penny parker and peggy carter - rooftop

[webbs]

[ new york, 1947.

the facts were these: there was a vigilante in new york, prowling and stalking through the streets of manhattan. citizen’s arrests weren’t uncommon exactly, and more than one yahoo had tried to “pick up cap’s shield,” especially after the new movie with tyrone power and ingrid bergman. but they tended to try and hog the spotlight, hype themselves up legitimate heroes. the new vigilante hadn’t been seen by public eyes, content to tie up robbers and muggers in front of the police station in some strange organic rope.

the rumors were different. the criminals caught were babbling about a demon with giant, gleaming eyes, who dodged their blows and bullets as if made out of smoke. people made reports about some humanoid creature scuttling up the sides of buildings, or flying through the air. jameson, who ran the daily bugle, claimed to have been visited by “the spider-man,” who’d given him a brief about the housing commissioner’s ties to the maggia. a week after jameson’s article, the commissioner resigned in a wave of scandal.

though the spider-man wasn’t alone. people talked in hushed whispers, everybody had a friend of a cousin who’d seen something. this man could burn people with electricity, that one had skin like a reptile. things were changing.

and one night, penny parker knocks on the window to the SSR’s offices. she’s suspended upside-down, hanging on her webbing. whoever glances out will certainly be able to see a few details: an enormous pair of red-tinted goggles, a cap, a dark scarf covering the rest of her face, a red motorcycle jacket. she gestures (gloved hands, of course) towards the roof, holds up five fingers, and zips off.

a few minutes later, penny hops over the edge of the roof and waits. ]

Comments

[filing]

[Peggy is working late, because she often works late, because the office is less aggravating with fewer of her coworkers around. She can get more done when there aren't people to bother her; most of her fellow agents still think nothing of interrupting her whenever they want coffee made.

She can barely believe her luck, being the one visited by the Spider-Man. She's not about to take this for granted; she has no intention of bringing the vigilante in, but she wants to get some insight.

Maybe ten minutes after receiving the invitation, Peggy heads onto the roof. She has a hand on her gun (just in case) but it's not drawn. She's not afraid, she's just careful.]

Hello?

[webbs]

Over here.

[ she’s waiting on top of the building’s water tower, crouching down, one hand casually holding on at the top. she lowers her voice when she’s on patrol, tries to make it rougher, a little muffled through her scarf. that she’s crouching makes it a bit harder to tell how tall she is, but to the trained, analytical eyes of a spy - such as peggy - it’s clear that the spider-man is fairly short.

penny cocks her head to the side. she hadn’t gotten that good of a look in the window to see who she’d gestured to. smart-looking lady, her coat reminded her of something from the movies. ]

You’re with the SSR? [ a beat. ] This is their building, right? I’d really hate to have gotten that wrong.

[filing]

[Peggy approaches the Spider-Man, one eyebrow raised. Maybe it's to this person's benefit that Peggy doens't immediately judge based on things like height (Steve was so small before the serum, after all, and he tried to be a hero).]

This is the SSR building, yes. How did you know?

[Considering it's not as if they're advertising their location to the general public.]

[webbs]

Oh, you know. [ she lifts her shoulders in a sort of exaggerated what-can-you-do shrug. ] I'm real perceptive.

[ she's trailed enough of them - covertly, from ten stories up - to make a guess at it. and slipping through a window at around three in the morning to snoop just confirmed it.

not that penny could make much sense of their codex, but the emblems on the paperwork at least helped. ]

Gangster in cahoots with some scoundrels. Who can do things like me. I mean - not me me, but - powers.

[filing]

[Peggy's eyebrow goes even higher. She's going to assume that the Spider-Man is jumping from one topic to another and that gangsters in cahoots with scoundrels aren't the ones supplying the perceptive information. If that was the case, it'd be a whole other kind of trouble.

Still, it's -- well, jumping is a very apt description.]

Take it slow. Which gangster are you referring to? Let's start there.

[The rest is more complicated, but this is easy.]

[webbs]

I don't - I don't exactly have proof yet.

[ she's good at being quiet, and gangsters don't tend to look up that much. but penny hasn't been able to get her hands on any real evidence yet. ] I've sen meetings, but the Maggia don't really keep ledgers, you know?

[ penny readjusts herself, sitting down on top of the watertower and dangling her legs over the side. she rests her hands behind her, proper leverage to push herself up or propel herself forwards. ]

The guy I - [ she falters, about to say the guy I think is in charge. needs more certainty. ] The guy I've seen organizing, he's Manfredi. Silvio Manfredi.

[filing]

[Peggy sighs, more at the situation than at the Spider-Man.]

Silvio Manfredi. Of course it is.

[She's tangled with Manfredis in the past, though not Silvio specifically. She has no love for them.]

And what exactly is he organizing?

[webbs]

A new gang. Enforcers and legbreakers. With -

[ she falters for just a moment. now that she's saying it out loud, it just sounds silly. but she read captain america comics when she was younger. and penny likes science, she tries to be rational - and she can't deny what's happened to her. ]

With superpowers.

[filing]

[It's all Peggy can do not to roll her eyes. Of bloody well course.

At the least: even if there's a scientific explanation for them, there's still no better shorthand than "superpowers." It's a ridiculous word, but these are ridiculous times.]

It was bound to happen. [That's more said to herself, but then she clears her throat.] How did you find this out?

[webbs]

Overheard some talking about it. And then followed them to the docks.

[ there’s a lot of warehouses and ships there, easy for people to have clandestine meetings, pass around wads of cash. and luckily for penny, there’s a lot of shadows and high ledges to hide on. ]

I can deal with robbers and muggers. I’ve fought some of these guys before - [ that’s a rumor confirmed, then. ] - but all of them, together? I’m just one gi-uy.

[filing]

[Oh, Peggy doesn't miss that slip. She's not going to say anything just yet, but she does take notice.]

I see. So you're hoping the SSR can step in?

[They're willing, of course -- or some of them will be, at least -- but Peggy wants more details.]

[webbs]

Yeah.

[ she cocks her head to the side, fully giving carter a once-over. she looks fancy. and smart. ]

Aren't you supposed to be looking at the weird stuff, lady?

[filing]

We'll get farther with this conversation if you don't address me as "lady."

[The rest of it will have to wait until that point is dealt with. Manners aren't exactly crucial amongst the crime-fighting (or criminal) set, but if she's the one that's going to be dealing with the Spider-Man, she's not going to stand for nonsense. She gets enough of that from her coworkers.]

[webbs]

[ there's a light scoff and behind her goggles, penny rolls her eyes. ]

Something I should call you instead, then?

[ her voice is thick with irritation and, in the moment, a thick queens accent, not quite as low and growly as before. she catches herself quickly, and continues, back in the lower register: ]

If you're so inclined to share.

[filing]

[Peggy doesn't roll her eyes back, but only because she knows it would make her look immature. She does notice the slip-up, but she doesn't acknowledge that either. She doesn't want to spook her new source by suggesting that she doesn't fully buy the disguise. The Spider-Man is obviously younger than it seems, younger probably than "man" would usually describe.

Instead she shrugs.]

Agent Carter.

[And then, because she can't help but be a little sarcastic:] Do I call you the Spider-Man to your face?

[webbs]

Pretty much, yeah.

[ it's an immediate answer. she doesn't stick around to talk to people that much, and eyewitness accounts of the spider-man tend to vary. nobody can agree just how fast he is, or if he can really vanish into the air, or run up walls. agent carter's the first person that penny's spoken with in the costume for more than a few minutes.

and probably the first she'll be working with. ]

Look, La - Agent Carter. I'm here to help the SSR catch criminals. Really, I am. And I can't do it by myself, and you can't do it without knowing what I know.

[filing]

Your offer is appreciated. [She neglects to say that it's possible they could do it, because this will expedite matters significantly.

She can't shake the feeling that all is not as it seems, though. Certainly this Spider-Man is playing at being older, and there's something else just a little false that Peggy can't put a finger on. She has no reason not to trust the Spider-Man's intentions, though.]

There will have to be a certain level of transparency if my colleagues are going to go along with this. Not your identity -- [She's quick to make that amendment, because while she hopes the information will be shared with time, she also understands that it might be a dealbreaker this early on.] -- but where you come from, what you do.

[webbs]

[ penny’s breath catches, she bristles at the idea of transparency. she doesn’t cover her face for no reason: hair pinned up under the pilot’s cap she flinched from the garbage, uncle ben’s old pilot goggles, the red scarf - it keeps her safe. and her aunt.

when agent carter finishes, clarifying that she won’t have to give that up, penny nods. she pushes herself up and off the water tower without warning, leaping into the air gracefully, spinning into a flip, and landing perfectly on her feet. it’s showing off a little, sure, but it’s just convenient.

spider-man tilts her head up to look carter in the eye. ] Tell me what you need.

jesus christ I don't know how I missed this I'm so sorry

[filing]

[Peggy has to laugh at that, not meanly, almost fondly. It's showboating, but it's sort of charming. Like her new ally isn't used to getting to do that, or is trying to be impressive, or something like that.]

For starters, it'd help to have names. Not just Manfredi's. The people you've followed, the people you've seen.

[webbs]

[ annoyed at agent carter's laugh - almost a little petulant - penny crosses her arms. sure, lady, just laugh it up. ]

I've got nicknames. But some of them are just what I've been calling them, so it ain't gonna be useful.

[ she pauses for a moment, considering - ]

Can you get me some film?

[filing]

[It may not seem it, but it's meant fondly. Peggy's just seen so much spectacle that this is her default reaction.]

We'll look into any that are more than just your own. It's still information we might be able to use.

[Then she raises an eyebrow and nods.]

Do you need a camera as well?

[webbs]

[ there's a few little fidgets she does, ways of adjusting her outfit to make sure everything's in place. penny tightens the scarf covering her face, she adjusts the goggles so that they're a little more centered on her eyes. her hair's getting sweaty under her cap, but now's not the time to let agent carter in on that secret.

she shakes her head. ]

I can get one. [ she's already got one, actually. ] Film just adds up fast.

[filing]

[Peggy nods again, this time clearly approving. She wouldn't have had a problem with it if she'd had to procure one of those, too, but it's just as well that she doesn't.]

I can imagine it does, yes. It's not something I know much about, photography. You must be fairly comfortable with it to take a camera out on the streets.

[It's not a leading remark, exactly. She's genuinely trying to make conversation.]

[webbs]

[ her day job - such as she has one - is helping out in the dark room at the daily bugle. she's not paid too well, but betty brant turns a blind eye when penny uses the dark room for her own photography. it probably won't be too hard to find some time.

she shrugs. ]

Well, it was either photography or window washing. And window washers don't get costumes.

[filing]

[Every little bit helps, in Peggy's opinion, and finding people willing to work with your foibles is an important part of working.]

Photography does sound like the more interesting choice of the two. Easier to create your own schedule, too, I bet.

[webbs]

You'd be surprised.

[ which is all that penny's going to give her hints for. at least until she opens her yap without meaning to again. ]

Any other questions, Agent?

[filing]

[Peggy nods, and she's trying not to smirk. She doesn't want to seem patronizing.]

How do I contact you?

[webbs]

Oh - uh, you don't.

[ she's not about to give her name to the fuzz, or instructions on how to find her. besides, there's such a thing as plausible deniability, and what penny does - well, it's not exactly legal. ]

Leave the film canisters on your windowsill tonight. I'll bring you what I've got next week.

[filing]

[Well, that's a little disappointing, but it's also not a surprise. This still won't be the biggest limb she's gone out on.]

Alright. We'll need to figure out a system at some point, for making sure we'll be in the same place, but we don't need to do that straightaway.

[webbs]

[ beneath the scarf, penny fidgets, chewing on her lip in thought. she doesn't want agent carter to be able to contact her too easily, but it does make sense. it's a good idea. ]

Put an ad in the paper.

[filing]

[Peggy snorts gently, but not because it's a bad idea.] What, Help Wanted or Classified?

[webbs]

[ she shrugs - exaggerated, even a little theatrical. ]

You're the spy, lady. You tell me.

[filing]

Classified it is.

[She matches the shrug. This kid is funny, but she knows she shouldn't say that lest she seem rude.]