The mission had gone horribly wrong. The portal back to HQ was destabilizing, collapsing in on itself, and the only way to fix it was to override the system manually—right from the epicenter of the destruction.

Miguel gritted his teeth, recalculating.

—“There’s no time. I’ll do it.”

—“No, I will.”

He turned sharply, scowling. You. The one Spider-Person he could never get along with. Always pushing back, always challenging him. The two of you had been at each other’s throats since the day you met.

—“This isn’t up for debate,” Miguel snapped. “Get out of here.”

But you weren’t listening. You were already moving.

Before he could react, you launched yourself straight into the collapsing zone, webbing onto the crumbling structure, slipping through cracks of energy. Miguel cursed, bolting forward, but debris blocked his path.

—“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”

You didn’t answer. Your hands were already flying over the override panel, muscles straining against the force of the distortion. Sparks flew, the ground cracked. Miguel could barely see you through the chaos.

—“Get out of there!” His voice was raw with something he refused to name.

With one final surge of strength, you forced the override into place. The portal stabilized—but the shockwave was immediate.

The blast threw Miguel backward, rubble collapsing all around.

When the dust settled, he found you—barely conscious, barely breathing.

He was at your side in seconds, pressing against your wound, trying to stop the bleeding. His hands were shaking.

—“Damn it—damn it, why would you do that?!”