"So here's your ticket. Are you sure you're okay from here?" Brad asked for the third time.

We were standing in front of the train station, him in a coat and jeans and me in my long-sleeved shirt and sweatpants that conveniently hid my spider-man costume. My mask was hidden in my pocket, ready for me to pull out at a moments notice.

Thankfully with Brad's care and me allowing it time to heal my leg had healed over and even though the muscles felt a bit weak I could ignore it and do all the Spidey's things I needed to do.

"Yeah I'm fine, I've got everything I need on me. What's the worst that could happen?" He gave me a look that said 'really?' "Okay, a lot of things but nothing is likely to go wrong. Sort of. But yeah, I'll be fine. Thanks for looking after me. I mean it."

They shrugged, "It's not every day you get to house a superhero. You better go before you miss your train."

I glanced at the train station. "Probably." Before I could change my mind, I gave them a hug and they stiffened in surprise before melting into the hug.

I stepped back and turned around, giving them a wave as I walked towards my platform. It was what, three to four hours until I get to New York? I had been cramped on that plane a lot longer. This should be easy enough. This time I could even sit like a normal human!

Maybe I could sleep? Or stare out the window and watch the trees, aka tall buildings, pass by. Or... imagine something? Okay, so there wouldn't be much to do on the train. And I didn't want to sleep past my station. And I would probably be worried about every tiny little thing. Why did I have to be this way? I needed therapy.

I looked up and down the platform and noticed that there were about twenty or so people here. I shuffled down to a quieter section of the platform, feeling wary that someone could recognise me and alert the authorities. No one had given me a second look yet, but it didn't help the anxious feeling in my stomach tighten.

Yep, this was all going to be fine.

I placed my bag in front of my legs, settling down in my seat just as the train jolted and began to move. I looked out the window, half of me expecting guns or hydra or something sinister. Which really was stupid. Of all the things, now when I was already on the train they would start shooting was stupid. I didn't think they would try to bring too much attention to me either. If anything someone would come up from behind me and try to knock me unconscious with some drug.

Actually, I should stop thinking about that. I wouldn't be helping myself any by stressing about it. I closed my eyes and sunk down into the seat.

The train began to gain pace and the suburbs began racing past me. I had to work on my paranoia. I mean, if I was actually really going to go to the big leagues, aka the Ultimates, for help they would probably want me to not jump at every bang. I had to get a handle on my mind.

So, step one, get through this train ride and get off safely at the other end. I was really glad that this way a one-way journey and it wouldn't be stopping. That would have made me stress even more with all the people getting on and off. Step two, get into my spidey outfit and… well, I wasn't sure if I should swing through the streets or not. Obviously, people will take notice and video me and Hydra would know where I was but New York was still a relatively big place and I knew it like the back of my hand. I had the home field advantage and I probably knew the backstreets better than most people. Also! The Ultimates might see me and come check on me.

It helped that I knew now that if I was being shot at investigating wasn't the right choice. I wouldn't be that dumb again.

Actually, okay it might be a bit hopeful for me to think the Ultimates would help me, they hadn't been there when I was getting kidnapped. Or in Washington, when clearly someone would have called going 'there's a bunch of people around with guns.' Okay, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt then because there was no way to get to me in time to get me to safety, but it was never on the news or anywhere about people with guns just walking around the streets. It's America, but still!

And! It would have been just another Tuesday for them, but if someone from SHIELD had at any point helped me it would have made my life so much easier. And I wouldn't need therapy quite as much.

Point is, I might deal with street-level criminals, mostly, but that didn't mean I wasn't going to help in big battles! As soon as there is one I'm going to be right up there next to Spider-woman and Iron Man and it would be awesome but there hadn't been any alien invasions yet. Not that I was really complaining, cause those caused a lot of destruction but I needed to prove myself to the Ultimates some way and that was the best way. I could even save one of them from certain death and then they would probably, definitely take me seriously. Maybe.

Imagine if I go into the big leagues just as the world goes into a long stretch of peace. That would suck. Okay, not suck cause that was everything that us heroes worked for… Ugh, you got the point.

And now I was overthinking, great. Just… focus on the outside world. I mean, instead of being stuck in my thoughts I can look at where all the places Hydra could be ready to snipe me from. That'll kind of keep me out of my head?

Who was I kidding? I only got out of my head when I was studying… or fighting.

Okay, maybe instead of resorting to making myself paranoid I'll sleep for a little bit. Worst case I oversleep but someone will probably wake me up at the end. Maybe. Oh whatever, it'll be fine.

"Please collect all personal belongings and prepare to get off at Central Station." A metallic voice said over the loudspeakers, which woke me up from my nap. I groggily opened my eyes, wondering for a moment what the heck was going on, which way was up and down, and what the meaning of life was.

Sitting up properly (and silently thanking my spidey powers cause if I was normal my neck would be sore from the angle it had been in), I looked around the train. I saw one or two other people stirring awake, but most were packing up laptops or staring out the window. I looked out the window. How beautiful the scenery was, with the walls of concrete stretching out seemingly endlessly. Ah, New York, gotta love ya.

A few short minutes later the announcer said that we had arrived and the train pulled to a grinding halt. This was it, I was home.

Wait, holy crap I was home.

I stood up and walked towards the train doors. I was actually home again. After over a month even the parts of New York I would normally think of as ugly were beautiful. That really showed me how much I had missed this place. Even better was that I could now finally go home and see my parents again and return to something resembling a normal life. I was actually home, I could go and see my parents again, I could return to a kind of not really normal life… Wait, I still had to get to the Ultimates and Fury. Never mind I was probably going to be held up for another week or something while they figure out everything. So maybe after a week, I would be lucky enough to go home.

I stepped out of the train and considered kissing the ground, but decided against it because ew way too many walked over this ground every day. I'll just… punch a bad guy or something to celebrate. That'll work.

As I walked onto the busy streets of New York, I breathed in a large breath of polluted air. Yep, definitely home.

I walked along searching for an alleyway I could use. I found one not too far away from Grand Central and I ducked into it. Keeping a wary eye out for onlookers, I turned invisible before climbing up the side of a building. Better safe than someone freaking out because they thought I was a demon or realising I was Spider-man.

I reached the top and ducked behind a vent and I looked around for a moment, just to check that there was definitely no one around. Okay, here we go.

I slipped off my clothes, revealing my Spidey suit underneath. I made sure my gloves were on properly before I shoved all my clothes into a cover and covered them in webbing. I would come back for them eventually. Maybe. It wasn't practical for me to carry those clothes around so I just had to make due. I could donate them to someone who needed them more than me anyway. It would make me feel better about borrowing them permanently from Brad.

I tugged my mask on, fiddling with it for a few seconds to make sure I could see perfectly and it looked cool. I peeked my head out from behind the vent one more time before I clicked my web shooters into place. I was pretty sure I had at least half of the webbing left because I hadn't been able to use them all that much. That meant I could use them if I needed to, especially now that I was nearly home.

Should I even go web-slinging, though? Hydra could notice me fairly easily if I was. But, even if I didn't people could look up and see me jumping between buildings. If I did use my webs SHIELD could see me sooner, but they might not think they had to come and get me. Who knew. But if I didn't use my webs it might take longer for me to be noticed but if I did get attacked they might not think I still have them and that could be my element of surprise.

They would come for me on a rooftop and I would be like, 'not today,' and just jump off the side of the building. In Manhattan, it would be even better 'cause it would be way too hard for someone to keep up with me on buildings that high.

I peeked my head out one more time, still no one. I double checked my web shooters and suit and with that all checked out I went to the edge of the building.

This was it. I was in my suit and I was about to go web-slinging. Hydra might come after me but if I was smart enough the Ultimates or SHIELD would notice and help me. I wasn't helpless either, I had superpowers for goodness sake. I had the proportional strength of a spider or something, so I was stronger than a normal human for sure. And I could reach more surfaces than nearly anyone else. I could do this. I had nothing but my life to lose.

I looked down, this building was about twenty stories high, which wasn't too bad. It wasn't. But after so long without web swinging or being too high up (besides when I was up in the aeroplane but I didn't think that counted) it was almost as daunting as the first time I had done it. I couldn't help but worry a little bit that I might have forgotten some important things about web swinging. That wasn't likely but there was always the chance my cool come back to New York might end with me going splat.

Didn't I use to have a fear of heights?

My spider-sense softly pinged, not in a way that made me think I had to look out for something dangerous but in a way that told me someone was looking at me, and when I looked below me I spotted someone pointing me out to their friend beside me. Well, probably friend, I was just guessing. Holy crap don't panic, I'm totally not panicking, I was a normal superhero who could handle this sort of stuff-

Before I could think about it, I gave them a small salute and stepped off the ledge. I rapidly fell towards the ground. This was it, webshooters don't fail on me now. I thwiped a web onto a ledge a few buildings away and let my body arch into the swing, like I was on a swing (which I kind of was, just a ginormous one and I go places but basically the same concept), gravity pulling me just above the cars before momentum carried me high into the air.

"Woohoo!" I whooped, not caring for a few moments if anyone saw me. I was home! I was swinging through the air and I felt almost invincible. My spider-sense pinged as people looked up at me, I even saw a few people bring out their phones. I couldn't bring myself to panic over it when my adrenaline was pumping. And I was home, I was swinging as free as a Spider (man) could, and I could see a normal life somewhere in the future.

I thwiped another web forward and as I reached the top of my swing I let go of the web and did a backflip. I was as free as a pigeon who had just been set free! That was a bad example but, whatever. I was free!

Anyway, back to the task at hand. So where was I… 42nd if I was correct, so that meant if I just kept on going forward I would be near the triskelion in… five to ten minutes? Not too bad. It would make it quicker and easier for them to collect me the closer I was to them. But if Hydra were coming for me then I would need to be sneakier than that.

I pulled myself towards a building and gripped the side. I let go of the web I had been holding and let it fall to the ground. Standing up as if I wasn't a hundred meters above the ground, I looked around trying to think of the best way to quickly but quietly get to the Triskelion. Probably a zig-zag pattern would be best, and then straight, then zig zag. That way I wouldn't be entirely predictable.

Hmm… That would probably be- Spider-sense!

I let go of the side of the skyscraper and let myself fall several stories, turning in mid-air to look up. A human-shaped thing was following me down, but I couldn't see what they looked like because of the glare of the sun. I looked to the side, realising I was too far away to reach out and stop myself so I looked the other way and thwiped a web to the building opposite, sharply pulling it to get me there as quickly as possible.

By the time I was there and had crouched down, ready to run or fight, my attacker had dragged themselves to a stop on the building I had just been on. They crouched down and in one smooth movement jumped over on to the building I was on. We were on the same level, literally. We were standing on the same level of this building.

I stood up, well stood sideways, and thanked the lucky stars that I had a mask on because holy crap this was terrifying. They stood sideways too, looking straight at me (I think, they had something covering their face) which gave me the chance to get a good look at them.

They had stolen my costume! The only thing they changed was that the lenses were completely red- terrifying, by the way- and they had red soles.

"I'm suing, you can't just steal a supers costume design!" I yelled, shaking my fist in mock anger. Mock, because holy crap this was probably a clone of me and I thought I had slowed down any progress they could make on me. Apparently not, 'cause here was another human (clone? I should say clone instead of human cause maybe they were being mind controlled and weren't quite aware or something. I don't know, I'm not the expert) who was sticking to the side of a building. That was my shtick! Well, it is now my shtick, the other guy is dead. Wait there was still Spider-woman. The point still stands.

"If you come willingly and quietly Hydra won't kill you. This is your last chance." The clone said in an airy tone. Wait, was that what I sounded like? Ugh, I sounded like a twelve-year-old with a voice crack. I was a teenager, damn it!

"You know," I crouched down in a defensive pose, "No thanks, Hydra is evil and I'm just an everyday spider trying to stop crime and get on with my life."

They sighed, "Don't say I didn't warn you, I was hoping we could even be buddies but nope, you just have to go and ruin everything. How rude."

As they pressed a finger to their ear and started murmuring something, and it was pretty obvious to me they were talking to someone in Hydra, I groaned. "What if you become good, we're what, 99% the same person probably? Stopping petty crime is pretty fun and have you ever punched something in the face? I do it all the time. C'mon."

They finally looked back at me, "What?"

"Did you not hear a single thing I said? I just gave a mini-speech about how we're the same person because I'm guessing you're a clone and how the good side is good."

They paused, either thinking, rolling their eyes or wondering what I was babbling about. I couldn't tell because, y'know, mask. Then they shrugged, "I'm under orders, so…"

In a sudden motion, they tried to kick me, which I dodged, I tried to bring their legs out from under them, but they flipped backward. They then tried to tackle me but I leapt off of the skyscraper and sent myself swinging away as fast as I could. Fighting? Tried, two people with spider-senses (I assumed he-they... it had one 'cause they were dodging everything) trying to trick each other and get the upper hand was like a game of cat and mouse.

Flight? Well, that was something I was good at.

I noticed my spider-sense beginning to blare, my clone was probably trying to reach me and knock me out of the air. I thwiped a web onto a building and used it to pull myself out of the way. I looked back to see them following with their own webs. Oh, Sugar Honey Iced Tea this was not going to be good.

I thwiped a web to the corner of a building and pulled myself up and to the side. I flew over the building, flying straight past my clone and I rapidly began to swing as fast as I could. I finally looked back again… and realised my mistake. My clone was a few buildings behind me, which meant I had made some distance on them but I was heading the opposite way to the Triskelion.

I groaned aloud and thwiped a web back the other way. I ignored the jolt of pain my shoulders felt at the sudden change in direction and pulled myself along, trying to get a lead on my clone again. But I was too slow and I felt something latch on to my leg followed by a weight trying to drag me down.

As if it couldn't get worse, my spider-sense went off in a shrill alarm and I was forced to let go of my web and fall to narrowly avoid getting shot by something. I looked down, here comes Hydra in the form of people in vans shooting at me. Fudgenuggets.

I looked down as I fell, but I was too late to stop my clone as they thwiped a web and pulled themselves into the air. I yelped in surprise, being forced upside down. Holy crap, what do I do? I tried to thwip a web to a building but my webbing was too short to reach it in time. Oh no, oh no, oh please no.

My spider-sense went off in alarm and one moment I was being dragged through the air by my clone and the next I was hitting a window hard enough to see stars. I latched on instinctually and not even my clone tugging it as hard as they could was able to get me to let go. Instead, their own momentum sent them hurtling back and they smacked into a window a few stories down.

Even dazed and trying to blink out the black spots in my vision, I laughed so hard I had to clutch my stomach.

"HAhahaHAHAHAhahahaha, oh my god… oh my HAHAHAHAHAHA, if your-your trying to haHAAA kill me from laughter your hehehe, it's working."

"Shut up," I heard them grumble beneath me, "I thought that could knock you out."

I reached down and grabbed the web latched on to my foot. I easily ripped it in two but while I was distracted my clone moved faster than I could react to and slammed a fist into my face. That would bruise. I went to protect my face and they used that as an opening to punch me right in the gut. I tried to kick out but they grabbed my leg and began to twist it.

I cried out in pain but refused to give up. I punched them square in the jaw and they lost their grip on me. I kicked them off of me and while they fell to the ground I jumped up into the air and thwiped a web to the corner of a building.

I used all my strength to steer myself around and up, maybe there wasn't any Hydra on this street? Maybe while the clone was distracted they wouldn't know which way I went. Either way, this was the best I could do for now.

I webbed myself along as fast as I could, I had to get to the Triskelion as quickly as possible. I wasn't in the mood to face a dozen to a hundred guards and the clone on top of that. Maybe they would send more clones after me. I don't think I could face more of me. I landed on the window of one of the skyscrapers several streets away from where I began. I rapidly climbed up its side till I reached the roof.

I climbed over the railing, staggering over to a vent where I finally allowed myself to sit down. My breaths were coming in short gasps, my spider-suit sticking to me from sweat. Okay, what the fudge am I supposed to do?

I still had a battle to fight, I couldn't just let those Hydra goons run wild. They could hurt someone while trying to get my attention or something. I sighed and stood up, peering over the edge. And there was the clone… climbing up the side. Great. This was just awesome. Well, at least I bought myself about thirty seconds to rest.

Should I fight them and take them down so it would be easier to get to the Triskelion or should I try and book it over there? Ugh, it would have been simpler if the Ultimates were here, why couldn't they do their job and take out the goons and help me?

I backed away from the rails, crouching down and getting ready to fight. Hydra was probably waiting for me to leave this rooftop but if I was to have any chance I had to take down the clone first. No, not kill them, just web them in a huge, thick cocoon so big and strong that even my spider-strength couldn't set them free. Oh boy, that was going to be a whole cartridge of web pretty much wasted.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, alright, I could do this. On three I'll jump down there and surprise them. One… Two…

I heard a whooshing sound, a thump, and the loud but muffled sounds of protests. I nervously crept forward, because who knew what it is was? It could be another villain that wanted to get in on the action or maybe the clone and Hydra was trying to get me off the roof or-

I heard a thump behind me and I whipped around so fast my neck protested.

And there stood Captain America in all his patriotic glory.

"Would you like to explain what's going on?"