Summary:Thea comes when Spider-Man's suit calls her for help. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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When times are going well, Peter (or Spidey) would contact Thea…to say hello, to offer a home-cooked meal by Aunt May, maybe to swing by and see if Thea wants her ride on the rolley-coaster that was Spidey's main mode of travel.
However, when things were bad, it would be the enigmatic ALICE would would contact Thea. Sometimes at Spidey's behest, and sometimes in defiance of him. When ALICE defied Peter…it was usually for a good reason.
So, when Thea gets the text from ALICE, she has an idea what to expect.
But it is still never good.
<Spider-Man needs help. Two broken ribs, one cracked vertebra, muscle and tendon damage. Please help.>
Thea reaches for her phone, half expecting it to be Peter with some funny text or just saying hello. When she reads it, she gets to her feet. She'll change quickly to darker clothes from her bright sundress, braid back her hair.
As she moves to get her favorite messenger bag with some snacks and drinks for Peter and herself, some basic first aid gear, she'll text back to Alice <Tell me where.> There has to be a way to know, right? It would waste valuable time for Thea to try and hunt him down, and if he's really hurt, he may not be able to text or call her. She'll head out the door, barely pausing long enough to engage her locks before she's heading to street level.
The next text is as comforting as the first. <He is in the alley across from the White Castle in Brooklyn, the south alley. I am detecting overtaxed musculature in arms, legs, waist…>
A pause, then another text. <…nearly everywhere.>
Thea doesn't trade in comfort, rainbows and puppies are not her aesthetic, she's been trained to look head on at the difficult, ugly things. She doesn't ask the sugar coated question, and doesn't give the sugar coated answers.
She hits the street, hailing a cab. She will slide money through the slot, a pair of twenties, as she gives the address for the White Castle in Brooklyn. "Every red and yellow light you run is another twenty. Faster is bigger tip.
The driver, a pale young man who looks like he could be homeless, grins and pulls out into traffic. He talks about various things…computer games, the recent shootings, the sad state of affairs in Venezuela…and all the time he is sliding around corners, dodging traffic choke points, and taking roads that seem to magically be fairly empty.
Maybe he got his hack license in Narnia.
Fifteen minutes sooner than expected, the man pulls up to the White Castle. Only one red light run (and it was yellow, really) and only about five miles above the speed limit, but no cop cars were in hot pursuit. There IS a ding in the front fender that wasn't there before, though…
Thea will sort of keep up conversation, most people that are talking just need minimal input to keep talking. She's drinking down a protein supplement shake thing, before she's sliding several more twenties up into the front seat before she's out of the cab and disappearing quickly on her way to the alley.
She will close her eyes for the briefest of moments as she steps into the alley, letting her powers fill her vision to see and find Peter, and be able to start healing him before she even touches him. "I'm here." She calls out, hoping hearing her voice will comfort him.
It's not a very dignified way to find your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. He is laying on his back, his breaths quick and shallow. Whatever endorphins had gotten him to this place are long gone, and the pounding he had received is all caught up with him.
A boy his age should be home, preparing himself for the last week of freedom before classes at ESU begin…not curled up in pain in some Brooklyn Alley.
He looked up as Thea arrives and moans resignedly, "…I told her not to call you…I just…need a minute…"
ALICE says politely, "He has had 45 minutes since the creatuire drove off."
"Need a minute my ass." Thea sasses him, and he'll start feeling that tingling heat along his spine first, to address the vertebrae. "You don't screw around when your spine is in play, honey." She will crouch down next to him, a hand finding him to rest against his body to help her focus and heal him faster.
"After that, I'll fix the ribs, and then we can discuss why you wouldn't call me, when not calling me is the stupid thing and you're not stupid."
His breath hisses in his throat. "I…ahhhh…I couldn't take the chance. I was worried it would come back, try to finish the job." His back arches slightly and he winces.
"Worried what would come back?" Thea asks, and he'll feel the heat and tingling spread up his spine to his ribs. "You do not need to worry about me being protected. I can take care of myself, even without my powers. I'm a pro with a gun, and even better with a blade, you know. You just never see me using them much. I've been very well trained."
Peter groans softly, and then ALICE "helps" by using the built-in emitter in the mask to project a 1/6 representation of what had attacked them.
It was a demon from Hell. Black jacket, boots, and the head…wasn't a head. It was a skull, wreathed in flame, carrying a glowing chain. The vehicle behind it was the offspring of a Dodge Challenger and a furnace.
Thea will eye the represenation, as both hands lay on Peter now, and she's pouring her power into him. The ribs will almost ping as they finish healing over, and that heated tingling will start to spread over his body to start dealing with the muscle and tendon damage and overtaxing. "Well, a fire extinguisher probably would have been handy, hmm?"
She's taking slow deep breaths, trying to keep the focus on Peter, and not let her own systems respond to what she's doing to help him. "You know, you could have been home already if you'd just called me."
Spider-Man groaned slightly. "Didn't…want to trouble you."
ALICE snorts perceptibly. "See what I have to deal with? Self-sacrificial to a fault."
Thea will lift one hand to pinch his upper arm. "Don't be an idiot. Why do you think I made sure everyone had my number? If I volunteer, it's not troubling. Especially not when it's you. Don't you get it? You're chosen family, at this point. I'm going to get mad when you don't call me."
Spider-Man sighs. "…You're right, of course. Sorry. I guess I need to work on the boundaries. I just…that thing just drive THROUGH a guy I was chasing. He was a criminal, but that thing killed him." He slowly moves to sit up, as that is actually a possibility now. "I got hurt, yes…but he left before he killed anyone else. A man is still dead, though…"
"Not everyone is the pacifist you are, some people have harder takes on things than you do." Thea herself has killed, after all, though never while with Peter as Spidey. "You need to realize I would rather get a phone call and be able to come help you, than find out that you didn't call, and someone who shouldn't was the one to find you."
Spider-Man nodded. "I'll remember."
"And *I* will remind him," ALICE puts in.
Spidey chuckles. "Okay…think I should try to get to my feet now?"
Thea will rise to her feet, and will move to slide a hand under his arm. "Your tendons are healed, but some of your muscles are still a little over stressed. No wild chases tonight, okay? Do me the favor and just take it easy the rest of the night. We could get some takeout, watch some movies?"
Spider-Man groans only slightly. "Okay. But…let's take the subway. And NO HORROR MOVIES." He gives her the barest smile. Not many could face Hell itself and smile like that…
"The subway? In your outfit?" She asks, a little unsure. "I mean, I can get us a private car here in just a few moments, if you prefer to ride in discreet style back to my place."
Spider-Man looks to her, blinking a few times. "Uhm…okay. Hadn't thought about that possibility." He chuckles. "Usually, I'm the one giving YOU a ride."
"And there is none of that for a while. A few days at least while your own healing finishes up." Thea says, whipping out her phone. She pulls up an app, and puts in the address of the White Castle. "Well, you let me ride in style, at least let me give you a turn." She teases, smiling at him.
Spider-Man chuckles. "Ah, well…I suppose fair is fair." He looks to Thea. then his voice softens. "…Thanks."