1059/It's a Car Chase! You Can't Just Stop!

It's a Car Chase! You Can't Just Stop!
Date of Scene:	08 April 2020
Location:	Chinatown
Synopsis:	Spider-Man's web-shooters gunk up and he calls for help. Welcome to Miss Driver's Wild Ride!
Cast of Characters:	Peter Parker, Driver

---

Peter Parker has posed:
Sometimes, the Amazing Spider-Man isn't so amazing.

It was bad enough that he'd found the chop shop and blundered into a pile of steel rims, which meant by the time he'd webbed up three of the people, the other two had made it to the only working, unchopped vehicle on the lot, a recently-boosted Dodge Viper. It got worse when the newly-designed webfluid had a reaction to the recently-heated web-shooters, courtesy of a hand-held butane torch. Namely, by gumming up the works.

He knew he wasn't going to make it before they escaped. He could let them drive off, if one of them hadn't decided to kill the guy they boosted the Viper from. Options were fading fast.

Then he remembered the phone number. He had gotten it as some odd text, and he didn't recognize the number. But the number advertised itself as one lone word.

DRIVER.

He pushed the rack out of his way, watching them get into the Viper.

<NEED DRIVER TO STOP KILLER CAR THIEF. WAYPOINT ENCLOSED.>

SEND.

Driver has posed:
    <<Be advised, normal operations have been suspended for the evening for vehicle testing. Request approved, ETA fourty five seconds. Stand at the curb.>>Comes the -immediate- reply.

    See the Driver isn't one to trust computer simulations, any more than a regular person trusts their raw imagination to solve problems. You need to test things in the real world, which is what the Driver had been up to. Puzzling over an odd aerodynamic hiccup somewhere when the call comes. It'd have turned down a regular request of course, but hey thats //Spider-man// making the request. So they respond of course.

    You can hear it well before you see it, almost the second that text goes out. Did you ever stop to wonder what the last dinosaur sounded like, because thats this sounds like. Three hundred eighty cubes worth of raw animal fury, with dinosaur blood coursing through it's veins. It doesn't just have an exhaust note, it has a symphony full of mechnical rage bubbling under the decklid.

    The car had started as something vaguely based on a ford A coupe, but it'd spent too long in the garage and gotten downright strange. A big wing front and rear, a complex aero package covering the entire car and set off with those hugely broad wheels rescued from an old F1 replica the Driver had built. It was an improbable, impossible mash up between a hot rod and an F1 car painted in dull battleship grey. Anywho that Pursuit Special comes hurtling around the corner, before locking all four up and skidding to a stop near the curb. Casually the driver reaches across, to swing the tiny door //upwards// before peering across. "Get in Nerd, we're gonna go fight a snake."

Peter Parker has posed:
He hadn't wasted time, but those 45 seconds felt like an eternity, watching the Viper roar off, eating up road like a competitive eater at a hot dog contest.

Then he heard the growl. He turned and his first thought was, *Good God, you don't DRIVE a car like that, you AIM it!* His brain was already going to town on the potential aerodynamics, torque, and the like before the door opens up - UP, not OUT - and he jumps into the shotgun seat...and without a shotgun. Wells Fargo would not approve.

"Dodge Viper, silver on black, license plate G-O-O-D-B-Y-E!"

And then he pointed and said the words that were in the top five of the bucket list he never knew he had...

"*FOLLOW* THAT *CAR!*" (OOC: https://youtu.be/a1Sr3GwdtRs?t=27)

Driver has posed:
    "Please keep your seatbelt fastened while the car is in motion, and don't touch the radio."Inside it's, well it's -tight-. The firewall is behind those thin seats, and well the cabin is both fairly narrow and low. The front windshield tilted out of it's frame at an angle so as to function as both another aerodynamic element and well, it's also a windshield. The dash is covered in gauges and switches but in the small section near the glovebox where there is open dash? Theres a coiled cobra painted lovingly right there.

    The Driver brings the throttle up, and the moment that door shuts? It's a sharp six G worth of accleration, which only builds as they start ratcheting through the gears. That supercharger which is incidentally like ten inches behind the passenger seat, sounds like a jet engine all by itself nevermind the whine of straight cut gears and oh yeah both the engine and the minimalistic little stereo system in the car. Combined with the wind noise coming through that canted windshield, it's raw auditory violence in a delightful way really.

    "I know where they are."The driver reports casually, as they slowly lift up a gloved hand to delicately adjust the sit of those scratched up wayfarers. Then it's another gear, and well over a hundred as they swing the car to the left. Diving through oncoming traffic, through a parking lot and past a row of parked cars and into a narrow back alley. "Just relax, enjoy the ride."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man tenses as the car does not so much accelerate as spring forward, his hands moving to the seat belt. He looks down at the harness and looks at it, puzzled, but then the G's kick and realizes that a standard seat belt is NOT the right tool for this job.

As he hooks up the harness, he hisses, "Relax? It feels like I have a jet engine bolted to the back of this chair and he tells me to RELAX..." He clicks the last belt into the harness and relaxes. Slightly. It's actually him being pressed into the seat, but why pick nits?

"I...wasn't even sure you'd show up..." he whispered as they travel through the city at frightening speeds. He's gone this fast before, but ABOVE the street, not THROUGH it, and all he had to worry about were pigeons.

Driver has posed:
    "I always show up, I'm the driver."It hurtles through that alley, slicing past a dumpster on first the left and then the right. A rush through side traffic with just a lift of the throttle, and back into the alley on the otherside with a firm stomp on the throttle. Then finally comes the brakes, which is equally violent of course though in the opposite direction. A jerk to the left, before a pull to the right as they click down two gears and lay onto the throttle.

    The car pivots whilst still in the alleyway, a space that it's impossibly too small for it to turn all the way sideways. Only for it to burst from that alleyway back onto a surface street at exactly the right moment. The corner of that front wing just barely kissing a telephone pole as it slides sideways across oncoming traffic, gaps between a bus and a garbage truck and slots into the correct lane just in time to see that viper up ahead.

    "There we are, see? You can just relax, this is no big deal."That front wing visibly adjusting it's angle as the front windshield does the same, followed by the back glass hinging back to feed cabin air directly back into the rear wing. This has the side effect of letting in even more engine noise, as they get back into the throttle and snag another gear.

Peter Parker has posed:
It is an extremely odd situation to sense all the imminent threats around him but being unable to do anything about it. He tries to console himself that the Driver knows what he is doing, focusing on the fact that although the threats are imminent, the Driver is able to navigate them. That helps...to a point. The claustrophobic nature of the passenger seat isn't doing much for him either, but he forces himself to focus. He tries to occupy his brain by switching out the test web cartridges, spraying the mechanical spinnerets to melt the webfluid and hopefully clear the blockages.

Marino smiled. He was only one mile away from the paint and body shop. He had already called ahead, and they had fresh plates and a fresh paint job waiting for him. In two minutes, he would be under cover, and in twenty minutes, he was going to get away clean.
He smiled to his passenger, a cocksure booster who was worth his weight in gold. He had to remind himself not to kill this one, even though he was a witness.

Driver has posed:
    Third gear, and the engine really begins to howl. That supercharger downshifts and really gets cooking, picking up more and more power the faster that air is forcefed into the intake. That aero package finally getting into the fight, as it pulls the car down right against the road. Tight enough to send a shower of sparks back as it hurtles over a bump mind you. Well into triple digits, as it carves through traffic without the barest hint of bodyroll.

    "Is this guy armed, or do you know?"Just as casual as ever, but of course. Though with that much air sweeping through the cabin, they do casually reach up to turn their distinctive Detroit Tigers ballcap round backwards. Then it's another gear as they zero in on their prey, reaching foreward to grasp a chunky handle beneath the dash.

Peter Parker has posed:
The question startles him, and he looks to the Driver, the gravity of what they were doing clearing his head somewhat.

"Yeah...yeah, he's armed. Beretta, I think. It looked like one..." He paused. "He shot the driver of the car. Unbuckled him, pulled his body out, drove off. I traced him to the chop shop, but he got away with his partner."

Driver has posed:
    "Well then, fuck this guy."The Pursuit Special slithers through traffic like a mongoose in search of it's, well Viper obviously. Dumping back down a gear as it slots behind that Viper, It slides around just off that bumper for a moment, before all hell breaks loose.

    The driver gives that handle a stiff jerk, and the whole car rocks with the recoil as it fires a god damned harpoon foreward through the louvered grill up front that had originally housed the engine. Fifteen pounds worth of hardened steel with a DU penetrator on the tip, all anchored to a high tension cable and winch hidden under the hood. That penetrator has little problem with the rear trunk of a Viper, hurtling foreward into the fuel tank before slowing to a stop. The moment that line goes taut, it unfolds like a broadhead to anchor itself into it's target.

    The Driver gets on the brakes immediately, reaching up to pull another handle and force the car's aero to "full". It's a dynamic situation from a physics standpoint, and a complicated affair just to keep things from getting wildly out of control. One hand on the wheel still to fine tune exactly from which angle it delivers that tension. "Stay in the car please, I'll attend to the bad guys."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man is a little stunned by the little vehicular whaling expedition he actually found himself on, then winces as the rear tank starts gushing fuel from the mortal "wound" dealt to it. Gallons of gas poured out into the street.

When the Hell did he find himself in a Mad Max movie??
MArino JUMPS as the viper is speared, then pulled. He tried to gun the engine, but he wasn't going anywhere...and he could see the fuel gauge dropping visibly. Either the gas efficiency of this thing sucked rocks...

And suddenly the smell of gasoline filled the air.

His partner, perhaps seeing the writing on the wall, yanks the side door open and jumps out, landing on his face on the fuel-sodden pavement. The odor of premium unleaded seemed to fill his head, making him woozy...

Driver has posed:
    Casually the Driver turns their hat back around, before popping the door open and undoing their belts. Then they climb out with practiced ease, reaching across to snag their baseball bat from it's hidden compartment behind the cabin. They give that bat a roll, as they casually walk towards that viper. That bat coming up to rest against their shoulder as they slow to a stop. They survey the damage carefully for a moment there, before sighing.

    "This was a first edition GTS, dude. Do you have any idea how hard this must have been to get, how much care and appreciation went in to keeping it factory fresh until you got involved."They reaching through the window, unhindered by the presence of glass. Snagging Marino by the collar, and dragging him up and out the window with ease."It's very important to me that you understand that this car wasn't just a //thing// to somebody, it was special to somebody. You though, well as far as I'm concerned you're just a thing to me."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man got out of the car. It was too confining, in any case.

The smell walloped him in the face as he got out. Mental note - NOSE FILTERS.

He spotted the passenger crawling away, and tested the right-hand 'shooter. A quick sputter, then the webline came out clean and straight, tagging the guy and yanking him over to Spidey, who commenced webbing him to a nearby tree.

Marino looked into the lenses of the sunglasses, then hauled off and swung at the Driver's face with a roundhouse punch, hoping to knock the guy out so he could get away. He tried not to pass out from the fumes.

Driver has posed:
    Point of order, despite the strength? Today at least the Driver is no man, but the punch is sufficient to knock those shades off and push that bandana down around her neck. Holy shit is she even old enough to drink? Anyway, she doesn't drop Marino nor is she knocked down. "Listen to me very carefully, You're banned from cars. I don't care if you're the passenger, I don't care if you're going to see your dying mother. I ever see you in a car again, and you're gonna have a real bad time."
    They half turn, swinging Marino up and hurling him onto the pavement. It's not head first mind you, they're not trying to kill the guy. Casually they take a step foreward to rest a sneaker on Marino's hand, before letting the tip of that eighty pound baseball bat hit the pavement near his head. Casually peering back towards Spiderman, as they pull that Bandana up over their face. "You want to web this guy, I don't feel like breaking his spine today."and well theres a wink, because of course she wouldnt...probably.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man (Respect the Hyphen) looks over to Marino, then winces as he can still smell the fumes. Also that it's a woman. How did he miss that?

Most likely the entirety of Ms. Driver's Wild Ride was a factor.

"Bring him over here..." He switches to another web cartridge, then begins covering the large puddle of gasoline under and around the Viper with copious amounts of webbing. He thinks its composition might soak it up like kitty litter...or at the very least, keep it from spreading.

He indicates another tree for the Driver to put Marino against, webbing him to it if she does.

Driver has posed:
Theres a nod, before she reaches down to grab Marino by an ankle and drag him to that offending tree. "What a waste of a perfectly nice low production car, those early GTSs were all signed by Shelby himself you know. First fifty I think, such a cool touch."And well Marino is deposited roughly against that tree.

    Then casually they slide back towards the carnage, she gives that harpoon a thump with the tip of her bat before reaching in and turning it round a few times before finally just pulling it free. Theres a few moment's spent inspecting it, before finally stepping back towards her own car to retract that spool and reset the harpoon. "You need a ride back, Spider-man?"See, hyphen included.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man looked at the car, then shook his head. "Nah...I think I need to stay here, help clean up this mess and make sure the cops have this scene under control. At least the gas tank was only one-third full." He eyes the harpoon. "Maybe you should get a different capturing device that doesn't set off a volatile chemical spill. I think we're going to need a LOT of kitty litter here." He steps away from the two carjackers, then takes a breath and extends his hand. "...Thanks for the help, though. I wouldn't have caught up to them without you."

Driver has posed:
    "Well it's a prototype, but yeah at least it worked."She takes that hand and delivers a firm handshake, before well going to rescue those now even more scuffed up wayfarers of hers. "You keep safe, and don't be afraid to give me a call sometime yeah?"Gently nudging the passenger door shut, before climbing back into the cockpit herself.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man nodded, but inwardly he hoped he wouldn't need her help so quickly. Riding in a chase car was different than webslinging, that was for sure.

"If I need you again, I'll call." But then again, it was like needing an Epi-Pen. It was comforting to know it was available, but you hoped it would never become necessary.