A Tale of Two Spiders [BEING REWRITTEN ELSEWHERE]

Part 25

Miles's POV

"Guess we'll find out."

Doc Ock's grin widened as she lunged at me, tentacles reaching out to attack me from all sides. I dodged almost every one of them before one socked me in the stomach and sent me flying back, crashing into the ground. 

Recovering quickly, I jumped back onto my feet and faced her one more time. I shot two webs at the walls to either side of the Doctor and tugged on them, kicking my legs onto her chest, which pushed her through a wall - before she pushed herself up using two of her tentacles and moved toward me once again. 

I grabbed one of her tentacles and pulled her towards me, planning to punch her through the ceiling, but apparently she had other plans in mind, as she headbutted me, grabbed me with two of her claws, and threw me through three different glass walls before I landed on the floor next to the tour group I had just escaped from, groaning as I tried to reorient myself.

By this point, the whole building was aware of the ongoing battle between Doc Ock and I, and adequate measures were being taken - the whole building was on red alert, and people were screaming as they ran out of the structure.

Doc Ock caught up to me, her tentacles lifting her up as she clasped her hands together, an evil smile spreading across her face as she stared down at me.

"I believe I have won our little bet, Spider-Man," she said, moving down to my level.

"I really would love to continue our little game, but unfortunately I have bigger and better things to worry about, so I have to end it right here."

She attacked me with one of her tentacles, attempting to perform the same tricks she did with Dr. Connors, but I was prepared. I caught it just as it reached my neck and began charging up my venom shock...

All of a sudden, Doc Ock was the Prowler, and I was on that same rooftop I had been on two weeks before.

Are you going to murder me again, Miles?

My breathing became shallow and I tried to move, but I couldn't out of fear.

"No." I managed to choke out a reply, a tremble in my voice.

Voices whispered in my head, reminding my of my past failures.

You killed the one relative who understood you the most...

What kind of hero are you?

A crashing sound snapped me out of my stupor, and it took me over two seconds to realize it was me.

I turned around in the air, facing the ground. Pieces of debris and shards of glass fell along with me; everything seemed to move in slow motion. But, my senses flared and my head snapped to the source of danger.

Liz Allan was falling; eyes wide, hair flowing, and heart pounding. Reacting quickly, I fired a web at her chest and pulled on it, using the momentum to guide her to a floor on which she could stand on. I swung onto the same platform and landed in front of her.

"You okay? I-I mean, you okay?" I asked, making my voice sound deeper.

She was still panting and gathering herself from her past fall. "I'm...alright," she said, within deep breaths.

A few seconds passed and she wrapped me in a crushing hug.

"Oh!" I exclaimed, shocked that someone who saw me as nothing more than an annoying distraction was hugging me like her life depended on it.

"Thank you," she whispered, holding me tight.

"I-uh...you're welcome, haha," I said awkwardly, lightly patting her on her back as an attempt to break the hug. She showed no signs of letting go, however, and continued to hug me close.