5735/For Want Of A Spike

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For Want Of A Spike
Date of Scene: 26 March 2021
Location: SoHo
Synopsis: The meeting of three Spiders and a Warhead. Ground Zero: a goth shop.
Cast of Characters: Negasonic, Peter Parker, Andi Benton, Gwen Stacy




Negasonic has posed:
Ellie finally manages to gather herself enough cash to go out on that shopping expedition she has been planning for a while, more specifically, she's in Dark Souls, a store that caters to all things goth. She's here for accessories, and while walking about to browse the wares, she looks like a walking advertisement to the fashion itself.

Peter Parker has posed:
Some crooks have no luck at all.
The guy in the motorcycle jacket had been running hellbent for leather, only to come face to face with Spider-Man. He had waved to the crook, who bolted to the left and down the street...where he skidded to a stop in front of the extremely-photogenic Ghost Spider, who had waved and smiled. It may have been a smile.
He was unwilling to give up and spotted the alley to the left, and ran down that way. He had gotten about 20 feet when SOMETHING smiled at him from the shadows like the Cheshire Cat from ALICE IN WONDERLAND.
Except with SO MUCH MORE TEETH.
A few seconds later, Spidey messaged, <I'm assuming one of you got the guy. Mind bringing him and the cash back to the shop? It's a place called DARK SOULS.>

Then Spider-Man steps into Dark Souls and raises his hand to wave to the cashier...and stops.

Andi Benton has posed:
Mania pulled out her phone, because she was still being rebellious about staying fully connected to all of Spider-Man's tech. It'd be one thing if it was just Andi, but when it involves the symbiote...it gets a little possessive at times.

It was a good plan. Get the guy running, box him in to follow a specific path, then spring the pair of surprises. Ghost Spider not enough? Say hello to the nightmare of Mania, where a crook doesn't /know/ he's not really going to have his face and the rest of his head eaten off.

That, thankfully, has just been a Venom thing. They're trying not to be Venom, completely.

<We have him. He's going to need clean underwear, so let's web him up outside. Ghosty can bring the cash back.> she texts back, showing up moments later.

"Heeeey..we know this place," Mania remarks after the would-be thief is taken care of. But, now there's a fully costumed (technically) figure in all black with a bit of white. Thankfully the mouth has gone away by now, replaced by just a blank area.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
<What a poor guy ...> Ghost Spider sighs beneath her mask after waving at the crook who was running down the alley to meet up with Andimania, <I bet we could make the guy run around in circles all over town at this rhythm..> bit of a little wicked bent on her words there. But no mercy for crooks! Or well, depends on the type of mercy.

<He is going into the alley. I think he should had just given up. But crooks are never smart... Mania, remember it's not chocolate.> Because there are things that require reminding. One never knows! And she had come face to face with Venom before. Bit of an unhealthy appetite on *that one.

With the wet bandit now safely secure outside waiting for the police, courtesy of Mania, it's up to Ghost to take the money. She slings it up on a web and over under one arm to start making her way up..

Ballerina shoes drop to the ground, she padding quietly and into the store not too long after Mania, "Mmmm, dark and brooding..." a bit unlike the more bubbly Gwen. "I have no doubts this wouldn't be your first time here, Mania." a bit of a tease to the other. She waves the bag to Spider-man. "Here it is."

Negasonic has posed:
Ellie was just reacheing for a spiked stud bracelet, dark leather of course, when all of a sudden there's a slew of unexpected visitors to the store. While all of the Spiders have varying degrees of fame, it is most notably Spider-Man who has the biggest level of fame/infamy thanks in large to the Daily Bugle. As an avid surfer of everything online, Ellie had seen at least most headlines involving him, and so her attention settles on Spidey. "Holy fuck, stop the presses, Spider-Man shops here!?" Her fingers are already working her phone, which somehow found its way to her free hand. "I thought you were a fan of Superman colors like some fan boy."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man is about to say something to Ghost Spider when the young lady with the buzz cut expounds on his choice of store. "Just helping out." He points to the cashier, who is staring at the tableau, along with the store manager. "Over there, Ghost. You can do the honors."

He looks back to Ellie, then steps forward and away from the entrance. "We're just doing our civic duty. Although this DOES look like a good place for YOU, Mania." He extends a hand to Ellie. "Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. Ghost Spider, star of Twitter and Instagram. She's the social-media maven of the Spiders. And the One Most Likely to Shop Here goes by the moniker of Mania." He bows slightly.

Andi Benton has posed:
"We have been here before," Mania says to both of who she's with. She stands by as Ghost Spider does the deal with the cash, and the strange-looking, black-suited thing with the spider motif on the chest (and back) takes what's heard from Negasonic and while there's no evidence of a widening grin, the shape and position of the eyes shifts just enough to convey mischief and amusement.

That's when the voice, a blend of female and something alien that sounds a little more roughened, says, "We did not think you had a closet full of things from a place like this, Spider." For that's what they call him more than not: Spider. As it is, the spiked bracelets and belt suggest a familiarity with the place. The spiked forearms and shins look more organic, somehow. Must be the way they subtly flex, like spines.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
A soft laughter escapes Ghost Spider's lips when Negasonic compares Peter's outfit to Superman's. "Spidey. She got you. Trying to flex like Superman won't work anymore.." she then gesturing at her slim outfit. "You should adopt new colors. Rebranding." yet her tone is a joking one. She knows well that outfit is like Peter's symbiote. No way he'd give up the blue and red! Still, the wink can almost be 'felt' from under her mask while she is regarding Spidey.

The introductions have Ghost offer a thumbs up to Negasonic, "Heya, we are just passing by really. But now that we are here...." and she shares a look between Mania and Negasonic, "Could always get a suggestion on something to buy. Consider me a total noob on this though." because she is. Gwen doesn't even have a piercing!

The money is brought over to the front of the store, delivered to the store owner there. "Here. Police should be coming in a bit to make sure everything is okay."

Negasonic has posed:
At Spider-Man's telling of Ghost Spider's twitter-sphere clot, Ellie turns to look at her, mouthing, "oh, yeah? Ever happed across AtomicPinCushion?" She asks curiously, before looking towards Mania, eyes growing bigger, "oh, she could definitely pull off a goth look...that's unusual in a hero, also, didn't realize there were so many spiders," and just like that she looks over at Spidey, "so Bugle is right that you're making an army to takeover?"

"Of course I got him, I get everyone," Ellie brags at Ghost Spider's quip to Spidey. "Well, if you're serious, I'd get started with a piercing or five," Ellie suggests, before holding up the spiked bracelet in her hand, "then start accessorizing, black does nicely for everything."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey chuckles. "'Army?' I'm nowhere NEAR that organized."
He kinda is, but just in a science way.
"I'm more of the most notorious, but I try to set a good example. As the great Ludwig von Drake once put it, 'If you want people to follow in your footsteps...heh...you better STAY AHEAD of 'em.'"

He looks around the place, pondering. "I dunno if I could pull off the look. I'm kinda sold on the color scheme." He points to Ghost and Mania. "They are better at fashion than I am, anyway. Actually, they're kinda better at a LOT of stuff than I am, but I get by on instinct and luck."

BAD luck, but why pick nits?

Andi Benton has posed:
Those eyes narrow slightly toward Spider-Man, and Mania points out, "You are why we are still here, and not killing people the way Venom does." They do not know anything, really, about Venom and Ghost Spider. "We are more like a..clutter. That is the term for a group of spiders. Or a cluster, if you don't want to think about what his room looks like." She jerks a thumb, claw tipping it, toward Red and Blue over there.

Mania's spines seem to puff up a bit at Negasonic's attention. Her version of a peacock showing off is a very out of the ordinary one indeed. "Black is good, and so is purple. Dark colors. We like them." She heads over to see about resting a hand at Ghost Spider's shoulder, mirth in the eyes as she trails a finger close to Ghost's own eye spots without touching them. "You could add some black liner to your mask. Goth Spider."

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"It's a well known fact that spiders breed like rabbits, Atomicpincushion." This about an army being formed up of spiders. But then Ghost Spider lifts a finger, "Wait .., that sounded wrong. ANYWAY, yes, that handle is actually familiar." she gives it a thought, fingertip tapping over her masked chin, " ... witty yet sarcastic comments? Many on superhero shenanigans." a laugh, "Those are my favorite type of twits, so yep, I know you. Good to place a face behind it though. What's your name anyway?" she asks Ellie.

The talk about Venom has a bit of a tension come to Ghost Spider's shoulders. She has faced that one before. Not something she was too keen on repeating anytime soon but ..

She trails off, focusing instead on the suggestion about acessorizing, "A piercing or five, mmm..." perhaps seriously considering that before she feels the hand on her shoulder. Attention goes to Mania and she grins. "To go with the lower half of my suit?" she chuckles. "Not that Goth Spider doesn't have a ring to it BUT .., isn't that your second name after Mania? You could use a rebranding too." Ghost Spider knows everything about rebranding!

But then she finally looks at Spider, "Quoting crazy scientists now, Spiderman? Careful, what will JJJ say about that?"

Negasonic has posed:
"I can see that," Ellie just takes Spidey at his word, not even offering an argument. "No kidding," she quips as Spidey points to the obvious, literally anyone is better than him at fashion.

When Mania calls Ghost Spider a Goth Spider, Ellie quips, "you should consider that name change."

"There's no such thing as a well known fact about spiders, admit it," Ellie chuckles at Gwen, and then she points at herself, "AtomicPinCushion is moi." When asked for her name, she answers flatly as if it was the most normal response in the world, "Negasonic Teenage Warhead."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey is about to respond when Ellie gives them her Official Code Name. He blinks for a moment, and one can almost see the gears turning in his head. "Wow. The more I think about it, the scarier it sounds. You get an upvote from ME."

He looks to Ghost, then shrugs. "The man is entitled to his opinion, as weird as it is. And that never leaves the Editorials page or his Straight Talk podcast, so...as long as he doesn't think von Drake worked with von Braun and blame World War 3 on me, I can live with it. Besides, the Bugle prints a lot of truth these days, and it's non-partisan, so..."

He can't help it. The man drags his name through the mud and he can't bring himself to say a discouraging word about the guy.

"Okay, so the color scheme is solid. We could work with that though. What do you think...denim jacket, spike mohawk on the mask?"

Andi Benton has posed:
"There is no such thing as too much black," Mania explains to Ghost Spider with an actual patience to go with it. The claw-tipped hand slips away from the shoulder as she takes a few steps in the direction of some accessories that might complement what she's already selected. "And piercings are not for everyone." Is that..diplomacy?

However, she does remark, "We still prefer Mania, but if you really like it you can call us Mania, the Goth Spider. We will accept it. But we are also punk." Does saying it disqualify from being it? Is anyone going to challenge on it?

Eyeing Spider-Man, Mania's head shakes back and forth slowly. "You are too innocent for this style. You will always be colorful, and bright, and cheerful, because--" The reason will have to wait, as she's just heard /that/ name given. "Really?" is all that follows equal parts disbelief and curiosity evident as the head, tipped by that spiky sort of 'hair,' tilts.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"I can't do that so soon after my last rebrand." And it's a good thing noone remembers Ghost's last one. Spider-Woman.. But that wasn't exactly on *this* universe. She then leaning towards Mania and giving her a 'bump' with her elbow. "But how about *you* change from Mania to Goth Spider, mmm?" it's fitting too! Not that she appears too happy with the suggested changes. A mohawk?! A jacket?! "Spiderman, I never thought I'd find the day in which you'd try to bring changes to what is a Janet Van Dyne's original.." a gesture to her suit. "Certainly not with a spike mohawk! Hmph!" She folds her arms together. No mohawks in her future apparently!

"And you are way too nice to that JJJ. You know he has an inordinate hatred for you. And not only for you, he has messed other reporters lives too." and she knows that well.

She walks over to where Mania is glancing to some of the accessories, then to Spiderman. "But if you are talking about changes on *your* outfit. I am fully for it. Get that denim rockin'" is she winking again under the mask?

Ellie's introduction as Negasonic has Gwen's attention go to her. "Okay. Now you have to share what's the story behind the name. How did you come about it? And .., why do you call yourself that?"

Negasonic has posed:
"Obviously, it's only the best name ever," Ellie praises her own choice without a shred of humility, but also apparently taking it as the obvious response to hearing her name. "Mohawk would be cool," she interjects.

Ellie looks cuirously at Mania, "do you even know what punk is?"

Andi gets a nod from Ellie as the only affirmation that that's her name, sure, there's a human given name, but after what she's been through, fuck that. She lives by her own rules.

Looking over Gwen's costume, Ellie seems surprised, "I heard of Janet Van Dyne the fashion designer, didn't know she made superhero outfits, cool."

When Gwen asks about the story behind the name, Ellie merely offers, "there's a lot of anger in me, and one day I'm going to release it, and a lot of hateful motherfuckers are going to vaporize." Is she serious...? Well is her name serious...? Maybe.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey does get a little twinge of the ol' Spider-Sense from Ellie. Not the Sudden, Imminent Threat kind. More of the Potential for Serious Property Damage kind. The closest description is like standing close to a live power line, close enough to touch.

And by Spidey's slight shift of stance at Ellie's declaration, he looks like he believes it completely.

"Well...if you're going to do that, maybe find an abandoned factory or something? How about the warehouse near Dock 19? That place is owned by the Kingpin through various shells, and it could use a little urban renewal. Maybe on a Sunday, when no one else is there?"

Andi Benton has posed:
Mania's eyes squint in Negasonic's direction. "Punk is not giving a fuck and making sure everyone else knows it. Doing whatever you want." Is it a stock answer? Does it shed any light on whether she really is or not? Depends on how Negasonic takes it. The goth side? Could be even more evident if Mania drew back and allowed them to see Andi only.

"Destructive," is all she adds to the mention of anger and ridding the place of a number of people. The expression in the eyes turns more skeptical, but nothing further is said. The curiosity, however, lingers.

That bump from Ghost Spider has drawn a glance, a turning of the head and body. Her costume has a look to it that makes it seem like more than just a fabric. It looks more..real. Even living in some way. The Spider Crew has seen that before. Others, not so much. "If you like it as a nickname, we will accept it," Mania reiterates. "But our name holds meaning to us. It is important." The symbiote and host cross arms, growing somewhat quieter.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
The slight shift on Spidey draws Ghost's attention, a look between Ellie and Peter, brows furrowing under her mask. Is she taking what Ellie said literally? Well, she wouldn't discount it happening but her own sense doesn't seem to trigger just yet. "Are you truly telling her to go explode places? What happened to calling the cops, mmm?" She suggests. "We shouldn't go down to those mot- I mean, those people's level." nope, Gwen won't swear with the suit on!

"And she does." This about Janet, "Sometimes." a brief chuckle. "She can be an intimidating woman to know though.." she picks a spiked leather bracelet from the stand that catches her eye and moves closer to the counter.

A little talk with the man who tries to offer her the bracelet. Refusal and eventually Gwen *does* get to pay for it. Not that she has space to carry money on that outfit! But technology is a thing, and so are the advanced system she has on her mask! Visa approved too. She makes the payment.

"Alright you three, it's time for me to get going." because she has college work to finish! "I will catch you guys later. Don't be a stranger, eh? And I will look for you on the twitter world, Negasonic." a thumbs up and then off she goes!

Negasonic has posed:
Ellie takes her spiked bracelet to the register, making a quick purchase, while grinning at Spider-Man, "maybe I wanna try when everyone is there..." she has to be joking, right?

To Andi she nods, "I have Warhead right in the name."

"I'd like to meet Janet, but she wouldn't give a fuck about a kid like me, so, why bother..." Ellie mutters, but she likes the idea of being someone who intimidates other, after all, just look at her. "Well, I got classes to attend soon, so see you guys later, keep the streets safe, Spider-Man," she says while finger-gunning at Spidey, and shuffling away with her new spiked studded accessory, there will be some handy work done to her boots tonight!

Peter Parker has posed:
Okay, MAYBE he's not completely serious. Then again, the place is an criminal eyesore, and far too much criminal activity has gone through it, so...who can tell?

At least he DID ask that no one else be there.

As the other two leave, he looks to Mania. "Maybe...we can look around a *little?*"

A variant of the costume could come in handy...

Andi Benton has posed:
Four becomes two, or two and a half or something like that depending on how one considers the symbiote/host bond. "That was different," Mania remarks, one eye enlarged upon Spider-Man while the other has narrowed slightly more.

"You? Want something here?" The question brings with it a much more interested demeanor, and even though there is no smile to see, Spider-Man knows her/them well enough by now to be able to figure it out. "Be careful what you ask for."