9025/Human

Human
Date of Scene:	01 September 2019
Location:	Drew Residence - Greenwich
Synopsis:	Jess and Frank share a pizza and their thoughts on what it means to be human.
Cast of Characters:	Spider-Woman (Drew), Frank Quaid

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Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Lately, a down night has been a rare, if even existent. Tonight, laying waste to one umfortunate deep dish pizza while sitting on the couch, the television blindly chattering in the background, Jessica and Frank are relaxing, and regaining their minds.

"Sure how is Elaina holding up?" Jess asks, before taking a bite of pizza.

Frank Quaid has posed:
"She's pissed and going nuts," Frank grunts. "The longer this drags on the more bent she's gonna get. One of those things. You do your best during the worst and then you get treated like you're one of the worst."

Frank shakes his head. "I don't get how there's no good video, but figures. That whole thing was a mess."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
    Jessica frowns, setting down her slice and patting at her mouth with a napkin. "Surely there's word on the street of who the crazy might be. I mean...you didn't catch a name? You have the video from social media. Somebody out there has a tip on who this wacko is. Besides, I still don't see how Elaina hasn't been exonerated. You saw the guy coming for her, right?"

Frank Quaid has posed:
Frank purses his lips and runs his tongue over the front of his teeth. "We don't know who she is. No clue."

Frank leans back and crosses his arms. "Jess, if that whole thing got as weird for her as it did for me, I'd bet our stories don't line up."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jess fuerows her brow. "Have you talked much to her since the incident? Can you two even really talk about it together while the investigation is ongoing? Or maybe you could put a call out to this crazy, wherever she is, to come forward, if nothing else just to help she'd some light on what really happened. I don't know how the NYPD handles these things for sure. If my webs go off, somebody just gets...stuck."

Frank Quaid has posed:
"We can't talk about it, or anything else without letting Internals know. Don't want people working stories out, that kind of thing," Frank answers. "It's a homicide investigation until they can show we did things right for the right reasons. Until then, I'm supposed to steer clear of it and anything to do with it."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Nodding slowly, Jessica sighs. "All right, fine. But there's no rule against me looking for her, right? I could..." Jessica lifts her slice again, and takes a other bite, staring thoughtfully at the television, but she's completely disengaged with the program.

"Frank...what will it take? What can I do to help? What do they need to get her straightened out?"

Frank Quaid has posed:
"Help?" Frank asks with a raised eyebrow. "Nothing. Wait. Be patient. People know we're together. If it gets out you're poking around that case Elaina and I could both lose our jobs."

Frank stretches a bit. "You see that clown though feel free to web her for patrol to pick up. Just don't let anyone know it was you," he adds dryly.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"Ugh." Jessica flumps against the back of the couch and leans in against Frank with a sigh. "That isn't FAIR..." Jessica whines melodramatically. "In an ideal world, I could just go hunt her up and hand deliv--wait, if I Web her up for the NYPD, who the hell else could have done it?" Jess snorts a giggle.

Frank Quaid has posed:
"I blame Spiderman. That publisher guy always does," Frank snorts. He lays an arm along the back of the couch behind Jessica.

"Ideal world," he grunts. "Ideal world I'd be out of a job. I'd be a.... Don't even know. Florist probably."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"I can see it now...Flowers by Frank." Jessica laughs as she curls in close against him, watching the television. "God this has to be like the like 50th season of American Idol. How is it still interesting to anyone? Strange that Simon Cowell hasn't aged. He has to be 50% plastic by now..."

Jessica pauses, before adding quietly, "Things are gonna be okay, y'know. I promise. One way or another."

Frank Quaid has posed:
"You assuring me or you there?" Frank asks wryly.

"Better tried by 12 than carried by 6. The rest is just bullshit. This same story's played out how many times over how many years?" Frank says and shrugs. "Always the same stuff, just the names change. And the world rolls on."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica looks back up at Frank, and she turns in toward him. She rests her elbow atop his arm and runs her fingers into her hair, resting her forehead against her palm. Her eyes seek his. "It isn't the only story that's played out over and over again, Frank. Not all the stories are strife and trials. You haven't been carried by six, yet. And you can't live like you have been."

Frank Quaid has posed:
"Alright. What's on your mind?" Frank asks. "I've known enough women to know there's something going on in there. What're you worried about?"

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"Honestly...I just want to make sure that the world isn't too much, Frank. I want to keep it all in perspective. For you. And...for me. So it doesn't become too much. So it doesn't overwhelm." Jessica looks down for just a moment. "And in the end, I just want to know that we wrote out story well. And in the end, just to see to it that our stories mattered."

Frank Quaid has posed:
Frank's forehead creases. "I've been doing this for 20 years. If it was gonna get me, it'd have done it by now. This is the job," he says.

"You alright? It getting too much for you? That what you're hinting at?"

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"Nah," Jessica's expression brightens as she looks back up at Frank. "Nah, I guess I'm just tryin' to come to terms with how someone like you sees the world. I guess I forget sometimes that I have powers, but human resilience is just as strong as mine. You'll have to forgive me, Frank. I don't mean to underestimate you. I've just seen so many humans who weren't half the man you are."

Frank Quaid has posed:
"Now you're blowing smoke up my ass," Frank says, amused. But he tilts his head slightly. "Humans. But you're not human? What does that make you?"

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"Oh, I'm human. In all the ways that count, I guess. They call me a super, a lot of people. A cape. A hero. But none of 'em get it. Nobody who uses those words identifies. They use it as a pronoun, almost. Something that stands for the person behind it. They don't get to know me, and have pizza on my couch. They don't ignore TV shows with me and talk about anything that matters." Jess grins. "It's not blowin' smoke when it's true. It's just tellin' it like it is."

Frank Quaid has posed:
Frank's eyes narrow slightly and his forehead creases a bit further. "You guess. But you don't really think of you're human. Human resilience... Seen so many humans... That's how non-humans talk about humans. I'm really curious, what are you? In your mind?"

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica pulls her arm down off Frank's, and she rests her hand on his thigh, instead. "Have you ever read Frankenstein?" Jessica asks tentatively. "The creature, he has all those parts that make him human. So in essence, he /is/ human. He has the same desires: food, comfort, companionship. Safety. And he even thinks of himself as human, until everyone treats him like he isn't.

"What people see is all the parts of the creature that they cannot fathom are a part of who they are, and they project some sort of persona on him. They make him an other...a projection of their fears. Their own perceived shortcomings. They see him as an other, and they treat him as one. And so that's eventually how he sees himself."

She breathes a laugh. "Except with most people, supers are seen as a summation of their powers. Sometimes the fears that people project on them. Sometimes the hatred of the parts of themselves they see as weak. But often as nothing more than the powers that we have. Until eventually, we see ourselves as that other that we're perceived to be."

Frank Quaid has posed:
"Huh," Frank muses thoughtfully. "So after a while of being treated superhuman you just see yourself that way. Obviously not human cause the humans say so, and obviously the powers make you a super, so superhuman."

Frank considers that for a bit. "Different for you than Frankenstein though. There's other supers, there's even homo superior evolving out there. So different from human but not such a freak?"

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"You've got it. But can you imagine what it would mean if there was only one? They would be feared and rejected. Not welcomed and held in any sort of esteem whatsoever." Jessica shrugs. "I just happen to be a man made abomination, like him. I have to think that someone, somewhere along the way, looked on what he had created, and hid from the reality of it. Just like Frankenstein did." She arches a brow. "But there are those like you who took a moment to get past it, and see who I am. And you see me as a human." She smiles. "And that's the first step."

Frank Quaid has posed:
"Yeah, it is," Frank nods thoughtfully. "Never really thought about it. Gotta make it hard to relate to most humans for you. We don't relate to having powers and dealing with all that, being super. And you gotta find it hard to relate back, like when you're saying you forget about human resilience sometimes."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica looks apologetically at Frank. "The best of us fall apart sometimes. It's a human thing. Super or no. But I have to remind myself sometimes that not everyone wants to be protected. Or needs to be. It's just been ingrained so long that it's instinct. So it is never a matter of feeling like you can't do it. It's a feeling that it's somehow my duty to make sure you don't have to. I don't ever want that to come across as my not having faith in you."

Frank Quaid has posed:
"Course not," Frank assures Jessica with a bit of grin. "Most people are hoping you'll protect them. There's a reason supers like you are so popular. Even before they get near enough for pheromones," he quips.

Frank stretches again. He still looks thoughtful then runs a hand down his face. "It's getting late," he says and exhales. "I should get going."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jess smiles. "You can. Or you can crash here. I won't bite, I promise." Not tonight, anyway.

Probably.

Frank Quaid has posed:
Frank laughs. He reaches across himself to squeeze Jessica's hand on his thigh. "I don't believe you, and I've gotta be up really early," Frank says and pushes himself up. "You'll just make me late for work."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"Good call," Jessica replies. "Get some rest then. Thanks for ignoring TV with me. I'll keep an ear out. If I hear anything about the crazy, I'll run across her, web her up, and blame it on the Spider kid. Be safe, Frank."