2nd Web | Video

[wallcrawler]

[Alright, so, investigating Hub on his own and then making it back to Vector Prime's place had turned out to be a spectacular failure of an idea, once he'd realized how much webbing he'd go through trying to speed up the travel time. And while he probably could have asked for help, he didn't want to risk the suspicion that would arise from Spidey then asking for a ride back to Vector Prime's temple not long before Peter Parker "arrived." So, he'd kept his head low for a few days before arriving...again, really.

Except this time, it wasn't the wallcrawler addressing the camera, it was puny Peter Parker, Totally Normal Human Teenager. Trying his best to look as though he'd just arrived, and in his defense? He pulled off "clueless" pretty well. Mostly because he'd had plenty of practice.]

Aunt May is so gonna kill me...

...hello? Is this thing working? I don't know if anyone can hear me, but if you can...little help? Please?

Last I checked, my curfew's up in ten minutes, and I'm pretty sure the nearest bus route's a few light years away.

[He also points the camera at his arm to reveal Vector Prime's glyph prominently featured on the forearm of his right arm, just above the wrist]

I also don't know how I'm going to explain this to my Aunt in a way that doesn't get me grounded for at least the rest of my natural life.

Comments

[video]

[knight_light]

You probably won't have to worry about explaining much.

I'm Wing, how can I help you?

[video]

[wallcrawler]

[Give him a minute. Gotta feign proper shock. And hey, he's dealt with brain-breaking shock a few times already, so it's not hard to go through the paces again.]

...well...I'm not sure. Can you get me home in time to avoid the mother of all groundings? And without Aunt May seeing you?

I mean, robot or not, she'll give you an earful over this whole...whatever this is.

Re: [video]

[knight_light]

I'm afraid you are home now. This is Haven, and you're now on the planet Cybertron.

[He'll show sympathy, but he believes in being real with people too. Dancing around the truth only makes things worse in the end. That said, go ahead, take a moment to process that and freak out of you're going to, kiddo.]

[video]

[wallcrawler]

That doesn't make any sense. If I got here in the first place, I should be able to go back. Can't you just talk to those hooded guys, robot to robot, and convince them to send me home?

I mean, I don't know what anyone has to gain by kidnapping a sixteen year old high school student. I'm not even sure I'd be able to do your homework, let alone whatever else you've got planned!

[video]

[happyclappyhippydrippy]

I'm not really sure what all I can help with, but if you still need assistance, I'll do what I can.

[video]

[wallcrawler]

Further assurance that this totally isn't a kidnapping? I mean, I just woke up to giant, hooded robots on a planet I didn't even know existed ten minutes ago.

If it weren't for the fact I'm fascinated by pretty much everything I'm seeing right now, I'd probably be curled up in a corner somewhere.

[video]

[happyclappyhippydrippy]

I don't know that 'kidnapping' is the right word, but all of us are here against our will. As far as I've been able to tell, it's completely randomized as to who gets brought here.

I... guess that isn't actually that reassuring, is it.

[video]

[wallcrawler]

Not exactly, no.

[But hey, at least you get a small chuckle out of the kid. He respects the intentions at least]

Does it help if I say it gets an A for effort?

[0perator]

Just tell her it was poor judgment on your part and you'll never ever get sucked into a dimensional anomaly again!

[wallcrawler]

Somehow, I doubt saying that would cut down on the punishment.

Enhance it, sure, but that's not what I'm really going for here.

[0perator]

Hey, not your fault. Can't blame you if it's not your fault.

[wallcrawler]

There's also the part where she'd have to actually believe that story.

video;

[loyalflier]

You don't have to worry about your curfew. Apparently being here places out of sync with our timelines. If and when we return, it will be as if we never left.

[video]

[wallcrawler]

How do you know that, though? I mean, has someone been here before that you never noticed go missing? And how do you know they're not just from a parallel universe, where the principle deviation for them compared to the one you know is that they went missing?

[Can't fault the kid for being curious. He wants to be a scientist, after all.]

[video]

[loyalflier]

I suppose it's possible, but there have been a few that have fallen into recharge and when the come to, new memories appear. Perhaps it is a parallel reality.

Or perhaps we are managing two conscious existences.

[video]

[wallcrawler]

Recharge? [Wait, giant robot. That probably means something other than getting the batteries back to full.] ...you mean like sleeping?

If that's the case, two separate existences might make sense. Though I'd be worried about what could happen if something bad happened to us in one of them.

[deadlydoctor]

Looks like the Lambda is playing tricks agian, we are getting newbies.

Sorry to break it to you Dorothy but you are not in Kansas anymore and there's no way back home. Ont he bright side, you won't have to explain this to anybody.

[wallcrawler]

So everyone keeps telling me. There's just not much of an explanation or data to back it up.

I mean, what if that's just a feel-good hypothesis everyone keeps repeating because they don't want to think about the alternative?

[He'll let the Dorothy thing go for now, probably just an attempt at injecting humor into the situation, so he won't get too upset at the bot. Plus, giant robot, so he's gotta watch what he says anyway.]

[deadlydoctor]

We got the same explanation when we arrived, the acolytes and the FirstForged doesn't seem to know how the Lambda works either.

Some of us have been here for more than a year, if there were a way out we would know already.

What's your glyph like?


[He was not actively being mean for once, it could have been worse.]

[video]

[tower_bound]

I really wouldn't worry about being grounded. Or your curfew. Or your aunt.

The Lambda kind of... well, it plucks people from their worlds and plops them here. But at least those here think that no time is passing between worlds. So whenever there is a way to get you home, you still won't be late!

[And that is a very familiar glyph. Look, she has one too!]

The thing on your arm is called a glyph; don't quote me on this, but I don't think it will stay on you once you're finally returned home. I think they're supposed to be a way for the Firstforged to keep track of everyone, though I don't really think they're all that useful.

[She offers a her condolences through an empathetic smile. It's a lot to take in at once, she knows.]

Um, I'm Rapunzel, by the way. We both belong to the Vectorian temple, so I'm sure we'll be seeing each other often.

[video]

[wallcrawler]

They keep track of us through a tattoo?

That sounds...creepy, actually.

[To say the least.]

I hope you're right about them going away, though. And about everything back home. I think even the big robots'd be afraid of getting The Look from Aunt May.

[What follows could barely qualify for a laugh, and a nervous one at that, but at least it was a laugh, right?]

Nice to meet you, Rapunzel. I'm Pete, Peter Parker. But I think I'll have to give you a rain check on any visits. Someone Drift is gonna give me a lift to someplace called "The Hub." But hey, maybe if you're ever in the neighborhood?

[video]

[tower_bound]

Well, we're marked with them to show which Firstforged we're aligned with, so I'm guessing they kind of work like tags or labels.

[As for actual tracking, well... she hasn't the slightest.]

Well, we certainly wouldn't want that. [Yes, the laugh counts for a lot. Rapunzel knows how hard it is to come to grips with being stuck on Cybertron, but a laugh is a sign of hope, of positivity. And he'll need it.] Don't worry, though; just have a little faith that things will work out in the end, and I'm sure they will.

And it's very nice to meet you, Pete. You'll most definitely see me visiting The Hub... it's kind of the only place to get food. Well, for us humans. I mean, it isn't the most practical, but I've decided to live in the temple room I was given... mostly because of the wall space.

[heartdive]

Since it's magic and stuff, maybe it'll disappear.

[wallcrawler]

...the sad thing is, I think that statement is the most rational explanation for how these things work I've heard since I showed up.

[heartdive]

I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not. All I know is that magic is a thing where I'm from.