Up the Waterspout...

[theredarachnid]

WHO: Open
WHERE: Near the Importer
WHEN: Sunday, September 19th, during the day
WARNINGS: None
SUMMARY: Our intrepid hero's first steps in the City
FORMAT: Paragraph-ish

Comments

[bedeviledspider]

As luck would have it, another young man with spider-strength was wandering the streets today. Dressed in a blue hoodie and jeans, the redhead was carrying a bag of cheap takeout and a hefty stack of books. Stopping for a moment to adjust his load, Reilly spotted Ben.

Brown eyes widening as he took in the man's appearance, scrutinizing every little detail, trying convince himself this was a trick of the light. The books and the food spilled out his hands.

"Can't be. ...Dad?" he whispered, almost inaudible, too shocked to take his usual course of action when it came to family -- fleeing.

[theredarachnid]

It wasn't until Ben was face to face with Reilly that he realized that his spider-sense had activated. It wasn't screaming “DANGER! DANGER!” in his head like he was in peril, nor was it warning him that he was being watched. Instead, it was almost as if the spider-sense...recognized Reilly, or at least, had some familiarity with him. Indeed, when Ben took a closer look at the young man, there was something awfully familiar about him...

When Reilly dropped his food and books, Ben knelt down to help him pick them up. Reilly's words, though, made Ben pause in his task. “I think you've got the wrong guy, buddy. Sorry.” Still, the spider-sense kept humming, which had Ben trying to surreptitiously glance around their surroundings to see if there was something amiss, something that he wasn't picking up on.

[bedeviledspider]

Reilly, for his part, wasn't even aware he'd dropped anything until Ben's voice snapped him back to reality. Well. Sort of. Because this couldn't be real. Getting thrown into a weird alternate dimension? Yeah, okay, that was possible, but... meeting his Dad? No way. He wasn't that lucky -- he was a Parker, after all.

"N- no, it's cool. I, uh. Must have mistaken you for someone else," he mumbled, taking his things, eyes still on Ben. But he felt it, too. That odd sense of recognition... "You just look familiar. Really familiar, but I guess you get that a lot, huh?"

[theredarachnid]

Ben had to bite back the first thing that immediately came to mind. Buddy, you have no idea, he thought to himself, as he handed back the books and styrofoam food container. Instead, he just ran his hands through his bleached blonde hair, looking a bit sheepish. “Yeah. One of those movie stars. Or two of them. They kinda look alike, and they kinda look like me? I, uh, never really saw the resemblance.”

Slowly, Ben rose to his feet, brushing off his arms somewhat needlessly. He shot Reilly a curious look, then shrugged his shoulders. “Hey...do you know if there's a motel or hostel or some place like that somewhere in the neighborhood? Some guy tipped my bike over in Scranton and busted it up good, and I had to leave it back there for repairs and hitch into the city.” It probably wasn't Ben's best lie, but it was hard to think of a good one when his secret identity wasn't at stake.