October 31th - 2028

Manhattan

"How do you like it here, Liz?" Peter snaked an arm around her back. They were both sat at the end of a high building's rooftop where they could actually see the whole city.

Elizabeth smiled contently as she swung her legs in the empty air, holding her father's mask with both hands. The view was breathtaking. "It's beautiful, dad."

Peter nodded, feeling the refreshing wind brushing against the skin-tight spandex. "I used to bring your mommy here when we're much younger, I would swing us here, lie down over some blanket and watch the sunset together."

"Why did you stop?" She asked, curious.

Peter stood in silence, briefly. He began, "Well, our lives began to get a lot more complicated as we grew older, more responsibilities, and a bit less time to ourselves."

"I see," Elizabeth said lowly. "I wish I could change that."

"What makes you say that?" Peter wondered.

She answered tenderly, "It's just that I appear to be taking your time lately, you always have many things to do, dad. You're Spider-Man."

"Elizabeth, you're my daughter, and my responsibility." He replied. "You taught me I was selfish before you were born, everything I do now is for you and your brothers, don't ever think you're not important to me, because I put you guys above all the rest, always."

She cleared her throat. "I'm... I feel different." She paused. "I don't know what's happening to me."

He looked down to Elizabeth, seeing the guilty over her face. "I know, but it will pass." He gently made her rest her back against his ribcage. "Did you know... that your mom helped me defeat some baddies back then?"

"Really?" Her green eyes beamed in surprise.

"Yup, she kinda saved me... she didn't have any powers, anything at all, and we still succeeded, her help served a great deal both times." Peter continued, "We went through some challenges together, and we naturally vercame them, we had the time of our lives, we did what we mostly wanted."

Elizabeth remained in silence, just paying attention to the words coming from her father's lips.

He finished, "Turns out... you're stronger than anyone I have ever met, you're smart and resilient. You're going through a phase where you're slowly growing into a special type of woman, you will have abilities just like I do, maybe even better ones, but... you're already winning without them, because there's nothing that can stop you, honey, what you're going through right now, you're discovering and dominating it, all by yourself..."

Elizabeth affirmed somber, "I don't want to do this by myself..."

"And you won't, not as long as we're here." He countered softly, before gently moving a blonde fringe off her left eye. "But... there will be a time, where some people in our lives won't be present anymore, I won't be with you anymore, your mom as well, all you will have is your brothers, they will need you... and I know how that feels."

She moved her glance towards the sky.

Peter proceeded carefully, "I wish I could come up with something better to say, my uncle was good at that... but one thing I'm certain, I will protect you for as long as I can." He leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

"You promise?" She looked up to him and offered her smallest finger.

He chuckled. "I do." This one I can fulfil. They wrapped fingers. "I love you, my daughter." He embraced her, reassuringly.

Elizabeth smiled and sighed on his arms, still holding her father's mask on her right hand as they both watched the sunset together. " I was going to ask you if Uncle Harry was coming with us tonight."

Peter cleared his throat. "Oh - yeah, I think so, we should check on him." He still was trying figure what just happened, it wasn't because of some possible hostile situation, it was different - special. "Well, I bought him his costume anyways."

"What is it?!"

Peter grinned. "It's incredibly silly, I'll give you that for now."

Conrad's Grocery Store - Manhattan

Harry pulled the small yellow ticket printed by the machine over the counter and handed it to the lady. "Have a goodnight, ma'am." He smiled happily and gave her an enthusiastic thumbs up. "And good luck!"

She hesitated at first but eventually smiled thankfully, before walking away and revealing Peter Parker who was standing behind her during the whole time.

"A pack of mentals, please." He smirked cheekily as he rested his hands over the counter.

Elizabeth suddenly raised from the ground and next to Peter as she stood on the tip of her toes to look at her father's friend. "Hello, Uncle Harry!"

"Hey, there." Harry nodded friendly to Elizabeth. He moved his glance to Peter. "What are you doing here at this hour?"

Peter chuckled. "Gee, nice to see you too, Hare."

Harry brought a finger to his red shirt and pointed at the small name written on it. "It's Ben Reilly, remember?"

"Oh, forgot about that."

He analyzed the rest of the store to see if there was anyone else there except for them. "You surprised me."

"I know you have to lay low due to all this government crap, but wow... this is indeed a unexpected cover." Peter shrugged.

"I told you." Harry grabbed a delivery contract placed next to the register to sign it. He placed the papers inside a drawer and continued, "I'm responsible for the inventory, sales, costume service and etcetera."

Elizabeth interjected, "Can I have a sweetie?"

Harry smiled. "Of course." He picked a portion from one of the bowls and handed them to the girl. Her eyes were glowing in excitement.

"Thank you!" She sat in one of the seats next to the main entrance.

Peter joked, "Hey, I want one too." He went to pick more from the bowl, but Harry quickly swatted his hand away.

"You have to pay for them." He frowned.

Peter deadpanned. He opened his mouth to protest but simply ceased from doing so. "I won't forget this, Hare."

He laughed. "Well, like I was saying - I basically run this place."

"Right," Peter stretched his shoulders. "Back to business, you are going tonight's event, right?"

"What are you talking about?"

He rolled his eyes. "Hallowen, man!"

"But... I don't have anything with me."

Peter picked a sack from the ground and placed it over the counter. "No problem, me and Liz figured that out for ya."

Harry stealthily tried to peek inside. "I'm not sure..."

He checked his phone. "We still have fours to prepare, you do that, and then we all come here to pick you up, Liz's school at eight on clock.

"Don't forget!" Elizabeth added while opening a new sweetie.

"You heard the lady," Peter grinned, smugly. "Oh, you should practice your and bow and arrow skills before we go, after all, you will be stealing from the rich to help the poor."

Parker's Apartment

"Authorities around the world have began to officially recognize the recently discovered extra gene on the human body due to Spider-Man's effort to expose the oppressed persons who shelter such gene within them, the scientific field has taken a major turn on its beliefs, and while extremists and protestors have been spreading across the world, these special human beings are being observed by the world with careful eyes, it's no different on the US with the Xavier Mansion."

Peter snored lightly on his bed, failing to hear the screen placed on the opposite wall that faced the mattress he shared with his wife. She was currently showering to get prepared for their appointment in a few hours.

He felt a wet cloth suddenly land over his face, interrupting his nap as he slowly opened his eyes and yawned in exhaustion.

"Stop drooling on my pillow, honey!" Gwen took peek inside through the half-open door of their bathroom. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail while she hid part of her bare body behind the door.

Peter took the towel off his face and pushed it to his side of the bed, realizing he was previously sleeping over Gwen's reserved section, although all of that playful territory concept seemed to cease whenever they went to sleep.

He spotted the upper part of the suit lying across the floor. "I was just taking a little nap..." He stretched his shoulders and sat on the edge of the mattress.

"You still have a to take a shower, bro." Gwen turned around and disappeared inside the bathroom, only leaving the door halfway open as usual.

"Why? I am ready." Peter looked to his right shoulder and adjusted the small bandage ontop of his skin, a token he had earned hours before picking Elizabeth from school. He grunted lighty as he pressed the bandage against his shoulder just to make sure it was stuck.

"You spent all day inside the suit, you're probably sweaty, and stinky." She argued back.

"Now you hurt my feelings, baby." Peter grabbed the suit from the ground, tossed it over the bed and stood up. He grabbed the remote controller from the bedstand and turned the TV off.

Gwen giggled. "I need you to help me with something here."

"With pleasure." He smirked.

"It's not what you think, though." She teased.

He fully opened the bathroom's door and spotted Gwen standing in front of the mirror, wearing a dress he got to know it's existence through his daughter's favorite movie. She wore a blue dress that followed her arms with a long sheer sleeves, the sweetheart bodice was decorated with rows of blue sequins along with the transparent gown.

"Oh, hello there, Ms Elsa." Peter noticed her creamy back was exposed to him since Gwen apparently didn't manage to pull the ziper all the way up. He approached his wife from behind and placed both hands on her hips as he began to plant soft kisses on the exposed skin.

Gwen chuckled. "What do you think of it? It's pretty well made, despite being super tight." She said calmly.

"Are you sure you don't want to save it for some other... occasion?" He looked up to her eyes through the mirror and gently pulled the ziper up to close the dress.

"I can't, Elizabeth explicitly ordered us to form a pair of Spider-Man and Elsa." She answered, removing the ponytail and loosening her blonde hair as they fell down to her shoulders.

"That will be something to see." He muttered.

"I know, right?" Gwen nodded to herself. "By the way, have you chosen which suit?"

Peter replied, "Since you did kidnap the first one, the current suit shall do the job, it will bring some attention, but... well, what wouldn't I do for my daughter?" He shrugged his shoulders.

Gwen chuckled. "Good point." She continued, "You should get yourself under that shower now, trust me, you will feel better." She turned around, gave him a tiny peck on the lips before winking and walking past him.

Peter followed her with his eyes. She looked fabulous. "Always playing the playful wife card." He began pulling his boots off and dropping them into the floor.

"Someone has to make you get things done." Gwen opened the wardrobe and searched for her makeup kit. "I only give you the idea that doing the things I want will get you somewhere, it works."

"And that's why marriage is a trap." Peter joked as he began to spread shaving cream over his chin and cheeks, carefully watching the whole process through the circular mirror.

"Too late for second thoughts, hon." Gwen grabbed a pair of blue heels from the closet. "You're stuck with me and my desires now."

Peter smiled. He moved the razor down the skin of his cheek, forming a trail of bare skin amidst the cream. "Lucky me, honey."

"I look... ridiculous!" Harry complained as he sat down on his chair next to one of the many circular tables placed inside the busy school's stadium. He couldn't get over the Robin Hood outfit Peter had given him hours ago.

Peter chewed his pudding and spoke, "It's not that bad."

Gwen interjected from besides him, "Manners, Peter, manners." She crossed her legs and observed the many kids running around and avoiding the occupied tables on their way. The place was overly decorated with confetti, pumpkins, and balloons.

He swallowed. "It's delicious."

"Did they even open the buffet?" She inquired, suspicious.

Peter shook his head. "The mayor received the first plate, he saw me looking for food and also recognized me as Spider-Man's photographer, turns out he really likes me, and since he's not really into pudding, he gave the plate." Peter smiled boyishly, proud of himself.

"Are you actually serious...?" Harry deadpanned.

Peter nodded. "Yeah - I can officially say I have won... the pudding of the city!" He said happily.

Gwen tried to contain a smile and quickly succeed at doing so when her husband caught her. She began unamused, "You're silly."

Harry shook his head. "At least he has a nice outfit."

Peter cleaned his lips with a napkin. He started playfully, "You need to be more sociable, Hare, you lack that energy, you know? People are counting with you, this Halloween, is your first test, you gotta represent man."

Harry chuckled.

"Excuse me, sir?" Some young boy called from behind Peter. He turned on his seat. "Are you Elizabeth's parents?" The boy looked at both Peter and Gwen.

Gwen replied, "Yes, we are."

Peter tilted his head to the side. "I am her father." He frowned.

"Do you know where she might be?"

Gwen smiled. She said friendly, "She's with her friends, her brothers shouldn't also be far away."

Peter interjected, "Hang on, what's your name, buddy?"

"Nathan."

He continued, "Oh, the Nathan I've heard so much about it..." Gwen kicked his right foot underneath the table and gave him an exasperated stare. He ignored her while Harry grinned from his seat. "I need to say, sometimes she won't stop talking about you, it's making me jealous."

The boy blushed.

"How old are you?"

"Eight." He replied.

"Right," Peter inquired, "So, what do you want with my daughter?"

Gwen chuckled nervously after she noticed the tone hidden within his question. "She's probably at the outside playground, see if you can find her there, honey."

"Thank you, Mrs Parker." He began to walk backwards.

"Hey," Peter called. He gestured to his own eyes. "Four spider eyes."

The kid gulped and turned on his back as he headed deeper into the stadium.

Gwen slapped his hand off his face. "Are you nuts?"

"What?" Peter didn't understand what she meant with that.

Harry affirmed, "That was something."

"Why did you have to treat him like that?"

Peter shrugged his shoulders. "We're just having a man-to-man kind of talk."

"He was a boy, not a man." She argued back.

"Not when he is after my girl." Peter crossed his arms.

Gwen exhaled deeply. "Poor Elizabeth."

Peter smiled and moved his hand to the suit's collar, trying to loosen the area around his neck since it was becoming a little too much uncomfortable. "Did this place become warmer all in the sudden?" He drank the water from his transparent glass.

Harry looked around. "Well, it's fall, it's supposed to be warmer inside, thankfully.

"That's what she said."

Gwen's cheeks flushed. "Honey...!"

Peter raised his hands in defense. "Sorry, it's just a joke, I'm done."

"God, I swear it's like living with a bunch of children." She sighed.

Peter snaked his right arm around his wife's back and brought her closer. He nuzzled her blonde hair and kissed the spot behind her ear. "Do you still love me, Princess Elsa?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Gwen teased. "Now, let's go catch that fresh air of yours."

"Traitors!" Spider-Man exclaimed once he spotted the mini Iron-Man and Captain America standing in front of him at the convoluted outside playground.

"Daddy!" Aiden raised his plastic shield and threw it on his own very way at Peter.

It landed on his shoulders as he faked a painful gasp. He shook his head and closed both fists. "You two Avengers can't beat us!"

"It seems we have a little mexican stand-off!" Harry walked next to Peter and prepared his fake elastic bow at the twins.

David also aimed both hands at Peter and Harry's direction. He looked at his mother who stood off the fighting zone to watch the situation unfold, not really minding the fact that they're all doing their piece despite all the movement around them. "Mommy, help us!"

She smirked and placed her hands down on her hips. "I'm just a princess tonight, sweetheart."

Spider-Man moved his two middle fingers down to his gloved palm, not touching the spandex by inches as he gestured to his sons. "You guys are on your own, there's no mommy to help this time."

David sighed heavily. "What do we do, A?"

"Fake deaths!" Aiden suddenly lied himself down into the floor, followed by his brother after the three seconds delay.

"What...?" Peter began to laugh at the sight. "What kind of strategy is this?" He approached the twins and kneeled next to them.

They both stood back on their feet and removed their masks.

"I'm still not over the fact you guys made us buy those costumes instead of a Spider-Man one." Peter admitted. "I'm way cooler." They grinned and shrugged in response. He stroked their hairs happily.

An unknown male voice said from behind him, "Now, that's a well made Spider-Man suit."

"Thank you," Peter replied without looking at the visitor. He stood up and turned on his shoulder just to immediately get paralyzed at the sight. His eyes widened from within the mask.

"Did you make this by yourself?" The man wearing a clownish purple and black suit asked. His face was covered by white makeup, and his hair was painted by a lighter tone of green.

Peter's breath became slower. He gulped. "M-My wife helped me..." He gestured to Gwen who couldn't help but crack a playful smile. She nodded in response, feeling his insecurity. Her boys joined a small group of kids of their same age as they hurried to the sweets barrack.

"Dang..." He continued to examine the suit, impressed by its authenticity. "Well, nice suit you there, better take care of it, mate." He patted him on the shoulder and walked past him.

Peter almost jumped at the touch. He squealed lightly and cleared his throat. "I... I will."

"What was that...?" Harry cocked his head at him. "Don't tell me that you fear of clowns still is a thing."

He took off his Spider-Man mask and exhaled deeply, before quickly clearing his sweaty forehead with his hand. "I fear nothing." He said firmly.

Gwen instantly assumed a more serious stand once she saw his pale expression. She approached her husband and placed the palm of her against his cheek. "Are you feeling well, baby?"

"Of course," Peter took her hand on his as they intertwined fingers. She knew her husband very well, something was wrong, even if he couldn't see it. "It's just the suit's keeping my heat to myself, there's nothing to -" He was cut short when a bolt triggered inside his brain, instantly making him turn his head to a window located in the school's second floor.

He could see a tall silhouette looking at them.

Harry and Gwen both followed his gaze, but failed to see what had gotten his attention all in the sudden.

"Danger?" She questioned.

"I'm not sure." Peter didn't took his eyes from the now empty window. "You guys didn't see that?"

Harry asked back, "See what?"

"That creepy shadow up there." He replied. It had vanished in a blink of an eye.

"Nothing at all, honey." Gwen looked back at him.

"Hmm, maybe it was nothing then."

She continued, "You know that rarely happens with us, you didn't simply react like that for nothing, maybe it's worth checking it out." She said softly, "There's a lot of people, it's better to guarantee everything will be fine throughout the night."

"She has a point, Pete." Harry agreed.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Erm..."

"You two go there, and I will look for Liz meanwhile, okay?" Harry nodded while Peter shook his head. She leaned closer, cupped her husband's cheeks and planted a kiss on his lips. "See you in a bit." She moved away from them.

Harry gestured him a passage. "Can we go now?" Peter didn't reply. He seemed anxious. "Dude, what's going on?"

"It's just that..." Peter moved his hand over his head. "Second floor..."

"So...?"

"High, it's too high." Peter replied, having second thoughts. "You don't think it's high as well?" He questioned, innocently.

Harry deadpanned. "You're messing with me."

Peter shook his head in negation. "Maybe we just wait here, let's sat in that bench. Gwen will sort things out. She's smart."

"Did you drink something?"

"Nope." Peter answered.

"What did you eat in the last hours?"

"Nothing except..." He cleared his throat in realization.

"The pudding," Harry finished his sentence. "Damn it, there's definitely something going on, let's go." He grabbed his friend's arm and walked him towards indoors.

Peter protested, "Be gentle!"

Harry approached one of the many classrooms' doors. He tried to see anything through the transparent window but the whole ambient was rather dark for his eyes' capacity.

"This is the place, right?" He asked and got no immediate response, instead - he felt a hand gently gripping his own very left hand. He turned around and saw Spider-Man standing next to him while gazing the door. "Dude...!" He swatted Peter's hand off his.

Peter quickly shook his head. "I-I don't know about this."

Harry rested his right hand on Peter's shoulder, reassuringly. "Look, we need to deal with whatever that is going with you, this is the first step; was this the classroom you talked about?"

Peter nodded, reluctantly. "I think so, yes." Harry turned back to the door and went to spin the knob. "You first!" Peter warned.

Harry sighed. He said uninspired, "Yes, Peter... I know." He slowly pushed the door to his direction and saw what looked to be a chemistry room with many rectangular tables and equipments set over them. He took a few steps inside.

Peter followed him closely from behind.

The atmosphere was cold. Aside from the sound of the festival happening outdoors, they could only hear that and the sound of their lungs doing its job.

As they adventured inside, something had been moved and instantly caught Peter in surprise. "Did you hear that...? Was that you?' He whispered.

"Yeah, I kicked a chair." Harry answered, eyeing something in the floor which had gotten his attention. He kneeled and found a grey outfit spread next to his feet. He read the informative name knotted on the cloth. "Bad janitor, eh?" He said sarcastically.

"Where...?!" Peter instantly leaned his torso down and began to search their surroundings.

"Not here!" Harry whispered aghast. Peter exhaled deeply, relieved. "There's a outfit that wasn't supposed to be here, someone not authorized probably sneaked inside the school." He followed a trail of the green and shiny substance that came from the outfit and headed towards the locker at the far end of the room.

"Can we go now?" Peter slightly pushed Harry's Robin Hood shirt to him while watching their backs.

"We need to check on that locker." Harry carefully moved forward and stopped in front of his goal, expecting anything. "I'm going to open this, stay alert."

Peter gulped and nodded, not approving the plan. "Fine..."

"On three; one, two, three...!" Harry opened the locker and saw a fake plastic skeleton placed inside of it. He chuckled, before moving his gaze down to the skeleton's feet and seeing three rounded vials that contained a mysterious green substance.

"What do we have here...?" He tilted his head to the side. "I will need your glove, Pete." He offered his open hand - without looking at Peter and waited for the glove that never came. "Pete...?" He turned on his shoulder and saw nothing but the classroom's door slowly being closed.

He ran away.

"For god's sake..."

"You're fine..." Peter splashed some cold water into his face and stared himself in the empty bathroom's mirror. He wore the usual shiny spandex minus the mask. "You need to calm down... you fear nothing." He sighed heavily and quickly patted his cheek with his left hand.

When feeling good enough, Peter closed the faucet and shook his head. Before he could even turn around, he heard some toilet's flush and instantly stood alert at the sound coming from one of the closets.

He stared them through the horizontal mirror. One of the doors was open and caused his brown eyes to rise in shock once they fully scanned the visitor. He squealed lowly in fear.

The horrifying clown with painted green hair and white covered face walked out of the closet and calmly approached Peter, standing exactly next to him as he began to wash his own hands. There were many bruises across his cheeks, a trace of red liquid slid down his lips.

Peter gulped, paralyzed. He fixed his eyes at the clown's. He could feel a tiny trace of sweat sliding down the side of his head. There wasn't much he could do besides slowly walking away, but before he could actually proceeded with such decision, the person turned his head to the side so that he could look at him.

He greeted, "Why so serious?"

Peter squealed as his eyes expanded in horror.

Gwen walked through the deserted hallway. She had been looking for both Peter and Harry for almost twenty minutes by now. They simply vanished into the nowhere after they parted. She was actually enjoying the fraternization the school had organized, but she also thought something was definitely off about the whole thing.

"Guys?" She called, searching all sides and spots. A smile was brought to her lips despite everything, all the old memories from school began to flourish. All of those events now felt centuries old after everything she had been through.

Gwen brought herself back to reality once she heard fast footsteps coming at her direction. She narrowed her eyes at the incoming colored figure hurrying from the far end of the corridor. "Peter...?"

"Honey...!" Peter sprinted towards her. "Run, save yourself!"

She raised an eyebrow. "What..." She was about to catch his hand if he hadn't walked past and stopped besides her. He wrapped both arms across her wait and used her as shield.

"He's coming!" Peter saw the clown at where he had come from. He gasped and released her, before running to the nowhere.

Gwen turned to his direction and saw him accidentally stumble against some cleaning cart stationed on his way. She let out a confused breath and quickly moved her glance to where he claimed to have seen someone coming, but she found nothing except for more corridor to walk through.

She frowned and walked to her husband who leaned his back against the wall and tried to make all the stars flying over his head to disappear. She kneeled next to him and a placed her right hand against his cheek, feeling intense heat being given to her body.

"You're febrile." She affirmed tenderly.

Harry walked around the corridor and saw him from some distance. "Peter!" He didn't waste any time to get closer to the pair. "I've been looking for him for ages."

"Same here," Gwen pressed the palm of her hand against his forehead. "What did you guys find?"

Harry began, "So, here's what I think, someone wants to mess things up, as usual; there's hidden caches of some sort of toxin in some areas of the school, I'm afraid Peter accidentally got some of that when he ate that pudding, because we are not showing the symptoms, the highlight being... you know... absolute fear."

"That's why he's acting like this?" Gwen speculated.

Peter grinned. "Oh, honey, did you come from sun...? Cause you're hot."

"Snap out of it." Gwen repeatedly patted his cheek.

He blinked tiresomely and shook his head. "Okay - I am fine."

Harry continued, "Yeah, I think so, we need to find who's causing this." He paused. "Have you ever encountered someone that is related to what we've discovered, Pete?"

"I can write you a book if you really want..." Peter naturally blinked his eyes and saw a goblin-turned Harry Osborn. His heart rose but calmed itself when he blinked once again and noticed his friend back to his true self.

"Ha, funny; I'm serious." Harry insisted.

Peter sighed. "I don't know... who could possibly be is dead." He gasped and pushed the suit's collar to the side in hope of gaining some fresh air into his warm body.

Gwen spotted something unusual at his skin. "Wait," She held part of the collar and lowered it so that she could see part of his neck. "Oh my god..."

Peter eyes shot up. "What is it?" He fixed his gaze at her green eyes. He began to panic while she remained in shock. He tried to look down to his neck but she kept him from doing so.

"Stay still, Peter." Gwen touched the dark mark on his neck, it was very slowly beginning to expand towards his cheek. "This isn't any ordinary infection..."

"Infection?!" Peter tried to rise but his wife pressed his shoulder back to the wall.

Harry added, "The responsible for this must have the cure, we can't just leave and risk his life." He paused. "We need to deal with this, fast and without alarming everyone out there."

"You sure, Harry?" Gwen turned her head on her shoulder to look at the Osborn. He could see the fear on her eyes.

Harry nodded. "I will help, Peter stays with me, you keep an eye on your children, and we will track this person out meanwhile; anything happens, call me."

Gwen hesitated. She kept looking between Peter and Harry. "Promise you will take care of my husband."

"You have my word, Gwen." Harry replied sympathetically.

"Okay," She kissed Peter's forehead and stood up and reluctantly headed towards the main exit.

Harry grabbed his friend's hand helped him rise from the ground. "This is yours." He handed him the mask he had dropped during the marathon.

Peter took a deep breath and pulled the mask down his face.

"Alright, we should pick a direction then."

"I don't this will be a good decision, but... we could follow this calling." He suggested.

Harry cocked his head to the side. "Calling...? What are you saying?"

"Are you not hearing this creepy sound?" Harry shook his head. "Oh god, this will be when die... I can't do this, man, it's too much, I still have to beat Elizabeth's score on Piano Tiles."

"Nobody's dying, not on my watch." Harry affirmed seriously. "We can't waste anymore time, tell me where this calling is coming from."

Peter and Harry walked down the stairs of the theater reserved section of the school. Peter revealed that what was calling him was coming from the current area. They could see the stage at the far end of the room.

Harry didn't let his guard down as he observed every corner while Peter just followed him closely from behind as ever. They both got alarmed once spotlights aimed at the stage were suddenly lighten at the red curtains as everything else got dark.

Random claps could now be heard from inside the curtains. Someone pushed the left one to the side and calmly took a few steps towards the stage. Due to the slim body structure, Harry assumed the person wearing black tie and an obscure small helmet was a man.

The unknown person began unamused, "And once again... a Spider-Man has to ruin everything I've put in motion." His distorted voice stated.

Harry stopped on his tracks and used his right arm to block Peter's way in case if he tried to walk past him. "Who are you? What do you want?!"

"A man who only wants to settle an old debt." He replied. "That's not too much to ask for, is it?"

Harry continued coldy, "And who's supposed to pay the debt, may I ask?"

He folded hands behind his back. "The same person who was supposed to eat the damn pudding, were not for the individual who's hiding behind your body."

"The mayor...?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

"How smart, yes - the one." He replied, impressed.

Harry inquired roughly, "Why?"

"Once I were a simple man, before he took everything from me, and I mean... everything, for a stupid war your heroes had caused." The man answered. "Financial cuts, one of the things that is wrong with the society, only the favored wins."

Peter slightly moved his head up Harry's shoulder and gazed the stage, his eyes hidden by the lenses widened in terror once he saw the whole Sinister Six aligned behind the mysterious person. He quickly retreated back to his original crouched position.

The man noticed the sudden movement. "It seems that your fake Spider-Man friend already is suffering from what was not meant to him, tell me - what are you seeing?"

Peter stood quiet.

"What is even your goal here?" Harry asked aghast. "To stop a little kid's night?"

"Fool, that's were you are mistaken, this was going to be the show of that stupid mayor's life, all of this was for him, I was going to succeed at what Master Quentin had set up with as his legacy... and now, I guess I do have to find someone else, don't you think so?"

Peter suddenly interjected, "Enough! Daniel Beckhart, you're the fool here - you asshat!" He pointed his finger at him. "I arrested you before, and I would do it again if I had the guts, but I am done with this crap!" He turned on his back and strolled outside the theater and into the hallway.

"How did he... Spider-Man...?" Daniel was lost on his words.

Harry was taken back for a brief time. He stated, "Stay here! Don't go anywhere, I still need the cure!" He ordered and went to catch up with his friend.

"Um..."

"Wow - dude, where are you going?" Harry made Peter stop in the hallway by grabbing his shoulder.

Peter exhaled quickly and turned back to him. He took off his mask and held it firmly on his right hand. "Come on, Harry, what are we doing...?" He asked breathless.

Harry replied politely, "We're trying to arrest a criminal..."

"A criminal - exactly! Who does that?!" He questioned exasperated.

"You... now us." Harry said as if that was the simplest thing ever.

Peter began sarcastically, "Us! Right..." He took deep breath and licked his lips. "And that, Hare, is why our life can suck , I mean - come on, we are after highly deadly and fugly criminals...! What the hell?!"

Harry sighed, paying attention to the words of his fearless friend.

"When normal people see one criminal, they run and call the police, but not us - no, no, no...!" Peter smiled in disbelief. "We search out for people who want to hurt us, eh? Uh?" He widened his eyes and said angrily,"... or kill us!"

"Peter..."

"You know who does that? Crazy people!" He exclaimed. "We... are insane...!" Harry didn't know what to say. He thought that allowing this Peter to vent out would be the best option. Peter began to pace around. "And then there's the lost sleep nights, and the fast food service so that I can get back to patrolling, or the quick makeup sections... I mean who wants this life, seriously, Hare?"

Harry just shrugged his shoulders.

"Would you actually like being stuck with a person like me every single day? I don't think so!" Harry frowned and tilted his head to the side. "I eat a lot, I am always listening to the same rock over and over again, and I-I joke too much... I'm annoying I know that, and you..." He looked up to Harry. "... you are gassy, you get a chimichanga and you get toxic! I mean - you know what...?" He threw his mask at Harry's hand. "You can be Spider-Man from now on, you can forget it."

Peter began to walk away.

"Wait - wait, where are you going, Peter?" He took a step forward but Peter quickly turned around and pointed his finger at him.

"Stay away from me, Harry, cause I'm done with it." His dark eyes expressed his fatigue. "I-I'm done with the bad guys, the empty web-fluids, stinky suit, and end of the world..." He resumed his tracks. "I'm out, I'm done - call Captain Freaking America, I quit."

Refectory

Peter sighed as he supported his head with his left hand while he drew each name in the Parker's family over the steel table by using his thumb.

To say he was tired would be a monumental understatement. He and his family couldn't ever catch a breath, there's always someone to stop their simple plans. He was beginning to accept the fate the toxin inside his veins would soon create.

Hearing a disturbance, he looked up and saw the Lizard carrying a plate next to the serving section. The monster seemed annoyed at the lack of meaningful food.

Peter cleared his throat and resumed his task of doing something to kill time instead of realizing how much messed up his mind was at the moment. He suddenly felt some weight being added to the bench where he was currently sat over it. He very slowly turned his head on his shoulder, expecting anything, and saw Elizabeth wearing her red hood outfit and smiling happily next to him.

He gasped lightly, and immediately shut his eyes forcedly. "No...! No..."

"Yes!" Elizabeth grinned. "Hi daddy, I've missed you." She leaned in and wrapped her arms around his neck as she hugged him.

Peter almost jumped into the ceiling. His face became redder in agony. "You... are... not my real daughter..." He whispered.

"What? Why are you being so mean to me, daddy?" Elizabeth pulled back.

Another familiar voice interjected, "Because that's your real father, sweetheart."

Peter looked up and spotted Gwen sat in the opposite side of the table, she wore the same clothes she used before going to catch the missed flight to London. There were a few purple bruises in her delicate cheeks. "Gwen...?"

"So, honey - hurting me isn't enough? You have to make our daughter suffer too?"

"What? I... I don't understand."

Gwen continued coldly, "Think about it, since we met, what have you done to me? You took my father, you left more than once, you almost made me die also more than once, and now... you are dying."

"I'm sorry, daddy."

"Don't be sorry, honey - maybe it's for the best." She affirmed gently, before settling her eyes back to Peter's. "With your father gone, we can finally live a peaceful life, don't you think?"

Peter shook his head, refusing to accept what she was saying. "You're both not real." He moved his gaze away.

"It doesn't matter, the truth is : you locked me into a life I didn't want to be part of, if you just allowed me to go years ago, I'd be happy, but no - you were selfish, and now your curse even passed to children who never asked for that." Gwen paused. "Why? Don't you realize maybe it's time for you to let things go for good? Stop struggling."

"You're not my Gwen." He stated heartbroken as he avoided eye contact.

She slowly moved herself over the table and stood kneeled on top of it, before placing both hands on Peter's cheeks and gently making him look at her. "Honey... don't you want to be done with all this fight and be happy somewhere else." As she cupped his cheeks, dark traces began to come from his neck and to the spots where the tip of her fingers touched it.

Peter cleared his throat, feeling weaker by each second.

"Maybe I'll even be with you there; just one final kiss baby..." She leaned in, brushing her lips against his, before fully capturing his lower lip and kissing it lingering.

Peter went to reciprocate kiss, but quickly thought otherwise. "No...!" He moved her hands off his face and clumsily fell into floor. He gasped in pain after landing on his back, but he could see Gwen and Elizabeth weren't there anymore, and for the first time ever - he sighed relieved at the empty view.

After calming himself despite the feeling of being near hell's edge, Peter opened his eyes and didn't close them ever again.

"Fancy meeting you here, Spider-Man." Ultron greeted as it looked down to the man lying in the ground and against its metallic feet. "Disgusting, I let you live, and now this?"

Peter laughed nervously. "Ha-ah, Hello there... Mr Ultron." He gulped. "How's heaven?"

Harry closed the bathroom's door, frustrated. He was now back at the hallway, and he was having a rough time finding any clues or signals that revealed where his unique friend was.

"So much for that Amazing Spider-Man," Harry looked around and waited for anything to happen on its own, but as ever, that didn't come to happen.

He took a couple of steps forward and as he circled the wall's corner, he bumped into Peter who squealed lightly in surprise.

"I've been looking you for ten minutes!" Harry ranted, annoyed.

Peter both hands over his knees as he leaned down and breathed deeply. "Dude, bear with me - I-I figured I don't want to die, maybe later, but not now like - definitely not now."

"Thank goodness!" Harry sassed. "Can we get Daniel behind bars and get the solution for the disease growing on your neck? Because trust me, you do not want to be with that for any longer."

"Do we have... t-to fight him? M-Maybe we could... talk, or... decide who wins in a chess match, I'm good at that." He suggested.

Harry spoke through monotone tone, "I guarantee you we won't defeat the man in chess match, Peter." He clenched his fists. "Now, we should hurry back to the stage, and I give him a hell of a show."

Later once the pair were back to the theater's door, Harry bursted the door open and gazed the empty stage. "Oh - great...!" He carefully and quickly sprinted downstairs.

"Did he leave? That's... awesome." Peter tried to smile underneath the mask.

"The bastard could be anywhere," Harry checked the set behind the curtains. He slowly turned on his back. "We need to-" His speech was cut short when the main doors were fastly closed without any kind of force being applied to them.

"You thought this was over?" Daniel's voice echoed through the many speakers. Harry spotted him up in the control room way over the firm ground. He was standing in front of the glass and had his arms crossed. "This is just beginning."

"He actually waited here the whole time..." Harry tried to suppress a smile.

Daniel heard him clearly. "I waited because I wanted to!" He approached the controls. "Enough of your annoyance! Now you meet your worst nightmares!" He pulled a lever.

"It surely ain't you!" Harry exclaimed furiously. Some kind of green gas now started to come off the air holes which were used for others purposes - like light smoke and steam, basically anything non-lethal. Harry softened his tone once he got aware that their chances of survival were slim. "Just... hear me for a sec, give us a cure; you want blood? Take it from me, man."

"I hear you just alright, but the gas isn't as friendly as I am, so I suggest you two to make the most of your available time before this room is filled and later, the rest of the school..."

Harry moved his left hand above his eyes as he tried to see through the now dense gas. He turned around. "Peter, how are we going to-" Peter was paralyzed. He was literally standing still, not showing any kind of awareness of what was going on.

Elizabeth...!

Harry placed a hand on his shoulder and stirred him lightly.

N-No, please - please just don't leave me here... dad...!

"Peter?" Harry coughed lightly.

Come after me all you want, I won't let you take her you hear me?!

He tried to move Peter but his friend had all his muscles tightened. "I need you, man!"

Dad, are you there? I miss you... you were the only one ever... you were my only hope...

"I think... Peter would miss you." Peter finally said something. He turned his head to Harry who sighed relieved. He suddenly took a deep exhale as if he hadn't been breathing for considerable time and almost fell to his knees hadn't Harry grabbed his arm and supported him first.

Peter looked down at both hands once he eventually managed to stand up on his own.

Harry noticed something different on him, even if he couldn't see his expression due to the mask. He slowly began to approach his hand at Peter's shoulder. "Okay, okay... it's gonna be okay, buddy, alright?"

Peter slightly turned his head at him. Harry could see his distorted reflection through the mask's lenses. He quickly grabbed Harry's green shirt with both hands and threw him further into the stage. Daniel clapped and affirmed in the speakers, "So the toxin really works... marvelous!"

Spider-Man strolled towards Harry who very slowly recomposed himself and shook his head in pain before standing on his knees, supporting himself with both hands over the ground. Peter was much stronger than him, his strength was off the charts for him to handle.

Peter held Harry's arm and forced him to face him. His left hand grabbed his shirt and kept him in check while his right fist violently landed across his face, just before retreating it and punching him over, over and over again. Harry didn't struggle, there was no time for that.

Inside the control room, Daniel watched the situation unfold down in the stage. Spider-Man was giving the random man a painful treatment that only prolonged the show's runtime.

He folded arms. "And finally, I win, and Spider-Man lose; I even surpassed Master Quentin, nothing can stop me from-" He was cut short when a pipe swung from behind and on his left side, colliding against the side of his helmet. He fell unconscious into the floor.

"Oh my god..." Gwen gasped as she dropped the pipe and covered her mouth with her left hand. She took a worried glance over the mysterious person. "I... I hope you're not dead..." She had sneaked inside after trying to open the main doors.

She carefully moved her left foot over and pass the unconscious body and into the other side, doing the same with her right foot before she was now facing the control panels. She noticed one of the levers was pulled down unlike the others, meaning that wasn't its original standby position.

Gwen couldn't see straight through the dense smoke that touched the glass which kept her safe from the other side. There were two black silhouettes at the stage, but she couldn't see what was happening.

I hope I'm not too late, were not for Elizabeth...

While calming her fast paced heart, Gwen saw a small bag lying over the left side of the panel. She frowned and retrieved the bag to her backs, undoing the locks and finding a book and another vial, the difference this time is that the vial's contents was a blue liquid instead of green.

After grabbing what seemed to be the solution to Peter's condition, she turned on her back and slightly kicked Daniel's hip. "If this makes it even worse, I'll be back."

"What... I..." He mumbled.

Back at the stage, Peter landed another powerful punch across Harry's face. A tiny bleeding cut could be now seen over his right eyebrow. Harry gasped heavily and looked up to his friend whose expressions were hidden by a spandex-made mask.

"Peter... wait, if you are there..." He cleared his throat and raised his free hand towards him. "W-We need you... I need you, w-we are family..."

Peter stopped and remained in silence for a brief time. He began to slowly open his right hand - which was previously hitting his oldest friend, while the other released Harry's shirt. He fell into his knees and was now on Harry's level, facing him before eventually leaning his torso down to the side and lying against the floor.

"P-Peter..." Harry wiped a trace of blood from his lips and gently removed his mask, finding the skin of his friend getting filled by the same dark lines coming from his neck. "No..." He heard the doors opening as Gwen took off her heels to quickly walk downstairs barefoot. "Gwen, tell me you have something..."

A few hours later...

"Stay still, Peter!" Gwen chided him as she worked on cleaning out his now slightly open wound on his shoulder.

"That tickles!" A shirtless Peter complained.

Gwen rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah."

Peter peered over to the other side of the apartment and saw his real red hood daughter combining a puzzle with her brothers in front of the couch. He found it quite amusing that they were completely oblivious of the situation they had been in. He looked back at Gwen as she continued to work diligently.

"Great thinking with that pipe though, I mean it," Peter hissed lightly as Gwen pressed some antiseptic into the wound before it cooled back down. "Though why didn't you tell me about it?"

"Because I thought you would think it's over the top. There wasn't much time to think after Elizabeth warned you were in danger, Harry also contacted me and told me about you were simply walking away."

"I wasn't thinking straight." He sighed.

"Yes, I know that now." Gwen reached for her needle and stitches, beginning to work on binding the wound. "I didn't mean for it to happen like that, sorry."

"You did a great job Gwendy risky, but good; don't worry, we got through it," Peter moved a hand onto her thigh, rubbing reassuringly.

Gwen stopped, dropping her head. "If anything had of happened to you, I would never have forgiven myself."

"And if I had of lost all of you..." Peter mused, being silenced by a finger on his lips.

"Don't, I know where you're going with this Pete, " She gave him a reassuring kiss. "We just had to sort things out."

Peter looked into Gwen's emerald eyes, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Again, Spider-Gwen saves the day."

"Definitely," She grinned kindly. "Now let me sort your shoulder out."

He gazed their children. "At least the kids still got quite the evening, everything continued as planned, I owe them that much."

"I know, it amazes me how everyone didn't know a thing about what was going on." She said impressed.

"That was the goal."

A few minutes past as Gwen worked carefully, and she was soon finished. She cleaned her hands with a towel.

Now wearing jeans and a leather jacket, Harry stepped out of the balcony, carrying his phone, and later approached them. His face had two bandages applied to it, one over his eyebrow and the other on his cheek.

He spoke, "That Matt friend of yours already delivered Daniel to a department after making sure the school was clean of those vials.

Peter sighed. He still felt heavily guilty for doing what he did to Harry, he had lost all control.

Harry continued, "Also, he knew about that vial, it's basically what we saw, makes you lose control over your senses, until you are, you know... dead; as to why the guy had an antidote with him, he himself told it's for precaution, so you dodged quite the bullet there."

Gwen asked, "And the book?"

"Well... he couldn't read, you know." Harry smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh - yes, I forgot about that."

"Anyways, that's it... he's behind bars."

Peter mumbled, "I hope it stays that way now, I had enough of mystery for a lifetime."

Harry continued, "I think your wish will be granted, Matt will visit the guy's place and try to get rid of all the dangerous stuff he may have come up with."

"That's good to hear." Gwen interjected. They stood in silence a considerable time. She knew they had to talk alone about what happened. She sighed tiredly. "Well, I am going upstairs, you two try to not wreck the apartment up."

"Yes ma'am." Peter chuckled. He looked up to Harry and began soflty, "I need to apologize for-"

"Don't, that wasn't your fault, there's nothing you could've done, and besides... I probably deserved that."

Peter silenced without taking his eyes away from Harry's. He nodded slowly in understanding, before speaking tenderly, "You being back with us here - now, that's everything... "

Harry slightly looked away from him and towards the floor. He didn't know what to say.

Peter continued, "... you're my brother."

Harry was taken in surprise at first, but eventually proceeded his kind words and nodded thankfully. He still had to ask him about something he couldn't figure it out. "Peter, back there... you said something out of context when you were out, what happened?"

"Oh," Peter gritted his teeth. "Yeah, um... it wasn't real, that's what matters."

Harry noticed his hesitation. What he might have seen seemed to deeply affect him. "I understand."

"What about you? See anything?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Too worried about you... maybe that's enough of fear."

"Good point."

Afterwards they spent some time playing with the kids and Ren, enjoying the fact that they were all safe. Peter and Gwen both served dinner, a special kind of spaghetti which the recipe had come from Helen. Harry eventually left the apartment after a much good time spent with the Parkers, the closest thing to being part of a family he would say.

Later in the night, Peter silently closed the twin's door after he made sure they were sleeping peacefully. Accomplishing that wasn't easy since they had a lot of energy yet to be spent, and Peter decided to take Gwen's turn for the night, and he wouldn't complain, spending time with his family was something he could never get enough of.

Carefully taking a peek inside Elizabeth's bedroom, he could see her curled in the covers and snuggling with the teddy bear Harry had given her months ago. That was only one object when compared to her whole collection of plushies that were set in the wall stand.

Peter smiled and whispered gently, "Sleep well, baby girl, I will always be with you... I can promise you that." He sighed calmly and closed the door gently.

After making sure their children were one hundred percent in the realm of dreams, the Parker with Irish heritage opened the half open door of the bedroom he shared with his older blonde girl. He stepped inside to find only a soft lighten lamp over Gwen's bedstand as some source of light. She was lying on her stomach, her naked back fully exposed to him while the sheets covered her whole lower body till her waistline.

He exhaled deeply at the sight, his brown eyes never moving off his wife's beautiful figure. He shook his head of lustful thoughts and lazily leaned in over his side of the bed and lied down, adjusting positions so that he was now lying on his back to gaze the ceiling.

Once again, you get uncomfortably near do death, Dear Peter Parker... He rolled his eyes. Thank goodness I'm not running out of the old Parker's luck, ha.

In the darkness, Peter spotted a tiny spider crawling its way high in the ceiling, probably going somewhere the apartment made harder to reach. He mumbled something and slightly turned to Gwen's side. He moved his left arm across her waistline and leaned in to kiss the smooth skin of her cheek.

Gwen instantly smiled at the gesture. She kept her eyes closed and spoke curiously without turning around. "What was that for, spidey?"

"For being the girl of my dreams."

A/N : I hope you guys had a good read - I'm honestly expecting every kind of a reaction to this, but I wanted to try something different here. Initially, I didn't think this chapter would get this long and complex, I think I just can't write something shorter than the usual, oh well. I only know I pretty much enjoyed played around with this one, it was very fun. Nothing too serious, that was the goal, hence the conclusion which turned out slightly different to what I had in mind.

Taking the occasion to flesh out Harry's character a little bit more was also the goal, and what occurred here with Peter may be a pivotal point later in the story.

Next chapter will be pure fluff, you guys have been warned...

Special thanks to Sebas F for suggestions, and Legionary Prime for the kind insights.

Remarkable Quotes : BioShock Infinite, The Walking Dead, Supernatural, The Blacklist and Amazing Spider-Man comics.