I went into a freefall for a few seconds before I flipped in the air and landed on a light post. I took a moment to survey the scene. A lot of gunmen were holding off the police so far as officers used their squad cars for cover. Surprisingly, the armored trucks were untouched. I sighed. This wasn't looking good. I immediately used a strand of webbing to zip line to another lamp post. This time, I was a lot closer to the action.

As I was doing that, I saw Frictor dashing forward, slipping between two squad cars and towards the gunmen. A part of me wondered what his powers were exactly. Maybe MJ was right – maybe he was a mini Luke Cage of sorts. But with three gunmen having rifles trained on him, I didn't want to take a chance to figure out how bulletproof he really was.

I brought my arms out shot out two strands of webbing. They sailed through the air before they hit of the gunmen in the chest. I then broke the strands and grabbed the ends of them before I pulled, sending the two gunmen hurtling towards me. As they did so, I shot out two more strands of webbing. I hit the two gunmen in midair. I kept my fingers on the trigger, cocooning them as they sailed towards me. By the time I caught them, they were covered from head to toe in webbing. I then dropped them down to the ground.

"Consider this a part of your metamorphosis," I quipped. "Just not into a butterfly." I jumped forward off of the lamp post and flipped through the air before I landed on the roof of one of the armored trucks. As I landed, I was just in time to see Frictor lift one of the gunmen up and slam him down to the ground with double leg takedown. Once that was done, he scrambled until he mounted the gunman and ripped the rifle of his hands. During this, three other gunmen tried to converge on Frictor. It was during this time that a hand shot out of the ground, grabbed two of the gunmen by their ankles, and pulled them down into the ground suddenly.

Deciding to deal with the last one, I jumped forward, turned into the air, and sent my feet into the assailant's chest, sending him flying back-first into one of the SUV's. I flipped backward and landed on my feet. I couldn't help but cringe – that man was going to feeling that pain for days to come. Still, I shot two bursts of webbing at him, pinning him to the vehicle. After this, Craig moved to my side and placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Stand still for me," he said. He then turned his head towards another group gunmen running towards us. It was at this moment that I realized what Frictor's power was. Suddenly, every one of them lost their footing, falling on their faces. After that, he beckoned towards them. "Um, can you do your web thing to…?"

"Yeah," I said. I brought my arms out before I webbed them down. After that, I turned my head towards him. "You control friction."

"Name that obvious?" he deadpanned.

"I just kind of wondered – MJ thought you were like Luke Cage."

"I wish."

I then felt the tingle up my spine. I quickly turned around as three more gunmen had their rifles trained on us. Fortunately for us, that was when Shadowcat suddenly rose up from the ground in front of them. Changing tactics, they surrounded her and aimed their rifles at her. She looked around at them before she shook her head.

"You really don't want to do that," Shadowcat warned. But they didn't heed her warning. Instead, they opened fire… only for the bullets to pass through her like air. They ended up shooting each other. As they fell to the floor, clutching their wounds, Shadowcat wrinkled her nose as she grimaced. "Idiots, you're all idiots." She huffed out a breath before she walked towards us. "You guys okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said. I looked around at the gunmen that were taken down. During this, the police moved in, ignoring us to take the assailants into custody. I looked at Frictor, who was looking towards the ground. "You good?"

"…Yeah, I am," he said in a noncommittal tone. He then shook his head. "…This just doesn't feel right."

"What do you mean?" Shadowcat asked in concern. Frictor lifted up his head and looked back and forth between the two of us.

"It's just… Look, I know it was three of us taking these guys on, but this still feels too easy."

"Maybe they aren't as skilled as they look?" Shadowcat offered.

"Yeah, I've came across people like that before," I added. I shrugged. "Some people talk the talk but don't really walk the walk that well. But, either way, this situation is over and – "

I didn't complete my sentence. My senses went off – this time, it was intense. Under my mask, my eyes widened. I started to look around frantically, wondering what was happening or going to happen. Unfortunately, I was going to receive my answer.

As I was about to tell Frictor and Shadowcat that something was wrong, I felt something hit me in my right shoulder. I stumbled backward as I groaned. My vision then blurred in and out of focus. I reached over to touch my shoulder, only to touch something feathery instead. I felt along the object until I felt something hard. With a groan, I yanked the object out of my shoulder. I brought the object in front of my face to see what it really was – a large dart.

"What the…?"

I felt woozy. I dropped down to one knee. The world was turning a bit. It was at this point that Shadowcat moved to my side and kneeled down.

"Hey are you okay?" she asked.

I heard the sound of vehicles approaching. I looked around slowly. I then shook my head. More black SUVs.

"This was a set up!" Frictor yelled. "Spider-Man, can you fight still?"

"I think I…" I tried to stand up, only to fall backward.

"No, you can't," Shadowcat declared definitively. She grabbed my left arm and pulled me up to a sitting position. "Just stay pat." She looked towards Frictor. "Ready to phase out of here?"

"We can't leave the cops to handle them," Frictor pointed out. "Look, we're going to have to – "

That was all I heard. I started to fade out of consciousness. The last thing I did see, however, was a red beam colliding against one of the SUVs, sending it crashing into another one. And that was when I was finally out.

When I came to, I was no longer out on the streets or in my suit. I was lying down on a couch. I groaned and looked down at myself, seeing that I was wearing a pair of black gym shorts and a black t-shirt with the Miami Dolphins logo on it – both of them were large on me. I slowly sat up and touched my right shoulder. I felt something soft. I pulled the shirt by the collar, seeing a bit of gauze. I sighed before I looked around the place. The living was rather spacious. I was sure I could fit my whole apartment here one and a half times over.

I looked forward at the coffee table in front of me, seeing that my phone was there, right next to my web shooters.

"Ah, you're finally awake." I looked over to see Kitty walk over with a plate and a mug. She set the plate and mug in front of me. She then sat next to me on the sofa. I looked down at the plate, seeing the graham crackers. "Graham crackers and green tea – I figured you could use something light to eat."

"Thank you," I said. I looked at her. "Where's Craig?"

"He's here. He's just talking with Scott."

I paused and tilted my head. "Scott?"

"I believe you have the tendency to call me Mr. Summers."

My eyes went wide as I turned my head around. Mr. Summers walked in, dressed in a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. Trailing behind him was Craig, who was dressed grey sweatpants and a black tank top.

"Wait," I said. I looked around at all three of them as Craig sat on the recliner and Mr. Summers took the couch. "You guys know each other?"

"Yes," Kitty confirmed.

"So he knows that you guys are…?"

"Yes," Mr. Summers replied.

I sighed dejectedly. "…And he knows that I'm Spider-Man?"

"It was kind of hard to hide," Craig explained. "He came to our rescue and helped us escape the Daily Bugle new chopper. And then we brought you back here – our humble abode – to check up on you. And, we had to remove your suit to make sure you're okay and that you could breathe properly. And that's when Scott said you're his student."

"Though, to be fair, I was already about 80 percent sure you were Spider-Man prior to today," Scott stated.

I raised my eyebrows. "How come?"

"I take my job as a teacher very seriously. And as a teacher, the wellbeing of my students is my responsibility. I've been noticing your little injuries, and noticing that, when footage of him is shown on TV, said injuries were consistent of someone who went through what Spider-Man has gone through. Of course, I had neither a way nor a desire to confirm that, since we all understand the need for a secret identity."

"…" I leaned forward. "You have powers, too?"

"I do." He leaned to his left and reached into his pocket. He then pulled out a quarter and showed it to me. After that, he repositioned the coin so it was flat on his thumb as be balled up his fist a bit. He flipped the coin up into the air. Just at the coin reached its max height, Scott lifted up his red lensed glasses and unleashed a thin yet intense beam, blasting the coin. In an instant, his glasses were down, and he caught what was left of the coin with his right hand. He repositioned the remains in his fingers and held it up – all that was left was the outer ring.

"…Holy crap." I chuckled. "That's… that's awesome!"

Scott smiled slightly. "Thank you."

"So do you have like a codename like they do?" I asked, suddenly curious.

"Cyclops," he replied. He paused for a moment. "It made a lot more sense when I still had my battle visor."

"So what are you guys?" I looked around at the three of them. "Are you… are guys Avengers? Or are you part of a superhero group or…?"

"Okay, I understand that you're curious about us, and I'm willing to answer questions along with those two," Kitty interjected. "Plus I was going to wait until you felt better to remind you. But since you're in a chatty mood, I need you to explain what happened earlier."

"What happened?" Scott inquired.

"A couple of nights ago, St. James Theatre got hit, as I told you," Craig began. "And Peter and his friends were there. I asked them if they can keep a secret, they said yes before Kitty and I went into action. So far, it seems like they're trustworthy. Fast forward to today. Kitty pulls Peter and his friend Ned into a building to keep them safe. Peter convinces Kitty to take Ned to the nearest subway station. That's when Peter reveals he's Spider-Man to me then to Kitty when she returned."

"And he also told us that his friends don't know about him swinging around in red and blue tights," Kitty concluded. She looked at me. "I just need you to explain that for me, because, quite frankly, I think it's a bit unfair that your friends know the secret identities of Craig and I while they don't know that you're Spider-Man."

I opened my mouth, then closed it as I bowed my head and shook it in defeat.

"Kitty, maybe we shouldn't push him on this," Craig said.

"No, she's right," I said. "You guys deserve to know." I lifted up my head and sighed. "I… just don't know if you guys will believe me."

"Try us," Kitty urged.

"…Okay." I swallowed as I nodded. "Before I do, I need to ask you guys a question. It's a weird question, but a serious one." I took in a breath. "Do you guys believe in magic?"

"Yes," Scott replied.

"I mean magic-magic."

"We do," Craig reiterated.

"I'm talking sorcery, wizardry and – "

"Yes to all of that, Peter," Kitty interjected, giving a smile that was equal parts amusement and incredulity. "We've seen a lot of things in our lives."

"Okay. Sorry, I just had to make sure, because I don't know a lot of people who believe in magic, let alone seen it." I huffed out. "Okay… it's like this…"

I explained to them everything. I don't know why I did. I barely even knew them. Maybe it was because I knew they could handle themselves within my orbit. Maybe it was because they understood the hero life. Or, maybe it was because it was a rare opportunity for me to actually talk about it. But, I couldn't ignore the feeling of alleviation in my chest. It took some time for me to realize it, but this day was an important first step for me.

Once I was done, I looked at the three of them. Scott held a neutral expression. Craig was looking down at the ground, trying to process everything, and Kitty was mostly speechless.

"Wow," she said.

Mostly.

"That's why they don't know," I said. "And I don't want them to know. I've been trying to keep them at arm's length. But… I miss them too much. And… I don't know. I… I'm a mess."

"Yeah you are," Kitty said in agreement. "Eat your crackers and drink your tea. And don't worry about crumbs. We'll clean up later."

I nodded as I picked up a graham cracker and took a bite.

"You know, Scott," Craig said as he lifted up his head. "I thought you were crazy when you said Mysterio was suspect. But I have to say, you were right."

"I usually am," Scott replied. He then looked at me. "Peter…"

Before he could continue, my phone vibrated. I looked at the screen to see MJ's name. "Oh, crap," I said. "It's…" I looked over at Kitty. "What should I tell them?"

"Put her on speaker phone," Kitty said. "Trust me."

"…Okay." I reached down for the phone, answered the call, and placed the phone on speaker. "Hey MJ."