3:20pm

Peter Parker entered to find many of his friends gathered. He tried to keep the embarrassment off of his face, but in all likeliness was failing miserably. He noticed an absence as he walked to the front of the room where the small groups of people were gathered.

"I thought I was late?" He said questioningly.

"You are." Came Logan's simple response.

Peter made an exaggerated show of looking around the large room and smirked.

"I don't think I am." Peter said seeming very pleased with himself.

"It's possible that the person you're looking for is here just not in this room." Tony suggested.

"Nope. I'm early." Pete said smugly as he placed his hands behind his head and sat down on the steps at the front of the room.

"Peter! You'll get your suit all wrinkled." Aunt May said as she jabbed him, forcing him to stand.

"You know if the last person doesn't show up, which I think might be likely, you technically would be late." Johnny Storm added from Peter's left.

Sue hit her brother. "Don't worry, Pete, they'll definitely show up." She reassured him.

"Of course she will." Peter said showing no hint of worry. The others around him didn't share his confidence however.

"You know we called her and there was no answer." Jess supplied.

"Isn't the Avengers protocol to track them down until you can be entirely sure they aren't in trouble?" Pete returned.

"No, that would be excessive for someone who is twenty minutes late, you should know this." Steve answered.

"Exactly, you guys are worried about nothing. She'll be here." Pete said with total confidence. "My guess is about…" Pete checked his watch, "4 minutes. I'll bet 20 bucks. Any takers?"

Everyone looked at Peter Parker as though he was insane. It was something Peter was accustomed to.

"You can bet that she won't turn up if you like, but that's as good as handing me your money."

9:38am (earlier that day)

Carol stirred slowly from her sleep. The warm heap beside her did not have their arms around her, which was highly unusual, so she edged a bit closer. She draped her arms around her partner.

"Morning Spider." She said sexily.

"Mmm." Moaned a feminine voice. More than feminine, it definitely belonged to a woman. "Finally realised female spiders are the way to go?"

Carol instantly removed her roaming hands. "Jess?"

"The one and only!" Jess responded. "Wait did you say Spider-woman or Jess. Doesn't matter, doesn't work either way." She added groggily.

"What are you doing in my bed?" Carol asked.

"Your bed?"

Carol sat up and looked around the room. "What am I doing in your apartment, in your bed?" Carol asked.

"Living out one of your fantasies?" Jess responded as she got out of bed.

Jess was completely naked and Carol was relieved when she looked down and found herself fully clothed. She could feel the clothes on her skin but seeing them with her eyes made her more comfortable. With the crippling headache she had woken up with she felt it best to check everything with at least two of her senses. Carol shot Jess a look that demanded explanation, Jess returned with a look as if to say Carol already knew.

"Oh right." Carol said slapping her forehead. "But what happened last night?"

"You don't remember?" Jess asked incredulously. "Oh my God. Not even remembering what you did to Pete." She shook her head in an exaggerated act of condescension.

"All I remember is a limo and champagne. Wait! What did I do to Pete?"

"Well if you really want to fill in the blanks of last night I have pictures." Jess said as she lifted the camera from her desk.

Carol was next to her instantly and made a grab for the camera. But Jess held it behind her while placing a hand on Carol preventing her from reaching it. For Captain Marvel it would be easy to take the camera by force, but with her naked best friend between them she was forced to relent.

"You can see the pictures, but I'll hold the camera." Jess said teasingly.

"Why?"

"Because I'm scared you'll destroy it."

Jess slowly sauntered over to her bed and sat down atop her ruffled mattress and pressed her back against wall. She patted the empty space on the bed next to her, gesturing for Carol to join her.

"Can you at least put on some clothes?" Carol asked.

"Why?"

Carol huffed in frustration before sitting beside her friend. She could have argued the case and probably convinced Jess to make herself decent, but she wanted to see those pictures now. She sat by her friend and Jess held the digital camera in front of her and flicked through a plethora of pictures quickly. Carol didn't need to take a long look at the images, as Jess went through them the memories of the previous night flooded back to her.

"Oh God." Carol groaned as she hung her head.

"Come on, there's still hundreds left, and we haven't even got to the good ones." Jess encouraged as she elbowed Carol.

"I don't need to see the rest." Carol said. After a pause she continued, "I should tell Pete, shouldn't I?"

"No you shouldn't." Jess responded.

Carol stood up and began to pace around the bedroom. "Of course I should. I have to tell him."

"That's ridiculous."

Carol didn't respond she just continued to pace. Eventually she seemed to make up her mind and she was suddenly wearing her Captain Marvel uniform again.

"I think I'm gonna go out."

"And do what? Find Pete? You're making a mistake Carol."

"No, I made the mistake last night. But I won't look for him before… you know… I just need to clear my head."

"What? By beating up people who you could take out with your pinky?"

"It's more fun than you'd think." Carol said before she opened the window.

"You really shouldn't worry about last night. I was just teasing you with the betraying Pete, it's really not that bad." Jess said.

"That's good, Pete might be understanding when I tell him then." Carol said as she flew out the window.

Jess rushed to the window. "You'll just embarrass yourself!" She shouted after her but there was no indication Captain Marvel had heard.

11:48am

The bank robbers loaded the van quickly. They had a few duffle bags filled with cash. The robbers were slightly slowed by the guns they were carrying, but those guns were necessary to get the money in the first place. The last robber came hurtling down the steps of the bank. He threw his bag to whoever was loading the trunk and ran to the passenger's seat of the van. He climbed in hastily.

"Step on it!"

The driver smashed his foot on the accelerator. Tyres could be heard screeching against the asphalt road.

"What's your problem? Get going!"

"You hear that? I'm trying!"

"Well then what's the hold…"

The argument inside the van was stopped as the robbers felt themselves be lifted up into the air.

"Great!" The robber in the passenger seat threw open his door and began firing his gun behind him.

Captain Marvel saw the bullets rush past her and realized this may be a problem if those bullets hit anyone. They were firing with reckless abandon, which to her was much more worrying than someone with precise, deadly aim. She brought the van crashing back to the road. Miraculously the gun clattered to the street. The robber tried to get out of the seat dazedly and got into the road, following his gun. Captain Marvel was by him in an instant and punched him away.

She looked into the van and saw the driver making an exit. She sent an energy pulse towards him but it only succeeded in blasting the driver's door off its hinges. The driver himself had managed to avoid it and was running in the opposite direction to the way the van was facing. She heard more doors clatter open and all of the robbers in the boot were running with the driver now. Captain Marvel loved it when they didn't split up; it made her job so much easier.

Sure enough the three remaining bank robbers were dealt with in a matter of seconds. But suddenly there was the deafening sound of a gunshot and a red and blue blur shouting "Get Down!"

The blur clattered into her, forcing her out of the way of the bullet. He landed on top of her, their faces inches apart. She looked to the person who had shot her. It was the robber she had punched earlier but now he was hanging upside down from a lamppost, his gun was harmlessly resting on the floor. Spider-man was holding the webbing that was attached to the hanging robber and stuck it on the ground beside them. Carol's head filled with the images of what she'd done the night before. She tried to mask the look of shame that must have been adorning her face.

"I saved your life!" Spider-man said happily.

"I'm bulletproof." Carol replied completely deadpan.

"Well I couldn't know that." Carol shot him an incredulous expression. "And I'm not bulletproof, does that not count for something?"

"Do you want something from me?" Carol asked.

"You're not supposed to say it like that." Spider-man stood up from his position atop Carol and threw his hands in the air. "It's supposed to go: 'Oh spider-man, you're so courageous, how can I ever repay you?'" He swooned.

"How can I repay you?" Carol asked, her voice mimicking the 40's twinge Steve Rodger's possessed, certainly not the damsel-in-distress voice spider-man had asked for.

"Marry me?"

Carol rolled her eyes. "That's not funny." She said.

"Says you. Are we still on for later?" Spider-man asked.

Carol crossed her arms and glared at Spider-man. It wasn't like her not to participate in jokes and she was radiating discomfort, not with the conversation just at Peter's presence.

"I'll take that as a yes." Pete said. "I'll see you later then. Oh and don't be late!" He shouted as he swung off.

Carol sighed. She hadn't meant to act that way towards Peter at all. She figured she must not have cleared her head properly yet. Peter always said that New York would always throw a superhero what they needed if they were sorting things out in their personal life. He said the city was amazing that way. If you did good deeds for the city, it would return the favour. She smiled as she thought of the time Peter first said that to her, but then frowned because she was smiling at a memory of Peter. Boy, New York had better throw something good her way, and it better do so before her appointment.

2:54pm

Recently Carol had started to feel in tune with the city as she flew around listening for crime. She looked at her watch; she was making perfect time, as usual. But as she flew past an alley she heard a scream followed by what was unmistakably a slap. She decided to listen; it wouldn't make her late, as this would only take a couple of seconds.

"This one's feisty." A gravelly male voice spoke. Hyena-like laughter followed these words as the group of men closed in on the woman. "That just makes it all the more fun." He withdrew a flip knife from an inside pocket and the leer on his face was vomit inducing.

The woman screamed and closed her eyes. She heard a shout of "Captain Marvel!" She opened her eyes as soon as she heard but had missed all of the action, the five men who had been surrounding her were scattered across the alley, some of their bodies contorted into painful looking positions. The victim ran from the scene, she only reflected after having run away that she perhaps should have thanked Captain Marvel for saving her.

Carol surveyed the mess she had wrought to this New York alley and sighed. She was about to fly off when a voice stopped her.

"Impressive."

Carol turned around to look at whom the voice had come from. He was leaning nonchalantly against the wall of the alley, his hands tucked into his pockets. He was wearing all black, apart from the large W that adorned his vest. Carol turned around and flew out of the alley without a word. Simon followed her. She flew away from her destination as she didn't want Simon following her there. Carol eventually relented and landed on a roof, Simon accompanied her.

"So? What do you want?" Carol said, anger seeping into her tone.

"I want to get back together." Simon said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Carol laughed, but not in a fun way. "Of course you do. Of course you would say that today, of all days."

"That's not an answer." Simon said.

"You didn't ask me a question." Came Carol's response.

Simon tilted his head to the side a bit before smiling. "Would you go out with me?" He asked charmingly.

"No." Carol said with disgust.

"You're still going out with the scientist? Carol, you need to be with someone who can keep up with your powers. I mean even if it were Spider-man I'd still worry, but this guy? He's a scrawny dork."

"Peter Parker," Carol began, emphasizing his name to prove her partner had one, but Simon was unwilling to accept Carol's partner had a name, "is perfectly capable of 'keeping up with me,' and from what I heard he can keep up with you too."

"He told you about that?" Simon said as though this were despicable behavior.

"Yeah, something about ripping you in half and using you to power an experiment. He was really excited about the science he used to beat you in a fight."

"That's not the same though, it wasn't a real fight, he can't do that against Kang or Ultron or Mystique." Simon argued. "I know you Carol. You want to relive House of M and be the most loved hero in the world. Imagine, Wonder Man and Captain Marvel. I can help you attain that."

"I don't need that anymore. And you'd be surprised at what Peter can do." Carol muttered. "Anyway, you're too late."

"What are you getting married or something?" Simon asked but Carol didn't respond. "Oh my God, Carol. Look I wasn't going to bring this up but I don't trust this Parker guy. His relationship to spider-man is more complex than you think."

Carol raised a curious eyebrow. "How so?"

"I think he invented spider-man. Not just the webs, all of it, gave him his powers. It would make sense, he has no money despite being a scientific genius."

"Well at least you can say something nice about him."

"And he sells incriminating photos of him to the Bugle and spidey just lets him."

"They're not incriminating, Jameson just sees them that way."

"And I think he's got Spidey on a leash. You ever hear about George Stacy? His girlfriend's dad died in mysterious circumstances involving spider-man. Gwen Stacy herself cheated on Peter Parker and was pregnant with babies that aren't his. She dies and spider-man's involved again. I don't think it's spidey's fault, Peter's probably blackmailing him or something. I think he may have even used spider-man to kill his own uncle. He's bad new- ugh"

Carol had heard enough. She was lifting Simon by his throat. She was so angry. Someone talking about Peter in that way was unforgiveable. Especially about the things that had caused him so much pain.

"All this proves to me is that you know nothing, nothing, about Peter Parker." Carol seethed. "He's a better person than you could ever be and he makes me a better person as well." Finally Carol was filled with the resolve she needed. If more proof were needed about Peter being right this was it. New York had provided for her, she'd just be a little late. "My wedding is today and you're making me late. Don't follow me and don't try to get back together with me again or I'll sic my soon-to-be husband on you. And we both know he can wipe the floor with you now, despite his lack of powers."

Carol threw him and he slid along the roof. Carol flew away at tremendous speed. The only thought currently in her mind was that her tardiness wouldn't matter when the groom is even later; she smiled this time as she thought about Peter.

3:17pm

Carol ran along the street in the wedding dress designed for her by Cindy Moon. Their relationship had started off poorly, to describe it lightly, but they had become friends, and there was no better fashion designer Carol knew in the superhero community, however much Tony boasted about his designs. Carol smirked at her internal joke. As she approached the church she spotted a suited figure running to the church from the opposite direction and they reached the church at the same time.

"Sorry, I know you said not to be late." Carol quipped.

Peter looked down at himself. "I would say we're both right on ti…" Peter stopped talking as he looked back up at Carol and drank in her appearance.

Carol looked down at herself and gave a quick twirl and a smile to Peter. "You like?"

"Like? I… Remember our first date?"

"I'll never forget it." Carol responded.

"I thought, at multiple times that night, you were the sexiest thing I'd ever seen. Well I'm having to amend that right now."

"This is the sexiest thing you've ever seen?" Carol asked as she gestured to herself.

"Well… maybe sexy is the wrong word."

"What's the right one?"

"Beautiful? Angelic? Ravishing? Nope. There are no words in the English language." Pete said. "Heck I doubt they have words in Asgard to describe beauty beyond that of a Goddess…"

Carol placed a gentle finger over Peter's lips. He was struck dumb. Words completely failed him. Even his legs were turning to jelly. Thankfully his body and mind were saved as Carol's beautiful smile was replaced with a frown.

"Peter, I need to tell you something." Carol said seriously.

"What?" Peter asked worriedly.

"Well, last night, at my Bachelorette party there were male strippers and…"

Peter cut her off with laughter. "Is that why you were acting weird earlier?" He asked through his guffaws.

Carol gave an offended look and was about to continue but Pete got there first.

"I told you Johnny was helping plan my bachelor party with my best man. With him and Flash in charge I thought you would know the sort of party they'd throw. And Jess actually asked me about it as well. I thought we had an understanding about that."

"Oh. Well. Jess asked you about it? (I'm so going to kill her.) And… oh." Carol said, completely taken aback. "But still. I zapped a man's clothes off with my powers. I bet you were webbing them up so they weren't exposed." Carol said.

"Well, that's true I guess. But I only did it to annoy Johnny and Flash." Pete smiled. "It's OK. That's normal. Neither of us are into that sort of thing, it was for our friends."

"Johnny and Jess?"

"Precisely. Yesterday was for them because after today they're losing a bit of us, the bit of us that is dedicating ourselves to each other. Yesterday was about our friends because everyday from now on will be about the two of us." Pete smiled.

Carol smiled beatifically. "Yeah, I like that."

"Great, so you're not worried about anything else that I can help solve before we go deliver our vows?" Pete asked cheekily.

"Nope." Carol smiled.

"OK, so look inside and see how angry they all are with us."

Carol looked at Pete in confusion.

"Wait, you don't have x-ray vision?" Carol smiled as she shook her head. "Great! How are we supposed to check if the presents they got us are any goo…"

Peter stopped and Carol knew what had happened. Often he'd be in the middle of a joke and the wording would give him a brainwave, an idea. Much of the time it was just an idea for another joke, occasionally it gave him a way to defeat a supervillain or help the world with an experiment but it was usually about another joke.

"OK, after I go inside you should wait 5 minutes before coming inside and joining me."

"Erm… why?" Carol asked.

"So that I can make a bet with them for how long you'll take and get insurance for if their gifts are terrible."

"Pete you know they've gotten us great gifts."

"Well yeah, but it's fun anyway." Pete said enthusiastically.

Carol smiled and remembered the time she had bet on how late Peter would be, she nodded her head.

"OK!"

"Great!" Peter said before he made to walk in but Carol pulled his hand back.

"Pete, I love you."

"I love you, too."

Carol pulled him in for a passionate kiss. For a moment Peter forgot all about the wedding and the people waiting inside and the massive commitment he was about to make and about the free ride criminals would get for the next couple of hours; he forgot everything apart from him and Carol. Meanwhile Carol was berating herself for how much she had been worrying all day. Marrying Peter should have been the easiest thing she'd ever done in her life. At least now she wasn't suffering from even the slightest hint of doubt.