Teddy Altman / Hulkling (skrullkree) wrote in thedoorway, @ 2015-03-08 23:20:00 |
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Teddy was happy for him, he was. He could understand that his was a parallel universe, that what unfolded here wasn’t the same as what it might be back home, and as hard as it would be to see Billy with someone else, the last thing he’d have wanted was for Billy to be somewhere for a long time and lonely and miserable. But that didn’t mean that waking up in a new place and receiving the news that Kaplan was with someone else -- and Loki, of all people -- was an easy pill for him to swallow. And as much as he’d tried to be strong in front of Billy, it hurt. He was going to need some time to sort out his feelings, and he needed to do it somewhere that Billy couldn’t see, because the last thing he wanted was to hurt him or make him feel bad because he was happy. So he went out for a walk. He didn’t really have a destination in mind, especially because this city wasn’t exactly the same as the New York that he’d left behind. But he figured the chill night air and some time alone was exactly what he needed right now to think and to decide what he wanted to do next. Billy was his family, after all, and even if they weren’t together, he wanted to make sure they were comfortable being in each other’s lives in some capacity and that meant he needed to clear his headspace and figure out how he was going to make that as easy as possible for both of them. Cutting through an alley, he looked up to notice a man in a grey business suit trying to force open a window. He slowed his step and watched him for a moment, trying to give the guy the benefit of the doubt: maybe he’d forgotten his keys and was trying to get into his own apartment. Teddy was sure he’d had to do that at least once or twice. But then, Altman listened to what the man was saying to himself. The breeze, sweeping through the alley, carried his voice perfectly. “I’m gonna make you sorry, Cheryl. You think you can just ignore my texts -- do you have any idea who I am.” Oh. Teddy’s expression darkened. So this guy was an asshole, and whatever it was he was thinking about doing: he needed to be stopped. So, without a second though, Teddy flew up to the fire escape where the man was, and as he landed, shifted into the first superhero that came to mind: Spider-Man. “So as the authority on being friendly and neighbourly.” Teddy said as the man turned around, almost tripping over his own two feet when he realised he had company. “It doesn’t look like what you’re doing is either.” “I -- what.” The man stammered. “No--no this is my apartment, I - I forgot my keys.” “No it isn’t!” Teddy pointed at him accusingly. “This is Cheryl’s apartment, and Cheryl is a friend of mine. She really doesn’t like creepy douches like you sneaking around here acting like they own the place.” “C-cheryl knows Spider-Man?” “Yup.” Teddy hopped down from the railing where he’d perched and took a step towards the man in a suit. “We’re pals. I swing by here every now and again to help her with some household chores. Just being a good neighbour and all that. Changing lightbulbs, watering plants,” he tilted his head to the side, “taking out the trash.” “Listen, I wasn’t -- I wasn’t going to do anything.” “Well, you’re definitely not doing anything now. In fact, if I were you, I’d probably get out of here. Unless you want to see how unfriendly your neighbourhood Spider-Man can be.” “Okay -- hey okay.” The man said, hands up in surrender. “I’m going, I--I’m sorry, I won’t bother her. I’m out of here. I don’t want any trouble.” And with that, the man took to the stairs, practically flying down them he descended so fast. He hit the pavement running and took off around the corner without ever looking back. Teddy’s chest swelled, he was proud of himself for taking the time to do the right thing. This was what he loved doing more than anything else. He wanted to help people, he wanted to be a hero and that wasn’t going to change now even though he was in a different universe. Things wouldn’t necessarily be the same for him here, certainly they wouldn’t be the same with Billy, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t do what he wanted and pursue his own goals. He was an Avenger, after all, and that meant he had a responsibility to more than just himself. He was going to protect the people of this city from douchebags like that guy in a suit. And maybe he wasn’t as cosmic or powerful as Billy, maybe he couldn’t help with the Celestial Judge or pull out the big guns, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have worth. That didn’t mean he wasn’t a valuable member of the team. He was Teddy Altman. Hulking. A hero! But whatever pride he felt in that moment, it deflated almost instantly when he turned around and realised he was face-to-face -- or at least, face-to-mask, with an upside-down wallcrawler who was hanging over the edge of the building, looking right at him. “S-Spider-man!” Teddy’s jaw dropped in awe. “Oh, no -- hey, don’t let me stop you.” Spider-Man said. “I really liked that part about the ‘unfriendly neighbourhood’ Spider-Man. It’s a really good line, I might have to borrow it sometime.” Peter flipped around and landed on the grate of the fire escape next to Teddy. He’d seen a lot of Spider-Man...s... come through the Tesseract portal, so coming across one he didn’t quite recognise didn’t surprise him all that much. Still, it would be rude not to make an attempt to get to know him, wouldn’t it? He was, after all, a reasonably social Spider. Since Harry’s... disappearance, Peter hadn’t been out in the city as Spider-Man much at all. In fact, he’d struggled with the idea of giving up the identity altogether. The city didn’t need him, not really. The Avengers were here and so was another Peter Parker, a better Peter Parker who seemed to know what to do and when to do it a lot better than he did. Not to mention the fact that there were other Spiders and other heroes here who could do his job better than he could. He hadn’t managed to save Harry, after all, what hope could he possibly have of making a difference in the world, really? But a conversation with Steve Rogers had given him some -- well, maybe not hope -- but at least help. They’d talked about mistakes and about accepting responsibility and moving past the past to do the right thing and that had resonated. Because someone was going to have to look for Harry, someone was going to have to help him and that someone needed to be him. He owed that to Osborn because he failed him, and he wanted more than anything to help him if he could. And Steve had promised to help, which was more than enough reason for Peter to want to keep trying. Teddy knew the jig was up. He shifted into his most “normal” skin, the one that wasn’t green. “Hey, sorry. I-- I just thought Spider-Man would be the best for the situation. Can’t really Hulk it out with a B&E, you know? Also, wow, hi.” He leaned against the fire escape, eyes wide and ears perked. “We cool? Can we please be cool?” “That’s a pretty neat trick.” Spider-man leaned back on the railing and crossed his arms over his chest, amused. He had some idea who this must be, having been friends with David Alleyne so long and hearing about Teddy the last time he was here, even if he hadn’t had the chance to meet him properly in person. “And yeah, of course we’re cool. It was nice what you did, stopping that guy, and I’m glad I could be a part of it -- it’s Teddy, right? Teddy Altman?” Teddy was silently geeking out that he was talking shop with Spider-Man. Keep it cool, Altman. “I figured it’d be easier to be you. I don’t know if he’s ever seen anything like I normally do-- Yeah, that’s me. How did you know?” His question wasn’t accusatory, just purely curious. "Your friend David Alleyne was here until quite recently, Teddy, he and I got to know each other pretty well and he spoke really highly of you, actually." Peter extended his hand in greeting, he was smiling under the mask but he knew that Altman couldn't exactly see as much. "Honestly, when David was here he was one of my best friends and he did a lot for me -- more than I could have asked for from anyone -- so. You come very highly honoured, you should know." Teddy shook Spider-Man’s hand and smiled. “Yeah, David’s a great guy. I’m sorry he went away. Does that sort of thing happen a lot around here? I heard that I was here before. Do we just pop in and out of existence all the time? Must be rough.” "People from not-this-universe do a lot of that. Sometimes people are here for a long time, like -- I think the Tony Stark from your world has been here for, I think, almost two years. It just depends really, but on what I'm not entirely sure." Peter shook his head. "But it's hard to lose friends, and it's hard to know that even if they come back, they won't be the same person that left. They won't remember -- but I have pretty strong feelings about not letting the possibility of losing someone dictate how I see them now, I mean -- we're superheroes. High risk lifestyle. Anything could happen." Teddy smiled. That was a nice way to look at it. He suddenly became really rather aware of his mouth twisting into a smile. He didn’t think he’d do that again for awhile-- considering that Billy just broke up with him. “Anything could happen,” he repeated. “And when you get here, people aren’t the same as they were when you last saw them.” The smile disappeared. Ah, there it was. "Hey, are you okay?" Peter knew it wasn't really his place to ask, if there was something wrong, they were barely acquainted and he shouldn't pry. But Parker had a lot of empathy, and he tended to do better with people who were willing to be a little open, a little vulnerable, with him. It was ironic, considering he was the one wearing a mask. He'd tried with Tommy. He'd told him he knew what he was going through, what it was like to lose a friend and he tried to offer friendship too David's old roommate now that he was gone. In part, honestly, because Tommy had been there to save his life just as much as David had been and that was a reason to be there for Tommy too -- to get to know him, to be his friend. But Peter had either come on too strong or from the wrong angle and it hadn't helped. "I'm sorry if I shouldn't ask just, if there is something -- if you want to talk.." Teddy let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “Yeah, actually. I could do that. I just got dumped.” He let that hang in the air for dramatic effect. “Because of me popping in and out of this place so often. My boyfriend-- my ex, moved on. Which… I mean, I would want him to do. I want him to be happy. But it sucks, because now I’m all alone.” He really wasn’t all alone. The other Young Avengers were here, and he had freakin’ Spider-Man asking him if he wanted to talk. He just felt alone without Billy. "My Girlfriend dumped me and went to England, recently." Peter heard himself say before he could stop the words from exiting his mouth. "I probably deserved it though, I was trying to -- I guess -- keep her safe, and I was being over-protective. Not listening to what she wanted or needed and -- and I should stop talking about me, I'm sorry." He shook his head and reached over to put a hand up on Teddy's shoulder. Altman was broad, tall and built a bit like Flash Thompson. He looked like the athletic type which used to tease him and the other low-ranking nerds, back in the high school days. "But you should want to be happy too. And I know that might be hard to process right now but, maybe a hot dog will help? On me." “That sucks. I’m sorry, if it means anything to you.” He looked out over the fire escape and wondered what Billy would think of him fighting crime. They once had a fight about it. When Spider-Man put his hand on Teddy’s shoulder, his smile creeped back out. “Yeah, sure. Food usually helps me.” He let out a light laugh and then asked, “Do the vendors give you a special deal?” “Sometimes they do. Which, honestly, I appreciate. It’s not like being a superhero means I’m rolling in dough.” He jumped up onto the railing and balanced carefully, looking back at Teddy. He was sure he could carry him, if he had too, but he figured it was rude to just grab someone by the arm and swing away. “How do you get around anyway, you can look like me, can you swing like me, or is it something else you do?” The small smile widened. Teddy shifted into his green form-- the one with the wings. He didn’t care if he was seen. No one told him not to. With a few flaps of his wings, he was above the buildings. He shouted down to Spider-Man, “Try and keep up!” So that was a little bit different. But, Peter wasn’t all that taken aback. After all, he’d seen some strange things since he’d taken up the mantle of Spider-Man and certainly, he wasn’t going to let Teddy’s wings and green skin tip the scales, besides. The other teenager seemed like he was in a better mood already and he was glad that he could help with that, at least a little. He could use friends right now, and he could certainly use more people he could confide in about his doubts and about what was meant to happen next for him. Maybe Teddy could be one of them. |