Spider-Man : The Morales Trilogy

Chapter 12

It was a full week before they let Miles leave the MedBay and Miles was glad because the shuttle for the weekend break was leaving the next morning but with security reinforcements this time. Of course, a lot of students had opted out of going home via shuttle due to not wanting to be victims of another attack. In fact, the only students who would be on the bus were Miles, Dil, Sam, Hay, Mitchelle, Ava and three other guys who Miles didn't really know. Dil had told Miles this when he visited the previous evening.

So the bus would be practically empty and if they did get attacked again, Miles was ready for the scarred freak that put him in a hospital for a week.

"What's up, slugger?" Sam said as he bumped into Miles in the MedBay hallway when Miles was leaving. "Was just coming to see you."

"You didn't have to. They discharged me once they'd confirmed that I didn't have any permanent physical or psychologic damage which was the same thing I'd been saying for the past six days."

"It's crazy how you've healed so fast," Sam said, giving Miles the dark intent stare he usually did. "It's supposed to be impossible."

"The year's 2048 and we've had sorcerers, aliens from outer space and humans who turned into raging monsters after being exposed to radiation. Is there really any such thing as impossible?"

"Are you any of those?" Sam asked.

"What?"

"Are you a sorcerer or an alien from outer space or a terribly described Hulk?" Sam queried.

"No, that's absurd!"

"Then you have to be on steroids or something. It's the only reasonable explanation as to why you've healed from injuries that would have killed anyone else in a week."

"I actually healed in two days."

Sam sighed and stopped walking to look up at the sky for a brief moment. "Ever thought of what space would be like?"

"No, not really. No one's fascinated by space anymore in 2048. Even astronauts are tired of going out there. NASA's a couple years away from ceasing to exist."

"It's not boring. It's just really dangerous right now," Sam said and continued walking.

"How would you know?"

"My dad was an astronaut," Sam said, a bit too quickly. "He complained about his job so much and then he retired. Said he didn't want to lose his life in an endless vacuum."

"Uh, that sounds like a terribly described space," Miles said and they both chuckled for a while.

"You know the shooting stars that people claim to see aren't actually stars, right?"

"What are they? Asteroids?"

"Spacecrafts that fell in battle in the currently raging galactic war. Don't you ever wonder why the world's UFO sightings have increased in the past ten years?"

"Are you sure you're not experiencing any psychological damage? Because if you are, I'll haul your ass back to the MedBay."

"I guess I'm one of those conspiracists," Sam said and shrugged.

"Miles!" someone yelled and Miles looked around to see Dil hurrying towards the both of them, sweating profusely. He definitely needed more gym time. He bent over once he reached them, panting and taking deep breaths.

"What's going on?"

"They cancelled the shuttle trip again."

"What's going on this time?"

"Dr. Connors was working with the security team in charge of protecting the shuttle."

"Yeah?" Miles asked, not yet grasping why that would cause the trip to be cancelled.

"Well, he didn't report in today. So Max Modell contacted his wife and found out that Connors wasn't even at home."

"Late party?" Sam asked.

"No. His wife sent security footage of their home. Connors was abducted sometime during the night."

"Did the footage show who abducted him?" Miles asked.

"I don't know, I haven't seen the footage. I just heard Max Modell speaking with the head of security about it. But my guess is it's the same person who attacked the shuttle last weekend."

"What would he want with Connors?" Miles asked. "I mean, Connors isn't directly involved with so many things ongoing in the school so what could they hope to get out of him."

"Terrorists don't always have valid reasons for doing anything. But Max Modell needs to find a way to rescue Dr. Connors before it's too late."

"Terrorism is equal to destruction. Connors must be involved with something that would be terrifyingly destructive. Or something with potential destructive capacities. He's a scientist. Maybe he created a super weapon or something," Dil said and shrugged.

"Not allowed at Horizon," Sam said.

"Maybe he did it outside of Horizon High?" Dil queried.

"Still not allowed."

"I think I know what they'd want from Connors," Miles said and his happiness suddenly felt sucked out.

"I don't know what you think you stand to achieve by abducting me but I'm not giving you any information so if you're going to kill me, you might as well get it over with. Scarred freak," Connors said and received another punch to the face.

The side of his face was bleeding and his right eye was bruised and already swelling. He spat blood out of his mouth and grunted. "I've met guys who hit harder."

"Don't push me," said a thick voice from the dark. "The only reason you aren't dead yet is because I believe there's so much to learn from you. About Horizon High. But if you keep being stubborn, I'll ask my dear Shockwave to end you in as many ways as possible."

"Who the hell are you supposed to be?" Connors asked.

"I'm just the brains behind the world's entire criminal system. I'm not just the king of New York's criminal underworld. I run every criminal organization in the world. Call me whatever you want to, Connors. But I know you have something I want. I've dreamt it."

"So you're a dreamer? Then you better snap out of your slumber because you're not getting anything out of me."

"I'll ask you one more time, Connors. If you're not as cooperative as I want, I'll ask my friend here to rip your heart out of your chest. And then he'll do the same to your wife and kids. And we'll move on to acquiring what I want by more violent means.

"Where...is...the...symbiote?!"