649/Gifts of the Spiders

Gifts of the Spiders
Date of Scene:	20 March 2020
Location:	Abandoned Warehouse
Synopsis:	Scarlet Spider gives Spider-Man $5,000...and Spidey uses it to save a man's life. Just not in the way you might expect.
Cast of Characters:	Ben Reilly, Peter Parker

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Ben Reilly has posed:
Ben Reilly kinda did a bad thing. Not a really really bad thing. But sorta a bad thing. But hey it means a good chunk of money to put towards the burgeoning spider network. Ben could do a lot with that money. But protecting the city and it's people is more important. Also the kind of equipment he'll need to fix his condition is not the kind you can just buy from an electronics store. So he reached out to Peter to ask him to meet. He'd let him know he has something to donate to the Spider cause. A quick text of a location and then he waits.

Outside of the warehouse are two webbed up street thugs, a knife and a chain lay on the ground nearby them suggesting they were caught in the midst of some nefarious act. Inside the warehouse is a Scarlet Spider. And he's... dancing. Badly. All the grace in the world granted to him by his spider powers but rythm is not one of them. Soft music is playing from his smart phone, laying on a single crate that was left behind in the building. It's some newer pop song that he's humming along to, not even trying to sing despite the terrible dancing.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man arrives near the end of "Can't Stop the Feeling" by Justin Timberlake. He thinks it's a catchy tune.
Spidey slips through the skylight, dropping down to the floor where the Scarlet Spider is. He looks around, then says, "I see your dance card was recently emptied. How's their footwork?"

Ben Reilly has posed:
Ben Reilly doesn't quit dancing, at least for a few moments, not until the last notes of the song trail off. He's a bad dancer. But hey, he tries. He turns and hits the stop button to stop the next song from playing, then tucks the phone into the belly pocket of his hoodie. "They were going to rob some lawyer looking guy. I mean lawyers are snakes but that doesn't mean they deserve to get mugged. Ha. I could say the same about pizza places in New York that don't serve their pizza New York style." He tips his head to the side a moment before he lets out a quick sigh. "Sooo I have something to help with the spider fund. Buuuut you can't ask questions where it came from. It's not stolen. But it wasn't exactly obtained legally."

Ben doesn't pull the money out right away, instead giving Peter a chance to decide if he wants to try to ask questions anyway. "So whatcha gonna call the group? The Spider Friends? Is it a team? Or just an alliance? How does this work? Just curious. Like once it's all up and running and we've connected with all of the spider people. Cuz there seems to be quite a few of us now. Oh also... you're your tech guy right? Do you have any idea what a supervillain would want to steal from a recording studio? I ran into this guy... well... I can explain that in a minute."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey eyes Scarlet for a moment, then holds up both hands. "Okay...slow down a bit. Jump back. First off...how much are we talking here? A few hundred?" He is a little ambivalent about money, especially not-quite-legal money. "And if it wasn't stolen, did you win it in some game?"

Ben Reilly has posed:
Ben Reilly pauses at the held up hands, his speech lurching to a halt and then stammering for a few moments before he uhhhhs softly. "I won it. Yes. I won it. We can leave it at that right? And uhhh no. Not a few hundred. Uhh I mean. I could do a lot with this. But I figured helping everyone out was the best thing to do with it." He pulls out a stack of one hundred dollar bills bound together with several paperclips that have been twisted together and then twisted shut around the bills. "So... it's a lot of money. It's five thousand dollars. Like I said I could do... a lot with that. But I think the spider gang is a worthier cause. So... here." Ben holds out the hand holding the bills towards Peter.

"And yes. I think I can trust you. Because I know I can." Scarlet Spider's shoulders lift in a slight shrug upwards before dropping back down, a soft sigh leaving him. "I also have an ulterior motive. I'm going to need your help with something in the near future. Nothing dangerous. But I thought this might... show that I mean well? This isn't coming out right. I'm bad with words? Like really bad with words? Also I'm horrificly unlucky. So if I -did- keep this money for myself? I'd lose it somehow."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey STARED at the money for a long moment. It WAS a lot of money. And he could get a lot done with it. He gcould get a lot of tech with that...

And then he paused. The hand slowly reached out to take the money. He couldn't remember the last time he held this much that wasn't about to be evidence. For a few moments, he just stood there.

"Scarlet...I won't lie. I could use this money..." He sighs. "But I know someone who could use it more. His name is Joe "Crusher" Hogan. He used to be a wrestler a couple of years ago. Then I humiliated him in a wrestling match for $100. One hundred measly dollars." He looked up to Scarlet. "I found out a week ago...he's a janitor at the gym he used to train at. If it's all right...I'd like to give this to him."

Ben Reilly has posed:
Ben Reilly is silent for a few moments after the question and the comments about Joe Hogan. He breathes in slowly, then lets it out again as he thinks on that. "You could get a lot of tech with that. But your'e right." Ben's hand lifts up, fingers rubbing against his forhead through the mask. "Dang morality." It's said with a tired sort of humor though. "I remember that fight. I felt really bad for Crusher." Ben's head lifts again, the blank white eyeplates of his mask regarding Peter.

"Give it to him. Maybe it can help him get back on his feet, or at least make his life a little easier." There's a long sigh from the Scarlet Spider. "You're a good person Spidey. I hope he appreciates the gift that you're giving him."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey smiles. "We can go over there right now, see if he's there." He sticks the packet of money in his backpack. "We can be there in five minutes..."

Spidey stops, pausing slightly. "Wait...you saw the match?" Geez, he thought maybe 300 people in all of New York saw it...

Ben Reilly has posed:
Ben Reilly screwed up. He slipped. He relaxed. Not that Ben... or Peter have ever been great at subtlty and deception. "Uhhh yeah. I was there that night." It's mostly true. Like... 99 percent true. "Almost no one in the house. Survive in the ring with Crusher for a hundred bucks. Well... having powers I understand the turmoil. You didn't need to go as far as you did. But you did. And you feel bad about it. And I understand that. Sure we can head over there. I'll come with and hang back, let you do the talking and what not."

Ben holds up a finger to indicate he just needs a second, then leaps into the air, catching one of the rafter beams and pulls a backpack free of the beam, then drops back down to the floor after shrugging the pack on. "Didn't wanna forget my stuff in the rush to go do a good deed. Do you happen to know of any cheap apartments? LIke... really cheap. Like cheap cheap. I kinda deliver pizza for money cheap?" Ben cinches the straps of the backpack before looking up at the skylight. A brief crouch down and then a push with his legs rockets him up and out of the skylight to land on the roof.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man fires a webline, slingshotting himself up to the skylight and then he is on the roof, too. "Well, there is this Ukranian guy who runs a small apartment complex in Brighton Beach. You could reach out to him. Tell him the guy who got his brother out of Little Odessa is calling in that favor. He'll get it. You can work out the rent with him."

He fires a webline, then looks back to Scarlet. Still a lot of questions, but they can keep.
"Follow me, Scarlet, and don't spare the horses."

And then he is off and swinging for Brighton.

Ben Reilly has posed:
Thwip! The night resounds to the sound of thwips as Ben follows Peter through the city, swinging in an eerie level of similarity. From the way he casts out the lines, to the way he swings and flies through the air. It's all so incredibly similar. There are slight differences but they're very minute. Ben's web shooter doesn't use the finger press like Peter's, he flicks his wrist around in a certain way to activate it, though he still does use the finger pose, gotta keep the fingers clear of the web line after all. "I don't want to take up one of your favors. Lord knows favores are few and far between. You might need that. Save it for someone who truly needs it. Like a single mother you save or something like that. I dunno." Thwip.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey glances back. He does notice the similarity but careening through the skyscrapers at roughly 80 MPH. Maybe later though.

"Right now, it sounds suspiciously like *you* truly need it, Scarlet. So yeah, it works. Now, just take the favor and get yourself a place to live, okay?"

Joseph Hogan liked working in the evenings. Less guys to get in the way.
Joe "Crusher" Hogan had been doing this job for a little over 18 months. His credibility had gone into the dumpster after the defeat by the guy in the mask who had called himself "Spider-Man." He had laughed at the name.

Three minutes after that, he hadn't been laughing. He probably hadn't uttered anything more than a chuckle since that day.
Marquez had taken pity on him and given him this job. The pay wasn't great, but he could sleep in the loft, and he kept everything clean. He was a good worker.

He didn't know how it started. Maybe it had been a defense mechanism after being taunted about being manhandled by "Spider-Man." So, he had responded that he had known, that he and Spidey were friends. That had cut down his daily griefs by a lot, especially as Spider-Man became more and more well-known.

But in the last few months, it had started up again. The guys seemed to sense that his "friendship" may be so much ugly sweat and ego-sweling.
And when he saw Billy, Rick, and Mike show up, he could feel the last of his credibility waning.

"Well, well...seen your friend Spidey around?" Billy asked.
Hogan shrugged. "He has a lot of important stuff to do."
"Yeah. And we think you're full of it, Hogan. Spidey couldn't care less about you."

Ben Reilly has posed:
Ben Reilly doesn't say anything in response to Peter's insistence on him getting the apartment. He mulls it over though. Have to evaluate the risks of being around someone connected to Spidey. So Pete's genetic twin just follows him through the city. "I love New York at night. The way the city lights up. People still going all through the night. I know they call it the city that never sleeps, but it's truly alive. You know?"

He follows Peter to the gym and drops down onto the roof. "I'll keep quiet I promise. He'll barely know I'm here." He gives Spidey two thumbs up. "Are we going in through the door or is there a skylight or something we can use?" He turns in place looking around before he walks off the roof and onto the outer wall, looking for an open window or something. "I think I hear people inside."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey nods. "Yeah. There is an open window near the roof, though."
Spider-Man crawls over to the window, peeks in and sees Hogan. It comes rushing back again, all the memories of that day. He'd felt so smug.

And an hour after that, he'd killed Uncle Ben when Carradine ran past him.

He suddenly realized Hogan was not just talking to those other three guys. They were closing in on him, backing him up towards the wall. He'd seen this before, when he had been in Hogan's position...and he figured it would end the same way.

Hogan backed up. He realized these guys were serious, and they were getting ready to take him. He was being backed into a corner.
He brought up the broom handle, unscrewing it in a moment with a well-placed kick to the bottom.
He wasn't going to go down like...

"Hey, jackholes."

Four sets of eyes looking up at the figure moving along the wall, and they recognized him immediately.
The reactions were different. The self-assured looks of Billy, Rick, and Mike were gone, replaced with uncertainty.
Hogan had looked at him with hope, fear, and something pleading in his eyes. Spidey had heard a little of what they had been saying. That look said PLEASE DON'T TELL THEM THE TRUTH.

"Hey, guys...whatcha doing crowding my biggest fan?"

Ben Reilly has posed:
Ben Reilly makes his way over to the window in question and slips in after Peter, realizing what is going on just a moment after he did. He tenses, but lets Pete take the lead on it, hanging back, just crawling along the wall and then sticking himself to it just behind him. He even pulls the hood up on his sleeveless hoodie. Cuz hoods are nefarious and intimidating or something like that. And hew stays true to his word, hanging back near Spidey's side. Though he does lift a hand and slowly wag a finger back and forth in a universal gesture of chiding. Someone's been bad.

There he waits to see what the three guys do. Surely they're not going to try to beat up a janitor in front of Spider-man right? Let alone Spider-man and an extra wall crawling friend? He isn't totally silent though at Peter's shoulder, he starts humming softly. The itsy bitsy spider. Of all songs. There's even a soft chortle of laughter from the Scarlet Spider as he waits to see how this situation is going to unfold. Friendly or hostile?

Peter Parker has posed:
The three suddenly back away from Hogan. They are looking nervously at Spider-Man, so they don't see Hogan looks of startled surprise.
Billy swallowed, then said, "Uhm...we were just playing around. Really. Right, guys?"
Ricky and Mike nodded quickly, saying yeah, just funnin' around.

Spidey nodded. "Good. 'Cause nobody should mess with a friend of mine. Unless you want to find yourself hanging upside down, covered in webbing and finding out what it's like to be a heavy bag?"
Spidey drops to the ground as the Swole Trio suddenly realize they need to head to the dressing room. They needed to get cleaned up, because they all had urgent business elsewhere in the city.

Spidey sighed. "Sad."
Hogan looked nervously at Spider-Man and his masked friend. "Listen, man, I'm sorry I said I was your friend..."
Spider-Man chuckled. "We ARE friends, Joe. I'm just sorry I haven't come by sooner."

Ben Reilly has posed:
Ben Reilly drops silently to the floor behind Pete, and takes a few steps forwards as the guys find somewhere else to be. His head shakes slowly at the behavior. "Very." He agrees with Peter's assessment of them being sad. "A very sad bunch indeed." Some people are just bad people. He crosses his arms over his chest and stands there, loose and ready should the guys come back and decide to try something anyway, but he's watching what goes on between Peter and Crusher. He turns his body a bit towards the conversation so he's not excluding himself from it, but he's definitely on the outside of it, just observing and watching. No matter how badly he wants to talk. He remembers that night perfectly. He feels every ounce of the same guilt Peter does. And a bit more because he didn't think to take the money to Hogan.

Peter Parker has posed:
Hogan looked to Ben. "Uhm..."
"Geez, I'm sorry. Joe, this is Scarlet Spider. He's kinda like me." A LOT like him, but again, another time, another place. "I wanted him to come with me to meet you." His voice softens. "Listen, Joe...I'm really sorry for what I did to you two years ago."
"Aw, c'mon, Spider-Man..." Hogan says uncomfortably.
"No...no. I needed the money, but I had no right to embarrass you like that. And Scarlet here made it possible for me to make it up to you."

Spider-Man reached back into the backpack, and took out the packet of bills. "Here. This is $5,000. One hundred...plus compound interest over two years."

Hogan STARES at the packet, then up to Spider-Man. "I..."
"Really. It's yours. No strings attached."

Ben Reilly has posed:
Ben Reilly waves a happy little hand at Hogan. He's quiet though, until Joe looks like he's going to have trouble accepting the money and Peter insists on him taking it. "Hi Joe. It's nice to meet you. Spidey here speaks truth. I am a lot like him. I knew he'd find a good use for that money and he did. Neither of us can really stand to see a good guy down. He wants to make up for something he did. And it would mean a lot to him if you'd let him help you. He feels really guity about what he did. And guilt like that, well it can distract someone. So you see..." Ben glances over to Spidey, then lifts a hand and pats him on the shoulder. "You'd be doing my friend here a big favor. Distractions when we're out there dodging bullets and taking down bad guys can be painful, even deadly. So what do you say you do me a favor and let him make up for a mistake huh?" He pauses for half a moment. "You can't see it right now but I'm smiling. And yes Spidey I know I said I'd be quiet but neither of us believed me."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey cocks a thumb at Scarlet. "Mr. Circle-K. His mouth never closes."

Hogan suddenly grabs Spider-Man by the shoulders. He looks up at him with such an unbelievable gratitude, he can't seem to say anything at all.
Spider-Man smiles gently, then hands him a slip of paper. "My number. You hear about anything going on, or you just want to talk, or you need help...call me."
Hogan sniffed, nodded. "I will...I will...ah, God, if you only knew how much this means..."
"I kinda do. And I'll be coming by more often. Have to silence the naysayers, right?"

Ben Reilly has posed:
"Oh yeah. You're one to talk. Really I'm a very quiet person. I make up for it when I'm wearing the mask. I swear. Scout's honor." He holds up a hand, but lets it drop as Hogan leans forwards like that. Ben's head dips and he takes a step back, giving the pair a bit of space. Having a bit of an internal conflict himself. It's hard, being there like that and not being... him. Not being Peter. Who he knows he is. But who he also knows he isn't. Under the mask his eyes close and clench tight for a few seconds, a slight existential crisis, invisible underneath the mask. A few slow breaths in, and then out though settle the sudden nerves and he is able to lift his head back up to look over at the very happy Hogan. Ben remains quiet, his head tilting, looking towards the window, then back towards Hogan and Peter. If ever he had any doubts about who was the real Peter Parker, this has very much settled them. Peter thought to do this right away. Ben didn't.

Peter Parker has posed:
Hogan looked at the two of them, then said, "Listen...anything you want, I'll do."
"Really?" Spidey said. "How about training again? Getting back into it?"
Hogan blinked. "Well, I..." He sounded uncertain...and then he realized who he was talking to. "I'll start tomorrow."
"All right. Consider up square, then. And help other people when you can."
Hogan nodded vigorously. "I better get some shuteye. I'll go to the bank in the morning. I'll keep this safe, don't you worry." Hogan looked around, then nodded. "Yeah...yeah, this is...this'll work."
Spider-Man fired a webline up to the window. "I'll be in touch, Crusher. Promise." He waves, then pulls himself up to the window. "Take care of yourself, Joe."

Ben Reilly has posed:
Ben Reilly has already crawled his way up the wall to the window as Peter is finishing up with Hogan. He turns and throws out a quick salute Crusher's way before he slips out the window and up onto the roof, waiting for Peter there. "You did a good thing tonight. And hopefully he gets himself back on track. I can check in too when I get a chance if you'd like. Make sure he's training, and that the guys are leaving him alone. I'm sure you're as busy as I am if not busier. Can be hard to get places to check up on things." He lowers the hood on his jacket. "Oh. I do have a couple of other things for you." He unshoulders his backpack and digs into it, coming up with a small bubble wrapped package. "It's a few sets of comms. Military grade. Took them off some gun runners at the Starling docks. It's no five grand, but I'm sure you could take them apart and do something with them. I had thought about fiddling with them myself. I'm a bit of a tinkerer too." He raises his wrist where his own web shooters rest for emphasis.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey closes the window, then takes the comm units. He could probably do something with these. It's a good start, anyway. "Thanks. I'll see what I can do with thse back at the lab." Because he has a lab.

He looks through the window at Hogan, who seems to walk with more energy as he heads to his loft.
"Something to remember, Scarlet...there's more than one way to save a man's life."

Ben Reilly has posed:
Ben Reilly turns his head to look over, he's silent for a few moments, then a few more, which is just plain uncharacteristic of him. "I hope you mean that Spidey. Because I might need your help saving a life in the near future. That thing I said I'm going to need help with? Again not dangerous, but it is a matter of life and death. Not ready to tell you what's going on with it. But... I'll need your help."