Spider verse: The Twist

Chapter 20: Darkness

Miles's POV

I felt... numb. I felt empty. I felt like I was slowly being enveloped in an inky, black void. All I could see was darkness.

The darknesses felt inviting. It whispered to me all of the things it could offer. It gave me a sense of security and warmth. Was this what death felt like?

"I can give you an escape from the pain," it said, it's voice soothing. My mind crept a bit closer to it, but halted.

"What about Mom, Dad, and May? They'll be devastated."

"They'll be fine," it responded, "Why do you think your parents sent you to boarding school?"

The words stung almost as much as the pain of the wounds I had received from being attacked by those five villains. As the thought crossed my mind another memory made itself prominent.

"Uncle Aaron."

My uncle who was a villain. My uncle who was a criminal. My uncle who loved me so much that he took a bullet for me. My uncle who worked for the man who killed Peter, the same man that killed him. Fisk shot him dead not even a foot from my face.

"I have to wake up. I have to stop Fisk.
For Pete and Uncle Aaron."

"I can take you to them."

I froze. It could? I could be with them again? I could hear Uncle Aaron's laugh and see Pete's vibrant smile? The thought of it was overwhelming.

"Yes, you can be with them. You can talk to them and apologize to them. All you have to do is give in. Just let go."

I could not comprehend anything that was happening. It all just felt so hazy? My defenses were starting to weaken.

"But... what about the collider?"

"You're spider friends will figure it out. Do you not remember that they didn't even want you to help them? Give in to me and you'll never feel pain again, never feel scared, and will never feel sorrow."

It was all so tempting. I slowly felt myself slipping away. My body grew cold and numb. The darkness began to be replaced by a bright, blinding light.

Right before the light could completely envelope my consciousness, a thought came to me.

"If  I don't go back one of the other spiders will stay behind. They'll glitch to death. I... I can't let that happen."

"No. They don't care about you. Why should you help them?"

I pictured Pete's face. His shiny blond hair and deep blue eyes. The way his edges of his mask tilted up in a smile as he told me,  "I trust you... Spider-Man."

I paused before answering, "Because... I'm Spider-Man."

Gwen's POV

We all stood around the spider lair as we waited for Miles to wake up. He was lying on an old operation table that May had brought out. May had cleaned the cuts he had all over his body and the blood that had been pouring from his temple. Peni had told us that he had a mild concussion and had two cracked ribs. She had given him medications and pain killers, but told us that there was still no guarantee that he would make it through that. I had to bite down on my lip to keep myself from crying.

May sat on the couch next to Peter who was fervently bouncing his knee with worry. Peni sat on the floor, anxiously biting her nails next to Ham who was nervously twiddling his thumbs. Sp//dr sat behind the two with it's metal arms draped around them. Noir stood in the corner of the room with his arms crossed as he gazed blankly at the floor.

I had pulled up a chair next to the table as I studied Miles's peaceful face. I was terrified at the thought of losing him. Yet at the same time I was angry at myself for caring so much. I had warned myself not to get close to people and yet here I am, standing beside this guy that I had grown to care about so much in such a short amount of time. I sighed, resting my head in my hands.

"What have you done to me, Miles?"

I jerked back in shock as Miles's breathing sped up. He began taking in sharp, rapid breaths. Everyone leapt up and dashed to his side.

"P-Peni, what's happening?" Peter stuttered.

"He's hyperventilating," she answered, "We need to try to slow his breathing." She leaned down beside Miles as she spoke frantically, "Miles, if you can hear me, you need to calm down!"

I placed a hand on Miles's shoulder as we anxiously watched and waited. His breathing eventually slowed and we all let out sighs of relief. I saw May out of the corner of my eye. Her eyes were glassy with tears.

"His breathing has returned to normal," Peni stated, "We should give him some space."

The others nodded and walked away from Miles, but leaving his side was the last thing I wanted to do at that moment. I took a few steps toward him and bent down so my face was level with his ear. I whispered quietly so the others could not hear me. "Hey Miles, if you can hear me, please wake up. I... we need you here," my voice faltered as I continued, "I...I miss you, Miles."

I stood slowly and started to make my way back toward the others, but stopped dead in my tracks when I heard a weak voice croak.

"Gwen?"

Miles's POV

I squinted my eyes as they tried to adjust to the sudden brightness. Though I could clearly see Gwen's head whip around and She almost fell back in shock.

She instantly ran to my side and threw her arms around me in a bone-crushing hug. I winced slightly, but returned the hug, best I could. "Hey it's okay. I'm okay," I tried to reassure her. She finally pulled away and we gave each other warm smiles.

"Miles!" Peni exclaimed in joy as she enveloped me in a hug.

"Nice one little fella. You're tough as nails," Noir complimented.

"Glad you're okay, Miles," Ham commented.

I looked up and locked eyes with Peter. I could see concern, relief, and admiration reflected in his eyes. "How you feeling, Kid?"

I gave him a small smile, "We'll as almost dying goes, I'm doin' pretty good."

He laughed softly as May came up from behind him. She gave me a light slap on the shoulder. "Don't ever do that again," she hissed, though I could tell she was just as worried and relieved as the others, "I can't lose you too, Miles." I saw tears begin to form in her eyes so I encased her hand in mine.

"You won't," I assured her and she gave a half smile.

I looked over to Gwen who was watching me nervously. She caught my eyes and bent down to speak softly in my ear. "Do that again and I'll kill you." She whispered halfheartedly.

I let out a breathy chuckle, "I don't plan on it." Once she pulled away from me we looked at each other and began to laugh.

"She looks cute when she laughs."

A/N
Sorry. This is definitely not my best chapter. I rewrote this multiple times and am still not really satisfied with it.

Well I hope you like it.
Thanks for reading!