Post by Drake on Nov 22, 2013 22:30:02 GMT -5
Lights fade in and out. It does not cease, like a constant burst of lightning amidst a dark thunderstorm, chaotic and unpredictable. I count seconds between each flash. Is this heaven? Am I dead?
The flashes become infuriating, a distraction from the comforting darkness. One a minute. Then every half minute. Ten seconds. Five…The flashes stop and I am left only with permanent brightness, stinging my eyes. I’m alive. That much I’m certain of.
Suddenly, a clearer picture forms of my surroundings. I struggle to comprehend what I’m seeing. A lamp, chairs, medical equipment…a hospital. I’m in a hospital. Why am I in a hospital?
Someone enters my room. Old, worn down like she’s gone sleepless for days. Hell, she might’ve. The woman appears shocked to see me awake at first. She pauses, before her face lights up into a smile. I think she whispers “thank God.” It’s either that or “hedgehog.”
The woman hurries over to me and calmly asks, “How are you feeling, Miles?”
This is a joke, right? I’m in the hospital for a reason. What was it again?
“Fine,” I sputter out. Not true. Body aches all over, chest especially, like I was stabbed clean through. Stabbing…why does that sound familiar? What hell has happened to me?
“Good. Great.” The woman pauses as if considering what to do next. She looks me in the eyes. I turn away.
“I’ll go get your mom,” she assures me. Something sticks out about what she said. My mom…where’s dad? He should…would be here. He’s a hard ass, but, I mean, he does love me…right? No, I’m sure of it. He’d skip a thousand days of work for me. I think.
The woman rushes out of the room. Less than a minute later, my mom comes into the room, teary-eyed, clearly exhausted. I’m sure she hasn’t gotten any sleep. Not much, anyway.
“Oh, baby, thank God!” My mom looks me over like I’ve got a fever. Like it’s something she can fix. She sighs once she realizes she can’t.
“How are you feeling?” she asks. What’s with everyone asking me that? I’m in the hospital!
“Fine…” I don’t pause, rushing on, something dark rising up from deep down, “Hey…where’s Dad?”
My mom recoils as if I’ve slapped her. She won’t meet my gaze. Why? What the hell is wrong?! …But I think I know. I just don’t know how…or why.
“Baby, how much do you remember from…before?” she asks me, her lip spasming as if she’s about to cry. Why?!
“Mom, what’s wrong? …Where’s Dad?” She doesn’t answer. Why won’t she answer me?!
“Oh God.” My mom collapses into a chair, holding her head in her hands. She’s crying, I’m sure of it. Panic rises in my chest.
“Mom…where’s Dad?!” I sound just as panicked as I feel. Years of hiding my feelings, ‘toughing it out,’ all fade away like summer rain.
“Miles…baby…Jefferson…” She forces herself to meet my gaze. I can’t believe how strong she’s being. Whatever’s wrong…she’s forcing herself through it.
“Your father is dead.”
I couldn’t have heard that right. My…my dad is dead? No…he can’t be. Suddenly, the images pop into my head. Blood. It’s everywhere. And he’s lying on the ground…my father. I know he’s dead. The wound…someone stabbed him clean through. Oh God…
My mother screams my name. I can’t answer. I’m not really sure what happened next. There’s just a vague voice crying “he’s going into shock.” And then there’s the pictures, the images…
The blood.
Miles woke up with tears on his cheeks. He’d dreamt the same thing over and over again. He found his father, time after time, and each time nothing changed. Jefferson…his father was always dead.
Miles forced himself to sit up. Surprisingly, his body didn’t hurt. He remembered everything clearly now. The fight. The tower. His gunshot wound. And…his father.
A nurse was attending Miles when he sat up. She flinched when she saw him sit up.
“You’re awake…” she said. No shit. He wasn’t dead. The emptiness inside made that much clear.
“Where’s my mom?” Miles wasn’t going to wait for an answer. He pushed himself out of his bed.
“She’s…wait, you can’t do that! You’re still…”
Miles pushed the nurse to the side a little too forcefully. She collapsed to the ground and yelled out, “Help! I’ve got a loose patient!”
Miles ignored her, marching out of his room in only a hospital gown. A doctor, the same woman from before, met him as he left the room. Two male nurses stood at her back.
“Miles, listen, son, I know you’re going through a tough time…” The doctor tried to appease him. She couldn’t.
“Where’s my mother?” Miles again didn’t wait for an answer. He pushed past the doctor, but was caught between the two nurses, who held him firmly.
“Listen, kid, you’re hurt,” one of the nurses began. Miles flipped him first. The other went by just a second later, crashing onto the floor after the first.
Miles looked down at the first nurse and quipped, “Hurt, right?”
“Dick.” The nurse tried to pull Miles’ legs out from under him. Too bad Miles had his handy dandy spider sense and the proportionate agility of a spider. He flipped over the man’s arms and ran down the hallway.
“Someone stop him!” The doctor cried from behind him. Nurses, doctors, and interns alike tried to tackle Miles to the ground. He flipped over a few before getting caught in a bear tackle by a man the size of a small car. As soon as he hit the ground, Miles threw the man off of him, throwing him a solid twenty yards away into a wall at the end of the hall. Three other men jumped atop him. Miles struggled to break free. They wouldn’t stop him…not till he saw his mother!
Miles almost broke free. Almost. But when the last few people jumped atop him, he knew he was defeated. It didn’t take long for someone to stick a needle in his neck, and then everything went fuzzy.
He awoke a little later, this time strapped firmly into his bed with restraints. And this time, his mother was sitting at his bedside, waiting to greet him.
“Good morning…” she paused to look out the window, before continuing, “Or afternoon, rather.”
Miles couldn’t help but smile. His mother looked better than he remembered from…last night, was it? The bags under her eyes were smaller and she actually looked…happy.
“Sorry about the mess… I just…I don’t know. I freaked out. I needed to...” Miles blushed, “see you.”
Rio laughed. It was a nice sight. “It’s fine. No one’s suing. You didn’t break anything other than a few egos.”
Miles grinned, “They mad they got their asses handed to them by a kid?”
“Language,” Rio playfully scolded. Neither spoke up immediately after that. The silence continued for a half minute before Miles managed to bring himself to speak up. He knew what the elephant in the room was.
“So…Dad,” Miles muttered.
“Yeah…I’m sorry you had to be the one to find him,” Rio said. Why was she apologizing to him? If anything, he should have been there earlier. He could have helped. Stopped the attacker. Guilt ripped up Miles’ insides.
Miles sputtered out, “Have they found…?”
“Nothing.”
“Great.”
And there was the pause again. This time it lasted a whole minute. And this time Rio spoke up.
“I’ve got good news. You’ve been cleared to go home and with a few days rest should be able to return to school,” Rio explained.
“Just what I wanted to hear,” Miles sarcastically joked.
“I’m sure,” Rio softly laughed. That’s when the doctor entered the room. She briefly paused to allow her presence to be recognized, before marching over to Miles.
“I need to talk to the patient,” the doctor admitted. No using Miles’ name this time. Someone was mad.
“Of course.” Rio briefly took and supportively squeezed Miles’ hand, before leaving the room. The doctor waited a few moments till the door shut, before beginning.
“I have something to tell you, and I believe it is important that I tell you before I am forced to explain this to your mother,” she began.
“Is this about…my spaz attack?” Miles asked.
The doctor looked as if she regretted what she was about to say, “Hardly. You were in a…delicate state. You still are. But that’s why it’s extremely important that I tell you this first. When you were rushed here you were losing blood fast, so we asked your mother for your blood type. She told us it was A. Perfectly normal…until we gave you some…and your body rejected it.” Oh shit.
“Needless to say, you didn’t need the blood. You recovered quickly, and quite well, I might add. So, I took a blood sample. And your blood…your entire DNA is highly mutated. I believe you’re a mutant.” Caught. Sort of. Shit, Miles hadn’t even thought about that until now. Ignoring his blood “type,” he’d given them all the proof they needed that he had powers when he took on multiple full-grown men and kicked their butts.
The doctor finished, “It’ll be in your report. Your mother will find out. And…needless to say, despite the earlier incident, I pity you. It should be you informing your mother of your…condition. Not me.”
Fantastic! Just what Miles wanted to hear! On the plus side, the doctor just thought he was a mutant, not a…what was the term? Mutate? That would make his situation a hell of a lot more complicated. And put him even further into the potential “hero” zone with his mom. This way, maybe he could manipulate his way out of the situation.
“Yeah, thanks, I’ve got it.” Miles said, and before the doctor left, “Sorry about earlier.”
The doctor smiled, “It’s alright. Like I said, you were in a delicate state.”
Miles nodded. She left. And then in came his mother…
“Mom, we need to talk…”
About a day later, the Morales Residence
Miles and his mother, Rio, sat opposite each other across their kitchen table. Miles looked down at his waffles. Rio took a sip of coffee.
“So, this mutant thing…it isn’t contagious, is it?” Rio asked.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me…” Miles sighed.
“Joke! It’s a joke,” Rio admitted, before continuing, “I was just trying to break the silence. I know Jeff always hated…” Not the right topic. Not when they were back in the house. His house, where he died. And not after Miles failed him. Miles stabbed a piece of waffle.
“So, how much work did my teachers leave for me?” Miles made small talk.
“Plenty.”
“Cool.”
Rio tried to look Miles in the eyes. He wouldn’t meet her gaze.
“Ganke called. He’s worried about you. Maybe you should…”
Miles interrupted his mother, “Don’t go there.”
“Miles!” Rio begged.
“Not now,” Miles pleaded. Rio didn’t say a word. It was enough of a response. The two sat through silence. Neither moved. Miles didn’t eat a bite of his waffles. And then the sound broke it all, the silence and the once and future peace.
The doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it,” Rio began. Miles stood up before she could move.
“I’ve got it,” Miles muttered. Anything to get away from his mom. Ever since he’d gotten home, she’d been…overly nice. And…and she pretended like nothing had ever happened. It wasn’t right.
Miles opened up the door and it all ended. His world turned upside down. He met the man’s eyes, his auburn, all-too-familiar eyes. And his face…it was different. He had a small beard now—Miles distinctly remembered that he couldn’t grow a beard; it had become a running joke—but it was definitely him. But it couldn’t be! There was no way!
The smile gave it away. Happy. Carefree. Like the whole world was going his way. It was him.
“Hey, Miles, my man, what’s up?”
Miles’ uncle, Aaron Davis, was alive.
The flashes become infuriating, a distraction from the comforting darkness. One a minute. Then every half minute. Ten seconds. Five…The flashes stop and I am left only with permanent brightness, stinging my eyes. I’m alive. That much I’m certain of.
Suddenly, a clearer picture forms of my surroundings. I struggle to comprehend what I’m seeing. A lamp, chairs, medical equipment…a hospital. I’m in a hospital. Why am I in a hospital?
Someone enters my room. Old, worn down like she’s gone sleepless for days. Hell, she might’ve. The woman appears shocked to see me awake at first. She pauses, before her face lights up into a smile. I think she whispers “thank God.” It’s either that or “hedgehog.”
The woman hurries over to me and calmly asks, “How are you feeling, Miles?”
This is a joke, right? I’m in the hospital for a reason. What was it again?
“Fine,” I sputter out. Not true. Body aches all over, chest especially, like I was stabbed clean through. Stabbing…why does that sound familiar? What hell has happened to me?
“Good. Great.” The woman pauses as if considering what to do next. She looks me in the eyes. I turn away.
“I’ll go get your mom,” she assures me. Something sticks out about what she said. My mom…where’s dad? He should…would be here. He’s a hard ass, but, I mean, he does love me…right? No, I’m sure of it. He’d skip a thousand days of work for me. I think.
The woman rushes out of the room. Less than a minute later, my mom comes into the room, teary-eyed, clearly exhausted. I’m sure she hasn’t gotten any sleep. Not much, anyway.
“Oh, baby, thank God!” My mom looks me over like I’ve got a fever. Like it’s something she can fix. She sighs once she realizes she can’t.
“How are you feeling?” she asks. What’s with everyone asking me that? I’m in the hospital!
“Fine…” I don’t pause, rushing on, something dark rising up from deep down, “Hey…where’s Dad?”
My mom recoils as if I’ve slapped her. She won’t meet my gaze. Why? What the hell is wrong?! …But I think I know. I just don’t know how…or why.
“Baby, how much do you remember from…before?” she asks me, her lip spasming as if she’s about to cry. Why?!
“Mom, what’s wrong? …Where’s Dad?” She doesn’t answer. Why won’t she answer me?!
“Oh God.” My mom collapses into a chair, holding her head in her hands. She’s crying, I’m sure of it. Panic rises in my chest.
“Mom…where’s Dad?!” I sound just as panicked as I feel. Years of hiding my feelings, ‘toughing it out,’ all fade away like summer rain.
“Miles…baby…Jefferson…” She forces herself to meet my gaze. I can’t believe how strong she’s being. Whatever’s wrong…she’s forcing herself through it.
“Your father is dead.”
I couldn’t have heard that right. My…my dad is dead? No…he can’t be. Suddenly, the images pop into my head. Blood. It’s everywhere. And he’s lying on the ground…my father. I know he’s dead. The wound…someone stabbed him clean through. Oh God…
My mother screams my name. I can’t answer. I’m not really sure what happened next. There’s just a vague voice crying “he’s going into shock.” And then there’s the pictures, the images…
The blood.
All Star Spider-Man #7
Darkest Nights Part 2: The Once and Future Peace Is Dead
Darkest Nights Part 2: The Once and Future Peace Is Dead
Miles woke up with tears on his cheeks. He’d dreamt the same thing over and over again. He found his father, time after time, and each time nothing changed. Jefferson…his father was always dead.
Miles forced himself to sit up. Surprisingly, his body didn’t hurt. He remembered everything clearly now. The fight. The tower. His gunshot wound. And…his father.
A nurse was attending Miles when he sat up. She flinched when she saw him sit up.
“You’re awake…” she said. No shit. He wasn’t dead. The emptiness inside made that much clear.
“Where’s my mom?” Miles wasn’t going to wait for an answer. He pushed himself out of his bed.
“She’s…wait, you can’t do that! You’re still…”
Miles pushed the nurse to the side a little too forcefully. She collapsed to the ground and yelled out, “Help! I’ve got a loose patient!”
Miles ignored her, marching out of his room in only a hospital gown. A doctor, the same woman from before, met him as he left the room. Two male nurses stood at her back.
“Miles, listen, son, I know you’re going through a tough time…” The doctor tried to appease him. She couldn’t.
“Where’s my mother?” Miles again didn’t wait for an answer. He pushed past the doctor, but was caught between the two nurses, who held him firmly.
“Listen, kid, you’re hurt,” one of the nurses began. Miles flipped him first. The other went by just a second later, crashing onto the floor after the first.
Miles looked down at the first nurse and quipped, “Hurt, right?”
“Dick.” The nurse tried to pull Miles’ legs out from under him. Too bad Miles had his handy dandy spider sense and the proportionate agility of a spider. He flipped over the man’s arms and ran down the hallway.
“Someone stop him!” The doctor cried from behind him. Nurses, doctors, and interns alike tried to tackle Miles to the ground. He flipped over a few before getting caught in a bear tackle by a man the size of a small car. As soon as he hit the ground, Miles threw the man off of him, throwing him a solid twenty yards away into a wall at the end of the hall. Three other men jumped atop him. Miles struggled to break free. They wouldn’t stop him…not till he saw his mother!
Miles almost broke free. Almost. But when the last few people jumped atop him, he knew he was defeated. It didn’t take long for someone to stick a needle in his neck, and then everything went fuzzy.
He awoke a little later, this time strapped firmly into his bed with restraints. And this time, his mother was sitting at his bedside, waiting to greet him.
“Good morning…” she paused to look out the window, before continuing, “Or afternoon, rather.”
Miles couldn’t help but smile. His mother looked better than he remembered from…last night, was it? The bags under her eyes were smaller and she actually looked…happy.
“Sorry about the mess… I just…I don’t know. I freaked out. I needed to...” Miles blushed, “see you.”
Rio laughed. It was a nice sight. “It’s fine. No one’s suing. You didn’t break anything other than a few egos.”
Miles grinned, “They mad they got their asses handed to them by a kid?”
“Language,” Rio playfully scolded. Neither spoke up immediately after that. The silence continued for a half minute before Miles managed to bring himself to speak up. He knew what the elephant in the room was.
“So…Dad,” Miles muttered.
“Yeah…I’m sorry you had to be the one to find him,” Rio said. Why was she apologizing to him? If anything, he should have been there earlier. He could have helped. Stopped the attacker. Guilt ripped up Miles’ insides.
Miles sputtered out, “Have they found…?”
“Nothing.”
“Great.”
And there was the pause again. This time it lasted a whole minute. And this time Rio spoke up.
“I’ve got good news. You’ve been cleared to go home and with a few days rest should be able to return to school,” Rio explained.
“Just what I wanted to hear,” Miles sarcastically joked.
“I’m sure,” Rio softly laughed. That’s when the doctor entered the room. She briefly paused to allow her presence to be recognized, before marching over to Miles.
“I need to talk to the patient,” the doctor admitted. No using Miles’ name this time. Someone was mad.
“Of course.” Rio briefly took and supportively squeezed Miles’ hand, before leaving the room. The doctor waited a few moments till the door shut, before beginning.
“I have something to tell you, and I believe it is important that I tell you before I am forced to explain this to your mother,” she began.
“Is this about…my spaz attack?” Miles asked.
The doctor looked as if she regretted what she was about to say, “Hardly. You were in a…delicate state. You still are. But that’s why it’s extremely important that I tell you this first. When you were rushed here you were losing blood fast, so we asked your mother for your blood type. She told us it was A. Perfectly normal…until we gave you some…and your body rejected it.” Oh shit.
“Needless to say, you didn’t need the blood. You recovered quickly, and quite well, I might add. So, I took a blood sample. And your blood…your entire DNA is highly mutated. I believe you’re a mutant.” Caught. Sort of. Shit, Miles hadn’t even thought about that until now. Ignoring his blood “type,” he’d given them all the proof they needed that he had powers when he took on multiple full-grown men and kicked their butts.
The doctor finished, “It’ll be in your report. Your mother will find out. And…needless to say, despite the earlier incident, I pity you. It should be you informing your mother of your…condition. Not me.”
Fantastic! Just what Miles wanted to hear! On the plus side, the doctor just thought he was a mutant, not a…what was the term? Mutate? That would make his situation a hell of a lot more complicated. And put him even further into the potential “hero” zone with his mom. This way, maybe he could manipulate his way out of the situation.
“Yeah, thanks, I’ve got it.” Miles said, and before the doctor left, “Sorry about earlier.”
The doctor smiled, “It’s alright. Like I said, you were in a delicate state.”
Miles nodded. She left. And then in came his mother…
“Mom, we need to talk…”
About a day later, the Morales Residence
Miles and his mother, Rio, sat opposite each other across their kitchen table. Miles looked down at his waffles. Rio took a sip of coffee.
“So, this mutant thing…it isn’t contagious, is it?” Rio asked.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me…” Miles sighed.
“Joke! It’s a joke,” Rio admitted, before continuing, “I was just trying to break the silence. I know Jeff always hated…” Not the right topic. Not when they were back in the house. His house, where he died. And not after Miles failed him. Miles stabbed a piece of waffle.
“So, how much work did my teachers leave for me?” Miles made small talk.
“Plenty.”
“Cool.”
Rio tried to look Miles in the eyes. He wouldn’t meet her gaze.
“Ganke called. He’s worried about you. Maybe you should…”
Miles interrupted his mother, “Don’t go there.”
“Miles!” Rio begged.
“Not now,” Miles pleaded. Rio didn’t say a word. It was enough of a response. The two sat through silence. Neither moved. Miles didn’t eat a bite of his waffles. And then the sound broke it all, the silence and the once and future peace.
The doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it,” Rio began. Miles stood up before she could move.
“I’ve got it,” Miles muttered. Anything to get away from his mom. Ever since he’d gotten home, she’d been…overly nice. And…and she pretended like nothing had ever happened. It wasn’t right.
Miles opened up the door and it all ended. His world turned upside down. He met the man’s eyes, his auburn, all-too-familiar eyes. And his face…it was different. He had a small beard now—Miles distinctly remembered that he couldn’t grow a beard; it had become a running joke—but it was definitely him. But it couldn’t be! There was no way!
The smile gave it away. Happy. Carefree. Like the whole world was going his way. It was him.
“Hey, Miles, my man, what’s up?”
Miles’ uncle, Aaron Davis, was alive.