Chapter 3
The Tinkerer walked up to an abandoned building. After quickly scanning around to ensure no one was looking, she walked through the doors. There was nothing special to look at, just a simple hallway with an elevator.
She stepped into the contraption and pressed the down button on the wall. It shuddered before starting to move. It was only a short time before she finally reached the bottom. The elevator doors opened, revealing the secret hidden within the walls.
It was a secret hideout. There were Underground members all over. In one corner, some were practicing hand-to-hand combat with each other. In another, there were dummies with scorch marks on them, clearly used for target practice. In the center of a wall in the back, a large tv screen was mounted. There were members gathered around, listening to a story on the news about the aforementioned gang.
“Yo Tinkerer!”
She turned, seeing a big guy walking up to her.
“That lady is here. Wants to see you.”
The Tinkerer groaned, already knowing who he was talking about.
“Where is she,” she asked, exhausted already.
He pointed to a door that sat at the top of a small flight of stairs. “In your lab.”
“Make sure everything’s in place for tomorrow,” she tells him before stomping past him. She walked up the stairs and grasped the door handle, pulling it open and shutting it behind her.
“What do you want, Doc?” Phin faced the door.
“Oh Phin,” a voice called out. Phin turned, her mask dematerializing to show her face clearly. A woman with hair tied back into a large bun and wearing big glasses stood in the center of the room. It was Olivia Octavius “I told you. My friends call me Liv.”
Phin shook her head. “Alright. Why are you here, Liv ?” The sarcasm was heavy as she walked over to the workbench.
“Well, Phin. I’m here to figure out…what the hell happened three days ago!”
“Calm down. It’s not a big deal.”
“Not a big deal? I sticking my neck out here. You were supposed to take everything! Not just half.”
“And I would have if weren’t for Spider-Man! If he hadn’t shown up, everything would’ve gone according to the plan.”
Olivia walked next to the girl. “I don’t care about the spider. We’ve spent too long planning this. It’s too important…
Phin slammed her hand down on the table. “I know how important this is!!” She closed her eyes tightly, willing the tears fighting to leave her eyes back. She took some deep breaths to calm down.
“I’m sorry Phin. I didn’t mean it like that,” Olivia apologized. “I cared about him too. That’s why we’re both doing this. And why we can’t afford any mistakes.”
“There won’t be,” Phin assured her.
“Good. Are you ready for the last hit?”
Phin nodded her head. “Yeah. Thanks to you, we know the supply convoy carrying the Nuform will be heading out tomorrow and we know the route they’re taking. We’ll hit them while they’re on the Brooklyn Bridge. Surround them and it should be easy taking.”
“Make sure that it is,” the doctor remarked, before leaning in a little closer. “And about our other secret project?”
“I’m working on it.”
“Well can I at least see it?”
“And give up all my leverage?” Phin scoffed. “I know we’ve been working together but I still don’t fully trust you. So for now, it stays with me.”
Olivia gritted her teeth, clenching her fist before letting out a big sigh. She smiled, although, it was a very tense one. “Very well, if that’s what it takes. Keep me posted,” she stated before making her way out of the lab.”
“Yeah yeah. Will do.” Phin threw out at the woman before the door closed behind her. A buzz from her pocket drew her attention. Pulling out her phone, she smiled when she saw a text from Miles. It had been a couple of days since their talk.
“Hey! You wanna hang out tomorrow afternoon?”
A second message followed directly after.
“I’m not trying to force you to talk btw! I just figured we could use some fun. Like the good ole days. Well, not THAT old lol.”
Phin chuckled. He was such a dork. Kind and caring, but a dork. She typed back a response.
“Yeah sure thing, short stuff. Where at?”
“Not entirely sure yet. I’ll let you know in the morning. And stop calling me short!”
“Ummm…nah lol.”
He sent her the side-eye emoji. She sent a crying laughing one right back, the perfect reflection of her current status. She was about to put her phone away when it buzzed one last time.
“Oh, I invited my friend Gwen to come too! Hope that’s ok. I think you’ll like her.”
Phin read the text once, and then twice, her eyes narrowing. Miles was bringing another girl to hang out with them…
“Who the hell is Gwen?”
“So this…Gwen was it? How long have you known her?”
Miles turned to look at Phin. They were both standing outside of a building, waiting for Gwen to arrive. Despite it being summer, it was a fairly chilly day outside so they were both wearing jackets.
“Oh. A little over two years now.”
“That long huh? You guys must be close.”
“Yeah,” Miles remarked, a small smile on his face. Close was probably a bit of an understatement. After everything they had been through together, he could easily say Gwen was the most important person in his life, including his parents. Like they always said, they were the same. Miles was so deep in his thoughts that he failed to notice the frown on Phin’s face.
“Hey Miles!”
They both looked as Gwen bounded up to them, a wide smile on her face.
“Hey Gwen…wait, is that my jacket,” Miles asked her, cutting off his own greeting.
“Yeah,” Gwen confirmed, glancing at the green jacket she had debated wearing for about twenty minutes before she left. “I borrowed it last time I came over to your house.”
“Of course you did. You always do. Honestly, you should probably just keep it at this point.”
They both laughed at that. They were interrupted, however, by the sound of Phin loudly coughing.
“Are you gonna introduce me, Miles?” Phin smacked his arm. It felt more like a punch, given the amount of force she used. He discreetly rubbed the impact zone before speaking.
“Oh sorry! Gwen, this is Phin. My best friend from middle school. Phin, this is Gwen. We became best friends at Visions. Not that you’re not still my best friend Phin! I just have another…uh…friend. You’re both best friends. Well, my best friends. Obviously, you two aren’t that yet. But you will! I mean your names rhyme. Gwen and Phin. Phin and Gwen. See? Hehehe…”
“Oh my god. You’re such a dork.” Phin chuckled at his nervous rambling before focusing on Gwen. She smiled, sticking her hand out for a shake. “It’s nice to meet you, Gwen.”
“Nice to meet you too, Phin.” Gwen returned, smiling as well.
If one paid close attention however, you could see that those smiles didn’t reach their eyes. Both girls were looking each other up and down, eyes slightly narrowed. Tension filled the air between them.
“So ladies, I hope you’re ready for some fun!”
The two looked away from each other, the standoff momentarily broken off.
“What are we doing Miles,” Gwen asked him. Miles gestured up to a bright, colorful sign. How she had missed it walking up, she couldn’t say. “Emporium?”
“My favorite arcade,” Miles explained excitedly. “I haven’t been here ages. Me and Phin used to come and play all the time. In between studying, of course.”
“You mean we used to come here and I would absolutely kick your butt,” Phin corrected him cheekily.
“That’s not how I remember it.”
“Of course you don’t.”
It was Gwen’s turn to frown, watching the easy camaraderie that Miles and Phin seemed to have. It reminded her of when Miles first met Margo. She didn’t particularly like it then. She definitely didn’t like it now.
“I haven’t been to an arcade myself in a while either.” She interrupted their banter. “Great idea Miles!”
“I’m glad you think so. Let’s get inside.”
Miles opened the door, holding it open for both of the girls before following through himself. They were greeted by bright neon lights, electronic sounds, and the smell of cheap pizza. It was wonderful.
“Man, this place hasn’t changed a bit.” Phin scanned around the room.
“So where should we start first,” Gwen asked the other two. The three teens all looked at each other.
“Racing!” They shouted at the same time, before hurrying over to the nearest game they could find. Spotting some open seats, they all slid behind a wheel and fired up a game. And that was how they spent the next hour. Trying different games and competing with each other to win. It was so much fun, the time just flew by.
“Oh man, it feels nice to sit down for a moment.” Miles collapsed into a seat in the food area.
“Tired from losing so much already?” Phin mocked him. The joke didn’t quite carry the same bite, considering she dropped into the chair on his left with as much force as he did.
“Again, that’s not how I remember it.”
“Seems like your memory isn’t quite working. That hasn’t changed either.”
“Hey!”
“ I think…” Gwen spoke up, coming to stand behind a chair to Miles's right. Unlike the other two, she still looked more than prepared to keep going. “...you both look dead on your feet. It’s kinda sad to be honest.”
They both glared at her, which only made Gwen laugh. “How about I go grab some food? What do you guys want on the pizza?”
“Pepperoni,” the two answered together. They turned to each other.
“Jinx!”
The two laughed at how in sync their minds were. Gwen did not.
“I’ll be right back,” she mumbled before walking off.
“So what do you think of Gwen,” Miles eventually asked Phin, after their laughter had subsided.
“Oh um…” Phin wrung her hands together. Frustratingly beautiful was her first thought. But she’d never say that to Miles. “She’s nice. Not exactly what I pictured.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I pictured a bit of a pretty girl honestly. Not saying she’s ugly. Definitely not. Not exactly the type of girl I would expect to be at that fancy school of yours.”
“Gwen doesn’t go to Visions,” Miles blurted out. Phin quirked an eyebrow at him His eyes widened as he realized his slip-up. “I mean, she didn’t always go to Visions.”
“How exactly did you meet then?”
Miles racked his brain to come up with a suitable answer. He couldn’t exactly tell her that Gwen was from another universe and that they used dimension-navigating watches to traverse between each others worlds and a whole host of other ones.
“We met at summer camp actually,” He began, making up a story. “It was only for like 3 weeks, but we became really good friends. Unfortunately, we neglected to exchange numbers before we both left so I didn’t talk to her for a long time. It wasn’t until a little over a year later that I saw her again. She’d transferred in then. But, we kinda got off to a rocky start that time.”
“What happened?” Phin leaned forward in her chair.
“It’s kind of hard for me to talk about. But she…lied to me. About something really important. It put me into a less-than-ideal situation, to say the least.”
“And you’re still friends with her?” Phin couldn’t believe that.
Miles nodded yes. ‘Yeah. Don’t get me wrong, I was really upset with her for doing that to me. But she also did a lot to help me get out of it, even though I was mad. Even though she knew it wouldn’t automatically mean I forgave her. And that meant a lot to me. We talked about it and we’re good now. Better than ever actually.”
Phin looked over to the counter where she could see Gwen being handed a box as well as a pitcher of water. Her respect for the girl begrudgingly went up a level. She looked back at Miles.
“I’m glad you found a good friend Miles.” She gently whispered to him, smiling softly.
“So am I.”
Gwen returned at that exact moment. She set two plates in front of Miles and Phin, two slices of pepperoni pizza on each one. She had two cheese slices herself. “Alright, eat up. I still got more games to crush you guys at.”
“Oh really?” Phin took a large bite. “How about skeeball next then?”
“Don’t fall for it Gwen,” Miles said in between chewing. “She’s scary good skeeball. I’ve never beaten her.”
“Let’s do it.” Gwen accepted the challenge, ignoring his warning. “There’s a first time for everything.”
“I guess there isn’t a first time for everything, ” Miles jokingly stated. Phin crossed her arms, a smirk on her face. Gwen stared at the scoreboard, mouth open in shock. Phin’s score absolutely crushed hers.
“It’s simple physics,” Phin haughtily responded. “I calculated the perfect angle and the right amount of force to always land inside the highest-scoring holes. Pretty easy if you ask me.”
Gwen felt her eye twitching. Man, this girl could be really arrogant at times.
“I told you Gwen.” Miles walked up to the blonde, patting her shoulder. “She’s too good at this.”
“I see that now,” she dryly remarked. She looked around, trying to find something she could beat Phin at. Locating a Dance Dance Revolution, her eyes gleefully crinkled.
“How about we try that?” She pointed at the console. Phin swiveled, only for her eyes to widen in horror.
“DDR,” she fearfully asked.
“Oh this is gonna be good.” Miles clapped his hands together.
“We don’t have to do that now, do we?” Phin nervously shifted. “Ooh look, the air hockey tables are free!”
“Actually, we do. Come on.” Miles grabbed the girl before she could run off, pushing her to follow Gwen, who had already begun making her way over to the dance machine. Phin had no choice but to go along with it.
“Let me show you two how it’s done.” Gwen confidently stepped up to the platform. She swiped through a few songs before settling on one and hitting play. The music started and the arrows began to trail up the screen quickly. But that wasn’t a problem for Gwen. She easily hit the steps, grooving to the beat. The years of ballet when she was younger really showed, her moves so graceful it was almost mesmerizing. The song eventually finished and she proudly looked up at her score.
“That was great Gwen,” Miles called out. Gwen blushed but she raised her chin, accepting the praise.
“Bet you can’t beat that,” she told him, hopping off so that Miles could take her place.
“We’ll see.”
Miles was surprisingly good at this game too. All the time he spent listening to music and occasionally making his own beats gave him a good sense of rhythm. He showed off some impressive footwork. But ultimately, it wasn’t quite good enough to beat Gwens.
“That was really good Miles!” Gwen high-fived him as he hopped off.
“Thanks. Obviously not good enough to top your score, but I’m happy with it. It’s your turn Phin.”
Phin jumped in shock as she heard Miles’s voice. The entire time she had been watching them, fear had been filling her body.
“O-ok.” She meekly walked onto the console.
Miles tapped Gwen on the shoulder. “This is gonna be amazing,” he whispered to her, grinning conspiratorily. They both watched as the arrows began to flow and it became abundantly clear what Miles meant. Phin was…awful. She simply couldn’t keep up with the speed, her steps always a second too late. Her movements stiff. It got so bad that eventually, she actually completely failed. The machine loudly announced “Game over”, signaling Phin’s turn was done.
“Hahaha.” Miles cackled holding onto one of the bars. Gwen was struggling to keep her own laughter in check, holding a hand over her mouth.
“Shut up! Both of you.” Phin hopped off, growling at them. “I hate this game!”
“That’s because you have two left feet,” Miles quipped, still laughing his ass off.
“I’m sorry Phin.” Gwen managed to reign her laughter in, reducing it to a small chuckle. “It’s just, that was really bad.”
“Whatever dude!” Phin stomped past them, shoulders held high. “I’m going to the bathroom.”
Miles and Gwen watched her storm away, clearly embarrassed about how poorly she had done.
“She was right, some things really don’t change,” Miles remarked.
“Has she always been that bad at dancing,” Gwen asked him.
“Yup. Poor girl has just never had rhythm like that. It’s sad. But also hilarious.” Gwen had to agree with him on that. “But aside from her terrible dance moves, what do you think of her?
Stunningly pretty came to Gwen’s mind. Hell would freeze over before she admitted that to Miles though. “She’s…nice. Seems really smart. A little bit of a sore loser though.”
“That’s an understatement.” Miles leaned his back against the bar of the DDR game. “Phin really doesn’t like losing at things. And yeah, she’s a genius. I know my stuff pretty well, but I’ve got nothing on her. She’s as smart as any of the best engineers in the world, I’m sure of it.”
“Her parents must be proud.” Gwen wasn’t prepared for the sad look that came over Miles when she said that. “What’s wrong?”
“Phin’s parents…they’re umm…they’re dead.”
Gwen gasped as Miles revealed. “Oh my god! I’m sorry Miles. I didn’t know…”
He waved her off before she could continue. “Don’t worry about it. There’s no way you could’ve known. It happened a year before our middle school graduation. Her parents were scientists. Well-respected ones. They were driving back from a conference one night and they…they were hit by a drunk driver. Neither of them made it.”
“That’s awful!”
“Yeah. It was really difficult for her. And her older brother, Rick. But Rick had to take care of Phin so, he kind of had to move past it as fast as he could, to be there for her. And Phin threw herself into science. I think she felt like she had to, to honor her parents. And obviously, she was really good at it. And well, I think that’s why sometimes she can be a little egotistic too. It’s part of how she…coped with everything. Please don’t take her attitude the wrong way! She means well. Really.”
The knowledge of her past really gave Gwen some new perspective regarding Phin. The girl had been through a lot. She’d lost her mother young too, but at least she had her Dad to lean on. She twisted to look at Miles, her eyes soft.
“It’s a good thing you guys reconnected. Seems like she could use a friend.”
Miles nodded his head in agreement. “I get that feeling too.”
The two sat in comfortable silence, listening to the sounds of the arcade.
“Phin’s been gone for a little while now.” Miles looked down to check his phone. “Maybe I should go check on her.”
“She went to the bathroom dude. The girl's bathroom. I’ll go check on her. You stay put, Spider-Boy.”
“Is everyone’s memory but mine not working? It’s Spider- Man .”
Gwen just laughed as she walked away from him. She headed to the bathroom and poked her head in. She called out for Phin, but she didn’t get any response. She turned around, swiveling her head around the arena. She saw Phin off in a quiet corner, phone lifted up to her ear. She looked to be having a serious conversation, judging by her face. Gwen made her way over and just managed to catch the end.
“I don’t care! Just make sure you’re ready for tonight.” Phin pressed the end call button with some force, shoving the phone into her pocket. “Amateurs.”
“Who’s an amateur?”
Phin yelped and spun around. “Jesus! Where did you come from? I didn’t even hear you make a sound.”
“Sorry. I’ve always been light-footed. Are you alright? It sounded like you were arguing with someone.”
“Huh? Oh no, that wasn’t anything serious.” Phin waved her hands. “It’s just, I’m uh…throwing a party. For my neighbor! She’s been stopping to check in on me while my brother’s out of town and I wanted to do something nice as a way to say thank you. Some of the other tenets were helping and one of them just called saying he was having trouble with…uh…decorations.”
Gwen cocked an eyebrow. “That conversation was about…decorations? Seemed a bit more serious than that.”
“I just really want everything to be perfect! I really appreciate her for helping me out. She didn’t have to.”
Something about that just didn’t add up for Gwen but she shook it off. She was just being paranoid.
“Ok. I just came to check on you. You’ve been gone for a while and Miles got worried.”
“Of course he did. Always looking out for other people, that guy.”
“You can say that again.”
Both girls laughed, knowing just how headstrong Miles could be when it came to helping someone. They made their way back to where Miles was waiting. They spent the next hour much in the same way they did the first. Playing games and having fun. They were in the middle of some air hockey when Phin’s phone rang again. She checked it and groaned frustratingly.
“I’m sorry guys, I gotta run.”
“Aw man. You sure you can’t stay a little longer,” Miles pleaded with her.
“I can’t. Sorry! I told Gwen this but I’m throwing a party for my neighbor and the other tenets are having some trouble with set up. I need to run and make sure everything’s in order.”
Miles hated that she had to go, but he nodded in understanding.
“Thanks for the invite Miles!” Phin turned to look at Gwen. “It was nice to meet you, Gwen. We should do this again soon!’
‘Definitely! It was great meeting you too Phin.”
Phin gave them one last wave before making her way to the exit and disappearing out into the day.
“That girl. Always on the move,” Miles said to Gwen, shaking his head in fond exasperation. “And of course, she’s doing something for her neighbor. That’s just like the Phin I know.”
“Yeah,” Gwen absentmindedly responded, still focused on where Phin had left. The girl did seem really nice, but Gwen couldn’t help but feel that something was…off. And for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out what it was.
Long after Gwen had gone home, Miles was doing his nightly patrol. Thankfully, it had been pretty quiet so far. He was just about to head back home when his mom called.
“Hola Mami.”
“Hola Hijo,” his mother’s loving voice greeted him. “Are you still out doing your rounds?”
“Sí. I was actually getting ready to go home before you called. What’s up?”
“Oh nothing. I just wanted you to let your father know that I’m on my way back too. I tried calling him but he didn’t answer.”
“He must be busy. Dad normally always answers.”
“The perks of being captain I guess. There’s always something going on that needs his attention. Anyway, I’m on the bridge. I’ll be back in Brooklyn shortly.”
That’s right. His Mom had gone over to Manhattan to help out a short-staffed hospital. The head doctor over there was a friend and when he called asking Rio for help, she’d headed right on over.
“Ok Mami. I’ll let Dad know.”
“Thank you Miles. I’ll see you soon…oh my god!”
Miles heard tires screeching before a loud explosion rang out, the call cutting out.
“Mom!!!”
He looked over to the Brooklyn Bridge, seeing a large plume of flames shooting up into the sky. He lept off the building he was perched on and began swinging in that direction as fast as he could. He dialed another number on his phone as he did, praying for a quick answer.
“Miles,” his dad answered the phone. “There was an explosion on the…”
“I know! I saw it. Dad, Mom is on the bridge!”
“What,” Jeff yelled.
“I was talking to her on the phone. She was driving and then all of a sudden I heard her scream and then the explosion happened. She’s in trouble!”
“I’m on my way Miles!” He could hear his father heavily breathing, no doubt sprinting to his car. “You’ll get there first. Find your mother!”
“On it.” Miles slipped his phone back into his suit pocket and kept swinging. There was no telling what kind of shape his mom was in. He willed his body to go faster.
At the speed he was moving, the bridge quickly came into view. He could see a bunch of people running off it, fleeing for safety. He landed on top of the stone towers, scanning for any sign of his mom’s car. He spotted it, flipped upside down. He also saw The Underground and Hammerhead security guards fighting a little further down. The guards were protecting a large, white truck.
“Mierda!” He needed to stop them. The fight was putting innocent people in danger. But he had to make sure his mom was ok first. He zipped down to the car, racing around to the front door.
“Mom,” he called out.
“Miles?” his mother’s voice called back. He’d never been more happy to hear it in his life. He ripped the door off its hinges, tossing it away. He finally laid eyes on Rio. Her face was covered in dirt and there was a small cut on her cheek. Nothing that looked too serious, but he needed to get her out to be sure.
“Mom! Are you okay?” He grabbed her shoulders, carefully pulling her out of the totaled vehicle.
“I...I think so.” She coughed a bit. Miles leaned her back against the car so that she could rest and he could start looking her over. He checked for any bad cuts or pieces of metal stuck in her side but didn’t find any. Satisfied that she was fine for the moment, he released a breath he hadn’t even known he was holding.
“I was so worried Mom. I heard the explosion and then you just cut off.”
“Oh hijo. ” Rio raised a hand to his masked face, caressing it. “I’m ok. Thanks to you. I was driving and then those men in the purple suddenly appeared in front of me. One of them knocked me out of the way with some kind of…glove or something. The car flipped.”
Miles clenched his fist. Damn those Underground guys! What were they thinking?
“Come on Mom.” Miles crouched to wrap his arms around her. “Let me get you out of here.”
His mother shrugged him off. “No. Miles, you need to stop those people.”
“Mom! I can’t just leave you here.”
“Miles. I’m fine . But other people are gonna get hurt if you don’t do something about them.”
Miles still tried to protest more. “But Mami…”
“Miles!” His mother gripped his face, staring directly into his mask lenses. “Stop. Them. Go be a hero.”
Miles reluctantly acquiesced, standing up and adjusting his wrist shooters.
“Dad’s on his way. Make sure you find him.” And with that, he swung off. Rio smiled as she watched her son leave. Taking a deep breath, she slowly stood up and began making her way somewhere safe.
He landed right in the middle of a standoff. The purple glow of the Underground on one side and the shiny white armor of Hammerhead security on the other.
“That’s enough!” He held out his hands, bringing the fight to a momentary pause. “Next person to fire off a shot is getting a nasty sting to the face.”
Just out of sight to his left, the Underground members in the front parted, revealing The Tinkerer. She slowly walked forward, mask shining menacingly. Suddenly, she jumped, kicking him in the chest. The blow sent Miles flying back into the side of the bridge.
“ Ow . Damn, she hits hard.” Miles stood up, only to get punched in the face and held back by two members of the gang. He watched as Tinkerer smack the Hammerhead guards away with ease.
“We’re after the Nuform,” she called out. “Nothing else matters.”
“Nuform?” Miles had never heard of it before.
Tinkerer moved up to the back of the truck. Shooting out two grappling hooks, she ripped the back gate down. Stepping in, she was greeted by rows of Nuform. She grabbed a container, twisting it out of the wall. Inside, the energy glowed a bright blue.
“I got what we need,” Tinkerer announced as she stepped out. She looked over where Miles was still being held. “Get rid of him.”
Miles finally had enough. He charged up his venom power, concentrating it on his hands. He slammed them on the back of the two people holding him, shocking them. They collapsed, clothes smoking slightly. He shot a web at the container of Nuform, pulling himself towards it.
Grabbing it with both hands, he tried to take it from the Tinkerer. They struggled, neither one able to gain the advantage. In the midst of this, Miles didn’t notice that all of the venom he gathered hadn’t yet dispersed from his body. The blue sparks of lighting traveled up the container, covering it. They then shot up toward the Tinkerer, hitting her mask. It short-circuited for a brief moment, revealing her face. A disturbingly familiar face to Miles.
“The hell are you doing,” The Tinkerer, Phin , yelled at him.
“Phin?” Miles was so shocked to see the face of his friend staring back at him that his grip on the Nuform loosened. Phin used his lapse in concentration to rip it away. Forming a gauntlet on her arm, she backhanded him. The blow sent him flying into the Hammerhead truck. Right into the supply of Nuform.
When he slammed into it, the last bit of his venom power hit one of the containers. It started to spark and buzz. The lighting then arced off to another container. Suddenly, the rest of the containers were going off, the energy building up.
“Crap crap crap,” Miles thought to himself.
“He’s destabilizing it.” Phin backed away from the truck and Miles. “Get down!” She formed a shield in front of her, the rest of the Underground doing the same.
Miles tried to run out, but he was too slow. The Nuform exploded, the shockwave sending Miles flying. It also shot the truck high into the air. The hunk of metal landed on the suspensions in the middle of the bridge, causing them to bend well beyond what they should. The store tower started to crack from the extra weight now being forced on it.
Phin looked around, seeing the damage. It was way beyond was she had planned for. She turned to look at the Spider-themed hero, who was slowly getting back to his feet.
“ Damn him,” she thought angrily to herself, swinging the Nuform canister up and around to her back. She turned to one of the gang members.
“Keep him busy,” she ordered, before running off.
The masked criminals surrounded Miles, all forming weapons of some kind. He did his best to shake off the blast and prepare himself for a fight.
“I need to hurry up and beat these guys.” He looked at the suspensions, which were just barely hanging on. “The bridge is gonna collapse any second now!”
“It’s over for you Spiderman,” one of the criminals taunted him. “You shouldn’t have gotten in our…”
His words were interrupted by the bottom of Miles’s foot connecting with his jaw. He was instantly knocked unconscious. Seeing one of their allies get cold-cocked, The rest of them decided it was time to start attacking.
Miles ducked and weaved through them, parrying the weak attacks and dodging the more dangerous ones. As he fought, he couldn’t stop thinking about what he had just seen.
“Phin’s the Tinkerer. How? Why?” He slid through the legs of an assailant, shooting two web lines at their back and then yanking them down into the ground.
“I saw her earlier today! And that stuff about a party. It was all just a lie. How didn’t I see that?” He corkscrewed through the air, avoiding a shot. He shot a web into the gunwomen’s eyes. Sending another at her chest, he yanked her towards himself. He bent back just as she would’ve collided with him. Instead, she barreled into a swordsman trying to sneak up on him.
“I was just so happy to see her. I should’ve pushed harder. I knew something was off! You should know better Miles!”
In the midst of berating himself, he failed to dodge an armored punch from one of the Underground criminals. It caught him in the chest, sending him flying into a car. He hit it hard and slumped to the floor.
“Ok.” He got back to his feet, rotating his shoulder. “You can worry about Phin later. Focus on these guys right now.”
He charged the criminals. With his mind fully focused, he quickly started to eliminate them. Using his venom strike, he incapacitated several foes, webbed them up, and disarmed their weapons, all the while avoiding the relentless assault of the rest.
The last one came at him widely. Miles easily lept over him into the air. He shot out a web at his shoulder. Using it for leverage, Miles pulled himself down, slamming a venom-charged fist into his face. It cracked the guy's mask. The criminal hit the ground and didn’t get back up.
“That’s for hurting my mom.” His victory lap was cut short by the sound of a large crack. The middle part of the stone tower finally gave way under the pressure. It fell directly onto the bride, thoroughly crushing the road below and creating a massive gap. The pieces of debris crashed into the water.
“ No no no no no…” The suspension cables flew down the bridge, still attached to the falling stone. Miles cast a web at the tail end of one, causing him to fly after them, skidding across the ground. He tried to hold it back, but it was a futile exercise. Even with his spider-enhanced strength, he had no hope of stopping them. The suspensions slid over the top of a parked bus, pushing it close to the edge. It also whipped Miles high into the air, spinning wildly.
He reoriented himself, shooting a web and latching on to the part of the tower that still stood. He curved back around, his black and red suit gleaming in the night sky. He could see that other pieces of the bridge were starting to collapse as well. His spider sense drew his gaze to the bus he had passed a couple of moments ago. A large part of it was now hanging off. It was about to fall. And to make it worse, there were people still on board.
He swung over, firing off a bunch of webs at the front, anchoring it to the road. He landed, shooting webs at the front window and pulling it back up.
“Everybody get out,” he ordered.
The bus driver waved the passengers off first. They scrambled out the door and away. Right as the driver made to follow, the part of the road they were standing on began to break apart. The bus lurched back, ripping away from the webbing and falling over the edge. Miles felt the weight on his webs increase massively as the bus started to free fall.
Just as he was about to go over, he planted his feet, stopping himself and the bus from heading toward the water. Inside, he could see the bus driver hanging on for dear life to one of the poles.
“Don’t worry! I got you!” Miles began to drag the large vehicle back up, only for the web in his left hand to snap. The entire weight of the vehicle suddenly shifted all to his right arm, forcing Miles to the ground.
“No!” It was useless. There was no way he could lift it with one arm. But he didn’t panic. He slipped off and used the tension on the web to slingshot himself at the bus. Breaking through the front window, he grabbed the driver and continued to fall. They burst through the back window and landed safely on a conveniently placed boat. The bus crashed into the water, creating a huge splash.
“Thank you!” the man told him. Miles turned and looked up, spotting more of the bridge falling. It left a considerable chunk dangling in the air, the cables on the sides just barely keeping it up. He could hear more people up there screaming for help.
Miles stepped up on the railing and jumped into the air. He cast a web and used it to launch himself even higher. Getting a bird’s eye view, he could see that there were five of them trapped.
“ What do I do?” An idea began to form in his head. He shot out two lines and zipped into the gap between the two pieces of the road. Taking aim with his web shooters, he began firing off as many webs as he could, tethering the undersides together. He then swung to the top, repeating the process again.
Satisfied that it was secure for the moment, he landed right across from the people in danger. His eyes searched for something that they could cross. Spotting a flatbed sitting next to them, he connected with a web, and dragged it over, attempting to form a makeshift crossing. Unfortunately, his hastily made tethers snapped, causing the piece he was on to sink and widening the gap far beyond what the civilians could jump.
Miles lept, throwing his hands out to his sides and casting a bunch of webs at both sides. Summoning every bit of strength he had, he dragged them close again, just barely getting the flatbed to hang over the safe half. The strain on his muscles was immense.
“Hurry! I…I can’t hold this long,” he shouted to the people. They ran across as Miles continued to struggle to maintain his hold. But just as the last woman was about to cross, the bridge rocked, titling the flatbed and causing it to fall with her still on it.
“No,” Miles yelled. He shot down after her. He caught her, saving her from falling to her death. He slung a web out to the nearest hard surface and swung them both back up. He dodged a taxi that came their way, zipped away from another bus, jumped off the top of a van, and finally, ran up the side of the Hammerhead truck. He landed safely, depositing the woman on her feet.
“Spider-Man…thank you!”
“Don’t mention it.”
He turned around, surveying the damage. “Dios mío.”
The bridge was in tatters. The stone tower was utterly ruined. Miles could only imagine how long it would take to fix that. Not to mention the actual road. He stared down at his hands.
“My powers. It reacted to that energy source in the truck. What was it called? Nuform? What the heck is Hammerhead doing with that stuff? What the hell does Phin want with it? Phin’s the freaking Tinkerer!”
Miles cursed under his breath. It was all too much at the moment. He had about a million different questions and precisely zero answers. Wonderful.
“Spider-Man,” somebody called out to him. It was his Dad. He had an arm wrapped around his mother, who had a bandage on her face and a brace on her left wrist. Miles rushed over.
“Mo-I mean, ma’am, how are you feeling?” Miles quickly corrected his slip-up, since they were still in public and anyone could be listening in.
“She’s got a sprained wrist,” Jeff answered for her. “And the doctor thinks she might have a small concussion. But nothing life-threatening. Thank god.”
“It could’ve been much worse.” His mother leaned in close, speaking quietly so she couldn’t be overheard. “Gracias por venir a rescatarme, hijo. Te quiero.”
“Por supuesto mami. Yo también te quiero.” Miles smiled at his mother.
Jeff moved closer and leaned down as well. “Are you okay Miles? What happened to the bridge?”
“I’m good. The Underground attacked a Hammerhead trunk. They were trying to steal the cargo it was holding. Something called Nuform.”
His father looked at him, confused. “Nuform? The hell is that?”
“I don’t know. But the Tinkerer wanted it. That’s what they were after.”
“So they blew up a bridge to get it? Oh, when I get my hands on this Tinkerer bastard…”
There was no way Miles could tell his dad that he’d been mighty close to getting his wish. That the Tinkerer had been invited over for family dinner by his wife just a few days ago.
“They didn’t blow up the bridge. I did that.” He interrupted. Rio and Jeff both looked at him incredulously.
“My powers. They reacted with the Nuform. Made it…unstable, volatile. The truck exploded and landed on the suspensions. The rest of it came down shortly after.” Miles bowed his head, clenching his fist in anger. “I know The Underground started it, but it’s my fault too.”
“ Hijo, you can’t blame yourself for this…” Rio started to try and comfort him.
“Hey!”
3 Hammerhead security guards suddenly stomped up, rifles in hand. The three members of the Morales family all shifted in their direction.
“Is there something we can help you with,” Jeff asked them.
The guards completely ignored his question. The one in the middle reached for his shoulder, pressing a button on his radio.
“We’ve got eyes on Spider-Man, please advise.”
All around, civilians stopped to look on.
The guard received orders in his ear. “Copy,” he confirmed. All of the guards then lifted their weapons, training them on Miles. This shocked the boy.
“No!” Miles moved in front of his mother. His father moved in front of him.
“Hey!” Jeff screamed at them. ‘The hell do you think you’re doing?”
“We have orders to bring him in.”
“The person who just saved these people’s lives? From who?”
The people watching all shouted in agreement with Jeff, yelling out “he saved us” and “he’s just a kid” at the guards.
“That’s classified, officer.”
“It’s Captain , so you better start declassifying it. How dare you point a gun at a hero! There’s going to be hell to pay for this. I can assure you of that.”
Jeff twisted his head, speaking to Miles. “Spider-Man. Will you do me a favor and take my wife home? I’m sure my son is worried about her.”
Miles heard what his dad was really saying. Take your mother home and look after her until I get back. He hurried to obey.
“Sure thing Captain Morales.” He wrapped an arm around his mother’s waist and once she’d secured her’s around his neck, he lept off, leaving his father to deal with Hammerhead.
They swung without talking, the thwip of his webs the only thing making any noise. Miles was still lost in his thoughts. He simply couldn’t get his mind around the events that had taken place tonight. It felt like something out of a bad dream.
“Are you alright, honey? You’re not still blaming yourself are you?”
His mother’s voice brought him out of his musings.
“Oh, no Mom. I’m just…tired, that’s all. It’s been a long day.”
“You can say that again.” Rio leaned against him, closing her eyes. “I know I should probably stay up for a while, with my concussion and all, but I don’t know if I can keep my eyes open that long.”
Miles chuckled, squeezing his mom a little tighter. “Don’t worry Mom. I’ll help. Gotta look after you. Dad’s orders.”
He could worry about everything else tomorrow.