"So…" Peter B said as he walked over the Rio. After they had been assured by the Chaos Avengers, the Superior Six, and Skitter's group that they wouldn't let Miguel anywhere near them Rio and Jeff had decided that they would join Miles in planning out what to do with The Spot. Jeff had knowledge of New York that was proving invaluable to Lyla… she understood the layout of the city, of course, but that didn't mean she understood what streets to avoid at what times, which buildings were safe to use as battle sites, and how the police would mobilize. Rio too was giving suggestions, though her's were more focused on civilian life and how to best protect anyone caught in the crossfire.

Peter B, having been treated by Percy for his many cuts and scrapes, had been working up the nerve to approach the woman. Because he knew, even without Miles factored in, he was in deep shit with her.

The sleeping baby she kept juggling was proof of that.

"…I suppose just saying thank you for watching Mayday isn't going to cut it?" he asked weakly.

Rio shot him a very dark look.

"No, guess not. Well I should warn you that cash isn't the easiest for me to get at the moment… don't worry, Mayday isn't going to be lacking for things. I am making sure that she has all she needs. Its just… do you realize how much diapers cost nowadays? And you need to get so many of them too! I swear I buy a thousand of them and in a week they are completely gone! Its utterly insane, you know? I mean, you do because you have Miles and I don't mean he is in diapers still but… anyway, money is a bit tight."

Rio continued to glower at him.

"But… I am guessing that money isn't something you are interested in either," Peter finally said when it was clear that he wasn't breaking through her anger. "Okay… okay…" He ran his fingers through his hair. "I messed up. A lot. I messed up a ton. And I am man enough to admit that."

"Are you?" Rio finally said, still making no move to hand over Mayday. His daughter was fast asleep, sprawled out in the way that all babies were when they slept. It always amused him to see movies and cartoons where babies were sweet little loaves of bread, all wrapped up in their blankies, utterly still and peaceful. Maybe, when they were newborns, that was how they were. But kids Mayday's age? They were more like crudely stitched together dolls filled with mashed potatoes. They didn't lie down… they flopped. Mayday, for instance, had her head lulled back, one arm flung out, and drool was oozing from her open mouth, growing dangerously close to Rio's cuff.

Peter shook himself from his observations, realizing that Rio was talking to him. "Of course I am!"

That though got a scoff from the woman. "And yet you are doing everything in your power to prove you aren't."

"Listen, I admit I messed up. Really bad. I let my anger get the better of me and I rushed after Miguel rather than focus on Mayday! But I knew you were there-"

"Do NOT lie to me," Rio said, jabbing a finger right under his nose. "You never once thought about making sure Mayday was safe with us. You just leapt in without remembering that you are more than a hero now: you are a father and that HAS to come first. Dios mios, even that cono O'Hara understood that!"

"…but I mean, if the city is in danger-"

"NO!" Rio snarled before pulling Mayday closer to her. "No," she said, lower in voice but not without the same amount of fire in her words. "You still don't get it, do you? This child… she has no chance if you aren't there for her. If you aren't fighting for her. You can't keep acting like she is some book you can set down and get back to when its convenient. The time… it goes by so quick and you have no idea how your actions will compound on her."

Peter looked over at Gabriella, who was talking to Hobie now. "I am getting an idea," he admitted. He'd been told about the poor girl, about how she had felt forced into the hero life because she had to live up to her father's legacy… and how she hated every minute of it. Just the thought of it had given Peter terrors, wondering if that might happen with Mayday. If his preaching "With great power comes great responsibility" would make her believe she had no choice. He knew that plenty of people, when he told his story to them, believe that was the case for him. That he felt like he had no choice but be Spider-Man. And… maybe that was the case, for him. But he would never demand that of his child. Or anyone else.

Rio's voice grew a bit more calm, a bit more reasonable. He didn't think for a second she wouldn't strike him but now at least she wasn't ready to lash him into ribbons. "On my Earth our Spider-Man had a saying: with Great Power comes Great Responsibility. They are spray painting it on walls and putting it on posters and the like. But the thing is… I always thought that saying was only half of it. With great power comes great responsibility… but with great responsibility comes great power. You have been given a great responsibility, Peter… you need to begin understanding the power it carries."

And with that she walked away.

It didn't miss Peter's notice that she took Mayday with her.

And he did nothing to stop her.

'Right now… as much as I want to hold Mayday and never let go… I have to make things right here. I have to help deal with the Spot and then I need to figure out how to deal with all of this… madness.' He shook his head and looked about. It was the first time he noticed a counter on several of the computer screens in Miguel's lab, all ticking down. "Lyla!" he called out to the AI who was walking by. "What's with the doomsday clock? That for the Spot or when the pizza will arrive?"

"The Spot, duh," Lyla said with a roll of her eyes and her normal sassy tone.

"See, that's why I like you," Peter said. "Honestly I don't get what a classy and funny Ai is doing with a dull as dishwater moper like Miguel."

"Sometimes I like things to be a bit… different," Lyla said.

"haha, yeah. I guess if he's good in the sack…" Peter trailed off when Lyla didn't say a word. "Wait… you two aren't…?" He began to lace his fingers together, going back and forth.

Lyla didn't say a word.

"Listen, not judging just… how would that…"

But the AI moved away from him and Peter, after a moment, shook his head. There would be more time to consider all that later; if the countdown clock was correct, and he didn't see why it wouldn't be, then they were all heading out in less that an hour to deal with the Spot.

Just enough time to suck it up and face the one person he was terrified of talking to.

'Okay… how to do this… how to do this? I need to come out strong and confident because right now the last thing anyone needs is me a bundle of nerves. But I can't be not myself or it will all sound scripted and I don't want that either. And I can't come on too energetic as it will look like I don't care… but I also can't be too solemn as that will set the tone.'

"What's up my Spiders!" Peter declared to Miguel, Miles, Spinneret, and Spider-Chaos. "We ready to get this party ready… no. No. I knew it was wrong the moment I said it."

The four just stared at him in various shades of annoyance.

"I… I… can I start over? Please?"

"No," Spider-Chaos said simply before looking back at the computer screen. "Alright, so we're all in agreement?"

"I still think I should take point-" Miguel said only for Spinneret to cut him off.

"No one trusts you, Miguel. Thus no one will follow you into battle. Miles knows the world best and I have been the least tainted by what has happened these last 24 hours."

"She's right," Spider-Chaos said. "You can lead whoever still wants to follow you, no different from me and my Avengers, but we're following their lead."

THAT had Peter looking rather surprised. Miles was going to be leading to Spider Assault Force that was heading to his Earth? 'I mean, if it were my Earth I'd expect to take lead but he's just a kid-' He pushed that thought away. 'No… no, I can't keep thinking of him like that. He's been Spider-Man for over a year. He's earned some respect.' So out loud he said, "Well then, what should I do? I assume you are drawing up team leaders… who am I working with?"

He DIDN'T suggest he lead a team. He knew that with the four gathered before him there was no way that would happen. Spinneret was looking at him with a bit of sadness in her eyes; he had been with his wife long enough to know that look. She was thinking about how he wasn't what she'd hoped he could be. Spider-Chaos at best wouldn't trust him and at worst hated his guts. Miguel had once thought Peter was someone he could trust but as time had gone by the man has found others far more devoted to the cause, more willing to obey him. Miguel had decided he didn't want a partner, he wanted followers. And as such Peter had turned from the seasoned hero to the washed up joke. And Miles…

"Let's talk," Miles said simply and Peter hated that he had his mask on. But at the same time was thankful he did because he honestly didn't know if he wanted to see Miles' face right now. It was easier to face the unknown than have it revealed. The cat might be dead but it might be still alive, after all. That gave one hope.

"Side room you can use," Miguel said and Miles gave him a sharp shallow nod.

So Peter quickly nodded and followed after Miles into the little room. It was empty of the most part; Peter believed it might have been one of the smaller design areas Miguel had used to work on his suit, similar to what Tony used to work on his own gadgets. But at the moment there was nothing in there but a circle of metal on the ground and one above it on the ceiling. Maybe the size of a New York bedroom. Enough where he and Miles weren't touching but also were close enough for Peter to realize just how uncomfortable everything was.

Miles let Peter in first and remained near the door, turning in such a way that he could still see Peter but could also quickly open the door and slip out. Perhaps even use the door as a barrier to protect himself. He'd seen battered women do that a thousand times when he interfered with spousal violence… part of the job he hated but was one of the best suited for. Abusers thought they were safe in their high up apartment buildings, always forgetting that Peter loved to swing by those areas, listening for the telltale sounds of screams and pleading. He'd more than once burst through a window and webbed up some drunk laying into his wife or his kids only for the spouse to cringe and move towards the door, ready in case he attacked them.

It killed him to see Miles doing that.

"Listen, man," Peter began, being very careful not to call Miles 'kid', "I know-"

But Miles held up his hand. "You don't get to talk. I get to talk, okay?"

"…right. Of course. I mean…" He mimed locking his mouth and pocketing the key.

Miles though stared at him for a long moment, not saying anything. It was… painful for Peter. He was used to filling the air with words, to deal with his own nervousness. Ever since he'd been a little kid he'd done that, which was part of the reason why Flash had bullied him so hard. Peter just couldn't keep his mouth shut and-

"I need to know that you have your head in the game for this," Miles finally said. "I need to know that when we go out there you are going to be able to work with everyone and focus on defeating the Spot."

"Of course-" Peter began only for his eyes to widen as he clamped his mouth shut. That saved him from the tongue lashing he could tell Miles was seconds away from unleashing. Instead the younger man merely took a breath before continuing.

"I don't care about what happened before. Not right now. I care about my home. My world. The Spot is powerful and he is gunning for me. He wants to destroy all I love and he knows I love New York. He is going to do everything he can to destroy the city. Right now, according to Spinneret, he's just making portals… he's waiting for me. But he won't wait for long. We only have a little bit of time before he gets bored and begins to tear things apart. And when he sees me he is going to go full throttle.

"So I need you focused on New York. On saving the citizens. Getting people to safety. Stopping him before he hurts anyone." Miles took a step forward. "What I don't need is you trying to win back my trust. Trying to make things up to me. Trying to show me that you've changed or that things can go back to how they were or we can pretend that none of this ever happened. Because Peter… that's never gonna happen."

Peter kept his mouth shut.

Miles let out a sigh, it clear that even though the words NEEDED to be said he didn't want to say them. That they were hurting him almost as much as they were hurting Peter.

"You aren't my mentor. I'm beginning to wonder if you ever were. I think… I think you considered it, briefly, but in the end you were more concerned with your world and getting back to it. And man that's fine. That's fine." Both of them knew it wasn't fine. "But I've got to get it out of my head that you're someone I can turn to when I need help. That I should seek you out and ask for advice. Because I get it now… that was never who you were. It was always about you, Peter… never about me." His shoulders dropped. "It was never about me for any of you."

"Miles-" Peter began, wanting to tell him that wasn't true. That they had cared for him. That they had wanted him to be the best Spider-Man and to learn from them. That they hadn't wanted to keep away, to lie.

But Miles suddenly stiffened and Peter felt the words die on his tongue.

"You and Gwen and the rest? You all had ways to get back to my world. Had the ways to remain stable. There ain't no excuse why you couldn't come and see me other than you didn't want to." He shook his head and let out a huff. "Man… I was gonna change my entire LIFE just for a chance to see you all again and you were just…" Mile scoffed. "It doesn't matter. I just said it didn't matter."

"It does matter," Peter said. "It does. Miles, what we did-"

"Doesn't matter," he said firmly. "Not at all. What matters is saving my world and stopping the Spot. So I need you to understand that, Peter. I don't want you coming swinging in thinking if you save a bunch of people I will turn to you and say, "All is forgiven". And I certainly don't want you or Peni or G-" Miles tensed for a moment, "-or any of you thinking that now is time to make the big heroic sacrifice and that we can have the touching reunion where we forgive each other. Because I will NOT have you pulling that on me, Peter." He jabbed his finger at the older hero, voice firm. "I don't have time for it and I'm not interested in it and it isn't going to work.

"You and I? We're less than done. Anything you think we might have had is gone. Worse than when I thought you were a deranged hobo and I was wondering why I was-" Once more Miles stopped but he didn't have to finish. Peter knew the answer.

'Why I was stuck with you instead of my Peter'

Sometimes… sometimes Peter B. wondered why he was still alive himself.

"Maybe… maybe we could build something different," Miles said, looking down at his feet. "But right now I'm not interested in that. I want to save my world. That's what I need from you. And then I get to decide what happens next. Not you. If I talk to you again, if we work on this, or if I decide I want nothing to do with any of you and banish you to your world and lock it down so you never leave." He took a step forward and narrowed his eyes. "Because I can do that, Peter. The Chaos Avengers know how to do it and they've offered. My world… or yours. And I don't know what I am going to do but I do know this: it is my choice. Not yours. You don't get to pick for me anymore. You don't get to decide how I do things. I'm not going to let you dictate the course of my life. Not anymore. You lost that right. And I need you to understand that. One battle is NOT going to fix what happened. So save your grand gestures and your talk about your kid being here because of me or you trying to manipulate me emotionally because the fact remains you ran off, hid away from me, and despite all your claims.. you were willing to kill my dad just to make YOUR life easier. And I am never going to forget that."

Peter… nodded.

"Yeah," he said softly. "I… get it, Miles."

Miles merely nodded before he moved to the door, opening it… to find Spinneret standing there.

"What is it?" Miles asked, the hard edge in his voice leaving and for a moment Peter was reminded of the Miles he had met before. The kid with so much potential. The one desperately looking at him like he hung the stars.

"You have 20 minutes… get it out of your system."

And then, before Peter could realize what had happened, Spinneret weblined him, yanked him out of the room, shoved someone past him, and slammed the door shut.

"Whoa… that was… what was that?"

"They need to work things out," Spinneret said. "And unlike with you, I know Miles is going to avoid her."

"…Gwen," Peter said softly, looking at the door and fighting the urge to burst in there. But he didn't dare because he also knew that Mary Jane was right. Miles and her HAD to talk because very soon they would be taking on the Spot and the way those two were? They were too in sync not to end up fighting side by side and if they didn't have their heads on straight people would end up dead. "Yeah… yeah that makes sense," He finally said, turning away from the door and looking at her. "I really messed this up, didn't i?"

"You did," Spinneret said and it hurt how much she reminded him of his Mary Jane because he knew she would say the same things to him when they finally discussed all of this. There was no doubt in his mind he'd tell her everything that happened and she would wonder how he could have praised Miles so much… and yet betrayed him so deeply. "He's going to get the support he needs now."

"You guys?" he asked. "The… Council of Mary Janes?"

"Among others," she said and he could tell there was more to her comment than she was letting on. A secret that bemused her. "But the point is Peter… he doesn't need you anymore. If you try and force him to forgive you its going to be only for you. Not for him."

"Yeah…" Peter said softly as he turned away from the door. "Yeah. I… he said as much. So… what do I need to do, with the Spot?"

And as Spinneret laid out what his part would be Peter wondered if this battle would be the last time he ever saw Miles again.

Because, if he were in his shoes?

Well…