8194/Paths Crossing at 150 Feet Up

Paths Crossing at 150 Feet Up
Date of Scene:	10 October 2021
Location:	Midtown
Synopsis:	Demona meets Spider-Man and a lot of sharing is done.
Cast of Characters:	Susan Sullivan, Peter Parker

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Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Parking in Manhattan wasn't cheap. Parking Garages were also not known for their abundance of life. They were like gizzards. Full of unliving minerals and occasionally squish stuff up. At the very top floor, there were pigeons. Demona currently sits atop the cement wall with an old Walkman in her lap. Pigeons were landing on her like she was just a statue there. She hummed out something melodic as she worked and tried not to get pooped on. Always the danger of being around fowl of any sort.

Peter Parker has posed:
He's not hard to spot. He's the red-and-blue speck bobbing and weaving between the buildings, small arcs connected end-to-end. He slows down as he gets closer to the parking garage, the arcs getting longer even as they slow down...

Until, only a few minutes later than 9 PM as agreed, Spider-Man vaults up in a wide arc to land in his characteristic crouch before slowly standing up straight.

"Hello, Demona." His voice is different from Peter's. More confident, less unsure, and even a little wry. Not in a mean way, though.

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Demona looks up from the walkman she's been working on. "Hey!" she says, furrowing her brow. She jumps to her feet and stuffs the in-progress project into her hoodie pocket. She seems pretty excited. She's uncovered from the neck up. One of the pigeons actually tries to stay mounted on her shoulder as she hops up, but the rest move to other areas. She reaches under the bird and plucks it up, tossing it gently toward the cement wall. It flaps its wings to land about as gracefully as flying rats ever do.
    Demona walks forward, holding out a hand. "It's nice to meet you, sir," she says.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey smiles and extends a gloved hand, revealing the slim apparatus under the right wrist. "Nice to meet you, too. I hear you're thinking about doing some freelance acts of kindness."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "I was hoping to," Demona says. "I--" She pauses as she takes hold of Spider-Man's hand. Her brow furrows. "I--" she tries again. She takes in a deep breath through her nose. She closes her eyes for a moment as she pulls Spider-Man's hand to her side, taking a step forward as she inhales. She opens her eyes again and looks that mask in the eyes. "Peter?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man stares at her for a long moment. He thinks about going the easy route, but it seems like a lot of extra work to lie to someone who seems like they can tell. And lying might kill what credibility he might have left.

He sighs after a long pause. "...Don't...TELL anyone, okay? Please?"

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Demona's eyes go wide and she points with her left hand. In a hushed whisper, she says, "I knew your breath smelled spidery!" She shakes her head quickly, as if realizing he'd asked a favor of her. She lets go of his hand and wipes her hands on her hoodie. "Yeah, no. Super cute guy I totally have a crush on is also Spider-Man? I'm taking that one to my grave!" she insists.
    Seeming to realize something, Demona begins laughing. "Your breath smelled spidery," she says. "You mentioned being friends with Spider-Man. I actually imagined you two making out to give your breath the spideriness!" She puts her face in her hands and giggles. "Oh, geez," she says. "Okay, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She clears her throat and wraps her arms around herself, taking a moment to center herself and calm down. "I'm cool. Lot to take in, just now."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey nods after a moment. "Yeah, well...I had to make a good cover story. It made sense to act like I did stuff for him so he was able to help me get pictures of him. After my uncle died...I sorta had to become the breadwinner of the family. So...I developed everything I needed to do this. I have a lab/machine shop where I built the tools I needed. It's not Stark Enterprises, but everything works. I...was trying to keep a low profile, as much as possible."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "Ooh!" Demona says, eyes going wide again with excitement. "Oh, please tell me I get to see your machine shop at some point!" That fact seemed to be more exciting to her than meeting actual Spider-Man.

Peter Parker has posed:
Being Spider-Man is big, but having a lab/machine shop is cooler? Ah, well, takes all kinds.

"Well, it's at my house. So before I do that, I think I'm going to have to introduce you to my Aunt. She's...no stranger to the unusual."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Demona nods, then furrows her brow again. "Oh, uh," she says. "Is she one of those people who's going to rat me out to your girlfriend?" She looks a little nervous and admits, "I confess, I feel like I'm breaking some kind of rules, right now, knowing what I know!" She also sounds super excited about knowing all this. It is a big day for Demona, apparently.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey shakes his head. "She doesn't know I'm Spider-Man, though. I've been hiding it from her, but it's looking more and more like I'm going to have to come clean about it. I thought she might not be able to handle it, but recent events suggest otherwise. So...don't tell her until I tell you I've told her, Demona..."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "Psh," Demona scoffs. "You told me not to tell anyone," she reminds him. "She's not getting it out of me even AFTER you've told me you've told her," she insists.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man nods after a moment. "Well, Demona...I know one or two things you can do. Would you mind tell me what you can do, and we can see how to apply that to the kind of stuff we do?"

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "Okay," Demona says nodding. Business mode. She calms down considerably and is steel, as opposed to being about 50% butterflies by weight. "I'm a machinist, prop-maker, tinkerer; I can do electronics repair as long as it's something I can hand-solder, I converted the van to solar-charging electric. I don't know if you knew that." She scratches the back of her neck, trying to think of 'things she can do', obviously never having to answer that in a superhero context before.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey nodded. "Well, that's actually encouraging. I do a few things like that." He held up one arm so Demona can see the web-shooter. "I built this myself. Even though I have other innate abilities, generating webs organically is not one of them. I had to reverse-engineer a synthetic spider-silk compound."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "Oh!" Demona says moving forward and taking Peter's hand in hers so she can gawk at the wrist-mounted web-shooter. "I thought you just had Ant DNA or something and Spider-Man was a misnomer because webs are cooler when they come out your butt." She runs her pale fingertips over the device. "This is really good work," she notes. "Microswitches, hardly any tool marks; I don't see any chatter at all." She looks up into the mask. "You're amazing, Spider-Man."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey chuckles. "LONG hours of work. And a few hiccups. This design has gone through a few iterations. It helps being persistent."

Good thing she can't see him blush. He hopes.

"I wasn't born like this, though. It was a bite from a genetically-engineered spider that was bathed in an unknown amount of radiation. Technically, I am a human/spider hybrid. Except I don't have six arms, thank God."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "Yeah, I know," Demona says, looking at him as he says he's a human-spider hybrid. She hasn't QUITE managed to let go of his hand, yet. "You smell so spidery. It's weird and oddly cute," she admits. "Does Kara know?" she asks.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey nods after a moment. "Yeah, we had a few...long talks about it. I think she's got a handle on it..."

Does she EVER, but that's not a story he can tell.

"I can cling to almost any surface. I have enhanced physical abilities. And there's my Spider-Sense, which is almost precognitive when it comes to threats. The rest is all technology, including Spider-Comm."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "I see!" Demona says. "Okay," she says, looking around with a hushed voice. "I am going to be up-front with you, since I know, now, and you should know this." She looks intensely into Spider-Man's eyes and speaks three words with a deadly intensity. "I'm a Jiangshi."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey blinks. Yep, the eyes close and open again.

"That's...okay. That makes some sense. That's a...an Oriental vampire, but not blood, right? It's more like...lifeforce?"

After a moment, he adds, "Once upon a time, I wanted to be Indiana Jones, so I studied a lot of history of different cultures, as well as some of the mythologies. I remember looking that up because of another vampiress I know. She's the European blood-drinking variety."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Demona nods. She listens to some of Peter's backstory, then says, "Well, the downside is we have a lot more weaknesses, but the upside is I can feed in non-harmful ways, and when I'm full of good qi, I can be out in the sunlight. I mean...it was daytime when I first met Peter."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man nods. "Yeah, I remember that. Hence my confusion. Okay, that makes sense. Maybe I should introduce you to Miss Riviere...might be interesting. She can't handle sunlight, and can do different things, but she's helped out with crimefighting stuff."

He nods, then asks, "Is that what you want to do? Help out with crime in the city?"

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Demona's emotions run the full gambit before she says, "I don't know. I want to help people. My body rots qi, and I have to constantly be purging the evil from my body, or else my new nature tries really hard to take over. I really don't want to drain anyone." She looks down at her hands. "I'm a Disney Princess," she says, quietly. "Disney Princesses don't hurt people."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey nods somberly. "Well, let's analyze the issue. How do you purge the evil from you body, safely? If there's a working method, best thing to do is to make it as easy as possible."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Demona takes Spidey's hand and drags him to her van. She opens the back up and gestures at a bean-bag mattress thing. "Rice," she says. "It hurts like hell, but rice pulls bad qi out of me while not really touching the fresh stuff. I meditate on that bed I made until I can't drink in any more of the ambient qi, then every month or two, I empty out the sick rice, re-fill the mattress VERY carefully, and repeat."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man nods after a moment. "And you just dispose of the rice? Hmm. Biodegradable. And the stuff just leaches out of the rice? No ill effects if anyone comes into contact with it?"
His voice is almost clinical in its curiosity.

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "It kind of rots the rice," Demona tries to explain. "It doesn't hurt anything that I've seen. It doesn't work as compost right away, but life really doesn't like the vacuum that Jiangshi are. That's why animals don't like vampires, usually. We are that thing that nature abhores," says the woman who had pigeons all over her when Spider-Man showed up.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man looks around. "I think what you're doing should count in your favor. It's rather impressive, really. Once a month? Hmm." He's thoughtful again, probably wondering if long-grain rice absorbs more than short-grain rice.

"Can you fly, like over long distances? Miss Riviere can fly, but she does it by turning into a swarm of bats."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "I'd LOVE to learn that," Demona says. "So, I can kind of hover. I can do it over as long a distance as there is qi flow, but not over water. Running water breaks up the qi in the land, so it's hard for me to cross it. I can do it in the van, if I'm quick. Inertia can push me along, but if I'm trying to do it on foot, I think I'd get swept away." She looks off into the middle distance and ponders aloud, "I wonder how many jiangshi are perpetually stuck in ocean currents and can't leave."

Peter Parker has posed:
"Really?" Spidey tilts his head. "So, if you're driving over a river, and your seat belt is on...does the van carry you across while you are strapped in?"

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "That's how I usually do it," Demona says. "You could probably carry me across on foot," she says, not blushing because she didn't have a pulse or blood anymore. "Nobody's ever tried before, though. I also can't go anywhere I'm not at least implicitly invited, so I couldn't go into someone's house to figure out how they disappeared, because I can't go into their house."

Peter Parker has posed:
"Oh...right. That. Yes, I've seen that in action. Hunh. Okay. Might be a problem if you have to sneak into a gangster's house."

Because that's a possibility in this line of work.

"Well...I set up a place where I do a lot of training. I practiced a lot of ninjitsu there, as well as came to learn more about what I can do. If a place to test your abilities is something you need, maybe I can help you out there."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "I did do a lot of martial arts for meditation when I lived in China," Demona offers. Lived may be a strong word in this context.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey chuckled. "Jeez, maybe I should introduce you to this Cyber-Ninja I know. Taught me everything I know about martial arts in particular." He looked around. "Can you eat normal food and gain sustenance from it, or is it all...just window dressing for you?"

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "I can't eat or drink mortal food," Demona says. "My body doesn't get anything out of it. It'd be like you trying to force your body to swallow sand. It just doesn't want to do it. I would look MORE out of place trying."

Peter Parker has posed:
"Ohhh...wow, okay." Spidey nods. "Pity. My Aunt makes an apple pie that won Best Pastry/Confection for 2016 by the New York State Chamber of Commerce." He looks back to Demona. "So...interested in the unofficial 'gym?' A place to blow off steam, real or figurative, in any case. And no membership fees."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Demona purses her lips and shrugs at the re-offer. "I guess," she says. "I need to sniff around and see what the qi is like in there. I don't want to get low and be unable to meditate and succumb to my hunger. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I hurt you or one of your friends," she says. "Machine shop, yes. Gym maybe. Meeting your Aunt seems the first step." She thumbs over her shoulder to the van behind her. "Is the van part of the super-hero tech kit help thing?" she asks. "I ask because it's really the only tech I've got right now. It's mine. I made it. I kind of want to make it amazing."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey checks out the van. "Well...I'm pretty sure if you wanted to make it light-proof inside, maybe set up a camera system with feeds to the windows so you can see outside...It would be interesting. Having a rolling forensics lab would be pretty cool, too. My uncle once told me about photojournalists who would have a trunk FILLED with everything they needed."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "Both are neat ideas," Demona says. "It's--" She hesitates. "Um...it's kind of my house, though." There WERE quite a few personal effects. Took 'living out of one's vehicle' to a new extreme. "I'd like to keep that function of it, if possible."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man holds up a finger. "The gym is a converted scrap yard. You could park your van there and no one will mess with it!"

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Demona furrows her brow a bit and cocks her head as she looks at Spider-Man. "Hang on," she says. "A converted scrap yard. A scrap yard where somebody might mistake my van for junk and take it? As scrap?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey smirks. "Relax. It's abandoned. The owners disappeared a few years ago and it's stuck in probate Hell. The court date to start the process isn't until 2023. I looked it up. So no one's going to put your car in the crusher out back."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Suddenly, Demona looks nervous. She looks at the van with worry on her features. "I see," she says. She takes hold of the rear door's handle and looks into the van as if in an existential crisis. "This is all I have, Peter," she says, her voice tense. "This is it. This van and whatever's inside it and my backpack is all I have left in the world."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey took a deep breath. "Demona, if I thought for a solitary moment your vehicle was in danger taking it there, I'd never suggest it. Even if something did happen, I'd make sure nothing happened to it. Promise."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Demona turns to look into Spider-Man's masked face. "Spider-Man," she says. "Will you join me inside for a minute?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey looked to the van, then back to Demona.

No Spider-Sense going off yet. He figured he'd probably be okay.

"Okay...just for a minute, though. I have to go soon to check out a surveillance bug I put on a gangster's office window..."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Once they were both inside, Demona would close the van's back doors. She shifted around him in the dark and pressed a button on the ceiling near the front. Blackout curtains front and back were almost certainly a necessity, and the van had no windows on the sides. It was one of THOSE vans.
    Demona knelt not touching the rice bag she sometimes meditated on. "Can I please look into your eyes for a moment?" Demona asks.

Peter Parker has posed:
Well, at least she didn't offer him candy...

Stupid Mouth, you are not helping.
Stupid Mouth: ...I'm supposed to help?

Instead of saying anything, he took a deep breath and pulled off the balaclava mask, revealing Peter with a bad case of mask hair.

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Demona can't help but smile at seeing his face. "There you are," she says. "Now," she says, shifting forward a couple inches. "Forgive me for this, but...tell me again. You tell me. Peter Parker, the cute nerd who wins me over every time we geek out together; my friend who introduced me to Spider-Man. Promise me." She then holds up her right hand, extending her pinky towards him. This is definitely a big deal to her.

Peter Parker has posed:
For a moment, he doesn't understand. Then it comes to him, a flash of memory:

"Promise me we'll always be friends."
"...I promise, Harry."

Promises made in ritual, the kind children always have. With Harry, it was spitting in the palm. For Demona, it's a pinky-swear.
Well...nothing wrong with that.

Peter hooked his pinky around Demona's. "I promise I will never let anything happen to your van at King's Landing."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Demona would cry if she still made tears. She smiles and nods curtly. "Good," she says, not unwinding her pinky. "Give me the address."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey nods. "It's in Brooklyn, near the water. It's called King's Landing Scrap Yard. Not a GAME OF THRONES reference. The owner's last name was King and it had a place for tugs to come in to drop off scrap metal."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "Is there a place I could practice welding?" Demona asks. "Maybe we could set you up a better machine shop there?" she suggests. "I'm not proud. If the scrapyard's qi flows well enough, I could work there when I'm not training."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man nodded. "There's some areas in the garage you could do that. My lab has all my stuff there, so if you can't do it at the scrap yard, maybe we can wrk something out. Check the place out."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Demona nods. "Okay," she says. "I will. You've got my number. Text me when you want me to come meet your aunt. For now, go bust your gang, you crazy boy." She smiles at him and places her hands in her lap, the only safe place for them in the moment.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey slides out of the van, then fires a webline. "See you on the flip side, Demona."