16470/The Misdial Mystery

The Misdial Mystery
Date of Scene:	10 August 2024
Location:	Masonic Cemetery, Sunnydale and the New York Life Building, Manhattan
Synopsis:	Buffy Summers gets a new number and gets a friend in Peter Parker.
Cast of Characters:	Spider-Man, Buffy Summers

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Spider-Man has posed:
It was the early hours of the morning, and some heroes were still out, having been up all night patrolling. Spider-Man had encountered the Shocker and a few minor criminals, making it a fairly routine night for him. However, he had recently learned from the Bugle that Randy, Robbie Robertson's son, was going through a difficult time.

Spider-Man decided to take a break and perched on the ledge of the New York Life Building, letting his legs dangle over the edge. He pulled out his phone from his pocket to check for updates. His phone showed the usual alerts. It was now secure according to a recent scan. He had a few emails and some odd notifications about things he had done months ago, and his phone thought he should be reminded of it.

After sorting through these notifications, Spider-Man opened his contacts to find Randy's number. It had been some time since they last spoke, so he wasn't aware that Randy had changed his number. He began typing out a message of encouragement, hoping to reach out and offer support.

As he crafted his message, Spider-Man focused on the words carefully, aiming to provide some comfort to Randy during his tough time, even if he wasn't aware of the particular details. He knew how important it was to offer support, especially when someone was facing challenges.

Despite the quiet city below, Spider-Man's attention was fully on the task at hand. He wanted his message to be sincere and helpful, reflecting his genuine concern for Randy's well-being.

His text message went as follows:

"Hey, good morning,

I just wanted you to know that I'm thinking of you. I know it's been tough lately, but it's going to get better, I can feel it. You're going to get through this, and I'm right here when you need me.

Talk soon.

Peter"

Once he finished typing, Spider-Man reviewed the message one last time before sending it. He hoped that his message would provide a small measure of comfort in Randy's time of need.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy was currently sitting on a large headstone in the Masonic Cemetery. She was stuck waiting for this guy to rise from the grave, thus making her think it was really unnecessary to be respectful of his resting place. At least, not yet. After he was dusted, then she'd be polite and never sit on his headstone again. Not just because she wouldn't need to but just because it was the right thing to do. Be respectful of the dead.

Those that stayed dead.

When the phone buzzed in the pocket of her leather jacket, she almost jumped out of her skin. It was her newest burner phone with a new number yet again. The phone company had told her after transferring her number 16 times in one month, she just was going to have to deal with having a new phone number. Annoying but admittedly understandable. She was rough on phones. More precisely, fighting vampires and demons was rough on phones. She had heard legends of phones called Nokia that couldn't be broken but they didn't exist any longer. Which made zero sense to someone like her. They also didn't have internet apparently so maybe it was for the best they had gone the way of the dinosaurs.

Unknown number. Still, that didn't mean anything because she had other friends who were rough on phones too. Reading the message, she had hoped it would be Willow, having come to her senses. Sadly, it was not. Though the words were encouraging. She frowned a little as she read because it was nice to have someone being encouraging but it wasn't like anyone outside the Scoobies knew about her current situation with her bestie being possessed or whatever was going on with Willow. It had to be something like that cause she would never be this way by choice.

Peter. That wasn't a name she knew. She tried to think back to high school and there was nothing to ring a bell. A few guys with that name but no one she knew well enough to be swapping numbers.

So she typed back quickly, thumbs moving over the keypad on the screen.

"Appreciate the positive thoughts. Actually they are helpful right now. But I'm not sure I am who it was meant for. I don't know anyone named Peter."

Spider-Man has posed:
"New York could really use a few twenty-four-hour hot dog stands," he muttered to himself. "We have so much great food, and all I can find at this hour is a candy bar." Talking aloud was his way of filling the silence, which he found comforting, even if Doc Samson might have different opinions on that particular habit.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a Snickers bar. He set his phone aside, and unwrapped the chocolate bar. He rarely broke his phones due to his spider-like agility, though it had happened once or twice. With his free hand, he lifted his mask just enough to take a bite of the candy bar.

As he chewed, his phone chimed with a new message. Using one hand, he quickly entered his password and scrolled through the message. His spider-like dexterity made handling the phone with one hand easy. Everyone should have it.

Thinking he might have dialed the wrong number, he decided to take an interest in the situation. The person on the other end seemed to be in need of support, and he wanted to help.

"Anytime," he began writing. "If you need someone to talk to, sometimes it helps to get things off your chest, even if it's with a complete stranger. I'm here if you want to share." He paused for a moment, trying to engage further. "What's your name, and what's got you up so early? Are you on your way to work or dealing with something else?"

Buffy Summers has posed:
That last question had Buffy looking around at the graveyard then down at the freshly covered grave of Milo Stewart. "I work the graveyard shift."

The reply came back pretty quickly as she didn't want to lie but she certainly couldn't really say a lot. "I'm Buffy. No. I didn't make that up." Because she'd had the name her entire life, she knew all the possible reactions at this point that from people that didn't take it at face value.

"Not sure I can really explain a lot. People's privacy and such. But let's just say my bestie did something that has me concerned about the path she's taking."

Talk about understatement of the century. He friend had apparently stolen a book that would open a portal to Hell and embraced the Dark Side while she was at it. Or she was possessed. Please please please let her be possessed.

"You heading to work or a night shifter too?"

Spider-Man has posed:
Getting more engaged in the conversation, he typed, "I work irregular hours myself. I'm a photographer, so it's kind of like being a pizza delivery guy - except I don't get paid as much and there's no free pizza. Wait, why do I do this job again?"

He saw no reason to conceal this aspect of his life from the stranger. He continued, "I believed you when you say you work the graveyard shift." He was lightly teasing her as if 'Buffy' was a perfectly normal and popular name.

Reading about her best friend, he added, "Nobody intentionally heads down these paths. It's usually one mistake, that seems like the right choice at the time. They justify it, however they have to, and then make another mistake, and another, until they've made so many, they can't even remember where they started."

"It's a whole slippery slope," he continued. "By the time they realize what's happening, they're too far gone. But there's something you can do. Remind them of happier times, of the fun you had together, and the activities you enjoyed. Help bring them back to the person they used to be, and just be there for them. It might seem like a small thing, but even the little things can make a big difference."

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy had to smile a little at the intentional misunderstanding of it being her real name as opposed to being her actual shift. Nice of him to play it off. Or her. They? Whatever. Who knew really when talking to a stranger.

"Sounds like you may have dealt with this before. I'm suspecting she got influenced by some people." The woman they visited at the old chuchyard maybe? Or someone else? She didn't know who Willow had been hanging with. Although, she did remember Dracula had seemed interested in the young witch. Did he have something to do with it? Or could it be something she encountered with the Justice League? So many question and so few answers. Willow was the one that would find answers usually. Her and Giles in particular. Yet here she was without either of them.

"I'll try to do that. See if I can help guide her back. Or have her exorcised. Whichever works." It came across as a silly joke. It wasn't.

Spider-Man has posed:
Peter Parker usually had a positive impact on everyone he interacted with. He didn't go out of his way to uplift others; he simply treated them as he would like to be treated. More often than not, he left people in a better mood than when he first met them, though he occasionally made them feel worse. He was human too.

"I live in New York, where they seem to put anger and frustration into the water - along with fluoride, of course, but that's to strengthen our teeth."

"You should just focus on being a good influence on her," he advised. "I have a feeling you're a genuinely good person. No petty shoplifting, jaywalking, or breaking the 'no white after Labor Day' rule for you, right? Right?"

"Exercise is great," he said, deliberately misinterpreting her message. "Just avoid rotating your head 360 degrees. Trust me, it never ends well." He was showing that he understood her point. "We all need to take care of our bodies, unless you're one of those metas or mutants who can eat all day without gaining weight. As cool as that sounds, what I want to know is how can they afford it?"

Buffy Summers has posed:
"Just because you can doesn't mean you should. Unless it's donuts. I would kill for a good donut."

And it was that moment Milo decided to return to the world above. There was a crashing noise though as he tore through the coffin and immediately was exploding out of the dirt like one of those stuntmen in movies after an explosion went off from the pyrotechnics department.

No pyro here though. "BRB."

She set the phone to the side on the headstone and leaped off, immediately bringing up an arm to block the attack that inevitably came her way from the newborn vampire. "Can't you guys ever just come out and want to chat?" Although she had that happen before too, it was a once in a lifetime so far. No one else had been chatty. Two punches and a swift kick had the vampire falling on his back and she slammed the stake home a moment later, watching as Milo proved that whole ashes to ashes, dust to dust thing. The stake was tucked back into her jacket and she picked up her phone again.

"Sorry. Something popped up but got it taken care of. New York huh? Been there a couple of times. I'm over in Jersey myself." She didn't want to give more than that because honestly? There weren't a lot of Buffys in the world. And thus it was too easy to find her if someone wanted to if she gave her city name. Though he seemed a nice guy, one should never be too careful. He might be a demon. Mentioning 360 degree head turning might be a clue that he was!

"I heard the flouride was to help prime us for mind control in the future. Nanites or something like that. Probably about as real as the alligators in the sewers in Gotham, am I right?"

Spider-Man has posed:
He texted her about donuts, knowing more details than he probably should. Since he mentioned he was a photographer working late, he was likely paparazzi.

"Donut World is on Staten Island, at 11A Holden Boulevard in a small strip mall. It's open every day except Mondays from 9 AM to 7 PM. Look for a big sign that says Marianna Pizza. It's easy to miss, but definitely worth it. Best donuts in New York."

"Oh, a Jersey Girl. I guess we can't be friends anymore. ;)" He added a smiley face at the end.

"That's actually a common misconception. The nanites were added for entirely different reasons. Elon Musk hasn't explained why yet."

There was a brief pause after his comment about alligators in the sewers, with the three-dot indicator appearing and disappearing a couple of times. Finally, he sent a shifty eye emoji.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Which got back a laughing until crying emoji back. Cause everyone knew there were no alligators in the sewers. It was just one of those myths. Like Bigfoot. And the Champ, up in Lake Champlain.

"Definitely can't be friends. But if I ever get a chance to visit Staten Island, I am going to check out Donut World. Thanks for the tip."

She was going to leave it at that but then she decided to add something else as she started to walk toward the exit of the cemetery. "Seriously, thanks for the jokes. Made me smile a little and wasn't sure I could do that lately. I will try your advice with the bestie. Wish me luck."

Spider-Man has posed:
There was a simple, but heartfelt reply, "good luck with your friend. If it's okay with you, I'm going to keep this number under my contacts, just change the name to Buffy. This was a good talk. I'd love to do it again sometime."