It was New Year's Eve and this year Catherine Davis was without anyone to kiss. What was that you asked? What happened to her cloned and newly empowered girlfriend, Elizabeth Allan? Well, you see. Unbeknownst to the Amazing Spider-Twins, their mom and the clone quartet are all Agents of SHIELD. The quartet left shortly after Christmas to begin their training, but told Caty and Danny that they were going to travel the country for a bit and get away from their creator now that they failed their mission. A technical truth, so the twins weren't all too suspicious. It just left Caty in the dumps and on high alert.

She didn't know who their creator was. Just that he went by the name Jackal. She was honestly starting to get tired of these super freaks with a vendetta against her. It was already bad enough that Jameson and the Bugle wouldn't lay off her with calling her a menace. At least MJ was helping Danny look like a hero. She wouldn't be surprised if they ended up having them fight each other soon. She just really couldn't catch a break. It had only been over half a year since she and her brother began moonlighting as costumed superheroes and it was starting to feel like decades had gone by. If she weren't careful she'd start prematurely aging.

A sigh escaped Spider-Woman's mask as she swung through Times Square. All seemed normal. People were having fun below and even noticing her and tonight that happened to be a problem. She was blinded by four spotlights aiming directly at her. She dropped to the ground using her spidey-sense and reflexes to land on her feet. The spotlights followed her and she lifted her arm up to shield her eyes. Just as she did, two of the spotlights left her and pointed upwards in the opposite direction. There was a man costumed once again dressed in green, but this time with a fishbowl for a head and a long, purple cape. Two of the screens in the Square changed to show Spider-Woman and this Mysterious Man respectively.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN," He began to announce. "TONIGHT IS YOUR LUCKY NIGHT, FOR I INVITE YOU TO THE SHOW OF A LIFETIME. WHERE I, THE MARVELOUS AND MAGNIFECENT MYSTERIO, WILL STOMP OUT THE MENACE QUEEN OF PESTS, SPIDER-WOMAN!"

"Oh, you've got to be shitting me." Spider-Woman said to herself before responding out loud. "I'm still not finished with the last one!"

"I assure you, Spider-Woman." Mysterio said with a smooth, but almost icy tone. "I'm no criminal of the underworld competing with you for top billing. I'm an entertainer, but it's come to my attention what this beautiful city needs is a hero that'll take out the trash for it."

Spider-Woman looked down at her costume. "I know my costume's kind of dark, but do I really look like a trash bag?"

The crowd laughed. Caty wasn't sure if it was at her or with her, but it seemed that they were still on her side for now. Maybe if she talked this guy down no one had to get hurt.

"Look. You've got the wrong idea. I'm no criminal. I just protect people and stop crime."

Mysterio paused, confused and slightly irritated. This wasn't how this was supposed to go down. He was losing the crowd. "That's not what the Daily Bugle says. They say you got a police officer and a young girl killed."

Caty felt a tight pain in her chest. Even though Liz was alive again the feelings and memories of what happened never went away. She still blamed herself for what happened. She already felt that way so why did she have to constantly get reminded of that fact? By Jameson and by wannabe heroes now too?

Spider-Woman lifted her head to face the cameras. "A misguided villain calling himself Hobgoblin was responsible for their deaths. He thought I and Spider-Man were someone else and wanted to hurt them. Despite knowing this I already blame myself more than you, Jameson, or anyone else in this city can. That's why I'm out here tonight making sure no one else will go through what they went through."

Mysterio was getting angry now. He was glad he was wearing his helmet or everyone would see his inability to his his facial expressions. "You really expect us to believe your sob story? Tonight the world will see you for the villain that you are."

A smoky gas began to fill the area causing everyone in the vicinity to hallucinate, including Spider-Woman. Before the toxins could fully affect her or Jumper she shot a web to the roof of the nearest building. Jumper immediately jumped on the web. "I need you to find Danny, buddy." She whispered to him. He nodded and ran up the string as fast as he could to find Spider-Man.

When the gas fully kicked in she could see what everyone else was seeing, well, almost. She saw a swarm of spiders crawling over the citizens and the square. They were seeing her command the spiders as their Queen. Spider-Woman told herself that none of this was real. Well, the people were real. At least she hoped all of them were real. For all she knew she could be hallucinating all of this. She was getting a headache thinking of all of this. She just needed to focus on helping people and stopping Mysterio. She hadn't seen him since this all started so for the moment she needed to calm down these people and get them to safety.

Spider-Woman walked to the nearest person, a young woman a few years older than her. "Hey, excuse me, miss. These spiders, or whatever you're seeing isn't real. Pay attention to the sound of my voice." The woman screamed at the sound of her voice.

"Stop it! Tell the spiders to stop! I thought you were a hero, but Jameson and Mysterio were right!" The woman exclaimed.

Spider-Woman stepped back. Were they all starting to feel like this? How was she supposed to help them? While lost in thought she felt something latch onto her back. Before she could turn to see what it was she was pulled backwards to the ground and dragged across the floor until she reached Mysterio. She stared up at the giant bowl staring down at her. She wasn't even sure if this was real. This couldn't be real. Maybe this whole thing was a hallucination. Maybe this guy poisoned her earlier and she was just thinking she was in a battle. She could even be sleeping. What if she attacked him and he was a civilian or one of her friends? Was there actually a point in fighting back? The people lost faith in her. It was fine when it was just the news, but if the people stopped believing in her then that only left the truth. That she was a villain. A killer. A menace. Real or not she didn't want to hurt anyone anymore. She just wanted to stop hurting. Someone let the pain stop. All of these thoughts were running through her mind. She wasn't even listening to Mysterio's speech. She didn't even realize he was talking until the end.

"You're not the hero, I AM!!" Mysterio said before trying to bash her head in with a hammer fist.

Danny missed having Dani with an I around, but understood why she had to leave. She said something about traveling the country with her sisters to get away from their creator, but Danny was sure they probably also wanted some degree of normalcy. Anyway, aside from the clones leaving, things have been going well, at least for Spider-Man. Jameson said the same shit about Spider-Man being a menace as he does for Spider-Woman, but at least MJ was there to make Spider-Man look like a hero. His Spider-Man videos were going viral.

Speaking of MJ, Danny has been seeing a lot more of MJ now. He moved in with his Aunt Anna, who happens to live next door to the Davises. Danny had a view of MJ’s bedroom from his own bedroom window.

Relationship wise, as far as Danny understood, he was still single. He and Chase were on a break, and MJ made it clear he was not ready to be tied down with a relationship. And yet, they were still going to Times Square for New Years Eve together. Danny still hoped to get a kiss at midnight, even though he was sure MJ would rather kiss Spider-Man.

On New Years Eve, while Caty was on patrol as Spider-Woman, Danny was there as Danny. Though he still had his Spider-Man costume on standby just in case things went wrong.

While MJ was taking selfies, Danny was having a chat with Harry. “Hey Harry. How’s Gwen doing?”

Harry shrugged. “It’s been rough. I barely managed to come out for this… Whatever you do, don’t bring up you know who…”

Danny saluted. “Right, got it!”

“Anyway, Spider-Man has been all over the internet lately!”

Before Danny could respond, Skyler butted in. “Spider-Man is lame! Spider-Woman is where it’s at. Her costume is cooler, and she’s hotter.”

At this point, MJ put the phone down. “If Spider-Man is so lame, why did you dress as him for Halloween?”

Skyler shifted his feet nervously. “Uh… that was supposed to be a joke Matt. You know, funny haha. I would never be caught in a sissy pink costume for real!”

“Right… Then, explain that photo of him in your locker.”

Skyler’s face turned bright red. “Um… I think I hear my date calling!” He stammered before running off as Danny and Harry laughed.

MJ smirked. “He doesn’t have a date. No tea, no shade, but I think that boy is hiding something, if you know what I mean.”

Danny just chuckled at the exchange.

Just as Danny was starting to have fun, a crazy person had to go and ruin it. As soon as Mysterio came on the big screen, Danny ran off to change into Spider-Man. When he got back, he was greeted with chaos. Everyone was running and screaming in terror.

Amidst all the panic, Jumper found Spider-Man, and directed him to Spider-Woman, where she was in a fight with Mr. Fishbowl head himself. Danny stepped in, and caught his fist. “Excuse me, I think you’re mistaken. I’m the hero here. Oh, and the fishbowl isn’t a good look.”

Spider-Woman and Mysterio's eyes widened with shock as the latter's fist was caught by “Spider-Man!?” They exclaimed in unison, but with two completely different tones. Hers was more of hope and his was more of rage and annoyance. He was confident he could take Spider-Woman, but Spider-Man as well? Two was a bit more than he could chew.

Spider-Woman wasn't sure if her brother was really here or if this was her mind hoping he was there to save her. Either way, she was alive and Spider-Man provided an opportunity for her. She pushed herself up sending her flying above Spider-Man's arm feet first to kick the giant target that was Mysterio's fish bowl. It was surprisingly very durable and sturdy, but the force of the kick sent him flying into the crowd where he disappeared into the gas waiting for his next opportunity to strike.

Spider-Woman recovered her bearings and turned to face her brother. “Thank you. I didn't realize you were so close. You weren't on a date were you?” She knew he and MJ had gotten closer since Christmas. It was part of the reason why she decided to still go solo tonight. She waited for his response before getting back to the subject at hand.

Danny shrugged. “Kinda. But this is more important!” He wasn’t sure if he and MJ were considered dating, or if he was just in the friend zone. Either way, that didn’t matter, they had more serious matters to deal with.

“There's something strange about his gas. Outside of the hallucinations it seems to even be affecting our spidey-sense.” Caty finally said.

“If it’s affecting us, then Fishbowl head must have gotten his hands on some really powerful Neurotoxin.”

Right on cue, Mysterio attacked, spraying Danny with a whole bunch of the gas. Suddenly Caty was gone, as well as the rest of New York. Danny was standing alone in darkness. “Uh…h-h-hello?”

Suddenly, Mysterio came out of nowhere, and punched Danny in the face, knocking him back. “You may act like a hero, but we all know it’s a farce!”

Then, another Mysterio appeared, and punched Danny. “You and I know the truth. You’re just a scared little child playing dress up!”

And then a third Mysterio attacked. “The city may think it’s cute, but they’ll turn on you!”

Danny stumbled backward, disoriented by the sudden onslaught of attacks from multiple Mysterios. Each punch landed with force, shaking him to his core. He tried to fight back, but it was like battling shadows in the darkness. Of course, in reality, Danny was punching the air.

“Mysterio!” Spider-Woman yelled. She watched as her brother fell victim to his gas and was fighting the air.

“That's my name! You can say it as much as you want before you go down. Your partner's useless and you're all alone.” Mysterio replied more sure of his victory.

Spider-Woman closed her eyes. He was trying to get under her skin and it was working before, but he was wrong. She wasn't alone and Danny was far from useless. “You're wrong about everything you said here today. I'm not a villain and I'm not alone. Spider-Man's my partner and I have friends, many friends and I think it's time you got a taste of your own medicine.”

Spider-Woman borrowed Cassandra's move and called for all the spiders in the surrounding area. It'd take a while for them to get there since the ones in the Square were affected by the toxin. She needed to help Danny and keep Mysterio distracted for the time being. “SPIDER-MAN, STOP FIGHTING THE AIR AND WAKE YOUR ASS UP!!!” She hoped that hearing her voice was enough to get him to break through Mysterio's illusion. She needed his help. She needed her brother.

As Danny was being piled on by multiple Mysterios. He tried to regain his composure. “This… this isn’t real,” he muttered to himself, trying to shake off the effects of the hallucinogenic gas.

But the onslaught of Mysterios continued, each one taunting him with words that cut deep. Danny felt his confidence waver. Were they right? Was he just a scared child pretending to be a hero?

But then, he heard his sister's voice calling him. His mind latched onto the familiar sound of his sister’s voice. It cut through the illusions like a beacon of hope, reminding him of who he was and what he fought for.

With renewed determination, Danny focused on Spider-Woman’s words, pushing aside the doubts and fears that threatened to overwhelm him. Taking a deep breath, he summoned all his strength and resolve. With a sudden burst of energy, Danny broke free from the illusions. He was back in Time’s Square with his sister by his side. “Thanks.” Danny muttered. “God, that was awful. I knew there was nothing there, and I was still taking a beating…”

Caty smiled under her mask. She knew she could rely on Danny. Spider-Woman was reinvigorated and ready to finish this. She'd play Mysterio's word game to buy them time. “You failed, Mysterio. You reflect people's insecurities and fears back at them with your words and your fishbowl. All that to hide how much of a failure you are inside. Your first thought was to put people in danger to turn them against someone trying to protect them. If you really wanted to be a hero you wouldn't have put on a flashy performance or attacked people. You would've talked to and joined us.”

Mysterio was furious now. He refused to let his plans be reuined. He really wasn't expecting Spider-Man to be here. They only worked together once to his knowledge and that was in California. This wasn't supposed to be happening. He could deal with one spider freak, but when they were this in sync he was useless. No. He was not going to give up. “So what? You haven't won yet.”

Mysterio threw his arms forward preparing to release his neurotoxin again on the Spider-Duo when he noticed something on his gloves. His helmet magnified it and he realized it was a spider. No, there were multiple spiders crawling all on him. He let out a girlish scream. “Get them off, GET THEM OFF!!”

Spider-Woman held back her laugh. “I will, only if you release everyone from their torture.”

Mysterio released a neutralizing gas into the air immediately. Once the gas was in the air and Caty didn't feel any illusions she told the spiders thank you and that their job was done. They scurried away leaving Mysterio on ground scratching his body in a frenzied panic. Caty would've webbed him up, but she wasn't all that concerned about him running away at this point. The police should be here soon anyway.

The civilians were returning to normal and realized that they weren't being eaten alive by spiders and that Spider-Woman and Spider-Man saved them. The crowd ran up to the Spider-Duo and began thanking and praising them. Some saying they always knew Jameson was full of it. For the first time since they put on their masks the Spider-Twins were finally being recognized and not looked at as menaces or villains. For the first time it all felt worth it to Caty.

And amidst all the praise, everyone’s favorite redheaded social media influencer was filming the whole time. “This is getting even more clicks than the Mall incident. You know, you two should work together more often. The Spider-Twins of New York has a nice ring to it. Do you mind if I get a pic? My friend Danny is going to flip when he sees I got a picture with both of you.”

Spider-Man’s eyes went wide. “Sorry, I have to go. Duty calls!” He swang off, to find some place to go change. MJ just chuckled knowingly.

Spider-Twins of New York? Caty thought to herself. It was official. MJ definitely knew, but at least he wasn't forcing Danny to admit it. Spider-Woman waited for the police to arrive to pick up Mysterio and took a picture with MJ and a few other people in the meantime. She needed the good PR and he was right. They definitely needed to work together more often.

Once the police arrived her job here was done. She had something else she needed to do tonight.

The clock was ticking down the final minutes of New Year's Eve as Caty webbed through the city. She was on a high from the events of the night. She was still annoyed that another villain found it necessary to cause her and her brother stress and trauma around the holidays, but at least it ended in a victory and the people recognizing that they actually were heroes. It did get dark there for a while. She really almost gave up. It made her realize that she still wasn't as over her guilt as she thought she was. It made sense. Liz may have been back and things were better with her family, but there was another family that got destroyed in all of this and she never gave Gwen the friend that she needed. She told herself that she wanted and needed space, but she refused to go into the New Year without at least a conversation between the two. She was one of her best friends and she missed her.

Caty finally made it to Gwen's house, in her incognito costume, which is really what she just called her flipping her hoodie inside out. It was surprisingly effective. She landed on the roof and climbed down towards Gwen's window like a spider. She tapped it gently. The last thing she needed to do was destroy her window when she was trying to apologize.

Gwen was sitting at her computer. She was trying to write, but found it hard. She's been keeping a virtual journal, but this was her first New Year's without her dad. Her brain was too foggy. She couldn't think of anything, but her father not being here anymore. She already lost her mom. Now she had no one. She turned her head after hearing a tap at her window. She sighed before wiping the tears forming in her eyes. She got up from her chair despite not wanting to. What was she doing here? Shouldn't she be out there patrolling? Being a "hero"?

Gwen opened the window with a sad and tired expression. There were bags under her eyes. She hadn't been sleeping much lately and anytime she did they were fueled by nightmares. She couldn't even have peace in her dreams. "What are you doing here?" She asked Caty bluntly.

Caty saw her face and recognized it immediately. It was her face. How she'd been after her dad's death and especially after Liz's. She should've been here sooner. No, no should have. She's here now. "I'm hoping you'd let me in so we can talk. I'm sure you don't want anyone seeing Spider-Woman hanging out here."

Gwen shrugged and started walking back into her room. "I don't know. If they saw me talking to you maybe no one else would confuse us for the other. Come in."

Caty felt heavy in her stomach at her response. So they were going heavy right off the bat. It didn't matter if Caty felt like she deserved it or not, Gwen's feelings were valid and understandable. She climbed inside and closed the window behind her. Once inside she pulled her mask down so they could talk to each other face to face. Gwen to Caty, not Spider-Woman. "Yeah... That's what I wanted to talk about. I want to apologize for what happened with your dad. Neither of you deserved that. He was an amazing man and father. He was like a second dad to me."

"I'm not mad about my dad. Okay, yes. I'm mad about my dad, but not at you. Not for that. I'm mad at that lunatic. I'm mad at myself for being weak. I... I'm mad at you for abandoning me."

Caty was surprised by her words. She never realized that Gwen felt weak. Then again she hadn't been hanging with her as much lately. But it was that Gwen felt like she abandoned her. "I'm so sorry. I wanted to give you space to grieve and honestly I didn't know what to say. But you're right. I may not have been there before, but I'm here now."

Gwen shook her head. "You still don't get it. You abandoned me way before my dad died, even before you got powers and became the Amazing Spider-Woman! I started losing you when you and Liz started dating and don't get me wrong. I love you both and I was so happy for you two. But I started to lose my best friends. Then I really lost you two when your dad died and you started being a hero. Then... my dad and Liz died then I lost three of my best friends for good all in one night. Then I lost Danny, because he's your brother and I couldn't explain how I felt and I just feel so alone. I know I have Harry and he's amazing, but..."

Caty ran up and hugged Gwen before she could finish fighting with the words she wanted to say. Tears started to flow in her eyes. She hadn't realized how selfish and how terrible of a friend she was. "I'm so, so sorry. I love you and I'm sorry I made you feel like you lost me even before my dad and everything. Liz and I never wanted to make you feel that way." She thought about telling her about Liz being alive, but how could she explain that someone cloned their best friend, but her dad was still dead? "You are so important to me and I promise I'm going to be a better friend from here on out."

Gwen pulled her head back, tears flowing in her eyes as well. "You still don't get it." Before she could continue an alarm blurred to life on her computer symbolizing that it was now officially midnight of the New Year. To clarify what she meant Gwen decided to kiss Caty on the lips.

Caty's eyes widened in surprise at the sudden kiss. Gwen's lips were soft and they fit together well. She returned the kiss with equal passion and pulled back. She definitely couldn't tell her about Liz yet. "Wow. That was a surprise. A great kiss, but Gwen. You're with Harry and I... I'm not ready for anything with anyone."

Gwen shook her head. "I'm not leaving Harry. I just never expressed my true feelings for you. No, that's wrong. The kiss confirmed it. I love you, but you're my best friend and I'd really appreciate it staying that way. Plus, I really do love Harry Osborn."

Caty smiled. She was happy that things were better between the two of them now and that there wasn't going to be a scandal on their hands. "Thank you, Gwen. I should go." She walked towards the window and leaned outside of it before looking back at Gwen with a smile. She turned back to look at the night sky. She touched her lips and jumped out of the window before swinging off into the distance. Little did she know Harry Osborn was standing at Gwen's doorstep, a little late for his midnight kiss, but not too late to see Caty's strange gesture.

---

Caty felt like nothing could ruin her night, but knew better than to say that out loud. She had put her mask back on since she left Gwen's, but was still in her incognito costume. She wanted to end tonight on the high that it was. No one would be foolish enough to try anything else tonight after knowing the Spider-Twins are on the job. No, she was headed home. Gwen reminded her just how much sleep she had been losing, especially with the hunt that she had just went through. It was strange that the mastermind behind the clones hadn't revealed himself yet. She actually hated that. It left her on edge. As long as they were out and about she and her family weren't safe and that included her new sisters and revived ex(?)-girlfriend. God, why was her life so damn complicated?

As if to answer her question and complicate it even more God sent exactly who she was looking for her way. Her head was ringing for the first time tonight. "It's official. God will not let me rest." She tried to observe the area, but before she could completely span it she was grabbed from below by a large green beast. What was up with her enemies and the color green!? And how the Hell did he grab her all the way up there? She didn't have the time to think about either of these questions before she was thrown into the ground below. She hit the pavement hard causing a crater to form beneath her.

Caty groaned in pain and opened her eyes preparing to shoot a web at whatever just tossed her, but before she could even find her mark it landed on her left wrist, specifically where her web-shooter was, breaking it and her wrist in the process. She was in so much pain that she couldn't scream. She was in shock.

The Green Beast pulled her up with her other hand and pulled her up to its face. "You really have some nerve. Must you continue to torment the Stacy's?"

Caty tried to speak, but no words were coming out.

"Don't speak. Just listen. I should kill you right now. You've already ruined my plans, but in the spirit of the holiday you get a new chance at life. Plus it'd be better to have you living in fear of THE JACKAL!" The Jackal dropped her on the floor with a thud. He laughed and leapt away, leaving her to lie alone in the pit.

---

---

Meanwhile the Avengers were halfway across the world having a much better holiday. They just finished taking down a secret Hydra Army led by Ulysses Klaue hellbent on pillaging the hidden country of Wakanda for its vast resources and super rare Vibranium. The same materials that made Captain America's shield. This war revealed Wakanda to the World and introduced the Warrior King and Hero, T'Challa, the Black Panther. He accepted the Avengers' help and led his people to victory taking out Klaue in the process. In an effort to protect his country from the world T'Challa decided to join the Avengers as an oncall member, his main priority always being his home country.

With a few minutes left until midnight, Danny ran back to meet up with MJ. “Where have you been?” MJ exclaimed as if he didn’t already know Danny was Spider-Man. “I got a picture with Spider-Woman!” He said as he showed Danny his phone.

Danny rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Um… running in fear…” Danny lied. “I’m not going to stick around with some maniac on the loose…” Danny’s heart raced as he tried to maintain his composure under MJ’s scrutinizing gaze. He knew he wasn’t the best liar, especially when it came to MJ.

MJ raised an eyebrow.

“Really? Running from a maniac? This coming from the same guy that took on Skyler?” MJ said.

Danny shifted uncomfortably, searching for a convincing excuse. “Well, you know, I just didn’t want to risk getting hurt, you know? I mean, I’m no superhero like the Spiders... Speaking of which, that’s a cool picture you got there.”

MJ continued to study him for a moment before letting out a small chuckle. “Alright, Danny. I won’t push it. Let’s just enjoy the countdown and the fireworks, okay?”

Danny breathed a sigh of relief, and nodded eagerly. “Yeah, sounds good.”

As clock counted down, the boys eagerly awaited for midnight. When it came, there was much celebration. There was fireworks and confetti.

Danny nervously asked MJ if he could have a New Years kiss.

MJ smiled apologetically. “Danny, you’re sweet, and I like you, but I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. I’m not ready for that kind of relationship right now.”

Danny's heart sank at MJ's response, but he tried to mask his disappointment with a forced smile. "No worries, MJ. I understand." he replied, attempting to sound casual.

MJ placed a comforting hand on Danny's shoulder. "I hope you're not too disappointed. You're a great guy, Danny. It's just... I'm not looking for anything serious right now."

Danny nodded. "Yeah, I get it. No hard feelings." He wanted to be understanding, but MJ was quick to kiss Spider-Man, but Danny gets rejected. Just another reminder that Spider-Man is cool, but Danny Davis is a loser.

MJ, sensing Danny’s disappointment, did his best to help. “Listen, you’re really cute and sweet. You should go out and see other people, live your best life.” MJ suggested. “Any guy would be lucky to have you! And maybe one day, I’ll be ready.” He winked.

Danny managed a small smile, though his heart still felt heavy with disappointment. “Thanks, MJ. I appreciate it.” he said, trying to sound grateful for the encouragement.

As they continued to watch the fireworks, Danny couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy as he saw couples around them sharing kisses and embracing in the New Year’s celebration. He wished things could be different between him and MJ, but he knew he had to respect his friend’s boundaries.

As the festivities continued, Danny did his best to enjoy the rest of the evening with MJ and their friends, putting aside his feelings of inadequacy and focusing on the fun of the New Year’s celebration. Deep down, though, he couldn’t shake the sense of longing and disappointmet. wondering if he would ever find someone who would reciprocate his feelings.

But for now, he decided to take MJ’s advice and focus on living his best life, knowing that someday, he might meet someone who would appreciate him for who he was.

——

As Spider-Man swung through the city, his senses alert for any signs of trouble, he spotted a massive pile of sand, wreaking havoc with destructive intent.

Without hesitation, Spider-Man swooped down, landing in front the movinf. “Hey, hey! What’s going on?” he called out.

The Sand reformed into a human. “Stay out of this, Spider-Man! This is between me and Norman Osborn!” He growled.

Spider-Man’s eyes widened. “Norman Osborn? What did he do?” He asked with genuine concern.

“He lied to me, Spider-Man! He promised he had a cure for my daughter’s leukemia, but it was all a trick. He’s responsible for what happened to me, and now he’s going to pay.” The man started to become sandy again.

Spider-Man sighed. He really felt for the guy. He was also surprised that Norman Osborn would do something like that. I mean, he knew he wasn’t the best father, but this?

“I know you’re hurting, but this isn’t the answer.” Danny insisted. “We can find another way to hold Osborn accountable, together. But first, we need to stop this before anyone else gets hurt.”

The man hesitated. After a tense moment, he slowly began to stand down, his sandy form starting to solidify.

“Okay, Spider-Man. You win.” The Sandman conceded. “But mark my words, Osborn won’t get away with what he’s done.”

Spider-Man nodded. “We’ll find a way to make him answer for his crimes. But for now, let’s focus on helping your daughter.”

And then, as if on cue, Norman came out, surrounded by a bunch of armed officers. “Thank you Spider-Man, that will be all.” He said as the officers apprehended the Sandman.

Danny was stunned silent. He managed to talk the guy down from killing Norman Osborn, and he gets arrested anyway. It wasn’t fair. How was he going to look Mr. Osborn in the eye when Danny Davis reports for internship with him. Even worse, how was he going to tell Harry?

Caty was really starting to get annoyed with the Avengers, but specifically Tony Stark. They just had to outshine them every time and she was starting to think it was on purpose, because why wouldn't Tony invite her and Danny to help them take down HYDRA in Wakanda? Discovering that it was the most technologically advanced country in the world was what really pushed Caty to feel this way. She should've been there talking science with their brightest minds. Think of all the ways she could upgrade her web-shooters. This thought had been on Caty's mind for months now, especially after discovering that the clone quartet was there helping them and were practically honorary Avengers. At least that's what Dani said, Liz later clarified that they were actually Agents of SHIELD and that's why they left shortly after Christmas. Caty wished she could join them. Things had been rather quiet and awkward these past four months. Her and Gwen were friends again, but she couldn't get that kiss out of her mind and she could've sworn that Harry was giving her strange looks. Did he know about the kiss? At least nothing went further than that, right? She did feel a little bad though, but she wasn't the one to initiate it. That was between Gwen and Harry.

Outside of that she was getting back to the feel of being Caty again. She did a lot of extra credit work to make up for all of the in-school classwork and tests that she missed. School still wasn't the same without Liz, but she made sure to hang out with Gwen whenever she wasn't with Harry or she wasn't busy being Spider-Woman. Caty had also been texting and calling Karolina a lot more these past four months, but she's been silent for about a week. The last thing they talked about was Karolina and the crew's parents were hiding some sort of big secret. She hoped she was okay. Maybe she'd visit LA again soon and check on her.

Besides that crime was pretty normal as well. They surprisingly weren't attacked by a Cupid-themed villain on Valentine's Day. But she did hear about what happened to Flint Marko, one of the first people she came into contact with and helped as Spider-Woman. He was turned into a literal sand man by none other than Norman Osborn. For the past year that man has been a thorn in her and the city's side. She couldn't believe she used to look up to him. Now he was some criminal mastermind finding entertainment in turning people into super powered freaks and ruining their lives. Admittedly, her becoming Spider-Woman was completely her fault. No one told her to stay behind and look for a radioactive super spider, in fact Norman escorted everyone out. But that didn't change the fact that if it wasn't for him Hobgoblin and now Sandman wouldn't be a thing and she and Gwen wouldn't have lost so much.

The anniversary of the day she and Danny got these powers were coming up. That also meant the anniversary of their dad's death. This was part of the reason why she hated how quiet these past few months were. At least all the back to back supervillains kept her mind off the grief, but she knew she couldn't avoid it for long. She needed to process it and heal. But she wasn't sure if she'd ever heal the hole that losing her dad left inside her.

---

Alarms were blaring in New York's Prototype Supermax Prison built and funded by Tony Stark and the Avengers. In here they kept the more recent superpowered villains that have been popping up. Not just the villains that the Avengers have faced, but the villains that the Spider-Twins have put away as well. It seems that they were the targets of today's break-in, or rather break out.

A tall, mysterious figure shrouded in what appeared to be a Lion's Pelt accessed the wing that held the Spider-Villains. They were all here. Mysterio, Vulture, Rhino, Hobgoblin, and the Sandman. The mysterious figure unlocked all of their cells and they all started coming out one by one. All except one. The Sandman remained in his cell. He didn't want to go anywhere. He wanted to do his time and get out and see his little girl.

"You're all free." The mysterious man said in a thick Russian accent. "On one condition. You help me hunt the Spiders. If you choose betrayal and personal freedom I'll simply add you to the list."

Rhino stomped forward hulking over the man. "Ya? Why should we be scared of you?"

The mysterious man answered this question with a quick and decisive palm to Rhino's chin sending him collapsing to the floor unconscious. Kraven stepped out of the way and sighed. "Anyone else vant to test Kraven the Hunter?"

They all shook their heads in unison.

"Good. Goblin, carry him or vake him up. I do not care which." Kraven said before walking over to Sandman's cell. "You come too, ya?"

"No. I'm staying here. I don't want to hurt anyone. I just want to be reunited with my little girl." Sandman said resolute.

"No can do, my friend. Orders for the job." Kraven walked over to Sandman and placed an electric collar around his neck. He pressed a button on his belt, shocking him. "You come now, ya?"

As Spider-Man swung through the city, he heard the blare of alarms and the urgent chatter of police radios. Something was wrong. Apparently there had been a breakout at the Supermax Prison.

But before he had a chance to react, his Spider-Sense went off. A sudden gust of wind swept past him, followed by a loud screech. The Vulture swooped down, talons bared, aiming straight for him.

“Whoa, easy there, Birdbrain!” Spider-Man quipped, narrowly dodging the Vulture’s razor-sharp claws. “You know, you really need to work on your aim!”

But the Vulture was not going to give up so easily, diving at Spider-Man with a ferocity that took him by surprise. Spider-Man twisted and turned, using his agility to stay one step ahead, but the Vulture was determined to bring him down.

As Spider-Man evaded the Vulture’s attacks, he heard the heavy thud of Rhino’s footsteps approaching from behind. With a quick glance over his shoulder, Spider-Man saw the massive brute charging straight at him, horns lowered like a raging bull.

“Oh great, just what I needed. A Rhino on the loose!” Spider-Man quipped, leaping out of the way just in time to avoid being trampled. “Come on, big guy, can’t we talk this out over a nice cup of tea?”

But Rhino was in no mood for conversation. The Rhino charged at him again. With a quick web-swing, Spider-Man shot towards the nearest building, narrowly avoiding Rhino’s charge.

As if those two weren’t enough, a third fighter entered the fray. A sudden haze enveloped the rooftop. From within the haze, the fishbowl headed Mysterio appeared.

“Aw, what's the matter fishbowl head? Having FOMO?”

But Mysterio was having none of the jokes today. Mysterio split into a bunch of Mysterio clones, and all went after Spider-Man. His Spider-Sense went into Overdrive having to dodge attacks from Mysterio, Vulture, and Rhino. Danny tapped on his earpiece. “Spider-Man to Spider-Woman. I could use some help here!”

Spider-Woman was already on her way to the prison when she got Spider-Man's message. She tapped on her earpiece to respond. “On my—”. She was cut off by a ringing in her head. Her Spidey-Sense was going crazy, but she didn’t need it to know what was coming. She heard the sound of a screeching cackle behind her. She dove down to the ground narrowly avoiding the exploding pumpkin bomb, but the explosion pushed her even further down. She landed in a pile of sand. She stood up and looked down into the sand to see a face forming.

“Sorry, kid. They're forcing me.” Flint said with a saddened expression before tightening the sand around her ankles.

“It's okay. I'm going to save you.” She knew if it wasn't for Norman he wouldn't even be in this mess. She was going to help him and bring that man down if it was the last thing she did.

“How? You can't even save yourself.” A new voice said, approaching her. He was a large, muscular man, wearing a lion's pelt as a trophy.

“Let me guess. Hercules? No. The Lion King.” Spider-Woman quipped completely unamused with the man in front of her.

“Kraven. The Hunter.” Kraven said with a snarl. “I'd kill Hercules.”

“Big talk, Mr. Hunter. I'm assuming you're the one behind the breakout and controlling Flint?”

“Yes and no. If it were up to me, I'd be hunting you alone. But my benefactor insisted I get some help.”

“I bet I know who your benefactor is and he was right, but it still won't be enough. You messed with the wrong Spiders.” Spider-Woman aimed her arms towards the incoming Hobgoblin. She shot her webs to latch under his glider pulling herself out of Flint's sand. She pressed her earpiece again. “I've got some problems here myself, I'll try to bring them your way.”

Just as she said that Kraven threw a spear at Spider-Woman. If it wasn't for her supernatural senses and reflexes he would've hit her directly, but she moved her body out of the way allowing it to hit the Hobgoblin's glider sending them both hurtling through the city towards the prison.

“Great…” Danny mumbled. As he dodged attacks from three villains at once. His Spider-Sense was not letting up, and this was getting exhausting. As did his best to fight them off, he couldn’t help but notice the underlying tension between them. Vulture, Rhino, and Mysterio seemed to be at odds with each other, each vying for dominance and control over the situation. They may have had a common goal, but they did not work well together at all.

Noticing this, Spider-Man decided to use this to his advantage. As Rhino charged at him once again, Spider-Man swiftly dodged his attack and redirected him towards Mysterio. With a well-timed web shot, Spider-Man ensnared Rhino’s legs, causing him to stumble and crash into Mysterio, sending both villains sprawling to the ground.

“Watch where you’re going, you brute!” Mysterio exclaimed.

“Looks like you two could use a timeout together.” Spider-Man quipped.

Meanwhile, Vulture continued to swoop down from above, talons ready to strike. But Spider-Man anticipated his movements, using his agility and quick reflexes to stay one step ahead. With a series of acrobatic maneuvers, Spider-Man managed to lead Vulture straight into the path of Rhino and Mysterio, causing a chaotic collision.

Spider-Man chuckled to himself as we watched the villains fight and argue amongst themselves. He pressed on his earpiece. “These guys don’t get along. Let’s show them that teamwork makes the dream work, eh?” Then, Spider-Man noticed the Hobgoblin crash land right nearby. “You! You’re the one that killed Captain Stacy, and Liz Allan. Do you have any idea what kind of Hell you put people through with your Shenanigans?” Spider-Man didn’t wait for an answer, and proceeded to web him up.

The Hobgoblin used his brute strength to break free from the webs. “I didn't kill them. Osborn and Spider-Woman did, but I'll kill you and the other arachnid.” He threw a trio of pumpkin bombs at Spider-Man.

Before they could even come close another set of webs caught them in the air. Spider-Woman came out of hiding after recovering from the crash to catch the Hobgoblin off guard. A part of her wanted to throw these bombs right back at the creep to pay him back for what he's done, but the other part of her knew better and was a hero. “Finally, someone got it right. I just hate that it's you.” She launched the bombs into the air causing an explosion of fireworks.

This distracted her from an incoming collision from the Sandman with Kraven riding his sandy back. Her spider-sense wasn't registering him as a threat. It was because of his intentions and her perceiving him as an innocent victim in all of this. This was going to be a problem.

Spider-Woman crash landed near the arguing trio, but specifically Rhino.

“If it isn't the itsy bitsy Spider-Woman. The one who wouldn't let little Aleksei get away. But now BIG ALEKSEI WILL MAKE THE LITTLE SPIDER PAY!” Rhino tried to stomp on Spider-Woman, but she rolled her eyes and her mask reflected it before she shot a pair of webs into his eyes and shot another web at the Vulture's wings who proceeded to fly to get her off of him. They were so predictable.

The Vulture dragged Spider-Woman through Rhino's legs and the ground. Okay, maybe not that predictable. She expected him to fly up, not burn her on the cement. She shot another web at Rhino's back and attached the two webs together. The Vulture found himself unable to fly any further as he was tied to the immovable idiot. It wasn't going to last long so Spider-Woman took the opportunity to run up her web and knock the Vulture out of the sky unconscious.

“Now for you.” She said to the Rhino who just freed his eyes from her webs. They both turned to face each other. The tension in the air was pretty thick. The Rhino charged forward ready to crush the bug for good.

Spider-Woman stood there calmly, waiting for him. He was sorta like a bull, right? A huge bipedal idiotic bull. This should be easy. She waited for the right moment to leap into the air and land right back onto his back. She turned around and gripped his horn and aimed him towards Mysterio.

“No, you buffoon! The other way!” But the Rhino's horn crashed into Mysterio's fishbowl helmet narrowly avoiding impaling his face, but releasing Mysterio's gas out of his suit and into the area.

“Okay, I might've messed up here Spider-Man!” She really hated this magician and his gas. At least the Rhino was doused too. Before she started hallucinating she saw him cradled in the fetal position.

Spider-Woman's nightmare had her face to face with Tony Stark and the Avengers. “You'll never be good enough to join us. We can't have a teenage killer on our team. But your clone? Oh yeah. She's the one. So much better than you in every way. No wonder Liz loves her.”

Spider-Man was busy dealing with Hobgoblin, Kraven, and Sandman. Danny thought he should free Sandman first. If only there were a way to get that collar off of him.

As he ducked and weaved to avoid another explosive pumpkin bomb, Spider-Man scanned the area for any sign of weakness in the collar that bound Sandman. Spotting a small panel on the side of the collar, Spider-Man’s eyes narrowed with determination.

“Alright, time to get creative,” Spider-Man muttered to himself, his mind racing with ideas.

With a swift movement, he fired a thin strand of webbing at the panel, aiming to cover it and prevent any further activation of the collar’s mechanism.

As the webbing coated the panel, Spider-Man watched closely for any signs of change. To his relief, the collar seemed to deactivate, its lights flickering before finally going dark. Sandman let out a sigh of relief as the collar loosened its grip, and fell off.

“Thanks kid, I owe you one!”

“Anytime, Sandman. Let’s finish this,” Spider-Man replied.

Without wasting a moment, Spider-Man sprang into action, swinging towards Hobgoblin with agility and determination. Dodging the incoming barrage of pumpkin bombs.

“Hey, pumpkin head! You’ve been causing quite the fireworks display. Mind if I join in?”

Hobgoblin cackled, tossing another explosive pumpkin bomb. “You think you can stop me, Spider-Fool? I’ve got enough tricks up my sleeve to keep you busy all night!”

Spider-Man somersaulted out of the way, landing a solid kick to Hobgoblin’s side. “I’ve dealt with scarier clowns at birthday parties! Time to wrap this up!” Spider-Man, with a flick of his wrist, managed to disarm Hobgoblin by webbing up his pumpkin bombs before they could explode. With a swift series of punches and kicks, he incapacitated the madman, leaving him webbed up and dangling from the rooftop.

Meanwhile, Sandman confronted Kraven, his sandy form towering over the Hunter. “You can’t control me anymore Kraven!”

Kraven smirked, twirling his spear. “I fear nothing, Sandman. Least of all a pile of sand. Let’s see if you can back up those words with action!”

As Kraven lunged in for another strike, Sandman shifted his sandy form to engulf Kraven’s legs, trapping him in a makeshift sand prison.

Caught off guard, Kraven struggled to break free, but Sandman’s sandy grip held strong, Sandman compressed the sand around Kraven, immobilizing him.

But in between all of the chaos Mysterio had one more trick up his sleeve. He doused Spider-Woman with his hallucinogenic gas. He really hated that… So Danny swung by his sister’s side. “Ok, you saved me from this, so now it’s my turn. WAKE UP! Whatever you’re seeing, it’s not real. They can’t hurt you.”

Spider-Woman knew what she was seeing wasn't real. She closed her eyes to try and quiet out all the voices shouting her insecurities. She wasn't a killer, not anymore. She just proved that. She heard Danny's voice throughout all the noise and opened her eyes to see him. “Thanks, Spider-Man.”

Mysterio was trying to get away while everyone was distracted. “Not so fast.” Spider-Woman said, shooting a web at his back and pulling him back towards them. She webbed him to the floor completely once he fell near them. She wasn't going to give him a chance to try anything else with them or the police once they arrived.

She then walked over to the still hallucinating Rhino and knocked him unconscious with a punch to the face to relieve him of his nightmare. “They already have to lug him. Didn't want them having to deal with webs, too.”

She turned to Sandman, “Thanks, Sandy. I'm sorry you're dealing with all of this. You should go, you don't deserve to be locked up.”

“No problem, kid. But just call me Flint. And I don't know. As much as I wanna see my little girl… I'm no good to her on the run. I'll stay here and make sure they don't give the cops trouble. Maybe I'll get off for good behavior and helping the Spider-Kids.”

“Hey, we're not kids.” Spider-Woman replied with a smile.

“Hey, I'm a dad. Everyone's a kid to me.” Flint said with a smile of his own.

“You're a good man, Flint. Your daughter's really lucky to have you. Good luck with everything.” Spider-Woman turned to Danny just in case he had anything to say before they left.

Danny smiled beneath the mask. “Yeah, what she said. You’re a stand-up guy, Flint. Take care of yourself, alright? And if you ever need a hand, you know where to find us.” He gave a thumbs up.

Spider-Woman heard the sirens in the background. Looks like the police were finally about to arrive. “Sounds like that's our cue. See you around, Flint.” She thwipped over to a nearby lamppost and grabbed Liz's old camera. She had started using this since New Year's to pick up where Liz left off. She mostly sent photos to the Bugle, but occasionally she sent some to MJ through an encrypted server as Spider-Woman. This was one of those nights. She knew Jameson would've blamed this whole thing on them, but with these photos even Flint would look like a hero. He and his daughter needed that. She downloaded the pictures to her phone and sent them as she swung through the city.