Peter's eyes opened slowly, a thin, soft light illuminating his environment. From there, his body rapidly kicked into gear, and he quickly sat up. A sharp pain went through his midsection as soon as he was upright however, causing him to clutch at it and let out a groan.

"Woah, easy!" came the voice of Mary Jane; Peter's head spun as he glanced at her in shock even as she helped him lie back down. It was a happy shock, to be sure, but still a shock.

"How... where are we?" he asked.

"Claire Temple's place," she replied. "Dare... Matt and Hobie brought you here after what happened with Norman. You've been out for about four hours."

It was all starting to come back to him now: the TV broadcast, the surprise appearance of his allies, his fight with the Goblin and Harry...

"May," Peter said, his aunt suddenly coming to mind. "Is she here too?"

His girlfriend hesitated only a moment, but it was enough to make Peter's heart skip a beat.

"No; your boss said he was taking her and Anna somewhere they'd be safe for now, but Peter... she was hurt. I don't know how badly, but she had some debris fall on her during our escape."

The words settled into Peter's mind and heart, producing an outflow of emotions: anger, guilt, confusion, all of them churning around inside of him like a volatile chemical reaction that could explode at any moment.

"I-I have to see her," he said.

"Fireheart said she would be safe," M.J. reminded him, "and I think you should take his word for it, especially since we have bigger problems right now."

"What kind of problems?" Peter questioned. His girlfriend started to speak up again before a commotion drew their collective attention to the other room. It sounded like there was some debate happening; Peter couldn't piece together exactly what was being said, but it sounded like Matt and Claire were the ones primarily conducting the exchange. He then sat up slowly, turning his legs around so that his feet rested on the floor. Mary Jane didn't object this time, instead helping him gently to his feet. They then made their way out of the room, where they found Matt sitting down against the floor, with Claire attending to a small stab wound, the blade still stuck in his left leg.

"What happened?" Peter questioned.

Matt actually chuckled.

"Oh, you know, I figured you shouldn't be the only one to deal with a stab wound tonight."

"One of you having an obnoxious sense of humor is bad enough," Claire said. "Don't you dare start on me too. Ready?"

Matt gave a nod, and Claire slowly drew the blade out, the Man Without Fear gritting his teeth as the sharp object was removed from his leg.

"Feel better?" Peter questioned.

"If things looked less bleak outside this place, I'd at least consider saying yes," Matt replied.

"How bad is it out there, man?" Hobie questioned, drawing Peter's attention. He then got an even bigger surprise, as he observed none other than Jonah Jameson standing against the far wall, the man briefly making eye contact with him. Peter's mind immediately went to how much the two of them would have to unpack, but he forced himself to turn his attention back to Matt to hear his answer.

"They seem to be everywhere now. From what I can tell, they are hitting the important parts of the city: government buildings, banks, cell towers, everything important to communication, law enforcement and so on. The group I encountered was at the town hall building just west of here."

"Man, they're really trying to take this whole city," Hobie remarked.

"That's not the worst of it," Matt said. "I think all the Goblin's men are enhanced now; not to his level, but definitely enough to be considered superhuman."

"So, what, there's an army of flying, superpowered nutjobs out there right now?" Hobie questioned. "What exactly are we supposed to do about that? Can we just, like, call the Avengers or something?"

"Last I heard, the Avengers were helping deal with something in Wakanda right now," Claire said.

"Okay, uh, what about the Fantastic Four?" Hobie questioned, seemingly desperate for some kind of answer.

"They're dealing with their own thing too," Peter remarked.

"So... we're on our own?" Hobie asked.

That last question was the straw that broke Peter's mind, his brain reeling as he pulled away, walking over to the corner of the room. He could still feel a bit of pain and soreness in his midsection, but it suddenly felt much lesser compared to the looming uncertainty that seemed to be hanging over the room. Mary Jane followed him over, coming alongside of him.

"Hey," she said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Talk to me; what's going on in that head of yours?"

"This shouldn't be happening, M.J," he said, his tone hushed to keep the conversation private. "If I had just got Norman the help that he needed before..."

"Peter, don't do that to yourself," she said, cutting him off. "Now isn't the time to go down a guilt-induced rabbit hole; right now, as much as I can't stand the thought of you being out there, we need to come up with a plan and figure out how to take this city back from that psychopath. We can sort out the rest later, okay?"

Peter finally allowed himself to meet his girlfriend's eyes; there was a fierceness, a conviction in them even as they were likely masking her own fear right now. It was probably in part her training as an actress, but he knew her well enough to know that she was stronger than even she realized. That was exactly what he needed to be; he couldn't let himself fall apart right now. He couldn't allow fear surrounding the uncertainty of May's condition or how he failed to keep Harry safe from his own father to overcome him. They all needed his help right now. The city needed his help, and no matter what it took, he was going to save it.

Gently pulling his girlfriend towards him, they leaned foreheads together, M.J.'s hands gently clasping the sides of his face. It was as if they were drawing strength from one another, reinforcing one another's defenses against the threat of overwhelming fear and doubt. Finally, they separated, turned and walked back towards the group.

"Alright, I think I might have some ideas," Peter said.

"Well, I know I'm all ears," Hobie said. Peter was about to speak up before they heard the sound of someone landing on the wall outside. His spider sense wasn't going off though, and everyone else quickly relaxed once the mountain lion form of Thomas Fireheart emerged through the window, his eyes quickly finding Peter's.

"I presume you've been brought up to speed?" he questioned.

"Yes, and thank you," Peter said before glancing one at a time at Hobie, Claire and Matt. "And thank all of you as well. If not for you all, things would be a lot worse right now."

"It's hard to see how things could be worse, given the state of things outside right now," Fireheart said.

"I know, and the first thing that we need to do is try and help the police take back the most important parts of the city as best we can," Peter replied. "Hopefully we can at least give them a fighting chance that way until phase two is in motion."

"And what exactly might I ask is phase two?" Matt questioned.

"That's going to be the trickier part," Peter said. "I've got to throw together an antiserum to counter whatever the Goblin's done to his men and, hopefully, the Goblin himself. We'll need one of his guys specifically for that."

"Well, I mean, if we do that, then it's game over for them, right?" Hobie questioned.

"It's not going to be that easy, but it does sound like our only option," Fireheart replied. "We can use my facility that you work out of."

"I was hoping you'd say that," Peter said. "I'll also need to make some more web fluid to refill at some point."

"Wait, you're completely out?" M.J. questioned.

"I was making some more before the Goblin surprised me at my apartment," Peter clarified. "Fireheart Industries should have all the chemicals I need to make more, but I've got to help get things in the city under control first."

"Have you ever fought without your webbing before?" Hobie questioned. "I mean, it's kind of like your whole thing."

"I've had to make do before," Peter said.

"So, wait, you're planning on cooking up more web fluid AND an antidote?" Mary Jane questioned.

"I guess I have to," Peter remarked.

"Or, maybe you could get some help on the Goblin cure?" Mary Jane suggested. "Is there anyone else you know that could help with this?"

"Not that's available," Peter quickly replied; in truth, there was one name that had come to mind, but he didn't want them involved in this.

"What about Deb?" M.J. questioned. "You think she could help?"

"I agree," Fireheart replied.

Rats.

"I just don't want anyone involved in this that isn't already," Peter said.

"I'm actually tending to agree with your girlfriend," Hobie interjected. "The more people we involve, the sooner the danger is over; until then, everyone in this city is in danger already."

Peter sighed; he had to admit that they were making good points, but he just couldn't overcome his concern at the thought of dragging someone else into a conflict that had already cost too many lives.

"I can go and get her," Mary Jane volunteered.

"Absolutely not," Peter replied, no hesitancy in his words.

"No offense, but you don't get to make that call," Mary Jane countered. "I'm not going to just sit here and do nothing, and at least I'm not trying to fight these guys like you are. I'll lay as low as I can and be careful, I promise."

Peter wanted to say more to try and discourage her, but nothing came to mind he felt would be convincing. The thought of the woman he loved more than anything venturing into what sounded like a warzone situation terrified him to his core, and all he wanted was for her to be safe, but her mind seemed made up.

"I'll go with her," Fireheart spoke up, stepping over towards them and looking Peter in the eyes. "I'll protect her with my life. You have my word on that."

Peter let out a thin breath through his nostrils, glancing back at M.J.

"We got this," she said.

"Okay," Peter said. "Daredevil, Prowler and I will go out and try and help get things at least somewhat under control. We'll meet you once we have what we need to start work on the antidote."

"Is there anything that I can do?"

Peter's eyes went over to Jonah; it hit him that this was the first time he'd spoken since he'd woke up, which caught him off guard a little.

"Sure, you can get on that podcast of yours and warn people about what's happening," he finally replied. "Encourage them to take shelter in any way they can."

"Right," Jonah said. He appeared as though he wanted to say more but ultimately opted against the idea, turning and opening the door to leave the room. Peter then turned back to Matt and Hobie, eyeing the former specifically.

"You good to go?"

"No less than the guy who took a wound ten times as bad as mine," Matt replied.

"Fair enough," Peter said with a slight chuckle before turning to Hobie. "You in on this too?"

"You mean I get a chance to help take back my city, keep my girl safe and do something positive with this suit for once? You better believe it!" Hobie replied.

"Alright then, we better get going," Peter suggested. He started towards the window when he felt his girlfriend grab him by the hand.

"You know as soon as he finds out your alive, he's coming for you."

"Yeah, I know," Peter said. "It was always going to happen anyway, so I guess the sooner the better. Be careful out there, alright?"

"Isn't that a little like the pot calling the kettle black?" Mary Jane questioned, a light smile on her face for the first time since he'd seen her.

"Touche," Peter remarked, giving her a quick peck on the lips. "I love you."

"I love you too," she replied.

With that, Peter slipped on his mask, leaping out into the night with his allies as they went to face down the greatest threat he'd faced yet.

Mary Jane's heart threatened to sink once again as soon as he disappeared from view, but she shut her eyes, drew in and let out a breath, trying to let out as much of her anxiety and her fear as she could. She then turned to Peter's boss, who she was still getting used to seeing in this form.

"You ready?"

The man didn't reply at first, a thin smile coming over his lips.

"I can see why he loves you."

Though the man was more or less a stranger to her, something about his words helped to strengthen her just a little bit somehow.

"Let's go."

Hope you're still enjoying it!

Continuing to pray for you all; stay safe and healthy!

"For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it." Mark 8:35