5815/The Undeniable Poole of White Castle

The Undeniable Poole of White Castle
Date of Scene:	01 April 2021
Location:	Brooklyn
Synopsis:	Spider-Man grabs lunch and falls into the deep end of the Poole...
Cast of Characters:	Peter Parker, Gwendolyn Poole

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Peter Parker has posed:
Thursday night is usually Weirdness Night, but right now he thinks he's run into as much weirdness as he's ever going to see this week.

(Moo hoo hahh HAHHHH, says the Universe.)

Right now, he's taking a meal break. Two major crimes, webbing up an embezzler before he skips town, and webbing a gangster's kid to his own car until he sobers up isn't easy, and he is hungry.

And for that, he needs White Castle. A lot of people disparage those little grilled sliders, but they have a sentimental value to him, and they do taste delicious.
He's been here enough times, and he steps into the restaurant without any fanfare.
"Spidey!" That was Buddy at the register.
"Hey Bud, I heard you're floor supervisor now. May I have my usual?"
"Comin' right up."
Spidey takes out a money clip from his backpack, but Buddy raises a hand. "We'll let you know when we're ready to take your money."
Spider-Man sighs, but puts the clip away. "How is Sasha?"
"Junior high, last year. Going to high school in the fall." He calls over his shoulder, "SPIDER-MAN SPECIAL, and put wings on that one!"

Gwendolyn Poole has posed:
"Oooh, I get a free meal, too?," comes a female voice from the door. Gwen slips in and glances about, taking the place in. She's also dressed up in her full white and pink outfit, with her swords across her back, a gun at her hip, and her weird shark backpack dangling over her shoulders. She skips in a bit and steps right up beside Spider-Man.

"Gwenpool meal. Check the menu? It's like his but cuter."

She pauses and then glances up at Spidey, flashing a grin. "You know, I always wanted to meet you. Had a -crazy- crush on you back home." The girl turns back towards the confused looking employee and sighs dramatically. "Fine. I just beat up some guys, so I have an appetite. I want...um...what did they order in Harold & Kumar? Thirty sliders. Diet coke."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man blinks. There's something both strange and familiar about her, but he can't place...
Then she gives her name and it does give him a start. Gwen? But Gwen Pool. The costume is familiar, but he can't place that immediately, either.
Buddy looks at her speculatively. Could be some kind of cosplayer. You carry around a gun and blades in this town, it usually warrants a call to the NYPD. Besides, she sounds so...CHIPPER.
On the other hand, she hasn't drawn any of them, and Spider-Man is here, and Spidey's the Dude in Brooklyn. So if there is trouble, he'll step up.

"Okay...that's going to be...'bout $27.32, miss. Cash or card?"

Gwendolyn Poole has posed:
"Aww, I can't put it on Spidey Credit? Do you take Bat Credit Card?," she asks hopefully. She fishes out a credit card with the bat symbol drawn on the front. The man behind the counter continues to look confused, and he gives Spidey a desperate look.

She smiles brightly as she glances between Spider-Man and Buddy. "Psst, Future Boyfriend, I left my wallet in my other tighty tights. Help a girl out?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man looks at Gwen for a few moments, then sighs, and out comes the money clip again. No wallet, because why carry ID if you're wearing a mask?
"I was prepared to pay for my own, anyway..." Spidey says wryly. It's something of a calculated risk. She IS armed, and if it costs $27.32 to keep an armed person from reacting badly, well...what the heck.
Spidey hands three tens to Buddy, and says, "Put the rest in the donation jar. College costs money."
Buddy nods, dropping the change in a plastic jug with COLLEGE FUND written on the side in Sharpie.
"Orders 21 and 22." He hands out two plastic numbered stands to Spidey and Gwen. "Sit anywhere."

Gwendolyn Poole has posed:
She flashes a wide smile to Spider-Man when he pays for the meal. "Oooh. You make the big bucks. So, where are we sitting?" She reaches out and picks up both numbered stands. "There was this place back home I ate at a lot. The table numbers were celebrity mugshots. Super cool." She bumps him with her hip and grins up at him again, acting as if they've known eachother for years.

If he heads towards a table, she follows along after him, setting the numbers down on the table before seizing a chair for herself.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man looks a little nonplussed, but points to a table near the left side, out of sight of the windows. Just a little booth with high-backed chairs. "If you don't mind booths, over there...but you might be a little more comfortable taking that harness off and putting it on the booth next to you."

He walks over to the booth, standing next to the side facing the front door, but waits there instead of sitting down.

Gwendolyn Poole has posed:
She pauses at that and then smirks. "Ah. Making you uncomfy? I'm not some Second Amendment nut, don't worry." She unclips the harness and leans over the back of the booth, dropping it in there. Guns, grenades and all. She sets the backpack with it and sits back down. She then peels her mask back and it flops like a hoody. Yes, she just bares her face. She's never cared about secret identities. She appears to be a very pretty teen girl with messy blonde hair with pink tips. She has some similarities to another Gwen, but isn't exact.

Peter Parker has posed:
Well, props or not, she did just put them aside, and a few patrons relax visibly at the sight. The unmasking is something of a surprise, but lends credence to the "cosplayer" theory.
He sits down after Gwendolyn sits, lifting his mask up, but just up to the nose. Yep, Tom Holland's lower face, not Tobey Maguire's or Andrew Garfield's. "Well...pleased to meet you, Miss Pool. A better meeting than the last one who recognized me. 'Course, he then started shooting..."

Gwendolyn Poole has posed:
"I'd never shoot one of my first crushes. Don't worry. Well, not unless you were a total jerk. I met the other Spidey at one point, too." She describes Miles' outfit. "We tried to stop the same baddies and it got rough."

She shrugs a shoulder and sips her soda, watching the hero across from her. When she recognizes the chin she grins a bit. Good. Her favorite Spidey. Ahem. "So, dating Black Cat at the moment? Or...um...that redhead? Whatever her name is? The 'tiger' one. Though, I guess she's not always a redhead. I prefer the Zendaya version of her, for -sure.-"

Huh?

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey tilts his head. "What? Uhm...I'm not dating anyone at the moment. There was this one girl, but it didn't really gel. But that happens."

The Black Cat? Dating HIM? It Is To Laugh, as they say. He ALMOST asked, "Which redhead?" but felt that might push the conversation even further off-center to bring up MJ and Red Sonja.

...How did she know about MJ's tag?

"First crush? That's...something new. I think you might be the first person to confess to having a crush on me."

Gwendolyn Poole has posed:
"Oh man, that's nuts. Back home you are -lusted- after."

She laughs and glances up as the orders are set out. "So, I've never had White Castle before," she admits as she eyes her enormous order. The girl tucks some hair behind her ear and picks one up, jamming it in her mouth. She chews thoughtfully and then smiles around a full mouth and nods. She sips soda to get it down, and makes an 'aaaah' of satisfaction.

"Well, their loss is Gwenny's gain I like to say."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey chuckles. "My uncle used to take me here if I got all A's on my report card, or did something above and beyond. We'd just sit and chat and eat. He liked the original 1911 ones, and occasionally he'd have a fish slider."

Interesting. Something that never showed up in the movies or comics.

He thanks the waitress, who smiles at him and strides off. "Wait...*lusted?* I'm not exactly chopped liver, but I'm not Thor or Captain America or anything like that. I certainly don't LOOK like I can lift a Buick..."
He is blushing a little, though. "So, I'm glad you're enjoying the food. What do you do, Gwen?"

He had paused when she said "Gwennie." Probably a popular nickname of Gwen. Most likely.

Gwendolyn Poole has posed:
She adores those little facts she doesn't know. They are her favorite.

"I beat up people for money. Sometimes steal for money. Eh, whatever folks hire me for. I'm a mercenary, you see." She works on another slider. "Lately I've been trying to be...heroic? Because it's what is kinda expected, right? It's so hard sometimes, though." The girl sighs and watches the other teen as she idly works through her food, clearly in no rush.

"More and more shitty people are offering me money to do things, and it's...not really what I wanna do. So, recently when the baddies offer me cash I just beat them up and take it. Place an anoymous tip to the cops. You know how it is." Does he, though?

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man pauses mid-sip, and side-eyes the "props." Yeah...those look pretty real. Good thing the mask hides that kinda stuff.
"A mercenary? Pardon me if I'm being rude, but you must have started young."
Coming from the guy who started at age 16. Stones, glass houses...
He looks like he is going to give Gwen the "You're Too Much of a Lady For This Work" line, or some variant, but takes a few more moments to think. "Sorry, it's...a little startling. You'll have to forgive me if I have trouble getting it."

Gwendolyn Poole has posed:
"Nah, it's cool. And not really, I guess? Only started last year. But...I'm a bit of a Mary Sue, if I'm gonna be honest."

She sips her soda and chews her lip a bit. "So, uh...you ever do that upside down mask-peeled kissing in the rain thing? Because that is one of my favorite things with you -ever-. I mean, not YOU you, but I do have an imagination."

She glances about the place again, and pauses as a family walks by and gives her a nervous look. She flashes a peace sign, anime style, and then turns back to Spider-Man.

"Sorry, I'm being -super- forward, huh? Don't get me wrong. I never dated back home and I'm really new to this, but...eh...shoot your shot, right?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey chuckles. "Well, it's oddly refreshing, actually. No, I've never tried kissing anyone while hanging upside down. It sounds like my nose would fill up with water if I did that..."
He takes another bite. "I'll be a little blunt, myself, if that's okay with you, Gwen?"

Gwendolyn Poole has posed:
"Sure."

She downs another slider, but the girl is already getting full. She eyes the pile of sliders dubiously and then glances across the table at Spidey, waiting for him to crush her heart! Or whatever.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey takes another sip of his drink.

"The mercenary thing...it's not something I'd do. But you are your own person, Gwen, and you do what you have to do. If I caught you doing something like that...I'd have to do something about it. I want you to understand that."

A slight pause. "On the other side of things, you ARE trying to do better. I would say you're correcting bad behavior, but it sounds like you're actually trying to REFINE bad behavior for good causes. It's not the way I'd do it, but you're not me, are you? And...the fact that you WANT to do better because it's what you want to do, not what you HAVE to do...there's a nobility in that."
He leans closer to Gwen. "If that is what you really want to do...I'd like to help you."

Gwendolyn Poole has posed:
Well, that isn't what she expected!

The girl chews her lip a bit as she considers. She reaches out to take one of his hands, and she squeezes it. "That sounds awesome. So, like, can dating be involved in that? Or...do you not date teammates? Ha! What superhero doesn't date teammates?"

She smirks and picks up her soda, the sound of an empty cup slurping. She shakes the ice.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man smiles slightly. "Let's start by being friends first and see how that goes? I'd like to see how you work, what tactics you use, see what we can do to compliment each other's strength and weaknesses. If you're willing to put in the time, the work, and the resolve to use only the level of force necessary...then this will work out. Might even be good for you to meet a few of the other Spider-People. We have a loose association rather than an official club." He takes another sip of cherry Coke.

"But I will say that dating is not off the table."

Gwendolyn Poole has posed:
She beams at all that, and brushes her fingers back through her hair. "Cool. Okay, sounds good. We should...probably exchange numbers or something, then?"

She nudges the pile of burger to the side, as she is quite full. "And yeah, I wanna meet everyone. All the heroes I can. Absolutely."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man nods, then hands Gwen a card. The only things printed on it are a phone number and a QR code.

"If you have a relatively-modern smartphone, scan the QR code. It will bring you to a website. The code word for you to type in is 'swordfish.' It will then download an app to connect you to the Spider-Comm system. It's a stealth comm network. If you want the full augmented-reality interface, let me know."

Gwendolyn Poole has posed:
"Coooooooooooooooooooool." She snags the card and grins down at it before she hops to her feet. She tucks it into one of her utility pouches and turns to slide her harness back on. "Okay. By the way, you paid for this meal, so this was totally a first date. HA! I tricked you into dating me!"

She clips the harness on and checks her blades and guns before she slings her backpack on. "But I gotta go."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man blinked, but sighed with a sardonic smile. "Then you owe me $14. Because I go Dutch on all my first dates."

Gwendolyn Poole has posed:
She grins a bit at that and tugs her mask back into place. "I'll get it to you on our second date." She wiggles her hips and turns, making her way on out.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man shook his head, then looked at the leftover sliders.
Well...Travis who camps out near Brighton Beach would appreciate the food, considering he usually can't get to the shelters.

Such an odd girl...