Summary:Skye sees a Black Cat cross her path, but is feeling ironically lucky. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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The first few days in New York City have been eventful but it hasn't taken Skye long to realize that out on the northeastern coast during the end of the year it happens to get cold. Like..really cold. This easily highlights one of the downfalls of trying to live in the back of a van.
She had reconnected with Ms. Doom one more time but otherwise had kept a low profile while learning more about the city at large and trying to not freeze her butt off.
Granted she had 'Spidey' as a new contact and could have been the first to call but somehow it seemed a little rude to pester a legitimate superhero out of the blue. What would she have even said? 'Hey, you pulled that bullet like a boss. Wanna get some coffee?'
When the initiative is claimed by the other guy and the call goes through she nearly fumbles the phone straight to the floorboard. "Ah—yah! Hi! Uuh..okay, got it. I can find it. No problem."
First phonecall from a superhero?
First phonecall from a superhero.
The location gets entered into the GPS and off she goes.
Spidey ends the call and heads for a fairly quiet part of the city. There is a small lot that someone has re-purposed as a small park and garden. At this time of day, only a few people frequent it. Which makes it perfect for his needs.
He'd spent a fair amount of time "chasing" Spider-Man. Being the primary breadwinner was a lot of responsibility. Now, with the job at Kane Industries, it is a hustle he hasn't had to hustle for for some months. JJJ was leaving messages on his machine.
Well…now he could find someone to pass the torch to.
He perched on the bench, and waited for his successor to arrive.
There ought to be a law against leaving a perfectly good Spidey unattended," comes a soft and cooing voice from somewhere above. A rooftop. A street light maybe. In fact, perched atop a street lamp there is, in fact, a platinum-haired woman in skin tight patent leather and a domino mask.
"Not that rules are really my thing…so I certainly don't mind." She slowly descends to the ground on a thin steel cable until her boots make contact with concrete. "Must be my lucky day."
Finding the masked Spider is simple enough, he kind of stands out. The familiar rusty GMC pulls up nearby then soon enough a bundled up hackerette arrives. She's looking oddly cheerful. Though just by virtue of them having this meeting she has to wonder if her photo's going to be on the front page of a major newspaper the following day. It's not the lowest profile meeting in the world.
Then again… The cover page will probably have pictures of Spider-Man and the -other- lady who's slinking down toward him without a care in the world. Heck, Skye stops to take a few pictures while she can!
Gosh, and here she's feeling cold in a proper jacket and hat. Both of those outfits, while awesome, look a little ..breezy.
Her approach becomes a -little- more hesitant now, holding up a hand in greeting. "Ah..hi there. Hope I'm not interrupting?"
Spidey blinks and looks up. Ohhh boy, a Black Cat just crossed his path. Wonder if that's a force multiplier for the Parker Luck…
He sees Daisy, and takes a deep breath.
Keep calm, Petesky. No crime has been committed. She's done nothing wrong since the last time, and that was called on extenuating circumstances. Still…she has a knack for keeping him off-guard. Still…manners still count.
"Uhhh…not really. Skye, I would like you to meet…the Black Cat." He looked over to Felicia. "She's…an acquisition expert. Helped out with an international criminal awhile back."
All of it true, thankfully.
"Cat…I'd like you to meet freelancer Skye. Since the last guy who took pictures of me for the Daily Bugle has gotten himself a nice cushy lab job, I'm…offering Skye his job."
Cat circles slowly around behind Spidey, sparing only the merest glance down at his tush before settling her gaze on the newcomer. "Oh, Helloo~…A photographer, hmm? Lovely profession. Perfectly respectable," she purrs. "You can call me Cat," she says, settling in beside Spidey. "He makes a handsome subject, hmm?"
"Oh my god, -the- Black Cat?" Skye chimes in with a smile that doesn't -completely- give away the giddy feeling she has inside. Glancing to Spidey, she suggests "You've got some connections around here." Then back to Cat, "Love the look."
'Acquisition expert.' She's seen the stories. "That's kind of a polite way of putting it. Very 'politically correct' of you. But it's cool."
Cat's apparent interest in the Spider certainly isn't lost to her, either. Skye hooks a thumb over a shoulder and asks, all genuine-like, "Am I gonna have to find a ball of yarn? Because you're looking like you want to pounce a bug."
Maybe she'll stay standing for now rather than get TOO close to the 'action.'
"It's a start," she agrees with a slight headbob. "Power-hunting is something of a hobby of mine, anyway."
Geez Louise, was Peter ever glad he used a dancer's belt in the suit.
"Anyway, Skye…I figure I can work with you the same way i worked with Parker. Now, I know you probably can't keep up with me with the acrobatics I usually do, so here's how Parker and I did things. He had a drone with a camera I carried around with me. If I ran into anything, I'd ping him using this app he wrote, and then he'd take control of the drone and take pictures with it while I did my thing. Then he'd download the pictures, pick out the best shots. What's the range on your drone?"
The Black Cat /totally/ wants to pounce a bug. "Why thank you, Dear. I try to blend fashion with functionality. Aren't you a sweetheart?" She winks at Skye, and looks back at Spidey. "Sounds like a pretty sweet racket you've got here…That way you get publicity, and someone gets the credit. For obvious reasons, I haven't set up quite the same agreement. Simply put, drones might compromise the integrity of infiltration plans." She shrugs and looks back to Skye, arching a brow. "Do you /have/ a ball of yarn?"
Oh my. Cat here is a charmer, too! Skye's got such a smile about her…
Straight to Spider-Business? Okay, cool. Skye's attention goes right back to Spider-Man as she hears the scoop. The funny part is that every step of the way she's nodding, not just in acknowledgement but because she truly gets the procedure. It's a great setup! She can fly a drone, she can take pictures, -and- she could write a phone app that would accomplish everything which Spidey is talking about!
There's only one teensy tiny little problem…
"Ah..right now? Zero. It's ..kinda vaporized," she says with a nervous sort of look. "Normally it's pretty good, there's a cheap way to boost the signal on the G-86X models."
Back to Cat she's almost afraid to admit "Not on me, unfortunately. Now I kinda want to see what you'd do with one. Oh, and maybe drones won't help your game but I've got something of a talent for getting places I'm not supposed to be, too."
That's it, Skye. Impress the costumed burglar. Nothing can backfire here!
Spider-Man looks at Felicia, trying to sound as un-defensive as possible. "Well…I needed to give reasons why the police shouldn't think I'm another hood in a mask. And this way, Parker could keep the lights on and the water running, being the breadwinner of the house. We were doing each other a favor. It was…a symbiotic relationship, not a racket."
Damn, he couldn't help sound a little defensive. Oooh, look, a shiny change of subject!
"Well, since Parker's not using it anymore…" He reached into his backpack and took out a small square item the size of a matchbox, placing it on the bench. "I'm going to give you a web link, and you can pick your platform - Apple, iOS, PC, or Android."
A second later, a texted link appears on Daisy's phone.
"Ohh, Spidey. Don't you realize how unhealthy symbiotic relationships can be? I've heard horror stories," Cat laments, throwing the back of her hand across her forehead dramatically, as if she might have the vapours.
"Quite all right, I've never played with a ball of yarn, but I'll try /anything/ once. Twice, if it doesn't kill me." But Cat's eyes are a sparkle at the sight of the object Spidey has pulled out. It looks fun. And useful.
….and fun.
"Sounds like a pretty sweet deal" Skye thinks aloud regarding the Spidey-Parker situation fully believing that they are indeed two completely separate people. "Living with a costume… Surprised there aren't more sitcoms about it."
The 'matchbox' is given a critcal look before her phone chimes. That's… Neat! What a curious little device! She'd love to dissect it later and quite possibly look for some element of it to jailbreak but for the moment she'll have to content herself with the provided link.
Which can totally wait because -costumes.-
Where Spidey is being super helpful Cat is being downright amusing and more than a little intriguing. Is the cat mindset all an act or is she really part cat? Skye is left wondering what Felicity might do if she turned a faucet on just a tiny bit or maybe rubbed some catnip between her fingertips. If it's an act her devotion to staying in character is admirable.
If it isn't an act then it might be a -little- more worrisome.
Right, stay focused. "Taking pictures and video is one thing. What did this 'Parker' guy do with the media once he had it?"
Spider-Man nods. He lifts up his hand and activates his own copy of the app.
"He would look for the best shots. He would try for all he could get. Then he'd watermark them, send them to J. Jonah Jameson. The Bugle had first right of refusal for them."
The app dinged and the HUD came up on the eye lens. "If they didn't sell to the Bugle, he said he'd sell them to the Globe. That would usually do the trick. Peter said he'd offer 40 per pic, Jameson would stat at 15, and he'd work it up to 25. Maybe you'll do better, but last I heard, Jameson was pestering him for pictures of me…so you would have that…"
He opens his right hand, and the "matchbox" unfolds into a red spider. The hand tilts upward, and the drone rises almost soundlessly into the air.
"…leverage."
"Oooh," Cat purrs distractedly as the little spider drone rises into the air. Her pupils dilate, ever-so-slightly, as she watches it. "Leverage is a good thing. Don't ever discount it. Sounds like you can certainly use it to your advantage." Cat sounds distracted, but she has clearly been following the conversation, even if there is something shiny and new on her radar.
Then, with a sidelong glance at Spidey, she arches a brow. "I suppose I'll have to be on the lookout for that little guy. I'd hate for it to catch me in a compromising position~"
She'll just leave that there.
Alright, take the best shots, as many as possible, watermark them, good good, and then—
'The Bugle.'
"As in the -newspaper?-" Skye asks with an expression that would suggests she's of very mixed feelings about the idea.
Photos for a newspaper. In her conspiracy theorist ways every major public news outlet is controlled. She'd never trust them! But… You know. Working for one of them miiight present her with some insider opportunities. If she could catch them in their lies..?
The Rising Tide would be interested in exposing the truth about 'corrupt media.'
She's still working through all of this when the box reveals its own secret identity. It isn't what Skye had expected! Like a kid on Christmas morning her eyes simply glow at the marvel of tech now on display. Tiny. -Silent.- Easily packaged for safe transport. Any reservations she may have had about working for The Bugle disappear in a flash.
Once she snaps out of it she notices that Cat is similarly entranced by the drone's initial flight. "I can work with leverage." She can also mess around with inner city traffic lights and hack other smartphones if additional 'leverage' is required. But a 'compromising position?' That leaves Sky looking Cat's way with a single arched brow.
Spidey looked to Cat. There goes that errent Spider-Sense again. The woman was the epitome of sexy danger.
"It rides with me until something comes up. Then it detaches." He looks to Daisy. "With the app, you can connect to it using wi-fi, cell towers…it even has a satphone hookup, but that will get the attention of the FCC. But, basically, you would be able to control it, no matter where it is in the five boroughs. It flies like a helicopter, so if you have flight experience there, it can help. I just control it with this because it's what I have, but you can use any compatible controller, even a smartphone controller."
He lowers his hand, and the drone descends to the bench, and then folds into a matchbox again.
""Mhmm…" comes Cat's enigmatic response to Skye. "Looks like you've got the perfect setup, now…" Cat's mind is spinning in the most obvious of ways.
Yeah, so that link which had been passed to Skye's phone? She's clicking on it now. Maybe she can't take the drone home with her but if she still has access to it when these photo opportunities arise then it's all worthwhile in her mind!
"That is -crazy- sophisticated. You already have my number. We should give it a trial run later."
Like sometime when she isn't busy digging up everything she can find on this 'Peter Parker' guy. She's not nosy, she's curious! The man is clearly hella smart, is roomies with freaking Spider-Man, and ..that's really all of the reasons she needs to snoop around in cyberspace.
Erm. Felicity is given another look. "Are you okay?"
Darn cats.
Spider-Man smiles wryly. "There are a few tutorials Parker said he put together. Practice with those. I'll send you a text like I did with him, when I start my patrol."
He tries not to think about how warm it seems to have gotten with the Cat close at hand.
"We're not room-mates. I saved his bacon once, and he's a smart guy. He needed help, and I helped him. That's my schtick."
The app installed cleanly, and…made by ParkerSoft, of course. When it comes up on the phone, touch controls at the bottom, gauges at the top, and one gauge that says 20 MP CAM: OFF.
"Oh, I'm more than okay, Dear," Cat replies sweetly, seeming sincere. "Just a little aroused by that little drone. I always heard people say we should be thankful that spiders can't fly, and well…" She gestures vaguely to the drone that has matchboxed itself." But then, it isn't entirely true that spiders can't fly, either, according to the most recent studies on spiders and electric charge in the atmosphere." But she'll leave that alone for now.
"Spidey here is a genuinely good guy, and he helps out anyone who needs him." She looks at him with a meaningful gaze. "I wonder sometimes how far that willingness extends." Her smile now is mysterious, at best.
Alright, so maybe they aren't roomies. But Parker sure knows his software design and device interface protocols! Skye almost feels lightheaded when seeing a clear indication of a twenty megapixel camera on a drone -that compact.- Her off the shelf and currently vaporized drone wasn't a slouch but this tech is on a whole other level!
And she's still going to investigate Peter's name later. It's a hobby of hers.
Felicity is, at least, quite honest in conversation. It seems like a peculiar twist for someone who operates as a high profile thief. The arachnid lesson is met with a smirk and a finger pointing Spidey's way. "-He- can't fly, at least." Yet. Maybe 'Parker' is working on a wingsuit upgrade for him.
At the idle thought of how far his willingness extends Skye's brows lift upward, quickly saying "You're" before swiftly cutting off the rest of the thought of 'going to deliberately set him up.' What takes its place after a brief interrupt is "a lot of fun to hang around."
So not awkward.
Spidey is grateful for the mask. No one can see you blush.
"Ahem, ANYWAY…that's the deal. You use the equipment, but I think you should sock some of that money away for a rainy day. Because if that drone gets broken, it has to be fixed on your dime. Or our dollar, as the case may be."
His voice firms slightly. "You have the tools…I'm trusting you to use them well and never take them for granted. Like people." He glances to the Cat. "Because I like to see the good in everyone."
Spidey's aside seems to have caught Cat offguard, as her own cheeks flush pink, and she cuts her aqua eyes sidelong to watch him. She doesn't react—at least verbally. But she does lift her hand out to the side, allowing it to brush against his. A silent acknowledgment and thanks for the faith he has shown in her, when she isn't even sure she deserves it.
Hmmh. So -definitely- be careful with the drone. Skye couldn't afford to replace tech like that. If she could she'd have bought one of her very own!
The sudden firmness of the Spider's voice is noticed. He really seems to be serious about this part. Though if the drone is always with him then she couldn't just take it on a joyride..right? Maybe possibly if he was asleep and she was in signal range and somehow managed to crack this program enough to remotely enable it but that's kind of a long shot and why would she EVER need to do such a thing! That's just silly.
…
"I need the money," she openly admits. "That's what I'll be using it for. Ooooh-kay and it's looking like you're after a more specific type of 'yarn' to play with," she says directly to Cat before glancing between them both. It's the spider silk, right? Chicks dig the spider silk. Judgement free zone! "Would you two like a moment?"
"Uhm…let's stay on task."
Spider-Man doesn't pull away from Felicia when the backs of their hands touch, even if just for a moment. Maybe he trusts her a little. If nothing else, she's not a criminal in his eyes.
"Skye, my current suggestion is get as much practice as you can. Get a rating 90 in all five simulations, and we're a go." He smiles slightly under the mask, then extends his right hand to Skye. "You said you wanted to see me get good press. All I ask is that you tell the truth about what you take pictures of."
Cat doesn't answer the question directly, but instead squares herself, facing both Spidey and Skye on the diagonal. "And the truth is what will set you apart at the Bugle. The one thing we need to see is Spidey, as the hero he is. There are too many false rumours floating around out there."
Stay on task. Yes. Awesome. "Run the sim, 90 plus, don't stab the gift-spider in the back. Got it," Skye concludes with a somewhat amused smile. "If it's one thing that I value, it's the truth."
Then with Cat's agreement Skye nods once. "Hey, I've read the stories. I've -seen- what he is. They're on opposite sides. I'll do what I can to set that record straight."
Spider-Man nods. "All right, then. Before we go, I did want to ask if you had any questions, Skye?" He glances to Felicia. "And I figure you should be free to ask any that you have."
Any questions? "Ah—well… I don't suppose you know of some affordable housing in the area that a budding photographer could get by with?" Skye asks while looking somewhat hopeful.
Spidey thinks for a moment. "I know one person. Forty-something mother, empty nest, husband recently passed. She's renting a room. I'll send you her number. Tell her a friend of the Parkers down the street referred you. You'll be expected to pay a share of utilities, though, in addition to rent. Hope you don't mind hustling most of your day."
"I'm good at getting around," Skye assures Spider-Man with a light smile. "Hey, I really appreciate it. Any time you need anything you have my number, okay? Even if it's help installing a new hard drive."
Spidey chuckles. "I already have a guy for that. But we'll see what happens, okay?" He waves to Felicia, then to Daisy as he fires a webline. "Take care of yourself, okay? See you in the funny papers."
And with that, he and his drone are gone, leaving Daisy with his number, his link, and his opportunity.
That's a bit of a bummer. Given the opportunity of course Skye would want to hang out with the hero sorts! But considering she hasn't been in town for an entire week yet this is one heck of a good starting point.
"Yah, likewise!"
Plus now she can cross another name off of the Powers Card thanks to the Black Cat's involvement! Moving out this way had been a good call.