The death of Steve Rogers sent shockwaves throughout the entire world, even though he fought against the government just only a few weeks ago. Peter was with his family, along with Johnny and Ben, watching the news report.
"This is horrible," said MJ. "It's just horrible."
"I say we find the guy did this and take him down," said Ben, slamming his fist into his palm.
"I'm afraid we can't do that," said Gwen. "We make any kind of move, and we'll be arrested on the spot."
"So we just sit here and do nothing," said Johnny.
"I'm sure Tony is already hunting down his killer as we speak," said Peter. "But with this Registration Act, we can't do anything unless the government authorises us. I highly doubt the government is going to authorise us vigilantes, especially those that oppose them."
"So we just let Stark and SHIELD sort out this mess," said Johnny, outraged.
"Hey, Gwen, Ben, and I are already pushing things with our hero business," Peter pointed out. "And we can only act freely because our identities are completely secret. Fortunately, Tony is the director of SHIELD at the moment; he's not really pushing to arrest us. However, if we get mixed up in government business, he will have no choice but to arrest us."
"Peter is right," said Gwen. "And Ben is currently keeping a close eye on Norman."
"Why he doesn't remember who you are anymore?" Johnny frowned.
"He may not know that I'm Spider-Man, but he still remembers killing Gwen and kidnapping my daughter," Peter explained. "He might shift his focus on attacking anyone with any connection to Spider-Man, and I'll be at the top of his list. Plus, I just got my daughter back and didn't want to lose her."
Johnny sighed. "Yeah, I get it."
The next few days, Peter worked with Matt Murdock to get May's legal custody. Fortunately, there was a lot of sympathy. Though he doubted there would have been as much sympathy, everyone knew that he was Spider-Man, but as long as he and Mj could keep May, he didn't really care.
The judge voted in his favour, meaning he and MJ could keep May. The only problem was that both of them were unemployed at the moment, and Peter felt bad about squatting with the Fantastic Four.
Reed and Sue soon returned home after their long vacation, and they congratulated Peter and MJ.
"We're glad you were finally able to find your daughter, son," Reed smiled, placing a hand on Pete's shoulder.
"Wish we could have been reunited sooner," said Peter.
He watched Sue create an invisible playground for the children and watched May play with Franklin and Valeria.
"I still feel bad about staying with you guys," Peter admitted.
"Peter, you can stay here as long as you want," Reed assured him.
"I'm grateful, Reed. I truly am. However, now that my identity is a secret, again, we can find our own place."
Reed nodded. "I understand, but know the Fantastic Four is always here for you, my boy."
Peter would like to say that things improved, but they didn't. The arrival of a new goblin earned the nickname Menace, which was causing havoc across the city, though she seemed interested in the current mayoral election.
Peter visited Harry in his new apartment, hoping that he had some idea of this new goblin's identity.
"Sorry, Pete, but I'm just as clueless as you are," said Harry, folding arms. "And I don't think my father is involved in any way."
"It wouldn't be the first time that he sent a goblin loose in the city," Peter pointed out.
"True, but his focus has always been on you, or should I say Spider-Man? I don't see what he has to gain that interferes with the mayoral election."
"Good point," Peter nodded.
"You sure it's not that Sarah Stacy?" Harry asked.
Peter shook his head. "No, last I heard, she was on the other side of the world helping Interpol."
Harry sighed. "I wish I could be of more help, but I barely remember anything as my time is the Green Goblin."
That was true; Harry barely remembered when he became the Green Goblin. He remembered Peter was Spider-Man and his father was the original Green Goblin. He also remembered his last battle with both him and Gwen, but that was about it.
"Well, whoever, I'll try asking my father, but I wouldn't get your hopes up."
"What are you two boys talking about?" said a voice.
Peter turned and saw Harry's new girlfriend, Lily Hollister, had just entered the room.
"Oh, just talking about a shared interest," Peter shrugged.
"And what that interest be?" Lily asked curiously.
"About Peter suing my father," said Harry.
Lily blinked. "Oh, I see. I was hoping that it was something less depressing."
"Sorry to disappoint Lily," Peter smiled. "But both me and MJ are currently out of a job, and we have a little girl to look after now."
"Peter is hoping to get enough out of my father to at least rent an apartment," Harry explained.
"Aren't you living at the Baxter Building for free?" Lily frowned.
"I used to work for Dr Richards, and Johnny Storm is something of a friend, but it doesn't feel right to squat at their place. We're only there because my aunt was recently shot, and my place was blown up."
"Yes, Harry mentioned that, but I don't understand why anyone would hurt your aunt?" Lily frowned. "From what Harry told me, she's a lovely woman."
"We think that they were aiming for me, actually," said Peter. "As to why we don't know."
"The problem is my father will no doubt blame it on the Green Goblin, who he has stated was a completely separate personality."
"Matt Murdock still thinks we have a shot."
Lily looked at Harry with concern. "And you all right with this?"
"My father has caused so much pain, and he doesn't take responsibility. It's partially thanks to him that my wife and I are divorced, not that I'm saying I don't deserve some of the blame myself."
"Of course, having this new goblin flying around probably hasn't helped his case," said Peter. He then turned and looked at Lily. "Isn't your father running for mayor?"
"That's right," Lily nodded.
"Well, you might wanna tell him to be careful if this new goblin is attacking the other candidates in the election."
"My father does have some pretty good security detail and I'm sure he's taking every precaution," said Lily confidently.
Sadly, things got worse with Menace, as she kidnapped Councilwoman Lisa Parfrey. Peter attempted to rescue her with the aid of a new hero named Jackpot, but it was too late. He couldn't help but notice that she killed her in similar circumstances as Norman tried to kill him. What was worse, she managed to escape and blame the entire thing on him.
"And once again, Spider-Man proves that he is a menace to society," Jonah yelled live on television. "It is my opinion that this new goblin and Spider-Man are working together trying to disrupt a democratic election."
MJ then switched off the TV. "That's enough of that."
May was sitting on Peter's lap and in her PJs, looking up at him. "Daddy, why is that loud shouting man saying mean stuff about you?"
"J Jonah Jameson is a complex man," Peter explained. "He feels that superheroes like me cause more harm than good, and we attract trouble."
"But you saved people," May frowned, confused.
"Yes, but when I fight supervillains, a lot of innocents get hurt," said Peter as he stroked her head. "Your Auntie Gwen lost her father because I was battling against one of my most dangerous villains, and she blamed me for his death for a long time."
"But you would never hurt anyone," said May.
"The sad truth is that we superheroes can't save everyone, no matter how much we may want," said Peter, holding her close. "All we can really do is our best and hope it's good enough. Just remember, May, with great power comes great responsibility."
"I understand, Daddy," May nodded.
"Good, now it's time to get you into bed, young lady," said Peter, sitting up.
"Can't I stay up a little longer?" May asked, but then yawned.
Peter chuckled. "If you don't go to bed now, you'll be tired in the morning."
He then placed her down on her bed and tapped her in.
"Good night, Daddy," she yawned.
"Good night, Sweetheart," he said and kissed on the forehead.
He then walked up to MJ, closing the door behind him.
"She's just so beautiful," MJ smiled.
"She takes that after her mother," Peter smiled, pulling her into a hug.
"But she gets her brains from her father," MJ smiled. "But I still wish we could have raised her right from the beginning."
"I know," Peter nodded.
MJ looked up at him. "Peter, what would you say if I asked you if you want another child?"
Peter looked at her, stunned. "I want to have as big a family as possible, but I think we should hold off on having another kid. I don't want May to think that we want to replace her."
MJ nodded. "You're right. Let's get settled in before we start thinking about expanding our family."
Unfortunately, Peter wasn't just contending with the new goblin as they soon discovered that a group of shape-shifting aliens was infiltrating them called the Skrulls. They first discovered this when Elektra, the leader of a ninja group called the Hand, was revealed to be a Skrull when she battled with the New Avengers.
With the prospect of Skrulls within the ranks of the superhuman community, mistrust began to fester. The Skrulls even posed as SHIELD agents and began to mine vibranium in the Savage Land. They also began to disable the Helicarrier, caused a mass breakout at the Raft, transported the Baxter Building into the Negative Zone, and attacked the headquarters of the Thunderbolt simultaneously.
Reed finally created a Skrull detector and a final battle in New York with the Skrulls facing practically every superhero and villain on the planet. However, the final battle did not come without cost, as Janet Van Dyne, a.k.a. Wasp, was killed.
Deadpool had managed to locate a secret weapon to annihilate the leader of the Skrulls, Verkanke, who had been posing as a Spider-Woman long before the New Avengers formed. Unfortunately, in an act of stupidity, instead of giving information to Nick Fury, he accidentally sent it to Norman Osborn, who used to to kill her.
Tony was able to locate the missing heroes, but by order of the president, SHIELD was disbanded, and Tony was replaced as leader of the Avengers with Norman Osborn. Naturally, this didn't sit well with many people, even Maria Hill.
The only ones willing to team up with Norman were Ares and Sentry. Norman began wearing a suit of armour similar to Tony's, but with a Captain America paint job and called himself the Iron Patriot. He then started recruiting villains and dressing them up as superheroes; he even got Mac Gargan to dress up as Peter using the Venom symbiote. He then re-formed SHIELD, called it HAMMER, and named himself the director.
Peter was watching the broadcast with the rest of the Secret Avengers.
"Who in their right mind would put Norman Osborn in charge of the Avengers?" said Pete in utter disbelief.
"I'm with you, Pete," said Luke, folding his arms.
"Everyone thinks he's the one who took down the Skrulls," said Ms Marvel bitterly.
"Only because that idiot Deadpool sent the information to the wrong person," Logan snarled.
"And he managed to get Ares and Sentry to play along," said Luke. "Ares siding with Osborn doesn't surprise me in the slightest, but Sentry?"
"Norman probably convinced them that it was the right thing to do," said Peter. "However, I have known Norman Osborn for a long time, and the one thing he loves most is power."
Jess nodded. "I'm with Peter; that man cares nothing but power, and you can be sure he does not have the interests of the people."
"The problem is trying to convince the higher-ups," said Iron Fist.
"We can start by damaging his reputation," said Clint, who now went by the name of Ronin. He then turned and looked at Peter. "Peter, I understand that you're trying to sue Osborn."
Peter nodded. "Because that was before he became director of HAMMER and leader of these Dark Avengers."
"It's a start, and in the meantime, we'll try to gather as much information as we can about his next move," said Clint.
Luke looked at Peter. "So, how's your daughter."
"Happy to be with a loving family; she's perfect," Peter smiled. "MJ is even thinking about us having another kid, but we're going to hold off on that for a moment."
Luke smiled. "Feel free to bring her around next time, along with your wife. I think my own baby girl would love to play with yours."
"I've been getting many invitations for play dates recently," said Peter.
"And you might end up getting more," Luke smiled. "By the way, is your aunt okay?"
"She's fine now that she's out of the hospital, and Tony was able to rebuild her house," said Peter.
"And is she still seeing Jarvis?" Luke smirked.
Peter shifted a bit uncomfortably. "Yes, and I admit it's weird, but so long as she's happy, I don't mind."
"I do admit your aunt is formidable; I mean, she was able to stare down Logan without breaking a sweat."
Peter shrugged. "That she is."
Norman Osborn, as if he was on top of the world, was possibly the most powerful man. He now led the Avengers and was the director in charge of HAMMER, and people were cheering for him, forgetting that he was once the Green Goblin.
However, he was not content with this and so allied with others outside the Avengers. He created an organisation called the Cabel, and among its members were Doctor Doom, Loki, Emma Frost, Namor and Hood, who said none of them really trusted one another.
Norman was currently speaking with the president, who was less than happy about the charges of kidnapping he was being threatened with.
"Norman, you need to sort this out," said the president.
"You're the President of the United States. Can't you make this problem go away?" Norman asked.
"I cannot get my involved in this kind of scandal," said the president, narrowing his eyes. "As a father myself, I can understand the frustration of Mr Parker; if someone had kidnapped my daughter, I would want justice."
"That was back when I was under the influence of the Green Goblin," said Norman, sounding a little irritated.
"I'm sure that is a great relief for Mr Parker and his wife," said the president, narrowing his eyes. "You do realise that getting Matt Murdock to put a case against you, and he's one of the most skilled lawyers in the country."
"He is also the vigilante Daredevil," Norman reminded him.
"As part of our agreement with Captain America, when he surrendered, all those who sided with him were given amnesty. He has also not broken any law since then."
"Surely this business with the Parkers is a trivial matter compared to how I saved the world?" said Norman.
The president sighed. "That might be true, but Mr Parker's wife has got quite a powerful fan base. As such, it is not something we can ignore. There's nothing I can do for you, Norman; you have to sort this problem out yourself."
The screen then turned blank, and in frustration, Norman threw his remote control into the screen.
"Temper temper," said a voice behind him.
Norman turned and saw that Mephisto had materialised behind him.
"What do you want, demon?" Norman asked.
"I just can't help but notice you didn't make much headway in our deal," said Mephisto, looking at his fingers.
"Not a lot I can do when I don't know Spider-Man identity," Norman spat. "Information that you're not willing to give me!"
"As I told you, I cannot interfere directly and giving you Spider-Man's identity would be considered direct interference. I'm afraid it's up to you to discover his identity, but tell me, why target Parker and his family?"
"They're associated with Spider-Man. I figured if I attacked them, it would draw him out, and it worked. It's just that my son was not up to the task."
"Yes, your son," said Mephisto, looking somewhat amused. "Well, I am giving you a lot of leeway, Norman, but don't forget, if you fail your part of our deal, then both you and your son Harry will pay a hefty price."
"Do not worry; I will take care of Spider-Man all in due time," Norman promised.
"I'll hold you to that promise, but a word of advice. The higher you climb, the more dangerous the fall. So, do try not to fall off your pedestal as you may not be able to climb back up afterwards."
Mephisto then disappeared into flames.
