King Kindred

The Amazing Spider-Twins

Davina came busting into the lab where Tony and Nathaniel were finishing up the virus so he could go back in time before it was too late. Tony turned to her and asked, "Kid, what're you doing here? There's a battle outside."

"That's why I'm here and you should be up there. I can help Nathan. This is your time to make up for your past. I remember how you were before we finally had hope. Today changes everything. Show Ultron that the Iron Knight isn't dead." She genuinely felt this way and knew that he'd be able to handle himself, but the main reason that she wanted him to go was so Nathan could go through with his plan uninterrupted.

Tony paused and thought for a second. This was all his fault. His and Hank's, but it was his idea and he was the one left alive. For the longest he suffered with survivor's guilt. Unable to look at himself or the world that he caused. He was so glad that there was now a chance to right his wrongs from that day. Would he really be able to see Pepper again? He nodded and headed for the exit. It was time for the Iron Man to suit up again. "You know what to do. Thank you."

When he left Nathan and Davina ran to and embraced each other.. They know they didn't have much time, but they needed this. This was it. This was goodbye. They stopped hugging and went back over to the computer to begin what they needed to do. Nathan copied the virus and adjusted the second one while Davina prepared the time pad for his time and destination. Both were silent and focused, fearing that any words shared before they were done would cause them to cry and waste time. It was already a struggle for her to hold it in the entire way here.

"Alright. That's it." Nathan said as he created another flash drive from his suit before plugging it into the computer under the other one. He copied both viruses to their respective flash drives and pulled them out. He didn't have time to safely remove them. Everything would be where it was supposed to be.

"Everything's all good on my end. It's... it's time for you to go." She could barely muster the last word. Nathan placed his hand on her cheek to turn her towards him. The tears were already pouring. The nanotech armor reverted to its watch form on his wrist. He wiped her tears.

"You can't cry. I'll cry and then I'll end up not wanting to go. I can't leave you like this."

"I can't help it. You're leaving me. I know it's selfish. You're saving us or another timeline. It doesn't matter, you're being a hero and I can't even be strong for you, for our family."

"Hey, hey. None of that. It's not selfish. You're the one who risked your life to help us get what we need. If it wasn't for you we wouldn't have this virus."

"If it wasn't for me our home wouldn't be in danger. You wouldn't be even more worried about us now."

"You can't blame yourself. Ultron likely already knew where we were. We knocked out their communications and destroyed the bot's head. He just knows we're making a move and he's scared. Funny, I never thought he could feel fear. Maybe I can use that against him in the past."

"Look at you. Even when going to the past you're always planning for the future." She helped him wipe the remainder of her tears. "Then, I can too. We're going to see each other again. So this isn't a goodbye kiss. This is a see you later kiss." She leaned in to kiss him one more time. Their story wasn't over. She refused to believe it.

When the kiss ended Nathan reluctantly reactivated his armor without the helmet and went to the Time Pad where he'd say goodbye to Davina and this timeline. No. Like she said. This was a see you later. He watched as she initiated the time travel sequence. Just as she did an explosion rocked the bunker and debris started to fall in the lab. It avoided the computer and Time Pad, but fell right between the two.

"Nathan!" Davina said beginning to move the debris out of the way.

"Davina!" Nathan said trying to leave the Time Pad to help her, but it was too late. He was transported to the past.

---

June 9th, New York City, Present Day

"DAVINA!!!" Nathan said as he flashed into existence on what appeared to be a random rooftop. Except it wasn't so random.

"Who's Davina?" A blonde teenage girl asked. "She sounds cute."

"More importantly, who the hell are you, you Iron Man rip-off?" A blonde teenage boy asked.

"Cloak, I thought you were supposed to take us to our friends. Who is this?" A dark haired teenage girl asked.

"I don't know, but I'll find out." A teenager in a dark cloak responded before placing his on Nathan's forehead to see the fears of his past and their future.



When he was done Cloak stepped back in fear of what he saw. His partner, a bleached blonde teenage girl, went to comfort him. "Cloak, are you okay? I've never seen you react like that."

"I'm fine. We really need to find your friends."

"Yeah, that's what we're supposed to be doing. To stop our parents." Chase responded.

"No. To save the world." Cloak answered having fully regained composure.

"From the Gibborim?" Alex asked. Nathan was starting to recognize them all one by one now.

"From Ultron." Cloak and Nathan answered in unison.

"What's an Ultron?" Gert asked.

"And is it something I can punch?" Molly asked, finally finding something of interest in this conversation.

"Ultron is a super intelligent, super powerful robot who kills the Avengers and plunges the world in fear and darkness. A-Wild, Sister Grimm, Lucy in the Sky, Arsenic, Talkback, Princess Powerful, Cloak, and Dagger. I'm not born yet, but twenty years in the future I'm known as Nathaniel Richards, the Iron Lad. I grew up with you all as a family to me. I need your help to stop Ultron and save the world."

"I trust him. He called me Princess Powerful." Molly said, convinced.

"Convinced or not, we can barely handle our parents. What can we do against something that killed the Avengers?" Alex asked.

"The Avengers were outnumbered. Tomorrow New York is Ground Zero of the Attack, but because New York was left without the Spider-Twins, it was overrun and the Avengers were killed. The Spider-Twins weren't in New York because---"

"They were in LA helping us." Karolina said kind of sad that they and their parents were technically responsible for ending the world.

"Yes," Nathan continued. "But I have a way to stop Ultron and Pride. The world won't end tomorrow."

"I hope not." A familiar voice said swinging onto the scene. A hooded figured landed in the darkness of the roof and stepped out of the shadows to reveal Spider-Woman's costume. "It's my birthday." She said removing her hood and mask. "I guess it's no point hiding it anymore. You came all this way specifically for us."

The Amazing Spider-Twins

Nathaniel watched the other families that he had grown to know and love since his time here. His cousin, Shani Munroe-Storm, aka Wildstorm. He was going to miss her. Would she even be born in this new timeline? His family only came to the X-Mansion because that's where the Resistance was based. But he and his brother turned out to be mutants. It's possible that connection was enough to bring his aunt and uncle together. He hoped so. He wanted to make sure that little Nathan got to be with his friends and family. That he'd get to be with Davina. The world could still unite. They didn't need an Ultron Apocalypse to bring people together. He'd protect the past and the future.

The sound of someone calling his name snatched him from his thoughts. It was Alex Wilder. In the past he and his friends stood up against their villainous parents known as the Pride. Ultron attacked before that event reached a resolution, but Davina told him that her mom and uncle went to LA to help them and that's why they weren't in New York when everything went down. Cloak and Dagger transported them all. Nathan figured that was the moment he had to go back to. If he could stop them from leaving New York they could all help in the final showdown against Ultron.

"I'm sorry. Yes, Mr. Wilder?" Nathan said finally.

"You can call me Alex. There's something I need you to do when you go back to the past." His tone and expression was serious. Not angry or forceful, but guilt. "In the past I learned how our parents were villains a year before the others did. I also learned that some of their parents planned to kill all of us that were non-powered and take the new world for themselves. I was going to betray my friends to save Nico and I and our parents... But I know that was wrong now. The world, humanity wasn't as lost as I thought. The way humans, mutants, inhumans, mutates, and the supernatural have all united together to protect and live with each other. I need you to convince younger me. Tell him of Jia. Show him that we can be heroes."

Nathaniel was... shocked. He had never seen this sign of Mr.--Alex before. He would've never even expected him to betray his friends in the past. He was glad that he let him know about this. Jia was one of his closest friends. He'd do this. If not for Alex and the others, but for her as well. "I'll do it. I'll save you and turn you into one of the greatest heroes."

Alex laughed and hugged Nathan. He never expected that he could find redemption. It took him forever to tell Nico what he was planning and it was a miracle that she had even forgiven him. But he understood then that he was wrong. Now he was getting the chance to fix that mistake for good. Tears started to well up in his eyes. "Thank you... I'm sorry I've added this onto your already heavy burden."

"It's okay. Saving someone isn't a burden, especially when it's helping a friend."

Alex pulled back from the hug and wiped his tears. "You're a brave and kind young man. I hate that we're placing this all on you, but you've shown time and time again that there's no one better for this. Not because of your powers, but because of your heart."

"T-thank you, sir. That means a lot. But you're all not placing anything on me. I chose this. People deserve hope and I have the vision for a new future." Nathaniel said, but still feeling regret over having to leave the girl he loved. If he could take her with him he would. He'll come back for her. No matter how long it took.

"Just don't lose sight of yourself and your heart in that vision. You can still do wrong even with the best intentions." Alex said with a smile. He knew that all too well and he wanted to make sure that Nathaniel didn't go down the same path that he did. He understood going to great lengths for love and peace.

"Thank you, sir. I won't."

---

Nathaniel finally made it to Tony Stark's lab. There was a giant platform in the center of the room. It was the time travel pad. That was complete. Everyone had finished what they needed to finish for the time machine. Nathaniel just needed to collect data so he and Tony could complete their virus.

"Mr. Stark." Nathaniel said before pulling a flash drive from his armor and handing it to his mentor.

"Mr. Richards." Tony returned as he took the flash drive. He was a shell of his former self. He only recently started shaving again, but he still preferred to keep his beard long now. He wanted to remind himself of his failure. Alcohol was constantly on his breath. For the longest time he had given up all sense of hope. That was until Nathaniel proved to be the secret weapon they all needed. A technopath that also happened to be a natural super genius. A mind greater than even himself and his father. Together they came up with the idea of sending someone to the past to prevent the Rise of Ultron. A virus that would wipe out any of his robots before they had the chance to overrun the heroes and world. They always figured that Ultron himself would be a different case so Nathan came up with a secret plan to fight fire with fire. He knew that no one would ever go with it so he kept it to himself. Not even Davina knew.

Tony walked over to his computer and plugged the flash drive in. All the info on the Ultron Bots was on the drive. He couldn't believe it. "This is it. We have everything we need." He noticed a folder titled "locations" and opened it. It was a map with a mass of red blips clustered together and they were on the move. They weren't only on the move. "They're here."

The Amazing Spider-Twins

Caty, Hobie, Reed, and Sue were in another section of the bunker when the two returned. They were getting things ready for Nathaniel's jump to the past. Reed and Sue's movements were a bit slower than normal. They wanted to prolong the time they had left with their son. They didn't know if or when they'd ever see him again, but someone had to do this. Someone had to go to the past and prevent this future from happening or at the very least save another timeline. Even if the time travel plan didn't work Nathaniel now had a way to spread a virus throughout every single Ultron Bot on the planet. They weren't exactly sure if it'd work on the main body, but it'd definitely work on the assembled creations.

Distracted from the thoughts of losing her son caused Sue to drop a piece of equipment. Instinctively a barrier was placed around it preventing it from hitting the floor and getting damaged. Everyone turned around and looked at her, but Caty was the first to move, with Reed following suit. They all knew what was going through her mind. Hell, the same thing was going through Reed's. Caty was thinking of it as well, but not in the same way as them. She was worried for her own daughter. She knew what it felt like to lose someone you love and it seemingly being forever.

"Hey, Sue. It's going to be okay. It sounds like the two of them are back. Let's go see them and let the men handle things while we're gone." Caty said while rubbing Sue's back to comfort her.

"T-thank you, Caty." She said before freeing the equipment from her barrier and handing it off to Reed. They lingered for a bit, not wanting to let this light moment of physical touch pass. They were already about to say goodbye to one of their sons, they didn't want to think about saying goodbye to each other. They let go and Reed returned to work with Hobie while Caty and Sue left the lab to see their kids.

---

Davina laughed at her cousin. She actually admired how she could stay positive in this world. Then again, this was all the world that they knew, but she had a feeling that Annie would've fit more in a world without Ultron. She needed a life of adventure and romance. It wasn't like she couldn't get that in this reality. It was just different. Annie needed a life outside of this bunker or being a hero. But Davina? All she knew and could imagine was being a hero. Even in an apocalyptic world like this. "Annie, you ever think the fact that you're boy crazy is why you don't get to adventure with them?" She asked her cousin with a smile showing it was mostly a joke. "But... it was so flipping cool. I mean, it's terrible out there. But it felt like living one of our parents' stories. I took down an Ultron Bot and my Knight in Shining Armor handled the rest."

Nathaniel blushed at Davina calling him her knight in shining armor. She technically wasn't wrong, but the attention was a little embarrassing. "Yes, I hacked into the Ultron Bot and got everything I needed before destroying its head. I also disabled its communications before then so it couldn't call for backup."

"You two did great," Caty said as she and Sue entered the room. "But your uncle's right, Davina. You could've been killed."

"Do I really have to get this lecture from everybody?" Davina asked with a sigh.

"Yes," Sue answered matter of factly. "I can't have anything happen to my future daughter-in-law."

The Amazing Spider-Twins

New York, 20 Years Later...

The city was unrecognizable. It was in ruins. Society no longer existed. There was a constant dark and smoggy overcast. Flying robots patrolled the skies. Just what could have happened here? Where were the heroes? The Avengers? The Spider-Twins, the Clone Brigade? How could they let this happen?

The sound of a battle could be heard. On closer look there's a young girl in a costume with a spider-symbol on it. Could it be? The Spider-Woman was still here fighting the good fight? Wait, no. That wasn't her. Her costume was different, yes, but that wasn't it. She was way too young to be the Spider-Woman that we know. "Spider-Girl, watch out!" A voice called out in the distance.

"I got it, Iron Lad!" She yelled back while using one of her webs to launch herself up and over a robot that was flying after her. She dropped down onto its back and stabbed the joints in its neck to disable it and cause them both to fall out of the sky. She held on for dear life for the expected crash landing and jumped right before they hit the ground to land gracefully next to it. Well, it would have been graceful had it not been for all of the smoke and dust obscuring her moment. "Ultron Bot secured!"

"I can't believe how reckless you are, Davina. You were supposed to wait for me and the others. You could've gotten killed." The voice from earlier said before landing and dispersing the smoke and dust. He was wearing a suit of armor similar to that of Iron Man's. He took off his helmet and walked over to the downed Ultron Bot examining it.

Spider-Girl took her mask down. "Please, Nathaniel. You worry too much. I've been training specifically for this. To take these monsters down. And now we finally have a chance. Are you sure you and Tony can use this thing to create a virus to take them all out?"

"These guys killed the Avengers. Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Don't forget that. They acted as a team and it still meant nothing. You're lucky I cut his communications when I did. We would've had a whole horde out here. But yes and no. I have a new plan. Their idea wasn't wrong. A hero that's an android. One that can do things and take the risks others can't. I figured it all out last night. Nathaniel sighed. He hoped he wasn't wrong. Would his hubris lead the world to an even worse fate?

Davina recognized that look. He was holding the weight of the world on his shoulders. She walked up to him and knelt down next to the Ultron Bot to face him. "You're the smartest guy I know and our dads and my uncle are super geniuses. Our moms, too. Basically out of multiple super genius families, you're the smartest out of all of us. If you believe this is the way, then I trust it." She lifted his chin with her hand. "I trust you. I'll distract Tony while you tweak the virus. I can't believe this is it. After so long, after all we've been through... I'm going to miss you."

It was his turn to comfort her now. He wiped the tears starting to form in her eyes. "I love you. But don't worry. We'll see each other again soon. It'll be different versions of us, but I'll love you in every timeline."

"I love you too. In every timeline." The two kissed for what felt like forever. For all they knew this would've been their last kiss in this timeline. They didn't know what would happen after Nathaniel left to the past. He decided to stay there and they theorized that this timeline would either cease to exist, become a pocket reality, or correct itself with the changes. Either way, it seemed impossible for him to return here.

A beeping could be heard coming from Iron Lad's helmet. It seemed that he got everything he needed from the Ultron Bot. He pulled back from their kiss and wiped the tears starting to form in his own eyes. He stood up and extended his hand to Davina. She put her mask back on and took his hand before moving into her spot in his arm. With his other arm he released a beam of energy that destroyed the bot's head before the the two of them took off into the skies back to their underground mansion bunker, the X-Mansion.

The Amazing Spider-Twins

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?"

The Amazing Spider-Twins

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.

Home Is Where The Starship Is

||Location: Sol System
||Time: Unknown

Harrison resonated with Kir's disappointment in the current state of the ship. He understood that part of the damage was from her journey to Earth, but it was still a beautiful aircraft, or rather spacecraft, and it deserved better than this. He nodded to her and watched as she headed back towards the cockpit. He then took his time analyzing every nook and cranny of the ship. He had her memories connected to his own, but he really wanted to examine and experience the ship through his own eyes, hands, and heart.

His curiosity and excitement made him feel like a kid bruising through a game or toy store, being fascinated by everything that caught his eye. As he toured the ship he thought to himself about how this was the first time in a long time that he felt at peace to just be. He wasn't being forced to do anything by the government, he wasn't dealing with some disaster, or grieving the loss of his father. He knew with the mission ahead of him that it'd be a while before he would feel this way again, so he wanted to make it last as long as possible.

The Amazing Spider-Twins

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.

The Amazing Spider-Twins

It was the Night Before Christmas and all was quiet throughout New York. Not a creature was stirring, not even a street rat. It felt like the city was alert, aware that a battle for the ages was on the horizon. It wasn't surprising. Jameson and the Daily Bugle had dubbed the recent days' event, the Spider-Gang War. Caty appreciated the hyphenation, but she started to wonder just who Jameson thought was under the masks. They unfortunately didn't know that these new and different spider people were clones, but one dissolving in the Mall clued them into something strange going on. While the actual newspaper was telling it from a more educated angle, Jameson's podcast called the whole thing a hoax to boost their publicity after the events of the Bloody Halloween. Even with Liz or her clone back Caty still couldn't seem to escape her past. But she didn't care as long as it kept people safe.

Spider-Woman and Spider-Liz swung and flew through the night skies respectively. Liz didn't have a costume of her own since her creator never intended for her to be a hero. He only gave her powers to both make sure that Gwen's friend wasn't lost again and that she'd have the power to help take down the Spider-Twins. She wore a dark hoodie and outfit to keep herself hidden in the night. She didn't want to alert anyone that might've still been out tonight.

Caty had Danny and Dani stay home to protect their mom. She didn't need to be worried about her safety and if Danny got attacked as well at least he'd have backup. But she was sure that they'd be fine. Her clones seemed to only be interested in her and with the first one on the winning team it was time for her enemy's trump card to enter the fray. She still didn't even know who her enemy behind the scenes was. All Liz knew was that he was some green hairy freak with a lab full of cloning technology. They didn't know more than that or what their purposes were beyond revenge. It seemed like he didn't trust them and for good reason. They all turned on him.

"So is your plan to swing around all night hoping you'd find her? How do you know she'll attack tonight?" Liz asked getting tired of flying around all night.

"My plan is for her to find us. My spidey-sense doesn't work against her and vice versa. She knows that. She's likely tracking us right now and waiting until we get tired. Plus it's close to midnight. Christmas. My villains don't let me know holiday peace." Spider-Woman responded confident in her intuition.

"If she catches us when we're tired she'll kill us."

"That's why I've been slowing down and having her think we're tired."

As if on cue a web attached to Spider-Liz's heel dragging her down in a swift motion to a nearby rooftop slamming her hard into it.

"Liz!" Spider-Woman yelled before a shadow jumped her and they tumbled to the ground below. They crash landed onto the roof of a car crushing it in the process. To say the least, that hurt. Spider-Woman opened her eyes to see Death in front of her.



Her silent clone seemed to extend razor sharp nails and prepared to swipe at her jugular ending her right there. Spider-Woman wasn't going to down that easily. She kicked her clone off of her and into the air where she was then blasted in the back by a bioblast from a recovered Spider-Liz.

The clone landed on all fours and crawled into the darkness of an alley to recover the advantage. Spider-Woman walked slowly into the alley trying to focus on her other senses. As she moved further inside she felt something strange. Strange as in she shouldn't have been feeling it in the first place. It was her Spidey-Sense and it was going crazy. Before she could fully think about what was triggering this a swarm of spiders crawled out of the darkness and inundated both Spider-Woman and Spider-Liz in a wave of spiders. This was the worst thing imaginable. Something straight out of a horror movie.

Spider-Liz blasted away as many spiders as she could with her bioblasts, but more would come to replace them. Spider-Liz did all that she could to prevent any from entering any holes in her mouth when she realized it seemed impossible to otherwise resist her fate.

Spider-Woman felt the pain the spiders were going through as Liz killed them off, but she had her own pain to worry about. This was it. She couldn't stop them. She was telling them, asking them to please stop, but they wouldn't. For the first time in her life Caty felt true fear and utter despair. What she felt when she saw Liz falling felt like nothing compared to this. She was going to die. She was going to lose Liz again. Her clone was going to kill her mom, Danny, Camilla, Dani, and likely anyone else she cared about. She couldn't take it anymore. Why her? What did she do? All she wanted to do was protect people. Why did it seem like the entire universe was conspiring against her? She was so overwhelmed that she started to cry, loudly.

The unexpected tears caused the clone to step back and turn her head in puzzlement. This girl? The one that defeated and turned her sister? A killer? A monster? Monsters don't cry.

The spiders also seemed to react to Caty's tears. They stopped responding to the clone's commands and stopped trying to eat and burrow into Spider-Woman and Spider-Liz. In fact they started crawling off of them and kneeling before Spider-Woman waiting for her command.

Caty couldn't feel the spiders crawling on her anymore. For a second she seemed to black out. She didn't know what was happening. When she came to she noticed snow falling from the sky, but that wasn't the strangest part. She looked up from the floor where she had fallen from the onslaught of spiders and saw the spiders just looking at her.

"What did you do?" Spider-Liz finally asked.

It was clear that the clone was wondering the same. She may not have been able to speak and her face was hidden, but her expression was clear.

"I... I don't know." She said finally standing up. "But I'm tired." She said, this time speaking directly to her clone. "We could fight, but it'd be tiresome and I rather not do to you what you just did to me. I just want to go home and spend Christmas with my family. You can go out and be a Spider-Assassin going around killing whoever you feel like, but if you do I'm stopping you here and now. Or you can come and be a person and live with people who care about you. It's your choice. I'm already inviting Camilla."

"Camilla?" The silent cloned signed towards Caty.

Caty was surprised to see she knew sign language. Well, she wasn't all that surprised. She knew it herself.

"The other, other me. I named her after I beat her. I'm guessing you don't have a name either. How about Cassie? It's short for Cassandra. We can be the 3 C's."

"Now I feel left out," Liz said, her name being the only one not starting with a C or D. At least Gwen and Harry were still the odd ones out.

The clone stared silently for a moment and signed. "I like Cassie."

"Cassie it is. Now, how am I going to explain this to my mom?"

Commencement: A Pacific Royal Collegiate & University RP

<Snipped quote by King Kindred>

Totally understandable, maybe another time then!

@Lord Wraith

Definitely. You know I'm always down for a great time. That's why I've been finding it hard to say no.