Morlocks #2

"The Mor-What," I say confused

"The Morlocks Spider-Man we are separatist mutants who seek a peaceful life away from the fear and hatred of humans," Bishop says sounding like a general leading an army.

"And she steals because..." I say pointing to Felicia.

"Philosophy doesn't pay," Bishop replies with a bit of snark. "As much as I hate to admit it we need the money to pay for food, medical supplies, and whatever else people need to live," I nodded my head mewling over the facts presented to me.

"I get it I was homeless for a while so I know how being in a tight spot can make you desperate," I say.

"Were not desperate Bug-Boy were surviving," Felica responses with venom. I hold up my hands and give the surrender motion.

"I'm not trying to insult you or your people you're trying to keep people safe and you steal to do it I may not agree but I understand," I say trying to keep the peace. As we were talking Bishop leads us into the center of the "Town" we enter what looked to be a retrofitted tent with enough space inside to accommodate about twenty people easily. Inside the tent was a tall man with a mullet and mustache combo like he was living in the 1980s.

"Is this a time machine?" I ask.

"...No" Blink says with a raised eyebrow and a confused tone.

"Then why does that guy look like he just got off the set of Back to the future," I say pointing at the mustached man.

"Ha Ha kid very original should you really be talking about the way I look wearing tights," The mustached man says stepping closer to me. As he steps closer I get a better look at him he has dark tan skin which makes me think he's Hispanic or possibly Native American but what's most noticeable about him is his right leg like Bishop's arm is entirely metal.

"Their not tights," I grumble to myself.

"Bishop why is Spider-Man here?" The man asked.

"He was following a thief," Bishop says and glares at Felicia. Felicia winces and looks at the ground. The man snorts.

"Finally got caught huh Felicia," The man says with a smug tone of voice.

"Shut-up Forge!" Felicia growls out.

"Well pleasantries aside I go by Forge nice to meet you Spider," Forge says offering his hand to shake. I reach out my hand and as I'm about to respond I hear a loud scream. I immediately turn around tense and alert. My spider-sense doesn't go off but I see a little girl rush toward me with the most shocked expression I have ever seen.

"SPIDER-MAN!?" The girl screams and tackles me into a hug. "IamsuchahugefanIloveallyourworkyousavedmeoncedoyouremebermeohmygodareyouheretoseemeguyslookitsSpider-man," The girl speaks faster than Pietro runs.

"Whoa whoa whoa slow down who are you and why are you hugging me," I say separating myself from the girl. Getting a closer look at her I can see she has dark skin about a shade or two lighter than Storm's, kinky hair that looks like it hasn't been brushed in a while, and what looks like paint on her face and fingers.

"Sorry I got excited...my name's Sketch by the way," Sketch says with a sudden bashful attitude.

"Sketch, wait outside we need to talk to Spider-Man," Bishop says authoritatively.

"B-B-B-But," Sketch starts stuttering clearly wanting to object to Bishop's orders.

"Relax he'll still be here to give you an autograph or whatever after we're done," Bishop says and gives me a look that says "back me up".

"Sure just give me a minute to talk to your friends here," I say crouching down looking at her at eye level.

"You promise you won't leave," She says giving me heart-melting puppy dog eyes.

"I promise Sketch," I say extending my pinkie for her to grab. She extends hers and gives a firm shake.

"Ok, I'll leave," Sketch says reluctantly to Bishop and heads out the tent.

"Cute kid is she yours," I say looking at Bishop. His stone face cracks a little as he sighs.

"No, shes Felicia's sister," Bishop says with a slightly sad look in his eyes.

"Really?" I say looking at Felicia "You two look nothing alike,"

"Not all siblings look alike!" Felicia says with venom leaving the tent after her sister leaving us all in pregnant silence.

"Awww, she likes you," Forge says breaking the awkward silence.

"Did you not see what she just did that's a long way from like," I say confused

"Tch, teenagers," Is Forge's only reply.

"Let's get back on topic people, Forge stop it," Bishop says the last part not even looking in Forge's direction. Forge's only response is shrug as he pulls out a chair and sits down. We all follow suit and sit at the large table."So Spider-Man what do you know I mean really know what life is like for mutants," Bishop asks with a serious tone and the face of a man who has seen war.

"I am a mutant if that's what you're asking," I respond.

"Obviously we know that," Blink says circling her finger in my direction.

"What I mean is how are mutants treated as a whole by society," Bishop clarifies.

"Horrible I've experienced some serious problems because of it and I know several mutants who were tortured because of who they are," I say remembering X-23 and Logan and all the mess that they've been through.

"So the kid's not all sunshine and rainbows I owe Sketch twenty bucks," Forge says more to himself but still clearly audible for the rest of us. Bishop clearly in professional mode ignores him and asks me "Do you know why Forge and I have artificial limbs,"

"No?" I say questioningly.

"We were soldiers first line we fought for this country," Bishop sates.

"We were best of the best didn't matter, if you were mutant or human no one, completed more missions or had a higher success rate," Forge says with pride but I sense some bitterness in his tone.

"Our record didn't matter to them all we were to them were tools as long as we worked they didn't give a shit what happened to us," Bishop says with the same bitterness I heard from Forge.

"We went along with it happily till one day we got captured and the enemy wanted to ransom us back to the American government you won't believe what their response was." Forge continues.

"We don't negotiate with terrorists," Bishop sighs. "We were tortured and left to die and no one so much as lifted a finger to try to help,"

"Luckily for us, I'm a genius and engineered robotic limbs that work even better than our old ones," Forge says with a sad smile. I look around the room and see everyone's showing varying degrees of sadness like they are all living in their own worst memories.

"That's horrible," is all I can manage to say to the two veterans.

"That's life for mutants imagine whats it's like for those of us that can't pass as human," Blink says looking up at the ceiling.

"And that was just the military before I joined when I was young this "M" mark was carved into my face by racist assholes when they learned I was a mutant, no matter where you go mutants are hated," Bishop sates lightly rubbing the mark on his face.

"Not to be rude but why tell me this?" I ask.

"You wanted to know who we are we are all mutants tired of living and intermingling with human society, all it's done is hurt us and give them more reasons to be afraid," Bishop says looking me in the eye for the first time since he started telling his story. "We are all mutants who combined our efforts to make a society free from our human oppressors and it'll be bad news for us if people knew where to find us,"

"I'll keep this place a secret I swear," I say resolutely.

"It's strange I just met you but I think you'll keep that promise," Bishop says with a slight smile. "Come on you've kept Sketch waiting so long she might explode," Bishop gets out of his chair and everyone else follows him out of the tent. Outside the tent I see Sketch pacing out all her anxious energy Felicia standing next to her cleaning her nails without a care in the world and a third young woman with pale skin green eyes hidden behind rose-colored rectangular framed glasses and short green hair.

"Jesus Sketch you tryna dig a ditch," Forge says playfully. Sketch turns her attention on us her eyes widen t the size of dinner plates and she begins to word vomit so fast I can barely put together a coherent sentence.

"Slow down I'm not gonna disappear I got all day now ask your questions one at a time," I say squatting down to eye level.

"S-Sorry it's just your my hero you saved me once do you remember?" She asks suddenly bashful. I study her face and try to see if I can remember her but I draw a blank.

"It's Sketch right?" I say as I see her nod. "I'm having trouble remembering you but that doesn't really matter I doubt last time we saw each other that we got to know one another so why don't we just start from scratch," I see her nod her head with excitement written all over her face.

"What makes you think we can trust this guy?" Felicia says to Bishop with thinly veiled distaste for me.

"Guy's a hero despite what the news says about them I think he can keep a secret," He says assuredly.

"You trust him and you don't even know his real name!" Felicia says now clearly upset.

"His name is Peter Parker," Said the monotone voice of the green-haired girl. We all stop and turn to look at her for the first time. I think how does she know my name I haven't felt the familiar sting of a telepath digging through my head. "His phone GPS shows him frequently at the Daily Bugle all of his time their matches up with the website's news stories being updated and viruses cleaned out of their system this implies a job position there and the only person at The Bugle with that job position is one Peter Parker, his tone of voice puts him in the right age range to be Peter as well as his height and other physical factors, all this information supplemented together gets the hypothesis that Spider-Man and Peter Parker are the same person" The green-haired girl sates like she is listing facts from a textbook.

"I guess that blows my cover," I say standing up and sighing willing my suit away revealing my face and the clothes I wore underneath. "My names Peter I like to swing around the city sometimes now that everyone knows everyone else's secret's can we all trust each other know," I say looking Felicia in the eyes.

"Wait you work for the Bugle why all they say is mean stuff about you!?" Sketch says upset.

"They were the only place willing to hire me when I was homeless and after working there for so long the people kinda grow on you even Jonah when he's not being an ass," I say fondly thinking of my coworkers.

"So Spider-Man's a masochist makes sense," Felicia says with a smug smile.

"Alright what the fuck did I do to you to earn all the shit you keep throwing at me," I say officially fed up with Felicia.

"Does trying to arrest me and calling me cat-lady not ring any bells," Felicia says equally losing all patients for me.

"I try to arrest you cause every time you steal stuff I get blamed for it, and cat-lady just makes sense have you seen yourself," I say defending myself.

"Yes I see myself but you won't after I claw your eyes out," Felicia says showing me her claws in a threating manner.

"I got money on tights," Forge loudly whispers to Blink.

"I'll take that action, twenty on Felicia," Blink says back.

"Enough you two," Bishop said while physically separating us. "Yes I trust Spider-Man Felicia he seems rational and understands what we're doing here so giving him my trust only helps us so stop trying to tear him down every five seconds, and you" Bishop whips his head around and points at me "don't goade her give her an inch she'll take a mile, and finally Sage" Bishop looks back at the green-haired girl, "don't just out someone's secret identity,".

"I thought it would alleviate the trust issues between us if we all knew Spider-Man's legal identity," Sage says with her same factual tone.

"Think of it this way his identity was a secret telling everyone someone's secret without their consent is just rude," Bishop says to the robotic girl.

"Noted your update on my social norms file has been added," Sage says taking a second to stare into space.

"Is she a robot," I ask the group.

"No, she's a mutant but her ability is having a literal computer for a brain so she sees the world like data to be studied inputted and deleted. It's fascinating but also offputting sometimes," Forge says with a slight shrug.

"O..kay," I say slightly weirded out.

"Right well moving on why don't we show you around," Bishop says with authority. For the next hour and a half, I see all of the small town the Morlocks have made for themselves they have a six-armed woman in charge of meals I properly meet the boy with all the eyes aptly named Ivan and despite his appearance is incredibly friendly. I check the time and decide to say my goodbyes (and give Sketch an autograph) and before I know it it's late and I'm back home at the X-Mansion.

*****11:26 pm

the lights are out so I assume nobody's home or everyone's asleep which is weird cause Logan's a night owl and Kitty usually talks to me before she goes to bed.

"Hello Peter," I hear a soft voice in the dark say scaring the shit out of me. I instantly put back on my suit and turn on the lights.

"Laura what the hell!" I say noticeably relaxing and appearing in casual clothes again. "I thought you were a supervillain why are you just sitting in the living room in the dark," Laura looks at the ground and looks sad for a moment before looking me in the eyes again.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you, I already memorized the layout of the entire Mansion and with my enhanced senses I don't need to see to know where I am," Laura says with a look of shame apparent on her face.

"I'm sorry Laura I didn't mean to yell it's just been a long day," That's when I notice in front of her, is an odd flower one with bright blues and purples surrounding the outer petals. "Is that-"

"Flora's Flower," Laura interrupts me "I like looking at it, it makes me feel calm," I sit down next to Laura on the couch.

"So how was your day," I say politely. There is a noticeable pause between us as Laura decides what to say.

"Staying here is... Strange" She finally says.

"I don't want to pry Laura you've had a hard life and you're still adjusting to living with strangers it's ok to be weirded out by everything...I'll be in your corner if you ever need help," I say trying to sound comforting.

"Tandy offered to go shopping with me since I don't have many clothes I don't think I should go," She says sadly.

"Don't go if you don't want to just know your not alone," I say as I stand up. "Now I'm exhausted and need sleep, see you in the morning..Oh and try not to stab anyone during practice,"

"I will try," Laura says resolutely. I smile at her as I walk upstairs.

*****2:39am

Ring, Ring, Ring, Ring, Ring "Ugh," I say reaching for my phone on the nightstand.

"Peter who is it," Kitty says groggily beside me.

"Don't know," I answer "Hello," I hear sniffling on the other end of the line. "Hello if this is a prank call I'm gonna hang up," I say lacking energy.

"There dead there all dead," The voice says quietly. Wait I recognize that voice.

"Sketch! what's happening are you ok," I say suddenly awake.

"All the Morlocks are dead," Sketch says in full-blown sobs.