-After the Fight-
Spider-Man waited until the others left before he asked the important question.
"Who ARE you people?"
In the somewhat privacy of a nearby rooftop, four of the eight spiders removed their masks.
Spider-Man was only slightly shocked, expecting something like this to happen.
Standing before him was a younger looking version of himself, the Spider-Girl from an alternate future (he had teamed up with one once) and a short haired Mary Jane.
"Um", the one he didn't recognize, the young woman in the red and white, began, "that's Peter, she's May, over there is Mary Jane, and I'm Jessica."
Turning to look at Kaine, the man in red and black shrugged. "I was trying to make my way back here. Occasionally I'd find someone who needed help and I'd offer them to come with me."
"Ah" makes sense. He would have done the same. "What's your story Miguel?"
The Spider-Man from 2099 removed his mask. "Same as the others Parker. My world was about to come to an end." Miguel nods his head toward Kaine, "he showed up and helped me get out."
"Sorry to hear that" Spider-Man said sympathetically. "So what now?"
The group shifted uncomfortably and eyed Kaine. "Well, we thought you would put us up for awhile."
"What?" Spider-Man sputtered, "I share an apartment. I don't think the 8 of us can fit in my room."
"But, you had a company?"
"HAD a company", Spider-Man pinched the bridge of his nose through his mask. "It's a long story."
Four voices began to question, complain, and speculate. Spider-Man half ignored them and looked to Ero, standing just outside the group silently.
He spoke up above the noise, "what are you going to do now Ero?"
Her rather pretty, but scratched, features turned to confusion before she spoke. "I don't know. I've been placed in this body by that "man". He just abducted some woman who resembled Mary Jane just to play his pathetic mind game."
Spider-Man heard the other MJ ask someone if they were together in this world. He'll have to talk with her at some point.
"But", Ero continued, "he never knew the consequences. This woman had a life. She had feelings and dreams." Ero let her tears flow. "She had a family. Now she's gone, and I'm stuck with her face, her memories and emotions, and I don't know how to HANDLE IT!"
Her loud cries startled the rest, but Spider MJ jumped up to put a comforting hug on the distraught Ero.
Kaine nodded his head, coming to a decision. "Ok Peter", if he noticed the teenagers react to the name, Kaine didn't show it. "I can find a way to put them up for a few days, but after that it's on you. I gotta find someone soon."
Spider-Man opened his mouth in protest, but closed it quickly. He was the "Spider-Man". Spider problems were what he was supposed to deal with.
"Alright", he said with a sigh. "Give me a few days, then we can pick this conversation up again."
Kaine nodded and began rounding up his group, grown by one from the addition of Ero. Once they were in the air, Spider-Man facepalmed himself.
"How am I gonna figure this one out?"
-Bad News-
After working out where everyone else was going to stay, Peter met up with Matt and Elektra at their apartment.
Seeing the condition of their home, they decided to put it off and get some well deserved rest.
They got up sometime in the afternoon, and were cleaning things up.
Peter picked the "box" off the floor and put it back on the table.
"You ask Laura about that?" Matt asked, lugging a half full sack of trash.
"She wanted me to wait a bit", Peter replied, sweeping up some degraded web remains, "said she needed to check in with a few people immediately. Then she'll swing by and take a look."
Matt nodded and held the bag open while Peter dumped his trash.
Elektra picked up the phone and answering machine off the floor and placed then back on the table where they were knocked off at some point.
Noticing a new message, she pressed the button.
"Ah yes, greetings and salutations."
At the voice of Hank McCoy, Peter and Matt paused to listen.
"I've run the tests our mutual friend requested."
The voice paused and took a deep breath.
"Now, I don't know how to approach this delicately, so I will merely speak as I know how."
Out of the corner of his eye, Peter could see Matt walk up and place his hand in hers.
"The male sample that was delivered, I can find no reason why he cannot produce a happy and healthy offspring. All my tests for mutations and such came back negative." Hank's voice ended the sentence pretty upbeat.
Stealing a look at the couple, Elektra's face could have been made of stone.
"As for the female's", Hank's voice took a somber note. "I've had some experience with the Hand's resurrection techniques. The female sample appears to have been a candidate at one time or another."
Peter could see her knuckles turn white holding Matt's hand.
"As such, I can hypothesize with the upmost accuracy, that because of her death and rebirth by the Hand", Peter tried to prepare himself, but he still was not ready for the bombshell.
"The female provider of this sample is most likely barren." Everyone's face froze from shock of the announcement.
"I apologize for being the bearer of bad news", before Hank's voice finished the sentence, Elektra had already retreated to the bedroom, Matt following right behind her.
Peter was left cursing how life could hand you a victory one night, and utter defeat the next day.
"Beep! End of messages."
-Spider-Man and Squirrel Girl's Totally Awesome (Happening Off Screen) Team Up! Epilogue-
A demensional rift appears above a New York skyscraper.
Out of the portal, Spider-Man leaps out. On landing, he turns and waits for his temporary partner.
The cheerful face of Squirrel Girl is followed by the rest of her and several dozen squirrels before the rift closes.
Spider-Man watches in amusement as the squirrels chitter and rush to the stairwell.
Spidey gives them a hand, shooting a web-line at the door and pulling it free from its hinges.
"They say thank you" Squirrel Girl tells him, as the squirrels race down the new opening.
"I just wish I could see the faces of the people below us when they see that herd" Spider-Man chuckles before checking his phone.
"Huh. We've been gone about 5 hours here" He informs the younger woman.
"And it's been 5 days there!" She replies with her boundless enthusiasm. "I told you we wouldn't be gone long!"
"Yeah well", he shrugs his shoulders, "I've been burned by time relativity before."
The young woman nods as the last of the squirrels clear out. The silence grows tense as the two stand there, not looking at each other.
Finally, the heroine speaks, "oh! Thanks for your help. It probably would have taken me twice as long to knock the prince's uncle off the throne by myself."
The web-slinger chuckles, "yeah I'm sure. No problem, it's what I do."
She lets out a shaky breath, "yes! Yes you do. Ha ha ha. And... sorry, about the awkwardness..."
"Oh", Peter was glad he had his mask on, or she would have seen his face practically glow in the dark. "Ye-yeah. Don't worry about it."
It was like a dam burst open when she spoke next. "I'm sorry! It was just the situation, and I thought that army was going to get me, and you swoop in and bam and wham and slock!"
"Slock?"
"And, and, I was like, wow! And I don't get saved very often. I'm usually kicking butts and eating nuts."
"I've heard."
"And when you saved me, I got a little wobbly, and I just blurted out that stuff."
Spider-Man just waved her off, "yeah, it's ok. Daredevil told me you did the same thing with him awhile back".
It did little to comfort the young woman. "Oh my gosh! He told you? Oh man..."
Spider-Man could admit that she looked pretty cute, big teeth nibbling on her lip in worry. There was a problem for him though.
"Look Doreen-"
"I'm too young", Doreen Green, the Squirrel Girl cut him off.
He sighed. "Yes, a bit." He interrupted her before she could say more, "but that's not the only reason."
"I've", he motioned to himself, "got a lot, a LOT, of problems. I'm in no condition to hook up with anyone right now."
Squirrel Girl giggled slightly, "yeah, I've seen the news."
Spider-Man grinned through his mask. "Yeah well, I'm working on it."
Spider-Man straightened up, and Doreen could swear a ray of light fell straight on him.
"You're an amazing woman Squirrel Girl", he walked to the edge of the roof. "Don't waste time on some fling. Trust me. Find someone you can be with and don't let them go."
The wide eyed woman nodded. "I- I will."
"Cool", Spider-Man's smile could be seen through his mask. He gestured to the city. "Need a lift?"
"Nope!" She seemed to get her old energy back. "I'm going to head down and make sure all the squirrels got out."
"Alrighty", he crouched at the ledge of the roof. "See you around partner", and leapt away.
Doreen ran to the edge and watched him swing away. "THE SQUIRRELS ARE ON YOUR SIDE!" She called out.
Mid swing, Spider-Man turned and saluted, showing he heard her. He made a turn around the next building and disappeared.
Tippy Toe, the one squirrel that remained, ran up onto Squirrel Girl's shoulder. "That guy's a pretty cool hero."
"Yes he is", she agreed. The two made their way to the stairwell.
-Later-
The elderly woman looked down at what was happening on the sidewalk. She turned to the colorful man standing beside her. "Does this happen often?"
Spider-Man scratched his head trying to make sense of what was happening. A would be mugger he spotted didn't get 10 feet from the lady before a handful of squirrels ran up his leg and knocked him over.
Spider-Man and the victim have been standing there for five minutes watching these squirrels run all over his body, under his clothes, and generally harassing the mugger who was left a writhing mess on the ground.
"Honestly? This is a new one."
-Opening the Box-
Peter carried the mystery box from its hiding place. Laura was sitting at the table where he left her. Matt and Elektra, he had no clue. He's been giving them their space as much as he could.
"Alrighty L, what can you tell me?" He asked and set it in front of her.
"I can tell you do not call me "L"", Laura replied.
"Heh", Peter took it in stride, "well you're wearing your everyday "goth chic" clothes, so I wasn't gonna call you Wolverette."
Laura didn't answer, but popped one of her claws on her right hand.
Peter put up his hands. "Um, I'm sorry?"
Ignoring him, Laura jammed her claw into the keyhole and turned.
An audible click was heard in the apartment and the box cracked open.
Peter was silent for a few moments before summing up the situation. "What?"
"I was there when Logan commissioned the box to be made", she explained. She moved back to allow room for Peter. "He made the lock specially tailored to my claw."
"Ah", he said in understanding. Peter moved in place and slowly opened the lid, ready for anything...
Except a wrapped package with a note on top.
Looking at Laura, her face held the tiniest bit of interest. He picked up the note and read it out loud.
"Hey bub", turning to Laura, he cracked a smirk. "Gee, I wonder who this is from."
He was rewarded with an almost unnoticeable twitch of the side of her lips.
Continuing, "if you're reading this, I finally bit the big one. Don't get all weepy on me, we both know it was gonna happen sooner or later."
Peter sat on the table and sighed. "I know you're some kind of genius kid, but I doubt you cracked this box by yourself. If you did though, track down Laura and give her this note after you're done."
Peter looked at Laura. She appeared perfectly stoic and nodded for Peter to keep reading.
"I can only say this here, and if you tell anyone this, I'll haunt you. You're a hell of a hero kid. I don't know what's going on with this new attitude you got, but I know you'll snap out of it. I've rarely known anyone with half the character and nobility as you. I know you've had it rougher than most, and you keep moving forward, sticking to your morals like few ever have. I respect that, and I'm proud to call you brother."
A sudden gasp drew Peter's attention. Laura was looking at him with awe. It kind of creeped him out.
"And as my brother, you have certain responsibilities. Most of my stuff should have already been divided as per my video will left with the X-Men. What I'm leaving you, is my daughter. Take care of her, and teach her that great responsibility crud you're always spouting."
His hands were shaking and his mouth went dry. He wanted him to watch after Laura? A quick peek at the person in question showed her as shocked as he felt.
"The other thing are these journals. It's my life story. My ENTIRE life story. Everything I've pieced together, every secret people tried to erase, every connection I could remember. Just remember, knowledge is power. Corny I know, but it's true. And this is the most powerful weapon I could hand you."
He stared at the journals and in partial shock, finished the letter. "Take care. Your brother, James "Logan" Howlett." Peter let the letter drop from his hand onto the table.
Peter stood there, watching the wrapped bundle like it was a bomb about to go off. And it kind of was. Logan had been around a LONG time. Who knows what dark secrets he found out?
His shaky hand reached out and closed the box. It locked with a click.
His ashen face turned to look at his new charge, somewhat glad to note that she looked as gobsmacked as he felt.
"So", Peter tried a pained smile. "I guess you can call me Uncle Peter?"
Her face quickly returned to normal. "No."
-Nighttime Meeting-
After discussing it, Peter and Laura decided to give it a few days to relax from the news then figure something out.
In the meantime, Spider-Man had an appointment to keep.
An agile form in pure black leapt from rooftop to rooftop. Silent and quick, the figure made one last jump to the roof with a broken skylight.
Nearly running face to face with Spider-Man.
"Hi Mystique", the hero waved, finishing a hotdog with his free hand.
The figure took a step back, and morphed into the blue skin and white dress of the infamous shapeshifter.
"Peter", the woman greeted with a nasty smirk.
"Yeah", his mask peeled completely away revealing the face of Peter Parker. "Kind of pointless to wear this around you now, huh?"
Mystique stood on guard, "you really do resemble your father."
"I'm sure, Google tell you that?"
"No", morphing into the younger form of the elderly Leni he had seen before. "We've worked together before."
"Ok?" Peter held his hands out in a 'what are you taking about' gesture.
Mystique/Leni gave an exasperated puff of air before shifting back to her normal form. "I was an agent back then. Worked with your parents, Mary in particular, several times."
A bit relaxed, but still on guard, she folded her arms. "It was after a run in with Hydra that Richard and Mary freed Logan."
Peter kept his shock from showing. He never heard this before.
"Your mother was looked at by a doctor and was revealed to be pregnant. Logan was the first person aside from your father to know."
That nasty smile from earlier returned, a touch more friendly, "I had met up with your mother later for coffee, and she told me the news."
Placing her hands on her hips, Mystique looked him directly in the eyes. "She said that if anything happened to them, you would go to Richard's brother Ben and his wife May. If they couldn't take you", she shrugged her shoulders, "either me or Logan would raise you."
Another shock? Wasn't he at his limit today?
"So you're really my-"
Mystique cut him off, "I'm your godmother. I wasn't lying then."
Her smile looked a bit like a shark's. He didn't know if that was natural or if she did that to mess with him.
Peter shook it off, "ok maw maw." He was happy to see the glare she shot at him. "Godmother or not, what do you want with the box?"
If she was surprised he knew what she was after, she didn't show it. "A better question, how did you know I was coming."
The glove on his right hand retracted slightly and he snapped his fingers. On his command, hundreds of spiders swarmed out of every crack and shadow near them and formed a circle around the two.
"I got eyes everywhere", his tone and smile were modest.
Mystique observed the new situation and faced Peter again. "I see. I was coming to retrieve the box to protect you. You don't know what kind of trouble is inside it."
"Ya, I kind of do. Already took a look see", Peter smiled at her.
"You're lying."
"No, I'm not. But", Peter pointed at her, "you're digging for information."
At her silence, he continued, "you don't know what's inside, or how to get into it. You just know Logan left it for me, and you want it."
She took a step back, like she was about to bolt.
"Don't run", Peter held up his hand and closed his fist. The ring of spiders shrank in on them, "I got some more questions "godmother"."
Mystique crouched and the spiders got closer. At the last second, she changed into a large panther and leapt out of the ring. Landing outside, she changed again into the dark form she took earlier and ran and leapt off the building.
Peter dropped his hand and the spiders dispersed. He knew it wouldn't have been that easy.
He'll get answers another day, he had more than enough to think on.
Time to head inside for a well deserved nap.
Police sirens wailed in the distance.
"Gob smack it", Peter cursed. His costume reformed and he took off to fight for Justice.
-Family-
Spider-Man walked into a lounge in the Baxter Building, finding the Spiders that followed Kaine to their universe just lounging around in civilian clothes.
He had met up with them earlier, in a five star hotel. (How Kaine got the money for that and the clothes, he didn't want to know) Together, they all traveled to the headquarters of the Future Foundation.
The meeting between the two groups were fairly humorous. Johnny got rejected when he hit on MJ, and the twins were almost starstruck by this Reed. Sue tried speaking to May, and Ben offered Kaine one of his beers.
Ero, Kaine told him on the way, had left in the middle of the previous night. Apparently, she had left to find some kind of peace with herself. Peter wished her luck.
Miguel left shortly after meeting the FF. He could still use his cover identity at Alchemax, or something. He elaborated on the destruction of his world. Some kind of "time-storm" had appeared, and began obliterating everything. Kaine had shown up almost literally at the last second and got him out. His goal was to find what had kicked off the storm and prevent it.
Spider-Man was fairly surprised to find the female twin was actually a female clone of the teenage him. Creepy.
Their Aunt May was killed months ago by some huge tidal wave, and they were living on their own until Kaine showed and offered to help.
And by help, he meant pawn off on the responsible one.
Still, Kaine DID help them, which was more than Peter expected. He had to stop underestimating his more prone to violence "brother".
MJ was a bit of surprise. She got bit by the same spider as her world's Peter Parker. They were friends, but never romantic. Then her world was invaded by the Phalanx. As far as she knew, she was the last survivor until Kaine pulled another last minute rescue.
Then there was May...
There was an attack on her home by some old Goblin last resort weapon. The only way she survived was by bonding with her sister/clone/symbiote, Mayhem. No one else made it.
She had been living in the dark alleys of New York, dishing violent justice until Kaine arrived. The Kaine of her world asked him to take her, to try and give her something better, somewhere away from her ghosts.
Spider-Man was going to do all she could to make sure May, all of them, got the help they needed. Hence the visit to the Baxter Building.
"It is done", Reed announced, walking into the room with Valeria carry a stack of folders at his side.
"Yahoo! We're citizens again!" MJ jumped out of her web hammock and thrust her fist in the air.
"Indeed", Reed chuckled. He stretched his head to look at the files, then stretched his arms to hand them to the correct person.
"Creepy", Kaine murmured under his breath. His ribs were immediately nudged by Peter's elbow. Kaine glared at the attack, then looked confused when he received his own folder.
"Keep in mind", Reed began, "that it was not easy to set these up, especially under S.H.E.I.L.D's radar. These will hold up under a federal court hearing, but if Nick Fury tries to find out your background, he will eventually hit a dead end."
"So I could get arrested for drinking while driving and be ok", young Peter ventured while looking at his folder, "but try to take over Wakanda and they'll know i don exist?"
"I hope you have more sense than to drink and drive", Reed admonished, "but figuratively, yes."
"Awesome!" MJ held up a plastic ID, "clubs here I come!"
Valeria was the voice of reason, "anyone going to read their back story?"
A general mumble was heard from the group and papers started turning.
"Ok", Jessica spoke up. She pointed to young Peter. "We're twins. Makes sense."
"Yeah. And we're cousins", young Peter pointed to his older counterpart.
"We both got named after our great grandfather?" Peter nearly laughed.
"Meh", young Peter shrugged. "Just call ME Pete. It'll be easier in the long run."
"What? I'm their older sister?" MJ did laugh. "Mary Jane Parker. Still trying to act out old dreams slick?" She teased.
While Peter pleaded his innocence, Kaine spoke up, "we're brothers?"
Peter turned to the confused man beside him. "Yeah, I helped Reed with that. You're a year or two younger, born somewhere in Europe. Due to an attack by a rival agency, mom and dad thought they lost you. You actually survived, and were picked up by another family. Recently, your adopted parents found the evidence of your birth family, and you came home."
Kaine looked at the paper some more. "I was Jack Warren?"
"That's what they named you", Peter pointed out, then grabbed another paper. "Your birth certificate has you as Kaine Parker."
Peter grabbed his shoulder and gave him a gentle shake. "They named you Warren, but you've always been a Parker", Kaine turned to meet his eyes, "it just took you awhile to realize it."
"Th-Thanks". All Kaine could do was nod and go back to reading his papers.
"Cool", MJ's enthusiastic voice drew everyone's attention again. "We're from Canada!"
A few people laughed while Peter turned to May, standing in the corner looking out the window.
Peter approached her, "what do you think of it May?"
"I don't want this", came a faint reply.
His previous good humor disappeared. "What?" He asked in concern.
"I DON'T WANT THIS!" She screamed and threw the folder at him.
Peter didn't even attempt to dodge and the folder bounced off him and scattered its papers on the floor.
Everyone stopped and gave her their attention.
"I don't want to live behind some clever lie! I don't want to have to be on constant guard for staying on my story! I don't want some substitute family!" She screamed.
"And", she took a shaky breath and turned away from him, "I don't want to look into the face of my father and pretend he's someone else."
Some weight in Peter's stomach dropped. He thought they were helping, but he never stopped to ask what she thought of it.
The room was silent before Reed spoke up again, "there may be another option."
"There's a school for gifted individuals such as yourself", he began, "it's fairly out of the city. You would have plenty of people close to your age to speak to. And they can give you the privacy and help needed to deal with any issues you may have."
The young woman was silently weighing her options before shrugging her shoulders, defeated. "Fine."
Reed coughed awkwardly and spoke to the others. "Now let's talk about living arrangements."
-Therapy-
"We didn't talk. Just sat there, drank a few beers, and watched the Mets game." Peter told Emma about the previous day hanging out with Kaine.
"Sounds like you two have made progress", she noted, sounding distracted.
"Something on your mind Em?" Peter asked from across his new table.
"Nothing, I...", she began to tell him no, but something clawed at her mind. "Peter, have... have we met before?"
"Um", Peter scratched his chin in thought, "I've teamed with a lot of X-groups over the years."
"No, I mean, before that."
"I may have fought the Hellfire Club a time or two back then."
"NO!" She half screamed in frustration. "I mean, when you were in highschool?"
Peter looked at her strangely. "I definitely think I would remember you if we met Em."
"I had, not a dream per say", she tried to explain. "Like, a half forgotten memory. Me, younger, before the X-Men. Before the Hellfire Club."
She pointed at him. "You, looking the same but shorter. Barely been fighting crime for more than a year."
"And a girl", she furrowed her brow in concentration. "Young. Shorter. Dark hair. Loved animals. But I don't know who she was."
She was startled by Peter's gasp. He reached over and placed a hand on hers and looked seriously into her eyes.
"I know who she is", his declaration had her at the edge of her seat.
"She is...", dramatic pause, "your conscience. That's why you haven't seen her in a long time."
The look of befuddlement only lasted a few seconds before her features grew cold.
"We're done here for today."
"C'mon Em!", Peter chased her out the front door. "I was only kidding! Em! Emma!"
-First Day-
After the opening ceremony of the Marvel Knights division of the NYPD, Peter was already exhausted.
He elected to stay away from the press conference. Less people who knew Peter Parker was involved, the better.
Steve, I'm sorry, COMMISSIONER Steve, (maybe he can finally get that giant Spider-Signal light installed!) showed him to his new lab, 3 floors below ground.
The large steel door merely said "Science Wing", and opened up to highschool nerd Peter's imagination.
Chemicals, tubes, and beakers. Computers, scanners, and touch screens. Forensics, ballistics, and any other kind of "ics" you could think about. It was all in here.
"And this is all mine?", Peter asked like a child on Christmas.
Steve chuckled. "You think you could run this all by yourself?"
Peter pouted a no and Steve chuckled some more.
"No Peter, your office is over here."
Steve led him to the back and showed him a large, familiar black box.
Peter gaped, "is this?"
"Based on the design from Horizon." Steve filled in. "Total privacy and locks with your handprint."
"Well, there was a way around that", Peter murmured to himself. "What about the override?"
"Known only by me and my handprint." The older man assured.
"Ok", Peter finally admitted. Not perfect, but it's a start.
He walked up to the box and put his hand on the scanner. The light went green and something pinged. The door opened up to a Deus ex Machina tool box.
Peter couldn't even name some of the gizmos in there, but he knew he wanted them.
He turned back to the Commish. "What exactly are you wanting me to do here Steve?"
Steve closed the door to stop distracting the younger man. "I want you to do what you always do when you run into a wall with a super powered foe. Use everything at your disposal to stop them."
He folded his patriotic arms. "If they use electricity, shut them down. Mind controlled army of hamsters? A giant teleporting aquarium. If they want to crash the moon into the Earth, I want to catapult the Hulk up there to push it back."
Peter's goofy grin at the imagery disappeared when Steve pointed at him. "I want you to back up our people with your tech."
Peter nodded and let out a breath.
"And don't show up as Spider-Man."
The other boot finally dropped.
"What?" Peter asked in confusion.
"A part of this was to minimize vigilantes. If you carry a badge, you're on the job. If not, you're interfering with a police situation."
Steve let out a sigh. "It's not perfect, but it's all us. No government pencil pusher. No politics. Just capes watching capes."
Peter was starting to get uncomfortable. This was starting to sound a lot like their little "Civil War" start up.
"That's not to say you CAN'T operate as Spider-Man", the elderly man's wink and words helped ease his apprehension. "Just don't let the Marvel Knights catch you."
So, show up. Beat up the bad guy. Web up for cops or the MK, and leave while they're cursing and trying to arrest you? Sounds like any other Monday.
"No problem Steve", Peter cracked a grin, "I was trading hits with most of those guys between classes back in college."
"Hmph", a sound between a laugh and a hum escaped his new boss. "Guess I'll take what I can get."
He looked seriously at Peter for a moment. "Try not to let it interfere with your job though. People will depend on you saving lives from in here as much as from out there. If we can't pin someone down, design something that can. That's your job. If they need extra muscle out there, I'll give you the word, but not before then. Understand?"
Peter nodded. He did. He didn't like it entirely, but he did understand.
Steve swept his arm around the rset of the lab. "Now we're planning on hiring trustworthy people eventually, so you'll have to share this space at some point..."
-Moving Day-
"So Jennifer finally straightened everything out and your first check from your patents should be coming at the end of the month", Matt told Peter, placing his box on the floor of the empty room.
"Awesome", Peter was doing the math in his head. "Just in time to pay the first month's bills." Peter put his box right beside Matt's.
"You don't have to do this Peter", the lawyer told his soon to be ex roommate. "We aren't kicking you out. I know we haven't seen you much lately, but-"
"No worries Matt", he waved off the other man's concerns. "I'm not doing this for you two. Not completely anyway."
Walking over to a small ice chest, Peter grabbed two cans of soda and handed his friend one.
"You guys need your space right now", Peter said after a sip. "And you guys have done so much for me, I don't want to get in the way."
"You don't-"
Peter cut him off again. "And I need to do this. With Laura taking this "family" connection really seriously, I'm going to need some space for her."
The young woman appeared, almost as if called, bringing a box of her own in and placing it next to the others.
"I had a letter too. Logan told me to watch out for you and to not let you do anything stupid", she informed him and grabbed a water from the chest.
"See Matt?" Peter gestured at Laura. "An extra person would have been a bit cramped."
"Yeah", Matt conceded and took a long pull off his drink.
"Murdock, seriously", Peter waved erratically at his front door. "I'm moving across the hallway! Not to the other end of Manhattan!"
That got a laugh out of the redhead. "Yeah, I know." He looked at Peter serious for a moment. "But I'm seriously gonna miss being roommates."
Peter matched his serious for a moment. "Me too pal." Then the moment passed, "but it's time for this bird to walk."
As she watched the two men argue over the rediculous phrase Peter spouted, Laura let her mind wander back to the small flash drive that came with her letter.
And she wondered when she would tell Peter about it.
-Family Dinner-
By the time he swung home, Spider-Man was exhausted.
Steve never told him his other job at the lab was "info mule".
Sure, he's fought just about everyone, but come on! Doesn't take a genius to know how to deal with Lady Stilt-Man.
Then he had to adapt some of his cryo cube tech to be strong enough to hold living liquid metal.
After getting out of the lab, he chased down three purse snatchers, four armed muggings, a flasher, and teamed up with Luke to subdue some new guy with moderate enhanced strength, with an ego fit for Doctor Doom.
Afterward, Luke attempted to "arrest" him, but he can't fly, so Spidey was reasonably sure he lost him.
His suit flowed around his arm, and hung limply in one solid piece. He made sure to walk to "his" skylight. (Forgetting and accidently dropping in on Elektra in the kitchen had almost ended the Spider-Man dynasty)
His t-shirt and gym shorts were glued to his body by sweat. He'd taken to wearing something under his shifting costume to protect his dignity.
Landing on his kitchen floor, the strong scent of pizza filled the air.
Gazing into his living room, Kaine and MJ were eating and watching the Mets play.
A throat clearing had Peter jump out of the way of Laura and a plate of cheese and pepperoni goodness.
Turning around, all he noticed were empty boxes.
Slightly dejected, Peter lays his suit on the kitchen cabinet and joins them in the living room.
"Hey Peter", MJ greets him and gets out of the big, gaudy recliner he found by some curb. "I warmed your seat for ya."
As she goes and sits next to Kaine on the small couch, Peter declines to make the obvious "fart for warmth" joke that came to his mind.
Instead, he sunk into the fluffy goodness his Mary Jane would never had let him keep for being too ugly.
To his pleasant surprise, the seat was comfortably warm on his sore muscles.
Opening the armrest, he flicked a switch and the chair came to life, buzzing his troubles away.
Call Hank Pym to put an A.I. in this thing, he was going to marry it.
Kaine grunted next to him, getting his attention. His "younger brother" held a plate stacked with 5 large pieces of heaven.
"Saved you some", Kaine mumbled, never talking his eyes off the game.
Peter took it and gave him his thanks. Now he just needed something to drink.
"Here", Laura ended his delimma, handing him a tall, frosty mug.
He took it, confusion paying havoc on his face.
"When you come home smelling like that", Laura took her seat on the floor between the couch and chair, "you normally indulge in a root beer float. And you like to frost your glass beforehand. I had seen you on the news earlier and took the liberty to prepare it for you."
Peter nodded and kept his mouth shut. He was afraid anything he said would break the spell and something bad would happen.
This was an amazing surprise. He didn't even know they were stopping by. And with pizza from 22nd Street? Divine ambrosia.
What could make this better?
"Is this him? You're him? Wow, nice to meet you. You're a nice man. He looks at you like a brother Kaine, not a dangerous lunatic. I don't know why I'm making you uncomfortable Kaine", Peter's mouth was full of pizza, otherwise he would have gaped in shock. Who was that ball of energy?
"Aracely", Laura whispered, likely afraid if she moved, she'll attract the mystery girl's attention.
"She's Kaine's friend", MJ chimed in helpfully.
Peter gulped his food down and watched the bubbly girl wedge herself in between Kaine and MJ and jabber to the frowning guy beside her.
The hero's smile got wider and wider until Kaine finally turned and glared at him.
"You're enjoying this aren't you?"
Peter's reply was a wide smile full of cheese, pepperoni bits, and sauce.
"Ok", MJ broke the stare off before weapons (food) were thrown. "The twins got everything they need for college, bless Reed Richards and his hot wife for getting them in. They'll stop by here and we'll head home", she informed them before putting her new phone away. (How Kaine had money period, he still didn't want to know)
"I thought we were going to have a sleepover?" The Aracely girl gave MJ the most adorable puppy dog look he had ever seen.
As a testament to her strength of will, the older woman just laughed it off. "Sorry Hummingbird, I gotta get up early for a few job interviews."
She motioned to the others, "you still got these guys though."
"Awww! Peter had a long day and Kaine is never any fun at a sleepover." The strange girl jumped off the couch and dragged Laura by her arm.
"C'mon Laura! Let's braid hair and talk about guys and eat cookie dough and puke and..."
The Force of nature had a solid grip on Laura and dragged her to her new friend's room. Laura's face practically screamed for help until her door closed, sealing her doom.
"Uh", trying to figure out what just happened, he shrugged and turned to Kaine. "Wanna crash on the couch?"
"Meh", Kaine thought for a moment and shrugged. "It's not a Hilton sweet bed, but it's pretty comfortable. And she'll finally crash around 4 or 5, and I'll need to take her home."
"Wow", MJ chuckled, "poor Laura".
The three adults held their drinks up in a silent toast for their comrade trapped behind enemy lines.
"Home run! The Mets are going to the World Series!" The modest little tv shrieked suddenly causing the three to swivel their heads towards the celebration on the screen.
When the news finally sunk in, the three were hollering and cheering along with every other fan.
Peter settled down and watched Kaine and MJ high five each other hard enough to shatter cement.
For the first time in awhile, his life was perfect.
-Squirrel Girl's Totally Awesome Meeting With New Friends You'll Get To See This Time!-
"C'mon Nancy!" Doreen Green pulled her college roommate along, "you have to go talk to him!"
"Doreen!", Nancy Whitehead called back, struggling to keep up while the auburn haired heroine drug her all over Empire State University.
"What has gotten into you?"
Doreen pauses to search the crowds around campus. "You said you liked him, but you haven't even let him know. This must be rectified!"
Nancy tugged her arm free of the overzealous shorter woman. "I said I liked LOOKING at him in class. I don't have to do anything."
Nancy only looked away for a second and lost sight of her friend. Turning around, she spots the guy they were going through all this for. Nancy debated going over and talking to him anyway, but the decision was taken away from her when Doreen popped up behind her and pushed, driving her in that direction.
Getting closer, they could see he was busy speaking with an unfamiliar boy and girl.
Nancy tried stopping, but Doreen slipped beside her and grabbed her arm, half dragging her along.
"Hi!" Doreen called to the group of three.
"Hey Doreen. Nancy." The young dark skinned man greeted them. The other two, male and female twins it looked like, stayed silent.
The guy looked familiar to Doreen, but she couldn't place it.
"Hello", Nancy offered her own greetings when she caught her breath. She tried to play it cool.
"Hope we aren't interrupting anything?"
"Nah", her classmate shrugged. "Just about to show these new guys around."
Taking their cue, they step into the conversation. "I'm Pete Parker, and this is my sister Jessica."
The little squirrel running on the wheel in her brain derailed at the name. Pete Parker? Is that short for Peter? Are they related? Does he have superpowers? What's his opinion on nuts in cuisine?
A sharp pain in her ribs brought her back into focus, seeing everyone, especially the young man she was staring at, to look at her strange.
Nancy retracted her elbow. "Are you ok?"
Doreen recovered quickly. "Probably just low blood sugar. How about we show you the best place to eat and we can help with the tour?"
Their class mate shrugged and looked at the other two. They agreed and the five set off to a nearby diner.
Jessica was pulled between the other two women and was answering questions. Pete and the other man fell in step behind them.
"Sorry, I don't think I caught your name", Pete turned to the other guy and held out his hand.
"Miles", he shook Pete's hand. "Miles Morales."
-League of Losers-
"Where are we headed Hank?" Spider-Man asked from the copilot seat of the small aircraft.
Hank McCoy dipped the controls forward and the craft started to slow. "We're here."
"Here" ended up being the middle of the Mojave Desert.
"Be honest McCoy", Spider-Man peered down below them. "You're not making me dig my own grave right?"
Hank chuckled slightly. "Heaven's no."
The craft landed and the pair stepped outside. Spider-Man was caught off guard when he spotted Hank walk toward a nice looking bar he somehow had missed seeing.
Following cautiously, he entered the strange building. The outside looked like modern New York, but the inside appeared to be the Cantina from Star Wars.
"The heck?" Spider-Man only noticed a robot as a bartender and Hank's big blue furry back at a table.
Walking forward, he caught sight of Hank Pym and Bruce Banner sharing the table.
The three waved him over to have a seat. His mask retracted and he took a spot next to McCoy.
"What's the cargo?"
He was pleasantly surprised that Pym didn't miss a beat, "myself, the boy, two Droids and no questions asked."
The blue fur ball let out a deep chuckle and Bruce cracked a smirk.
"So what's this all about?" Peter was looking at the fine details in the bar layout.
"Every so often", McCoy started, "the three of us have met up somewhere remote."
Pym picked up the exposition, "share a drink, share ideas, or just share quiet commraderie". He held up four fingers for the bartender Droid.
"It started after that mess with my enemies grabbing the smartest people in the world", Bruce added in.
McCoy tapped his claws on the table. "Notice, Stark didn't invite US to the after party on that one", he ended with a fang full grin.
Pym took the drinks and handed them out. "We're not the most photogenic or stable geniuses."
"Or well liked", Bruce tagged on.
Pym nodded the point, "we mostly stay back and are told not to mess up too much."
"I've spoken some about you Peter", McCoy gestured to the others.
"We've been rock bottom before Peter", Pym pointed at his suit. "That's why I dumped that box of tech on you. I wanted to see what you would do with it." Pym smiled, "color me impressed".
Bruce held his mug in both hands, "we've all been burned by the media. Forced to hide our names and faces. We think you've earned a seat at this table."
"Welcome to the Rebel Alliance", McCoy patted his shoulder.
A hundred questions popped into his mind, but he could only voice one. "How did this bar get here?"
Pym grabbed the handle of his mug, "I shrunk it and brought it here."
Ah. That explained it.
Peter looked to his drink for the first time. It was blue.
"Blue milk?"
The other three, really just big nerds like him, chuckled and held up their mugs.
"To the Losers!"
Peter smirked and held up his own mug, "to the Losers!"
-Surprise-
It was the end of another full day, and he felt like he was finally getting back into the swing of things.
Full day in the lab, bust criminals in the afternoon, check on Kaine, MJ and the twins, and May, bust some more and head home for Laura to lecture him about not knowing where he was for half the day.
It's good to have a routine.
But despite the odd first meeting and subsequent sleepover, Laura did find she enjoyed Aracely's friendship.
That's why the two were at Kaine's hotel, hanging out and watching bad movies and giving Kaine a headache.
And he had the place to himself tonight.
Time for ice cream and cartoons.
Making the last swing to his rooftop, Spider-Man was caught off guard by the lone figure standing there.
"Carol?"
The tall figure of Captain Marvel turned at the voice and waited for his approach.
"Carol! Hey! I haven't seen you since before the Octavius thing!", and now he can say that without cringing.
"Spider-Man", she greeted him formally, until he was close and retracted his mask. "Peter", she said with a bit more warmth.
"What brings you to my neck of the woods Danvers?" Peter smiled.
"I...", wow. She looked nervous. "I tried... to call you and talk to you a few times. I needed to tell you-"
"That was you?", the pieces finally fit into place. "You were driving Elektra nuts! She had no clue who that was! Ha ha!"
"PETER!" Her scream stopped his humorous celebration.
She rung her little sash thing in her hands a few times and calmed down slightly. "I need to tell you something."
"You can tell me anything Carol", he wanted to help if he could.
She took a few deep breathes before blurting, "I'm pregnant."
The rooftop was still for a few moments.
"Is it Clint's?", Peter asked honestly puzzled. Why tell him?
"It's not Barton's", she said seriously, staring him in the eye.
What is she insinuating? Could she mean? "B-but we never, you and me. We haven't..."
And then everything fell apart and made sense all at once.