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MISADVENTURES IN PARADISE
viii. DOING THE RIGHT THING

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   PETER COULDN'T STOP PACING. His heavy gaze was trained on the closed door, where Beck was tending to Riley's burns on the other side.

   No one spoke for the hours that came.

   It was strange. Not the fact that one of their soldiers was teetering between life and death. That happened every other day. It was the fact that it was Riley. She, who survived explosions, kidnappings, wars, attempted assassinations, universal decimations, and time travel, was finally reaching the end of the line.

   Peter hated this. He hated that it was her. He hated that Beck seemed to be the only person on this planet that could save her. He hated the lack of updates, the anticipation, the fear of losing her again. His heart was glass. It cracked with every breath.

   An agent soon asked, "Who's going to call the Starks?"

   "Not me," another said. "I don't wanna be on the same planet as the Starks when they find out. Or any of the Avengers."

   "She's barely been back for a year, and she's already back to almost dying. Maybe Fury was right. Valor will be a weapon until the day she dies... which could be tonight."

   "What if she does?" another fretted. "Will anyone believe us?"

   "I wouldn't. She's indestructible. She isn't supposed to die. Not like this."

   "What, by saving the world?"

   "I don't know." The agent shrugged. "I always thought she'd die of old age, with a family of her own, maybe retired after bossing us all around for a few decades. She's survived every war. She's not supposed to die like this. She can't."

   Peter could agree. Mostly because he didn't know what he'd do if she did die tonight.

   She'd slipped through his fingers so easily. He couldn't live with himself knowing he was right there. He could've prevented this. He could've saved her. There could've been another way. Riley would've found another way.

   All conversations fell when a stone-faced Fury finally exited his office, with Maria in tow. They'd been privately debating something for the past hour, something even Peter couldn't hear. All he caught was, "How are we going to tell him?" He assumed they meant Tony.

   How would Peter face Tony? Pepper? Morgan? His heart dropped further at each name. What about Roman? The other Avengers? They would be crushed, and nothing could be done. She could never be avenged. The monster was gone, but the scorch was permanent.

   How was anyone supposed to keep living without her?

   How was he?

   Peter was about to ask if Fury could get them an update on Riley, but he approached him first.

   "We need to talk," Fury stiffly said. "You got gifts, Parker, but you didn't wanna be here."

   "Mr. Fury, I—"

   "I want you on this team. I want you with us in Berlin and wherever the wind takes us next. But you've got to decide whether you're going to step up or not," Fury scolded.

   Peter tried to remain composed, but his voice had an edge as he said, "Shouldn't we be worrying about Riley right now? This doesn't matter."

   "Let me tell you something, Parker. I've known Riley since she was a baby. That's longer than anyone else on this planet. I've been worried about her ever since I met her. You don't get to tell me what matters right now." Tension caught Fury's jaw, cementing his glare. "Stark chose you. He made you an Avenger. I need that, and if Riley doesn't walk out of here, the world will need that. Are you prepared to fill her shoes? I don't know if you are. Maybe Stark was wrong. Was he? The choice is yours."

   That was another punch to the gut, but the tears refused to fall. He needed to be strong. For her.

   Beck stepped out of his workspace. He was still in his suit. Exhaustion tugged his blood-crusted face. He hadn't stopped to breathe since the fight.

   "The treatment is actively combating Riley's wounds. There's no telling how effective it'll be, as your Earth hasn't yet invented certain pharmaceuticals we would've used back home, but she's stable. For now," Beck reported. "I won't be able to assess the damage until the treatment runs its course. Worst case scenario, we can expect blindness, and we'll have to amputate her hands unless you have the technology to regenerate tissue and muscle."

   Peter should've just been thrilled she was alive, but he felt sick. She would never be the same.

   Fury turned to Maria. "There are some calls we can make."

   They left without another word, and Peter made a beeline for Riley.

   "Hey, slow down." Beck grabbed him by the shoulders, and it wasn't until then that Peter noticed his hands were newly bandaged. Later, he'd learn Beck took on some new burns from treating Riley, but he was able to treat them immediately. "It isn't safe for you to go in there without proper gear. Besides, she's resting. Give her time."

   "Are you sure?" Peter timidly asked. "I don't know what I'll do if—"

   "I'm sure," Beck promised. "Come on, let's get a drink."

   It was the last thing Peter wanted. If no one was in his way, he would've glued himself to Riley's bedside, no matter how dangerous it was. He needed to be by her side, through sleep, through waking, through realizing what happened and what would come next. She would need him, and he would be there for every second of it. He didn't care what she looked like or what this accident turned her into. He would be beside her for every breath she took for the rest of his life.

   But Beck was persistent. It took some convincing before Peter let himself get dragged to the tiny bar down the street. It was mostly empty. Those there managed to ignore how the superhero newcomer, Mysterio, sat among them, enjoying a beer. Underneath the dim lighting, Peter sipped his lemonade, thinking of everything he wanted to say to Riley later.

   If she survived.

   Beck slapped a bandaged hand on his shoulder. "Cheer up. She'll be okay."

   He stared at his drink, uneasy. "I hope you're right."

   "Hey, don't forget. We did something good tonight. You gotta celebrate," Beck reminded. "It's what she'd want for both of us."

   Peter nearly snapped. What the hell did Beck know about his Riley?

   But Beck was right. Riley wouldn't want him moping and sulking, especially not in public. He could hear her now: "If someone snaps a pic of you being sad in public, they'll either start rumors about you or turn it into a meme, which is objectively worse than gossip."

   "I don't know..." Peter hesitated. "It's not just Riley. Fury was right. Tony did a lot for me, so... I owe it to him, to Riley, to everybody."

   "Do you?"

   "Yeah, I mean..." He shrugged. "Mr. Stark gave me the chance to be more. He wanted me to be better than him. And Fury just wants me to live up to that."

   "What do you want, Peter?"

   He wasn't expecting that. He sat up straighter. "What do you mean?"

   "What do you want?" The way Beck asked it made it seem so simple.

   Peter scoffed. "I don't know..."

   "What do you want?" Beck rallied. "Peter Parker. Now. I know you're thinking about it—!"

   "I wanna be with Riley!" Peter burst. "I wanna be with her because I know how she gets when things get bad. She... lets herself get stuck, and I can't let that happen. And... I wanna go on my trip! I wanna go back on my trip with my friends. I want Riley to recover, and I want to tell her I still have feelings for her, that I'll always have feelings for her, and... and... give her a kiss!"

   Beck's weary face lit up. "Woah," he teased.

   To Peter's surprise, he smiled, too. "Shut up, man."

   Beck chuckled. "You're not gonna do that, are you?"

   "No, I can't."

   "Why not!?" Beck contested.

   "Because I have too much of a responsibility. And Riley's going through too much to even think about dating, especially right now—" A waitress interrupted him. Peter couldn't understand Czech, but he saw she was trying to give him something he dropped. He gasped. "Oh my God, thank you so much."

   "What are those? Are those the...?" Beck wondered.

   "EDITH glasses, yeah." Peter wiped the lens on his shirt.

   "And they were just on the floor?" Beck accused, earning a sheepish glance. "Try them on. Let's see how they look, come on."

   It was odd smiling after what happened tonight, but Peter understood now. Beck was only trying to cheer him up.

   Sliding the glasses onto his nose, Peter turned to give him a proper glance at the large, notably Stark-esque frames. "I actually really like them."

   "Can I be completely honest with you?"

   "Please," Peter invited.

   "They look really stupid. But maybe they have a contact lens version!"

   "Oh." Peter removed the glasses. "Alright, you try them on."

   "No, come on," Beck dismissed, laughing.

   "Try them on."

   "I don't wanna try them on—"

   "Just put them on!" Peter gently demanded, practically shoving them into his hands.

   A resigned sigh escaped Beck as he finally put the glasses on. He asked what Peter thought, but he wasn't listening anymore. Seeing the glasses on someone else might've been the clearest Peter's mind had been all night. That warm familiarity of seeing those glasses on another man's face, it reminded him so much of Tony. Studying Beck, Peter heard the words roll through his memories.

   "For the next Tony Stark, I trust you," Peter mumbled. He said it again, louder, with more conviction, "For the next Tony Stark, I trust you."

   "What?"

   "Mr. Stark left me a message with those glasses: For the next Tony Stark, I trust you."

   "I'm still not following. How many lemonades have you had?"

   "He and Riley knew every mistake I ever made," Peter hurriedly said. "They must've known I wasn't ready for something like this!"

   Beck's head tilted. "Why would they give it to you?"

   "Because maybe they didn't trust me to have EDITH, they just trusted me to pick someone who should. That's why Riley and I took that break. She didn't want me so submerged in the hero life. She wanted me to make a choice bigger than myself. That's what she's always tried to teach me," Peter realized. "It makes so much more sense! They knew I'd do what's right! And it's not like they'd give 'em to Fury because Fury would just give himself EDITH."

   "You're probably right about that," Beck conceded.

   "Right, and Riley's been saying how the team's fallen apart since Thanos. The world needs the next Iron Man, the next guy that's gonna lead the Avengers next to Valor," Peter continued. "And it's not gonna be me. I mean, I'm just a kid from Queens. It needs to be an adult with some experience that's good. Like Tony Stark. Like you."

   Beck's face contorted. He immediately yanked off the glasses. "No, Peter, come on. No."

   Ignoring him, Peter took the glasses and put them back on. "EDITH?"

   "Hello, Peter," EDITH greeted.

   "Hi. Yeah, um... I'd like to transfer your control over to Quentin Beck."

   Beck's eyes were wide. "Peter, what are you doing!?"

   "Doing the right thing," Peter said.

   "Any transfer will require confirmation."

   "The Starks gave you the glasses!" Beck argued.

   "The Starks gave me a choice! It's my choice to make, okay? And I'm gonna make it," Peter fired back. "You're a soldier, a leader. You stopped the Elementals. You saved my life, you saved Riley's life, you saved the world! Okay? They'd want you to have them."

   "Waiting for confirmation."

   Beck's gaze softened as Peter confirmed the transfer. He removed the glasses for the last time and handed them to the man he believed would end up being his new mentor.

   With a smile, Peter declared, "Welcome to the Avengers." All things considered, he decided to let himself be excited to say those words to someone else. "They look good on you."

   The look on his face, as he wore the EDITH glasses, was one Peter would never forget. They shook hands, and that seemed to make it official.

   Peter rose, grabbing his belongings. "Mr. Stark would like you, you know."

   "I hope to meet him someday," Beck said. "Where you headed?"

   "Back to HQ. I wanna be there when Riley wakes up. And if she doesn't soon, I gotta head back to my class. They'll be wondering where I went."

   "Hopefully, she'll wake up soon, then, and you can pour your heart out to her," Beck teased. "Good luck, kid. I'll give you about a 50-50 chance. You're pretty awkward."

   "Yeah," Peter laughed. He had no clue Riley adored that about him. "See you later, man."

   "See you."

   And if Peter bothered looking back one last time, maybe he would've seen the sinister smile carve through Beck's face as the illusion of the tiny bar disintegrated. Maybe then he would've realized the mistake he'd made.

   But he didn't. Peter didn't look back once as he returned to HQ, to Riley.

   He was more hopeful than before. She had a chance. She could be okay. She was under the care of the smartest, most connected minds across the galaxy. All she needed was some rest and a bit of... sunlight!

   Of course! He nearly forgot! The sun always healed her. It was an unspoken agreement between them, a contract she signed years ago. If she survived until dawn, she would be okay. Peter picked up the pace. He needed to make sure her colleagues knew that, too. In the end, it could make all the difference in the world.

   HQ was in chaos when he arrived. Something shifted. The air was thick with the tension of words whispered behind his back. Agents raced back and forth, arms filled with medicine and supplies. Few were dressed in whatever makeshift protective gear they had on deck. Peter tried asking what happened, but they skillfully ignored him unless it was to shoot him a knowing glance.

   That was when he heard a shout. "CODE BLUE!"

   "WHERE THE HELL IS BECK?" Fury roared from behind the closed door, the one that led to Riley.

   As if on cue, Beck burst through the doors. He couldn't have caught up so fast unless he was flying or running like his life depended on it. It must've been the latter, as his face bloomed brightly and his breaths were heavy. Because the truth was, a life did depend on how fast he returned to HQ.

   "I'M HERE!" Beck bellowed. "TALK TO ME!"

   Peter glided toward him. "What's happening—?"

   "I got a notification as soon as Riley's vitals started crashing. Came as fast as I could," Beck announced as agents swarmed him.

   "She's going into respiratory arrest," one reported.

   The glass composing Peter's heart cracked again. "I thought you said she was fine! What d'you mean she's—?"

   "I'd love to sit and chat with you about this, but we only have minutes," Beck said. "LET'S MOVE, PEOPLE! OUT OF MY WAY!"

   "Minutes before what?" Peter cried. "Beck—!"

   "If her respiratory system's collapsing, her heart's at risk, too," Beck frantically said. "I feared this would happen. She's burning from the inside out now. The burns have spread to her internal organs. They collapse the paths of airflow and work through the rest of your body until only bones remain. We need to—"

   "Let me help—!"

   "I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!" Beck shouted. "I need to save her— I need to—" He unwillingly inhaled when he saw the tears stinging Peter's eyes. "Kid, you need to let me handle this. There's nothing you can do except get in my way."

   "There has to be something—"

   "I know what I'm doing. But I can't save her if you keep stalling. You could be the reason she dies tonight. Do you understand?" Beck snapped as he covered himself up again. "Go back to your class. Someone will update you once she's stable. You have my word."

   Bloody crescent moons dug into his palms as Peter's hands became fists. He fought the urge to punch the nearest wall, knowing it would collapse and give him another thing to worry about. He fought the urge to grab Beck by the neck until he turned blue and accuse him of lying about her condition when they left. He fought the urge to run into the room where Riley was dying and embrace the Fire Elemental's everlasting flame, too.

   Peter didn't welcome this side of himself very often. He didn't trust himself when he was like this: frustrated, desperate. It made him realize how weak was most of the time. He felt like he was burning from the inside out, too, releasing the parts of him that made him soft. His kindness, his patience, his heart. He let his ashes gather. If she burned, he would, too.

   She's going to be okay, Peter tried telling himself, but he wasn't even sure what that word meant anymore. Okay. Even as he muttered it, even as he was ushered out by other agents, he couldn't tell if he liked the sound of it. She's going to be okay.

   Would she?

   Would he?

   Peter had no choice but to return to his class. They wouldn't let him back into HQ. It was Beck's order, and Fury was almost too eager to enforce it. The path back to the hotel was long, stamped by Peter's stomps. He couldn't tell if his hands trembled because he wanted to sob or because he wanted to scream.

   Everyone on the planet seemed to be talking about Valor's accident. It was on every TV screen, every app, every news outlet. Her name followed Peter in hushed whispers, but it blared in his ears as if the universe wanted him to hear it. As if the universe relished in his misery.

   Among several worried texts from May, Ned, and MJ came even more missed calls from Tony. Peter swiped the notification away. Tony was the last person he wanted to talk to right now. He deserved to know what happened, but Peter wasn't ready to tell his idol how he let his daughter get hurt. And maybe killed.

   "Peter, oh my God!" Ned ran out of his room in a white bathrobe and pulled him into a hug. "We almost died!"

   Peter patted his back. "It's okay. You're okay, man." At least he was able to save his friends back there. He didn't know what he'd do if he lost Ned, too.

   "Have you been crying? Never mind, everyone's been crying. And freaking out. And tweeting aggressively," Ned reported. "Is Riley okay? That was insane—"

   "I don't know. She's... She could... I don't know. Everyone at HQ is helping her as much as they can," Peter stammered. "I don't know the details, they wouldn't tell me."

   "She'll be okay. She's Riley," Ned assured, but he hadn't seen what Peter saw. "The good news is that your mission's over. The bad news is the trip's over, too."

   "What!?"

   "There's monsters coming out of the ground everywhere we go. Of course, our parents would want us home."

   "Please don't put me on hold—" Mr. Harrington floated into the hallway. He gasped when he spotted Peter, rushing forward and pulling him into an awkward hug. "Oh, Peter! You're not dead! Oh my God. Yes, good. Stay here. Don't— Uh, put some clothes on. We're booking flights!"

   Mr. Dell strode by after he left. "We came for science. We're leaving because of witches. Welcome to the new Dark Ages!"

   Peter turned to Ned. "What is going on, dude?"

   "We're going home in the morning."

   "No, no, no, all the Elementals are gone!"

   Was it Peter's fault for putting all of his happiness into this one trip? After his fight with Riley last month, this trip was the only thing that got him through the rest of the school year. Everything was falling apart.

   Betty called from across the hall, "Ned!"

   "Coming, sweetie!" Before leaving, Ned added, "She's been really down about Riley. I should go. I'm sorry, man. I'm here if you need me. Oh, by the way, MJ was looking for you. I think it was about Riley."

   A door to the right swung open. "Hey, can you guys keep it down?" Flash asked miserably, sniffling. "My followers and I are watching Valor compilations on my live-stream."

   The door closed. Another next to it opened.

   "Peter, hey!" MJ greeted. She was still in her floral dress. "I need to talk to you—"

   "I don't know what's happening with Riley," Peter grumbled, tugging on his backpack strap. "And I don't wanna talk about it."

   "Well, I do. Wait here."

   MJ shot back into her room, but Peter didn't wait. He pivoted and headed down the elevator, through the lobby, and out the door. He didn't want to talk to anyone. He wanted to be alone, but he knew he wouldn't be able to rest with everyone talking about Riley through the thin walls.

   He needed some air.

   "Peter, wait! It's important!"

   He cursed to himself. He hoped MJ would take a hint when he refused to slow down, but that only encouraged her.

   MJ panted as she ran up to him and grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop. "Hey, what's the matter with you? I need to talk to you. It's about Riley. I saw what happened—"

   "Everyone did, MJ," Peter snapped. "What do you want? What, you have another conspiracy theory about what happened? Another stupid theory about the government and aliens? Give me a break."

   "I'd be hurt if it wasn't true," MJ slowly said. "Except I don't think it's much of a theory exactly."

   "You're ridiculous. Leave me alone."

   "No!" MJ argued. "This is important to me. Riley is important to me."

   "She's important to me, too! More than any of you could understand!" Peter yelled. "You weren't there! You didn't see her! You didn't see the fire blind her. You didn't see it melt through her skin and muscle until only bones remained. She's dying right now, and there's nothing I can do about it! You think that's something I want to talk about? You think it's that easy, to just have a heart-to-heart and move on? You're out of your mind."

   MJ's eye twitched. "You know they used to execute people on this bridge?" she asked, motioning to where they stood. "They would put them in a basket, and they would drown in the water. Do you want me to demonstrate?"

   "MJ, I—"

   "Am Spider-Man."

   "What?"

   "You're Spider-Man," MJ asserted. "You're a goddamn superhero. And you're the only person I know that can help Riley right now. So you're going to shut up and listen to me when I say that the Riley you saw tonight wasn't the real Riley."

   Peter blinked. Some of the red in his vision faded. "What are you talking about? That wasn't a fake Riley. That was her. It was me— Not me. It was the Night Monkey, Mysterio, Valor, and the Elemental. That's what they said on the news, and the news... never lies. What are you doing?"

   MJ wasn't listening. "You know Susan Yang thinks you're a male escort? I considered making something up to defend you, but Riley once told me that rumors are the best forcefield normal people have. You can use them for offense or defense if you're smart about it." She shrugged off her backpack and dug through it. "I was at the carnival earlier because I wanted to get away from Brad—"

   "Are you insane?" Peter demanded. "I made sure you guys would be stuck at the opera for a reason! First Ned and Betty, now you? You can't put yourself in danger like that, MJ! You could've been killed!"

   "No, I wouldn't have. Look." She pulled out a small metal contraption with webs strung around it. She set it down and pressed a button.

   A burst of light flashed between them. Peter shielded his eyes, backing away as clouds of smoke swirled, rising toward the moon. Flames crackled as the Fire Elemental materialized from it. Peter was about to dive to protect MJ when its hand swept across the bridge. Except it never made contact. It moved straight through them.

   "Not my boys, hothead!" Riley appeared, using forcefields to hurt the monster.

   The Fire Elemental and Riley suddenly vanished. The metal object winked at them innocently.

   Peter whipped around. The Fire Elemental completely wrecked the carnival earlier, but the bridge was still in one piece. "The hell was that?" he asked.

   "I don't know. Some kind of projector or something."

   "Yeah, but it's really advanced..." Peter inched toward it and took it in his hands warily. "You found this at the carnival?"

   "Yeah, you kind of threw it at me," MJ said. "I took it, and when I was messing with it, that happened. It looked so real."

   "Yeah... Really real..." Peter pressed the button again, watching the projection emerge. The same scene replayed. No damage came from it. When Riley stood before them, he reached for her, only for his hand to pass through her cheek. "Wait, the Elementals are fake? That doesn't make any sense because we were there, right? There was fire and destruction, and... Who would do something like that?"

   "The only person who's been making himself look a little too good out there. Someone who made sure to get Riley out of the picture because he knew she'd figure out everything before anyone else." MJ pointed up as the projection changed, revealing a newly discovered fifth Elemental — a grim creature made of storm clouds, scarred with lightning bolts and a jagged mouth that craved death — as it fought Beck. "Mysterio."

   Peter couldn't breathe.

   It wasn't real. None of it. Not the destruction, the damage reaped, the Elementals, Mysterio. It was all a lie.

   Was that why Riley was being so weird this week? The constant looking over her shoulder, the questioning, the jumpiness, the fighting with Fury. Did she figure it out before everyone else, or was she a second too late?

   Quentin Beck spun a careful web, and they'd all gotten stuck in it. Even Peter. Even Fury and Hill. Maybe even Riley. And, whatever Beck's goal was, he would succeed with the help of the EDITH glasses Peter just incidentally gave him.

   "This is what I was trying to tell you!" MJ insisted. "I don't know what to do. Roman wasn't answering, and Riley... I don't know where she is. I need Spidey's help. Are you with me or not?"

   Peter turned, his face paling with realization. "I am Spider-Man," he said as if to remind himself he wasn't a weak kid anymore. He was a hero. And the world needed saving. "And I've really messed up."

   "Thank you!" MJ yelled. "What are we going to do? If the Elementals and Mysterio aren't real, who are we supposed to call? Is Fury real? Can we trust him? How do we know which Riley is the real Riley, and what did Mysterio do to her—?"

   "MJ, MJ! I know you have a lot of questions, but we really have to get out of here, okay? Come on."

   She nodded fervently, following after him. "Okay. Okay. I can't believe I figured it out. I'm a freakin' spy!"

   They regrouped in Peter's hotel room, where he quickly caught MJ up to speed.

   "I can't believe I gave Beck those glasses. How could I be that stupid?" Peter drew the curtains while his laptop booted up. Morning was already nearing. "He's probably spying on me right now or sending a drone to come and kill me. No wonder Riley's been so jumpy lately. You can't stalk a secret agent without them knowing."

   "You had access to killer drones?" MJ asked.

   "Yeah. I didn't really want them, especially after I almost killed—" Peter stopped mid-sentence.

   "You almost killed someone?"

   Peter stepped away from the laptop, eyeing his phone. "Look, I have to call Mr. Fury and tell him Beck's a fraud, but I think he tapped my phone. And if he has access to EDITH, he has access to Stark tech, which means Tony, Pepper, Morgan, and Roman could be in danger, too."

   "They have to know. At least Tony."

   "Probably, but they can't exactly act if Beck's watching us. They have to act like they don't know anything or Beck will send the drones after them, too."

   "So, it's up to you. What are you gonna do?" MJ asked.

   "I need my suit, and I have to go to Berlin and talk to Mr. Fury in person," Peter explained, starting to throw things into his backpack. "I have to take a chance on him being the real deal. I'll get Ned to call May, and she'll convince Mr. Harrington to let me stay with family in Berlin until this all blows over. It'll give me time to figure all of this out."

   "Wow, you lie with such ease. What about Riley?"

   "What about Riley?"

   "She's missing, remember? You fought with a fraud," MJ said. "So, maybe she's not burning to death."

   "Unless he already killed her." Rage flooded his senses again. Peter pinched the bridge of his nose, wishing it could make his thoughts align more coherently. This was all too much for him to process. "I'm so stupid. I thought she was being weird earlier. I should've realized."

   "Yeah, she'd never call that fire monster a hothead. She's funnier than that," MJ agreed. "I don't think she's dead. Mysterio only has drones. She's stronger than him."

   "If he's been fooling all of us, he must've found a way to get in her head, too."

   "I don't think you're listening to me completely," MJ insisted. "Pete, if the Elementals and Mysterio are fake... if everything was all a lie... if we know our Riley could kick Mysterio's ass in seconds... if the Riley you fought with tonight is a fraud..."

   It clicked as she spoke.

   "Then where the hell is Riley?"

○ ○ ○

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

The way this is the first chapter in the entire trilogy that Riley, the main character, isn't in lol.

I don't know how you all feel about the chapters that focus on other characters' "perspectives", but I hope you're enjoying them! It's been fun writing them (Peter, MJ, and Roman, specifically) and giving insight into their thoughts, even if that doesn't exactly track throughout the entire trilogy. I've been using this story as a chance to get more creative/experimental, and I'm really loving it! Feel free to let me know what you think about the story, especially about how I've been writing FFH / Peter and MJ's friendship (not that I'm planning a love triangle, I just want to know if I'm doing okay there lmao).

Thanks for all the love and patience always. I have a few more tricks up my sleeve for the rest of FFH, so... get excited!!

With love, Liza