Part 1 - Fires of Revolution

Chapter 28 - The Calm Before

Miles was lying awake in the middle of the night. He stared up at the roof. Tears stung his eyes, fear slowly consumed his heart. Edward had called a meeting of the High Council, but he had stayed away to think things over.

"That thing is not Gwen." He thought. "Gwen is alive somewhere inside it. I just have to get her out. There has to be some way of pulling the Plate out of her again? How does it even power her?"

He suddenly had an idea. He leapt out his bed and left the room, heading for a lift. The doors rumbled open and he stepped inside.

"High security storage."

The door rumbled shut.

"Allow me to play some soothing melodies to lift your spirits." Said the lift.

"No." Miles snapped.

"Oh...my apologies."

It came to a stop again and the door opened. Miles walked straight across the hall to a heavily reinforced vault in the core of the station. He placed his hand on a panel in the door's centre. There was a humming, then the panel turned green and pinged. It opened with a heavy screech, letting him in. Edward had given him and Gwen access to this since it held many things which could have helped them. They were just supposed to let him know what they were taking. Miles pressed further and further into the room past shelves, boxes and all sorts until he came to a ring. The ring held ten pods, three of which contained an Ethereal plate. Miles stopped in front of Conall's gold Plate, the Plate of stream one. He took a step toward it. The glass front of the pod hissed open. What did it matter, either way? If he was not deemed worthy he would be killed. He had nothing left since Gwen and his family were gone. But if he was worthy? He might just stand a chance at stopping the new tyrant, perhaps extracting the Plate from it and bringing the girl he loved so dearly back. He reached out, closing his eyes. This was it...judgement.

The High Council room was silent. They had defeated their first enemy only to create another. Edward raised his head from his hands.

"I think we have to deal with her."

"Of course. We are responsible for her creation. It would be irresponsible to make such a mess and leave someone else in the future to clear it up." Agreed the Doctor, slowly turning his sonic screwdriver in his hand.

"The only way to deal with her is to kill her. The boy will not agree to this." Said Thanos.

"I agree he'll never let us kill her. But I do not agree that killing her is the only way. High Aether, what is it about the Ethereal Plates' full power that still allows the person to wield it? Is the Plate inside their body in some form?" Asked the Doctor.

The High Aether shook his head.

"We believe it fuses in the same way Borg assimilate an individual."

"Then we have to find a way to defuse it from her cells." Concluded Edward.

"It doesn't matter when we cannot bring her in to complete the operation." Said Thanos.

"I think Miles needs to have a say in this. He loves her, or certainly did, more than anyone or anything in the multiverse." Edward replied.

"Was he not supposed to be here? If he really cared he would be trying to find a way to get her back."

"He needs some time to clear his head. He just..."

The door hissed open. Every head in the room turned to see who would dare to enter a High Council meeting without invitation. It was Miles. He had his eyes closed, and one of his hands clenched by his side. The High Aether knew what was going on immediately, but stayed silent.

"Miles?" Edward said questioningly, getting to his feet to comfort him.

Miles raised his head. And grinned before opening his eyes. Golden energy crackled in them as he raised his arm and opened his hand revealing the Plate of Power.

"I'm gonna need a new suit."

Edward's face spread into a grin. He tapped his com badge.

"Admiral Melbourne to R&D eight. Remember Miles was getting jealous?"

"Is it time for his upgrade?"

"Yes it is, Stanley."

"Aye sir. We'll get to it. Pop down when you both have a moment."

"Will do."

The High Aether gave Miles a friendly nod as everyone returned to their seats.

"With that turn of events, we need to know what we're up against. No doubt Gwen..." Began Edward, but was interrupted.

"Whatever that thing is, it's not Gwen. She's somewhere underneath it all."

Thanos shook his head.

"That was very clearly Gwen. Security cameras saw it, along with the High Aether and Admiral Melbourne. She must be destroyed."

"No can do. If you kill her, I'll kill you." Replied Miles, his expression hard and stubborn.

"You wouldn't dare."

"I would. She's under that mess somewhere, we just have to take the Plate out."

The High Aether sighed.

"That is a very difficult task."

"I don't think it fuses with her DNA. I think it fuses with her mind and controls her."

Edward was surprised that Miles would argue with the High Aether, but he didn't interrupt.

"What evidence have you for this?"

"Merging with someone's DNA wouldn't have an immediate effect; they would change over time. She changed as if someone had done it with a snap of their fingers. Have you ever captured a merged person, your majesty?"

"There is no record. What you are suggesting is theorised, but has no evidence. "

"I just gave you some."

The room was silent until Edward leaned forwards.

"As much as I hesitate to say it, your majesty, looking at it scientifically, Miles has more evidence than the DNA thing. This brings us back to our topic. What are we up against?"

"The girl will know she is outgunned. She will have tried to find an army. The only question is which army." Replied the Doctor.

"We have to find out. Doctor, I want the TARDIS ready to roll out. I'll go with you, so will Miles and anyone else who wishes to help out. We'll gather as much intel as we can on what Gwen has in store for us." Edward concluded.

"Your place is not on the battlefield, Admiral. You are supposed to cower behind shields and cannons." Replied Thanos.

"Perhaps in the past, but not anymore. Clearly people have a tendency to screw things over royally. I'll go in person. Nothing but a pistol and my allies. Unless anyone else has objections, this council is adjourned."

He stood up and looked around. Nobody spoke.

"Good. Now get going. Doctor, I want you to grab the three Avengers then get the TARDIS ready for 0400 hours."

"Right."

The room cleared apart from Miles and Edward. Miles raised his eyebrows at Edward. Edward didn't turn to look at him, but he knew his reaction by instinct.

"It may seem strange for me to throw myself under the bus like that, but I look at you and Gwen as if you were family. Right now that family is breaking and I want to save it."

"Why do you see us like that?"

"Because great minds think alike; you agree with me on most things. Also, you're only kids and your real families are dead. Plus you were put in my care when you came to the resistance and those orders still stand. Follow me, and we'll go and see what Stanley and Lisa have come up with."

Miles and Edward walked into R&D eight a few minutes later. The two scientists who had created Gwen's suit were crushed together in front of a computer screen. They looked at the new arrivals.

"Good day, Admiral." Said Stanley.

"Hello. Any chance you've come up with something yet?"

"Well, we're actually making quick progress. We started with the blueprints for the girl's suit and modified them to fit Miles. We also fixed up the pattern to be similar to his current one. We're looking into a few additions to the web shooters, given the lack of him having an Ethereal Plate." Explained Lisa.

Miles held up the Plate of Power.

"Oh...well that changes things. Stan, put the Ethereal diamond back in. Maybe in the spider's body since he's a guy and doesn't have any clutter in that area."

Stanley chuckled and began to press keys and click the mouse.

"Are we still doing the web upgrades?"

"May as well. They're suited to him."

"In that case, I think we're almost finished. What colour is the Plate?"

"Gold."

Stanley spun around in his chair and looked at Miles.

"I think gold suits him better than red. How would you say to getting a golden spider instead of a red one?"

Miles shrugged.

"So long as it looks cool and works I don't mind. People won't be able to see my face so it doesn't matter if it suits me or not."

The scientist grinned and hammered more keys.

"It just needs to fabricate, then. Should only be a few minutes."

Miles looked around the corner. All sorts of machines were pasting his new suit onto the stand which Gwen's had been placed on when she had first received it. Lisa looked at Edward again.

"Anything else we can do, Admiral?"

He shrugged.

"Keep up the great work for a start. Secondly, I want to thank you both for everything you've done for me, SGC and the multiverse."

"Our pleasure."

Miles saw through it immediately. Edward wasn't sure if he was going to make it through the mission. The spider dropped the Plate on a table and grabbed Edward's wrist, dragging him out into the hall, much to the amusement of the scientists. He turned to the admiral.

"Edward, you're going to make it through this."

"You're getting pretty cocky, you know."

"I just discovered I can wield the key to saving the girl I love. I think anyone would be."

"OK, you've got me. I don't think I will. I've always been the guy with the morals and big words, not guns. I think that thing possessing Gwen will brand me a pretty valuable target. I'm in charge of SGC; killing me would bulldoze the morale of those who fight beside me and lessen our chances of getting any new allies."

"You'll be fine. I promise. We're just going in, noting some things down and leaving again. There shouldn't be any fighting. That comes afterwards, and it will be me doing the ground work then. For once it will be something a bit more in my depth."

Edward sighed and leaned against the wall.

"I don't know if you know about that film in 9633, the one with you and Gwen and the other four spiders in, but I watched it."

"I know of it, yes. It was one of the random things Conall mentioned."

"This brings to mind your Uncle Aaron. His dying words. I'm sorry to bring this up."

"No, it's fine. Go ahead."

"'You're the best of all of us, Miles.' He was right. Most of us will charge into a fight guns blazing. Me, I do my best to keep the peace but when it fails I do the same. But you...possessed Gwen nearly killed you with the sharpest knife in existence. I did some research into the Subtle Knife; it can cut anything, even the fabric between worlds. Yet, despite that, you still see the good in her. If Conall was still alive I think you would have pulled him out of this without killing him too."

Miles turned away and looked down the corridor. Edward lowered his head, worrying he had said something hurtful. But the spider turned back again, determination in his eyes.

"In Conall's last moments, I saw fear in his eyes. He looked at me for help. I knew there was nothing I could do but I tried. That's what makes me Spiderman. No matter how hard the fight is, I will fight it to save lives. I may have killed in this war but it will save infinitely more. Anyone can wear this mask, Edward. But it will only fit them properly if they stay true to what they believe in. I've no idea what I'm saying now but I hope it made some sense."

Edward laughed.

"You can make up for my lack of inspirational speaking skills. I'm sorry I began to lose hope. This war isn't over yet."

He entered the lab again, Miles on his heels. Lisa beckoned for the spider to come and look. He turned the corner; a smile spread wide across his face. A predominantly black suit stood behind the glass wall. A golden spider stretched across it, its body formed from two diamonds. Inside its body was a slot for the Ethereal plate.

"Wow..." Was the only word he managed to get out.

"Programmable matter, just like Gwen's. Can wield the Ethereal Plate. Since that Plate doesn't break, as far as we're aware, it has a mechanism to break contact between the plate and you so you aren't always touching it. Then there's the web shooters; they're modified to fire two types: standard and venom. Standard is what it says on the box. Venom is a concept we've been working on for a while. They draw from your venom strike ability, turning it into a ranged attack as well as melee. The final addition is a built in flying squirrel suit."

Miles turned to Lisa, confused.

"Flying squirrel?"

"Show him, Stanley."

Stanley pressed a button. The arms extended a little, revealing some sort of thin fabric.

"It allows you to glide distances. Not flying so to speak, just gliding."

"This is incredible. Can I try it on?"

"Of course. Stanley, let's get him suited up."

Edward waited patiently for Miles, turning a pen in his hand. He looked over the table at Lisa. She was impatient.

"Excited?" He asked her.

"We've been working on some of this stuff for ages now. I can't wait to see him kick some Borg butt with it."

"Somehow I doubt possessed Gwen will call on the Borg to help her. Remember she was assimilated?"

"Oh, of course. I'm sure she'll find some other sort of robot to work with. And hopefully be defeated with."

The door hissed open. Miles emerged, the plate glowing in its slot.

"I feel like I could take on everything in this thing."

"That's the idea!" Replied Stanley, following close behind him.

Suddenly, Edward's com badge beeped. He tapped it.

"Admiral Melbourne speaking."

"Sir, the Doctor is ready for you and Miles in the usual hangar. You're running late."

"Understood. Tell him we'll be there in a minute."

"Aye."

Miles double tapped the side of his head. The mask morphed away.

"Looks like duty calls. Come on, Edward. Lock and load."

They arrived in the hangar sixty seconds later. The Doctor was waiting with Captain America, Tony Stark and Natasha Romanov.

"Hurry up!"

"Everyone seems so excited today." Edward muttered to himself.

Miles chuckled, hearing it.

"Conall is dead. Of course they are. There's a chance they can go home soon."

The team boarded the TARDIS. Miles stopped in front of the strange panel which allowed the TARDIS to read his mind.

"Everyone ready to go?" Asked the Doctor.

Everyone gave an indication that they were, so the Doctor gave Miles a nod. Miles pressed his hands into the console and closed his eyes, picturing Gwen as clearly as possible. The grating sound began to echo throughout the console room. He stepped away and watched the rings of symbols spin almost enchantingly above him. There was a thump that echoed through the vast interior as the machine landed. Edward stood up from leaning on the railing.

"Me and Miles will scout ahead. You four keep sharp." He ordered, moving to the doors.

Miles snapped his fingers and followed the admiral outside. They were standing in the middle of a runway at an airport. In the distance, skyscrapers loomed upwards. However, the sky was darker than usual, and a cloud of dust hung over the city. Suddenly, a red beam struck the ground and ran a short distance, tearing more of the iconic Manhattan skyline down. Edward looked up.

"Oh..."

Miles looked up as well. An enormous ship of some form was floating in the sky. In fact, thousands were. That was why the sky was so dark. Strange tentacle-like legs protruded from the bottom of a tall, streamlined shape.

"Any ideas?" Miles asked.

"Yes."

"What are they?"

"Reapers."

"Reapers? Like the Grim Reaper?"

"Yes, except the Grim Reaper takes you with a scythe. These things will disintegrate you. In my dimension they come from an old game called Mass Effect. I never played it, but it looked cool."

"What exactly are they?"

"Robots. Lisa's prediction came true: possessed Gwen found another army of robots. These ones hate organic life. We're probably already on their sensors. We have to go."

"Looks like you guys up in the sky will have your work cut out for you. Which dimension is this, by the way?"

"7065, Gwen's home."

"That makes sense. Let's go."

The TARDIS returned from its short mission. The High Council was scheduled for another meeting at 0800 hours the next day. Until then, Miles decided to practice his skills with the Ethereal Plate. This would be the fight of his life, and for the lives of infinitely more. He paused after failing to draw a sword for the twentieth time. He picked his phone up from his bag and pulled up a picture of him and Gwen.

"I can do this. For you, Gwen."

Crossovers in this Chapter

- Avengers
- Doctor Who
- Mass Effect