Video. Burner Phone: Spider-Man. | hhhEEELP

[madeupnames]

Hey, so, need a hand — shit — damn it —

[LANGUAGE.

Also sorry, there's a THUMP-TING noise, because he clips into a light post he did noooot see in the middle of swinging over the city.

The feed spins to life, a red, white, and black masked face in instant view for a moment before the video rolls and rolls — a cement roof underfoot, as the figure stumbles with a gasp of surprise before pretty much crash-landing. The screen is black, the unseen figure moans, and then, holding achy ribs (it was a light fall, no worries, but the way this hurts way more when it didn't before is a little unnerving), he reappears again. It's the local Spider-Man, and the feed doesn't seem to want to stop shivering as the wind whistles. He swallows. Or, um, tries to, but he seems to have some trouble with that.

It's late in the afternoon, the light fading from the sky, and he's breathless from the running (swinging, climbing, panicking) he'd just done.]

Sorry! [Swallow.] Sorry. I fell, but I'm good. I'm, I'm fantastic. Never better. Don't tell Tony Stark. [An A-OK sign is held up with his fingers, the mask blissfully blank and pleasant and voice tempered into something less panicked; cool, we're in hero mode.] Uh, I was out looking for — for these two, Billy and Teddy? They haven't been around, so I was worried they'd... And then Lanie, she's this kid from the park, her mom can't find her. And I owe her, like, five front of the line amusement park coins at this point — right, not the time. But I've been scouting because her mom is seriously freaking out, and...

There were — there was this younger lady was flagging me for help. Said she hurt their ankle while she was out running, so I swung over, but it was tooootally a trap. Like, full-on 'Mouse Trap, look out, don't go for the cheese' kind of trap . And when I went to pick the lady up and take her to the hospital — [He seems to choke on the word a little, swallowing again, straining against something at his throat.] She snapped this on me, and some of their buddies jumped out to grab me once they knew it was latched and working.

[With a nervous chuckle, he shows the metal collar around his neck, which he vainly tries to claw his fingers under.

It's doing something to me. I can't see and hear things like I used to, and my strength's freakin' gone, and nothing's dialed to 11 right now. Like, it just sapped the powers right out of me. And let me tell you, swinging around when you've got no endurance and no healing factor is really scary! Indiana Jones is nuts. [A breathless laugh, brushing the situation off as easy-breezy and not an issue.] They must've thought my webshooters were a part of my powers or something, because they were were surprised when I took off like a bat out of heck. A-anyway, I'm really sorry. I didn't... I should've went after them, but I'm... I'm having a hard time focusing... a little...

This thing is, like, so uncomfortably tight. I think the clasp works like handcuffs do. [Another uncomfortable laugh that may or may not be bordering on a panic attack, as he scrapes gloved fingers against the too-tight collar again.] I can't even get the mask off.

[A pause, and he looks toward where he had swung in from — as if he's considering going back to the park, torn between common sense and his job as both a hero and perimeter guard member. "Peter, your heart rate is unnaturally high," Karen the AI says helpfully in his ear. He's trying to breathe against the fabric of the mask. His vision is blurry.

... He needs his glasses. But he doesn't own glasses anymore.

A bit more defeatedly:]


... Can anyone get this thing off and, I don't know. Figure out how it works?










Please?

Comments

text; burner: @rokh

[brat]

Send me your coordinates.

audio

[madeupnames]

[Oh yes. Under the mask, his voice is just burnin' with that good ol' shame.]

... I can't, um... I can't read that.

At the moment.

It's a nice looking squiggle of letters, though, I promise!

[I'm fucking blind as a bat right now, it's great.]

audio

[brat]

( this is promising. voice pitched a little lower than it is when he's walking around without the mask on: )

Where are you?

audio

[madeupnames]

... Shit.

[A pause.]

I mean, crap.

[Another pause.]

Somewhere high?

[Karen the handy dandy AI has thankfully mapped the area by the park, so she offers it to the poor kid instead; someone needed to throw him a bone anyway. Coordinates are sent to the other kid swiftly after, and Spider-Man seems to be talking to someone else who is definitely not there.]

Ah, thanks Karen. You're the best.

video | un: scarletwitch

[seeingscarlet]

[Billy? Shit.]

I can get that off you, but there may not be much left.

video

[madeupnames]

[A deep breath in. God, that sounds nice, to just blast the thing off.

But after a moment, he shakes his head minutely. Everything is a blurry mess and he really wants to rip the mask off, but he can't anyway, not strong enough to tear it (and he doesn't wanna ruin Tony's hard work anyway.)]

... No. We need to keep it — as whole as possible.

Could help disable these, if we know how it works, right?

[seeingscarlet]

[Blast it off, tear it apart...so many options.]

If it tightens anymore we might not have a choice.

...Stark could fix it, you know.

[madeupnames]

Nooo, no, it's fine. I've got this all under control.

[He does not, but.]

Mr. Stark's got enough problems right now; I don't need to be an extra one.

It'll work itself out, you know?

video; @falcon

[wingedman]

[Sam just pinches the bridge of his nose for a moment because he is having A Week. First everything with the damn canisters, and now Parker's in a mess, and Billy and Teddy are missing? Shit, he's going to have to figure out how to sit on Tony and Stephen at the same time.]

I don't think you can actually keep this from Stark if you post it on an open channel. Just sayin'.

[Since everything else seems to be well in hand.]

video; @falcon

[madeupnames]

I didn't think of it in the middle of my swinging dramatics, okay?

[He is just a little snappy, like a true teenager ought to be, but there's a layer of bubbling panic under it that floats to the surface a little. He scrubs his face with his hands and is unhappy to find nothing magically corrects itself.]

... Can you, like. Put a hand in front of his screen.

Make loud beatbox noises to drown out the audio?

[wingedman]

You know there's two of them, right?

[Although he admittedly doesn't know if Sad Tony is overprotective of Peter yes he is.

Sam's voice softens when he speaks again.]

Look, kid. Nobody expects you to do everything, okay? You don't have to apologize for not going after them when you're all fucked up. You got away, and that's what matters. Someone'll get that shit off of you and we can analyze it and use that to help the other people who have been kidnapped.

[madeupnames]

[Oh, right. Two of them.

Hilariously (stupidly), he's not worried they're gonna worry — he doesn't feel like he'd be someone the Starks would worry about. They're not super, super close, right? If anything, he might just be That Kid who Tony built a suit for, and has to keep an eye on for collateral damage.

He just doesn't want to annoy them, that's for sure.

Peter sucks in a little breath, glancing away from the screen with what is probably guilt — he really shouldn't have bolted like that. It was a fight or flight reaction that got tipped right into flight when he realized his powers were completely sapped. He was just anxious, fleeing Peter all over again. That nerd with the big glasses who avoided trouble and kept his nose down.

It was a mistake, he thinks, to have let that get to him.

But he is smart enough to also recognize if it were someone else, he would have told them it was smart to get out of there. His voice is a little quieter, strained, though the collar doesn't help with that.]

... I know. I just — people are going missing, and I had a chance to do something. I didn't think it through under pressure.

@thehammer

[armcollector]

[This... definitely looks like a kid in a fancy wetsuit and mask. Wait, shit, is this like all his fantasy comic books? Magnus almost gets distracted, but then he remembers Taako's missing and now he's worried because he hasn't heard from every single person he knows in the last five seconds and apparently that shouty guy was right about powers not meaning a damn thing.

Magnus is very serious when he asks,]

That's how they're getting people with magic? Collaring them?

[He's... really pissed, now -- as if he wasn't before -- because he's just imagining Taako collared and powerless, trapped somewhere. Shit.]

Are you hurt? Did you see if they went anywhere? Or where they came from?

[madeupnames]

[Haaaa.]

Bruised up a little, but that was mostly me running into a lamp post.

[He rubs the back of his neck, grimacing at the metal that greets him.]

It was a really close call, so I... didn't stick around and follow them, or see where they were coming from. But I have — I can get surveillance images printed up of their faces when I get to a lab with decent hardware; my suit records everything.

[And then, earnest:]

... Sorry.

[armcollector]

[At the genuine apology, Magnus softens. This kid was almost kidnapped and he's sorry about it.

Though, since Magnus had a restless night spent searching for Taako, he just looks exhausted when the instant alarm wears off.]

...No, this is-- I'm glad you're safe. I'm Magnus. My friend was taken, and he's like the best wizard ever, so it's amazing you got away. Good job.

I'd like to at least see their faces once you get that collar off and everything.

[madeupnames]

Aw, man. My friends've been vanishing, too... Three now that I know about, anyway...

[Just his luck. But he tries to pep up his voice a bit, get a little energy into it.

It's easier to throw yourself into a task than feel like you've done too little, y'know?]

I'll get you some footage, no problem. And I'll keep an eye out for this Mr. Taco guy. What's he look like? I'll do some scouting later, too! I mean, they didn't just completely vanish into thin air, so something's gonna give.

video # un: skyenet

[evite]

( skye is Concerned. capital letters and all that. she might still be in the process of healing her own breaks and bruises, but the hero cape doesn't fall far off her shoulders even then. she might fuck herself up even worse than she already is, but this is a kid. even under the mask, the voice doesn't sound any older than a fresh ex-foster. suffice it to say, it's worth the risk to help. )

I can help you get that off. ( or, more accurately: ) I can try, anyway.

( she doesn't recognize the location he's broadcasting from, but that's not news. she hasn't been everywhere yet. )

Where are you? Are you near community housing?

video # un: skyenet

[madeupnames]

[He sucks in an anxious breath.]

Oh, no thanks. I don't want the terminator working on me.

[Look, he made a funny. It's dedication to his craft, you see.]

[evite]

( FINALLY. somebody who gets the reference!!! )

If I ever meet Ah-nold, I'll be sure to let him know to fuck off for you. ( it physically hurts to laugh, but she's not entirely able to resist. ) Me, though? I totally come in peace.

audio | @breq

[breqintopieces]

[Well, now. There'a a familiar mask, though he's a lot less assured of himself than the last time she saw him. Breq is reminded of some of her young lieutenants, suddenly, all full of bluster to hide how scared they were.

The device may not be her specialty-- others can handle that, from a brief skim of those responses, as far as she can tell-- but she can't bring herself to ignore it, either. Panic doesn't seem too far off.

... She needs to stop helping. She probably won't.]

Sit. Take slow, even breaths. Head between your knees, if you have to.

Do you remember what the younger lady looked like? Did you see any of the others?

audio

[madeupnames]

[Right. Rightrightright, that's typical reactions to a panic attack (he's definitely not having one, because he's Spider-Man). He tucks his ears between two knees, pulling his legs in closer. A deep, slow breath. He can't breathe (and he's reminded of weight on him, all around him, concrete and twisted metal so heavy he can barely move his arms) can't breathe—

But he does, because if he doesn't, he knows he'll really lose it. And he's no good to anyone if he passes out because he forgets to breathe with this pinching, tight collar on. Even though his head is still bowed beside his shins, he manages:]

I do. I — I couldn't see faces very well. The collar made my vision crappy again.

But... the mask records everything I see. I can look back at it.

And I can definitely get faces.

[breqintopieces]

That's fine. Once the collar is off, there will be time for that.

[If he was recording it, easier not to press him for details, give him a chance to calm down without thinking about the fact that he was almost stolen away. Any more than the collar around his neck already makes him think, anyway.]

Are you injured?

audio un:pnwsalex

[11calls]

[Alex sounds concerned, but she's a little late.]

Have you gotten somewhere safe yet?

audio

[madeupnames]

[Oh, audio, cool. He can work with this. After a moment, he replies back to the Spider-Man burner phone (now blissfully in civilian clothes, but she doesn't need to know who's on the other end, that's just awkward.]

Oh, I'm just fine now, thanks. I managed to get the collar off in one piece, too, so hopefully Tony Stark and the others can run some scans and see how it works. Might be useful in case someone needs one disabled.

[11calls]

Tony's good for that. I noticed you said you had a recording after you got the collar off. Is there any chance you could give me a copy of it? Or tell me what she sounded like?