12571/Invisible Worries

Invisible Worries
Date of Scene:	25 August 2022
Location:	Queens
Synopsis:	Ghost Spider and Spiderman work together in capturing a jewel thief for the first time after their night together and it goes as well as one could imagine.
Cast of Characters:	Gwen Stacy, Peter Parker

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Gwen Stacy has posed:
Queens. 10 am. It's a great summer day and what's not to enjoy? Bright and sunny, no university, Mrs. Wong gave her a break from work and there's only a girl and her webs, Ghost Spider hanging from a tall building in Queens, webs spindled into a net that keeps the blonde one up high. She feels free, but more than that she feels happy. It was a feeling she wasn't sure she'd recover but now ..? Things felt right..

Garbage blasts on her earbuds, she now going through 'You Look so Fine', she singing softly to herself while the music plays.. "You look so fine..."

Thumbs are on her smartphone and she sends a quick message: << After that other morning's performance I am not sure how you can keep your secret identity a secret. >> still ribbing Peter because how he 'acted' in front of Aunt May.

"It's so insane, you got me tethered and chained..." She continues singing while sending another message.

<< And guess where i am today. >> She sends an attached selfie of Ghost Spider hanging from webs on a familiar building in Queens, close to Downtown. << Feel like some duo action? >>

An invitation.

Peter Parker has posed:
Conveniently enough, Peter was swinging through the city as well already. He was a bit behind on getting some photos for JJJ, and looking for anything at all that he could get into and snap some shots of Spider-man. He feels the buzz of his phone and swings off to stick to a rooftop and peer down at it. A smile comes to his face beneath the mask, and he fires off his reply.

<< I can't help it if my morning's performance was not as good as my evening's performance. Someone wore me out!>>

He sighs deeply, a satisfied sigh. He had not been this happy in...a long time.

<< I'm always down. >>

Peter thinks to himself. Someone he can truly share both sides of his life with. He casts out a web and starts swinging along towards Gwen's location. When hurtling between buildings, it doesn't take too long to make his way to the other side of the building. He has plans...

A few minutes after sending the invitation, Spider-man slowly descends, upside down, until he comes into view just in front of Ghost Spider's face. Upside down, of course. "Hi cutie."

Gwen Stacy has posed:
<<Even through text messages I could hear the corniness. >> Is the reply a few moments later even if Gwen is laughing it out in amusement, dangling back and forth from her web perch. << Oooooozing corniness. *followed by a line of corn emojis for good measure* >>

The music has shifted in the meantime, now on 'Run Baby Run' and she continuing to sing along.

"Run from the noise of the street and the loaded gun, too late for solutions to solve in the setting sun.." not even missing a beat. But that's one gets for their favorite band being Garbage, knowing the lyrics by heart.

She is right in the end of it when that face comes down and she peeks up, "Hey." her face is covered by the mask but the smile is felt in the warmness of that simple word. "Fancy seeing you here, Spider man. I was just sending a message to my boyfriend.." she teases.

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter will have to make faces at his phone later, because he is not delaying his trip to meet Gwen even just to pull out his phone and read a text. And texting and swinging is a very bad idea!

He hears her singing as he drifts down, which also brings a smile to his face. Everything about Gwen does, but he does particularly enjoy hearing her. Singing is not a talent of his, and he is dreading the day that she tries to drag him to karaoke.

"Ah," says Spider-man as he faces Ghost Spider. "He must be a lucky guy." He sways idly as he hangs suspended there, watching her. "I wish I was that guy. He has the best girlfriend in the world."

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Never text and swing. It's like never text and drive but instead of going against a lamppost you can go face first into a building. And no one wants that! (Well, not like anyone wants to go against a lamppost either).

Gwen's voice isn't exactly brilliant, no hidden talent there waiting to bloom but she can manage at least. It helps that she has sang these ones a -lot- so it's not like she can mess them up too much. -Too- much being the keywords here. It's not about the quality of your voice but what you do with it though! She's sure she heard that saying somewhere ..., for something.

"So he tells me." About being lucky. "But I don't know, I feel pretty lucky myself." she reaches up to Peter's mask and begins to slowly lower it before doing the same with her own. Just the lower half of their faces, "And very, very happy."

Now who's being corny? And she leans in to place a kiss on Peter's lips, barely brushing together when.....

A 'beep' in their spider-comms starts alerting to a robbery in progress.

Peter Parker has posed:
It may come as a surprise to Gwen, but Peter does not much care about the quality of the singing, given just how much he cares about the quality of the singer. And right about now, he is enthralled with her in every sense of the word.

"Let's settle for both being lucky?" He laughs softly as she lowers his mask and then her own, nodding in agreement. "I'm not sure what is going on in the universe right now, because I'm never allowed to be this lucky." Oh, Peter.

He leans in, moving his lips towards her, the smile slowly being replaced by a yearning to touch hers, when...

For a moment, a brief moment, it seems like Peter is prepared to ignore it. That slight press of his lips. And then he groans. "I _had_ to say it, didn't it?" He leans forward quickly to give Gwen i a quick peck on the lips instead. "To be continued!"

He pulls up his mask and starts to swing in the direction of the call.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"Jinxed it right up we did." At least Gwen seems ready to assume half of the blame for that. But there was no way any of them would ever ignore a call for help, it's what made them who they were, friendly neighborhood spiders that made sure the streets were just a bit safer for everyone.

Because with great power....

"To be continued." Gwen promises, lowering her mask back in place and shooting a web to also begin swinging to where the call is coming from. It's not hard to pick up the place. There's sirens, police cars going over to a certain corner of 50th avenue. And it's also right where the Queens Diamond and Jewelry Inc is at. And you guessed it, it deals in jewelry!

Police cars are already surrounding the place and what they pick on the police frequency is worrying.

< No robber in sight > < The clerk is saying they were invisible > < Said they heard metallic steps running off when the cops were arriving >

And more. Gwen frowns under her mask, it's sounding very similar to the invisible armors they were after a couple of months back. "Are you thinking what I am thinking this may be?" she asks Peter before adding, "Now if I was invisible and wanting to wait out the heat from the cops where would I go hide..?" she wonders.

Peter Parker has posed:
Swinging along, there is a certain thrill that runs through Peter's body. He is about to be crime fighting with his girlfriend! Yes, he and Gwen have fought crime together before, but not since the kiss. And somehow, it felt different.

As he pulls up near the robbery, he chuckles at the irony. Sure, he and Gwen had been chatty and sometimes close before then, but it was really when trying to bust these invisible suit wearing foes that he really started to wonder if there could be a future for them. If he could go back to that Peter and tell him where it would lead...he would be mind blown. Probably.

Peter looks around for a moment, frowning in thought. "Well, I think part of the problem is those suits make a ton of noise when they run, so I don't think he would have gone far." He taps his chin for a moment in thought. "I could pull the cap off the fire hydrants and douse the area with water, but we don't know where he is and I don't want to cause that kind of damage." Then he looks around again. "Uh. I have a _really_ bad idea, but..."

He points off to the laundry mat two doors down from the jewelry store, and then to the large water sistern up above at the top of the building. "You wanna wash the crime away?"

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"Don't think the cops would love the shower, either.." This said about the idea of breaking the fire hydrants. But then Peter takes that next step. Break the water cistern.

"Oh boy..." Is Gwen's reply to that proposal. "JJJ is going to have a blast with you tomorrow, you know it right?" but sometimes that's the sacrifices one must make to catch the bad guy. Would Ghost Spider had a similar approach? Maybe she'd go with a more cautious manner but then again it was interesting to see the differences there were between them in their crime fighting methods. And more thrilling now that they were closer than ever before.

A web is shot and Gwen swings up to that cistern. "So, we break it and let the water wash down the street? If he's touching the floor it should make a reaction to the suit. We know the others had a problem with water that the good doctor had yet to fix on that version." she says. At least assuming it was the *same* armors. But all was pointing that it would indeed be so.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-man sends a webline over as well, catching up to Ghost Spider on the other side. "I mean, I was thinking more like, one of us tips it over and dumps it _without_ breaking it, and the other springs into action as soon as we figure out where he is."

He lands on the roof and looks around for a moment, sizing up the cistern. "I think I can lift it. You can have the glory of beating the guy." He smiles at her. "JJJ already hates me, so I may as well take the heat. If we can avoid breaking it, there shouldn't be too much."

He slides over and slips an arm around her waist, and leans in to press his forehead to hers. "I love you, Ghost Spider." And then he hops up to the pedestal with the cistern, watching her for confirmation that she is fully onboard with the crazy plan.

He doesn't mention that his original plan totally involved dumping soap from the laundromat into the cistern first to surround the area in bubbles. That might have been a bit of overkill, in retrospect.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"Okay that's ...., a lot less damaging than I was thinking.." Gwen then looking up the large cistern size. "Are you sure you can handle it all or..." and then she lets out a laugh, amused, ".. or is this you trying to flex your muscles for me? Oh, I hope not.." and she is laughing a touch more at that, hands on her hips. That is until she remembers they are actually on a timeline.

"Alright, Strongman.." pause, "Wait, it's Strongspider." a wink from under her mask, "I am ready." but then Peter is closing in. She lets her forehead rest against his, relaxing, feeling right, a moment of pause in the middle of the crazy they are about to try out.

"I love you, Spiderman." see? She refrained from saying Strongspider again. It took a lot of willpower.

No more time to waist and she is flying up, webs slinging her body up and she flips, long legs flying together in a near ballerina pose before she finds a perch above the street. She gives Peter a thumbs up. She was ready.

Peter Parker has posed:
"I've been doing this just a bit longer. Trust me, a few years ago, I'd just be punching a hole in the side and letting it spout out." Peter grins a bit as she asks if he can handle it all. "I mean, I could flex for you, but I am pretty sure I don't have to anymore."

He laughs at her new names for him, and just shakes his head gently against her forehead, more of a roll than anything else.

And then she is off - he resist the temptation to give her a gentle swat on the rear as she goes. He watches her move, as always admiring the grace and flexibility of her form. He starts to lose his focus a bit, thinking to himself about her grace and flexibility. And then she gives the thumbs up, and he remembers that he is here to fight crime, not oggle at ... his girlfriend. The crime fighter.

He turns around and grabs the cistern and slowly picks it up, grunting as he does so. It was way heavier than it looked. He staggers over towards the edge, and then with a nod to Ghost Spider, he starts tipping it over, sending a torrent of water down to cordoned off sidewalk below.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
If Gwen knew Peter could see her rolling her eyes under the mask she would had done so. But as it stands she just lets out a sigh. "Ah, yes. The voice of experience talking.." she managing a little sarcastic undertone to it. But there's also amusement there. And now she is in position. One web going out of each of her wrists to 'glue' her to a building on each side of the street. It means she is high above, perched. Prowling, looking for that opening...

And then the water is falling down on the area. There are a few people pointing, a scream, others just continuing their lives because it's New York and these things happen. They are jaded to the excitement! Poor people....

Gwen's body tenses, ready and .... nothing? She isn't spotting any shifts or the water rippling off an invisible form.

"Did we make a mistake? I am not...." She is saying on spider comms until she spots it. Right next to the police cars. Cheeky guy had stopped right next to the police cars are cordoning off the place, waiting for them to leave and use the motor sounds to escape most likely. But as it stands what he gets is a flying Gwen swinging his way, feet first!

Peter Parker has posed:
There is a bit of a smile on Peter's face as Gwen seems to chide him. Of course, she is the one who discussed breaking the thing instead of lifting it, so maybe that inexperience was showing a bit! But once he has it on his back, he is wondering if maybe the voice of inexperience was a wiser one after all. "Uhhh..."

Peter struggles to maintain the water as he holds it, pouring it down. He sees Gwen moving to intercept the man, and tries to stand up, but the cistern rolls against his back. "Oh no!"

He twists to try to catch it, and he manages to do so with his super spider grip, but not before it sends a TON more water in a sudden deluge down towards the ground. Twisted away away from a view of the ground now, Peter moves to put it back into place. A lot easier now that most than half the water has been dumped out. "PleasedonthitGwenwithwaterPleasedonthitGwenwithwater" he repeats to himself as he settles the tank and then jumps down. Really hoping that he didn't just dump a ton of water directly on Gwen as she was going in to combat the thief.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
*KAPOW*

Right in the kisser with the double kick! Or at least that's where Gwen thinks she hit the guy. The armor does make him a lot more resilient so her feet even hurt after it. "Ow, what did you do? Put steel plates all around the suit?"

The man grunts, struggling to get up and get his bearings. He goes to retort something but then ..... what's that sound?

Gwen's attention goes from the man to the side as that danger sense starts tingling all over. Too late to get out of the way of the Great Deluge though! "Spidey, what did---" the sound is cut from the spider-comms, only some sputterings heard here and there. To Peter's merit at least the comms seem waterproof.

Unfortunately, the suit is not.

When Peter swings by to look at the scene below there's a Ghost Spider sprawled on the ground against a wall, sitting up as water drips from her suit. "Ugh, I need to go talk with Janet so she gets me a waterproof version. I am wet all over..." the suit feeling sticky and clingy to her body. Well, more than the usual at least.

The man in the suit was thrown a bit farther away and now gets up, it's feet seen stomping on the water as he tries to run away!

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-man is over the ledge and jumping down as soon as he sees the calamity. He pays no attention to the thief trying to escape. Or the cops standing around. Or really any of the people watching. "Oh no, babe, I'm so sorry!" he says, crouching down next to Ghost Spider and reaching out with a hand to her sopping wet cheek. "Some super boyfriend I am, I should have listened to you and..."

And _then_ he becomes acutely aware of all of the people watching him caress her cheek. He leaps up and takes a bow. "And this was your preview performance of the CW's new teen drama, "The Spiders!" Totally fictional and not at all real!"

He fires off a strand of webbing and yanks as he takes off to try to chase down the invisible thief before his feet stop making puddles.

Well, at least he got out of there before anyone was fast enough to take any photos.

Smooth move, Spider-man.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Really? CW teen drama? That's enough to have Gwen slap a hand to her forehead. It just makes her feel how wet she is, "Spidey, he is going to ..." but she doesn't have to say nothing more as Peter is then in pursuit. And leaving her alone with the onlookers who are already starting to fish out for their phones.

So she plays along and spins up to her feet, a flourished bow, "He's the comic relief." she clarifies...

And then she is off. So that's how people feel when they get their private life scrutinized publicly. And this was only a small thing... But for some reason.., she feels this is just the beginning. Dread.

Gwen does want to take her mind off it all though! And nothing like capturing a thief to make things right. And while Peter is going left she goes right in what is an effective pincer maneuver to capture him.

"Boo!" she calls out as she comes in by the right, making the thief veer away from her...

And right into Peter's path!

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter tries to focus on the thief. Not that he just, in literally his first crime fighting adventure with Gwen, exposed them, potentially, as a couple. Maybe everyone bought his CW joke. It was a good one, right?

The difference was Gwen could take it. He hoped. She was as capable as he was, as she often reminded him. It'll be _fine_.

He sees the thief, or rather his footprints, and then he sees Gwen. Beautiful, gorgeous Gwen. His Gwen. In her usual skin tight outfit. Except. Very wet. Very formfitting. Very...

He snaps out of it as the thief veers to him, and he lunges at him with a shoulder, driving the thief to the ground. "I don't think you really need this," he says, reaching down to pull off part of the suit, rendering it visible again. He looks to look at Gwen and smiles to give her a high five. And then he sees the people running towards them with cameras out. "Uh. I don't think they bought it." He fires some webbing down to lock the thief into place, and then fires up to yank him towards a building. "I'm in _so much_ trouble."

Gwen Stacy has posed:
It hadn't been a great attempt at a cover up. But that Peter thinks there was a universe in which it could had worked? Gwen just lets out a sigh. "You are no Loki, Spiderman." this about him being a good spinner of tales. But then again, why is she putting the bar so high with the actual Prince of Lies?!

She shoots a few more webs to keep the thief down but then it was go time. People *are* running towards them. The gossip will be real. Will things be fine? Most likely but she can't help it...

.. those invisible worries ..

"We are." She points out to Peter, "Let's go." and she shoots her own webs to follow up after Spiderman, out of the streets!

Peter Parker has posed:
Hightailing it back towards the building where they met up earlier, Spider-man goes through all kinds of things in his head. She said we were in trouble. Does she mean we were both in trouble? or does she mean that the we that we are is in trouble? Panic starts to set in a bit, irrational perhaps, but that was how much Gwen meant to him.

Finally, he gets to the spot of that abruptly canceled kiss, and he waits for her to get there, nervously wringing his hands.

Did he just screw up the best thing to happen to him in years?

Gwen Stacy has posed:
What is Gwen thinking about? Is she even sure about being mad? does it really matter that they are seen as being together? It might bring questions if Peter and Gwen are seen getting together too..

She drops into that spot a few moments later, webs being shot to create a seat for her to sprawl on, letting out a deep sigh. "Ufff, glad we are out of there.. Those people were looking at us like hounds..." that they were famous New York superheroes didn't help matters either.

"JJJ is going to have a field day with this .., ugh.." and water is still dripping from her suit, "I hope this dries up soon..."

Well, at least she doesn't sound mad!

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter takes a deep breath as Gwen swings up, waiting to hear about it. "I should have punched the thing," he admits. "You were right."

He peels up the bottom of his mask and smiles at her. "It could have been worse?" He suggests, shrugging.

He reaches out to run a hand against the leg, brushing off some of the soaked in water. "So. Uh. You're gonna need to go change, I think."