Scarlet Spider: Sin

P1 - Chapter #2: Status Quo

A/N #1: Be on the lookout for the 2002 Spider-Man reference ;)

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(A week ago...)

It was midday at Midtown High School. The school hall was filled with indistinct chattering, laughs, gasps, and footsteps from students. Some were seen opening their lockers, while some were holding textbooks and notebooks, already on their way to their respective classes.

Among them was none other than Kaine himself. The teenager was walking toward his school locker, wearing an outfit of an unzipped black jacket, red t-shirt underneath it, and blue jeans. He gave a quick glance to his watch on his left hand, and nodded to himself–still several minutes left before breaktime ended. Kaine took out a pair of glasses from one of his jacket's pockets and put it on. His left hand then reached and held the locker's lock in his hand. His other hand moved to its dial and began to rotate it.

5...22...2

It made a clicking sound before Kaine opened the locker, revealing stickers of tokusatsu superheroes inside. The sight made him smile softly, as if he was a little boy again. Afterwards, his eyes turned to a copy of a school schedule labeled "Grade 10" which he plastered inside the locker. The youngster shook his head, giving the "not again" look as Physics was the next lesson.

"Oh what the hell..." he sighed while collecting books for the last three subjects.

After collecting the books and closing the locker, a voice suddenly called out to him. "Hey Parker!" This made the brunet almost drop the books he was carrying, before he quickly held them back. Kaine then turned around and realized he was surrounded by a group of three jocks, laughing at him. One of them was a blonde jock... One that prompted Kaine to give a look of disgust.

"Well, well. Flash and his goons. How great."

The teenager was about to push away one of the jocks, only to be pushed back, which led to his books falling. And this drew every students' attention in the hall. Some were just standing there, some wanted to help Kaine but hesitated at the last moment, displaying both fear and regret.

"Really? I don't have time for this-" Flash pinned his target against a school locker, which Kaine reacted to with an unamused and disappointed look.

For a moment, this... reminded the brunette teenager of something terrible from his time during elementary school. As if it happened before his eyes, he could hear his younger self screaming for mercy and help as he was surrounded by bullies. Slowly, his hands curled into fists and he gritted his teeth. Inside his mind, he considered giving Flash a taste of his own medicine. Imagining the pain he would inflict on the blonde jock gave him a somewhat powerful feeling. But at the very last moment... he hesitated. The school rules... The consequences and the punishment he might face. And not just that, the pain he experienced in the past... Those stopped him. And now one thing made him worry and desperate, how could he escape from these bullies..?

"Hey! That's enough, you three!" Out of every student, a voice called out to the jocks, which prompted them to turn their eyes around.

When Kaine heard that very voice–a familiar one, the desperation inside him was gone in an instant. A smile replaced those negative feelings, as the teenager knew the one person who would stick his neck out for him. He let out a chuckle to himself, "Pfft. Peter, like always..."

Peter Parker, who had called out the bullies earlier, walked toward the group. As he was about to confront them, one of the bullies couldn't help but glance back and forth at the two Parkers in confusion. Their resemblance, despite being cousins, was so uncanny. Except the differences on their hairstyles, clothing, voice, and glasses.