1
“This is gonna be good for us, Spider-Man,” Spot called out, throwing his friends to the corner as if they were garbage. His friends. They were all hurt and it was his own fault. He should’ve never followed Gwen. If he hadn’t, it all could’ve been okay; They wouldn’t be injured, he would still be Spider-Man. But no , he just had to be a problem to everyone. Before he could go deeper into thought, Spot tore him out of it. Literally .
“You and me are finally gonna live up to our potential,” His voice was cold, and the words he spat out landed on Miles like ice. He wanted to scream, to fight back, to do anything , but he was frozen in place. Miles Morales, nothing more than a coward who couldn’t even stop a measly villain. Now, he wasn’t just a villain of the week, he was a full-blown nemesis waiting to crush him to pieces. He desperately wants to take back his words. He’d dedicate his life to time-travel just to apologize and take on The Spot when he was still fightable.
With the mask, no one would be able to see the warm tears blurring his vision. No one would see the teenager who wished he wasn’t a hero. The kid who just wanted to see his uncle again. No, he had to be strong. Hide behind his mask and build his walls up. An indestructible being made for justice. He managed to stand up. He could do this, he could fight The Spot before he got any worse –
…
“Miles! Watch out! ”
He didn’t manage to see the portal with a flying computer heading straight for his stomach.
…
“You’ll finally have a villain worth fighting, and I won’t just be a joke to you!” Spot roared to no one. Miles’ body laid there, he didn’t even get back up as he expected. No, this wasn’t right. His nemesis was supposed to be a worthy opponent, not a lump of potatoes on the floor. Spider-Man always got back up, no matter how he knocked him down. He got closer, but Spider-Man didn’t crawl away. Didn’t brace himself, didn’t even look away in fear.
But Spot wasn’t kind enough to kill him then and there. It doesn’t make a good show to kill someone without a fight. As he stared at the knocked out Miles, a foot managed to sneak its way behind him. He didn’t really care for the group of Spiders that were ready to fight. He’d rather get more powerful before tackling a team of them. His portals were immediately all over the building. There were at least a dozen portals ready to deal with these Spiders for him. With no nemesis to fight, and the urge to be stronger, a true villain, the only option for him was to follow his own, well-crafted plan.
The collider powered on, knocking the heroes to the floor for the second time. The portal welcomed Spot with open arms, tearing through him with warmth. The force pulled him closer, tugging his entire body into itself. The darkness surrounded him, engulfing with its all-powerful grasp. He let himself be taken, surrendering himself to this immense feeling. He turned towards it, seeing nothing but the inky black of the collider.
That is, until he was torn away from it with a web . He wasn’t moved very far, of course, the grasp of the portal not letting him get far. But still, seeing Spider-Mans last ditch effort was a web? Not some cool punch or something? It made him laugh, a little, seeing the group of heroes final attempt at stopping him while they still could.
“You’re not a joke! Right, gang?” Miles, barely keeping himself from falling, called out. His throat burned, and every fiber of his being was hanging on by a thread.
“Absolutely.”
“Really unamusing!”
“I don’t believe in comedy ... Just kidding!"
All their yells were futile. Spot wouldn’t give himself up, everything he's been working towards, because of an ego boost.
“See, no one here thinks you’re a joke!”
“They won’t after this,” he said, loud enough for Miles and only Miles to hear. His tone sharp enough to slice through their webs. Wordlessly, he snipped through their webs, silently delighting in their grunts as they fall to the floor. He finally was able to enjoy the pure darkness the portal brought him.
The collider got brighter, filling up the room with a blinding light, and with a blink of an eye, the portal was gone. Miles could cry, a wet gasp of relief eager to come out. He wasn’t dead. He’s pretty sure he’s sporting a broken rib and giant bruise, but he wasn’t dead.
“Well, another easy adventure for Spider-Man–” Pav started, confidence overshining the other’s Nonono- s and Wait- s.
Boom . A blinding burst of colors from the collider took over everyone's visions, and he could only hear yelling. He couldn’t see anyone else, he couldn’t see anything. With no vision and no cover, his spider-sense just had to go off. He braced himself, ready to dodge out of the way, to avoid any danger about to strike. Inky black spots took over his vision. He shut his eyes, and his hands instinctively covered his ears. Whatever was about to happen, he could take.
But he wasn’t expecting Spot to cross his mind. White pencil marks went through his brain, The Spot taking over anything he could do. With his full attention on the pictures going through his head, he couldn’t help but focus on what they were. Buildings being destroyed, at Spot’s call. A kid with a red shirt, and was that his dad ? Everything was going too fast, and he couldn’t even tell what was going on. All he could see was his dad, flashing between himself and a man Miles didn’t know. He looked to be a police officer of some kind.
Before he could really tell what was happening, the images stopped. Darkness filled his head once more. Relief filled him, but without warning he nearly fell over again. In the distance, he could see Spot, flashing in and out of vision – though that may have just been him blinking – and getting farther away. He looked up, and couldn’t help himself from asking the figure in front of him.
“What was that … ?”
It looked to be Spot, but he was … different. Instead of being white with black spots overtaking him, he was almost completely covered with the inky portals, only a few white scribbles left on him.
“ Our future. I’m going to take everything from you, like you took everything from me. ”
He could see his face – or what was left of it – now, staring with no eyes to speak of. Staring through him, digging into his body.
“… What? ”
Miles’ eyes widened, panic seizing him, pulsing through him. Before he could say anything, a retort, even a scream, Spot turned away. Miles couldn’t move, freezing. He couldnt go through the portal with him, couldn’t fight, couldn’t do anything.
“ See you back home, Spider-Man. ”
The voice from the darkness disappeared, along with its vessel. In front of him, rubble fell from the sky like rain, and if he didn’t start running he’d probably be crushed. He tried to get up, but his muscles were stiff and his limbs refused to move. Gwen was in front of him, she could help. And not long after, Hobie joined him by her side, ushering him along. But it was to no avail. He could feel his brain falling, vision going dark, and his eyelids were fluttering close.
“-les! Miles! ”
And he let the darkness overtake him, just like Spot did. Maybe they were meant to be nemesises after all.