Miles couldn't help, but worry a bit for Gwen's safety and his own. If he didn't oblige with Olivia's instruction who knew what she might do to either of them. That's why he sat unmoving- completely still- as Adrian Toomes stalked towards him.
His head was whirring from the pain in his leg. It had already been two days of the two being trapped down there and in that time the pain had only gotten worse. His thigh had swollen dot almost double it's normal size. He was glad Gwen couldn't see him because he didn't want to seem weak in front of her, but he wasn't sure how much more pain he could take.
His suit clung to his skin from the sweat and his mask gave a fowl stench.
"So Spider-man," Toomes taunted, "How does it feel to finally loose." He laughed, "I've been waiting for this day for so long."
Miles opened his mouth to speak, but Gwen beat him to it.
"Back off." she barked.
"Relax Gwendolyn, I just want to finally get a look at the face that destroyed my business."
"Business?" the boy wheezed, "So that's what we're calling it?"
"Shut up." Toomes reached for the boy's mask and Miles mustered up his strength to send a surge of electricity out just as the man's fingers grazed the fabric.
Adrian let out a yelp as he jerked his hand back, massaging his palm. He cast Miles a loath filled snarl.
The boy could hear Gwen off to his right as she let out a sigh of relief.
Miles flinched back as a cold blade came into contact with his neck.
"Try that again and see what happens."
Miles sat still while Adrian latched his fingers into the hem of his mask.
"No!" Gwen grunted as she yanked on her chains, "Stop! Miles, he won't kill you. He's bluffing."
"Maybe, not," the man muttered as a grin split his face. He leaned in close to whisper in Miles's ear, "But I wouldn't hesitate to kill her."
Miles stared into the man's eyes, his narrowed into a glare, but he didn't dare move. He could feel his hands shaking as the fabric slipped off his face, the cold air kissing his cheeks.
The Vulture studied his face for a moment, before pressing the blade harder into his skin until it split. Miles whimpered.
"So you're the one who's been making my life and my crew's life miserable," he growled, applying even more pressure the the blade.
Miles groaned, "Please... stop."
Adrian took a step back and flashed a satisfied, toothy smile, "I won't kill you. Mrs Octavius needs you alive."
"No, I mean please stop talking. You're breath smells like a hot garbage and garlic cocktail."
Adrian sneered, "You disgust me."
"I disgust you? My man, have you not smelled your breath? It reeks! Your garlic breath could kill vampires. Why don't you ask the sea-witch doctor over there to inspect it?"
"My word, Miles, stop talking," Miles heard Gwen mutter. It was just so funny to see the look on the villains face when he was caught off guard.
Suddenly Miles felt his head snap back as the taste of iron dampened his dry tongue. His head lolled back.
"Don't you dare disrespect her," Toomes spoke lowly.
Through Miles cloudy vision he let his eyes settle on the man's face. There was something behind his eyes that fueled the anger. It looked familiar, the boy just couldn't place it.
"What's it to you?" he asked, curiously, "You're only in this for the money. Her plan succeeds, you get your share, and your off."
"It's everything to me," Toomes growled as his teeth ground together, "And I'm not just in this for the money. It's so much more than that."
Miles paused for a minute, taking in the man's tense stance, fiery eyes, and clenched jaw, when it finally clicked.
"Gross!"
Toomes hands clenched into tight fists, "What is it now?"
Miles shook his head rapidly, "You can't be serious, man."
Adrian scowls, "What?"
"You have a thing for Doc Oc."
Miles cast Gwen a glance as she sucked in a harsh breath. "He what?" she breathed, shock lining her voice.
Adrian smirked at Gwen's reaction and Miles lifted a brow in confusion. He then folded his arms over his chest, "That's Miss Octavius to you."
Miles rolled his eyes, "Whatever, man. You need to have your head examined if you find a person dressed like metal calamari with a hornets nest for hair attractive."
The Vulture struck the boy again and Miles felt his head jerk from the impact and blood spewed from his mouth. He landed flat on his stomach and his nostrils burned from the ínstense scent of iron.
"Stop," Gwen whispered. Her voice lacked its usual fire. It sounded weak... frail.
Something had to be wrong.
"Adrian!" a voice sounded, though Miles could barely see through his blurred vision. He lifted his head to see a set of four metal tentacles in the distance.
"I said, 'Alive'."
"Oh great. She's back..."
"My apologies," Adrian said, his features instantly softening.
"Like the suck up he is."
"Are the preparations ready?" the man asked, folding his hands behind his back. He titled his head up a bit and Miles could see his adam's apple bop as he gulped.
"This is just sad."
"We're about ninety-five percent there. It will be complete in mere moments," she smiled toothily, "Bring the boy." With that she turned her back as her metal arms lifted her from the ground and her body began to glide toward the exit.
Miles could feel his body being lifted from the ground, but he didn't have the energy to fight back. The pounding of his head and the throbbing in his leg formed a concoction that made his mind go numb to everything else. He couldn't think. He couldn't hear. He could barely breath over his ragged panting.
"As you wish," Adrain answered, "What should I do with the girl?"
That caught Miles's attention. His head instantly shot up to see the doctor's reaction.
A pit formed in his stomach as she cast him a sickening, sadistic smile. "We have no more use for her. Get rid of her."
Miles's body was on fire. His teeth were clench so hard it hurt. Nobody would hurt Gwen.
Nobody.
The boy let out an enraged scream as electricity surged out from his body. The pair of arms that held him in place slipped away.
The young hero heard the sizzling of the sparks as well as the sound of glass repeatedly shattering. A heat rose up in his body that he'd never felt before and felt as if it could incinerate everything in its path.
Miles wheezed out a breath as he collapsed on the ground, blackness crept into the corner of his vision, but he mustered up the remainder of his strength to fight it back.
He craned his neck to see the people around him: Toomes was on the glass covered ground writhing in anguish as tiny, blue bolts raced across his skin. Gwen stared at him in complete and utter shock, pink lips parted and her blue eyes wide as saucers; and Olivia... she just grinned, satisfied, as if she had planned the whole ordeal.
Miles dropped his head back onto the stone floor, the energy to hold it up quickly fleeting.
"Bring them both," Olivia instructed.
Miles wasn't sure what happened after that. He must have been slipping in and out of consciousness the whole way there, but next thing he knew, he, Gwen, Olivia, and Adrian were all cramped into some tiny control room. There were little desks lined with computer screens against the wall and above them was an opaque window, which most likely revealed another room.
Miles pressed his back up against the wall as he sucked in lungfuls of air.
"Hey, are you okay?"
Miles glanced over to see Gwen watching him, her eyes full of worry.
The boy lolled his head back against the wall as he let out a breath of a cough, "For the time being." He forced a smile, but that didn't seem to calm her at all. Her brows only furrowed as she pressed her lips tightly together.
"Now Gwen," A voice spoke. Miles didn't need to look up to see who it belonged to. It was the sea witch herself. "You asked me what my plan was."
Gwen sucked in a breath a she shook her head rapidly, "Oh my- please not another speech."
The doctor ignored her, "I did all of this. Because of Peter Parker."
Miles blinked twice.
"Wait, what?"
"Three years ago, when I was just a simple physics teacher, I had made a discovery- a monumental discovery. It would have finally gotten me the recognition that I deserved among my peers. I experimented with it, all with the help of my friend... May Parker."
The boy's eyes widened.
"May was friends with Doc, before she was well... Doc Oc?!"
"She told me it was too dangerous- that it was driving me insane, but I couldn't stop. It was life changing. It offered so much power that I could have ruled New York and then everyone would finally see me and recognize my intellect."
"I don't think she was wrong about you going insane," Gwen muttered.
Olivia glared at Gwen before resuming her tedious story, "When May found out she called the authorities- she betrayed me- but I wouldn't give up my creation. That was when Olivia Octavius became Doc Oc."
"Oooh how dramatic." Gwen deadpanned, then with a sigh and a roll of her eyes she spoke, "How long is this gonna take?"
Miles let out a breathy chuckle.
"As long as I need it to," the doctor hissed, "A year later, I wanted to experiment more deeply into it and harness it's power to the fullest, but I didn't have the money- that was were Wilson Fisk came in. There is nobody more gullible than a man in grief," She laughed, "He funded my collider and I promised to bring back a version of his family in return, but he didn't even stop to think about the fact that if they crossed into this dimension they would have slowly glitched to death anyway."
She laughed- a frighteningly eerie laugh and Miles clenched his teeth.
"While the collider was still in the works, I used the extra money on my own experiment. Spider-man came to stop me many times. I didn't know that he was May's nephew as the time, but that doesn't matter. At a testing for the collider I brought my creation with me to finally finish its upgrades, but Peter Parker was there to stop me. He trapped my beautiful creation and I never saw it again."
"Then why couldn't you just get it back yourself" Gwen spoke through gritted teethe, "Why do you need Miles?"
"My creation wasn't just trapped in another dimension. That imbecile Peter Parker managed to trap it a rift between two universes- a void. I have no idea what effect that would have on it."
"What is your creation?" Miles rasped, his voice failing him.
The doctor smirked, "There was a scientific name for it, but I came to like... Venom."
"Yes, that sound very scary," the girl spoke, sarcasm dripping from her voice, "Now, what do you need Miles for?" Gwen reiterated, her voice firm."
The edges of the doctor's lips twitched upward, before she turned her back to the two teens. She flipped a switch and the once opaque glass became see-through. On the other side was a much bigger, much more advanced collider.
Miles groaned as a hand came up to pinch the bridge of his nose, "Oh, come on. Another one?"
"I planned this out many times within the last few years, but was always lacking one thing," the doctor announced, "A sufficient power source. There was nothing that could hold enough charge to power this machine. That was why it could never work correctly."
Miles felt the blood drain from his face.
"She doesn't mean..."
"But you, Miles Morales," she continued taking slow steps toward the boy, "I've seen your fascinating bio-electric blasts first hand." She was now in his face, cupping his head in her hand as the boy tried to lean as far back as he could. "Your very blood is electric. Your heart pumps electricity through your veins. It's a nearly unlimited supply."
Miles's felt a cold fear grip him at her words. He didn't miss the one little detail she said.
"Nearly."
It was nearly unlimited. What happens if it did run out?
Miles shook his head. He had to be strong. Spider-man never gives up.
Toomes cast the doctor an affectionate smile, "Isn't it just brilliant?"
Miles craned his neck to face the man as he coughed out, "Stop being a simp."
Adrian tilted his head in confusion, "A what?"
"Don't you have anything to say about my plan, Spider-man?" Doc asked staring into his eyes as humor danced around hers.
Miles was freaked out of his mind right now. He didn't know what to say, so he relied on his constant fall back.
"Can't I just sing into a magic seashell, you take my voice, and then we all live happily ever after? That sounds fun right?"
Adrian snarled at Miles, "Your attempt at jokes irks me."
Miles rose a brow, "Well your attempt at facial hair irks me and you don't hear me complaining. It looks like somebody cut their lawn blindfolded." The boy laughed at his own joke, not caring that everyone else in the room was silent.
Toomes grit his teeth tightly and Miles could see a small vein bulge in his neck. "You won't be laughing soon enough."
"Please don't do this. There's got to be some other way," Gwen pleaded, her voice scared and choppy.
Miles frowned. He didn't want her to feel this way- so broken, so fearful- especially not because of him. Just seeing her this way was causing him so much more emotional and physical pain.
"Any last words, Morales?" the doctor asked.
Miles raised his hand, "Yeah, I have question. How do you take a shower with those tentacle things? Because I don't understand how-"
"Quiet!" she hissed, "Are you really not going to say anything to her?" she jabbed her thumb in Gwen's direction.
Miles felt a lump catch in his throat as he realize what she was referring to. He shut his eyes tightly.
No, he would get out of this and tell her when the time is right- in a romantic setting or something like that- not here.
He looked over at Gwen to find a pleading expression behind her eyes. Though he wasn't sure if it was meant for him or Olivia.
"No. Not yet."
He would get out of this.
Both of them would.
He would make sure of it.
"Alright then. Your choice. Adrian, hook him up."
"No!" Gwen shouted. She pulled against her chains as tears pooled in her eyes, "I can't loose him. Do you even know what this could do to him?"
Olivia cast her a cold look, "If I'm being honest, I couldn't care less."
Gwen yanked on her chains as she began to thrash around to no avail.
Adrian lifted the boy up from his spot and Miles knew he didn't have the strength to move as he was brought through the door the the collider. The boy let out a grunt as he was placed roughly on the ground.
The man grabbed a bunch of wires and began shoving them into the boy's skin, like bunch on mini IVs.
"You know you don't have to do this, right?" Miles panted as he looked up at him.
Adrian paused for a moment, before casting the kid an emotionless stare, "I know."
He resumed to work. Once he finished he remained in a squatted position. A half smile makes it's way to his face, "I wonder how your little girlfriend is doing."
Miles scowled at the man before responding, "Mentally? A lot better than yours."
"Witty until the very end, of course," Adrian shook his head as he stood to his full head. He made his leave, not forgetting to look over his shoulder and dismiss himself, "So long, Spider-man." A few more moments and he was gone.
... And Miles was alone.
"Ready to initiate the machine," Olivia's voice could be heard over an intercom and with his advanced hearing the boy could hear the sound of shuffling feet in the surrounding rooms.
A few moments later, a loud whirring invaded Miles ears as the collider gears began to spin counterclockwise. Miles felt panic rise in his chest as the whirring grew louder and louder.
Without his command electricity formed around his chest, and spread outwards. It covered his arms and traveled up the wires to the machine.
Miles clamped his eyes shut and shrieked a bloodcurdling sound, that he wouldn't have even recognized as his own voice. All he could think was of the pain. Nothing my else mattered but the fiery pain erupting from everywhere in his body.
Where there was once a bright beam of color between the ends of the collider, there was blackness- thick inky blotches that only seem to grow as the pain intensified.
Miles lifted his head up to the sky and screeched as he felt his skin tear along his arms and back. It felt like he was burning- no worse than that. He couldn't describe it even if he could think clearly.
His mind was starting to blur, his vision going dark.
"Is this what it feels like to die?"
Miles didn't want to die. He wasn't ready. He should have just told Gwen how he felt when he had the chance.
If only he could get out of this he would tell her and then he could just...
*******
Alright guys don't hate hate me and no this is not the end of the story.
Bear with me. There is much more action to come.
— Ghost