Spider-Man: Irregular Reflection

ISSUE 5: Lightning in a Bottle!

Earth-636

THE PARLOUR

"...How?" Harry was going over the extensive damage to the Spider-Mobile, and it turns out there were a huge dent to the car door on the driver side. He turned his head over to the young couple in front of him that was currently getting grilled by their mentor.

"When you said that you may have put a "scratch" on the car, I didn't think it would be like this," Harry groaned as he motioned his hand to the damage. "Who did you hit? Wile E. Coyote?"

"In our defense, we were trying to get to you guys in time. We accidentally hit a fire hydrant on our way to Mysteria's hideout," Ollie rubbed the back of his neck out of embarrassment and Harry quirked a brow.

"This car could withstand a missile with its Adamantium coating, but somehow this could make a dent with you behind the wheel," Harry sighed as he rubbed his temples. "Hobie and Bob aren't going to believe this."

"We could've taken my bike, but Quentin took it out for a spin when he decided to go out for Korean BBQ out of all nights," Ollie lamented.

"As much as I like to hear you guys harp about your rides, we got bigger problems here," Mattie said as she was sitting down near the super computer and she was replaying the news report about the supervillains that escaped last night on the Bugle News Network.

"Four brave men lost their lives as these cowardly band of super-powered degenerates ambushed them to help their fellow comrades escape from custody. Where was that wall-crawling miscreant when they really needed him?" Jameson sneered as he was reporting the news behind the desk.

Harry turned off the monitor and lowered his head down in shame. Ollie and Mattie both saw that he was beating himself up over it.

"It's not your fault, Harry," Oliver put his hand on his mentor's shoulder. "You couldn't have known that this whole Mysteria debacle was a diversion."

"That's the thing, Ollie. I should have been prepared for this sort of situation. The 'Six' have now reunited, and they're up to something. I'm not even sure what I'm afraid," Harry argued.

"You can't always be on top of everything. Where's Peter by the way?" Mattie inquired only for Harry who sighed to himself.

"Peter's up on the balcony. He's still upset with me that I didn't tell the whole truth about Mysteria," Harry explained to his proteges.

OSBORN PENTHOUSE

Peter was sitting down at the table alone on the balcony working on his web-shooters with a screwdriver while looking out into the city as it has already gotten quite dark outside.

He was vexed that his friend didn't divulge Mysteria's true identity to him. Goes to show what little trust that he had with the wall-crawler. It was made abundantly clear to him that this was not the same Harry Osborn that he's normally acquainted with as the Harry back on his world can be sometimes meek and full of himself and tries his best to be courteous with one another while this Harry comes off as highly paranoid for his own good. As Peter was repairing his equipment, he heard the noise of someone opening the door from behind him.

"Would you like some tea, Master Parker?"

Peter looked over his shoulder to see Mortimer carrying a tray of tea with both hands.

"Thanks, Mort, but could you drop the "Master" part. This isn't actually my real home," Peter sighed as he accepted the teacup and put it on the table.

"If you insist, Mr. Parker," Mortimer said as he couldn't help but notice that Peter was feeling frustrated for the moment and he wasn't down in the lair with the others. "Is there something troubling you?"

"It's just...I thought me and Harry were suppose to be a team y'know? He says that he trusts me and then the next minute he sics Quire on me to get inside my head instead of talking man to man," Peter lamented.

"Harry can be...a complicated fellow," Mortimer stated.

"Heh! You can say that again," Peter snorted as he was re-calibrating another one of his web-shooter on his other wrist.

"But there was a time when he wasn't always like this. I'm sure you have your own fair share of tragic events that shaped your life?" Mortimer asked as Peter himself haven't really thought of it that way.

"We all have a story, Mr. Parker. Each of us have a beginning, middle and an end. I'm not here to absolve Harry's mistakes or trying to seem like I'm simply taking his side. Nothing of the sort. The reason why I came out here is to try to see things through his perspective," Mortimer placed the tray on the table and on it was Mary Jane's Journal right next to the teapot. The amphibious butler handed the book on over to Peter, and went back inside the penthouse to clean up.

Peter thought back to what Mortimer said about how tragedy affected both of them. While Peter was dealt a bad hand in life, he somehow was able to face adversity when the going gets tough. He looked down at the table and gazed upon the journal. Peter was hesitant to read it at first, and he didn't understand why Mortimer gave it to him in the first place. After he was done fixing his gear, Peter picked up the book and decided to take a look at how Mysteria really came to be.

"Well, time to burn the midnight oil I reckon," Peter stretched his muscles and sighed as he took a sip from his teacup and decided to get a little reading done because after all it was going to be long night.

TWO DAYS LATER...

It has been two days since Mysteria's rampage, and the crime-fighting duo were both eating their breakfast at the dining room table in absolute silence much to the disappointment of Mortimer who came in the room to deliver mail to Harry.

"It's for you, sir," Mortimer handed the letter over to Harry who opened it up to see what was in it.

"Dear Mr. Osborn, you have been cordially invited to a charity gala which is being held at the Macro Science Museum tonight at eight o'clock. You're welcome to bring a guest as your plus one," Harry read the invitation for both of them to hear.

"That sounds like a really good bonding activity for the two of you. I'm sure it will be fun to mingle with your peers," Mortimer said hoping for Harry and Peter to reconcile with each other.

"Don't wait up," Peter got up from his chair and leaves the plate on the table to go to the balcony. Harry got up from the table as well to see what was up with his friend. He got out to the balcony to see Peter already in his costume without his mask preparing himself.

"Where do you think you're going?" Harry asked.

"What does it look like? I'm going on patrol," Peter answered while putting on his mask.

"...We need to have a word, Peter," Harry suggested.

"Oh so now you wanna talk. Are you sure that you don't want to continue this rousing game of telephone with your psychic pal?" Peter sardonically said.

"I'll admit that I never should've gotten Quentin involved in our business. It wasn't fair to the both of you," Harry said with remorse.

"Honestly, you're kinda sending me mixed signals here, Harry. You claimed that you trusted me "one hundred percent" back in the Parlour, but you didn't have to guts to be upfront with me concerning MJ," Scarlet Spider vented.

"What will it take to put this all behind us?" Harry sighed.

"...I want to know if you really do trust me," Scarlet Spider stated which made Harry had to think about it. "Tell me the truth dammit."

"Peter, I..." Harry was soon interrupted to the sound of fighter jets that were flying too close to the building and zoomed past the duo as the jets were flying into the city.

"Is there a parade going on in town?" Peter curiously asked.

"That's no parade..." Harry replied as his face turned pale.

A FEW MINUTES EARLIER...

Colonel John Jonah Jameson III was in his standard uniform on a plane that was flying thirty thousand feet in the air having an important conversation with President Nick Fury Sr. on call through two-way monitors. One of the stewardesses gave him a glass of seltzer water and he politely thanked the woman who giggled in appreciation.

"I'm sure that you are already aware of the team that SHIELD is putting together?" Nick Fury inquired on the screen.

"Director Castle has already informed me of this "Secret Warriors" project, Mr. President," John responded as he was going over potential candidates on the table.

"And you were chosen to be its team leader," Nick said.

"With all do respect, sir. Do we really need the likes of Robbie Baldwin and..." John squinted his eyes at the portfolio and snorted. "Squirrel Girl?"

"Every little bit helps, Colonel. Mr. Baldwin is a local celebrity and a national treasure up in Connecticut. Don't judge a book by its cover when it comes to Ms. Green," Nick advised the astronaut.

"I'll keep that in mind. Is all this really necessary, Mr. President? Aren't the Avengers technically the de facto superteam for the country?" John questioned.

"The Avengers are loose cannons. Despite the fact that Captain America is on the team, it doesn't fill the American public with much confidence especially with that damn Asgardian in their ranks. I already have both Kelly and Gyrich breathing down my neck as it is," Nick answered.

"Are people that afraid of Loki?" John asked.

"Truthfully, Loki doesn't bother me. It's the Latverian that is whispering into Cap's ear," Nick continued.

"So the purpose of this team is to make sure that the Avengers won't step out of line," John concluded.

"Bingo," Nick said.

"I don't think that I'm cut out for being leadership material, Sir," John said as he had some self-doubt issues about being in charge of this new team but Nick blankly looked at him.

"Tell me you're joking," Nick stated.

"I'm saying that this is a whole different ballgame for me," John rubbed the back of his neck.

"I've seen you take charge with your crew members for landing the shuttle that you were in one time before you got your powers. You're one of our last line of defense against threats from Earth and Space. Are you ready to step up to the plate?" Nick narrowed his eyes at the Colonel.

"Ready and willing," John accepted the position as who would say no to this once and a lifetime opportunity from the Commander in Chief.

"Good," Fury was satisfied with the astronaut's answer. "While you're in New York, see if you can recruit Spider-Man or other supers in the area into the fold."

"What if he doesn't want to join?" John asked while raising an eyebrow.

"Then at least you tried," Nick shrugged his shoulders. "I may have to cut this conversation short. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an appointment with Vice-President Dugan out on the golf course. Until next time, Colonel."

Thank you, Mr. President," John saluted from his seat as Nick Fury cut the transmission, and the astronaut breathed a sigh of relief.

"No pressure," John sighed to himself and from the corner of his eye, he spotted two unidentified fighter jets that dangerously flew past the plane.

"Houston, we may have a problem," John groaned as he got up from his seat and he springs into action.

LOWER MANHATTAN

"These guys are definitely not professionals," Scarlet Spider quipped as they were swinging around the city trying to catch up with the jets.

"And they're certainly not amateurs either. According to this report, two prototype aircrafts were stolen from a hanger at Stark-Stane International on Coney Island," Spider-Man informed his partner as he was reading the information out loud from the lenses of his mask.

"What a way to start the morning," Scarlet Spider said sarcastically while rolling his eyes behind his mask. The duo landed on the roof of a nearby high-rise apartment building, and they spotted the two stolen planes right below them. They finally got a good peak at the silver and gray-colored flying machines up close as they appear to be highly advanced from the looks of them.

"Shouldn't the Avengers be here to stop something like this?" Scarlet Spider asked.

"They reside up in Washington. Now come on," Spider-Man jumped down from their position.

The two thieves thought they could pull it off as these guys were chosen by their glorious leader to procure these state-of-the-art jets from Stark-Stane International. Both of them had on white jackets, white masks covering up their faces, black berets and black sunglasses as they appear to be agents of Ultimatum. Each of them were going by code names and one of thieves in the plane who was in the front is called the "Brains" while other one in the back was going by "Brawn."

"We got the jets. Boss wants us to deliver them back to the base," Brawn said.

"Flag Smasher also wants us to send a message, and I say we should drop by that old Latverian embassy," Brains suggested.

Brawn was flabbergasted and he wondering if his partner was really thinking clearly. "You're crazy if you think Iron Man is going to sit by and watch you destroy one of his headquarters. It's almost like you got a death wish!"

"Oh please!" Brains resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his partner's constant complaining. "Who's going to stop us?!"

As fate would have it, the two Spider-Men landed on both sides of the wings of Brawn's jet causing the goon to panic at their sudden appearance.

"Hi there!" Scarlet Spider greeted while the thief shrieked in fright.

"Could you be so kind to land this multi-billion dollar aircraft? Please and thank you."

"There on the wings!" Brawn told his partner through the radio.

"Well shake em off then, idiot!" Brains countered as he pressed the acceleration button on the control panels in order to make his escape possible leaving behind his partner.

Brawn steered the jet to rotate around 360 degrees, but it was no use as the Spider-Men were using their abilities to stick to the wing. The goon decided to bail when he pushed the eject button and exit the fighter jet while in mid-air.

"I'll go get him. You make sure to land this thing safely," Spider-Man ordered as he jumped off the aircraft before Peter had the chance to respond.

"Wait! You want me to what?!" Scarlet Spider saw that Harry has already gone after the thief.

Scarlet Spider took a deep breath and got inside the cockpit of the aircraft. "Okay, Pete. You got this..."

The goon was free falling in the air after he realized that he didn't have a parachute on him, and Spider-Man was determined to save him from plummeting to his doom. Harry grabbed the goon and constructed a make-shift parachute as they landed on the ground.

"Thank you man! I thought I was a goner-" The thief was not able to finish as Spider-Man swiftly headbutted him right in the face rendering the goon unconscious. Harry glanced at the man's white jacket as he recognized the logo and instantly knew what organization that these two thieves were a part of.

Spider-Man left the thief tied to a flagpole with his webbing, and took off after Peter to make sure that nothing bad happens to him.

"Peter, come in," Spider-Man said through their com-link. "How are things going on your end?"

"I'm trying to not die right now and avoid a crash landing. How do you think I'm holding up?" Scarlet Spider rhetorically asked.

"Wait...Do you even know how to fly a jet?" Spider-Man inquired.

"I have some experience and I've watched Top Gun roughly about nine times. Does that count?" Peter nervously joked hoping to take the pressure off but it was clearly not working.

Harry pinched the bridge of his nose as he was racing on over to Peter's direction. "...Dammit."

"It's times like this that I wished Carol was here. She would know what to do," Scarlet Spider thought of the ace pilot back on his world while he was holding on to the steering wheel for dear life.

"Peter, I need you to listen to me. Clear your mind as I'm gonna help guide you through the process but you're going to have to trust me," Spider-Man suggested as Peter was contemplating Harry's words.

"Okay. I'll trust you on this so talk to me, Goose."

"...Don't call me Goose and listen," Spider-Man said.

Harry managed to talk Peter through as he was able to steer clear from hitting into any buildings and safely landed the fighter jet into the murky waters of the East river underneath the Manhattan Bridge. Numerous bystanders got out of their vehicles to see what was the commotion all about as Spider-Man was on top of the aircraft to check his friend's well being.

"Peter! Are you alright?! Speak to me!" Spider-Man removed the top door to the cockpit with all his might.

"At least I got my flight hours in so that was fun," Scarlet Spider huffed as he was breathing heavily in his seat after surviving that harrowing experience.

"Well I commend you for staying calm under pressure. Who knows maybe I let you take my plane out for a spin seeing that you're already a natural," Spider-Man smiled in amusement at his partner with his arms crossed.

"No way Jose. If spiders were meant to fly, they would have wings," Scarlet Spider complained as he got out of the fighter jet and he was mildly surprised that the aircraft is serving as a flotation device while not sinking into the river. "What did you do to the other guy and where's the other one?"

"He's fine. I already took care of Tweedledee and now all is left to figure out where Tweedledum could've gone," Spider-Man stated.

Both of their Spider-Sense were warning them ahead of time as the second stolen fighter jet was floating up above them.

"That shouldn't be too hard," Scarlet Spider pointed out.

The thief had the heroes in his sights as he locked on target to them, but the goon thought of the next best thing. He noticed that the two Spider-Men were underneath a bridge so he decided on a sure fire way to eliminate them.

"What is he..." Spider-Man's eye widened when he came to a realization at what the goon was up to. "He's aiming at us!

"He wouldn't!!" Scarlet Spider worriedly shouted.

"Auf Wiedersehen, Spider-Man!" The Ultimatum agent pressed the button to fire the missiles, but when he did, he saw that nothing was happening. The thief pressed it again and again, but it was not doing what it was suppose to do.

"Kinda anti-climatic," Scarlet Spider scratched the top of his head and Spider-Man breathed a sigh of relief.

"Come on you stupid hunk of junk!" The thief continued pressing numerous buttons as the controls weren't responding to him. The Ultimatum agent's eyes lit up when he saw that the jet's control system was going through a technical error and the plane has been shut down on its own. He was screaming in sheer terror as the jet was beginning to descend into the river when suddenly something zoomed past the Spider-Men at full speed.

A figure lifted the jet in the air and everyone in the vicinity was able to make out who it was. It was a man who had on a black and gold outfit with four glowing blue circles and his most important accessory was a golden helmet with a red star as the centerpiece. He was popularly known Nova, The Human Rocket and he is this country's current premier superhero right after Captain America.

He was holding on to the aircraft and safely landed it on the bridge where spectators were gathering around the hero hoping to get a photo or an autograph from him.

As the thief was about to make a break for it, he was stopped when he heard a familiar sound in the distance.

*THWIP!

"Ah! Get this gunk off me!" The thief shouted as he was ensnared in a huge net made of webbing only to receive a swift kick to the back of the head from Spider-Man knocking him out. Scarlet Spider gracefully landed right next to his partner with his arms out.

"Th-th-th-that's all, folks!" Scarlet Spider doing his best Porky Pig impression and the crowd was not too impressed. In fact, some of the people there were shooting dirty looks at the odd pair.

"Um...Am I going deaf or something? I'm not hearing any applause," Scarlet Spider whispered to Spider-Man who didn't say anything only to get hit in the chest by something that was thrown at his direction. He tilted his head down to see what was thrown at him and it even left a mess on his blue hoodie.

"Did-Did you just threw a whole calzone at me?!" Scarlet Spider incredulously asked.

"Say cheese."

The pair saw a bright light and they were greeted to the sight of photojournalist, Lance Bannon, from the Daily Bugle grinning at them with a camera in his hand. "Oh yeah. This is going on the front page for sure."

"Beat it ya bums! We have a real hero over here!" One of the onlookers yelled out which made the crowd agree with the man.

'Now there's the New York that I know and love,' Peter thought to himself.

Nova got in between the crowd and both Spider-Men to diffuse the situation. "Now let's all calm down and act like rational people. Spider-Man risks life and limb saving the lives of the good people of this city everyday. Which is why I have a proposition for him."

"I ain't buying what you selling, Bucket Head," Spider-Man coldly said.

"You're talking to one of the greatest heroes to have ever grace this town! Show some damn respect!" one of the angry bystanders shouted.

"Yeah! So why don't you and your pal over there take a hike! I hear that Jersey could use some freaks so what's one more!" An older female bystander screamed.

"Why don't we go some place more private? So we can discuss," Nova suggested to the newly formed dynamic duo as they got away from the angry mob on the bridge.

Up on a rooftop, Spider-Man and Scarlet Spider were seen having small talk with Nova.

"Great," Scarlet Spider sighed as he shook his head while looking down at the grease and tomato sauce stains on his shirt. "Now I gotta put this suit in the wash."

"I told you that your fifteen minutes of fame were soon to be up," Spider-Man told his friend and turned his attention over to Nova.

"What are you doing here, John?" Spider-Man asked while getting straight to the point.

"Can't a guy just come home to see his family and eat ballpark hot dogs at Yankee Stadium?" Nova smiled only for it to turn into a small frown when sees that Spider-Man was not in a friendly mood.

Nova cleared his throat and removed his helmet revealing the face of John Jonah Jameson III much to the awe of a silent Peter Parker. "Nice work back there for what it's worth."

"Those thieves were apart of Ultimatum by the way," Spider-Man informed.

"I've noticed," John simply said.

"I don't have the time nor the energy to deal with Cap's usual dance partners. I wanna know what are they doing here in my city?" Spider-Man narrowed his eyes at the premier hero.

"I'll let SHIELD know as soon as possible," John turned his attention over to Peter. "I saw how you landed that jet. Not bad a for a rookie, but I could've handled it a bit better in my opinion."

"Why are you here?" Spider-Man repeated as he was starting to get annoyed.

"I've been tasked with putting together a team and I was wondering if you're interested in being on the ground floor?" John asked.

"I don't work well with other supers," Spider-Man said.

"Really?" John quirked a brow as he looked to both Spider-Men at the same time. "Your experience with assisting the Avengers in repelling the Asgardian Invasion says otherwise.

"Wait...the what invasion??" Scarlet Spider asked Harry but that question got ignored.

"It was only a temporary alliance," Spider-Man muttered under his breath as he crossed his arms.

"Sure it was," John rolled his eyes in amusement as he knew how difficult the web-head could be in certain situations so he thought of a way to sweeten the deal in hoping to win him over to his side.

"I tell you what. Why don't I have a talk with my old man and see if I could put in a good word for you?" John inquired. "You saw how those people were talking about you and your new friend back on the bridge and you look like you're in need of some good press."

"No thanks," Spider-Man declined as he turned his back to him and was about to head back to the penthouse.

"Are you sure that you want to walk away from this?" Nova stressed.

"I'm not that much of a joiner. Find somebody else," Spider-Man said as he shoots a web-line and swings away from the premier hero.

"Can't you get through to him?" Nova asked the red clad hero.

"I would if I could, fly boy. But I don't know you all that well and he's probably sticking to his guns. See ya later," Scarlet Spider gave a two finger salute.

John sighed as he put his helmet back on. He flew off in another direction which led back to the Daily Bugle.

"You didn't have to be such a jerk to him and he seems like a cool guy," Scarlet Spider said while he was swinging next to Harry.

"I have my reasons and by "cool guy" you mean lapdog," Spider-Man stated.

"At least it's better than him shedding his fur and trying to maul you to death every five minutes," Scarlet Spider snorted which got a chuckle out of Harry.

"You do got a point there," Spider-Man somewhat agreed.

"How come you didn't take up Buzz Lightyear's offer on getting the Bugle to help give you some good press? That way it would get Jolly Jonah off your back," Scarlet Spider added.

"I didn't become Spider-Man for the notoriety," Spider-Man said as he was swinging around.

"Then why do you put on that costume?" Scarlet Spider inquisitively asked.

Harry thought back to Liz Allen, Jean DeWolff, Bernard Houseman, May Parker and most of all his Earth's Peter Parker. "To make up for failing the people that I ever truly cared about."

Peter managed to see a side of Harry that he would never thought to see thus far. Underneath all that snark and cynicism, lies a hurt man who is having a difficult time exorcising his innermost demons.

THE N.E.M.O

Within the undersea fortress, six costumed individuals were sitting around a circular white table. Silver Vulture, Kraven the Huntress, Mysteria, and their longtime self-appointed leader, Doctor Octopus, were getting reacquainted with their two old comrades who they recently liberated from captivity.

The bald dark-skinned individual with the star-shaped burn scar on his face and black sunglasses was wearing a black and blue spandex suit that had yellow lightning decals on it. He was Randy Roberson who also went by the moniker of Electro, The Lightning Man.

The blonde-haired man still had on his orange jumpsuit with his sleeves tied around his waste and a white t-shirt. Charlie Weiderman AKA The Sandman.

"Is that really you, Al? You look different. Did you get a haircut?" Sandman playfully asked.

"I see you are still holding on to that sense of humor of yours, Weiderman. It's Alistair and I do hope you get it right next time," Smythe darkly corrected.

"I forget that you can't take a joke," Sandman rolled his eyes.

"Can you blame him. I would be too if I look like something out of an 80's sci-fi movie," Mysteria said.

"Right! I mean look at him! It's like if Emperor Palpatine gave him the Vader treatment," Sandman joked which slightly amused some of the people there.

Doctor Octopus was starting to get very aggravated. "Can you all cease your pointless prattle about my appearance?"

"You mentioned this silent investor before. Was he the one who fixed you up?" Ana curiously asked.

"They did and then some. But enough about me. I'm offering each of you an opportunity that you can't resist. A chance to eliminate Spider-Man once and for all," Smythe said.

"I may be getting old, but I distinctly remember that you said that last time. It's always the same song and dance. How can this new plan of yours be any different?" Silver Vulture asked.

"Your skepticism is duly noted, Silvio. What we're about to do is break him spiritually and mentally as well as taking away everything that he holds dear," Doctor Octopus explained.

"I'll pass."

Everyone turned their attention to Electro who had his arms crossed as he had his own objections to Smythe's vague plan.

"In case you all haven't notice, I'm not like you people. I'm not a supervillain and-" Electro was cut off by Charlie.

"Yeah. Yeah. We get it. You're not like the other bad guys. Poor you," Sandman groaned.

"Get a load of this guy over here!" Silver Vulture chuckled which got a couple of snickers from Mysteria and Sandman. Electro was not laughing one bit and the aging crime boss glared at the electrical villain. "What? You think you better than us?"

"I don't think. I am, you Goodfellas reject," Electro smirked as he insulted the former gangster.

"The hell you say?!" Silver Vulture yelled as he was red in the face.

"You think I enjoy working with you people? The only reason why I joined in the first place was because Alistair promised me that he would help me get a better handle of my powers," Electro said while glaring at the mad scientist.

"Oh, give me a break. You really believe that you're cut out for hero work? You would just be another Punisher with super powers," Sandman argued.

"And all you'll ever be known for is being that one weird geek that everyone despised," Electro sneered and that made Mysteria's madly cackle much to everyone's annoyance.

"I don't know what you're laughing for, Raggedy Anne," Electro mocked which made the villainess magician stop her laughter.

"How dare you?!" Mysteria snarled.

"And let's not leave out Crocodile Dundee's daughter," Electro taunted the huntress who was furious at the man that insulted her family.

Ana got up from her seat and took out her hunting knife. "I will carve out your insolent tongue!!"

"Save some for me because I'm about to teach this tough guy a lesson in respecting their elders!" Silver Vulture said as he cracked his knuckles.

"Ah yeah! Fight! Fight! Fight!" Sandman chanted while Mysteria was grinning ear to ear behind her mask as she was thrilled with prospect of being entertained.

"Try me and I'll fry all of you freaks!!" Electro dangerously warned the group.

"SILENCE!!" Doctor Octopus loudly boomed and slammed his metallic tentacles on the large table that got everyone's undivided attention. "SIT. DOWN."

"Ahem!" Sandman awkwardly cleared his throat as he sat back in his chair. "So what's the game plan here? Do we squash the Spiders or not?"

"Patience, Charlie," Doctor Octopus admonished as he pulled out a newspaper with his mechanical tentacle and put it on the table for his comrades to view.

"A charity gala?" Silver Vulture asked in confusion while cupping his chin. "Are we robbin' the joint?"

"Nothing to mundane. No. I'm sending in one member for this mission," Doctor Octopus responded.

"You dragged us all the way down in the bottom of the ocean to talk to about infiltrating some party. I'm outta here," Electro got up from his seat and made his way for the exit.

"What if I were to say that the Big Man is going to attend tonight?" Doctor Octopus noticed that Electro stopped in his tracks once he mentioned this city's top crime boss.

"You know who he is? How did you know he's gonna show up at this party?" Electro asked.

"I have my ways," Doctor Octopus smugly said to his second in command.

"Well don't keep us in suspense, Smythe. Who's the Big Man?" Silver Vulture inquired.

"I will but first I want to know if our friend here is willing to be more cooperative with us. Which is it, Randall? Are you in or are you out?" Doctor Octopus asked.

"...Tell me more, Doc," Electro sat back down in his chair as Smythe was satisfied that he had the electrical enforcer's undivided attention.

THE DAILY BUGLE

Lance had just return to the Bugle and he sees everyone crowding around outside Jonah's office room. He walks over to see what's all the commotion about.

"We...We need to have a talk," Jonah painfully sighed as he didn't know how to break the news. "We've been thick as thieves for over nearly a decade, and...I think it's time that we both went our separate ways."

He was only talking to his wooden cigar box that was sitting on his desk, and he picked the humidor up to carry it on over to his trash can.

"Uh...what's going on here?" Lance asked his co-workers.

Mattie turned her head over to the red-headed photographer. "Aunt Marla has finally been able to get Uncle Jay to quit smoking."

"Seriously?" Lance asked as Mattie nodded in confirmation.

"Newbie's right. His wife have been trying for a while now to get Jameson to kick his habit. He'seven thinking about initiating a No Smoking Policy for the whole building," Ben Urich explained.

"Don't get me wrong. It's not you. It's me," Jonah said apologetically as he was dumping the contents of the humidor into the garbage can. He was willing to throw away several of his expensive Cuban cigars as he promised his beloved wife.

"Good for him," Lance said with a small smile.

Ned made a whip crack sound effect and gesture which made some of the people in the group laugh a little but Jonah did not find that humorous at all.

"IF I HEAR THAT NOISE ONE MORE TIME, LEEDS, I'M SENDING YOU RIGHT TO THE POOR HOUSE!!" Jonah shouted and Ned held up both hands in the air as a sign of defeat.

Katharine saw the Bugle cameraman, Dollar Bill, come around the corner. "You alright, Bill? We heard about what happened to you the other day."

"Hmm?  Oh yeah I feel great. It was a miracle that Spider-Man and his partners showed up when he did. I got Chili Storm's autograph and footage from the fight as an added bonus so it wasn't that bad," Dollar Bill said to the group.

Jameson loudly shut the door behind him and angrily walked up to the staff. "I'm not paying you loafers to be loitering around when you should be working."

"I thought you might like these shots that I took a while ago," Lance showed off the pictures that he took of Nova and Scarlet Spider getting hit by a calzone which got a chuckle out of the editor-in-chief.

"Heh! A chip off the old block. This brings a smile to my face," Jonah proudly said as he saw the shot of his son in his Nova Corp outfit lifting the stolen Stark-Stane fighter jet and landed it on the bridge.

Dollar Bill brought out his own camera to show Jonah about his harrowing experience with Mysteria.

"What about my footage of Spider-Man and his partners rescuing me from that witch?"

"English, If I wanted to watch a bunch of bums in costumes duking it out with each, I would've watch Wrestle-Palooza or something," Jonah snorted.

"Isn't it suppose to be Wrestlemania, Jonah?" Urich corrected.

"The point is that the Bugle is celebrating real heroes like my son-" Jameson was interrupted by his niece.

"John!!" Mattie joyfully sprinted over to her cousin who walked out of the elevator and gave him a great big hug.

"You never told us that you were coming home today," Mattie pouted playfully with her arms crossed.

"I wanted it to be a surprise is all," John chuckled as he scratched his cheek.

"Give a hand to Colonel Nova everybody!" Jonah beamed as everyone in the newsroom was clapping their hands in applause.

"Nova's fine too," John preferred as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

"How's California been treating you? Those pencil pushing bureaucrats been givin' ya enough trouble?" Jonah inquired.

"Sun. Sandy beaches. What's not to love? Say Pop. Can we have a word?" John asked as he has something to say about how his father views Spider-Man.

"Can it wait, John. There's someone that I want you to meet," Jonah said while dragging him on over to Annabelle's desk.

"Ms. Adams, what are you doing tonight? There's a certain someone here that would like to take you out on a night on the town!" Jonah said with excitement in his voice.

"Gee Mr. Jameson. That's really sweet and all but aren't you married?" Annabelle asked.

Jonah blushed out of sheer embarrassment. "No! I'm talking about my son. Allow me to introduce you to famous astronaut and premier superhero, Colonel John Jameson III. I figured that you two would have a lot in common considering that John had his training up in Houston and that she's from there."

"I take it that you were born in Houston?" John asked while shaking her hand.

"Born and raised," Annabelle answered.

"It's been so long since I visited the longhorn state. They sure know how to cook a mean good steak," John said.

"How do you like your steak?" Annabelle asked out of curiosity while raising an eyebrow.

"Medium Rare," John smirked.

"I can tell we're going to get along quite nicely," Annabelle smiled.

"Yo Colonel! You mind if I snag a few shots of you out of your costume?" Lance asked while holding the camera in his hand.

Soon everyone were gathering around the astronaut turned superhero and they began to ask questions and praising him.

"I don't see what the big deal is," Ned muttered in envy.

"~Somebody's jealous!" Christine teased her co-worker.

"I am so not. I mean what's he got that I don't?" Ned muttered.

"Charisma," Christine smirked.

"Confidence," Katherine yawned.

"Courageous," Sally beamed.

"I'm...all those things," Ned slightly defended himself.

"If you believe that then I got a bridge to sell you on the other side of town," Urich joked which got out a laugh among the group.

"I couldn't ask for a better group of co-workers," Ned shook his head.

"Say where is Robbie? He's missing out on this momentous occasion," Jonah said while he was looking around for his friend.

"He's been hold up in his office for quite a while and he's still not taking the news about his son all that well," Urich stated which made Jonah worry a little.

Robbie was sitting down at his desk in a depressed state in the dark while gazing at a photo of his family which consisted of himself, his deceased wife and his son from before the accident.

"Robbie?"

He put the momento back inside his desk drawer as he was caught off guard with Jameson coming into his office.

"Jonah?! What can I help you with?"

"Are you okay?" Jonah asked his dear friend out of concern for his well being.

"No. No, I'm not okay. When I heard the news that Randy escaped, I couldn't take it anymore," Robbie told the media mogul.

"I promise you. We're gonna do everything in our power to help you and Randy," Jonah put his hand on Robbie's shoulder as way of showing support from one father to another.

"I want my son back, Jonah," Robbie said with tears in his eyes and the two friends shared a hug to comfort each other.

THE ATOMIC RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Ben, Phineas, Adrian and Harvey were playing cards at the table while Callisto was carving a wooden figurine with her favorite knife as she had a bored demeanor on her face. Cassandra Webb pulled out a deck of cards of her own.

Otto Octavius was pacing back and forth as he was talking to himself.

"What's up with Mr. Peabody now?" Callisto said while not taking her eyes off the wooden figurine and she was irritated at Otto's manic behavior.

"He got invited to some science gala or whatever," Ben shrugged.

"That's all?" Callisto raised an eyebrow.

"He's not that much of a sociable person if you get what I mean," Ben said.

"So I see..." Callisto said and continued on carving the figurine.

"Otto, would you just relax!" Ben shouted as he was getting annoyed at the doctor's antics.

"How can I relax when I was invited to this social event?! I mean look at me. What if I encounter someone of the female variety?" Otto stressed.

"You have options, Otto. Either you go or you don't go. Who cares?" Phineas said while not taking his eyes off his cards.

"Don't you people have work that you should be doing?" Otto asked the cantankerous group of misfits.

"We're on break," nearly everyone at the table tiredly said in unison except for Mason.

"Retired!" Phineas exclaimed with his finger pointed up in the air only for Otto to roll his eyes at his acquaintances' antics.

"Look if you're that desperate, I know a guy who has the power to make you look like an Adonis for the right price," Callisto recommended.

"Don't listen to her, Otto. If you do meet someone then just be honest with yourself and take it from there," Ben sagely advised.

Otto sighed to himself. "I will take your word for it, Benjamin."

"I fold. I should be heading back to the shop," Phineas got up from the chair got his hat and coat off the coat rack.

"See ya," Ben said.

"Say Benny. You feel like grabbing a drink at Josie's after you get done with your shift?" Phineas asked his longtime friend.

"Some other time, Phin. I got some errands to run and I need some alone time to myself tonight," Ben said.

NEENA'S APARTMENT

Neena was currently asleep on her couch when she was awoken to the sound of someone outside knocking on her door.

"I know you're in there, Neena! Open up!"

Neena yawned and streched her arms and legs as she got up from the couch. She opened her front door to see her adopted sister, Felicia Hardy, in her professional attire walking inside the apartment.

"Does your landlord know that you let in another stray?" Felicia asked as she kept her eyes on the felines who were sleeping on the couch.

"His name is Maguire and no. Not unless you're planning to rat me out," Neena raised an eyebrow.

"I know what you did. I know that you had a hand in helping Spider-Man in stealing that Egg from Tricorp, Diadem or whatever they're calling themselves now," Felicia narrowed her eyes at her sister.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Neena said while playing ignorant.

"Please. I know how much of a kleptomaniac that you can be," Felicia rolled her eyes.

"That hurt my feelings," Neena feigned being offended by her words. 

"I'm only telling you this one more time to keep your nose clean," Felicia sighed as she pinched the bride of her nose.

"We can't always be you, Ms. Perfect. I also heard that you and dad got invited to some party at some science museum downtown. Why wasn't I invited? Are you that ashamed of your black sheep of a sister?" Neena taunted.

"The reason I why I didn't tell you is because I don't want you to be there to cause a scene!" Felicia snapped out of frustration.

"I-I didn't mean to say it like that..."

"I get it. Election season is coming up and you don't want someone like me to stir up trouble," Neena sighed and turned her head away from Felicia.

"Neena, I'm only drop by to keep you in check because one of these days your thrill-seeking lifestyle is going to catch up with you," Felicia warned.

"You're just looking out for me, but I can take care of myself. You don't have to worry about me being there at that fancy party," Neena smiled as the two adopted siblings embraced in a hug.

"Thanks, Neena. Dad would be thrilled that you're finally growing up," Felicia beamed.

"He would be proud of both us. Well...you mostly," Neena said.

"Don't sell yourself too short. I should get going. I have a long night ahead of me. See you later," Felicia stated while leaving the apartment.

Neena peered over her right shoulder to playfully wink at her pet cats as she had two fingers crossed behind her back.

OSBORN PENTHOUSE

Back at the mansion, Harry was currently in his master bedroom closet and he was glaring at an old green business suit that was hanging in the corner. He has grown to hate the color green. The color of envy and avarice. It reminded him of his father.

He shook his head snapping him out of his thoughts and put on his tuxedo for the gala.

Out in the foyer of the mansion, Peter was adjusting the cufflinks on a tuxedo that he borrowed from Harry.

"If you somehow get food stains on that one, then you're footing the bill for the drycleaning," Harry said.

"Paranoid and a cheapskate. Talk about a winning combination right there," Peter sarcastically quipped.

"Remember to be on your best behavior and be your usual self when we get there," Harry stated while putting on his wrist watch.

"Yeah...I'm not sure if "Hi! I'm Peter Parker and I'm from another universe!" is gonna be a good icebreaker," Peter retorted.

"Fair point," Harry agreed.

"Why do I have to come to this gala anyway? I don't exactly fit in with high society, Harry," Peter said.

"You got that right," Quentin snorted while playing a video game on his handheld device and walking downstairs.

"I don't suppose that you want to take his place?" Harry asked with his hands in his pockets.

"Like I would be caught dead going to that aristocrat convention," Quentin scoffed as he didn't take his eyes off his handheld game.

"Anyways. I'm sure it will be fun," Harry said as he opened the door.

If you insist. I'm not gonna be rubbing elbows with a bunch of rich jerks all night," Peter shrugged as they were leaving out the door.

Quentin was in the entertainment area of the mansion and sat down on the couch. When he was about to reach his high score, the device was abruptly turned off on its own.

"Damn batteries," Quentin cursed as he figured out that the handheld device needed to be charged up and that would take hours.

"Are you up for a game of Mahjong?" Mortimer holding up the game.

"Maybe I should've went with them instead," Quentin muttered to himself.

THE ROBINSON RESIDENCE

As the sun was going down, Electro was walking the streets and stopped in front of his father's home in Harlem. He took out a key that was left under the doormat and used it to get inside so that he can visit his former home for old times sake. Electro was sporting a brown trenchcoat over his costume that he got from the Octopus. Oddly enough, Smythe had a lot of trenchcoats in his collection that he keeps as spares. Go figure.

Once Electro entered the home, he could tell that nobody was there for the moment which gave him plenty enough time to have a quick look around. He went into the kitchen and saw some bills from Dillon Water & Power left on the table. He made his way on over to the living room where it all began. This was the area where Electro was truly born, and he could remember as if it was yesterday...

FLASHBACK

Randy and his father were returning home from football practice. He was wearing his Midtown High Bulldogs Jersey and had a full head of hair which was in a dreadlock style.

"Hey pops...Why's the door unlocked?" Randy questioned as they saw the door to their home was slightly opened.

Robbie rushed to their home to discover that his wife, Martha, was laying beaten and lifeless on the floor in a pool of her own blood much to their absolute horror.

"You have a lovely home, Robbie. I love what you done with the place, and I think it could use a fresh coat of paint," Tombstone taunted while finishing up his soda as he got up from the chair.

"You...You Animal!! Randy lunged at his mother's murderer in a fit of rage but only for Tombstone to grab him by his jersey collar.

"Now that wasn't very nice. I thought your father taught you better than that, sport. It's your hard headed old man who's to blame," Tombstone grinned as he violently shoved the young athlete near a shelf.

"Randy!!" Robbie shouted out of concern for his only son who was on the floor struggling to get up. He tried to race his way over to his son only to get grabbed from behind as two of the albino enforcer's goons were keeping him at arms length.

"This is what happens when you poked your nose where it doesn't belong, Robbie," Tombstone sneered at his former acquaintance.

"Please, Lincoln! Leave my son out of this! It's me that you want! Just let him go!" Robbie tearfully begged.

"I go by Tombstone now. Oh! I leave him alive long enough so that he can see the look on your face once I do you in," Tombstone grinned while he was cracking his knuckles.

"There! That's the look!" Tombstone began to repeatedly punch him in the face.

Randy managed to get up from the floor as he saw that his father was getting mercilessly beaten so he had to act fast.

Tombstone was about to deal the final blow until he felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned around to see Randy whose eyes were turned completely white like chalk.

"What's up with your boy, Robby?!" Tombstone shouted to the reporter as he was starting to get nervous at this situation.

Randy forcibly grabbed the gangster by the face and yelled as loud as he could. The athlete began to emit an electrical charge that caused an explosion.

Robbie started to wake up and saw that the apartment was a mess from the explosive aftermath. Two of Lincoln's goons were unconscious and Randy was standing over the charred remains of Tombstone on the floor with his back turned.

"Randy?"

"Dad...What's wrong with me?!" Randy asked with tears in his eyes as most of his hair was burnt off and had a huge star-shaped scar on his face.

It was soon discovered that Randy's mutant abilities have begun to awoken.

FLASHBACK ENDED

Electro clenched his fist after being reminded of that painful memory.

'I was too weak to protect my family. I vowed to keep these scumbags off the streets no matter what so that no one would go through what I went through! If Spider-Man gets in my way again then he's toast!' Electro internally thought as both of his hands were emitting blue electricity throughout the dark living room.

MACRO SCIENCE MUSEUM

In Downtown Manhattan, the Macro Science Museum was the upscale place to be tonight as New York's wealthiest and affluent people are attending to raise money to keep the institution open so that scientists of tomorrow have something to aspire to.

Peter turned his attention over to Harry. "You mind giving me a rundown of the people that we're going to be running into?"

"Over there to your right are the captains of industry," Harry informed his friend from another universe.

Diadem CEO Roderick Kingsley Jr. was trying and failing to impress his older peers such as Daniel Rand of Rand Corp, Susan Storm of Storm Enterprises with a bored expression on her face, and Roxxon Vice-President Simon Krieger.

"And on your left are the people who make and uphold the law in this city."

Commissioner George Stacy holding his walking cane in his left hand, Judge Franklin Nelson, Mayor Vanessa Fisk and her son, Richard were seen conversing with one another.

"So basically a who's who of this city's best and brightest?" Peter asked while Harry nodded in response.

A waiter holding up a tray of elegant appetizers with toothpicks, and when Peter was about to grab the last one, someone beat him to the punch.

"You snooze you loose, pal," An annoying yet familiar guest with brown hair said while finishing off the appetizer.

"Do I know you?" Peter asked.

"Wait. You seriously never heard of me? I'm the host of The Late Show with Wade Wilson," Wilson said with a confused expression since he's kind of famous.

"Uh...I'm usually on the go and I don't watch a lot of talking heads," Peter played it cool since he would never think that he would encounter Wade Wilson like this. "What's a talk show host doing at a place like this?"

"I like to think that I'm a charitable guy, Ferris Bueller. It's my way of giving back to the medical community after the doctors helped me beat the Big C," Wade said while dropping the toothpick and walked away.

Harry and Peter saw two people coming their way and they were Hobie Brown and Yuri Watanabe holding hand in hand.

"Peter, allow me to introduce you to Hobie Brown and his lovely fiance, Yuri Watanabe," Harry properly introduced.

"A pleasure to meet you two. You can call me Peter," Peter said while shaking each of their hands.

"Say hello to our newest addition to the Oscorp family. He's a good fit for our Research and Development team," Harry made-up cover story for his friend from another dimension as Peter blinked at him in shock.

"Well if you'll excuse us we're gonna go hit the dance floor. I'm looking forward in working with you," Hobie said to Peter.

"As do I," Peter said while playing along.  

"It was nice meeting you," Yuri said as the engaged couple were about to go dancing.

"I don't remember getting the job, but I welcome a nice surprise," Peter said.

"Don't read too much into it. I basically made you a cover story," Harry stated.

Peter's eyes widened when a beautiful platinum blonde woman in a black dress was walking up to the pair and he recognized her as the Felicia Hardy of this world. 

"Well, Well. This is a surprise. New York's most eligible bachelor come out to greet the commoners. Y'know I always thought that you weren't a people person," Felicia joked and turned her attention over to Peter. "And who is this?"

"This is my new employee. Peter Parker. He and I go way back, Felicia," Harry introduced the lawyer to his friend.

"I read a lot about you and it's nice to meet someone who truly cares for the betterment of this city," Peter said while shaking her hand to which she smiled at the gesture.

"Charmed. So does that mean can I count on either of your votes?" Felicia asked the two men.

"You betcha!" Peter smiled.

Harry nodded and he noticed an older redheaded woman in a white dress suit standing near a pillar looking around the room.

"I'll leave you two to get acquainted with each other. There's someone that I have to catch up with an old acquaintance," Harry decided to play Peter's wingman and left to go talk too an old associate.

'Dammit Harry!" Peter mentally cursed at the fact that Harry left him alone with her but still kept eye contact with the District Attorney candidate. "Would you care for a dance, Ms. Hardy?"

"I'd love to," Felicia smiled as she accepted Peter's offer for a dance. 

Harry was glad for his friend as he felt that Peter needed something to take the edge off especially since their relationship was currently rocky at the moment. He went over to where the redheaded businesswoman was at. 

"Ms. Potts." 

The woman turned to the side and saw Harry who was making conversation with her.

"Fancy meeting you here. I heard what happened on the news about those stolen jets. Sorry about what happened," Harry said but Pepper waved him off.

"It's nothing to be concerned with. I'm just glad nobody got seriously hurt in the process," Pepper assured.

"By the way, where is Tony?" Harry inquired.

"Mr. Stark couldn't make it tonight on the count that he had...pressing matters to attend to so I'm here on his behalf for the evening," Pepper explained which didn't bode well with Harry as he could tell that something is up. 

The president and CEO of Storm Enterprises, Susan Storm, came up to the two with a friendly smile on her face.

"I hope I'm not interrupting. Sorry I just had to step back for a moment with Kingsley. That guy loves to hear himself talk."

"It's fine, Susan. We were only making small talk," Pepper said while sporting a friendly smile of her own. 

"Harry, could you give us a moment? It's between us two gal pals if you know what I mean?" Susan asked.

"Of course. Enjoy the rest of the party," Harry gave the two women much needed space and went to another direction.

"Such a polite gentleman. Now that's out of the way. Are you still thinking about my business proposal, Pepper?" Susan inquired which made Pepper frown a little.

Peter and Felicia soon found themselves on the dance floor along with the other couples. Just when Peter was starting to relax himself, he was soon bombarded with the memory of him in his Spider-Man costume and Black Cat who was angrily glaring at him and swiping at him with her claws while in a burning building. Peter quickly shook his head of the bad memory and continued on dancing. 

"Are you okay, Peter?" Felicia curiously asked. 

"I was...merely astonished by your eyes. I feel like I could get lost in them," Peter complemented.

'Nice save back there,' Peter thought to himself as he has to remember that this isn't his Felicia that he knows.

"Flattery won't get you anywhere but thanks for that," Felicia lightly blushed at the comment.

Harry was currently standing in front a large somewhat picture frame that was hanging on the wall of the Museum. The photo was taken close around nine years ago and it displayed Dr. Curt Connors and his group of promising students from Empire State University known as The Lucky Seven that came to this museum as part of a field trip. They were considered a big deal back then as these were considered the next generation of leaders and scientists that could change the world. Harry was part of this group along with a wheelchair bound Alistair Smythe, Michael Morbius holding his crutches, Cindy Moon, Elias Wirtham, Priscilla Ironwood, and Steven Petty.

He thought he was seeing things as he saw a vision of his deceased father, The Green Goblin, in the reflection of the picture frame staring back at him and giving him that exact same creepy smile like last time. Harry felt a hand on his shoulder and quickly turned around to defend himself if necessary. 

"Didn't mean to frighten you there," The man said as he rubbed the back of his neck. He was an older man in his late thirties with slick black hair wearing a grey suit and tie. This was the President of Cross Technologies or Cross Tech for short. Augustine Cross. 

"Don't sneak up on me like that, August," Harry groaned.

"My bad. I just wanted to share the news that my son, Corey, is shadowing me for the Summer. I planned on showing him the ropes of the family business. If only I'm able to keep him away from those darn video games that he's obsessed with," Augustine chuckled.

"I know the feeling," Harry joked as he was alluding to Quentin Quire, and the two friends were sharing a laugh with each other. Augustine cleared his throat to get straight to business. 

"Did you hear about what happen to Stockton?" Augustine asked as he was referring to Michael Stockton who died in his hotel room.

"I read about it in the paper. Heart attack. What a sad way to go," Harry answered.

"This is isn't the first time that something like this occurred," Augustine sighed.

"What do you mean?" Harry inquired while raising an eyebrow.

"About three weeks ago, an associate of mine, Dr. Jerold Morgan was found dead in his lab in Jersey City, and a week after that they found the body of Professor Hawkins laying on the kitchen floor of his home," Augustine explained.

"Don't you think that you're kinda overreacting. Poor health habits could probably be a factor into this and Gladstone was already up into old age," Harry rationalized.

"They all specialize in Pym Particles!" Augustine loudly countered which got the attention of some people nearby.

"I'm sorry, Harry. They were my colleagues and I'm more worried that there were medical side effects that we've missed."

"We can talk about later but for right now it's a party so why not enjoy ourselves, August?" Harry tried to put his friend's mind at ease.

"You may be right," Augustine agreed while sighing.

Roderick Jr. walked up to his fellow captains of industry and prepare to greet them. 

"Mr. Osborn. Mr. Cross. I can't tell you how much I am thrilled to have the opportunity to be in the presence of my two idols," Roderick Jr. beamed much to the two's general confusion. 

"Have we met?" Augustine said with a raised eye brow.

"Remember Kingsley? This is his son," Harry blankly explained to the confused older businessman.

"Listen. Um...I'm gonna go head back to my wife. She's sitting at the table right there," Augustine pointed to the table where his wife, Erica Sondheim-Cross, who was a renowned physician, and he had to excuse himself from this awkward conversation.  

"I couldn't help but notice that your assistant was getting a little too chummy with a district attorney candidate. Lucky him," Roderick Jr. said while trying hard to hide his envy. 

"He's an old an friend of mine," Harry said. 

"I guess that makes sense. Now that you're here. There's something that I want to run by you before I have the chance to pitch my plan to Ms. Hardy if she's elected. Are you interested?" Roderick Jr. asked.

"Sure," Harry replied with a raised eyebrow.

"Imagine this, Harry. Can I call you Harry? You know about Felicia's "Hard on Crime" initiative? Of course you have. Who hasn't? Anyway well what I have in mind is a restoration project for New York starting with Mutant Town of course. Glass tower, clean streets and not a bum below the poverty line trying to wash your car. We buy out most of the land and we pursuade some of the residents to move some place else. What do you think?" Roderick Jr. vaguely proposed while Harry knew where this was going to go. 

"Oh don't look at me like that. I'm not the bad guy here. We could be preventing potential super villains here, Osborn," Roderick Jr. defended himself.

"You're talking about uprooting people from their homes and their places of business. You're going to disrupt their livelihoods," Harry argued.

"It's like my father always said if you want to build an ivory tower then you're gonna have to kill a few elephants," Rodrick Jr. smugly retorted.

"I think I need a drink. If you'll excuse me," Harry quickly exited the conversation and head on over to the bar as he was feeling agitated.

Peter and Felicia continued slow dancing and were looking into each other's eyes. 

"It's not everyday that I meet an egghead. You're a lot different than the guys that I usually encounter," Felicia said.

"How so?" Peter asked.

"Well for one you're not trying to kiss up to me and two, you're not flaunting your achievements around to prop yourself up," Felicia answered. 

"Well I hate to brag but-" Peter stopped once he looked up to see what appears to be Dr. Otto Octavius who's apparently alive and well in this world talking with a blonde woman that he couldn't make out as her face was slightly hidden. Peter's right eye twitched and his jaw clenched when he saw him. All he thought about the pain and anguish that the mad scientist brought him. 

"Are you sure that you're okay, Peter?" Felicia asked out of concern for his well being.

"I felt a migraine coming on. That's all," Peter hated lying to her but Felicia knew that something was not right due to her dance partner's strange behavior. 

"Maybe we should sit down at the table. You can say hello to my father if you want?" Felicia offered. 

"Already meeting the parents. Aren't we going a little too fast?" Peter teased which made Felicia chuckle at his joke. 

Harry sat down near the bar and ordered a something to drink to calm his nerves after that encounter with Roderick Jr.

He noticed a mirror right in front of him and saw the apparition of his father in the Goblin costume sitting right next to him with the same grinning face. Harry did not know how he could still be seeing him as he was already given the antidote.

"It must really hurt you having to play pretend with all these smug elitists around. Believe me. I know what that feels like," Goblin stated without sparing a glance.

"What do you know? How come you're still here? And why in the hell are you wearing that goofy mask again?" Harry inquired.

"We all wear masks, Harry. But which one is real? The one that hides your face or the one that is your face," Goblin cryptically said.

"Am I suppose to be impressed from whatever fortune cookie you got that from?" Harry muttered while drinking from his glass.

"You're not only a pansy but a dullard as well. Oh how I weep for the Osborn bloodline," Green Goblin taunted while mockingly raised his hand to his forehead.

"Who are you talking to?"

Harry noticed that one of his oldest friends, Richard Fisk, was sitting on a stool chair right next to him. He turned to his left and saw that the Goblin was gone.

"...Nobody," Harry answered.

Richard drank from his glass filled with crushed ice and stared at the billionaire. "You look like you need a vacation. Oscorp must really got you overworked."

"You can say that again. I heard that you got into the gardening business. How's that working out for you?" Harry asked.

"Rewarding and Relaxing," Richard lightly chuckled. Business is booming and I chalk it up as one of the perks of being the mayor's son." 

Harry was about to say something else when he was caught off guard at Gwen Stacy with her hair down wearing a black dress while sporting her black headband that she had from back in the day at Empire State University. She was standing in front of him hoping to get a reaction with a smug look on her face. 

"There's my cue to leave," Richard said as he got up and he whispered into Harry's ear. "Good luck." 

Richard was about to leave the bar, but he accidentally bumped into a tall bald muscular man of  African-American decent wearing yellow pinstripe suit. The man was a known public figure in Harlem as Carl Lucas ran many charitable organizations all through out New York.

"Sorry. I-I didn't watch where I was going," Richard apologized. 

"Think nothin' of it. Here's something for your troubles," Carl gave the Mayor's son a hundred dollar bill and put it in his suit jacket pocket. 

"Wow. Thanks man," Richard thanked the philanthropist as both of them went their separate ways. 

As Richard left the bar, Harry and Gwen were standing there in awkward silence. Harry decided to be the one to say something. 

"You look...incredible. Gorgeous even," Harry awkwardly said.

"It's nice to know that I can still leave you tongue tied after all these years," Gwen giggled. "How you've been?"

"Hanging in there. I heard from the grapevine that you're Yuri's bridesmaid," Harry said.

"Word travels fast. Those two are still deciding on the date," Gwen informed.

"Still? Heh! Are you sure that they're engaged? Because it seems like those two already married to their work," Harry joked which made both of them share a laugh. Once they stopped, Harry and Gwen smiled with one another while looking into each other's eyes. 

"Ahem. May I have this dance, Captain?" Harry offered his hand to Gwen.

"I'm not at work, Harry, and and yes you may," Gwen happily accepted as she took his hand and went out onto the dance floor. 

Harry and Gwen were slowing dancing with each other in embrace with the other couples as the guests were transfixed with the sight of the President of Oscorp dancing with the captain who was also the Commissioner's daughter. All eyes were on them but the two old friends ignored it as they were dancing the night away. 

However, another pair of eyes were on them as up on the second floor was Neena who was disguised as a night janitor, glaring at Harry and more importantly at Gwen out of jealously. She shook her head and went off into another direction in order to avoid being spotted by her sister who was attending the gala. 

"Harry, you're always losing yourself into your company. You never make any time your friends. You never make time for me," Gwen pouted as she really missed being around her friend.

"I'm sorry, Gwen. It's just that Oscorp and the board of directors are expecting a lot of outta me as I'm sorta responsible for making key decisions lately," Harry apologized to his oldest friend while they kept on slow dancing in the middle of their talk.

"I get that. Being a captain is no walk in the park either. It's...nice that we can be this close again. I missed you and I'm glad that you showed up," Gwen smiled much to Harry's delight.

"Gwen, I-" Harry was soon cut off by the sound of a loud voice. 

"LANCE!!"

'Why did he have to show up?' Peter and Harry mentally groaned at hearing that voice.

"Lance!! Quit making googly eyes at your girlfriend and take a few shots of my son and his date!" Jameson barked at the photographer to the embarrassment of John and Annabelle.

'Lance? Now there's a name that I haven't heard in a long time,' Peter thought to himself. 

"Oh Jonah, would you relax?" Marla tried to get her husband to calm down. 

"I don't get it, Marla. What does Martha ever see in that burnout?" Jonah grumbled with his arms crossed as he was narrowing his eyes both Oliver and Mattie slow dancing with each other. 

"I don't know what you got against him. Aside from you and his mom getting into shouting matches every time his parents come over for dinner," Marla chuckled. 

"I just want Martha to be happy and frankly I believe she can do a lot better than some stuck up egghead," Jonah mumbled under his breath. 

"He's one of my brightest pupils. At least give him a chance. It's a party and your friend, Robbie, over there looks like he could use some cheering up," Marla pleaded as she pointed to Robertson who was sitting at their table in a depressed state. 

"Alright. How can I say no to a face like that," Jonah sighed.

"Years of practice," Marla playfully smirked. 

A few minutes later, everyone stopped dancing and returned to their tables. Harry was sitting with Gwen and her father along with Hobie, Yuriko, Peter, Felicia and her father, Father Walter Hardy, who serves as the priest at Our Lady of Saints Church. The curator of the museum, Mike Smith, stepped up to the podium and adjusted his microphone. 

"I would like to thank Father Hardy for blessing us with this delicious food leftover from his F.E.A.S.T. project," Mike praised as Walter raised his hand in applause. "And now I would like to-"

The lights were beginning to flicker on and off around the room. 

"Did ya forget to pay your light bill?" One of the attendees joked.

Suddenly, Electro came crashing down through the skylight like a bolt of lightning much to the shock of the partygoers and they stood up from their seats. 

Robbie's eyes widened when he saw his own son for the first time in months. "R-Randy?!!"

"...Again with this town," Roderick Jr. growled as he felt vindicated but not at the cost of encountering another super villain.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! I want you all to hear me and hear me good. Will the real Big Man stand up!" Electro announced. 

Peter and Harry managed to sneak out of the room without anyone noticing, and Electro was looking around for anybody fitting the description of the Big Man. Oliver had on his comm-link as did Mattie and he was able to get through to Harry. 

"Do you need our help?" Oliver whispered into the device.

"Negative. Your main priority right now is the safety of the civilians," Harry promptly answered while he and Peter were in a broom closet changing into their outfits. 

"Go to the party they said. You'll have a great time they said. What a load of-" Peter vented while putting on his costume.

"What's with him?" Oliver asked only for Harry to end the transmission.

"Now see here young man! Your father has been worrying himself sick all because of your selfish behavior!!" Jonah shouted.

Mattie face palmed at what her Uncle just did. "Why did he have to go and provoke the bad guy?"

"Y'know I never had the chance to properly thank you," Electro glared at the Editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle. 

"A-And what would that be?" Jonah nervously asked.

"For giving me the name, Electro!!" Electro fired a bolt of lightning at Jonah only for a familiar wall-crawling hero to swoop on in to grab Jameson and swing both of them across the room. 

"Hope I'm not tardy for the party," Scarlet Spider quipped as he gently dropped the cranky old journalist on the floor alongside him. 

"I knew you'd be here you-Tsk! Never mind. It's just the web-head's newest lackey," Jonah sneered. 

Scarlet Spider playfully tilts his head at the editor. "Lackey? I seriously take offense to that and it's Scarlet Spider to you, sourpuss. I also can't help but notice the certain lack in alliteration with your famous rantings. Guess father time has finally caught up to you, old timer."

"OLD TIMER?! Why you mischievous malevolent masked menace!!" Jonah furiously yelled with both his fists clenched.

"Never gets old," Scarlet Spider chuckled to himself much to the media mogul's irritation.

"I have no quarrel with either of you tonight," Electro stoically said. 

"Then you shouldn't have crashed the party, Electro," Spider-Man retorted while making his presence known as he jumped down from behind the super villain. 

"It has nothing to do with the both of you. Can't you see that I'm on your side for once. The Big Man is here in this very museum. Doctor Octopus told me that he would show his face here!" Electro argued. 

"There in lies the problem," Spider-Man stated.

"What's that?" Electro tilted his head.

"You're first mistake was trusting the Octopus," Spider-Man replied with throwing the first punch. He shot a web-line and tossed Electro over to the science exhibit section of the museum far away from the innocent bystanders which is where the two Spider-Men took the fight to. 

Ollie took charge and guided some of the frightened guests to the exit in a safe and orderly manner to the overall surprise of Jonah. 

"Huh? Well I'll be..." Jonah mumbled as this was the first time that he has never seen Oliver in this sort of light before and he was already feeling overwhelmed at the moment. 

"Has anyone seen my husband?!!" Erica stressed.

"Where's John?" Annabelle asked.  

Augustine Cross went to the men's bathroom where nobody was there and locked the door to reach into his own pockets. "Come on. Come on. Where is it?"

He pulled out a miniature suitcase and pressed a button where it grew to normal size. Augustine opened it up to discover that his costume was still inside. "Never leave home without it."

Meanwhile, Electro shot several bolts of electricity at Spider-Man who was on top of the head of a colossal Tyrannosaurs Rex fossil, and the wall-crawler moved out of the way with his quick reflexes. The electrical volts struck the fossil causing it to topple over the three supers. Scarlet Spider kicked the electrical-powered villain right in the chest which pushed him on over to a wall that had an aquarium on the other side. It created a small hairline crack. 

"Freeze Freaks!" 

The two Spider-Men noticed Gwen with her handgun and she fired multiple rounds from her pistol at Electro. The villain looked to see if he sustain any damage and found out that he wasn't shot somewhere on his body. 

"Hmph! Trash aim," Electro mocked.

"Wasn't even trying to hit you, Spark plug," Captain Stacy smirked as she twirled her pistol around.

Electro soon heard a cracking noise and turned around to see the glass of the aquarium with bullet holes breaking and the water and numerous aquatic life cascade all over him causing him to short-circuit. 

"Are you nuts?!" Spider-Man shouted.

"Can't let you Supers have all the fun," Captain Stacy smugly replied.

"You shouldn't be here, Captain. This is not a safe area," Spider-Man pressed.

"I've been at this for years. What gives you right to tell me of what I can or can't do?" Gwen argued. 

While the two were arguing, Electro was on the ground squirming much like two electric eels that were close by and it gave Randy an idea. 

"Uh guys. I hate to interrupt...whatever this is, but General Electric is up and energized," Scarlet Spider commented and was pointing at Electro who had two huge electric eels in both hands. He started to drain them of their energy and began to feel reinvigorated.

"I needed that little pick-me-up," Electro tossed away the two dead eels on the floor as he felt like he was ready to take on the world once more.

"And I told that my name is Electro, bug."

Gwen fired off several rounds as did Spider-Man with his impact webbing but none them seem to land a hit when Electro created a round electric force field. 

"Okay. That's new," Spider-Man said who was surprised at Electro's new skill.

"I'm just warming up," Electro added as he was raising his hand and fired an electrical bolt at the trio.

CURATOR'S OFFICE

While everyone was distracted with the rampaging super villain, Neena broke into the curator's office using a lock pick. The security cameras and system were down due to Electro siphoning off the energy which gave her the perfect opportunity.

The experienced cat burglar pulled out a flashlight from her apron and scanned the room for something valuable to steal for her mysterious employers.

"I wonder where it could be," Neena whispered to herself as she was looking around the office.

She shined a light over by the desk and spotted an antique blue wooden ship in a bottle right beside a telephone.

"There she blows," Neena smirked.

OUTSIDE THE MACRO SCIENCE MUSEUM

An explosion occurred and both of the two Spider-Men were thrown outside of a hole in a brick wall.

"Oh man! I got to see if I can afford a chiropractor when I return home," Scarlet Spider huffed as he popped his shoulder back into place.

"Stay sharp," Spider-Man advised his partner.

Electro stepped out of the same hole that he made while draining some electricity from power lines and street lamps.

"You should've ran when you had the chance. I could get the Big Man some other day, but zapping you two would make me feel so much better."

Nova flew right in the middle like a speeding rocket. "This has gone on long enough. Stop this right now, Randy!"

"I couldn't agree more and the name is Electro!" Electro fired a bolt of lightning at the hero only to be surprised at what came next.

Nova braced himself and took on the attack with his superhuman durability. "You're not the only one that can absorb energy."

Another person appeared out of nowhere as it was revealed to be Augustine Cross wearing a red and black jumpsuit sporting a metallic helmet that resembled an ant's head. He is publicly known as Ant-Man II.

"It looks like you guys could use a 'little' help," Ant-Man quipped with his hands on his hips.

"You guys call yourselves "heroes" and here you are trying to protect the same cowardly scum who is hiding in plain sight among those fat cats," Electro sneered as he turns his head towards the scared crowd of affluent people from the gala.

"Attacking random civilians isn't going to get us over to your side, Sparky," Ant-Man countered.

"If the Big Man's actually here, then do you know his real name?" Spider-Man questioned.

"You're too late. He's long gone by now," Electro taunted the group of heroes.

"Randy!!"

Everyone heard where that voice came from as Robbie Robertson was walking up to electrical-powered villain who was glaring daggers at his father.

"Robbie, what are you doing?!" Jonah shouted as he was concerned for his best friend.

"You don't have to do this. What happened to the son that I used to know? The one that I always took him to go get donuts after every football practice. Where is he?" Robbie tearfully asked hoping to get through to him.

"He died that day. You only cared about chasing your story. Ever since I got these powers, I saw it as a curse but now I came to a realization. That this was a gift," Electro grinned.

"Don't do this, Randy!" Nova pleaded.

"There was a time that I used to look up to you like a big brother, John," Electro said as he prepared his electrical attack with his left fist.

"That time has past!"

Electro fired off a huge electrical bolt at Nova only for him to shoot an energy beam causing their attacks to collide with each other.

While Electro was busy with Nova, Ant-Man shrunk himself down and was perched on Spider-Man's shoulder.

"I have a plan but we're going to have to work together," Ant-Man told his associate and Spider-Man nodded knowing what his plan was.

The web-slinger created a slingshot with his webbing and catapulted the miniature hero at Electro. Despite being at a tiny size, Ant-Man has the strength to back it up as the scientific hero punched the high-voltage villain in the face which also broke his sunglasses.

"Dammit. I liked those glasses," Electro cursed under his breath as he picked them up. He avoided a few blasts from Nova by dodging and used his electromagnetic powers to raise up manhole cover to use as a shield.

Electro jumped on the power lines and dodged numerous blast and bullets. He rode on the power lines which was the equivalent of skiing down a mountain. He fired a couple bolts of his own and destroyed a couple of cars as collateral damage.

Scarlet Spider quickly leaped into action before someone gets seriously hurt. He shot a web-line at the back of Electro and yanked him off the power lines. When Scarlet Spider threw a punch, Electro seized the opportunity to grab the wall-crawler by the collar and hoisted him up in the air. 

"You have no idea how long I've been itching to fry one of you," Electro growled as his fist began to emit electricity. 

"Oh lighten up will ya. Heh! See what I did there?" Scarlet Spider chuckled at his own quip.

"It's amazing that I found someone who's more annoying than Sandman. Didn't think it was possible," Electro seethed as his eyes turned white.

"What can I say, Electron? I'm an Amazing guy," Scarlet Spider shot a web-line over to a fire hydrant without the villain knowing.

"I TOLD YOU MY NAME IS-" Electro stopped himself a rush of water that was coming out of that fire hydrant was heading over to the both of them.

"...Crap," Electro muttered as they were washed by the blast of water. 

Spider-Man walked up to his friend who was down for the count to make sure that he's alright. 

"...Please tell me it's over," Scarlet Spider muttered while laying on the ground as his costume was soaking wet from the water.

"You pulled it off, buddy," Spider-Man said while helping his friend up off the ground.

"Gotta say. It's the one time where your paranoia actually paid off," Scarlet Spider referred to the insulation of their suits.

Electro tried to stand up from the ground to conjure up an electrical attack.

"I still got a bit of juice left in the tank," Electro stammered only to get hit by a beam of energy. As he was trying to stay afloat in mid air, Ant-Man grew to enormous size and punch him back down to the ground.

Electro was currently in the middle of a humongous fist-shaped crater in excruciating pain. Nova and armed authorities have him surrounded looking down at him.

"It would be in your best interest to surrender while you can," Nova suggested while crossing his arms. 

"You win," Electro groaned while putting his hands up.

Jonah walked right next to Oliver who was standing next to Mattie. "I have to admit. I'm impressed with you taking charge like that and helping evacuate the crowd. You have my respect," Jonah smiled to the young man. 

"Coming from you, that really means a lot Mr. Jameson," Ollie said only for JJJ to shake his head.

"Please son call me Jonah from here on out," Jonah gave Oliver a firm handshake which he gladly reciprocates.

Jonah sees that his best friend, Robbie, was blankly staring at his son who was being escorted in the back of a secure truck where he can be sent up to the Ravencroft Institute.

"You have my word that Marla and I will do everything in our power to cure Randy and get him the help he needs," Jonah assured his longtime friend who smiled back in appreciation.

The four heroes gather around to congratulate one another for diffusing the situation as Nova turned his attention over to Spider-Man. 

"You gotta admit. We did make a great team back there. My offer still stands y'know," Nova said. 

"Thanks John, but I prefer the partnership that I have now. Maybe next time," Spider-Man firmly stated.

"What about you, Mr. Cross?" Nova questioned. 

"Thank you Colonel but I'm more of a super scientist then a superhero," Ant-Man answered. 

"Augustine Cross!"

Everyone turned around to see Augustine's wife, Erica, who was not in the good mood right now as she marched on over to their way.

"Uh...Hey Honey," Ant-Man nervously gulped. 

"Don't you Honey me! You promised that you weren't going to bring the suit with you," Erica said.

"I know but I told you what if there was an emergency?" Nova said but his wife waved him off. 

"Save it. We're going to have a long talk when we get home," Erica stated as she dragged him by the arm over to their car. 

"Seems like someone landed themselves in the doghouse," Scarlet Spider quipped while elbowing Harry's shoulder. 

"Don't tell me that you're too cool for quips now," Scarlet Spider said while he rolled his eyes behind his mask.

"Something about this feels off. Was Randy being truthful about the Big Man attending here at the gala?" Spider-Man questioned while cupping his chin. 

"I've been robbed!" 

The two Spider-Men turned around to see the curator, Mike Smith, who was ranting about being robbed at a time like this. 

"You two have to help me. Someone has stolen my precious ship in a bottle!" Mike yelled. 

"Buddy, we're not lost and found," Scarlet Spider said. 

"What's so special about this ship in a bottle?" Spider-Man asked as he decided to humor the man. 

"It was given to me as a present from the late Dr. Franklin Storm," Mike said.

PARKER RESIDENCE

While the pandemonium at the party was going on, Ben Parker was back inside of his old home in Forest Hills. The house has brought back so many memories for him, but all Ben could ever think about are the bad times. He saw numerous empty beer bottles littered on the floor, broken dishes in the kitchen sink and the flowery wallpaper was kept in worse shape.

He grabbed a garbage bag and collected all the beer cans and trash off the floor. Ben also mopped up the kitchen floor and vacuumed the dirty carpet. The elderly man walked out the back door in the brisk night air and placed the bags in the garbage can.

"How are you, Ben?"

Ben heard an older feminine voice and he turned around to see his old neighbor, Anna Watson, who was standing on the other side of fence. She was May's best friend and the news of her death had hit her the hardest.

"I'm hanging in there, Anna," Ben promptly answered as he wasn't in the mood to be social right about now.

"Ben, wait..." Ana called out and Ben stopped without looking back.

"Did we fail them? Peter and Mary Jane?" Anna asked in sorrow.

"We did the best we could is all I'm gonna say," Ben sighed while rubbing his forehead.

"Would you like to come by our house sometime for some coffee?" Anna asked.

"I...would love to take you up on that. Thank you," Ben said as he went back into the house. He sighed to himself knowing that poor Anna is probably not going to remember their conversation. Last time that he talked to her husband, he said that her memory was starting to go bad.

He walked into the living room and hold up a picture frame that was on the coffee table. It was an old photo of Peter, May and Ben from before the incident. Even he can't believe how much time has passed. Why must he persist with his crusade? He thought back to Peter's same exact words to him during their last confrontation.

'IF AUNT MAY SAW WHAT KIND OF MAN YOU'RE BECOMING SHE WOULD BE AFRAID OF YOU!!'

A couple of tear drops landed on the picture frame. "You know what, kiddo? You were right..."

Ben Parker cried himself to sleep that night.

A WAREHOUSE NEAR THE HARBOR

Black Cat was leaping from rooftop to rooftop and landed on the ground in front of an abandoned warehouse as she reached her final destination. When she opened the rust-covered door, the inside smelled like a fish cannery and the stench was beginning to be unbearable.

Black Cat saw two people lurking in the shadows as Doctor Octopus and Silver Vulture came out into the overhead light.

"Hiding ominously in the dark. Totally not spooky at all," Black Cat sarcastically quipped.

"Did you get it, Hardy?" Doctor Octopus asked as his patience was wearing thin.

Black Cat rolled her eyes and gave the big suitcase over to the eight arm scientist.

Alistair carefully opened the case and used one of his tentacle arms to pull out the ship in the bottle. He analyzed the trinket and then slammed the priceless art piece on the ground. Smythe spotted a blue microchip with a black "X" on it near the center of the broken piece and carefully picked it up.

"Two down. One to go," Smythe muttered.

"Are we done here? Am I getting paid or what? Because I have bills to pay and rent's not cheap," Black Cat wondered.

Doctor Octopus nodded his head as he motion one of his arms over to Silver Vulture. "Silvio, Would you be so kind to compensate the woman?"

"Sure thing, Doc," Silver Vulture said with a grin on his face and open the suitcase revealing an Octobot as it latches onto Neena's neck.

Black Cat tried to pry the miniature robot off her and she noticed something attached around her neck.

"Ah! It was good idea for me to calibrate both of Electro's and Sandman's inhibitor collars to my specifications," Smythe said in a tone signifying that he was very proud of himself.

"We lost one of our powerhouses only to trade up for this alley cat?" Silver Vulture sneered in contempt at the thief. 

"Electro may have been short sighted, but at least that he's still has a purpose," Doctor Octopus stated.

"Why her of all people?" Silver Vulture inquired.

"I'm not one for superstitions, but with her mutant abilities our group could use all the luck we can get," Smythe said in a matter of fact tone.

"GET BENT!" Black Cat yelled.

Smythe moved a little bit closer to the thief as he looked her in the eye. "I don't think I like your tone. You wouldn't want me to push this button do we?"

Black Cat stared and look down on the ground in defeat much to Smythe's satisfaction.

"Welcome to the Six, Ms. Hardy. There's more work to be done," Smythe smugly said from behind his rebreather.

OSBORN PENTHOUSE

Harry saw Peter sitting in a chair working on his web-shooters out on the balcony, and he walked over to the variant of his deceased friend.

"Room for one more?" Harry asked while holding up a small tool kit.

Peter simply shrugged his shoulders. "It's your home anyway."

"You have every right to be mad at me, Pete," Harry said as he sat down to work on his own web-shooters.

"Actually, I can sorta see why you chose to keep me in the dark about this Earth's Mary Jane," Peter sighed as he pulled out the journal belonging to Mysteria. "This one grew up in a terrible home environment as her father was constantly a verbally abusive monster who always put his family down. That had to have an effect on her self-esteem overall."

"I've been searching all over the house for that book. You can hold on to that if you like," Harry suggested.

"Thanks," Peter stated as he went back to working on his web-shooters.

"It's all so new to me. The multiverse. Parallel Earths. One minute you find out that your best bud is a great hero in another world and the next thing you know that I was such a huge burden for you," Harry lamented.

"That's not true," Peter said.

"You don't have to lie," Harry insisted.

"No. My Harry has made his fair share of mistakes, but all I know is that he tries his damnedest to be a better father than Norman ever could. We may fight here and there but...he'll always be my friend," Peter assured.

Harry looked at his friend in awe as he was beyond moved by Peter's words.

"I guess we both have trust issues to work on. All these years of other people mistrusting Spider-Man is beginning to rub off on us. I get that enough at home as it is," Peter sighed.

"I can relate," Harry sympathized.

"You too huh?" Peter inquired.

"Of course," Harry answered.

"Besides I've once been in your shoes before about comprehending the idea of a multiverse. Not too long ago I was transported to another world and met a younger Spider-Man who took on the identity after his Earth's version of Peter had died. He's a good egg I can tell ya that," Peter beamed with pride after he was reminiscing the time when he encountered and worked with Miles Morales.

"Are we cool?" Harry asked.

"We're cool but on one condition though. If you have anything to get off your chest then promise me that you come talk to me like a normal human being. No Jedi mind tricks. I'll even do the same. Deal?" Peter held his hand out for the young billionaire to shake.

"Deal," Harry reciprocated the handshake as it won't be easy. Harry is a man of many secrets and it's going to be hard to get it out especially concerning with Ben Parker.

"While we're out here, you mind telling me more about that Asgardian Invasion that you and Bucket Head were referencing from earlier?" Peter inquisitively asked while finishing fixing up his web-shooters.

"I can do that," Harry chuckled. "But I warn you though that this story will be long to get through."

"We got all the time in the world, pal," Peter smiled as the two friends converse throughout the night on the Penthouse balcony.

To Be Continued...