Summary:Spidey, Black Cat, and Dani all meet up to discuss the fallout from Morlun's last meal. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
Related LogsTheme SongNone |
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It's a quiet Sunday night. Halloween is over, and all the monsters are gone for another year. One of them is gone for good…right?
Spidey wishes that were true, but the mention of others…even a family of them…was an itch he couldn't scratch. Webslinging helped. He felt more…himself when he was out here, helping people. When he wasn't running from anything.
Where was he? Cloisters? My, how time flies. He was just in Chelsea. He stopped at the bell tower, swinging up to the roof nearby to look out at the city at night.
God, he loved New York…
The Black Cat wasn't following Spider-Man. At least…not at first. But the familiar figure in blue and red was far from an easy sight to miss, especially when she had been watching for him, and hoping to catch a glimpse. So his senses may or may not have alerted Spidey to her proximity when a dark figure joined him on the rooftop, touching down in near silence, and watching him wordlessly for a long moment. Deciding whether her approach would be welcomed or reviled.
Dani, meanwhile, was flying overhead on her winged stallion. She didn't notice Peter yet, but she's pretty hard to miss as she soars along the Cloisters. She doesn't notice the Black Cat yet either, but she's definitely sent Peter a few worried texts now and again with the whole Morlum thing happening.
ALICE sent an alert. <Mirage is in the area. Are you going to respond to her texts now, since you are no longer running from a monster?>
His VI had a point. He sent a voice-to-text to Dani's phone. <In Cloisters, near the bell tower. I should be able to UWAH!>
The last line was when her turned around and BLACK CAT'S HERE! He jumped back, sending the text before he has time to correct it, and exhales in a burst of breath. "…You are enjoying this FAR too much, Cat…" he says with exasperation and relief. More relief, though.
"I'm not enjoying anything, at the moment." Cat's voice is soft and even. "I was worried. I heard way too much about your recent activities to enjoy myself." She approaches quietly, stopping a few feet away from him, and looks him over appraisingly. "You're alive. Of that much I can be glad. But how…ARE…you?" Her silvery hair is fluttered by the breeze, up this high. But she pays it no heed.
Dani breaths a sigh of relief when she gets the text… right up to the point where she sees it end abruptly with UWAH! That is not a normal text!
Even for Peter, this is not a normal text!
So she does what any sensible Valkyrie would do, namely looks around for Peter as she draws her blade out. Spotting him rather easily, she leads Brightwind on a charge, looking to get between Peter and the stranger that's there and apparently menacing him on the roof! It could be something to do with Morlun, after all!
Not like he has siblings or anything, right?
Spidey is about to answer when the cavalry arrives. Impressively. From above, no less. He steps back as Brightwind lands, blinking and holding up his hands. "Hey, ey, ey! Everyone…calm down! Dani, I'm okay. This is the Black Cat. She's…she's a friend, okay? I'm not in any danger. Cat…this is Dani Moonstar. She's a Valkyrie."
…well, not in danger anymore.
"Okay, uhm…look, I'm okay. I had a run-in with…" he looked to Felicia, then says, "Ah, jeez…okay. Uhm..,look, if you three relax, I'll give you all the whole story, soup to nuts. Okay?"
Cat looks up to the Flight of the Valkyrie, blinking dolefully at the sight, as Spider-Man does that little freak out that he does so well. Finally, she lowers her gaze to rest on him again. There is no further reaction to Dani. She might have been somewhat startled or upset, if not for the fact that she is currently more concerned for Spidey than for herself.
Dani catches what Peter says, and looks at him with a bit of irritation, sheathing her sword, "Then why did you text me "UWAH!" like you were startled? I thought you were being attacked!" She glances back at Felicia, and gives her a wry smile, actually not looking more than a teenager.
A teenager in scary Asgardian armor and with a rather wicked looking sword, but a teen nonetheless as she takes off her helm, revealing distinct Native American features… another thing not typically associated with Asgardians, as she flashes a smile at Felicia, "Any friend of Spidey's is a friend of mine. Well met, despite the abrupt nature of it." With that, she gives Peter a bit of a look, then smiles a bit more warmly, "Glad to see you're still alive, Spider."
Spidey lowers his hands. Okay…talk fast, Spider.
He leans against the bell tower. "Okay. Morlun was a member of the race called the Ancients. He was from another universe. He was going from universe to universe, locating 'Spider-Avatars' and…well, catching, killing, and eating them. Apparently he'd been doing this for centuries. he came after me because…apparently, a lot of Spider-Avatars from a lot of other universes are connected to me. He called me the 'Center of the Web' and that killing me would cripple all the ones connected to me one way or another. Make them easier to hunt down and kill." He took a deep breath. "Met some interesting people, and with the help of some friends…and friends I never knew I had…we figured out his weakness…radiation. The problem was, he was sensitive to it, so he'd know if any radioactive weapons were nearby. But what he DIDN'T know was that when I got my powers, some radiation was involved…so I was radioactive to a small degree. So…I poisoned myself. With a phosphorous-33 isotope. With help from others, I was able to live long enough so that when Morlun…well…fed on my shoulder, he swallowed about two pints of radioactive blood and tissue. That weakened him to the point where he became vulnerable…even making it possible to kill him. And…someone did."
There is an instinct in the wild, when a creature is so stunned and frightened that they have become a liability to themself. Cat freezes. There is little that she can do to respond to what Spider-Man has just divulged. She cannot move. She is flesh and blood—stone. In fact the only movement that is visible at all is a trembling that begins in her hands, moves up her arms to her shoulders. And before long, she fails to remain stock still, as her knees nearly buckle beneath her.
"You poisoned…yourself. He…ate you." The same words spoken by Spider-Man, but in her own voice, they ring false. Something she cannot believe, only because she cannot accept it. The rest simply runs through her brain, electrical impulses that resemble words, until she can finally resolve the final point.
"And…he is dead."
Dani blinks, then shouts, "YOU ARE A LUNATIC!" She sighs, rubbing her head, since… well, she seems to have a little bit of trouble accepting the scenario as is. Still, she did see Morlun in action, so she calms down a little bit, taking a deep breath and mentally counting to ten.
That done, she looks at Peter, "I'm glad you're okay… and doubly glad that fiend is dead and gone. Nothing less than he deserves, honestly. Though the thought of a group like him out there is not a comforting one."
Spidey winces. Yeah, it went about as well as he thought it would. He looked to the Cat with concern, then moves to her. "I'm sorry, Cat…if I could have thought of any other way, I would've. But…he was a monster. He killed someone to send a message, he put two others in the hospital. He…" He falters. "Look…I'm okay, all right? I took the meds I needed to recover, and I've been given a clean bill of health…all things considered…and I'm okay. Besides, you know what they say…if you do something stupid and it works, then it wasn't stupid…"
Cat looks back up at Spidey. Her eyes are still wide and bereft of their usual mischievous green sparkle. "I don't care that he's dead. I'm glad he's dead." There is spite in her voice that hints at vengeance more than moral compass. "But you…I mean that wasn't just a trick. It was real. You underwentYou were" Her eyes flit from his masked face, to Dani's, and back to his again. And for once, the Black Cat is struck speechless.
Dani dismounts from the winged horse, and moves over towards Spidey, giving him a fierce hug, "I'm… glad you're alright, Spidey. And I'm pretty sure no one says that." She gives Spidey a stern look, though she then sighs in relief.
Brightwind, meanwhile, looks curiously at Felicia and nickers a bit, as if making some sort of humorous aside. Which causes Dani to pipe up, "Oh, zip it Brightwind." A bit of a grin creeps onto her face at whatever the horse seemed to say, though.
Spidey sighed. "It was a drastic decision…but it was like NOTHING could stop this guy. It was desperate…but after being chased for 14 hours straight, I didn't have much left. I slept for 15 hours after it was all over. But I woke up okay. He…well, someone I respect very much did the deed. But if she hadn't, there was no shortage of people willing and eager to do it…and I was in no shape to stop them."
Cat feints, ever-so-slightly, as if to move toward Spidey. But she stills herself, and then Dani hugs him instead. Cat's proximity often makes Spidey uncomfortable. And while that can be fun on its own merit, well…
"I'm going to hug you now, too," she says to Spidey, matter-of-factly. Fair warning. It's the least she could do. Then, once Dani is clear, she moves to enfold him in her arms. Unless he ishes out like a watermelon seed.
Dani grins over at Felicia, making space for her to get a turn at hugging the Spider. Then she says, "Well, at least that's done so we can go back to worrying about Nazi bees or ninjas or the like. Or Nazi bee ninjas." She makes a face at the thought of that, as she leans up against Brightwind.
Spidey looks to the Cat as he slips out of Dani's embrace, but does not pull back or resist as she embraces him. Three years ago, he would have lost what little composure he had if a girl like the Cat or Dani hugged him. Now, after only a moment, his hands rose to slide around Cat's waist, his hands at her back, as he just held her, almost protectively, and the only thing he could do was say, "I'm all right…it's okay now." He looked to Dani over Felicia's shoulder and for a moment, he almost voiced his fears about the Inheritors.
Such nastiness can wait. He can hope they won't come here…right?
Cat simply holds Peter for a long moment, and she nods, her chin resting on his shoulder so that he can feel the movement, even if he can't see it. "It'll be all right," she promises him as much as herself, her breath warm against his neck as she breathes the words.
Dani nods, "Yeah, I'll put a few words in with the other Valkyries, see if they know anything about the people like Morlun." She frowns a little, not liking the implication that there's more Morluns running around the multiverse, but now that things aren't so frantic… time to do some more research.
After a long moment, Spidey because a little conscious of the fact that he has two armsful of very pretty girl, and then draws back just out of range. He looks to Dani, then sighs. If she needs to know, she needs to know.
"Morlun spoke of others like him. Other Ancients. They called themselves the Inheritors. Like some kind of clan. If you want to get in touch with two people who are involved, seek out Zatanna Zatara, or Sarah Black of SHIELD…or is it WAND? I forgot to ask."
"I have a few leads, myself," Cat adds, but the green sparkle has returned to her eyes as she watches Spidey. "Some artifact that I've…come into contact with…over time. I'll look into my sources, as well." She is gradually beginning to return to her normal facade, and she is inwardly kicking herself for falling apart. "I'll let you know what I can find out," she adds, looking between the other two.
Dani nods, "I'd be surprised if no Asgardians encountered these Inheritors before, so I'll check there. Not sure if the folks over at WAND or SHIELD would give me the time of day, but I guess I could check that." Mainly because she's a teenage Valkyrie mutant, more than anything else.
Spidey looks between the two of them. Something changed in the Cat. It wasn't the playful flirting she always did. It was something else, but calling attention to it was wrong. She was a private person (the mask gave it away) so he resolved not to call her out on it with Dani there.
"You tell Sarah Black you're my friend, okay? I think she'll talk to you on that alone." He paused. "It was…a little humbling to see all those people risking their lives to help me. Friends and strangers, people I keep close and people I'd never met before. There was so much that was both vitally important and stuff that didn't make a bit of difference. That whole 'center of the web' thing? That and five bucks will get you coffee at Starbucks."
"Yeah, seems to me like it's all bunk," Cat replies flippantly. "Unless it's not. Who's to say the whole center of the web thing isn't to do with the connections you have as much as your powers? Because there isn't just anyone who could say 'Hey I think I might poison myself and give some dude the cold shoulder,' and have that kind of response. You're the center of the web, because you are. I hasn't got much to do with some snacky radioactive spider, way back when."
Dani nods slightly, "I agree. I think the center of the web is… well, metaphorical to some degree. But there's a lot of mystical stuff out there that not everyone can understand. I mean, you're talking to someone that has seen the literal World Tree, Spidey, so… yeah, not so far fetched that you're some sort of Spider-Avatar. Though if you switch from webslinging to web-bending, I will smack you." She flashes Spidey a grin at that.
Spidey chuckles. "But in the final analysis, nothing changes. I still have to do what is right. What is good. What should be done to help others. So, really, it's not really relevant, because I don't have to change what I do, who I am." He shrugs. "So…I keep going, doing what I'm doing."
"It's true. You're the center because of who you are. And, truth be told, five dollars won't get you much coffee at Starbucks, anyway." Cat shrugs, but she is twisting a strand of silver hair around a finger thoughtfully. Somewhere, gears are turning. Maybe even gears that haven't turned in a very long time.
Dani nods, "Well, nothing changes… but it's still something to keep an eye out for, regardless. I mean, if you are some sort of mystical center of the Web… it's not like the Inheritors are going to be the only ones wanting to sink their fangs, literally or metaphorically, into you Spidey. So a bit of caution is definitely warranted." She grins, "But, I'm not going to tell you not to do anything, unlike some people." Okay, she might have a small grudge.
Spidey nods. "Fair point, Cat." He looked to Dani. "Listen…I did want to thank you for when you helped me out. I couldn't remember if I did. It was early on in that craziness…and maybe you're right. The world seemed a lot smaller two years ago. All this is hard to take in."
"The world is gonna get bigger, and bigger. There is no easy answer to anything, anymore. But the one thing you have to know by now is that you aren't facing it alone. You never will be. There are plenty of people who are going to be by your side, come what may." The rest, Cat leaves off. Implied. Understood. And promised.
Dani grins, "Yeah, you're not getting rid of my help that easily, Spidey. After all, we've saved each other a couple of times now, right?" She hmms, and then blinks as her cellphone fires off. Checking the messages, she blinks, "Oh, something's come up, so I should get going, glad to see you're okay Spidey, and was nice meeting you Cat." She waves and quickly gets onto Brightwind, "Don't be afraid to text without making weird words next time!"
What do you say to something like that? Well, for Peter "Spider-Man" Parker, there is only one thing TO say.
"Same goes back to you. But it if's not legal, I'm going to need to know why."
Spider-Man smiles wryly. "If I can help you, I will, Cat."