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[madcuriosity]

Oh ah, I beg your pardon. I hope everyone is safe after the storm.

At lunch today, everyone kept asking me what I was going to be for Halloween and if Mr. Stark gave full-sized candy bars.

I told them I would be me and they laughed.

What do they mean then? I don't feel like I can really ask them what does "what will I be for Halloween?" mean. And what is a "full-sized candy bar" and why should Mr. Stark be giving them to anyone?

Comments

[idontgetpaid]

Well, playing tricks on people is optional. And as long as someone at your house has candy, you should be okay.

And superheroes are heroes with superpowers. So they can do things that normal people can't do.

[madcuriosity]

Heroes already do things normal people don't. How many people do you know run toward a burning building?

What are superpowers, though?

[idontgetpaid]

Well, my dad's a cop, so I'm probably not the best person to ask that question.

But even aside from that, superheroes have powers that make them different. Like, some superheroes can fly, some are really really strong...some can stick to walls and have spider-like abilities.

[madcuriosity]

Your father is an officer?

Spider abilities? [Why does that sound familiar?] Well, what makes a superhero different than a faerie? They can fly. Or a giant, they're very strong too.

[idontgetpaid]

Yeah. He can be pretty strict, but he's a good guy.

And there's nothing saying that faeries or giants can't be superheroes. But they'd have to use their powers to help and save other people.

[ Like humans, he imagines that not all faeries and giants are like that. ]

[madcuriosity]

My papa was never very strict, doting, mama would call him. But mama was very strict. She's the queen of our home, the proper mistress of the house.

.... You must not know the stories of faeries and giants if you think they save people. You give them their proper respect and they MIGHT leave you be.

[idontgetpaid]

Sounds about right, really. My mom runs our house too, even though she's not as strict as Dad is.

I guess that's the difference between them and superheroes. It's not enough to just have special powers. It's what you do with them.

[madcuriosity]

Do you have them? Superpowers I mean? Is that why you know so much about it?

[idontgetpaid]

[ SHOOT HE'S SAID TOO MUCH are secret identities still a thing well better safe than sorry ABORT ABORT ]

Wh-Who me? I mean...nah, of course not. Do I look like someone who'd have super powers?

[ Nailed it. ]

But there's a superhero back home that I know about. He's saved the city countless times, even against other people with powers. He never really had to do anything, but he chose to protect others anyway. So he's kind of like an inspiration.

[ Which is all pretty true. ]

[madcuriosity]

I don't know, I don't know what someone with superpowers is supposed to look like. You very well could as we've only just met.

Who is the superhero back home?

[idontgetpaid]

[ He feels bad for outright lying to a kid, so he opts to avoid the subject altogether instead. ]

Spider-Man. He's called that because of those spider abilities I mentioned before.

[madcuriosity]

And how does one get spider abilities?

[idontgetpaid]

Well, back home, Spider-Man got them by getting bitten by a radioactive spider.

But that probably isn't the recommended way to get superpowers.

[madcuriosity]

... I beg your pardon?

[idontgetpaid]

Uh...never mind. It's kinda complicated.

[madcuriosity]

Are those... here?

[idontgetpaid]

Not that I really know of. There doesn't seem to be any radioactive...anything in this city.

[madcuriosity]

What does radioactive mean, in any case?

[idontgetpaid]

Uh...like I said, it's a bit complicated. It has to do with energy and sub-atomic particles.

[ Not really the kind of thing he wants to try explaining to an eight year old. ]

[madcuriosity]

... And... are such things here? These kinds of spiders?

[idontgetpaid]

Nah, I don't think so. I think the only thing we've got here are those people with spider powers, not the spiders themselves.

[madcuriosity]

Who has spider powers?

[idontgetpaid]

[ He hesitates a little. He still needs to work out what to call himself, and he isn't sure what name Gwen goes by he really needs to ask. ]

Uh...Spider-Man.

[ Whether he means himself or Peter doesn't really matter right now. ]

[madcuriosity]

Is Spider-Man here?

[idontgetpaid]

Yeah...I mean, I'm pretty sure he is. I thought I saw him once swinging around town, at least.

[ Hopefully that keeps it vague enough. ]