Part 4 - Resurgence

Chapter 75 - Trial or Fire

A day passed from the Empire's collapse. There were celebrations all around every world; Miles could see the fireworks, from the former SGC orbital headquarters, as little more than pin pricks of light. He had never fully appreciated how beautiful his home planet was from space. Sol Galactic Command had been rebranded as Sol Temporal Command; Edward had said people will always associate SGC with hate, even though they knew it wasn't truly what it stood for. Miles became aware of someone approaching, but didn't look as they sat down on the bench beside him.

"This place is crazy. They have teleporters. Teleporters!"

The voice...it was male and it sounded familiar. Miles turned and stared in shock.

"Ganke? Where...how..."

"I don't get it either. One moment I was lying on the ground, the light fading. Then I was standing in some weird room and apparently it's five years later."

They shared a friendly fist-bump.

"We can be walking dead buddies now." Said Miles with a grin.

"You're dead too?"

"No, we're alive. It's complicated. I was killed a few months after you."

"If you're alive, I'm alive...who else is?"

"I was just thinking that. Stanley and Lisa didn't tell me they were bringing you back. I thought they were focusing on rebuilding our home."

"I thought I was having a nightmare when I saw that guy put the Sun out. So...err...is Peter OK? As in your kid? He must be six now."

"He's dead. Helltreader killed him not long after you before trying to gas me and Gwen in a Nazi concentration camp."

"I really need to find out what's been happening."

"Yeah. It's great to have you back, man."

"It's great to be back."

Gwen opened her eyes slowly, letting them adjust to the bright light. Everything seemed clear all of a sudden, like someone had just removed a blindfold. She could sense a spider crawling up a wall a few metres away, she was aware of the nurse running into the room. The realisation hit Gwen like a ton of bricks: she had her spider sense back. She raised her hands and looked at them as if they were someone else's. She tried charging some Ethereal energy, but nothing happened. The nurse grumbled a little.

"How do you feel?"

"My head hurts. I feel...alone but...free."

"Do you feel weak? We have to move you."

"I don't know. What's happening?"

"Rioters just broke the secure perimeter around the building. There's a Phantom on the roof to take you to another medical facility if you need it."

"I can probably walk."

"Then get up."

The nurse helped Gwen to her feet. She sat down again for a second, suddenly extremely dizzy. The door burst open; Gwen didn't have to look up to know it was Teresa.

"They're in the building. Are we leaving or are we abandoning her to the rabble?" The commander snapped.

"We're leaving. Help me support her."

Teresa and the nurse helped Gwen out the door and along the corridor.

"Does Miles know she's awake?"

"She just woke up there."

"As soon as she's on the jet we let him know."

Miles and Ganke were still chatting happily. Miles was catching his friend up and was in the middle of telling the story of Helltreader's death when the wrist of his suit began to beep. He gave Ganke a wiry grin and tapped it.

"Morales speaking."

"Hey Miles, it's Teresa. Gwen is awake but we're moving her. Rioters again."

"This is the third time in twenty-four hours."

"There's insiders everywhere. We move her, more appear."

"Where are you going now?"

"Area 51. It'll take them a while to get here."

"Dimension?"

"9633."

"I'll meet you there."

Time flew, days passed. Gwen and Miles sat on top of the Empire State Building in 7065. The Animator had been used to repair all the damage. The Republic was yet to fully spread its influence here, so it was safe for now. Gwen was wanted in every dimension, but she had no intention of giving herself up to her inevitable execution, and Miles was intent on keeping her safe. He looked at her, feeling overwhelming joy at having her back but some sorrow that things were so dangerous for her. She noticed him staring.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Is this how things will be the rest of our lives?"

"You know you've asked that twice every day since you escaped?"

Eventually the nurse tending to Gwen had had enough and sided with the rioters, attempting to inject a lethal mixture of medicines. Gwen had beaten them up and run. Miles had managed to get her suit back and they had gone into hiding.

"I just don't think I can handle life like this."

"You've been a fugitive before."

"Things were different then. It was just the police; no Phantoms, no soldiers, people supported what I did. And the only person who knew who my identity was my dad."

"Yeah. I hope Ganke isn't freaking out too much. He has a habit of doing that."

"I'm sure he's being taken good care of."

They stared into each other's eyes for a minute.

"Maybe I could handle life like this. So long as you're in it with me."

"There's nobody else I'd do this for. Only you."

Miles pressed his lips to hers. She was taken off guard a little, but went with it.

Teresa shook her head in disbelief.

"You're really going to side with that lot? I thought you had some decency, Melbourne."

Edward buried his face in his hands, wondering how he could explain this without sounding like an asshole.

"There are a lot of people who want Gwen brought to justice. The biggest thing that makes the Republic different from the Empire is democracy. If we don't listen then there will be another civil war and we'll be the ones with our heads under the gallows. I get it. I hate the idea of putting Gwen in their hands, but justice must be served for everything she has done."

"Here's an idea. There will be a trial, but it will be done by the higher-ups of the Republic. A Quintari judge, some other people with a shred of sanity. It gives her a chance to live. Another thing that makes us different from the Empire is capital punishment. People need a second chance to make up for their mistakes, no matter how great they are."

"I'll sort out the trial. You're now in charge of apprehending her. If Miles offers any resistance then he'll be a criminal as well. You have one week after which time this is off and we go back to the original plan. Do everything you can to succeed, Teresa."

"A week is all I need."

Miles kept the hood of his hoodie up while he was waiting inside a shop for the pizza he had ordered.

"Order forty-two!"

He showed his receipt and went to take the box when the cashier stopped him.

"Wait a minute. You're Miles Morales, the guy who started the rebellion!"

Miles was glad he was the only customer in the shop at the moment. He dug in his pocket and placed a five dollar note on the counter.

"I wasn't here."

He took the box and left, heading into a dark alley where he had left his spider suit. Suddenly, his spidey sense went crazy. As he was about to turn to see the danger, he felt something hard press against his back between his shoulder blades, slightly to the side so that a bullet fired would go through his heart.

"I just gave the last of my cash away." He said, almost certain he was being mugged.

"I'll give you some more, Miles, but you have to listen to me."

He knew the voice.

"Teresa? What the hell?"

The commander retracted her weapon and he turned to face her.

"I'm in charge of apprehending Gwen for the next week. If I bring her in then things will be a lot better for her. Edward has a couple of Quintari judges, a Sol fleet admiral and my mother ready to go for a trial. If she goes in front of them, she has a much higher chance of keeping her head than against the standard curly-haired pricks."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I want Gwen to stay alive."

"She'll stay alive just the same on the run."

"And what about you, Miles? If you aren't brought in in a week, your official status goes from Republic founder to criminal scumbag."

"So what? I'll be on the run."

"Until you get a biothermic missile in the face or an A10 shooting you in the ass."

Miles took a deep breath.

"What do you want me to do?"

"I need you to set things up so Gwen can be brought in."

"Betray her? Teresa, things are already shaken up between us. If I turn her over she'll never forgive me."

"One week, or the guillotine for both of you."

He looked torn but made his decision.

"Empire State Building, here in 7065. 8PM tomorrow. If you hurt her, I will hurt you."

"Thank you. This is best for both of you. And enjoy the pizza."

Miles glanced at the watch on his spider suit. Gwen noticed he seemed on edge.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm fine. Just thinking."

"I've known you long enough to know when you're hiding something. It's just you and me, Miles. We either trust each other or we don't."

Trust...how would she ever trust him after this?

"I'm just thinking about the future. I mean, will we be able to put up with each other for years?" He lied.

"I think we're doing alright for now. Why worry about something like that?"

"I don't know."

His watch moved to 8PM. Bang on time, eight Phantoms swooped down from the sky and circled the roof. SWAT officers burst through the door onto the roof, their guns raised. A voice came over the loudspeaker of one of the Phantoms.

"In the name of the Sol Temporal Republic, you are under arrest, Gwendolyn. Do not resist; you are surrounded."

Both spiders were on their feet. Gwen glanced at Miles, realising this was it. They would have to fight their way out. She raised her fists, but Miles placed a hand on her shoulder.

"No."

"Do you want to go to prison?"

"Step away from her, Morales." Said the voice.

He stepped back, raising his hands. As the SWAT team closed in, the truth dawned on her.

"You...you did this..."

"I had to. I'm sorry. I didn't want to. I love you."

"I trusted you! I thought you loved me!"

She tried to kick the SWAT officers away, but there were too many of them.

"Please don't fight them!" Miles begged her.

She turned her head away from him as the police put her in handcuffs and a Phantom descended with its ramp hanging open.

A Perspex window was all that separated Gwen from the person who walked through the door. A day had gone by since her arrest and this was the first visitor she had had. The trial began in three hours at ten o'clock. Teresa sat down on the other side of the window, placing an envelope and a cup of coffee on the ledge. Gwen had a strong feeling the commander was the mastermind behind Miles' betrayal.

"I always thought you as more of a beer person than coffee." She commented in a passive-aggressive tone.

"Actually I'm more of the cider type, but not when there's important things to attend to."

"Can I ask something?"

She wanted to confirm her suspicions, and Teresa had little reason to lie other than for whatever political ambitions she had.

"Go ahead."

"Did you make Miles betray me?"

"Yes I did. With a gun to his head. Well...actually to his back but that's besides the point. Don't think worse of him for it."

"You have no idea what someone that close to you betraying you feels like, do you?"

"I've never been that close to someone. Look Gwen, Miles loves you more than every other being in the multiverse combined does."

"That's not hard at the moment."

"Alright, bad comparison. But he didn't want to do it. The choice was that or have you both blown apart by a biothermic missile. Death by one of those is the most painful thing you can imagine, multiplied by ten."

"I can imagine a lot of pain."

Teresa took a gulp of her coffee.

"If it shows you how much he loves you, he's been sitting out in the waiting room since you arrived here. He wants to talk to you, but he's scared you hate him. But enough; your trial is in a few hours and you need to prepare. I'd recommend pleading guilty. It will take less time that way and the judges are more likely to be nice to you."

"You aren't my lawyer, are you?"

"As far as anyone is aware, you don't have a lawyer. I'm just offering advice from my perspective."

"I don't want to hear it. I'll get what I deserve one way or another."

"Alright then. Shall I tell Miles you'll talk to him, or shall I leave you in peace?"

Gwen took a deep breath and nodded.

"I'll talk to him. It's not like I have much else to do."

Miles looked on the verge of tears as he and Gwen stared each other.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

She didn't say anything back.

"Teresa said you were more likely to survive if you were arrested sooner. I did it because I love you. I know it sounds weird but...oh Gwen...what have I done?"

"The right thing."

He tried to hold eye contact, but couldn't.

"I've destroyed us. How could you trust me after this?"

"Because you'll only get the chance to do it once. Whatever the court decides, I probably won't have any freedoms left that will let me do anything else to make myself a criminal. You did the right thing. Justice has to prevail; for your good, for mine, for our friends', for the Republic."

She placed her hand on the window. Miles placed his on the other side.

"I love you, Miles. And it should be me saying sorry for everything."

The board of judges was exactly who Teresa had described: two Quintari, a Sol admiral and Helen Chelsea; her adoptive mother.

"Order in court. This session has begun."

The Sol admiral began to speak:

"Gwendolyn Stacy-Morales. You are charged with the following offences: the murder of countless civilians, the theft of an Ethereal Plate and conspiracy. This list goes on for three sheets of A4 which I'm sure someone else can read for the record, but those three just about sum it up. Miss Stacy, how do you plead?"

"I plead guilty."

The audience erupted in cheers, along with shouts of 'hang her' and a few other suggestions for methods of execution. Over a thousand people were packed into the chamber.

"Order!" Shouted a voice from a speaker.

Clearly someone had decided it was better to use a recording rather than waste their voice away. The silence returned.

"Very well. As is procedure, some evidence must be reviewed in order to decide your sentence. Please bring in items one and two."

A door opened at the side of the room and two Quintari entered, each holding a very durable box. They were laid on the judges' table and their lids removed. The magenta Plate of Infinity glistened in the light and the Subtle Knife seemed to call to Gwen. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth.

"Is this the Ethereal Plate which you stole?"

Gwen shook her head. Miles could see she was extremely distressed being in the same room as both the Knife and Plate.

"It is not?"

"It is the damn thing." She snapped.

Miles stood up.

"Your honour. Do the multiverse a favour and get both of those things locked up in vaults before we end up back at square one."

"Order!"

The admiral raised their hand.

"Please state who you are for the record."

"Miles Morales."

Helen picked up on how freaked out Gwen was.

"I agree. Get them out of here."

The Quintari placed the lids back back on the boxes and carried them away. Gwen took a series of deep breaths to get control of herself.

"Much of the evidence to be reviewed revolved around those items." Continued the admiral.

"Just give me a sentence already. Anything to get away from those...things." Gwen begged.

The judges exchanged looks.

"Very well. Please give us a moment to talk."

The judges went into a side room. Gwen strained her neck to look at Miles who gave her a supportive nod.

"Something tells me this isn't going well." Muttered Teresa next to him.

"Why?" He asked.

"I don't know. I think they believe she wants to merge with the Plate again."

"She obviously hated it."

"The only judges there are the Quintari. Helen is a politician, the admiral is just as much a greasy scumbag."

"You really think low of your mother."

"You forget the war she kept going all those years."

The judges returned.

"Order!"

The admiral spoke again.

"It is the decision of this court, as witnessed today, that you are to be executed..."

The room burst into roars of approval. Teresa shook her head, saying something that Miles couldn't hear over the noise.

"Order!"

As soon as silence fell, Teresa stood up and walked up to stand beside Gwen. The judges eyed her.

"Please return to your seat."

"I'd like to see you make me."

There were murmurs. A security guard stepped forward, but Helen held her hand up knowing her daughter would just add another name to the list of casualties.

"Order!"

"What do you wish to say, Teresa?"

"Let me ask you a question. How much do the four of you know about an Ethereal Plate?"

The two Quintari said they knew a lot.

"In that case, you will know that someone merged with a Plate is nothing short of a psychopath. They have little to no control."

"That is true."

"If that's the case, then it was not Gwen who committed the majority of the crimes you have listed. It was the Plate acting through her body."

"What's your point?"

"Your honours, I want you to go through all three sheets of A4 paper and cross out every single crime committed between the supposed death of the Scarlet King and Lucifer's death."

The judges set to work. It took them almost five minutes to do it and cross check it with each other.

"Now what?" Asked the admiral.

"How many are left?" Pressed Teresa.

"Four."

"Name them."

"The murder of Peter Parker in 7065, twelve years ago. The theft of an Ethereal Plate. The summoning of Alduin. The murder of Darian."

"Let's break it down. Peter's death was an accident: he became the Green Goblin and Gwen was forced to step in to try and stop him, accidentally killing him in the process; that makes it man slaughter, not murder, which is not a capital offense. The theft of the Plate can be put down to mental illness: she had just lost the last person in the multiverse she loved; under the law of most countries of most worlds of most dimensions, being mentally ill is not punishable by death. The summoning of Alduin can be put down to much the same as that. Finally, the murder of Darian took place about a week after she merged with the Plate; it had a strong grip on her and therefore it does not count as her doing them."

"You are pinning a lot on mental illness given her merging with the Plate caused much of it."

"I know. So let's look at it from a different perspective. What makes the Republic different from the Empire?"

"It has a government, not the devil, in charge."

"You're barely scratching the surface. For one, the Empire used capital punishment for everything. If you stepped slightly out of line, you were dead. Why should the Republic follow that path? If we do, what protects our new system from the next Empire, and the next, and the next? It's a vicious circle."

"By killing the ringleaders, we stop the next Empire."

"Gwen is not a ringleader. She's a victim. In effect, you could compare it to saying you can execute a rape victim to stop them from tarnishing your perfect reputation."

The court was silent as Teresa's argument dug in. Eventually, the judges disappeared to rethink their decision. Teresa placed a hand on Gwen's shoulder.

"I won't let them do it."

"How kind."

The judges re-appeared.

"Order!"

"It is the decision of this court that Gwendolyn Stacy-Morales will be sent into exile from planet Earth for five years. She is to remain under house arrest on Ardveer, 9559, attending regular counselling sessions and under close monitoring. Whether she takes any of her family with her is at her own discretion, but they will be monitored with her."

The hammer fell with a loud bang.

"This court is adjourned."

Gwen stared down the long corridor. It reminded her of a jet bridge at an airport except this one led to a star ship. Miles slipped his hand into hers; she squeezed it for comfort, knowing this would be the last time she would see her home world for five years. An armed guard emerged from the corridor ahead.

"They want you aboard now."

She took a deep breath and began walking, Miles close behind with a suitcase. They were soon aboard the SGC Marvel, a ship identical to the SGC Arachnid the couple had served on all those years ago. They dropped their stuff off in their quarters and headed to the galley where there was a panoramic window. The Marvel slowly emerged from the Sol Temporal Command orbital headquarters and began to turn to go to warp. For a few seconds the spiders had a view of the fragile green and blue orb that was their home planet. All too soon it disappeared. Everything was going to change.

"I still remember that. Walking along the bridge wondering if I'd actually return to Earth, or if someone would find me on Ardveer and assassinate me."

"Must have been scary. I scratched my original idea for part five."

"And what was your original idea?"

"About how you died."

"And you replaced it with something worse...far worse."

"Even worse than you."

"I hope that's how history remembers this."

"They will."

Crossovers in this Chapter

- Lucifer
- His Dark Materials

Note

So, the end of part four. I get the feeling nobody is still reading, but oh well. There will be a part five, just be patient because it's going to be a long one.

The Empire has fallen, the Republic has risen. But can this new order stand up to the immense power of ancients? Find out in part five...