A retirement home? Alex, are you sure?" Amanda's father asked.

"Yeah, mom, that sounds a little supervillain-ish."

"We're not supervillains," her mother stated. "And we are not going to hurt anyone. Its just to lure them too us."

"Spider-Man and Spinneret?" she asked.

"Yes, Spider-Man and Spinneret."

"What if Spiderling is there?" Spiderling hadn't been involved in the fight that hurt her dad. And Amanda had always been fascinated by the girl, the crime fighting daughter of superheroes. Well. Not superheroes, not anymore. They showed themselves for who they really are all those weeks ago. And then again, the very next day, during the fight in which Spider-Man shot Hammerhead point blank. The mobster had made a full recovery, and was laying low amidst his legal proceedings, but still. It was pretty brutal.

So she and her family had to be ready. In the preceding weeks, Amanda and her family were training, honing in their powers, developing fighting skills, and enhancing their strengths.

"If Spiderling is there, we'll deal with her and her parents."

"But she's just a teen. We can't hold her responsible for her parents' actions."

"I have to say, I agree with Amanda," her dad said.

Maybe they could talk to her? Help her realize who her parents were. And then maybe she'd have a friend, someone who can show her the ropes in this hero thing. And if Spiderling were on their side, maybe she could help them with their battle against Spider-Man.

"We will deal with the girl as we will deal with her parents. Our mission is clear. Today we are not to kill or maim. We gather. Or, you distract, and I gather," her mother said. Her mother stood as tall as her short stature allowed. She wore her new costume, which was a long sleeved, black spandex that hugged her small frame. A black utility belt rested snuggly on her hips. Her mother wore black, mechanical gloves. She stood there, seemingly lost in thought, staring at her open palm. In the center of the glove, a dim blue light glowed.

Amanda wasn't sure what the tech did. Her mother was the only member of her family who was allowed to meet with their benefactor and she refused to share any details of those secret meetings, which meant she kept her family in the dark about how the tech in her gloves enhanced her powers.

Amanda's costume was similar to her mother's, except her costume was not all black. Amanda had white accents on her shoulders, a white utility belt, and her spandex pants had a long white stripe going down the side of each leg. Amanda's gloves were not mechanical, but textured on the palm, and infused with hard plates on top, allowing her to pack a more potent punch. She had taken to wearing her long hair in a tight braid to keep it out of her face.

Her father's costume was similar to her's, the only difference was his accents were magenta, not white.

"Alex," her father said, "I gotta be honest, I'm a little nervous about this plan. Are we doing the right thing?"

"Of course we are. We've been training for this for weeks. Follow my lead, and you'll be fine. Remember, our objective is to distract and gather."

"I don't know what that means," her father said, his voice dripping with frustration.

"You will soon enough. Now here," her mother said, reaching into her utility belt and pulling out three blue pills. Take your vitamins."

Amanda and her father shared a weary glance. They had been taking these new supplements, and Amanda couldn't help but notice the muscle tone she was quickly developing. She felt stronger, faster, more alive. And she knew the vitamins had something to do with it.

Her mother gave them each a pill. Amanda grabbed her water bottle and chugged it down. Her mother swallowed hers dry and without hesitation. Her father stared at the pill in his hand.

"Will," her mother said. "Take the vitamin." Her tone was ice. Her dad sighed and swallowed it.

"When do we leave?" Amanda asked, feeling very nervous. She had never even been in a fight before, and now she was going to square up against the Spider-Family. She clenched her fists tight and tried to take a slow breath.

"We leave now."

Jonah straightened the stack of newsletters before placing them on the grand wooden coffee table. The title of the letter boasted "Fast Facts" by J. Jonah Jameson. He made sure the print was large enough to accommodate his population and of course he included a QR code that would link his readers to his podcast of the same name.

Jonah settled in on the cushy blue couch, ready to help his readers out with the QR code. Jonah and Marla had been living at Golden Tides, an upscale retirement home, for the past 7 years. Jonah had initially been against moving into such a community, but both Marla and John had insisted. After many a shouting match, he begrudgingly caved, vowing he would never conform to the slower pace of a retirement community. And Jonah kept to his word. He most certainly did not slow down. Going to the gym on almost a daily basis, reinventing his podcast, starting up his newsletter, the sensational pace of his life did not change. And then when Marla fell ill, some of the amenities were very helpful.

Jonah sighed as he readjusted the stack on the table, trying to distract himself from thoughts of Marla's illness. He thought of her often, but as she was before she had gotten sick.

"Morning, Jonah." Robbie Robertson sat down next to him. Jonah and Marla had been so impressed with Golden Tides, Robbie and Martha moved in about six months after he and Marla. Robbie reached out and fiddled with the branch of the grand (and fake) Christmas tree. In the opposite corner was an equally grand Menorah. When he had first moved in, Jonah had harrumphed at the political correctness of it. Just commit to one holiday, dammit. Jonah himself didn't give a rat's ass as to which holiday the association committed to. After a life time of working through the holidays, making sure the Daily Bugle never missed a beat, no matter how many of his employees took off, he never really got into the habit of celebrating.

But then he saw how residents and their guests (especially their grandchildren) reacted to seeing their holidays celebrated. Now Jonah harrumphed about how limited the holiday representation was. If the association insisted on being politically correct, they may as well commit to showcasing more of the holidays occurring during the winter season. The expansive lobby was big enough after all.

"Morning," Jonah grumbled, his words muffled by his cigar.

Robbie picked a copy of the newsletter and scanned it with his careful eyes. For a moment, they were back in his office, cramming to meet a deadline. That was when they had done their best work; down at the wire.

"Good morning gentlemen!" Ruth from 1170 said. She scooted by with her walker, pausing to pick up a newsletter. She held it close so that it eclipsed her face. Jonah sighed as she tried to push the QR code box with her finger.

"It's not working," she scolded.

"Jesus Christ, its not a button. For the last time you use your phone," Jonah snapped.

"Watch it with that attitude!"

Robbie chuckled which earned him a glare from Jonah.

Ruth took her sweet time in digging out her phone. She lifted her glasses and squinted at the screen, punching in her passcode with a single finger. Jonah sighed. It was going to be a long morning.

"Now what?" Ruth showed him her unlocked phone.

"Go to camera app."

"The what?"

Jonah sighed.

Robbie cut in. "Here, allow me?" He said holding out his hand.

"Thank you dear," she handed the phone over.

Robbie graciously showed her as he accessed her camera app and aimed it at the QR code. He then set her up with the link to Jonah's podcast.

"Thank you again," she said sweetly to Robbie. Then to Jonah, "I just love your show. I can't start my weekend without it! Take care gentlemen!" She said as she shuffled along, Jonah's intro blasting as she went.

Robbie elbowed him. "You know, a little bit of patience would do you some good."

Jonah glowered at his friend. "You have any idea how many times I've patiently done that? Every damn weekend." He had switched his podcast release day from Wednesday to Saturday as many of the residents had their grandchildren help them with their phones.

Robbie chuckled. "It's a tough crowd."

"You can say that again!"

But before Robbie could even repeat himself, there was a deafening boom! and the lobby rumbled as the wall containing the front doors was blown in.

"What in the actual hell is this?" Jonah yelled as pandemonium ensued.

Through the gaping hole, a party of three walked in. They were ridiculously dressed in black with accents of color on their shoulders and down the side of their pants. Their faces were hidden by sleek helmets. The glass shielding their faces was a glossy opaque black.

These damn vigilante types! Always sniffing around for trouble causing even more in their wake. Jonah grabbed his phone and pulled up his camera and surveyed the damage. Of course these goons blew down the wall when they could have simply walked through the door. Attention starved cretins.

Robbie grabbed Jonah's camera hand.

"What're you doing? You're ruining my shot!"

"You're retired for God's sake! Run!"

Well, the man wasn't wrong. Jonah swiped his camera over the scene for good measure and then took off with Robbie.

"Oh no you don't!" A female voice bellowed. "Jameson. Let's chat."

And then he and Robbie ran right into a translucent magenta wall. He was knocked down onto his rear. He stood up quickly, recovering his dignity.

"Where the hell did that come from?!" he yelled. Robbie turned him around, and Jonah saw they were trapped in some type of dome. With of course, the three clowns.

Then there was another bump, this time coming from the top of the dome. Jonah looked up and saw Spider-Man and his family standing up on the outside of the magenta bubble. Spider-Man waved.

And for whatever reason, that wave really ticked him off. "Spider-Man!" He screamed. "I know you're behind this! If you think you're getting away with this scheme, oh, why I outta…" Robbie smacked his arm.

What? What would he do? Jonah eyed Spiderling, and made a mental note to make yet another call to DCF. Not only was Spider-Man a menace to the city who brought destruction to every borough, he was putting his offspring in danger, and, even worse, training her to follow in his destructive footsteps. Jonah shuddered to think of the future tax hikes.

"Excellent," the woman said, looking up at the Spider-Family. "So predictable. Guardian, let them in."

Spider-Man and his family landed on the dome. Even though he couldn't see their faces, Peter recognized the now costumed forms of Bubble Boy and Blondie. The third member he did not recognize. Which made him nervous. As did their apparent costume upgrades.

Peter also saw none other than J. Jonah Jameson and Robbie Robertson. Robbie was backed against the dome, rightfully scared. Jonah stood next to him, glaring up at Spider-Man and shaking his fist. He looked pissed.

"Guys!" Annie shouted. "Brace yourselves, we're going in!"

And just like that, his Spider-Sense sounded, and the doom beneath their feet disappeared and they dropped in to face their assailants. Robbie and Jonah bolted the second the dome disappeared.

Peter took a protective step forward. If this trio attacked, he'd be the first in their line of fire.

"Spider-Man!" Blondie began. "So we meet again." Her masked gaze fell on Spinneret and Spiderling. "I see we've got the entire family here."

"Stay away from them," he seethed, and from his periphery, he saw MJ and Annie crouch, ready to strike. "Who's the third wheel?" He asked, indicating the stranger. "We got Bubble Boy, Blondie, although that helmet hides your signature hair."

"Call me Shadow," Blondie replied. And Annie snorted. Blondie glared at his daughter, and then to Third Wheel, "Glass. Why don't you introduce yourself."

"Shadow and Glass?" Annie snarked. "You losers are trying too hard"

MJ shot their daughter a look that said shut up!

Shadow aka Blondie glowered. "Glass!" she barked. "Now."

The one called Glass was taller and heavier than Shadow. A long dark braid fell down her back. As she raised her hands up, his Spider-Sense screamed.

"Jump!" Annie cried as Peter and MJ leaped out of the way.

Glass shot her arms forward and, true to her name, shards of glass shot forward, right where they had been standing.

Annie was one step ahead, and wove a giant web to catch the shards before they did any damage to the lobby or the residents trying to flee the scene. But to his horror, some of the shards pierced through the webbing. MJ was on it, and grabbed an old woman who was glued to her phone, pulling her safely out of the way.

"You could've killed her," Annie yelled, and Peter could hear the vengeance in her voice.

"Spiderling, stop!" MJ said as Annie charged forward.

As Annie ran towards Glass, Bubble Boy, or whatever his name now was, shot out a magenta blast. MJ dived forward, pushing their daughter out the way.

Peter launched into action, diving towards the man who had almost killed his wife. Will. Yes, that was his name. He could still see the details of Will's face despite the helmet. Peter dodged Will's blasts, moving faster and faster. Finally he broke through the onslaught of magenta and landed a punch to the man's jaw. But his fist connected with the hard surface of his helmet, causing a clang! and Will stumbled backwards, falling down onto his back. Peter wondered what material the helmets were made of as he shook the sting out of his fist. Then, he readied to web the man up.

"Dad, no!" Glass called. She fired her clear daggers, raining destruction down on him. But what she didn't realize is that her aim also endangered Will. Peter grabbed the man and dodged Glass's impulsive attack, his heart breaking for the girl. She sounded young, a teen, like Annie.

"Dragging your kid into this?" Spider-Man asked as they rolled out of his tackle. He thought suddenly of Norman Osborn, passing his villainous legacy down to his own child, and for a moment, Peter saw red. Then he heard the girl scream and saw Annie had charged her.

"Amanda!" Shadow called, and she ran to her daughter, who was blocking Annie's moves with a clumsy defense. Peter's heart dropped as Shadow rushed towards the two. He remembered how MJ had described her attack. Just as he was about to try to fly across the lobby, which would leave Bubble Boy unattended, MJ intercepted Shadow in a blur of red and white.

Peter sighed with relief as MJ expertly fought off the woman.

"Don't you dare say anything about my daughter!" Bubble Boy seethed. "Like you have room to talk."

Well, he had a little bit of a point there, but there was one major difference. Peter grabbed the man by his shirt, pulling his face close to his own. "I'm no criminal."

"I beg to differ!" Jameson shouted. Peter sighed. Why the hell was he still here? In one swift movement, he shot out a web, catching Jameson in the mouth, his cantankerous protests now muffled.

Bubble Boy seized the opportunity and head butted Spider-Man. That helmet of his packed a punch.

"Amanda!" Shadow called through her struggle with MJ. "Get the girl."

"I don't want to hurt her," she cried. Annie stopped her attack, almost frozen by her words.

"I don't want to hurt you either. Whatever this is, just stop," his daughter said.

Peter knew Annie had been aching to get these goons for what they had done to her mother. But now, here she was, ready to move forward and end this in a peaceful way. Peter couldn't have been more proud.

"Don't listen to her! Don't forget Paul!" At that point, MJ fired a web at Shadow, and yanked her down to the ground. The woman glared as she jumped back up and got in a lucky punch knocking Spinneret down. But MJ didn't miss a beat, she kipped up into a standing position and drove her foot forward and up in a graceful kick, just missing Shadow by centimeters. Shadow and her husband had definitely been training. Peter even wondered if strength enhancing drugs had been used.

At the sound of Paul's name Amanda shuddered, and dropped to her knees. Peter, still holding on to Will, watched as Annie slowly kneeled down besides the girl. Peter glared at Will. "I don't know who this Paul is, but look what you're doing to your…" Peter didn't get a chance to say "daughter." With a roar, Will thrust his arms out against Peter's chest, and he found himself hurling backwards, propelled by a chunk of magenta. Peter hit ground, the wind knocked out of him, now pretty certain that the family of ridiculous code names had in fact, enhanced their strength beyond training and tech.

"Dad!" Annie cried, and made a move to run towards him, but Amanda jumped up, and grabbed his daughter. Annie became very still very fast. Peter saw that Amanda held a shard of jagged glass at Annie's throat.

"Please," MJ said, her voice shaky, as she held on to Shadow. "Let her go. You don't need to do this."

"Let go of my mom!" Amanda screamed, her timid demeanor now gone. MJ did as she was told, and Shadow walked over to Will and Spider-Man.

"Will, restrain him," she began as Spider-Man sat with his hands up. He fought the urge to jump up and spring into action, but knew that he couldn't; not with a dagger being held at Annie's throat.

And on cue, Will shot out a small magenta blast, which wrapped itself around Peter. He clenched his hand into a fist, and it tightened. Shadow came forward, and he saw his masked face reflected in the black glass of her helmet. She placed her hand on his chest and gave a push.

As he fell backwards, he felt something peel away from deep inside. Where he had sat before, he saw a shadow copy of himself, and he felt weak, heavy, and yet also as if someone had sucked away his insides. Peter struggled to sit up, but couldn't.

"Now Alex!" Will said. Alex touched her thumb to her base of her pinky finger and her glove whirred. Peter felt weak, woozy, and cold. As Alex reached her gloved hand to his shadow thing, he knew that whatever happened next wouldn't be good.

But then there was a scream, and the sound of a powerful punch connecting with a hard material. Then the distinctive thump of a body dropping to the ground.

"Amanda!" Alex screamed. Annie leaped over the girl's supine form and rushed over to Peter, MJ right behind her.

"I got Blondie, you grab Bubble Boy" MJ said, adhering to the original nicknames. And together, mother and daughter attacked. Their movements were quick, sharp, and efficient. Nothing too fancy. MJ had Blondie down within minutes, the woman didn't even stand a chance. She then joined Annie against Bubble Boy, and with a swift kick in his chest, he went flying backwards, which broke his concentration, causing the magenta whatever to disappear. But Peter still felt too weak to move.

"Spiderling! The shadow, push it back into your father!"

Annie did as she was told as MJ took on Alex yet again. Amanda rushed to her mother's defense, but she was no match for MJ who was in full Momma Bear Mode. That'll teach them for holding any sort of weaponry to his daughter's throat.

The shadow returning to Peter's body was just as creepy and uncomfortable as it was leaving, but the end result was much more favorable. Peter stood and took a second to breath. Then, still a little woozy, he leaped into the fray, family versus family. Heroes versus villains. The Spider-Fam had the edge of experience and training. They very quickly overpowered their opposing trio. The three lame code names knew they were bested, and began fighting just to escape.

Amanda reached for her utility belt, and pulled out a small disc. A smaller version of the bombs that had been plaguing them. She held it up high, and, sounding an awful lot like her own mother, said "You haven't seen the last of Triple Threat!"

Triple Threat? That's what they were calling themselves? That was almost as stupid as the code names they inconsistently used. Annie flat out snorted, then yelled "Crap!" as Amanda threw the bomb. Peter and his family jumped out of the way, and webbed any stragglers to a safe distance away from the blast.

When the smoke cleared, Triple Threat was gone. Some of the elderly came out of their make shift hiding places, surveying the damage. The large Christmas tree was very much a causality of the blast, its broken branches and ornaments littering the ground. Taking in the damage, Peter felt like the menace Jonah claimed Spider-Man to be.

And speaking of Jonah, of course he hadn't run. He had his phone out, recording everything, his complaints still muffled by the splotch of webbing covering his mouth.

"Who's gonna spray the webbing?" MJ asked referring to the webbing dissolvent Peter had designed.

"Do we have to?" Peter asked.

MJ crossed her arms over her chest and gave him the look.

"Fine," Peter said. Spiderling, holding a box of apple juice by its corner between her teeth, dug through her Pack, and tossed her dad the spray before tearing into the glucose and chugging it down.

"Alrightie JJJ, hold still and say 'cheese!'"

He wasn't sure what Jonah said, but it certainly wasn't cheese. When the webbing had dissolved, Spider-Man was ready to web his mouth shut yet again for the onslaught that came out of his mouth. But, Peter knew if he did that, he Jonah would be trapped in a never ending cycle of webbing his yap shut, then dissolving the webbing. So, Peter decided to be the bigger person, and let Jameson do his thing as he and his family left the scene.

"Well he's pissed," Annie said as they swung home.

"Nothing new on that front." Thankfully, the way home was fairly quiet, or as quiet as you can get in good ol' NYC.