1583/The Show Must Go On

The Show Must Go On
Date of Scene:	09 May 2020
Location:	Radio City Music Hall
Synopsis:	Spidey chases crooks into an arena and meets a Rock Goddess.
Cast of Characters:	Kaminari, Peter Parker

---

Kaminari has posed:
A discordant guitar sound echoes through Radio City Music Hall. On stage the Goddess of Thunder and Noise or as some people now call her the Goddess of Rock, Kaminari and her band. A few notes are played as instruments are tuned and instructions shouted to the sound and light crews on hand to make sure everything will be perfect for the upcoming concert. Kaminari herself seems to be testing the accoustics of the place belting out a few lines from some of her more famous songs. As one would expect from a Goddess of Noise, she has no microphone and yet her voice carries to all corners of the theater. Right now it is just the band and crews taking care of all the preliminary work for a show that most people never see.

When everything finally seems set. The lights and sound are okay, the instruments are tuned, the band gets ready to practice a full song. Just as the drummer goes to begin, right as stick hits drum, a gunshot rings out and she is momentarily startled as if her drums somehow caused the loud crash or maybe its another one of Kaminari's pranks. But that's when one of the stage hands near the entrance slumps over as a group of armed individuals rush inside.

Peter Parker has posed:
Gad, he hated robbery crews.

Spider-Man swiung low along the sidewalk outside one of the iconic places of New York, and he was only doing it because there were SEVEN in the crew, not FOUR.
Spider-Man had been doing his thing, webbing crooks up in interesting positions for the NYPD to chuckle at (because he was, at heart, a Giver) but he had thought there were less crooks to immobilize than were actually there. So, while he had gotten the support staff, the three ringleaders had bolted.
It was VERY annoying. NOW he had to chase them down.

He looked around, wondering where they had gone. They had come this way, and...

The gunshot told him everything, none of it good. The concert poster had said there was a concert tonight, but that meant that people were in there setting things up.

And the gunshot from there...meant potential HOSTAGES.

Eddie, Josh, and Darnell were ticked off. Which was trouble.
The three had set up the heist, plotting out everything. Which all went magically to crap when a certain Web-Headed Wanker had stopped by. They had barely gotten away with ONE duffel bag of money.

Right now, they were improvising an exit strategy.

"Okay, lads and ladies, hands up!" Eddie said with a grin, holding the shotgun high. "Me and my boys are going to need a ride, and one of you are going to help. We're SURE you can find it in your hearts to help. Except for that slow one at the door. He's had his poor heart broken..."

Kaminari has posed:
Kaminari is not so confused as her drummer, already in tune with the accoustics of the music hall from getting ready her eyes zero in on the source of the gunshot. "Girls get backstage and call 911 tell them we need an ambulance." she tells her band in a serious tone that leaves no room for dissent as she steps to the edge of the stage, her ire rising, lightning electricity beginning to crackle around her. "Gentleman, I don't know who you are, but you've made a terrible mistake." There is a sense of menace to those words, like a gathering storm. Begging the question of who here is really going to need the saving.

Peter Parker has posed:
Darnell looks at Kaminari uneasily. "Boss...?"

"It's all special effects." Eddie looked very unimpressed as he leveled the shotgun at Kaminari. "Honey...go to your green room and have some overpriced water. You don't want any of this, love." He looked around. "Josh..."

He stopped. Josh was supposed to be bringing up the rear, but he was nowhere to be seen. He looked crossly at three "roadies" huddled near the stage left, who looked at him nervously...then up.

...Up?
Eddie looked up to see Josh wrapped up in a cocoon.
"Ah, crap." He focused on Kaminari, aiming the shotgun at her head. "COME ON OUT, SPIDER-MAN, OR I'LL BLOW THE GRANNY RIGHT OUT OF THIS ONE!"

Kaminari has posed:
    A hand crackling with lightning energy is held up, perhaps to demonstrate the 'special effects' with practical application, but Kaminari thinks better of it. She has a show to do and the show must go on, destroying Radio City Music Hall would be counterproductive.

When the crooks suddenly look up, Kaminari follows their gaze upward. A spiderweb cocoon is definitely not what she was expecting to see. It is almost enough to distract her from her anger.

But then, but then Eddie goes and steps in it big time. The granny comment causes Kaminari's eyebrow to twitch, her age may be better measured in centuries than years but no woman likes being called old, certainly not a fickle deity. At that point she simply takes a step forward dropping off the stage, ignoring both warning and shotgun, and floats across the orchestra pit until she lands in one of the aisles and continues walking towards them. "Granny? GRANNY?! They won't even find your ashes when I am done with you!"

Peter Parker has posed:
Eddie isn't looking as confident as he was five seconds ago. He's probably looking for the wires. Pink uses them in her concerts all the time.
However, he's not seeing them, and he is somewhat confused.

The problem is, Spider-Man's still out there, and now it's just him and Darnell...

THWIPP!
"BOSS!" Darnell yelps as he is yanked back off the stage, landing against a floor that looks noticeably sticky.

Spider-Man, ratty costume and all, steps out from one of the higher tiers of the stands.
"I...THINK it's because he's British, ma'am. He's just threatening to blow your head off." He looks to Eddie, whose head is whipsawing between Spider-Man and the advancing Kaminari. "Which is a pretty bad idea, Eds. Want to surrender now?"

Kaminari has posed:
Kaminari continues advancing on Eddie, it's a good distance down the aisles of Radio City Music Hall and she doesn't seem to be in any hurry just adding to the air of menace that surrounds her approach like the tornado you can see coming in the distance.

She is momentarily distracted from her anger again by the disappearance of Darnell and Spiderman's appearance. "Oh I've heard of you, the Onigumo hero of New York. Spiderman was it?" She looks back to Eddie her anger back down to a simmer again "Big man, big gun, what are you waiting for?" Daring him to pull the trigger. "You had better pray that that stage hand lives." The distance isn't very far now, the pops of lightning crackle around her clearly audible as not special effects.

Peter Parker has posed:
Eddie started backing up. He was suddenly aware that he was in over his head, and Spidey knew THAT look well. Mostly from the bathroom mirror.

Eddie took one more look at Kaminari, then at Spider-Man. He had no idea if this woman would kill him, but he DID know that Spider-Man wouldn't kill him. He groaned in exasperation, then lowered the shotgun and tossed it aside. "I hate New York..."

A moment later, his feet are webbed to the stage.

Spider-Man looks to Kaminari, then says, "Spider-Man. There's a hyphen." He looked to the other people, a couple of them attending to the poor who caught a chestful of buckshot. "I called EMS. They should be here in two minutes." He looked back at Kaminari, then blinked. He could smell the ozone. "Uhm...could you power down, please? I don't think any of them are a danger anymore..."

Kaminari has posed:
There is a moment of uncertainty, raging storms do not normally just stop. Kaminari takes a deep breath and counts to ten and the lightning crackling off of her dissipates harmlessly, those anger management classes might have been worthwhile afterall.

"Thank you for your assistance Spider-Man with a hyphen. I am not sure I would have been able to restrain myself. Sometimes I get a bit carried away in the moment." Eddie almost certainly made the right decision in his assessment of Kaminari. She looks back towards the stage hand being tended to and then to where Spiderman and Eddie are, "Say Spider-Man, do you like rock music?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man glanced to her. He smiles slightly under the mask.
"I do, actually. I grew up listening to a lot of classic rock music. My uncle's record collection. I tend to have...an eclectic taste in music, from new wave to classic, to techno and rhythm-and-blues." He fishes in his backpack, then brings out a small second-generation iTouch unit. "If you'd like to see some of the stuff I listen to when I'm out patrolling..."

Kaminari has posed:
"Oh ho? That does sounds interesting." Kaminari fishes around in her purse as she steps in the direction of Spider-Man and his shiny music player. From her purse she pulls a black lanyard ending in a stylized badge that says Backstage Pass - Kaminari on it. It's seems to be /her own/ pass but its not like anyone is going to deny the Goddess of Rock entry to her own show. "Here, come and see the show if you like. The show must go on afterall." she holds it out to him shuffling a bit closer to get a look at his iTouch gadget. An astute observer would notice her eyes light up as she looks down at the tiny piece of technonology as enamored with it as the collection of rock anthems inside. "Eclectic is good, there are so many wonderful varieties of noise that humans have come up with."

Peter Parker has posed:
Eclectic is the word for it. Old classics like "Turn the Page" by Bob Seger, "Eleanor Rigby" by the Beatles, sit chummily next to modern hits like "Come With Me Now" by the Kongos, "The Geeks Were Right" by The Faint, and "Feel Invincible" by Skillet. Some have heavy play - "KickStart My Heart" by Motley Crue, "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor, "The Veldt" by Deadmau5. Others are more esoteric - instrumental themes from TV shows and movies. Vangelis' "Blade Runner Blues," Jan Hammer's "Miami Vice - New York Theme," and "Pork Chop Express" are there as well.

He takes the pass after handing her the iTouch. "Well, I'm close to the end of my patrol, and after the NYPD takes these guys away, I'm not doing anything else."

Kaminari has posed:
The device is taken and Kaminari slides her finger along the surface scrolling through its musical contents. She also turns the device this way and that examining it from various angles quietly marveling at the engineering like a technophile, "You have a very good collection here, but I think it's missing a few things. If you find me backstage later I'll give you some CDs, assuming you still have a CD player. Not everyone does these days. If you're not doing anything else then please be my guest. My thanks for cleaning up this mess." She says gesturing at the webbed up crooks.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man looks over as the EMTs burst in and attend to Myron, the poor schmuck on the ground. He had seen one of the roadies doing first aid and had opted not to interfere, too many cooks spoiling the soup, but... "...Some messes are worse than others. I'm just glad he'll be okay." He looked to the lead EMT. "He'll be okay, right?"

"We'll do all we can, but his vitals are still good."

Spidey nods, then looks back to Kaminari. "If he's not getting hazard pay, maybe he should." He takes a deep breath, then nods. "I'm sure I have some hardware SOMEWHERE back at the house. And...well, I appreciate being your guest, but I might want to watch from up there." He points to the lighting rig suspended above the stage. "You probably don't want me drawing people's attention away from your performance. That'd be kind of rude, Miss...Kaminari? I didn't butcher that too badly, did I?"

Kaminari has posed:
Kaminari's own attention goes to the EMTs and then back to Spider-Man again. "He will be well taken care of." she says it almost with the air of a feudal lord talking about one of their subjects. "If he doesn't survive I will be... upset." Another glance at the EMTs. "Watch from wherever you like, just try not to get in the way of the lighting crew. Keep the pass though, you're welcome to come hang out after the show. Like I said I'll give you some of my music to add to that lovely collection of yours." she smiles at his attempt to say her name. "Ka-mi-na-ri. Yes. Very good."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man nods. "Hang out. Well, yeah, I guess I could do that."
No need to elaborate. Over-explaining a joke is like dissecting it. You know what's going on, but the joke's dead by that point.

"That electricity, though...that wasn't special effects, was it? I could sense the ozone the closer you got. It was certainly messing with my communications rig..."

Kaminari has posed:
    Kaminari laughs out loud for a moment at Spider-Man's question about the 'electricity', "Oh that was lightning. I guess the Japanese Pantheon isn't so well known here, when they call me the Goddess of Thunder and Noise they're being quite literal." she shrugs with a grin, like that's just the way it is. "It's why I don't need a microphone, this form of music based around being loud, I love it, it speaks to me."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man pauses for a moment. "You're...an actual Japanese goddess?"

He doesn't sound as skeptical as one might normally be, but he has looked into the Void, knows of Asgardians and Amazonians. Wonder Woman even expressed interest in his crimefighting. So...not that shocking, really.

"Okay...well, it's nice to know even deities like rock-and-roll. It's not even that surpising. I saw Thor flying overhead two nights ago, and am on friendly terms with an Amazon. So...yeah. I apologize if I'm not as awestruck as you might be expecting."

Kaminari has posed:
Kaminari's shoulders rise and fall in another shrug, "Yes, New York seems to have gathered it's fair share of divinities. Honestly you're fine, I've never cared for all of the pomp and circumstance anyway. I'd rather eat broken glass than sit through another Imperial Court session in Ama with Amaterasu prattling on and on," she rolls her eyes at the thought of it. "I'm just not into it, I'd rather create this beautiful noise and maybe sink the occasional navy." That last bit was a joke right? Right?!

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man holds up a finger. "Uhm...as long as you don't hold any concerts in Norfolk, Virginia, I think I'm okay with that."

He tilts his head slightly. "So, you're...off the reservation, as it were, and just using what you know in a modern setting. Well, I've got no problem with that. I noticed you were looking at my MP3 player...are you that fascinated by technology in general, or sound technology in particular?"

Kaminari has posed:
     Kaminari's expression becomes curious for a moment, "What's in Norfolk, Virginia? I do not think I have ever had the opportunity to visit. My concert venues are typically major cities." But then the topic of conversation shifts to technology and her expression positively lights up, fickle Goddess indeed not ten minutes ago she was ready to vaporize someone. "Oh human technology is fascinating, the way you've managed to capture lightning into these little devices and so such incredibly things with them. Like the lightning in your iTouch can make music, I'm a goddess and I can't make lightning into music, put direct them lightning through an electric guitar and bam music! It's amazing!"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man nods. "Norfolk, Virginia is where the U.S. Navy has a shipyard. They handle most of the ships traveling in and near the Atlantic Ocean."

He chuckles at her fascination. "Well, maybe after your concert, I can try to explain the science behind the technology. I could even show you the prototype for a communications network I've recently set up between myself and some like-minded superheroes wanting to help people." He smiles under the mask. "I can show you some of the ways we can harness electricity to work for us."

Kaminari has posed:
The bit about the US Navy and any potential fleet sinking is fortunately lost as the discussion of technology continues.

"I would like that." Kaminari gives Spiderman a bright smile, the friendliest he has seen her so far, "I studied electrical sciences during the Meiji and Taisho eras, like the late 19th and early 20th century when it was introduced to Japan but then a lot of things happened like the Pacific War and it's like just wow I came back from Ama around ten years ago and things have just developed by leaps and bounds. That would be really cool." Excitement palpable.

Eventually though her phone begins buzzing in her pocket and glacing at it she makes a displease face since she was quite enjoying herself. "Anyway, the show must go on. My Agent is asking if we've finished the soundcheck yet, so we should probably get back to it. But I will see you after!" She seems certain of that.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey nods. "Count on it, Kaminari." He steps back, hanging the lanyard around his neck. "I look forward to seeing the show and chatting with you later."

He points to the doorway to the concessions stands. "I'm going to grab a snack and observe. Thanks for the help...and the invitation."

Because it's never a bad thing to be vocal about your gratitude to a literal Rock-and-Roll Goddess...