THE DOGS OF HELL gang members loaded their supplies into their truck. They had just gotten a shipment of weapons from a recently allied group, the Black Knife Cartel. They undoubtedly believed the partnership would last and become a great one.

One young man, Trevor, was with his colleague and older fellow named Gavin. Trevor had been under the man's wing the last month as a new inductee into the motorcycle gang. Gavin, the more seasoned member, showed him the ropes, all while displaying as much tough love as he could.

"You gotta stack 'em this way," Gavin told Trevor as he pointed at the items inside the crate. "Boss doesn't like it when it looks sloppy."

Trevor nodded. "How does he react when it is?"

"Trust me. You don't want to know."

The two continued moving crates with the rest of the team at the warehouse. Things went along normally, and Trevor decided to spark conversation despite Gavin always saying he hated talking about stuff other than business. Trevor was growing on him, so he allowed it this time.

"I'm surprised we're able to unload these...without any pushback by, well, anybody."

"We're lucky. After that spandex-wearing freak seemingly vanished, business started booming. Sure, there's the Devil up in Hell's Kitchen...a few others around the borough, but they seem to have their own problems."

"Right," Trevor replied. "Makes you think...he really did a lot, huh?"

Gavin nodded. "He did. So good thing he's gone."

The Dogs of Hell kept up their task. Gavin stopped to take a break, wiping the sweat off his face and taking out his radio.

"We got more outside in the truck?" He asked but didn't get a response. "Hank?"

After some time, there was still no reply. Gavin scoffed and put his radio back on his belt.

"Asshole. Hank probably left his walkie in the truck." He remarked to Trevor, then spoke to a nearby biker. "Go see if there's any more crates."

The man nodded and walked out of the warehouse through a side door. Trevor picked up another crate and was going to load it into the van, but suddenly...all lights in the building went out. The gang members looked around in bewilderment.

"What the hell?" Gavin questioned.

His radio sounded, and the man who had just left started to speak.

"Gavin! Gavin! Hank's down! G—"

His voice cut off. Gavin grabbed his walkie and spoke into it.

"Say that again? Hello? Hello?!"

Suddenly, the gang member from outside was flung through the door, and he rolled across the ground. The several Dogs of Hell bikers looked on before grabbing their weapons, ranging from bats and crowbars, with Gavin picking up the assault rifle nearby.

Trevor was in shock and terrified. He backed away and got near the truck as they all looked at the man's unconscious body and the ajar door. Suddenly, a shadow seemed to slip inside through the door into the dark warehouse with them.

Gavin immediately fired his rifle at basically nothing. A man picked up a flashlight and tried to find the assailant, but the dark blur was too fast and slippery.

One gang member was pounced on, letting out a shout before being taken down. The man's colleague could see him nearby and tried to swing his bat at him, but the assailant dodged and kicked the biker with so much force that it sent him crashing against the truck Trevor was near.

Gavin shot in the direction of the shadow but didn't get a single hit. The assailant moved quickly and toward another biker, where he grabbed him by the throat and threw him to Gavin. The bodies collided and sent the older man to the ground.

"Argh!" Another biker bellowed and swung his crowbar at the shadow, seemingly getting the jump on him.

It impacted the assailant. He just took the hit over the shoulder and didn't react. He slowly turned to the biker, who stared back in terror.

"What the...?"

Nearby, Trevor hid behind the truck and could hear the biker yell before being defeated by the shadow-like figure. He crouched down and tucked his knees close to his chest, trying to breathe quietly in the dark. He could also hear Gavin groan and slowly get up from the floor.

"Come on out, you sumbitch!" Gavin shouted at the assailant, gripping his loaded gun. "Is this you again, web-head? You fight in the shadows now? You ain't Batman, buddy!"

He heard a noise to his left and immediately turned to fire, shooting an entire clip into the darkness.

Gavin backed up and darted his eyes around the dark area.

"No jokes either?" Gavin chuckled, gripping his gun. "Guess you did change. No surprise there. Especially after the Captain died...what happened to that Mexican girl on the bridge...what you did to those poor fellas uptown..."

Gavin kept looking around for who he thought was the city's lost hero. His goal was to kill him and get rid of him for good.

"This town don't need ya anymore. By burying you...I'll be doing this town a favor."

Suddenly, Gavin had backed up into someone. He quickly turned around and aimed his gun, but it was snatched from him. The man was head-butted before his wrists were grabbed forcefully, causing him to let out a yell.

Trevor could hear this as he hid, and soon enough, Gavin's shouts were quelled. The young man was still curled against the truck when everything fell silent. His heart was beating heavily, and he feared the sound of it could be heard.

Moments later, the truck was shoved to the side, revealing Trevor behind it. He immediately dropped to the floor and covered his face, panting heavily. The shadowy assailant loomed over him as the young man trembled.

"Don—Don't hurt me. Please!"

Trevor swallowed and peeked through the gaps of his fingers, gazing at the man. He was still covered in darkness...but could see the lines and whited-out eye holes on what looked to be a black mask.

Finally, the figure spoke.

"I won't...only if you do something for me."

THE BELL RUNG, dismissing the students inside the science class. As everyone made their way out, the twenty-one-year-old bioengineering major was still jotting down the last of his notes.

The one-armed professor caught this and looked up from his desk. He walked over to his student and stopped beside his table.

"Great work today, Mr. L/N." He spoke.

Y/N looked up from his notebook and smiled.

"Uh...thanks, Dr. Connors." He got up and started to pack his things. "It was a fantastic lecture, by the way."

"Flattery will only give you some extra credit." Connors replied.

Y/N put his book into his bag. "I don't remember reading that in the syllabus."

The professor chuckled. Y/N shot him a grin and slung his bag over his shoulder.

Curt Connors was a genius scientist who taught at Empire State University. He only had one arm due to an accident he has rarely discussed with anyone. Y/N somewhat knew of his history and even knew what he could become, thanks to his run-in with the multiversal Connors a few years ago.

He wasn't sure if what could happen to Curt was fate. He'd have to watch out for that.

"Remember, your final paper is due in a couple of weeks," Curt said.

"I know." Y/N nodded. "Almost done with it."

"I'm looking forward to reading it. You know, Dr. Trainor is a friend of mine."

"Really? How come you didn't tell me when I submitted the topic?"

He shrugged. "I wanted to see how well you'd do without the pressure of knowing you're doing a project on my colleague."

"Well...now I do." Y/N replied.

"Just keep doing what you're doing, Y/N," Curt smirked. "See you next week."

The professor walked back to his desk. Y/N took a breath and walked out of the classroom.

Y/N was now at F.E.A.S.T. He had put his things in May's office, where he often put his stuff for safekeeping while he volunteered.

He took it upon himself to sweep the walkway overlooking the main floor of the shelter. He stopped at the railing, looking over it and seeing the many people below. Y/N spotted May, who was helping a homeless lady settle in. Nearby, Anya was also with a staff member, coloring in her coloring book.

Y/N looked on and smiled, thinking about the moment that changed everything...

SIX MONTHS AGO...

The young man entered the F.E.A.S.T shelter, ready to volunteer as he often did. He greeted the front desk clerk and signed in to his shift.

"Afternoon, Y/N." The woman greeted.

"Hey, Fran. How's everything?"

"Good. You?"

Y/N sighed. The death of Indira was still fresh on his mind...and the pain continued to linger in his heart. It had been over a month since it happened, but it felt so recent.

"Just...getting by." Y/N replied.

Fran nodded as Y/N was signing in. She typed in her computer and spoke.

"Oh, by the way...May wants to talk with you in her office. You might have to go pick your sister up from school."

Y/N stopped writing upon hearing the statement. He was frozen and stiff, trying to process if he took that in right. He looked up at Fran.

"W—What?"

Fran noticed his confused look. "Uh...Anya stayed for some book club. I'm assuming May's going to send you to get her since it's getting pretty busy here."

"Y—You said sister?" Y/N interjected. "W—What do you mean by that?"

Fran was now confused herself. "Your sister, dude. Are you feeling okay?"

Y/N swallowed as his heart was starting to beat faster. He wasn't sure what was going on. He remembered the moment over a week ago with MJ, where she remembered everything about him before the spell after reading his letter to her.

Did it happen to everyone?

Y/N nodded and exhaled through his nose. "Yeah...I'm fine. Sorry. I—I'll get going."

The young man left the desk, leaving Fran thinking he was a strange dude.

Y/N walked upstairs to May's office. He entered through the open door and saw nobody there, so he decided to wait. As he did, he looked around the room...and what he saw shocked him.

There were pictures, both on her desk and on the wall behind her, of her family. Pictures that included him. One that caught his eye was the picture frame at her desk of Michael, May, Anya, Peter, and him outside Madison Square Garden in the spring of 2024.

Y/N could not believe it. Any photo of him shouldn't exist. He was wiped off the face of the earth. From existence. Vanished. How could've it been possible?

He picked up the picture frame and looked at it. Although he was still in shock...there was some feeling of relief. Of exhilaration. It was the sort of feeling you'd get while having a fantastic dream...only for it to be snatched away from you once you wake up. Y/N hoped that wasn't the case.

"Y/N?"

Upon hearing his name, he looked up and saw May walk in. Y/N wasn't sure what to say or how to greet her. It should've been easy, as he'd done it countless times before. But now...it seemed like the hardest thing to do.

"H—Hi." He stammered and put the picture frame down. "You...wanted to talk to me?"

May slightly grinned and walked up to him before looking down at the picture frame he was looking at. May took it herself and gazed at it, still smiling.

"I remember this day." She began. "Game 7 against the Pacers. Your dad was so excited to finally see a good Knicks team. So, for his birthday, we all went to see them. Unfortunately, they got their asses kicked, but...he still told me it was one of the best nights of his life."

Y/N feared he'd just bawl after hearing the story. He was feeling many emotions right now, and thinking of his father was only adding fuel to the fire. He remembered that night...and how, despite the Knicks losing embarrassingly, Michael cherished the day he had with his family.

May looked at Y/N and could tell he was thinking of his father. She put the frame down and rubbed his shoulder.

"Y/N..."

Finally, he teared up. May hugged him, and he let it out.

"I miss him so much. I—I missed you. I missed Anya."

May was somewhat confused by his remark. Still, she rubbed his back and continued comforting him. She assumed he was talking about being distant the last month after what happened to Indira Sanduval. This was her first time seeing him in a couple of weeks.

"I'm here for you...we all are." May said. "It's okay."

Y/N sniffled and parted, looking down at the older woman. He blinked and a tear rolled down his cheek.

"So...you—you know?" He began. "You know who I am?"

May arched a brow. "What? Of course."

"You know what I do? You know—you know that I'm—"

The lady wiped the tears away and placed her hands on both sides of his face, calming him down. It felt like Y/N was having some depressed episode due to what happened with Indira and other forms of stress, and May wanted to quell it with some reassurance.

"You're Michael's son...which makes you my son. You're Anya's brother. You're Peter's best friend. You are a bright mind who will keep impacting this world for the better. You hear me?"

Y/N nodded. He noticed that she didn't mention anything about him being Spider-Man, so he assumed whatever reverse effect happened on the spell must've kept that out of her memories. MJ only found out because he had stated it explicitly in the letter she read.

"I do." The young man replied with a nod, finally smiling. "Th—Thank you. I needed that."

May smiled and kissed him on the cheek. Y/N released a soft sigh of relief as she walked over to the other side of her desk.

"Um...I'm going to need you to pick up Anya. I'm kind of swamped at the moment. Martin has something—"

"That's okay," Y/N interjected. "I'll go get her."

"You okay with that?" May asked.

He nodded. "Yeah...yeah. Of course."

The older lady smiled. "You can take my car. Bring that little devil back here."

She gave him her car keys. Y/N looked at them before nodding, then left the office.

Outside of the elementary school in Queens, parents and guardians waited for their kids to be let out. Among them was Y/N, who stood beside May's SUV.

After some waiting, he caught the sight of the familiar 3rd grader. She had her backpack on and paper in her hand. A staff member escorted her out and saw Y/N there.

Yet again, Y/N wasn't sure what to say. He just stood there and watched as Anya walked out of the lot toward the line of cars. But upon her eyes meeting the young man's, she beamed.

"Y/N!" She exclaimed and ran over to him.

Out of instinct, Y/N crouched down and opened his arms, where Anya embraced him. She carried her and held on to her tightly.

"I didn't know you were picking me up today!" She said.

He looked at her as he parted. "Well...your mom had something to do. And I came to the rescue."

"Good. So now I don't have to wait to show you this."

As he put her back down, Anya handed the paper she had to Y/N. He arched a brow and looked at it.

It was an activity about him. It talked about a family member she admired, and she had chosen to make it about him.

My brother is very smart and works hard. He is also funny and says jokes even when people don't laugh. He also has the coolest job which is taking pictures of Spider-Man! He is the best.

There was also a drawing of him with a camera taking a picture of Spider-Man swinging. Y/N kept looking, and yet again, he was getting very emotional. That was all the proof he needed that everything wasn't a dream. Even Anya remembered him.

"Do you like it?" She asked.

Y/N looked up from the paper, where he immediately crouched down and hugged her again. He held on tightly and took a breath.

"I love it, Anya. Thank you."

"I thought it'd make you feel better. Knowing what I think of you." She replied. "You haven't come by in a long time. I haven't seen you."

He knew he was referring to the last couple of weeks of not coming by the shelter and seeing them. But to him...he hadn't really reunited with her since before the spell years ago.

Y/N parted and rubbed the top of her head. He nodded.

"And that's the last time I'll be gone for that long, sis. I will be here the rest of the way from now on."

Anya smiled. Y/N meant what he said. He would cherish every moment he had with his newfound family as much as he could...

...even if that meant giving up Spider-Man for good.

PRESENT DAY....

J. JONAH JAMESON LOOKED over the pictures Y/N had given him. He had a cigar in his mouth as he gandered through them while the young photographer sat across the desk. He noticed the young man daydreaming and called out to him.

"Y/N? Hello? You're fired."

Y/N was stunned. "What? Why?"

"Are you kidding me?" Jonah asked, looking up from the tablet. "What is this?"

"Uh...for the blog."

"Come on, L/N!" He showed them to Y/N. "Dogs catching frisbees? A couple at a park? Dancers outside of Madison Square Garden?"

Betty Brant came in and shouted. "Boss?"

"Not now!"

She walked out. Y/N replied.

"I was thinking the Bugle could show another side of New York for a change."

Robbie Robertson came in shortly afterward and spoke to Jonah.

"We got six minutes to deadline, Jonah. We need page one!"

JJ ignored him and kept speaking to Y/N.

"I don't pay you to be a sensitive artist. I pay you because, for some reason, the psycho Spider-Man poses for you."

"Spider-Man's gone, JJ." Y/N said, "I can't take any more pictures of him."

"Hmm. A double-edged sword, I might say. Finally, the city is safe from that wall-crawling freak, but that means no more extra moolah." Jonah replied. "Which also means no more moolah for you."

Y/N sighed. "Come on, JJ. Is there anything on that tablet that you could use? I really need the money."

"Aww. Miss Brant?" Jonah called out.

She peeked inside. "Yes?"

"Get me a violin."

She rolled her eyes and left once again. Robbie kept trying to speak to JJ.

"Five minutes until deadline, Jonah!"

He grumbled. "Ugh. All right. We'll continue with the story of the Oscorp and Stark Industries merger. Take some of Brock's photos—"

"Fine," Y/N spoke up, leaning over and pressing another folder on the tablet. "Here you go, Mr. Jameson."

The boss looked at it and saw a few brand-new photos of Spider-Man. Y/N continued.

"Those are some I took a while back that haven't been used yet."

Jonah looked at the high-quality snapshots and nodded.

"They stink." He remarked, then forwarded one of the pictures to Robbie. "There's your page one."

Robbie nodded. Jonah continued.

"Headline: Masked Menace Still On The Prowl?"

Robbie shook his head. "I told you, he's not a menace."

"Tell that to the Stacy and Sanduval family." He shot back.

Robbie didn't respond and walked off. Y/N overheard but did not say a word, only gritting his teeth. JJ began to write on a slip of paper.

"I'll give you 250." He told Y/N.

"400." Y/N shot back.

"That's outrageous!" Jonah reacted but wrote it down anyway. "Done."

He tore out the slip and gave it to Y/N before taking out his phone and dialing a number. He partially shooed Y/N out.

"Thank you! Bye-bye!"

Y/N walked out of the office to Betty's desk. He smiled as he handed the slip to her, and she grinned back.

"Hey, Y/N."

"Hey."

"Let me guess. Jonah didn't take any of the other pictures?"

"You get it."

Betty chuckled as she started to get the money for her coworker and friend.

"In this business, all that matters is headlines and clicks. Even with him seemingly gone, Spider-Man still garners attention."

He nodded. "Right."

Betty got his check and handed it to him.

"Who would've thought? The two of us from the most prestigious science school in Queens are working to push out JJ clickbait."

Y/N snickered. Again, it was still pretty weird to hear Betty mention Midtown to him. Like MJ, May, Anya, and others, the spell had worn off on her, and she remembered being his classmate in high school.

"We gotta start somewhere, right?" He replied and put the check away. "I'm heading out. Gotta do something. Good luck with the rush, Betty."

"Later, hun'."

Y/N smirked and walked away, leaving the floor of the Daily Bugle offices.

Y/N arrived at the apartment he shared with Harry. He wasn't home at the moment, and it was just him. He put his satchel down and rubbed his face, exhaling.

He entered his room and looked out the floor-to-ceiling window, which gave him a view of Central Park. Y/N started to undress, and he looked at the picture frame he had on his dresser.

It was a photo of Y/N, MJ, Peter, Ned, Gwen, and the rest of his class during the trip in Venice, Italy. After the universal memory wipe spell, pigeons blocked off his face, and you couldn't see Y/N's presence. But now, after the reversal, you can clearly see him smiling between MJ and Peter.

Magic works in mysterious ways.

He kept looking at the picture and smiled, recalling yet another memory from months ago. One moment in time that affected him...

FIVE MONTHS AGO...

The doorbell buzzed, which Harry heard. He was just about to leave, so he went to answer it while Y/N was in the kitchen making a sandwich.

"Hey, Y/N! People are here for you." Harry called out.

He shouted back. "What?"

"Come!"

Y/N put his plate down and entered the living room, where the two people were already inside. The young man's breathing hitched upon seeing who they were...

Peter and Gwen.

"Hey, man!" Peter greeted, going up to him with a smile.

Y/N stood there speechless, only opening his arms and hugging Peter. He patted his back and murmured.

"H—Hey."

He parted, and Gwen was next to greet her friend.

"Long time no see."

She hugged him, too. Y/N nodded and swallowed before parting. Harry spoke.

"I gotta head out. Uh, you two make yourselves at home and have fun catching up."

He bid them farewell and left the apartment, leaving Y/N with his old friends. He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Wha—What are you guys doing here?"

"We're here on break," Peter replied. "Spring semester at MIT doesn't start until a month from now."

"Oh."

"What?" Gwen chuckled. "You don't want to see us?"

"No! No." He reassured them. "Just...it's a surprise."

Y/N had to get used to the shock of finding out the people who had forgotten him now remembered him. He gestured them to the sofa nearby.

"Uh...have a seat."

They nodded, and Peter, being the gentleman he was, let his girlfriend sit first before doing so himself.

"Want anything to drink?" Y/N asked.

"What you got?" Peter asked.

"Uh...anything you can think of, really. My roommate even has a whole bar in the other room." He also looked at Gwen. "Want like a cocktail or—?"

"Oh, no." She quickly said. "I—I can't drink right now."

Y/N arched a brow. Peter spoke up.

"We don't want anything. It's cool."

Y/N nodded and sat down on the seat beside them. Peter looked around the room.

"Very nice place. I figure your roommate picked it out?"

Y/N smirked. "You'd be correct. Way better place than the apartment I had before."

"Rent must be crazy."

"Luckily, Harry said he'd take care of it. But I don't want to be a freeloader, so I provide for our food and stuff."

"Hey, I always knew I could count on you getting the food."

They shared a laugh. Y/N recalled often being the one to pay for Peter's lunch in high school.

"And how are things at ESU?" Gwen asked.

"Good." Y/N replied with a nod.

She grinned. "And with MJ?"

Y/N scratched his chin. "I...uh..."

"You two haven't gotten back together yet?" Gwen asked. "Come on, what's taking so long?"

"I don't...I don't feel like it's the right time."

"When is it ever the right time for you, bro?" Peter added.

While Peter chuckled, Y/N didn't and just sighed. Peter didn't expect that reaction and questioned it.

"What's up?"

"I don't think I can, well, settle down right now. Not after, uh...what happened to my last girlfriend."

The two were confused. Y/N assumed they didn't hear the news about it.

"Her name was Indira Sanduval. She was a causality in...the battle on the Brooklyn Bridge a couple of months ago."

"You were with her?" Gwen asked, eyes widened. "Oh, my God. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay." Y/N replied.

Gwen reached out and held his hand. She empathized with him.

"You shouldn't have to go through that. Losing...someone close to you because of fights between good and evil in the city. Tragedies Spider-Man tries to stop. It—It sucks."

She still thought about her father, George, and how he died at the hands of Cletus Kasady, who was still at large. Although she didn't admit it, she held some resentment toward Spider-Man for his death.

The way she had mentioned Spider-Man basically told Y/N that she didn't know he was the hero. Like May and Anya, that information wasn't part of the resurfaced memory. He assumed the same went for Peter.

"Yeah...so...that's why I'm not thinking of relationships at the moment," Y/N said. "Too soon, you know?"

She nodded. "I get it. Again, I'm sorry."

The young man solemnly nodded. Peter put a hand on his girlfriend's shoulder, offering some comfort for her since he knew she was thinking of her late father.

"To negate this...uh...gloominess, Gwen? Don't we have some news to share?"

Y/N looked over at them. Gwen turned to Peter and nodded, taking his hand.

"Right." She faced Y/N and waited a moment before speaking again. "We are...expecting."

The news took aback Y/N. He sat straight up and arched a brow.

"What?"

"Yup. You heard it right." Peter pointed at her belly. "We got a mini genius baking in there."

Gwen laughed at her boyfriend's remark. Y/N chuckled and rubbed his chin.

"Wow. Uh...I don't know what to say." He stifled a laugh. "Congrats! How far along?"

"A few weeks," Gwen replied. "We just found out on Monday."

"And, of course, we wanted to inform their future godfather while we were here."

Y/N was stunned once more. He let out a sigh and sat back against the seat.

"You for real?" He asked. "Me?"

Peter nodded. Gwen smiled and had agreed with her soulmate when discussing it before.

"Dude, you're like my brother," Peter said. "We grew up together. You were there when I first laid eyes on Gwen. We've been through so much. There is no other person I'd want my kid to look up to as a role model."

Hearing that sentiment made the young man's heart swell. Once again, he felt a lot of emotions. This was the first time he'd seen Peter and Gwen since the events on Liberty Island, and now they were making him the godfather of their unborn child.

"That's..." Y/N inhaled and nodded, clearing his throat. "That's amazing. It's an honor."

Peter got up from his seat, and at the same time, Y/N did too. The two childhood friends embraced.

"Not going to lie...knowing that I'm going to be a father is pretty scary." Peter remarked as he parted.

"And the...uh...Stark stuff?" Y/N asked. "Iron Man?"

Peter sighed and looked to the side.

"I thought about it. I talked with Pepper. With Rhodes...." He began. "I'm holding off on that for now. Got bigger things to worry about now, you get me?"

Y/N understood better than anyone. He, too, was thinking that it was best to retire his superhero alter ego, at least for now. Like Peter, he had other priorities, but now, with the knowledge he was going to be the godfather to his best friend's kid, it seemed to cement that sentiment for him.

"And Tony would've agreed with you," Y/N replied. "Again, congrats, man."

Once again, the two young men embraced as Gwen watched with a smile.

PRESENT DAY....

THE CAFE WAS live during the lunch hours of the day. Randy, Flash, and MJ were present, sitting in their usual spot in the establishment. Randy was on his laptop, Flash was eating, and MJ was looking through her phone.

"Mind not chewing so loudly?" Randy asked as he kept looking at his laptop.

"What?" Flash replied, his mouth still full of fries.

"I'm sure wolves raised you." MJ remarked.

Flash took a fry and tossed it at MJ, who in turn picked it up and threw it back in his face. Flash ate that same exact fry shortly after.

Moments later, Y/N came into the cafe. The three friends saw him.

"Yo! Yo! Yo!" Flash called out. "Mister Big Brain is here!"

"What's up, guys?" Y/N greeted and took a seat. "Big Brain?"

"That mind of yours. Always processing and always thinking." Flash added. "Been that way since high school."

Y/N snickered. Like the people close to him, Flash also had gotten the memories of Y/N back, even the times when he used to torment him. Thankfully, they were still friends since Flash regretted being a bully in his boyhood days.

"Hey...it paid off," Y/N replied. "Pete and I won that big prize at the science fair that year."

"Right," MJ spoke up. "That mini arc reactor. Won ten thousand."

Y/N nodded, remembering that time. Randy overheard and looked up from his screen.

"10K? Damn. What'd you do with it?"

He recalled anonymously giving it to Robert Farrell's family for his mother's operation. The young man let out an exhale.

"Some into the savings. Some for charity." He simply replied.

On the screen nearby, there was a news report. Y/N looked at it and saw the story of a wannabe vigilante being arrested. This was yet another incident of it.

"Is that guy wearing a Kangaroo costume?" Flash questioned as he looked at the television. "What is it with these crazy ass dudes wanting to be Spider-Man?"

It had been an epidemic of sorts since the hero's inaction during the last six months. People went out on the streets and tried to enact their form of justice since Spider-Man wasn't around. In all honesty, they did more harm than good. Many of them just hurt themselves trying to do so.

Y/N didn't respond to Flash's remark, only sitting back and exhaling.

After the report, the anchor moved on to a story about Wilson Fisk and the new District Attorney candidate he was supporting, Samantha McBride, who was working to combat the rising crime rate, quell the emergence of the wannabe vigilantes, and take down an up and coming gang who call themselves Arsenic Candy.

Suddenly, MJ got a text. She got up from her seat.

"Oh, I gotta go, guys."

"Everything cool?" Flash asked.

"Yeah. It's just that some family is over, and my mom wants me there."

MJ grabbed her things and was about to leave, but something in Y/N made him speak up.

"Want me to walk you to the subway?" He asked.

The request caught her off guard, but she gratefully accepted.

"Oh, sure. Okay."

Y/N nodded, getting his bag as well and standing up. He bid Randy and Flash farewell before leaving the cafe with the auburn-haired woman.

They walked down the sidewalk together, mostly in silence. After a short time, MJ decided to talk to him.

"You know you can tell me what you're thinking."

Y/N turned to her. "Hmm?"

"You heard me."

The young man just shrugged. MJ looked forward and continued.

"The news. These people are trying to do what you did. You're wondering—"

"They have to deal with the consequences," Y/N interjected. "They live, and they learn. Besides, the new Captain seems to have a grasp on things. Then there are others like..."

"But they're not Spider-Man," MJ said, to which Y/N scoffed. "It's not the same when you're not—"

"What do you want to hear, MJ?" Y/N stopped walking and turned to her. "I'm not him anymore! He's gone. It's just...me."

MJ stood quiet, but internally, she didn't believe what he said. She knew a part of him still wanted to be Spider-Man, the part of him that dedicated his life to the responsibility.

She understood that Y/N was still guilty after what happened to Indira. She understood that he was still scared of what could happen to the people he loved and the people who now remembered he who was. And...Y/N would agree.

Suddenly, MJ's phone buzzed, and she saw a new text from her mom.

"My mom wants me to pick up some pastries on the way from the shop by the house." MJ put the phone away. "Aaaand the place doesn't take debit so I gotta take out cash."

Y/N nodded, gesturing toward a bank across the street. "There's an ATM inside. Want me to come with you?"

She smirked. "Of course, I won't say no, Tiger."

Y/N smiled back. The two walked over to the bank and entered the building. The ATM had a small line, so they waited a bit.

It was then... that Y/N felt the familiar tingling and the high-pitched sound between his ears.

Three masked men stormed into the bank holding firearms. Y/N recognized their attire...they were part of the Arsenic Candy gang. One shot his Uzi submachine gun toward the roof and alerted everyone.

"Everybody on the floor!" He shouted.

Y/N instinctively grabbed MJ and brought her down with him, practically shielding her. Everyone else in the building did as told. One of the gunmen forced the security guard to drop his handgun and brought him to the floor, too.

"Face down! Not one sound!" One man yelled. "This will all be over soon!"

Y/N reached down toward his collar as if it were muscle memory, but he immediately realized he didn't have his costume. He didn't even have the means to slip out without alerting the bank robbers.

"Y/N....?" MJ whispered.

"Shhh. Stay quiet." Y/N replied quietly. "They'll be out of here in a bit. Just gotta..."

Suddenly, one of the robbers shot their shotgun at the bulletproof glass, startling the bank teller. He then grabbed one civilian and aimed the gun at him.

"Open the door! Open it, or he's dead!"

The teller was stunned and frozen. The man in the robber's grasp was terrified. He kept shouting at the teller.

"I'm counting to five! One!"

Y/N gritted his teeth as he glared at the robbers. He was quickly processing what to do.

What could he do? If he were to act, he'd have to do it out of costume. And what if things went wrong? What if someone got hurt during his abrupt act of saving? What if MJ became a causality?

"Two!"

The young man's mind was racing. The robber continued to count down.

"Three! Four!"

Before he could finish the countdown, a figure crashed through bank windows.

People brought their heads down as glass went everywhere. Then, three robbers were startled and looked back.

"What the—?"

The black-costumed figure moved like a blur as they went for the gunman nearby. He grabbed him by the neck and slammed him onto a table, breaking it into pieces.

The other robber bellowed as he fired his Uzi, but the savior leaped over the man. He quickly landed a straight kick to his back and sent him across the room, where he hit the wall.

The last man pushed away the man he was holding and aimed his shotgun at the costumed man, where he pulled the trigger and blasted him in the back.

It sent him to the ground, face down. Everyone looked on in awe as the lone robber laughed in delight.

"I got you! Hahaha! You wannabe Spider-Man freak! Hahaha!"

Suddenly, the tall, costumed man started to get up slowly. The robber was in shock as he gripped his gun.

"What...? How?!"

The man turned around and faced him. Before the robber could fire his gun again, he snatched it from him and broke it in half with his sheer strength. That was all the robber needed to see to fear for his life and surrender immediately.

"Okay! Okay!" He dropped to the floor and spread out. "I'm done. It's over!"

With the crime stopped, the people in the building were relieved and looked at the costumed man. One man applauded and was soon joined by everyone else, albeit not MJ and Y/N, who were perplexed by who the man was.

The costumed man turned at everyone, and they all saw him clearly.

"Yeah!" One guy cheered and kept applauding.

He just stood there and nodded, appreciating the support for the citizens. Y/N stayed where he was...eyeing the newcomer.

• • •

DEPUTY COMMISSIONER BARR was at home alone, having just let out the last guest from his house party. He had invited his friends to watch a game of the NBA Finals.

It was up to him to clean up, which he was okay doing. His friend offered to stay and help, but he sent them off, saying he'd handle it.

He picked up empty cups and plates and put them in the bin nearby. His television, which had the postgame report, was still on. The man paid no mind to it, though, as he focused on the cleaning.

Barr went to the back to take the bag of trash outside. He opened the door but raised a brow upon noticing it was unlocked. He could've sworn he had it locked before.

Nevertheless, he went outside to take out the trash. He returned soon, locked the door behind him, and went into the living room to pick up the garbage.

He bent down to grab another paper plate. Suddenly, the power went out, shutting off the TV and turning off all the lights. He stood still in the pitch-black darkness, confused.

Then, there was a voice.

"Daniel Barr."

Daniel spun around and faced the source of the callout but couldn't see anything. The figure was shrouded in the corner of the room.

"Who—?" He stammered. "What?"

"Corruption. Hate. Those are the plagues within your soul. But the one thing that stands out...is greed."

"Get the hell out of my house! What do you want?"

There was a pause. The man then replied.

"To help you seek absolution."

Daniel heard the pump of a shotgun but couldn't react before it was fired in his direction.

BLAM!

The police arrived later that night after getting a call about gunfire. Detectives, including Yuri Watanabe and Jefferson Davis, were on the scene at Deputy Commissioner Barr's house.

The two were inside. A tarp was over the dead body of Daniel Barr, who was killed by a shotgun blast to the chest. Jefferson put his hands in his pockets and looked down at him.

"One shot. One kill." He sighed. "Poor guy probably didn't see it coming."

"Could this be the Arsenic Candy?" Yuri questioned, pacing around.

"Aside from the bank robbery yesterday, the last two cases of there's didn't involve firearms. They were more hands-on. But I guess....we can't rule it out just yet."

Moments later, another officer came into the crime scene. It was Jean DeWolff, the recently appointed Captain after George Stacy's death, who became the youngest captain in the department's history at the age of 29.

Portrayed by A.J. Cook

"Davis. Watanabe." She greeted. "What do we have here?"

"Deputy Commissioner Daniel Barr. Homicide. A single shot to the chest."

She shook her head. "Damn. He...he was a good man. Damn good cop too."

There was commotion outside, and the three officers turned toward the door. Soon after, another detective came in, although it took some convincing to the people outside. He went inside, and they saw it was Stanley Carter.

"Stan?" Jefferson called out.

"What happened here?" He asked.

Jean tried to keep him away. "Detective Carter—"

"Was it the same people? Did they—?"

"Stanley," Yuri interjected, knowing his current state of mind after what happened to him a few months ago. "You can't be here."

"You're still supposed to be on leave." Jefferson added.

Stanley went up to his colleague and former partner.

"I told you, Jeff. I'm not going to stop! Not until I find them. Not until..."

The man started to get emotional. Jefferson sighed and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I get it, man. But you can't be out here. You still need time."

"What time? What good does it do?" Jeff shook his head. "Everywhere I look...I just—I see them."

Jefferson felt for his friend. He hated seeing him like this and couldn't imagine being in his shoes. And, as he said before, he would work hard to seek justice for Stanley's family.

"We'll make things right. I already told you. You just have to trust us. Trust me."

Stanley looked at him. He nodded, appreciating the words coming from his friend. Suddenly, a crime scene investigator called out to the officers.

"In here!"

They all went into the room where she was in. Immediately, their attention was brought to the wall...which had a lost written in black marker.

LUST
GLUTTONY
GREED
SLOTH
WRATH
ENVY
PRIDE

One word was bolder than the rest. The detectives looked on with perplexed expressions on their faces.

"What is this?" Yuri asked.

Stanley stepped forward and gazed at the words. He pointed.

"These are the seven deadly sins. Main vices that further separate people from God."

"So what? This killer is some religious zealot?" Jean asked.

There was a mirror beside the wall. He looked into it and then at the other wall, seeing a word written backward. He gazed back into the mirror and pointed at it.

"You might not be far from it." He replied.

The other three looked into the mirror, seeing the now-readable word.

SIN-EATER

• • •

Y/N WAS AT May's house in Forest Hills, Queens. He often stopped by and had all the time in the world to do so since he stopped suiting up, swinging around, and punching bad apples.

In the dining room, Y/N was having a coffee with May. Anya was in the living room nearby on her tablet. The two adults looked over some of Michael's personal effects, which May gladly obliged to take out upon his sudden request.

"Look at this one."

May smiled as she showed him a picture of Michael, Ben, Peter, and Y/N at a Mets game many years ago. Y/N took it and looked at the photo.

"Wow."

"I swear. Those two were best buds." May said. "After Richard died, Michael sorta filled the brother role for Ben."

"And Peter and I became that too, in a way," Y/N replied. "Go figure."

Y/N looked at the stack on the table and picked up another picture. He smiled upon seeing it, and May looked over.

"Oh! That was at Rockefeller Center during Christmas in 2018. We...uh...decided to go out the night for the first time."

Y/N nodded. That was only a few months after the Snap and half of the universe's vanishing. That trauma also brought Michael and May together, which led to Anya a year later.

They looked over a few more things before May took a small packet from the box. Y/N arched a brow once he saw it in her hands.

"What's that?" He asked.

May handed it to him. It had his dad's name and the New York Bulletin's logo. The draft was labeled Untitled.

"I remember him telling me about it. It's an article for the Bulletin he was working on but never got to present to the editors. It's about Spider-Man."

Y/N let out a breath through his nose. He just looked at the packet and didn't bother flipping through it. May noticed his momentary reaction.

"You could read it. Maybe gain more insight on the guy you used to take pictures of."

He shook his head. "No. I'm good."

He tried to hand it back, but May gently pushed it back his way. She looked at him with a soft gaze.

"Take it home with you. Check it out when you can."

Y/N ultimately relented, deciding to heed her words. He nodded and tapped the packet against the table.

Soon, May got a call from Marin Li, and she excused herself. Y/N got up and went to the living room, sitting beside Anya on the couch.

"What are you looking at?" He asked.

She kept her eyes on the tablet. "Videos."

"Of what?"

"Superheroes."

"Ah."

Anya showed him the tablet. "Look!"

It was a clip from an animated cartoon about the Avengers. Seconds later, it showed Spider-Man.

"Whatever happened to him?" She asked Y/N. "I never hear about him anymore."

Y/N exhaled, scratching the back of his neck.

"He...uh...quit."

Anya turned away from her device and looked at her brother with a shocked look. It was as if she had told him the worst news possible.

"What?" She asked.

"Y—Yeah. Sorry."

"He told you that?"

Y/N nodded. "Things got hard. He...didn't think he'd be good enough anymore."

"How can he think that? He's so strong. He can do anything!"

Y/N stayed silent for a moment. He rubbed the top of her head and gave a soft smile.

"I'm sure he'd love hearing that from you."

Suddenly, the television in front of them changed from the usual soap opera May was watching to a breaking news broadcast. May had just finished her call with Martin and came in, where she noticed it.

"What's going on?" She asked.

Y/N turned to the television screen. There was a staging area in front of One Police Plaza where he saw Lieutenant Yuri Watanabe, Captain Jean DeWolff, DA candidate Samantha McBride, and Commissioner Chris DiMolina. Also toward the side...was Wilson Fisk.

Since it was on mute before, May grabbed the remote and turned on the sound.

"In the wake of recent events, such as the murder of Deputy Commissioner Daniel Barr, it has left us vulnerable. Every day, New Yorkers feel it."

Y/N sat still, listening as the commissioner spoke.

"We have seen the influx of these so-called vigilantes in our city. People who don costumes and try to enact their form of justice...only to fail. They not only hurt themselves...but cause damage to others."

He continued.

"So, on behalf of everyone here at 1PP, the council, and the department, it is with great honor that we announce here today that the city has a new hero. One who abides by our laws and works directly with the proper authorities...to fight the evil in our boroughs...and instill hope."

The commissioner extended his arm toward the doors behind him as they opened.

"Join me in welcoming the beacon of New York City."

Soon, the man, wearing a dark suit and a mask with white lines, walked toward the stage. Everyone applauded, and the media members present snapped pictures and shouted out questions.

Y/N just watched in confusion. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was the same guy who stopped the bank robbery a couple of days ago.

"And fear not, unlike the others who roam around, there are no secrets. Transparency is key, and our hero believes in that wholeheartedly."

Momenta later, the man reached for his mask and pulled it off. Everyone present at 1PP and everyone watching the broadcast got a good look at the young man.

Portrayed by Tyler Posey

He grinned and waved at the crowd. The commissioner introduced them to the new city-sanctioned hero.

"Carlos LaMuerto. The Black Tarantula."