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?

[webball]

[His eyes widen. Yup, that's what he saw, but... She heard him say that?! Not good... Although... it seemed like she hadn't put two and two together, so he might have gotten lucky...!]

Ugh. He is, trust me! He is... He certainly tries his best to be.
Well since you know... Yeah, I saw all of these pictures of him being really un-good. Committing a lot of ...m-murders. But he wouldn't do that! And what's worse, all the photos had my photographer's signature on them. I only use it for the pics I take, so that no one can steal them. So it basically meant that I took the pictures.

I was looking at all these pictures where these people, people I love but have passed away, were dying because of me! ...Uh, m-meaning I stood by and let it happen. I stood there just... snapping away... watching Spidey steal their lives away...

[surf_n_makai]

[Nope, she hasn't put two and two together, partly because she's still missing some important pieces and partly because she's concerned because he's so upset.]

I'm sorry that's what you saw Peter. But... none of that really happened, right? Spider-Man didn't kill those people?

[webball]

[he's silent for a few seconds]

............No. He didn't kill them. They all just...died, as a result of things he couldn't really control. If anything, they died because of what he didn't do...protect them.

But I... I think he regrets it, though. He doesn't stop thinking about those failures, or any of his other ones.

I just miss them. And part of me has always thought they would still be around if they hadn't known me, hadn't been around my line of work, which can be so dangerous. So I guess I sometimes feel like I... led to their deaths. Indirectly or not.

I don't

END

[webball]

[dropped a word!]

know.*

[surf_n_makai]

[Kono frowns. He's mixing his pronouns which makes it hard to follow him. She can tell he feels guilty for those deaths, though, that part is easy to figure out.]

Peter, there's no way that you meant for anyone to get hurt. I haven't known you long, but I know that much. Whether you think you were directly or indirectly responsible, they would know that too.

I'm sorry you've lost them, though.

That is a crazily well-fitting icon! Is that new?

[webball]

[Peter sniffs a little and smiles at her.]

It's... it's in the past. What's done is done, right? But you're right. ...Thanks.

Agh. But... what the hell, man? I don't even know why I was freaking out about this stuff. Like, why now? I mean, I was seeing these shockingly vivid pictures of my Uncle Ben dying, and he passed away a good eleven years ago! And why was I having such horrific visions in the first place?

Nah, just haven't really had a chance to use this one yet

[surf_n_makai]

I don't know. You weren't the only one I saw freaking out today, though. Obviously it's Mayfield messing with us again. My guess is that it's the purple mushrooms that popped up everywhere.

Re: Nah, just haven't really had a chance to use this one yet

[webball]

Purple mushrooms? I didn't notice any purple mushro--

[Wait. WAAAAAAIT. Like the mushrooms in that sub? The one that he ate? Because it looked delicious and purple? ....Idiot.]

Ugh. Okay. ...So, this is life as usual in Mayfield, huh? ...Swell.

Re: Nah, just haven't really had a chance to use this one yet

[surf_n_makai]

[Kono assumes that means he ate them.]

Yeah, from what I can tell that's normal. Although the aliens thing wasn't this... bad for people. I don't think.

Word. Well I dig it, I was like "whoa, that's like the perfect picture...!"

[webball]

Wow. When you eat a steak bomb that is more traumatizing than an alien invasion, you either live in Mayfield or... god, the Lower East Side of New York, nowadays, they are crazily chill about alien invasions lately.

:)

[surf_n_makai]

If you say so. Crazy place, that New York. I'll stick to the other ocean, thanks.

[He seems to be doing a little bit better, at least, now that the mushrooms are wearing off. She picks back up her cup of tea and takes a sip.]

Are you going to be ok?

Re: :)

[webball]

I could really use some o' that stereotypical, non representative Hawaii right now, but otherwise I think so. Feeling better as we speak.

Re: :)

[surf_n_makai]

[Kono smiles. He does seem to be doing better.]

I'm glad. You... you were really panicked, brah.

Re: :)

[webball]

Hah! You say that as if it isn't normal for me. If I had been calm, THEN I'd be worried.

Re: :)

[surf_n_makai]

Yeah, well, this was a different kind of panicked, brah. But... well, you had a pretty good reason to be.

So you're telling me you always spaz out?