Peter and Annie didn't go home after he picked her up at the subway station. Instead, they walked aimlessly through the city, just talking.

"I'm so sorry Dad," Annie said. "I should've returned the razor bats when you had asked.

Peter shook his head. "No, kid. I'm sorry. I should've told you about Gwen long ago. It's just, it's just not easy to talk about."

Annie was quiet. Peter wondered what she was thinking. He had just dropped a bomb on her, first talking about a woman he had loved who wasn't her mother. And then the brutal details of Gwen's death. Her life ending in her youth. And while it was ultimately the Goblin who brought her to that bridge, it was because she was connected to him. Because she loved Peter. He had been her death sentence.

"I can't imagine what that must've been like. To lose someone like that, and then get blamed."

"Spider-Man's been vindicated." But he often wondered if it was deserved.

"It took time though."

Peter nodded, and they walked in silence. "That's why I'm so strict with you and your mom about, you know." He was referring to their secret identities. Their double lives. And Annie, bless her, knew exactly what he was talking about. "It's not safe. For us, for our loved ones. Nobody can know. You understand that right?"

"Of course I do. Dad, does it bother you that I'm, uh, friends with Normie?"

"Normie? No, of course not. He's a good kid. Nothing like his grandfather."

"And his father?"

"He's the best of his father. Harry had his own demons. And he did terrible things as the Goblin, but nothing like what happened to Gwen. He loved her too."

"Then why did he continue the work of her murderer?"

"Honestly, I think he couldn't handle the truth. That his father had murdered one of his best friends. So he was on his own delusional mission, to prove that his father was not a murderer, but a victim of Spider-Man." Peter sighed. "He blamed me for his father's death. And I think he tried to blame me for Gwen too." A question that haunted Peter was if Harry was right.

His mind spun back to the moment Gwen's uncle had called him and shared the results of Gwen's autopsy.

"A broken neck," Arthur had choked.

He wondered if Annie knew. Part of him wanted to tell her. He wondered how she would react. Would it destroy her view of him? Be his fall from grace? He remembered the revering love in her eyes when she was little. He had been her entire world, could do no wrong. How could he deserve such love? How could he deserve such joy after all of the heartbreak he had caused?

"Annie. Did you read about how she died?"

She looked at him, confusion and sadness on her face. "I know the Green Goblin killed her on the bridge." Her voice was soft and filled with grief.

Peter exhaled a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. "No. The specific cause of her death?" His eyes stung, and he couldn't look at his daughter. Instead, he focused his gaze straight ahead, but he could feel Annie's eyes on him.

"Dad, what do you mean?"

"Gwen died from a broken neck."

"From the fall?"

"No. From her fall stopping. I caught her Annie. I caught her as she fell. My webbing hit her below her knee, and stopped her fall. Stopped it too fast. Damn it," he choked. "It was my fault. All my fault." He doubled over sobbing, the grief pouring out of him.

Annie wrapped her arms around him. "It's not. Dad it's not. It's not your fault." She held him as he sobbed, repeating herself again and again. "It's not your fault."

The Lizard?" MJ asked as she and Felicia raced in the direction Connors had gone. They were leaping from rooftop to rooftop.

"Yep."

"Great. That means we'll probably end up in the sewer."

Felicia was not looking forward to that, but MJ, with her white costume, had it worse.

"Did you get a hold of Spider-Man?" MJ asked.

"I didn't. I was hoping you'd have more luck."

"I called him a dozen times on my way over. I'll try Spiderling." She put her hand to her earpiece and called for her daughter. Felicia and MJ didn't need any backup. Especially with the Lizard. But it wasn't like Peter and Annie not to answer. She knew MJ was worried.

"Spiderling!" MJ exclaimed. "Where are you? Are you alright? Where's your father?" She was quiet while listening to her daughter. Then, "I'm just glad you guys are okay. Look, we got a lizard problem. Connors. Yes, again, I know. I need you and your dad to get his formula. When we catch him, I'll let you know where to meet us, okay? Alright, love you sweetie, bye!"

"All good?"

"Yeah, they were going for a walk, just talking."

"How sweet." Felicia thought of her own father, and the long walks they used to take.

"Yeah, but she sounded pretty sad. I hope they aren't fighting."

Felicia shrugged. "Fathers and their daughters. If they are, they'll work it out. Those two are as thick of thieves," she said with a mischievous grin.

MJ smiled. "You can say that again. Look!" she said, pointing down.

Felicia saw a crowd of people around what looked like an open manhole. "I guess we found our target."

"Yep," MJ said shooting out a strand of webbing. "Hold on."

Felicia wrapped her arms around Spinneret's strong form, and MJ swung them both down to the ground.

The crowd parted and gave a collective "Oh!" when they landed. Most looked relieved, although some eyed Felicia wearily. She smiled and gave them a little wave.

"Spinneret," a middle aged woman came up, holding onto a sobbing man. "It's okay," she gently said to him as she pulled away.

"What happened?" MJ said taking control of the situation.

"The Lizard. He grabbed his daughter, and…" she pointed to the open manhole.

"We'll get her back," MJ said to the grieving man. She jumped into the gaping void and was swallowed by the darkness.

Felicia gave a coquettish salute before doing the same.

They crawled through the sewer until it opened up into a dark, spacious cavern. Felicia lighted the way. Her suit upgrade included a bright light on the back of her hand. She could control the brightness of the beam and the size of the surface area the light covered. They settled on a dim glow, just enough to see, but not enough for the Lizard to see them coming. They were quiet as they sped through the sewer, both knowing what the Lizard was capable of doing to a child. Felicia heard a sniffling sound and MJ rushed past her. She angled the light and saw MJ cradling a little girl, whispering to her it will be okay.

"Cat," she said. "Let's get this one back to her father."

Before Felicia could respond, she saw MJ stiffen. "What's wrong?"

A low growl rumbled in the darkness.

"Run!" MJ yelled as she tossed the shrieking girl to Felicia and jumped, meeting the Lizard as he barreled his way towards them.

Felicia caught the girl and hesitated a moment, not wanting to leave her friend. But the little girl in her arms needed her father; needed safety. But then MJ went flying by her, and twisted to land in crouch on the wall, like, go figure, an actual spider.

She jumped back into the fray, and the Lizard slashed at her. Felicia fought a moment of panic as a splash of red flowed from MJ's skulls, but the panic quickly passed as she realized it was only Spinneret's red hair coming lose from her bun.

She put the little girl down. "I need you to run straight that way" she said pointing in the direction of the manhole. "Run as fast as you can, until you see the city above you." She took her glove off, and put it on the girl, giving her the light, and making it as bright as can be. The child looked up at her, her large brown eyes wet with tears. "Use that to light the way. We'll be right behind you." The girl nodded. "Go, now!"

And the light faded as the girl left, leaving the three of them fighting in darkness. But hey, her night vision wasn't bad, and MJ had her spider-sense. How hard could it be?

MJ grunt as she dodged a claw, nearly swallowing her hair as it whacked her in the face. After all her years modeling and working fans, she should be an expert at not swallowing flowing hair. Of course, fighting a massive lizard in a dark sewer was very different from a catwalk or studio, but hey, the experience was there.

"Cat? You here?" Her Spider-Sense buzzed and she jumped and fired a web hoping to catch the beast and restrain him. It didn't work, and she had to run up a wall to avoid his dinosaur-like jaws.

"Yep! I'm accounted for."

"Catch!" She peeled off one of her web shooters and tossed it down. She climbed a little higher, and more towards the left. "Is it on?"

"What?"

MJ sighed. "Is it on your wrist?" Come on now, what else was she going to do with it? Then she heard Felicia grunt and the Lizard growl.

"Gimme a minute, little busy." MJ held her breath, trying to spot her friend in the darkness. "Got it. What's the plan."

"Okay," MJ spoke clearly to help Felicia place her location. If this worked she'll have to start calling her Bat Cat. "Get behind the Lizard, diagonal from me. Jump up and get some height then shoot a web out in the vicinity of my head."

"Um, what?" Felicia sassed.

"Chill, I'm gonna dodge it. Then we swing in a circle, trapping him in a twister of our web. But we gotta be fast."

"No shit. That's the plan?"

MJ rolled her eyes. "You got a better one?"

"Nope." Seconds later, MJ dodged Felicia's perfectly aimed web.

They swung around the lizard, firing off web after web, tangling him in their dance. The Lizard roared and twisted, trying to burst free from his binding, but MJ and Felicia were too fast.

Then the sewer lit up in a beam of light.

"Someone ordered a serum?" Peter said, standing tall in his red and blues, aiming what looked like a dart gun at Conor's large, scaly form. Annie held the flash light, ready to spring into action. Peter fired the gun, and a thick long dart shot out and hit the Lizard in the neck. MJ watched in horror as the Lizard shrieked and seemed to fold in on himself, as if breaking down until a a limp figure slumped to the floor.

MJ ran to him. "Dr. Connors?" She asked, kneeling down by his side.

"What happened? Spider-Man?" He coughed.

"You're safe now, Doc," Peter said. "Can you walk?"

Connors nodded, and Peter helped him up. "It happened again didn't it?"

"Yeah. It did. I think its time you let go of that formula."

Conors' left hand gripped what was left of his right arm. "I think you're right. Where's my family?"

"They're safe."

MJ, her family, Felicia, and Dr. Connors made there way out of the sewer. Curt was reunited with Martha and Billy, and the little girl was wrapped safely in her father's arms. The Spider-Fam plus one exited the scene, grabbed some street food, and treated themselves to a roof top snack.

"Thanks for your help, Red." Cat said.

"You got it," she replied, taking a bite out of her taco. "Next time you invite me to a girls' night, though, I want more dancing and less reptiles."

"The next one's on you to plan."

"What about me? When's our next training session?" Annie asked. MJ smiled, delighting in how much her daughter looked up to Felicia. Just as long as she didn't pick up any of her pick-pocketing ways.

"Alright Little Spider, we'll figure something out." And Felicia was probably the only person in the world who could call Annie something like Little Spider without irritating the hell out of her daughter.

Peter's mask was pulled up just past the tip of his nose to allow him to eat. "Well, I feel left out. But don't mind me. I'll just sit here and enjoy my solitude." He said with a mouth full of food. Felicia chuckled, but MJ could tell he was forcing his good mood. Annie too. She wondered what was bothering them.

"We should get going," MJ said. "It's pretty late, and if Gayle wakes up and sees we're all gone, she'll freak."

Annie yawned as she entered her bolus into her pump.

"We'll be swinging soon, kid, don't go overboard."

MJ braced herself for some snark, but instead, Annie said "I know dad. I got this." "Thanks kid."

Well. That was different. But she wasn't complaining.

"Farewell Spiders," Felicia said with a wink.

"Bye Felicia!" Annie gave her a hug, and then turned to her father and said "don't!" stopping Peter from making a joke. They all said their goodbyes and headed home.