TW: descriptions of serious injuries, violence, murder/throat slitting

Big shout out to saturnknows and crystal-crax on Tumblr for their help with the Spanish assistance I needed in this chapter, and for giving me more phrases to use in the future!

Reader's Perspective - Flashback

I hadn't been this active as a Spider Woman, even in my own world the crime wasn't as intense as it was for others. I had been recruited a month ago, but today had been one of the busiest days I've experienced.

We had to catch two Shockers that were tearing their way through my new friend Hobie's world. Unfortunately London had suffered a lot of collateral damage as they turned the old city into a light show, but we had managed to catch them without any casualties (eventually).

Is it strange that I had fun? Like not just today, but this entire month has been one of the best month's I've ever lived. I was the newbie here, and one of the Peter Parkers (Peter B Parker to be exact) was already inviting me over to his house to meet his wife and newborn baby. He had already shown me like a hundred photos of his baby on his phone, which I honestly didn't mind. Hobie was teaching me how to play chords on his guitar, and I was present when Jess called her husband to tell him she was pregnant.

I wasn't used to camaraderie. Honestly, I wasn't used to any types of friendship or bonds like this. It was more than just a nice change of pace, it was literally life-changing.

But back to the long day I had of catching the Shockers, now was my time to unwind. I sat high up on one of the balconies on the Spider Society skyscraper in Nueva York. This building was massive, I didn't think buildings could get this big, but I was currently in the future. I had my mp3 player in, enjoying the sunset and cool breeze as I sat on the ledge, my legs dangling. This was one of my favorite spots to relax.

I felt a presence approaching me, I turned to see Miguel. I instantly got butterflies and I could feel my face grow warm from the sight of him. Ever since I met this man a month ago I have been smitten. It's been awhile since I've had a crush this intense.

"What are you doing?" He asked, his tone only mildly curious.

Miguel liked to pretend he wasn't interested in what you were doing, but he would gently pry or appear uninterested when he asked questions. I thought it was cute, honestly.

"Watching the sunset, listening to music." I replied with a smile. I offered one of my earbuds. "Want to listen?"

He hesitated for a second before taking the earbud and sat next to me. He took the mp3 player from my hand, rotating it and inspecting it in his hands.

"What?" I asked, amused by how he was looking at it.

"Primitive technology." Was all he said when handing it back to me.

I rolled my eyes, unable to suppress a laugh. I saw the corner of his lips twitch like he wanted to smile, but he didn't.

"Well I'm about to get really old school because I've been on an 80s kick today, so prepare yourself." I told him while I picked out a song.

He listened to the entire song in silence. He took his earbud out, looking over at me like he wanted to ask a question.

"So it took them trying to cheat on each other to find out they liked the same things?" He questioned, in reference to the song.

"Apparently." I said with a shrug. "Not sure who the hell likes to get caught in the rain, they were definitely made for each other."

He chuckled that time. It wasn't a full laugh, but the sound of it made my heart rate pick up. I faced away from him, feeling flustered, and looked toward the sunset.

"Your heart rate is high." He stated.

I snapped my head over to him: "Huh?!"

"Your heart, I can hear it beating faster." He repeated.

I had forgotten he had extremely heightened senses. Damn, this was embarrassing. I wanted to spew out a bunch of excuses as to why, but Miguel was a hard person to lie to and get away with it.

Miguel took my hand gently, pressing two fingers on my wrist to feel my pulse. I swear I was holding my breath the entire time.

"It's going very fast." He repeated again.

His eyes eventually met my face, he removed his fingers from my wrist to tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear. He seemed to ponder something for a minute, like he was having an internal argument with himself, then stood up.

"You should come in soon, you don't want to catch a cold." He said before leaving the balcony.

I placed my hand over my heart, watching him leave.

Miguel's Perspective - Three Days After Doc Ock

Back in Nueva York Miguel spoke to the doctor. His arms were crossed as he listened to his rundown about her condition.

"She has a concussion, soft tissue damage in various parts of her body, some broken ribs, and some mild internal bleeding. Her larynx is in rough shape, she's going to have trouble speaking for a while." The doctor explained, bringing up a virtual interface of her chart. "The fetus is also doing fine, the incident did cause some distress to its vitals, but it is okay. If it wasn't for both of your spider DNA being present in the fetus, I don't know if it would've survived."

Miguel thought he would feel more relieved, but his concerns were still how injured she was. She was alive and the fetus unharmed, that much he was thankful for.

"Thank you, Dr. Park. How is Jessica Drew?"

Dr. Park brought up another interface, skimming over her chart.

"She's dilating and in the later stages of labor, but is having complications. We have her sedated at the moment, trying to figure out the best course of action to keep both her and the baby alive."

Miguel felt a wave of anger wash over him, thinking about Doc Ock. He still wanted to travel back to that universe and finish him off, unsatisfied with the state he left him in.

If no one was around he would've done much worse.

"Mrs. Drew unfortunately can't have visitors at the moment, we aren't sure when that can be lifted. We are going to notify her next of kin in her universe soon. But your associate Hobie Brown visited your partner earlier, you can go visit if you'd like."

"I will, thank you." Miguel managed to reply.

Inside her room, a nurse was going over speech exercises. She took off the brace that was on her neck, revealing dark bruises. Her swelling has gone down, but she was covered in cuts and bruises that had turned a harsh shade of puce.

"Try again, try to say your name." The nurse instructed gently.

She opened her mouth to speak, but the only sound that erupted from it was a hoarse whistle followed by a gurgling sound. She gripped her throat, her brows furrowing like she was in pain.

"It's okay, try again."

Miguel knocked on the door, alerting them to his presence. He ducked into the doorway, his eyes meeting hers. She smiled sadly at him, one of her hands still clasping her throat.

"Hi," the nurse greeted. "We can continue this later, I'll give you both some privacy." She dismissed herself.

Miguel sat on her bed, reaching out and caressing her face. She leaned into it, closing her eyes as she did so. He then moved his hand to her stomach, being careful not to apply too much pressure. She tried to speak again, struggling.

"It's okay, don't strain yourself." He cooed. "Margo is working on something for you to help you communicate while you recover."

She nodded slowly, her eyes looking downward.

She looked so defeated, a shell of her former usual bubbly self. He was sick to his stomach with the realization that his worst fears were coming true. This was exactly why he wanted her to keep her distance, it wasn't safe for her to be around him or anywhere by the Spiderverse.

She had been dead in his arms, she literally had to be resuscitated. There isn't a call closer than that.

"This shouldn't have happened to you, I'm so sorry. Pavitr told me about the watch, Lyla and I are looking into a possible glitch or motive of an attack within." He explained. "This is what I was afraid of, you getting close to me and then getting hurt…"

She took his hand in hers, the pulse monitor on her finger restricting her from holding it fully. She leaned forward and fell into his chest. He caught her by the shoulders. She clinged to him, her tear-filled eyes staring up at him, pleading.

"I'm not going to be sending you home again, I won't abandon you." He soothed, pulling her into a gentle hug.

He guided her to lay back down, lying down next to her in the hospital bed. He positioned himself, pressing his ear on her abdomen while still facing her, focusing his hearing.

"I can hear the heartbeat," he informed her, "it's strong."

She gave him that same sweet, sad smile. Even in her current state that smile could light up a room. She stroked his head as laid it on her stomach, brushing some of his bangs away from his forehead.

"I'm going to get to the bottom of what happened with your dimension travel watches. It seemed like it was deliberately set to travel to Earth 9591, and encounter Doc Ock. I don't know if it was sabotage from the inside, or a glitch. But I promise you I'll find out."

She continued to stroke his head, her eyes went downcast at the mention of the memory. He felt bad for bringing it up, but he wanted her to stay informed. He clasped her hand, the one that was stroking his head, and kissed her palm. She liked when he did this, every time she would avert her eyes shyly and smile. He loved the reaction he got out of her. This time her reaction was different, she did smile but she still seemed trapped in a state of sorrow.

Seeing her like this convinced him of his decision: he vowed to get to the bottom of what sabotaged the watch, and make Doc Ock pay.

Lyla had warned him not to return to Earth 9591, but he was determined to follow this conviction all the way through, even at the risk of potentially messing up the timeline.

He returned to the alley, the wreckage from the fight still present. The construction site was still damaged and abandoned. It was cloudy, not raining this time, but it looked like it could start soon. He saw the imprint in the ground where he had bitten and attacked Doc Ock; it followed with scrape marks on the ground leading back down the alley. Rage boiled inside him, his eyes narrowing on the evidence of Doc Ock dragging himself through the alley. It ended quickly, the trail going dead in front of a steel door attached to a building. Miguel threw open the door, ignoring any implications of stealth as he went inside. It was dark, but he could hear someone breathing very labored breaths.

Further inside he found Doc Ock at a desk, attempting to lift a cup of water to his lips, but struggling to do so with his hand. Miguel had pumped a lot of venom into him, it was starting to wear off but he still hasn't gained full control of his body yet. His mechanical arms were still limp around him. His head bent forward, desperate for a sip of water.

Miguel shot a web at the cup, knocking the water out of his hand. Doc Ock's trembling body stilled, not making a move to look in Miguel's direction. He wondered if he had expected him to return.

Miguel didn't utter a word while he approached. Doc Ock stared at the spilled water on the ground in the distance.

"I was tipped off…" Doc Ock croaked, his voice very hoarse.

Miguel didn't flinch, the sound of his voice only making him angrier. Dehydration had started to set in, and a fleeting thought of him suffering for days like this satisfied him.

"I was tipped off days before they arrived." He added.

"By who?" Miguel demanded.

"I don't know…"

Miguel couldn't contain his rage any longer, he could feel his spider instincts taking over his body.

"Then you're of no use to me."

Miguel struck Doc Ock on the side of his head, causing him to collapse to the ground, grabbing his temple. Miguel's claws projected from his Spider suit. With a swift and shockingly brutal motion Miguel slashed Doc Ock's neck. Doc Ock reached for his now gaping neck, his eyes buldged under his goggles. Blood sputtered from his mouth and drained from the slit. He grasped at his bleeding wound, weakly attempting to gasp for air as blood pooled, but Miguel had cut deep through the jugular. Doc Ock was already dehydrated, so it didn't take long for the hypovolemic shock to set in, but even still it was a slow, agonizing death.

Miguel relished every moment of watching him suffer, keeping his red eyes focused on Doc Ocks writhing body until it eventually went limp.

"Púdrete en el infierno, pendejo." He swore, spitting on Doc Ock's dead body before he opened a portal and left.

Escape (The Pina Colada Song) - Rupert Holmes

Notes:

As I said in the last chapter, I am not super knowledgeable when it comes to Marvel Ruins (Earth 9591). I am planning on doing more of a comic deep dive on certain topics for some ideas I have for future chapters and the plot. I want to at least be a bit accurate to the comic, although most will probably just come off as my own headcanon or interpretation.