2161/Earlier Than Expected

Earlier Than Expected
Date of Scene:	19 June 2020
Location:	Central Business District - New Troy
Synopsis:	Silk gets to meet Mania, it's weird.
Cast of Characters:	Cindy Moon, Andi Benton

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Cindy Moon has posed:
Cindy is finally done for the day, and she's only too excited to get out there in costume and see what sort of adventure she might run into today. Strangely enough, even when she makes her way to the Daily Planet's rooftop, she already gets a sense of some presence out there. But the way her Silk Sense work, it could just be about anything or anyone. Maybe it's nothing meaningful at all. By the time she's out the roof access, she's fully dressed in her Silk costume.

Andi Benton has posed:
Then again, maybe there's something to that sense. There's usually a reason for it.

Andi Benton has spent most of her time around Happy Harbor since moving out to the New York area, but with school (finally) done she's had more reason to go into New York City itself for interactions with Spider-Man, learning more about what she's capable of with her 'other' half. And, it's been good! Mostly.

Today, she's somewhere else. Metropolis. A Hyperloop ride while looking normal was all it took. The reasons for being there are her own for the moment, but she's found her way to a building a block or two from the Daily Planet itself, leaving her to look up at it curiously. It's just not Andi who's doing the looking. It's Mania, the all-black...whatever she actually is, with the spiky bits of hair, the strange yet distinct all-white eye shapes that have a way of showing just what's on her mind. Hands rest at both hips, the spiky parts to her forearms jutting out slightly.

Cindy Moon has posed:
Once on the roof, Silk sees something she hadn't before, someone from Spidey's network who she never met before. Curiousy, she thwips up a web and swings over towards the adjacent rooftop, <<hey,>> she calls out on the Spider-Comm, <<you're a spider...huh? I'm Silk, who are you?>>

Andi Benton has posed:
The HUD and other gear Spider-Man created for his comms? Mania is still getting used to that. It's neat, and integrating it within the symbiote has been smooth enough. Overall, it's a good thing and has led to a variety of curious questions from the 'other' she has.

So, as Silk descends from the top of the Daily Planet and is turned toward, the name pops up in the HUD display. It might for her as well, but Andi gives the name she's taken for this version of herself anyway. "<<We are Mania..and we..are not a spider, exactly. You dress like one. Silk?>>" The voice has a sort of duality to it, both feminine and alien at the same time.

Body language shifts, a tilt of the head, a slight expansion of the eye slits as she studies what she sees.

Cindy Moon has posed:
"Mania...? That's...curious," Silk says now that she's in talking range, flipping into a perfectly crouched landing with one leg outstretched, low against the roof. "Yes, Silk, and what are you if not a spider? I thought this network thing was just for us spiders?"

Silk picks on the odd sounding voice and has to wonder about Mania, she didn't really get bad vibes out of her, but there were some red flags to be sure.

Andi Benton has posed:
Like many of the spider types, there is a mask or covering over Mania's entire face and head that hides any features. In her case, it just looks eerily smooth before getting to those spikes of 'hair.' No sign of a nose, ears, even mouth. Just those eyes. Any wonder about the name is left untouched and she crosses her arms loosely, resting above the spiked belt at her hips that seems to serve no other purpose than being there as a fashion statement.

"<<We know Spider-Man. He helped us when we needed it.>>" That's the explanation she gives before she decides to add, since it's probably somewhere in the spider files already, "<<We are a host and symbiote bond.>>"

Cindy Moon has posed:
Silk is likely the least covered of the spiders, what with the red buff covering the lower part of her face being it, for the most part. So while one cannot see the expression she might make with her mouth, the eyes often tell, and for the moment, she looks unsure of Mania. "You as in plural...? Who else is with you? The Invisible Woman?" Silk jokes, but seriously, she wants to know. But then comes the reply, and she instantly regrets it, "you're what now...?" Maybe dropping out of high school wasn't the smartest decision. She has no clue what Mania is talking about.

Andi Benton has posed:
Deciding it may be time for a slight demonstration, Mania says, "<<No Invisible Woman. Watch.>>" While she doesn't do a full reveal, enough of the symbiote flows and peels back from her head that it leaves her looking more similar to the way it is for Silk - upper part of the head and face exposed, lower half still hidden. As part of this, she is seen to be wearing the eyepieces that allow the HUD to work, and she reaches up with a claw-tipped black hand to peel them off, removing the earbuds as well. This shows blue eyes, punkish hair dyed purple, and a visible barbell piercing through the corner of the right eyebrow.

The voice that follows lacks that otherworldly side too it, just the human's for now. "Look..I still don't totally get all of this, but it was trapped or something within this meteor that hit Earth, and this crazy scientist got his hands on it and was torturing it. He kidnapped my dad and when Spider-Man and I went there to get him back, it had escaped and it just kind of latched on to me. So now I can do things I couldn't before."

Cindy Moon has posed:
"Eeeehhhhh....." Silk stares, seeing what she's seeing but not actually believing she is seeing what she's seeing. "I see, so you're...yeah," she has no name for it. None. "That's...disturbing, anyone ever say that to you? Because it is, I think, I'm sorry. I don't mean to be rude." Silk tries to follow and make sense of it all, as she murmurs, "so that thing, is not you, but also you at the same time?"

Andi Benton has posed:
Mania shrugs, the substance, material, or whatever it is flowing back into place once she's put the comm pieces back. It's still Andi speaking. "Symbiotes are organisms that share a beneficial relationship with a host. It's not like a parasite. That's the difference. This is just..a really weird type of symbiote. I get that."

<<We are not 'weird'>> comes another voice, but this one is only inside Andi's own head. It is the symbiote itself, sounding miffed.

"Yeah, it /is/ kind of weird, no matter what you...uh, sorry." The eyes shape into mild embarrassment and she rubs the back of her head, body language turning awkward briefly. Was she just talking to herself?

The dual voice comes back in. "<<We wanted to see another city. Look! We can do webs too!>>" Change of subject! A hand points at a metal AC unit atop the building, and a burst of something shoots out from it. It quickly forms into its own version of what has made Spider-Man famous. "<<How did you become a spider?>>"

Cindy Moon has posed:
"Uh huh," Silk murmurs, clearly having not followed Mania's explanation one bit, though she does nod, so maybe she got some of it? "You know, that thing you did, talking in another voice? That's pretty much the definition of weird, just fyi." Silk, always ready to help.

"Me...? I think the classic way, from my understanding, bit by a radioactive spider...I think Ghost Spider and Spider-Man are both the same way...so we're kind of a spider's club."

Andi Benton has posed:
The piece of webbing sticks and stays there, but over the next few minutes it will begin to dissolve. It does not last as long as Spider-Man's.

Mania again shrugs. "<<We do not mind weird. Our host was never worried about fitting in.>>" With this, the eyes do narrow, if only slightly. "<<Lots of radioactive spiders around, sounds like.>>" In this, there is a note of sarcasm. "<<Still, good to see another spider. We are going to explore further.>>" A couple steps back are taken, indicating a preparation to depart.

Cindy Moon has posed:
"Hell, could be the same one over and over, huh?" Silk offers in jest, not knowing that at least in her case, it miraculously was. "As will I, see you on the webs, ha!" Silk laughs at her own joke, before shooting a web line and swinging on her own way.