4082/Questions and Answers

Questions and Answers
Date of Scene:	09 November 2020
Location:	Brooklyn
Synopsis:	Spider-Man meet the Question, and they make an unsettling discovery.
Cast of Characters:	Vic Sage, Peter Parker

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Vic Sage has posed:
The Question makes his way onto the rooftop overlooking the Urban Classics Auto Repair shop with almost no noise at all, perhaps the faintest sound of gravel or crushed glass audible from the hard sole of his shoes the only noise being emanated from the vigilante as he creeps closer to the edge to perch and look out over the rooftop edge to the repair shop below. Following a lead from Gotham about a car theft ring the Question peers down looking for his target, one Vincent Bianchi. The New York native is transporting more than just a hot car, it is what is in the trunk of that car that has the Questions curiosity.

Perched on the edge, The Question's coat billows out in the wind behind and to the side like the cape that so many other heroes wear. In a quiet voice, the vigilante speaks to himself, "Come on, Vinny. You are behind schedule. Did you get delayed on the bridge? Where are you?"

Peter Parker has posed:
The shop is open late, which is not very suspicious. Some garages are open after posted hours so they can get certain repairs done. But the two standing at the east and west corner look a little hard-case to be mechanics out for a smoke break.
If you want to look like you're taking a smoke break, it helps if you actually smoke.

The faces aren't very clear, but Bianchi's go-to guy, Robert Cardenia, is wearing the same purple-and-puke-green jacket he got as a gift from the Joker for some job he did. Wore it like a badge of honor, even though it was awarded to him by a lunatic...

Except it's no longer purple-and-green. On the back, near the collar, was a small spot of crimson that was at odds with the rest of the jacket...
...and it just moved under the jacket collar as he watched.

Vic Sage has posed:
If the Question is known for anything, it is his attention to detail. He picks up on things that most people just wouldn't catch, like little dots of crimson that don't belong.

"Curious..." the Question says to himself as he watches the small crimson spot move under the man's collar. Reaching into an interior pocket of his coat, the faceless one draws a small pair of small operettic binoculars to where his eyes should be to get a closer look at the man in question. "This guy is guilty of crimes against fashion, if nothing else. Someone need to ditch that eyesore."

Peter Parker has posed:
Yep, it was Cardenia. Sometimes referred to as "Gardenia" by his associates. Was not bright enough to realize he was the butt of Bianchi's jokes...

As he reached up to pat the back of East Smoker Guy (who gave him the stink-eye for it) the red object was exposed.
At first, it looked like a red spider. But even if there was an all-red spider native to New York (there wasn't), this breed had a high gloss to its shell, blocky in shape...

And when it detached, he saw it hover in the air and zip off towards the tenement building roof to his left. Yeah...spiders don't fly. So, a drone. But a very small drone, so, not cheap...

Vic Sage has posed:
Using the small glasses to follow the small spider-drone, the Question looks over towards that tenement. "Hrm. I have a pretty good theory on who that might belong too," he says to himself. "One of the many arachnid-themed people that this city seems to house. There is certainly an...infestation...of them here. The question is, which one is it."

Moving the glasses back away from the building to the garage as a car approaches, The Question "Is that you, Vinny?"

Peter Parker has posed:
The car drives up to the garage, and the sliding door rises with enough clearance to admit the car, a silver Mercedes. The windows are tinted, but the plate number matches.

There is a quick whisper of sound and then Vic sees the owner of the drone swinging over to the roof of the garage. No doubt about it, that is the one the NYPD and the populace call "Spider-Man" and the Bugle's chief editor refers to as either a "threat" or a "menace."

He lands lightly there, then begins crawling down the side of the garage (eliminating any possibility of it being just a guy in a suit) towards a window at high first-floor level.

Vic Sage has posed:
Vic Sage hrms as he spots Spider-Man, "Well...I don't know if we are here for the same thing, but I can't let him go in there alone."

The Question makes his way to the fire escape, and using it to help slow his decent he maneuvers down the side of the building quickly, emerging out from the alley and pulling his fedora down lower as he walks casually towards Cardenia. Just a guy out for a stroll, really."

Peter Parker has posed:
Cardenia was feeling pretty good. The boss was in, business would be handled, and then...

His dreams of avarice were interrupted by the approach of this fricking guy. He puffed up his chest and approached the guy.
"We're closed, buddy, so why don't you take a long walk off a Brooklyn pier..."

Then he looked at the guy's face...except there WAS no face.
He stepped back, unable to banish the memory of an old nightmare, where he had looked in a mirror and watched his own face melt off, his lips and eyes dropping into the bathroom sink...
"What the...?" he asked no one, horrified. The two "mechanics" saw him and began walking over...

Vic Sage has posed:
"Hey buddy," The Question says like there is nothing unique with his face at all, as he raises his 'eyes' to look at Cardenia, "I was wondering if you have seen my dog? I seem to have lost him and I can't see him anywhere. He's small and white, one of those yippie type...oh, that is a nice jacket! Where did you get that? It matches my wallpaper."

Peter Parker has posed:
"And I thought *I* was the wise guy here..." Cardenia said shakily. "Shakey, get this guy!"
The guy to Cardenia's right stepped forward...and then pulled a Superman and went up, up, and away, launched upward into the darkness above the safety lights.

Cardenia blinked. "Rog, see what is going on!"

This time, the Question got an answer to what happened to Shakey. A thin line of some substance shot out of the darkness, hitting Roger's exposed shoulder, and then he was yanked up and out of sight. Neither made a sound beyond a sudden "Urk!"

Vic Sage has posed:
Vic Sage shrugs at Cardenia, "The wise man doesn't give the right answers, he poses the right questions. Such as 'What is the sound of my foot hitting your face?'"

And with that, The Question pivots on his heel in the blink of an eye as he brings his leg up, aiming the heal of his shoe right towards Cardenia's jaw.

Peter Parker has posed:
Cardenia is still trying to puzzle THAT one out when the foot dislocating his jaw tells his brain that it's time to go to sleep.
His brain says, "Sure, why not?" and then the Gardenia has been firmly planted, laying out flat on the pavement.

A few moments later, a voice comes from overhead. "Jeez, pal. Nice moves, but did you forget your FACE in your other suit?"

Spider-Man is peering down at the Question, sitting on his haunches at a 90-degree angle, while two webbed-up thugs hang over him in matching cocoons.

Vic Sage has posed:
Glancing up, the Question tips his hat, "Horrible shaving accident. I've never forgiven the barber."

Leaning over Cardenia, The Question gives him a quick pat down to remove any weapons from him, tossing them away before using a pair of zip-ties to bind his hands and feet. "You know what we are dealing with in there, Spider-Man? How much of the conversation did you hear with that little bug of yours?" Yes. He saw it.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man blinked. "Wow...no tarnish on THAT silver set, is there? Uhm, five guys total. All of them are armed. And from what I was able to suss out, there's a set of alien rifles in the trunk of that Mercedes." He peered at the Question. "And I'm getting the feeling if I tell you to go find a cop, you ain't gonna...so, before this game of bullet billiards begins, who ARE you?"

Vic Sage has posed:
"a reasonable Question," the Question replies as he finishes up securing the zip-ties. "At least, at the moment. We will see how that changes during the evening."

Rising up and rolling his neck and shoulders in preparation for a fight, The Question looks up to Spider-Man, "Do you happen to have locations on the guys inside? It would help if I knew what direction the bullets might be coming from, or even better how to avoid them all together."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man hmms, then drops to the street, landing lightly. He walks over to the door, then places his hand on it with the intent to open it.

A moment...then: "Two to the left, three ahead at the far end of the bay. I can go in first, draw fire."

Vic Sage has posed:
Cracking his knuckles the Question nods, "I'll take the two on the left. You have the advantage of being able to cover distance much quicker than I do. I'm ready when you are."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man nods. He just hopes he's making the right choice about this guy.

Then, without further ado, he RIPS the steel door open, the metal warping.

"WHAT'S UP, SUCKERS?!"

There is the barest of pauses before it's all guns on Spider-Man, and that is when he moves, springing forward. The two thugs on the left are firing at him, but he is staying a half-step ahead of the gunfire as he closes in on Bianchi and the two he was about to spend five million on untraceable alien weapons... and they start firing at him as well...

Vic Sage has posed:
The Question doesn't hesitate as he follows in after the acrobatic Spider-Man. Keeping his profile low, the trenchcoated vigilante moves down the left side towards his intended targets, rushing them headlong and leaping into the air at the last moment to deliverer a flying kick to one's face, using the momentum to turn and face the other. "Hi."

Peter Parker has posed:
It's a little eerie. The bullets are flying, but he seems to excel at being elsewhere when the bullets show up. He closes the distance and webs Bianchi to the worktable as he tried to grab one of the alien weapons, allowing him to grab the grip but unable to do anything with it.

While Spidey is ghosting gunfire, the Question is dealing with one thug after kicking the other thug's consciousness out from under him. As the first one falls, the other one pulls a pistol free of its holster...

Vic Sage has posed:
Vic Sage says, "A pistol? Really? I feel under-rated." says the Question as he thug draws his sidearm. The Question just picks up the fallen thugs gun and hurls it towards the still standing one. Using the thrown gun as a distraction, the Question uses it to close the distance, thrusting his arm forward into a punch into a soft, tender area of the thugs lower body."

Peter Parker has posed:
The thug ducks to avoid the thrown .38, coming back up just in time to catch a solid shot to his right kidney, with enough force to knock the wind out of him and to drive him to his knees.

Another thug is tossed through the air to hit a Ford truck currently on the lift, and is subsequently webbed to the side of the car, ten feet in the air. The other one punches at Spider-Man, but the vigilante catches his fist, drags it to a nearby work table, and webs him to it with the other hand.

"Sad." Spider-Man looked over to...Question? Query? Wait, it was Question...to see how he was doing.

Vic Sage has posed:
Following up with the thug on his knees, The Question finishes him off with a knee to the face before using more zip-ties to secure both men in his area. He glances over towards Spider-Man, giving him an affirmative thumbs up as he finishes with the zip-ties.

Once done, he makes his way over towards the car, removing his hat the run his fingers back through his hair before replacing it, "Do you want to do the honors?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man nods, walking over to the driver's side door to pull the trunk release. He walks back, opens the trunk...

...and begins to regret it.
The nine rifles were obviously of alien make, and he figured the one Bianchi had was the "demo" model.

"I...I think these are Chitauri rifles. Where did they get these? Are they holdovers from the last invasion...?"

Vic Sage has posed:
"They would have to be, wouldn't they?" The Question...questions. "I can't see how someone of Bianchi's ilk would be able to get them otherwise. The real question is where did HE get them. Who was the supplier? Where are they getting their inventory? Does SHEILD have a leak they need to plug that is letting these things out on the street, or is it someone else that has access to this type of weaponry? Regardless of the answers, these being in the hands of people like this is just bad for everyone."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man sighs. "Well, SHIELD's going to find out about it *now.* This is NOT a job for the NYPD." He looks around, then says, "I just sent screenshots of the rifles and the bad guys to NYPD dispatch to forward on to SHIELD. Do you want to remain involved, or do you want me to leave you out of the official stuff?"

Vic Sage has posed:
"I prefer to stay out of the papers," The Question comments to Spider-Man. "Back in Hub-City I was a bit more of a known entity, but I haven't been back that way in years. I don't tend to stay in one spot long enough to garner a reputation, or the eyes of the public. So, best keep me out of it. I don't need the credit. However, if you need anymore help feel free to contact me." The Question offers over a blank business card that after a while starts to smoke, an embossed question mark with a phone number revealing itself once the smoke clears. "I'll be happy to help if I am around."

Peter Parker has posed:
Specially-treated paper and ink? Yikes. This Question guy gets the daily award for cryptic.

But he has never turned down a source for info or help, and he's not going to start now.

"Well...let's sit down and talk sometime. Trade notes. I have a private database with a lot of collected intel on the criminal Neros and Zeroes in the Five Boroughs. Maybe we can help each other."

Vic Sage has posed:
The Question nods. "Sounds like a plan. I have my own notes on things, I am sure we can collaborate and see what the other lacks." As the sounds of sirens start to be heard in the distance, The Question turns his head towards the noise before slipping his eerie gaze back towards Spider-Man. "Sounds like that is my cue to get out of here. I'll be expecting your call. Until then, it has been a pleasure Spider-Man."