Summary:Spider-Man checks in on Silk, gives her a few gifts, and enlists her efforts to help the children of NYC against the dark forces moving against them. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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Spidey is a Spider-Man on a Spider-Mission. He even called in sick and he seldom calls in sick, but he has some sick days saved up. He had been working in the basement for five and a half hours in more of a white-heat session of creativity. He had finished in four, debugged in one hour, and added a few final bits and packaged it all up. Five minutes later, he was out and into the late afternoon sunshine, the days already lengthening.
Headed, ina roundabout way, for the warehouse, backpack full of food and gifts.
Cindy was, indeed, in the warehouse.
She'd given both Spider-Man and Spider-Girl the code to enter the building after 'fixing' the 'fake' codebox in the front door, and revealing the hidden panel for the actual one.
She is currently, however, sitting in the middle of the floor with - well, a rather massive amount of papers scattered all over. Newspapers. It appears she's gone scavenging or looking, and found a good many older papers and is going through all of them, looking through obituaries, news articles, anything, in regards to either her parents, her neighborhood, or Lykus. Only a few articles have been 'saved', all of these pertainng to Lykus' death, and fortune.
Spider-Man assesses the area, then lands on the roof, dropping down to the door, then accessing the hidden panel for the code. The lock clicks open, and he slips inside before it engages again. He walks further into the area, looking around. "Silk? You around or is this a bad time to show up with food and toys?"
Cindy looks up, smiles. "Anytime is a good time for food. And I could probably use a break." The girl is no longer in her 'Silk' costume. Spider-Man ad Spider-Girl, both, afterall, had already seen what she looked like, and it wasn't as comfortable to lounge around in.
"And I could use the break. I've been upfor hours, reading. Searching. Nothing." She exhales, but ooesn't look too down. The girl seems to have a good head on her shoulders. "More easter leftovers?" She sounds hopeful.
Spider-Man chuckles. "I told my Aunt that I met someone who wasn't eating well. And, of course, it wasl all 'challenge accepted' for her." He put the backpack on the table, then unzipped it and took out a 2.5-gallon ziploc bag filled with lettuce, cucumbers, green onions, and baby carrots cut into tiny slices. "Ready-made salad."
"I"m grateful. Maybe I'll be able to get a real job, or something. Kind of hard, when you're person non-grata. But, it sure is good to eat anything that's not canned or powdered. I mean, it was okay. But you try eating the same stuff for a year and a half," Cindy jokes, half-heartedly. She looks rather pleased with the haul, though.
"I'm glad it was you who busted in, if anyone did. You and Spider-Girl are good people. Thanks." She smiles, warmly, at the hero in the blue and red costume. Then, her brow furrows. "So, why are all the newspapers telling everyone you're a terrible jerk?"
Spidey sighs. "Not all of them. J. Jonah Jameson has it in for me for some reason." He shrugs, then takes out a pie tin. The plastic cover has some condensation on it. He openes it to reveal what looks like a pie…made of spaghetti, with sliced meatballs covering the top. "Spaghetti pie with meatballs."
"Why? I mean, he has to have a reason," Cindy says, logically. Clearly, she doesn't get it. "Doesn't it make for a hard time for you." She squints, curiously, at the pie tin.
"Spaghetti … pie?" The one is dubious. Very, very dubious. "Pie is supposed to be … apples. Pumpkin. Key lime. Not … pasta. Right? What happened while I was in here?"
Spider-Man chuckles. "It's held together by the starch of the pasta and that it is baked this way. Trust me, you'll like it. Now…" Back into the backpack, and now a larger white plastic container. "About eight servings of her beef chili. Made from scratch, simmered long enough to make angels hungry." He places it on the table.
Okay. Now Cindy is staring, "You weren't kidding." She's both stunned, appreciative, and even as she reaches for the huge white plastic container she looks further at the backpack, wondering just how much -more- could be in there. And, perhaps, if Spider-Man has a bag of holding. "It's all so -much-. I can't wait to try it all. I'm going to have to do something really nice for your Aunt."
Spider-Man smiles. "She says that if you enjoy it, she's paid in full. I like to think I got some of my good qualities from her." He pauses, then says, "It can get hard. But it isn't how hard you can hit. It's about how hard you can GET hit…and keep moving forward. Rocky Balboa said that. He's kinda my hero."
"I prefer to not get hit at all. Old Man couldn't even hit me, after he'd started training me." She tips her head,thoughtfully. "I got pretty good with the combat tapes he left me, too. But, really haven't fought anyone since he left. I hope I don't mess up being a hero." She looks thoughtful, a bit pensive, if only briefly so.
Spider-Man paused to look at her. "Remember that you have to do what's right, you have to control and discipline yourself…and that you never forget who you are. That's the basics. That's the foundation. Stick to that, and you're 95 percent there."
Cindy doesn't ask the normal questions of 'how do I know what's right', or 'how do I control or use my powers'. She listens to Spider-Man, thoughtfully, "So, when you were fighting the Rhino," yes, she's read up on him, "You weren't thinking anything but, 'Spider-Man is a controlled and disciplined guy and J. Jonah Jameson is wrong about him?" Her lip curves up, showing she's teasing.
Spider-Man looks thoughtful. "Actually, I was wondering when was the last time he took a full, honest-to-God bath or shower, because he can't get out of the suit, right? He must smell like feet in the-oh, there he is." He shrugs, then takes out another large container. "All the leftover potato salad. She likes to throw chopped celery in hers."
"How much room is in your backpack?" Cindy blurts out, now, on the verge of either laughing, hugging Spider-Man for all the food, or just grabbing the backpack to confirm it is (or is not) a bag of holding.
Spider-Man grins. "One of those expandable ones. Comes in handy if I find myself with a large piece of evidence." He reaches in a little further, then chuckles and takes out a small box that is long and slim, like a box for a very thick ruler. "This one's the chestnut, as my Aunt would say. Would you like to have something you can use to contact me, Spider-Girl, or Spider-Woman? You haven't met her yet, I don't think…":
"Wait. There's even more of us?" Cindy looks surprised again, pauses, then she nods. "Yeah. I mean. Right now? You and Spider-Girl are the only two friends I have. It's - nice to have someone else to talk to, other than myself. And I defintely couldn't go back to that, now that I'm not in it, anymore," she states soberly. "What's in it? A phone?" She knows phones have really slimmed down, now, but it's clear by her expression she's somehow guessing it's /not/ a phone?
Spider-Man grins and opens the box.
The first item seen is something that looks like a bracer, but made of thin plastic. "That goes on the underside of your forearm, just below the wrist. You should be able to weave your…costume around it." He lifts it out, showing there is a pair of Velcro straps. "Put that on."
The next item is what looks like one of those -in-ear hearing aids. "Bluetooth headset, with subvocal microphone. detects vibrations from the mastoid bone, so you don't have to speak out loud to send a message."
Cindy follows the instructions to put on the small, and subtle gear with a measure of appreciation. "Wow. Did you build this?" She looks - all kinds of impressed, honestly. "I don't have a head for building things. I mean, I've read books, but, reading a book and knowing the information is way different than having an intuitive understanding of it," she states quietly.
"wow. It's comfortable," she agrees. "I like it. And, I can use this anywhere in the city to contact any of you?"
Spidey nods. "Tap the screen. it will ask for a six-digit code. Type in the code you want to use from now on. It will work anywhere in the five boroughs…and Spider-Girl has been making inroads about extending the range. You can type using the virtual keyboard, or use speak-to-text. You'll get prompts on getting it to recognize your voice."
"SO, does that make us the Spidvengers, or something?" Lame, but, it's the best she can come up with in the moment. She had a year and a half to come up with 'Silk'. She types in a code, after a few moments of thought. And, then starts to follow the prompts for the system as it runs her through the intial sequences.
A few icons show up. One red-and-blue face circle for Spider-Man, one white-with-pink-bordered eyes for Spider-Woman, and one black with white eyes for Spider-Girl. As the screen comes up, one circle face with webbing covering the lower half with SILK next to it comes up.
"The manual is the book icon in the lower left. Familiarize yourself with the system. I have it connected to my civilian phone, so it comes up as someone I don't like. You can make this a little-known contact, or even a telemarketer number. But you will know where it really comes from."
She is no slouch when it comes to using technology, just, well, creating it isn't her style. She'll leave that to the other two. "Got it," she promises Spider-Man with a measure of assurity. "Might have to test this later. But I need to put this food away, first, before it goes bad. I am totally pigging out tonight. Can you believe the amount of food we have to eat to keep our webbing up?"
Spider-Man nods. "Yeah, I suggested you weren't getting enough meat in your diet." He chuckles. "Although, if you're not interested in *dessert,* then I suppose I can understand…" His voice is light and teasing.
Now, Cindy reaches for the backpack. And, she's moving so fast, that Spider-Man isn't going to have a chance to pull it out of the way even if he could. Though, whether he gives it up is an entirely different manner, as she tugs playfully at it, "I want to look into this," she declares, laughing. "Gimmie."
It is a well-used backpack, and there are many pockets that expand outward.
Pie would have been too much, but Aunt May is nothing if not inventive. In the last pocket closest to the front is a plastic dish with a plastic lid. Inside, arranged like flowers are seven apple tarts in flaky pastry pocket, and Cindy can smell granny apples, and something else. Molasses, maybe, or brown sugar.
"You cuold fit a house in here," Cindy says, with another laugh. Still. She eagerly takes the plastic dish, and examines the pastry pocket. "Okay. I am totally doing something awesome for your Aunt. And you can't tell me no," she warns Peter, handing the backpack to him after she has thoroughly examined the rather spacious, and ingenious used of pockets and expansive backpack. She looks rather pleased. "And, I need to think of something to repay you. For - everything."
Spider-man smiles under the mask. "Silk, you are going to run into a situation where you will be able to help someone. You be the person you are and go into a scary situation to help a complete stranger…and you can call us even."
"Oh, I get it. You want me to lessen your workload," she teases, warmly. "Alright. I can live with that," she agrees, in friendly enough fashion as she starts to put the food away. But, perhaps Peter's a good enough judge of character to tell that's not going to be enough for her. She feels indebeted. "We can go looking for people to help together, if you want? I was going to go swinging through the city anyways."
Spider-Man looks to her, then takes a deep breath. "Well, there is something happening right now. Kids are being kidnapped by an evil cult worshipping a demonic diety. If you want to help, then you and I can stay here, and I'll give you the complete rundown, soup to nuts."
That gives Silk room to pause, and some of her good mood disspates, as she puts the last piece of food into the fridge. She nods, quietly. "Sure. Tell me. And, I'll do what I can," she agrees. "But I'm no detective," she hedges. It doesn't mean she's not willing to help, she's just not sure how she can.
Spidey smiles. "And that is why we are a team, Silk. We help each other. We each have different strengths, but together we can do anything. Do you want to be a part of that?"
"I think," Cindy says earnestly, "You already know the answer to that. Or you wouldn't have given me this," she says, tapping her forearm, with a brief smile. She moves over to the edge of her bed, sits, and offers the other space to Spider-Man, so he can be comfortable. "So, tell me all about what's going on. And then I'll think about what I can do to help."