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Chapter 4: New Recruits

As she waited at home, MJ got a visit from Ava, who said she needed to have a serious talk with someone.

"So, what's up?" MJ asked.

"Okay..." Ava took a deep breath. "You know you're the first friend I made when I came here, and I really value that. But..."

She stumbled over her words like Peter usually did when he's nervous, so MJ took her hands and led her over to the couch.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down, okay? What's this about?"

Ava took another deep breath and got out her phone, "Today's an anniversary for me...of sorts." She opened a picture on her phone, it showed a Hispanic man in his late 30s carrying a younger Ava on his shoulders. They both looked so happy. "My father, Hector. Today is four years since..."

MJ already guessed what she was trying to say; four years ago today, her father died.

"Oh, Ava..." she said, sadly as she held her friend's hand.

"He was killed by some man called "Kraven", but my father still managed to keep what he was after out of his grasp."

Ava reached into her shirt, like she had something in her bra, but she pulled out a pendant. It was a green-colored cat face on a gold chain.

"I don't get it; is there something special about that necklace?" MJ asked.

As if to answer her question, the necklace glowed green and small sparkle of light shimmered over it until it's appearance completely changed. It was now a jade-colored totem necklace, like ancient tribes would wear, and the cat face was now a tiger.

"Did your dad give that to you?" MJ asked.

"The night he died, yeah..." Ava responded. "It's called the Jade Tiger Amulet. My mom explained that my father was a costumed hero, called himself the "White Tiger". The amulet gives the wielder the abilities of a tiger."

"May I?" MJ asked.

Hesitantly, Ava handed her the amulet, and MJ immediately felt a rush of energy, like adrenaline! She instantly felt the other side-effects of the fentanyl fade away, and let out a pleasant tiger growl.

That prompted her to give the amulet back to Ava, "Whoa, fuck! That was...something!"

"Isn't it awesome?" Ava grinned.

"Yeah, but...I felt something animalistic," MJ replied.

"The amulet possesses the spirit of a tiger, in a way," Ava explained. "If I'm not careful, I could lose control and become a vicious animal."

"Guess that's why you're so...disciplined," MJ figured. "Do you have a costume?"

"Yeah, but I haven't worn it since I made it," Ava sighed. "I was more focused on school than being a superhero, and college is even harder."

MJ chuckled, "Yeah, but I know someone that makes it work."

Speak of the devil, Peter returned home.
"MJ, I'm back! How're feeling?"

"Hey, Peter!" MJ called. "Look who's here!"

"Hey Ava, what are you doing here?"

"I needed someone to talk to," she replied.

"It's the anniversary of when her dad died," MJ stated.

Peter gasped a bit, "Oh, I'm so sorry."

"Thanks."

"He was killed by Kraven," MJ added, which really got Peter's attention, since they both knew Ava was talking about Kraven the Hunter. Even if she didn't know it.

"Do you mean Kraven the Hunter?" he asked, acting like he didn't already know. "He attacked Midtown High two years ago and Spider-Man stopped him."

"Really?" Ava asked, surprised.

Peter nodded, "But, if you don't mind me asking...why did Kraven go after your father?"

"He wanted this," Ava showed him the tiger amulet.

"Is that like a special totem or something?" he asked.

"Something," Ava replied, joking. "My father was actually a superhero, called himself the White Tiger. This amulet gives the wielder the abilities of a tiger. Kraven wanted it's power, so he hunted my dad. He protected the amulet, but lost his life. He gave it to me and asked me to continue our family's legacy as the next White Tiger. But...I was more focused on school, and helping my mom, brother and sister that I've only worn my costume once."

"I think Peter can help you," MJ stated, giving her boyfriend a knowing look.

But Peter's reaction was anything but positive, "What?! MJ!"

She shrugged in response, "What? Stark did the same for you, as did Aaron."

Ava's eyes widened as they darted between the couple, "What the fu-?! You knew Tony Stark?! How?!"

Peter sighed in exasperation, then jumped up, sticking to the ceiling.

Ava's jaw dropped, instantly putting two and two together.

"...Why didn't you tell me you're dating Spider-Man?" she asked MJ.

"It's not exactly something you can go around telling people," she replied.

"Does anyone else know?" Ava asked.

"Ned, my aunt, MJ's mom and brother," Peter began listing people. "Pepper Potts, Morgan Stark, Happy Hogan; he's worked security for Stark Industries. Um...oh, Doctor Strange, Nick Fury, basically most of what's left of the Avengers. But Mr. Stark was the first one to figure it out."

"Dragged him into that whole Accords BS against Captain Rogers," MJ added.

Ava gave Peter a pointed glare, "You sided with Iron Man when he decided to become a government lapdog, and tried to capture Steve Rogers and his friends?"

Peter waved his hands in defense, "I wouldn't put like that, but I'm not proud of it either! And in my defense, Stark didn't tell me everything! If he had, I wouldn't have sided with him. Still, Cap told me I had heart."

"Okay, I'll give you a pass," Ava refuted.

"You know who else should know about your double lives?" MJ asked rhetorically. "The new Hawkeye."

"You mean Kate? Hmm, maybe," Peter responded.

However, over the weekend, Bruce Banner called every member of the Avengers, and allies who were still active. Apparently, there were some new individuals with powers/special skills all over America that were approached by Nick Fury, saying they had the potential to be heroes.

So, Fury called for a meeting at the Avengers Compound.

This meant Peter had to go, but he invited Ava to come with and she didn't hesitate to accept.

Now, Peter, in costume was waiting in the living room with MJ and Ned and Ava changed into her costume in one of the spare bedrooms.

Soon, Ava was wearing a skintight white jumpsuit with black tiger stripes and a mask over her face with no mouth, just a pair of emerald-green eyes. The mask had pointed ears, like Black Panther's, and her hair came out the top of the back in a high-ponytail. She wore a white belt, even though there was no need for it, and her gloves had extendable claws. She also wore her tiger amulet around her neck.

"Badass!" Ned exclaimed.

MJ whistled, "Damn girl, you look good!"

"You really think so?" Ava asked.

"It's fashionable, but we'll check later if it's functional," Peter responded.

Just then, one of Strange's portals appeared behind Ava and the sorcerer himself stepped through it.

"You two ready?" Strange asked. "You're the last ones to arrive."

MJ gave him a brief kiss through his mask, then he and Ava went through the portal with the former doctor.

Now, they were in the Avengers Facility, in what looked like a training area. To their surprise, Kate was there, standing with Clint Barton/Hawkeye. Many of the other Avengers were there as well, like Sam Wilson/Falcon/Captain America, Bucky Barnes, Bruce Banner in his Professor Hulk form, Scott Lang/Ant-Man, and James "Rhodey" Rhodes/War Machine. Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel was also there, which was a real surprise since she was always so busy with incidents on other planets.

Aside from Kate, Peter recognized two more people; Hope van Dyne/Wasp, who was standing next to Scott, and some young man with curly brown hair who looked to be a couple years older than him. Peter remembered him from Tony's funeral after beating Thanos and his army, but he never got to meet him.

There were eight more new faces, most of them looked to be around Peter and Ava's age, except one who looked to be in his 30s.

First was a rather short Latino male with black hair and green eyes, standing with Carol. Next was a young African American woman with black hair in long cornrows, wearing an MIT jacket, standing with Rhodey. Next was a young female of Pakistani American heritage with neck length dark brown hair, standing next to Sam Wilson, but was mostly gawking at Carol like a fangirl. Next was a young Korean-American male standing with Bruce. Next was a young female who stood out the most due to having an actual squirrel resting on her shoulders and a large, bushy, squirrel-like tail moving back and forth behind her legs, standing with Scott and Hope. Next was a tall African American male wearing a black hoodie jacket, and standing close to him was a female blonde wearing a white-colored blouse and jacket. Finally, the man in his 30s looked to be Chinese.

Bruce cleared his throat to get everyone's attention, "Uh, welcome. Uh, Sam and Rhodey wanted to discuss the current status of...of the team."

"Some of us have dealt with threats on our own in the last few years," Sam continued. "The whole team wasn't needed, but that doesn't mean we won't be needed in the future."

"However, as it stands we don't have the numbers or strength for whatever may come next," Rhodey added. "Most of us are retired, busy with other things, missing, or...deceased."

All this was true: Clint was officially retired after helping Kate stop the Kingpin and the Tracksuits. Steve Rogers was retired now that he was an old man, and had passed his mantle to Sam, which he finally accepted after he and Bucky dealt with the Flag Smashers, plus the government trying to make John Walker the next Captain America. Thor was in space somewhere, travelling with the Guardians of the Galaxy. Wanda/Scarlet Witch has been missing ever since the Westview Incident. (And Strange didn't know whether or not she was dead after destroying the Darkhold Castle on Wundagore Mountain) And...Tony, Natasha/Black Widow, and Vision were gone.

"Scott had the idea for new recruits, and Steve believed in strength in numbers," Sam stated. "So, most of us have brought our own candidates, each of you state your name and tell/or show us what you can do."

Ava went first, "White Tiger, acrobatic ninja with steel claws and cat powers."

"Hi, my name's Kamala Khan!" The Pakistani-American introduced herself cheerfully. She then made her fists embiggen and made her arms stretch out to touch the ceiling.

"I'm Doreen Green, but call me Squirrel Girl~!" The brunette with the tail introduced herself, and her squirrel companion chippered.

"Was not expecting that," Peter commented.

"Riri Williams, I created my own Iron Man suit prototype," The black girl from MIT stated, shocking everyone that didn't know.

It was hard for Peter to think of someone else in an Iron Man suit (Besides Rhodey or Pepper). Still, he knew it wasn't fair to Riri or anyone else who would try and carry on the Iron Man legacy, but it didn't make the feeling go away. Still, he could accept this. He knew his mentor would have wanted it that way.

"I'm Tyrone Johnson and this is Tandy Bowen," The black kid in the hoodie introduced himself and the blonde next him.

"Hi," Tandy greeted. "Our powers are connected to each other. When I touch someone, I can see their hopes and dreams. I can also make these..." She generated two glowing white dagger-like constructs in her hands. "And yes, they're real."

"When I touch someone, I can see their fears," Tyrone stated. "Plus, I can do this..." Some dark aura manifested around him before he vanished in a small burst of black-smoke. He then reappeared behind Peter and Ava!

"Teleportation, awesome!" The former exclaimed.

"See, he gets it!" Tyrone grinned.

"This is Amadeus Cho," Bruce introduced the Korean-American next to him. "He has, quite honestly, the biggest brain of anyone I've ever met. Maybe better than me and Tony."

"I also found a way to enhance myself with nanites infused with gamma radiation, just like Dr. Banner," Amadeus added. "Without the anger issues, of course."

This information was a shock to everyone, but most of them were impressed! Bruce, and Hulk in his head had some reservations about what Amadeus had done to himself. Since they didn't want what happened to them to happen to anyone else. However, Amadeus somehow made it work, so they eventually accepted it.

The Chinese man went next, "My name is Xu Shang-Chi. I'm a master of Kung-Fu and wielder of the Ten Rings."

"The...what?" Kate asked.

"The Ten Rings are ancient artifacts with mystical powers," Strange explained. "Do any of you remember in December 2012, a terrorist called The Mandarin came into conflict with Iron Man?"

Most of them remembered that: Tony's house was destroyed and he was presumed dead for a few days. But it was later revealed that The Mandarin was just a paid actor named Trevor Slattery, and the real evil mastermind was Aldrich Killian, who was of course killed. Not by Tony however, but by Pepper after Killian tried to steal her from Tony.

"Well, there was an actual warlord that The Mandarin was based on," Strange continued.

"That warlord was my father," Shang-Chi added.

"Xu Wenwu," Strange continued again. "No one knows where he found the Rings, or where they originated from, but Wenwu found them during the Middle Ages. They grant the wielder eternal life, so he never aged. With the Rings, he conquered the world for a thousand years, along with his army."

"But in 1996, he met my mother, Ying Li," Shang-Chi continued from there. "She was the first one to defeat him, and they ended up falling for each other. There's a longer story after that, but...my father died saving my life, and he passed the rings on to me."

"Wong is still studying them," Bruce added.

Lastly, the Hispanic teen with Carol exclaimed, "Finally, save the best for last! I'm Sam Alexander, but call me..." He put on a gold helmet that covered the upper part of the face, with a big red star on the front and white eyes. He was then covered in glowing blue aura until his costume materialized: a black uniform with several golden metal plates on the chest area, golden gauntlets, boots and shoulder/under-arm plates. "NOVA, the human rocket!"

"How does he fit that helmet on with such a big head?" Peter whispered to Ava, referring to Nova's obvious ego.
Ava tried her hardest not to laugh.

The next couple hours were used to see how they all did in a fight. Everyone took turns fighting super-advanced holograms. Ava asked to go first, because she had homework to do.

As she fought, the boy with curly brown hair introduced himself to Peter. Harley Keener, the little boy who helped Tony when he got stuck in Tennessee after Aldrich Killian destroyed his house. The two boys quickly hit it off due to their intellect and seeing Tony as a father-figure, so they promised they'd keep in touch. Once Ava was finished, she and Peter asked if they could go home, so Strange portal-ed them to their apartments.

"That was fast, sort of," Ned commented. He and MJ were playing Fall Guys.

"Is this what you guys have been up to since I've been gone?" Peter asked.

"Mostly," MJ answered. "How'd it go?"

"A lot of new recruits for the Avengers, most of them are around our age," Peter said. "Even Kate was there."

"Kate?" MJ repeated. "Really?"

"Yep," Peter replied. "I'm wondering if Ava and I should tell her about...you know."

"Well, she would accept it better than most people," Ned stated. "She is technically Hawkeye's protégé."

"Ned's got a point," MJ agreed.

Peter nodded, "So, how has the game been going?"

"Well, you know players online are mostly cocks," MJ commented. "So..."

"She gives them the finger by beating them," Ned finished, chuckling.

Peter could only laugh.

"That's MJ for you," he said. "How are you feeling, by the way?"

"I'm good," MJ answered. "I held Ava's amulet for a few seconds, and I think the Tiger Spirit healed me or something."

Peter hummed in fascination, "I'm glad. But please promise me to never take any more drugs."

"No worries," she assured him. "That weed was a onetime thing. But the fentanyl...was out of my control." She paused the game. "I was scared about what that guy would do if I didn't do it."

Peter hugged her tightly, causing her to hug him back and kiss his cheek while Ned smiled at them.

After a minute of more gaming, they started a Lord of Rings movie marathon. MJ was snuggled up next to Peter while Ned ate chips. They were now at the tense scene in "Fellowship" when Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin were hiding from a Ring Wraith.

"Oh, man, this part always scares me..." Ned muttered.

Much later, when the Fellowship prepared to fight the army of Orcs in the Mines of Moria...
"They have a cave-troll," Peter quoted at the same time as Boromir.

At the scene with the Balrog, Peter and Ned couldn't resist shouting with Gandalf,
"YOU SHALL NOT PASS!"

But then they all cried when Gandalf fell from the bridge.

"I always cry at this part!" Ned cried. MJ nodded, crying silently, but sniffling a bit.

When Frodo tried to leave on his own and Aragorn stopped him, Ned turned to Peter, "Don't ever do that to us, you hear me?"

"Not even if it was to save your lives?" Peter questioned.

MJ paused the movie, "Whatever tough things that happen in the future, we'll get through them together. Don't make a decision to isolate yourself from us just to keep us safe; it's selfish and not your decision to make alone."

"You remember how Rurouni Kenshin tried to shoulder everything by himself; he couldn't and his friends wouldn't let him," Ned added. "Responsibility doesn't mean it's only yours. If you try that, you'll eventually self-destruct."

Peter rolled his eyes, but smiled at them warmly, showing that he really was listening to them. They joined in a small group hug.

"Thanks, you guys," Peter said. "Without you, I would have gone insane, by now."

"Just keep remembering that, blockhead," MJ told him, lightly smacking his head.

"Hey, this ain't Charlie Brown!" Peter joked.

All three of them had to laugh at that.

After the movie was over, they decided to save the next two movies for another time, since they were the Extended Versions. So, Ned headed home, and after dinner; Peter and MJ were in bed, both naked and sweating.

She was already sound asleep, laying on her stomach with both hands under her pillow, but her head was still facing him. He was propped up on his left elbow, watching her.

'I can bench press a car,' Peter thought. 'I can climb up the side of a wall. Fight twenty guys to a standstill. Swing across chasms thirty stories deep. Feel a bullet coming my way and move fast enough to get clear. But something in her makes me gentle. Makes me shy. Makes me strong. Makes me happy to be alive. She's my rock; her and Ned. But mostly her... She completes me..."

He then lightly kissed MJ's forehead, causing her to smile in her sleep.

He gently placed his hand on the small of her back, 'So here's the thing, God... I know I don't really pray a lot, and I know that you and me, we've got issues, but right now, I just wanna say... Thank you for her. Thank you.'

The next morning, Peter woke up to the smell of freshly made breakfast. But he saw something VERY unexpected when he went to the living room/dining room/kitchen.

MJ was wearing a naked apron!

"...Holy...!" Peter whispered.

He could tell she was blushing heavily, but toughing through the embarrassment.

"No snide remarks, Parker," she warned him. "Yes, I'm wearing this for you, but that doesn't stop it from being embarrassing."

"Well, I think it looks sexy," he responded.

MJ didn't know whether to smile or blush from embarrassment. Peter went over to her and kissed her.

"You know I still love you, right?" he asked.

She blushed and smiled, "Love you too."

They both hugged each other, warmly, then ate breakfast.

"After we eat, wanna join me in the shower?" she suggested.

"Yeah, why not?" Peter answered as he took another bite of his pancakes. One minute later, they were both in the bathroom, together.

MJ turned on the shower and began to get undressed, followed by Peter. Once they were both naked, they got in the shower and started kissing.

"Mmm... Peter...!" MJ whispered as Peter lightly licked her lips.

Their tongues began to wrestle, causing them both to moan. Soon, Peter had MJ pinned against the wall, wrapping his arms around her. She moved his dick up to her entrance, where he gently entered her, making her gasp.

"P...Peter...!" she cried as she felt him slowly moving in and out of her. He held her close and kissed her breasts as he kept moving.

"Ah...ah!" MJ gasped as she felt him suckling on her nips. Peter lifted up one of her legs and moved faster, making her gasp a little louder.

"Ah! Ah!" she cried as he began to grind. "Peter~!"

He captured her lips in a feverish kiss, combing his hands through her hair. She responded in kind, wrapping her arms around his back.

Soon, he began to pick up the pace, thrusting moderately into her, who cried out in pleasure. She raked her nails along his back, making him grunt a bit, but he knew that meant she was enjoying this bout of shower love-making as much as he was.

As she wrapped her legs tighter around him, that was his cue to start going in even harder.

"AH! Oh my God, Peter!" she gasped/screamed.

"Doing this while you're all wet turns me on!" he stated as he went even deeper.

"AAAAAAAAAH!" she screamed out.

He kissed her again, both coming close to their climax. Soon, Peter began to move faster and faster, kissing MJ on her lips and neck. She cried and moaned with pleasure, then the walls of her vagina began to squeeze on hiss dick. Then, with one final push, they both climaxed! MJ moaned loudly as her juices squirted onto the floor of the tub and Peter released his warm seed inside her! Soon, she started panting as she slumped against him, who held her gently.

After a couple minutes, they actually finished showering.

Once they finished, they got ready for class and left their apartment. But as they walked down the sidewalk, a police chase drove past them!

"Guess I'll meet you there," MJ stated nonchalantly.

"See you," Peter replied.

He gave her a quick kiss before running down an alleyway, then activated his suit, but left his backpack on.

Hope everyone likes the new young heroes!

While I'm excited for the Ms. Marvel Disney+ show, I don't like the change to her powers. I might add America Chavez and She-Hulk in the future, but I'm not sure yet.

I hope everyone loves that I included the speech from "The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 2 #53" where Peter thanks God for Mary Jane. I loved it so much~! I just changed it for Michelle.

Read and review, please!