1931/Eye of the Spider

Eye of the Spider
Date of Scene:	01 June 2020
Location:	King's Landing Scrap Yard, Brooklyn, NY
Synopsis:	Spidey meets with Mania and Ghost for a little training montage.
Cast of Characters:	Peter Parker, Gwen Stacy, Andi Benton

---

Peter Parker has posed:
It's not a GAME OF THRONES reference.
King's Landing Scrap Yard is named because it was owned by Robert King, Carl King's father, before the husband, wife and kid all disappeared two years ago. The place is abandoned, and probate law will ensure that it remains so for some time. And it's located near a pier, because they also handled watercraft scrap.

Now, while the courts suss out what to do with a vanished family's property, Spider-Man has been doing some...renovations.

When he sends the communique, he is already there with a cooler full of food, sports drinks, and chcocolate.

<Message to all Spiders. Doing a training session at King's Landing Scrap Yard. Waypoint available if interested.>

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"Coming in hot!" It's the only announcement over the comms, before Ghost Spider careens in at full speed on a line, hitting the ground in a tumble and rolling to a stop before popping back up again. She turns to face Spidey, and there is a huge grin in her voice. "You raaang?"

Andi Benton has posed:
Andi Benton had been in the vicinity when the call over the new comm system is made, talking about a training session at King's Landing Scrap Yard. She couldn't help herself in asking, "<Is there..chocolate?>"

The answer from Spider-Man came in shortly after, "There is Hershey's, Reese's, and even Ghirardhelli chocolate chip cookies from the greatest chef in Queens."

This led to a sort of sound that is a cross between a gasp and a groan, followed by hushed whispering and a clearing of the throat. "<We think this sounds too much like Phys Ed, but we will come..for the chocolate.>"

Only about fifteen minutes is needed before Mania is making her way quietly into the place, all about looking around at what's there, the condition it's in, and anyone else who might have responded to the call so far.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man shakes his head, but he is chuckling. "And here I was, thinking there might be a need for coffee."

He raises an arm to indicate the scrapyard area. It does have a bunch of slightly-flattened cars, some piles of scrap, but there is no messy ground. The paths between the piles are cleared of broken glass, errant parts, questionable chemical puddles, and other signs of trash. To the right, a set of three heavy bags hang, but there are subtle differences.

"When I got my powers, I had NO idea how to gauge my abilities, understand how I could do what I did...so a lot of it was on-the-job training. If you want to see how well that worked out, check out Spider-Fail.com. So...slowly, I built up this place to train and harness my abilities. Training always wins over instinct, because that is what it's for."

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Gwen isn't unfamiliar with the place, and she is shifting her weight between her feet as she sways her hips, looking around. "So much room for /activities/ here..." She bounces on the balls of her feet as she turns to Spidey, and tilts her head. "One of these days I'm gonna get that big ear of corn in you, one way or another."

Andi Benton has posed:
This..is definitely a scrapyard. Mania passes a few rusted, crushed vehicles, piled up here and there, others just sitting around, and there are areas to walk through that have been tidied up. She comments, regarding the website, "<Already seen it. Already know.>" But, no expression, naturally.

She stops short of Spider-Man, Gwen too, since she was heard over the comm, leading to her crossing her arms. "<So where is the chocolate? And how do you do your..stuff here?>" She gestures around them with a hand, then it's back to the last position.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man smiles to Ghost, because he has to make sure to use code names now. He glanced to Mania, then said, "For the new people, the ten-cent tour. Ghost, I did add something new."

He indiicates each area as he describes them. "Those piles are cars with weight amounts spray-painted on the side of each. If you want to test your strength, now you can see how much you can lift. The open area here is for sparring. I've been learning ninjutsu, from an actual ninja, mind, so we can use that area. The three heavy punching bags are different. The left one, a regular punching bag. Good for controlling your strength so you don't punch some mugger and send his spine to Yonkers. The middle one, filled with lead shot. For the tougher ones, like Tombstone. The right one, the one with the heavy chain? Slats of plate steel. For opponents like Rhino."

He points to the far wall. "The 'shooting range.' set for 50 yards. Think your aim might be off, that's the best place to practice."

Finally, he goes to the cooler, opening it to reveal drinks and food containers sitting on a bed of ice. He takes out one, opening it to reveal four of Aunt May's chocolate-chip cookies. "One for now, the rest for later. I also have roast beef sandwiches."

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Gwen nods slowly, looking back around the area and then back to Spidey. "I like what you've done with the place. Tres spider-chic." She gives him a definitive nod, and a one-armed squeeze. "You think of everything, don'tcha?"

Andi Benton has posed:
"Huh.." This is more Andi speaking, less Mania. Then, "<We..do not know our own strength. Yet.>" Good thing a place like this exists to find out, yes?

She considers a few of the cars before eyeing the punching bags, then the shooting range. What she'd shoot she...well, the Wolf Spider did send a glob of something at her the other night. Perhaps...perhaps.

"Dad used to tell me 'C is for cookie,'" Andi again says, and there's anticipation in those eyes as she stops short of being within normal reach of the cookies. Is she waiting for him to do something with the one? At the same time, she considers Gwen and adds, "<You have been here before?>"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man sighs. "Good judgement comes from experience. Which comes from BAD judgment. If I can use my experience to head off the bad judgment, this was worth it." He looks to Mania. "Now, I have a lot of experience, but Ghost does, too. She's been here and has done her own training, so she also knows a lot. I want you...both of you...to feel comfortable with asking either of us any questions you have. This is a No-Judgment Zone, so you can ask any question you want answers. If we don't have the answers, we'll say so, but we won't give you any fakery." He looks to Ghost. "I trust Ghost's judgment completely."

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Inside that hood, Gwen is beaming. She bows her head slightly to Spidey. "Thanks, that means a heck of a lot to me. You have no idea." She turns back then to Mania and squares her shoulders to her. "You're gonna enjoy this. And it is gonna help you SO MUCH. You'll see. Been here before. Benefitted from it, too."

Andi Benton has posed:
No cookie tossed her way? Well then, Mania will just grab one for herself, which she does by way of extending a hand and arm, stretching it out to ensnare the tasty treat, tossing it back toward herself. In the process, that mouth forms and she chomps it into pieces with a couple bites, mouth flowing away again afterward. "<Good. Needs more chocolate.>"

This is going to be a thing with her, isn't it?

She strides past Spider-Man, seemingly without a care as to what his reaction to that may be. Gwen, on the other hand, receives a tilt of the head. "<We will see. We have no questions yet, spiders.>"

For the moment, she walks over to one of the cars, which is in the vicinity of 3,000 pounds. It might be surprising to even herself, seemingly so as she sort of hops back after testing things out, but the car is flipped over with minimal effort!

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man blinks. "Okay...wow. My max is ten tons, so I'd be fascinated to see what Mania can lift."

He also mentally sets aside some time on the normal heavy bag for Mania. She could kill someone with a PUNCH.
He looks to Gwen. "Want to help me sort out her maximum dead-lifting? She may need help steadying a load if she lifts more than one at once."

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"You bet," Ghost Spider replies. "Anything I can do to help, I'm there! Just say the word. I certainly wouldn't want to be in Mania's direct punching line, that's for sure."

Andi Benton has posed:
Mania is left to take a few steps backward as she looks down at her hands, the shape of the eyes indicating she did not expect that at all. "Okay..I didn't know I could do that," she's heard to say, and it sounds like Andi more than Mania.

<We did. We just did not tell you.> It seems the symbiote is being mysterious with her.

"Yeah, that would have been nice to know, don't you think?" she questions.

<Wanted to feel your reaction.>

"...whatever."

She turns back toward the others, rubbing the back of her head. "<We should probably try more?>" she asks, somewhat sheepishly for a thing such as her.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man nods, walking over to a stack of flattened cars. "Ohhkay. Let's try this stack. Right now, you're looking at about ten tons. Ghost, web up the other side, please?" He fires some net webbing to bind them together on his side. "We'll keep it steady, you just focus on lifting it. It's always good to know where your limits are."
Primarily so you know what to REALLY push if you have to. But yeah, if Mania can lift a BUS, that is Helpful Information.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Gwen nods and webs the car securely, ready to help wherever she is needed. "Got it. Securely. Whatever you need. Just communicate. I can't read minds, yet, and I wanna make sure I am helping and not hurting."

Andi Benton has posed:
Rubbing hands together, Mania can feel a little of that adrenaline rush from flipping the normal car. Is that what the symbiote was after? The thrill of the surprise? The unknown, found out?

Whether or not the symbiote knows the limits of it and its host, it is not telling anyone. "Are you sure about this?" comes Andi's voice as they head over to a much, much heavier stack. 20,000 pounds, compared to 3,000? It's a large jump.

Too large, in fact. "Here goes nothing." Mania crouches to get her hands beneath the pile, then the eyes narrow to little more than slits to show the amount of effort she's putting into it. The cars do budge a little, but they don't appear to be in any real danger of being hoisted up. She backs away after a few more seconds of trying, shaking her head. "<Too heavy.>"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man nods. "Okay, let's lighten the load."

He climbs up to the top of the stack, then lifts the top car. It is more bulky than heavy, and in the end he just sort of "alley-oops" it from the top of Mania's stack to the next stack over, the car landing with a not-quiet crash of metal. It does not slide off or tip over.

"All right...we're now at...eight tons, give or take a passenger." He hops off, landing lightly on the ground again.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
With the weight shifted,Ghost Spider alters her webbing and her grip on it, adding support to rebalanced the load. "There ya go. Fire when ready!" She gives a two-fingered salute.

Andi Benton has posed:
A mask of doubt creeps into Mania's expression through those eyes, but the symbiote is loving this. The strain of trying to lift something they don't have the strength for created a different kind of rush that is shared between both symbiote and host. "<Yeah, we can do it this time,>" she determines, making a show of cracking her knuckles after shaking her head at Spider-Man simply tossing one car away to alter the total weight.

The second try? Better than the first, as her side of the stack moves up a couple inches, but there just isn't quite enough there for her to get under it enough to hoist it up. "<Nnnnggghhh..it's..still..too heavy!>" Mania finds out, no matter how much the symbiote might be enjoying the strain. She backs away, making a show of wiping her brow even if there's nothing to wipe away. The shoulders slump, as if feeling the burn.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man watches. It is interesting to watch Team Mania working. His analytical mind is storing this away for later.

He looks to Ghost, then pauses. He's forgotten how much she can lift.

As he climbs up to remove one more car, he says idly, "Ghost, what's your lift limit, if that's not too personal?"

Odd how he treats her strength level like he's asking how old she is, but he's still a little socially awkward.

"Okay, we're now at 6,500 pounds. Plus me, so that's a drop in the bucket. I'll balance it from up here."

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"Oh, we're super good. Nothing to worry about. I can lift up to 10 tons, if need be. Whatever you need, I've got yer back," Ghost Spider replies with a dismissive wave.

Andi Benton has posed:
Andi Benton holds up a hand. "I need a few seconds."

<Keep going, Andi. We must show them!>

The eyes narrow. It seems host and symbiote have hit a moment of disagreement, but it is only a moment before they make a joint decision: "<We are getting another cookie.>"

The cars wait long enough for her to head over and snag another, the look in her eyes suggesting they not try to change any minds. Once Mania has fed, she returns. "<What is that, a little over three tons? We think we can do that.>"

She does, after internally frowning. She is weaker than both of the spiders. That will be filed away, in some form. Then, they prove 6,500 pounds, plus Spider-Man, to require not much more effort than the original solo car. "<Happy now?>" she asks, a hint of irritation forming.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man chuckles. "Mania, there is no heirarchy here. No one is better than anyone else." He pauses. "Because, frankly, I think I'd give up a few unnecessary organs if it meant I could take less than 90 seconds to change from my regular clothes to my costume."

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"Yeah, for sure...nobody outranks anyone just due to strength or force," Ghost Spider chimes. "We're all in this together, and we all have each other's backs."

Andi Benton has posed:
<They are wrong. There is always a hierarchy. The strongest survive.> The symbiote has a difference of opinion compared to Spider-Man and Spider-Gwen, reflected in the way the eyes narrow again. To this, Andi has no response, whether verbal or otherwise.

Stepping back, she rubs the inside of an arm, avoiding the spike-laden area. "<We think we are done picking up old cars,>" Mania says, nothing said to his quip about how long it takes to change, only a minimal reaction to what she adds.

"Yeah..I guess," Andi murmurs. Something is off.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man nods, hopping down to the ground again. "Well, I think we should probably close this session out with a little Q & A."

Spider-Man sits down on the bench near the cooler, then carefully removes the left-arm webshooter, showing it to Mania. "The webs are stored in fluid form. I then use this mechanism to spin them. They harden after leaving the webshooter, and I can control how it comes out for weblines, nets, even a strong liquid adhesive..."

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"Mine's much the same," Gwen replies. "Except mine uses water from the air around me. I'm sure we can get something fixed up for you, too!"

Andi Benton has posed:
The symbiote and host are...moody? Yes. Yes, they are. It's a reminder of how young and inexperienced Andi in particular is, but could also be a sign of something related to her Mania side as well. "<We don't have any questions.>" In a perfect world, they might just snag the rest of the cookies and split.

But, there is still interest, particularly from the symbiote, in how Spider-Man does what he does with the webs. As he switches gears to give an explanation, if not a demonstration - they've already seen the webs in action anyway - the outward posture is one of disinterest, the arms crossed again, weight shifting toward one side.

Inwardly, the symbiote is already going through ways it could adapt the concept to its own set of abilities, with Andi there to help make it work. "Cool, I guess.." Andi mutters.

<Pay attention Andi! Important! We can be like the spiders, too! No more need to be carried!> the symbiote practically shouts at her.

"<We mean..that's really interesting. Tell us more, you guys?>" Mania finally reaches the point of asking, sinking into an almost feral crouch as she watches.