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. (In case you missed this warning in the previous two chapters.)
Notice: For those I have inconvenienced, I am deeply sorry. I should have planned the release or my Pa tre on Page with better care. I have never run a page like that before so it is an entirely new experience for me. I am doing my best to work as quickly as possible to get ahead of the curb and hopefully satisfy the demand for new chapters.
I have been blasted pretty hard of late for my decision, and maybe I deserve the scrutiny for the sudden change. Even so, for those who chose to stay and show me their support, thank you very much.
I have decided to release this chapter early due to being somewhat ahead of my previous projections and hope you enjoy. If you are interested, please support me on my Pa tre on. If you cannot or will not subscribe, that's okay, I understand. Even some kind words and reviews would mean a lot. Thank you all!
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 Nine: Showdown.
Within the Spider-Complex, all was calm as the various Spider-People went about their business. Some were enjoying a nice meal in the commissary, others were busy training or performing their duties within the society, and some were literally hanging around and enjoying some casual conversation. The atmosphere suddenly shifted as an alarm began blaring and crimson strobe lights began to flash which put the Spider-People on alert as they all wondered what was going on.
They got their answer as everyone's Gizmos lit up as the voice of Miguel O'Hara was heard all throughout the complex which said "All stations! Stop what you're doing and stop Spider-Man!" Upon hearing this, there was a moment of silence followed by all the Spider-People pointing at each other in confusion as they didn't know WHICH Spider-Man they were supposed to be stopping.
Realizing his blunder, the Spider-Man of 2099 quickly clarified "MILES! Miles Morales! He's entering Sector Four!" At this new information, the Spider-People gathered near the entryway to the appropriate area and looked towards the door. The doors slid open and revealed the form of another Spider-Man with extra mechanized limbs walked inside and noticed all the other Spider-People staring at him.
"What? Do I have webbing on my face?" He asked wondering why everyone was looking at him. From behind him, the voice of Miguel could be heard shouting urgently causing the oblivious Spider-Man to turn around to question the Society's founder since he couldn't hear what it was that Miguel was yelling about.
With his back now turned towards the crowd of Spider-People, it was revealed that Miles himself was clinging to the back of the unwary Spider-Man. The teenage graffiti artist gulped began to chuckle a little nervously since he had just been made.
Pandemonium broke out at Miles found himself being chased throughout the complex by the various Society members. He began to desperately zip and swing as he avoided being tackled by the other Spider-People, he narrowly dodged web bullets meant to stun and/or entrap him.
He even avoided various explosions as he yelled out "THERE ARE SPIDER PEOPLE WHO USE EXPLOSIVES?!" He found himself being pushed to his full athletic limits as he had to rely on his Spider-Sense to avoid capture.
He saw a small orange blur and found something soft and fluffy was now latched onto his face making him pull it off and find... a cat wearing a Spider-Man costume? The cat yowled angrily and then with a his, spat a glob of webbing onto Miles' face to blind him before proceeding to scratch away wildly with its claws.
"OW! OW! WHY DO CAT CLAWS HURT SO MUCH?!" The Spider-Man of Brooklyn yelled out in pain as he managed to pry the Spider-Cat off and throw it away before he began to swing away to safety.
"This day can't get any crazier, can it?" He asked himself, only for his question to be answered by the sounds of booming footsteps and a loud roar as a T-Rex in a Spider-Man costume used a web-line to zip towards him, it's jaws now wide open as it attempted to capture Miles within its mouth.
"WATCH THE TEETH!" He yelped out and managed to swing away in time before the Spider-Rex's jaws snapped shut on him.
Meanwhile, the forms of Miguel, Gwen, and the Father/Daughter duo of Peter B. And Mayday could be seen running together as they were also chasing after the Rogue Spider-Man "UGH! Why did you have to go and do something stupid like this Miles?! You couldn't have just talked things out? Out of all the things you could have possibly done, why did have to be picking a fight with the Spider-Society?" The Spider-Parent asked more to himself with a loud groan.
"Lyla! Put all Gizmos in Lockdown until we have secured Miles! I don't want him stealing one and using it to get away!" Miguel commanded, prompting the hologram of his AI assistant to follow through on his order.
In the blink of an eye, all of the interface screens on the Spider-People's Gizmos turned an angry red as they were now locked out. Meaning that it was currently impossible for anyone to summon any portals until the lockdown was lifted.
"Quick question! Why not let Miles have a Gizmo so he can go home?"Asked the form of Pavi out of curiosity as he swung on a web-line overhead.
"Miles is not getting a Gizmo because of two reasons! One, he is not a member of the Society and has just terminated his chances of joining! Second and more importantly, we cannot give him one, not even for a one-way trip in the event he tries to dismantle it and create his own dimension hopping technology.
Also, What if someone else gets a hold of it? A Super Villain for example? We can't risk any more distortions in the Spider-Verse!" Miguel explained with a low growl, earning an 'Ah' of understanding from the Chai enthusiast.
It was now clear that there was but one choice for dealing with the Rogue Miles. He had to be captured and his memory modified so that he would have no recollection of the Society itself, its members, or its secrets. If they did not erase his memories, he could try to find a way back, or what if he accidentally leaked information about the Society? The consequences could be catastrophic.
"Hey Miguel! You mind snapping a picture of me and Mayday? It's her first chase!" Peter B. requested as he offered a cellphone to the Futuristic Spider-man. Making him sigh as he reluctantly took the phone and snapped a picture of the Father/Daughter pair.
"There. Happy?" Miguel asked as he tossed the phone back the Veteran Spider-Man who chuckled as he inspected the picture then showed it to his daughter who giggled in approval.
"Much appreciated! You know, I think you have really started to loosen up since Naruto appeared. Have you noticed that?" The Spider-Parent asked with a big grin, making the Society's founder shake his head with a sigh and then web-swing away. This caused Peter B. to chuckle as he took Miguel's refusal to answer as a silent 'Yes.'
From behind him, Gwen fired a line of webbing and began to swing her way after Miles, determined to be the first to catch up to him and pulverize him into ground beef for causing Naruto such distress lately and for breaking her trust. There was also the matter of him claiming that she was being 'taken advantage of'.
Where in the world did he get off on saying something like that? One thing was for certain... she was going to give him a piece of her mind and a few knuckle sandwiches on the side.
She saw her target and old friend Miles, just off in the distance, cornered by Spider-People with one of them saying "There's nowhere to run!" However, the Spider-Man that said that was quickly proven wrong when the young artist crashed through a window and escaped outside the Complex.
"My bad guys. There was somewhere to run." The Spider-Man dressed in white spoke sheepishly as everyone began to dive after Miles through the open window.
In the back of the pack, Naruto himself could be seen trying to catch up with everyone as he paced himself, allowing the momentum of his swings to do the work for him as he trailed after the mob of Spider-People. Now that he thought about it, he never really explored outside the Complex, so this would be an interesting experience.
He dived out of the broken window, feeling the wind whip past his face as he swan-dived through the open air. He saw his teacher trying to close the distance between himself and the Spider-Artist.
"Stop running!" Miguel yelled out in frustration as he tried to lunge towards the graffiti artist, only to fall short as Miles used his webbing to latch onto a flying car to keep out of the Society leader's reach.
"Then stop chasing me!" The Spider-Man of Brooklyn yelled back as he then leaped from the car and latched onto the underside of a passing hover-bus.
"Then stop running away!" Miguel retorted as he kept pace with the Rogue Spider-Man as the chase continued into some sort of industrial district.
From a nearby building, Peter B. hummed to himself thoughtfully and decided to circle around to cut off the young artist.
"Wow. Gotta admit! Miles gives a good chase. Either he's got some mad skills, crazy ass luck, of if this was a comic book or a movie, he could have 'plot armor'." Naruto muttered to himself as he ran along a rooftop and then came to a halt as he perched on a ledge, as he eyed the Brooklyn resident trying to evade all of the Spider-People at every turn.
"I don't get it though... where does he even think he's going? Does he even have any kind of plan? All the Gizmos are currently in Lockdown." The whiskered teen mused as he held up his own device and tapped away at it, but the currently crimson screen refused to take any commands or input as if to emphasize his point as he then continued to mutter to himself "What is he even thinking? The only way he can go home is at the Spider-Compound."
He sighed as he stood to his full height, shaking his head at Miles' foolishness and was about to rejoin the chase... until he paused and registered what he had just said. "Wait... 'Go home'? Spider-Compound?" The Jinchuuriki whispered to himself as he looked over his shoulder towards the Society's HQ, then back towards the retreating form of the Spider-Man of Brooklyn and then down to the mob of Spider-People who were still giving chase, and finally to the HQ once again.
"So that's your play, eh Miles? Okay then." The Uzumaki whispered with a little smirk as he doubled back towards the Society's HQ.
Meanwhile, the Spider-Artist was swinging through the industrialized area, frantically looking around for any signs of his pursuers knowing that they could come from virtually any direction. He looked behind him, in front of him, left and right, and found no signs of the other Spiders... until he felt a web-line catch him from behind and yank him upwards making him realize he had forgotten to look up.
He grunted as he impacted against the surface of some sort of machinery and braced himself for a fight, only to find himself facing the form of his unofficial Mentor, Peter B. and his infant daughter. "Hey. Miles!" The Veteran Spider-Man spoke in a hushed voice and put a finger to his lips, pointing downwards with his free hand towards a crowd of Spiders swinging past below them.
Once the coast was clear, Miles immediately began to make a break for it with his teacher following close behind him "Wait up Miles! Running isn't gonna do you any good! This isn't something you can fight or punch your way out of! You're not gonna win here! It's just how things work okay? What are you going to do if your dad has a heart attack or a stroke? What if he's in a car accident or slips in the bathroom and hits his head? What are you going to do then?" The Spider-Parent asked in a pleading tone, trying to reason with the graffiti artist.
"Look, just... just let me go!" Miles snapped back as he refused to listen to his mentor and searched for a means of escape and to avoid the majority of the mob chasing after him. The Spider-Man of Earth 616 sighed deeply in disappointment as he realized that his former student wasn't listening, he would need a change of tactics if was going to get through to him. In his experience, the best solution was often to do something unexpected to catch the opposition off-guard.
"Do you want to hold my baby?" The Spider-Parent asked while pointing towards his daughter, who was happily giggling from within her baby carrier.
Mayday had a certain gift for being able to easily befriend virtually anyone within reason and/or brighten the mood in a room with her very presence alone. If anyone could get Miles to drop his guard, she could. Not to mention he considered it to be a gesture of good faith that demonstrated his trust into the younger Spider-Man to hold his daughter.
"What?" The Spider-Man of Brooklyn asked as he definitely did not expect to be asked that sort of question. Honestly speaking, he didn't really even have any experience with babies.
"Come on Miles! Just hold the baby! It's surprisingly relaxing and rejuvenating and I think it's gonna really help break down whatever walls there are between us." Peter B. Spoke as he held out his daughter towards his former student, with the red-haired infant giggling playfully as she reached out towards the Spider-Artist.
"Is this seriously a good time for a heart-to-heart conversation right now? Never mind the fact I have the entire Spider-Society after me!" Miles questioned as he was wondering if his mentor was off his rocker.
"Now may be the only time! Please! Just trust me! I cannot begin to describe the simple joy of holding a baby! Especially this magical-miracle child I am literally holding right here!" The Spider-Parent persisted, his tone becoming more desperate as he knew his window of opportunity to convince his former student to see reason was quickly closing.
"I HAD HER BECAUSE OF YOU!" Peter almost screamed out in desperation, and this time his words finally seemed to reach the Spider-Man of Brooklyn who slowed down and then stopped to turn towards his old mentor.
"Yes Miles! You! I had her because of you! Before I met you, I was stuck in a slump, scratch that! I was in a downward spiral! Then I met you and you helped inspire me to get back in the saddle! To reconnect with MJ! Thanks to you and your influence, things got better for me!
Please just listen to me! You helped pick me up out of the gutter! The least I can do is help you get out of this jam! If we just talk, I can help make all of this go away! We can still fix this!" The Veteran Spider-Man continued in a pleading tone since it wasn't yet too late for Miles to accept that the reality that there were some things that were out of his control. With any luck, Miguel could be convinced to let the young artist into the Society.
There was dead silence between them as the Father/Daughter duo awaited the Brooklyn resident's response. Finally, he asked his mentor "Why didn't you come see me? You have no idea how much I missed you guys. I was even planning on studying quantum physics just for a chance to see you all again!"
Peter B. sighed deeply as he ran a hand across his face before answering in a somber tone "I wanted to Miles, but I couldn't. Nome of us could. For the greater good, we had to... prioritize." While his words were indeed honest, given the fact that he and the others were trying to protect the Multi-verse, he couldn't reveal the Brooklyn teenager's anomalous nature.
"Prioritize? Are you serious? What about that Naruto guy?" Miles questioned in a hostile tone, prompting the Veteran hero to raise his hands in a placating gesture.
"I wish I could properly explain everything, Miles. I really do. Also... what does Naruto have to do with this? You kinda singled him out earlier too." Peter muttered in confusion with Mayday tilting her head slightly.
"Ugh! Where do I even start?! Do you have any idea how happy I was to see Gwen again? She was somebody I could confide in! Someone who understood me! I liked her! Then when she shows up, she mentions something about 'Falling for Spider-Man'!
I thought she was talking about me, but no! She was talking about some guy that just got bitten two weeks ago and has his hooks in her! Oh, and what about that whole 'pheromone' business? Do I even need to explain how wrong it is for him to use those on her to influence her!" Miles vented out in frustration, making his old mentor give him a sympathetic look and shake his head in dismay.
"I know you're upset Miles, but don't take it out on Gwen or Naruto. Neither of them planned for that to happen, it just did! Sparks flew between them and... well... they just got together! Officially! I am sorry you feel as if you've been cheated out of a relationship with a great girl, but it isn't the end of days!
You can find other people to connect with and confide in! There will be people you can trust and be yourself around as both 'Miles' and 'Spider-Man'! You can find someone to love you for you! You don't have to keep everything bottled up! Trust me! If you do, the pressure will eventually get to you!" Peter spoke as he understood exactly what Miles was going through as he too had the same struggles in his younger days.
"You don't get it. You don't get how it feels to have someone like Gwen taken from you." Miles spoke as he turned his back towards his former teacher with a deep frown as he clenched his fists, feeling resentful of the Spider-Person called Naruto. The way Gwen spoke to him now, how she acted around that guy, it made the young artist feel like he was being stabbed through the heart.
What he failed to notice was how his words clearly offended the Spider-Parent who spoke in a mixed tone of hurt and anger "I don't get it?! Are you for real?! That is the last thing you should ever say to me! I had a Gwen Stacy too!"
At the mentioning of 'Gwen', the Spider-Artist turned towards with a shocked expression as this was the first he had heard of this. "Yes! I had a 'Gwen' too! She was my first love! Even before MJ! My Gwen died when I tried to save her. There was nothing I could do! My Web-line caught her but... her neck was broken and I couldn't do ANYTHING! I still miss her." Peter spoke sadly as he recalled the death of his lost love and then sighed wistfully.
He then approached the younger Spider-Man and placed a hand on his shoulder as he spoke "Look Miles, bad things happen. That's just how life goes. It'll hurt for a while, but good things can happen too! Good things that'll help make it easier to heal and possibly make the pain go away or be more bearable.
I know you're probably upset that you missed your shot with her, but he isn't trying to take her from you and their relationship doesn't mean you can't still be friends with each other! If you just talk to Naruto, I'm sure you'll come to like him and see what a great kid he is! You'll see how much he cares for Gwen. You should be happy that they found each other, not angry! I bet you could even be good friends!"
As he continued his his attempt at reasoning, the Spider-Parent didn't realize that the Brooklyn teen was now glaring daggers at him. "What about what I want?" He asked coldly. Peter paused and looked towards the younger Spider-Man with a concerned frown as he was not expecting his words to have this kind of effect.
"What about what Gwen wants? Have you asked her or talked to her about it? What about Naruto? Are you seriously going to try and get between them out of jealously? Please, think about this! If you go down that road, any chances you had of having a friendly relationship with Gwen will go right out the window! It doesn't have to be this way!
If you really cared about her, you would put her needs first and yours second! I'm serious here, you really need to think about the consequences of your actions! If you act out of impulse or raw emotions, it is not going to end well!" Peter spoke in a warning voice, trying to talk his former student out of doing something he may deeply regret.
"You already lost your Gwen. I don't plan on losing mine." Miles stated, his tone taking on an edge of finality and his mind set as the Veteran Spider-Man began to panic. He had no idea his old student had become so fixated on Gwen. Infatuation turned into obsession was a very dangerous thing.
"Miles! Please listen! Think about this for a minute! You aren't thinking straight! Don't do anything rash!" The Spider-Parent yelled as his former student webbed him up by the legs and pulled hard, making Peter dangle upside down as he held onto his daughter to keep her from falling out of her carrier, giving Miles the opening he need jumped downwards through a ventilation shaft and began making a break for it.
"Miles! Miles! Don't do it! MILES!" Peter called out desperately as he watched his former student disappear from sight. He then hugged his daughter closely as he asked himself how things could have gone so horribly wrong, all the while hoping that there was still a chance that Miles could perhaps be saved from himself. He could only surmise the long absence of the Spider-Team from the initial Collider incident, the reunion with Gwen, his feelings for her, learning of the existence of the Society and her and Naruto's relationship had culminated in a powerful storm of emotions within the Spider-Artist. Combine all this with the inexperience and impulsiveness of youth, and you have a potential runaway train wreck of epic proportions.
Unless the young Spider-Man got his head on straight... this could only end in tears.
Meanwhile, Miles swung through Nueva York as fast as he could as he made a bee-line towards a towering structure that ascended all the way up into the sky. He zipped forwards and clung to the side of a massive train that began to scale the tower as an automated announcement played out "Train is now departing! Destination: The Moon."
"Uh oh." The graffiti artist muttered as the train began to accelerate and make the climb towards the moon itself. If he wasn't being chased by a massive organization consisting of various iterations of Spider-Man he would be taking the time to admire how advanced technology was in this world to have built a train that connects both the Earth and Moon.
His Spider-Sense began to tingle and spike hard as he heard a soft thump, prompting him to look down and see the form of Gwen giving him a chillingly venomous smile and greeted him in a sickly sweet tone "Hey Miles. Got a minute?"
"Gwen! I was wondering when you'd show up. Listen, I have to talk to you about what happened!" He spoke to her, mentally preparing himself to tell her that whatever attachment she had to her current 'Boyfriend' was simply a product of the pheromones, therefore it was a superficial form of relationship.
"Been there! Done that! Not going down that road again! If you wanna talk so badly then, MY FISTS WANT TO SAY HELLO!" She cried out as she used one hand to fire a line of webbing to pull herself up to the young artist and deliver a powerful haymaker towards his face, which he managed just barely avoid as ducked under the blow and began to continue climbing up the side of the train to put some distance between himself and the enraged drummer to buy some time.
"Your relationship with Naruto isn't real! Whatever emotions you're experiencing aren't real! It's the pheromones influencing you! Messing with your ability to think and process your emotions!" He tried to explain, his words only seemed to further anger the young Spider-Woman.
Gwen bared her teeth with a low growl as she rapidly climbed after her old friend, the distance between them steadily shrinking as she yelled out angrily "For the love of God! Are you for real right now? You're trying to say that whatever I feel isn't valid because of the pheromones?! What is your problem Miles?! Is it really too much for you to accept reality?!
God! You are making the same mistakes as your parents when they came up to me at the party! You're making snap judgments and assumptions just like they did! Naruto loves me! I love him! He needs me! You have no idea what he's been through!"
"You have no idea how much I missed you! I thought about you all the time! I wanted to be with you again so badly! I gotta know! Why then?! If your feelings are 'real' then why HIM and not ME?!" He asked as he continued to ascend, not wanting to throw fists with the Spider-Drummer.
He then felt something snag against his leg, making him look down as a web-line from the blonde teenager had caught onto his calf, she then growled and yanked hard, pulling him down towards her and putting him within arms reach. He didn't get the chance to slip away as she quickly pinned him to the side of the train.
"I missed you too! I thought about you too! You and I both know how alone we felt! How we were unable to share our true selves with others because of our identities as Spiders! I wanted to see you again more than anything! Then Naruto showed up and… it just happened! Okay?! I don't know how else to say it! It just happened!
After our first night, he could have cast me off as a one night stand, but he didn't! He didn't see me as a fling! He wanted to connect with me! He wanted to try and form a relationship with me! You think we were all alone? It was nothing compared to his childhood! You have no idea how much he has suffered, is still suffering! Yet he keeps on going! He keeps smiling and worrying about others instead of himself! When I was sad about my dad, he comforted me and gave me advice! He tried his best to show me a good time on our date to cheer me up!
When he confessed to me, I was surprised. It all happened so fast but… he didn't put any pressure on me! He gave me a choice! I felt that even if I had said 'No' he would have still been my best friend! You? You're trying to force your feelings onto me and try to convince me that what me and Naruto have isn't real! If you were really my friend, if you really did care for me, then you wouldn't have broken my trust or hurt me like you did!" She screamed out at the end and delivered a flurry of punches at Miles.
He was forced to bring up his arms to defend himself, trying to block the blows as best he could. The artist managed to gain some leverage and plant a foot on Gwen's stomach, allowing him to push her off with a powerful kick which sent her sailing through the air before she fired another web-line to anchor herself to the train once again.
He began scaling the side of the train once more to distance himself from her and yelled out "You know I never meant for things to turn out like this!"
Gwen quickly climbed after the young artist, yelling back at him "You could have fooled me! We tried to warn you about what could happen to your dad, then you just had to act like a bratty little kid having a tantrum! You started this! Not us! Do you really think you can act this way and not be held accountable?! Everything could have turned out okay for you if you had just taken the time to process what we were telling you instead of lashing out!"
Miles stopped as he looked down at her with tears welling up in his eyes that formed from both his frustration and sadness at how his friend had turned against him. Whatever bond they had before had been tainted and tarnished... and he believed that he knew the reason why. "So I'm just supposed to accept that my dad is gonna die?! I can save him! Keep him safe! This is all that Naruto guy's fault! Not me! If he hadn't turned up, if he hadn't been bitten, then none of this would be happening!" He shouted in denial, refusing to accept responsibility for his own actions.
"Is that all you can do?! Blaming others for your own faults?!" Another voice cut in as the form of Miguel appeared from the Spider-Artist's blind spot and grappled with him, the two Spider-People struggling as the Society Founder pinned Miles in place.
"It's funny, how people keep on thinking 'What if I'm in the right?' but never think about 'What if I'm in the wrong?', especially when they think they know better! I should know! I thought I knew better once, but I was proven wrong! You? You're just a kid that can't or won't accept reality for what it is and has no idea what he's even doing! Who do you think you are?" Miguel questioned angrily as he continued struggling with the young artist, attempting to put him into a sleeper hold to knock him out and put an end to this once and for all.
Miles glared defiantly towards the Futuristic Spider-Man and responded "Me? I'm Spider-Man, and I think I know exactly what I'm doing... after all, I did lure a whole bunch of Spiders out of your club." He then glanced over the Society Founder's shoulder, making both Miguel and Gwen look down to see a horde of Spider-People ascending up the train as they attempted to apprehend the Spider-Artist.
Taking the momentary distraction as his chance, Miles put his hands against Miguel's chest and fired off a burst of bio-electric energy with enough force to propel the Spider-Man of 2099 into the open air as his High-Tech suit began to malfunction. Gwen Saw this and fired off a line of web to catch and save the Futuristic Spider-Man, successfully catching him and pulling him towards her to safety. The two then saw the Brooklyn Resident detach himself from the Train and free-fall through the air, already making his way back towards the Spider-Complex.
"Shit! He's getting away!" Miguel snarled out angrily at the fact that he and the entire Society had just been duped into recklessly chasing after the young artist. If they hurried back, they should be able to catch up with him, hopefully whoever was left at the Complex would be able to stall him... speaking of which... who was left at the Spider-Complex?
Meanwhile. Spider Society HQ, Prison Level.
"Let's see... maybe this one?" Spoke the form of a certain Spider-Person of Cyberspace as she tried out various hairstyles for her avatar. She found it oddly unnerving at how quiet the Complex was on account of the lack of Spider-People since they had all left to chase after Miles. Not her though, she chose to stay behind to keep an eye on and monitor the detention area since the last thing anyone needed was all the displaced Villains taking advantage of the chaos and letting themselves out to do God knows what.
The Villains always caused massive amounts of havoc in their respective universes, just picturing the damage they could do if they had free reign of the Spider-Verse made her shudder deeply. "Knock knock." Spoke a masculine voice in greeting followed by the sounds of knuckles tapping against a metallic surface to inform her of someone's presence, snapping her out of her thoughts.
She turned around and was greeted by the form of the Society's newest member, Naruto, who had his hands stuffed into the pockets of his trench-coat "Afternoon." He casually greeted as he looked around the area, taking in the various computers and monitoring systems. If he were honest, technology kind of intimidated him a little bit, likely due to his inexperience with tech.
"Heeeey. I'm Spider-Byte, but you can just call me Margo! Nice to officially meet you. I heard you were going through a rough patch. Don't worry though, I know you'll be a great Spider-Man." Margo spoke in a friendly voice, giving a warm smile to the whiskered teen.
"I appreciate that. It means a lot to get a lot of encouragement and support from everyone. You're obviously a tech-based hero." He replied as he gestured to her Avatar form, in response she chuckled and her Avatar disappeared as a picture of her actual physical body appeared, revealing that she her real self was sitting in a very comfy looking chair, wearing some sort of headset and headphones while munching on a bag of chips.
"Yep. In my dimension, people spend almost all of their time in cyberspace as Virtual Reality Avatars." She answered as her Avatar form reappeared once again, sporting an almost shit-eating grin. She then cleared her throat and spoke to him "You doing okay? Need anything? Not to point out the obvious, but you didn't join in on the chase? Seems to me that Miles guy is now neck deep in a big pile of steaming flame broiled crap."
He nodded slowly and looked towards the platform that was used to send displaced Villains back to their home dimensions and gestured towards it as he spoke in a more direct tone "I need you to do me a favor and shut down and lock out the Go-Home System."
"Wait... what? Shut... shut it down? We've never done that before. Why? Why does it need to be shut down?" She asked in clear confusion since that was a highly unusual request to say the least.
"Miles is out there leading all the Spiders on a wild goose chase. He's gonna give them the slip and double back to hijack the 'Go-Home' system as a backdoor to his own dimension." Naruto casually explained as he did a few stretches and then sat down on the floor in the lotus position as he awaited the arrival of the Rogue Spider-Man knowing that this was the young artist's only way out of his current predicament.
Margo's eyes widened at this, that was definitely a bold plan... but also heavily flawed. With the Gizmos locked out, the Go-Home System was his only way out... except that she was going to shut it down now and cut off his only means of escape. "You sure? Are you absolutely sure?" She asked for the sake of confirmation which only earned a nod from the Uzumaki.
"It's what I would do." He responded in a blunt and matter-of-fact tone, prompting a nod of understanding from the Cyber-Spider as she entered a few commands and shut down the teleportation system followed by a few more inputs that locked out the consoles from further use for the next few hours, which would be more than enough time to capture the Spider-Man of Brooklyn.
"All set. Our new buddy-boy isn't going anywhere now. We could probably hide, set up an ambush for him." Margo suggested, this time earning a shake of the head from the Spider-Shinobi as he dismissed the idea.
"If it's all the same, I'd rather handle this myself. I think it's time that me and Miles had a little one-on-one." He requested, earning a confused expression from the Cyber-Spider. She blinked her eyes a few times, wondering why he wanted to take on the Rogue Spider himself. As if sensing her unspoken question the Uzumaki continued to speak "I have some personal business with Miles, and I also have to take responsibility. This is something I need to do."
Margo lips slowly curled up into a smile as she gained now understood what he meant. She then disappeared from sight, leaving the Jinchuuriki alone as he waited patiently for his target. He didn't have to wait for very long as he detected a presence approaching. The blonde's eyes flicked around but saw nothing there, even so, he knew that there was indeed someone present. His ears perked up slightly as he heard suppressed but still heavy breathing, undoubtedly Miles had to make a mad dash all the way to the Complex to get ahead of the rest of the organization.
"You can drop the camouflage. I can hear you breathing." Naruto spoke aloud as he got up and straightened his clothes as he slowly flexed his fingers. His eyes continued to scan the area, his ears listening for any signs of movement as the sounds of Miles' breathing quieted down which made it harder to pinpoint his location.
The whiskered teen was met only with silence, making him realize that he would have to find a way to make the Brooklyn Resident to break his silence. He cleared his throat as he then continued in an even tone "Honestly speaking Miles, I don't think we've had a proper introduction or conversation. For the sake of being thorough, my name is Naruto Uzumaki, and I already know your name as Miles Morales. There. Introduction made. I think we both know that more than likely, we're probably gonna end up beating the snot out of each other, but that doesn't mean we can't be civil."
Again, there was nothing but silence though he thought he may have heard the sounds of footsteps, his quarry was near, though just how near? "Come on Miles. Doesn't have to be like this. There's still a chance to turn this whole thing around. By all rights, I am very much angry at you for making Gwen cry. However, she wanted to see you very badly which shows that she did miss and care for you. She's angry at you for what you did, but that doesn't mean all hope is lost.
If you sincerely apologize and make amends, you could earn her trust back, bury the hatchet and still be friends. Think about what you're doing. You keep going down this path, you're just gonna keep getting farther and farther away." Naruto said as he flexed his fingers again, wondering where Miles could be hiding. Was he on the ground level with him? On the walls? The ceiling?
He licked his lips and continued to speak "The silent treatment? Really? Kinda immature, don't you think? Then again, you did single me out earlier. Claiming I am using the pheromones to take advantage of Gwen." He paused as he heard a sharp intake of breath, making the Uzumaki smirk a bit since he had just touched a nerve and continued "I'm no expert on biology, but don't pheromones have something to do with compatibility? A chemical signal between species to determine if a partner is suitable or not? Something like that?"
His ears perked up as he heard something, making him wonder if the Rogue Spider had taken a bad step or tripped which made the Uzumaki think he was possibly getting under Miles' skin. The whiskered teen pursed his lips as a thought crossed his mind as he then asked "I wonder... what if it was you? What if it was your pheromones that attracted her? Would you still consider that as influencing her? If so, that would be quite a hypocritical thing for you to say considering you are a Spider-Man as well."
It was at that moment, once those words left his lips, that Miles finally showed himself, giving the whiskered teen a glare that could freeze hell over as he spoke in an angry and accusing tone "You are not Spider-Man! All of this is your fault! This is my story! Not yours! Everything has just gone off the rails because of you! I saw how everyone treated you. How they talked to you, gave you gifts. You must think you're really special, huh? I bet you must have it really good back home where you always get your way. Just thinking of you in the same bed as her and what you must do to her every night makes me sick!"
Ah. There it was. The burning jealousy. He had a feeling that the graffiti artist's emotions would end up being what exposed him, and he was proven correct. The Jinchuuriki sighed deeply as he flexed his fingers again and replied in a deadly serious tone "Your story? Is that meant to be a joke? Because I'm not laughing. Do you think of yourself as the big hero of your very own story?
That, what, you swing through the city, fight a few bad guys, save the day, and get the girl? This isn't a movie or a comic book. This is reality, and like it or not, life has a funny way of dragging you down or sucker-punching you square in the face. Also, you couldn't be more wrong about me, if anything, you're the one that has it really good at home."
Miles could only blink dumbly at that last part, the only intelligent response that he could utter was "What?"
The Uzumaki scoffed as he continued flexing his fingers as he answered "Lemme state for the record that me and Gwen only did it ONCE. I'm not some horn-dog only looking for a tumble. I wanted a connection, a bond, to feel loved and wanted, and Gwen gave me that and more. I didn't have any idea how good it feels just to be held by someone until I met her. Who knows? Maybe we could have been friends if you hadn't gotten so embroiled in your own emotions and started acting all selfishly. I want to empathize with you Miles, really, I want to understand you, but I can't.
You grew up in a stable home. I didn't. You had loving parents raise you. I didn't. I've been an unwanted orphan my whole life. You are obviously intelligent and artistically gifted. I struggled in school and I didn't have the fortune of having any teachers that had faith in me up until Miguel, and even when I screwed up, he never put me down! You have no idea what I would do or give to have had the chance of a normal childhood! I was alone for years and had to struggle and claw my way through life! Then Gwen shows up and everything became so much better! She's the best thing to ever happen to me! I want nothing more than to see her laugh and smile! She means the world to me!
Our pheromones may have unexpectedly brought us together, but we chose to stay together and see where things led. It went by so quickly and I ended up falling hard for her. Now here you are, acting all jealous and possessive of her because she chose to be with me instead of you. Take it from me, you do NOT want to confuse love and infatuation! I made that mistake with a girl I crushed on and I almost got killed because I tried to fulfill a poorly made promise to her.
Why are you so obsessed with Gwen anyway? What do you see her as? Do you see her for Gwen? Or do you see her as a fellow Spider-Person? Do you like her because she is something that exists outside of the 'norm' for you? Honestly, I just can't understand you Miles. I want to, but I just can't. You're a Spider-Man, right? You have been Spider-Man for over a year, yes?
I haven't been in the game for very long, but one thing I do know, is that Spider-Man doesn't act out of selfishness or personal gain. Spider-man doesn't abuse his power or trample over others. That's not what a Spider-man does or should do. Please... just let her go. Can't you just be happy for her and let her decide what she wants? You're acting like she belongs to you. If you keep this up, you're just going to make her more and more miserable until she hates you forever. Then she'll never want to have anything to do with you ever again." Naruto's voice became stern and serious by the time he had finished, his blue eyes boring straight into the young artist's.
The Spider-Man of Brooklyn gave a dismissive scoff and looked away, clearly not wanting to accept any sort of criticism from the Jinchuuriki as he responded in a bitter tone "You know... Gwen was really the only friend I had. After all the other Spider-People left, I was really lonely and had no one to talk to or hang out with. No one that really understood me as both Miles and as Spider-Man. She did... and you took that from me. When she talked about 'Falling for Spider-Man' she was talking about you. Not me. Do you have any idea how much that hurts?"
"I never 'took' Gwen from you. That was definitely not my intent. It hurts to be rejected, especially by the people you care for. Though what's stopping you from trying to connect with other people? Sounds to me like you're just making excuses to validate yourself and avoid accountability for your own mistakes. I'm curious... what was this whole tantrum of yours for? Your dad? For Gwen? Both?" Naruto asked as he flexed his fingers again.
"What do you even know? Huh?! You just said were an unwanted orphan! How would you understand the relationship that me and my father have? You wouldn't understand, not one bit. I can protect him! You don't have anyone!" Miles angrily snapped as he glared daggers at the Jinchuuriki.
"Just because I'm an orphan doesn't mean I don't have people that I want to protect. It would seem to me that words aren't gonna get through to you. Perhaps it isn't words that are needed to knock some sense into you, but a good old fashioned beatdown. I don't know what kind of dream world you're living in... but the dream's over. Time to wake up." The whiskered teen spoke with finality as he adopted a readied stance, still flexing his fingers.
"Pfft. You think you can take me? I've been Spider-Man for a year, you only got bitten two weeks ago. Also... why do you keep doing that with your fingers?" The Spider-Artist asked as he noticed that the whiskered blonde had been repeatedly moving his fingers in a rather odd fashion.
Naruto gave a confident grin as he flexed his fingers once more as he replied "Hmph. I may not be overly smart like you or had the same quality of education from school... but I have been learning a lot in life, from both my friends and even my enemies. Also, it isn't very wise of you to underestimate me... a lot of people have made that mistake before and I ended up wiping the floor with them. Just so." The Jinchuuriki then clenched his fists causing Miles' Spider-Sense to suddenly go berserk.
He felt danger all around him and looked around but couldn't see anything. His Spider-sense and instincts kept telling him to leap in a multitude of different directions to avoid whatever threat he was sensing but found himself unable to react as his senses overwhelmed him. Naruto lunged forward with almost blinding speed as he threw a punch towards the artist's face, forcing him to quickly leap to the side to avoid the blow but cried out as he felt something slicing into his back.
It was only a graze, but he had to use his hands to catch himself and land on his feet. He winced and grit his teeth, not sure what was going on. The Jinchuuriki hadn't done anything with his hands and yet, he felt as if something sharp had cut his back. What had just cut him? He didn't see the Uzumaki use any kind of weapons... then he noticed something... droplets of blood suspended in the air? No... they were hanging off of wires?
"Like it? Little something I've been working on. I knew I was gonna have to box you in somehow. While we were talking I was spinning my web-wires to surround us, you just didn't notice them and neither did your Spider-Sense until they went taut." The Uzumaki spoke with a small smirk, feeling proud at his handiwork. Honestly speaking, he was worried that it wouldn't work since this was his first official field test of using wires, but it seems to have paid off. It was almost as if he had gained the instinctual knowledge of how to spin a web thanks to his bite which was most fortuitous to say the least.
"Wires?! Oh, come on! That's not fair!" Miles complained as he got up from the floor and adopted a fighting stance as he now realized his movements were extremely limited now. There was no telling how complex of a web the blonde had spun, and his Spider-senses weren't able to accurately tell him which way to go as there was danger all around. One wrong move and he'd be thin-sliced like deli meat.
"Not too late to surrender Miles. You have nowhere to go! The Go-Home system is shut down so you can't use it to teleport out! All Gizmos are locked too so you can't steal and use mine. Even if you make it past my wires, the Compound will be surrounded and full of Spider-People at any moment! You lose!" Naruto stated, while he doubted that the Spider-Man of Brooklyn would surrender, at least it couldn't be said that he didn't give him an out.
"What?! After all I went through to ditch the other Spiders and get back here?! That's not fair!" Miles protested as he charged at the Uzumaki, throwing a punch towards the blonde's head who deftly side-stepped it and sent his knee into the artist's stomach.
"Not to boast, but you're a heck of a lot slower than most of the people I've tangoed with." The whiskered teen spoke matter-of-factly as he recalled the late Haku's unnatural speed back in Wave. He then clenched his fists and unleashed his stingers with a sharp 'snikt' sound as he proceeded to use them to try and paralyze his opponent with the toxins within said stingers.
He launched a series of quick jabs as Miles tried to duck and dodge the blows while yelling out "You have claws too?! That's not fair!" The Spider-Artist then cried out in pain as a pair of stingers created a gash on his side as the Jinchuuriki found his mark.
"They're technically stingers. Also, stop whining and crying 'that's not fair'. It makes you sound like a sore loser." The Jinchuuriki spoke with mild annoyance as he shook his head, noticing that the Brooklyn resident was already beginning to lose his balance and wobble on his feet. It seems that the toxins worked very quickly, that was a good thing.
"It's over Miles. Consider this your punishment for making Gwen cry. I hope that you learn from this and maybe someday become a better person after being humbled like this." The whiskered teen stated as he relaxed his hands and allowed his stingers to retract back into place and out of sight.
The young artist felt his body growing heavier as numbness took over, his vision starting to fade as he fell to the floor like a puppet that had its strings severed. His eyes rolled up into his head as he heard the blonde then speak somberly "It didn't have to be this way." Once those words were uttered, Miles had fallen unconscious from the toxin's running through him.
The Uzumaki then heard the sounds of footsteps approaching as he sighed tiredly and waved a lone finger around causing his wires to loosen and come undone as they fell to the floor. A crowd of Spider-people all rapidly entered the Go-Home control room with Margo blinking back into existence as well as she had detected that the fight had come to an end. "Oh man." Came the voice of Peter B. as he and his daughter saw the young artist now lying on the floor but was relieved to see that he was still alive and breathing.
"It's over." Naruto announced as he stuffed one hand in his pocket, with Gwen emerging from the crowd as she ran up towards her lover and embraced him, burying her face into his neck as she hugged him tight. Miguel then emerged from the crowd as he approached the Rogue Spider and knelt down beside him with an exhausted sigh while muttering 'What a day'.
"So what happens now?" Gwen asked as she looked between her old friend and the Society's founder.
"We reset his memory, send him home. It'll be like nothing every happened. Could drop him off anonymously at a hospital, make his parents think he had some sort of accident." The Futuristic Spider-Man spoke in an even tone as he clasped his hands behind his back. Hard to believe that just one kid had caused so much trouble for the society, then again, they never really expected another Spider-Person to cause such chaos.
"Send him to a hospital if you want to, but don't mess with his memories. If you do that, how else will he learn his lesson? If we hit the reset button, he could become something even worse if his memories came back. Miles made a lot of bad choices, but that doesn't mean he can't learn and grow. It wouldn't be fair to not give him a chance." Naruto piped in as he offered his two cents.
"He knows too much about the society, about you and Gwen. What if he still harbors a grudge? What if he comes after you two?" Miguel asked as he quirked up an eyebrow, his voice both grave and full of warning towards his student.
"Maybe. Maybe not. I promise, if he ever becomes a threat to anyone, then I'll take responsibility and deal with him myself. For now though, send him home and let him think about what he's done. If he doesn't, then that's his own damn fault." The Uzumaki replied firmly.
Miguel hummed thoughtfully to himself as he mulled over his student's words before he finally gave his response. "Very well then. We'll send him back home, put him in a hospital to be looked over... from there, it is up to him to decide who he wants to be." With that said and done, the Gizmos were unlocked, allowing for a portal to be opened up allowing a pair of Spider-People to carry the unconscious Miles back to his home dimension.
As Gwen watched her old friend be carried away, she pressed her body closer to her fellow blonde's and muttered quietly as she felt physically and emotionally drained from the day's events "I don't feel so good."
Her boyfriend nodded as he kissed the top of her head and held her in his arms as he replied back "I don't feel so good either. It didn't have to be this way. All we can do now is hope that in the future, Miles may make the right choice and realize his mistakes." He sighed tiredly as he stroked the Spider-Drummer's back… after what happened, he knew that she would need some sort of outlet for her emotions, a means to help her process everything.
She may need some counseling of her own to help her heal, fortunately he knew someone that could help with that. His next session would be coming up very soon anyway. It was almost time to formally introduce her to Tsunade.
End Chapter Nine.