Owner	Pose
Jackie Estacado	It is early evening in Little Italy. People are out, heading home from work or out to dinner. It is even an unseasonably warm evening, drawing and keeping people outdoors. A red Ferrari pulls up in front of Anton's, one of the best Italian restaurants in Little Italy. In all of New York if you listen to Frankie "Kill-The-Children-Too" Franchetti, head of the Franchetti mob family. His niece's husband's father owns the place. Third generation. A tall (and extremely handsome!) man with long dark hair in a black suit steps out of the Ferrari and tosses the keys to the young man out front. The suited man stops to talk to a bulky man in a grey suit standing out front who seems to have no neck. A pair of legs that seem to go on forever come out of the passenger side, followed by the rest of the woman in a tight black dress. She looks young, beautiful and very excited to be in a Ferrari. There is some police chatter on the precinct's radio. It is a little odd. Cars are being called back to the precinct or moved out of Little Italy for what sound like totally contrived reasons. Uh, the boss wants you to. Clean your locker. Yeah. Sure. The traffic moving down the street is pretty innocuous. There is a really overdone Dodge Challenger, black with red and orange flames on the side, coming up the street. It is being followed by an orange chrome custom hotrod of some kind and two guys on Harley's.
Peter Parker	Yes, sir, ladies and gentlemen, you CAN go Superheroing On Five Dollars a Day. Today's chapter - Your Travel Budget! You too can travel all over the city with the right tools! Webfluid isn't cheap to synthesize, but he's been improving the mix, and he's got a great formula going, with a tensile strength of twenty tons. Plus, it's inherently stable up to 99 minutes. Another good tip. Understand the information you have. Usually, he is alerted when cops get called *to* a location, because there's usually bad guys. But there is also something to pay attention to - a sudden VOID of police coverage. So when multiple police LEAVE an area, it triggers an algorithm he used to track the sudden departure of wildlife in the days leading up to a volcanic eruption. So this is DEFINITELY looking into. He swings around and makes his way into Little Italy. maybe he can stop by Uncle Sal's after he's done.
Riri Williams	The weekend had been full of work, AI development, and starting to fab the Mark II. The helmet was done, and the CNC machines were whirring away manufacturing new parts. With manufacturing the new bottleneck, Riri decided it was time for a bit of relaxation. Which in this case involved a new test drive while AISHA was tapped into the data feeds she had from local police and fire nets, and NYC's SHOTSPOTTER network. If everything worked well, the proto-AI should be able to filter the traffic for things Riri could intervene in, and sync the locations to the nav subroutine in the Mark I's helmet.      Little virtual beams of light into the sky also track the positions of vehicles... Which were suddenly deviating from their expected patrol patterns and leaving a notivable gap in the coverage. ...Interesting. And definitely worth at least checking out. Riri banks right, the characteristic tearing whine of repulsor flight heralding the arrival of Ironheart, who seems content to drop into a holding pattern at about a thousand feet up. High res sensors picks up a rather unusual motion pattern, which AISHA helpfully tags as Spider-Man. Those arcing swings kind of stood out.
Valeria Richards	Valeria Richards is not, strictly speaking, cleared for solo heroics. She's //barely// cleared for heroics with the rest of the family. That said, she's reached that age where she's ready to decide what she's going to do for herself, and it's possible that the Richardses aren't the most attentive parents, given how busy they are. But Val has some new toys she'd like to try out, and that means finding an excuse to try them. And where better to find some nice, low-level threats than the home base of the most classic gangsters in the city? Also, there's a gelato shop across the street, so there's that. She has a seat on the patio across from the restaurant as the cars and bikes come rumbling up, drawing her eye. She pulls up the sleeve of her hoodie, checking a screen around her wrist for some readings there.
Phil Coulson	Lola vrooms as Coulson sits in some of the early afternoon traffic of New York City. There's the urge to just press that one button that will let him fly fly away, but it was probably better not to use SHIELD's special technology for his own personal gain. And that would be it really, he'd save himself an hour or two. Maybe it'd be easier to justify it if he could mark it to SHIELD's time, but he couldn't. Traffic starts to ease up a little and then he's back to rolling through the streets. By the time he gets close to Little Italy the scanner that he had someone place into Lola starts buzzing about strange police activity. He frowns. Not really SHIELD business, but... He leans over and checks the glove compartment, nods, and then tries to speed it up a little.
T'Challa	King T'Challa, the Black Panther, is not here for Italian food. His purpose in America is far more clandestine in nature, with a far more specific purpose. N'Charu Silema embed in various street gangs throughout New York had noticed an increase in high end weaponry baring striking similarities to Wakandan made arsenal in the hands of common criminals through out the Boroughs of the city. Situated atop one of the brown stones with a black clad foot up on the quarter wall barrier, the sleek mask of the Panther turns across the thoroughfares with the integrated security suite specifically targetting large puls eenergy signatures and communications traffic between municipal law enforcement. Two fingers tap at the side of his black mask, curious about the odd call to return vehicles to station. Tracing that chatter while casually watching the convoy round the corner towards the resteraunt a block from where he's perched.
Jackie Estacado	The young woman in the black dress pushes her way onto the arm of the Ferrari driver. "Jackie," she says half-playfully, half-whining for attention. Jackie flashes her a quick smile but goes back to talking with Mr. Bulky. Across the street, the Challenger, hotrod and both bikes stop in the eastbound lanes. The riders of the bikes pull handguns from their waistlines and start raising them toward Jackie. The passenger in the hotrod gets out with an assault rifle and brings it to bear. The Challenger's passenger side window open and another assault rifle muzzle pokes out. The driver of the Challenger, who's gotta be over 6'5", stands up out of the Challenger and levels a weird looking space gun over the roof of the car. He pulls the trigger. A blue bolt of energy streaks across the street and the Ferrari goes up in flames. Just poof. Fire out the windows. Jackie looks at his car and then across the street. With one hand he reaches under his suit jacket for a handgun. With the other he palms the top his date's head and forces her down. Probably to protect and not for what it would otherwise look like. Never know. She screeches in terror. Mr. Bulky starts to react as the bikers start shooting. He catches an assault rifle round in the shoulder drops the gun he was pulling out. Bullets hit the burning Ferrari, sidewalk, two street signs, the Anton's sign and the brickwork outside the restaurant. These guys shoot like Stormtroopers.
Peter Parker	Well...we got the STUFF'S GONE SIDEWAYS part done. Okay. Spider-Man has no fancy tracking software, but the Spider-Sense works quite nicely. Points of dangerous probability show up in red, and right now the group is red across the board. Time to stifle the mayhem before it really gets going. Spider-Man swings in low towards the driver of the Challenger. A webline tags the barrel of the heavy weapon, and then it is yanked out of the man's hands and up to the Swinging, Singing Spider-Man. As he lands on a nearby wall, he shoves the weapon into his backpack (it doesn't fit) and looks down at the group of heavy-metal bikers. "Hey, boys," he calls out as the matchbox drone moves into position. "I thought SONS OF ANARCHY was cancelled!"
Riri Williams	Okay, energy weapons? That requires some immediate intervention. And then SHOTSPOTTER is lighting up like a christmas tree... A quick eyeflick clears up the clutter, and the HUD shifts into combat mode as Ironheart dives into action, the sound of repulsor flight getting notably louder for the onlookers. Riri flips back to upright and cuts thrust just in time to make a superhero landing on the hood of the Challenger. Yeah, that engine's not going anywhere any time soon. <"Hi. Pretty sure that doesn't belong to you."> ...And then Spidey's taken the gun back. Huh. <"Well, makes my job easier."> Both hands come up, repulsors charging with a rising whine, and punt the driver of the now alleged car back about fifteen feet into a newspaper dispenser. His still carbound partner is less lucky, buckling and wheezing as the bolt slams him back into his seat. <"Seatbelts save lives."> ...THat's how quipping works, right? Turning to engage the rest of the gunmen, AISHA helpfully highlights all the guns in neon red. So far... Test is going well.
Phil Coulson	Coulson slams on the brakes of Lola when he spots the firefight open up and the first thing he does is kick open the glove compartment and pulls out the trusty Night-Night gun. Safer to use in these types of situations and all that. Getting out of the car, he reaches into his suit and pulls out his identification and holds it up as he watches heroes come out of the woodwork to put an end to whatever was happening. Still, some sort of tech was used and this required other forms of action. Night-Night gun in one hand and SHIELD I.D. in the other, he holds up the I.D. and shouts, "Please keep clear of the area on order of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division. No lookie loos, peek moving. Do not park your car, do not keep watching, please keep moving." It seems that he's perfectly content letting heroes take care of this while he sees to keeping the area as clear of civilians as possible.
Valeria Richards	Well that escalated quickly. "Oh crap!" Valeria exclaims as the guns come out, pushing out of her chair and almost stumbling over it as she takes a few steps back. Thankfully, people are much more interested in the guns and explosions than they are in the girl almost stumbling over a chair. No one needs to see that. "Okay, okay, I got this. This is what you were looking for, right? Maybe a little bit bigger. That's okay, you can handle this," she mutters to herself as she taps out a series of commands on the screen at her wrist. It doesn't //look// like that's done anything, but she seems to think it has, nodding firmly to herself and untangling from the fallen chair. She has no targetting system, but it seems she's fully capable of seeing things unfold. Spidey and Ironheart have taken on the shooters, which means they're going to pull away, which is going to send the bullets flying... Valeria dashes over toward a group of people stuck on the sidewalk, holding her hand out in front of herself like it's going to do anything to stop the bullets. Her //hand// might not, but as she closes her eyes tight and looks away, bullets ricochet off of something in front of her, angled upward and away from civilians. "Hey! It worked!" she exclaims, quickly looking to the screen at her wrist for the matching readings.
T'Challa	The series of events are such that T'Challa certainly had no intentions of getting involved in a gang land hit upon American Soul. Suffice that it was none of his business, comfortable only in the knowledge that he would have quietly kept civilians out of harms way so that those injured or killed were those who probably brought injury and death upon themselves. He's not always the hero America Needs. Probably the one they deserve though... Besides, there are other heroes for that kind of direct involvement. That is until the ''space gun'' is laid out across the top of the vehicle... The bright glow of blue energy errupting from the weapon set off every sensor in his suit. <"It is true."> Said over the secure comms, no real apprehension in his voice... determination? The Black Panther moves instantly, leaping out from his perch over the free fall, but with surprising strength behind it sending him clear to the otherside of the street... drawing claws to grind into the brick to slow his descent, into a backflip which lands him in a crouch atop the Hotrod. Then sideways into the street with his foot flung forward in a savage kick aimmed at the gunmans solar plexas, hurling him backwards with enough force to ''move'' the car. A half a centimeter, sure, but that's a ton of kick. Then a clawed hand slaps the door into him, knocking wind and weapon away from the unlucky hitman. <"Shuri, keep track of that weapons energy signature..">
Shuri	<"Shuri, keep track of the weapon's energy signature."> Shuri mocks and shakes her head as she mutters as she idly taps on a keyboard back at the embassy and then sighs, <"You do realize I was already doing that, right? I was doing that before you even arrived."> She idly moves her hands and types some more and already a small drone is on its way to the scene. More typing and her fingers press along a pad and then she idly turns her gaze to the left and pushes something else. <"Also, that was a nice car, you know. You dented a perfectly good car with that man."> She then pushes something else and then looks back to the screen so she can see through T'Challa's eyes. <"Oh and while you are there, can you use those new orbs I made. The ones that expand and trap someone inside. I have only used them on dummies and I wish to see them in action."> And then she looks back at the main screen and adds a character to the field just beofre the timer runs out and the Team Fight Tactics game she was playing continues. <"Try to make it look cool. I know it will hard for you but I know if you really try, you can do it.">
Jackie Estacado	A lot happens. Spacegun man is out cold in a newspaper stand. A chorus of rapid-fire protests in a mix of Italian and English rise up from that direction. The Challenger is a mess and the passenger is curled up in a ball of pain. "Holy shit!" the driver of the hotrod has time to say right before his passenger, standing outside the car, just gets thrashed. "My fucking car!" he complains, fumbling for a gun in his pants. Even odds on whether he gets it out or shoots himself in the nuts. People on the sidewalk are screaming and running. They seem totally ready to listen Phil and book it as fast as they can. The two bikers on the motorcycles are genuinely surprised, as if heroes are an unusual thing in New York. They forget about Jackie and start shooting in the general direction of the black horrible beating suit guy and... "Fuck! Is that Ironman?!" one of them yells and shoots at Riri. They seem to have missed Spiderman in the heat of the moment. Two guys in cooks whites open the door of Anton's. "Everything okay Jackie?" "Yeah. Car trouble. Get Giorgi inside," he answers. Jackie looks down at the girl crouched in shock at his feet. "Go on, get inside. Pick a good table." The cooks help the woman and Giorgi inside while Jackie contemplates his burning car.
Peter Parker	One of the bikers is still shooting wildly, and although his aim is bad, there are still a lot of bullets labels TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN in that gun. And so, as the Little Red Drone That Could snapped pictures, the gun is suddenly covered in a layer of webbing. The trigger can still be pulled, but the firing pin is nicely insulated and it only utters a dull "click" before it is yanked away. Spider-Man drops on the gunman and sends him to dreamland with a punch, putting him now at ground level. He looks to the other biker and points at him. "You're next, Chuckles."
Riri Williams	<"Nah, Iron Man has the goatee. Call me Ironheart."> The voice coming from the nearly seven foot tall armor that looks like the lovechild of Iron Man and a gundam is somewhat distorted by a modulator, but it's still definitely a teenage girl. ...And then the bullets start ricocheting off her plates. <"Seriously? Don't you watch the news? I'm just as bulletproof as the original."> Ironheart clomps forward, wraps her hand around the AK, and squeezes. WIth a shriek of metal the weapon crumples, now looks like squeezed playdough in the middle when it's released. <"Shockingly, guns don't really work on me."> The biker is now gripped by the shoulder, and introduced to about a megavolt of juice. <"I got him, Spidey.">
Valeria Richards	Valeria grins at the readings on her wrist-piece, apparently pleased with them. Now that her device has proven itself, she moves forward, trying to make her way toward the restaurant, a blonde teenager in jeans and a hoodie walking with her hand out behind some sort of force field. Mom would be so- Well, Mom would probably be yelling some choice words right now, but she can deal with that later. About two-thirds of the way there, though, there's an explosion of sparks at her wrist and only ducking back from her own hand saves her from getting hit with another volley of bullets. "Aw, crap!" she mutters again, speeding up to dive for cover behind a parked car. "Resonance overload," she grumbles to herself, giving her wrist a shake and searching for another tool. "Have to adjust for that on the next version."
T'Challa	<"This would have been good information to have prior to the Spider-Man getting his hands on it, Sister."> T'Challa says to the woman in his helmet, ripping the door directly off the hotrod to bring up like a shield dangling backwards over his left shoulder to block the weapons fire directed at him from one of the pair of bikers. A fluidity of motion, a precision of violence, one obsydian foot comes up onto the hood of the hotrod with Panther using the motion to roll himself up and push off with a jerk of his elbow into a n aerial twist. Hurling the door down at an angle to the driver of the hotrod, at knee level, knocking feet out from beneath him and sending him slamming forward against the roof of his own vehicle. Right leg touches down first out of the twist, motion carrying him over in a side flip onto the sidewalk with one of the beads rolling out from the wrist into his palms, up between his thumb and index knuckle to hurl in the direction of the tumbling gunman.. striking him just between his shoulders to encapsulate him in an energy field that slices clean through the hotrod as it expands outwards to trap him inside with 1/2 a beautiful car. <"Perhaps work on the energy levels, mmm?"> Eyes turning and tracking Spider-Man with the weapon jutting out from his backpack.
Phil Coulson	With the civilian situation getting a little more under control, Agent Coulson turns his attention back to the fight where it seems that the heroes have mostly wrapped things up in a rather convincing fashion, he puts away his I.D. badge, straightens his suit and adjusts his sunglasses and steps forward. "Thank you, heroes, for your work here today." He then nods to each one in turn to give them thanks. "Spider-Man. Black Panther. Ironheart. Brainstorm." Realizing that his gun is still in his hand, he puts it into a shoulder holster. "Spider-Man, could you wrap them all up in a nice little bundle for the authorities, please? SHIELD will be most appreciative of your help. Also, I am going to have to ask what you plan on doing with that piece of hardware that is currently sticking out of your backpack."
Shuri	And within moments, the drone arrives, floating on to the scene and looking around it even as Shuri casually plays her online game. She maeks an adjustment to her team with one hand while using the other to pilot the drone down to near where Spider-man is and then she looks over and the drone casually speaks. ~"Hello, Spider-Man. You have in your backpack a bit of Wakandan tech. I would really appreciate it if you would give it to the small mechanical hand that is attached to the drone."~ Then she switches channels to T'Challa and states, <"And while I suppose that was decent, you did more damage to that car. I am beginning to think you hate cars, brother.">
Jackie Estacado	Just as fast as it started, it's over. Except for the Ferrari fire, that's still going. A couple of people are filming that on their phones. More are filming the heroes. While the heroes are talking, Jackie walks casually across the street to the Challenger and pulls the passenger out onto the pavement. The driver yells in pain and clutches his sides. Jackie plants a foot on the man's chest sort of not very gently. Another yell. "You dumb motherfucker. Gimme a name?" "Fuck y..." the biker gets out before the foot presses down again. "ooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaah! Fuck!" "C'mon," Jackie says. He glances up at the heroes. "Don't mind us. Just having a chat."
Peter Parker	Spider-Man looks to Agent Coulson first. How is it that a guy in a suit looks more put together than he himself does? He's with SHIELD, of course. They have deeper pockets. "Uhm, yeah, sure, I'll web 'em up." He then remembers, oh yeah, heavy weapon in his backpack. He reaches behind him to tug it free. "Well, at the time, my only designs on the thing were to get it away from the one who was, you know, using it." He looks at it for a long moment. Wakandan tech. Like the nanotech he had no way to use. And he was never interested in weapons to begin with. After a moment, while his own drone is still snapping away, he hands the weapon over to the drone, making sure it has a good grip before letting go. He shrugs to Coulson. "Sorry. I'm pretty sure they have dibs..." He stops as he spots Jackie having a little heart-to-heart with one of the guys. "Hey, hey!" he says. "Excuse me," he says to the King, the Agent, and the Princess before walking over to where Jackie is hurting the guy. He webs the guy on the ground first, then pushes Jackie back. "Take it easy, okay?"
Riri Williams	<"Glad I could help, Agent-"> Riri's HUD quickly runs through the SI security pass database before flashing up a match. <"-Coulson. I noticed that the police were clearing the area right before things went down, Some of them might be dirty or something."> She grits her teeth inside her helmet. Dirty cops are the /worst/. Recognition is nice, though. The yell from behind, though... Ironheart gives Jackie a very unimpressed stare. It's easy to be stoic when your eyes are unflinching blue glows. She /could/ test her new cuff extruder, but Spidey seems to have it handeled. <"Also I'm pretty sure that abusing prisoners is also illegal."> Shuri's drone gets an upnod, and a brief laser data burst in greetings. <"...Note to self. Holographic crime scene perimeter.">
Valeria Richards	Valeria stands up from behind her cover when Coulson uses her codename, crossing her arms over the top of the car and waving like her wrist device isn't still smoking. Everything is completely under control here! Nothing to see except a completely capable hero-type. "Hey! Happy to help!" she calls over, then pauses as Jackie starts in on the leftovers. While the others take the direct route, she edges toward the restaurant. Either he's going back there to the people he arrived with, or they know who he is. Either way...
Phil Coulson	Coulson nods his appreciation to Spider-Man and even cracks a smile as he looks over to T'Challa and the drone. "You're right, they do have 'dibs' on it, and I'm more than happy to see that such technology goes back to where it belongs than in the hands of these types of people." He gestures to the bad guys. Ironheart's comment gets him to nod, "Yeah, I heard some odd comments on the radio. I'll be writing up a report and sending it over to the Department of Justice so they can look into corruption within the police department." He winces a little even as he says it. He then steps over to Valeria and smiles, gesturing to her wrist device. "You did good work here, and though you are young let me just say that I think it will be an absolute honor to see what work you do in the future."
T'Challa	The Black Panther is not one to stick around for press conferences when not on native souls, so while he does acknowledge Agent Coulson with a nod, it is done while backing up towards an alleyway with the sound of sirens drawing closer. Specifically those that belong to SHIELD agents. The stealth field tech built into his suit begins to shift and reflect the ambiant light away from the black suit. He doesn't disappear from view, it's more a shimmering mirage of bent light as he scales the side of the building towards the roof where he'll make good his exit. Interest in defending gunmen who attempted to assassinate another human, especially in what looks like gangland hit style, is of low concern for him. Shuri's drone has collected what T'Challa was here for. <"I think it is time we have a conversation with SHIELD. The rumors our agents have heard are true, weapons are escaping our security net.">
Shuri	~"Thank you, Spider-Man."~ The drone tucks the weapon away into a compartment before turning and the thing looks to Ironheart, waving a hand before whipping over to within hearing range of Agent Coulson. ~"Do not worry, Agent. This technology will return to where it belongs and is off the street. Also, I did have dibs. He was right."~ And with that the drone shoots up and zooms off back toward the embassy even as it, too, begins to shimmer and vanish as it flies.
Riri Williams	Okay, guns dealt with, other heroes on the scene who are better at talking to people... <"It's all yours, Agent Coulson."> Ironheart steps back into the street, straightening up again and switching her HUD back into flight mode. She lifts off as quickly as she arrived, curving across the city again. "AISHA, Ping the celltower for the phone Spidey had. Send him a text. 'Good Work'."
Jackie Estacado	Jackie smirks when Spider-Man pushes him. "Be seeing you," he says to the man on the ground. He glances at Ironheart as he starts to back off. "I don't take prisoners, kid." After that he turns and starts to walk back toward the restaurant where a man in his 60's is watching impassively.
Peter Parker	Spider-Man watches Jackie go, then lifts the guy and hauls him over to the others near the car like a sack of sand. A few well-aimed shots from the web-shooters later, and they are all packaged for pickup by the police. All in all, not too bad. The cops and EMS are going to be here soon, and then it's their problem. Spider-Man digs a water bottle out of the backpack and lifts up the mask to nose-level to take a swig. A few minutes, and then he can go back on patrol...
Valeria Richards	"Oh. Uh. Thanks!" Valeria calls after Coulson with a small smile, waving as he heads off to do those handy SHIELD things. She's close enough to get a good look at Jackie when he heads back to the restaurant - including the other man who's watching what's going on. There's no AI for her to send the information to, but she doesn't really need it either. Curiosity is not always healthy in the Richards family. And there are a number of loose ends there. But reluctantly, she lets him go. Or maybe that's because the device on her wrist is smoking again. Oops. Shaking her wrist, she curses under her breath and quickly unfastens the device, holding it by a strap at arm's length. "Note to self, rethink resonant frequencies," she sighs.
Jackie Estacado	Jackie catches the young woman with the smoking wrist-tech looking his way and shoots her what might pass for a winning smile. If you had a thing for womanizing mobsters who like to hurt people for information in the street in front of a bunch of heroes. It's a little creepy. "That girl. Got her an Uber. You better tip good," Anton says. He and Jackie look out at the mess. "Huh. More where she came from," Jackie replies. "Your Uncle Frankie's not gonna be happy," Anton says. He sniffs. "When you gonna get yourself a good Italian girl? Settle down. You don't want these, you don't want them," Anton gestures vaguely back toward the restaurant. "I know some girls, make an honest man out of you." "Ain't a woman alive that can do that," Jackie snorts.
Peter Parker	Spider-Man watches the guy talk to his friend. Not his business...but it could BECOME his business. And he had two ears and one mouth for a reason. He gives Jackie a little privacy space as he walks over to the woman currently holding something out at arm's length. As the matchbox drone coasts in behind him to fasten to the top of the backpack, he says, "Something wrong? You're not hurt, are you?"
Valeria Richards	"Nah, nothing I can't fix easy enough," Valeria answers Spider-Man with a shake of her head, reaching into her back pocket for a small canister of something and spraying both her wrist and the device. The smoke fades away, and whatever she's sprayed, it seems to fade any redness from her wrist away in just a moment. "Oh, hey, you're Spider-Man," she grins as she turns to see him, offering over a hand. "I'm Val. Nice to meet you. That was good work. I like the webs. Organic, or chemical? Do you have them on a helix as they spin out, to reinforce the strength?" Jackie's smile is, it seems, powerless. The armor of nerditude repels such things. But if he's looking that way... Without waiting for an answer from Spider-Man, she takes a few steps toward Jackie and his companion. "Hey, why were they after you?" Not //were// they. Just why.
Jackie Estacado	Anton's face grows impassive again. He shakes his head and says something quietly. Jackie shrugs. Anton goes inside. "Don't like Ferraris," he calls back with a straight face. He walks up to Val. "You should ask 'em before the cops take 'em away. A hero's gotta know, right? Might come back otherwise."
Peter Parker	He is about to answer when...there she goes. Right to the suave guy with the (well, former) Ferrari. Well, what can ya do? Spidey finishes the water bottle and sits down, checking his web-shooters. He does keep listening, though, but the cops arriving on the scene would make an independent interrogation legally problematic. Might be time to update the database again. He did make the webs work so that the cops could take them away, so saves on handcuffs.
Valeria Richards	"I'm more of a scientist than a hero," Valeria replies to Jackie, crossing her arms over her chest and tipping her chin up in an attempt at intimidation that's doomed to failure. "Which is why I'm more interested in the cause than the effect. That was targetted. They really didn't even try to hide it. And you're not looking to wait around to make a statement to the police, which tells me you don't really care about these guys that were holding the guns. You know who did it, and you've got your own plans for dealing with it that don't involve waiting for the police to build a case." She glances over her shoulder toward Spider-Man, brows furrowing slightly. Huh. Doesn't he want to know too? No time for that question. Back to being not-intimidating-at-all.
Jackie Estacado	Jackie looks amused. "You're a smart girl," he says and looks over her head at Spider-Man. "You teach her to do this? She doing your job now?" Jackie looks back at Valeria. "My name's Jackie, what's yours? You know, smart's pretty hot. Bet you're smarter than webs over there," he carries on to Valeria. "How old are you?" The cops and a couple of ambulances show up. A few of the cops and paramedics go straight to the webbed bad guys. Two come jogging over to Spider-Man, Valeria and Jackie. "Spider-Man," says the first, a brown-haired woman of average height. "What happened here?" she asks. "Mr. Estacado," says the cop's partner, a tall guy with an Italian last name on his vest. "What happened?" "Hey Tony," Jackie says. "Don't know. I was just coming for dinner and my car caught on fire. Weird."
Peter Parker	Spider-Man is about to say something when the cops show up. He looks at Jackie for a long moment. He does favor the straightforward approach. But sometimes it's more about what ISN'T said than what is said. A guy targeted by armed men who doesn't panic is a guy who knows that sort of thing can happen, maybe is READY for it to happen on some level. Guys like those bikers don't target innocent civilians, and innocent civilians don't live like eventually a hit squad is going to come after you. Add to that the fact that he's deflecting, which means he's not going to talk. If the cops are clean, he's not going to say something they'll make him repeat on the record in a courtroom. And if they aren't clean? Then he's DEFINITELY not going to talk. And he has a name now. Jackie Estacado. Thank the cop with the Italian last name. It may be classist to think every Italian is a wiseguy or connected, but if it walks and talks like a duck, look for a beak and feathers. "I'm doing my job just fine, Jackie Estacado," Spider-Man says almost casually. "And I don't forget what I see, heard, and experienced." He looks to Valeria, then to the police officer. He gives his statement based on what he saw, and Jackie and Valeria might notice he makes for a compelling and observant witness.
Valeria Richards	"I'm smarter than //maybe// two or three of all people ever tested," Valeria replies to Jackie in a dry tone. "Which makes me smart enough to know when I'm being patronized. Valeria Richards, Mr. Estacado." She uncrosses her arms long enough to offer over a hand. Yes, that Richards. Which explains the brief force field effect, even if it was short-lived. As the officer approaches, she tilts her head to consider the man, her flat look of just a moment earlier replaced with a typically teenage smile. Just another would-be do-gooder here, checking in on the victim. "I've actually never worked with Spider-Man before. But it's kind of exciting, don't you think? And I think that was the Black Panther earlier. What luck, to have so many heroes just...here when this just happened to you."
Jackie Estacado	"Exciting? Not what I'd call losing my favorite car," Jackie says with a smile. He shakes Valeria's hand. He ignores Spider-Man's jab, though he clearly does not like being needled. "Too bad you're not old enough to drink. I'd take you out to say thanks." "Where's the guy that got shot?" the cop that took Spider-Man's statement demands. "He in the restaurant?" "I didn't see anybody get shot, don't know what he's talking about," Jackie replies with a shrug. "Don't play stupid with me," she says, glaring daggers at Jackie. "C'mon, let's go find him before he bleeds out," she says to her partner. "You want to search Anton's?" Tony says incredulously. He looks nervous and glances at Jackie. "Go ahead. Nothing there. Order something nice for takeout, on me," Jackie says. Tony looks a little less worried and the cops go off to the restaurant.
Peter Parker	Spider-Man eyes the man. Well, well, well... In his head, Yakko Warner says, <"Oh look...it's our New Best Friend."> Then it clicks. Valeria Richards. That is a very special name, especially in the tech journals. "Miss Richards, may I speak to you?" he says politely.
Valeria Richards	"I...appreciate the offer," Valeria replies to Jackie, a glimmer of amusement crossing her features. "But you seem like the sort of guy who likes his ladies easily distracted by shiny objects." Not to say that she isn't easily distracted by shiny objects. They're just a //different// sort of shiny object. She takes a step back at Spider-Man's question, brows rising. "Yeah, sure," she says, belatedly tucking her burnt out tech into her back pocket with the spray she used earlier. "Val's fine, though."
Jackie Estacado	Jackie smirks and turns away. He gives Spider-Man a sharp look as he does. Then he walks back toward the restaurant past the wrecked cars as if nothing had happened.
Peter Parker	Spidey nods to Valeria, then says, "Call me Spidey. Or even Webhead. There are other names, but you don't look like the kind of lady who would use them, Val." He waits until they are a fair distance away. "I've read your works. Your paper on phase-variance shifting to regulate high-energy power sources helped me quite a bit."
Valeria Richards	"Oh!" Valeria grins at that, relaxing a bit from her attempt to intimidate Jackie. It makes her seem even younger, but also more approachable. "Yeah. Thanks. You read that?" she asks, head tilting as she gives him a closer look, then takes in more of the details of his costume, piecing things together as much as she can from just a visual inspection. "What were you using it for, if you don't mind me asking? I've been working on it again to power a chip of- of unknown origins, in the interest of not blowing it out while I'm trying to decode it."
Peter Parker	Spider-Man looks around. Yeah, everyone seems focused on the mayhem and the bikers. "I'm trying to work out a compact, long-lasting power source for a smart suit. Wearable computer, cell-tower access, HUD augmented-reality interface, comm system, database access." He chuckles. "I have the code...but I don't have much funding..." He sighs. "Sorry. That's not true. I don't have ANY funding."
Valeria Richards	"That seems to be a growing problem," Valeria says with a crooked smile, reaching into one of her pockets and digging until she finds a battered, dog-eared business card. She should probably keep more of those together. "As it happens, I've actually //just// been looking into starting up a sort of...think tank. A foundation for the future, for scientific minds from all over to be able to study, experiment, and come up with solutions to the problems the world is facing." "It's just the seed of an idea right now, so I don't one hundred percent know how it's going to work, but...But I think we've spent a lot of time studying in our ivory tower and exploring the world - worlds - past our own. It's time we start working on this one, here."
Peter Parker	Spider-Man looks to her. If he goes in on this, it might means reveals things he has to keep hidden. "I'm not really a think-tank kinda guy. I'm more an in-the-trenches kind of guy. I would appreciate the help...but I'm not a high-concept person. I'm looking for active solutions to use in continually-developing situations."
Valeria Richards	"You read my paper," Valeria points out, amused. "You're a think-tank kind of guy. But that's okay, not everyone wants things out in public. I get it. We tried not being the Fantastic Four for a little bit and the house got blown up before we even moved in, so, yeah, I get it." She leans forward to tap the card, smile easy. "That's my number. Tell me what you need, tell me where you want it dropped, and I'll make sure it gets to you. You seem more like a flexible suit guy than an Iron Man suit of armor guy, am I right?"
Peter Parker	Spidey chuckles. "I'm a flexible kind of guy...if you haven't guessed." He looked at the card. "Do you have an email? I can send you the data I have, or come by to show it to you."
Valeria Richards	"Yeah, sure," Valeria nods, taking the card back long enough to scribble an address on the back of the card before offering it back. "Give me a call, send me an email. I think we can get something going with some unstable molecules. Should help with the whole wear and tear thing," she adds with a nod toward one of the patch jobs.
Peter Parker	Spider-Man blinks. "I'm...willing to see what you've got. I just...I don't want to presume on your good nature, s'all. I've met quite a few smart people, but you're the first one who wants to see my ideas."
Valeria Richards	"Of course I want to see your ideas," Valeria grins. "Ideas build on each other. That's how they turn into revolutions." That would probably sound less scary if Victor von Doom wasn't her godfather, but at least she's well-meaning about it. Right about then, though, there's a buzzing in her pocket and she winces. "Okay, that's...probably Mom and Dad disapproving of me coming out here, which means I should probably head home before I'm grounded for life. But good meeting you, Spider-Man. Give me a call!"
Peter Parker	Spider-Man nods. "I'll be in touch." He watches her go, smiling slightly. She's brilliant, adventurous, innovative. He may be spoken for, but this could be a very fulfilling friendship.