Miles Morales: New Spider Chapter 34: The Cloning Conundrum

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The sun broke through the horizon, casting faint rays over the battlefield. I stood amidst an overwhelming gathering of Spider-Men, drawn from every corner of the multiverse. The sea of colors surrounding me—red, blue, black, white, purple, and even green—was like a living, breathing rainbow of spider warriors. Among them were bizarre variations like a monkey Spider-Man and a pig Spider-Man, catching my attention. But my focus wasn’t on their oddities. No, I stood in silent preparation for the doom I knew was approaching, a fate they remained oblivious to.

These Spider-Men had arrived through a portal, much like I had earlier. We were all gathering for one reason: survival.

“Look alive, fellas. We’ve got company,” Spider-Man Noir said, his arms crossed over his chest, eyes sharp beneath the brim of his hat.

Assassin Spider-Man, mirroring Noir’s stance, asked, “Should I waste ’em?”

“No, they’re with us,” Noir responded calmly.

“How can you tell?” Assassin Spider-Man asked, his hand itching toward a weapon.

“For starters, their dress code.” Noir gestured lazily with his thumb, smirking.

“Yeah, yeah, we come in peace,” Spider-Ham quipped, cutting in, “Now listen up, we’re running out of—”

His words were cut short by a startled voice.

“What the—? A talking pig? That’s insane!” Spider-Monkey pointed, eyes wide in disbelief.

“…You’re kidding, right?” Spider-Ham deadpanned, pointing at the monkey Spider-Man.

Before the argument could escalate, Spider-Man Britain stepped forward, trying to restore order. “Okay, people, we don’t have much time. All we need to do is move to the safe zone, now, before the—”

“No, you British idiot. Shut up!” Superior Spider-Man snapped, cutting him off. His tone was dripping with condescension.

“That goes for all of you mindless fools! I had everything under control until you lot came bumbling in.” He pulled out a small circular device and held it up. “See this? A cloaking device. I built it! It masks our scent from the Inheritors.”

He marched up to Kaine, pointing the device at him with sharp precision. “Take Kaine here. His readings are abnormally high. Explain that!”

“That’s because he’s The Other, a unique being in his dimension,” Old Man Spider-Man answered, stepping forward.

“And her,” Superior Spider-Man continued, turning to Cindy Moon, who pulled down her scarf.

“That’s Silk. She’s the Bride,” Old Man Spider-Man said, his voice firm.

“And what about him?” Superior Spider-Man pointed directly at me.

“They’re all special totems,” Old Man Spider-Man explained calmly.

Totems. I didn’t care about their superstitions. All I cared about was vengeance. The Inheritors had to die.

“Totems? Spare me the mythology, old man. I’m talking science here. With all these unique signatures gathered, especially those three, the Inheritors will track us in no time—”

A portal suddenly opened, and from it stepped a towering figure, laughing with dark glee.

“What have we here? Oh, Weaver, you’ve outdone yourself this time. So many spiders! Why, it’s a veritable banquet!” Daemos cackled as he exited the portal, his eyes gleaming with sadistic hunger.

“You fools,” Superior Spider-Man barked, his confidence unwavering. “Any other time, this would spell doom, but fortunately for you, I’m here. Team, like I trained you—attack!”

But before Superior Spider-Man could give the final command, I was already in motion. Like a blur, I launched myself at Daemos, sinking my blades into his flesh with ruthless precision. Each stab was aimed at a lethal spot, and with one final strike, I drove my stinger into his heart, pumping it full of venom. We crashed to the ground together, but I stood triumphant over his corpse.

“Whoa… that guy’s pissed,” Spider-Ham muttered, his snout twitching.

“Wasn’t that… a bit too easy?” Spider-Monkey asked, scratching his head in confusion.

“You killed him,” Spider-Man of Earth-616 said slowly, his gaze fixed on Daemos’s lifeless body.

“Yes. I did,” I replied coldly.

“Good work, Arachnid. Sadly, I can’t take credit for it,” Superior Spider-Man said, patting my shoulder with a smug grin.

“It’s wrong,” Spider-Man 616 whispered.

“No, it’s justice,” Mayday Parker interrupted, her voice trembling with anger as she stared at Daemos’s corpse. “I just wish it was by my hands.”

“No, May, you don’t mean that. That’s not what I meant,” Spider-Man 616 said. “I’ve fought his kind before. When they die, they crumble to dust.”

“But this one didn’t,” Spider-Man 2099 chimed in, kneeling beside the body. “A stasis charge. You’ve augmented yourselves with future tech from 2099, haven’t you?”

“Yes, we did,” Superior Spider-Man admitted. “I applied a stasis field over my weapons. Now we have a tactical advantage. We can study this corpse and learn more about their weaknesses.”

“That won’t be necessary,” I interjected, finally ready to reveal what I knew. “Radiation. It’s their poison.”

I continued, feeling their attention fix on me. “The Inheritors are a clan of totemic hunters who feed on the life force of Totems like us. Radiation is their greatest weakness—it accelerates their cellular degradation, making it the bane of their existence.”

“Of course! How do you know all this, and why didn’t you mention it sooner?” Superior Spider-Man demanded.

“I needed all of you together,” I replied simply.

Spider-Man 616 narrowed his eyes. “How do you know so much about them?”

“It doesn’t matter now,” I said, my tone final.

“He’s right,” Old Man Spider-Man agreed, but before he could finish, a set of hands materialized out of thin air, grabbing his head.

**Snap!**

His neck broke with a sickening crack. Daemos—alive once again—emerged from another portal, flanked by two twins who looked like mirror images of one another.

“You’ll have to forgive our brother, Daemos. He always interrupts people,” the female twin said with a cruel smile.

“And he’s always late. Took him forever to get dressed,” the male twin added with a laugh.

“Impossible! We killed him. You all saw it!” Superior Spider-Man shouted, raising his guard.

“Yes, you did. But we have a clone world,” Daemos sneered, glancing down at his previously lifeless body. “We always come back.”

“Everyone through a portal! We’re bugging out! Now!” Spider-Man Britain yelled.

Chaos erupted as flying blades from the twins impaled the less agile Spider-Men. Their hysterical laughter echoed through the slaughter.

I wasn’t focused on the carnage. I followed the clones of Spider-Man—Kaine, Ben Reilly, and Black Widow of the Ultimate Earth. They were my ticket to the Inheritors’ clone world, and I had a plan. Not some mindless berserker rampage—I was going to destroy their foundation, cripple them, and ensure they could never return. Then, I’d take my time killing every last one of them.

“They can clone themselves as much as they want. Our guys don’t stand a chance,” Kaine growled, barely dodging a whip.

“Unless someone does something about it,” Ben Reilly said, opening a portal. “I can get us to their clone world.”

“As the two guys who know more about this stuff, I guess it’s up to us to—”

“Make that three,” I interrupted, swinging in to deflect a blade aimed at Kaine. I threw it back with lethal force, nearly clipping the male twin’s head.

“I’m coming too. Four of us now,” Black Widow added as we all jumped through the portal.

The real hunt had just begun.