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stupidlytiredstudent · 1 year

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An Idea

So, I saw those leaked pictures where Spider appears to be in Avatar link unit and I've seen some discussion about if this means that Spider will get an Avatar or not. Honestly, I have to side with the "no" crowd. As much as I want him to have an Avatar, from a narrative perspective it feels like a cop out of sorts, since I personally think it would make the most sense to his story if he embraced his humanity (at least first, before potentially getting one).

So, an idea: Spider sometimes sleeps and naps in the avatar links. If Spider vanishes for a chunk of time and no one has seen him go out, the first place to check is the link units. Chances are, he’s sleeping there.

That being said, I thought to myself "hey what would a little kid do if he saw adults climb into link units and reappear as Avatars?" And then I thought "what would a lab of scientists do if the little kid they were taking care of just straight-up vanished on them?" So, here's the 5 am product of that. Somehow, Norm ended up being the parental figure here? Apparently, Spider collects those like they're Pokémon cards.

I know that this might not fit into the Avatar narrative from a canonical perspective, especially considering the comics, but I still had fun writing it!

Anyway, those of you who would like to read said product of 5 am, please enjoy!

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At five years old, Spider was a ball of energy, bouncing off the walls, falling off high places, running in between people's legs, and constantly getting involved with things that he should not be anywhere near. Like basically everything on Pandora, the lab had never been baby or kid-proofed, because no babies or kids were meant to spend time there. So, time and time again, someone had to save Spider from electrocuting himself, eating something that would certainly kill him, or tumbling into a concussion, all while he giggled and squirmed, unaware of his own peril.

Norm, who had wanted kids some day and definitely not here, thought he was going to have a heart attack every other second. Somehow, by some God-given miracle, Spider always ended up completely fine after each near-disaster, not a scratch on him, but Norm could practically feel years being shaved off his life. Spider wasn't his kid, but Norm had been relegated to primary caretaker, somehow. Probably due to his non-threatening aura. Regardless, Spider's safety had become important to him, so each harrowing experience made Norm's head pound from the whiplash changes in his blood pressure.

Still, the chaos was somehow comforting. It kept everyone from ruminating for too long on their losses, on their distance from home, or on the deaths of dear friends and family. When the darkness was encroaching, Spider would somehow come barreling in to either brighten everyone's day or, at the very least, pull their attention to his dangerous antics. He was never gone for long, so time for wallowing was barely existent, these days. Norm found himself thankful for that.

Then, one day, Spider had up and disappeared on them.

At first, Norm only noticed the strange silence that had settled over the base. Then, he noticed that it was well past time for Spider's breakfast, and the kid hadn't come to pull on his pant leg, whining for freeze-dried apples and the small rations of the cereal he liked. Finally, he ended up checking the kid's room. He had found it empty, the bed made, as if no one had slept in it at all. The kid was missing.

And now it had been hours, and Spider was nowhere to be found.

Norm was well past worry, and well into the beginnings of panic. He wasn't the kid's dad, but he was the one who cared for him, taught him, tucked him into bed each eclipse. Didn't he have a right to worry?

Did he tuck him into bed last eclipse? No, he had samples to run, so he had handed off the responsibility to Judy, one of the other scientists. That was, apparently, a mistake.

"What the hell do you mean you don't remember?" He had screamed into her pale face. "You don't remember if he got into bed?"

"I did what you asked me to do! I took him to his room!" She had yelled back at him. "He said he wasn't tired yet, so I told him to do whatever, as long as he stayed in his room!"

"Stayed in his room- ?" Norm started, then cut himself off, grabbing fistfuls of his hair, "That kid can barely sit still when he's eating. Judy, do you really think he'd listen to that?"

"Well, how was I supposed to know that?!" Judy had snapped back.

In retrospect, she was probably also terrified. She was watching the kid grow up too, but not like Norm. Norm participated in his growing up.

"You should have known, because he's a kid! He's just a -" Norm stopped, choking back a surprise sob.

What the fuck, was he crying now? What had gotten into him?

"Drop what you're doing. We're finding him. Now!" He had shouted towards the rest of the lab.

Shockingly enough, everyone mobilized without so much as a grumble and began searching the base from top to bottom. They checked under tables, in cabinets, the deserted base rooms, hell, even yelled into air ducts.

Then, someone brought up the unthinkable.

"Did the kid leave the building?" Someone had asked.

"He doesn't know how to wear a mask," someone else had reasoned. "Plus, they're too big for him."

Voices had started sounding like they were underwater. Who the hell was speaking? He wanted to throttle them, make them shut up.

"But what if he managed to get out?"

"He doesn't know how to do that, either."

"Maybe he watched us doing it or something."

"Even if he did, he's too small to get to the controls."

If Spider left, he'd be unconscious in seconds. He'd be dead in minutes. Dead before his life could really begin. Dead because Norm had to test some stupid goddamn samples instead of ensuring the kid made it to bed, safe and sound.

Norm wanted to throw up. He felt high, he felt drunk, he felt like the room was spinning out of control.

He took deep, shuddering breaths, trying to get himself to think. Where would the kid be? Where would his kid be?

It was no secret the kid wanted to go outside. The scientists made sure he knew that wasn't possible, but Spider would still ask, probably hoping for a different answer.

Two days ago, Norm had gone to visit Jake and his family. He had wanted to see how they were doing, get some time away from the lab, and eat some (frankly delicious) Na'vi food. Spider had followed him into the Avatar link room, asking him a million questions about a million different things. Unsurprisingly, the dreaded one came up, yet again.

"Why can't I go outside?" Spider asked him.

"Because you're too little and it's too dangerous," came Norm's practiced response. "You can't breathe the air."

"Then why can you go?" Spider pressed. "I wanna go outside, too!"

"Because I'm big enough," he had responded. "And I have an Avatar."

The kid knew the purpose of the room. He knew what Avatars were, and had a basic understanding of how they worked. He also knew he didn't have one.

Before the kid could go on his "it's not fair" and "when will I be big enough" tantrum, Max had mercifully scooped the kid up and distracted him with the promise of playing common room board games.

Back in the present, Norm's eyes widened. Panicked, desperate hope filled his chest. The units were practically sound proof, so yelling wouldn't penetrate their walls all that well, and the room was some distance away from the main lab where most of the scientists spent their time. The kid wasn't allowed in the room alone on account of the delicate machinery inside, but when was the last time a five year old gave a damn about rules?

Without even asking if anyone had checked the room, he sprinted in its direction, probably faster than he had ever run in his entire life. He skidded around corners, almost slamming into walls in his frantic hurry.

He whipped the door to the link room open, looking around. Then, not seeing the kid anywhere, he started whipping the units open, one by one.

Just when he thought all was lost, and that perhaps the kid did slip outside and suffocate, he pulled open the last unit.

And there he was.

Spider.

Relief flooded his veins, sweet and sharp, making his legs feel like they had the structural integrity of a Twizzler. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

Norm stared at the kid, drinking in the sight of him alive and breathing.

The kid was still asleep, his little form small enough to curl up on his side in the unit, under the metal cage. One of his hands was curled into a loose fist, while the other was bunched in the too-big shirts they had been dressing him in. His curly hair had fallen into his face, a golden strand sticking to his mouth.

He was still here.

Giddy, insane laughter bubbled in Norm's chest. Tears pricked his eyes. His hands were trembling.

One of the laughs escaped his chest, wet and hysterical-sounding to his ears.

Spider stirred, stretching his fingers, scrunching his face, and uncurling from his fetal position. He reached one of his hands up to rub his eyes before looking up at Norm, blinking blearily.

Norm couldn't believe his eyes, fearing what he was seeing was a lie. He needed to hold him. He needed to hold the kid, make sure he was healthy and safe and not outside.

Norm whipped the cage off of him, probably with more force than was strictly necessary, and yanked the little boy into his arms. He gathered him to his chest, sobbing his fear and relief into the precious, miraculous, wonderful kid's head.

He wanted to say something, something important, but he couldn't. It was too much. It had too much weight, too much meaning. He feared it was too soon to release into existence, a claim he knew couldn't be taken back. Hell, he wasn't sure if he really meant it, or if it was panic that made him think crazy things.

"Jesus, kid," he whispered instead, between sobs, "Jesus, don't scare me like that."

He would scold the kid later, maybe send him to time-out, maybe ground him, give him some form of consequences for the horrific ordeal, but right now, Norm would hold the kid close, bury his face in his curls, and bask in the feeling of the warm, living, beloved kid in his arms.

God, who the fuck was he kidding? Who the hell did he think he was fooling?

When they eventually asked Spider why he slept there, the kid had simply shrugged and said that he wanted to see what it was like. They didn't press much further. Deep down, they all knew the real reason. They didn't need to hear it and Spider didn't need to say it. It was painfully, heartbreakingly obvious.

Years later, if Norm couldn't find Spider, and the kid wasn't with the Sully family, he would check the units first before letting himself panic. Nine times out of ten, the kid would be found there, napping comfortably on the gel packs. Norm, and eventually all the other scientists stopped bothering to scold him for it. In return, Spider would get up without complaint if someone needed the link for its intended purpose.

Then, one eclipse, an eclipse like any other, but still somehow not like any other, Jake had ran to him, panicked and terrified, and told him what had happened to his kids. He told Norm that Spider had been taken by the RDA, by a somehow revived Quaritch.

After Jake left, Norm went directly to the link room.

He had hoped, against all odds and common sense, that he'd find Spider in one of the links, curled up and sleeping peacefully, just like that day, just like so many other days.

Instead, he had found nothing but empty units.

His worst nightmare had been brought to life.

Spider was gone. The kid was gone. His kid was gone.

And this time, Norm couldn't save him. All he could do was weep, uselessly and painfully, into the silent, empty room.

A parent's worst nightmare had been brought to life.

#this is my first time writing fanfiction in like a decade please be gentle #I tried my best #I welcome critique though #I am absolutely obsessed with these characters send help #In the form of more content #Idk if I'm doing tagging right #I sure hope so #parental figure Pokemon card acquired: In Denial Dad Norm Spellman #spider socorro #miles spider socorro #miles socorro #avatar spider #atwow spider #avatar 2 #norm spellman #avatar: the way of water #awow #atwow #atwow fanfiction

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