View source for 16245/Spider-Trouble: Criminal Flash Mob

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2023/11/03
|Location=Battery Park City
|Synopsis=Julia Carpenter and her daughter Rachel are at a Farmer's Market when Crimes break out! Fortunately, Spidey is on scene to help.
|Cast of Characters=172,5020
|pretty=yes
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{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:172|Peter Parker (172)}} has posed:'''<br> Flash mobs are a ton of fun. A bunch of controlled chaos descending on a place all at once, and then everyone vanishes as fast as they came. It can be funny, it can be touching, it can even be for good causes. <br><br> Today, the flash mob is out to cause a riot in Battery Park. A few dozen individuals have been milling around in the farmer's market crowd, wearing suspiciously similar outfits and wearing dark leather gloves. At precisely 2 PM, the crew stoops down, dons ski masks, and the chaos begins. Truncheons are in abundance and a few of them mug passers-by at gunpoint. They're working fast, especially targeting the money-fat tills with the day's proceeds underneath them. <br><br> Spider-Man had swing through entirely by chance. Everyone knows the best churros in New York are at pop-up restaurants. He lands on a building overlooking the market and his eyes go wide in alarm. "Holy moly." A beat. "I mean, they say farmer's markets are highway robbery, but this is ridiculous!" <br><br> No one's around to appreciate his humor. Spidey sighs once, then leaps into action, swinging over the crowd to get the criminal's attention and scatter them out into the open.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:5020|Julia Carpenter (5020)}} has posed:'''<br>Julia had brought Rachel to the farmer's market so they could get some good, fresh honey and other sundries while supporting small business owners. They've been having a great time, checking out the various stalls and markets, and making their way towards some of the food vendors for a light lunch.<br><br>Unfortuantely, the flash mob of thieves interrupt their nice little day at the farmer's market. Julia picks up Rachel and spisn away from the nearest of the mob, sending a controlled mulekick into his gut before turning to move away from the stalls. Rachel seems rather unusually calm for an 8 year old in a mob full of mugging, thieving, gun-toting criminals. She holds onto Julia tightly and tries to keep a watch out over her mom's shoulder.<br><br>When Spider-Man's shadow runs over them, Julia glances up and smiles, then nudges Rachel, "Cavalry's here, Rach. Let's get out of the way and I'll do what I can to help him, kay?" Rachel beams a smile and nods, and the pair try to find a hedge of bench to huddle behind.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:172|Peter Parker (172)}} has posed:'''<br> Spider-Man catches 'cavalry' but it's origin is lost in the crowd he swings over. "Cavalry, huh? I like that," he mutters to himself. Then the webslinger focuses on the task at hand: wrangling bad guys! The biggest priority is the ones armed with the firearms. Spidey takes careful aim and with two web-bullets, hits one gunman right in the wrist and pins him and the pistol against a telephone pole. When the other criminals start to wise up to him, they turn and start shooting in the air. <br><br> Spider-Man yelps and does an awkward, explosive mid-air dodge, bullets narrowly missing him. "Well, better me than the civilians," he remarks to himself. "Yeah, that's right! Keep shooting at the dangerous Spider-Man!" he hollers down to the gunmen. "You guys can't shoot for beans! I've seen Scouts who are better shots!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:5020|Julia Carpenter (5020)}} has posed:'''<br>Once she and Rachel are tucked somewhere relatively safe, Julia peeks around the corner, holding a hand out, fingers twitching and moving. The gunmen aren't paying attention, but Spidey might notice those lightly glowing psi-webs forming, shooting out to cover hands and guns, pulling them to the ground and sticking either criminals or guns there beneath magenta webbing.<br><br>Looking back to Rachel, she smiles, "There. That should make things a little more fair. No guns." Rachel grins and gives Julia a high five, then turns and yells out, "KICK BUTT, SPIDER-MAN!"<br><br>It's adorable.. and also alerts a few nearby thugs of two potential hostages nearby! What IS a Spider-Man to do?<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:172|Peter Parker (172)}} has posed:'''<br> There's that peculiar Peter-Tingle sense going off, and it takes Spidey a few seconds to figure out what it is. The weblines, near invisible to most people, stand out to his highly tuned senses. Julia can't see the grin on his face when he realizes he's got lowkey backup, but it definitely puts a little more jaunt in his webslinging. <br><br> Two lines splat against the ground and Spidey uses them both to redirect his momentum and deliver a punishing double-foot-kick against one of the criminals. He's up and vaulting a half a second later, leaving the man partially tangled in webline. One of the criminals gets ambitious and swings a truncheon at him, and Spidey neatly backflips *under* the blow and kicks the fellow right on the top of his head before he sticks the landing. "Oooh, the judges are gonna love that!" he announces to no one in particular, and casually hits one of the baddies in the face with a web bullet. The fellow emits a muffled cry of frustration and runs right into a pile of grease-filled trash cans.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:5020|Julia Carpenter (5020)}} has posed:'''<br>Julia urges Rachel behind her and stands to face the pair coming towards them. She offers a grim little smile and shakes her ehad, "You really don't want to do this. You're not getting my wallet, and you're *damn* sure not getting my daughter. Turn around, walk away."<br><br>Even as she squares up, Julia is conjuring up t a pair of weblines behind the two men. She flicks a glance over to see how Spider-Man is doing, brows lifting at the impressive flip and kick before looking back to the advancing thugs. Shaking her head, she mutters, "I warned you."<br><br>The weblines lash out, wrapping around both men, halting their forward momentum as the free end of the lines attach to the sidewalk firmly. Julia just smiles and shrugs, "Sorry boys, maybe next time." Turning, she takes Rachel's hand and starts leading her away from the captured thugs. There's only a few of them left that haven't been beaten, bound, and left for the cops.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:172|Peter Parker (172)}} has posed:'''<br> It's true enough; Spider-Man is even considerate enough to gather the bulk of them up in a pile of spider-silk webbing so the cops can easily identify who the most violent perpetrators were. There's no way of catching *everyone*, but the decisive presence of two webheads will no doubt deter future attempts of staged violence! <br><br> Julia doesn't get too far away when there's an *ahem* from an alley she passes. Spider-Man dangles upside down from one of the fire escapes, and plays out the web until his head is about on level with hers. ""I'm not here to out you," he assures her. "But I gotta say: thanks for the assist there. Uh, both of you," he says, including Rachel in that thanks.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:5020|Julia Carpenter (5020)}} has posed:'''<br>Julia pauses at the 'ahem' and glances sidelong, then turns and offers a small smile and shrug, "I'm sure you could have handled it just fine. But... it's not in me to just walk away from something like that." She glances to her daughter with a warm smile, "And Rachel would never forgive me if I did." The little girl is a near replica of Julia. All peaches and cream, freckles, big blue eyes, and gingery hair put into two pigtails. And she's practically *vibrating* with excitement.<br><br>Rachel doesn't squeal or shout or otherwise draw attention to them, but she *does* run forward and leap to hug briefly around Spider-Man's head. "You're so *awesome*! Thanks for saving people and being cool and having awesome powers like mom!" Julia just chuckles and lifts a small shrug and offer a slightly spologetic smile, "She's a big fan. You, Captain America, the Fantastic Four... biiiiiiiiig fan."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:172|Peter Parker (172)}} has posed:'''<br> "/You're/ awesome," Spidey rebuts, and reaches down (up?) to exchange a crisp high-five with the little fan. When Julia starts equating him with the Avengers and Four, Spidey balks. "Uh... me? Captain America? No, he's like-- Cap is--" At a loss for words, Spidey puts a hand on his head, then up in the air to approximate Cap's height, and then blows a raspberry. "He's super cool. I've met him," he says with casual pride. <br><br> "Oh, right--" he reaches back and digs two churros out from a hidden pouch, and offers both to Rachel. "One of the vendors insisted," he explains. "I, uh, ate mine already," he admits.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:5020|Julia Carpenter (5020)}} has posed:'''<br>Rachel beams and high-fives Spider-Man with glee, standing there in her fluffy Pokemon Pikachu hoodie, jeans, and pink hightop sneakers. "You *met* Cap?? That is *so cool*! I can't wait to tell my friends that Spider-Man saved us at the market! They're gonna be super jealous!" She giggles lightly and is clearly QUITE impressed.<br><br>Julia smiles and takes the churros, "Thank you. I know this is perhaps a little.. strange... but we'd love to have you over for dinner sometime. Mask on, obviously. We don't pry. But... consider it a standing offer." She holds a hand out to Rachel and smiles back at him, "And.. thank you. For not saying anything. I want to help out as much as I can." Her eyes cut to her daughter, then back to him, "I just.. have to be careful."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:172|Peter Parker (172)}} has posed:'''<br>Spidey looks a little taken aback, but finds himself shrugging one shoulder and nodding in agreement. "I mean, I do love a home-cooked meal," he admits. "I'll try to carve out some time for it. Soon," he hastens to reassure Julia. "I got a day job just like everyone else." <br><br> Spider-Man looks down at Rachel, waves, then back at Julia. "And... I get it," he reassures her. There's no missing how important Rachel is to Julia, and his tone suggests his estimation of Julia has gone up. <br><br> "Anyway, I won't keep you ladies. Rachel, it was super nice to meet you," he assures the little girl. Spidey looks to Julia and sketches a two-fingered salute. "Later days, amiga," he bids her, and with a little flip to get momentum, he vaults off the webline and goes web-slinging off into the skyline.<br> <br>
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