damned_institute | Day 26: Cafeteria, Lunch

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Day 26: Cafeteria, Lunch

Scar felt cold and sick, though more the latter than the former. As he rose from his bed, he didn't quite know which way was up, and the artificial light coming from overhead seemed as hot and as blinding as the Ishbal sun.

His head hurt, but that was nothing new. After all, the last thing he remembered from the night before was fighting a homunculus off of Lust and then having a conversation about events best left forgotten. The man hadn't been his brother. He just hadn't. And if what Lust had said they'd done to her was true...

Scar stood with shakiness that he wanted to attribute more to a bizarrely weakened physical state than a mental one. Had he been knocked out by some kind of lurking monster before the morning had come? He felt as if he had been out for days, being a veteran of such circumstances, though as he took the practiced role of being an obedient follower behind the nurse and orderlies that came for him, it didn't seem as if much had changed.

This place was probably just playing tricks on him again, and he was tired of being the man left out of the loop. He grabbed some food he didn't really care for and sat down, not seeing anyone he knew already seated. On one hand, he wished he had someone to talk to, and on the other, it scared him that he was no longer used to being alone.

He dug his fork into his food and tried to block out any related thought.

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How could Brock not know what he was talking about? Peter was fairly certain that event would have been more than a little memorable for Eddie. It sounded like another issue of their timelines being different, so maybe Eddie wasn't from that far along? Then again, it wasn't like he'd had the symbiote for all that long before he'd died (or not, whatever), so...

Well, at least Eddie was someone he knew, unlike the other two. It was infinitely harder trying to figure out how people he didn't even know fit into his life. Maybe Eddie would know who those two were? There was definitely a lot he needed to ask the other man, but he needed to take things one at a time.

And also try not to let Brock's attitude get to him, which wasn't easy when his mood was already so strained.

"Me and MJ are fine now, not that it's any of your business." It really wasn't. Maybe Gwen was, and he did feel partly bad for how he'd handled that situation. Ruining Eddie's career as a photographer hadn't been a shining moment of his, either. He wanted to just blame it on the symbiote, but he couldn't simply use it as a scapegoat like that. After all, with great power...

"Last I remember, you had gotten the symbiote after me, so I ended up having to fight both you and Sandman. Harry ended up pulling through and helping me in the end, but..." Then it occurred to him. It was partly Brock's fault that his friend was dead. He felt a sharp anger rise up in him, but fought hard to push it down again. After all, it had been an accident more than anything else, and he had learned his lesson after his tantrum when he found out that Flint Marko had really been the one to kill his uncle. He couldn't get hung up on revenge.

"Anyway, it looks like we don't remember everything the same way, and I'm not sure why." How little sense it all made was starting to get to him, but maybe he was focusing on the wrong thing. As things stood, both he and Eddie were stuck in this place, and they were going to have to worry about getting out before much of this even mattered.

"Me and MJ are fine now, not that it's any of your business," Parker said.

Brock was sorely tempted to correct Parker: anything that had to do with their Spider was automatically their business, whether they were wanted or not.

And since when did it matter what the Spider thought of them?

Shame that Parker and Mary Jane were apparently still together though: either MJ was incredibly patient or just that ridiculously naive to believe that Parker could ever put her above the needs of the helpless, pathetic masses of this backwater mudhole of a planet. Brock listened to Parker's version of what really happened with a growing sense of indignation. Like he'd ever partner up with that Sandman joker! Christ, Brock might've been at the end of his rope back then, but if he'd wanted to kill the Spider for good, he would've done it himself and not gotten his hands dirty asking someone else to join him. Like he doubted he could handle Parker alone! What was the fun in that?

He'd at least like to think that killing Peter Parker would've been something special. It was like marriage: if you had any balls at all, you didn't need to be babied down the aisle. Brock was of the same mind toward his killing. He would've wanted to savor his revenge and not pussy out, running for help. He felt offended just thinking about it.

Brock had a feeling Parker wouldn't appreciate the finer points of what made revenge so delicious, seeing as he would've been the victim, but really, he had to to least defend himself before Parker turned him into an even bigger wuss.

"Well, I'm glad that's not what we remember," Brock sniffed. "'Cause I hate to think I'd couldn't kick your ass without calling in backup. Sandman?"

He snorted. The last thing he really remembered from that time was waking up on the church floor, ass naked, and hearing voices in his head that were in fact very real. Then there was a period of adjusting. Getting used to the new roommate in his body, as it were, who came with not only Peter Parker's abilities, but also with all his memories. While he would've probably loved to kill Peter Parker at that point, he only remembered wandering out of the church and in no condition to go Spider-hunting.

"I think I like my memories of what happened a lot better," Brock said, and left it at that. Let Parker stew on which version was right. He always did agonize over right and wrong, and waste a whole lot of time moralizing. It was one of those pesky traits that Brock and the symbiote found both extremely irritating and yet strangely endearing.

"I figured you were the one who sent me into this mutant prison, but I'm guessing I was wrong. I'd kill for a Daily Bugle edition right now: I'd love to see what the Boss has to say about our favorite wall-crawler, locked up in a psycho ward with the rest of us weirdos."

Peter couldn't help but be curious about how Eddie's version of what happened went, but he had to remind himself that dwelling like that wasn't going to get him anywhere. Besides, there was a good chance that Eddie wouldn't tell him even if he did ask. At least they remembered certain things the same way. Having one person he knew here was something of a relief, even though it wasn't someone he was on the best terms with. It was a lot better than having MJ here, that was for sure. At least Eddie would have a fighting chance against the monsters that were supposedly around at night.

Though he couldn't help but notice the way he referred to himself as 'we' at times. It really worried him, and he wanted to try to get through to him again, so that he would reject that symbiote already, but that would have to wait until later. There were still a lot of questions he had for the other man, and he was trying not to just pour everything out all at once.

The way Eddie referred to Jameson as 'Boss' made it painfully obvious that he hadn't yet accepted that he wasn't working there anymore. He felt guilty about that, but it hadn't been very smart of Brock to doctor a photo, either. With the intent of smearing his name, at that...

"Yeah, I'm sure he'd eat it up," Peter responded with a roll of his eyes. He finally felt comfortable enough to go sit back down, but he seemed to have lost his appetite, as he didn't continue eating even though he had a good amount of food left. "But you think this is a mutant prison?" That isn't what he'd heard, but it wasn't like he had been around long enough to really know for sure. "How long have you been here, anyway?"

Brock sat down, feeling once again faintly offended. Parker sent him here, hadn't he? And yet he didn't even know how long his worst enemy was in the slammer? Or maybe he had the nerve to even forget, which was even worse. The blond bristled, annoyed, but managed to swallow it down.

Anyway, it wasn't like he could gain anything by withholding all the answers. There was something to be said about tangling some of the truth for their Spider, just enough to get the job done, and give him time to figure out what to do. On one hand, every fiber of his being wanted to be one with Peter Parker; honestly, that first time hadn't been enough, and neither had that little teaser taste. On the other hand, he also really, really wanted to just sock Parker one for being so...so him.

And it wasn't just for what he did to get him canned from the Bugle (Brock still thought he didn't deserve that, dammit). While he knew now that Parker had been under the influence of the symbiote at the time, that still didn't make him forgive him. It wasn't fair that he'd been up against a guy would had the unfair advantage of super powers, while guys like Brock had just their camera and their wits.

So there was something now fitting about the Spider suddenly being thrust in a place where the fact he had those powers didn't make him for once unique.

"People here have abilities," Brock said, as if it should be painfully obvious. "I bet you at least half the people here do, or are suspected have having them. And to tell you the truth, I'm a bit offended that you don't know how long we've been here. Newsflash, pal: at least over a few weeks, more than enough to get us pissed off."

The only problem with being pissed off these days was that Brock wasn't quite sure what to do about it. Sure, he could always vent on the cripple, but at the rate he was going, the cripple would start running out of body parts and then where would he be? Kasady, he didn't even want to think about: both he and his Other had a distinct sense that the other symbiote-host pair was on another rung, and while it rankled, he wasn't about to get his ass-kicked just because Parker was pissing him off again.

So that was what he meant by a mutant prison. There were other people here like himself and Eddie - people who by some stroke of luck (good or bad) had ended up with strange powers. Peter wasn't sure what to think of that. Obviously, he had encountered other people who were like him, and they usually ended up trying to thwart him for their own gain, whether due to insanity or just being power-hungry, but...

There were a lot of people here, and to think that half of them had some sort of ability was a bit mind-boggling. Maybe that was why people had been coming up to him and treating him like he was Spider-man as if that wasn't a problem. Maybe Carnage was a villain he was going to have to deal with in the future, though he wasn't so sure about the other guy. A friend? He had said they could talk again later, so maybe they could have a more logical conversation then.

So Eddie had been here for a while, which meant he would probably be a good source of information. Peter definitely wanted to stay on his good side, in that case, but he wasn't sure if the other man would be as open to the idea. He glanced over at him, watching him for a moment, before looking away again.

"How would I have known?" he asked with a frown. "I told you, our timelines are different. I thought you were dead, while you don't even remember almost dying." He shrugged, let out a sigh, and then ran a hand through his hair. It wasn't quite so damp anymore. "But we're both stuck here now, so... Do you have any idea who's behind this and why they're doing this?" If Brock was right, and a lot of the patients here did have powers, then there could be something really fishy going on. The people at the head of this might want to exploit them for their abilities.

Something had to be done, but he wasn't quite sure what just yet.

Parker was so idealistic that it was vaguely nauseating - did he really think that just because they both happened to be stuck in aprison for freaks that Brock would suddenly become his ally? Maybe he'd pull his punches and maybe give the kid some info, but there was no question in Brock's mind about where Peter Parker would stand. The stuff he did ask wasn't really anything he couldn't find out asking anyone else here to begin with.

But we don't want him finding a way out and slipping out of our grasp, the symbiote hissed. No, that wouldn't do. The Spider was naive, not stupid, and if anyone was clever enough to find a way out of Landels, it'd probably be him. And knowing how Parker feared them and their abilities, there was a good chance he'd leave them here (after all, it'd save him having to throw them into a conventional prison). Brock chewed this over for a few long seconds. If Parker found a way to escape this place, they'd be right on his heels to freedom, fresh air and fresh prey.

And after they got those, they'd resume what they started and give Parker what he so very much deserved.

Brock's eyes narrowed at Parker. "We only know it's some man calling himself Martin Landel," they admitted. There was no way Parker could weasel his way out of this place just with a name: he was resourceful but not that resourceful. "And we figured it was because people just have a problem with those who're their betters."

After all, why lock up all the mutants if it wasn't for exploitation or for fear of what they could do. Not that some of the fears weren't baseless. While being a bit...loose morally back as an ordinary man, Brock found that these days he just preferred to ignore a lot of the human laws and ethics if they didn't suit his purpose. They were very inferior beings, not for people like him. Or the Spider. Too bad Parker chose to be blind to that.

A name wasn't much to go by, and it didn't ring any bells, but he was going to file it away just in case. It was hard to accept that one person had single-handedly been able to capture so many people, most of which supposedly were stronger than the average human, and he had to wonder what Martin Landel was capable of. Right now, though, he didn't want to think about it too hard.

Did Eddie really think it was something that simple? An act of persecution? A matter of not liking things that are different, so let's put them all away where no one has to deal with them?

The most depressing part was that it was a feasible theory. Peter had been forced to deal with his fair share of naysayers and people who believed him to be a menace to society. Hell, his boss had pretty much been the spokesperson for the Hate Spider-man Club. He had just kind of hoped that there was a better reason behind this mass kidnapping than that.

One of the most bothersome things was that he had no idea how he had gotten captured so easily, or how Martin Landel had known that he was... different. It seemed that he had been able to stay off of his radar for a good deal longer than Eddie, though, and he tried not to feel too proud about that.

"Maybe you're right," he said distractedly. He had to admit that this was on a larger scale than anything he had dealt with before. He couldn't just worry about himself this time - he was going to have to try and get everyone out, which meant he had his hands full. Maybe some of the patients belonged here, and were better off behind bars, but would he really have the time to pass judgment on everyone? Did he even have the right to do something like that?

There was the matter of where Eddie stood in all this, and considering he had him right here to talk to, he might as well get that straightened out now. "So, should I expect you to get in my way while I try to deal with things here, or what? What have you been doing while you've been here, anyway? I've heard that there are monsters around." Now he could see if Ken had been telling him the truth.

Brock heaved a dramatic sigh. Honestly, did Parker even have to ask? Everything he stood for served as a good example for what Brock and his Other didnt not want to muddy their claws in. Still, that aside, Brock had to admit that he'd have to keep out of the way just enough to give Parker space to use that whiz-kid brain of his, and find a way out in case they didn't. And unfortunately, that meant reining themselves in. No toying with their food. Or, in Parker's case, no toying with their absolute favorite Spider.

He only shrugged at the first question.

"I've been stewing in this joint, that's what," Brock replied. He leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest. A few weeks was nothing to the symbiote, but for a lowly human like him, it was long enough. "As for monsters, sure, I guess. Nothing we can't handle, even as we are."

Okay, so that was a bit of a lie. The monsters here would've been so easy...if only Brock and his Other had been able to become one, to become their proper self. Venom would've had no problems at all ripping that gorilla monster to shreds or rending that mutant girl limb from limb. Brock still had healing burns from that last encounter, and he could still swear he could sometimes feel the ghost-sensations of strings of drool around his torso.

"Probably more from the resident freak show, but maybe you should be careful, Spider," Brock said. "We know how much you like to play hero - don't want to go killing any possible innocents, eh? Or maybe just some poor souls who happen to be a little misguided?"

Parker had to remember the disasters that were the Green Goblin or Doctor Octopus. Good men (or not-quite-so-good men, in Osbourne's case) who made bad decisions and died, usually with Spider-man oh-so-conveniently in the area. Knowing Parker, he probably still blamed himself for shit like that. Brock hoped he choked on his guilt, and realized that he was wasting his time playing hero.

So Eddie hadn't been making any effort to figure out what was going on, or to even work out an escape plan? That was a little surprising - didn't he feel cramped in this place? Maybe it was better that he was settled here as opposed to being out on the streets of New York if he was still so set on being one with the symbiote, but it would have been helpful if he had made an effort to uncover a little more.

It was good to hear that the monsters weren't much of a problem. Peter realized that Eddie now had a bit (okay, a lot) more strength to him, but their powers seemed to be more or less the same. If Eddie could handle them, then he probably could, too.

"Hey," he exclaimed, sounding a little indignant and perhaps almost childish, "I'm not going to kill anyone!" It wasn't like he ever meant for anyone to die. He'd rather they ended up in prison, since they were going to suffer a lot more that way, anyway. Most of the people who had died under his watch had lost their lives because of accidents--not because he had much of a killing intent.

That didn't mean he hadn't been filled with the need to kill before, and he had felt it particularly potently when he'd had the symbiote.

Which brought him to another point. He let out a sigh before glancing over at Eddie. As if one person possessed by a symbiote hadn't been enough... "Do you know a guy who calls himself Carnage?" If not, well, Peter was going to have a lot of explaining to do.

Brock only snorted at Parker's protest. For someone with his track record, you'd think he wouldn't make any promises he couldn't keep.

He was sorely tempted to bring up poor, corpse-y Uncle Ben, rotting in his cheapass grave...but nah, maybe for another time when he wasn't feeling surprisingly good just basking in the Spider's unexpected presence.

The blond's face went stony as the Spider mentioned Carnage. So had Kasady already run into Parker, or did he already know about him before getting tossed into Landels? It had better be the latter, because Brock hated the idea of the other, younger symbiote-host pairing getting to their property before they did. It made him all riled up and cranky, and for some reason he had the urge to bare his fangs and go right for Kasady's jugular. Lucky for him that he couldn't see the other Host lurking around the cafeteria...

He knew the symbiote was territorial, but it was another thing entirely when your "property" was sitting only a few feet away instead of miles.

No point playing it cool like he didn't recognize the name. "Yeah," Brock said, eyebrows furrowing. "If you're smart, you'd stay away from him."

It wasn't friendly advice. Brock didn't know anything about Kasady aside from what he claimed (he knew his Other needed to replicate and soon), but he had to shudder at why he'd choose Kasady of all people to be the host. They should remember replicating, but it was just a big blank for Brock. He didn't remember popping off any mini-symbiotes, much less running into certain red-headed hicks from Hicksville. What he did know was that he didn't want Parker anywhere near the other symbiote.

What Peter really needed at the moment was someone to vent to, or just to tell about what had happened. Since Eddie seemed to know the guy, and also didn't seem to think very well of him, he didn't see why he couldn't tell him about what had happened.

"Yeah, well, he found me in the showers. I had no clue who he was, but he wouldn't leave me alone. He seemed pretty offended that I didn't know who he was," and actually, that was sort of interesting in the aftermath, when he didn't have to worry about the whole being naked thing, "but he still wanted to make a point of the fact that he had the symbiote."

This was where it got confusing. Well, if anyone was going to know about what had happened, Brock would. "I figured it had passed from you to him, but you still have it, so... What's going on?" There was one conclusion he could draw, but he didn't want to acknowledge it. Were there two different symbiotes he was going to have to worry about while in this place? And that Carnage guy hadn't seemed exactly friendly. At least he knew Eddie, though their relationship was rocky at best.

So Kasady had approached him. The very thought of the other, younger symbiote intruding on what he knew was off-limits made Brock see red for a moment. His breathing hitched slightly. Brock had to fight off both his and his Other's rage, and the only way he managed to remain seated was the promise that he was going to give the hick a beat-down of epic proportions next chance he got. Kasady might be stronger, but they were older and more mature, with experience on their side. Not all battles were won on brute strength and youthful recklessness, as Kasady would soon find out.

Brock liked to think he could be a reasonable man, despite all the shit that happened to him. But butting in on his turf was way out of line, nevermind it was in the goddamn showers. Brock already knew what Parker looked like naked from his genetic memories, but that was beside the fucking point. They had warned Kasady to stay away.

He didn't want to repeat himself.

"I don't know myself," Brock gritted, feeling his fangs grinding together. "But we'll deal with him soon enough."

Peter couldn't help but notice the way Eddie had reacted to that. He seemed genuinely pissed off, and while he hadn't been a particularly happy person since he'd gotten the symbiote, this was beyond his normal bad attitude. What had he said that had gotten him into such a mood?

It seemed that the other man was able to get a hold of himself, though, since he wasn't making any drastic moves or lunging across the table at him. Which was good, because Peter was hardly in the mood for a fist fight right now - especially not in the middle of a room packed with people. Besides, it seemed stupid to fight when he didn't even know what had upset Eddie in the first place.

But he didn't know what the deal was with Carnage, either. That was just great - a big help he was. Peter fought the urge to sigh and roll his eyes, focusing instead on what Eddie said next. That sounded a bit ominous, and he was starting to get the feeling that the two were enemies. Maybe he would just leave them to fight it out while he worked on more important stuff, then.

It was probably best to switch topics so that Brock didn't lose it and blow a gasket, though. "Yeah, well, someone else had come up to me before then acting like he knew me. It's really starting to get on my nerves." For one thing, people knowing who he truly was made him intensely nervous; for two, the implications he was slowly starting to accept about who those people were and why they knew him when he didn't know them was giving him a headache.

And who was this first person? Brock had all of Parker's memories and, searching them, there really wasn't that big a list of who made the connection between resident, mild mannered photographer to Spider-man. It helped matters when at least two he knew were dead as nails, and MJ probably wouldn't tell anyone else. That left Harry Osbourne, but from what he could glean from their Spider's memories, it didn't really seem very Harry to go blabbing something like that.

Brock was also interested in this person, to say the least. He'd have to keep an eye on Parker, see who this man was. They didn't like the idea of other people - especially those who knew - getting buddy-buddy with him.

"What did he look like?" Brock said, and was gratified to find that yes, he could still put on a game face even now. It was a bit more difficult to act normal around the Spider, considering what it felt like to be around him, but somehow they managed.

Why did Eddie care so much, anyway? Then again, Peter had been the one who'd decided to tell him about it, so it was only natural that the other man would be curious about it. He might even have something of an idea of who the guy was, so he might as well answer the question.

"Uhh, a little on the short side, but pretty big. Kind of... hairy..." Okay, this wasn't working so well. Maybe he could pick him out? He was sort of distinct as far as his features went. It wasn't exactly easy to see over all the tables, so Peter stood up and tried to be as discreet as possible about scanning the cafeteria for the man in question.

It didn't take all that long to find him, luckily. He was talking to someone else, so hopefully he wouldn't notice. "He's over there," he said with a small tilt of his head, resisting the urge to point. With any luck, Eddie would spot the guy just based off of that and they wouldn't draw any attention to themselves.

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Day 26: Cafeteria, Lunch

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