The Soul World

Betrayal

When they stepped out of the portal, it was quiet. There were small groups of people scattered around but they were far away, and no one seemed to notice the new arrivals.

"Where did you take us, Strange?" Quill said, surveying the land, which had no distinguishing features.

Strange was gazing around anxiously, ringing his hands and muttering to himself.

"It doesn't make sense," he said, "this should be the Avengers compound! I took us to its location in upstate New York," 

"Looks like the Avengers ain't home," remarked Robert. Strange turned to him, taking him in properly for the first time.

"Hi kid. We haven't met yet, I'm Dr Strange." He held out his hand.

"Uh, Robert Farrell," said Robert, shaking it.

"I'm sorry to be so direct but we don't have much time, so how about you explain what your business was with that crowd and why they were so agitated. Also, how do you know Peter?"

Robert gaped at him, startled by Strange's directness. He looked to Peter, like a child checking with their mother.

"Strange?" Peter ventured, "Um, how about you let me catch up with Robert first? I think this whole ordeal has been a bit overwhelming, and the last thing he needs is to be interrogated by you."

"Oh, okay, do that then. Don't stray far!" He added, a paternal instinct kicking in, "We'll try and figure out where we are and get to know these new guys." He gestured to Hope, Hank and Janet.  "Come back soon!"

As the group began chatting, Peter led Robert out of earshot and raised his eyebrows.

"So. The last time I saw you, you were stealing from Delmar's to get money for your siblings. Where are you at nowadays?"

Robert tapped his heel, chewing on his fingernails as he hesitated for a bit. Eventually, he exhaled and began to tell the truth.

"For a while, I tried doing what you said. Found a foster home, tried to get a job, got by for a bit and everything was good. But then the home moved us to a different family, this young couple in DC. We had to leave New York and the family wasn't really equipped for 7 children, so when I turned 18, they pushed me out of the house pretty quickly.

"So I left. I was a young, black man, though, and it was even harder to get help. I couldn't find a job and I didn't have enough money for college so I didn't even bother applying... I'm afraid I broke my promise. I needed to steal again. But this time I needed big bucks, so I raided some factories and created this suit to make things easier." He signaled to his red and yellow costume.

"You made that? Yourself?" Peter inquired incredulously.

"Yup, rockets, hover board and all!" Grinned Robert, "I called myself the Rocket Racer. I was- Well, I wasn't doing good but I wasn't hurting anyone. Just, taking stuff where I needed it!" He defended himself.

"That's still illegal," Peter pointed out.

"Yeah... I think I accidentally became a bad guy. But it's okay! See, I applied for college and I got a scholarship!  I knew what I was doing was wrong, so I figured I would try to stop once I was earning a proper income, but I needed more money for tuition fees, so I went for a big target. Just as I was about to get away with it, the store clerk noticed me and he shouted to the entire street so people started chasing me!

"I thought I was busted, until everything went black and I turned up here. While I was recovering, all the people who were chasing me showed up again and they seemed to think it was my fault that they were there! They got crazy! But then you guys showed up, and, well, you know the rest..."