Episode 3: Shroomfield

[webball]

A. Downtown | Neutron Diner | Interior | Early Evening

[Peter sits at the bar inside of the small-town diner. Girls in rollerskates zip past him, serving the other six or seven customers in the restaurant. On the jukebox, Bobby Day's "Rockin' Robin" plays, and he can feel the vibration of the drum beats and the taps of drone feet through the floor.

Comments

[surf_n_makai]

[Kono's walking, just wishing to spend some time outside and out of her house for a bit, when she spots Peter tearing through a mailbox that's obviously not his. She walks up to him to see what's up. When she does get close, she sees he's not really taking anything out of it.]

Peter? Are you looking for something?

[surf_n_makai]

Hey, HEY. You're ok, what's the matter Peter?

[webball]

[He looks at her, startled, and then back at his hands. But they seem okay to him now... why did... what is happening?]

N-nothing. I guess I... nothing. ...Sorry.

[surf_n_makai]

No need to be sorry, brah. Come on, up you go. [Kono helps Peter back up off the ground.]

[webball]

[He tries to follow her back to her home with no further incident. He keeps his eyes downcast, clenching and unclenching his hands, frantically patting his pockets every now and then, but he keeps pace with her.]

[surf_n_makai]

[Once they make it to Kono's, she sits him on the couch.]

Hey, I'm going to put on some water to make tea. You gonna be ok in here?

[webball]

[Peter rubs his eyes and just nods weakly]

[surf_n_makai]

[Kono goes into the kitchen and makes a cup of tea for both Peter and herself. While she's working, she tries to make sense of what Peter's been going on about. From what she can tell, Peter thinks Spider-Man has killed people, maybe people Peter knew and loved. But when they first met, he'd said Spider-Man was a superhero.

None of it made any sense, but at least Peter was safe in a house. Hopefully the tea would help calm him down a little.

She comes back into the living room and offers one of the cups to Peter.]

Here you go. Careful, it's hot.

[webball]

[he meekly takes the tea and nods gratefully, taking a few tips and massaging his temple. It seems to comfort him a little. After a few moments, he sets the teacup on the saucer on top of the table and speaks.]

...I should just throw out these postcards. I can't stand the sight of them.

[he pats his pockets but then seems confused, like they don't feel right.]

[surf_n_makai]

Peter? What's wrong now?

[webball]

I... Those postcards... They're... Not there...? But, I could swear I'd seen... You saw me pick them up right?

[surf_n_makai]

[Gently.]Peter, the postcards you saw were all in your head. There was nothing in that mailbox.

[webball]

...........Oh.
[It feels like a veil is fading from his mind. He looks around him again, as if for the first time.]

God, but... But it seemed so real... I could swear I was just waking home and the mailboxes just started spewing out all this mail... Tons and tons of it just... More tham could possibly have fit in there. When I took a look, it was...

[surf_n_makai]

Yeah, you were freaking out when I found you. But it wasn't real, there wasn't anything. Promise.

[webball]

[Peter slumps back in his chair, tired but comforted. But he sits back up and looks at her, a flash of concern in his eyes. He slowly says]

Kono. Did, uh... Did I say anything... Weird? While I was looking through mailboxes like a crazy person being crazy?

[surf_n_makai]

[Kono has a seat next to him and puts her own tea on the coffee table.]

Most of what you said didn't make a lot of sense. You were talking about the postcards being pictures of Spider-Man, and that he'd killed some people. I thought Spider-Man was supposed to be a hero though.