She could feel the eyes of all the X-Men on her, but she ignored them. She didn't care what they thought. The Professor had called her, so she assumed he already knew everything that had happened. She sighed first and then entered the room, quickly closing the door behind her.
"You called me?" she asked.
Xavier smiled.
"Have a seat, Miss Frost," he ordered.
She smiled back and did as asked. She sat in front of him and crossed her legs.
"You know you can call me Emma."
"What happened to you?" he asked.
"Wow... straight to the point," she sighed. "Nothing happened to me," she replied.
"You helped Peter with this madness," he pointed out. "You should've told us he was alive."
"First: Peter is completely sane," she corrected. "Second: he wasn't an X-Man, so I didn't need to report anything."
"But we treated him like one."
"Being treated like one and actually being part of the team are very different things," she smiled, victorious. "Let's put that aside. Why am I here?"
"I received complaints from..."
"Elizabeth Braddock," she guessed. "No surprise she wants me gone," she whispered.
"It wasn't just her. Jean, Hope, even Logan too," he said. "They're upset with you. They want some sort of punishment."
Emma stood up and walked to the door.
"I'm out," she said suddenly.
"What?"
"I'm out," she repeated. "I'm leaving the X-Men." She looked over her shoulder. "I don't regret what I did, because I met a wonderful man."
"Think this through," he said. "Peter isn't the same as before."
"I know. He's changed. I'm fully aware of that," she turned to see him one last time. "To you, he's changed. But to me, he's still the same. And that's all that matters," she smiled nostalgically. "Goodbye, Professor."
With nothing more to say, she left the office and went to her room to get her things.
................
Meanwhile, Captain America was watching the Avengers with a serious expression. They wanted to go after Peter.
"This is a mistake," Natasha declared. "Peter... he... he doesn't kill. He's Spider-Man."
"Spider-Man is dead," the Captain replied. "He's changed. It's time we leave him alone—for once in his life."
"Why are you supporting this behavior?" Stark asked.
"He's still a hero. I don't like his methods, but he's doing what's right," he replied. "I don't see you trying to lock up the Punisher."
"That's different," Carol interjected. "It's different because the Punisher's always been like that. Peter hasn't." She sighed. "He's just confused, that's all."
"He's not," the Captain said. "He's determined. I saw it clearly when he killed the Goblin." He paused. "You feel guilty, don't you?"
"I don't feel anything," Clint said.
"That's what your ex-wife said every time you had sex," Thor added. "That's why she left you for Spider-Man," he joked.
"You think you're funny, huh?" Clint growled.
"ENOUGH!" Banner shouted. "You're acting like children." He sighed. "I can't take this anymore." He muttered, "I'm leaving the Avengers."
"Are you insane, Banner?" Stark asked.
"On the contrary, I'm finally sane," he replied. "I'm going with the Captain and Jessica. Maybe then I can do some good."
"I'm out too. I can't stand chicken eyes, and even less so you, Stark," Thor added. "I'm going with the Captain."
......................
Emma arrived at the apartment she shared with Peter. Using her powers, she levitated all the bags into the bedroom, where he was.
"Are you going to tell me what you're thinking about?" she asked, stopping her powers.
Peter jumped a little and sighed in relief when he saw her.
"You scared the hell out of me," he smiled. "Next time, please set the bags down a little more gently."
"Only if you promise not to get so lost in your thoughts," she sat on the edge of the bed. "What's wrong?"
Peter sighed again.
"I killed Norman," he whispered. "They always told me revenge leads nowhere good," he explained. "But when I killed him... I felt free."
Emma climbed onto the bed, sitting next to him. She took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"You did the right thing," she said. "Norman was the Goblin—he was mentally unstable, and you know that." He looked at her.
"You're right," he smiled. "Maybe it won't change what he did to me, but I'm glad no other hero will go through what I went through at the hands of that lunatic." He kissed her fingers. "I'm sorry for being so lost in my head."
Emma smiled and climbed on top of him.
"You have every reason to be like that," she brushed her lips against his. "I'm happy you trust me enough to share these things—your thoughts, your feelings..." she kissed his neck.
His hands ran up her thighs and around her waist.
"Marry me."
She stopped and looked him in the eyes.
"What?"
"Marry me," he repeated. "Please..."
She smiled seductively, got off him, took off her clothes until she was completely naked, used her powers to levitate him, undressed him too, and dropped him on the bed.
She climbed onto his lap.
"Of course I'll marry you."
"Really? I thought you'd say no because I don't..."
Emma kissed him with passion and desire, nibbled his bottom lip, then broke the kiss.
"The ring doesn't matter right now. We can buy it after we… do what we need to do," she whispered in his ear.
"Wow... you're dynamite, babe..."
"I know, you always tell me that," she began moving up and down. "Now relax. You deserve a reward for getting through all this."
"Well... the truth is no matter how many times I get knocked down..." he grabbed her waist, "I always find a way to get back up," and kissed her.
...............
Susan didn't know how her kids would react to finding out that the Red Hood was Peter. She told Ben and Johnny, who were shocked and reacted differently. Johnny burst into flames and rushed out to find him, but returned an hour later without success. Ben was calmer, saying Peter must have had his reasons for not coming straight to the Baxter Building, but that wasn't an excuse. Then the two went out into the city to look for him.
"Mom?" Valeria called.
"Are you okay?" Franklin asked.
"Yes, I was just thinking," she smiled. "There's something I need to tell you... it's a bit complicated."
The siblings exchanged glances and sat beside her.
"I know it'll be hard to believe, it's been two years since he died..." she began.
"If this is about Uncle Peter, I don't want to talk about it," Franklin said firmly.
"Me neither," Valeria added.
"I know it's hard, my loves," she said calmly. "But if I don't tell you, you'll be mad at me later for not telling you sooner," she sighed. "Listen: Uncle Peter is alive."
The siblings looked at their mother, stunned.
"Mom, don't joke about that," Valeria growled. "Uncle Peter is way too important to..."
"It's true," she interrupted. "He was brought back by Kraven," she confessed. "Why do you think I've been spending these past few weeks with the Captain?"
"Take us to him!" the siblings said in unison.
"We don't know where he is," she replied.
Valeria frowned and ran toward her room.
"VALERIA, WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" Susan yelled.
"TO GET MY STUFF! I'M GOING TO TRACK UNCLE PETER! I'M GOING TO FIND HIM!" she shouted back.
.............
She wanted to dominate him this time—for real. But Peter had something that made her lose control, ending up giving herself to him completely.
He pulled her off his lap and turned her face down on the bed. His hands ran along her back up to her hair, which he gently brushed aside to kiss her neck.
"Ready?" he whispered, nibbling her earlobe.
"Always, my love," she replied flirtatiously.
He gave her lips a soft kiss, then knelt and lifted her hips, slowly entering her.
"Ngh..." she moaned.
Emma had confessed she had never done anal before, which surprised him. And there was no better way to celebrate their engagement than with this first time.
"Damn... it really is your first time. You're tight..."
"S-shut up..."
He entered slowly—he didn't want this to be a bad experience.
She closed her eyes and gripped the sheets.
"Ah..." she breathed. "G-give me a moment to adjust..."
"Grr... fuck, you're so tight... b-but it's worth it," he smiled.
She sighed and looked over her shoulder.
"Y-you can move now..."
Peter leaned in, kissing her back up to her neck.
"Can't believe we're finally doing it like this," he whispered. "After all my begging," he joked.
"I-I'm only doing this because... ah..."
Peter started moving, and she couldn't even finish the sentence.
"Ngh... ah... oh God," she moaned.
"God, Emma..."
He increased the pace of his thrusts, and soon the room was filled with the sound of skin slapping against skin.
"Ah... ngh... mgh... P-Peter..."
............
The Captain returned to his base with Thor and Banner, who wanted to know how Peter had come back to life. He led them to the office where Jessica was.
"I see you're building a team," Jessica joked.
"They couldn't stand Stark or Clint," Steve replied. "They want to know how Peter was brought back."
"You already know?" Banner asked.
"Yes," she sighed. "It's hard to believe at first..."
"Where's Spider-Man?"
"He's not Spider-Man anymore," Steve replied. "He's the Red Hood now. And we have to accept that."