Chapter 8: How Many of You Are There?
Aunt May quickly led them to the back where the three saw the shed.
Peter scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Oh, yeah. I got one of these too. It's where I keep a few of my spider-gear."
Miles snorted as Aunt May opened the lock to the shed. The shed began to open up, revealing the interior of an elevator. "I dunno about you guys, but I think this is a bit too much," Peter said, entering the elevator.
As the two reached the hideout, Peter began to look around the place, surprised at everything that was there. He wouldn't admit it, but he envied how successful this world's Peter was.
"Yeah, I feel sad for this guy." He said, putting his hands on his hips. His little charade broke when he saw a framed picture of MJ sitting on a table.
Miles noticed, walking over to Peter. "Hey, man. You good?"
Peter nodded, placing the frame back down. "No, yeah. I'm good." He replied, clearing his throat.
"So you two are planning on fighting Kingpin?" Aunt May's voice got the attention of the two.
"That's the plan, but we also need to find a way to get Peter here back to his universe," Miles responded, pointing at Peter with his thumb.
"If this Peter is anything like me, he only programmed the goober to blow up the Super Collider," Peter said, looking at the flash drive in Aunt May's hand. "We need one that will override the machine and allow me to open a portal back to my Universe."
"It sounds like there's a but coming in." Aunt May narrowed her eyes, waiting for Peter to continue.
Peter sighed, "I could probably get a new goober made, but it would take me some time."
"And time's one of the things we don't got." As Miles said that, Peter knelt to the ground, glitching in place. He groaned in pain while getting back on his feet.
Aunt May smiled, her gaze turning toward the ceiling, "Well, perhaps you could use some help?"
As the two followed her gaze, they saw Spider-Man wearing a fedora and trenchcoat, and he was in black and white.
"Hey, fellas." The Spider-Man said, tipping his fedora
Peter raised a brow, "Where's the wind coming from? We're in a basement."
"Wherever I go, the wind follows," He said with a wave of his hand. "And the wind...it smells like rain."
"What does that even mean?" Miles asked, but sadly he received no response.
Once his introduction was over, the two noticed someone else up on the ceiling. Yet this one was a bit different. A short Japanese girl was sitting on what appeared to be a ball-shaped Spider-Man mech.
"Hi, guys!" She gave them a two-finger salute as both she and her mech jumped to the ground where they performed a series of punches and kicks in total sync.
Peter snorted in exhaustion, "This could literally not get any weirder."
"It can get weirder!" Bot Miles and Peter heard someone say below them followed by the sound of something drippy. When they turned to look down, they saw a cartoonish-looking pig in a Spider-Man suit walking toward them with a wet hand. "I just washed my hands. That's why they're wet...Definitely no other reasons."
"That just makes me think that there is another reason." Miles retorted.
As the five of them stood beside each other, they all felt their spider senses tingle. Everyone had a look of shock and surprise as they gasped in realization.
"You're like me." The four said while Mile looked at them with a raised brow.
'Come on, each one of you is wearing something Spider-Man-related.' He wanted to say it out loud but refrained from doing so.
Miles smiled as he waved at the three. "Hey, name's Miles Morales. And this big bunch of love is Peter Parker." He said, patting Peter's shoulder.
"Name's Peter Parker." The dark and gritty Spider-Man replied back.
The short Japanese girl waved back to Miles, "My name is Peni Parker."
"And I am Peter Porker!" The short pig said, pointing at his chest with his thumb.
After the three introduced themselves, they each began to talk about their backstories. Since Miles already knew about them, he kinda ignored them.
His eyes were wandering around the Spider-Cave trying to find one more Spider-Person.
'Crap, Gwen's not here.' Miles narrowed his eyes. There were a few reasons why that could be, sadly, neither of them sounded good. It didn't help that his spider senses were sounding off like crazy at the moment.
Miles leaned toward Aunt May as the three were finishing their introductions. "Aunt May, listen. I gotta head out for a bit. Spider-Man business."
Aunt May furrowed her brows, "By all means, Miles. Just take the elevator and go up."
Miles nodded before he turned to the Spider-People in the room. "Sorry for cutting this get-together short guys, but I just remembered I have something important I have to do. Spider-Man business."
"Wait, if it's Spider-Man business, we can help!" Spider-Pig said, puffing out his chest.
"Yeah, I'm always up for some roughhousing." Spider-Noir huffed, throwing a few punches.
Miles thought about it for a moment. All of these guys were far more experienced as Spider-Man than he was. If he brought them along, then it would make finding Gwen a lot easier. But first, he'd have to put on another one of his acts.
"I kinda know of another Spider-Person."
"You do?" Everyone gasped at the news.
Miles put his hands up to calm them down. "Yeah, I felt it when I first met her. The same tingle we just shared, you know? I was hoping to see her here but that's not the case."
"She might just be more of a lone wolf." Spider-Noir shrugged, turning to look at those around him. "Technically we all are."
"Speak for yourself!" Peni pouted as she went to hug her mech.
"Right, sorry miss." Spider-Noir rubbed the back of his head apologetically.
Miles nodded, "While I do get that vibe from her, my guts telling me that she may be in trouble."
Peter replied, looking at Miles."That's a pretty strong gut feeling, kid."
Spider-Pig clenched his fists. "Well, if there's another Spider-Person in trouble, we should help them!"
Peter sighed, "I have to agree with the pig. So, Miles. Do you have any idea where this Spider-Person might be?"
Miles put his hand up to his chin in thought. After a few minutes passed, he snapped his finger and pointed it at them. "Where would you guys go if you were planning to stop Kingpin's Super Collider, but needed the necessary data for a goober?" As Miles said that, the answer appeared before them.
"Alchemax!"
"Well, I guess we're going on a road trip," Peter said, turning to look at Aunt May. "You wouldn't happen to have some web fluid lying around would you?"
"Of course, dear." She smiled before going to get a case. She came back with two which she placed on one of the free desks. Opening the first case revealed over a dozen capsules filled with web fluid. Both Peter and Spider-Noir went to refill their web shooters and grabbed a few for later.
While they were doing that, Aunt May passed over the second one to Miles.
"This one's for you, Miles." When Miles opened up the case, he saw a pair of web-shooters inside. "I made them myself." Aunt May said proudly.
"Ah, no way! Thanks so much." Miles smiled as he put them on. Surprisingly, they fit him just right.
"They fit perfectly, right?"
Miles nodded, bringing the old lady into a hug. The two had barely known each other for less than a week and he could tell that she was a good friend. "I appreciate it, Aunt May."
Aunt May hummed, tapping Miles on his shoulder. "Alrighty then, you have a friend that needs some help."
"Right!" Miles said, turning to look at the other Spider-People. "You guys ready?"
The four gave Miles their response, each one of them, determined to help. He wasn't sure what he was going to find when he reached Alchemax, but knowing that he wasn't going alone filled him with a lot more confidence.
Miles smirked as he put on his mask. 'Don't worry, Gwen. We're coming to save you.'