It was just another Thursday night for Miles. Although there hadn't been any school today he still had a good amount of homework to slog through. He had almost finished but was stuck on one sole, Physics 2 problem.
He sat at in his dorm room in Ganke's spinning chair that was positioned in front of their desk. He bit his lip as he repeatedly tapped his pencil on the table as his mind whizzed through every possible answer. He checked the time on his phone and sighed. Ganke wouldn't be back for until morning because he had spend the day with his parents, so Miles couldn't ask his for help.
The boy lolled his head back with a groan, the chair leaning backward with his weight.
A smile suddenly broke onto his face as an idea popped into the boy's head. He pulled out his phone and his call. It rang a few times before Gwen's voice sounded through the device.
"Miles?" the voice was muffled and crackly due to all the noise on the other side.
Miles couldn't help, but grin at the sound of her voice, his voice cheery as he spoke, "Hey Gwen, you got a minute?"
"Not really. I'm kinda busy," her voice sounded tired and strained, though Miles didn't take any notice.
"But this is really important," Miles urged. It was. Miss Allen was already not fond of him and he had done his homework for the past so lessons. If he didn't finish a third time he'd be sent to the office, for sure and his dad would not be happy to hear that.
Miles hears Gwen sigh and his brows crease together in confusion. Her voice comes out lined with an annoyance that Miles catches onto instantly. "Miles, for the last hour and a half, I have been following a lead on an undercover drug cartel. Now tell me, what is so important?"
Miles lips purse together as he lets a silence fall between them. What was he supposed to say now?
"I... have a really hard physics problem."
"Goodbye, Miles."
"Wait! Wait! Wait!" he stammers, "To be fair I had no idea about the drug people stuff. Also do you need help?"
"I've got this. Plus, you can't go out as Spider-man."
Miles scratches the back of his head, "Oh... right."
"You already have gone out. Haven't you?"
"I... No?"
She sighs heavily, and Miles can almost feel the stress and annoyance seeping through her voice, "You're such a bad lier. I've got to go, Miles."
Miles, hears a loud boom in the background followed by swooshing gusts of wind. He eyes widened as he shot up from his seat, knocking it over in the process, and he almost yelled, "Have you been in the rain all this time?!"
"Miles seriously, I have to go."
"You're gonna get sick," he continued, ignoring her statement.
"I won't get sick."
"You probably just jinxed yourself."
"You're so-"
"It's Ghost-Spider! Shoot her!" Miles hears a the sound of a raspy voice.
The last thing words he heard is Gwen mutter an, "Oh crap," before there's a loud crash, followed by an on slot of gunshots. The sound rippled through the phone making Miles's ears ring.
"Gwen? Gwen! Are you alright? Gwen!"
He listened as the was a faint shuffling on the other line, followed by more pops from the sound of bullets bouncing off metal.
"Gwen?" he asks once more. His heart was hammering against his rib cage, threatening to break through. The boy thought he mind throw up. What if she had-
"Stop talking," The girl in question, hissed.
"Oh thank God. You're okay," he placed a hand over his chest to try and slow it's erratic beating, "Just hang tight. I'll be there in a minute."
"Miles, no," she whisper shouted, "Stay there. I'm fine." With that she hung up, leaving any further questions the boy might have had to float around the air, weighing it down until it felt like he were drowning.
In an instant the boy was to his feet and changing into his customized red and black suit.
He slipped his dimension hopper onto his wrist and punched in the numbers, practically diving through, as soon a the portal opened.
He quickly found himself on a rooftop in a run-down street in The Bronx. The sky was a dark purple. The color of the sky was one of the reasons Miles loved this dimension so much. Though he'd usually call it beautiful, the place he had wound up was anything but. The buildings were dilapidated and this sector just looked all around shady. His superpowered hearing aided him in easily catching on to the sound of the same gunshots he'd heard over Gwen's phone just across the street.
The building was hadn't been finished, the roof only made up of a few pieces of ply wood. The wall looked like it would crumble under it own weight at any moment.
Without wasting a second, the young hero darted of in the direction of the disturbance. His web-shooters carrying him swiftly and easily.
Once he was swinging directly above the building, he fired two web-lines at the makeshift roof and hurled himself at it, feet first. His feet crashed through, the wood slitting around him as he landed, crouched down with a hand on the floor to keep his balance.
The room he found himself on was dark and grimy. Lining the wall were metal crates, which he assumed held the drugs Gwen had spoken of. In the center of the roof were twelve men who were staring at him wide eyed in shock.
The burliest man who stood in the middle of the rest. Turned to the guy on his right and grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt.
"What are you idiots waiting for?!" he barked, "Shoot him!"
Miles hopped out of the was as the bullet storm began, ducking behind a nearby crate. His feet shuffled against the concrete floor, that was now more like gravel after being broken down so much.
He poked his head out to see if he could catch sight of Gwen, but instantly ducked back when he almost got his face blown off.
He had to find her. What if she had been hurt?
The boy clenched his fists and sucked in a breath as he let a cloak of invisibility envelope him. He sat there, waiting for the right moment, before he sprang up, just narrowly avoiding a bullet and searching behind each and every crate in the room the blond spider. It was times like these when he really appreciated his powers.
As he danced his way around the room his eyes caught a fleck of white. He let out a breath of relief. Above him, settled on one of the ceiling's support beams was Spider-woman, watching the chaos below her unfold.
With a quick leap, Miles was by her side. He let his cloaking fade as he tapped her shoulder to reveal his presence.
She spun on her heels wide eyed as she landed a quick jab to his face. The bow stumbled back as he held his cheek, trying his hardest to keep his balance.
"Miles?" she whispered, baffled, "I told you to stay home!"
Miles tried to shake of the the stinging pain in his cheek as he slowly opened and closed his mouth, "Did you really just punch me in the face?"
Ignoring him, Gwen turned to the band of criminals below that had begun to search the place for their two intruders.
"Miles, do you think you can use your invisibility to disarm some of them?" Gwen pondered.
Miles grinned under his mask, "Easy as cheesecake."
Gwen turned around, casting him a confused look. The boy scratched the back of his head, nervously as he muttered a sheepish reply, "That sounded funnier in my head."
Gwen laughed softly, a sound that shot a surge of glee through his spine. "Go on, Spider-dork," she said, a smile on her voice
With one last grin he hopped down from their spot, his invisibility coating him before he hit the floor. He fired two web-lines a their handguns, before flinging them up for Gwen to catch them. The men all looked around stunned. Miles smirked.
He repeated this process one again, disarming three more crooks. The men shouted out at each other in confusion. Miles took this as his opportunity. He sneaked up to a guy and punched him clean across the face. He tripped over his own feet a land on his back. His gun flew from his hands and Miles tossed it up to Gwen.
She gave a thumbs up in his general direction although she couldn't see him.
The man's face red with anger as he pushed himself to his feet. He walked up to the guy in front of him shoved him hard. "What's the matter with you, Danny?!" He growled in a thick Spanish accent.
"I didn't do anything, man." He answered back.
Gwen used a few webs from her place up above, yanking the men's guns from their holsters without drawing their attention.
Miles grinned. It felt good to be dawning the suit again.
All men hand been disarmed, but one. Miles assumed him to be the ringleader, judging by the fact that he was the the burliest of the rest and seemed to watch all of his comrades like a hawk. Even now, he had his handgun clutched tightly in his hands as he eyed the surrounding area for him and Gwen.
"Don't play coy. You hit me!" The first man snarled, his teeth barred like a dog. He moved so that he was face to face with the Danny.
"No I didn't," The man spoke in a low menacing voice, "But if you don't get out of my face, I just might."
"Is that a threat?" he growled.
"Danny. Felipe. Stand down," the burly guy ordered, confirming Miles's suspicion of him being the one in charge, "Spider-woman and that other one are still in here, somewhere."
"He's right," Miles spoke, announcing his presence, making sure to make himself visible to them before hand, "And if I'm being completely honest, You guys have not done a good job of making me feel welcome."
In an instant Miles was being attacked by all twelve men. Fists flew through the air, but Miles was able to maneuver his way around getting hit. He hopped back, landing on one of the crates in a crouching position then lazily shrugged his shoulders.
"And in all seriousness, at the very least you could have put out a welcome mat." Miles continued.
The boy froze as a familiar buzzing in the back of his head make itself prominent, followed by the sound of a gun safety being clicked off. His head swiveled in the direction of the burly guy in charge, finding his gun pointed at him.
Before he even had time to react, a web connect with the gun as it was flung out of the man's reach, followed by a streak of white colliding with his abdomen. He flew back as Gwen used the force from her kick to do a backflip mid air.
She turned back to Miles and his heart skipped at the masked grin she gave him, "Why does it seem like I'm always saving your butt?"
"I wouldn't say always." the boy retorted, knowing that she was most likely right.
"Get them!" Felipe yelled. Within a few moments Miles and Gwen were surrounded as they fought in a twelve on two match.
Miles charged his hands up with electricity, the blue sparks dancing over his closed fists. He began landing blows left and right. Each of his opponents dropped to the ground, writhing in pain.
It was now left to a five on two. Miles had taken down five men while Gwen took down three. The odds seemed a bit more even now.
Miles had three men forming a triangle around him. He balled his fist tighter as he charged the one directly in front of him. The crook responded by swinging at the boys face, but Miles was prepared for this. The young hero grabbed the man's hand and flipped him over his shoulder. The criminal's body collided with the ground inducing a thud along with a small cloud of dust that reeked of a chemical smell. The scent made Miles's nostrils burn.
The boy fired two webs pinning than man to the ground, leaving him to struggled and pull at his restraints pointlessly.
"Spider-man, head's up!" Gwen called. She fired a web a man's feet, causing him to trip and fall face first. Miles webbed his ankles and wrist to the floor.
The boy felt a warning go off in the back of his head. He instinctively jumped into the air latching onto an overhead support beam. He saw the man that had just tried to tackle him look around for him in confusion. He stuck a web onto the beam and lowered himself as he hung upside down, until he was face to face with the man.
Upon seeing the spider the man let out a frightened yelp. Miles snickered.
"What the- Who are you?" the man stammered as he took to steps back from Miles. His curly blond hair had been matter to his forehead from sweat and his bony face was red as a cherry. He didn't look like he fit in with the rough and tough drug leaders Miles had just taken out.
Miles rolled his eyes. "Come on, man," he groaned, "It's not that hard." He released his hold on the web, flipping himself over so he could stand upright. He took a few stalking steps toward the man, watching as he slowly backed away. "I'm a vigilante fighting crime in a black suit. Obviously..." his voice drops dramatically, "I'm batman."
There's a flash of white as the man is swiftly struck across the face, his face jerking back from impact, before he drops the ground, out cold. Gwen raised a brow at him, but all Miles could see was one lens of her mash enlarge. She shook her head she spoke softly, "You're a moron."
Miles could only grin proudly at her comment. He looked over the room, full of the now unconscious bodies and turned to his parter, "What do we do now?"
Gwen glanced at him, then fished a burner phone out of her pocket, "I leave the police an anonymous tip and we get out of here."
Miles's brows furrowed together, "Aren't you going to wait until they get here? Y'know so you can give them a report of what they did and how you found them?"
Gwen turned her back to him as she held the phone to her ear and Miles's confusion intensified. "No. They'll figure it out," she replied, coldly. Those were the last words she spoke before letting the line ring and speaking to the operator on the other line.
After finishing her call, she dropped the phone from her hand, jabbing the heel of her foot into it as it hit the ground, the phone made a cracking sound as it snapped in half.
Miles took a second to really look at Gwen. Her suit was soaked from head to toe, water still dripping from her arms and legs. There was no way she wouldn't get sick.
"Gwen, how long we're out in the rain?"
She looked to him and. sighed, "It doesn't matter. I'll be fine. Thank you for the help, but... you really shouldn't have come."
"I know, but a superhero saves damsels in distress," he flexed his arms goofily and winked at her, "It's part of the job."
"Damsel in distress?" she scoffed incredulously, "If I remember correctly, I was the one saving you."
"That's not the way I remember it," Miles joked. He crossed his arms.
He could see the outline of a smirk forming against the blond's white mask. "Well, that's the way it happened," she retorted.
Miles's head perked up at the sound of sirens approaching. Apparently Gwen noticed it to, because she hastily spun around to the entrance. "Let's go, Miles," she called back.
He followed after her, dropping the questions he had as the why they had to leave so soon and burying them in the dirt.
They both left through the exit, then swung to the rooftop across the street where Miles had originally landed. The rain now showered the both of them. Miles felt his suit cling to his skin, almost like a second layering. He shivered slightly. If he was already like this from a few seconds of standing out in the rain, he could only image how bad it was for Gwen.
After a moment of silence Gwen removed her mask from her face, combing her fingers once through the tangled golden strands. She spoke, "I'll see you later, okay?"
"Yeah," Miles said in a breath, removing his mask as well. He stared at her for a moment, before he reached out and touched her arm, the cool dampness spreading across his gloves. Gwen flinched back from the contact. "You're probably freezing," he stated with concern.
Gwen didn't deny it. She just folded her arms over her stomach in discomfort. Her lips pursed together as she eyed him carefully.
"You should go home and get warm," Miles continued.
Gwen shook her head, "I've got to make sure none of their friends show up while those guys are getting arrested. It wouldn't be too good for those cops."
"I'm sure everything will be fine," Miles insisted, "You should go, before you get sick."
Gwen groaned as her whole head assisted in her eye roll, "I won't, Miles. We've got superpowers. It'll take a lot more than some water to get me sick."
Miles glared her down briefly, then realized it was no use. She was stubborn. He wouldn't be able to change her mind.
The rain enveloped the two, reminding Miles of his mom's favorite movie, The Notebook, which she'd made him watch on countless occasions, where the couple shared a tender moment in the rain when Noah pulled Allie into his arms. Miles wondered if he ever could.
He winced at that thought. He had no doubt in his mind that Gwen would punch him square the face again if he tried.
"See you around, Gwanda," he said, just for the eye roll he knew he'd receive.
"How long are you gonna hold that name against me?" Gwen asked in a deadpan voice.
"Until the Multiverse falls apart."
Instead of shake her head or roll eyes like he had expected, Gwen only smiled softly at his words. "Yeah well, that might come sooner than we planned."
Miles placed his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest. "Not while I'm here," he boasts, "All villains fear the incredible-"
"Spider-boy?"
Miles jerked his head back to face her. "What?" he whined, his bottom lip jutting out, "No."
Gwen laughed, the sound bringing the smile right back to the boy's face.
His eyes narrowed on the flashes of red and blue painting the walls of the surrounding buildings with splotches of color. Their sirens ringing through the night as if they were a choir singing in three part harmony.
"I guess that's my cue," Miles announced. He cast the girl beside him a two fingered wave as he used his dimension hopper to open up a colorful portal.
He looked over his shoulder and Gwen cast him a smile before fixing her mask onto her face. He grinned back and then he was gone- left to be transported through the the beautiful and awe striking, dimensional rift.