It wasn't until early morning the next day that Peter came in to wake her up. He gently shook her shoulder. "Hey, Tony told me to come get you up..."

Aurora groaned lightly, pulling the cover over her head. A pounding headache kept her from wanting to get up. "Is it time to go already?" She mumbled.

Peter shook his head. "He got us some food first then he's gonna let him know we're coming over-" He explained.

"Oh, okay." She figured she'd get some painkillers in her system after she ate something. She pulled the cover off her face and sat up with a yawn. "I'm up."

Peter laughed a bit. "He got doughnuts." He told her as he headed to the door.

Aurora stood up, a bit too quickly than her body liked, and had to grip the bedside table to keep from falling over. She waited for a moment before following after.

Peter waited for her and lead her to the kitchen island where Tony was waiting.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" He asked her.

"I don't know if I broke the fever, but I woke up with a headache." Aurora answered, after having come into the kitchen.

Tony frowned a little bit and checked her. "Yeah you still got one... let's get some food in you and see if some meds will help kick it."

"Hopefully. It'd be embarrassing to show up sick." She picked up a doughnut to munch on. She strangely enough wasn't that hungry, but it felt nice to eat something.

Tony laughed a bit. "I'd actually prefer if you stayed here if you're still not doing great but we will see."

"Ugh..." She groaned. It was logical, yeah, but she really wanted to go. She wanted to see Kasey again so she could apologize.

He chuckled. "Just eat and relax." He told her.

"I can try but there's no guarantee." She warned, continuing to eat on the treat.

Tony sighed. "That works for me."

Aurora turned, leaning her back against the counter as she finished off the treat. She should've kicked the fever by now.

"Here," Tony handed her some meds. "Take that and we'll see how you're doing."

"Thanks." She took the meds and popped them in her mouth, before getting herself a cup of water to wash them down with.

Peter was on his third doughnut at this point. "Are we sure she isn't getting sick?" He asked Tony.

Tony shrugged. "Friday didn't detect anything earlier."

Aurora finished the glass of water, and set the glass in the sink, once again trying to ignore the shaking of her hands.

Guess I was more stressed than I thought.

Peter frowned, noticing slightly. "Aura? You okay?"

"Hm?" She crossed her arms over her chest, tucking her hands. "Yeah I'm fine!"

Peter frowned. "Aura..." That was so suspicious.

"Seriously. I got a bit of water on my hands and was just shaking it off." She explained it away. Was it denial? Probably.

Peter seemed unsure but let it be, taking another bite of his doughnut.

"Alright, I'm gonna let him know we'll be headed over soon then." Tony told them. "Aurora, are you absolutely sure you're up for the trip?"

"For sure! That medicine should be kicking in sometime on the way over, so I'll be better there than I am now." She theorized. "I just need to shower then I'll be good to go."

Tony nodded. "Alright. I'll let him know then." He pulled out his phone to text him.

Aurora headed off to the showers, making quick work of it. That included undoing the bandaging to her wound and rewrapping it.

Peter grabbed the webbing for Kasey and got ready to go while they waited.

Aurora came out in her newly patched suit, pulling the mask over her head. She felt a bit better after the shower, so she assumed the medicine had kicked in. Her headache was duller, but still present.

"Alright, you two ready?" Tony asked.

"Yep!" Peter agreed with a thumbs up.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Aurora chirped, basically buzzing to get going.

Tony nodded, activated his suit and stepped onto the balcony and took off, Peter swinging after him.

Aurora was last, taking off after the two. It was a little harder to catch her breath than normal, and the pain in her side spiked with each swing.

—

It was around the same time that Matt started to stir from his place on the couch, the sound and smell of Claire cooking again, bringing him out of his slumber.

Kasey was still curled up against him, sound asleep.

Matt reached a hand up, rubbing at his eyes in an attempt to wipe away the grogginess. He stretched what he could, with Kasey still attached to him. "Morning." He grumbled.

Claire looked over and smiled. "Morning." She replied. "Pancakes are almost done."

"Pancakes? I'm beginning to think I should break my leg more often." He chuckled lightly.

"Mmm, mind you I'm trying to keep her fed too." She pointed out with a smirk.

"You really are like a saint, you know that?" He told her truthfully. She had been nothing but kind and helpful, save for when she was going after him for not resting properly.

Claire laughed a bit. "Are you trying to flatter me so I don't tell anyone about how attached she is to you?" She teased him.

"No, I-" He paused. "...maybe." He joked, sporting a grin. This past couple of days hadn't been great luck-wise, but it was nice to spend time with his friends.

She laughed. "I knew it. You know, I have half a mind to call and tell Foggy right now." She teased him.

Kasey stirred a bit, making a small confused humming noise. "What???" She mumbled as she slowly blinked awake.

"Don't you dare-" He began to protest, but stopped when Kasey began to stir. "Morning Kasey. Looks like you slept pretty well through the night."

She hummed a bit and slowly sat up, rubbing at her eyes. "It's morning????"

Claire laughed. "Yeah, pancakes just finished too."

Kasey tilted her head towards her a bit. "They smell really good..."

"Hopefully you got some sleep too, Claire?" Matt asked, stretching the rest of what he hadn't before, after Kasey sat up.

She nodded. "I did. Unlike you, I don't resist it when I get tired-" She teased.

"Okay, ouch." Matt responded lightheartedly, but was happy that she had gotten some rest too. He nudged Kasey softly. "You sleep okay?"

Kasey tilted her head toward him a little bit before nodding. "Yeah... I'm still groggy but I actually feel somewhat rested so that's nice..."

Claire smiled a bit at that. Yet another thing for her to add to the list of reasons why she's his kid now.

"That's good. Sounds like you're getting your energy back." Matt nodded, sitting up slightly.

She nodded a bit as Claire brought their plates to them so they didn't have to move from the couch.

Kasey thanked her and happily started eating the pancakes, her system finally happy to be getting some steady supply of food.

Matt began eating the food, turning towards Claire. "These are actually really good. Really good."

She grinned. "Considering the only thing I found to cook in your fridge was eggs, I'm sure they're better than they should be."

Kasey suddenly remembered the groceries and swore a little. "I completely forgot we had even gone to get groceries and they never made it home-"

"Yeah..." Matt laughed lightly and finished his plate of pancakes. "We had picked up some groceries from the corner store before-" He made a vague motion with his hand. "Everything happened."

Claire chuckled. "Good thing I brought stuff then."

Kasey nodded at that. "Very good." She agreed, finishing another pancake.

Matt set his plate down on the coffee table after finishing. He had to admit, those were better than any pancake he had tried to cook in the past.

Claire took her plate and Matt's to the sink again as Kasey was still eating from the couple Claire had brought over.

"You're really hungry, huh?" Claire asked her.

"Hmm??? Oh-" She finished her bite. "It's cause of my metabolism." She explained. "Apparently spider powers means enhanced metabolism so we burn through food pretty quickly."

"Oh, that actually explains a lot." Matt responded with a hint of surprise. "That would also explain how the IV drip wasn't exactly working until we turned it up."

Claire nodded. "Yeah. It explains a lot." She agreed.

Kasey chuckled a bit. "I didn't even think to say anything about it-"

"Well, it wasn't really relevant before then. No one could've predicted what would happen." Matt shrugged lightly.

Kasey shrugged. "Yeah, fair enough." She agreed.

Matt paused, hearing his phone ping from where he had left it the day before, on his bedside table. It seemed Tony had texted him.

Claire noticed it as well and went to get it and bring it back. "Looks like they're about to head this way." She told him.

Kasey looked a bit nervous at that.

Matt picked up on the nervousness, and nudged her lightly. "Don't be so worried. I'll talk with Tony and explain everything. You can focus on spending time with your friends if you'd prefer that."

She looked at him before nodding. "Please... I don't wanna waste energy arguing with him..."

"Then I'll talk to him as soon as he gets here. Save your energy for other things." Matt told her with a curt nod.

Kasey nodded. "Thank you..."

"Don't worry about it kid." Matt grinned and ruffled her hair. "We should get ready, I can assume they'll be here shortly."

Kasey made a small squeak when he ruffled her hair, making it messier than it had been and she glared up at him playfully. "Well I would've been fine had you not messed my hair up-" She pouted at him.

Claire laughed at the two of them. "Alright, alright, both of you still need to get ready. Kasey, I did bring you another outfit." She told her.

"Oh! Thank you!" She grinned at Claire.

"Sorry kiddo." Matt chuckled and grabbed his crutch. "I should change too. I'm not a stickler for clean clothes, but I should probably be, with Tony Stark coming."

Kasey laughed. "Honestly, he probably wouldn't care too much. But it's up to you." She replied, taking the outfit from Claire and setting it in her lap.

"Still, I'd like to look somewhat nice." Matt joked, getting up and using his crutch to get back to his room. He shut the door behind him before changing into some new clothes. It took a little longer because of the cast, but he managed.

Kasey had let Claire look her stitches over and Claire was startled to find there wasn't a single trace of any of the injuries. Not even a scar. Only the stitches. So she carefully removed them and let her change.

She used her invisibility which spooked Claire at first before she revealed herself again, now in an outfit that fit her much better than what she stole from Matt but she kept the hoodie on.

She brushed through her hair and pulled it up into a high ponytail.

Matt came back out of his room once he had changed. He wore a long sleeved shirt, to cover the wrapped bite wound, and sweatpants that were stretchy enough to go over the cast. He came back out, taking a seat on one of the chairs.

Claire looked over at him. "After they leave, I need to check on your injuries too." She told him.

Kasey remembered last night and tensed up a little bit.

"Alright." He turned his head towards Kasey. He knew what happened last night was rough, but he didn't blame her for it. "Kasey wrapped one of them last night, and she did a fairly good job!" He didn't specify, and would explain it to Claire later, but wanted to lift Kasey up a bit.

Claire looked a bit confused but nodded, before seeing Kasey turn her head a bit.

"They're here." She told them.

Matt tilted his head in time to Kasey, picking up on the two thuds and one metallic clunk.

—

Peter stayed close to Aurora just in case but kept up with Tony as they swung across the city.

Aurora continued, as if nothing was bothering her. After all, they were already halfway there and it would be ridiculous if she turned back now.

Peter kept an eye on her as they swung, smiling a little when a few people spotted them.

Aurora waved to a few onlookers as they went. She could feel herself break out in a cold sweat, but summed it up to the movement.

Tony glanced back at them with a small laugh as he made sure they were keeping up.

"Don't act like you didn't eat up the press when you first came out as Iron Man!" Aurora exclaimed through the comms. It was a regretful action however, as another pain shot up from her wound. She half wondered if she had just pulled the stitches.

"Alright, alright! You make a good point." He laughed. "We're almost there."

Aurora saw the familiar building, and was glad to see it. She was one step closer to apologizing to Kasey. Although the thought of it made her heart race, as she grew increasingly nervous.

Peter landed on the roof top when Tony pointed it out and stumbled a little bit and turned to them as they landed next to him.

Aurora landed, holding her hands out to keep her balance. Not that she would admit, but she felt like she was going to pass out. She was back to feeling hot and cold, as if her body had already burned through the pain meds.

Peter looked at her. "You okay?" He asked her.

Claire went up and opened the door, startling Peter a little bit before he gave a small wave.

"Uh.... Hi?" He awkwardly greeted her.

Tony laughed a bit and walked over. "Hello again." He greeted her, let the armor disable.

"Yeah I just-" She was about to speak before Claire opened the door. She stood a little straighter and mimicked Peter by waving.

Matt figured he should at least stand and greet them when they came in, so he could talk to Tony before Tony got the chance to tell Kasey to go. He used his crutch to aid him as he waited by the stairs.

Claire chuckled. "Come on in, she's down here." She guided them inside.

Kasey sensed him stand up and hesitated, unsure if she should stay on the couch or come to his side or-

DANGER

Her senses peaked loud and sharply and her attention turned towards the stairs. 'What??'

"Thanks." Aurora spoke, a bit out of breath. Her chest almost felt heavy, and despite her hands being clothed, they felt awfully clammy. She stepped inside and immediately took hold of the stair railing.

"Welcome back, except I should say welcome for the first time to you, Spiderman." Matt spoke, hearing the sharp change to Kasey. He turned his head towards her in confusion. "Kasey?"

He had barely finished calling to her when she was darting past him and leapt up and onto the stair railing, just in front of Aurora, her eyes wide and fearful. "A-Aura?" She felt her senses peak again and quickly caught her when her legs buckled out from under her. "Aurora!" She cried.

Peter was about to respond to Matt when Kasey jumped up, startling him. "Wh- Kasey-?!" He stepped back when Aurora dropped into Kasey's hold.

Tony also stepped back before moving forward and putting a hand on her shoulder. "Webs?!"

It almost felt like Kasey had acted before Aurora even felt herself falling. She had thought that holding onto the railing would be enough to hold her up, but it was now apparent that wasn't the case. The next thing she knew, she was in Kasey's arms, and it felt like fire was shooting through her veins. "I-I'm sorry- I-" She tensed, finding it steadily harder to breathe.

Before Matt had even picked up on anything, Kasey had sped right past him, causing immediate alarm for him. He had only gotten a hint of what was going on before the chaos ensued.

Kasey looked at Tony, eyes a bit narrowed. "She's burning up and you let her come?!" She snapped at him.

He flinched. "Kasey, it wasn't this bad when we left!" He pointed out which Peter nodded rapidly at.

"It's true! She seemed to be able to handle it-" Peter replied.

Kasey didn't reply to that but picked up Aurora carefully and leapt back down and brought her to the couch. "You're sick, Aura... Like... dangerously sick." She told her, moving around the apartment as if she wasn't blind at all. She was too focused on Aurora to worry about it.

She grabbed a cold rag and brought it over to her. "You need to take your mask off." She told her firmly.

Aurora would've protested, hell she would've gotten up and left, if she was able to. But at this point she was done pushing all of it off, and done blaming it on things like stress. At this point, she knew something was wrong and she wasn't denying it. Her healing should've taken care of everything but it just. Wasn't.

It didn't help that she felt like she was almost suffocating with the damn thing on, so despite her better judgement, she reached up and tugged the mask off. She didn't need to look in the mirror to know she looked like death.

Matt heard the unsteady breathing and the irregular heartbeat. How he ended up with all of the wounded teenagers in his apartment, he'd never know. "Tony, what's going on with her?"

Tony had come down the stairs to try to figure out what was wrong, freezing for a moment when Kasey glared at him but sighed and came over. "I don't know. Friday, my AI, didn't detect anything... She was, or rather, is running a high fever but it wasn't this high before we left. She seemed and acted fine." He explained.

Peter looked upset and anxious. "You promised you'd tell us..." He told her, his arms wrapped around himself.

Kasey looked between them both. "Neither of you noticed?" She questioned.

"Like I said! Friday didn't see anything!" Tony argued with her.

"I did but she kept playing it off..." Peter answered honestly.

Kasey ran a hand through her hair, anxiety high. "She practically reeks of death!" She hissed at them.

"I'm sorry-" Aurora sucked in a sharp breath and turned her face inwards towards the couch. I just had to screw it all up. Again.

Her head was spinning, and she had to keep her eyes shut to avoid seeing double. She couldn't handle seeing two of the expressions of those around her.

Matt frowned at the sounds surrounding him. "I don't think now is the time for that sort of conversation! We need to figure out what the issue is." He could tell that the girl was sick, and it was steadily getting worse, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was from, considering he had next to no context.

Kasey looked away a bit when Matt told them off as Claire came over. "May I look at your cut again?" She asked Aurora before looking at Kasey. "Can you get the supplies?"

Kasey nodded and disappeared into Matt's room and came back with the stuff. "Here,"

"Thank you." Claire started pulling out some of her supplies.

Tony and Peter hung back, unsure of how to help.

Aurora couldn't do more than nod, and kept her head turned away from the rest of the group. She hated this. God! She hated it! She felt like she was on fire, and freezing, and suffocating all at the same time and she couldn't stand it. But she couldn't do anything against it either.

Matt came over to the two, motioning away from the others. "You two might want to wait somewhere until we can figure out what to do. You can take my room or head back to the roof. But... if you insist, I can't make you leave." He didn't want them to witness anything severe.

Peter hesitated, glancing over but nodded after a minute and disappeared up the stairs to wait.

Tony wanted to help but he trusted Claire at this point and sighed. "Let me know if you need anything." He told them.

Claire pulled her suit up and cut the bandages away after Tony left and took a sharp breath. "Holy shit kid-" It looked really bad.

Kasey whined and backed away, feeling sick when it became more exposed.

DANGER

WRONG

DEATH

Aurora turned her head slowly, not even knowing for herself if she wanted to see it. Her eyes widened and she turned her head sharply back to where it was, panic digging at her chest. It didn't look like that before!

The wound had become discolored, with purple-blue streaks splitting off from it. Her breathing quickened, and she felt like she wasn't able to get any air in.

"What the-" Matt had to cover his face from the exposed wound. It was bitter. He came over to Kasey, concerned when he heard her. "You don't have to stay if you're uncomfortable-"

She shook her head at him. "H-have too..." She replied.

Claire was quickly trying to figure out what was wrong. "I-I don't get it. I cleaned it out and stitched it up. It looked like you'd been keeping it that way so what the hell is going on?"

Kasey hesitated before grabbing her backpack and pulling her goggles out. "A-Atlas, full body scan."

"Right away!" Atlas quickly ran a scan over Aurora and quickly reported. "I'm detecting a toxin in her system. It seems to have spread very suddenly-"

That would explain the smell then.

"Can you tell what it is?"

"Uh, it may take a minute but I'll do my best!" He offered.

"Toxin?" Aurora gasped out, her mind going haywire. "I've been poisoned?!" She was trying her best not to panic, but everything was just getting to her. She gripped the couch cushion, cursing every action she had done leading up to this moment.

I screwed it all up.

He admired Kasey's decision to stick by her friend, and her quick thinking. "I don't have anything that could counteract poison." Matt frowned.

"Wait, it's because of the wound, right?" Kasey asked suddenly.

"Yes, but that doesn't give me much to work with-"

"But it gives me an idea." She dug her web shooters out of her backpack and moved to head to the stairs. "Do what you can till I get back-"

"No-!" Aurora's eyes widened and she went to sit up, only for the pain to increase and force her back down. She so badly wanted to claw at the wound, to break it off and never deal with it again. "Sh-she's going back-" She couldn't finish the rest of her sentence, a sob wracking through her.

Matt came over to the stairs, shouting up at her. "Kasey-!" He wanted to stop her, to keep her safe... He paused and remembered their conversation from earlier. "Be careful, don't let down your guard!"

She briefly stopped, glancing back towards Matt and nodded firmly before getting onto the roof.

Tony looked surprised to see her but she moved right past him and Peter before either could ask and simply said, "Stay here." And leapt off the roof and disappeared into the alleyway.

"Wh- Kasey!" Peter called after her in surprise. "What is she doing?!"

Tony shook his head. "I don't know."

Peter moved to follow but Tony stopped him. "Peter... she clearly has a plan. We..." He sighed reluctantly. "We need to try to trust her."

"That's not it, I trust her, I do!" Peter protested, turning towards where she went. "I trust her wholeheartedly, but that doesn't mean she won't get hurt trying to enact this plan of hers!" He exclaimed

"Stay here and update me if anything happens." With that said, he took off after Kasey, leaping into the alleyway below.

"P- damn it kid!" Tony sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Now he had three spiders to worry about...