Another Me - Miguel O'hara

Four

As she moved the glitch ended allowing her to see the anomaly and its true form. It appeared to be some sort of Doc-ock variant, it's tentacles flying towards her as she swung by. He seemed to come from some kind of watercolour world, his body a swirl of different hues as his face moved from a bright blue to a deep shade of red. The colour began casting a halo around his face as his rage built from a string of missed attacks.

"Why don't you just stay still!" He bellowed, a tentacle attempting to wind around her as she slipped through.

"What'd be the fun in that?"

The other two had sprung to action, trying everything they could to restrain the man as his limbs reeked havoc upon the subway station surrounding them. It was a heavy back and fourth, both sides taking hit after hit within their efforts to contain one another.

Vanessa clung to a wall trying desperately to catch her breathe as the other two fought on. She was about to leap away when suddenly a tentacle wrapped around her stomach. The air ripped from her lungs as she wiggled and writhed between the confines of her metal cage.

"Not so cocky now?" Doc-ock taunted squeezing her tighter as she gasped for air.

Her lungs were burning as she gripped the machinery, clawing at it in a desperate attempt to free herself. "Let me go," she wheezed. "Or you'll regret it."

"Oh will I now?" He sneered. "How can you be so-"

He was cut off as Miguel's deep growl echoed around them. She could feel the heat of his burning glare through his mask as he raced toward her. Vanessa felt like she was about to pass out as her lungs filled with oxygen, the tentacle that trapped her now falling limp to the floor. Miguel had sliced clean through it, his talons glimmering under the flickering fluorescent lights that dangled above them.

"That's how."

After long last Doc Ock was secure and in the process of being sent back to his own world before he could cause any destruction to the one he currently resided in.

"Hey, you were pretty sick out there."

Vanessa laughed pulling the mask from her face. "Thanks but I'm not sure nearly getting your ribcage obliterated is 'sick'." She held her hand out to the unfamiliar spider. "I'm Vanessa."

"Hobie," he said taking her hand and pulling her in. "Loving the suit."

"Yeah? Always found the blue and red a bit tiring," she dusted her hands over the fabric. "Thought it needed sprucing up."

Hobie opened his mouth to respond but was quickly cut off by Miguel's harsh tone.

"Hobie, take care of this."

He rolled his eyes. "What sticks up his arse today." He stalked off, hands in his pockets leaving Vanessa to catch her breathe.

Miguel watched him leave, waiting for the bright shine of orange hexagons to dissipate before approaching her. She had her back to him, chest visibly heaving as she attempted to fill her lungs. His footsteps echoed around them, his breathing mingling with hers as it quickened.

"You should've listened to me."

She scoffed turning to face him. "Sorry? No 'Well done', no 'You did good'. Vete a la mierda," she breathed. "Can't you just be proud of someone. For once."

His mask dissolved from his face revealing the sharp cut of his cheek bones and his dark irises as he neared her, towering over her as he always did. "I'll be proud when you do a good job Arachne."

"Arachne? You can't even call me by my name Miguel." She threw her hands up in despair. "Jesus you're so bipolar! You're insane."

"You should have waiting for my call, maybe then I wouldn't of had to save you."

Her jaw dropped. "Are you serious? You're upset because you had to save a teammate during a mission. Are you joking right now. That's literally part of the job description Miguel, unless you'd rather me have died on the job."

"No." With one hand he pinched the bridge of his nose as the other came to rest on his hip. "I'm upset because it was you."

"What? What do you mean because it was me? What's that supposed to mean Miguel!" She cried, cheeks flushed and hair falling across her face. 

His eyes softened as he took a step towards her. "It means I c-" He stopped. "It means I expect better from you Vanessa. You're too experienced to be making mistakes like this," he finished hanging his head.

She bit at the inside of her cheek, watching him as he curled and uncurled his fists. She knew that it wasn't what he wanted to say, she could hear it in the way his voice wavered and the way his chest fluttered with every word.

They'd dated for two years. She knew when he was lying. Though she chose to leave it. If he wanted to tell her the truth he would've.

With a tired sigh she waved him away. "Whatever you say chico araña."

As she left him Miguel wiped a hand down his face again left with nothing but her words and the hum of the fluorescent lights above him.

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¿En serio? - Are you serious?

Jesucristo, ¿qué hice para merecer esto? - Jesus Christ, what did I do to deserve this?

Gracias pequeña araña - Thank you little spider

Vete a la mierda - Fuck off