980/Caught in the Web

Caught in the Web
Date of Scene:	04 April 2020
Location:	Little Italy
Synopsis:	Two Spiders, a Pixie, and a Goth with a shiny spine give the Triad what-for.
Cast of Characters:	Andi Benton, Peter Parker, Megan Gwynn, Ben Reilly

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Andi Benton has posed:
The weekend is good for getting out, getting away from places Andi doesn't want to be. Today, that means away from her father, away from the whole Happy Harbor area. Getting out to New York City and, specifically, Manhattan, is not much trouble with ample transit options. The Hyperloop doesn't run everywhere, but buses and rail cover things locally and she had a craving for some authentic Italian, this being her first chance to check out the neighborhood.

Naturally, she sticks out a bit like a sore thumb with her blacks and purples. There aren't too many punkish/goth people hanging out around here, but that doesn't mean they don't like the food! The only question is what to get? Something for now, and something to take back later? Dad /would/ probably appreciate that...

Still, some parts of the neighborhood seem to hold a certain level of danger to them, so her eyes are on a swivel. Good thing she brought her pepper spray. "Good block, bad block.." she reminds herself as she passes a few side streets and makes a quick assessment of them.

Peter Parker has posed:
Boy, when you take a hard shot in the chest, it's no little thing. Four cracked ribs, muscle shear, broken arm...he had been hurting.

But that was two days ago, and he's all healed up and ready to get back into it. So, Patrol Route Three seems good. Maybe he can get some gnocchi or chicken Parm.. He needs the carbs and the proteins.

So, Spider-Man is swinging in through the Chinatown area, working his way south towards Little Italy.

However, someone else is gearing up for their OWN shopping trip. Ever since a couple of capes intercepted some girls brought in, the Shang Keng triad decided to do a little trawling for good candidates. Eight members of the triad were working out of two SUVs, and were on the prowl for fresh meat.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn is out and about in Little Italy area as well today, though she's not patrolling or anything. Fairy wings are hidden under her green jacket, grey khaki pants covering her legs. She's actually headed to a nearby Estrada t to pick up some take out. Unfortunately her route is bound to cross some gang group or other, being the little trouble magnet that she is..

Ben Reilly has posed:
Ben Reilly is... not in suit. In fact Ben Reilly is in an entirely different kind of uniform. That of pizza delivery guy. He's in a t-shirt that has Joey's Pie Place printed on the front. Anywhere else one might assume that the place makes actual pie. Like apple or cherry. But in New York? Pizza. It's a red shirt with white lettering, so original. And there's even a ballcapover his head, keeping his lengthening hair neatly tucked away and out of sight. He's walking towards said restraunt about a half a block away from it.

They're all bad blocks if you're looking out for trouble. The trick is to uhhh..." Ben pauses a moemnt looking at Andi, a small smile pulling up one side of his mouth. "Not... stick out. The trick is to not stick out. Just try to avoid the alleyways and the overhangs. Spots where it's extra crowded is when you get an unexpected hand in your pocket. Don't keep valuables in easy to reach places and you're probably fine."

Ben's pace isn't hurried, a hand pulling his ballcap a little lower on his head, ostensibly to shield his eyes from the sun as he walks. "Looking for anywhere in particular?" He asks again with a quick glance over to the goth teen.

Andi Benton has posed:
Who is this guy trying to talk to Andi? Her hands are deep in the pockets of a black coat over the purple dress and black leggings, leading to her looking at Ben with initial skepticism and suspicion. Then, she picks out his attire, marking him as a pie guy. "I'm not, like, gonna change for anyone else just to hide who I am," she tells him, fingers flexing around the pepper spray in her right pocket, just in case.

"But, I dunno. What's good around here?" If Ben delivers pizzas, he's probably very familiar with the neighborhood and could have some recommendations. That's what someone ought to do, right? Quiz the locals?

Peter Parker has posed:
The black SUVs are moving up alongside Megan, slowing as they approach like most of the traffic. The SUV sliding door facing the sidewalk unlatches...

What's good for the Triad boys is that they have this trick down to a SCIENCE. Comes with months of experience. One opens the sliding door, two men reach out, grab Megan, and pull her back towards the open SUV. The moment they get her inside, the door will close, and she will disappear.

She'll pop up again in some auction, dressed in her underwear while older men bid for the chance to destroy her life.

The BAD news is that this is happening below a certain Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, and the Spider-Sense is on point today, alerting him to the act 70 feet below him.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn is humming and dancing to the beat of her mp3 player, when some thugs jumps out of nowhere and grab her. "Eek! leemmeee go!" she squeaks. But they caught her off guard and act quickly, pulling her into the van, "Heeey this is so not cool! You guys are gonna be sorry!" she wriggles to get free but there are sooo many of them. Darn, why couldn't she have super strength or something?!

Ben Reilly has posed:
Ben Reilly squints over at Andi at her statement looking more than a little confused by it. "Uhhh is that like an automated response at this point? Like someone says something and goths just go. 'I'm not going to conform! Conformity is for conformists!' rah rah rabble rabble." Ben's lopsided smile turns into a smirk as he turns his head to look around. "Uhhh the place I work for isn't bad. But there's a pizza shop about two blocks that way." He gestures westwards with a vague sweep of his hand. "They're a lot better. Long lines though. Like super long lines. Like wait twenty to thirty minutes just for a slice long. Sal's is a block north, they're pretty good too. A little better than Joey's. Longer lines though not as long. Joey's is just about a quarter block up here on the right."

Ben is keeping his distance, not crowding, just close enough to have a conversation at what is probably a half yell to be heard over the din and noise of the New York City streets. But what does piece the noise of said streets? Is the sound of someone in distress. Megan cries out and Ben's head snaps around to look over at the van that's pulled up and the thugs that are busy pulling her inside. Ben's hands move FAST, dipping into a hidden compartment in the case of the smart phone in his pocket, coming out with one of the web pellets he normally fires from his web shooters, and he flings the pellet towards the open door of the van. Sure it might not stop things, but it will certainly hinder, and hopefully long enough for him to change and catch the van, or for some other hero that might be nearby to catch the van. And then he's running towards the van and the trouble, at a bit faster than he probably should be, but adrenaline is a hell of an excuse for doing things you shouldn't be able to. Not that he's running as fast as he actually is capable of, just... a little faster than he should be as a normal average teenage boy.

Andi Benton has posed:
Andi Benton's eyes narrow after a moment, after Ben's initial response. "...yeah. Something like that, sure," she answers defensively, the smile or smirk not doing a whole lot to soothe whatever first impressions she's just developed of him. Now she's frowning, her jaw clenching for a few seconds. Suddenly, his dining suggestions go a little in one ear, out the other. "Whatever. I'm just gonna find something on my own. Thanks, though."

Maybe no pizza this time. Instead, perhaps some pasta, or a calzone, or..lasagna. That's when stuff starts to shift, mainly because of Ben's reaction to whatever he hears. She's normal, nothing special about her. Well, normal in one sense, not so normal in the way she dresses. Then Ben's tossing something at the van as it comes into view, and she just...takes a step back. "Uh..okay.."

Peter Parker has posed:
The SUVs start to speed up as three men wrestle with Megan in the first SUV, while the driver aims the vehicle west. Get out of the area, drop their catch, and come back for another...

He frowns as the vehicle abruptlyslows down, the vehicle slowing to a crawl and dropping fast.
"<Whaddaya doin'? Get us out of here!>" the shotgun-seat passenger snarled.
"<I'm TRYING...!>"

The reason, of course, was obvious. Think a fly in your ointment is bad? Try a SPIDER.
The webbing around the rear right tire was thickening as Spider-Man covered it as he swung overhead. Satisfied it was slowing down, he hopped to the other SUV, landing on the hood and waving to the driver. "Any chance I can convince you to just give up?"

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn blinks, peering around nervously, still wriggling helplessly in their grasp, "Meep! Zhou guys are sooo mean! I'm gonnna....!" and then the van slows to a crawl and stops. And hey, there's Spider-Man again! Her eyes widen, wriggling still, while trying to get his attention, "Spider-Man! These newbies are trying to kidnap me!" she yells, still to overwhelmed to even consider porting, though in these close quarters it wouldn't do much good..

Ben Reilly has posed:
"GPS Tracker!" Ben calls over his shoulder to Andi as he starts to run towards the van. No it's totally not. It's a web pellet that hopefully exploded inside the van. Unfortunatley it would cover Megan. Fortunately it would also cover the guys inside. "Try Sal's! Seriously!" Holding a conversation as he's sprinting towards the van where the attempted kidnapping is in progress.

The web pellet when it hits the inside of the van? Explodes into strands of webbing that shoot across the insinde, it's a web in a pellet, only not quite so neat and artistic. Not his is meant to be fired itno the middle of a group of bad guys and pin them all down at once. On the bright side those guys aren't going anywhere. On the other hand it would apply to Megan as well unless she has some way to break free.

Ben skids to a stop though, literallys kids, his shoes scraping along the concrete as he sees the webs hitting the back tire. Time to scoot. He glances up to check and see which Spider it is. Of course it's Peter. Why would it be any of the others? So he reaches a hand up, pulling his ballcap lower like that's going to hide the doppleganger's face from the original and backpedals towards the no doubt gathering crowd. "Seriously. Sal's is really really good pizza. And even though I annoyed you you should not let that steer you away from amazing pizza." This to Andi once he comes back into NYC conversational range.

Andi Benton has posed:
"Whoa. Is that..Spider-Man? Holy shit!" Yes, Andi has a bit of a mouth on her as well, but her sense of self-preservation is on the upswing as the Wallcrawler arrives on the scene and goes after one of the vehicles as Ben works on one of his own. She raises her hands, looking behind her. "I'm thinking it's a good idea to get inside one of those places right about now, yeah." Just what she needed: trouble she wasn't even looking for!

Peter Parker has posed:
Megan and her three wrestling opponents suddenly find themselves in a very binding arrangement, although not one she would ever want. The SUV is now completely stopped, and the two up front are trying to disentangle themselves from the webs that made it up front.

The ones in the rear SUV haul out guns. Spider-Man leaps to the side, swinging around to kick in the driver's-side window and the guy behind it, slamming him into the shotgun passenger. (Who was actually carrying a shotgun, so keeping the tradition alive.)

Spider-Man turns to see the three guys in the back of the rear SUV as they stare at him.

"Of course you realize THIS MEANS WAR..."

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn squeaks as a web bomb thinker explodes in the van and sticks her to the wall. "Meep!" she wriggles some more but a bad predicament just got a whole lot worse. Now she's even more helpless and unable to flee. "What the heck is this stuff? Someone get me outta here!" she whines. Ugh, what a crappy day..

Ben Reilly has posed:
Ben looks over at Andi and nods his head. "Yeah, probably a very good idea indeed." He of course doesn't move towards a place of cover. No he slips backwards into an alley, and after a quick look around to make sure no one is looking he's leaping up the wall and then crawling fast until he can get to somewhere to change into his suit, which is very very fast when you have Spider-Man's speed and reflexes. But still it'll take him too long to change completely. So what gets put on? The mask, the web shooters and the blue hoodie to cover up his work shirt, or at least the graphics on it.

So when Ben thwip laucnhes himself out of the alley in a blur a few seconds later he looks like even more of a hobo spider than normal. Jeans, sneakers, sleeveles blue hoody with bare arms and t-shirt sleeves sticking out, and his mask. But none the less twin weblines snap into the van to snag two of the guns the thugs in back have pulled despite being webbed up, and yanks them up and to himself to be stuck to the side of a nearby building. "Heya Spidey!" Scarlet Spider (Sorta) calls down to the real deal. "Nice day."

Peter Parker has posed:
Sock! Pow! Ooof! Sounds like an episode of some campy superhero TV show in the rear SUV. Two guys suddenly bolt out of the back, exercising the better part of valor and getting the heck out of Dodge...or Rome, as the case may be.
Spidey would go after them, but he has his hands full. the Two up front had regained sense and went after Spidey, who was still giving the last guy in the back what-for.

"The hero you are trying to reach is currently busy. Leave a message at the TONE!"
This is followed by the sound of one gang member getting his bell rung.

Andi Benton has posed:
The vehicles have moved on down the block to some extent, giving Andi a little optimism that the danger is past. There are now /two/ Spidery types on the scene. Surely they've got things under control and will help out whoever's been grabbed. A lot of this makes no sense to her, but she begins looking for a good way out.

That is, until a couple of those thugs flee the nearest SUV and start to run in her direction. "Uh oh," she says, backing away and trying to pretend she's not aware of them. In truth, she's got one eye on them, just through her peripheral vision. Might be time to run.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn frowns as thugs flee and get taken out by superheroes..But she's still stuck to a wall with sticky webbing, "Heeey what about me? Ohhh this totally sucks!" she pouts as she continues to try to wriggle free. Why's this stuff sooo darned sticky and when's it gonna dissolve already?! "Helllooooo? someone? Anyone?" darn, this day is turning out pretty crappy..

Ben Reilly has posed:
Ben Reilly flicks out his wrist to web the two fleeing guys and... webs his own hand, a lot. There are a few choice curse words. He's used to wearing the web shooters over his suit, they're loose on his bare wrists. It twisted and the web hits his hand coating it and giving him a big web hand. Or a web boxing glove, take your pick. So he runs after the guys, big leaping bounds. "Don't worry I got the runners!" He calls out. He can't even fix the web shooter on his right wrist because his other hand is webbed up. "Stupid web shooters."

So he has to do this the old fashioned way, running after the guys and trying to give em the ole one two. Of course, this is New York. There are people who don't move. Even with a super hero fight going on and thugs with guns. Ain't nobody gonna interrupt them going about their business. "Move. Move. Move please! Oh for Pete's sake." He leaps up into the air again to get a bead on the thugs, and sees them heading right for a newly familiar goth girl. "Stupid thugs, stupid web shooters. Mooooove!" He's darting between and around people as he races after the thugs, taking quick hops into the air and over people in his pursuit. "Someone should probably help the poor lady out of the van!" He shouts in Peter's direction since that Spider man is still over there while Ben is not.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man is jumping out of the second SUV when he hears...is that what his voice sounds like from outside his body? Eeeeeee-rie.
He does seem to have the situation well in hand, so he heads back to the first SUV.

Yeah, she's stuck.
Spider-Man takes a small atomizer bottle from his backpack and begins misting the webbing holding Megan. "Easy there...You'll be loose in a second." He nods as he sees the filaments beginning to melt, and Megan's mobility is rising by the second. He steps out of the SUV again, then extends a hand to Megan to help her out and away from the other occupants.

Andi Benton has posed:
Whether the two men think they can salvage this somehow, whether by going after someone else or just fleeing completely, Andi backs herself up against a brick wall and realizes it when she makes contact with the building. "Crap," she says, and the setting is laid out before her. Onlookers, some staring, others moving out of the way. One SUV with Spider-Man in the midst of dealing with what's left of that problem, another closer with Scarlet Spider en route toward the thugs closing in on her. "Leave me alone!" she tells them, trying to keep from showing that she's got the pepper spray in hand as she inches toward one side.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn blinks and widens her eyes at recognition of Spider-Man who...Saved her last time too! She laughs nervously as he releases her from the webbing, "Thanks!" she sighs, "Well, this is embarrassing. I really have to stop attracting trouble.." she smiles sheepishly as she finally gets free of the webbing. "Phew, what's going on out there?"

Ben Reilly has posed:
Yes Pete. In fact that is exactly what his voice sounds like outside his body. Like... exactly. Completely. In the heat of the moment most bystanders probably wouldn't notice or pick up on the fact that the two spider men sound a LOT alike. But Peter's been exposed to Ben a few times. Would he be starting to pick up on it? Ben glances over his shoulder as he's running, seeing Peter helping Megan. He takes a leap into the air to catch an overhanging lightpost and uses it to propel himself towards the bad guys he's been chasing, making up for lost distance due to the crowds of people.

"No! Leave the girl alone! Over here bozos!" He shouts as he dives down on top of one of the guys, using his webbed up hand to bop the guy in the side of the head. Very very softly. Still hard enough to knock him out and probably give him a concussion but hey. He's the bad guy trying to kidnap innocent girls. Then Scarlet is up and looking for the other thug, and then racing towards his back shouting and hollering at him to try to get his attention. He's very careful with his other webshooter, making sure it's not crooked before he fires the webbing, flicking his wrist and sending a web line hopefully to connect with the back of the guy's foot. Even if he missed though it's something Ben could use to yank himself towards the guy. "Leave. People. Alone!"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man smiles wryly. "Yeah, well, Miss Gwynn, there's another Spider helping to clean up these guys. Frankly, I can use all the help I can get. Are you okay? They didn't hurt you, did they?" He looks to the guys webbed up inside the SUV, Pointing to his eyes and then to them in "Me, Watching You" fashion, before looking back to Megan.

Andi Benton has posed:
Seeing an opportunity, the two thugs decide they're going to make a move for Andi after all. However, one of them is interrupted, to say the least, by Scarlet Spider. The webbing snags an ankle and sticks fast, diverting his attention from the gothy girl with the dark purple hair. When the other one, brandishing his pistol, turns back toward her after a glance to the side, he gets a face full of pepper spray. "How does that taste, you dick?!"

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn glances at her hands, wiping off the remaining webbing, "Yeah, just my pride's a little dented but I'll manage.." she rolls her eyes, "Geez, what, do I have a kidnap me sign hanging over my head?! What did those guys want anyway? How rude? There goes my dinner.." she sighs, peering out if the van, "Soo what do you say we finish these punks?" and with that, Megan pulls off her jacket, revealing those iridescent dragonfly wings as she flies out of the van....Although it looks like things are more or less taken care of. "Well, that's no fun..." she pouts, "Ooh, another Spider-Man? Huh?" she scratches her head, peering at the other webslinger. What a day...

Ben Reilly has posed:
Ben Reilly lurches to a stop right behind the guy currently being sprayed with pepper spray. Ben ducks his head down behind the guy's back to avoid getting hit. Shoudln't affect him too bad through the mask but hey. It oculd. He straightens up once the guy is done being sprayed and bops him on the side of the head too, a gentle tap again, but enough to drop him. Ben even grabs him so he doesn't just crack his head ont he concrete and lowers him down before carefully lining up the web shooter and sticking the guy to the ground. "Good job with the pepper spray." He gives Andi a thumbs up before he turns around and leaps over the heads of the crowds heading back towards the Spider-man and Megan. "Heya Spidey? Mind hitting my hand with that? Mine is back in my backpack. Didn't really have much time to change..." He holds out his webbed up clobbering hand, bouncing from one foot to the other. "Hey. Sorry about webbing you up in the vehicle. I was acting quicker than I could think. Just didn't want them getting away. Thankfully Spidey was here to actually save the day."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey smiles wryly. "I think they're pretty much done." He peers into the van. "Triad goons. Probably snatching up pretty women to sell them off for cash on the line. Apparently they didn't like it when I and another hero type interfered with a human-smuggling operation. Cost them a lot of money." He shook his head. "Guess they were trying to make some of it back the quick-and-nasty way."

He looks up as Scarlet Spider shows up, then high-fives him. "Pretty good job. Did you ask the young lady if she was okey?"

He turns back to Megan with a thoughtful look, then ohs and takes out something. It looks like a rent-a-locker key, the kind with the round orange handle. "I've been meaning to get this to you. I realized a backpack wasn't really going to work, but I found something else." He takes out a photo and shows it to Megan.

(OOC: This, but black with yellow striping and pink highlights along the seams: https://export.airsoftstore.ru/equipment/belts/tactical-molle-belt-with-pouches-russian-pixel )

Andi Benton has posed:
"Don't...leave home without it?" Andi replies first to Scarlet Spider, then she stares more openly at both he and Spider-Man together, Megan coming into view with...wings? This makes three people who are very different from her and it's got her feeling a variety of things that are mostly on the confused side if her expression is a tell. "I'm starting to think a burger would be a better idea right now," she says, putting some distance between herself and the rest, downed thugs included.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn blinks, peering out and laughs, "Well darnit, I missed all the action.." but at least the Dana's passed. Drawing a deep breath, she pulls her jacket back o, glancing towards Spider-Man when he presents the locker key, "Oooh what's this for?"

Ben Reilly has posed:
"They do tend to get desperate when you cost them oodles of cash yeah." Ben agrees as he steps over in his hobo spider costume. "Sort of? The guys are both down, she pepper sprayed one. I was kinda hoping to get my hand ungunked so I could go back and web them up properly and check on her. Not used to using my webslingers out of the suit, didn't account for them being a bit loose." There's a bashful grin behind the mask, it can be heard a little in the tone of his voice even if it can't be seen. "I guess I'll just go get my stuff quick then." He turns and thwips, carefully, off back into the alley and up the building where he is able to both spray the webbing off his hand and change into his full costume. It doesn't take long at all. Maybe thirty seconds, he just couldn't spare that long before. So when he comes back out he's in full costume with a backpack on his shoulders. He drops down near Andi. "You okay miss?" He asks as he webs the two goons up and sticks them to the side of the building where they're in clear view, a slight toss to get them up nice and high so the cops see them, but not so high they can't get them down. "Hey. Wanna come meet Spidey?" He asks as he starts walking backwards through the crowd, which parts now since he's bright red and easily noticeable.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey places the key in Megan's hand. "Go to the lockers at Grand Central Station. First row you see on the right side as you walk in. And those three books I told you about? They'll be in the pouches. Keep them. They should help you with what we talked about at White Castle."

Andi Benton has posed:
Andi Benton quickly nods after Scarlet Spider has returned in more proper, full attire. "Yeah, sure. Just fine. Nothing out of the ordinary at all here," she says almost as rapidly as she's moving her head up and down. "And I see him, right there. Can't miss him, really. And the one over there with the wings." Though, of the three of them, Megan gets a closer second look that actually seems a bit curious.

Regardless, she's making to beat feet here in a moment. "Anyway, I'm Andi. Thanks..and stuff. Another time, maybe. I'll be going now." The closer she is to people who can do special things, the stranger it seems to get. This might explain a little bit about Happy Harbor, because something there just feels a bit...off.

Ben Reilly has posed:
Scarlet nods his head up and down a couple of times. "You're good. Things got crazy. Not an every day thing for you. And yeah but you could meet him. And the one with the... oh wings. That's cool. I didn't notice them. How did I not notice them?" He looks back to Andi and dips his head. "Andi. Got it. Look out for yourself Andi. New York is cool but dangerous sometimes." He waves at her before he makes his way towards Spidey and Megan.

"Ugh. White Castle sounds amaaaaazing. So hungry. Sorry haven't eaten breakfast, or lunch or well anything yet today." Scarlet Spider waves a hand in the air to dismiss his hunger pangs for the little sliders. "The wings are awesome I gotta say. Totally cool looking. Also yeah. So sorry I webbed you up in there. Like I said. Sorry." He looks around a little bit, huhing softly. "Where are the cops? Can usually hear them by now. I bet Jameson is already ranting about it though."