3627/Eight limbs and a haircut

Eight limbs and a haircut
Date of Scene:	30 September 2020
Location:	A variety of locations
Synopsis:	In the school, Johnny and Anya meet poorly. Then they repeat it on patrol! It ends in confusion and regret. But it is a beginning.
Cast of Characters:	Anya Corazon, Johnny Gallo

---

Anya Corazon has posed:
"High school, the realm of the darkness. Recognized world wide as a place of terror and hormones, the hallways feel as of the void. Lynn, who wrote this?" Anya walks with her friend, the sky blue above and the small shrubs green. She and her half-asian friend chat aimably as they stroll, content to babble with each other. Anya, for her part, is reading a poem somebody wrote that was discarded.

"No idea, girlfriend," Lynn says. "I need to go though. Got an extra-curricular that won't wait. You around for movie night?"

"Well, yuh," says the mexican girl with a grin. She hip-bumps her friend, then sends her on her way. But then she's alone, and looking at the poem. She suddenly grips it tight, crunching it in her hand, and sighs aloud. "It's not...wrong?"

Johnny Gallo has posed:
Johnny Gallo was playing catch back and forth with a few of the guys from the football team. Johnny threw it easily and accurately, but, when the return throw was launched for him, it was way over head. He turned to run it down, eyes on the ball, not watching where he was going. The guy that threw the ball was laughing with a few of his buddies as the ball sailed towards the walking path of an unsuspecting young, poetry minded young woman.

Johnny felt the tingle of his danger sense, but shook it off. "Not getting away!" He leaped, maybe just a 'tad' higher than would normally be possible, and snatched the ball out of the air. Unfortunately, his momentum carried him into the aforementioned young woman. "Oof... " Elequent as always as the pair crashed to the ground.

Johnny rolled over to lay on his back, holding the ball up in victory. "Success!!!" He let out a long, slow groan. "Did anyone get the number of that bus?...." He chuckled, "Is it just me, or does that cloud look like a cheeto?"

Anya Corazon has posed:
Her dark, brown eyes come up. The girl is alert, no question there, but the incoming boy...it's strange. She starts to move to get out of his way, merest instants before she'll be struck...and he moves the same way! It's like, he knows the best way to go and is going in it! But she's also committed now, and...ugh.

Impact.

Laying on the ground, a weight on her chest that isn't normally there, the short figure of Anya Corazon pushes at Johnny's weight. "Get...off!" she says, her arms not having enough strength to move Mr Football.

Her poem, the one she wrote but was hoping for a better reception from her friend, floats away on the breeze. Probably best, it was awful.

Perhaps Johnny will notice the small fists beating on him soon. If not, she'll probably die.

Johnny Gallo has posed:
Johnny Gallo felt the fists, and jokingly looked left and right, "What's that? I don't know if there's a door on that side, but on this side there's nothing but grass!" He rolled over and off of her, sitting up on the ground, "Sorry about that..." He toss the ball back to the others. "I didn't see you there. Tried to go around, but, yeah... Sorry..." He offered sheepishly, running a hand through his hair and shaking it to get the grass out of his platinum locks.

Anya Corazon has posed:
About to berate him for his clear and present rudeness, the apology forestalls Anya's temper. "..." She actually has a fist ready as she comes up, but her angry face is barely able to attend to what her heart knows is right: beating this guy to a pulp. But he apologized, so...

"Don't expect me to just forgive you," she says, standing as tall as her five and a half feet will allow. "You and that haircut have to learn priorities." She points to Johnny's friend, the guy with the haircut from hell, and perhaps stabs out her hand a little harder than needed. She has a temper, this one.

"Also, your own hair looks ridiculous. Does it get you out of trouble, all good looking guys think they can get away with anything." She doesn't comment on the fact that good looking girls do it too, but she's already regretting opening her mouth. Oh lord, my temper.

Johnny Gallo has posed:
Johnny Gallo 's danger sense tinged off for a second, and he leaped to his feet when she came up with a fist up. Only 2 inches on her, they were almost of a height on their feet. "But of course. Naturally I shall have to crusade in your name, and right this most vile of wrongs." He followed her gaze as she pointed out the friend that threw the ball.

"That one? I will avenge you...." He glanced back to Anya, "What's your name?..." He just kind of grinned at the 'insult' about his looks and hair, "I can't really do much about it. Woke up one day and was platinum as an expensive watch. Could have been worse I suppose."

Anya Corazon has posed:
She seems to be calming. Well, not so much calming as running out of steam, over time. Being worn down by Johnny's general lack of having anything for her to really be upset about. "Well...just so you do," she says, uncertain about which part exactly of his speech she's agreeing to.

She looks up at his hair, already having admitted (without noticing) that she thinks it looks good, and harumphs. "You're just lucky that my friend left. She'd have kicked you faster than you could blink. Very protective. I'm just that awesome." Then she puts her left hand into her hair, tugging on it a bit, and seems to almost be blushing.

Well, it seems the Gallio charm isn't totally ineffective?

Johnny Gallo has posed:
Johnny Gallo gave a nod, "Just so I do. Got it." He walked up a moment, and reached out carefully, "Glad she left then. I blink pretty fast, but, I'd rather stay on the safe side." He chuckled as he plucked a bit of grass out of her hair. "Missed a peice."

He flicked it into the air, and then turned and ran off to go after the guy that threw the ball. "Name's Johnny by the way!" He called back to her as he jogged off, scooping something off the ground as he went.

Anya Corazon has posed:
"Don't..." Anya's fists ball up as he touches her, without permission, and even if it is to take a piece of grass from her hair it isn't welcome. She grumbles, commenting to herself about boys, and tries to pick up whatever things she may have dropped.

School's out. That means her own 'extracurriculars' are in play, and Nina expects her patrolling. Soon.

Insert segue to night time here.

Johnny Gallo has posed:
The Bronx after the sun sets... The realm of darkness. Recognized world wide as a place of crime, though, one that is now patroled by your Friendly neighborhood Spider folks.

The Silver Spider streaked across the night sky, leaping from rooftop to rooftop as he kept an sharp eye and ear out on the street down below. Not much happening during a mid week slow spell, so he took a seat on a ledge, legs dangling as he pulled out a water bottle and sandwich from a hidden jacket pocket.

Anya Corazon has posed:
"Yeah, screw webs. I've got this," Araña says as she uses her grapple to swing across a rooftop. She releases it mid-air, then whips it to another building. Catching in the wall, she arcs around a corner. "Wahoooo!" Well, not everyone is used to being able to swing from building to building yet.

~Stop being a twit, this is work time,~ her handler says into her ear. The giant bug-sized goggles amplify her vision, certainly, but she's still doing all of this on a grapple and good intentions. No powers to speak of, and a lot of training.

"Oh get bent," she says in return. No respect there. "It's not like I'm about to hit someone or anything, this place is empt..."

She's interrupted as she curves over a rooftop, realizing suddenly that the place is NOT empty, and tries to yank up on her grapple asafp! She's not got enough body strength to pull it off though, and her heels are heading right for...super hero?

"DUCK!" she yells. Even though it's clearly a spider.

Johnny Gallo has posed:
Johnny Gallo glanced up at the word 'Duck' as if looking for one flying overhead. His danger sense kicked in then, and he leaned back flat along the rooftop, legs still dangling. "Woooo...." He called as Anya just barely swung inches above him.

He sat back up once the girl was passed, and slipped the sandwich into it's bag and back into his pocket, "Watch where ya goin! I'm eatin here!!!" He called out after her.

Anya Corazon has posed:
Rolling on the rooftop, Araña says, "Encounter, keep line active," into her headset. Then she retracts her grapple, her spider-gear on and in place, and looks back to see if she's being attacked. She is not.

"Yeah, sorry! I don't have a lot of control over this thing yet," she says, not getting closer quiiiite yet. She rolled out of that like a professional gymnast, but no way is she a spider-type. Really, a retractible grapple? No spandex? T-shirt with a logo on it? Sheesh.

"I'm Araña!" she calls, waving animatedly. Almost anime in style, with the huge eyes. Bug eyes. Kinda creepy. But then who would he be to talk? "On patrol! Sorry!"

Johnny Gallo has posed:
Johnny Gallo looked her over carefully as she rolled to her feet, and then... Waved? "Right... Arianna." He gave an awkward wave back, "A pleasure. They call me the Silver Spider. I'm on break. Patrol was going slow tonight."

He raised a brow seeing the grapple, "A grappling hook?... Trying to be like OG Spidey? I doubt he runs over people like that. Almost lost my sandwich! That'd almost cause a scrap." He grinned at the awful play on words.

Anya Corazon has posed:
The young lady snorts then, clearly relaxing as she gets into this. "More like he's trying to be OG me," she says, just as clearly trying too hard. "I mean, no, I'm not...do you know him? You're not Spider-m...no, you said."

~What...the hell...are you doing?~ says her earbuds, and Araña reaches up to touch her ear in a telltale gesture. "Relax," she hisses. "I met a Spider-Man. He was eating a sammich." ~...what?~ "Just trust me. They eat too!"

The little interaction by-play likely doesn't go unnoticed, the whole 'Spider-man tech version' thing being kind of obvious. Still, she doesn't seem threatening. Araña turns back to him then, frowning. "I'll try and do better, I mean obviously, but seriously you're alright? I've got a patrol to finish myself, I was heading east. I mean, if you want to cover a different area." Or if you want to swing with me. Because that is so cool, and I wish I could.

Johnny Gallo has posed:
Johnny Gallo gave a nod, "I'm not Spider-Man. He's red and blue. I'm Silver. Much easier when hiding at night." He raised a brow as she spoke with someone over the ear peice, and made a face when she called him 'a spider-man'. He let out a huff.

"You have tech support on the line? Maybe they can help you work on the swinging." He looked her over carefully, and gave a shrug, "That's the way I was headed before I took a break. How about I scout the path, make sure you don't step on any other Spiders?" He took a last swig from the water bottle, and slipped it into the jacket as well.

Anya Corazon has posed:
"You can eat your sandwich!" she says, holding out her hands. What are you doing, Anya? Her inner voice is quite vocal. He's a real hero! You could learn a lot tonight. "I mean, it's a good idea, I clearly need to learn how to handle this thing better. Wait, what are we talking about?"

~Get ahold of yourself. I don't have time for teenage drama.~ "You know what, screw you too then," Anya says, then she blinks. "That wasn't aimed at you! My tech person is a dick-hole."

Then she blushes, points east-ish, and then runs to leap off of the rooftop. At least she's not afraid of heights. The grapple appears seconds later, and she swings thattaway.

Johnny Gallo has posed:
Johnny Gallo watched her as she flip flopped on whether she wanted him to come along, and was just about to nod that it was a good idea when she said the 'screw you' bit. He froze, and blinked, a comeback on the tip of his tongue when she apologized for it. "Righhhht. After you."

As she leaped, he gave a nod, "Not afriad of heights. That's a good start." If she wanted tips on web slinging, she was in for a surprise however. Johnny just stepped off the ledge, and as he fell through the air, he kicked off the wall, and ricocheted, flying along after her. It took a few bounces, but once he'd built up speed, he rocketed past her, and started bouncing up into the air to keep a pace. "No webs here. Don't need'em!"

Anya Corazon has posed:
Pulling the grapple in at the apex of her next swing, Araña arcs downward. She seems to be good, snapping it out with practiced motions, and hooks just below the window of some accounting firm's offices. She's not holding it precisely; the wrist guards hook onto the grapple line. Which she clearly has a lot of trust in, her life on the line every time she uses the tools.

"That's pretty cool!" she admits out loud, as she slows enough to be heard. Or he does, whichever comes first. "I had to make my own! I mean, spider theme and all. How is flying a spider power though?" She hooks another building, arcing off to the right to keep from slowing, then aims left with the next grapple cast.

Johnny Gallo has posed:
Johnny Gallo laughed, "It's not flying. More like really good jumping. I looked it up once. Must be like a Phidippus Audax, but, Phidippus Audax-Man didn't sound so hot." He ricocheted off a wall to adjust direction.

"You're pretty good with that thing! You built it yourself? Pretty impressive. I thought about trying the web slingers, but couldn't figure out how to make it work."

Anya Corazon has posed:
Hooking on an outcropping, some wierd thing that really shouldn't be on buildings, but you know, comics...Araña slows a moment, then pulls herself up to sit there, her sweat on her no longer being blown away by constant wind. Still, they're pretty far up. "Over here!" She waves him over, if he'll come.

"It's pretty high tensile, wouldn't do it without a lot of testing. But hey, the grapple isn't...have a look." She holds it out for him to look at, getting him close. She thinks she might recognize...maybe. And it IS interesting.

The grapple itself is a spider of sorts, or a beetle. It has not one, but six grapples, all built in. Is heavier than expected, it has some heft to it. "It's also my ranged weaponry. I club with it."

Johnny Gallo has posed:
Johnny Gallo hit a gargoyle and popped up into the air to arch, and land near her. He landed gently, barely making a sound. He took the offered spider grapple and turned it over in his hands, "Really staying on brand, huh? Seems to work well. Though I don't know if they'll let you into many clubs dressed up like a Spidey wannabe." He smirked.

Tossing back the grapple, he pulled a small frisbee like disc from a hidden pocket on the sleeve of his jacket. It was brassy gold, 6 inches or so across, and had strange etchings on it. "I use these. Not so elegant or technological, but, it works." He flipped it end over end for her to catch.

Anya Corazon has posed:
She takes it easily. Good with her hands, she didn't seem to overbalance or have any real chance of missing. She does have a rather inhuman balance, being up here so high and without any issue at all. "Just discs? I mean, sure, but why discs? Don't you lose them?" She flips it in the air, then elbow bumps it back to him. "Also, wannabe? I was chosen for this thank you."

Johnny might hear, in her ear at this range, ~Do not tell him any more! We're recalling you to base, right now!~

She seems to ignore it. "I work very hard for this, too. I don't need to explain myself to you, even if you are one of the official team."

Johnny Gallo has posed:
As she bumped the disc back, he stepped aside to let it fall down towards the ledge below. "Yeah, discs. They are pretty handy." He watched it fall for a moment before glancing back up to her.

He shook his head, "Agreed. I've already met 3 other spider folks. They've all been pretty welcoming. Keep it up, and maybe Real Deal will bring you into the World Wide Web." He grinned, and raised a brow, "Chosen? Sounds interesting. I've heard the 'you don't choose the life, the life chooses you' bit, but never quite so literal."

He leaned a little closer to get a look at the ear piece. Something caught his eye, grabbing his attention however. He reached out slowly, much as he'd done a few hours ago, picking out another blade of grass, "Missed a peice."

Anya Corazon has posed:
And that's when she hit him.

Not really, but she certainly tries. The punch came out of nowhere, balanced as well as she is on the ledge she's still willing to throw one. For all that she's talking nicely, Arana does not react well to him doing that.

Which is a tell all in itself. Same temper.

"No! Not happening!" What exactly she's reacting to is anybody's guess, but from the timing it's probably something about him reaching out to touch her hair. Or recognizing her in the outfit. Then she's falling, leaing back and just letting herself go, and the grapple line is out. No fear. None at all.

Johnny Gallo has posed:
The Danger sense flaired, and Johnny reacted before he was cognizant of what was happening. Next he knew, he was a back flip distance backwards, and she was falling from the ledge.

If she was observant, she'd see the disc he let drop had bounced, and was now sailing lazily back through the air, and landed in his hand just as he finished his back flip dodge. "Touche touchy lady!" He called after her, puzzled himself on what had set her off.

Anya Corazon has posed:
~Armor. Now.~

"Right," she says as she misses with the grapple. She's not perfect. However, a moment later she's gone and some THING is there in her place. It is not pretty, it does not have grass it its hair, and it is not human. Blue chitin in place of skin, a vaguely human form, and red lines all down the chest? Not remotely human. But it has the same eyes, those goggles are still there. They've just merged with what she's become.

And she clings to the wall like a spider-person would, no issues at all, before springing away with enough power to make Spidey himself jealous. There's more here than meets the eye!

Johnny Gallo has posed:
Johnny Gallo had been watching, guessing the jig was up. He saw the missed hook, and was about to go leap and save her. Instead, his eyes went wide as she transformed into a 'thing' clinging to the wall.

"Oh wow... That is some cool tech..." He gave a humph. "Man... I don't get any of the cool gear." He spun the disc in his hand before sliding it away, and pulling out his sandwich, "Better grab a bite while I can, before I head back."