2004/Things That go RAWR in the Night

Things That go RAWR in the Night
Date of Scene:	07 June 2020
Location:	Alleyways: Brooklyn
Synopsis:	Spider-Man deals with demonic forces and vengeful robots. So, par for the course.
Cast of Characters:	Satana Hellstrom, Peter Parker, Andi Benton, Spencer Smythe

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Satana Hellstrom has posed:
Brooklyn is usually a good place to find some club action, which suits Satana's mood tonight. Key word there is 'usually'. Tonight was the same-old, same-old. Loud guys trying to hit on the pretty redhead, bartenders watering drinks, just a handful of people dancing. Even the waitresses looked tired.

Maybe her mood was off? Or was it something else? Satana makes her way out the back of the club, with the help of a little charm so that nobody will even remember she was there. Out into the alleyway she goes, just wandering. Following her instincts.

Peter Parker has posed:
The alleys are much cleaner than they used to be in the 1970's and 1980's. But there is still an element of squalor here, far away from the street cleaners. But there are no piles of trash, oppressive smells of people using the alley as a toilet.

But there is something about this night, and her familarity with all the flavors and scents of darkness tell her that Something Wicked This Way Comes.

They are sensed before they are seen. Three quick, agile, murderous things from the depths of some Elder God's basement are close by. She can her the scraping of claws on concrete, drawing closer...

Satana Hellstrom has posed:
Satana pauses, the click of her boot heels coming to a stop with a low scrape on the concrete. The succubus tilts her head, nostrils flaring as she catches the scent. A scent that shouldn't be there. Yes, they're approaching. She can hear the scrabbling of claws. But rather than take a chance...

"You fellas must be lost or something to be this deep in Brooklyn. See, the Statue of Liberty's in that direction." She even points, to be helpful. And all the while she knows what she's going to do. Mystical defenses are ready. She only wishes that she would've found a playmate earlier. The extra energy could've been helpful.

Peter Parker has posed:
The creatures look like goblins out of some sword-and-sorcery epic. Loincloths, clawed feet and hands, pointed ears, jagged teeth, glowing red eyes.

The first odd thing about them (other than, well, THEM) is that one of them is carrying a stone tablet about a foot square.

They see her, then tense as if preparing to spring...but then they stop, eyeing her warily. She's...different from the two women they dined on earlier tonight.

And then the one with the tablet is suddenly covered with webbing, with a thin line leading up into the shadows. The spawn with the tablet is suddenly yanked up into the darkness, squealing.

Satana Hellstrom has posed:
Hmm. Well that's something you don't see every day. The captured spawn also makes for a good distraction for the other two. Satana takes on a braced stance, not unlike a shooter at a gun range. Extending her right hand, a burst of bright flame shoots out of her palm towards another creature.

Girl's got her own flamethrower, it seems.

Apparently the extra-dimensional creature isn't familiar with Soulfire. The force of the blast knocks it against a dumpster with a loud squeal, where its body melts into the steel in a pulpy, gooey mass of ichor. The squeal rises in pitch and volume as it dies.

Still braced, Satana points towards the other one, but calls in a loud voice. "I only need one alive!"

Peter Parker has posed:
The voice from above says quickly, almost urgently, "Done and done."

Then a red-and-blue figure drops from above, landing in a crouch before straightening up and looking at the snarling creature.

"You're next, Chuckles."

Well, no one said they weren't goal-oriented. If the redhead was dangerous, go for the red-and-blue jester.
It shrieked as it leaped at him.

Satana Hellstrom has posed:
Satana can't see the one with the tablet, but at least she's heard of Spiderman. When the goblin shrieks and launches itself at him, the redhead relaxes.

Hey, she reads the Daily Bugle. She *knows* that Spiderman can handle himself. Probably. Besides, Soulfire takes energy, and the succubus really should top off the tank.

"Lemme know if you need a hand over there, Spider-guy." she offers, stepping over to examine the splattered mess against the side of the dumpster. To do this *properly* she'd need a ritual. And for that she'd need to shed some clothing, which really ISN'T gonna happen in some random Brooklyn alley.

A simple charm will tell her most of what she needs to know. She speaks a few words of magic and makes a gesture. "Definitely not from around here, and not even from my 'old' neighborhood..." she muses.

Peter Parker has posed:
The goblin's head suddenly meets Spider-Man's fist. Spider-Man hd seen what they had done to those two women, and these things were not human.

So hedidn't hold back, punching with all the safeties off.
The head of the goblin is fractured in twelve places, the jaw flying away to land somewhere in Central Park. The goblin drops, expires...then rapidly decays into ash.

"Gave HIM a hand. He didn't like it."

Satana Hellstrom has posed:
Satana steps back from the dumpster-mess and wrinkles her nose, hands on hips. "You got the last one hanging around somewhere? I'm thinking he and I should have a little chat." she offers.

Looking more closely at the red-and-blue hero/villain, she squints. "Hmm. Daily Bugle says you're about 8 feet tall and bow-legged." she offers casually.

"I'm not sure where these boys are from, but it sure ain't Brooklyn. And it's not even a plane of existence that I'm familiar with, which should really bother you. Because it really bothers me."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man eyes the redhead, and realizes his Spider-Sense is doing the slow tingle that tells him he is in the presence of someone dangerous.

"Yeah, and they also say I have mandibles and eight eyes. I'll go grab him. But who in the name of Jim Belushi are *you?*"

Spider-Man begins climbing up again to gather up the webbed-up goblin. When he comes back down, the goblin looks like the meaty treat inside a cocoon.

Satana Hellstrom has posed:
Satana takes a couple steps back from the goo, moving slowly towards Spiderman. "Let's just say I'm not part of the band, alright?" she offers, as he starts climbing up towards the encased goblin.

"Satana Hellstrom. I'm a sorceress, among other things. And yes, my dad had an odd sense of humor." When he returns with the trussed goblin, she steps up closer to examine the bound thing.

"Thing is, I'm pretty familiar with the, shall we say, infernal planes. Demons, devils, and the like. I keep a summer home down there. But THESE things are from a completely different neighborhood."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man (Respect the Hyphen!) smiled wryly under the mask. "Well, I ACTUALLY might be ahead of you on that one, Miss...Hellstrom? Yeah, no baggage with a name like that." He starts poking the cocooned goblin. He digs into the cocoon, then pulls out the tablet. A stone tablet, not the iPad version. "Me and someone else is dealing with a sorcerer named Kulan Gath. Was a big name back in 12,000 B.C. or thereabouts."

He keys up Spider-Comm. <Spidey here. Any one available? Got a minor demon and a major sorceress in Brooklyn and some backup would be nice...>

Andi Benton has posed:
"<We are not far away. Demons and sorcerers?>" Mania's voice comes in over the comm, then she takes to swinging the way she's been practicing, arriving in no more than a minute or two thanks to the waypoint. She looks the way Spider-Man has often seen her, the features all hidden behind the faceless 'mask' except for those eerie eyes, plus the spiky look in the same places as before.

There is a guarded, wary set to those eyes and her body language, and Mania asks in that dual-seeming voice, "<What's going on?>" She's clinging to the side of a building as she crawls her way down to a spot she can drop further from, landing lightly and nimbly as she looks around, head tilting.

Satana Hellstrom has posed:
Satana's interest shifts from the trussed goblin to the tablet, the buxom redhead stepping... no *sauntering* (work it, girl!)... closer. "That's *demonic* sorceress, if we're being specific about this." she replies.

She taps her chin with a fingertip, looking thoughtful for a moment. "So that's 'Ancient Sorcerers for 1000'... I happen to know this one. Kulan Gath goes way back to the Hyborian Era. Could've been a contender, as they say, except for a couple of heroic warrior-types."

The redhead turns back towards the trussed goblin, then. "The real question is, what are THESE guys doing with his steno pad in Brooklyn? Who're you working with on this, Spider-Man?" And yes, she's careful to pronounce the hyphen this time.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man is about to answer when he looks up. "Ah! Hello. Mania, meet Satana Hellstrom, I SWEAR I'm not making that up." He looked to Satana. "Satana, meet my protege, Mania. Okay, ladies, roundup time. Kulan Gath was expected, really...because after 14,000 years, Red Sonja, the Sword Broad with the Broadsword, is making a comeback. And we figured...correctly...that she is back because this Kulan Gath was coming back. And THIS..." he holds up the tablet, which Satana can see is a summoning anchor. "...is Exhibit A."

Andi Benton has posed:
Mania's hands settle at her hips, and as much as that lack of a face takes away expression, the eyes tell the story: a sense of wonder at the one with a name like that, given the way she looks. "<Do you have a thing for redheads, Spider?>"

The tied-up goblin gets a fair amount of interest as well, the host and symbiote advancing toward it. "<We heard the story. So have you seen him?>"

Satana Hellstrom has posed:
"Protege? How come I don't get a protege?" the demoness replies, not quite pouting about it. "Hey, Mania. And when were you planning on telling the -professionals- that a sorcerer from 14,000 years ago was gonna be stopping by? Pretty sure he won't be just popping in for tea."

"If it's okay with you two, I'm gonna just take that little guy and, oh, torture him a bit to see what he knows. I'll try not to make a mess, but we already slimed up the alley pretty good. Maybe he knows his boss' arrival time at JFK?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey blinks. "HEY, now..."

He looks to Satana, then tilts his head. "Telling the professionals...of course. Why didn't I think about that? I'll just fill out the form on your website that was the first hit when I ran a Google search." He shakes his head. "We don't run in the same circles, and unless I used the wrong search term, you don't even have an email addy. Unless you do and you'd like to share?"

Andi Benton has posed:
It's difficult for Mania to pull off an innocent look, but the eyes suggest it. She's seen Spider-Man with two different redheads now. It's logical!

"<You are looking for a protege?>" she asks of Satana, half-jokingly if the tone is any indication. The condition of the alley gets a longer look, a mild "<Blech..>" heard. "<It is a goblin...thing. We do not care what you do with it.>"

Satana Hellstrom has posed:
Satana gives an exasperated sigh at that, cocking her hip the other way. "First of all, Spider-Guy, I -do- have an email addy. I just don't give it out to anyone who asks, alright? And I'm still working on getting a decent wi-fi signal in Hell. But my Twitter is @demonluvah, okay? Just for future reference."

And with that she hooks a finger into the webbing that's bound up the goblin. It's hard to say how heavy the little guy really is, because she hefts him like a bag of groceries. "Shoot me an email and we'll figure out where to meet up after I'm finished."

She pokes the trussed goblin a few times, making it squeal. "I'd better get him into a magic circle pretty soon." A wink to Mania follows, then. "You wanna come along and watch? I don't mind. But I charge extra for voyeurs."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey makes a note. "All right. Look for @Spider-ManNYC. I seldom use Twitter, but I can make an exception."

He looks around. "And I'll get *my* Kulan Gath expert a gander at this and let you know what we figure out." He looks to Mania. "I get the feeling it's going to get bad. At least it can't get any worse tonight..."

Andi Benton has posed:
Mania reaches in..somewhere, and comes out with a phone of her own. "<We'll just pull that up and..>" Pause. "<We will need to make our own first.>"

She approaches further, telling Satana, "<We do not know the charge, but we are curious.>" Who /is/ 'we,' anyway? Isn't she just in a costume? Technically, yes, but...

Mania then nears Spider-Man and gives him a nudge in the side. "<We haven't even been doing this for long but we know not to say anything like what you just did.>"

Satana Hellstrom has posed:
Satana tosses the goblin-in-a-bag over her shoulder, already stepping towards the entrance of the alley. "Right. Let's definitely keep in touch over this one, 'kay? Don't do anything crazy with the tablet. I may wanna take a look at it myself."

She's taken just a couple steps when Spider-Man starts talking about things that are going to be bad. The redhead pauses, then shrugs and heads towards the street anyway.

Spencer Smythe has posed:
Spencer sat in the lab in Manhatten, a smile forming on his face as he observed the monitor in front of him. Sal Corizini had given him the perfect excuse to launch the weapons that would help his revenge come to light, The Slayers. The corpulent Italian Mobster has had recently troubles with the vigilantie known as "Spider-Man", and he had issued a bounty for his head, promising over a million dollars for anyone who could kill the Web-Head. Spencer, of course, took the offer, partly for the money, and partly to see how his prototype Spider-Slayer held up. Hoprefully, it did it's job and killed the pest. But, if not, He had already started to build a 2.0 in case this one failed, and the feedback the battle gave him could help him improve the next model.

One of his Henchmen reported sighting the web=slinger in Brooklynn. So, after a hour or two of hauling the 9ft, humanoid looking Mach 1 into a semi-trailer and unloading it somehwere no one would see it be unloaded, Smythe was one the hunt. He was controlling the robot from the safety of his lab, he was not foolish enough to be there in person in case the Slayer failed. Also, he had taken the liberty of introducing his "drones" into Brooklynn's skyline to be his eyes, and alert him to when the Spider was spotted.

As he neared the alleyway Parker was at, an alarm sounded off from one of his side monitors, Spencer grinned as he turned to peer at it, one of his drones had spotted the Spider, and he was with a friend. Wanting to surprise his foe, Smythe manuvered the robot so it would burst through the wall right in front of Spider-Man, the SLayer making dull thuds, as it moved it's heavy frame.

The old Parker luck was about to strike again when, after Peter mutterd At least it can't get any worse tonight", a light rumbling was heard from the wall right in front of the two. Suddenly, the wall explodes in a shower of brick and debris. In front of them was a large, bulky humanoid robot that looked like something out of a 50s B-Movie. It's head immediatley opened and revelaed a laser, which immediately fired upon the heroes as a well-cultured voice with a hint of a Upstate New York accent imminated from the robot, saying,

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you Spider-Man. My name is not important, whatis why I am here. You see, a certain someone has hired me to kill you, and this Spider-Slayer is designed specifically to do that."

After firing it's laser, it stomped over to Peter and threw a heavy, metallic punch at him.

Peter Parker has posed:
As soon as he said it, he knew he screwed up. He was in the act of turning when the monstrosity-du-jour blew through the wall, and went with the monologue/firing-nah-laser combo. At least he didn't waste time.

Spider-Man jumped to the far wall, landing about eight feet up on it, and his heart sank.

Spider-Slayer...? Well, woopty-crap.

Spider-Man jumped over the punch, landing on the wall behind the Spider-Slayer. "Points for showmanship, but flunked the Results part."

Andi Benton has posed:
As Satana starts off, Mania looks after her departure before the sound of something nearby registers. The symbiote's senses can be stronger than normal, but without warning there isn't always the time to enhance them. When the wall bursts apart, debris falls all around and over her, and she is seemingly buried in it with a shout of surprise!

Spencer Smythe has posed:
As Spider-Man leaped through the air, The Slayer stood still, as if unaware of the leap. However, the second Spider-Man landed behind it, the Slayer's head suddenly turned 360 degrees and fired another laser at Spider-Man, with the voice chuckling lightly, as if he were a teacher gently reproving a student, and saying,

"Thought you could use the old athleticism to get the jump on me eh?"

As Smythe contiuned to fire his laser at Spider-Man, a loud buzzing noise was heard in the air. Suddenly, 10 of what can only be described as skinless robotic dragon skeletons swooped in from the sky and towards Spider-Man. One of them opend it's mouth, and fired machine gun bullets at the web crawler while the second one released a stream of fire at him.

Peter Parker has posed:
Ah, hell. Looks like he's working through LUNCH.

Spider-Man shoots webbing at the big robot's feet with one hand while shooting a webline at one of the killer drones. He yanks and swings it around to connect with the second killer drone, introducing them at the relative speed of 200 MPH borne of inertia and centrifugal force.

Too close, far too close. But if it's going after him, then it's forgetting Mania.

<Come on, Mania, save my Spider-Butt...> he whispers into the comm.

Andi Benton has posed:
The burial would have done much worse to a normal person, would have done much worse to just Andi.

Andi is no longer 'just Andi.'

There is a growl, or a hiss, from within the pile of debris, then a shudder before it practically explodes outward around her, flying a few feet easily as it scatters. One chunk sends a drone into the wall, smashing it.

Rising, Mania's eyes display anger and rage, and where there had been no mouth before, there now exists one with multiple sharp fang-like teeth, a tongue longer than any human's. "<Did you think you could crush us, whatever you are?>" She finally sees it, the tall robotic humanoid construct, and looks around at the drones attacking. A hand reshapes into a hammer-like shape, extending outward toward another drone to bash it to pieces. "<We are Mania, and you just screwed up!>"

Spencer Smythe has posed:
Spider-Man's webbing does it's job on the Drones, sending one smashing into another. However once the web splatters against the Slayer, something horrifying happens. Spider-Man's web slips off of it as if nothing happened. The voice audibly laughs, as if mocking Spider-Man and grabs a nearby dumpster and hurls it at Spider-Man while saying,

"I have studied you for quite a while Spider-Man. As i said before, this robot is made specifically with you in mind. I won't get into details as to how I made my Slayer immune to your webs. Let's just say chemistry is a beautiful sceince.

The Slayer turns around when Mania explodes from the pile of rubble and begins to smash the drones with what appears to be a hammer-construct. The Slayer shows no emotion as it fires a laser at Mania, but the voice coming from within has a curious tone as it says,

"How curious, a suit that can shapeshift. Mind telling me how that works young lady?"

Peter Parker has posed:
"...chemistry is a beautiful science."
Spider-Man is currently dodging the drones shooting at him, but he hears those words.

A scientist. Great. Someone who does his research. Someone who...

...wait.
Science.
He looked around. Come on, ConEd...
There.

"Keep him busy, Mania! I have an idea!"

Well, it's too early to call it a PLAN...

Andi Benton has posed:
Mania doesn't know how she got in the middle of this, but it's probably going to be the way life is now that she's tied to Spider-Man this way, particularly through the symbiote and bond.

"<Yes, we mind,>" is all she tells the robot. What's that it said about webbing? She is still learning about her own, but if webbing is of no use? She has other methods at her disposal.

Mania hears Spider-Man and even if she doesn't answer verbally, she's doing so physically. The hammer swings around toward another drone, met by the other hand shaping into one just like it, effectively pancaking the drone to flatten it in midair, tracking its path. It's then flung at the oversized robot.

Spencer Smythe has posed:
The Slayer fails to notice Spider-Man flying off, being distracted by Mania. The Drone is flattened sucessfully and is flung into The Slayers. For the first time, the Slayer seems to be affected by something as it staggers on impact. However, the Robot quickly gains back it's footing and charges at Mania, swinging it's heavy metallic fist at her.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man doesn't have to look hard, or long.
Webs don't work on the Spider-Slayer (jeez, whatta name) but they do work on something else.
He switches to the insulated webbing he designed after a few savage bouts with Electro, and yanked. The cables from the high-tension power lines came loose quickly.

The next part required timing. Jump up to catch the falling lines before they hit something else, even as lights flickered in the neighborhood.
Drop down without touching anything else. Aim for the back of the Slayer while it is dancing with Mania.

"Dealing with Mania? I prescribe SHOCK TREATMENT."

And then he brings both the cable ends into the back of the skull of the robot. And suddenly he was the bird on the wire, unharmed as he was no longer the shortest distance to the ground.

The SLAYER was.

Andi Benton has posed:
Whatever Spider-Man really needs Mania for, she's doing what she wants in the end. He isn't the boss of her, even if his suggestion might fall in line with what she's aiming for.

As the robot comes in on her, having fired the laser at her previously, the symbiote gives her a sense of warning just in time to duck under the swing, the same as when she slid to one side of the beam before. "<You make such interesting new friends, Spider,>" she tells the webslinger, continuing past the robot while counting on her to be fast enough to avoid retaliation...especially when she spots Spider-Man up there with the power line.

There is a fresh feeling of danger from that, which doesn't need much convincing to get her to move back further. She lashes out at another drone, the hand turning into a battle axe in order to cleave it in half. Knowing they aren't human, or even alive, makes it easier to go with attacks that don't hold back.

Spencer Smythe has posed:
Smythe fails to notice the power lines falling on top of the Slayer until it is far to late. The Robot begins to spasm and shake as the voice from within starts to swear and yells, quite violently at the two heros, in a venomous voice,

"No! No! No! What have you done! This isn't over! I will kill you, kill you and all like you even if it's the last thing I do!"

The Slayer than goes limp, obviously short circuiting. However, if you were to inspect it, you would hear a faint beeping and a robotic voice different from the voice from earlier intoning,

"This Robot will now self-destruct."

Peter Parker has posed:
"...Ah, hell. Mania, RUN!"

Even as the lights go out, shrouding the alley in darkness, Spider-Man leaps from the back of the Spider-Slayer, firing weblines to yank on them and slingshot him out of the alley. "RUN! EVERYONE, RUN!" he yells, hoping to scare others into leaving the potential collateral damage.

Andi Benton has posed:
"<Oh shut the hell up, you loser!>" Mania yells back at the thing, that mouth still present. Like this, she appears as much more of a threat just due to the nature alone of having a more menacing look to her.

That sense of danger when the beeping and the voice starts up is emphasized by Spider-Man's call to get out of there. Showing that she's getting better with her own weblines, she rapidly joins Spider-Man, wherever he's going, and she keeps watch out for any other drones that might still be around while, this time, altering her hearing to protect against the potential for louder noises about to come.

Spencer Smythe has posed:
As Spider-Man and Mania fled from the alley, an extreamly loud BOOM echoes throught the block as a fireball erupts from the alleyway. If you were to inspect the alleyway, you would parts of the Spider-Slayer scattered all over the alleyway, now charred, bent, and utterly useless. Also scattered about were the charred remains of the Drones that weren't quick enough to escape. The blast had also taken out the rest of the brick wall were the Slayer came from, and the wall of the building next to it, revealing it's inside, which was also damaged.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man looked from across the street, from the roof of the building.

The cops would be here soon. No EMTs, though, thank God and all the angels. Unnecessary.
ConEd was going to join JJJ in calling for his head, though.

<This is my life, Mania. People coming after me. It's...part of the package.>

Andi Benton has posed:
Even with the ear protection in place, which is essentially a thickening of the symbiote in that area, there's still a flinch from Mania and a step back when the fireball goes up. Two things the symbiote does /not/ like, not one bit.

"<We could not tell,>" she says, heavy on the sarcasm, the mouth melting back into more of that shape of nothingness instead, a couple steps forward taken to offset before. "<That was fucked up. Do you think anyone is hurt down there? And what was the deal with the redhead before?>"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man chuckles. "Let me give you the complete rundown over cheap sliders. The White Castle four blocks away is open 24 hours. How does that sound?"