Part 7 - Guardians

Chapter 123 - Diving Deep

It only took Gwen a couple of days to get a teleportation device from Miguel O'Hara. He had been horrified to find out about what had happened to Miles' world. He had notified whatever fragments were left of the spider army to be on the lookout for requests for help from Earth-1610. When Gwen told Miles this, he was glad help was only a dimensional jump away. Now Gwen was fast asleep on the spare fold-out bed in Miles' quarters. He wasn't sure if it was creepy watching her sleep since they were dating, but it brought him some reassurance that the more experienced spider person could rest easy. She had explained the situation to her father and he had let her stay for a week. Miles closed his eyes, thinking back to a better time. As he was thinking about the first time he met Gwen, he fell asleep.

Jessica sat bolt-upright. Someone had been in her room. The door clicked shut, confirming her theory. She reached for the bedside light and switched it on, peering around to see if anything was missing. She put her hand to her neck, relieved to still feel the chain of her necklace. She wondered why her father had refused to tell her what exactly the gem was, but he must have had his reasons. He always did, and they were usually good ones. Suddenly, a noise outside her door made her perk up. She climbed out of bed, putting her ear to the door. There was a metallic clanking sound, like an army of metal boots on the metal floor. The sound didn't cease for ages, so she went back to sleep vowing to investigate in the morning.

"Someone came into your room?" Gwen asked.

"Yeah. I didn't see who, though."

"But there's a curfew between 11PM and 6AM. The doors lock themselves once everyone's inside during that time." Said Miles.

"I know. So the person had a key."

"That would mean they were an employee." Gwen reasoned.

"Did they take anything?" Asked Miles.

"Nothing. My bet is they were after my necklace and didn't take it when they saw I was wearing it."

"You wear that in bed? Doesn't it get uncomfortable wearing it all the time?" Asked Gwen.

"Not particularly. Anyway, if my father asks anyone to do something, they'd better do it."

"Why? He doesn't sound like the nicest guy."

"Oh no; he's one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. He's got a temper sometimes, but that's not why you do what he asks. You do what he asks because he has reasons for everything. Good reasons, too."

"Would I know him?" Asked Miles.

"That's a tricky question that I won't answer."

He frowned in response, but decided not to press on. Gwen sat up straight.

"I think we need to report this."

"No. I heard weird noises last night too. Like an army wearing metal boots was marching." Jessica replied hastily.

"That's…not normal. I think we need to do some investigating. Anyone come across anything worth looking into?"

"The bottom fifteen levels are off limits." Miles replied.

"Then we'll start there. We'll need a way down."

"Could go through the vents?" Jessica suggested.

"If they've got something they're hiding, they'll be monitored." Miles answered.

"Then a key card. Take out an unsuspecting security officer and nab their card. Job done."

"Sounds good. I'll get the card. Miles, you can do the sneaking." Gwen replied.

"Oh great…I don't even get a say."

"Sorry. I just assumed that was the best way cos you can go invisible."

"I know. I'm just saying gimme a chance to agree first."

"Sorry."

Gwen tried to act normal. She felt a little nervous about taking out a random security guard. After all, these people had been on their side the whole time. Attacking one might warrant some unwanted attention. She tried some of the old techniques she used to use to calm her nerves before a ballet performance. It had been a while since she'd done any dancing, unless fights counted. Her spider sense broke her chain of thought, alerting her to a guard coming on their usual rounds. She let them go past a little, then grabbed them by the head whilst covering their mouth with her hand. She dragged them into a room where Miles webbed their mouth shut and took the guard's badge off.

"We're really sorry, officer…Ramirez." He said, checking the name and slipping it in his pocket.

Gwen gave him a good luck kiss on the cheek; Jessica settled with a pat on the back.

"Don't get caught."

"I'll try."

Miles set off down the corridor towards an elevator. He stepped inside and pressed the button for the top of the fifteen floors.

"Please swipe your card, or select another floor." The elevator ordered, its doors rolling shut.

He swiped the badge in the slot. It beeped, then the elevator announced:

"Lift going down."

He felt it start moving and breathed a sigh of relief.

A few seconds after stopping, the doors opened. Miles turned himself invisible and stepped out around two people waiting on it.

"That's weird. It's never empty." One murmured.

"Ach. Must be oor lucky day."

The spider snuck away, looking around. It seemed to be nothing but offices, although the lights weren't the bright welcoming LEDs that they were upstairs. He looked inside an open office door, but there didn't seem to be much. He'd come back and check the papers on the desk on his was out. Suddenly, he found himself round a corner and coming to a dead end. However, there was a large window overlooking what looked like some sort of factory. Hundreds upon hundreds of what looked like robotic people were being constructed. Down on a walkway, someone in a white lab coat was talking to one of the robots that seemed to be fully built. Miles couldn't tell who the person in the lab coat was because they were facing away. The robot itself was white and grey with a single red light in its face. It was taller than the person by almost a foot and looked somewhat muscular. Miles wondered if it actually affected its strength or was an intimidation tactic. He was about to leave when someone suddenly came up beside him. He looked down to make sure he was still invisible and was relieved to see he was. The person next to him was definitely Zumerwalt, so the person on the walkway must be someone else with a similar hairstyle. The professor leaned on the windowsill and rubbed his eyes under his glasses.

"Just a few more days of this bull and we will be together again, Felicity. A few thousand more robots, that Ethereal Plate and then it's done. I don't even know what that thing is looking for other than a death wish. Dei Volente must have noticed by now. What's the endgame? I just hope Spiderman takes his chance and runs. I mean, where could he hide with thermal cameras everywhere?"

The professor glanced to the side and a realisation hit Miles: Zumerwalt was on his side and telling him someone was coming. He turned and set off, trying to walk quietly in case he was wrong. The professor had gone quiet again. Suddenly, the door at the end of the corridor opened and one of the robots walked through. This one was slightly smaller and not as muscular. The spider side-stepped quickly to avoid running into it. However, he stopped to see what would happen.

"Oscar Zumerwalt. You attempted to aid an enemy." It said in a very robotic voice.

The professor turned and frowned.

"I don't know what you mean."

"You were picked up conversing by microphones. Thermal cameras picked up one of the spider people in the vicinity."

"I was thinking out loud."

"You must be punished."

One of the robot's fingers folded back to reveal a syringe. Miles turned and ran before he could see what happened.

Gwen and Jessica looked at Miles expectantly as he burst through the door where 'officer Ramirez' was now completely webbed to a chair.

"Zumerwalt is building an army of robots for someone. The thing is I don't think he wants to. He also mentioned some 'Ethereal Plate', and that Dei Volente guy."

"The God of that cult?" Asked Gwen.

"Yeah."

"Maybe he's a follower?" She suggested.

Jessica butted in.

"The robots explain the metal marching sound I heard. They must build them during the day and deploy them out of the bunker to whoever they're being made for at night. With the curfew in place, nobody's around to see."

"Makes sense. But what about this Ethereal Plate? And Dei Volente. Could Zumerwalt be making the army for Dei Volente?" Asked Gwen.

"Not likely. He said something about wondering how Dei Volente hasn't noticed yet." Miles replied.

"Hang on, Zumerwalt just told you all this? Weren't you invisible?" Asked Jessica.

"Yes, but there's thermal cameras down there apparently and I can't hide from them. I think he's on our side. He did also mention about being with someone named 'Felicity' again."

"Maybe someone close to him that was taken as a bargaining chip by whoever is behind all this." Jessica suggested.

"Seems likely." Miles agreed.

"Can we just take a moment to appreciate Zumerwalt is part of the Church of Dei Volente?" Asked Gwen.

"Yeah. So what?" Replied Jessica.

"He seems like a smart guy. He must have some pretty solid evidence to believe in a God worshipped by basically nobody."

"What's your point?"

Jessica seemed slightly passive-aggressive over the topic.

"I'm just thinking, maybe there is a god?"

"Bit off topic."

"Sorry."

Crossovers in this Chapter

Absolutely nothing, other than some inspiration I guess...