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Earth-12041, home to Ultimate Spider-Man and the Agents of W.E.B. – the name is still under debate, Nick Fury hates it and says S.H.I.E.L.D. is an actual, serious acronym and not just a word, Peter Parker disagrees and says someone must have just really wanted their initials to spell "shield" – as well as many other superhero groups that protect New York and the whole world, if not the entire universe (sometimes even the multiverse!).
It was a normal day at the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy, which, almost two years after the "graduation day", was now considered a base of operations for Spider-Man and his many young allies. All the young heroes were heading to the cafeteria to lunch together after each small group returned from their respective missions or training sessions.
In one of the hallways, Peter's old team – Ava Ayala, Danny Rand, Luke Cake and Sam Alexander – walked together towards the cafeteria, chatting amongst themselves, sharing laughs and compliments regarding their last mission together.
Peter Parker, now the one in charge of that whole place – something even himself couldn't yet believe to be true (he still expects his promotion to have actually been a months-long prank by Nick Fury the whole time) – suddenly approached his friends at top speed as he web-swung through the corridor. Stopping right in front and above them, stuck upside-down to the ceiling and walking backwards as he spoke to his friends, Peter greeted them with his typical overly humorous tone:
"He-llo my Ultimate Avengers! What's up gang?"
"You mean the Ultimates, Pete. People aren't gonna be calling us 'Avengers' anytime soon" Ava corrected him, in an almost bitter tone.
"Oh, come on, kitty, why so pessimistic? We're totally Avengers-level awesome!" Peter humorously argued back.
"Because we've all turned 18 and some of the other superhero teams still treat us like some kind of B-lister team of children" Luke was quick to point out.
"To be fair, not all of us are 18 yet" Danny reminded them, as he began staring at Sam with a blank expression.
"Dude, my birthday is next week! A-and Miles, Cho and Doreen are all still only 16 as well!" Sam argued in a defensive tone.
"So what? You're still 17 as of right now" Ava remarked, looking over her shoulder at Sam with a sassy expression.
Crossing his arms and hunching his shoulders in annoyance, Sam muttered to himself:
"Oh, next week cannot come soon enough"
"Patience, my friend. Do not wish for the future to arrive faster, for we do not know how much time we have left on this plane of existence" Danny stated in a serene and wise-sounding tone.
"Weren't you literally the one celebrating that you were 'finally' 18 a few months ago?" Sam reminded him, making air quotes.
"You can and should celebrate the present" Danny shrugged simply.
"Ugh. I just can't with you, man" Sam said tiredly.
"Parker!" shouted a somewhat angry-sounding voice from right behind Peter, who immediately turned around.
"Ben! Buddy! How's it going?" Peter replied in a startled tone upon seeing Ben Reilly standing still on the ceiling very close to him.
"You gotta tell Cho to stop studying after midnight. Every night. Every single night he starts pacing back and forth in the middle of our room with that bright ass tablet in his hand. I'm a light sleeper, I can hear his footsteps and I can feel the light even with my eyes closed!" Ben complained.
"Wait, really? I've never noticed that" Peter replied, surprised, to which Ben confirmed:
"Yes! If you don't notice it, well, lucky you, because I do, and it drives me nuts!"
"Have you tried telling him that?" Peter asked in a doubtful tone.
"No. That's why I'm asking you to ask him to stop" Ben replied simply.
"Why? I'm sure Amadeus would listen to you too" Peter pointed out.
Extending one of his wrist stingers, Ben explained in a rather menacing tone:
"Because if I tell him, I won't be very nice about it"
Putting his arm around Ben's shoulders, as if inviting him to continue walking with him towards the cafeteria, Peter jokingly told him:
"B-eeeen, Ben, let's not go that far now. You gotta take a chill pill bro!"
"Try not sleeping for five days straight" Ben argued bitterly.
"Okay, okay. I'll tell Cho to at least go to the library to study if he's gonna stay up past midnight. Does that solve your problem?" Peter asked him, to which Ben begrudgingly confirmed:
"Yes. Thank you"
As they passed through the door to the cafeteria, Ben immediately web-swung away towards the food counter, while Peter dropped down to the floor beside his friends.
"So, you gonna eat at our table today? Or are you hanging out with your Web-Warrior pals again?" Ava asked Peter.
"Why do you say it like that? They're your pals too" Peter remarked.
"I feel like tigers don't spin enough webs to join the cool Spider-People table" Ava argued, with her arms crossed.
"Hey, maybe they think the same about you. Maybe they just think you guys are way too cool to sit at the humble Spider-People table with them, so they're too shy to ask" Peter argued back in a reassuring tone.
"Uh-huh. 'Too shy' as in Ben Reilly and Flash Thompson?" Ava pointed out.
"Hey, sometimes the toughest guys are the shyest when it comes to sharing stuff with their friends" Peter shrugged.
"Suuure. I'll take your word for it" Ava concluded, somewhat sarcastically.
"Yeah. But, uhm, sorry, I won't be eating at you guys' table today, I… I got something important to talk to MJ about. Maybe tomorrow" Peter explained apologetically.
"Oooo, something important, eh?" Sam teased him.
"It's not- it's not what you think, Sam" Peter defended himself.
"Sure, man. Hey, try not to be too heartbroken if she says no" Sam jokingly replied, putting a hand on Peter's shoulder.
"I'm not asking her out, Sam" Peter complained in an annoyed tone, as he abruptly moved his shoulder away from Sam's hand and started walking towards the buffet line.
"Good lu-uuck!" Sam teased him once more.
"Cut it out, dude. He and MJ are just friends… I think" Ava defended Peter.
"Hmmmm I think someone is jealous" Sam teased her, to which she promptly defended herself:
"Me? Jealous? Over Peter? Not in a hundred years!"
As soon as Ava immediately moved away from them, also heading towards the buffet line, Luke whispered to Sam and Danny:
"She's totally jealous"
"That much is visible" Danny smirked playfully.
A lot of fun and laughter was in the air in the cafeteria during lunchtime, but Peter Parker was particularly troubled with a personal dilemma. Disappointed to see that MJ was already having lunch at a table with Tandy, Tyrone and Doreen, Peter decided to sit next to his fellow Web-Warriors and his friend Harry, mainly to speak to Amadeus Cho about his late-night studying habits.
Seeing that MJ was the first at her table to finish lunch, Peter secretly rushed to finish his own lunch so he could go talk to her as soon as possible.
MJ was sitting on a small bench in the corner of the Academy's cafeteria, reading what to Peter looked like a biography book of some famous reporter. Casually, Peter approached her with a carefree smile and pretended to clear his throat:
"Can Ultimate Spider-Man here sit next to Ultimate Spider-Woman?"
Laughing a little, MJ greeted him while patting the spot beside her twice:
"Hey, Tiger. C'mon, be my guest"
"Thanks" Peter replied, as he sat down next to her.
Peter sat there in silence for a moment, fidgeting a bit as he sometimes glanced at MJ, unsure how to start the conversation.
Slightly lowering her book and glancing back at Peter out of the corner of her eye, MJ noticed his discomfort and promptly asked:
"Something bothering you, Pete?"
"Actually... Yeah, there is" he replied, sighing a little.
"Speak up" MJ said as she closed her book and turned her full attention to him.
"So... Y'know how I've been through a few multiversal-scale events recently and have met a bunch of other me(s)... Other... Spider-People in general. And Spider-Pigs, Spider-Dinosaurs and... Spider-Cars... And some other Spider-Stuff...? And-" Peter began to ask rather anxiously, only prolonging the question longer and longer, until MJ cut him off to answer:
"Yeah, yeah, got it. The Spider-Verse stuff"
"Yeah. So..." he began to say, before interrupting himself again and acting a little uncomfortable as he tried to find the right words.
"So...?" MJ encouraged him to continue.
"Well, looking at other Peter Parkers, I realized that most of them were either dating a girl named Gwen Stacy, which I'm not really sure exists in our universe, (although I've met a couple Spider-Gwens before)... or dating Black Cat, which is... crazy, I guess?... Or... well... married... to Mary Jane. To you" Peter finally spilled the beans.
"Oh... Okay... Um, you mean married to my other selves, which... Sure, it's fine, I guess... W-what about it?" MJ reacted with some slight discomfort and initial confusion.
"Well... We've... dated before, right? I mean, for a little while" Peter asked her, somewhat rhetorically.
"Yeah, when we were, what, twelve? Can't say it... worked out very well..." MJ pointed out, as she raised her eyebrow.
"Yeah, right. See, the problem is, I look at these other Peters, and then I look at you, and-... I'll be honest, I think you're gorgeous, and you're an incredible girl, but... I'm not sure I have any feelings for you, y'know?" Peter revealed, very cautiously saying the last part.
"Oh... Thanks, Peter... I'll be totally honest with you too, I think you're pretty cute yourself, and I... Well, every once in a while I still secretly blush when I'm around you, especially when you're playing volleyball on the beach with the other guys... You're also, like, the greatest guy I know... but that's why I consider you my best friend. And I'm not saying best friends can never become lovers, but I don't really think that's our case... Right?..." MJ also revealed, asking him for confirmation at the end in an almost scared tone.
Sighing almost loudly in relief, Peter smiled at her and answered:
"You're right. Thank God, you're right. I was really afraid I was somehow ruining some kind of fated pair we were supposed to be by not reciprocating your feelings or something. Glad that's not the case"
Also sighing in relief and starting to laugh a little, MJ told him:
"No, no. Thank God indeed... Geez, you scared me for a minute, Tiger. I was afraid you were about to confess to me or something"
"Yeah, haha, sorry, I made that sound really weird, didn't I?" Peter apologized, starting to laugh along with her.
MJ only lightly punched his arm in response, as they both continued to laugh heartily together. A few moments later, finally recovering from all the uncontrollable laughter, MJ was the first to speak between her last chuckles:
"Okay, yeah, that was funny. Never do that again, though"
"Will not" Peter replied with a chuckle.
"But I will tell you one thing: it's not me you should be worried about" MJ told him in a suggestive tone.
"What do you mean?" Peter asked with a humorous smirk, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, let's just say there's a girl somewhere in this Academy who can't take her eyes off you..." MJ revealed.
"Wait, really? Who?" Peter asked, slightly shocked.
"You'll have to figure it out yourself, Tiger" MJ replied as she once more gave him a light punch on the shoulder.
"Waaait... Is it Doreen? She's been looking at me weird for days" Peter asked as he looked down and scratched his chin.
"Oh, Squirrel Girl? No, no, Doreen's been looking at you weird because last week you stepped on Tippy Toe's pile of acorns and still haven't apologized" MJ revealed to him.
"Really? I don't even remember doing that... Will have to approach Doreen sometime later to apologize to her then" Peter concluded.
"I... suggest you apologize to Tippy Toe instead" MJ suggested, to which Peter asked in confusion:
"Apologize to the... squirrel?..."
"Yeah, Doreen has, like, the ability to talk to her squirrels, right? They're her best friends. I'm sure she would appreciate it way more if you apologized to the squirrel directly" MJ said sincerely.
"You're... right... Guess I'll have some talking with the squirrel later..." Peter shrugged.
"By the way, I think Doreen likes Flash?... And it looks like Amadeus already noticed that, and is trying to get Flash to notice it too" MJ wondered.
"Amadeus? Trying to be a wingman? The guy who not too long ago pretty much had to have the concept of having friends explained to him?" Peter scoffed at her.
"Hey, don't underestimate the little guy, he's a genius. I bet he has a whole book on the scientific theory behind romantic attraction memorized in that big brain of his" MJ pointed out jokingly.
"Yeah, I bet he does, too. But if it's not Doreen, then who is it?" Peter agreed, before asking once more.
"Like I said, I can't tell you" MJ replied simply.
"Is it Dagger? No, it can't be her, right? She likes Cloak... Wait, does she like Cloak? At first it seemed like they were a thing, but... they're not...?" Peter wondered.
"Oh, Tandy's totally into Tyrone. In fact, I think they're both totally into each other, they just won't admit it even if their lives depend on it" MJ confirmed.
"You think? I'm, like, 101% sure Tyrone is super in love with her. Dude only speaks 10 words a day when she's not nearby, and 5 of them are 'Tandy' and 3 are 'Dagger'..." Peter joked.
"And what are the other two?" MJ asked curiously, to which Peter replied in a humorous tone:
"Darkforce dimension"
"Oh, yeah, that tracks" MJ laughed.
"Well, that takes Tandy out of the suspect list then" Peter concluded.
"She was only ever in Ty's suspect list, and vice versa. They super belong with each other"
"That's what I always thought! Those two would make one hell of a couple! I don't know why they're still in that pretending phase..." Peter argued.
"Yeah, maybe they just need a little... push" MJ pondered suggestively.
"Hey, wanna be my duo? I wingman for Tyrone and you wingwoman for Tandy?" Peter suggested with a grin.
"That'd be awesome" MJ agreed as she raised her fist.
Peter then gladly fist-bumped her as he concluded:
"So it's settled"
A moment later, raising an eyebrow mischievously, MJ pointed out:
"Well... Now that you've eliminated a few options..."
"Right... So it's either Ava or one of the new recruits... I haven't... paid much attention to the new girls. I mean, it could be one of them… Jessica is cute, I guess, but she's not really my type" Peter wondered once more.
"I'll just give you one hint: I've seen the way you look at her... You deep down like her too and you don't even realize it" MJ revealed.
Sarcastically faking a laugh, Peter replied:
"Ha-ha. Nice try, MJ, but I don't like anyone that way. I don't look at any of the girls differently"
"Suuuuuuure" MJ replied, equally sarcastic.
"I don't! Now spit it out already!" Peter urged her, throwing his arms up.
"Nnnnope. Good luck, Tiger. All I can say is that you definitely hit the jackpot" MJ said simply as she stood up from the bench, patting Peter on the back a couple times.
"Hey, that's unfair! I wanna know!" Peter asked in frustration.
Handwaving his complaint, MJ replied:
"Think about it this way: it will be really fun for me to watch you try to figure it out on your own!"
"It won't be fun for me!" Peter pointed out.
MJ just laughed a little and continued walking away, ignoring Peter's complaints. Alone, Peter sighed loudly in frustration, before saying to himself:
"I'm screwed. I'm completely clueless as to when a girl is looking at me 'differently'... Guess I'll have to do some investigation"
Some time later, Peter had to gather all his longtime superhero partners for a quick meeting in order to give them both the good and the bad news. Peter was casually standing against the top half of a metal pillar with his wall-crawling ability, looking down at the group of his fellow young heroes who one by one arrived in the room.
"So, boss, what are we all here for?" Ava asked, with her arms crossed, as soon as the remaining heroes entered the room.
In that same room, besides Peter Parker himself, there were now Ava Ayala, Luke Cage, Danny Rand, Sam Alexander, Doreen Green, Tandy Bowen, Tyrone Johnson, Harry Osborn, Flash Thompson, Amadeus Cho, Miles Morales, Ben Reilly, and Mary Jane Watson.
"Well, as you all know, Ka-Zar and Zabu left us to resume their role as the protectors of the Savage Land two years ago. But the sad news is, Triton says he's also taken on way more responsibilities with his Inhuman Royal Family recently, so now he's leaving the team too… for good this time" Peter gave the sad news, to which Flash disappointedly said:
"Oof, we're another man down. That sucks"
"Yes. But, to compensate, I've decided to move a certain student up to our ranks, just like Harry and MJ graduated recently" Peter announced.
"Who will it be? Frances? Alex? Adrian?" Harry asked.
"Unfortunately, no. FitzSimmons told me Frances and Adrian are having a lot of progress in the more academical side of our new training program, but they're still not quite apt to graduate. Alex is also still having some trouble with the combat training, he says his Rhino Armor still needs lots of adjustments before he's confident enough to bring it to a real fight" Peter explained.
"Oh, have you guys heard that Fitz and Simmons are getting married in a few months?" Tandy cheerfully said.
"Yep. They just told me we are all invited to the wedding. They said a bunch of other agents are gonna be there too. And a few Avengers" Peter announced, to which many of the heroes celebrated.
Gasping in excitement, Doreen asked:
"Wait, will Daisy Johnson be there? I've always wanted to meet her!"
"Quake? Uh, I mean, probably. I heard she's a huge friend of the couple" Peter shrugged.
"Enough about the happy couple, can you tell us already who's graduating?" Ben impatiently asked.
"Right, right. Guys… I want you all to meet the newest graduated agent… you can come in now!" Peter began to say, before pointing to a door that soon opened itself to reveal the new member.
"My old colleague Jessica Jones! Also known as Jewel!"
Walking into the room, there was a young 18-year-old girl with bright purple hair that clashed with the punk-looking black jacket she was wearing. Casually walking over to the heroes with her hands in the pockets of her jacket, Jessica greeted them:
"Hey guys. Hi Pete"
"Jessica! Yes!" MJ excitedly exclaimed.
"Hi, Jessica" Peter said simply, with a casual smile.
"My best student. I knew it was gonna be you!" Luke celebrated.
As she passed by Luke, Jessica gently placed her hand on his shoulder for a moment as she greeted him:
"Hey, Luke. Looking good"
"O-oh, thanks. Uhm, you're looking great too!" Luke replied a little awkwardly, to which Sam teased him by nudging him twice with his elbow.
Jessica then finally stopped just below the pillar where Peter was clinging and turned to face the other heroes. Promptly, Peter jumped down to the floor and, placing a hand on Jessica's shoulder, explained to his friends:
"So, since Triton left, I wanted Jessica to join the rest of the Champions subgroup along with Tandy, Ty, Doreen and Harry, is that okay with you guys?"
"No problem" Harry was the first to say, in a relaxed tone.
"I'd love to have her on the team!" Tandy happily reassured, to which Ty simply smiled and nodded in agreement with Tandy.
"Anyone is welcome on my team as long as they don't mind having a few squirrels around" Doreen playfully stated.
"Is that okay with you, Jessica?" Peter asked her.
Jessica simply stared straight at Luke Cage for a brief moment in silence, before finally answering nonchalantly with a shrug:
"Totally. I'm great with animals"
"I have the feeling that she wanted to be on your team, Luke" Sam commented with him, almost a little too loudly, to which Luke whispered back to him in complaint:
"Sam! Cut it out, dude!"
"You're gonna love Tippy Toe!" Doreen excitedly told Jessica.
"Cool…" Jessica replied simply, though somewhat in an unsure tone.
"It's her squirrel best friend" Peter whispered to her.
"I see, thanks" Jessica whispered back.
"It's settled, then. Welcome to the Champions, Jessica! Do you have any questions?" Peter asked her.
"Well, since everyone's here… could you remind me of the superhero codenames of everybody here and which subgroup they belong to? There's… there's a lot of people here I don't know" Jessica asked back.
"Gladly!" Peter happily replied, before taking a few steps forward and pointing to his friends as he began to tell Jessica:
"So this is the Ultimates subgroup of the Agents of W.E.B." Peter began to say, to which Ava briefly interrupted to joke:
"The name is not 100% official yet, Peter just really wants our acronym to have 'web' in it"
"It is almost official. And our sassy kitty here is Ava Ayala, the great White Tiger" Peter replied.
"The greatest" Ava added, giving Jessica a brief two-finger salute.
"As you already know, we have your tutor, Luke Cage, the Power Man" Peter said in an emphatic tone, hyping him up.
In response, Luke simply flexed his muscles and briefly posed in a mighty manner.
"Talk about 'power'!..." Jessica whispered to herself, in a suggestive tone
"We have our martial arts expert, Danny Rand, the Immortal Iron Fist!" Peter introduced him, to which Danny brought his hands together and bowed in respect, in typical monk fashion:
"Namaste"
"And we have our annoying Bucket-Head-" Peter began to say, to which Sam immediately protested:
"Hey!"
"Sorry, force of habit. We have our own Guardian of the Galaxy, Sam Alexander, the powerful Nova!"
"Yep. That's better" Sam said in a proud tone, crossing his arms and closing his eyes.
"Of course, we have your new team, the Champions! First off, we have Doreen Green, our ever-cheerful Squirrel Girl!" Peter cheerfully introduced his fellow animal-themed superhero friend, who cheerfully smiled back.
"Here is my best friend, Harry Osborn, the high-tech Patrioteer!" Peter continued, to which Harry also briefly saluted Jessica, but this time in military fashion:
"At your service"
"We have our inseparable and adorable duo, Tyrone Johnson and Tandy Bowen, also known as, Cloak & Dagger"
Both halves of the duo promptly reacted with embarrassment, looking away and scratching the back of their necks, with Tandy shyly arguing:
"Inseparable might be a bit of an exaggeration"
"Adorable is a… strong word…" Tyrone also timidly argued.
"You're gonna love… them" Peter said to Jessica, oddly emphasizing the word 'love'.
"I'm sure I will" Jessica stated happily.
"Before we continue, do you want to briefly introduce yourself to your new teammates?" Peter asked her.
"Uh, sure. My name is Jessica Jones. I'm going by the alias Jewel. I fly, and I punch really hard. I may look tough on the outside, but don't let me intimidate you, I'm pretty chill" Jessica summed it up.
"Just don't make fun of her purple hair, guys, she packs some serious punch" Luke warned his friends, to which Jessica humorously confirmed, closing her eyes:
"Yep. Lukey learned it the hard way"
"Lukey, huh?" Sam teasingly whispered to Luke, to which Luke whispered back in annoyance:
"Sam, I swear I'm gonna kill you today"
"Good to know… Anyway, finally, we have our amazing web-slinging team, the Web-Warriors!" Peter enthusiastically introduced them, to which Ava promptly joked, in her typical sarcastic tone:
"Also known as Peter's favorites among us"
"Not true, I love everyone here equally! With all my heart!" Peter defended himself, to which Ben commented in a weary tone:
"Ugh, always the softie"
"Speaking of softie, we have my brother-" Peter began to say, to which Ben interrupted to correct:
"Clone"
Peter immediately interrupted Ben back to correct him:
"Brother. Ben Reilly, the super badass Scarlet Spider. He's intimidating on the outside as well. Sometimes intimidating on the inside too. But he's actually a really cool guy"
"I'm not a cool guy" Ben crossed his arms and looked away in disagreement.
"He's the coolest guy" Flash corrected him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Of course we have the brains and the brawn of the Spider-Team. Our little genius Amadeus Cho, the Iron Spider, and Flash Thompson, the mighty Agent Venom"
"Welcome to the club" Amadeus Cho said simply, raising a hand.
"And say hello to Venom!" Flash said excitedly as he extended his hand towards Jessica.
Suddenly, a sharp-teethed face with a long tongue, large white eyes and small baby hands emerged from Flash's hands. The simultaneously monstrous and cute-looking artificially-created symbiotic creature simply waved excitedly at Jessica.
"Uh… Hello, Venom…" Jessica said in an unsure tone, before the creature soon retreated back into Flash's body.
"He's a little shy" Flash shrugged.
"Here we have our inter-dimensional immigrant and the young successor to my alternate self who tragically died in battle: Miles Morales, the Kid Arachnid" Peter explained, before Miles immediately began to say as he raised a finger:
"Actually, Peter, since everyone's here, I wanted to talk about my superhero name. I feel like I'm already becoming too old for Kid Arachnid, so a few days ago I began brainstorming a new codename for myself"
"Hey, if you want to, you can go back to calling yourself Spider-Man. We can try to think together of ways to better differentiate our aliases after this meeting" Peter reassured him, to which Miles explained:
"I appreciate the honor you're willing to bestow upon me, truly, but I think that it would be super confusing during comms, especially with a big team like ours, so it's better if I just choose a different name already"
"Oh, that's okay. What do you want to be called?" Peter asked him.
"At first, I was thinking of going by 'Ghost-Spider' because of my invisibility, but not only did I hear, the last time we visited the Spider-Society, that there's a girl from another universe already calling herself that, so zero points for originality, but I also realized I was stepping a bit too much into Ghost Rider's branding-" Miles began to explain, referring to the Spider-Cycle given to him by Peter not long ago, to which Peter briefly interrupted to agree:
"Yeah, no, good call. You definitely don't want some pissed off demons going after you because they think you're somehow related to Ghost Rider"
"Exactly! So I tried to think of something else. At first, I was wondering about the names 'Spin' or 'Spy-D', buuuut…" Miles continued, before Ben soon interrupted to remark:
"But I was quick to point out that those names sound unbelievably awful"
"Yyyyyeah… So I finally settled for a name that I think sounds much cooler: 'Volt-Weaver'!... What do y'all think?" Miles asked them.
"Volt-Weaver, bruh? Really?" Tyrone raised an eyebrow in doubt.
"Huh, that actually makes a lot of sense. I mean, you weave webs like a spider, and you can also shock people, like a source of high voltage…" Tandy pondered.
"On a second thought, smart choice, Miles, I approve" Tyrone immediately corrected himself.
"Thank you, Tandy. That's exactly what I was thinking" Miles replied in a grateful tone, placing his hand on his chest.
"Eh, not bad" Ben shrugged.
"Miles Morales, the Volt-Weaver!" Peter said with an emphatic gesture, before rubbing his chin for a brief moment.
"Yeah, okay, that actually sounds kinda awesome" Peter soon concluded.
"So it's official. I'm no longer Kid Arachnid. I shall now be called 'Miles Morales: the Amazing Volt-Weaver!'... Of course, without the 'Miles Morales' part, I don't want my secret identity to be leaked and all" Miles concluded.
"Roger that" Jessica shrugged.
"Oh, and last but not least, and you already know her very well, Mary Jane Watson: the Ultimate Spider-Wo-" Peter began to say, before MJ raised her hand to interrupt:
"Aaaactually, since we're all changing aliases already, I was thinking of changing mine too. It came to my knowledge that there's a new Avenger going around calling herself Spider-Woman, and I checked the social media, and she's already much more famous than me among superhero supporters, so asking her to change her superhero name is already a lost cause"
"Oh God, not you too. And what sort of ridiculous superhero name do you have in mind?" Ben wearily asked her.
"Oh, y'know, I was looking at the color palette I chose for my costume, and I was thinking of something like… Scarlet Spider?..." MJ teased Ben, playfully nudging him with her waist.
"Over my dead body, lady" Ben said threateningly.
"Okay, but seriously now, at first I was thinking 'Lady Carnage'!-" MJ began to say, with an emphatic gesture, before immediately continuing:
"- But two seconds later I realized that it sounds way too much like a supervillain name, so that's a huge 'nope'. So I think I'm settling for 'Red Arachne', but y'all can call me just 'Red' through comms and that'll be fine with me too" MJ told them.
"Isn't 'Red Arachne' practically synonymous with 'Scarlet Spider'?" Amadeus pointed out.
"Yes, it is" Ben bitterly remarked.
"Only if you squint hard enough your brain" MJ argued, smiling smugly at Ben.
"C'mon Ben, it's a cool name, you gotta admit" Miles argued, shrugging.
"Fine… 'Red Arachne'... Good choice" Ben begrudgingly accepted, though still glaring at MJ with an annoyed expression.
"You'll be fine, Benny-boy" MJ reassured him, playfully patting him on the back twice.
To lighten up the mood, Peter soon began to speak again in a cheerful tone:
"Okay, okay! Mary Jane, the Red Arachne! Good. So now that you all have been introduced to my friend Jessica and vice versa, I think we can wrap up this meeting. Now, who's up for some beach volley?"
Later that day, in the hallways of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy, or the headquarters of the Agents of W.E.B., as Peter liked to call it, Cloak and Dagger came face to face, all by themselves.
"Tandy" Tyone greeted simply.
"Ty" Tandy smiled back.
"Peter-" Tyrone began to say, to which Tandy also simultaneously began:
"MJ-" Tandy
"- told me you had something important to tell me" both of them finished the sentence at the same time.
After laughing a little, they both immediately apologized:
"Oh, sorry, you first"
"No, no, you first" Tyrone insisted, to which Tandy did the same, almost simultaneously:
"No, I insist"
"Okay, uh-" Tyrone continued.
"Alright, uhm-" Tandy continued as well.
"No, not really. Actually, yes- Actually, no-" they both spoke in perfect unison again.
"Oh God, hahahaha" Tandy laughed at the situation.
"Haha, yeah. Always in sync, huh?" Tyrone pointed out.
"Always. Can't deny the inseparable allegations, can we?" Tandy humorously asked him.
"Nope. Same braincell" Tyrone happily confirmed.
"So… I'm guessing that this was likely a prank by Peter and MJ" Tandy wondered.
"That's what I suspect. They sure are quite a pair" Tyrone agreed.
"Knowing them, they're probably about to come out from around that corner to laugh at us" Tandy pointed out, to which Tyrone agreed:
"Yeh…"
As they both remained there, staring at the corner of the hallway, they were only met with silence, as no one ever showed up throughout the next minute.
"Or not" both of them concluded in unison, before once again sharing a few chuckles.
"Right. So, uhm, you said there was something you wanted to tell me, though. And I… also said that…" Tandy embarrassedly remarked.
"Well, we're already here, so…" Tyrone said a bit timidly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Please, you first, though. I hate it when I get the first word out before you around other people and end up unintentionally interrupting you" Tandy insisted.
"To be fair, I'm not that great with words anyway" Tyrone argued, with a shrug, to which Tandy shyly argued back:
"I think you are amazing with words. Well… with me, at least"
"Because I always know what you want to hear" Tyrone stated, to which Tandy disagreed:
"No, you always know what I need to hear"
"Yeah… That might be true…" Tyrone smiled, with a mixture of pride and timidness.
"... So? I'm all ears" Tandy eagerly asked.
"Right… So… y'know how we've been together for a long time, yeah?…" Tyrone began, to which Tandy promptly added:
"For years"
"Yes, for years. And I… I love the bond that we share. That we've always shared. But sometimes… sometimes I think I might feel… more than that. More than just a pair of survivors" Tyrone continued, to which Tandy argued a little embarrassedly:
"Well… You've been my best friend for the longest time…"
"And you've been mine too. So I really hope I don't… scare you away with this… but I… I think I like you, Tandy… I don't just think, actually. Every day I spend by your side I'm even more certain that you're the kind of person I would gladly spend the rest of my life with" Tyrone revealed.
"Ty, I… Are you… are you serious?..." Tandy stammered, in surprise.
"I'm sorry, Tandy… I'm being completely serious. And I've wanted to get this off my chest for a long time… I just couldn't keep it all inside forever… So, if you hate me for it? Then so be-" Tyrone began to explain himself, in a sad tone.
"I don't" Tandy immediately interrupted him.
"Sorry?" Tyrone asked, confused.
"I don't hate you for it. I… Ty, I… I love you" Tandy also revealed.
"Y-... You… You what?" Tyrone stammered, in utter shock, his eyes wide.
"You heard me right. I've had these feelings for you for years. The only reason I never told you that before is that… I was scared. Scared I was going to lose you if you didn't feel the same way. Scared of losing my best friend. Scared of losing the person who understands me the most in this world… Scared of losing the person who has always… protected me…" Tandy explained, in a very affectionate tone.
"Tandy, I-... Are you being serious?" Tyrone asked, incredulous.
Beginning to tear up while smiling warmly at Tyrone, Tandy answered with a trembling voice:
"I couldn't be more serious if I tried"
"But you-… I've always thought… I've always thought you only saw me as… I don't know, your brother? I… You never told me-…" Tyrone recalled, confused.
"Well, you never told me either. So I assumed you just… didn't. I only ever treated you the way I always believed to be how you saw me. As, I don't know… family" Tandy retorted sadly.
"And… are we not? Every new family starts with two people who… who love each other, no?" Tyrone pointed out.
"I… suppose you're right…" Tandy shrugged thoughtfully, crying as she looked down.
"So if we both feel that way… Why are you crying?..." Tyrone asked cautiously, concerned.
"I'm crying of happiness, you dummy!" Tandy explained, with a smile on her face, before suddenly throwing herself towards Ty.
Tyrone quickly materialized the rest of his body from the darkforce dimension, just so he could hold Tandy against his chest. They tightly embraced each other in silence for a moment, enjoying each other's warmth.
Ty eventually closed his eyes and gave her a kiss on the top of her head, finally confessing:
"I love you too, Tandy. I'm sorry it took me so long to say it"
"I'm sorry for making you believe you couldn't say it" Tandy apologized, somehow hugging him even tighter now.
"Don't worry. I just… Now I just wonder how we can ever make up for the time we lost by being… silly" Tyrone humorously pointed out.
Tandy slightly pulled away from the tight embrace to look Tyrone in the eyes. Still with tears in her eyes, Tandy smiled at him and said suggestively:
"Well… I have a few ideas"
Tandy then passionately kissed Tyrone, to which he immediately started holding her even closer, enveloping her with his cloak as they continued to share that seemingly never-ending kiss.
"Well… I must say, I loved your first idea" Tyrone playfully commented, as he caressed Tandy's face with the back of his hand.
Once more, they both fell into shared laughter, resting their foreheads against each other and holding each other's hands. Suddenly, they became dead silent as they began to hear sounds of what seemed to be sobs coming from the ventilation openings above them.
"Alright, come out now you two" Tyrone humorously demanded, faking a weary tone.
Suddenly, the vent opening fell down and both Peter and MJ carefully descended from it to the ground. When they finally faced Tandy and Tyrone, it became clear that they were both tearing up a lot.
"That was… so beautiful…" MJ sobbed, wiping her teams, to which Peter did the same, trying to play it off:
"Phew. Man… Strong emotions in the air today, huh?… What a gut punch"
"So… what was the prank?" Tandy asked, chuckling.
"What prank?" MJ asked back, chuckling as well.
"The one you two were gonna pull on us…?" Tyrone slowly asked, confused.
"Oh, we weren't trying to prank you" Peter stated simply.
"You weren't?" Tandy asked in confusion.
"We were just trying to get you to talk to each other in private and, y'know, maybe ask each other out on a date or something…" MJ revealed.
"But we weren't expecting that" Peter pointed out, almost in shock.
"Nope. Caught us totally off guard" MJ agreed.
"So you were just being our respective wingmen? Wingwoman? Wing-people?" Tyrone wondered.
"Cupids" Tandy briefly added.
"Yep" Peter confirmed.
"And we were so right. You two look so perfect together" MJ cheerfully told them.
"Awww, thank you!" Tandy smiled gratefully.
"Pete, my man, you sure did me one hell of a favor today. If you hadn't set me up like that-..." Tyrone said sincerely.
"Hey, always here for you, man" Peter reassured him, brotherly bumping his own chest twice.
"So… are you two dating or…?" Tandy asked curiously.
"Oh, us? No, no. Just friends, trying to look out for other friends" MJ explained, to which Peter humorously added:
"Yep-yep. Just friends. And earlier MJ told me some nonsense about somebody else liking me. Again, probably just some nonsense"
"Wait, so he doesn't know yet that-" Tandy began to say in a surprised tone.
"Shhhhh! Tandy! Don't tell him yet. I want him to find out on his own" MJ interrupted her.
"Dude! You seriously still don't know? Tyrone asked Peter, incredulous.
"Even you, Ty? What don't I know, for God's sake!?" Peter asked back, frustrated.
"Oh, my sweet summer child…" Tyrone playfully said, shaking his head with his eyes closed, as he began walking down the hall, hand in hand with Tandy, keeping her close.
"Sweet summer- Dude! You never talk like that. Come on, tell me what it looks like everybody knows but me!" Peter insisted.
"Gosh, and I thought I was being dense" Tyrone joked.
"Tyrone!!!" Peter complained exasperatedly.
"MJ, if you need us to return the favor by helping Peter…" Tandy asked suggestively, glancing at MJ from over her shoulder.
"Don't worry, I got this! Now go enjoy each other's company in private, you lovely lovebirds!" MJ handwaved her offer and suggested supportively.
"Haha, thanks" Tandy smiled cheerfully, to which Tyrone also nodded in thanks.
As Tandy and Tyrone continued to walk away, MJ and Peter managed to overhear the last snippets of their conversation:
"So… Where's our first date gonna be?" Tyrone warmly asked her.
"I mean, you're the one with teleportation powers here. And all I really need is just your company, Ty, so… Surprise me" Tandy happily reassured him.
"Ugh. Looks like I'm on my own" Peter said disappointedly.
"C'mon, Peter. You're smart. You can solve complex problems not even genius billionaires can. I'm sure you can figure out which girl in this building likes you in no time" MJ reminded him.
"I… guess…" Peter concluded, shrugging defeatedly.
Suddenly, Peter received a video call on his wrist communicator from his fellow Web-Warrior, Flash Thompson.
"Hey boss, there's a pending video call for you from Floor A up here in your office. It's FitzSimmons. From what they told me, it doesn't seem urgent, but it seems somewhat important enough" Flash notified him.
"Thanks, Flash. And, uh, can y'all stop calling me boss? It makes me super uncomfortable. You're not my subordinates, you're my friends!" Peter asked him, chuckling embarrassedly.
"No can do, boss. I'll take every chance I get to glaze the heck out of my man Spider-Man. You're the best. Flash out" Flash told him, hyping him up.
"Flash, this isn't a radio, and we're not in the military. You don't need to say 'Flash out', man" Peter reminded him.
"But it makes the call sound super important and makes me feel like a badass agent, so…" Flash argued, shrugging.
"Right. Of course. Peter out. I guess" Peter concluded with a half-blank, half-thoughtful expression before ending the call
"Well, uh, it was great crying with you in the vents, MJ, but it seems my attention is requested elsewhere" Peter soon said to MJ.
"Hahaha. Yeah, that was great. Go on, mr. bossman, don't let me stop you" MJ agreed, smiling happily.
Before leaving, Peter unexpectedly offered MJ a fist bump, asking:
"Best wingman and wingwoman of this Academy?"
"We barely did anything" MJ argued, though she promptly returned the fist bump.
"We barely did anything and it was a total success! As long as we don't try it again, our success rate will always remain 100%" Peter said jokingly, as he began to walk away.
"That's not how success is measured, nerd" MJ humorously replied.
"It totally is!" Peter retorted, shouting as he web-swung away through the building.
A very short time after, Peter was already in his very own Director's Office, returning the video call he missed from agents Fitz and Simmons, through a large holographic screen:
"Agent Fitz. Agent Simmons. You wanted to talk to me?"
"Oh, yeah, but it's nothing too serious. We were just curious to know if Jessica was well accepted by her new team" Jemma Simmons reassured him and asked.
"And to know how her team-integration training session went" Leo Fitz promptly added.
"Jessica? She was super well received. Doreen, Harry, Tandy and Ty had absolutely no complaints. She fit right in with the team, and she was able to adapt well enough with their fighting style. Buuuut…" Peter began to say.
"But…?" Fitz eagerly asked, raising an eyebrow.
"But she and Luke are one heck of a demolition duo, though. I mean, it makes sense, he trained her after all. And I'm not saying we need to have her swapping teams anytime soon, but that's definitely a strength worth exploring in an actual fight that otherwise won't ever be explored if both teams keep always working separately" Peter explained.
"I mean, you're the boss. It's up to you to decide whether or not you should be sending the two teams simultaneously to deal with a threat" Simmons reminded him.
"And you can always swap members around, if you want" Fitz added.
"I don't know… Ava, Luke, Danny and Sam have been working together for so long, I'm not sure it would be a good idea to split up the gang" Peter argued anxiously, scratching his hair.
"Peter- Oh, sorry. Spider-Man? O-or do you prefer Director Parker now?..." Simmons began to ask, a little embarrassed.
"Forget that, you can totally call me just Peter. Both of you" Peter gladly reassured them.
"Right. Thanks. Look, Peter, just because you're moving people from one team to another, it doesn't mean the friendship you guys have outside the battlefield will somehow change" Simmons pointed out.
"Exactly! I mean, as the field leader, you're constantly moving between all 3 teams, and I'm sure they all still consider you the same friend you've always been to them ever since it was just you and the Ultimates" Fitz once more promptly added.
"I'm not so sure about that, Fitz. Some people might even say I've been playing favorites" Peter told him, in a mixture of shame and disappointment.
"I'm not sure how much of that is an actual serious critique to your leadership, but I'm sure deep down they likely just… miss having you around more often. I mean, you have a huge responsibility now, and a lot of people to manage as the new Director, and all those people love your company. You're their inspiration. Their light. And I'm sure you'd want to be able to spend more time with every single one of them, but you're only one guy, Peter" Fitz reminded him.
"Yeah! As long as you make sure they don't actually feel like you're leaving them behind, every single one of them would go to hell and back to support you. That won't change just because you're not always present anymore. Like you always say, they're your friends first, your teammates second, and your subordinates dead last" Simmons added, reassuring Peter.
"Huh… Yeah, you two are right. You two always are. I think I'm just stressing this out for no reason. Arbitrary group divisions shouldn't be dividing them. At the end of the day, we're all still just one big family! And I'm in charge! I can just get rid of these arbitrary divisions entirely!" Peter concluded, now in a much more cheerful tone.
"If that's what you want to do…" Simmons shrugged happily.
"I'd argue that this would only lead to greater flexibility in battle tactics. I can send you a detailed list of possible mishmashed team combinations that I think would work great!" Fitz thoughtfully pointed out.
"I'd love to have that. Thanks, Fitz. And thank you as well, Simmons. For the advice. You two have no idea how much I needed to hear some of that. Almost felt like a free therapy session, haha" Peter playfully thanked them, very grateful.
"We like to help in whatever ways we can" Simmons stated cheerfully.
"Speaking of which. Can you help me with a little question?" Peter asked, to which Fitz promptly replied:
"Sure!"
"Is Quake gonna be at your wedding? Doreen said she's a huge fan and wants so badly to meet her" Peter finally asked, a little embarrassedly.
"Daisy? I mean, she's my bridesmaid. And our number one best friend. The only possible reason she wouldn't show up would be if the world were ending on the big day, haha" Simmons joked, to which Fitz added, in a rather concerned tone:
"Which we pray doesn't happen"
"Yeah, that would be… bad. But thanks, I'll tell her that… I… wish you both a great evening! Tell that to my students down there too, please" Peter asked them.
"Will do. Good evening to you and everyone up there as well" Simmons returned the farewell, to which Fitz nodded both in thanks to Peter and agreement with his partner.
"Thank you… And as a friend would want me to say… Peter out" Peter ended the call playfully.
Staring thoughtfully at his holographic screen, alone in his office, Peter began to talk to himself:
"Okay, so some girl in this Academy likes me… MJ is right, I'm pretty smart, and I'm sure there must be a smart way to easily find out who it is… Like a… simple process of elimination!"
Peter then opened a list on his holographic projector with all his teammates and students, then filtering it to only display his female friends and all the female students among the unexpectedly large list of new S.H.I.E.L.D. recruits.
Clicking on the profile pictures of the girls one by one to gray them out on the list, Peter began analyzing:
"Okay, so MJ is out… She's the one who put me into this mess, after all"
Peter promptly clicked on MJ's profile, graying her out on the list.
"Doreen is also out, though that hug earlier was weirdly too long, but I think she was just that happy that I apologized to Tippy Toe…" Peter continued, also clicking on Doreen to unmark her from the list.
"Now Tandy… We've just witnessed the biggest love confession of superhero history, and I'm super happy for her and Ty, so let's not even entertain that possibility…" Peter pointed out, before straight up removing Tandy from the list.
"... Which now leaves us Ava, Jessica, and all the other newcomers… Could it be Jessica…? But, I mean, the way she looks at 'Lukey'... No, no, it's not her either" Peter observed, also marking Jessica in gray on the list.
"Oof. Okay, so it's definitely one of the new students" Peter concluded.
"Unless… No. No, it's not Ava" Peter briefly wondered, before also graying out Ava on the list.
"But MJ, Tandy and Ty all acted like it was super obvious. If it was Jessica, I'd understand MJ acting like that, but Tandy and Ty haven't been tutoring others for a long time, so they don't even know most of the new students" Peter soon remembered.
"Unless it's Frances?... Nah, I barely even talk to her. She barely even speaks to me unless it's about training or visiting Aunt May for cookies. And she was literally Mysterio. Whether she loves me or hates me, she sure doesn't demonstrate any kind of strong feelings for me, at all" Peter argued.
Peter then soon clicked on the profile picture of Frances Beck, daughter of the first Mysterio Quentin Back, to gray her out too.
"It's 100% not her. But I definitely should try to befriend her more. At least so I can say hi to her in the hallways without it sounding super awkward" Peter suggested to himself, rubbing his chin.
Embarrassedly covering his face, Peter then immediately reminded himself:
"Oh, yeah, I forgot. I'm kinda her boss now. It'll probably always come off as at least a little awkward to her"
Peter then suddenly raised his finger, as if a light bulb had turned on in his head:
"Oh, maybe it's one of the Runaways girls!..."
"Or… not… Nico and Karolina are dating each other... Gert and Chase are also a couple... And Molly is way too young…" Peter soon realized as he looked at the profile pictures of the girls, graying out Nico, Karolina and Gert's profiles, and removing Molly from the list.
"Ugh. Okay, there's no escaping the elephant in the room anymore… Is it… Ava?" Peter said in defeat, staring at the grayed out profile picture of Ava before wondering, confused:
"I mean… It's the only option that makes sense if it's supposedly that obvious. But why would Ava like me?"
"Well, stupid question, to be fair. Why does anyone like anyone, am I right?" Peter humorously pointed out, before almost disappointedly concluding, sighing a little:
"Ah, but it's not Ava…"
"It… it can only be Ava" Peter concluded shortly afterward, almost anxiously, as he clicked on Ava's profile picture again to ungray it.
"Why am I so scared to accept that Ava likes me?" Peter realized.
"I don't look differently at Ava. MJ was just saying nonsense to tease me" Peter said defensively, before thoughtfully arguing with himself:
"Unless I do and I don't even realize it?"
Staring at his holographically projected list for maybe too long, Peter struggled to accept it, but he eventually mustered enough courage to delete all the other girls from the list, leaving only Ava's profile, to which he stared at for a few seconds before clicking to expand her agent file to full screen.
Sighing with a hint of deep anxiety, Peter crossed his arms and began wondering:
"Ava… Ava… Hmmmmm..."
A few floors below Peter's office, at the Training Room, Ava, Luke, Danny and Sam were training together, fighting deadly nanotech robots set to the maximum difficulty available. Given the team's years-long experience, they easily demolished all the training robots using their near-perfect team synergy and impressive individual skills.
"Okay, I… I think it's about time we call it a day" Sam suggested, snapping his fingers twice to interrupt the training program.
"What? It's barely 9 PM! Don't tell me you're tired already!" Ava complained, annoyed.
"Well, no, but there's an e-sports tournament starting right now that we really wanted to watch, so…" Luke explained, shrugging defensively.
"E-sports? Really?" Ava asked, baffled.
"Y'know, it's an official world championship for a strategy game we love, so…" Sam argued, also shrugging defensively.
"Ugh… Okay, fine, whatever. But we're all gonna train together tomorrow morning, right? Maybe at 7 AM?" Ava asked, in a hopeful tone.
"Of course!" Luke smiled and nodded reassuringly.
"We gotchu, kitty, don't worry" Sam added, giving Ava a thumbs-up before he and Luke almost hurriedly left the training room.
Danny then stared at the open door with a thoughtful expression for a moment, before finally deciding to follow his friends. Turning back towards Danny as she realized he was leaving too, Ava asked disappointedly:
"Wait, even you, Danny? I thought you were gonna train a little longer too"
"Sorry, Ava. There is a lot of value in training the body, but there is also a lot of value in relaxing and sharing great memories with your friends. It strengthens the spirit" Danny argued, in his typical ever-calm tone.
"Well, my idea of great memories with my friends usually involves smashing deadly robots together" Ava retorted, arms crossed.
"Then call Peter. He might be available to train with you" Danny suggested, with a gentle smile.
"Hmpf. Why would I call Peter?" Ava scoffed in response.
"Why wouldn't you?" Danny replied simply, before finally walking out of the room.
"Silly Danny. I don't want to call Peter" Ava complained to herself, before snapping her fingers twice to resume her training session.
Ava then easily dismantled a training robot with her sharp claws, also sending a glowing green-colored spiritual projection of her Tiger God to pounce on the robot and finish it off, a new ability she had learned a year prior.
"Why don't I wanna call Peter?" Ava eventually asked herself.
Ava then continued to attack, destroying yet again the training robot that always eventually rebuilt itself at an impressive speed, thanks to being made completely out of nanotech, courtesy of Tony Stark's investments in the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy.
"Because he's stupid, that's why!" Ava said almost angrily.
Ava then continued her training session, eventually stopping to argue with herself, at first in an apologetic tone, as she waited for the robot the rebuild itself:
"Okay, he's not stupid. But he never pays attention to us anymore! And he's, like, part of our team! If anything, it's the Spider-Newbies who should be being neglected"
After destroying the training robot once more, Ava finally said in full honesty to herself what she was feeling, in a mixture of sadness and disappointment:
"He never pays attention to me anymore…"
Continuing her training session, Ava began to analyze her own emotions, trying to understand what exactly was causing her to feel that way.
"Do I lik-...? No. No. No you don't, Ava" Ava told herself in denial.
Ava continued to smash training robots non-stop in silence for a long while, before eventually taking a deep breath and sadly concluding:
"Maybe… Maybe I just wish he did"
A few seconds later, to Ava's surprise, the door opened and Peter suddenly entered the room.
"Peter!?" Ava gasped and whispered to herself, immediately snapping her fingers twice to pause the training session.
"Hey, Ava! How's, uh, how's my favorite little kitty going?" Peter cheerfully greeted her.
Quickly and discreetly clearing her throat to recompose herself, Ava provoked him in response, in a weary tone:
"Oh, look, if it isn't Mr. 'Too Famous For His Old Friends' himself"
"Wow. What did I even do to deserve that kind of greeting?" Peter retorted, almost genuinely hurt.
Removing her White Tiger mask, Ava then simply stared at Peter, raising her eyebrows in a mixture of a baffled and an incredulous expression.
"What?" Peter asked, staring back at her with a blank expression.
"Ugh... What brings you here, Peter?" Ava eventually asked, once more in a weary tone as she rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"I, uhm… I came to… to train with you!" Peter stuttered a little to answer.
"You came to train with me?" Ava asked, raising her eyebrows again, but now with genuine surprise.
"I mean, I came to train, and you just happened to be here as well, so…" Peter replied defensively.
"Oh… Then… be my guest" Ava said, disappointedly, as she turned her back to Peter.
"But y'know, I love training with you! So you being here was, uh, a great coincidence!" Peter tried to correct himself, in an apologetic tone.
"Sure, Peter. Sure…" Ava replied, in disbelief, before putting her mask back on and snapping her fingers twice to resume the training session.
Peter promptly joined her in the fight against the training robot, as he embarrassedly tried to defend himself from Ava's rather negative reaction:
"I'm serious! We make a great duo!... In battle, of course"
"And when do you think was the last time we fought as a duo?" Ava asked, in-between her relentless attacks against the training robot.
"Well, it was that time with-!… with… Uh… Come on, why can't I remember?... It couldn't have been that long ago!" Peter began to try to remember.
"See, that's the issue. You don't even remember the last time we teamed up" Ava pointed out, disappointed.
"Do you?" Peter asked back, raising an eyebrow curiously behind his mask.
"Of course I do. It was against Megawatt. And the last time before that was against Shocker and Boomerang" Ava reminded him.
"Ooooh right! Now I remember! We defeated Megawatt by throwing him into the river, didn't we?" Peter asked her, to which Ava corrected him:
"No. That was against Electro, over a year ago? We defeated Megawatt by covering ourselves with your special web fluid to insulate ourselves against his electrical powers and then we just punched him really hard"
"Ah, right. My mistake" Peter replied, feeling ashamed.
In response, Ava simply sighed disappointedly and shook her head, before pouncing on the training robot to unleash a few more attacks.
"Okay, okay, so I don't have the best memory in the world, but I've been really busy ever since Fury made me the new Director! I'm not leaving you guys behind on purpose!" Peter argued.
"But it sure feels like it" Ava replied sincerely, before aggressively knocking down and finishing off the training robot.
As soon as Ava was done destroying the robot, Peter simply snapped his fingers twice to stop the training, and promptly took his mask off. He then looked straight into Ava's eyes and asked in a rather serious tone:
"You guys miss me, don't you?"
Ava soon removed her mask as well and answered Peter in an irritated tone, while looking away:
"Don't be ridiculous"
"I'm serious. Look, I know I have barely even trained with you guys lately, but I swear I'm not trying to distance myself from you or anything…. You're always gonna be my number one team. Not the Champions, not the Web-Warriors, heck, not even the Avengers, and they still consider me one of them!" Peter explained himself.
Ava then just remained silent for a long moment, seemingly fighting herself over forgiving Peter for what she felt was neglect from his part. Eventually, she decided to speak again, being honest with Peter:
"Ok, so maybe we… miss having you around more often. But that's not it, we know you have more responsibilities now. It's just… I don't know, I see you training all the time with Miles, Amadeus, Flash, Ben and MJ, and I can't help but feel a little… jealous…"
"Do you know why I train with them way more than I train with you guys?" Peter asked, to which Ava asked back, with a hint of sadness on her voice:
"Why?"
"Because you guys don't need my guidance anymore. Or even my leadership. You're already way better at being heroes on your own, you already know your own potential and how to use all your combined skills and powers way more effectively than I could ever help you with. Meanwhile, Miles and Cho still struggle with self-confidence. Flash still needs to work on his foresight. Ben still needs to work on his self-control. And MJ is the most powerful among us, yet almost two years later she still struggles to use her powers effectively" Peter explained, attempting to reassure her.
"It's not about the training, Peter. It's about… being with us. We don't miss your leadership on the field, we miss you" Ava said bluntly, with an amount of honesty that almost shocked Peter, who replied in a rather guilty tone:
"... Oh…"
"You barely have time to be with your friends anymore, I get it, but when you do have time, it feels like we're always your last option. If you're not with the Web-Warriors or the Champions, you're out there in the multiverse hanging out with a thousand other you(s) in the… the… Ugh, what's it called again?" Ava began to say, before stopping and snapping her finger three times while trying to remember the name of the organization.
"Spider-Society" Peter and Ava completed the sentence in unison.
Once more in an ashamed manner, Peter looked away and began rubbing the back of his neck while trying to explain himself to Ava:
"Yeah, but I'm not really with them anymore. I no longer agree with their view on those so-called 'Canon Events', and-"
Suddenly, Peter's spider-sense activated, and he soon realized that the training robot, which had silently rebuilt himself while they were distracted, was now swinging its enormous bladed arm towards them, coming from behind Ava:
"Look out!" Peter yelled in worry, as he leaped towards Ava and pushed her to the ground.
Luckily, the bladed arm of the training robot missed them by a hair. As the heroes hit the ground, the robot immediately continued attacking by attempting to stab them with a downwards thrust.
Peter just recoiled in fear as he snapped his fingers twice, intending to use his own body to shield Ava in case the command failed. Fortunately, the stop command worked, and the robot stopped its arm just inches from hitting them, promptly returning to its idle position a second later.
Slowly looking back at Ava, almost breathless from the shock, Peter finally noticed how he was right on top of her, and their faces were unexpectedly too close.
"Are… are you okay?" Peter asked, in a mixture of concern and embarrassment.
"Yeah… are you okay?" Ava asked back, beginning to blush.
"Yeah…" Peter replied simply, now also starting to blush.
Peter and Ava kept staring at each other for a moment, and their breathing only began getting louder and louder. Soon, they both felt as if their faces were about to catch fire.
Perhaps without even thinking, Ava then simply closed her eyes and suddenly kissed Peter. To which Peter promptly closed his eyes and remained completely still for the entire duration of the kiss.
A moment later, Ava abruptly broke the kiss upon finally realizing what she was doing. Looking at Peter with wide eyes and an expression of shock, Ava anxiously apologized:
"Oh, sorry, sorry! I don't know why I did that!"
Peter quickly got off her and back on his feet, feeling extremely embarrassed. Almost shyly looking away, Peter tried to reassure her:
"Oh, no, it's okay, I-... I don't… You don't need to apologize"
"No, I-... I'm sorry, really" Ava insisted, also looking away in embarrassment, as she stood back up.
Peter and Ava simply remained there in an awkward silence, their arms crossed. Looking at each other out of the corner of their eyes, all those unspoken feelings between them began to surface, and they both realized they could not hide them any longer.
Eventually, Peter was the first to gather enough courage to speak again, taking a deep breath before pointing out:
"Well... So we just kissed each other… Or rather, you kissed me. So… I'm guessing you miss me a bit more than the others do?"
Ava, still looking away, answered in an uncharacteristically insecure and shy tone:
"I… Maybe… I don't know. I'm not sure"
"Do you… like, like me?" Peter pressed her, now in a more straightforward manner.
"Well… Do… you like me?" Ava asked back, now holding her own arms even tighter, recoiling in shyness.
"... Maybe? I don't know. I'm not sure either" Peter replied honestly and almost apologetically, rubbing the back of his neck.
After yet another long moment of silence between them, during which they could barely look each other in the eye, Ava decided to ask carefully, in a low and uncertain tone of voice:
"So… where does this conversation go now?"
At first, Peter only sighed in response. Looking up and then closing his eyes, he took a deep breath to calm down his emotions before finally suggesting:
"Okay, look… I promise to try to spend more time with you guys, and… If you… If you want to, tomorrow morning we can do something together… just you and me"
"Just you and me as in… as in a team-up, or as in a… date?" Ava asked, once more in an uncharacteristically overly-cautious tone.
"Whatever you want it to be, Ava" Peter reassured her.
Ava simply stood still for a moment, looking down, struggling to decide what to say. Eventually, she took a deep breath and settled on an answer:
"In that case… why not… both?"
"Sounds like a great idea to me" Peter replied simply, with a happy smile on his face.
Now finally looking back into Peter's eyes, Ava returned his smile. She stared at him with a seemingly grateful expression, before eventually concluding and suggesting:
"Right… So tomorrow morning… Maybe at 7 AM?"
Ava then facepalmed almost immediately as she remembered with disappointment:
"Wait, no, that's when I'm gonna train with the other guys!… Damn it"
Realizing this was a great opportunity to also spend more time with his other friends, Peter was quick to cheerfully suggest:
"Then I'll come here tomorrow, at 7 AM, and join you guys in the training session! After we're done training, we go out together. We can, I don't know, swing through the city, punch some bad guys, stop for a burrito along the way…"
"Sounds… fun!" Ava thoughtfully replied, actually liking his idea.
Reflecting more deeply on his own suggestion, Peter eventually added, though now in a more cautious and almost shy tone:
"... And there's a place I want to show you... It's where I go to think. You know, when I need to be alone with my thoughts… It has an incredible view and… it's very peaceful up there. I… think you'd like it"
"I'd love that, Peter" Ava reassured him with a grateful gesture, placing her hand on her chest.
"Alright, I… I don't want to distract you from your training session, and I'm sure we both need some time to think right now, so… I'm just… gonna go" Peter concluded, still a little embarrassed, as he pointed at the door with his thumb.
"No, yeah… Good idea…" Ava agreed, also a bit shyly, while scratching the back of her neck.
To Ava's surprise, while she was looking away, Peter simply walked over to her and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek.
"See you tomorrow, kitty-cat. Have a good night" Peter said in a warm and soft tone.
Once Peter turned his back to her and began walking away towards the door, Ava stroked her own cheek, blushing for a moment, before stammering:
"S-... see you tomorrow… Goodnight, Pete"
Before finally turning the corner and leaving the training room, Peter looked back and gave Ava the warmest smile he could muster. Now in a much less anxious manner, Ava also returned the warm smile. Remaining completely still, they continued to gaze into each other's eyes as the training room door slowly closed between them.
Needless to say, that was a lovely day.
From that day forward, Tandy Bowen and Tyrone Johnson began what would be a lifelong romantic relationship. The news was received without any surprise by their many friends, and the new dynamic of Cloak & Dagger came so naturally to them it was almost as if they had always been a couple. Their friends would even say that was indeed the case, and would constantly joke that everyone knew they were a couple but themselves.
Doreen Green's crush on Flash Thompson soon became a seemingly indefinite will-they-won't-they situation, as she decided not to pursue the matter until she was sure whether or not those feelings were truly serious, or just a fleeting, silly attraction. One way or another, Squirrel Girl and Agent Venom discovered that they were, surprisingly, a good superhero duo on the battlefield.
The mutual and sometimes spoken attraction between Luke Cage and Jessica Jones, however, clearly indicated a much more promising future as a couple. Sooner, rather than later, Luke and Jessica were already dating each other. Sam, of course, always loved to tease them about it. Danny never stopped being just as supportive in his own advisor-like way. Peter and Ava were always eager to arrange double dates with Luke and Jessica, and those were never anything but a really fun time for all of them.
To no one's surprise, the wedding between Leopold Fitz and Jemma Simmons went as perfect as anyone could have ever hoped. All of their S.H.I.E.L.D. agent friends were present, including even some Avengers and, of course, all of the so-called young Agents of W.E.B., as well as a few other students from the Academy. Doreen, of course, spent the entire day fan-girling over Quake, and she certainly helped convince many of her friends that Daisy Johnson was, indeed, an awesome agent and superhero.
Between dates and superhero team-ups, Peter Parker and Ava Ayala soon felt as if they were right back in the good old days of their time as S.H.I.E.L.D. trainees, both in and out of the battlefield. As their bond grew even closer and the romance between them blossomed, the weight of responsibility on Peter was certainly lightened with Ava's help.
Seeking a better balance between his duties as the new Director of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy – or the Agents of W.E.B. headquarters – and his desire to spend more time with all of his friends, Peter Parker eventually appointed Ava Ayala as his second-in-command. Peter expected, rightly so, that some of his friends would protest, claiming favoritism on his part, given that Ava was now his girlfriend. To the young couple's surprise, this never happened, as their friends all unanimously agreed Ava was, among them, the best fit for such a position of high responsibility.
Whether it was platonic love between a rather big family of young heroes – with sprinkles of romantic attraction between some of them –, the unapologetic long-time partnership between two agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the deep and long-undeclared love between an inseparable pair of Champions, or the long-repressed feelings that deep down existed between two friends who had unintentionally drifted apart, that day was undeniable proof that love ran rampant at the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy.
Ben Reilly would forever complain about how they were all a bunch of softies who would rather waste time making out in a corner than worry about their mission. Everybody knew that this was his own way of saying he was happy for all the newly formed couples.
MJ and Peter would continue trying to play matchmakers, always keeping an eye out for potential new couples amongst their friend group. They're secretly planning Tandy and Ty's future wedding in advance. Tandy and Ty have already found out about it, but are too busy having fun with this knowledge to stop MJ and Peter.