Cycle of the Spider
Peter looked over to the picture of him, Aunt May and Uncle Ben and then to the new Web Warriors picture beside it: this one included MJ, Aunt May and Kaine. The tiniest was smiling, looking from behind Ben’s leg, wearing all blue; his shirt, shorts and shoes.
“Things have been calm since the past weeks, huh?” Aunt May commented.
“This calm is all bad, we have the New Avengers taking care of major threats across town, and maybe they’ll find the missing Avengers soon enough. Now, I really hope Ben gets back soon because his boyfriend can’t take on his duties forever.”
“I heard that. And don’t worry; I will get back after the weekend. For now, I think we should take this time to help Kaine socialize outside.”
“-time freeze- That’s his way of saying “We’re taking Kaine to the park and have fun this afternoon. Jokes aside, after the recent problems we had, it’s so good to have a new family member. Kaine will now grow and learn with us, and after being two weeks in our house without leaving-”
“Who are you talking to? -time unfreeze-” Scarlet’s voice cut him short.
“Huh? You saw it?”
“Saw what?”
“Oh, congratulations, Kaine. You cleaned everything on your own.” Aunt May clapped slowly, seeing the child picking up his toys. “Now, what do you think of going outside with your brothers?”
“We going out?” Kaine let go of a block, eyes glowing.
“I have to see things at F.E.A.S.T., so I’ll be back later to make dinner. But believe me: you’re gonna love Central Park. It’ll be an adventure.”
“Adventure… Adventure with Ben? Wi-with Ben and Petey?” Kaine phrased with excitement, Ben picking up the basket Aunt May left on the table.
“-time freeze- Basically, it’ll be a Parker Bros day. Patent pending.”
“You’re doing that again, what is-” Ben cut his again, then noticing it was being observed. “HUH?! Where did you come from? -time unfreeze-” They stood a bit in silence, looking at each other. “We better not comment on this with anyone yet.”
“Noted. Parker Bros secret.” Peter winked at him, and they turned to the chuckling Kaine.
Episode 07 - Cycle of the Spider
Kaine ran in front of Ben and Peter as they approached the Robert Bendheim Playground, laughing.
“Have fun, Kaine! We’re not far if you need us!” Peter called out, as Ben and him sat down in a bench. “Look at how happy he is.”
“He is, huh? There’s a whole new world for him to explore and learn from.” Ben watched his little brother play a bit with the sand, then starting to form a small pile. Kids were running around, laughing. “It’s better than keeping him locked home like a caged animal, without any knowledge of the outside.”
“Uh, I guess.” Peter noticed a hint of bitterness, even if smaller than usual. “What’s eating you?”
“Sorry. It’s the same as always… though it’s a lot easier to reflect about it.” Ben leaned back on the bench. “Thanks to your support, everyone’s in fact, and therapy with Coulson. I still feel the stings, but it’s not an unbearable pain anymore.”
“You do look a lot better.” Peter assured, looking back at Kaine building his small pile, then digging out something he found. “I’m really happy you’re taking this brother responsibility to heart.”
“I just don’t want for Kaine what happened to me. Any of it.” He replied, then thinking back. “Except, you know, the parts when you guys were supportive and caring and everything else...” Peter held back a chuckle, while Ben looked back at his little brother digging in the sand.
Scarlet Spider looked over from the ventilation duct. Squirrel Girl's furry friends were around her and sounded worried. Well, they did have their friend attacked by Kaine...
And there she was in the medical bay, wrapped over her tail and Spidey nearby talking with the others, Agent Venom nodding.
Seizing the distraction, he quietly made his way to her, climbing down and putting a bag of chips nearby. Both Monkey Joe and Mister Lieberman watched him do it, and he stepped back as he met their gaze. It didn't look angry or anything, but he didn't felt like taking any chances.
No use: the rest of her pals were watching him, and he felt tense. What was going on?
"Uh, Spidey?" Agent Venom tapped his shoulder, interrupting his speech. All those squirrels were huddled around Scarlet, and he just sat still, not sure of what to do.
"Well, look who made some friends!" Spider-Man complimented.
"I'm not- Uh, no, I- S-shut it." He couldn't make himself say anything; he felt overwhelmed by the cuteness around him.
"Hey..." Squirrel Girl gazed down at him, eyes still tired, but with a more sympathetic smile. "Thanks." She patted his head and he felt his face get red under his mask. The others snickered at that.
“Thank you.” A boy around Kaine’s age was patting his head, after he dug out something in the sand: a small toy car and returned it to him.
“Yes, that’s right. Now why don’t you two play along? I’ll be right there.” The boy’s mother said, sitting nearby Peter and Ben.
“Wow, less than an hour playing and he already made a friend.” Peter commented, Ben’s stare seemingly distant.
“Huh? Oh, yeah, that’s good.” Ben admitted, looking back at his little brother. “I’m glad.” Peter knew better: his brother was clearly “in the zone”, reminiscing something that happened in the past. “So, you and Aunt May already-”
“Not yet. She understands my worrying about Kaine’s powers manifesting again any day, still we do need to find a daycare. Him having more powers doesn’t mean he should just live at home, not learning anything.” Now the bitterness source made sense: he possibly had a small discussion with Aunt May about that, and reluctantly agreed. They both knew it was pointless, because she knew better than them, in many cases.
“I’d suggest the S.H.I.E.L.D. one, but I’m pretty sure he’d be scared of the Coulson-bots.” Peter recalled, shivering afterwards. “We all like Coulson, but that is no place for a child.” Ben snorted at that remark and looked back at his little brother and his new friend.
Cloak and Dagger were taking a break after a training session. Scarlet had sneaked into the room, and watched from afar, trying the best he could to avoid visual contact. However, as he looked back quickly at them… he noticed Dagger was looking at her partner with a certain endearment in her eyes. And he was SMILING at her.
He quickly turned away from that scene, feeling his face turning red. He didn’t feel worthy of even witnessing such a display of genuine affection. However, it didn’t take long for Dagger to notice him.
“Want to join us? We’re trying to better our timing everytime.” She asked without more hesitation.
“I really shouldn’t get between you lovebirds.” He rebuffed, still looking to the side.
“I insist. It can be good for us all, being ready for anyone who tries destroying us.” She replied, then realizing this could come off wrong. “Uh, wait, I meant that...”
“We have been in your position before.” Cloak finally said. “We deceived Spider-Man’s trust before, even though he helped us in the past. It was our general belief to never trust anyone.”
“Even so, Spider-Man saw our potential and helped us independent of our trust in him. And after Taskmaster showed us who he really was, it was more than clear we has picked the wrong side. Even so, Spidey extended a hand in more than alliance… in friendship.”
“He is… far too good.” Scarlet commented. “But the world isn’t. It’s a cold, unfair place, that makes us build the smallest amount of comfort only to take it away.”
“Even so, isn’t it better to face it together than on your own?” Dagger asked, touching Scarlet’s shoulder. He eventually gave in: it was a fair point, and he did want to punch out some L.M.D.s.
“Alright, buddy. Let’s wash these hands before eating.” Ben guided Kaine to the nearest water fountain, while Peter settled their picnic spot on East Meadow. During it, he noticed Miles with his counterpart, mother and father.
“Hey! Having a family day too?” He called out.
“Celebrating another week living together, since Dad has a day off.” Miles explained.
“Smile, everybody!” Counterpart Miles said, the family gathering in front of the cell phone camera. Ben tilted his head to the side, looking at the happy family as his brother gave Kaine a small sandwich.
“So, you’re all living together in the same apartment? Quite a sitcom situation...” Peter pondered a fantasy scenario, placing the Morales family together on a couch with a title card reading “Meet the Morales”. Ben snorted, shaking his head.
“Okay, that was a good one.”
“I’m not even shocked you saw it anymore.” Peter sighed with a smile. Kaine giggled, even though he didn’t get what was going on. He just found his big brother Peter funny.
“Hey, Kaine. Wanna take a picture?” Counterpart Miles asked. The toddler looked back to Ben, who smiled back and nodded to the boy to take the picture.
White Tiger was verifying the pictures she was given. She was appointed as the Academy yearbook organizer and needed to place the best photos on the book. Those images were so flooded with memories that even Ava could get lost in recalling the events.
She then realized that Scarlet was in front of the room’s door, looking at a picture himself: the one he took with the Web Warriors for Aunt May’s birthday gift.
“That’s a nice picture.” She said, after tilting her head to take a glimpse.
“So what?” Scarlet quickly turned away from her stare.
“So I think it’s a good picture. Is that wrong?”
“No, I guess… but I really don’t want to talk.”
“Are you sure of that? Because I remember how I used to behave this same way... “ White Tiger insisted. “Always wanting to deal with everything on my own, even though I was part of a team. Missions, battles, feelings...” Scarlet furrowed his eyes. “I reached the edge of this behavior when I faced the man that killed my father... Even though I was sure Spidey didn’t know me that well, he made clear that I could be better than what Kraven deemed I could be. And he was right. I”ll never forgive the Hunter… but I might be ready to forgi-”
By then she realized Scarlet had already left the room, and would be on his way to the next hallway if not for Iron Fist bumping into him.
“Oh, sorry, Scarlet. I was just going to see if Ava needed help with-” Danny was explaining as he noticed the photo that fell on the floor. He was about to pick it up, before Scarlet pushed him away and picked it up. “Uh, you could just tell me you would do it.”
“Whatever.”
“... It must mean a lot to you.” He concluded, even before taking a look at it. “I see… you know you hurt them all, and your heart is filled with regret and shame. But keeping it all in is not the answer.”
“I. Have. Talked. About. It.”
“I’m not saying the opposite, it’s just that these things are truly hard to deal with and it’s better to keep-”
“Will you shut it already? It’s not worth trying to “open my heart” because I don’t have one to begin with! I wasn’t worthy of this socializing attempt and if Spider-Man is insisting on this through his friends, it’s because he’s a crybaby idiot punk who believes in everyone!” Scarlet lashed out at him. As he turned away, Danny processed the words and clenched his fists.
“That’s not how things are! Spider-Man didn’t tell me to do anything! Scarlet, wait!”
“Kaine, wait up!” Ben called. “You still have crumbs in your face!”
“I wanna play!“ Kaine said as he ran back to the sandbox.
“Oh, boy...” Peter rolled his eyes as he was putting the plates and the picnic blanket back in the basket. Finally Ben reached and picked Kaine up, rubbing a napkin in his struggling face.
“You can play in a minute, just let me clean up.” He asked, the child pouting all the way. After he was finally allowed to play, Kaine looked around to find his new friend.
“Come on, sweetie, time to go.” The mother and the boy were leaving the playground. Kaine noticed his new friend waving at him, and waved back, sitting by himself afterwards with a small pout. Ben sighed silently and gently ruffled his little brother’s hair, as he picked the nearest twig and started drawing lines in the sand, still pouting.
“Sorry your little buddy left, Kaine.” Counterpart Miles approached them. “You were having lots of fun, right?” The child nodded.
“We can have fun too! Why don’t we build a sandcastle?” Miles added, and Kaine turned his head to them. Ben looked down at him, waiting for an answer. The boy then gave them the twig and looked for another one; he made some shapes on the sand and showed them.
“Is that… a dog?” Counterpart Miles guessed, Kaine shook his head. “A horse?” Ben then stepped back from the game they started playing and joined Peter again, sure that his little brother was in good hands.
Outside the Triskelion, Scarlet looked into the horizon, sitting by his own. His quiet moment was halted by the person emerging from the very sand he was sitting in.
“Forget it already. No matter how much Spider-Man believes me and convinces his peers to be nice with me, I KNOW what I did and everyone should just… Just leave me alone.”
“...I haven’t seen Spidey today.” Sandman said after a short silence.
“Why would I even-” He looked up to him, cutting his lashing out short as soon as he saw not just him, but also the very place they were in. “...nevermind.” Flint shook his head with a short smile, and sat down too.
“I do understand, you know? The thing with Ock, betrayals, feeling lost… Even if you deny it, the truth is still there. And it weights hard on you, even when you’re just sand.” He admitted, Scarlet looking over to him. “And trust me, you might spend many times in your life carrying this weight and feeling bad about it… but not ALL the time. This, of course, it’s your choice.”
“...I don’t think I even HAVE a choice.” The synthezoid admitted, holding to small silences. “Everyone knows what I am now… and maybe the human genetic helped me. But it won’t save me forever...” Sandman turned his head to him. “Maybe it won’t even save me anymore these next months. so-”
“So what’s the point?” He finally said, cutting Scarlet’s trail of thought. “This is actually a very human thing to worry about. The unavoidable truth IS very upsetting… that we’re all gonna die.” The synthezoid remained silent. “Even before I knew it wouldn’t be my case due to my powers, when I first got them, I was sure it was over… but the hurt of this reality is also present, because I might...” He then stopped for a moment, looking at Scarlet, then sighing. “Someday everyone might die, and I’ll still be here. Alone. My friends, my daughter, everyone will be gone someday., and yet I’ll still live on.”
“Sandman...” Scarlet felt a pang of guilt; though he hated the thought of dying so soon, outliving everyone he cared about did sound as painful. “You have a daughter?”
“Her name is Keemia. Might be 6 years old by now. I don’t blame her mom for not letting us meet yet. She might not even know or care if William Baker is still alive.” Flint admitted his real name, Scarlet just in awe at how in peace he seemed. ”Anyway, I am not fit to judge anyone, but I believe that it’s best to live better every time you can, mortal or immortal. Even with things you believe no one will forgive you for, holding to them will only make these deemed few months hurt more for you. It makes us want to stop trying… makes you passive, unhappy, lonely. And this is no way to go out. To ANYONE, being who’s going away or who you’d want to stay with you until the end.”
“...I guess.” No rebuffs. Scarlet KNEW this was a valid point, and knew there was someone he wanted to see… no, to make amends with, before the possible end. “So, William Baker?”
“Yeah, yeah, changed my name the first time I went to prison, way before the powers.”
“...Ben Reilly. Named after someone very important to Spider-Man.” Scarlet admitted, just enjoying the quietude of the night with Flint.
That afternoon was ending fast as the sun set. Kaine and the two Miles had stopped playing their drawing game and were running around the playground. Ben checked his phone, seeing a message from Flash: “Finished everything 4 today, got invited to dinner by Aunt May. C ya there S2”.
“Sappy punk...” The synthezoid chuckled, looking at the dorky smile on the photo he sent, then noticing Peter’s sly look. “What? He IS sappy!”
“And he’s coming over soon. We better get home anyway, it’s almost dinner time.” He added, waving at Miles. His counterpart then noticed Kaine extending his arms to him, his eyes looking a bit tired.
“You want uppie? Okay.” He picked up the child gently, then laid him in his chest… though Kaine’s small frown was visible. After both of them joined the Parker Bros, Ben picked up Kaine and leaned him on his chest, his frown changing to a smile.
“Heh. Guess his brother’s is better.” Miles commented, his counterpart pouting, and their parents chuckling about it. After walking out of Central Park, the Morales-Davis and Parker family went their separate ways for the day.
“Hey, Aunt May. We’re on our way home. Kaine enjoyed his adventure.” Peter talked on the phone, while Ben saw the sunset. His brother by then had stopped walking and joined him in seeing that view. “So, what’s on your mind now?”
“Not much… just being glad to be alive another day.”
“You and me both, Ben. You and me both.” Peter tapped his shoulder gently as they made their way home.
The cold weather was clearly unbearable, but Scarlet just stayed put, watching the Parkers' house from the other side of the street. His chest still felt heavy as a rock from his past deeds, and especially from involving such a sweet, caring and wise person as Aunt May among that horror. Someone that treated him like a son as much as she treated Peter...
Aunt May and Spidey soon arrived from F.E.A.S.T., talking a lot about the recent events.
"Okay, Quentin looks really happy about working with us. And I'm glad you enrolled his daughter on S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy."
"With plenty of training and the right guidance, I know Frances will be the best of students." Peter assured, then noticing the synthezoid sitting across the street. He clearly tried avoiding looking at their direction, mostly at Aunt May.
"Aren't you cold out here?" She called him.
"...I'll be fine. The house is safe." He replied, audible enough but still avoiding visual contact. "Mission accomplished, I guess."
Peter sighed and was about to go talk with him, but May stopped him: this was something SHE had to take care of. Without another word, Peter entered their house. Aunt May stepped carefully, not really out of fear, but because of the slippery street.
"You can come in if you want. I would be glad to-"
"You don't have to pretend to be nice to me." Scarlet's voice struggled to not crack as he interrupted her. "I know what I did was unforgivable. ALL of it."
"...I NEVER pretend to be nice. And I... I already forgave you, Ben." She reached for his shoulder, but he moved away quickly. Even so, she persisted and her touch just... broke Ben. His breath started to sound shaky, yet he kept avoiding her eyes, looking down. Then, as she did when she gave his name, she gently took off his mask. Tears were streaming like crazy, and his eyes were visibly exhausted. Apparently he's been crying alone for a long time.
"How? How CAN you forgive me?!" He finally said. "I don't get how you can stand being with me after everything I did! Can't you see I don't deserve this?! I... I'm a liar. I'm a monster..." It was Aunt May's turn to cut his chat short with a firm hug.
"No... you're not. And even if you were, you still would deserve love. You still saved us and the city. You helped Peter defeat your supposed brothers, and is working hard to get everyone's trust back." She continued. "I didn't forget what you did then, but I also know what you're doing now. It's hard to forgive, but it's not impossible, Ben. And I'm sure you want to be forgiven and to forgive yourself." Ben didn't even try to fight back; with her, it was useless... and he also didn't want to.
"...I do. But what if it doesn't ever happen?"
"It takes the time it needs. But it WILL happen, trust me. Peter also had a rough time forgiving himself and others for many things. And if you're his clone, I'm also sure that's in you. Forgiveness is complicated, and self-forgiveness is harder, but it's not impossible." Finally Ben took her hand and stood up, and saw Peter watching from the window with a smile. "Now, let's get you off this cold."
Both of them were getting back into the house, when Ben looked up. It started to snow again. He reached for a snowflake with an amazed and curious face, and then rejoined Aunt May, getting into the house.
*BG music: Joe Wong - In The Morning*
As Ben opened the door, Kaine laid sleeping in his arms, Peter waving at Aunt May as she was walking away from the kitchen, wiping her hands. Still holding his little brother gently, Ben sat down on the couch, relaxing and looking over to the ceiling and then to the fireplace.
Peter ran down the stairs to answer the door, and was surprised: Ben was panting, apparently having run all the way to their house. Quickly, he was taken into the house and sat down at the nearest chair, where Aunt May also joined the conversation. As he spoke, Peter and May’s expressions were both of surprise and happy relief, and Ben, obviously, was fighting back his tears of joy, even when they wrapped their arms around him in a group hug.
Still laying back on the couch, Ben’s smile was visible, Kaine still asleep. Peter then picked the child up and told Ben something, tapping his shoulder gently. The synthezoid then watched Peter go upstairs, following him shortly after.
Inside the Triskelion’s hangar, the graduates of S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy were cheering and talking with each other in a circle, for the apparent last time, though it for sure wouldn't be the case. Aunt May was with them, hearing Peter obviously talking more than the others; yet with reason considering the events before they all could graduate.
Scarlet observed them for a short distance, before Squirrel Girl and May scooched over, showing him a space to join them on that friendly circle. Even though hesitant, Scarlet joined them and was met with some smiles, but more with understanding and receptive stares from the graduates. This made him smile under the mask, for Spider-Man’s delight, and the conversation proceeded.
Ben placed Kaine down in his bed, and ruffled his hair gently, the child smiling as it got comfortable, holding to Ben’s jacket. It was peculiar his attachment to it like a blanket, but the synthezoid didn’t mind. He then got a notification on his phone: Miles had sent the picture of him and Kaine.
As he walked down the stairs, he made it his cellphone’s screensaver and helped greeting Flash and also Venom in its adorable cat form.
Spider-Man and Scarlet Spider were maskless, looking over the peaceful sight of New York together from the Triskelion’s roof. Ben looked calm and happy, which also made Peter happy: after all, now they were brothers, and he could always count on him.