voice testing

[greatestheroever]

Wow, mun. I can't say I'm the greatest hero just yet, but I'll try to live up to it!

Um. But do we really have to use this icon? It's embarrassing, and I think people might get the wrong idea.

Comments

[greatestheroever]

Yeah. I just wish people were better sometimes.

... and robots I guess.

[spideyfanone]

Not a lotta difference at that level, honestly.

...So yeah, hero stuff is hard.

[greatestheroever]

I know that it's hard, I just don't understand it. Like how my Uncle Cluster seemed to care about me, when I know he also did some awful things. Everybody thinks I'm going to be a supervillain, even though that's the last thing I want. None of it makes sense.

[spideyfanone]

Expectations, I guess. I look like some guy people think of as good, so even if I'm fourteen and my training consists of a year of YMCA Taekwando, I'm supposed to be trustworthy. ...Even if Mr. Howlett doesn't usually let me into fights unless it's an emergency.

[greatestheroever]

I look evil so I'm evil?

I don't like that.

[Especially when it seems to be what people really think.]

[spideyfanone]

My point was exactly the opposite of that, actually. I've never done anything especially good, but my friends see a good guy when they look at me.

...Not that you look evil. Am I missing some context?

[greatestheroever]

I guess that makes sense. Even with alternate universes.

Um. I'm cloned from a clone of a very bad man. Apparently evil is in my genes. [Just hold on while he frowns for a moment at that.]

[spideyfanone]

Yeah, that's not a thing even a little bit. And barring that context, you really don't make me think "evil" at all. ...Chess club, possibly. Not evil.

[greatestheroever]

Thank you. I do like chess.

People can be real jerks about it back home, though.

[spideyfanone]

Well, I can kinda sympathize. Mutants had legal equality at home, and everyone says that's weirdly good, but it didn't exactly extend to a mutant as obvious as me who was also king of the nerds. People'll find a way to be jerks, is kinda what I mean.

[greatestheroever]

Equality is always good! But it's not real equality if it doesn't apply to those of us who don't appear human.

[His brow knits slightly.] You did call yourself human before. Do you think of yourself as human?

[spideyfanone]

I'm more of a physics guy than biologist, one a single-gene difference within a freely interbreeding, sympatric population does not a speciation make. Homo Superior is a silly idea. ...Besides, my parents were human. They adopted the freak baby. S'the least I can do to adopt back, y'know?

[greatestheroever]

That makes sense. I'm not really sure how to think of myself. It matters a lot to most people at the school, but Ma and Pa never raised me any differently than any other kid, really.

[Er, ignoring that they never existed.]

[spideyfanone]

Yeah, same for mine. Besides, it just doesn't hold up logically, and I like logic. It helps... X-positive human, scientifically speaking. Politically, mutant is a legit identity thing, I guess.

[greatestheroever]

Yeah, I don't want to deny being a mutant or ignore the need to champion mutant rights, but I'm not sure that saying you're not human helps things.

[spideyfanone]

It's a Venn diagram, not two different columns on a chart. ...If that works for you. I guess not everyone thinks in graphs.

[greatestheroever]

I think in graphs!

[You are a wonderful person, Kurt who also thinks in graphs.]

But with everything that's going on people think you have to be on one side or another.

[spideyfanone]

Maybe it's 'cus I'm from the world where things sucked a little less until everyone died, but I never thought of it that way. I mean, there was a girl in my class who could fly, but she looked normal and was on the pom squad instead of the future engineers club. Nobody stole her lunch money. It's like... Mutant is just one way to kick people to the curb to feel better.

[greatestheroever]

I guess. I don't really know too much about this stuff yet. I haven't been out in the real world for very long. But I don't see why things have to be like this. There has to be a way to make it better.

[spideyfanone]

Take a look at the multiverse sometime. ...Okay, don't, because it's kinda broken. But if you did, yeah, there are better ways out there. There are also worlds with psychic horrors that project illusions of cupcakes and unicorns to fool you, but the point about infinite possibilities stands.

[greatestheroever]

Would that work? I mean, just because something works for another world doesn't mean it'd work for us. I guess maybe we could learn from it, but I don't think I'd be able to just watch without wanting to help them too.

I think I am kind of immortal though ...

[aceofkillers]

So get a pair'a jeans, hang 'em up in your room, and anytime somebody talks about your 'evil jeans' just point 'em in their direction isntead of buggin' you about it.

[greatestheroever]

[He considers that for a moment.]

I like it. I think puns might be one of Quentin's secret weaknesses.

[aceofkillers]

Glad to help, kid. It's amazing how many problems get solved by a smartass answer and enough brass to see it through.

[greatestheroever]

That's not really my sort of thing, but it seems to be all some of my classmates understand.