Stories Focussed On Spider-Man

Tabula Rasa P2

I woke up to a rainbow of color and then immediately proceeded to wonder if they'd finally finished me off. The sunrise was heavenly, so could you really blame me? It all came rushing back as I took in the grays that made up my habitat. It had been so much more pleasant waking up in a tree. I wasn't particularly fond of the cave. Oh well, some things couldn't be helped.

Birds were chirping, and crickets were enjoying themselves. The forest was lit with life, all of it waking up for the new day. I decided to join them in waking up, crawling out and finding where I had stashed my duffel bag with my feeble belongings and began to make my way to the river. I shivered slightly at the crisp morning air, totally regretting not using the blanket that night. I was cold.

It wasn't like a normal person's cold, either. It seemed to seem beneath my skin and root down in my bones. My lungs were cold; my stomach was cold; my intestines were cold, my femur was cold. Heck, my left pinky toe was cold.

I can't thermoregulate.

The thought struck me out of nowhere. It was like some fact that I had previously been aware of, but it hadn't quite been unlocked from the prison my mind was in. With it came a new torrent of worry. If I couldn't thermoregulate, how would I continue to survive? There was a chance I'd be out there for a while, and it was fall, so winter was fast approaching.

Yes, yes, the idiots did agree to try and prove their innocence via detonating the base, so there was a chance that I would be long gone by the first snowfall of the cold months.

But...

Okay, so what if I didn't really believe them? They'd popped up out of nowhere, claiming to be my rescuers and absolutely failed at the rescuing part! I got out on my own! Not to mention, if they were really the "good guys", they'd have been there for the kids, too. Apparently, they weren't quite important enough to warrant their saving during the first go at me. But, the cosplayers did offer to save them, if only to prove that they were on my side. Who was I to tell them not to? Worst case scenario: they don't help the kids. The best one involved everyone's freedom.

I had nothing to loose.

"Hey, Webhead!" I turned to see Hawkeye perched in a nearby tree, yawning.

"What are you doing here?" I growled. They'd never popped up so early before. Did it have to do with what happened the night prior?

"Good morning to you, too. I thought your mother taught you manners, man."

I shrugged. "It's almost funny how you think I'd remember that. Besides, it's not like we're on the best terms right now, so why pretend we are?"

"Dang, you're grouchier than after I beat you in Mario Kart."

"If we ever played Mario Whatever, I'd totally smoke you. And, I'm not really a morning person. It doesn't help that it's so freaking cold, either."

Hawkeye frowned. "Was the blanket not thick enough?" Huh. So it was them who set out the package.

"I slept on the roof of a cave," I drawled, figuring he either already knew or would soon know my latest sleeping location. "You try using a blanket when gravity is working against you. What's up with that, anyways?"

"Gravity?" he laughed.

"No! Like, why'd you bother giving me stuff?"

"We just figured you'd need it? The position you're in sucks, so Cap thought it would make things a bit better."