ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE

Chapter 1

A loud bang reverberated through the air. The sound of drums sparked ripples of color, growing brighter with every beat. From behind it all came the voice of a girl. It was all too familiar.

'Let's do things differently this time.'

'So differently.'

Behind the colorful lines and shapes was the silhouette of the girl. Her eyes were closed, yet her hands continued to beat on the drums.

'His name... Is Miles Morales.'

Memories of those moments all flashed in her mind, as though she was reliving her adventure all over again.

'He was bitten by a radioactive spider...'

Her memories of being in class next to Miles faded to her sitting alone, covering the spider bite on her hand.

'...and he's not the only one.'

That moment in which Spider-Man entrusted the override key to Miles faded into the moment when the Prowler had Miles cornered on the roof of May Parker's house.

'He hasn't always had it easy.'

The moment continued to play out with the Prowler pulling his mask off before shortly being shot in the back by the person who had begun the whole mess: Kingpin.

'...and he's not the only one.'

There were small flashes of her father, the picture she'd taken with Miles, M/n, and the others, and Miles seeing the holograms composed from the stories of others that were just like him.

'And now he's on his own.'

Finally... the memories flashed back to the moment she had to say goodbye to everyone she'd met.

'...and he's not the only one.'

The beating of the drums grew louder and louder with every thought, every memory, and every moment that ran through her mind.

'You think you know the rest...'

From the collider machine first activating to the spider finding Miles and biting his hand, the number forty-two very prominent on its back.

'You don't.'

The end of a pair of tweezers picked the dead spider up by one of its legs. The scene then transitioned into Miles diving through a dimensional gateway.

'I thought I knew the rest, but...'

Faster and faster her hands moved, the drum's beat echoing more and more.

'I didn't.'

When she had tried helping Miles, he simply ripped the web she had attached to him, leaving her hanging by the single thread she'd swung from.

'I didn't wanna hurt him.'

Miles looked at her with a pained expression, betrayal glazed over his eyes.

'But I did.'

Her memories flashed back to that fateful day... The day she'd lost her best friend, Peter Parker.

'...and he's not the only one.'

Her split life as Gwen Stacy and Spider-Woman began merging together, beaming with bright colors that then dulled to black and white. The figures of Miles' dad and the antagonist of it all appeared for a split second before it ultimately all came back to that stone-cold and hurt expression on Miles' face.

Her heart pounded loudly in her chest, but not nearly as loud as the drums she banged on. Their piercing sounds echoed through the room.

"Hey!" a voice shouted.