"So, where do you think the main Venom will be?" Gwen asked. The group of spiders had moved upstairs to May's house, much to the woman's dismay, seeing as the group of thirty spiders barely fit in there.
"I'd say probably the highest point in the city," Olvia responded.
"So then, Oscorp," Peter nodded in deep thought, "Makes sense. He can see everything going on with his Venom lackeys from up there."
"And power attracts power," Miguel chimed in.
"So, then what your saying is that Venom will find me attractive?" Miles joked. He waggled his brows and cast Gwen a glance to see her reaction.
The blond snorted, "Sure, if your power is your incredible stupidity."
He winked at her, "I actually meant my power of rugged good looks. I have-"
Gwen cut him off with a 'pffft'. She doubled over in silent laughter, "Yeah, you wish, you dork." Miles joined her in her laughter.
Just as the girl lifted her head, she let out a yelp as she came face to face with Pavitr. He held a grin on his face as he announced, "I can sense a love connection." He pointed between the two of them and Gwen had to fight down the heat rising to her cheeks.
"Whatever," Gwen mumbled and with that, she decided to leave the scene, making her way over to Peter.
"She wants you, bro," she could hear Pavitr's voice as she left. Gwen grit her teeth.
When the girl reached Peter she found that he had been talking to Miguel and Ben. She tapped his shoulder and he spun around, giving her his full attention.
"I think we should let everyone know that our spider-sense doesn't work with these things."
"Good thinking," Peter said with a sigh, "Man, that's gonna make this way more difficult." He shook his head as he let out an abrupt breath then he brought his head up. His eyes met hers as he asked, "You ready?"
Gwen pursed her lips. She peered over her shoulder at Miles. He was talking and laughing with Pavitr, Ganke, Liz, and Anya. She smiled softly at the sight.
Miles gave Ganke a playful shove as another round off laughter erupted from the group. The boy's masked eyes met Gwen's for a moment and time seemed to slow as he cast her a lazy, two fingered wave. The lenses of his mask pinched slightly and she was positive that he was smiling.
Gwen turned back to Peter and nodded, "I hope so." She would not lose Miles. She would make sure of it.
Peter smiled feebly, the weight of the situation clearly taking it toll on him. He then seemingly pushed all of his insecurities away, replacing it with a false confidence. "Okay guys, attention please," he announced as all eyes in the room turned to him, "Wow, I feel like I should be making a toast or something." Peter shook his head, "Anyway, who's ready to take back our New Yorks?!" Cheers sounded around the room.
"Alright, so Roxxon Corporations supplies all most all of the power in the city. Miles will use his zappy thing to..." Peter grinned as though struck him, "I've got it! Let's call it the venom blast! So Miles with absorb electricity from Roxxon and will use it to venom blast Venom into oblivion." Peter pumped his fist in the air. "But the rest of us need to keep the Venom's off of Miles, because they'll inevitably come after him. Noir, Gwen, Peni, Porky, and I will be the closest to him. We'll basically be his shields in case any of the Venom make it through." He shrugged, "If we get taken over, so be it. What matters is that we protect Miles and get him an opening, because without him we have nothing."
Gwen frowned as she cast a glance at Miles. She couldn't even imagine the pressure that he was feeling. Everything- every world was relying on him. She wished there was something she could do to help him.
The spiders all nodded resolutely. Exact for Porker.
"Don't, call me Porky," he seethed.
"Alright, fine," Peter conceded, "Noir, Gwen, Peni, Peppa, and I will be the closest to him." A smirk form on his face as the pig fumed.
Ham let out an animalistic growl as he pounced at Peter. Noir caught him midair and yanked him back and into his air to restrain him. Porker fought against his hold until Noir started to gently pet his head. The pigs shoulders then relaxed as his head fell against Noir shoulder and Gwen could have sworn she heard the pig purr.
The girl rose a brow.
"That's not something you see every day."
Gwen glanced back as she heard Miles mutter, "You have Yo-Yo's on your web shooters?"
Pavitr looked annoyed at his assumption, "What do you mean? These are bangles, you uncultured swine."
Miles rose a brow, "Uncultured swine?"
"Hey do not, disrespect swine like that," Ham chimed in his head shooting up as he leapt out of Noirs arms.
"Seriously, Peter?" Miles rolled his eyes as Pavitr laughed.
The spiders around them got themselves ready. Some grabbed their masks, while some made some last minute upgrades to their suits. Gwen looked down at her arm and sighed. It was getting better quickly thanks to her powers, but not quickly enough. Then that reminded her of Miles and the constant pain he must be in.
"Why does it always have to be him?"
She walked back through the dense crowd, toward Miles. The girl passed by Olivia. The woman's eyes widen as she was enveloped in a hug. Gwen stopped in her tracks, turning to observe the interaction. Call her nosy. She didn't care.
May pulled back from the embraced and smiled, pained as it was. "It's good to have you back, Liv."
Oliva seemed too stunned to speak, but nodded numbly, "You too."
May then shook her head as she smiled fully, "You're still going to jail after this."
Olivia laughed- a full blown laugh, unlike any that Gwen a heard from her. It sounded genuine. "They'll have to catch me first," the doctor grinned.
Gwen smiled a bit, passing them by and making her way to Miles who was standing beside Anya and speaking to her in Spanish. He grinned at Gwen as she came to stand by his side.
"What's up?" he chirped.
Gwen could help, but find his cheeriness cute. She chuckled. "A lot, right now," then her expression softened, "Are you sure you're okay with this?"
Miles tensed, but shrugged it off, "I guess so. There's no other way."
Gwen pursed her lips, but said nothing further.
"Dude!" Ganke whispered as he pushed his way through the cluster of spider-people. Gwen assumed he was lowering his voice so Liz wouldn't hear. "This plan is crazy! Are you gonna be okay?"
"Yeah man, I'll be fine," Miles grinned and for good measures he added, "And if I'm not, you can have my basketball cards and my Jordans."
"Now I don't know if I want you to come back."
The two chuckled as they came in for a quick hug.
"Alright, guys. Let's hit the road." Miguel sounded, raising a hand up so that everyone could see him. Gwen heard him mutter a sharp 'Move' to a spider standing too close to him.
Peter took in a breath, with a childish grin on his face, "Wait a sec. I've always wanted to say this," He raises his head, "Peters!" He calls but Miles stops him.
"Uh, hello," Miles interrupted, gesturing to the spiders beside him, consisting of Gwen, Pavitr, Anya and himself, "We're here too."
"Ugh, fine," Peter grumbled, "Buzz kill." He lifted his fist into the air, "Peters and other not-as-cool spiders." Olivia Humphs and Peter doesn't spare her a glance, keeping his enthusiasm, "And Octopus and Bird." His voice deepened dramatically, "Assemble."
The horde of spider-people charge through the front door, webs firing every which way and they're off.
The spiders swing through queens, quickly attracting the attention of the creatures around them, but they swiftly fought them off and continued on their way. A few spiders stayed behind to keep them at bay.
Gwen had never seen the city seem so... dark. It look like a dystopia- a city in ruin. She wondered if her world looked the same.
Lighting crackled in the sky and soon the clouds split open as raindrops began to pelt them from above. Though it was eerie and ominous, this was the final fight and it kind of felt poetic in a sense.
They knew the building as soon as they saw it. Roxxon was glowing with energy, It's bright orange hue, being visible from halfway across the city. The girl couldn't help but find it daunting.
"Miles is gonna absorb that?"
The heroine gulped down her nerves. Now was not the time for doubts.
The group then split, just as they had planned. Peter, Ham, Peni, Noir and Gwen followed Miles down to the building, while the rest of the spiders spread out around the outskirts of the perimeter.
Noir and Ham fanned out to the edges of the building, while Peter and Peni looked for the safest way for Miles to absorb at the electricity,- maybe, like an exposed wire of something- and that left Miles and Gwen alone. They were alone with an awkward silence in the air as the gravity of the situation weighted down on them like a ton of bricks. Gwen felt as if her tongue was suddenly extremely dry- as if she hadn't drank any water in days. Oh wait. She hadn't. Probably should have done something about that.
Gwen slipped her drenched mask off her head, tossing her hair out of her face as water trickled down her cheeks. She peered over at Miles who gave her a feeble smile.
"So..." the boy started nervously, "How's life?"
Gwen rolled her eyes at his stupidity, but decided to play along. "Ah, life. That's a tough one," She mused, nodding her head in mock thought, "It has it's ups and down, but right now." She scrunched her lips to the side, "I'd say it kinda sucks."
Miles chuckled, shaking his head fondly at the joke and that brought a smile to Gwen's face. Then he just stared at her. He didn't speak. He just watched her.He still wore his mask so Gwen had no idea what this meant. She shifted uncomfortably on her feet. "I'm really glad you're here," the boy started, "I mean, I know you didn't really have a choice but,... I'm glad that in the end I was with you."
Gwen frowned, "Miles, why are you talking like that?" she squinted, "Are you... okay?"
"Right now I am," he let out a humorless laugh, though it sounded as if he were fighting pack tears. He pulled his mask over his head and Gwen felt a pang in her chest at the concoction of emotion is his eyes, "Look, maybe I acted like I was so sure of this plan but," he shut his eyes tightly with a shake of his head, "I don't know if I can do this... I don't know if I'm strong enough."
Gwen couldn't help, but feel her heart ache for him. She took his gloved hand in hers ignoring the way it sent pinpricks up her arm. "Miles, you can do this," Gwen assured. It was the most she could say right now. She had to believe he could. If this didn't work... everything was over. She never see her dad or Em Jay or maybe even Miles again. She shook her head. No, she couldn't think like that. She believed in him.
When the boy didn't seem convinced, Gwen racked her brain for more words. She grinned brightly, "Didn't you say, you felt stronger with me?" She smiled, "Well, I'm here and I'm not leaving. You're stuck with me, Spider-boy." She meant it. She really did.
"You really are the best, y'know."
"That's true," She smirked.
His eyes were fixed on her with such raw intensity that Gwen squinted in confusion. "Uh Miles, you alright?"
His eyes faced skyward as he let out a sigh, his soaked curls sagging just above his brow line, "This really is our lowest point. Isn't it?"
She titled her head to the side and opened her mouth to question him. Before she could, she was silenced by him turning to her once again. There was a determined fire behind his eyes that made her shiver.
"Gwen, I am gonna try my hardest, but if I... die. I just, I want to tell you something." The courage was quickly fleeting from his eyes and Gwen's crystal blue eyes widened. She instantly knew what he was trying to say.
"Not now. Oh please, not now."
"You know I care about you," the boy continued nervously as he nervously played with the hem of his mask, "I do... a lot. And I know that you're new to friendships, so maybe I'm overstepping." He ran a hand through his hair nervously, pushing back his lopsided curls, an act Gwen found adorable.
The girl sucked in a shuddering breath.
"Please, don't do this, Miles."
"If I make it out of this I want to be with you and not just like, with you... I mean, I want to be there for you all the time," He let out a sigh as he lolled his head back, before his brown eyes settled on hers once again, "I guess, I don't want to say 'crush' because that sounds so insignificant, but..."
Gwen felt tears prick her eyes, but she wouldn't dare let them fall. She wouldn't be weak.
"Stop. Just stop."
"Gwen, I have feelings for you. I've had feelings for you since we first met, two years ago, and they've never gone away. I don't think they ever will and I don't want them to, because getting to be around you is one of the best things to ever happen to me."
He was pouring his heart out to her and she was at a loss for words. Gwen knew what she wanted and she knew it couldn't work. She had too many secrets and she wasn't ready to tell.
Gosh, what should she do? She was so... scared- terrified. What if he just got bored of her? What if he hurt her? What if she hurt him? There were so many 'what if's' swimming around her mind.
She looked down at the boy, clenching her teeth as she watched the hope drain from his features to be replaced with a cautious frown.
"Gwen?"
*******
Shorter chapter I know, but the next will be out soon. I'll say this Saturday, because I know you guys don't want to wait when I left it on this note. 😂
What do ya'll think Gwen will do?
Do you think everything will go according to plan?
We'll know soon enough.
— Ghost