But Now This Room Is Spinning (While I’m Just Trying To Fill In All The Gaps)
Miles was on a mission with Miguel and Gwen to some random earth he couldn’t remember the exact code for. Miguel had went over it in their mission brief, so why couldn’t he remember?
That’s the problem. Miles’ memory has been…fuzzy, since Earth-42. According to one of the doctors in the Spider Society’s med bay, too much glitching can lead to memory loss, migraines, headaches, and even chronic pain. That, plus the added factor of his ribs being bruised due to Miguel, meant he wasn’t currently the best asset.
Though he tells everyone he’s fine. They can’t see him as anymore of a burden, especially Miguel. He needed to prove himself. He wasn’t a mistake, wasn’t an anomaly. He was Spider-Man! He was important-
“Miles!” Gwen called out, ripping Miles out of his thoughts. The anomaly had torn out a piece of concrete from the building, launching it at the teen.
He blinked, taking longer than it should’ve to process the situation. So he just…stood there. Frozen, paralyzed.
Until a muscular arm wrapped around and grabbed him. The figure -Miguel- swung aside, placing Miles down. His mask dissipates, allowing him to glare at Miles with angry red eyes.
“What the shock was that?” He hisses through clenched teeth.
Miles blinks.
…what?
He was still trying to process what just happened. He…he almost died. And for some reason, Miguel saved his life.
”Kid. Don’t zone out like that. We’re on a mission. A mission that we have to go on because of your mess.” He sighs, sounding frustrated.
Miles shakes his head, bringing himself back into the moment. He’s in the moment, yeah. It’s kinda a terrible moment, but he’s in it.
”I…what happened?” He asks, tilting his head to the side. The white lenses of his mask went from wide with shock to squinting with confusion.
Miguel groans, rubbing his temples. “You zoned out and nearly died. Dios, what am I going to do with you?”
A crash grabs their attention, reminding them that they left Gwen to take care of the anomaly by herself. Miguel shakes his head, muttering a few incoherent words in Spanish.
“We’ll finish this later.” His mask re-forms over his face, and he uses his webs to shoot himself back into battle. Miles prepped his web-shooters to follow after Miguel, until a sharp sensation hit him.
Grunting in pain, Miles grips his head. He’s had migraines before, but never this bad, and never during a mission.
Clutching his head, he falls onto his knees. He tries to get up, focus on the battle- but his vision is blurry. Though after a minute, he stands up on shaky legs. He sways with each step, swooning like he might fall.
And he does.
His legs give out, causing him to collapse onto the ground. His head collides with the pavement, a painful ache consuming him. His ears are ringing, he can’t manage to speak-
I-I’m okay. I’m…where am I again? On a mission, right. With…Hobie and Gwen. Nah, with Gwen and, um…Miguel, I think.
Miles squeezes his eyes shut as black spots dance around his vision. He doesn’t want to see them, they remind him too much of, well- The Spot.
That’s…his name, right? The Spot? I could’ve sworn it was The Dot or some shit…does he have a face?
Okay, so his memory had a few holes in it. That’s fine. Great, even.
“-iles?” A soft but concerned voice makes its way to him through the ringing. Gwen.
Her gloved hands gently squeeze Miles’ shoulders, as she says something he can’t hear. He’s just tired. He wants to sleep.
So he does.
“And how many fingers am I holding up again?”
“Uh…three?”
Gwen sighs. “No, two.”
Miles slumps back against the brick wall, pissed at himself. His memory is whole again, but he’s still dizzy. Miguel explained that he noticed Miles passed out. He sent Gwen to check on her friend, while he contained the anomaly.
Miles was unconscious for about ten minutes. And he woke up five minutes ago, only to see Gwen’s worried but pretty face, and Miguel’s expression that could be only described as ‘The Face Of A Former Father Who Doesn’t Want Another Kid To Die In His Care’.
Gwen smiles, patting Miles on the back. “It’s alright, it’s no big deal if you don’t get it right.” Her smile quickly fades, being replaced with a slight frown. “I was really worried, you know that?”
"Yeah, yeah. I know, sorry." Miles shrugs, fidgeting with his fingers. His nails have grown out, making them rather long, visible through his suit.
I really gotta cut them.
"No, you don't have to be sorry. It's not your fault, got it?" Gwen reassures him with that cute gummy smile of hers, showing off her tooth gap. She pulls him into a hug, kissing his forehead.
Miles can't help but turn a deep shade of red.
"Alright lovebirds." Miguel interrupts, rolling his eyes. "I hate to break this up, but I need to talk to Miles."
Gwen stands up, putting her hands up. "Okay, he's all yours." She shoots a quick glare at Miguel. "Don't hurt him."
He places his hands together, exhaling. "Actually, I was thinking you could go ahead and bring the anomaly back to HQ to put it in containment. We'll join you soon."
Gwen raises an eyebrow, but still grabs the anomaly and opens a portal, momentarily disappearing into it.
Miles pushes himself against the wall as Miguel kneels down in front of him. He clenches his fists, his muscles tense. Miguel seems to notice this, his features softening. "Listen, I just want to check on you. I won't hurt you again, I promise."
Seeing the ghost of a smile tug at Miguel's lips caused Miles to relax his muscles. "Okay, about what?"
"Your...condition. You haven't been getting better." Miguel's eyes bore into Miles'. "I recommend a checkup at med bay. But I've noticed that you've been avoiding going there, is there any reason?"
Miles looks to the side. "Um, I'd rather not talk about it now. We can just go to there, I guess I'm fine with a checkup."
Miguel chuckles softly, getting up. "I was expecting you to be more stubborn." He types in the coordinates of Earth-928 into his watch, a portal opening up.
"C'mon kid." He holds out his hand.
"Not a kid." Miles scoffs, standing up next to Miguel, who sighs. He steps into the portal, Miles following not long after.
He did have to admit, he really needed a checkup.