1425/Jonesing for a Spider-Man

Jonesing for a Spider-Man
Date of Scene:	28 April 2020
Location:	Alias Investigation
Synopsis:	Jessica Jones and Spider-Man meet, and Spidey offers to help Jessica.
Cast of Characters:	Jessica Jones, Peter Parker

---

Jessica Jones has posed:
Jessica is sitting at her desk, legs propped up, a glass of whiskey in her hand as she slowly nurses at it. Her eyes are zoomed on her computer screen, browsing through different transaction information she's trying to make sense of, the company in question being Roxxon.

Peter Parker has posed:
In the movie WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT, the protagonist explained that he couldn't anyone who knew the location of the detective, except for the liquor-store guy, who knew all too well.

Sometimes, one has to realize there is a difference between a bad joke...and a mean one. Carl King was the king (ha-ha, courtesy laugh) of the mean joke. And joking about alcohol was a bad idea. He had peeked in Jessica's dumpster outside the office. There was a disturbing number of bottles out there.

Had Jess acquired her own Carl King?

Peter had left a message saying his friend would be coming by, and she could make her own judgments about him.
The first odd part of the visit was the knock. It was not coming from the door, but the window. And not the window that opened out into the fire escape. The OTHER window...

Jessica Jones has posed:
Jessica had her concentration broken by the unexpected knock, nearly spilling some of her whiskey, but saving it by swinging it over to her mouth and just winding up downing the glass before putting it away on the table. Swiveling in her chair, she shakes her head at the Spider-Man knocking on her window, and as she reaches to open, she says, "you know how to make an entrance, come on in..." she delays on anything further, giving him a moment to settle. "Can I offer you a drink?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man crawls into the office, but shakes his head as he straightens. "No, thank you. I'm good." He looks around the office, then says, "Peter called me, wanted me to meet you. He says you're a good friend. He also said you might need help..."

Jessica Jones has posed:
"Great, I see that, honestly I thought he was yanking my chain saying he knows Spider-Man," Jessica has to admit, taking a moment to study Spider-Man from up close. It's still quite a thing to see these costumed heroes from upclose, it's never quite like the media. "So, how did you come to know Peter at all? I mean, no disrespect, but he is a science nerd...and you're well, a hero?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man nods, holding up one arm ro display the web-shooter. "He and I met early in my career. His uncle was murdered...and he became the primary breadwinner. I had some powers, but needed a way to trap bad guys, to travel...and he needed to keep the lights on, the water running, and the bills paid. So, we worked together. He developed the web-shooters. He also put together a drone he could use if I ran into trouble. He could sell pictures to the DAILY BUGLE and keep things going while still going to school."

Jessica Jones has posed:
"What's that fancy thing...?" Sharp eyed Jessica catches a glimpse of the on display web-shooter, and takes some interest in the unique looking device. "Oh man...I take it you weren't able to save his uncle, huh? You met on scene?" She asks, suddenly her interest in Spider-Man seems to grow. "Wait...are you telling me Peter freakin' Parker made that thing for you? What does it do?" She nods at the explanation, looking quite impressed, "and he picked up how to do that shit in Midtown High? No way, none of our teachers would be smart enough to teach that stuff..."

When the deal is explained, a lightbulb flicks in Jessica's mind, "oh. Now it makes sense, that's how he gets all those ridiculously awesome pictures of you, because I was thinking, unless I'm prepared in advance, there's no way I'm catching that crisp an image of you in action on my Nikon," she pats her baby that's currently set on the desk as she mentions it.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man nods, then undoes a clasp, pulls a tiny level forward, and then he removes the webshooter for Jessica to see. "It's all mechanical. These cartridges hold the webfluid, then this paddle activates this spinneret system here. The web can change based on how hard you press. One clickfor webline, two clicks for web spray, three clicks for cloud webbing...good for filling up holes...and four for a thick glue. Yeah. He designed the hardware, reverse-engineered the webfluid from naturally-occurring spidersilk. He DOES have an IQ of 250, after all..."

He holds it out to Jessica. "Want to try it?"

Jessica Jones has posed:
"Thanks," Jessica says, acknowledging the level of trust it takes for Spider-Man to let her handle that web-shooter. She touches it gently, careful not to activate it, as she turns it around slowly and studies the device from up close. "That stupid Parker is quite the genius, isn't he? This is amazing, he could probably get a job working for Tony Stark." She shakes her head when offered to try it, handing the device back to Spider-Man, "it's not mine to try, besides, I'll probably make a mess...I'm more interested in the question you avoided answering," the P.I. in Jessica never misses details, as she reaches to pour some more whiskey in her glass. "I want to know about it, you, Peter's uncle, I mean I lost my whole family...I can relate to what Peter is feeling, I still think I had it worse. Not that it's a contest. But I want to know about you...you were there weren't you? And you didn't save Peter's uncle, that's what made you want to engage him, make that deal...you felt guilty, didn't you?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man takes the web-shooter back, then nods. "Yeah. My first public appearance. I chased down the guy, Dennis Carradine. Found out later that the house used to belong to a mobster, thought there was a fortune buried there. There was...but the silverfish got to it first." He sighs. "I got there too late to help. All I could do was catch the guy. He's doing 20 in Riker's right now." He looked to Jessica. "That was when I promised I would never stand idly by and let something like that happen without doing something about it."

Jessica Jones has posed:
Jessica looks very intently at Spider-Man when he discusses the incident, sure, the mask isn't conducive to studying emotions or expression, but she focuses on the voice all the more for it. "Imagine that...you fucked up on your first appearance?" Jessica looks like she could feel that in her bones the way she looks at Spider-Man. "Describe it to me," she all of a sudden says, her voice surprisingly assertive, "the feeling of failure...you knowing you have powers, and yet being unable to save a man. I need to hear you describe it..."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man looks at her...then looks down.
"I saw him three weeks prior to that. I was embarking on my amazing career as a pro wrestler. Then I saw him, Carradine. He was running down the hall. He...I did nothing. I let him run right past."

He takes a deep breath. "I could have stopped him. Webbed him, body-checked him...TRIPPED him." He looked to Jessica. "I told the cop chasing him that catching him was HIS job, not mine. That I was...ah, Christ help me, I was looking out for Number One." He rubs his face through the mask. "Three weeks later, i was looking into his face...and realized I'd killed Ben Parker...even through inaction."

Jessica Jones has posed:
"Pro-Wrestler?" Jessica looks and sounds quite dubious, "oookay," she just lets it go. But she does drink a bit as she listens. She nods and finishes her drink when Spider-Man finishes the story, "so...it's failure by indirect inaction...not like, you were there, tried to stop him and couldn't." Jessica sounds disappointed, as she mutters, "you probably just changed your ways and got over it, didn't you?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey looked to Jessica. "That was when I realized that I couldn't stand idly by ever again. Something I was told awhile ago. With Great Power Must Come Great Responsibility." He looks to the window. "It means that I have to help, if I can help. That I have to be part of the solution. It's meant a lot of sleepless nights, a lot of mistakes...but Carradine was the last time I ever felt ashamed of myself about it. So much for a wrestling career, eh?" He smiles sadly under the mask. "But when I do sleep, I sleep all right. And there are a lot of people out there I've been able to help."

Jessica Jones has posed:
"With Great Power Come Great Responsibility....?" Jessica looks suddenly filled with disgust as she hears that sentence said out loud, "that so...? Huh? Interesting." She leaves it at that, not offering any elaboration of any sort. "Who was the genius that told you that line?" Jessica asks, already looking far less engaged. "You've done okay for yourself, Spider-Man, even if the Bugle is spreading lies about you. I know they're lies, because I just talked to you in person. You're not that menacing monster."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man looks at Jessica for a long moment. "Someone...who meant a lot to me. And if I'm going to have these weird gifts, I have to use them to help people. Because otherwise, I'm squandering them." He takes another deep breath. "But I appreciate what you are saying. And I want to help you, too. This investigation business...I collect a lot of scuttlebutt out there, Miss Jones. And if it helps you....then I have no problem sharing what info I have with you. If you need help with a situation, let me know...maybe I can do something."

Jessica Jones has posed:
"I appreciate it, Spider-Man, can you leave me some contact information? You can take my card," Jessica extends one of her business cards from her desk to Spidey, "right now, I just need to be alone for a bit, if you don't mind?" She looks all withdrawn all of a sudden as she makes her request.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey nods, then points at Jessica's phone. A beep reveales she has a new contact in her phone. SPIDER-MAN. Complete with phone number.

"I'll be in touch, Miss Jones. Hope I can help."