Qué Maravilla

Ch. 7 - The Rhythm and the Blues

Miguel sat in a low crouch while investigating the wreckage in the abandoned warehouse. He cradled his aching head in his hands. He had never gone this long without a rapture dose before and the withdrawals were proving to be horrendous. He was irritated beyond belief and all this running around was pushing him to his limit. He wasn't sure how much longer he could last. Doing math, the last dosage was about eight hours ago, he had four hours. Maybe five before any serious consequences start arising. 'I can make that work,' he assured himself stubbornly, 'All of this will be taken care of by then.' He groaned quietly while fighting another incoming headache.

"For all we know this could have nothing to do with Miles" he stood up so quickly he got light headed. He managed to catch himself on a nearby broken pipe and took a few moments to steady himself, "And we don't have time to investigate every crime in this city."

Unperturbed, you keep looking, rummaging through piles and piles of debris and damaged infrastructure until finally, after moving a large piece of concrete covering the brick wall, you find a major clue. "Nobody from this place could've done this. Look. '' Fighting dizziness, Miguel immediately gets up and walks over to see where you're pointing. Covering the wall are scores of organic spiderman webbing.

"Hasn't begun dissolving yet," Miguel took a few steps closer to get a better look at the material, "has to be recent." You release the tension you had been holding in your shoulders, briefly catching Gwen's look from the dirty window she had established as her vantage point.

Brooklyn was big, but at least now you knew you were on the right track. "It's a start," you said in a low mumble to yourself, running your fingers along the webs then pulling away to fiddle with a small sample between your thumb and pointer finger.

Miguel turned away from the evidence to scan the disastrous scene before the two of you, "Yeah," he whispered absentmindedly, "If we can figure out what the hell went down here..."

"...Then maybe we can find Miles," you finish making eye contact with Miguel just as he turns to face you.

Before either of you can speak, your body visibly tenses once more. You knew this feeling all too well. A shiver travels down your spine and a tingling feeling draws at the back of your head. The best way you could describe it was like an out of body experience like a fly, or a spider, on the wall. For a moment you could see yourself, but most importantly you could see the shadow that had just made its way to the door.

"The door."

"What?" Miguel asks, slightly thrown off.

"Someone's coming."

You both quickly turn toward the door ready to fight. Through it walks Aaron Davis with a cigarette in his mouth and distractedly texting a message on his phone with his free hand. A second later he looks up and is immediately taken aback by the sight of what were essentially two strangers in decorative morphs suits standing in his damaged hideout.

"What the hell!?" He points his phone back and forth between the two of you, " Who the hell are you guys!?"

Miguel immediately takes the reins, "I'm sorry sir. I know this is weird. But there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for this-"

"-Okay?" Aaron stood in such disbelief he almost seemed to be on the verge of laughter, "Floor is yours."

"This may be a lot to take in, but we're from alternate dimensions and we-"

"-Oh so there's more of you now?"

"More?" Both you and Miguel inquired at the same time, taking a moment to share a look with one another.