"What… what is this?" The Spot said slowly, looking at the gathering of Spots that Miles had brought with him. Though he couldn't see his face Miles could tell that the Spot was startled by what he was seeing. Most likely he had expected a lot of things but seeing a horde of duplicates of himself was clearly throwing him off utterly. "Who… who are-"

"Come on, man, don't do that," Miles chided as he took a step closer. "Don't play dumb. You're better than that."

The Spot stared him down, head slowly tilting to the right but that had less to do to his confusion and more that it looked like his neck couldn't support his head anymore. His body was falling apart, the multiple holes and spots he'd created wearing down his body and causing it to begin stretching and distorting like taffy. It was a disgusting thing to see and Miles couldn't imagine that it felt good. Bits and pieces of his body were beginning to flake off, fluttering in the wind before turning completely into dust. His movements were janky and twitchy, like his muscles and his bones were trying to go in opposite directions.

In that moment Miles didn't see a villain or a criminal.

He saw a sick man.

"So what? You brought these weaklings here to fight me? To counter my spots?" The Spot shook his head and Miles winced as more of his body peeled away while his left shoulder began to stretch out more, making his hand sink lower. "You can have your horde of weaklings… they won't be able to match me."

"We're willing to stop you, if we have to," the Spot who'd elected to be the spokesman of the group, the Spot of Earth-418, said, stepping forward. He removed his mask, letting out a sigh as he stared at his counterpart with sad eyes. "But… we're hoping that we don't have to."

"You won't have to if you just let me do what I want!" the Spot declared.

But the Spot of Earth-418 ignored that and continued on. "You wanted to know why we were all here. And yes… we will stop you if you try to continue on with this mad plan of yours to destroy this world. But we hope you won't. We hope you will choose to stop." He held out his arm, gesturing at the group behind him. "Each one of us, at one point in our lives, had to make a choice. To allow our bitterness about our situation, or the failures that had set us back, or simply our anger at the world, dominate all we did… or to choose to be better."

"Some of us just had really bad lives before we got our powers and realized we could do good," another Spot, this one's skin marked by the spots so that his facial features could still be seen. "We saw it as a blessing."

"Others," another Spot who was far more bulkier than the most of the Spots, with thick arms and legs and an extra 3 inches of height, "started out as villains but realized quickly that it didn't feel good to be a menace."

"I fought Spider-Man for years before I saw the light."

"Sometimes I think about being a villain again. How easy it would be." The new speaker shook his head, his tone wistful… before he snapped his gaze up at the Spot. "But then I remember all those I hurt."

"I count on the people I love to pull me back," a British Spot said.

"My friends for me," another one said via a computerized voice box.

"I just want to be able to look at myself in the mirror every morning and not feel ashamed."

The Spot of Earth-418 slowly nodded, looking to his right and his left before looking at Miles' Spot once more. "We've all been where you were at. None of us have had a perfect life. We've had hardships and tragedies. Suffered while it felt like the rest of the world was getting the easy pass. But we pulled ourselves out of it… you can too."

Miles finally spoke up again. "You don't have to be a villain, man. You don't have to be the bad guy. The destroyer. That's the secret… that's the thing no one seems to get or understand. People talk about what is meant to be, what has to happen. That certain people must play their roles and have no other choice in the matter. But the only one saying you have to be a monster is you. And you can decide right here, right now, that you want to be better. That you want to be something more. Don't even need to be a hero! You can do anything you want… put your mind to it and give it your all. And when you stumble and fail… you find people who will help you get back up. Maybe they help you try again. Maybe you try something new. And hey, maybe you just sit down together and cry but at least you aren't alone!"

"You… you honestly think its that easy, don't you?" the Spot asked, voice hard but he could hear the cracks in it. Like an old wall that used to be so formidable but if one got close too it they could see the places where the brick was beginning to crumble.

"Of course not, man," Miles said. "Its gonna be hard. You'll have people telling you that you can't do it all the time. That you are the wrong person. That you shouldn't even ever tried. That it was someone else. That you are destined to fail or to die or be miserable. They'll say they know better or have more experience and that is that, just give up and go with the flow. But… they're wrong."

And with that Miles slowly reached up and removed his mask.

He walked towards the Spot, making his every movement measured and telegraphed, so not to startle him. And the Spot let him do so, to the point that Miles was eventually within reaching distance and he was able to extend his arm and hold out the mask towards the Spot.

"Someone said once that anyone could wear the mask. YOU can wear the mask. Anyone can be Spider-Man. Anyone can be a hero. The one people count on and cheer. But you have to be the one to take the first step, Dr. Ohmn. You have to do it. And I know its scary… I know it is. But that's what you have to do. A leap of faith."

The Spot studied him for a very long time.

"…no."

And with that he rose up and held out his hands… only to cry out when spots began to appear, grabbing onto his arms and legs. Miles stared up at him, his heart aching that the Spot just refused to listen. To take a chance. But in the end Miles hadn't been lying: no one could force someone to become good. To become a hero. It was up to them to make that choice.

The Spot had made his choice.

And now the Spots Miles had gathered were making their's.

"You… you think this will stop me!" The Spot screamed as he tried to thrash about. But the portals that had appeared around his arms and legs quickly moved up his limbs, leaving him in the end looking like a torso that was floating in mid air. He tried to form new Spots but Miles could tell he was having problems and was growing frustrated that what had only minutes earlier had come easy for him was now simply impossible. The other Spots had sent his limbs into other universes and were creating their own portals to counteract the ones he had made, leaving the sky around them covered in different colored dots… but not torn apart by endless round doors that led everywhere imaginable. "I will never give up! I will never stop! I will destroy you! I will destroy you all! Each and every one of you!"

"I know," Miles said sadly before nodding to the Spot of Earth-418, who created a small portal by Miles. He reached inside and produced a hypodermic gun, shaking his head as he moved towards the Spot.

"No… what are you doing?!" the Spot screamed in a panic as Miles came up to him. "Stop! Stop! This isn't how its supposed to go! We're… we're supposed to have an epic final battle! Nemesis vs nemesis to decide who gets to live and who must die! A final clash that decides whose dream goes on!" He twisted his head back and forth but that only caused his neck to become even more rubbery, his body trembling and thrashing.

"Its like I said," Miles stated as he pressed the barrel of the gun to the Spot's rubbery neck, "nothing is written."

He pulled the trigger and the Spot jerked as the serum was injected right into his bloodstream.

The man screamed and it was only because Miles had been warned about this that he didn't leap back. It didn't make it any easier to hear though. The Spot sounded like he was being torn apart… which was ironic, considering just what the serum was actually doing. The other Spots began to slowly dissipate their portals, Miles pull on his mask and looking up to see that the spots that the Spot had created were shrinking down, winking out of existence.

As for the Spot himself he was released but made no attempt to get to Miles as he was far too busy writhing on the ground, screaming and curling in on himself. Slowly his features began to change, with the black of his body lightening to flesh tones and the swirling white spots on his body shrinking down and down until finally they disappeared completely. Details returned to the man; Miles could see his fingernails and toenails. The hairs on his arms. Moles and freckles. And finally upon his face eyes and a mouth and a nose.

Within 3 minutes where once had been a twisted otherworldly monster… there was a man curled up in the fetal position, sobbing and whimpering, rubbing his head and his knees as he crooned to himself.

"H-how?" the villain got out.

"It's the multiverse, man. You think somewhere out there someone hadn't figured out had to cure your condition? I just had to find the right people, who found the right people and…" Miles gave a shrug.

It had been a lucky draw; the Spot of Earth-7716 had never wanted to his powers. He had a family and he just wanted to be normal. So the moment he had become infected he had sought out the Avengers for help. Tony Stark, Dr. Strange, Bruce Banner, and others had all worked together to come up with a serum that could fix him. He kept some around, just in case there was ever a relapse, and when Miles and the Spot of Earth-951, who had been his guide to that reality, had asked for some he had been more than willing to provide it. Other Spots had grabbed other cures, just in case, but Miles had felt that the serum was their best bet.

He'd been right.

"You… you took it from me. My power. You stole it."

Miles shook his head. "It was destroying you."

"It made me worthy!" the Spot… Dr. Ohmn screamed at him only to go back to trembling.

Miles let out a sigh at that and looked to the Spot of Earth-418. "Alright… he's yours."

"What… what?" Dr. Ohmn said as Spot of Earth-418 stepped up. "What are you doing!?"

"You still hurt a lot of people, Dr. Ohmn," Miles said. "Destroyed cities. Killed… killed a lot of innocents. I was willing to give you a chance to try and make up for that but you didn't want to. So now…"

Dr. Ohmn opened his mouth to say… well, Miles didn't know. Curse him out? Beg for help? Blame him?

It didn't matter.

The Spot of Earth-418 held out his hand and created a portal under Dr. Ohmn… and he was gone.

~MC~MC~MC~

New York was a city that unfortunately was a target for every two bit thug, up and coming gang banger, deranged criminal with a gimmick, and world ending threat. There was just something about it that attracted destruction. Miles hadn't really thought about it when he was little, other than thrilling over the battles that Spider-Man had and getting annoyed if he couldn't get to where he wanted to go because a road was closed after the Rhino had gone on a rampage. But now older and, more importantly, Spider-Man himself, he understood that New York just never caught a break.

But… it was also a city that knew how to recover.

"Thanks," he said as he accepted the bottle of water from Mr. Barlo, the shop keep waving him off as Miles twisted so that no one would see the bottom of his face as he took a drink. He drained the bottle completely and tossed it into a nearby recycling can before yanking his mask down and firing off a webline, going to see what else needed to be done.

The damage the Spot had done would take a while to repair. There was flooding, ice damage, molten lava that was still cooling down, destruction caused by wind… basically it felt like every disaster other than an earthquake had hit the Big Apple. But Miles and his allies were doing all they could to repair the city and make it easier for the experts to tackle the truly ruined parts.

The other Spots were being a big help when it came to moving things and it amused Miles to no end that by the end of the week people would most likely associate the portals with heroes rather than destruction. The vast array of Spider People were also helping get things done quick. Their presence might also have been the reason why the criminals of New York had decided to take a holiday. Prowler and the Superior Six had done some poking around and reported that all of the gangs had decided to lay low, realizing that it wasn't worth the time or the trouble picking a fight now.

Miles landed near Doc Ock, who was being watched carefully by several Spiders and a few police officers. "So… community service."

"It knocks time off my sentence," she informed him.

"Might actually get out before Chirstmas, you keep this up," Miles said. "You know… what I said to the Spot applies to you too."

"Save it, Spider-Man," she said but there was no bite to her tone. No… in fact he detected a bit of teasing to her words. "I'm not going to go save kittens from trees."

"no but you can work to help make the world a better place. All while proving how smart you are. That's what you want, right? I mean… you weren't robbing banks and all that. You were just helping the Kingpin. He never gets it in his head to breach the multiverse and you are still in your lab. I don't see a reason you can't keep doing that. Help make the world an amazing place."

Doc Ock considered him for a moment. "Perhaps… or perhaps I just want to take down those traitors at Alchemax who left me to rot and also created the Spot."

"Hey, you do that without me needing to be called and I got no problem with that." When she stared at him, a bit surprised at that, Miles shrugged. "Hey, what I'm doing isn't exactly legal either. All I need from you is you to toe the line, not dance all over it. You do that and I'm good."

That caused the woman to chuckle at him. "You do realize I'm also plotting five different ways to just break out now."

"So long as you realize I'm plotting 7 different ways to capture you if you do."

The two shared a nod at that and Miles swung off, feeling rather good about himself. He didn't think that all his villains would suddenly turn over a new leaf but maybe… well, just because it hadn't worked when it came to the Spot didn't mean that some of the others wouldn't consider taking the hand he offered.

"Hey," Skitter said, moving to swing next to him. "How are ya?"

"Tired," Miles admitted. "Very tired."

"But a good kind of tired, right?"

"The best kind," Miles said. "But that doesn't mean I won't be burying my face in my pillow the first chance I get."

Skitter chuckled at that, the two of them landing on a building and sitting on the edge. After a moment Spider-Chaos swung over, landing beside them, and that was followed by Headline and Spider-Byte and the Superior Spider-Man. Miles, sensing they were waiting for something, was quiet, just enjoying the view. It would take a lot of work but he just knew that New York would get back on its feet. And sooner than probably most expected. New York… it was like every Spider-Man out there: it took its licks but it got back up.

He looked up and saw that Spinneret, Ham, and Noir were coming in, joining the long line of spider people just sitting on the ledge, looking out at the sun as it slowly began to make it s way to the horizon. It wasn't quite dusk yet but it was getting there and soon it would be time for them all to head back… well, Miles wasn't for sure where they all would be sleeping and honestly he didn't care. His mom and dad had been brought back from Miguel's Earth and had demanded he spend the night in his room and not on campus and to be honestly Miles was looking forward to it.

"So… everyone is here," he said as he looked up and down the line of people. Spinneret had brought take out and was passing around burgers, with only Otto looking less than thrilled with the meal. "This must be serious."

"Not serious," Chris said. He had shed his Spotbuster armor and was back in his standard suit. He munched on his burger, swallowing before saying, "But we do need to talk about what happens next and what you want to happen Miles."

"I want to get New York back up and running."

"Of course you do," Chris stated. "But there are still things we need to consider."

"I know man, I know." He looked up at the sky, the clouds already beginning to turn a purplish blue.

"We aren't gonna let the Society hurt you," Skitter said. "Not going to let them hurt another Spider ever again."

"Yeah…" Miles muttered. "But I also know you want to lock them up or put them on trial or… I don't know, I don't care anymore about them."

"You should care," Otto said. "They can cause problems for you."

"Why?" Miles asked. "Its not like I'll be leaping across the multiverse. I… I have been thinking about it and I've been focusing way too much on things going on outside of my world. I've had my head out of the game, worrying about what other people think… people who aren't here for me right now. Even ignoring everything that happened… that isn't the way to live. Isn't a way to be not just Spider-Man but a person, you know?"

"Well, other than the person part," Ham joked which earned him a laugh.

"Is it okay for him to be eating that?" Margo asked Headline, the two watching as Ham happily bit into his burger. "I mean isn't that like his cousin or something?"

"He's a spider who became a pig. I don't think he cares."

"You want your Earth locked down then?" Chris said. "Say the word and I can have the Fantastic Five bring what we need."

"Or we could lock down those criminals in the Spider-Society," Headline stated. "Let them eat each other."

"Man, I don't want to prevent people from visiting this earth. I have no problem if Ham or Noir want to come… at least you guys would have shown up, if you had been able to." The two nodded their heads in agreement. "And if something major happens again I'll need your help… and I am willing to come and help you." He looked up at the sky again. "And I don't want to trap people. That ain't right. That just makes me Miguel. I just… I just want a break, you know? I want to focus on me."

"And there is nothing wrong with that," Margo told him gently.

"I think it shows great maturity, myself," Otto commented. "It takes an intelligent man to admit their failings and wish to work on them."

"So…" Miles said softly, "what do I do? Because I don't want to lock myself up in a bubble but I also don't want to have Miguel or his buddies showing up the next time there is some disaster, blaming the anomaly for it."

"Well, first off that Anomaly stuff is bullshit," Chris said, polishing off his burger and firing off a webline to snag the bag so he could get another one. "I mean… what's that even mean? Because you aren't Peter Parker? Gwen Stacy. Miguel O'Hara. Jessica Drew. Chris Chase. Hobie Brown. Otto Octavius. Do I need to go on?"

"Did you just refer to yourself in the third person?" Ham asked.

"That'll do, Pig," Chris said, even as Ham snorted and muttered that he'd 'never heard that one before'. "Miguel has a bad habit of making up shit just to get it to fit his theories. Honestly it explains why so many people exploded when he was working for Alchemax."

"You are Miles Morales," Otto said. "There is no one else like you in the multiverse. Similar, perhaps… but not just like you."

"Yeah," Miles said. "I'm realizing that now. When the Spot and I disappeared I saw variants of myself. That wouldn't be possible if I was an anomaly, right?"

"Now you're catching on," Noir said with a chuckle.

Spinneret chose that moment to speak up. "The Council has a few ideas when it comes to dealing with Miguel and those in the Society who refuse to see logic and reason. We are hopeful that most of them will be willing to work with us but…"

"Most of them are deranged bigots," Skitter commented.

"So… what do you have in mind?" Miles asked.

"I think," Spinneret said, "that you need a set time where you can figure yourself out. Where unless its an emergency everyone leaves you alone and let you learn how to be yourself. How to be Miles Morales. And I think it would be good for everyone else if they also had that."

"A multiverse time out," Chris said slowly. "Huh… that might work. Let everyone get back to their roots and remember who they were and then, if they feel like it, reconnect with others."

"Exactly," Spinneret said. "The Council of Mary Janes is willing to watch over the Multiverse… along with the help of a few others." She looked first to Otto, then Chris, then Headline.

"Well, I for one am willing to help out!" Headline declared.

"I will have to speak to my group but I believe we would be willing to help reform the society into something… superior."

"Just had to say it, huh Otto?" Chris said, rolling his neck. "Assuming I don't get yanked to another universe I'm in. Probably good anyway, considering that along with the Spiderverse there is a Chaosverse out there that could cause problems." He looked at Miles. "I ran into a me that is training with Goku and another that's dueling Seto Kaiba."

"Seriously?" Miles said before shaking his head, refocusing. "I mean… you guys sure?"

"Miguel didn't have a bad idea," Spinneret stated. "It was how he used it and focused it that was the problem. We'll learn from his mistakes… we'll be better."

"And you, young man," Headline said, "need to focus on yourself." He reached over and patted him on the knee. "You remind me of my Peter… always wanted to do more. Always to care about others. But you need to learn how to care about yourself."

"…right. Okay then." Miles swallowed. "Yeah."

They had a plan.

It was a scary plan because it would mean changing so much.

But… as he had once been told… as he tried to tell the Spot… sometimes one had to take a leap of faith.