𝙸𝙽𝚃𝙾 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚂𝙿𝙸𝙳𝙴𝚁𝚅𝙴𝚁𝚂𝙴

Chapter 17*

"All vehicles in the area, we have a disturbance involving multiple... Spider... people?"

"Yeah. On my way."

Jeff turned on the cop car sirens and sped up, heading towards the location. Back at Aunt May's house, Miles dodged as Prowler lunged at him. "Give me that thing!"

Miles jumped over the table, getting trapped in the corner. "Don't be stupid, kid! Hand it over, now!"

Prowler pushed the table against him, making the override key slip of out his grasp. As it slid down towards him, Miles quickly grabbed it. He somehow managed to push Prowler back and turned the corner, heading upstairs. As he hurriedly climbed the steps, his right ankle was grabbed. The smaller male kicked him, taking the opportunity to run. He climbed up, escaping through the hole in the roof. Just as few inches away from him, the man clad in purple burst through the material, immediately aiming to grab Miles by the collar. He dragged him against the roof until Miles was dangling off the edge.

Gwen rushed to M/n's side. "S/n!"

"I-I'm fine," M/n assured, his hand covering the spot that was dripping blood. "Where's Prowler?"

"You're losing a lot of blood," she said, tearing off a piece of the tablecloth and pressing it against his wound.

"W-Where... is he, Gwen?"

When she ignored his question again, he became angered. He pushed her away slightly and staggered to get up. "S/n, you're hurt...!"

"I-I...need to..."

She ran over when he was about to fall over. "You can't fight in your condition! You'll die if you go after him!"

He clenched his teeth as he applied more pressure to the wound to stop the bleeding. "Ngh...!"

"I'll go--!"

"No, it's too dangerous for you to go," Peter said, swinging over to them.

"But, Peter--"

"Get him to a nearby hospital," he urged. "I'll go after Miles."

"P-Peter--"

Peter bent down. "I'll bring him back safe and sound. You have my word."

M/n narrowed his gaze on him. "You better... I'll...! H-Hold you to your word..."

Miles grabbed onto the hands that held onto him, the tips of his feet slipping off the edge slightly. "Nowhere left to run."

Prowler extended his claws, ready to kill him. With shaky hands, Miles lifted his mask up, revealing his face. Prowler's eyes widened. "Miles?"

The vision setting behind his mask returned to normal, allowing him to confirm that it was indeed Miles. "Uncle Aaron..." Miles whispered, fear showing on his face.

He immediately removed his mask, revealing how shocked he was. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no."

"Please, Uncle Aaron..." Miles pleaded, his voice sounding as if he was at his limit for air supply.

"Prowler. What are you waitin' for? Finish it," Kingpin's voice came over the earpiece.

Uncle Aaron's chest heaved up and down, not knowing what to do. He reached towards Miles and lowered his mask down, covering his face. He retracted his arms, allowing Miles to move freely. He glanced down at the car that Kingpin was in before looking back at Miles. It was eerily silent until a gunshot rang out. Uncle Aaron's eyes were wide as he collapsed back. It was as if time had slowed as Miles reached out for him. His eyes were equally as wide. Kingpin's gun was aimed at where the bullet had been shot. He aimed the muzzle at Miles next.

Just as he was about to pull the trigger, Peter swooped in, kicking Kingpin away. Peter looked between Kingpin and Miles. "Get out of here!" he shouted, seeing no other way to deal with the situation despite his words to M/n.

Miles was shaky but listened to Peter's words. He picked up Uncle Aaron with slight difficulty and shot a web, swinging away from the area. On the way, he passed by the police car his dad was currently in. Jeff looked behind him, seeing the two swing away. Miles swung into an alleyway and put down his Uncle. Miles' eyes glanced from the wound to his Uncle's face, covering his mouth as he shook his head.

"No..."

"Miles..."

He turned to look at him. "Uncle Aaron," he replied, his voice cracking. "This is my fault..."

The mechanical gloves he used were deactivated. He released his hand and reached out, taking Miles' hand in his. "No, Miles... I'm sorry..."

Tears pooled at the corners of his eyes. "I wanted you to look up to me..."

Miles shook his head, not being to take the pain that squeezed in his heart. He had witnessed M/n get stabbed and now...his uncle...was on the verge of death's door. "I let you down, man... I let you down..."

He sniffled, clutching his uncle's hand tighter. "Y... You're the best of all of us, Miles... You're on your way... Just-- Just keep going... You're in... good hands..."

His eyes slowly closed and his body went limp. Miles clutched his mask as his heart squeezed ever so painfully inside his chest. Tears streamed down his face. He couldn't help but repeat 'it's my fault' over and over again as hunched over the now-lifeless body. In the distance, a cop car pulled up. Jeff got out of his car, heading over to the alleyway. As he inched towards the two, he jumped over the fence and pulled out his gun.

"Hands up! Put your arms up, now!"

Miles recognized that voice. He slowly put his hands up and got to his feet. "Turn around."

He slowly turned around, but his invisibility activated, allowing him to slip away. "Hey! Hey!"

Jeff pointed the muzzle of his gun all around him but didn't find where Miles had gone. When he saw the body on the ground, he immediately put his gun away and bent down. He looked for a pulse... but didn't find one. "Aaron... Aaron, no. No!"

He sat back, a deep pain surging inside him at the sight of his brother. He narrowed his gaze and pressed the button on his walkie-talkie. "All units... I want an APB on a new Spider-Man."

Miles looked on from his spot on the roof and slowly walked away.

--

"Relative of [Fake Name]?"

"That would be me," Gwen said as she got up. "How is he?"

"He's doing fine. He didn't lose too much blood," the nurse said. "You're very lucky we happened to have his match on hand--"

The nurse was interrupted by M/n walking out. He grunted a little at the discomforting pain he felt but continued walking towards Gwen. He completely ignored the nurses who ushered him back into the room. 

"Come on. Let's go," he said, already completely dressed out of the hospital gown and into his own suit and clothes.

"Huh?"

He grabbed Gwen's arm, pulling her along as he walked towards the exit. "Sir, you haven't been discharged yet!"

"M/n--"

"I need to find Miles."

Gwen sighed. "She was right. You're just fine. Despite how you were dying just a little while ago..."

"I can ditch you right now. I don't need you to find him, after all."

She shook her head. "Fine. Let's go."

Hold on, Miles...