Chapter Text
It was Miguel’s birthday in 3 weeks, and you were pacing the floor trying to think of a gift. You couldn’t think of anything you knew he liked. You asked the other spidermen, but they all said that they didn’t know. That was until you asked Hobie. He was the last person you asked so of course he knew. He pondered for a moment before replying,
“He doesn’t really care for physical objects. He’d feel the same about almost anything he was gifted, though I doubt he expects gifts. The only thing I’ve seen him be genuinely happy about is looking at photos of his daughter, but she was wiped away along with his universe.”
You think for a moment before nodding and thanking him. It was late so normally you would head back to your apartment to go to sleep, but instead you decide to stop by Miguel’s workspace on the way back. He had left a while ago, so you just saw Lyla scrolling through the screens. When you said hello, she jumped backwards and whipped around.
“Oh, Hey Y/N! You scared me.” She said with a sigh.
“Sorry Lyla! I know this place is restricted and so is this information, but how much would you be allowed to tell me about what happened to Miguel’s families universe...?” You asked hesitantly. She frowned a little before looking back at the screens.
“Well, it was destroyed when an anomaly alert popped through one day. Miguel tried to ignore it, but it eventually caught up to him. The entire universe glitched in the same way humans do in the wrong universe. He tried to save his daughter, but she disappeared from his arms. The only reason he didn’t go is because he didn't originate from there.” She sounds sad and tired as she speaks, pitiful of Miguel.
“Did the anomaly glitch? And if it didn’t, could it be removed?” You asked, disheartened at the thought of your loved ones being glitched away. Lyla looked at you wide-eyed. She glanced around for a moment before pulling up another screen. This one showed her photos of Miguel’s universe.
“What do you know… the anomaly is still there. I suppose if you could get to it and lift it, it could be removed.”
“What would happen If it was removed?”
“Hm... I actually don’t know. Wait, I have an idea for an experiment!” She smiled widely and appeared in front of you. You looked at her in confusion while she pointed to your watch you had been given.
“What If we took off your watch so you glitched, and viewed what happened when you were returned to your original universe?” She slowly floated closer as she said it with her hands out and her hips popped to the side. You think about it for a minute before you nod, and she takes it off. You’ve been here for a while now so you almost immediately start glitching. It progresses more and more until you’re nearly gone. The experience was painful and confusing, so you barely register it when Layla shoves you through the portal to your Earth. The glitching immediately stops, and you sigh in relief. You turn back on your watch and step back through.
“As soon as I went through the glitching cleared up completely. It felt like it spread from the inside out.” You explained, watching Layla’s face light up at the results. She explained how if we removed the anomaly, in theory, the glitch would fix itself and everything would be returned to normal. The universe would slowly repair itself and everything would be like nothing ever happened. Excitedly, you thanked Lyla and ran back to our original universe, quickly swinging to your apartment. You couldn’t fall asleep for another 3 hours, just staring at your ceiling while you pondered what you could do with this newly acquired information.