A/N: Special thanks to Midnight Lost for his contributions. Reviews, Feedback, and constructive criticism are always welcome.

WARNING: If you are a fan of Miles Morales, this is your chance to turn around and leave NOW. (I am probably gonna get some flak for this, but I do NOT like Miles' 'Spider-Verse' iteration.) Consider yourselves warned.

Disclaimer: All source material belongs to their respective owners.

In loving memory of Stan Lee. Thank you for the creation of many favorite heroes and stories. Excelsior!

Chapter Seven: Hurt.

Gwen hummed to herself as she zipped through the streets of Brooklyn, a sense of nostalgia washing over her as she was finally back in familiar territory. Miles' New York and her own were so similar, that there was hardly any real difference which made it very easy for her to navigate around.

She felt a little guilty for leaving Naruto behind like that and for practically manipulating his feelings for her to go and pay a visit to Miles, but she reasoned that her fellow blonde would be fine. They could hang out whenever they wanted, but she never got a chance to see Miles before today due to Miguel's No-Contact order. That aside, she would just be gone for an hour and be right back. Nothing to it. No harm, no foul.

It wasn't long before she arrived at the Morales residence as she landed softly against the side of the building, thankfully Miguel's file on the artistic Spider-Man was pretty thorough as it also contained his address, which she memorized.

She took a peek through one of the windows, more specifically the one that was left open, and was lucky enough to find the room of her old friend on the first try. She could see him, lying on his bed as he was listening to some music through a pair of headphones. She chuckled a bit as she slipped inside and crawled on his ceiling to surprise him, a big grin on her face as she called down to him "Miles! Miles!"

She smirked a bit as his eyes opened, finding himself looking up at her as he quickly snatched his headphones off and stared up at her in disbelief as she asked "Got a minute?" She then chuckled as she landed softly on his bed in a cross legged position, taking a quick look around his room.

"Gwen? When... how did you..?" Miles asked in shock as the blonde drummer quickly wrapped him up in a warm and friendly hug before separating from him. "How have you been?" He questioned, with wide eyes, still processing the fact that she was here... in his room. It kind of made him question if this was real or not, but he knew that this was, in fact, not a dream.

"Oh! I've uhh. I've been good! Look at you! You grew huh? Hit a growth spurt?" She asked with a nervous chuckle as she did a small fist bump against his shoulder.

"Uhh, yeah. Your hair has gotten... pinker." He awkwardly pointed out, gesturing to her pink highlights in her hair. His mind running a mile a minute as he tried to calm himself and get over his surprise.

"Is this the room you grew up in?" She asked as she took another look around his room, noting the various posters and art supplies inside. She saw Miles shove some items, a couple of action figures and some other things into a drawer making her chuckle a bit which made her roll her eyes. Was he embarrassed about the fact he still held onto some toys and stuff from his childhood? She didn't see anything wrong with that since she thought it was a good thing for people to hold onto things they loved as a child for sentimental reasons.

"Hey, what's this?" She asked as she saw an open sketchbook on Miles' bed, before he could react, she snatched it with her webbing before he was able to get to it first and then perusing through the contents as she spoke "Are these your drawings? They're pretty good." She complimented, seeing a sketch of his uncle Arron, one of Spider-Noir, Spider-Ham, and a few of herself as well.

Her smile faltered a bit as she flipped through some of the pages, each page having one or more sketches of herself... she felt both a sense of flattery and unease. The former because it was nice to see that Miles missed her and thought about her, but as for the latter, the large number of drawings of her made her feel a bit uncomfortable. "Wow... there is... so many..." She muttered awkwardly, but she then perked up as she returned the sketchbook and decided to play it off as she said in a friendly tone "Missed you too Miles."

The young artist placed his sketchbook off to the side as he decided to ask his friend the question that was really eating away at him and said "So... what are you doing here? I thought that I'd... never see you again."

In response, she sat down at his windowsill and gave him an inviting smile, deciding to reconnect with as from one Spider to another as she asked "Want to get out of here?"

Miles seemed very much tempted to join her as he stated slowly "I'm... grounded." Though he left out the exact reasoning as to why he was grounded. The reasoning in question involving him lying to his parents about where he spends his time and being late to his father's promotion party, it didn't help that he had yet to tell his parents that he was Spider-Man.

"Bummer." She responded in a nonchalant manner before flipping out of the window, with Miles following after and finding her standing on the side of the building with her arms crossed beneath her bust and her signature mask and hood now on as she asked him "Is Spider-Man grounded?" For a moment, Miles hesitated but quickly changed his mind as his old friend gave him an expectant look. He chuckled and immediately switched into his Spider-Man outfit and followed after her as they began to swing through the city.

Unbeknownst to Miles, his parents had come in to check on him, only to find him missing, which further aggravated his father, the soon-to-be Police Captain which caused a shout of "That's three months!" to echo through the Morales residence.

The two Spider-People started to web-swing their way through New York as Gwen excitedly told her old friend about the Spider-Society, her teacher Jessica Drew, the Society's leader Miguel O'Hara, and about some of her friends, such as the Spider-Punk Hobie Brown. She laughed heartily as they zipped through the city, just like old times.

Miles listened to her, finding the prospect of a while society of Spider-People to be intriguing, feeling like it could be someplace he might finally belong and not have to keep his secret(s) anymore. "So, uhh... why'd you show up now? How long have you been part of this Spider-Society?" He asked, wondering why she hadn't come before now.

"About two months now, Miguel is kind of strict about where I go since I'm still kind of a new recruit." She answered, while it was not a lie, she deliberately left out the part about the No-Contact order that was placed on Miles. Hopefully, with the new information that Naruto revealed about the Spider-Verse, she could soon convince her boss to give her more freedom and let her visit her friend from now on. She probably shouldn't have gone behind his back, but there was no way she could miss this chance.

As they swung through the city, they passed by the private laboratory of Johnathon Ohnn, She saw Naruto, still sitting alone on that rooftop as he waited for their spotted target to appear. Her eyes and the Uzumaki's briefly met as she passed by... and she could see the longing in them. He was wishing that he was the one swinging beside her... and now he must be feeling left out. God... she felt really bad now. In her eagerness to see Miles again, she didn't take Naruto's feelings into account. She would have to make it up to him later somehow to apologize.

Miles didn't take notice of the Spider-Shinobi as he passed by, his eyes focusing on the Spider-Drummer as they continued swinging through the city. Gwen checked the timer on her watch, noting that she still had plenty of time before having to meet up to her roommate, all the while thinking of perhaps offering whatever the whiskered teen wanted to eat for dinner as an apology for ditching him.

They stopped atop a tall building, more specifically the Williamsburg Bank Building, one of Miles' favorite hangout spots as Spider-Man which also gave a great view of the Brooklyn skyline. "So how did you end up joining the Spider-Society?" He asked her out of curiosity, making Gwen sigh a bit as she told the young artist about what happened between her and her father, about how she refrained from telling him her secret, and how she ended up being chased out of her home dimension which resulted in her joining the massive organization. Even now... she still regrets not telling her dad.

Her tale made Miles hum in thought as he then admitted to her "You know... I thought about telling my parents, but I'm not sure how they'd react." This made the blonde drummer nod her head in understanding as she too had dreaded telling her father. Now she feared that perhaps it was too late... but still, after her Naruto's encouraging words before her date with him... she wanted to at least try to reconnect with her dad for the sake of closure.

"Your boat, your call Miles. Though take it from me personally... don't wait until it's too late." She spoke with a small huff as she did her hair up in a ponytail before walking off the side of a ledge and then sat upside-down below with a small smile, enjoying the view. While Brooklyn was a familiar setting for her... there was something special about the more natural setting of Konoha.

"I dunno Maybe some things are supposed to be just for us." Miles mused as he joined his old friend as he too now sat upside-down a little ways behind her. His words made the Spider-Drummer hum thoughtfully, while it was true it was nice to share things with other Spider-People... she kind of longed to be someplace where she didn't have to hide anything from anyone anymore. In Naruto's world, even though she had only met and spoken with the Ichiraku's, it felt refreshing how open they could be with the Father/Daughter duo and made her think about potentially meeting her roommate's other friends as well.

"That's one way to think about it." She responded in a noncommittal manner, as her thoughts lingered on Naruto. She thought about his confession to her, how sincere he was, and about how she didn't give him an answer to his confession. She felt a little bad about not responding to him, it made her feel kind of like she was stringing him along, but she had to sort out her own feelings first.

"I'm just a really emotionally intelligent guy. Beyond my years." Miles boasted from behind her, making her roll her eyes as her lips twitched a bit as she recalled how her roommate sensed her distress when she was thinking about her dad, about how gentle he was with her, about how he didn't force her into making any form of decision or commitment on the spot when he confessed to her. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't told Miles about her boyfriend yet. She probably should but... well... she didn't want to kill the mood or make things awkward between her and the Spider-Artist.

She cleared her throat and spoke "It's nice... being able to talk with you again Miles." She spoke in a relaxed and warm voice, trying not to let the comfortable atmosphere go sour.

"Yeah. How many people can you talk to about this stuff?" He questioned her as he now sat right beside her, his words making her purse her lips and think once again about a certain whiskered blonde who she felt that she could tell anything to.

"You know... you're the first friend I officially made after Peter, my Peter, died." She mentioned offhandedly with a small scoff, as she felt a bit conflicted right now. She checked her timer... and found that she still had thirty-eight minutes before meeting with Naruto. The Spider-Artist took notice of this but didn't question it at this time.

"Other than Hobie? You mean?" He asked her since after she had mentioned Hobie and the fact that she crashed at his place a few times, made him wonder if Gwen and 'Hobie' were an item, making him feel a bit jealous at the prospect of losing her to someone else, especially if he didn't get a fair shot for himself.

"No. It's different." She muttered, unsure of how to define her relationship with Miles. Was he just a friend? Something akin to a little brother or something? She hadn't yet figured that part out.

"Yeah? How so?" He questioned her as he seemed to nervously pinch at his costume, his inquiry making her raise an eyebrow but she decided to play it off as innocent curiosity since she wasn't exactly clear on what she had meant.

"I don't know. With you... it's..." She tried to explain herself but was cut off by Miles when he interrupted her by saying "We're the same. In the important ways."

She hummed in thought at this, finding that it was true that she and Miles had a lot in common. However, even now, her mind couldn't help but linger upon Naruto's heartfelt confession... perhaps she could voice her reservations to Miles? She'd have to be subtle about it to avoid tipping him off since she wanted to spare his feelings "You know... in every other universe, Gwen Stacy falls for Spider-Man." She mused aloud, unknown to her, Miles took this as a cue that she had potential feelings for him as he inched his hand closer to her own.

"And in every other universe, it doesn't end well." She finished her thought while having a sorrowful look as she considered turning down Naruto's feelings. Her rejection might break his heart, but they could still be friends with one another... if they were to become something more, and if something were to happen to her... it could possibly crush him. He had already experienced enough pain and suffering throughout the course of his sad childhood, she didn't need to be the potential cause of even more suffering for him.

"Well... there's a first time for everything, right?" Miles asked as his hand inched even closer to hers, only this time she took notice of it and pulled her hand away from his. She considered his words and nodded. There was indeed a first for everything… but it was still risky. Gwen sighed and decided to drop the subject for now. God, she was feeling so conflicted right now.

He raised an eyebrow at how she pulled her hand away though he didn't comment on it. He then got an idea as he asked her "Hey. You wanna come to my dad's promotion party? There's lots of food there." He offered, hoping the invitation will encourage her to stay longer.

She glanced at her timer once again and found that she still had thirty-five minutes to go... she wouldn't mind some food, after all, one couldn't fight crime or process their emotions while on an empty stomach, and she could also take some with her to give to Naruto when it was time to leave. She didn't see the harm in it and agreed as she wondered what kind of food was being served there. Heh, what could possibly happen in that time anyway?

A bit later.

Gwen and Miles now stood beneath a water tower, just adjacent to the promotion party of the latter's father. The two happily chatting away as they enjoyed some food that they sneaked away with their webbing just for the fun of it. She was also grateful that her Gizmo had a storage function to hide Civilian Clothes when needed since it would have been awkward to show up in her Spider-Costume. The blonde drummer occasionally snuck in some glances down to the party-goers… mainly because she felt eyes on her.

Her instincts were proven correct as she noticed two people that were undoubtedly Miles' parents were looking at her with a scrutinizing and judging gaze. Were they bothered by her punkish appearance or something? Was it because they didn't know her and hadn't been properly introduced? She shrugged it off as parents being parents, getting all overprotective of their son… but still, it was kind of rude.

The Ichiraku's welcomed her with open arms, and though Ayame poked and prodded at her with questions due to excitement, she immediately backed off after a gentle warning from her dad. She decided to ignore the artist's parents and instead keep her attention on Miles and pretend that they were the only ones here, though she also reminded herself to take some food for Naruto as well. She was certain that he would like most everything here.

"So... Gwen. What's the deal with that watch thing you're wearing? Looks pretty Hi-Tech. Mind if I see it?" The Spider-Artist asked while gesturing to her Gizmo. She ran a finger on the device, feeling reluctant to hand it over since it was an essential piece of equipment, though she didn't see any real harm in indulging his curiosity.

"Sure. Just for a minute or two. I really need it. It's called a 'Gizmo' and it keeps me from glitching in other universes. Also, please don't push any of the button." She added the last part while passing the device over to her old friend, adding in the warning because the last thing she needed was for him to accidentally call the Spider-Society and land her in hot water. He accepted the device and inspected it carefully as he wondered how such a thing was made.

He turned the device over in his hands a few times and asked her "So what's it gonna take for Miguel O'Hara to notice Miles Morales?" Oh, the irony of that question. The former had indeed taken notice of the latter, and not exactly in a good way.

"I'll put in a good word for you." She promised him, having a strong feeling that her old friend could be a great asset to the Spider-Society. It'd be nice to be able to hang out with him much more freely.

"I'm just saying, if I had a watch like this, I could come with you. I did save the Multi-verse." Miles added, the last part holding a hint of arrogance that made the Spider-Drummer frown a bit as she now wondered how much his ego had inflated over the past year.

She cleared her throat and then decided to lie a little in order to save face and gently discourage him by saying "It's like, a small and elite strike force."

"I can turn invisible, I have electric powers. Think about it." He spoke as he listed off some of his abilities, making her shake her head in dismay, now regretting having told him about the Spider-Society. Now that he knew about its existence, he was going to want to know more, and he was already wanting to join in without realizing what kind of a commitment it was. It wasn't just about protecting a place like Brooklyn, it was about protecting the entirety of the Multi-verse itself. Seriously though, when did Miles get such a big head?

"Sorry Miles, but there aren't a lot of slots and it isn't up to me." She responded, with the latter part being technically true since she had no control over who did and didn't join the organization. Her words earned a look of disappointment from Miles as he nodded with a slightly frustrated sigh.

Before their conversation could continue further, the form of a certain nurse appeared suddenly and called out "Hello!" which surprised the two teenagers as one Rio Morales climbed over the railing, making Gwen smile awkwardly since now her friend's parents had finally decided to come and greet her. Yeah. This was gonna be more stressful that fighting the Sinister Six.

"Hi. I'm Miles' mom. Rio Morales." The nurse greeted somewhat forcefully, trying to act friendly which seemed to make the situation even more awkward. The Spider-Teens then saw the form of the soon-to-be Police Captain climb up after his significant other, upon clearing the railing he stood next to Rio and offered a hand to the blonde drummer.

"Lieutenant Jefferson Davis. Or rather, Captain Davis before long." The officer spoke as he introduced himself, though from his tone it sounded like he was either trying to warn her or scare her as if to say 'just give me an excuse'. Gwen felt increasingly uncomfortable by their presence and wanted to web-swing away... but she didn't want to make a scene as she shook Jeff's hand with a polite but forced smile.

"Mom, Dad. This is Gwanda, a friend from school." The Spider-Artist spoke as he introduced her, which made her flick her eyes towards him while thinking to herself 'Gwanda? Where in the world did he get that from? Crap. Too late. Just be cool and play along. How much time do I have left?' She wondered at the end since she needed to ask for her Gizmo back to check on the timer.

"Nice to meet you both. Me and Miles were just catching up." 'Gwanda' piped in with a nervous chuckle and was about to request her device to be returned to her.

"Ohhh. Don't take him from me." Rio stated and then began to laugh, which made the Spider-Drummer cringe a bit. Seriously? Before 'Gwanda' could respond the nurse then added "I'm just kidding. He's grounded, so you can't. Don't break his heart." Again... seriously? Pick a lane already! Also... were they under the assumption that she and Miles were romantically involved or something?

As this went on, Miles heard a small beep from Gwen's Gizmo and turned his back to the others to see what was up with the device. He saw some kind of notification along with that timer that the young Spider-Woman kept on checking out. There was about three minutes left on the clock along with an attached memo that said 'Meet up with Naruto'.

Naruto? Who was Naruto supposed to be? Another Spider-Person? Wait, wasn't 'Naruto' the name of some kind of fishcake? He shook his head, a little smirk forming on his face as he got an idea. If Gwen saw this, then she would leave him again. He wanted to properly introduce her to his parents, get them to warm up to her. If he stopped or deleted the timer, she would likely take notice of it... but would she notice if he set it back a ways? He smirked a bit as he typed in a command and set the timer back by another twenty minutes or so, feeling confident she wouldn't notice the change.

The device was surprisingly simple and intuitive to use as he also placed a block on incoming calls so that they wouldn't be interrupted in case the Spider-Society called her. "Uhh... Miles? Can I have my watch back? I really need it." Gwen asked urgently since she could start glitching at any moment, prompting him to return it, barely containing his smirk.

"So... Gwanda, is it? You've been hanging out with our son." Jeff stated with his arms crossed over his chest, his tone obviously suggesting that he had concerns about her being a bad influence on his kid, which caused the blonde Spider-Woman to frown slightly as she suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. This was going to be a long conversation... right about now... she wished that she was with Naruto. She quickly checked her timer and saw that she still had about... twenty-three minutes? That was kind of odd, she thought more time had passed than that.

The Spider-Drummer sighed and decided to bite the bullet for now and try to assuage the concerns of Miles' parents. All the while she wondered how Naruto was doing. She hoped that he was okay without her.

With Naruto.

The Whiskered teen sighed as he waited for the target to show up. The silence was driving him insane, so much so that he considered summoning a Shadow Clone just to have someone to talk to in order to break the quiet. He took a quick look at his Gizmo to check the time, if he remembered correctly, Gwen should be returning any minute now. He hoped that she enjoyed herself and wondered about the possibility of personally meeting her friend Miles.

He sighed as he rubbed his neck since it was starting to get kind of stiff, prompting him to crack his neck loudly. His thoughts then lingered upon his confession to Gwen... and how she had yet to respond to him. He didn't mean to rush her or anything, but he wanted to know if there was any hope for him and her. If the feelings between them were were mutual... then he would be the happiest man alive. Now that he thought about it... was there a reason that she was reluctant to give him an answer?

His musing was cut short as he caught sight of a figure, trying to push a cart full of supplies through a side entrance into the building he had been observing. It was an all-white and featureless humanoid making the Uzumaki realize his target had finally arrived at long last. Funny thing though, if this guy had the ability to control and manipulate portals to transport himself, why not use that method to enter the lab? Wait... his body was all white now, not covered in spots as he was in that footage as he and Miles fought. It would seem that Ohnn's powers had their limitations, and he was currently out of ammunition.

That was a good thing since it meant that Ohnn would be easier to capture since he was likely unable to teleport away at this point of time. Still, the Uzumaki refused to underestimate his quarry. He zipped over towards the building with a line of webbing, wondering how best to subdue his target. He scaled up the side of the building, making sure his face-mask and hood were up before peeking through a window where he saw the transformed scientist arranging his equipment on a desk while muttering to himself.

"God, it's stuffy in here. Air smells stale. Should probably open a window to let fresh air in." The portal user spoke, prompting the Uzumaki to make himself invisible with his camouflage ability while smirking as Ohnn came over and opened up the window, unwittingly giving the Spider-Shinobi an easy way to slip in unnoticed.

The plan was simple, sneak up behind Ohnn, use his stingers on the portal user to immobilize him, then have him sent off to the Spider-Society, mission accomplished, cheers all around, and he will have made a good impression to his teacher who finally gave him this chance! Naruto took a deep breath to relax himself, knowing that he had to keep calm in order to prevent his camouflage from dispelling as he popped a set of stingers from his left hand with a soft 'snikt' sound.

He crept in through the window as he slowly made his way towards the target, being careful not to make any noise that would alert the changed scientist to his presence. He saw the portal user putting together some sort of device, no doubt the very one he needs to enhance his abilities. The Uzumaki saw his quarry grab some sort of cable that was dangling from the ceiling.

"Just gotta give this thing a little juice." Ohnn spoke aloud to himself as he reached over and flipped a breaker, which caused the cable to crackle to life as sparks of electricity came from it. Upon seeing this, Naruto let out a gasp as the sight of the arcing electricity and crackling sounds reminded him of Sasuke's Chidori as he experienced a flashback to his clash with the Uchiha in the Valley of the End.

The portal user quickly turned around in surprise upon hearing the Uzumaki's gasp and saw a hooded figure standing before him due to the fact that the Spider-Shinobi's camouflage had faltered due to his surprise. Whether out of reflex or fear, Ohnn lunged towards the Uzumaki with the cable still in his hands with the intention of electrocuting the hooded intruder.

Naruto's eyes grew big with fear as he could only stare down a vision of the Uchiha charging towards him with the intent of piercing his heart. 'He's gonna kill me. He's gonna kill me. Die. Die. I'LL DIE!' The Jinchuuriki thought in his panic, his instincts telling him to save himself as he summoned a Rasengan in his right hand and thrust it directly into Ohnn's face.

Time seemed to slow down for a second as the portal user whispered 'Oh' before the sphere of Charka crashed against his face, almost immediately upon impact there was a sickening crunch, followed by a loud and wet explosion and the sounds of liquid splattering about. Naruto blinked his eyes as he came back to reality and saw the now headless form of his target, the body twitched a few times, spurting out some jets of ink-like blood before it fell to the ground with a splat.

Blink. Blink. Blink. All the Uzumaki could do was dumbly blink as he tried to register what had happened. "This... it wasn't... not like this..." He whispered to himself as his hands started to shake, the electrified cable still crackling in the hand of the now deceased Ohnn.

Panic began to set in for the Jinchuuriki as his mind began to race, sweat began pouring down his forehead as he felt nothing but terror. He felt completely overwhelmed by the realization of what he had just done combined with intermittent flashbacks of the Uchiha's Chidori which made the whiskered teen slump against a wall and slowly slide down as he felt his legs go numb and give out from under him as his body began to shake and tremble uncontrollably.

He felt as though everything was spiraling out of control, he felt his heart beating erratically as he placed a hand against his chest, feeling his heart pounding. His vision blurred as his breaths came out in shallow, rasping gasps as he began to hyperventilate. He felt nothing but pure fear as he felt trapped in a loop, unable to escape.

The panic quickly consumed him as he felt almost as if he were dying, tears streaming down his face, his chest aching, and his body shaking as his world spun around him. He could barely even process his own thoughts as he was gripped by an intense anxiety and a crushing sense of helplessness. "Ly... Lyla! Help!" He managed to choke out between gasps.

In response to his desperate plea, the form of the AI appeared from his Gizmo with a cheerful smile as she spoke "Have no fear! Your favorite AI is..." Her words quickly fell silent and her bubbly demeanor melted away as she saw the state the whiskered teen was in.

"Naruto? What's wrong? What happened?" She asked him as she looked around and saw the dead body of Ohnn lying on the floor just a few feet away. It didn't take a hyper-advanced AI to figure out that something awful happening.

"Help! Can't... I... I can't breathe!" The Uzumaki spoke in a fearful voice, prompting the AI to check his vitals and biometric data through his Gizmo... and discovered that his heart rate was through the roof. She quickly concluded that he was having a panic attack, a really massive one too.

"Naruto. Try and stay calm! I'm gonna get you through this!" The AI promised him as she ran a search on Gwen's location... only to discover that she was at the Morales residence which made her frown. Did she seriously leave Naruto behind to go see Miles?! That just wasn't cool! Even worse, she was away when her partner was in desperate need of help!

"Hang tight! Help is on the way!" Lyla stated as she sent out an emergency signal directly to the Spider-Society, and within moments a portal opened up as the form of Miguel himself and some sort of Spider-Mech came rushing through the portal to the whiskered teen's side.

"Oh man... this is bad, this is all kinds of bad." A female voice spoke, originating from the Spider-Mech, which caused the Spider-Man of 2099 to nod as he knelt down beside his student, placing a comforting hand on the Uzumaki's shoulder.

"Where the hell is Gwen?! She should be here to back up her partner!" Miguel growled angrily... However, he already had a guess where she was. He sneered as he lifted his Gizmo to his face and proceeded to call the Spider-Drummer... only to find that the call was being blocked? Why?! Why were her calls being blocked? Why would she do that? What if Naruto had to contact her?

"Peni. Get Naruto to the medical wing and send in a team to deal with this mess. I'll get Gwen." The Futuristic Spider-Man ordered, prompting the Mech user to nod as she gingerly picked up the whiskered teen in the mechanical arms of her robot while Miguel began to immediately make a bee-line for the Morales residence.

The hatch on the Spider-bot's chest opened up, revealing the form of a teenage girl with black hair who was sympathetically staring down at Naruto. She gently stroked his cheek with the back of her hand as she whispered to him "I know how you must be feeling right now. I really do." She then leaned back into her compartment and allowed the hatch to close again before carrying the whiskered teen back through an open portal to the Spider-Compound. He was in need of help... and someone was going to have to pay dearly for what just transpired.

With Gwen.

'Somebody kill me for the love of God.' Gwen thought to herself as she had to endure being verbally poked and prodded at by Miles' parents who were asking her various questions about her. She tried her best to be as vague and evasive as possible to avoid giving out any sensitive information and to keep Miles from getting into trouble, but damn, they were persistent! Can't they cut her a break? What were they even doing? Conducting an interview?

She felt her patience growing thinner by the second as she felt an urge to scream out in frustration and tear her hair out. She gave Miles a pleading look as if to say 'Help me out of here!' to which he nervously shrugged in reply, trying to communicate that it was out of his hands much to his own displeasure since he wanted to be alone with her.

"So how did you meet Miles?" The Soon-to-be Captain asked with a raised eyebrow, the Spider-Drummer was about to answer... then she realized something was a little off. Didn't she already cover that part? Yes. She was certain that she did.

"Umm... didn't I already say that we met at Visions Academy?" She asked in slight confusion. What was this guy's problem? Was he gonna try and repeat questions to look for inconsistencies? She clenched her fist, finally having enough of getting the third degree as she asked "Okay, what is this? An interrogation? Can't you just leave me alone? I just wanted to pay Miles a visit, that's all!"

"Getting defensive are we? Is that really the reason you're here?" Jeff questioned her, making Gwen's eye twitch in irritation.

She finally had enough as she felt her frustration boil over and decided that now was the time to be direct about a few things as she spoke "It is. If I'm getting defensive it's because you've been judging me ever since I got here! Don't think I didn't notice those looks you were giving me earlier! Now, let me state for the record that there is NOTHING going on between me and Miles! We are NOT in a relationship! In fact, I already have a boyfriend and his friends didn't treat me the way you are right now!" She stated while jabbing a finger in the officer's direction and stamping her foot for emphasis.

Both of the young artist's parents seemed suddenly taken aback by her hostile tone and her words as they exchanged looks with one another. "You... already have a boyfriend?" Rio muttered as she cleared her throat and then began to speak "We... well... the way Miles lit up when he was around you, we thought that..."

"You thought what? That I was a bad influence on him? That I was, what? 'Corrupting you sweet little angel'? Now that you realize I am with someone else you are apologizing?" Gwen asked as she found herself absolutely fuming as her face turned an almost beet red color.

Upon hearing that she had a boyfriend, Miles felt his heart sink into his stomach... which was followed by a flash of anger as he asked "You have a boyfriend? And you didn't tell me?"

The Spider-Drummer frowned as she sighed deeply and replied to him "Yes. I do. I'm sorry Miles. I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want to make things weird or anything... I guess I should have said something sooner." She apologized, now realizing that she had seriously messed up. Was it a mistake to come here?

"Since when? What about me? I didn't get a chance!" Miles cried out in disbelief. He couldn't believe that he had lost his chance before he could even really have it. He felt as though the whole world had dropped out from under him.

She stared at him, her face twisting into a snarl at his reaction as she growled out "What do you want from me Miles?! That I should put my whole life on hold, just for you? How selfish are you? The Miles I knew was a chill guy, still trying to figure out his place in the world. Now? You're an ass with a swollen ego! Also, I want you to stop drawing pictures of me! It's creepy! I have a boyfriend, okay?! Do you, what, think that you're the center of this universe Miles? There are other people out there, living their own lives! Not everything is about you! Grow up and take some damn responsibility!"

Miles stuffed his hands in his pockets and angrily scoffed as he spoke in a disgruntled voice "Pfft. I dunno what you see in a guy named after a fishcake." At his words, Gwen's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates... Fishcake? No... he couldn't have... how did he know?

"What did you just say?" She questioned the Spider-Artist, he immediately balked upon realizing his slip-up and began to sputter and fumble with his words to come up with an excuse. "How do you know my boyfriend is named after a fishcake?!" She asked in an irate tone... then it clicked in her mind as she looked down at her Gizmo and checked the timer once again along with the memo she put down.

"Miles... what did you do?" She asked, now realizing that he not only snooped but had also possibly tampered with her Gizmo without her knowledge or her consent. "What did you do?!" She asked once again more forcefully, causing both Miles and his parents to slowly back away.

"Damn you Miles!" She swore and was about to march off and leave to go back to Naruto... but then she saw the form of Miguel marching towards her, pushing his way through the crowd of party goers who were all busy gawking at the unfolding drama. He was out of his Spider-Man costume and was instead sporting Civilian clothes consisting of Jeans, a white shirt and a brown bomber jacket.

"Who's that? He doesn't look happy." Rio whispered to her husband who could only shrug and respond "Dunno. The boyfriend? Looks kind of old for her."

"Shut up! Just shut up, both of you!" Gwen snapped angrily, almost feeling her own blood boiling inside of her as her heart pounded in her chest. What was wrong with these people?!

The Futuristic Spider-Man came stomping towards the blonde, his expression was that of utter fury. He had to take several deep breaths in order to calm himself as he tried his best not to lose his temper, the situation was bad enough, and a scene was already being made here. The best course of action was to take this someplace more private. "Gwen? We need to go. Now. Naruto needs you." He spoke to her in a tone of directness and urgency.

"Naruto?" She whispered, all color draining from her face as she almost shat out her own heart. Had something happened to him? Was he hurt? What went on during her absence? The only thing she knew right now... that he needed her, and she wasn't there for him. She could only nod as she followed after the Spider-Society's leader, they needed to get to a secluded spot to teleport out since there were Civilian's present, and unlike the people of Naruto's world, these ones would ask questions.

"Wait... Gwen? I thought her name was Gwanda. What the hell is going on?! MILES!" Jeff bellowed out, looking for his son to get some straight answers out of him, but in all the commotion, the young artist had already fled and was donning his spider costume to follow after Gwen. He wasn't about to leave things like this. If she had hidden her boyfriend from him, what else was she hiding? He had to know.

Miles followed after her and that other man. If he wasn't 'Naruto' was he Miguel? The Spider-Artist used his camouflage ability to follow after them into a secluded alleyway where the duo summoned a portal back to the Spider-Compound, they both quickly stepped on through, prompting Miles to zip on through just behind them before it closed. It was time for him to see this 'Elite task force' with his own eyes.

With Naruto.

"How are you feeling?" Peni Parker asked as she sat beside the Uzumaki's bed. Upon being brought to the medical bay, he had been immediately given some sedatives to help calm him down and bring his heart rate down to normal. He still looked visibly shaken, and understandably so, but he was stable.

"Like shit." He croaked out in response, his body feeling drained from his panic attack. Not even Miguel's intensive training sessions made him feel so exhausted. Kami, he had heard of panic attacks but had never truly experienced one before today. That was something that he never wanted to go through ever again.

"Yeah. I know how it feels. That fear. The panic. That... overwhelming sensation." The mech pilot spoke sympathetically as she placed her hand into Naruto's making him squeeze her hand, feeling thankful for her support. It was nice to have someone who could empathize with him right now.

"I'm Peni. Peni Parker. I've seen you around but... I guess we never spoke before now." She spoke while introducing herself since they hadn't really crossed paths up until this point. He simply nodded, remembering who she was. Gwen had told her about the other Spider-People that had also gotten stranded with her in Earth 1610 during the Collider incident, though aside from Peter B. he hadn't yet gotten the chance to meet them.

"Naruto Uzumaki. Thank you... for... well..." He spoke as he bit his lip, wondering how best to convey his thanks for her aid but was cut off by the Mech pilot.

"Don't worry about it. If you ever want someone else to talk to about... about your trauma. I'm willing to listen. I kind of understand what you're going through." Peni responded as her free hand began to tremble a bit, a sign that the whiskered teen immediately recognized since he had the same problem.

"What happened?" He asked, wondering what she could have gone through. She looked away from him, her eyes filled with pain and sadness as she responded "Not yet. I... I'm not ready to talk about mine yet. Fresh wounds."

"Oh. Sorry. I didn't mean to pry. Whenever you're ready, I'll be sure to listen to you too." He promised her, earning a grateful nod from the Spider-Pilot. Upon closer inspection, he noticed dark circles under her eyes, showing that she might be suffering from a lack of sleep. Was she experiencing nightmares from her trauma? What could have happened to her? Whatever it was, must have been truly horrible. He could tell, partly due to his own trauma.

The doors to the medic bay suddenly burst open, causing Peni to pull her hand away as the forms of both Gwen and Miguel marched inside. The Spider-Drummer immediately came to her roommate's side and asked him "Naruto! Are you okay? What...?" Her voice fell silent as she saw a body on an adjacent bed, a blanket draped over it with a tag on the toe reading 'Jonathan Ohnn'

"Oh my god." She whispered in horror, realizing that the Jinchuuriki had killed Ohnn. The whiskered teen felt some tears well up in his eyes at having so miserably failed the mission and letting down his teacher and the society "It... it all happened so fast. He came at me with an electrified cable and... I... I just freaked... then I hit him with a Rasengan and... his head just exploded." Naruto explained, not trying to make any form of excuse but was simply explaining what had happened.

Miguel crossed his arms, now realizing that his student had suffered a PTSD episode that was undoubtedly triggered by the aforementioned cable. No doubt the Uzumaki associated it with his past near-death experience which caused him to retaliate in fear for his life, and then the realization of what transpired caused him to suffer a panic attack.

The Spider-Man of 2099 glared heatedly at the young Spider-Woman and spoke with a snarl "This is all your fault. You just couldn't help yourself, could you? You just had to go and drop in on Miles instead of doing your damned job. You abandoned your partner! Now, because of your carelessness and irresponsibility... we... we... JUST LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED!" He roared in outrage gesturing between both the whiskered teen and the deceased Ohnn.

"Leave... her alone. I let her go. I..." Naruto spoke tiredly, trying to defend Gwen from his teacher... until he felt something fall on his hand. Tears? He looked towards Gwen and saw that she was crying as the consequences of her actions dawned on her.

"This... this is my fault. I... all my fault. I did this. I just... I... I'm... I'm no better... no better than that Sakura girl... I manipulated your feelings for me to get what I wanted. I took advantage of you. I... I left you behind, not thinking about if you needed me or how you felt." She muttered her voice sounding almost broken with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Gwen... don't..." Naruto tried to speak, but it was too late as the blonde Spider-Woman turned green in the face and quickly ran away while sobbing. He wanted to chase after her, but his body felt weak from his exhaustion and the sedatives swimming through him. He then realized that this was it... THIS was how things could have gotten worse. He had jinxed himself without realizing it.

He could only yell out in frustration as he forced himself out of bed, swinging his legs over the side as he set himself down on the floor, finding it difficult to stand as he slowly limped forward. Naruto felt so angry right now, he felt angry at himself for failing the mission and accidentally killing Ohnn, he felt angry at Miguel for lashing out at Gwen, and he felt angry at Gwen for running away and blaming herself for this mess. Did she seriously compare herself to Sakura?! How could she blame herself? He was the one that let her go! He was the one that fucked everything to Hell! Not her!

"Where do you think you're going? Get back in bed." Miguel spoke in a harsh tone, not in the mood to deal with his student's stubbornness. The whiskered teen didn't answer as he continued to march on, to where, he wasn't sure, but he just needed to be somewhere else.

"Let him go Miguel. Now's not the time. We've both been there." Peni spoke in a warning tone, which made the Futuristic Spider-Man clench his fists before relaxing them. She was right... both Naruto and Gwen must be in a lot of emotional turmoil. A perfect storm of anger, frustration, and sorrow. A feeling he himself knew all too well. Right about now, his student must feel like a failure or that he let him down... yet another feeling he understood as he felt that he had failed Gabriella, the daughter of his deceased counterpart that he had tried to raise as his own.

One thing was certain... he couldn't let his student deal with this by himself. The boy needed help, guidance, encouragement and healing. Miguel sighed to himself and realized that it was at this moment, he would truly be tested as a teacher.

A bit later.

The Uzumaki found himself, standing atop the roof of the Spider-Complex, looking up towards the sky which was nothing but a big and black blanket of darkness. He had tried to find Gwen, but he was unable to keep up and lost track of her. He tried their apartment, but she wasn't there. He then decided to come up here, to the rooftop to... he wasn't really sure what he was doing up here. Waiting for her? Sorting out his feelings? Trying to calm down?

He sensed a presence behind him and looked, only to find Miguel approaching him. No doubt to scold him or tell him that he was a failure. "Go ahead. Get it over with. People have been telling me I'm a failure my whole life." Naruto muttered bitterly as he stared down at the sights of Nueva York, watching the flying cars going about their business as he braced himself for whatever lecture or punishment that was going to come his way.

His teacher sighed deeply as he spoke in a calm voice "I'm not here for that." His words making the Uzumaki give a rueful laugh as he turned towards his sensei with a sneer.

"Don't patronize me! I screwed up! I know it! I failed the mission! I didn't follow orders! I wanted, so badly to make a good impression because you were the first teacher that took my training seriously! You were the first teacher to really and truly give me a fair shot at proving myself and I fucked it all up!" Naruto shouted as he vented his frustration.

The Spider-Man of 2099 looked down at his student... and then bent down to meet him eye-to-eye and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder as he asked "Did you fail in saving Wave? Taki? Snow Country? Or Konoha from the Ichibi? What about Tsunade? Did you fail her? Naruto, you are NOT a failure. I don't care what people have been telling you. You have accomplished so much in your short time as a Shinobi, and this was all before you were bitten by your spider.

Trust me, when I tell you now, that you've got the makings of greatness in you. Did you think things were going to be smooth sailing? No. That's one thing about being Spider-Man and another thing about life in general. There's always gonna be ups and downs. When the day comes that you are truly tested as Spider-Man and show what you're made of... I hope I'm there to see just what kind of hero you are. One thing you are not, or ever will be, is a failure. Only when you quit or give up, can you count yourself as a true failure. You're not gonna give up, are you?"

After Miguel's speech, the Uzumaki teared up, feeling revitalized after hearing such kind words as he embraced his teacher. The Futuristic Spider-Man was taken aback by the gesture... but slowly started to return it with a small smile on his face. "You're gonna be okay. I promise." The Spider-Society founder spoke gently as he broke the embrace, feeling a sense of... fatherhood? Was that it? What a nostalgic feeling it was for him.

"Naruto?" A familiar voice cut in, prompting the student and teacher pair to look and find Gwen, standing off to the side. Just how much did she see and hear? Miguel mentally groaned since he had a reputation to maintain and couldn't afford to let everyone know that he was starting to go soft.

The blonde drummer's eyes were red and puffy from crying, but she seemed to have calmed down a bit as she spoke, her attention focused squarely on the Spider-Shinobi "Naruto... I am... so sorry for what I did. You didn't deserve that. I was being selfish and... and I disregarded your feelings and needs. It was irresponsible of me to leave you by yourself like that. I shouldn't have done it and I will do whatever it takes to make it up to you. I can't imagine how alone and scared you must have felt when you needed me... and I wasn't there for you.

Naruto... when you confessed to me, I was both happy... and scared. Happy at having someone that cared for and loved me, but scared because I didn't want to be the cause of any heartache if something happened to me. It didn't matter though, because I still hurt you anyway. I know you must be angry and upset at me right now... so go ahead. Let it out. Yell at me. Berate me. You can even hit me if it makes you feel better. Do whatever feels right."

The student and teacher pair exchanged glances, with the whiskered teen walking towards Gwen with a blank expression. She clenched her eyes shut and prepared herself physically and mentally for whatever her roommate had planned for her. She waited and waited... but no harsh words or blows came at her, instead, she found herself wrapped in a warm embrace with the whiskered teen crying into her chest as he whispered "Just be there for me."

She felt her eyes tear up again as she held him close and cried, feeling guilty for how she had treated him, yet thankful for his forgiveness, even if she felt that she didn't deserve it. Once again, this proved just how tenderhearted and kind he was. She kissed the top of his head and realized her true feelings for him.

She realized how much he needed her, and how she needed him, and what they meant to each other. "I promise you... I will never leave you again. Naruto... I love you. I truly love you. I only wish that I could have figured it out for myself sooner. I promise… I'm going to look after you." She whispered to him as she gently rubbed his back, allowing him to let out his emotions into her chest.

The moment was interrupted by a pained groan, causing them all to turn towards the source of the disturbance and find the form of Miles Morales glitching on the floor. How long had he been spying on them for? Both Miguel and Gwen glared at the Brooklyn based Spider-Man since he was the last person that they wanted to deal with right now. For Miguel, the artist was an unknown variable. For Gwen? A person that she had thought of as a friend that betrayed her trust.

"Miles Morales... Welcome to Spider-Society. We need to talk." The Spider-Man of 2099 muttered coldly, a part of him considering the possibility of sending the boy back where he belonged, though refrained from doing so because there was still possibly a chance he could be a potential asset to the organization. It was time to see if Miles was indeed truly Spider-Man material and if he could live up to the creed of 'With Great Power, Comes Great Responsibility'.

End Chapter Seven.

Naruto Uzumaki: Age 15.

Gwen Stacy: Age 16