OMG Are Those The Sarentu Kids? Are They Kidnapped/forcefully Adopted Out Of Their Culture? I Would Love

OMG are those the Sarentu kids? Are they kidnapped/forcefully adopted out of their culture? I would love a part 2!

What if Quaritch tried as a last resort to regain custody and miraculously succeeded when Spider was 15? It's very, very unrealistic, but let's assume that if there was a change of judge or he would be able to bribe someone. So he has legal custody, he can live with his son legally and not cut off from the world. How would everything go then? How would Spider react if he suddenly found out that after so many years of running away he was going to live with his father, what would their relationship be like then?

Oh I’ve got ideas for this so this is going to be a long one. It became a whole au in my head.

So for starters i don’t think Quaritch getting custody back would be unrealistic. If you read the last chapter of cabin Quaritch showed Spider that his court ordered therapist was Max Patel. That would be a huge conflict of interest so with a good lawyer Quaritch could bring that to court and demand a re trial with a new judge.

I’ll change the Cabin timeline a little and say Spider was 14 when he started living with the Sully’s. He’s about to turn 15 when surprise the court gives his father back full custody. Spider tells the judge flat out he doesn’t want to live with him but the judge doesn’t care. The judge views what happened to Quaritch years ago as a miscarriage of justice that he is now correcting.

On moving day Spider runs away. Quaritch calls the cops on him to bring him to his new home. It’s definitely not a great start. His eyes are red and there’s dried tears on his face but Spider glares daggers at him no matter what Quaritch does and never says a word. That’s generally how things go every day for weeks, even on Spider’s birthday when Quaritch tried to throw him a party. Spider just looked at the set up and walked out, hiding in his room to FaceTime with Kiri and Lo’ak.

Quaritch refuses to call Spider by his chosen name and Spider refuses to call him dad. Spider ignores Quaritch if he calls him Miles or Junior. Quaritch does the same when Spider calls him old man. Spider used to call him a fucking bastard ass old man but that got him grounded, so Spider stopped. He didn’t want to be forced to stay in that house any longer then he had to.

Luckily for Spider he didn’t have to change schools in the middle of the year. Neytiri raised hell to get him enrolled in the same private school as the Sully’s and he loves it there. Coincidently it’s the exact school Quaritch would have sent him to if given a choice so he approves. Unfortunately their house is to far out for a bus to pick him up so Spider’s old man has to drop him off and pick him up everyday. Quaritch purposely tries to embarrassing him by shouting “bye son I love you!” Spider slams the door and yells “I fucking hate you get out of here!”

Spider’s first week of school after moving in with his dad, he decided to fuck with Quaritch by not telling him about his after school clubs. After ten minutes of waiting Quaritch started to blow up Spider’s phone with calls and texts. Spider had his phone on silent and didn’t even notice. After another ten minutes Quaritch stormed into the school shouting Spider’s given name through the halls for everyone to hear. Spider pops out of the art room looking mortified. “What are you doing.” Quaritch who was terrified answers, “lookin’ for you a ‘course! Y’a couldn’t have told me you were in a club! Y’a didn’t answer your phone. I was worried sick!” The worse part for Spider wasn’t that he got yelled at in front of his classmates. It was that he could tell just how concerned his father had been over him and it makes him feel incredibly guilty. After that Spider always tells Quaritch about his after school activities.

Months go by. Spider slightly warms up to his dad but he’s still super standoffish. He goes over to the Sully’s house every chance he gets. Quaritch hates it. He won’t let Spider spend the night there or even eat dinner with the Sully’s because of how jealous he is. And Spider gets so angry every time Quaritch shows up to collect him, fighting to stay, arguing all the way home, running off to his room slamming the door behind him. It makes Quaritch think that maybe - it’s time they move.

Quaritch asks Spider, “what do y’a think of taken a little road trip this summer? We could get a camper van. go to all the national parks, see some big landmarks..

“I’m good.” Spider doesn’t want to spend his summer locked in a van with his father far away from the Sullys.

“Well too damn bad then ‘cause that’s what we’re doin’.” It’s a huge fight between them for weeks. Spider runs off the day he gets home and sees their shiny new camper van in the driveway. Quaritch hunts him down dragging him back kicking and screaming. Spider refuses to pack as their departure date draws closer. Quaritch does it all for him while he’s at school with Spider coming home to a near empty room, a room so empty it looked like they were moving completely and not just going on vacation. Spider brushes it off as one of his father’s punishments.

Spider is told that they’ll be leaving a few days after school lets out. So he’s completely shocked to see his father waiting for him in their usual pick up spot, driving the camper van. “You told me we were leaving in a few days!” Quaritch just shrugs, “I did. But then I got to thinkin’ what are we waitin’ for! We hit the road now we can be across state lines by dinner.” “But the Sully’s are having a party to celebrate the end of the semester! Grandma Mo’at finally back and I haven’t gotten to see her yet, and I haven’t even said goodbye to my friends!” Quaritch waves him off, “that’s what phones are for. Now get in before I put you in.”

The trip starts off very tense. Spider won’t speak to him at all, but he will have very pointed very loud phone conversations with Kiri and Lo’ak just trash talking Quaritch the entire time. Quaritch turns his dad rock up as high as the stereo will go, making Spider have to shout. When they finally stop for the night they have a quiet agitated dinner outside. Spider is so tired from it all that he’s falling asleep sitting up. Quaritch takes the opportunity to swipe his phone. After Spider goes to bed Quaritch chucks it in the river. Spider notices it’s gone when he wakes up the next morning. Unfortunately for him Quaritch had already been driving for hours. “I can’t find my phone. I think I dropped it outside last night.” “Well what do y’a want me to do about it?” “Turn around!” “Pff, i’m not wastin’ time ‘cause your irresponsible. Now sit down and go eat breakfast or something.”

Spider is pissed but at least he has his laptop he thinks as he starts looking through his stuff. Only to not find it anywhere. “Where’s my laptop.” “How should I know.” “You packed all my shit!” “Yeah well if y’a wanted it so badly y’a should have packed it yourself!” Quaritch in fact left his laptop behind on purpose. Now Spider has no way of contacting the Sully’s.

Spider tries his best to act like he’s completely miserable, but he can’t pretend for long. He hates to admit it but him and his dad have similar ideas of fun, spending days camping and exploring national parks, doing things like zip lining, and exploring caves. They do more touristy things too, like visiting museums (Quaritch loves history museums while Spider prefers art museums) and major landmarks (though they both agree to go early as possible to avoid the crowds at all cost). Early on Spider gets the idea to send the Sully’s postcards so they at least know he’s okay. He has to sneak away from Quaritch to mail them but luckily public mailboxs are pretty easy to come by. It helps him feel better about everything and gradually he actually starts to bond with his dad to the point where it starts to feel like they’re a completely normal father and son.

The summer starts to draw to an end. Spider has been happy with his dad but he’s eager to get home and see the Sully’s. He misses them so much. Plus traveling is exhausting. He can’t wait to sleep in a bed that does change states ever few days. Spider expects that they’ll turn around soon because they keep going west when they live on the east coast. He’s about to question Quaritch about it when they reach Wyoming. Nothing interesting is in Wyoming so why are they here? They pass by nothing but farmland for hours until finally they pull off the road eventually coming to a small farm. It looks really nice, rustic and inviting. When they stop a bald man, who Quaritch introduces as Spider’s uncle Lyle, greats them at the door along with a boarder collie that races right up to Spider jumping all over him in excitement. Spider instantly loves the pup who he’s told is named Cupcake.

Lyle gives them the grand tour. The farm grows tons of different fruits and vegetables. There a dairy cow grazing in a field, chickens scurrying about in a large fenced in patch of grass, two horses - a father and his son - chilling in the barn, and a barn cat that catches mice. Spider also instantly falls in love with the cat picking him up and cradling him. Spider likes the farm a lot. It’s peaceful. At dinner Spider says, “this is a really nice place Lyle.” “Glad you like.” He says smirking. “By the way cap, I’m gonna head out at five tomorrow morning. I want to get back home in time for my daughter’s first day of school.” Spider gives him a questioning look, “isn’t this your home?” Lyle laughs in his face, “no it’s your home.” He might as well have slapped him. He turns to Quaritch, “what is he talking about?”

Quaritch sighs, “I got a job offer.” “What do you need a job for! I thought you were fucking loaded from all the settlement money the courts gave you!” “I am. But do y’a know how boring it is being a stay at home dad…”. “Oh boohoo get a job as a Walmart greeter like all the other retirees. You fucking planned this all summer - hell before that even, and you never thought to tell me!” “Hell no! I wanted us to enjoy our summer together..” “fuck you! This..this is fucking kidnapping.” “Pff..stop being so dramatic. We just moved that’s all.” “And you fucking lied about it!” Spider runs from the table not able to stand the sight of his father any longer.

Days later when Quaritch finally catches Spider as he’s trying to sneak down to the kitchen, he explains what going to happen. He was offered a job (a lie. He applied for it) as vice principal at Mercer’s Military Academy. It’s a semi-boarding school twenty minutes away. And Spider’s the school’s newest student. He flips his shit, “a fucking military academy! Why can’t I just go to the nearest public school!” “Because it’s an hour and half away! Plus you get free tuition as my son.” “I’m not fucking going.” “Yes you are.” “You can’t make me!” “Yes I can!” “I’m going to get myself expelled on the fist day!” Quaritch laughs, “good luck with that.”

At some point in Spider’s brooding Quaritch tosses his new schools rule book into his room. Spider reads it to get ideas for how to raise hell. Of course he’ll be breaking all the dress code rules which go on at length about the exact why he’s supposed to wear his uniform (neat at all times, no customizations no rips or tears) and the strict guidelines for how he’s supposed to wear his hair (for boys it’s a tapered style of any kind as long it doesn’t touch his ears or the top of his collar). He will definitely be disrespecting every adult, especially his father. He can’t wait to embarrass him so bad he regrets the day he reapplied for custody. Maybe he’ll start a food fight. Maybe he’ll find the school bully and start a real fight. Hell if they deserve it maybe he’ll hit a teacher. Or just his dad. He really wants to punch his dad.

The weekend before the start of school Quaritch takes him into town- which is a whole two hours away- to get his new uniform. Spider is uncooperative as ever, refusing to stand still to get his measurements taken to the point where Quaritch has to hold him in place. After hours of wrestling with his son an exhausted Quaritch pays for the uniforms. The store manager who is equally tired looks at the disgruntled teen and say to Quaritch, “I see why you choose military school.” Spider hears and storms out.

He’s expecting to go home now but instead Quaritch parks the car in front of a barber shop. “I don’t know why your stopping here because I’m sure as hell not getting out.” Quaritch turns to look at him his rage palpable. “Now you listen here. Y’a have some grand idea of gettin’ expelled, but that ain’t gonna happen. Mercer loves a challenge. He loves taking disrespectful, unruly, feral little monsters like you and breaking them to pieces. And the harder you make that, the more fun he’ll have. So I suggest you march in there right now, pick a haircut you can live with,then Sunday night you shine your shoes, iron your uniform and get your tie ready. Or else Monday morning when you walk through those doors lookin’ like your little punk ass self, Mercer will drag you to his office and after that…well choices have consequences.” Spider bristles under the warning but doesn’t break. “I’ll take my chances.” “Fine,” Quaritch says throwing the car in reverse, “I warned y’a. just don’t come crying to me.”

Monday morning Spider does his hair in intricate braids, wears his most ripped frayed pair of jeans, dirtiest sneakers, and a band t-shirt that would definitely get him called a satanist by a pearl clutching old lady. He’s beaming with confidence as he walks into the kitchen. Quaritch eyes him over his newspaper and just shakes his head. Before they leave he puts Spider’s uniform in a plastic bag knowing he’ll need it for later. 

You already know what’s coming. Mercer drags Spider into his office on sight. In the office two muscler upperclassman are standing at attention waiting for orders. Mercer tries to verbally intimidate Spider. Spider just cusses up a storm instead. For that he gets grabbed by the upperclassman and bent over Mercer’s desk for some corporal punishment with a wooden paddle. It doesn’t end until he’s a sobbing mess. Then Mercer breaks out the clippers. There’s a guard on them leaving Spider with about an inch of length all around. Mercer doesn’t bother to undo his braids. They all come off in one piece and Mercer seems to take pleaser in waving them in his face taunting him over the “savage” style. Then he’s made to change into his uniform. Spider’s glassy eyed and numb by this point. Mercer and his goons don’t give him the courtesy of turning around, making Spider feel even more vulnerable then he already did. the last piece of his uniform is his tie but he doesn’t know how to knot it. Mercer laughs at him throwing it in his face. “Go find your father. He’ll show you.”

Spider’s in a daze as he stumbles around the halls completely shell shocked. He sees the back of Quaritch as he’s monitoring the halls for anyone out of class. “Da..dad,” Spider calls weakly. Quaritch whips around. It’s the first time Spider has ever called him dad and he is momentarily thrilled before he looks at his son. Quaritch is instantly filled with overwhelming guilt as he takes in his child. “I…I need help…I…I can’t tie my tie.” Spider hold it up like he’s a small child with a broken toy.

Quaritch ushers him into an unused classroom. “What happened,” he asks cupping Spider’s face to make him look up. Spider shakes his head before bursting into tears. Quaritch pulls him into a hug. “How could you do this to me! I was starting to trust you! I actually thought we could be happy! Why did you lie to me! How could you bring me here!” “I’m sorry,” is all Quaritch can say, over and over again. When Spider’s cries finally quiet Quaritch says, “all I ever wanted was to be a family again. I love you more then anything in this whole world. Not a day went by when I didn’t worry about y’a. I couldn’t know if you were safe, if you were healthy, if you were happy. It was torture. I was so relieved to get you back. But y’a wouldn’t even give me a chance. You hated me from the jump. Y’a just ran off to be with the Sully’s every day.” Spider and Quaritch are still hugging but Spider can hear that his dad is crying. “I’m big enough of a man to admit that I was jealous. And it hurt to have you constantly running away from me. But I was selfish to do all this to you.” They stay in their hug for a little while longer until they both feel the weight of time on them. They break apart, and wipe their eyes. Quaritch ties Spider’s tie for him. “We’ll talk more about this tonight okay. For now y’a got to get to class.”

Spider floats through the morning too emotionally drained from everything. At lunch he doesn’t really have an appetite but goes through the motions anyway. It’s when he’s walking the room, looking for a place to sit that he spots a group of five kids sitting in the farthest corner of the room. Spider instantly recognizes the tell tail features of the Na’vi. He races to sit with them happily greeting them with Oel Ngati Kameie.

Hope you enjoyed. I definitely have ideas for a part two so let me know if your interested in that 💙

@dumbass--tumbler--cryptid Have you ever read Misery? The Stephen King book where an insane woman keeps a famous author trapped in her mountain cabin for months?

Maybe Quaritch should run the hiker over with a big ass lawnmower, cause that's what the lady from Misery did when someone accidentally found her captive lmao. The scene in the book was supposed to be scary but I kept laughing because of the imagery of running someone over in a big ass lawnmower like

What would happen if an exceptionally determined climber, with no connection to the police at all, unintentionally found a cabin and knocked on the door out of curiosity?

Oh I’ve thought about this before and that person would die. Quaritch would take him far away from the cabin so Spider wouldn’t see and either shoot the hiker or push them off a cliff. He’d take their phone (which wouldn’t have service) and pass it’s details off to his team so they could hack it remotely, send a message to the hikers family and friends saying they made it down safely and were going to a different mountain hours away then go radio silent making it look as if they went missing far away from the cabin.

wait wait wait oh my godddddd so zdog didn't trick him with the mask??? He would've died if they'd gotten away cause the noise meant the mask was busted??? OH MY GODDDDDD THEY COULDVE GOTTEN AWAY!!! Poor spider really does have the worst luck 😭😭

and that means Q actually trusted spider not to run away to a degree, there was never a tracker in it, he thought spider would willingly stay with him, omg i bet in his twisted mind he really does view this as a "betrayal" bc he thinks he was trusting spider brooooo

And then zdog's comment about rey taking the beating from "dear old dad" would Q have beaten spider out of anger if rey got away??? 😭😭😭

I'm not emotionally ready for the next chapter, especially how Q's gonna act. Is he gonna be pissed at spider and treat him worse or will he feel at least a little guilty and try to win back his trust?

Another snippet from Chapter 30 of Silent as Shadows... 🥺

🕷️💙✨

“You got me good, Z...” Spider said with a scowl, crossing his arms and glaring at the tattooed recom. 

Zdinarsk bit down with her sharp teeth, snapping a bright pink bubble before finally turning her head to him with a raised eyebrow and spat back, “Oh yea? How’s that, punk?” 

“You didn’t tell me it had a tracker...he even told me there wasn’t one...” Spider said slowly, “You’re no better than him.” 

Zdinarsk’s ears flattened back, and she narrowed her own eyes into a glare. She stood and planted a hand on her hip, looking angrier and more serious than Spider had ever seen before. Without skipping a beat, she jabbed her finger into his chest and growled, “Normally I’d LOVE to bust your chops, kid, but you can tone down that bad attitude because you have shit luck.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” Spider asked incredulously. 

“The mask doesn’t have a tracker in it.” Zdinarsk hissed, “That alarm was for a ventilation failure, genius.” 

Spider’s blood went cold, causing an uncomfortable prickling to spread through his body. He’d listened intently when Zdinarsk explained how the mask worked. The maintenance, fail safes, warning signs...he’d listened to every detail. Despite what the squad might think, he wasn’t so stupid to take the risk of running away if he knew he would die from asphyxiation along the way. He knew Rey’ka would never forgive herself if something happened to him when they tried to escape...he had to stay alive for her now too. 

“It’s probably the dry air up in these damn mountains that caused it. Just be glad Rey’ka took that beating from dear old dad for you...” Zdinarsk huffed as she crouched back down and tossed her remaining gear into her back with no real order, “Least he didn't cut up that pretty face...” 

Spider was still frozen without being able to find a decent comeback. Like how it was their fault this all happened in the first place? That Rey'ka wasn’t one of them? That she was their prisoner? He couldn’t believe Zdinarsk was making him feel GUILTY for the results of First Blood. Then again, how was this blame any different than what he was used to growing up? Wasn’t everything his fault? At least to Neytiri and McCosker...everything was always his fucking fault... 

so little "MJ" is still in control. Better than the "Miles" personality, but I'd like Spider back! I'm glad "uncle Lyle" is taking care of him though, I'm sure he'll warm up to him quickly. I wonder if having the age-regressed personality get taken care of and actually treated like a child instead of treated like a nuisance like McCosker and Neytiri will be healing for Spider's inner child in a way. I hope they can fix poor Spider's brain!

🕸️🕷️ Weaving the Web 🕷️🕸️

Chapter 11: Third String

It wasn’t Quaritch’s intention to fall asleep. The knocking on his apartment door woke him out of a deep slumber. He had no idea how tired he was from fighting the legal system for custody of a ‘non-citizen’ then physically fighting with the kid after he almost caved in a man’s skull. Then there was the conversation with Nash McCosker…the asshole who supposedly took care of Spider in his younger years.

Whoever was knocking on the apartment door was persistent. Quaritch rubbed his eyes and looked down at the boy bundled up in a recom-sized blanket on the couch next to him. Again, seeing Spider like this made him forget he was actually sixteen-years-old. The boy was still sleeping soundly. Heavy sleeper, Quaritch thought to himself as he slowly stood as carefully as possible so as not to disturb Spider.

He wasn’t sure who was going to wake up: Spider, Miles, or MJ.

Quaritch was rooting for Spider to come back to control but the obvious second choice was the little one. The thought of dealing with Miles before his coffee might make him add a little whiskey to his morning caffeine fix.

The third set of knocking was louder and starting to get on the colonel’s nerves. He looked at his watch as he walked out of the living room/kitchenette space to the short hallway with a narrow closet for his jacket and boots. Shit . It was after 20:00. Not only had he missed both lunch and dinner in the mess hall, he’d gone radio silent with his squad practically all day.

The incident in the mess was the night before at dinner, Quaritch spoke with Ardmore then McCosker, then stayed up all night until he was alerted Spider woke up from sedation. He couldn’t recall what time that occurred but he’d caught the tail end of breakfast when he ordered Spider food after leaving solitary confinement. Then he learned about MJ…they talked…then Quaritch watched the boy until he fell asleep.

And then Quaritch must’ve fallen asleep. He hadn’t realized how tired HE was from dealing with the shitstorm. Well…it was worth it. The boy was worth it…

”Boss!” Wainfleet said when the apartment door finally slid open after Quaritch pressed his thumb to a small scanner next to the door. “You are here. The squad and I been looking for you. Lopez stopped by here an hour ago, but he said you didn’t come to the door.”

Fucking hell, how did Quaritch sleep through that?!

”Sorry, Lyle, I didn’t realize how tired I was…” Quaritch said, feeling a weird embarrassment akin to getting caught sleeping on the job.

”No worries, boss, just wanted to make sure the kid didn’t go full psycho on you.” Wainfleet said with a relieved chuckle. He nodded over Quaritch’s shoulder and asked, “The kid in there?”

”Yea…” Quaritch sighed, stepping back into the kitchenette so Wainfleet could come into the apartment, “He’s still sleepin’…where’s Ja at?”

”Infirmary, I think. Rec room next now we found you. Mansk was talking about a card game at dinner.” Wainfleet said to lighten the mood, “Seems convinced he can kick everyone’s ass with that natural poker face shit.”

”Hey!”

Both the recoms showed their surprise in tail flips and ears twitching at Spider’s sudden shouting. Quaritch turned around and both of the recoms stared at the boy. Spider was sitting up in the tangled blanket nest and frowning.

”You said a bad word!” Spider snapped, pointing straight at Wainfleet.

Quaritch and Wainfleet stared at the boy in silence. Of ALL people to call someone out on foul language, Spider wasn’t the one. Wainfleet was completely dumbfounded and it showed on his face. On the other hand, Quaritch had the confirmation he needed to know who was still in control. Wasn’t his preferred first choice but it was better than dealing with the alternative…

”You’re right, MJ.” Quaritch said after a few seconds, “Sometimes adults use those words without thinkin’ about them first. Your…” The colonel paused and stared at his second-in-command for a moment before looking back to the boy, “Uncle Lyle didn’t mean nothin’ by it.”

“The fu-…” Wainfleet started but was quickly interrupted.

”MJ, your uncle and I are gonna talk outside. You good?” Quaritch said, putting a hand on Wainfleet’s shoulder to start pushing him back towards the front door.

”I’m kinda hungry…” Spider said with a yawn, fidgeting with the blanket the same way he did with the hospital gown the that morning. Like he was afraid to say it or be a bother.

”I’ll find you something. You just stay there and be good, ok?” Quaritch asked, giving him a comforting nod.

”Ok. Thank you, sir.” Spider said with a gentle smile. Yup, this was MJ for sure. Spider wouldn’t humiliate himself acting like this and he was sure Miles didn’t have the mental control to keep up the innocent facade. Before Wainfleet could start rambling like a confused idiot, Quaritch pushed him back out the door completely and pressed his thumb to the scanner again to close it.

Wainfleet stared at Quaritch, wide-eyed and the obvious question could finally be said out loud.

”What the fuck was that?!” Wainfleet asked, quickly following up with, “That’s not the usual bundle of teenage angst or the psychopath. We dealing with another personality?!”

”Yea…seems so.” Quaritch said, pinching the bridge of his nose at the obviousness of the answer.

”When did that happen?” Wainfleet asked, his surprise turning to concern. “Is this one dangerous too?”

”Hell, Lyle, he just called you out for cussin’. What do you think?” Quaritch said then paused with a sigh. Maybe not dangerous like Miles, but he could present a different kind of threat. He’d revisit those thoughts later and he continued, “He’s got a young mentality. Doesn’t know anything about the war with the Na’vi or even who his parents are.”

”Shit…” Wainfleet said. What else could he say? In truth, it made memories of his own genetic predecessor come rushing back at the revelation that Spider had a ‘young child’ side now. It made him think of two people he hadn’t thought about since waking up in his recom body. The beautiful, and incredibly understanding, fiancée and barely one-year-old daughter left on Earth when his human equivalent rotated out to Pandora. Fuck, the daughter was well into adulthood now and no closer to relocating to Pandora, the whole reason he was there.

”I’m gonna get you security clearance for this apartment.” Quaritch said, referencing the door that was currently only accessible by the colonel and security override in case of emergencies. “I need you to stay with the kid while I find Ja. I gotta see those brain scans again. I’m no damn doctor, but might be good to try and get some done while he’s like this. I’ll let Ja make that call.”

”Of course, boss.” Wainfleet said instantly. The colonel didn’t even have to give an explanation for why he’d need to babysit; the corporal would do anything his friend asked. He smiled as the colonel turned back to open the apartment door and remarked, “MJ? Reminds me of Spider-Man.”

Quaritch shook his head but was secretly ecstatic Wainfleet had something he could relate to the boy about. A warm feeling spread throughout his chest seeing the boy still sitting on the couch, swallowed up in the folds of the blanket he’d pulled up over his shoulders. He walked in and crouched down to the boy’s level, “MJ. I need to go talk to another friend of mine then I’ll get you some grub, ok? I won’t be long. Lyle’s gonna stay with you until then.”

Spider nodded with a bright smile. It was bittersweet seeing the boy so happy. He must have been a really sunny child before his life went to hell. Quaritch gently patted Spider’s head, unable to stop his own smile when the boy let out a quiet giggle. He was a good kid. Who had a lot of bad things happen to him that he didn’t deserve…

Wainfleet walked into the living room and stared at the bright-eyed boy as Quaritch disappeared out into the corridor and the door slid shut behind him. Spider’s smile faded when the colonel left and he clutched at the blanket, staring up at the corporal with an uneasy shyness. Wainfleet could not believe this was the same kid he’d wrestled into submission the night before or busted the chops of on a regular basis and got it back in spades.

”Sooo…” Wainfleet said slowly, not sure how to break the ice. He sat down on the empty side of the couch and noticed Spider leaning away slightly as he looked down. His ears went back; he felt bad for what seemed like scaring the kid just by being there. Wainfleet cleared his throat and smiled, “Who’s your favorite Spider-Man?”

”Spider on the left.” Ja said as he and one of the neurologists who wasn’t afraid of taking on Spider’s case brought up a selection of MRI scans an an illuminated screen, “Miles on the right.”

Quaritch had learned more about the brain in the last couple weeks than he knew in two lifetimes, but it wasn’t enough for him to fully understand how vastly different they were aside from the array of colors. And goddamn! The scans looked like they were from two completely separate people. Not two personalities sharing the same brain.

”Spider’s brain activity is fairly textbook. The only abnormality, and I honestly wouldn’t even call it that, is heightened activity in the parietal lobe. That part of the brain is responsible for spatial and sensory awareness. We’ve all seen how he can run though the jungle out there like it’s nothing. He’s very aware of his surroundings.” Ja explained as he ran his finger over certain parts of the scan lit up bright yellow to red.

“Yea, kid knows it like the back of his hand…” Quaritch commented as his eyes moved over to the vastly different scan of Miles. Parts of the brain that were lit up more evenly towards the front for Spider were dim shades of dark blue for Miles.

“Miles has heightened brain activity in the frontal and temporal lobes. Personality, behavior, long term memory retention. All that is stored between the two. What is incredibly concerning, sir, is the extreme lack of activity in the medial prefrontal cortex and overactivity in the amygdala. The former is responsible for decision-making, whereas the latter’s main function is emotional control. Primarily fear and anger.” Ja said with a sigh.

”Fear?” Quaritch said, going over every tussle with the kid since he first showed up, “Miles ain’t afraid of jack shit, he’s made that clear.”

“Sir, people act out violently, if not more violently, when they’re afraid versus when they’re angry. Miles’ personality may not acknowledge fear, but he may subconsciously be acting on it. Even though Spider is the ego - the primary personality - he doesn’t have the same mental responses as Miles. When Miles is in control, parts of Spider’s brain that aren't regularly stimulated become overstimulated. Aggressive emotions are just one part of it.” Ja continued, trying not to let his personal feelings of respect for his commanding officer get in the way of being the medical voice of reason.

Quaritch rubbed his hand across his chin as he considered what to do next. Ja could tell the colonel was hesitant but remained silent while he thought it over. It was still inconclusive if Spider had any preexisting conditions that might have only been exacerbated by the neuroscanner. Without any medical records to speak of, Quaritch cursed under his breath when he realized the only person who knew about Spider’s health growing up was Nash McCosker.

”You said this new personality-…” Ja started.

”MJ.” Quaritch interrupted. He was distracted going over in his head how another conversation with McCosker would go now that the man knew who the recom was.

”Yes, MJ.” Ja corrected, adding the colonel’s defensive tone to his list of shocking things to dissect later, “You said he has no memory of previous RDA activity?”

”He doesn’t have memories of anything. He just remembers being under the care of, or lack thereof, that son of a bitch, McCosker.” Quaritch said with a low growl. Saying his name out loud made him even more angry with the poor excuse of a father.

”It would be wise to get an MRI while MJ is the controlling personality. The more we know about his condition, the easier it will be to cope with it.” Ja said, genuine sympathy in his words and tone.

”Cope…” Quaritch repeated. The word felt like a slap to the face. He only knew the kid for a month but it seemed he spent most of his young life ‘coping’. With being orphaned. With the people who raised him. With a planet that would rather suffocate a human.

“I’m not trying to overstep, sir.” Ja said, “And I sure as hell don’t mean ‘cope’ like Spider is an inconvenience. I just-…”

“It’s all good, Ja.” Quaritch said, knowing his medic didn’t mean or say anything to offend him. He clapped a hand on Ja’s shoulder, “I know this wasn’t what you signed up for but I appreciate all the extra time you’re puttin’ into the boy.”

“Of course, sir, I’m a marine but, regret to inform you, I am a doctor first.” Ja said with a forced smirk. Spider was his patient. The fact that the colonel had warmed up to him only added to him providing the best possible care he could in this entirely unknown medical phenomena.

“MJ’s jumpy but I can get him through it.” Quaritch said as he pressed his fingers to his neck comm. After a moment of static to connect the devices, he heard a mumble of Wainfleet’s voice and said, “Lyle, bring MJ to the med bay. We’re gonna get in a scan while he’s still here.”

Here you go! Some of the memes I’ve made.

Wonderful news. A reminder to fellow digital artists to use an ai-poisoning program such as Nightshade or Glaze if you're able to and opt-out of ai-sharing in your tumblr settings!

Reblog to kill it faster