TROUBLE !
vii. mayday

"HE BROKE THIS?" asked Gwen, her eyes of powdery blue glancing down at the broken 'goober' that had originally been in Miles' possession. The story provided had been that Peter B Had somehow managed to damage the device, though he had no recollection of doing so. She raised a speculative eyebrow at Miles, who's lap was occupied by Felicity's calves, one hand draped over them leisurely as the other tapped his thigh.

Miles nodded lightly whilst sparing a glance to the man behind him. Two seats behind the trio of teens, Peter B lay sprawled over two sets of seats, his eyes closed in relaxation and his arms crossed behind his head. Lifting his hand from the dark-haired girl's legs, Miles gestured to the man, "Yeah, he's actually really embarrassed about it," he lowered his voice as he leaned towards the two girls, "--so just keep it between us, okay?"

Felicity chuckled faintly, gesturing to Peter B whilst whispering, "he's quite strange, don't you think?" She joked, glancing briefly to miles who snickered in agreement.

"I can hear you, pipsqueak." Peter grumbled loudly, peaking an eye open for a moment before going back to his momentary peace.

Leaning up from her lay down position between miles and Gwen's seats, and to the side of the aisle she began patting the man's leg. Whilst doing so, Felicity made a hushing sound, "Shush, Shush, old man. Go back to sleep. Night-night."

"Old?" Peter shot up from his lay down position, mouth agape with offence. "Thirty-eight isn't old. It's not even middle-aged, actually. If anything, it's, like, the perfect age." He fussed, pointing a confident finger in her direction as she pushed herself from her seat and into the seat beside miles, leaning over the back of the cushioned chair to look at the man.

Miles furrowed his eyebrows, copying her action and turning to look at the man. "You're thirty-eight?" He asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise. At the younger boy's question, Peter groaned.

"Okay, whatever happened to respecting your elders? And miles, you're meant to be on my side." He whined, sparing the boy a glance of mocking betrayal that Miles returned with a light shrug and amused smile.

"Respect needs to be earned, old man." Felicity grinned, the undertone of mischief laced noticeably in her voice as she turned her back to the man, sliding down in the seat slightly. A laugh bubbled from her throat as the man let out a barely audible, "what are you, twelve?"

She lolled her head to the side, her gaze landing on her best friend as she asked, "So where are we off to now, Gwenny?"

The blonde let out a huff of entertainment, twirling the broken device in her hand and gazing at it in thought. "To make a new one of these and we won't let him break it this time." She joked, gesturing to Peter B.

Miles chuckled faintly, a slight tension built in his shoulders as he debated over his next words. His tone grew solemn, overlapping with immense sympathy that dripped from every word he spoke, "I'm sorry about your friend."

Though his gaze was focused on Gwen, his eyes sharpened at the slightest of movements from beside him. Despite her typical attitude of nonchalance, Miles was able to identify to the almost unnoticeable pause of Felicity's gaze—the way her body seemed to freeze for a millisecond before exhaling silently. Instead, she narrowed her gaze to her nails before biting at one of them absentmindedly—her black manicured nails that left an inkling in Miles which told him this wasn't the norm for the girl. She almost looked uncomfortable.

Maybe it was the mention of their late friend's tragic departure. Or maybe, just maybe it was something darker. Something that diluted the cherry of her vines with an inky darkness, suffocating and flooding her head to toe in devastation. Of course, it wasn't Miles' place to question, and he knew that well enough. But even then, curiosity prevailed, blooming and spreading like an inevitable virus.

"Thanks, Miles." Gwen's voice resounded through his ears, momentarily drawing his attention away from Felicity after realising he had been observing for a second too long. The blonde's voice was soft as she expressed light gratitude, a melancholy smile upturning her lips though it was clear no warmth or happiness leaked through her gesture. However, she nodded in appreciation. She breathed out a small exhale, "I know how hard this is... to have to figure this stuff out on your own." She sympathised, "it's kinda nice not being the only spider-person around."

A sudden gasp of betrayal emitted from Felicity, he head snapping towards Gwen and her jaw open where a loud gasp fell. Placing a hand over her chest, the girl narrowed her eyes at Gwen, "Woah, Am I not good enough for you anymore, Gwen? What's that about?"

Musing at the girl's display of disbelief, Gwen tilted her head with a playful nod. "You know you'll always be my favourite, Fel." The girl chuckled, though Felicity continued to turn away with a tut.

"No, it's too late now. Missed your chance, blondie." Felicity dismissed, "from now on, it's just gonna have to be me and Morales." She sighed, and though they were sat down she placed her elbow on Miles' shoulder—her arm tilted slightly upwards as she did so.

Miles ginned with a faint coat of crimson hidden in the cluster of dusty freckles intricately placed over his nose and cheeks, like individual stars that had dripped in streams of gold from the midnight sky and made home upon his fair cheeks. To pair with his constellation-kissed features, tender creases pulled at the corner of his mouth as he beamed, noticeable dimples adorning his warm complexion.

He leaned in towards her, lowering his voice mockingly though it was still audible to the three others. "And the old guy." He added, watching as she lit up with a mischievous gleam. As her lips tugged upwards, Miles grew to notice her canine teeth were sharp, pointed in a faint resemblance to a feline's. He chuckled inwardly as it registered to him how much the two sharp teeth added to her cat-like complexion.

"And the old guy!" She beamed, earning a push on the back of her chair from Peter B, who groaned in mocking irritation. Wether he chose to admit or not, which he most definitely wouldn't, Peter found himself brushing off the light rumble of chuckles that threatened to vibrate through his voice.

Maybe kids weren't totally terrible after all.

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THE EVENING HAD BLANKETED over Brooklyn in a hue of navy and lilac, crossing over the horizon in a watery ripple that painted the sky in a lake of correlating shades. With the arrival of the late hours, silence grew familiar as it graced through the more suburban streets on the outside of the still active city.

Candles of cinnamon and chestnut burned with amber flames, dancing in the cool of the faint breeze outside the house of May Parker, offerings of appreciation and condolences for her late nephew littering her porch. It was a sweet sight really, knowing that the citizens of Brooklyn had come together to praise the adventurous yet short-lived life of Peter Parker.

In front of the small home, the group of four waited in anticipation for one of the remaining three to make a move to open the door. Though, the younger three appeared much more adamant on Peter taking the courageous step, as it was technically his aunt too.

With an agonisingly slow exhale, Peter extended his hand and allowed a web of pure white silk to pierce the doorbell before falling limp. The door rang with a chirp, contrasting with the tense atmosphere outside of the building. The eldest of the group let out an exhausted sigh, moving his hands to push back his large coat and rest upon his hips.

After a moment, he looked sideways whilst pointing a finger to the pavement nearest to him. "We should probably go." He said, tugging gently on the arm of the person nearest to him who just so happened to be felicity, "let's go, pipsqueak, pick up the pace--"

"Peter, we're literally on the doorstep." Gwen intervened, gesturing to the home in front of them, which emitted a homely aura as it's golden lights flooded through the window's idyllic designs of the glass in the doorway.

The man continued to dismiss her, shrugging an arm over Felicity's shoulder, who continued to walk with a shrug. "Bad idea. This is a bad idea." He stressed, "Let's go get more burgers or something. You like burgers, don't ya, pip?"

She nodded with a hum, "They're okay. More into waffles, really." She yelped as a small hand of cobbled ripples clasped onto her mid back, tugging her backwards and Peter alongside her. From behind them, Gwen pulled them backwards with a web of satin before detaching it once they all stood back in front of the door.

Before Peter had the chance to interject once more, a silhouette shadowed through the doorway as a stained voice called out to them, aching with faint sorrow, "you guys are all very sweet, but no more fans today, please." She requested softly, remaining inside the comfort of her estate as she was rendered momentarily unaware of who was outside.

Slowly, the door creaked open and allowed the woman to view the misfit band of people outside of her door. Her eyes glazed over with a certain familial stare as they landed on the figure of Peter B, a sheet of gloss growing as she looked at her supposedly deceased nephew.

"I'm not ready for this." Peter grumbled through gritted teeth that tried to form a smile, though it came across as a noticeable grimace.

Standing frozen in her place, Aunt May stared at the impossible face of Peter Parker, the baseball bat that had previously been clutched in her grip having been forgotten as it dropped to the floor piercingly before rolling down the steps. She walked slowly, her footsteps delayed by her overwhelming heartache to see the man's return. Her eyes swam with deep with recognition, a sequence of memories born from the images of Peter Parker aging through childhood and developing into the friendly man he was known to be. Even in death he died with nobility rich in his blood.

Placing a hand over her heart in disbelief, Aunt May approached cautiously, her eyes trained on the man's figure as though she were looking into the pristine eyes of a ghost. "Peter?" Her nephew's name fell from her lips like a solemn prayer, her free hand moving to hover over his chest as she approached.

"Hey, aunt May." Peter greeted awkwardly, his eyes locking onto the smaller woman's watery pair. An exhaled sigh passed through his lips as he slouched in his stance, melting into the familial touch of Aunt May. She placed a small hand on his chest, the other moving to land on his cheek as she glanced over him with care. With a gulp, Peter continued, "So this is gonna sound crazy, but i'm pretty sure I'm from an--"

"Alternate dimension."

Peter nodded with faint surprise, his eyebrows creasing in confusion as to how aunt May was able to identify the situation. He glanced at her as she continued to talk, "You look tired, Peter."

"Well, I am tired." Peter chuckled, leaning into the older woman's touch as she nursed him like a mother would to a child.

Aunt May smiled faintly before glancing at the rest of his sunken appearance. "And older. And thicker." She raised her eyebrows at the added weight surrounding his stomach.

"Yeah, I've heard that already." Peter let out a grumble, elbowing the dark-haired girl behind him gently as she snickered at the Woman's words.

Aunt May recoiled as she glanced down to the pants covering the bottom half of his suit, a judgemental grimace falling over her lips. "Oh, jeez. Are those sweatpants?"

"Yep, that's what they are." Gwen breathed out, a tight-lipped smile tugging at her mouth, noticeably put on for show rather than being joyful. She seemed almost sad, melancholy as she appeared lost in reminiscence.

"I was there," Miles voice resounded as he inched closer to the older woman, one hand gesturing towards Felicity who he now stood beside, "we were there... when it all happened." He sympathised, a frown creasing over his lips as his large eyes grew overwhelmed with empathy. "I am so sorry."

Aunt May turned to him with a small smile of appreciation before raising a tentative eyebrow at the boy. "And what dimension are you from?" She inquired, glancing at the boy.

"Brooklyn." Miles responded, "did Peter have a place where we could make another one of these?" He asked, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the broken goober before handing it to the woman, who's eyes flashed with recognition.

The woman hummed, "a goober." She identified the item, "--follow me."

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THE BACKDOOR CLATTERED open with a shrill crash, courtesy of Aunt May who had rather carelessly slammed her foot into the fragile piece of wood. Her expression grew tough with ambition as she led the four into the dimly lit backyard.

Peter and Gwen trailed after the woman leisurely, their eyes glancing over the small garden In curiosity, as Miles and Felicity followed behind them. With a lighthearted chuckle, Miles watched as Felicity hopped down the four stone steps leading to the garden, sending him a grin as she outstretched her arms to balance herself before gesturing for herself and the boy to catch up to Gwen and Peter.

Peter nodded with an obnoxious scoff, "Oh, yeah, I got one of these, too." He said as the woman led them to a small, seemingly disinteresting shed. "A little, old shed where I keep my spider-gear."

"I feel like you're lying." Felicity narrowed her eyes teasingly at the man, crossing her arms as she watched the lock on the shed ignite with a fiery red radiance in the shape of a spider before the whole door became engulfed in a blinding white, the hues shining in the shape of the arachnid.

Peter shook his head, glancing down at her and shaking his head feverishly. "I'm not! It's a nice, little shed and it's got all my suits and all my gadgets--"

"Yeah, yeah, old guy, whatever floats your boat." She replied, patting his chest pitifully before following aunt May and the other two teens into the shed, which continued to glow with sharp light. He sighed from where he stood outside the shed, entering with a loud grumble, "I mean, this place is pretentious."

The doors locked suddenly as the once pale glow of the room turned dark with an electrifying red, swallowing the group in the hue of the crimson shade. The platform they stood upon slowly began to descend downwards as it met the sound of activation, multiple areas in the hollow space below soon beginning to fill with light.

As the platform lowered, the large room enveloped in a blue and red haze, allowing the group to trail their eyes over the various gadgets, technology, and objects gathered in the rooms. Awe poured into their expressions as they glanced at the vehicles nearby along with the spider-themed decor hung around the room beside different artefacts. "Dude," Miles gasped, his eyes wide with amazement, "-was yours anything like this?" He asked the older male.

"Mine was like this." The taller man nodded unconvincingly, "but take away the jeep, the plane," he listed as Miles dropped the briefcase into Aunt May's arms whist the woman accepted it helpfully. "Imagine it was smaller. Imagine a futon."

Twirling on the balls of her feet, Felicity snickered outwardly. "Now I can imagine it." She referenced his shed of spider-gadgets. She jumped away quickly, dodging the playful glare Peter through her way and instead turning to look at the display of suits against the walls, Miles stumbling behind her only moments after.

"I feel sad for this guy." She heard Peter mumble as he turned away from her, his attention suddenly caught by the framed photo of a familiar red-headed woman. She smiled gently in the direction where the photo was taken, her beautiful curls of red twirling to her shoulders and a cascade of summer freckles adorning her matured cheeks.

Behind the man, Felicity picked up the velvet fabric of a cape attached to the back of a spiderman suit, it's material soft as it slipped through her fingers. She glimpsed to Miles who stood in front of one beside her, nudging him slightly as she gestured to the clothing. "You know what I think would make your little suit look even more adorable?"

"Diamonds?" He joked, tilting his head at her and extended a finger to tap the small jewel around her neck, one that he didn't need confirmation to know hadn't been bought.

She huffed in amusement, "cute, but I was thinking one of these," the girl chuckled, pulling the cape into the boy's line of sight and watching as he smiled before reaching forward and grasping the fabric.

He glanced backwards briefly, his smile falling at Peter's look of dejection directed at the photo of Mary Jane, Peter B's ex-wife. He recalled what the man had said to him, how he and his wife were on separate pages of their lives—the woman craving children, yet Peter being overfilled with uncertainty for the responsibility that would fall over his shoulders.

Miles lowered his voice as he called out to the man, "hey, Peter." The man turned at the sound of his name being called, watching as Miles lifted up the red cape in reminiscence of what the man had said to him only hours prior. "I think this is a cape."

Peter chuckled lightly, his sadness washing away at the sight of the two fourteen year olds snickering away to themselves. Miles smirked towards the man, nodding lightly as Felicity dipped under Miles' arm, slipping away to look at the larger variety of suits. At the interaction of the three, Gwen glanced between them all with a look of blissful speculation, amused at how the small gestures had managed to cheer the man up.

Felicity glanced over the multiple appearances, none really catching her eye until she reached the third one to the end. It gleamed with power as it stood in it's place, illuminated with unattainable potential; calling out to her in ways she could never dream to explain. The suit was a glistening shade of obsidian, highlighted with v-shaped rings of white around the knees, and a silver shaded torso that skimmed over the chest in a matching v-shape. Along the torso a black webbed design adorned the suit, whilst it's white spider-symbol covered the back. It glimmered under the lights, overpoweringly beautiful as it stood unique from all the rest.

"Peter knew how dangerous the job was." Aunt May's voice snapped the girl from her momentary reverie, bringing her back down to earth as she turned back to the four, walking closer to where they stood. "But he figured the only one who could stop this guy was spiderman." The woman stated as she led them over to the board containing images and information about Kingpin, the prowler, and other minor vigilantes.

Felicity sucked in a breathe, picking up the piece of paper from less than a week prior that read, "Brooklyn's uncatchable Jewel thief leaves police force baffled!" She scammed her eyes over the article  about her before scrunching the paper into a tight ball and throwing it over her shoulder into the darkness.

"Kingpin knows we're coming." Said Miles, "we're going to be outnumbered."

Aunt May gave the younger boy a witty shake of her head, "Don't be so sure." She mused, pulling out four name cards and pens then outstretching them to the four, "you might need these."

Suddenly the atmosphere in the room grew peculiar, flooding with foreign familiarity that the three spider-people felt shiver up their spines. Alongside them, Felicity furrowed her eyebrows at the change in the environment, her figure growing unnoticeably tense as she glanced upwards into the darkness swallowing the area above them, four pairs of eyes staring back into her own.

"You think you're the only people who thought to come here?"

From the expansion of darkness above, a voice called out to them, heavy with a vintage rasp originating with an accent summoned from years in the past. "Hey fellas." A man called out, who's figure was adorned in inky darkness as he donned a black trench coat over his body, the clothing item flowing around him as though the wind was an apparition clinging to his shoulder.

A black hat rested upon his head and a pair of round white glasses hid his face from view. At his shadowed appearance, Miles inquired in disbelief, "is he in black and white?"

"Where is that wind coming from? We're in a basement." Peter B criticised, his gaze narrowing up at the man— spider-noir.

Spider-noir outstretched a hand into the endless distance. "Wherever I go, the wind follows." He claimed, his accent thick with mystery and purpose as he spoke, "and the wind, smells like rain." He pulled his hand back towards him, stretching his fist in a tight ball.

Felicity laughed shortly, shifting her weight onto one foot and placing a hand on her hip. "I like that guy."

Suddenly, the upbeat whirring of a machine resounded whilst a young girl beamed with rays of excitement. She rested upon a modern, technologically advanced blue and red robot, somersaulting off after saluting playfully downwards and smiling, "Hi Guys! Konnichiwa!"

She jumped down onto the grounds in front of the group before performing multiple battling poses as her robot followed in suit; it's movements thudding with it's weight though it kept up with each of her movements.

Peter B stared, unamused and slightly confused as he spoke, "This could literally not get any weirder."

"It can get weirder!"

Trailing along the floor and leaving puddles of pale blue water in it's wake, a cartoon pig walked up with a childish pep in his step. His small arms trudged in front of him as he walked up to the group, mainly to Peter B who stared down in utter surprise. He outstretched a hand, dragging himself closer and holding out a dripping hand for Peter to shake. "I just washed my hands that's why they're wet! No other reason."

After a moment, all the spider people suddenly paused with recognition as they glanced at each other. "You're like me."

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authors note:

chapter seven!! ( this is quite important so please read this and PLEASE interact ! ) I've been debating wether or not to incorporate Night-Spider's story into Felicity's storyline. Like during the itsv and atsv time skip, the events of Night-spider's comics could occur and from then on Felicity would be like night-spider. Probably have her keep with the name 'black cat' but she would have the same abilities as the spiders. But would y'all like that or prefer her to continue to be the same as she is now?

( For those of you who don't know who Night Spider is, it's Felicia Hardy's spidersona. She wasn't technically bitten by a radioactive spider but instead a spider idiom that she stole. In the atsv art book and on google/Pinterest/tiktok you can find her designs and facts about her. )

Or would y'all prefer her to stay as the black cat and have the spider/cat dynamic with miles? Cause then they won't be similar in the way they would both be spiders and it would be kinda different than if she was night-spider. Originally, I had planned for her to be black cat the whole way through but I saw the concept art and stuff and thought it might be cool.

If she stays black cat, night-spider will still be included most likely as a different version of her from another dimension. Just like a little bit older, maybe have a little sister/older sister dynamic and see where that goes idk.

I know most of y'all are silent readers, but please I'm begging I need to know what y'all think the lack of interaction is killing me 😭