Sorry for the long wait, everyone.
Brainstorming for this story is always very time-consuming. Plus, all the recent stuff IRL...
I thought the Mario movie was fantastic!
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts was awesome, the second best of the movies next to Bumblebee!
The Flash was pretty good, despite what happened with Ezra Miller, and Michael Keaton showed he still had it!
But Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was a big letdown. I thought it was the most wholesome movie of the trilogy, but it lacked the usual charm all the other GOTG movies had. Plus, I really felt that Gamora was very OOC. Even if it was her from 2014, it was like she and Nebula switched personalities.
Anyway, let's get started!
I own nothing from Spider-Man or Marvel
Chapter 12: Old Enemies Return
It took four days of anxiously waiting by MJ's bedside, but eventually she woke up...
She recognized the room she was in; it was the Avenger's medical facility...but something was off. All the colors were wrong...no...it was more like...everything had a double 4K high-definition filter over it.
She then became aware of some weight on the right side of the bed she was laying in. She looked to see Peter resting his head by her right side as he held her hand, sleeping.
She smiled before she gently squeezed Peter's hand, causing him to open his eyes.
He sat up to look at her, then hugged her in relief.
"How do you feel?" he asked.
Before she could answer, she suddenly heard a cacophony of sounds. She could hear everything; from the heartbeats of everyone in the room, to the staff walking and talking down the halls. Even the animals wandering the woods a thousand feet away from the window sounded like they were right there with her in the room.
MJ groaned as she covered her ears, causing Peter to hold her hand.
"MJ, it's okay," he tried to calm her down.
"W-why is everything so loud?"
Peter now knew why she was freaking out, plus he understood. When he first got his powers, in addition to the spider abilities, his senses had also dialed up to eleven. But he taught himself how to focus by remembering a scene from the 2013 Man of Steel movie.
He gingerly cupped her cheek, "Just...listen to me..." He pressed her ear against his chest, and the comforting sound of Peter's heartbeat and breath drowned everything else out. It allowed her to focus her hearing on herself...and she realized she could very clearly hear her own heartbeat. And not just that...
"Oh..." She gasped, tearing up as she realized what the light thump-thump from her belly was. Peter's heartbeat and breath drowned out everything else, allowing her to focus on that fast little rhythm. She let the heartbeat of her baby become her center, the only thing that mattered in the world right now.
And slowly, ever so slowly, she let the other things in, moving her focus from one sound source to another. The panicked rhythm of her mother's pulse, then May's only slightly calmer one. Dr. Cho's measured and precise pulse. Then back to Peter's, and hers, and her baby's...
Eventually she allowed sounds from farther away in. The exhausted chatter of the various employees in the lounge...the young recruits training...the animals scurrying in the woods...
"I-is this what you hear all the time?" MJ asked, her face still buried in Peter's chest.
"I dunno, what's the farthest thing you can hear?"
MJ focused again, "I...I think there's some kind of animal...?"
Peter nodded in reply, "Yeah, I think that's a deer."
"How do you live like this?" she asked, still reeling a little bit from the sensory overload.
Her boyfriend shrugged, "Well, I started by focusing on a few things at a time. Eventually I learned to shut the vast majority of it out." Sometimes he thought he did it too well. There were occasions when he realized he accidentally chose not to hear things that were actually important.
"...This is gonna take some getting used to," she said, but Peter still held her.
"I'll help you, don't worry," he said.
"So, how long have I been out?"
"Four days."
"Was it seriously that bad?" she asked.
"I kinda thought you were dying, at first," he admitted. "Thankfully, you and the baby are okay."
He then went on to explain that her placenta somehow allowed for more cellular transfer than usual, causing her DNA to be altered, similar to his.
"So...you're saying...I'm also gonna have powers?" she questioned, starting to freak out a bit. Then she noticed that the blanket she was covered with was sticking to her. She thrashed around, trying to free herself from her cloth prison, but that only served to entangle her tighter.
Peter recognized this; it happened to him too when he first woke up with his new abilities.
"Hey, hey," He tried to sooth her. "Just breathe, slow, deep breaths. Don't move for a little bit, okay?"
She did as he told her, until eventually the blanket no longer stuck to her.
Dr. Cho chose that moment to walk in, "Oh good, you're finally awake."
"Hello, Doctor," MJ said as she sat up with Peter's help.
Dr. Cho handed her a glass of water, which she accidently broke when she grabbed it!
"Oh, jeez, I'm sorry!" she said.
Dr. Cho assured her that it was okay, while Peter got some towels to clean up the mess.
"Don't worry, I broke a couple things myself when I first got my powers," he told her. "You just gotta be a little more careful."
Dr. Banner came in a bit later with a metal tray, carrying several different beverage containers: a glass, a plastic bottle, and an aluminum canteen. This was just to test her to take a more delicate touch with things now that she had super-strength. It took her a couple hours of practice to be able to go from being able to crush solid granite rocks with her bare hands to handling porcelain dishes and stuff, but eventually it got to the point where she was confident she could hug her mother without accidentally crushing her.
It wasn't so much that MJ "lived in a world of tissue paper" so much as that she had to learn how to subconsciously stop using her super strength when the situation no longer called for it. She was still a little nervous around fragile, squishy humans, but she hadn't seriously hurt anyone...yet.
The very next thing was getting dressed, which revealed something else surprising. MJ stood totally naked in front of a full body mirror, just...admiring the changes. She still had the large bulge from her pregnancy, but underneath that was definitely more muscle. It wasn't as drastic as Peter's transformation; he went from a tiny twig of a boy to a full athletic figure in literally a week.
Hers was more subtle. In fact, most people wouldn't notice considering her wardrobe didn't really call attention to her very subtle curves. Formally very subtle, she should say. Now she actually had them, not that it mattered. Though, she couldn't help but think Peter would definitely notice as she turned around to get a full view of her body. Her butt was definitely...fuller. And she could boast the fact that she actually had thighs now. Not that she cared about that kind of stuff. Her body changed, certainly.
Needless to say, Peter did find her rather attractive. Of course, he always thought she was attractive, but it was even more so, now.
They decided to hold off on testing her other powers until after the baby was born, which was a smart decision.
Peter then decided to get in some training with the young heroes, but Ava was being more intense than usual. She even growled like an actual tiger!
The morning after that day, as everyone ate breakfast in the kitchen at the compound; Ava came in, wearing her night-clothes, and her hair was all messy and disheveled. She was always very disciplined, so seeing her like this was rare. She even drank the rest of the milk, straight from the carton, before letting out a loud belch!
She dropped the carton in the garbage, laughing a bit, "You're out of milk."
As she left, Peter, MJ, Kate, America, Tyrone, Tandy, Sam, Kamala, Amadeus, Doreen and Riri all looked at each other, like they needed confirmation that "THAT JUST HAPPENED".
"What is going on with her?" Doreen questioned.
"Usually, she's so sophisticated," Amadeus stated. "But now..."
"Now she's all crazy-cat!" Sam finished.
"You know that amulet that gives Ava her powers?" Peter asked, which everyone sans MJ nodded at. "We don't fully understand how it works, but it literally has the spirit of tiger inside of it."
"Ava works constantly to keep her tiger-side in check, that's why she's so disciplined," MJ continued. "Just like her father, the last White Tiger."
"Then why don't we ask him how it works?" Kamala suggested.
"We can't...he's dead," MJ responded.
Everyone went quiet on this.
Later that night, Ava rushed in with her costume on, and told America to create a portal to Central Park.
She did, then asked, "If there's trouble, then let us help!"
"No!" Ava snapped at her. "This is my fight. Stay out of it."
She went through the star-shaped portal, leaving everyone shocked at her attitude. But Peter wasn't having it. He put on his suit, then jumped through the portal as it closed! Now in Central Park, he saw White Tiger running toward the small dock with the paddle-boats, where her mother and younger brother sat in one of the boats! Tied-up, and fast asleep!
Spidey's spider-sense went off, so he dove in and knocked Tiger forward, out of the way of a spring-trap net!
"You're lucky your friend has survival instincts," A familiar Russian-accented male voice spoke out. "Unlike yourself."
And sure enough, Kraven the Hunter stepped out of the shadows.
"Kraven...!" Spidey whispered.
Whiter Tiger growled animalistically at the hunter.
"I did not come for you, Spider," The Russian man stated. "Take her family and go."
"And leave my friend to face you alone?" Spidey questioned rhetorically. "I don't think so."
"Suit yourself," Kraven responded before throwing some shuriken at the two heroes. Both dodged, then Tiger went after the hunter, while Spidey checked on her family.
His suit HUD told him that they were alive, just sedated.
"Okay, good," he said in relief. "You guys are stable... just hang in there!"
He jumped over to aid White Tiger against Kraven, who dodged her claw swipes and blocked her kicks, before punching her in the face, knocking her down!
"I'm not impressed," he stated.
"That sounds like a challenge!" Spidey exclaimed as he swung over, rapid-firing web-balls at the hunter, who rolled out of the way and threw a boomerang at the web-slinger! It cut his webline, but he maneuvered in the air to land gracefully. "Okay, one point for you."
Kraven scoffed, "Children." He then turned to Ava. "Your father would have never taken the bait so easily. He was crafty, strong. He understood the power of the amulet."
"Don't talk about him!" Tiger yelled.
She charged at him, but he jumped off the dock to the grassy areas surrounded by bushes. After she landed, she found herself surrounded by carefully placed crossbows, all ready to fire bolts at her!
"Give me the amulet and I'll consider letting you live," Kraven told her. "Or don't. I so enjoy the hunt."
Spidey jumped in and threw him a good distance away with a suplex, "And I so enjoy your accent."
Kraven got back to his feet, "Pest!"
All the crossbows fired at White Tiger, who jumped straight up to avoid getting hit!
"I'm not gonna tell you again! Kraven is mine!" She snapped at Spidey before jumping at Kraven, who easily evaded all of her attacks and kicked her away!
"Okay, new plan!" Spidey webbed a strange grenade to Kraven's chest, then grabbed Tiger and ran away! The grenade turned out to be a flashbang, which temporarily blinded the hunter and made his ears ring! Once the disorientation wore off, Kraven saw that his prey was gone. He growled in frustration, then ran across a bridge in the park, to start his hunt again. Little did he know, Spidey and White Tiger were hiding under the very same bridge.
She was about to pounce, but he stopped her, "No, that's what he wants. He's expecting you to attack him, because you're angry and not thinking straight."
"You know what he did to my father," she refuted.
"Yes, but attacking like a wild animal isn't helping," he responded.
"I struggle every day to keep the tiger spirit of the amulet contained," she said, clutching the amulet around her neck. "Well, no more. Now that that psychopath is back; I want to be the tiger. I want revenge. You wouldn't understand."
She then ran off without him.
"I understand more than you know," Peter muttered. (1)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Scene Change~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
White Tiger entered the Central Park Zoo, where she could smell Kraven's scent.
"He's here...!" White Tiger growled.
She dodged some crossbow bolts, then the hunter attacked her with a double-tipped metal spear!
"You're still afraid to unleash the true power of the amulet," he taunted as she avoided his strikes, but then he caught her foot when she tried to kick him. Then he slammed her into the ground, pulled her up, slashed her a few times with his spear, then kicked her into a tree! "You're even weaker than your father was."
As Tiger started to regain her bearings, she noticed that Kraven's slashes had damaged her costume! Her right shoulder was torn, her midriff was now exposed, and there was a cut on her left leg!
She growled like an animal and charged, but he got her in a headlock, "He would be ashamed of your weakness."
Kraven was then blinded by a web to his face, then Spidey pulled Tiger out of his grip, and they landed on top of one of the animal cages.
"Are you okay?" The web-head asked his friend, who noticed that her amulet was gone! Kraven must've taken it when she was in that headlock!
"Oh no...!" she muttered, before Kraven jumped onto the cage as well, now wearing the amulet, which was glowing! His eyes were also glowing green, and his canines had become sharper!
Spidey gulped, "Uh...bad kitty?"
"That is so not good...!" Tiger whispered while Kraven let out a ferocious roar!
Spidey grabbed her and swung over to the trees, but Kraven jumped after them!
"This is nature unleashed!" he boasted. "This is the wild made flesh!"
Spidey dodged a punch in mid-air from the hunter, then webbed his mouth shut, "This is you shutting up! We get it already."
Kraven fell down to the ground, while Spidey caught up to White Tiger, who was curled up, hugging her knees, and her mask lifted up to reveal her face.
"Tiger, I don't know the full capabilities of the amulet. I need your help."
"I can't help against that," she cried. "I'm nothing without the amulet."
Spidey kneeled down and put his hand on her shoulder, "Ava, you are so many things, but you're not nothing. It took strength and courage to wear that amulet and keep that wild spirit in check all those years. That makes you one of the strongest people I know. With or without the amulet, you're still the White Tiger, and you always have a plan. So, let's make a good one?"
Kraven caught up to them, laughing, "With this power, your family could've ruled for generations. If only you'd unleashed it, you-"
He then started groaning in pain, and the amulet's shape changed to look more tiger-like. Kraven screamed as his body changed, turning him into a white tiger-man!
"What's happening to him?!" asked Spidey.
"The tiger spirit has taken over!" Ava said. "Now he's all animal!"
"That gives me an idea," Spidey stated.
"What do you have in mind?"
"Lure him away from the trees, I'll use a web-grenade to tie him up, and when you see an opening..."
"Grab the amulet," Ava finished, pulling down her mask.
Spidey wrapped his arm around her waist and swung away as Kraven jumped at them! Tiger dropped down to the ground, with Kraven coming after her, and with him distracted, Spidey attached a web-grenade to his back! It exploded into a mass of webbing that tied him up, then Tiger swiped at his chest, grabbing the amulet! Kraven broke free before he turned back to normal, then fell to his knees.
"As said by Batman, "Animals just need traps and the right bait"," Spidey quoted in a Kevin Conroy voice.
"Urgh..." Kraven groaned weakly before he glared at Spidey. "Damn you... Spider...!"
White Tiger approached him with her claws extended, but then Spidey blocked her path.
"Whoa, hang on. I don't remember any part of the plan saying "Cut his throat out"."
"You are so much better than your father," Kraven said. "And you could be greater still, if you-"
Spidey webbed his mouth shut and tied him up again, "Dude, shut up! The adults are talking!"
"Move!" she told him.
"No, this isn't you."
"He took my father from me! You don't know how that feels."
"Actually, I do," he said. "My uncle was taken from me, not long after I got my powers. Like you, I had an opportunity for revenge. I had the killer cornered, helpless. I could've finished him right there...but I realized, it wouldn't have changed what happened. And worse, I would've been as bad as him. My uncle told me that I could choose the kind of man I wanted to be. So, I chose to walk away, to be better, to be Spider-Man."
Tiger looked at her amulet, "That amulet does not define who you are, and neither does Kraven. It's your choice. Be like him, or your father. A hunter or a hero."
Tiger retracted her claws.
"...Thanks," she said. "While I don't like having to let him live...I know that's what my father would want."
They both started to leave, but then Kraven broke free and drew a knife!
"Don't turn your back on me!"
Spidey and Tiger nodded at each other before Kraven tried to attack them! She delivered a left kick to his face, followed by Spidey delivering a right-cross to his cheek, knocking him out!
Spidey wrapped the hunter in a web-cocoon and left him for the police.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Scene Change~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ava checked on her mother and brother, got them home, and was now on a rooftop overlooking the city.
Spidey landed next to her, "There's the well-groomed White Tiger we know and love. In a-uh, best friend sort-of-way!"
"Hehe, yeah," She replied, then walked closer to him. "Listen, I wanted to thank you. For your confidence in me, and sharing about your uncle. And..." She lifted her mask above her nose and kissed his cheek, which surprised him.
"Uh...you're welcome," Spidey said, a bit surprised by the gesture.
"You're a great guy, Peter," she stated. "MJ's lucky to have you."
"...Thanks," Peter replied. "I'm lucky to have her."
He then got a call from MJ, saying she was now back at the apartment. So, that's where he headed, after wishing Ava goodnight.
As he got closer, he felt a new tingling sensation in his head. It was like his Spider-Sense, but different...
He saw his apartment, made sure no one saw him swing over, and strangely; MJ had just opened the window for him...like she knew he'd just arrived...
"MJ?" he called out.
"Yeah?" she responded.
He climbed in, then closed the window. She was in the kitchen, making dinner.
"Hey, what are you making?" he asked as he walked up and hugged her gently.
"Ramen with a few select options," she answered.
"Well, this looks like tonkotsu to me," he mentioned, noticing the toppings of chicken breast slices, green onions, bean sprouts, seaweed, and a soft-boiled egg.
"Take your pick," MJ told him as she stirred the noodles.
Peter decided to go with tonkotsu ramen, so he took the bowl and sat at the table. MJ, meanwhile, went with the Tan-Tan ramen.
"So, what happened at the park?" she asked as they ate.
"Well, it's a long story," Peter said before he began to go into detail regarding what happened. Once he finished...
"I'm glad you talked her out of revenge," MJ said. "But it was good that she saw Kraven; it gave her some closure."
"Yeah, it did," Peter agreed before he slurped some noodles.
After they finished eating, they cleaned their dishes, MJ turned on HBO Max and selected...
"Codename: Kids Next Door?" Peter read the title. "I've heard of it, but I've never seen it." (AN: When I was writing this part, I was rewatching the series. ^^;)
"Apparently it's a highly recommended cartoon from the mid-2000s," she said. "It's about a bunch of kids running this...spy-like organization that fights all those cliché things that kids hate doing."
"Sounds like every kid's dream."
"Yeah, but I never had a problem brushing my teeth or eating my vegetables," she stated.
"Yeah, and neither did I," Peter shrugged.
~As they watched the second episode...~
"Numbuh 3's kind of an airhead," MJ commented.
"If you ask me, Numbuh 4's worse..." Peter muttered.
"Eh," she shrugged.
~Some episodes later...~
"I take it back; Numbuh 86 is worse," he said.
"Definitely worse," said MJ. "I mean, really!"
Later in the episode, with the toe-nails, and getting scolded by Numbuh 362...
"Karma's a bitch, and she's it!" MJ laughed.
"Poetic justice!" Peter added, also laughing.
A little bit later, Peter rubbed her feet, since they started hurting.
"Ahh..." she sighed in relief. "Thanks, Peter."
"Anytime," he replied, smiling. After a while, it was time for bed.
Weeks later, it was beginning to look like Christmas in New York! Decorations were up, it was snowing, the Rockefeller Center had it's tree up, and people were clamoring to get gifts. It was always chaotic during this time of year...and it was especially the case with criminals. At least those who had no holiday spirit.
At the moment, Peter was swinging over to help the F.E.A.S.T. Shelter with their toy donations. So far, no one seemed to be causing any trouble. Until he got a request on the Friendly Neighborhood App from one of the workers about some of the toys missing. Spidey arrived at the front of the shelter and saw a guy wearing a F.E.A.S.T. labelled hat and coat, standing next to a truck and some boxes filled with toys, and checking a clipboard. (2)
"Hey man! Have you been having some toy donation issues?"
"Hey Spider-Man, I'm Sam," The trucker introduced himself. "So, on my last inventory check, we had a couple hundred missing."
"You think somebody stole them?" Spidey asked.
"I don't know, but today we're supposed to have two trucks out making pick-ups, but our GPS transponders say there are three," Sam explained. "Something's up."
"How will I know which ones the fake?" Spidey asked.
"If you can check their license plates, we'll know which one shouldn't be out there," Sam answered.
"I'll check it out," Spidey said, then he called Ned. "Ned, there are three F.E.A.S.T. donations trucks out in the city, and one of them is phony. Could use your help here."
"Hmm, you could use the camera in your suit to grab license plate numbers and I'll run them against stolen car databases," Ned told him. "Try it on that truck, first."
"On it," Spidey replied as he took a picture of the license plate.
"Wow, it worked!" Ned cheered. "Okay, I got the truck locations from F.E.A.S.T., so you should see them...now." Three markers popped up on his HUD, all with numbers below them to indicate how much closer or further away the trucks were. "Snap the plates, and I'll run 'em against the database."
Spidey swung away, found the first truck, found a good angle and took a picture. Ned checked it, but the truck was legit.
Second truck...
"Bingo! Follow that truck!"
Spidey webbed onto roof of the truck, and listened to a conversation between the guys driving.
"Listen, don't make me look like an idiot in front of Joe, alright? He's running this deal."
"But stealing toys? I mean, kids are looking forward to this stuff."
"Hey, I didn't get any presents as a kid and I turned out fine."
Spidey silently scoffed at that. (2)
The truck drove to a shipping yard, and there were more guys waiting.
Spidey webbed up to perch on a lamp-post, "Sounds like they're stealing toys for some kind of deal, and this "Joe" is the guy in charge. How am I gonna find him?"
"If you can grab photos of their faces, I'll run them through facial recognition software and see if we get a match," Ned responded.
"Okay...maybe that new camouflage mode we made can help." Peter activated it, which made him completely invisible. "Yes, it works! ...Oh, but the feedback interferes with my web-gadgets. Still needs improvement."
Still, his agility made it easy for him to maneuver around the shipyard. As he moved about, he took a few pictures of the men that were patrolling around the area.
On the fourth guy... "That's Joe! Follow him!" Ned told him. Joe walked over to the F.E.A.S.T. truck, and a few seconds later, a crimson SUV pulled up.
"It's about time," Joe said as he walked up to the driver's side. He and his partner got out of the vehicle, and that's when Spidey attacked!
"Stealing toys from kids?! Was being on the naughty list not enough; you had to graduate to "the ass-kicking" list?!"
"Spider-Man?!" Joe questioned before he and his partner went in to attack, only to get webbed up and pinned to a wall.
One big guy came out of the truck, but the hero was too quick for him! Spidey easily jumped over him before he webbed up his head, causing him to let out muffled cries as he struggled to see, and he ended up crashing right into a wall as he tried to run. And, he hit his head, so he was knocked out.
"Ah, they make this too easy, sometimes," Spidey said as he dusted his hands. Then, he called Sam, "Hey, I found the toys. I'm at the docks in Midtown, sending you the location."
"Ah, so glad to hear that!" Sam cheered. "On my way over right now!"
Thirty minutes later, Sam arrived with the police.
"Can't thank you enough, Spider-Man! You just saved the holidays for a lot of kids."
"Hey, it's just me, being your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!" Spidey replied. "You have a happy holiday, now!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Scene Change~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At home, MJ was making a list of baby names. She and Peter had already agreed that she would get to choose the name if it was a girl, and he'd get to choose if it was a boy.
So far, she came up with Marie, Camille, Zoey, Harley, and Serenity for girl names.
"How about Anya?" she asked Noon, who was cuddling next to her on the couch. Somehow, the Schnauzer understood her and gave different sounds as answers; a small, but subtle *woof* for "yes" and a *whine* for "no".
Noon gave a small woof, causing MJ to write it down.
"What about Phoebe?" asked MJ, causing Noon to whine for "no". "Yeah, I didn't think so, either."
She got a "yes" for Julia, Ashley and Jennifer, but a "no" for Charlotte and Petra. On the TV at the moment was "How The Grinch Stole Christmas", starring Jim Carey. Currently, he was screwing with the mail.
MJ chuckled at that. "Ah, I love this movie."
Especially since she loved Jim Carey.
MJ felt a strange buzz in her head and turned to the window just in time to see Peter swing in.
"Honey, your hero's home!" he quipped as he went to kiss her.
But she stopped him, "Promise to never say anything like that again, and I'll let you kiss me."
"Deal," Peter replied, causing MJ to kiss him on the lips. The rest of his suit retracted into the chest-piece, "What are you writing?"
She hid it against her chest, "My list of baby names, and no; you don't get to look."
"Aww, that's not fair," Peter pouted. MJ just shrugged., then he joined her on the couch to watch the movie.
"Oh, the Grinch! I love this one!"
"And Jim Carey's hilarity adds to it," she added.
The rest of the time leading up to Christmas, and the holiday itself was pretty uneventful. No new super-villains, or old enemies returning. Just the usual crimes and helping people around the city.
But on New Year's Eve/Day, something big happened...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~December 31, 11:40 PM~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peter, MJ, Ned and their families were gathered at the apartment, watching the countdown celebration on NBC. Times Square was packed, naturally, so they definitely weren't going down there. MJ was sitting on the couch with her mom and Peter, the latter holding her hand gently.
"Guys, you can stop doting on me," she said. "I told you, I'm fine."
"Are you sure?" Peter asked. She gave him a semi-playful glare, which made him ease up.
"I'm sorry sweetie," Desirée said. "I just worry how your new...powers will affect you."
"Mom, I would tell Peter if something was wrong."
"Well, all right," said Desirée as she got up to go mingle. But as she did, the power went out!
Everyone groaned in disbelief at the timing.
"Are you kidding me?!" Ned exclaimed, even though he wanted to use more colorful words, but not with the parental figures around.
Peter and MJ both felt their Spider-Senses tingle, then looked at the TV, which now had static...and a familiar face emerged from it...Electro!
"Good evening, New York," he said with an evil grin. "Electro is back! And in the spirit of New Year's, I've made a new resolution! You see, I've not only taken power from the city, but from everything electronic in the city!"
May, Desirée and Ned all tried their Smartphones, which didn't even turn on. Even Peter and MJ checked theirs, but they didn't work, either. Of course, they could see in the dark, but still.
"Pete, where do you keep the glasses?" Ned asked.
"Hang on," Peter got up and they went to the bedroom with him, then showed him a small safe on one of the shelves. Peter entered a six-digit code, which unlocked it, and inside were the glasses.
He put them on and... "EDITH?"
"Hello Peter."
Peter sighed in relief, then asked, "Does the Compound still have power?"
"Yes, this blackout has only affected the island of Manhattan," she responded.
"Okay, call the Compound and tell anyone on the Team who's available to meet up with me," he said, before taking off the glasses, put the spider emblem on his chest and activated his suit.
MJ glanced back at him and nodded her head, telling him that nobody could see him. Once he was certain of that, he swung out the window. (3)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Scene Change~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Spidey saw a glow in the distance that looked like Electro. Right as he got close enough to it, he saw some of the Team on the street, running in the same direction. White Tiger, America Chavez, Amadeus Cho (In Hulk form), Nova, and Ms. Marvel.
"Hey, guys!" he called out as he came to join them.
Right as he did, some trucks suddenly turned on and tried to run them over! They all jumped or rolled out of the way, or in Amadeus' case; stopped it in its tracks!
"Who's driving those trucks?" America questioned.
"No one," Amadeus answered. "Electro must be giving off an energy field, turning anything that runs on electricity into a weapon."
"Yeah, but for what purpose?" White Tiger asked.
"Probably to distract us," Ms. Marvel guessed. "How'd you beat him last time?"
"I figured his energy output was like a battery, so I overloaded him with energy until he exploded," Spidey explained.
"Not sure that'll work this time," Nova stated.
"I have an idea," Amadeus said. "Spidey, you're the only one with internet access right now. Is Electro broadcasting all over the world?"
Spidey had E.D.I.T.H. check news feeds around the world, "No, just here. Why?"
"Unless Electro has a super-charged brain, like me; he can't multitask too much. He might become unfocused the more he plugs in to things..."
"So if we trick him into broadcasting worldwide, and keep his attention occupied here; he'll short circuit!" White Tiger finished. "Are you sure that'll work?"
"I'm ninety percent sure," Amadeus answered.
"That's all the convincing I need!" Spidey exclaimed. "Let's do it!"
They found Electro standing in the street, letting off sparks of electricity!
"Hey Sparky?!" Nova called out. "Thinking kind of small, ain't ya? Only taking over New York when you could take over all the broadcasting satellites and just take over the whole grid."
Playing along, Spidey groaned at his "stupidity", Tiger slapped her forehead, and Ms. Marvel exclaimed "Dude!"
"Oops," Nova covered his mouth.
"Thanks for the suggestion, bucket-head!" Electro then disappeared.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Scene Change~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All around New York City, the lights were constantly flickering on and off, showing Electro's cackling face. He then connected with one of the radio towers, which linked him up with all the satellites.
"I can see it; I can feel it all. IT'S ALL MINE!"
He fried people's phones, a guy's headphones, screwed up a man's car, then his face appeared on every channel in every country!
"I CONTROL EVERYTHING, I'M NOW A GOD AMONG MORTALS!"
"A God from Blue Man Group?" Spidey questioned as he and the Team showed up.
"Well, if it isn't the Itsy-Bitsy Spider-Schmuck?" Electro asked. "What took you so long?"
"I would say traffic, but thanks to you; not the case," The hero responded.
Electro simply scoffed, "You're nothing to me, now. I'm plugged into every system in the world! I can turn off cars, cause planes to fly blind, shut down every computer across the world! Now, bow to the king!"
Spidey dodged some lightning bolts, then stuck to the side of a building,
"The king? Yeesh, and I thought Jameson was a blowhard. A king's gotta keep his eye on a lot of things, and no offense Electro, but you don't have that much brain power."
"I have the power! If there's one thing I have, IT'S POWER!"
The big screen released a lot of electricity, then Electro appeared in the street while still being on the TV screens! But...now he had no black leather suit...
Spidey covered his face, "WHOA, DUDE! Pants! No one wants to see your junk!" Even though there was nothing showing.
Electro just chuckled, "Keep making jokes, you still can't stop me!"
He tried to blast him, but the web-head swung away, "You can fight me, but you can't fight all of us!"
As he said this, White Tiger ran up to a nearby traffic camera.
"Hey, Electro!" she taunted. "Say 'cheese'!"
Another Electro clone emerged from the camera, then Tiger jumped off a nearby car to reach the camera and destroyed it with her claws! She then went after the clone, who dodged all of her attacks!
Ms. Marvel got out her iPod, "Electro, get off my playlist!"
That's when another Electro jumped out of the small device and tried to attack, but Ms. Marvel kept dodging him.
Nova flew around, then pulled out his Nintendo Switch, "I was wondering when you would show up."
Three Electro clones came out of the game console, but Nova literally flew through them, which made them split in half and create six clones!
Amadeus Hulk punched a clone, which caused it to split into two more, "Yes, it's working! Keep it up guys!"
America punched two clones, making them multiply,
"This is what you get for interrupting New Year's!"
In the window display that showed many TV monitors, Electro clones were popping out, but Ms. Marvel, using her powers to enlarge her hands, made short work of them by punching them away. Tiger, America, Nova and Amadeus regrouped in the street, surrounded by all the Electro clones.
"Uh, maybe we overdid it," Nova stated.
"No, this is perfect!" Spidey called as he swung by.
"Let's keep it going!" Amadeus exclaimed before they all charged at the clones!
Spidey landed on a billboard to watch Electro on a large screen, looking in every direction.
"Hey Blue Man, how're holding up?"
"I...you... Spid...!" Electro tried to yell, but his sentences were being cut short as his image began to go static.
"Yeah, all those systems under your control, you're stretched too thin," Spidey stated.
Electro kept glitching, "Y-Y-Y-You...stop...-tro!"
All of the clones disappeared, then the large screen short-circuited and Electro appeared in front of it, no longer blue-skinned. Now he was African America, bald, and wearing a black leather suit with a lighting emblem cut into the collar to the chest. He stumbled around dizzily, then fell off the building to the ground.
"Talk about a system overload, huh?" White Tiger commented.
Amadeus walked over to Electro and put some fancy hand-cuffs on him.
"What are those?" Spidey asked.
"Power-dampening cuffs," The super-genius answered. "Can't have any villains with powers that we defeat escape, now can we?"
After he said that, the city's power was restored. Soon after, everyone began to cheer for Spidey and his friends.
"Thank you, superheroes!" called a little girl.
The team waved to her, some calling "You're welcome" back.
"Peter, it is now five minutes to midnight," Karen informed the web-head.
"Whoops!" Spidey exclaimed. "And with that, I am out!"
With that, he swung away while the crowd cheered and waved him off.
White Tiger checked her own watch, "Oh crap! We all better get home too!"
America created a few portals for everyone; one back to Jersey City for Ms. Marvel, one to Ava's apartment, and one to the Avengers Compound for her, Amadeus and Nova.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Scene Change~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just as Peter arrived on the roof of his apartment, he received a text from MJ.
"Where r u?"
Peter had Karen text back, "On the roof. Just got back."
"Good, everyone's wondering where you are," MJ texted.
Peter wall-crawled down to the bedroom window, where MJ was waiting for him.
"It's about time," she whispered.
Then opened the window for him. He crawled in and got his suit off.
"I'm so sorry about that," he whispered.
"It's fine, nobody suspected anything," MJ responded.
They went out to the living room to rejoin everyone.
Eventually, it was one minute to midnight, the countdown started and the Time's Square Ball started to lower...!
"Okay, here we go!" May exclaimed before everyone started to count down.
"10! 9! 8! 7! 6!"
As they reached six, Peter and MJ looked at each other lovingly.
"5! 4! 3! 2! 1! HAPPY NEW YEAR!"
Everyone cheered and threw confetti around as the ball dropped completely...and Peter and MJ kissed each other.
Fireworks went off around the city, along with loud cheering and "Auld Lang Syne" playing in Times Square!
1. This plot was from Season 2, Episode 4 of Ultimate Spider-Man.
2. This was a side-mission in Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales.
3. This is from Ultimate Spider-Man Season 2, Episode 2.
In case anyone is wondering; I did not see Across the Spider-Verse, because the animation style on a big-screen would've given me a huge headache. Also, I'm a little upset with the Kraven movie trailer. Aaron Taylor Johnson doesn't look enough like the character, and he didn't even do a Russian accent! But I am really excited about Marvel's Spider-Man 2!
Read and review, please!