Some minutes after her panic attack, Gwen found a wall to slump down against. Her limbs felt hollow, devoid of any muscle, as she rested her head between her knees. She could hardly stand anymore, not with the heaviness brewing in her heart... it felt like a hot metal ball.
Is this what he feels in his chest every day?
No... whatever he's feeling right now... it must be a hundred times worse.
All her friends had grouped around her supportively, which only worsened her guilt. She should have gone with him. She should have been there to support him, to watch out for him. How was it that Spider-Woman could protect everyone except the people closest to her? She wanted to curse everything and everyone... she was so sick of blaming herself.
Peni stepped forward and squatted next to her; despite being the smallest girl in their group, she looked biggest right now.
"Give me your goober." She reached her hand out; it wasn't an order, but a friendly request. "I'll see what I can do to fix it."
Gwen looked up to this girl, whose animated eyes glowed with generosity, and mechanically handed it to her. "Can you?" she pleaded.
Peni nodded while rotating the device. "To put it simply... the explosion from that power generator must have rippled out a current of energy that short-circuited all our devices and everything they're linked to... even across dimensions."
"Hold up, I built my goobers from scraps." Hobie interjected, frowning confusedly. "My ones should work independently... how the bloody hell is that possible?"
"Because whatever energy was stored in that generator unleashed a multiversal EMP, causing a domino effect of the same magnitude."
"So... everyone's stranded, then?"
"Yes," Peni affirmed with slight annoyance, "but I should be able to bypass something, if we're lucky."
Gwen stood up, placing her palms together. "Whatever you must do... just do it, please!"
Peni smiled with her eyes closed, nodding again, as she marched off with her device.
As she watched the Japanese American leave, Gwen selfishly prayed that wherever Peter was, he wasn't chilling in his own earth... she wanted someone, anyone, in Miles' dimension protecting him. She also prayed that wherever Miles was, he had for once made a selfish decision; she wanted him to run and hide than fight... but fearfully, she knew better.
Time was racing faster than ever... while also snailing.
*****
Jefferson Davis was in his police car, his red and blue siren blaring, as he patrolled the city. By now, daylight had started to turn orange while shadows heightened on the buildings; night would be upon them soon... a long and arduous one at that. He was on high alert, ready for anything like he always was as an officer and lieutenant. Every minute, every few seconds, his glare would shift sideways, up and down, then forward again; it was a learned habit.
He was almost holding his breath when he heard it... the low-flying thrusters... the mad cackle... it was near. Following this, a sudden quake that rippled from a series of explosions down the street he was driving through. Thrashing his steering wheel, he skidded along the road, his tires screaming, to avoid the bombs, debris, and incoming vehicles.
"Requesting for backup now!" he shouted into his intercom.
When he skidded his car to a stop near a sidewalk, he drew out his gun and dove out. Taking cover behind his bonnet, he listened carefully... it was clearly above him. When he peered out, he saw the reptilian figure hovering on his glider with a murderous grin, its eyes grossly bloodshot.
He couldn't help but notice how strangely out-of-place he looked, even for a costumed supervillain... just like some of the Spiders he met thus far. What he saw him do next was even stranger... his body convulsed and distorted like a glitching hologram, all for a second, much like his son did since he came back from that Earth 42 dimension. The Goblin, like always, lurched in pain as he vomited more blood.
Is this the weakness that the other Miles spoke of?
Right now, his back was turned to the cop, and he had his chance to end him. Jefferson rose with his pistol and opened fire, squinting hard against the muzzle flashes.
The Goblin, however, sensed him and quickly shielded himself with his metallic contraption, bullets ricocheting in sparks. Jefferson kept firing, refusing to yield or flee, until he emptied his cartridge and wasted no time to reload.
"WHERE IS SPIDER-MAN!?" demanded the Goblin, his voice gravelly.
"You should be more worried about me!" Jeff yelled back. "Hands in the air!"
"YOU JUST OPENED FIRE ON ME FIRST!"
"BECAUSE YOU WERE BOMBING THE CITY!"
The Goblin opened his mouth, then rolled his eyes with a shrug. "Eh, true..."
The cop shook disgustedly at his airiness. "You bombed a donor center! My son was about to get his heart transplant! Don't you feel anything!?"
The Goblin laughed again. "AWW, ARE YOU EXPECTING AN APOLOGY!?"
Jeff felt his finger twitching on the trigger, rage channeling through his body. Very few villains he had ever dealt with in the past filled him with such hatred as this vile creature... not even Fisk could measure up, even after learning that he killed his brother. This Goblin just didn't care.
"HOW ABOUT I GIVE HIM THIS AS A CONSOLATION!?"
The Goblin reached into his bag-o-tricks, and in one swift hand motion, hurled three pumpkin bombs his way. Jefferson barely had enough time to duck behind his car again and shield his head. The explosions shook the pavement, hurling pebbles of concrete everywhere, shards of glass raining from his side windows.
Covered now in dust and scratches, Jefferson crawled on his chest until he was able to turn over. The floating menace, shaking disappointedly, circled his car to find the officer on the ground.
"What was it you said before?" he asked, scratching his chin while pouting stupidly. "That I should be more worried about you?"
The man struggled to his feet, still gripping his gun, as he stared in an almost-daze.
Another thought crossed the supervillain's mind. "Maybe... you can DONATE YOURS INSTEAD!"
The Goblin closed in on this foolishly brave officer when his pointed ears picked up on a whooshing sound... and he felt something cold and metallic jerk his head to the side with a sounding punch to his cheek. Next, something wrapped around his neck... a pair of arms holding him from behind. Thrashing left and right, he wrestled violently against this invisible opponent when he suddenly materialized as the Prowler.
"Remember me?" he hissed into his ear.
With his claws, he reached over and drew five deep scars, bold red, across the villain's chest, which bled through his torn purple vest. The Goblin shrieked in pain.
"Don't like that, huh!? How about I go lower?"
Just as the Prowler was about to scrape his abdomen next, the Goblin, in his mad haste, flew upwards and spiraled to shake off his freeloader.
"I'M GETTING REALLY SICK OF THIS!"
"And we're getting sick of you!"
As they fought in the air, Jeff saw his chance to fall back and stumbled off to catch his breath. Once he did, he drew his gun again, but they were moving too fast and unpredictably for him to get a clear shot in... and even if he did, he could hit Miles.
"Did you really think I was going to forget what you did!?" snarled the Prowler as he traded a few blows. "Did you not think I would come after you!?"
"I'VE DONE MANY THINGS TO MANY PEOPLE!" The Goblin, seizing his throat, pinned him against a building with a crushing slam. "AND I'LL DO EVEN MORE UNTIL YOUR SPIDER-MAN SHOWS UP! I HATE MAKING PLANS FOR OTHER PEOPLE, ONLY FOR THEM TO NO-SHOW!"
The Prowler threw another punch with his gauntlet, only to be caught and wrenched. The Goblin responded with a barrage of his own. Even in his weakened state, his fists were quick and devastating on the teen vigilante's stomach, face, and ribs.
"DID YOU REALLY THINK YOU STOOD A CHANCE AGAINST ME!?"
The Prowler felt himself fading as the Goblin continued laying it into him. When his punched ceased, a blade was unsheathed in his hazy vision... he was about to be finished off.
BANG!
Howling, the Goblin dropped his blade, and with that same hand, flew it down to staunch a fresh new bullet wound in his side. He squinted down over his shoulder to see the police lieutenant, his smoking barrel aimed right at him... he got a hit in, but was it enough?
With full force, he hurled his groggy opponent at the uniformed man. One body crashing into the other's arms, they tumbled across the hard rough pavement; instead of dodging, Jefferson caught the younger man so he wouldn't get further injured.
"SEE YOU IN HELL!"
Cackling through the pain, the Goblin closed in on his downed opposition when a voice from not too far diverted his attention.
"You first!"
All whipped their heads to see their third entrant, a backpacked and heavily jacketed Spider-Man, rocketing towards them from a jungle of web-lines... to Jefferson's great dismay, it was his son.
"No..." he could only cry.
"You wanted me!?" shouted the Earth 1610 Spider. "So, come at me, not them!"
"FINALLY!"
The Goblin, gritting his teeth, steered his glider towards the approaching Spider and fired off two missiles at him. With an arch and a twirl, Miles dodged the first missile before webbing the second one and, compassing its momentum, hurled it back to him... he missed only by a few inches.
More projectiles flew his way. This time, Miles could see, they were razor bats... six of them. Forced to exert himself, he did some more acrobatics just to avoid them too.
Already... the pain in his chest was swelling... his heart beating faster... harder.
Not yet.
Not now... please.
When those same projectiles U-turned all at once, they charged back for another attempt to mince the young hero, Miles vaulted over the green villain. The blades, unable to swoop up in time, ended up nicking their originator instead... friendly fire.
Perching on a lamppost, Miles took a few seconds to rub away his discomfort while breathing deep and slow, like his doctors always advised, to avoid popping his heart like a balloon.
Maybe this wasn't such a good idea...
In the corner of his eye, he saw that his dad and other self were both okay, just a little battered. The Goblin, however, was now dripping red with cuts all over his face and body. When he glitched again and vomited more blood, Miles saw his opportunity to speak to him.
"Yo, are you okay?" he asked, wincing. "You're not looking too hot."
The Goblin charged with his glider, but Miles evaded him, landing on a car in his usual superhero pose.
"I DON'T... NEED... YOUR PITY!"
He threw some more explosives. Miles launched himself off the car before it flipped over and stuck to a nearby building. With his back to his enemy, he continued holding his chest.
"I'm just saying..." he said, trying not to make his own pain obvious. "... we can get you help."
"HELP!?"
"Yeah, like with the Spot." The boy huffed and gasped between pauses. "I managed to help him... in a way."
"Oh, you mean that scientist I killed an hour ago?"
Miles flinched. "You what!?"
"Yeah, he was no help." With the young hero's back to him, he noticed something connecting out of his bag, a plastic tube of some sort threading into the bottom of his jacket... it made him curious. "And what's that bag for anyway, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Huh?" Miles turned towards him completely, trying to hide it. "Uh, nothing... it's just a bag."
The Goblin, hovering closer, crossed his arms smugly. "Why's there a tube sticking out of it?"
"I... don't know what you mean." Miles really needed to practice lying one day.
"So... if I were to rip that jacket off of you, would I not find anything curious?"
"Hey, I'm just wearing this jacket because it's cold."
The Goblin, bemused, shook his head. "If there's one thing that's consistent about all of you Spiders, it's that you are all... TERRIBLE LIARS!"
Miles knew he had to stay calm. He also had to keep a fair distance to avoid a direct melee, but this green guy was onto him fast; if he found out about his heart condition, he might try to exploit it to his detriment.
How can I beat this guy?
While he was distracted in his thoughts, a hand was suddenly around his throat, pinning him to the wall... déjà vu. So much for keeping his distance.
And then it hit him... his venom powers... if he could use it to drain the Spot... he could also depower this Goblin. At least then, he'll just be a regular threat. But then there was the risk... the damage to his heart... it could kill him.
He thought of his mom and dad... of Gwen.
There must be another solution.
A darker thought crossed his mind... would he have to kill him? If there was no other way, he might have to stop him indefinitely... but he was only fifteen... and Spider-Man doesn't kill.
He would have to hold that thought for now, because right now, what he could use his venom powers for was to repel this crazed menace, just like he did with Miguel once.
Placing both palms on this foe, he began channeling his inner electricity... his arms lit up with blue sparks, the glow flickering on his green startled face.
"You don't know me at all."
And with one final push, the Green Goblin was propelled backwards in a blinding stream of pure energy, along with his glider. Miles didn't see where he flew off to, for he was too busy clutching the sudden sharpness in his heart... like a bullet or knife had pierced it... but looking down, there was neither.
Unsticking himself from the wall, he dropped to the street below... a rough landing. He heard a pair of shoes pattering towards him on the sidewalk, and then a beefy hand yanked him into a nearby alleyway.
"Dad..."
"I TOLD YOU TO STAY THE FUCK HOME!" His dad was facing him, gripping his shoulders hard; his eyes were blazing with panicked fury. He lowered his voice. "Why didn't you listen to me!?"
"I know, dad..." his son's voice was strangled, "... I'm s-sorry."
"What did you do?" his tone softened as he caught on. "Did you just use your electric powers?"
Miles nodded, his eyes shut painfully.
"You know what those doctors told you, son! You'll fry up your pacemaker!"
"I know, dad, but..." he coughed, gargling, before getting some air back, "... I know how to defeat him."
Jefferson's eyes turned darker. "It better not be what I'm thinking... no."
"If he has the Spot's powers..." Miles inhaled, "... then I can depower him... and he'll just be a regular threat."
"NO!" His quivering voice bellowed off the walls. "I am NOT going to lose you!"
"I can't... kill him, dad."
"That's why I brought my badge and gun!" His dad flashed him those two things. "If I'm lucky, I should be able to put him down."
The young Spider-Man thought more about this... and it made all the sense in the world.
If he and the other Miles could just keep the Goblin busy and give his dad an opening, then this might not have to end so badly after all.
"Where's... the Prowler?" he asked, looking out to the cluttered street.
"OH, HE WAS JUST TRYING TO KEEP ME BUSY!" Miles and his father craned their necks to see the Green Goblin soaring just above them. "IT DIDN'T WORK, OF COURSE!"
Jefferson reacted first, firing more bullets, while the rest happened for Miles in slow motion, his body too lethargic to keep up with his spider-sense. The Goblin, even faster, shielded himself from those bullets and dove with his glider to seize his father by the throat. Miles tried to fight him, to wrestle his dad out of his grip... only to be met with a monstrous kick to his swollen chest.
"SON!" cried the police officer as the Goblin flew him upwards.
His back hitting against the brick wall, Miles collapsed on all fours... he couldn't move... couldn't speak... couldn't breathe. His lungs were suddenly filled with molten steel... he was now afraid that if he tried breathing, it would literally melt out of his body.
Pausing in his flight, the Goblin did a double take between these two and flared with realization. "That Spider's your son... isn't he?"
Jefferson paled while trying to wrestle out of his strong grasp.
"Oh..." The Goblin cackled even more, "... this is even BETTER!"
"N-No..." a winded Spider-Man tried to get up, desperate to reach for his dad, only to collapse coughing, "... g-give... h-him... b-back." Everything in the young boy's body felt constricted with red wires... he wanted to pass out... he almost wanted to die.
Too weak to lift his head, he heard the Goblin take off in his glider, his dad crying for him.
No... don't pass out.
Don't shut down... not here... not now.
I take it back... I don't wanna die!
Just then, someone else rushed over to him... it was Prowler, who knelt in front of him and unmasked.
"Hey, come on!" he held his face and tapped his cheeks somewhat aggressively. "Stay with me!"
"Dad..." Miles could only breathe out, "... h-he took—"
"I know." said G. "You hang back, I'll go after him."
"No!" Miles grabbed his variant, gasping shallowly. "I h-have to..."
"No, you don't!"
Weakly, he pushed G aside, crawling on his knees. "I have to s-stop him before he..."
The purple vigilante could only watch with a blend of annoyance and admiration before he gave up and helped the sick and injured Spider to his feet. "If you fall behind... I'll leave you behind."
Miles nodded firmly.
"Now, let's go."
Once his breathing settled, the two Miles took off to the streets, one swinging through the air while the other traversed across the rooftops with his gear. It didn't take long for them to spot their green foe in the distance, his dad still dangling in his grasp. Farther behind, they could see the Brooklyn bridge where they seemed to be headed.
What is he planning?
The Goblin seemed to notice his two chasers, because then, numerous razor bats, grenades, and missiles gushed out of every black hole that opened all around them at once. This whole street, within seconds, changed into a cosmic hellish hall of death traps designed by Satan himself. The flames and explosions... the flying debris... it was almost too blinding.
"Shit!" both cried in unison.
*****
Gwen wished so badly that she could turn off her spider-connection with Miles... this was almost a kind of torture she wouldn't wish on her worst enemy. Whatever Peni was doing, whatever she had to do, every second that she didn't come back with her goober felt like a ticking time bomb. Her inner child wanted her to storm in and demand results now, but she understood that things like manufacturing always take... time.
If she couldn't get to Miles, she at least wanted to contact him and know he was okay.
"Gwen!"
She leapt to her feet, rejuvenated with hope, when she saw Peni running back with her goober. "Did you fix it?" she asked, taking it to put back on her wrist immediately.
"No, but... you can at least communicate with everybody now." The girl tucked her hands behind her back, nervous at how her blonde friend would take this news.
To her relief, Gwen smiled gratefully while Noir came up and patted the young inventor, which turned her cheeks pink.
"Thank you." she finally said.
All of Gwen's spider-friends gathered round as she activated her goober, all waiting with bated breath, until a holoscreen popped up to reveal a masked Miles Morales... and their split-second elation turned into dread when they realized what he was doing.
"MILES!" screamed Gwen. "WHY THE HELL ARE YOU IN YOUR SUIT SWINGING THROUGH THE CITY!?"
"I'm... glad to hear... from you too, Gwen!" spoke Miles from the other end; it looked like he was dodging explosions. "I'm... kinda in the middle of something!"
"You shouldn't be fighting!" The blonde Spider was on the verge of losing her voice completely. "Why didn't you run or hide!?"
"He has my dad—oh, shit!" A chunk of concrete missed him by a meter. "I got Prowler with me!"
"Prowler?" Hobie leaned in. "Tell him I said hi."
"Uh, sure thing... I'll get back to you!"
"Miles, wait!"
Too late... the screen went blank, and Gwen seethed. "If Goblin doesn't kill him... I will."
"That's a future wife right there." whispered Pavitir.
*****
Back in the ruined streets, Miles found himself running on fumes, his stamina pushed to its near-absolute limit. He was no longer swinging by his webs; he was just stumbling on ground, dragging his feet across the asphalt like a zombie on creatine.
He was ultimately unable to keep up with the chase, and thus, he was left behind.
There were numerous vehicles on the road, but none with any drivers, for they had either been set ablaze, capsized, crushed, or abandoned outright... all but one. There was an old lady trapped inside her burning car, which was also capsized; she was bleeding from her head while tapping against her window to get his attention, her muffled calls for help barely audible.
"I'm... c-coming!" he grunted.
Holding his chest, as if to stop it from bursting like a thinly stretched water balloon, he limped towards the broken car and ripped its door off like aluminum foil.
"Are you okay, ma'am?" he asked, squatting low with great effort to reach for her.
"Yes." she answered weakly. "Thank you, Spider-Man."
As gentle as possible, he pulled this old lady out of the wreckage and helped her to her feet, both coughing. "Can you stand?"
The old lady nodded, clearing her throat, when she turned to him and paused at something that she saw below his chin.
"Uh, are you sure you're okay?" he asked her again, anxious now.
"My God..." with her wrinkled nimble fingers, she reached into the collar of his thick jacket to find the slide bolo of his NC down his neck, "... what happened to you, boy?"
"Oh, this?" He pulled away, zipping it up and waving it off. "Don't worry, this'll be fixed soon." He then motioned her off the street. "You better get to safety."
Thanking him again, the old lady brushed off his help as she proceeded away from this unfavorable site; he watched her until she disappeared around a corner to make sure she was safe.
It was getting closer to dark now. Holding his knees, he bent over at a ninety-degree angle to catch his breath again. When his goober buzzed again, he answered it.
"Now, can we talk?" spoke a sullen-looking Gwen from his holoscreen.
Miles panted a few times before responding. "Sure... what's up?"
"Can you not treat this like a joke!?"
"I'm just... trying to lighten the mood." He was really struggling to keep his balance.
"You need to get to safety." she pleaded to him, her eyes glistening wet. "Wait for the other Spiders to take care of it. They're just trying to fix the power generator so we can get to you."
"My dad doesn't have that time." His tone was now serious. "You should know by now, Gwen... you can't expect me to just sit on my ass and let the worst happen."
"Miles, please!"
"I have a responsibility."
"P-PLEASE!" Her voice was breaking, and it had nothing to do with the communication's sketchy signal. "I C-CAN'T LOSE YOU!" She was literally sobbing like a frightened little child.
It broke his heart; Miles wished he could comfort her right now, but all he could use for now were his words. "Come on, baby..." His voice was now a soft whisper, like it was in bed, "... it'll be okay."
Gwen was now silent, her eyes shut.
"What would you do if you were in my Js?"
Gwen sucked in her lips, sniffling. They both knew the answer already... she just didn't want to say it. Opening her eyes again, he stared into his knowingly.
"Promise me that you'll make it." Her voice, while shaky, was determined now.
Miles raised a hand in front of her. "I promise... and tell everyone I'm sorry for worrying them."
"You can tell them yourself." She lightly smirked. "I love you."
Miles paused before replying. "I love you more."
Once he hung up, he stared out at the faraway Brooklyn bridge and collapsed to his knees... it was getting harder to even stand anymore. His skin was all sweaty and sticking to his suit; he probably stunk too.
"I can't give up..." he muttered silently, "... my body... don't fail me, please."
He tried to move, only to fall forward on his hands.
"At least... let me save dad first... and then..."
His eyes rested on the outline of his bold shadow, which visually represented how he was feeling right now.
His vision was still somewhat hazy, his ears were ringing a little. He could barely register being approached by a few people, some of the lives that he saved, who tucked their hands under his arms and pulled him to his feet with tenderness. When he turned to this crowd, they were all smiling with tear-filled eyes; behind them, he saw that the old lady had returned, having summoned them over to help.
"Go get him, Spidey." one of them said, others pumping their fists.
A sensation overcame the Earth 1610 Spider-Man, and it made him all fuzzy inside while also channeling him with resolve. Thanking them with a nod, he turned around, fired his webs, and took off to the Brooklyn bridge.
No matter what happened next... New York city was on his side.
*****
A/N: Comments, reviews, and critiques are always welcome, even if it's something as simple as an emoji or a keyboard smash. No need to be shy.