Title: Guilty until Proven Innocent

Universe: Spider-Man: Edge of Time/Spider-Man 2099

Summary: Miguel deals with the troubles of Alchemax and Walker Sloan's mysterious behavior.

Mornings were never a good time for Miguel when he had something on his mind (come to think of it, neither was nights). He woke up agitated, wound up and ready tear into the nearest creep in the city. The anxiety never alleviated itself until he resolved whatever was on his mind. He opted to sleep on the couch, leaving the bed to his wife, in fear of harming her. Of course where he ended up wasn't the couch, but a hammock of his design, while not the most comfortable thing on earth it relaxed him, allowed him get a few hours of shuteye.

"You know, I hate it when you do this," He opened his eyes to find a bleary eyed Xina Kwan staring at him, tooth brush in one hand and a towel draped over her shoulder. Miguel yawned and untangled himself from the webs that suspended him above ground. "I know, I know, but-"

"It helps you think, I know," She smiled warily, rubbing her shoulder with her free hand. "Just try to clean up before you head into Alchemax today. I nearly walked into the last one you made." As if to make a point she pulled at the ends of her hair. "That stuff isn't exactly the easiest thing in the world to get out of my hair." Miguel raised his hands in mock surrender, his mind uncoiling itself from the disorientation of slumber.

"Alright, I'll remember this time, promise." Taking the webbing down wasn't a hard request, the natural adhesive of the web never hindered him, it merely caused a problem when it came to taking things down without tearing the wall away (one of the many reasons why he usually never did this unless he really needed to sleep).

"In trouble again, Miggy?" Miguel turned to face Lyla's chipper façade with a smile. "You could say that, Lyla," He replied, yanking the web from the wall.

"Sleep well?"

"Better than you, Lyla."

"That's funny, because I don't sleep," Along with declaring the obvious the program followed up with a laugh.

"Right again, Lyla," He intoned. "Is Xina almost done? I've really gotta head out."

"Mrs. Kwan-O'Hara has been in the bathroom for a total of fifteen minutes and I suspect she isn't done yet," Lyla answered.

"Right, I knew that," Miguel muttered to himself as he rolled the webbing up into a compact ball, his finger nails unfurled and acting like needles guiding the strands of the web in a circular motion.

"If it's any inclination, she hasn't locked the door. As in, the door has been left slightly ajar," For all her intelligence, there were times he wished she were more subtle. He tossed the web in a corner and proceeded to pull his shirt off. "Thanks Lyla, I got the message," He grinned, heading toward the bathroom.

As a company, Alchemax wasn't doing as well as the people who mattered had hoped it would after Tyler Stone stepped down as CEO of the company. Annual revenue was at an all-time low, employment was declining and Stark-Fujikawa was beating them out of every major contract that could've given them a leg up in the competition. As the new CEO, Miguel wasn't exactly taking the news well and most of the employees were beginning to fear they'd lose their jobs when rumors of Stark-Fujikawa wanting to acquire his company began to circulate. Alchemax, for all the bad it's thrown at him, was like his second home. He couldn't lose it.

Part of him wondered if his responsibilities as Spider-Man were at the crux of the company's decline and there was always the grim possibility that one of Stark-Fujikawa key liaisons was taking advantage of their unique position as partners to further Stark's success.

He believed the first more than he did the latter; Stark-Fujikawa was a lot of things, but a snake wasn't one of them. He wouldn't put it past Walker Sloan to throw him under the bus, though. A relatively established employee of the company, Sloan was as questionable as they came. If he barely trusted Stone during his tenure as CEO, then he didn't trust Miguel at all. The man was known for his genius-level intellect, his involvement with several projects at Alchemax let Miguel know why he was still on the payroll, but his behavior as of late did more than trip his suspicions.

His previous encounters with man and his dodgy way of implying he was 'hard at work' on a 'new project' in the time research lab were enough to keep Miguel up at night and well into the morning. Anytime he questioned how his research was going, Sloan was either evasive or deliberately vague about the progress of the timegate. If he had a spider-sense, Miguel was sure it would be going off like a ringing bell on an alarm.

"Sloan, we need to talk," Walker removed his gaze from the datapad in front him with a barely audible sigh. This was the fourth interruption in the last half hour, only this time it was from the Big Man himself. Grinding his teeth slightly, he kept his cool and regarded O'Hara with as much disinterest as possible. "Miguel O'Hara, what a surprise," He said. "To what do I owe the honor of your presence in my humble research lab?"

Miguel ignored the indirect jabs and got straight to the point. "I wanted to know where you were on your timegate project."

"Oh, that, well, I really can't say much about it," Walker's eyes swiveled over to Joseph who's hologram paused with fiddling with the system controls long enough to realize he was being watched by Miguel. Miguel raised an eyebrow, arbitrarily adjusting his glasses. "Well, when you can tell me about it?" He gestured to the large and spacious lab, mindful of the older man's wandering gaze. "It's been over seven months and you've yet to show us anything from your research. You aren't backing down on your promise to tap the fourth dimension's energy source, are you?"

"No at all, O'Hara, but greatness isn't to be rushed," Walker smiled thinly at the young man, placing his hands behind his back. "Time travel is a complicated creature, especially when concerned with opening portals that interlink dimensions. The slightest miscalculation could prove disastrous for both worlds."

"I'm well aware of the theorized dangers of time travel, Walker. It doesn't excuse that you're on a deadline and deadlines need to be met here," Miguel argued. "Have something for me before the end of this year or-"

"Or what, exactly, O'Hara?" Walker interjected, wrinkled eyelids narrowing. "I'd say you have a lot more to worry about in regards to Alchemax than anything I'm working on."

"Everyone and everything affects Alchemax as a business, including lagging projects," Said Miguel. "It's a simple request, get your research in order, and show me what you've come up."

"Of course, of course," Walker put on another smile, one that didn't reach his eyes. "I'll get right on that." Miguel reframed from saying anything more and turned to leave. "Have a lovely afternoon, Mr. O'Hara," Joseph said to his retreating back.

"So what's the problem? He is doing anything besides slacking on his job?" Xina inquired, her brow furrowed.

"I don't know and that's the problem," Miguel answered. "He says he working on a way to harness the energy from the fourth dimension and that he plans on using the decommissioned timegate in order to access it, but it's more than that. Nothing like this takes as long as he has, not our day in age. He might've had an excuse in 2007."

"Miguel, maybe you're just being paranoid,"

"Believe me, I'd like to believe that myself, but I can't," He said. "Everytime I talk to him, I'm on edge. He's hiding something. I can just feel it in my bones."

"Better get that checked," Xina joked.

Despite his mood, Miguel grinned. "I'll have Lyla look me over after work. But, seriously, Xina, ever since he's arrived, I've felt like everything's been spinning out of control. No one thinks I can handle the CEO position, the responsibility. Co-workers, even the board, they all seem to look to him now because of his age, his experience. Even I find myself doing it when he's not being a total ass. It's disturbing really."

"For your ego or in general?"

"A little bit of both, I think," Miguel readjusted his position on the web spread beneath himself and Xina, supporting them between the narrow space of the skyscrapers. They really shouldn't even be doing this kind of thing, especially with the Public Eye buzzing around, looking for trouble or Spider-Man. "Ah, who knows, maybe I'm just jealous," He grumbled.

"Miguel, I've seen you jealous and I can definitely say this is not one of those times," Xina said. "If you think this Walker is shady, then just keep a tab on him. Don't approach unless you have concrete evidence to catch him."

"That's easy for you to say," Miguel rolled his eyes. "You're not being scrutinized by the whole of the company because of rumors of acquisition."

"Don't sweat the small stuff, Miggy. You'll get the company back on its feet in no time," Xina encouraged him, running her fingers through his curls. As she tried to stand, Miguel was quick to pull his mask back over his head and steadied her with his hands on her waist. "Easy, this is stuff is strong, but it'll just as easily send you for a fall," He grinned. "Want a ride back to work?"

Xina wrapped her arms around his neck and grinned. "Yes, please."

"Alright, hang on," Miguel wrapped his arm around her waist and leapt from the web. He allowed them to free fall for a moment before bending his wrist downward. He let loose a stream of web and gripped hard. Xina remained cool throughout it all as he gathered momentum and traveled through the chaotic traffic and twisting maze of buildings.

TBC