Miles Morales stood frozen, his heart sinking as he surveyed the devastation before him. The parking lot was in ruins, and in the midst of the chaos, lay Ganke Lee’s body, broken and mangled. Blood was everywhere, it was wrong. So wrong. This was not how it was supposed to go down.
Miles bolted to his side and knelt before Ganke, checking his pulse, hoping he was still alive. Thank god, there was a faint beat, but it was weak. Panic washed over him as he realized he had let that mutant freak "Rhino” who was responsible for the assault get away.
Ganke had stupidly ran into the chaos looking for him with zero regard for his own well-being when he disappeared at the start to swing into action.
The sound of police sirens filled his ears, and he knew he had to do something fast.
Taking matters into his own hands, Miles web-slung Ganke's body and made a beeline to their dorm room. Hospitals couldn't fix this, not with the injuries Ganke had.
He hoped he was making the right call.
Finally reaching their room, Miles carefully placed Ganke on the bottom bunk. He tried to ignore the blood seeping unto the sheets and his already stained hands in favor of examining his friends scraped body. No doubt a brain injury, countless broken bones, and a few cuts. Miles couldn’t confirm it but he wouldn’t be surprised if he was bleeding internally as well. He prayed he didn't just screw things up even more.
In a moment of crazy desperation, he bit the flesh of Ganke’s neck with his dull fangs.
His weak attempt to pierce the skin only encouraged him to go at it repeatedly until the spot was dark and bumpy (a sign of infection).
Hoping that his own spider powers could somehow save his friend, a hypothetical he had only jokingly discussed with Ganke while hanging out on rooftops on weekends before patrols, he licked into the neck puncture and the scrapes for good measure.
He’d listened in health class about the spread of the herpes virus and how it could be contracted with mouth to mouth contact and what-not.
It was a wild idea, but he was running out of options. He leaned over his best friends immobile figure and stretched his mouth open and spat into it, hoping he still had his swallow reflex.
Then, he positioned his mouth over Ganke’s properly to french kiss him. He’d hardly call it a kiss though because Ganke stayed unresponsive throughout the entire thing. His small lips felt cold pressed against his own. He tried to savor the after taste left on his tongue from hotdogs earlier and imagine he was kissing Ganke who was alive and well any other time, anywhere else. He made sure to prod his tongue into the inside of his cheek and lick his gums just in case. (This is for Ganke’s sake, is what he keeps telling himself.) He pulls away and wipes the trail of spit that dribbled down his chin, satisfied.
Unexpectedly, Ganke's body came to life and went into full-on freak-out mode, convulsing like crazy. He couldn’t help but compare the disturbing sight to a fish out of water.
Did he always look this pale?
The pain was written all over his face, and his screams filled the room, not unlike mile’s own experience with the venom. Panicked, he grabbed one of his friends pillows and shoved it in his face to conceal the noise.
Minutes filled of his best friends suffering passed by, feeling like an eternity. He had gone quiet so Miles slowly retracted the rose stained pillow from his light face.
He was still shaking violently when Miles clutched his sweaty, trembling right hand. His body felt like it was on fire so he quickly freed him of his layers. By the time he had finished, Ganke's body finally stopped, and his face unscrewed.
He began to breath softly before his eyes popped open, looking all dazed and confused. He managed croaked out Miles' name once, barely audible, before passing out again.
Miles couldn't fully grasp yet what he had done, so he sat there in disbelief, on the ground for a moment before wondering if the people living next door were dialing 911.
He slowly inched his trembling hand towards his motionless friend and felt his pulse. At least he was alive, but Miles couldn't shake the guilt of what he had put his friend through.
Now that Ganke had been pacified, he drifted off into a peaceful sleep. It seemed like he was on the road to recovery, but Miles couldn't help but worry.
Would he be mad at him for doing this without asking? Would he be cool with the whole spider transformation thing?
Miles continued to sit there shaken, feeling a mix of guilt, relief and anxiety. He hoped he didn't just make a big mess out of everything.
He looked back at Ganke’s peaceful expression sadly. He still looked a bit like a corpse, but a very attractive one nonetheless.
Only time would tell what consequences would come from his reckless move, but for now, he could only treat his minor wounds and hope that Ganke would pull through.