At Alchemax, they extracted the Carnage symbiont from Normie, and Peter offered his assistance.
"That should do it," said Peter once they finished the extraction.
"You sure the symbiont has been removed?" Liz asked.
"Yes, but I think you should monitor him closely just in case," said Peter. He then turned to Normie. "Do you feel any better, Normie?"
Normie looked up at him. "I'm fine, Uncle Peter, but I want to apologise. I thought you were the villain all this time, but it was Grampa all along." This confession, a sign of Normie's growth and understanding, brought a sense of pride to Peter.
Peter smiled. "It's all right, Normie. You were very young at the time."
"Can you tell me May and April? I'm sorry as well?" he asked.
"I'll pass the message along."
"And I should apologise too," said Liz, bending down to him. "I didn't realise that spending so much time with Stanley hurt you, even though he's not my son. It's just that he needs a mother; like it or not, that must be me. So, do you think you can forgive me?"
"Yes, Mom," said Normie, hugging her.
Peter then looked at Harry, who was currently with his mother. Peter had to admit that he was surprised that she was alive, but Harry had a tough time accepting her.
"Harry, I'm so sorry for abandoning you," said Emily. "I should have been stronger and stayed there for your sake or took you with me when I left your father. It's just that I couldn't take any more of your father's abuse, and not a day goes by that I regret leaving you behind. That's why I came back a few years ago to make amends with you."
Harry frowned. "You did, but the first time we've ever met was just a few days ago."
Emily sighed. "No, I came back for you when you were 15, but your father got in the way. He also must have wiped your memory to forget those events."
"Really was a piece of work," Harry muttered.
"Do you forgive me?" she asked.
"I do, but don't expect me to call you Mom," said Harry, his forgiveness bringing a sense of relief to the tense atmosphere.
"I understand, but I'm surprised you use my surname."
"Back then, I wanted to keep as much distance from my father as possible, but now I want to make the Osborn name more positive. I think now it's time to take back the name Osborn," Harry declared, his determination sparking a sense of hope in the audience.
Harry then walked over to join Liz and Normie.
"He just needs time to get used to you," said Peter, approaching her. "Believe me, I felt the same way when I thought I was reunited with my parents only to discover they were androids."
"Thank you, Peter, and thank you for being there for Harry," Emily smiled. "Harry couldn't have asked for a better best friend. And I should also thank you for saving my life all those years ago."
"I did?" Peter blinked.
"Oh, I never gave you my name, and I don't expect you to remember everyone you rescued," Emily smiled. "But you might remember me being rescued by a certain goblin."
Peter vaguely remembered a reddish-pinkish goblin attacking a woman who tried to kill her. He was able to save her, but as for the goblin, it disintegrated into nothing. Peter didn't think about it back then, but he suspected it was one of Norman's early experiments with the goblin serum.
"I hired back goblin to abduct Harry and bring them to me in exchange for an antidote, except I lied," said Emily. "Looks like I'm not much different from my husband after all."
"Hey, you still love Harry," said Peter. "That's more than Norman ever did. Instead, he belittled him and pushed him to the extreme."
"He wasn't always like that," Emily sighed. "When I first fell in love with him, he was a sweet man, but that all changed after we married and when he started his business. Sometimes I wonder what happened to the man used to be."
With Norman Osborn now officially arrested and now insane, Gwen was finally able to make contact with her relatives.
"I can't believe that your life," said Jill over the Webware. "And you have been alive for years."
"I'm sorry, Jill, but I can contact you until we are certain that Norman Osborn is under lock and key," said Gwen.
"And the other times they encounter because?"
"Because now he's insane and thinks Spider-Man is Norman Osborn," said Gwen.
"Couldn't happen to a nicer guy," Jill muttered. "Don't think you're off the hook, Gweny; I want all the details next time I'm in New York City."
"Our promise I'll tell you everything," Gwen promised.
"So, I guess you know Peter is married?" said Jill softly.
"Yeah, I know. I can't blame him for trying to find love, but he's made me godmother to his children."
"That's sweet, but you should also move on, Gwen. You're not getting any younger."
"I'm still quite young," said Gwen, looking insulted.
"Gwen, you're nearly 30."
"Don't make me regret calling you."
The two of them then burst out laughing.
Eventually, Reed and his family returned to Earth-616, and Ben returned from his space adventure. Peter and Liz, who had been instrumental in saving the Baxter Building from corporations with their own agendas, were now discussing with Reed what to do with the building.
"I appreciate that you and Miss Allen save the Baxter Building from corporations with their own agendas," said Reed.
"We are happy to help Doctor Richards, and we hope that you would allow us to keep running our business in the Baxter Building," said Liz.
"We have done some productive work, as you've undoubtedly noticed," said Peter.
"I have, and I think you're doing good work, but I feel as if our presence here is going to endanger everyone working," said Reed.
"With all due respect, Doctor Richards, that never stopped you from setting this place as your base of operations when it was a block of flats," Liz pointed out.
"And there were fewer people taking residence here as time went on, but it's much different this time."
"Reed, we think it's worth the risk. Naturally, the top floors will be your private residence and lab, just like before," said Peter. "We just wish to keep our organisation running on the bottom floors if only to keep the upkeep of the building."
Reed looked at the two of them. "And Miss Stacy would still be in charge of all operations?"
"Of course," said Peter.
"Then we have an agreement."
Sadly, a few days later, Peter had to deal with the court case with Sajani Jaffrey and called Matt for his services.
"Your honour, my client is well within her rights to demand compensation after Parker Industries stole her idea and fired her without charge," said Sajani's lawyer.
"Objection, your honour," said Matt. "Mr Parker stole nothing, and Miss Jaffrey was fired for corporate espionage."
"Order," said the judge. "And Mr Johnson, I would remind you that you swore to speak the truth when things proceeded."
"Apologies, your honour," said Mr Johnson, though he did not look sorry. "Regardless of why she was fired, Parker Industries had no right to confiscate her work and print it out as their own."
"I apologise for objecting again, your honour, but once again, that's not entirely true," said Matt. "Miss Jaffrey was told that she had 24 hours to clean up her desk or else Parker Industries would confiscate everything she had left behind. Alas, Miss Jaffrey did not take their warning seriously and took her time gathering her equipment."
"The 24 hours is hardly enough time to safely collect sensitive equipment. My client is also grieving with the fact that they searched her personal records without her permission."
"Order!" said the judge. "This argument is not getting anywhere, so how about we call in a few witnesses."
Harry was the first witness to take the stand.
"Mr Lyman, or should that be Mr Osborn?" said Matt.
"I've changed my name back to Osborn now," said Harry.
"Very well, Mr. Osborn. I understand that you gave Miss Jaffrey her marching orders," said Matt.
"That's correct; she was not too happy with our company's current direction," Harry nodded. "Peter Parker and I tolerated her as she was such a brilliant scientist, but then she hired the White Ghost to sabotage efforts."
"You also warned her about what would happen if she did not clean at her desk?" Matt asked.
"I was perfectly clear what would happen," Harry nodded.
"No further questions, Your Honour," said Matt.
"Do you wish to cross-examine the witness?" the judge asked, looking at Mr Johnson.
"Yes, Your Honour," said Mr Johnson and made his way to the stand. "Mr Osborn, I believe that you once took the drugs."
Harry moved awkwardly. "I did, but that was years before we started the company. I'm clean now."
"Yet you seem to be stronger than the average human. Is Parker Industries working on advancing the human genome?"
"Objection," said Matt. "Mr Osborn's past is of no concern to this trial, and neither is what Parker Industries is currently doing."
"I'm inclined to agree with Mr Murdoch," said the judge, looking at Mr Johnson. "If you have appointed this line of questioning, make sure that it does reflect on the current case."
Matt then brought Hobie as the next witness.
"Now, Mr Brown, can you explain to the court about Miss Jaffrey's complaint that you look through her personal account?" Matt asked.
"I can, and I first wish to explain to the court that we do not go through our employees' personal information. We only go through the accounts of transactions going in and out; it is only when we find evidence that endangers the company that we pry into their personal information, but that is mostly on emails and details of any transactions they may have utilised."
"So you don't hack into their bank accounts or anything else personal?" said Matt.
"That's correct, and we do make things clear on our policies to our employees," said Hobie. "Miss Jaffrey was incredibly antagonistic towards the company, and she more than once claimed she could run the batch more efficiently. We took that as a warning sign that she may wish to bring harm to the company. Going through transactions, we discovered that she was being paid by Empire Unlimited and given a high position within their company if she scuppered our bid on the new supervillain prison deal."
Matt nodded, satisfied. "There you have it, your honour; they had every reason to fire Miss Jaffrey."
The judge nodded. "So it would seem do you wish to cross-examine the witness, Mr Johnson."
Mr Johnson shook his head, clearly unable to come up with an argument against what Hobie had just revealed. Given all the information from Sajani regarding what happened at Parker Industries, it appeared he had happened.
In the end, the court denied Sajani's claims, and she left the courtroom furious.
Peter was now showing Flash around the Nest, and he was apparently aware that Peter was Spider-Man.
"Still can't believe that you're Spider-Man," said Flash. "And I can't believe I bullied my favourite superhero, but at least it explains a few things."
"Trust me, the irony is not lost on me," said Peter.
"So you and Felicia really did date," said Flash.
"Yeah, that was back when MJ and I were off and on."
"Why is it that superheroes always attract good-looking women?" Flash asked.
"Yeah, not all the girls I dated knew I was a superhero," Peter pointed out.
"Well, I have to say, Pete, you got one sweet pad," said Flash as he looked around. "You'd give the Pentagon a run for its money with all this stuff."
"I try to make sure we got all the latest tech," Peter smiled.
"So you can hack into a new surveillance camera with this stuff?" Flash asked.
"That's right," said Teresa as she made her entrance. "And I can look up practically anyone in the SHIELD and Avenger database."
"And who's she?" Flash asked.
"We met on the field," said Teresa. "I'm the Iron Spider and Peter's younger sister."
Flash stared at Peter. "Since when did you have a sister?"
"It came as a shock to me as well," said Peter.
"So let me get this straight," said Flash and began counting off his fingers. "Ghost Spider is Gwen Stacy, who was revived from an alternate timeline; Scarlet Spider is your clone; Spinneret is your wife; Silk was bitten by the same spider that gave you your powers it has spent the past decade locked in a bunker, the other Spider-Man is from a parallel universe, and Iron Spider is your long lost sister."
"That's about the size of it," Peter nodded.
"Is there anything else I should know?" Flash asked.
"No, that's about it."
"Good, my brain hurts just thinking about it."
"By the way, congratulations, I hear you're going to be a father," said Peter.
Flash smiled proudly, "And I'm looking forward to it; I'm going to be a much better father than mine was to me."
"Flash, I didn't just invite you down here to give you the grand tour. Would you consider joining the Web Warriors?"
"You serious?" Flash stared.
"You were a big help against Norman," said Peter.
"He's right. We may not have survived without you," Teresa nodded.
"Fight side-by-side with Spider-Man has always been my dream."
"Then welcome aboard."
The two of them shook hands.
As it turned out, Gayle and John weren't the only ones getting married, as Ben Grimm and Alicia Masters also got married, and both Peter and MJ were invited as guests.
They also adopted two alien orphans, a Kree boy, Jo-Venn and a Skrull girl, N'Kala. Naturally, since their people were enemies, they nearly ripped each other's heads off, literally, but thankfully, they calmed down and actually treated one another like brother and sister.
Johnny also came home with an alien of his own, who claimed to be his soulmate. Her name was Sky, and she was a beautiful woman with birdlike wings. She came from the planet Spyre. It looked as if Johnny had finally found that special someone, but then he ruined it by cheating on her. If that wasn't bad enough, he went to bed with Victorious, Doctor Doom's fiancee.
Things got worse when she actually announced her infidelity on their wedding day. Furious with this betrayal, Doctor Doom blasted him with a ray that permanently turned his powers on. Also, thanks to the special bracelet he was wearing, Sky was affected, making her more birdlike. Saying she was furious would have been an understatement.
"Seriously, Johnny, what we're thinking?" Peter asked.
Since Johnny's temperature was so high, he was forced to remain in an isolated part of the Baxter Building. Thanks to his high-density skin, Ben Grimm was the only one who could even get near him.
"I wasn't really thinking," Johnny admitted.
"That much is clear," Ben Grimm muttered.
"I didn't think she would announce it at her wedding; I thought she would keep it to herself," said Johnny.
"Johnny, I think you're missing the point," Peter shaking his head. "You shouldn't have been doing it in the first place."
"I feel sorry for Sky; she's the one who is truly suffering from all this," said Gwen.
"At least she can still eat," said Johnny.
"You're lucky she didn't tear your face off," said Peter. "It's a good thing Gwen was able to calm her down."
"Okay, I admit, I was being stupid," Johnny admitted.
"A little late for apologies, and you should be saying this to Sky," said Gwen, walking off. "Really, Johnny, you should try to be more like Peter."
"I think she likes you, Matchstick," Ben Grimm chuckled.
"What gave you that impression?" Johnny asked.
"Oh, just a hunch."
"And I hope you learn from this experience, Johnny," said Peter. "You may not be so lucky a second time."
"I'm never going to hear the end of this, am I?" said Johnny.
"Nope," said Ben Grimm.
The Web Warriors soon encountered another individual with spider powers. A young boy named Bailey Briggs was infused with spider DNA by a mad woman named Madame Monstrosity, who was, in fact, the mother of Farley Stillwell, the man who created the Scorpion.
"Is there nothing we can do for him?" MJ asked.
"I might be able to reverse it if I had access to technology, but there's no guarantee," said Peter.
"Does he have any family?" Gwen asked.
"He does have a mother, and I'm afraid she's disappeared as well," said Teresa.
"So, what are we going to do with the kid?" Ben asked.
"Aunt May is looking after him at FEAST, so at least he has a place to stay," said Peter.
"You're not thinking about bringing him into the fold?" Gwen asked.
"If I do that, what excuse can I make for May and April?" Peter asked. "Besides, I don't want a sidekick."
"Sorry, Tiger, but like it or not, you have one, and he's going to need help," said MJ.
"I'm going to bring him over to Daredevil so that he can at least get control of his powers," said Peter. "Apparently, he's more sensitive than the rest of us."
"No doubt because he's infused with spider DNA," said Gwen. "When he's upset, doesn't he grow fangs and extra pairs of eyes?"
"Yeah, and we don't want that to happen publicly," Peter nodded. "People are already giving mutants a wide berth, and they may very well think he is one."
"So what do you intend to do after that?" Gwen asked.
"Let's just get him settled in before we make any big decisions," said Peter calmly.
"You do realise people are going to think that he's our son, right?" said MJ, folding her arms.
Peter groaned. "I know, I know."
"We could take him in until we find his mother," MJ suggested.
"What as a foster son?" Peter frowned. "I don't think that's a good idea, MJ; we got our hands full with Annie at the moment."
"Maybe your aunt can look after him," Gwen suggested.
"That is an idea, but I will have to discuss it with her," said Peter.
Aunt May and Jarvis agreed to take Bailey in, but Peter still needed to be more fond of the idea of him tagging along as a sidekick.
Regardless, Gayle's big day was now, and everyone was gathered. Once again, May and April found themselves playing the part of flower girls, though May looked like she was getting tired of this.
MJ was her maid of honour, and Gayle reluctantly agreed to have their father give her away. Gayle's youngest had the honour of playing ringbearer, and the ceremony went off without a hitch.
"Congratulations, sis," said MJ, hugging Gayle.
"Thanks, Mary," said Gayle, hugging her back. She then looked at Aunt Anna. "Are you sure you're okay babysitting the boys while we're on our honeymoon?"
"They're perfectly behaved, Gayle," said Aunt Anna. "You and John enjoy yourselves."
Peter shook hands with John. "Congratulations, man."
"Thanks, Pete," John smiled. "You sure your company will be all right without Gayle?"
"We're well established now; I think we can miss her absence for a while," Peter assured him.
As the night went on, Peter and MJ made their way onto the balcony outside and looked up towards the night sky.
"So much has changed in the last few years," Peter hugged her. "Our family keeps getting bigger and bigger."
MJ nodded as she rested her head on his shoulders. "And we have Gwen to thank for that. I just wish it didn't come with the expense of her losing her boyfriend."
"Yeah, but I'm sure she'll find someone else," he said, smiling at her. "I mean, I was able to."
"And I'm so glad you did."
The two of them then kissed.
I hope Nick Lowe leaves as Spider-Man editor soon, because it's clear he doesn't know what he's doing.