Whispers in the Winter Wind (Ultimate Spider-Man Cartoon)

Chapter 3

There was no going back now.

I wasn't sure how to begin, and "It all started with street-fighting" a sounded bit too rushed and to-the-point for my liking. It had started before that, things ran a little deeper, which meant I had to go in depth. But, just how in depth should I go. Should I start right as I got my powers, or cut straight to the professional wrestling? Should I keep the tone serious? Or should I go off the jokey end like Deadpool had?

No, not the jokey end – that had just been irritating. The team probably wanted a straight answer.

I fidgeted on the floor as I realized I was taking too long. They were all staring, expecting a story about my past. They probably realized this was one of the few chances they would get to actually learn something about me that wasn't humorous or super-inspirational.

I tried to meet their eyes but found their gazes far too intimidating to hold. It was if, with a single look, they would know everything. Every little irresponsible, idiotic act that I did; their judgment passed prematurely through my eyes. Nova shifted beside me, and I flinched, blurting out the first thing that came to mind, "I didn't immediately become a hero when I got my powers," and with those 11 words, I had their complete attention.

Swallowing, I numbly reached up and grabbed Nova's blanket, fiddling with it nervously. Maybe it'd be easier if I had something besides their eyes to look at. "I-I'm not some saint who got powers and immediately decided to be a hero. In fact, when I got my powers, being a hero was the farthest thing from my mind. I'm-I'm still human. I was still a kid. And like a kid, I ended up doing something...something really stupid. I mean, all I could think about was how I could benefit from them, personally, especially -" I paused, hesitant. I didn't want to make Flash feel worse than he already felt. Maybe I could just brush over that and - Angel Spidey popped in front of me, tsking and shaking his finger. The whole story, he chided.

I scowled at him.

"Especially how I could finally get back at the bullies who were always beating me up," I pushed the words out, grimacing with guilt as Flash flinched and looked down at his hands. They softened and tightened, as if remembering. Before I could change the subject, Squirrel Girl looked up from the mound of squirrels snuggling against her.

"You-you were bullied too?" she breathed, eyes wide like she couldn't quite believe it. "You?"

"We-well, yeah...kind of."

She tilted her head, lips pursing, "Kind of, how?"

"Umm..." I rubbed my neck, hoping that it would maybe warm my throat and let the words flow easier. "I guess not kind of. I mean, it happened, but um, it was fine. N-not that bullying is fine. I was fine. I mean, I wasn't fine, but I was usually okay...." I winced, quickly tapping off on the word flow, only they kept coming. "I mean, m-my glasses broke a lot, but duck-tape helped, and I could always get new pairs. But I was - I was, uh, it just kind of became of way of living, and uh - it took a lot of coping and talking, but it - I - I mean, glasses could always be fixed, and, uh..."

My help came in the form of Cloak quirking an eyebrow. "You wore glasses?"

"Uh, yea-yeah, I didn't have the best vision. But uh, just had to get bitten by that radioactive spider, and then, you know, 20/20 vision," I shot him an awkward thumbs up. "Which is nice to have, didn't realize I was missing out on some very vivid things. So...uh, all is cool. All good here," with my silence quickly tapering off into something awkward I filled the growing gap with a cough in my fist.

"Anyway, I think we're getting off track. Um, at the time my guardi -" I paused. They already knew my name and Nova already mentioned Uncle Ben, so what was the point of acting discretely? "My aunt and uncle were having a bit of trouble with the bills and since I was a kid, there wasn't really much I could do. But, I - uh, I found this ad in the newspaper for costume wrestling. There was $1,000 to anybody who could beat this stupid wrestler in a match, and...." I traced the grooves in the blanket. "-and I guess I was feeling pretty cocky about myself. I figured I could beat this guy pretty easily with my new powers, did the math in my head and everything, but when I showed up to the match they wouldn't let me in." I snorted wryly; remember the look on the administrators' faces when I tried to sign up.