ova heyah

[His nose isn't broken, but it's swollen.]

Bucky -- one of them, anyway -- told me about you. Said we're all good friends where you're from.

[Thor]

Hi.

[Tony Stark(s) + Pepper Potts(s)]

Hi.

[Bruce Banner]

Hi.

[This video with this music!



[Mouse is 13 sitting across a desk from Seth. Seth nods his head slowly.]
To be clear, I asked you to do me a favor and you're saying no, thank you.
[Mouse squirms a little in his seat, anxious of what's to come. He tries to explain.]
I can't.

You can't what?

I can't -- I can't cut someone's eyes.

You physically cannot?

Yes. No, I mean I just can't. Please. No, thank you.

[Seth lunges across the table a split second later, grabbing Mouse by his collar and dragging him across the desk to face him.]
No, thank you. [Seth hisses through his teeth and drags the boy down the hall. He opens a chest and throws Mouse in. He locks it. Mouse screams and begs to be set free.]

I'll be back in a few days. You think about what you've done, Mr. Cratchit.]

[Mouse is sixteen. He and Cole are wrapping a crying man in chains. Dorian takes a last drag from his cigarette before flicking it away. He kneels down next to the man.]

Please. Please don't do this. I'll never touch her again, I swear. Never. Tell Seth I learned my lesson. I'll never do it again!

I know. [Dorian pats the man's cheek and rises up again. Brick hitches the chain to the back of a truck. Mouse pours gasoline over the man's body and climbs into the driver's seat. Dorian, Brick, Oatie and Cole climb into the back of the pickup.]

Gun it. [Dorian orders. Mouse starts speeding, the man screams behind them. Oatie aims his lit cigarette at the body and flicks. The man ignites into flames.]


[Mouse is doing his homework and gets a text from Seth to meet him at his house. The boy goes immediately. Seth has a report card in front of him.]
What do we say to D marks, Mouse?

[Mouse doesn't answer right away.]
I'm doing extra credit.

Don't make me ask again.

[Mouse blinks slowly and swallows hard.]
No, thank you.

[Seth smiles. He gets up and walks out of the room. Mouse follows. They enter a room and then Mouse panicks. He tries to run. Seth grabs him and shoves him in the chest.]
No, thank you.

[Mouse is 18. He's standing in front of a family of four who kneel before him, Dorian, Oatie, Pat, Cole, Agnes, and Camellia. Brick is beating a man to death in front of them. Once he's dead, Dorian asks for the next volunteer. The woman sobs uncontrollably. Agnes slits her throat. Dorian picks another at random and smashes in their head with a bat. Cole shoots one in the knee. Mouse gets a text from Seth. They all stop.]
He says leave one. [Cole shrugs and shoots the one untouched in the head. Pat complains loudly that blood splashed on his banana. He groans as he tries to eat around it and decides he can't.]

What did they even do? [Cam asks as she kicks the injured one left in his wound.]

I don't ask questions. [Mouse replies. They ride away.]

[Montage of the Hooligans beating people, some to death. They mutilate others. There are several shots of Mouse being thrown into a chest only to be released days later covered in his own waste and vomit.

Final scene: Mouse is 19. Seth calls them all into a dinner meeting. When the meal finishes, Seth stabs Oatie in the back of the head with a knife and has them dispose of the body. All of the Hooligans are visibly shaken, save for Pat.

Fade to black.]

Thank you for agreeing to do this. [She says as she walks up the stairs with him and unlocks their front door.] I think she has company right now, is it okay if Chaos stays for moral support? [She taps on Phase's door with her knuckle twice and then Harmony reluctantly opens the door. Pepper introduces him to her] This is a friend of mine, his name is Danny Rand. I think he might be able to help you two with your meditation. [She nods at Danny] I'll leave you to it. [Then mouths thank you at him before heading back down to her home office to get some work done while the kids are training and Tony's tinkering. She'll send up some tea for them shortly.]

[+ being Pepper]
Okay, can someone please explain to me why anyone thought it was a good idea to let an insane, paranoid, super-powered, kid to training yesterday? Why wasn't I made aware that this girl, who was apparently on the news for trying to murder innocent civilians, was going to be there? I let it slide when the decision was made to reform the arsonist murder gang from the dome but now my kid is in the hospital because of your carelessness, Steve. I want answers and I want a promise that I can trust you to not let this happen again.

I'm thinking of starting a youth outreach program. Volunteer mentors can look out and be a shoulder for kids in a totally confidential space with people they know won't judge them. Who wants in?

We're being sued by Bizarro Steve over that fight with the vampwolf.

[The following video plays for all to see, at 7:15 PM.]

[A very young Peter Parker sits in the back of an SUV, strapped into a car seat. He can't be more than four or five at the most. He kicks his feet as the two people in the front seat talk about some project the man is working on. A moment later, the car is rammed hard head-on and there's a sickening crunch of metal and glass shattering. There's a cut across his forehead as he dangles upside down in his seat, crying for his parents. They don't answer.

***

This scene.

***

The scene shifts and Peter's older now, eleven or twelve. He sits at the park, watching some of the other kids playing, but he doesn't join in. He pulls a book out of his bag and starts to read, instead, jumping when someone throws a soccer ball at his head and it hits him.

"Penis Parker! Pay attention!" another kid yells as several others start laughing at the nickname.

Peter doesn't respond, simply tucks his book away and stands up to head away.

"That wasn't very nice," someone comments and Peter looks over at him but remains silent. The kid is older by at least a few years -- and there's a book in his hands. Jack Kerouac. "Kids are awful sometimes. You all right?"

"Yeah." Peter looks down at his feet, scuffing his shoe on the ground.

"You look like you could use a friend. I'm Skip," he tells him, holding his hand out, and after a moment, Peter shakes it.

"Peter Parker," he responds.

"You like to read, too, right?" Skip smiles at him, and Peter nods, smiling back tentatively. "I think we're going to be good friends."

***

Aunt May looks nervous, uncertain even as she threads her earring through her earlobe and looks at him in the vanity mirror. "You're sure you don't want us to stay home? You weren't feeling well earlier," she says.

"May, the boy's fine," Ben remarks with a huff of laughter, resting a hand on Peter's shoulder and squeezing. "And he's not going to be alone, anyway."

"I'll be fine, Aunt May. It was just a stomach ache," he tells her earnestly.

She hums and moves to look at him, studying him for a moment and then pressing a kiss to his forehead. "Okay. But we'll be back early."

Cut to Peter sitting on the couch beside Skip, their legs stretched out and feet resting on the coffee table.

"You're going to love this movie," Skip tells him, hitting play on the remote and Peter smiles, nodding. The first few minutes seem normal enough, but then the men on screen go from fighting to making out. One of them shoves the other against the desk, undoing his pants. Peter's eyes are wide as both men get completely undressed.

"Isn't this great? Most kids your ages aren't mature enough to watch this sort of thing." Skip elbows him in the side and Peter smiles again, but it's weak, confusion clear on his face but Skip says nothing as the movie continues to play. "You're one of a kind, Einstein."

***

Cut to a few weeks later. There are dark circles under Peter's eyes, like he hasn't been sleeping. He's paler than usual, and Ned buzzes around him at recess, asking him if he's okay. He nods and shrugs, but looks like he's moments away from falling over and passing out.

Hours later, Aunt May fusses over him worriedly even as he tries his best to reassure her he's fine. She doesn't look convinced, and this time Uncle Ben doesn't either, but they leave, May giving him once last worried look as they head towarrd the door that evening to go to a fundraiser, Skip resting a hand on his back and smiling at them.

"Don't worry. I'll take good care of him, Aunt May," Skip tells her and she relaxes, smiling at him.

"Don't know what we'd do without you, Skip," she tells him, blowing Peter a kiss on the way out the door.

***

"I don't wanna watch this," Peter says, voice sounding quiet and worried as he stares at his hands. Skip pauses the porn that he'd popped into the DVD player.

"Okay. We don't have to watch," he tells Peter, leaning in closer to him, and pressing a kiss to his temple.

Peter cringes away but Skip grasps onto his skinny wrist, tugging it over until it's resting in his lap, over his crotch. "Show me what you've learned, Einstein."

***

The next scene shows a slightly older Peter, maybe thirteen or so, looking grumpy as they cross the street, heading toward an office building.

"I want ice cream," Peter tells him, uncharacteristically whiny.

"After the appointment we'll talk about it," Uncle Ben tells him.

"But we have time now," he argues, and Uncle Ben sighs.

"All right. One scoop. Your aunt May will kill me if I let you ruin your dinner."

Peter brightens instantly and beelines for the man selling ice cream from a cart. He slows down as he realizes he's arguing with a customer, who seems really upset about something.

"You owe me!"

"Hey, is everything okay here?" Uncle Ben asks, voice calm as he frowns, looking between the two angry men.

"Mind your own business, old man!" the customer shouts, waving a gun around that he seems to have produced from out of nowhere.

The gun goes off.

Uncle Ben looks down at his chest. There's a bright red stain blooming over his shirt. "Pete," he whispers.

Peter's eyes are wide with horror.

Fade to Black.