Three weeks had passed since the Harlem incident, and nothing out of the ordinary had happened in that time.
He had continued with his work and his daily life, both as Peter Parker and as Spider-Man.
A few days ago, a new agricultural fertilizer had gone to market.
It improved crop yield by 85%, reduced growth time, performed better across seasonal transitions, and came bundled with improvements to cultivation lamps and irrigation systems.
Entertainment and security improvements had followed.
The police had been equipped with antenna towers distributed across the city, each one running the best antenna he had been able to design within the current material constraints.
This reduced crime by a modest percentage, and the more important effect was that Cortana now had continuous monitoring coverage across a large portion of the city and could map the rest in real time.
On the entertainment side, he had launched a new mobile phone, which had sold with a velocity that he found personally satisfying.
He had also purchased shares in several companies:
Facebook, YouTube, Microsoft, and several others that were positioned to become extremely interesting and addictive to large populations, including Netflix and HBO.
The initial conversations had been difficult, but once he demonstrated how easily he could access their systems, the companies had been considerably more receptive to his offer to build them security infrastructure.
He had built the infrastructure.
He had also built the backdoor that allowed Cortana permanent access to their facilities.
The bank account was growing.
A tech company of his own was closer than it had been three weeks ago.
Outside of work, he had been spending time with his girls.
Every morning when he left the house he said goodbye to May with small kisses on her neck, which had begun producing results that he found entirely satisfying.
His friendship with Mary Jane and Gwen continued to develop.
With Missy, things had progressed to occasional secret kisses, which she initiated as often as he did.
He was not rushing anything.
He wanted her completely in love before he presented what he privately called the Harem Initiative, so that when the proposal came she would think about it rather than dismissing it immediately.
Other things had also happened, most of which were his business and would become the reader's discovery in time.
One of his personal favorites: illegal substances had been 'discovered' in John Jonah Jameson's apartment and car, because a concerned citizen had reported seeing him in possession of them.
That same week, multiple complaints of employee exploitation had surfaced, along with documented cases of threatened layoffs and pay cuts used as management tools.
Several days later, the Daily Bugle had been acquired by a publication called the Daily Planet, and shortly after that the Bugle had been closed for renovations.
It had been one of the best days of his life.
....
He was currently enjoying a well-deserved Saturday after an extended period of nonstop work.
Him, his dinner, his television, and his sofa.
Everything was in order.
May was at a nursing development course she had enrolled in and was paying for herself, after which she would check in at FEAST and then return.
"This is a perfect day," Peter said, flipping through channels. "I deserved this break after everything. I wish Susan had been able to help me.
Now that I think about it, it has been a while since I have seen her.
Only the Sir Storm, and I can count those occasions on one hand.
One of those times was when I shared ideas with him."
He landed on a news channel. "Mh, what they do cannot be that important."
He paused. "By the balls of Odin! This has to be a joke!"
On the television, the news channel was showing a fight in the middle of Madison Avenue.
A man in metallic armor and green clothing was causing significant chaos.
The camera caught him raising his hands, forming lightning between them, then pointing at a car and throwing it into another. The resulting explosion lit the street.
He looked like Electro and Lord Palpatine had collaborated on a design brief.
The crowd was running.
"Oh, please," Peter said. He pointed at the television. "Screw you."
He pointed at the ceiling. "Screw you."
He stood up. "And screw everyone else. Goodbye to my peaceful Saturday."
He ran to his room, put on his suit, jumped out the window, and began swinging in the specific way of someone moving through buildings quickly while using them as cover.
"That was Victor Von Doom. The Fantastic Four events have started. This is genuinely terrible."
He swung. 'Now I understand the saying that Spider-Man never gets a break, and if he does it is a miracle.'
"Cortana, when I arrive, you know what to do."
"Yes."
He swung at speed until he arrived and landed on a lamppost and assessed the situation.
Destroyed cars.
Cracked buildings and pavement.
Injured people throughout the area.
He dropped down and began working through the crowd, pulling people out of debris, directing those who were less seriously hurt to take the wounded toward any available first aid position.
The closer he got to the center, the louder everything became.
Once there, he could see Doom clearly. And near Doom was a figure he would have recognized anywhere.
Doom pointed at a car, which began to levitate, and threw it at the figure.
The car caught fire as it flew.
The flaming figure could not see the small girl behind him.
Spider-Man shot two webs at the car and, using his full strength, stopped it.