metaheroes | ourpowers | video

Display Name: webhead
Profile Photo: SPIDER-MAN FACE
Notes: spoilers for the Ultimate Spider-Man run; mention of character death

[The video feed comes on, and it's the smallest Spider-Man pacing a rooftop. He's masked up, so no one can see his face, but it's probably pretty clear from his body language that he's distraught. And when he finally speaks, that definitely comes through in his voice.]

So-- So I'm gonna out and say it. Okay? I'm-- Apparently, I'm the last one, and- and-

[He stops. Sighs. Shakes his head and starts over. No more pacing, he just plops down in front of the camera like a child.]

Y'know, when I got here, there were like. Five Spider-Men. And I thought, oh hey, wow, look at all these way cooler versions of me that exist across the multiverse. Neat. Maybe I can learn from them. Or maybe I can take a break, do some normal teenager stuff. That'd be nice.

They're all-- They're all gone now.

[He pauses, glancing off to the side with a soft huff.]

..I thought I was okay with that. It- It's been a little while now, and I thought I was okay. But y'know what? This sucks. 'Cause to me-- See, there's one major difference between me and the other Spider-Men that were here, besides being the youngest, and that-- It- It's that I died.

[He throws his hands up in an exasperated "Whaddaya gonna do" motion, sighing yet again.] So- Y'know. That's why I'm stuck here. Sorry that you're all stuck with the inferior dead one. Just thought the people- [He makes a wide gesture out toward the camera and at the city around him.] -might wanna know that I?? I am the sucky one.

Sorry. Good luck, us.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It's mostly the whole 'Being Unaligned' thing, to be honest. Not signing up with the guilds means it's harder to get an ID, which makes it harder to apply for student loans, which makes it harder to apply to college, etcetera etcetera.

[ She ticks the points off on her fingers as she goes, and finishes it off with a shrug. ]

... Also, paying rent. Rent is definitely a thing.

Ugh, yeah. I get that.

[He makes a face before taking another bite out of his donut. Spidey's lucky that he's been able to stay with someone who is affiliated with a guild, so at least he doesn't have to worry about living expenses. But college... College being difficult to get into definitely sucks big time.]

Man... I don't regret going unaligned, but I really wanna go to college. Guess it's back to the good ol' strategy of fight tooth and nail to reach my goals.

Honestly? That's always a good strategy.

[ This is emphasized by a gentle elbow-nudge, and an extremely broad wink! ]

You talked to Ms. Starling, yet? She could help you figure out how to approach things.

[He sways a little with that nudge, and with his mask raised up like this SG can definitely see the tiny smile it gets out of him. He likes this camaraderie. He's missed it more than he thought.

That suggestion makes his jaw drop open slightly in surprise, though.]

Ms. Starling? Isn't she one of the big locals? I can just go up and talk to her?

[ Aw, that smile! SG grins right back at him, and privately decides that any time this Spidey needs cheering up, she'll be ready with snack food and rooftop hangouts. ]

Yeah, man! She runs a support group for metas and always tries to help out unaligned folks, she's super cool! Here, one sec.

[ SG rifles around in her utility belt for a second, muttering to herself as she goes through like three pockets just full of trail mix and nuts before she finally finds the business cards, and then passes Ms. Starling's card over. ]

Found it!

[He just watches her search through her things for a second, working on his donut in the meantime. Honestly he had no idea Ms. Starling was just... available like that. He'd kind of assumed trying to get in touch with her would be like trying to wave down Captain America on the street.

Spidey reaches over to take the card when it's offered, using one clean, spider-sticky finger to grip it and bring it closer so he can see.]

...Huh. That's... That's actually really cool of her. So- What, I can just call her and be all, "Hey there, I'm an unaligned meta in need, can you help me?"

Honestly? Yeah, that's pretty much it. She helped me get an ID and find an apartment, when my time at the Diadem ran out. Again, super cool.

[ SG takes another chomp out of her donut and arranges her legs so she's sitting criss-cross-applesauce, with her tail twitched upright behind her. Nowadays, she's the type of person who would flag down Captain America on the street, but back when she was a teenager she definitely would've been hesitant, she gets where he's coming from! ]

If you're feelin' it, the support groups are pretty good, too. It's nice to talk to people about this stuff, you know?

Huh.

[Spidey turns the card over a couple of times between his fingers while he polishes off his donut, as if maybe there'll be something new to read on each side and at every corner. Once he has both hands free he carefully tucks into his sleeve at the wrist. Nice and snug under his webshooter, where he won't lose it.]

I'll... I'll have to think about the support group thing. I'm kinda used to being a solo act, so I should try to get over myself first.

[He's kidding. Kind of.]

Do you show up in costume, or...?

Oh! Uh...

[ Whoops, she walked right into that one! ]

... I didn't, but that's more because being an unaligned meta is slightly less illegal and conspicuous than being an unaligned meta who does active superheroing on the side. A lot of people there are folks who have powers, but just want to live normal lives without getting pulled into all the guild stuff.

[ She holds her hands up in an 'I promise I'm innocent' kind of gesture! ]

I promise this isn't me being all 'mwahaha, now I have tricked Spidey into revealing his secret identity via support group after lowering his guard with donuts'. The costume would absolutely be okay.

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