Barely a second after first jumping in, Peter emerged on the other side of the portal, his feet once more touching solid ground. He turned to see the others come out rapidly behind him, emerging one by one until all of them were present and accounted for. Sam walked to the front, stopping right next to Peter. His head shifted around, taking it all in.

Peter let himself do the same, taking in the scenery...if one could call it that. What once was likely a beautiful and vastly populated city had been reduced to ash. Buildings were leveled and debris scattered the streets. It was also currently nighttime on the planet, and the full moon that was out cast an eerie glow over the wasteland.

The worst part is that this was all very familiar to Peter: a world once vastly populated before being reduced to nothing, fighting an extraterrestrial threat with a team of heroes, the odds seemingly very much against them, etc.

It was Titan all over again.

Peter's breath caught in his throat for a moment, a growing fear quickly filling his head like water about to overflow. Every doubt he ever had was piling on, so he took a quiet breath, closing his eyes for a moment.

"Remember why you're doing this," he thought to himself. "The world is counting on you. M.J. and Happy are counting on you."

Letting out his breath, he refocused, turning to Sam, who was still staring off in the distance.

"Sam," he said. "You alright?"

"Yeah yeah, sorry," he said, seemingly snapping out of it as he shook his head. "There's just...it's even harder being back here than I thought."

"I know what you mean," Peter responded.

It was Sam's turn to take a breath and let it out; once he did, his resolve appeared to return as best it could.

"Okay," Sam spoke up, turning to the group, "the people who created the WorldMind secretly had a backup plan in case it ever turned against them or exceeded its programming. They created a powerful virus that targets its code and could wipe it out within seconds. It's what my father was trying to get before..."

Sam paused, unable to finish his thought. Peter felt he had a pretty good idea of what he was going to say though: going after the virus was what got Sam's dad killed.

"Anyway," Sam said, "if we can infect the WorldMind with this thing, it should be the answer to our problem."

"Why do I feel like there's a 'but' coming next?" Amadeus asked.

"But there's a catch: the device containing the virus has to be inserted directly into the mainframe," Sam continued. "By now, the WorldMind has likely taken extreme measures to secure the area around it, so getting through its defenses won't be easy."

"I don't think any of us expected easy when we found out we would be going to another planet," Eli spoke up. "Whatever we need to do, we'll find a way to get it done."

Sam nodded. "Alright, let's go."

"I'll stay up front with you," Peter said. "My spider-sense should at least give us at least some warning of any danger."

Just as they started walking, Riri spoke up.

"Wait, how long do you think it will be before the WorldMind knows we're here?"

Sam turned back to her.

"If it doesn't know already, it will soon," he replied.

Even though the helmet was on, Peter could tell Riri was nervous by her body language. Amadeus must have sensed it too, because he put a hand on her shoulder.

"We got this," he said.

"Okay," she said, though her tone didn't convey the same notion. Still, she was clearly resolved to heling out, so Peter and Sam began leading the way, venturing towards the devastation ahead.

M.J. could only just stare at the slowly swirling blue energy that formed the portal as if she were transfixed by it. No one in the place had said a word since the group jumped through; for several minutes now, there had been silence in the room, minus the gentle hum of the portal's energy. It was as if everyone in the room was standing on a landmine, and if someone even breathed too hard, the whole place would explode.

She was intent on taking her job seriously, for obvious reasons. Peter had entrusted her as the one to watch over his and the team's only way home. He had quite literally left his fate as well as the fate of others in HER hands, and she was under no circumstances going to let him down. It didn't matter what would transpire around her while Peter, Kate and the team took care of business; the building could be on fire all around her, but she was dead set on making sure the portal would be open for them when they returned.

For when HE returned.

"Well," Happy said; M.J. wasn't surprised that he was the first to break the silence. "Does anyone want something to drink? We don't know how long we'll all be here, and I think I saw that there was still some coffee stuff lying around here."

M.J. wasn't all that interested in the offer at first; neither drinking nor eating sounded appealing or even important right now. However, she knew that Happy was just trying to be nice and was dealing with this in his own way. If she was being honest, M.J. pitied him too, knowing how close he had gotten to Peter in his own way.

"Happy," she finally said, keeping her voice even, "make sure mine has lots of espresso please, if there is any."

"Yeah," he replied, and she could hear his steps as he walked out of the room, leaving her alone with Kate's mom. M.J. pitied the woman too, but she didn't know what words there really were to say during a time like this. She especially hoped that she wouldn't come up to talk to her; M.J. felt terrible for thinking that way, but she honestly wasn't sure her emotional state could handle actually voicing any thoughts on the situation out loud.

She was self-aware enough to realize what was happening: she was putting her walls up again. It was what she had done for most of her life; whenever difficulties arose in life, M.J. would put on a brave, almost indifferent face towards it all, as if she was trying to prove to the world, or perhaps herself, that nothing could break her. There was nothing she couldn't handle.

Since she'd begun dating Peter, she'd improved a lot in that area. It was mostly around him, but still, M.J. had progressed a lot in being more open, positive, and vulnerable. Now, however, she was calling back to her old ways to help her get through this, because it was all she felt she could do.

Unfortunately, Kate's mom either didn't seem to pick up on this or was just so caught up in her own thoughts, as M.J. could feel the presence of the woman at her side.

"Excuse me," the woman said; her voice was somehow both polite but also a little demanding, which already was rubbing M.J. the wrong way. "Can I ask you something?"

Going against every self-preservation pulse within her, M.J. opted to have some mercy on the woman; after all, she had a personal stake in this just like her and Happy. She turned her head for the first time since they had gone, now facing Kate's mom. She said nothing though, hoping her expression would convey that she wanted her to proceed.

"How...how do you do it?" Kate's mom asked, her tone now more genuine and nervous.

"Do what?" M.J. questioned.

"You and Spider-Man are obviously close," Kate's mom clarified, glancing at the portal then back to her. "How do you handle someone you care about running off and endangering themselves all the time?"

M.J.'s eyes dropped for a moment before returning to the swirling blue energy ahead of them. She knew the answer to the woman's question, but she was still hesitant in answering. All she wanted was to focus on the task given to her, not to get into a heart-to-heart conversation at a time where she was most vulnerable.

She thought about how Peter. His life was so defined by sacrifice, by the constant giving of his body, his mind and even his heart to others, always putting the needs of others before himself. It was obvious that this exhausted him, but M.J. also observed how much joy it brought him to do good for others. If he was so willing to lay his life on the line, shouldn't she be willing to engage in a simple conversation if it could help somebody else?

"I'm sorry," Kate's mom said. She then got up and started to walk off.

It was now or never.

"Because he does it for me," M.J. finally said.

She could hear no more footsteps, meaning the woman had stopped in her tracks.

"What?" she said.

Slowly, M.J. rotated her seat so she could look Kate's mom in the eye properly.

"I mean, he does it because it's the right thing to do and all," she continued. "That's just who he is. But he also does it so that he can make a better, safer world for us to share our lives together in."

"Okay," Kate's mom replied, a contemplative look emerging on her face as she took in what M.J. had said. "So, what are we supposed to do, just let them go off to fight who knows what at who knows where, and just sit there, hoping they come back?"

M.J.'s heart tugged at the woman's words, and she gripped the armrest of her seat a little tighter. She was speaking to so many fears she had right now, which she really didn't appreciate. She had to force herself to remember where Kate's mom was coming from before answering.

"It's hard not to look at it that way sometimes," she said, "but we also have to remember that this is hard on them too. There have been so many times where he's had to leave me alone on a date or cut off a phone call to go save the day. As much as it hurts me, I know that it kills him just as much. But people like him and Kate give of themselves every day, because they recognize that if they don't, others will have to. You're right, it's not fair, but it's the path they've chosen. I think that's such a huge part of why I love him: he's the best of us. If you're honest with yourself, I think that's a part of why you love your daughter too."

Kate's mom slumped against a wall behind her, eyes facing towards the floor as she dwelled on what she had just heard, eventually adding a smile.

"Kate has always been a protector," she finally said. "I've always told her that's my job, but she's always been driven. Maybe I just never realized how much."

"He's the same way," M.J. responded. "He can't not protect people; it's just not in his nature."

"But how do you support someone like that?" Kate's mom asked. "What part are we supposed to play?"

For M.J, the answer was something she'd never verbalized, or even spent much time dwelling on before, but still came out instinctively.

"We ground them," she said. "We help how we are able, but we have to be the ones that remind them what they are fighting for. We are the ones who ground them back in real life."

Kate's mom then moved back over until she stood in front of M.J, extending her hand.

"I realized I haven't properly introduced myself," she explained. "I'm Eleanor."

M.J. reached out, shaking her hand.

"Michelle," she said, "but considering everything we're going through right now, you can call me M.J."

The walk through Xandar had been surprisingly uneventful so far. Not that Peter was complaining or everything, but so far, this whole thing was going far too smoothly. He just knew something was going to happen eventually, so he continued to keep his senses on high alert as they traversed deeper into the city, or what was left of it at least.

He was doing okay since initially being taken aback upon arrival, but it was still hard for Peter not to think back to Titan as they traversed the fallen world. Every piece of debris was a reminder of a people that had been torn down by the snap before being crushed by its aftereffects. This caused an anger to burn within Peter. Had Thanos really not thought that this would happen when he snapped his fingers? Did he not foresee that there would be consequences across the galaxy? Or did he simply not care and thank that, in his all-knowing wisdom, that this was what was best for life in the universe?

Every time these thoughts started to escalate, Peter would force his loved ones back into the forefront of his mind. He pictured M.J and her wry smile, behind which was a wit that couldn't be matched. He pictured Happy and the frustration that would be on his face whenever he would beat him in some game. Somehow, he would make it out of this, and he would see them both again.

He hadn't said a word since they started walking though, and the others remained silent as well. Maybe it was nerves, maybe it was just being smartly cautious, but none of them dared open their mouths. Peter knew they were ready for a fight, but they would avoid it for as long as possible.

Suddenly, Sam held up his hand, motioning for them to stop.

"This is it," he said as they stood next to a small, relatively unimpressive (though still very alien) building. Sam managed to access the means of entry, and one by one, they all entered. Once inside, Peter could see that there was nothing there; honestly, it looked fundamentally like an office space.

"There's nothing here," Eli observed.

Sam, undeterred, bent down over a certain spot on the floor, feeling different parts of it before slamming his fist down on a spot, charging it up with energy as he did so. He removed the crumbled pieces and pulled out a small box. He brought it to Peter and others, opening it to reveal a small handheld device that looked like a very large USB drive.

"This is it?" Peter asked.

"This is it," Sam affirmed, closing the box. "Now we just need to..."

Peter's Spider-sense suddenly went crazy.

"GET DOWN!"

Hope you all are still enjoying this!

Continuing to pray for you all; stay safe and healthy!

"But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.'" Matthew 1:20-21