dear_mun | On the mun's readthrough of the Clone Saga

[He'd make some kind of comment on the lack of originality, but seeing as he's currently been saddled with the name "Scarlet Spider" he realizes he's in no position to throw stones. He's also far more curious as to the guy's real name, but he won't push... for now.]

I'm also going to take a guess that you're the "kid" you were referring to before when you wanted to talk about Aracely.

[Kaine freezes at the word "Parker." Just who the hell was this guy?] Peter Parker thinks anyone who can't live up to his ridiculous and idealistic moral code is a disgrace. [...And he'll still go out of his way to help them for reasons Kaine could never understand.]

[ Despite himself, Reilly has to laugh at that. It's a strange sound -- inhuman and warped, yet, there might be something familiar about it. ] Sounds exactly like the Parker I know. Between you and me, he's even worse in his old age. Maybe I'm a little rough on criminals bur I'm just doing what needs to be done. What Murdock can't do, any more.

And I... I'm...

[ It's weird. Seeing a scary demon guy suddenly look so... nervous. ]

Are you sure you want to know? You might not like the answer.

[Okay yeah that laugh is kind of freaky but really that's not too high on the list of things that are freaking him out right now. That honor belongs to the fact this guy is talking like he's from the future. Again, this is a Parker/Reilly problem. Not his.] Peter will never understand what needs to be done. Which is why you ignore him and do it anyway.

[It also belongs to the fact this guy keeps talking like he knows the inner workings of his fucked up little family, something a number of people he could count on his fingers know about.] Spit it out.

All right.

[ Reilly closes his eyes and focuses on the change. His demonic features fade away to a human form. Now that he looks "normal", there's no denying the resemblance between the two men. They're the same height and roughly the same build. When he opens his eyes again, it's clear that they're exactly the same as Kaine's.

But that anxious smile? That's all Ben.

And the bright, red hair is all Elizabeth. ]

My name is Reilly.

Reilly Tyne.

[Kaine had watched the transformation with mild interest, but it wasn't until the demon began looking like he stepped out of a Parker family album did he really pay attention. There was no way...

And then he gave his name, and his suspicions were confirmed. He didn't bother to mask his surprise as he stared at what might as well have been a ghost.]

Ben had a son...?

[No, he couldn't take him at his word. Kraven had pretended to be Ben before, there's no reason this wasn't all a trick. His surprise fades, and its replaced with his usual scowl with just a hint of anger.]

Prove it.

[ Reilly hadn't been expecting this to go well. Meeting his family had NEVER gone well. Still, Kaine's anger surprises him, and now? Now it's his turn to step forward, frustration written all over his face. ]

You're the one who told me! Who found me and took me in! What do I have to do, climb a wall for you? I'd shoot some webs but I never learned how to do that. The only guy who could've taught me is dead.

[ Looking down now. He's said way too much. ]

...whatever. Like I said, you don't have to believe me. I don't care.

[Okay, he believes him.]

Sorry, I've been on edge since Kraven decided to do a spot-on impression of your old man. [Maybe not spot-on, but close enough when he was enraged, drugged, and convinced he was dying.

Kaine stands there awkwardly, not sure what to do next. He's learned from his time in Texas that these situations usually call for a hug, but he wasn't exactly comfortable giving them to begin with, and he had a hunch he'd get punched in the face if he tried. He had never really noticed how much easier things were back when he was crazy and punching or threatening bodily harm to things was an acceptable response to any situation.]

Peter won't tell you how to make his stupid formula? [Yes, that was the best he could come up with. He wanted to know what happened to Janine... Elizabeth... whatever, how he took him in, how he ruined his life... but he couldn't bring himself to ask. It was too personal, hit too close to home...

And it made him wonder if Aracely would suffer the same fate.]

About a week ago, some Goblin devotee made up this story about "Gwen Reilly". Dad's supposed daughter. I mean, what I'm trying to say is... [ Flails a hand about, desperately searching for the right words, looking every bit the awkward teen he really is. Because under the tough guy act there's a lot of Spider-Dork in the boy. ] I understand. Kind of.

[ Cue the awkward silence. Reilly has no idea what to do here, either. He's glad Kaine isn't going for a hug — physical affection (or any affection, really, that wasn't buried under a lot of snark) wasn't a thing they did. It would be way too weird to start now. And he knows his Uncle has to have questions.

Questions he's not sure he should answer. ]

Parker– none of them know. It's better that way. Who wants to find out they have a secret freak in the family?

[ Yeah. Definitely Ben's boy. ]

Edited 2013-09-10 22:51 (UTC)

[Rubs his eyes at the mention of "Gwen."] Will someone let that poor girl die in peace already?

[Affection, physical or otherwise, wasn't something he did either, but no one in his life currently seems to either be aware of or care about his thoughts on the matter. But awkward silence he's all too familiar with, and something he's willing to deal with right now.]

Christ you are Reilly's kid. Then again, I had the same damn thought when I was younger. [He snorts at the thought, mainly because he can't remember if he was trying to protect Reilly and antagonize Parker or protect Parker and antagonize Reilly at the time.] That why you took up a different red costume? [At least he didn't get stuck with the stupid Scarlet Spider name too. Damn thing was hereditary.]

Don't say that! The thought of you and I having something in common makes me sick to my stomach.

[ He's joking. Mostly. It feels... almost normal. As long as he doesn't think too hard about how this clone isn't old and grey. ]

That's part of it. I owe a lot to Murdock, and that's not a responsibility I take lightly, but wearing the webs never felt right.

Besides, even if I wanted to, there's this annoying girl already running around in Dad's costume. [ Said with an affectionate grin. Not that he'll ever admit it. ] Calls herself "Spider-Girl". You'd probably know her better as May.

[Yup, definitely Ben's kid. Is that the barest hint of a smile? No, you're clearly just seeing things.] Too bad.

I never thought I'd be wearing the webs either, but sometimes the universe has a fucked up sense of humor. [He flicks his wrist and shoots a small strand of webbing from his wrist.

He says that name like it's supposed to mean something to him, but there's only one "May" he can think of... and it makes him shudder.] Mrs. Jameson's [He refuses to call her Aunt May. As far as he's concerned that kind woman was never his aunt. He didn't deserve a woman like her as an aunt.] a little too old to be calling herself "girl," don't you think?

[OOC: I have literally spent the last hour/hour and a half trying to figure out exactly how fucking One More Day screwed up the plot of the Clone Saga (like the Clone Saga needed help being any more convoluted). I'm basing this entirely on MJ's line that she wouldn't have a kid with Peter so long as he was a hero.]

Mrs. Jameso-

O- okay, I think it's my turn to be confused. Because the May I know better not be Missus Anyone, if you ask me.

[ Because no guy is good enough for his cousin. Or girl, for that matter. He'll be an overprotective jerk either way. That's what you do for family. ]

(OOC: No problem! I'm fine with hand waving OMD however you want. I kind of assumed Kaine has forgotten a few things since you'd think he'd have brought Baby May up by now if he still knew. )

Edited (and sorry for all the edits! this is why I shouldn't tag before bed) 2013-09-12 04:13 (UTC)

The old lady's well within her rights to marry whoever the hell she damn well pleases.

[Even if he doesn't think he's worthy of her, he's still just as protective of May Parker--err, May Jameson--as his brothers. And for the record he's starting to get the hang of this whole family thing thanks to Aracely.]

But something tells me we're not talking about your great-aunt.

[OOC: Thanks! So far Yost has written off a lot of Kaine's memories of the past as "hazy due to clone degeneration" so I'm going to roll with that and curse One More Day some more for being one of the dumbest storylines ever.

And no worries about all the edits!]

[ He's having trouble wrapping his head around this. No matter how bad things got between him and his Uncle they had one thing in common: wanting to protect her. They might disagree about how to do it - violently, sometimes - but it was always something they shared. Of all the differences between their universes, somehow, he had thought that could never change. ]

You really don't know? [ Shaking his head. ] Parker's girl? Come on, this isn't funny, you've been watching over May even longer than I have...

[ OOC: Works for me! One of the nice things about playing from an AU is that I don't have to worry about that awful, awful trainwreck. ]

[Kaine was barely able to wrap his mind around Ben having a son. The concept of Peter having a daughter was just mind-boggling. The guy could barely take care of himself... Then again, the same could have been said for Ben.]

Parker doesn't have a girl. Or a boy or hell, even a ferret. [He attempts again to even fathom the possibility... yeah, no.] So this is why everyone hates alternate timelines... Yeah, this is a major pain in the ass.

[OOC: You're very lucky. I'm still so pissed. Fucking Quesada...]

A girl and a boy, actually. [ Technically, two girls if he counts April... but Reilly won't mention that for now. He can tell he's blown Kaine's mind enough already. ]

Yeah. This is why I'll never join the Avengers. Other universes give me a headache. That, and they're all such goody-two-shoes.

[ OOC: Ugh, I know how you feel. Hopefully some good writers will retcon it someday. ]

[Oh please, he'd understand the concept of the clone well before the concept of Peter Parker settling down and having multiple children.] With who? Watson? [He could only assume her. Peter hadn't exactly had the most robust of love lives, and Mary Jane was the one in his life the longest...

Kaine's lips twitch into another smile as he hears Reilly badmouth the Avengers. He never would have expected Ben's kid to be the Parker to understand that.] Maybe you don't take after dear old dad as much as I thought. He was about as goody-two-shoes as they come. [And it drove Kaine crazy.]

[OOC: They have to bring Peter back first...]

Bingo. You know, she's sharper than either of those Spiders. I spent so much time dodging her at... [ Pauses, thinking about how to drop yet another bombshell. ] Osborn's wedding. Norman. Harry's kid. He's a... client of mine.

And, heh, well. I let May play the hero. She's better at it than me, anyway. [ Don't you dare point out the fond smile on his face. ]

[Grits his teeth at the mention of Norman Osborn, but it fades when he realizes he means Normie. How far into the future was this exactly?] Client? What, are you his lawyer? [He can only guess Normie went into the family business... the thought of which brings him joy. After all, watching the Obsorn family implode (or even better, explode) was one of his favorite pasttimes.

But only for a minute, when he realizes he was taking joy in a small child (well... a grown man, but still Kaine could only picture Normie as a toddler) suffering. Not only that, suffering for the same reasons he did--because Norman Osborn wanted revenge on Peter Parker. It seems no matter how many steps he was taking in the right direction, it was never going to be enough.

Kaine slides his hand into his back pocket and runs his thumb over one of the lenses of his mask that he stuffed back there. Aracely was right, she was always right. The name, the costume, her hoodie... they all had become reminders of his brothers, to be a better man. And right now he needs that reminder.] It's harder than it looks. Then again it always did seem to come naturally for him, I shouldn't be surprised it would come naturally to his kid too. [He wouldn't dream of it... But it's totally obvious.]

Edited 2013-09-16 15:20 (UTC)

Like I said, I owe a lot to Murdock, and someone had to continue his work. All of it. Not just the stuff he did in the shadows. Besides, if I can keep just one innocent person away from jail, then...

[ Reilly shakes his head. Now's not the time to talk about his mother. Even though part of him is dying to ask Kaine about Elizabeth, desperate to see if maybe this clone could tell him a little more about the woman he never knew. Now's the time to... well, do his job. In a manner of speaking. So he puts on his best Lawyer Voice and says to the other Parker: ]

Forget that. The important thing is that Osborn's a good man. Or— he's trying to be. Don't get me wrong, I'm not his biggest fan-- [ Especially when he remembers how Normie, oh, skewered him. ] But Spider-Girl trusts him. He's had her back for a long time. Tried to make Oscorp into something useful for a change. Even fought with old Norman, the way I hear it... and well, I can't help but be a little forgiving towards anyone who's willing to hurt that creep.

What, did Murdock jump in front of a train to save you or something?

[It was the only thing that made sense to him, the way he continued to bring Daredevil up again and again. It wasn't like the Parker's were especially close to Murdock, though he knew Peter considered him a friend. Thankfully, Reilly kept talking and helped derail Kaine from that particular line of thought.]

Really? You're trying to sell me on the kid? I'm glad you have such a low opinion of me that you think I'm going to go preemptively attack a grade schooler. I don't know about the version of me you're used to, but I don't do that. Never did. [Not children, anyway... Everyone else was pretty fair game as the height of his insanity, though... it all made sense at the time.

He pulls the mask out his back pocket and holds it out for Reilly to see.] Besides, I've been trying something new.

On the mun's readthrough of the Clone Saga

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