Spider verse: The Twist

Chapter 3: Training

Miles's POV

I took the elevator down to the spider-lair and was greeted with the sight of Peter, who was dressed in a casual red t-shirt and jeans and having an animated conversation with whomever was on the other line of his phone. I was able to hear a brief part of their conversation. "Yeah sure. I'll see you at home. Bye MJ. I love you," he said before hanging up and placing the phone down on a desk.

"Hey, Peter, what's up?" I said with a grin. He turned around to greet me.

"Hey, Miles. Just talking to my wife. You ready to start?" he responded and I gave a quick nod.

Peter did a backflip and landed along the wall with his hands and feet sticking to it. I looked up at him in surprise. "Woah," I said in awe.

He gave a satisfied smirk before responding, "Your turn. Just stick one hand at a time, then your feet. I followed his instructions and was soon on all fours on the side of the wall. "Good now try to crawl up to me," he said calmly.

I tried to release my right hand but found it stuck in place. I put pressure on my feet, pushing them against the wall, as I tried to pry my hands off of it.

"I... I can't move" I grumbled as I proceeded to hank on my arms.

Peter let out a breathy chuckle. "Okay, just relax. Take a deep breath and loosen your muscles," he responded.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly began to falter my way along the wall, slipping every now and then.

"Now... try it without your hands." I looked at him hesitantly, but he just returned it with a warm smile. I looked back down at my hands and took another deep breath before removing them from the wall. I staggered and wobbled a bit, but Peter was there to spot me. "You're doing great, Miles. Don't worry I got you," he said readying his hands in case I fell.

What began as a slow totter soon soon turned into long strides and soon, I found myself running along the side of the wall. Peter gave me a proud smile and started to run alongside me. "This is so awesome!" I said gleefully, turning to look at Peter who was jogging right beside or... above me.

Peter did a side flip off the wall and landed in a crouching position. I crawled down and stood beside him. "Good job, Kid," he commented, applauding me.

"Thanks, Peter. You're a good teacher," I respond with a smile.

"Just call me Coach Spidey," he said as he swiftly ran a hand through his blond locks.

"Yeah, whatever," I chuckled.

*******

"So, Miles how are things goin for you with school and stuff?" Peter asked while taking a bite of a one of the turkey sandwiches that Aunt May had made for us. I paused my chewing for a second to think about his question.

I swallowed and answered, "My dad's making me leave my old school and my friends to go to some fancy, private school," I grumbled with annoyance visible on my face. The annoyance soon dissipated to be replaced with disappointment.

"Oh, sorry to hear that," he responded, his lips scrunching to the side.

I look down at my shoes before giving him a quiet, "Yeah."

We sat there in silence as we finished the last of our sandwiches. "Y'know Miles," Peter started, "My uncle Ben always pushed me to be the best man I could be. I hated that about him. But... I wouldn't be where I am today without him. He was the reason I became Spider-Man in the first place. It took me losing him for me to really appreciate how much he cared for me. Maybe you shouldn't be so hard on your dad."

I looked at him in a mix of shock and confusion. "Yeah... Maybe." I murmured. I took my phone out of my pocket looked down at the screen to see two missed calls from Mom one from Dad.

"Ah man, mom's gonna kill me" I internally groaned.

I bolted to the elevator, before turning back to give a wave. "I gotta go. See ya, Peter," I called as the elevator began to rise.

"Yeah, see ya tomorrow, Kid" he called back.

*******

Later That night

I was startled awake and almost fell out of bed. Everything on my dresser was shaking, some items falling to the ground. I staggered over to the window and looked out to see many different flashes of color as the shape of the surrounding buildings stirred about. Some people were on the ground, some huddled together for support, and some bracing themselves on nearby objects.

Just as suddenly as it started, the commotion stopped and everyone began to resume there lives as if it was just another day in New York.

"I mean I know this is the city where flying, fire-breathing, goblin monsters and guys in huge mechanized rhino suits run around but that still was not normal."

I glance over at my phone, which was now on the floor and hastily grabbed it. I scrolled through my contacts and clicked the one that said 'Peter' with a spider emoji.

"Miles?" he asked groggily, as if I had just woken him up.

"Hey- Hey, Peter." I said frantically. "There was another earthquake and everything was changing colors. I feel like I'm going crazy and-

"Woah, easy there, Miles. Calm down," he soothed. I took a few deep breaths and after a few moments of silence I spoke. "Peter...this isn't just an earthquake... is it?" I said hesitantly.

I could hear him sigh through the phone. "No... it isn't."

"Peter?" I asked, confused.

He sighed again before speaking slowly, "I think it's time I told you. Meet me at the spider-lair tomorrow."

"Okay," I responded nervously, with the same hesitation in my voice, before hanging up and delving back into a mostly restful sleep.

*******

I took the elevator down to the spider-lair and was immediately met with the sight of Peter with his hands placed, anxiously in the pockets of his blue hoodie.

"Hey," I said quietly as I approached him.

"Hey there, Kid," he responded nervously.

I look up at him expectantly, but got no response so I decided to initiate. "So..." I dragged on the word as I rolled back and forth on the balls of my foot.

He sighed, "Right, sorry. You wanted to know about the earthquakes." He took a deep breath in preparation for his small speech and I gulped anxiously.

"So there's this rich, gang leader, Wilson Fisk, but he prefers to go by Kingpin." I quirk an eyebrow at him, making him let out a breathy chuckle. "Yeah, he's full of himself," he continued, "Anyway, after a fight we had, his family died in the process of trying to leave him, so he's having Olivia Octavius build him what he calls a dimension collider. The name is pretty self explanatory. He's going to use it to try to bring an alternate version of his family here." He stopped for a second to look at my confused expression before continuing. "The problem is if he does, he'll end up creating a black hole under Brooklyn, hence all of the chaos you saw there."

I fell silent and my face grew pale as fear overtook me. "Miles, it's okay. These were just test runs. I happen to know they aren't firing it up until, Monday," Peter soothed as he pulled me into his chest, causing me to immediately relax.

"Don't worry. I'll protect you. I promise" he whispered into my ear. His words made me feel so safe and confident.

"Thanks, Peter," I said gratefully. We stood there in silence for a few moments, before I spoke up, "I want to help."