No Longer The One and Only
New York was different from Detroit.
The buildings climbed higher, and were closer knit. There was progression in more places as the city kept weaving itself together to contain the pieces that were constantly flaking. Trying to stay.
As Riley swung from those buildings, they felt more alive than they had before. That weightless feeling that weighed with their swings seemed to amplify.
It felt right.
Their mind felt so warm and fuzzy as their arms carried them across the skyline, their suit blending in the the morning sky. Adapting so quickly to this new destination. Their body went with their motions, limbs flailing in that open air as they swung headfirst into danger. Their forward momentum propelling them through the city, the reflection catching on the windows that they passed.
They didn't care how many eyes might've wandered to their form as it crawled across the sky. They didn't care how whispers spread, because this was what their heart fought for.
They swung right into the villain, holding himself up against the skyscrapers. Riley didn't hesitate to try and dislodge him. Their impact knocking one of his mechanical arms from where it was lodged, swinging back around to get a better look at this crook.
Surrounded by eighth wriggling, mechanical arms that seemed to protrude from his bag, was a man. A scientist. One that Riley recognized.
Doctor Otto Octavius.
His eyes marred and blocked by goggles that fit snuggly against his skull and skin, hair wildly spanning around his face, lips curled into a snarl.
“Who are you?” He sneered out when Riley appeared.
And Riley snapped back rather quickly. “You can call me Mega-byte.” They shot their webs at another mechanical arm anchored deep into the side of a building, pulling harshly towards themselves and dislodging the arm. “And it looks like you got caught in my web.”
Riley felt another body land next to them, a light pleasant buzz rattling in their skull, the new person immediately quipping, “is there enough here room for two spiders? I might have to rent a new web.” There was no doubt. When Riley glanced at them, they saw the webbed red and blue, the icon, and the original spider-man.
“I will stick you to him,” Riley threatened loosely. “Nice to meet you Spider-Man. Hope you don’t mind me lending a hand.”
“Not at all, let’s take him down.”
Both spiders launched into action, working together fairly well to take down the mechanical scientist. Doc Ock fought against them both, but wasn’t really prepared for two web-slingers to be fighting him. His arms may be used to handling multiple enemies, but definitely not multiple spiders.
Spider-man and Riley didn’t take long to defeat him either, focusing on restricting his arms and disabling them if possible. Spider-Man focused on distracting and webbing up Doc Ock, while Riley focused exclusively on the arms and falling debris.
When Riley had successfully disabled the arms, Doc Ock had been webbed up by Spidey, stuck to the side of a building with his mechanical limbs hanging limply against the building he was stuck too.
“Good work out there,” Spider-man complimented, eyeing the limp mechanical arms. “How’d you shut them down?”
“Fried their circuits,” Riley explained loosely. “The name’s Mega-byte by the way.”
Spider-man nodded, acknowledging the name. “Let’s hand him over to the authorities, then maybe we can talk a bit.”
“Sure thing.” And Riley let the good old Spider-Man do the hand off to the police, watching from above.
They admired how quickly this occurred. The efficiency from a hero who’d been fighting for over two decades with the world always watching. With the world so against him. Or at least, a loud bunch against him. Still, he fought. Riley being there definitely sped things up as well, and their own decade of experience helped read the unspoken directions from Spider-man. A battle that would’ve once taken a whole day seemed to barely encompass and hour. Barely half an hour.
It was strange, jarring, yet oddly peaceful to know that as they aged, some parts of crime fighting would evolve and become easier. Their body might still feel the bends of time eventually, but they’d manage.
So Riley’s eyes followed Spider-man, catching on how smoothly he glided to the police, how there was no hesitation in his movements. Watched how he gave Doc Ock over, and flung himself back into the air with his webs. Watching as he landed once more next to Riley.
“Come on kid, let’s swing a bit.”
Kid? Riley snorted at that, but took the opportunity to jump from their spot, using their webs to propel them into the air, where Spider-Man was quick to join. They soared through the air, letting their bodies be yanked around by the momentum of their swings, eventually finding themselves relaxing on a high rooftop, watching the city below.
“So, where are you from kid?”
That kid thing again. “I hope you know I’m twenty six. I’m not really a kid,” they informed. “And I’m from Michigan, I’m here on business.” Technically.
Spider-Man seemed a bit startled by that. Shocked? Something along those lines. “You’re from this universe then?”
Well, that just opened up an alarming can of worms. “If I were to theoretically be from another universe, wouldn’t my molecules be ripping themselves apart at my pretense? You used to universe hoppers or something?”
He didn’t respond, clearing his throat. “How long have you been Mega-Byte?”
“About twelve to thirteen years.” An estimate. They didn’t start the second they got bit, and after a decade of the same thing, it’s hard to keep up sometimes. “I became a spider-person roughly a decade after you.”
“How come I haven’t heard of you?”
Riley shrugged, not really caring. “I don’t exactly had too many villains that have mechanical limbs or can fly on gliders and such. I mostly deal with bank robberies and such. And I’m not from New York. I doubt what occurs back home is really news here.”
Spider-Man just stared at them, words stuck in their throat as they tried to find a way to communicate effectively. They were used to quipping, used to bad jokes when it came to teaming up with other supers, not really used to the monotone and general uninteresting after a fight was finished. It felt as it Mega-Byte had no real fight left in them, just going with the motions. And it’s not like they came across so one-toned, but Spider-man had been a round enough people who’d seem to given up.
Riley just met their gaze, their eyes and faces covered by their masks, the large white eyes of it being the only real identifier of the emotions they felt. And Spider-Man’s eyes were wide. A look they’d seen a lot directed towards them.
Their chest burned, stomach clenching into a tight coil. “Anyway, nice meeting you I guess, but I should probably be heading off.”
“Wait-“
Before Spider-Man could reach out for them, Riley fell off the building’s rooftop, and activated their suit’s camouflage tech.
Crab spiders were pretty well known for camouflage, and Riley had to admit they were a sucker for good theming, melting into the city of New York in a single action.
And when Riley joined the city streets, they turned off their suit, melting into their civilian clothes, undetected and untouched by citizens, weaving through the crowded city sidewalks to make it back. They’d swing again eventually, but only after they were sure that they wouldn’t be spotted by Spider-Man.
Eventually, after the heels of their feet were sore, and legs began cramping, they slid back in the window they escaped from, glad to see the door remained locked, and put their stuff away, hearing people talking in the living room.
Riley couldn’t make out the individual words, but recognized that the conversation was rather light, even hearing a baby babble.
That Peter guy must’ve gotten home.
Riley straightened themselves up and left the room, heading towards the living room again, careful of their steps once more, not wanting to intrude on their family time.
They weren’t noticed when they peering in this time, spotting a lovely little scene. Mary Jane and who Riley assumed was Peter were sitting together on their couch, shoulders touching as a small, fiery, red headed baby crawled on them both. They were smiling as they talked to each other, their kind gazes drifting from their daughter, Mayday if Riley remembered correctly, back to each other. They spoke softly, but excitedly as they talked about their days.
It was so gentle and filled with genuine affection. It was a family that fit such a wonderful home.
Maybe they should head back to their room-
“Oh, Riley! Did you need anything?” Mary Jane called out, catching sight of them.
Peter gazed back at Riley, sizing them up a bit, likely wondering what the child of two renowned scientists would be like. And Riley’s brain was ringing. Not in warning, or danger, but an odd sense of familiarity.
“N-no. I just heard some voices and- I’ll just go back-“
“You don’t need to worry about me,” Peter spoke warmly. “I’d love to learn more about you.”
Riley was hesitant, but stepped closer, that buzzing and ringing growing louder with each step. Then, as if reacting to a sudden jolt, Riley jumped, their body sticking to the ceiling.
And with another strange twist… Peter was on the ceiling as well.
Holy shit.