During the ride home, Happy asked me a lot of questions. Some of them were expected, like how did I know Tony and how long I was Spider-Man for. Others were from left field, like if I considered him an uncle because he was dating Aunt May. While I did consider him an uncle of sorts, I made it clear that it wasn't because he dated my aunt.

"Not going to lie to you, dude, that's pretty creepy," Ned commented.

"It's not creepy!" Happy replied, clearly offended as he looked at Ned from the rearview mirror. "I'm just trying to get to know Peter… again."

Of course, that left him open for a rather dark joke from me. "Full disclosure, Happy –I don't have another aunt for you to court."

"JESUS CHRIST!"

Betty looked at me with wide eyes as she tried not to laugh. "…Peter!" she choked out. "Come on!" Next to her, Ned was belly laughing.

"…I didn't even know you had such dark humor in you," Michelle remarked with a smirk.

"Okay, we're staying quiet for the rest of the ride!" Happy declared before he muttered under his breath about disrespectful kids, much to my amusement.

I woke up the next morning to a text from Craig, asking me to come over for breakfast. There was a part of me that wanted to ask if I could move in with them. I decided against it. Maybe it was because of recent events, but my opinion of my apartment started to change a little bit. Don't get me wrong, I still didn't like my apartment. But I also didn't NOT like it anymore. I appreciated the fact that it was a place where I could be alone with just my thoughts. Of course, that's kind of mitigated by the fact that my thoughts were, more often than not, the last thing I wanted to be alone with. But, not everything in life is 100 percent positive across the board, right?

Still, I came over for breakfast, happy to be amongst the other X-Men

Other X-Men… it was still something I was getting used to saying.

Of course, it wasn't all leisure. As I ate my eggs, bacon, and waffle sandwich, Scott explained what he talked to Pepper about.

"I was talking to Pepper about buildings and property Stark Industries may own in New York City," he explained.

"How come?" I asked.

"When we get done with Scorpion and when summer rolls around we are going to be doing some recruiting." Scott took a moment to take a sip of water. "As Craig pointed out after our coming out statement, we're going to need more people if we're going to be back to any semblance of how we used to operate. As expansion happens, we're going to need a bigger, more secure place house these people, as well as our operations. Also, more than property… there is something that you being on retainer with SI opened the door for."

I raised my eyebrows. "…And that is?"

"Basically, since you'd have access to SI tech and everything, Scott figured that SI and the X-Men can have a bit of a partnership," Kitty clarified.

"We'd use their tech on the low for our own uses," Craig further explained. "In exchange, we'd help Pepper deal with the more… unsavory side of corporate matters. Normally, it wouldn't be something we'd do, especially since more than quite a few big wigs tend to be more Hammer than Stark, if you catch my drift. But, it's Pepper. Any task she'd put us on would most likely deal with a company that needs to be put in check." He smiled. "I'm kind of looking forward to it."

I scoffed. "Why are you so happy about it?"

"Look man, there are people in this world who think the large amounts of money and influence they have gives them a license to do whatever they want without consequence." Craig placed his hand against his chest as he leaned towards me. "I just tend to have the courtesy – the sense of duty, if you will – to teach them that no amount of money and influence will prevent them from facing the consequences of their actions." He leaned back in his seat and placed his hands on the table, lacing them together by his fingers. "I like to provide that lesson free of charge."

"A real pillar of the community, you are," Kitty deadpanned.

"Anyway," Scott interjected, though there was a tone of amusement in his voice. "That was pretty much the gist of it all. I don't want to pressure you in accepting Pepper's offer, but…"

"Don't worry about that," I assured. "…I'm going to accept her offer. I was going to say no, but after talking about it with MJ, I decided to say yes."

"Why were you going to say no?" Kitty asked.

"Because, honestly, I was afraid that Pepper would expect me to be the next Iron Man. That's part of the reason I never bothered to try to hack the high-tech suits I still have so I could still use them. However, MJ, being as protective as she is, pushed me to take the job – not only so I wouldn't have to depend on the Daily Bugle, but so I can actually make better equipment to keep myself from getting stabbed and shot."

At that, Kitty chuckled. "She's right."

"She usually is," Craig added. "It's a good thing you heal rather fast, because good gosh, man!"

"Hey, I haven't been shot and stabbed in four days!" I protested.

"To be fair, I ordered you to stay home last night," Scott pointed out.

I paused for a moment. I then went back to eating. "Still counts."

The rest of the day went by as normal… until I stopped by Peter Pan. A bit to my surprise, neither Ned nor MJ were there. Finding it odd, I decided not to get any coffee or sweets before I headed out. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. I was about to pull up the group chat before I mentally slapped myself, realizing I could just call MJ. So, I did just that. I put the phone to my ear after I dialed her number. I stopped at a street corner and waited for her to pick up. After three rings, she did.

"Hey Loser," she greeted.

"Hey Em," I replied. "Everything okay?"

"Define 'okay'." I raised my eyebrows in concern. "I take it you swung by Peter Pan."

"As per usual." I leaned up against the pole of the crossing signal.

"Yeah, I called out today. I'm probably going to have to work a double shift on the weekend, but I had to it. I have an upcoming exam that I'm nervous about, and I'm trying to get as much studying in as I can. I'm even going to pull an all-nighter. I'm sorry I wasn't there."

"You have nothing to apologize for. You got accepted into MIT, and you're doing everything you can to stay the course. How can I not understand that? I'm guessing Ned and Betty are going through it as well?"

"Yup. Betty has to write a paper on the Consumer Reports Suzuki Samurai Rollover scandal. And Ned is actually coming over tomorrow so we could study together after work." She paused for a moment. "You used to study with us, didn't you? Like, before The Spell, right?"

"I did," I confirmed. "Come to think of it, I think I still have my old books."

"Do you think you can help us? We can make a whole night of it."

"What's the exam on?" I asked.

"Trigonometry," she replied. I smiled. Trig and geometry are my favorite subjects in math. I was able to use those subjects to defeat Doctor Strange.

"I love Trigonometry. I actually have a better time with it than Pre-Calculus, to be honest." I nodded. "Yeah, I'll swing by tomorrow night." I paused when I realized what I just said. "…Wow, that pun came out of nowhere."

"You're such a dork," MJ commented as she chuckled.

"But you love me for it," I teased.

"Yeah, whatever. I got to get back to studying. Thanks for checking up on me."

"Any time. I'll see you tomorrow. I love you, Em."

"I love you too, Loser. Bye."

"Bye."

With that, I hung up the phone before I made my way home.

Once I got home, I went through my old books and pulled out my Trigonometry book, along with a notebook with the notes for the subject. I didn't know how much help I would be to Ned and MJ. But I do know that it's been a while since the three of us just hung out to study and do other stuff. Memories of our times together before The Spell flooded my head, and I couldn't help but smile. Tomorrow, I decided, was going to be a great day.

But, tomorrow was tomorrow. There was still the current day. As I looked down at my books, I remembered certain details about MJ, such as how she sometimes forgets to take breaks to eat. An idea popped into my head. I decided I was going to get her food. I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to get her, though. I wanted to swing by Red Hook to get her a Big E Chopped Cheese from General Ock, Booty O's and all (and the Ocky way, of course). I was about to decide against it. I figured she'd want something more on the light side. But, if she was pulling an all-nighter, maybe something heavy could help with that? Plus, the worst thing that could happen is that she just saves it for tomorrow, right?

So, I decided to go swinging. I decided to leave my red and blue suit at home, instead going with my black quick change outfit. Probably against my better judgment, I wanted to knock on her front door to deliver the food, and since my black outfit could pass well for a civilian suit with only a couple of adjustments, I figured it'd be a great choice.

So, I swung through the city. I made sure I had a little more webbing cartridges on me than I'd usually have. It was going to be a somewhat long trip, since I'd be swinging from Manhattan, to Queens, then Brooklyn. Fortunately, Manhattan wouldn't take that long for me to exit.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to get out of Manhattan.

I was swinging for all of five minutes until my senses went off. Underneath my mask, I gritted my teeth.

What now?

I got my answer when I heard the sound of a helicopter. I immediately broke my line and landed on all fours on the side of a building. I looked up to see The Daily Bugle chopper hovering above me. I furrowed up my eyebrows underneath my mask. If only they knew they were recording one of their own photographers. I jumped off the building swan dived towards the street before I flipped forward at the last moment and landed on all fours. I then stood up, ignoring all the bystanders that were looking on. I quickly looked around, my senses still going off as I tried to find the potential danger.

"Whoa, whoa, easy there, Spider-Man," a voice said. I quickly turned around to see Justin Hammer walking up to me. It really took all of my willpower not to level him flat with a single punch – partially because it wouldn't be the right thing to do, but mostly because I didn't want to give him more ammo to use against me and the other local heroes. Public Relations, folks. Isn't it fun? "I don't believe we've formally met? I'm Justin Hammer." He brought his hands out towards me for a handshake.

"Don't care," I replied curtly with a growl behind my words. I surprised myself for a moment, but decided to just roll with it. "Where's Scorpion?"

Justin withdrew his hand as he smiled. "He's around. He's actually chomping at the bit to take you down. But, I'm always willing to give diplomacy a shot."

At that, I scoffed. "I'm sure you do. Nothing says diplomacy quite like breaking Frictor's jaw and being the reason he was concussed. Is giving someone CTE a new negotiation tactic?"

"Well, son, you have to understand that there are consequences for not heeding warnings. I gave you and your friends a week to either register under The Accords or just retire, preferably the former. Of course, I didn't anticipate your Film Noir detective-looking friend with the eye beams to make an appearance. But that's neither here nor there. The point is, I gave you guys two ways out and you didn't take them. So I had to act. So here I am, just wanting to know…" He brought his hands together and leaned forward. "…what must I do to get you guys to register?"

"Not a single thing, Hammer," I replied, almost spatting my words out. A dark part of me reasoned that I could probably knock Justin Hammer out without taking a hit to my reputation. Still, I held off on doing so.

Justin nodded as he lowered his hands. He brought his right hand out and waved it towards me. "You know, I'm sensing a little hostility from you." He lowered his hand. "I'm sure that hostility stems from some distrust you have towards me, and I understand that. But, please… hear me out."

I didn't want to hear him out. There was nothing he could say that would change my mind. But I decided to hear him out anyway. Walking away was only going to speed up the inevitable. Plus, with even more people stopping to look on, I didn't want the soon to be happening brawl to possibly happen without warning.

"You have five minutes," I growled out.

"I might need a little bit more than that, but I'll give it a go," Justin stated. "Spider-Man, it may not seem like it, but you and I? We're not that much different." I rolled my eyes. "Really, we aren't." He turned away and looked out towards the area. "You see, what happened at the Stark Expo wasn't my finest moment. I wanted to surpass Tony, I'll admit it. But in my quest to do so, I ended up putting my trust in the wrong person. And we all saw what happened." Of course we did. We were both there. But I was a stupid kid who didn't quite understand what was going on at the time. "You know a thing or two about trusting the wrong people, don't you?" He turned back towards me. "After all, I bet you thought Mysterio was trustworthy, huh Night Monkey?"

"…" I didn't respond. Not verbally, anyway – my fists balled up and I heard and felt my knuckles crack. Justin looked down at them, then back into my eyes.

"Did I touch a nerve?" he asked. He almost sounded remorseful. "I figured as such. Unfortunate name aside, Night Monkey was too good of a counterfeit of you for you two to not be the same person. And, as much as I love Jonah, we both know his reporting tends to lend itself to the… sensational." He chuckled a bit, as if we were in on some inside joke. "Honestly, Spidey…"

"No!" I exclaimed, taking a step towards him. "You don't get to call me that!"

Justin took a step back, chuckling nervously as he brought hands up. "Okay, okay, I get it." He lowered his hands in a calming gesture. "Well, Spider-Man…" he lowered his arms. "I get it. You thought Mysterio was this great trustworthy hero you could rely on. I assume it turned out not to be the case. And while he's dead because of actions that you had nothing to do with, you're left picking up the pieces." He used his right hand to beckon back and forth between us. "To-MAY-to, to-MAH-to. See, I'm just a man trying to do what's right and make the best out of his second chance. And this involves making sure that people who want to be heroes understand that they must be held accountable for their actions. And The Accords are the best way for that. Think of all the benefits. You'll be paid handsomely as a government employee. You'll have access to much needed healthcare and other government benehits. And you'd inspire other vigilantes and other wannabe heroes to register. What more do I have to do to convince you? What more do you want?"

I took in an angry breath. "There's not a single person on this planet, or in any universe that can get me what I want. And I've been coming to terms with that." It'd actually be more accurate to say who I want. And perhaps there was one person who I knew could give her back to me. But I was done with magic. And even if Justin Hammer could bring her back, I knew Aunt May wouldn't approve of me doing something that would be a slap in the face of my fellow X-Men just to revive her – especially if that thing involved working with Hammer.

Speaking of Hammer… he technically wasn't wrong. We did end up putting our trust in the wrong people, and we had to deal with the consequences, such as losing our respective positions in life. But that was about where the similarities ended. I wasn't trying to strong arm my way into the top of my field. I didn't willingly work with someone who was a whack job. And I didn't… well, okay, I am connected to the Daily Bugle.

Crap.

Well, the point is…

"We're not as alike as you think we are," I declared. "Now get Scorpion out here so I can pay him back for what he did to Frictor and I in Brooklyn."

Justin closed his eyes, took in a breath, and shook his head. He then opened his eyes and stared at me. "Well, can't say I didn't try to appeal to reason," he replied in a tone of disappointment. "…Good luck, Spider-Man. You'll need it."

My senses went off and I felt the ground vibrate under my feet. I took in a breath before I turned around, just in time to see the ground open up some feet in front of me.

This was going to be a long evening.