"M.J, I have to go," Peter said. "Martin's making his move."

"What?" M.J. said. "Like, right now?"

"Yep," Peter replied.

"Oh, okay, uhm..." There was a pause over the line. Peter felt a little pang of guilt in his stomach; he knew the timing was in no way his fault, but he hated that he had just put her on the spot like this. He wished that he could at least be there with her right now to properly reassure her, for whatever good it would do.

"Just, you know," M.J. finally continued, "stay alive and stop the bad guy."

Peter almost let out a chuckle at how matter-of-factly the words sounded coming out of her mouth, were it not for the undercurrent of worry he picked up in her voice as well. There was so much he wanted to say to her right now. He wanted to tell her what a huge difference she had made in his life in a matter of weeks, that the thought of seeing her was what kept him going on the days he didn't want to leave the apartment to go to F.E.A.S.T. He wanted to tell her that she meant more to him than anyone else in the world.

"That's the plan," was what he settled on. While time was of the essence, more than anything, Peter wanted to save those things for when he saw M.J. again.

Whatever it took, he would see her again.

Firing a web, Peter swung off.

As the old Avengers Tower came within view, Peter could also hear gunfire. He looked down to find that five of Martin's masked cohorts were engaged in a shootout with the police, keeping them pinned down. He knew it was likely a diversion Martin had set up to stall for time, but he wasn't about to let anyone get hurt. Releasing his web, Peter straightened his body, performing a nosedive directly towards the masked gunmen.

One of them glanced up and noticed him, aiming their gun and opening fire at him. His spider-sense having given him warning, Peter let his reflexes take over, twisting out of the way of the bullets. Shooting his right arm forward, he fired a web that latched onto the gun. Yanking the it away, Peter somersaulted, landing his feet squarely on the man's chest, pinning him to the ground and knocking him out.

Turning his attention to the others, Peter worked swiftly, utilizing a rapid series of moves to subdue the remaining four gunmen without so much as breaking a sweat. As he finished wrapping up the last one in webbing, a couple of the officers approached him.

"Thanks for the assist, Spidey," they said. "What do these guys want?"

"Basically, there boss is a guy with a mean quantum energy induced second personality and a major puppeteering complex," Peter said. When he turned to the officers, he realized based on their confused expressions that he'd lost them, so he tried again with a more simplified version.

"Their boss is going to put a device on top of this building that will allow him to take over the minds of everyone in the city."

"Okay," one of the officers said as he looked at the other one before looking back at Peter, "what do you want us to do?"

Peter was caught off guard at the officer's question; he had worked with local law enforcement before, but just on minor busts of small crime families. He'd always followed the lead of others in something this big, and he was not sure what the best thing to say was. Throughout his time as a superhero though, Peter had one main priority above all the others: protect the people. Starting there seemed most logical.

"Get people in the buildings around here to safety," Peter finally replied, hoping he sounded confident. "Even if I stop this guy from using the machine how he wants, it could still cause a lot of damage if something else goes wrong."

"Alright," the officer said, turning back towards the others. "Okay people let's get these buildings clear! Let's move!"

Peter felt just a little bit of relief knowing that at least the civilians in the area were being looked after. Now, he could focus solely on his mission: stop Martin Li from using the device to assert his will over the entire city. He didn't want to have to destroy the quantum syphoning device since it came from Stark Industries, but if it came down to it, he would do so in a heartbeat if it meant saving the city, especially M.J. and Happy.

If no one else was, those two were counting on him.

Bending his knees and squatting tightly, Peter then sprung upwards, launching himself onto the side of the building. Using webs intermittently while sprinting, he rapidly worked his way towards the top. He knew he wouldn't be able to count on stealth in his approach this time, seeing as they were outdoors in the middle of the day. Whatever was going on up there, however Martin had his goons organized, he would need to be ready.

He didn't feel very ready, but then again, what else was new?

Peter fired one last web, yanking himself up and onto the walkway in the area leading to the helipad, landing on his feet. He saw Martin and about ten other men, of course wearing their usual black and white masks. At the center of the helipad was the device, fully assimilated but not yet activated. It was a device of decent size, though he could see how its components could be transported among a small group of people.

Martin turned his head to the side, peering back towards Peter before turning to fully face him. "I was hoping you would show up," the man said.

"Well, going through with your super evil plan in the middle of the day on one of the biggest landmarks in Manhattan…. that'll do it," Peter replied.

"We were interrupted last time," Martin said, strolling slowly in Peter's general direction. "I wanted to extend my offer one more time."

"What, join you and your little band of merry puppet men?" Peter replied. "I don't think so. In fact, I wanted to make you an offer... er, a counteroffer, if you will."

"And what could you have to offer me?" the photonegative figure replied.

"Not you," Peter said. "The real Martin Li."

The dark figure chuckled. "It's amusing that you think you can reach him," he said. "The man the world new as Martin Li has been gone for a long time now."

"Since June died, right?" Peter replied. The man's blank expression gave hope that he was hitting a nerve. "Yeah, I know about her. I know everything now: how he was holding you back for so long, and how you took advantage of his losing her to assert yourself. Then I came along and started to reach him again, didn't I? Isn't that why you tried to have me and M.J. killed? I know the real Martin is still in there; maybe he can even hear me right now."

The whole time he was speaking, Peter was keeping an eye on the men's work with the device. He knew he couldn't spend forever talking, as it seemed they were nearing being ready to activate it. His body was already tensing subtly, getting ready to spring into action at any given moment.

The dark figure smirked.

"If he could hear anything, it would be because I allow him too," he said, "because I would want him to see how this world that he loved so much will be better once it falls under my control, starting with this city."

"Better for who, exactly?" Peter asked.

The man smiled.

"I can see you won't be won over," he said, "and since that's the case..." He then motioned towards Peter, and suddenly the other ten men broke off their work, assembling their guns as they moved towards their red and black suited target. Wasting no time, Peter took the fight to them first, leaping into the thick of them so they couldn't shoot at him without risking their own. The group tried to hit him with punches, kicks, or even the butt of their guns, but Peter remained untouchable, avoiding their attacks and even leading them to knockout a couple of their own as they missed him. Moving like a blur, Peter kicked their feet out, struck them with quick knockout hits and webbed them to the floor, effectively subduing them before turning his attention to Martin once more, who looked almost disappointed.

"I guess what they say is true," Martin said, drawing another long dagger-like blade from inside his jacket. "If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself." The man touched the blade with his hand, infusing it with the dark energy he had before from handle to tip. Even seeing it made Peter want to rub the spot he'd been stabbed the first time, the pain still memorable. The man stood in a position ready to strike but did not move otherwise.

He was waiting on Peter to make the first move.

So, he did.

Launching a web towards the man's foot, Peter pulled as soon as it latched, sending the man off his feet, hitting the ground on his back with a thud. He then webbed him tightly, sticking him to the ground.

"Well, it seems we have a learner," Martin said. The fact that he was smiling as he said it made Peter concerned, and he soon saw why, as the man was charging up his energy, some of the webbing already burning off. He tried to add additional webbing to further hold him in place, but it was too late, as a blast of energy destroyed it entirely, with Martin free once again.

"Now, let's try this again," the man said, this time opting for the long-distance strategy as he let out a blast of energy with his free hand. Peter leapt to the side, dodging the blast even as Martin prepared to fire another one. After multiple failed attempts at hitting the wall crawler, Martin then sprung into the fight, launching at him blade first. Peter ducked underneath the blow, spinning around to face his opponent. Martin took several swings, but Peter avoided them all, waiting for just the right moment to strike. He finally got his chance, grabbing Martin's arm and punching underneath his fist, popping the blade up into the air.

In a sudden move, Martin grabbed Peter by the top of the head. The memory of what happened last time the man got ahold of him still fresh in his mind, Peter instinctively grabbed Martin's arm, throwing him well off to the side. He then caught the blade as it came down, throwing it far across the building several feet away, where Martin couldn't get to it again without going through him.

"It's over," Peter said, strolling over to his enemy. "I'm not going to let you win."

Martin did not appear intimidated in the slightest, looking up at Peter from his position on the ground.

"On the contrary, my friend," he began, "you were the loser of our battle before it even started."

It was then that Peter heard a humming sound going, and he turned to see that the machine was beginning to fire up. How had he missed that? He'd been keeping such a close eye on it!

"I finished the activation sequence while my friends here kept you busy," Martin boasted. "Soon, this whole city will fall into darkness, and will rise as an army, one I will control."

"No," Peter said, turning and leaping towards the device. His spider-sense rang out midflight, but he was too late to avoid Martin's blast this time, the energy pounding into his body. He landed past the device in a heap near the edge of the building. Most of his body felt a sting like a hot electric shock that reached to his insides.

"There's only one way to shut off this device now," he could hear Martin say, "and that's to go through me."

Peter forced himself up as quickly as he could, standing upright on his feet as he fought off the pain from the blast the best he could. He saw Martin standing in front of the device, staring him down.

"If that's the way you want it," Peter said. He then broke into as much of a sprint as he could, running towards his opponent with everything he had. Martin fired a couple more blasts in his direction, but Peter's spider-sense gave him just enough of a heads up to avoid them, if only by the narrowest of margins. He managed to get close enough to strike, so he leapt towards the man, somersaulting in the air and landing a devastating spin kick into his chest, sending him off his feet and back on the ground again.

Turning his attention to the device, Peter tried to enter its system, but was soon distracted by Martin coming after him again, this time with a series of punches. Dodging a few of them, Peter leapt over his enemy, grabbing him by the arms and throwing him forward as he flipped over, sending the man flying.

Again, he turned his attention to the computer, this time managing to get to the password entry. There was one option that came to mind, something that Martin had said before, so Peter opted to go with that.

"Inner Demon."

Fortunately, it worked, and he soon had access to the system.

"Noooo!" Martin called out, charging him once again. This time, he managed to catch Peter off guard, striking a blow to his left side, followed by one to his chin, which sent him up into the air. Martin then grabbed him by the leg, throwing him away from the device.

Peter lied on the floor for a second, still feeling the blows he'd been dealt. He could see Martin running toward him, leaping up into the air. He managed to spin out of the way, getting to his feet as fast as he could. He was going to have to do something to put Martin down for a little longer, or he was never going to have enough time to shut the device off.

Dodging a flurry of punches, Peter found an opportunity to strike, blocking one of the punches before delivering a blow with his fist squarely into Martin's jaw. The man reeled back, which gave Peter enough time to strike again. He laid into the man, dealing punches and kicks in rapid succession. He hated doing this, still holding onto the hope that somewhere inside this monster was still the innocent man who once inhabited it, but this was no time for half measures.

With Martin staggering after his barrage, Peter grabbed him by his jacket. Rolling onto his back, he brough the man down with him, kicking him up high into the air. Springing back up, Peter fired a web out of each wrist, latching them onto Martin before pulling down hard. His enemy came flying back down, landing hard against the floor, putting a dent in the concrete.

Once Martin didn't move after a few seconds, Peter quickly got back to the device. Thankfully he was still signed in, and he went to work. His familiarity with Stark Tech in general helped guide him through the process as he entered the right commands, and before long, the humming stopped as the device shut down.

Peter breathed out a sigh of relief; he had stopped the machine, he had stopped Martin, and he had saved the day. He turned and walked over to his opponent, who began to stir lightly as he approached him.

"It's over," Peter said, "for real this time. You've lost. Now, let the real Martin go." When the man didn't respond, Peter reached down, but even his spider-sense couldn't warn him fast enough for the man to grab ahold of his wrist, black energy flaring up.

"I might have lost this battle," Martin said, "but once I have you, it won't matter."

Peter could feel the energy flaring up, and he knew what came next. He tried to resist, fighting to break Martin's grip on him, but it was no use, as everything went black again.

Peter awoke in a dark, seemingly abandoned building. There was nothing there, no people, no images, no defining characteristics of any kind. He then saw Martin stroll out from the shadows, his white suit popping out against the darkness of the place.

"Where did you bring me?" Peter asked.

"Nowhere special," Martin said, strolling around. "Just a place to show you a few things." He then gestured towards a window, which Peter turned towards. Suddenly, tiny little fragments of something came floating in slowly, moving along a little at a time. These objects floated into an area of the room that Martin had illuminated, and it was then that Peter could tell what they were: pieces, fragments rather, that everyone in the snap had dissipated into before ceasing to exist entirely.

The fragments then came together, materializing into a form resembling a man, though still broken and clearly not whole with each other. Peter reeled back once they finished, as he was looking into the face of none other than Tony Stark.

"I trusted you, kid," the image said, the voice sounding just like that of Peter's former mentor. "What happened? Why didn't you stop this?"

"No," Peter stuttered, clutching his head. "This isn't real."

More fragments then came in another way, coming to Peter's side this time. Just like the last ones, they came together, and Peter was mortified to see what looked like a broken version of Ned.

"Hey man, why'd you let this happen?" the image said. "I thought you always stopped the bad guys. We were even supposed to build my newest Lego set that weekend!"

"Stop," Peter said, turning to Martin. "Stop it, please."

Yet another set of fragments came in, this time behind Peter, who spun around. He didn't want to see who those pieces would form into, but it was as if he was frozen, unable to remove his eyes.

His breath caught in his throat as he saw that these latest pieces formed none other than Aunt May.

"Peter," the image said in what sounded like a slightly crueler version of May's usual soft voice, "your uncle would be so disappointed in you."

"No," Peter said, daring to approach this image. "I, I tried, I did my best. I was being responsible..."

"You had one job!" the image of Tony Stark shouted, "and you couldn't even do that!"

"Mr. Stark, please," Peter begged.

"You were supposed to be my best friend," Ned's image said, "but you let me disappear just like everyone else."

"He was too strong," Peter muttered desperately.

"Peter," May said, "your parents would be ashamed of you."

Peter sank to the floor as each image continued spewing out cruelties to him, covering his ears in an attempt to silence them, but it was to no avail. Their voices only seemed to get louder, and tears started streaming down Peter's face as his anxiety built up more and more.

"STOOOOOP!" he finally called out, and when he looked up, the images were gone, and Martin was kneeling by his side.

"Don't you see, Peter?" the man said, "your life is a failure. You failed your city, the world, even the universe... but most of all your loved ones, those who cared about you the most. Your aunt, your best friend, the man who was like a father to you, all of them are gone now."

The man then stood up, extending his hand to Peter.

"Join me," he said, "and I can make all of this, all of the pain go away. After all, you have nothing left to lose."

Nothing left to lose.

Those words hung in Peter's mind, the implications pouring over his brain. May, the mother he'd known most of his life, Ned, his friend who was more like a brother, and even Mr. Stark were all gone... and they weren't coming back.

Peter looked up at Martin, whose hand was still extended. Slowly, Peter started to raise his own, reaching for the man's hand, before something caused him to pause. He looked away from Martin, and slowly lowered his hand slowly as he realized something.

Martin was wrong; he did have something, or rather someone left.

He had M.J.

The image of her face, of her beautiful smile, flooded his brain. He thought back to all the times the two of them had shared together in the last several weeks, and how they had grown close during that time. It was together that they had overcome all of this, and he wasn't going to leave her now.

Peter looked up at Martin.

"You're wrong," he said with conviction, even as he stood up. He looked to the side, seeing M.J. standing next to him, smiling as she looked at him.

"What is this?" Martin asked with disgust and surprise.

"This is the person that I have," Peter said, "the one who keeps me going, and she's not the only one." Peter then turned to his left, seeing Happy up beside him.

"We're with you, kid," the man said.

"This makes no difference," Martin said, gesturing with his hand, summoning the fragments back in. "You really think that these two alone will..."

The fragments then surrounded Peter, forming the same loved ones as before, only this time, they were whole again.

"It's not just those I have now either," Peter said, "but it's the people that I carry with me, even once their gone. I still remember the times I had with them; the good memories we shared together. They may be gone, but those memories, the real ones, will always be here."

Martin staggered back. "How is this possible?" he said, angered and clearly shocked at this new development, clearly realizing he was losing control. "No, I will have you!"

Martin then unleashed a blast at Peter in a rage, but he dodged it easily. He unloaded blast after blast, but Peter continued avoiding them, steadily advancing towards him until he landed a kick squarely against his opponent's chest, sending him reeling back. Martin flew back but managed to steady himself, letting out another blast. Peter jumped against a side wall to avoid it, letting out a blast of webbing, which landed straight on Martin's face.

The man managed to rip it off, but Peter was already in front of him, landing a devastating blow to his right cheek, then one to his rib cage. He didn't let up on Martin for a second, delivering strike after strike until one of his hits sent Martin flying through the wall and rolling out onto a city street.

Peter strolled out through the hole in the wall as Martin struggled, unable to get to his feet.

"This isn't possible," he muttered.

"It is," Peter countered. "You can't have my mind; not now, not ever."

Peter then swore he heard footsteps behind him. Interestingly, the dark figure on the ground in front of him had a look of shock on his face. Slowly, Peter turned his head, and was surprised at who he saw.

It was Martin Li, the REAL Martin Li, his white shirt torn and his hair looking ragged.

"Ma... Martin?" Peter asked.

"H-how did you do it?" the man asked.

"Do what?" Peter asked in return.

"For the first time, I... I could feel him weakening inside of me," the man said. "How did you do that?"

Peter strolled over to him. He removed his mask, so as to speak to him man to man.

"Maybe you just needed someone to show you it can be done," Peter answered after a moment.

"I... I don't know if I can," he said. "I'm not like you; I'm not a hero. I lost everything."

"So did I," Peter replied, "but you can't give up. It's not what she would want."

Martin looked down, clearly knowing who Peter was talking about.

"I just miss her so much," Martin said, a tear escaping his cheek. "How do you get over something like that?"

Peter thought about that question; he would've thought that, with all the loss he'd experienced even before the Snap, he would have a more definitive answer.

"To be honest, I'm still trying to figure that out," Peter admitted. "Some days are easier than others, and some days the pain, the loss seems overwhelming. But I found others, people who I've come to care about, who've helped make it just a little easier. Maybe I can do that for you."

Peter held his gloved hand out towards Martin.

"No, you can't!" the darker part of Martin cried out from the street. "I own you now you sad, pathetic little man!"

The real Martin looked towards his darker counterpart, then back to Peter.

"You really think I can do this?" he asked.

"If there's one thing I've learned," Peter replied, "it's that we're all stronger than we think, especially when we're there for each other.

Martin then slowly reached out, taking Peter's hand. They both glanced over at the street to see the man's darker half being cast out, slowly fading away in the distance. As that happened, the mindscape itself started to fade, and Peter turned toward Martin.

"See you on the other side, I guess."

Peter awoke, sitting up from the slumped over position he found himself in on the building. He moved over to Martin, who was lying aside, still in his more negative form.

"Come on man, you can do this," Peter said quietly.

Then, slowly but surely, the darkness in Martin's face and body began to recede, the proper color returning to his clothing as well. Soon, before he knew it, Peter was looking at the face of the true Martin Li, who slowly opened his eyes. The man looked around, almost like a newborn child who was seeing the world for the first time, before his eyes came to Peter.

"You did it," Martin said.

Peter reached out, taking Martin by the hand.

"No way man," Peter said, helping the man to his feet. "This one was you."

Martin then glanced to his side, and Peter followed his line of sight to see that the man was looking at the quantum syphoning device. He just stared at it for a moment, not saying anything.

"What are you thinking?" Peter asked.

Martin turned back to him.

"I know it wasn't really me," he began, "but I still feel I should take responsibility for the terrible things my darker side did. Plus, he's still in there somewhere, and it's going to take a lot to make him go away permanently."

Peter put his hand on Martin's shoulder.

"Then let's get you some help," Peter replied, just in time for the police to come out the door of the main building and into the area, guns drawn. Martin looked at Peter before turning to the officers, offering up his wrists to be cuffed. One of the other officers then approached Peter.

"So, I'm guessing he'll be off to the Raft now?" the officer said.

Peter smiled lightly underneath his mask.

"Actually, I think I might have a better idea."

Peter accompanied the police to Ravencroft Institute, having had them call Dr. Kafka ahead of the drive there. When they arrived, she was waiting outside for them, her own security people in hand. Martin was brought out of the car and up to Dr. Kafka. Even from his elevated position, Peter could hear the exchange between Martin and the woman.

"Thank you for taking me in, doctor," he said. "I'm sorry I didn't come to see you after what happened to June. I just..."

"You're here now," the good doctor replied, "it's not too late, Martin."

Martin nodded as he was handed over to the security detail, and Peter jumped down, landing in front of the doctor.

"Thank you," she said. "You didn't give up on him."

"I guess I just know what it's like," Peter said, "losing someone close to you so suddenly."

"Just know that, if you ever want to come check on him, you don't have to come break into my office to do it," Dr. Kafka said. "Just come by."

Peter nodded.

"Thanks doc," he said, "I'll remember that. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some people I need to see."

The woman nodded, and Peter turned, leaping into the air as he fired a web, swinging back for home. It was a long journey, and as his adrenaline from the whole ordeal started to subside, all the blows and blasts he'd received started to catch up with him. He was exhausted and already getting pretty sore, but it didn't stop him. He just took his time, feeling the air with each swing as a form of relief.

Finally, the building came within view, and Peter could already see that M.J. was in his room, sitting on the bed as she waited for him. As he landed on the side of the window, she jumped up and rushed to help him in, not even waiting for him to fully be in the room before wrapping him into a tight hug. Peter's eyes squinted shut as he held her tight, refusing to let go.

He finally released his full grip on her, but still kept his hands at her waist as Happy entered the room.

"Sorry," Happy said, pulling Peter into a one-armed hug of his own, "I was waiting in here too, I promise, but I those leftovers I had finally got to me, and..."

Peter let out a series of chuckles.

"It's okay Happy, I get it," he said. "It's just... man, it's good to be back with you guys."

"Same here," Happy replied. "You look tired though. You good?"

Peter glanced over to M.J.

"I will be," he said.

"Still, maybe we should let you get some rest," Happy said. "I can fire up some more pizza or something while you do?"

Peter smiled. "Yeah man, that sounds perfect."

"Alright then," Happy said, looking at M.J, then back at Peter, "I guess I'll just, you know, get going with, yeah." He then made his way out of the room, and M.J. turned to Peter.

"Well, that wasn't subtle at all," she said.

Peter chuckled.

"Subtlety has never been Happy's strong suit," he said. He then made his way over to the bed to lie down, not even bothering to take the covers off, instead just lying on top of them.

"Get some rest," M.J. said, turning towards the door.

"Hey, M.J?" Peter said.

M.J. turned and looked back at him.

"Would you, I don't know, stay with me?"

M.J. smiled, then moved around to the other side of the bed, moving next to Peter. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close as she rested her head next to his.

For a few moments, he just took her presence in, content in the fact that she was right there with him, before finally falling fast asleep.

This chapter was fun but also exhausting to write. Anyway, one more chapter to tie up some loose ends, and that'll be it for this one!

Hope you all have continued to enjoy it! Thanks to all who have supported this work, especially those who have been kind enough to leave reviews. I can't thank you all enough!

Continuing to pray for you all; stay safe and healthy!

"But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." 1 John 1:7