King Kindred

The Amazing Spider-Twins

Caty and Liz pulled their lips apart and giggled as Danny came in and interrupted their kiss. But Caty did feel bad about Danny having to third wheel with them. The closest people to him were all coupled up and just when he had someone that was boyfriend material he was all the way across the country. It was his first time being invited to a party outside of birthday ones when they were kids and he couldn't even bring the boy he really liked with him. That had to suck. She hoped they'd get to meet again someday, but with them fighting crime all the time they didn't really have the schedule that allowed for planned trips unless their mom made it like last time.

She frowned at the second person commenting on her costume of choice tonight. "I could, but how many people can go as themselves and just blend in? Plus, it's not like I can hide my costume under another one. Not a good one at least."

"Could just wear the spandex and go stealth." Liz added with a mischievous smile.

"Not a bad idea, but I'm going to ignore the reason behind it." She then turned back to Danny. "You're lucky Skyler has no idea about Pokémon lore or else he'd be calling you fairy all night."

---

Caty laughed upon entering and seeing what Skyler was wearing. Not only did it look ridiculous on him, but the thought of his favorite superhero being the guy he bullied and was later embarrassed by in front of the whole school was amusing to her. Skyler was such an interesting character. She started to wonder if there was more to him. There was no way he didn't at least think Spider-Man was gay.

She placed her hands on Danny's shoulders and said, "You're a trendsetter, Danny. You have people opening up their pink closets. Forget Skyler and just have fun tonight. For once we're off the clock." She lifted her hands and pushed him into the party so he could mingle. She and Liz followed after him, dancing.

---

Meanwhile a disgruntled Oscorp chemist who only ever wanted to design fashion was making his mark on the world. He was fired from Oscorp after numerous lackluster performances. Norman knew that his heart wasn't in his work. Sloppy work when it came to chemistry and biology and science overall could potentially lead to disastrous consequences. Norman had given him a week's notice to gather all of his things and leave the premises for good. He had hoped by giving him extra time he'd have a cool head and a plan by the time he left, but the opposite happened. Feeling like he was forced to dedicate to something he didn't even love, Roderick Kingsley decided to destroy everything Norman held dear, by breaking his son and his other pet spider project. He unfortunately didn't have any plans on leaving Norman himself alive.

The day that he was told he was fired Roderick took one of the samples of the Goblin Serum and replaced it with a liquid that looked similar enough to it. He decided to stay at work in order not to raise suspicion, but the entire week he was forced to go in and take his things he lost a bit of himself and his sanity. The serum was working in more ways than one. It made him stronger, faster, more tactical, but it had the unfortunate side effect of breaking down his psyche. He had surmised that Harry Osborn was Spider-Man and his girlfriend was Spider-Woman. He knew that they were here the day the spider got loose and he saw Norman observing the masked heroes on a monitor one day. If he knew anything about Norman, he barely and rarely ever cared about anything or anyone other than himself. It was all, but confirmed once he hired his son's best friend as an intern. No doubt to figure out more about Harry's dealings as Spider-Man.

But tonight, on Halloween, he was ready. He had finished gathering his things a few days prior and spent the remainder of his time finishing up his Hobgoblin costume and creating goblin and Halloween themed gadgets to make this a night the Osborns and New York would never forget.

The Hobgoblin hovered on his Demonic Glider in front of Norman Osborn's office. He laughed out loud maniacally before throwing a pumpkin bomb that shattered the glass window on impact. Norman took cover behind his desk and looked up to see the masked Goblin flying in. There was only one person who'd be dumb enough to attack him here, like this, in a goblin costume. "Roderick Kingsley. Couldn't take your firing like a man? You didn't want to be here either."

"Says the one cowering behind a desk, Osborn! Besides, you never gave me a choice! Both times. You forced me to work with you and now you forced me out. You destroy lives. Now I'm going to destroy yours. I'm going to kill you and break your son. When I'm through there'll be no more Spiders in New York!" The Hobgoblin launched a pumpkin bomb at Norman and flew away. He didn't need to verify his death. There was no way he was surviving that.

The Hobgoblin made his way to his next destination. He needed to find Spider-Woman and there was one place, one person, that had to know where she was. He was heading to the Daily Bugle.

The Amazing Spider-Twins

Caty's eyes widened at the suggestion that someone else in the group knew they were masked superheroes. Though if they ever needed someone to start their fan club it would be better to have them nowhere in proximity to them so they wouldn't be in danger. "I'm pretty sure at least two of them figured it out on my end." She finally responded.

When Danny mentioned him and Chase, Caty froze. Their vacations were almost as identical as they would've been had they been identical twins. But it reminded her of how guilty she felt for giving Karolina that impression and feeling like she was betraying her girlfriend even though she shut it down. "I gotta call Liz." Caty left the room dialing her on the way out.

---

Months had passed and Caty and Danny were almost halfway through their Junior Year. They've been learning a lot both in and out of school. Caty rejoined her dojo to get more training in. She didn't want to lose her anger and hurt or kill someone like she did when her journey as a hero began. So she was here to relearn the basics and refocus on the spiritual aspect of martial arts. It took her a while before feeling comfortable enough to spar again and when she did it was only with her best friend, Xander. She made sure to hold back as much as she could until she gained full control of the force she exerted. This and practical practice in the streets helped her spread the Spider-Woman name.

She hadn't had anything major happen ever since Disneyland and she was honestly glad for that. That wasn't even intentional on the Doctor's part. She also checked on the good doctor from time to time as Spider-Woman helping him with his experiment to make sure that he had complete control over the Lizard transformation. He even offered her an internship and she thought about accepting it, but declined for the time being. The doctor was great and all, but she wasn't ready to trust Him with that part of her life yet.

But today was Halloween and Caty couldn't be anymore excited. She and Liz were going to a party together. She was going as Spider-Woman and Liz was going as Captain Marvel. Caty didn't blame her for choosing one of the heroes that had made a mark in her city on her birthday. Mostly because she looked amazing in the costume and honestly the idea of dating another superhero sounded perfect to her. She wished Liz could've gotten bit that day.

As they put the finishing touches on their costumes Liz looked to her with a concerned expression. "Are you sure it's a good idea to dress up as Spider-Woman tonight?"

"Yeah. She's gotten more popular lately. I've even seen people showing their versions of the costume for Halloween and Comic Con." Caty said confidently, but with a slight hint of narcissism. People were dressing up as her. It was crazy. "Your photos at the Bugle actually really helped. I'm surprised Jameson stopped asking you for pictures of the Avengers."

"Yeah..." Liz started, still unsure. "But how many look like the real deal? And it wasn't easy. The man wants what he wants, but the people started wanting more of you. Claim that you started this whole superhero phenomena when you took down Black Fox. Rumor has it that Loki was actually looking for you and Danny, well Spider-Woman and Spider-Man."

"I'll admit." Caty said with a sigh. "Not many. I honestly didn't think it'd be hard to copy. But this is like the only night I can fully be me. Plus if anything happens tonight I'll already be in costume without having to change out of another costume. I appreciate you for all the work you put in and your concern, but trust me... Now, come here, Captain Marvel, and kiss me."

Liz had to admit. She did have a point with that. "With pleasure, Spider-Woman." The two embraced with a passionate kiss. One that almost made them stay in for the night.

The Amazing Spider-Twins

Caty was surprised, but also happy to see Danny so happy and willing to talk to her. She was glad that he was able to have a great time without her and it was funny. Even when they didn't try they always seemed connected. "That's wonderful, Danny!" She said with a gleaming smile. "Actually, I'm pretty sure I'm friends with your boyfriend's friends." She decided to hide the connection between she and Karolina. "They told me their friends Chase and Alex were hanging out together."

It honestly sucked that their new friends lived all the way across the country, but that was the price you paid for making vacation friends. But she hoped a long distance relationship could blossom between Danny and Chase. She had never seen him that happy before.

The Amazing Spider-Twins

Caty returned to the group of girls pretending as if nothing had ever happened. She gently grabbed Karolina's shoulders from behind and said, "I told you, I'd be back. What I miss?"

"What'd you miss!?" Gert exclaimed. "As soon as you left Nico spotted a giant Lizard on the castle. Then two Spider-Heroes fought him!"

"Wow. That sounds pretty awesome. I saw the fireworks when I was with my brother, but I missed all of that." Caty said. "I'm glad no one got hurt."

"Yeah, it was crazy." Nico said unamused with Caty's attempts at hiding the truth.

"Yeah. I'm glad you're okay, Caty." Karolina added before averting her eyes. She couldn't believe what she had witnessed and the fact that she---no. She shouldn't even be thinking about that right now.

"I couldn't see a thing." Molly gruffed. "No one wanted to shoulder me."

"I offered." Gert corrected.

"You're barely taller than me!" Molly announced disappointed in missing what had happened. "One day I'll be a superhero and beat up all kinds of giant things!"

Karolina and Caty laughed together. "I'm sure you will, Molly." Karolina said, affirming her young friend.

"But remember to protect as well." Caty added before noticing Nico eyeing her. Did she know she was Spider-Woman? Did they all? Karolina seemed like she did as well. If they did, she was okay with it. She trusted them and they didn't try to call her out on it. Most importantly she was able to help a man regain his humanity and return to his family. She'd risk her secret a thousand times over if it meant protecting people. Caty hoped that New York was okay while they were gone.

The girls continued to enjoy the rest of the night together and she gave all of them her number, even Molly, even though she didn't have a cell phone yet. But she assured her she'd call on her house phone to ask her about life and New York.

---

The Davis Family returned to New York to find it not at all how they left it. There was a lot of damage to the city and thankfully their house and school was undamaged. But for the most part everything was okay. Some lives were lost, but a group known as The Avengers came together to protect the city and the world from a Norse god and his army of Frost Giants. He apparently even controlled a giant green creature filled with Rage that eventually turned against him and joined the side of the heroes. What was with the Big Green theme this week?

Caty was disappointed that she missed out on the world's first big superhero team-up. They had Tony Stark, freaking Captain America from World War Two, and a flying superwoman. And to make it even worse? They had two partnered creepy crawly themed heroes named Ant-Man and Wasp! And an actual spider-themed hero named Black Widow! She couldn't believe it. This was the Spider-Twins' time to shine. No, they didn't do this for fame or glory. What they did in Anaheim was much bigger. Who cares if it got drowned out in the news of the Avengers? She actually preferred it that way. This way the Connors family could know peace while they figured things out. Maybe she'd check on him one day as Spider-Woman, but as a friend.

The Amazing Spider-Twins

Spider-Woman swung in and landed on the opposite side of Spider-Man and the Lizard leaving the latter to be the monkey in their game. “What he said. I thought Florida was the one with the big lizard problem.”

The Lizard snarled at them both keeping their attention on his face and not the tail that was inching towards Spider-Woman.

Spider-Woman felt an intense ringing in her head. There it was again. That Spider-Sense of hers, but she was confused. It usually warned her of danger, but she was looking right at the danger. Just then something wrapped around her leg pulling her from her train of thought and her position on the castle.

The Lizard charged towards Spider-Man, dragging Spider-Woman along with its clawed arms outstretched to tackle and rip the Spider-Man limb from limb.

Spider-Man’s own Spider-Sense tingled, and he was able to leap out of the way just in time. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he fired a string of pink webbing trying to tie up the lizard’s arm’s. “Sorry, Disneyland doesn’t serve giant lizards. You’ll have to leave the claws at the door.”

The Lizard dug its feet into the castle to stop its momentum after getting its hands webbed. Spider-Woman took this moment to break free from its tail. She kicked it causing the Lizard to roar out in pain and anger. This caught the attention of the crowd below just before the fireworks lit up the castle. Most were mesmerized by the light show, but some perceptive ones in the crowd noticed the show behind the show.

Spider-Woman jumped to her feet and shot a web at the Lizard's head trying to pull it back. Except what she thought was some sort of dragon crown was actually a hat. She pulled it towards her and saw that it was a Mickey Mouse hat. This Lizard… He was at the park. It was then that she looked up to see that the Lizard was wearing clothes. The shirt was ripped to the shreds and thankfully the pants were sorta okay, but this was a man. Someone's father.

“Spider-Man, he’s—”

Before she could finish what she was saying she was interrupted by another roar. He was angry. Was it the hat? Spider-Woman looked up to see the Lizard pulling his arms apart and breaking free from Spider-Man’s webs.

The Lizard snarled and turned towards Spider-Woman glaring at the hat in her hands. “Oh, was this yours? You can have it back. It wouldn't go with my costume. Truthfully, I wouldn't want to get sued.”

The Lizard charged towards her and Spider-Woman didn't need her spider sense to tell her that she was in danger. She dropped the hat and jumped into the air to land beside her brother. “He's someone's dad and I think he still remembers that. We have to figure out a way to turn him back. One of us is going to need to get his wallet while the other distracts him.”

Spider-Man gave a salute. “Got it, I’ll distract him, you get the wallet.”

With a swift leap, Spider-Man landed in front of the Lizard, taunting him with a quip. “Hey Lizard, ever heard of a spa day? I hear they work wonders for the scales!” He dodged another swipe from the creature’s claws, leading it away from Spider-Woman.

Of course. She had to be the one to get up close and personal with him. Though, it was her plan. Spider-Woman resolved herself to go through with it. She wasn't going to take someone's dad away from them. Especially if they weren't in control of what was going on.

Spider-Woman thwipped a web to the top of the castle and used it to swing herself close to the Lizard while Spider-Man was distracting him. She got close and reached into his pocket to pull out his wallet. Just as she grabbed hold of it she felt her Spider-Sense triggering. She turned her head to see his tail swinging towards her. She couldn't dodge in time and was smacked across the castle.

The fireworks still continued to light up the castle and their battle.

"Hey, Lizard! How about picking on someone your own size?" Spider-Man quipped, shooting more webbing to entangle the Lizard's tail, preventing it from striking again.

“Thanks…” Spider-Woman said as she got back to her feet. She gripped her side with her left hand and looked at her right to see his wallet. “And thank you, sticky fingers.” She then opened the wallet to look for an ID and to her surprise she found something even better. A picture of a man, his wife, and their young son. “Dr. Curt Connors. From New York!?” What were the odds of that?

The Lizard turned around to look at Spider-Woman as she yelled out. He swiped at Spider-Man with one arm and swiped at his tail with the other ripping it off. He ran towards Spider-Woman and was about to eat her until she showed him the picture. She saw the names on the back of the picture. “Dr. Curt Connors. This is you, isn't it? You, Martha, and Billy? Your family. I know you're still in there somewhere. Probably confused and scared as hell. Trust me, I get it. But your family's down there waiting for you. Come back to them.” She pointed her hand down towards the crowd. She couldn't see them, but she was sure he got the message and knew where they were. She just hoped it was enough to work and turn him back.

The lizard let out a roar, and then slowly reverted back to his human form. He was dizzy and confused. “What happened? And what happened to my clothes?!” He exclaimed.

Spider-Man thought for a second. That name sounded familiar. “Dr. Connors… I’ve heard that name before… Do you work for Oscorp?”

Dr. Connors held his head trying to maintain his balance and awareness. “Yes… I was working on, perfected, a serum that would regrow lost limbs using—” He looked over to see something underneath a pile of webs. It was…

“Lizard DNA.” Spider-Woman finished. “It worked. Just turned you into a werelizard. But for now it seems like you can regain control. But I'd suggest going home and running experiments after you go be with your family. You're missing the show and we can find you clothes anywhere.”

Dr. Connors nodded, still trying to process what had happened. “Thank you… I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t stopped me.”

Spider-Man nodded. “Just doing our friendly neighborhood duty.”

As the chaos subsided, the crowd below erupted into cheers and applause, meanwhile the fireworks continued to light up the sky, casting a colorful glow over the scene.

“Just in a completely different neighborhood.” Spider-Woman added. She helped Dr. Connors down away from all of the crowd and chaos. Grabbed a shirt and some pants and left her birthday money before anyone could see her swing in and web away. She gave the clothes to Dr. Connors and left him to go change and return to his family while she left to change herself.

The Amazing Spider-Twins

Caty had a wonderful time with the girls. She really needed this. For the first time since having all of this responsibility she felt like a kid again, which is ironic because she was here celebrating her birthday. Nico and her got along well. She was a lot deeper than her dark exterior. She could tell that she cared too much and just didn't know how to express it. Gert was pretty cool. She reminded her of Danny. Not as self-confident as she should be, but bright with a heart of gold. Molly was just too adorable for words.

They took Molly to some kid rides before choosing things they were more interested in. At one point Molly got tired and Caty offered to carry her on her back. She fell asleep there and stayed that way while they got ready to watch the fireworks show. Karolina stood next to her and as everyone whispered in anticipation of tonight's show she reached for Caty's hand. Caty pulled her hand away and looked at Karolina with a hint of sadness in her eyes. She really liked, Karolina, but as a friend. She loved Liz and there was nothing she'd do to jeopardize that.

"I can't." She finally whispered. "I have a girlfriend. I'm sorry if I misled you."

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed." Karolina turned away from Caty, a tear forming in her left eye. Caty was the first girl she felt that comfortable with. Of course she had a girlfriend. And what, they were going to have a long distance relationship? What was she even thinking?

Caty looked up at the Disney Castle and noticed something or rather someone crawling on it. "Hey, Molls?" She said finally deciding to wake the sleeping child.

Molly stirred awake and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes to see that it was night and they were surrounded by a lot of people. "Huh?"

Caty dropped down to let Molly off. "I just remembered that I need to get my bag from my locker and check on my brother, Danny."

Karolina turned to face Caty and Molly. "Do you have to leave? The show's about to start."

Caty nodded. "I do and I promise it's not because... I'll be back. Just trust me." Caty ran to the back of the crowd to go to the lockers she placed her bag in. While running she called Danny. They may have been at odds right now, but this was something she may need help with. Plus, it was their birthday. "Pick up, please."

Gert turned towards Karolina after noticing Caty was gone and Molly was awake. "Where'd Caty go?" She asked.

Before Karolina could answer, Nico caught their attention. "Umm... What's that?" She asked, pointing up at the castle.

---

Dr. Connors had hit from his family, but he had been feeling different ever since the success of his experiment. He just chalked it up to his body getting used to having an arm again and adjusting to the chemicals that were now inside him. He felt less bothered during the day and was able to really enjoy his time at Disneyland with his family. He didn't have a care in the world. He even wore a Mickey Mouse hat the entire time he was in the park.

When night fell the strange feelings returned, but they were a lot more intense. His family made their way to the front of the show since it their son, Billy's first time seeing it. Curt couldn't be happier with life so why did he feel so uncomfortable and sometimes in pain? He felt an intense cramp and excused himself to go to the bathroom, except he never made it there. He transformed into a humanoid Lizard and ran through the park before climbing up the castle.

The Amazing Spider-Twins

The dinner actually went pretty well. Denise could tell that Caty and Danny's spirits were lifted. She didn't know the reason behind it, but she was glad to see them feeling better.

Caty couldn't sleep after dinner so she decided to patrol for a bit to occupy her body and mind. Fortunately for her, but unfortunately for the people that lived there Anaheim was filled with crime. She found herself preventing armed robbery and carjackings on almost every block. Okay, it wasn't that bad, but towards the end of her shift it really did start to feel like that. But eventually things died down and she was starting to make a name for herself in the streets of Anaheim. That wasn't good. She was planning to play low since she was on vacation. She didn't want people to start investigating who she was based on travel patterns. But as long as nothing major happened it should be okay.

They arrived the next day at Disneyland ready to have a great time. Despite being in a better mood the twins still decided to their separate ways leaving their mom to explore the park or surrounding areas on her own.

It took about three rides for Caty to finally see Karolina. This time she wasn't alone. She was with a few other girls. One was what she imagined a goth girl on TV to look like in person. Another wore glasses and was a bit chubby. The last was a young girl in elementary or middle school. She couldn't really tell.

"Hey, Karolina!" She said running up to the group with a smile.

Karolina turned around to see who had called her and noticed it was her new friend. "Caty! I'm glad I ended up seeing you today. This is Nico, Gert, and the little one's Molly. Chase and Alex are off somewhere together. Decided to split the guys and girls."

"I'm not that little." Molly said in protest.

Caty laughed and turned to the others. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I met Karolina last night at the pool."

"Oooh." Molly said teasingly.

"Cut it out." Karolina said embarrassed. "So... How do you like the park so far?"

"It's fun." Caty admitted. "It's been helping, but still hurting too."

"It's to be expected, but you have us now."

---

Dr. Curt Connors brought his family to Disneyland as a way to celebrate the success of his limb growth experiment and giving his son a fun family vacation. Things were honestly pretty great. He started to feel a little strange at night, but there were no real noticeable reactions to the serum. As far as he knew he was perfectly healthy and fine. All that mattered to him in the moment was having a wonderful time with his family.

The Amazing Spider-Twins

Things haven't been the best for Caty since the night her father was killed. For a week straight she couldn't bring herself to patrol the streets. She was too racked with guilt. She skipped school that week as well. She just needed to be alone and couldn't even talk to Liz about it either. It was just all too much. She returned to crimefighting after the week was over. Her father was right. She still had a responsibility to protect people no matter how she was feeling or no matter how badly she messed up. She killed someone. A murderer, but she still killed him and that wasn't her decision to make. She decided that she was going to save as many lives as she could to make up for the one that she took. She doubted it'd ever be enough, but she'd feel better knowing that she did all she could to prevent someone from dying or getting hurt.

Things between Liz and her got better after that week of ghosting. She was really the only one she could talk to and know that she wouldn't judge her. She still hung out with Gwen, but not as much as before. She felt so guilty about what she did and she wasn't sure she could ever tell her. She wouldn't want her keeping that secret from her dad even if she might have understood that Caty didn't intentionally do it, no matter how she felt in the moment. Maybe Caty was just trying to convince herself of the story she decided on that night. That whole night ruined her life. She and Danny weren't best friends anymore, their dad was dead, she killed someone and she blamed her brother for all of it. Though it wasn't fair to blame her actions on him. She should have controlled herself, but now she knew not to let her emotions get the best of her while trying to bring about justice. She wouldn't allow herself to lose who she was at her core in pursuit of saving people and fighting crime.

Once they finished the school year their mother announced a family vacation. Maybe that's what she needed, what they all needed, but she still couldn't really be around them. But she'd at least try for her mom.

"I'll try. It's just not the same without dad. He loved Disney."

"Do or do not, there is no try." Denise said with a smile. "Come on, it's your birthday. You're sixteen. Your father wouldn't want you two to be like this. You're his Wonder Twins. Our little miracles. Here's a deal. You can do what you want now, but tonight we're having a birthday dinner and tomorrow when you go to Disneyland please spend time with each other and have fun."

"Alright, deal. I'm going to the pool." Caty grabbed her bathing suit and cover up from her suitcase and headed to the bathroom to put them on. She had gotten used to changing her clothes quickly ever since becoming Spider-Woman. She looked at Jumper, who had been her emotional support spider throughout all of this, and was genuinely surprised he snuck on this trip with her. The little guy just would not leave her side ever since she started feeling like this. She walked out with him on her shoulder and headed to the pool.

---

Caty was sitting poolside lost in thought, staring at at her reflection in the water.

"You're not getting in?" A young girl around her age asked.

"Huh?" Caty asked finally snapping back to reality.

"You've been staring at the water for like... five minutes. You okay? Can't swim?"

"I can swim, but I'm not really okay. It's my brother and I's sixteenth birthday, but it's also our first one without our dad. Our mom brought us out here to go to Disneyland hoping it'd make us feel better."

"Not working, huh?"

"No... I miss him so much. He really knew me. He was the best and I just feel like I'm failing at making him proud."

"Woah, none of that. First, Happy Birthday! Second, your dad sounds awesome and because he's awesome there's no way you can fail at making him proud. He loves you, no matter what and just wants you to be happy. Grief sucks and you can feel it, but don't let it consume you."

"Thank you..." Caty said with a sniffle. "You're pretty wise random girl in pool."

"Karolina Dean." She reached out her hand to shake Caty's and she accepted before letting go. "My parents and their friends are here for a conference so they brought us kids along to go to Disneyland so maybe we'll see you and your brother there tomorrow."

"Catherine Davis, but everyone calls me Caty. But us and we?" Caty looked around to see that only she and Carolina were there.

"Wow. We're both KD. That's pretty awesome. And oh, the others are kind of antisocial. Except Chase, but he's probably somewhere getting into trouble, which is why they want us at Disneyland instead of the Hotel."

"CD, actually, but close enough." Caty appreciated the conversation. She didn't know why, but it felt so easy talking to Carolina. Almost as easy it was talking to Liz. The two continued to talk and for the first time in a long time Caty even managed to laugh.

The Amazing Spider-Twins

Caty couldn't stop crying. What good were these powers if they couldn't save her dad? She should've stayed home tonight. Flint would've gotten plenty of money for his daughter and Aleksei didn't seem that bad. But whoever did this? They were truly evil. They took the life of an innocent man. One that saved and helped others. David Davis was the greatest man she knew. She couldn't help, but think how she almost took a father and daughter away from each other tonight. She would've been just as bad as the one who took her dad. But there was no way the person who did this was a father or had a good one. He couldn't have. He wouldn't have killed hers if he did.

She looked up when Danny yelled that he couldn't take this and left. She knew what he was doing. Spider-Man was going to catch who did this. Not without Spider-Woman, he wasn't. She stood up and walked over to her mom to hug and kiss her on the forehead. “I'm sorry, mom. I'll be back.”

Her mom tried to stop her, but she wouldn't listen. She disappeared into the crowd and swung after Danny once she got to the other side. It didn't take her long to catch up to him. “Don't think for a second that you're doing this without me.”

Danny nodded in acknowledgment. “I figured…” It shouldn’t be too hard to catch. The police had to be all over it now. It didn’t take long to find police cars chasing after a black car. “Is that our guy?”

Caty looked down to see the many cars chasing after one black car. “It's gotta be. Captain Stacy must be putting the whole department on this.” She pulled her mask down furrowing her glowing blue eyes in fury. “I'll go down first. Stay in the shadows until I bring him to…” She looked around and saw what looked like an abandoned warehouse. She pointed to it with her free hand mid-swing. “That warehouse over there. We don't want them feeling like the new Spider-Heroes are undermining the police.”

She swung down closer to the police chase. Fortunately for them she hadn't turned her hoodie back the proper way and there wasn't a helicopter overhead shining down on them yet. She noticed the driver leaning out of the window to fire at the police behind him. They swerved a bit to avoid getting direct hits. She couldn't believe it. Taking one life just wasn't enough for this guy. No more.

She dropped a bit before shooting one web towards her next building and the other into the driver's side window pulling the gunman out of the car making him drop the gun in the process. His legs pushed the wheel before he was fully out of the car, sending it crashing into the side of the road. That should keep the police busy for a bit.

She continued on her way with her attached cargo to the abandoned warehouse launching him through one of the half broken windows and following inside. She expected Danny to already be there.

Meanwhile, Danny remained hidden, and watched Caty apprehend the driver. Then he made his way to the abandoned warehouse, and Caty threw him through the window. It was time to see who his father’s killer was. But if Danny thought he was upset before, it got a whole lot worse when he saw the perpetrator. “You!” His eyes went wide with rage. It was the guy who robbed the competition organizer. The one he let get away. Well, he wasn’t about to be so lucky this time.

All Danny could think to do at that moment was punch the guy, multiple times. Each blow fueled with every ounce of Spider Strength he had. “Robbing a wrestling competition wasn’t enough for you?! You had to go and get your jollies by killing an innocent man too?! Well guess what, you picked the wrong guy. I let you get away last time, but now, you’re gonna pay!”

“Wait.” Caty said putting two and two together. Danny not only knew who their dad's killer was, but he let him rob the wrestling competition and leave. She didn't know exactly what happened, but all she knew was that if Danny had stopped him their dad would be alive.

Caty jumped in front of Danny, her glowing blue eyes glaring down into his. She couldn't believe what she just heard. “You let him get away? Responsibility, remember? He… he killed dad.” Fury, sadness, and pain all flooded her body. She couldn't think straight. She pushed Danny back, but not with much force. “You've done enough.”

Danny's eyes went wide with shock. He hadn't realized the consequences of his actions until now, and the results of his mistake crashed down on him like a ton of bricks. "You're right." Danny said, his voice heavy with remorse. "I messed up. I should've stopped him when I had the chance.”

She turned around to face their dad's killer. She could see the fear in his eyes and she could only imagine that's the same expression their dad had when he… “You. You're not going to hurt anyone ever again.” Caty pulled her arm back and made a clenched fist. She didn't think or hesitate with what she was about to do. She wanted to punch him as hard as she could, consequences be damned, so she did just that. She sent her fist flying forward with as much force and power she could muster to punch him square in the face sending the man flying, and hitting the wall with a thud.

Danny approached the man. His face was bloodied, and it looked like his jaw was broken. He also wasn’t moving… “Well, he definitely won’t be killing anyone else…” Danny said somberly. “I think he’s dead…”

“No…” Caty said with shakiness in her voice. “He can't be.” But the truth of the matter, he was. In her moment of anger all she wanted was the man to hurt like she was hurting. She didn't want to kill him. She didn't want to kill anyone. She looked down at his blood left on her hand. It… it was true.

She walked over to Danny and the man looking at exactly what she had done. Her body was shaking. It took everything in her not to throw up. She wasn't doing it in this mask and she definitely wasn't doing it at this crime scene.

She looked out one of the broken windows of the warehouse and saw they were by the harbor. She couldn't be a wanted fugitive. She didn't mean to do this, but no one would believe her and it's not self-defense when you took their gun and stop them easily with your strength or webs. She then looked at Danny. She was upset with him right now, but if she went down for this he'd never be safe. Everyone would know he was Spider-Man. If he wasn't here she'd be fine taking it on herself, but she wasn't alone.

She picked up his body and jumped out of the warehouse towards the water. She landed just short of actually going into it. “I'm sorry.” She said looking at the corpse in her arms. “You may have killed my dad, but you didn't deserve this.” She tossed him into the water and looked back up at Danny, her glowing eyes saying only one thing. We need to go.

The Amazing Spider-Twins

Caty found herself once again swinging through the beautiful scenery of what was nighttime New York. The lights, the people, the hustle and bustle down below. The city truly never slept and that meant crime didn't either. Was that why she immediately took to crime-fighting? Because she wanted to get around the city? No, that wasn't it. That dream of hers. Her future. She could feel how she felt in that moment. She was excited, sure. But she truly did feel a sense of duty and responsibility. Like she had to do this. That there were people out there depending on her and Danny to keep them safe. She hoped Danny realized why they were doing this and didn't let his new powers get to his head. Despite how talented and smart he was Danny found himself at the bottom of the social totem pole and it really hit his self-confidence. But if he really embarrassed Skyler like that at school after years worth of bullying there was a definite shift. Caty started to wonder if she should've gone with him to the wrestling match. If not to keep an eye on him at least be there as support. No wonder he felt the way he did. His own sister rather swing through the city looking for crime than support her brother in his big moment. Was she really that selfish or self-righteous? She shook the doubt from her mind as something caught her attention mid-swing.

Caty glanced down to see two large men breaking into a bank. It looked like she did need to be out here tonight. "These guys just make it too easy." She adjusted her trajectory and landed on the side of the building. She climbed to the roof and found another entry to sneak in and surprise the duo.

---

"Thanks again for telling me about this score, Aleksei. I don't have insurance and my daughter's treatment is really expensive." One man said as he and his friend Aleksei were stuffing money from the vault into some duffel bags.

"Not a problem, my friend! You're like a brother to me, plus even I can't carry all of this money by myself, yeah?" A large man said with a thick Russian accent.

The two continued to stuff money into the bags sure that their plan was going off without a hitch. In the shadows of the dark a pair of glowing blue eyes appeared descending from the ceiling. "Is that true?"

The two turned around and yelled. Aleksei pulled out a gun, but before he could do anything with it a web appeared out of the dark and attached to the gun pulling it out of his hand and towards the pair of eyes. "No guns. Is that true?"

"Is what true?" The unnamed man asked.

Caty dropped to the floor and stepped into the light revealing her full Spider-Woman costume and the gun in her hand. The two stepped back in fear and she noticed why. "Oh. Sorry." She made sure the safety was on and tossed it towards the vault door and shot a web at it to stick it to the door. "Your daughter. You're doing this for your daughter?"

"Y-yes. Please don't do us like you did Black Fox. She's got leukemia and they won't treat her if my wife and I can't pay."

Caty looked at him and thought for a moment. It was true that healthcare in this country was the real criminal, but bank robbery was a serious crime. Then again the money was still going back to the government in the end and it wouldn't have to be stolen if healthcare was free. "Okay, you can go and take the money. This is your one get out of jail card. What's you and your daughter's names?"

"I'm Flint." The man said, finally introducing himself. "Her name's Penny. Cause she's my precious coin."

Caty tried not to cry under her mask. "I'll be praying for you and Penny. Please hurry."

"What about me?" Aleksei asked earnestly.

"Are you doing this for any sick loved ones?" Caty asked genuinely.

"No," Aleksei said honestly in defeat. "I just love money. At first it was to get my family here from Russia, but they didn't want to, but I love the rush. I love the game."

Caty nodded satisfied with his answer. "I appreciate your honesty, but you lost this round." She webbed him up to leave him for the police. She didn't need to knock him out this time. Maybe another day if he kept this life of crime up. "You have a good partner, Flint. I have one too, but he's out wrestling right now. Take care of your family. They need you at home, not in prison."

She watched as Flint escaped out the front with two duffels and she escaped where she came. She didn't want anyone seeing her and a criminal coming out at the same time and she didn't catch him. She could say he knocked her out while she was distracted webbing up his partner.

---

Caty finished up her patrol for the night. It was pretty quiet after meeting Flint and Aleksei. A little too quiet if she were being honest. Like a calm before the storm. Her spider-sense wasn't tingling, but the thought of the other shoe dropping had her in a spell of anxiety that she never experienced before. She tried to calm her nerves as she swung through the city on her way home, but couldn't shake the feeling off her. Once she got home she understood why. She landed behind a gathered crowd in her neighborhood. She couldn't see what was going on, but there was an ambulance and police cars near her home. Her heart dropped as she did. She couldn't stand or breathe. She pulled her mask back and felt the once fresh air that was now filled with dread and fear. She didn't have the time to process it. She pulled her hoodie off and flipped it inside out and put it back on. Focusing on the task helped her regain her bearings. Despite the anxiety and fear piling up in her she had the rationale to not put everything in jeopardy.

Caty finally managed to stand and pushed through the crowd. Once she got to the front she placed her hand over her mouth and screamed internally. Tears started to pour from her eyes as she shook her head in disbelief. She ran towards the crossed off police line. The police tried to stop her, but she pushed them aside as if she were a professional linebacker and they were elementary school kids. She crossed the line and fell to the floor before the man laying there. There was an EMT over him trying to keep him alive.

Caty's hands dropped from her mouth as she let out a bloodcurdling scream. "DADDY!!!!!!"