Deception Twelve: Stalking is fun!

[hungry_monster]

[Filtered away from Anna]

I have a question Mayfield. I know we have to stay in our "assigned housing but we are able to leave at times. Does anyone know what the exact amount of time you are allowed to stay away from your house is?

I would be most appreciative.

[a. In his elementary school classroom, Johan is has a new assignment for you kids.

Comments

[seriousbigtime]

[I figured. Just making sure.]

Well... uh... Nobody really knows who he is, I guess. And there's been a lot of controversy about him in the news. But I think Spider-Man's an okay guy.

[hungry_monster]

Really? What is the controversy about then?

[seriousbigtime]

[He shrugs, trying to put it into the right words. It's always so weird talking about himself in such a detached manner.]

A lot of people don't know if they can trust him. There was this one time that...

[He pauses. It's not something he likes to talk about.]

[hungry_monster]

That?

[seriousbigtime]

...some jerk dressed up in a Spider-Man costume and figured that he'd try and rob a couple of banks with it. He... he killed my friend's father.

[It still haunts him to this day, especially considering how much Gwen ended up resenting him for it after that.]

But the real Spider-Man managed to catch him and bring him in.

[hungry_monster]

Yes I can see why there would be some controversy over that.

Did you believe he was innocent when your friends father was killed?

[seriousbigtime]

Of course he was innocent!

[That outburst kind of shot out of his mouth before he could really process it. A pause, then:]

Sorry. It's just... y'know. He's a hero. He's a big-time hero. He'd never do something that cruel.

[hungry_monster]

[Oh you'd better believe he notes that.]

How did you know he was a hero though?

[seriousbigtime]

[Because he's me.]

Because he's not about making money or taking advantage of people. Or hurting people. He's just a normal guy, like you or me. He's responsible for keeping everyone safe.

[hungry_monster]

I see.

['looks' convinced but curious.]

Who gave him that responsibility?

[seriousbigtime]

[Hey Johan, you're kind of making Peter a little bit uncomfortable. He's taking a bit longer to try and answer all your fancy questions.]

Well, uh... I mean... Wouldn't anyone be responsible for helping people in need?

[hungry_monster]

Most people don't become vigilantes though. And when one person has that sort of power things tend to go wrong. And after all, you know the saying.

Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.

[seriousbigtime]

That's... that's not always true, though. Plenty of good men make bad decisions sometimes.

[He's made far too many of those in the past couple of months, though, not gonna lie.]

But with great power comes great responsibility. You've got a responsibility to look out for your fellow man.

[hungry_monster]

Well yes.

However, how many bad decisions does it take for a good man to become a bad man?

After all, most "bad" people don't think they're doing anything wrong at all. Things always start with such good intentions...

[seriousbigtime]

[Okay, now you're starting to piss Peter off.]

You don't know what you're talking about. If---

[He catches himself before he spouts off anything too revelatory.]

If Spider-Man were here, he'd do everything in his power to get everyone home safe. He's a good guy. Always has been.

[hungry_monster]

[Raises his hands, looking distressed.]

I'm sorry, you're quite right in saying I don't know what I'm talking about. We don't have anyone like that in my world that's all.

I'm sorry if I offended you.