Edward slumped on the kitchen table and pressed his elbows firmly on its cold, marble surface. He ignored the uncomfortable feeling and occasionally an elbow would slide off the table only to stubbornly reclaim its place. Daylight reflected from the edge of the table and into his eyes. It still felt like morning to him. He pondered the idea and wondered why he woke up so late. It had never happened before so it felt unnatural to him. He recalled the same thing happening to his father once so he figured it was in the genes—or some vampire side effect of being bonded to Toxin.
‘Wrong or right,’ he said blandly. ‘You probably wouldn’t tell me.’
He sat mostly in silence, the only surrounding noises was the radio playing music he disliked, and the sugary cereal grinding between his teeth. His mind digressed back to the Spiderman news which he struggled to digest.
‘Good morning.’
‘Oh great,’ he said sarcastically. Toxin ignored the insult despite being deeply offended.
‘You have strong feelings for him?’
‘I just don’t get why he would do something like that,’ he said. ‘It’s not his style. I understand he has had some problems so I don’t blame him—’
‘But you do agree with him?’
‘I don’t. Maybe he’s reinventing himself.’
‘Maybe his body was hijacked by an alien force that was jealous of his success.’
‘Could be,’ he said, almost agreeing. ‘Which means there’s a whole new Spiderman in town?’
‘A Superior Spiderman.’
‘I don’t like it.’
‘Ultimate Spiderman?’
‘He’s not a pokemon.’
‘How about Bizzaro Spiderman or Spiderman-Prime?’
‘Funny,’ he said. ‘But wrong universe.’
‘I think you should be the new Spiderman.’
‘Really?’
‘You should.’
Edward suddenly summoned a vision of himself as the new Spiderman battling his murderous predecessor. They had grown tired of swinging from buildings and the two eventually came to blows in the street. Edward lacked the experience that his counterpart had and was beginning to falter. That is until he summoned non-existent strength and delivered the final blow, rendering him unconscious. This is my city, he said. Blood dripped from his fist—
‘It wasn’t him.’
‘…You weren’t there. How would you know?’
‘I was there.’
Edward dropped his spoon into the bowl. His lips turned dry and his breathing heavy.
‘Did you kill them?’
‘Yes.’
He jumped out his seat and gave a long, stressed whine as his body slouched and his head fell into his hands.
‘No.’
‘Yes. And I will kill again until I get what I want.’
‘Oh God! You’re a monster. You need to die.’
‘This is your fault. More people will die if you don’t give me what I want.’
Edward dumped his bowl in the sink. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. The symbiote was blackmailing him. He remained at the sink and considered his options. He could give Toxin the freedom it wanted, but more people would die. Or he could continue withholding it, but people will still die.
Music was playing on the radio and Edward noticed he was actually listening to it. The station played it all the time. It was a Timberland song. He sang along in his head. It’s too late to apologise. It’s too late.
‘I can’t believe I’m listening to this crap.’
‘What is your decision?’
‘Shut up. I hate you!’
He marched to his room and insulted Toxin with every curse he could think of. But it was different. He didn’t have to accept responsibility for this. Edward now had a reason to isolate and condemn Toxin. He knew he didn’t have the power to stop it and if it wanted, it could take over his body again when he slept. A sadistic smile swept across his face when he came to an idea. He was going to turn himself in to the police.
‘You wouldn’t,’ he bluffed.
‘You don’t think I’ll do it?’
‘You would never do such a thing.’
‘And how would you know?’
‘I don’t.’
‘Then how can you be sure I won’t?’
‘You have always been unpredictable. Many ideas have you cast aside.’
‘But none are as important as this.’
‘It is more selfish than it is important.
‘Why is that?’
‘Because you will be abandoning your life and family.’
‘That shouldn’t matter to you.’
‘It would matter to Patrick so it matters to me. I won’t allow this to happen.’
‘You can’t stop me.’
‘I will try.’
Edward wasted no time in the shower which lasted less than ten minutes. He rushed as he put his clothes on. It looked scruffy but he didn’t care. It doesn’t matter, he thought.
‘Stop it!’
‘Why am I suddenly the bad guy? You’re the one who kills people.’
‘I apologise. It’s in my genes. I’m not half as bad as my dad.’
‘Why apologise. It’s inevitable that you’ll kill again. You just said it’s in your genes.’
‘Genes doesn’t determine what kind of person I am.’
‘Person? You’re an alien, son,’ he said while slipping on his shoes. ‘A homicidal alien.’
‘You are surrounded by people who love you,’ he shrieked. ‘And you’re willing to destroy this family. How dare you exalt yourself over them!’
‘You are evil and I have a responsibility to stop you,’ he said. His voice was shaky.
‘If you do this you will fail your parents.’
‘I already have.’
‘Now is the chance to redeem yourself then.’
‘Enough.’
‘You will never fulfil your desires of becoming a detective. I know how much you want it.’
‘Shut up!’
‘You will abandon your friends, even Lisa.’
‘Toxin I’m telling you to shut up!’
‘If you care about them you will not do this.’
‘I’m doing this because I love them!’
He sat at his desk which was overrun with papers and comic books. He shoved his laptop aside and began to write a letter to his mum simply titled ‘I’m sorry’. He detailed the events of his life up to now. ‘Dad was the original Toxin; he was put in a coma during a fight with the criminal Razorfist. The source of his powers is an alien called Toxin. It must have escaped and found its way home where it bonded to me. Since then my life has been an epic struggle.’
He wrote about the urges he has had to fight and succumbing to them. He described it as an addiction. Prison seemed like the only option. He had no intention of committing suicide. He imagined himself in the typical orange uniform. All he really knew about prison was that people got raped.
‘I will not let anyone touch you,’ Toxin said. The suit was always overprotective.
Then he remembered he had powers and he wouldn’t be going to a prison for ordinary people. Edward carried the letter to her room and placed it gently on her pillow. She must be so lonely without him, he thought. He saw a family portrait hung on the wall.
‘I failed you,’ he said to the portrait. His eyes were wet. ‘And I am deeply sorry.’
‘Please don’t do this.’
‘I have to.’
He trailed into every room in the house as if inspecting. Then he opened the front door and his senses came alive.
‘Goodbye,’ he said and shut the door behind him.
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