1686/Meeting Mania

Meeting Mania
Date of Scene:	15 May 2020
Location:	St. Luke's Hospital
Synopsis:	Spider-Man meets Andi, and her companion, on the roof of the hospital where her father recovers.
Cast of Characters:	Peter Parker, Andi Benton

---

Peter Parker has posed:
He is never going to get that speech finished.

Spider-Man sits down on the roof of the hospital, looking down at the window to Mr. Benton's room. He is being kept under observation - not because of the broken arm that is in a cast, but the traces of biological alien substances inside the biggest meteorite.

Spidey was able to put two and two together. The big one had some kind of...passenger. It had called to Andi while it had been tortured by Doc Ock. And then, it had gotten loose and...merged with Andi.

But now she was nowhere to be seen, and he hoped that she might come here, because of her father.
So, his valedictorian speech could wait. He was doing more being here. putting notes about the symbiote in the database, all he could collect...

So he waited...and hoped. And yes, even prayed a little.

Andi Benton has posed:
Some few hours had passed since Frank Benton, Andi's father, was loaded into the ambulance and taken off. By the time Spider-Man was finished inside the warehouse, she was gone. She'd heard the crew mention which hospital they were going to, but she didn't go there right away. She didn't go back into the warehouse either, though there was certainly a reason to: a chance to finish off Doctor Octopus, whether she could have or not. There was already enough going on there that trying to do so didn't seem like a good idea.

So, the newly-made...thing...fled. Down the side of the building, at which point she noticed she didn't seem to have much trouble getting around. She'd just climbed the side of the warehouse previously without a second thought, but this time it took some curiosity to figure out what to do next.

<Trust in what we can do.>

The voice popped into her head and she asked back, aloud, "Do what? I..I don't understand."

<We will survive. Trust.>

It was a cryptic answer, and yet there was a sense that came through the developing bond of..reassurance, of comfort, that somehow, things would be better if only she allowed them to be. "Whatever.." she answered, the shaped eyes of the 'mask' that was her face reflecting some internal self-doubt. "None of this makes any sense."

<It will.>

When she looked up at a fire escape at the side of another building a couple blocks away, she wondered if she could reach it. A testing leap saw her easily make it past the lower ladder, up to the landing itself. "Whoa."

Through the bond came a wordless sense, equivalent to someone saying 'See?'

"I..I need to see my dad," she said hesitantly, as she quickly scaled the ladders up to the rooftop.

<Soon. Your sire will heal. We must learn more about us.>

The teenager said nothing to this, but when she stopped at the opposite side of this roof, she sucked in a breath. "Here goes nothing, I guess." She couldn't have cleared the gap on her own, but when she took a few steps and leapt, the symbiote's enhancements took her well beyond any threat of coming up short.

This went on for a time, the two beginning to move and function as one, but as darkness set in further, the pull of the hospital became greater. "We need to..." And the symbiote agreed. They started in that direction.

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter closed the data file, watched the spider icon spin in place as the files saved to the remote server. He looked down for the twentieth time in the last hour. No change. He'd posted a drone outside the window, but Mr. Benton was still sleeping. At least SHIELD was picking up the tab for this. Probably because of all the EXTRA tests they were doing on him.

He waved one hand to pull up the file for the suit design. This new weave he was working on would work to replace damaged sections of the suit, so if one part got torn, he could just replace the part. And that was for the three layers - the other kevlar-weave, the inner climate-control comfort layer, and the wearable computer layer in-between. It could work pretty well...

Andi Benton has posed:
Somehow, Andi just knew which hospital room her father was in. It might have had to do the father/daughter bond that exists, different from the one she's got going on with her and the alien creature right now. Or, it could be the drone she spots near a certain one, drawing her attention.

Without seeing Spider-Man himself just yet, she zeroes in on the drone itself. Soon, whatever view Spidey has of the hospital room is interrupted by a darkened 'face' in front of the camera, the expressive white eyes turned up into a show of open curiosity as one claw-tipped finger appears to touch the lens.

Peter Parker has posed:
Some disturbance. Bring up the feed and UWAH!!

There is a sudden yelp from four floors up on the roof of the building. WELL...that was ONE way to spot her.

The drone, a black eight-legged round spider looking a lot like the symbol on the back of one webslinger she knows, lifts off, looking to her for a moment, then rises slowly. After rising eight feet, it tilts from side to side to attract her notice before continuing upward.

Andi Benton has posed:
If the image draws back any, it will show the black, humanoid, and feminine form clinging to the wall in a way Spider-Man would be /very/ familiar with. The same spiky bits to the forearms and shins remain, but there is now a loose-fitting spiked belt as well that seems to serve no purpose other than as a punk-inspired accessory.

The head tilts this way then that, much like an animal seeing something interesting for the first time, attempting to suss it out.

The sound from above then registers, and that head is seen to turn upward. After a glance through the window itself - is Mr. Benton alone, or is there anyone in there with him right now? - she turns away, disappears from the drone's view unless the camera is kept on her, and she moves further up.

Toward Spider-Man.

Peter Parker has posed:
The drone rises, moving over the edge of the roof and towards the red-and-blue figure standing about thirty feet away. He watches as the black, feminine...woman...moves up towards the roof, but he doesn't say anything yet. He wants to see how she will react.

When she cannot be seen by anyone from the street, he finally speaks. "...Hello, Andi."

Andi Benton has posed:
The creature's ascent to the top of the hospital is an effortless one. Once she's up there, she ends only a few feet away from Spider-Man, dropping into a cat-like crouch with her knees apart, arms between them, hands resting against the metallic box she's perched atop.

The voice that answers her is hers..yet not entirely. "Spider." No sense of motion from where the mouth ought to be. The vertical shape of those eyes narrows briefly, then they grow wider again along with another tilt of the head. It's as if she's seeing him for the first time in some way. Or, seeing him in a new sense.

Peter Parker has posed:
Verbal response. So far, so good. She's not tickling his Spider-Sense...yet.

"I...checked on your father. Broken forearm, lacerations, bruising...but he's being taken care of. His arm's in a cast. His medical bills are being covered by SHIELD. Apparently they found a trace of something...biological...in one of the meteorites that fell. They want to know whether or not he's...well, picked up something. Bo so far, nothing out of the ordinary."

Andi Benton has posed:
A verbal response, even if it was only part of his name or possibly more an observation of the design of his suit. It isn't as if it's the first time Andi's seen it, but for the symbiote? It got a decent look at him in the warehouse, but there wasn't much time to do anything beyond that. Blurs of motion from the fight, but the symbiote was focused on reaching Andi. There was that moment at the end, but both Andi and the symbiote were out of sorts from Ock's sonic assault.

Internally, the symbiote is already making use of what Andi has seen and known of Spider-Man so far. It's a quick review, but a couple things linger in the back of their collective consciousness that might require looking into later.

When she speaks again, the voice is closer to just Andi's. "..SHIELD? Something was in the meteorites?" No, really? The fingers squeeze at the edge of the metal, putting dents into it. "We will find the one who did this, and make him pay."

That..was more the symbiote speaking, and it carries with it an undercurrent of danger, reflected in the eyes taking on a suddenly angrier mien, further narrowed, sloped more severely.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man took a deep breath. "NO."

A simple word, stark, solid, final.

"Doc Ock is in custody, No metal arms to help him. He's in a jail cell, awaiting charges of kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, grand theft...and about a dozen other charges. He is already facing punishment for what he's done. And yes, something was in the meteorite. They found a cavity big enough for the creature Doc Ock was keeping in that globe. They have no idea what it was, because it escaped. It got away."

Spider-Man paused. "But it DIDN'T get away, did it? It's all right here?"

Andi Benton has posed:
Yes, that's right. Doc Ock. Doctor Octopus. The name is familiar, more familiar than Andi might have known. The man probably told the symbiote who he was more than once, and the trauma of that is conveyed first through a flinch at the forceful objection from Spider-Man.

Too close to some other usage of the word?

For the moment, those fingertips grow sharp enough to dig small holes into the metal. "He hurt us. Made us /scream./" As both Andi and the symbiote convey this message, there is some definition that briefly shows. A mouth. Sharp teeth set into a grimace. Gone again within seconds.

The strong reaction is tempered as Spider-Man puts the pieces of the puzzle together. At the end of his hypothesis, there is no response from the being that remains perched before him. The eyes take on as neutral an appearance as he's seen so far, practically unreadable. He will have to probe a little further.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man winces in response to what Andi...or whatever is WITH Andi...says. "I can't know what you went through...whoever you are. You're not Andi, but you are WITH Andi. You and she are...working together?"

Andi Benton has posed:
"We are Andi."

This is what the thing says.

"Andi is us and we are Andi. Alone. Hurt. Must protect Andi. Must protect us. Survive."

The eyes fluctuate through a range of emotions at this, conveying senses of pain, fear, anger, rage, revenge, but also determination.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man tilts his head, listening. "Okay...that fills in a few blanks." He takes a deep breath. "I'd like to see Andi's face, if you don't mind. I want to see that she's okay."

Andi Benton has posed:
Again, for a number of seconds there is no response from the one before Spider-Man. Perhaps there is something going on internally, a consideration of the request.

It takes a few more moments before anything happens, but the webslinger will witness a flowing motion around the head of the creature. It's like water at first, growing hazy and murky as the eyes lose definition, then it shows dozens of tendrils peeling away, curling back, pale skin showing, Andi's face, her mouth, her nose, her ears, her hair...and her eyes. Haunted eyes that lower toward the rooftop rather than the spider.

Her voice is barely above a whisper. "What blanks?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Well...that's something. Still John Carpenter's THE THING, but not so...intimidating.

"I was operating from the concept of the...alien, because it's not from Earth...being some kind of parasite, but that's not true. If anything, it is more of a symbiote than a parasite. You help it, but it helps you, too. Octavius is quite brilliant, but he is also crazier than an outhouse rat. The accident that bonded those robot arms to him also killed his wife. It broke him in some fundamental way. That doesn't excuse what he did for a nanosecond, but I figured you might want to know how he got the way he did."

Spider-Man takes a step forward.

"For what it's worth, Doc Ock has no idea what happened. And your father doesn't know what happened to you, either. All he knows is that you came to save him."

Andi Benton has posed:
"It's not a parasite," Andi says, looking up, and there's something more firm in those words than even she expected to say, even as Spider-Man is figuring it out as well. "It was hurt, and looking for help. That's what I felt yesterday. I guess../he/ spotted me, and that's why he went to my home and took my dad. He was gonna kill him, but.."

She gestures toward herself, not sure yet how to refer to what she looks like. "It found me. But whatever you're talking about with that guy, he hurt my dad, and he would have hurt us more. Me..and the symbiote. It wants to protect me from him, from..everything. But my dad..why is SHIELD keeping him there? He's fine. He's normal."

The expression in her own eyes holds a good deal of confusion, but there is something deeper in there, like a growing awareness of some kind. She is still conflicted arms shifting to wrap around herself without extending in any unnatural way.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man takes a deep breath. "They have no idea if he was exposed to something dangerous. They're just making sure he's one-hundred-percent okay. For all they know, he might be carrying Space-Ebola or the Anthrax from planet X. They have to eliminate that possibility. My guess is that they'll find nothing."

He pauses, then looks to Andi. "And what do you intend to do with these new abilities? I saw some of the things you were able to do and I am sure you couldn't do those when you woke up this morning..."

Andi Benton has posed:
If there could be any sympathy toward Doctor Octopus, it is not coming from Andi or the symbiote right now. Too soon. Too much raw emotion. Too much turmoil. Too much pain.

"They won't find anything," is all Andi says, but it's with the certainty that comes with the /knowledge/ of it being so. "It never touched him." Not in the sense of what it did with Andi, who rises from her spot and hops down, leaving the holes in the metal behind.

His question of what next leaves her quiet, contemplative. She has to admit, "I..don't know. It doesn't mean me any harm. It told me, but I can feel it in my head." However, there is no solid evidence of that yet, one way or the other. It could be a feeling she has. It could be something meant to reassure her, to put her trust in the unknown entity. The symbiote looks much like a costume some metahuman might wear, just all black with the spiky accents. "It wants to protect me, me and my dad. But he's not gonna be able to work for a while."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man nods. "...I can try to figure something out, see if he can get into some kind of special program that pays better than unemployment. Something to keep the lights on and the water running until he's better." He looks to Andi. "The thing is...you need to think about how you are going to use these new abilities. I can give you some time. I'm going to want to check in with you many times, anyway. Study what's going on...and no, NOT the same way Doc Ock did it."

Andi Benton has posed:
"He's always worked hard. If anyone deserves a break, he does!" Andi replies straight away, showing that for whatever rebellious, 'over it' attitude she portrays, she /does/ care about him. "But what if /he/ gets out? He knows who I am, and he knows where I live. He saw what happened to me. He's gonna try to find me again."

At which point the symbiote reforms completely around her head and face, the teeth and tongue visible. "But if he does, we will be ready for him this time." That voice is the blend of the two, giving Spider-Man a hint at what she must hear in her own mind.

At least with a visible mouth, it's easier to get an idea of the expression because it turns into an uncomfortable frown, a hand lifting as if to bid Spider-Man to keep his distance. "NO MORE EXPERIMENTS," comes the strongest reaction yet from the girl and her bond, then a moment follows that leads to her seemingly gaining enough control that the tone softens, the features fading away once more until just the eyes remain. "It..has strong feelings about being treated like that. I don't blame it," she explains, rubbing her shoulder self-consciously. Reassuringly, perhaps?

<CAN WE TRUST HIM? NO MORE EXPERIMENTS. NO MORE TESTS. NO MORE HURT.>

Andi's own voice is a little distracted, but Spider-Man can hear it. "He..helped me before. I don't think he'd do that."

<GOOD. BECAUSE WE WOULD MAKE HIM PAY TOO IF HE HURT US.>

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey holds up both hands. "No. No experiemtation. All I would be doing is observing. If anything, I'd prefer that *you* do the experimenting on yourselves. Find out what you can do, how you can adapt. What your limits are, what your needs are. The more you know about yourself, the better off you will be."

Andi Benton has posed:
The head angles toward one side again, that classic show of wonder and interest. "It doesn't really like that word." Experiment. "Let's think of a better one...okay?"

Eyes go through a few motions again, suspicion to the curiosity from before, back to something more neutral. "We will learn what we can do," is said, the answer coming from both of them. "We will watch you, too. Learn more about you," Andi and the symbiote tell Spider-Man.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey chuckles a little at that. "Well...you also can't go around referring to yourself as 'Andi.' One of the downsides of this life is that using your real name will lead the wrong kind of people to your front door. You need to think of some kind of code name. Like me. Spider-Man is the code name I use."

Andi Benton has posed:
Andi Benton's body language suggests a sudden struggle with that concept. "..right, because you're totally not just in that all the time," she says, gesturing toward him before the hand shifts toward the back of her head, rubbing at the almost cartoonish 'hair' hers has taken the shape of. "I guess I'll figure something out. But..I need some time to my..to ourselves. We have to talk. I'm trying to learn about it, and it's learning about me. I guess it felt something when it sensed me."

Yeah, because it sure did latch on to her immediately, didn't it? For better or worse, it /chose/ her, whether it was purely desperation alone or a kinship of some kind. Surely someone else would have wandered close enough to the warehouse to be sensed by it, right?

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man nods. "...I like to think that certain things happen for a reason. What I know is that it chose to connect to you instead of to Doc Ock...which is a point on its favor. It's also the reason why I've giving it...and you...some leeway. Please don't prove me wrong."

He looks around. "This is a lot of responsibility, Andi...the kind of responsibility that always comes with that kind of power."

Andi Benton has posed:
There are reasons for Spider-Man to be extremely cautious about this whole thing. What's bonded to Andi is still very much an unknown, and he has already seen it capable of doing some remarkable things. He also saw what happened when massive noise was directed toward it. This is only scratching the surface. There is the chance for things to take a variety of paths for her, for the symbiote, but so much about it remains a mystery.

"You can't tell SHIELD about me, about..this," Andi says, and she does so with the symbiote pulling back to reveal her face again, showing the worry she has, worry the symbiote shares. "They'll probably try to do..things." That is a very real concern. "I don't even feel comfortable being around here with them probably watching stuff."

Face hidden again, she edges toward the side of the hospital's rooftop. "I can't go home yet, and I can't go back to school yet either. I'll let them know something came up, though. Will you keep an eye on my dad?"

<Sire is important. Sire made you. Made us. Must protect sire.>

That voice in her head again, to which she answers, "He'll make sure dad's safe. You don't want to get caught here, do you?"

<No. We do not.>

"I didn't think so."

Spider-Man could guess at that conversation, which he only gets part of, though an earlier one was all internal. Andi might not realize the difference yet.

She looks to him one more time, the eyes only slightly narrowed, and not menacingly. Just..speculative, considering. "Look..I don't know what's gonna happen with all of this, but I'd feel like crap if I told it to leave me alone. I couldn't do that to it..and maybe there's a part of me that needs something like this right now. I've never been anybody before."

Then the voice shifts, sharing something important. "We are hungry. Time to go eat." A pause, and Andi seems to feel a need to clarify something for Spider-Man. "Cheesesteaks."

There is a moment for the wall-crawler to react, but not much more. Andi takes a running leap in the end, landing atop a lower roof before running off into the night.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man looked at the departing Andi Plus One and sighs. No, he's not going to tell SHIELD about any of this. Because he hadn't told them the fiirst two times they interrogated him.

He looked down where, four floors down, Andi's father slept fitfully.

Yeah...he wasn't going to get any work done on the speech tonight.