The Many Sides of a Spider

He was training with the kids again.

The training course was more of a game this time; it involved a ball that the kid's goal was to keep him from getting it. As he suspected when he described the rules of the exercise to the group, Gwen was quick to point out that they were just going to play keep away.

Apparently all of his specially designed exercises were a glorified version of a children's game, although the group didn’t seem to mind it.

Once the training course began, he saw firsthand how well the teenagers worked together.

Watching Hobie and Pavitr give boosts to each other when he got closer to retrieving the ball, Gwen and Miles would pass the ball in strategic ways, like slipping through small spaces in between the pillars that were the chosen terrain for the exercise.

Miguel had begun to regret choosing to mimic the pillars and bridges that made up most of the Spider Society headquarters; the teenager's smaller forms made it much easier for them to slip through the tight spaces.

His strategy changed from targeting one of the kids to predicting when they would try to pass the ball along to their friends. After a while of back-and-forth chasing, each of the teens joked and gave taunting quips at him when he got close.

While it may seem aggravating to be seemingly losing to a group of teens, Miguel wasn’t using his full abilities. Slowing down his stride, not using his full strength to propel himself forward while climbing up pillars with his talons, purposefully missing opportunities to retrieve the ball.

He did all this because he didn’t want this to end.

Hobie's quips contained words and insults that he didn’t fully understand from the British slang the teen was often heard using.

The way Noir would pause for a quick pose, the wind that followed him blowing his coat, before the older teen commenced his quick plan of action.

Gwen jumping and web-swinging with the grace of a ballerina, her commentary on his actions calling him "The Blue Panther" or some other stupid nickname that matched his suit.

Miles showed off his abilities in new ways, while the kid offered up multiple one-sided conversations with witty comments and remarks mixed in.

Peni Parker would taunt him by opening the Sp//dr mech to show her munching on some random snack, giving him a smirk before the young teen jumped back into the action.

Pavitr doing tricks with his webs while he swung around, occasionally yelling "Watch this!" before he performed his yo-yo-like tricks to act as a distraction.

The cheerful personalities of the group of spider variants was something Miguel never wanted to give up.

He dreaded the thought of when this week's training would end; anytime he was around anyone of the Spider-Gang, he felt less alone. Less of a lonely boss that kept in his dark office unless absolutely needed, the kids were like a light that didn’t blind him but instead gave him something to live for.

Someone to protect.

Seeing all of the kids in the same room, working together, and having fun without the danger that awaited them when they went back to their universes. It made both his human and spider halves happy—a warm feeling in his chest like something was slowly thawing out before it wanted to make its voice heard.

It felt similar to the feeling Miguel knew meant a growl was about to emerge from his throat—sharp and jagged. But this feeling felt more fuzzy, with hills and bumps that whispered safety, comfort, and happiness.

Distantly, almost unnoticeable, he felt a small rumbling, like a mini-earthquake. However, as quickly as it appeared, it was gone.

Weird.

He shook off the strange feeling and let himself be present in the moment. Continuing the training with the group of teenagers, Miguel decided to take a page out of Pavitr's book and show off a bit of his web-swinging skills.

Launching himself towards Noir, who was currently in possession of the ball, he made sure to move slightly to allow the monochrome Spider-Man to dodge to the side. Miguel shifted his position in midair to allow him to land and push off a vertical pillar.

He continued his chase, watching Noir for any hint of him handing off the ball to one of his friends. While he jumped from the pillars, he added a bit of flair with the occasional web swing, landing on horizontal pillars with a somersault into a pounce back into the chase.

Eventually, Noir made a sharp turn, using his webs for assistance in the quick change, to briefly hide himself behind a large pillar.

Assuming the teen would appear on the other side, Miguel jumped over onto the large pillar, digging his talons into the material to secure him, positioning himself above where he’d last seen Noir so he would have the element of surprise when he showed up.

Thirty seconds passed with no sign of the teen; that was strange considering the pace he was traveling at, Noir should have been seen by him from his vantage point.

Miguel used his talons to climb around the large pillar, looking out for the black and white teen that should have been easy to spot against the red and white design of the pillars.

Hmmm….  Either the Spider-Gang had a really effective way of getting him off their trail, or Miguel’s skills in chasing and tracking were off today.

He decided just to swing around, using his advanced eyesight to try and spot any of the suits of the teenagers. It must have been at least ten minutes of swinging around looking for any members of the group before he perched on top of a pillar to gather his thoughts and make a plan.

Surely he should have found at least one of them by now. The training room was big, and with the added pillars and bridges for obstacles, it made it slightly more difficult to see other people, but it wasn’t impossible.

Did the group just leave the training without finishing the exercise?

If that were the case, Miguel would be giving the group a lecture on responsibility and commitments to their training together.

He jumped off of his perch on the pillar, letting himself freefall until he slowed his acceleration with a web shot above him. Once he landed, he looked around, expecting to see the Spider-gang sitting around and talking about some random idea someone had come up with.

But there was nothing but the empty white and red pillars that jutted out of the training grounds.

This was getting worrying…

His advanced hearing caught onto some fast footsteps approaching his position. Miguel turned around, and he was met with the sight of Pavitr running frantically towards him.

Miguel stepped forward, expecting the normally happy-go-lucky Spiderman to use his webs to swing upwards or to change direction to get away from Miguel, which was the whole point of the training course.

But instead, Pavitr ran straight into him, making a startled noise like he hadn’t seen the man until now.

Pavitr’s body language looked fraintic, the kids masked eyes looking behind him and then back to Miguel multiple times before he finally started speaking.

"Mig—Mr. O'Hara, Noir he—a-and then P-peni and h-her robot—I-it was so much a-a-and I can’t find Miles or–or Gwen or Hobie!"

The teen was shaking, his voice stuttering, and skipping around like he couldn’t believe what he was saying. The kid had started to push past Miguel, attempting to pull him along by his arm.

Something was definitely wrong.

He put his hands on the shaken teenager’s shoulders in an attempt to keep him still so Miguel could get some straight answers about the situation. Has an anomaly escaped? Was this some form of prank he didn’t know about?

"Pavitr, calm down, take some deep breaths." He gave his best attempt at comforting the teen and keeping his voice level and quiet to not startle the kid. "I need you to tell me what happened—was it an anomaly, a villain?"

Pavitr didn’t calm down, in fact he seemed to be growing more terrified the more the two of them were standing there. "I-I have to find Hobie. He wasn’t there when it happened, he’s not gone right?"

"When what happened, Pavitr. I need an answer." Miguel demanded, whatever was happening, it sounded like it needed to be dealt with fast. If it was causing the kids this much stress, it needed to be stopped, he hated to see even one of them this scared."

"W-we were doing the course and then—" Pavtir started until his head snapped back to where he was running away from.

That's when Miguel heard it.

The all-too-familiar glitching, static rumbling that was undoubtedly getting closer and closer.

Even with his heightened vision, he could barely see the first glimpses of the red glitching and consuming everything in its path.

Without a second thought, he grabbed Pavitr on the arm and ran. The teen stumbled behind him as he ran, using his talons on his feet to push off the floor to get farther from the growing red void.

Why was this happening again!?

He didn’t do anything that should have caused another universal collapse, did he?

Miguel had warned every Spider variant when he recruited them about the consequences of breaking the canon. Although he had only told a couple about his out experience with the consequences, for the majority, he just told them that he had seen it happen before.

When he and Pavitr where had the exit to the training area in sight, Miguel felt his grip on the kid's arm get pulled down as Pavitr tripped on his own feet.

He wasted no time in trying to get the kid back onto his feet. As he helped the kid up, he could feel the way the teenager's body was shaking, the eyes on his mask were completely shut as well.

"Hey, hey. Pavitr, you need to keep going." Miguel once again placed his hands on the kid's shoulders, shaking the teen so his eyes would open.

"M-Miguel I-I don’t like this." Pavitr’s voice shook, the teen pulling his arms around himself in a desperate reach for comfort. "M-my body it feels weird.."

He examined the kid's body as he continued to try and get the kid onto his feet, Pavitr's legs collapsing under his weight and sending both Spider-men onto their knees. Miguel's red eyes widened when he saw the red glitching that covered the kid's torso, spreading down his legs and crawling up to consume his head.

Miguel's hands that were planted on the kid's shoulders phased through Pavitr’s body as it disappeared, the last thing disappearing was the kid's face that was covered by the mask.

No. No. No. No. NO. NO

This wasn’t real, it couldn't be.

His ears were ringing, his spider-like instincts flaring in the back of his mind. Tell him to get the kids to safety, to kill whoever dared to do this to them. Eyes burning with unreleased tears, Miguel pressed the edges of his palms against his eyes until he saw bursts of color behind his eyelids.

Why was this happening again?

Was this what Pavitr was talking about when he said Noir and Peni were gone?

Where were the rest of the kids?

Miles.

Gwen.

Hobie.

Shock. He needed to find them.

However, when Miguel took his hands off of his eyes, he wasn’t in the training room. Instead, he was in a dark void, no walls in sight, just pure darkness.

Even more on edge than he was before, Miguel stood up, his talons unsheathed and ready to tear into his enemy's skin. He did a full turn in place, scanning his surroundings for anything that posed a threat. The buzzing, glitching noise of the universe collapsing was gone, replaced with a deafening silence that made his harsh breath seem as loud as a sonic boom.

"Why did you have to do it, Miguel?"

He snapped over to where the voice came from, ready for a fight. His defensive stance relaxed when he saw Miles, Gwen, and Hobie standing a couple feet away from him, blank and numb expressions on their faces.

"You all are alright!" He exclaimed as he stepped forward, only for Hobie to step in front of Miles and Gwen. Becoming a barrier between him and the two teens.

"Don’t even try it, mate." Hobie's voice was laced with a serious tone, unnatural for the teen.

"Wha–What? Hobie I—Whatever, we need to move. Now." Miguel didn’t have time for conversation. They needed to get out of wherever this was and find Peter B. Parker and Jess, then he would find another universe that they could take shelter in.

"We aren’t following anything you’re doing after what your last "mission" did." Hobie said, the teen glancing back at Gwen and Miles, his eyebrows furrowed in thought.

"Last mission? What are you talking about, Hobie?" Miguel asked, his expression shifting from worried to confused. He didn’t remember going on any missions recently.

"Tch… of course you would try to ignore it." Hobie scoffed, taking a step back to get away from Miguel. "You killed our friend, Miguel O’hara. Peni, Noir, hell, I saw you hold back Pav until he got all glitchy and disappeared too."

What?

"I was trying to save him! Why would I hold him back?" Miguel growled, raising his voice subconsciously as he took a step forward.

Gwen stepped out from behind Hobie, her face was reminiscent of when he had first recruited her for the spider society, hopeless, broken. "My dad is gone, Miguel. My world is gone. Your mission caused a multiversal collapse."

Miles spoke next, the kid's voice shaking like he was on the verge of tears. "M-my parents, my friends." I-I saw it t-the red, why? Why did you do it, Miguel?"

His breathing was growing faster and more panicked by the second. A multiversal collapse? He didn’t do anything; he had been so careful, not taking any risks, constantly monitoring the universe to avoid another mistake.

This couldn’t be real.

There was no way he had messed up again.

He tried so hard.

Looking down at his hands, his talons were out, and they were covered in blood. He could taste it on his tongue—the disgusting iron taste coating his mouth.

What has he done?

Miguel could only see darkness, something was tangled around his body, restricting his movements. It couldn’t be true, could it? He didn’t do anything, he had been so careful not to kill anyone else.

The dream—a nightmare—was still playing fresh in his head, Pavitr’s body fading away just like Gabriella's had done, Hobie saying that it was his actions that caused this, Miles’ voice breaking when he tried to talk, and Gwen saying the entire multiverse was collapsing because of him.

His head clouded with pure defensive instincts while Miguel thrashed around in the pitch black void that was suffocating him. Quick and shallow breaths were all that he could hear, how was someone this close to him that he could hear their frantic breathing so clear? It clicked in his head that it was his panicked breathing that was so loud against the deafening silence.

Razor sharp talons cut through whatever was holding him down and restraining his arms and legs as a threatening growl sounded to tell whoever or whatever caused this to get away from him. Once he was free, Miguel tried to get away from the threat, but he fell off something, hitting his temple again on a hard surface in the process, earning a sharp hiss.

What was happening? Where was he? Why couldn’t he see anything?

Thoughts jumped around in his mind, a terrifyingly fast heartbeat pounding his in ears combining with his gasping breaths.

Why was it so hard to breathe? Was he poisoned? Choking?

Scrambling up to his feet, Miguel was only able to stand for a moment before collapsing onto his knees, barely catching himself by digging his claws into a hard material beside him.

His thoughts screamed at him, telling him to find his kids and to fix whatever he did. His kids? Gaberiella was gone, she wasn’t here. Not his daughter. His daughter was dead, and there was no fixing it. So why was his head telling him that he needed to find his kids?

Attempting to search his surroundings, he was able to figure out where he was. Thanks to his ability to see in the darkness, he could see the inside of his room. His talons had been dug into the wood frame of his bed, and he was crouched on the ground, still struggling to breathe.

The pounding of his heartbeat into his ears wasn’t helping at all, it was like both his lungs and his heart were trying to race each other. A jagged rumbling in his chest meant he was also growling, the spider instincts that lived in his brain telling him to scare off the threat that was attacking his body.

Partially listening to the instincts, he looked down at his body, his eyes searching for any sign of blood or a break in his skin. All Miguel saw was the clothes he had fallen asleep in, black sweatpants and a navy blue crewneck sweatshirt that had tears and gashes around his arms that were definitely not there when he fell asleep.

The talons on his hands and feet were still out, and his fingers were tense and curled, ready to dig into any threats. Tangled around his index finger was the same fabric as his sweatshirt, he had probably tried to claw his arms to wake himself up. His talons retract before they hit his skin but gliding through the fabric.

Miguel needed to calm down, it was just a nightmare, and this was an unnecessary reaction to something that wasn’t even real.

Still gasping for breath and shaking with every inhale and exhale, he reached for his nightstand, where he always kept some emergency injections for moments like theses. It was a struggle to open the drawer with his long talons getting in the way and refusing to retract, but after a few minutes of clawing at the polished wood, Miguel was able to grab the injection gun.

The gun was loaded with the bright green liquid, its sharp injection blades taunting him as it shook with his hands.

Not willing to mess with his clothing to access his shoulder for the injection, Miguel placed the injection gun to the side of his neck, leaving small cuts from where he struggled to keep him steady, and pulled the injection trigger to introduce the liquid into his system.

The effects weren't instant, the drug made its way through his body, pushing back the spider DNA from coming to the forefront of his consciousness and leaving behind a slight buzz and a feeling of exhaustion across his body.

Sure, he may have gotten rid of his addiction to the horrendous drug by the name of Rapture, but he had to formulate an entirely new drug to keep his human DNA in control and the spider DNA to the side.

The injection of the drug barely helped his shallow breathing, but it helped slow his heart rate to something closer to a normal human.

After sitting next to his bed in the dark for what felt like half an hour, Miguel pushed himself up and frowned at his ruined sweatshirt. This wasn’t the first time his clothing or possessions had been messed up by his unnatural talons. The number of shoes he had to replace because the talons on his feet had cut holes into the bottom of them was enough to last a normal person three years.

He had eventually used the same unstabilized molecules that his suit was made of to prevent any more senseless shoe murders.

Miguel’s attention was directed to his bed, which was covered in shredded fabrics that once were blankets, and his mattress had cuts that were about two inches deep. He really didn’t want to get more blankets, using unstabilized molecules for blankets wasn’t very comfortable to sleep with, so he went through multiple stacks of blankets per month.

Gathering up the scraps of fabric and tossing them into the trash, he found a clean sweater that was a light gray that faded into white towards the bottom. He put it on, throwing his torn up sweatshirt into the trash as well, and headed to the bathroom.

The images of the nightmare still lingered in his mind, the sound of the crimson glitching void playing over and over in his head, and anytime he blinked for longer than half a second, he saw flashes of his nightmare.

He splashed some cold water on his face to chase off the exhaustion of the drug injection, he really didn’t feel like going back to sleep after that terrific experience.

After a moment of contemplating what to do, purposely avoiding the idea of going to his office to work, the idea of seeing the multiverse filled with families that he needed to protect was too much for him to handle at the moment. Miguel decided that a quick walk around the Spider Society headquarters would give him some time to clear his mind until the wave of spider variants came.

The building of headquarters was never empty, a lot of the spider variants ran on different schedules, with some of the universes having shorter or longer time frames that they followed, which made headquarters always have some webhead swinging around.

He made his way out of his quarters and out to the main lobby area, Miguel also elected to not wear his Spider-Man suit, the feeling of wearing it meant he had to face what he had to do as Spider-Man, and he already had enough on his mind.

He could face that once the active hours started.