TROUBLE !
viii. heart to heart

TO SAY FELICITY AMBER was overwhelmed would be a comedic understatement. With three different voices all overlapping the prior in an attempt to tell their origin story, the new arrival of the three spider-people had left the girl in complete surprise.

"Okay, enough!" Boomed Peter B, his body shielding the three teenagers from the approaching figures of the new trio. They were no threat, that much was clear. However, the man was left in so much bewildered which led to the younger three being left in the same state of surprise as they peered past him. He stepped forward, glancing over them all whilst asking, "So how did you get here?"

"Well, it's kind of a long story." Stated Spider-Noir, pausing for a couple of seconds after his words before shrugging dismissively, "maybe not that long."

Peni nodded, "and now we're just trying to find a way home." She noted, as the robot behind her's screen beeped before displaying a sad little face.

"The only way home is back through that collider gizmo." Spider-Noir explained, "The only trouble is--" his voice faded along with the thick drawl of his deep accent.

From behind the man, Peter porker finished his words after performing a sequence of comical stances. "One of us has to stay behind and destroy it." He stated, slamming his fist into the harsh ground below.

All at once a chorus of, "I'll do it!" Pierced the air, some more happier than others though all intwined with undying ambition. From where she stood, Felicity placed up her free hand leisurely as she noticed the others do so, the other remaining on her hip.

"No, no, no." Miles intervened, shaking his hands as he stepped closer with a look of disagreement. " You guys don't get it." He shook his head, glancing over them all with a frown.

In response, Peni crossed her arms with a sceptical expression. "Don't get what--"

Interrupting the young girl's question, the familiar sharpness of unexplainable vibrations pixilated the bodies of the newer three along with Peter B, Gwen, and Felicity. Excruciating burning that dismembered their limbs, creating a frightening sensation of their bodies breaking down and reforming all at once—so agonising that it had weakened their knees and sent them crashing to the floor in a mess of pained wails.   
Though Miles was unaffected by the situation, he winced noticeably at the sight. He'd only witnessed it happening to two out of the six, yet it appeared much more painful each time it occurred.

"None of you can stay here. If you stay here, you'll die." Stressed the brown-eyed boy, kneeling to hook a hand under Felicity's arm in a successful attempt at helping her regain her stance. It never resonated with the boy as to why she had been the first one he had chosen to help, in fact he never even gave it a second thought. He only spoke as he did so, "I'm the guy who's gonna turn it off. And I'm gonna get you all home before I do. Look, I made a promise. So I have to keep it."

Silence engulfed the room as majority of the group faced at Miles with a look no further from admiration and surprise. The boy's short speech had provided a tender web of ambition and gratitude to weave through the atmosphere, and though nobody had known the boy for long enough to be deemed trustworthy, belief and confidence grew behind their gazes.

The green-eyed girl raised her eyebrows with a light nod, impressed at the boy's words as she offered a hand out to Gwen who took it gratefully. Placing a hand on the blonde's back, the two stabilised each other for a moment; the affects of the previous incident still lingering in their blood.

"...who are you again?"

Peter groaned at Noir's words, "this is Miles!" He exclaimed with pride, "And he's gonna save the multiverse!" He stated, his eyes burning with honesty and satisfaction for the younger boy.

"Yeah, man." Miles grinned, his lips upturned with faint smugness as he glanced at the variety of vigilantes and heroes before him. He shoved his hands into his pockets, warmth circling his chest in a cycle of pride.

Jumping up from his kneeling position, Peter quickly stumbled his way over to where the boy stood, slinging a hand over his shoulder and grasping his arm with the other. He shook Miles gently as he did so, beaming like a father who was unconditionally proud of his son's achievements. "This kid can turn himself invisible. Watch this!" Peter pointed a finger to the boy as he encouraged the group's faith in the boy. "He can do it now!"

He stepped back, hands outstretched towards Miles in excitement, though all that resounded was a loud grunt. Miles closed his eyes tightly, extending his arms and trying to summon the translucency that had painted his skin multiple times before. Yet nothing continued to happened and he instead shoved his hands into his jacket pockets before glancing back up to Peter. "I can't do it on command."

"He can't do it on command!" Peter repeated, his tone never dropping in astonishment. Even as the curious expressions of the others fell, Peter continued to support the boy without a second thought. "But it is cool. Show 'em the zappy thing, Miles."

From beside Gwen, Felicity glanced at the man in confusion, "what's a zappy thing?" She questioned, dumbfounded.

"Oh, just you wait and see, Pip, you're gonna love this!" Peter beamed, pointing an overly confident finger in the girl's direction before turning back to his young protégé. "C'mon, Miles."

Once again the boy squeezed his eyes closed and tensed all his muscles, though similarly to before, nothing out of the ordinary occurred. He glanced back to Peter whilst repeating his words, "I can't do it on command."

With a chuckle breaking through his voice, the words, "he can't do it on command." Rippled through Peter's tone, no less blissful as they had been when he first ordered the boy to display his abnormal abilities. "But he can do so much more!"

In front of the man, a very unamused and highly disinterested Noir, Peni, Porker, and Gwen all stared with unimpressed scowls upon their faces. The only one who hadn't adorned the look of irritation was the dark-haired girl as she continued to ponder about what a 'zappy thing' was whilst giving Peter and Miles a half-assed thumbs up.

"What else can you do?" Peter continued to pester, shunning his back to the group and instead turning to stare back at miles with expectancy.

Miles held up two fingers with a lighthearted shrug of his shoulders, "just those two things." He replied, nonchalance bleeding through his tone as his lips tugged upwards.

"Just those two things!" Repeated Peter, his back now facing Miles as he copied the boy's action and held up two fingers to the group, still adorning his smiley-as-ever expression.

Noir let out an inaudible grumble, obviously displeased with the hidden talents of the younger boy.

"Look, I've seen him in action. He's got potential." Gwen defended, a noticeable wince echoing through her tone as she adorned a fresh grimace. "I think he's gonna get us home." She smiled faintly, nodding in encouragement.

Miles offered the girl a polite smile of gratitude before his attention turned to a Spider-Noir, who stepped closer with an inquisitive step. "Okay, little fella, Kingpin's gonna send a lotta mugs after ya." He pointed a dramatic finger at the boy to emphasise his point. "--I'm talkin' hard boys. Real biscuit boxers." He raised his fists, throwing pretend punches, "Can you fight them all off at once?"

Unsurely, Miles lifted his fists though he made no move to strike the older male. "I haven't actually fought anyone." The boy stated, his tone holding a level of scepticism.

"Surprise attack!"

Suddenly, Miles' legs were swiped out from under him in an unpredictable movement by the shadowed man, knocking the boy to the floor painfully as he let out a yelp of surprise. He let out a groan, attempting to sit up before being confronted a second time.

"Can you rewire a main frame while being shot at?" Peni glowered, her eyebrows knit together in judgement as she tossed the device at Miles, who caught it unsteadily.

The boy glanced up, his features downturned in disbelief, "can I what?"

"Show me!" Demanded Peni, before another punch to the boy's face sent him crashing back down to the floor as Noir let out a loud, "Surprise attack!"

Felicity watched in mistrust, reaching out a hand to pull back Noir from landing another hit on the boy. "Maybe if you gave him a chance to--"

"Can you swing and flip with the grace of a trained dancer?" Gwen's voice interjected, cutting off her dark-haired best friend who slapped her arm gently in surprise whilst scolding out, "Gwenny!"

However, the questions refused to stop as Noir sprung out, "Can you close off your feelings so you don't get crippled by the moral ambiguity of your violent actions?!" He inquired loudly, hands raised in internal agony that reflected from his masked expressions.

"Can you help your aunt create an online dating profile so she can get out of the damn house once in a while?"

Doing an abnormal example of his question, peter porker questioned cheerfully, "can you float through the air when you smell a delicious pie?" At his random question, Felicity raised her eyebrows before glancing briefly to Miles who gazed back, flabbergasted.

"Can you be strong?"

"Ruthless?"

"Disciplined?"

Miles peered around hastily, shrinking into himself noticeable whilst harbouring a pleading look toward his mentor to retain the intimidating flurry of vigilantes that continued to close in on him. "I don't know. Maybe?" He replied, cringing slightly.

Still, the pestering continued as Peni sharpened her gaze down at the older boy. "Psychic?"

"Show me some moxie, soldier!"

"Above all, no matter how many times you get hit," Gwen suddenly demanded to know, leaning towards the boy who continued to stare up from his place on the ground, "--can you get back up?" At the end of her question, she landed a harsh kick to his chest leading him to let out a surprised hiss.

Whilst Noir continued on Gwen's inquiry, porker made an effort to strike down the boy. "Cause when a spiderman is on the floor--"

"--when you think you can't keep going--"

Anxiousness swallowed the boy's features, evident stress glistening in the hue of his warm eyes that squeezed closed as he flinched. It was plain for each of them to see his building anxiety, forcing him over a precipice to detonation. Though it only served as encouragement for the merciless spiders as they only seemed to close in on the boy.

And though she blamed it completely on reason rather than the small, barely sparked glint of fondness that may've awoken, Felicity grew quickly agitated by the endless rounds thrust upon the boy. It made her feel a sudden defensiveness as she attempted to shove past Gwen and Noir, only to be pulled back before she could even reach him.

"Guys cool it." Peter tried to enforce, his eyebrows furrowed and a frown on his face that blossomed further at the harshness that the fourteen-year-old boy faced.

It seemed unrealistic to her—why they suddenly expected Miles to match their expectations and skills despite only being a spiderman for less than two days. She scowled as the only words she could reach out to the boy were meek, 'c'mon, Morales.'

Miles attempted to sit up with an agonised groan, the ambition that had once highlighted his radiance slowly dying as his chest heaved tiredly. Within the resounding thumps of blood circulating his body in overwhelming rhythms, he almost missed the sudden silence that grew as the group fell quiet. The tension froze in the atmosphere, calloused fingers of strangulation swallowing the oxygen in the room, and Miles, alongside each other person in the room, was aware.

With authentic sighs of disappointment and dejection, they trailed over to form a small circle away from Miles—forcing him to witness the cold outcome of their annoyance. His frown tugged deep, eyes trailing over them in a silent plea to not be forgotten. Like a shock wave of liquified humiliation had replaced the crimson of his blood, Miles shuddered at the isolation.

"You need to be honest with yourself about this." He heard Gwen scold as she glanced up to the exasperated face of Peter B. "He's not ready. It's obvious." Though her voice was low as she spoke to the makeshift circle, Miles was still able to register the spoken words. Each syllable stinging just that bit more than the last.

Beside the blonde, he heard an airy scoff as Felicity gave the girl a theatrical shrug. "Oh, relax. He's trying his best and besides he's only been spiderman for, what, like a day?" She defended, "don't tell me you knew exactly what you were doin' first try too, Gwenny."

"I'm not saying that." Gwen retorted, "but if he can't do this, we have to stay and do it for him." She lectured, glancing around the group. Amidst her words, the deep grumble of Noir's mutters lingered in the air as he shared her pessimistic view on the young boy, earning a disapproving scowl from the dark-haired girl.

Leaning back to meet the saddened eyes of doe-like brown, the blank canvases of white that acted as Noir's eyes narrowed on the boy's. "He's looking right at us while we talk about him." The man's attempt at a whisper came off more loud than expected as each member of the formation turned to glance behind them.

However, translucency enveloped the boy's body as a commotion of mechanical whirring clicked, signalling the slow rise of the platforms sudden  ascent upwards towards the entrance of which they had came in.

"Miles?" Peter called out to his young protégé, though a daunting silence followed. Still as he continued to call out, the only trails of the boy remained to be the aching loss of warmth that had once been so radiant in his pearly smile and joyous chuckles. Now, only a cold chill of loneliness drowned the room, suffocating and undefeated.

And Felicity Amber didn't like it at all.

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THE STREETS WERE ALIVE, constantly vibrating in a kaleidoscope of neon luminosity that shone in the drying puddles on the edges of the sidewalk. A mischievous labyrinth of vibrancy that looked too much like her own dimension's, Felicity concluded as she climbed onto the advertisement board above a local supermarket.

Only moments after Miles departure from Aunt May's shed, Felicity had been nominated to, in the words of Peter, be his friend! get him a lollipop or whatever kids these days like and bring him back safe. And it wasn't as though she had objected from the task, not at all. It was simply that she had been booted out the door with little to no directions on where he had ran off to.

It had taken almost half on hour of searching the bustling streets of Brooklyn before she had grown frustrated with the blank outcomes of searching. Instead, she found herself inside a small supermarket picking out a packet of strawberry and raspberry lollipops before dropping them onto the counter. The cashier gave her a once over, choosing not to comment on her odd, almost cat-like appearance and instead deciding to keep his inquiries quiet.

It would've been a hell of a lot quicker and easier to simply snatch the bag when the man's attention was diverted, Felicity knew that damn well. However she also knew Miles would be reluctant to eat something he knew was stolen. So with a sigh and a handful of cash taken from Peter's wallet, which had been embarrassingly easy to pickpocket, Felicity gave the man behind the counter a tight-lipped smile before setting off again.

And if it weren't for a quiet sneeze emitting from the vibrant sign above, the girl would've long passed the store and continued to search aimlessly without any sign of progression. She debated her choices quickly, before deciding it would be better just to check to see if the culprit was who she was looking for, if not she'd carry on idly.

Fortunately, luck seemed to have pointed it's bronze compass in her direction as she landed atop of the structure, her eyes narrowing to meet the curled figure of Miles Morales, his back shunned to her as his eyes glanced out to the valley of buildings in his view. He radiated waves of alienation, rich with the scent of solitude that ran thick through his atmosphere. The sight almost made Felicity feel a splinter of guilt as she lowered herself to sit beside him, kicking her feet off of the ledge absentmindedly.

"Well... that could've gone better." She humoured after a sequence of silent seconds. It didn't take long to realise Miles wasn't going to make an effort to acknowledge her, let alone start a conversation. But she didn't blame him after the outcast treatment he'd received prior.

Miles continued to ponder quietly, the only response to her words being the unravel of tension in his shoulders, though his back still remained towards her. "You think?" His voice resounded in a muffle, slightly inaudible due to his mouth being concealed in the sleeve of his jacket.

Felicity drew her lips together tightly, unaffected by the foreign emptiness of his tone. She hummed in reply whilst adding, "i think somebody needs to teach the old man to look after his belongings." She mused as she glanced over Peter's wallet before glancing at the boy briefly to see the slight raise of his shoulders. "But I also think people need to stop relying on kids to save the world."

That, Miles could agree on. The thought of being a superhero had always lived in the back of his mind, sparked from the childhood nostalgia of overused comic books. Naturally as he grew into himself — stopped spending pocket money on action figures and stopped trading figurines with the other children — Miles had grown to accept his life how it was. And yet, here he sat on top of a convenience store beside a teenage thief from another dimension, staring out into the abyss of activity that was Brooklyn.

Last week his biggest concern was simply making sure his new school shoes fit before heading to the infamous academy, and now, less than seven days later, he wielded the weight of the universe upon his shoulders. All of this planted in the seemingly harmless bite of a strange, now dead, spider.

He wondered for a moment where he would be had he not been chosen to fill the voids of adoration that overspilled from the last spiderman's boots. Maybe throwing his head back in laughter at something Ganke had remarked whilst they battled each other on overpriced video games. Or helping his mother cook in the comfort of the kitchen where he would smile at the playfully harsh retort thrown at his dad. All he knew, he'd be anywhere but here.

Anywhere but by the side of a green-eyed vigilante. He silently nudged himself for his perspective of the girl as he registered the word he'd used inside his mind. Vigilante. Then again, what exactly was she? A bandit? An anti-hero? A criminal? Somebody he should have his father arrest? Or maybe she was simply a girl who was waiting to grasp the opportunity to go home. He wasn't exactly sure.

He took a moment, exhaling in the familiar scent of the nighttime air before willing himself to speak. "I'm not like those guys." He frowned.

"considering one's a literal pig, I think it's a good thing you're not."

A heavy sigh pushed passed Miles' lips as he shook his head with exasperation. "Y-you don't--" his voice faded as he continued to stare out into the skyline of colour that stained the buildings on the horizon with murky moonlight. You don't understand! He wanted to yell, to sneer or at least to grumble — anything to provide him the momentary satisfaction he craved. Yet, he couldn't find it in himself to do so. "I'm supposed to save the world, Felicity." Were the worlds settled on by the boy, his voice carved with an unwelcoming sharpness that tasted bitter on his tongue.

He continued to avoid her gaze, though he could feel the curiosity dwelling in the mist of emerald that, if they stared any harder, he believed would mark holes in his back. It didn't take a glance back for him to already know the slight narrowness of her gaze, the thoughtful crease of her brow as she stared intently as though trying unravel him the dunes of pressure he had begun to suffocate under.

"...maybe that's your problem." She shrugged, "you put too much pressure on yourself. You expect too high. I mean, saving the world," she almost snickered the words, her tone thick with mockery, "it's a lot easier said than done, Spider."

"I know that--"

"And that's why you can't think about saving the whole world." She interjected, "If you focus on the bigger object, it's just gonna make your whole situation trickier. You need to think about why. Why are you trying so hard to save the world? You got people you care about, don't you? Mom, Dad?" He nodded in response, "exactly. If you're gonna save the world, you're gonna do it for them, right? To keep them safe. If we don't have a reason for doing things, then why do it? My point is, Morales... you can't focus on saving everybody. You have to focus on saving somebody that you love."

Her words sunk into his skin, bleeding through his veins and bruising his thoughts as he replayed the message. At some point during her speech the boy had found himself inching closer, his eyes watching every subtle and noticeable movement upon her features—the New York skyline having been long forgotten in her presence.

He supposed she was right. What would be the point in saving the world if there was nobody to save? nobody worth saving. The message lingered in his mind as he glanced over to her, transfixing his gaze onto her eyes which seemed to never leave the embrace of the moonlight upon the horizon. He'd heard about Gwen's background, about the loss of their Peter. Yet he'd never seemed to hear about the girl beside him's.

They sat in a warm silence for a moment, both lost in thought before Miles dared to question, "There was a Peter Parker where you're from, right?" He asked hesitantly, "were you close?"

A bittersweet smile planted itself across her lips, bitter with acceptance yet still as fresh as the morning sun. "We were familiar." She confessed, "Though if it weren't for Gwen I doubt we'd really of been friends." And he could tell by the gleam of dejection that threatened to shadow her face, she held regret for not making more of attempt at a strong friendship. "They were much closer than he and I ever were."

Miles nodded as he listened, digesting each of her words with care and storing them in his memory. He dangled his legs from the edge of the pier, his gaze flickering between the girl and his shoes before he mustered up the courage to ask, "did you... have somebody?"

Felicity pondered over her next choice of words, harbouring an internal conflict over wether or not to tell fragments of her life to the strange boy beside her. Retelling moments—one specific moment—to those she grew close to was never a joyous time. It always left her feeling plagued with emptiness and guilt, as though she'd confessed all her sins.

However, the boy beside her held a gaze with an almost overwhelming amount of sincerity, patient to understand anything that would spill from her lips. He cared. Although it wasn't as though they'd see each other again after an agreement was reached on who would stay behind ( or wether Miles would rise to the challenge ), and besides... in the coming years she doubted he'd ever remember her.

He'd grow, develop his abilities and embrace his new role of spiderman with open arms and a gleeful smile. Surely the only memory he would have in the decades to pass would simply be the mishap of summoning a misfit gang of spider people. So anything she told the boy would soon be placed in the attic of his mind, forever sleeping in a forgotten daydream that would lie just too far out of his reach.

"I had somebody... but he died a long time ago." She breathed out, sparing him a side glance before circulating the subject, "all I'm saying, Miles. This superhero shit, it's tough and trust me it can get really complicated, actually." She stated, "and bare in mind, this is coming from somebody who is by no means a superhero." She finished, titling her head and shrugging a hand towards him.

Miles nodded his head in remembrance of the fact that the girl beside him wasn't actually a superhero like Peter or Gwen. "Oh, that's right. You're just a criminal who's best friends with a superhero."

"Exactly. Best of both worlds."

He laughed faintly at her remark, shaking his head as he downturned his gaze for a moment. "Can I ask you something?" He inquired as his eyes narrowed on one building in particular—a familiar jewellery store buried in the city. When she made a sound of approval he continued on to question, "why'd you steal things?"

"What?"

"Why do you steal things? You told me to think about why we do things, so I'm asking you why do you steal." He elaborated, using her spoken words against her

She thought for a moment, quiet as she took a moment to reflect on her past years of burglary and theft. "Well," she kissed her teeth as she glanced around before allowing her gaze to settle on the jewellery store. She extended a hand out, pointing to the dimly lit store, which now harboured a line of yellow tape around it, and leaned closer to the boy as she began speaking again, "you see that store there, the one we first met by? In my universe, the man that owns that shop stole the business from his partner who had a daughter a couple years older than us. She was seventeen, maybe eighteen and her father was saving up for treatment for a disease she had in her liver. The owner knew that and he knew the only way that would happen was if the business was successful enough to land him the money."

"And was it?" Miles asked, his legs crossed and one of his hands resting under his chin as he listened intently to the story.

She nodded with a distasteful frown. "Yeah. Only problem was that the owner never gave him his due. He cut ties with his partner, won a court case for some goddamn reason and never spoke to his partner again. The man's daughter died three months after." She explained as she continued to stare down at the store. "The owner of that store doesn't deserve any of the money produced, or any of the jewels in stock."

Miles grew quiet for a moment, nodding his head in slight appreciation. He'd never assumed the ambition behind stealing from the store was for a reason beyond selfishness. To find a motive that wasn't sickly with the trail of greed and self-indulgence had rendered him slightly shocked. And sure, maybe the owner in this universe hadn't shared the same past, but how different could the variations of the man be?

"And besides I gave the necklace to Peni before I came out here." She added on, leaning back on her palms.

The ghost of a smile dared to cross Miles' features as he looked at her, fighting back the teasing grin that pulled at the corners of his lips. "So you're like... the cat version of Robin Hood then?" At the flat look that fell over her face Miles leaned back with laughter, his shoulders vibrating in a rhythm of amusement. "You totally are."

"don't get too excited. I only started doing that this year. If this was me three years ago, you wouldn't be laughing." She shook her head, rolling her eyes lightheartedly. At the topic of stealing, the barely filled wallet by her thigh caught her attention as she raised a lollipop towards the boy, "want one?"

He reached out before allowing his hand to hover over the white stick, raising a questioning eyebrow before making an attempt to grab the candy. As she took notice to his question gaze, felicity let out an exasperated sigh, "what? I bought them, I swear." She defended, passing him the lollipop before turning to climb down from the pier. "You coming?"

Miles nodded, twirling the piece of candy in his hand yet he made no move to follow her back to the house. "Yeah," he replied, "there's just something I need to do first. Someone I need to see."

Felicity shrugged from her perched stance on the structure of the makeshift billbaord. "Alright, Spider. You do you. Just don't come back half dead or anything—the old guy'll kill me." She retorted, moving to climb down further before his voice called out once more.

"Hey trouble,"

"You're still carrying on with that?" She huffed, raising her eyebrows at the name.

"Definitely." He replied with a grin before his expression fell slowly, his smile dropping into a look of sympathy. "I'm sorry about your friend."

The girl paused momentarily, before giving the boy a grateful smile. "Thanks, spiderman. And just for the record," she began as she jumped onto the roof of the store, glancing up at him with a mischievous nod of her head, "I'm glad you're not like the others. I like you just the way you are."

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authors note:

chapter eight finally ! sorry for not updating this book in literally forever but I promise I didn't forget about it lmao. hopefully this chapter kinda makes up for not updating in over a month. Finding motivation to write is so tricky in my opinion but I'm gonna try and update more frequently now that atsv has come out and I've got more free time before school starts again.

also thanks for 17k and once again sorry for not updating :)