I called Laura. The moment she heard me voice, she hung up. I put me cell phone back on me bed-side table, and sighed. This wasna' going well. Once me clothes were on, I padded on down to the kitchen. Peter was there, making coffee.

I looked at the thick, black substance, and snorted, "Liquid Satan."

Peter chuckled, "Best damn liquid Satan in the world. Sure you don't want some?"

"Nah, I prefer health. 'Sides, would ya really want to see me on a caffeine buzz?"

"Absolutely not!" proclaimed Aunt May as she sauntered into the kitchen? "Did you have fun at the party."

"Peter did." I responded.

"And isn't that just like him?" May continued. "You always did leave the hosting to other people."

"I had a lot on my mind." Peter defended himself. "A fake Spiderman, in fact. I'm heading over to see Nick Fury this morning to talk to him about it."

Aunt May and I looked at each other, and we both knew what the other was thinking: "Not another one." Peter and I had caught three fake Spiderman's in the last week alone, each being a better fake than the last.

"Where's MJ?" I asked.

"Still sleeping."

Aunt May huffed, "She'll have a hangover, if I know her at all. I'll stay here to watch her while you boys go out and play."

******

With Spiderman gone to see Nick Fury, I was left to deal with daily business. What I didna' understand, is why there was no business. For the first ten minutes, there was nothing. No screams of a woman with her purse stolen. No angry yelling from a bank being robbed.

Then a siren blared.

"That be better." I thought.

The siren came from a modestly sized skyscraper. One that I had, oddly enough, never been inside of. I stopped on the roof of the building, then I jumped off the roof, descending in a wild free fall. When I was past the fortieth, floor, I put me feet on the wall and slowed meself down. At the thirtieth floor I stopped.

From far away, I had noticed a broken window on this floor. I entered through it, and came into a plush office. There wasna' much there, except a few chairs and some people in business suits.

"Welcome, Angus." said one bald, wrinkled man. "I apologize for the... incompetence of my employees. They were not supposed to attack you. But you repaid them well enough for their stupidity. Could we talk?"

"Who be ye?"

"Grelm. Arthur Grelm, High Druid of Fallen Sun."

Bloody party... why in the seven circles of Hell did I ever think this would be a good idea? Oh right, 'cause all the heroes and villains from both sides of the Civil War are such peaceful creatures. They all be downstairs right now, singing songs about saving the Earth and promoting the benefits of nudity. At this moment, I wish.

So far, I've lost me best friend, me girlfriend, and I've had to stop at least one fight. Kon El isna' helping on that score... At least they've all been apologizing so far, beginning with Ana and Vampirella, and finally even Hot Stuff came to apologize.

"Hey man, I'm sorry about what happened back there."

"It no be a problem, really. Actually, if ya could stick with Laura for a bit, and keep her busy? She is... a good friend of mine. I will find a way to keep Logan away."

He looked at me funny.

"You'd do that for me?"

I didna' say anything for a moment. Then I glanced over at Laura. "Yeah, I would."

******

I devoted the rest of me night to keeping all the guests happy. Even if I couldna' be happy that night, I would make sure that as many people as possible were. It didna' help though, that Peter and MJ kept disappearing. Married people (grunts).

On a lighter note, nearly everyone laughed when Superman (who came to the party later than Kon) walked into the hall. Oh, he looked fine, but as he came in, Kon El plugged the sound system into his iPod, and "Kryptonite" by Three Doors Down came blaring through the speakers.

Kal El was not amused. I tried to make on the fly changes to his emotions to keep him from wrecking the place. It didna' work, and it didna' matter anyways. He seems to be better at controlling his emotions than some people I know...

Finally, some time before the end of the party, Pan walked over to me.

"Look, I'm sorry for freaking out on you there. Are you okay?

I half smiled. "As okay as I can be, I guess. Another dance?"

"Sure."

I let out me breath slowly. "Bloody Heaven, Earth, and Hell."

"Like it?" Pan giggled.

I was at a loss for words. Pan's black dress was low in the front and much lower in the back. It reached down into a long skirt, with a slit running high on each side. It was all I could do to keep me hands at me sides.

"Every other guy will be jealous." I managed to sputter out.

I offered me arm, and we walked away from the Blackbird, toward the party hall. As the hosts, Peter and MJ were there from the beginning. Aunt May had decided not to come, much to Elixir's relief. I was late only because I had to convince Laura that, yes, I really did want her to come to the party.

She had refused at first, and that made me feel bad. So, I spent an hour convincing her to come, against my better judgment. I knew it was bound to cause trouble.

As Pan and I entered the hall, the MC on stage announced our names as we came in. Behind us were Professor Xavier, all the X-Men, and a few of the students. I had done a little extra "work" on Scott just before the party, so I was sure he would be fine.

Vegeta, Goku, their families, and some of their friends were already there. Coming in just after us, came Nick Fury and Agent Romanova. Well, I did invite everyone...

******

With Pan beside me, I made my way to Peter. He clapped me on the back, and MJ gave me a hug.

"Welcome back Angus!" said Peter with a smile. "Hi Pan, you look great."

"It be good to be back."

As we spoke, the few belongings of mine that had been at the X-Mansion were on their way home. This party was also kind of a homecoming celebration. There wasna' much news to catch up on, so Peter and MJ soon left to greet more guests. I took Pan to the dance floor.

We danced for some time, getting caught up on random details of each other's lives since we had last been together (like, two days before...). We had a live band on stage, singing some slow songs. The mood was perfect.

I drew Pan in closer to me. "I love ya."

Pan just giggled. "After all we've been through, you'd better."

She looked up, and time seemed to slow. I inched my face closer to hers, and then time sped back up. I felt a tap on me shoulder.

Laura lifted an eyebrow, "Would you mind sharing your guy?" she said to Pan, "I don't have a date."

Pan was fuming. So was I, and I gave her a glance that told her so. Ironically, that made Pan feel better. I hesitated, but Pan turned to Laura.

"As a matter of fact, I'm getting kind of hungry. Angus, why don't you give her some company while I see if the caterers were worth the price paid."

With that, I was alone with Laura, and for the first time, I was genuinely mad at her.

"Listen, Laura. I be sorry, but that was bloody bad timing."

"What, you afraid she'll get angry?" she replied saucily.

"I happen to know that she was very angry, and for that matter, so am I."

I didna' really mean to tell her that, but I couldna' help meself.

"So that's it? I'm some sort of irritation?"

"No. Normally, ya be a very good friend." I kept digging me own grave. "Now, I do na want to hurt ya in any way, but ya do na' seem to realize that Pan is my girlfriend. I am in love with her. Do na' get in the way."

Laura smiled a plastic smile. "Fine."

We finished the dance in silence. When she left, Pan quickly returned. "So what happened there?"

I hung my head in shame. "I believe I have just lost a friend."

Pan scowled. "And I'm to blame?"

I just stared at her. "What?!?"

Pan walked away from me too.

******

I stood near the wall. I held my head in my hands. Then I looked around at the visitors. I couldna' show any of this to the guests. This was a party. I looked for something to do. Just then, the MC announced a new guest.

"Carol Danvers."

And there she was. I quickly looked for Scott. He had been busy sampling the food, but had turned when he heard the announcement. I felt for his emotions, checking to make sure that all was in place. Scott would do fine.

He walked up to her, and within minutes, Carol was feeling giddy. They headed for the dance floor. "Well if my own romance life goes down the drain, I'm just glad I helped someone else." I thought.

******

In a while, Pan approached me. "You're not out of the doghouse, but I'll take the leash off if you'll get rid of Wonder Bread for me."

She pointed toward the SHIELD agent known as Wonder Man. "He's a creep, and he's been hitting on me." she said by way of explanation.

"No problem." I said.

I walked up to him. "Hey, ya be Wonder Man, right?"

He was very tipsy, if not drunk. "Yeh, that'd be me."

"Listen, could I just have a word with ya outside?"

"Sure, why not?"

******

Five minutes later I came back in the building. In that time, I had beaten the living Hell out of Wonder Man, without even wrinkling me tuxedo. Wimp.

Laura was coming toward me. I avoided her, and looked for Pan. I didna' want to end the night on these terms. Unfortunately, something stopped me.

"Hey guys! Conner Kent is in the building!"

There goes the neighborhood...