Owner	Pose
River Banks	Night in May settles over New York a bit like a wet blanket. Humidity was high, a drizzley sort of rain was slowly dropping from a gray=orange sky reflecting light polution back down on the City that Never Sleeps, home to terrapins and spiders, devils and angels and all manner of those who float in between.     Hopping over a short wall, straw-blonde hair in a braid laced with a couple bits of brightly colored ribbon, jeans stained with pizza grease and sporting a shiner on her left eye, River pulls cash from a billfold and tosses it back over the wall, sticking it into her pocket as she makes her way down a busy street.     "Take me down to Iuka Mississippi, 'fore he knows the two of us are up an' gone. Take me down to Iuka Mississippi," she sings, Southern drawl obvious to the couple of folks who pass by her as she raises brown eyes and spots...     -- A PRETZEL CART. Great day for a hot pretzel on the streets, right?     She adjusts the scarf 'round her neck a bit and gets into line.
Miguel O'Hara	Well, Miguel was feeling in pretty good spirits. The homeless shelter had served meatloaf, the rain was not actually soaking through the costume, and he smelled a faint smell of something good. He had made a fair amount of money panhandling, even after getting the "move-along" by NY's Finest twice. About fifty dollars, all told. Cyber-Spider landed on a lightpole, talons digging into the metal, while looking down at the pretzel cart. SHOCK, but those smell good. However, there are a couple of people there, and his scary version of the Spider-Motif tended to frighten people, so he decided to hang out until the line shortened to one or two people before dropping in. And he could keep an eye out for the wildlife, because it IS a jungle out there...
River Banks	Man is it ever a jungle out there and fifty bucks was fifty bucks, nothing to sneeze at when a pretzel costs --     "You are outta ya mind! I'm not payin' YOU eight bucks for a *pretzel*!" comes an angry voice at the head of the line, and the blonde at the back leans over slightly to get a look at what's going on.     "It's... it's not just any pretzel--" the mousey lad inside the aluminium hut replies, "You ordered the Nutella-stuffed Pretzel dipped in chocolate with two additional caramel sauces!" he explains,     "YAH and your pretzels cost four bucks!"     "They're plain!"     "HEY move it Lady!" one man growls, behind the one holding up the line, "It's damp, we're tired, either pay for your bougie treat or *get outta line*."     No one seems to notice a bit of greenery shaking, moving and reaching out towards those waiting to order hot, salty dough twists. Let alone the straw-haired girl, who hops in place.     "C'mon, c'mon -- gotta pick up Rio--" she mutters half to herself.     The lady at the front of the line isn't budging though. She in fact was going to give another piece of her mind when the greenery reaches out and snatches a handy passer-by, with a yelp errupting and a hard-hat slamming to the ground!
Miguel O'Hara	Ohhhh, CHIP. Looks like the pretzel is going to have to wait. Miguel pulled the mask over his lower face, then fired a webline and swung into action. And into the vine currently pulling on the citizen. He grabs onto the vine, then rips it in two, dropping the citizen to the ground as he lands nearby. Just like his grandparents...he was going to have to do some LANDSCAPING...
River Banks	Up comes the scarf as River turns around, hearing the scream as she takes a deep, calming breath, turning as she lets it out and draws one hand up, water from the ground forming orbs that catch the passer-by as Cyber Spider lands nearby.     "Looks like someone's mamaw fergot to feed the garden -- ain't seein' no See-mour 'round here either!" she glibly states to her odd ally, shifting her weight a little bit as she lets outa huff.     "Big feller ain't he?"     And the plant like creature draws upwards, a bulbous venus flytrap for a mouth, pitcher plants for 'feet' and above, the waggling vine work retracting its broken vine as it snarls, dripping sticky sap from its needle 'teeth' and goes to try and snap another couple of vines at Miguel in revenge for the one he's broken!
Miguel O'Hara	Miguel's eyes widened. Yeah, even on the mask. "What the mothershocking SHOCK is that thing?!" Is it profanity? It sounds like profanity. Whoops! INCOMING! The rather bulky Spider-Guy fires two weblines, one to each vine before sticking them to the pavement. "My grandparents never had to deal with weeds like THAT!"
River Banks	"... are you cussin'?" the young woman asks, before she visibly jumps at the TWHIP.     "Yeah, that's cussin'." she replies to her own questioning, and she brings up both her hands again, this time forming spikes of ice. She slings one from each hand at the huge flytrap's feet trying to pin them down.     "AIn't got the faintest, but 'less we trim it it's gonna eat some a' the pedestrians!" she replies.     Now, she's got cool powers. The only problem is she doesn't seem to be able to move while she's using them. With its feet pinned (and wilting slightly), two of its arms webbed to the sidewalk, it still has three arms left, and the bulky Spider-Guy is still a main target -- this time the plant is using its head!     It comes down, maw open wide and tries to take a bite out of Crime-Fighters!     The girl with the scarf over her lower face gets picked up by a vine whip and gets shook!
Miguel O'Hara	AUDREY! THAT'S what it looks like! He was almost pleased with himself before it opens wide to swallow him. YIKES! Both arms rise up, aiming at the cavernous mouth. "EAT THIS!" And that is when he blasts the mouth with both "barrels," filling the maw with multiple blasts of webbing. He REALLY kinda hoped it couldn't eat the webbing. He'll look REALLY stupid if it could...
River Banks	OM NOM NOM Nooooommm..     ... nom...     Audrey III chews on the webbing. It appears to be puzzled, what's this? Chewy... not digestable... it tries to spit out the webbing, the sappy mouth attempting to get some of the stuff out of its maw, and then flings the Southern lady at the Spider-Type Person as it uses its remaining htree vines to try and empty out its mouth -- it can't eat!     And River gives a yelp as she's thrown, arms flailing!
Miguel O'Hara	Whoa! Flying lady! And since she's flying like a set of thrown car keys, he moves to the left to catch River cleanly. He looks down at the girl, then smiles to her before setting her on her feet. "Better get some distance. I'm going to give that thing a nice big blanket...better get those vines first to slow it down!"
River Banks	"Those brown eyes look up at the Spider-mask and the Southern Lady whispers:     "Y'know, those things are downright intimidatin'."     And as she's set on her feet, she gives a nod, and brings her hands up again.     "Gimmie a bit a' cover an' I'll get those vines." she states, and she whips her arms out to the side. Water bubbles up around her, under her control as she spreads her fingers. Her eyes flick to the vines as the creature attempts to dig the webbing out from its mouth, and the blonde with the scarf over her face brings her hands forward, controlling the water as it zips around, forming a pair of rings --     WHACK to one vine --     THWACK to the second, pinning each vine to a wall -- leaving the Spider with one vine and the rest of the plant!     "Go geddim!"
Miguel O'Hara	Cyber-Spider nods and rushes forward, aiming for the one vine still moving around. He tags it with a webline, stops, digs in, then YANKS. Contest of plant vine versus spidersilk. Hint: Webline strength - comparable to high-grade carbon steel. Result: Vine yanked out, by the root. So to speak. Cy-Spi throws the vine aside, then says to the plant, "Pruning's done...SPIDERWEB'S BEGUN." He lets it have it with a wide spread of webbing, covering the plant...then covering it again...then a little extra in the mouth area. The REALLY sticky stuff.
River Banks	POP! the vine comes out. Luckily the plant doesn't scream.     It is, howeve,r now absolutely covered in web fluid, webbing, and is bound down and ready for a nap under a thick white blanket.     And of course, because it's New York, everyone's cheering for Spider-Man. Even though he didn't show up. But Cyber-Spider is close enough for most people to associate with the more famous web slinger.     River teeters slightly.     "Ah man, now I'm gonna wanna eat like... eight pretzels." she mumbles, mostly to herself, but gives a double thumbs up to Miguel.     "So... uh... which... spider-guy are you?"
Miguel O'Hara	Miguel doesn't seem put out by the comparison. In fact, he seems rather flattered to be compared to Spider-Man... ...The Legend. He looks to River, then says, "You can call me...Cyber-Spider." He shrugged. "The really cool name was taken. I'm new in town, though." He'd picked up what she said, and it only took him a moment to make the choice. He looked at the pretzel vendor and says, "I want to buy ten of your pretzels. Two for me...and eight for the young lady. She looks hungry. Yes, and could we get two Coke Blitzes?" "Coke WHAT?" Crud. "Uhmm...CHERRY COKE. Yeah, that'll work." He looked to River. "What do you want to drink?"
River Banks	"Beats mine with a stick. I'm Riptide." the girl replies with a chipper summer drawl, and she visibly blushes, eyes going wide. "Hey, HEY! I can pay for mah own pretzels! I ain't bro-- awh hell I'll let you." she holds up a hand, "Just this once, 'cause you picked the Cherry Coke. Gotta like a man with /refined/ taste." she jokes, and she leans in.     "Two cherry cokes, an' I wanna hear about what the hey a Coke Blitz is."
Miguel O'Hara	The vendor begins to start handing out pretzels after Cy-Spi handed over the cash, in ones and fives. CS took the pretzels and handed them to River as soon as he got them, until he got the eighth one. He handed her the cherry Coke, then points to a nearby bench. "I'll meet you there." A couple of minutes later, Cy-Spi heads over to the bench and sits down.
River Banks	River sits down. She takes a deep breath and inhales the scent of fresh doughy salty goodness... and then a realization comes over her. Everyone just saw her use her powers. She was recognizable.     She had a scarf covering her lower face instead of a proper mask.     ... never said she was the smartest girl. There are very nearly tears in her eyes as she realizes that she can hold the pretzels and their delicious, butter-flavored-oil-covered warmth AND her cherry coke *but she cannot partake*.     "Worst. Day. This week." she states with the utter appropriate gravitas to her situation.
Miguel O'Hara	Miguel lifted the bottom part of his mask, up to nose-level, and was about to speak when... Hey...how's she gonna eat without exposing her face? Think fast, Miguel! He looked around, then checked their surroundings. Wall...lightpole...alley... He holds up a finger. "Wait," he says with an uncomfortable smile. Wall to lightpole. Lightpole to parked truck. Parked truck to wall. In thirty seconds flat, he had created a triangular privacy screen. Almost a right triangle, but more an isosceles triangle. Still, it was ten feet high. "Will this work?" he asked quickly. "I can pull them down after we're done eating."
River Banks	The water-manipulator blinks a moment as the Cyber-Spider with the weird cusswords gives them a privacy screen. She sits up a bit straighter. She opens her mouth a moment beneath the scarf, and then just sort of looks at Miguel, then back to the screen, and tugs down the scarf over her nose.     "... well shoot. You're a damn handy fella to have around, ain't you?" she gives a wry grin, drawing up her feet so that shebalances some of the pretzels on her knees, and breaks one up a bit to start eating it.     "Much obliged, Cyber-Spider... for... y'know. THe pretzels an' the ability ta eat 'em."
Miguel O'Hara	The big man nods, and gives a little smile... Well. Now she knows why he talked like that. It was to hide the sharp canine fangs. He points quickly to the pretzels and cherry Coke. "I just want these...I'm not going to bite you." Okay, MAYBE that sort of thing goes without saying, but come ON...from some of the stuff he read about going on in the early 21st century, it may be a valid reaction...
River Banks	"My man you saw me just form ice spikes outta the rain. You try to bite me an' we're gonna have a problem."     She purses her lips a moment. "Ya gotta buy a girl a date an' ask nice0like 'fore you start bitin' folks." she replies, though she gives a laugh.     "So, you jus' in the neighborhood or you live here full time? Jus' in case I see another one of those big weeds causin' issues."
Miguel O'Hara	Cy-Spi noshes on the pretzel, them MMMMMMmmmms... What? It's his first pretzel, ever. "This is good...uhm, sorry? Oh...well, I'm actually kinda living out of the homeless shelter in Queens. The one called F.E.A.S.T.? It's not the Waldorf, but it's three hots and a cot, so I can't really complain. They got counselors, too, but I can't really explain what my deal is to most people." He sips the cherry Coke and MMMMMmmmms again. "Oh, yeah. That's the main node, there."
River Banks	"Oh yeah? Haven't been to that one." Riptide replies as she gives a thoughtful sound.     "So what *is* your deal? You cuss weird an' still haven't said what a Coke Blitz is." she points out, eyebrows rising up.
Miguel O'Hara	Miguel finishes off the rest of the pretzel, then says carefully, "Well...enh. I'm not from around here. I'm...I don't think I'm even from this universe. I'm sorta like...the ultimate illegal immigrant." He thinks for a moment. "That sounds more epic than it actually is. I heard about some guy named Superman who stopped a tidal wave, and I don't even know who that IS. So yeah...not in my own universe."
River Banks	"Oh, man you don't even know Superman? Definitely from 'nother universe brother." River gives a small smile. "He's kinda like, this Alien who came to Earth and is kinda super strong an' manages the whole Justice League thing, I think. Not real sure... mostly... never come up against 'em. Heroin' isn't... tyyyypically my thing." she states quietly, and she lets her shoulders rise up.     "So, you just kin'a popped right into our universe an' happened to land in New York City? Man." she states, and looks off in the middle distance -- or would, if there wasn't a web privacy shield.     "Sounds rough. I'd be beside myself if I just got dropped ina random somewheres."
Miguel O'Hara	Cy-Spi nodded. "Well...there's also a time difference thing going on. Basically, I have ID and credit chips and none of it is valid here. Even my education won't be valid for...holy chip, a LONG time." He munches morosely, then says, "So...yeah, from a good job to a homeless shelter. At least the costume is easy to clean. You are REALLY going to love unstable-molecule clothing once it gains serious throughput."
River Banks	"Unstable whatsit now? I don't think they're gonna have that at /Goodwill/ for a long while... sounds complicated." she mutters, and she gives a shrug. "Least you sound smart? I mean, minus the cussin'. That's just weird. An' sides. Don't all you hero types go an' hang out togethers at like, The League HQ or somethin'?" she rolls her wrist, and points a piece of pretzel at Cy-Spi. "With your unstable molly-cues?"
Miguel O'Hara	The man snorted laughter. "From where I came from, a cult called the Thorites kept chasing after me, and most people who know who I am want to find out how I got this way. I've barely been in this reality a week. I've met a few people, but no...I haven't gotten invited to any parties, let alone meetings with groups of superheroes. I think I'm in the wrong tax bracket or something." He shrugs. "I just want to help people. Only thing I have left that means anything."