Chapter 180: And There It is...

[Third Person's PoV]

Before Peter and Gwen entered and stood in front of the door, Gwen leaned over and asked, "What do you think Felix meant when he said the Fantastic Four?"

"Who do you think?" Peter asked, raising a brow.

"I understand that, but why would he call them that?"

"Maybe because they become fantastic or something? Gwen, honey, I know as much as you do…"

"Speaking of Felix…" Peter took out his phone and sent him a message through Aria, before showing Gwen and putting his phone back in his pocket.

"Really?" Gwen asked, raising an eyebrow. "Are you sure that's going to be okay?"

"This is mostly a test to see how he does. I'm curious about how he handles things," Peter explained.

"You know this could go very wrong for you, right?" Gwen asked with an unsure expression.

"I'll be able to fix it if it does… I hope."

"For someone who can see into the future, you sure don't think ahead, do you?" Gwen said in a low voice, shaking her head.

Just then, the door opened, revealing Johnny, looking at them in confusion. "I thought I heard voices… What are you guys doing? Come in."

"Sorry, we were making out in front of your doorstep…"

"Peter…" Gwen said, slapping the side of his arm.

Johnny just laughed. "Sure, sure."

---

"I knew I had a thing for older men."

"Mom, gross…" Felix said, seeing Felicia stare at the picture Aria sent them. "I'm so thankful Uncle Bruce and Aunt Betty left so they didn't have to hear you say something so embarrassing."

"You have a message from Father, little bro," Aria said, appearing on the big screen.

"Little bro?" Felix asked in amusement, before shaking his head. "What is it?"

"He says, and I quote, 'It's time to fill Dad's shoes while he's absent. Since I've been busy with my internship, I haven't been very active in my role as Spider-Man during the day, so I'm giving that responsibility to my son. There's a backup watch in my lab. Have fun. Rock and roll fingers emoji, web emojis,' end quote."

"Is he crazy!? I'm not doing that! I know he's not stupid; doesn't he realize my actions still affect the timeline? Even saving one person could cause irreversible damage and alter time…"

Felicia stopped looking at the picture and gave Felix a weird look. "Are you saying you wouldn't go out and save someone because you're scared of the consequences?"

"YES!" Felix said, as if the answer were the most obvious in the world.

"I guess this is where the similarities between you and your father end…" Felicia mumbled as she zoomed in on the picture, focusing on Peter's hazel eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Felix asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I've known Peter for about two or three months now, and had my powers for less. One of the things I've realized about Peter in such a short time is that he has no fear. He has worries, insecurities, and uncertainties, but never fear. Especially when it comes to being a hero. If it means saving the person in front of him, Peter doesn't care about the consequences…" Felicia said, searching for any signs of graying hair. "Bummer…" she muttered.

"Yeah, well, it's not your family that's on the line, is it? You're talking about putting my mother, my father, my sisters, my brothers—my entire timeline—in danger just to be a hero to some stranger…"

"And the gap keeps on widening…" Felicia said, zooming in and out of Peter's pecs.

Felix got ticked off upon hearing that. "I'm not my father, alright!? And I'll never be! No one will ever be! I see all my brothers and sisters trying to live up to my father, and they've almost gotten killed more times than I can count! It pisses me off how everyone expects me to be like him, how they expect us all to be better. How can anyone be better than the greatest man you've ever known!? News flash: you can't!"

"And there it is…" Felicia said, sitting down, still staring at Peter's hazel eyes.

"There what is?"

"You said you were meant to be here, but why? Maybe you're here for this reason—for what you're currently feeling. From what I've heard and seen, you worship Peter like he's some kind of god, like the second coming of Jesus or something. And trust me when I say, Parker is the furthest thing from a god. He's the most human person I know." Felicia scoffed.

"Wanna know what I think?" Felicia asked, looking at the picture one more time before reluctantly putting it down.

"I think it wasn't a coincidence that you appeared when you did. You appeared just when Peter was starting out as a hero—you might as well call this time 'Spider-Man: Freshman Year.' Superhero Rule Number 13?"

"What?"

"If Peter taught you like he was supposed to, he would have taught you the sacred rules of being a superhero. What's Rule Number 13?" Felicia asked again.

Felix grumbled, looking down. "In the world of superheroes, when things seem like a coincidence, they're most likely not a coincidence…"

"Exactly… So do you really think it's a coincidence that you appeared at this specific point in time? Like you said, the timestream randomly threw you out—but was it really that random? So, you acting like Spider-Man isn't going to affect the timeline; it's most likely something you were meant to do, to learn the true essence of what it's like being Spider-Man."

Felix's shoulders slumped as he looked up and let out a groan, "Why is now the moment you decide to show that you're actually really smart?"

Felicia smiled warmly, winking and sticking her tongue out while flashing a peace sign. "Because my son clearly needs help!"

Felix sighed, walking away in exaggerated, almost drunken motions, swinging his arms side to side and kicking the air in front of him.

"And where are you going?" Felicia asked with amusement.

"To get that stupid backup watch of his..." Felix grumbled, kicking the air once more.

Felicia smiled wider, tilting her head with a loving expression. 'Even the way he pouts is just like him,' she thought fondly.

A moment later, Felix returned with the watch, which he slapped over his wrist. Felicia leaped into the air, spinning gracefully as she transformed into her Spider-Kat outfit, landing next to Felix with one hand on her hip.

Felix glanced at her and tapped on his watch, causing the Spider-Man suit to shift over his body. "You're being extra for no reason..."

Spider-Kat pouted playfully. "I thought it was cool! Plus, it's time for some mother-son hero action."

"Let's just go," Felix sighed, glancing down at his suit, adjusting to the feel of it.

"Are you nervous?" Spider-Kat asked, her voice curious.

"A little... I mean, I'm supposed to go out there and pretend to be the Amazing Spider-Man, New York's greatest hero. It's not exactly something you can mentally prepare for."

"You're Peter's kid. Trust me, you'll do just fine," Spider-Kat said, giving his back a reassuring pat.

"See, that's the problem," Felix muttered. "Everyone expects me to be great because of who my dad is. It's starting to get annoying."

Spider-Kat wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Well, there's another reason you'll do great. You're not just Peter's son—you're mine too. And knowing how amazing I am, you're bound to be just as amazing."

Felix scoffed, but under his mask, a small smile crept across his face. Her confidence in him just for being her son struck a chord.

Taking a deep breath, Felix nodded. "Alright, let's do this."

They both rushed out of the hideout, launching into the air as their webs shot out, propelling them across the skyline of New York City.

As they swung through the air, Aria appeared in Felix's HUD. "Let me guide you to where you need to go, little bro..."

Suddenly, a white tiger cub appeared, shoving Aria aside. "That's not going to happen! Felix is my master, so I'll be guiding him!" Winston declared possessively.

Aria reappeared, pushing Winston back. "Don't shove me, you smelly furball!"

"How can I smell when I'm an A.I., you silly spiderling?" Winston shot back.

The two continued bickering on Felix's display. "I can smell your bad ones and zeros from here, you uncivilized wet cat!" Aria snapped.

"Enough, you two!" Felix interrupted with a firm tone. "Get along, and remember what's important."

Reluctantly, Aria and Winston stopped their argument, sitting down with their arms crossed and pouting.

"Who's the cute little guy?" Spider-Kat asked, noticing Winston on Felix's display, clearly amused.

"That's Winston, my A.I.," Felix replied.

"I thought Aria was the A.I. for all of you kids."

"Well, I can't say too much—it might mess with the future. But what I can say is that before we could start being superheroes, Dad had a rule: each of us had to create our own A.I. to prove we were ready. So I made Winston."

"I see, so it's like how Peter is with Aria?"

"Not really, dad is just really weird. We treat our A.I. companions more like best friends," Felix said, glancing at Winston, who flashed a toothy grin and gave a thumbs up with his paw.

Spider-Kat rolled her eyes, doing a quick barrel roll in the air. 'That's not much different from how Peter treats Aria, she thought.'

Felix looked between Winston and Aria. "Please, you two. Instead of fighting, work together. We need to save as many people as we can."

"We're sorry," they muttered apologetically. After a moment of hesitation, they sighed and extended their hands, shaking on it with a nod of agreement. They began working together, scanning the massive city of New York to find those in need of their help.

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