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C656 Spider-Man
🕑 Added 2024-03-10 14:12:25 +0000 UTCMiles stared at Mateo with disbelief and anger etched on his face. "Hey, what the hell was that?! You killed him! He was defenseless!" he exclaimed, the intensity of the situation resonating in his voice.
Mateo, still catching his breath, turned to face Miles, his expression unwavering. "Defenseless? He destroyed my family, Miles! He helped the government kill my father!" he shot back, the fire in his eyes matching the anger in his tone. “F*ck off back to your own universe with your goody two shoes nonsense!”
Miles shook his head, frustration evident in his voice. "Justice is one thing, but executing a defenseless man is another! We're not supposed to be like that!"
“I’m not you! So stop it with this ‘we’ cr•p. There is no we. Just me and you.” Mateo argues back, gesturing to the dozens of dead bodies surrounding them. “Look around you. This is the real world. This is my life. I’m sorry, but not all of us get to live in a f•cking fairytale!”
As the two versions of Miles Morales clashed in a war of words, Uncle Aaron emerged from the building, his eyes immediately locking onto Mateo. Pushing past Miles, he enveloped Mateo in a tight embrace, offering silent comfort to his grieving nephew.
Instantly, the tension in Mateo's shoulders eased as he leaned into his uncle's hug. "We got him, Uncle Aaron. We finally got him," Mateo whispered, his voice carrying a mix of relief and sorrow.
Uncle Aaron, still holding Mateo, nodded solemnly. "I know… I know," he replied, the weight of the moment sinking in as he felt the emotional release from Mateo.
Meanwhile, Miles, observing the tender moment between uncle and nephew, began to question his earlier beratement. The history and pain that Mateo carried were evident, and maybe, just maybe, Miles shouldn't have been so quick to snap at him.
Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Miles turned to find Peter standing beside him. "Miles, sometimes the line between right and wrong isn't as clear as we'd like it to be. The world isn’t just black and white, good and bad. It’s a mix of a grays, some darker or lighter than others. Even your universe is like that, you just haven’t realized it yet.”
Miles’ brows furrowed as Peter continued. “I know you never really took my advice when it came to killing your enemies, and I respect that. After all, it’s your decision to live however you want to. To make your own mistakes and learn from them along the way, but you have to learn to respect other people’s choices as well."
Miles absorbed Peter's words, conflicted emotions swirling within him. Peter had always been his mentor, but this was a perspective Miles had done his best to fight him on. It challenged his fundamental beliefs about the sanctity of life.
While still grappling with the newfound uncertainty, Miles watched as Mateo and Uncle Aaron separated from their embrace, spotting a few stray tears dripping down his cheeks, which were swiftly wiped away.
“What are you looking at?!” Mateo snapped at Miles, clearly embarrassed.
“Nothing…” Miles looked away, showing a bit more courtesy than he did only moments ago.
Suddenly, the distant wail of police sirens pierced the air, causing Uncle Aaron to click his tongue in annoyance. "Shit, someone must have called in the gunshots," he muttered, glancing around the scene of the intense battle.
Mateo's eyes widened as he looked up at the towering abandoned building, his secret hideout filled with essential gear and personal belongings. He turned to his uncle, urgency in his voice. "We can't just leave. I need my gear, and our DNA and fingerprints are all over the place. They'd find us by the end of the day."
Uncle Aaron nodded in agreement, recognizing the gravity of the situation. "We've got to-"
As they exchanged worried glances, Peter interjected confidently, "I got it." He snapped his fingers, receiving confused from both Mateo and Uncle Aaron.
But soon enough, their confusion turned to shock as they watched all of their supplies, tech, and belongings come flying out of the broken window above. The items hovered in a single file like towards Peter before disappearing, leaving Mateo and his uncle dumbfounded.
"How are you doing that?" Mateo asked.
Peter grinned and replied, "Magic."
“But where is it going?” Uncle Aaron asked, a bewildered look on his face.
Peter simply pointed to his necklace. "It's stored in here."
Mateo, still confused, asked once again, “But how?”
Peter's response was the same, "Magic."
Laughter bubbled up within Peter as he saw the dumbfounded looks on their faces. Miles, recalling his initial reaction to Peter's magic, joined in the laughter, adding a lightness to the tense atmosphere.
With all their belongings gathered, Peter extended his hand, and a bright flame appeared in his palm. Surprising Mateo and Uncle Aaron yet again, Peter tossed the ethereal flame into the abandoned building, and it swiftly caught fire, consuming the structure in a matter of seconds, smoke billowing up into the sky.
As the flames danced and flickered, casting an eerie glow on their faces, Peter gestured towards the scattered dead bodies. "Do you want to leave them behind like this? Or should I dispose of them too?"
Mateo, staring down at Kingpin's lifeless form for a moment, finally spoke, "Just leave them..." He wanted to see how the government would react to one of its loyal dog’s getting killed like this.
Peter, hearing the sound of police sirens getting closer, waved his fingers and opened a shimmering portal. He stepped through before turning and gesturing for the others to follow suit.
Miles, familiar with Peter's mystical transportation, moved confidently toward the portal. Mateo and Uncle Aaron, however, exchanged uncertain glances.
Mateo voiced his hesitation, hesitantly inching closer to them, “Is… Is that a portal?"
Peter chuckled, offering a reassuring smile. "Yeah, now come on. We don't have much time."
As the nephew and uncle hesitantly stepped into the portal, spurred forward by the sound of enclosing police vehicles, the portal snapped shut behind them.
Simultaneously, a line of cop cars descended upon the scene just in time to witness the abandoned building collapse in a fiery spectacle.
The law enforcement officers, responding to a gunshot call, expected to find some idiot shooting targets in or around the abandoned buildings here. But instead, they were greeted by a chaotic scene.
The burning remnants of the building, mixed with the bodies of military personnel, including a high-ranking general, left them bewildered. This was far more than a normal crime scene.
————
Stepping out of the shimmering portal, Mateo and Uncle Aaron found themselves standing in Mateo's bedroom back at home, the soft glow of the portal fading behind them. A collective sigh of relief escaped their lips as the immediate threat of police pursuit dissipated.
Miles, glancing around the room, couldn't help but marvel at the similarities and differences between Mateo's living space and his own. Breaking the silence, he whispered, "Is mom home?" The curiosity in his voice revealed his concern about facing an awkward encounter with a version of his own mother.
Mateo turned to Miles, correcting him with a stern expression. "She's my mom, not yours. And she's at work. Usually heads straight to the hospital after her shift at the convenience store." The tension in the room lingered as the two interacted.
Feeling the weight of his earlier confrontation with Mateo, Miles hesitated before extending an apology. "Look, umm... I'm sorry about earlier, man..." The sincerity in his voice carried an earnest desire to mend their strained interaction.
As Miles began his apology, Peter sensed the need for privacy and gracefully exited the room, casually stating, "I'm just going to grab some water from the kitchen."
Uncle Aaron, discerning Peter's intentions and wary of a stranger wandering through his sister-in-law's house, followed him. "I'll show you where the kitchen is," he said, leading the way.
…
In the kitchen, Peter found a clean glass in the cabinet and moved to fill it from the tap, but Aaron intervened. "Careful with that tap water. It's full of pollutants," he warned, his eyes narrowing with concern.
Nodding appreciatively, Peter turned off the tap and placed the glass down, realizing he was no longer thirsty. “I guess we have Centurion to thank for that…”
“Centurion?” Aaron repeats questioningly.
“He’s your president. That’s the name he goes by in the Council of Kang’s.” Peter explained briefly. Seeing that Aaron still looked confused, Peter continued. “Just think of the government that you’re currently dealing with, but infinitely worse. That’s the Council of Kang’s.”
“I see…” Nodding in slight understanding, Aaron walks over to the fridge and pulls out a bottle of water, handing it over to Peter.
“Thanks.” Peter took the bottle, placing it down for a moment as his curiosity getting the better of him. "Do you mind telling me about Mateo's dad? What happened, and why was he executed by the government?" The gravity of the question hung in the air.
Aaron sighed heavily, his expression shifting to one of sorrow. "My brother was working with a secret task force investigating the president. I don’t know what they were looking into, just that it was big. He never disclosed the specifics, always by the book when it came to his cop work.”
Arron took a long breath, preparing himself for what’s to come, before continuing. “A week into the investigation, Fisk and his military convoy surrounded the apartment and forcefully abducted him under the guise of national security. Of course, he didn’t try to resist since both Rio and Miles(Mateo) were home. He didn’t want them to get hurt…”
His voice seemed to choke up as he kept going. “The… The next day, the president held an emergency broadcast at the Whitehouse, where they labeled my brother and the rest of his task force as traitors to the country before executing them one by one… Jeff was the last to die. He just barely managed to tell Rio and Miles(Mateo) that he loved them before they they decapitated him on live television…”
“Did they-“ Peter tried to ask a question, but Aaron answered him without even hearing it.
“Yeah… Miles(Mateo) and Rio watched it live like everyone else." The raw pain in Aaron's voice was hard to listen to.
A/N: 1747 words :)
Comments
Nazarickk
Thanks for the chapter
