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"So, what is your answer, Mr. Parker?" The Prince of Lies almost as if bored. He had worked this deal from so many angles and it was crucial to his plans. Through the demise of Peter's marriage he would eventually completely destroy legacy of Spider-man forever. Not only that but so many other heroes and heroines would end up completely corrupted. It was a beautiful snowball effect that hinged on Peter accepting. Still it would not do for him to seem excited.

"I am going to have to…decline." Peter Parker changed his mind at the last moment. Some instinct told him he should just tell Mephisto to shove off. Hiding his family would be hard, but he had many friends who would help. As for Aunt May, she would beat him silly for throwing away his marriage for her. "So you can take that contract and shove it."

Mephisto blinked in shock. He hadn't thought the Wall crawler would refuse. He had worked too hard to engineer all of this just to make sure it happened. He'd wrapped so many schemes together into this one plan. He wanted to lash out at the Spider-man for foiling a plot with just a simple act. He was restrained from doing so. The rules of the contract negotiation would not allow it. With a snarl he disappeared in a cloud of brimstone.

"Tiger?" Mary Jane Watson-Parker looked at her husband in a mild amount of shock. She actually had thought Peter would accept the deal. It's why she made a different one that benefitted her greatly. Unfortunately for her, it was about to backfire. "Why did you refuse?"

"It's very simple, MJ. I love you too much to just throw it away." Peter Parker replied with a small smile. "I can call on friends, hell even some current enemies, to protect you. As for Aunt May, she's lived a long life and would knock me out for throwing away my vows."

"Oh." MJ's short response pretty much summed up all she could think to say. In a few moments her deal would come through, and she would have done something Peter would likely never forgive her for. While Mephisto had been bargaining with him, Satanna had slipped in to talk to MJ. The deal had been what MJ was praying for and the cost was going to be a marriage that Mary Jane had thought would no longer exist. "Then I am sorry."

"Why are you sorry?"

"Time to pay the Piper. Oooh, you are still married to the stud." Satanna, the Succubus daughter of Mephisto himself, appeared in a flash of brimstone. "That bites for you Miss Watson…Oh, don't pout…you knew the deal."

"Deal? What deal?" Peter was more than a little confused. He had no memory of a deal with Satanna. Then he turned to MJ and noticed her fear-filled eyes. "What did you do?"

"Oh, relax Webhead. She made a great bargain. You're going to be a Legend and Miss Watson here is going to have her own happy life." Satanna chuckled as she started floating in the air lotus style. "The fact it throws the mother of all monkey wrenches in Father's plans was almost payment enough, but nothing is free. MJ here offered all the love, happiness and joy that her husband would provide. My guess is she assumed that you would accept Father's deal. If you had you could have eventually reunited and been happy. Ah well, that is how the cookie crumbles."

"Wait…I changed my mind." Mary Jane asserted. These words gave Peter hope. "I'll take the original offer and penalties…You said I could any time before you took possession."

"That's true, I did." Satanna tapped her chin playfully. "It will be as you wish. Have fun, Peter, I know I would in your shoes." With a flick of her finger Peter Parker vanishes completely. "Now, Daughter, we start your training."

Spider-man was getting a little nervous. He'd woken up in a vaguely familiar place. It was Magneto's home in Genosha and he had been here once before during Chanukah . Glancing around, he spots the same family that had captured his interest before. It was warm, and showed a Wanda who still smiled all the way to her eyes. She hadn't done that very much recently. Not that he blamed her. He didn't smile much after MJ left him. Little May being stillborn had been too much strain on her. It wasn't any better on him, but he had to keep being Spider-Man. Squelching down the tears that threatened to come, he pressed on.

He saw a glimpse of Janet, but she was gone in a blink. ~This is getting weirder by the moment. I swear I have done this before.~ Sneaking along the ceiling he made his way to where he knew Wanda's room was. He was half expecting to see her lying in the bed staring blankly at the ceiling. Instead she was sitting quietly in a love seat, looking through the Photo Album he had made for her of her children. He remembered giving it to her as birthday gift. Vision had gotten her diamond earrings, but Wanda had seemed more touched by album. ~No, that is just wishful thinking.~

"Hello, Peter. I was hoping you'd find me." Wanda looked up from the Album and offered a smile that almost reached her eyes. "The others are being led on a merry chase for now. I know Pietro lied about what the Avengers wanted to do. Logan might have done it, but only as last resort." She said as she patted the seat beside her. "Aside from my children this is the most precious gift anyone has ever given me. Please, sit with me Peter."

"So you know who I am?" Spider-man wanted to deny it, but he believed she was suffering enough. Letting himself flip down to the floor he took a seat beside her like a normal human being for once. "Silly question, you talked to Jean a lot and I let her know so she could block it from everyone else. I did give her permission to tell one friend, if they kept it a secret."

"Well, as much I have talked with Jean, but she never told me." Wanda chuckled softly. "No, I figured it out when you gave me this, Peter. Only Peter Parker can take such dynamic photos, especially of toddlers." She smiled as she traced a finger over a picture of them at two years old. "Don't worry, I didn't tell anyone, though I am sure Logan and Susan know already."

"Yep, Logan knows, nothing lies to that nose." Peter tried to chuckle, but it fell dead. "So you know I was against the memory being suppressed. I nearly knocked Visions head off for suggesting it." Shaking his head for a moment he continued. "Sorry, I shouldn't speak ill of the dismantled husband."

"Ex-Husband." Wanda corrected him. "He's not gone, just not here. He's studying the Inhumans now." Taking a cleansing breathe Wanda continued. "He told me that continuing the marriage after the emotions purge was just an experiment. He was trying to build new emotions based on our interactions. After losing the children he just wanted to ride through to the inevitable end of the marriage. He didn't feel it was right for him to file for divorce." A tear tracked down Wanda's cheek. "As for Simon, he just wants the woman he first met, not who I am now. I can't blame him. I'm damaged."

"Damaged? I know old Wondy could be thick but damn…I am going to need a new nickname for him." Peter started the usual quips out o habit more than anything. It was how he dealt with things as Spider-man. Make a joke with some truth in it and hopefully the pill will not be too hard to swallow. "Yeah, you have a few issues. You don't get to be in the spandex club without them. However, I will say you are better than most." He shrugged as he saw her eye him. "I mean Natasha pretends to be cold. Cap is feeling old and trying to overcompensate. Tony is a man-child. Cyclops has a telephone pole permanently up his keister. Pym suffers from an inferiority complex. Reed barely leaves his lab if it doesn't involve a world crisis. And me…well I have a guilt complex that'll probably ruin every relationship I will ever have." Shaking his head he lifts his mask off, seeing as how she knows who he is. "Still, you are an amazing woman Wanda. And anyone who doesn't fight for you is a fool."

"Thank you." Wanda grinned and leaned over to kiss his cheek in thanks. "And your ex-wife was a fool as well." Pausing for a moment she turned a page in the album. "Does it get easier?"

"Yeah, a little. It never goes away, but it gets better. Seriously, you're handling it better than I did. For two months straight I went out and busted thugs almost literally." Peter recalled how brutal he had been at the time. It had actually been worse than under control of symbiote. "Seemed like everyone was worried that Venom had somehow bonded with me again. Finally snapped out of my funk when Tombstone came looking for a fight. He still tries to fight someone else any time I show up."

"So that's who started the whole nothing scarier than a Silent Spider-man." Wanda chuckled when she remembered how Peter had been mystically silenced just before he arrived to help stop a prison break from the Raft. Some of the Super villains actually locked themselves back up when saw but didn't hear Spidey. It had been amusing.

"Probably. I did use an engine block to beat him senseless, let him wake up then did it over again." Peter sighed heavily. "Lonnie actually begged me to send him to jail and promised to behave once he got there. He never followed through, but still more than he does when Cage busts him."

"Well, my little meltdown was pretty spectacular." Wanda felt that was an understatement. "Makes me question if I can be trusted."

"Of course you can." Peter replied as if there was no question at all. "You just need to find someone to talk to who understands."

"Like you?"

"Yeah, like…are you kidding? I'm a screw-up to the Nth degree. I mean just read the Bugle if you doubt that." Peter actually believed he wasn't worth listening to most days. "I mean if everyone knew why I do this…Well, they'd know I'm just atoning for my sins."

"No, I am not kidding, Peter." Wanda was not going to be led astray that quickly. "So tell me why. I was a terrorist. How much worse does it get?"

"I…uhh…the man who raised me died because of me." Peter said finally after a minute. Not daring to look at Wanda he related the story of how he had used his powers for his own gain. How he had ignored his Uncle's advice and let a criminal go. Of how his Uncle had been killed and just who had pulled the trigger. "I might as well have pulled the trigger."

"Now listen here Peter Parker. You made a mistake. You were fifteen. At fifteen I sunk a yacht because of a temper tantrum." Wanda chuckled as she remembered the incident of what her brother called the Thong Tantrum. "Punishing yourself forever is not going to change that. I bet if you could ask your Uncle Ben what he thinks, he would be so proud of you. I bet he'd tell you that it wasn't your fault. And he'd tell you to forgive yourself and have a life."

"Yeah, I know that up here." Peter tapped his temple but the moved his hand to his heart. "But down here is stubborn about letting go."

"Don't I know the score there." Wanda nodded. Looking to clock, she sighed. "I guess I should bring them back."

"Would be good, but anytime you need to talk, I'm there for you." Peter replied as he grabbed his mask and pulled it on. "So where'd you send them?"

"Hedonism II." Wanda grinned as watched the single most expressive mask in the hero world register shock and amusement. "What? I wanted to make sure they were distracted."

"Well, all things considered I think I preferred my visit with you." Peter replied after a moment.

"Oh, don't count yourself out yet. I plan on finally going there and I want company worth having."

Bringing the others back from their little trip had been amusing. The few heroes who had been having thoughts that Wanda was out of control felt just a bit embarrassed. Especially when she told them what Quicksilver had wanted her to do, and how she had punished him. The speedster mutant was now a bicycle messenger in San Francisco. She explained how she just needed someone who would listen and not try to offer solutions. She then apologized to everyone for what she did under the influence of that entity.

"I am going to take a leave of absence from Active Avenger status. If it is universe threatening I will come, but I need time to just deal with me." Wanda finally said to everyone. "I'll tell Spider-man and Susan Richards where I can physically be found, don't call my ID card unless you really need me."

"Hmmm, well it is probably for the best. Every one of us as has taken time for ourselves and for a lot less of a personal reason than losing children." Janet van Dyne chose that moment to speak for the assembled heroes. "We'll make do without you, but don't feel like you have to be a stranger."

It was during the farewells that Simon Williams actually dragged Spider-man away. The Ionic Avenger scowled for a few minutes as he tried to stare the Wall-crawler down. It was as if the stuntman was evaluating him. "Hurt her and nobody will ever find the body...not even Uatu…understand?"

"Yeah, that's pretty clear like crystal or Tony's Vodka." Spidey could tell the much stronger man meant it. "But, we're just friends. Both of us have suffered similar things. I'm just the shoulder she's gonna cry on for awhile."

"And I thought I was thick. Don't change Webs. You're just what she needs." With that the hero known as Wonderman clapped Spider-man on the shoulder as if they had just been talking about sports. "Seriously, take care of her and yourself."

Wanda hummed to herself as she entered her townhouse. Today had gone very well. She had mended a few bridges and formed a real friendship. The first time around had not ended well at all. She would have a few nightmares about that for the forseeable future. Setting her handbag on the table, she removes her jacket still humming happily.

"I see someone is happy with her deal." The form of Mary Jane Watson was sitting in the livingroom drinking a glass of wine. To Wanda's sense, the woman was no longer remotely human. She felt the same way Satana did. Taking a sip of the wine, MJ grinned. "Are you prepared to pay the price?"

"Where I bind myself to him, forever?" Wanda asked rhetorically. The deal had been odd to begin with. Mary Jane had appeared as Wanda had been bleeding out from Rogue's attack. Given the chance to turn back the clock to the moment before she made her most terrible blunders, Wanda had been skeptical. Being told the price was being bound to Spider-man for the rest of her days had almost been a deal breaker. She liked the man, but he could be annoying. MJ had been an excellent negotiator however and convinced her to have a real conversation with the man. "I thought you loved him."

"Oh, I do. That will never change, Wanda. However, he rubbed off on me. With great power comes great responsibility. When Satanna offered me the chance to undo some to the worst things that had happened, I jumped." MJ smiled at the memory. "The price was my marriage to protect Peter and Aunt May, but Satanna offered me a better deal. If I become her daughter, she would give me the power to effect changes that would truly make things better. I could conceivably be Peter's again, but he would have to bind me. He's not powerful enough to do that, yet. Thus our deal is one part of my evil plan to make Peter Parker happy. So are you in, or do I need to see if Rogue would go for killing you just before that House of M crap."

"I'm in. I'm in." Wanda raised her hands in a placating manner as she agreed. "Just for curiosities sake, how good is he in bed?"

"Hmmm, well, there was a reason I never slept with him before a shoot. I wouldn't be able to walk straight and I would have this shit-eating grin all day." Mary Jane chuckled as she remembered her very satisfying love life. "And I was never able to wear him out. Not even the time I invited Felicia Hardy over to help. Peter left us both passed out in bed, and he still had energy to patrol. So you won't be disappointed."

Wanda had to imagine that for a moment. She had multiple lovers in her life, actually she had been slightly promiscuous. She had slept with several Avengers, and the closest any of them came to wearing her out had been Hercules. She had still outlasted the God and she was not particularly known for her endurance. Imagining a lover who would outperform that made Wanda's smile grow. "Good to know."

"Well, don't get too spoiled. For him to be able to handle what is coming, you won't be alone long, Wanda." MJ smirked as the hidden price surface. "Spiders gain power through Tantra and Chaos. You provide both but he will need more. Ah well, have fun. See you soon."

Before Wanda could reply MJ vanished in a puff of jasmine scented smoke.

"Damn it. I was going to make a request." Wanda growled to the now empty chair.

AN: I hope you like this. I will include a poll on my profile page for other possible women for Spidey to be with. You'll note I mainly put down women who have died (No, I am not including Gwen!). But if you have other ideas, or even some ideas for Spider-Man's guy allies in what is coming (no spoilers, just know it is BAD) please include them in a review.