8413/Black No. 1

Black No. 1
Date of Scene:	24 October 2021
Location:	Tenderloin District
Synopsis:	Gothic Lolita and Mania run into each other after thwarting a robbery. Antics ensue.
Cast of Characters:	Gothic Lolita, Andi Benton

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Gothic Lolita has posed:
The Tenderloin District of New York City is now, and has always been, one of the most crime ridden neighborhoods in the United States. Possibly the continent. This trend continues. At a corner bodega on a rainy afternoon, gunshots and screams ring out.

A man races from the store, clutching a bag and a smoking gun. A quick look in the store shows that, thankfully, no one has gotten shot. The man is racing full bore down the sidewalk, waving his gun and shoving people out of the way.

Unbeknownst to anyone, a tiny young woman in a frilly black dress, lace gloves, stockings and chunky heels is coming towards the corner, her parasol twirling above her by her fingertips.

What other misfortune awaits this poor bastard?

Andi Benton has posed:
Knowing the levels of crime around here, Mania has taken up a spot atop a roof. It doesn't really take very long for some action. Gunshots, a shout, someone running off.

The vigilante dives down to swing with a line of webbing outstretched, landing by the doorway where a peek indicates nobody bleeding, then the strange 'face' disappears. The runner is now the target, and Mania moves in pursuit. She already saw what he looked like, so as long as he remains on foot, she will catch up.

Gothic Lolita has posed:
The Good News (for Mania) is that the guy is starting to flag. You can only sprint so far. His feet skid as he rounds the corner, nearly running facefirst into GL. He only doesn't because she shifts to the left before he gets traction back and takes off.

She looks like she's going to let him go, but she sighs, turning around. She begins to walk after the thief. It's not a normal walk. It's the Slasher Villain walk. No matter how hard he runs, GL is always, always about a quarter block behind him.

Granted, Mania will probably catch him first, but the terror exuding from the guy as the creepily cute little goth girl keeps up with him by just walking makes her smile.

She is absolutely engaging in ridiculous bursts of speed when he isn't watching.

Andi Benton has posed:
Mania, however, does see this. The vantage point is a higher one as she retakes a position up from the rooftops, swinging her way past one then another thanks to more weblines. She sees the gothy-looking one below keeping pace in an eerie way, and for a moment there might be a little recognition, but it's hard to tell.

Whatever the case, she surges ahead of the runner, leaving the rooftops to land in an alley just ahead of the block he's currently on. From there, she steps into his path, arms crossed, eyes narrowed.

Gothic Lolita has posed:
GL absolutely notices Mania as she swings by. It's hard for her not to. It's not like she's hiding anyway. Her lips curl slightly when the symbiote steps in front of the man. This will be amusing for a few minutes, she thinks, and she won't even have to do any SHIELD paperwork about it now!

The man skids in the wet, coming to a stop and then falling on his butt on the sidewalk. A shaking hand raises the gun to fire, the other clutching the bag of money. "G-get outta my way!"

From behind, Lolita skips through the rain, her footfalls oddly heavy on the concrete until she stops right behind the man. She bends forward, peering down to look him in the face. "Somebody could get hurt with that~"

It's at this point the guy knows he's done for.

Andi Benton has posed:
"No, we don't think so." A hand lashes out, turning into a set of tentacles that immediately wrap around his hand with the gun, easily dislodging it from him. The rain hits Mania and slides right down to the pavement, giving her a more glossy appearance than normal. The large white spider insignia at front and back gives a clue as to her leanings, potentially.

The grip on his hand, and now his arm, is not released. Instead, Mania drags him closer, and after a glance past him at Gothic Lolita, her alien-like eyes bore into his own. "You're /very/ lucky you didn't hurt anyone. We're only going to tie you up, instead of more."

The bag of cash is yanked free as well, then her hands - the one reforming - take aim and start to spread webbing all over him, binding his mouth shut and continuing a cocooning effect at a rapid pace.

Gothic Lolita has posed:
The man starts to protest, but, well. Spider-people do what spider-people do. In no time, he's disarmed and webbed up, left as a nice present for the police. He struggles aimlessly for a moment before he just deflates.

Goth Team: 1 Nasty Thief: 0

GL straightens, hiding under her parasol again and peering at the big white spider on Mania's torso. She tilts her head. "Do you know Spider-kun? He's a good boy. Very nice."

Andi Benton has posed:
Any words become muffled sounds. He can still breathe fine through the webbing. Well, fine enough. Rubbing her hands together as if to wipe them of the guy, Mania says, "That's that. Cops should be on the way already. That'll last about an hour." She points at the webbing, then the bag of money is reached for.

"You mean Spider-Man? Yes. We know him." The mouth doesn't move, really. There isn't exactly one there, and any motion that'd be expected from talking is little to none. The one with the spiky attire looks the one with the parasol up and down. "And you were fast but hiding it."

Gothic Lolita has posed:
Lolita tilts her head slightly as Mania speaks, her Computer Brain running through things. "Do ...I know you?" She asks. She makes no move for the cash or the gun. She doesn't even kick the guy who's tied up. Even if he deserves it.

"Busted," she says with the ghost of a smile. "That was fun, though. It was a show to scare this guy. I mean, I could have just stopped him when he turned the corner, but where's the fun in that?"

Andi Benton has posed:
Mania also binds up the gun, jamming the trigger and the chamber with additional webbing before sticking it against a part of the building that can't easily be reached, but the cops will find it with a little tip.

"We are pretty sure you haven't seen us before," the punkish, black and white..thing states. However, inside Andi is trying to recall. There /is/ something familiar, but it's been a while. Maybe more time will help jog the memory.

Acknowledging the bag, she adds, "We'd better get this back to the people it was stolen from. And we have played with our catches before, too."

Gothic Lolita has posed:
"Well, when you're like me, stuff like this isn't a challenge at all, so you have to make it interesting," Lolita replies with a shrug. "Until you showed up, I was going to do the whole pursuit predator thing and follow him until he fell over in exhaustion. Or tried to take a hostage, I guess."

She glances at the money and when Mania talks about taking it back, it seems to click that it's, you know, important. "Oh. Right. They might want that back. I will walk with you." She starts moseying back the way they came. It at least isn't too far. "Are you sure I don't know you? Your voice is familiar. ... Under the distortion from your biological suit, anyway."

Andi Benton has posed:
Mania turns to stare openly at Gothic Lolita, after having mostly just let her observations about things not being very challenging go unanswered for the moment. There wasn't much for her to say.

It's the mention of the biosuit that gets her to answer, and the voice has a sort of duality to it, girlish along with something more alien and rough. "We don't know what you're talking about," she lies, picking up her pace. However, the spiky nature of her forearms and shins? The 'spines' flex outward slightly further.

Gothic Lolita has posed:
Lolita is absolutely aware of the not so vaguely threatening posturing. She just giggles at it. "I don't mean you any harm. Promise." She glances around. The people on the street are keeping a wide berth of these two weirdoes. She feels safe enough talking. Her volume drops to a whisper, sure Mania can hear it. "I'm a autonomous artificially intelligent limited-nanofunction humanform mecha construct. A mecha for short. So don't be alarmed that I know there's an actual human in there."

Her volume returns to conversational. "Besides, if you know Spider-Kun, then we should be friends. He is a very nice boy and I trust his judgement of character." She spins the parasol again, flicking water off in a circle. "And I'm certain we've met before. I can't forget, but your suit garbles just enough that I can't place it."

Andi Benton has posed:
When unsure of what to say, the best thing is to say nothing at all. Andi/Mania does not always do the best thing. There is an internal conversation that starts up, privy to only Andi and Mania. The symbiote starts it.

//What is going on, Andi? How does she know? Has she met one of us before?//
<<How the hell am I supposed to know? But I'm not just telling her our secret like it's nothing. Too much of that and it's gonna get back to someone we don't want to know.>>

Aloud, Mania grumbles, "So you're not an actual person? Good for you. There is not someone 'in' us. We are just us."

See?

"We are friends, yes. He helped us when we needed it. He is good. He is nice. And we have to return this." The bag is held up again. She pointedly avoids talking about any voices being masked. "Maybe you've seen us being awesome."

Gothic Lolita has posed:
GL beams, despite the fact that Mania keeps shutting her down. The truth is, the more she talks, the better her terrible mecha brain can parse out the duality and isolate the one voice she swears she knows. She just keeps trundling down the street, turning the corner back towards the bodega.

When Mania says stuff about being awesome, it's like a computer's task bar hits one-hundred percent. She snaps her fingers and points. "I have met you! Chinatown! Clothes shop!" She giggles to herself, glad that the breakthrough finally happened.

"Your secret's safe with me. After all, we're going to be good friends, right?" She smiles slightly. "Ever change your wardrobe?"

Andi Benton has posed:
Mania holds her tongue, but stops to stare at Gothic Lolita as the recognition is made. The eyes widen, then squint, remaining more narrowed than not. "..what?"

<<I..think I remember her now. Before we found each other.>>
//Things exist before that?//

"Not..really," is all Mania adds, the body language hinting at a lingering discomfort at someone managing to figure something like this out. Maybe, it's more to do with Gothic Lolita than anything else.

The pace is picked up, so she can get into the store. "We brought something back for you." The bag is held up then tossed toward the counter, but the people who run the place look more afraid after seeing the spidery..thing.

Gothic Lolita has posed:
As they hit the bodega and Mania goes in to return the ill gotten gains, Lolita pokes her upper torso through the door and waves cheerily. She pulls back out and waits for Mania to come back out.

"Well, I'm working for SHIELD now, so if you want, we could get you some new clothes~ My treat for figuring out your secret," she says cheerily, rocking on her heels. "Though you might want to change out of that first."

Andi Benton has posed:
Mania can only shrug and call over a shoulder, "You're fucking welcome," as she dips back out again. The bubbly nature of the one with her doesn't seem to reassure them all that much.

"We don't want anything to do with SHIELD," is added, arms crossing a little uncomfortably. "We have reasons."

The offer is not enough just yet to get her to open up further, so far. It's a bit of a defensive nature, a guarded protectiveness that lingers.

Gothic Lolita has posed:
GL rolls her eyes so hard you'd think they're going to pop out. "I'm not a recruiter. That's not my job. My job is to, well, be aimed at threats. Big, big threats." She shakes her head. "If you come with me, you'll basically be spending SHIELD's money without them knowing about it. That sounds fun, right?"

She leans in close. "I know this shop that has all sorts of neat stuff that's right up your alley, I think! What do you have to lose? You tied up some scumbag, returned the stolen money. Let me give you a reward! Besides, I'm really bored and could use the company."

Andi Benton has posed:
Mania moves along toward an alley, glancing back over a shoulder. The eyeroll goes missed, but the response is easy enough to grasp. "Good, because we have no interest in joining SHIELD or being tested on by them. We don't want anyone trying to experiment on us." One might gather there's a sore, sticking point there, whether it has to do with SHIELD or not.

Spending their money, though? A solid white eye expresses a hint of wonder as the bait is planted. "Neat stuff," is repeated. Maybe a little bit of a wavering in the attitude.

Gothic Lolita has posed:
"They don't even experiment on me," GL replies. "I mean, they questioned me. A lot, but not once have I been poked or prodded. Unless I wanted to be, that is."

She rocks on her heels again, an idle, almost bored motion. "You can pretend Nick Fury bought you some cute and/or hot clothes right out of his wallet if it'll make you feel better." A pause. "It's not like I have anything to spend my money on anyway."

She pauses again, thinking. "Oh, right. I'm Gothic Lolita. But you can call me Lolita, or Lol if you're, you know, into levity."

Andi Benton has posed:
There is a shrug, like the thought about Nick Fury doesn't mean much to her. But, once they're reasonably out of sight, the 'face' over her own begins to curl and peel back, tendrils of black drawing away until it crawls toward the neck and seems to absorb into the rest of the body. It reveals Andi's head, hair, face, piercings, and a skeptical expression.

"I met you before..finding ourselves. It was different. We're different. But I mean it about SHIELD and all that. Just, believe me on that one. There's a lot going on here. You remember me?" Andi asks.

Gothic Lolita has posed:
"I remember everything I've ever experienced. The benefits, and perils, of my advanced brain. So, yeah. I remember. I think you were looking at some hotpants and a corset." GL gives Andi's face a once over, nodding. "Yep. It was a while ago, but I never forget a face."

She steps back a bit. "Sooo....you coming or not? Either way, I am going to buy something cute."

Andi Benton has posed:
The symbiote crawls further back into hiding, recessing within Andi. It leaves her in one of her more common outfits, and she admits, "My memory isn't that good. A lot has changed since we met, but..I admit I'm curious. So is Mania, but Mania's going to stay inside for a little while."

She adds, "Is it around here? Where are we going?"

Gothic Lolita has posed:
"It's a bit of a walk, but not too bad," GL says brightly. "Let's get going!"

With that, the mecha starts to stroll down the sidewalk, leading her new friend(?) somewhere to get a glow up. Or something.