[Third Person Pov]
Peter had his arms wrapped tightly around Gwen, face buried against the side of her waist while she gently stroked his hair, fingers threading slowly through the messy strands.
"Aria really saved our butts back there," Gwen murmured, voice still a little weary from the earlier tension. A faint chuckle escaped her. "Dad took quite a liking to her, so he's willing to overlook… most of this. The only real condition is that you're forbidden from coming over for a while. Just in case we like Aria so much that we decide to have another one too soon."
Peter lifted his head just enough to look up at her, a snort of laughter escaping him. "Wait—so the reason I can't be here is because your dad is worried we're going to get baby fever or something?"
Gwen's giggle spilled out as she nodded. "It's silly, right?"
Peter's grin turned wicked. "Well then, it's a good thing we did it in the butt—"
A playful smack landed against the side of his head before he could finish.
"Peter!" Gwen reprimanded, though she was clearly fighting back her own amusement. The two of them dissolved into quiet, helpless giggling a second later.
Once the laughter settled, Gwen gently lifted his head from her lap. "Let's just get going, you dingus. We've got a semi-busy day ahead of us."
She slid off the bed with a long, satisfied stretch, then started toward the door. When she reached the doorway she paused, completely naked, and glanced back over her shoulder with a raised brow.
"Well? Are you going to join me in the shower?"
Peter blinked, caught off guard for half a second. "Are you serious?" He hadn't expected the offer, but it was very much a welcome surprise.
"Obviously," Gwen said, rolling her eyes even as a sultry little smile curved her lips. "Just because the day has begun doesn't mean we have to stop last night's fun just yet."
Peter's expression melted into pure, dreamy adoration. He batted his eyelashes at her. "I love you."
"I love you too," she answered, puckering her lips in his direction before tilting her head toward the hallway. "Now come on before I change my mind."
Peter was off the bed in an instant, practically leaping to her side. Gwen's giggles followed them all the way down the hall.
---
When MJ and Madeline stepped through the portal into the hideout, Madeline stopped dead in her tracks. She stared first at the shimmering circle of light as it sealed shut behind them, then at the vast, high-tech expanse stretching out in front of her.
"Wow…" she muttered under her breath. "I mean… just wow. That is certainly a convenient way to travel."
She kept walking, one hand still loosely linked through MJ's arm. "You're going to have to give me a proper tour of this place when you have the chance."
"I will. Just relax, will you?" MJ answered, amused, as she guided her mother toward the spot where she could already sense Peter and Gwen.
The moment they rounded the corner, MJ's eyebrow arched. Gwen was clinging to Peter's arm like a content cat, cheek pressed against his bicep, a soft, satisfied smile on her face.
"We're not interrupting anything, are we?" MJ drawled, already able to guess exactly what the two of them had gotten up to the night before.
Peter's eyes landed on Madeline—and immediately caught the changes that had taken place overnight. Her face looked noticeably younger, her posture straighter, her skin smooth and luminous.
"Don't," MJ and Gwen said in perfect unison, both turning sharp looks on him before he could open his mouth.
Peter held up both hands, laughing. "I didn't even say anything yet!"
"Tiger, we already know exactly what you're going to say," MJ replied flatly. "I don't want you flirting with my mother."
Madeline turned toward her daughter, brows knitting in mild concern. "What?"
Peter shot MJ a weary look. "Please stop. You're going to give her the wrong impression of me." He turned to Madeline with an easy, polite smile. "All I was going to say is that I think you look lovely. But it seems your daughter gets jealous and doesn't want me to compliment you."
Madeline turned toward MJ with genuine confusion. "Why don't you want him complimenting me? If he thinks I look great, it's completely within his right to say it. I like compliments."
MJ opened her mouth, closed it, then let out a long, frustrated sigh. "That's not— ugh." Unable to form a proper retort, she simply pointed a warning finger at Peter and fixed him with a threatening glare.
Peter and Gwen both started chuckling. Gwen stepped forward and gently took Madeline by the arm. "Come on. Let me take a proper scan of your body so we can see what we're working with."
She guided Madeline into an open stretch of the hideout floor. "Arms out and straight, please. Hold still while these spider-bots get to work."
A small swarm of sleek, metallic spider-bots scuttled into view at Gwen's command. They climbed the air around Madeline in precise formation, thin beams of blue light sweeping up and down her body as they began their detailed scan.
Meanwhile, Peter slipped behind MJ and wrapped his arms around her from behind. She stood with her arms crossed, still glaring, but he began pressing soft, repeated kisses to her cheek.
"Come on, baby," he murmured between kisses. "You know I was only joking."
"Mmhmm," MJ replied, the sass still present in her voice even as her posture slowly melted under the steady affection.
Peter's grin turned teasing again. He raised his eyebrows suggestively. "But you have to admit—your mother is smoking hot now."
MJ broke free in an instant. She seized his arm, twisted it behind his back, and forced his shoulder down into a sharp submission hold.
"Tell me, Tiger," she growled, leaning close to his ear with a menacing glare, "are you tired of being alive? That is my mother you're talking about."
Across the room, Madeline's cheeks flushed a deep pink at the overheard comment.
"Okay, you can lower your arms—I'm finished," Gwen announced. The spider-bots retreated as a glowing holographic projection bloomed into existence in front of them, layered with rotating diagrams, data readouts, and highlighted anatomical notes.
Gwen gestured to the first set of findings. "The polar-bear DNA is doing a lot of heavy lifting. The density and tensile strength of your muscle fibers are extraordinary—enough to give you a strength boost measured in several tons."
"Yeah," MJ added dryly, finally releasing Peter so he could nurse his aching arm. "She kind of destroyed the entire house trying to get ready this morning."
Gwen continued without missing a beat, scrolling through the next cluster of data. "There's also the matter of your skin. You can tank a high-caliber bullet without issue. On top of that, it offers strong protection against extreme thermal environments—your body will actively adapt and self-regulate its temperature whether you're in intense heat or deep cold."
Madeline flexed one arm experimentally, watching the newly defined muscle shift beneath her skin. "I suppose that's… cool. Bullet-resistant. Wow."
"That's not all," Gwen went on, still reading from the projection. "Increased overall durability, enhanced stamina, sharper reaction times, and a suite of superior senses—some of which can be attributed to the bat DNA. You'll also find retractable claws… and fangs."
Madeline blinked. "Retractable claws and fangs?"
She spread her fingers experimentally. A set of sleek black claws slid smoothly from beneath her fingernails with a soft *snick*. At the same moment she felt an odd pressure along her upper teeth. She ran her tongue over them and immediately winced at the sharpness.
"…Okay. I'm having second thoughts here."
"Oh don't worry about that, that's something we all have here" Peter stepped forward with an easy smile and opened his mouth, revealing his own set of retractable fangs. MJ and Gwen did the same a second later, flashing matching pairs.
Madeline exhaled in visible relief. Seeing that the three of them shared the same trait made the whole thing feel far less isolating—and far less like she had simply turned into some kind of freak.
"Okay," she said, looking back at Gwen with renewed curiosity. "So what else?"
Gwen's eyes tracked down the long holographic list. She scrolled for a moment, then gave a small, almost apologetic smile.
"Honestly? There's a lot…"
************************************************
+5 advance Chapters on: patreon.com/Shadow_D_Monarch3