"Dude this is awesome! I can see everything you see!"
The Ganke's excited words rang in Miles's ear. The boy winced at the loudness.
Ganke had always been very tech-y. He loved programming, coding, and all that other stuff that Miles didn't understand. Still it was really helpful.
Together, the two boys had equipped Miles's Spider-man suit with an earpiece, tracker, and Ganke had placed a tiny camera in the lenses that fed a live video to his laptop.
Now the two were taking it for a test run... or test swing as Miles had called it.
Miles had perched himself high up on a building as he overlooked the populated streets of Brooklyn.
"This is literally so cool!"
Miles cringed at the sound. "Ganke," he groaned, "A little loud, man"
"Oh, sorry," Ganke answered in a hushed voice.
"So it works pretty well, Yeah?" Miles asked as he leaned back, letting his legs dangle over the edge of, what he thinks was a law firm, "The picture is clear? You can see where I am?"
"Yup, says here you're two block's down from Carl's Bodega."
At just the mention of the place with the absolute best sub sandwiches in Brooklyn, Miles's mouth began to water. "I'll definitely be stopping there before headed back," he hummed, swinging his legs back and forth like a little kid.
"Wait," Ganke announces, before there's a brief pause leaving Miles's brows furrowed in confusion, "You might have to make a little detour first."
"Yeah?" the boy exclaimed, already feeling his excitement building, "What's the commotion?" He had been taking a break from the suit like Peter and Gwen had told him to, only going out every once and awhile, and he missed it. He was so used to always being on the move- always fighting or swinging above the city that he just felt... adrenaline deprived.
"Car chase," Ganke replied in his serious tone, "They're headed your way."
As if on cue, Miles heard the sound of sirens in the distance, it's volume gradually growing as they neared him. Miles pumped his fist in the air and let out a small, "Yes!"
"We're not gonna get in trouble, right?" Ganke asked, a bit concerned, "Because, I know you're supposed to be laying low."
"I might get in trouble, but why would you?" Miles laughed as he crouched down, ready to leap from his spot as soon as the stolen car rounded the corner.
"I don't know. I just don't want your spider friends to come web me up in my sleep, because I helped you."
"You know that is actually a pretty cool idea," Miles snickered, "You better watch out."
"I probably just shouldn't have said anything."
The young hero sees the bright flashes of red and blue round the corner. He chuckled lightly at his friends comment, "Yup, probably not."
With that, he hears the screeching of tires a small, red Honda, that was probably about ten years old, skidding around the corner, followed by three police cars. Miles smirked to himself as he swiftly hurled himself forward, flattening his arms against his sides as he brings himself into a steady dive.
He landed roughly on a the hood of the stolen car- quite heroically in his opinion- and clearly startled the driver by the way the car swerved of the road before correcting itself.
With the sirens blaring in his ears, Miles crawled onto the side on the car, giving the window two light taps. The boy watched as the driver craned his neck to look at him, his face instantly going white as a sheet. The man looked to be in his early thirties. He had a faint beard only a bit of scruff visible, messy, brown curls, and and hazel eyes that had dilated in shock.
"Excuse me!" Miles yelled over the sirens and the wind whooshing because of the speed that car was going at. It had to have been over one hundred miles and hour. "Have you seen this guy? He's driving a stolen red car and probably doing some other illegal stuff! I'm gonna take him to jail! He kinda-"
His rambling was cut off by a loud bang as a bullet whizzed past his face. He looked back to see the window had been rolled down. He grinned. That was exactly what he wanted.
In one swift motion, Miles slid into the car taking a spot in the passenger seat of the car. The car made a sharp turn and Miles placed a hand on the dashboard as his body was thrown to the side.
"Jeez man, turn your blinker on," Miles quipped, "And buckle your seatbelt too. There are some crazy drivers out there."
Instantly the boy's spider-sense buzzed and the chunk of metal was pointed in his direction. On reflex he gripped the barrel, lifting it toward the roof as it was fired, leaving a bullet hole in the metal.
Miles yanked the gun from the man's hand. His hand came up to block as the crook, frantically threw a fist at him.
"Hey, hey, come on," Miles joked as he rolled down the window and chucked the gun out of it, "I don't skip the formalities. We should at least get to know each other before we throw hands. It's the gentlemanly thing to do."
He reaches out a hand for the man to shake, "I'm Spider-man. Nice to meet you. What's your name?"
"Pull your car over!" Miles hears a deep voice demand over the police coms.
The man throws another fist at him with a grunt, but Miles brushed it out of his way and webbed it to the dashboard. The car thief let out a yelp of surprise as he attempted to steer the car with one hand.
They made another sharp turn, causing both to slide over, the criminal's body now pressing up against Miles. "Wow man, we just met, and this is sort of fast, but I think feel the connection too," Miles placed his hand on his chest and mock swooned, "You can't see it, but I'm blushing under this mask." The boy sighed dreamily before bursting into a fit of laughs.
Miles heard Ganke snicker through his earpiece.
"Just get out of here, freak." The man growls, grunting as he tried to free his webbed hand. With his struggling, Miles noticed the car beginning to accelerate. To make things worst the were now entering a suburban area, which was bound to be way more, civilian populated.
"What are you doing?" Miles exclaimed in a panicked voice, his breathing becoming more ragged, "You're gonna kill somebody!"
"That's the plan," he growled as he whipped his hand back, snapping the webbing that held it down. He lunged forward one hand still on the wheel as his fingers wrapped around the young hero's neck. Miles let out a gargled sound as he tried to gasp for a breath.
Thinking quickly, he fired a web line at the man's forehead and yanked on it, causing his head to bash into the steering wheel, effectively knocking him out. Though now Miles was faced with an entirely new problem. The car was still moving at about eighty miles and hour and no one was steering.
"Pull the over the vehicle," The same officer from earlier called. It was just now that Miles seemed to remember the police. He had subconsciously drowned out the sound of the sirens.
"Why didn't I just take the drivers test like Dad said?"
Miles shoved to crook into the backseat as he gripped the steering wheel so tightly he'd have bet his knuckles had begun turning white. He slammed his foot on the brake wincing as the tires squealed against the asphalt.
The car slowed to a stop and Miles let out breath of relief, letting his body relax against the cloth seat as he shut his eyes momentarily.
Miles opened the car door and slipped out of the vehicle. He flinched as he was instantly surrounded by six officers. The boy felt the blood drain from his face as an angry voice called out, "Put your hands above your head, Spider-man!"
Miles knew that voice. He knew it all too well.
The boy turned to see none other than his father standing three feet from him with a gun aimed at his head. "Get on the ground! You're under arrest."
"Miles? Miles! What's going on?!" Ganke's troubled voice sounded in his ear, though he paid it no attention.
"For what officer?" he forced his voice to remain calm and even, deepening it so his dad wouldn't recognize him. On the inside he was a jumbled mess of nerves. He thought he might puke. Why did this have to happen? It could have been any other cop.
He watched as his father grit his teeth, his index finger brushing over the trigger as he spat out, "For the murder of Aaron Davis."
The words struck Miles like a blow to the chest. Sure, he knew his dad suspected him of the crime, but to hear him say it, to his face nonetheless, it... hurt.
"Jeff stop," a curly blond man said, placing a hand on officer Davis's arm, trying to get him to lower his gun, "We have no warrant for his arrest."
Another officer, who was noticeably younger then the rest, stepped forward. He was hispanic, having tanned skin and jet black hair that was neatly gelled back. He face Davis and asked curiously, "Why would we arrest Spider-man? He's a hero."
"He's a murderer!" Jeff boomed. It startled Miles. He froze in fear. "He killed my brother!" He lifted his gun to the young hero once again, "He killed him and he's getting away with it!"
Miles lungs felt like they were made of glass, his breathing shallow and the broken fragments piercing his chest.
His dad hated him.
He wanted him dead.
The blond grabbed Jeff's arm, forcing the gun barrel down, "Officer Davis, stand down or the captain will hear about this!"
With that Jeff sucked in a ragged breath, his fists clenching at his sides as his body literally shook with rage. He cast Spider-man one last hate filled glare.
Miles couldn't help, but shrink under his gaze. His father hated him... hated Spider-man so much. What would he think if he knew the truth? Would Miles be cast out from his own family? Would his father put him in jail? Would he disown him? Would he shoot him?
What would his mom think?
There were so many questions that Miles really didn't want to think about the answers to.
As soon as a policeman told Miles he was free to go, the boy bailed. He made his way back to his dorm room in record speed, trying so hard to fight back the stinging sensation in his eyes.
He made his way through the window and immediately chucked off his mask with a frustrated scream.
Pent up tears finally fell from his eyes. As hard as he tried to fight them back, they still fell.
His father would never love either side of him; the boy or the superhuman. Neither was good enough for him. He hated them both with a burning passion and that flame burned down all the will Miles had left. All that was left were the ashes of what used to be and the painful facts embedded in his mind.
He would never be good enough.
Miles barely heard Ganke's words of comfort and he couldn't bring himself to care. He just felt sad, defeated, and broken. Those mesh of emotions all morphed into anger.
He swatted off the hand that had been placed on his shoulder, with a growl. "Back off!" Miles seethed, venom in his voice, "Just leave me alone."
His mind was so foggy. He could barely think about the words falling from his lips. All he could feel was the pain in his chest and the prominent wetness on his cheeks.
"Sorry dude," Ganke mumbled, "I was just trying to-"
"Help?" Miles spat, "Well then don't. I've never needed your help and I don't want your pity."
Ganke stood there dumbfounded for a few seconds before pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose and running a hand through his strait, black hair. He cast Miles a hurt look before going off the other side of their room and pulling out a textbook. He grabbed a pair of Sony headphones from off the desk and tapped on the first song that popped up on his phone.
Miles let out a huff as he collapsed onto his bed, his pent up feelings bubbling around his mind like a shaken can of soda. He shut his eyes tightly and rolled onto his side, facing the wall, as he tried to block them out to no avail.
The longer Miles sat there, the more he felt like a jerk. He ruminated over the words he said and he knew he didn't mean them. He loved having Ganke as a friend and the boy was a huge help to him, especially with coming up with lies as to where he was when he was out heroing (seriously though, the boy deserved a medal for his acting). Miles just couldn't bring himself to admit these things to Ganke, especially after lashing out on him like that. He knew he should, but he just... couldn't.
Miles wasn't sure how long he laid there. He would guess a few hours judging by the setting sun's rays seeping through the windowpane. Still he refused to refused to move.
His eyes slowly started to flutter shut as a drowsiness overtook his body. The boy was startled from his trance and his eyes snapped open as a loud whooshing sound filled his ears.
He rolled over to find the familiar sight of a barrage of glowing colors assaulting his currently sensitive eyes. The boy could see Ganke from the corner of his eyes as he sat cross legged on the floor, open textbook in his lap and mouth agape.
Miles felt his spirits lift a bit. Maybe this day wouldn't be all bad if he got to see Gwen.
Though his pretty, blond friend was not who stepped out. It was quite the opposite. When the portal disappeared, what was left was Peter Porker. All three foot, nothing inches of him. He was fully dressed in his Spider-Ham suit as usual.
He let out a happy snort as he gave Miles an wave. "Hiya Miles, long time no see." he greeted in his usual nasally voice. He sauntered over to the other side of the room, "And this must be your roommate." Porker stuck out a hand for Ganke to shake water dripping off his palms. "I was just out in the rain. That's why they're wet," he assured. For some reason Miles didn't believe that.
Ganke's jaw was on the floor.
"The names Peter Porker," the pig continued, not taking notice of Ganke's shocked state, "The toon that makes all the ladies swoon."
Ganke sat frozen in place, his expression unwavering.
"Are you gonna shake my hand then?"
Ganke reached for Porkers face, but his hand was quickly smacked away.
"Hey, hey, boundaries buddy!" Porker called, his annoyance clearly rising.
"Is that a pig?" Ganke breathed, "Like an actual, real life, talking pig?!"
Ham crossed his arms over his chest tapping his foot on the ground in a way that reminded Miles of Sonic. "You got a problem with that, chubs?" pig responded.
Ganke looked like he was about to have a stroke, but Miles cut in, "Alright! Alright! Let's not insult people." The boy was startled by Porker loudly clearly his throat.
"Or animals," Miles continued. He crouched down to face the pig, "What are you doing here?"
"As of right now, not feeling very welcome," Ham replied with a huff. He stepped past Miles, taking a seat on his bed and pulling a hot dog, seemingly out of thin air, and biting a big chunk of it.
Ganke choked on his own spit. "Isn't that like, cannibalism?!" he exclaimed.
Porker cast him a confused look, "No, why would it be?"
"Um, because that's pork!" Ganke said incredulously. Miles wondered if he should get ready to call 9-1-1. His friend just might have a heart attack.
Ham shoved the rest of his food into his mouth. He finished chewing and swallowing before, he said with a shrug, "Maybe in your universe."
Ganke entire face twitched, an absolutely appalled expression taking over. "If it not- Then what is- I-I'm done," he stuttered before roughly standing up and making his way to the door, "Miles, you deal with... pig-you. I'm getting coffee."
Miles was surprised Ganke had talked to him so easily. Was he not mad?
"Excuse me!" Porker stomped over to the boy. Ganke leaned back his eyes widening in fear as Porker now stood on his chest, with the boy's tie clutched in one hand as he forced their faces to be level. "You will stay right here or things will get loony."
"W-was that a pun?" Ganke muttered, shuddering back until his back his the wall.
Ham's eyes narrowed as a scowl formed on his face, "You're a pun."
"Uh, what?"
"Enough," Miles, moaned, "Peter, what's up with you?"
"Anything taller than me," he placed a hand on his chin in thought, then raised it to his forehead horizontally as if checking his height, "But that is most things."
"That's not what I meant," Miles groaned, running a hand through his curly hair. "You just showed up randomly at," he checks his phone, "Seven at night. Then you insulted my roommate and start acting... well, crazy."
Ham let out a snort, "First, he insulted me. He called me a pig. And second; I am not crazy. I am doing a darn good job at distracting you while the other's go after Octopus Lady."
Miles's eyes widened like saucers.
The pig jerks back and they eyes of his mask get comically large. He clamped a hand over his mouth... or would it be paw? "Oops, I wasn't supposed to say that." He laces his fingers together behind his back as he looks up a the boy with what Miles assumed was a cheeky smile, "Let's forget I said that. You want to play Go Fish?"
The boy's body fell still as a statue.
He suddenly feels really dizzy and falls back against the wall, hand cupping his forehead.
He couldn't believe they'd do that. That they wanted him out of the way that badly. What if someone got hurt and he wasn't there to do anything about it. He'd never forgive himself. Maybe he heard it wrong. He had to be sure.
Miles dropped down on one knee, eyes level with the pig's. An inferno of intensity burned behind them, as he asked in a hoarse voice.
"They're what?"