He couldn't find Rachel Summers. Granted, he hasn't been able to get in touch with her for a while, but this was the first time he had made an actual effort to look for her
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Yep, it's Nate, and he has company, who may at least look familiar to Spider-Man.
As for Nate himself, he looked more than a little ragged. He hadn't bothered to clean up after his recent scuffle with Cable and crew. That, combined with flying halfway around the world, left him weary, and it showed.
He landed softly on the roof, and set down Terry.
"Spidey..." Yes, he has some respect for the secret identity thing.
Nate took a deep breath. "Where to begin...?" Everything about his stance was all but screaming 'you're not gonna like this, Pete', but he needed an honest answer. He looked back at Sonique, then resolved himself to do this.
He figured he'd pick up from the last time they saw each other.
"Remember how you helped me out when I found that device in the Man-Thing? Well..."
And so, Nate told him everything. The honest truth. About how that device was part of a larger scheme by the Red Skull. How, when the riots started, Nate ended up strapping himself into Cerebro. How the subsequent fight and effort calming the riots overloaded Cerebro and overloaded himself, causing his mind to shatter
( ... )
Spider-Man is quiet for a long moment. He can guess the 'why'.
"Nate.."
There're a lot of things radiating from Spider-Man's mind. Anger. Frustration. Sadness.
".. don't you see what you've done? You've psychically kidnapped a decent person, and .."
He shakes his head.
"Remaking the world to fit your wants and desires, and disregarding the cost - that's not what heroes do, Nate. That's what Doctor Doom does. I understand you were affected by the Cerebro thing, but.. on some level, you have to know that this was wrong - don't you?"
Spider-Man's hand tightens into a fist as he remembers.
"Once or twice, lady. The first woman I ever loved, and the man who raised me as his son. I'd give my life to bring them back, in a heartbeat... but I don't have the right to give anyone else's. Not even criminal scum like Doctor Octopus or the Rhino."
"It's a line you just can't cross. Once you're on the other side, where do you stop?"
That's a question Nate has been trying to answer all of his life.
"The blonde girl." Nate knew what wound he was about to rip open... and he prayed Peter would forgive him one day for doing so.
"I remember her. I lashed out with my powers, they intersected with your thoughts, and for a few moments, she was back again." Sort of. "I know how much that tore you up inside, but I know it hurt even more when, in a snap, she was gone again. Vanished, and back to the ether because I got shot and I lost concentration.
"I couldn't let that happen to her. I wasn't going to have her second chance at life get taken away because I got distracted by something."
"I know why you did what you did. And lady, no offense to you, I'm sure you were a nice person, but.. how many lives are you worth, exactly? Because Cable and his friends are going to keep coming. And as likely as not, Nate will kill them all for you. Am I wrong?"
He continues.
"And then the X-Men. Or the Avengers. Or the Fantastic Four. You'll be killing in defense of the woman you love, but they're trying to stop you to restore the one they love. How many people are you prepared to kill? Or mindwipe
( ... )
The 'right' choice. There were days when he wondered if there ever was such a thing.
Today is one of those days.
He shook his head.
"Its not that simple. Its not just a matter of restoring Siryn. This can't just be undone." That much he knows.
"I guess its the one thing about most 'heroes' on this world that bothers me. They spend so much time trying to preserve the status quo, fighting to keep things the way they are, to keep things from getting worse, that they don't try to make things better."
He was straying from his point. He looked over at Terry.
"There's nothing to 'stop'. She's alive, every bit as alive as Siryn is. She's not a thing. Not an 'it'. Not a figment of my imagination. She's sentient. She's real. She has her own thoughts, dreams, wants, likes, dislikes, opinions, feelings." Feelings for him, and he for her. "They can't just take that all away
( ... )
"You didn't save her, Nate, you brought her back. Cable and Banshee and the others are trying to save Siryn. There is a difference. And Miss, I'm very sorry to be talking about you this way - I don't mean any insult, it's just a kind of unusual situation for me."
"You say Cable will murder Sonique to save Siryn - is that different from what you did to Siryn to bring back Sonique? Why is it okay for you, but wrong for him?"
He sighs.
"If someone told me that by killing a single innocent person, that I could bring back Gwen - I wouldn't do it. Why? Because, among other reasons, Gwen wouldn't want me to. Human lives aren't interchangeable commodities, and we're not allowed to pick and choose the people who get to live
( ... )
Some faint tingle in his head causes him to look towards his oncoming guest.
"...Nate?"
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As for Nate himself, he looked more than a little ragged. He hadn't bothered to clean up after his recent scuffle with Cable and crew. That, combined with flying halfway around the world, left him weary, and it showed.
He landed softly on the roof, and set down Terry.
"Spidey..." Yes, he has some respect for the secret identity thing.
Reply
There's a glance to Nate's travelling companion.
"Siryn, right? Nice to see you again."
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"She's an alternate. Its a long story. A really long story." Speaking of which...
"You got a few minutes?"
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"Seems quiet so far. My time is yours."
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Reply
He figured he'd pick up from the last time they saw each other.
"Remember how you helped me out when I found that device in the Man-Thing? Well..."
And so, Nate told him everything. The honest truth. About how that device was part of a larger scheme by the Red Skull. How, when the riots started, Nate ended up strapping himself into Cerebro. How the subsequent fight and effort calming the riots overloaded Cerebro and overloaded himself, causing his mind to shatter ( ... )
Reply
"Nate.."
There're a lot of things radiating from Spider-Man's mind. Anger. Frustration. Sadness.
".. don't you see what you've done? You've psychically kidnapped a decent person, and .."
He shakes his head.
"Remaking the world to fit your wants and desires, and disregarding the cost - that's not what heroes do, Nate. That's what Doctor Doom does. I understand you were affected by the Cerebro thing, but.. on some level, you have to know that this was wrong - don't you?"
Reply
Reply
"Once or twice, lady. The first woman I ever loved, and the man who raised me as his son. I'd give my life to bring them back, in a heartbeat... but I don't have the right to give anyone else's. Not even criminal scum like Doctor Octopus or the Rhino."
"It's a line you just can't cross. Once you're on the other side, where do you stop?"
Reply
"The blonde girl." Nate knew what wound he was about to rip open... and he prayed Peter would forgive him one day for doing so.
"I remember her. I lashed out with my powers, they intersected with your thoughts, and for a few moments, she was back again." Sort of. "I know how much that tore you up inside, but I know it hurt even more when, in a snap, she was gone again. Vanished, and back to the ether because I got shot and I lost concentration.
"I couldn't let that happen to her. I wasn't going to have her second chance at life get taken away because I got distracted by something."
He folded his arms, and looked over the city.
"I did what I had to do to save her..."
Reply
"I know why you did what you did. And lady, no offense to you, I'm sure you were a nice person, but.. how many lives are you worth, exactly? Because Cable and his friends are going to keep coming. And as likely as not, Nate will kill them all for you. Am I wrong?"
He continues.
"And then the X-Men. Or the Avengers. Or the Fantastic Four. You'll be killing in defense of the woman you love, but they're trying to stop you to restore the one they love. How many people are you prepared to kill? Or mindwipe ( ... )
Reply
Today is one of those days.
He shook his head.
"Its not that simple. Its not just a matter of restoring Siryn. This can't just be undone." That much he knows.
"I guess its the one thing about most 'heroes' on this world that bothers me. They spend so much time trying to preserve the status quo, fighting to keep things the way they are, to keep things from getting worse, that they don't try to make things better."
He was straying from his point. He looked over at Terry.
"There's nothing to 'stop'. She's alive, every bit as alive as Siryn is. She's not a thing. Not an 'it'. Not a figment of my imagination. She's sentient. She's real. She has her own thoughts, dreams, wants, likes, dislikes, opinions, feelings." Feelings for him, and he for her. "They can't just take that all away ( ... )
Reply
Reply
"You say Cable will murder Sonique to save Siryn - is that different from what you did to Siryn to bring back Sonique? Why is it okay for you, but wrong for him?"
He sighs.
"If someone told me that by killing a single innocent person, that I could bring back Gwen - I wouldn't do it. Why? Because, among other reasons, Gwen wouldn't want me to. Human lives aren't interchangeable commodities, and we're not allowed to pick and choose the people who get to live ( ... )
Reply
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