Help! There's a spider in the lobby!

[nbrhoodspidey]

There’s nobody in sight on the beach, with a bit of a wind, the waves slightly choppy, chewing on the shore leisurely yet aggressively, the palm trees fronds dancing in the gusts.

Suddenly, not twenty-five feet away from a tree, about a hundred feet in the air, a thin stream of gooey white fires into the air, followed by a man in a bright blue and

Comments

[notbirdnorplane]

Another dorky superhero happens to be walking nearby, and he'll stop and give Peter a faint smile. "Uh, just got here, I guess?"

[nbrhoodspidey]

Peter turns and smiles, glad to see a friendly face. "Yeah, maybe you could help me, I, uh, seem to be lost. Do you know a way to get the quickest flight back to New York?"

He knows it's absurd that less than half an hour ago he had been swinging through the streets of Manhattan and now he was asking for how to get a plane back there, but until dangerous things started happening he wasn't going to freak out, just get back, to Mary Jane and Aunt May.

[notbirdnorplane]

Clark frowns sympathetically. "I'm sorry. All indications are that there's no way off the island."

[nbrhoodspidey]

"Aw, you're kidding me," Peter says, his shoulders sagging. "And I was on my way to the Bugle after, um, my appointment. Mr. Jameson's not gonna be happy," he says, softly, almost to himself. He looks at Clark and sighs. He has no reason to distrust him, but he should at least find out if there's anyone else here. "So, I assume you're not the only one living here," he starts to say, then stops himself, holding his hand forward. "My name's Peter, by the way. Peter Parker."

[notbirdnorplane]

He promptly shakes the offered hand. "Clark. Clark Kent. And no, I'm not the only one here by a long shot."

[nbrhoodspidey]

Peter, absent-mindedly because he's sure he heard the name wrong, doesn't let go of Clark Kent's hand. "I'm...sorry, what was your name?"

[notbirdnorplane]

Ah. Okay, one of these, then. He closes his eyes briefly. "Clark Kent."

[nbrhoodspidey]

Peter lets go of the hand, furrows his eyebrows, and nodded, once. "Huh." Well, he looks like Clark Kent, but there were probably plenty of those in the world. One way to find out. "You're not, uh, this is gonna sound stupid, but you're not Superman, are you?"

[notbirdnorplane]

He looks a bit sheepish. "It doesn't sound stupid at all. I... Well, I am. I'm guessing you're from a universe where I'm fictional?" He hesitates a moment. "Um. If you wouldn't terribly mind, not everyone is, so... try to be...reasonably quiet about it?"

[nbrhoodspidey]

Peter nods quickly. "Of course, your secret's safe with me," he says in a conspiratorial tone. Then he realizes what he just said, and takes two steps back. "Hang on a second. One second." He sighs, looks at Clark. "How...how are you Superman? Am I in Metropolis?"

[notbirdnorplane]

He shakes his head. "No. It's an island, by all accounts in the middle of nowhere. People just... show up, from what appear to be all different places and times. Possibly different universes." He frowns a little. "Even I can't leave."

[nbrhoodspidey]

"Wow," is all Peter can manage. He's still grappling with the fact that he's met, of all people, Superman, one of the greatest superheroes of all time. Naturally he's still a bit star-struck, but he can't help but hold onto a tiny bit of doubt. "So, don't take this the wrong way, but how do I know you're really Superman?"

[notbirdnorplane]

Clark frowns and looks around briefly. One never can tell in the lobby, so he nods his head back to the door. "Let's go outside. I'll prove it."