LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 5: Miles
"Alright, where the hell am I?" I muttered, glancing around. The streets were busy with morning traffic, but I was utterly lost. Not surprising, considering I wasn't even American in my past life.
As I wandered aimlessly, something caught my eye—a crumpled strip of newspaper fluttering along the sidewalk. It came to rest against my shoe, so I bent down, picked it up, and smoothed it out to read.
The first article caught my attention immediately:
[ In the past two weeks, two mysterious earthquakes occurred in Brooklyn—one last Monday and another this Tuesday. The specific cause of these tremors is still under investigation. According to experts, while the epicenter is located directly below Brooklyn, it lies deep enough to pose no serious threat to daily life. Residents are advised not to panic. ]
"Brooklyn?!" I groaned, running a hand through my hair. "Great. I'm even more lost than I thought."
Curious, I flipped the strip over and read another snippet printed on the back:
[ Mr. Wilson Fisk, a prominent philanthropist in the city, recently donated experimental equipment worth $10 million to Midtown Science and Technology Middle School. This marks his fourth significant charitable donation this year—an incredible act of generosity. ]
I raised an eyebrow. "Wilson Fisk, huh? Generosity? Sure, and I'm the Queen of England."
Fisk's name alone was enough to set off alarm bells. If this universe's Kingpin was involved, then things were about to get messy. Add mysterious earthquakes to the mix, and it was all starting to smell like the plot of the Into the Spider-Verse Collider arc.
I crumpled the paper back up, stuffed it in my pocket, and kept walking, my mind racing.
"Looks like I've got a pretty good idea of what universe I've landed in," I muttered, glancing around thoughtfully. "But there are still too many gaps. I need more clues to confirm my theory."
With that, I continued to wander, my eyes scanning every detail of the world around me, hoping for the next piece of the puzzle to fall into place.
Then my eyes caught sight of a school—a sleek, modern-looking building buzzing with students. Above the entrance, a sign read Brooklyn Visions Academy.
I squinted at the school. "This place looks… familiar."
It felt oddly familiar, like I'd seen it somewhere before.
I crossed the street, blending into the crowd as I approached the entrance. Just then, the hum of an engine broke the morning calm. A police car rolled to a stop in front of the school, its glossy surface reflecting the morning sun.
The door swung open, and a teenager stepped out, backpack slung over his shoulder. He looked young, maybe 15 or 16, with brown skin and tightly curled black hair. There was something about him that caught my attention—a quiet confidence, but also a flicker of unease in his movements.
As he shut the car door, the police car beeped its horn, and a voice crackled over the radio.
"You gotta say 'I love you' back, Miles," came the unmistakable voice of his dad.
The kid—Miles, apparently—froze mid-step. His shoulders slumped, and he turned back to the car, his face a mix of embarrassment and disbelief.
I leaned against a lamppost, watching the whole exchange with a thoughtful look.
"Dad, are you serious?" he said, his voice low, probably hoping no one else would hear.
"I wanna hear it," his dad replied through the speaker, completely unfazed.
"You really wanna hear it?!" Miles shot back, looking around as if the ground might open up and swallow him.
"I love you, Dad," the officer said with the same deadpan tone, clearly enjoying himself.
Miles groaned. "Are you real—"
"I love you, Dad," the cop repeated, cutting him off.
Miles threw up his hands. "Look at this place!" he said, motioning to the school, where students were now starting to take notice. A few were stifling laughs.
His dad didn't relent. "Dad. I love you," he said again, his voice full of mock seriousness.
Miles tilted his head back to the sky, clearly done with this. "Dad. I love you," he said, voice flat and defeated.
"Got it, copy," his dad replied with a grin.
The car rolled away as the students nearby burst into laughter. Miles muttered something under his breath before trudging toward the school doors, trying to shake off the attention.
"Miles?" I whispered, the pieces finally clicking together. "So that's why this school felt so familiar. It's Brooklyn Visions Academy—Miles Morales' school from the animated Spider-Verse. Which means... I'm in the Spider-Verse."
I paused, letting the realization sink in. "And judging by the news... this must be before Spider-Man's, uh, untimely demise. Great. Just great."
My thoughts spun like a broken Ferris wheel, multiverse theories crashing into one another. But one thing was clear: I had to move fast.
"Alright, focus," I muttered, taking a deep breath. "If I can stick close to Miles, he might lead me to Peter—or at least to where... well, where Peter's story ends."
Pulling the hood of my makeshift symbiote cloak over my head, I stepped into a nearby alley.
The symbiote rippled over me, morphing into a near-perfect replica of Brooklyn Visions' school uniform. I gave myself a quick once-over. "Not bad. I could totally pass for a student."
With my new disguise in place, I slipped out of the alley and headed toward the school entrance, blending in with the crowd of students.
"Alright, Time to play detective."