Another Me - Miguel O'hara

Intro

Rain beat down onto her suit, the fibres cooling as the water seeped through causing a shiver to run across her skin. The city's lights electrified every droplet as the clouds above weeped onto the earth. Vanessa sighed, pulling her mask from her face she let her hair fall around her shoulders, the purple-pink highlights darkening as the rain soaked through.

It'd been a hard day for both Arachne and Vanessa. She just couldn't catch a break. There was no time in her life for her to simply breathe. Her boss was constantly breathing down her neck over missed or nearly missed deadlines, the crime rate had suddenly skyrocketed and her friends had given up on even attempting to make contact.

She just wished there were someone who understood.

Shading her phone with her hand she watched as the screen flickered to life. No new notifications.

"Waiting on a call?"

She didn't bother to turn and look. The low grumble of his voice was too distinct for her to not have recognised it. Vanessa simply let out another sigh, pulled the mask over her head and jumped from the roof ledge.

Her years of ballet and gymnastics made her nimble, agile and graceful as she swung and spun through the skies, diving between buildings and changing route at the last possible second. For a few brief moments she turned mid swing checking to see if he was still behind her. Thin, red, luminescent streams dangled from buildings behind her, confirmation of his presence as he kept her immeasurable pace.

There was no winning in the race against him. No exit or out that would allow her to escape from whatever business he wanted with her. She'd be delusional to think outrunning him or better yet outsmarting him would be a possibility when he knew not only her universe but every other like the back of his hand. The chase was simply too fun to pass up.

Deciding that if they were to have this conversation it may as well be somewhere scenic Vanessa swung her way to her favourite space. She perched herself on the rooftop, one leg hung over the ledge while the other was tucked beneath her she awaited his swift arrival.

"Miguel," she began, feeling his hulking presence. "¿Qué deseas?"

He towered over her, something she'd once found irresistibly alluring now seemed pathetic as he attempted to use it to intimate her. "I need you"

She chuckled. "You need me? Chico araña, what could you need me for?" At her teasing he ran a hand down his face, his mask disappearing as he did to reveal the deep bags beneath his eyes, the hollow of his cheeks and the sharpness of his cheekbones.

"It's nothing personal. Your assistance is required for the fate of the multiverse."

"Why does the multiverse need me now? I thought you said I was replaceable, that you could easily find another me. What's changed?"

Miguel lowered himself beside her. His body heat making her shiver as it reacted to the harsh rain. "It's gotten worse Vanessa, we need all the help we can get." He dropped his head staring down at the city beneath him. "We need you to help train new recruits."

"You've come all this way to ask me to do your work for you?" She tutted. "Miguel you're getting lazy."

"Vanessa drop the humour. I know we ended on a bad note but this isn't about helping me." He held out a familiar gadget. It looked tiny in his monstrous hand. "Just help us out."

She nodded taking the watch from him and sliding it onto her wrist. "Bien. I'll see you when I see you." Without giving him a moment to respond she swung off into the night leaving him alone upon the rooftop, rain dripping from his face as he watched her leave.