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Reilly Knight
Hopping the apple up and down between his hands, Reilly watched its movement, engrossed. His stomach was begging to be fed. He hasn’t eaten anything nearly satisfying enough in the last couple of months and now he finally stole an apple – a stupid, small apple. And he couldn’t even bring himself to eat it.
It wasn’t the fact that the apple was probably dirty after being touched by tons of people. No, even though his mother would have scolded him for ignoring her rants about hygiene. Well, if she wanted Reilly to keep clean she should have kept him at home and not thrown him out for being… a mutant.
Mutant.
The word was still strange in his mouth. Even in his mind Reilly didn’t want to think about it. It sounded like a curse. A forbidden word from a long-forgotten language. Something he needed to forget and never repeat again. But how could he do that when it described him?
It haunted him. Just like the look on his mother’s face the moment she saw him turn into someone else. He didn’t even remember who it was. His first transformation and he had no idea who he turned into. Was it someone he’d seen in that party they were in or was it a random person he saw once in the street? Maybe it was someone that didn’t even exist. It was all possible, but… but it wasn’t even the point.
The point was that his mother couldn’t stand to look at him now because he wasn’t normal. He wasn’t human. He was a mutant and that was a fact he couldn’t change, no matter what. A part of him he had to accept now that he was all on his own in the streets of New York where most people hated people like him. Freaks. Mutants.
He watched as other mutants got framed and taken away by the police. He watched as their lives got ruined simply because the universe decided they had to be different in some way or another. And he waited for this fate to reach him. For it to knock on Reilly’s front door and call his name.
Funny enough, that fate showed up the day he played with the apple and sat with an old newspaper of the Daily Bugle, featuring a picture of Spider-man once again, taken by that Peter Parker. The article was written by one Robbie Robertson, telling the story of another one of Spider-man’s crimes. Apparently he helped another dangerous mutant escape the police a couple of days prior. Although… for some reason the writer made it sound like the so-called ‘dangerous mutant’ wasn’t all that dangerous.
Was Reilly a dangerous mutant? He just stole an apple, after all. That was a bad thing to do. But what other choice did he have? He was hungry and had no other way of getting food, so he did the only thing he could. He took the apple and ran away, hoping no one would follow him.
Oh, how wrong he was.
A couple of minutes after finding his hiding spot behind a dumpster the sound of footsteps greeted him and Reilly didn’t have the time to escape before two cops showed up in front of him, their guns pointed at him. Alright, so maybe the person he stole the apple from saw him change his appearance and told them he was a mutant. Yeah, that was bad.
“Hands in the air. Now.” Said one of the cops. She sized Reilly up and down, trying to decide whether or not he would be any trouble. He wasn’t going to be, though. He wanted to fight his way out of this but… but he really did steal the apple and it was his fault the cops were looking for him. Would his mother even care after hearing about this? Would she claim he wasn’t her son? “Now, I said!”
Hesitantly, Reilly lifted his arms, the apple slipping from between his fingers to the ground. The newspaper remained untouched on the ground as the officer cuffed his hands together before starting to lead him towards their car. He saw the siren on top of the vehicle and gulped, feeling like fainting at any moment. He was never a troubled kid. Always stayed in line to please his mother’s great expectations. And yet here he was, in trouble with the police for stealing food.
How did he ever get to such a low point in life??
He was just about to get in the car when the sound of something landing on the ground behind him made him and the cops turn around. His mouth fell open at the sight of none other than Spider-man. His costume really was terrible, with tears and threads coming out of it. But it was unmistakably the vigilante.
“Hey! You know, I just swinged past a robbery in progress, like, three blocks away and yet you’re here, arresting some guy for trying to keep himself from dying of hunger. I mean, stealing your food is wrong but I don’t think he has any money on him to pay for it.” He yanked the guns from their hands and made the two cops tumble forward a little before regaining their footing.
The male cop growled at Spider-man. “Leave now, Spider-man. Before we get backup and arrest you too.”
The vigilante put a hand to his chest and gasped. “But officer, I thought we had something special going on here.” He teased and then pointed at Reilly. “Now I’m going to have to ask you to hand over the teenager. I’m really not in the mood to fight you on this.” His tone was light and he hopped from one leg to the other while rolling his head, as if getting ready for a serious battle.
Sighing, the woman looked at her partner before glancing towards her gun that was too far away for her to reach now, protected under the vigilante’s webs. “For God’s sake… Jake, we can’t take on Spider-man.” She whispered. “Hand over the kid and let’s go. The Captain will understand. I really don’t want to go back home all beaten up tonight.”
Honestly, Reilly was shocked. And Spider-man was too if the way he just stood there, dumbfounded, next to Reilly and watched the cops leave was anything to go by. And then Reilly turned to look at his rescuer. He was shorter than him but somehow still seemed more confident than Reilly. He didn’t stand like Reilly’s mother taught him to, but he still looked like someone people would respect. At least to some degree.
When the vigilante turned to look at him his lenses exposed his eyes, although the black material made them look darker than they probably were. Spider-man blinked at him and then shrugged and pointed back to the alley where Reilly’s apple was. “Your apple’s still in there. Although I think I have a sandwich in my backpack… it would probably be better. And it’s not, you know, stolen.” He said and started walking towards the alley, not bothering to check whether Reilly was following or not.
For the first time Reilly noticed the bag hanging from the vigilante’s shoulder. The guy opened it and started going through the things inside before pulling out a perfect looking sandwich that made Reilly’s mouth to water a little. When he handed Reilly the food the teen hesitated for a moment, not sure whether he should trust Spider-man or not.
The vigilante could probably sense his hesitation because he chuckled lightly. “Sorry. I know it’s weird, taking food from a complete stranger in a mask, but…” He shrugged and held the sandwich a little higher. “I promise it’s not poisoned or anything like that. I mean, my… family member made it and she’s terrible with food, but she couldn’t have ruined a sandwich, could she?” He didn’t sound so sure of this claim himself.
Eventually Reilly gave in, though, feeling his stomach growling and begging for something to get in his body. If he wanted to not run into the police again, he needed his body to work properly, and that meant food. So he took a bite. At first he was unsure about it, but when nothing seemed to happen except for his mouth getting full, he relaxed, his shoulders dropping.
“Thank you.” He muttered, wolfing the sandwich down way too quickly before looking back up at Spider-man. Why did he stay here? Didn’t he have other places to go off to? “Was there really a robbery in progress?”
Spider-man nodded. “Yeah. But there were already cops on the scene. Might have forgotten to mention that small part.” He reminded Reilly of a teenager. But… that wasn’t possible, was it? Spider-man couldn’t be younger than at least twenty… right? “Are you okay, by the way? I mean, you’re obviously hungry and all and almost got arrested, but… other than that, I mean.”
Reilly nodded. “I’m fine.” He smiled. “Thanks for the sandwich.”
Spider-man bobbed his head and aimed his wrist towards the top of the closest building. Reilly thought he would just get out of there but instead the guy turned back towards him, his eyes staring right at him, probably deep in thought. When Reilly just stared at him with a raised brow the vigilante lowered his arm. “Say… what if I told you I needed help helping other mutants?” He hesitated.
Gaping, the teen stared at Spider-man. “Y-you want my help?” He didn’t give the guy a chance to react. “Hell yeah!” He pointed at Spider-man’s masked face and frowned for a moment. “But there is no chance in hell I’m wearing a mask.”
Amanda Bennet
“Excuse me?” A voice alerted her to the presence before her. Amanda lifted her gaze from the surface of the coffee table to meet a pair of brown, warm eyes. It was a boy about her age with an awkward, small smile. He wore a science-pun shirt with a hoodie on top so she couldn’t really read everything written on the shirt. Amanda’s gaze fell down to his outstretched hand and she startled after realizing he was holding out her purse. “I think you dropped this.”
She quickly grabbed a hold of it and the boy’s hand fell down by his side. “Thank you.” She mumbled and managed a weak smile in return to his before the boy nodded and walked away. She watched from under her eyelashes as he sat in front of a smiling woman who looked like she was trying to mock him about something. At the boy’s flustered face Amanda looked away. That was none of her business.
Glancing at her screen revealed how late it actually was. Why was she so late?? She was usually there right on time and yet today it was as if the world decided to mess with Amanda completely.
Maybe it was her fault, though, for living years on top of years getting spoiled by her rich parents who didn’t know how to express their love without buying her new things. She was so used to having whatever it was she wanted, she had no idea what to do now that she had nothing left. Barely enough money to get herself food, nowhere to go, no one to talk to except for one friend who didn’t turn on her and no one who would even agree to touching her. Not that she wanted people to make contact with her – she was too dangerous for that.
Honestly, she never meant to hurt that boy from her school – he was just right in front of her and she wanted him to move out of the way because she was trying to get to her locker. So she simply touched his shoulder, part of her hand landing on his green shirt and the rest of it resting on his bare skin.
And just like that her life got ruined when he suddenly froze in his place, his eyes wide with alarm and his mouth slightly agape, in the middle of speaking. He just… couldn’t move anymore. People started screaming around them, calling for help and trying to shake that kid out of it but it passed only a couple of minutes later and the moment he thawed he turned towards her, his finger pointing at her chest. “It’s her fault! She’s a freak!” He yelled and immediately the people around her stepped away, keeping a gap between her and them as if she was a plague.
Amanda thought her parents would reassure her and tell her everything would be okay, but instead they just gave her one look and refused to let her live in the same house as them, turning their back on her. “You’re just too dangerous, dear.” Said her Mom. “It would be better to just keep some distance between us, you understand?” Added her father and the two of them walked away without even allowing her to protest.
"I’m sorry!” The voice was familiar this time and Amanda turned around to find the familiar shy image of Lauri. The girl’s hair was tousled and made her look almost a little bit insane, but the look in her eyes said it all – she was just an innocent girl with some bad luck, just like all of the unlucky people in the world. She was the sweetest person Amanda’s ever met. Maybe because she just chose to stay there and kept on meeting up with Amanda even though all of her friends abandoned her. It was honestly a surprise because Amanda barely even knew the name of Lauri when the girl came to sit beside her and soothe her. “The bus was late and then it didn’t even stop to pick me up so I had to run all the way here. And I saw an old lady crossing the street with a couple of heavy bags so I stopped to help her and it took me a while because she was surprisingly slow, even for a woman her age.”
Grinning, Amanda leaned back in her chair, finally feeling a bit more relaxed. “It’s okay.” She assured the girl and then grabbed the notes Lauri put on the table before them. All of the things their class worked on at the moment. God, was Amanda lucky to have Lauri by her side! The girl didn’t mind writing extra notes for her only to make sure Amanda wasn’t behind even though the school no longer accepted her. She didn’t want to be stupid on top of everything else, after all. “I don’t know what I would have done without you, Lauri.” She admitted earnestly and the girl in front of her bit her lip, clearly flustered.
“O-oh! It’s nothing, really.” She whispered and played with her short hair nervously. She had three pins in her hair, simple round golden ones that didn’t hold her hair that much and mostly just rested there. Amanda liked it. They matched her perfectly. “So where do you sleep at now?”
Amanda sighed. “Wherever I can.” She mumbled and sighed. “It’s… I’m stating to get used to it.”
Lauri hesitated for a moment. “I actually wanted to talk to you about something, and – “
She never got to finish that sentence. Before she knew it the door to the coffee shop opened, the bell ringing, and two figures came inside – a cop and some boy she was pretty sure she recognized from school. The boy looked around before his eyes landing on Amanda, his grin turning devilish. Her blood ran cold.
“THERE!” He called, alarming all of the patrons of the shop. Amanda noted absentmindedly the fact that the boy who returned her purse to her got up and eyed the cop from his place. Meanwhile, the guy from her school pointed at her, making the cop look her way too. “She was the girl who attacked my friend at school! She’s a mutant!”
Gasps sounded all around the coffee shop as people jumped onto their feet, getting away from her and from Lauri. The shy girl’s eyes widened and she looked around before resting her eyes on Amanda once again, clear panic shining back at her. As the cop advanced Amanda pushed Lauri away. “Get away from here, Dot.” She whispered and nudged her forward. “I don’t need you to get into this mess too.” And then she turned towards the cop. What could she possibly do against the law itself? Even if she didn’t really ‘attack’ anyone. She was simply there, with her new powers out of control. Honestly, she still had no idea how to handle them, but now she could just avoid human contact most of the time, so it was alright.
The cop narrowed his eyes at her, his hand resting on his gun but not drawing it out. “Miss, I’m gonna have to ask you to put your hands in the air.” He instructed and Amanda took in a shallow breath, feeling the anxiety and fear overwhelming her all at once as she obeyed the cop without giving it even a second thought.
The boy from her school crossed his arms and sneered. “That’s what you deserve for being a total freak, mutant!” He spat out, a couple of people nodding at his words. Others were just shaking their heads or standing there silently without doing a thing. She noticed the brown-eyed boy’s mother (probably) standing not too far away, her head shaking as well. She seemed pissed off and when their eyes met the woman almost looked like she was ready to attack her herself. Gosh, what was her problem??
“I have a better idea!” A cheerful voice called from the ceiling and Amanda turned her head upwards, her jaw dropping at the sight of the familiar figure of Spider-man. She’s heard of him, of course, but she didn’t really think she’d meet him for real. Ever! And yet it was obviously him clinging to the ceiling with his hands and eyeing her and the cop who was just about to tie her hands together. “Why don’t you let the girl go? She didn’t actually do anything, did she?”
Scoffing, the boy glared at Spider-man as the vigilante lowered himself towards them, using one of his webs to do that. “She attacked my friend at school! She SOOOOO deserves to go to prison! And so do you – “
Cutting him off, Spider-man webbed the boy’s mouth shut, nodding at his own action approvingly. Amanda wasn’t really about to complain about such a thing. She only stood there, waiting, as the guy flipped and landed on his feet in front of the cop, her and the struggling boy.
“Alright, now that you’re finally quiet,” Spider-man looked at the cop. “I bet it was an accident.” He gave Amanda a look but since she couldn’t really see his face she had no idea what he was thinking about. “She’s young, so her mutation is probably still something she isn’t used to. She probably had no idea whatever it was would happen. Am I right?”
Shakily, she nodded at his words, smiling slightly at his soft voice. He was snarky and usually described as a guy who blabbered about dumb things, but he sounded genuine and like he actually CARED. That was more than most people in her life did for her and he was a complete stranger on top of all of that! Although his voice sounded a lot like he was trying to sound differently. Like he was covering up something.
The cop gave her a look before grimacing at Spider-man. He was probably not ready to fight the vigilante who was known to be able to dodge bullets. Raising his left hand, the man sniffed at his clock before dropping freeing her hands and letting them go. “My shift’s over anyway.” He said nonchalantly but Amanda noticed the wink he sent in Spider-man’s way before going out the door without giving her a second look.
Before she realized what was going on, Spider-man lifted her, clearly in order to leave. A moment before he bounced out of there, though, she heard a scoff from the same intense woman and for some reason the vigilante flinched at the sound before getting out of the coffee shop and swinging away with Amanda in his arms, her eyes wide and her thoughts no longer filled with terror but exhilaration. Swinging was AMAZING!
And yet they landed on a rooftop shortly after – obviously not enough for her to actually enjoy this as much as she’d like. Spider-man let her regain her balance on the ground before pointing at an older boy sitting not to far away, his blue eyes looking at them with questions clearly forming in his mind.
“I have to go.” Spider-man blurted out, the façade of his voice now gone. His voice was friendly and open and so warm and kind she felt like she wanted to bask in it for a while. Plus, it sounded kinda young. Maybe he was twenty-something-year-old? Something around that age? “I’m sorry. But you can ask Reilly anything that comes to your mind. Alright?” Then he looked at the blue-eyed boy that approached them, a book in his hands. “Knight, be polite.”
With an unimpressed look the boy – Reilly? – huffed. “Since when am I not polite? You’re the one who always runs off to God-knows-where.”
Spider-man ignored that and waved goodbye before swinging away quickly. She wondered where he was headed now. Was this a Spider-man thing or a normal thing that his civilian-self had to take care of? Whatever.
Amanda turned to look at Reilly who observed her with his head tilted to the side. He seemed friendly enough, and Spider-man clearly trusted him, so… maybe she could get along with him as well. She wondered how they knew each other. Were they friends without Spider-man’s mask on? Was Reilly only friend of Spider-man and not the guy under the mask?
“So… you’re another mutant, then?” Reilly asked, but it wasn’t an accusation like the rest of the questions she’s heard recently were. That question was just honest and sincere – he wanted to know for the sake of knowing. So she nodded and he smirked. “Me too. Spidey saved me from the police when they were about to take me in about a month ago.” He held out his hand for her to take. “I’m Reilly Knight.”
She bit her bottom lip for a second before taking hold of his hand. It was warm. “Amanda Bennet.”
Lauri Dot
Heart beating and breath held tightly in her chest, Lauri made her way across the park, her hair falling into her left eye and allowing her to feel a little safer in the exposed area. She knew she wasn’t in any real trouble just yet – she could feel the jumbled thoughts of the cops who tried to get her in her mind. She didn’t mean to make them all fall asleep, but they did and their dreams were… yeah, she didn’t really want to think about it.
Whatever. She knew those cops were unconscious but they were only three and there were plenty more cops probably on their way to get her. To arrest her. And for what? She didn’t do anything wrong – her father just decided she wasn’t worth the trouble and wanted her to be someone else’s problem. Her mother probably turned and tossed in her grave restlessly only at the mere thought of her little baby girl struggling like that because of her ex-husband.
At first Lauri didn’t mind living with him – she was too engrossed in the grief of losing her mother to cancer like so many other people across the world. But then he started mistreating her. He acted like she was some burden he was stuck with that he never wanted to have. So she trapped herself in her room most of the time, blocking the entire world out in the hopes that this man would just leave her alone. Also, she hoped this way the whispering voices in her head would finally quiet down and disappear. She was wrong. They were still there, only faint and distant.
That was still better.
She felt bad, leaving her little brother – Chip – to deal with everything all on his own. But he assured her that he was alright and didn’t need her help that much when she tried to apologize. They had one year between them but people always thought they were twins and sometimes they didn’t even bother correcting them. Chip – whose real name was Christopher, but she gave him this nickname when they were both very young because he reminded her of Chip from Beauty and the Beast – was very enthusiastic about everything. He liked putting himself out there and being noticed. Unlike Lauri, who preferred the peace and quiet of her own little world. She was anxious around other people, especially ones she didn’t know, and usually just stuck with the people she felt somewhat comfortable around.
Watching from the sidelines, Lauri could tell Chip was having problem after their Mom’s death. She was the best person in the entire world and losing her was… she couldn’t even describe it. And yet, while Lauri locked herself in her own world and refused to let even her closest people in, Chip dealt with the loss by spending more time outside, trying to live his life like he always did. He even tried to drag Lauri along but she couldn’t handle it, so he let her be.
Laurie lost her balance and fell to the ground when someone bumped right into her. She blinked a few times to get her mind working again before looking at the other person. It was a girl with tanned skin and the most beautiful shade of turquoise eyes. Her hair was curly and dyed blue with auburn roots showing. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, making her almost glow.
Gulping, Lauri had to remind herself how to breathe.
The girl, who was maybe a little older than her, got up, dusted her shorts, and then offered Lauri her hand to pull her up to her legs as well. Without thinking, Lauri grabbed the offered hand and looked at the girl, captivated.
“Oh non! Excusez-moi. Je suis terriblement désolé!” The girl exclaimed and Lauri thought she might as well just die on the spot because SHE WAS FRENCH! She was probably gaping like an idiot because suddenly the girl chuckled and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Sorry. Are you okay?” She managed to hide her accent really well, Lauri noticed. She wouldn’t have guessed she was French by just hearing this last sentence.
Nodding sheepishly, Lauri took a step away from the girl, feeling her face growing hot. She hoped her hair was able to hide most of it but wasn’t sure. God, the last thing she needed was someone that would mock or insult her for being a le… no, she couldn’t even think about it.
The girl beamed. “Oh, c’est genial! Quel soulagement! I just didn’t see you walking there!” Her eye briefly flew up to Lauri’s three golden pins. She got them from her Mom for her eleventh birthday and Laurie liked putting them on just to remember her. The girl’s smile softened and she pointed at the pins. “These are beautiful.”
Blushing, Lauri flinched. “Thanks.” She squeaked and then remembered she still had to get going. “I… I have to…”
“Oh! Qui, of course!” The girl didn’t move, though. Instead she gave Lauri another look before extending her hand. “It was nice meeting you…” She gave her a look that made Lauri aware of the fact that this random French girl wanted to know her name.
Smiling hesitantly, she faintly shook her hand. “Lauri.” Her hand was so soft… Lauri had to keep herself from melting to the ground right then and there. “Lauri Dot.”
The girl chuckled and squeezed her hand for a moment before letting go. “Danielle Daisy.” She introduced herself with a bow and Lauri suddenly noticed she had her own pin in her hair. It was colored blue, pink and purple. Just like the… “Bisexual flag.” Danielle pointed at her pin, chuckling at Lauri’s flustered expression. “Ça va?” She added when Lauri just stood there.
Well, THAT she recognized. “Yeah, I’m alright.” She replied quickly and then shyly got her phone out of her purse, checking the time. “I’m just running late. I’m sorry for tripping you.”
Danielle shook her head. “No, it was my fault.” And she just took Lauri’s phone from her hand. The girl was too surprised to actually react, so she watched passively as the girl added her name to the contact list, typing a phone number and lastly adding a yellow heart next to her name. She smiled at her work before sending herself a message from Lauri. Only then did she hand the phone back to its owner. “There. Now you’re free to go, Lauri. Au revoir. À bientôt!”
And Danielle walked away, a spring in her steps. Lauri just kept on standing there for a couple of moments, too shocked to actually react. She just received the phone number of a random French girl who looked at her like she was… special. And the way her name rolled off Danielle’s tongue… it sounded different. Maybe because of the very thin accent the girl had. Or maybe just because it came out of her mouth.
God, her father would have yelled at her for even thinking about going out with a girl and not a boy…
Grabbing her phone tighter, she started walking towards the place where Amanda told her they’d meet her. She was still kind of scared of running off to join this small group of vigilantes who went out there to help other mutants, but Amanda promised her it’s actually nice. “They’re really nice. And Spidey isn’t actually a mutant, apparently, yet he’s still okay with us being mutants, which is cool. It’s like having a new family. People who actually accept me for who I am, you know?” She said after offering Lauri to join. Which took a while because Lauri was too nervous to actually tell her new friend about her powers. They’ve been there for over three years already, which was strange, but now they started to actually bug her. As if they’ve been developing too much lately.
So she talked to Chip and he encouraged her to join Amanda. “She’s your friend, Lauri. This might be better for you than sitting here, trying to hide away from the world.” He said enthusiastically. “So long as I get to see you every once in a while, I don’t mind. And Dad is mostly fine with me so I’ll be okay.”
And that was that. It was decided.
---
“Do you think I’m really welcomed here?” Lauri asked sheepishly the moment Amanda and Reilly walked off to argue over something stupid like what kind of TV show id better. She was currently sitting next to Spider-man who’s been really nice towards her ever since she first showed up. It was strangely easy talking to a mask without seeing the face beneath.
The guy hummed and nodded, turning his masked face to look at her. She couldn’t see his expression but she knew it was soft and warm. “Yes. We’re all misfits here.” He nudged at her side and she smiled gently down at her lap. She wondered whether Danielle was the one who messaged her a couple of minutes earlier. Would Spidey be okay with THAT part of her as well? “You’ll fit right in.”
For now, she realized, she didn’t feel like testing that theory. Instead she just leaned back and let herself relax for the first time in a long time.
Charlie Lean
The alley was dark and isolated, the noise from the street right there and yet Charlie could swear it came from a far away place. There were no windows overlooking the alley so he had all the time, space and privacy in the world right there, just sitting and gasping for air after crying for the past hour at least. He didn’t think there were still tears left in his body after the last year, but apparently he was wrong.
And this time he wasn’t even sure what he was crying about. Life just… sucked.
He sniffed and looked in his back hoping to find some overly rippled tissue, but it only contained his books and a couple of pencils so thick he couldn’t even tell what he was writing anymore. He tossed the bag away from him, hugging his legs close to his chest and looking down at his arms where he could still see the traces of the superficial scratches from the day before.
He was about to cry himself to sleep again when he heard a light thwip sound coming from above him. He looked up and at the sight of a web hanging from the wall of one of the buildings surrounding him a strange, familiar sensation came over him. When he looked back down he couldn’t see his hands, legs or middle anymore.
The first time he turned invisible Charlie actually panicked and started screaming his lungs out, calling for help and thinking something must have happened. Perhaps he died and turned into a ghost. Maybe it was some practical joke he couldn’t understand or find funny. But when the kids in the orphanage found him they screamed as well, clearly alarmed about the way he just reappeared in front of them. Ever since that day, he’s been hiding. And it wasn’t that hard with the ability to turn invisible, to be honest.
“Just another Friday night of swinging around and coming upon invisible people. Why not.” Mumbled a voice from the top of the building and Charlie lifted his gaze once more to find Spider-man sticking to the side of a building, his masked face turning this way and that before almost zeroing in exactly on Charlie himself. But HOW?! “Hey, do you mind if I sit here, maybe?”
Charlie was so dumbfounded by the realization Spider-man could, apparently, sense his presence that he forgot he needed to respond until the silence was clearly awkward. He coughed and scooted over, turning back to being visible. “Umm… sure? Whatever.” He replied quietly. He wasn’t even sure whether Spider-man would be able to hear that, but according to the way the vigilante landed next to him and sat down on the ground, he probably did. What the hell??!
Despite not seeing the guy’s eyes, Charlie could practically feel the way Spider-man’s eyes locked onto the scars and fresh scratches on his hands. Something in the guy tensed a little, but not much. He was hiding his alarm pretty well, then. Great. Charlie was all about putting up a façade.
“What’s your name?”
Charlie sniffed. “Charlie Lean.”
The vigilante nodded. “Spider-man.” He put his palm against his chest as if to point at himself. It was honestly ridiculous enough to bring a faint smile onto Charlie’s face. “But you can call me Spidey. That’s what my friends call me.”
The boy bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from smiling wider. “I’m your friend now?”
Spidey chuckled and looked at him, his eyes slightly visible through the lenses of the mask. They were brown, Charlie guessed. Maybe light brown, but still brown. They looked kind of gentle even from behind the black material blocking them away. They looked trustworthy, even thought they were only eyes. They actually made him relax a little. He felt safe around Spider-man, no matter that he was a stranger.
“Well not yet, we’re not!” He exclaimed. “We first need to find something we have in common. You know, basic ground?” He tapped his hand on his thigh and seemingly drowned in thought.
“We’re both boys?” Charlie suggested but Spider-man only huffed.
“Come on, Lean. We need something a bit more specific unless you want to be friends with half the world. Actually, scratch that – a little less than half the world if I remember correctly.” He started tapping his foot against the ground now. “No, we need to find something else. Come on, wrack your brain a little and find something.”
Charlie thought it was a strange little game but rolled with it. It made him actually feel a little better. Maybe it wasn’t the game and actually Spidey’s lively personality that cheered him up, but he felt a little better around this guy and he didn’t want to let that go just like that.
He hummed. “We’re both mutants?”
Shaking his head, Spidey crossed his arms. “Nope. I’m not a mutant.” He then glanced around and spotted Charlie’s bag resting not too far away from them on the pavement. Pointing his wrist towards it, he sent a web that clang to the bag and pulled it towards himself. Charlie watched as the vigilante examined the entire thing until spotting the small logo of the orphanage lodged to the corner of the bag. All of the kids had the same bag. They were all brown, ugly and with this logo. “You’re an orphan?”
Charlie curled into himself, looking away. “Yeah. My parents died right after I was born in a car accident. Didn’t have any other family to go to.” He replied, his tone tasteless and monotone. He couldn’t help it. Every single person who heard this story reacted in one of two ways – they would mock him for losing his family or they would pity him.
Spidey didn’t react accordingly, though. He kept on staring at the bag for a couple of moments before putting it aside and turning to Charlie. “Well then, I guess we just found our common ground.” He said in a cheerful tone that sounded a bit forced. When Charlie blinked at him in surprise the vigilante shrugged. “My parents died when I was little. I was fortunate enough to still have my aunt and uncle. So I live with them.” He inhaled sharply all of a sudden. “I mean, only with my aunt. My uncle died earlier this year. Murdered.” He admitted.
There were no words to be said, Charlie knew. He just had no idea what to do now. They found the most depressing common ground in the world, didn’t they? Charlie leaned back against the wall behind him and sighed, letting the silence stretch this time around. What could he possibly say, after all?
“So…” Spidey coughed awkwardly. “Where are you going to go now?” He asked gently, in a way that was clearly throbbing but not too much. Not annoyingly. It was nice being asked and not forced. When Charlie only shrugged Spider-man stood up and looked down at him. “Hey, you wanna meet my friends?”
Despite the fact that Charlie didn’t really want to talk to people that often, he assumed every friend of Spidey would be at least nice. Tolerable. Maybe even patient enough for Charlie himself to get close to. So, although he wasn’t too sure about anything at that moment, he stood up too and smiled just a little bit. It could honestly barely be considered a smile but Charlie knew it was an improvement. And by the way Spidey’s shoulders relaxed a little he knew the vigilante agreed on that front.
“Sure. Whatever.”