Miles paused. “I’m supposed to save the world, Peter.”
“Well, there’s your problem. You can’t think about saving the whole world. You have to think about saving one person, Miles. You just think about someone you love.”
“My mom and my uncle and my dad.”
Peter thought for a second. “In that order? Want to talk about that?”
Miles shook his head. “No.”
“Technically, that’s more than one person, but I’ll give it to you. The thing is, this hero business? It gets really, really complicated, man. You lose things.”
“But it’s worth it, right?” Miles asked.
“I hope so.”
“How do I know I won’t fail?”
“You won’t,” Peter said, smiling. “It’s a leap of faith. In the end, that’s all it is, Miles. A leap of faith. That’s all I got.”
With that, Peter headed back inside the spider-den. Miles was alone for a moment and felt his phone vibrate. He pulled it out and looked at the screen. Two missed calls from his mom. When he swiped away the notification, he saw the wallpaper on his phone.
It was a picture of the mural that he and his uncle Aaron had painted, just the other night.
He needed someone to talk to. Someone who wouldn’t judge him, who would just listen. Someone who wouldn’t try to give him all this advice about what he should be doing with his powers.
Uncle Aaron, he thought. I need to see Uncle Aaron.
Miles realized that he must have known it subconsciously, because he had been heading toward his uncle’s place the whole time. With his newfound powers, Miles scaled his uncle’s building and came to rest on the fire escape outside his window. Taking a deep breath, he opened the window and climbed inside.
“Uncle Aaron?” Miles called out. But there was no answer. Of course. Miles shook his head in disgust at his own vacant-headedness. He’d known Uncle Aaron would still be out of town. This Super Hero stuff must be messing with his brain even more than he’d thought.
The phone started to ring, and Miles waited for the machine to pick up. He heard his uncle’s taped message. Then a familiar voice:
“Aaron, it’s Jeff. I need you to call me if you’ve heard from Miles. He has a soft spot for you, and he’s missing. You know I wouldn’t reach out if this wasn’t important. Thanks.”
Dad.
Not knowing what else to do, Miles searched his uncle’s kitchen for a pad of paper and a pen. Then he started to write a note.
Uncle Aaron:
I have to do something very deadly. If something happens, please tell my parents bye.
P.S. I am Spi
Before he could finish the note, he heard a noise on the fire escape. Then the burning, buzzing sensation at the base of his skull.
Danger?
Miles saw a silhouette moving closer, coming toward the window. He recognized its shape instantly.
The Prowler.
What is the Prowler doing here?!
That nervous feeling welled up in his stomach, and as Miles looked to the window, he saw something strange.
Rather, he didn’t see something strange.
He didn’t see his hand.
He had become invisible again.
“Yes, hello, Mr. Fisk,” the Prowler said into his phone. “I’ve got the security tapes from the tunnel right here. If the kid’s out there, I’ll find him.”
The Prowler was now inside the apartment, inches away from the invisible Miles. When he took off his mask, it took all of Miles’s willpower not to scream out.
The Prowler was Uncle Aaron.
“You know me, sir,” he said into the phone. “I don’t ever quit.”
Despite himself, Miles gasped.
Uncle Aaron’s head snapped in Miles’s direction. He put his mask back on.
Miles, still invisible, backed toward the window. The Prowler must have noticed him, somehow, because he followed.
In a flash, Miles was out the window, dropping down, now completely visible.
With the Prowler hot on his tail.
CHAPTER 20
“The goober is ready!” Peni said with a note of triumph in her voice.
She had been working at the computer in the living room, right alongside Aunt May, when the front door burst open.
“My uncle!”
Miles barely got the words out of his mouth as he stumbled inside. He was gasping for air, and he felt as if he was going to hurl. He hadn’t slowed his pace since he split from his uncle’s apartment. After all, the Prowler was probably right behind him, and Miles was terrified that he would follow him wherever he went. But he had nowhere else to go, and he knew it.
It was all too much, and he couldn’t handle it alone.
“Hey, where have you been?” Peter asked. “We—”
“My uncle Aaron, he—he—he’s the Prowler! He works for Fisk.… He tried to kill me!”
Looking up, Miles saw the Spiders from different universes surrounding him, all ready for action, all ready to help him.
“Were you followed?” Gwen asked.
“No,” Miles said with a swagger he didn’t feel.
I hope I lost the Prowler. I’m pretty sure I lost him. Like, sixty percent sure? Forty-five percent?
Then the thought hit him.
What if I didn’t lose him at all?
Miles didn’t have long to wait for his answer. The floor shook, and metallic tentacles smashed through the wall. Drywall and wood exploded everywhere as Doc Ock entered the living room. She was flanked by Tombstone and another tentacled villain—the Scorpion.
“Okay,” Miles said. “I guess I was followed.”
“I think I’ll be taking that,” Doc Ock said, gesturing at Peter. Miles looked at Peter’s hands and saw him clutching the new override key that he had made.
Then the Scorpion leaped in front of Miles, blocking his path. Without even thinking, Miles grabbed something to defend himself with. Unfortunately, it turned out to be couch cushions.
“¿Estás listo?” the Scorpion said. “Dale niñito.”
“¡Prepárate, que te vas a morir!” Miles replied.
Before the Scorpion could attack, Peni executed a perfect backflip into the SP//dr armor. SP//dr smashed through the ceiling.
Ock’s tentacles reached out to grab the drive. As Peter engaged the enemy, he tossed the drive to the black-and-white Spider-Man.
Another tentacle reached out, trying to squash him. Then the black-and-white Spider tossed the drive to the pig in the Spider-Suit.
Tombstone picked up a couch and threw it at Gwen. She ducked it, webbed it, and threw it right back at Tombstone. It knocked the big bruiser into—and through—the front window.
In a matter of seconds, the battle spilled out from Aunt May’s house and into the neighborhood beyond. The Spiders drew Doc Ock, Tombstone, and the Scorpion outside. Miles could hear Ock was screaming desperately for the USB drive.
Which Miles saw lying in a pile of debris on the living room floor.
Who dropped it? he wondered. Doesn’t matter. Gotta grab it!
Miles was in the middle of snatching the drive off the floor, when he felt the burning sensation at the back of his neck. He whirled around, only to find himself face-to-face with the Prowler.
“Don’t be stupid, kid,” the Prowler said, flashing his claws, swiping at Miles.
Sprinting upstairs, Miles tried to get away from his uncle. But the Prowler grabbed his leg, pulling him down. Miles kicked and got the Prowler off him.
He raced upstairs, where he found a giant hole in the roof.
SP//dr must have made it when Peni blasted out of here, he thought.
Miles jumped through the hole and spun a web. But before he could swing away, the Prowler had leaped onto the roof, blocking his path.
“Nowhere left to run!” the Prowler said. “Hand it over, now!”
Miles’s heart was racing. He could hear his pulse inside his ears. He could think of only one thi
ng to do.
He took off his mask.
The Prowler staggered back. “Miles?” he said.
“Uncle Aaron,” he said. Miles was trembling.
Then the Prowler took off his mask. “Oh, no, no, no, no,” Uncle Aaron said.
“Prowler, what are you waiting for? End him. Or I will!”
Miles looked at the ground below and saw Wilson Fisk standing there. Waiting. Waiting for his uncle to do the unthinkable.
“Please, Uncle Aaron,” Miles begged.
Uncle Aaron looked at his nephew and slowly, slightly, lowered his claws.
A gunshot rang out.
Fisk.
Miles felt his body pushed aside as his uncle grabbed him, shoving him to the roof.
His uncle took the bullet meant for him.
Miles couldn’t move—he couldn’t believe what was happening. He saw Peter swinging in below, slamming into Fisk, knocking him to the ground. He heard Peter yell something at him, but he couldn’t process it.
It was all he could do to scoop up his uncle in his arms and web-swing away from May’s house.
CHAPTER 21
The alley was dark.
As dark as Miles’s mood.
“Miles…” Uncle Aaron groaned.
“Uncle Aaron. This is my fault,” he said as he kneeled down over his uncle.
“No, Miles,” his uncle said, trying hard to breathe. “I’m sorry. I wanted you to look up to me. I let you down, man, I let you down. You’re the best of all of us, Miles. You’re on your way. Just… keep going… just keep going.…”
Miles was in tears, sobbing, but no sound came.
He hugged his uncle, their faces pressed together. Miles couldn’t feel his uncle’s breath anymore.
“Hands up!”
Miles didn’t have to turn around. He recognized the voice, knew it better than his own.
His dad.
“Put your arms up now! Turn around!”
Reflexively, Miles went invisible. His father ran over, baffled by what just happened.
Jefferson looked at the ground, and it was clear that he recognized the lifeless body lying there.
“Aaron? Aaron. No…” he said, voice cracking. He leaned down and touched his brother’s face.
Jefferson grabbed his shoulder radio and set his jaw. “All units. I want an APB on a new Spider-Man.”
Miles raced through the hallway of his dorm, heading right for his room. He grabbed the doorknob, flung the door open, and nearly tore the thing off its hinges. Then he slammed it shut, and the plaster around the door frame cracked.
“It’s all my fault!” Miles yelled as he shoved all the homework and stacks of books that he had piled on his desk. They hit the floor, spilling everywhere. Then he knocked over a chair and watched as it splintered into pieces.
It was as if he didn’t know his own strength.
And he didn’t care.
All he knew was that his uncle was dead, and he felt responsible, somehow. And now his own dad wanted to catch Miles, like Miles was some kind of criminal.
“Hey, bud, you okay?”
Miles looked up and saw Peter poking his head into the dorm window. Then the black-and-white Spider, the pig, Peni, and Gwen.
“We’ve all been there,” Peter said, his voice suddenly gentle. “For me, it was Uncle Ben.”
The black-and-white Spider spoke softly. “For me, it was Uncle Benjamin.”
“For me, it was my father,” Peni said solemnly.
“For me, it was my best friend,” Gwen added.
“For me… it was when my uncle was killed in front of me. Uncle Frank Furter. He was electrocuted. It smelled so good.”
The pig said that.
“It was my fault. You wouldn’t understand,” Miles said.
“Miles, we’re probably the only ones who do understand,” Gwen said, trying to soothe Miles.
She’s right. I know she’s right.
Miles had so many feelings racing around him, the only thing that he knew for sure was that he had to do something. He had all these powers, could do all these amazing things—and he had to use them for something. Something good.
We gotta get you guys home, Miles thought.
But when he turned to look at his fellow Spiders, he saw only Gwen climbing out the window and Peter remaining in the room. The others had already left.
“What’s going on?” Miles said, clutching the override key.
“Bye, Miles,” Gwen said, her voice low.
“Miles,” Peter said, his voice halting. “I came to say good-bye.”
“We can say good-bye at the collider!”
“You’re staying here.”
“I need to be there,” Miles said, practically begging. “So you can all go home!”
“They are going home,” Peter said. “I’m the only one staying.”
“You’re taking my place?” Miles asked, incredulous.
“Not everything works out, kid,” Peter said. “I need the goober. Please don’t make me take it from you.”
“That’s not fair,” Miles protested. “You’ve gotta tell them I can do this!” He glared at Peter, and it became instantly clear that this wasn’t a group decision. Peter, and Peter alone, had decided.
“It was my call, Miles.”
Miles took a step forward, closing the distance between him and Peter. “I gotta make Fisk pay! You have to let me make him pay! I’m ready! I promise!”
In a blur, Peter nearly knocked Miles to the floor, catching him at the last second. “Then venom-strike me right now. Or turn invisible on command so you can get past me.”
From deep within, Miles struggled to do either of those things. But it wasn’t happening. He hated himself for it.
“Look, I know how much you want this, kid,” Peter said, trying to console Miles. “But you don’t have it.”
Before he could do anything, Peter webbed a desk chair underneath Miles and gave it a spin, wrapping the teenager in a cocoon. Then Peter took the override key.
“I’m sorry, but it has to be me,” Peter said sadly. He couldn’t even look at Miles.
“Peter, listen to me—” Miles started to say.
Then Peter webbed his mouth shut.
“Now you don’t have to be Spider-Man,” Peter said, and he jumped through the window, swinging away into the night.
He was so deep in self-pity that he didn’t even hear the knocking at first. But then it came again, insistent.
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK.
Miles rolled the chair over to the door, and then he heard the voice.
“Miles! Miles, it’s your dad! I’ve been looking for you. Please open the door.”
Slowly, Miles rolled the chair away from the door, an inch at a time, quiet as he could.
“Miles, I can see your shadow moving around.”
Miles stopped in his tracks.
“Yeah. Okay, I get it. I get it. Still ignoring me,” Jefferson said. “Look, can we talk for a minute? Something happened to… Sometimes people drift apart, Miles. Even when they don’t want to. I… I don’t want that to happen to us.”
Listening to his dad through the door, Miles thought he was going to cry all over again.
“Look, I know I don’t always do what you need me to do, or say what you need me to say, but… I see this… this spark in you. It’s amazing, and it’s why I push you. But it’s yours, and whatever you choose to do with it, you’ll be great.”
Miles wanted to say something, but he couldn’t.
“I know I said you don’t have a choice, but you do. Look, call me when you can, okay?” Jefferson finished. “I love you. You don’t have to say it back, though.”
Then he heard his father’s footsteps as Jefferson walked back down the hall.
Closing his eyes, Miles concentrated, and his hands started to crackle with energy. It was his venom strike—and he was in full control. The charge surged outward, frying the webbing, freeing Miles from his bonds.
CHAPTER 22
Something was wrong.
Where were the Spiders?
Miles had made his way back to the subway tunnel where it all began just a few days ago. He knew the precise location of Fisk’s supercollider and was prepared to do whatever it would take to stop the machine from destroying his world, along with countless others.
But to do it, he would need the Spiders’ help. He assumed they would be here already. But there was no sign of them. Just a bunch of Fisk’s men guarding the fence. And near them, a few cans of spray paint that Miles and his uncle had left behind the other night.
Why aren’t they here already? Miles thought. Did Fisk get them?
One of the men said, “Let’s finish it up, huh?” and grabbed a can of spray paint. Then he started to add on to the mural.
It made Miles sick to see something that he and his uncle had created together defiled like that.
In his invisible state, it was a simple matter for Miles to climb the fence and move down the tunnel, completely unseen. He watched as the guard spray-painted Ronald onto the mural.
That was it.
The invisible Spider grabbed the can from the man’s hand and, in a flash, became visible. He threw the man toward the fence and hit him with a venom strike. Fisk’s goon shuddered, then slammed into the fence, his electrified body electrifying the fence itself. The men who were leaning up against the fence all received a hefty jolt and dropped to the ground, groaning.
Once again invisible, Miles continued his crawl, sneaking past Fisk’s armed guards, as well as the Scorpion.
Initiating secondary ignition cycle.
Miles recognized the voice instantly as the computer that controlled the collider.
Gotta hurry, or it’s all gonna be over. Like, really over.
Scampering along the top of the tunnel, he found a hatch that had survived the previous explosion in the chamber and pried it open with his sticky fingers. Then he crawled inside.
A few seconds later, he found another hatch, and Miles popped it open and dropped to the ground below. He was inside the collider room.
And so were the Spiders.
They were all there already, but they were glitching. Badly. Miles could see them as they crawled along the ceiling.
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