Zoey Boey

Tales from the Spider-Verse: Spidroin [redux]

Clara Cabello and Alejandra Jonas

September 7th

---

Crime doesn't pay.

"You know," Clara postulated, counting a stack of bills between her fingers,"I think some gangster a long time ago came up with that. That way it would scare kids so they wouldn't become gangster too, you know?"

AJ nodded, transferring stolen data onto her computer. "Sure, I can see that. Like how the vikings named the icey land Greenland, and the green land Iceland."

Clara smiled. "You know, I wish more countries were named like that. Like...Russia could be Hotland. England could be Dryland. Nevada could be Wetland, and Hawaii could be Bigland."

"Nevada and Hawaii are states, not countries."

"Well, hey, sorry I don't know the weather of all countries in the world, AJ."

"It's spelt W-E-A-T-H-E-R, not W-H-E-T-H-ER, Clara."

"Well- you-, what?" Clara shoved AJ back onto her sleeping bag and the younger girl giggled. "Smartass. That shit doesn't even make any sense." She shook her head, placing the catch in a purse. "That's 200 right there. A damn good haul, damn good haul. I knew all I needed to do was be a bit more, I dunno, risky. We got the talent, if we just push ourselves. Don't forget that, AJ."

AJ nodded, rolling her eyes. "Thank you, sensei."

Clara shrugged, "I'm just sayin'! You dump on yourself too much."

"Okay, sure. But, speaking of pushing ourselves, how did things go? You kind of brushed off my question when I asked earlier."
"Hey, sorry, but that's because nothin' happened."

"Nothin', huh?" AJ asked flatly, propping her self up on her right elbow.

"Yeah."

"..."

"..."

"Well-"

"Here it comes."

Clara threw up her arms and fruitlessly shoved AJ's knee, laughing. "Don't be like that! It's just...hard to explain."

AJ sat up, furrowing her brow. "Okay, well...Try."

Earlier that day.

Clara Cabello was on a roll. Perhaps it was because any shred of worry or doubt she normally had when pick pocketing had been replaced. Whether it be by fear, confidence, or perhaps stupidity, Clara was aggressively picking pockets and swiping cash. A sizeable expertly folded wad of cash was growing in her back pockets. The excitement was palpable. But she had to contain herself, otherwise she would look suspicious. Peoples eyes were drawn to grinning idiots, right?

But as a handsome rich business man made his way down the street, his phone just pratically HANGING out of his back pocket, Clara couldn't resist. She grinned and dexterously swiped his phone and stowed it away.

Atleast, she tried too. What happened instead was what was currently stumbling future Clara's words. Her finger stuck to the guys ass, to put it crudely. A more accurate statement would be to say that yeah, her spider powers were activating, and this was just an embarassing and potentially dangerous coincidence. But Clara didn't know that. From her perspective, her fingers stuck to the bottom of his rich guys pants.

Clara tried walking away and the man stopped in his tracks. The two of them halted their momentum, and both turned around in surprise to look at the other. Clara looked with wide-eyed shock, and the man turned with righteous indignation. Gasping, he slapped her across the face, causing her sunglasses to fall off onto the concrete. Her mouth a small "o", Clara brought her fingers to her stinging cheecks. The man was flabber gasted that the woman assaulting him had yet to remove her fingers from his back. He tried to turn around but couldn't, somehow this woman was strong enough to prevent him from turning.

"Get off of me! What are you doing!?"

"I'm...I'm grabbin' your ass, dude." She said numbly, explaining the situation outloud to both herself and the stranger. At this point, several people stopped to look. How did this happen? Wasn't she supposed to be good at this? The man coughed in confusion, choking on his own words.

"Let go!" He palmed her face and started to push, but nothing happened.

"Uh...no." She mumbled into his palm, trying to let go. Her fingers were not caught on his belt loop. She wasn't grabbing him. The very tips of her fingers were pulling the fabric of the pants toward her. Okay. Time to get violent. Something was wrong. She raised her foot and planted against his leg, pushing as hard as she could. Too hard. Harder than she could have imagined she could ever push in her life. Fortunately, the fabric gave way before the man's leg did, and her fingers had three different patches of pants on each one. Clara and the man went flying backwards several feet.

"What the fuck!?" He cried out, scrambling away and clutching the back of his now bruised head.

"Hey, sorry," She managed to shout out, dashing into a nearby alleyway. Her elbows were a little scraped. Like she had touched some wet bread in the sink, she frantically wiped away her fingers tips in an attempt to remove the fabric form her fingers. She succeeded after a bit and sprinted away, eventually assured she lost the trail. Breathing heavily, her cheeks red with embarassment, (so much for not having shame), she pressed her back against an alley wall and burst into genuine laughter. What the hell was that? Curious, she tried to glance down at her hands. Only to find that she couldn't remove them from the alley wall.

"Aw, sick, dude. Nice." She articulated her internal feelings outwardly as she tried to push away. Okay, okay. What was going on? This is just too weird. First the guys pants, now this wall. Was eveything she touched super sticky now? She sagged against the wall, exasperated. After a moment of this, her hands came free. Prancing away from the wall as if she had suddenly discovered a roach on the wall, she wiped her hands off on her hoodie. They didn't feel sticky. Her hoodie wasn't sticky. So, what's the fucking deal?

There was a discarded syrofoam cup on the ground. Gingerly, she kneeled down and extended her index finger towards it. It bounced off, rolling a few inches. Giggling, she did the same thing again. This time, it stuck. Wonderously, she brought the cheap cup up to her face and exanimed the fact that the tip of her finger was lifting this cup all by itself. I want. To let go. She thought. Let go of the crappy cup. Her eyes narrowed and she gritted her teeth. Let...go. No this wasn't working. She sighed, and the cup fell lightly to the ground. She felt it, then. A conscious effort. A relaxation of some invisible new muscle she didn't know the exact location of.

Curiously, she approached a nearby wall. Clench. Somewhere in her mind, the command word rang true. Her hand stuck to the wall. Release. And her fingers came away. Glancing around, she saw the sidewalk on her left. Receding further into the abandoned alleyway so no one could see her, she placed her hand on the wall. Pulling herself up- woah, pulling herself up was impossibly easy. Did she weigh nothing? She was a few inches of the ground. Instinctively she kicked out her feet, and lo and behold they two stuck to the wall. Right through her shoes. Laughing, she raised her left hand higher. Clench. Right hand and left foot up. Release. Left hand and right foot up. Release. She was two feet off the ground, now. Holding onto nothing. Tears came to her eyes and she held her forehead with her left hand, she laughed.

"What the fuck!?" She cried out in disbelief. Her heart began to soar. This was incredible. Was she dreaming? Had that man slapped her so hard she was sent off to la la land? One hand infront of the other, she ascended up the wall, a bug in an alley. Eventually she summited onto the roof and she rolled onto it, staring up at the sky and breathing heavily. She yelled victoriously, wiping her eyes and sitting up. What the hell, man? Why can she climb up walls? Was there no explanation? How was this possible? Her mind and heart were going a million miles a minute. Handstand! She thought. Easy. So easy, she could do a handstand. Her hands clung to the floor and she walked around. Was she stronger? More agile. Her hoodie fell upwards, revealing her abdomen. After a few seconds Clara fell to the ground and began to reset her hoodie when she thought of something. Her fingers brushed against her abs. Furrowing her brow she lifted up her hoodie and looked herself over. Damn! Was that a six pack? How had she not noticed before? Letting her hoodie fall down she examined her arms. Ripped! She was fucking shredded, dude! Since when?

Grinning, she jumped up to her feet. Time to get home. Question is...how does she get down?

Easy. Fucking easy. Climb. Thinking that confident thought, she pointed her head towards the ground below her and, adrenaline pumping through her veins, began climbing down the side of the wall, staring at the concrete as it approached. Daringly, she reached the ground and detached her feet. Bending her heels over her head she front flipped off the wall and landed on her feet, throwing her arms up in the air like she saw the olympians do.

"Ta-da!"

Blood's Jewels (High Casual Fantasy Revolution)

Dareen Kahina

outskirts of the village

Dareen felt a little awkward in the coach. She felt like she didn't quite belong, like there was something unresolved. Was it the room she wasn't supposed to see? The fact that up until a year ago she was an enemy sworn to kill the very people she had now allied herself with? Or was it just because she was just a weird person in general who didn't know how to get along with anyone except her mercenary corp? Perhaps it was the fact that the couch she was sitting in cost enough to make the penny pinching Pruul vomit. Enough to make the ride feel like a gift. Dareen always hated gifts. They made her uncomfortable. Debts and IOU's were the way of her old crew, so having someone to something for you for free was a rarity. Though Faeril was certainly among the higher class, Dareen doubted she had bottomless coffers. Especially under these dire circumstances. On the run, forced from her home...the nomadic mercenary couldn't imagine what that would feel like. It didn't help that having sympathy for other people was a skill she lacked practice in. A part of her brain that not long ago everyone around her told her was a weakness. Maybe this awkwardness was just a symptom of no longer feeling confident in her purpose or her surroundings.

Whatever the reason, the coach was preposterously expensive and Dareen made extra care not to spill or damage it in anyway. While she had wished to draw, she didn't want anyone to see her sketching. It was kind of private, so she kept the journal tucked safely away in it's little pocket dimension. For the most part she spent the trip staring gloomily out the window, resting her cheek on the heel of her hand.

When they arrived in the village, it was a familiar sight. War made most places look the same. One pile of rubble was difficult to differenciate from another. Abandoned. This place has no one to repair it, no one to take care of it. Time had taken it's toll, aswell as if not more than the blood soaked toil of warriors.

"Yeah, I agree. We should stop and see what there is to see." She said in agreement with the Black Widow Healer. Not to mention it would be nice to have a little rest from all the travelling and camping they had been doing over the last few days.

Bogeys! - Air Combat Drama [OPEN]

Jamie Teale

---

Jamie laughed to herself, relieved to see those assholes over at Cowboy squadron had shown up for reinforcements. This battle was in the bag. If Jackson could see them now, eh? Damn. Scott and Felix were doing great, and Lancer was off doing something on his own. Did he just call Felix...a white knighter? Truly, Angel squad was the best of the best. Shaking her head and smiling, she turned on her comms to defend the honor of Angel squad by insulting the cowboys.

Teale: Angel-2 to Cowboy squad, good to see you guys managed to fend off the tumbleweeds invadin' the cabbage patch you call an airbase, over."

She joked, though her heart hurt when they mentioned Jackson. Couldn't they tell he wasn't around? They'd find out soon enough, she supposed. Unlike her brothers in arms, Jamie never talked over the radio to the imperialist swine that crossed their borders. Waste of breathe, waste of words. She let her bullets do the talking. One by one she watched as Angel squad swatted the Vlhakian swines out of the sky. It all happened too fast. Did they really think this would be enough? No wonder those bootlickers empire was nothing more than stagnating pond scum to the south of the rest of the world. The retribution for this day would be swift. Already Jamie saw herself flying above the enemy's capitol. That would be a moment to remember...she was looking forward to it. It would come. If she's lucky she'll be alive to see it happen.

Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Lancer engage in a duel with the enemy flight captain. When two highly skilled pilots engaged like that, they became a whirlwind that was dangerous to enter or attempt to disrupt. Any interference could easily be turned against whoever decided to interfere. Plus, it looked like this was personal. But at the same time...maybe she could just blast that fucker out of the air right now.

For a moment, she was distracted, however. Who are these asshole? She thought to herself. Some invisible dickheads watching everything go down? What did they want? Scott was already chasing them off, though. To be honest, she could give a rats ass about whatever those guys were doing in the bleachers. Not like Jamie minded an audience.

Devil-2 turned to leave. Felix was right on his tail and looking to engage. That left Jamie kind of in the middle of everything. For a moment she turned her nose in the air to think of what to do. Felix was far away, and Lancer was in a duel. Cowboy squad had blown the last bomber out of the sky. That left Scott. He asked for help, and even those the voyeurs as he called them hadn't done anything yet, the last thing they needed was to get Scott shot out of the air when he was by himself.

Teale: "Copy that, Gravestone. Okay, Angel-4, I'm on my way. Who are these pricks, and what are they doin' on my lawn? ...Uh, over."

Jamies rolls a literal 1 in her attempt to get a good look at the purple guys.

roleplayerguild.com/rolls/16812

🌠 Once Upon A Time 🌠(Concluded)

Annabelle Lafeyette

Annie smiled down a little curiously at the boy. Maybe she didn't think he would be so keen on conversation, but she was happy to oblige him for now. It was only polite, after all. She had only a few hours left until she had to go back to school but it's not like she had anything better to do than talk to this kid. What else was there? Go and watch some oh so riveting TV? It was a nice day out, and talking to people was always interesting.

"They're good, thanks for asking. Still working days, just like they used too. How are yours? Are you taking care of yourself now? Being alone and stuff? That's must kind of exciting, huh?" She thought, remembering the first few times her parents trusted her to be in the house alone. Darn, what was this kids name again? She might just have to straight up ask him. One of the things she learned she hated was talking to someone without knowing what to call them. Always added a bit of awkwardness to classmate conversations.

A Blade's True Test (Mercenary Company Sci-fi RP that actually has an ending)

Bright Eyes

---

Reika had closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, screwing up her face into an apprehensive ball as they passed through portal. Instinctively she reached out and held onto Sae's right arm. However, the moment passed, and nothing bad happened. Releasing a breathe she hadn't realised she'd been holding, her arms fell to her side and her shoulders sagged. The relief then turned into confusion and awe and she took a few baffled steps towards the viewport at the utterly bizarre scene taking place around the planet.

"What the heck...?" She managed. What this some kind of timeless world? Those were old ships. Perhaps time had been distorted. Perhaps they had been sent into the past. There were no stars in the black abyss. Strange. Inconcievable. This hadn't been what she was expecting at all. The portal wasn't just to another galaxy- from the looks of things it was another universe entirely. She was worried now, for her home.

But the Captain began to speak and Reika snapped to attention. The brave woman mentioned a need of a ground recon team, and she was open to volunteer. Immediately, Reika threw up her hand.

"Scout Sniper Reika, reporting in! I volunteer, Captain!" She offered loudly, standing tall, straight, and proud. Soon she would need to make her way to her quarters to get fully equipped and gather her arsenal.

A Blade's True Test (Mercenary Company Sci-fi RP that actually has an ending)

awesome, i'm getting a post up today. i was waiting for someone else, but i'll just go first i guess, it doesnt really matter

Tales from the Spider-Verse: Spidroin [redux]

Clara Cabello and Alejandra Jonas

September 7th

---

Getting the loan took a day, but they got there eventually. Five grand. 5000 bucks to make something happen. Now, how do two girls on the street turn 5k into 25k (plus interest) in a few months? Answer: Make use of their natural talent. A decent chunk of that money went into perfecting AJ's RFID scanner.

"Get that small hole as close to the wallet as possible," she explained handing the small black rectangle towards Clara, "then hold it there for a few seconds. Finally, take it back here to this merchant device." She indicated something that looked like a credit card scanner laying on the ground of their tent. "Easier than pick pocketing, but we can only make about 50 bucks per credit card. But hit ten people, that's five hundred bucks. The thing will pay for itself in no time. Something easy to help supplement the big stuff."

Clara nodded, holding the thing in her hands and observing it. "I dunno how you do this stuff AJ. This is actually real?"

AJ shrugged. "It's pretty new tech. Before, the scanner couldn't penetrate the pocket, wallet, or purse. But now it can. Once we get more money, I could reproduce this tech and start selling it on the black market. Far as I know, this is the best of it's kind."

Clara laughed. "Man. Lucky me, huh?" She put her hand on AJ's shoulder and shook it, grinning down at the thing. AJ compressed her lips and looked down on the ground. "Yeah, lucky you." She commented. After a moment, Clara furrowed her brow and squeezed AJ's shoulder, looking her in the eye.

"For real. Thanks, AJ. I'm, uh...you know. We make a good team." Clara managed, trying her best to sound sincere. AJ smirked. "Yeah, we do. No problem, Clara."

Clara moved to take her hand off of AJ's shoulder, only for the shirt to come with it. The two women furrowed their brow and glanced silently at the curious event. After a moment, the shirt fell back onto AJ's shoulder. Clara sneered derisively at the palm of her hand. "Damn. I really do be needin' to wash my hands more."

"I guess so..." AJ said. Something about that didn't sit right, but what was there to do? Nothing but push the incident from her mind. "Anyway, what's next? We can't pay back all the money with the scanner."

"Well, I dunno. Depends on how far along your shooter thingies are going." Clara pointed at AJ wisely, as if she had brought up some important piece of information.

"Shooter thingies?"

"Yeah. The thingies that go on my wrist and shoot bullets, or bean bags, or glue."

"Those are kind of a joke, Clara. Even if I could fit a projectile launcher into something arm mounted, they'd be too clumsy for you to use efficiently. Plus, there's not enough room for bullets or bean bags. And glue is...well, I'm not sure how that'd be useful." She rattled off every single reason why the shooter thingies are impractical, gunning her own ideas down despite the fact she was the one who came up with them in the first place.

"Yeah, but, it'd be like having a James Bond car on my arm."

"James Bond isn't real, Clara. I can't just make stuff up fantasy stuff."

"Well, this little thingy," She pointedly held up the scanner, "Isn't real either. Once we get you some money you'll see. You're a genius, AJ."

Alejandra shook her head. "Only in comparison to you."

Clara smirked."You'll see. You're gonna go full mad scientist one day. I'm gonna make sure of it. But until the shooter thingies are online, I'm sticking to pick pocketing. But I'm prolly gonna have to start mugging people too to get to the good stuff. Maybe steal some cars and sell them for scrap. Been a while since I did a break in, too. Ever since that dog."

Alejandra swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. "That sounds like a lot, Clara. Maybe you shouldn't overexert yourself. What if you get caught?"

Immediately, Clara shut down this train of thought. "I won't get caught. I just been takin' it slow all these years cause I ain't had the motivation. Now, I do." She spoke with a supreme, infectious confidence. It wasn't an act. Clara knew these things to be true, or else she wasn't thinking about the consequences of her actions thoroughly. Perhaps that is what gave her the will to commit dangerous acts of thievery for financial gain.

"Alright. The day is young. I'm headin' out. Be back by dinner." Clara stood to her feet and unzipped the entrance of the tent, crouching out into the daylight.

"Back by dinner, Clara." AJ echoed, glancing back down at her laptop. AJ would always wait for Clara to get back before she ate, so dinner was whenever Clara managed to return home.

The thief had a busy day ahead of her. First things first was to try out the new gizmo. A warm up before moving onto the bigger stuff. Clara was wearing a shirt that was a little too short, and skinny jeans that tucked into worn out sneakers. Over the bridge of her nose she placed a pair of orange-tinted sunglasses that concealed her eyes. Dexterously, she tied her red hair into a ponytail. Not standing out was a matter of confidence, not a matter of clothing. Things like hair color, height, build, weight, are hard to notice in the moment and easily forgotten when under stress. There was probably an accurate description of the thief out there somewhere, but Clara was removed from the system and in the concrete jungle of Manhattan she could slip back into obscurity. As long as she didn't get caught red handed.

Clara couldn't know if the scanner got someone successfully. There was no beep, of course. She just had to scan as many people as she could and hope the signal being emitted by the chip in every single credit card would get picked up and stored inside the rectangular device she held in her palm. That went on for an hour or two. Eventually she got the hang of it. Nice and warmed up. Now, it was back to the risky, if more familiar, tactic. Flat out pick pocketing. She hadn't pick pocketed anyone since...since that girl at the university. Wonder what happened to her? Clara had pushed the memory from her mind, and the details were foggy, but there was that particularly strong image of the girl knocked out on the ground at the stairwell.

Well, Clara thought, that whole thing was bullshit. Unless those assholes commit a gas attack again, everything should be fine. She would have gotten away from that mark no problem. No, it's not really Clara's fault anyway. It was back to business as usual. The traumatic events of the last few days needed to be forgotten worked through with good old fashioned elbow grease. AJ and Clara were adaptable people. Clara had never let anything keep her down for long, and AJ had gotten used to being dragged right back up to her feet. Thus, onwards and upwards. They had money to make.

Effortlessly, a particularly fat wallet, bulging from the back pocket of some dad, probably, was removed and tucked into Clara's arm. In a movement practiced a thousand times, the credit card and money was removed. The pictures of children were unnecessary and only served to hinder her search. In the blink of an eye the wallet, emptied of almost all valuables save those of sentimental nature, was discarded into a trash can. What a rush! The goods were slipped into her back pocket (always buy jeans with pockets in them!) and there was still plenty of room for more. Today, Clara felt, was going to be a productive day.

🌠 Once Upon A Time 🌠(Concluded)

Annabelle Lafeyette

Annie smiled, and the grey schnauzer she was talking was a pretty chill dog. Doug was always content to be pet. He kind of stood there while the kid pet him, and Annie took a step closer. She recognized the kid, he'd been over to their house a few times to be babysat. Unfortunately, she couldn't quite think of his name, but on the other hand she doubted he did either. Right now, the cute dog was the focus of this interaction. And why wouldn't he? Doug was, after all, the world's best boy.

"He doesn't bite. That's why he's a terrible guard dog." She remarked casually, allowing the kid to pet him for a little bit. Hopefully she wouldn't have to tell him to stop petting him so they could continue on their walk. That might be a little awkward. Annie wondered where the kid's parents were, and glanced around for them. She supposed it wouldn't be a big deal if he was allowed to wander around by himself, right? That's how they used to do it. Just let kids wander around. Clearly, most of them were not kidnapped. Still, today most parents are too worried to allow that kind of thing to happen, so Annie took a moment to see if any adults were watching to make sure their son wasn't going to fall down a hole, get hit by a car, or kidnapped by a killer clown.

Tales from the Spider-Verse: Spidroin [redux]

Clara Cabello

All right, let’s take it from the top, one more time…

What’s your name?
Clara Cabello.

How old are you?
19 years!

What do you look like?
Eh, somethin' like this.

Clara Cabello

( art work blatantly stolen from Anya Corazon, no relation)

Usually latina chicks don't have hair as red as mine- but go figure. I like to think I'm pretty ripped- gotta nice figure, right? Well, I need to stay in shape for my work. I'm like, average height. 5'7 or somethin, I can't remember.

What did you do before the Recluse incident?
I had a small family. Too small. Just me and my mom- that asshole couldn't have died sooner. She just moved into the country recently- probably illegally. Ain't that wait time like 20 fuckin' years or somethin'? She was not...not nice to me. I don't want your fuckin' pity. Being on my own was good for me, I ran away before she killed herself with her bad habits. So, what, I had to make do. Never did have a job or an education growin' up, I did what I had to do. You'd be surprised how much work is out there for a quick little girl like me. I always was a good thief. I did that for a few years. Got beat up a few times- so what? I beat up a few people myself. Ran into some twerp. Little kid named Alejandra- all alone like me. Stupid little shitbag ain't nearly as good as it I am. Dunno why I stuck out my neck for her- but me and her run together now, I guess. That was a couple years ago.

Alejandra's smart. Too smart. Too smart to be out here all by herself like me- but whatever. Neither of us are changin'. Rather die than end up in the fuckin' system- both of us can tell you that. She's like 18 now or somethin'. She watches my back and I watch hers. She usually set up the plans, and I executed them. Me an' her made bank compared to when we were by ourselves. Lots of money in grand theft auto- I don't have a liscence but I'm a great driver. Alejandra taught me how to break in and hotwire 'em, though. She even got her hands on one of them credit card swiper thingies- I dunno how they work. Man you don't even know- we made a great team. Still do. By the way, I call her AJ. Her last name is Jonas, and the nickname AJ is like- a thing- so why not?

What happened after the incident?

Super Strength: 10

Agility: 50

Durability: 0

Regeneration: 0

Spider-Sense: 40

I thought I was done for. I'd never felt so shitty- I was going for an easy mark at Empire State University when that shit happened. Alejndra was freaking out- specially when I fell asleep for so long. She was considering taking me to the hospital- but not only would that use up all our savings helping me, I'd also be arrested and it'd all be over. But when I woke up, I felt great. Stronger. Faster- way faster than I ever had been before. Way sharper. I could even stick to fucking walls and run on 'em like they were floors. Even through my shoes or gloves. God damn! I have fucking superpowers. Like in the comics AJ reads. I still can't believe it. This was an opportunity, AJ and I both knew it. She was smart, but equipment was scarce. But with my new superpowers, anything was possible. Our crimes started to go up in reward BIG TIME.

We weren't the only ones, either. All sorts of freaks like me were walkin' around town- and some of 'em had some nasty shit. Webs, though. We don't gotta lot, but AJ actual reverse engineered that shit and made me my own god damn web shooters- I couldn't fucking believe it. She should be in college. But apparently I'm her older sister now or something, and she's sticking by my side and I'm grateful for it. Our spree is just getting started, motherfucker. New York has no idea what's about to hit it.

Do you believe in aliens?
What? No. Maybe? I dunno, I never really thought about it.

What are your goals for the future?
Spider-Manning does absolutely pay the bills, bitch. Me an' AJ are gonna make fuckin' bank. We just bought our own place. I dunno when we're gonna stop. AJ is gonna cook more shit up and I'm gonna use it, and no one's gonna stop us. Ambition- we always had it. Now we just got the tools to make it work. People are gonna learn to respect us. Fear us, even. I could beat up 10 people at once- kill em with my bare hands if I wanted too. Can't lay a finger on me. New York is gonna remember us.

You lived in New York for a while now, right? What do you think of the city?

God-awful place- but it's my home. No opportunities- not the one's they want you to have. You gotta make your own god damn opportunities.

How much technology do you use on a daily basis?

I got a little flip phone- personally I don't really use much. That's more AJ's thing. She's got this little toolkit she tinkers with, they made my web shooters. We're gonna get her a laptop and a brand new phone and all that shit.

What do you like?

Money.

Alejandara. Uh, not necessarily in that order. This list ain't in order, it's more of a vague kind of- you get it.

Hot people. You know it.

Freedom! No one can keep me down or inside. I do my own thing.

Coming out on top. I like winning...like I said, this list ain't in order. I think I like winnin' more than anything else.

What do you dislike?
Poverty. I'm never gonna be broke again. Ever.

The system- the man, the god damn- society? Fuck it. It's stupid. I do what I want. Cops 'n all that shit can go fuck itself. 'Specially the cops- pigs.

Losing. I don't lose, okay? I win.

Like...people? Everyone's an asshole, a pussy, or dead. Fuck everyone, you know? I got mine.

Heroine.

Do you think true evil exists?

No. Probably not. Alejandra put's it best- morality is subjective. That's what she says.

What’s your favorite color?
Orange!

Favorite song?

Prolly this one. Can't really relate to the father part- but it get's the message across, yeah? Don't mess with my family.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEX9ht4bexQ

Anything else to add?
Spiders, man. Wasn't my idea to go with the spider shirt, but Alejandra insisted it looked cool. Maybe she's right. Spiders are pretty badass.

What are your thoughts on these people?
Alejandra Jonas- She's my family. Like my little sister or somethin'. I...I mean, don't say this around her, but I'd do anything for her. Anything. I don't know what I'd do without her. Being by myself again...I don't think I could do that. She's gotta be the smartest dumbass I've ever met. She's taught me a lot, and hopefully I've done right by her so far. The two of us deserve more than we got, that's for sure. I'm gonna take it.

Reyna Rowe- I used to know her, we used to run together, actually. She always seemed like she wanted to get out, though. Her and her deadbeat dad. She was smart though. Wonder what ever happened to her?

Alejandra Jonas

All right, let’s take it from the top, one more time…

What’s your name?
Alejandra Jonas.

How old are you?
I'm eighteen.

What do you look like?
Here.

AJ

(this time I stole Barbara Rodriguez)

I like to wear coats. Cargo coats, with lots of pockets for lots of useful things. Dunno why women's clothing so rarely has pockets. Plus, cargo coats are easily reusable, durable, and help keep me warm. Underneath, just some t-shirts, jeans, sneakers, usual stuff. When I can, I put on black eyeliner and lipstick, cause I'm cool like that. My right nostril and ears are both pierced, I think it looks cool. Generally I like to wear a beanie of some kind too. My hair is black and it's chest length. I just wear it down. Sometimes I comb it?

What did you do before the Recluse incident?
Nobody knows this- not even Clara. I told her my parents are dead, but in reality they're still alive. Super rich, too. Thing is, I'm never going back. Never. No one would understand why if I told them. Why would I rather live on the streets with some random girl? Why would I ever do that? 'Cause they're assholes, thats why. They don't understand me at all, I don't even know if they understand human emotion. I was always a smart kid, and for some reason that meant they had the right to take my life away. Nothing I did was ever good enough for them. If my dad ever told me he loved me, I don't remember it. All my childhood was spent indoors, studying. Looking at books, all god damn day. I got sick of it. I was 16 when I ran away- I had been in college for 3 years already at that point. Can you believe that? 13 years old and already in college. I was depressed. I'm sure there's some kids out there who are so happy to be hardworking and dilligent, always getting their work done and being a doctor at 21. Then they get to retire as soulless sociopaths who's never made a meaningful connection in their life. Being a doctor, or a lawyer, getting a spouse, having two kids, retire, die. A cog in the machine. No thanks. I wanted to live, really live. So I ran away. Never felt so free in my life. I was already forced to learn everything I needed too, anyway. To be honest, it was a bad idea. But I saw it as my only option.

I became a thief. I was on the streets for six months when I ran into Clara. I had gotten caught pick pocketing and these assholes were probably going to beat the shit out of me for fun. I probably deserved it- I was a really bad thief. I was all dirty, poor. If I went anywhere for help they would just drag me back to my parents. They don't live in Manhattan, but I figured it was the perfect city to get lost in and make a path for myself. Clara saved me, point blank. Not only from those guys by stabbing them in the kidneys with a pocket knife, but she really saved my life. If I hadn't met her I'd probably already be dead. One way or another.

Turns out she and I make a good team. A really good team. She's my best friend. Like an older sister. She taught me a lot, and I tried to teach her some things but she says its not really her area of expertise. First person I ever met to see me as who I really was, and not as some kinda pet project or investment. For two years she and I worked the streets together, and we're building a life. She and I already had big ambitions. But that was before the Recluse Incident. That was what really changed our lives.

What happened after the incident?
Clara got superpowers. Just like in the comic books I read. Neither of us could believe it, but neither of us could deny that she could stand on the ceiling and catch a ball thrown at the back of her head without looking. After that, she started raking in the cash big time. I knew I was smart, but I had forgotten how smart I actually was. I don't mean to brag, but I'm basically a technological goddess. I'm joking, of course, but engineering 101 paid off. I mean I already knew everything they had to teach me, but that's besides the point. I'm pretty sure I started developing some world changing technology. Either way, I kept it to myself and it made Clara a force to be reckoned with on the streets. We're going to make money. BIG TIME.

Do you believe in aliens?
No.

What are your goals for the future?
After making a boatload of money? I'm not sure. Maybe Clara and I could start making the world a better place, or something. Where kids can be kids and everyone isn't so damn selfish. I know that's ironic coming from someone like me, but I did what I had too to survive. Doesn't mean everyone else has too. One thing I'm never going to do is become apart of the establishment. Society isn't going to break me. I'm not going to be some kind of philanthropist who came from nothing. I'm not going to be in some god damn magazine, person of the year nobel peace prize bullshit. I'm going to make real change. Change people aren't going to like, because that's the only kind of change that matters.

Maybe. I don't know. I'll step off my soapbox and admit that right now, all I want is for Clara and I to be happy. Maybe get a boyfriend or something? If Clara doesn't scare them off.

You lived in New York for a while now, right? What do you think of the city?
It's great. I've only been here for two years but anyone can get lost inside. I fled to New York City one person, and I'm going to emerge from it a changed woman.

How much technology do you use on a daily basis?
A lot. I spend most of my day on it. But unlike most people, I'm actually productive.

What do you like?
Clara Cabello, of course. Making money. Tech. Football is fun if I ever get the chance to play it. Ironically I probably spend more time researching and reading now then I did back in college, but the difference here is now I'm doing it for something, someone, I care about. Actually useful stuff that I'm going to use to forge my own destiny. Again, soapbox, sorry. Other than that, I like TV, video games, you know the usual stuff. Once we get financially secure I'm probably going to look a little more into hobbies than I am right now. Pizza is great, too. Bugs and animals are cool, too, particularly spiders.

What do you dislike?
Cops. Feeling trapped. I mean, just society in general is really screwed up right now, you know? I also don't like stupid people. Not like Clara. I mean, she's stupid, but she's like, really smart in other ways. Like my mom is really smart, but she's stupid in every other way that matters. Most people are dumb like that. I don't like people that don't...get it. I also don't like people that look down on me. I also hate hot dogs, they're disgusting.

Do you think true evil exists?
Nah. But that doesn't mean people can't be soulless assholes, or deserve to die. But evil? Morality is subjective, I believe. But it still matters. I choose to believe that I am correct.

What’s your favorite color?
Pinky purply blue?

Favorite song?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZvifPawrOw This is a good one. It's self-aware, but really it's a song about freedom and doing what you want. Going after what you want, even if it is something as "petty" as fame and fortune. I want to be rockstar. Also, it's a really good song.

Anything else to add?
I think I've said enough.

What are your thoughts on these people?
Clara Cabello: Like an older sister to me. Family is what one chooses, and I choose her.

Bogeys! - Air Combat Drama [OPEN]

Jamie Teale

---

Satisfyingly, a sharp crack of an explosion rippled through the crisp morning air as her missile made impact. Jamie hissed out a 'yes' of victory. The pilot on the inside parachuted out. Even if she had the time too, shredding them to pieces with machinegun fire would be cruel, inhumane, and accomplish nothing. Still, there was something particularly pompous about attacking an airbase unannounced, blowing up people who had done nothing to them, and then gently floating down to the ground because they were owed an existance on this planet. Well, whatever. That's the first prisoner of war. One down, a billion to go. Either way, the jet itself, the important part, being a flaming wreck that would crash into the ground somewhere out of view.

Teale: "Got the bastard. Let's sweep up the rest. Over."

Her instruments and her eyes caught side of Killjoy-1, still on her tail. Felix was honing in to take Killjoy off of her, but there simply was no time for Felix to fire before Killjoy-1 got another round of missiles off. Fortunately, these missiles were no less shoddily fired than the last ones. Maybe a little better. A few more tries, and he might even come close! Feeling her heart sink into her gut, Jamie shot downwards and the missiles targeting systems couldn't keep up, and they began their collision course with a nearby empty field. Sorry, gophers.

Jamie rolled an 18 to avoid Killjoy-1's second round of missiles.

roleplayerguild.com/rolls/16734

Gravestone came through the comms reporting some kind of strange light phenomenon. To be honest, he didn't sound sure about it so Teale didn't really care. If it became an issue, they would deal with it. Until then she wouldn't waste energy looking at sunspots. Angel-5 was taking fire, but Felix requested help from Lancer. Lancer could probably take out the guy on Felix's tail, and Felix could probably take out the guy on Teale's tail. So, Jamie was left with only one objective. Continue focusing the objective. Blast the bomber out of the sky. Currently, it was being escorted, but their escorts didn't exactly do a great job of protecting the other bombers. Sure, they were a bit more focused now. It was only a matter of time before all of them could finally focus on the bomber and it's escorts. Until then, Jamie would try to shoot it out of the sky now and send the rest of them packing.

Teale: "Goin' for the last bomber. Thanks for watchin' my six. Over."

Jamies rolls an 18 against her final attack against the bomber.

roleplayerguild.com/rolls/16735

It was missiles away. After temporarily avoiding Killjoy 1, Jamie redirected her plane towards the oncoming bomber. Her eyes flicked from one remaining escort to the other. It was like there were two rays of death infront of them at all times, two spotlights Jamie had to weave between to get the final bomber. Otherwise, her shot would go wide. Leaning forward, clenching her jaw, Jamie got as close as she could and let loose a barrage of missiles against the final bomber, hoping to blow it out of the sky early.