9304/Paths Crossing

Paths Crossing
Date of Scene:	27 December 2021
Location:	SoHo
Synopsis:	Spider-Man is waylaid by the Black Cat, who has some interesting news to share...
Cast of Characters:	Peter Parker, Felicia Hardy

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Peter Parker has posed:
Boy oh BOY, does this night have its interesting stretches.
First, a gathering at an art exhibit in Brooklyn brings him back into contact with the dapper Nightcrawler, and after that, a jewelry heist with four crooks whose plan derailed spectacularly once Spider-Man showed up to the party.
"Boy, those guys panicked early and quickly. You'd think they could plan for the possible intervention of superheroes, but NOOOOooooo..."
Spider-Man tossed the wadded-up wrappers for the three chili dogs into the trash can on the corner (three stories up and 20 feet away, counts as a three-pointer) and checks Spider-Comm for any alerts.

Nothing yet. Maybe a good time to head back towards Queens, nosh on peppermint ice cream, and get ready to hustle on that run-up-to-New-Years job...

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    "I couldn't imagine a world where anyone would be mentally prepared for someone like YOU." Says a voice next to Peter. A husky, sultry, voice with an almost tenor tone to it from the woman pressed against the wall of the building next to him. Suddenly there and without a hint or even a clue from the ever useful Spider-Sense. The woman in the black skin tight cat suit has her finger tips pushed into the wall and is nearly sitting on her palm some how as she turns her head, white hair cascading off her shoulders and in front of one eye.

    "Wouldn't that ruin the fun for you if they did?" Black Cat asks as she lifts her free hand to look at he claws as if they were nails and she was idly deciding if she should file them or not.

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter's reaction involves JUMPING from the side of the building, with him making a sound that sounds a lot like this: https://youtu.be/MUL5w91dzbo

He recovers after dropping ten feet and fires a webline to halt his descent. He hits the side of the wall, then crawls up slowly, eye-lenses narrowing as he takes her in.
The ID algorithms pick out the costume, mask, and hair and brings up only one result:
BLACK CAT
Real Name: Unknown
Notes: TROUBLE. Doesn't set off Spider-Sense, luck gets even worse (if such a thing is POSSIBLE)

"You...ENJOY doing that. I can tell. The smirk gives it away." He rises up to meet her eye-to-eye (but keeping at least 6 feet away, because personal space) and asks, "What brings you by? Going to give me a fighting chance this time by actually telling me where you're going to apply your ten-finger discount?"

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    Felicia lowers her hand, aghast and frowning towards Peter. "If I were a lesser woman, I'd slap you for such a thought. Though there is something cathartic about examining one's hands." She smirks even larger this time and then gives Peter her full attention but she does reach out with her hand to put her finger and thumb claw around the web and plucks at it.

    Watching the vibrations carefully she looks back to those large-narrow-lenses. "Nonsense, I would never want to make things even with anyone. Not if I had the chance. No. What I am here to tell you is." She rolls her shoulders back, straightens her spine and looks forward and recites what feels like part of a twelve step program.

    "I am going legit. No more thievery for me, unless, y'know, it's important and for a just cause." She looks away and up, "I think."

Peter Parker has posed:
the eye-lenses go wide.
It's a good thing he has a mask, it hides the gobsmacked look on his face. He isn't sure what to think. If it's a con, then she's a loss to the theatre. If it's true, that's great. The progression of superior thief to legit enterprise, though...that kind of thing doesn't happen in a vacuum.
"...Uhm...I'm glad to hear that. What prompted this change, though...?" He steadies himself on the wall, making sure he'd braced, ready for anything unexpected.

It's the BLACK CAT. Unexpected gets a lot more Expected around her...

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    The Web gets tugged once again, the base note ringing through the air deep enough that only certain birds can hear it. Felicia then squints at the spider once more, "You think I couldn't end up on the straight and narrow on my own? That I couldn't be the good girl everyone sees when I walk down the street?" The Black Cat asks, sounding more and more annoyed with every question she asks as if she was arguing with a family member, and with her own psyche at once.

    Her chest rises as she takes a deep breath and frowns. Not at Spider-Man, but herself, and then she smiles softly towards him. "I met someone." She answers finally.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey blinks, and he suddenly gets a little embarrassed. Don't need to see his blushing face, his body language fills in all the blanks. Head bowed, rubbing the nape of his neck with his free hand...

"Uhm...no! It's not that, really! I just...well, I figured something had to happen. It's, uhm, just..."

He was sure SUPERMAN never acted like this.

"Okay. Right. Uhm...what are they like?"

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    This is the first time she's shown such a vulnerability and the blood rushes to her cheeks. Thankfully the domino mask obscures some of the blush, but it's there. "She's wonderful. A head strong and powerful woman, but there's some vulnerability I turn to goo over in the cracks of her untouchable facade. She's..." Felicia lowers her shoulders and her defenses, in a slow breath out of her nose. "She's something else. She's so wholesome and dangerous and good and beliving in the goodness of others that I feel I would die if I ever let her down."

Peter Parker has posed:
WHOA. If he had been told three years ago that true love could warm even the most cynincal heart, he would wear the same face he'd wear if they said they saw BIGFOOT.

But that look of bliss she wears when she talks about this mysterious lady...oof. Yeah, he's seen that look himself. Usually in the mirror before going out to visit Kara.

"Well...that sounds like a pretty good reason. How are you going about it?"

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    As she continues to cling to the wall, Felicia rubs her shoulders against the cool brick and takes a deep breath, finding the words in the slince. "I'm trying to go day by day, there are times where I can't interrupt her work, and such, y'know the types." Felicia grins and looks out to the street below and then up to the lights above. "Doing my best to not fuck it up. She's even had me do some work with some of her other co-workers and I'm not sure I'm up to snuff, but I'm trying my best."

Peter Parker has posed:
Was he going to give advice to someone about this sort of thing?
Yeah, he was. Because this is the sort of thing he HAS had experience in.

"Yeah...it's just...being there. Showing up. Being willing to make the hard choices. And if you get knocked down...get right back up again. If you can do that, you'll be okay."

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    "Get knocked down huh?" Felicia asks, looking just to her left and plucking on that base string hard enough for it to snap.

    PWANG!

    He'll catch himself from falling too far. Wont he. Yes. Yes he will.

    Without even checking on him, Felicia's legs tense up, muscle coiling before springing her off the wall and upwards briefly before she begins to free fall, only to be caught by her own grapple line and she swings low, low enough that she toe touches a cab twice before she's back swinging upwards and loving life again.

Peter Parker has posed:
"Yee-IKES!"
He fires another webline before he becomes street pizza, pulling himself back up to where he was before. He watched her swing down to tag the roof of the cab before coming back up again. She certainly made it LOOK easy. Probably never face-planted into a single wall, either.

"Well, I see it hasn't affected your playful nature at ALL..."

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    At the apex of her arch she gives Spidey a wink and blows him a kiss before resetting her grapple cable and then shoots it off at a building a ways away and with a grace of a dancer, she begins to swing away. "Not at all Webber." Not the best nickname, but it's what comes out in the rush of the moment.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man watches her swing off, then shakes his head.
He can't just...CHASE her. She hasn't committed any crimes...in fact, she was all about giving that up now. And going after her because he was angry or obsessing over her was creeeeeee-PY.

He just hoped he wasn't making a mistake and letting someone who committed a crime he was unaware of get away.
"I really hope you DID go straight," he said under his breath. "Because it seems you're always one step ahead...or I just get dumber for some reason when you're around..."

He shook his head, then fired a webline perpendicular to her path, and then set off towards home.

Whatta weekend THIS has been...