Boy Turned Spider Man

No Way Around It Now

Shit...I cursed to myself as I saw the television. The one who got the position on the Seven is a woman from Iowa, named Starlight. When they showed her audition though, the video she submitted. She genuinely wants to make the world a better place, like I do. I guess the deciding vote was A-Train, which meant I had already lost long before I even sent the video in. I...I didn't get the spot...which means that we need to divert to Butcher's plan. Doop the company, take the deal, bug the Seven and try to work from there. Hopefully this doesn't have as big a ripple as Hughie and I think it will.

"Butcher you better know what the fuck you're doing," I muttered as I leapt off the building I was using to watch the television broadcast, swinging from building to building. Descending upside down in front of the electronics store Hughie works at. It wasn't opened yet, so the door was locked. Hughie was inside though, cleaning some of the shelves. I knocked on the glass door rapidly but not with a lot of force. Hughie looked at the door, seeing me and unlocking the door and letting me in.

"What's going on? What happened?" Hughie asked me.

"I...uh....I didn't get into the Seven. We're going to divert to Butcher. I just...thought you should know first. Mentally prepared you like I had to on the way here," I explained. Hughie's concern shifted to dejection and apprehensiveness.

"I know, bud. I don't want to do this either. We don't...have any other options though," I said with a gritted tone. With a grim feel in the air, we called the number that Butcher left on the counter after his initial visit to the store.

"Well well. Looks like your plan didn't work. Now you have another reason to get even with A-Train, spider. So, you remember the clauses you need to bring up?" Butcher asked over the phone.

"Hughie will only accept the terms if A-Train is there to apologize in person. And only if I'm there to act as a witness to the signing," I said, refreshing the details.

"Good going, kid. Now get calling," Butcher instructed us and hung up the phone shortly after. I watched as Hughie dialed the number of Vought Industries into the phone and heard the phone ringing.

Hours later, we were on our way to Vought Tower. Headquarters of the Seven, and where Hughie would sign that NDA and get the hush money. It was an awkward car ride, as the lawyers was endlessly staring at me. Unsure about if the fact that I'm here will make this any better.

"We're happy that you haven't taken this public yet. No need to make this a bigger mess than this has to be, right?" One of the layers said.

"I mean, I could've just announced this online. It wouldn't have been my story to tell though. It'd have been Hughie's, and I wasn't going to make him remember," I said.

"Some of the people at Vought have actually seen you-"

"Don't try and patronize me," I said coldly. I saw the way they flinched, like they were afraid of what I'd do. I sighed and calmed down.

"Sorry. I don't mean to bite your heads off. I'm just livid at A-Train, because he lied about the girl," I said calmly and remorseful.

"We know...it's not our call what gets aired on the news. We just make sure the i's get dotted and the t's get crossed, you know?" The other lawyer present admitted. We pulled into Vought Tower's parking garage and got out of the car. Walking to the elevator, Hughie looked even more nervous. I got unnerved, because I could hear the rapid skittering of A-Train's footsteps around the building. Along with the sonic booms of Homelander flying overhead in the skies.

It set in to me from my senses that I was in the lion's den, and anything that could happen might get us both killed. The elevator stopped and opened, we were immediately confronted with a statue of the Seven as they were in the past. Homelander, Queen Maeve, Black Noir, The Deep, Translucent, Lamplighter and the object of both Hughie's and my ire. The A-Train, all posing dramatically and heroically. We walked over, following the lawyers into the Seven's office. Towering over the cityz the windows giving a high rise view of the city. The large table for the Seven, in one of the seats is A-Train. Leaning back in his seat, legs kicked up onto my desk.

"So, we've agreed that Mr. Campbell will sign the Non-Disclosure Agreement. A-Train is here to apologize, Spider-Man is here as a witness, let's get this signing underway. Right?" The first lawyer chuckled awkwardly, feeling the tension building in the room.

"Uh...how about we just go get everyone some refreshments? Yeah? Yeah," The second lawyer said as they ushered themselves out of the room. Leaving Hughie, A-Train and myself in the room.

"Uh...well uh...I need to use the bathroom before they get back. Clearer thinking with an empty bladder, you know?" Hughie excused as he went to the bathroom, to get the bug ready to hand to me once he came back. For now though, it's just me and A-Train.

"You know, you've got some balls on you. Threatening me, a member of the Seven in public. Only to turn around and try and audition for a member of the Seven the next fucking minute. What's your angle?" A-Train asked me, getting up from his chair.

"No. No you've got some balls lying on national television," I threw at him. He feigned pain in his chest, as though my words had impacted him.

"Oof. That hurt, really did. Like you haven't made a mistake once in your damn life," A-Train deflected.

"I have. But they were little mistakes. The things I could fix and sweep under the rug. Missed a birthday, sent a card a week later to say sorry. Broke a lamp, fixed it back up. Gave it new bulb. Never splattered somebody across Park Avenue. Can't say I've ever made that mistake. No that mistake can't just swept away. Naaah....that apparently takes laywers to make people sign NDAs, PR people to make it seem like incompetence that happened on the innocent's behalf. Not simple. Not little. Now it isn't a mistake," I droned, the ice practically chilling the air around us.

"Shit man...that actually sounded scary for a moment. Far cry from your happy ass on the video audition," A-Train chuckled nervously. Before another word could be uttered out of both of us, the lawyers came back with lemonade, water, soda and the like. Hughie came back, passed me the bug and I subtly put the device under the table. Not breaking eye contact with A-Train all the while. He never broke eye contact with me either, which kept him distracted from seeing it.

We discussed the contract, Hughie getting overwhelmed by....something. Probably some residual trauma and we ended up leaving the tower without signing the contract. All the while, I heard the sound of the bug we just planted getting removed from the table...by who I couldn't see. I could certainly hear though...we were being followed out of the tower.