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neuphrates

Standing inside the vekpοilina, staring at the wall behind the transparent waterfall that glimmered from the natural glow. Dim lanterns that reflect a solemn hue of blue. The memorial carved into the stone with names etched on plaques and evenly spaced. It had only been a week ago since that night, but she still had no clue how to live a life without him.

A presence interrupts the midst of her sorrows. She glances over at him, expecting him to say something, only finding his eyes fixed on the wall too. Focused on one name. Respecting the silence, Gema slid her hand into his. Giving it a gentle squeeze, his fingers curling around her knuckles in response. She turned her gaze back to her fiancé's name on the wall.

Thea and Carter were gone. But Gema still had Nai. Nai still had Gema. They had each other.

Another long day passed. It felt longer than usual to him, which wasn't by much. He carries a large crate in his hands filled with journals and marine biology books. Not a hard load for a guy bitten by a radioactive spider. He walks through the door, heading downstairs to the basement, but stops in his tracks. The light was on, and the door was cracked a little. 

Nai rolled his eyes, knowing someone snuck into his space again. "What are you doing down here, Tita?" He sighed after entering, finding the culprit sitting on the desk chair and eating a bag of dried mangoes with a book in her hand.

Gema is sitting comfortably while wearing a basic gray colored shirt with a laced ivory cardigan and grey pajama shorts. Her dark hair twisted in an updo secured by a clip and with glasses resting on her nose. A crease of her forehead present as she grows more invested in the novel she was reading. 

Setting his stuff by his computer, he turns around to cross his arms, impatiently waiting for her to reply, his fingers tapping in a rhythmic pattern. Nai frowns after a few seconds of no response before extending his wrist to the bag in her lap.

"Hey!" Gema snapped, finally getting her nose out of her book.

"I had to get your attention somehow," Nai mocked, taking a bite out of a mango slice. "And it's also nice to share with your twin."

Gema glared at him and retrieved the mangoes with her sticky web fluid. "Just because I'm your twin it doesn't mean we have to share everything." She said adjusted in her chair as she munched on the snack herself.

Nai shook his head with a snicker. "Oh, it's not like you've been sharing my apartment the past few weeks."

"That's because I don't have anywhere else to go. Rent isn't cheap these days and besides you gave me the offer genius." Gema scoffed while pointing a finger to prove her innocence.

Not wanting to cause any more damage to a touchy subject, Nai clicked his tongue to lighten the mood. "Oh well, it was field trip day with the kids."

"Ah," She acknowledged. "They finally got to meet the little orca?"

"Yep, should have seen their little face. They all looked like little fish staring at a Angler Fish light." Nai snickered with a raised an eyebrow with a nod following and gesturing his thumb at the crate behind him. He turned to dig through the files and journals. "I also thought I do some research on the sea turtles again."

"Again, Nai?" Gema sighed while standing up and shaking her head. "Ever since you lost Thea, that's all you've been doing. It's not even sea turtle season."

Nai paused his searching at the mention of that name. It brought a sting of pain. The images of holding her in his mind haunting him. The memory threatening him to pour out tears. He shook his head while he continued to pull things out of the crate, pushing the thoughts of her aside.

"And? Why is that a problem?" He replied with a snort as he diverted the topic. "Has Lameson or anyone at the Daily Bugle found anything about Goblin or Nora yet?"

"I don't know." Gema said, sound unsure. "I haven't heard anything."

"Another day off?" Nai guessed as he rolled his eyes at her hypocrisy. He was working his butt off while she found every excuse to stay in the house. Lounging around for almost a month with no therapy. Not that it was affordable with their salary. 

Gema nodded with a long sigh. "Uh yeah, yeah. Another day off."

Nai looked over his shoulder, picking up on her odd behavior at the mention of her job. "You sure?"

"Yep!" She confirmed before diving back into her book and reaching for another dried mango. "It's not like he fired me or something."

"What?" Nai gasped as he turned around.

Gema's eyes widened as she took a bite. "Oops."

He knew something was off about his sister, but didn't expect this. "Look on the bright side, you don't have to hear that loser nag you in the office everyday. Or his obsession with hating the Spidertwins." Nai pointed out with a tilt of his head while leaning on the desk. 

He saw her glanced up at him and the embarrassment vanished into a small smile and quiet laugh hidden under her breath.  

"Reporting from the central area! The Green Goblin has returned to cause mayhem in the Downtown area!" Barked Jameson's voice over the radio that sat on the desk by the computer. "The police have asked for civilians to stay out of the area until further notice. And keep a look out for that spider-slinging duo! Pray the Heavens help us all!"

Nai let out a sarcastic laugh at the report. "Jokes on him, we are going to make sure that pain in the neck is finally going to get what she deserves. C'mon!"

While tapping behind his ear and initiating his suit to fit onto him, Nai took off his clothes and smelly lab coat that reeked of seaweed. Rushing to the transparent seal that looked like a thick glass window that kept water from flooding the basement. He stepped out to the underwater  observation pod.

However, Nai's motivation leads to a halt when his sister isn't by his side. Instead, she's only staring at the floor, still sitting on the chair. He closed his eyes with a sigh and went back into the Subhome. It hurt. To see her broken like this. Tying herself into a knot with a thread that got tangled with every negative perception she adopted from the world. 

"Taking down the Goblin won't make much of a difference, Nai." Gema swallowed. "Trying to fix our mistakes won't bring them back."

"But you do have me." Nai stated, getting her to look up at him as he knelt down to her level and grabbed her hand. "And now, we have a chance to make things right again."

Gema peered up at him as if what his said triggered a glimmer of motivation. Not knowing his words reminded her of what Carter had said while she held him in her arms. 

He paused for a moment before adding on while squeezing her hand. "I promise. If you promise to never forget that you always have me."

"I promise." Gema nodded, securing the commitment with her other hand.

With a grin, Nai pressed the button behind his ear again, letting the mask cover half of his face. "You ready Spiderwoman?"

Gema gave a look of determination before taking out her hair clip, letting her wavy hair fall on her shoulders. Following her brother, she activated the mask that pushed her hair back, letting it flow behind her head. "I'm ready, Spiderman." She said with confidence.

He opened the seal.

"Let's go."

Leaping off the next building, the twins zipped through the city with the natural flow of gravity and defying it with the rhythmic pulling of a string. Following the cackling maniac once again through the Downtown market. Streets filled with touristic antique shops and authentic Neuphrates food venues. Except the boardwalk and the docks were completely cleared of civilians until further notice.

While holding onto Goblin's glider for dear life, Gema proceeded to punch the sealed compartment and ripped off the lid. In it finding a interweaving wiring. Just as she thought she would.

"Ha!" Goblin mocked from above. "Wouldn't do that if I were you."

Before Gema could tear the wires apart, a scratching pressure digs into her spine. The glider ramming her into the solid limestone material. On top of that, broken shards from a glass window cut through her suit as Goblin dragged her across the width of the building. As if that wasn't enough, a hand clasped around Gema's throat after being pulled by the collar. 

"Awww pour Spiderwoman," Goblin pouted, leaning her head a little closer with a tilt. "Maybe you can say hello to your sweetheart for me."

Gema thrashed at the mention of her fiancé while the pain continued to burn in her airway with another squeeze, making it hard to keep her eyes open.

Then, the pressure disappears.

Falling onto a office balcony, Gema clutched her chest as she recovered from the lack of oxygen. Once she composed herself, she searched for Goblin and saw her smash into the Downtown Plaza.

"You're going to pay for that Goblin!" She hears the wrath of her brother echo throughout the open space. Watching him run over to the enemy to land a nasty punch. "Just like you're going to pay for everything else!"

Unphased, Goblin grins with joy at the impulsive anger from Spiderman. Gema had seen Nai be angry before, but this was a side of him she had never seen. He didn't pull his punches, rather he was landing each without hesitation. A glimpse of a dangerous killer instinct in his blue eyes becoming dark like a stormy sea.

Goblin catches his shoulders and thrusts him to the ground.

"Nai!" Gema screamed, her feet meeting the tiled stone surface.

Behind her brother and Goblin, a rift of some sort opens near the fountain. It reminded her of a science fiction film about black holes that sucked people out of existence like a vacuum. The schemes of white, purple, blue and other softer colors floated around the dark abyss. In a blink of an eye, the matter sucks Goblin in, yet she clings on to something to prevent being taken by the strange force. Except that something was the fabric of Spiderman's arm.

"Gema!" Nai calls out as he wraps his arms around the decorative arch by the fountain.

"Nai!" Gema pierced his through in a shrilling cry. Her hand reaching for him, determined to save him in time. She launched with a web shooting out as a last resort before being consumed by fountain water. 

"No!" She shouted in denial as she busted out of the fountain, her heart hammering against her ribcage after skipping a beat or two. The waves in the small pool crashed against each other as she charged through the swallow water. Gema's hand trying to summon the rift to open again with hands hitting the air like a lunatic.

"Nai!"

This must be a sick joke. Gema thought to herself, trying not to think of the worst. 

The possibility of being stuck in a bad dream, she cupped to fill her hands with water and splashed it in her face. When that didn't work, she slapped herself in the face. Then even puncturing herself with the stinger-web that hurt like hell. Her attempt to wake up from this living nightmare, Gema jerked her head up to the sound of sirens approaching. Motorboats coming in from multiple streets and alleys.

The police! She let out a sigh of relief on seeing them. They could help set things right.

She hadn't seen them since the party. Even better, she spotted a man with jet-black hair that used to be grown out for surfing competitions. Now it was shaved, making him look more professional.

"Thank goodness you're here Officer Homer!" Gema greeted, playing her Spiderwoman role. She approached Jaxon and ready to inform him of everything. "Spiderman just randomly disappeared-"

"Put your hands in the air!" He demanded with a scowl and a gun pointed at her.

"What?" Gema whispered under her breath. The police have never held gun point at the Spidertwins since Jaxon and Carter were new officers. 

"Don't make me ask again!" He shouted with more fire in his voice with a click of the gun. "You're under arrest for your crimes against the City of Neuphrates!"

Gema stepped back in fear, not sure why he stared at her like she was a demon. The police had made peace and saw the Spidertwins as good guys. Closing her eyes, Gema put her hands in the air like he asked. But surrendering herself wasn't going to solve anything.

Without waiting, she shot a web to stick to an arching bridge from above, escaping from being caught and snuck away. Her arms didn't stop swinging while her vision blurred in searching for a place to be alone. 

On the top of the lighthouse, posted by the shore of the barrier of the reef, Gema sat on the roof. Taking deep breaths to ease the pounding in her chest as if she swam a marathon. All she could hear, besides her inhale and exhale, was the rushing of waves crashing against the ocean. Her finger pressed the button behind her ear, letting the mask vanish. She didn't need to be Spiderwoman here. She didn't need to feel the weight of the world on her shoulders. 

Here, all she needed to be, was Gema Aegeus.

Now staring out over the docks for the submarine expresses; transports that glided citizens under the city through magnetic levitation technology through the ocean currents on railways. 

She remembered his promise and she did her best to keep her part of the deal. Gema couldn't dare to lose her other half. Drops of rain tapped on her shoulders and kissed her nose. Gema tilted her head up to accept the comfort.

Disrupting her sliver of peace, a disturbance in the atmosphere attracts her attention. Gema turns her head toward the docks again, watching the buoys floating up like they were being abducted by a UFO. Geometric lines appear, accompanied by a noise like an engine of a motor starting up. Forming a giant orange hexagon flashing with a vibrant magenta. The shape rotates as multiple copies of the shape extend like a mirror facing another mirror, mimicking a tunnel.

A glimpse of blue bolts out and the shapes close as if they were never there. In hopes for her brother, Gema's eyes follow the figure, seeing where they were going to land and-

VOUTIA!

Missing the dock, the figure hit the water headfirst.

Gema put her mask back on before advancing towards them. She landed on one of the boats parked by a dockway, scoping until she saw a disturbance in the waves and bubbles bopping on the surface.

Taking a deep breath, dove into the ocean. Stroking through the water with her arms, she sees the figure through the goggles that are built into her suit. Using the normal web, she stuck it onto their shoulder to retrieve them. Not expecting how heavy the weight would be, Gema almost felt like she was holding the entire Paolmypire State Building on her back. Nai wasn't this massive. 

Bursting out of the water, Gema hoisted the person to keep them from slipping through her hold. Her hand trembling clasping onto her line of web as she pulled towards the sandy surface underneath where she laid the stranger.

Now able to see the person, Gema observed the tight-skin suit that covered their entire body. Not too far off from her own. This one had different patterns of a glowing red wrapping around the sides of lean but defined arms with an arrow between the knuckles. More scarlet lines outlined in curves of where their eyes sockets would be. A design of a skull replicating spider fangs placed over a masculine chest, falling with each breath indicating they were still alive.

That was definitely not Nai.

The last thing that Gema noticed on the wrist was a bulky accessory. It resembled a bracelet. Or a watch? She didn't know for sure. A booming cough startled her as they rolled over on their side, part of the mask unveiling their mouth to spit out the saltwater. The mask functioned similarly to hers, but concealed the whole face when finished letting out the water.

"You alright?" Gema asked in a heavy breath, letting out her exhaustion, placing her hands on her knees and started to squeeze the water out of her strangely hair.

"Define alright." The manly voice was gruff and deep like rumbling thunder. Intimidating but collected. He tilted his head and using his arms to hold himself up like a tripod as he kept his stare on her. "You're Spiderwoman here?" He asked.

"Uh yeah." Gema nodded slowly. "Who else would I be?"

"And you're name is Gema Aegeus?"

Gema snapped her head towards him, letting go of her dripping hair, squinting at the stranger. Not sure if he was someone she knew or not. "First tell me who you are." She requested, protecting her secret identity.

He shakes his head while bringing his fingers pinching the bridge of where his nose was. "Ay dios, no otra vez." He cursed under his breath.

Clueless to what he said, she recognized the language to be Spanish, and from the lack thereof a scowl appeared on her face. "You just asked me who I was, I think it's fair if I know who you are."

Right as the mans red lines pinched together, something triggered her senses. But it was different. Instead of a sense of warning, it was a sense driving her suspicions away. Then it became clear. Gema inspected him again and realized how obvious it was from just his suit. "You're Spiderman?"

"Congrats." He huffed with a shrug but then stared at Gema again. "At least you picked it up way faster than the others." Then crawled out from under the dock, the rain splattering onto his suit.

"Wait others?" Gema said, unsure of what just came out of his mouth so casually, coming out behind him. "Does this have to do with the multiverse theory or something?"

This Spiderman stopped walking, looking back at her. "You'll find out." He answers before focusing on twisting a knob on the object around his wrist. The action igniting those shapes to appear out of thin air again. He then turned around to fully face me. "But first you have to come with me."

Gema frowned about asking for a further explanation when her hand randomly shot up and caught something in midair. Lowering her arm, Gema looked to see a copy of the bracelet he was wearing, the material created with technology that she hadn't imagined possible. The gadget, coming to life with an orange screen like a watch.

"Put that on your wrist. It will keep you protected." The other Spiderman instructed, interrupting Gema's fascination with the goober. "And," He said, as if recognizing her confusion by looking down at this version of Spiderwoman, only a couple inches shorter than him.

"It can get us to your brother."

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neuphrates definitions:

vekpοilina; [νεκρόπολις] + [Pā ilina] (n) a cemetery that is a carved out in the cove of a cave, where individuals are buried in the walls or cremated. 

observation pod; (n) underwater balcony.

dockway; (n) a driveway for a townhome but with a boat type vehicle instead of a car. 

translations:

Tita = Slang for Sister

Voutia = Spalsh

no otra vez = not again.

*i understand my translations are probably not accurate, so please correct me and I'll change it asap!*

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*insert Spiderman 2099 theme here*

MIGUEL IS HERE! WOOO! Keep in mind, he's not beefed up yet which is why I described him as lean. Don't worry I KNOW that guy is far from that in ATSV.

Also this meme was all I could picture when writing Miguel's introduction.

- marie

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