8366/Best Bird Feeder in Town.

Best Bird Feeder in Town.
Date of Scene:	22 October 2021
Location:	Angelo's Pizza
Synopsis:	Spider-Man meets up with Black Canary after the Big Man bust, and come to some common ground.
Cast of Characters:	Dinah Lance, Peter Parker

---

Dinah Lance has posed:
After the battle of the baddy bands, with lead vocalist Black Canary and stage manager Spider-Man was over, after all the usual questions with cops and others were dealt with, Canary, without bothering to look, guessing Spidey was still watching, just said, "Angelo's Pizza, Brooklyn." Then, wearied, contused, abraded, and possibly even mildly concussed, she walked her way to where her bike was concealed, the swagger and ramrod back turning into a limp and a slump as she rounds a corner out of sight.

Resting a moment on the bike before kicking it to life, she recovered from the fatigue, then rocketed into the night.

It was a long series of roads, tunnels, and alleyways, but she had the route to Angelo's memorized from practically every borough of NYC or Gotham. Not long afterward, her bike did the nose-wheelie stop-and-twist to park between a street lamp and a mailbox. This naturally brought attention to her (and a smattering of applause) as she sauntered into Angelo's.

"Her" booth was free. (She figured a few more weeks of this and it would legit be her booth.) She pointed, getting confirmation from a passing waiter, and slithered in, kicking her booted feet up on the bench opposite her, waiting, she hoped, for Spidey to show up.

Peter Parker has posed:
It was one of the places he'd never been before. He was partial to Grimaldi's, but he had never been here.
Mostly because he couldn't afford the place.

Spider-Man got there a couple of minutes after Canary did. He dropped to street-level, garnering a few looks, and a few chuckles. (Probably because Spider-Fail.com updated with last night's escapade.)

He steps inside, looking around, then spots the Leaguer and walks over to her table, tilting his head slightly. "Uhm...may I sit?" he asks politely.

Dinah Lance has posed:
The boot slides to the ground, Canary sitting up straighter from her exhausted slouch. "Hoped you'd come," she says with an infectious grin. "That way when I order fifteen pizzas I can let them think it's you." She winks and signals the server over.

"Watch out for selfie takers. I've kinda primed them for expecting the spandex brigade in here, so now there's a crowd who come every night in hopes of sneaking in a selfie. Angelo's gets more money because they can't stay without buying, so it's a bit of a symbiotic thing."

The server arriving interrupts the monologue. "Two large beers, two large all-dressed, double-meat, double-cheese. Garlic sticks." Canary places the order, then glances over to Peter. "And whatever he's having. My bill."

The server looks expectantly at Peter, pencil poised over his pad.

Peter Parker has posed:
"Oh...!" Spider-Man glances to the server, and sits quickly. He glances at the menu, then points at one entry. "Uhm, the large bacon-cheeseburger pizza, and one order of the garlic knots. Oh, and a cherry Coke."

He smiles a little under the mask. He had looked Black Canary up on his way over and WHOA. Major player in the League, about twenty fan-sites, one major fan club just in the Big Apple.

And when she yelled, it was like that scene in KUNG-FU HUSTLE when the kung-fu master known as "Helen of Troy" yelled through that big iron bell with the force of a Cat-5 tornado.

He waited for the server to step away before turning back to Canary. "So, what brings you to New York? Other than the brick-oven pizza..."

Dinah Lance has posed:
"I'm guessing the same thing brought you," Canary says easily. "I've been getting wind in my trash clean-ups of something big happening. A lot of people feeding cigs..." She grins a moment, shaking her head as she comments, "Cigarettes. That's an old one. Almost quaint. But big bucks." Shaking her head again she continues. "Anyway, the big bosses were talking about a big operation they were feeding and how it was causing tension. I got wind of two of the tense bosses coming to parley and thought I could ratchet up the tension a bit."

She pauses as drinks get delivered, downing half a tall glass of beer before licking off the foam moustache.

"Your turn. How'd you wind up there tonight?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man lifts the mask up, but just to the nose. The lower half of his face was...nothing to write home to Mom about. No pincers, no mandibles...a good dentist, though.

"I have friends in low places. One of them clued me in on a transport moving cigarettes. I thought it was kinda old-fashioned before I found out that by selling non-taxed cigarettes, it made them $5 a pack. Which is big money." He sipped lightly at his cherry Coke when it arrived. "Anyway...this Big Man is no pushover. He's no Kingpin...but then again, who IS? They guy has his own GRAVITY WELL, I figure."

Dinah Lance has posed:
"Yeah, cigs sound so old-fashioned and quaint for racketeering, but it's big money with all the taxes to avoid," Dinah agrees. "When an outfit wants to get off the ground fast and hit the ground running, cig running is usually a good first step. Some like to keep it up instead of going into the riskier, more dangerous lines."

The appetizers are delivered and, with an apologetic look, devoid even of words, Dinah starts cramming garlic sticks into her mouth. Washing down the first mouthful, she says, "If I had to stop to tell you how much I needed that, I wouldn't need it any longer." She mimes dying, then crams her mouth a second time, washing it down too.

"And yeah, the mastermind types are the ones to watch for. They don't get their hands dirty. They just have an endless supply of thugs and informants."

She pauses a moment, giving Peter an appraising gaze.

"You did good out there today. Probably either of us could have handled it by ourselves, but in an outfit like that it's always best to have someone at your back in case, well, shit happens."

She's not mentioning the 9 foot tall bruiser that her brain has magnified her big assailant into.

"So happy you were there."

Peter Parker has posed:
"Well, same goes back to you." Spidey picked up a garlic knot. "It made it a lot easier knowing I was working with a member of the League, albeit informally. I do confess to having a couple of doubts, but if you're a member of the League, you can handle yourself."

He chuckles, the smile becoming wry. "You run with some pretty epic company."

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah laughs (after the third and fourth sticks are sent to their dooms in her gullet). "It's the size, isn't it? Everybody gets hung up on that. 'You look taller in the pictures.' Today one of their bigger bruisers found out that size isn't everything. It's what you do with it."

The smirk on her face. She knows what she did.

"But yeah, the company. I kinda grew up with it, so it's weirdly just no big deal for me. I'm second-gen. Mom was the original Black Canary." She doesn't mention that her mother strongly disapproves of the life her daughter chose. Peter doesn't need to hear that. "So it was kinda inevitable I'd wind up in the scene, given my role models. What about you, though? What got you in the scene?"

She puts on a wry expression. "You're probably not a psycho thrillseeker like me, so I reckon you've got a good reason."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey sighs. "I got these gifts outta nowhere...so to speak...and my first enlightened thought was 'How can I make a BUCK with this?' I got full of myself, got selfish...and paid DEARLY for it. So...I do this because I never want to make the same mistake I made before. I still don't always succeed...but it's never because I decided to Look Out for Number One."

Yeah, you can practically hear the initial-capitals in that sentence.

"I once heard someone make a joke about D&D characters, and why so many had messed-up backstories. The answer was, 'Because well-adjusted people don't go into underground caverns and look for monsters.'"

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah's face actually manages to radiate a degree of empathy past the slice of pizza being currently slopped down into her. (That's probably a talent worth cultivating!) A quick, hasty wash of beer, now the second glass, and she's reaching across the table to pat Peter on the shoulder.

"Shit, that's rough. Nothing's worse than having something bad happen because of something you did, or at least thinking you did it. It's a threat that's part of the scene, though. It's one of those hard lessons you wind up getting taught over and over and over again."

She pauses a bit, looking Peter over, trying to figure out what's going on behind the white eye patches.

"So why do you work alone?" she wonders aloud. "You're clearly out fixing wrongs. Why aren't you paired up or teamed up? I mean I'm in three teams because sometimes I can't just scream at my problems and make them go away. I need someone else's help to deal with them."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey chuckles. "I'm not completely alone. I meet up with a bunch of different people, and I have a communication network to stay in touch with them. As for teams, well...I'm kind of a PR problem. The DAILY BUGLE's main editor can't decide whether I'm a threat or a menace, so you could say he swings both ways."
Is that a joke? Who can tell?
"And I made some stupid mistakes with Tony Stark, so forget the Avengers. Last time I talked to Supergirl, she thought I would make a good addition to the Titans, but...well, radio silence on that one. I suspect it's because the general reaction is '...HIM? Really?' I can't say that for sure, but it's entirely feasible. On the upside, I'm doing final edits on a how-to book for crimefighters who don't have deep pockets. 'Superheroing on $5 a Day.' What do you think of the title?"

Dinah Lance has posed:
"Who the Hell can afford that much lettuce?!" Dinah asks, eyes wide, face deadpan.

For all of about three seconds before breaking into a broad grin and guffawing.

"I guess the real question is if this is the kind of lifestyle you want to be pitching to people is about all I'd wonder. Unless it's a sort of 'if you're going to do this damned stupid thing at least don't do it in a damned stupid way' guide."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey took a slice of pizza. "There's people out there doing it, anyway. If it can help someone who had gifts of their own and no way to train them, then that's someone I won't have to run up against later in life. If I don't...they'll come to their own conclusions, based on infuence from friends, family, and social media, very few of whom have a justifiable stand to make. I went up against one guy who became what he was because someone abused them, making them easy prey for someone ELSE to mess with their DNA because of their already-maladjusted view on life."

Dinah Lance has posed:
"OK, cool, it's going to be the 'if you're going to do this damned stupid thing' variety. A how-to guide is always good. Just be sure to emphasize training, both with and without the powers. Because the powers aren't alway sthere, so if you use them as a crutch you're screwed when they're gone."

Beat.

"Ask me how I know."

A slice of pizza disappears into Dinah's mouth like her gut was a black hole.

Peter Parker has posed:
Where. The HECK. Was She Putting It?? She must do a HECKUVA lot of cardio, because you can't eat like that on a regular basis. He is Amazed.

"Oh...well, yes, training is highly advised, with ideas on how to set up an exercise area where you can do physical training as well as ideas on how to train certain types of abilities." He picked up a slice, taking a bite before continuing, "It's training the mind as well as the body. How to fight crime without getting in the way of the police. How to control different types of combat. What tools work well for different people. Where to go to find the best trash and tossed tech. That sort of thing. I have a lab, but everything in it came from the trash or yard sales. Except for the machine-shop tools, but I got those from my uncle."

Dinah Lance has posed:
"So your family was supportive? Must be nice..." Canary's voice trails off wistfully there.

"Well, sounds like a good book to write. Only thing I'd suggest is changing the title a bit. Five bucks a day now sounds small but doable. In twenty years time it might sound like what five cents a day sounds like now, for all you know. Don't tie it to a specific value."

She ponders a moment, against sliding a slice down her throat while doing so.

"Try 'Heroism on a Shoestring' or something. Tie it to something physical but low price, if you get my drift."

The slice is washed down by the last gulp of her second glass of beer. She raises this at the server who's apparently been waiting for this and heads straight off to get more.

"We really do need better support for newbs, I have to agree. Too many people go off half-cocked to be heroes and they get themselves lightly killed. I trained for ages before I hit the streets for the first time, and that was ... borderline. Not a good first night."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man nods sagely. "Tell me about it. Except I'm sure your missteps aren't content for a website. No one's making a Canary-Fails.com as far as I know. Sometimes I think I was to spare other potential heroes the humiliation I went through. It was easier for me because I'm used to being humiliated."

Dinah Lance has posed:
"You get spiderfail. I get pervs taking telephoto shots from embarrassing angles. I'm not sure who's got it worse there," Dinah chuckles. "Still, it helps me in my job. People underestimate me as a bimbo, and I don't exactly downplay that angle. I mean who looks like this, moves like this, and shows off her legs like this and can terminate most MMA fighters in a fight?"

She shrugs her shoulders.

"Me. And somewhere in the brain there's a short circuit with the bimbo factor that bypasses the threat assessment. Gives me an edge over and above the training and the cry."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man ponders that for a moment. "...Okay. I can't argue the concept, especially if it works. I talk all the time when fighting bad guys, but it irritates them to the point of making mistakes. So I don't mind if people say I have a 'Circle-K Mouth'...and I have no issue with looking foolish. If I have to look like a clown so someone can sleep in their bed tonight, instead of the hospital or the morgue, then bring on the clown nose."

Dinah Lance has posed:
"I've got a bit more ego than that, but the idea's the same. Also I love that look of shock on their face when they find out that I'm not what I look like. Look hot. Beat up bad guys. Save the day. It's a life."

The new beers arrive and Canary guzzles half of one in a single pull.

"Better than, I don't know, being a receptionist or ... clerking in a flower shop, right?"

She loves flirting with danger, though Spidey can't know what she just did at the moment.

"How'd you get fingered as a threat or a menace?" she asks, suddenly. "I mean c'mon. Costumed types are all over the place. How did one get fingered as a threat? Did you date the dude's daughter and then dump her?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey sighs. "I wish I knew. I don't know HOW I got on J. Jonah Jameson's Crap List. Number One with a bullet point. But I can't confront him about it. It'll just play right into his editorial hands. I just can't give him any more fuel than he has. And apart from the burr in his saddle that I have become, he's a pretty decent guy. Big supporter of mutant rights. Top-flight newspaperman. Old school. And he always keeps his opinions to his YouTube channel and the editorial page."

Dinah Lance has posed:
"Would it help if a Leaguer vouched for you?" Canary wonders aloud. "Especially a Leaguer who could make him permanently deaf?" She winks across the table at Spidey. "I mean I wouldn't do it, but I could strongly suggest that it could happen. My reputation is spotless. He goes after me he goes after the whole family ... including Supes. I'm not sure he's dumb enough to try that."

One whole large pizza has, over the course of the conversation been consumed by this little slip of a woman. And three beers with the fourth now in her hand. Large beers. She makes boxing gestures to the server and triggers another waited-for operation: the man bustles up and takes the second pizza away over to the boxing station.

"I really don't know how else to deal with someone so obviously irrational. If he hated all of the spandex crowd, sure, OK, I get it. But to pick just one? That's bizarre."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man shrugs. "Just...leave the guy alone. It's not worth it. I can handle the slings and arrows of public opinion. It doesn't change who I am or what I do. Besides...it's like that old saying goes. 'The ones that matter, don't mind...and the ones that mind, don't matter.'" He finishes the slice, then nods. "This pizza's pretty good. I see why you hang out here. The only place I have like this is a White Castle in Brooklyn."

Dinah Lance has posed:
Canary inclines her head in agreement. "Very well. It just irks me to see one of Team Spandex taking an undeserved beating publicly. Still, your rep, your call."

She looks around the pizza place and nods, smiling, then. "Yeah, Angelo's is a perfect slice of heaven for a hungry hero." You can almost see the light bulb over her head. "Hey, that's a Hell of an endorsement pitch, isn't it? I should talk to the owners. Get a picture taken with me holding a slice and underneath have that pitch."

She laughs again at the thought.

"But yeah, heroing's hard work and when the Cry comes out, so does energy. I eat ... like a pig, really, just to fuel this damned thing. But hey, it's saved my life quite a few times, so ... the little extra expense in food is acceptable."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man nods. "My webs are synthetic, but I know another spider-type who generates her own webs. Eats more than most people, but she's literally spending calories to create those webs. So I get that."

He paused, then said, "There is a hot dog vendor who goes by the name of Big Jake. Owns a cart and a food truck. Makes the best street meat in New York. His wife makes the chili for his chili dogs every night, fresh." He pauses. "One night, I kept a gang from taking him off, and saved him from getting his food truck destroyed by the Rhino. So, he always makes sure to give me free chili dogs whenever I come by. I don't come by every day, but...well, I may not be able to have an office in a space station, but I do get free chili dogs."

Dinah Lance has posed:
"Yeah, the guys upon the Watchtower have it easier. I'm street, though. I'm on call for them, but my life's down here. Middle class all the way. Lower middle." Canary winks. "I even have a day job. And talking of which..."

The boxed pizza appears at the table along with a bag that has ... other cartons in it. Smells like it might be zuke sticks. Mostly guessing from the garlic-rich sauce smell.

"...just like magic. I've gotta hit the road. Morning comes early and I hate yawning through the night. It was nice working with you Spider-Man. You're good in a fight. And I wish I had a camera for that big pratfall of yours. I need to get more points on SpiderFail."

Eyes are lit with mischief. She probably doesn't contribute. Probably.

"Now don't take this the wrong way..." Dinah scribbles something on a napkin. "...but this is my number. If you need someone to kick ass alongside, or if you just need to eat at Angelo's again and think it's awkward eating alone, give me a shout. This goes to my bird-oriented phone."

Beat.

"Oh, and your money's no good here. Finish up and head on out. I'm covering. I feel bad making Batwoman pay for everybody last time."

With that she starts gathering her stuff together and standing up, ready to leave.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey looks up, then tilts his head slightly.

Well, it WOULD be a good test...

"Hey...if you're interested, I have this project that's been ongoing. A communications system called Spider-Comm. Augmented reality interface, private database, calls, IMs, data...the whole ball of wax. If you'd like to get involved...maybe call for backup if you need it...let me know. I have lens inserts for masks, but I also have a soft contact-lens option as well..."

Dinah Lance has posed:
"Oh, God, another one of these high-tech things?" Canary asks, waving it off. "Sounds way too complicated for my muddled head." She roots around in her jacket and pulls out...

A...

    ...flip...

        ...phone.

The '90s called and want their phone back. Stat.

"This is plenty for me. And I got this damned League earpiece that they insisted I use. Sticking something in my eye now? I'm going to start turning into Vic!" Beat. "Victor Stone. Titans. Cyborg." She doesn't talk about her Birds of Prey comms either, given, you know, Spidey doesn't know that part yet.

She winks as she puts her phone away. "I'll settle for old school. Like old school hand-to-hand. Thanks for the offer, though."

With that, and an airy fingerwave from over her shoulder, she heads to the cashier on her way out.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey just...watches her go. He was a little flummoxed at the sight of the flip phone.

Oh, well. Not everyone is geared for augmented reality.

He looks down at his pizza, realizing he's only had one slice.

He looks up again and Black Canary is gone.
He sighs, but verifies he has the right number for her.

It's a little odd, finding out an A-lister has more in common with you than with....well, Batman. Something of a paradigm shift...