"What for? You saved my life, Felicia-" He tried, but she cut him off again.

"I ended your hero career, something you told me was very important to you!" She cried out, burying her hands in her face. She took a moment to compose herself, before she pressed on. "And I'm sorry for how I treated you when we were together. And while I'd like nothing more than to try again now that I've matured before the selfish and childish girl I was as a teenager, I know that you don't need someone like me in your life. At least like that."

Peter was shocked by how different Felicia was now. Gone was the girl who didn't care about him at all, and only wanted to blow off steam after their tussles.

"Felicia...I won't lie and say I'm happy I had to lose an arm..." She looked down at her lap again. "But you saved my life. I'd be dead without you. I may not be able to be Spider-Man anymore...but I can help people in other ways, I'm sure." She picked her head back up, looking at him with those teary but beautiful blue eyes.

He reached over and took her hand, squeezing it reassuringly. "As for your confession before I blacked out, I can't lie and say that I love you back right now...but I'd like to try again now that we've both grown up a bit-OW!" Felicia hugged him suddenly, jolting his pain receptors in his arm.

"Sorry, Pete! I just didn't expect to be given another chance."

"I wasn't perfect either. You were always clear you didn't want to know the man behind the mask-"

"But I do now. I want to know the man Peter Parker has become. The man who was a sweet little nerd that brought me flowers on a rooftop even when I didn't want romance."

"I promise to try, Felicia. That's all I can give right now."

"That's all I can ask, Peter, but I assure you this cat doesn't make the same mistake twice."

Peter laughed and nodded, before he laid back down. He had a smile on his face as he drifted off to sleep.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

2 years later, Manhattan.

Life had been interesting for Peter Parker. After turning over the mantle of Spider-Man to Kaine Parker, he'd focused entirely on his career as an inventor and scientist, as well as his relationship with Felicia. She had admitted that she'd only started stealing again as an excuse to run into him. However, she was now completely focused on her job as an art appraiser and security consultant for high end art dealers. Peter, on the other hand, had worked his way up, and was now just under Max Modell at Horizon Labs. His inventions and work had made plenty of lives better, and he certainly didn't let the lack of a limb hold him back.

As for his relationship with Felicia, she had shown time and time again that she'd matured as he had, and their relationship was strong. They always communicated, and never took each other for granted. Peter had come to terms with his lost arm, and had even taken to joking about it at Felicia's high end parties she'd often drag him to, commenting his student loan officer didn't appreciate the late payment. Though, he noticed she'd mostly comment on how nicely he filled out his tux, always doing her best to reassure him and help him with his lingering insecurities from being bullied.

However, that entire path had led him to this pricey restaurant to have dinner with his beautiful girlfriend. Felicia was, as usual, stunning in work outfit, having lacked the time to change before their date. He subtly checked to feel the ring was still in his pocket, before sighing in relief at feeling the box. They conversed causally, with each smiling in interest as they discussed what they'd done that day. Finally, as the desert came, Peter stood from his chair, before he walked over to her, and went down on one knee. He watched as her hands flew to her mouth, and she began to tear up. He heard the awws of onlookers, but he ignored them, focused on the woman who'd stood beside him and helped him adjust to the drastic change in destiny his life had taken.

"Felicia Hardy, I could go on and on about how happy you make me, or how good we are together, but I know you'd rather I just skip to the part where I ask the question and give you the shiny piece of jewelry." He said with a smile, causing her to laugh in between her tears. "Will you do me the honor of marrying me?"

She yanked him into a hug, hearing her say yes about a thousand times into his ear. He placed the ring on her finger, and he swore she was glowing with how happy she was.

He stood to go back to his seat, when she caught his hand.

"Since we're in the middle of spilling secrets, I've got one for you too." She said warmly, before she took his hand, and placed it over her stomach. Instantly, his face broke into a megawatt grin.

"You mean...?"

"Mhm. You're going to be dad."

He couldn't help it. He pulled his now fiance into a hug, and just held her as the noises of the city slowly bled away.

"I love you, Felicia."

"I love you too, Peter."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

To be continued...

As I said, this was just something to get me back into the groove for writing Crazy Life, as well as shed some light on Peter since Ben had left. Not sure when I'll update again, since Karry Dark has taken my interest at the moment. I will say that most likely the next chapter will focus on Kaine and who I plan to put him with, since that boy needs some happiness :c.

until Next time.

Raizen out.