We spent the rest of the day playing video games, talking, and watching movies. By the time we got done watching the last movie – The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion – it was pretty late. Scott walked in. After introducing himself to my friends, he urged us to stay the night. A few phone calls to parents later, everyone was situated. Ned and I took Craig's room while he made his way out to work his radio job. Meanwhile, MJ and Betty were sleeping in Kitty's room. The spare room was left untouched. Kitty said that it was too dusty for guests at the moment, but I knew it was because that's where they had my stuff stored – specifically, my Spider-Man gear.

The next morning, we all got up and found Craig sleeping on the couch. After we waked him up, we all made breakfast. At the urging of Craig, Scott did the whole "blast the middle of the coin" trick to demonstrate his powers. Once breakfast was done and we all ate, MJ, Ned, and Betty said their goodbyes, but not before they got the phone numbers of Kitty, Craig, and Scott.

Once they were out, Kitty closed the door behind them, turned around, and looked at me. "Okay, Peter, we got to talk," she said. "But before that, I need to make sure – are you okay?"

"From the dart?" I inquired from my spot. After Kitty nodded, I nodded back. "Yeah, I'm fine. I've been okay since yesterday."

"Good. So, next question – what's the next step?"

"What do you mean?"

"What she wants to know is what we are going to do next after that incident," Craig answered from the kitchen. He walked over with two bottles of water in his hands. He handed one to Scott, who was seated on the recliner. "That whole situation was a set up."

"You think so?" I asked. Craig walked over and sat on the sofa as Kitty took a seat next to me.

"From what Craig and Kitty told me, it seems so," Scott stated. He twisted the cap off of his bottle before he took a sip. "Don't get me wrong. You are Spider-Man, and Kitty and Craig are extremely capable. But even the three of you should have had more trouble taking all of those people on. Add to the fact that you were the only one darted, I'm thinking you were targeted."

"What else is new?" I said bitterly. "But the question is who is it this time?"

"I don't know," Kitty said with a shrug. "We became friends not too long ago – not long enough to know who are the Jokers and Riddlers in your life."

"I can talk to a few people in Harlem," Craig offered. "Anything that went down in Manhattan, they're likely to know about it." He then touched his hair. "I gotta swing by Pop's Barber Shop anyway. I'm due for a cut. I might as well kill two birds with one stone."

"You do that," Scott said. "We still have the dart, so I'm going to take it to an old friend of mine. Hopefully he can find what was in it." He then looked at Kitty. "And you… it'd be pretty convenient if certain police reports were acquired by us, don't you think?"

"Yeah, it would," Kitty said slyly. "It'd be pretty convenient if we got it this afternoon."

"Guys," I spoke up. "Look, I appreciate that you guys want to help but…"

"Peter," Craig cut in with a solemn tone. "I swear, if you say 'I can handle this myself', 'I don't want to get you guys hurt', or the like, I'm going to hit you upside the head with this bottle." I kept quiet. Somehow, I knew he was serious. "We're helping you on this. This is in our wheelhouse. And had we not been there with you yesterday, you probably would have got scooped up and taken somewhere. So, sorry bro, but consider yourself a part of our group now. Wish I could say you get medical and dental benefits, because something tells me you'll need it."

"…" I wanted to retort. I really did. But he was right. So, instead I scoffed. "So do we have a team name or something?"

"We used to be called The X-Men," Kitty said. "But that changed."

"Why?"

"The Blip and The Sokovia Accords," Craig replied. "There's more to it, but those are the main bullet points."

"Speaking of bullet points, there's one more thing I want to talk to you about." Kitty stood up. "But I'll have to tell you that on the road. I got somewhere to be. So, grab your stuff. I'll drop you off home."

It took me a little bit of time to get dressed and gather my stuff. After that, I was out on the road, riding shotgun in Kitty's Acura TSX. The car ride was quiet for a bit, with the sound of Kitty's GPS breaking the silence every now and again. After a while, she finally spoke up.

"What are you going to do about your friends?" she asked.

I was looking out of the window when she asked that. "What do you mean?" I replied.

"I mean, are you going to tell them, or are you going to keep them at arm's length?"

I sighed as I turned my head towards her. "I don't know. I wasn't even supposed to get close to them again."

"What changed your mind?"

"You know how Scott is my GED teacher?" Kitty brought her car to a stop behind a car at a red light.

"Yeah," Kitty replied. "I have to have to admit, it's quite the coincidence that he happens to be teaching Spider-Man."

I let loose a short chuckle. "Coincidences are a huge part of my life," I said only semi-sarcastically. "Anyway, one day, I came to class super early, and he just knew I had something on my mind."

At that, Kitty chuckled. "Sounds like Scott, alright."

I smiled briefly. "Yeah. So… ever since The Spell, I thought I would be okay with my decision as long as I knew that MJ and Ned were okay. But every single time I walk out that coffee shop, I keep on second guessing myself on if I made the right decision. And I… kind of talked to Scott about it one day when I was super early to class, avoiding a lot of details."

"And what did he tell you?"

"He told me he was in a situation where he cut himself off from people he was close to and found out he was hurting himself as much as he was hurting others." I looked forward through the windshield. "Also, he told me that, even though Hindsight is 20/20, it'll still take a while to understand if I made the right decision."

"I see."

I looked at her. "…Do you think I made the right decision?"

"No, I don't think you made the right decision," she replied bluntly. "I didn't want to say anything because I didn't think it'd be fair for me to do so – I wasn't in your shoes. But since you asked… when you told us everything, I kept thinking to myself 'Wow… this boy just keeps on messing up'. Honestly, you handled that whole situation badly from the start."

"What else should have I done then?"

"You don't want me to answer that, Peter," Kitty warned. The light turned green, and Kitty gently accelerated. "The only thing that is going to happen is you feeling even worse about something you can't change. But here is what I can tell you. See, Scott has a thing for imparting knowledge on people, as you know. As you probably guessed he's been through a lot. And, there was something he told me that I, in turn, have told Craig when he was in a similar situation."

"And that is?"

"Unless you were the one who put them in a situation that forced their hand, you can't hold yourself responsible for other people's decisions."

"But I did put them in that position," I said. "I let them in."

"Yeah, exactly," Kitty agreed. "You LET them in. You didn't force them in. You didn't force them to stay. You opened up to them and showed them what your life is like. They could have distanced themselves from you and decide they didn't want to be a part of any of that, but they didn't. They decided that being close to you was worth it. And as for Betty… well… I don't know, since you guys were only kind of friends before, but you said she was still in your corner, so there's that."

I went quiet for a bit, digesting what she said. And what she said made sense. It made so much sense that the part of me that wanted to keep my distance couldn't even come up with an excuse.

"So what should I do?" I asked quietly.

Kitty pulled off to the side of the road, right in front of my building. After putting the car in park, she turned in her seat towards me. She gave me a gentle smile. "Well, that's for you to decide. Now, I still don't know everything about you. But that story of The Spell told me a lot. When you were telling us that story, I could feel the sadness and hurt in you when you talked about your friends, especially when you had to make them forget and you saw them being happy afterwards. And then when you hung out with them and I could see how joyous you were." Her smile widened a bit. "Especially when you were in the kitchen with MJ." I shook my head in annoyance, though I still blushed. "Now, whatever you do with that is up to you, but me personally? I wouldn't let my life as a hero be the reason I don't maintain and cherish relationships with people I hold dear."

I looked at her for a moment. I then scoffed and shook my head. "…You remind me of Aunt May."

"I've been told I'm wise beyond my years," Kitty chuckled out. "If any info comes up regarding yesterday, we'll let you know. Now get out of here and get some rest. And I mean a full rest. I better not hear about Spider-Man getting involved in any trouble today. Anything goes down, let Craig and I handle it, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks for the ride."

"You're welcome. See you later."

"Likewise."

I picked up my bag from the floor before I opened the door and stepped out of the vehicle. I closed the door behind before I waved at Kitty. As Kitty waved and drove off, I watched her leave. I then turned my head as a black SUV drove by in the opposite direction. It was a Hummer EV. But what really got my attention was the logo.

"Hammer Industries," I muttered to myself. I raised my eyebrows briefly as I turned to the front door of the building. "I forgot that company was still around."

Once I was inside, I looked at my room. I shook my head.

This apartment was pitiful.

I walked over to my bed, dropping my bag as I did so. I then dropped onto my bed and rolled over onto my back. I looked up at the ceiling for a few moments. I was thinking about what Kitty said. And I wished she didn't make so much sense. Inside of my head, memories of the events leading up to The Spell clashed against Kitty's words, with Scott's words backing the latter up. And for the first time, the memories were losing. And I knew why.

I wanted my friends back.

I closed my eyes, just wanting to give my mind a rest for a little bit. I then felt my phone vibrate. I sighed as I reached into my pocket and pulled out the phone. Seeing that I got a message, I checked it.

"Betty Brant added Kitty Pryde and Craig Pierre, Jr. the group."

I couldn't help scoff. Of course she did.

"Hey guys," I typed into group chat.

"American Idiots… what is this?" Craig messaged.

"Good question," Kitty added.

"It's a group chat for the six of us," Betty messaged. "It was four until I added you guys. I figured the name was clever."

"Why would it be clever?" Craig asked. A few moments later, he sent another text. "Oh… Wow. Just, wow!"

"That is clever," Kitty remarked.

"Just a warning. Betty is going to act like a mother to you guys. ."

"Oh haha MJ," Betty sarcastically wrote.

"She only does it because she cares," Ned wrote in her defense.

"Don't worry, Kitty is the same way," Craig replied.

"I like to take care of my friends. Sue me," Kitty wrote.

"Anywho." Betty wrote. "I added you guys because they're doing a makeup showing of American Idiot on Friday and I think it'd be great for all of us to come. Hopefully, we can make it through the whole show without gunfire."

"Your lips, God's ears," Craig replied.

"Also, Peter, I got you that interview. I hope Wednesday at 9 A.M. isn't a bad time for you."

"No, it's not," I replied. "What do I need?"

"A clean set of business clothes and a portfolio."

"And for you not to get shot along the way," Ned added.

"Oh, wow."

"Oh snap!" Craig reacted.

"That's my line, Ned!" MJ added.

"You walked right to that one, lol," Kitty wrote.

"Screw you guys!" I texted. But I couldn't help but laugh out loud. Ned got me good.

After the shenanigans died down, I put the phone down and closed my eyes. I napped for a few hours before I woke up in time to make lunch. After I stretched and gout up from my bed, I looked over at my desk. That list was still there from yesterday morning, along with the pen. I walked over to the desk and looked down at the list. I read each item.

1. Make sure MJ and Ned are okay.

2. Get close to them again (including Betty as well, since we're even friendlier now).

3. Decide on whether or not to tell them the truth.

4. Figure out how to do so… and prepare for the consequences.

I looked over the list a few times. I then picked up the pen and took the cap off of it. I drew a line through the first two items on the list. Item number three was staring right back at me. I wouldn't have even entertained the idea. But Scott and Kitty's words were still in my head, still fighting off every reason I had to keep MJ and Ned at arms' length.

I chuckled as I capped the pen and set it down. After I talked to MJ right after The Spell, I was bent on just being alone and staying aloof to everyone. And yet, in the span of a week, I ended up befriending MJ, Ned, and Betty again while striking up new friendships with two random people I met in a theatre and my GED teacher. Add to the fact that I'm apparently a part of a hero team now – whatever Scott, Craig, and Kitty call themselves – and that idea just went out the window. While I wasn't ready to have the talk with MJ, Ned, and Betty yet, I given up on not having friends.

Though, as far as failed missions went, maybe that was an opposite of something to be worked up over.