There are some things, better left unsaid. Forgotten. Untouched.
But human curiousity didn't stop others from pressing the boundaries. There was so many questions people wanted answers to.
And one group was never going to stop until they had all the answers they sought.
But not all their experiments were willing to play by their rules.
There are pretenders among us, geniuses with the ability to become anyone they want to be... Thirty four years ago, a Corporation known as the Centre, isolated a young pretender named Jarod, and exploited his genius for their research. Then one day, their pretender ran away... And he took someone with him.
Peter wasn't sure exactly why this man from the Centre would remove him from the facility he knew as his home, and into the noisy outside.
"Sir. It's really noisy. And bright out here," he complained. The dark haired man turned and smiled at him.
"I know it's a bit of an adjustment. But you were kept in a dark and soundproofed room. It'll take time for you to readjust to typical sounds and lights.
"Like the sun? Cause you don't seem to used to it either."
"You weren't the only one they kept in a tight little room Peter."
Peter didn't argue back. This man was not Sydney. But he was still smart. Probably as smart as the scientists who poked him with needles and made him perform various stunts and feats of acrobatics. They liked to push his body. Sydney liked to push his mind.
Peter couldn't figure out what this man wanted. He wasn't playing by the other scientist's rules. Or even Mr. Raines.
Was he testing his ability to do well in the outside? Sydney told him he was too sensitive with his unique physique. Stronger and more flexible, but the light and sound were overwhelming.
But he had to admit, he liked the rays of sun on his skin. The wind was nice too. There was something clean about it. It smelled good. Almost tasty. And there was a nip to the air he had not felt when he lived in the Centre that wasn't entirely unpleasant.
If only it wasn't so loud and bright.
"Here," the man said handing him a small bundle. Peter gave him a look but opened the package anyway. He pulled out a pair of tinted glasses and some kind of ear covers.
"I read a little bit about you. You're sensitive to light and sound aren't you? The glasses and headphones should help."
Peter wasted no time in putting the sunglasses on, almost sighing in relief as the bright light was dimmed. He then placed the headphones over his ears and noted that the sound around him had considerably dimmed. He couldn't help but smile at the man.
"Those headphones working? I was talking to the man who sold them and he said they were great at preventing outside noise from overwhelming music," he explained as he showed the cord the set was connected to, "But considering you don't seem to keen on loud noises, you may just want to keep the cord end in your pocket."
"What kind of test are you doing? What am I supposed to achieve?"
The man smiled.
"We're going to live. And we're going to find our past."
"Our?"
"Yes Peter. My name is Jarod, and like you, I was kept at the Centre for study and experiments."
"You're an experiment too?" Peter asked with clear curiousity. He had never been allowed to speak with another subject before. None of the scientists would allow it.
"Kind of. I'm what they liked to call, a Pretender."
"A... Pretender? Like what little kids do? You pretend?"
"Sort of. You'll see."
"What exactly will I be seeing?"
"A pretender in action."
"Doing what exactly?"
"Well... Righting wrongs."
Because wasn't that what all children and adults wanted to pretend? That they could fix the wrongs and injustice of the world?
This is a cross of the whole A father premise with Spiderman, and the 1990's show, The Pretender. Just had to get this little shot out. No plans to continue. But watch episode one of The Pretender and tell me you don't think Jarod wouldn't be a neat dad for Peter. Or Miss Parker as a mom. Either would be epic.
Not to mention if you mixed this with the Marvel verse all chaos would break loose in a spectacular fashion. So yeah... another brain baby in my orphanage of lost thoughts.
