Owner	Pose
Peter Parker	Peter had had his suspicions, but he figured it was probably a good idea to talk to her directly. Besides...there are certain things he feels Andi should know by now. So, when Andi/Mania accesses the audio setup for Spider-Comm, there is an audio message waiting. "Mania...It's Spidey. I hope you get this soon. I was hoping we could get to talk. I left a waypoint that you will need to wear the eyepieces to see the waypoint. If you are having trouble with them, call me and I'll help sort out another way. Come as Andi, not Mania, though."
Andi Benton	Ugh, those eyepieces. It's not that they're uncomfortable, there's just something else about them Andi hasn't quite figured out. The message says she'll need them, and that's fine if it means getting the waypoint to work, but..well, he didn't say anything about going as Mania on the way there and changing back once she was close enough. So that's what she did. A series of weblines to swing through en route to the destination, then after she's landed across from the building and confirmed it's the right one, she drops down to the alley below and everything just..flows away. The eyepieces are removed, then pocketed, and she crosses the street without looking. Traffic is light, and it's one of those things where if there's a danger of being hit...Mania will deal with it. Knock, knock, on the door. She's dressed in her usual styles.
Peter Parker	There is an odd chirping voice that calls out, "Coming...!" A few creaks from the floorboard, and the door opens. An elderly, white-haired woman peers out. She is thin to the point of being gaunt, but she is alert and watchful. Her blue eyes are bright as they meet Andi's, and then she smiles. "Ah! You must be the young lady we are expecting! And just in time." She looks over her shoulder. "Peter! Your young lady friend has arrived!" She looks back to Andi. "Pleased to meet you. My name is May Parker, but if you are a friend of Peter's, but I must *insist* you call me Aunt May."
Andi Benton	Likely expecting Peter, Andi's first reaction is to squint at the door at the voice she hears. The wonder is confirmed when it swings open enough for May to look out at who's there, and the appearance might not be what she was expecting unless Peter warned her ahead of time. Blacks, purples, dyed hair, piercings in unusual places (at least for anyone traditional). One might wonder where such a clean-cut guy like Peter ran across her. 'Young lady friend?' she mouths to herself, rolling her eyes just before May's attention returns to her. It leads to her covering for part of it by rubbing at the corner of one. "Um," she begins, the response already awkward. "I'm Andi." She doesn't use Aunt May yet, or even May at all. "He told me to come over. Are you his mom or something?" The 'Aunt' part didn't quite register. Maybe she meant she would just be a pretend Aunt to Andi.
Peter Parker	Aunt May doesn't seem to mind the odd colors or mode of dress. She opens the door wide, smiling thoughtfully. "Since he was four, Benjy and I were the parents he needed. His own parents...disappeared some time ago, no idea what happened. But he grew up right, that's for sure. I think Benjy could claim credit to that." She looked to the stairs. "He'll be right down. I heard him bumping into things up there. I'm off to help out a friend, but I left a little surprise for Peter and his friends, so enjoy." She grabs her coat and purse. "Take care of yourselves, and tell Peter I'll be back in a few hours."
Andi Benton	"..oh." Andi grows quiet over this, and there's a part of her that looks rather uncomfortable at the news. //What is wrong, Andi?// <<Not now.>> //Are you thinking of your own--// <<I said not now please and thank you!>> She clears her throat, louder than most would consider necessary, and she rapidly says, "Yeah I'll let him know nice to meet you and all be careful out there." This leaves her to fidget within the place, still looking as if she'd rather be anywhere else all of a sudden. //Something smells interesting.// Her eyes shift toward the kitchen.
Peter Parker	Aunt May nods, tilting her head slightly before stepping out. Not two seconds after the door closes, Andi hears the classic sound of someone heading down a flight of stairs, and then the guy shows up, barreling around the banister and coming down the hallway into the foyer. He looks so...AVERAGE. Brown hair, brown eyes, Caucasian, baggy shirt, baggy sweats. A bit of a look about, a guy who would surprise you if anything more profane than "Shucky-darn" came out of his mouth. But when he speaks, it's the voice of Spider-Man. A little more subdued than he sounds with the mask on, but it is him. He raises a hand in greeting. "Hi, Andi...hi, Mania."
Andi Benton	Andi Benton stands like the visitor waiting for her suitor to show up, all prim and proper and dainty except for the fact she is none of those things whatsoever. Not even able to fake it, really. Her focus shifts toward the stairs, the sound of the footsteps following before he comes around into view with a little momentum behind it. By the time he's there greeting them, Andi's head has angled a bit to one side and her expression is kind of just...dumbfounded. In that moment, the head of the symbiote rises up over a shoulder, a mirror image of what her face reflects, at least as much as a featureless head with just the eyes can do. But, the tilt angle is exactly the same. "...hey," they both say in unison. "That is the spider, Andi?" "You just said that out loud, Mania." "Oh."
Peter Parker	The guy smiles a little sheepishly. "Yeah...I get that a lot. Andi, Mania...my real name is Peter Parker. I'm 18, just started college at ESU. I'm also the main source of income for the house..." He sighs. "...and I felt that maybe I was keeping you at arm's length when I shouldn't be. I figured we had established trust. And as my Uncle Ben was fond of saying, if you want trust from someone else, you have to show some first." He looked around. "This is it. Apart from a basement laboratory, this is the 'HQ' of Spider-Man."
Andi Benton	"You're a n--" Andi stops herself, zipping it. The symbiote's head, connected to writhing strands of tentacles, eyes her with curious intent, shifting its eerie gaze toward Peter for a few seconds. "This is everything? Here?" She gestures to the interior. "I mean, it's nice, but it's so..normal." Mania: "We were expecting maybe webs everywhere." Andi: "Be quiet. That's not how it is where we live. Now..go back." Mania: "Andi is no fun sometimes." But, it slithers back around behind her and just flows away to disappear again, leaving Andi to rub the side of her face a little sheepishly. "Your uncle isn't around any more, is he?" she asks quietly. "Or your parents?"
Peter Parker	Peter sighed. "I...think we should sit down for this part." He walked over to the couch, an old thing that has been re-upholstered twice, the exposed wood worn smooth. He waits for Andi to sit before he begins. "When I was four, my parents asked Uncle Ben and Aunt May to take care of me. They disappeared while overseas...and we never found out what happened to them. So...I grew up with my Aunt and Uncle ever since...until I was 16." He looks down. "When I got these powers, the first thing I thought about was how to make a fast buck with them. Uncle Ben had his pension, but he was also a handyman. We never had a lot...but I never really noticed until I realized how much...money I could make." He starts wringing his hands as he speaks. "So...I fought this wrestler, Crusher Hogan. One of those 'stay in the ring for three minutes, win a hundred bucks.' Well...Crusher didn't have a chance, and someone made me an offer to become a wrestler. Imagine that. If I hadn't been so...so STUPID...I might be tossing around guys like The Rock and Triple H..."
Andi Benton	Andi Benton moves to the couch as well, and after poking at a part of it she takes up a spot at the edge, only barely seated upon it as her hands rub at the tops of her knees for a few seconds. Listening, all she can do is stare ahead after stealing a glance his way, then her fingernails become deeply interesting all of a sudden. "Shit. That's..really fucked up, to not know if your parents are even still alive somewhere or not. My mom, uh, left us after I was born, but at least I had my dad around." She leaves it at that for the time being, since this is more Peter's story than hers. But, maybe it gives them something else in common. "I think I remember seeing a video of that. That was you?" comes a more immediate question in the wake of him talking about the fight, a brow rising swiftly.
Peter Parker	Peter smiled thinly. "Most likely. I was wearing an improvised costume. But...I was on the verge of success, fame...financial freedom." Peter took a deep, slow breath. "As I walked out, I saw this guy running down the hall in my direction. He was going to run right past me. And...I LET HIM GO. I didn't try to trip him or body-check him...nothing. And he got away. The cop that was chasing him asked me why I didn't do anything. And I told him..." Peter looked down, and continued in a voice filled with misery, "...I told him I was LOOKING OUT FOR NUMBER ONE."
Andi Benton	"Okay, so..you're human. Most of us have to look after ourselves first," Andi begins. "You were, what'd you say? Sixteen? How long ago was that? But, like, stopping a thief or something wasn't even something that should have been on your mind then. I sure wasn't thinking about anything like that until..well, that /was/ you the whole time, dealing with me getting my dad back, and Mania finding me at that place." There's some conflicting thoughts going through her head, which Mania itself remains silent about for the moment aside from a sense of warmth crossing over through the bond at the reminder of Mania finding her. Andi's frowning.
Peter Parker	Peter is silent for a few long seconds. "This house used to belong to a mobster, and he had apparently hidden a fortune in here. Three weeks after letting the guy go, he came here, looking for the buried treasure. My Uncle Ben tried to protect Aunt May, and..." He coughs. "...the guy had a gun. And an hour later, I came home to find out from the police what had happened. And I learned a new term I'd never heard before...DRT." His eyes glance to the foyer. It is a furtive glance, but Andi can see it. DRT. Dead Right There. "I ran up to my room, suited up, and found where he was hiding. I almost killed him...before I got a good look at his face. IT WAS THE SAME GUY."
Andi Benton	A lump begins to form in Andi's throat. She's seen enough TV shows and read enough stuff to have an idea where this is headed. She doesn't stop Peter - he's determined this is something he needs to tell her - but she's dreading the reveal at the end. For good reason, by the time he gets there. All she can say is a quiet, "Fuck.." She doesn't look in the direction he does, doesn't say anything else, tries to hide her face from letting him see it. In fact, Mania covers her on the spot, still seated the same way, only now she's masked her face entirely. Only the eyes reflect a sadness. "We think you should have killed him, and made him pay." That is more Mania than Andi speaking. Revenge, justice, retribution - it's been part of the core concept for the symbiote ever since it bonded with Andi.
Peter Parker	Peter sighed. "Killing him would not bring my uncle back. Killing doesn't end problems. Mostly, all it does is START problems." He looked to Andi after rubbing his eyes. "Uncle Ben was the one who told me that. About great power and great responsibility. And I realized...there was something I COULD do. Something that could...keep some other kid from going through what I was going through. I could AVENGE my uncle...or I could HONOR him." He smiled faintly. "I...like to think I'm succeeding. That, wherever he is, Uncle Ben is looking down on me...and is SMILING. That he is PROUD of me. Someone has to help out the poor guy or girl on the street. The Avengers do stuff like save the world. The Justice League stops tidal waves, global disasters, stuff like that. All I ever aspire to is to make sure that somone is able to go to his home, rather than the hospital...or the morgue."
Andi Benton	The mask peels away from Andi's head, leaving mostly just her face visible, a bit of her hair. She looks conflicted, to say the least. "I..I get what you're saying. Mania feels differently about stuff like this. It's hard to know what to do sometimes, when we're right in the middle of everything. The other day, it was tough. We just reacted to some stuff, but we could have killed anybody there if we..if I wasn't being careful." She sits that way for a little longer before the moment passes and the symbiote crawls back inside her - it doesn't look painful, thankfully - to leave her looking herself again. He did ask her to come as Andi. "I don't know if my mom's still out there or not. My dad never could bring himself to see anyone else, and we've never heard from her since. Maybe..I guess you're smarter about all of this stuff." More experienced, at least.
Peter Parker	Peter sighed. "I am who I am because Uncle Ben and Aunt May brought me up this way. And I know what I know simply because I made a LOT of mistakes and somehow managed to survive them. And if I can help you avoid making the same mistakes...then it was for something, instead of for nothing. That's why I reached out to you. I think you can be capable of truly great things...as long as you are aware of the pitfalls and can avoid them. And if I am able to show you the traps and pits just because I blundered into them first...then it wasn't in vain."
Andi Benton	Andi Benton runs a hand through her hair, and she probes at a lip piercing with her tongue. A nervous tic, perhaps. "I still don't know what to do sometimes. I have my own thoughts, but there's Mania too, and I can't imagine Mania not being a part of me now." That need to co-exist, to find a balance between human and alien, it might not be something Peter can identify with, but maybe he could identify with the struggle as a whole. It's just a different type, based in similar places. "I don't /want/ to kill anybody really, I don't think," she tells him. "But I'd probably be in a worse place if you weren't around."
Peter Parker	Peter nods. "Look...if you need anything, anything at all...someone to bounce ideas off of, someone to share info, someone who will just listen to you without judging you. Just call me. Any time, day or night. If I can't reply immediately, I will as soon as humanly possible. That's a promise."
Andi Benton	"I know. I get kind of quiet a lot. I've never had any real close friends," Andi explains, a way of indicating she's probably not used to some of this. "So I'm not, uh, avoiding you or anyone else, usually. I've always just sort of been a loner." All of that has changed since Mania, since the bond. //Andi does not have to be alone any more.// Mania is always there.
Peter Parker	Peter nods. "I can understand that. I'm not going to make you do or act in any way." He pauses, then looks to the kitchen. "Listen...Aunt May left something for us, and I did want to talk to you about something else...but we can do it over dessert." Peter winks, then stands up. "Head on over to the dining table, and I will be out shortly." And with that, he strolls into the kitchen.
Andi Benton	"Hmm? What?" Andi asks, reacting with apparent distraction. "Talk about something?" She didn't miss the whole reply, just part of it, but she shrugs and rubs one of her shoulders after Peter moves off to the kitchen, probably to get whatever Mania smelled earlier. This leaves her to approach the table where Peter, May, and Ben probably had meals every night like a normal family. She notes anything that seems to stand out as personal touches, but she slouches into one of the chairs soon after.
Peter Parker	The aroma hits before the door opens. Sugar and sweetness. Then the door swings open and Peter steps out, walking towards the table and putting a plate in front of Andi. It is Aunt May's masterpiece. A golden crust, light and flaky. Granny apples from Australia. Sugar dusting the crust, syrupy pie filling that is a mix of honey, a touch of molasses, and some other ingredient that can't quite be identified. Ladies and Gentlemen, the lattice apple pie voted Best Dessert (Pastry) of 2016 by the New York State Chamber of Commerce. A glass of ice-cold milk is placed nearby before Peter sits down across from Andi, his own pie and milk settled on the table. "Dig in."
Andi Benton	"Oh, shit." It could be the first time anyone's reacted that way to seeing Aunt May's apple pie, and that's before a bite has even been taken. Andi watches Peter with a questioning suspicion, as if this might be a dream, might be something that isn't real, or might be a trap or a joke of some kind. It's the look of someone who isn't used to this kind of stuff. Maybe she has an aunt that dotes on her like May probably does Peter, but.. There's pie in front of her, and milk. At the call to dig in, she /could/ just go Mania on it and chomp the whole thing in one bite, but what would that accomplish? Could it really be savored that way? No, probably not. The pie would still be eaten, but it wouldn't be /enjoyed/ the same. This is what leads to her taking a fork to section off a small piece from the tip of the slice, bringing it to her mouth almost gingerly. Her reaction following the bite, chew, and swallow is almost as good as when she just saw it. "Oh, fuck."
Peter Parker	Peter chuckles slightly. "I am sure Aunt May would accept the compliment in the spirit it was intended." He takes his own bite, hmming deep in his throat. He chases it with a sip of milk. "Nothing but her best for my friends, Andi. And she has said you can take the rest of it home with you. She likes to think she is spreading a little Australian sunshine with her Irish recipe."
Andi Benton	Andi Benton mumbles something between chewing that sounds like an apology, but the words are unclear so it can't be certain. "It's good," she verifies once it's safer to speak again without sounding like she's one of the characters in Dick Tracy. "..thanks. I don't know what Australia and Ireland have to do with each other, but..thanks." She gulps down some of that milk afterward.
Peter Parker	"Well, Aunt May's parents came over from Ireland, so she was born in County Cork." He takes a few more bites, then says, "I did want to ask about your Spider-Comm rig. I was wondering how it was working for you."
Andi Benton	"Mania doesn't like it," Andi is quick to say, the faster to get her back to chowing down on apple pie. She will probably have to elaborate, but it's going to be up to him to draw it out of her. She's busy with the food.
Peter Parker	Peter looks at Andi, and is about to ask, but he has seen that look on many other faces when Aunt May's pie is served. A look of I Have Something More Important to Work On, and he figured he knew what it was. So, for the next minute or so, he contented himself with enjoying his own dessert, waiting for Andi to collect herself so that she will speak when she is ready.
Andi Benton	Andi Benton's eyes shift from plate to Peter and back again, then she maintains eye contact with him long enough to send a questioning look his way. He's expecting more? "What?" she asks, feigning ignorance, innocence. Tough to do given her appearance and what he's seen her capable of doing.
Peter Parker	Peter chuckles. "I think I will wait until you are finished eating. It can wait a few minutes."
Andi Benton	"Fine, just give me a.." Mania's head makes another appearance, the tongue snaking out so it can gather up whatever's left on the plate, thankfully leaving the plate itself behind. It somehow swallows the remainder of the pie without needing Andi to do it, leaving her staring at it. "What the hell?!" she demands. The symbiote makes a show of smiling at both Andi and Peter. "He said you could take home the rest. We wanted a more direct..sample. Needs chocolate." Then, the gaze locks itself onto Peter, the symbiote itself continuing the questioning: "You had something to ask us?"
Peter Parker	Peter blinked. Well...that's ONE way to clean a plate. "Well, I was curious how the two of you were working with the Spider-Comm rig. Andi said you didn't like it, Mania. Could you elaborate?"
Andi Benton	Mania: "It is too distracting." It withdraws again, back into Andi, however that works. Andi: "What we're..I mean, what it's trying to say is I think we're fine with the comms so we can hear what's going on, but the rest is kind of confusing and gets in the way for us. It /works/ but it's..I think Mania wants less in the way, and it's easier for me to focus that way too. If that makes any sense." Maybe Mania just wants Andi all to itself. No sharing.
Peter Parker	Peter blinks. "Oh? Well, I suppose I could take out the augmented-reality lenses and fingertips sensors. I could re-design it for audio-only. You'll hear a lot more chatter, but the visual interface will be gone."
Andi Benton	"I have enough voices in my head already," Andi states, and it's not immediately clear whether she's joking or dead serious. "But I could try different things and see what works the best. We're just used to..things working a little differently with us," she attempts to explain further, eyeing her plate as if she missed out on something. It could raise the question of just how the symbiote gets its nourishment, how much it needs or doesn't need her. She adds hastily, "I'm not trying to make it harder on you. It's cool tech. It's just complicated for us."
Peter Parker	Peter chuckles ruefully. "Don't sweat it, really. Any tech that is harder to use will not get used. I just want to make something that will help you and keep you connected to the rest of the group. We'll sort something out, I'm sure. We just have to tweak it until we find something that works."
Andi Benton	Andi Benton mutters, "Yeah, I'm probably the only one who's trying to use it with a symbiote, unless you gave one to that other guy I saw once." She adds hastily, "And I don't mean Venom." She drags the fork around the plate, but there isn't really anything for it to salvage. "We're also not used to being part of a group. I was never part of the 'in' crowd at school, and Mania won't say much about where it's from and what happened there."
Peter Parker	Peter snerks. "Well, we're not a *clique,* that's for sure. We accept different people. I mean, we got WONDER WOMAN on the network." He hmmed. "I wonder if she'd be cool with spider-themed Amazon armor. Couldn't hoit to ask." He winked to Andi.
Andi Benton	Andi Benton blows out a breath. "Fuck cliques. They suck." Said emphatically so. There is, at least, a lifting of her brows. "Wonder Woman? That's pretty cool. I'd just be happy with that. Don't push it." Wink noticed, wink no-sold completely. "So you don't seem too bad after that thing the other day," she says, at least touching on the drug/gun bust.
Peter Parker	Peter nods. "I heal pretty quickly. The bleeding had stopped before I left, and by the time I woke up the next morning, it was all healed up. I have to guide some of it. Bones don't automatically snap back into place for me, I had to learn how to re-set bones and that sort of thing after the first few fights. I get hurt a LOT."
Andi Benton	Andi Benton grimaces, at least. "Getting hurt still sucks," she says, stating the, well, painfully obvious. "But healing faster helps. We have noticed something..better there, too." Of course, there are different things in play when bonded to an alien symbiote, compared to having the powers of a spider. She begins to drum her fingers against the table, growing fidgety. "We learned some more things about what we can do there."
Peter Parker	Peter looks instantly intrigued. "Really? Well, if you want to share what you've learned, I'm all ears. Really, I am. The mask kinda hides it." He winked, smiling a weird, almost apologetic smile that is both disarming and completely real.
Andi Benton	Andi Benton waves a hand. "Just..ways we can attack, and protect ourselves. Someone tried to move in from behind and it was like I could see him coming even when I was facing the other way." Peter might be very familiar with /that/ concept.
Peter Parker	Peter hmmed. "Maybe sometime I can tell you about the Spider-Sense and how it works...see if it is something that resonates with you." He pauses, then adds, "However, Mania...the pie is FINE the way it IS." Because you don't mess with Aunt May's secret recipe. "And if you can accept that, you and Andi can take the rest of the pie home."
Andi Benton	Mania makes one more appearance, extending away from Andi's shoulder area to practically leer at Peter with a grin that takes shape. "It is a good pie, but it is not a chocolate pie. We will get one on the way home. Best of both worlds." It then retracts back to Andi, content with itself to go back into hiding, leaving her rolling her eyes as she gestures with her palms up as if to ask 'What can you do?' "I think that's our cue to get out of here," she remarks. "And..next time, about how it works. And don't listen to it. The pie was great."
Peter Parker	Peter nods and stands up. "All right." He picks up the plates and heads into the kitchen, coming out again with a pastry box ina wide-bottomed bag. "Try not to eat it all before you get home, you two." Peter smiled. "Take care, both of you. All right?"
Andi Benton	Andi Benton gets back to her feet and lingers long enough for the bag to be presented to her. "We think we can manage that," she says. "Gotta save a few crumbs for dad." Because that's what a good daughter would do. She otherwise keeps to herself as she makes for the door, giving Peter a brief wave. For a nerdy guy, not at all what he expected Spider-Man to be, he's not too bad.
Peter Parker	Peter watches them go. He feels good about telling her about Uncle Ben. She seems like the stand-up kind, even if the world may have knocked her around a few times.