Today was the first legal proceedings against Norman Osborn for the abduction of May, and Peter really hoped they had enough evidence to sue him.

"The court is now in session," said the judge. "Norman Virgil Osborn, you stand accused of kidnapping May Madeline Parker. How do you plead?"

"My client pleads not guilty," said Norman's lawyer.

A lot of people in the stands immediately began to boo, forcing the judge to slam his gavel to keep them quiet. Peter looked up and saw MJ and May sitting behind him with Aunt May, Jarvis, and Ben behind them.

Matt Murdock then rose to his feet. "I am going to prove to this court that it was Norman Osborn who was responsible for the kidnapping of a young girl and robbing her parents of the chance to raise her in her early years."

"Objection!" said Norman's lawyer. "My client at the time of May Parker's birth was fighting both Spider-Man and Ghost Spider. Therefore, it is impossible for him to kidnap the young girl at the allotted time."

"Yes, he was fighting them as the Green Goblin, causing untold damage in the process," Matt countered.

"My client has been cleared of all charges of his actions as the Green Goblin, as his mental state had been affected by dangerous chemicals."

"I will have order, gentleman," said the judge. "Mr Murdock, I believe you have the floor, so can you provide us with this evidence."

"I do have a witness who aided and abetted Mr Osborn in the crime, and she is willing to testify. I hereby call Alison Mongrain to the stands."

Alison Mongain was soon brought to the stands; she wore an orange prison uniform and had a hand.

"Mrs Mongain, I understand that you were the one that kidnapped young May from her parents," said Matt.

"I am," she admitted. "However, I was hired to kidnap the young girl from her parents."

"I see end who hired you?"

"Norman Osborn," she admitted.

Several gasps came from the stands, and the judge had to maintain order again.

"Did he give any reason as to why he wanted that girl?" Matt asked.

"He wouldn't say, but he was annoyed that her parents knew she was alive. You see, he had originally ordered me to pretend that she was stillborn."

There was another round of gasps from the stands, and the judge got tired of maintaining the order.

"If no one can keep quiet during these proceedings, can they please leave? I'm getting tired of slamming my gavel," he said and then looked at Matt. "Do you have any further questions?"

"No, Your Honour."

"Do the accused wish to cross-examine the witness?"

"Indeed, I do know your honour," said Norman's lawyer as he stood up. "Mrs Mongain, I understand that you're doing time for kidnapping the girl in question."

"I am," she said.

"Can you tell me who the one who arrested you was?"

"I object to this form of questioning, your honour!" said Matt as he stood up. "What does her arrest have anything to do with the proceedings in this court?"

The judge turned to Norman's lawyer. "Mr Carlson, is there any point to these questions?"

"There is your honour," said Carlson.

"Then I will let you continue, but only if you stay relevant to this court."

"Thank you, your honour," said Carlson. He then turned to Mongain. "Now who did arrest you, Mrs Mongain."

"It was Ghost Spider, but she had me over to the French authorities, who transported me here to the United States for my trial."

"So you were arrested by a vigilante, but why would this vigilante care so much about something as insignificant as a kidnapping?"

There was soon a massive uproar from the stands again.

"Silence!" the judge yelled and then turned to Carlson. "Mr Carlson, I would choose your words more carefully, considering we are discussing that kidnapping."

"I do apologise, your honour, but I'm merely making my point. The spiders seemed to have an interest in the proceedings. It is commonly known that Spider-Man and my client have fought one another along with his allies, the Scarlet Spider and the Ghost Spider. I am merely suggesting that they may have a role in the kidnapping, not Mr Osborn."

"Your honour, I strongly object to this speculation," said Matt. "We're here to discuss the facts of the crime, not condemn our city's heroes with very little evidence."

"I do agree with Mr Murdoch," the judge nodded. "We shall stick to the facts and leave speculation out of these proceedings."

"As you wish, your honour," said Mr Carlson.

"Your honour, I would wish to summon Mr Osborn to the stands," said Matt.

Norman soon found himself in the witness box, and Matt began to pace up and down.

"Mr Osborn, can I ask why you seem to hate my clients so much?" Matt asked.

"I do not hate Peter; I, in fact, think of him as a son," said Norman.

"And yet you seem to cause him nothing but pain," said Matt. "Need I remind you that you, as the Green Goblin, killed his girlfriend, Gwen Stacy, several years ago."

"I have been cleared of charges regarding all of the terrible things I did as the Green Goblin," said Norman. "I do deeply regret the death of young Miss Stacy, but I was not in control of my body at the time."

"But you also kidnapped my client's aunt and faked her own death," Matt added.

"Again, I was not in my right mind, but I regret what happened."

"You regret but have not done anything to compensate my client for these terrible crimes."

"I object, your honour," said Mr Carlson. "As I have stated earlier, my client cannot be held responsible for his actions as the Green Goblin. It has been stated that that was a completely separate personality."

"Like Jekyll & Hyde," said Matt. "You may not have been in control of your body, but the tragedy that befell my client cannot be ignored. The Green Goblin still used your body to commit these crimes, and if you really do see my client is a son, should you do something right by him?"

The trial went on like this for quite some time, and it became apparent that Norman's lawyer's tactic was to blame the Green Goblin, claiming he was a separate entity. On the other hand, Matt claimed that Peter had suffered greatly at the hands of the Green Goblin, pointing out that while the Green Goblin was a separate entity, he was still Norman Osborn.

Ultimately, the judge agreed Norman Osborn was indeed guilty of the crimes and forced Peter to give him two million dollars. Peter was astonished by this amount; the judge claimed that the money reflected the past crimes committed by the Green Goblin and that Norman Osborn had to pay for his alter ego.

"I can't thank you enough, Matt," said Peter, shaking his hand.

"It was my pleasure, Peter. I hope this brings your family close," Matt smiled.

Peter then suddenly found MJ wrapping her arms around him. "You did it, Tiger."

Peter hugged her back. "No, we did it."

"$2 million, that's a tidy sum," said Ben.

"Make sure you don't spend all of it at once, Peter," said May.

"Don't worry, I'll put it to good use," Peter promised.

"Congratulations, Master Peter," said Jarvis, shaking his hand. "And since you're in such a good mood, I wish to ask you a question."

"What's that?" Peter asked.

"Would you give me your blessing to marry your aunt?" he said.

Peter stared at him, stunned. "I-I…" He then looked at MJ, who nodded and looked back at Jarvis and his aunt. "If you promise to make her happy, you have my blessing."

"Does that make Jarvis my grandpa now?" May asked.

Everyone then laughed.

Harry invited Peter and MJ to his apartment, where they met Lily, who introduced them to a friend.

"The name is Carlie Cooper," she said, shaking hands with Peter and MJ.

"Well, I'm…"

"No need to tell me who you are; you're all over the news," she said. "I have to say it was satisfying to see the smug look on Norman Osborn's face when he was found guilty." She then quickly looked at Harry. "Sorry, Harry, I know he is your father."

"No, I felt the same way," Harry smiled. "So what do you plan to do with all those millions?"

"First, we gonna find a place to live," said Peter. "I'll decide what to do next after we settle in."

"My agent has contacted me. Apparently, the tragedy of my daughter inspired me to make a film about them. They want me to play the mother," said MJ.

Peter frowned. "Is another little too close to home?"

MJ shrugged. "It wouldn't be the first time. Though I am reluctant to leave May behind."

"MJ, go for it," Peter encouraged. "It's not like you'll say goodbye forever, and we can still chat. Plus, May isn't going to be without family. She's got plenty of people looking out for her."

"I know I just missed so much in her life; I just don't want to miss any more."

"May's a tough girl; I think she can handle anything," said Peter, kissing her forehead.

Carlie smiled. "You two are so cute together; it makes me a little jealous."

"Thanks," said Peter. "So, Carlie, Harry tells me you work as a forensic scientist for the police."

"That's right," she nodded. "I was always quite good with science, and I figured I could use that skill to take down bad guys. Harry tells me you quite the brainbox. Have you ever thought about following my career? We're always hiring."

"I appreciate the offer, but I have always wanted to use my brains to help people," said Peter.

"Well, if you change your mind, give me a holler."

"Nice to see the two of you are heading off," said Lily. She then looked at MJ. "And it's nice to meet you finally, Mary Jane."

"It's wonderful meeting you too, Lily," MJ smiled.

"And we've got an important announcement for everyone here," said Harry as he placed his arm around Lily.

"That we do," Lily smiled. "We're getting married."

While Harry and Lily's engagement was something to enjoy, the enjoyment lasted only a short time. As it turned out, Lily was Menace. Apparently, Lily found a hidden door in Harry Osborn's closet and found an old journal. Using this information, she uncovered one of Norman's secret rooms and accidentally knocked over some experimental goblin chemicals, which were absorbed into her skin, allowing her to transform into Menace at will.

When she finally tells Harry that he has no choice but to inform Peter together, they create an antidote. The only problem is that Lily then attacks two police officers on election day who had been trying to arrest Carlie for a crime she didn't commit. After a little scuffle between Peter and Harry, they can inject her with the formula, but she transforms back to normal on live television.

Her father was completely shocked by this revelation, especially considering his daughter, Menace, had been attacking his opponents. Naturally, she was taken to prison for her crimes, much to Harry's regret.

Both Peter and Harry, wearing his Green Goblin outfit, looked down at the scene as Lily was arrested.

"If only there had been another way," said Harry solemnly.

"I'm truly sorry, Harry," said Peter honestly.

"Not your fault, Pete," Harry sighed. "But tell me, honestly, do you think my life is cursed?"

"Sometimes I ask myself the same thing with my life," said Peter.

"And what answer do you come up with?"

"That only thing I can do is pick myself up and try to do better," he said. He then looked on and saw Lily's father, watching as the squad at his daughter away. "I do feel sorry for her father, though. By all accounts, he was set to win the election, but now that his daughter has revealed herself to be the terrorist Menace, he might be forced to resign."

"Must be the shortest appointment in history," Harry nodded. He then looked at Peter and frowned. "I've been meaning to ask Pete, what happened to you?"

Peter was pretty beaten up and had a broken arm, mostly down to him fighting villains in prison. Just a few short moments ago, he'd been arrested for criminal charges because spider tracers had been left lying around at several murder cases.

Incidentally, this was somewhat tied to Carlie's arrest as a few members of NYPD tried to frame him for murder, leaving his spider traces of the scene of the crime. The main conspirator was, in fact, a friend of hers named Vin Gonzales, who had been working with members of the police to do a smear campaign on Spider-Man to put an end to his vigilante activities.

He eventually gives himself up, and in exchange for the names of all the police involved, he was given a light sentence.

"I hear that you've been having quite a busy time," said Luke, handing Peter a cup of coffee.

"That's putting it mildly," said Peter.

Peter and MJ were currently at Luke's apartment with the other Avengers.

"Still can't believe that you were Spider-Man all along, but I admit that what I recognised your voice," said Luke's wife, Jess.

Apparently, Jess attended high school with Peter and had a crush on him. Sadly, Peter didn't remember her at all, only remembering her as coma girl. However, he suddenly found himself in a minefield between her husband and his wife.

"Just remember Jess, he's mine now," MJ warned.

"And you're already married," Luke pointed out.

Peter groaned. "How did I get myself into this?"

MJ looked at him with a firm expression. "Are there any other girls I should be worried about?"

"Hey, I can't control how girls think of me," said Peter.

"Huh-uh," said MJ, looking unconvinced. "I suppose I should be flattered that my husband can attract so many girls."

"But I married you," Peter pointed out.

"Only because Gwen was killed."

"Maybe we should get back to why we're here," said Mrs Marvel quickly. "But you two can discuss your past relationships in private."

"I can't agree more," said Clint. He then turned to Peter. "Is there any chance that Norman was responsible for the smear campaign done by the police?"

"It's possible, but there's no evidence," said Peter. "Besides, he's having a little trouble losing that trial."

It was true that Norman's popularity had plummeted slightly ever since the trial; he was also having difficulties keeping his Cabel together. Apparently, both Namor and Emma Frost betrayed him, and they could get their hands on an island for all mutants.

"As much of it pains me to say this, one trial is not going to be enough to bring him down," said MJ.

"She's right; we need to do something big," Logan agreed.

"I'm starting to think we should kill Osborn," said Clint.

Everyone immediately stared at him.

"You want us to kill Norman Osborn?" Ms Marvel stared. "I don't care for the man himself, but we are supposed to be heroes. If we kill him, we'll look like the bad guys."

Clint looked at both Peter. "I would have thought you, of all people, would want to see him dead, Pete. That guy has made your life a living hell; I mean, he kidnapped your kid, for heaven's sake."

"I don't have much love for Norman, but we can't stick to his level," Peter argued.

"I'm with Pete. I didn't join this group so we could kill people we don't like," Luke nodded.

"Last I checked, you nearly beat him to death."

"Only enough to barely leave him conscious."

"Look, I killed a good number of people myself, and Osborn may have it coming, but I agree with Webs," said Logan. "The last thing we want is to stoop to his level."

"I would prefer to see the man locked up than dead," said MJ reluctantly. "I'll never forgive him for what he's done to me and my husband and daughter. However, the reason that this Registration Act was put into place was to control heroes. If you kill him, they would just prove to everyone that the law should exist."

"She's right," said Bucky Barnes, dressed up as Captain America. "Cap wouldn't want us to do this. You would want us to bring Osborn to justice. We cannot deviate from that."

Clint sighed. "Then what do you suggest we do?"

"First, we must weaken his hold," said Ms Marvel.

"So we infiltrate Avengers Tower?" said Luke, folding his arms.

"We'll have to plan it carefully because you can bet that Norman has the place secure. I'll not be able to sneak in, and I'm good at sneaking into places.