Spider-Man swung quickly through the city, excited to finally see the love of his life once more until he saw something... strange.
There was a girl, swinging from building to building just like he was, though she was a bit less skilled at it. "Am I hallucinating?" Eren whispered to himself before that same girl stopped on Cindy's rooftop.
The girl, Silk, hesitated for a second. 'Eren!?' She thought, feeling his presence closer than ever. She knew he was back in America, she could sense it, but it felt as if that presence was incredibly near.
Silk turned around to see Spider-Man swinging toward her, causing her eyes to dilate and tear up. Silk ran toward the hero, forgetting that he'd have no clue who she was in her costume, before leaping off the building and hugging him in midair.
Spider-Man held onto her, using his other hand to hold one of his webs. 'Huh!?' Eren thought to himself, wondering why this girl was hugging him, however, he was very quick to recognize her touch and the smell of her shampoo. "Cindy!?" He exclaimed, holding her and swinging up before landing on top of her apartment building.
"Oh..." Cindy said, letting go of him and backing up. "Surprise..." Silk told him, holding out her arms to show him the new her.
"When..." Spider-Man trailed off, looking at her suit with admiration. 'She's really cute in this costume, not gonna lie...'
"Well, remember that showcase at Oscorp when Dr. Connors wore Otto Octavius's arm?" Cindy pointed her two index fingers together as she said this.
"I sort of got bitten by a spider that day and ever since then, I had spider powers. I didn't start using them until you were gone though... someone needed to be there, ya know? I remembered what you said at Connors's funeral, about doing the right thing." Cindy seemed a bit embarrassed about lying all this time, especially after being mad at Eren for hiding things. Now that the shoe was on the other foot, she understood it.
"Oh. Well, thank you for holding it down for me." Eren told her, walking up to her and hugging her tightly. He wasn't mad about it at all. He was worried about her more than anything, but he was glad she was able to hold her own. "Thanks a lot. I was worried about what was happening while I was gone."
"Speaking of worried, I was so worried when you stopped answering my calls. I have this thing where I can feel your presence with my powers, but it was starting to fade. I was so scared." Cindy told him, looking through his lenses with tearful eyes.
"Oh, yeah I was sort of in a hibernation pod for a week. Then a war happened, so I didn't really get the chance..." Eren told her softly, getting flashbacks of the battlefield briefly.
"We should talk about this stuff over dinner at my place. I wanna invite Harry too so I can tell him about what was happening." Eren told her. "I wanna tell you both everything. You can keep your secret a secret though. Oh! We could even make dinner together, that'll be fun. Come by in like an hour, I'll have everything ready."
Cindy agreed and the two of them went their separate ways for a bit before meeting back at Eren's apartment. Luckily, Eren had just enough money to squeeze out enough for rent and to buy his groceries. Of course, a new suit meant new pictures for the Daily Bugle, so he would be getting paid soon.
Once Cindy was over, the two of them prepared dinner together, rehearsing with each other what they would say to Harry when the time would come. It took about an hour, but the two of them made steak and potatoes together, finishing up just before Harry got there.
Harry had a huge smile on his face when Eren opened the door, shaking his hand and hugging him immediately after. The three of them then sat at the dinner table and chatted for a bit before the moment of truth finally arrived.
"You said you wanted to talk about something, right? What was it?" Harry asked. He knew exactly what it was about, but he was waiting for Eren to say it for himself.
Eren took a deep breath looking at Harry with an intense glare. "I'm Spider-Man." Eren told him, bringing a smile to Harry's face since the truth was finally out.
"Yeah, I know." Harry told him, putting a piece of steak in his mouth as if this was old news.
"Y- You knew?" Eren asked, thinking this was his best-kept secret the whole time. Cindy didn't mention any of Harry's suspicions, so Eren was surprised.
With his mouth full, Harry began to speak. "Well, yeah. Look." Harry swallowed his food before explaining the whole scenario to the hero.
"You always disappear randomly.
When he first started showing up, you were also suddenly ripped and standing up to Flash like some macho badass.
You always get exclusive pics of Spider-Man for work.
Spider-Man is never active when we have class or when we're hanging out.
I've never seen you and Spider-Man at the same time.
You always ask to borrow Oscorp tech yet you never show me for what.
On prom night, I told you that I was at Oscorp and then suddenly, Spider-Man starts dropping people off there to take refuge.
You leave on your trip to Africa, and suddenly Spider-Man disappears. Then on the exact day that you come back, Spider-Man is sighted swinging around town with the Fantastic Four's children on his back.
I also could tell you were hiding something, you have that look on your face.
I also know that Cindy is Silk."
"What!?" Cindy exclaimed.
"What do you mean, 'what', you show half your face! I mean, sure, it could just be another Korean chick with your hairstyle but you probably got Eren's DNA when you guys screwed or something." Harry teased, taking a bite from the mashed potatoes.
"Wh- No, we haven't-" Cindy became flustered, shaking her head at these bizarre accusations.
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" Harry told her, laughing with his hands on his belly before continuing to tell them about his theories. "I eventually deduced that you both got bitten by special spiders or something."
"I just remembered that Spider-Man had similar powers to that spider we had in class one time. There was one of them missing in the tank and I remembered Eren acting really weird that day. He even yelled randomly in class. Silk has powers similar to that spider in Oscorp that mysteriously vanished and you had a weird liking for it. I mean, it would also make sense for the two spider people to know each other, right? Plus, Cindy you literally bailed on me and Lily when that Carbon-whatever was stolen on the news. It was obvious."
Both Eren and Cindy were stunned, looking at Harry with their jaws dropped. Now that he said it, they were doing a terrible job at keeping their identities hidden. At the same time, they were underestimating Harry. He was a lot smarter than he looked.
"C'mon guys, you're forgetting I was like top twenty in our graduation class. I know it's not as impressive as number one and number two like you guys but I'm not stupid. I'm just not a bookworm like you two." Harry had this somewhat solemn expression on his face when he said this before resuming.
"You know, I wanted to see if I could get powers too once I figured that you two must've gotten bitten. I stuck my arm in every single spider exhibit at Oscorp. Not a single one bit me. Even when I forced them on me, pressing them against my skin, they wouldn't do it" He told them sadly. "Do you think it's fate or something?"
"Maybe..." Eren said quietly. "Or maybe a curse. Having powers sounds cool, but... there's a lot of downsides to it."
Harry nodded. "Yeah, I bet."
There was a brief silence before Eren began to apologize. "Hey, I'm sorry for not telling you sooner. I wasn't even going to tell Cindy when I did. It just sort of happened. I didn't know how or when I should tell you and I just kept delaying it."
"Don't apologize. We're good. I was a bit upset about it sometimes, but I knew there had to be a good reason." Harry smiled at the two of them before continuing to cut up his steak. "Well, anyway. Tell me about it! Tell us about Africa dude."
Eren told Harry and Cindy about everything that happened in Wakanda, starting from how beautiful the place was to how he felt when he saw Doom's first message. He told them about his heritage and how he was half-Wakandan on his mom's side. He explained to them what the Ancestral Plane was, telling them all about how he spoke to his mom and his ancestors.
However, his smile soon faded once he began speaking about Namor's attack, thinking about all the lives that were lost. His neutral expression then turned into that of anguish as he told them in detail about the war, holding Neptune's Trident, and watching his friend die.
His friends of course were able to comfort him, giving him kind words and telling them all about how great of a hero he was on the behalf of all of the people he did end up saving.
Cindy's turn came around and she explained her first time using her powers for good, talked about Big Wheel, and went into detail about Black Cat and their little adventure.
"You met Felicia?" Eren questioned, scared as to what Black Cat might have told his girlfriend about their complicated past.
"Yeah... why do you seem scared about that?" Cindy asked, furrowing her eyebrows at him.
"No reason! I mean, it's just that she's really... uh, well-" Before Eren could speak, Cindy finished the sentence for him.
"Tempting? Yeah, I noticed." Cindy said offhandedly. "What... did you guys..." Cindy almost didn't even wanna ask what she was thinking but Eren answered anyway, feeling guilty.
"We kissed once. When I was single, I mean. That's all." Eren admitted.
"Oh." Cindy was sort of surprised. To think someone as awkward as Eren was able to charm someone like her. It almost sounded like a lie.
"Are you not upset?" Eren asked her.
"No, I get it. I mean, look at her. If I was single I would've probably done the same thing." Cindy told him casually. "Anyway, thanks for being honest about it."
Eren nodded, and the three of them continued having their dinner together, discussing normal college-aged topics. Having all secrets off their chests, the three of them found themselves growing closer on that day, strengthening their bond.
A week passed from that day, bringing Eren and the Future Foundation to Ben Grimm's funeral. It was a closed casket, due to his body being basically unrecognizable. Johnny and Ben's wife took it the hardest. The kids were a close second behind them, however, Spider-Man's talk with them made the mourning process a bit easier for them.
Once the funeral was over and Ben was buried, the Future Foundation returned to the Baxter Building, along with Spider-Man, for one last goodbye. Their children were far too powerful to remain on Earth and have their powers unchecked. Additionally, they couldn't use their powers on command, it was as if they only activated during intense stress. They needed to train and learn how to properly use them somewhere safe.
Reed had created an interstellar training facility for situations like this, especially for Johnny due to how dangerous his powers could be if he got too careless.
Packed and ready to go, the Richards family all said their goodbyes to the hero, one after the other beside their spaceship in the Baxter Building's hangar.
"I guess this it, huh, Spidey?" Johnny told him, still feeling depressed about what had just occurred just a week prior.
"Yeah, until next time. See ya, Johnny." Eren told the Human Torch, receiving a slap on the shoulder before Johnny Storm boarded their ship.
Sue approached Eren, hugging him tightly with a mother's embrace as she spoke softly to him. "Keep everyone safe while we're gone, 'kay?" Sue told him, bringing a smile to the young man's face.
"I will. I'm not alone, so don't worry." He told her.
"Right. Goodbye, Eren."
"Goodbye, Sue."
Reed was next, approaching Eren and hugging him as well before placing both hands on the boy's shoulders and speaking to him. "You've done a lot of growing up in just a short amount of time. It was an honor having you on the team, Eren. You'll always be part of the family. If you ever need to talk to me..." Reed handed Eren a small circular device and a key. "Give me a call through here, got it? And also, here's a key to the place, if you ever need a place to stay."
"Yes sir." Eren told him. "Thanks for everything. Bye, Reed."
"Farewell, Eren."
As Reed walked away, the two kids stood next to each other with tears in their eyes. Spider-Man knelt down, extending both of his arms before the two kids ran to him, hugging them tightly. "I'll miss you, Uncle Eren." Franklin told him, crying onto his shoulder. "Me too..." said Valeria.
Spider-Man hugged the two of them tightly. "I'll miss you guys too. Don't cry, okay? I'll be here when you guys come back to Earth."
Valeria sniffled before wiping her tears and looking up at the hero. "You promise?" She asked him.
"I promise. You have my word. Cross my heart." He told her.
"Okay." Valeria sniffled again. "Bye, Uncle Eren." She told him.
"Bye, Uncle Eren." Franklin repeated.
Spider-Man rubbed both of their heads before he too said his goodbyes. "See y'all when you get back. Good luck with your training."
The two kids, still teary-eyed, turned away and began boarding the ship.
Eren watched as the family rolled out of the garage, following them out to watch the ship take off vertically. Eren waved at them until the ship took off in an instant, headed straight for space.
It was a sad moment for the boy, watching his family leave him like that. However, they weren't his only family on Earth. He still had Cindy and Harry waiting for him.