698/Kings and Spiders

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Kings and Spiders
Date of Scene: 19 March 2020
Location: Gotham Diamond Exchange
Synopsis: Where to even start.... Silk and Ghost Spider break up a heist, Spider-Man shows up and there's some electricity.. then Gwen says goodbye to Peter. It was a rollercoaster.
Cast of Characters: Zatanna Zatara, Gwen Stacy, Cindy Moon, Peter Parker




Zatanna Zatara has posed:
The Diamond District is bustling with deliveries to and from the various businesses. Though in one of the buildings, there is a rather special delivery that is being made today. An armored truck is bringing in a recent purchase from the Heinz family, a large emerald. As the truck is making it's way down the city streets to the loading dock, across the street comes a slippy, slick film that covers the road. White in color, as the truck hits it, it loses traction and crashes into a nearby building.

Stepping out of the shadows in a new uniform of black and yellow, clutching a red gun in one hand and a yellow in the other that are looped to a pair of tanks with tubing, CONDIMENT KING speaks into his comlink. "I relish this chance to work with my fellow villains to steal the Pickle Emerald!"

"We are not calling it the Pickle Emerald, Condiment King. The police will respond in approximately 2.4 minutes. The chances of the Batman arriving in daytime are nil." ClOCK KING reports. "Kiteman, fix the explosives so that we may secure our prize."

"Hey! I have a question!" Kiteman, soaring in from above asks. "How come the two of you are Kings and I'm just Kiteman? Can't I be KITE KING?!"

The other two groan. "NO!" comes the unison response as Kiteman mutters. "Fine, fine, but if this makes me late for my date with Pamela..."

Gwen Stacy has posed:
There are a million things Gwen could be doing right now, the least of which is playing Animal Crossing, but she needed some fresh-air. Swinging through Gotham isn't nearly as warm and inviting as New York, for one the people are a lot less forgiving, and instead of shouts of Cheer there's a general Could you please stop blocking the intersection of disinterest.

As usual, her cellphone is tied to policebands, feeding her up-to-date information on the criminality of this pimple on the Butt-cheek of America... To the point she just turned the damned thing off after the sixth suspected mugging in as many seconds.

It's by happenstance that she's casting a small shadow across the Diamond District thoroughfare when the white film sprays across the street ahead of the Condiment King's arrival. "Huh..." Out of her swing, body stretched out and back, Gwen twists around to land against the side of an overhead vendor sign. Feet bent sideways to run along the smooth surface, she's gripping the top with her right hand and peering from her white/pink inlaid hood at the... "Did I just stumble into the worlds most duddliest Catch or something?" Shouted from her perch.

"I'm not sure whether to stop your robbery or let you get away with it as a mercy... You look like you need a hug and a peptalk.. seriously."

Cindy Moon has posed:
Cindy was finally out and about, working on getting her life in order, and more importantly, doing the hero thing right! Now if only she had some sort of...Silk Sense alert! Almost on demand, nice! One moment she's walking in the street, the next she bumps into someone rather rudely as she gets distracted by her 'Silk Sense'. "Sorry, sorry, my bad," she apologizes and shys away from confrontation with an irate pedestrian. People might think she was embarrassed and wanted to hide as she runs into a thin alley between two buildings, but they'd be wrong! She just took the opportunity to disappear into a dark thin space, and reappear on top of the building as Silk!

Okay, so not that impressive when absolutely nobody knows who you are, but with any luck, she could score some positive publicity numbers today. Thankfully, the Silk Sense works something like a GPS (wrong turns included), and from a distance, the keen eyed might take note of Silk's nimble form web slinging her way towards the crashed vehicle. She's not so sure on what the threat is at this point, but as she spots the crashed vehicle, she figures it's an easy rescure situation. Great for a first heroic task! Also comes out wholesome in news articles, winning!

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
"We mayo need to get out of here!" Condiment King announces as he sees Ghost Spider's appearance. "She'll soy our day!"

Clock King sighs. "Please, the puns are tiring. It is a pair of Spider-Themed characters. They are not the original Spider-Man and have made less than ten appearances in the news. Our chances of victory if you follow my plan exactly are seventy-six point eight nine two percent."

"Is that a repeating two?" asks Kiteman as he sets the explosives on the backdoor. And then turns to face the two women, and grins. "Sorry babes, I'm a taken man, though a threesome would be /soo/ hot!" he admits with a cavalierish grin. "Since you babes can't fly, I have the advantage here. Because you know. I'm Kite King."

"Kite MAN!" the other two villians complain.

"....but I wanna be Kite King." comes the Kiteman's response. "Now give me a second while I get a /stiff/ breeze."

"Less talk, I don't want to be saucy, but could tobascco every girl you meet out, Kiteman?" Condiment King raises his right gun and fires a spray of super-spicy siracha at Gwen.

"That was a reach, even for you, Condiment Man." Kiteman responds.

"I'm Condiment KING."

"If I can't be King, NOONE CAN!" he exclaims, just as the bomb goes off and sends Kiteman soaring into the air. After a moment his kite deploys. "Oh yeah, that's the stuff!" And he swoops down to try to knock Cindy over!

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Is this guy serious?

Gwen is kind of taken aback by the whole picture, really. Condiment King and his puns, Clock King and his figures, and Kiteman and his general belief that it's 1952. She decides, immediately, that he is the weakest link in this chain. "I can't even properly one-line with these guys, I bow to your superior comedic timing." It's pretty easy when there's three of them to feed off each other.

When the bomb goes off, Ghost Spider leaps out off her perch and turns at the waist to fire a pair of weblines. One goes towards Kite-Mans ankle, the other towards a building, both of them meant to tether him so he's not going anywhere. "In a city this dower, I guess it's kind of a givent hat all the villains are rediculous, but I'm not judging alright? You're evil too..."

Turning at the waist to zip along another web, yanking herself up into the air towards the, hopefully, tethered Kite-man, "But what I /cannot/ abide, is Blue Jokes.. That kind of degrading non sequitur is the kind of fundamentally flawed narative structure that has deviated proper literature from common place smut peddled on the streets like literary crack..."

Scratching at her neck, twitching slightly, after swinging her foot around trying to catch the aerial villain with a back kick to the gut, "Got any of'them fifty shades?"

Cindy Moon has posed:
Silk swoops in just in time to appear as if she was coordinating with Ghost Spider, they got matching theme and everything. But it becomes pretty apparent the moment Silk makes her graceful landing in a crouched position, that she might not exactly know who Ghost Spider is. Mostly because she looks sideways at her in confusion, before returning her gaze to the villains at hand. Okay, so this isn't just a simple rescue. That said, Silk looks aghast at Condiment King's puns, as she asks, "is it just me, or is that guy worse than expired ketchup?" Okay, so Silk had some work to do on her own banter. Still, she's steadfast and keeps with it, as she quips Clock King with, "I bet you suck at math."

But it's the Kiteman who seems to make the move right at her, so she has to be most alert about him. The bomb about to explode, was already distracting Silk, as she was looking towards it before it even went off. Taking her eyes off Kiteman in the process, but at least she was ready with a backflip and a very low landing against the ground, nearly lying down, as she looks up in alert. The fact Ghost Spider was faster to react and already aimed to get Kiteman's feet tethered to the building, makes her hesitate in her own action. Ghost Spider giving the assist, allows Silk to instead offer the same to her, as she thwips a webline to pull Condiment King's arms downwards, so his aim is off, and if possible, get that spicy sriracha all over his feet.

She should probably keep pressing, but her attention is again distracted by Ghost Spider's mad banter game, which makes her quite jealous. "Wow...that was deep," she comments to no one in particular.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
"No, no I don't want to fight you!" Kiteman begins as he feels the tug on his ankles. "I want to fight..." Looks at Cindy. She could probably take him too. "I'll fight uh... him!" he points at Frank, the Hot Dog vendor. Who wields his mustard maliciously. Not that Kiteman is going to get that chance to fight Frank, because Ghost Spider is tethering him down and then he oofs as he's sucker kicked in the guts. "Oh come on, I have mad props for hot girls. I'm dating one... OOF!" he cries out, but it breaks the webbing tether and takes Gwen high up in the sky on one of Gotham's updrafts. "I rule the skies, babe. KING OF THE AIR!"

He farts, expanding the back of his suit.

Silk's attack on Condiment King wraps up his arms up and siracha goes all over the street. "Wait, wait, I mustard you a question!" he calls out, as a shoulder mounted gun springs to life and attempts to spray hot chinese mustard in Silk's face while she's distracted by Ghost Spider's social commentary.

Clock King... is making no move to assist his compatriots. "Just like clockwork." he says, having timed for the arrival of the heroes. Knocking aside one of the guards with his clock hand cane, he picks up the emerald and turns to head out, speaking into his comm. "I will be leaving when the getaway car arrives in ten point four seconds."

"What are we supposed to do?!" Kite and Condiment asks.

"You have done your parts. Your time is up. Thank you."

Doublecrossing the other villains on the team? It's a day that ends in Y, right?

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"If you can't be funny, be wise..." Ghost Spider says from her aerial position, tumbling backwards in a series of slow backwards flips after pushing off from Kite-Mans gut area. "Or just obtuse!" Case in point; "So is all that flabby gut aerodynamic or ..." Landing, one foot tapping the top of a sign and pushing her off into a sideward, no handed, cartwheel. Webs hitting the underside of the same sign and swinging her down beneath it, right back up towards Kites.

Her Ghost-senses definitely alert her to the potential for heated sauce blasts, but Silk is on the case! So she focuses all of her attention on Cap-e-tan chauvinist. "And you now for the sudden, but inevitable, betrayal..." Clock work indeed! "You /absolutely/ sure, you guys aren't the stunt doubles for the real villains?"

Pulled vertically out of her momentum building double kick aimmed at Kite-Mans chest. "You sound like a Taranteno movie... just spouting off derogatory nonsense for the singular purpose of saying you did it!" Ten seconds? That's plenty of time in Spider-World.

Cindy Moon has posed:
Silk had seen enough to assume Ghost Spider has got this, so instead of helping her, she turns to the other two she's left with.

But first, Silk Sense causes her to quick weave a shield for herself--that's not something you see everyday--and use it to absorb the shoot of Chinese hot mustard, even as she rushes Condiment King, so the mustard winds up spraying back at him if he keeps shooting. Regardless, she leaps at him, Chinese mustard covered web shield first, to smash him against the ground.

While she completes the maneuver, a double thwip shoots webbing to stick Clock King's feet to the ground and slow down any aspiration of escape. Isn't it annoying how fast and nimble the spiders are?

"Okay, stop me if you heard it before, but how does a Clock, a Kite and a bunch of Condiment form a team? I mean, there's no theme here at all. Look at us, we didn't even pre-plan and we got our theme all cohesive, like a spider web." Yeah...the more Silk talks, the more obvious it is she needs to work on her banter game.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
At least Doctor Psycho isn't here, he'd busted out the C word by now. And we don't mean Counterrevolutionary. Kiteman, however, looks //hurt// at Gwen's commentary. "Now wait a minute! I work out. Thirty minutes of calestenics! And then two miles on the track. I lift, brah!" he starts to complain, and in the middle of the exposition, he pauses. "...that was just to distract me, wasn't it..."

That's exactly what happens when Ghost Spider slams into Kiteman, doubling him over and sending him spiraling out of control. "Aim for the bushes, aim for the bushes... THERE ARE NO BUSHES!" He slams into the the street with a resounding thud. That's going to hurt when he comes to.

Condiment King tries to keep Silk distracted, and gets a faceful of mustard for his trouble. "AGH! GOGGLES! WHY DIDN'T I GET GOGGLES!?" he cries out as he gets slammed to the ground, and his tank nozzles are broken, and he rockets upwards, spraying ketchup, mustard, and other sauces all over the place.

Silk is probably going to have to save him from himself.

Clock King looks down at the webbing on his feet, and calmly slashes it with his cane to step out. "Condiment King will hit the ground in approximately five seconds. The chances of breaking his neck and dying are sixty-two point three. In the time it will take you to stop me, he would die. You have a decision to make. The bomb on Kiteman will explode in approximately ten seconds."

The car arrives and he opens the door. "You can stop me and recover my bauble. Or you can save them. Your choice, Spider-Women."

Someone's a dick.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Even Gwen winces at that one, but... "It's alright..." Defending her Spider-themed compatriots fledgling foray into Spider-Banter. "It just takes time.. find your niche.. Could always be worse... This guy-" Pointing backwards at Condiment King, absent-mindedly letting her Ghost sense direct her movements out of the path of incoming attacks while she learns the new spider, "-woke up this morning, put a container full of Ketchup and Mustard on his back, and decided he was going to rob the diamond exchange... It's not the strength of the material, it's the commitment.. The Condimentment... EH? EEEEEH?"

Where was she?

Conversing in the middle of the fight is second nature to Gwen, she's been doing this a few years now, and it falls upon the elder generation of Genetically altered Spider themed vigilantes to pass those covetted talents down to those what follow.

Or so she tells herself.

Seriously, where was she?

Oh right, a bomb.

Kiteman bounces off along the sidewalk and she lands in a rush.. planting a hand on the trunk of a car to carry herself over with an easy half leap, legs stretched out to one side. She twists down into a low crouch beside the unconscious flyer, "Just lemme.." Snip, "And then..." Clip. The bomb is webbed up quickly in spinning hands and slung onto her shoulders like a backpack. Verticle ups, webs, and she's swinging higher. Ready to launch it into the sky with a side arm toss.

Cindy Moon has posed:
Silk somehow, even with the red buff covering the lower portion of her face, looks somewhat embarrassed as Ghost Spider gives her a few tips. "Thanks," she murmurs, as she tries to evade the rain of condiments splattering about as Condiment King is sent sky high by the pressure from his broken tanks. On the other hand Clock King is making his escape while taunting.

It's just a glance to the left -- Ghost Spider taking care of Kiteman and bomb -- and then a brace to the riiiiight. Bracing up for a move, and then the twin webs shooooOOOOT! She captures Condiment King...and then she swings him down really hard. RIGHT. ON. TOP. OF CLOCK KING!!!!

If everything worked out as planned, it would look mighty impressive. If her aim was off, Silk might just make the Bugle as a Spider-Man compatriot who just murdered Condiment Man in cold blood, while allowing Clock King to escape with a diamond. Let's keep our fingers crossed for good results!

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
And Ghost Spider also leaves Kiteman without pants. Because the bomb was in his belt. Belt and pants pulled off, Kiteman is left just in the top half of his uniform and a pair of boxers covered in Batman bats. Don't judge!

The bomb is flung high into the air where it explodes, saving numerous lives -- even if it shatters a few windows on the higher stories.

Back at Clock King and Silk, Cindy manages to get control of the Condiment King who is AIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEING as he's blown around by super-pressurized mustard and catsup until he's not. And then he's AIEEEING because he's falling his supposed death when Cindy's web grabs him out of mid air and tries to fling the villain at Clock King.

But her aim is off, and instead of Clock King, Condiment King slams into Frank's hot dog cart where he's cushioned by store bought buns and totally kosher hot dogs! Done in by hot dog cart, Condiment King is out of the fight. But alive.

That leaves only Clock King, who settles into the car as it starts to try to drive off, cutting through traffic.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Gwen is descending moi gracefully and spies Clock Master (intentionally, it's sad that we have to tell people when we're NOT typoing) escaping by motorized carrage! "Oh no you don't..." She murmurs, first dropping down beside Condiment king to grab one of the mustard bottles discarded when the cart overturned, and then she's swinging after him, getting low to the street for added dramatics. She runs along the side of a transport truck and leaps off towards the roof of a cab, then forward into a double wrist fired swinging.

Escaping from a spider in a car? This is the definition of criminal amateurs!

Latching onto the side of the vehicle, near to the side where he's sitting, she crawls up into view with her hood whipping around her white/pink mask to knock gently against the window and do the international roll'er down motion with her free hand. What is holding a mustard bottle.

"Would you like some Grey Poupon?"

That joke is a long wait for a train aint coming.

It's also a distraction for Silk.

"Pull over... your tail-lights out..." Pointing backwards.

Cindy Moon has posed:
Silk looks with eyes wide open as for a moment it looks like great success, until it becomes more apparent that her aim is off, there won't be two birds with one web situation. "Oh snap! Don't die, don't die, don't die," Silk gasps, before realizing where Condiment King is headed, it's almost like it was predestined! "HOT DOG DUDE! GET OUT THE WAY!!!" She screams, hoping to at least help the guy get out of the way, so he won't be totalled along with his cart.

Luckily, death averted, and Silk turns to look at Ghost Spider already giving chase to the getaway car. Silk for her part, shows her speed goes beyond the normal spider, as she starts running after Clock King and his vehicle, closing the last bit by shooting webs at his rear bumper and slingshooting herself legs first through his rear window and into the back of his chair. Hopefully he was wearing his seatbelt!

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
As the two women close in on the vehicle, Clock King glances impassively at Ghost Spider as she pulls up along side, but it is the surprise attack by Silk that takes down the car as it comes to a halt. The young woman's barbaric attack is rewarded however, as Clock King is hit and the car comes to a halt. It pulls over, and Clock King steps out -- will it be for an attack??

'We have enough, Fugate.' a voice says in his ear.

And with that, Clock King takes the device out of his ear and stabs it with his cane to destroy it. And he puts up his hands. "I surrender." No epic fight with the boss. No doubleteam punchings. He just waits to be apprehended.

Somewhere, a figure reaches to turn off the screen. "We have what we need?"

"It's a start." comes another voice. "And Fugate?"

"Waller will have him out shortly."

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Gwen leaps backwards when Silk smashes through the window, webs the door, and pulls herself against it... She half expected the whole thing to flip.... It usually flips. "I'm really disappointed by the lack of car flip..." She murmurs, both to herself and to Clock King when he steps out of the vehicle and immediately begins to surrnder...

Ghost Spider glances to Silk still in the back of the car, leaning between the door and the vehicle to peer in at her, "Hey, you okay in there? That was pretty boss... smashing the back window, etc.." Widening mask eyes settle then upon the criminal they'd been chasing.

"Seriously? Not... okay..." Looking down at the stabbed device what he pulled from his ear, "Dude, you have a guy in a chair!??! Mad jealous..." Web to his mouth, web to one wrist, she turns him and spins him up in a cacoon, right against the side of his getaway car.

"Just for the sake of the audiance reading at home, how long until the cops get here, again?"

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Clock King responds. "Mmmfmf." Twenty-five seconds. Since you know, Gwen webbed his mouth shut.

Cindy Moon has posed:
"I'm good, I'm good," comes Silk's self professed well being from inside the car as Ghost Spider asks for her well being, it's not long before she flips her way out the side window of the back door, and atop the roof of the car. Giving Ghost Spider a thumbs up, Silk reiterates, "yeah, so, that was pretty cool. Thanks for the help!" She looks between Ghost Spider and Clock King, not quite catching all of the exchange that just happened, "what's a Guy In A Chair? Do you have one? Do I need one? Sorry, I'm kinda new to the hero game...picking it up as I go along. Your banter is amazing!" She then hops down to the road, wincing at the mention of cops, and potentially the Silk Sense that supports the claim they should be there shortly. "Should we...split before the cops get here? I mean...I don't know how to deal with cops, and I don't think I have to start now."

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Park Street at Conner is a mess. Hotdogs, ketchup, mustard and other condiments are all over the place. Kiteman-- sans pants-- is draped over a light pole. Condiment King is in a hot dog cart, knocked out. And Clock King is being webbed up by Gwen as the two spider-women are preparing to flee as the police start to arrive on the scene.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Gwen smacks Clock King in the back of the head with the tips of her fingers, "It was a rhetorical question for comedic purposes... shhh..." Because there's conversation to be had between two spiders, okay? "Yeah, no problem-o... hey." Gwen is standing on the side of the car, leaning on it anyways, with her feet turned sideways and one hand resting on the hood.

"We should meet back up and exchange pointers, eh? I mean if you're new, I could definitely help you get comfortable with the conversational hijinx that is Es Oh Pee for us colorfulc cadre of cartoonishly themed spider-heroes." Glancing in the direction of approaching sirens with an obvious frown behind her mask.

"A guy in a chair... it's a person communicating with you through a headset offering you sage advice and/or comedic deviations when times get stressful. Trust me, if you can find a Guy in a chair do so, it'll up your banter game exponentially."

As for cops, "We should definitely hit a rooftop or something.. At least in New York, they don't follow you to the roofs. Either way, we should bounce... Gotham PD are kind of shoot happy with Vigilantes."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey doesn't usually go to Gotham City...or as he calls it, Transylvania West.

But the BUGLE wanted him to cover some medical expo about dealing with various infectious diseases, and being chaired by a Nobel Prize-winner, Dr. Morbius.

But the expo is closed down for the night, and Peter was feeling antsy. Or, more accurately, spider-sy. So, on with the increasingly-tattered suit, the matching backpack that is SO tres chic, and out he goes.

One thing Gotham City does have in abundance, is plenty of places to anchor a webline. He wondered if that was why Batman et. al. goes swinging around like that, so the car doesn't draw attention. 'Cause chicks dig the car.

He is comin' 'round the Gotham Towers when the app buzzes. A robbery, and not far away. So, might as well add a little color to a drab-looking robbery.

Allons-y!

Cindy Moon has posed:
"Yeah...I think that would be smart, it was nice working with you, I mean...I could have been a murderer without your help, that would sorta suck..." Silk admits to her rather bad debut, which was saved by Ghost Spider's presence. "Oh yeah, definitely need your help with the banter, I sounded kind of lame, didn't I?" Silk asks with a bit of a sulk evident in her tone of voice. "That sounds important, I'll try to look for one, though how do you go about it? Sounds awkward to randomly ask people if they want to be your 'guy in a chair', doesn't it?" Silk muses at the entire affair.

A thwip and a pull, and Silk follows Ghost Spider's advice, rather swiftly moving to the roof of a building overlooking the fiasco that just happened. "Smart thinking," she'll flatter Ghost Spider if she swings along. But then something happens. It's like her Silk Sense, but not quite, and if Ghost Spider would look at her from up close, it would seem like Silk just got hit in the face with some invisible force, as she stands there stunned on the rooftop. In a very zombie-like fashion, she slowly turns blinking as she takes a step back. "Something...is very, very weird," she mutters.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
When they get to the rooftops, Gwen feels a familiar buzzing in the back of her head. Those intune with magic will feel it as well, as shimmering into existance is a young raven haired woman, currently dressed in an oversized t-shirt that reads 'Natural 20s'

You can assume where the dice are.

"Hey babe!" Zatanna's astral form announces to Gwen cheerfully. "I was just making lunch. You want anything? And can you pick up some soy milk while you're out? Someone keeps using it in her coffee." she starts to say.

Then she hears Cindy's voice, and Zatanna's astral form turns. "Oh hey, you're out making friends. Whoops!"

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Gwen leads them up to the roof and drops down onto the ledge to overlook the scene of cops bundling up Clock King while listening to Silk's questions and commentary. Her hands rest on either side of her hip, lifting her up to dangle back and forth, just to stretch her arms out some. "With me, I got lucky... My guy in a chair is ac-" Behold, the power of Magic. Gwen grins behind her maks and motions up to the Astrally projected Zatanna Zatara standing a few feet away from them. "A woman, who uses magic, and blames me for using soy milk in the coffee... but she wont blame the moose. We call that //hypocracy// where I come from, dear.." Teasing the holographic woman with a wide grin.

That begins to fade when Silk gets that deer in the head-lights look, "Hey.. you look like you just saw a ghost... She's not a ghost, I promise. Just a Sorceress... It's cool, take a breath... you going to vomit? Try not to vomit. People definitely remember when you vomit.. trust me.." She does not yet know that Peter is within range and that all this super wierdness is caused by him, because of corse it is.

Peter Parker has posed:
Here I come to save the da, uh, niiiight...!

Spidey swings up to land on a large gargoyle overlooking the...spectacle
Cop cars, cops, and a guy with a clock and another with...is that a KITE? Sheesh.
Oh, well, glass houses and stones. He had to deal with a guy called Paste-Pot Pete. How crazy is...

Spidey shook his head. What was going on? Suddenly he was...well, geez, what the heck was going on? He felt...
Oh, even his brain couldn't say it.
Spider-Man looked around nervously. It wasn't the Spider-Sense. That usually hit him at the base of the neck. This was...much lower.

FOCUS, Spider-Man.

Cindy Moon has posed:
Silk is snapped out of her haze when Zatanna magically appears, and she jumps a little, shifting to a crouch over the edge of the roof, resting on hands and feet, as she looks surprised by the astral form, "is that your guy in the chair...!? Because she's definitely not a guy, and she's not in a chair either..."

Still, even the surprise appearance of Zatanna's ghostly apparition, doesn't seem to stop that inexplicable tag on her Silk Sense. If it was even that. It's not a sense of danger, but rather a sense of...something Cindy doesn't quite make sense of at all. Sense is a tricky thing with spiders!

"Does your guy in a chair, who, as aforementioned, is not a guy and not in a chair, wear anything under that shirt?" Cindy asks in alarm, apparently not thinking that Zatanna can hear her at all.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
"For starters, the moose doesn't have a stomach. He's just a head on the wall. And I thought your grief was with the owl." Zatanna responds, hands settled on her hips as she gives Gwen a playfully stern look. "That's okay, you haven't found my almond milk stash yet." Because she hid that shit, it's like gold yo. Cindy's reaction is considered. "Oh, hello. I'm Zatanna." she offers in greetings, completely casual about the whole thing. Then she takes in the condition of the Spider-Suits and she frowns. "Maybe a little too much fun?" she asks. "One second!"

Sapphire eyes flash warmly and in amusement at Silk, "I wasn't expecting her to have company. I'll dress up?" With that, she waves her hands over herself, and when she reappears, she's wearing a Ghost Spider costume. Well. Sorta. It's a form fitting unitard like Gwne's, except it only covers her torso and waist with webstyle fishnets going down her arms and legs. "That better? And now..."

"Naelc dna riaper lla redips stis."

With that, Gwen and Cindy's suits are cleared of condiment damage, as well as any rips and tears and left with a slightly lavender scent from Zatanna's magical cleaning and repair. Whether or not Peter's suit is affected is up to her. "Are you inviting your new friend to lunch, Gw... Ghost Spider?"

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"Generally, yes." Gwen says to Silk, squint eyeing Zatanna's astral form with no small amount of playful scrutiny, "But I think she's trying to replace me with a younger model." All teasing, which is steadily fading because Cindy don't look so good.. Even after the repair and cleaning services. Arms up and out at her sides as the magical energy whirls around her leaving her spotless and smelling delightful. "Thanks, babe."

Concern evident in her voice, she slides over to the crouching Silk and tilts her head, "You alright? Looks like someone walked on your grave..." Inviting her to lunch? Gw-Ghost Spider shrugs, "I /could/, but you have to put on some clothes... and maybe get the anti-acids. Did you get Condiment Kings ketchup in your mouth? You never let them goo you, okay? Not on your first outing."

Still unawares of Spidey peeping spidering over there.

Peter Parker has posed:
It takes him awhile, but he finally spots a flash of white and black an purple. A little more color in this monochrome city.

Gwen? Gwen's here?
Okay, relax, take stock...deep breaths. She looks like she's busy. If she's busy, then just swinging over would be rude, and he was worried how he'd come across. True, he had the dancer's belt under the suit, but STILL...

So he chickens out and sends a text first.

<Gwennie? Pete. I didn't know you were in Gotham. I'm about...at your 7 o'clock, about 150 yards away.>

Cindy Moon has posed:
"Wow! You can hear me!?" Silk is certainly caught off guard, walking down the edge of the roof to stand on the wall, right next to the ledge Ghost Spider is perched on. But before she can say anything else, Zatanna does some magic, and saves Cindy lots of time on laundrey and mending. "Oh my god, did you just do this!?" Silk studies her newly pristine costume, as she takes in the clean lavender scent and smiles, giving a double thumbs up at Ghost Spider and Zatanna, "I like your guy in the chair, I mean, Zatanna..." looking more directly at Zatanna, she professes, "I could never repay you enough, that was awesome!"

"Younger model...? Why? You're pretty awesome," Silk says to Ghost Spider, totally missing the joke, but maybe you can jot that one down to the fact she's mighty distracted at the moment by all sorts of feelings and sensations she shouldn't be feeling right now. Certainly not out of the blue.

"I'm okay...I think," Cindy murmurs at Gwen in a tone of voice that suggests she's not okay at all. "Just, something...like a tingling..." she almost says Silk Sense but then she doesn't know if Ghost Spider ever experiences the same. Besides, it makes sense she doesn't call it a Silk Sense seeing as Cindy is Silk, and Gwen likely has a different name for herself. "It's..." she tries again, but something seems to distract her, as she falls silent and instead turns to look at oh...about Gwen's 7 o'clock, say, 150 yards away...

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
"Gwen, everything alright there?" Zatanna asks, frowning slightly. "I can be there in a second with a word." she promises. "And there's no replacing you. Just helping you find home..." she trails off though, and grins at Cindy. "Any friend of Ghost Spider's..." she starts.

But then Cindy's looking off, and she's even more confused and fighting the urge to either teleport there herself, or teleport Gwen away.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Then there's Zatanna's costume, is she trying to be distracting?! "Zee, come onnnnn... I'm trying to be helpful..." Making it difficult for Poor Peter. He's having enough trouble keeping himself together as is, okay? She's still grinning though, rolling her eyes at the astral projection as she awaits Silk's response. Absently reaching back for her phone in the hidden pocket on her belt, fishing it out just as Silk is giving her a complement and looking in...

The exact direction Peter says he's perched.

"Spooky..." Not really. Their life is a series of strange and unusual events. I mean, Gwen lives in a magical mansion full of talking taxidermy heads. This is small potatos, really. "Uh... you... see someone?" Thumbing the keys:

>:"Hey Petey Pie... you know this one? She's.. uh.. staring at you.. I think.. I'm scared and I need an adult." >:

"I.. maybe?" To Zee, "Yeah, maybe you should..." Wiggling her fingers at the projection, half looking in the same direction as Silk. "Spider-Man is over there.. You see him?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey looked closer. Next item on the list, telephoto lens option.

<Right now, you're the only clear one. In Gotham for the Bugle. Should I come over, or are you and Zatanna saying nothing sweet in each other's ears?>

The woman is in some form-fitting costume, but she also has long dark hair. So it's easy to mistake her.

Cindy Moon has posed:
Silk still seems in a trance of sorts, as she stares, could it be some weird, potentially longing look in her eyes? Maybe. Either way, she seems transfixed on that direction, as she finally answers, "that Spider-Man over there? I can see...he's not coming over here, is he?" Silk asks, as she suddenly flips back up to the edge of the roof. "Are you and Spider-Man friends?" She asks Gwen, before nodding at the astral projection, "yeah...we can be friends, I mean, I could use a man in the chair like you, that work on the suit was world class, Zatanna!"

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
"Hmm." Zatanna offers quietly, and realizes something. Looking from spider to spider to spider and then back to her spider. And she figures this may be... them socially webbing together? "Sure, talk to Ghost Spider about it. But she's probably a better mentor than I." Waving her hand to return to her nightshirt. "Don't forget to pick up some trvael bottles, we're leaving in the morning." she reminds Gwen. Before she lifts her hands. "See you at home, babe." With that, she vanishes.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Gwen leans towards Zatanna as soon as the sorceress begins to disappear, "I wont be long... just going to make sure it doesn't get weird up here..." she says, tapping her fingers to her mask over her lips and holding it out for Zee,

"I uh... I ... don't know. This feels exactly like the Gate Keeper and Key Master... Like if we get these two together something terrible is going to happen..." That or something rating changing. Either way, she doesn't look excited to find out what it is.

"Do you want him to? I can...." Wiggling her phone, thumbing across the keys with her eyes never leaving the newest addition to the spider family of super heroes.

:<"Yeah.. maybe you should keep your distance, Petey.. I don't subscribe to Cinemax for a reason.">:

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man blinked. How the devil did she know what...?

<Gwen...who is that on the roof with you? The more I sit here, the more I'm...it's like a compulsion.>

Maybe he should get out of here. But scientific curiosity is mingling with some baser imperative.

He's swinging over to the roof that is closer, putting him at about 50 yards away now.

Yes...it's stronger now. His head feels full of smoke. And the other woman near Gwen...he'll admit, he'd always had a feeling for Gwen, but right now this makes his feeling for Gwen about as intense as a chill breeze.

Cindy Moon has posed:
"Oh god, oh god, oh god," Silk starts to mutter nervously as her attention breaks away from Ghost Spider to shift her focus, now looking at Spider-Man's new position, 50 yards away, "it's getting worse..." she informs Gwen without actually revealing what it is that is getting worse. "I...you know? I think it's a bad idea, I, erm, remmbered...arrr...I need to go!" Silk blabbers her way through a top candidate for Least Convincing Excuse of The Year, and she just sprints towards the other side of the roof, surprising with her speed, before she dives down and swings away. Yes, she got scared, but don't tell anyone!

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"You left the kettle on? No no.. the straightener is plugged in... The car door's unlocked?" Offering up any excuse that Cindy might possibly want, "And there she goes..." Gwen says as Silk sprints away like a spider being chased by rain coming down.. turning to look in the direction Spidey is coming from.

Half heartedly waving in his direction when he's in shouting distance, "Hey Spidey..." That waving hand thumbs back towards the direction Silk ran, "She went that way, but... listen.. I kind of need you to chill on following her for now.." Hands up, palms out, stepping in his way. "I'm definitely getting a familiarity, if you know what I'm sayin'... don't get over eager, beaver..."

Just helping out a friend and a new friend and...

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man is about to go after her. No thought about it, no reason. Get close, and...

And then, as she bolts and increases the distance, the single question that appears in his head is *Why?*

BECAUSE. Because...
Two hundred yards and climbing.

"...What the Hell just happened?" Spider-Man breathes. Chasing her had felt like the right thing to do. But the farther away she got, the crazier it sounded.

He waited until the compulsion was completely gone before he swung over to the roof Gwen was on. One second after he landed, he blurted out, "Who WAS SHE?"

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"I unno, but if she flusters you /this/ bad, I definitely wish I could get to know her..." Ghost Spider says to her friend, slapping his arm to get him fully back about his senses, "But..." She does look after Silk, the eyes of her mask shrinking as she squints to the very distant, and getting more so, figure of a swinging Cindy Moon, "You were both all goo-goo eyes at each other from over a hundred yards away.. So..."

Arms crossed, leaning a hip against a large pipe running along the roof, casually, and rather fampantly, waving her hand. "Maybe it's for your safety, and that of your fledgling relationship with a woman who could literally throw you into outerspace if you piss her off, that you enhance your calm whenever she's around?"

She rubs the back of her neck with the flat part of her hand, "I hate to leave you standing up here like a cold shower, buddy, but we're off to Australian in the morning... Zee thinks she found a way to get me home.." Which is probably why she hasn't offered to... like.. protect him from the scary Silk Spider.

"If... if she's right?" A quiet glance down at her hands, then up at Pete, "You wont see me again.."

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter blinks, dispelling the image of the girl with the compelling aura. That was then, this is now. And this is...

"I...I get it. Okay..." He takes a deep breath. "...OKAY. Well...that's good, right? You get to go back to your world. And you...you'll have your life back. And that is better than...wanting yo to stay here."

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"Yeah..." Gwen glances after Silk, but she's long gone. Then down at the roof, "Yeah, it's good.." She doesn't sound all that convencing to her ears etiher, "Of course I want to go home, back... where I belong." Does she though? Seems everything is setting up to define /this/ universe as where she belongs.

Once you get past that whole being dead thing, anyways.

"But I... listen I was going to call before we left. I didn't want to just disappear or anything. I really appreciate you being-.. you know.. you." Grinning behind her mask, she opens her arms. "Bring it in. Don't get all weird on me, this is... this is how it has to be." Nope, still not convincing.

"Besides, I have to pick up soy milk before heading back to Zatanna's." And there goes one of the reasons she's not to convincing, innit?

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man...Peter...steps forward and hugs Ghost-Spider...Gwennie...warmly. "Maybe you coming her was meant to happen. If you hadn't...maybe I would still be dreading the sight of Gwen when I closed my eyes. I don't anymore. So...with everything that happened...I was glad you came. I'm glad...that I was able to help you, this time." He sniffled. "Just...promise me you'll forgive yourself for what happened to YOUR Peter."

Gwen Stacy has posed:
That's a lot to take in, but once they've hugged and Gwen has stepped back, still gripping Peter's upper arms, she nods agreement with his vocalized desire. "I'll do my best. I mean, it's not like I left in the middle of a police chase trying to take me in for murder or anything, right?" But wait... She grins behind her mask and looks off in the general direction of Shadowcrest. "I should get going, Petey.. I'm glad you were in Gotham. Whatever happens, I want you to know I'm glad we ran into each other, okay? And I hope things work out between you and Supergirl.." laughing quietly, "Which, nice catch by the way.. She's way out of your league." Good natured ribbing.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man nods. "Yeah...about that. Can you keep a secret? You'll be going back to your world anyway, so you won't have to worry about keeping it for long."

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Ghost Spider tilts her head slightly, "I mean, sure... unless you tell me you're secretly Supergirl under that mask... That'll really trip me out, Pete, en gee el..."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey chuckles. "Okay, okay...deep breath..."

Spider-Man looks squarely at Ghost Spider. "Someone's going to attack Peter Parker. Someone who does not approve of his relationship with Supergirl. In the aftermath of the attack, Supergirl is going to publicly break up with Peter, for his own safety."

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"Was it a publicity stunt, Peter Parker?" Gwen wonders with mock surprise, "I cannot believe you've played me in the part of duplicitous bystander in the theater of your love life!" Her fist rockets out to knock knuckles against her friends upper arm, keenly aware that he can take the hit. "Shame, you two were cute."

Correction, "Well, she is anyways."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man smiled under the mask. "In the ensuing aftermath, Peter will rebound with another girl, some freelance journalist. Who will have blonde hair and blue eyes. So they will say he has a type."

A pause. "And then Supergirl's professional crimefighting relationship with Spider-Man...will deepen into something more."

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"Oh you." Gwen smirks at Peter, rolling her eyes behind her mask, "You're such a card... you know that crap will only work in Metropolis right?" That's so meta aint it? She's joking of course. "Seriously, I'm happy for you, Petey. YOu deserve a nice blonde journalist that fits your type..." Wink wink, nudge nudge. "I'll try not to think about how much she looks like Gwen Stacy, eh?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey chuckles, then gets serious. "It's the best way for everyone involved. It makes sense for the narrative. And it's the best way for us to be together."

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Ghost nods, still smiling behind her mask as she steps up onto the ledge before the great drop down into Gothams streets. "Well, send me a postcard, huh?" She knows that's not entirely possible. "I'm rooting for you, Pete. I'll always be in your corner... just like you've been in mine." She leans backwards and begins to fall, "Seeya in the comic books, buddy!"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man is not alarmed. She didn't need saving.

So this time...he let her fall, knowing it would not be the same. And that was comforting.