Previously, on Spider-Man: Born Again...

As soon as Miles began to move, the spider had suddenly dug its fangs deep into his skin, biting him suddenly and harshly. It sent sharp spikes of pain up his entire arm. "Aagh!"

He looked from the bite, down at the spider's body, then back at his hand.

"You clearly have a scientist's mind and drive. I could see the passion in your eyes when we talked. So, given your current unemployment, I offer you a position here at Alchemax when we open, appointed directly under me."

"Well… y-yes! Of course! When would I start?" Peter asked.

Miles grabbed Ganke by the arms and launched himself forward, moving with the speed and power he didn't think possible for him. The rocks crashed down behind the two of them. They were completely in the clear, not even a scrape on them.

"How… how did you do that?" Ganke asked.

"I-I'm not sure."

"I… am sticking… to the wall… I… I have powers like Spider-Man…" he spoke his thoughts aloud.

Spider-Man: Born Again

Chapter 3: Two Spiders

As the morning sun rose over the city that never sleeps, its bottom still stuck below the horizon, casting a golden hue into the sky, Miles found himself before a tombstone, one he didn't visit as often as he'd like. The headstone read:

Aaron Davis. Beloved Brother and Uncle.

Miles crouched down before the headstone, re-reading the engravement again before composing himself.

"Hey, Unc. I know it's been a minute. Things have gotten busy, and… very complicated lately. School's been going good, passing in all my classes. Ganke and Kamala are doing great too. .." He trails off, losing his thoughts. The only sound was the wind for a few moments, bringing the cool Fall chill through.

"I've, uh… I've got something real big dropped on me. Something that could really change my life… and I gotta make a choice. The thing is, I don't know if I'm strong enough to deal with the consequences of either choice I make. I could pretend that everything is still normal, that I can go about my life like it never happened, that I'm still normal good old Miles Morales and…" He looks down at his hand. The spider-bite had healed completely, almost no sign that he had been bit at all left. But he could feel them, the new abilities he possessed given to him from the spider. "... and not someone else now."

Miles let his hand drop back to his side and looked back up at his uncle's headstone. "I could ignore all of it, but then… I have this voice in the back of my head telling me to go out there, make a difference with what I can do. I can't just ignore people who need help, especially now that I can actually do something about it. And I can't talk to Mom and Dad about this, Dad hates Spider-Man! What's he gonna think when he finds out I have the same powers? Or worse, what if someone else finds out and thinks I'm a mutant? I could be jumped by those Purifier guys! They've been attacking mutants left and right! And if I do go out there, try and do something, what's to say I don't do more harm than good?" He lets out a strained sigh. "It feels like no matter what I choose to do, there's no right answer. If I just shut it out, I'll feel tied down. I'll be hiding something for the rest of my life. But if I go out there and do what I want to do, then I put so much at risk, and I don't know how to deal with that.

"You were always there to help me out, Unc. And I guess I just feel lost without having you to go to. But… I think that, maybe… you'd say something about not deciding what the right or wrong choices are, and decide what choice feels right to me. If I follow my heart, I'll never be wrong right? And whatever I end up choosing, I gotta go all out. You're not living life unless you're giving it your all, right?" Miles paused, as if actually expecting a response. "Or something like that at least…" He weakly chuckled. "Guess there's part of you still here somewhere. I'm not smart enough to come up with that on my own. Thanks, Unc. Good to know I can always count on you. I gotta get going then, but I'll try to visit sooner. Maybe bring Dad with me next time. He's been busy with work recently, but I'm sure we'll find a chance."

Miles turned away and started to leave, but paused before turning back around. "Miss you, Uncle Aaron. Every day." Miles then left the cemetery at a quick pace.

Peter walked alongside Dr. Rao through the halls of the Alchemax building. The lobby had been cleaned up from the Underground attack, and its restoration was almost finished. Rao had called Peter in to tour the rest of the facility before he would begin his employment. The full opening of the facility was in less than a week, and Rao wanted Peter to be familiar with where he was going to work and who he was going to work with.

"I have to say, Doctor Rao, it's really an honor to be here," Peter said.

"I'm sure it is. But all I'm doing is opening the door for you. You have to continue to earn your place here," Rao replied.

"And how do I do that?" Peter asked.

"Once you've gotten yourself comfortable, you'll be working under some of our best minds for a few days at a time. Consider it testing the waters for what you could do here," Rao explained.

"So who do I work with today?"

Rao chuckled a bit. "No one. But we'll get you introduced to a face or two before long. First, we'll be getting you set up in your office."

"What kind of faces?" Peter asked. Rao handed him the clipboard in her hands with a list of Alchemax staff.

"See for yourself," She replied.

He began to read through the names on the list one by one. "Aaron Isaacs… Miles Warren… Abel Stack… Farley Stillwell…" Peter then trailed off as he stopped on a certain name on the list. He even stopped following Rao as he processed it. Rao noticed a few steps later and stopped as well, turning back to Peter.

"Is something wrong?" She asked.

Peter looked up at, meeting her gaze with surprise. "Doctor Conners is on this list."

Rao smiles and chuckles a bit. "I figured that would get your attention. I heard you and him have a history."

"Yeah. That's one way to put it…" Peter said. Peter had fought Curt Conners multiple times when he was transformed into the ferocious reptile-man The Lizard, in which he didn't have control of his own actions and attacked innocent people on more than one occasion. After many struggles, his transformation was gone for good, but at a cost. His reputation as a scientist had been destroyed, and his wife and son had to move elsewhere to be away from it all. His life had been ruined, all in an effort to change the world for the better.

But Peter didn't only know Conners as Spider-Man; Peter was Conners' understudy during his early high school years. Peter essentially worshiped the man, which only made it hurt worse when the two came at odds as their alter egos. Peter was grateful those days were behind them, though he didn't envy Conners now. "I… I didn't think he would ever get a chance in the scientific world again."

"Well, I'm a big believer in second chances. Doctor Conners is a brilliant man, and I hope that he finds this place worthy of that chance," Rao said.

"Could I go see him? It's been so long for both of us, I'm sure he wouldn't mind seeing a familiar face."

"Unfortunately, he's not in today, but I'll be sure to let him know you want to reconnect," Rao assured him.

"Thank you, Doctor Rao. It would mean a lot," Peter thanked her gratefully.

"Now, I believe we were heading to your office?" Rao reminded him.

"This seems to be the place," Ganke said while looking at the map on his phone. Kamala crossed her arms, looking before them at an abandoned workyard overlooking the crashing waves of the bay. Clearly, no one had worked here in some time. The site was littered with overturned boxes, oversized metal piping bigger than they were, and even a forklift that was left behind, although one of its sides had been caved in, among other signs that work was being done here, but it was as if everyone had just up and disappeared.

"What happened here? It's like everyone just up and left," Kamala asked.

"Apparently Juggernaut tore through here a couple weeks ago, and they're trying to decide if the worksite is salvageable," Ganke answered. "But why would Miles tell us to come here?"

"And more importantly, where is he? He calls us all the way across town and he doesn't bother to show up?" Kamala said in an annoyed fashion.

"Sorry I'm late!" The two turned around as Miles finally caught up with them, entering the site just behind them.

"Miles? What's going on, dude? Why'd you call us all the way across town?" Ganke asked.

"Seriously. We've got studying to do. I had to beg my parents to let me go to Brooklyn Visions. If I fail, I'll be stuck back in Jersey with my parents forever!" Kamala exclaimed.

"Guys, trust me this is big. But you have to promise, promise you can keep this a secret," Miles said.

"What's the big deal? What's going on?" Kamala asked.

"Guys! Promise me," Miles repeated. The other two traded confused glances.

"Uh… yeah, Miles. We promise. Lips sealed," Ganke said. Miles nodded and slowly moved away from them and over to the side of the building, before he pressed his hands against the brick, then pulled himself up and began to crawl up the wall, making use of his new abilities. He slowly ascended the wall, and his two friends were quickly left in shock and surprise. Miles climbed higher up, then leapt off the wall and landed on his feet, stumbling a bit before regaining his balance.

"So, uh… ta-da…?" Miles said unconfidently. His friends were left dumbfounded, their eyes rounded and their mouths agape. "Guys…? Don't- Don't leave me hanging here…"

Kamala quickly freaked out. "Oh my god, dude, you have powers!" She shrieked, grabbing Miles and shaking him around.

"Hey, easy! Easy! Kamala-proof ears aren't one of the powers!" Miles flinched.

"Can you blame her? This is a big deal, dude!" Ganke exclaimed. "H-How do you even have powers?"

Miles pried himself from Kamala's grip and straightened his jacket out. "When the Underground attacked Alchemax-

"-and probably traumatized us for life-" Ganke cut in.

"- one of those experimental spider's got on me. When I got home, it bit me, and I started feeling changes. It was really messing me up at first, but then it all started setting in. I got stronger, faster, I could stick to walls, the whole deal."

"So you're like Spider-Man now?!" Kamala squealed with fangirlish glee.

"I-I guess a little," Miles said.

"'A little'? Dude, you were sticking to the wall!" Ganke smiled widely.

"Yeah, well, I don't exactly have the greatest control of any of this yet. That's actually why I called you guys here. I mean, nowhere better to train superpowers than an abandoned construction site with lots of heavy, industrial stuff to test on, right?" Miles said.

"You want us to help you test your powers?" Kamala said giddily.

"No other people I'd rather do it with," Miles smirked.

"We're gonna help our friend learn how to be a superhero? How could we say no to that?" Ganke said.

"Did I ever tell you guys that you were the best?"

"No, but we wouldn't be opposed to hearing it more," Kamala joked.

"So, what do you wanna test out first?" Ganke asked.

Miles took a look around the workyard, his eyes scanning for a simple starting point. His gaze fell on one of the oversize metal pipes that was five times his own size, wide enough that he could crawl inside of it if he so wished. "Super strength sounds like a good place to start." Miles jogged over to one of the cylindrical behemoths and hopped to the other side of it.

"Uh, Miles, do you even know how much that actually weighs?" Ganke questioned.

"Hey, super-strength, remember?" Miles said confidently before bending down to lift the industrial beam.

"Yes, but-" Ganke started.

"Hey, I got this," Miles assured. "I've seen Spider-Man lift bigger."

"Size doesn't always determine weight-" Miles ignored Ganke's cautious protests and got his hands under the beam and began to lift upwards. At first he struggled to get it off the ground, but once he got solid footing, he heaved it up, letting out strained sounds of effort. The other two watched as Miles managed to slowly get it further up, from his feet, to his knees, to his shoulders, and then finally managed to hold it up above his head. His arms were shaking, but he held it up with his own enhanced strength.

"S-See? Told you I got it!" Miles chuckled, a confident smile on his face.

That's when the beam's weight started pulling him backwards, and Miles quickly let out a surprise yelp before he crashed backwards, the beam creating screeching sounds of collision as it slammed down, Miles still attached and having fallen down as well. "Ow… I'm good…"

"I can tell we're gonna be here for a while. I'll order pizza," Kamala remarked.

Peter sat in a rolling chair in front of his new desk in a relatively small box of an office. The front wall and door were made of glass, while the other three walls were painted white, with the wall opposite the door having a rather large window overlooking New York City. After Doctor Rao had shown him here, he had run back to his apartment to grab a few things to make the office his own. He didn't have much to decorate it with. Hell, he didn't have much in general. But he did have a few things; he had a banner of Midtown High, his old high school, as well as one for Empire State University.

That's right, Parker, nothing screams helpless school nerd like having two banners up, he had mocked himself when he hung them up. He was in a rush to get back, so he didn't bring much else, but there were two things he knew needed, two things that now sat on his desk on opposite sides of the computer sitting dead-center on the desktop. On the left side was a photo of a younger Peter, thirteen in age, with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben. On the right was a photo of an older sixteen-year-old Peter alongside his late friends Harry Osborne and Mary Jane Watson.

There were five people spread across these pictures, and he was the only one left.

This thought crossed his mind as he stared at the photos. He was only twenty now, and already he had gone through so much, lost so much. But it wasn't for nothing. He wouldn't let it be.

Love you guys, Peter thought, hoping that somewhere they were listening. Missing you every day. Hope I'm making you proud.

Peter took a deep breath, then let out a sigh as he composed himself, letting that pain and sadness drain away. He'd keep going forward, for them. He had one more photo he'd wanted to put here, of another group of people he held dear, but it was on a certain device he hadn't quite been able to adapt to his technology yet.

Maybe I can get use out of Mister Stark's lab back at Avengers Mansion to get access to advanced enough tech to create some kind of adapter. Cap did say the doors were always open.

Peter was pulled from his thoughts as the door to his office opened. He had been so distracted, he hadn't even seen Doctor Rao through the glass until she was already in the doorway. "Looks like you're getting settled in," Rao said.

"Yeah. Ran back to my place to grab a couple things to put up," Peter said.

"I'm surprised there's not more," Rao said.

"There's not exactly much else to put up," Peter admitted.

"I'm sure we could find you some more to fill out this office of yours, help make Alchemax feel like home for you."

"Which reminds me, I have a question for you, Doctor Rao. If I may."

"Of course, Peter. What would that be?"

"Why did you really hire me? Our talk at the tour wouldn't be enough to warrant hiring me. Sure, it's more knowledge than the average twenty-year-old, but not enough to think I'd be ready for a position in the most advanced scientific industry in the country. So what gives?" Peter questioned. Rao seemed surprised by Peter at first, then smiled and let out an almost entertained laugh. Peter was left confused. "Uh… am I missing something here?"

Rao ceased her laughter, but kept a small smile. "You really are your father's son, aren't you?"

Peter's eyebrows shot up. "W-What…?"

Rao chuckled a bit again. "As soon as I heard the name 'Parker', it sort of all came rushing back to me."

"You… you knew my dad?" Peter stammered.

Rao nodded. "I did. I can't say we were exactly close friends or anything, but I met your father a number of times, each time being a privilege. He was truly a brilliant man, a wellspring of ingenious, game changing ideas. I'm sure if his time wasn't cut short, he would've changed the world for the better, and everyone would remember the name Richard Parker forever."

"I wish I could've gotten to know him more…" Peter frowned. "Most of my memories of him and Mom are… hazy. I always hear about how great he was, but… I wish I could've known why for myself. It feels like such a big name to live up to…"

Rao gives Peter a small smile. "I didn't hire you just because you're Richard's son. I hired you so you can do your own work, make your own name. Your father gave you a foot in the door because of his work, but the door isn't going to open any further unless you make it," She said. Peter looked back up at her. "I respected your father greatly because of what he could do. If you really want to be a scientist, Peter, then this is your chance. You said before that you wanted to follow in your father's footsteps, to do real work to change the world. This is your chance to do that."

"Do you really think I can do as much as my dad did?" Peter asked her.

"If you're really as passionate and dedicated as you say, Peter? I think you can rise even higher than your father. I truly believe that."

Peter sighed, feeling a weight off his shoulders, if even for just a brief time. "Thanks, Doctor Rao."

Rao nods. "I look forward to your work here, Peter. I'll let you finish getting settled in, then we'll show you some of our more experimental facilities. Be back in a bit." Rao waved as she stepped back outside the office and clicked the door shut behind her. Peter watched her leave through the glass then leaned back in his chair, sighing again as he still processed their conversation.

Dad…

Miles held an icepack up to his head, wincing in pain as his bruised brow pulsed harshly. He let out a pained groan. "How hard did you hit me, man?"

Ganke, sat across Miles's room in Miles' desk chair while Miles sat in his bed, shrugged guiltily. "I don't know! You said throw, so I threw!"

"And did you have to aim the rock right at my head?"

"You said you wanted to test your new reflexes!" Ganke replied defensively.

"I thought you were gonna throw it center or something, not go for the headshot!" Miles responded.

"I'm really sorry, dude! It was an accident," Ganke said. "At least it doesn't seem too bad."

Miles pulled the icepack away and rubbed his stinging brow. "It shoulda cut my head open, but it's just bruised a little…"

"I mean, Spider-Man can take hits normal people can't. Plus, the durability to sustain super strength like his means his body has to withstand extreme force. Yours has gotta be in the same ballpark," Ganke attempted to explain, more theorizing than anything else.

"Good. I wouldn't be able to explain a cracked skull to my mom. At least a bruise can be explained," Miles said, then sighed. "On the bright side, we're starting to learn more about what I can do."

"Which brings us to the next step: your costume," Ganke said.

"Not in the mood, Ganke," Miles groaned. "Besides, shouldn't we have a name before a costume? Spider-Man's kinda taken. I'd need a different name."

"True, true," Ganke agreed. "Hmm… how about… Spider-Boy?"

"Are you for real?" Miles raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, you're right, too derivative," Ganke relented. "What about… Kid Arachnid?"

"Nuh-uh. Next," Miles waved the suggestion off.

"Ummm… Spin?"

"'Spin'?" Miles repeated.

"Y'know, cause… spiders spin webs? Spin," Ganke elaborated.

"We are awful at this," Miles groaned, banging his head against the wall.

"Maybe brainstorming on fresher minds will help. We've been out all day," Ganke said.

"Sounds good. See you at school tomorrow?" Miles asked.

"You bet. I'll see if Kamala has some ideas too. She is so much more creative than us," Ganke said.

Miles agreed. "That much we can agree on." He sat up and walked Ganke through the apartment and out to the front door. They fist-bumped each other before Ganke walked out the door.

"See ya, Miles," He waved before leaving. Miles shut the door behind him and rubbed his aching head tenderly. He was now alone in the apartment. With the rising gang violence across the city, both of his parents were occupied at work, helping those that needed them. If they returned at all tonight, it would be much later. So Miles returned to his room and collapsed onto his bed. He, Ganke and Kamala had really spent the entire day working him and his new powers to the bone. He felt tired, but also extremely excited at what this meant for him. What was he fully capable of? And what could he accomplish if he really wanted to put his new abilities to good use?

He wanted to sleep, but he was too high-strung. He sat up and started to move to his desk when he saw something out the window in the corner of his eye. He stopped and looked outside, seeing a pillar of smoke a dozen blocks away, rising from between the buildings with a faint orange glow touching the night sky. A raging fire, which meant people were in danger. He didn't know anything, it could be nothing. But Miles got a sinking feeling in his stomach, his gut wrenching deep within him. No, this was something. This was a danger.

What could Miles do with his new abilities?

It was time to find out.

Peter yawned as he closed the door to his small apartment behind him and turned on the single light that bathed the room in pale white light. He tossed his bag aside and hung his lab coat on a wire hanger in his closet carefully before essentially crashing into his desk chair. He had been given a thorough tour of the Alchemax building save for the classified sites for high-level staff, which he certainly wasn't yet. Doctor Rao had made that very clear. If he wanted that kind of privilege, he'd have to earn it. Peter respected her for that, and was even grateful for it. Nepotism for gain didn't sit well with him. He wanted to show what he was capable of himself.

Something didn't sit well with him though. Would he have even made it this far if he wasn't his father's son? If he had been anyone else, would he have the opportunity he has now? He tried not to think about it, but it was difficult to ignore. So instead, he tried to distract himself. He opened one of his desk drawers and pulled out a small device unlike anything else he owned, a small rectangular gray device with a golden diamond in the center, and a vertical split down the middle. He pulled the two halves apart, creating a holographic screen between them, like a cell phone, but somewhat more advanced. He clicked on one of the displays, and the holographic screen quickly switched to a photo, the very photo Peter wished he could get pulled off of it to sit alongside his other pictures.

It was Peter alongside five other people; four young women and a young man who looked almost identical to him, save his blonde hair.

The young man was Ben Reilly, a clone of Peter himself that had once been his enemy, and he would now consider his brother.

The four young women were another story. He considered them his closest friends, even as his own family in a way. Team RWBY, a team of extraordinary heroes a world away, a world Peter had found himself on only months prior. Now that he was back home, he missed them all.

Thinking about them cheered his spirits some, but then his mind rewinded back to Rao, and the mentions of his father. His parents had left him with May and Ben when he was only four years old, and had died shortly after. He still never knew why they left. He had thought clues might have been in work his father left behind.

Work he still kept with him to this day. He opened another drawer in his desk and retrieved an old binder, worn out with time, at least sixteen years of it. It was packed to the brim with notes and research from his father, but none of it had ever amounted to anything. He'd scoured the pages a thousand times, and still had zero idea why his parents abandoned him. He wouldn't have missed anything. But hearing Doctor Rao talk about his father… maybe reading through some of this again could spark something. If not an idea about his parents themselves, then maybe something he could use to get started at Alchemax.

He wiped the thin layer of dust caked on the binder's cover, but before he opened the tome, he glanced out his window and saw a solid pillar of smoke rising from across the city.

Wiping the dust off the past is gonna have to wait, Peter thought, shoving the binder back into its drawer before shooting up from his chair. Spidey's needed now.

Flames burst through a new opening in a nearby wall as Miles shielded a young girl from them, covering her in his jacket to protect her. He had his hood up and a black face mask covering his face. He had been getting residents of the burning apartment complex out to safety, but the building was coming apart.

Once the flames had receded, Miles scooped up the girl in both of his arms and launched himself from the apartment out into the hallway. He eyed the stairwell, then rushed forward and leapt over the railing before dropping all the way back to the ground floor, landing in the half-destroyed lobby, then sprinted out the front door with the girl in his arms. He made it outside where firefighters were trying to drench fire with their hoses, merely keeping it at bay as the building continued to come apart, and police kept bystanders barred away from the flaming building.

Miles brought the little girl to her mother on the other side of the barrier, who quickly hoisted the child into her own arms and held her, letting out grateful cries as she embraced her daughter.

Miles smiled under his mask, then ran back to the burning building. He had rescued six tenants on his own already, but he wouldn't stop until he was sure everyone had gotten out alright. As he attempted to re-enter, the entire front entrance of the building caved in, the entrance becoming a smoking pile of rubble that prevented entrance from this way again. Miles wouldn't be deterred, however. He ran around the side of the building and leapt up the fire escape, until he found a window free of flame, then smashed his way inside.

Once inside, he realized that the fire was getting worse by the second, and the building was coming apart even faster than before. Miles quickly searched room by room for anyone else in need, eventually finding a woman trapped under a pile of rubble, her leg pinned by concrete as she tries to pull herself out.

"I got ya!" He called out over the roar of the flame before rushing to her aid. "I'm gonna pull this off of you, then crawl out of the way, alright?" Miles told her. The woman nodded with tears welling in her eyes. Miles crouched down and got his fingers under th largest parts of the rubble. "Alright. Three… two… one… go!" Miles pulled upwards and lifted the worst of the rubble off of her pinned leg, allowing her to pull herself out of harm's way. Once she was clear, he let go of the rubble, which promptly crashed back down and tore through the wooden floor below, causing the entire pile of rubble to plummet downwards. Miles leapt back so he didn't fall in as well, then quickly but carefully picked up the woman in his arms.

"Are you alright?" Miles asked.

"I-I think my leg is broken…" She strained through sting tears, then coughed harshly as smoke began to surround them.

"Don't worry, I'm gonna get you out of here. Just hold on," Miles assured her, before sprinting the direction from where he entered, hoping to get out that window. As soon as he turned the corner, thought, the floor above collapsed inwards, blocking the way. Miles skid to a stop and heel-turned to return the other way, but the sudden change of force broke through the weakened boards below them, causing the entire floor to cave in as well, and Miles started to fall down. He quickly grabbed onto the splintered edge of one of the boards, holding onto the injured woman with all of his strength with the other arm. The flames erupted from the next level below them. The woman screamed, and Miles pulled her closer.

"I got you!" Miles said, and started to pull them both back up, but then the board he was holding onto began to splinter and break slowly, fractures spreading across the wood. Miles' eyes rounded, and he tried to quickly haul them both up, but the board snapped under their weight. "No!"

Just as they began to plummet, another hand quickly grabbed ahold of Miles' wrist. Miles looked up to see Spider-Man staring back at him. "I've got you!" Peter exclaimed. He quickly pulled them both up onto the floor, then struck the wall with a backhand that broke it wide open. "Get her outside! I'll check for any others trapped before the building gives way!"

"Y-Yes sir!" Miles replies before hopping through the new opening and landing on the fire escape safely, before then leaping down back to the ground and getting the woman back to the emergency services up front, a pair of paramedics taking her through the crowd of people to one of the ambulances parked by the road. Miles folded over and let out a deep sigh of relief as he recovered his breath. He and the woman would have been done for if not for Spidey.

Speaking of whom, the hero had returned with two more unconscious people in his arms, carefully handing them off to the authorities. "That's the last of the residents free," He reported to the chief fireman, who then turned back to his own men.

"You heard him! Move in and hose it down, now!" The fire chief ordered. The fire crew marched in and relentlessly fought the fire now that there were no civilians to worry about.

"You got this, chief?" Peter asked.

"We do now, Spidey. Thanks," The chief replied.

"No problem," Peter said before turning to look at Miles, who gave a nervous smile in response, knowing full well he was about to be chewed out.

"Y'know, that guy saved lives tonight," The fire chief said, following Peter's gaze. "If it weren't for him, I dunno if some of these people would've made it out." Peter stared at the chief for a few seconds before turning back to Miles.

"I'll keep that in mind," Peter said before going to Miles.

Miles anxiously greeted the hero. "Hey again, uh, Spider-Man, uh, sir…"

"Let's have a talk, Miles," Peter said. "But maybe somewhere with less burning buildings." Peter grabbed Miles and swung up and away from the burning apartment complex.

"W-Woah! This is what web swinging is like?!" Miles exclaimed.

"I'm sure it's a bit smoother when you're the one doing the swinging and you're not luggage," Peter joked. He swung them up to another rooftop a few blocks away and set Miles down before landing on his own two feet.

"So, uh… I know what you're gonna say-" Miles started.

"Hold your horses, Miles. I'm not mad or anything," Peter said.

"You're… you're not?"

"No. I can't be. You got there and saved lives before I ever got a chance to show up. If you hadn't done that, people would've died in that fire. But because you were there, everyone got out safely. For that, I'm proud."

Miles beamed for a few moments, praise from his favorite hero leaving him elated. But he felt that wasn't the end of the statement. "But…?" He said.

"But, this is the third time we've talked about this. You were brave, you did good, and you helped make the best case scenario tonight. But I also told you all it takes is one thing going wrong. And it did. If I was a second later, you'd be roasted right now." Miles looked down at his feet a bit. He was right. He'd be dead right now with that woman if he hadn't been saved. "Look, I get wanting to do your part to help. But sometimes, instead of doing the brave thing, you have to do the smart thing."

"Those aren't mutually exclusive," Miles countered.

"You're right, they're not. But that doesn't change tonight. You did good, but the bad almost happened. This isn't a game, Miles."

"I know it's not a game! I do!" Miles exclaimed. "That's exactly why I wanna do this! If I can use my life, my one life to help others, I've gotta do that."

"I perfectly understand, Miles, but-" Peter started.

"No, you don't get it! My parents both risk their lives to help this city in their own way, so I have to do the same! Not just for them, but for anyone! I've already lost my Uncle, I can't let anyone else die!"

"Your uncle?"

Suddenly, both of their heads pulsed in pain, screaming out. They both doubled over and let out groans of pain, then suddenly the pain was gone, but Peter still felt a pulse, except it was directional. He looked up and realized the pulses were coming from Miles, who was still flinching with every pulse. Peter recognized it: it was another Spider-Sense, reacting to his and vice versa.

Peter's eyes rounded.

Miles had powers.

"You… you're like me…"