Maria wakes to Bruno the pug climbing on top of her. She groans and tries to push him off, but he has gotten quite big over the few months of being in her apartment. At least the dogs let her sleep until eight in the morning. She gets up, stretches her aching limbs (her entire body is in pain from the fight last night), and slips on a robe.

Stumbling down the stairs the best she can, Maria makes her way to the kitchen and grabs all of the leashes. "You don't need to take them out." She looks over at Julia who is on the couch. "I already did a few hours ago."

"Did they wake you up?" Maria asks, chuckling.

"Nah, I didn't sleep last night," she responds nonchalantly.

"What? Jul-"

"Hey, before you lecture me, I know it's bad. Sorry I can't turn my brain off sometimes," she snaps. "Ugh, sorry. Sorry. Ignore me, I'm an idiot who deserves your anger. Honestly, I don't know why anyone puts up with me at this point."

"Are you done?"

She sighs. "I'm never done. That's the problem." Julia clicks a few more things on her laptop before finally looking at her sister and giving a smirk. "Come on, lighten up. It'll turn around. Just give it fifty years."

"Why do you insist on joking around?" she asks, not lifting her concerned tone. "I'm getting more worried about you."

"Okay, fair enough. Name one thing that you're worried about."

"Well, you said you're an idiot and deserve my anger for one."

Julia lets out a giant laugh. "You know I'm joking, right?"

"No, you're not."

She chuckles nervously. "That's the thing about words, I guess. You can interpret them however you want."

"No, that's not how words work." Maria walks over to her and sits on the other end of the couch. "You need to stop beating around the bush and tell me what's going on."

She takes a few deep breaths, trying to settle her heart. All of her thoughts mesh together in one, giant, misty cloud and she can't think of what to say. "I just... I need to get away from Max. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah... wait, was he over again?!" Once Julia nods, she puts a hand on her forehead. "You can kick him out, you know. This isn't his place, and I'm not comfortable with him being here. I don't care if he doesn't have any hostility with you, he HATES Aqua Spider. What happens when he finds out who you are?"

"That's why I applied for another apartment," she responds quickly. Like pulling off a band-aid.

"W... you what?"

"I applied for a place in Brooklyn, okay? I'm still going to ESU, don't worry, I just... I feel like I'm trapped right now. Max knows where I am, he thinks that I-"

"He's stalking you, basically," Maria says more calmly.

"Yeah, I guess. But, once I move to another borough, it'll all be fine. I talked with the landlord and he," she takes a breath, "understands the gravity of the situation. He won't be charging you for a two bedroom, but you can stay in this room. That way, your rent won't go up."

"I'm not worried about my rent. I'm worried about you living on your own," she admits. "I know it's not too far, but we've always been so close to one another. What if something happens in Brooklyn and I can't get to you?"

"We have to split up at some point, and I think the universe is telling me that now is the time. I'm sorry that I'm springing this on you so suddenly. I've been keeping it a secret for the entire week, but... I just didn't know how to handle it. I can't fight this, I need to run."

Maria takes a really long breath and nods. "Okay, I understand. Just... keep me updated on everything, please?"

"Of course."

"And you'll always text back?"

"Unless I'm working, but-" she cuts herself off when Maria gives her a glare. "Yes, always."

"When are you leaving?"

"Give me another week and I'm out of your hair," she responds jokingly.

She chuckles, shaking her head. "You're never a bother, you know."

"Oh, come on now," she says, keeping her lighthearted tone. "When are you gonna stop lying to me?"

INVERTED theme song!

"Uuuuuuugggggghhhhhhh!" Ethan rolls out of his bed and crashes on the floor, barely missing his nightstand. "My baaaack," he groans, crawling over to his dresser. He puts on some comfortable clothes for the cold winter day.

He goes over to the kitchen and makes a nice cup of hot chocolate. Right when it comes out of the microwave, he blows on the top gently and brings the cup to his mouth.

"Hey." The sudden noise makes Ethan jump and spill some of the beverage on his shirt.

"Agh! Awe, seriously?"

"Whoops, sorry bro. I didn't try to startle ya." Ethan looks over to see Olympic Spider sitting on his windowsill.

He is about to scold the teenager for scaring him, but then remembers how he went awol. "What the FUCK do you think you're doing here? You're supposed to be at the hospital! Do you know how sickly worried all of us were when you ran away? What the hell were you thinking?"

"Nice to see you, too," he jokes, taking off his mask.

Ethan actually drops his mug (thank goodness it's plastic) and spills his drink on the floor. He can not believe that his brother is bald, not counting the fact that he has a giant slash mark on the side of his head. "Oh my-"

"It's not as bad as it looks," he says cheerfully, trying to lighten the mood. "This is from the surgery, not Chameleon. He only did internal damage, which is mostly healed now."

He rubs his forehead and starts pacing. "So, let me get this straight. A guy named Chameleon did this to you?"

Andrew nods. "So, he was pretending to be a substitute teacher at my school because he thought all of us Spiderlings were students there..." He tells him the entire story up until the part where he bought a wig from a local salon. "And I was wondering if I could borrow some money to pay the stylist for the wig. I'll pay you back over time, don't worry."

"You don't have to pay me back, I'm buying it for you. I just can't believe..."

"Yeah, it's a pretty intense story," he says chuckling. "Honestly, I'm fine. As long as I don't see that Chameleon guy for a while, I'll recover."

The police over at the Raft are trying their best to file all of the criminals back into their cells. It's been one long night for everyone in New York it seems. They were able to chase that guy out of the Raft (the one who was trying to free all of the inmates), so they should be safe for now.

"We are teaming up to guard this section," one of the officers says. "Are you sure you're up for it? It's one hell of a day to start your career."

"I-I think I can handle this. I won't be alone, right?" the younger officer says. He carries his knock-out stick with two hands as he passes the cells. Some of the inmates stare at him, a smile coiling onto their faces. He gulps and pushes his rounded glasses up his nose. "S-since it's my first day and all, someone will be stationed with me."

"I'll try my best to keep by your side, but there are no guarantees for today. If you feel unsafe, feel free to start next week. All of this should calm down by then."

"No, I'll be okay," he says, taking a breath to calm his nerves. "So, in the case of an emergency, where is the nearest officer who can help?"

"See that door?" The officer points to the next room, which seems very securely locked. She puts a hand on his shoulder to settle him down a little more. "I'll be just over there. If you need anything, come get me. You can also communicate with this," she says, gesturing to his radio. "I'm on channel three."

"Right. Channel three. I got this."

"Of course you do. I'm going to make sure the others are locking everything up smoothly. Remember, I'm just in the next room."

The younger officer gives her a confident smile to set her at ease. She pays no mind to the prisoners mocking her as she leaves the room. Once she's gone, the officer adjusts his glasses once more.

"Hey, jackass," one of the prisoners calls at him. "Nice uniform. You better watch out, cuz if these bars wiggle loose for any reason, I'm gonna rip you to shreds."

"What a hollow threat," the officer says, his nervous demeanor now gone. He smirks, taking off his gloves to reveal stark white hands. His nails roll under his chin and he peels his own skin away. No nose, black eyes, and no facial features of any kind. He holds up his ID card, which depicts the man he was impersonating, and his accent turns into a thick, Russian one. "I hope you're more menacing towards the Spiderlings than you are to me."

Chameleon swipes the card over the panel and the criminals are let out of the cells. He takes a gun off his belt and shoots a camera without breaking eye contact with the man he was conversing with. Afterward, he turns and continues to let the people out of their prison. "Keep the pigs busy," he says, referencing the police. "I want to make this place empty."

They continue on to the next room, Chameleon now having a small army against the officers who try to stop him. He swipes his card against more panels, letting everyone free, and causing as much chaos as possible. Finally, he makes it to the more interesting part of the Raft.

"Shocker, Overdrive, Speed Demon, Boomerang?" he asks each inmate. "Your costumes are locked in the armory, all the way in the back."

Once the bars pull away, Shocker (who is known as Herman Schultz) steps forward and takes the gun he is handed. "It's about time. Thought you'd forget about us like usual."

"I never leave someone out of the party. Hey, I thought there were five of you," Chameleon mentions.

"Ah, Beetle got bailed out by her dad. She hasn't been here since the beginning."

"Oh, really? May I ask who her father is? He must be stupid rich if he was able to bail her out."

"Yeah. Lonnie Lincoln," Overdrive answers.

"Interesting," Chameleon says, thinking long and hard about something. "We can fill her in later, then. For now, we have some villains to save."

"I have a very good idea!" Machine Head does a flip and lands on the counter. The other mob bosses in the room groan at his theatrics. "Oh, come on! You're not the least bit interested in what I have to say?"

"I'm interested, just annoyed," Tombstone says. "What is it?"

"I just received intel from the Raft that our new Chameleon friend is letting everyone out early. That means our precious Spiderlings are going to be webbed up in the nonsensical chaos."

"Aaaaand?" Silvermane urges him to continue.

"This is the perfect time to capture that kid! The one who knows the Spiderlings."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that," Tombstone admits. "Who was that kid again?"

Machine Head slams an old newspaper on the table. The front page has a picture of Aqua and Nitro Spider fighting the Vulture. Under it is the name of the photographer. "Andrew Nikris."

Both Olympic and Nitro Spider swing around the city until they reach the barber shop. The bell rings when the door opens, and the owner pops his head out from around the corner. "Ah, my spider friend! Please come in. Take a seat, and I'll be right there."

Ollie sits in the lobby with his brother and swings his legs back and forth. For some reason, being here makes him feel like a little kid who is getting his haircut. He half expects to turn and see his mother there, flipping through some magazines while they wait.

A few minutes pass and the salon owner checks out the client he was working on. As he leaves, he switches the OPEN sign to CLOSED, then pulls some of the blinds. "I didn't expect you to come back so soon," the owner admits.

"Haha, I like to get a jump on things," Ollie responds. Once he feels secure in the room, he pulls off his mask.

"Hmm, I see. Take a seat, and I'll fit your wig."

"Oh, and before you get started," Nitro says. He holds out some cash. "Here, this should cover it, right?"

"This is more than enough! I can't take it all. Let me calculate-"

"No, take the rest as a tip. Seriously, I mean it."

The owner sighs. "Alright, I won't bug you about it anymore. His armor is behind the counter."

"We can't thank you enough," Nitro says once more. He finds the bag of metal exactly where he said it was. Making sure all of the pieces are there, he finds an open chair and watches the barber get to work.

"Is anyone going to help me, or am I supposed to deal with this crisis all on my own?!" Shadow Spider yells through his cell phone. Of course, right when I wake up, there is no sign of Andrew. Then, I get a report about all of the inmates at the Raft have been set free.

"What exactly is happening?" Maria asks, stumbling around the apartment. She is trying to stay on the phone with her brother while changing into her spider outfit.

Julia eggs her to put it on speaker, so she obliges. They both hear John's voice as he continues, "Raft prisoners are HEADING TO MANHATTAN! I'm trying my best to hold the line, but it's hard, ugh, fighting on water!"

"We're on our way!" Julia says, but Maria grabs her wrist.

"No, you are in no condition to fight!"

"Are you serious right now? We don't have time for this conversation!"

"Hey, whatever you two are arguing about, make it quick! Right now, I'm with Julia. She's the only one who can- ack- walk on water!" John says, making the brunette smirk with her arms crossed.

"Fine, whatever! You better not overdo it!" Maria yells, pointing a finger at her chest.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll meet'chya there!" Julia webs her hair up into a bun and slides her mask on. She doesn't give her sister a chance to change her mind as she is already out the window, swinging away.

"What a mess," Maria says to herself, looking at her dogs. "I'll be back." With that, she also jumps out the window, but makes her way to the nearest subway.

Shadow Spider does a backflip midair and shoots black webs at Rhino's back. He pulls himself down and lands on his shoulders. "Tell me, Rhino, how in the blazes you are thinking about getting across that huge body of water."

"Was thinking about using Spider's body as a raft!" he yells back, reaching behind him.

Shadow jumps before he can be snagged by the giant rhinoceros and swings around his legs a few times. Once he lands, he pulls on the webs. Rhino almost falls, but the webs get cut by Scorpion. "Not cool, man. Wait your turn!"

"I thought you knew by now that I'm not a very patient man!" Scorpion growls. He lunges, hands extended into claws. Shadow keeps his distance by jumping onto a nearby wall.

For context, almost everyone is outside the supermax prison, but with no real way to get across the East River. That is, unless they put their brains together and think of a solution. Shadow knows an easy way for the villains to get to Manhattan in one, easy swoop, but Hydro-Man hasn't made it out of the building quite yet. He just needs to hold them here until he receives backup.

Shadow climbs the wall a bit more, trying to think of a way to take out many of these guys at once. Speed Demon runs over and yells, "Why don't you come down here and fight like a man?"

"I'm guessing I can't convince you all to come up here and fight like a spider?" he retorts. Suddenly, his spider sense goes off and he jumps off the wall, barely dodging the gun shots.

It's that smiling, chalk-faced maniac who smashed his brother's head in. He seems to be really happy walking out of the prison with Kraven the Hunter. "Ladies and gentlemen, I deliver to you one of the Spiderlings," he says.

Shadow realizes he stands in the center of the entire mob. "Oh, you must be the one who fought Olympic Spider a few days ago. I got something for ya." Without even thinking of a plan, fueled by rage, the spider shoots his webs and turns, throwing Chameleon over his head and into the river. "Hope you can't swim!"

"Brother!" Kraven yells, then growls at Shadow.

"Brother?" the spider asks, now realizing the relationship between the two villains. "Ohhh, no way! That actually makes a whole lot of sense."

Shadow leans back to avoid a spear being thrown at him. He shoots a glob of webs at Kraven to blind him, then has to focus on dodging Scorpion's stinger and a few fist swings from Rhino. He does a few flips and then webs a wall to swing away, but Shocker wraps his arms around him from behind. "No ya don't, Spider!"

"Woah, hey! All passengers have to pay a fee," Shadow says, struggling to point Shocker's gauntlet away from his face. His spider sense goes off and he sees a boomerang cut his webs. Both of them fall, and Shocker finally lets go of him. He is caught by Speed Demon while Vulture grabs the spider's shoulders.

"This is for getting me locked in the Raft AGAIN!" Vulture screeches.

"Hey, the first time wasn't my fau-" Shadow didn't realize that he was now over the East River. Vulture swoops down and holds him under the water, the spider starting to thrash around in a desperate attempt to get some air. He knows even if Vulture lets go, his armor will weigh him down, and he will sink. Shadow starts to panic, and eventually, begins choking. Vulture's talons release his shoulders, so he looks up, fighting the water with his hands. The adrenaline in his chest starts dissipating, and he realizes how cold it is. The surface is right there... In one last attempt, he reaches a hand upward and closes his eyes.

Someone wraps their hand around his and pulls him above the water. His mask unintentionally waterboards himself, so he lifts it over his mouth and takes many gasps of air. "Shadow! Shadow, are you okay?"

His blurry vision can just make out Aqua Spider. He tries to say something, but he can only take some raspy breaths. Instead, he gives her a thumbs up. "If you say so," Aqua says. She lifts him fully out of the water and swings to the top of one of the Raft's towers. "Stay here. I got this."

Aqua jumps off the tower and lands between the criminals and the river. She does a quick stretch and cracks her back. "Allll-righty, then! Now you fellas have to deal with me."

A few of them look at each other and Scorpion says, "Fine by us."

He swipes his tail at her, so she jumps straight into the air and webs the floor. She pulls herself down to make sure he can't get out of the way in time, and slams her feet on his tail. As he yells in pain, she mentions, "Woah, didn't know there were nerves attached to that thing. You're more of a scorpion than I thought."

Her spider sense goes off, so she turns only to be blasted by Shocker. She skids across the water, but plants her feet to stabilize herself. "Good idea. I'll stay right here while you all stand there menacingly."

Something grabs her foot, so she looks down to see someone wrapped their hands around her. "What the-" she cuts herself off when Chameleon pulls himself out of the water and hooks his arms around her shoulders. "Ahhh! Why does this always happen to me?"

The spider tries to stay above the surface the best she can, yet she can't help but to flash back to when Scorpion was drowning her. Chameleon takes out a knife and holds it to her throat. "Take me back to shore, Spider!"

"I'm not your cabbie!" she responds breathlessly, grabbing his wrists. She surprises him by flipping him over her shoulders and into a pile of prisoners.

"Huh, you got more spunk than your brother," he says, dusting off his fake police uniform.

"Well, it wasn't the first time someone pulled a knife out on me," she says wittily. "Woah!" Aqua dodges a few fireballs from Molten Man, but gets wrapped in a rope lined with daggers courtesy of Kraven. "Hey, agh, watch the suit! I have to keep remaking these, y'know! The workers at Joann Fabrics are gonna start to get suspicious."

"Adorable," Kraven growls. "You think you're getting out of here alive to make a new suit."

He pulls her onto the land with all of the other criminals, but before she actually hits the concrete, Rhino folds both fists together and slams her into the ground. The ropes around her slack, so she crawls up to try and gain some height. Shocker drills her back into the hole, so she webs the side of the building as a means of escape. Scorpion catches her ankles with his tail as she tries to leave and snaps them the wrong way. "AU-CK!" The pain is so much that she lets go of the webs and falls on her stomach. Still, she continues to crawl on her forearms to at least try and get out of there somehow. Something metallic slams on her back and crushes her lungs, then curls around her neck. Doctor Octopus lifts her from the cracked floor, dust trickling down. The doctor smiles and squeezes, beginning to choke her. The only eyesight she has left is starting to fuzz away, but she aims at his face and sprays webs.

"Ack! Kill her!" he yells, blinded. Doctor Octopus throws her in a random direction, which happens to be in Shocker's arms.

"With pleasure," Shocker says, raising a gauntlet to her face.

"Hah, I always thought you were the coolest. It's been an honor," Aqua says quietly, not even thinking he heard her.

Her words are enough to make him hesitate. "Wait, you think I'm cool?!"

The other criminals all groan and say something along the lines of, "Just kill her already!"

"Alright, alright!" Before he can shoot his shockwaves at her, white webs pin his hands to his chest.

Emerald Spider jumps up and kicks Shocker across the face, wrapping her arms around Aqua as she falls. "Now you all listen here, and listen well. No one is going to be killing anyone today." She tries to sound confident and aggressive, but her words are very... unstable. She takes a deep breath, and everyone watches as she hurries to the edge of the island to throw up in the river. "Ugh, motion sickness."

Some of them notice she took a small boat to get here, which explains her being sick. "Wait, I don't get it. How do you swing around without getting motion sick?" Boomerang asks.

"Determination." She comes up with something, not really having an answer for that one.

"Inspiring, but do you have enough determination to stand up to all of us at once?" Chameleon asks, gesturing to the criminals behind him.

"We'll see."

"WAIT! WAAAAIT!"

"Ugh, now what?!" Scorpion growls. Everyone looks over at the boat Emmy used to get here and sees Nitro climbing on top of it.

"Oh my gosh, did you swim here?!" Emmy asks as he crawls onto the land.

"I... tried to... get to you be... before you left... ugh..." Nitro makes a time-out signal with his hands as he hunches over and tries to catch his breath. He exaggerates it a tad to make it funny. "That is one very long river."

"Please don't tell me you brought Ollie," Emmy says.

"Oh, please tell me you brought him," Chameleon retorts.

"No, he is sitting this one out. And you," Nitro finally stands up and points to the still-smirking villain. "When I'm done with you, you're gonna wish you messed me up instead of my brother."

"Oh-ho! Sounds like I hit a nerve." Chameleon swiftly puts his hands inside his jacket and takes out a gun. He shoots twice at Nitro, but he was prepared. The spider takes out his stingers and blocks the bullets like a ninja. "Tch, alright, everyone," he says, "Take them down."

Doctor Octopus instantly charges at Nitro, but the spider drops to the ground and slides under all of his arms. Shocker shoots at him, but he webs a wall and pulls himself over the blast. Boomerang throws his weapons at him, so he drops and does a flip, landing on the shoulders of one of the other inmates. They try to grab his ankles, and Speed Demon takes advantage of their lack of balance. He speeds by, knocking them over and Nitro falls to the ground. Amidst all of the noise, Overdrive heads over to the small boat Emmy used and touches it, enhancing it. He turns it into a speedboat and hops into the driver's seat. "Hah, this'll be good."

Emerald Spider sees what he's doing and manages to shoot webs at the back of the boat. Using her super strength, she pulls back against the engine. "You're. Going. To. Stay. Here!" she says through gritted teeth. Emmy turns, hoisting the webs over her shoulder to try and pull Overdrive back on land, but her spider sense goes off. Eyes widening, she turns just in time to see Rhino charging at her. He rams right into her side, his horn grazing her skin. Overdrive is able to speed away.

Emmy rolls on the ground and sees Scorpion running for Aqua's body. With newfound adrenaline, she flips up and webs his feet, yanking him away from her sister. Quickly, she jumps over and grabs Aqua, swinging away. Ironically, the safest place is probably inside the prison, she thinks to herself. The oldest spider runs inside the building and hides Aqua against the wall of an open cell.

As she jumps back out into the fray, Shadow Spider leaps off the tower and flips, landing on his feet with silence. "What? Did you think I was out of commission for the rest of this fight?"

On the other side of the East River, Andrew Nikris jogs around with his camera out. "Agh," he groans, "How am I supposed to get good pictures without getting too close to the danger?"

The teen keeps reaching for his ears, loving the feel of his new hair. The barber did an amazing job of fitting it to his head. It would take a hard yank to get the entire wig off, which means he feels comfortable enough swinging around with it on. He looks to his side a few times, trying to determine if anyone would see him take out his web shooters. I should be able to bend my webs and create a sort of line. Then I can climb on over to the Raft and have a perfect shot of the fight.

Nah, even he knows when an idea is too risky. Instead, Andrew takes out his phone. "Hi, uh, Mr. Jameson, sir."

"Kid, what do you think you're doing, calling my office?!" J Jonah Jameson screams from the other side of the phone.

"Yeah, you know that Raft prison break that's happening?"

"Eh? What about it?"

"I'm trying to get good pictures of it, but I need a boat of some kind. Do you have any way of getting one that I can use?"

"What do you think I am, a charity case? You need to provide your own means of transportation, it was part of the job description!"

Andrew sighs in defeat. "Okay, Mr. Jameson. I'll try to find my own way- AHH!" Someone grabs him from behind, pinning his arms to his side. A third, metallic arm covers his mouth. His wrist bends uncomfortably, making him drop his phone. Andrew is pulled into an alleyway.

"Kid? KID?!"

Ugh, where the hell am I now? Andrew asks himself. He recalls blacking out for a few moments, but regained consciousness fairly quickly. He can't have gone far from the Upper East Side, right? He opens his eyes and sees he is inside a... penthouse?

"What in the..." he starts, but then stops himself. Take a moment to look around the room first. He seems to be in the living room of the penthouse. There is a long couch with a glass table and television in the middle. He sits on the end of it, his wrists and ankles cuffed to the couch. He has a bit of leeway, but not much room to move around. Behind him is a pool table on a floor that rises up just a few steps. The room next to it seems to be a kitchen, but he can't see inside of it too well. There is a window that opens up to it, so he can see a gigantic oven. Julia would love that for sure, he thinks to himself. To his left is a giant wall made entirely out of windows. It reminds him of Mr. Osborn's penthouse.

The walls are decorated with very extravagant pieces of art. They're the type that he is sure has some sort of deep meaning to them. For example, one is just a canvas filled with bumps and scratch marks. Some of it is even colored in a crimson paint to represent red streaks. If he had to guess, that one depicts some kind of violence.

There are footsteps from behind him, and his spider sense blares. But, he doesn't turn his head to try and show how calm he is. The man walks around the couch and faces him. Andrew instantly feels nauseous. "Oh wow, you're Tombstone! Haha, wow, I was not expecting... that."

His voice falters just a bit when Wilson Fisk enters the room and takes a seat at a chair. Andrew opens his mouth to say something, but three other people show themselves and take a seat. Machine Head sits on the other end of the couch next to Hammerhead. The former crosses his legs and props his head up with one hand, enjoying the moment. Hammerhead leans back and crosses his arms. Silvermane relaxes in a chair, his third metallic arm receding into his back. Okay, that explains what got me in the alley, Andrew thinks to himself. Finally, Tombstone sits between him and Hammerhead, making him extremely uncomfortable.

"Sorry, but I only know who two of you are," Andrew says, trying to start a conversation. It takes every fiber of his being to not let his voice shake.

"Silvermane," the old man says. "That is Hammerhead, Machine Head, Kingp-"

"Yeah, I know who Wilson Fisk is. I like how you all introduce yourselves with your super-secret code names."

"I like this kid," Machine Head says, chuckling. "What's your name?"

"Uh, haha," he laughs nervously. "I don't think you would have kidnapped a random person off the street without knowing who they were."

"Bold, yet smart," Hammerhead responds. "To make a long story short, we know you take pictures for the Daily Bugle, Andrew."

"Specifically, you specialize in taking little pics of those Spiderlings," Machine Head continues.

"We have a hunch that you know who they are," Kingpin says calmly. He gets up and starts pacing slowly with his hands behind his back. "All we want is for you to divulge that information to us. It shouldn't be hard. Just give us names, and you'll walk free."

"O-oh, come on. You really think that I know who they are?" All five of them stare at the teen with a straight face. Andrew tries to keep his cool, but it's becoming rather difficult. "What exactly would you do with such information?"

"Use it to our advantage, to put it mildly," Tombstone says. He puts a hand on his shoulder, making Andrew squeak. He becomes instantly flustered, not having ever made that sound in his life. "Hmm, you seem tense, kid."

"W-well, I mean, I'm kinda cuffed to a couch in the midst of five, very intimidating mob bosses. I think you can understand my concern."

"I have just the thing to help ya out." Machine Head leaps off the couch and runs into the kitchen. It doesn't take him long, and he comes back out with a crystal glass filled with brown liquid. He sets it on the table in front of him.

"Uh, thanks, but I'm eighteen," Andrew says.

"Shhh, I won't tell."

"Come on, kid. Don't tell me you're already eighteen and haven't at least tried bourbon before," Tombstone says.

"Now, that's just sad," Hammerhead adds, slightly mocking him.

"Trust me, I was tempted to a few days ago," Andrew says with a bit of humor. "But, I'd rather be aware of my surroundings when you ultimately decide to kill me."

"Suit yourself," Tombstone says. He reaches over and drinks it all in one swig, putting his arm around Andrew's shoulders.

What is he trying to do? Make me feel more comfortable? Doesn't he know I'd feel much better if he wasn't so damn close? With Andrew's mind racing, he doesn't realize that Tombstone smirks as he feels the teenager's breaths get shorter and faster. He can also feel his heart beating rapidly through the top of his back. If I had my costume on, I could break out of these chains and crash through the window. But, I can't give myself away. What should I do?

Emerald Spider catches Nitro as he falls from being thrown by Scorpion. She sets him down quickly and catches the arachnid's tail before he can stab her face with it. "Urg, here, you're in time-out!" she says, and stabs his tail into the cement.

Nitro webs Shocker to Speed Demon before they can attack Emmy, and she gives him a thumbs up. Shadow Spider swings around a tower, trying to avoid fireballs from Molten Man. Vulture swoops down and tries to snag him, but he detaches from his webs and starts swinging the other way. "Not this time, bird brains!"

Shadow swings close to his brother, and both of their spider senses go off. The wall next to them blasts to pieces, and Mr. Negative exits the building with Hydro-Man.

The lawn is littered with knocked out Raft prisoners, most of them stabbed with Nitro's stingers to make sure they don't wake back up. One a few of them keep standing, including all of the super powered villains. And now, of course, Martin Li and Morris Bench need to join in.

"Ugh, right when we had everything under control!" Emmy yells, shooting webs at Mr. Negative's hands. She pulls herself to him and lands a punch on his face, but he blasts her away with his energy.

Rhino charges at Nitro, so he jumps and lands on his shoulders. He doesn't stay there for long, seeing the perfect opportunity. He jumps once again and grabs onto Vulture's ankles. "HEY! What do you think you're doing?"

"Catching a break!" he yells back.

"Y'know, this fight would be a lot more fun if we had Sandman, Electro, and Mysterio here," Shadow says sarcastically.

"Don't even joke about that," Emmy says, out of breath. She shoots a web at the side of the building and pulls herself away from Hydro-Man trying to grab her.

"Actually, I'm with Shadow on this one," Nitro jokes. "We need the whole squad here." His spider sense goes off and he gets hit by two boomerangs. "Ugh... well, we'd be doing better with our whole squad. Man, I wish Ollie was here."

Strangely enough, J Jonah Jameson isn't the one who is broadcasting on the Daily Bugle. Instead, it's Ned Leeds. He shows helicopter footage of the fight going down at the Raft. "As you can see, the Spiderlings are trying their best to contain the prisoners. Their struggle continues for hours, with Aqua seemingly incapacitated for now. I think the entirety of New York can understand why Olympic Spider is absent. Hopefully, the remaining three spiders can keep this mess from getting worse."

"Nahh, I miss the guy who yells all the time," Machine Head complains. "Where do you think he's at?"

"Probably looking for me," Andrew says truthfully. "You kinda pulled me away when I was in the middle of a phone call with him."

"All the more reason to hurry up and tell us what we need to know," Tombstone says, taking another sip of his new drink. "You know, son, we are going to get the information out of you eventually."

"Pfft, it's funny how threatening you think you are," he responds. "You have no idea what I went through this past week." Andrew mutters that last part.

"Y'know, the more time we spend with you, the more and more I like you," Machine Head says. He walks over behind the teen and puts his hands on his shoulders. "I wouldn't mind making you some sort of apprentice."

"Okay, what the hell is going on right now? I feel like I'm in a weird limbo dream." Andrew quickly stands up to create some distance between him and the mob bosses. He isn't able to get far, only stand, as he reaches the limit of the chains.

"Hey, we're trying to be nice here," Hammerhead says. "We offer you our drink, our food, give you a comfortable place to sit with us. Do you realize how ungrateful you're being? All of this could go away in a snap if we decided to. But, we are giving you a chance to take the easy way out. We're trying to get to know ya is all, before we take you to the basement and start a real interrogation."

"Trust me, kid, you better enjoy this while it lasts," Silvermane says.

"This is crazy. You're all insane," he says, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands. "For three years no one cared who the Spiderlings were, people just wanted them dead, which was fine! It was normal, you know? Then, all of a sudden, these bad guys started appearing out of nowhere. Even they had so many opportunities to unmask us, but they never did! You know why? They don't care! So, now, why are you so interested in who we are?!"

Everyone in the room stares at him, some of their mouths slightly agape. Andrew doesn't understand why they're so shocked until Tombstone stands up and says, "Us? We?"

"Huh? What are you...?" Andrew recalls what he said, trying to piece together why they're staring at him like that. Then, he realizes what just happened. They had so many opportunities to unmask us. Why are you so interested in who we are?! "N-n-now wait just one moment," he says, holding up his hands. "It seems that I misspoke."

"You know... that makes perfect sense," Machine Head says. He stands up and starts slowly walking up to him. "You're always able to take perfect pictures of the Spiderlings in action. How do you know where they are, every time?"

"Now that I think about it, there hasn't been one fight including Olympic Spider that you missed taking pictures of," Tombstone says.

Kingpin just smiles, knowing exactly where this is going. He stands back and watches the others. Andrew stutters and backs up, accidentally breaking free from the chains due to his super strength. Shit. The mob bosses smile even more.

"C-can't you just wait and listen?" he pleads, backing up into Silvermane.

Machine Head scans him and is surprised when he finds common knowledge about Andrew's family members. "So, which one is Nitro Spider? Is it John, or Ethan?"

"Haha, I really have no idea what you're talking about." Andrew does his best to keep his distance, but the mob bosses back him up into the billiard room. He presses up against the pool table.

"You're not going to talk your way out of this one, and I think you know that," Tombstone says with a chuckle. He fixes the cuffs of his sleeves.

"Yeah, well," Andrew takes a deep breath, knowing that he fucked up. There's no fixing it now. "At least I can fight now."

He surprises the mob bosses by grabbing a few pool balls and throwing them at their faces. Hammerhead isn't that phased, but Silvermane and Tombstone grab their nose and jaw respectively. Machine Head lets out a laugh at the rush of adrenaline and dives at him, but Andrew quickly slides under the table. He extends his legs and pushes up with his hands, kicking the table into the four mob bosses. Kingpin growls, "Hey, stop destroying my home!" He picks up the top of the glass table and spins it at him, but Andrew jumps onto the wall and does his best to hide in the corner of it.

The glass shatters, so Andrew takes it as his opportunity to escape. He shoots webs at the ceiling in front of him, swinging over the five aggressors. On his way, he webs a vase using his extra powers to wrap his webs around the handle. He throws it at the window, cracking it just a bit. "Uh oh," he says, knowing he needs to improvise. He brings his knees to his chest and kicks his feet forward, completely shattering the window. "AHHHHHH!"

The mob bosses rush at him and stare down at where he fell. They see him sticking to the side of the building a few stories below where they are. Andrew chuckles nervously and gives them a wave. "Too late to try and convince you?"

"Yeah, I think we have all of the evidence we need," Machine Head retorts.

"What do you mean? I'm totally not Olympic Spider," he says, turning his nervousness into sarcasm.

"Uh-huh, because everyone can stick to walls like that," Tombstone says, playing along. He jumps out of the building and tries to grab him, but Andrew sees him coming. He jumps off the window and turns, spraying webs at the building as Tombstone passes him. Making sure to time it right, he pulls himself back at the building and kicks Tombstone through the wall.

"I'm taking the stairs," Machine Head says, hurrying away.

"Wus," Silvermane mocks. Metallic wings emerge from his back and he flies down to the fighting duo.

"Hey, you all better not destroy my building!" Kingpin yells, following his partner in crime. Hammerhead sighs and trails behind them, not daring to jump out the window like his two idiot compadres.

Andrew jumps off the floor and sprints around Tombstone, trying to once again escape. Silvermane blocks the hole in the wall and throws the kid back inside. "Nice try."

Before he can say anything in return, his spider sense goes off and Tombstone grabs the back of his shirt, throwing him into the opposite wall. "You know, I thought you were younger when my Enforcers kidnapped you," he says. "But, I didn't expect you to be a high schooler."

"I'm just full of surprises, aren't I?" he responds in a cocky tone. Andrew shoots webs at Silvermane and pulls him inside, right into Tombstone while his back is turned. "Sorry, boys, I'd love to stay and watch some football with you, but I'm late for taking pictures of my siblings in action."

As Andrew jumps over the duo and toward the staircase, Machine Head opens the door from the other side and straightens his tie. "Hey, there, Spidey," he says in a singing voice.

"Uh... haha." Andrew starts to lose his cool when the other two mob bosses enter the room behind him.

"Come here!" Machine Head yells, lunging at him.

The teen jumps onto the ceiling, now upside down. Hammerhead reveals where he got his name from by ramming his head into the wall. The entire floor shakes, and Andrew slips from the ceiling. Kingpin catches him by the back of his shirt before he can hit the floor.

"Listen, I've had a pounding headache nonstop for the past two days. All of your unnecessary jabber and fighting isn't helping," Andrew says.

"Awwwwe. I'm so sorry we haven't been hospitable hosts," Hammerhead retorts with the most venomous sarcasm. He lowers his head and charges at him.

He decides to reverse the roles. Andrew grabs onto Kingpin with one arm and uses the other to web the ceiling. He pulls both of them up, making Hammerhead ram into the wall instead. "Oof, sorry, Fisk. You're gonna need to talk to your real estate agent after this one."

"I don't suppose you can pay for the damages?" he asks angrily.

"Are you kidding me? I'm a broke eighteen year old!"

Kingpin falls to the ground and Andrew makes a break for the window. He swings over everyone and finally feels the daylight on his skin. The next spray of webs reach all the way to the neighboring building, but someone grabs his ankle.

Andrew looks back at Tombstone who has a hold of him and Machine Head who is pointing a gun right at his face. He tries to kick him away, but the impenetrable mob boss grabs his spare foot with his other hand. "Let me go!" Andrew yells. His shaky plea shocks Tombstone enough to hesitate pulling him back inside.

"Why should we?" Machine Head asks.

"W... what if you need me?" he asks, not really knowing what he's saying. Right now, he's grasping for anything to make them stop and listen.

Silvermane laughs. "Need you? Why on earth would we ever need you?"

"I don't know, you guys created a lot of super villains," he reasons, starting to sound more confident. "What if they turn on you? Team up on you like how they did to us?"

"Look, if it ever really came down to something like that, there are four other spiders," Tombstone says with a chuckle at the end. "What would sparing you do?"

"Sure, there are four others, but I'm the only one offering a deal." His webbing snaps as he is pulled back inside. Falling on his chest, Andrew groans and picks himself up. "If you need help, I'll just be one call away."

"Are we seriously listening to this kid?" Machine Head asks.

"You would have shot me point blank if you didn't want to hear me out," Andrew responds strongly. "I know you're scared of the villains you created, but the Enforcers aren't going to stand a chance against the likes of Rhino or Mr. Negative. Plus, you have Jackal still out there, doing who knows what. The amount of these guys is just gonna keep getting bigger. And, just as you said, there are only five of us spiders. Your mob empire is going to crumble under the might of those criminals."

"A man of business. I knew there was something special about you," Kingpin says. "I will agree to set you free in return for your services." He holds out his hand, but as Andrew shakes it, he pulls the teen closer. "But, you must not interfere with our empire."

"If you're adding contingencies, then I have one more," Andrew says. "You don't know who I am, or who my family is."

"Fine by me. I can keep this fabulous secret to myself," Tombstone says. He also shakes his hand. Silvermane and Hammerhead copy his movements.

"Ugh, I can't believe I'm about to shake your hand after so long of plotting your death," Machine Head groans, but sticks out his hand.

"Good, great, uh... yeah." Andrew walks over to the hole in the wall and turns around one last time. "I'll just... give you my number when I get a new phone."

As the unmasked spider jumps away (for real this time) Hammerhead grumbles, "Are we really playing along with this little game of his?"

"I see potential in him," Kingpin admits. "Besides, you have to agree with him on some level."

"All of those maniacs that were created were from you and Jackal," Machine Head argues. "I shouldn't have to worry about anything!"

"Except Scorpion," Silvermane points out.

"Calm down," Tombstone snaps. "You're such a brat sometimes, MH. We shouldn't have to worry about him causing a ruckus in our jobs anymore. And, we get the opportunity to call him for backup if we need. Perhaps, this is one of those situations where you keep your friends close, but your enemies closer."

Andrew falls down into an alley and makes sure he is out of sight from Fisk Tower. He backs up against a wall and slides down next to a dumpster with his face in his hands.

What have I done?

What have I done?

What have I done?

"Carl, I want everyone in this office searching for Andrew Nikris ASAP! Don't tell me we are on in fifteen minutes, I will cancel the news in order to search for my star photographer!" J Jonah Jameson is once again causing mayhem in his office, but this time everyone is trying to get him back to work.

"Sir," Betty says, trying to calm him down, "he probably just dropped his phone or something. We don't need a whole search team to find him."

"New York is a big place, Betty! I want everyone's eyes on the streets looking for this kid! AND WILL SOMEONE CALL THE POLICE?!"

"Mr. Jameson, you have a phone call."

"Not now, Leeds!"

"Sir, it's Andrew Nikris," Ned pleads. Everyone in the office pauses and pipes down to hear the conversation.

"Give me that!" Jameson yells. He snags the phone and brings it to his ear. "What was my personal favorite photo you took of the Spiderlings?!"

"Uh, what?" Andrew asks on the other side of the phone.

"I need to know if you're the real Andrew, so ANSWER THE QUESTION!"

He sighs. "The one where Emerald Spider was getting punched by Rhino."

"Ha ha! Okay, you're the real deal. So, kid, what happened?!"

"Oh, I tripped and injured my ankle. I dropped my phone in the river when I was trying to get pictures. I'm sorry, Mr. Jameson, but I won't be able to get any of this Raft fight I tried to hard to get there-"

"You know what? I won't mind. You had me worried sick! I thought..." Jameson stutters for a moment, but regains his composure. "Nevermind. Just don't let anything bad happen to ya. Got that, kid?"

"Sure, Mr. Jameson."

"Take the rest of the day off, Nikris."

"Will do, thank you." Andrew hangs up the phone and gives the device back to the salon owner. "You're really too nice for your own good," he says.

"I can tell you've been through a lot, kid," the barber says. "Anything you need, I got your back."

"Thank you, really." Andrew takes a deep breath and walks toward the door. "There aren't a lot of friends in my line of work."

"Well, now you got me."

The teen smiles and leaves the salon for the second time that day.

Captain Stacy hops onto a raft and sails to, well, the Raft. He puts a megaphone up to his mouth and yells, "The Spiderlings are going to need all of the help they can get! We need to surround and contain the inmates."

The police agree, steering their boats toward the prison. They go as fast as the motors will carry them.

Emerald Spider crashes into the side of the building and groans, shifting her back to make sure nothing is broken. Agh, yep, there goes my tailbone. Even though it hurts to move, she notices Kraven rushing at her. Looking around for a moment, she finds the only way to dodge his spear is to shoot webs above her and pull herself off the ground. She executes her plan flawlessly, but her spider sense goes off when Chameleon shoots his gun and cuts off her webbing.

Emmy screams as she falls to the ground. Vulture flies by to try and snag her, but Kraven wraps some whips around her and yanks the spider down. She crashes into the cement, using her super strength to break out of the binds. The green spider wobbles as she tries to stand up. She puts a hand on her knee and the other in the air with her finger pointing upward as a way of pleading: Give me one second.

Rhino, either not caring or not understanding the gesture, charges at her and swings his fist at her head, making her crash back into the ground. Her eyes become comedic swirls as she groans, knocked out.

"Emmy!" Shadow Spider yells. He breaks away from Hydro-Man by freezing his hands together and jumping. "Nitro, we need to contain these guys fast."

"What we need is some backup," Nitro says, winded. He slowly dodges an attack from Scorpion, but then the villain comes at him with his claws. The spider raises both of his stingers and crosses them to block the attack, but his feet start giving away. Scorpion smirks, pushing him back even more under his strength. He raises his tail and Nitro's spider sense rings, but there is nothing he can do.

A gunshot booms and the bullet hits Scorpion's tail. It doesn't hurt him that badly, but it confuses him and Nitro enough to look over at the shoreline. Captain Stacy jumps out of his small boat with his gun in the air. "Convicts, stand down!"

Scorpion growls. "You think I've come all this way just to get outsmarted by a couple of people in uniforms? HAH, I wouldn't mind killing off a few more guards for fu-"

While he's talking, Nitro sticks the end of one stinger into his neck. He keeps his guard up until the green arachnid collapses, now sound asleep. "Thanks for the support, Captain," he says, still out of breath.

"Anytime. But, it looks like you have it mostly under control," he responds with a bit of humor.

Shadow Spider swings around and takes Vulture by surprise. He kicks him in the back, sending him soaring through a wall and right back into a cell. "Hey, that's not a bad idea!" the spider yells. "Yo, Stacy, if your police force can head inside and use their keys to lock the cells, Nitro and I can get them in there for ya."

"I read you loud and clear!" the Captain says back. "You heard the man, let's go!"

The officers run inside the prison, carrying some already knocked out inmates with them. Stacy leads them, ordering everyone around so that no one gets confused. In no time, they wrangle up all of the sleeping prisoners and lock them back in their cells. Stacy makes sure Vulture isn't going anywhere, and swipes his ID across the lock panel before he can fly away. The villain yells in rage and spreads his wings to try and break free, but the high-tech forcefield around the cell keeps him contained. The Captain says nothing, but turns to continue helping his squad.

"What are we looking at?" Nitro asks.

"Rhino is my main concern at the moment. He won't leave me alone," Shadow says. He lands in front of Emmy's body, scooping her up and swinging away. "I just wanna get meh sister away from this creep."

"Alright, I'm coming!" The older of the two Spiderlings goes to swing toward his brother, but Mr. Negative sends a blast of energy his way. "Woah, trying to catch me by surprise? That's not very ethical, Martin."

"You're telling Mr. Negative that he's not ethical?" he responds.

"Okayyy, now we are talking in third person. Well, Nitro Spider thinks that Mr. Negative needs to take a chill pill." Nitro shoots globs of webs at Mr. Negative's hands, sticking them together. He then shoots a full one at him, spinning him around and throwing him into a cell.

Hydro-Man sees that they are now (probably) outnumbered, so he heads to the water. "Yeah, good luck with that, everyone," he says, disappearing into the river.

Nitro tries to catch him, but he vanishes before he can even get close. "That won't come into play later," he says to himself, then swings back into the fray.

Molten Man and Shocker try to shoot down Shadow Spider, but he does a tight turn in the air and swings out of the way. "Yeesh, cool down!" he says, barely dodging a fireball. He lands, seeing Rhino running toward him from the other direction. Shadow waits until he gets closer before jumping straight up. Rhino runs right into the other villains, taking all three out at once. "Now, the hard part is gonna be dragging you back to your cell," Shadow remarks, landing gracefully on top of the three. "Who are we missing?"

"Kraven and his bestie," Nitro says, grabbing the silver spear as it's thrown right at him. Chameleon jumps out from the shadows and kicks the spider in the side, making him stumble. A metallic leg reaches up from behind him and wraps around his throat. "A-and Doctor Octopus..."

The spider grunts, trying to wrestle the arm off his neck with his hands, but he has to drop his stingers to get a good enough grip. Nitro webs his face after a few moments of struggling, and then rips the leg off from around him. He shoots more webs at the doctor's face, and pulls him down this time. Nitro lifts his knee up and swears he feels Doc Ock's nose break from the forceful contact. He yells in pain, but there is no time for pity right now. Nitro lifts him up and quickly chucks him at Kraven, allowing the police to swarm the two.

He turns at the third villain who rolls his eyes and puts his hands up. "You have to admit, it was a solid plan," Chameleon says.

Nitro shoots webs at his chest and pulls him close, punching him right across the face. "That was for my brother," he growls. "You're lucky I'm feeling merciful today."

Captain Stacy himself jogs over and puts handcuffs around Chameleon's wrists. The shape shifter glares at Nitro the entire time he is escorted into the prison, a fresh bruise forming on his cheek.

"We caught Boomerang trying to steal a boat, but we threw him in one of the open cells before he could escape," one of the officers informs. "No sign of Speed Demon, though."

"Well, we got most of them," Shadow says, landing next to his brother and the officer. "I'll call that a win."

"Is she okay?" Nitro asks, seeing Emmy in his arms.

"Yeah, just groggy."

"I can carry her," he offers.

"Nah, it's cool. You look wiped out," Shadow says.

"Hah, what gave it away?"

"Totally not your gasping voice."

Captain Stacy meets up with the two, putting a hand on Nitro's shoulder. "Thanks. Without you all, these guys would be roaming the streets of Manhattan."

"Yeah, don't mention it," Nitro says. As he puts his stingers away, his stomach growls. "Lunchtime already?"

Stacy looks at his watch. "It's past four, so it looks like you missed it." He sees how tired the spiders are, so he says, "We can give you a lift off the island."

"That would actually be amazing, thank you," Shadow says. Everyone loads back onto the boats to trek across the river, some officers staying behind to gather a headcount of the criminals they caught. Stacy knows he has to go back and make sure all of the prisoners are locked behind their actual cells, but for now he wants to make sure the Spiderlings get back to Manhattan safely. It dawns on him that there are probably who knows how many guards who have fallen to the hands of the escapees. Damn, that is not a sight he wants to see. Then, he will have to identify the bodies and inform their families. Hopefully it's not as bad as his brain is making it out to be.

Once they get back onto the land, Emmy tries to wake up. She keeps mumbling something, but Shadow pushes her back down every time she opens her mouth. "We're going home, don't worry, Em," he continues to say reassuringly.

They find a lonely alley and put some clothes on over their spider outfits. Shadow finds an extra hoodie and uses it to cover Maria. Thankfully, Ethan always thinks ahead and brought some jeans for her. It's awkward, but they decide to take a cab to their parents' house since it's the biggest. John carries his sister inside and puts her in the guest room where she can sleep off the injuries. He doesn't hear her as she tries to mutter, "A...qu...a..."

Amidst all the chaos, no one really remembered that Aqua Spider was also part of that fight for a time. She groans and puts a hand on her forehead, feeling all of the muscles and joints that ache from the fight. She attempts to stand, but her broken ankles keep her in a sitting position. Her eyesight is blurry at first, but she comes to the conclusion that she is inside the Raft, and it's eerily quiet. There is a blue forcefield to her right, and to her left is Vulture, crossing his arms and glaring right at her. He makes his left wing spread out so that any passer-bys can't see inside. Aqua chuckles nervously as she realizes she is trapped inside a Raft prison cell with one of her enemies.