The physical sensation of tearing through the boundary of an isolated universe always felt like getting shoved through a cold and wet sponge. Luv kept his grip firm on his little sister's hand as the multiversal static washed over them and pulled at their clothes. The cosmic noise finally faded away and gravity reasserted itself with a loud pop of displaced air.
Luv was twelve years old now. He was completely used to the dizzying nausea of interdimensional travel because his father dragged them across the multiverse on a regular basis. He looked down at Maya to make sure she was handling the transition well.
Maya was six years old. She inherited their father's caramel brown skin and their mother's striking white hair. Her eyes were entirely her own. They were a deep and glowing purple that subtly hinted at Domino's elevated station in the multiversal hierarchy. Right now those purple eyes were wide open and completely overwhelmed as she took in the massive metallic lobby of the Baxter Building.
[Image Here]
To a kid who grew up in an isolated and quiet dimension, the headquarters of the Fantastic Four looked like a futuristic spaceship. Glowing blue energy panels lined the reinforced walls. Bizarre scientific instruments floated in the air on humming anti-gravity repulsors and holographic displays projected complex math equations across the ceiling.
Before Maya could even ask a single question about the floating metal spheres, two loud voices echoed down the main corridor.
"Big brother Luv! Maya! You guys are finally here!"
Franklin Richards came sprinting down the hallway and his messy blond hair bounced with every step.
Nate Summers was running right beside him with a massive grin on his face. "Let us go already," Nate said as he came to a sliding halt on the polished floor. "We are going to be incredibly late for the carnival and I really want to see her reaction upclose."
Luv opened his mouth to reply but he never got the chance.
Maya's feet literally lifted off the ground. She completely bypassed the strict laws of physics and flew directly toward the two boys. She tackled them both into a massive and tangled hug that sent all three of them crashing to the floor.
"Franky! Nate! I missed you guys so much!" Maya yelled cheerfully.
Both Franklin and Nate giggled in surprise as they tried to untangle themselves. They were completely caught off guard by her sudden flight capabilities.
"Whoaaaa! You can fly now?" Nate asked,his jaw dropped open.
Franklin immediately started throwing out a dozen rapid questions about her newly activated powers. He asked about her kinetic output and her maximum velocity limits because he spent way too much time around his genius father. Luv stepped in with a quiet chuckle to stop the intense scientific interrogation.
"She just awakened her powers this morning," Luv explained and he gently patted his sister's white hair. "But you guys have to keep it down. We want to keep it a total secret from Mom and Dad for a little bit so we can surprise them later tonight."
Keeping a secret from a man who literally owned a magical shifting castle and a mother who manipulated probability was going to be nearly impossible. But Luv figured they could manage it for at least a few hours.
Before they could even discuss the logistics of hiding superpowers from a pair of highly observant parents, a loud mechanical hum filled the air.
A girl came zooming down the hall on a sleek silver hoverboard. She wore oversized pilot goggles strapped to her forehead and she had a massive pout on her face.
"Look who finally decided to show up," Val Richards complained. She crossed her arms as she hovered a few feet off the ground and glared down at Luv. "You promised me you would take me to your home dimension today! I was so incredibly excited to finally see an isolated universe that is completely cut off from the rest of the multiverse!"
Maya peeked out from behind Luv's leg and pointed a small finger at Val. "Yeah! Big bro promised to show you our muffi-burs!"
Luv immediately looked down and put a hand on his sister's shoulder. "Multiverse, Maya. It has a 'v' sound."
Maya pouted her lips and tried again. "Multi-burs! The isolated multi-burs!"
Luv just sighed and rubbed his forehead, deciding it was a completely lost cause for today. He looked back up at Val..
Luv smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. "I am sorry Val. Dad was suuuper busy hosting some major guests from a few foreign multiverses and things got really chaotic at the house. But I promise I will take you there right after this event is over."not
Only for Val to decide to play her age. She hummed dismissively and puffed out her cheeks while refusing to look at him directly.
But Maya was not having any of that attitude. She floated right off the ground and jumped onto the hoverboard. She wrapped Val in a massive and crushing hug that nearly knocked the older girl off the floating metal board.
Val's annoyed facade instantly melted away. It was replaced by a bright and embarrassed smile as she hugged the younger girl back.
"Okay okay I forgive you," Val conceded. She took it upon herself to show Maya around the massive building. She pointed at the walls and explained how all the complicated machinery worked to the girl who was visiting Earth for the very first time.
"So," Val announced to the group as she floated slightly higher to address the boys. "Mum and Dad are currently on a deep space mission dealing with a Klyntar outbreak. And Uncle Ben and Uncle John are babysitting Jo-Venn and N'kalla .That means we have zero adult supervision today and we are completely free to stay awake as late as nine o'clock!"
Before Val could fully revel in her highly rebellious bedtime plan, a large hand clamped down firmly on top of her head.
"Oh really?" an adult voice muttered dryly. "Do tell me what other grand mischief our little Brainstorm is currently planning."
Val froze. She awkwardly turned her head and saw Peter Parker standing right beside her. He raised an eyebrow as he tried to decide on an appropriate punishment for the little rebel.
"Big bro Pete!" Maya cheered.
She lunged off the hoverboard and tackled Peter right in the stomach.
Peter was a full fledged adult now at twenty two years old and he had filled out his frame considerably since his awkward teenage years. He laughed as he caught the little girl and hugged her back.
"Hey there Maya. It has been a really long time. Is our special guest ready for her very first adventure on Earth?" Peter asked as he put Maya on the floor.
"Yes! Yes! Yes! I'm ready for the ad-ben-ture!" Maya chimed as she bounced on her heels.
Luv stepped in immediately and shook his head. "Adventure, Maya. Use the 'v' sound." Maya just ignored him completely and continued bouncing happily.
Luv and Nate and Franklin quickly circled Peter. The three older kids exchanged a knowing look and formed a tight wall in front of the adult . They eyed him with highly suspicious and calculating looks. Peter felt a distinct drop in the room's temperature as the three most overpowered children in the history of the multiverse scrutinized him.
"Hey Peter," Luv asked while narrowing his eyes. "Are you absolutely sure you picked up everything for the carnival? You didn't mess anything up because of your infamous Parker luck did you?"
A drop of cold sweat actually formed on Peter's forehead. Babysitting these kids was terrifying on a good day. "Chill out guys. Everything is completely ready and accounted for. I quadruple checked the reservations and I made sure nothing could possibly go wrong today."
The kids just stared at him in perfect unison. They wore identical blank expressions that clearly communicated they had heard that exact excuse a million times before and it usually ended with a building blowing up.
"Right," Peter coughed and he clapped his hands together to break the awkward tension. "Anyway we should really get going. We are walking to the museum park from here and Gwen is going to meet us there. Until she arrives, why don't we give our guest of honor Maya a proper walking tour of the city?"
"Yay!" all the kids yelled simultaneously.
Peter let out a heavy breath and adjusted the collar of his jacket. He patted his pocket to make sure the small copper ring was still safely tucked inside. He just needed to survive the next few hours with these miniature gods and then he could finally execute his plan.
The walk from the Baxter Building and down into the bustling heart of Queens was a complete sensory overload for a six year old.
Maya kept her small hand gripped tightly around Luv's fingers. She practically vibrated with excitement as she looked at everything around them. She grew up in a quiet and highly isolated pocket dimension where the only visitors were literal gods or demonic aunts. Seeing the loud and chaotic streets of New York City was blowing her mind.
The most amazing part was not the towering skyscrapers or the flying cars darting through the clouds. It was the people.
A man with bright blue fur and a long prehensile tail was casually ordering a toasted bagel from a street vendor. A woman with massive iridescent butterfly wings was sitting on a park bench and feeding pigeons. A group of teenagers were playing basketball in a fenced court and one of them was literally using telekinesis to dunk the ball. Nobody was screaming. Nobody was running away in terror or calling the authorities.
Peter noticed her staring at the basketball game and he smiled warmly. He shoved his hands deep into his jacket pockets.
"It's a pretty amazing sight," Peter said as he guided them around a crowded crosswalk. "Ever since the New York battle where your dad saved the Earth and brought back thousands of people, things have completely changed around here."
Franklin decided he needed to show off. He suddenly snapped his fingers and a ripple of reality warping energy washed over his body. His casual street clothes instantly shifted into a pristine white scientist coat and his messy blond hair turned a blinding shade of white.
"Yeah! And he did it by using my powers!" Franklin yelled dramatically as he used his powers to materialize a white coat over his shoulders and struck a ridiculous and highly exaggerated heroic pose right in the middle of the sidewalk. "I am X! The savior of the timeline!"
Everyone burst out laughing at the terrible impression. Luv just rolled his eyes and pushed Franklin forward so he would not block pedestrian traffic.
Nate stepped up next to Maya and he looked around the street with a nostalgic grin.
"It was't always this peaceful," Nate explained to her. "Mom told me that people used to hate mutants. They used to throw rocks and hide behind giant killer robots. But ever since your dad stepped in and fixed the timeline, the public perception completely flipped. People who used to hide their gifts can openly show them in public without fear. They even play games together in the parks and nobody bats an eye."
Peter nodded in agreement. A soft smile settled on his face as they made their way deeper into his home borough. The world was finally safe and he was just hours away from asking the love of his life to marry him. Everything was going perfectly.
Then his spider sense gave a sharp and highly uncomfortable buzz at the base of his skull.
Peter stopped walking. The hair on his arms stood straight up.. He turned his head sharply toward the local intersection then looked down the street just as the heavy glass window of a local bank completely shattered outward.
The shrill and deafening sound of a security alarm immediately rang through the air. Four heavily armed men wearing cheap plastic Avengers masks came sprinting out the front doors of the bank. They were carrying heavy canvas duffel bags stuffed full of stolen cash and they were waving automatic rifles at the pedestrians.
"Oh come on," Peter sighed heavily. He was completely off the clock today but he instinctively reached for the web shooters hidden under his jacket sleeves.
Val immediately dropped into a combat stance on her silver hoverboard and her hands started glowing with raw energy. Nate's eyes flared with telekinetic power and Franklin cracked his knuckles.
But before any of them could even move to intercept the robbers, a bright gold light flared from the corner of the street.
A regular police officer with a slight beer belly was leaning against a mailbox. He was holding a half eaten donut in one hand and he looked incredibly bored. He wiped a powdered crumb off his chin and let out a tired groan as a glowing gold aura completely coated his body like liquid sunlight.
The officer's standard blue uniform was instantly replaced by a pristine white tactical suit. The golden aura wrapped around his standard issue service pistol. He casually raised the weapon with one hand and fired a single bullet.
The bullet traveled a few feet before it violently split four ways in mid air. The fragmented projectiles rapidly expanded and transformed into a massive electrified energy net. The glowing net completely engulfed the group of fleeing robbers. A heavy current of golden electricity ran through the mesh and shocked them all into unconsciousness in less than a second.
The robbers hit the pavement hard. Their weapons clattered across the concrete and their bodies twitched uncontrollably as the golden net pinned them to the ground.
The most bizarre part of the entire scene was that the civilians on the street barely even reacted to the display of overwhelming force. A businessman simply stepped over one of the twitching robbers, clicked a quick photo on his phone, and kept walking with his iced coffee. The police officer sighed, holstered his glowing gun, and went back to eating his donut.
Val shook her head in sheer disbelief as she watched the robbers get hauled away by the glowing beat cop.
"Those guys must really be lacking in the brain department," Val scoffed and she crossed her arms. "Who even tries to rob a bank nowadays since the Golden Shower?"
Luv immediately snickered at the terrible naming convention. He slapped a hand over his mouth to hide his laugh but his shoulders shook uncontrollably. Peter had to cough aggressively into his fist to hide his own amusement.
Maya tugged hard on Peter's sleeve. She looked completely confused by the entire interaction.
"Big bro Pete?" Maya asked innocently. "What is a Golden Show-"
"Okay! Let me explain!" Peter interrupted loudly. His face turned completely red as he panicked and quickly knelt down to Maya's level to stop her from finishing that sentence.
He shot a withering glare at Luv and Val before he turned his attention back to the six year old girl.
"So," Peter started gently and he pointed toward the glowing police officer. "On a very special day a few years ago, this terrifying and unstoppable monster called The Fury attacked humans all over the world. The heroes were seriously outnumbered and we were losing badly."
Maya's eyes went wide. She loved hearing stories about her father.
"Your dad realized that being a superhero was way too much work and he really wanted to retire," Peter explained. "So he went to meet Mother Earth herself. He actually had a face to face meeting with the literal goddess Gaea. He gave her the power of the Life-Guards system so she could protect everyone automatically."
"He gave his powers to a goddess?" Maya asked in pure awe.
"Yep," Peter nodded and he smiled at her reaction. "And ever since that day, almost every tragedy that could befall us humans is stopped by those gifts from Gaea. She gives us temporary power ups to deal with everything from multiversal alien invasions to petty bank robbers. It completely automated superhero work and it changed the world forever."
"It auto-ma-tated the work?" Maya asked, stumbling over the syllables.
Luv immediately leaned over. "Automated, Maya. Aw-toe-may-ted."
Maya huffed and crossed her little arms. "Aw-toe-may-ted! I know how to say it!"
More wonder lit up in Maya's bright purple eyes. She looked back at the bank and then up at her older brother.
"But why was that specific day so special?" Maya asked.
Luv walked over and he gently poked his sister on the nose. He gave her a soft and teasing smile.
"My dear sister Maya," Luv said playfully. "Did you really forget your big brother's birthday?"
Maya gasped and her hands flew up to cover her mouth. The realization hit her and her purple eyes instantly got shiny with unshed tears. She felt terrible for forgetting such an important detail about her family history.
"Ah! I am so sorry big bro Luv!" Maya cried out and she started fidgeting nervously with the hem of her shirt.
Luv immediately dropped to his knees and pulled her into a tight hug. He just smiled warmly and rubbed her back. He was completely relieved to see his sister's cute and highly apologetic face instead of her crying.
"It's okay Maya," Luv reassured her softly. "Don't worry about it."
Peter watched the two siblings hug and he felt a warm tightness in his chest. Jay - The PowerBroker was a terror to his enemies and he had a terrifying reputation across the multiverse. But seeing his kids acting like a normal and loving family proved that the man had built something genuinely beautiful.
Peter stood up and checked his watch. The sun was going to start setting soon and he needed to get them to the carnival.
"Alright team," Peter clapped his hands together and pointed down the avenue. "Next stop is X-Town. We have carnival games to beat and I need to win a giant stuffed bear before Gwen gets there so I look incredibly cool."
The kids cheered and they continued their walk down the bustling streets of Queens.
The walk ended when they crossed the threshold into X-Town. The atmosphere shifted immediately. The smell of exhaust fumes and hot asphalt faded and it was replaced by the heavy scent of fried dough and powdered sugar and roasted peanuts.
X-Town was essentially a massive permanent carnival built directly over the old subway grates. String lights hung between the brick buildings and illuminated the crowded streets. Mutants of every shape and color were running the booths. A guy with four arms was spinning multiple cones of cotton candy at once. A woman with gills was running the water gun game and using her own moisture to fill the targets. It was loud and bright and completely overwhelming.
Maya stopped dead in her tracks. She pointed a tiny finger at the entrance plaza.
A stone monument stood right in the center of the square. It was a carving of Jay. He was not striking a heroic pose. He was just standing there with his hands in his pockets and looking down at the street like he was incredibly tired but unwilling to leave his post.
"Papa!" Maya cheered as she bounced on her heels and tugged excitedly on Luv's hand. "Big bro, look at the big stach-you! It's a stach-you of Papa!"
Luv immediately knelt down and gently tapped her chin to get her attention. "Statue, Maya. You have to enunciate the 't' sound in the middle. Stat-ue."
Maya pouted her lips and crossed her arms stubbornly. "Stach-you! I said it right!"
Luv just sighed and patted her white hair. "We'll practice your phonetics when we get home."
She let go of Luv's hand and sprinted across the plaza. She threw her arms around the solid stone leg of the monument and hugged it tightly.
Peter pulled out his phone and snapped a quick picture. Luv walked over and asked Peter to send the photo to him later so he could show their parents. Maya finally realized the cold stone was not her actual father. Her cheeks turned bright red and she pushed her index fingers together in embarrassment as she waddled back to the group.
Luv took her hand again and pointed down at the sewer grates beneath their feet.
"Before Dad came along and fixed things," Luv explained quietly to his sister. "The people who live here had to hide down in the dark tunnels. They were called Morlocks. They lived in the dirt because they looked different and regular humans were scared of them. Dad pulled them out of the gutters. He forced the city to give them this land and he made sure nobody could ever push them back underground. That is why they built the statue of him."
Maya looked at the stone face of her father and then looked around at the laughing mutants enjoying the carnival. She nodded her head and she seemed to understand the weight of what her family had done for this world.
They walked deeper into the park. A giant screen was mounted to the side of a brick building. It was broadcasting a live feed of a wedding. Rogue and Gambit were standing at an altar covered in white flowers. The entire park erupted into loud cheers when the two mutants finally kissed.
Val stopped her hoverboard and stared at Nate.
"Wait a minute," Val said and she crossed her arms. "Your Uncle Gambit and Aunt Rogue are getting married right now. What are you doing here at a carnival?"
Nate shrugged and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I created a psychic clone of myself to attend the wedding in my place. It's really boring to sit through a lengthy ceremony when you have already watched the future play out more than a hundred times. I already know what the cake tastes like and I know exactly who is going to catch the bouquet."
Franklin nodded in complete agreement. Luv also nodded as if experiencing nonlinear time was just a common and relatable problem for twelve year olds.
Peter rubbed his face and sighed. He felt completely out of his depth with these kids.
"That is totally unfair," Val yelled and she stomped her foot on her silver board. "I want to see the future too. Just wait until I finish building my own time machine. I am going to take Maya on so many temporal adventures. Right Maya?"
Maya folded under the intense peer pressure and nodded her head rapidly.
Luv opened his mouth to argue against taking his six year old sister into the dangerous timestream. He never got the chance to complain.
Two pale hands appeared from behind Peter and covered his eyes.
"Guess who?" a playful voice whispered.
Peter smiled instantly. A soft blush crept up his neck and his heart rate spiked. "Come on Gwen. You know exactly how spider sense works."
Gwen opened her hands and stepped around to face him. She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.
"Gross!" Nate and Franklin yelled simultaneously. They both stuck their tongues out in disgust and turned their heads away.
Luv stood up straight and crossed his arms. He lifted his chin in pure pride. "It's not gross. It is how adults show genuine affection and love."
The other kids actually stopped complaining and clapped politely. They muttered to each other about how incredibly mature Luv was acting.
Gwen laughed and knelt down on the pavement. She pulled Maya into a tight hug. She had not seen the little girl in months and she practically squeezed the life out of her.
They spent the next two hours walking through the park and playing games. They bought plastic toys and ate way too much cotton candy. Maya stopped at a merchandise booth and bought a black shirt with a white circle over the left eye. It was Domino's classic logo.
"I miss Mom," Maya mumbled and she held the shirt tightly against her chest.
Luv picked her up and rested her on his hip. "It's just a few more hours of fun Maya. Then we will go right back home to see them."
Maya nodded and her purple eyes brightened again.
They walked over to a carnival game. It was the classic milk bottle toss. A carny with green scales on his face was barking at people to try their luck. The game was notoriously rigged. The bottom bottles were filled with solid lead and it was physically impossible to knock them all over with a single baseball.
Maya wanted the giant stuffed bear hanging from the ceiling. Luv put her down and handed the carny a five dollar bill.
Maya picked up the baseball. She did not know how to throw properly. She just sort of lobbed it underhand. The ball flew through the air at a pathetic and slow speed.
The carny smirked and got ready to hand her a cheap plastic ring as a consolation prize.
Maya's purple eyes glowed faintly. A subtle wave of probability manipulation washed over the booth. The strict laws of physics simply decided to take a break.
The slow moving baseball barely tapped the top milk bottle. A sudden and completely inexplicable gust of wind swept through the tent. The solid lead bottles shifted. The center of gravity failed. All six bottles collapsed backward and crashed onto the canvas floor.
The carny stared at the fallen bottles in total shock. His mouth hung open and he rubbed his eyes.
Maya clapped her hands together and pointed at the giant bear. The carny silently handed it over and he looked terrified of the six year old girl.
While the younger kids were distracted by the massive plush toy, Peter quickly pulled Luv away from the group. They stepped behind a fried dough stand to get some privacy.
Peter was sweating and his hands were shaking. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small object. He held it out to Luv.
It was a copper quarter. The edges were worn down and the metal was slightly tarnished. It was the exact same lucky coin that Jay had given Peter seven years ago before they fought the multiversal invasion.
"I am going to do it tonight," Peter whispered and his voice cracked slightly. "Could you help me out?"
Luv looked at the copper coin and understood exactly what Peter was asking for. He took the coin and closed his fist around it as his hands lit up.
Luv looked up at Peter and gave him a confident wink. His eyes glowed a faint and supportive blue.
"We have your back Peter," Luv said quietly. "Just get her to the Ferris wheel at sunset and leave the rest to us."
As the sun began to dip below the New York skyline and painted the clouds in shades of bruised orange and purple, Luv decided it was time to execute the final phase of their plan.
He stopped walking right in the middle of the crowded thoroughfare and let out a loud and incredibly forced cough.
Franklin and Nate caught the signal immediately. They started hacking and wheezing like they were suddenly dying of a Victorian lung disease. Val just rolled her eyes at the terrible performance but she nudged Maya with her elbow. Maya caught on and let out a tiny and completely unconvincing sneeze.
Gwen stopped walking and her face scrunched up with genuine worry. "Oh no. Are you guys okay?"
Luv looked at her with a perfectly straight face. "It seems we have all caught a terrible and sudden cold. We desperately need to go find a doctor right this second."
He started ushering the kids away in a hurried mob and pushed them toward the food stalls. Gwen stared after them in total shock.
"Since when do literal children of gods catch the common cold?" Gwen asked.
Peter grabbed her hand and his palms were sweating profusely. "Don't worry about it. It must be one of their weird multiversal pranks. Look, the line for the Ferris wheel is completely empty right now. Let's go for a ride."
He pulled her along toward the massive glowing wheel before she could argue or try to chase after the kids.
Meanwhile, behind a nearby popcorn stand, the kids peeked out from their hiding spot to watch the couple board the ride.
Val shook her head in disgust. "That was the worst acting I have ever seen in my entire life."
Luv ignored her harsh critique and clapped his hands together. "Guys, we have to move quickly. We still need to build the projection matrix before they reach the top."
And just like that, the three most overpowered mutants in the history of the multiverse temporarily reduced themselves to a makeshift printing press just to help their favorite web slinger.
Franklin snapped his fingers and warped local reality to manifest high grade holographic lenses out of thin air. Nate's eyes glowed bright pink as he used precise telekinesis to assemble the delicate wiring and connect the heavy batteries without using his hands. Val furiously typed code into a stolen Stark Pad to program the animations and sync the light projectors. Maya just stood nearby and let her purple eyes glow faintly so her passive luck ensured the entire bootleg machine did not explode in their faces.
Up in the cramped Ferris wheel cabin, Gwen was still talking and worrying over the kids and their sudden illness. She stopped mid sentence when she noticed Peter was completely silent. He was sitting stiffly on the wooden bench and sweating through his jacket.
"Pete, do you have a cold too?" she asked while reaching out to feel his forehead.
Peter gently waved her hand away. "No. It's something else entirely."
He looked out the scratched acrylic window. The sun was fully setting now. They had reached the very top of the wheel and it gave them a breathtaking view of the illuminated city. The lights of New York looked like scattered diamonds.
Peter smiled and finally found his courage. He reached across the small table and took both of Gwen's hands in his own.
"Gwen, it has been exactly seven years since we both got our powers," Peter started. His voice was soft but incredibly steady. "We have looked at this exact skyline for so many years. We have swung through it together every single night. We have faced incredibly fun times and insanely hard times and the terrifyingly worst times imaginable. But the most important thing is that I faced all of it with you."
Gwen blinked and her heart rate spiked. "Peter, that is so incredibly sweet. But is everything alright? Why are you doing the sudden sweet talk? Did you finally agree to take that job working under J. Jonah Jameson like I told you to?"
Peter laughed nervously and squeezed her hands tighter. "No, it's not that. It's just that after I first got my powers during the invasion, you were there to help me understand them and ground me. Then during the Fury attack, you got these amazing powers just to save me and heal my broken bones. And then there was that nightmare with the Cosmic Court. You have been my absolute rock through every single disaster. I think what we have deserves to be called more than just puppy love."
"Pete, what are you doing?" Gwen asked as her voice dropped to a shaky whisper.
Peter leaned forward and kissed her softly on the lips. He pulled back and pointed out the window down at the park plaza. "Just look down there."
Gwen turned her head and looked out the glass.
Down in the concrete plaza, a massive and colorful holographic display had been projected into the night air. It featured incredibly cute and hand drawn doodles of Spider-Man in red and blue alongside Ghost-Spider in white and pink and black. The two cartoon spiders were shooting webs that connected to form a giant glowing heart.
Written in massive neon letters across the projection were four words.
WILL YOU MARRY ME?
Below that was a smaller postscript that read,
please do not eat my head for this.
Gwen gasped and tears instantly welled up in her bright eyes. She turned back around.
Peter was already down on one knee in the cramped cabin space. He was holding up a ring. It was made of simple copper with beautiful and intricate engravings running all along the metal band.
"Gwendolyn Maxine Stacy," Peter said while his voice grew thick with emotion. "Will you do me the honor of marrying me?"
Gwen slapped a hand over her mouth to muffle her crying. She did not even hesitate for a single second.
"Yes! Of course I will Pete! Yes!"
She threw herself at him and they kissed deeply as the Ferris wheel rocked gently from the shifting weight. Peter slipped the copper ring onto her finger. It fit perfectly.
Gwen pulled back and looked closely at the band. She noticed the specific engravings and realized they matched the markings of a standard quarter perfectly.
She gasped softly. "Pete. Is this the lucky coin Jay gave you?"
Peter nodded and wiped a stray tear from his own eye. "From now on you are my only destiny and my whole life." He leaned forward and kissed her affectionately on the cheek.
Gwen sniffed and looked back out the window. "Wait a minute. How did you even get that massive hologram down there?"
Peter laughed and pointed down at the plaza again.
Gwen looked closer and saw Luv and Franklin and Nate and Val and little Maya all standing around a glowing projector device. They were cheering wildly and high fiving each other and yelling things about their highly successful mission.
After a long and incredibly happy evening filled with memories they would keep forever, Luv and Maya finally bid everyone goodbye.
A bright flash of blue teleportation light illuminated the air and they found themselves back in the lush garden of their own home. They were both giggling uncontrollably. They were incredibly happy that they had successfully helped Peter pull off the proposal mission.
Luv confidently snapped his fingers and used his powers to instantly shift the local environment from a dark night back to a sunny and pleasant afternoon.
But when they turned around to face the house, their giggles died instantly.
Jay and Domino were standing right behind them on the porch. Both parents had their arms crossed tightly and they were wearing very serious and uncompromising expressions.
"So," Jay said while raising a single eyebrow. "What exactly is this mission I am hearing about?"
Before Jay could even press the strict interrogation further, Maya's face lit up with pure joy.
"Papa!" she yelled.
She launched herself off the ground and flew directly into Jay's chest. She hugged him as tight as she possibly could. "I missed you so incredibly much!"
All the strict seriousness completely melted off Jay's face in an instant. He caught her easily and a massive and goofy smile broke across his face as he hugged his daughter back tightly.
Domino just let out a long and fond sigh before uncrossing her arms. "Of course. Daddy's little princess can always melt Daddy's cold heart without even trying."
She walked over and pulled Luv into a warm embrace. She pressed a gentle kiss to his scalp.
"Well, get to it mister," Domino said with a smirk as she ruffled Luv's white hair. "Tell us all about this grand adventure you two went on today."
Maya giggled brightly from the safety of Jay's arms. "Well it all started when I awakened my powers this morning!"
Jay and Domino both froze completely solid. They slowly looked at each other and blinked in total shock. Then they looked back down at their six year old daughter.
"You awakened what?!" they yelled in perfect unison.
Jay lifted Maya right off the ground as he settled her comfortably on his broad shoulders. She grabbed his hair to steady herself and let out a happy cheer.
Jay looked over at Luv and pointed a stern finger at him.
"You are still grounded for sneaking your sister out to Earth without telling us," Jay said. But he was smiling so hard that the threat carried no weight. "But I am incredibly proud of you for watching out for her Luv. You did good today."
Luv smiled and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I always have her back, Dad."
Domino walked up and linked her arm through Jay's arm. She leaned her head against his bicep as they turned to look at their massive home. Warm yellow lights were glowing in the windows and the faint smell of dinner was drifting out from the kitchen.
"Come on," Domino smiled. "Let us go inside. You guys need to tell us exactly how Peter finally managed to propose without ruining it."
Jay laughed loudly and adjusted Maya on his shoulders. The four of them walked together up the wooden porch steps and went inside their home.
Author's Note:
A small thank you to @side character A for this commission.
This was my first one, and you trusted me with something that honestly meant a lot more than just an extra chapter. You gave me the chance to return to Jay's story after it was already complete and explore his family in a way I hadn't planned but really enjoyed writing.
Getting to expand on Maya, Luv, and the future they're growing into was something special for me, and that only happened because of your idea and support.
So yeah, genuinely, thank you for that.