𝓒𝓸𝓵𝓸𝓻𝓼- 𝓜𝓲𝓰𝓾𝓮𝓵 𝓞'𝓗𝓪𝓻𝓪

Dust and Blood

"It's come to my attention that some of you don't this training seriously." Miguel stood in front of the row of recruits, his feet planted and his hands clasped in front of him. Today he wore his dark blue spider suit with the mask off. His thick, dark hair was windswept and tousled, as if he'd been driving a car with the windows down. "So we're going to do a little exercise."

Arachnida nervously glanced at you. She made no secret of how much Miguel's intimidating posture and scathing words scared her.

"Oh, don't worry. It'll be fun," Miguel sarcastically chuckled, his perceptive eyes catching her movement. "Tell you what; you can go first."

Arachnida stepped forward without hesitation. She clearly felt nervous, but true to all spider variations across the multiverse, she approached with a brave, strong posture.

"Yeah, that's it. Don't be scared." Miguel's low, dark tone implied that she should be terrified. "I'm not going to hurt you."

You and Hobie exchanged a wary glance. A prick of guilt stabbed you. Was Miguel going to punish the entire group because you'd flaked on him last night?

"Does anyone know why I brought you here?" Miguel crushed the silence with a withering glare. He didn't expect or even want an answer.  "I brought you here because an unnatural event has torn through the balance of the multiverse. Dimensions could collapse. We could lose everything."

"Here's where the exercise comes in." He deliberately turned toward Arachnida. "Who did you lose?"

"What?" She faltered, thrown off by the prying, personal question.

"Who did you lose." Miguel repeated.

"My aunt Bently." 

"And why did you lose her?" Miguel tapped on his watch, and when his Lyla AI popped up, he nodded grimly to her. A holographic projection flickered directly in front of Arachnida. Shock waves echoed through the room, and everyone respectfully lowered their gazes. 

"Because I couldn't save her," Arachnida whispered, staring at the projection with guilty, horrified eyes. It showed Arachnida, sobbing on her knees, her hands cradling the slumped head of an elderly woman. Her dead aunt. Her ponytail in the projection was streaked red and stiff with blood. 

"Right. Because you couldn't save her." Miguel nodded gravely. He turned his icy stare on Spiderman-Noir, who stuffed his hands into his trenchcoat pockets. "Who did you lose?" 

Before he could respond, the projection flickered and morphed. Now, in black and white, it displayed Spiderman-Noir, dropping into a crouch in horror as wild dogs tore a man's skin apart with fangs dripping in saliva, maiming him beyond recognition. 

"My Uncle Ben." Spiderman Noir said, his gravelly voice angry and choked with guilt. 

"You couldn't save him either," Miguel said, fixing him with a dark look that was almost sympathetic. 

Uncle Brett, Uncle Ben, Aunt Bella, Uncle Beck. 

Names spilled out of mouths, and horrific projections accompanied every death story. Miguel crossed his muscular arms, his eyes darkened and cold. One girl whisperingly begged him to not show the footage of her uncle's death. He'd died last week. 

"This is why our training important," he firmly insisted, but his voice softened a little bit to address her. "Everyone could die like this. Everyone." He showed the footage anyway. In it, the girl was forced to steer a double-deckered tourist bus into her uncle to save the passengers. 

"Turn it off," she begged, starting to cry as his bones crumpled at impact and he slumped into the street, his blood mingling with the dust. Miguel set his jaw and did not. 

"Take this seriously." 

Fury churned in your stomach. How dare he manipulate her deepest pain to garner support for his stupid multiverse team? 

Miguel's intense eyes locked onto yours. Today they glinted bright red, like the blood in the projections. He tilted his chin up, self-righteous and superior. And suddenly, the realization slammed into you that his cruel demonstration was for you. 

You spun on the rubbery heel of your suit, nimbly stepping out of the room. He wanted you to watch this. So you wouldn't. You felt his eyes blacken, watching you leave the room with a startling intensity that made your heart thud against your ribcage.