"So, you're at a party now?" Ned asked.

"JJJ was hosting it, yeah, basically anyone who was anyone in my New York was at this party, plenty of government types as well." Peter-2 stated. "Though as you'll see, it wasn't too fun a party."

At the planetarium, Harry drunkenly accused Peter of betraying him and caring more for the Spider-Man, saying they weren't brothers, before leaving in a huff. Peter saw JJJ's son with Mary Jane, following her outside, he recited poetry to her, as she told him it was too late. Returning inside, he saw Mary Jane had accepted JJJ's son's proposal, as Harry turned to Peter, slapping him and calling him brother accusingly.

"What's wrong with Harry? Why is he blaming you for everything to do with Spider-Man?" Cindy cried.

"Because he knows I have a connection to the man he hates and he's lashing out, his investment in Otto failed, and he's in free fall emotionally." Peter-2 explained. "I don't blame him, not really."

"Wait, you've got manned Moon missions in your world?" Bruce asked, shocked.

"Yeah, don't you?" Peter-2 questioned, tilting his head.

"No, we stopped them a few decades ago. There's plans to go back soon, but nothing has happened yet, with everything that happens with aliens these days." MJ explained.

"We haven't had one in decades either." Eddie stated.

"Nor us." Peter-3 agreed.

"Huh. Weird." Peter-2 shrugged.

"So, MJ is dating a famous astronaut?" Betty cooed. "Should still be with you though."

"He's also JJ's son." Peter-2 pointed out. "This was always going to be a Jameson festival."

"Are you seriously trying to win her over with poetry like Otto suggested?" Tony arched an eyebrow.

"Hey, it worked for Otto!" Peter-2 defended himself.

"It's cute." Hope smiled at him.

"Doomed to fail, but I guess cute." Yelena admitted.

"How was it meant to work?" Clint asked.

"I'm sure the right words could impress the right woman." Natasha reasoned, glancing at Steve, who purposefully looked away from her when he noticed her look, blushing as he did.

"Why is Harry being such a, what is the word Quill uses, dick?" Mantis asked, perplexed, as she saw him slap Peter. "I thought he was your brother?"

"I would never slap my own brother. We would punch." Drax stated.

"Every word you speak, I'm reminded that you are the biggest idiot in the galaxy." Nebula hissed.

"He's going off the rails." Abe sighed.

"He really needs to sit down and have a heart to heart with Peter at some point." Cindy said.

"I'm sure he'll get the chance." Bruce smiled.

"She's marrying him?" Ned asked. "But you're meant to be together!"

"We are...eventually." Peter-2 told him. "I'm starting to think Peter and MJ is destiny in most universes."

MJ turned away hearing that, a small smile on her face.

Going on patrol to clear his head, Peter found his powers failing him once again, resolving to go to the doctors. The doctor found nothing wrong with him physically, as they discussed his mental state, Peter pretended he dreamt he was Spider-Man losing his powers, the doctor suggested maybe he was trying to live two lives too much and had to decide on one.

"How does this keep happening to you?" Bucky asked.

"Existential crisis stuff." Peter-2 laughed.

"It's not a joking matter, what if you seriously injured yourself!" May rebuked him.

"I heal really fast?" Peter-2 defended himself, wilting under her stern gaze.

"You may be about my age, but don't think I won't ground you. If your May isn't here to do it, I will!"

"Yes, May." Peter-2 looked down, ashamed.

"So is this Doctor also your therapist?" Peter-3 asked his alter, who shook his head.

"No, he just seems to always know what to say."

That night, Peter dreamt he was speaking to Uncle Ben again, telling Ben he loved Mary Jane, Ben told him that Peter had to do right by everyone, as Peter decided he had to live for himself, not for the dream of Ben, deciding he was just Peter Parker, Spider-Man no more.

"Is this really happening, or is it all in your head?" Ned asked with a slight grin.

"Of course this is happening inside my head. But what's to say it's not real?" Peter-2 winked at him.

"You're giving up being Spider-Man?" Rhodey squawked.

"It was just temporary, I figured with the powers shorting, I couldn't do it, and to be honest, it helped me. I needed to work out a balance between Peter Parker and Spider-Man, something I'm worried that both of the others need to do as well." Peter-2 frowned.

"I'm doing perfectly fine!" Peter-3 protested.

"Are you? You told me, and I quote, "Got no time for Peter Parker stuff" and remember what Ned and MJ said, about little Peter making everyone forget him? Removing all trace of him like Strange mentioned? Do you really think he's balancing his time, he'll almost exclusively be Spider-Man at the moment in their world." Peter-2 shot back.

"That's different and you know it!" Ned argued.

"How?" Peter-2 asked.

"Peter did that to save the world! Am I angry that he did it? Yeah, and when I finally do see him again, I don't know if I'm going to hug him or punch him in the face, but he gave up being Peter for a good reason. It's not the same!" MJ argued.

"I know he did! I'm not denying it, but it's definitely a self-destructive tendency we all have in common!" Peter-2 replied.

"I can't argue with that, you all do seem to choose the option that hurts you most." Natasha shook her head, thinking back on the recordings they had already seen.

"I'm still not like that though!" Peter-3 argued with his alter, his cheeks heating up as he spoke.

"Literally how aren't you? You've basically forsaken all hope of romance, and given up on being Peter Parker, even saying you've got no time for Peter Parker!" Peter-2 called out, not missing the wince his younger alter gave at that and wishing he could take it back.

"My actions cost Gwen her life." Peter-3 hissed, fury radiating from him. "My hesitation cost her and it cost me everything. Don't you dare ever say Peter Parker didn't cause that. I chose to just focus on Spider-Man as Peter wasn't good enough, Peter couldn't save her. Peter couldn't save anyone. I lost Ben. I lost Gwen. I lost my parents. Peter didn't save any of them, but maybe, maybe if I had just been Spider-Man, maybe I could have!" Peter-3 broke off, choking on his breath as he felt the tears pouring down his face, hot and sticky on his cheeks. "I refuse to be Peter Parker, not because I don't feel I have time to be Peter, but because I know if I am, I'll lose the ones I love."

"I know that feeling." Peter-2 admitted to him after a moment of stunned silence filled the room. "I told you I didn't have MJ in my life anymore, didn't I?"

"I think you said something, what happened? She walk out on you?" Steve worried.

"She's dead." Peter-2 sadly said.

"She's what?" Peter-3 blinked, reeling backwards, stunned. He'd never mentioned she was dead, not once. Why was he saying this? Peter-2 was happy, he and MJ made it work, he even said so at Midtown. What was he talking about?

"What do you mean?" May asked softly, turning her full attention to Peter-2 who looked shocked and horrified at what he had said, his face paling.

"She...She's gone." Peter-2 said after a minute.

"What do you mean, she's gone?" Peter-3 asked.

"There's this villain, Chameleon. I was fighting him, he got away. He found out my identity, a few of my villains know who I am under the mask, or at least a few of them did. I was out on patrol, looking, when I got an alert there had been an attack. I got there to find...MJ...my children...gone. All my fault. I...I couldn't...I didn't...I failed them." Peter-2 choked out, his head dropping as he finished, sobs wrecking his body.

"You didn't fail them, Peter Parker." Uatu spoke, appearing once more from the ceiling. "You did what you always have done, fought for others. They knew that, Mary Jane Watson loved you for that. Would you blame yourself for it, dishonouring her as you do?"

"Don't speak her name!" Peter-2 yelled at the Watcher, anger coursing in his veins. "I tried so hard to keep it away from everyone, I was in a new universe, helping a younger me with his issues, I couldn't tell him of what a failure I was, how I had failed to protect everyone I loved. How I had messed up. I had to lie, to tell them I was happy and it had succeeded. You can undo it, can't you? Make everyone forget what I said? Please!"

"No. You may have only just met most of these people, but these people can help you, Peter Parker. You must learn to let others in again, and you must learn, as both of your alter selves must learn, you must all learn to care for yourself and to not blame yourself for all of the worlds issues and ills. You are a hero, you just have to remember that, all of you do." Uatu said, fading once again before Peter-2 could respond.

"Peter..." Peter-3 whispered, moving to his side and wrapping his other self in a hug before he could say anything, feeling the older man shake, feeling his tears, he gently shushed him and held him tight, glaring at anyone staring until the rest of the room turned its attention back to the screen.

"Thank you." Peter-2 whispered to him, whimpering.

"I'll always be here for you." Peter-3 vowed. "No matter what."

Throwing away the Spider-Man suit, Peter re-dedicated himself to Peter Parker, holding down his job, ensuring his grades went up and he arrived places on time, watching Mary Jane perform on stage. After the show, he went for something to eat with her, and tried to talk her out of marrying JJJ, saying he was there for her now, Mary Jane said he was too late, and she was engaged now. Mary Jane then left him, saying she was marrying JJJ's son, but she did love Peter.

"Well, one good thing is you seem to have your life sorted again, getting good grades, having a job, being there for your friends." Happy noted.

"It's not a life of true happiness though, I can tell." May sighed. "Spider-Man is a part of who Peter is, I know he can't ever give it up. It calls to him."

"If she loves you, why is she still marrying him? You gave up Spider-Man, partly for her!" Cindy bemoaned.

Peter-2 said nothing, still curled up in Peter-3's embrace.

At the Bugle, Betty brought in a garbage man who had the Spider-Man costume, JJJ celebrated driving him to throw in the towel as his assistant held the mask and looked sad. JJJ then hung the suit on his wall after taking photos of it and printing "Spider-Man No More" as the violinist from before asked where had Spider-Man gone?

"I'm back, and I hate seeing how sad the other me looks." Betty noted.

"Spider-Man No More?" MJ shook her head. "Truly, original."

"I don't think he's truly happy Spider-Man is gone." Sersi noted. "He'll be begging you to don the suit again by the time you do."

Peter-2 simply sadly smiled as he wriggled out of his alters embrace slightly to look around the room once more.

Peter walked down a street, ignoring a mugging, as the scene cut to Ben's grave as he helped May there, before returning to hers, Peter admitted it was his fault Ben had died, he wasn't at the library like he said, and if he had been, Ben wouldn't have been shot and killed. He explained how he could have stopped the man who killed Ben but he didn't and the man then went and killed Ben. He said how he wanted to tell May so many times as she recoiled from Peter.

"You can't just let them get away with stuff like that if you can help, kid. I get it, it shouldn't be on you, but if you can help, you need too." Tony stated.

"I know that now, Mr Stark." Peter-2 croaked. "I wasn't in the best head-space, even if I thought I was."

"You're telling me that Ben died, and you think it was your fault?" May asked him softly. "You know, even if she's moving away from you now, she won't truly hold it against you. It wasn't your fault Ben died. Never believe it was."

"For the longest time, I thought it was." Peter-2 admitted, Peter-3 nodded as well. "But you're right, May. Ben wasn't my fault and I eventually got over it."

"You will with MJ too. Her and the kids, it wasn't your fault, man." Bucky told him gently.

Peter-2 simply said nothing to that, shaking his head as he turned back to the screen.