Peter was still reeling from what people called the Clone Conspiracy. Losing his uncle a second time wasn't easy, and he can only imagine how Gwen felt about losing her father.
"You all right, Tiger?" MJ asked, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his shoulder.
"No, but I bet I'm not the only one after what happened," he said.
"You can't blame yourself for what happened."
"Tell that to Jerry Salteres' wife."
"Peter, you are only trying to help one of your employees. You couldn't have known that the Jackal was replacing people with clones."
"Just seem too good to be true."
"I know."
"Mommy! Daddy!" May cried as she rushed into the living room. "Annie's on the ceiling again."
MJ groaned. "Not again. I knew a baby was going to be challenging, but one with spider powers is more than I bargained for."
This was a common occurrence as Annie had developed a habit of climbing out of her playpen and on the ceiling.
"Calm down, MJ. It's not like she's been in any danger," said Peter as they made their way into Annie's room.
They found Annie happily giggling on the ceiling. Her hair was growing red, just like her mother's.
"Look, I just want to teach our daughter that the floor is walking and the ceiling is for everything that ceiling is for," said MJ as she jumped over to retrieve Annie. "I would also like gravity to be the central law in our home."
"Okay, point taken," Peter chuckled.
MJ then put Annie back in the playpen. "Now you stay in here, you little monkey."
Annie merely giggled.
"You don't suppose she's doing this for attention?" Peter asked.
"Are you trying to imply she gets it from me?" MJ asked.
"And there's nothing wrong with that," said Peter quickly.
"I would hope not."
MJ then kissed him and rested her head on his shoulder. "I know this clone mess has gotten into you and Gwen, but you have friends to lean on."
Peter smiled as he wrapped his arm around. "I know."
Peter would like to say that things started to calm down afterwards, but unfortunately, they didn't. Peter did cash in the favour with Wilson Fisk, who gave him everything he knew about Norman Osborn's whereabouts. Unfortunately, he somehow managed to elude them using the remnants of his Goblin Nation.
Then, when Peter was opening the Uncle Ben Foundation, Ben stopped an assassin who eats soon was about to kill Harry. As it turned out, Silver Sable was alive and well and was, in fact, aiming at Norman Osborn, who was in the crowd.
Things escalated when Captain America believed he had been a HYDRA sleeper agent since World War II and began to help them try to take over the world. Most of the Web Warriors were trapped inside New York when Zemo used the Darkhold to travel all of Manhattan in a force field.
Peter had been in DC when this happened, so he teamed up with the other heroes that Tony was able to gather. It took some doing, but eventually, it got the upper hand and brought Captain America back to his senses.
Peter was now in his office talking to Gwen.
"So you're saying I lost my company because of HYDRA?" said Peter.
"Actually, in that alternate reality, when Octavius took over your mind, he started the company," said Gwen. "He teamed up with HYDRA to get it back, but you would rather destroy the company than handed over to HYDRA."
"And you're saying that my company expanded across the globe?"
Gwen nodded. "Yeah, with a little help from Octavius. However, since you started the company and not Otto, and he's still technically alive, that certainly changed a few things."
"Never be able to get used to this whole alternate reality thing," Peter sighed.
"You're lucky; you don't have two sets of memories in your noggin," Gwen smiled. "So, do you have any idea what happened to Otto?"
"Well, it would seem as if he killed his clone but then made a disappearing act. I have no idea where."
"Why do you think he showed up in the first place?"
"My guess is he wanted to save Anna Maria."
"And what about the Jackal?"
"Disappeared, but I have a sneaking suspicion we'll see him again soon."
"And will no doubt restart his Gwen harem," Gwen muttered.
Gayle then entered the office. "Sorry to interrupt, but Peter, we still have to go over the damage reports. HYDRA's attack damaged some of our property. Not to mention, we were still dealing with that lawsuit."
"I thought we already dealt with Jerry Salteres' wife?" Peter frowned.
"And she's more than happy with the money you gave; in fact, it's more than she expected."
"I know, I know," said Peter, raising his hands. "I gave her too much money, but no amount of money can bring back her husband."
"At least it proves you don't look the other way regarding the welfare of your employees and their families," said Gwen.
"Which admittedly is a good selling, but that's not the case I was referring to," said Gayle. "I'm afraid our old friend Sajani Jaffrey claims you stole her ideas."
"Peter has never stolen anything in his life," said Gwen.
"We are still working on products based on her research," said Peter.
"We gave her 24 hours to clean her lab; it's not our fault she didn't take it seriously," said Gayle.
"She only wants the money because she lost her job again," said Gwen. "I mean, no sooner had she left as she joined Empire Unlimited, but when her boss turned out to be an egomaniac and arrested for kidnapping more than a few hundred people, the company went bust."
"I'm sure Matt will be happy to assist us in this," said Peter. "Is there anything else?"
"Only some personal stuff, like plans for the wedding," Gayle smiled.
"Yes, and MJ is more than happy to have the reception at her nightclub," said Peter. "But who's going to be giving you away?"
"It's going to have to be my father," said Gayle, not looking too happy.
Peter knew that Gayle had more memories of her father and MJ, but none were pleasant.
"You going to be all right?" Peter asked.
"We'll see," said Gayle. "Oh, and thanks again for paying everything for the wedding."
"You're welcome, but Jonah is also contributing."
"I know," Gayle sighed. "I love John, but his father not so much."
"He grows on you," Peter assured her.
"I'll take your word for it," said Gayle. "Still, at least the boys will finally have a proper father. Not that you haven't done an excellent job as the boy's uncle Peter."
"So, are we going to tell John about a little secret?" Gwen asked.
"I have been wondering about that," Gayle admitted. "I don't know if he'll keep it secret from his father, given his reaction when you first revealed your identity to everyone."
"I'll think about it," said Peter.
A few days later, Peter was hanging out with Miles, seeing how he adapted to his new environment.
"So, how'd you like your new home away from home?" Peter asked.
"Not much difference compared from here to there, at least when it comes to being Miles Morales," Miles shrugged. "Though my grandmother hasn't made it easy for me."
"Why is that?"
"She seems to think that I'm taking drugs."
"Are you?"
"Of course not; she's just a specialist with all my disappearing acts as Spider-Man. She even hired a private detective to track my whereabouts? Unfortunately, she discovered I was Spider-Man but promised to tell anyone."
"This detective, she wouldn't have long black hair and a grip like a vice?" Peter asked.
Miles stared at him. "You know her?"
"Her husband is Luke Cage, and she used to attend my high school," Peter explained.
"Is there anyone you don't know?" Miles asked.
Before Peter could answer, they suddenly saw a purple erupting from a nearby warehouse, and they both recognised it.
"Wait, that looks like—"
"The same interdimensional portal that transports me to your universe where I was nearly left stranded. Yeah, it looks like."
They immediately went to investigate but were surprised that Taskmaster emerged from it and began shooting. Sadly, he didn't stick around to fight and immediately rushed over towards the limo, where they saw a brief glimpse of an African-American who looked like Miles but had a number of scars across his face.
"Uh, did you see that?" Peter asked.
"That Taskmaster seems to be working with a guy that looks exactly like me, only with nasty scars?" said Miles. "Yeah, I saw."
They immediately rushed over to the Nest, and Teresa began trying to get some info on this adult Miles.
"So when were you going to tell me that I was a bad guy here?" Miles asked.
"Look, after returning from your universe, I tried to look you up but found nothing. It was like you existed.
"Maybe I'll be lucky, and this guy isn't me," said Miles.
"Sorry, Miles, but that doesn't seem to be the case," said Teresa.
She then brought up several newspaper reports that showed this Earth's Miles, which showed that he had a criminal past.
"Miles Morales was caught shoplifting at 12 and was sent away to boarding school," said Teresa. "Apparently, your parents hoped that this would reform you, but it had the opposite effect. Instead, you got caught up with a criminal gang and worked as one of Wilson Fisk's underlings. According to the FBI files, you became close with Wilson Fisk, becoming his confidant and enforcer after saving his life, which resulted in those nasty scars you saw."
"You mean I work for the Kingpin," Miles groaned.
"Miles, that guy isn't you," said Peter.
"But he is me."
"He's you if you had taken a different path."
"But he certainly has a connection to you. Apparently, you managed to apprehend him," said Teresa.
Peter frowned. "I did? I certainly don't recall."
"Given the number of gangsters you capture on a daily basis, that's not entirely surprising," said Teresa. "According to this, Miles served his time in prison, but there were suspicions that he was assisting Wilson Fisk even behind bars, but nothing was ever proven."
"This still doesn't explain how I was unable to find anything on Miles?" Peter frowned.
"Wilson Fisk is a skilled hacker; it's possible that he managed to erase all records regarding Miles's existence," Teresa theorised.
"And how are you able to find all this information?" Miles asked.
"I'm a pretty good hacker myself; I was a SHIELD agent, after all," said Teresa proudly. "And while Fisk was able to destroy all the computed data revolving around Miles, there was nothing he could do with anything written down like newspapers or case files."
"Okay, so we got his back story, but none of this explains why he's working with Taskmaster or why he's so interested in a parallel universe?" said Peter.
"You sure that gateway little power universe?" Teresa asked.
"We've seen it before; trust me, we know what it is."
"Well, there's only one person who can answer that question," said Teresa. "I'll keep looking and try to figure out his motive."
"You ready, Miles?" Peter asked.
"Is it strange that I'm stalking myself?" Miles asked.
"Stranger things have happened to me," said Peter.
They then tried to locate the adult Miles, but it was challenging, and they needed more information to proceed. However, Teresa had an easier time tracking Taskmaster down, and there was a report that he was boarding a plane.
Unfortunately, they were somehow taken by surprise and knocked out cold. When they regained consciousness, they found themselves hanging upside down from a crane just as the plane was taking off, but they managed to free themselves.
"That was a great confidence builder," said Miles.
"Looks like the adult you isn't so bad after all," said Peter.
"What makes you say that?"
"Because we're still alive."
"Good point."
"Guys, I just found some information that might explain his motives," said Terese over the radio.
"What did you find?"
"Apparently, he was in a relationship with a woman named Barbara Sanchez, but she passed away a few years back."
"Okay, I feel sorry for him, but how does this tie him with Taskmaster travelling through the multiverse?" Peter asked.
"Everything, I think that he's trying to find a Barbara Sanchez in another universe," said Teresa.
"The guy is that fixated on her?" Miles stared.
"Hey, I knew it was possible to travel between universes. I might have done it to find another Gwen Stacy," said Peter. "But that doesn't mean I won't stop him. There's no telling what might happen if he messes things up."
"Good, because I have a very good idea where he's headed," said Teresa.
They followed Teresa's directions and found the adult Miles in a warehouse. Unfortunately, they arrived too late, as he had already created the portal. They did try to convince him, and Miles even showed him his face. However, he responded by shooting Miles and jumping into the portal anyway, which exploded behind him.
"So what do we do now?" Miles asked.
"I guess the only thing we can do is call SHIELD and have them handle the rest," Peter sighed.
"Where do you think he went?" Miles asked.
Peter shrugged. "Given how large the multiverse is, there is no way to know how many universes remain after the Secret Wars."
Miles looked at the portal. "Well, I hope he finds what he is looking for. Even bad guys deserve a happy ending; they just go about it the wrong way."
"Yeah, they do," Peter agreed.
Ben and Cindy were now on a date at a big fancy restaurant.
"You know I can just close the Coffee Bean so that we could have a daughter ourselves," said Ben.
"We have an apartment all to ourselves, and we both know what we get up to when we're alone," Cindy smiled.
"Yeah, and the neighbours seem to complain about the noise we may."
The two of them laughed.
"So I've heard you finally managed to track down your family," said Ben.
Cindy nodded. "Yeah, Felicia actually helped me with that. We were able to locate my brother Albert, but he turned into some kind of raids on the fence to Norman Osborn's goblin serum."
"You know, for once, it would be nice if Norman Osborn didn't ruin everyone's lives," Ben muttered.
"Tell me about it," Cindy nodded.
"And your parents?"
"Apparently, they were trapped in the Negative Zone, trying to find a cure for my powers."
Ben blinked. "Well, they certainly went to extreme lengths."
"You have no idea. Apparently, my father was working with some spider wannabe, Fang, who wanted to steal my powers behind my back."
"It didn't you tell him that there was no need since the guy hunting you was dead, in fact not only dead but erased from existence?"
"I did, but I don't think he's comfortable with me being a superhero or that my boyfriend is a superhero himself."
"How much does he know about me?" Ben asked curiously.
"Well, I told him you're the Scarlet Spider and a clone of Spider-Man, but that's about it."
"So you didn't tell him that when we get very worked up, we hmmm… you know."
"No, I didn't tell him that, and that can be our little secret," Cindy smiled. "And he had exactly called it a terrible problem."
"No, it's not terrible, but it can be a bit awkward."
Cindy giggled. "Especially when our friends walk in unannounced."
Ben laughed. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure we scarred Peter."
"Anyway, even though I'm glad my parents never abandoned me, after what my dad pulled, I'm not sure I can be near him."
"So you're not leaving us or me?"
Cindy placed his hand over his. "Oh, I have no intentions of leaving."
She then leaned in and kissed him, and it took all of Ben's will not to give in to the passion they were feeling. He had a sneaking suspicion that it would be rather inappropriate in a public restaurant.
Peter was in his office when Anna Maria entered his room.
"Annie, is something wrong?" Peter asked.
"Possibly, but I need to know something," she said.
"Have a seat," Peter offered.
Annie nodded and sat down in front of him.
"Does this have anything to do with our latest product?" Peter asked.
Anna Maria shook her head. "No, it's a lot more personal."
"Go ahead," said Peter.
"Okay, I need to know, are you Spider-Man?" she asked.
"What gives you a crazy idea like that?" Peter asked, feeling immensely uneasy.
"It's already known that you develop technology for Spider-Man, and then there's the fact that you're not always here. Then there is the small matter that the two of you have very similar voices and body build."
Peter sighed.
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," Anna Maria promised.
"Okay, it's true I'm Spider-Man," said Peter. "Does that mean you don't want to work here any more?"
"No, I admire your work here," Anna Maria assured him. "And here comes my next big question, that other Spider-Man, the one that saved me from Doctor Octopus. I can't help but notice the similarity between them, and I was wondering if you knew who he was under the mask."
"Are you asking me if the other Spider-Man is your ex-boyfriend?" Peter asked.
"I need to know; I thought he died a year ago, but if he's alive, I want to know why he hasn't returned."
"First, I promised him not to tell you any of this. I get the feeling you won't take no for an answer, so I'll tell you."
"Why? Why didn't he want you to tell me anything?"
Peter then began to explain everything to Anna Maria, and after he was finished, she burst into tears.
"I wish I could tell you where he is, but he left without a trace," said Peter apologetically.
"That idiot," she cried. "Thank you for telling me, but I'm not sure if it makes things easier."
"These sorts of things never do."
I didn't do the Secret Empire as the Spider-Man story forced on Otto to try to take back the company he started, but since that didn't happen neither did the story.