Stratos practically burst into the lab, Ashley right behind him. He slid to a stop at my side, eyes already locked onto then.
"I didn't want to miss it," he said, practically vibrating with excitement. "I can't wait for them to wake up. I've got so much to show them."
"Let me guess," Ashley said, folding her arms with a smirk, "all the best places to eat?"
"…Maybe."
I let out a small laugh, shaking my head.
"Hey, Ed," Ashley continued, glancing around, "I heard you summoned some new people. Who are they?"
"A Zombie, a superhero dog, a mad queen, and a reindeer doctor," I said casually.
Stratos' eyes lit up instantly. "A superhero dog?! That's awesome!"
Ashley just stared at me. "Can you ever summon anyone normal?"
"Hey, I don't control it. It's completely random," I shot back.
"Yeah, yeah." She waved it off, then her smirk slowly came back. "Anyway… how's Lena?"
"She's fine," I said, narrowing my eyes. "Why are you smirking?"
"Oh, come on, Ed. You two have been 'dating' for a month now."
"Pretend dating," I corrected immediately.
Ashley didn't even blink. "Sure. Pretend."
I frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"
She stepped a little closer, clearly enjoying this way too much. "Alright, let me ask you something."
"…Sure?" I said cautiously.
"Does she send you cute messages?"
"…Yeah. today she texted to remind me about our dinner plans. Sometimes she just checks in, asks how I'm doing."
Ashley nodded like she was building a case. "Uh-huh. And does she always try to hold your hand… even when there are no cameras around?"
"…Yeah, but I figured she just likes physical touch."
Stratos snorted quietly.
Ashley kept going. "And when you're alone, like, at home, does she… I don't know… snuggle up to you?"
I shrugged, a small smile slipping out. "Yeah. Especially when we're watching those terrible horror movies."
Ashley went completely silent.
She just… looked at me.
"…What?" I asked.
She pinched the bridge of her nose. "So smart… and yet so unbelievably dumb."
"Hey!" I protested.
Stratos crossed his arms, shaking his head. "Come on, Dad. Even I figured it out."
I blinked between the two of them. "…Figured what out?"
They both groaned at the same time.
I went quiet.
Ashley's words kept echoing in my head as I started replaying everything, every moment with Lena.
The late-night conversations that somehow turned into hours without either of us noticing… the random hangouts that never felt awkward… the dinners that felt a little too natural.
How she always moved closer when no one was watching.
How I liked it.
How I caught myself staring into her eyes longer than I should… how her laugh always made me smile without even trying…
And then…that one time at my place.
We definitely made out.
"…Oh," I muttered.
Everything clicked at once.
"Oh, shit… I think Lena and I are actually dating."
I froze for a solid second.
Then it hit me harder.
"OH, GOD, WE'RE ACTUALLY DATING!" I shouted.
The lab echoed.
And immediately.
Cell and Selene shot upright, eyes wide, bodies tense, scanning the room as if they'd just been dropped into a battlefield.
"…Great timing," Ashley muttered.
Smack.
"Ow!"
She hit me upside the head. "You just had to yell, didn't you?!"
She was already moving, her tone softening instantly as she approached them. "Hey, hey, it's okay. You're safe. Easy…"
I shook off the hit and stepped forward too, pushing everything else to the side.
Yeah… I just dropped a massive realization on myself.
But that could wait.
Right now?
My kids came first.
I moved closer, keeping my voice calm. "You're alright. You're in my lab, safe. No one here is going to hurt you."
Cell's eyes locked onto me, still cautious.
Selene stayed close to him, tense but listening.
"…There we go," I said gently. "Just breathe. You're okay."
The Lena situation?
Yeah… that was a whole different problem.
One I was definitely dealing with later.
Third Person POV
In the middle of nowhere, a ship lay torn apart, its hull split open, flames still licking at the wreckage, smoke rising into the sky. Whatever battle had brought it down… it had ended badly.
Very badly.
Amid the debris, a lone figure struggled to breathe.
His green uniform was scorched and ripped in several places, the faint glow of a ring on his finger flickering like it was barely holding on. He coughed, his body trembling, streaks of dark purple blood spilling from his mouth.
Each breath was heavier than the last.
He knew.
There wasn't much time left.
Slowly, painfully, he lifted his hand, the ring barely responding at first. It dimmed… flickered…
Then, with a faint pulse of will, it answered.
Small green orbs formed from the ring's light, drifting into the air above his hand. They shimmered, unstable at first, before growing brighter—stronger.
His vision blurred, but he forced himself to focus.
"…Choose well," he whispered.
With the last of his strength, he released them.
The orbs shot into the sky at blinding speed, streaking away like shooting stars—searching.
Searching for a successor.
His arm fell.
The glow of the ring faded.
And the world went quiet.
Peter Parker POV
"I can't believe I'm actually standing here," Beth said, looking around like she expected something to jump out at her.
"Yeah… same," Cindy added, glancing at me.
I scratched the back of my head. "He gave me permission."
Cindy rolled her eyes but kept walking.
Right now, I was giving Ned, MJ, and Beth a full tour of the base. After months of cleaning, training, proving myself, and, okay, a little begging, he finally agreed to let me tell my friends who I really am.
Spider-Man.
Beth had already figured it out a while ago… and somehow kept it a secret, which I'm still impressed by.
Ned, though?
Yeah, his reaction was everything I expected, wide eyes, mouth hanging open, full "dude, you're Spider-Man?!" energy.
Worth it.
Honestly… I'm glad they know now. Keeping that kind of secret from your best friends? It never felt right.
Of course, that wasn't the only surprise.
They also found out Cindy was Silk.
And that we were dating.
That part?
Yeah… even bigger reactions. Like, completely stunned.
It was kind of funny.
…At first.
But then I noticed MJ.
She hadn't said much since.
Didn't really look at me either.
The whole tour, she just stayed quiet, off to the side, like she was somewhere else entirely.
I didn't need to be a genius to figure it out.
Yeah… this was gonna be a problem.
I let out a quiet sigh as we kept walking, already running through what I was gonna say.
I'd have to talk to her later. Alone.
Explain everything.
…Especially the whole "girlfriends" situation.
I am not looking forward to that conversation.
"Peter, this is so cool. I can't believe you work with Arsenal," Ned said, practically bouncing with excitement.
"'Work with' is… kind of a stretch," I said, scratching my cheek. "He put me in the Web Warriors program, gave us training and gear, and we handle our own stuff in New York. We don't really do missions together."
"Still counts," Ned said immediately.
"Speaking of the Web Warriors," Beth jumped in, "can we meet them? I've always wanted to meet the whole Spider-Team."
"Oh, yeah, me too, especially the new member," Ned added.
I smiled a little. "You mean Web."
They both nodded.
Martha had been patrolling with us recently. After some upgrades and training, she was getting better fast. Turns out she'd already trained herself in boxing before any of this, which helped a lot. Because of that, and after some supervision, she got approved for patrols… as long as she wasn't alone.
She was still training, though. Especially with Bang.
"We might run into them," I said, already turning down a different hallway, "but first, I want to show you something cooler."
"What?" Ned asked.
"Goliath," I said with a grin. "The dragon."
"A dragon?" Ned and Beth said at the same time, eyes lighting up.
"Yep."
Behind me, Cindy let out a quiet sigh.
Yeah… she knew what I was doing.
I was definitely steering us away from the Web Warriors.
Not because I didn't want them to meet my team, but because I wasn't ready for that conversation yet.
Yeah, no. Not happening in a group setting.
I needed to talk to MJ first. Alone.
No surprises.
At least… that was the plan.
"Peter!"
I froze.
Slowly, very slowly, I turned toward the voice.
…Julia.
Uh oh.
She was practically glowing with excitement, a paper clutched in her hand as she ran straight toward me.
"Wait, Julia!"
Too late.
She launched herself at me.
I barely had time to react before I caught her, stumbling back a step as she wrapped her arms around my neck and, start kiss me all over my face.
"I passed the test!" she said, beaming. "Thank you for helping me study!"
"Y-yeah, of course!" I said, trying to keep my balance. "I knew you could do it."
I put her down, she was about to say something else… then finally noticed the group behind me.
Her smile didn't drop.
If anything, it got brighter.
"Oh! Hey, you guys must be Peter's friends!" she said, hopping down. "I'm Julia, one of Peter's girlfriends. Nice to meet you!"
Silence.
"…One of Peter's girlfriends?" Ned, Beth, and MJ all said at the same time.
Then slowly, they turned to look at me.
Cindy didn't even try to hide her smirk.
I felt my soul leave my body.
"…Oh, crap baskets," I muttered.
Ed pov
It took a while, but Cell and Selene finally calmed down. Bit by bit, they started to understand, who I was, who they were… and that they were alive.
After Ashley and I got them into some casual clothes, Stratos took over, already laughing and playing with them like nothing in the world was weird about this situation. Like they were just normal siblings.
Ashley and I stood off to the side, watching.
"I still can't believe it," she said, shaking her head. "One's a clone made from multiple aliens and metahumans, and the other's a clone of an evil mutant witch… and they're just acting like normal kids."
"Yeah," I said, letting out a small breath. "Their start is definitely insane… but I'm gonna make sure they have a good childhood."
"You better," she shot back, then crossed her arms. "Now let's get back to you realizing how stupid you are."
I sighed. "Yeah, yeah… I know. I can't believe it took you and my son to point it out."
Ashley raised an eyebrow. "What does being smart have to do with anything? People still need help sometimes. So, what are you gonna do?"
"I was thinking… just be direct," I said. "Ask her straight up if we're actually dating."
A small smirk appeared on her face. "Good plan. A woman like her? She'll respect that."
"Well, she hasn't called me an idiot yet, so that's a good sign," I said. "And if we're being real… I think we are dating. For real."
Ashley snorted softly. "She's not the type to call you an idiot. If she was, you would've heard it a month ago."
"…Yeah, fair point," I admitted, smiling a little.
It took me longer than it should've, but I finally figured it out.
I really do like Lena.
I like being around her. Talking to her. Just… being with her.
But there's one problem.
If this actually goes somewhere… how the hell am I supposed to tell her I'm Arsenal?