𝐏𝐔𝐙𝐙𝐋𝐄, 𝗵𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗻¹

[1.7] Hangry

Dropping into the upside down elevator of Spider-Society's HQ, Marina and the rest took their masks off. Miles turned to Hobie, gaping at him. "How are you even cooler under your mask?" He asks, and Hobie smirks. "I was just cool the whole time." He replied, Marina scoffing at his words.

Hobie turns to Marina, opening his mouth to say something but then deciding against it.

Gwen glances at Hobie and Marina, sensing the awkward tension between the two. "You guys... okay?" She narrows her eyes, Marina and Hobie turning to her with an eyebrow raised. "Over here." Jessica cuts her off, the doors of the elevator opening to the lobby.

Miles' jaw drops at the sight of so many other Spiderpeople. "Yo! This place is wild!"

"Any sign of Spot?" Jessica asks Malala, whose eyes light up as a joke comes to mind. "Let me ask," She looks around. "Anybody spot Spot?" She grins at her words. "Oh, so funny. Anybody else got jokes?" Jessica rolls her eyes, pressing something on her bracelet.

Malala sees Marina, and waves. "Marine! Hello!" She beams, and Marina awkwardly waves. Until now, she still hasn't corrected the other woman about her actual name.

"Still haven't told her." Hobie snickers at Marina, who sighs. "How am I supposed to? Hey Malala, my name's actually Marina — not Marine. Please stop telling me marine puns. Sorry for telling you a few months late." Marina huffs, crossing her arms. Gwen walks beside her, and chuckles.

A wave of relief washes over Hobie when Marina replies to him. He was worried that Marina was ignoring him, but he was just probably overthinking it. Although he feels relieved at the moment, he can't help but be concerned for his friend. Why was she acting like nothing bad happened to her? She had the right to be upset over what happened.

"This is unbelievable!" Miles says, amazed. He had his arms crossed over his forehead, spinning around to scan the place. "This is just the lobby." Gwen smiles, all of them stopping on their tracks as they reach the end of the lobby.

"Welcome to Spider Society." Marina tells Miles with a smile.

Miles eyes' almost pops out of his head as they walk pass a school of Spiderpeople, close to breaking his neck as he looks from left to right. "Bit much, innit?" Hobie says, hands in his pockets.

"What happened to that small elite strike team?" Miles asks Gwen. "A lot of these are part-time." She replies, and Marina narrows her eyes. "Gwen... How much does Miles know?" She asks, crossing her arms.

Walking in between Hobie and Marina, Gwen glances at the both of them with a nervous smile. To someone who doesn't know the context, Gwen almost looks like a child who's in trouble with both of her parents. "Just... A little."

Miles falls to his knees behind them, yelping as he suddenly glitches. "Maybe not enough." Hobie says, Gwen quickly rushing to help Miles. Jessica sighs, and tosses a day-pass bracelet to Miles who happily takes it. "Yes! My own watch!"

"It's a day pass." Jessica replies, and Miles frowns in disappointment. "Oh."

They arrived at the room where anomalies are locked up. "Who is in these... lager cages?" Miles asks, leaning closer to take a look at a man banging on the barrier. "Anomalies." Marina says, her lips curving up into an innocent smile as she waves at the Missterio she caught.

"Folks who wound up in the wrong dimensions. We kick their butts, and send 'em home." Jessica adds, Miles looking around in awe. "Woah."

"A video game man, Typeface... An interesting Kraven, a boring rhino." Lyla states as they walk pass each cage. "A Prowler." She says, piquing Miles' interest. "Prowler?" His eyes widens, as his steps come to a halt. Gwen turns to him, "not your Prowler."

Marina nudges Hobie's side as they look at the Prowler, and Hobie grins. "Caught that one by myself." He states with a smug smile, and Gwen scoffs. "You? Me and Marina did all the work!" She laughs. "You were just playing around the entire time, Hobie." Marina raises an eyebrow at the male.

Miles blinks. "How many missions have you guys went on together?" He asks, Gwen and Hobie shrugging.

"Oh. Not that many."

"A couple dozens."

Miles stares at them, incredulous. Marina giggles at his reaction, "It's not that many, I promise. It's just more fun to go on missions with friends, you know?" She tilts her head, offering the younger a comforting smile.

"No, I don't know." Miles sulks, and Marina's smile turns into a tight-lipped one. "Oh."

Miles accidentally bumps into Margo, and the both of them stare at each other for a few seconds. "I'm Spiderman." He says, and Margo grins. "Wow, no way! All of us are." She replies in a sarcastic tone. "Wait — What are you?!"

"Can we just please keep moving?" Gwen asks impatiently, and Marina raises an eyebrow at her friend's sudden attitude. "Jealous?" She whispers with a playful smile, and Gwen looks at her in shock. "Me? What." She spluttered, "Jealous? Funny. You are funny, Mari." She laughs and walks ahead.

Marina crosses her arms with an amused expression as she watches Gwen walk away, looking irritated.

"Luv, how are you feeling?" Hobie asks, placing a hand on her arm. The smile on Marina's face fades, as she's reminded once again what happened. "I'm trying to forget about it, Hobie..." She quietly responds, staring up at him.

Hobie stares into her eyes, and decides not to push any further. He knew that if Marina was ready to talk, and hopefully mourn properly, she'd tell him. He trusted her. "Okay, but you will tell me if you need anything. Understood?" He tells her sternly, and Marina sighs. "Of course."

Miles was there the entire time, watching them. Creep. "Are you guys dating?" He suddenly asks, and Marina almost chokes on her own saliva. Hobie simply shakes his head, "We don't believe in consistency." He says, and Marina glares at him. "You don't."

Hobie raises his hands in surrender, "My bad — I don't believe in consistency." He corrects himself, and Miles looks between the both of them, obviously confused. "Alright..?"

Turning around, they face the Go Home Machine. "What does that do?" Miles asks, wide-eyed.

"Apart from having a great name?" Hobie leans closer to him, "The Go Home Machine." Gwen adds, arms crossed over her chest as they all stare at the terrifying machine before them. "What'd I say, eh?"

They all watch as barriers form around a poor gorilla, who looks absolutely petrified. "It detects whatever dimension your DNA is from." Marina explains, "and sends you there." Margo types something on the computer, before glancing back at Miles whose expression slowly shifts into a scared one.

"Super humane." Hobie says sarcastically. "Totally not creepy." Marina watches the gorilla get sent back to its dimension, a concerned look on her face.

Gwen turns around, "We should go. We don't wanna keep Miguel waiting." She starts walking away. "Uh..." Miles turns to Margo one last time. "See you around?" He says, before a web is shot towards him, dragging him away. "Good luck out there, man!" Margo waves.

"Miguel sounds hangry." Lyla warns them. "I heard he likes those empanadas from the cafeteria." Marina tilts her head at Jessica, who nods in agreement. "He does."