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there you have it, folks

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The flight back to the states was a long one, but, of course, Andi and Peter didn't mind. They spent the entire flight resting up from the battle that'd taken place back in London, as well as just taking in each other's company. They spent their time watching movies and listening to music together. Peter had also given Andi the charm bracelet he'd picked up for her in Venice. She adored it, as each charm on the bracelet represented a very significant point in their relationship. There was a textbook charm that represented where the two first met: school. There was a pizza charm that represented their first official date at Nick's Pizza in Queens. There was a charm to represent the Washington Monument, which was the place Peter first discovered he truly loved Andi, despite being so upset with her at the time. The web charm represented their life together as—in the words of Andi— "New York's ultimate web-slinging duo". The "P" charm, of course, represented Peter. The final charm was a custom-made arc reactor that represented the very person that brought them together: Tony Stark. Andi cherished the bracelet, and since receiving it, she hadn't taken it off. She doubted she ever would, apart from her regular ventures through the city to prevent losing it or destroying it.

Andi and Peter walked through the airport with intertwined hands. Beside them were Gwen and MJ, both of whom had made their relationship public since being in London. Their hands were intertwined as well, and Andi smiled softly when she looked over at them.

"You guys are so cute!" Betty's voice could be heard behind the four of them.

They stopped and turned around to see her and Ned walking together through the airport.

"Thanks!" Peter said with a smile on his face. "Maybe we could all triple date or something?"

"Uh, we broke up," Ned and Betty spoke simultaneously, their words shocking the four friends.

"Why'd you do that?" MJ asked the two of them.

"Men and women grow apart, but the journey they share together will always be apart of them," Ned answered.

Andi raised a brow at the sound of his words, but was amused nonetheless. She shook her head at the two and tightened her grip on Peter. Ned and Betty walked away, leaving the two couples alone together.

"Are we still on for later?" Gwen asked.

"We should be." Andi looked to Peter for confirmation.

"Yeah, I just hope you're ready," Peter said to MJ.

"I was born ready, Parker," MJ said with a smirk on her face. She held a fist out to Peter, who bumped it with his own. "Don't be late!"

"We won't," Andi assured her.

Gwen and MJ walked over to the crowd of parents, while Andi and Peter made their way outside together. They noticed May almost immediately, and she turned around to look at them with bright eyes. Her smile widened when she noticed the two holding hands, and she ran over to engulf the two in a hug.

"Oh my gosh! I missed you so much!" May pulled away to look at them. "And the hands! The bracelet! Are you two back together? Did the plan work, Peter?"

"The plan was a bit of a failure, but it wasn't his fault," Andi told May. "I think a few other things brought us back together."

"Yeah, like her spending eight hours thinking I was dead," Peter said with a chuckle.

"Okay, that wasn't the sole reason," Andi defended herself.

"But it was one of them."

Andi rolled her eyes at Peter and stepped forward to hug May again. She was feeling particularly affectionate lately. There were only a choice few she truly cared for, and she'd experienced firsthand what it meant to have them torn away in an instant. May was one of those people, and she refused to conceal those emotions. May had done so much and been so much for her since she'd met Peter. In Andi's eyes, May was just another aunt to her, and the love she held for her was exponential. Andi was intent on making sure she knew.

"I'm so happy for you two," May said as she hugged Andi tightly. "I've been waiting on this for months."

"So have I," Andi responded quietly with a soft smile on her face.

May pulled away from Andi and met her eyes. "I called Pepper earlier and told her I could bring you home if that was okay with you."

Andi nodded her head and opened her mouth to answer, but was stopped by the sound of a familiar voice.

"I think I'll take her home if that's okay with you."

Andi looked behind May to see Aurora walking towards the three of them with a smile on her face. Without a word, Andi ran over to wrap her older sister in a tight hug. Given the circumstances they'd been through, there'd never been much time for an emotional reunion, but now that Andi was back home and the job had been finished, she figured now was a better time than ever. She'd missed Aurora so much, and to have her back, with or without her memory, was everything to Andi. She was ready to help Aurora navigate this new normal and help her discover the memories of her family she'd lost so many years ago.

"Who's this, Andi?" A curious May questioned the teenager.

"This is Andi's sister, May," Peter told May, shocking her slightly. "Her name's Aurora."

"Sister?" May asked with wide eyes.

Andi pulled away to look at May and couldn't help the laugh that escaped her. "Remember when I told you I lost my family in New York? Well, it turns out I didn't lose all of them. If there was another good thing that came from that chaos of a trip, it's that I was reunited with her."

"That's so exciting!" May exclaimed happily. "Of course you can take her home!"

"Thank you, Mrs. Parker," Aurora thanked May.

"Please call me May." May stepped forward to shake Aurora's hand, a gesture in which she returned. "I'll see you soon, Andi, okay?"

"Okay," Andi replied with a smile. She looked over at Peter. "I'll see you later, right?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good."

After exchanging goodbyes, Andi and Aurora walked over to Aurora's car. It was the very same one she'd had in Berlin. Happy had it delivered back to the states just a few hours ago, and Aurora was thrilled because of it. She knew she wouldn't have been able to afford another car just yet, especially now that she was currently unemployed. Everything was about to change for her, however, and Andi intended on making sure she knew that.

"I'm really happy I was able to catch you before May did," Aurora said as the two got into the car.

Andi tossed her lone bag into the backseat and got in on the passenger's side. "Why's that?"

"I just have a lot to talk to you about, I guess." Aurora started the car and pulled away from the curb. "Happy told me what he could about our family, and then he gave me Pepper's number. I wanted to call her and talk to her about everything, but everything I wanted to know, I realized I wanted you to be the one to tell me."

"Okay, what do you want to know?" Andi asked her.

"My full name—what is it?"

Andi smiled softly at the thought of the origins of both their names. They were named after their mother, and that had always been something so special to Andi. It always would be. "Your name is Aurora Josette Andrews," she told her. "We were named after Mom. She was Josette Lynn Potts before she married our dad."

"What was his name?"

"Barrett Elijah," Andi answered. "Everyone called him Barry. Mom called him her 'Rasp-Barry'."

"I hate so much that I don't remember them," Aurora said with a frown on her face. "And I hate that I don't remember you, Andi. I can feel that you meant something to me—that you mean something to me—but every single memory I've ever had before waking up in that hospital is gone."

"I'm almost certain there's somewhere we can take you to try to fix that," Andi said. "One time Tony mentioned his friend Steve having a similar issue with his friend Bucky. He lost his memories, and they took him to this place called Wakanda. It's a technological empire. It's much more advanced than anywhere on the planet."

"How did Bucky lose his memories, though?" Aurora asked, glancing over at Andi with hopeful brown eyes.

"I think he was a former assassin for Hydra," Andi told her. "They brainwashed him through electro-convulsion, I believe."

"I guess that is a form of of traumatic brain injury," Aurora mused. "Is he okay now? Were they able to get his memories back?"

Andi shrugged her shoulders. "I've only met him a couple times, but he seemed normal-ish the last time I saw him. Though I don't really know just how 'normal-ish' someone can be while attending a funeral."

"Do you think it'll work, though? Going to Wakanda?"

"I think it's worth a shot," Andi assured her. "You won't know unless you try. And I think you should. I love having you back, but to have you back completely would be everything."

Aurora smiled at the sound of her words. "Then I'll take that chance. I know it's only been a few days since we 'met' each other, but since then, everything I've done has been for you. All I felt was this strong urge to be there for you—to protect you from whatever cruelty the world threw at you. I never understood why until I learned who I was to you."

"You were the same way when we were kids," Andi revealed. "You stood up to my bullies for me, you protected me from everything bad in the world, and so much more. But you don't have to do that for me anymore, and I don't want you to feel obligated to. Life has taught me a lot about myself since I lost you guys. I'm stronger now, and I still struggle emotionally, but I'm learning how to juggle that as well."

"I know, Andi, and that's why I feel so proud," Aurora said. "You're strong and determined and courageous and kind. You may have the biggest attitude I've ever seen on a human being, but you have such a good heart. I knew that from the moment I saw you."

"You've always had a good heart, and so did Mom and Dad," Andi told her. "My personality isn't what it was back in 2012, but I'd never stray from what they taught the two of us. I never have. I get so fed up sometimes with my powers and the responsibilities I have because of them, but I like to think that Mom and Dad would be proud if they were here today. I like to think that Tony would be proud if he were here too."

"I think they would be—all three of them."

Andi only smiled at Aurora and turned her attention out the window. After several minutes of comfortable silence between the two, Andi noticed her surroundings were becoming more and more familiar as they continued down the road. She furrowed her brows in confusion. Andi could see the clear water of the lake she'd come to know over the last several months, as well as the luxurious cabin that sat a few yards away.

"How did you know where I lived?" Andi questioned Aurora as she pulled into the driveway.

"Happy sent me the address," Aurora told her. "He's helped me out quite a lot the past couple of days."

Andi nodded in understanding and got out of the car once she'd parked it. She grabbed her bag out of the backseat and hurried towards the front door, while Aurora lingered nervously behind her. Andi looked back and gestured her forward. She was trying to reassure her there was nothing for her to be nervous about, but Andi couldn't exactly blame her for the way she felt. She'd been absent for so many years and had no idea what she was about to walk into, whereas Andi had always been around, despite the five years during the Blip. She was already comfortable with what little family they had left, and Aurora was forced to start from scratch. It was nerve-wracking, but Andi knew she'd be okay once she got to know everyone.

"I'm home!" Andi walked through the front door with Aurora lingering behind her. Almost immediately, she was met with the sound of footsteps. Morgan ran down the hall and into Andi's arms with a bright smile on her face. Andi didn't hesitate to hug her little cousin back.

"I missed you, Andi!" Morgan said to her.

"I missed you, too, Morg."

Morgan pulled away from Andi to look at Aurora. "Who's that, Andi?"

"That's my sist—"

"Andi?" A new voice cut Andi off. Andi tore her attention away from Morgan and back down the hall, where Pepper had made an appearance. She met Andi's eyes immediately and rushed toward her, engulfing the teenager in a tight hug. Pepper squeezed her eyes shut as she hugged Andi. It'd been so long since they'd last spoken, and though Happy had done his best to keep her updated, seeing Andi in person was the most important update of all. Knowing she was safe was all Pepper cared about, and there was no safer place for Andi than right there with her.

"Hi, Pepper," Andi greeted her aunt with a quiet chuckle.

"I'm so glad you're okay." Pepper squeezed her just a bit tighter, causing Andi to wince. Despite her healing factor, Andi was still incredibly sore. Her ribs hadn't completely healed, though the pain was bearable. The burn on her neck had healed phenomenally, but it was still easily aggravated. Her discomfort grabbed Pepper's attention immediately. "Or maybe I spoke too soon," she muttered.

"I'm fine, Pepper," Andi tried to assure Pepper.

"If you were fine, you wouldn't be wincing," Pepper responded with a raised brow.

"I'm fine, Pepper," Andi repeated with a groan.

Pepper simply rolled her eyes and shifted her attention to Aurora. Pepper seemed to recognize her almost immediately, though she was absolutely astounded that she was standing there in front of her. She walked over to her slowly, and one look in Aurora's eyes was enough to elicit an emotional response from Pepper. She pulled Aurora into her arms without a thought, and let out a breath of relief.

"Aurora..."

Aurora was shocked by her recognition. "You r-remember me?"

"Of course I remember you!" Pepper pulled away from the hug and smiled softly. "You were so young when I saw you last, but I'd recognize those eyes anywhere."

Aurora smiled and began to feel her eyes welling with tears. This was unexpected. Andi treated Aurora as if she'd never left to begin with, Happy seemed to be incredibly comfortable with her, and Pepper welcomed her with open arms. They made her feel welcome. They made her feel as if she belonged—as if she'd always belonged. And she had. She'd just forgotten. Aurora's hope now was that she could find a way to remember.

"Happy told me Andi found you and I almost didn't believe it," Pepper breathed out. She was rather emotional, as she hadn't seen her niece in twelve years. She believed her to be dead, but here she was. "But here you are, and you are so grown and so beautiful and I've missed you so much."

"While you two catch up, I'm just gonna..." Andi scuttled away from the two of them and towards her bedroom, but was stopped by the sound of Pepper's voice.

"Where do you think you're going?" she called to Andi. "You just got home!"

"Uh, well, Peter and I were gonna go hang out with MJ and Gwen," Andi said, turning around to look at her aunt with an innocent expression on her face. Of course, Pepper didn't buy it. She never did.

"You don't want to stay home and spend time with your family?" Pepper asked.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but no," Andi said as she backed herself down the hallway. "We're going on a double date."

"A double date where?"

"Um, in the city somewhere."

Pepper scoffed, knowing better than anyone what her words were code for. She was going out as Recluse, not Andi. "What does Recluse have to do with a double date, Andi? What are you guys gonna do? Swing MJ and Gwen around the city?"

"Just MJ," Andi told her. "Remember when I mentioned there being another spider-person? Well, it's Gwen."

"Andi—"

"Sorry, I gotta go!"

Andi ran off for her room. Pepper rolled her eyes and turned back around to Aurora, who was absolutely amused by the situation.

"Is that normal around here?" Aurora asked Pepper.

"Too normal," Pepper said. "She is so much like Tony, it's hard to keep track of her."

"Yeah, I can imagine that."

In her room, Andi was changing into her suit. Once she finished, she climbed out of her window and onto the ground below. She made a move to head for the city, but stopped when she noticed the lake shimmering beneath the afternoon sun. She pulled her mask off and walked over to the pier. She sat down at the end of it and let out a deep breath. It'd been so long since she'd been on the pier. The last time she was, she was saying her final goodbye to Tony—the goodbye she never wanted to give. She missed him so much. She missed going to him when she needed advice. She missed picking up the phone and calling him when she needed to bother him about something menial. She missed everything about him.

"I really wish you were here, Uncle Tony," Andi spoke quietly to the water below. She wasn't too sure why she was speaking aloud, given Tony's absence, but she hoped that wherever he was, he could hear her loud and clear. "Things have been pretty difficult here without you, but they're getting better, y'know.

"I'm doing the best I can do down here," Andi continued. "I know I'll never be able to live up to what you meant to the world, but I don't think I was ever meant to. I don't think anyone was. Not even Peter. But we're still here trying to be better because that's what you wanted for us. I wish you were here to see it, but I hope wherever you are, you're happy and at peace. I hope I'm making you proud."

Andi stood up and let out a breath, placing her mask back over her head. She gazed out at the water for the briefest moment before backing away with a soft smile and a heavy heart.

"I'll try to keep up the good work for you, okay?"

Andi ran away and allowed the air to calm her senses. She hurried back to the city, swinging her way to her rendezvous spot with Peter, Gwen, and MJ. MJ and Gwen were the only two there when she arrived, which she wasn't surprised about. Peter could hardly be on time for anything, but it wasn't long until he landed among the three of them.

"You're late," Andi told him.

"What's new?" MJ scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "He'll be late for his own funeral."

"Which I hope never happens," Andi muttered.

"Guys, are we gonna keep talking about his lack of promptness or get this over with?" Gwen said.

"Yeah, I'm ready to go." Peter looked at MJ. "You're totally gonna love this."

"Just hold onto me, okay?" Gwen said to her.

MJ nodded, but before she could say much else, Gwen had picked her up and began swinging. The fear met her almost immediately, as did the adrenaline. She wasn't sure how the three of them were able to do this every single day, but she figured it was easier with the proper enhancements.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!" MJ exclaimed. She buried her face in Gwen's neck as she continued to swing, while Andi and Peter laughed at her. The three of them swung a hard left, sending Gwen much further into the air than Andi and Peter. She released her hold on MJ, knowing the two were below and ready to catch her. MJ screamed, though Andi swooped by to catch her.

"You okay?" Andi asked MJ with a quiet laugh.

"I hate you. I hate all of you."

MJ attempted to hold onto Andi, but Andi released her in the same manner Gwen had. This time, Peter was the one to catch her, and the death grip MJ had from that point on made it impossible for Peter to give her back to Gwen. He couldn't help but laugh, however.

"This was totally Andi's idea," Peter told MJ.

"I hate her," MJ breathed out, her hold on Peter as tight as possible. "Can you put me down? Please put me down."

Peter swung to a stop and placed MJ on the ground, while Andi and Gwen landed at his sides. They ignored the onlookers and focused on MJ, who looked ready to throw up. Her hair was a mess and her face was pale.

"You okay?" Gwen asked, taking a step forward to grab MJ's hand.

"Yeah, um, I'm never doing that again," MJ told Gwen. She grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Okay, we don't have to," Gwen assured her. "It was actually Recluse's idea."

"Yeah, I was informed." MJ looked at Andi and held up a middle finger. "Thanks for trying to kill me."

Andi laughed at MJ. "You're welcome."

"Well, we should probably get out of here," Peter suggested, glancing between the two girls.

"Yeah, we should," Andi agreed. "People are starting to stare."

The three of them said their goodbyes to MJ and hopped onto the lamppost. They were ready to start swinging again until a loud voice began to echo through the square. Their attention was averted to the massive screen on the building behind them.

"We come with revelations about last week's attack in London," the news anchor spoke. "An anonymous source provided this video. It shows Quentin Beck, aka Mysterio, moments before his death. Many of you may find this video disturbing."

Andi tilted her head in curiosity, wondering exactly what she was about to see. Surely, it couldn't have been anything too damning. She hoped more than anything it was footage proving Beck had been a fraud the entire time, but that hope was only temporary.

"I've managed to send the Elemental through the rift, but I don't think I'm gonna make it off this bridge alive," Beck's panicked voice echoed. "Spider-Man attacked me for some reason. He has an army of weaponized drones, Stark technology. He said he's the only one who's gonna be the new Iron Man. No one else."

The picture cut to an altered video of Peter and Beck on the bridge in London, and Andi's eyes widened slightly. She looked over at Peter to see he was feeling just as surprised as she was, but the surprise didn't stop there.

"There you have it, folks!" the voice of Jonah J. Jameson sounded. "Conclusive proof that Spider-Man is responsible for the brutal murder of Mysterio, an inter-dimensional warrior who gave his life to protect our planet and who will no doubt go down in history as the greatest superhero of all time. But that's not all, folks! Here's the real blockbuster. Brace yourselves!"

The video cut to Beck again, and Andi was not at all prepared for what was about to come out of his mouth.

"Spider-Man's real name is Peter Parker!"

An image of Peter flashed on the screen, and Andi's mouth dropped. She looked over at Peter, who was absolutely shocked by what he'd just seen. The strew of curse words that left his mouth only helped confirm his shock. Just as the three heroes were ready to revel in their newfound peace and the normality of their lives, it was ripped away from them yet again. It was only the beginning, and the fight to the end was sure to be a long one.

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