Huh, that break didn't last long :/ Anyway, due to reader suggestion I made this its own story. This first chapter is mostly exposition due the new status quo of the leads. The next chapters will tone it down.

As mentioned before this volume will be far lighter compared to the previous one. That's not to say there won't be drama or angst, but it won't feel hopeless or just flat out depressing like the last volume felt like at times. Also on the insistence of readers, Gwen and Noir are still together, which is a mixed blessing now that a lot of the relationship and morality drama has been dealt with.

Hopefully it's not too much of a turn-off for readers given that vanilla romances tend to be considered boring. Breaking them up now seems more trouble than it's worth.

One year...time sure flied.

Peter's lips curled up in a smile when he saw the edges of New York come to greet him, the noon sun high above their heads. It didn't look any different, least not from where he was sitting. Same buildings, same cars piled on traffic (no wonder Gwen swung everywhere) and the same blaring car horns and cursing drivers that thought they owned the road. It felt...odd, coming back after so long. He almost felt like a stranger coming back from war.

Well, he came back from France, which was worse in a lot of ways.

He stopped and pulled out his phone, 'At the place already,' the text said. It was logged ten minutes ago.

He was late.

Peter drove through the familiar intersections on his new bike. He had to leave Moon Knight's behind when he had to smuggle himself into South America cause the pilot wasn't willing to bring it along. A shame, but it was inevitable. At least Domino gave him the new one before he went back. He really didn't fancy hitchiking his way back to the city.

Gwen was waiting there for him. Peter stopped the bike and just looked at her. They'd kept up on phone calls and messages throughout the year, though there were a few weeks when he was out of contact and she'd yelled when he re-established communication. Explaining that he'd been held in a Hand torture dungeon before he could stage a prison break really didn't calm her nerves any.

Peter stopped off the bike and her face lit up in a bright grin when she saw him. She looked different now - her hair was longer, reaching down to a few inches below her neck, with the edges dyed pink instead of blue. Her attire consisted of a white off the shoulder shirt that left her right shoulder exposed with a spider symbol at the front, dark shorts and an equally dark pair of boots. On her arms he caught a few bracelets along with a choker on her neck.

He looked different too; not enough to be unrecognizable, but still different. He'd dyed his hair black (helped keep people from seeing the resemblance) and slicked his hair back and let a small stubble grow and swapped out the spraypainted and ragged clothes for a cleaner looking jacket, jeans and short boots. Now he bared at least a passing resemblance to his long gone brother, though if anyone asked he'd never admit to anything.

Gwen spoke first, "Hey there, stranger," she said, still grinning.

"Hey..." Peter couldn't stop himself from smiling back, "...I'm back."

"Yeah, you kept me waiting." She kissed him. Peter leaned into the gesture and was thankful they were in New York. No one cared enough to give them a second glance. It continued for a few seconds tlll she pulled back, "Been waiting to do that for a year." She chuckled softly, "Come on, let's go get something to eat. My treat."

Gwen led him to a small diner not too far away and they sat at a corner booth out of hearing range. Mick's had the best fries in the city, or at least that was what she said. He was just glad he could actually pronounce the food he was eating now. Wade Wilson's mercenary group might have been oddly successful despite their leader's insanity, but they didn't spend nearly enough on good rations. Good thing he didn't need much food to keep going.

"So, how was it being the wandering hero?" Gwen asked with a smirk.

"Traffic was monstrous and I could never find a good plane." He laughed under his breath, "I'm more curious about you. Didn't get a chance to ask you about it before, but apparently you stopped a nuclear apocalypse?"

"Huh, oh yeah." She rolled her eyes like he'd just asked if she got a new haircut, "So me and the rest of the Avengers stopped Hydra and Cap finally offed Red Skull. His daughter - who calls herself Sin, if you can believe it - went nutso and decided that throwing up every nuclear superweapon HYDRA collected all at once would be the best final fuck you. I stopped her and now she's in solitary like Evil Cindy is."

"Surprised the Spooks are still around to do that." They'd officially come out about their involvement in the Incident and that monster Kasady. There were riots, of course, claims about government culpability and Shield was taken down...well, that was how the story went. In truth they just handed over all the scientists responsible, disseminated their members and it was business as usual except they didn't have a flying base anymore. At least that was what Cindy told him.

"Yeah..." A tinge of bitterness seeped into Gwen's tone, "Least we're still here, right?"

"Yeah, thank you for my continued existence." He would've hated stopping armageddon with Ketch, Damon and Satanna only to get blown up anyway, "Didn't you also stop that giant monster?" Something those Skrull bastards left behind as a last resort. Between them, those Asgardians landing in Cleveland, the Intiative Program and that 'terrigen mist' thing that popped up in New York, he was beginning to think this place was cursed.

"Yeah, and Wasp thought it'd be a great idea to make me bigger with Dyne particles to even the playing field. I am so lucky I didn't fall on my ass and break the Chrysler when that thing clocked me. I'm still getting 'Attack of the 500 foot Spider-Woman' jokes."

"Could be worse. I've seen some of the things they wrote about a few other people." The Initiative Program was Stars-and-Stripes' idea of a country-wide Superhero movement. It had...mixed results. Most of the volunteers were well-meaning, but a few were just in it for the idea that they could do whatever the hell they wanted with government backing. And even those who just wanted to help people had about a 50/50 shot of being competent or like Patillio; and as expected people latched onto the latter and never stopped biting.

At least Lana 'graduated' near the top of her group. That was nice.

"But seriously, enough about me. Tell me about you! I called you when you were in France but you never told me anything. Gimme the details!"

"Chat, we've got to catch the Akuma!"

"Sure thing, Ladybug! Hey, Spidey, you gotta hurry up!"

"...Kill me."

"I...don't want to talk about it." He dug into his milkshake desperately. He'd have nightmares about bubbles, musical perfumes and mimes for the next few years, "I could tell you about the Hand base I found in Japan?"

"Yeah, no thanks." Gwen snorted, "I still can't believe they're still around after you dealt with Murderock. You'd think after they lost their pitchforked boss they'd just cut their losses."

"Greed and want are powerful motivators, Gwen." He took a bite out of the burger, "It's part of the reason why I came back here, actually. I've gotten some rumors that the Fingers are converging here. No idea what they want, but I can't let this opportunity slip."

"Aww, and here I thought you just wanted to see me again."

"Well, that too." It was cheesy, but he'd gotten used to it.

They spent the next hour just talking about things they already (mostly) knew. Gwen was in college now - which definitely put a damper on her heroing - and she planned to take a criminology degree. The rest of her friends were there too - Mary was on the journalist track, Grant was on a business course while Brant...well, he wasn't sure and he got the feeling he didn't want to know.

"So...does this mean you're here for good?"

"You mean am I leaving again?" She nodded slowly, "I...I'd rather not. I've looked around enough. New York's insane, but it's insanity I've gotten used to." That and it would've been nice to not be paranoid that Wilson would finally go insane or running into psychics who tried to make him eat his own gun, "Just gotta brace myself for the Bugle's new expose."

She held his hand over the table, "I wouldn't worry about it. Jameson usually just podcasts everything instead of going to the papers. I listen to it sometimes."

"Why the hell would you do that?"

"Cause it's funny. You shoulda heard him when he said that I eat pigeons cause some spiders eat birds and obviously me chasing down pet pigeons for a friend means I'm taking them down and nefariously eating them." She rolled her eyes, "Oh, he's gonna have a heart attack when he realizes you're here."

"Him and a few others." He'd texted everyone he was coming back. Lana and Cindy mentioned they were busy with school and work and they'd meet him as soon as they could while Summers had a scoop she had to deal with. He didn't text any of the Defenders aside from Moon Knight, who'd given him the tip in the first place. He wasn't even sure if Castle and Felicia were back in town; or if they ever would be.

"So...what are your plans for now?"

"Not sure. Moon Knight's letting me stay at one of his safehouses for now. Should be good enough till I can find a place for my own." It'd be weird not having Lana there. Her dad (forced her to) transfer to a fancy private all girls school and one of the rules was that she had to stay at the dorm. She'd called a few nights in just complaining about everything from the uniform (that she had to fight a Supervillain in at one point, much to her annoyance) to some of her 'bitchy, entitled classmates'. She couldn't even get Dog with her since pets weren't allowed.

Oh, and her dad won the mayoral election, which didn't help her mood at all. When your daughter helped kill a demon in Times Square people tended to forget she wasn't supposed to do that with a group of vigilantes.

"Oh...well, I was just gonna say that my place is pretty close by and MJ said she'd totally be willing to find a new place if I wanted someone else to move in..."

Peter laughed, "What, didn't join a sorority? Isn't that how the college experience is supposed to go?"

"Yeah, and then I kiss any sort of privacy goodbye," Gwen waved a hand through the air, "The apartment's close enough to campus that I can swing over there." He practically saw the lightbulb over her head, "Hey, why don't you go to ESU, too? I'm sure Cindy can swing you a fake ID and it'd be pretty useful. Besides, you need a taste of the normal college life."

"Ha, yeah, sure." He smiled half-sarcastically, "I doubt that'll go over well, Gwen."

"Can't hurt to try, right?" She squeezed his hand, "What've you got to lose?"

"A lot of things, but...I'll consider it. First I gotta deal with the rest of the Hand." He still had no idea why they'd go here, of all places. This was the last place they should've gone even after he decimated their Japan bases.

"I'll hold you to that," she said, "So, about my earlier offer..."

"I'll think about that too. Don't wanna put Mary out, after all." At least she was doing well. From what he gathered from Gwen, Mary and the monster were at an impasse and reluctantly worked out some kind of deal. It could let loose provided it kept to the rules they established. He would've preferred if that thing burned with its murderer partner, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

"Think about it then." Her next smile turned mischievous, "Still, you wanna check it out? MJ's got classes now."

"...Sure." He was gonna be sore for a while.

"How's it goin', freak?"

Cindy groaned and nearly crushed her cup of coffee, "What do you want, Masters?" She didn't turn around. She already knew who it was - Richard Masters, the stereotypical tough guy cop cliche with a chip on his shoulder proportionate to the size of his ego. Ever since she got put into the NYPD Special Cases Branch - or, as it was 'affectionately' called, the Freak Beat - the guy had it in for her. It was almost enough to make her miss Woo.

"Nothing. Just curious what you're doing."

"Getting coffee, as you can plainly see." She had no idea what the fuck the guy's problem with her was apart from the fact that he was a damn racist. She barely even said two words to the guy before he was up in her face about 'not needing your fancy freak ass in here' and how 'she was probably working with the rest of those freaks'.

He really liked to throw the F word around.

"Huh, didn't think your kind ate people food."

"Look, could you hurry this up? I gotta finish up the Matthews case and actually do my job, unlike certain other people."

"Hey, I do my work; and I don't need to shoot shit outta my fingers to do it." She pressed her lips into a thin line thankfully hidden by her scarf. Did she just have a sign over her head saying 'unload all your racist comments on me!' or something? "Whatcha got to hide, huh? Rest of us here ain't coverin' our faces and then you walk in so high and mighty and-"

"Would you just fuck off?"

"Ooh, the freak got her tongue out!"

The people around them desperately tried to ignore the exchange. No one really liked Masters - he had a habit of stepping into people's toes and pissing people off besides - but he wasn't dirty and he got results. It would've been so much simpler if he was corrupt; then she could punch him in the face and not feel bad about it. As it was, the best thing she could do was file a report which went nowhere cause it wasn't like she could threaten to quit.

She really shouldn't have accepted this gig.

"Listen, asshole, I've been playing nice so far. You don't want me here? Talk to Captain America and Chief Watanabe, I'm sure they'd love to talk about why my freakishness is such a big deal and that you can deal with the Powered Crimes on your own."

That shut him up. Masters' mouth pressed into a thin line and he fumed all the way back to his table. It was a shame he was such an asshole - the guy's record was top notch and he wasn't bad to look at. It was also the other reason they couldn't just fire him. He had a good record and she was a hero (on loan), so of course she could deal with his bullshit for the greater good.

She really regretted taking this job.

Sighing, Cindy trudged her way back to her office and sat down on the desk. The Matthews case folder was wide open in front of her. It was typical stuff - a rash of disappearances with seemingly no connection to one another...except for the fact that all the victims showed reactions to the Terrigen Mist. Her first thought was Hate Crime, but that was a hard sell. Most crimes of those types tended to be public and to share a message. Here it was kept to the downlow as best as the bastard could.

The door to her room opened and Jean stepped in, "Got some more cases." She dropped another folder on top of her already overflowing desk.

Cindy groaned and slammed her head on top of the desk. She knew why she accepted the job - Powered and Costumed crimes were increasing and the police needed all the help they could get - but going from attacking H.Y.D.R.A bases to dealing with asshole coworkers and being dumped cases about anyone so much as wearing a domino mask was not how she thought this would go.

Sure, there were times like the Matthews case where they needed her help, but a lot of the time they were just dunces who thought that putting on a costume suddenly gave them a better shot than a balaclava and a gun. Some analysts in big chairs blamed the Initiative Program. They're goading criminals to put on costumes because they believe they need it to catch up, or something. Considering the Initiative was critical to stopping those damn Skrulls she was content to ignore the tinfoil hats.

"Any of those actually worth anything?" Cindy asked, voice muffled by the wood.

"Bodega Bandit started his own gang of Banditos." Cindy looked up and glared at the older woman, "What? I'm just telling you what I read." Jean shrugged.

"I know..." Cindy massaged her temples and let out a slow breath. She felt silly, dressed up in full costume - albeit modified to look more sleek and less stand-out - at a desk and writing reports like this was a 9 to 5 job. It also didn't help that most of the officers didn't know what do with her. Sure, none of them harassed her like Masters did, but that didn't mean they were here friends.

They seemed...intimidated, if that was the right word. She was a big time Avenger and they liked her protecting them from the Supervills and terrorists, but not so much being at the break room where they got their coffee. Only Jean and a few others weren't weird about it, and that was probably cause the ginger haired detective had a vigilante gig on the side.

Speaking of coffee, that cup was still untouched. She really needed to get a different mask.

"I need help here..." Cindy muttered. There were too many cases, and even with webswinging and her spin-sense (new name ftw) she barely got any sleep and she'd already had to cancel at least five different dates. One poor guy even rescheduled twice and she felt like a complete ass when she had to stand him up a third time, "Or at least a secretary. These reports are worse than Crossbones."

"I'll take your word on that." Jean smirked, "Actually, I've got a new...partner for you, courtesy of your ex-employers." Cindy raised a brow. Someone from S.H.I.E.L.D? Well, if it wasn't ex-Agent Hill then she'd take anyone, "I'll send her your way when she gets here."

"Sure, thanks." Cindy waved the older woman goodbye and checked her messages. A text from Lana asking if she was free at any point in the week - nope, not the way she was going - and one from Pete about being back in town. She smiled. The younger Superhero - Initiative Graduate and all - had gotten closer to her during her training, though it was rough at first. Apparently Lana thought she and Gwen would be similar.

She sent Peter a quick text to welcome him back to town along with a promise to meet up soon. She'd definitely felt his absence in the past year, though less so than some of the others. Work kept her too busy to think too much about it and she knew he could take care of himself. No need for her to hover over his shoulder; he had Gwen for that.

The door opened again. Cindy looked up and her polite smile was replaced with a very confused blink at the new arrival. She expected Daisy or Kate or, hell, even Ex-Agent Hill. She most definitely didn't think she'd see Felicia Hardy walk into her office without a single hint of shame.

She'd heard a few months ago that she cut a deal with S.H.I.E.L.D: in exchange for a few favors and some others things she wasn't privy to (damn clearance levels), Felicia Hardy a.k.a the Black Cat would be granted immunity from all her past crimes. She was even getting back into the music game. Apparently the idea of a popstar who moonlighted as a thief and vigilante alongside Punisher and Spider-Man appealed to a surprisingly wide crowd.

Considering there was a Punisher tsum tsum doll being sold a few blocks away, she could believe it.

"So...you're my new partner?" Cindy raised a brow skeptically.

"Technically I'm a consultant," Felicia smirked, arms crossed and her white designer jacket and leather(?!) pants sticking out from the gray walls, "But considering our 'work' experiences, I'm sure I'll be doing more than sitting on a desk answering questions."

"Fine then. Welcome to my office, Mr. Lecter."

Feliica blinked, "Don't you mean Ms. Starling? She was the-"

"You dimension is weird, shut up." Cindy scanned through the files as Felicia sat across from her. As expected most of the new files were wannabe Supervills trying to make a name for themselves and, sure enough, Bodega Bandit actually did start an honest to God gang by claiming he had experience and seniority in fighting Spider-Woman. It was like New York was a beacon for these morons.

"I thought you'd have a bigger office, all things considered," Felicia said idly.

"Not in the budget," Cindy said without looking up from the papers, "Least the windows are one way so no one can peek in." She also checked for security cameras and recording devices on the walls and floor. So far she came up clean and her spin-sense would warn her if something was up.

"I get the feeling that there's some distance between you and your new coworkers." Felicia gestured to the window. A few employees milled about as usual, though a few occasionally peeked at the blank window with undecipherable looks.

"I'm used to it." Least she wasn't literally alone. She could deal with a few odd looks and Masters' annoying mug.

"I'll admit, when I accepted this deal this wasn't what I expected." Cindy rolled her eyes. Yeah, she could join the club there, "I don't think the officers appreciate me being here either."

"Yeah, well, Inspector Zenigata didn't like Lupin either."

"...Do I even have to tell you how much was wrong in what you just said?"

"You could, but then I'd web your mouth shut." Cindy smiled cheekily, "Anyway, I've compiled the most important things we gotta worry about. Right now it's the Matthews case." She turned the folder around and handed it to her, "Bunch of kidnapped Gifted. No familial relationships or anything aside from them all being exposed to the Terrigen Mist."

"Oh, that. Good thing I wasn't in New York at the time."

It might've sounded odd to say, but the Mist wasn't the start of a new age as people thought it was. Just about all the people who showed an actual reaction to the stuff got oh so great powers like smelling like a skunk 24/7 or being able to stretch their hair maybe five inches from their face. There were a few who got lucky - she was pretty sure that Ms. Marvel gal from New Jersey was one of them - but for the most part it was more an inconvenience than a benefit.

"So any theories?" Felicia said after she finished scanning through the file.

"Aren't you supposed to be the consultant, Ms. Hardy?" Cindy smirked.

"And you're the experienced Superhero," Felicia smirked back. It was somewhat odd, being friendly with someone who was (is?) a career thief, but she was used to it. Least she wasn't a murderer or a Nazi, "Well, if you want my theory then, assuming these incidents are all tied together, I'd have to assume it's either a serial killer or human trafficking. It fits the M.O of looking for a specific population group."

"Yeah, that's what I thought too..." Cindy frowned. It was grim, but New York was bad enough in some places for it, "But what do you mean 'assuming it's connected'?"

"Surely you realized that the location is far too large." She turned to the map and circled it with her manicured finger, "It'd be one thing if it was localized to an area like Hell's Kitchen or Harlem, the families live all over the city, come from multiple income levels and the last known locations are spread out too."

"I know that. Still, I doubt it's a coincidence that all dozen of people who got kidnapped just happened to be people who reaction to the Terrigen Mist." They still had no idea where that damn thing came from. Or maybe some people somewhere did and they were keeping mum; wouldn't have surprised her, "There've been a lot of incidents ever since people...changed."

"Hate crime. I've experienced some of it myself." Felicia shrugged lightly, "Still, if it was Hate Crime wouldn't there be at least one that was public? A stoning, some burning crosses, a beat up Gifted in the streets. These people just disappeared off the face of the earth from what I can tell."

"Yeah..." Cindy rubbed the bridge of her nose. She was good, but chasing after someone with no clues was freaking impossible, "I'm guessing that's why you're here."

"You know Spider was always better at the Detective game than I was." Felicia hummed. She probably didn't even know he was back in town, "Still, I suppose we could look around. I know some of these places - spent some time there when I had to sing in the streets to survive."

"You gonna show me your street tough friends?" Cindy smiled slightly.

"Yes, so maybe you should change your attire. Big name Superheroes tend to make them antsy." It still surprised her that people called her that. Her, the woman who spent ten years trapped in a bunker while the other person who got bitten had adventures with the Avengers and Fantastic Four. She hoped Ezekiel was rolling in his grave.

"Fine, just gimme a minute." Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

"Sure. Oh, and I expect my fee when we leave."

"Cool with-" Cindy stopped, "Wait, what?"

"What do you expect? I'm a consultant, not a volunteer." Felicia smiled. Cindy didn't smile back, "3000 dollars upfront. Cash, preferably. Doesn't leave a trail."

...She changed her mind. Cindy hated her.

Somebody poked Lana's shoulder with a pen and she was not amused.

"What?" she snapped.

Anya smirked and pulled her pen back. She was lucky Lana didn't think shoving it up her nose was worth it, "You've been staring into space for like 30 minutes now."

"So what? We're not in class, I can do what I want." Lana waved her off and turned back to the computer. They had a thousand word report on the Pelopponesian War due tomorrow, cause apparently their teacher hated them. She was worse than Ms. Hassan.

It was also the reason she couldn't go out to meet Pete. Damn preppy school with its stupid high grade requirements. She'd been tempted to flunk out on purpose just to get back to Midtown, but she knew her dad would just pump money to keep his new 'perfect' daughter in - better for his reputation if she was in this silver spoon factory. As much as she hated the idea of staying here, she hated more the idea more that she was here cause of daddy dearest's money instead of her brain.

At least she wasn't alone.

Anya Corazon. She wanted to be called Araña but the same assholes who kept calling her Bombshell titled her Spider-Girl and the name stuck. She'd been put off when she first found out she was her roommate - mostly cause she figured Pete's (not) sister was fucking with her somehow - but Anya had repeatedly assured her that it was just a coincidence. Teresa wasn't even in the city and hadn't been for months now.

And hell, it was better than the alternative. There were a few actually nice students around, but most of these assholes had silver spoons fucking welded to their mouths. A few tried to play nice at first, asked questions about what it was like to be a hero, but when she made it clear that, no, she wasn't going to get them a selfie from Spider-Woman or something equally dumb the fangs came out.

That and it was nice to have someone who knew the freak business. Anya wasn't open with her identity like Lana was (so far only her dad knew about it), but it was nice to rant to someone who got how frustrating it was having to choose between saving that person in need or getting to class on time case the teacher didn't think 'I saved someone from being raped!' was a decent excuse.

Oh and Lana's mom was dating her dad, so they may or may not be sisters in law in the future, but she didn't like to think about that. Her family tree was fucked enough as it was.

"Done." Anya kicked the chair back and stretched her arms above her head. If there was one nice thing she could say about this place, it was that the dorms definitely didn't skimp on the cash. It was wide, spacious and (somehow) comfy. Anya was a decent roommate too, keeping her messes on her side of the room and never taking any of her shit without asking. It was a pleasant surprise.

Didn't change the fact that she was stuck here.

Lana groaned, "Hey, lemme copy your paper for a bit."

"What? No way."

"Come on, you owe me!"

Anya looked at her in disbelief, "For what?"

"For...uh." She, she had her there, "Alright, fine, you don't owe me but I really gotta finish this up."

"Why, got a date with MVP?" Anya grinned.

"And deprive you of your crush? You wish." Lana snorted. She liked the guy, even if he was Captain America Junior in all but name, but he was too...nice. Too clean cut and too proper; like one of those all American good boys you take home to meet the family you'd see on those ads. It actually kinda creeped her out somewhat. She thought those kinds of guys died in the 50's.

"You know he's giving you all the signs."

"Sure he is." Lana rolled her eyes, "Now seriously, gimme the paper. I'll pay you back later."

"Better idea: why don't I help you so neither of us get in trouble for cheating and plagiarizing?"

Lana frowned and looked at the clock. It was 8 pm now, and curfew was 9. She had special permission to be outside later because she was an Initiative Graduate, but that really only cut it if there was an emergency.

She wasn't gonna get to see Pete today.

"Fine..."

With Anya's help they finished a little under half an hour after 9. They both printed out their works and Lana crashed on her bed with an annoyed breath. Pete was probably off having a good old time with Spider-Gwen right about now. She was tempted to claim an Initiative emergency and bolt out of here, but she didn't want to push her luck. Last thing she wanted was daddy dearest throwing some dollars 'for my daughter's behavior'. She still had her pride, damn it.

She checked her messages. Cin was busy (no surprise there), Norah was looking for a scoop (so about two days AFK if she was lucky) while her mom was on a date (she didn't want to think about that). There were a few others she read mostly halfheartedly - Kamala gushing about heroes, Hart bragging that she got an interview with an Initiative Graduate she couldn't remember and so on and so forth.

She stopped when she caught a missed call from Gabe a few hours ago. She tapped the call back button and waited, "Hey, Gabe." Anya turned her head and gave her a cheesy double thumbs up. Lana flipped her off in response, "You called?"

"Oh, yeah." He was out of breath, "Nevermind, I got it."

"Got what? What's wrong?"

"Uh, nothing much." Yeah, like she believed that. It wasn't that long ago when she caught the guy sneaking out of a gang hideout after nabbing some incriminating USBs. She had no clue why he was trying the vigilante gig too cause it sure wasn't because of the fame. No costume and he was happiest when no one realized he'd been there at all.

"Like I believe that, Reyes. Now come on, spill.

"A-Alright. Well, I nearly got caught earlier - I know, I know - and then someone saved me. I...maybe you'll want to hear it. I think."

As soon as the name was out of his mouth she sat bolt upright. This was not happening.

He was right; he ended up sore.

It didn't hurt. It was more that he was out of practice than because of anything else. He'd get used to it again, "You alright, Pete?" Gwen asked, content. She was lying down at the bed with her head on his lap and a smile on her face. They'd put their clothes back on- mostly. He managed to put on his pants while she'd nabbed his shirt for herself. There was only a couple of inches of difference between them in size, but it was loose enough to cover her well.

"Yeah, I'm good." He rubbed her shoulders and smiled in turn. They spent the past few hours just chatting and watching television (no news). She talked about her classes, her favorite and least favorite teachers, the students who rubbed her wrong (apparently Sally Avril was top of the list) and whined about how hard it was to manage studying and completing all her requirements.

"Good..." Gwen adjusted her place and curled in on herself a bit more, "...I missed you."

"Me too."

"I wish we could stay like this forever." She breathed out softly, "Can't believe I gotta go back to Psyche280 tomorrow." She talked about her annoyance with the class in great detail. Apparently the teacher, a tenured professor with decades of work, decided analyzing the psyche profiles of the Avengers and a few other select people was a good idea.

Normally Gwen wouldn't have minded, but the 'analysis' left much to be desired.

"Could you believe she said Captain America was motivated by jingoism and entitlement?" Gwen groused, "Oh, and she pulls up these bullshit statistics about how me and Kate are bought out because 'we so obviously save more victims of the upper middle class demographic than any other kind'. Uh, hello, I help out anyone who needs it!"

"Sounds like she's got a grudge."

"Yeah. I heard a rumor that I accidentally stepped on her car during my Godzilla moment and her insurance didn't cover it, so I actually felt bad. I went up to her as Spider-Woman, apologized and even offered money. This old bat actually laughs in my face and says it's so typical that 'your people' think she'd just accept my apology because I was so rich and famous. Tried to tell her I was trying to stop a fucking kaiju and she just tells me I should've been better cause that was all I was good for. Bitch."

"Why not drop her class?"

"I can't. She's the only one teaching psyche for my year since one teacher's on maternity leave and the other got into an accident. I'll have to wait months to get another sub, and I already spent weeks in that class. I'm not getting a zero for it."

"Really not selling me on this ideal college life, Gwen."

"Oh shut it." She pinched his leg gently, "There are some really good profs. Sit in at one of Professor Warren's chem classes. You'd love the guy." The phone at her desk vibrated. She tapped the screen and frowned, "Shit, I forgot I had to meet Jess. Promised her I'd help her on a case."

"Go. I'll catch you later."

"I'll hold you to that." She kissed him briefly before walking out to the living room, "Come on, Webs, time to go!"

The formless blob quickly finished off the last of its chocolate and jumped to its partner. It was only when she was gone that he realized she'd taken his shirt with him, "Damn it." He opened the closet and was relieved to find one of his old sweaters from before. No idea why she kept it, but he wasn't complaining.

He walked to the living room and sat down on the couch. He didn't get much of a chance to check the place out before considering the circumstances. The place was small and cozy. Bigger than her last place, though that wasn't exactly a hard feat, with two rooms instead of one and a wider kitchen area. Most of the furniture from the couch to the tables were the same ones from before. Gwen mentioned that she and MJ (though mostly Gwen) bought (not rented) the place, mostly for the sake of privacy and convenience.

Gwen wanted him to live here with her...

Shaking his head, Peter made his way to the street and found himself walking down the all too familiar path back to Hell's Kitchen. It was odd. Despite all the terrible memories he had of the place, it was the closest thing to a home he had here.

Speaking of...

His spider-sense blared an all too familiar tun. He walked to the deserted side street and frowned when he saw a man and a woman held up by a group of thugs. The Kitchen was doing better now that 'The Beast's corrupting influence have been purged from its roots' (Moon Knight's words, not his), but things didn't improve overnight. There was decades of rooted evil in this place.

Mugging and a kidnapping all in one. This time they were brazen, doing it out in the open when someone could just walk or drive by. Peter pulled off his mask and the all too familiar feeling - that mixture of fatigue and anger - came back.

It was easy taking down all five of them; especially since only two of them had guns. Peter slammed the last one down on the ground and punched him in the face, "Call the police." He told the couple. They weren't injured, so he didn't feel too bad making demands. Besides, he needed to make sure these two actually went to prison considering he wasn't a part of that Initiative.

"S-Spider-Man!" The guy said, holding his girlfriend behind him protectively, "I...we didn't know you were back."

"Well now you do. Saving the cussing out till after you call the cops, alright? I ain't in the mood for it."

"No, thank you. You really saved us back there."

"Y-Yeah." The girlfriend nodded shakily.

"Sure..."

His spider-sense blared. Peter turned and saw one of the thugs reach out for the gun with his non-broken arm and raise it shakily. Peter almost dodged out of the way when his spider-sense abruptly stopped. A blur of red came from above - a stick of some kind - and hit the wall. It bounced against the wall and hit the would-be shooter right at the side of his head. He was out cold.

"...Guessing that wasn't you two." They shook their heads. Peter walked in front of the knocked out thug and picked up the weapon. A billy club; this was an old piece of equipment, "Hmm..." Judging by the trajectory where it hit the wall it must've come from the opposite building. Someone was looking out for him, "I gotta go. Make sure you both call the police."

He climbed up the building and found no one there, "Being shy now?" He knelt down and looked at the faint imprint of footsteps on the dusty roof. It led straight ahead. He knew it was deliberate, but his spider-sense hadn't said anything so far.

Peter found the figure standing at the edge of a tall building overlooking a large chunk of Hell's Kitchen. Peter landed on (mostly) gracefully and stood up quietly. The guy knew he was there.

"You dropped this." He tossed it lightly over his shoulder. The red-clad man reached out and grabbed it mid-throw easily, "...Don't say much, do you?" He walked closer. Peter wasn't too surprised to see him. Ever since the Initiative the amount of vigilantes in colorful costumes increased to match the new Supervillains. At least some of them had to be competent.

"I didn't think I'd ever want you to hear me speak." Peter stopped. The voice was all too familiar, "How'd you enjoy your homecoming, Peter? Was it exactly like you thought it'd be?" He couldn't see his face, but he knew the bastard was smiling, "It's odd, isn't it? This place holds foul memories for both of us and yet we find ourselves drawn to it. The grime and filth is home for us both, huh?"

He turned around. His entire body sans his jaw was was covered in a dark red, armored material and at his side was the other half of the billy club. He might've mistaken the attire as a normal armored suit if not for the horns atop the mask's forehead.

He was face to face with the Devil of Hell's Kitchen.

"...Matt." Peter's fists balled up into tight fists and whatever sense of calm he had was replaced with a white hot burning anger. Of course he knew that Matt hadn't died that night at Times Square, but he'd always assumed the Chaste would slit his throat once they got all the information out of him.

His lips curled up in a smirk and he took off his mask. The same face he remembered except for his eyes. Instead of the crimson slits what met his gaze was a pair of dull gray irises that held no trace of the Beast's influence. It didn't do anything to calm him down.

"What, nothing to say?" Matt spread his arms wide, "I was looking forward to this."

He had a lot of things to say - why was he alive, how didn't anyone else kill him yet, what was he doing playing around dressed like the devil - but nothing came. He stepped closer till they were close enough for Peter to reach out and wring his neck and watch the life fade from his cold, unfocused eyes, "You..." He couldn't continue. If he did he couldn't be sure he wouldn't just scream in complete frustration.

So he did the first thing he could think of.

He punched him in the face. Hard.

A bit shorter than my usual, but felt appropriate since this was the beginning. Anyway, we've got our new status quo: Gwen's still a big time Avenger, Cindy's been slotted into law enforcement as a special aid, Lana's juggling school life and being a an Initiative Hero and Noir's back to get rid of the last of the Hand.

Speaking of the Hand, we have the returning character of Matt Murdock, now known as the Daredevil. I know some people are annoyed that he's back given how much spotlight he took last time, but I'm hoping that without the Beast and his insane plot armor he can stand on more equal ground with the rest of the cast.

Anyway, a short version of the stuff that happened in the timeskip - Avengers disabled HYDRA; SHIELD was disbanded (except not really); the 50 States Initiative kicked off so there are heroes in every state now; the Terrigen Mist came down over New York (but no Inhuman royal family, at least so far; The Skrulls tried to invade and got their butts handed to them; and the Asgardians arrived and settled at Cleveland after Ragnarok happened.

Next chapter might take a bit longer than the last, so hopefully this one was enjoyable :)

Questions:

1. Who should be Noir's roommate? Gwen is the only one to make an offer this chapter but there are other options available. The choices are: Cindy Moon, Gwen Stacy, Norah Winters...and Matt Murdock.

The tone differs dependent on who he's staying with. Cindy's will focus more on plot and crime, Gwen on lighthearted stuff and romance, Norah on humor and friendship and Matt...well, not sure, but I'm pretty sure it's gonna be ugly.

Lana was going to be a choice as well but I cut her out since one of her themes is independence. MJ as well was going to be a choice over Norah but Gwen would probably veto that hard. Matt might have killed Peter once, but he definitely didn't say he wanted both him and Gwen at the same time like MJ has.

...Five bucks says Matt will win this vote, though.

2. For all my old readers, a question: does this story still 'feel' like Earth-65? I've gotten reviews (positively) saying that this world is basically an original one with Earth-65 as a base. I'm curious if others feel the same.