Chapter Song Rec: Sunflower by Post Malone
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"You're a sunflower...I think your love would be too much" Miles hummed under his breath as he peered over the docks, silhouette hidden by the dark of the night. "Or you'll be left in the dust...unless I stuck by ya"
He waited for the security guards circling the bright orange shipment box to leave before he began to silently inch towards it. Their quiet voices could be heard in the distance, bickering with each other as they paid no attention to him as he leapt behind the container and sliced his way inside.
The metal creaked slightly under his touch as he pulled the mangled square of steel to the side and stepped in, the eyes of his mask adjusting to the black. It was completely empty, as the police had probably taken everything into the station as evidence, but he still had an idea.
He spun the dial on the back of his mask, the eyes narrowing slightly as he switched to UV light. The light shined across the room, illuminating his way as he searched for any signs of fingerprints, footprints, even a hair or two. Something that could help him figure out who exactly this doppelgänger was.
"You're the sunflower...you're the sunflower"
His humming stopped when he noticed something small in the corner, what looked like a small scratch of some sorts. He kneeled down, staring at it before placing his claw against the same spot and scratching down.
The scratch his claw made was different. Deeper. Wider.
That meant whatever gear this doppelgänger was using definitely wasn't like his own. It was different.
He sighed under his breath, standing up. That was just going to make things harder.
He pulled out a small cotton swab from his pouch and swiped at the scratch, hoping to gather up some sort of chemical evidence that could help him figure out what type of metal the guy's claws were made out of. Based on that he could track down any suppliers and maybe even find out who he was.
"Who's there?"
Miles froze when he heard the footsteps of the guards returning, but he couldn't panic. He quickly jumped out of the open square and swung away before the guards could catch him, leaving them with their flashlights shining on the broken opening.
Close call. Too close. He was losing his touch.
This wasn't going to end well.
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Your POV
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"To respond or not to respond?" you asked yourself for what must've been the tenth time today as you stared at the old notification that had popped up when Miles had dmed you. It was dark outside, Maria had left maybe an hour ago and you were all by yourself at home, lying upside down on your bed with you legs propped up against the headboard while you listened to your conflicting thoughts.
He definitely knew you were online since you'd accepted his follow request and now you were starting to feel bad for leaving him on delivered. But you'd feel even worse if you'd started texting him considering how put-off Maria seemed when he'd found your account.
You groaned, pulling your pillow onto your face and setting your phone down. This was so stupid.
You heard a ding and your head immediately snapped to the side. Another notification had popped up, this time from messages rather than dms.
| Monkey boy (Ravi) added +1 (917) XXX - XXX to "The United Nations" Groupchat
Your eyebrows furrowed as you picked up your phone and typed in, "Who's the new number?"
A text bubble popped up. Ravi quickly responded, "Miles."
You froze before hitting your head back with a loud groan. Right when you were trying to ignore him.
"Hi Milesssss!!" Maria texted in, peppy as usual. You could imagine the wide giggly smile she probably had on her face behind the screen and you grinned to yourself.
"Hey Miles." You typed in as dryly as you could.
"U guys wanna meet up tmrw" Ravi typed in. "We could go to the Plaza. I heard the new Fast and Furious movie was fire"
"Ew we're not watching Fast and Furious, Ravi, they're all so boring" Maria replied
"k then we could just hang out there"
"Omg can we get sushi"
"sure whatever you want"
"and frozen yogurt"
"yes"
"yay!!"
"yay"
"guys stop spamming let the poor guy respond first" you typed in, smiling
"sorry miles"
"sry miles"
they both typed in. The chat was silent for a minute before Maria went offline, then Ravi and then you were left to stare at the messages for a moment longer before you too put down your phone.
If he agreed to hang out tomorrow then you definitely had to respond to him soon. Otherwise it'd be awkward.
You let out another dramatic sigh before getting off the bed and sauntering over to your desk, collapsing at the table in front of your laptop. You could figure all the rest out later. For now...you had to decide what the next part of your plan was going to be.
The stolen video files showed you that the symbiote was probably in one of the Oscorp facilities. You just had to figure out which one. Then you'd kill the symbiote. Easy, right?
Except the only weakness you'd learnt from the videos was that the symbiote didn't like high-pitched sound. Sound wasn't going to kill it...but what would?
You'd have to figure it out soon. Otherwise, if your plan to steal it succeeded, you'd be stuck with an alien in a jar and no way to get rid of it.
You shook your head, trying to focus. You were getting too ahead of yourself. First things first, you had to actually figure out which facility was hosting the symbiote. Then you could worry about stealing and killing it. For now...you had plenty of research to do.
Maybe breaking into the local base again would do you some good?
But should you ask the Prowler first? Maybe ask him to accompany you so you didn't get yourself caught?
No...no he was probably busy. Besides, you didn't want to get him roped into this. He probably had enough on his plate.
This was yours to deal with.
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Miles' POV
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"Find anything useful?" Miles watched as his uncle peered into the ziplock bag he'd placed the cotton swab sample into before, squinting as if that was going to help him figure out what the scratches were made by.
"Scratch marks. I could analyze 'em, but I'm gonna need to go to the Science lab at school." Miles said with a sigh, sitting down on the couch and staring at his feet. "Tio?"
"yeah, kid?" his uncle asked, handing him the ziplock bag before walking over to the kitchen.
Miles continued to watch him silently, through a droopy expression. "Has this ever happened to you before?"
"Has what ever happened?"
"Someone copying the Prowler?"
Aaron chuckled under his breath, shaking his head. "Nah. Never. This is new to me too, kid."
Miles sighed again, sitting back. "What are we gonna do? He could ruin everything."
"I think you're overthinking this, nephew. What's the guy gonna do? It's not like he knows who you are. He can't ruin shit." Aaron's eyes softened slightly at his nephew's tired expression and he put his hands on his hips. "You look like you need a break."
"No. I'm fine." Miles said quickly, sitting up straight. "I'm just gonna go clean up and head to the science lab." He avoided his uncle's eyes as he head towards the attic he used as his room whenever he stayed over.
"Are you sure?"
He ignored Aaron as he stumbled up the stairs, turning the corner and putting his back to the wall with a sigh, his eyes closed. "Ugh." He muttered under his breath before opening the door to his room and tossing his mask onto the bed.
Aaron was right. He really needed a break. But there was too much going on for him to take it now.
He sat down for a moment, taking the mask in his hands and running his fingers over the cool metal, a scowl on his face. As much as he loved being the Prowler...he also hated it.
It fucking sucked.
He felt the urge to just throw the stupid thing at the wall but he restrained himself, clenching his fists around nothing as he stared into space quietly.
Suddenly, he felt the hairs rise on the back of his neck. An odd feeling overtook his senses and he snapped his head up, looking around.
It felt like someone was watching him.
But there couldn't be? His windows were closed, along with his door. The room was empty, the closet was open with nothing in it. He leaned down and checked under the bed, just in case, and there was nothing there.
But he still felt it.
Like there were eyes on him, watching him, tracking his every movement.
His eyes scanned over the room and he stood up, feeling strangely drawn towards the cabinet next to his bed. Atop it, as per usual, was a book, a watch, a lamp, a couple shirts and pants he hadn't washed yet, and...
an orb.
An orb?
It was funny to look at, tiny as a marble, with a weird swirly substance inside. It kind of reminded Miles of one of those crystal balls witches use to predict the future in movies. But what was it? He didn't remember ever having it...
Maybe it was his uncle's and he'd just left it in the room on accident.
That was probably what it was.
Miles groaned quietly, placing the orb down and fixing his jacket and the belt around his waist. He was overthinking. Again. Shit.
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Your POV
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You stood along the electric fence of Oscorp, hacking into the mainframe to turn it off before slipping through undetected, pulling yourself through the same vent you'd used when you'd broken in just about a week ago. When the Prowler had followed you and nearly gotten the two of you caught.
The memory brought a smile to your face but you hid it, coughing quietly as you tried to swipe the dust away from your nose, the vents just as badly taken care of as they were before.
Was breaking into the facility again a reckless, impulsive decision? Yes. Did you know that? Yes. Did you care? No.
Every day you went without learning something new about that alien was a day wasted. Breaking into Oscorp was the best way for you to rocket launch your research forward and figure out where the symbiote was located before you could make a plan.
And maybe...there'd be some more of that Underground tech there too.
Speaking of the Underground tech, you never went anywhere without your new sword anymore. You'd realized that you could compact it into just the hilt, morphing it into a small stick that would fit in your backpack or purse, completely hidden from sight.
It made things way easier. Not only did you have something that'd help you if you decided to impulsively break into another place again, but you also had your own little weapon just in case.
Overthinking at its finest, but you had to admit, having it around you automatically made you feel safer.
You extended the sword just slightly to create a thick knife which you used to hack at the vent before jumping down into a dark room, what you hoped was the same lab as last time.
Luckily, you were right.
It didn't take long before you found yourself immersed in old documents and files, reading through everything you could about the history of the facility, all of its inhabitants and more.
There was definitely some interesting contents to these computers. Files about practically every member of the Sinister Six, from a terrifying-looking Russian named Sergei Kravinoff to a weasely scientist named Dr. Curtis Connors.
One name happened to catch your eye.
"Initials Q.B. Quentin Beck." You said under your breath, eyes squinted slightly as you read over his file.
Apparently he was a young man that used to work for Oscorp, his astounding skills in special effects and robotics coming to use with different machines and programs that were built here...but he'd quit for reasons that it didn't say.
You were very confused. Here was a file with the names of some of the worst villains in the city, that also contained some random employee that quit a couple months ago? Why was he named here? Who was the guy?
You decided not to dwell on it. He wasn't why you were here. You moved on to the next files, and then the next, eventually coming across what you were looking for.
A folder named 'The V.E.N.O.M. project.'
You smiled and clicked on it, more files popping up in its place. It didn't take long for you to scan through them and come across its location.
Written in large print, right in the middle of the paper was an address. When you cross-checked it with your gps on your computer, it led you to...a military base?
Oh man.
You were screwed. How the hell were you gonna get into a military base??
You knew Osborne had plenty of government officials in the palm of his hand, but you would've never expected that the government would cover up the things he was doing. It was eye-opening.
You took a picture of the file, saving it before heading back towards the way you'd come in, deciding you'd been here long enough. The voices of security guards in the distance were beginning to grow clearer and if you stayed here any longer, you'd risk getting caught.
You gave the computer one last glimpse before you climbed back through the vent, the plan you'd been working on turning out to be a complete waste of time.
Back to the drawing board...
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Miles' POV
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The school was completely deserted, which meant he wouldn't have to break any major rules to slip into the science lab undetected. He didn't even really need his Prowler mask, but he kept it on just in case.
He climbed in through the window, quietly closing it behind him before he pulled his mask off, wiping the sweat from his brow. The microscopes and vials were all still left behind from the 6th period class, which only made things easier for him.
He took out the ziplock bag he'd brought along before sitting down at one of the lab tables, cleaning the microscope and placing the cotton swab underneath. "Needless to say, I keep her in check...she was a bad-bad, nevertheless" he hummed quietly, the song from earlier still stuck in his head. "Callin' it quits now, baby imma wreck, crash at my place baby you're a wreck-"
He squinted his eyes slightly as he peered through the opening of the microscope, noting down what he saw on the swab. He'd have to run a few tests, just to narrow down his options, but it wouldn't take long.
About a half hour later, Miles had finished and was staring down at his notes, struggling to understand what he'd seen. Carbon, silver, silicon and titanium.
One of the weirdest combinations he'd ever tested.
How could the perpetrator's claws be made of these? Not a single metal...but multiple different alloys...none of them strong enough to create the slashes he'd seen.
Unless...
Miles' eyes widened and he increased the magnifier on the microscope, looking back down at the swab. As he continued to increase it, he noticed a flicker of movement. Latched onto the top of the swab, just barely visible, was a tiny speck of metal. When he looked a little longer, he noticed it was moving slightly, vibrating.
Vibrating metal...whatever was on the swab was only a small taste of whatever the doppelgängers claws were actually made of. Which meant it was made up of tens of hundreds of thousands of these specks.
Thousands of tiny pieces of metal...all moving and vibrating...
Miles knew what it was now. What those claws were made of, why they were so strong and precise despite their odd builds...
Nanotechnology.
And there was only one place in the city where one could buy the parts and pieces needed to build nanotech.
Hammerhead.
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Miles wasn't in a hurry to get home. He swung through the city lazily, an odd sense of pride flushing through his body as he realized he'd been able to figure out the next step in his plan to catch his doppelgänger.
His uncle would be proud. And that relaxed him.
It was pretty late at this point, past 11pm, but he knew his mom wouldn't be home until much earlier in the morning, so he'd have a while before he had to to get back and jump into bed. That meant he also had a little bit of time to do whatever he wanted before knocking himself out.
So what did he want to do?
Well, he knew what he wanted to do, he knew exactly what would relax him right now. He just didn't want to admit it.
He didn't want to admit that he was swinging in the direction of your apartment at that moment.
He tried to convince himself that he was only going that way because it was quieter, less chance of getting caught on his way home, but it wasn't working. It was obvious that he just wanted to catch a glimpse of you, maybe even say hi.
What were you doing right now? Were you working? Were you asleep? Were you watching TV? Maybe you were still going through all the videos on that stolen file?
He made an attempt to push the thoughts out his brain but failed miserably. Sighing under his breath, he made the difficult decision to go check on you, just for a minute. He'd just glance through the window, make sure you were okay, and dip.
He wouldn't stay for long, he promised himself.
Just a minute or two.
He sped up slightly as he ran along the sides of the buildings, grappler shooting out into the distance with a thwip as he caught himself, gliding with ease. He made a point to avoid street lights and security cameras, knowing that getting caught right now, when his doppelgänger was so popular in the news, would end terribly
Then, within a few minutes, he was already pulling himself up to peer in through your half open window, the lights off. His eyes narrowed they adjusted to the light, and he realized...you weren't there.
"Huh?"
He adjusted his mask and awkwardly opened the window, quietly pulling himself through before looking around cautiously. "Y/N?" He called out gently, hoping your parents wouldn't hear him as he turned around, confused as to where you could be.
He hummed under his breath, walking towards the open computer on your desk and pulling it open. Still open on your computer were blueprints...blueprints of the closest Oscorp facility, the same one he'd caught you breaking into just a week ago.
Were you planning on breaking into it again? No...no...you wouldn't right? The two of you were partners, you wouldn't do that without telling him, right?
What if you were there right now?
Was that why your room was empty? Because you were at Oscorp, searching for whatever it was you wanted?
Were you keeping him out of the loop?
His eyes widened and he shut the computer, turning back towards the window only to be met with a welcome sight. His jaw dropped slightly and he immediately felt his face burn as he stared at the girl climbing in through the window.
You.
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Your POV
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You were panting slightly, having just climbed up multiple flights of stairs to sneak back into your room after returning from the facility. It'd taken you longer than expected, as your taxi driver had gotten lost multiple times on your way back home.
Either way, you were just happy to finally be back.
At least...that was until you saw a masked figure standing in your room as you tried to pull yourself through.
You let out a quiet yelp, immediately grabbing your sword from your back pocket and extending it towards him wildly, nearly tripping over your own feet as you did so.
He put his hands up in the air and you could practically feel the smirk on his face underneath the mask. "Missed me?"
Your eyes adjusted and you finally recognized him, slowly bringing down your sword and relaxing. It was the Prowler.
You raised an eyebrow at him as you compacted the sword and placed it in your pocket again. "Seems like you were the one missing me" You replied coolly, setting down your backpack. "What are you doing in my room?"
His posture faltered and he awkwardly leaned back against your desk, claws scratching at the underside. "I was just...checking up on you. Making sure you were okay after the hospital visit."
"How kind of you." You said offhandedly, approaching him with your hands on your hips. "But what were you doing in my room when I wasn't there?" you questioned as you cocked your head to the side.
"I uh-" He stopped himself, looking down. "I dunno" he shrugged, trying to play it off. "Whatever. You're here and you're obviously fine...so I'm just gonna go" he slipped past you, avoiding your eyes as he walked back towards the window.
"Wait."
He looked back at you hopefully and your gaze softened. "I saw the news...you weren't the one who robbed the docks, were you? It couldn't have been you. I was with you that night."
He nodded, expression darkening.
"So who did it?" You asked tentatively.
"I'm not sure. Some wannabe, I guess." He said quietly. "Why? You think you know something about it?"
"Well...actually-" You started, fidgeting with your fingers. "-remember at the hospital, I told you I saw you, or at least someone that looked like you, when you were on the lower floor? What if, and hear me out, what if that was the same person who robbed the docks?"
"But how could you have seen them at the hospital if they were at the docks?"
"Maybe they're fast? They could've left right after you came back and gotten to the docks pretty quickly, especially if they have some kind of weird tech. Do you know if they use the same gear as you?" You asked, folding your arms over your chest.
"Actually...no. They don't." He admitted with a sigh. "I was actually trying to figure that out today...they don't use titanium like I do. My claws, my chest guard, even my shoulder pads are all made of steel and titanium. But their's aren't. They're made up of a bunch of different metals, weird ones too, like silver and they're even made of carbon."
"So...? What does that mean?"
"Well, there's only a few people that supply those weird alloys."
Your eyes widened and a slight smile came onto your face. "That means if you can figure out who sold them the stuff, then they can tell you who it is!"
"That's right." He smiled and nodded. "And from what I can tell, the gear they're using isn't like any technology I use. I think...well I'm pretty sure, that they're using nanotech to develop their weapons. You know, the moving metal you'd usually see on villains like Scorpion?"
"I know what nanotech is" you said with a scoff. "I've just never seen it up close. You really think this doppelgänger has the materials for that?" you asked confusedly. Nanotechnology was notoriously hard to build, and hard to get your hands on. Your brother had been really interested in it, always talking about its properties and how he used it in his projects at Oscorp.
"It's what I saw" the Prowler replied with a shrug. "And it's worth a shot."
You chuckled. "So you're taking me on another heist already? I thought you said it was dangerous?" You teased
"Only if you're up for it." He said quietly. "Normally I wouldn't take you along, but since you did so well last time...I might as well."
"Alright, when're we going?"
"Whoa, calm down." He said with a laugh, leaning back against the window. "Lemme get my shit off first. I'm gonna go home, come up with a plan, then we can go and do all the fun stuff, okay?"
"Yeah, yeah okay" You said sheepishly, sitting down on your bed with a sigh and looking over at him. He stared back at you for a moment before clearing his throat. "Okay. Bye."
You weren't sure how to respond to this sudden statement so you just nodded, giving him a slight smile. "Thanks for coming to check on me." You said softly.
"It's nothing. Don't worry about it."
"No, really. It means a lot."
The eyes of his mask folded up slightly, like he was smiling at you. "You're welcome."
And with that, he left. You watched as his silhouette disappeared into the distance, as it had so many times before, smiling silently and closing the window and then the curtains so you could get some sleep.
While you were getting ready for bed, you noticed another notification pop up on your phone. You opened it only to see that someone else had texted something in response to Ravi's question in the group chat.
Miles.
"Yeah I'm free tmr. Let's meet up."
Oh no.
Now you were really ready to knock yourself out.
You had plenty to deal with tomorrow, so you'd need your rest. Not only would you be going on another trip with the one and only Prowler...but you also had to figure things out with Miles. Without being a bad friend to Maria. That was going to be difficult.
But that was also tomorrow's problem.
A/N:
Hiiii, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as always!! It's unedited because I was too lazy to edit it before posting sorry 😭 lmk if there's any inconsistencies or errors so I can fix them up quickly lol hope you all have the best day <3