feet in the sand, drink in hand.

Ben’s overdue for a break anyway, so he snags a croissant, slides around the bar, and approaches his brother’s table, his elbows leaning against the chipped, coffee-stained wood. “Are you sure about that?” he says. “You’re always somewhere to cause trouble.” 

With a little half-laugh, he takes the chair across from Kaine and begins to pick apart the flaky layers of pastry of his croissant. He’s glad to be human again; glad to see flesh back on Kaine’s face; glad to have started to do something, anything to fix this. They’ve probably got targets on their backs now, but they didn’t have a choice. “I just wanted to check in, see how you were doing,” he says, mouth full of croissant. “How was work?”

Kaine could get lost staring into his cup of coffee, too much has happened in the last few days. He remember feeling like being a hero wouldn’t be something HE was meant for, but the risk taken with his brothers was close enough to heroism wasn’t it? It may have been stealth work, but Kaine for the first time feels proud to have been involved AND included. He thinks teaming up with Ben and Peter more would be fun. “Trouble just follows me there’s a difference.”

Kaine smiles as some kind of signal that he was teasing, but there is some kind of truth to it. “I’m holding on — just thinking too much when I’m not filling out reports. It was a long day. I can’t believe I actually miss Houston right now. How’s your day going?”

( @clonedspider​ )

there are times when amadeus would like to count his lucky stars and thank the lord for his nature to second-guess some of his decisions. this was one of those times. he had been planning on dressing up as mario from super mario just for shits and giggles, before ultimately deciding to dress up as one of his anime heroes. that and it was hard to look for a costume to be a hwarang that his mom used to read about a lot.

kaine, on the other hand, may have not been so lucky. “so like…are you an actual skeleton now?” he didn’t know how else he was going to approach the topic but it sure seemed as if the webslinger was in that kind of situation.

Kaine wasn’t very lucky when it came down to his costume choice. It had felt appropriate at the time for his brooding personality — but he was paying for it now.  There’s a sign, bones expanding and then deflating as if to mimic breathing. This had to be some sort of magic, and yet he felt just like sort of monster again.

“It seems that way. OH WELL. I’ve looked worse.” Kaine jokes at his own expense, but better than sulking the whole time. “Logically this shouldn’t be possible — any of it. I shouldn’t be allowed to talk.”

“Dude, can you still eat? Or drink? If I got you some cider, would it just pour right out your ribcage? Should I also grab a mop?” How is Kaine held together? How is he talking? Skeletons didn’t have tongues or lungs or muscles or ligaments. They also didn’t usually wear clothes, or make Ghost Rider jokes. Normally, Ben would have tried to laugh, but the best he can do now would be a tinny little ha-ha. It’s both terrifying and hilarious, his alarmingly tall, fully-clothed skeleton brother. The two of them could have been anyone tonight, and this is where they’ve ended up. That tracks.

Ben attempts to cross his arms, but he can’t. They stick at a strange angle somewhere perpendicular to his chest, as if he’s gesturing dramatically to the skeleton boy in front of him. He gives up and lets them fall flat with a small hollow thump. “You and me both,” he says. “And I am not a Doombot. I’m a droid. There’s a difference.“

“I don’t know, PROBABLY NOT, but I’m not going to bother trying.” Kaine admits since his entire existence just got more WORTHLESS if he’s going to be stuck in this form.  The clone is confident in MAGIC being the answer to how the bones are being held together. There’s no real logic for how he could THINK or TALK otherwise. Kaine should have picked out a better costume, but this is how his life came to. “If we get stuck like this just out me out of my misery.” He asks with a heavy sigh, not feeling like this would be any way to truly live — he probably looked terrifying. Kaine can’t stand to have people looking at him like he was some sort of monster, not again.

NO ONE COULD LOVE YOU THIS WAY.

Kaine has to keep himself from having a breakdown. He tries to figure out what Ben is trying to do, but it’s lost to him. “They’re both robots aren’t they? I don’t know the difference yet.”

@clonedspider

Kaine. He needed to find Kaine. His brain, his new droid-lite brain, already anxious, had begun to swim, and the only order he could make of it was find Kaine. That was a plan, at least, even if it was a bad one. Even if they’d just end up being messes together. He wasn’t panicking; he didn’t need to panic; he was fine; it was just the costume. But the costume panicked and made his limbs stiff and his walk funny. Then again, his ever-creative, angsty baby brother had dressed as a skeleton for the party, so at least Ben had chosen something with a nervous system. 

Ben found him rattling across the room, and he step-thumped his way beside his brother. Normally, he’d want to scare him, tease him, rib him, but the droid said no, that wasn’t very polite, so instead he waved one metal hand and said, “At least Doom got creative this time. Didn’t just turn us all into Doombots.”

Kaine had put the effort in with the paint on his face, but has to admit that he could have chosen something more FUN, this felt fitting though for him. He didn’t really care for the party, but couldn’t turn down drinks or free food.

It happened so fast — something transformed him into an actual skeleton. It seemed everyone had been turned into what they were dressed as. Well isn’t that just perfect. He continues to sulk on his side of the room. His mind worrying about his older brothers.

“GHOST RIDER WHO?” Kaine actually makes a joke for once in his life, arms crossed over his chest. There was clothes on over his skeletal appearance at least so this wasn’t WEIRD. “You’re closer to being a doombot than me though, Ben.” He pauses for a moment, arms shifting to lay at his side.

“I don’t like this.”

he gave a grateful pat on kaine’s shoulder as he brought the tray of cocktails to the group of giggling middle-aged women. harry knew how to deal with women like them; a little attention from a young, good-looking man and his pockets were lined with tips from them. he had a little more empathy for the bartender in his favourite bar back in new york now; harry was definitely going to be giving him bigger tips when they go back. just as he came back to his station, he took a tray of fancy french fries and dip, taking it to his friend, as well as a bottle of moscow mule and signaled their floor manager that he was taking a break. “to answer your question earlier: yes, just a smile.” faking a smile to deal with people was something he learned when he was a child; which was sad considering he shouldn’t even have to learn how to fake it when he was still a kid. “so how are you guys? haven’t fought over the remote or hot water yet?”

Kaine doesn’t like this place much, but the bar was one of the better places in this weird city. It might have to do with seeing a familiar face working — trusting others more that way. He doesn’t spend a lot of time in bars regardless though, but still. When Harry comes back, Kaine offers a smile — something that the clone has been doing a lot more if since coming to this reality. “I’ll have to try it sometime,  it might save me from unfortunate circumstances. I tend to fight first which I need to NOT. “We haven’t fought about the remote, but I’d almost wouldn’t mind. It would mean that we’re succeeding at doing the whole NORMAL LIVING thing. All I’ve ever wanted was to be a real boy, honestly, and that’s part of it.”

“no, i need to apologize. i shouldn’t take anything out on you.” change was always something mary jane adjusted to rather quickly. however, here, it was different. she felt stuck. she pushed the coffee cup over to kaine. “normally, i go for tea, but every now and then i get a craving for it.” mj’s hair was still pulled back tightly. every since she started working in chemistry, she rarely let her hair down. “i’m really glad to hear that. that really makes me happy.” she flashed kaine a smile before reaching for the food he had brought them. “i’m sorry you were brought to us like this, but i turned out to be such a good thing. it’s nice having you two so close. i’m just glad we all made it here alright.”

Kaine didn’t really mind, as he would much rather anyone in his life show their true emotions. He doesn’t have patience for the fake attitudes some people have been known to carry around. It would be better to be associated with honesty. “Okay — still you’re allowed to be frustrated. I get it. This place sucks.” He admits with a shrug of his shoulders. It might be unfortunate, but this was all better than the life he had back in his own reality. “I am too. Imagine being stuck with dinosaurs forever? No thank you.”

michelle naturally leaned in closer to kaine as his arm draped over her. she couldn’t seem to understand how people were walking by like the robots weren’t just lying destroyed in the street. a work of vandalism she wished she could take credit for. “yet everyone acts like nothing happened. i have some but they are just theories. almost everyone here isn’t the biggest fan.” she definitely had some ideas in mind, keeping tabs on all that was going on in the town as well as with doom’s public announcements. “class was… not lame. i’m actually learning a lot that helps with the whole nursing thing.” she enjoyed the time they got to spend together whenever she wasn’t working or attending classes and he wasn’t on a shift. 

“Dealing with patrons is something I’m at least familiar with. You wouldn’t believe how much a smile and compliment go with these people.” Plus, it helped that he was a good-looking waiter with great hair. And the bar seemed like a better idea than the restaurant; he’d much rather deal with drunk patrons than fussy ones. “You good here for a few minutes? I just have to give out these cocktails and I’ll be back.” He throws a smile and a wave to a group of middle-aged women a few tables down before giving his attention back to Kaine. “Don’t look back now if you don’t want to be their entertainment for the night,” he whispered to the webslinger. Harry wasn’t about to fling his new friend off to the ‘wolves’, for the lack of a better term. “I’ll be right back.”

“Really? A smile is all it takes?” Kaine was never a PEOPLE person, but has gotten a lot better at it since being pulled into this reality for some unknown reason. He wasn’t about to turn around, not taking it lightly when someone is pestering him. He’d probably get in a fight if it was a group of men, but based off of the sounds going on behind him that wasn’t the case. Still he doesn’t want to be their entertainment for whatever purposes they’d want, the thought making him cringe a little — so Kaine pretends they aren’t even there. Which is for the best really. “I’ll be fine, good luck.” Kaine whispers back with a smile actually, proud of himself for being able to make friends with Harry. He turns his attention back to the bottle in his hand, diving back into his thoughts now that he was alone.

He let out a chuckle, taking the glass of beer from Kaine and leaving to get another, this time returning with a cold bottle of Moscow Mule instead. “Here, this tastes loads better. On the house to make up for your gross flavoured beer experience.” Technically, Harry shouldn’t be offering alcohol ‘on the house’ because he doesn’t own the bar but he likes to think that the owner at least owed him for bringing in regulars since he started waiting for them. “Well I’ll keep you company here tonight.” The young heir shrugged, throwing a smile at another patron at another table before putting his attention on Kaine. “It’s been busy. You’d be surprised at how this,” he said as he waved around the bar, “is one of the emptier nights.” Which doesn’t really say much considering they still had a lot of patrons inside. “You? How has life been since becoming part of the police force?”

It was nice that Kaine was able to get something else since he barely drank the OTHER one. “Thanks.” He says as he takes the bottle from Harry, inspecting the label before trying it. This is definitely better, and while he shouldn’t drink — he needed this. He could handle being drunk for one night. Who knows? If he paces himself maybe it won’t happen so fast. Which is hard when it only takes ONE. “I appreciate that, plus it’s good being able to talk with someone familiar. “I couldn’t imagine how it would be when it’s packed. You seem to be doing well at the whole bartending thing though.” Even if it wasn’t ideal, any of this. “It’s exhausting, but back in my own reality I made friends with the Houston police force so this was the only job I have ANY clue on what to do. I just hope people stay out of trouble.” He takes another sip of the beer in his hand. “This is much better, thank you.”

“Ugh, that’s disgusting.” from @expiaticn​

“What, the cheese? The wine? Or … this place?” 

Tony glanced over from where he’d been working on Doom’s latest project in his cell in the Doomgeons. “It’s not that bad, really. No rats, Doom’s been sending cheeseboards like they’re going out of fashion – I suppose it’s part of the whole ‘no iron’ thing.”

Setting his work down, he spun in his chair to face Kaine. “So… what brings you down here? I hope Doom didn’t toss you into the Doomgeons. Even if they relatively decent, as dungeons go.”

“I wouldn’t mind RATS if there was any. I can talk to spiders which is worse from what the world tells me.” Although the clone can’t exactly do that anymore with the dampeners around the city. He misses being able to make webs, for once knowing what it’s like when his brothers run out of web fluid.

He makes a face, it was definitely the wine. “I don’t really like WINE. I shouldn’t drink at all. My spider physiology does this thing when mixed with alcohol that ONE would get me wasted.” It’s not a fun time, but he ignores the cheese for now.

He uncrosses his arms from over his chest. “I just wanted to come see you. I was WORRIED, okay? What do you do down here?” It wasn’t like they were close, but he knows how much Tony means to his older brother which by default makes him important to him now.

“i’m telling you, man. the only good flavoured beer is apple. but if you want something that tastes good, a moscow mule should be fine.” it was his shift waiting at the bar tonight, and he’s pretty sure he’s going to be pulling in long hours again. but a smile here and a compliment there and he’s got tips flowing into his pocket. but kaine was a nice break from dealing with customers left and right; it was nice to have a friend over at work. “no peter and ben tonight?”

“APPLE? I haven’t had that one — next time I’ll have to give it a try.” Kaine appreciates the advice when it comes to what to order, usually stick to the cheap beer that never tastes grate in his prior experiences. He smiles though, as he looks to Harry, gaze turned away from the glass pushed away with the GROSS drink poured inside. “It’s just me tonight.” The clone flashes a smile, knowing that he was probably the least interesting of the three brothers, but he was making progress. “How has work been?”

mj didn’t mean to snap at him. she’d been in the lab all day, and her attempts at a nap had failed miserably. “no, i’m sorry. i guess i should take my own advice. do you want tea?” mj already had a kettle on her stove top. mj hadn’t seen much of kaine since the rift, and she was happy to still have him here with them. “kaine, you don’t have to thank me for that. i was just being truthful with you. you do deserve happiness, and i hope you’re finding it.” mj smiled, reaching out to give his hand a squeeze. “actually, yes. i don’t think i’ve had much to eat all day.

“You don’t need to apologize. You should be able to express those things.” Kaine would never want someone he cares about to pretend that they weren’t anything other than happy — life isn’t like that from what he learned. “I’d love some.” He doesn’t really drink it that often, but wouldn’t mind trying whatever flavor would be served. He pushes his fingers over his head, pulling his hair out of the messy bun so the brunette strands fall down against his shoulders. The bag of food is set on the table, and he pulls it out. “I’m finding happiness, yeah, I think I found my place in the world here with all of you. We’ll have to all get together for dinner or something since BEN AND I live next door.”

Kaine had an arm wrapped around Michelle’s shoulders, head tilted as he observes the situation. “You cant tell me that EVERYONE in the area wouldn’t have seen something.” His spare hand is shoved into his pocket, and maybe it wasn’t worth looking into just yet. ”What do you think? Any theories? There’s something OFF about the whole thing.” Although maybe they shouldn’t be getting too close to it. The clone decides on a subject change. “How was class?” He asks, glad that their scheduled lined up so she was just getting out when his shift had ended. The police uniform still on, but he was more focused on spending his time with HER.