#after takes the leap of faith and after he beats kingpin and after he talks to his dad and after he *becomes* spiderman

[starberry-skies]

i need to get back on that analyIng itsv frame by frame doc bc i'm just thinkin about..... the parallels........

[ben-talks-art]

Thoughts on every "Across The Spider-Verse" trailer

(Spoilers)

I think there is enough footage of the movie by this point to say whether or not this might be for you or not.

Overall first impressions... This looks good! Music seems to be just as good as the first one, style seems to be just as good as the first one, humor just as good, dialogue just as good, characters just as charming.

This basically feels like just more Spider-Verse, and Spider-Verse was great so that's hardly a problem... For the most part.

I personally do have a few very small, tiny issues with the first movie. The first one being that I'm kinda mixed on Miles' voice. Not to say I think it's bad but sometimes I just feel like it could have a little more punch to it.

His voice for the most part seems to be this constant very chill, very cool, very relaxed mood, which works for when Miles is acting chill and relaxed such as when he goes "Nah, I'll find my own way", but other times such as when he goes "Everyone keeps telling me, how my story is supposed to go" I don't know, to me it feels like something's missing, like he could put a just a little more emotion on it.

This was something that I felt during the first movie as well. When Miles needs to be chill and cool he works great, but when he needs to be really emotional, really angry, really excited, and so on, I feel he could go just one extra step to make his lines hit harder... But that's just me.

The second thing I hope they improve a little from the first movie is the action.

The action scenes in Into the spider-verse, whenever they have to swing and jump and move from one place to another, are great. Like the "Leap of faith" scene, that is just a perfect scene, one of my favorites in any movie. When it comes to the movement, everything is flawless. But when it comes to the fights? Maybe I'm alone in this but I barely remember most of the fight choreography of the first movie.

I remember what the fight settings are, the escape from Dock Ock's lab, the fight in aunt May's house, Miles vs Kingpin while the collider goes crazy in the background...

I can remember where the fights are happening and why... But I can never remember what each character does in each fight or how they beat their opponents.

Aside from the "Hey" shoulder touch, a lot of the fight is just wild brawling that kinda starts mixing together after a while. Maybe its because I have the memory of a fish but I just didn't find these fights very remarkable.

Only reason I mention that is because to this day I still haven't seen any Spider-Man media that had action scenes on the same level as the Spectacular Spider-Man show.

I can remember how each fight in that series went because they are all so unique and creative and I really feel like Spider-Verse has what it takes to create the same level of fights.

I really hope this movie isn't just a lot of swinging action and has actual fights in it. The scene with Miles running away from thousands of spider-men looks amazing, but I want to see him actually trying to battle with someone in some creative ways that take advantage of his agility and stuff.

Miguel looks really cool.

Maybe its because I'm a sucker for claws and for characters that act in such a feral way but anytime he's on-screen shoving his claws on the walls and using his arms to run I just can't help but love it. Dude looks like such a beast!

I guess some people might be upset that he's acting like an antagonist but so far he doesn't seem to be unreasonably evil, just someone with a lot of stuff to take care of and a lot of people to manage.

He seems like someone under a lot of stress and I find that very relatable.

Mayday looks adorable. Also, f*ck One More Day.

I'm really excited to see if they're going to talk about whether Spider-Man was born from the loss of Uncle Ben or the Love he received from Uncle Ben because that's a topic I really feel would be perfect to be talked about in a Spider-Man media.

Are heroes born from their tragedies or are they born from something that allows them to overcome tragedy?

I really want to see this theme explored.

Miles' new design looks cool but I think I'm gonna miss his older costume where you can see the traces of the paint sprayed over one of Peter's suits, and I'm specially gonna miss his hooded-with-shoes look.

Designing costumes for Miles must be the best job ever cause that kid looks good in anything.

Just looks at his Ps4 suits. Trying to mix up the colors red and black with a spider theme always ends up in a cool result.

Overall, "Across the Spider-Verse" looks really fun.

Crossing fingers for the action scenes and the topics being discussed.

I don't know if it will be exactly what I want it to be, but even if it isn't, it still looks like it's gonna be a pretty enjoyable experience. Super hyped for it!

[meowloudly15]

Stranded: Day 9 - IMPENDING MORAL CRISIS

Oh CARP I forgot to post this yesterday... I’m sorry. Next chapter will be up on Thursday.

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The Spider-Gang took shelter in an alley behind a Burger Monarch restaurant. Gwen inspected her left arm, which had taken quite a beating. It felt less numb now, and she could finally hold things in it without exerting a death grip. Since she was right-handed, it didn't matter too much.

"Where's Miles?" asked Noir.

Peter B. looked around frantically, as though Miles was still there but had turned invisible. "Oh no, he's not here. Miles! Miles, c'mere!"

"Can't believe you lost him again," commented Ham.

"I, no, I didn't lose him. He's just… he's just… something happened to his uncle. They'll both be okay? I think?"

Peni's face was impassive. "The Prowler's dead."

"How do you know?"

"Sp/dr has infrared scanners. He's in the next alley over."

"Is Miles over there?" asked Gwen.

"Uh, no. Just a couple of cops."

Oh, this wasn't good at all. Miles was in no shape to help out at this point, considering that the poor kid's uncle had just died. She was going to have to sacrifice herself. But that was okay if it meant that everybody else stayed safe.

"We need to find Miles," Peter B. said. His brows were set in a hard line.

IMPENDING MORAL CRISIS

Gwen knew that her spider-sense could help her find Miles. She knew that the Spider-Gang could comfort him. But was it really the right choice? Was having a load really the best idea? Would he die if he came along?

She shook her head. "No. We shouldn't. We need to get to the collider now. Miles would… he'll just slow us down."

"Then who will stay behind?" asked Noir.

"I will," said Gwen and Peter B. simultaneously. They looked at each other.

"It's okay if I die. There's nothing left for me back home, anyway," said Peter B. calmly. "My wife's gone… well not really, but kind of. There are other heroes in my dimension: Ricochet, Prodigy, Sable, just to name a few. The public… isn't super fond of me. I won't be missed much."

"Yes, you will. Your wife… your ex-wife will miss you. So will all the people you've helped, and all the people who've helped you.

"And I'm supposed to be dead. Don't you get it? Why do you think the media calls me Ghost Spider? Why do you think all the heroes in other dimensions are like you, not like me? Why is Gwen Stacy dead in every dimension but mine? I shouldn't be alive!"

Peter B. adopted a soothing tone. "Yes, you should be. You're a hero in your world. You've saved plenty of people, including your own dad."

Gwen's voice started to break, and she exerted all her willpower to hold herself together. "I'm no hero. I killed my own best friend! And I'll fight tooth and nail to make sure I don't have to see Peter Parker die again!"

"And I'd do the same for Gwen Stacy."

Gwen balled her hands into fists. "Not if I have anything to say about that."

Ham spoke up. "Woah woah woah. Nobody's gonna die. We just… need to figure out what to do with Miles."

IMPENDING MORAL CRISIS

Again, Gwen was struck with a ray of hope. Miles couldn't be the MILES OF INTEREST for no reason. But at the same time, she couldn't put all her faith in someone else, especially if that somebody had already been proven unreliable. She could only rely on herself. That was one reason why she didn't want to let friends help. Gwen couldn't control friends, but she could control herself.

At the same time, she owed it to Miles to help him feel better.

Where was Miles?

VISION OF BROOKLYN

Gwen exhaled. "I know where Miles is. Follow me."

Of course, as she remembered only when the Spider-Gang reached Visions Academy, she didn't know which part of the building he was in.

That question was answered a couple seconds later, when Noir caught a book that had been cast out of a third-story window. Miles' name was on the cover. Noir threw the book back through the window, and the Spider-Gang followed it in.

Miles' room looked like that of any teenager, except in even more disarray. He must have had a roommate, since there was a bunk bed, neither level of which was properly made. (Not that Gwen was judging, as she only made her bed when her dad forced her to.) Clothes were strewn across the floor, as were his books and notes. They looked like they had been recently scattered. Gwen, not known for her tidiness, knew that even her room at home wasn't as messy as this one.

Amidst the mess stood Miles, looking just as disjointed as did his room. He wiped a tear from his eye as he looked up at Peter B.

"Hey buddy," said Peter B. "You all right?"

Miles turned aside and softly shook his head.

Peter B. laid his hand on Miles' shoulder. "We've all been there. For me, it was my Uncle Ben."

Noir replicated the gesture. "For me, it was my Uncle Benjamin."

"For me, it was my dad," said Peni.

Gwen blinked hard. "For me, it was my best friend."

"Miles, the hardest thing about this job is that you can't save everybody," added Ham.

She couldn't help but smile. Though he was a goofy cartoon character, Ham was probably the wisest member of the bunch, if not the smartest one. It likely had something to do with him having been a superhero for 35 years.

"But, but I feel like it's my fault," said Miles. "You wouldn't understand."

Gwen remembered a dreary day in school, limping between classes, an unending bell tolling in her head. She remembered an even worse night afterwards, the bell striking the insides of her skull. The bell was still there, ringing more softly now, but she had given up on muffling it. It would slow to a stop eventually, but it wouldn't go away.

Miles needed to learn what had taken her two years to understand.

"Miles, we're probably the only people who do understand."

PERSONS TAKING NOTICE

Gwen saw the door handle rattle.

"Oh no, it's Ganke," said Miles.

Everybody jumped onto the ceiling just before a stocky young Asian fellow wearing headphones walked in. He sat down in the rolling chair and pulled out a comic book. As Ganke slid to the left, the spiders scrambled right, trying to stay out of his field of vision. When he spun to the right, they moved left.

Finally, inevitably, the kid looked up and saw everybody.

PERSONS TAKING NOTICE

"Hey," Miles said awkwardly.

"Do animals talk in this dimension?" asked Ham. "'Cuz I don't wanna freak him out."

Ganke passed out.

Gwen helped Miles drag his roommate into bed while Peni, Noir, and Ham left the room. After he pulled the covers over him, Miles turned around to see only Peter B. standing there. Gwen was halfway out the window.

"What's going on?"

IMPENDING MORAL CRISIS

She looked down. She really didn't want to leave Miles behind. But she had to. For his sake. For everybody else's sake. Peter B. might have deluded himself into thinking that he would save everybody, or that Miles could, but Gwen needed to sacrifice herself.

But would Peter B. listen to her? He never seemed to. He always had his own agenda. Sure, it was understandable, seeing that he was a loner. Maybe he didn't want anybody else in on his plans because he didn't trust anyone? But how would Gwen make him see that Miles couldn't help? How would she make him see that he couldn't stay behind?

As little as she trusted herself to handle the situation, she was the only person who could.

"Bye, Miles."

Gwen hopped out of the window.

Noir, Ham, and Sp//dr clung to the other side of the wall, listening in on Peter B. and Miles. Noir waved for Gwen to join them. As much as she wanted to get on with saving the multiverse, she wanted to stay. Friendship prevailed over duty in this instance.

This was why Gwen didn't want to make friends. They would get in the way, just like Miles would have. They would get hurt, just like Peter had been.

But did that make them bad to have?

Gwen stopped worrying about herself and listened.

Should she be here?

SURE

"You're not getting it. You're staying here."

"I need to be there, so you all can get home."

"They are going home. I'm the only one staying."

That's what he thought.

"But if you stay here, you'll die."

"I'm doing what needs to be done. I just wanted you to hear it from me."

"What about MJ?"

A heavy pause.

"Not everything works out, kid. I need the goober."

Wait, Miles still had the goober?

"Don't make me take it from you."

Miles sounded agitated, like he was drawing on his last reserves of conviction. "But that's not fair! Tell them I can do this!"

"It wasn't their decision."

"But, but I gotta make Kingpin pay! Let me make him pay!"

"You're gonna get yourself killed if you do that."

"But I'm ready! I promise!"

He wasn't ready. He wasn't ready. What would it take to make Miles understand that?

Gwen heard thumping.

Peter B.'s voice sounded like it was coming from higher up than before. "Then venom-strike me right now. Or turn invisible, on command, so you can get past me."

Miles strained. He gritted his teeth and growled. But, apparently, nothing happened.

Gwen couldn't help but feel bad for him.

His devotion to friends wasn't going to help him. He needed to be broken of the habit before he got himself killed.

"Poor little guy," Noir muttered under his breath.

"I know how much you want this… but you don't have it yet. I'm sorry."

Webshooters fired repeatedly.

"When will I know I'm ready?" asked Miles.

"You won't. It's a leap of faith."

Peter B. climbed out the window and joined the rest of the Spider-Gang. They swung back into the city in silence.

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[amazingspiderfan110]

Ducktales-Spider Man Crossover Part 1: New faces

This version of spider Man Is a combination of Marvels spider man cartoon and the mcu. And in this version, venom ruined his relation ship with mj. And he was just on an adventure that is highly similar to the spider verse film.  And this is separate from my spider Dewey AU, and this takes place i the 2017 reboot, And since this was written before the new episodes came out in September of 2019, s1-s2 episode 14 is canon

prologue

Peter(Age 16): How do I know I wont Mess this up

Miles: You Don't

Peter: Right, its all a leap of faith

Miles lets go peter, allowing him to return to his dimension

Peter: Not Bad Kid, Not Bad

Peter falls into the collider, and now he is going home

ZAP, then peter falls onto an energy generated surface. Peter knew who is doing this

Peter: Hey electro

Electro: Hello spider Man, I missed you

Peter: Aw, thanks

Electro: I missed beating you up

Peter: Shoot

now

Spidey Man: electro listen, can we fight when we get back to our dimension

Electro: Sorry, i dont see you on the guest list

Spidey: Ha Ha HA, listen, I cant let you expand the shadow realm to other dimensions

Electro: Your just jealous that I have Disney channel

Spidey: And your jealous because the animators made me sound like josh Keaton for this crossover, and im more of a Disney xd guy

Electro: Whoops, im late, better hurry up now

(Electro uses the multiverse energy and tries to vaporize spider man, instead it hits someone else)

Spidey: Great, you probably killed someone

Electro: Do you think I care

Spidey: sort of

Ducktales 2017 universe

(Donald notices the energy blast entering their dimension)

Donald: BOYS, LOOK OUT

(Donald pushes hue and dewey out of the way so instead, Donald gets vaporized)

Huey, Dewey, and Louie: UNCLE DONALD!

1 week later

Its been a week, and people are still upset about uncle Donald's death. Huey said that going to the Junior Woodchuck Dance would Cheer everyone up. After annoying everyone, they decided to go to the JW dance. Huey had a secret plan, to tell violet how he felt, and to help him with his plan, he made...A list. It was the day of the dance, and dewey was working on the laptop and for once, he was using more brain power than usual. He was trying to find out where that energy blast came from.

Webby: hey dewey

Dewey: hey webby

Webby: What are you doing

Dewey: Trying to figure out what killed Donald

Webby: Dewey, you can figure this out later, just have fun, that's why Huey dragged all 6 of us here

Dewey: Alright

Meanwhile huey walked over to violet to talk to her

Huey: Hey violet

Violet: Hey

Huey: Um, there is something i need to tell you

Violet: Ok

Huey: I-

Then a portal opened and there was electro fighting spider man, everyone left, except Huey, dewey, louie, lena, violet, and webby were hiding behind a flipped over table. Then webby saw spider man. And she instantly remembered something from 2 weeks ago. Because her and lena were on an adventure with Della and they saw this weird thing, it was said the temple is near the hole in their universe, and why was there  glitching, well that was the same time kingpin turned on the collider. And then they saw spider Gwen, peter, noir etc.  She got pictures of it also and showed everyone else. Then they observed spiderman fighting electro.

Webby: It cant be, can it

Lena: Lets see, blue suit

Louie: Bug lenses

Huey: Webbing pattern on the suit

Dewey: Is it him

Spider Man: Who are you guys talking about

Cue the theme song (for this episode, we are playing spectacular spider man theme)

[meowloudly15]

Stranded: Day 9 - LINCH KING

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PERSONS TAKING NOTICE

The big grey guy was waiting behind the kitchen doors. “Hey, whatcha got in there?”

Peter B. instinctively put up his fists. Gwen had to push them back down.

“Just your typical stuff. Liver, hard cheese, barley duke sandwiches. Nothing unusual,” responded Noir.

What was a barley duke sandwich? Was Noir making stuff up or talking about real 1930s cuisine?

“Oh, that sounds good. Mind if I take a bite? I’m real hungry.”

The grey guy lifted the cover… and saw Ham, wearing nothing but his mask and holding an apple in his mouth.

The grey guy seemed more amused than anything. Hopefully, that was a good sign. “Ha ha ha! Look at this! They even got the mask on ‘im!”

“Heh heh, I know, right?” replied Gwen, trying to sound both more and less amused than she actually was.

“Well, I don’t eat pork.”

“You don’t deserve pork!” yelled Ham. Gwen scrambled to put the lid back over him.

The grey guy gave the Spider-Gang a last once-over, then gestured to the far door. “Right through there. Have fun.”

Gwen had to restrain herself from bolting to the nearest exit. She calmly walked out the door, pushing the Spider-Cart.

Peter B. sighed in relief and tore off his bow tie. “Ha, aren’t they dumb?”

“They are so dumb!”

Ham put his suit back on and threw the lid to the floor. It clattered loudly on the tile. “They’re all ¢*§¿~θ> morons.”

She still didn’t understand how he could pronounce that.

LINCH KING

The Spider-Gang clung to the ceiling and crawled along until they saw Kingpin enter a room. It had to contain the entrance to the elevator.

GUARD ON WATCH

Of course, two guards stood in front of the doorway. They were quickly disabled by some webbing.

The Spider-Gang walked in and examined the room. It looked like a big conference room, complete with a large desk and an even larger painting. The elevator was probably behind the painting. Gwen knew how these things worked.

Sp//dr scanned the room. Peni said, “The elevator’s behind that painting.”

Her suspicions were correct.

Noir looked at it. “What a beautiful painting. I love the use of purple.”

The painting was an ugly amber yellowish colour. It was definitely not the type of thing Gwen would want hanging in her conference room, or in any room, for that matter.

“Colour’s not his strong suit,” remarked Ham, thumbing at Noir.

“It’s purple!” Noir ripped apart the painting, revealing sleek aluminum elevator doors and a white call button. He bypassed the call button and tore open the doors. The Spider-Gang leaped down the shaft.

HOSTILE SITUATION

“Secondary ignition in five…”

Everybody landed at the bottom of the shaft and started to run.

“Four… three… two…”

They surmounted a catwalk and looked out upon the massive collider.

“One…”

The collider shot out giant bolts of energy from both ends. The beams were so orange they looked blue. They met in the middle and spouted excess energy to the sides. The room felt a little bit warmer than it had before. The sight was enthralling but terrifying.

Peter B. glitched out and dropped to a knee. So did the other spiders, except for Gwen.

“Peter, you don’t have to stay behind. I’ll do it.”

Peter B. regained his footing. “It’s okay. I’ve made up my mind.”

So had she. And Gwen would fight to her last breath to make sure that Peter B. got home to see his friends and his wife again.

The Spider-Gang swung to the roof of the collider. Actually, it might not have been the roof, because it’s hard to tell which way is up in a cylindrical chamber when you have gravity-defying adhesion.

Peter B. called to them, “I’ll put in the goober. Once you’re gone, I’ll blow it up. Good luck, guys.”

GUARDS ON WATCH

Uh-oh. Maybe the grey guy wasn’t as dumb as he looked.

“They know we’re here,” whispered Gwen.

OCTAGONS

Peter B. looked up as he reached to insert the goober drive – no, the flash drive. His arm was captured by a plastic pincer. He turned to see Doc Ock enter the chamber.

“Nice to see you again, Peter,” she said. A maniacal grin was plastered across her face.

The guards on the catwalk started shooting at the spiders. Gwen dove out of the way. She swung through the framework, dodging bullets.

ATOMIC DISJUNCTION.

Gwen tried to land on a crossbeam. She glitched out and fell, managing to right herself in time with a webline. It was a good thing that May had fixed her gloves.

She swung through the rafters and knocked down a couple of hired hands. She saw Scorpion charge in and attack Peni, so she headed over to assist.

Doc Ock, in the meantime, was busy throttling Peter B. “Any last words?”

“Can you give me a minute?” he choked out. “Got a pen?”

Gwen felt torn between the two heroes. There was too much going on all at once. She was about to swing over there and extract Peter B. when she saw one of Doc Ock’s tentacles punch her in the face.

Liv was being attacked by an invisible opponent.

Gwen’s eyes widened. Could it be Miles?

It was. Two weblines from out of nowhere adhered to the wall of the collider. Miles appeared and surged forward, punching Doc Ock square in the jaw. She dropped Peter B. Miles caught him with a webline and flung him to the collider roof.

“Wow, Miles! You’re doing it on command!”

“About time, right?”

The rest of the spiders cheered for Miles.

“He figured it out,” muttered Gwen. She smiled.

He had found hope. He had taken his hope and translated it into drive. He had taken his potential and turned it into energy. He had taken a leap of faith, and he had come out on top. At least, Gwen assumed that he had.

Also, he wore a sleek new costume. It was black with red highlights. A red spider emblem was spray-painted onto his chest.

Peter B. and Miles took off and rushed towards Doc Ock. She started ripping off ceiling tiles and hurling them at them.

Gwen redirected her attention to taking out the guards, but something caught her eye. The spot in between the two beams of energy from the collider was black now, and it was getting bigger. It exploded in a burst of colour and overwhelmed the control box.

She dodged the gunfire (there was still a lot of it) and claws while watching, enthralled, as the collider started to glitch out.

ATOMIC DISJUNCTION

Gwen glitched out again and narrowly missed being struck by a bullet. She was knocked sideways by one of Doc Ock’s pincers and hit a… hold on a second.

Holy cuss word.

LARGE-SCALE ATOMIC DISJUNCTION

There were BUILDINGS emerging from the collider beam. Skyscrapers, trains, cars, buses, deli kiosks, a snowman, a… was that a giant tube of lozenges?

LOZENGE BOMBARDMENT

Apparently it was. Gwen dodged and ducked through the midst of the chaos. She perched on the emitter nozzle thingy with Peter B. and Miles.

“Are you seeing this?” asked Peter B. He couldn’t believe his eyes. Neither could Gwen.

“It looks like our dimensions are coming to us!” she shouted back over the hubbub.

“It does look cool, right?”

It did. It was chaos, but it was a weirdly rhythmic sort of chaos. The buildings pulsed and swayed and retracted with a drum-like beat.

OCTAGONS

She dove out of the way as Doc Ock threw a bus at the trio.

Noir managed to easily take down the grey guy while yelling some sort of gibberish at him. Did he say something about a soft-boiled turtle, or did Gwen not hear him correctly? Noir flung a car at the grey guy to finish him off.

Meanwhile, Peni had a hard time fending off Scorpion. His stinger penetrated Sp//dr’s viewscreen. But before Scorpion could deal the final blow, an anvil fell on his head. An honest to goodness cartoon anvil, like something out of “Oswald the Lucky Rabbit”.

Gwen distinctly heard Ham say, “You got a problem with cartoons?” Then Ham went ham on Scorpion. He smacked him upside the cranium with a comically-oversized wooden mallet, among other things. Noir swung Scorpion around by his tail and threw him at Peni. She dealt the final blow with one of Sp//dr’s broken-off legs.

Meanwhile, Gwen was busy contending with Doc Ock. Unfortunately, she wouldn’t go down as easily as she had the first couple of times they fought. She webbed up a giant cassette tape (it had “Awesome Mix Vol. 3” scribbled on the front) and flung it at her.

ATOMIC DISJUNCTION

Doc Ock’s claws tore the cassette in half. She drove Gwen into a concrete wall.

She must have passed out, because the next thing she remembered was almost striking the collider beam but seeing Miles’ hand. She grabbed it.

“I like your suit.”

“Thanks. I made it myself.”

Miles shot a webline to Peter B., who flung the pair at Doc Ock.

“That was adorable, kids! Now, hold on tight!”

Gwen punched the mad scientist in the face first, followed by Miles, then Peter B. Miles and Gwen then teamed up to sock Doc Ock in the chin, knocking her over. They bumped fists.

OCTAGONS

But Liv managed to catch herself between two buildings. She propelled herself towards the trio, eyes aflame with malice.

“Buckle up, guys. This is gonna take a while,” Gwen warned.

Suddenly, Doc Ock was blindsided by a truck.

The trio stared at the place where she used to be.

“Never mind. Let’s end this.”

“I’ll go,” said Miles.

Peter B. retorted, “No, I’ll do it. I’m the one with the goo-”

MILES OF INTEREST

Miles held up the flash drive.

“You gotta be kidding me.”

“Don’t watch the mouth,” Miles said smugly. “Watch the hands.”

He took off, propelling himself upward with a webline, then letting go and falling in a graceful parabola below the edge of the emitter.

“Be careful!” Peter B. yelled after him.

Miles slipped through a gap between two buildings and shot out another webline. He swung in an arc and landed on the rotating part of the emitter. He leaped off. With one last webline-powered propulsion, he gained enough velocity to land on the roof of the collider.

Show-off.

“Hey, uh, we taught him that, right?” muttered Peter B.

“I didn’t. And you definitely didn’t.”

The pair swung to the access panel. So did Noir, Ham, and Peni, who rode on Noir’s shoulders. What had happened to Sp//dr?

Gwen noticed the wreck of a robot that used to be Sp//dr lying on the floor of the collider. That was not a good sign.

Miles inserted the goober and activated a control panel. “Guys! I got control of the beam! Get up here!”

LINCH KING

Kingpin roared in fury from his observation deck. He smashed a control panel with his giant fists.

What was he gonna do about it, huh? What could that enormous, black-suited circus freak do about his ruined collider? It wasn’t like he had superpowers.

The Spider-Gang joined Miles at the access hatch.

“I guess this is it,” Gwen remarked. Despite her inclination to avoid emotional attachments with others, she had to admit that she would miss these guys, especially Miles.

Peni looked distraught, but at least her spider was on her shoulder. “Well… nice to know we’re not alone, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ve got the portal open,” said Miles as he pulled off his mask. “You first, Peni.”

“Thank you, Miles. From both of us.”

Peni’s spider chirped happily. She let go of Noir and fell into the collider beam.

Peni was a sweet kid. A vicious little gremlin on the inside, perhaps, but sweet nonetheless.

Noir lowered his head. “I, uh, I… love you all.” He held up the Rubix Cube. “I’m taking this cube thing with me. I don’t understand it yet, but I will.” He gave a salute and fell into the collider beam.

Noir had a good heart, despite his dark exterior.

Ham pulled a wooden mallet from out of nowhere and handed it to Miles. “I want you to have this. It’ll fit in your pocket.” He sniffled and started to cry. “That’s all, folks.”

As Ham fell into the collider beam, Peter B. asked, “Is he legally allowed to say that?”

Ham was goofy, sure, but he was probably the wisest one of the whole Spider-Gang.

Peter B. was beaten up, worn out, and hung out to dry, but he had a tenacity about him, even when he didn’t want to continue. And he still had a youthful spark of optimism that was inspiring.

SOMETHING OLD SOMETHING NEW

It was Gwen’s turn now, and she didn’t want to go. She wanted to stay and shut the whole thing down so that Peter B. could go home and Miles could leave and stay safe. But that wasn’t the whole reason. Why didn’t she want to go?

“Do I get to like the haircut now?” asked Miles.

Gwen pulled off her mask so she could look him in the eyes and show off her haircut, which she had grown increasingly fond of as time passed.

Of course. She wanted to stay so that she could hang out with Miles some more. She felt like she hadn’t spent enough time with him. But then again, was it because he reminded her of Peter? Was it because Miles was nice and kind and even funny in the same goofy sort of way?

But she couldn’t stay in this dimension. She would die. And, as Gwen suddenly realised, she had never been a ghost in the first place.

The reason why was because she had hope. As stupid as that sounded, it was true. She almost died in multiple situations but was saved by hope. Maybe it wasn’t her own belief, but it fueled her obstinance all the same. So she kept getting up, even when death threatened to drag her down, even when there was no hope at all. Gwen persisted. And she wasn’t going to stop persisting any time soon.

She liked the name “Ghost Spider”, though. She wanted to keep the name. It would serve as a reminder of what she had done and had failed to do. Her memories would subside into mist, but she didn’t want them to go away completely. Not anymore.

MILES OF INTEREST

Gwen looked at Miles. Suddenly, a bunch of puzzle pieces fell into place. The awkward shoulder touching moment… the attempt to comfort her on the bus… his leap to save her, even though she could very well have saved herself (probably)… the way he was looking at her right now, with a mix of tacked-on self-reassurance and awkward reticence.

Miles had a crush on her.

Of course, that meant she had to dissuade him.

“You know, I’m older than you. By fifteen months, but I think that’s pretty significant.”

“Well, Einstein said time was relative. Right?”

Gwen felt a sudden urge to reach over and hug Miles. She refrained from doing so, instead turning away and leaning against the collider wall.

Miles offered his hand for a handshake. “Friends?”

Gwen shook his hand. “Friends. See you around, Spiderman.”

Miles smiled broadly.

She had to go. She had hope that Peter B. would get home to his Em Jay. She had hope that Miles would succeed. She had hope that she would be a hero.

She took off, falling towards the beam of the collider.

INTERDIMENSIONAL TRANSPORTATION IMMINENT

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