Okay, let's run it back one more time. My name is Miles Morales. And I'm my universe's only Spiderman. I thought I was the only one, but I wasn't. As it turns out, there are a lot of Spidermen throughout a lot of universes. I thought some of them were my friends, but they weren't. In the end I had to go my own way. And I ended up in a universe I couldn't get out of. I thought I wouldn't get out, but now...I'm in Tokyo.
...
Miles Morales, after a narrow escape from the Spider Society, found himself in Tokyo after a massive earthquake. Or at least, it felt like an earthquake. Uncle Aaron, The Prowler (the other Miles), and everything that had been around him disappeared. Still, it was embarrassing to be in the middle of someplace with no direction. The only telling sign of place was the Tokyo Tower.
Apparently, a lot of other universes had blended into this one, and nothing was glitching like it should have been by now. Not even himself. Something, or, more than likely, someone, was keeping things weirdly stable. And he wasn't going to trust whoever was doing it.
For now, he'd found refuge at a shrine of all places. He felt a little bad, especially after those American YouTube guys wreaked havoc on a Japanese shrine that one time. Luckily, the old man running the shrine seemed to have no idea about the Pauls' or their antics. So, Miles got a free place to stay (in exchange for some minor chores). He'd been here about a week, along with a few others.
A few people, scattered from different places, were living there under the old man's kindness. To be honest, some of them looked downright shady. But the others were nice enough. He'd gotten to know their names and some basics about them: there was Sokka and Zuko. They were from the same world. Wherever it was. Sokka was a bit sarcastic, funny, and couldn't draw to save his life. Miles had tried to give him some pointers, but he'd just exasperatedly slammed his pen down on his desk and went back to chores. Zuko was a bit more brooding and looked like the very definition of teen angst. Where Sokka was overly talkative and overall friendly, Zuko chose his words wisely. But he didn't give off any bad vibes. Not like Giorno. Giorno was an enigma. Like Zuko, he chose his words carefully, and he only spoke when necessary. His 'spidey senses' (still a dumb name), could tell there was something weird about his biology. Just...mismatched, maybe? And he'd been here longer than the others had. Something had attacked him, but he never mentioned what—the bruises and damage on his body was evident. Then there was Luz Noceda and Arven. Luz and Miles got along the best here. Luz liked watching anime, reading, and trying to study these weird drawings she made. She also, wasn't that bad at drawing. And she had a cute little dragon (?) palisman with her. It's name—Stringbean. Arven was honest. He helped around the most, admittedly. And he was good at it. Like he'd been taking care of things back home—a lot. Plus, he had a whole team of Pokémon to help him out. Honestly, highlight of both Luz Noceda and Miles's lives—finding out Pokémon were real. They promised they'd go catch one of their own this weekend together. Arven even offered to help, albeit a bit reluctantly.
"You don't think Stringbean will feel like I'm replacing them if I catch a Pokémon, do you, Miles? Arven?" Luz asked.
"This seems more like a question for Arven," Miles admitted.
Arven, Miles, Sokka, Zuko, Arven, and even Giorno were sitting around a brown table in one of the guest rooms. The shrine maiden and the old man's original disciple were probably in another section of the shrine entirely. This place was way bigger than Miles thought it would be.
"Good question," Arven said, glancing up thoughtfully. "I'm guessing it depends on Stringbean's personality type. Honestly, I've never heard of a palisman before...but, they sound and act like a Pokémon to me. If you're unsure, maybe go with an Eevee?"
Luz pressed the palms of her hands against her cheeks, gushing, "An Eevee?! I didn't even think of that! Great idea, Arven! I'll catch one for me and my sweet potato!"
Her sweet potato girlfriend, Amity, who Luz managed to sneak into every single conversation. It must be nice to have someone to love and trust like that. Miles wouldn't know.
"Heh," Arven rubbed the back of his head, "Still can't believe there's no Pokémon where all of you all come from."
"Don't need them when you have a flying air bison and a flying lemur," Sokka boasted.
"And where are they right now?" Giorno asked, chiming in unexpectedly.
"Probably with a friend," Zuko said bluntly, keeping eye contact with Giorno. Couldn't cut the tension with an Octavius appendage.
Miles cleared his throat, "Uh, so, Arven, you said there was like a university in Paldea."
"An academy," Arven corrected. "We do scavenger hunts every year. I caught all of mine with my friend, Juliana. She's my little buddy. Best friend, really."
"That's gotta be fun, going on adventures like that with your friends. I do all the time," Luz said. "Gus, Willow, Amity, Vee, Hunter, and I go on little adventures all the time. I wonder if they ended up here too..."
Her smile dimmed a little. Not-knowing was the worst. And it was evident with the passion and gleam in her eyes when she spoke that she cared about them a lot.
Miles put a hand on her shoulder, "I'll help you look for them, Luz."
Luz gave him a small smile, "Thanks Miles."
It was quiet for a moment. An uneasy silence. Giorno reached for the remote and flipped through the channels. Language barriers be damned. Everything seemed to translate into everyone's native tongue. It must be a part of the scheme. But why? Why go through all the trouble?
Giorno finally landed on the news channel. "Might as well see if there are any updates."
Two hosts, neither being from Miles's dimension, spoke in cheerful tunes on camera. One looked like he was wearing chrome—his hair looked like raven chrome glossed in hairspray and his outfit—a chrome pink. The woman, Arven recognized. She was a worldwide reporter in his world. She even battled people to get a good story.
"This just in," the woman spoke in an overly cheery voice. "This melded world's problems may be coming up with resolutions. Leader of the Aether Paradise, Lusamine is here with her partnered associates to speak with us today."
"And what glamourous timing," the chrome man spoke up. He turns to a woman entering the room. Half of her face is framed by her long, blond hair. Her dress barely touches her knees, and it's got a huge green jewel Miles doesn't recognize in any of his studies in the center. She wears long, white leggings. The simple way to describe her is an eyesore, bright white.
"Hello darling!" Chrome man chirrups. "You look marvelous today! Now, I know you wanted to tell us about this little project you've got going on to help the little kerfuffle we've got going on right now."
The woman, Lusamine giggles, "Quite the warm welcome Mr. Meta. Thank you. And yes. We do have a task force put together. For now, Mr. O'Hara and I are the main proponents of the forc—"
Lusamine's words crumbled and tumbled together like TV fuzz in Miles's ears. O'Hara. O'Hara. O'Hara. Of all the people to have ended up in the same situation as him, it had to be Miguel O'Hara. If he were here, he'd never get back to his own universe. He'd never accomplish his plan on how to save his dad once and for all.
"Miles?"
Giorno's voice brought him out of his shock. He tried to compose himself as best as possible. "Wassup?"
"You spaced out," Giorno noted. "Do you recognize her or something?"
"Who?" Miles asked. "Lusamine? Nah. I mean, I've heard of her."
More like played the generation she was in, but he and Luz decided that was way to hard of a concept to explain.
"Hmm, what about that O'Hara guy then?"
Miles was quiet for a moment. He grimaced. "We met each other a while back. He's kind of a jerk."
"I've heard Lusamine isn't much better," Arven whispered. "I met her son once. She didn't treat him very well. And I thought my relationship with my parents was bad."
"More to the point," Giorno interjected. His eyes were squarely on Miles, unnerving him. "Not to be trusted?"
"No," Miles said swiftly. "Especially when it comes to making sure everyone is going to get out of here. He'd sacrifice a few people just to make sure everyone else survived. No matter how important those people are."
"What does that mean?" Zuko asked.
"It's hard to explain," Miles said. "Miguel O'Hara is..."
"An asshole, right?" Giorno surmised.
"To put it bluntly, yeah," Miles said with a shrug. "Probably best to think of our own solutions than to rely on him."
Besides, Miles had his own plan on how to get home.
The doors to the guest room slid open. A weary and restless shrine maiden by the name of Rei Hino walked through the doors. Her eyelids drooped, appearing to have gotten very little sleep. She looked to the group, a bit surprised and then realization hit her. "Oh, sorry. I forgot to tell you all that today my friends and I usually study in here."
"Oh cool," Luz said. "We'll get to meet your friends!"
"I suppose so," Rei said wearily. "Just...I apologize in advance if we're too loud, especially Usagi and Minako."
"I mean, you're kind of hosting us, so..." Luz said.
"Yeah! Besides, how loud could they be?" Sokka asked. "I mean, it's studying. How loud could it get?"
"You'd be surprised," Rei said with a sigh. She paused and stared at Miles. "What's with the long face, Miles?"
"It's nothing, Miss Hino."
"Please, just Rei. I'm not an old lady."
"Sorry, just trying to be polite."
"I appreciate it," Rei said with a slight smirk. "But a girl likes to feel like a girl."
"REI!" A loud voice echoed out front.
"And that's Usagi," Rei said. She glanced to Sokka, "Don't say I didn't warn you."
A girl with two buns for hair, schoolgirl's uniform, and weird broach walked into the room. She was followed by girls with similar uniforms: one who wore her hair down and looked like her twin, a girl with short blue hair, and a tall brunette.
The girls went a little quiet upon seeing the guests of the shrine.
"Wow...they're cute!" the blonde girl with the red ribbon gushed.
"Minako!" Rei chastised.
"Big hit, wherever I go," Sokka said with a smirk.
"He's got a girlfriend," Zuko said swiftly.
"Hey! There's no need for that! I'd never cheat on Suki!"
"Everyone," Rei announced. "This is Zuko, Sokka, Giorno, Arven, Miles, and Luz. They'll be staying here until things go back to normal. And, this is Ami, Minako, Makoto, and Usagi. They're my friends."
"A pleasure to meet you all," Ami said.
"It's good to meet you too!" Luz said with a bright grin.
"Hopefully we won't be too much of a distraction," Giorno said in a voice that almost denoted sarcasm. He fixed his gaze on Usagi. "You're all a part of this world?"
"Yes?" Usagi questioned, knotting her eyebrows. "Why?"
"Just curious," Giorno said with a shrug.
"Rei," Ami spoke up, probably sensing the tension in the room. "Your grandfather said you had more guests coming to stay with you. He said he was sending them in now."
"What?" Rei asked. "But we—well, I suppose we could. I might need help getting some beds in this room."
"Don't worry, I got you," Miles said with a wink.
The girls behind Rei giggled and whispered amongst each other. Hah. Looks like he was a hit, too.
"Me too," Luz said. "I'm sure we can move things in no time."
"Oh, I'll help you guys, too," the blonde, noodle-haired girl spoke up. "It'll be easy."
"Awesome!"
Rei turned to the others, "Alright, you all just sort of wait here, we'll go and greet our new visitors."
Rei, the blonde girl, Luz, and Miles filed out of the guest room and began to walk through the halls. The blonde girl spoke up, "Hey Rei, are you okay? You don't look so good."
"Thanks for the concern, but I'm alright, Usagi," Rei assured her. Though, her voice didn't match what she was saying.
"Are we causing any problems?" Luz asked. "I'd hate to think we're tiring you out too much."
"No, it's not any of you. The shrine is home to those in need. Truthfully, I should be living in the city, but...well, that's a story for another time. In short, I've not minded the extra help or company around here...except..."
"Except Giorno," Miles said, without thinking too much. It was like it came automatically.
"Exactly," Rei murmured. "His aura is weird, to say the least. Like half evil and half good. Confused and muddy. And when he arrived here, he was nearly incapacitated from kicks, blows, and cuts. You don't just get those by accident."
"So, you're really a psychic then?" Luz asked.
"Of course. One of the best," Rei said, a hint of indignation in her voice. "Do you think it's safe to have him here?"
Miles was unsure of how much to tell Rei. Last time he'd trusted someone with any of his secrets, they'd all betrayed him—except for Hobie and Pav. It'd be nice to run into them again. Hell, Hobie might even be able to tell them what to make of Giorno.
"Honestly?" Miles asked. "I don't think Zuko trusts him."
"And you?" Rei pressed.
"Look," Luz spoke up. "Giorno is quiet, but that doesn't automatically make him some sort of evil mastermind or mob boss. You're treating him like he's some sort of crime lord. As far as we know, he's just shy. As for the bruises...well, I've seen worse. But I think he's just not an open person."
"Could be calculated," Miles said. "Remember what I said about Miguel O'Hara?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, people generally view him as a 'good guy.' I did. But I learned better. I don't want anyone to have to 'learn better' the way I did."
"So, you think he's a bad guy?" Luz said. "Seems real reductive, Miles."
"That's not what I'm saying. I'm just saying we need to keep our eyes open, okay?"
"Okay, but I'm not dumb, Miles. I've seen what power-hungry jerks look like, too."
"You have?"
"Kinda comes with the territory of my world," Luz said with a shrug. "But you can't close yourself off just because jerks exist, you know?"
"Well said!" Usagi chimed in. "I agree with Luz!"
Miles and Rei gave each other a small look—understanding.
They kept walking until they reached the stairs outside. Yuichiro and Grandpa Hino were standing outside with eight different people—six girls, two boys, one with bizarre hair. He's got on a school uniform with hearts and peace sign medallion embroidered into the collar and shoulders. The rest of his outfit is surprisingly normal: slacks and a t-shirt. One of the girls wore a purple tube top and skirt with knee-high purple boots. And she had sleeves that covered the top of her hands but not her fingers. Her emerald eyes matched the necklace (maybe?) she had around her neck. Another girl was super tall with blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail and freckles. She wore a red and white blouse with maroon slacks and boots. A smaller girl with the same hairstyle but paler skin wore a white shirt with rolled up sleeves and skort. She looked a lot like that Lusamine woman. Another girl with messy hair—leaves stuck to her brown curls—stood in front of them. She only had one shoe on, and the other was covered by a messy sock. She wore a school t-shirt and skirt. Another girl also wore a school uniform—white polo shirt, red tie, red shorts, and sneakers. Her hair was black with one singular green highlight in her bangs. The next girl looked like she'd been in extremely cold weather—blue robes and long brown hair in beautiful braids and loops. And lastly was a boy with white hair, a long sleeve yellow shirt, torn jeans, and strange scarring around his face.
"Hunter!" Luz cried, rushing to the the green-haired girl. She threw her arms around her in a tight hug.
The boy was caught off guard, but hugged Luz back with just as much enthusiasm. "Luz!"
"Oh, what a glorious reunion!" the cherry-haired girl said, clapping her hands together. Waaaay too much enthusiasm.
"Rei!" Yuichiro, the ex-rocker turned disciple of the shrine, "Your grandfather told these people that, of course, they could move in and left all the grocery shopping to me. Can you help them get settled in?"
"Of course. Leave it to me," Rei said. She turned to the group. "Right then. I suppose I can get to know your names and have some extra help with moving the bed rolls."
"No problem!" the curly, leaf-haired girl said, holding out a hand towards Rei, then Miles, then Luz, then Usagi. "I'm Anne. Anne Boonchuy. Nice to meet ya. Nice to greet ya."
"Likewise," Rei replied. "This is Miles, Luz, and Usagi. Usagi is a friend. And Miles and Luz have been staying with me, helping around the shrine."
"We can totally do that," the tall blonde girl replied. "I'm Adora, by the way. Let me at those bedrolls. I bet I can move them all by myself if you need me to!"
"They're not as bad as they sound," the pale girl spoke up. "I'm Lillie. It's good to meet all of you. Thank you for allowing us to stay here."
"Muy asombrosa," the brunette schoolgirl agreed. "I can probably set up my own gym here in this Toe-key-yo. It'll help pay for anything we use up. I don't plan on losing to anyone!"
"You speak Spanish, too? Are you used to Spanglish, or...?" Miles asked with a slight smile.
"Spanish? No amigo, this is Paldean," the girl countered.
Miles glanced at Luz, who gave him a somewhat confused shrug. "Dimensional language differences?"
"There's literally no difference—that I know of."
"Right, you've got a B in Spanish, despite being half Puerto-Rican. I'd never hear the end of it from my mama."
"Believe me, I don't from mine, either," Miles said with a slight chuckle. Though, Luz bringing up his mom just reaffirmed his goals on saving his dad. All he had to do was find a legendary creature and get back home—no big. He'd outwitted an entire spider society. How hard could it be?
"Back on my planet, they call me Koriand'r, but you may call me what my friends call me, Starfire," the cherry-haired girl with way too much joy spoke in a polite and bubbly voice.
"Higashikata Josuke," the boy interjected. "No need to be formal. You can just call me Josuke. I have some savings from my summer job, but I don't think it's much. So, I'll get a job, if need be, to help around. I don't mind."
"Yeah, this guy really helped me out. This weird monster thing attacked me, and he healed me," the other boy, Hunter, chimed in.
"Healed you?" Rei asked, raising an eyebrow.
Josuke chuckled nervously, "Uh, yeah. I live with my mom...and I used to live with my grandpa. He was an officer. I learned a lot of basic first aid."
"My Dad's about to be Captain," Miles said, that ache of wanting to get back home reinforced more than ever.
"Really? Same with my Grandpa!" Josuke said with a slight smile. It fell after a few seconds. "Well, he was."
Seems a lot of Captains from other worlds didn't fair so well; what would Miguel O'Hara tell this guy? Too bad about your grandpa, but you've kept the canon intact.
"I'm sorry for your loss," Luz said. "It hurts to lose anyone close to you."
"He was like a dad to me," Josuke mumbled, somewhat bitterly.
"Rei, I think you're focusing on the wrong part," Usagi spoke up. She turned to Josuke and Hunter. "What kind of monsters?"
"I wasn't gonna say anything, buuuut..." Anne agreed.
Noodles and Leaf made a good point. Couldn't be the Spot, could it? Or even worse...Earth 42 Prowler—himself.
"What'd they look like?" Miles asked.
"Like a clown. Pink hair, purple skin, weird star on its hand," Josuke said. "Clawed up my little buddy here, and it kept saying something about 'pure hearts,' whatever that means. Crazy, right? Then it said something about my hair; I beat the crap out of it!"
Don't tease this guy about his hair. Got it.
"Are you okay, Hunter?" Luz asked.
"Yeah, just a couple of scratches," Hunter paused and crossed his arms.
"What did the monster do?" Rei asked, too pointedly for someone who was just curious.
Miles had a sinking suspicion Rei might be hiding something, but it wasn't any of his business. And she didn't seem evil, and he wasn't a snitch. He wouldn't dig into her secrets, especially since she was staying out of his.
"Nothing. Josuke sort of beat it up before it could," Hunter said. "The worst is could do was claw my arms."
It could be a villain from his universe. It could be an anomaly; it could be anything.
"Well, you're safe here," Luz assured him. "I'll keep you safe."
"I can handle myself, it just—it just caught me off guard!" Hunter said.
"Hold up, now," Josuke said with a smirk. "If that's the case, why didn't you say so? Next time I'll just let you deal with it by yourself."
"Hey!"
Rei shook her head and gestured towards the door, "While Yuichiro is out, we'd better get you all settled in. It's not much, but you'll have food and someplace to sleep."
"Which is very nice of you," the girl who, now looking at her, had the same eyes as Sokka.
It finally struck Miles, "Hey! Are you related to Sokka by any chance?"
The girl looked at him with a bit of surprise, "Yes! Is he here?"
"Yeah, he and Zuko have been looking for you and a lot of your other friends," Miles said.
"They think spirits might be responsible for all this," Luz added in.
"They might be on to something," she said. She turned to Miles. "Thank you for letting me know they're here."
"No big deal," Miles said.
"Come with me," Rei instructed. "Then I can get all of you settled in, and I can finally get this noodle-head studying like she's supposed to."
"Thank you for keeping them safe. My name is Katara. I am Sokka's sister, and Zuko is one of our friends.
"It's no trouble—don't buy into Yuichiro's whining. He does that a lot," Rei said with a sort of flippant air. "If you don't mind me asking, how many more of your friends are missing? We might be able to help you find them."
"Three," Katara said, a bit guardedly. Healthy to keep boundaries, Miles supposed. "But, you shouldn't have to worry about them. They'll find us, I'm sure. However, they're very sweet. And once we find them, we'll be out of your hair."
"As long as no harm comes to this shrine, you all can stay as long as you need to," Rei said.
How come everybody has to speak in coded language? Couldn't, for once, someone say what they really mean? Oh hey, if you hurt my shrine, you're going down! That's cool, but I'm not telling you anything about my friends.
Everyone was already starting to walk back towards the shrine. Apparently Luz and Hunter were the only ones lingering, waiting. Luz looked at him, expectantly. Oh! He was holding them up.
"You coming?"
"Yeah, just thinking. Sorry. You two go ahead."
Luz shrugged and turned back towards the doors. Hunter seemed to pause before slowly doing the same.
Another chill. Miles turned invisible, glancing to the line of trees, half-expecting someone from the spider society to be keeping an eye on him. However, there was nothing there. Nothing but an eerie hum echoing in the air. He'd keep his eyes open and keep going.
That's what he had to do.
...
This station would do nicely.
That glossy, chrome clod was no better entertainment or informant than anyone else he'd met or heard of. So, as a casual observer in a world full of potent energy and life, he would be the one to guide and comment on future occasions.
The plot was thickening, and this broadcast would be their chance at success. Perhaps even more for him. However, it was too early to tell.
For now, he would smile and help obscure the plot just enough to his advantage.