Aurora's first mission wasn't supposed to be grand.
"Find Spider-Man," Tony Stark had said, sliding a file across the table. "He went missing years ago, and it's been bugging me. Can't shake the feeling he didn't just retire. Someone—or something—took him off the board."
Aurora nodded, nervous but determined. If she could prove herself here, maybe she'd finally step out of everyone else's shadow.
---
The Abduction
The trail led her to a crumbling warehouse on the edge of Queens. Dust, silence, faint traces of webbing that looked years old. She crouched low, scanning the shadows.
Then she heard it.
A metallic clank.
Before she could react, a black-and-white robot burst from the darkness. Its body was sleek, segmented, and strange, with glowing circular eyes that locked on her.
"Target acquired," it droned.
Aurora barely had time to mirror its movements before it lunged. Cold hands clamped around her arms and shoved her backward—straight into a swirling portal of light and shadow.
Her stomach lurched. Colors bled together. And then—impact.
---
A Different Spider-Man
Aurora groaned, forcing herself up. The skyline wasn't New York. Not her New York.
Neon bled across the horizon. Billboards shifted like living canvases. And overhead, strange ripples shimmered, like cracks in the sky itself.
But what froze her in place was the figure perched on a nearby rooftop.
Spider-Man.
Except… not the one she knew.
This one wore a black costume, tighter to the body but paired with loose pants and a hoodie. The mask's eyes glowed faintly, giving him a ghostlike air.
He swung down, landing lightly. "You're not from around here," he said, voice muffled but calm. "Name's Miles Morales. Welcome to my Brooklyn. Now… who the hell are you?"
Aurora's heart raced. She hadn't expected this. Not at all.
"...Aurora," she managed. "And I think I just fell into the wrong universe."
Miles tilted his head, cautious but curious. "Then you'd better stick close. Because if that portal grabbed you too… trust me, it's never just an accident."
Aurora felt her chest tighten. Her first mission wasn't about finding a Spider-Man anymore.
It was about surviving the Spider-Verse.