Spider-Man : The Morales Trilogy

Chapter 35

Miles stepped into the lair, all the fear that had once been in him now replaced with anger, courage and a thirst for revenge.
The lair felt like it existed in a separate universe contained within the abyss. It couldn’t be real. Technology everywhere. Unfinished suits of armor, vats of bubbly colorful liquids. Monitors depicting images of fallen buildings in New York and some were showing clips of thugs swinging into action and terrorizing the city.
“I have to get out there and stop this.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Miles. One problem at a time,” said a familiar, threatening voice. Miles sighed as he turned around and saw Smythe hovering there, in a suit of armor with his face revealed and his eyes glowing green like his suit.
“You enhanced yourself?”
“Just a few cybernetic upgrades to make sure I’d be able to kill you or any of your meddling friends.”
“Get out of my way, Smythe. I’m here to kill the Grandmaster.”
“It’s funny that you don’t see how this sounds. A teenage highschooler who just experienced puberty and a growth spur trying to taken on the biggest master of evil in the universe.”
“He’s not that powerful.”
“I’ll let you in on a little secret, okay. You’re taking it to the grave anyway.”
“Make it quick.”
“The Grandmaster is the same entity responsible for ridding the world of those stupid, meddling heroes. Spider-Man, Iron Man, Captain America, Quicksilver, Cyclops, Scarlet Witch, Thor, Skurge. All of those so-called Avengers. He got rid of them.”
“That’s not true.”
“Oh, but it is. You see, they’re scattered across the universe. Each one locked in a prison without time. So they’ll rot for eternity and they won’t even be able to die.”
“I suppose I’ll rescue them once the Grandmaster is a corpse,” Miles said, fear slowly creeping through him again. How powerful would the Grandmaster have to be if he’d gotten rid of all the Old Heroes?
“You’ll die bitterly.”
“Not at your hands,” Miles stated and fired a web line at Smythe and yanked. Smythe fell to the ground Miles charged at him, punching him repeatedly before grabbing him and flinging him into one of the vats of bubbly chemical.
Smythe crashed straight through it and shot upwards, his face now protected by the mask. “Ouch,” Smythe said mockingly. “You need to let out that aggression.”
“Stay out of my way.”
Smythe flew towards Miles and Miles didn’t jump aside or dodge this time. He stood his ground and punched once Smythe got close enough, knocking Smythe to the ground.
“Stay out of my way!” Miles yelled as he charged at Smythe, punching him repeatedly at amazing speeds with each punch chipping off bits of Smythe’s armor.
Electricity crackled on both of Miles’s hands and he slammed them on Smythe’s head. WHAM!
Smythe yelled and fell on his knees, holding his head tight. Miles spat on the ground and kicked Smythe backwards.
“I’ll kill all of you,” Miles growled and ripped Smythe’s mask off so he could see his bloodied face. He peered directly into Smythe’s eyes and saw the fear in them.
“Kill me, kid. Get your revenge.”
“I will!” Miles yelled and punched Smythe across the face, bringing blood out of his mouth. “I will! Because you helped kill Sam!”
Smythe’s eyes glowed green and he fired a blast of energy from them at Miles but Miles shielded himself with his hands and covered Smythe’s eyes up, blinding him with his own optic blasts.
Smythe yelled in pain but Miles lifted him up and threw him aside. “GRANDMASTER!” Miles yelled. “Show yourself!”
“I’ve been here the whole time,” an eerie voice whispered and the shadows all came together to form a black void. And out of the void stepped a man.
His hair was long and black like death, his eyes were black. He wore a black outfit with a black cape and had a scar over his face. It looked like mystical inscriptions.
“Okay,” Miles murmured and charged. But the Grandmaster was fast.
Miles swung and missed and the Grandmaster lifted him from the back and slammed him against the ground. Miles groaned and coughed up blood as he tried to get up but the Grandmaster kicked him aside like he weighed nothing.
“I want to rule this city. And rebuild it. I want to do what the Avengers never did. I want to save New York. Why won’t you stay out of my way?”
“You killed my friend,” Miles growled and got up slowly. “You’ll die too.”
“Unlikely. I have amassed powers from different parts of the universe for so long. I am cosmic. You cannot stop me.”
“I have to,” Miles said weakly and tears rolled down his eyes. “I have friends to protect and one to avenge. Hit me as hard as you can but I’m in this till the end of the line.”
The Grandmaster sighed and zoomed towards Miles and threw a punch but Miles caught it and glared at the Grandmaster, staring straight into his eyes. “You won’t have New York!”
Miles roared at the top of his lungs as a ball of red electricity formed around his hands and he punched the Grandmaster backwards, causing a shockwave that pushed him backwards slightly.
“You’re strong,” the Grandmaster murmured. “It’s not every time that someone hits me hard enough to move me. If I recall, Captain America did that before his demise.”
Miles grunted and charged at the Grandmaster and threw a series of punches with the Grandmaster dodging all but one which connected with his jaw and sent him sideways.
The Grandmaster grunted and rose into the air, his eyes glowing blue. He lifted Miles off the ground with his telekinesis and chuckled.
“I’m done playing. I’ll send you to your heroes.”
Miles yelled as his bones cracked painfully and he felt his body bend in a weird, painful position. “STOP!”
“I think not,” Grandmaster murmured.
Miles’s eyes glowed red and he let out a wave of electricity that knocked the Grandmaster right out of the air and onto the ground.
Miles hit the ground hard, his nose bleeding and the bones in his body cracked. He would lose his life here.
“Goodbye now,” the Grandmaster said slowly as he lifted Miles off the ground by his neck and punched his stomach a series of times, each punch generating a small shockwave. Miles coughed up blood and soon felt his consciousness start to slip away.
“You can’t stop me.”
“I won’t stop trying,” Miles said weakly and he slammed his face into the Grandmaster’s face but this didn’t seem to have any effect.
“Yes, you will. When you’re no longer breathing,” the Grandmaster murmured and placed his hand on Miles’s chest and Miles gasped as he felt the life be sucked out of his body.
“So much energy,” the Grandmaster sighed and exhaled with a smile on his face. “All this greatness, wasted. When you could have been a god at my side.”
“I’m human. That’s my strength. I’m not interested in being a god.”
“Silence. Let the death be swift.”
“Drop him,” a thick voice growled.
Grandmaster smiled and dropped Miles’s unconscious body to the ground. “He’s dropped. You’re next.”