Chapter 2
“I just had to go and tempt fate didn’t I,” Miles thought to himself as he swung through the city.
Just when he’d gotten comfortable in bed, the police scanner in his room started going off. Apparently, some idiots decided they wanted to break into a warehouse and set off the alarms. Which meant that Spider-Man needed to get there and stop them. Which also meant, no good night’s rest for Miles. Man, he was gonna be exhausted tomorrow. After leaving a note for his parents, he was off into the night.
There was barely any sound coming from the city save for the occasional flicker of a streetlight. He thought he could hear the sound of police sirens, but they were well off in the distance. Probably wouldn’t be showing up for a little bit.
Landing on a rooftop across from the warehouse, Miles scanned the area. The large gate entrance to the warehouse had been broken through. As he approached, he could feel his body starting to flood with adrenaline, anticipating a fight. He lept up into the rafters, following them deep into the warehouse.
He found himself in a large storage area. Below him, he could see a group of rather mean-looking criminals wearing masks loading boxes into the backs of two vans parked at the back entrance. They were all wearing backpacks that glowed a bright, neon purple. On the sides of the boxes, he could just make out a shiny, silver logo. Hammerhead Industries.
“So this is a Hammerhead warehouse. Makes sense why they would hit it.”
He noticed one of them barking orders to the rest. Must be the leader.
“Hurry up! The boss is waiting for us!”
Miles cracked his knuckles. Time to go to work. He landed silently behind the group.
“Guys, you do know that some of us need sleep right?”
They all startled, whipping around to face him. “Crap, it’s Spider-Man!”
They all spread out into a semi-circle, encircling the young superhero. Their backpacks lit up and Miles watched as weapons formed in their hands. Guns and gauntlets were the main choices. Is that programmable matter?” he excitedly thought, momentarily forgetting why he was there.”
“You shouldn’t have come here kid,” the leader growled out. A sword materialized in his hands, the tip pointed at Miles, which focused his attention again.
“If you guys hadn’t decided to break into a place you clearly don’t belong…” Miles drawled, gesturing around with his hands. “..then I wouldn’t be here in the first place. Now, I’ve had a long day and I’m really tired so is it too much to ask you guys to just surrender?” The sound of energy building up was the only response. “Didn’t think so.”
The leader lunged forward, swinging his sword at Miles. Miles somersaulted backward, avoiding the blow. He shot out a web line and swung toward the man, delivering a powerful kick to the chest. The impact sent the criminal sprawling backward, crashing into a nearby wall.
His spider sense suddenly went off, allowing him to narrowly dodge the energy bolts that were fired his way. He watched as they impacted, scorching the concrete.
“Better not get hit by those.”
The remaining members attacked simultaneously. Miles' agility and enhanced senses allowed him to dodge their strikes and shots with relative ease. He bobbed and weaved, his spider-like reflexes guiding him through the chaos as he went about dispatching the would-be robbers.
After leaping over several of them, Miles channeled his bio-electricity, which he dubbed ‘Venom Power’ one late night, sending arcs of energy pulsing through the air. The bolts crackled, hitting multiple targets and causing them to fall to the floor in pain.
Miles hoped that would be the end of it, only to have to narrowly avoid another attack from the sword-wielding leader. He received no respite as the assault continued.
The two combatants clashed, their movements a blur of punches, kicks, and acrobatics. The leader swung his sword with precision, forcing Miles to evade and counter with calculated strikes. He did his best to weave around the electrified weapon, at times the sharp edges coming a little too close. He needed to end this before he lost a limb.
Miles activated his camouflage ability, disappearing from view. Confusion washed over the leader, who swiveled around in search searched for the elusive hero. Suddenly, a sharp punch landed on his jaw, followed by a swift kick. Miles utilized his power to his advantage, landing powerful blows while remaining invisible.
In a desperate attempt to regain the upper hand, the leader slammed his sword into the ground, sending a shockwave of energy coursing through the area. The attack forced Miles to deactivate his camouflage as he dodged. However, it also created an opening.
Miles seized the opportunity and propelled himself forward, striking the leader with a series of rapid punches and kicks. Each blow landed with remarkable precision, taking advantage of the leader's momentary vulnerability. Seeing an opportunity to end the battle, Miles unleashed a final surge of venom, surrounding his fists with a pulsating blue glow. With one swift strike, he connected with the leader's chin, sending him crashing to the ground, defeated.
“Gotta say, I was expecting a little better,” Miles quipped as he walked over to the downed leader. “Now you mentioned a boss, right? If you could just point me in their direction, I would love to talk to them about…”
He was unable to finish his sentence as something whacked him in the back, hard . He was sent flying through the air, crashing into a stack of boxes, sprawled out.
“The hell just hit me?”
“Get up,” he heard a slightly warped, but distinctly female voice yell. He managed to lift his head up and focus through the pain to see a woman in a leather jacket and purple hoodie helping the sword guy up. “The cops are almost here. Let’s go!”
“What about the others?”
“Leave them,” the woman coldly responded, running towards one of the parked trucks. They got in, wheels spinning as they booked it out of there.
“Wait.” Miles tried to get up and go after them, but that hit must’ve rocked his head more than he thought because he couldn’t move fast enough, stumbling over his feet. By the time he got outside, they were long gone.
“Damn it. Who were those guys,” he questioned. That tech was insane, far more advanced than anything he’d seen any of the criminals in his universe use before. And that woman. Miles had no clue who it was but clearly, they were dangerous.
“I’m gonna have to keep an eye out for them. I doubt this is the last I’ll hear of them. Maybe I can ask Dad if he knows anything about these guys.”
Hearing sirens approaching the warehouse, Miles shot out a web and zipped away. The police could handle the rest. He really needed some sleep.
“So they’re called The Underground,” Gwen asked Miles. The two of them were sitting in a booth at the burger spot Miles had seen, Burger Den, talking after they’d down the last bit of their food. Gwen had never come here herself, a fact she lamented considering how delicious it was. She’d definitely be returning.
Miles nodded his head in answer to her query. “That’s what my dad said. Apparently, they used to be some small-time gang, up until their new boss took over. They call her The Tinkerer.”
“The Tinkerer ?” Gwen giggled when she heard the name. “First, The Spot and now The Tinkerer. Your villains have some lame names.”
“Hey!”
Gwen outright laughed as she saw Miles pout.
“The reason they call her that is because of the new tech she’s bringing in. They pack a serious punch.” Miles rubbed the back of his head as he said that.
“I will admit, that programmable matter stuff does sound cool. I bet Peni and Margo would love to get their hands on something like that.”
“ I want to get my hands on it. If only so that they don’t have it. Anyway, the Undergrounds’s taking that stuff and upping their game. They’ve been targeting Hammerhead Industries shipments.”
Gwen shuddered a bit. “That CEO is a villain Miles. I remember that picture you showed me. There’s no way he’s not shady.”
“Yeah, I agree with you. I don’t know Gwen, something about all of this just has me on edge,” Miles admitted to his friend. “Feels like something big is brewing. Haven’t felt like this since…”
“The Spot,” Gwen finished for him, the words slightly muted. Miles nodded his head.
Even though it was long past, neither Miles nor Gwen liked to talk about it. There were too many bad memories and barely missed disasters wrapped up in that.
Gwen leaned forward, biting her lip. A clear sign that she was worried. “You’ll call me if things get too big though, right?”
Miles smiled, leaning in himself. “It’s not that serious yet. Besides, maybe I’m just being pessimistic. I have a tendency to assume the worst ever since Spot. I’m sure this won’t be that bad. No need for you to worry about me.”
“Easy for you to say,” Gwen mumbled to herself, before looking Miles in the eye. “I’m just saying, you can rely on me, Miles. If you need help, I’m there.”
Miles wished he could express to her just how much that meant to him. How much that warmed his heart. But he didn’t want to scare her off, so he settled for reaching for her hand and giving it a squeeze.
“Thank you, Gwen.”
Gwen’s cheeks were suddenly colored pink, but it didn’t stop her from smiling and returning the grip. The two of them sat there like that for a few moments, and it probably would have been longer, had it not been for Miles's watch going off. He looked down, seeing a text from Phin.
“Are we still meeting today Miles? You didn’t answer my last text.”
Miles cursed, scrolling up to see that Phin had indeed messaged him about 30 minutes ago. Crap. He quickly typed a text back.
“Sorry! Was wrapped up in my own stuff. I definitely wanna meet up. Where at?”
“ Sweet! 78th and West End.”
“By the Science Center? Why there?”
“You’ll see. See you in 20. Don’t be late.”
“Sorry Gwen,” Miles apologized, standing out of his seat. “I gotta go. I promised Phin I’d hang with her today too.”
Gwen’s eyebrows furrowed. “Phin?”
“Oh right, I never told you. She was my best friend. From before I transferred to Visions,” Miles replied, already making his way toward the exit. ‘Actually, you should meet her. I think you guys would get along. We’ll have to set that up soon! See you later!”
Before Gwen could get another word out, Miles was out the door, leaving her alone, the only evidence that he’d been there being the lingering warmth from where he’d held her hand. Her eyes narrowed even more as it sunk in that her friend had ditched her to go see another girl.
“Who the hell is Phin?”
Miles scrambled up the ladder, seeing Phin standing at the top, arms crossed and an amused look on her face.
“Took you long enough molasses,” she joked. “Hurry up!”
“Haha, very funny.” Miles deadpanned as he finally reached the top. Phin had already moved over to a container that was attached to the roof. His eyes widened in recognition
“So this is why you wanted to meet here,” he said as Phin bent down to pry the lid open.
“Almost bailed because you took so long. Now give me a hand with this. It’s stuck.
With Miles helping, the cap opened with ease. He held it up while Phin stuck her hands in. She pulled out a green lockbox.
“The time capsule’s seen better days,” Miles remarked, looking at the faded coloring.
“You remember the combination?”
“Yeah. It’s uh…”
Phin giggled as Miles trailed off. He racked his brain, trying to remember what the code was. Phin’s brother Rick constantly told them to remember it instead of always needing him to open it. The memory of Rick telling them that finally jogged Miles’ own.
“The Fibonacci sequence,” he snapped his fingers, smiling.
“Nice!” Phins said, turning the dials to 0-1-1-2 and pushing the button. The lid popped open, revealing a square-shaped object.
“Our award,” she exclaimed, pulling it out. Across the side in big white letters. Phin Mason and Miles Morales.
“I mean, our energy converter was pretty fire.”
“Truth,” Phin agreed.
Miles noticed a picture stuck to the side. “Wow, look at us.”
Phin leaned over his shoulder to look. It was her, Miles, and Rick standing in front of their energy converter. “Man, we were goober central,” she remarked, cringing a bit at the large glasses she used to wear back then.
“Yeah, we were.” Miles laughed in agreement. “Except for Rick. He always looked suave didn’t he?”
Instead of answering, Phin turned away from him, looking down at the ground. Similarly to last night, mentioning Rick seemed to put Phin in a bad mood.
“Something going on with him? You guys get into a fight?”
“No. No fight,” Phin quickly denied. “It’s fine. Really.”
“Phin,” Miles interrupted, moving to stand closer to her. His voice was filled with concern. “Why have we really lost touch over the last few years?”
Miles saw her mouth open and he thought he would finally get an answer, only for Phin to suddenly check her watch.
“Crap, Now I’m the one whose late. I gotta go.” She handed him the award before trying to walk off. Miles sighed.
“Hey Phin.” His words made Phin stop and turn back to him. “I feel like we both have stuff we’re not sharing. Next time we hang out, no more secrets. Deal?”
She gave him a soft smile and a nod. “Yeah. That sounds nice.” Her smile then morphed into a sly grin. “But only if you’re not late next time. See you soon, short stuff.”
Miles rolled his eyes good-naturedly as the ivory-haired girl started to walk away. “You know I’m taller than you now, right?”
“Not in here,” Phin quipped back, pointing at her head.
Miles could only laugh as she disappeared down the ladder. He looked back at the photo and the award, remembering a time when he and Phin were as close as it got. He vowed to himself right then that he would do whatever it took to repair the bond he had with Phin.
If there was one thing he learned over the past couple of years, it was that it was never too late to repair relationships. Especially with the people you really care about.
In a big, almost conference-like room of Hammerhead Industries, the CEO, Joseph Hammerhead, sat at his desk. It was a fairly lavish office, but it still radiated an intimidating aura. Although, much of that could be attributed to the man who owned the office. And the building it was housed in.
He held a phone to his ear, his eyes glowing with menace. On the other end of the line was a woman.
“Care to tell me what happened with your partner last night?”
The woman huffed. “Apparently, Spider-Man showed up.”
“The bug,” he spat out.
“Yes. His interference is why she failed to grab everything.”
“Don’t be slick with me. My plan hinges on everything!” He slammed a hand down on his desk. “Deliberately letting my trucks take the hits is costing me more than I would like. But the price was going to be well worth it. But only if that girl delivers.”
“And she will…”
“She’d better. Otherwise, it won’t just be her that pays the consequences.”
Hammerhead slammed the phone down on the receiver, abruptly ending that conversation. He stood out of his chair, walking over to a large window overlooking the facility. Down below, situated in the middle of the facility, sat a large generator, brimming with untold amounts of power. A power that would help him achieve his ultimate goal.
“She’d better.”