9397/Gone Shoppin'

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Gone Shoppin'
Date of Scene: 01 January 2022
Location: Tricorner Island
Synopsis: A spider and a ray of hope walk into the roof in front of a sandwich shop.
Cast of Characters: Ben Reilly, Phoebe Beacon




Ben Reilly has posed:
"This place gives me the creeps," Ben mutters to himself through his mask, looking out over the Gotham skyline and the heavy clouds that hang over it.

He sits perched atop a gargoyle that decorates the side of a building, holding a paper bag stamped 'Gold Guns Girls' on it. He reaches inside, producing a vintage looking camera from within and turning it over covetously in his hands.

"Gwen, you are the best," he continues to whisper to himself, looking through the viewfinder before turning it around to take an impromptu selfie, "Nyaah."

He chuckles to himself, moving to tuck the device away in his pocket.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Well, Gotham is often supposed to be intimidating at night. It's part of the 'charm', Phoebe supposes -- of course, she's lived with it most of her life.

    Which is why as she swings on a hi-tensile line, the hooded figure with the white-screened domino comes to a skid along a rooftop, the young heroine with her backpack on in place of any cape. The cool Gotham night allows her breath into hang in the air.

    There's the sound of footsteps above, the sound of a breath as someone jumped the alleyway, and a catch, and swing, to the back of a billboard.

Ben Reilly has posed:
Ben immediately tenses up at the sound. He's so used to his spider-sense that he naturally equates sounds that don't trigger it with harmless things. But Gotham has him on edge, and the last thing he wants is one of its vigilantes breathing down his neck. The police in New York didn't often look on Spider-Man with kindness, and the last thing he wanted to be was mistaken for a criminal in this city.

Then again, he was curious.

A moment later, as Balm traverses the billboard, a man in a red bodysuit and mask with a sleeveless blue hoodie swings into view on a strand of what looks like thick spider's web. He hangs from it lazily as she moves through the air with more purpose and forethought.

"Hey, are you Robin? I've always wanted to meet Robin."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    There goes the Situational Awareness.

    Balm turns, still in a relaxed but ready stance, her fingers curled. Certainly you don't want to be mistaken for a criminal in Gotham. That would be, in general, bad. Luckily, he's run into probably the friendliest of them all. She hasn't really had time to develop the 'serious and scary' persona. HersR
    -- that and it's awful for her bedside manner.

    "Unfortunately, not Robin." she gives a slightly apologetic smile. "And... are you Spider-Man?" she questions, looking at the red body suit as she looks him over with curiosity.

Ben Reilly has posed:
Ben turns through the air, moving more fluidly than any human being has the right to. He lands in a crouch alongside Phoebe, shaking his head.

"Not Spider-Man, no. Scarlet Spider. But I, uh, I get that all the time."

"And I'm just kidding, I know you're Balm. I keep up with superhero news. It's kind of my j - ah-hrmm, sorry, think I got a bug in my throat flying around like that. It's kind of a hobby of mine."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Huh. That's odd, since I don't recall giving anyone my professional name." Balm points out, though her lips curl into a slight smile. "... except at the zoo. Incident with some cheetah kits." she explains quietly, her fingers giving a slight squeeze against her gloves.

    "So, Scarlet Spider huh? What are you doing this far into Gotham City?" she questions -- it's conversational in tone, and she cracks a small smile.

    "It's not for our fabulous variety of pawn shops connected to 'historic adult venues', is it?"

Ben Reilly has posed:
Ben is fishing the paper bag from his pocket when Phoebe mentions 'historic adult venues', blurting out a strangled and high-pitched 'what?!' and letting the thing fumble out of his hands and into the air. A moment later a precise line of webbing catches it as it falls, and he brings it back up to show Balm. A 1970s era Canon camera.

"I came here for this. You can only get them second-hand now, and the store down there was selling it for three quarters of what I'd pay in New York."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    There is a bright grin from Balm at the strangled sound, but she looks concerned as the object goes into the air. She raises her right hand, as if she were going to pluck it as it fell -- but the webbing catches it. She looks relieved.

    "Just joking. All those are either downtown or over on Louisville Street. Don't ask how I know."

    There were a LOT of fires at those places. That's how she knew.

    She takes a couple of steps closer, looking to her Hud and trying to track references to Scarlet Spider as she looks at the Canon.

    "OH! You're into vintage cameras? Interesting hobby."

Ben Reilly has posed:
References to the Scarlet Spider are few and far between. Most of them get mixed up with Spider-Man, making it difficult to pick him out amidst the sea of Spidey-sightings. There is footage of him relatively recently in Times Square getting, of all things, lassoed by Wonder Girl though they seem to part amiably enough to suggest he wasn't up to anything too awful.

While the HUD scrolls, Ben holds out the camera for Phoebe to get a look at.

"Yeah, I'm a photographer. Well, freelance photographer. Or used to be. I don't really do it anymore. But, hey, maybe that'll change now that I actually own a camera that isn't a crappy four generations-old KordPhone."

"I, uh, I like your costume. Very professional looking."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I've always liked photography, but I end up usually on the end of a selfie stick." Balm gives a small smile, and she accepts the camera a moment, turning it over in her hands a moment to look at it, and she hands it -- very carefully - back over to the Scarlet Spider, and she gives a grin at the complement.

    "Thank you. Best friend made it for me."

Ben Reilly has posed:
"That's some best friend," Ben says admirably, taking the camera back and webbing it to the underside of his hoodie for safe-keeping, "I feel kind of embarrassed."

His own outfit is very clearly made from cheap materials he's scrounged. Even the web-shooters on his wrists, which look like extremely complex technology, still look like they were put together from scrap metal and bent roughly into the shape that was needed.

"So, are you, like, patrolling for evil? Found any yet?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    " -- why feel embarrassed?" Balm asks. "I used to wear a wool jacket with army surplus material sewn in." She reflects softly, and she looks down at her armor, hearing the feed in her hood. She knew she was fortunate. Red Robin didn't like to lose friends.

    Her white-screened eyes draw back to Scarlet Spider, and her smile turns a little more gentle as she points to his webshooters. "Definitely not smart enough to come up with those." she points out, and then she looks out, and then gives a shrug of her right shoulder.

    "Well, you know how it is. Room starts to feel too small and you gotta get outside to the fresh air."

    A car backfires nearby.

    "... yep. Gotham Fresh."

Ben Reilly has posed:
Ben can't help but laugh at the joke, and it's the laugh of someone who doesn't get much cause to find the humor in life unless it?s the 'if you don't laugh you'll cry' kind.

"Yeah, it's a real nice city you've got here. Only one guy tried to lift my wallet at the UrbanRail station. The cop I reported it to just told me it was a rite of passage."

A sigh and he shrugs his shoulders: "Guess I'm a Gotham native now. Want to show me who does the best subs?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe knows that laugh. She's felt it in her soul. She gives a small shrug of her shoulders. "Same thing happened to me in New York City. Not sure if that's just in certain areas, though. Think that happens in Metropolis?" she questions as she considers where they're at.

    "This area tends to attract a lot of the blue -- it's about midnight though." she considers. "My favorite sub place is nearer to the University. They also do these pasta-stuffed bread rolls, in case you have a hankering for spaghetti." she readies her line, and looks over to Scarlet Spider. "Can you eat through the mask?"

Ben Reilly has posed:
"In Metropolis they probably put five bucks in your pocket and a recipe for chicken soup. I should know. I lived there for a while. Really nice place but, yeah, nothing beats New York for me. I can't really bring myself to move out of town."

He rises up to his feet, rolling his neck on his shoulders and stretching out his back slightly.

"Well, no," Ben admits, lifting the mask up to expose the bottom of his face up to the nose, "But if you can recognize someone by their mouth, then you're one hell of a detective."

He flashes her a smile before he fires out a webline and gestures for her to lead on.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I spent most of the last few months in Manhattan. It almost felt like home." Balm replies with a small smile.

    "Careful what you say -- I hear the Batman is the best detective in the world, and then there's Red Robin, who I'm pretty sure is also the best detective in the world." she gives a slight smile. "And depends on the mouth." she adds as a joke, fires her hi-tensile line, and swings.

    She's midling good at it, swinging through the spaces between buildings. Running along narrow ledges on buildings with care as she leads the Scarlet Spider through Gotham City.

    They definitely pass a Bat-Burger.

    And when she comes to a stop, it's on a lower, slate-covered roof on a sharp angle downward that points to a little hole-in-the-wall place in an alley called in the most generic fashion, Joe's Sandwiches.

Ben Reilly has posed:
Ben points at the Joe's Sandwiches sigh: "Hey! I wonder if he's related to the Joe who runs Joe's Deli."

There's another grin. He's still got the mask rolled up, easily catching on the roof and standing still as though his feet were somehow glued to the slate.

"So, do you, uh, do you just walk in? Or do we change into our normal people clothes?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "... you think I carry my day clothes in this thing?" Balm asks, pointing to the close-fitting and personalized armor with the hood with a slight smile.

    "On occasion, we pop in to grab sandwiches. I hear we get a discount at Bat-Burger if we come in on the clock." she suggests, and she looks over to the Spider.

    "... are... you sticking to the slate?"

Ben Reilly has posed:
"I don't know what you've got in your utility belt!"

Her question prompts Ben to glance down, looking at the slate for a moment and then back up at Phoebe.

"Oh, uh, yeah. Part of the whole spider-deal. Near as I can tell it's some sort of bio-electromagnetism. Or maybe I'm just covered in really tiny hooks. Either way, I stick to things unless I don't want to stick to them."

As though to illustrate his point, he lifts up a foot and brings the tile with it. A moment later it falls from his foot with a clatter.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I don't have a utility belt, I have a backpack."

    Beat.

    "... I kept catching on things."

    And it's true. She has no utility belt. She does pack on her back, which is where her grapple goes to, and she looks in amusement back at the Scarlet Spider.

    "That is, admittedly, pretty cool. I thought it was suction-cups." she cracks a bright grin as he lifts the foot, and the tile comes with it -- and then the tile drops. And skids.

    and heads for the side of the building, skidding off it and into the alley below.

Ben Reilly has posed:
"Here's my secret," Ben offers, "I have a backpack, too. I just web it up in places and go back when I need it. I go through a lot of backpack money."

There's more than a few scattered around New York City that he's forgotten about. Even a couple in Metropolis and Gotham.

"Whoops," Ben adds, before twisting his arm and firing a line of web to catch the tile. He yanks it back and gingerly taps it back into place on the roof.

"Suction cups, huh? I'd make like a 'pok pok pok' sound when I walked."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    She tries not to laugh at the idea of the Spider-heroes making the suction-cup noises as they walk around places. She makes an excellent effort of it as the slate tile falls, but Ben makes sure to grab it with a line and place it back on the roof, and she brings a gloved hand to her mouth, covering it, and just... giggles a moment. Well, it would be a giggle, but it started with a soft snort.

    "YEah, yeah, suction cups don't make it sound particularly heroic, nah." she admits, and Balm makes her way down to the edge of the building and crouches down, one leg hanging off the side of the building.

Ben Reilly has posed:
Ben strolls more easily down the building, never having a problem with balance. He pops down to let his own feet dangle over the edge, looking at the store below and the Gotham skyline in general.

"You know, this has been a nice night. If I'd had known the Gotham masks were this nice, I'd have spent more time here. But hey, you mentioned you're in New York. Do you get out to Queens much?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe gives a slight look over to Scarlet Spider, and then she drops her gaze a bit. "NOt normally this nice, or this quiet. You missed me breaking someone's nose over a car theft earlier."

    "Typically stayed around the West Side of Manhattan, occasionally made my way into Brooklyn, Queens? Eeh. Not so much. Is that where you're based out of?" she inquires.

Ben Reilly has posed:
"Uh, no, well, yes but not anymore. I'm kind of mobile these days. Every borough kind of needs a spider-guy at some point or another, right?"

Something about that seems to rub him wrong, and it shows in the frown he suddenly wears. He shrugs it off though, pointing down towards the sandwich place.

"You hungry? My treat?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Hm. Ever borough needs some sort of spider-guy... I wonder if there is some sort of network that can be utilized for communication -- some sort of..." she pauses, and looks out over the city

    "... web?"

    And she's trying not to smile. She thinks she's hilarious.

    "I'm placing an order now. What are you feeling like?"

Ben Reilly has posed:
"Oh my god," Ben cries out, letting his head fall back and laughing into the cool night air, "The puns. We are cut from the same cloth way more than you might think."

When she offers, he looks back to her, tapping his chin.

"Gotham's famous for its meatball parm. Can't say no to that."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I don't know about being cut from the same cloth -- kinda different color bolts." she gives a small smile as she looks over at Ben through her lenses, and cracks a small smile.

    "Pretty sure all young superheroes have to pass some sort of e-quip-ping test in order to start going out, fighting crime, hanging out on rooftops ordering food over the internet."

Ben Reilly has posed:
"Marry me," Ben says jokingly, shaking his head as he looks down at the sandwich store below.

"Do you think they bake their own bread? This place in Queens bakes their own bread. Bespoke sandwiches. I can afford to eat there, like, once a month but it's worth it."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "What, we're three puns in and already a proposal? Ah, gonna have to wait at least until second year." she jokes, and she looks over the shop. "Nah. There's a mob-adjacent bakery I think that they get their bread from. It's good bread though. Place is too small to do the proofing."

    She leans forward. "About ten minutes. They're a bit behind."

Ben Reilly has posed:
"I don't have anywhere to be."

Ben continues to let his legs dangle over the edge of the building. He seems just at home up here as any of the Gotham clan may be.

"So, tell me more about you? I guess without giving anything away, though."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Oh. Well." Phoebe ventures a moment as she breathes out, looking over at the city, and she checks behind her to make sure no one's sneaking up.

    She'll be made paranoid yet.

    "I wasn't born in the city, but pretty much grew up here. Gotham is Home." she replies. "Though, haven't gotten my wallet stolen yet. Now I just feel like a poser." she replies, and she fiddles a little with her glove a moment.

    "Just going to be happy to see this year end and move onto the next phase of everything. Not the best time, but learned a lot."

    "How about you, Scarlet Spider? Any hobbies other than webspinning and photographing?"

Ben Reilly has posed:
"Well, I do a podcast," Ben answers, catching himself for a moment before looking down abashedly and laughing, "And I guess I can't tell you which one, can I? Well, I do that. Guess I like chemistry, though I haven't really gotten a chance to mess around with that for a while. Delivering pizza's another thing, though I'd hardly say it's my life's calling."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I used to run a vlog. It's hard work. Now I'm going to have to track down podcast hosts by the bottom part of their faces." Balm gives a small smile, and she holds one hand up and across her vision, between herself and Ben as if she were trying to memorize it.

    "... I helped out at my dad's bar. And was a barrista at a coffee place for a little while."

Ben Reilly has posed:
"I wouldn't mind so much if you worked it out, detective. It'd make you easier to track me down."

Ben looks down at his feet again, laughing faintly: "I've had a few job offers. One was at the Daily Planet of all places. But I just can't leave New York. That's where I belong. Also, working at a bar, huh? That must've been pretty wild."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe's lips press into a thin line at the thought of All The Stuff she's seen at the Laughing Magician.

    "You have *no* idea." she finally replies, and she looks over to him.

    "So, what, you want to be tracked down and harangued by some of Gotham's capes? You're not about to have a Bat Burger menu item named after you, are you?" she grins, and then she looks down.

    "I get it. The Daily Planet is a Big Deal, Absolutely." she gives a small smile, "But I also understand wanting that connection to Home. Gotham? Gotham is home, my West Side of Manhattan is also home. As capes we walk in two worlds - unless you're able to go public. Some of us walk more than two worlds." she gives a small smile, and then straightens a moment.

    "Food's up. I'll have to 'swing' into NYC and let you treat me to Thai or something."