Spider-Man : The Morales Trilogy

Chapter 34

“Do we run now?” Sam asked as he groaned and his fists flickered blue. “Because I won’t be of much help here and he can definitely take you.”
“Don’t underestimate,” Miles said and smiled, activating his suit’s night vision. He could see Till properly now. His eyes were glowing red and he was huge and completely pumped, with his skin slowly turning scaly.
“Your mutation doesn’t look like it’s going well for you. Going through a rough patch, eh?”
“Make the jokes, kid. But your friend’s dying and it’s only a matter of time before you lose your powers in here too.”
“I can beat you in a matter of time,” Miles stated and cracked his knuckles. “Let’s make it quick, alright. I have a city to save.”
Till growled and charged towards Miles. Miles’s eyes almost couldn’t track Till’s movement but the suit helped as did Miles’s enhanced senses so Miles managed to jump aside and avoid the punch.
He moved quickly and came up behind Till and landed a strong blow at the back of Till’s head. Till growled and swung around dangerously but Sam charged at him and punched him backwards off the ground.
“How are you still hitting that hard?”
“I still have some of my strength. I just can’t light him up right now,” Sam groaned and staggered on the ground.
“Let’s make this fast and get you to the generator,” Miles said and smiled.
“You really want us to fight our way out?”
“We take him out here and we have one less threat to deal with. It should be easier taking out the Grandmaster without Till in the way.”
“You’ll still have Smythe to face,” Till warned and chuckled. “You won’t live to encounter the Grandmaster and you should count yourselves lucky for that.”
“Smythe’s easy. You, piece of cake.”
“What are you doing?” Sam demanded. “Should we really be annoying him even more?”
“Just follow my lead, he’ll either save us or kill us. Anything’s better than being down here in this abyss,” Miles murmured and Sam nodded slowly.
Miles charged at Till then stepped aside at the last moment, avoiding a dangerous punch and Sam caught Till by surprise with an uppercut.
Till staggered backwards then Miles rushed forward and slid through the space between Till’s legs and yanked them off the ground. Till hit the ground violently and the abyss shook slightly.
“Run now,” Miles said quickly and they both started sprinting back towards the direction of the generator, Sam running much slower than Miles. He really needed that energy because Miles didn’t see him making it out of the abyss like this.
“You can run!” Till growled as he charged after them. “But this is my domain so I wish you luck in hiding!”
“Why work with the Grandmaster?!” Miles queried. “Didn’t your rehabilitation work?”
“It’s either work with the Grandmaster or be killed by him. I chose what any sane person would have,” Till yelled.
“And went back to being an oversized monster.”
“Anything to stay alive.”
“Then join us!” Miles yelled and halted, turning back to face Till who halted abruptly. “You want to stay alive, join us! The Grandmaster can’t destroy the city, not without your help.”
“You underestimate the Grandmaster,” Till said and chuckled, growing slightly smaller by the second as Miles had noticed. The abyss was draining him too, probably even faster than it was draining Miles.
“Maybe I am underestimating him, but I know you can help us protect the city. Make the right call and you won’t have to go back to jail when the Grandmaster is defeated.”
“He won’t be defeated,” Till murmured and shook his head. “Don’t you get it? You can’t stop a god.”
“He’s not a god!” Sam growled. “He has the same powers superhumans across the globe have. Telepathy, telekinesis, strength, speed, whatever. You can stand up to him.”
“And die? I’m already out of favors with him!”
“Okay then,” Miles muttered and punched Till across the face, sending him backwards. “We’ll just stop stalling and get out of here now.”
Till growled and charged at Miles but Sam got in the way and grabbed Till and a blue aura erupted around the two of them.
“What are you doing?!” Miles asked, completely confused by what was going on.
“I don’t know,” Sam said as his eyes turned blue. “But I feel myself getting my energy back.”
“Till. He gives off energy too. You’re absorbing that.”
Till yelled as he shrunk down to his normal human size and he pushed Sam aside and fell to the ground, gasping for air. “How?”
“Stop the generator now, Sam!” Miles said quickly as his suit’s display fluttered and went off. Sam took a deep breath and shot towards the generator, his fists clenched and he threw a strong punch once he got close enough.
There was a loud boom and a red wave dispersed, knocking Miles backwards off his feet, burning off a part of his suit in the process.
Sam yelled as he tried to contain the explosion he’d just caused by soaking up all the energy created by it. His blue aura turned red and he fell on the ground, his teeth gritted as he continued to absorb all the energy.
“Sam,” Miles groaned and pushed himself up onto his feet and rushed towards Sam. He looked like he was going to die. Red lines spread all over his suit and his face, his eyes turned red.
“You need to stop now.”
“No,” Sam muttered. “I can do it.”
“It’s too much energy. It will kill you, damnit!”
“I have to try,” Sam said weakly.
“I’m sorry,” Miles stated and grabbed Sam and threw him aside. There was a flash of red light as the explosion knocked two of them backwards.
Miles groaned as he hit the ground once more and rolled over in pain, moaning. He saw Sam’s body on the ground, immobile.
Miles hurried towards Sam and found red lines all over his face but he wasn’t breathing anymore and the color was seeping from his body.
“Sam,” Miles said slowly.
“I told you, you can’t stop the Grandmaster,” Till murmured and walked towards them. “He’s paid the price with his life.”
“He can’t be dead,” Miles murmured.
“He is.”
“Wake him up, damnit!” Miles yelled at the top of his lungs and yanked his mask off, throwing it aside. “Save my friend! Do something!”
“It’s too late now. That kind of energy wasn’t meant to be absorbed, especially not by a human.”
“He isn’t human,” Miles said. “Surely, he’ll regenerate?”
“He’s dead, kid. Walk away now or suffer the same fate.”
“He can’t be dead. Not again,” Miles said slowly and bent over, tears rolling down his cheeks. “I can’t let someone else die.”
“Sorry,” Till said and started walking away. “But you’ve already lost.”
Miles sniffled and looked upwards, screaming at the top of his lungs. “Sam!” he muttered and sniffled. “Wake up!”
“He won’t,” the Grandmaster’s eerie voice said, slithering through the darkness. “Your friend is dead.”
“Then you’re next!” Miles growled and climbed up onto his feet, red electricity flickering through his eyes and on his hands. “I’m going to kill you, if it’s the last thing I do.”
“You’re welcome to try. Let me make it easy,” the Grandmaster said and laughed as the abyss was immediately filled with light and a secret doorway opened up. “Face me, spider.”
Miles growled and took a deep breath as he crossed the doorway, anger and determination surging through him. He had to do this. He had to kill the Grandmaster. For Sam.
Sam’s death couldn’t be in vain.