026 // Video; backdated to the night of the 24th

[incywincyhero]

[Wherever Spider-Man is, it's outside and it's dark. Though not dark enough to hide the glint of far too many glossy, marble-round eyes as something very large and very hairy jerks away from the screen. The communicator drops onto a hard surface with a clatter. The microphone picks up scraping sounds as it gets shoved around a couple of times, but the screen shows only sky.]

You know, considering our demographic someone really needs to make network communicators in a "lacking opposable thumbs" edition. Damn fiddly buttons... [Spidey's voice is almost unrecognizeable, hoarse and gutteral with an overlay of clicks.]

The science team is getting close to a cure, I promise. Maybe the next day or so... [Beat.] I can't wait that long. I'm scared that I -- that if this goes any further I'll be a danger to somebody. More of a danger, I mean... [Harsh laughter, which trails off into rasping breaths.]

I could have stopped him, you know -- a long time ago, almost before it began. I had him dead to rights, and I let him go. I played judge and jury when it wasn't my place and decided a man with amnesia didn't have to pay for committing crimes he couldn't remember. Or maybe I was just scared. Scared of living with the consequences, scared of what losing his father would do to Harry -- like he wasn't better off without him anyway, right? And I was afraid of what he might not have forgotten.

[A dark shape looms closer to the camera, then jerks away again. Not before the headlight of a passing car casts its form into all too sharp relief: Spider-Man is now far more spider than man, eight eyes, eight legs and all. The clicking sounds are explained by the mandibles which clatter together when he speaks, somehow still intelligible.]

It doesn't really matter. Everyone Norman Osborn has killed, every single person he's harmed since that night on the waterfront... I share the responsibility. I could have stopped him then, and I didn't. No one's sorrier than I am, but that won't bring Gwen back -- that won't bring any of them back.

[A long, long silence, then:] Oh, god.

[The video disconnects.]


[[Responses will be ICly delayed!]]

VIDEO

[centurybaby]

[ for once, jenny isn't smoking. that's because you can't smoke in the vacuum of outer space, and she's out in the galaxy somewhere right now, against a backdrop of blackness speckled in bright dots of light. her eyes are glowing lightning blue and the feed is full of static. ]

Hey. So I got this fucking problem, right? And being a hands-on kinda girl, I'd solve it myself, if I wasn't running the fucking risk of reality altering the fuck out of anything near me.

Here, I'll show you.

[ she reaches towards her comm to fiddle with it, intensifying the instability of the feed before another video replaces her face. it's from the inside of her spaceship, far from where she is now, and the brief scene depicts something like this:

it's some kind of training room, or the chaotic mess of what remains. inside, what's taking up most of the camera's view is a massive three-headed monster of a dog, all dripping saliva from knife-like teeth, red-eyed and practically radiating evil aura and darkness. there's waves of energy rocking the feed, originating from what looks like a floating julian keller. quentin is visible in the corner, crouched as he rocks back and forth, over and over, dripping steady blood from his nose. from somewhere off camera, blue electricity rips through the air like a small storm. ]

I'd beam 'em down to get the antidote with the rest of the unlucky fucks who got infected, but I'd rather not unleash the uncontrolled powers of a telekinetic, a telepath, an electrokinetic, and a demon on the City while we wait for it to kick in.

So.

Which one of you heroes wants to come give some nice kids their meds, huh? Preferably before they fucking kill each other, some innocent people, or fucking do all of the above by ripping my Carrier apart.

[voice]

[fortuna_lector]

[There's a lot of explanation she could provide for this question, but this is public and Barbara isn't much for giving unnecessary information to the network at large. Bad enough that she has to ask at all. However, she can't help sounding worried.]

Has anyone seen Charlie in the past day or two? Teenage girl, red hair, last seen in Venezuela?

( Private to Charlie )