Amazing Spider-Man: True Purpose

(Jean Grey School)

James Logan Howlet, aka The Wolverine, is walking the pathway of the school he lives in. He just keeps his head low with his hat on and ignores all the students who are looking at their phones. He doesn't even bother to acknowledge them when they gasp in surprise or shock. Probably some big fight going on. Again. With the world they live in, it's one problem after another in a never-ending battle between good and evil.

After Luke made his announcement and Victoria Hand came and passed out, the old mutant decided to leave afterward because he felt the team was coming to an end. As close as he was with those guys, he knew they'd probably get all mushy in their goodbyes so he left before they did that. Didn't see the point since he'd still see all those guys around anyway. But he knows them all well enough to know they'd get all emotional and start saying they'd miss being part of a team or family.

'Pansies.'

Besides, he's got problems he needs to deal with. The return of the mutants means that he and his fellow X-Men are gonna go out more. Both on rescue and containment missions of new mutants. He knows that people will be scared and/or pissed about the return of the mutant race so they need to be ready for what will come. And he knows the Church of Humanity will get an influx of new members and they will be attacking mutants all over the world. They attacked Emma Frost when they thought she was vulnerable, so he needs to be ready for when it happens to people he likes.

He's also got to make sure the school can handle the sudden influx of new kids. This means he has to hire new teachers, make sure they are qualified, do deep background checks on them, and he's got to make sure the school doesn't burn to the ground. He knows Kitty is the headmistress of the school, but everyone looks to him to solve a lot of the problems since he has the most experience in general.

He misses the days when he was just seen as the attack dog of the group. The ones who know him still do though.

'Well not everyone sees me like that.' He thinks to himself with a roll of his eyes, 'There is one person who for some reason doesn't see me as a killer.'

It's true. He has lived a long and hard life. And in that long life, everyone saw him for what he really is. A killer. Even the women he's been with knew what he was but accepted him and loved him. Jean, Mariko, Mystique, etc. They all knew what he was when they got involved.

But there is one person who doesn't see him as a killer. He sees him as a hero and as good of a man as one can be. One of the most annoying and insufferable people he's ever met in his long life.

Spider-Man.

That spandex-wearing, chattering goofball honestly believes Logan is a good guy. He doesn't see a killer or animal, but a good man whom he's proud to call his friend. And while Logan would prefer if the guy just accepted him for what he knows he is, he does appreciate the sentiment. Hell, he went and hung out with the guy in the last minutes of his birthday because he liked how Spider-Man saw him. He didn't even kill a guy who shot him in the back of the head that night because of that idiot.

Now let's make one thing clear, he's not gay for the guy. He'd give Scott Summers a go before that doofus, and maybe Beast if he's going that route, but he does respect him. Maybe more than he does any other hero. For one reason.

He doesn't give up.

No matter what he goes through, that guy never stops. He gets beaten to a pulp, his enemies figure out who he is, or someone close to him gets hurt just because they're associated with him, he doesn't quit. He gets back up with a lousy joke out of his mouth and a carefree attitude that infuriates everybody around and keeps swinging for the fence.

And the ones that are close to him know that attitude is only on the surface. Underneath it all, he's that same insecure, neurotic, angsty kid he was when he started out. It's why he needs people in his life outside the mask. And it's why he needs the mask.

Ben Grimm had it right when he told Rogue he wore the mask for the people only associated with Peter Parker and not Spider-Man. Those close to him seem to often get caught in the crossfire and he always blamed himself for not doing more. Or for not being more careful with whom he trusts.

Trust isn't easy, nor should it be, and Logan is happy to be one of the few who has the complete trust of Peter and to trust him in return.

He enters the school and immediately heads upstairs.

"Are you serious dude?!"

But stops halfway when Bobby, who shouts into his phone, Rogue, and Kitty walk past him down the steps. All three are looking at Bobby's phone as he talks to Johnny Storm on face time.

"Yeah, man!" Johnny says in disbelief, "That prick knows her! And he's seen her naked!"

Rogue speaks up, "I mean with her outfit I'm pretty sure lots of people have."

"Yeah, Ben said Widow made that comment."

"Reow."

"He said Tony said that."

Okay, now he needs to know what's going on.

He decides to voice it and asks Kitty, "What's going on?"

She turns to him and raises an eyebrow at him, "You haven't seen the news?"

He shrugs at her, "Wanted a quiet ride home. Why?"

She nods in understanding before she grabs the phone, ignores Bobby's shout of 'Hey!', looks at it, "Show him." And then puts it in front of his face.

Logan looks at the screen and immediately gets hot under the collar, "Damn."

What he is looking at right now is the hottest redhead he's ever seen, 'Sorry Jean,' in the greatest possible outfit for any woman to be wearing as she leans on a tree with her arms crossed over her ample chest. He immediately assumes it's some adult film since it was on Bobby's phone, but then wonders why the girls were looking at it. He knows they're not the type to watch such things. At least he's pretty sure. The camera then pans across to show some ruins with large robots tearing the place up and smaller robots flying overhead.

"Post-apocalyptic porn?" Logan inquires.

They don't answer and Bobby smiles in amusement while the girls don't. His answer comes when he sees a familiar friend walk up to the woman and chat with her.

A friend he was just thinking about.

"The hell?" Logan looks at the screen in shock

Spider-Man. The neurotic insufferable friend walks up to that woman and talks to her like they're old friends. Actually, that look in her eye suggests they're more than old friends.

he looks at his fellow teachers curiously, "What is this?"

They shrug as Bobby speaks, "Johnny was just telling us."

"Well," Johnny's voice is heard from the phone as it is still focused on the woman, "Apparently, some evil voodoo witch doctor that had a hate boner for Strange possessed ole webhead and then kind of went on a rampage with him as his meat puppet. He got beat up a lot and beat up some of these guys back. And somewhere in the middle of all this, the Warrior Goddess showed up and proclaimed her love for that lucky sonuva-"

"Hey, hothead! Quit perving on da lady will ya!"

"I'm not perving!"

"Ya got yer camera pointed right at her!"

"I'm not recording her! I'm just showing-thwip woosh-Hey that's my-!" CRACK!

The screen cracked before the call got disconnected. They all look at it in slight surprise.

Rogue clicks her tongue, "Guess he's mad."

Bobby shrugs dismissively, "Hey if a friend of mine was recording my girl, I'd be pissed too."

Rogue concedes to that as Kitty looks at Logan curiously, "Do you know her?"

"I wish," Logan shakes his head as he hands back Bobby his phone, "Didn't even know something was going on. Got out of there before anything else happened." He gets a little irritated and crosses his arms, "If I'd known that a woman like that was gonna show up, I definitely would have stuck around."

Rogue and Kitty narrow their eyes at him as Kitty says, "And to help your friends right?"

Logan pauses for a moment before he shrugs, "Meh, sure."

The two women give him a dirty look as Bobby scrolls on his phone, "I swear, of all the things that guy talks about, he never mentions the stuff I would love to hear about. Like that Black Cat chick. That's a story I'd love to hear about."

Now they're both getting dirty looks.

(The ruins of Avengers Mansion)

It is a bit of a frenzy at the old Avengers home. Journalists all shouting questions at the heroes and cameramen scrambling to get shots of whatever they can. All the while local law enforcement and SHIELD agents keep them at bay.

Most of the heroes have already left since their work was done. The ones that were a part of the team that used the place as a base left since the team no longer existed. The only ones that remained were the ones that felt like they could still help. Captain America is talking to Maria Hill about what to tell the public. Mockingbird is coordinating the SHIELD agents to seal off the property. Black Widow and Hawkeye are on overwatch, making sure nobody does something they're not supposed to.

And at the center of it all, Spider-Man and Iron Man watch as the billionaire's robots repair the damage done to the webhead's newly purchased property.

And it's something he very much appreciates.

Spider-Man, still in his torn and bloodied uniform, watches both the large and small robots Stark called in to repair and clean up the ruins of the mansion. The large ones have features like bulldozers, excavators, and dump trucks that are incinerators. And for the small ones, there is a variety of them and each one uses a different tool. From drills, hammers, paintbrushes, and pretty much anything that could be used by hand.

"So you have little robots to rebuild your properties when they're totaled?" Spidey asks in amazement.

Tony nods with a smug smile, "Got the idea from Megamind."

"And the big ones?"

"I, Robot."

"Cool."

Tony is happy to be able to talk to Peter like this again. To not just be that guy he works with, but to be a trusted friend. And maybe as a mentor figure, if that's what Peter sees him as. Although it would be kind of weird since they're both grown men.

Stark is a little older, but only a little.

"So why'd you want to buy the place?" Tony asks him.

Spider-Man looks at him, "Honestly? I have no idea," Tony raises an eyebrow in question, "I mean at first, I was just joking when Luke and Danny brought it up during the meeting. You know trying to lighten the mood."

Tony can understand that. He himself does that often enough.

"But then it just felt like I should." The younger hero turns his attention back to the ruins in repair, "Maybe it was an impulse buy, you know like this might be my only chance to own a mansion, or maybe some part of my brain thinks this will be good for me. The truth is I don't know." He gets a determined look, "What I do know is that I don't regret it. Worried sure but no regrets."

Tony looks at him inquisitively, "Why are you worried?"

Peter gets a disbelieving look as he looks back at Tony, "You're kidding, right? The second I bought the place it fell apart."

"Oh, don't be dramatic." Stark waves him off dismissively, "By morning it'll be as good as new."

CRASH!

They whip their heads to see one of the bots had dropped a window. All the other robots, large and small, stop to look at it. It looks at the shattered window before it looks up at them. It beeps before it flies away to god knows where.

Spider-Man stares at it with a deadpan stare before he directs his stare at Stark.

"Okay, mid-morning at the latest."

Spider-Man rolls his eyes and Tony looks to the side. The robots were kind of a last-minute project he did for Damage Control. So he didn't put much effort into programming them. He'll have to fix that.

He sees his good buddy Spangles walking up to them and Hill walking away from the man. By the look on his face, he does not seem very happy.

"So what BS did you tell Hill to tell the public?" Tony teasingly calls out to his 'honest' friend.

Cap, knowing Tony is just trying to get under his skin for lying, just responds, "For the public? Mind control." the man turns his head around to look at the woman, "For her superiors? The truth."

Tony, wondering why the big suits would need to know, simply asks, "Why?"

Steve crosses his arms as his unhappy face comes back, "They're demanding the immediate arrest of Spider-Man."

Tony becomes shocked by this bit of news, while Spider-Man just sighs in exhaustion, "Of course they are."

Steve gets a conflicted look as he decides to elaborate on why that is, "As it turns out, a lot of them buy into Jameson's propaganda about you. And also plenty of them were and still are close associates of Norman Osborn. They had invested interest in him and his success."

Another sigh of exhaustion, "Of course they did."

Tony looks at the star-spangled man in suspicion, "Do you mean during the registration or just recently?"

"Currently."

Tony takes a breath and tilts his head back. He hates this part of the job. Dealing with officials is not something he likes to do. To him, they are just of bunch of fat men in suits who like to feel in charge. Fatten up their pockets or covet more power in a vain attempt to make themselves feel better. It's why so many of them hate mutants or any enhanced. They have power that puts those fat men's power to shame.

Which is why they probably want to arrest the downtrodden hero.

Tony flicks his eyes to the subject they want and pats his shoulder, "Don't worry about it, Thwippy. We'll keep the men in black off your back."

"Doesn't Hill fall in that category?"

Tony nods as he gets a conflicted expression, "Yeah but she~" He struggles to find the right word to describe their relationship with Hill, "Tolerates us." That doesn't sound right, "More than her superiors."

That's better.

Spider-Man takes his word for it. Not being as familiar with Hill as Tony is. Then again not a lot of people are if the rumors are true. But he doesn't dwell on that. Instead, his mind is on someone else. Someone who he can not put off talking to anymore.

That same someone is currently leaning against a tree off to the side watching the construction take place. All the while ignoring the eyes of the people lusting at her. But that twitch in her eye says she is not going to be doing that for very long.

"So who is she?" Steve asks him as he looks at her, but not with the same eyes as the general public.

Or how Tony is right now.

Spider-Man contemplates whether he should tell them or not and then thinks, 'Screw it.' Before he says, "It's MJ."

They both look at him in surprise as Tony says, "Say what? How?"

"Long story." He sees that's not enough for them, "I'll tell you about it some other time."

They want to know more now but he doesn't want to elaborate right now. He looks at her and wonders what to do now. He's been dreading doing this since they talked back at the park. He has been trying to do this since then, but now that it's here he's terrified.

And it must be obvious because Tony points it out, "Still a little on edge huh?"

Spidey looks down in shame, "What am I supposed to do?"

"Talk to her." Steve says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world to do.

Peter shakes his head sadly. "It's not that simple." Seeing the curious gaze of the soldier and guessing Tony hadn't told him, he says, "She remembers. She remembers everything."

At first, the WWII vet is confused before he realizes what Spider-Man is referring to and says, "Oh."

Tony nods as he understands Cap's surprise, "Yeah. Kinda puts things in perspective."

Peter feels that could not be truer.

Cap looks at the warrior woman curiously, "How long has she remembered?

"I think since it happened." He says uncertainly, recalling her mentioning Harry's farewell party, before he shrugs in uncertainty, "I'm not sure. We haven't had the chance to talk since she told me."

At first, Cap feels a pang of pity when he looks at the woman, but when he really thinks about it, that pity is then outshined by something else, "Amazing."

Spider-Man gets bewildered at that, "What?"

"You don't see it?" Cap's astonishment does nothing to explain, "Son, she remembers. The entire life the two of you had before. The one that nobody, not even you, remembers. She remembers and didn't tell you."

All that is doing to him is making him feel worse, "Is this supposed to be a pep talk?"

"Just listen." Steve says patiently, "This whole time, she knew. She has been carrying the heartache and pain of knowing the life with the man she loved, the life that was sold to save someone you cared about, and she could not tell you about it."

Peter hadn't really thought about it like that. He was picturing worse scenarios. The kind where she was glad to not be stuck with him. 

"Why not?" Peter asks him as if he has the answer.

"Well," Tony looks up in thought, "She would probably come off as crazy if she did." Spider-Man gives him a small glare, "C'mon. How would it sound like if she said 'Hey dear, we were married but sold that marriage to a demon to save your aunt.'"

Well, maybe she wouldn't say that. But he can't argue that anyway she would've tried to tell him he would think she's crazy. Especially since hasn't been all that good to her recently. Every time she tried to talk to him alone, he was both unintentionally and intentionally dismissive and kind of rude.

"But still, don't you see?" Steve says bringing him out of his thoughts, "The strength that she has to have to have been able to carry that with her all this time. I can't even imagine."

Spider-Man looks at her with sadness in his eyes, "I can. She had to gain it to be with me."

Cap raises a brow at him, "You think that's a bad thing?"

"Considering what happened?" Peter asks rhetorically, before he becomes despondent and sighs, "How do we even move past this?"

And that is the real question. How do they move past this? Can they even? Everything bad that's happened to her is because of him. Because of the life he lives. All the pain and suffering that comes with being with him. He doesn't want to put her through that again. But dammit he can't picture his life without her anymore. He wants what they used to have. He may not remember it, but it must have had its good moments if she stuck around.

He feels a hand on his shoulder and turns his gaze to Steve who has a sympathetic look, "You know the best way to move forward is to take that first step."

"No duh."

Steve gives Tony a look as Peter asks, "But what is the first step?"

Looking back at him, Steve reiterates, "Talk."

He turns his head to her before he looks back at the Captain and nods somewhat reluctantly and thankfully at him. He then walks over to her as she keeps her sights on the construction and tries to think about what he should say. Should he just apologize? He knows that won't be enough but it's a start. What next though? Should he leave her alone and never try to talk to her again?

If that's what she wants then he won't fight her on it. He owes her that much.

Once he's close enough, Sonja speaks up, "This modern world is very impressive. To have such mechanisms to construct a palace so quickly and efficiently is very impressive."

Small talk. Small talk is good. Small talk is easy. He's good at small talk.

"Yeah, that's Tony for you." He looks at the robots doing repairs, "Always looking for ways to make life easier with gizmos and gadgets."

Boy if he can do that for himself-

"Hey, hothead!" Thing shouts from behind them, "Quit perving on da lady will ya!"

They both turn their head to see the large man walking towards Johnny who indeed has his phone out and has the camera pointed at Sonja. Spider-Man clenches his fist at this and fires a web line at the phone and pulls.

"Hey, that's my-!"Crack

He crushes the phone easily as he glares at his friend, "Consider that a warning, Storm."

He ignores anything else that Johnny yells as he turns his attention back to Sonja who is looking at Storm with a piercing glare.

"Quite fortunate you did that." She watches as the large man escorts the Human Torch out, "I would have thrown my spear."

"…At the phone or him?"

She merely raises an eyebrow at him in response.

Spider-Man nods in understanding. Oh yeah. He did Johnny a favor.

Sonja steps off the tree and looks at him expectedly, "Shall we?"

He regards her for a moment before he takes a breath and nods. This is a talk that is long overdue.

As they begin to walk they hear someone say, "Spider-Man."

They both turn and see the man who saved him, "Doc?" Spider-Man looks up and down at the man, "Got your cape back?"

Strange smiles as he strokes the hem of his Cloak of Levitation, "Indeed I did. I've been reinstated as Sorcerer Supreme." His face turns serious, "Can we talk?"

Spider-Man groans, getting a sense of dejavú, "Do we have to right now? I've got something else that's very important to do." He looks at the woman beside him, "And I can't keep putting it off."

She smiles in gratitude as Strange puckers his lips before he says, "I understand. But it is imperative that we speak."

Spider-Man drops his head before he looks at Sonja for an answer. She looks at him and silently says she will follow whatever he does.

He takes a breath before he releases it and reluctantly says, "Fine."

He's probably an idiot for doing this since with his luck he will most likely wind up in another situation that will delay his talk with MJ.

The doctor nods in thanks before he waves his hands and a portal opens into the Sanctum Santorum. They step through and it closes behind them.

Back with the other two, Steve and Tony watched the group of three leave with interest.

"What do you think that's all about?" Tony inquires.

Steve shrugs, "Couldn't tell you."

They both go back to looking at the process of repairs being done to their former home. The first home of the first Avengers team. Though nobody from their time ever considered this home, it was more of a home away from home. But it was a great place to be in if you were a hero. All the bonds and friendships formed over the years. The memories that were made in every room of the place.

From PG to XXX.

That last one was mostly Tony.

And then it was sold, well given really, to Luke Cage to lead his own team. Outside of Captain America and Iron Man. Another hero team to do its own thing away from them. And it worked for a while. The new team was making a name for themselves and doing a hell of a job being away from Stark's and Roger's influence.

And now it is being given to another hero.

At that, Tony has an idea as he looks to his longtime friend, "Still got that idea about a new team?"

Steve looks at Tony before he looks down in thought, "It's the best way to move forward. We've been divided with the X-Men and mutants in general for too long. Having a team that includes both Avengers and X-Men is for the best."

Sound logic. And it is hard to argue with it. Both morally and logically. Recent events have shown why it would be better if both factions were to stand now together instead of separately.

"Who do you think should lead them?" Tony inquires.

"Alex Summers." Steve answers and then sees the look Tony has as if he was given oatmeal raisin cookies instead of chocolate chip, "What?"

Tony Raines his hands, "This is just my opinion. Logically speaking, the other Summers brother is a smart choice. The guy has a good reputation with mutants and he's not despised by other heroes. He's very photogenic and maybe he can be a good leader."

Everything he's saying sounds as if he'd approve, but his tone says otherwise, "I thought you of all people would like the logical choice."

Tony nods in confirmation, "I do. But based on recent events I think there is a better choice."

"Who?" Steve asks him with some eagerness.

If there is a better choice for the new team he's building, then Cap would certainly want to know.

(Sanctum Sanctorum)

Stepping through the portal and standing in the home of the Sorcerer Supreme, Spider-Man and Sonja look around the home. The hero just looks on blandly while the displaced warrior looks at it all in wonder. Never before has she seen such a bizarre structure, even in her homeland.

From what she sees, she can tell they are on the first floor of the house, "The foyer," right at the entrance and bottom of the stairs. From their position, she can see two doorways to her left and right that lead into a library and a living room. Around her are displays of figureheads, pictures of battles, and an array of artifacts that seem to be of some significance if the 'do not touch' signs are any indication.

The sound of footsteps prompts her and Spider-Man to look up the steps, as an Asian man walks down them in a noble style, "Good evening Stephen, Spider-man, Miss Red Sonja."

She raises an eyebrow at him, "You know of me?"

"Stephen informed me of his intention to invite you both here." He looks her in the eyes and they do not wander.

"And I suddenly respect him as much as I do Captain Rogers." Mary Jane tells her and Sonja agrees with that.

Spider-Man raises his hand and greets back, "Hey Wong." He turns his attention to the reinstated Sorcerer Supreme, "So what do you want?"

Strange ignores the impatience in the hero's tone and gestures to the living room, "Let's get comfortable. It's a bit much." He then looks to Sonja with a bit of suspicion, "Your friend can wait in the library."

"It's Mary Jane," Peter bluntly states.

The magic user becomes shocked at that and looks at the warrior woman to confirm his suspicion. She seems hesitant to do so, "Do it," but if Mary Jane and Peter trust this man and his servant, she will not argue. So she grabs the handle of her sword in its sheath on her hip and closes her eyes. Her form becomes transparent as glass and fades away. In her place takes the slightly smaller and more delicate familiar form of Mary Jane Watson.

The woman wobbles slightly and Peter goes to help her stay on her feet. With her eyes closed, she grabs him for support and holds her head, "Oh, I hope that won't be a regular thing."

"You and me both." She opens her eyes and looks into his brown ones as he smiles at her, "Hey MJ."

Her smile is both relieved and sad, "Hey Tiger."

They both smile lovingly as they stare into each other's eyes. There is so much they want to say beyond greetings and simple explanations of circumstances. 

"Ahem." Whatever moment they were having is ruined, "As touching as this is, can you please explain."

Peter sighs as lets go of MJ and removes his blood covered tattered mask, since it's just irritating to keep it on and he's amongst friends, and says "Long story short, MJ picked up a sword awhile back and apparently Sonja, a warrior woman from an alternate past timeline, possessed her as a result."

Strange looks at her and she nods in confirmation, "Little more to it now, but that's how it happened."

Strange gets a conflicted expression before he rubs his eyes in exhaustion, "You didn't think to ever mention this?"

Peter tilts his head and speaks in a sarcastic tone, "I'm sorry, do you tell me about all the crazy things that go on in your life?"

Stephen would have pointed out that he could have helped but Wong clears his throat, "Stephen." The three of them look to the manservant as he points into the sanctum, "You have someone waiting for you in the den."

Strange looks at his friends curiously, "Who is it?"

"I'm not sure." Wong looks to the door that leads into the den, "But he did show me a pact seal on his hand."

Stephen takes in a sudden breath of air as he clenches his fist, where a seal is etched on by light. He rushes into the den with worry and fear. Everyone else present follows after him. They enter the room, and Peter and Mary Jane take in the designs and decor. It's rustic from their point of view. Kind of reminds them of a cigar lounge. There are leather seats all around the room and they surround some coffee tables. A fireplace with a few shelves with books on either side. There seems to be something like a bar at the far end of the room but not really since it doesn't have any drinks there.

And in the room other than the four who are allowed entrance, a man that is a stranger to three of them but not to one.

"Hello Stephen." The stranger cordially greets as he keeps his eyes on the flame in the fireplace before he takes a sip of wine, "I kept my end of the bargain as I'm sure you've noticed." He turns around and smiles an evil when he sees Peter and MJ in the room, "Ah, I'm glad to see you expected my arrival."

Peter's spider-sense is telling him to be very wary of the man and he stands protectively in front of MJ, "Who is this?"

The mystic man glares at the uninvited guest before he releases a reluctant sigh, "Mephisto."

The sudden intake of air from the three makes the demon lord smile in amusement, "Oh I do so enjoy seeing such reactions." He stands up and walks to them and stops when Peter pulls out his stingers, "Well those are new."

Peter glares hatefully at the demon lord, "Get. Out."

Mephisto rolls his eyes and sets his wine glass down, "Oh, relax will you. I'm not here to fight any of you." He turns his attention to the reinstated Sorcerer Supreme, "I'm here to collect your end."

Strange grits his teeth in frustration as everyone else looks at him inquiringly. He was hoping to avoid this for a bit longer. He needed to speak with Spider-Man about some vital information he left out back in the meeting after his resurrection. It's why he came to the Sanctum. He knew the wardings and protection spells would be enough to keep Mephistopheles at bay. Unfortunately, he forgot to inform Wong to turn anyone suspicious away.

"Doc," Spider-Man looks at the sorcerer accusingly, "What is he talking about?"

Strange closes his eyes and takes a breath before he releases it and raises his hand to show a magical glyph on the back of it. "I made a pact with him."

"No!" Wong looks at his friend in shock, "Stephen how could you?"

He lowers his hand and looks at him ashamed before he confesses, "It was back in Daimon Hellstorms apartment. I came to him in the hopes he can perform the dark spells needed to exorcise and destroy Daniel Drumm." He winces at the memory of his friend's corpse, "Unfortunately, Daniel knew that Daimon is one of the few dark practitioners and targeted him along with Jennifer Kale. So I had to look up the spells myself."

Spider-Man gives the man a reproachful look, "Still doesn't explain why you made a deal with him," He jabs his finger at the smirking demon lord, "When you've been giving me so much grief over mine!"

"It wasn't a deal," Mephisto gets their attention and smirks, "It was a pact. It's an old practice between magic users to form deals with each other. It is binding to a cosmic level. Not even I can break one without suffering the consequences."

Petr scoffs, "Doesn't sound different from a deal with you."

"It is." Strange says firmly.

Peter gives him a defiant look before he turns away, "Fine whatever." He gently grabs MJ by the arm and walks away, "We're leaving."

"I'm afraid you can't do that," Mephisto tells him.

Peter stops at the entrance of the room and turns around, "And why not?"

Mephisto walks to a seat and sits, "The agreement was as follows, I make sure there are no repercussions from the spells Strange casts." The magic man's eyes narrow more at that, "And he listens to me ramble. I even offered to allow him to ask me two questions and I will respond honestly."

Seeing that the demon lord won't disclose the rest, Strange shamefully picks up where he left off, "A part of the pact was to make sure you two are present for his rambling."

And once again the three other humans in the room look at the doctor in shock, but Peter's reaction has much more anger in it, "And you expect me to be okay with this?!"

Stephen gives a defeated look, "It was the only way."

Peter's frustration is starting to boil over, so he turns his back on the man to not lash out, "Well, I'm not gonna be a part of this."

He again gently grabs Mary Jane by the arm as Mephisto speaks, "That's no great loss to me. Your dear friend Doctor Strange on the other hand."

MJ stops and asks, "What?"

Seeing he caught her attention, Mephistopheles smiles evilly and looks to the good doctor, who understands that he wants him to explain it, "When a pact is made it is soul-binding. Meaning that if I do not hold up my end, my own power is turned against me."

"He slowly dies until he keeps his end or meets it." Mephisto smiles cruelly as MJ and Wong look on in shock and dismay.

MJ turns to Peter and worries about what he will do. And Peter looks at the doctor in conflict. He obviously can't leave, but damn if it's not tempting to do so. After all the grief and anger he's been giving Peter about his deal with Mephisto, you'd think there's no way Doctor Strange would make the same mistake, right? Yet here they are in his own home having to suffer with him because they were included.

He feels MJ slip her hand into his and feels himself relax, "Fine." He looks at the demon banefully, "Say what you want to say."

Mephisto gestures for them to sit and they do so, with Peter and Mary Jane close together to the left and Strange and Wong to the right.

"You all see me as a villain." The demon starts as he picks up his glass again, "Yet I can't help but wonder why? My reputation as being known as the master of lies certainly doesn't warrant such a thing."

Peter gives him a look of disbelief. "You can't be serious?"

Mephisto gives the youngest man in the room a condescending look, "Tell me, why do you think I'm known as such? Is it the fact that I tell nothing but lies? Children tell lies. Babies tell lies. Are they villains in the making?"

"Trying to say you're as smart as a baby?"

He rolls his eyes and continues to smile that same smug smile, "Merely inquiring that, am I really the bad man for telling lies?

"Considering our current predicament?" Strange rhetorically asks, "Yes."

Mephisto raises a finger, "I didn't lie." Strange was about to argue but Mephisto beats him to it, "What did I say that wasn't true? I said that there would be consequences to you performing those spells. That wasn't a lie. I even told you reading the infernal texts does damage to your mind."

Strange closes his mouth and looks down in thought as he recalls him saying that.

"You forgot when you allowed that demon to take you over in that battle against the Hulk, it destroyed the warding in your mind that defended it against dark influences." The chastizing tone and smug smile makes both heroes want to cave his face in, "You never re-established your defenses."

Strange does realize that now and looks at the demon accusingly, "You knew."

Smug is replaced with impish and a shrug, "I did."

That's why he came to him. Strange's mind was being corrupted by the infernal text and the opportunistic demon decided to capitalize on it by offering a solution that was too good to pass up. He knew Stephen would be susceptible to suggestions with the infernal texts eroding on his mind. Especially by a lord of hell.

"But again," Mephisto's smug smile returns, "That shows how honest I am with you all."

Seeing his gaze on him, Peter gets an incredulous tone and expression, "I'm sorry, are talking to me?"

Mephisto finishes off the rest of his drink and sets the glass on the bar table next to him, "Tell me, Peter." He leans forward and places his elbows on his knees and his head on the tips of his forefingers, "How many lies have you spoken in your lifetime? Since you began your escapade as Spider-Man, how many lies have come from your lips? You've lied to all those you care for in a blind and rather idiotic sense to protect them."

Not seeing what that has to do with his question, Peter obliges to answer with, "If people knew what I did, my loved ones would be put in danger."

Mary Jane keeps her mouth shut at that as Mephisto continues, "Even before when you were just an ordinary boy, you told many lies to your aunt and uncle. Saying that nothing was wrong when you were being harassed and tormented by your peers."

"I didn't want to burden them."

"Yet with your lies, you still did much harm to them." He leans back into the leather chair and crosses his legs, "They felt inadequate as parents and guardians. They felt as if they could not do anything right with you."

Peter glares at him for pointing out something he already knew. He knows both Ben and May felt like failures when it came to raising him. Early on, his uncle felt like he wasn't good enough of a provider, since most of the time he struggled to keep the lights on and pay other bills. And there were times he remembered when Ben and May went to sleep hungry for his sake. It hurts him deeply to know that they sacrificed so much for him.

And after Uncle Ben's death, May felt like she failed in raising him into a proper man. Oh, sure he's not dead or a complete bum. But he hasn't lived up to his full potential. He knows they expected so much from him, but with Spider-Man, he couldn't live to the full potential of Peter Parker. And worse, he can't tell her any of that.

She's not the failure.

"Then again," He is brought out of his thoughts as Mephisto looks up in thought, "If you spoke the truth, then you certainly would have done more damage. After all, if your uncle Ben had known about Carl King..." He laughs in enjoyment, "Well he certainly would have had words with both the urchin's parents and the school."

Peter has imagined such scenarios. He imagined his Uncle Ben coming to the school and demanding the bully/future psycho be punished for the constant abuse he inflicts on Peter. He knew his Uncle Ben was not a violent man but when push came to shove in concern for his loved ones, you better believe he shoved back hard. It's a parker family trait. To protect their family with everything they had. And more often than not, the consequences of when they shoved back hit their family harder than it should of.

The Parker Luck. Another lovable family trait.

"Now just imagine what your poor dear aunt would have to endure if she knew what you've been doing since you were just a boy."

And now they circled back and Peter is tired of it, "What's your point?"

Mephisto ignores the irritation and smiles smugly, "My point is simple. A man can tell a thousand lies and build a country. But if another man speaks a single word of truth, then he can destroy it." Seeing the confusion on their faces he simplifies it, "Lies can do much harm, but they stand next to nothing when compared to the truth." He smiles evilly as he looks at Peter in the eyes, "That is cruelty that not even I can match. And I'm rather jealous."

Those words resonate with all three of them. For Strange, it certainly fits with his job as Sorcerer Supreme and as a member of the Illuminati. He knows how damaging it would be to the world if certain things were made known to the public. How easily society would collapse and how fast the world would burn if everyone or even just one wrong person knew certain truths.

For Mary Jane, those words describe her love life with Peter right now. If he knew certain things about their former life, it would destroy him. She knows him. She knows he will ask just to make himself feel worse. It's like for him, there's no problem so awful that he can't add guilt to it to make himself feel even worse.

"Why?"

Because, whether he wants to admit it or not, he thinks for him to grow he needs to suffer a lot. He thinks for him, a lesson doesn't sink in unless it hurts him deeply.

"That sounds stupid."

MJ agrees on that front. But maybe on some level, she agrees with Peter as well. After all, she didn't really start to grow as a person until she let the pain of her life teach her to be better. And she didn't really do that until she lost a dear friend.

Gwen Stacy. The first and true love of Peter's life. The one woman Mary Jane could never compete against. It certainly hasn't gotten any easier over the years. Because MJ wonders if Gwen would have told Peter no to the deal or convinced him to give up Spider-Man.

And for Peter, it certainly hits home. All the lies he tells everyone every day. He hardly discriminates between strangers and friends. He tells them all the same lies. It's just become so natural now. He hates doing it but he felt like it was necessary. But Uncle Ben told him to trust more, so he sure is heck gonna listen to him over some low-rent wannabe devil.

So with that thought swimming in his head, Peter gives the demon lord a hard look, "You done?"

Mephistos smug smile dims a bit, not very happy with the outcome, before he shrugs, "For now."

"Good." Peter stands and offers a hand to MJ, "Let's get out of here."

She doesn't hesitate to take it and they both leave as Wong goes to escort them out. They reach the doors to the Sanctum and Peter wrenches it open.

"Peter wait." MJ holds him back and he sees she has a concerned look, "Are you sure it's a good idea to leave them alone?"

Peter opens his mouth to respond but Wong beats him to it, "He will be fine." They turn their attention to him, "Mephistopheles has no true power or influence here in the Sanctum Sanctorum."

Mary Jane gives Peter a concerned look and he sighs before he looks at Wong, "Are you sure?"

Wong smiles a bit gratefully, "You don't need to worry." He gestures them out the door, "Please stop by whenever you like."

Peter nods and then watches as MJ's concerned expression lingers before she sighs and offers the man a handshake and friendly smile, "It was nice meeting you."

He returns both, "Likewise."

They step out into the dark empty streets, now noticing it is nighttime, and the door closes behind them. MJ looks at her watch and Peter slips on his tattered mask. Streets may be empty but it doesn't mean some passerby won't suddenly show up.

"It's almost eight," MJ points out as she wraps herself more in her jacket to stave off the cold.

Seeing this, Peter immediately asks, "So my place or yours?"

She gets a deer-in-the-headlights expression and he relaxes how it sounds but before he says anything she says, "Actually," Her hesitant look tells him she's struggling with something, "I think the park might be better." He gives her a questioning look, "Trust me."

'I do,' he thinks to himself before he nods and grabs her by the waist. He leaps high into the air and swings away.

It was time to finish a long overdue conversation.

Back inside the Sanctum, Strange hears the doors of his home close as he keeps his eyes firmly fixed on the demon lord in front of him. He would like nothing more than to destroy him. But even in his home, he knows he's no real match for a lord of hell of Mephistos caliber.

"Now," Mephisto looks at him expectantly, "As for your questions."

He only has two. He can't waste them. And he has to be careful, as the demon would most likely view any rhetorical question a real one.

Strange takes a breath and leans forward in his seat, "Why are you obsessed with him?"

(Central Park)

After having left the Sanctum Sanctorum, the tired and bloody Spider-Man swings into a secluded section of the park, the same spot he ran away from the first time, and lands softly as he can on the ground. MJ slips out of his grip and looks around as he checks to make sure the coast is clear.

Not picking up anything with his spider sense, he turns to MJ, "We're in the clear."

MJ looks around the park. "It is pretty late."

"Weird." He says in a lighter tone as he gazes out into the darkened park, "The city that never sleeps is actually asleep."

Mary Jane smiles as she gazes up at the stars, "Stranger things have happened."

Peter looks at her with a forlorn expression before he turns his sights at the bench they were on the day prior, "You know in hindsight, I could've just called Tony and them and let them handle the situation."

She looks at him fondly, "It's not who you are."

"...Who was I?"

He is of course referring to when they were married. MJ's expression changes to one he cannot discern before she too turns her sights to the bench they were on the day prior. She goes to sit on it and then pats the empty spot next to her. He follows her instructions and as he plops down he looks at her expectedly.

"Peter." She is struggling to say the words to do this, "I love you. I've been in love with you even before I wanted to admit it to myself."

His heart is beating fast. This sounds like the conversation that ended their relationship the first time around. He knows he said he would accept whatever she wants to do, but to actually hear it is another story.

"And I want to make this work," He feels such a huge amount of relief when those words come out of her mouth, "But the only way we're gonna be able to do that is if we trust each other."

Now Peter gets confused, "I trust you MJ. I trust you more than anyone else."

She gives him a sad beautiful smile, "I know that Tiger." She grabs his hand and rubs the back of it with her thumb, "But you haven't always trusted my opinion." He winces at that, knowing how true that is, "So before you start again I need to tell you to not ask about our marriage."

He reels back at the request, "What? Why?"

She wants to tell him why. Tell him how much it hurts her to have those memories but to not have them exist anymore. Maybe it will be good to talk about them.

"Lies can do much harm, but they stand next to nothing when compared to the truth."

But she knows he'll just torment himself for erasing so many great moments. And though he's most likely already doing that, knowing the specifics will make it worse for him.

So instead she just asks, "Do you trust me?"

The way she is voicing that question this time tells him she wants him to not ask any more about their former life and to not press on the why of it either. And while he wants to ask more, maybe now is not the best time. Logan said that after everything that's happened, he still needs to earn back her trust. It'll be a long and hard road, but if it means she'll trust him again, he'll do it.

He nods. And doesn't say anything more about their marriage but instead says, "So I guess I pick up where I left off?"

She gives him a grateful smile, "Is it wise to listen to advice from the demon responsible for your suffering?"

Most likely not. But she can't argue that what he said wasn't true. She knows if she tells him all the good and bad times in their marriage, he'll just hate himself for erasing most of the good. And he'll also blame himself if he knows how much better her career is now that they weren't married. So Mary Jane will just bear her memories of their former life herself like she has been doing all this time.

Meanwhile, Peter begins to tell her about Mistress Love and Master Hate. What they said and how he reacted. And about how he lost his temper and lashed out at the Living Tribunal.

"Peter," she gives him a chiding look.

She doesn't know much about the Tribunal, since Peter doesn't know much, but the guy was the judge so obviously it was not a good idea to yell at him.

"I know, I know." He pouts, "I was mad, but still a stupid thing to do to yell at the judge."

As he did while speaking to the Illuminati, he proceeds to tell the story in the same manner.

"Wait back up." But unlike them, Mary Jane calls him out when it sounded like he skipped over something, "What else did they say?"

He gets a shameful expression as he was hoping she wouldn't notice that, "It doesn't matter."

MJ herself gets a reproachful look, "Peter."

He wants to tell her to let it go, but he has no right to. If he wants to make this work with her, then he needs to be completely upfront.

So with a sigh, he says, "It's just, this part is hard to tell."

The supermodel gives him a fiery look, "Peter, you've always held back on me. Thinking that I couldn't handle everything that goes on in your life. And maybe on some level you're right." She quickly points out before he retorts, "But after everything, it hurts me more because you don't think I'm strong enough."

He gives her a look of reassurance, "I know you are. I've seen it with my own eyes so many times. Hell, Cap pointed it out to me after I told him you remember." He smiles fondly, "He's actually amazed by you. And you know what? So am I."

MJ smiles back in appreciation while she gives him an expectant look, "Well, then?"

Peter sighs as had hoped to never really talk about this part with anyone. One because it hurts and two because it makes him look bad.

"Well, this is the part I left out when I talked to them back then."

(Flashback)

After just being scolded by the Living Tribunal, Peter has his head down and waits for Mistress Love and Master Hate to continue.

And he doesn't wait long as Love steps forward, "Our purpose in the grand cosmos is not to make these emotions happen, but to see them satisfied."

Peter flicks his eyes between her and Hate as he keeps his head lowered, "Yeah he mentioned that. But what does that mean?"

"The purpose of our existence is to see such things come to full fruition. My duty as the embodiment of love is to see it be realized and for it to come in full circle."

"So if someone doesn't realize their love or destroys their love life then you failed?"

She shakes her head, "No. Love is not as simple as that. How many loves have you had in your life? From Gwendolyn Stacy, Mary Jane Watson, and even Felicia Hardy. You had three great loves in your life. And to be truthful you could have loved more."

Peter recoils at that, "What?"

She nods and gives him a happy smile, "As I've stated, your heart is so large that you care for so many, so much. Friends, family, and even strangers you saved that other heroes would forget the next moments they are gone."

Well, he's always known that.

"And the romantic aspect of your heart allows you to love so easily." That he was only moderately aware of, "You truly fell in love with all three of these women. You loved each one in a different fashion but no less than the other." She gives him something that looks like a grateful smile, "And you could easily fall in love with more."

Peter doesn't know what to say here. Sure he's known he's a sappy romantic but never really put much thought into how sappy. Though to be honest, he wanted to be more of an action hero that gets the girl and less 'The Notebook.'

"Really?"

"Don't judge me."

As he thinks more on that, Master Hate steps forward, "But your hatred for yourself hindered your love and irritated me."

"Say what?"

Mephistopheles steps forward and addresses the embodiment of hate, "Allow me,]." Hate nods and Mephisto turns back to Peter, "You hate yourself. Well more accurately, you hate the Peter Parker aspect of your life."

"That's not true!" Peter vehemently denies.

"Isn't it?" Mephisto tilts his head and gives a smug smile, "Tell me, why did you take the job at Horizon Labs, hmm? Wasn't it because it was more convenient to fit your schedule as Spider-Man rather than to improve your life outside the mask? Or even help the world at large?"

"I do a lot of good there!"

"In the grand scheme of things, hardly. But again that's why you took the job. Because you could be Spider-Man more than you could be Peter Parker. It's also why it was no significant loss to you when Carlie Cooper ended your relationship."

"That's- that's not-" Peter tries to deny it but finds he can't since it's true.

"The first thing you were upset over was the possibility of the spell Strange had cast on the entire world being broken," Peter flinches as he recalls that, "That was your foremost thought. And when the dust had settled you found relief in no longer having to be cautious in your own home. You openly displayed your Spider-Man life in the apartment the two of you had shared."

Peter tries to come up with a counterpoint to help against this but comes up short. It's true that when Carlie left, his life as Spider-Man became easier. No longer being careful in his own home was a huge relief. He thought about all the advantages that came from being single over the aspect of losing Carlie.

"Even your relationship with her was a sham." Mephistopheles drives the nail deeper in, "You never truly loved her. It was more of a convenience being with her than it was an actual romantic interest."

He wants to say that's not true but is finding it difficult to argue with anything he's saying. Especially when he looks at Mistress Love and she nods in confirmation.

As he lets it sink in, he falls to his knees when it occurs to him it's all true, and voices it, "I built my life around being Spider-Man."

He gave up everything. His relationships with his friends and family. His marriage to MJ. Peter Parker just stopped mattering to him. He put the mask ahead of the man. And worse than that, he always blamed the mask for taking away so much when in reality it was all him.

He chose to do that.

(Present)

Peter has his head down in shame. Telling the Illuminati what they needed to know was one thing, telling Mary Jane everything was a whole other thing. And while he does feel a smidge of shame in telling her about how easily he loved other women, she has the right to know, he feels more shamed at his admission of hating Peter Paker.

"Peter-"

"MJ it's okay."

"No, it's not. Peter, how could you think it's-"

"Listen." He gives her a genuinely happy smile, "What happened next was a real big help for me."

She gives him a confused look, obviously not expecting him to be happy, "What happened next?"

The Queens-born hero takes a deep breath and releases it, "Uatu called Death to step forward. At first, I was worried that he'd tell her to bring up all the people I failed to save. And I got really scared when…"

She gives his hand a reassuring squeeze, to let him know she is here.

"Uncle Ben showed up."

Mary Jane gasps.

He nods, expecting a reaction like that, as he gets a small smile, "When I saw him, my heart leaped into my throat. I went and hugged him as hard as I could and apologized for getting him killed. And do you know what he said to me?" MJ shakes her head and has a worried face, but feels it's unnecessary since Peter has an elated smile on his, "He said he didn't blame me for what happened to him."

MJ's eyes widen as tears gather in both their eyes and his smile grows bigger, "All these years, the people who I told about him and his death, how I always felt responsible for it, they all said that he wouldn't blame me for what happened." He lets out a small laugh, "And I knew that too, but I just didn't really believe it." He closes his eyes and lets out some air, "But to hear it from him, it felt..." He shakes his head and laughs as he looks up into the sky, "God I can't even describe it."

Mary Jane smiles through her watery eyes. She knows better than most how much he blamed himself for what happened to his uncle. It's the one that started it all. He let a crook run past him and it cost him so much.

"But, he wasn't completely proud of me." His smile disappears as he looks at her with shame, "He knew about you. About the deal."

MJ's smile dims into a worried frown as she listens.

"And what he said next. I really needed someone to tell me outright." He gives her what he hopes is a strong look, but also has shame in it, "He said I needed to grow up. That what I did in saving my Aunt May was not a selfless act of love on my part, but a selfish and childish act out of desperation to relieve myself of the guilt."

MJ, not liking what he's saying, grabs his hands and squeezes, "Peter there's more to it than that." She tells him with conviction, "We both agreed."

"But did my guilt push you to do it?" MJ doesn't respond and he takes that as confirmation, "Exactly. I may not remember it, but I know you did it for me."

MJ knows that too, but she doesn't want him to blame himself, "Peter. Being with you was the best thing to ever happen to me. I was never all that self-sacrificing until you made me into a better person. Your feeling guilty did have an influence but I believed that the love we had for each other would bring us back together. Me agreeing was my way of self-sacrificing for you."

Seeing she wants him to blame her as much as himself, he tells her what he was told, "Would Aunt May be happy about it? Would she be proud?" MJ recoils at the questions as he expected, "It's what uncle Ben asked me. And I know the answer to that."

Mary Jane opens her mouth to respond, but no words come out. She cannot think of a thing to say to convince him he's not entirely to blame.

And that's what he wants.

"You're not to blame MJ." He says firmly, "This is on me. Honestly, what he said is like his power and responsibility speech. I should have just accepted that Aunt May was gone." His stomach twists and his heart clenches at the thought, "It would hurt and a part of me would die with her, but I should've just accepted it. It's like that prayer quote, 'Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.'" He looks down in shame, "I should have had more faith."

She sees that he will not listen to her about not blaming himself, so she elects to move on, "What else did he say?"

He smiles at her before he says, "The next thing he told me to do is to trust more. I need to open up more to the people in my life. He didn't go into specifics, but again, like with his power and responsibility speech, I know there's more to it." He takes a breath as he looks up to the night sky, "There are so many people in my life that I can trust. Yeah, there are risks to it. I mean, I was fighting against some friends not too long ago. But that doesn't mean I can't trust anyone. And honestly, it's been paying off. Sort of. I mean, I told Tony who I was again. And it felt good. I feel like it'll make a huge difference."

She looks at him in surprise, since from both lives Tony Stark was responsible for a lot of the crap that happened. When Peter told her about all the horrible acts he committed against those who wouldn't register or worse who were criminals, it all sounded like the concentration camps in WWII.

She is worried about Peter trusting him again, but if he's willing to and he says there's good in doing it, then she won't argue.

"I'll skewer the man if it comes to it." She smiles a bit to the side before she gives him an expectant look, "Do you plan on telling others?"

He nods as he looks up in thought, "I think so. I'm still gonna be careful about it, but the people who've earned my trust, well I'm gonna start trusting them more."

"I'm glad." She says with a smile before she gives him a questioning look, "Does that include Aunt May?

Now that is a topic Peter was dreading would come up.

"I'm not sure." He says with apprehension, "With her, it's not so much about trust as it is worrying about her health."

She gives him a disapproving frown, "She is stronger than you give her credit for."

He knows that. The woman raised him on her own. He knows that was not easy since he didn't make it easy. Coming home with bumps and bruises and claiming it was an accident of some kind. He made her feel like he didn't believe she couldn't help. And maybe on some level, MJ is right and May could have helped but at the cost of her own health. That was something he couldn't do.

But at the thought of that, he thinks back to having to trust more.

So with that last thought, he sighs, "I guess I just need to figure out how to bring it up." He is kinda hoping it's not anytime soon, "Anyway after that, Uncle Ben told me something that really hit home. Something that- that shook me." He gives her a big smile of contentment, "He said Peter Parker matters just as much if not more than Spider-Man."

MJ's eyes widened again.

Peter laughs, "Yeah I had the same reaction. The most obvious thing in the world, and yet I was being so stupid about it." He looks down again, "People have been telling me all my life how much potential I have. How much better my life could be if I put the effort into making it better. And I've always blamed Spider-Man for getting in the way, but that was a lie. Well, somewhat."

Villians have such bad timing.

"I've been building my life to better fit with Spider-Man. But I should have been doing it the other way around. And that is what I'm gonna do now. Well, try to do at least."

The look on his face is also what shocks the supermodel. It's one that she hasn't seen in a long time. Only when he's woken up next to her after a rough day. To let her know that with her around, the world is right. And though this time it's not because of her, she isn't bothered by it. He's happy. That's what matters.

"Good. That shows how much better you are compared to then."

That's true. She has shown jealousy in the past when someone else has made him feel like he does right now. But that is no longer the case.

"Anything else?" MJ inquires.

"Well," He Looks up in thought, "After all was said and done, I pleaded my case with the Tribunal. He bought it. I went back to earth and pulled an Obi-Wan on Hope."

"You told her to go to the Dagobah system?"

"Yes, and it is so hot that you know that." he gives a cheerful smile and she winks at him playfully, "Anyway, after that the Tribunal said that the Phoenix needed a host, so I volunteered."

She rolls her eyes at him, "Of course you did."

"But I'm not the host yet." He quickly retorts and she looks at him inquisitively, "It's an egg right now and it's tied up in the Web."

"The what?"

"It's a long story." She gives him a scowl and he raises his hands placatingly, "I'm not lying. I'll tell you about it later."

Well, she guesses that'll be the best she'll get from him for now.

"Your turn."

Oh yeah, she has to explain Sonja.

"So, you wanna hear how Sonja and I came back together?" Mary Jane asks with a playful tone.

He nods with both eyebrows raised, "Very much so yes."

MJ recalls what happened, "Well, I was in my apartment waiting for you to show up so we can have that talk and I was thinking about going over to your place or calling you, but I know how those kinds of things turn out." It's always so dramatic there but she won't bring that up now, "So I just turned on the TV and wouldn't you know it, I was right."

He shrugs, "I'm consistent."

She gives him a halfhearted glare before she continues, "There you were, fighting your friends. Except I saw something that nobody else was seeing. I saw that demon thing possessing you."

"Technically it was a human that was just making himself appear demonic."

MJ gives him a flat look, "Anyway, I heard a voice coming from somewhere and I immediately panicked. But the more the voice spoke the less freaked out I was getting. I started to follow it to the source and wound up in the bathroom staring at my mirror."

"Lucky you." He smirks flirtatiously but stops at another flat glare, "What? That was a compliment!"

She rolls her eyes, "I saw Sonja in my reflection." She gives him a look when he opens his mouth, "Choose your next words very carefully."

He sucks in his lips as he thinks about what to say, which she can guess is an attempt to be both funny and cute.

"You do know if you plan to go through with this then you have to be okay with what comes next."

She knows that. And while she's not completely against the idea, she doesn't find it all that appealing.

"Why?"

"I got nothin'," he says, bringing her out of her talk with Sonja, "Continue."

"Well like I was saying, I saw Sonja in my reflection. She offered me her sword."

"And you took it?" Peter did not expect that.

"Not at first."

(Flashback)

Mary Jane looks at the reflection in shock, at the sword, and backs away, but the woman in the mirror does not mimic her actions this time.

"I-I can't." her voice cracks as she looks away in shame, "I'm not strong enough."

Sonja looks at her curiously, "Why do you believe that?"

MJ doesn't look back at the warrior woman as she hugs herself, "I wasn't strong enough to stand by Peter when I was supposed to."

"You are referring to this life." Sonja states and MJ turns around, "The life in which you could not be with both Spider-Man and Peter Parker." MJ nods sadly, "But in the other life, you stood by him."

"Not always." She says while she recalls the painful memory of the time Peter couldn't be there for her when she needed him and she responded by leaving.

"No, you did not." Sonja smiles in understanding, "But you did always come back. And when you did, you were stronger for it. You've proven that you are indeed a warrior. Not merely a damsel."

Sonja makes her recall the times Peter wasn't able to save her and she had to save herself. Dealing with the stalkers like Caesar who were obsessed with her, dealing with some of Peter's villains when they came after her to hurt him, and finally dealing with the fact that she remembers their former life together when he didn't.

"You see?" Sonja shares the recollection with her, "You are stronger than you believe. You are strong enough to carry this."

She looks at the sword and thinks about what this would mean for her. For her life.

"With great power comes great responsibility." She utters as Sonja looks at her curiously, "But also with great sacrifice. I learned that during the whole spider-island incident a few weeks ago." She gives the woman a sad look, "I'm not sure if I can be self-sacrificing."

Sonja gets a fierce look, getting tired of this woman's doubt in herself, "Did you forget how much you have sacrificed for him? As a way to thank him, you've often put him at the forefront of your life. You were grateful for all that he did for you and what he does for the world. But the world was not grateful so it was up to you to show gratitude. And that often meant sacrifices."

It's true. She couldn't confide in anyone that wasn't in the know of Peter's double life. She had to seclude herself and distance herself from everyone to protect Peter. It was a lonely and hard life. And the weirdest thing is how much she wishes for it back. Because despite all the pain and hardships that came with being with that man, it was so full of love that it was worthwhile.

"You are stronger than you believe, Mary Jane Watson." Sonja holds out the blade to her, "Let me show you."

Mary Jane looks at the sword in the mirror, not really understanding how she could reach out and grab it, but she does. And in a flash of light, the supermodel was no longer in her bathroom and instead it was a warrior from another world.

(Present)

Peter looks at the woman beside in stunned silence as she finishes her story. He was already amazed by her. Now he is stupefied.

"Look at that I got you to shut up." She says with a smile of amusement.

He lets out a chuckle, "Heh, well you just amaze me so much that I can't understand it."

She leans in closer. "And here I thought that you were the guy to call when Reed Richards was stuck."

He leans in too, "Red, physic equations and super villains got nothing on you." 

She looks at him lovingly and he does the same. They slowly lean into each other with nervousness. Both eager to do what they have been wanting to do for so long.

"Are we really gonna do this again?" Peter asks with concern as he stops halfway, "I mean my life hasn't gotten any easier to deal with. If anything it's gotten even more complicated."

The famous actress sighs with slight exhaustion, "I know, Peter. And in all honesty, it scares me to think about what will happen. I may not entirely understand what the whole deal is with the Phoenix, but I do know it's a big deal."

She doesn't even know half of it. All the complications that come with it. And all the requirements he needs to make sure he doesn't go crazy. He'll tell her, don't doubt that. But for now, he's got other things to worry about.

"And that's just your heroic life," She continues as she leans back with a nervous expression, "Your personal life is gonna get just as complicated."

He frowns doubtfully, "I don't know about that. All I really have to do is put it before this."

"It's not what I meant."

Now he's confused, "What do you mean?"

Well there's no going back now, "It'll be fine. Better than fine really." For him most likely, "And for you if you put the effort into it."

MJ takes a breath, both in preparation to tell him and impatience in dealing with her, before she says, "Peter, I'm not just me anymore."

She sees he's confused and she makes a gesture about the height difference between her and Sonja, she is not bitter about it, and at first, he doesn't understand. But after a few more moments he eventually gets what she means.

"Sonja." He says in realization.

"Exactly." She nods at his realization, "So it won't just be us."

He gets uneasy at this revaluation, "Does she have to be… involved?"

MJ can feel the warrior woman's irritation at his unease as the supermodel asks, "Would you prefer she wasn't?"

"I uh um," he doesn't know how to respond without making someone mad, "I don't want uh," Trust your instincts, "I don't want you to do anything you're not comfortable with?"

Don't tell it like it's a question!

"Are you telling me that's how you feel or what you think I want to hear?"

"Uh," he struggles to find the right words before he takes a breath and gives her an apprehensive look, "MJ, I don't want to take this away from you. Unless you want to get rid of it, then I'll wait until you do. But if being with her means I can't be with you then I won't."

The supermodel gives him a smile to show she appreciates the sentiment. But she has to make sure of some things.

"What if you had to pick between me and Felicia?"

"Mary Jane."

She ignores the warrior woman inside of her and focuses on the hesitant hero in front of her. Peter meanwhile thinks about what Mistress Love said about him and his heart. How many loves he's had and how easy it is for him to fall in love.

"I'm not gonna lie, I do love Felicia." He confesses, and MJ tenses up at those words, "It was pointed out to me that I do. But I'm pretty sure she doesn't reciprocate those feelings." He gets a disheartened frown, "At least not about Peter Parker."

MJ doesn't believe that. She knows his history with the cat-themed thief from both this life and the other one. Felicia was obsessed with Spider-Man at first yes, it was obvious when the woman attacked MJ and used Flash to hurt Peter, but MJ knows the woman was just upset over the loss of a great love of hers. Probably the only real love she had in her life.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned after all.

And in this life, she was ten times as persistent since Peter and MJ never married. But that also made it hard for Felicia to connect with Peter over Spider-Man since he practically gave up on his life as Peter Parker.

Except now things can be different if she lets it.

"Are you starting to see the benefits of this plan of mine?" MJ does but she is still not happy about it, "Give it time. You will be."

Maybe. Big maybe.

Mary Jane frowns as she looks away from him, "I don't want to get rid of Sonja," he gets surprised at that statement, "It feels good being able to do this. To be able to pull you out of the fire when you need it. And you need it a lot."

He gets an exaggerated offended frown for a second before he gets a look that concedes, "Eh, can't argue with that."

Mary Jane smiles a bit before she continues, "But she is her own person. She lived her own life. And that life was very different from ours."

From what he knew it was a Dungeons and Dragons kind of thing.

"In that life, customs and practices were very different," she gets hesitant, "Relationships were very different."

"Stop avoiding it and just say it. This is getting exhausting." Sonjas exasperation makes MJ say, "She wants to be a part of this."

"..."

"..."

"...Huh?"

MJ clarifies with a sheepish look, "Sonja wants to be in a relationship with you too."

Peter has a stupified look her words sink in, "Oh."

Seeing the look she should also clarify something else.

"I'm not against the idea."

He recoils, "WHAT!?"

Now Peter is more than just stupified!

But before he goes into a rant or something, Mary Jane raises her hands in a placating manner, "Listen! Sonja has been with me since the first moment I picked up her sword. Which means she's experienced everything I have. And that also means she fell in love with you like I did."

That does not calm him down at all, but it does raise a question that he forces himself to ask calmly, "Are you sure it's not just your feelings she confusing hers for?"

She gets a pensive look, "Well, on our way to the fight and afterward, we did discuss that. We talked about what were her thoughts and feelings and what mine were. And to be honest we are a bit confused because we do influence each other. Our emotions leak over to one another."

He gets an avid attitude, "Okay! So then maybe this is her and not you talking!"

"Peter it's more like what you do to me."

"We had a threesome in our marriage?"

She gives him a humorless frown, "No and that's not what I meant." she gets pensive again as she tries to find the right words to describe what he does to her, "You… inspire me to be a better person."

Perplexed, he asks, "Having a threesome makes you a better person?"

"Sacrificing for the people you love does." He is stunned again at her words, "And besides the only reason a woman would want a threesome is because her sex life is boring."

He looks at her in surprise, "Really?" Peter then gets an accusing look before he points at her, "Wait, how do you know that?

Mj gives him a condescending look, "You forget that I was a party girl? Most of my partners were boring, bland, and exhausting."

Not thrilled about hearing about other partners of hers, or the fact she has done things she didn't do with him, Peter laminates on something specific in her statement.

"And that wasn't the case with me?" Peter asks and as she shakes her head no he feels a sense of pride and cockiness build in him, "So I could do the job that not even two men could do?"

Hearing the conceited tone leaking into his voice, she smiles but tilts her head back in exhaustion, "Yes, multiple men and multiple women could not do what you could."

A smug smile slowly starts to work on his face as he puffs his chest upland leans back on the bench while he channels his inner McConaughey, "Heh, alright, alright, alright. That's what I-wait a minute," McConaughey leaves as what she said sinks in and he looks at her questioningly, "What do you mean multiple women?"

Her condescending look returns once again.

"You know what? I don't care, I'm still taking the win."

She rolls her eyes at him before she grabs his hands again and looks at him, "This is really for everyone's benefit. You, me, Sonja, Felicia, and anyone else that joins."

"What? What are you talking about?t"

"He's really that dense isn't he?"

He is. It's another annoying trait of his.

Mary sighs, "I'll let you figure it out."

Before he can ask any more, she leans in to kiss him. Years of passion and love that she has both lost and missing poured into it. He is stunned for a moment before he returns it just as passionately. He would like to question her more on what she was referring to, but for now, he will not ruin this moment. These kinds of moments do not happen often to him and he will beat himself up, or tell one of his friends to do it, if he screws this up by talking.

"Mary Jane."

Right there is something else that she has to do before this goes further.

So with great reluctance, she pulls back from the kiss, "Peter wait." He gets a worried expression but she gives him a reassuring smile, "Before we do this, there's something else that needs to be done."

His worried look leaves and is replaced with a confused one, "Okay? What?"

She takes a breath and stands up. She walks forward a few feet before she stops.

"MJ?"

The worry in his voice makes her worry as well.

"It will be fine. You've seen what he can do."

She knows that. It does make things easier, but it still worries her because he might not want to go through with this.

"And if that's the case, then we say our goodbyes to each other." Now she feels worried again, "I will not stand in your way, Mary Jane. The two of you deserve to be with each other."

She gets a grateful smile before she closes her eyes and clenches her hand over her heart. A bright light envelopes her body and a familiar form takes over once again.

"Uh," Peter is now very confused as looks at Sonja's back, upper back, before he stands up from the bench, "What is going on?"

Red Sonja smiles as she turns around to look at him, "It's quite simple Spider-Man." She walks to him and she pulls out her blade, "You wish to be with Mary Jane yes?"

He casts a worried glance at her weapon before he leans back a bit, "Yeah~?"

"Well then," She twirls her blade around until the tip points it at him as she takes a low left inside pose, "Prove to us that you are worthy to take us."

"What?" Peter's bewildered and frightened expression makes Sonja smile, "Hold on, you want to-? In the middle of the park?"

"He's not getting it." Sonja can see that, "Knock some sense into him," Sonja has every intention of doing so, "And do me a favor, bring out the confident man I know is in there."

Sonja fiercely smiles before she lunges with a swing, to which Peter ducks, "Woah! Hey! This is not the kind of foreplay I'm used to!"

Sonja raises her sword, and an eyebrow, and brings it downward but misses him and slices through the bench instead, "I doubt that." She swings for his midsection and he leans back, "Mary Jane's memories show Felicia Hardy often got this way with you."

He slips on the torn mask as he groans, "Okay, I'm not entirely proud of that, but..." He stops for a second before he slumps, "Yeah I got nothing."

Sonja lunges again and this time he blocks with his stingers and they end up in a power struggle, "Defeat me in battle. Only then can you be with us."

"Okay," his perplexed expression shows he is not struggling against her in the contest of might, "And what exactly would constitute a victory for me?"

Submission. But he does not need to know that as Sonja doesn't respond and she pulls back her sword and swings at him several times. Each time he blocks with minimal effort. This goes on for a few seconds before she grabs by the arm and pulls him in to stab him in the chest.

He leans out of the way before he grabs her wrist and makes her drop her sword. In a blink of an eye, he lets her go and grabs her sword before it touches the ground and maneuvers behind her then presses it against her neck.

The fierce look in his eye makes her excited, "I don't want to hurt either of you."

"Let's count this as a win. We both know you can't win and he won't go all out." Sonja agrees.

So she grabs the arm with the blade and holds him there as she grabs him by the back of his head and pulls him in for a fierce kiss. He reciprocates the passion as he slinks his arm around her waist.

They pull back and Sonja asks, "Where to?"

Spider-Man blinks to try to get the blood back into his big head, "Uh, MJ's place?"

Sonja shakes her head, "Mary Jane believes neither your nor her dwelling would be suitable due to the current circumstances."

Peter tries to figure out what she means, but her gaze and scent aren't helping the blood return to his head. He clenches his eyes shut as he tries to come up with a different place before it comes to him.

He removes the blade from her throat and holds it out, "Take this." She does so and he scoops her up over his shoulder, "I really hope enough of it is done."

He leaps into the air and fires off a web line to swing away into the night. Almost three days of no sleep, battling enemies and then friends, and having a long overdue conversation that lead to a minor skirmish.

'I'm exhausted and it'll probably kill me.' Sonja slips off his shoulder and into his free arm and she gives him a look that promises a great night. 'But damn if I'm not motivated to see this through!'

He kisses Sonja deeply and passionately as he continues to swing into the night.

"I get first go!"