Chapter 1
Being a spiderperson isn’t so bad, you got to fight in exciting battles that would help you become stronger, you made new friends and you had a place where you belonged. A spider society with all the spider people you could ever imagine. You felt at home.
Now you wouldn't even be here if it weren't for a certain someone. You were recruited by your now bestfriend, Jessica Drew. She had found you in your dimension after chasing an anomaly down. You assisted her in the battle, in which you had no trouble with seeing as you're skilled and have been a spider folk for a while now. She was impressed by your abilities and invited you into this team of other spiders that fought against other anomalies to help keep the multiverse in check.
Of course you were taken aback by this, you always thought you were alone. The only spider-woman.
You had decent relationships with the other spiderpeople. You mainly hung out with your three close friends that you would go on missions with, but you mainly struggled to maintain a good friendship with the leader, Miguel O'hara, despite working alongside him for quite some time now. He's a short-tempered man that was always stressed out and had a broody attitude towards everything. He was also very judgmental about you when you first joined the team. No matter how hard you tried, he was never pleased. You always screwed up with this and that, and you were getting quite sick of it.
"I don't get it, he's always so.. unsatisfied with everything. Like- the other day he yelled at me and accused me for fucking up a mission. I brought the anomaly back in one piece and no one was harmed! Oh but of course he had a problem-"
The pregnant spider-woman placed a hand on your shoulder and furrowed her brows while smiling softly.
"Let's calm down. Look, Miguel is just a very emotional man. Sure he don't look like it, but he takes his job very seriously. I doubt you messed up on your mission, but he has high expectations for people that are in this team. I don't doubt my decision in recruiting you, but just have some patience for the man."
She titled her head looking for compliance and removed her hand from your shoulder after you took a few deep breaths.
"Now what'd he call you up for this time?"
She chuckled, placing a hand on her hip. Even though she hadn't gave birth yet, you can feel the motherly disappointment.
"Oh um.. I may have actually messed up this time. So, I sort of let an anomaly slip through my fingers and Miguel assumed I let it escape.. I told him I had everything under control, but he just had to come swoop in to help the damsel in distress."
You groan while rubbing your neck. Jessica stares at you with disappointment written all over her face and sighs.
"Yeah goodluck with this one."
She waves you off and walks away.
"Wait come back!- Ah, damn it."
You chew on the inside of your cheek and begin to walk to Miguels platform room. You start to sweat, slowly becoming nervous. You were aware of your mistake this time, but knowing yourself, you would definitely catch an attitude with the boss and get a scolding.
Stepping closer into the room, you notice Miguels broad back facing you. You clear your throat as you step closer to the platform.
"You wanted to see me?.." You manage to cough out.
Miguel looks over his shoulder.
"You know why you're here right?" He growls with dismay.
"Uh, no not really. You tend to have a lot to say to me so.." You reply back sassily. Obviously you lied, you felt like arguing today so you decided to see how far you could push your leader. But it was true about what you said, he was always on your ass about something.
"Oh yeah? And why's that? Surely that brain of yours can muster up an explanation." He turns around and leans back onto his desk.
"Let's start with two days ago. Wanna tell me why I had to drop everything to help you with your mission that you," he raised his hands and quoted the air with his fingers, "supposedly had under control?" He crossed his arms and frowned when you stayed silent.
"Dios mio." He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration.
"Okay well, first of all, I did have it under control. I was just.. thinking of a way to get out of the situation. I was-"
"Cállate, no quiero escuchar tus excusas. I don't want your excuses. I'm suspending you from any upcoming missions. I'm kind of sick of having to scold you after every mission." He sighs and turns back around waving you off.
"That's all. Get out."
You scoff and cross your arms.
"You can't do that, you interfered with my mission! I had in under control, dunno why you assumed I was in trouble because I wasn't." You bark back.
"We are not arguing about this. It's not just about that mission, it's a continuous thing that happens and you need to learn already. Leave." He says, dismissing you again.
"Miguel, do you have a problem with me? I get that I'm not your ideal spider for the team, but you need to stop being a complete dick to me. I've been patient with you since the moment we met, but i'm also getting sick of having to deal with you and your attitude." You scowl, stepping closer to the man.
"Eso es ironico, muñeca." He chuckles deeply while turning back to you.
You get more frustrated with the unfamiliar language and assume he's insulting you. Stepping onto the platform, you get close to his face. You always found your leader attractive and wouldn't lie that you had a thing for him, but the annoyance would always win over the attraction you had for this man.
"You know I don't understand Spanish. Mind translating that?" You scrunch your face together in annoyance and stare daggers into his eyes. He looks down at you, scanning your face before answering.
"I said that's ironic. Are you done? I have important things that need to be taken care of." He asks, tilting his head slightly. He seemed amused and that pissed you off even more.
Both of your faces were merely inches away, you could feel the heat of his breath on your skin and it was intoxicating. It made your legs want to give out.
One side of you wanted to smash your face into his and feel his lips, but the other wanted to smash your fist into his face. You decided to go with the second option. You clench your fist but before you could take action, you were being dragged backwards by what you assumed was a web.
"What the hell!-" You gasp as you try to catch your balance. You bump into a soft belly and turn around to see none other than your friend Jessica.
"Hope I didn't interrupt anything.. I couldn't help but notice the situation escalating." She teases and rests her hand on her belly.
"Seriously, I could cut the room with a knife from all this tension. What's going on? I hope you aren't giving her a hard time Miguel." She asks raising her eyebrow.
Miguel turns back around with a scowl on his face and goes back to monitoring.
"Hey wait, I'm not done!-"
"Zip it, leave the man alone before he throws a tantrum." You hear a displeased gruff from behind and you laugh softly. Your anger had subsided because of Jessica, so you were thankful because if one more minute of staring at that stupid handsome face passed, you would have lost it.
"Hey thanks for that Jess.. I really was about to punch him in his stupid face if it weren't for you."
Jessica cackled out loud and covered her mouth.
"Y'all need to leave each other alone already, it's like watching a married couple squabble about stupid crap." She mocks, still smiling hard. You widen your eyes and twist your face in disgust.
"Ew what? Don't ever say that again." You gag dramatically and shudder.
"Lovers quarrel."
"Stop that!"
"Psh, there's nothing to do around here.." You mutter to yourself while kicking an empty can of soda on the sidewalk. Since Miguel had suspended you from your job, you figured going back to your own dimension would be better than roaming the halls of headquarters back at Earth-928.
Checking your cellphone, you were just about halfway into the day, which left you with too much time to yourself. You're so used to being busy every second of the day so you have no idea what to do with yourself. Maybe you'd just go back home and catch up on some sleep. It had been awhile since you got decent rest.
Arriving at your home, you crept into your apartment window and jumped inside. There was really no reason to use the front door if you could easily stick to the walls and get to your bedroom in one go.
The only reason why you didn't like going back to your dimension was.. Well because it was lonely. After losing your one and only friend, it was hard for you to socialize with anyone else who didn't know and understand your circumstances. So you did what was best for you and everybody else, shut yourself off from the world to prevent others from getting hurt. That's why back at Earth-928 it was so easy to socialize, because everyone also had a tragic background that you could understand and sympathize with.
Removing your spider-suit, you went to your bedroom and changed into a baggy T-shirt and tight shorts per your liking. You kept the watch, or the "goober" as Miguel would call it, on as requested of him because he likes to stalk his workers.
Walking into your kitchen, you rummage through your fridge and cabinets looking for something that'll hit the spot. You decided on some potato chips and soda. Hey, it's technically your day off right? So might as well go all out.
You yawned and went back to your living room and plopped onto the couch. Using your webs, you brought the TV controller to you and pushed the ON button. Lazily switching through the channels, you felt yourself drifting off to sleep. You close your eyes and fall into a deep slumber, unaware that you kept the channel on the news.
"Spider-woman?"
...
"Spider-Woman!"
...
"Spider-Woman!"
You jolt awake and immediately check your wrist since that's where the noise was coming from.
"Hello? Yes I'm here!" You babble out, still half asleep and wiping drool off your cheek.
"What the hell are you doing? Your city is under attack! Get out here now!"
You wince as you hear your boss yell and listen to the background noises of commotion. It sounds like a mess and you're honestly terrified to go out and see your boss more than you are to see the damage your city has taken.
Listening to the news, you confirm the location of the disaster and quickly get off the couch and undress as you run to your room for your spider suit. You shove yourself out the window and swing up to find the obvious location of the attack where smoke and fire can be seen from a distance.
Upon arriving the scene, you find the anomaly already apprehended and being transported into the portal where you move from dimension to dimension.
You land onto the roof and glance down at the crowd of people and police watching the multiple spider people walking back into the portal. You find yourself pissed because it looked like Miguel already had this under control so there was no reason to call you with such urgency, but you also find Miguel angrily making his way to you. Yikes, you definitely fucked up this time.
"What the hell were you doing?" He growls through his teeth as he stands right in front of you. His shadow completely covering you as he towers over your small frame.
"I.. I was busy." You lie, taking a few steps back, feeling uncomfortable and a little scared because to be honest, this is the first time you've ever seen him this mad.
Miguel grabs you by the shoulder, claws slightly digging into your skin and leans down so his face is inches away from yours. You can sense the slight danger he's radiating and stop in your tracks. The eyes on his mask narrow down and you suddenly wished you were back on your couch sleeping.
"Let me make this one thing clear." He says slowly. "Just because I suspended you from going on additional missions back at Earth-928, does not mean you can ignore your duties of protecting your city. That is not my job it’s yours."
You furrow your brows and cross your arms.
"I didn't ignore my duties. I made an honest mistake and for that I apologize. But you cannot tell me what I already know. Stop treating me like a child."
Miguel lets go of your shoulder and begins to silently curse at himself, as if he's trying to keep his composure.
"I need you to take this seriously first. Understand that you still work for me and you need to grasp the seriousness of this situation. I can't have you abandon your duties just because of a little fit." He says sternly as he pinches his nose bridge in frustration.
"I wasn't having a fit Miguel. And I need you to understand that I take my job very seriously." You say, a scowl forming on your face as you begin to grow angrier.
"Yeah? Well it doesn't seem like it. Do a better job or you're off the team." He turns his back to you and begins to walk away.
"Well I can't really do that now since I'm suspended from doing my fucking job!" You yell out in frustration.
"And why do you think that is! You know what, I'm not having this conversation with you anymore. Go and fix this mess you created." He yells back with twice the amount of frustration you were feeling.
"Or what?-"
Before you could even finish speaking, you were dragged forward by his web and slammed into a wall where you both weren't visible to the crowd of people from below.
"Ow- What the fuck?" You hiss through your teeth as you feel pressure being added to your throat. You glance down to see Miguels right forearm being pushed into your neck and his left arm right beside your head on the wall. You also notice that he took off his mask.
Your eyes travel everywhere along his face, observing his facial features and expression, until you lock eyes with his. You notice he's breathing heavily and your body seems to be in sync with his.
The both of you stare at each other, eyes darting to each eye and occasionally to your lips. You grow red in the face and you begin to feel embarrassed from the small distance between you and Miguel.
His face is merely inches away from you and you could feel his breath on your face.
You instinctively lick your lips and that seems to snap Miguel out of the daze you both were in. He removes his arm from your throat and clears his throat. His facial expression is unreadable and you feel this tension in the air.
"Ya'll at it again?"
You and Miguel jump at the sudden familiar voice. Miguel turns his head and you peep from the side of his huge figure.
"Jess! Hey um.. what are you doing here?.." You ask shakily, still kind of startled with what had just happened. You wonder if she saw it all.
"I came to make sure Miguel was alright, he wasn't responding to me so I just figured i'd come by. It's been awhile since I swung by your dimension!"
Miguel widened his eyes and whipped his head back to you. He looks down at you as you gulp and stare back. He looks at his watch and curses.
"Mierda." He mutters and fumbles with it for a second before turning around and walking past Jessica.
"I'll leave you to fix this then."
Jessica squints at him.
"Hm. Okay then.." She says with a certain tone that makes Miguel turn his head to glare at her.
Miguel opens a portal and steps in without looking back, leaving you and Jessica standing in silence with only the sound of people murmuring and police sirens.
"Well that's that," Jessica whirls her head back to you. "What was that about? Something definitely happened right now." She raises her eyebrow while corssing her arms.
"It was nothing.." You mumble while looking down. Your heart was still racing and you were certain you looked like a tomato, so it definitely didn’t look like nothing.
"Mhm. C'mon we gotta get to finishing this up. I'm getting my answer later though, so don't think i'm letting this go." She says sternly.
You know she won't let it go, so you'll have to think of a lie while you have the time.
But you just can't think of a lie. That situation was unexplainable. Anyone with eyes could see the tension and the way you both looked at each other. There was just no way of getting out of this.
What was Miguel thinking?