MJ was in the Baxter Building with the girls. She was looking at Otto Octavius's body, where her husband's mind was trapped. When Gwen told her what happened, she didn't believe it at first, but Peter's recent behaviour started to make sense.

"Is he all right?" MJ asked.

"He will be once we get him back into his body," said Reed.

"You will be able to, right?" MJ asked.

"Peter's body is in perfect condition and still functions, plus the remains of the octobot left behind have given me some insight on how to reverse the process. However, I must warn you that I can't say for certain whether this will be successful."

"Just think, 24 hours ago, it was the happiest day of my life," said MJ in tears. "He knew something was wrong, but that your ways of having another baby left me completely blind."

"It's okay, MJ," said Gwen, placing a hand on her shoulder. "No one blames you or Peter. We should be thankful that we discovered this sooner. I have already informed Harry, and he's taken precautions at Parker Industries."

"I think you are ready now," said Reed.

Everyone made their way to Peter's body and watched as Reed placed a helmet on his head. He stretched out his hand towards the console and pressed a button. There was a small flash of light, and everyone looked at Peter, but his body didn't move a muscle.

"Did it work?" MJ asked.

Reed stretched his head to monitor and looked at the readings. "By all accounts, it should have worked."

"Daddy's eyes are moving!" May pointed.

Everyone immediately looked at Peter and saw that, indeed, his eyes were moving.

"Why is he able to move the rest of his body?" Gwen asked.

"My best guess is that his body has been without an owner for far too long, and now Peter is having trouble controlling his motor movements," Reed theorised.

"Will he be stuff like this?" April asked.

"What is his mind adjusts back into its body? I'm sure he will stop you from moving again, but that could take some time," said Reed regretfully. "I would like to keep them here for the time being so that we can monitor him if that's all right with Mary Jane."

"That's perfectly fine," said MJ with tears. She then grasped hold of Peter's hand and kissed his forehead. "You don't give up on me, Tiger."

"Get well soon, Pappa," said April.

"We miss you," said May.

Gwen then began to escort the family out.

"You didn't tell him that you're pregnant?" Gwen asked.

"Peter has a lot on his mind right now," said MJ. "I don't want to add an extra burden. Plus, I would rather tell him once we actually have something to celebrate. Any ideas what happened, Octavius?"

"No clue, but Harry informed me that he was interested in the jackal's equipment, which was confiscated," Gwen informed her. "This morning, we just discovered that the equipment had been stolen. We can only assume that it was Octavius; we have no idea what he wanted that stuff for."

"You think he still out there somewhere?" MJ asked.

"If he is, we will find him, but that might be difficult at the moment. Me, Ben and Peter had plans to fix our patrol rotor if you became pregnant, but we never anticipated that Peter would be out of action. We now have to cover two additional shifts. People are already starting to notice Spider-Man's absence, and you can bet the criminals now know of it as well."

MJ sighed. "Just when things were about to get peaceful again."

Harry, meanwhile, was in an emergency meeting with Hobie and Gayle.

"You're saying Mr Parker has been probed?" said Hobie.

Harry nodded. "Yes, and now he's in a coma. We still don't know exactly what happened, but it might very well explain how some of our equipment has disappeared."

"I change the code immediately and think of new security measures," said Hobie, immediately leaving the office.

Harry leaned back in his chair. "What a disaster."

"In more ways than one," said Gayle. "Mary must be beside herself on what has just happened."

"Not to mention some of the stuff we produced were actually Peter's ideas," Harry added. "I just hope you recover soon, for all our sakes."

Meanwhile, noticing the absence of Spider-Man, Scorpion, Hydro-Man, and Trapster, they were taking advantage of the fact that they had just performed a massive bank heist.

"I forgot how easy it was to steal things when Spider-Man wasn't around," Hydro-Man laughed.

"Don't forget Ghost Spider and the Scarlet Spider are still around, so let's put it before they show up," said Scorpion.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, gentleman," said a voice.

The three villains looked around and saw Spider-Man resting on a lamppost. However, they noticed that his outfit was different. It was now a darker red and black, and the lenses around the eyes were also black.

"Spider-Man?!" said Trapster.

"New look?" Scorpion asked.

"Oh, I'm not the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man, you know, when hate. I am the Superior Spider-Man."

He then jumped down.

Ben received word that the villains had tried to rob the bank and was swinging his way over, but it was all over by the time he arrived. The three villains in question were now on the ground, beaten to a pulp, and the police were already attending to their wounds.

"Get Medicare fast," said Yuri.

"Yuri, what happened here?" Ben asked.

Yuri turned and saw Ben approaching. "I wish I knew, but claim they saw Spider-Man arrive and engage these villains. However, it's not our neighbourhood Spider-Man, I tell you that."

"This is rather brutal," Ben admitted.

"You don't have any idea who this new Spider-Man could be?"

Ben had a feeling, but there wasn't a lot to go by at the moment. "I have an inkling, but I really hope I'm wrong."

Jonah, meanwhile, had heard about the brutal attack on Scorpion and the others, and he couldn't be any happier.

"Now there is a hero," said Jonah as he read the report. "I don't know who this new Spider is, but I like his style."

Jay shook his head. "Jonah, you can't be serious. He nearly put those men in the hospital."

"And I should try for a bunch of no-good criminals?" said Jonah, looking up at him. "This new Spider-Man were able to take the criminals down in no time at all; that's more than I can say for our current Spider-Man."

"Jonah, you're making a mistake by putting your trust in this, and you will regret it," said Jay.

"People said I was wrong investing money in my Spider-Slayer police force, but all those doubts disappeared during the Spider-Island incident. I was right back then, and I am right now."

Otto had finally returned to his fight and removed his mask. He then looked at his new, young, handsome face in the mirror.

"I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner," he said to himself.

His new, younger, stronger body was certainly a plus, but he carried the baggage from Parker's previous life. However, there was still a problem, and now it was that she was not recognised by the science community anymore.

He could easily forge identity papers and other documents, but there was no way he could forge a PhD. That meant he would have to go to university again, but that was a small annoyance in comparison.

Parker remembered having trouble getting his doctorate because of his activities as Spider-Man. The fool wasted his time on even the most insignificant crimes and rescuing people from fires. The police and fire brigade could easily deal with those sorts of activities; he should have been more focused on the bigger threats.

To that end, he upgraded his octobots, renaming them spider bots. They will be able to patrol the city while he focuses on more important issues. He made his way to Empire State University to be admitted as a PhD candidate under the name of Elliott Tolliver.

The teacher was looking at his papers, which he had forged himself. "These are certainly impressive recommendations, Mr Tolliver. However, these references you have given me don't seem to check out."

"Does this mean you won't be admitting me?" Otto asked.

"You certainly pass the requirement test with flying colours, so I am willing to admit you, but I must insist that you have a tutor, and I'm afraid that is nonnegotiable."

"Very well," said Otto reluctantly.

"Show me that here at this time tomorrow; I wish you the best of luck, Mr Tolliver."

Back at her apartment, MJ was doing her best to set up the new bedroom for the new baby. She had been excited to set up with Peter, but that was no longer an option, thanks to Octavius.

She heard the doorbell ring, answered, and came face-to-face with Felicia.

"Felicia," MJ gasped.

"Hey, Red," she smiled.

"I take it you got back from your honeymoon?" MJ assumed.

"Yesterday, and then I heard about what happened to Peter," she said and gave her a hug. "I'm so sorry, MJ."

"Thanks, it almost doesn't seem real."

"I hear congratulations are in order," she smiled.

"Thanks," she said as they broke up. "The most awful thing is I never actually got to tell Peter that I'm pregnant."

"It will be a nice surprise when he gets up," said Felicia. "Now, do you need any help?"

MJ was grateful for the help, and they began planning the bedroom. When they got the apartment, they had every intention of having a large family, so there were plenty of empty rooms.

"I do appreciate the help Felicia," said MJ.

"It's no problem; it'll be good practice when I'm a mother myself."

"You and Flash are planning to have kids?"

"Maybe someday, but we want to get settled in first."

They soon stopped for a lunch break, but a TV reporter caught their eye.

"Breaking news! The villain known as Massacre has just been killed by the new Spider-Man. The CEO of Phizzy Cola admitted that Massacre offered to wipe out Phizzy Cola rivals and is now in custody for further questioning. While many seem to find the new Spider-Man actions to be questionable, Mayor Jameson has praised the new Spider-Man for his quick and decisive action."

"Trust Jonah to fawn over a more aggressive Spider-Man," said MJ bitterly.

"Do you have any idea who this new Spider is?" Felicia asked.

"Gwen and Ben have been trying to figure that out themselves," said MJ. "Though we do think it's Octavius in a new body. He stole some cloning equipment from Parker Industries that had been used by the Jackal."

Felicia looked disgusted. "And here I thought Octavius couldn't stoop any lower."

"I'll be happier when Peter gets back on his feet," said MJ.

May and April were currently at school, and people were offering sympathy for what happened to their dad.

"Is your dad going to be all right?" Davida asked.

"He's still in a coma; the doctors are confident he will wake up," said May.

"Your mom must be distraught," said Courtney. "I mean, you're excited that you're going to have a new baby brother or sister, but then this happens."

"Pappa calls it Parker Luck," said April.

"So I take it your dad has nothing to do with this new Spider-Man?" Wes asked.

"Wes, this is hardly the time," Davida scolded.

"No, Daddy has nothing to do with this new Spider-Man," said May.

"That's good," said Wes relieved. "I mean, he's like the total opposite of the real Spider-Man."

"And that's a bad thing?" said Simone. "I, for one, like this new Spider-Man; he's a massive improvement from the old one."

"He just killed a man," said Davida.

"He killed a criminal and mass murdering criminal," said Simone. "The mayor is right. This new Spider-Man is a lot more efficient than the old one and his crew. I hope he sticks around."

"I really hate her," said April.

"We all do," said Davida.

"Just ignore her; I'm sure the real Spider-Man will be back in no time," said Wes.

"Let's hope," said May.

Otto was now meeting his tutor, who turned out to be a dwarf woman named Anna Maria Marconi. While he was reprehensible to her at first, he could not deny that she was rather intelligent.

"You're certainly one-of-a-kind, Slick," said Anna.

"I like to think so," said Otto.

"And so modest."

"I do apologise, Anna. I just don't see why you should be so modest about one's achievements."

Anna nodded. "Especially if those achievements actually help people."

Otto looked at her curiously. "Anna, don't take this the wrong way, but someone as smart as you could achieve so much. Why are you stuck here at Empire State University?"

"Well, I have tried multiple times for signs positioning certain corporations, but they turned me down because of my size."

"The size of your brain should be what they should consider, not your height."

"I really thought I was getting somewhere with Parker Industries; they certainly showed interest in hiring me. Unfortunately, with the recent tragedy that has befallen Peter Parker, I imagine my application has been put on hold."

Otto suddenly felt immensely guilty that he was the main reason Peter Parker died. However, he was curious why they said that he was in a coma. It was possible they were trying to revitalise him, but of course, without his mind, that was an impossibility.

"Why Parker Industries?" Otto asked curiously.

"Because I'm a great admirer of Peter Parker, I have read many of his theses, and they are also fascinating. He truly wishes to help the world, which is more than I can say for a few corporations like Hammer Multinational and Roxxon. I mean, he only started his company about a year ago. Look at it now; I can only imagine it will get bigger."

"Well, if they do hire you, they will make a smart move there," said Otto.

Ben and Gwen were currently with Carlie to determine the identity of the new Spider-Man.

"You really think that Otto Octavius is the new Spider-Man?" Carlie asked.

"That's what we think," said Gwen.

"But didn't you mention you have had another clone," said Carlie, looking at Ben. "One that's not too afraid to get his hands bloodied?"

"Kaine, that did cross my mind, but he is currently living in Texas," said Ben.

"I suppose we should be grateful that he is at least using his powers for good," said Carlie.

"Good?" said Gwen outraged. "There's nothing good about him. He killed the man in cold blood; that is not what a true hero is supposed to do."

"Maybe, but you can't say that he is not efficient," said Carlie. "He seems to move incredibly fast before either you guys or the police can get there."

"Yeah, but he only takes down the head honcho's letting all the small fry get away," said Ben.

"And they just simply disappear afterwards," said Gwen.

Carlie reluctantly nodded. "When a gang breaks up, its surviving members usually latch onto another gang, making it bigger and stronger."

"Which means we could see some trouble in the future if we don't stop Octavius," said Gwen.

"That I do from my end, but really, only you guys can truly stop him," Carlie pointed out.

"I wish Pete were here," Ben sighed.

Otto had now been invited by Mayor Jameson to oversee the execution of Alistair Smythe.

"I really do appreciate you coming all this way to oversee the execution," said Jameson.

"I would do anything to make this city safe," said Otto.

"Good, that makes you ten times better than the original Spider-Man," said Jameson.

The execution was starting to take place, but before the sentence was complete, a Spider-Slayer cocaine and freed Smythe.

"Get him!" Jameson ordered. "You have my authorisation to kill him by any means necessary."

"As you which, Mister Mayor," said Otto.

Smythe desperately tried to escape; unfortunately for him, Otto could predict every escape attempt. This meant capturing him was child's play, and he then stabbed Smythe through the chest, killing him.

"Well done, I knew I could count on you," said Jameson.

"All in the day's work, Mister Mayor, but I would like to ask a favour," said Otto.

"Name it."

"Do you think you can make the Raft my new base of operations?"

Jameson's smile immediately vanished. "Are you crazy? Why would I give a superhero a maximum-security prison as his hand out."

"So that I better protect the city, this place is an iron tab fortress, and under my supervision, I put it to good use."

"I may have given you my support, but don't think that means I give anything you demand."

"I take it that's a no."

"It is most certainly a no; I won't turn this city into a war zone."

"Then allow me to produce an ultimatum," said Otto as he pulled out a recorder.

"You have my authorisation to kill them by any means," said the recording.

Jameson's eyes widened. "Are you blackmailing me?"

"I did say that I would protect this city by any means necessary, that includes blackmailing public officials," said Otto.

"My father was right about you," said Jameson through gritted teeth.

"I'll give you some time to ponder on this, let's say 48 hours. If I don't hear from you, then I'll put this recording on the Internet, and everyone will know that our beloved mayor condones senseless killing."

Otto then walked away, leaving behind a fuming Jameson.

Aunt May and Jarvis were now visiting Pete in the Baxter Building, but you are still unresponsive.

"Is there any improvement?" Aunt May asked.

"He has been able to wiggle his toes," said Reed. "That is a good sign indicating that he's slowly regaining his motor controls."

"Will there be any lasting damage?" Jarvis asked.

"If it had been a normal person, I would say that was very certain, but it has proven to be rather strong," said Reed.

"To think a week ago, we were also happy. Now look at us," said Aunt May.

"May, Peter will be back on his feet soon, and then we can all celebrate Mary Jane's pregnancy as a true family," said Jarvis.

Johnny then suddenly rushed into the room. "Hey, guys. You're not going to believe this, but our newly beloved Spider-Man has just launched an attack."

"He's done what?" Reed stared.

"According to the police, it was a gruelling battle, and they claim the Kingpin is dead."

"He's turning this entire city into a war zone," said Aunt May.

"And I have a hunch things will only get worse," said Reed.

Within a secret lair, Norman Osborn, who now went by the name of Goblin King, was assembling quite a large army. Most of that was thanks to the new Spider-Man, who ruthlessly took down criminal organisations only to let the lonely thugs get away.

Additionally, Norman discovered that he was using specialised robots to patrol the city. He managed to hack into them and confuse their surveillance sensors, allowing him to move with ease across the entire city and recruit.

He had also brought Menace and the new Hobgoblin into his fold, even gave the new Hobgoblin some new armour and renamed him the Goblin Knight. Everything was going smoothly, and the entire city would soon be under his control.

"You seem to be doing quite well," said Mephisto, appearing out of nowhere.

"I thought I had seen the last of you," said Norman.

"Our deal is still on the table," Mephisto reminded him.

"Spider-Man is dead. The new one is obviously some pretentious pretender, and thanks to him, this city is about to become mine."

"You're half right. This new Spider-Man is nothing more than a pretender, but the real one is still very much alive."

"Then why hasn't he shown up for weeks?"

"Because I'm new, Spider-Man has rendered him useless for the time being, but even if he was dead, our deal was for you to wipe out Spider-Man's family, which you have failed to do multiple times."

"It would be easier if you give me his real name," Osborn pointed out.

"It would, unfortunately, I'm not able to. And the longer you wait, the larger his family will become, which will pose a threat not only to me but to you as well."

"Don't worry. Very soon, the Goblin Nation will make its first move, and no one will be safe," Norman promised.