I've added one headcanon of mine to this. I couldn't resist how well it fits with the concept.
Again, I appreciate any corrections for the Spanish parts. Thank you!
It was easy to assume that power outages would be practically non-existent in an advanced, futuristic building like the Spider Society headquarters. Miguel would argue it was a misconception - he had fought battles like every other Spider-person where energy sources were compromised. However, it did not mean he was underprepared for it. The headquarters were outfitted with multiple power cores and emergency generators should problems arise. Each was placed in separate locations and powered individual sectors - all had undisclosed blueprints to match.
Still, an issue should be addressed as soon as possible, and that was where Miguel found himself after another unassuming day at work. The Spider Gang, as the others fondly called Miles and friends, had returned after a hellish fight against multiple anomalies in Hobie's dimension. The teenagers headed to the infirmary while Peter B. and his grayscaled alternate self from Earth-90214B attended the debriefing. Thirty minutes later, the lights died out, and the generators kicked in. LYLA informed him that that sector's energy core lost power, but the others remained fully functional.
As much as Miguel hated additional work, he was the only one with full access to the most restricted parts of the place. That included the underground facilities where the power sources were housed. He had forgone bringing in any illumination - his night vision ability would suffice in navigating the dimly lit maze. His destination was swallowed entirely by darkness - the only light was from the connecting corridor and his suit. He had LYLA run diagnostics in the background while he searched for a tangible source of the problem, if any.
Miguel stepped into and surveyed the vast chamber for anything amiss. The humongous core loomed ahead of him - golden sparks jumped out occasionally, but nothing too dangerous. Everything else seemed intact, and LYLA had not reported anything odd with her ongoing search. He decided to get closer and see if he could find something -
"Grr…"
Miguel stopped abruptly in his tracks. His body immediately fell into a battle stance; his mask materialized around his head. Claws protracted at his sides, and he whipped around for the intruder. He listened in tense silence - the low rumble had stilled with his steps. He could not see anything or anyone else. Not even a shadow imprinted against the wall.
"LYLA," Miguel called out through clenched teeth. The holographic AI did not appear, but he knew she could hear him just fine. "Run a scan in the immediate area for intruders. Alert everyone aboveground and tell Jess to prepare for capture."
An affirmative hum was the only response he got. He braced himself and cautiously stepped forward towards the power source. Something hissed above him and scuttled on the metallic surface. He snapped toward the direction of the sounds, but only emptiness greeted him.
Miguel replied with a growl of his own. "Come out! I know you're there."
Silence. Whatever or whoever it was wary of him. Good. Miguel flexed his claws and stood straighter, hoping to look bigger and more intimidating. "I said, come out! Don't make me drag you out from there!"
Blue-white light flashed at the corner of his eyes, and he whirled around. He was about to pounce at the intruder when his keen eyes recognized the torn black and red suit. Wide, brown eyes illuminated by the visible bioelectricity stared back at him.
"Miles?"
It took Miguel a moment to realize his mistake. His voice was too loud for comfort, given how the younger Spider-Man winced, and - ¡mierda! - his claws were out. A raspy whimper escaped chapped lips, and the latter's heart dropped toward the Earth's inner core. Miles slinked back into the shadows; his camouflage flickered on until the other superhero could not see a smidge of him. The older Spider-Man rushed forward out of panic. No, no, no! That was not-!
"¡Espera, chico! No estaba - ¡No era mi intención!"
Miguel's desperate words were cut short by the lingering scent of ozone. He dared not take another step - the sensation of getting hit by the so-called Venom Strike remained vivid in his memory. The familiar vibrant blue might be gone, but its owner had not left yet. However, that was not the issue right now.
A million questions were running in Miguel's mind. Why was Miles here? How did he get here? Why was he not in the infirmary with the others? What was the kid doing with the power core? Did he cause the power outage? Wait…did Miles just HISS at him?
What in the multiverse was happening?
LYLA popped on his shoulder as if on cue, holding a clipboard like a supervisor. Miguel barely managed not to flinch at her sudden appearance. "Hey, hey, Miggy! The kids are asking if you saw dear ol' Miley. Gwendolyn said he'd probably be somewhere to charge up his bioelectricity reserves. Used up all his in that mission. She said he gets very touchy if he's at the low. You have to be really, really gentle with your favorite kid if you run into him."
Miguel let out a shaky breath. "... He's not my kid, and I don't play favorites." His mask and claws retracted, and he rubbed his palms on his face. "Tell them I already found Miles. I also discovered why the power's acting up."
The holographic AI tilted her head questioningly before her face lighted up comically in realization. "Oh. Oh! I get it!" She chuckled, patting him on the cheek. "Well done, Spider-Dad! You're a real natural at this."
Calma. Mantén la calma. Miguel reminded himself. He should not scare Miles any further than this. "Just do your job. While you're at it, find out how did Miles get here. I want you to check if anything in this facility needs repair."
"Mmm. Sure, sure. Got it." LYLA snapped her fingers. "I'll leave it to you then. Just remember, big guy. Be gentle with your son."
Miguel bit down an angry retort. Keep calm. Just keep calm. He needed to focus on getting Miles out of this place. To do that, he had to appear harmless and calm, especially if the younger Spider-Man was currently hypersensitive to his surroundings and other people.
"Miles," He called out softly like one would to a scared animal. He held out his palms where the other superhero could see it. "I know you're still there. I'm sorry if I scared you. No era mi intención, chico. Me sorprendió verte aquí."
Miguel paused briefly, listening to even the tiniest sound. "I'm not mad. I promise." He pleaded. "No te haré daño, ¿entonces podrías venir aquí? ¿Por favor? Realmente lo siento."
Waiting for a response was painful. Miguel's heart thumped against his ribs as he prayed desperately to whoever above was watching this scene play out. He did not want them to return to those days of avoidance and fear. They had come a long way since, and he might not openly admit it, but he had grown fond of the teenage superhero.
Fabric rustled above him, and Miguel slowly lifted his gaze to the smooth top of the core. His eyes picked up the familiar red logo against the black spandex. The older Spider-Man finally let out a breath of relief as the younger superhero became visible.
"¿Tío?"
"Sí. Soy yo, chico." Miguel finally reached the base of the power source. "You need to come down. It's dangerous up there."
Miles blinked at him. Confusion flitted in his exhausted expression. "I'm… I'm fine. Just needs to recharge." He pressed his palms on the metal. The golden electricity transitioned to blue-white as it was absorbed into his body. "I'm almost done. Just a little more."
What were you? A human rechargeable battery? It was a stupid question. Miguel swallowed it for a better one. "How often does this happen?"
The younger Spider-Man hummed distractedly. "Only when I'm out." He winced at his words. He pulled away briefly and raised his hands placatingly. "I-I mean, I don't recharge using my city's power grids. That would be very un-superhero-like. I just…umm, slowly get from my home's electricity. The bills will go up, but yeah…"
Miles sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Mami will kill me if she finds out I'm the reason for the additional expenses."
"Dios mío." Miguel groaned as he massaged his forehead. He could feel a migraine coming. He just could not with this kid. "Just…Just hurry up. I'm going to wait outside. We're going to talk about this later."
Miguel did not wait for a reply, and they only talked after Miles got properly checked by the medical team for any injuries from the mission. The former made the younger Spider-Man promise not to pull the same stunt again in exchange for a miniature energy station built just for him.
It went well for a while - no power outages or hissing teenagers in the dark. The second one warped into ghost stories by those who made a wrong turn in the headquarters and got scared out of their suits. Miguel ignored those - he was sure everyone was doing it for the shit and giggles if the occasional test of courage was anything to go by.
…That was until variants of the kid were recruited and joined the Spider Society. Miguel now had to worry about building more stations, paying rising electrical bills, breaking out fights between the power-feeding Spider-folk when most reserves were at their lowest, and rescuing poor souls caught in the crossfire.
How fun.
At least the kitten version of the kid was adorable.
