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Miles Morales: New Spider Chapter 38: Endgame of the Web.
🕑 Added 2024-09-24 23:12:35 +0000 UTC---
Me? I'll be taking Tony to his terminal in the building, or so they think. Truth is, I’m already inside Jennix’s system. What do I need Tony for, you ask? Well, for this.
"You bastard! You’re a monster!" Tony screamed.
"It’s nothing personal, Tony," I said calmly, as I slowly plunged my claws into his chest. His skin barely resisted as I carefully extracted his arc reactor. Blood dripped from my hands as Tony’s breaths grew slower, each one raspier than the last. He gasped, then went still. This Tony—his arc reactor was embedded directly into his chest. I needed the specs, the schematics. But most importantly, I needed the arc reactor itself.
"I'm sure you'll find peace now that you're free," I muttered. Killing him wasn’t part of the plan, but these twisted clones of people I once knew? They were nothing like the originals. They were hollow, mindless drones, bent to the will of the Inheritors. At least, that’s what I told myself to justify my actions.
Boom! That was the cue. Rushing toward the spiders' position, I spotted Johnny Storm, flames licking across his body. Another key piece of my plan.
"You guys go ahead. I'll handle this," I said, landing between them and Johnny.
"What about the systems?" Ben asked.
"Already crippled."
"Ben, let's move!" Kaine called, sprinting forward as Ben followed, both pushing deeper into Jennix’s fortress. My job was to delay Johnny.
Dodging fireball after fireball, I suddenly stopped in my tracks. "Big mistake, Spider," Johnny mocked, sending a wave of flames toward me, engulfing me entirely. I walked out of the fire unscathed. My Vibranium armor stood strong; if it couldn’t, it had no right to be called a miracle metal.
Johnny’s smirk vanished. "How ar—?" Before he could finish, I knocked him out cold with a swift jab. Slinging his unconscious body over my shoulder, I made my way to the secret lab. Kaine and Ben had already dealt with the guards; no one paid attention to me as I approached the lab none of Jennix's scientists dared to enter.
I didn't need to break in—I had already hijacked the system.
Inside the lab, clones of Peter Parker floated in pods that lined the walls. As I moved further, the experiments became more grotesque: half-human, half-tarantula hybrids, and creatures with extra limbs and eyes. But in the center pod, suspended like a forgotten relic, was the black goo I’d been searching for. The symbiote.
Jennix had been trying to clone Peter Parker—and the symbiote. Unsurprisingly, both had failed.
With practiced ease, I extracted the symbiote, sealing it in a canister. Watching the black ooze squirm inside, a smile crept onto my face. Jennix had no idea what treasure he’d been keeping locked away.
I set Johnny up on the lab’s equipment, plugging him into nutrition tubes and a neural scanner. My plans for him would unfold soon enough. But for now, my attention was on the video feed. Kaine had just impaled Jennix, killing him.
"Big mistake," I murmured.
Ben yelled at Kaine. He should’ve known better. This was Jennix's facility, his territory. Kill one body, and a stronger one comes back. Just as expected, a new body emerged from the pod. But before Jennix could even gloat, a blast from one of the defense cannons vaporized him.
"You're welcome," I said, speaking through the system. "That was a high-yield, self-detonating unstable plasma round. Enough to vaporize a solid block of Adamantium."
"Explosive entrance," Ben quipped.
"We don’t kill," he muttered, eyes fixed on the freshly-destroyed body. "It just makes them stronger. We need to find another way."
I rolled my eyes. "They’re using a signal carrier to transfer their consciousness. Acts as an interdimensional receiver."
"We need to shut it down, then."
I left them to handle Jennix, knowing they'd be overwhelmed. Kaine was already down, and Ben had secretly grabbed a cannon. As for me, I had other matters to attend to.
When I arrived, Ben stood over Jennix, a cannon in hand. Jennix held Widow, a smug grin twisting his lips.
"Do you really think you can stop me, boy? This body might be new, but I’m far from done with you."
Ben's grip tightened. "Actually, I was thinking about the web. How it brought us here. The strongest strands always seem to pass through this very building. This is your hub, isn’t it? Destroy it, and you can’t come back."
Jennix’s smirk faltered. "No! You can’t—"
Ben launched into the air, webbing away as Jennix lunged. He left behind a portal device, one I swiftly pocketed. As the fight unfolded on the video feed, I saw Ben arrange the unstable rounds in a neat row, holding one in his hands.
"Ben, don’t do this," I warned.
"Miles, I’ve made up my mind. We won’t get another chance. You know that."
His voice was steady, sincere. I hefted Kaine and Jess onto my shoulders, pulling them out before the explosion came.
BOOM!
The ground shook as the building collapsed, debris and smoke filling the air. "Rest in peace, Ben Reilly," I whispered.
Kaine stood beside me, glaring at the ruined structure. "They killed him," he growled, venom dripping from his voice.
Jess tried to calm him, but his rage was boiling over. His body transformed, spikes emerging from his skin, his canines sharpening into fangs. "I'm going to Loomworld," he spat, voice guttural, primal.
Jess attempted to hold him back, but I stopped her. "Let him go," I said. "He needs this."
Opening a portal to Loomworld, Kaine leapt through without hesitation.
Jess, on the verge of despair, turned to me. "Ben was noble. He saved us."
I nodded. "You couldn’t have stopped Kaine. He’ll do what needs to be done. And Ben said he was proud of you. Don’t fall apart now. We still have work to do."
She steeled herself, stepping through the portal to the safe zone. I closed it behind her.
---
**Earth-001: Loomworld**
Solus, patriarch of the Inheritors, cradled baby Benjy in his arms as his children knelt before him.
Jennix, visibly shaken, began. "The spiders destroyed my facility, Father. It will take years to rebuild. If we fall before then... our deaths may be permanent."
The others bickered over their failures, but Solus remained calm. "We have the scion. Soon, the bride and the other will be ours. This is foretold."
As his children rose, the hunt began again, their bloodlust palpable. Solus handed Benjy to Jennix, commanding his children to prepare. "Tonight, we end the Spider-Men. Forever."
A monstrous roar shattered the air. Kaine had arrived, transformed into a giant tarantula, eyes glowing blood-red. Solus and his children lunged for him, but Kaine swatted them aside with ease.
Solus grinned. "Finally, a worthy foe!"
But even as he fought, Kaine’s arm shot out, spikes impaling Solus through the chest. The Inheritor patriarch collapsed, lifeless.
"FATHER!" Molurn screamed.
"Impossible," Daemos muttered.
Fueled by rage, Molurn tore through Kaine’s beastly form, ending the battle. But the ritual was still in motion.
"All we need is his blood," Molurn said, voice shaking with fury.
