Ben was sitting beside Aunt May, who was fast asleep in the hospital bed, and Jarvis stood over her.
"The doctors assure us that she's going to be fine, Master Reilly," Jarvis assured him.
"I know; I'm a bit more concerned about someone who wishes to finish the job the snipers attempted to do," Ben sighed.
"I admit this incident has proven just how flawed the Registration Act is," Jarvis admitted.
"A little late to revise it now," said Ben. "Though Ghost Spider said Doctor Strange can help, but it will take time."
Jarvis nodded. "Hopefully, when she wakes up, she'll finally meet her granddaughter."
They then heard a knock on the door, and none other than Felicia Hardy entered the room.
"Felicia?" said Ben surprised.
"You know this young lady?" said Jarvis.
"We've never met, but I know about her from Peter," said Ben, getting to his feet.
"We were intimate," Felicia smiled.
"I see," said Jarvis. "It would seem as if Master Parker has had quite a number of women in his life."
"And every single one of them is one-of-a-kind," said Ben and then turned to Felicia. "What are you doing here, Felicia?"
"I heard what happened to Peter's aunt on the news, and I had to come," Felicia explained, looking at Aunt May. "How is she?"
"The doctor says that she'll make a full recovery; right now, she needs rest," said Ben.
Felicia then looked around curiously. "I was expecting to see Peter here and MJ?"
"Ghost Spider was finally able to track down their daughter, and they're looking for her now," Ben explained. "I only remain behind to protect Aunt May."
"And who are you?" Felicia asked curiously.
"You might know me as the Scarlet Spider," Ben explained. "I'm actually a clone of Peter made by the Jackal."
"Ah, Peter did mention you," Felicia nodded. "So despite this unfortunate tragedy, they might actually get their daughter back tonight."
"With luck," Ben nodded.
They then heard another knock on the door, and a nurse stepped out this time.
"It would seem as if our patient has a lot of visitors," she noted.
"We're just concerned for her well-being," said Ben.
"I completely understand, but if I could ask all of you to step outside briefly while I examined her," he said politely.
"We'll just be outside," said Ben.
They soon stepped outside and were met by MJ's Aunt Anna.
"I had already arrived sooner; the traffic was awful," she said.
"It's quite all right, Ms Watson," said Ben.
"Where's Mary Jane and Peter?" Aunt Anna asked, noting the absence.
Ben then began to explain the situation to her.
"So, might very well have little May back," said Aunt Anna, relieved. "It would be nice to have something good come out of this situation."
"Even if the Intel does come from Doctor Doom," said Felicia.
"I must say I do have my own scepticism on that, Miss Hardy, but I must agree on Miss Ghost Spider's assessment of the man," said Jarvis.
Felicia then looked at the door and frowned. "The nurse has taken a long time for just a routine checkup?"
Then, suddenly, they heard the sound of a window smashing, and Ben immediately rushed inside. When he entered the room, he found the nurse flat on the ground, and standing there next to a broken window was none other than Eddie Brock, a.k.a. Venom.
"Venom," Ben gasped.
Brock merely just looked at him. "I had hoped to see the real Spider, not a pale imitation."
"Insult me all you like, but if you harmed that woman, you'll pay for it," Ben threatened.
Felicia quickly rushed over towards Aunt May. "Ben, it doesn't look like he's harmed her."
"She's an innocent; I would never harm an innocent," said Brock.
"That's more than I can say for the nurse," said Jarvis, checking the nurse's pulse. "She's dead."
"Like I said, I would never harm an innocent," Brock shrugged.
Ben knew this to be true. While his vendetta against Peter was well known, he focused on saving innocent lives. That said, he was rather brutal in his dealings with criminals, making him a sort of antihero.
"Then why come here?" Ben asked.
"Because he wanted me to end her," he said.
"Who are you talking about?" Ben demanded.
"Mine and Peter's friend, but I cut out," said Brock, then showed off his arms, which had a number of deep cuts. "Look. Look how I cut out."
"I think this young man needs help," said Aunt Anna, who looked as if she was about to be sick.
"No one can help me now," said Brock as he stepped back towards the broken window.
"Eddie, don't!" Ben pleaded.
"I've done terrible things, but I am not a terrible person," he said as he leaned backwards. "Forgive me."
He then fell out of the window, but we would have fallen to his death if Ben hadn't grabbed him with his web shooters.
"Is he all right?" Aunt Anna rushed over to the window.
"He's fine, but she's being knocked out cold," Ben observed.
"What the heck was all this about?" Felicia asked. "Just why would he kill a nurse? And why wouldn't she be innocent?"
"I don't know," said Ben, looking at the dead nurse on the ground.
Peter and Ghost Spider were swinging through the city, with MJ strapped to his back by webbing, to the orphanage.
"So, what is the name of this orphanage?" MJ asked.
"It's called Little Wanderer's Orphanage. They take in children six and under," said Ghost Spider. "If the Intel I got is correct, your daughter should be there."
"Just think about it, Peter; in the next few minutes, our daughter will be in arms," said MJ excitedly.
"I'm excited to see our daughter to MJ, but let's not celebrate until she's actually in our arms," said Peter.
He didn't want to say this out loud, but he was concerned that the child authorities wouldn't allow them to keep her. Down to the small matter was that they were homeless and unemployed, and his hero career wasn't exactly what one would call a safe occupation. Plus, the recent attack on Aunt May might be cause for concern.
"Something on your mind, Tiger?" MJ asked in his ear.
"Just thinking about our daughter," said Peter.
"Are you worried that she might not come with us?" MJ asked.
Peter hadn't really considered that until MJ mentioned it. She can only think what their daughter might think of them; she probably abandoned her. Plus, he didn't have a good reputation as Spider-Man, thanks to Jonah's work in the Daily Bugle.
"If there's one thing that an orphan wants most of all, it's a family," said Ghost Spider. "And when she finds out that you never intended to abandon her, I'm sure she'll love you both."
"Thanks, GS," MJ smiled.
Peter was still rather curious why Ghost Spider cared about their daughter's well-being and theirs. Ever since the first day he met, she had been a reliable ally and always backed him up. She never even told him how she got her powers, and then there's the fact that she had his moves.
Strangely, he felt this familiar feeling about her, and her voice certainly sounded familiar. Additionally, she mentioned that her father had been a police captain, and she had been strangely concerned about the Stacy twins. However, his main focus had to be on his daughter. He can ask questions about her real identity when May was safe and sound.
"We're coming up to the orphanage now," said Ghost Spider.
Peter looked ahead and saw the orphanage. It looked inviting enough, with colourful paintings outside and a small lawn. However, the other buildings beside it weren't inviting, as they looked a little rundown.
"This isn't exactly what I would call a safe neighbourhood," Peter frowned.
"They put in an orphanage here?" MJ questioned.
"From what I understand, the orphanage is privately run, and I believe this neighbourhood was once inviting," said Ghost Spider. "According to the Intel, there have been decisions to move the kids to a more child-friendly zone. In fact, after the Civil War, they were considering moving the children outside the city."
"Then, as a good thing, we found this place when we did," said Peter.
Then suddenly, he sensed his spidey sense tingling.
"Uh-oh," he said.
"Let me guess, your Spidey sense is tingling," said MJ in a dreaded voice.
"And so is mine," said Ghost Spider gravely.
Peter looked around and then saw something flying straight towards them. He was thirsty for it was Norman, his Green Goblin outfit, but he saw the colour was different. It was the Gray Goblin.
"Gabriel?!" Peter gasped.
"Hello, Spider-Man, I was told that you're going to come here," he laughed.
A little while ago, Peter discovered that the Stacy twins had left the country. During their previous battle, Gabriel had indeed survived but ended up suffering from amnesia, and Sarah was looking after him.
Sarah had been working with Interpol to cure them of their rapid age disease, which had been causing them both headaches. However, Gabriel escaped and had been seen since it was now clear that he made his way back to New York.
Gabriel immediately began throwing pumpkin bombs at them. Peter had to move extremely carefully since MJ was strapped to his back.
"How did he know we were coming here?" said MJ.
"You don't think Norman has something to do with this?" Ghost Spider asked.
"He knew he couldn't come here himself, so he sent his son after us," said Peter bitterly.
"After I'm finished with you, I'll take care of your precious little girl!" Gabriel laughed as he swooped in towards them.
"How do you want to handle this?" Ghost Spider asked.
"It looks like it's merely after me and MJ at the moment; he's more or less ignoring you," Peter observed. "You go on and find May. I'll deal with Gabriel."
"You sure?" Ghost Spider asked.
"Just find our little girl," MJ pleaded.
Ghost Spider nodded and continued to make a way to the orphanage.
Peter quickly swooped down towards the ground and ripped off the webbing around MJ.
"Find a safe place," he said to her.
"Please, be careful," MJ pleaded.
"I will," Peter promised.
Peter swung off after Gabriel, and they soon began battling in the air.
A few minutes earlier, a little girl with short brown hair and green eyes was sitting on her bed in the orphanage. Her name was May, though everyone in the orphanage nicknamed her Mayday. It was something of a cruel joke because everything around her ended in disaster.
She had no idea why her parents abandoned her, but the one thing she wanted most of all was to have a real family. However, that wasn't possible, as no one seemed to want to take her in. She then moved from place to place, so she didn't really have any friends in any of the orphanages where she stayed.
Apparently, she was a constant source of trouble even as a baby because she somehow crawled out of her crib or playpen and climbed onto the roof. This aggravated the staff to no end, telling her that she was a bad girl.
She was looking at the small poster of Spider-Man, who had to be her favourite superhero. It wasn't because he was really strong, cool or anything like that. She liked him because no matter how often people called him a freak or a menace, he always did the right thing and saved people, even those who hated him. She truly wished that he was her daddy.
She remembered the day when he revealed his identity to the world on live television. She remembered how the other children were disappointed that he and nobody. He wasn't famous or anything; he was just an ordinary guy with spider powers. However, May found that very appealing as it meant he was just a normal New Yorker trying to make his city safe.
She had also seen pictures of his wife, and she was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. She also clearly loved her husband, as she always stood by him no matter what bad things were said about him.
"May," said a stern voice. She turned around and saw the woman who ran the orphanage, Mrs Prickly. That wasn't her real name; it was just a nickname the kids gave her because she was so prickly. "What are you doing here, child?"
"Nothing," she said.
"You're nothing more than a lazy girl," Mrs Prickly snorted. "All the other children hard work, and you're just slacking off."
That wasn't entirely true; May had been working hard. It's just that the other children took every opportunity to tease her. She couldn't handle it. She then tried to tell Mrs Prickly a number of times that the children teased her, but she didn't believe her.
Mrs Prickly then noticed the poster she was holding. "Seriously, child, you really shouldn't be idolising vigilantes. They are nothing more than trouble, and Spider-Man is the worst of them."
"No, he's not," May argued.
Mrs Prickly was a strong believer in the Daily Bugle and everything the big shouting man Jameson said.
"We're not going through this again, child," she snapped. "The sooner that man is arrested, the better; then, perhaps you will finally see the menace he truly is."
"He's not a bad guy!" May shouted.
Mrs Prickly then slapped her across the face hard. "I cannot tell you again, child." She then took the poster from her hands and looked at the pieces. "There now, maybe you'll see reason."
Tears began to form in May's eyes, but then suddenly, she got the sensation. She had the sensation many times, and every time she did, there was always some sort of accident about to happen.
"We need to go; something bad is about to happen," May pleaded.
"Not this again," Mrs Prickly scoffed. "Nothing is going to happen, child, except that you're going to—"
Suddenly, there was an explosion, and Mrs. Prickly was sent flying across the room. May gasped, rushed to the window, and saw that Spider-Man was fighting against some kind of goblin outside.
He laughed maniacally as he tossed pumpkin bombs at Spider-Man, who dodged them ever so gracefully. However, when he noticed the sum of the bombs struck the orphanage, he quickly fired some webbing to grab before they made contact. May assume that it was one of these bombs that struck the window.
"What's just happened?" Mrs Prickly asked as she picked herself up.
"Spider-Man is fighting a goblin outside!" May cried.
"Don't be ridiculous, child, there's no such thing as—" She stopped when she saw the battle outside. "—this proves what Jamieson has always said about that man. He is endangering everyone in the orphanage by battling in the middle of the street."
"But it's not his fault that the goblin decided to attack here," May pointed out.
"Don't you believe it, child," Mrs Prickly scoffed and grasped her hand. "Come on, we need to get all the children to safety."
May wanted to protest but knew it would be no good, so Mrs Prickly dragged her out of the bedroom.
They just turned around the corner and suddenly came face-to-face with Ghost Spider. May instantly recognised her from the news; she was Spider-Man's partner, but she wondered what she was doing in the orphanage.
Mrs Prickly immediately pulled her behind her and glared at Ghost Spider. "If one of you masked menaces isn't enough, you dare put all these children in danger by hiding in the orphanage. You should be ashamed of yourself."
"I'm not hiding," said Ghost Spider. "The Gray Goblin is after a girl called May."
May's eyes widened; why would the goblin outside come after her?
"Why in the world would he care about some orphaned girl?" Mrs Prickly snapped.
"Because she's Spider-Man's daughter!" Ghost Spider spat.
May just stood there in shock; the same man she admired, the same man she wanted to be her daddy, was, in fact, the same man who abandoned her. Miss Prickly just stood there in shock. She slowly looked down at May, and Ghost Spider followed her gaze.
"Is that her?" she asked.
Mrs Prickly immediately released May's hand and looked at her, furious. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you've been nothing more than trouble ever since you got here. What was that menace thinking about putting a child like this in the system? How irresponsible throwing his responsibilities on someone else."
"You're wrong!" Ghost Spider snapped. "He never abandoned his daughter; he wanted nothing more than to raise her. She was merely taken from him just after she was born, and he has been spending the past five years trying to find her."
May's eyes widened; if this was true, then her parents really wanted to keep her. She was never abandoned in the first place, which meant she still had a loving family out there, and she would finally be reunited with them.
Ghost Spider then bent down to May. "Do you wanna meet your parents, May, because they've been looking forward to meeting you?"
"Yes," May cried.
Meanwhile, outside, Peter was still battling Gabriel. He had lost track of MJ during the battle, but he knew she was still close by. Gabriel then began throwing daggers at him, but he landed on a street lamp and used it to swing himself into the air, dodging the daggers.
He then quickly fired some webbing, which wrapped itself around Gabriel's hand. "So, as your old man Gabriel, too afraid to get his own hands dirty?"
"My father has more important things to contender with; that's why he sent me after you," said Gabriel as he ripped the webbing of his hand.
"Why am I not breaking any laws?" Peter pointed out as he stuck to a nearby building. I was just having a nice, peaceful swing across town while trying to reunite with my lost daughter."
"And then you saw me in your natural heroic instincts was to take me down because you can help yourself," Gabriel smirked. "At least that's what my father is going to say. Then, once you're locked away, your wife and your precious aunt will be easy pickings."
"I won't let anyone hurt my family ever again!" Peter yelled and then quickly launched himself at Gabriel.
Gabriel quickly launched into the air to avoid, but Peter quickly spun around and fired a string of webbing attached to the glider's bottom. He fired another nearby building and, with one good yank, threw Gabriel off the glider.
He then quickly slammed the glider onto the street and fired some webbing, trapping Gabriel in the net. He then landed on the ground and removed his mask.
"Looks like you failed," said Peter.
"I may have failed; with your identity now public, you'll be attacked and harassed everywhere you go," Gabriel laughed.
"Don't listen to him, Peter," said MJ, approaching him. "Now I think we have something very important to do."
Peter nodded. "Let's go find our daughter."
"Peter… MJ…" said Ghost Spider as she exited the orphanage. They spun around and were utterly speechless as she held a small girl in her arms. "… I think I have someone here who wants to say hello."
She placed a little girl down, and Peter couldn't take his eyes off her. She looked exactly as he pictured a child that he of his and MJ's should be. She just looked at the two of them, stunned, and then, with tears in her eyes, she immediately ran over to them.
"Mommy! Daddy!" she cried and practically jumped into their arms.
Both Peter and MJ burst into tears and laughed as they grabbed her. They instantly fell to their knees and hugged her tightly, afraid that she might disappear.
"We found you," Peter cried.
By this point, many reporters had arrived and began snapping pictures, but Peter didn't care; he finally had his daughter, and nothing else mattered.
Peter and MJ are now finally reunited with their daughter, something Marvel should have done in the first place if you ask me. Things will really be different as we go beyond One More Day.
I think it's time that Marvel realises that we do actually want our superheroes to start families and inspire the next generation.