Spider-Man Mayhem-Chapter 436: Snug as a Bug

[Third Person Pov]

When they arrived at their base, the first thing Peter did was find a chair and slump down into it, letting out a long breath. "I can’t remember the last time I’ve ever been this exhausted from a mission before."

"Tell me about it..." Felicia said as she walked over and sat on top of him, curling against him affectionately and resting her head comfortably over his shoulders.

"I don’t know about you guys, but I had an absolute blast. It had everything I could ever possibly want in a mission and more," Johnny added smugly. "Danger, killer robots, and beautiful girls."

The rest of them rolled their eyes as they settled down as well, each taking a moment to breathe and recover from the chaos.

Peter suddenly felt his phone buzzing in his pocket and carefully pulled it out. The moment he saw the name on the screen, his expression shifted. ’Uh oh,’ he thought. It was none other than Susan Storm.

Peter and Felicia exchanged a glance for a moment. Felicia started to chuckle softly before saying, "I think you should answer that."

"I know, I know," Peter muttered as he accepted the call. "Hello?"

Felicia leaned in closer, listening in on the conversation.

"Is Johnny with you?" Susan asked coldly. Her anger was controlled, but it was very much there beneath her tone.

"Um... yes," Peter answered awkwardly, glancing over at Johnny, who was staring down at his own phone, Rogue’s number pulled up on the screen.

"He’s ignoring my calls. Put him on," Susan replied, leaving no room for argument.

"Yes, ma’am," Peter said meekly before lowering the phone. "Johnny, it’s for you."

"Wha—" Johnny started, only for Peter to toss the phone toward him. He scrambled to catch it, barely managing to secure it awkwardly between his fingers.

He shot Peter a confused look, but the moment he saw the caller ID, his face dropped. "Darn..."

Johnny took a breath and mentally braced himself. "Hey~ if it isn’t my favorite sister in the whole wide world—"

"JONATHAN LOWELL SPENCER STORM!!! YOU HAVE SOME NERVE!"

"Arghh!" Johnny yelped, jerking the phone away from his ear and tilting his head to the side. "There’s no need to shout, I’m right here!"

"Do you have any idea what your actions have caused?!" Susan’s voice was loud enough to be heard clearly even without the call being on speaker.

"What? I didn’t do anything wrong. Guard duty was boring, nothing interesting was happening," Johnny said in exasperation, rolling his eyes.

Susan’s voice dropped into a low, venomous hiss. "Because you walked away from guard duty, our ride was stolen by some Neanderthals, and we were stranded in the Savage Land longer than we intended."

"...I left it hidden and protected, so if they found it afterward, it’s not my fault," Johnny sulked, trying to justify himself. "Plus, you all know what I’m like. Whose bright idea was it to put someone like me on guard duty? For a bunch of geniuses, that was a pretty dumb move."

"Johnny, I’m only going to say this once. Get your butt back home. Now. We are going to have a very long talk about this in person," Susan said before abruptly ending the call.

Johnny sighed and tossed Peter his phone back. "Well, it was fun while it lasted."

"Don’t worry," Gwen said as she patted his back, "we’ll make sure your memorial service is a great one."

Johnny’s shoulders slumped even further as he started walking away, dragging his feet and swinging his arms side to side. From the distance, they could hear a quiet, mournful, "Flame on..."

"I honestly better get going as well," Lizzy sighed, "my mother hasn’t been liking the fact that I’ve been staying out for too long."

"I’ll walk you home," Harry suggested carefully.

Lizzy scoffed as she started walking away. "Why don’t you walk your new girlfriend home instead?"

"Baby, you’re killing me here!" Harry groaned as he hurried after her, the two of them walking off together.

Peter and the others chuckled at their exchange before saying their farewells.

Felicia continued to lean against Peter’s shoulder, snuggling up to him while resting her eyes. Peter withdrew his mask with a thought and slicked back his hair, letting himself finally relax.

MJ watched them for a moment before speaking up. "That looks really comfortable. You got room for one more?"

Peter opened his arm and motioned to his other side. MJ skipped over without hesitation and happily snuggled in beside him.

"What about me..." Gwen pouted, clearly wanting in on the cuddling as well.

Peter tilted his head slightly and motioned toward the space between Felicia and MJ that was still open. Gwen shrugged and walked over, settling down there and leaning back against him.

Aria placed a hand on her hip as she looked at the growing pile. "And where exactly am I supposed to fit?"

Gwen extended her arms toward her, beckoning her closer. "I could carry you if you want."

Aria shrugged. "Better than nothing, I suppose."

Her body shimmered slightly as she shrank back down into her child form. Her small feet padded lightly against the ground as she climbed the mountain of limbs before settling comfortably onto Gwen’s lap.

Aria grabbed Gwen’s arms and wrapped them securely around herself, giving them a small pat as if locking them into place.

Gwen giggled softly as she held Aria in her lap, adjusting slightly to make sure she was comfortable.

Peter let out a long, content sigh. "Ahhh... this is nice."

The others murmured in agreement, their eyes slowly closing as they basked in the quiet, peaceful moment. One by one, the exhaustion from the day finally caught up to them, and they drifted off to sleep.

It was much later when Bruce and Betty arrived.

Bruce stepped into the room first, only to freeze mid-step as he took in the scene before him, blinking in disbelief.

"Wha—" Betty started to ask, but Bruce quickly turned and held a finger to his lips, silently signaling for her to be quiet.

Betty tilted her head in confusion at first, but when Bruce gestured toward the room, she leaned in and peeked inside. The moment she saw them, she brought a hand up to her mouth to stifle a laugh, her eyes softening at how adorable the scene was.

She motioned with her head for them to leave quietly and not disturb them. Bruce nodded in agreement, and the two of them carefully stepped back before gently closing the door behind them.

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