6.45 p.m.
The world seems to be slowing down and for once, time feels like a non-existent myth to the young Spider-Man.
The wave of euphoria as he took off Spot’s head with his hand just a moment ago suddenly seemed like it didn’t matter, when he looked down to see tall buildings crashing into each other before collapsing onto the ground.
A horrifying scream escapes his vocal cords as he realizes what had just happened. Miles quickly swings down from the tower, scampering toward the crowds of human running to the other side of the Brooklyn City to save themselves.
Silence.
It is the only noise Miles Morales hears at the moment.
Actually... scratch that, he can also hear a faint sound of gibberish words and incoherent pleads coming from tear-stricken Peter and Gwen, who are running behind him. But their voices seems so far away, as if it is drowned by the loud ringing from his surroundings.
Miles is confused.
How can the world be so loud with all the blaring and ringing but also so quiet at the same time? Automatically like an instinct, his body starts to glitch into semi-invisible patches, while the intense blue electric clings around him. It was as if it manifested itself to protect its owner from being touched by others.
Nevertheless, he was thankful for it.
Miles took another step to the site of the tall crumbling building in front of him, completely ignoring the attempts of some of the Spider-mans who are trying to distract and pull him away from the horrid view of violence and destruction.
To stop him from seeing the thick red liquid that widely splattered on black asphalt roads and its fallen infrastructures, as if a bucket of paint was aggressively smashed on the ground from a very high place.
'Why do they care? Isn’t this what they want?', Miles thought to himself.
His vision lingers to the side of the road, finding a small figure of a sobbing child whom Captain Jefferson had sacrificed to save; now is tightly consoled by his mother. Miles almost throw up in disgust when the bubbles of bitterness swell up within his heart, seeing how the boy cry from the small injury on his knee while his dad-
He looks away and advances further.
By now, Miles had come to notice how his breathing was cut into short pained gasps or how his throat was slowly closing up on its own. Even the uprising heat coming from the inside of his cornea.
Yet surprisingly, Miles didn’t cry. Not even an ounce of tear produced from his duct, as if he was incapable of crying.
But Miles knows that is not true. He was a fucking crybaby, even from a very young age. His Mami always says that when he was little, he would cry at the smallest inconveniences. But it’s fine because that means her lovely son has a delicate and sensitive soul, which Miles guessed is a good thing according to Rio Morales.
As his feet reach the cluster of wreckage covered with his father’s bright red blood, Miles’s knee wobbles and in a mere second, buckled helplessly onto the ground. He pushes and digs into the rubble, trying to release his father from the horrid confinement.
From the corner of his eyes, he saw Hobie and Pav struggling to carry the bigger pieces away from the body. He's silently thankful for their help but still doesn't stop lifting until he's fully able to pull his dad from under the cement walls.
“Hey, Papi. Are you here with me?”, Miles whispers weakly to Captain Jefferson Morales's face.
He pressed his ear close to his father's chest, desperately trying to find even a faint beating of heart.
But no sound is produce from within. The body he held slowly stiffens and eventually becomes cold to touch. That's when he knows that it's futile. He brings his father’s disfigured fingers to his lips and kisses them tenderly, each one of them, finally coming to the fact that he was not able to save someone close to him. Just like how he has failed to save his universe Peter Parker and Uncle Aaron from their deaths before. Miles Morales once again proves how much of an incompetent person he is to bear the responsibility of being the Spider-Man.
Maybe Miguel was right.
He releases a fat wet chuckle as he pulls his father’s body close to him. Miles rises from the ground, not caring if his suit is too drenched with sweat and blood or how his face starts to shows blooms of bruise and wound from his previous fight. He was ready to flee the scene, away from the group of people whom he once thought he belonged. Then a voice merges from behind, along with a firm grasp on his shoulder.
“Miles, wait. We’re not done yet.”
All Miles saw was red as he turned his body around and harshly smacked the offensive hand away from his shoulder. It effectively sends a painful electric venom to the vile man. The teen jumps back a few steps with a twist of revulsion plastered across his face. He scoffs at 2099 Spider-Man’s pained expression, who had the audacity to act like a victim.
“What else are you going to tell me?"
"Do I have another canon event happening after this?"
"What?! Is my mum going to die this time?!”
The venomous words dripped from his lips without any warning. He can see how Miguel’s face changed from stoic to surprised in a split second and how the other Spider-people behind him cringed in guilt for chasing Miles around the HQ, treating the boy like a fugitive.
The leader, however, keeps his upright posture and expression intact; stepping closer to Miles but pauses as soon as he sees the boy's guise threateningly look like he's going to swing away from the situation.
“Look, what I said was wrong. You are not a mistake- and you have proved it when you killed Spot back then. I’ll grant you your deserved Gizmo and you can come back to the HQ as a proper Spider-Man. Your requirement has already been completed after all.”, Miguel said with not a hint of remorse.
His arm reached out toward Miles to offer a shiny piece of metallic orange band shamelessly; as if the payment for his membership to this Spider-Society is just a small piece of candy that he can buy at the side of the street anytime he wants.
Peter B. Parker
Peter B. Parker felt as if the world was telling him its cruelest joke, Miguel had shown how insensitive he can be to the boy who had just lost his father. Did the man never bother to learn any social cues on how to speak with people? He wanted to express how angry he was in that moment but he was also equipped with a sleeping Mayday strapped to his chest and sobbing Gwen by his side.
Gwen Stacy
Gwen’s tears fell freely as she felt more and more remorse filling her inside after everything that had happened. She shouldn’t ever try to betray Miles or even start her compliance with Miguel just because she's afraid of a confrontation with her dad. But she did and it hurt Miles, killed his dad while hers? Still alive and well.
Pavitr Prabhakar
Pavitr gasped in shock as he listened to the words leaving Miguel’s mouth so freely. He has heard of what happened in the HQ while he was dealing with the black hole in his universe and truthfully he always knew how cold and calculated 2099 Spider-Man can be to the people around him. But even he can imagine how hurtful words he had insulted Miles with back at the HR, just from a few sentences he spoke now.
Hobart Brown
Hobie is seething in anger, ready to step forward and land a nasty punch on Miguel for his audacity. How dare he act as if what happened to the boy was nothing of life-changing? He always hated the man’s attitude and how he controls the HQ and everyone in it, but this is another level of disrespect.
Before he could ever act on his plan, a maniacal laughs merged from Miles's mouth.
“No, no, you’re not wrong. I am a mistake.", He snickered before continuing.
"The spider wasn’t even supposed to bite me. It’s just by some twisted fate that I got this power and because of me, the original Spider-Man died. Oh, and Uncle Aaron too, I guess. And then, to put the cherry on top, the universe breaks loose because of me! Hell, Miles-42 is supposed to have this power but it’s all wasted on me, a coward, selfish, self-centered bastard. While his father died for no reason since he didn’t become a Spider-Man!”, Miles blabbered maniacally.
Almost as if he was trying to reassure himself that all that ever happened was a silly mistake. But the usual shine of his honey-laced orbs are gone, leaving only emptiness and black void hiding damply behind his cheerful talk.
Miguel was taken aback by what he hears, but before he can intervene, the boy continues.
“I won't be a fit in your little elite team, not once nor ever. I don’t even think I could keep quiet and just let some canon events happen if I could do something about it, you know? But I do wish you would have kept quiet about my dad’s fate of dying for me so I don’t have to know beforehand. Or maybe I should have just stayed behind in that cell until this whole process ended. Yeah, that be much better...", Miles exhaled regretfully.
"So, you can keep that thing, because I don’t want it. Not that I have anyone I want to visit with that watch anyway.”, he laughed sarcastically, as his hands firmly supported the cold body in his embrace.
Gwen and Peter winced at every sentences Miles uttered but it was their fault for leaving the teen behind so they still have to accepted it with a heavy heart. Miguel, on another hand was ready to defend his action when Jess stepped in front of him and placed her arm in between them. Without a word, she sends a warning glance at the man to stop as if she has no more trust in Miguel’s capability. The leader can only tsked in annoyance before he decide to walk away into the portal.
Miles looks beyond the hordes of Spider-people and walks closer to a lanky punk, ignoring everyone but him. He places a tired smile and calls out to the man.
“Thank you for always helping me even when you just met me”.
Hobie huffs in ever-growing affection to the boy and just nods in response. He didn’t want to hold him from going back to his home, after such a tiring day, fighting against all these sick fucks who call themselves a hero.
"No prob, bruv. Ready to help.", He voiced casually; giving the boy a signal to go before others would try to surround him again.
And just like that, Miles put on his mask and swung away from the scene, without giving any words to the others' presence.
7.13 p.m.
Usually, the feeling of cold air hitting Miles’s face as he swings around the city at night always leaves him thrilled and content. He would even spend hours on patrol just to find an excuse to wander the town from one big skyscraper to another or fly in the air. Well, not that he can ever fly but being suspended in mid-air for a few seconds does somehow recreate the same feeling as how he ever imagined flying was.
But currently, all Miles feels is how long the time has become as he carries the bloodied body to the hospital his Mami works. It was the closest he could reach with his almost empty web-shooter and aching body.
He didn’t care about how people looked at him as he entered the emergency entrance and placed his dad on one of the ICU stretchers. In minutes, a few nurses approach the body with heavy concern plaguing their faces. They quickly do a bodily scan on his dad before sighing in pity and covering his eyes.
And Miles does want to stay back and just be with his father for one last time, trust him.
But the moment his mother ran into the room with a panicked expression along with her co-worker, Miles left. Afraid to see her emotions in person. Or even explain how Jefferson Morales died in the action because of him.
Truly, Miles Morales is a failure.