11509/When Spyders Byte....

When Spyders Byte....
Date of Scene:	19 May 2020
Location:	Garage - Xavier's School
Synopsis:	The mysterious SpyderByte contacts Shannon once again and is spooked when accessing her phone camera and spotting Logan. Shannon leans on the wisdom of the school's resident curmudgeon and finds some she can work with.
Cast of Characters:	Nightingale, SpyderByte, Wolverine

Nightingale has posed:
     Mercifully, the past day or so had been relatively quiet. Of course, anyone with any ounce of good sense about them would know better than to even think such things, whether in an emergency room, or a school that's currently in lockdown.

     Dear reader, nobody ever claimed anyone here had common sense.

     A somewhat pensive angel-winged teen is tucked away near one of the repair bays, where a black Vespa GTS 300 has long since been fixed up, seemingly lost in thought. She's in black sneakers, long black leggings, and a long black t-shirt with a large pink sequined heart right smack dab in the middle of the chest. Save for the ice blue braid on the left side of her face, with its three little silver beads, her hair is long and loose. As always, she's got her little brown leather bag with her, with her phone and various supplies tucked away within.

SpyderByte has posed:
Ping!

A familiar ping-tone is heard as a green bubble shows up on Shannon's phone. It has no phone number attached. No profile icon. Just a green bubble and white text.

<< Good afternoon! Done with finals. Thank God! Summer is here. How are you doing? >>

Chipper and perky.

Nightingale has posed:
Now there was a ping Shannon hadn't heard in a few days. She leans against the outside of the repair bay, slipping her phone from her supply pouch. Smiling lightly, she taps out a reply. <<Oh yeah? How'd you do on finals?>> She still hadn't given away quite where she was located, nor that she was currently not being homeschooled.

Nope. No way, no how.

SpyderByte has posed:
<< Easy as always. 4.1 GPA. Senior year is next! How about you? Did you pass? >>

The green message vanishes before the next one pops up with another ping.

<>

Wolverine has posed:
Anyone who gets close to the garage can hear the sound of music start playing loudly from within. It sounds like classical something. What ever is may be, it's smooth and melodic. But there's something else: a voice singing along. If any were to peek they would lose their mind. Seeing as the voice belongs to Logan!

Nightingale has posed:
<<With flying colors. 3.8 gpa but that's okay. Math kind of brought me down. Studying a little bit extra on biology, looking into some med classes, get a head start on fall.>>

Shannon's about to add to that message, but she barely hits 'send', when the sound of the music from further into the garage catches her attention. She creeps a little closer, listening for a few moments and bobbing her head in time to the rhythm. She couldn't quite make out the words, but the melody was nice. And whoever was singing, was doing a good job of it! Her eyebrows shoot about halfway up her forehead when she sees who it is. With a grin, she joins in the song, her lighter, silky alto voice ringing out true and clear.

"Country music singers
Have always been a real close family
But lately some of my kin folks
Have disowned a few others and me
I guess it's because
I kind of changed my direction
Lord I guess I went and broke their family tradition...."

SpyderByte has posed:
<>

That's all. Short and simple.

Wolverine has posed:
As he hears the voice the new voice joins his, he stops. Raising an eyebrow he looks the newcomer. "Shit." Reaching the remote on a small table. The table itself is covered in beers bottles and an ashtray with a burning cigar. With a push of the button, the music stops and the garage goes silent till his voice fills the emptiness. "How can I help you Ms. Lance?"

Logan had been alone in the garage since the sun cracked the horizon. He had been waiting for a massive crate which finally arrived a few hours ago. Upon its arrival had excited him, well as excited as Logan can and will ever get. It had taken calling in some favors from some 'old' friends to get this crate. And Logan had bee waiting. Getting together all the tools he would need and the refreshments he would need for Day 1.

Nightingale has posed:
It was a little unusual for Logan to have turned so... formal on her, so Shannon is needless to say perhaps a little bit perplexed and taken aback. Her wings furl around in front of her in a protective cocoon, and she lets out a little sigh. "Sorry if I was being a bother... just never heard you sing. You're pretty good." Taking a couple steps back, she peers over the edge of her wings at the crate, intrigued as she glances back and forth between the crate, and Logan. "If you'd rather be left alone...?"

Wolverine has posed:
Logan takes a moment and shakes his head. "Nah yer fine." he says turning the music back on skipping the last one to another old song. "But you can do something fer me." he says gruffly as he points to a workbench. "There's a book over there. Grab it." He says as he moves to his refreshment table. Grabbing a bottle he downs it quickly before taking ahold of his cigar and taking a few deep pulls causing the cherry to glow. "This is what I plan on helping you kids put together after break." He says popping open the crate to reveal something in pieces.

Nightingale has posed:
Only then do the teen's wings relax and fold themselves back in behind her, much of her relaxed, at ease demeanor returning. She'd always been able to chill out xround Logan. He was a lot less stuffy than a lot of the other teachers, and knew how to keep it chill and real. The book is quickly picked up, and she crouches down by the crate with it in her hands. "Okay, now /this/ is what I'm talkin' about!" Was that a bit of excitement in her eyes? The phone is forgotten for a moment or two....

Wolverine has posed:
"That Ms. Lance is a 1944 Jeep Willy US military issued." Logan says as he places a hand on the olive drab paint job. "This darlin is a living work of art. Back when you Americans knew how to build a damn good vehicle." he says as he runs his hand along the body of the jeep until stopping. His eyes fall back on her and his brow raises. "Lance! Either yer pants are as happy as you are or something else is up. And I don wanna know what." Logan adds as he moves back to his cigar.

Nightingale has posed:
 Well, never let it be said that Logan was anything but blunt! Shannon's face goes as red as a beet, and she slips her phone from her little brown bag. Her brows knit, and she debates the wisdom of replying. Too, she hated dropping this in Logan's lap, when he was in one of his rare truly good moods. This would bring him down in a heartbeat. She taps out a quick reply.

 <<Math and I have a hate/hate relationship. Science isn't so bad.>>

 She taps 'send', and folds her arms across her chest, with the book now being the thing that is set aside for the moment. "Don't suppose you've heard from Mr. Drake at all today, have you?" she begins, a note of caution in her tone.

SpyderByte has posed:
Ping: << If you need a tutor, let me know. >> The next text message comes through almost instantly from the other side.

Wolverine has posed:
Logan blows out a large cloud as she asks him. "First, I don't ask. Because I don't care. And the snowball will tell you when he tells you." he says to with a straight face. "And secondly, who the hell are you googling there?" he asks as he moves over to her quickly and snatches the phone out of her hand. Turning his back to her he's goes quiet as he reads and starts to type. In all capitals of course, because he's old, and doesn't know the meaning and sends it. "There. Easier to talk face to face then this shit." He states as he hands her back her phone. And the message reads:

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon facepalms and shakes her head. "That's not going to work. This person doesn't even know where the bloody school is!" Great. Now she was going to have to just spill the beans, before her phone suffered another indignity. It seemed pretty likely, or at least she hoped, that Spyder Byte would figure out that was not her who sent the text!

     "Long story short, Kitty and I were out for coffee. We run into your usual anti-mutant bullshit, and these text message start showing up. No return number, no name other than 'Spyder Byte'. We're getting hassled, and next thing you know, everone else's tech goes kaput except for ours. Ours, and one kid hunched over in the corner with their laptop. They sure didn't seem too agitated about the whole thing. Messages like this... to put it bluntly, suspect a technopath is behind them, and I tried telling Mr. Drake about it. Whoever this is, has mentioned being able to sift through data to find pretty much anyone or anything they want, so they've got some chops. And you just invited them to the school when we don't know who they are yet behind the screen."

     Her expression actually darkens, and she looks at the phone briefly. "Which may or may not be a bad thing, because if that kid /is/ the one we're trying to search out, he was taking some flak from his peers and getting bullied, too."

SpyderByte has posed:
There is a few seconds of pause, instead of the instant message that usually pops up on the screen.

Ping: << Was that meant for someone else? >>

Wolverine has posed:
Logan mosies back to the tables and sets his cigar to rest. Grabs a new bottle, pops the top, and drinks. He's quiet as he returns to the large box filled with the old jeep.

Nightingale has posed:
Grumbling a little, Shannon is tapping away on her phone, hoping for the best. <<You know, like Galaxy Quest? Going to pull a Tawny Madison here... hold, please!>>

She turns back to Logan, and furrows her brows. "Been hoping Mr. Drake had gone to miss Grey on this one, but looks like I may have to myself. Been trying to get this kid to talk a little more, find out what I can and hopefully not spook them. Not sure what to do with it now." She perches on the edge of the crate, pursing her lips and looking off towards the other side of the garage. "If this /is/ the one that Kitty and I saw in Salem Center, I don't like the thought of them being bullied. Not if there's any way to help."

Wolverine has posed:
Logan is quiet as she speaks, until he answers he non-question. "That's an easy one kid. We find the bully or bullies and break their knees. Bullys only understand violence. And losing one's ability to walk will take them down a peg. Unless yer like Chuck." Logan says as he looks to her and takes a swig from his bottle.

Nightingale has posed:
 "Thing is, though, no matter what avenue we take here, we've got to be sure about finding the right person to begin with. I don't know what this Cerebro thing is, other than way above my grade, but Mr. Drake mentioned even possibly talking to miss Grey about it and using it to track down this kid." Shannon frowns, biting her lower lip for a second, looking down at her phone.

 "Or I could be a little more direct."

 She's quick to tap out a message on her phone. <<Sorry about the garage thing. Bit to explain there. Long and short of it is, what do you think of maybe meeting one day? I never got to thank you for helping in the coffee shop that day.>>

Wolverine has posed:
"Well, I can't help ya. And Jeanie knows more about the 'melon-baller' more than I. So that's a good choice. The only way I could is if I had their scent, to begin with. " Logan finishes off his beer as he finishes talking.

SpyderByte has posed:
Ping

<>

Ping.

<>

Nightingale has posed:
 Oh, great. Now he was accessing her phone camera. Shannon groaned softly, and shrugs, peering over at Logan. "I'm not sure miss Grey's going to like this one bit." She turns back to her phone and taps out a reply to the rather terse message.

 <<How about you let me make that call on who I like and don't like? *smiley emoji* And I'm guessing you got a look through my phone's camera. Gentleman's name is Logan. I've trusted him with my life and would again.>>

 There. Let the groucny Canuck make what he would of /that/. She does, though, get a small piece of medical tape from her little brown bag, and covers up her phone's camera lens with it. "The sooner I talk to miss Grey the better."

SpyderByte has posed:
Ping.

<>

It seems that the ghost got spooked again. The message fades away with a flicker of the screen.

Nightingale has posed:
 Ping.

 <<No... please don't go? Please>>

 Without another word, Shannon gets to her feet and turns away, visibly upset. Great. Just great. Her wings are tense, and her feathers ruffled and out of whack. Her knuckles go white holding her phone.

Wolverine has posed:
Hiss Logan drops his empty beer bottle into the trash beside the table, he grabs his cigar and places it between his teeth. He then starts to button up the crate. But he notices something, Shannon's body language has changed. Something up. "Look" He starts as he pulls the cigar from his mouth. "You'd better get going. I can tell you have some things you need to deal with." this cigar quickly returns to between his teeth. "And I don't know how to help." He says looking over his shoulder to her.

Nightingale has posed:
When Shannon turns back to look over her shoulder at Logan, her eyes are filled with hurt, and mist glistens at their edges. "You tried. Now whoever this is has been spooked, and who knows if they'll ever turn up again. Damn it... damn it all to hell! I... I'll just have to keep trying. If they'll ever trust me again." The tears start rolling down her face, and she turns away again. "How come every time I try to do the right thing... try to reach out to someone and help them, and still follow the rules about this lockdown at the same time... it all goes belly up anyways??"

Wolverine has posed:
"That's an easy one too. It's because the world needs people like you and me to shit on. People who can take the pain, carry the weight, and heal from it. People like Chuck, the Elf, and me. We've seen the dark side of people. That side no one wants to talk about. And that's why yer here. Not just to learn how to use yer gift, but learn how to spot and deal with a damaged world. Remember its nothing you did or have done. It's just the way it is kiddo. You have to fight back. And when you do make damn sure you win."

Nightingale has posed:
"The same side you talked to me about months ago, just after that mutant rights rally that went belly-up when Sentinels showed up, Same side even Cap talked about." Shannon mentions, her tone gone dark, her brows lined as no teen's ought to be. "This was a good and decent kid trying to do the right thing, helping Kitty and I, fighting back in their own way against the bigotry out there. And now they're scared of the ones who want to help them the most. How can I get that back? How can I find them again?"

On impulse, she just hugs Logan, very briefly but fiercely, stepping back after a moment. "All the minds and hearts here... there's got to be something that can be done. But if this kid's gone to ground, it's gonna be hard as hell to find him again. Just... hope my last message got through, and maybe they change their mind or something...."

Wolverine has posed:
As she stops hugging him returnsa to locking up the crate. Then something hits him causing him to stop and turn. "Wait. You said this kid is good with tech, right? And you have his phone number too?" Logan is quiet before just blurting it out. "Why not have Kitty do her little hack-in-track thing on the computer? I won't tell Scott. The kid is in crisis."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon shakes her head. "That's the problem. One, none of the messages have a return number. Two, they also erase themselves after a while. We won't have much time to work on this, if at all." Pursing her lips, she thinks for a moment. "Salem Center or Metropolis are two areas I'd search first, if we have to go to miss Grey with this. And I'm tempted to take this to her. Kitty's had the phone already and nothing came of it so far." She peers over at Logan, and sighs a little. "Thing is, though, if we go looking /too/ hard, that may be just as bad as not hard enough. If seeing just you and knowing I'm not alone was enough to spook him, what would half the X-men looking for him do? This one's... I don't want to see someone out there who might need help, go without it if possible. But how we go about this could make a whole lot of difference. And I don't know enough about things to know what call to make. I /want/ to tell the kid that there's others like him here, that there's somewhere safe he can come to, but that will break the rules miss Grey put out there. Aaargh!"

11509/When Spyders Byte....

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