About two days had passed, and Felicia and I were in much better terms than before. Even though I still hadn't introduced her to Peter and the girls, and they pressured me for the truth.

But today's the day. I'm going to introduce her to them. Let's hope they won't tease me till death, or her. The bell suddenly rang, signaling the end of the lesson and interrupted my trains of thought.

"Um... Guys," I awkwardly said, gesturing to Felicia by my side. "So uh... This is Felicia."

The three just stared at us in silence, widening their eyes in surprise. "O...kay?" Gwen said, raising an eye in confusion. "Why are you introducing her to us?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but Felicia took my place and explained herself. "Well, I never had that many friends... Having a new friend is a good thing, right?" She said, smiling.

Gwen only gave a face with 'Bruh' written all over it, Peter was still in complete shock, staring at her with widened eyes. However, MJ greeted her with enthusiasm, holding her arms and letting her sit on the last remaining seat.

"Felicia, do you play any instrument?"

Oh great, she's all about finding new members for the band.

Felicia shook her head, much to MJ's disappointment. "I'm sorry, but I don't play any instrument." She answered.

"Mary, can't you just stop asking anyone you meet if they play anything?" Gwen said, nudging the redhead's shoulder. "Three members are enough."

MJ pouted, but sighed after a few moments. "...Fine."

Then, before all four of us could react, Peter suddenly stood up and scared us. "Felicia." He said, gripping her shoulder and looked right at her eyes. "We need to talk."

"Huh?!" The silver-blonde yelped in surprise, eyes darting everywhere frantically. "P-Peter-"

However, Peter dragged her off the somewhere else before anyone could react, leaving us in the group, glancing at each other in confusion. Well, I acted as I'm confused.

It's probably about their superhero life.

"Uh... What just happened?" Gwen commented, still glaring at the door they just left from. "D-did Pete knew her before us?"

MJ smirked. "Gwen, you jealous?"

"You look like it," I added, smirking as well.

"No," She deadpanned, getting up from her seat. "I'll be going by now, you guys suck."

Gwen growled and left the room too, but not before MJ suddenly exclaimed. "Hey! Don't forget the band meeting after school today!"

"I remember that, Mary!"

And with that, there's only me and MJ left in the group. "Well... that went very well," I sarcastically commented, sighing and pinching my nosebridge.

MJ turned to me and nudged my shoulder. "So," She said, tilting her head in curiosity. "How did you and Felicia met?"

"Uh... We bumped to each other a while ago and found out that we're childhood friends," I answered. "However, I forgot about her."

"You forgot about her?"

"From that memory loss," Sighing, I put both of my hands to my pocket. "But we decided to start over."

MJ only gave me a deadpanned look in response. "Am I watching a cheesy romantic comedy happen before my eyes?"

A cheesy romantic comedy? Uh... On second thought, she's somewhat right. This could be a romantic comedy, a pair of childhood friends forgot about each other and decided to restart their relationship...

"Maybe, but I'm still not sure of my feeling toward her," I shrugged. "She's a great friend, and very cute... But being a girlfriend? I need more time to think about it."

"Oh, so now I'm the only one who doesn't have a crush on anyone," She sighed, facepalming in the process. "Our little group is going to fall apart."

"I'm not Lisa, and I don't like tearing people apart." I joked, causing MJ to snicker, then turned into a burst of laughter.

"I hate you, Ethan." She said, still recovering from the laughter. "Your joke sucks! But why did I still laugh at it..."

"It's funny, that's why."


On the other hand, Peter dragged Felicia to somewhere else, out of everyone else's sight. Even though surprised by his sudden action, but she deadpanned at him.

"What's that for?" She asked, shrugging his hands off her shoulder.

"Uh... You're Black Cat, THAT Black Cat, right?" He questioned, glancing around to see if anyone's watching.

"We saw each other out of costume, Spidey." Felicia sighed, taking off her glasses and smirked. "And no, I'm not using Ethan to get closer to you."

"How did you know I was about to ask that question?"

"C'mon, it's written all over your face," She giggled, wiping the lens with her undershirt before putting it back on.

Peter blushed. "I-I really need to take some advice from Mr. Stark about girls..."

"Oh god, Mr. Stark again..." Felicia sighed again, facepalming in disappointment. "You told me the same thing months ago, and there's no improvement since then..."

"Uh... I forgot to ask him..."

"Oh c'mon, you're Spider-Man of all people."

"That doesn't mean anything..." Peter trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck. "I-I mean... Mr. Stark is busy with both of his lives-"

"And don't have time to advise about girls." Felicia finished for him, leaning at the wall behind her. "Jesus, get yourself together, and stop being this awkward. I can't even find a reason to act seductively with you."

"Wait, you act?!" He exclaimed, widening his eyes in surprise. "I-I thought you're like this in or out of the costume..."

"It was back when I found you attractive, and I'm not sure of my feelings," Sighing, she shifted her glasses and crossed her arms. "But now, I'm sure about it."

"I'm not going to ask who it's on..."

"I'm thankful for that," Felicia smiled, straightening up and walked away. "Well, see you tomorrow, Spidey."

Peter stood still as she walked away, only to give out a long sigh once she was gone. "Girls... Why are they so complicated..."


After school ended and I'm finally released from it, I was about to go back home and get my bass when Felicia suddenly caught me by my arms. "Ethan, how about we go somewhere else before going home?" She asked, smiling shyly.

"I have band practice," I deadpanned, pointing at the direction of the bus station. "And I need to get my bass and at MJ's house before they get angry with me."

"Oh..." She 'Hmm'ed for a moment. "Then how about I come to see your band practice?"

"...Whatever, I'm sure that MJ's fine with it."

Or I hope so. Whatever, I'm going to be the one who got beaten up by her at the end.

Sighing, we walked back to my apartment in comfortable silence, the sun was starting to go down and shined on her face. She wasn't being bothered by it, and it made her looked better than before. Not that she's not a beauty already.

The shines, and the shadow enhanced her feature, and I found myself couldn't help but just stared at her. When she was in her costume, and we worked together, I never had the time to take a look at her. After all, now we didn't have a trade to stop, or anyone to save.

And I... wanted to hold her hands, to feel her warmth.

However, my trains of thought were interrupted by a sudden snap of a finger. "Ethan? You've been staring at me." Felicia said, tilting her head in confusion.

"O-oh, I just found that you look good in glasses." I quickly replied with an excuse, awkwardly smiling and hoping that she didn't found it creepy.

Instead of deadpanning and nudging my shoulder, she just blushed and tugged her hair behind her ears. "I-if you say so..."

And with that, we continued our walk in silence, an awkward one. At the bus station, we avoided looking at each other and tried to find something to do. And the same went on in the bus as well.

Once we were back at my apartment, Catherine wasn't here, for some odd reason. She should be off her work by now and taking a long nap on the couch, but she didn't.

But at least she won't tease me to the end of the world.

"W-well, welcome to my apartment," I announced, walking straight to my room. "We won't be here for long, I'll take my bass, and we'll go straight to MJ's house."

Felicia only nodded, walking around and familiarized herself with this apartment. "...It's comfy..." She murmured, noticing a photo on the drawer nearby and picked it up.

It was a photo of me back in the first year of high school. From what my journal said, it was a class trip to Washington, and MJ forced our little group to have a photo at the memorial. But I still kept the picture, nevertheless.

"I missed a lot of things with him..." She muttered, a sober smile crept onto her face.

"OK, we're ready to go," I said, carrying my bass on my back and closed the room's door. However, the sight of Felicia standing still and watching a photo stopped me in my track. "Felicia?"

It took me a few calls to finally catch her attention. "O-oh! Sorry about that," She awkwardly laughed, putting the photo back onto the drawer. "Lost in my thought."

I walked by her side and took a look at that photo. "Oh, that one," I said, playfully nudged her shoulder. "Don't worry. We can have a trip on the Christmas holiday."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Maybe, but I'll try." I shrugged. "Anyway, we should go on now."

With that said, we went straight to MJ's house as quick as possible.

When we finally reached MJ's house, Gwen and she were already readied and was about to call me. However, they were surprised by Felicia's appearance.

"Felicia?" MJ exclaimed in surprise. "So... you're coming to join us?"

"Oh, c'mon Mary..." Gwen facepalmed. "It's probably that Ethan grabbed her here to watch our practice."

"I was the one suggested to see your band practice," Before I could open my mouth, Felicia answered for me and smiling shyly. "So... please don't be too hard on Ethan."

Gwen narrowed her eyes at the silver-blonde for a second but shrugged in the end. "Fine, you can watch us practice."

"Ain't that MJ's decision?" I spoke up, giving MJ a questioning glance.

"I'm not going to have any comment in this." The redhead sighed, grabbing a chair for Felicia to sit. "But since another band takes our Christmas gig, you're the first one to watch us play."

"Oh, I'm looking forward to it," Felicia smiled, sitting down and watching us.

We changed our positions from a circle to the one which was common in a gig, Gwen was on the back end while MJ and I were standing in front, side by side.

"OK," MJ said through the microphone. "Our first song's name is 'The ballad of rock and roll,' but it's actually a placeholder name. The real name of that song is-"

"WE ARE MARY JANES!" Gwen suddenly yelled out loud, interrupted her in the middle. "ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!"

Well, here's go nothing.

With Gwen's fast and wild drumbeats, MJ played the main rifts with the same wildness and passion. While I was playing my bass at a calmer pace, giving Felicia glances on occasions.

I've been looking forward to the day when we disappear!

We'll run away, far far away, together!

Felicia was speechless at our performance, widening her eyes and mouth in silence. Or... Was she staring at me? Was she?


After a few songs from MJ and a few more covers, we finished our little performance and I turned to Felicia. "So, what's your thought about us?"

Felicia didn't answer, only keeping her stare at us, or me to be exact.

"Felicia?" MJ said, exchanging concerned glances with Gwen. "You're OK?"

The silver-blonde stayed silence for a few more moments. "You guys... are... so awesome!" She suddenly exclaimed.

Taken back by her sudden exclaim, it took me a few seconds before starting to giggle with her. "Well, it looks like we just got our first fan," I said, giving MJ a wink.

"Yeah," The redhead nodded. "Gwen?"

"Happy for you, Mary," Gwen shrugged, checking the time before stood up from her drumset. "But, mom's gonna kill me if I don't come home in time."

"Hmm?" MJ tilted her head in confusion, checking the clock on the wall. "Oh wait, it's half-past seven already?!"

"Yeah." I nodded.

And with that, MJ hastily packed up everything and called it a day. Gwen rushed to the bus station nearby, Felicia and I also parted on our way home.


After taking a bus to my apartment, I opened the front door and... there's a girl here, sleeping on the couch. "Did I just got into the wrong apartment?" I murmured to myself, stepping back to check the apartment's number.

It's 405, the same as my memory... So IT'S my home. Then why would a stranger sleep on the couch here? Also, where's Catherine?

Noting that Catherine was suspiciously absent, I crouched down and examined her. The first thing I noticed was that... she's wearing my old clothes, those who were too small for me. And she looked like she just showered, the sense of shampoo was still lingering in her hair.

As if she had a vision of future or Spider-Sense as well, she opened her eyes, and we looked for a second. And we screamed in unison, scrambling back, as far away as possible from each other.

"W-who the hell are you?!" I said between heavy panting. "Why are you in my home?!"

"...I-I... I was brought here by someone..."

"By someone?"

She hesitantly nodded. "I-it was a woman, she saw me and brought me here..."

...That sounds like Catherine.

"O-OK, then, you're runaway?" I said, raising an eye. "Like... run away from your dad, who's a creep?"

"...I have no family..." She muttered, hugging her legs close.

She had no family? That's weird.

I nodded. "What is your name?"

She shook her head in response, staring at her kneecaps. "T-they only called me 'failure'... or 'Subject R'..."

Wait, 'failure'? Where did I hear this word before? Uh...

"Hmm..." Collins nodded, taking the briefcase in his hand. "Also, I heard about some rumors about the old test subject..."

"Oh, those failures." Theodore shrugged casually, crossing his arms. "If you're worried that they're going to escape, I'm sure that they'll never be able to escape."

"Oh, those failures."

Those failures...

Those failures...

Those-

Wait, she's one of those old test subjects about that 'Blue Ice'! How did she able to escape? Most importantly, will those in charge of her and the other test subject able to track her?

Oh god, I have so many questions right now...

"So... uh..." Wait, how should I call her? 'R'? Or something with an 'R'? "So basically, you escape from somewhere, and Catherine stumbled upon you?"

She nodded again. "I-I was in a basement... a man came over and ... I-I don't know how but... He was dead..."

My eyes widened from her sudden confession. "W-wait, you killed someone?!"

"I-I don't know..." She replied. "I only remembered sparkles, and lightning came out of my fingers..."

Sparkles and lightning? Oh, wait, Blue Ice made you have mutant-like superpowers... But if she's like this... No, it couldn't be...

She's Electro?!

But wait, from what I've heard from the news, Electro was captured and now in Raft. And it's Maxwell Dillion.

T-then... Who the hell IS she? I didn't recall any character in canon that also have electrokinesis in Spider-Man lore...

Wait, Jessica Drew!

"Uh... Do you have spider-based power too? Like, able to crawl on walls or a sixth sense any danger coming your way?"

"N-no..."

Oh great, she's not Jessica Drew. Even though the two did look a bit alike.

Then, who is she?

Thankfully, just as the atmosphere between us started to stiffen, Catherine came back and saw us. "Oh, Ethan, you're back."

"I need an explanation." I deadpanned, standing up and crossed my arms.

"Oh, you met her," Catherine sighed. "Well, it's... a bit complicated."

"Complicated?"

"Um... She's a mutant!" She said, a cheesy smile crept onto her face. "Not only that, I can't find any information about her..."

"No information about her... at all?!"

"Yeah, I just came back from the cops. They couldn't find any match for her."

"Then... how did you meet her?" I asked, gesturing to... 'the girl' (I'll stick to it, for now.) behind me. "She said you met her in the alleyway."

"Oh... Here, I'll tell you..."


A few hours earlier...

On the street of Harlem, Catherine just got off from her teacher's work, walking down the street tiredly. "Finally, I'm done with those exam papers..." She muttered to herself, stretching her arms outward and shifted her shoulder bag.

The sun was going down the building around, and the shadow started to cover her.

She continued on her way to the parking lot, but the sound of something rumbling in the alleyway startled her. "Hmm? What happened?" Catherine asked to herself, deciding to see what was happening.

And she only saw a young girl, about 13 or 14 years old and wearing a jumpsuit, collapsing to the ground from hunger. "Oh shit," Catherine muttered, rushing to her side to help her. "You're OK, girl?"

The young girl didn't answer, just stared at her eyes with fear. "Y-you're... t-takin... taking... me back to that base... basement?" She breathed, her right hand started to shiver uncontrollably.

"Basement? What are you talking about?"

"I-I don't... don't know... I don't remember..." She said, her voice barely louder than a whisper. "I-I... I have not eaten... for two days..."

"Poor girl, here." Catherine shook her head in sympathy, taking out a chocolate bar she bought a while ago. "I don't know if it's melted or not, but at least you'll have something to eat."

Hesitantly taking the chocolate bar from her head, the young girl tore open the chocolate bar, examining it before taking a bite. "I-It's... de-del... delicious..." She whispered, and tears started to trail down on her cheeks.

"..." The older woman looked at her soberly, helping her to get up. "You look like you just came back from hell... Where are your parent?"

The young girl only shook her head.

Narrowing her eyes, Catherine decided to continue. "OK, so what's your name?"

She shook her head again. "T-they only called... me 'Subject R.'"

"Subject R?" Widening her eyes in surprise, Catherine sighed and shook her head too. "Jesus, what have you been through... Anyway, since you probably have nowhere to go, how about coming to my place?"

"Your... place?"

"Yeah, I can't just leave you here while you have nothing."

Even though she's hesitated for accepting Catherin's suggestion or not, but a growl from her stomach startled her. "I-I..."

"It's fine. I'm sure that my cooking won't be bad," The older woman giggled, holding a hand out to her. "And I won't hurt you, I promise."

Nodding to herself, the young girl took her hand and went with her.


So... that's it? Well, it sounded like something she'll do. "If that's so, then what are we going to do with her?"

"Uh... Well..." Catherine awkwardly laughed. "Well..."

Oh boy, I have a bad feeling about this...

"Since she has nothing, and the law around mutant is still weird and not concrete." She cleared her throat, taking out a paper from her shoulder bag. "I decided to take her on my own!"

...What.

WAIT, WHAT?!

"Hold on for a second, you're not serious, right?" I said, glancing between her and the girl. "She's about my age! And you can just send her to Xavier Institute, why adopt her?"

Did she know about Blue Ice? If not, then why?

"Do you think she'll good with being sent to somewhere else?" Catherine retorted, taking a step forward and tried to sound commanding. "When I found her, she was being abandoned to the street!"

"Then? You can call Charles Xavier to come over and used his mind power to calm her down."

"I... I just wanted to... It's all said and done." She plainly said, walked over to the girl, and crouched, holding her hands reassuringly.

"...Well, I've never been a mother myself, but I'll try my best." She smiled. "Rachel."

The girl, now called Rachel, only gave her a confused look. "Ra...chel?"

"Yep, that's the name of someone important to me... and I think you should have it." Catherine nodded. "After all, you need a name to live in here, or anywhere."

Rachel? Isn't that Raven's name? Wait, it wasn't DC. So... she is an entirely new person in this world.

I'm definitely in a world of a fanfic.

"Rachel... That sounds good..." Rachel smiled, a single drop of tear crept down along her cheek. "That... sounds... good..."

And I guess I had no say at all about this. She's going to be a part of this family. But to think of it. How were we going to do with her if she's only going to stay in here for a while?

She didn't have parents or anyone else to lean on, and those who are in charge of Blue Ice must be looking for her.

However... Catherine must be having more reason than want to keep her safe. There must be one.

And now I hate myself that I didn't have any memories for my old self. My other self never mentioned anything about Catherine past in his journal, and I thought it's because he found it boring and didn't write it down.

But now... she didn't look like it.

"...You're a softie, Catherine," I murmured to myself, sighing and patted my aunt's shoulder. "Just make sure that it won't come back and bite you."

"You're the real softie, Ethan," Catherine smiled back at me, but I still could sense a hint of sadness in it.

Turning back to Rachel, she held both of her hands and helped her to get up. "C'mon, let me show you your room," She said, leading the younger girl to the empty room next to hers.

I only stood at where I was and watched them, but a million thought kept surfacing up in my head. I never questioned it, but why there's an extra room in our apartment? It looked like Catherine was prepared for a small family of three when she moved into this place.

But from what I saw, it never happened. And she seemed to have not dated once before, weird.

There were more things of her than I thought.


Well, Catherine won't just be like an aunt May clone, she has her problem and own character arc.

Not only that, here's our new character- Rachel! The effect of stopping the Blue Ice trade is more prominent than he thought, both in a good way and a bad way.

Review response:

InCK: Thank you for liking it! And yeah, it's cringy, and I'm regretting it.

Raidentensho: Um... Sorry for disappointing you, I didn't plan for Jessica to appear in the fic this early, she's coming in a later chapter.

And instead of a romantic relationship, I was planning a family-like bond between Ethan and Rachel. As for Jessica's relationship with him... it's still too early to say.

Death Fury: Thanks! It means a lot!

john777: Thank you too!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story so far!

Reviews are welcome!