5464/Astral Flux: The Widow

Astral Flux: The Widow
Date of Scene:	29 September 2018
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Jessica calls on a friend when a telepathic disaster leaves her shaken.
Cast of Characters:	Spider-Woman (Drew), Ghost Rider (Blaze)

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Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica groans, rolling over on her pillow. The day has been spent. Or rather squandered. Gone are the lovely warm rays of sun that painted her face with diagonal slants of light through the window blinds. Now night has fallen again, and Jessica still hasn't stirred from her bed. She is hungry. Tired. Dirty. She needs a shower. But she also needs food, of which she has none stocked in the kitchen.

She readies a shower, and drops essential oils into a tray near the shower head. And she texts the only person she knows of to impose upon with little notice. "Rough day. Rough two days. Think you could manage something with some nutritional value? I am in no shape to leave the house and canned tomatoes don't sound appetizing." And she fires it off to Johnny.

Ghost Rider (Blaze) has posed:
Johnny had just finished doing some minor work as the Ghost Rider by the time he had received Jessica's text. Pulling over to the side of the road, Johnny pulls out his cell phone after he parked his motorcycle and he sighs, though he smiles, since he can see Jess again.

"Yeah, I've got you. I'll pick you up some fast food on the way back." Johnny fires off the message to Jessica!

But...Johnny was worried at the same time. Jessica almost never gets sick! at least not to the point where she'd need someone to bring her food.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
After a shower to remove all traces of blood, and clear her mind as the water runs over her face, Jessica slips into a pair of yoga pants and an oversized sweatshirt. But not before liberally applying the body spray that neutralizes her pheromones. By the time she is watching for Johnny, her hair is half-dried, and she is watching out the front window for him to ride in. She has no idea what she can or will tell him. She is just glad there will be something to break the silence of her home for a while.

Ghost Rider (Blaze) has posed:
Soon enough, Johnny pulls up into Jessica's driveway. With food in hand. He didn't know what she wanted, so he got her burger king. Cheeseburgers and fries for the both of them! woohoo! He's dressed in his usual garb. Leather jacket, black jeans, combat boots, grey shirt. He walks up to her door and he presses in the doorbell. Now? Now...he waits.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
The door opens just as Johnny rings the bell. He isn't waiting long. "Hi Johnny. Thanks....thanks for coming. C'mon in. Take a load off. I owe you one. Or five." She moves aside of the doorway to let him in, and looking out the door into the darkness beyond it, cautiously, she closes the door again, and locks it.

As if locks do any good anymore.

Ghost Rider (Blaze) has posed:
Blaze is surprised by how //fast// that door is opened by Drew, the warmest smile for her as he comes on inside, making sure to take off his boots as to not track any gravel through her house. "Thank you. and don't mention it Jess, really..." he blushes very softly as he moves to the kitchen to lay out the food.

"I didn't really know what you wanted, so I got you some burger King." he smiles to her, though tilts his head as she locks the door. Regardless, once Johnny looks at her, he approaches her until he's close enough that it could raise some brows. "Are you alright? What happened? You're not really the type to ask people to bring you food." his hands did, in fact, reach for her own. Genuine concern on the lovestruck Johnny's face.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"Johnny." Jess takes his hands and gives them a gentle squeeze. "Yeah I'm all right. I'm just not ready to go out around people right now. Not yet. Last night was bad. I'm still sort of reeling. And burgers are great. Got yer meat, got yer dairy, got yer veggies, got yer bread, got yer sodium. It's practically a health shake. With sesame seeds." She smiles faintly and sighs, letting go of his hands and moving toward the kitchen. "Want a beer? Or somethin' else? I have milk that expired two days ago if you're feeling adventurous. Or a fifth of Jack." She's circling the other questions, considering going back to them a little later.

Ghost Rider (Blaze) has posed:
Johnny squeezes Jess's hands in return as she kinda gives him the quick, fast, and in a hurry summary of what happened. Obviously she took some kind of beating in some kind of way. Well, either way, he seems happy that she likes what he got her. He reluctantly releases her. At her question? he shrugs. "hmm...dunno about the milk. I'll play it safe with beer." he laughs a bit. "Doesn't matter what kind." he noticed she dodged his earlier questions, but his eyes never leave her for a second.

"How long you been feeling rough?"

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"Some stuff went down last night," Jess says, pulling two Dos Equis from the fridge, and two frozen glass mugs from the freezer. They instantly begin to frost over, as Jess rims one, crushing lime onto the rim, and adding chili and salt. She adds the crushed half of lime to the glass and fills it from one bottle. "Sloppy or clean?" she asks, referring to his beer. Then continues. "It's this telepath mess. Stephen Strange put some barriers in my head....magic ones, to help protect me until my own mend. But last night things got out of hand, and something went really wrong. We lost another one of the telepaths." She stumbles over the last admission.

Ghost Rider (Blaze) has posed:
Johnny listened attentively as Jessica spoke, looking her in the eyes as she filled him in. "Sloppy, please." he smiles to her then, even if thoughts not exactly referring to the beer entered his mind. But! to the task at hand. "Telepathic mess?" He asks curiously. "Like what went down by Avengers Tower a few weeks ago?" his curiosity increases as the conversation goes on. "What do you mean? What telepath did you lose?"

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jess crafts Johnny's mug the same as her own, and pours his beer into the prepared mug, as well, moving to set it at his spot on the table, and hers likewise. She sets out a couple of plates, as well, and sits, opening the bag as she talks.

"You know that whole mess with the fungus, those giant mushrooms that were trying to take over for awhile? Well there was a network of telepaths. They were the ones controlling them. Seems when we took down the last big one, it didn't make the telepaths any too happy. Now there's someone...or some/thing/ parked in the astral plane, and it's dangerous. But the telepaths - the ones in the network - are dropping like flies. And this...whatever it is in the astral plane, well it hollows them out, and uses them as puppets to manipulate us. One of the puppets died last night. But it was the one who tried to kill me back when the mushroom battles were going on. I was attacked. I think...I don't even know. Another agent killed the puppet. But he says it's on me. Blamed me for it somehow. Such an asshole."

Ghost Rider (Blaze) has posed:
Johnny seems to run a hand through his beard, apparently taking this extremely seriously. "so....Now we're dealing with the telepath who was controlling the mushrooms? Contingency plan?" Johnny asks curiously. "I helped out a little bit with that, but I didn't have the slightest idea what was actually going on behind the scenes other than alien fungus was growing everywhere." he sighs lightly, but he seems to nod. "I see...so they're being controlled as puppets? Any idea where the puppetmaster is?" he asks her curiously.

"aaaaand that's why I stay as far away from SHIELD as possible. I don't like assholes.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica shakes her head. "I dunno. Somebody big and bad parked in the astral plane, that's all I know. I thought the guy was attacking me, but the attack continued after he was dead. He said my allies were doing it to me. I just don't even know anymore." She takes a deep breath and shudders. "This guy who died...He said I was his fiancee. Even before he tried to murder me. But somehow I feel horrible, because I feel like the guy who died, I never even knew him. He probably would never have done any of that if the big brain wasn't pulling his strings."

Jessica pauses for a moment and looks up at Johnny. "Are you still a widow, if you're the one who kills your mate? Or does that just make you a murderer?"

Ghost Rider (Blaze) has posed:
Johnny seems to look at Jessica with a curious look on his face as she tells him that the man she killed was actually her fiancee, according to the mysterious fellow. "That..doesn't make sense." Johnny says pretty straight to the point before he takes a deep breath, taking a serious moment to just...think.

"In my opinion, makes you a widow. You defended yourself. Doesn't matter if he's mind controlled, brainwashed, whatever. In the end you did what you thought was right. More than likely it's just whatever enemy this is trying to get into your head." He reaches over to take her hand in his, if she allows him. a gesture of both affection and comfort. "Don't let it get to you, alright?"

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"I didn't kill him...I was barely conscious, and lying on the floor unable to move. Another agent shot him." She takes a sip from her beer and licks the chili, lime, and salt from her lips as Johnny takes her hand. "I'm trying. He told Kal-El that I was his fiancee, I never had any idea why. He scared me. And not many people can do that. What scares me more is knowing that the shell is dead, but that mind is still out there. And it isn't done yet."

Ghost Rider (Blaze) has posed:
Johnny seems to nod lightly. "He told Superman?" He rubs his head for a moment. "That's how you know he was lying. Last time I cehcked, you were never engaged. though..what worries me is, what if this is all just a play to get you to be paranoid. I know for a fact that scared or nervous minds are easier to dominate." he does it with his Penance Stare all the time as the Ghost Rider. Either way, he gives her hand another squeeze. "Jess, do you need me to stay the night? I can sleep on the couch." Now he was worried about her. He could see the fear.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"I..I dunno. I think I'll be okay, but..." She notices the bag then, and laughs. "I guess we should sort out dinner before we think about that, eh?" She pulls out burgers and fries, and puts them on the plates she set out. "Oh!" She hops up with a grin and away to the refrigerator, pulling out a ketchup bottle. "I like a few fries to go with my ketchup..."

When she returns, she squirts a large puddle of ketchup onto her plate, and then sets it down on the table between them. "If I don't eat somethin', I won't be responsible for /any/ decision I make."

Ghost Rider (Blaze) has posed:
Johnny smiles to her softly as she notices the bag and starts to set up plates. "so I can see." he takes note of her ketchup use...JESUS CHRIST THAT'S SO MUCH KETCHUP! But he can't really say much. He's a saltaholic. Salt. On. Everything.

"ah huh...what, are you like a drunk person if you don't have food?" he asks her curiously with a small smile, giving her hand another squeeze.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"Sort of...just not...really good at making responsible decisions if I haven't eaten in awhile. And it's been since yesterday morning, so..." She takes a bite of her burger and chews it, grinning sheepishly as her cheeks are full of beefy, cheesy burgery goodness. Then she lets a couple of french fries go swimming in ketchup and chase the bite of burger.

Ghost Rider (Blaze) has posed:
Johnny seems to just tilt his head as Jessica starts stuffing her face. Johnny looks a weird mix of amused and attracted at the exact same time. WOMAN CAN EAT. "My goodness. You uh..got enough burger there?" he grins as his french fries look like someone made it snow on them. Literally. THEY ARE WHITE.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"I see you're doing your part to decimate the world's salt surplus, I don't wanna hear it," Jess replies with a cheek full of cheeseburger and half a grin. "Thish ish the mosht delicious thing I've ever eaten, I'm pretty sure." When she swallows, she takes a drink from her frosted mug of sloppy Dos Equis. "Best. Meal. Ever..." Her brain may be broken, but her body wants food. And even Jessica knows better than to stand in its way.

Ghost Rider (Blaze) has posed:
Johnny looks at Jessica as he noms on his extremely salty fries that would make any other man die immediately of a heart attack. With a chuckle, he replies sharply. "don't judge." he winks after, signifying that he was truly just playing. Though he smiles. "You scarfed that down so fast..." he's almost shocked!

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica groans. "Ugh, I knooow." She leans back in her chair and rubs her stomach. "It was so good, I couldn't help myself...." She takes a deep breath and exhales slowly, then reaches for a fry, drenching it in ketchup. "But...I REGRET NOTHING!"

Ghost Rider (Blaze) has posed:
Johnny just couldn't help but laugh. She was...very energetic when she was lacking food. But it seems now that she has food? It might be worse. Doesn't matter though! Johnny looks quite happy just to be here, dipping a salt-less fry (which is a bloody miracle) in ketchup and offering it to her.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Eyeing Johnny, then the fry, then Johnny again, she slowly reaches out, then snatches the fry. She munches it with a sigh. "Ahh, the true sacrifice of friendship."

Ghost Rider (Blaze) has posed:
"I must really like ya if I'm giving you my food." Johnny glares at her for a moment before he grins and finishes eating his fries, now he's lounging. "delicious. Good call, good call."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"Yeah...nobody ever likes me that much." Jess grins and clears the dishes, rinsing them and downing the last of her beer. "I could light a fire, she says, rubbing her arms briskly. "Little chilly out tonight. I guess you probably don't get that, though, huh?"

Ghost Rider (Blaze) has posed:
Johnny looks over to Jessica with a small smile on his face as he stood up. Though as Jessica showed that she was quite cold, he approaches behind her and seems to slowly try to wrap his arms around her. He was like a personal heater, and the Spirit of Vengeance residing inside helped with that a great deal. "I don't really get cold, no." he smiles to her. "But, that's because I'm always warm. so..might as well share."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jess closes her eyes, uncertain of close contact, but thankful for the warmth. She pulls him along to the couch and sits down beside him. "If you want to stay, just for tonight, y'know....Well I would be thankful not to be alone. I don't know what this guy can do to me. But I'd really rather not be alone when I find out." She leans against his shoulder sleepily. "If you don't have any...soul pillaging to do or anything." She yawns.

Ghost Rider (Blaze) has posed:
Johnny seems happy to share his warmth with Jessica. Though as he's drawn to the couch by the lovely woman, he seems happy to sit next to her and, well, cuddle. "I don't mind staying for one night...or...you know, more if you want..." he looks her in the eyes then. "No soul pillaging." one of his hands comes up to caress her cheek with his finger as he suddenly becamse lost in her eyes. "...if you don't mind me staying for more than one night..."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jess closes her eyes to the intensity of that moment again, and shakes her head. "Let's take things one day at a time, all right? I just got out of a very serious relationship with a... telepath..." She meant it as a joke, but the heaviness of it all is still crashing down on her. "Right now...I'm just glad you're here."

Ghost Rider (Blaze) has posed:
Johnny just nods to her. "I know." he teases her very softly. HOnestly, Johnny still thinks the whole 'I'm your fiance' thing the dying guy was saying was just a trick to pull on her. But..he knows it weighed on her, so he simply smiles and rests his head on hers. "Always happy to be here." his eyes seem to be alert. Protective of the woman who happened to be leaning into his side as she rested.