-Twenty minutes after Gwen Stacy died-

The explosion was deafening. Peter had thrown one of the bombs from Harry's glider straight at them, but he was closer than she had been, so the explosion affected him too. Violet had been knocked off her feet, unable to keep her balance due to her mangled leg. Shakily, she stood up and looked around. Parts of the ground were smoldering. Her brother was laying face down, unmoving.

"Andrew!" She limped over to him, flipping him onto his back. One of his eyes had completely swollen shut, and parts of his hoodie had been singed. "Come on, wake up!" There was no doubt the authorities would be here soon, and they had to get out of there before that happened.

A hoarse cough coming from her right startled her. She bent down and managed to smile despite the situation. "Dad."

"It's me," he managed to say. The black suit he was wearing had pulled itself down to reveal his face; he seemed to be having a hard time breathing.

"We need to get out of here," Violet urged. She wasn't sure how her father was here at the moment, all she knew was they needed to leave. "Dad?" she asked when he didn't respond.

Violet straightened up and blew out air in frustration; she was on her own for the time being. They needed to get out of there before the police came, the problem was everyone, including her, was injured, and the rest of them were unconscious. She glanced back at the control room. That was going to have to make due for now. Violet hooked Andrew under the shoulders and began dragging him, wincing as her injured leg wanted to give way. She could hear sirens in the distance.

She set Andrew down for a moment, opening up the control room door, and was surprised to see Peter sitting on the floor digging something out of his leg. As soon as the door opened, his head whipped up.

"No," he shook his head, "get out."

"I need to hide them in here. They're unconscious. I need to see how bad their injuries are," Violet explained. There was a dead security guard off to the side in the room, a victim of Electro's.

"I don't care." Peter dropped something onto the floor, which looked like it could have been a piece of the bomb from Harry's glider. He began digging into his leg again. "After what he did," Peter nodded towards Andrew, "he deserves whatever's coming to him."

Violet narrowed her eyes. "You're not in much of a position to argue." His web shooters were both completely charred and she wondered if they were even unusable.

Peter set another bloody piece of broken bomb tech onto the floor and gave her a once-over. "You're not looking too good yourself."

"Please," she tried a different approach. "I haven't done anything to you. I'm just asking you for this one favor; let me hide them in here for now. They can't defend themselves. When it's clear we can all go our separate way."

Peter glared at Andrew. He didn't say anything to Violet, but nodded once. She sighed in relief and began dragging her brother into the control room, the door shutting behind her. His ragged breathing was worrying her. She turned to go out the door and grab her father when something caught her eye through the window.

"Oh no," Violet ducked down. There were about three black vans that pulled up to the scene. She very carefully peeked out the window. A couple men were carrying her father to one of the vans, a van that had 'Ravencroft' written on the side. "No..." she whispered.

"What is it?" Peter grudgingly asked.

"There are men out there. Not police," she said. Peter had crawled over next to her and looked out the window as well. "They have our father."

Peter sniffed disdainfully. "Andrew told me his father was dead."

More men came out of the second and third vans, scooping up Harry with his suit on and then coming back for his glider. Suddenly, two of the men started walking towards the control room.

"Lock the door," Peter whispered harshly as he pulled the dead security guard under the panels. He then pulled Andrew under the control panels, ducking under them as well.

Violet locked the door just before one of the men tried to open it. She hid herself from view underneath the control panel. She and Peter were completely silent, and she wondered if they would be able to hear Andrew's ragged breathing.

A flashlight beam shone into the room, and Violet quickly webbed the two pieces of broken bomb Peter had dug out of his leg over to them, just in time as the flashlight skimmed over that area a second later. She pulled Andrew closer.

The light was suddenly gone and they heard footsteps walking away. Neither of them moved. Violet was able to peek out the window again, when Andrew shifted next to her. When he opened his eyes she felt like crying.

"Vi?" he asked. He turned his head and coughed.

"Shh," Violet whispered. "You're going to be okay." Violet checked the window, and the last of the black vans was driving away. The only evidence that anything had happened here was the patch of burnt grass where the glider bomb had gone off. "They're gone now."

Peter got to his feet first. "He's awake. You should both probably leave before the police show up. Or don't. Doesn't matter to me."

"Come on, Andrew." Violet helped him to his feet. His breathing sounded much better now. "We need to leave."

Peter opened the door and listened. There were definitely sirens out there, but there had been so many accidents tonight, they may or may not be heading straight to the power grid. Someone would have called about Gwen by now though.

"What... happened?" Andrew croaked.

"Don't talk yet. We need to leave and you're hurt." Violet said. She had him sling one of his arms on his shoulder. The fact that she was much shorter than him probably wasn't doing it much good, though.

Peter turned towards them, halfway out of the front doorway. "One more thing," he started. "I may have been lenient just now due to the circumstances, but don't mistake that for any form of forgiveness. I don't want to see either of you ever again."

Violet paused. She understood why he felt the way he did, but he didn't understand why it had been so necessary.

"And you," Peter turned to Andrew, "I'm giving you fair warning. If I see you again after tonight, I'll kill you."

Andrew was just as silent as Violet had been. Peter left without another word.

"C-can you swing?" Violet tried to make her voice sound strong. She didn't want it to seem like Peter's words had affected her in any way.

"Yeah. Just hurts to breathe." Andrew coughed again. He tried dusting his hoodie off, but it was useless; the fire had singed too much of it. He pulled whatever was in his pockets out and tossed the damaged item on the floor. "What's this?" Andrew narrowed his eye at what he had taken out of his pocket. It was a flattened Milky Way candy bar wrapper. He flipped it over and there was a short message written in what looked like sharpie. He passed it to Violet who read it quickly and looked at Andrew in mirrored confusion.

"Stop trying, your lives depend on it"

-Ravencroft Institute-

"I've missed you two." Peter attempted to break the silence after the incident with Harry and the guards in the hallway. He was sure that they had just as many questions as he did, and they only had twenty minutes to ask them.

"We've missed you too, Dad," Violet said.

"You're both okay, right?" Peter asked them.

"Of course we are." Violet looked towards her brother and then back to him. "We have a lot to talk about."

Peter let the two of them update him on everything that he had missed since they had traveled to this time; trying to figure out where Stryker was, enrolling in their old high school, secretly staying in Harry's guest house, how the black time cube shattered, how Andrew befriended Peter, and what had happened this time around the night Gwen Stacy died. Peter had asked the occasional question, but tried to let them tell him as much as possible. Andrew was quieter than usual, and it wasn't until Violet told him that Andrew had to let Gwen fall, that Peter finally understood.

"You did what you had to do," Peter said firmly. "If you did nothing, then your sister and you wouldn't have been born. If Gwen had remained alive... I would have followed her anywhere."

Andrew didn't look too sure but he nodded nonetheless.

"We've had no luck in finding Stryker. We might have to wait until that night." Violet changed the subject. "But, now that you're here, we at least have a way of getting back home."

"What do you mean?" Peter asked.

"The black cube is broken. You must have used the white cube to find us." Violet ended the sentence in more of a question form.

"I don't have it." Peter raked his fingers through his hair. "Scarlet had left me to die. She was going to keep Normie alive, I think. Suddenly I was in Russia, in this time. I have no idea what happened. I was alone."

"Did Scarlet use the white cube to come here?" Violet's voice was laced with worry.

Andrew shook his head. "She would have killed us by now."

"Listen, we only have a few minutes left. Don't interact with the other me for awhile. He's... he's going to grieve for awhile, but then MJ comes into his life. He'll be fine," Peter explained. It was weird talking about his former self. "That black suit I was wearing, do you know where it is?"

"The men took you here while you were wearing it," Violet said.

Peter swore. "That suit is what creates Venom. I get that now. I was on my way to the power grid when this black pile of goo attached itself to me. I tried getting it off, but I was running out of time. I wanted to see Gwen one last time," he looked abashed, "but I wasn't going to interfere. I have a theory though; I think I always create Venom."

"What do you mean?" Violet's brows pulled together.

The door began to unlock and Harris came in a moment later. "Time's up."

"We'll come back next week." Violet gave her father a pointed look. "Same day."

Peter didn't ask why they weren't going to come back on the second visiting day of the week. He gave the both of them a quick hug before they were ushered out of his cell. Twenty minutes was nowhere near long enough; there was still so much that they needed to talk about.

Harry didn't show up during free time for the next three days. Kasady was either still recovering from his surgery or as Harris said, wasn't able to have free time anymore. Peter hoped it was the latter. Harry was going to have questions about Andrew and Violet after seeing them visit with him. He was going to stick to the truth this time around, as much as possible. His family and friends deserved that. After hearing that Peter- or well, he- told Harry his secret this time gave him a lot to think about. He could have figured out a cure, Harry wouldn't have had to use the spider venom and become the Goblin, Gwen could have lived. But then, he would have never had Violet and Andrew. He wouldn't trade them for anything.

Sunday came around; he and Connors got to the rec room at the same time. Connors went right to the TV to put on Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Hills and Alexsei came in next and went right to the checkers board. He briefly wondered if Harry was going to be able to come back anytime soon, and smiled just as the door opened a third time. Harry was shoved into the room by Lopez, who locked the door behind him.

Without saying a word to anyone, Harry went straight to the pinball machines. He went to the Jaws one, so Peter chose Pac-Man again.

"So, you're back." Peter mentally kicked himself. Harry didn't reply or even look at him. "I've been through every magazine in here already, so I'm thinking about moving on to the books next."

He sensed what was about to happen next, but didn't stop it. Peter found himself up against the wall a moment later. Harry was seething in anger, barely holding himself together. If Peter had dodged him, it may have angered him further. While Harry was stronger than the average human, he was nowhere near as strong as he used to be; after Stryker experimented on him. As it was, Harry was holding him several inches from the ground.

"Who are you? What were you doing with them?" Harry growled.

Peter cleared his throat. "I'll tell you, just let me go. If the guards see this, you'll get in more trouble."

"I don't care." Harry said, although his grip loosened and Peter felt his feet hit the floor. "Who are you?" he repeated.

"Need help, Richards?" Alexsei called to him. Peter shook his head and waved his hand as if it were no big deal. Alexsei shrugged and went back to his game. Peter noted that Connors looked as if he was about to jump up and help him, although he wouldn't be much help against Harry.

Harry let the front of Peter's orange jumpsuit go. He tilted his head towards the door, as if waiting for the guards to come in and tackle him, but the door stayed locked.

"I'll tell you as much as I can, but you need to keep everything I tell you a secret," Peter whispered.

Harry raised an eyebrow skeptically. "I'm not making any promises."

Peter began playing the game again, gesturing for Harry to as well.

"You need to keep what I'm going to tell you a secret. If the wrong people find out, not only will it put my life in danger, but my family and friends will be in danger too."

Harry scoffed. "Who am I going to tell? I'm stuck in here for the moment, and everyone is going to know about me when I get out."

"You're wrong. Nobody is going to know that you were ever at Ravencroft. There will be a cover story." Peter smirked. "In fact, you'll even get your company back."

Harry made a disbelieving sound. "What makes you think that?"

"Because I'm from the future."

The sun was blazing during this time of day, reaching over a hundred degrees at times. The humidity was the worst; he could practically feel the water in the air as he ran. When he got to the clearing he pulled the last snack he had out of his pocket; a crumbled strawberry poptart. He shrugged and quickly ate it.

"You're back. That was quick."

Normie turned around calmly. He was used to how quiet Scarlet could be. "You told me to be." He stuffed the poptart wrapper into his pocket.

Scarlet gestured towards the pathway. "Come. Let's walk and you can update me on what my other children are up to."

They had been spending time in Brazil lately, so that Scarlet could keep an eye out for Stryker. She occasionally went to the island by herself, but today she finally had Normie meet her there.

"It would be faster if we ran there," Normie pointed out. They were on one side of the island, and the prison was nearly three miles from where they were.

"We have some things to discuss," Scarlet said, beginning to walk down the path. Normie followed her, staying on her right side and slightly behind her.

"The girl- Gwen Stacy- she's dead. My father is currently at Ravencroft Institute."

"How is my favorite spider doing?"

"He's devastated," Normie said, knowing that was just what Scarlet wanted to hear.

Scarlet smiled smugly. "Maybe I should pay him a visit. There's just something about him that reminds me of a kicked puppy. I love it."

Normie didn't respond. Scarlet could impersonate Mary Jane easily if she wanted to; Stryker's experimentation on her had not only made her stronger, but she had stopped aging. Frozen forever at age nineteen. Normie fought the urge to groan. Scarlet couldn't go to New York, not yet; she didn't know about Peter.

He wasn't exactly surprised to see that Peter, the Peter from his time, had made it to New York City, but it was concerning to him nonetheless. Peter had been on the brink of death when Normie decided to bring him with them back in time, and he wasn't sure how much he was going to remember. If he told Andrew and Violet that Normie and Scarlet were here in this time, they might try something against Scarlet that would ultimately get them all killed.

He should have been more specific on the note he left in Andrew's pocket.

The problem was that Scarlet made it very clear what would happen if Normie revealed himself to any of them. He thought for a moment, when he had saved Andrew from a painful electric shock from that blue guy they were chasing, that he may have been seen. Scarlet had sent him to New York to ensure certain events happened, and although he hadn't been seen, he was going to have to be more careful. He couldn't risk his family's lives because he was selfish.

Scarlet unexpectedly bumped her shoulder into him, interrupting his thoughts. "I'm not going to kill him yet," she said in what Normie assumed was supposed to be a reassuring voice. He glared at her while she looked at him amusedly. "Don't look so glum. I'll let you get in your 'goodbyes' to them before the time comes."

"I want to see them," he said. He was going to have to find out how much their Peter knew about how he got here. But also, he just really wanted to talk to his family again.

"You just got back from New York." Scarlet's voice became flat.

"You know what I mean."

Scarlet didn't speak again for several minutes. Normie glanced at her; her eyes were cold and calculating. He sighed and continued on in silence.

"If they find out about you, they find out about me, and they can't know yet. Even though I can take them all out within minutes, I'd rather not risk my back up plan," she said, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

Normie raised an eyebrow. "Back up plan?"

"I need Peter to fall in love with Mary Jane. He is the only reason that Stryker took an interest in her. I need her to become like me. If she doesn't, there's a chance I could be erased," Scarlet explained.

"But you said as long as we stay in this time we would be fine."

"And we will be," she said, "but you always need a back up plan."

"You mean if something happened with the cube, and we got sent back to our time you mean," Normie said slowly. "If that happens, I'll get erased no matter what because you plan on killing my father. Again," he said testily.

Scarlet shrugged. "I'm afraid there's no back up for you," she said in a clipped tone. "Now, let's get back to the main point. Once Mary Jane and Peter are together, I'll allow you to go to Andrew and Violet. You remember our agreement about them?"

"If I can convince them to join you, you'll spare them," Normie said.

"And if they refuse, you dispose of them yourself, or you can die with them," Scarlet said in a nonchalant tone. Normie shivered. "Andrew was an asset to the team back then, so maybe their alliance wouldn't be so bad."

Normie held himself together, wanting to bounce with excitement. "I won't mention about you, I swear. I'll tell them I got to the other cube first and came here alone. They won't know anything about you."

Scarlet stopped walking. "Scratch that. I need to become more acquainted with this Stryker. He doesn't fully trust me yet..." She was mostly talking to herself now.

"You found him? When?" Normie asked in confusion. She had not mentioned anything about finding him. Stryker was the priority to Scarlet.

"...it wouldn't matter if Peter and Mary Jane got together or not. Stryker knows about me. We could just bring her to the island, and Peter would be none the wiser."

"You'd be risking Violet and Andrew's lives."

"They're lucky I haven't turned them into dust." Her mouth set in a hard line. When he frowned at that, she let out a light laugh. "Lighten up, Normie. Come on, I have something to show you."

She was gone in a blur, but Normie caught up to her quickly. Even with slowing down to match her speed, they made it to their destination in about fifteen seconds. Scarlet had stopped about forty feet away from the place she had wanted to show him. It was the place that he was born in; the place he grew up in.

"Welcome home," Scarlet folded her arms in front of her chest. There were multiple people working on the outside of the building; putting up fences and cameras. A few of the workers glanced at them apprehensively. "The inside of the building is completely finished," she explained.

"We're going to live here again?" Normie wasn't too sure on how he felt about that. He was absolutely sure Andrew would never want to be here again. Scarlet nodded, admiring the place.

"I have not forgotten about what day it is, just so you know." Scarlet said suddenly. Normie scrunched up his face in confusion because there was no way she could be talking about what he was thinking of. "Twelve, right?" Normie nodded.

He had learned that Scarlet had no real emotions after Stryker experimented on her, but ever since the day the building exploded and Scarlet was 'activated', it was almost as if some of Mary Jane had wormed it's way back into her.

"Who did Stryker put in charge of during his absence?" Scarlet called out to the workers.

The men all looked around at one another until one of them decided to come over. "I'm Evan, I was in charge of this operation."

Scarlet raised an eyebrow as the corner of her mouth quirked up. "Was?"

"Yes... up until yesterday when we were told to follow your orders. You are Scarlet?" A bead of sweat trickled down Evan's forehead. Scarlet just blinked in response. "I mean, of- of course you are."

"How many do you currently have here already?" Scarlet asked. She didn't even question him about Stryker putting her in charge.

"Four," he answered promptly. "Five now that you brought him," Evan pointed towards Normie.

Normie looked at her in question. Scarlet stared at Evan through narrowed eyes.

"Stryker said you might be bringing more along with you," he reached out towards Normie when suddenly a howl of pain filled the air.

Evan's arm had been ripped clean off. He fell to the ground; a knob of bone stuck out where his arm had been. Normie stared in awe, taking several steps back.

"No one touches him. He has more of a right to be here than any of you." Anger seeped into her voice. Evan could do nothing but whimper about his arm. All of the workers were now staring at them with looks of shock and fear. She looked towards the others as she continued, "this is Normie. He will be in charge while Stryker and myself are not available. Get back to work."

If the situation were different, it would be comical how everyone nodded practically at the same time and began working as if nothing just happened. Evan was now laying in a pool of his own blood, growing paler every second. He'd be dead in the next few minutes.

Scarlet turned, cupping Normie's cheek. He shivered at her cold touch. "I've got some work to do. I'll be back in a couple of weeks and then we can talk about you going to New York."

"Y-you're leaving?" Normie asked as she began walking away.

"I'll be back. This is yours while I'm gone," she gestured towards the building. "Happy Birthday." She winked before speeding off again.

Normie almost smiled.