Take Care of My Heart

Chapter 2 - Spider-Man Always Gets Back Up

Upon seeing that damage that was done to the young hero, it was the like world had stopped, yet at the same time, going into freefall. No one wanted to believe what they were seeing.

Miles, on the other hand, could barely see through his eyelids, but he could feel their alarmed reactions almost as much as the blazing sensation in his chest; it felt like a hot knife trying to pierce a thick balloon. He hadn't the strength to lift his head to see for himself, however.

"How... bad?" he asked through short breaths.

He rolled his eyes up to see his mother's face hovering right above his; even upside down, he could see how her trepidation mirrored everyone else's.

"You're gonna be okay, Miles." said Jefferson, trying his hardest to sound convincing.

But his son could see the truth echoing back at him. Whatever damage had been done was irreparable.

"How... bad?" He repeated, now looking to Gwen, who face had turned pale.

Gwen dared not answer. Her eyes remained glued to his inflamed chest.

Rio found herself torn; her motherly side wanted to lie while her years of medical training urged her to diagnose him, no matter how horrible it sounded.

Closing her eyes, she inhaled, wishing she would wake up from a nightmare, then decided. "It looks like an inflammation... in your heart." Once those words left her mouth, she opened them to see her son staring up wide-eyed. "It's swollen up... to an unnatural size." Her lip was now quivering.

Jefferson shook his head in denial. "But how?" He tried not to raise his voice. "Our son was the healthiest kid on the planet."

"It's the colliders." Miguel interjected, stepping in with his hands on his hips. "The Spot had absorbed power from all those different colliders in every different dimension... and when... Miles... drained all that power from him... it must have all gone straight to his heart and bloated it up."

"Is there anything we can do?" Jefferson pleaded, his composure hanging by a thread. "He's my son, damn it!"

Rio hushed at her husband to calm down. She didn't want this scene to become any more stressful. "He needs medical attention now." she then stated in a begging tone.

Peter was just standing there, overlooking the severity of this situation. There was his protégé, having beaten the impossible odds, now hanging by a thread; never had he felt so powerless in his life.

This kid had changed his life as much as he had changed his. He was the reason he had Mayday with Mary Jane. He wanted to bring up a child in hopes that she would grow up like him. He was only glad that he didn't bring her this time to see this.

"We can bring him into our dimension." said Jessica. "Our technology should be able to help him."

"Are you crazy?" Gwen leapt to her feet, facing her former mentor. "He can't even sustain his molecules here anymore! He could... die... if we bring him anywhere else!"

"He'll die anyway if we leave him here." She looked down through her glasses sadly. "It's a risk we have to take."

Miguel stepped in again, facing the parents. "Our technology is more advanced than what you have on this world."

That was when the distressed mother shot him a hellish glare. "Now, you want to help our son after you tried to hold him back from saving his father?" The stunned look on the 2099 Spider-Man only amplified her disgust. "All of you!"

"Yes." he answered straight away. "I have too many things to answer for, so please..." To everyone's surprise, he knelt until his eyes were level with hers and extended his hand. "... give us a chance to make things right."