Chapter Text
So. The last mission was a fail.
Roger certainly felt his failure from head to toe, in the form of what he assumed to be a concussion to what definitely feels like several fractures running down his body.It was supposed to be easy. A one-man mission that he would've been plenty capable of handling on his own. The anomaly was just a Green Goblin that had slipped into the wrong dimension and needed to be scooped up and sent home. However, given the famous "Peter Parker" (or Roger Dodger, in his case) luck, that was not how it all panned out to be. It ended up a little something like two more villains slipping through the cracks and wreaking havoc, with Wolfspider desperately trying to wrangle everything together to avoid calling for backup since he'd never hear the end of it. Of course, back up had to be called soon after the extra goons arrived and wouldn't you know it, his boss happened to be one of the ones to step up to bat.
Embarrassing.
Even more embarrassing, was the fact that Roger couldn't remember a damn thing after he was knocked unconscious by getting unceremoniously rammed into a building by a stray Rhino. All he knows right now is that he is lying in an HQ hospital bed, his vision is blurry, his mouth is dry, and his body hurts like a *bitch.*
Roger "Wolfspider" Dodger of Earth 2115, a demihuman that was bit by a radioactive wolf spider. Half werewolf man turned Spiderman. Self-proclaimed right hand man of Miguel O'Hara, but he only says that because it pisses him off. Pretty good at his job, if he'd say so himself. Usually.
Roger attempts to blink away the blurriness, realizing with annoyance that the corners of his eyes has gotten crusty. He raises a fist to rub his eye, nearly punching himself in the process due to his body feeling like a sack of bricks at the bottom of a raging river.He groans, noticing far too late that there was an entire other person standing in the room- and he was the last person Roger wanted to see at the moment. He just lays his forearm over his eyes to get his head to stop pulsing from the bright hospital lights.
"Mm. Hey, boss man." His voice was rough with disuse, as well as dealing with serious dry mouth. There stood his fearless leader, in all his broody glory. Miguel O'Hara, Spider-Man 2099. He couldn't see him, but Roger smirked knowing that his greeting would make Miguel's lips twitch into a scowl.
"Wolfspider."
Roger can hear that telltale frown in Miguel's voice, which only made him break out into more of a grin. Miguel tended to use his alias when he was about to verbally rip into him."Before you start," Roger sighs dramatically, clutching his head with his other hand. "I think I still have that concussion, so don't go yelling at me just yet." Ignoring his theatrics, Miguel takes a step closer, his face going back to that neutral and unreadable expression. That man could be fuming or feeling butterflies and he'd still pull that look.
"You've been out for five days."
Roger quirks a brow, thinking to himself. He didn't think he got hitthat badly. "Huh. Soo... You're here to tell me I need to catch up on paperwork or something?" Roger peeks from behind his arm, taking in Miguel's visage. That dour looking man seems more tired than usual. The larger man clicks his tongue and turns his back on Roger. Admittedly, it's one of his favorite views, so he can't even be mad at the dismissal. Roger's not blind nor stupid, so he can clearly see his boss is a very attractive, untouchable man. Nothing wrong with admiring his assets every once in a while, though.
Roger then slowly attempts to sit up, grunting with the effort, before a sharp pain shoots through his abdomen and he yelps. Miguel practically springs into action, quickly turning around and gently helping the wounded man back down. His eyes are intense, which isn't new to Roger, but it's novel that it seems to be concern instead of rage.
Miguel finally speaks, but it sounds oddly subdued. "Is it coming back to you yet?"
A pit of dread forms in Roger's stomach alongside the intense pain, now getting the sinking feeling that he didn't know something that he really, really should. "N-No... No. The last..." Roger huffs between words, the sudden pain seriously feeling like it knocked the wind out of his lungs. His painkillers must've worn off. "The last thing... I remember... Is that Rhino..." He takes a deep breath, holding it and releasing slowly to cease his panting. "Hitting me into a wall."
His leader still had one of his large hands on his shoulder, and as Roger peeled away the hospital blanket atop his torso, he could feel Miguel's hand give a light squeeze as he took his first look at the injuries he had sustained. "Jesus..." Roger gulped, eyeing the streak of stitches that looked to start just below his navel and scraggily crawled up to stop right between his double mastectomy scars. He was healing quickly, as typical for a Spider-Person, but the wound looked bad. He feels Miguel's sigh against the side of his face more than he can hear it. "Yeah, I, uh... We really thought we were gonna lose you there." Miguel's eyes are dark as he almost seems to glare at the new scar adorning Roger's body."You were basically gutted by that Rhino." The demihuman looked up to his leader in disbelief, with a hint of fear. Miguel doesn't meet his eye, clearly seeing the events play out once more, as if it hasn't been on repeat in his mind for the last two days anyways.
Roger would find this out later from someone else, but for a while there his situation wasn't looking good. He was critical for the first couple of days, and Miguel knows this because it was pretty much impossible to get him to leave the waiting room until he learned that the man was stable. Miguel wasn't the only one worried, of course, but since he was the one who brought in Roger's limp body, he thought he deserved to know what was happening. He didn't sleep much those few days.
"I had to web you together on the field because your insides were becoming your outsides." Miguel says dryly, blinking away that far-away look he had just a second ago.
The two men weren't exactly best friends, but from an outside perspective Miguel O'Hara and Roger Dodger had an interesting dynamic that was difficult to understand at times. Roger made it his goal from the very beginning to get the stoic man to crack his façade by any means possible, whether it means pissing him off or trying to get him to smile for half a second, and if he's really lucky he gets rewarded with a laugh. Everyone knows Miguel tries to maintain a professional relationship with all of the Spider-people, but it's obvious when someone slips through the gaps in his armor.
Roger was a great Spiderman, albeit an unconventional one. Roger's hometown didn't have towering skyscrapers for him to swing through, so his speed, ability to jump, and brute strength got more practice- making him a useful asset when more ground coverage is necessary. His sense of humor is definitely a bit more animal centric compared to other Spiders as well. While Miguel has access to a lot of personal information about Roger, he doesn't go looking unless it's absolutely necessary. What he knows about Roger was shared with him through rare deep conversations and banter. Roger has told him parts of his own story, which differed from most because of the fact he's half werewolf and transitioned to male long before the fabled spider bite occurred. His story after is just as tragic as other Spider-peoples', but Roger also had an unfortunate anti-hero-esque arc that he is still trying to recover from.
On very rare occasions- ones that Miguel has only had glimpses of- Roger can get... Overzealous. Miguel can relate to that feral energy coursing through his body, the kind that he has to make sure doesn't get out of hand. The man can practically see the moments of self-realization in Roger, and how he tries to hold himself back just after. There's been times when the two men would have to take their aggression out on each other so that others won't get hurt. It is clear to Miguel that the demihuman just wants to do the right thing, just as he does.
Most others don't know about Roger's aggressive side, and they instead know him as a goofball who loves to talk and talk. He plays up his dog-like behavior and takes great joy in making people smile. He might seem like he'd be a push-over, but it's been proven time and time again in meetings and mission debriefs that he will not blindly follow Miguel's orders and will push back when needed. Miguel would be lying if he said Roger has never offered game-changing insight or improved his mood with his presence.
Roger is a valuable asset to his team, Miguel thinks. This level of concern he has for him would be reasonable for anyone in his position.
Miguel just can't stand the fact that he can't get the blood-soaked scene out of his head.He can't stand that his DNA betrays him. The smell of Roger's blood has been haunting him, in ways that he dare not even put words to.Even now, looking down at Roger's injuries makes his chest feel tight. It's guilt, he thinks.
It doesn't help that the other man is looking up at him with a mixture of pain and gratitude.
"Thank you, Miguel..." In a rare show of genuine respect for his leader, Roger doesn't even try to crack a joke. He just meets the other man's eyes with a soft smile and a slow nod. "You saved my life."
Miguel thinks that the other man doesn't even realize that he tends to bow his head to him in a way that exposes his neck, a move that he has recently realized is only done to him. He thinks about asking Lyla what she thinks, but he knows she'll tease him for even noticing. He can't help that he thinks Roger's wolf-like tendencies are amusing. He's a dog person after all. He turns his head to hide the upward quirk in his lips, and pats the top of Roger's head, tousling the loose dark auburn curls along the way. This earned a scoff from the other man, however successfully avoiding having to outright accept his thanks verbally.
"That's O'Hara to you, Dodger." His tone is lightly teasing, knowing fully well that Roger only calls him by his last name when he's pissy. He leans on the medbay bed frame, looking down at Roger with a quirked brow, which the man returns with a smirk.
"Sure, Miggy."
