P1 - Chapter #2: Status Quo

A/N #1: Be on the lookout for the 2002 Spider-Man reference ;)

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(A week ago...)

It was midday at Midtown High School. The school hall was filled with indistinct chattering, laughs, gasps, and footsteps from students. Some were seen opening their lockers, while some were holding textbooks and notebooks, already on their way to their respective classes.

Among them was none other than Kaine himself. The teenager was walking toward his school locker, wearing an outfit of an unzipped black jacket, red t-shirt underneath it, and blue jeans. He gave a quick glance to his watch on his left hand, and nodded to himself–still several minutes left before breaktime ended. Kaine took out a pair of glasses from one of his jacket's pockets and put it on. His left hand then reached and held the locker's lock in his hand. His other hand moved to its dial and began to rotate it.

*5...22...2*

It made a clicking sound before Kaine opened the locker, revealing stickers of tokusatsu superheroes inside. The sight made him smile softly, as if he was a little boy again. Afterwards, his eyes turned to a copy of a school schedule labeled "Grade 10" which he plastered inside the locker. The youngster shook his head, giving the "not again" look as Physics was the next lesson.

"Oh what the hell..." he sighed while collecting books for the last three subjects.

After collecting the books and closing the locker, a voice suddenly called out to him. "Hey Parker!" This made the brunet almost drop the books he was carrying, before he quickly held them back. Kaine then turned around and realized he was surrounded by a group of three jocks, laughing at him. One of them was a blonde jock... One that prompted Kaine to give a look of disgust.

"Well, well. Flash and his goons. How great."

The teenager was about to push away one of the jocks, only to be pushed back, which led to his books falling. And this drew every students' attention in the hall. Some were just standing there, some wanted to help Kaine but hesitated at the last moment, displaying both fear and regret.

"Really? I don't have time for this-" Flash pinned his target against a school locker, which Kaine reacted to with an unamused and disappointed look.

For a moment, this... reminded the brunette teenager of something terrible from his time during elementary school. As if it happened before his eyes, he could hear his younger self screaming for mercy and help as he was surrounded by bullies. Slowly, his hands curled into fists and he gritted his teeth. Inside his mind, he considered giving Flash a taste of his own medicine. Imagining the pain he would inflict on the blonde jock gave him a somewhat powerful feeling. But at the very last moment... he hesitated. The school rules... The consequences and the punishment he might face. And not just that, the pain he experienced in the past... Those stopped him. And now one thing made him worry and desperate, how could he escape from these bullies..?

"Hey! That's enough, you three!" Out of every student, a voice called out to the jocks, which prompted them to turn their eyes around.

When Kaine heard that very voice–a familiar one, the desperation inside him was gone in an instant. A smile replaced those negative feelings, as the teenager knew the one person who would stick his neck out for him. He let out a chuckle to himself, //"Pfft. Peter, like always..."//

Peter Parker, who had called out the bullies earlier, walked toward the group. As he was about to confront them, one of the bullies couldn't help but glance back and forth at the two Parkers in confusion. Their resemblance, despite being cousins, was so uncanny. Except the differences on their hairstyles, clothing, and voice.

"Well, well. Another Puny Parker–trying to ruin my moment?" Flash taunted Peter.

The teenager looked at the bullies and shook his head in disapproval with the bullies' attitude. His eyes then turned to Kaine and noticed his older cousin's hopeful smile. The younger twin smiled back and nodded to the latter. As if he was saying that he would get his cousin out of trouble.

Afterwards, Peter's attention returned to Flash. "Let him go, Flash. This is meaningless."

The blonde jock simply laughed at the younger Parker, "For you. It means so much to me. The fun... The power. Just to feel alive."

"Just to feel alive? You can do something better than this. Something that doesn't hurt others!"

Flash was not impressed with this and decided to confront Peter, leaving Kaine at the hands of the other two bullies. "You really have some guts, don't you, Parker? Why don't you just leave me to my own business, huh? Or perhaps you want your turn now?"

Hearing those words made Peter dread over himself. Fear flashed before his glasses. The brunet could hear his own heart beating fast, along with his breathing. He could feel his body shaking, like his foundation was going to crumble soon. He could have just walked away... But no, he knew he had to do something when someone else needed help. He remembered what his mother had taught him as a child, to help others when he could and when it was within his ability. Taking a deep breath as he mustered all the courage he had, he spoke in a stern, no-nonsense tone.

"No can do, Flash. Can't let you take pleasure from hurting people. If I were you, I would listen and let my cousin go." He sighed, "Flash, I'm sorry. I really dislike violence, but if you force my hand, then I won't hesitate."

This made the jock speechless. He was frozen after hearing those words...

"Or perhaps I will give the damn jock a warning myself!" a voice stopped Peter before he could continue.

A redhead, Annabelle Adams, walked toward the bully and pinned him against a school locker, surprising everyone in the hall. Her forest green eyes were full of great disdain and disgust for Flash. And she shot him a deadpanned look. "I'm gonna make this short, Flash or Thompson or whatever your name is, jock. You leave my friends alone and we're good. You hurt them? I WILL NOT. HESITATE TO HURT YOUR GANG. Ya got that?"

Everyone's eyes widened in fear, as they watched a fellow student threaten Flash Thompson. Peter was terrified too but he shrugged it off, knowing why the girl acted like that, as she was a friend of him and his older cousin. Kaine himself, however, simply smiled and chuckled, awed by Anna's craziness–as for Flash, he grew more terrified. She gave him a predatory smile, which sent chills to the jock's spine. But what terrified him even more was... a hint of something uncontrollable in her eyes. A hint of chaos and something else... She really meant her words.

Like the hunter becoming the hunted, Flash reluctantly nodded, which prompted the red-haired girl to release him. She still eyed the blonde while he and his gang disappeared to somewhere else, presumably their own class. After that, every student continued their activities–some were whispering about what just happened, the others stayed silent.

The disdain and disgust in the teenager's eyes disappeared when she looked at her friends. "Hey, you guys okay now?" Anna asked with a concerned tone, which Peter responded with a nod. She approached Kaine and checked him, "You hurt, K?"

"I'm fine, Ann," the older twin replied as he collected his fallen books on the floor. He laughed, "Man, you really did give everyone a fright there, including Peter."

Hearing those words made Anna shake her head in amusement, while she walked toward her locker and began to unlock the lock, which was next to Peter and Kaine's respective lockers.

"Well, dude. She's scary, alright! How can I not be terrified?" Kaine's cousin responded, getting his books from his locker, with stickers from old superhero movies decorating the inside.

The older brunet and the redhead laughed together at the younger brunet's response, earning an unamused groan from the latter himself. The two stopped and looked at each other, smiling as if they shared something common. For the moment... it was as if time slowed down for them. Like the world centered around the two...

Meanwhile, Peter finished collecting his books and noticed that Kaine and Anna were smiling at each other. //"Not this again..."// the younger Parker rolled his eyes and patted the older one on his shoulder, breaking the moment between him and the girl. He giggled seeing them coming back to reality. "Guys, come on, class is starting soon!" Peter reminded his friends as he headed off to the class first.

Kaine and Anna looked at each other and shook their head in unison, joining Peter from behind. The younger twin turned his eyes to his friends for a moment, before returning his attention to the front, chuckling to himself. //"Pfft. Lovebirds."//

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A/N: Alright, so you finally got to see a bit of Kaine's past. You'll see more in the third and fourth chapter, because they will be important in future chapters! Besides Kaine, you got to know a bit of Peter, Anna, and Flash. (Annabelle Adams is not an OC, she appeared in Scarlet Spider Vol. 2.) There's nothing much to say here XD But did you find the 2002 Spider-Man reference? Hehe ;) Anyway, stay tuned for chapter three, y'all! Feel free to vote, comment, and share this to others, it will be appreciated <3 I hope everyone has a good day!