I had to change the last two chapters to explain Mysterio's disappearance. When I wrote the chapter, I did not realise that Mysterio would show up later, so I changed the chapters around to make better sense.


Peter was leaning over the balcony of his apartment. He was still reeling from Sable's death and blamed himself. After the battle, they tried desperately to find her body, but Steve convinced him to return home and let the Avengers continue the search. They didn't have any luck.

"You okay, Tiger?" MJ asked, approaching him.

"Just thinking about what happened in the past few days," he sighed.

"Peter, you can't blame yourself; you have no choice," said MJ.

"Shouldn't have left to fight Rhino alone."

"Me, Gwen and Ben are just responsible; we should have gone with you knowing what you might be facing," said MJ. "Besides, if you hadn't left her behind, everyone on the planet would be dead."

"We might have been able to stop him soon if it wasn't for Octavius twisting my intentions," said Peter frustratingly.

"Peter, it was bound to happen; mad scientists twist the ideas of good people for their own petty ends. You should know that more than anyone, you've seen it."

"First time it happened to me, though."

"And I doubt it'll be the last, but those devices you made have saved countless people. You're living proof that you don't have to wear a costume to be a hero."

Peter smiled. "You always know how to make me feel better."

MJ smiled back. "That's because I know you very well."

The two of them then kissed.


A few days later, it was Flash and Felicia wedding, and Peter had the honour of walking Felicia down the aisle. She looked beautiful in her wedding dress, which matched her silver hair. Walking behind them were MJ, who was maid of honour, and May and April, who played the part of flower girls.

"Suddenly getting a feeling of déjà vu," said Peter, remembering that this was pretty much the same lineup during Aunt May's wedding.

"I do appreciate you taking the place of my father," Felicia smiled.

Flash stood there with Harry, acting as his best man. Flash looked quite smart in his tuxedo and, unlike during Aunt May's wedding, could now stand next to the prosthetics Peter designed.

Peter caught a glimpse of Felicia's crying mother, and Aunt May handed her a handkerchief. After the ceremony, the reception took place in a nightclub that MJ had recently bought, which she renamed Jackpot.

"Still can't believe you bought a nightclub," said Peter, amazed.

"Figured we can do with a place to unwind and celebrate all the times you save the world," MJ winked.

"But what about your modelling and acting career?" Peter asked.

"I might own the nightclub, but I can easily put someone else in charge of it," said MJ.

"Didn't this place used to belong to the Vulture?" Harry asked, walking over to them.

"That's right, and since it belonged to a criminal, got this place for a bargain," MJ smiled.

"I'll see if I can't have Hobie insert the same security we have at Parker Industries here," said Peter.

"Peter, you don't have to go far," said MJ.

"Nothing for the best for my wife," he said, smiling. "Besides, we live in the middle of New York City, which seems to be supervillain-central for some reason."

"He's got a point," said Harry. "You know, with the Avengers and Fantastic Four setting up shop here in New York City, you would think that supervillains would keep their distance."

MJ sighed. "I get the feeling I'm not going to convince you otherwise, so go ahead."

Peter wrapped his arm around her. "You have nothing to worry about, MJ. Pretty soon, your nightclub is going to be the most secure nightclub in the entire world."


Sadly, after Octavius nearly destroyed the world, things did not immediately return to normal as another end-of-the-Earth crisis appeared. Sam Alexander, or as everyone else knew him, Nova, crash-landed on Earth, warning everyone the Phoenix Force was returning.

The Phoenix was a powerful entity that once possessed Jean Grey, nearly killing all life in the galaxy. Wolverine also warned everyone that it was possible that the Phoenix would try to possess Hope Summer, Cyclops' adopted granddaughter. The Avengers wanted to be put into protective custody until the threat was over, but Cyclops refused, believing this was the best opportunity to reverse the House of M incident.

"So there's no convincing Cyclops?" Gwen asked.

"I've used every ounce of my persuasion to convince him otherwise, but the man is stubborn," said Logan.

"I'd someone else we know," said Peter under his breath.

"Regardless, the Phoenix Forces is too dangerous. I don't need to remind everyone of a potential threat it can cause," said Steve, looking at everyone.

"To that end, we are planning to invade Utopia and take Hope Summer's by force if we have to," said Tony.

"Do we really have to find the X-Men? I mean, they are our friends," said Peter.

"I don't like it either, Webhead, but Cyclops is not giving as much of a choice," said Logan.

"While we distract the X-Men, Wolverine, Spider-Man and Ghost Spider will grab Hope Summers and take her to a secure location," said Steve. "Thor and the Secret Avengers will try to fend off the Phoenix in the meantime."

"We will do more than fend off the Phoenix of my friend," said Thor competently.

"So where exactly is this secure location?" Peter asked. "I mean, is there any place on Earth that will protect Hope from the Phoenix."

"Don't worry, Spider-Man, we have this all figured out," Tony assured him.

Peter would like to believe Tony, but given past experiences, he strongly felt that everything wouldn't go according to plan.

The infiltration started out fine, as the Avengers engaged the X-Men on the beaches, leaving an opening for Peter and the others to find Hope.

"We need to move fast before we're discovered," said Logan.

"You're concerned about Emma Frost?" Peter assumed.

Logan nodded. "She can discover that any second, so we must move fast and get home before she realises we're here?"

"Iron Man says that he has a plan for that contingency," said Peter.

Logan huffed. "Somehow, that doesn't inspire me with confidence."

"What do we do if Hope doesn't want to come with us?" Gwen asked.

"Then we don't have to give a little forceful," said Logan.

When they finally reached Hope's location, they found several unconscious mutants on the floor. Peter recognised them from the dossier they had been given before this mission, and they were members of the Lights. Fortunately, they appeared to be out cold, but Hope was standing over them.

Hope looked at them. "They tried to stop me."

"Stop you from doing what?" Gwen asked.

"From leaving, I'm the source of this battle and the reason everyone is getting hurt," said Hope.

"Kid, that's not entirely true," said Logan. "The Avengers didn't want this fight, and all we're trying to do is help."

"You certainly have a funny way of showing it," said Hope, gesturing to the fighting outside.

"Hope, I know it seems scary, but we need you to come with us," said Peter softly.

"No," said Hope stubbornly. "The only way to end this fighting is to leave!"

She then unleashed a powerful burst of power, and everything went black.


When Peter regained consciousness, he found himself lying down on a bed with a massive headache.

"What happened?" Peter groaned.

"You got your butt handed to you by a teenage girl," said MJ's voice.

Peter turned and said and saw MJ sitting beside his bed in her costume.

"How did I get here?" Peter asked as he sat up.

"When Hope left, the X-Men surrendered," MJ explained. "We're still searching for Hope, but so far, we got nothing."

"Where are the girls?" Peter asked.

"With your aunt and Jarvis," MJ assured him. "We're making a bad habit of asking her to babysit while the world is in danger."

"It's not as if we ask for it; contrary to popular belief, I would rather stay at home, but sadly, the universe doesn't work like that."

"Don't worry, Tiger; it will be a while before the next world-ending calamity will be upon us."

"Wish I could be so certain."


Gwen had managed to locate Storm, hoping against hope that she could convince her to switch sides. She remembered that, in that alternate reality, both Storm and Black Panther had separated, and she was hoping the same thing would happen this time around.

With the memory she had acquired from Peter and MJ, she had tried desperately to help reforge strained romances. She figured she could do the same for Peter, and MJ seemed to do the same for everyone else.

"What do you want, Ghost Spider?" Storm asked.

"I'm not here to fight," Gwen assured her.

"Then you're here to convince me to side with your group," Storm assumed.

"More like trying to cite you with your husband."

"You're asking me to betray my people."

"You're the Queen of Wakanda, aren't they your people as well?"

"It's not that he," Storm sighed.

"You were there when the Phoenix possessed Jean Grey, and you remember how it almost ended in disaster. Ultimately, you and the other X-Men were forced to kill Jean."

"But this time, we know what you're up against," Storm pointed out.

"Is it?" Gwen questioned. "The Phoenix may very well be to restore Mutants worldwide, but at what price? You know the Phoenix, how I can easily corrupt anyone possessed by it, no matter how strong-willed they are. Tell me, can you honestly say without a doubt that Cyclops will have full control over the Phoenix?"

Storm looked at her without saying a word, but Gwen could see the answer in her eyes.


Things got worse when Thor and the Secret Warriors were completely overpowered by the Phoenix. Additionally, they had trouble tracking down home when it was discovered that Rachel Summers, Cyclops's daughter from an alternate reality, was a double agent.

It took some doing, but they were eventually able to track Hope to the Blue Area of the Moon. I battled soon pseudo-up on the moon between the Avengers and the X-Men, but then it was interrupted by the arrival of the Phoenix.

Both Tony and Hank Pym had constructed a device that would destroy the Phoenix, and at first, it did work. However, they soon discovered they had split the Phoenix into Cyclops, Emma Frost, Namor, Colossus, and Magik. With such power, the disposal easily defeated the Avengers and snatched Hope.

Ten days after the merge, the Phoenix Five started to reform the world, providing free energy, food, and water and ending armed conflicts around the globe. However, there was a consensus, and while the Phoenix Five had done a lot of good, their power was growing to dangerous new heights.

The Avengers launched a distraction force for Hope, who was living on Utopia. However, if it had not been for Wanda's timely arrival, Cyclops would have nearly defeated them.

Peter was an entirely, or having Wanda around, especially what happened with the House of M incident.

"Is something wrong, Tiger?" MJ asked, looking deeply concerned.

"It's just the Scarlet Witch," he said, rubbing the back of his head. "You know how she created a whole alternate reality for everyone?"

"Yeah, but I don't remember any of it," said MJ.

"I do," said Peter regretfully. "In that reality, I was married to Gwen, and we had a son."

MJ stared at him. "Does Gwen know?"

"I don't know," said Peter honestly. "I was surprisingly happy in that reality. I wasn't a superhero; I was actually a celebrity."

MJ stared at him in disbelief. "Now I find that hard to believe."

Peter gave a small chuckle. "I know, and that's not all. My Uncle Ben was alive."

MJ looked at him. "Peter, I'm so sorry. No wonder you were so distraught after the incident."

"I didn't know how to tell you."

MJ wrapped her arms around him and rested her chin on his shoulder. "You can tell me anything, you know that."

"How was I supposed to tell my wife and I was living in an alternate reality where I was married to my ex, and we were just co-workers?"

"Imagine how Gwen feels; she's still single."

"That's why I'm hoping that she doesn't remember, but since when have we ever been that lucky?"

"You should try talking to her; I'm sure this is not easy for her either."

"Maybe when this is all over."


Gwen had successfully convinced Storm to join them, which was a big help considering they still had a huge operation. Hope informed the Avengers that the Phoenix Five were concerned about Scarlet Witch. To that end, Tony and Black Panther began researching a way to defeat the Phoenix Five.

It was also decided that Hope would train in K'un-L'un and Spider-Man would be training her.

"Tell me again why you're the one that is training me?" Hope asked.

Hope was balancing on a very thin pole while carrying two buckets of water.

"Because I'm the only one who is able to sense danger and fast enough to get out of the way," Peter explained.

"Last I checked, I took you down before you had a chance to move," Hope reminded him.

"I also have the most experience when training kids; I, after all, have two little girls," Peter continued.

"So why am I standing here with two buckets of water?" Hope asked as she tried to maintain her balance.

"It's to help you concentrate; you need to learn how to handle your powers."

"Do I really need training? The good guys always win in the end, don't they?"

"Not always," Peter sighed. "Hope, even we heroes, have limits to what we can endure. I may have saved thousands of people but failed to save those I care about. I failed my Uncle and girlfriend; I nearly failed my wife and daughters."

"You know this is as bad as the training Cyclops made me do; the only difference is you're not beating me up."

"Not yet, anyway," Peter joked but looked at Hope seriously. "Hope, my Uncle had a say. He always told me that great power comes with great responsibility. I didn't listen to him, and I lost him. You can't make the same mistakes as I did. You don't want the same thing to happen on Utopia to happen here, right?"

"No," Hope nodded.

"Then you have to do this training; it's the only way for you to control your powers. Consider yourself lucky that you have a mentor. When I first started, I was starting from scratch, and I came home rather beaten and bruised. I can't tell you how worried my aunt was when I turned home covered in bruises."

"Okay, you made your point," Hope sighed.


The situation worsened as both sides began taking prisoners, but the Avengers took the heaviest hit. The situation got worse when Namor launched an attack on Wakanda with his Atlantean army.

Every Avenger was gathered around to take Namor, and they succeeded. Unfortunately, they had no time to celebrate as the Phoenix Force residing in Namor left his body and was absorbed by the remaining Phoenix Five.

"You're saying that every single time you take one of them down, the others get stronger," said MJ stunned.

"That's about the size of it," Peter sighed. "It took every single one of us to take one of them down, and the other four have gained even more strength."

"We're not going to win with the numbers we've got," said Gwen.

"Which is why we're going to do a little jailbreak," said Peter.

"But do you even know where they're being kept?" MJ asked.

"We're basing this on my memories," Gwen admitted.

"You mean from our alternate lives?" Peter asked.

Gwen nodded. "Believe me, I wish we could avoid these crises, but you try sorting out through three different sets of memories. Some of these events are a bit beyond my control to change, like the Civil War."

"You were able to save our marriage," MJ reminded her.

"That was easy. It was supposed to happen," said Gwen.

"Then we'll just have to hope that they're keeping the prisoners in the same location," said Peter.

"Speaking of hope, I noticed that her training hasn't developed much progress," MJ noted.

"I'm trying, but she's a lot more impatient than May and April," said Peter.

"She's a teenager, Pete; they tend to think that they know everything already," Gwen pointed out.

"Cap doesn't want to take any chances, so we'll be going. So, if you don't mind, MJ, can you keep up with Hope's training until I get back?" Peter asked.

"I will just make sure you come back safe," said MJ.


According to Gwen's memories, the prisoners were being kept in a volcano in Serbia. Unfortunately, breaking the prisoners out proved to be more tricky than anticipated, as Colossus and Magik guarded them.

"Well, we found the prisoners," said Gwen as he jumped out of the way to avoid Colossus'punch.

"Yeah, but will be lucky to join," said Peter.

"We can't battle two Phoenixes at the same time," said Steve as he blocked Magik's attack.

"But we need time to put some distance between us and them," said Storm.

"You guys get the prisoners out of here. I'll hold them off," said Peter.

"Are you crazy?" Gwen stared. "They'll kill you."

"She's right; it's a suicide mission," said Steve.

"Our goal is to rescue the prisoners; if someone doesn't hold them off, that mission is going to fail," Peter argued. "Go while you still can."

Gwen looked at Peter. "If you die, MJ's going to kill you, and so will I."

"Hold us off?" Magik laughed as she raised her flaming sword. "How do you expect to do that little man?"

"Let's find out," said Peter.

Peter soon began to engage them, using his agility in order to avoid their attacks, but Colossus proved to be rather nimble. With one good blow, he was able to knock Peter to the ground, nearly knocking him unconscious.

"They could have gotten far," said Magik as they began going to the entrance. "We will capture them and bring them back in chains."

"We're not done yet," said Peter as he wrapped them in webbing. "You still got gotten me to deal with."

"You make it sound as if that will be a challenge," said Colossus as the two broke free from his webs.

Colossus then dealt Peter another blow; this time, he made him cough out some blood.

"Cripple him and be done with it," said Magik.

Colossus ignored her and looked at Peter. "Do yourself a favour and stand down. I do not wish to hurt you any more than I need to."

"Appreciate the offer," said Peter, then suddenly dashed forward sterling Colossus an uppercut, "but I'm going to have to decline."

Colossus then attempted to counter with a blow of his own, but Peter dodged and, at the same time, performed a dropkick on Magik. During the battle, Peter's spider-sense was buzzing non-stop, not that he needed it to inform him that he was in major trouble.

He was still dizzy from Colossus's previous blows, and now he managed to aggravate Magik, who grabbed his leg and slammed him into the ground. He then tried to get up, only to be pinned down by Colossus.

"I said stand down," he said.

"Afraid I can't do that," said Peter as he got back up again.

"You will," said Colossus as he raised his fist. "Whether you want to or not."

Once again, Peter almost blacked out when he was struck by one of his blows, but he refused to give in and continued to get back up.

Magik looked at her brother impatiently. "This is pathetic brother. You have all this power, and yet you still hold back. If you don't have the guts to finish him off, I will."

"Sister, we, please stop saying such things. You're making me worry."

Peter could barely hear them, but it definitely sounded as if the two of them were having an argument. He had no idea whether this was just pure sibling rivalry or the Phoenix Force bringing up their worst impulses. However, this argument gave him an idea, though he knew the consequences afterwards.

"You know all this fighting between brother and sister is just so unnecessary," Peter coughed, spitting out more blood. "You two really need to get along. After all, both of you know what will happen if one of you falls, right?"

The plan worked just as Peter had hoped, and the two began fighting, eventually taking one another down. Moments later, Steve returned with a rescue team, and they were rather surprised to see the scene before.

"They took each other down," said Peter. He was so delirious that he thought he had seen Uncle Ben with them. "I might have helped in that regard. Did I do good, Uncle Ben?"

He then collapsed and fell unconscious.


Everything began to escalate after that. Cyclops attacked K'un-L'un but was repelled by Hope, who channelled the power of Shao Lao. The Avengers then launched a full assault upon Utopia, and while they were fighting Cyclops physically, Professor X attacked him mentally.

However, Cyclops then launched a surprise attack on Emma, absorbing her portion of the Phoenix, becoming the Dark Phoenix, and killing Professor X. He was now unleashing all that power upon the Avengers. In one last desperate attempt, Hope and Wanda combined their power to overpower the Phoenix.

The Phoenix entered Hope's body, but she and Wanda quickly used their powers to expel it. However, not before Hope used its power to bring back the new population.

Cyclops was arrested and imprisoned, and he did not regret his actions.

"It's finally over," said MJ as they returned to their apartment.

"I am afraid it's far from over," said Pete as he leaned over. "The meeting population might be restored, but I imagine the same old prejudices have also returned."

"You mean we're going back to anti-mutant hysteria?" MJ stared.

Peter nodded. "I just hope our daughters don't get caught up in it."

MJ smiled as she wrapped her arm around his. "They're tough; I'm sure they can survive just about anything."

"Well, I'm gonna make sure they don't have to endure all that."