Michelle "MJ" Jones

"Okay, let's see here…"

I was sitting in the office of the Midtown's guidance counselor, Mr. Flannigan. With graduation coming up, I've been making more frequent visits. As he typed away at his computer, I looked around at the pictures that hung in the office. Some of the pictures were of alumni from different decades. Others were of past events, such as Tony Stark speaking at an assembly or the one time the football team actually didn't have a losing season.

"Alright, I have you pulled up," Mr. Flannigan said. "From what I can see, you're in pretty good shape as far as grades and attendance goes. I still find it a bit curious that you decided to take Trig when you already aced Calculus a year ago."

"I was considering majoring in Engineering, and I figured taking Trig for my last needed credits would help me keep my skills fresh just in case," I commented.

"Not exactly the most orthodox route, but I respect it." He took his eyes off of the screen and looked at me. "You said that you were considering an engineering major. Have you decided to go a different direction?"

"Honestly, I've been considering double majoring in Journalism and Theatre. I know that, at the school I plan on attending, their journalism department requires you to double major."

Mr. Flannigan nodded. "Right, much like NYU." He paused as he looked off to the side in thought. He then looked back at me. "Well, it seems like you're set for now. I will, however, urge you to do some research into the school's curriculum, if you haven't done so already. You have no idea how many stories I've heard about students going in, thinking they have a plan, only to find out the hard way that they weren't ready. You're one our best students here at Midtown – probably one of our best ever – so I would really hate for that to happen to you." He then tilted his head. "Have you gotten your letter of recommendation yet?"

I shook my head. "Not yet. I will have it sometime next week."

He nodded. "Good, good. Well, when you do, come see me, and we'll work on that application. Sounds good?"

I nodded. "Sounds good." I stood up and stuck my hand out. "Thank you, Mr. Flannigan."

Mr. Flannigan took my hand and gave it a firm shake. "You're welcome. You have a nice rest of the day."

"You, too."

I withdrew my hand and made my way out of the office. I took in a breath. I had one loose end almost handled. I knew that Pepper was going to be in New York next week since The Loser texted me about it earlier this morning. Seeing her shouldn't be a problem. It seemed like I had my ducks in a row. I knew where I wanted to go for college and I had the SAT scores, grades, honors, and extracurricular activities to get me in. All I needed to do was stay the course…

…and take care of the whole Mirror MJ thing.

I came to a stop and stood there for some moments. I grimaced. I started to realize that I was going to be in for a rather long summer. Preparing for college was one thing. How do I prepare for the possible fallout from… that? I had a feeling that there was going to be a lot to sort out in my life. Of course there was going to be. My life hasn't been simple since the middle of junior high school and I doubt it will ever be again.

Such is my luck.

"I could use a drink," I whispered to myself. Of course, I was just talking. I wasn't much of a drinker – just a social one. I shook my head and kept on walking. "One problem at a time, MJ. One problem at a time."

After school and after another training session with Colleen, I went over to Ned's parent's apartment. He asked me at lunch if I wanted to come over and just hang out. I took him up on his offer. I really didn't feel like staying in my room while my dad watched the Kraven interview. When I got there, I was greeted by Ned's grandmother. And I was then urged to sit at the dinner table – it turned out she was cooking. Once she was done, she served me and Ned some ginataang kalabasa (a kind of vegetable stew) with shrimp, rice, and some puto (steamed rice cakes) for dessert.

After we ate, Ned and I just sat down and watched a movie on Netflix. We ended up watching Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. As per usual, whenever we saw a movie with people with superhuman abilities, Ned brought up the subject of being a superhero.

"Absolutely not," I said with a shake of my head.

"Just think about it," Ned replied. "You already know quite a bit of superheroes. If you got powers –"

"Ned, I'm not going to act like there isn't an inherent cool factor to all of this. But you're skipping over quite a few details."

"Such as…?"

I rolled my eyes. "Gee, I don't know, government overreach, having to lie to those close to you to keep them safe, your life constantly being in danger from those who want to fuck around and find out, those you work with dying, the people who will still die despite the fact that you put forward your best effort to save them, being constantly subjected to the court of public opinion…" I looked over at Ned. He glared at me.

"You know, MJ, you're the only person I know that can make being a superhero seem like a bad thing."

"I'm just being realistic, Ned." I looked back towards the screen. "We know a whole team of superheroes, and each one of them either have major issues or went through major issues." I frowned. "On the low, there's a part of me that's afraid that one of them might find their Thirteenth Reason Why."

"Even Peter?"

I didn't say anything at first. I then bowed my head. "Even Peter."

It was at this point that I heard Ned's phone sound off. The sound in question was the one of Darth Vader breathing.

"Speaking of which," Ned said as he pulled out his phone.

"Of course you have a Star Wards themed tone for Peter," I teased. Honestly, I was just happy to get off the subject, because things got real dark real quick. I looked on as Ned checked his phone. He then furrowed up his eyebrows before he looked at me. He looked back down at the phone before he stood up.

"Um… Peter wants me to portal him here," Ned told me.

I looked at him, a bit confused. "Why?"

"I don't know. He says it's urgent."

After Ned retrieved his Sling Ring from his room, he and I moved to an empty spot in the apartment. Ned opened up a portal. Standing on the other side of it was Peter. As he stepped through silently, he looked back and forth between me and Ned. His expression was… solemn, almost blink. He had a certain look in his eyes, though. He looked… annoyed? I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

"I need a portal to The Bunker right now," he finally said.

"Peter, aren't you supposed to be at The Daily Bugle?" I asked.

"I was. Now I have to help the others."

"But dude, what about your powers?" Ned pointed out. Without saying a word, Peter stepped up to Ned, placed his hands on his waist, and then swiftly lifted him up in the air over his head. With the way Peter did that so easily, Ned might as well have been a mannequin. Ned yelled out in worry and surprise. I almost laughed at the sight of it, but I managed to keep it to a smirk. My smirk faded when I Ned's grandmother call out as she came out of her room.

Peter quickly, but gently placed Ned on his feet before he turned around. Speaking in Tagalog, Ned's grandmother had some words for Peter. Ned stepped in front of Peter, speaking to her in that same language. As the two of them spoke, I moved to Peter's side. We watched as they continued to talk. Ned then turned his head towards Peter.

"…Should I tell her?" he asked. I looked at Peter, who stared at Ned for a second. I guess it took him a moment to realize what he was asking. Peter then looked at me. I glanced at Ned's grandmother for a moment before I nodded. Peter nodded as he looked back at Ned. From there Ned continued the conversation. For a moment, Ned's grandmother looked at Peter with a look of surprise before she continued the conversation with Ned. After several moments, Ned's grandmother looked back at Peter.

"I'm happy you're okay," she said.

"Thank you," Peter replied in earnest. Ned's grandmother nodded before she turned around and walked away, likely back to her room. "Your grandmother's a sweetheart, dude."

"That she is," Ned said in agreement as he turned to Peter and smiled. "I love Lola!" His smile faded. "Okay, I know you got your powers back but, what makes you think the others need your help?"

"Yeah, remember that laptop Betty swiped? When Kraven's men found out it was missing, Kraven figured the X-Men would go after Hammer eventually, so he set up a trap. His men have been working undercover there for a long while just waiting. And to make things worse, Anton is somehow out of SHIELD custody, he and Calypso are with Kraven, and all three of them are headed over to Hammer Industries now. So, I kind of need that portal."

"Okay, I got you!" Ned turned around and opened the portal. As he formed the portal, I looked at Peter.

"Hey," I whispered. He turned his head towards me. "Are you sure about this?"

"I don't know who else to call," he replied. "I'm all the reinforcements they got, I think." I wanted to argue with him, but it wasn't like I knew much in the way of heroes outside of the X-Men, Colleen aside. Maybe I could've suggested her. But the portal was already open before I could have thought about bringing her up. Peter stepped through the portal. Ned stepped in afterwards. The two of them turned and looked at me. After a few seconds, I walked forward, stepping out Ned's parent's home and into the Bunker. As the portal closed behind me, I followed Peter along with Ned as he walked to one part of the Bunker. While I knew The Bunker was a rather large place, I didn't know how deep it ran underground until I was led to a staircase that spiraled downward. As we descended, I looked around.

"Okay, I have so many questions," I said aloud.

"Yeah, like how did the X-Men get something like this?" Ned asked.

"I don't know," Peter said in earnest. "I've been meaning to ask Scott about it for a while, but I keep on forgetting."

We finally reached a large circular room. All around were different lockers and cases, grouped into different sections. Peter stepped up to one of the grouped lockers. Next to it was a case with the Black Dahlia armored suit in it.

"You're going to be wearing that, right?" I said.

"To be honest, I almost want to wear the quick change outfit out of spite, but I suppose I should play it safe," Peter stated. He stepped up to the case and opened it up. He then pulled out a glasses case from his pocket and opened it up, revealing the EDITH shades. He pulled them out and spoke. "Hey Edith, I need you in the Black Dahlia Suit." A few seconds later, the eyes of the suit lit up briefly. After that, Peter put his glasses back in the case before he opened up a locker and placed the glasses inside. After that, he stepped up and pressed his hand to the spider emblem. It lit up for a moment before it opened up. He turned around and backed into the armor, which closed around him. He moved his arms and legs around. He then brought his hands up and moved his fingers. "It's been a long while since I've been in a suit."

"How's it feeling?" Ned asked.

"A bit weird, but I'll get over it. Now, I need a portal to Shadowcat. I think she'd like to know I'm back to normal… seemingly."

"Hold on," I said. I looked over at Ned. "Give us a minute, will you?" Ned gave me a look, but backed away. I looked back at Peter. "Peter… are you sure you about this? I know you're worried about them, but I don't want you to get hurt."

"I can't stand by and do nothing when my strength is back," Peter replied. He used his right hand to lift up the facemask of his helmet. He frowned. "I probably should keep a rolodex of other heroes I could call. I might start with Luke Cage, considering how often I find myself in Harlem." He smirked. "Plus, we kind of share the same suit tailor."

I glared at him. "Really? A joke at a time like this?"

"I'm just trying to psyche myself up." He shook his head. "I understand your concern. I have that same concern running through my head now. On one hand, I don't want to screw everything up for everyone, but on the other hand –"

"You don't want to lose your family again," I finished for him. I understood that. Who in their right mind wouldn't be able to understand that? I shook my head. "Don't think I'm trying to stop you or anything. I just want to be sure because… well, they wouldn't want to lose you. Ned and I wouldn't want to lose you again, either."

"I know." Peter smiled slightly. He took his hand in mine. "I know." He leaned his head upward and placed his lips against mine. I closed my eyes as I kissed him back. The kiss wasn't too long. He pulled away. I opened my eyes and stared into his. I smiled for a moment before I became serious.

"Bring everyone back to us safe, you included," I whispered.

"I will," he promised. I nodded before I pulled away. He looked at Ned. "Portal me, Ned – and take yourself and MJ back home."

"Got it," Ned stated. He turned towards an empty spot in a room and formed a portal. Once it the poral formed, Peter ran up to it. He stopped briefly, turned around, and formed a heart with his hands before he backed into the portal. The portal closed a few seconds later. After letting loose a sighed, Ned turned towards me. "He's going to be okay, right?"

"I'm sure he will be," I said, smiling to Ned. I was trying to be reassuring. The thing was, I didn't know if I was trying to reassure Ned or myself. Underneath that smile of mine was a whole lot of worry. Last time Peter crossed paths with Calypso, he ended up being abducted and rendered powerless. And the last time the X-Men crossed paths with Kraven, he sent them running with their tails between their legs, with Craig getting brutalized the worst. Those facts were in the back of my mind. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. "Let's go back home before your Lola gets worried, okay?"

"Yeah," Ned agreed with a nod before he went about forming a portal.

They got this, I thought to myself. They got this.