Reticent Monsters (Ultimate Spider-Man - Cartoon)

Chapter 31: Guilt + Sugar = Insomnia

Connors POV

One of the great things about being an agent of SHIELD was that you learned pretty quickly how to handle long, sleepless nights.

Which was funny, because back when he was a simple college student working through his degree, Connors thought he knew was it was like being an insomniac.

Oh how terrible, terrible wrong he was.

SHIELD brought on a whole new level of insomnia. One that Connor's was bent on mastering through long nights in the labs, studying reports and papers, running check-ups through all the systems, getting updates from the head agents and the system of function they oversaw. At this point, he was sure he had evolved beyond a mere human being. Now, he was a sleepless beast relying on nothing but extra-sugary coffee and a whole ton of guilt to survive. But it was a persona he embraced willingly as long as it kept his thoughts busy.

He couldn't relay the day Peter was taken over and over in his head if he was too busy handling a system maintenance check.

There was no time for him to dwell on how things would be different if he let Peter stay at the Triskelion, while he was overseeing the lab equipment they found down in the sewers.

And there was absolutely no way he could drown himself in his rising guilt every time he saw Peter getting jabbed and shot, while he was trying to keep the Ultimate New Warriors in check.

To be honest, he welcomed all these tasks with open arms. He beckoned them on when the to-do list got low, anything to keep his hands moving.

Ironically, the one thing that never failed to get Peter off his mind was dealing with his teams. Which, holy heaven those kids were driving him up the wall. If stress and emotion problems could give spider-powers, Connors would be a full-fledged member of the Web Warriors by now. It's been a few days since the videos and felt as though everything was falling apart between the teams.

Connors figured it had something to do with Scarlet Spider and the bitter feelings toward him for what he did. While he could understand why half the team was still angry about Scarlet Spider's betrayal, both sides were getting out of hand. The teams had been completely split since the videoes and they refuse to tell anyone why.

Captain America confronted them after the incident, which went roughly, to say the least. A lot of grim stares, angry retorts, tears, and holes in the wall. It was tough for them. Probably a lot tougher than everyone else aside from May Parker. Connors wished there was something he could do to smooth the waters, but he doubted anything would help at this point.

A weird, teenage feud had split the team, and nothing was getting through to either side. It was almost like a cute, little mini-Civil War, only this constant fighting was beginning to get on Connor's nerves and he wished they'd all just sort out their feelings and hug already.

But that might've been the coffee getting to him.

But, on the bright side, at least they gave him something to do.

Like today, for instance. Training was starting up again, which was bound to end terribly. Connors figured it'd be best if he was there throughout the whole class, that way he'd be able to stop any fights before they started. It took a few strings to pull, some hours of extra paperwork to finish, but in the end, he figured it'd all be worth it.

He sipped his searing coffee, fresh from the pot, as he strode down the hallway toward his destination.

The training rooms are already lit when he gets inside the Spotter's Room. A small group of agents was stationed at the controls, ready to initiate the training diagnostic as soon as Connors gave the word, whereas the teens all waited outside in the training room, moping and grumbling.