All characters appearing in Spider-Man are copyrighted to Marvel Entertainment and Stan Lee, and owned by the Walt Disney Corporation (Disney bought Marvel). No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder. All original characters are the property of TVfan.

Note: this story is continued from the end of "All the King's Men" and will run through my version of Marvel's Civil War. If you wish to know the exact plot of my version of the "Civil War", you will need to read my story in the Captain America section titled, "Civil War", although it should not be necessary to understand the events of this story.

The Laws of Terror and Joy

By TVfan

Chapter 12: Terror Defeated, Joy Restored

Avengers Tower

"I'm sorry ma'am, but we can not allow you entry," the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent spoke.

"May I ask why?" Mary Jane asked back, "I've checked with your rule books… part of my training and all… that you do allow visitation with various prisoners S.H.I.E.L.D. has taken. I am here to visit."

"Ma'am, the man is a confirmed terrorist and hates America," the agent answered, "which is why he's suing the country."

"Captain America hates America?" Mary Jane asked.

"That 'title' belongs to the United States government," the agent answered firmly, "the man in the cell is Steven Rogers, a known Terrorist, who pretended to be Captain America so he could put himself in a position to destroy this great country from within. Thankfully, Director Hill was able to force him underground, and now he's finally been caught. I hope to shoot him tomorrow morning."

"No one will be shooting anyone," came a voice carrying a slight mechanical edge too it.

Mary Jane turned to see Iron Man rounding a corner dressed in full armor.

"You will allow Arachne to visit the prisoner," Iron Man said firmly.

"But, sir," the agent began to argue.

"You will allow Arachne to visit the prisoner," Iron Man finished, "Do I make my self clear?"

"Yes, sir," the agent saluted, though he made it sound like it was a forced acceptance.

"And another thing," Iron Man growled, "In America, we do things by innocent UNTIL proven guilty. NOT guilty until proven innocent. If I wanted to hear what you just told Arachne, I'd watch Fox News. If you have trouble understanding the difference between how a democracy enforces the law and how a dictatorship does, you can take four years leave, and She-Hulk will be more then happy to lecture you on the law."

The agent did not answer. He then merely opened the door and allowed Mary Jane to enter. The 'Civil War' was not going all that well. Mary Jane's announcement that she was Arachne and that Peter was Spider-Man had blunted the worst of the problems, but she knew those problems wouldn't really go away. Robbie ended up calling a week after his first call… Jonah had recovered, and while Robbie managed to talk him out of a lawsuit, largely citing that Peter likely didn't have the money and the suit would ultimately cost the Bugle money… but Jonah did 'fire' him. By that, Robbie had explained, Jonah would not buy photos from Peter anymore. After that, Mary Jane had asked Jarvis to screen all calls coming into Avengers Tower. She didn't want to deal with the problems of enraged or shocked friends until after Peter had returned.

And on the superhero side of things, things had not gone any better, particularly if you were against the Registration Act. A team of terrorists, posing as various heroes went on a semi-bloody rampage on Long Island before being captured by Iron Man and a team of Pro-Registration heroes, along with Falcon and Cap from the Anti-Registration side. Now, this in and of itself wasn't too bad. It showed that Cap and Iron Man's plan to stop the Red Skull was working, S.H.I.E.L.D. took Cap into custody and was now holding him in Avengers Tower. Mary Jane had come to see him.

"Hey, Cap," Mary Jane said politely as the door shut behind her.

Steven Rogers looked up from the bench he was seated on.

"Mrs. …" Steve began.

"Call me, MJ, or Mary Jane," Mary Jane insisted.

"You're…" Steve said slowly, his eyes drawn to her swollen abdomen.

"I'm still pregnant," Mary Jane nodded and rubbed one hand down her womb, "it's twins, and they're due any day now… I spend much of my time praying that Peter will be back when they're born."

"I'd pray more for a better world for them to come into," Steve answered, "the Registration will take them away from you."

Mary Jane sighed, "I know… that's part of why I'm here."

Steve looked to her.

"Why did you turn yourself in?" Mary Jane asked, "you've been leading the fight against the Registration Act… and now you surrender."

"I had to," Steve answered, "Going around and punching out American soldiers would only confirm to the government that I am who they say I am… a traitor who hates his country. Getting rid of the Registration Act has to be done on a legal level, not on a fighting level. That means, I have to go before the Supreme Court and hope that they agree with my point of view on the Act. To do that, I had to be arrested."

"This still makes me nervous," Mary Jane told him, "everyone is pulling for you. Even the Pro-Registration heroes."

Steve nodded.

"Have you given any thought to names?" Steve asked curiously.

"Not really," Mary Jane sighed, "we wanted to name our first child after Aunt May since we thought that Aunt May had died and we would be honoring her by naming our daughter after her… but Aunt May turned out to be alive and our daughter was stillborn… and well, I want Peter to be part of the discussion when it comes to naming them."

Steve nodded, "I see. And I'm sure this may be tough… but hang in there. I will do my best to get the act repealed. Tony should have already sent in the appeal."

Mary Jane could only nod.

S.H.I.E.L.D. Base, Tokyo, Japan

"Well, that went well," Spider-Man commented as he walked out of a jail cell that he had been in since the defeat of the Hand, Elektra, and Echo at the Scriers' Tokyo base.

"If you hadn't burned down a hotel, you wouldn't have been arrested," the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent commented, "you're luck that Stark believes in giving criminals twentieth chances."

"I didn't start that fire!" Spider-Man countered.

"And a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent would have known how to prevent a fire from even starting," the agent answered, "because of you, the body of 'Elektra' was badly burned that we can not even identify if it actually was her."

"Then perhaps you ought to explain that to the Hand, the Scriers, and just about every other terrorist group… that fighting the good guys is bad," Spider-Man answered, "you talk like you know everything and that you can defeat the world's super-villains better then we can. Yet, whenever they fight back, it is somehow MY fault that they fought back… and you S.H.I.E.L.D. guys are supposed to be the soldiers."

"I'll give you 'soldier'," the agent growled.

Spider-Man turned to him, with his spider-sense buzzing, and found himself looking down the barrel of the M16 that the agent wielded. At such close range, he might be able to avoid taking a lethal hit, but he wouldn't be able to pull the same trick twice.

"Venom is already waiting," the agent growled.

Spider-Man grumbled and walked slowly down the hallway. Both he and Venom were incarcerated for the battle with the Hand, under the charges of disobeying orders. He silently wondered why he got stuck with such fanatical Hill loyalists. With Hill now out of power, these men became even more fanatical… like doing everything Hill's way would get Maria Hill reinstated. But that wasn't likely going to happen. From what little he had heard, Hill was removed as S.H.I.E.L.D. director for blindly following the US government to the point where she broke an International Organization's charter. The UN wouldn't be reinstating her. They might remove Tony if things didn't improve, but they wouldn't reinstate Hill.

The walk was a quiet one as he made his way out to the platform where the small S.H.I.E.L.D. hovercraft was. Venom and the other agent were waiting for them.

"So, how was it on the inside?" Venom taunted.

"I'm not in the mood," Spider-Man answered as he went past the symbiote wearing anti-hero and got into the craft.

Venom only snickered and followed him. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were quick to follow and took their seats in the cockpit.

"Well, now that your punishment for disobeying orders and burning down a Japanese hotel is completed, and since Director Stark is soft on crime, we will continue with the present mission against the Scriers," the first agent spoke, "thankfully, your insubordination has not done too much damage."

"We have checked all but one of the Scrier bases remaining on the map we recovered from them," the second agent spoke, "all abandoned. This means that their last base is occupied."

"Or they've moved to a new base you don't know about," Spider-Man commented.

"Possible, but unlikely," the second agent admitted, "our satellites would have picked up on some sort of movement on their part. Some of them can even detect magic, so it if they move, unless they're moving secretly and in small groups, it's unlikely that they've gone anywhere."

"And everyone knows that semi-mystical cults always operate like a government agency," Venom said sarcastically speaking.

"Actually, you'd be surprised just how many groups DO act that way," the first agent answered.

"Most of them, though are terrorist groups," the second agent sighed.

"The Scriers aren't political," Spider-Man answered, "if they're even there and it's their last stand… it will be because of a reason more aligned with some perceived religious destiny… or least that is what I've picked up concerning my past battles with them."

Elsewhere

"Are we ready?" the Leader of the Brotherhood of Scriers asked one of the Chief Scrier Priest in a large cavernous room.

"We are ready to begin," the Chief Scrier Priest answered, "once the Prime Scrier awakens again, we will have the strength to destroy Spider-Man outright and may finally gain a new mission after the betrayal of us by Norman Osborn."

"Good," the Leader of the Brotherhood of Scriers answered, "how long will you need to complete the spell to awaken him?"

"Only a couple minutes to say the spell," the Chief Scrier Priest answered, "but certain conditions must be met and kept going for a few hours. If something disturbs the spell before its action is complete, the consequences would be disastrous for us."

He received no reply.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because the Spiders have to be on their way by now," the Leader of the Brotherhood of Scriers answered, "This superhero 'Civil War' in the United States is getting worse. Captain America has been apprehended by the government, and is expected to appear in the Supreme Court soon. If he fails… we will likely be forced to face the Red Skull alone."

"I'd best get to work," the Chief Scrier Priest.

The Priest then went about the room. It was a massive cavernous room, centered around a large stone throne. Seated in the throne was the 'sleeping' being that the Leader of the Brotherhood of Scriers wanted to awaken, the Prime Scrier. Clothed in green robes the massive being sat with his head hunched forward and in some sort of entranced hibernation. He was a being of immense power, both physical and mystical, and it was unlikely that Spider-Man or Venom could stop him, as physical attacks couldn't harm him. Only energies that were either cosmic or mystical in nature could easily affect him. Lightning or laser fire would hurt him a little, but to the Prime Scrier, they were closer to a bee sting to a person rather then something that could do him harm. And the Scriers knew there were only a handful of beings that could face the Prime Scrier and live… the Silver Surfer, Doctor Strange, Thor (as his lightning is mystical in nature, as he is the God of Thunder), Galactus, and Mephisto. Spider-Man could not harm the Prime Scrier once he awakened.

The Chief Scrier Priest was quick with his work. He set up a series of candles around the throne in a pattern that only a mage would be able to recognize and discern. The Leader of the Brotherhood of Scriers merely watched. Once the candles were ready, the Chief Scrier Priest returned to his leader.

"The candles are ready," the Chief Scrier Priest reported, "in order to revive him, the blood of a fresh Scrier must be shed, and his robes and blood used to ignite each candle as a sign of devotion to the Prime Scrier."

"And if he is not devoted?" the Leader of the Brotherhood of Scriers asked.

"Then we try again with someone else," the Chief Scrier Priest answered, "this ceremony has rules that must be followed."

"Very well," the Leader of the Brotherhood of Scriers answered, "I will return with one."

Avengers Tower

Mary Jane sighed heavily as she came into a sort of recreation room in Avengers Tower to find Jarvis, Aunt May, and Aunt Anna watching television. It was a news program and focusing entirely on the events related to the Registration Act. It had been a day since her meeting with Steven in the cells that the Avengers had. Her present stage of her pregnancy, late third trimester, had put her on maternity leave, which Mary Jane was thankful for… for the moment there were no S.H.I.E.L.D. instructors hounding her.

In that time though, Steve's plans to defeat the Registration Act had gone ahead. The Supreme Court had agreed to hear the case, in a manner that broke some of the traditions that the Court operated under, but the Super Human Registration Act seemed to be an issue that went beyond tradition… or Captain America, Steven Rogers, was that big a figure that tradition was bypassed. And that is they were watching.

"How is he doing?" Mary Jane asked as she moved to sit on the couch between Aunt Anna and Aunt May.

"They've only just started," Aunt Anna spoke, "the Captain has said that the act violates the thirteenth amendment."

"I can agree to that," Mary Jane sighed, "these S.H.I.E.L.D. guys have certainly behaved like slave drivers… the only reason Peter and I didn't go underground is pretty obvious…"

Anna and May looked over to watch Mary Jane rubbing her womb, as if her hands could protect the unborn children inside her from the realities of the world around them.

"Things will get better, dear," Aunt May tried to comfort her, placing a hand on MJ's shoulder.

"I hope so," Mary Jane nodded, "I really do."

"There have been a couple of calls for you," Aunt Anna said slowly, "friends of Peter's or yours."

"Did they leave a message?" Mary Jane asked.

"Just that they wished to speak to you, as soon as you can," Aunt Anna said slowly.

"Then they can wait," Mary Jane said firmly.

"Mary Jane…" Anna began.

"NO!" Mary Jane clenched her fists, "I'm not going to be screamed at by supposed friends who've decided to hate Peter and me because we're Spider-Man and Arachne, respectively. I would like the birth of my children to be a happy moment… I won't listen to them rant… I won't!"

"I'm sure it's not mindless ranting," Aunt Anna sighed.

"Most of the people in this city hate my husband for all he's done for them," Mary Jane said firmly, "Jameson and his stupid editorials has made them think Spider-Man is a criminal at best, but he still protects them from the worst villains an individual hero has had to face. And now I've revealed his identity to them. They're not going to turn around and say they love my husband now… they're going to find some new way to torment him… I won't put up with that until after I've had my babies!"

"Mary Jane, what's wrong?" Anna asked, "You know all of that is not true. Everyone doesn't hate your husband. You love him. May loves him. I love him, as a nephew obviously. Tell me… what's wrong?"

Mary Jane looked down for a moment. When she looked up again, Anna Watson could see tears going down Mary Jane's cheeks.

"I've betrayed him," Mary Jane cried and pulled Anna into a hug, only just barely remembering that the elderly woman couldn't stand up to her spider-strength, "he trusted me with everything and to get away from bad press, I betrayed him!"

"Oh, Mary Jane, I'm sure he won't see it that way," Anna told her and hugged her niece back, "What your rescuing me from that mugger unleashed something that couldn't be avoided. I'm sure that Peter will understand."

"Why would he trust me after I betrayed him?" Mary Jane asked, "after I… after I… af…!"

"Mary Jane?" Anna and May gasped.

"No…" Mary Jane gave a weak groan, "NO!"

"What is it?" Anna asked.

"It can't happen now… Peter isn't back yet!" Mary Jane spoke again.

"What is it?" Jarvis asked, seeing Mary Jane's discomfort.

"I think my water just broke," Mary Jane said slowly.

"Oh, dear," Aunt May managed to gasp.

Elsewhere

The Chief Scrier Priest waited patiently for the Leader of the Brotherhood of Scriers. The candles were ready and if everything went right, the awakening of the Prime Scrier would be complete and no one would be able to stop them.

"We are ready," the Leader of the Brotherhood of Scriers spoke as he came back into view with a much younger Scrier, the one that was intended to be sacrificed to the Prime Scrier."

"I am ready to be of service to the Prime Scrier!" the younger Scrier spoke.

The young Scrier then presented the Chief Scrier Priest with a long curved sword. The priest only nodded.

"May the will of the Prime Scrier be done," the Chief Scrier Priest answered and then beheaded the younger Scrier, and began to go about the business of the human sacrifice that his spell required.

Above the base, the S.H.I.E.L.D. hovercraft came to rest over what looked like a wooden temple built into a rocky cliff.

"This is it?" Spider-Man asked, "this isn't even the tallest mountain in the area."

"Tell me you're joking," the first agent questioned.

"Well, if you were going after an evil secret society, wouldn't you expect them to be on the tallest mountain available?"

"No one's built anything on Everest," the second agent answered.

"Besides, your idea is cliché," Venom grumbled.

"I suppose," Spider-Man sighed, "I suppose this means we won't get oxygen masks?"

"We're not that high up," the first agent answered and opened the door to the hovercraft, "no GO!"

Spider-Man sighed and leaped out dive toward the temple below them. He fired one webline to the temple itself to act as a brake. He swung forward and landed on a large rock to the side of the temple, but it did what he intended to do. Land without breaking any bones. Venom, meanwhile, dropped straight into ground and cratered the rock and snow where he landed.

"How much do you want to bet they've abandoned this base like all the other ones?" Spider-Man asked the symbiote wearing anti-hero.

"We had thought you would be optimistic and hope that this was their last base," Venom commented.

"It is the last base we know about," Spider-Man commented, "I just tend to think that the Scriers would be smart enough to move to a location we don't know about."

By this time they had reached the doors to the temple. Venom raised his fists up into the air and swung them down onto the temple's wooden door, which was easily knocked in as a result of blow. Spider-Man expected to find an empty room and was shocked to see two Scriers turning in surprise to Venom's 'knocking' on their door.

"Okay," Spider-Man quipped, "so it isn't completely abandoned."

"SPIDERS!" the two Scriers screamed in surprise.

They got no further chance to raise the alarm. Spider-Man landed leaping kick to one Scrier's chest that sent him flying back into a corner of the building. The impact with the wall knocked him out. Venom took a more brutal route and lunged forward, catching the Scrier with one hand before he could escape somewhere else, the symbiote partially wrapping around the Scrier to increase Venom's grip. The Scrier hacked at Venom's arm with a dagger, but the anti-hero lifted the Scrier up and then slammed him down with enough force to do damage to the wooden floor.

"And how much were you betting that this place was abandoned?" Venom asked in a taunting voice.

"Can't really say," Spider-Man sighed, "S.H.I.E.L.D. hasn't paid me one cent since this entire adventure began."

Spider-Man then walked around a series of hand rails that were in the center of the room until he came to a stairwell that lead down into the mountain itself.

"So, I guess we go down, next," Spider-Man quipped.

"You first," Venom answered and followed the hero down the stairs.

Avengers Tower

"Arrrrrgggggggghhhhhhhh!" Mary Jane growled again as pain went through her abdomen after another contraction.

Her children were ready to be born, and she was wanted nothing more then to bring them into the world. She hoped they were okay and would live. She hoped Peter was just arriving at Avengers Tower and the family would be together.

"Can I push yet?" Mary Jane as she relaxed from her most recent contraction.

Dr. Klet, who had come in on short notice cheeked for Mary Jane. The red head had been the perfect patient, and she found herself pulling for her.

"You only at a couple of centimeters," Dr. Klet told her, "we can't rush things. Right now, I need you to tell me if you felt any pain before you started feeling contractions."

"Why can't this go faster…?" Mary Jane grumbled.

"Just the way things are, I suppose," Dr. Klet, "now, did you feel any pain before you started feeling contractions?"

Mary Jane shook her head. The contractions hurt, but unlike her previous pregnancy, nothing abnormal had happened to interfere with this one. In her first pregnancy she had no pain until the Mongrain woman gave her the poison that killed her first child. At first she thought that was part of her labor for that baby, but the doctors eventually explained their concerns and why that delivery became as heart wrenching as it was. That sort of constant pain wasn't there now, though Mary Jane was not experienced enough to know if that was some part of the labor, or because her spider-powers acted as a pain suppressor…

"That's good," Dr. Klet answered, "and they were active up until you went into labor?"

"Yes," Mary Jane answered, "I spent most of last night in the bathroom. It felt like one of them was punching at my bladder all night long."

"Punching?"

"Well, it didn't feel like a foot," Mary Jane answered.

"By now, the feet should be at the other end of you womb, so the babies are born head first," Dr. Klet told her, "and your last ultrasounds seemed to indicate that. They are in position to be born."

Mary Jane held Aunt Anna and Aunt May's hands.

"Now, your put in your paperwork that you do not want a natural birth," Dr. Klet spoke as she looked at a clipboard she had with her, "is this true?"

"Yes," Mary Jane answered, "Please…"

"I'll get on it right away," Dr. Klet warned, "though, it may take awhile for them to take full affect, especially considering your spider-strength."

"My powers would fight something that is there to help?" Mary Jane asked.

"Pain killers do little to either help or hinder birth," Dr. Klet answered, "you could deliver your children without the drugs with no problems. Most heroes that have had their strength enhanced have gained a stronger immune system as part of it… it's not that you produce more, but each individual white blood cell, t-cell, and antibody is stronger… though I still wouldn't go testing this against something like AIDs or the Ebola Virus. It's complicated."

"I still do not want a natural birth," Mary Jane gritted out.

Scrier Base

The stairway the two went down was long and empty. No one came out to challenge Spider-Man or Venom as the descended the stairs, which at some point changed from wood to stone. Neither of them knew how many Scriers were there, but both knew that the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents waiting for them expected them to do a thorough search. They had defeated two, and guessed that their had to be more.

But while they hadn't run into more Scriers yet, the base was not undefended. After going down a few steps, Spider-Man suddenly felt his spider-sense go off like crazy.

"Uh-oh," Spider-Man gulped and leaped back, as a wall of darts suddenly fired out of a stone compartment and hit Venom in the chest.

The darts did little more then stagger Venom and the symbiote was rapidly feeding on the weapons and the poison they carried.

"Do I look like a shield to you?" Venom grumbled at the arachnid themed hero.

"I'm not immune to poisons," Spider-Man answered, "and I said 'uh-oh'. That should have been more then enough warning that something dangerous was coming."

Venom only shook his head. 'Uh-oh' could mean many things and didn't always mean that a fight was about to begin. But he proceeded down the stairs. He had given his word that Spider-Man wouldn't be harmed while fight with the Scriers was on. Dealing with the arachnid would come later.

The stairway ended at a hallway that formed a T intersection with the stairway. Venom was the first to reach that point and was forced to pull back when a throwing star flew in front of his face and buried itself in the stone wall next to him. Standing in the room that the hallway lead to were five armed Scriers, although they only seemed to be on a patrol of the base, not actually waiting for the two of them. Spider-Man, meanwhile checked the hallway that went to the left.

He found five more Scriers, all armed. His spider-sense buzzed when the closest one drew a sword and attempted to behead Spider-Man with it.

"Invaders!" one of the Scriers shouted as Spider-Man caught the Scrier that had attacked with a webline, "warn the Leader of the Brotherhood!"

Spider-Man yanked on the webline and pulled the Scrier face first into the stone wall. This was enough to knock that Scrier out, but he was unable to prevent one of them from ducking down a side hallway and while the other three readied themselves for a fight.

"Hey guys," Spider-Man quipped, "I don't suppose we could finish this with a nice friendly game of cards?"

The Scriers readied various bladed weapons.

"I guess not," Spider-Man sighed as they attacked.

The three attacked at once with two swords and a spear. Warned ahead of time, Spider-Man leaped to a different wall just seconds before the Scriers made their attack. In such close quarters, the Scriers did more harm to their cause then good. The spear wielding Scrier thrust his weapon forward and ended up getting it stuck in the wall. Before he had a chance to pull the weapon out, the two sword wielding Scriers chopped down toward Spider-Man with their weapons and when they missed, they accidentally cut the tip of the spear off from the rest of the shaft.

"It's all bad luck for you, isn't it?" Spider-Man commented once he reached the other wall as he bent backward to catch the Scrier who had now been disarmed with a webline.

Again, the Scrier was yanked away from where he stood, only this time, Spider-Man hit him with a crossing blow that sent the now unconscious Scrier back into his fellows as a sort of improvised projectile.

"Are you sure we can't settle this over cards?" Spider-Man asked, "You might fair better."

Spider-Man then leaped to the wall where the Scriers he had been facing were trying to recover. Before they could move to attack him, he slammed their heads together.

"You okay?" Spider-Man called over to Venom.

"We're fine," Venom growled back from the other room, "just peachy!"

"Alright," Spider-Man answered, "one from my group ducked down a side passage here. I'm going after him."

He then rushed towards the door that the last Scrier had run through. As he came into another hallway, his spider-sense went off again. And he soon realized why. The Scrier had left various smoke pellet balls on the floor. In his hurry, Spider-Man ended up sliding on them, raising a cloud of smoke as he went until he ended going face first into a large square chute that was carved into the rock. The next thing he sensed was falling…

Venom's fight against his five Scriers was far different from Spider-Man's. One of them ran off to give warning to the others that they were under attack, but Venom let him go. The remaining four rushed the symbiote wearing anti-hero. Ignoring the swords hitting his arms, Venom grabbed the first two and back flipped over the third, while still holding on to the Scriers he had grabbed and using the Scriers themselves as an improvised club, took the trailing Scrier out easily. The Scriers he had grabbed were then tossed aside, and they remained where they landed.

The last Scrier, had recovered by this time and landed a kick on Venom's back which sent him stumbling forward.

"Your attack ends here, monster!" the Scrier vowed.

Venom only gave him a toothy grin, and reached out with one hand, the symbiote lengthening its clawed fingers until they practically became pikes and finished of the Scrier.

"Our attack on you ends here, because when we're through with you, there won't be any of you left," Venom vowed triumphantly.

It was then that Spider-Man had asked if he was 'okay'. By the time Venom made it to where he had last seen his partner, Spider-Man was gone.

"Hopefully he didn't run," Venom grumbled, "but now, we're in… and the real fun will start."

He then sealed the entrance with his webbing, essentially trapping every Scrier in their base with him. Then, Venom waited. The Scriers would surely call for reinforcements and they would come to him. He had no intention of getting lost in their tunnels looking for Scriers to fight. They would have to come to him.

The Leader of the Brotherhood of Scriers watched patiently with the Chief Scrier Priest as the spell to reawaken the Prime Scrier continued to gain power. The massive being's eyelids seemed to flutter, but did not open, yet.

"How much longer?" the Leader of the Brotherhood of Scriers asked.

"Still a few hours," the Chief Scrier answered, "The Prime Scrier's power is immense, but when he sleeps to replenish that power, he is in a very deep sleep."

"I fear we do not have the time," the Leader of the Brotherhood of Scriers commented.

"Leader! Leader! Leader!" came voices shouting behind them.

The Leader of the Brotherhood of Scriers turned and was forced to physically stop two Scriers before they accidentally disturbed the spell.

"Calm yourselves!" the Leader of the Brotherhood of Scriers spoke firmly, "Calm yourselves. Now what is going on?"

"Venom and Spider-Man have invaded the base, they attacked us as we prepared to take our shift guarding the 'temple' above us," both Scriers said nervously, but with both of them speaking at the same time, the leading Scrier couldn't fully get their answer. He then pointed to the first Scrier.

"What is going on?" the Leader of the Brotherhood of Scriers asked again.

"Venom and Spider-Man have invaded the base," the first Scrier answered.

"They've invaded?" the Chief Scrier Priest gasped, "they must be slowed down. The Prime Scrier is not yet awake!"
"Call our elite guards to the entrances to this chamber," the Leader of the Brotherhood of Scrier ordered, "arm them with flamethrowers and sonic blasters. Send all the remaining Scriers after the invaders and equip them with every available remaining weapon that we have! We must give the Scrier Priests the time they need to awaken the Prime Scrier."

"Yes, my Lord," the two Scriers answered and rushed off to carry out their orders.

"This is getting progressively worse," the Chief Scrier Priest spoke, "Spider-Man has always been a difficult opponent and other then fire and sound, Venom is practically unstoppable… precisely why we need the Prime Scrier."

"We must have faith that the others can buy time for the Prime Scrier to awaken," the Leader of the Brotherhood of Scriers answered, "we have no other option."

The Chief Scrier Priest only sighed.

Avengers Tower

"Is Peter back yet?" Mary Jane asked as she began to recover from another contraction. They were getting closer and closer together now. The pain killers were starting to work, but she could still feel the contractions of the muscles around her womb.

"No, dear," Aunt May replied, and rubbed the back of MJ's hand with her free hand.

"Why are they keeping him from me?" Mary Jane questioned, barely restraining herself from clenching her fists and crushing May and Anna's hands.

"I do not know, dear," May spoke, knowing that now was not the time for anything political.

The door then opened to reveal Dr. Klet and Jarvis.

"You have another visitor, Mary Jane," Dr. Klet spoke as Jarvis moved to stand beside May Parker.

"Is Peter back?" Mary Jane asked him.

"I am afraid that S.H.I.E.L.D. will not update me on the mission they have sent him on," Jarvis answered slowly, "the only good news I have is that I think Captain America may win his case with the Supreme Court."

"So the Registration Act will be viewed as unconstitutional?" Anna asked.

"From what I could analyze from the arguments given at the trail," Jarvis answered, "It isn't much, but it is all that I really have."

"The act can wait until after these two are born," Mary Jane told them, "how close am I? Can I push yet?"

"We're about half-way there, Mary Jane," Dr. Klet answered, "You need to hold on a little longer."

Mary Jane only sighed.

Scrier Base

Spider-Man ended landing in a pile of laundry. There were black robes just about everywhere in the room. He guessed it was a laundry chute, and it struck him as rather anti-climactic to have that happen.

"Why do they have a laundry chute?" Spider-Man wondered to himself as he got up.

After a moment or two, the realization that if this was in fact a base, they would need something like that to keep their clothing clean. It still struck the arachnid themed hero as odd before. He had never come across anything as mundane as laundry with any of his other adventures.

"This does give me an idea though," Spider-Man mused, "if they're all here, there has to be a reason for them all to remain here and not search out some other base."

He then began to done the all black robes that the Scriers wore to prepare to do a little snooping.

Venom, meanwhile patiently waited for an opponent to come to him. The fighting prowess that the Scriers had shown against him and Spider-Man had left much to be desired, and the symbiote wearing anti-hero was supremely confident that he would win. He cared little for where Spider-Man was, but still hoped that if anyone was to kill the web-slinger, it would be him. Then his waiting ended.

"There he is!" a Scrier shouted as he appeared in the doorway that led into the rest of the base.

He was armed with some sort of blaster weapon attached to a tube that went onto his back. He guessed that it was a flamethrower of some kind.

"Playing to our weaknesses?" Venom taunted, "not very sporting of you is it?"

Venom fired a webline which caught that Scrier around the chest and pulled him toward Venom.

"We know how to equalize things, though," Venom then laughed and used his superior strength to get the Scrier to face the doorway he had just came out of, "say good bye to your friends!"

Venom then squeezed on the trigger sending a torrent of flame back toward the Scriers trying to attack through that doorway. Venom was tempted to snicker as heard several of them scream, but other things changed the situation. Several Scriers had come around the other side of the entry area and fired sonic blasters at Venom at almost point blank range. Venom screamed in pain, made all the more worse as Brock and the symbiote could not be separated anymore, which made the symbiote's weaknesses, Brock's weaknesses.

Venom ripped the tank off of the back of the Scrier he held and threw it at the Scrier firing a sonic blaster at him from his right side and then threw the Scrier he held at the Scrier firing a sonic blaster from his left side. The tank from the flamethrower ended up exploding under the increased pressure created by the sonic blaster, knocking that one Scrier out and throwing him back behind the staircase. The physically thrown Scrier hit his compatriot and knocked him into the wall, stopping the blast from his sonic blaster and allowing Venom to recover. He quickly snatched the sonic blaster out of the Scrier's hands and broke it over his knee.

"That was unpleasant," Venom growled in a voice that clearly betrayed the threat he wanted to the Scrier in front of him.

Venom then slammed that Scrier into the stone wall before readying himself to face several more incoming Scriers, nearly all of them armed with some sort of bladed weapon. With that, Venom's confidence returned. Bladed weapons, his symbiote could easily handle.

Spider-Man meanwhile, quietly made his way through the presently empty hallways of the Scrier base. The two Scriers that had run off earlier must have warned their leaders, and now every Scrier was on the alert. This made Spider-Man thankful for the disguise he had picked up, if only he could figure out a decent excuse.

"YOU!" a voice hollered at him as he passed a different passageway at about the same time as his spider-sense buzzed.

Spider-Man turned to see two Scriers armed with sonic blasters standing in front of a door to a larger passageway.

"Yes…" Spider-Man said slowly, doing his best to hide his face.

"What are you doing down here?" the Scrier to right growled, "all the other Scriers were sent after Spider-Man and Venom in the main entryway."

"Spider-Man and Venom?" Spider-Man answered back, trying to sound nervous.

"Yes," the Scrier on the right told him, "they have invaded the base, and all the Scriers are to hold them off until the Prime Scrier awakens! You should have been told…"

"I had been assigned to deal with the laundry," Spider-Man gave an excuse, "no one told me anything… they're after the Prime Scrier?"

"No, the Prime Scrier is our ultimate weapon," the Scrier to the right replied, "the original leader of the Brotherhood of Scriers and a being of god-like powers…"

Spider-Man wished he was partnered with Thor rather then Venom.

"But the spell to awaken the Prime Scrier takes time," the Scrier to the right finished, "if Spider-Man or Venom interrupt the spell, all could be lost!"

"Now, get yourself a weapon and stop Spider-Man and Venom!" the Scrier to the left ordered.

"I have a different idea," Spider-Man quipped as he removed his disguise and leaped at the two Scriers, "stop me yourself!"

He kicked the Scrier to the right into the portion of the wall he was standing in front of, knocking him. At the same time he kicked the sonic blaster out of the hands of the Scrier on the left.

"You vile invader!" the Scrier on the left growled and moved to grapple with Spider-Man.

The arachnid themed hero caught the attempt and threw the Scrier into the chair that the Prime Scrier was seated in.

The Leader of the Brotherhood of Scriers and the Chief Scrier Priest turned when they heard a sudden 'thunk' of a Scrier hitting the Prime Scrier's chair.

"Venom, here?" the Leader of the Brotherhood of Scriers gasped, only to see Spider-Man leap into the room.

Spider-Man landed on the Prime Scrier's chair and climbed up to put himself on the Prime Scrier's shoulder.

"So this is the Prime Scrier?" Spider-Man mused, "you know, from the way you talk about him, I would have thought him to be taller."

"STOP HIM!" the Chief Scrier Priest shouted, "before he ruins the spell!"

"You mean like this?" Spider-Man asked as he fired a series of web-balls at several of the candles that the Chief Scrier Priest had worked so hard to light earlier.

The webbing did what the Scriers all feared, interrupted the spell. The Leader of the Brotherhood of Scriers watched in horror as the candles that carried the magic needed to awaken the Prime Scrier all exploded releasing their energy against the wall.

"NOOOOOOO!" the Chief Scrier Priest cried out in horror and dropped to his knees all his hard work gone.

The remaining elite Scriers charged into the room and quickly saw the devastation that Spider-Man had brought on the spell intended to win the war for them. The all raised their sonic blasters and prepared to fire. Warned by his spider-sense, Spider-Man proceeded to do a series of back flips off of the Prime Scrier's sleeping form. The blasts from the sonic blasters hurt his head, but he avoided the worst of the blast. These blasts, however, did do damage to the walls and roof of the room they were all in.

Once he reached the head of the Prime Scrier, Spider-Man fired out a pair of weblines and pulled a pair of sonic blasters away from the Scriers using them.

"Now, now, boys," Spider-Man taunted, "You keep playing with these things, and your going to get hurt."

He then threw the sonic blasters at two of the Scriers that still had their weapons as they fired them. The concentrated blast destroyed the thrown weapons, and the resulting shockwave knocked those two Scriers out after throwing them against a wall. Spider-Man then turned his attention to the last two Scriers armed with sonic blasters.

Again the Scriers fired on him. This time, using his spider-sense to warn him, Spider-Man leapt at those two Scriers. Their shots missed the arachnid themed hero, and again did some damage to rock roof above them, though no one noticed it yet. Spider-Man dealt with these two by landing strong kicks to their chest to send both of them flying. The two ended up hitting the wall closest to hem before slumping into unconsciousness.

"Four down," Spider-Man counted down the elite Scriers that he had faced so far, "two to go."

Almost as soon as he finished saying that, the Leader of the Brotherhood of Scriers landed directly behind him. If it weren't for his spider-sense, Spider-Man would have been crushed by the blow that the Scrier leader had delivered, successfully crocking the rocky floor.

"You will pay for what you've done here, arachnid!" the Leader of the Brotherhood of Scriers vowed.

"Do you prefer cash or checks?" Spider-Man quipped as he hit the Scrier leader in the face with a web-ball and moved to confront one of the remaining two elite Scriers approaching him.

He landed on the first elite Scrier, taking him to the ground, but couldn't do more as the other elite Scrier tackled him at almost the exact same moment. The Scrier took him to the ground, but wasn't able to land a blow. Using the robed man's momentum against him, Spider-Man let himself be take to the ground to bring his feet up and then send the Scrier flying face first into the wall. He got up to see the first elite Scrier charging at him again.

Spider-Man hit that elite Scrier in the face with webbing, and when he went to try and clear his vision, Spider-Man grabbed him and then threw him into the Leader of the Brotherhood of Scriers who was now trying to re-enter the fray.

"Come on, you guys this is really getting sad," Spider-Man quipped, "It really would be easier if you just surrendered."

His spider-sense went off as a dark purple sphere of energy flew past where his head had been a minute ago. He then turned to see the Chief Scrier Priest clutching at stones that were glowing with the same color as the sphere that had flown past him.

"You've ruined EVERYTHING!" the Chief Scrier Priest yelled as he fired another sphere at Spider-Man.

The web-slinger easily dodged the attack and leaped onto the side of the wall.

"All our hard work, RUINED!" the Chief Scrier Priest roared with anger.

"That's no reason to cry about it," Spider-Man taunted, "you are, after all the bad guy here. Crying doesn't really play to the 'bad guy' image… of course, neither does a laundry room, but…"

"SHUT UP!" the Chief Scrier Priest roared and fired another blast at him, and again Spider-Man dodged.

This time though, Spider-Man noticed the damage the Scrier Priest was doing to the walls with his attacks and noticed the damage the walls had already sustained. If they took any more damage, the entire area might collapse.

"Hey can you cool it? You could bring the whole place down," Spider-Man told him and fired a few web-balls at the Scrier Priest, hoping to get a chance to grab the stones the Scrier Priest was holding.

"Anything to be rid of you!" the Chief Scrier Priest roared and fired three blasts toward Spider-Man in a triangular pattern, hoping one of them would hit him.

Spider-Man dodged through a gap in the pattern of the spheres thrown at him, but the resulting explosion did exactly as he feared. The caves, while probably sturdy against most bombardments from the outside was not suitable to having bits and pieces of it blasted out from the inside. The walls looked like one solid bolder, but in reality they were a series of compacted pieces with the appearance of being a single piece. The Chief Scrier Priest's dark magic and the elite Scriers' sonic blasters had hit the rock walls enough to force fissures in the rock itself, and now it was starting to collapse downward.

"You've done it now!" Spider-Man yelled as a section of the ceiling fell.

"SHUT UP!" the Chief Scrier Priest roared and launched his attacks again toward Spider-Man, speeding up the process.

Spider-Man, meanwhile was forced to reach out with his spider-sense. His only chance of survival for the moment was to find a place where the collapsing rocks would form a natural pocket and hope that someone on the outside would dig him out.

Above the battle around the Prime Scrier, Venom continued to fight with Scriers that were attacking him. Armed with swords and other bladed weapons, Venom was able to use the symbiote's regenerative powers to their fullest potential and he was soon standing amongst a pile of unconscious or dead Scriers. But more and more Scriers kept coming, and Venom did have the sense that he was nearing the limits of his endurance. He would need to get out soon, or risk being knocked out.

"Come on! The monster is tiring!" one of the Scriers shouted and came forward with a sword.

Venom just barely avoided the blade and grabbed the man by the shoulders. He then threw him into a corner of the room. He began to turn when a sword hit one of his shoulders. He roared with pain, but that was soon drowned out by a loud cracking noise.

"What is that?" a different Scrier wondered, and then various parts of the floor they were standing on began to bend down.

At this, Venom knew what was happening. Backhanding the Scrier that had cut into his shoulder, he leaped for the entrance that he and Spider-Man had come down from when the battle began. He quickly tore away the webbing and passed through. He then resealed the passage once he made it to the top of the stairs. He quickly rushed out of the temple, as the rumbling was growing louder, and the footing weaker. Pushing himself to his limits, Venom leaped away from temple to land a hundred yards away. Panting hard, he then looked back to see the temple and the ground around it drop straight down, as if someone had detonated a massive bomb at the bottom of the Scrier's complex. Dust and smoke drifted upward as this happened.

When this was done, Venom looked down to see a pile of rocks and rubble. Nothing inside the Scrier base could have survived the implosion, he figured.

"Cursed Spider-Man," Venom growled, "going and getting himself killed to get out of the deal we held him too!"

"What the hell just happened?" growled a voice from behind him.

Venom turned to see both S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. They had landed their hovercraft during all the confusion.

"The Scriers have been finished," Venom spoke, "Your mission is done."

Before either agent could say anything and using his fingers like pikes, speared both of them.

"So, our contract to serve you, is also DONE," Venom growled to them, "thank you for the hovercraft."

Venom then quietly walked away from the scene.

Baxter Building, NYC, New York

Reed Richards prided himself on being one of the worlds greatest scientific minds. The present 'civil war' had not done that much to him, but he did recognize it as important. Even still, he wasn't about to let that get in the way of the project he was working on. Still working on the spaceship that the X-Men and Starjammers had commissioned him to build, he listened to various news reporters drone on about Captain America's day in court. It didn't sound like things were actually going to go well for the Registration Act.

"Dr. Richards, sir," a robotic voice said from behind him.

"What is it, HERBIE?" Reed asked the robot.

"One of the observation satellites orbiting the Earth has picked up something, I think you should be concerned with," HERBIE answered.

Reed pulled himself away from his work to turn to look at a screen that the little robot was pointing to. On it, he saw what looked like a temple and a good portion of a mountain implode.

"Doom?" Reed wondered, thinking his old nemesis was somehow involved.

"No, sir," HERBIE answered, "look!"

Reed looked on to see a black figure be approached by two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. There was a brief conversation, and then the black figure turned and killed both agents. A S.H.I.E.L.D. hovercraft was soon seen taking off later.

"Venom," Reed gasped, "HERBIE, patch me through to Tony Stark…"

"At once, sir," the robot complied.

All they got was a cellphone response, but the Baxter Building was able to receive it, audio only.

"Tony, we have a problem," Reed told the armored Avenger, though he couldn't know if Tony was in armor or not.

"What is it? I'm pretty busy with the court case here in Washington," Tony answered.

"Venom has just killed two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and stolen a hovercraft in the Tibetan mountains," Reed told him.

"Venom…?" Tony gasped.

"Yes," Reed answered, "I do not know how…"

"VENOM?" Tony repeated.

"Yes," Reed answered, "what is the problem? I'm sure that what he's done is horrible, but this is mostly an update on my part…"

"Reed, Maria Hill sent Spider-Man after the Scriers WITH Venom before her little 'Thunderbolts' project blew up in her face," Tony answered, "can you see any sign of him."

"Wait, the Green Goblin wasn't the first criminal, she hired?" Reed asked.

"The Green Goblin WASN'T the first criminal Hill recruited, can you see Spider-Man, anywhere? Hill made him wear his black costume," Tony replied.

"No…" Reed said slowly, "I only noticed Venom after a temple and a good portion of a mountain imploded. I haven't seen Spider-Man at all…"

Before Tony could reply, Susan entered his lab.

"Reed, darling, I just got off the phone with Jarvis at Avengers Tower," Susan spoke, "Mary Jane's in labor…"

"Mary Jane…" Reed said nervously, looking at Sue and then at the screen, a thought wandering through his mind over what he would do if he ever lost her, or her brother, or Ben, or Franklin, or Valerie.

"Yes, Arachne, you met her, remember…" Susan began.

"Yes, I remember, get Johnny and Ben," Reed spoke, "we need to get to Tibet."

"And do what?" Susan asked.

"Hope a good hero hasn't paid the ultimate price," Reed told her and left for the Fantastic Four's hanger.

Avengers Tower

"Okay, Mary Jane, you're ready," Dr. Klet spoke from the spot where she was preparing to deliver MJ's children, "No…"

"I've done this before, and I'm more then ready to push," Mary Jane answered, "I only hope that they are alive…"

"Your hips are more then wide enough," Dr. Klet spoke, "Delivery shouldn't be a problem."

Mary Jane only gritted her teeth, and pushed. She ended up crying out and clutching at two specialized 'squeeze balls' so she didn't injure her Aunt or Aunt-in-Law with her spider-strength.

"You're doing good, Mary Jane," Dr. Klet spoke, "I can see the head."

"Keep going, MJ!" Aunt May encouraged while Mary Jane paused between contractions, though another was quick to follow and she prepared herself to push again.

"Her comes…" Mary Jane spoke, but was unable to say anymore as another contraction hit, and she pushed, "AAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHH!"

"The shoulders are almost out, Mary Jane," Dr. Klet spoke as Mary Jane paused again, "One more out to do it…"

Breathing deeply, Mary Jane didn't have to wait long for the next contraction. As soon as it hit, she pushed, and she soon watched as Dr. Klet 'caught' the tiny life that had been inside her. As Dr. Klet turned to hand the baby to nurse to clean and cut the umbilical cord, Mary Jane heard a sound that made her shed tears of joy.

"WWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! WWWWAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

"It's a baby boy, Mary Jane," Dr. Klet told her.

"A boy…" Mary Jane began to say when another contraction hit her. The boy's twin was ready as well.

"Okay, Mary Jane, lets get your son's sibling out into the world, PUSH!" Dr. Klet said with a smile.

Mary Jane pushed. About a minute and a half later, Mary Jane heard the cries of a second infant joining the first.

"You have a son and a daughter," Dr. Klet told her as the nurses moved to clean the second child.

"A son and a daughter," Mary Jane slowly mused.

"Yes," Dr. Klet smiled, "and while they're being cleaned up, we finish up with the afterbirth and make sure that you're cleaned up."

"They're so tiny…" Aunt May and Aunt Anna said from where they could see the infant twins, "what are you going to name them?"

The Remains of the Scrier Base

Susan Richards only looked on in horror at the sight before her. A pile of rubble with broken boulders, wooden beams, and what looked like some fragments of tile.

"Spider-Man was in that?" she turned to her husband.

"It's my guess," Reed said slowly, "the satellites didn't pick him up outside the temple when it imploded."

"I can't believe this… I can't believe he's gone," Johnny spoke from his seat in the Fantasti-car, "Done in by a mountain."

"We don't know that for sure," Reed answered, "scanners are picking up life forms inside…"

"You mean people survived all this?" the Thing wondered.

"It's possible," Reed answered, "some are close enough to the surface that they weren't completely crushed by the implosion, and those deeper down may be protected by the fact that falling rock isn't going to stack itself like bricks. There could be some small pockets of open areas that an individual might have been able to survive in… if he was lucky enough to get to those spots before they were sealed up."

"Then what are we waiting for!" Johnny spoke, "what do we do?"

"You and I are going to get all our medical equipment and restraints ready," Reed answered, "Spider-Man told us these Scriers are criminals, and I'm certain everyone in there will need medical attention. We can do enough to get them to a S.H.I.E.L.D. specialist. Sue, Ben, I will need you to move the rocks… but be careful. We don't want to accidentally throw someone down the mountain."

"I can't believe Hill sent Venom along with Spider-Man on this mission of hers," Susan spoke, "that creature is a monster… all your tests proved it when Spider-Man's come to us for help concerning that symbiote."

Reed slowly nodded, "there was a lot of good the Registration Act could have done… but she turned it into a ploy for power… and that isn't even a concern now. Right now we have to make sure that Mrs. Parker doesn't become a mother and widow on the same day."

Underneath all the rubble, Spider-Man slowly awakened. He did not know how long he was out, but guessed it had been awhile. He had the hope that Venom and the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were digging to get him out, but he didn't think that was likely. Venom hated him, and the agents being the Hill stooges that they were likely went back to Stark to say he had died in the final fight.

He had enough air for the moment, but that wouldn't last him for too terribly much longer.

"I'm going to die down here," Spider-Man said in a depressed voice, "of all the villains I've fought, it's the Scriers that do the deed and they do it by collapsing a mountain on me… I love you MJ. I love you with all my heart… and I pray that you and our children live long happy lives where you're never put in a situation like this… I…"

He was cut off when heard voices above him drifting down through the rubble.

"I think we got another live one," a voice spoke, "I can hear him mumbling something."

"Okay, Ben," another voice answered, "just be careful. We don't want to collapse the rock on whoever it is."

"Who's Ben?" Peter wondered to himself, and then thought almost deliriously, "Uncle Ben is back to save me?"

He remained curled up in the small pocket he had gotten into. He didn't have the room to even reach out with his spider-strength. The rocks were that heavy. After a few moments, but what felt like forever, the rock above him begin to move away. As it lifted away, the two boulders that formed the walls began to fall toward him. Spider-Man rolled toward one, and managed to prop it up, though it took all his strength. Eventually that rock, too, was pulled away from him, and he ended up looking up to the body of a hero made of rock. Ben Grimm.

"It's the web-head," the Thing spoke, "he's still alive."

"Thank goodness," came Susan's voice as she came up and helped Spider-Man up.

Spider-Man shakily got to his feat and looked around and saw the entire Fantastic Four there.

"You all came to save me?" Spider-Man wondered.

"We saw the mountain collapse and Venom's escape through one of our satellites," Reed answered, "we then told Tony, and learned of your mission against the Scriers…"

"And at the same time, Jarvis had called us to let us know that Mary Jane had gone into labor," Susan spoke, "we undertook the rescue operation in the hope to save your family from being destroyed before it could start."

"MJ's in labor?" Spider-Man asked.

"That's probably over by now," the Thing commented, "we spent hours movin' all the rocks."

"So congratulations, bubby!" Johnny said from where he was, "you're a father!"

"I'm a father…" Spider-Man said slowly.

"Yes," Reed nodded, "you likely are. And you will receive the full congratulations of the Fantastic Four. If you can let us check you for injuries and collect the rest of the Scriers you defeated, the faster we can get you to your wife."

Susan helped him out and lead Spider-Man to the small medical area where Reed and Johnny had a small first aid station set up. A small robot was floating around the unconscious bodies of various Scriers.

"Venom…?" Spider-Man asked after a moment.

"He left shortly after the temple and the mountain collapsed," Reed told him, "we don't know where he is, and tracking him wasn't our priority."

Spider-Man slowly nodded, "thanks for saving me."

"It's what heroes do," Reed told him.

It didn't take them that long to get going again. The Fantasti-car that the Fantastic Four had taken was large enough to seat Spider-Man with the FF, and to place the wounded Scriers in a sort of "cargo" area. Reed dropped them off at a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility in India and then quickly accelerated home. On the way, the intercom on the FF's vehicle came to life. It was Tony.

"How's it going Reed?" Tony asked, "HERBIE told me you've gone to rescue Spider-Man… or recover what remains…"

"The rescue was successful," Reed answered, "Peter is alive. Tired, bruised, and in need of a great deal of rest, but alive… and anxious to meet his new family."

"New family?" Tony wondered.

"We learned that Mary Jane went into labor at the same time we learned of the results of Spider-Man's final battle with the Scriers," Susan spoke up, "we're taking him back to Avengers Tower now."

"Good to hear," Tony smiled, "and on a different note, Cap won. The Registration Act was declared unconstitutional."

"Thank goodness," Susan and Johnny both sighed.

"What do you plan to do?" Reed asked.

"Right now? Party," Tony smirked, "celebrate the freeing of a hero and announce that another is now a Papa. I'd think the moment calls for it… but in the long run, we all have a LOT of work to do."

Reed nodded.

Avengers Tower, Later

By the time they returned to Avengers Tower, Spider-Man had taken off his mask. He was dirty and tired, but only one thing mattered. Seeing his family. Johnny and Susan both volunteered to come, while Reed and Ben Grimm returned to the Baxter Building. They were met by Jarvis at the door.

"It is good to see you alive, Mr. Parker," Jarvis told him.

"It's good to be alive," Peter answered, "How is Mary Jane?"

"Doing remarkably well," Jarvis answered, "I'll take you to them."

He led them into the tower and into the medical area. They then came to a recovery room. Jarvis then knocked at the door.

"Who is it?" MJ's voice asked from inside the room.

"It is Jarvis," the Avengers butler answered, "You husband and a couple of guests have arrived. Your husband is a little dirty, but he wishes to see you very much."

"Hold on a moment," Mary Jane replied, and then after a few moments spoke again, "Okay… let them in."

Jarvis opened the door to reveal Mary Jay laying in a recovery bed wearing a button down medical gown while holding two small bundles to her, one in baby blue blankets and another in light pink blankets.

"Hey, MJ," Peter spoke, "I'm back, safe and sound… the Scriers are gone… and I hope to never hear from S.H.I.E.L.D. again."

Mary Jane smiled, "And I have two little someones that want to meet their daddy. Meet Maybelle Petra Parker and Benjamin Reilly Parker."

Peter looked down and then kissed Mary Jane's forehead. The two infants in her arms were nodding off to sleep as she held them.

"They're perfect," Peter told her.

"They precious, Mary Jane, simply precious," Susan spoke from the other side of the bed, "I hope they make you both very happy."

Johnny then came and put one arm around Peter, "Just remember to give them some room when Ben gets back here."

"Room?" Peter wondered.

"Yeah, you just became a father," Johnny smirked, "Ben's gone to get your congratulatory cigars."

"But I don't smoke," Peter protested only to have Johnny laugh as some things in life began to look up.

The End…