I don't own anything except any original character and/or any original plot.

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Chapter Eighteen: New York Prosecution

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Our world became a dumpster fire after Peter's identity was revealed. Full of avoiding the press and trying to handle patrol alone and talking to whoever we could about how the hell could clear Peter's name and try to move on as now public heroes.

We'd tried so hard for years to protect our identities to both protect those we loved and keep up some semblance of a normal life. Everything we'd worked for had been destroyed in one faked video on the website that Peter had an internship with before the Blip. We were out in the public, our families were as well, and any chance for a normal life was gone

In all that time, I was canceling therapy session after therapy session because my life was so busy, and I could feel the effects on my mental state. I should have been talking through my stress along with finally moving past my guilt and grief about Tony. Instead, Peter was being painted as a murderer and I wanted nothing more than to scream, "He never killed anyone, but I did!" If it meant clearing his name.

That dumpster fire exploded the day two men in prim suits showed up at Peter's door.

It was week two of the press hounding Peter and everyone he was close to. I was tired of answering questions about how I felt about his relationship with Riptide since he was "cheating on me". Idiots. The only people who had figured out who I was were conspiracy theorists, and no one believed them.

"Fury, you can't just leave us to deal with this alone," I fumed, Fury on speaker between me, Peter, May, and Happy. We'd been trying to get in contact with him for weeks, and when we finally did, he was claiming he couldn't help us, "You're the reason we trusted Beck so much in the first place!"

"People are calling me a murderer, and because they used EDITH, no one an tell if it's been faked or not! Even those experts they get for the big news sites."

"Sorry, Parker. I'm currently... unavailable. I'm sure you can figure it out. I'll send you a legal contact just in case."

"Mr. Fury-" May was cut off when Fury hung up, "Shit."

"I'm screwed," Peter moaned sullenly.

"We'll figure this out, Bug-Boy," I assured, gently running my hand over his back.

I spoke too soon. Two solitary knocks caused May to rush to the door. She looked through the peephole, and opened the door instead of leaving it alone. So it wasn't press or haters that had snuck past the security on the main floor, which we'd had to deal with more than once.

"Hello, Mrs. Parker," two men in prim suits, "We are lawyers that represent the State of New York. After delving into further investigation, we've found that we can charge Mr. Parker with first-degree murder."

"What?" We all yelled.

Before any of us could argue or make a move, four police officers in full gear scurried in and pushed Peter to the ground. Screaming, everyone was screaming. Whether it was pleading Peter's innocence, or reciting his rights.

Three of the officers hauled him out the door, and one held us back from going after him. I knew I couldn't be charged with assaulting an officer on top of everything else, so I held back and backed off.

"Whatever it is, we'll figure this out," Happy assured when the group of people left us in the ruins of the apartment, "I'll talk to Pepper about paying his bail."

"Bail for a high profile first-degree murder case? I don't think so. He'd be a flight risk," I shook my head slowly, "What we need now is damn good lawyers."

Ding.

I rushed to Peter's phone on the table and read the newest text to it out loud.

"Nelson, Murdock, and Page. Hell's Kitchen."

"If Fury suggested them, then they must be good."

"Well, let's find out."

~*~

Decrepit, cheap, and musty were the three words I'd use to describe Nelson and Murdock. That was the top-notch law office Fury recommended for us? Not only that, but May and I were left to deal with it alone. Happy broke off to work something out with Pepper when we left, assuming we'd be safe in a high-class building.

"Hello?" May knocked on the door, cautiously stepping inside.

"Hi," a woman greeted us, "Can I help you?"

"We need a lawyer," May gulped, "Um, it's my nephew. He's innocent and being framed for something he didn't do."

The woman looked both of us over and seemed to deduce that we were being honest. Nodding once, she popped into an office and returned with a man wearing dark glasses and holding a white cane. Blind.

"Hello. My name is Matthew Murdock. Why don't you follow me and we can get started?"

We were led into a meeting room, the woman following with a notepad, "Tell me about your situation."

"Spider-Man, Peter Parker. He's- he's my nephew and they just- men in suits and-" May fumbled over her words while biting back tears, "He's all I have."

"He's been arrested for the first-degree murder of Mysterio," I finished. I wanted to scream and cry and lose myself like May, but I knew it wouldn't save Peter, "For murder, I'm sure you've heard. But he didn't do anything! I was there when Beck died!"

Gasping, I covered my mouth with my hand. Anyone with a brain could figure out the implications behind my words. I'd just revealed my identity to a random lawyer in a weird office and his, likely, only co-worker.

"Anything said in here is confidential," Matt assured calmly, not even allowing an expression of shock to come across his face, "We've had our fair share of identity reveals... if he's truly innocent, I see no reason why he can't take the stand and clear everything up in a press-open trial."

"I do," I winced apologetically, "They're going to grill the crap out of him, and uh, we didn't Blip. After the fight at the old Avengers compound against Thanos, we used an Infinity Stone to adjust our ages, along with some help from... friends. If he's put on stand and the questions start to wander that way, we'll have some issues. If there's another way we can win this trial, that'd be preferable."

I'd protect Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters and the young mutants there until my dying breath. They didn't do anything wrong, and it was one of the few places in the world that mutants could go and learn without fear of being themselves. After teaching there for five years, I knew Peter would do the same thing.

"Right. Well, we'll keep in touch and do everything we can to help Peter."

"Thank you," May whispered, standing up and hugging each of them, "Thank you, thank you."

One Day Later

"How are you holding up, Bug-Boy?" I stared at Peter in his orange jumpsuit in disdain. He'd already been transferred to a temporary prison close to the courthouse, and it was visiting day. May and I went together, and she just left after being called to a meeting with Matt to go over the evidence the prosecution was gathering.

"Well, half of the prison believes me, and the other half are people we've put away, so it's been interesting," he chuckled quietly, "How're things outside?"

"Matt Murdock is a good lawyer and is making a good ca-"

"No, I mean, how are MJ, Ned, and Harry? I want to take my mind off the fact that the food here is crap and I'm sharing a cell with someone who has tattoo talleys of how many people he's killed."

"Oh, right. Well, MJ and Ned are worried about you and want to testify. I found out that MJ bakes when she's nervous when I went over this morning. Four batches of cookies and two cakes. Ned has dismantled and reassembled his lego sets at least ten times, too. I'm scared he's going to go on a shopping spree and get more."

"And Harry?"

"Harry is... off. He isn't going to testify because he thinks you killed his dad and that wouldn't help, but there's something more. He's angry and cocky at the same time... I've been thinking about the way he was acting on vacation."

It hadn't left my mind. The way he begged me to leave Beck alone when we explained that we knew he was faking it, how he didn't seem surprised at all when he found out. Not to mention the question he asked me at the airport; What had Mysterio done wrong? It was like... like he was trying to learn from the experience. On top of all of that, Beck hadn't framed me along with Peter when it would make his story even stronger. If Harry had been planning with Beck and his team, it would make sense that he'd want to ruin Peter's life and not mine.

"You think he had something to do with it?"

"Beck and his team needed money to do what they did, and Harry has a lot of it. I really don't want to believe it, but something irks me. It makes too much sense."

"That's something we'll have to discuss if I get out." If, not when, because the terrifying truth was that Peter was already being put through a trial by media, and it'd been damn near impossible to find an impartial jury, "What about you? How are you doing?"

"I've been dodging the press and doing what I can. Shuri is doing what she can to prove the video was faked. And I'm going to testify as well-"

"But if you testify then-"

"I know. But it's the least I can do. We're equals, remember? Even in this."

"Yeah," Peter let out a long sigh, running a hand through his hair, "I never should have trusted him."

"Hey, I trusted him too. Fury said he was clear, and those illusions were excellent... I saw Tony in him too, Peter. But now, we need to focus on getting you out and clearing your name."

"Right. You mentioned my lawyer earlier?"

"Matt Murdock. He's nice. Blind, actually, but a disability doesn't decide a person's capability. His slate is clean from what I can tell, not corrupt or anything. MJ has some interesting theories about him too. She hasn't stopped talking about them."

"Like what?"

"Have you heard of the Daredevil?"