making their web
"hey kid!" Someone shouts "hey!" They ignore them and keep walking through the damp streets "hey! You shouldn't be walking around here alone! Don't you know where you are?!" A tattooed hand grabs their arm and turns them around.
"im not supposed to talk to strangers" they sass
"okay fine. Im quinn deo. Now we're not strangers. God I hate kids. Do you know where you are? Wheres your parents? Friends? you shouldn't be walking around hells kitchen alone."
They were in hells kitchen? Fuck man, how long had they been walking?
"im not alone."
"yeah who're you with? Coz it looks to me that your alone and defenceless, an easy victim." They look over their shoulder paranoid. Inked neck craning to see down the street.
"your mum. Just come from your dads as well. Damn that divorce was bad for you. just gave me twice the bitches."
they flick back locs almost smacking Alex "ok listen here you little shit-"
"I need to be going. Your mother's waiting." They smirk, beginning to walk off.
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They continued to walk for the rest of the night, having no money for a hotel, or even a crappy motel, for the night. Ever since that person spoke to them that evening they had been jumpy, the creeping shadows and echoing streets not helping. It was now the next morning. Their feet had tired hours ago, as the sun rose. It was a gorgeous view, especially from their seat on the edge of the roof of a random building they passed. The people had risen and began their morning commute to work, the once rare sighting of a living being now becoming overwhelmingly constant. They had to get moving again, for no other reason except boredom. They dubbed their aching feet had calmed enough and their stomach thoroughly angered, its growling being heard by people in the snow covered mountains of Russia. Now time to hunt for the little food they could afford or nick.
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The day had been quite boring. Nothing except walking and trying to find things to do. The city was quite boring with nothing to your name. It was now nearing seven, judging from the rush of commuters coming home from work fading away; their phone had died hours ago (somehow it survived the multiverse along with their sanity). They were bored out of their mind. Sure they could just go for a cheeky little swing through the city but that took effort, something they really couldn't be bothered to bundle together at that moment. Everything was pretty quiet at the moment. The buzzing of cars far off, pigeons picking through open bins and small amounts of chatter from the pedestrians passing by being the only sounds in the air.
"hey" it was that person again, quinn, "please tell me you're meeting someone." They brushed a couple of locs from their face.
"yeah yo-"
"don't say my mum... Are you ok? Seriously. You look exhausted."
"fine."
"you sure? The scratches on your face say otherwise. You need help?"
"im fine I just fell over."
"into a rose bush filled with glass? Come on, where's home? Ill walk you." They continuously look around, keeping an eye out for something. They look up to the roof tops, the setting sun peaking over them. Alex follows their eyes, a dark figure crouches on the edge of a roof nearby. Their senses never triggered, marlon never faultered from his nap, so they assumed they could trust quinn, and apparently whoever was on that roof top.
"who's that?" They asked
"what? Who what?" Quinn quickly turns back to them, smile threatenning to take over their face before they clear their throat "ehem uh that was the devil of hell's kitchen. Havent you heard of him and his demon?"
"im.. New to town."
"well, you mustve heard about the heros of new york, iron man, the hulk, black widow, captain america?" They only recognised two of those names; capitain america and black widow. Others they supposed didn't exist in their universe. Marvel comics only ran for a little bit during the early 1940's. Not many comics were a big hit so the company soon crumbled and faded away. Their granddad had collected them and passed them down to alex, that's how they knew about them.
"the comics?"
"what? No. They have comics?" Their eyebrows furrowed as they watched alex walk off a hint of jealousy in their tone, "hold on!" They jog to catch up "so where abouts are you? Whats the excuse? Youre parents home?"
"no my dad's.. Out." They speak slowly
"oh ok. Where is he?"
"out. Whats with the interrogation? I thought you were just walking me home. We can walk in silence." They look at them through the corner of their eye.
"silence is boring. Talking can let me know if you need help."
"youre still on that need help shit? Im fine"
"don't look it" they murmer under their breath
"speak up, its rude to whisper"
"you sound like my foster mom." They continue to look up at the roof tops, hands in pockets, locs hanging down their back, brown eyes softening as they spot a blur of deep red in the distance.
The pair walked for a while in silence twisting and turning throughout the streets of hells kitchen. The sun had set a while ago, dousing the two in a rich darkness. Shadows climbed through alley ways, stars twinkled over head. As soon as the late hour dawned on quinn they were immediately on edge, eyes darting from the roof tops to the alleyways to the street behind them over and over and over again. Alex was just the same, calming walking with their hands in their ripped school trousers trying to keep warm. The hairs on their arms rose to attention as marlon wiggled. The immediately stopped dead in their tracks. They too looked around, sensing something in the darkness. They could almost see it. A mass of deep black. Stalking toward them from quinns side in an alley. They nudged them with their elbow.
"move."
"wow first word you've said to me in an hour an-"
"shut up and get behind me"
They just scoff. Seeing that they werent moving alex moved instead. Silently stepping toward the alley so that they were infront and protecting them if anything were to happen. They released their hands from their pockets and wringed out their fingers by their sides. They found the eyes of the hound stareing straight at them as three more sets opened and stared at them.
"alex wait." Quinn put a hand on their shoulder "dip. jeure." They called to the hound in the alley, pointing at the concrete. The hound stepped out from the shadows its four heads focused on quinn.
They walk over to it and pet its head as it lays on the floor. It rolls over ink black fur splaying out along the cement belly up in the air waiting for belly rubs. Everything about the hound was black, its eight eyes, its fur, its paws, its belly, even its teeth. It looked like it came straight from a drawing. "alex this is dip. Dip this is alex. Be nice." The hound suddenly stood back up, its form towering over the still crouched quinn, "nicely" they warned again. It walked over to them. Noses judging their form. It sniffed at them, taking in their face and scent. It came to about nose height on them, so as it circled to the right side of them it had a direct view of the abnormality in their neck, the 'small' lump about twice the size of their hand that spread out across the base of their neck. It hesitated, nudging the spot once to see the spider beneath wiggle. Alex grid their teeth as marlon separated more skin from muscle, just as he did when the two became this... close.
A thump echoed in the alley behind quinn. "aqui." The hound slowly moved back over to them standing to attention at their side. Now the roles had reverse. Alex was no longer protecting quinn. Quinn had a massive four headed dog for some reason. A horned figure appeared from the shadows clutching their stomach.
"for the love of god, D" quinn huffed
"what?"
"did you just fall?"
"no. I just, I just came from a fight. You know, bad guys pow pow" he punched the air
Alex continued to stand in the middle of the road, continuing to get more confused by the moment. Quinn had a big dog, big dog had four heads, big dog noticed marlon, now daredevil (whoever that was) is speaking to quinn like they've known eachother since college. "umm whats going on?" Their british accent broke through the convosation the two adults were having.
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It was now almost two days later. Quinn had explained almost everything, and in return they told him everything. From the multiverse to their mum's death. Matt's couch had been fine the past two days but they were starting to crave their own place that didn't light up every two seconds with the light of a bilboard less than five feet away. Quinn had stayed with them aswell, taking up the bed with matt as they apparently did all the time in college but they didn't really believe that. It was funny seeing the two interact, the staring, then the blushing, then the glaring and the insults. They didn't think they had seen anyone so stupidly in love.
"get a room you two." Alex cut through the argument over their next patrole
"not now alex" quinn held a finger up to shush them
"if im going to live with you two, you can at least flirt in the other room, that's all im saying." They continued to scoff down their cereal.
"ok you know what.. No cereal." Quinn takes the bowl from them "go home."
"I cant."
"go to the shop, get some proper clothes" they chuck ten dollars at them
"wow a whole ten dollars!" They sass "keep your money, I want to go have a look around new york anyways, see what else is different appart from that massive building in the centre."
"the avengers tower? You've never seen it before?" Matt asks confused
"multiverse, idiot" quinn tries to hit his shoulder but he catches it
"well you want to kiss this idiot 'so bad'." He quotes
"it was one time. It is long gone now. Don't die kid, be back by ten, ill speak to someone about your own flat."
"oh thank god, you guys moan so loudly" they sigh in relief before leaving.
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So a lot had changed. There was the tower, but also the construction from aftermath of fights. The merchandise, the statues and the memorabilia of hero's were definitely different in their universe. There dad's lab wasn't there. They had swung all over New York trying to find it, to keep something from their universe but it was nowhere to be seen. There was no memories, no trace of them in this world because, well, they weren't there. They had borrowed Quinn's laptop the day before and looked up their name, their dads name even their mothers name but there was nothing, no awards, no death certificates, no obituaries everything was gone. The only thing they found was a marriage certificate between one Davin Noble and one Vita Laurent, their parents. They never had any children.
It was fine. They were fine. They didn't exist, this was great. They were like a ghost. Unbound by society. No ties... No strings... nothing to hold onto... falling into the endless abyss of nothingness... If they didn't have anything, if they never make a mark in this world then what were they? They were nothing, not even a shadow on the concrete.
The sun had set a while ago.
But they just sat staring at this new landscape.
Quinn would lecture them when they got home but they could suck their fat cock, they had just lost their whole life, their family, friends. They were in a whole new world. They had nothing and therefore was nothing.
The night sky was still the same they guessed. The stars still twinkled in the sea of rich blues and dark greys. The dark clouds still passed over. The city still lit up like a forest fire. The birds still rested in nests. The crickets still chirped. The cars still honked. The city was still busy though out the night. It's just that, in the distance, every so often, a figure would pop up and down, shrouded in darkness. A line would extend from their hand and they would propel forward across the horizon. Or a man would literally fly through the night sky, trails of light leaving his hands and feet. It would take getting used to. They would stick to their business, leave the other hero's alone. This was temporary. They would make it home.
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The door was unlocked when they got back. Everything was quiet until they dropped their backpack at the end of the wall. Everything would've been shrouded in darkness if it wasn't for the billboard directly outside the window. They walked through to the kitchen and opened the fridge scouring for something to eat. Unfortunately the blind man had no taste so they resorted to starving. They grabbed a glass and poured themself water before moving over to the counter where a note waited for them. 'on patrol be back about 3, you're late btw. ill speak to you in the morning.- Quinn'. Damn. Haven't even known them three days and he was already mothering them. Exhaustion pulled at their eyelids as they stumbled over to the couch, discarding the glass on the counter. They didn't even hit the cushions before they fell asleep.
"but that mugger who thought threatening someone with a painted banana would work-" Quinn cackled unable to finish their sentence "he- he-"
"oh my god, calm down Quinn, I've never seen you like this!" A brunette laughed along with them
"the mugger- HA- he smacked matt with the banana! And- BAHAHAHHA-"
"oh my god shut up" they grumbled across the room, sleep still obviously present in their everything. The laughing soon calmed down enough that Quinn could answer.
"good afternoon, sleeping beauty. Late night last night?" Quinn smirked at them
"I will web your mouth shut, shut up."
"that's not very nice to say in front of guests." Quinn tilted their head mockingly glaring at the back of the couch where they were. This got them up. Immediately they shot up from their position on the sofa and turned around to see a curly haired woman sitting next to Quinn.
"hi." The sudden movement quickly developed into a migraine so they shut their eyes again, swaying slightly.
"hi" the woman said, "need some aspirin?"
"is that the same as paracetamol? Because if so then yeah." They rubbed their eyes, then holding a hand to their temple as they made their way over to the pair. Their bleached hair stuck up in all directions as they took the medication and downed a glass of water.
"oh um... I'm Alex" they tried to be polite as they held out a dribble crusted hand
"Claire, I'm a friend of Quinn and Matt's" she kindly ignored the hand, instead replacing it with a wave.
"What's the time?" They asked the room
"three in the afternoon." Quinn smirked. Alex hummed in discontentment.
"is it already? God I need to get going. Ill speak to you at 2 after my shift yeah?"
"where do you work?" Alex asked trying to keep up with the conversation
"I'm a nurse, who is already really late, sorry, I need to go." She quickly stumbled backwards towards the door "nice to meet you Alex, I'm sure I'll see you again soon" she turned and made a break for the door. a slam sounded soon after she took off. Then a muffled sorry and silence.
"so what time did you get back?" Quinn interrogated, getting up to grab a glass of water
"10.30..."
"No you didn't we left at 11, don't bullshit me, what time did you get back?"
"2..." They huffed
They hummed "well I'm not your parents so I won't ground you or anything, I don't even think I have the power so... I was waiting for you to wake up so I could call about a flat with you, I think I have someone."
"really?!" They perked up at this. Their own place. Somewhere they could decorate completely their own. Somewhere they could create home.
"luck you I have a friend. They've been out of town for a while, off with their boyfriend and his wife but you know... they're in Mexico I think. Something about their family."
"seriously? Really? You're not kidding?-"
"shut up, I'm just doing this so you shut up about me and matt, we're not together"
"yet-"
"ahah" they cut off already searching through his contacts, shushing them when they find the right person "... hey, dean. Have you still got that apartment in queens?"