Old Man's Tale
Author's Notes: The second of ten Parker Family fics for marveldrabbles at LJ. For the "Sick" challenge. This takes place in the Spider-Girl 'verse, but does contain Clone Saga characters and references, so if you don't know them, you might get a bit lost. Hopefully it's clear, though!
The boy was praying. He was looking up at him with his brother's eyes, with Ben's eyes, and he was dying. "Are you my guardian angel?"
Kaine held out his hand to the homeless boy soaking in rain. "I'm here to help you. Will you come with me?"
The boy took his hand. "What's your name?"
"Reilly."
Of course it was.
"Make it stop. Make it stop," Ben had begged him all those years ago. As Kaine took the needle out of his skin, smiling as he watched Ben's body writhe with the pain he knew all too well. He'd give him a vaccine later - it wouldn't do for Ben to die halfway through his torture - but for now...
Now, Ben's son was screaming. "Make it stop! Make it stop! MAKE IT STOP!"
And all Kaine could do was place the boy in suspended animation. And pray.
Kaine visited him almost every day. Most of the time, all the boy could do was open his eyes. At first, Kaine would spend these moments working like a man possessed. He could've drowned himself in the various vaccines he concocted. Supplied a scrap shop with all the equipment he smashed. After a while, though, he stopped. It began to dawn on him that these moments - where Reilly was silent but aware - might be the only time they'd have.
So he began to talk to the boy instead.
"I don't suppose anyone's told you about your cousin? You... couldn't tell me if they had, could you? Oh well. Would you mind suffering through an old man's tale?"
Kaine smiled, then, and liked to believe the boy in the tube smiled back.