A/N: Hey guys, hope all my American readers had a Happy Thanksgiving, and I hope everyone else had a really great week! Couple of things I want to talk about before we get to the chapter.

First, it's the 50th chapter! Thank you for all of the love and support you have given this story! It's honestly humbling how popular this story I started for funsies has gotten, and I can't express how much I appreciate it. I look forward to (at least) 50 more chapters!

Secondly, I saw the Venom movie. I am honestly surprised by how fun it was. Critically, it is in no way a good movie. The writing is weird, the romance is all over the place, the villain is bland, and it takes a while to actually get going. But when Venom and Eddie are on the screen, talking to each other, it is super entertaining. If you go in expecting a dumb action movie that isn't quite as good as a MCU movie, you'll like it.

Third, I've been playing the DLC packs that are out for Spider-Man PS4. DLC can be really annoying for a game, but I think this one is being done right. Each pack so far is at least two hours long if you're just doing story stuff, and about four if you're trying to do everything. They're also an interconnected story that is clearly after the main game, that is really interesting and does stuff you might not expect. The only thing I can think of that might be a negative is that the cliffhangers would probably be annoying if you buy them by themselves instead of the season pass.

Finally, and this is the most important one, I want to take a moment to honor Stan Lee. We knew it had to happen eventually, but his death still hurts. This is a man who is mainly responsible for the most important parts of my childhood, who gave me my love for superheroes, and who gave me my appreciation for nerd culture that lives on today. Him and Steve Ditko created Spider-Man, and gave us the most relatable hero ever, as we can all see a bit of ourselves in Peter Parker. This story is only possible because of them. Stan Lee is the reason why I am the way I am today, and his loss is one we will be feeling for a very long time.

R.I.P Stan Lee. Thanks for being Marvelous. Excelsior.

Now, I hope you enjoy the chapter.

"Has anyone seen Parker?"

It was another busy morning at the Daily Bugle, as Robbie looked around the offices, trying to find the young teenager. The stale air was filled with the smell of freshly brewed coffee and cigarette smoke, as the city editor had a determined look on his face. He dodged several busy journalists as he made his way over to Betty's desk, earning a smile from the secretary. "Hey Rob, what's up?" She asked.

"Have you seen Peter? He's suppose to be helping on the web page. The others that we have on the project obviously have no idea what they're doing."

"Sorry," Betty shrugged. "I haven't seen him. Maybe he's running late. You know how he is."

"Yeah," Robbie drawled. "Which is why I'm worried. I made it really clear that we need him here."

"I'm sure that-"

Betty was interrupted by a loud thud. Everyone in the Bugle quieted down at the sound, trying to figure out what it was. "What was that?" Betty questioned, looking around.

Another thud rung out, this one louder than the first. At this, Jonah barged out of his office, frowning deeply. "What the hell is all that racket? I'm trying to work here!"

As if in response, a large chuck of the wall was ripped out, leaving a large hole and making the workers closest to it back away in fear, some of them screaming. Four metal arms latched on to the edges of the hole, as Doctor Octopus raised himself up into view, a small smirk on his face. Behind him were Electro and Vulture.

"Pardon me, ladies and gentlemen, but I have a very important question for you," Otto said. "Where...is...Spider-Man?"

"Pete, wake up!"

Peter was slow to wake up, still exhausted and slightly hurt from the battle he was in the previous day. His eyes remained closed, as he laid on the bed, snuggled up with a pillow. "Five more minutes, Aunt May..."

"Pete!"

The sound of the yell snapped him awake, as he shot up, startled. He looked around, to see he was still in Gwen's room, only wearing the bottom part of his costume as his wounds were stitched and patched up, but still very much, and painfully there. He looked to see Gwen standing up, as she looked at the small TV that sat on a table in the corner of her room. On it was a news report, with footage being taken from a helicopter, high above the Daily Bugle.

"It is chaos here at the Daily Bugle," the reporter said, "as it appears that a group of super villains have taken the main offices of the newspaper hostage. We are getting reports that Otto Octavius, otherwise known as Doctor Octopus, has made his way inside, as disgraced government agent Adrien Toomes, alas the Vulture, seems to be circling above the building. It's hard to tell, but it looks like there are others patrolling on the street below."

Suddenly, the helicopter shook, making the reporter yelp in surprise, as Electro and Mysterio suddenly appeared right in front of the camera. Seeing them, Peter scrunched his brow, as it looked like they had new equipment. Electro's mask was gone, instead showing the scars on his face that he received when he first got his powers. Along with this, Electro was also wearing some type of harness over his suit. Mysterio also seemed to have gotten an upgrade, as his green suit now had more of a purple trim, and now glowed with what seemed to be some form of technology.

"Listen close, chumps!" Max said, an arrogant smirk on his face. "We're here for one reason only. To find the wall crawler!"

"Spider-Man!" Mysterio jumped in. "If you can see this, just know that the Sinister Six will find you! One way or another!"

"Yeah, and if we have to burn some lousy tabloid to the ground to do it, heh, well, that's all the better! See ya soon, bug brain." Electro chuckled, before zapping the camera, cutting the feed.

Gwen turned to Peter, who was already slipping on his costumes, slowly getting up, still in pain. "No no no," Gwen pleaded, as she got in front of Peter, was making his way to her window. "You can't go out like this. You can't win."

"Gwen," Peter said, his mask in his hands. "I don't have a choice. I'm the reason why the Bugle is the 'Spidey' paper. I'm the reason they're over there. If I don't do something, the people there could get hurt."

"You need some kind of plan," Gwen reasoned.

"I don't have time," the hero responded. "I'll have to come up with something on the way." Peter looked into his girlfriend's eyes, seeing a very familiar look in them, but one that was foreign to her.

She was scared. For him.

"Hey," Peter gently said, putting a hand on her shoulder, making her look him in the eye. "I'm going to come back to you. Nothing's going to stop that. I promise."

Gwen paused for a moment, before she threw herself into him, locking his lips with hers for a passionate kiss. When they broke, the blonde looked at him with her bright, green eyes. "I love you."

Peter's heart stopped. That was the first time she said those words to him. Some part of him knew how seriously she cared for him, but hearing it out, confirming it, gave him a feeling of happiness that he had never felt before. "I love you too," he told her, as the two smiled at each other.

"Now," Gwen said, stopping the moment, and opening the window next to them. "Go save the city."

Peter heartfelt smile turned into one of determination, as he quickly slipped his mask on, and jumped out, before he started swinging away, ready to fight.

Gwen watched after her boyfriend, as he smile slowly left her face, as worry crept back to her. "Please be safe, Pete."

"Do you honestly expect us to know where that menace is!?"

J. Jonah Jameson was against a wall, alongside Robbie and Betty, as Doctor Octopus calmly walked around the Bugle, his metallic arms slightly flailing behind him as he examined the framed front pages on the walls. Electro and Vulture were right outside, still keeping an eye out for their target.

"The Bugle reports on him to make sure the public knows what kind of person he is!" Jameson went on. "We find him the most, that doesn't mean that we're actually working with that glory hound!"

Otto used a metal arm to gently grab one of the framed articles on the stone wall, and brought it closer to him. He observed the picture of Spider-Man on it, as he was battling the Shocker. "Mr. Jameson," Otto said, still looking at the picture. "Your paper, while in my opinion is absolute drivel, is also the only publication in the city to have consistent shots of Spider-Man. Do you honestly expect me to believe that you have no way of tracking him?"

"It's true!" Jonah shouted. "We don't know where he is! Our photographers are just good at their jobs!"

Otto turned his head, as the metal arm threw the article over his shoulder. "Your photographers?" He asked, now giving his full attention to the editor in chief.

"Jonah!" Robbie harshly whispered, as Jameson realized his mistake.

An arm violently embedded itself right above Jonah's head, making him and the others fall to the floor in fear. Otto slowly and calmly walked closer to the owner of the Bugle, staring right at him. "Tell me, where is this photographer?"

"Uh, I don't know," Jonah told him. "We don't know where he lives. He just sends us emails and we wire him the money. We never even actually met the guy."

Betty looked at her boss with wide eyes, as she suddenly started respecting him a lot more for not selling out Peter.

Otto, however, was suspicious. He used another of his arms to wrap around Jameson, grabbing him tightly and holding him in the air. Jonah was freaking out, as he started yelling unintelligibly in fear. "I am having a very hard time believing you," Ock told him.

"I-I swear!" Jonah cried, as he tried to peel himself out of the arm's grasp to no avail.

Otto considered the man for a moment, before frowning. "Then you have no more use to me."

With that, Otto flicked his metallic arm, throwing Jonah hard out of the giant hole in the wall. The editor in chief screamed in complete terror as he flew past the patrolling, flying villains outside. However, after a few moments, he started plummeting to the ground, the wind whipping by him as he kept screaming, his eyes shut tight, certain this is the end.

However, he was saved at the last possible second as Spider-Man swung by, catching him before he could hit the ground. Jonah opened his eyes, to see he was in Spidey's grasp, as they were swinging high above the streets. "YOU!"

"Hey Brushhead," the young hero greeted. "I saw you flying by and thought you could use a hand."

"You waited until the last moment to save me, didn't you!?" Jonah accused. "You showboating menace! Because of you, my company and everyone who works in there is in danger!"

"Not for long," Spider-Man told him, as he kept swinging.

Jonah squinted at the Web Head, noticing how tore up his costume was, and seeing some of the injuries he had through the holes in his suit. "What the hell happened to you?"

Spidey looked down, seeing how beat up he still looked. "Uh...I...fell down some stairs," he lamely lied.

"You...fell down some stairs?" Jonah incredulously repeated.

"Hey, would you look at that!" He said, quickly changing the subject. "There's your stop!" He said, dropping Jonah on top of a rooftop, making him land with a hard thud right on his butt. With him safe, Spider-Man started swinging back towards the Bugle.

Jonah got back to his feet, as he looked at the Wall Crawler swing away. "SPIDER-MAN! YOU DANGEROUS PSYCHOPATH! GET ME DOWN FROM HERE!" Jameson yelled, shaking his fist in anger. Frowning deeply, he calmed down slightly, looking around. "How am I going to get down from here?"

Peter swung through the air towards the Bugle, only to be spotted in the distance by Vulture. He placed a finger to his ear, activating his comm link. "This is Toomes. The Spider's been sighted, he's heading towards you, Octavius."

In the Bugle, Otto perked up, as he still held the other reporters hostage. "Do you want me to fry him? I got the Bug Brain in my sights," he heard Electro ask.

"Negative," Doc Ock told him. "Let him come. It's harder to fight out of a trap than into one."

"Roger that."

Otto turned, to see Spider-Man fly in through the giant hole in the wall, landing on all fours on a desk. "Hi, I saw a mistake on page four of today's edition, and I wanted to send a correction. Oh, hey Ock, are you here about the correction too?" Spidey joked.

Otto allowed himself a small smirk, as he rose up, standing on his two back, metal arms. "Even in the end, you can't help but spout those jokes. I would find it endearing if it wasn't so asinine."

"Who said anything about this being the end?" Spider-Man said, as he got ready to fight. "I figured I'd go home and eat some ice cream after this is over."

Otto frowned, getting annoyed.

"Oh, don't worry," Peter added, after noticing the villain's expression. "I'm sure prison has some ice cream for you."

"Die!" Doc Ock yelled, as he threw a metal arm at his opponent. His spider sense blaring, Peter dodged at the last second, jumping off the desk as it got obliterated by the arm. The wall crawler shot a web line at an office chair while in the air, twisting his body in mid-air to throw it at Otto. Octavius simply swatted it away with another arm. "What's wrong, arachnid? Still feeling the effects of our last fight?" He taunted.

Peter landed on the side of the wall, as he looked at his friends and coworkers, cowering in the corner. He knows that Otto doesn't care about them, but the longer he's there, the longer they're going to be in danger. He needs to get Otto out of here, and fast. "Come on, Otto. Attacking the Bugle? Everyone knows this place is a rag. They don't even try to get my good side!" Spidey quipped.

"This was a means to an end," Doc Ock stated. "An end that I shall get to very soon."

"Sheesh, always with the villain talk," Peter said. "I have no idea how you made friends in the first place."

Otto threw another of his arms at Spidey, as he jumped up at the last second, before landing on the arm as it embedded in the wall. Peter quickly ran down the arm, twisting around it before giving a hard kick to Doc Ock's jaw, making him stagger for a second. Octavius responded by grabbing the teenager with his other arms, violently slamming him into the floor a couple of times, before throwing him towards the other end of the room, having him land hard next to Betty and Robbie.

"Hey," he greeted, slightly dazed. "When you guys write about this, is there any chance you can leave this part out?"

"Probably not," Betty replied.

"Yeah, kinda figured," he said, as he slowly got back to his feet. He quickly leapt onto the wall, using every ounce of his speed to do it before Ock could react. "Hey Doc, how about we get out of here?" With that, he jumped off the wall, using a web line to pull a desk towards him, and then shooting two more at the sides to catapult him towards the desk. With his feet, he pushed the desk in the air, soaring towards Otto and crashing hard into the Doctor, sending them both flying out of the hole in the wall and spiraling fast towards the ground.

Otto split the desk in half with two of his arms, before using a third to grab Peter, tightly around his torso. His arms were still free however, letting him shoot a web at Otto's face, blinding him for a second, before using his webs to swing towards a light post, making Otto crash into it, snagging himself on it and losing his grip on the young hero. Eventually, Otto was able to rip the webs off his face with one of his arms, letting him see Spider-Man swing away. Getting off of the light post, Otto put a finger to his ear. "Get after him you imbeciles! He's getting away!"

Peter knew that he got their attention now. He doesn't have to worry about the people in the Bugle anymore. Now the real problem.

"KILL 'EM!" He heard Electro yell behind him.

Now he has to figure out how to get out of here in one piece.

His spider sense going off again, Spider-Man barely dodged a blast of lightning, as Electro followed close behind him. After a few moments, he was joined by Mysterio and Vulture, both raring to get the Web Head as well. They launched beams of energy and feathers, respectively, forcing Peter to flip and contort in the air to avoid them by the skin of his teeth. Even though he felt faster than yesterday, he still was nowhere close to where he was before Morlun.

Suddenly, he heard large, loud thuds below him. Still dodging the attacks, he looked down, only to see Rhino charging after him on the streets below. "Stop running, Spider-Man!" Rhino shouted. "The more you run, the worst it's gonna be!"

"That's really not convincing!" Spidey shot back, still dodging, but getting more and more tired as he went. Avoiding the rest of the Sinister Six was getting more and more difficult.

Wait, Peter realized, this wasn't the rest of them. One was missing.

His spider sense went off again, as he looked to his right, only to see Scorpion launching himself off the side of a building's wall, grabbing him and tackling him down onto the top of a bus, denting the roof of it, and causing the people inside to to scream in surprise.

Pinned down, Peter struggled to escape, only for Scorpion to bash him repeatedly with his claws, trying to beat the fight out of the teenager. Each hit made Peter more and more dazed, as he was unable to defend himself from the onslaught of blows. After a couple of them, one of the lenses on Spider-Man's mask cracked, blurring his vision a bit in that eye. Finally, Scorpion raised up slightly, his tail going high in the air, and ready to strike.

Luckily, Peter was able to use his spider sense to guide him away, rolling out of the way of the tail trying to stab him, having the tail embed itself in the top of the bus instead. While he had him surprised, Peter flipped back, kicking Scorpion in his exposed jaw, making him stagger backwards.

Spidey took the opportunity to start swinging away once more, going deep into an alley in order to lose his other pursuers. He felt dazed, as he barely hung on to his sense of direction. He was pretty sure he was bleeding under his mask. He leapt off a web, running alongside a wall for a few seconds, before zipping away with another web, getting him out of the alley.

While in the air, however, he was intercepted by Vulture, as the scientist once again grabbed him. "Got you, you accursed insect!" Toomes boasted, as the two began flying down the street, struggling against each other as Vulture tried to use his wings to slash at Peter. The young hero tried, and barely succeeded, at pushing the wings back enough so they wouldn't touch him.

"Come on, Vulture," Spidey started, kicking the older man in the gut. "Why would you waste your time dealing with little old me? With this flight suit, I'm sure you'd be a hit on Uber."

Adrian recovered from the hit, as he wrapped his hands around Peter's throat, trying to choke him. "I've been a laughing stock, an afterthought my entire life," he told him. "Always looked over, always regulated by those I was superior to. But after I kill you, after the Sinister Six take over the city, everyone will know the name Adrian Toomes!"

The Wall Crawler grabbed his enemy's hands, pulling them away from his throat as the two continued to barrel down the street. Seeing how he was losing his grip, Vulture summoned some feathers from his wings, making them swerve around, stabbing Peter right in the back. He cried in pain, as he struggled to think of a way out of this. He looked behind Vulture, to see Electro, Mysterio, and Rhino following them, at a distance, but quickly closing in.

Trying to stay calm, Peter thought about everything, anything, he could do in this situation. Then, it dawned on him. The only way that Vulture's suit could actually work is if every single part of it was together. And he's pretty sure he saw a large hump on his back. Probably filled with the circuitry that powered it in the first place.

He looked back, and saw Electro, rearing to get his turn in. Peter had something here.

"Sorry Toomes, but it looks like this is your stop," Spidey said, as he got out of the flying villain's grasp, and began quickly flipping all around his body, spinning webs as he did.

"W-what are you doing!?" Adrian questioned, as his arms and wings began to get tied up. Peter, remembering the first time the two fought, knew his wings could rip through his webs in seconds. Luckily, that was all he needed. Peter landed on his back, finding that hump he saw earlier, and punching it as hard as he possibly could. He could feel the metal tearing and bruising his hand, but hitting through it destroyed the technology inside, shutting the suit down and causing Toomes to begin to nosedive, as he was unable to fly. "NO!" The former government agent shouted. "NO!"

Peter started swinging on his webs, using his legs to hold the tied up criminal in place. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Electro, who appeared outraged at what he just saw. "You little bastard, let him go!" He screamed, as he shot a lightning blast at him.

"Gotcha," Peter said to himself, as he quickly grabbed a web cartridge from the belt under his costume, and threw it right at the blast, hoping the chemical reaction would be what he was thinking.

The cartridge got overcharged by the electricity, making it explode in a large outburst of haphazard webbing, blocking the entire street. The pursuing villains' eyes widened at the sight, as they were following too close to stop in time, making them all crash right into the giant web wall.

"Ah!" Rhino gasped, getting his face out of the webbing. "He blocked us off!"

"He's getting away!" Mysterio cried.

"He's got Toomes!" Electro shouted. "Where the hell is Gargan!?"

"Just got to the other side," Scorpion said over the comm link. "Can't find the spider. He's gone."

After a few moments, Doctor Octopus arrived to the giant web, a huge scowl on his face. Once again, Spider-Man had managed to escape. Once again, he made them look like fools. And more than that, they were now down a man.

But once again, Spider-Man had been hurt. Once again, Spider-Man saw how weak he truly was against them. Octavius would have to rework a few parts of his plan, but while this may be a small setback, he knows now more than ever that victory is right outside of his grasp. And the Sinister Six will happily grab it with both hands.

"Captain."

George Stacy was standing in the middle of his precinct, looking at some files in his hand, surrounded by cops who were all trying to deal with the chaos that was happening in the city. He turned, to see another officer approaching him, a young woman, with long, dark, black hair.

"Yes, DeWolff?" George asked. "Any new updates on the Six?"

"Uh, yes," Jean DeWolff said, a little unsure. "We're going to need to you outside, immediately."

"Outside?" Captain Stacy questioned, as she began to lead him out the precinct. Limping after her, he furrowed his brow. "We're dealing with a serious problem here, what's so important about what's outsi-"

He cut himself off as him and Jean went through the front doors, as they joined several other officers who were already outside, all looking up. George followed their gaze, to see Vulture, unconscious, tied in webs, and stuck onto a lamp post.

He narrowed his eyes at the sight. "DeWolff."

"Yes, sir?"

"You and the others get him down and lock him up," he ordered. "He is off the books until this situation gets cleared up. Understood?"

DeWolff nodded. "Yes, sir."

"A strange scene here, as a large wall of webs has appeared in the middle of the Financial district, stalling the self-proclaimed Sinister Six momentarily. While it seems like they have already escaped, it looks like it was enough for Spider-Man to safely get away from them. Police and paramedics are making their way to the Daily Bugle. We will continue to update this story-"

Gwen watched the television in her room with bated breath. The news helicopter caught the entire chase on film, and she watched as Peter was battered and run down like an animal. Up until they lost track of him. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, tense, waiting for an update on anything.

As if to answer her prayers, her cell phone rang.

As fast as she could, she picked it up, answering it. "Peter?"

"Hey, Gwen," she heard her boyfriend say on the other end, obviously tired.

She breathed a sigh of relief, as she allowed herself a small smile. "Oh thank God. Where are you?"

"I'm just taking a break. I'm in an alley next to a bodega," he answered.

"You're not in your costume, are you?" She asked, concerned.

"No, no, of course not. It's almost completely ruined anyway," he told her. "I had to steal another hoodie. Remind me to pay those guys back after this is all over."

"Are you ok?" The blonde questioned.

"Not gonna lie, I feel like crap." He paused for a second, taking a deep breath. "I got lucky. I was able to take one of them down. But I'm gonna need a plan for the rest of them."

"Really? I wonder where you got that from."

"Ha ha," Peter deadpanned, although Gwen could practically hear him smiling. "You were right, I was just in a hurry. But I think I bought myself some time."

"So what are you thinking?"

"I need to figure out what they're planning on doing after they're done with me," Peter told her. "The best way to do that would be figuring out where they are hiding out at. Of course, if I do that, there's a chance that I'm going to have to fight them."

"So you need to figure out a way to beat them first," Gwen finished his thought.

"Right. And I'm still not at one hundred percent power wise, and I'm pretty beat up." He said, thinking out loud.

"So...?"

"I've gotten lazy," Peter suddenly said.

"What?" Gwen asked, confused.

"I used to make gadgets and stuff for myself all the time," he told her. "I made my web shooters, my suit, my belt, I tried out a light that didn't really work out, I did it all. I haven't done anything like that in a while though. It's been a while since I really used my brain for Spider-Man stuff."

"So you need to make yourself some new equipment?" Gwen asked.

"Exactly," Peter said. "I need to get back to basics. Hey, school's still shut down, right?"

"Yeah, they're just organizing things for when it reopens. Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?" Gwen said, smirking to herself.

"Oh, I'm totally thinking what you think I think you think I'm thinking."

"God, you're rubbing off on me," Gwen said, laughing slightly.

"Sorry not sorry," Peter joked. "I gotta go, talk to you later."

"Bye," she said, hearing him hang up. She sighed again. She hopes he knows what he's doing.

Captain America laid on his stomach, hiding in some bushes, as he looked at his target through a pair of binoculars. He looked at the Australian warehouse, as it was obviously heavily fortified after his last visit with Sam. Patrols of Hydra agents were around the outside, and any points of entry such as windows and doors were shut tight and reinforced.

This shouldn't be much of an issue.

"Avengers, come in," he said into his earpiece. "There's a lot of them and they turned it into a mini fortress."

"Ok," Natasha said over the link. "What's the problem?"

"I think he's saying we might have to try," Clint added.

"Well, that's a shame."

"Guys," Steve cut off. "Leave the commentary to Stark, we're going to have to go at them from multiple fronts."

"Can I just say that those mean digs aren't appreciated on my first mission back?" Tony flippantly remarked.

"Duly noted. Tony, hit them from above. I've got them on the ground. While they're distracted, Widow and Hawkeye will sneak in and take out the ones inside. We'll join you when we're done out here. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Yep."

"Sir, yes sir."

"Great," Steve said, putting the binoculars away and standing up. "Avengers, Assemble!"

"Yo, yo, yo! You want to watch the sweetest action around, I got your hook-up! I got the Avengers vs the Scorpion, I got the Fantastic Four vs the Absorbing Man, I even got Spider-Man vs Spider-Man! Only 15 bucks a pop!"

On a street corner in Harlem, a young man had a table set up, with a bunch of CDs on it, titles scribbled on them in black marker. He did this as often as he could, as he found it to be a great side gig to help make some extra money.

"Terry!"

Terry flinched at the voice, knowing exactly who it was. He turned, to see Luke Cage and Iron Fist walking towards him. "Heh, hi Cage! How are ya?"

"We need to have a little talk, Terry," Luke told him, crossing his arms.

Terry threw his hands in front of him in surrender. "Whoa man, I ain't filming you no more. Not after you told me what you'd do if I didn't stop. These are all of other guys."

"He's not talking about that," Danny said, as he started looking through the CDs. "Ooh, X-Men vs the Purifiers. Neat."

"You're all over Harlem, Terry," Luke said. "I know you don't get this footage just by yourself. You must of heard something about all these break-ins."

Terry scratched the thin stubble on his chin. "Maybe I did and maybe I didn't."

Luke smiled. "Are you really gonna try to play me like that?"

"Sorry, Cage. I got a reputation, and talking to you is the fastest way to kill it."

"That's fine," Luke said, before looking over to his friend. "Hey Danny, see anything cool in there?"

Iron Fist smirked at him, seeing what was going on. "Oh, yeah, lots of cool stuff, but I just can't pick which one I want."

"Let me help ya decide," Luke said, walking over to the table.

Terry furrowed his brow. "What're you two doing?"

Luke simply shrugged, as him and his partner kept going through the merchandise. "Just looking at your stuff. Gotta admit, it's kinda cool."

"Except for this one," Danny said, holding one CD. "Seriously, 'Iron Man Flying'? That's kinda lame. I can just see that on TV."

Terry looked around, figuring out what they were doing. His usual customers saw the Heroes for Hire, and then immediately turned around. They were running out his business.

"Ok!" Terry broke down. "I'll tell you guys, as long as you leave right afterwards. Deal?"

Luke gave a victorious smirk. "Deal."

Terry sighed in defeat, as he looked around to make sure no one else could hear him. "Look, all these places that got robbed, they got one thing in common. The Kingpin either owns them, or uses them to launder his money."

"Kingpin?" Luke asked, surprised. "You mean Fisk?"

"SHH!" Terry urged. "You don't say his name in public. Bad things happen if you do. The average person thinks he's clean, and he wants to keep it like that."

"Ok," Danny said. "So what does Kingpin have to do with this?"

"Aren't you listening?" Terry asked, impatient. "All those places that got hit are his."

"Which means that our Black Cat is going against him," Luke deduced. "And I bet she's not doing this alone."

"That's all I can tell you," Terry said. "Now can you get the hell out of here?"

"No need to be rude," Danny said, as he started walking away. He paused for a moment, before going back to the table, grabbing a CD. "I'm taking this. Bye!"

"Thanks for the help, Terry," Luke said, following his partner as they walked down the street.

"Yeah, yeah," Terry mumbled, waiting until they got out of his sight. "The freaking Heroes for Hire...I hate my stinking luck."

"So, everything's ready?"

Two men, a school executive and the superintendent of the district, were walking down the halls of Midtown High as night began to fall. They were checking to make sure the school was nice and clean, and that everything was prepared for Midtown's reopening next week.

"Yep, looks like it," the executive stated. "Now we play the waiting game and make sure the new principal is ready."

"Great, those kids have been out for too long," the superintendent said. "We might have to make the school year longer to compensate. I can't wait for that PTA meeting. "

"Hopefully they'll be understanding."

"If shutting down because the principal turned into a super villain doesn't do it, nothing will."

The two walked out of the hallway, satisfied with themselves. However, they were oblivious to what was above them. Peter, in his hoodie, crawling along the ceiling, sticking to the shadows to stay out of sight. He looked around, making sure no one was there, before dropping down to the floor, staying low to be on the safe side. He was sure his spider sense would go off if he was about to be seen, but he didn't want to risk it.

"I can't believe I'm saying this," he muttered to himself. "But thank god for poor school security."

He carefully made his down the quiet halls to the science wing, before finding Doctor Connors' lab, the one he was looking for. Using his strength, he grabbed the handle to the locked door, and broke it, opening the door up.

Peter gave a huge sigh of relief as he looked at the fully stocked lab. With Tony gone, there was no accessing his lab, a security feature he had put in to make sure the other Avengers didn't accidentally hurt themselves if they went in for whatever reason. That's without the fact that the Sinister Six-or maybe it's the Fiendish Five now-were probably scoping that place out right now. But this lab was perfect. Unwatched, fully stocked, and easily accessible. The best part is that Doctor Connors taught multiple classes in multiple sciences, meaning that this lab had chemicals, robotics, and various materials that can be used.

Peter walked over to a silver, metal plate that was laying on a table, picking it up, as he saw his reflection in it. He saw his swelled eye, the bruises on his face, a gash across the bridge of his nose, and the tired look in his eyes. It has not been an easy couple of days. It hasn't been an easy couple of weeks. Hell, it hasn't been an easy life. This fight, after Morlun drained his power, would probably be the hardest fight he had ever been in.

But that doesn't mean he was going to give up. Not now.

Peter worked for what felt like hours. Planning, seeing what he had to work with, getting frustrated when something went wrong, and being elated when they went right. This is everything he loved about science. He made several different gadgets and tricks, all designed for fighting against the rest of the Six. But none of that would mean anything if he wasn't able to stand up to their most powerful attacks.

"This should do the trick," he said to himself, as he finished slipping on his new suit, sans mask. It was a simple design, but it would be effective. It was like his normal costume, except the red and blue was replaced with silver and black. The silver being strong, steel plating, and the black being well-insulated material. It was heavy, but it felt right. This wasn't like his skin tight outfit. This was more like a battle suit.

"Ok Otto, you want me?" He said to himself, as he put on the helmet to his Spider-Armor. "You're going to get more than you can handle."