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Peter had never seen Miguel not in his office if he wasn’t on a mission during his working hours, which seemed to be every hour he could get away with not sleeping or doing other necessary functions to keep himself alive. So when he walked into the office with Mayday and found the room empty and the holo-screens blank, he first checked his dimensional watch to see if Miguel had left or gone to rest, since he always sent a ping when he did as a warning. However, he found nothing there. No communication that he had left his station, which meant he was supposed to be there.
“Ah!” Mayday said from her carrier, a frown pinching her features as she saw the room was missing the man who was supposed to be there.
“Hey,” Peter called into the air, “where’s the boss at? How long till he gets back? I thought I was supposed to go out with some of the younger ones.”
Lyla shimmered into existence in front of him, looking prim and proper as usual. “Miguel had some unexpected things come up, and he’s not really in the best mood right now.”
“He’s never in the best mood,” Peter complained, then added more seriously, “but is he alright?”
“He’ll be fine. It’s just a long-standing, annoying issue.” Lyla waved her digital hands nonchalantly. “I can still send you out, but it’ll take me a minute to get the names from the database and make sure everyone’s actually here.”
“That’s fine, I was kinda hungry anyway.” Peter decided not to press the Miguel issue. There were a lot of things he didn’t know about the guy, lurking beneath the hard exterior, and he got the feeling whatever was going on now was one of them. He pushed Miguel out of his mind, stroking the downy head of hair that rested on his torso. “You hungry, sweetheart?”
“Bah!” Mayday said.
“‘Bah’, indeed. Let’s get something.”
The cafeteria was easily one of Peter’s favorite parts of the base. The food there was weird and futuristic sometimes, but it was actually good, which usually wasn’t implied by the name “cafeteria”. He enjoyed trying all the different, random things, but one of his favorite pastimes had become feeding Mayday’s bits of food to see what she thought of them. He had discovered her opinions were quite obvious.
Peter snagged a sandwich, let a couple of Spider-Women fawn over Mayday for a moment, then seated himself at a table, setting Mayday on top of it. “Alright, today we’re going to try mayonnaise. What do you think of that?”
Mayday babbled, already reaching for the sandwich.
“Okay, okay. Slow down.” Peter tore off a small piece of bread with mayonnaise on it, holding it up for her. She bit into it eagerly, her eyes widening as she chewed noisily. For a moment, he could not tell what the verdict was, until she reached for more. “Mayonnaise is a win, then.”
And so they went, trading bites of the sandwich, though it was Peter eating the majority of it. However, they were interrupted when Peter spied a familiar pink and white figure swinging by. It was Gwen, and he could tell even by a glimpse of her face she had not had a good day. Heck, she hadn’t had a good week in a while, judging by what he had heard about her dad.
“Hey, Gwen!” She kept walking, and he scowled, looking back at Mayday still shoving bread in her mouth. “Give me a second, okay? Just keep eating.” He stood up, going after her before she disappeared into the crowd. “Gwen, I know you can hear me kid!”
Mayday watched placidly as her dad hurried away, smacking her lips. The food was good, but something else quickly captured her attention. It was not anything directly around her, not any of the colors or sounds or the many Spiders swinging to and fro. No, rather it was a feeling in the back of her mind, an innate sense that something wasn’t quite as it should be. It belonged to the one who belonged here, whose presence was all over this place unlike any of the others. She knew him; she had met him before, and she liked him. But something now was not right, a little sense that told her scared and hurt. She wanted to find him, to make the scared and hurt go away.
With that simple mission in mind, Mayday maneuvered herself off the table, abandoning the food despite how delicious it. She began navigating her way through the halls, her sense telling her which direction was right, moving herself along with a combination of webs and shaky stumbling. Her speed was of little concern to her, and she remained oblivious to the curious looks thrown her way by other Spiders she passed. She knew instinctively how to follow the feeling, and who she would find wherever it led her.
Her toddler travels eventually led her into a quieter, smaller part of the base. No one was around, but the feeling led her onwards through a series of hallways, past open and closed doors alike. She arrived at a closed door at the end of one hallway, and the feeling was now at its most intense. She would find what she was looking for beyond the door.
The door had no knob or handle, but her gaze was quickly drawn to the glowing panel next to it. She had seen it enough times now for the message to stick: hit the panel, open the door. A glob of web, a bit larger than necessary with childish overzealousness, smacked against the panel. Something dinged, and the door slid open.
Mayday blinked as a void yawned in front of her. The room ahead was completely dark, not even lit by windows, save for the single beam that came from the now open door. Bits of broken web silk littered the sleek floor and pieces of futuristic furniture, but she could not see anything beyond that. However, she knew he was here somewhere, and she wobbled her way inside, undaunted by the encroaching shadows that surrounded her as the door slid close behind her.
Far above, in the high rafters of the room, Miguel twitched as he heard the door open and close again. The Spider inside him hissed at the noise; that part of him reacted more harshly to unexpected stimuli. An anomaly had appeared earlier that day, one he really should have called backup for, but he didn’t. Lyla called him stupid for it, and he knew she was right. He had gotten backed into a corner, and in such moments the Spider came out full force with claws and fangs and blood. It did its job, and got him out of the scrape, but it burned through all the serum restraining that side of him in the process. Now, until it was time for his next dose, he had to ride out the visceral storm. Lyla knew better than to bother him when he was in the worst of it, and she typically made sure that everyone else steered clear until he could maintain himself appearance.
So why did his door just open?
His limbs moved before his mind had given them an order, sending him crawling towards the edge of the large web that the Spider had desired to spin. Before he reached the edge, he caught a glimmer of something living in the perception of his Spider-Sense, and for a moment the dark urge rolled over him in a powerful wave. His teeth longed to sink into something, his mouth opening instinctively with the desire.
Trap. Prey.
He forced his jaw shut with great effort, forcing his body to carry him the rest of the way to the edge calmly, several choice words bubbling up at the forefront of his mind as he prepared to excoriate whoever had broken the peace of his sanctuary. However, all thoughts of excoriation vanished when he looked over the edge, recognizing the tiny, wobbly figure through his night vision.
The Spider inside him shifted to something just as visceral, though slightly less frightening.
Family. Hatchling.
Mayday sensed movement above her and looked up, babbling gleefully. He was here, just like she knew he would be! But she could not see him, or anything really, and bumbled straight into something like a coffee table, losing her balance and falling onto her backside with a small “oof”, though that did not diminish her happiness whatsoever.
“How did you get in here?” The voice that echoed down to Mayday’s ears was Miguel’s, she knew, but it sounded a little different, underscored by a rasping reminiscent of a growl. “Did you escape from your dad again?”
Mayday squealed, clumsily pushing herself to her feet, though she threatened to topple over backwards from how far she craned her neck, searching for him. Miguel could not resist the urge to descend towards her, though he did so with some trepidation. He did not want to frighten her.
Mayday saw the eyes first, a deep crimson that glowed faintly in the dark. Below that, elongated teeth gleamed, currently unable to be completely confined behind his lips. This did not daunt her, and she raised her hands, making an insistent grabbing motion.
“No, no, mija. Not today.” Miguel forced the words out, though his instincts—human or spider?—wanted him to give into her request. He shot a web at the door panel without even looking, and it hissed open, sending a bit of light into the room again. His eyes throbbed with the sudden invasion into the dark, but he said, “Go back to your dad.”
Mayday stared at the face dangling upside down above her. It was his face, certainly, but his inhuman features had become more pronounced. Nevertheless, she continued her grabbing motions, even shooting some webs. The scared and hurt was still there.
Miguel easily pivoted to avoid her shots, frowning down at the kid and making a shooing motion with one extensively clawed hand. “Go, kid.”
Mayday continued her efforts, her face pinching into a scowl. She babbled frustratedly when he did not respond to her requests, and then…
Her lower lip wobbled.
A bolt of panic shot through him when he saw the first inkling of tears, but it was the opposite of what he expected. She wasn’t upset because he was too close, but rather he was not close enough. “Ay dios mio…I’m coming, arañita.”
Mayday’s unhappiness fizzled away when he began lowering himself towards the floor. She stumbled forward, and nearly went headfirst onto the floor before a taloned hand caught her, gingerly trying to avoid pricking her soft skin.
Miguel’s mind filled with a sense of rightness when he arrived beside her, the more violent tendencies receding. He began to feel almost normal again, not one wrong move from ripping a hole in the wall or something worse.
When Miguel’s head finally came within Mayday’s reach, she took hold of his hair, bringing her face close to his. It was somewhat humorous, considering he was hanging upside down.
“Why did you need me so bad, pobrecita?” he asked quietly. “Don’t tell me you came all this way just for me.”
“Ah!” Mayday bumped her forehead against his. The hurt and scared was starting to go away now. Satisfied, she grinned at him, heedless of the teeth, eyes, claws, and the jaw that opened slightly wider than what was normal.
“I didn’t want you to leave because I don’t like you.” Miguel felt a little silly knowing she would not understand what he meant, but he still felt compelled to justify himself to her. “I just didn’t want you to see me like this…but I guess it doesn’t matter.” Something between a growl and a sigh rumbled in his throat. He closed his eyes for a moment as his body continued to calm from the frenzy it had been in for the past few hours. This was highly unexpected, but very much welcome.
His peace was interrupted when Mayday grabbed his lip, pulling at it to reveal the overlong teeth beneath. He quickly extricated himself, flipping over to land on his feet, but he couldn’t bring himself to be actually annoyed. “Ah, none of that, mija.”
Mayday was not fazed at all, and began the process of scaling his arm. He let her, not wanting to utilize his overgrown claws anymore than necessary. She reached his shoulder and settled herself there, seemingly content for the moment.
“Lyla,” he called.
“Feeling better?”
“Yeah, more than I thought I would. Please tell me the kid’s dad is still somewhere in this building and hasn’t left her behind.”
There was a slight pause before Lyla answered. “Yeah, he’s still here. Want me to call him?”
Miguel glanced at the child seated on his shoulder, leaning against his head. The Spider inside him seemed equally contented, her presence lulling it further into dormancy. “No,” he decided. “Wait until he panics.”
“You got it,” Lyla said, sounding highly amused.
Though Miguel’s eyes were still oversensitive to the light, he turned on some dim overheads for Mayday’s sake, revealing the sad state of his apartment. Aside from the giant web strung up near the ceiling, other furniture had been clawed and knocked over in his rampage through the dark when he first returned. Claw marks scored deep into the wall where he had climbed up to begin spinning the web, puncturing through the thick metal siding.
This was all lost on Mayday however as she was borne up to the large web that awaited them, merely happy to be alongside the one she had been looking for. When they arrived at the web, she practically launched herself off Miguel’s shoulder, falling into the silk that caught her easily and bounced her high. She let out a wild shriek of laughter that grated on Miguel’s ears ever so slightly, but he couldn’t be mad at her as she made use of the web he had only spun out of the Spider’s instinct. Normally he just sat in it, waiting for the surge of primal instinct to pass, so he could not begrudge the child something he considered a far better use.
Miguel settled himself to one side, watching Mayday tumble around. He did not know what had brought her here, though clearly it was by her own desire. It was likely instinct, though other Spiders tended to avoid him when the darker side took over. However, she was young, maybe too young to even consider being afraid of him. And now he knew the Spider side of him would never hurt her, for it felt just as strongly if not more so than his human side. The human part of him tried to make distance, to deny for fear of more pain, but the Spider only knew the basest of feelings without the extra baggage. She was young and gentle, and possessed some sort of affection for him, so he would respond in kind to protect her, not that she was in great danger aside from getting away from her father. But that could easily change in an instant when you were a Spider.
“Eh, eh!”
Miguel looked up. Mayday had managed to make her way onto the ceiling, and now hung directly above him, looking at him upside down. He put out his hands, making a beckoning gesture. “Come on, arañita. I’ll catch you.”
Mayday let go without a moment’s hesitation, dropping through the air. Miguel caught her easily, and she giggled like freefalling was just another part of life. She was very trusting; that was something he would have to keep an eye on.
“You know, I probably shouldn't encourage you to run away, but I’m glad you came here,” he said, letting her fiddle with his hands. “Don’t tell your dad that though. He already thinks I’m some sort of free babysitting service.”
Mayday tried crawling down his arm, but her feet detached, and she did a slow somersault onto his torso before bursting into another fit of giggles. Miguel smiled, for once uncaring that his fangs were showing.
“Yeah, I think the secret is safe with you.”
“Boss.” Lyla’s image appeared next to them in a gentle glow. “I think he’s panicking now.”
Miguel tried to look serious, but it was hard with a child spread-eagled across him. “Alright, tell him how to get here.”
Lyla smiled down at the pair. “You know, I’m tempted to take pictures for blackmailing purposes.”
Miguel swiped at the image with his claws, and she vanished, only to reappear at a safe distance. He bared his teeth, a soft hiss rumbling in his throat. “I will disable you.”
“Keep telling yourself that.”
“I’m not trying to be a bad dad!”
“I never said you were.”
“But you were thinking it!”
Gwen rolled her eyes. She had spent the past twenty minutes frantically searching for Mayday once Peter realized she was gone, and she could practically see the sanity slipping from him with every second that passed. Fortunately, Lyla had just swooped in and saved them, telling Peter exactly where to go. “Just go get your kid before you lose it completely.”
Peter took off at a pace just slightly beneath a mad dash, following the directions Lyla had given him. All he knew for certain was that Mayday had ended up with Miguel, and he wasn’t sure how concerned he should be, given Miguel’s apparent “bad day”. But Lyla had unhelpfully disappeared before he could think to ask her anything about that.
He ended up in some hallways off the beaten path, and he could easily see Mayday getting lost in the almost labyrinthine corridors. Finally, he arrived at the door Lyla had directed him towards, and it opened for him as he approached. He knew he had stepped into Miguel’s personal quarters, judging by the casual nature of the furniture. But more concerning were the jagged marks in the wall that looked like they had been made recently, and some of the furniture had been shoved out of place.
He began to understand what a bad day meant.
“Parker.”
Peter looked up to see Miguel descending on a line of webbing from an actual, entirely accurate spiderweb. He looked as grave as ever, but that image was somewhat marred with Mayday clinging to him like a koala. Peter would have tried to take a picture, but he wasn’t sure Miguel wouldn’t try to break his phone. Instead, he tried to look as deeply apologetic as possible, both for his sake and Mayday’s, though she seemed as happy as could be.
“Man, I’m so sorry. I looked away for ten seconds and she was gone. Where’d you find her?”
Miguel dropped lightly to the floor. “She found me.”
“What?”
“She found me,” Miguel repeated, letting Mayday toy with his fingers. “She came all the way here, opened my door, and came in.”
Peter tried to wrap his mind around Mayday navigating all those corridors. It couldn’t have been by chance. “Uh, I’m sorry about that. I heard you weren’t having the best day anyway…”
“It’s fine.”
Peter squinted, searching for any sign of ingenuine feeling in Miguel’s face, but he could not see any. At the same time, he noticed that he seemed a little bit more…animalistic than usual. His teeth flashed more when he spoke, his claws seemed longer, his stance a bit more deliberate like he was ready to move at the slightest provocation. But he seemed calm despite all that, oddly incongruent with the disarray of the room.
Mayday took notice of him and babbled, reaching towards him. Miguel took that as his cue to hand her over.
“Thanks,” Peter said awkwardly. “I don’t know what got into her.”
“Neither do I,” Miguel replied, though he did have some idea about her instincts.
Peter cleared his throat as he settled Mayday back in her carrier, looking around the room. “So…is this what happens on your…bad days?”
Miguel shifted his weight, suddenly very aware of the mess, and his still-receding physical abnormalities. “Only when it’s really bad.”
“Is there a way to stop it?”
Miguel blinked, taken aback by the compassion in the other man’s tone. “I have a serum, but sometimes that side of me breaks through even with it, and I can’t overlap doses.”
Peter nodded, considering the situation for a moment. “What about May?”
“What?”
“The kid. Did she help?”
Miguel stared at him for a moment, then at Mayday, who smiled at him unabashedly. He said with complete seriousness, “Yes, she did.”
The corner of Peter’s mouth curled up. “I guess she really was trying to find you.”
Miguel snorted, looking away before the urge to smile back became too strong. “Even so, keep a better eye on her.”
“Yeah, you got that right. I’ll get outta here and go do that mission I was supposed to do.” Peter lifted one of Mayday’s hands to mimic a wave towards Miguel, and though he did not wave back he was satisfied to see his fingers twitch before he turned to leave.
“Parker…”
Peter stopped, looking over his shoulder. “Yeah?”
Miguel paused, considering his words carefully. “The kid…she wasn’t in any danger around me. She never will be. I want you to understand that.”
Peter’s half-smile became full. “I understand completely. I’ll keep this little incident in mind the next time I hear you’re having a bad day. There’s nothing like her.”
Miguel did not reply, but he was inwardly pleased with that idea.
Peter stepped out into the hallway, the door closing behind him. He wanted to be exasperated with Mayday for giving him some gray hairs, but he couldn't bring himself to be. “I think you did a good thing today. That doesn't mean you should run off like that, but still…”
Mayday smiled, swinging her feet. She did not completely understand his words, but she knew she had helped Miguel, and she was satisfied.