Spider-Man : The Morales Trilogy

Chapter 23

There are few moments in your life when your heart races at the speed of sound and your mind spirals out of control at, at least, five times that speed. This was one of those moments for Miles. He wasn't even sure what he felt.

Panic, anxiety, anger, fear, or excitement. Maybe a toxic combination of all. For one, he enjoyed freefalling through the air. He'd always wondered what it felt like. The rush. The thrill.

But he also knew he couldn't let the bus crash to the ground at this speed because it would result in an insane explosion that would kill everybody inside the bus and he wasn't sure if he'd survive it.

So he did the dumbest thing possible. He let go of the bus and dived towards the ground. He spread his arms out and landed hard on the ground and rolled multiple times before coming to a stop. He was sure he couldn't fly. But if he jumped high enough with enough force, he'd be able to reach the bus and hold it. He'd be able to slow down the fall that way and probably even eliminate casualties. But he'd also go splat if this plan failed and everyone on the bus would still die.

He took a deep breath, timing everything just right and crouched. He crouched and placed both hands on the ground, trying to charge his jump. He didn't push off the ground till it felt like the ground beneath him was vibrating.

He yelled as he pushed off the ground with all the force he could muster and he grabbed the bus which was still falling. He and the bus moved upwards for a while and Miles actually believed he was flying then they both started falling. But Miles had managed to balance both himself and the bus.

He was good at physics but he definitely hadn't thought this through. He landed hard on the ground and yelled in pain as intense pain shot through his legs and back. The bus was still intact and in one piece above Miles but the weight was too much for him. He couldn't handle the weight of the bus in his current condition so he let the bus down on the ground and smiled.

He tried to walk to the bus but his knees gave away so he buckled and collapsed to the ground. He looked up at the eerie night sky to see shockwaves and beams of blue light clashing. His brain didn't register what was happening at first but he quickly realized. Sam and Shockwave were brawling in the sky. He needed to get there somehow and give Sam an advantage.

But with his legs probably broken, there was no way to get there. So he had to risk Sam's safety as well if he wanted to knock Shockwave right out of the sky. He aimed his hands at the sky, timing the moment. And when the moment was right, he let out a blast of red electricity, lighting up the sky with red.

It was dazzling. But soon, he saw two silhouettes falling from the sky. He knew one was Sam and the other was a very frustrated person who wanted him dead but he couldn't tell which was which.

One of the two silhouettes moved towards the other and grabbed him before crashing to the ground and stirring up dirt and dust. Miles coughed and angled himself so he could see what was happening.

Shockwave had grabbed Sam and had saved him from the fall. Shockwave didn't appear to have any serious injuries but his expression showed he was dazed and in slight pain. Probably from the shock of the fall. But why had he saved Sam?

"Why'd you save him?" Miles asked.

"He's a kid. He's a tough one who could be very problematic but still, he's still just a kid. And he's simply an innocent in the crossfire."

"But you want to kill me?"

"You messed with my work. Interfered. Repeatedly. And you put me in prison. Even though the last part went just as I planned, you can't deny that you do deserve to be silenced permanently."

"So just kill me now and be done with it!" Miles yelled. "You have your one shot now so go ahead and take it!"

"You don't look like someone with much fight left in them. You're injured and beaten. I'm not a doctor and I don't have any medical expertise but it looks like even you won't heal from this quite quickly."

"Exactly! I'm helpless. And alone. Beaten. So win. You have your chance now to be the Grandmaster's loyal dog and puppet so kill me so you can be promoted from henchdog to henchhound!"

"You're not getting my point," Shockwave said gently. "I can't kill you cold-blooded. I'll still come after you again but only when you're capable of defending yourself. I'll earn my rightful victory. Then I'll kill you in the most painful manner I can think of at the time."

"Wow, the villain has a soft spot. How shocking! Can you at least answer a few questions while I'm sort of paralyzed and before you have to report back to Grandmaster?"

"Be quick."

"Why did you want me to beat you? Why'd you want to get arrested? What were your intentions?"

"Someone that used to work for the Grandmaster years ago was in that prison. I needed to get close enough to him because infiltration seemed virtually impossible. So I got in, took him and got us the hell out of there. It was one heck of a swim."

"Why are you doing all of this? Why are you trying to help destroy the city?"

"Look around!" Shockwave yelled. "Look around you, kid. Look at everything, at everyone. This city's already been destroyed. I'm just working with the only man that's capable of rebuilding this city from scratch."

"And you don't care how many innocent lives get in the way?!"

"If the Grandmaster's intentions get too brutal or bloody, I'll put an end to him myself. You don't have to worry about the casualties, kid. You just have to worry about yourself."

"Okay. Good talk."

"You might know the plan, kid. But you don't know the method of execution. Maybe this hero thing isn't for you after all. Resign and maybe you'll live."

"What's your name, Shockwave?"

"You just said it."

"I mean your birth name. Not the sick ass name I whipped up for you."

"Doesn't matter," Shockwave said and dropped Sam gently on the ground. He powered up his suit's flight engines and smiled at Miles. "Be seeing you around!" he added before shooting upwards into the sky and disappearing.

The bus doors slid open and Dil stepped out, looking somewhat sick. "Miles, you okay?"

"Kind of. I just can't feel my legs at the moment. Should heal in a couple of hours."

"Way to save the day," Dil said and grinned. "Spider-Man."