1732/Stir Crazy

Stir Crazy
Date of Scene:	19 May 2020
Location:	Crossroads Juvenile Facility, Brooklyn, NY
Synopsis:	Mania comes looking for payback, and Spidey and MJ come looking for Mania.
Cast of Characters:	Andi Benton, Peter Parker, Mary Jane Watson

---

Andi Benton has posed:
A quiet night at Crossroads Juvenile Center in the Brownsville area of Brooklyn.

For now.

Andi Benton had trouble sleeping, though her father was back home again after being released from quarantine. She knew they wouldn't find anything wrong with him. After all, she had what they wanted to know about, and she was determined not to let them find out.

It didn't help her dreams, however. In fact, there were some nightmares along with strange imagery of what seemed to be a distant place in another galaxy. The imagination could do some strange things. Maybe it was from a movie she'd seen. Perhaps, it was tied to her new 'friend.' Either way, one of the nightmares took her back to that alley, those jerks, the first encounter with Spider-Man. When he came to the record store she worked in, that's when she found out one of them was on house arrest, the others at Crossroads.

She didn't think much of it at the time, but it helped to know where some of them were, kept locked up. However, the symbiote, sensing it was a source of trauma for her, sought to help in its own way.

<Andi. Wake up. There is something we must do. Something to help you heal. Crossroads. Yes, we know what happened.>

There couldn't possibly be an ulterior motive for the symbiote to want to push her to do this, could there?

"..what? No, I..just let me sleep. I don't want to go anywhere tonight," Andi protested, though weakly. She /was/ tired, and she'd already gone out to let the symbiote see more of the neighborhood from the rooftops.

<We know what happened. We know what they did. Make them pay. Find the Connor one. Make him pay.>

Sitting upright, Andi awoke more fully to a cold sweat as the scene replayed itself in her mind, bringing some of that trauma back to the fore, and the symbiote tasted some of that fear and desire to get back at them, pushing the idea of revenge on Andi, who in truth didn't need a lot of nudging. She did hate them, not only for how they treated her and what they were about to do, but because she was powerless to stop them, because they saw themselves as entitled to whatever they wanted.

After tonight, they wouldn't be thinking that way any longer. They might not be thinking about anything else at all, if the symbiote had a say in it.

Sneaking out, Andi made her way to Brooklyn, finding the place easily enough. One problem: a New York City Police Department building right across the street. She would have to make use of stealth to get in and out of there unseen. Dealing with the cops was not something she wanted to do, but the symbiote didn't care as much about that part. They'd just find a way.

Under cover of darkness and shadow, Andi let the change flow over her. Moments later, the as-yet unnamed combination of teenager and symbiote scaled a wall, leaping over a razor-wire fence to land atop the roof. All she had to do was get inside and find where /they/ were.

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter has had an interesting day.

After finding out that A. Mary Jane Watson is the host of an ancestral warrior woman from 12,000 years ago. and B. She wants to be his girlfriend (not sure which is more amazing), Peter is with MJ on the roof of the house. It is a place they used to rest and relax when they were kids, looking up at the stars. It still has that sense of nostalgia, even when so much has changed.
The fact he is wearing his Spider-Man costume being one of the big changes.

Except the stuff that was really important...hadn't changed at all. He was still the goober who wanted to be Indiana Jones a long time ago, and MJ was still MJ, in spite of her spirited (ha-ha) passenger and the MMA physique.

Right now, he was telling her about the new way he uses his latest invention, the "Spider-Comm System," to keep in touch with the other "Spiders" both direct and honorary. And yeah, Wonder Woman is an Honorary Spider. Peter STILL sounds a little mystified at that.

"Anyway...if thinks work out well, maybe I could...wait, getting an alert."
Peter brought it up, and a screen opened in his HUD.

SECURITY VIOLATION AT CROSSROADS JUVENILE FACILITY.
"Dang...some kids might be cutting up rough at the juvie..."

Then he stops. He stops because sudden horror is temporarily freezing him in place.

CROSSROADS.

"...MJ, we got trouble."

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
MJ was having a nice quiet evening, and maybe the old MJ might have gotten a bit exasperated with Peter's interruption about trouble.

But that was before Red Sonja starting living in her head, though right now she's been behaving. Mostly. As far as Sonja does, anyway, as Mary Jane looks at Peter sharply, though her voice is filled with concern, "What kind of trouble, Peter? Where is it?" She can't see the HUD, obviously, but there's a tiny voice in her head shouting for some action.

I mean, spending time on the roof is great and all, but Sonja prefers something a bit more visceral for evening entertainments. And well, Mary Jane might be getting to be a bit of an action junkie herself...

Andi Benton has posed:
The names. The names were ingrained in Andi's head as if they were her own. Arya Stark had a list. So did Andi.

Spotting something, the creature moved over to a rooftop window and gave it a closer inspection. It was latched, but it was enough in need of repair that there was a gap between the window and the frame it was meant to rest against. It had been the source of some water leakage, but facilities staff hadn't got around to repairing it.

<Watch. Learn.>

A hand extended a few tendrils, small enough to slip through the gap, and they coalesced just enough to turn the latch to render the window accessible without having to break it or make any noise.

Seconds later, they were inside. The hallway had been dimmed, lights down for the night, and everyone was safely inside locked rooms. The question was simple: which way to go?

Providence was in their favor, as taking the hallway to the right led them to a reception area with a directory of names at the desk. Flipping it open with a claw-tipped hand, the blank, expressionless face focused on the list before pausing on one.

"Yes, yes. We know where you are now," they whispered, two voices as one, the white eyes narrowing to slits. A vault over the counter later, she was on the right path.

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter takes a deep breath. "Crossroads Juvenile. I think someone is about to get her own kind of justice." He looks to her, then digs the harness out of his backpack and attaches it to his backpack straps.

He's really going to do this.
"Come on. I'll rig this up, and then I can give you the rundown while we're moving. We have to go to Brooklyn."

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane nods and looks at the harness, "Alright, let's do this..." She had her gym bag with her, of course, though she hrms and pulls out a ski mask, of all things, putting it on over her head.

"Hey, I know it's not a fashion statement, but it works." Which, it does, as she slides the sheathed sword onto her back, the batons she prefers to use instead being tucked into her belt. Then, she helps Peter with the rigging so they can get going as soon as possible.

Andi Benton has posed:
While others are en route to Crossroads, the one on the inside fast approaches a crossroads of her/its own. The symbiote feeds Andi thoughts of anticipation, a promise of payback after the encounter.

Then there is an encounter Andi was hoping to avoid, a tingling in the back of her head developing. "Stop right there! Hands up!"

From behind, the authoritative voice of one of the guardsmen on duty. Though her back is to the man, Andi can tell he has his gun trained on her. The symbiote sees for her. "I don't know who the hell you are, but you've got three seconds to surrender before I--"

Before he can even finish the threat, an arm lashes out at the man, wrapping around his gun and the hand that's gripping it. It slips out of his possession, then the tendrils manipulate the weapon and it's suddenly unloaded. Then, it turns toward the man and the distance between them is shortened rapidly, a combination of walking toward him along with drawing him closer.

Speculative eyes narrow again. "Your keys. We need them now. Thank you. Visiting...friends." There is a menacing undercurrent to the last word, one that leaves it sounding anything but sincere. The other hand darts to the man's belt and unhooks his ring of keys, rapidly sifting through them before finding two in particular. One is for the room she seeks. The other? Currently empty, which she had seen while going through the directory.

The guard's eyes have gone wide, his skin nearly white as a ghost's upon seeing what's really before him, and he stammers, "D-don't kill me..!" before the intruder leans close to his face, the blank features replaced by a wide grin full of sharp teeth.

"We did not come here for you. Relax. Stay a while." The key opens a door a few down the way, at which point he is shoved inside to be locked in.

Onward.

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter resolves to find something better for MJ with all this going on. He was already working on an upgrade to his own suit.
He fires a webline, and they are off, swinging towards the taller buildings and speeding up as they head towards Brooklyn.

There are no extreme acrobatics this time. Maybe next time. This time, Spider-Man is all business, with a seriousness MJ had never seen in him before.

"Her name is Andi Benton. She was attacked by some rich-kid thugs some time ago, but I was able to step in. At the time, she couldn't do anything to stop them. And then something happened. Remember the meteor shower a couple of weeks ago? Yeah...this biggest one had some kind of alien creature in it. Doc Ock captured it, but couldn't make it play ball...but somehow it detected Andi, and gravitated to her. He kidnapped her father to get her to play ball, but I got stuck in it. During the fight, the alien bonded with Andi. A new unknown intelligence was suddenly in her mind and body with her." A pause. "Something you have some experience in."

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
MJ nods, clinging to Peter even with the harness as she says, "Yeah, that's true, but Sonja is pretty benign to me, relatively speaking... hoping this alien feels the same way about Andi?" She senses the mood change, and //knows// it's serious since she's used to the Spider-Quips.

And there's nary a one right now. "So if she's at Crossroads... sounds like she's wanting to get some bloody vengeance."

Which, well, has Red Sonja ecstatic, as MJ has a bit of an internal dialogue with Sonja about why murdering the people already in prison isn't justice, the redhead muttering to herself about excessive punishment being revenge and Sonja replying what's wrong with that... round and round they go...

Well, it does pass the time to get to the prison, at least.

Andi Benton has posed:
The intruder did not bother to deal with the guard's ability to radio out to others on duty. Could be an oversight. Could be a lack of concern. Maybe the plan is to be gone by the time there's more of a response.

The mouth has disappeared again, but an eerie whistling starts up anyway as the darkened figure closes the distance to the final destination. An upbeat tune, it comes as a stark contrast to the mood hanging over symbiote and teenager, and those who happen to be awake on the other side of the doors that are passed by may recognize it if they know their movies: Twisted Nerve, famous in part from the Kill Bill movie.

It continues outside one door in particular, but does not fade away. That's because the key fits into the lock, turns, and allows access within.

As it swings open, only then does the whistling cease. Sitting on their beds, a conversation interrupted, are two young men that don't recognize what they see in the doorway, but what's in the doorway certainly recognizes them.

"Manny, Ricky. How are the balls, Manny? Still sore?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey nods as they suddenly soar between to skyscrapers. Brooklyn is getting closer, and quickly.

"Yeah...but that's the symbiote feeding her anger. I read some of the stuff Doc Ock wrote down. Highly aggressive. But it needs a host, and Andi is her host, so it is going to protect her...violently, if necessary. But if she kills them, she's going to cross a line that will change her forever. And not in a good way. Ask Sonja if she's even killed a weaker person in cold blood. Ask her how it felt."

He doesn't know for sure, but he knows his own heart. Killing someone in self-defense is one thing. This would be murder. And murder to get what you want...?

That was what David Carradine was doing when he put three bullets in Uncle Ben's body.


Manny and Ricky had been in foul moods.
After all their parents had done with their expensive lawyers, they STILL had to go to juvie. They did get solitary confinement so they didn't have to deal with the riffraff, but this bit the big fat hairy one. So much for Coachella, so much for Burning Man, so much for graduating high school and going to Sweden. No Xbox, no gaming laptops, no Range Rovers.
Ricky was opining about getting a message to Connor and seeing what they could do about the Benton bitch when the door opened. It was a little late for the guards...

And then the voice came. NOT a guard.
Ricky, who didn't know yet how much trouble he was in, asked crossly, "Who the Hell are you??"

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane nods, "Yeah, when you say it like that, she agrees with you. She's never tried to kill people that were defenseless, not like that." She steels herself, as they're both in agreement, "So, you want me to try and talk her... talk them down? Hopefully we'll get a chance."

She senses the direction Peter's thoughts are going, and she gives him a hug. She doesn't need to, but she knows him well enough to know what he's thinking about, and then she murmurs, "Not gonna let you down, Spider-Man. Not now, not ever." Something that MJ and Sonja are in agreement about, at least, as now MJ's passenger is starting to get a feel for why she cares about Peter the way she does.

Andi Benton has posed:
"Who were you talking about? You can tell us. We're all /friends/ here," the creature before them says, not bothering to close the door behind her. The voice is familiar, yet not. "We shared a moment together. We have a bond."

The eyes carry a dangerous look to them, somehow taking both of them in without a need to divert attention too much to one or the other. Then, the face reshapes too reveal that mouth full of dagger-like teeth, the tongue snaking out as if tasting the air around it.

"Who are we? That is a question we have been asking ourselves. We were once weak, but now we are strong. You once thought you were strong, but now you are weak." Stalking forward, the door begins to slowly close behind her, on an automatic hinge. There is nowhere for them to go to get beyond her reach. "We remember you, Manny and Ricky. We remember Connor, too. Where is he? When we are finished with you, we will go see him. We are your worst nightmare."

A moment later, an inky, substantial mass of tendrils reshapes from the creature's hands, lashing out to engulf both gang brats by the lower face and neck, forcing into their mouths, threatening to seal over their noses. The voice sounds more a blend of teenager and symbiote than ever before, dripping with menace.

"<WE ARE MANIA!>"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man spared only a moment to glance at her. "I know, MJ...because you never did."

Then they were descending in the play yard of Crossroads, Spidey unhitching the harness even as they landed. "Solitary, room 23!" He rushes for the door, opening it quickly. It might have been locked before, but as the metal bolt sheared through the frame, it sure wasn't now.
The only outward sign of how truly powerful Peter had become.

Manny clutched at the tendril, trying vainly to fight against it. It was in his MOUTH, he could barely BREATHE...
He heard a sound and saw Ricky had passed out, releasing his sphincter and bladder simultaneously out of sheer fright. He would wake up later, screaming, eyes wide, and sedated severely for a week. Might have been when he opted to watch THE THING as a kid.

Manny looked back at the creature threatening to cut off his air, ready to asphyxiate him at a thought...

And then his eyes widened as he saw something else, something BEHIND Mania.

Then She/They heard the voice. It was like the voice of God.

"MANIA, STOP!"
Spider-Man was in the doorway to the cell. Over his shoulder, She/They saw someone else, a determined young redhead who looked like a mixed martial artist, stance and all. She/They instinctively knew what she was.

A warrior.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane is letting Red Sonja take control for the moment, though she's still in nominal charge as she stands next to Spider-Man, a black ski mask covering her features, though her red hair flows loose outside what's concealing her identity. She has a massive sword strapped to her back, and a pair of metal batons are tucked into her belt.

She looks at Mania with a stern expression. "This, is not the way of a warrior, child. Justice, is not vengeance." A pause, and she speaks with a tone that suggests she's far older than what she appears to be, "Believe me, I know that road you're trying to go down. Few better. It's not worth the pain in your heart."

Spider-Man would realize that this isn't exactly Mary Jane talking, as she sounds older, far more experienced, as the warrior looks intently at Mania.

Andi Benton has posed:
There is laughter from Mania as Ricky loses control of himself. Maybe he should have gone to the bathroom before settling in. A bit late for that now. "<Aww, is little Ricky still wetting the bed?>" It at least results in him being let go of, so he can collapse in place, just having a little nap.

She begins to force the tendrils further down Manny's throat when the door bursts back open and the shout follows. It's nothing like the sonic attack Doc Ock unleashed in the warehouse, both before and after the bond to Andi, but it's enough to get her attention as she turns away from Manny, releasing him as well.

Spider-Man and the one with him becomes Mania's sole focus, as she begins to slip into a crouch that would leave her ready to pounce in an instant. "<Stay back! They're ours! This is what they deserve!>" she insists, saliva dripping from that tongue before she rises back up slowly, the eyes shifting from vindictive and full of righteous fury toward something more curious, her head angling toward the side as she stares at Mary Jane.

"<Child? We are older than you can imagine, warrior. We have seen things you cannot hope to understand. We found her in our moment of need, and we will never be taken advantage of again! We will never be weak again!>" How much of this is the symbiote itself speaking directly to them, compared to it being any of Andi's own voice, it's hard to say. "<They deserve to pay for what they did to my host! For what they did to others before! We are their vengeance!>"

A lot of bluster, a lot of claims that might not exactly be wrong, but no move is made to advance toward either of them. Rather, hesitation.

Spider-Man is given a look that fluctuates between..is that worry? Embarrassment? Inner conflict? "Spider-Man?" That sounds more like Andi.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-man takes a deep breath.

"Andi...I can't understand how violated you feel. But killing them is NOT going to solve ANYTHING. You are right to be angry, Mania. But this is not some jungle. There are LAWS for this. These two are going to be punished UNDER THE LAW. And what you are planning to do is going to take away ANY chances they might have to improve...to get better...to feel remose for their actions."

He steps into the room.

"Pull it back, Andi. You have to show Mania YOU are in charge. That YOU can work with it. You can protect others. I can train you both...and Sonja here can teach you, too."

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Sonja nods at that, "Mania, if you drive Andi down this path, if you force her to do this... you'll break her. It might feel good right now, but in the end her spirit will be crushed."

A pause, as those hard eyes stare out from behind the mask at Mania, and at Andi underneath it all. "Is that /really/ what you want of her? If you care about Andi, at all, then you need to stop this." She hasn't reached for her weapons yet, but she takes a step towards Andi, extending her hand towards the symbiote.

And her voice changes, becoming younger, softer somehow, "And Andi... I know what it's like having a partner inside your head. We both do. I can teach you how to work with Mania, to be better, stronger than you ever were by yourself." Her eyes are physically unchanged, but seem to be softer now, more caring, as she reaches out towards Mania.

Andi Benton has posed:
"They don't feel remorse. If you were about a minute faster, you'd have heard what they were talking about doing when they got out. They didn't learn anything!" Andi claims, and while she doesn't drop the appearance of Mania, the razor-sharp teeth have faded away, replaced once more by that more featureless visage. It allows the eyes to do most of the emoting. They turn up, wider, as if trying to process what Andi and the symbiote are being told.

The symbiote speaks again. "<Weren't going to kill. Just teach a lesson. Remind them what they should be afraid of.>" In that sense, one might say mission accomplished, but is it truth or fiction?

Seconds go by, and Mania speaks again. It is full of emotion, actual sincerity, if the tone of the words is an indication. "<We care about Andi. Want to protect Andi. We need Andi. Andi needs us. Together we are whole.>" But as old as the symbiote claims it is, the actions so far tonight come off as impulsive, even immature, vengeful and vindictive.

Although Mary Jane, or Red Sonja, whichever of the two is speaking to her anyway, approaches, Mania takes a step back to keep up the distance, the separation. "You have a symbiote too?" It sounds like Andi asking. Her hands are up, palms facing them both, but not in an aggressive manner. Rather, it is defensive, as if biding them to keep their distance. "<What can you teach us?>" Mania asks, doubt creeping in.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man steps aside, suddenly being very glad he brought MJ (and Sonja) with him. She was opening up to her, which meant she was not trying to kill the two teenagers. Manny was backed up against the wall, looking at Mania with growing awareness.
Spider-Man glanced at him. "Manny...didn't anyone ever tell you that poking a tiger with a stick was not a bright idea...especially when you are IN the cage with the tiger?"
Manny blinked at Spidey, and the defiance died in his face.
"And if you think about saying anything about what you hear in here, keep in mind she broke INTO a prison to get to you."

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Sonja smiles, "Not a symbiote so much as... well, a 12,000 year old warrior spirit living inside my head. We're together in the same body, but it's... sometimes a little bit of an awkward fit over who's in charge, you know? But, well, we've been working together for a little bit here and... it's definitely something that we're getting used to."

She doesn't advance any further towards Andi/Mania, "We can teach you how to work together. To be one in your thoughts, in your actions. Discipline." Her voice grows a bit dry, "When you've spent a few millennia trapped within a sword with no outlets, you tend to learn those things by force of habit. Also, patience." A touch of a joke at that, as she keeps her hand extended, an open offer for Mania and Andi, if they wish it.

Andi Benton has posed:
"Yeah, think about /that!/" Andi turns and tells Manny, not dropping the appearance at all. "Don't fuck with tigers!" Or whatever she is.

That moment passes, leaving her to look again between Spider-Man and MJ/Sonja. It's more Mania that answers. "<We know how to cooperate with our hosts. Some bonds grow stronger faster than others.>" There is, at least, some initial reluctance to accept the offer of aid. Maybe the woman /does/ have an idea what it's like, but the relationship isn't the same.

Is it?

The face turns from Spider-Man to MJ/Sonja, then back to Spider-Man again. There is conflict in the eyes as they shift from attentive to diverting elsewhere with the turn of a head, looking their way once more as Mania wraps arms and hands, returned to their usual appearance, around her upper body and shoulders. "I..we have to go. More guards will be here soon," Andi says, and she allows the face to part enough that they can see her own, full of the conflict that was conveyed through the eyes. Then it covers back over once more. "<We need time to think,>" Mania adds. "<But we will not..teach any more lessons. For now.>"

She starts to move in their direction, but she ducks as if to avoid making any contact with either of them in an attempt to pass by.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man steps aside. Andi/Mania is leaving, of her own free will, and no one is dead.

All things considered, it is the best outcome he could hope for. Some property damage, but that's still better than blood on the walls, guts on the ceiling, and someone's life forever warped by murder.

Then he hears the sirens and looks to MJ.

"Uhm...we should probably get outta here."

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
MJ nods, "No argument from me... at least Sonja's aware of the concept of city guards." She smiles a little at Peter, "Think she'll reach out? I'm hoping so... we both are."

With that, she looks at the two scared teens in the cell, "If I were you two, I'd think a lot about how close you came, and change your lives for the better." She glances meaningfully to where Mania/Andi ran off, hoping this is a lesson that sticks for //them// as well, then makes her way briskly down the hall, "Come on, Spidey!"

Andi Benton has posed:
Mania makes a hasty exit through another window up by the ceiling, having no trouble leaping up that high to cling long enough to unlatch it.

If nothing else, Manny and Ricky probably learned enough to scare them straight. It's possible Spider-Man and Mary Jane kept them alive to have that chance.

Disappearing into the night, teen and symbiote are silent all the way home, at least outwardly. Within, there are many questions and concerns being gone over.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey and MJ are harnessed up and heading out twenty seconds later, webslinging away. Spider-Man still looks troubled, but he consoles himself with the good things.

He glances to MJ/Sonja, then says, "...Thanks. For everything. You reached her in a way i couldn't."

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane smiles at Spidey, clinging to him as she nods, "Yeah, well, I think we do make a pretty good team. Hopefully she'll think about things and reach out... she's hurt and angry right now. For good reason, but the fact that we stopped her... I think she'll come around." She grins, "Sonja, by the way, is starting to see what I see in you, Tiger." Hopefully that doesn't startle him enough too badly, as she rests her head on his shoulder, adrenaline leaving her as she sighs.

Definitely can get used to this!