8639/Can I Walk into Your Parlor, Said the Spider to the Titans.

Can I Walk into Your Parlor, Said the Spider to the Titans.
Date of Scene:	03 August 2019
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Raven catches a spider at the Tower. Nobody blows him up. He's not going to be called Kid Arachnid. Nope. Nosirree. Not if he hangs around with the Titans. Awful name.
Cast of Characters:	Kid Arachnid, Stardust, Raven, Kian t'Kaeh, Negasonic Teenage Warhead

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Kid Arachnid has posed:
How does literally any of this work? That's the question plaguing Miles Morales more often than not as of late. How do you pick a hero name? Do you claim turf like a gang? How many people are too many people knowing your identity? How do you make web fluid?! Miles has questions. He could call Peter. Or Ghost Spider. But wouldn't it look better figuring it out without them?

It's all one big test, you see. Miles intends to ace it. But to do that, you need to study. Practice. Challenge yourself. What better way to do that than diving into the deep end?

Titans Tower. He stood across the street, just staring at it. An hour? Less? He doesn't know. What he does know is that walking through the front door would be a rookie mistake

"Big boy time, man." With a forced sigh, Miles centers his chi and shoots a web line. Swiiiiiiiing and.... THUMP! Sticking to the glass above the lobby, Miles Morales, decked out in his black and red onesie, makes contact. "Hi! I didn't see a form on the website!" Slap! A colorful fake resume is held to the window. It's a picture of Spider-Man. With a stick figure Miles beside him. Arrow pointing down and 'New Talent!!!' scrawled in spray paint font.

Stardust has posed:
    The immediate reaction to Miles' arrival is not obvious to anyone outside of the tower. He wouldn't know about the alerts going off on everyone's T-Coms before he even reached the tower - the security system is pretty good with picking up suspicious behavior, anywhere on the island. It's unlikely he noticed any of the hidden weapons systems targeting him. He certainly won't know that the Tower computers are already doing all kinds of clever data crunching in an attempt to provide identification of a powered intruder and provide quick access profiles to everything known about the invidual to the Titans.

    It is true that the Titans rarely bother with those profiles. Who's got time to read up on an intruder before going out to accost them and ask what they're up to? As for the weapons systems, they're not generally used because people come visit the Tower pretty regularly, and it's a bit much blowing someone up just because they didn't call ahead when they came looking for a super to help rescue their cat that's stuck up in a tree. As for the rest, the truth is that the tech geniuses who set up the Tower systems didn't really account for the sheer randomness of approach that comes from the disparate crowd of individuals that makes up the team.

    "You appear to be stuck to our window." The voice comes from behind, and slightly above Miles. This is not the obvious direction for a voice to be coming, but then there are some Titans who fly. "Normally I get bugs stuck on the windshield of my car, not the windows of the Tower. It doesn't drive around, which removes a bug's normal excuse for being splatted on a pane of glass. Unless somoeone's been messing around with the systems and turned it into a rocket-Tower while I wasn't looking. Can I help you?"

    The person doing the talking is Stardust. This wouldn't be surprising to anyone who'd done their research, she's generally rated as the Titan Most Likely to Spout Bizarre Stream of Consciousness Banter by all the best cape-watching websites. This usually comes second to comments about how she annoyingly manages to have a different costume every day, which is considered selfish of her by some of the geekier cape-spotters that frequent said websites. Today her costume is a knee-length one piece and boxing boots, in a complicated pattern of varying off-white shades. She has a cape rippling in the breeze, which said websites claim she never does. This is probably on purpose. She is also carrying a cardboard cup of coffee from a local coffee shop, which may indicate that she's trying to avoid a confrontation with Raven.

Raven has posed:
    Coming to the Tower is. Interesting. It's an endeavor. There's normally -planning- involved. Often, people try to schedule when Raven isn't there, or during the day when she is, ostensibly, probably, hopefully asleep. It is hopeful -that- she sleeps. Regardless, however, today Raven is conscious. In addition, the defenses have gone off.

    The systems detect a number of metrics, none the least of which is when someone is, well, dressed like a super. There are, of course, weapons involved- but the first response isn't to shoot, it's just to warn the Titans, so that -THEY- can shoot, if shooting is required.

    The glass is for certain mirrored. Difficult to see into from the outside, at least during the day. Doesn't hinder Miles' attempt at ingratiating himself to the Titans inside, though. It's just... The person who is first looking at his attempt is the goth in the hoody, sipping at coffee in the mid-afternoon, as if she just woke up. She is standing at the railing of a staircase mid-landing, as the lobby itself is large and expansive. The emphasis of the Titans in allowing young heroes to learn their powers is expressed here, in that it is open, consisting of a reception area and stairways to the upper floors, and little else.

    With a silent sip, Raven regards the Spider-fellow with calm contempt, as she does... Basically everyone. There is an idle moment where Raven considers activating the weaponry of the defense systems. This urge deepens momentarily when Colette arrives. Then, a shadow flashes along the glass, blending in with the reflections until it is to strike- not outwardly dangeorus, and not even -literally- dangerous, in what she means it to do. Should the shadow make contact with Miles, it erupts, and like a living, moving -thing-, it swallows. As in Miles. Whole. It isn't going to hurt, but it does feel... Weird. There is an intense feeling of emptiness and nothingness that would come with it. It doesn't last long, if it happens at all. Instead of being painful, it is... Transporting. Miles will, if he doesn't avoid the shadow, find himself inside the lobby of the tower. Twenty feet above the ground, suspended as if by anti-gravity.

    Colette will have to walk.

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    Well, Kian can't be on the roof all the time.
    Also, when the intruder alert went off, he was meditating; he's curious who or what is responsible for half-startling him into an off-season moult.
    After casually diving off the top of the 'T', he drops a couple floors before spreading his wings, and spirals down to ground level.  Elevators are for wingless people.  He arrives just in time to see a shadow eat someone stuck to the glass and reappear him inside.
    It's not likely Raven will do the same for Kian, so he enters the more pedestrian way, through the doors.  He looks up at the dangling intruder.  Looks at Raven.  Repeats this process twice.
    Finally, looking at her, he says, "I am not even going to ask."  Sounds like he's learning about life in the Tower.

Kid Arachnid has posed:
You'd think there would be tighter security at a place like this. Miles thinks those words just as that sensation like hot needles in his brain starts up, immediately confirming that they do, in fact, have a serious system. The threat is there, he's just not sure -where-. Spider Sense. It's hyper active. "Oh, oh that's probably bad." He says to himself.

Flipping his hood back, the oversized Yankees hoodie jacket about three sizes too big for him. As close to a cape as he dares get. Red Pumas squeek on the glass as he changes positioning. Back to the glass, feet planted flat. Casual! The metrics, the intel they recieve on the inside? Nadda. Biometrics are one thing. He's only been at this for two weeks now so the information gathered? Oh so disappointing. The response from the residents, however is not. An upnod to Stardust and he holds out the wrinkled 'resume' toward the caped woman above him. "If I correct you and point out that spiders are arachnids, not insects or bugs, does that make me a weirdo or a jerk? One I can live with, the other would make me sad." Clearing his throat, he flutters the page at her. "I'm here for my interview. Or do we not do that? Is there a line or something that I-"

There it is! Spider Senses SCREAMING at him, Miles tenses. A visible change from loose and casual to alert and tight as a steel spring. "Whoa, whoa, I'm not a thr-" Oh god. It's happening again. But worse. An encounter with Loki's chaotic magic is one thing. This? Another. As the shadow erupts around him, Miles lunges at Stardust. Voice going all warbly and weird as the void swallows him whole.

Cold. Disorienting. Downright weird. Miles is relieved to be spit back into reality. Hovering there above the lobby, he claps a hand over his masked mouth and gives a muffled warning. He haaaaaaates that teleporty feeling. Turns his guts like a spin cycle. Holding up a finger for pause, he waits out the urge to puke. "False alarm. We're good everybody! Didn't throw up this time. Gold star on my application, right?"

Stardust has posed:
    It is possible that the deepening of Raven's urge to activate the defense net upon Colette's arrival is predicated on her knowledge that she is ridiculously hard to damage and that it therefore this may be funny rather than lethal. You can never tell with Raven.

    It's probably best we never find out.

    It's also possible that Raven was hoping Colette would be disappointed at being left outside the tower. This is not so. She has taken the Rae Train on a few occasions, and it's not the most fun and scenic mode of travel, however convenient it may sometimes be. On one occasion it was downright weird and spooky and raised all sorts of questions in Colette's mind she doesn't really want to think about the possible answers for right now anyway. However, that doesn't mean she has to walk. Walking is not something she does a lot of when she's being Stardust.

    Stardust watches Miles with a rather blank expression as he offers his entomological corrections and his job pitch. She remains watching blankly as the shadow-stuff of Raven's magic swallows Miles into its demonic embrace and drags him into the tower. She remains unmoved when he lunges at her in a panic. And then he's gone.

    Stardust sips her coffee.

    Finally, Stardust floats down and through the front door, then floats up to a comfortable height of ten feet or so above the ground. "Hello Rae. Hi Birdy buddy. Hello Spiderman's evil twin brother. What's up?" She takes another sip of her coffee. It's very good coffee. She didn't bring any for Raven.

Raven has posed:
    Raven actively and passively aggresses Colette's mood on essentially all occasions. It is one of her favorite things. This isn't her best gambit, but with this kind of situation, it is one of the easier and, in fact, only ones she can manage.

    She regards Miles in silence for far, far too long for it to be particularly comfortable socially. In fact, it almost seems downright mean. In the air, Miles begins to rotate in various directions. It might be slightly disorienting, but probably not.

    "Stardust." This is her first word, since teleporting Miles. "He was stuck to the window. The spatula was still in the kitchen. I did my best." There is no spared -physical- attention. She does not look at Colette or Kian. "This is perhaps the second most dumb attempt we have had to ingratiate oneself to the Titans in hopes of membership. I can sense, however, his intent is genuine."

    There's a momentary pause, as Miles is positioned in-air head down. Then, he drops. He's a spider-person. He'll be -fine.- They're like cats.

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    This is the other reason Kian didn't ask -- he hasn't been here long, but he's learned not to expect an answer from Raven.  Instead, he nods at Colette.  "He was stuck to the window," he confirms.  "Which struck me as a little odd.  Unless the window was sticky?"
    He shrugs, and glances back at the intruder -- and as soon as Kian sees him start to fall, he's off the ground, going to catch.  That's just a reflex.

Kid Arachnid has posed:
"Just to make sure we're all on the same page, I'm super sure I'm not his brother and mostly pretty confident I'm not evil." Miles pauses, being lazily rotated in mid-air by Raven. He lost sight of everybody. Coming back around, he looks down at his spandex attire. Not fancy bullet proof unstable molecule armor. Just stretchy. "It's the color scheme isn't it? Wait, wait. Not Mets fans?"

Being spun slowly about, this way and that, Miles looks... unphased. Weeks of wall crawling and web slinging have done wonders for his spatial awareness. Anyone else? Disorienting. Miles? A new experience. "In my defense? Nobody explains how these things are -supposed- to go down. Raven, right? I appreciate not being spatula'd." He had his hands laced together behind his head, lounging in mid air. Making the most of this new weirdness he's thrown himself into. "Honestly, I just figured nobody checks their email and this was faster."

Then the bottom drops out of his magic ride. A web strand thwaps the ceiling and he avoids a head injury rather flawlessly. Upside down. Level with Colette now. "I don't know who that guy is." An upnod to Kian then. Or was it a down nod? "The window wasn't that sticky. A little grimey but with the humidity and the bay air? You know, could be worse."

Stardust has posed:
"I was aware, Raven. I saw him there," Stardust replies. They seem to be playing a game of talking over Miles' head. It's probably some kind of hazing thing. "He was outside the tower. I was going to deal with it. Now he inside. You brought him there. That makes it your responsibility now." She takes another sip of her delicious-smelling coffee."

    Stardust watches Miles turn in the air as she replies to Kian. "I suspect it is he who is sticky rather than the window. It's probably a superpower. There's a spider-themed one out there already, I'd guess this is another. Unless he stole the other guy's powers or something. As Miles webs his way from rapid descent to safety, she gives a nod of her head. "See, told you. Spider themed. That reminds me, Kian. Danger room program Birdy-4 . Catching practise. I've got another one I'm working on for you, but I'll introduce you to that later. Bit more complicated. I think you'll like it. Or at least not hate me for it."

    Stardust turns back to Raven. "I dunno Rae, I mean you've got to admit he stands out. More memorable this way than sending an email with a link to a youtube showreel like most of them do. I mean he even got your attention. That's not easy to do." Let her unpick that one in her own time.

    Finally, Stardust turns her attention to Miles. She looks at him dangling there, one eyebrow raising slowly. She takes a swig of her coffee, then reaches out a finger to push him gently, making him swing like a pendulum. She watches him sway from side to side a few times, then grins a little. "So. Do you have a codename? 'Cos Spider-Man is taken. If you don't, I may have to call you kid Pendulum.

    Stardust takes another sip of coffee. It's really good coffee. You can smell that it's really good coffee. And Rae doesn't have some, she does.

    Colette relents. She's not going to win this war, is she? "So. Uh. I found this place just nearby that does really good coffee. Anyone want one? I can go get some more no problem."

Raven has posed:
    "I do not know what you can see. I assume, based upon your actions and capabilities, that you are almost entirely blind." She watches Miles do exactly what she figured, though part of her was more betting on an acrobatic midair pirouette to land on his feet. The web also makes sense, though. She's not judging that. Kian and Colette can discuss. "Can confirm." Is all she says. Whose point she's confirming is anyone's guess, but it's probably the It's A Super Power statement- because that's about when it happens.

    She addresses Colette next, still not looking at her, but that's just because that's how she does things. "I didn't make it. Nor is it the kind of coffee I like. I'll pass." There's again a moment of silence as she regards Miles. She sips at her mug of coffee.

    "I do not care if he stands out. I care if it matters for him that he should be here. Flinging yourself at our window and assuming that we do not pay attention to our communications shows that we are not being taken seriously, or that the endeavor is not going to be taken seriously. I do not think we should be so comfortable with this. I, for one, am not."

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    Kian veers off as it becomes obvious the newcomer doesn't require saving from gravity.  Instead, curiosity is engaged again; he circles the strand twice, then up towards the ceiling to see how it's stuck there.  And then he lightly touches down.  "Yes, Raven, but I don't think I've ever seen you look comfortable in the first place, so I don't know what conclusions to draw," Kian remarks, then turns and studies Miles.  Without preamble, he asks, "Where did that string come from?  Uh, if it's not rude to ask."  Good luck placing his accent -- it's *not* native Long Islander.

Kid Arachnid has posed:
"She saw me there, Raven." Miles agrees easily enough. A relaxed baritone with the hints of Brooklyn and Puerto Rico. "I was outside the tower." He confirms with a bemused smirk hidden by mask by made clear by his tone. With a nonchallant shrug, he tsks. "She's got a point, Raven. I'm your... wait a second, you did that horrible shadow thingy, right? Can I be Birdmans ward?"

"What's a Danger Room? It's not a creepy makeout dungeon, is it? Sounds like it. Maybe 'Peril Room' works better. 'Unsafe Foyer'? Nah." His spider powes confirmed, Miles makes no erfort to expand on that. Instead, he gets prodded to begin a lazy swing. "I'm still shopping the name. Kid Arachnid is just... uuugggghhh. But that's my email address now so you know it's super serious. For now. Hi." He greets Colette as he sways near again. "A mango peach smoothie would be great. Spot me?" Away he swings.

Jacket hanging downward, suspended upside down by a thin thread, Miles absent-mindedly catches and re-pockets his cellphone after it falls from a pocket. "I'm taking you guys way serious. Honest. I... look, this is a weird thing. It is. But I honestly didn't know how else to, you know... show up. Do I try and jump in when you're fighting robots in Soho? Do I date Robin? And if so, which one? Win a radio call in?" Miles sighs. Heavy. Raven succeeding in taking the wind from some of his sails. "I want to do right. The Titans do more than just punch people. I want to do more than just punch people."

Swayi g back to Colette, gives a sharp little nod. "Hi." And again swings away. "Spider-Man gave me web shooters. I'm kind of his protege. No big deal or anything. Say, any of you good at chemistry?"

Stardust has posed:
Stardust snap-points at Kian. "Birdy buddy has a point, Rae. If you were comfortable with this, it would probably be a bad sign. Like end of the world stuff. He's new. New guys don't always know the right approach to things. That's kind of why we exist as a team, so that people new to the game have somewhere to go and learn. I realize you have your own thoughts on this subject, but it's kind of why we got the sweet tower and stuff. Also, they do other kinds of coffee. It is not a single-coffee coffee shop. That would be weird." This is probably how supers talk to each other, right?

    Stardust does seem to be willing to address some of Miles' questions, at last. "Actually jumping in while we fight robots in Soho is pretty much the standard route. We do get some people trying other routes though. Last one came knocking on the door to ask for a job as a social media intern, then casually mentioned she has a blowing-things-up power." She gives a light shrug. "Dating Robin though? Bad plan. He probably sleep-stabs. Robins are generally good a chemistry though. You should speak to one of them. Danger Rooms are holographic projection chambers used for training, not kinky sex dungeons. We don't have one of those, but I hear the Justice League has THREE up on the Watchtower. " She raises a finger. "Kid Arachnid is an awful name. Worse than uuuuggggh."

Negasonic Teenage Warhead has posed:
The Elevator dings. It is coming up to the ground floor from the basement.

Negasonic prowls out of the elevator dripping wet. "Okay so the are alarms. Are we blowing something up because I am hoping we are blowing something up at this point." she looks like someone took a goth and a punk and put them in a blender really. Pointy and sharp bits as decorations.

"Also... we have a submarine. I had no idea we had a submarine... also a giant drilling machine. Did someone just.. half do that tunnel and forget it on the chores board or something?"

What was she doing with the submarine that got her wet, maybe it is best to not ask.

"That does not look like Spider-man." she notes "Too small. Wrong color scheme. Is he an evil clone?"

Raven has posed:
    "You have never seen me comfortable with anything because nobody has ever -not- ruined essentially everything they touch. The conclusion to draw is that everyone else is incompetent." Miles, however, does get more of a pensive gaze as he deflates. She is silent for that time- letting him talk. It's honesty time, and Colette's handling the more... Nonsensical statements.

    "Well, for reference, normally when you need to come inside, you use the door. Not slap yourself onto a -window.-" Does she ever have anything nice to say? "I know the shop you are talking about. None of their coffee is as good as mine." No, apparently. "I am not taking responsibiltiy for anyone. I refuse to be disappointed that directly."

    Then, Negasonic is there. She nods to the new arrival, sparing her a momentary glance. She isn't asking any questions. "Probably. We haven't determined. But if he is the evil clone, I think that would be... Problematic for various reasons."

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    The little birdman genuinely grins at Raven.  "Well, there it is.  Either way, your comfort level doesn't tell us anything."
    Then, Kian says to Miles, "I don't think it matters much what name you work under.  Stardust won't call you by it."  He bows slightly, and spreads his wings slightly.  "And /kie/," he adds, and it sounds like a more formjal sort of greeting.  "I am Kian.  Also, thank you for the vote of confidence, but I am in training myself.  I'm nowhere near ready to be a mentor."
    Hearing Nega's voice, he replies, "I don't think he's evil.  I don't know about clo--uh, you're wet."  Bet you can tell when he turned and looked.

Kid Arachnid has posed:
"Honestly, I'm just trying to make sense of all... this." One hand waved up and down to indicate his person. Dangling upside down from an adhesive thread by one hand, the proportionate core strength of a spider, people! "Powers. Costumes. Doing the -right- right thing." His free hand gesturing lazily as he talks. Expressive. "Can I do this job myself? Sure. Probably. Can I do it better? Definitely. So I came here."

His pendulum swing slowing down to stillness once more, Miles greets Negasonic by pointing at her almost accusingly. "A submarine! What?! No way. Nope. Not buying it." Scoffing at the second accusation of evilness, Miles drops to the floor. Nothing flashy. Effortless, yes but not showing off. Currently. Flipping the blue hood back up, Miles shakes his head. "I swear, one more 'evil Spider-Man' and I'm stealing Ghost Spider's costume. Impossible to look menacing in pink."

Fidgeting with his jacket zipper, he chuckles under a breath at the Justice League jab. "Yeeeaaaah. The whole super hero name thing is way harder than people made it out to be. I wanted to be Captain Spider but there's a guy in Austin already. Crazy, right?" A beat, he zip-zips his jacket up and down rapidly to a song in the back of his head. "Alright. I'll admit I came on a bit strong with tne window thing. Just a bit. Felt right at the time."

A brow arches sharply under the mask. The eyes don't move. How does Peter do it?! How?! "Kian. I'm Miiiii...eeerrr.... Ahem!" Clearing his throat behind a loose fist, Miles recovers from that almost snafu. "Kid Arachnid. Cool pendant." A snap-point and a finger gun. Classic!

"Guys. Look. All I want is a chance. That's it. Let me show you guys who I am."

Stardust has posed:
"Evil twin brother, not evil clone," Stardust answers Negasonic, by way of saying hello. "Though he doesn't look like him, so he can't actually be his twin. Or his clone. I think it's more like sidekick." She turns to Miles. "Are you his sidekick? Evil sidekick?" And back to Negasonic. "No blowing up Spider-Man's sidekick. His name isn't Kid Arachnid. We've already made that very clear. Also, hi Nega. How's things?"

    Stardust looks around and decides introductions are in order. "Hi NOT Kid Arachnid, codename to be determined. I'm Stardust. That's Raven. This is Negasonic Teenage Warhead, yes she does have the best codename. The birdy guy is Kian. He's not from around here. We have a submarine. Would you like to go for a ride in it?"

    Stardust has been meaning to take the submarine for a ride for some time. She has never driven a submarine before. How hard can it be? She's fairly sure she'll be fine if it sinks, but it's probably not advisable for other people to take her up on the offer.

    Stardust gives Raven a sardonic, raised-eyebrow look. She holds it for a moment or two. It looks like she's about to say something, but in the end she just shakes her head a little and turns away. She looks into the distance, silent for a moment, then looks back at Miles.

    "Way," Stardust says to Miles. "We absolutely do have a submarine. And a rocket jet thingy that is maybe almost space worthy. And a speedboat. And some cars and bikes and stuff. Betcha fifty dollars! Also a missile defense system that was targeting you several minutes before you reached the tower itself, but don't worry. We always check people out before blowing them up. Rule one of superheroing." She holds out her hand, offering miles a shake. Finally someone is actually being something approaching welcoming. "Welcome to Titans Tower. Yeah, we can give you chance to show what you can do. No problem."

Negasonic Teenage Warhead has posed:
"I am honestly of mixed opinions on the checking people out before blowing them up, but I like blowing things up." she really really does too.

"Hey Not Kid Archnid." indicates herself "You can call me Nega or Negasonic as well. I handle social media and blowing stuff up. Well the kind of blowing up without missiles."

Then to Collete "We also have something that looks like a futuristic armored tank.. I think it might hover."

Finally to Kian. "I am." and no she doesn't explain it any further. She is not about to tell people she was trying to figure out how to access the sub when the alarm went off, startled her, and she ended up in the sub's pool. Much better to just drip. Less likely to lash out and minorly blow someone up for laughing too.

Stardust has posed:
"Kian, Rae, can you show Not Kid-Arachnid up to the Danger Room?" Stardust says. "Let's give him an opportunity to show his stuff. And prove to him that it's not a kinky sex dungeon. I'll be up in a few. Nega? A word..." Stardust curls a beckoning finger to Ellie and walks over to the elevator. "I'm going to show you around the hangar area. Properly. So you don't have to discover things for yourself. Particularly so you don't have to discover things about that futuristic tank thing that looks like it may be able to hover. Because that's confiscated Apokalyptian tech, and according to Brick there's approximately a 70% chance that if we figured out how to power it on, the energy signature would be readable back on Apokalypse, and it would be instantly boom-tubed back there, along with anyone inside it."

Negasonic Teenage Warhead has posed:
Ellie falls in with Collete and mmmmms walking with her "I would definitely not mind a complete tour, though exploring was pretty fun all things said." yeah she still isn't talking about the fact she is wet and smells of salt water.

"I.. uh..." she blinks. "Okay yeah that sounds actually both amazing and terrifying. I definitely do not want to be accidentally boom tubed back to Apokalypse. That is where those invaders came from if I am not mistaken and yeah that would be bad all alone... in a tank." she considers long and hard "Nope definitely still bad."

She hits the button to summon the elevator back.