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Miles Morales: New Spider Chapter 37: Safe Zones and Clone Wars.
🕑 Added 2024-09-24 22:59:32 +0000 UTC---
*Cough! Cough!* “Where the heck are we?” Spider-Punk asked, his voice muffled by his mask.
“You idiot! Is this your new safe zone? Are you trying to kill us?!” The Superior Spider-Man spat, his fury directed at Spider-Man 616.
“The radiation in this world is lethal! What were you thinking?”
Spider-Man 616 remained calm, his gaze steady. “It’s the one place no Inheritor can reach. We’re safe here. Now, all we need to do is follow the arrows.” He gestured to the web arrows spray-painted across the barren landscape.
The group of Spider-People, various versions from different dimensions, reluctantly followed the webbed trail that guided them to a nearby fallout shelter.
“A fallout shelter? Convenient,” one of the Spiders muttered, though the sarcasm was evident.
“It’s more than convenient,” Spider-Man 616 responded. “Ezekiel, the Old Man Spider, built these to protect us from the Inheritors. It’s a sanctuary.”
As the massive vault doors slid open, Silk greeted them, her face serious. “Good move coming here, Peter. But it's about to get crowded.”
“You have no idea, Silk. What do you mean?” Peter asked, confused by her cryptic tone.
Silk led them through dimly lit corridors. “Prepare yourself for a shock.”
When they entered the main chamber, Peter’s eyes widened as the familiar figure of a man came into view. “Uncle Ben?!”
Ben Parker, Peter’s Uncle, smiled sadly at him. “Told you,” Silk remarked quietly.
Peter stepped forward, his voice trembling. “Uncle Ben... you’re Spider-Man?”
“No, Peter. I’m not Spider-Man. I’m just this world’s totem. I gave up the Spider years ago.”
“That makes no sense! You’ve always believed in responsibility!” Peter exclaimed, his heart racing.
Ben sighed heavily. “A long time ago, your counterpart here was bitten by a spider, just like you. But being a hero makes enemies. One of them destroyed everything I loved—blew up my house with May and Peter still inside. I couldn’t bear it anymore, so I threw it all away.”
Peter’s fists clenched. “That’s not what you taught me. You didn’t give up on me.”
“No, Peter. But this world isn’t yours. I made my choice. I was approached by a man named Morlun. He told me I would be hunted unless I stayed down here. After everything I lost, it wasn’t a hard decision.”
“You quit,” Superior Spider-Man interjected coldly. “And because of that, your world is dead.”
Ben’s face darkened. “Yes, I could’ve stopped Doctor Octopus. He was the one who doomed this world with nuclear weapons. He made a mistake, and it cost everything.”
Superior Spider-Man’s eyes widened in disbelief. “I destroyed this world?”
“The man was arrogant,” Ben replied. “He held the world hostage with his nukes. But they went off too early, and now... we’re standing in the aftermath.”
Spider-Man 616 stepped in, sensing the growing tension. “Enough. This doesn’t matter right now. We have Inheritors to deal with.”
---
*Earth-803 – Clone World, Jennix's Base*
In another dimension, my team and I scoured through the files we found on Jennix’s terminal. My arachnites had given me all the info I needed, and it confirmed what I suspected: Jennix had created Omega units, machines with an evolving defense breaker designed to crack any system. But to my surprise, Jennix’s own main computer was completely unprotected—no firewalls, no encryption. Arrogance. He believed none of his creations would ever betray him, and in his mind, they never would. His mistake.
While I downloaded everything, I noticed movement. “Guys, we’ve got company,” I whispered. Kaine and I activated stealth mode instantly, while Ben and Widow shut down the terminal.
“What are you two doing out of your groups? What roster are you on?” A scientist had approached, mistaking Ben and Jess for local clones.
“Uh, quick! What would a clone say?” Ben whispered, panicked.
Jess rolled her eyes. “You *are* a clone.”
The scientist, realizing something was off, started to call for security, but I quickly webbed his mouth shut, then restrained him. I stepped closer and saw his face clearly. It was Max Modell of Horizon Labs—or at least, a clone of him.
“We’ve got heavily armed guards closing in fast,” Kaine said urgently.
We moved swiftly, handing Ben and Jess back their costumes.
“But our cover—” Ben started.
“It’s already blown,” I interrupted. “And I’m not fighting naked again.”
As if on cue, energy blasts ripped through the windows, forcing us to dive through the broken glass. Silver humanoid drones followed, unleashing a barrage of weaponry. Tearing through them was almost too easy. I ripped them apart, claws slicing through their metal bodies like they were nothing.
“Boss, someone’s incoming fast,” April’s voice came through, drawing my attention to a figure approaching from the sky. It was Iron Man—or at least, *a* version of him, decked out in a black and yellow color scheme.
Jess squinted. “Looks like we’ve drawn attention.”
“The good kind,” Ben said optimistically. “The cavalry is here!”
I shook my head, activating my camo and disappearing from sight. *When will they learn?* This was Jennix’s base, his clone world. Iron Man wasn’t here to help.
The armored figure landed, retracting his faceplate. “Spiders? What is this, a test? Is Jennix watching?”
Ben started toward him, pulling off his mask. “It’s not a test, Stark. We’re here to take down Jennix. We could use—”
“Wait!” Widow tried to warn him, but it was too late. A red unibeam from the arc reactor blasted Ben across the roof.
I took that as my cue, knocking Iron Man unconscious with a well-placed slap to his exposed face. What? MCU Tony Stark’s an arrogant jerk; might as well vent on this one.
We quickly retreated, taking refuge in a half-finished building. As Ben regained consciousness, I handed him his costume.
“Wow. How’d you manage to take his armor off?” Ben asked, still groggy.
“He did,” Jess pointed at me.
“Well, I *was* electrocuted zero times, thank you.”
Tony Stark groaned awake, glaring at us. “You damn spiders...”
“Let’s cut to the chase,” I said, squatting beside him. “Where’s Jennix?”
Tony smirked. “Jennix’s headquarters? It’s in the Baxter Building, of course.”
Kaine sniffed the air. “He’s not lying.”
“That’s because he doesn’t need to,” I added.
“Why tell us?” Ben asked suspiciously.
“Because you’re walking into a trap. Jennix is expecting you. You’re not going to win,” Tony sneered.
Ben smiled. “I’m Spider-Man. I *always* win.”
I kept my thoughts to myself. *If only you knew what happens next, Ben.*
