Chapter 5 – A Temporary Solution

The Spider-Man of 2099 spent his late evening swinging around his futuristic city to not only blow off some steam, but also to try and clear his head. No matter how many petty criminals he caught and rounded up for the authorities, however, he was unable to shake this nagging feeling in his head.

Did Miles Morales truly debunk the canon?

He had even suggested it himself the other day, but now, he was second-guessing himself… which he had been doing quite frequently as of late. He wanted to believe it, he really did, but what that wasn't the case.

Exhausted, Miguel found himself atop a skyscraper and sat himself at the edge, unmasking himself, to overlook the neon lights below. Even after eliminating their main threat, his head was still cluttered, restless… he couldn't remember the last time he ever slept.

Not since… his daughter… that wasn't even his to begin with… vanished from his arms.

No… it was longer than that, but he couldn't be bothered to think anymore.

While rubbing this headache, LYLA appeared next to him again, but he wasn't started this time.

"Hey," she greeted, "you don't look like you've slept in years."

"Really? Whatever gave you that idea?"

"Do you wanna… talk about it?"

Thinking about it for a minute, he shrugged. "Sure."

"Where do you wanna start?" The hologram appeared closer to him. "Are you still thinking about the kid?"

"More than that…" he replied, looking skyward, "… what does it all mean?"

This confused the AI. "I don't follow…"

"If the canon was really debunked, how was it all set up to begin with? It just doesn't make sense."

"Respectfully, you were the one who brought—"

"I know!" he interjected. "It's just… what am I doing?"

Both were silent, listening to the city's ambience, until LYLA spoke up again.

"I have a theory." Miguel raised an eyebrow, ready to hear her intently. "What if Miles Morales didn't break or debunk the canon?"

"Go on."

"Think about it, Miguel." She shifted until she was in full view in front of him. "If that spider that was supposed to bite the Spider-Man of Earth 42 bit Miles in Earth 1610 instead, how come neither of those universes collapsed?"

Suddenly, the answer came to him. "Because it was all meant to happen… everything that happened, that we did, was all part of the canon… we just couldn't predict it."

"It also means," LYLA went on, "that his canon event might still not have happened yet."

Miguel turned back to his AI assistant, frowning in confusion again, but then understood. He returned his pensive gaze to the dazzling futuristic city and sighed; he really wanted to retire from all these canon theories, but until then, he had so much work to do.

"Who even knows anymore?"

Putting his mask back on, he dove off the building to resume his night patrol.

The next morning, Miles and his parents were greeted by their doctor. He walked in with a digital notepad, which indicated that he had some news for them.

"I have a solution," he said, adjusting his glasses, "but it's only to stabilize his heart for the time being until he gets the proper surgery."

"What's up, doc?" asked Miles, raising his head a little.

"Have you heard of a pacemaker?"

Miles scoffed, looking back and forth between his mom and dad like he was just asked what one plus one was. "Of course. It's one of those… things that… stabilize… my heartbeat… right?"

"Correct." The doctor nodded. "But our pacemaker is a special kind. It will not only stabilize your heart, but it will also create a barrier around it. You'll also be able to move around, eat, and talk properly without as much strain."

The family lit up, hope shining on all their faces.

"But… you'll still have to refrain from physical exertion."

"You mean I can't… Spider-Man… anymore?"

The man shook. "Not until you get the transplant, should you all decide to go through with the procedure. In all my years of medical practice, I have never seen a heart more swollen than yours, Mr. Morales. As a man who shouldn't believe in miracles, it's incredible that you're even alive."

"What other risks are there?" Rio then asked, stepping forward. "What if…?" She leaned in so that Miles wouldn't hear her whispering. "What if… the worst was to happen? What then?"

"You know I can still hear you, mom."

They ignored him.

"As I said before, this is only a temporary solution." answered the doctor, his voice even lower. "But should his heart fail, perform CPR. The pacemaker's barrier will protect his heart from fulminating." The woman sighed, nodding understandably. "But should that fail as well, its built-in alarm will alert us and immediately transport him here for emergency."

"Will we be able to take him home with us?" she then asked, holding her hands together.

"Yes." He nodded, smiling a little. "He still hasn't glitched, but just to be safe, keep that day pass on him at all times."

"Thank you, doctor." She smiled at him, her eyes squinting hard.

"How soon?" Miles then asked, and they turned to him.

"We can start today, if you like." the doctor responded.

"Cool." he said weakly. "I'd just like… a little time… to talk with everyone first."

The doctor nodded, almost bowing to the young man, before heading out.

"Whatever it takes…" he hissed, "… I wanna beat this thing… I really do."

Both parents turned to their son with pride and heartbreak. He wanted to be strong for them… he had to be strong for them.

Back on Earth 65B, Gwen came down the stairs to meet her father at the dinner table; though she had stayed for the night, there were still a few lines under her eyes.

"Morning." greeted George, who was sitting down eating his breakfast. "Get a good night's sleep?"

She paused in hesitation, then lied. "Yeah."

The man knew better but decided not to push the matter.

"I made you breakfast." he said, motioning next to him.

"Thanks, um… I'll pack it." Gwen wasn't eager to eat anything or stick around.

"Gwen," he set his fork down, turning to face her fully, "I know you're worried about your friend, but you shouldn't feel bad about taking care of yourself."

"Dad, I'm fine." she insisted, "I'm just not hungry right now."

She tried to leave, but her father stood up and took her gently by the arm.

"Come on, sweetie… what's on your mind?" His eyes were pleading. "You can tell me."

She wanted to pull away and run out the door that was just across her, but when she looked into her dad's eyes, she finally relented.

"I've… shut myself away for so long…" she began, looking down at the floor, "I don't know… how to truly open my heart to others." Lightly, she held her chest, feeling her own pulse. "I think… I'm afraid of being happy… because if I let others in, I might hurt or lose them… and I can't decide which is worse."

"No one should have to do that, especially a girl your age." He took her face, prompting her to look up at him. "Why don't you give it a chance?" he said softly. "Open your heart, let others know how you're feeling, what you're going through. That doesn't mean you have tell them your secret."

"Yeah…" she breathed, "… but where do I start?"

Just as she asked that question, the answer flew to her.

"Thanks, dad!" she said excitedly, and then tippy-toed to kiss him on the cheek.

Just as she said she would, she packed her breakfast into a box and hurried to the door.

"One more thing!" George called after her, and she paused, looking back. "Why don't you invite Miles over sometime?"

When he winked at her, she snickered before exiting the house.

There was just one thing she had to do first, one important thing.

Gwen had entered her high school auditorium to find her bandmates, the Mary Janes, prepping for practice. When they noticed her, they almost froze during whatever conversation they were having; none of them said a word until their former drummer spoke first.

"Hey…" She waved to them meekly.

Mary Jane Watson, the lead singer, stepped forward with her hands on her hips, her eyes furrowed. "Hey…" she greeted dryly.

Gwen scratched herself nervously, feeling their glares on her. What was she going to say? Breathing in, she breathed out. This wasn't going to be easy, but she couldn't back out now.

"Look, I, uh…" She struggled to look at her bandmates. "I'm… sorry. You guys were right. I've been dealing with a lot, lately." Nodding to herself, she pushed on. "I don't know how to say this, but… I've been afraid… of so many things."

"Like?" MJ raised an eyebrow, prompting her.

"Like… accepting new friends after…" she swallowed, "… losing Peter."

The expressions on the other bandmembers changed instantly.

"I… failed him as a friend… and since then, I've been afraid that I'll end up failing others." She shrugged, shaking her head. "I don't know what else to say."

Understanding her blonde friend finally, the redhead sighed, still nonetheless uncertain of her. "Are you also trying to ask me if a job vacancy is still open?"

Gwen's face lightened a little, hope washing over her.

"Look…" Betty Brandt stepped up, her eyes looking uncomfortably sideways. "… we're glad that you finally opened up to us, but at the moment, we'll need some more time before we decide to let you back in. We just… we want to be sure that you won't flake on us again, not to mention that you disappeared for more than a year!"

"Oh… okay." Just like that, her hope fizzled out… of course, what else did she expect?

"But that doesn't mean we're shutting the door on you!" the bass played added hurriedly.

Gwen waved at them. "No, no… I get it."

She turned around, preparing to leave, when MJ stopped her.

"Look, there's an event coming up later… we'll keep you posted, okay?"

Gwen smiled. "Thanks." And then she was off.

This wasn't the result she had hoped for, but it was a start.

It didn't seem to take much time at all when Gwen left her dimension to return to Earth 928B's hospital; it was almost becoming routine now.

When she dispensed herself a cup of water from a dispenser, she felt the presence of a short figure approaching her; it was Peni Parker.

"Hi, Gwen." She waved in animated fashion.

"Hey, Peni!" Careful not to spill her drink, she hugged the smaller girl delightedly. "How have you been?"

"Oh, I'm good!"

"Yeah, you sure?"

With their chests tight together, Gwen could feel the Earth 14512 Spider's heart racing hard. Pulling away, she held her shoulder, sensing that something was wrong.

"What's going on?" she asked, her eyes narrowing, "I just felt your heart doing a drumroll."

"Oh…" Peni was now embarrassed, "… is it that obvious? It's just being in a hospital makes me nervous."

Gwen nodded, though she believed there was more.

"Why haven't you seen Miles yet?" she was suddenly asked, which almost had her stumbling back. "He's been lowkey asking for you all day."

"Has he?"

"Yeah… you better go see him before Margo steals him away." Peni smirked, bouncing her eyebrows teasingly.

"Oh!" Gwen cried, a little too high-pitched than she intended, and then cringed at herself; by now, she should have known better that Miles and Margo are just friends. "Well… I'm just about to do that." She cleared her throat afterwards.

Just as she was about to leave Peni in a fit of awkwardness, Peni spoke again, now in a somber tone. "Have you heard?"

"Heard what?" Gwen turned back, nervous again. "He's being prepped for surgery."

Cold electricity showered the blonde's body, if only for a split second.

"They're just giving him a pacemaker." Peni pointed at her own chest. "So, he won't be bedridden for long."

"That's…" Gwen huffed slowly, as if she had forgotten to breathe for a while, "That's great."

"He'll be fine, Gwen." Peni assured her.

"Yeah," she whispered in return, "thanks for letting me know."

And so, she hurried off to see her friend… no, her love.

When Gwen walked in, she paused at the doorway to see Miles chatting with Margo; over the course of their last adventure, the two girls had warmed up to each other, but she still couldn't help but feel a little iffy seeing this other Spider-Woman with her Miles.

As soon as Margo noticed her, she calmly pulled away and bro-fisted him before exiting the room past her. Gwen was silent for a bit, though she tried not to show signs of any jealousy.

"Come on…" teased Miles, sensing it straight away, "… you're not still worried about her… are you?"

"What? The same way you weren't worried about Hobie?" she retorted, and then entered to sit where the previous girl was sitting, next to his bed. "Still got your sense of humor, I see."

Miles smirked through his nostrils, which were now plugged with a nasal canula.

"How are you?" they said at the same time, and then chuckled afterwards.

Gwen went first. "I'm… doing a little better. My dad and I are okay, now."

"Good."

"Yeah, and I spoke with my band recently about rejoining as their drummer… I had quit a while back." She cocked her head. "They… haven't exactly given me a yes or no answer, but I'm trying to be hopeful. How are you?"

"I'm good too…" Miles nodded, taking her hand that was resting next to him. "… the doctors are gonna give me a pacemaker." He grinned. "It means I won't be… stuck in this stupid… bed for much longer… but I'll still be limited… they say."

"It's okay." Gwen wasn't sure why she said that, but it made Miles smile more.

She then took his cheek, her soft hand resting on his roughened skin. Her smile then faded.

"I'm so sorry…" Her voiced cracked. "This—"

"No, Gwen." Miles could already sense where this was going. "Forget what I said that day… I'm glad you came to see me."

"But I—"

"Shut up." he snapped without sounding angry. "If you hadn't come to see me… I wouldn't have followed you… I wouldn't have learned about the canon… I wouldn't have been able to save my dad… my mom… the multiverse… but most importantly…" he leaned up a little, "… we wouldn't have fallen for each other."

Tears quickly ran down the girl's cheek. "Getting sucked into your dimension all those years ago… it was the best thing that ever happened to me." It was her turn to lean closer now. "Because I met you."

Neither of these two could resist the pull any longer, and they kissed for what seemed like hours. Their lips… they loved their softness, their warmth.

Unbeknownst to them, Rio and Jefferson had been hiding just outside, both sniggering at each other; they wanted to give this young couple their moment before making their presence known as well.

Eventually, the time came. The doctors came in with their nurses to wheel the young hero off for surgery.

Everyone, the parents, the Spider-Gang, they all stood together, holding each other's hands, as the huddle of scrubs and coats shrank into the distance with their loved one, all praying for him to make it back safely.

TO BE CONTINUED.