Episode 76: Welcome to Westview (Part 1)!

Having hidden behind the boxes the entire time, Spidermin leaped onto Peter's shoulder. No longer was he in his Upgraded form Iron Spider after Peter removed the effect when he boarded the ship, since they didn't allow sharp metallic objects onboard.

"Wait, Peter," MJ said. "I'm going with you."

"But it's a one-way trip," Peter said. "If we go through the barrier, we can't go back."

"And yet you're willing to risk it?" MJ argued. "You promised Aunt May to be more careful."

"This is different, though. People are trapped inside that Hex Field and no one's doing anything about it."

"Or maybe SWORD doesn't want to do anything about the Hex Field," Darcy said. "The reason I say that is because I found an encrypted file recently called 'Security Threat Wanda,' but I haven't cracked the code."

"Let me try," Felicia offered. "I'm somewhat of an amateur hacker."

Shrugging, Darcy showed Felicia the file. After flexing her fingers, Felicia tried several combinations of buttons yet none of them seemed to work. Felicia didn't give up, though, and kept typing.

"I have a confession to make," Betty abruptly said.

"Let me guess, you're not actually a reporter," Liz figured.

"Yes, but specifically I'm the secretary for The Daily Bugle's editor J. Jonah Jameson," Betty answered. "He saw the news report about Veneo, and asked me to tell Eddie Brock to drop the underground Marémon fights story to focus on uncovering Veneo's true identity. Brock wasn't answering his phone, so Jameson put me on a flight to Xandar City to find him. I saw this as my big chance to prove I could be just as valuable a reporter to Jameson as any of The Daily Bugle's other reporters, who are mostly men. So I took Brock's press badge from him while he was sleeping in the hospital and followed you guys thinking I could get some good leads on the Veneo story. And now — "

"You got more than you bargained for," Felicia interrupted. "Maybe you should run back home."

"Not a chance!" Betty argued. "This is too huge of a story to ignore, and I'm going to stick to it no matter what happens!"

Just then, loud noises were heard outside of the tent.

"It's Hayward," Thor said, peeking through the flap of the tent's entrance. "His men must still be looking for us despite their cars breaking down."

"We need to get out of here," Felicia realized. "This tent isn't big enough to hide all of us."

"Let's head for the barrier, quickly!" Peter urged.

Using one of his Stingers, Spidermin was able to cut a hole in the tent that was away from the entrance allowing Peter, MJ, Thor, Felicia, Betty, and Liz to get out. Just as they made a mad dash for the nearby barrier, a bunch of men in black jackets came out of the darkness holding flashlights with guns in their hands.

"Keep going!" Thor urged, summoning Thunderthor from his PDB. "I'll keep these guys distracted long enough for you to get in."

"Then you'll need backup, " Liz said as she turned to face the men. "Go, Vulcarrion!"

From Liz's PDB emerged a Marémon resembling a green vulture with a white feather collar.

"And I can help too," Betty said, reaching into her purse. "I have mace!"

"Guys," Peter said and looked at MJ. "Last chance to turn back."

MJ gripped Peter's hand tightly. "You know what my answer is."

"So I guess it'll be the three of us," Felicia said with Blaccet riding on her shoulders. "I'd rather take my chances in the Hex Field than stay out here."

Probably because you're worried Hayward will find out that you're Black Cat, Peter thought, looking at Felicia wearily.

As Thunderhor's lightning kept the men at a distance, Liz's Vulcarrion swooped down knocking the men to the ground and Betty sprayed mace at the guys who came close to her. This gave Felicia, Peter, and MJ enough time to dash up to Hex Field barrier where they went through it with ease.


"Wake up, Michelle Jones! You'll be late for school!"

Hearing her name, MJ woke up. She was lying in a bedroom that looked like a cliche of every teenage girls' bedroom from the 1980s, from the pink wallpaper to the posters of good-looking male actors with mullets and leather jackets. Even MJ's dark hair was more frizzy than usual.

"Come on, Michelle!" said the female voice.

"Okay, I'm getting up!" MJ responded irritably. "And stop calling me Michelle. I prefer to be called MJ."

In the background, MJ heard canned laughter.

"Fine, MJ," the female voice replied. "Just get up before I make you."

Not saying anything, MJ got out of bed and looked in her closet. To her dismay, it consisted of many tops with loose necklines, jumpers, leggings, and leg warmers. So she picked out a gray quarter-sleeve blazer, a black skirt, black leggings, and brown calf-length boots. As for jewelry, she put on a pair of plastic green bracelets for each hand and matching hairpins with PDB logos to push the frizzy bangs out of her face.

Then MJ grabbed her black backpack, which didn't look much different from before, and left the bedroom. She was in a regular two-story house with carpeted floors and white walls. At the bottom of a set of stairs to her left was an open living room connected to a kitchen, where a black woman was cleaning dishes. While MJ initially thought this was weird, she also strangely knew this woman was her mother.

"So, MJ, how do you feel about going to a new school?" the woman asked from the kitchen.

"I'm not sure, Mom," MJ replied, sitting at the breakfast table where plates full of eggs, bacon, and toast were laid out. "The only reason I'm going to this school is because I got kicked out of my old one."

As the canned laughter came back, a black man at the table readjusted his grip on his newspaper. MJ knew this man was her father, but something didn't seem right and MJ couldn't figure out what it was.

"Well, Tiger, you just gotta hit the jackpot sometime," MJ's father said. "And maybe this school will be it."

Suddenly, the door to the backyard burst open and Wanda stepped through followed by cheers in the background.

To be continued…