So! Seeing as how Spidey's been Spidey for about 8 years and some odd months at this point, he probably has a great rogue's gallery to comb through and pick out (Not to say I've had much luck, I need help since all the decent ones were used [PM me for suggestions])! Seeing as DLCs will be approaching within the next couple of months and I have little more than conjecture to base what they will be about or what exact time they will appear in (assuming that the don't take place before the Devil's Breath fiasco) I will slot them in their own arcs as I see fit in the story. In this timeline, Miles will also be a 'Spider-Man' but decided that in order to keep the heroes separate, he will take on the name of 'Ricochet' (which is a hero persona Peter has used to clear his name and that is applicable to Miles within all the fics while Peter is still alive [unless I get a better name, PM or otherwise]).
And I hope you don't mind if I use story ideas (such as villains or abilities) from other spider titles like TASM2 or Web of Shadows (I personally love that game, Spidey's hella strong in that one) as The Rogues that Spidey and Ricochet face are all currently cooling their heels in the Raft and another breakout is just... unrealistic. Also, I had a mentorship focus-fic planned and decided, 'Aw why the hell not?' To consolidate the two fics into this fic.
-YARN
P.S. all credit to respective owners.
This was Miles' big day, his first real foray into the nightlife of vigilante in NYC.
And better yet, he wasn't alone like Peter had apparently been when he started!
Peter had decided that before anything else, Miles needed a suit, and while he did have a myriad of suits at his apartment, they were a bit taller and more tailored for his build. With that in mind, he spent the days after Miles told him about his powers making a suit like the one he developed when he was fifteen except with a serious overhaul in tech, defenses, and making sure it fit Miles. While he didn't have the resources or tools to build Miles a nano-machine suit like Stark had made him, his own builds weren't too shabby for his budget (non-existent as said budget was). Loose ends and baggy clothing could be a massive issue as it lead to possibly getting caught in debris or tripping him up, and Peter wanted to make sure that that never happened. He also had to assess Miles spider-powers to see if he had anything that he needed to tailor the suit for. As it turned out, Miles had two abilities Peter didn't have, something he called a 'Venom-strike' - a sort of stunning strike that had could really help in opponents that were stronger - and 'Spider-camo'- an ability to blend into surroundings when he was focusing. Thankfully, Miles did gain the famous Spider-sense - albeit not quite as versatile or strong as Peter's - and his accelerated healing so Peter was relieved that Miles had that ability in place in the case of a shootout.
The next two months had been spent sparring with Miles, teaching him about the super-villains he had fought, getting a good handle on his powers, and getting Miles working web-shooters. Thankfully - taking advantage of some trackers he had used in finding some of his old memorabilia - Peter had come across his Mark I web-shooters and gifted them to Miles. He made sure to promise Miles that after he got a hang of webbing up things with accuracy and was done getting used to web-swinging, he'd give them the upgrades he had to his web-shooters and see what worked best for him. Miles was a bit apprehensive about the super-villains, and Peter assured him that it took a long time for him in the beginning to pull off total wins that didn't leave him a complete mess afterwards and there were things that could only be learned when fighting the heavy-hitters in the NY criminal scene. Fighting was something that Miles took a bit of practice getting good at, which wasn't to say he was any worse than Peter in the beginning, but Peter had a lot of tricks he picked up over the course of eight years as a hero, and drilled them constantly into Miles so that he wouldn't hesitate when push came to shove.
He made sure Miles knew that when it came to slight property damage and getting shot, getting shot was not an option; throw a mailbox, that was much less serious than a bullet-hole. The environment that was the streets of NYC were full of opportunities to use something other than his fists and webs (though he also stressed not to cause wanton destruction). There was no shame in escaping a fight that was too much, Peter had been in fights where he had to get out, his first dance with Rhino had been one such moment, and making sure he knew better how to fight the next round was a smarter decision. Some fights needed to be fought, no matter how bad it looked, such as the fight at the Raft Prison rooftop. It had ended badly, but it wasn't something Peter could run from. Make sure to keep the civilian identity a secret, no matter who he wanted to tell, if it got out who was he was, everyone he cared about was at risk. They didn't have the ability to fight of people like the Electro or Scorpion and could be targeted as a way to hurt him.
He also told Miles about public approval, and sometimes it wasn't always great. Peter told him about Jolly Jonah and Miles frowned at the thought of being insulted and hated for having powers and using them for good despite being a vigilante.
The last thing he did was tell Miles, "Don't be me. Don't be the best Peter Parker Spider-man. Be the best Miles Morales Spider-man and you'll be okay."
When Miles showed up, he was practically vibrating in excitement, "Man, I can't believe this is happening!"
Peter smiled but made sure to be serious, "It's good to be enthusiastic, but don't be cocky. There are lives on the line with each crime we stop, and that includes our own. Police know that, and anyone who is a hero has to make sure they don't forget."
Miles sobered, thinking of his dad, "Right."
Peter put a hand on his shoulder, "Miles," he said encouragingly, "I only met your dad once, but if I can say one thing about him, it's that he would be proud to see his son right now. You may not know this, but a lot of people would have used powers to become a villain, I almost did and it took a really bad day to set me straight. You being ready to take on this as a hero is something only a really brave and good person can do."
Miles smiled at Peter and nodded, "So my suit?"
Peter nodded and opened his trunk, "Here, I made sure it was different in coloring than mine, so it would help you blend to the shadows and well... differentiate me from you."
With that Peter pulled out a red and black variation of a Spider-Man suit and held it out, "What do you think?"
Mile took the suit and lifted it up to see it and smiled, "I think this is pretty awesome, I had been thinking through some designs, but this is better than what I imagined!"
"So," Peter said, "We probably shouldn't call each other's names in the streets, so you need a hero name, and Spider-man's taken. What do you want to call yourself?"
Miles leaned back and thought for a minute, frowning and shrugging, "Spider-Kid? Or maybe... just Spider?"
Peter tilted his head and gathered his thoughts, "Actually I was think Ricochet is a good one for now. I used it as a hero name for a while and we can always change it later or make up a better one. So let's get started, we can take different paths, but if you need any help, you can just use your's built in earpiece to link to me. I'll be there as soon as I can."
"Ricochet?" Miles hummed thoughtfully, "I can deal with that."
The group of thugs had just finished robbing a store when a loud thud echoed against the window and they saw two of their members getting webbed to the floor.
"Shit!" One growled as he aimed at the figure who had been shooting the webs, "It's the bug!"
The figure leapt out of the way of the barrage of bullets and landed in a crouch on a streetlight. The thugs stormed out of the way and saw a guy dressed in a black and red spider-themed outfit.
"That's not him!" One roared, "Everyone knows he's red and blue! It's just some punk imitator!"
A web snagged his chest and he was sent into unconsciousness as two feet slammed into his face and knocked him to the floor. The figure sprung of the falling criminal and landed on the pavement in a ready position. A thug tried to swipe him with a bat from his blind spot, but the hero ducked under the swing and replied with an uppercut that knocked the thug out in a heap three feet away.
"You're right," The hero replied, "The name's Ricochet!"
The four remain thugs laughed as they began to fire, "Then all the better! We don't need to worry about the boss getting pissed we killed Spidey before he could."
As fast as the bullets were and for the hero wasn't Spiderman, he sure fought like the genuine web-slinger. He dodged the bullets with fancy flips and used webs to tangle their legs up and throw them into one another. His punches hurt just as though the web-head had punched them and they were soon all webbed to various places on the street. Miles quickly left at the people called the police to where the thugs were before leaping into the air.
"Maybe next time," Ricochet said as he shot a webline into the sky, "You'll think twice before trying anything in NYC!"
"I knew Lenny was right!" One webbed up thug groaned as the figure swung away, "There's always seemed to be more of them!"
Spiderman had just finished handling a drug deal when Miles had called him, excitedly detailing his actions in stopping a robbery. Spider-man smiled at the slightly breathless joy in Miles' voice, just like Peter felt like when he first stopped a crime.
"Great job Ricochet." Peter replied as he dove of the roof to web-swing to a different area, "We can talk when we're done with patrol."
Peter noted that the dealers had been way, way, way easier to subdue. His punches - even held back as they usually were - were enough to send them skidding away and even knock down the heavier thugs that usually took a few blows to take down. He was glad he stuck with the Iron Spider suit rather than go with the suit Viri had provided him. He knew that Viri had made him stronger, but he had underestimated exactly how strong that was. And his strength wasn't the only thing that was bolstered, his speed, reflexes, and even his spider-sense seemed to get sharper.
"I must say," Viri murmured, "You truly have a unique ability compared to some of our species hosts in the past..."
'Well, I've had a pretty surprising life.' Peter replied back, frankly glad he could think his replies; knowing his luck, Jonah would find out if he was talking to himself and say he was going insane.
He saw several people huddled around a car and he landed on the trunk slamming it closed, "Do you guys have a prescription for all these drugs?"
The thugs started in surprise and Spider-Man flipped away as one of them drew out a hex-blade and swiped at the wall-crawler. Spider-Man landed five feet away and frowned at the masked criminals.
"You would think that the Demons would've stopped after Mr. Negative was locked up..." He sighed, "You know you guys could do some awesome special effects! Why not go into showbiz?"
He ducked away from a Demon's fist and lashed out with a kick that sent the man flying into one of his fellows. His spider-sense blared and he leapt into the air as two of the Demons opened fire with assault rifles. He snagged each gun with a web and with a quick twist, he sent the guns crashing into each of the Demons' faces, knocking them out cold. As Spider-Man landed, the Demon with the hex-blade was already moving to slice him. Spider-Man swayed out of the way of several attacks before snagged a nearby trashcan and swinging it into the criminal. The man - dazed by the impact - fell back only to be stuck to the to the floor by a sheet of webbing. The last demon member backed up to run, but Spider-Man webbed up his legs and swung him into the wall before pinning him with a blast of webbing.
"Sheesh," Spider-Man commented in mock despair, "I give out such a good idea and instead of thanking me, I get assaulted? How's that fair?"
"I thought you of all the hosts I've met would know life is rarely fair." Viri replied.
'Sarcasm, Viri. Sarcasm.' Peter replied in mental deadpan.
Ricochet swung after the speeding car, twisting and contorting his body as the man in the passenger seat took potshots at the hero. Miles landed on the roof of the car and grabbed the man's gun before clocking him across the jaw and webbing the man's hands to the door. Miles then rolled over the hood of the car as the driver began to take wild shots to try to ward off the hero. Miles adhered to the side and grabbed the man, yanking him bodily out of the driver's seat and webbing him to a nearby lamppost. Realizing the car was still speeding, Miles gracefully flipped in front of the car and shot two web-lines to the sides of the street and pressing his feet into the front of the car, like he had seen Peter demonstrate. He groaned as the car tires squealed and the vehicle shook before it finally came to a stop. He gracefully leapt off the crumpled hood of the car and landed with a sigh, only to grumble wordlessly as he saw a truck barreling through the street at him.
"Oh come on!" He complained as it skidded to a stop and masked men climbed out.
Miles and Peter met back up in the living room of Peter's apartment and Miles sat down as soon as he landed, he yanked off his mask as Peter's mask slid down his face to become part of the suit. Miles had stopped 3 robberies, 2 car chases, 4 muggings, and tangled with remnants of the Demons before Peter said they should stop.
"You do this every night?!" Miles complained, "How many criminals are there?!"
Peter laughed at his disgruntled expression and patted his shoulder, "Way too many, but trust me Miles, it gets easier. You've never really used your powers in actual combat and I never pushed you too hard when we were training, it's only natural you'd be exhausted after your frist patrol. I was even more wiped than you are when I started out; I had almost no idea what I was doing."
Miles smiled at the praise and clenched his fists, staring at his hands, "Still... this feels like it's more than I ever thought I could do. Helping F.E.A.S.T. was a good way to keep busy... but this? It helps to know that now I can physically stop criminals. Like dad..."
Peter sat next to Miles and smiled, "I know. It's good to know that there's another hero out there to help during a crisis. You'll do me proud Miles. I know you will."
Peter was looking though some jobs on the web while Miles was tinkering with a spare set of web shooters he built - Peter was impressed, they weren't a bad design overall - on his couch and MJ was editing a piece on a recent string of robberies. One of the advantages to Miles' work with F.E.A.S.T. was that his mom had met Peter every now and then and trusted the young man to look out for Miles. Miles spending time at Peter's place wasn't an issue for her and frankly Miles was glad he didn't have to stash his suit in some corner when he was in here. He had sometimes taken to doing his homework there as Peter had been a TA for a short stint and helped Miles in any problems he had (unfortunately spider-powers didn't exactly help Miles in the normal side of his life). MJ had only been too happy to spend time there as well, with their recent get-together (and Peter having lost his job), Peter had more time and was happy to spend it with her. She knew how important being Spider-Man was to him, and while she didn't have any spider powers, she contributed in her own way to Spider-Man's escapades by intel.
"This is odd..." Mj mumbled as Peter turned to look at her.
"What is?" Peter replied distractedly as he looked over a promising position as an intern at Horizon Labs.
"These robberies... Someone's been looting different Oscorp labs across the city and no one knows anything about who it is." Mj replied as Peter stilled before he got up and looked at her screen, "I don't think it's coincidence either."
Miles looked up from his web-shooters, "Think it's something serious?"
Peter frowned as he looked at photos, "If I knew what they were stealing, I'd be able to tell you. But the labs seemed to be tight-lipped or refusing to report about whatever's gone. If they don't want to say anything, that probably means they were illegal, too secret, or too dangerous to be talked casually about. If it's Oscorp, I'd put money on it being the former..."
A figure quickly lock-picked the door to what was formerly Octavius' Industries and hacked through the door that led to the 'abandoned' lab. He surveyed the lab he had been using as his home base and smiled. He had to thank Osborn's sheer ego for deciding not to have this place cleaned out, probably figured it would be a waste of time as Otto Octavius was locked up in the Raft. His second error? That would be being foolhardy enough to keep all his eggs in the New York Basket; it had been relatively difficult to break into each lab, but so much easier to get out with the intel and chemicals he needed.
"It took a lot of dusting, generous 'donations' of some high end equipment and chemicals, but I think this will do nicely for the plans I have." He chuckled, putting a case he had been carrying with him onto a desk.
The man carefully opened the case and, observed the liquid in the bottle that was placed in the direct center of the case, and smiled.
"I will bring you down Spiderman and better yet..." He whispered, "It will all be courtesy of Oscorp..."