4866/Getting Strix with the Spidey

Getting Strix with the Spidey
Date of Scene:	25 January 2021
Location:	Park Row - Bleake Island
Synopsis:	Spider meets Owl.
Cast of Characters:	Peter Parker, Strix

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Peter Parker has posed:
Another Sunday night, another little jaunt.

Spider-Man MISSED the Spider-Comm system when he was in Metropolis and Gotham. He needed to run an analysis on the cell-tower network with the Wayne Enterprises architecture, see if he could set up something here in town.

And the fact that Falcone came from here, and that many criminal organizations were networking with Gotham ones meant he should visit a LOT more often. Plus, it was easier to hide in shadows here.

...as long as he didn't run into any Bats...

Strix has posed:
Good thing there aren't any bats around here. Owls, yes, but no bats. The Court of Owls has sent Strix out to take care of Spider Man. Having the Bats snooping around their city is bad enough, they don't need somebody like Spiderman snooping around too. Ideally, they want her to eliminate him, but chasing him off would work just as well.

It took Strix a while to find Spider-Man. Tracking down somebody who can websling around buildings is a lot harder than tracking down people on foot. But find him she did. She's hidden in the shadows, waiting for an opportune time to strike, and when Spidey settles down to get his bearing, she leaps down at him, swords first to catch her prey, much like an owl would with a mouse.

Peter Parker has posed:
She is as silent as a swooping owl, descending upon him like the wrath of an angry God...

And then he isn't there. The blades go into the hard wood of the wooden decking built on the flat roof.
And where is Spider-Man...?

"Out and about, Sailor Scout?"
Oh, yeah, THERE he is. Jumped a good 15 feet, landed lightly on the roof near the edge, eyeing Strix without a trace of recognition.

"Usually, I like the idea of coffee at Starbuck's, maybe a little meal...those are pretty good icebreakers, right?"

Strix has posed:
Strix's reactions are surprisingly fast, indicating that maybe she isn't quite human. Throwing knives are thrown, while she leaps, spinning in the air to catch the costumed hero should he jump away again. Strix seems to be the opposite of Spider-Man, totally silent to his snappy patter.

Peter Parker has posed:
WOW. She's GOOD, whoever she is. Barely gave him enough time to snark off before those knives came in and...
Oh, he should do something about those five knives.

Spider-Man bats two of them aside, his head moving to dodge another one (she's on the move, better take care) and catches two more, tucking them into the backpack for later. And wow, here she comes. You know, the usual thug has five-to-ten points of attack, the ninja a few days ago averaged fifty...

...and SHE is topping out at about 300. He doesn't know how he knows, he just knows, because of the Spider-Sense.
He jumps back as she lands, eyeing her. "Look, if *I* have to carry the conversation, at least use HAND gestures. Even the rude ones."

Strix has posed:
Strix continues to press her attack, relentless in her assault. At first. But there's something about Spider-Man's quips that reminds her of Scott, and they days that she spent at his house on Christmas. And of Cassie, and just the feeling of *normalcy* that all brought before the Court forcibly brought her back.

Spider-Man would be savvy enough to pick up on the enthusiasm leeching out from the assassin. How her assault slowly becomes halfhearted.

Peter Parker has posed:
It might even get annoying by now. This battle begins to get the feel of a choreographed fight, move and countermove. Spider-Man's not attacking, but every one of her attacks is blocked, or dodged.
As if he knows she is making them when SHE knows.

"Look, you seem like a fairly-accomplished...assassin...lady. But I was taught a long time ago not to hit a lady, and..." Dodge. "...REALLY don't want to start now, so maybe you can at least tell me why you want my guts for garters? It'll..." Whoops, leaping over the blade slice. "...make things easier for my notes..."

Strix has posed:
Strix just..... stops. She's not even breathing hard, so it's not like Spider-Man tired her out. This just isn't going anywhere, and Strix's hear just isn't in it anymore. Not that it ever was, it was just that this was the only thing she knew, and now she knows something else....

This is not a game she wants to play anymore. There's a heavy sigh, and her shoulder slumps, and she puts her swords away, and turns away from her opponent, to go sit at the edge of the building they're on to think Deep Thoughts.

Peter Parker has posed:
Okay...talking worked? Odd, it seldom worked before. Well, never look a gift horse in the mouth. Or a gift Owl.

Spidey's tension eases as the threat level drops down to nothing. He looks at the morose-looking Strix, and...jeez, he feels bad for her, even though she was trying to retire him from the superheroing biz.

"Hey...you okay, miss? I may be new in town, but I don't quite know all the heroes and zeroes in Gotham. Can we start over. You can call me Spider-Man. Or Spidey. Or even Webhead. What do you go by?"

Strix has posed:
Strix looks up at Spider-Man, and taps her throat and shakes her head, indicating that she can't speak. She opens up a hidden pocket in her costume, and pulls out a badly crumpled small spiral notebook, with a felt tip marker shoved in the spiral. She pulls out the pen and scribbles something on the notepad, holding it up to Spider-Man.

MARY

The letters are big and blocky, like that of an 8 year old.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey blinks. "Okay. All right, Mary. I...hang on."

He reaches into his backpack and pulls out a tablet. He taps a few buttons, then hmms. "Okay. We got Voicemod...let's use the MJ one."
Another few taps, then the screen with the keyboard comes back. "Awesome."

He walks over and hands the pad to Strix. "Type out your message, then tap Enter. The text-to-voice software shoulddo the rest."

Strix has posed:
Strix nods. She knows this one! It's much like the tablet that Deadpool gave her to use when she encountered him. She takes the tablet delicately in one hand, and pulls off one taloned glove so she doesn't make the same mistake as last time, and starts typing out:

THANK YOU

It takes her a while to find each letter, since she's not familiar with the QWERTY keyboard like most people are nowadays.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey smiled slightly. "You're welcome. Hope the crack on the screen isn't too much of a bother, it's...refurbished? Actually, scavenged, but beggars can't be choosers."
He sits down as well. "So, if I'm not asking too personal a question...why exactly were you trying to kill me?"

Strix has posed:
Strix hesitates at this question. She isn't sure how much she should tell him, but finally decides that she's already defied the Court by just refusing to assassinate him, she might as well go all the way.

CORT WANTS U GON

Looks like she has the spelling of an 8 year old, too.

Peter Parker has posed:
Cort? Or court? Could be either way.
He marked the image of what she was wearing for later study, along with the knives.
"Well, whoever 'Cort' is, tell them that the more of Gotham's criminal enterprises affect New York, the more *I* am going to be scheduling these little forays into Transylvania West here." He pauses, then thinks of something else. It WAS going to be dessert, but maybe this would-be assassin might be soothed by other charms.

Not by music, though. He sang like, as Harry had opined, a walrus giving birth to a backhoe.

Spidey reached into his backpack and took out a small plastic container, about six inches wide and long. He removed the lid, and a sweet scent of apples, sugar, and a hint of molasses is detected.
Spidey handed her the container, and the cheap metal fork. Which Strix will find useful to deal with the wedge of apple pie sitting in the container.

"You can have it."

Strix has posed:
Strix shakes her head at Spider-Man, and taps out a message as quickly as she can on the tablet.

NO
THEY WILL SEND MOAR TALINS AT U

The implication is that *she's* a Talon and that the other Talons won't be quite so agreeable as she is.

The smell of apple pie is intoxicating to her. She hasn't had home made apple pie since... since her mother baked one for that picnic out in the park some 70 years ago. She takes the tupperware container and fork and sets them in her lap, and pulls off her hood.

Underneath the owl themed cowl is a surprisingly young looking woman. Brown skin and curly black hair is peeking through bandages that wrap haphazardly around her head, leaving bits and pieces of skin and hair poking out through it. What can be seen of the skin is horribly scarred, which would probably account for why she can't talk.

Peter Parker has posed:
Good Christ, what happened to this woman? The scarring reminded him of the info the database had on Deadpool, but...who'd do that to her?
He wasn't sure he wanted to find out. Seeing it gave him thoughts a hero, even a blue-collar one, had no business thinking.

He does his best not to visibly react to the bandaged face.

"Well, I'll tell you a little secret and I'll make you a promise. I have a little gift I call my Spider-Sense. It senses danger coming at me. It's refined to the point I can sense direction, and potential. That was the reason why I was able to dodge your attacks." He pauses. "And if any others come after me...I'm not going to kill any of them. I don't kill anyone, ANYWAY...but still, I'm not the vengeful type."

Strix has posed:
Strix digs into the pie with much abandon, clearly savoring each bite with closed eyes and a smile. She tilts her head as she listens to Spider-Man explain about his Spider-Sense, but looks doubtful.

She sets the pie aside so she can type out a short message:

THEY WILL SEND MOAR THAN 1

She figures even somebody as deft as Spider-Man might have trouble against multiple assassins as talented as Strix is.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man nods. "Most likely. But..." He shrugs. "I have to do what I have to do. Fortunately, I've had a little experience with groups of assassins. You would not BELIEVE how many ninja I've seen just this WEEK. So...don't worry too much about me. I have a few tricks up my sleeve, as well."

Strix has posed:
Strix gives the spandex-clad man hard consideration before silently nodding her approval. She turns back to the tablet and types out a message:

WAT IS UR NAME?

she asks, before putting the tablet aside to go back to the apple pie. Soft brown eyes look up at him expectantly.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey takes a deep breath.
There is something here. But is it worth the risk?

"When we're out in public with other people around, you can call me Spidey. I wear this mask for a reason. Well...more than one. But if it's just us?"
He exhales.

"...Call me Pete."

Strix has posed:
Strix nods, internalizing that name. Pete. That gets filed away under 'people who have been kind to her when they had no reason to.' Pete. Wade. Scott. A motley crew to be sure. She realizes as she's chewing on the last of the apple pie, that all three have fed her, too. She's unclear if there's a deeper meaning to this or if it's just a coincidence.

When the pie is all gone, she drops the fork into the Tupperware, and seals it up before handing it back to Spidey. She picks up the table and types out:

THANK U

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man puts it away in his backpack. "You're welcome." He pauses, then says, "Look. If you like the tablet, I can see about getting you one. Something simple, with that software and whatnot to make things easier for you. You could also use it to keep in touch. I'm kinda working up a way to set up a couple of things in Gotham City and Metropolis."

Strix has posed:
Strix stands, thinking about it. She turns the tablet over one way, then the other, before unsuccessfully trying to shove it in one of her small hidden pockets. She shakes her head at Spidey. Nowhere to put it, so she gratefully hands it back to the superhero.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey takes it back, then stashes it in his backpack. "Never underestimate a good backpack, Mary." He pauses. "Uhm...should I call you something else when we're around others? Like a codename or something?"

Strix has posed:
Strix doesn't have one of those cool names yet. The Court just calls her Talon, like the other faceless Talons in their employ. Other than that.... she's just Mary. She shakes her head in the negative as she slips her glove and cowl back on, adjusting them slightly so they fit right.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey nods. "You should get a cool codename. I know mine isn't very inventive, but it kinda gets the point across. You say 'spider,' you kinda know what to expect." He shrugs. "Listen, I'll have to go soon. Heading back to New York. If you want to reach out to me..." He takes a card out of the backpack and hands it to her. "Go to this website. It's part of the Spider-Comm network, but you can access it from the outside."

Strix has posed:
Strix takes the offered card, reads it front and back, and nods, tucking it safely away where the notepad and small dented Hot-Wheel is located. She nods again, and waves goodbye to the superhero. Hopefully the Talons they'll send after him won't find him. Or if they do, he'll be good enough to keep his head. And with that, she pads off, moving quickly along the rooftops until she disappears out of sight.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey watches her go, then takes a deep breath.

"Mary...I hope to God I never meet the person who did that to you."

A few minues later, he is webslinging his way back to the Hyperloop with a heavier heart...but a lighter backpack.