| A Friendship, A Team |
| Summary: | Kate meets a fan who becomes a friend and a possible teammate. |
| Date: | IC Date (2014-05-06)) |
| Related: | None |
| NPCs: | None |
| Scene Runner: | N/A |
| Social/Plot: | Plot |
| Players: |
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A white blur followed by a rainbow blur. That's all most people will see of Hummingbird today as she runs through the streets of New York City. Most people. Kate Bishop, however, gets a different view. Perhaps Kate notices the blur as it races by, kicking up a light breeze. Then the blur as it returns and the woman in the white jumpsuit and helmet stops, gasping.
"You're Kate Bishop!" The speedster proclaims. "Don't move! I'll be right back!"
Within five seconds Hummingbird has run to an archery store in Maine and then returned with the best bow in the Kate Bishop archery line.
"Will you sign my bow?" Hummingbird asks, practicaly buzzing (literally) with excitement.
Kate Bishop blinks and notices the blur.. "Sal…" She shakes her head.. "No, you're not *that*…." She's interrupted by the arrival of the fan.. "Fast." She finishes, confused. "Um… Sure?" She looks around and smirks. "Sorry.. I haven't had to sign an autograph in quite some time." She reaches into her messenger bag for a Sharpie. She looks for a wide enough spot on the bow that won't interfere with the workings. "Do you shoot?" She asks, as she just signs her name.
"Just for practice." Hummingbird expains. Her voice has a faint hollow edge to it - the result of her speaking inside the helmet to be sure. "I shoot the arrow. I outrace the arrow. I catch the arrow. Sometimes I turn the arrow around. Believe it or not? When you turn the arrow around it doesn't fly back where it came from. It just keeps going backwards!"
Kate Bishop stops and looks, letting the thought of the physics actually sink in. "Wait.. You…" She looks around as if trying to keep things secretive. "You can move that fast? Fast enough to touch the arrow without affecting the momentum? That's… incredible." She smiles and offers a hand. "I'm Kate…" She stops, blushes. "Well, you know who I am. What's your name?" She looks around again.. "Also, you might want to change into something less… sore-thumby…. People are starting to stare."
"Huh? Oh. Yeah. I guess." Hummingbird says, glancing around. Indeed, people are staring. "Umm… I have a secret identity but…" She shrugs. "Eh. Screw it." She zips off again. This time, she's gone for about ten seconds. When she returns, Humminbird's out of her costume. She's a cute blonde, early twenties, pixie cut and a pair of red jogging shorts and an Iron Man t-shirt cropped off so her belly button's showing. But it has to be here because she zooms in as a black, red and blonde blur. "I'm Mary." She shakes the offered hand. "Hummingbird, sometimes. And yeah. I can outrace umm… well, I can't outrace lasers… but anything else?"
Kate Bishop watches the goings-on and smiles. "Just… amazing." And all kinds of other adjectives trademarked by Marvel. "I'm Kate Bishop…" She hesitates for a moment.. There's a reason why secret identities are supposed to be secret, but the girl just blurted out hers, so… "Hawkette, sometimes." She scrunches her face at the name, still not feeling it. "I… can't do what you do, but.." She looks around. "Would you like to grab some lunch? My treat?"
"Hawke…" Two. Three. Four. "OH! You… wow. With the bow?" She says, pointing to it. She pulls out her phone and begins tapping. "Thing is SO slow." She mutters before she finds what she's looking for. "Oh! There you are! Shadowry archer fighting crime. Neat!" She plops the phone back into her pocket. "Lunch would be great! I… umm… I have to warn you. I, like, eat. I should probably pay for myself."
Kate Bishop waves it off. "Don't worry about it. But since you have a dietary requirement, you pick the place. Are you from New York?" She looks around for a decent place. She nods about the archer part and puts a finger up to her lips.. "There's a reason that it's called a "secret" indentity." She winks.
"I'm from Los Angeles." Mary says. "Well, I live there now. I've lived all over." She glances around and then points. "I saw a deli that looked really good over there." She says. "Secret identities are hard when you have to eat twenty thousand calories in a day."
Kate Bishop scratches her head and nods as she heads in the direction that Mary pointed. "Yeah, I can see that being an issue. If anyone asks, we'll just say that you're on a special diet… training for a marathon or something." She smiles. "All the women there will be jealous of you." She chuckles and heads over to the deli and makes her way in. "So, what brings you to New York? Just breezing through the neighborhood?"
"I was on my third round the globe." Mary says as she walks, at a normal pace, beside Kate. Even when she's moving at normal speed she almost seems to vibrate with energy. Not literally but it is obvious she's ready to take off at a moment's notice. "Seeing if I could beat my record. I got distracted. I was in the stands when you competed. That was a lot of fun to watch!"
Kate Bishop can feel the energy coming from Mary. It even shows in her voice. She makes her way to the counter and looks at the menu, and when someone comes to take the order she smiles. "You're gonna need a list for my friend." She says. "I'll just have a Reuben." She turns to Mary. "Thanks.. I didn't think there were any Americans in the stands. I wasn't Michael Phelps, or those gymnastics girls making weird faces on the podium." The counterperson returns with a pad so they can take Mary's order.
"It was what I could get tickets for." Mary admits. "The big events were already sold out." She looks over the menu. "I'll take two.. no… three clubs. Heavy on the turkey, please. Also, two milkshakes. Chocolate and vanilla. And a plate of fries." She glances over to Kate. "I'll have another lunch later."
Kate Bishop nods to Mary. "Smart. You stay less conspicuous that way. The few people like you that have been recognized… well… it doesn't seem to be working out so well. I'd hate to see you suffer the same fate." She takes out her black AMEX card, much to the delight of the counterperson, and pays for the order. After signing the slip and leaving a decent tip, she walks with Mary over to a table and sits. "What distracted you?" She blushes, again stopping. "I'm sorry. I know I'm asking you all kinds of questions. I just haven't met anyone… Well, that's not honest. I have friends.. that are like you. They can do things. I'm just fascinated because I do my best out there despite not having any of your abilities… Just… the thought of what a bunch of us could do together, in a group is.. well…"
"I know, right?" Mary says as she sits down. She can't sit still. There's fidgiting. Fiddling. She changes position every few seconds. Crossing legs. Uncrossing. Leaning forward. Leaning back. "Tony Stark doesn't seem to have a problem with it but he's a billionare. He's used to being in the limelight already. I don't know. If people find out they find out." She shrugs. "You distracted me! I was running by you and I thought 'hey! I recognize her! She's the youngest American archer to go to the Olympics!' Or one of them." She pauses for a second. "Are you forming a team? I haven't worked with anyone else. I mean, there's no one else in LA but me so…"
Kate Bishop takes a moment to go through all of Mary's statements. "Girl, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were the poster child for ADHD." She still blushes at the accolades, never really got used to them in the first place. "Thanks, I…" She stops to think.. "I.. wasn't? But.. you know… it doesn't sound like a bad idea, now that you say it." She smiles as a couple servers bring out the orders. When one of them starts to look at Mary incredulously, Kate's angered and tries to shift attention. "Yeah, she's cute, now moveitalong!" She says, followed by the hate-shamed server skulking away. She takes a sip from her water. "You'd totally be invited, as long as it doesn't interrupt what you're doing back in LA." She smiles, so many ideas running through her head. She pulls out a phone and starts texting someone. "Sorry, don't mean to be rude, but I have a friend who might want to get in on this."
[ICtext to Sally] Call/text me when you get a chance. Ran into someone and I have a *glorious* idea! K.
Mary stares at the food. "Mmmm." She takes a long pull from the chocolat milk shake. Then the vanilla. "I come here for pizza." She says. "Not this deli but New York. I go to Tokyo for ice cream. They have the wildest flavors! In the spring they have cherry blossom ice cream." She mmmms. "So good. And, sorry. Side effect of moving as fast as I do. It isn't just running. My brain moves that fast and unless I'm running low on calories I ALWAYS have energy. I can't sit still. I was a little hyper before but now? Wow. Woosh!" She grins. "I promise you, though, it doesn't interfere with how I do the job. Did you know I have my own comic book? Its put out by a small publisher out in LA but it hit 100 on the Diamond best-seller list last month!"
Kate Bishop smiles and shakes her head. "I didn't mean it as a put down. I understand what's going on. Your metabolism is, hmm, what would the kids call it today? "Like, woah"?" She chuckles and takes a bite of her sandwich and nods. "Do you have a regular life? I mean, outside of being a white blur running around the globe?"
"This is my regular life." Mary says. "Its all I've ever wanted. To be a superhero. To live a life of action and excitement but to help people at the same time? How awesome is that?" Somehow, she's managed to eat two of her three sandwiches already. Most of both milkshakes are gone. Half the fries, too. "My dad was a scientist. Genetics. He had a lot of patents so I get money from that so I don't need a job."
[ICtext from Sally] What's going on?
Kate Bishop nods and listens. "Oh wow. Ok.. So.." She looks around and tones down her voice. "So you know something about this heroing thing? Which is good because, well.. we're kids, right? Aren't we supposed to train and such?" She looks down as her phone beeps. She can't help but smile instantly. "Hold that thought. Also, I'm sorry if I seem really slow to you."
"Everyone seems really slow to me." Mary admits. "I've learned how to deal with that. Mostly. And you're interesting. I like talking to you. So, I don't mind waiting. Good things are worth waiting for." She finishes off her meal. Inhales it. Then she holds her thought like she was told to.
[ICtext to Sally] You said you were picking up pieces, possibly looking for direction? I think I might've found one.
Kate Bishop blushes. "Thanks. That's a friend of mine. I think she may want in on this too" She nods. "So.. yeah.. You have experience in this? Would you like to come out here to help me? Us?" She thinks. "I mean, we can help out in LA too, if that will help, but transportation could be an issue. And.. I like talking to you too. My brain's going a mile a minute, too.. The only difference is that I don't have the control that you do."
Mary can't help but giggle. "It doesn't really matter where you are based, honestly. My current record for running the equator is… umm… about 58 seconds? So, no matter where you are I can get there pretty quickly. That's the best thing about my powers. I do most of my work in Los Angeles but I can be anywhere to do good."
Kate Bishop nods. "I know, but *we* don't have your abilities. If we're to be a team, then we need to be there for each other. We need to be able to help you as much as you help us." She finishes her meal and stands, reaching into her messenger bag. She pulls out a business card and hands it to Mary. "Here's my number.." Her phone beeps again. "You can send me yours and we'll keep in touch with this. I'll work out the logistics and the space."
[ICtext from Sally] I've been thinking about it too. Alot. A group, protects people, investigates stuff the cops don't , big stuff kinda pays the smaller stuff.
"Oh. You have to go?" Mary says as she takes the number. She pulls out her phone and enters the digits, forcing herself to slow down so she doesn't break the glass on her phone or overtax the operating system. "That's too bad. This was a lot of fun. I… umm…" She blushes a little. "I don't get to hang out with people much."
[ICtext to Sally] Great minds, etc. Need to find quiet, unassuming property ASAP. Met someone who can help us.
[ICtext from Sally] There's loads of empty offices that are easy to get too all-over.
Kate Bishop smiles. "I need to get this started. Plus I have one last final to get to. I promise I'll be in touch. Hell, if I see a white blur I'll just stick my hand out to stop you." She winks jokingly as she looks at her phone. "Sounds like my friend's in on this too. Awesome. I'll find us a place to start."
[ICtext to Sally] Awesome. I'll start looking online. You can help when you have a chance.
"Oh, don't do that. I'll probably rip your hand off by accident." Mary says, quite seriously. "But maybe next time I'll grab you and we can go somewhere exotic for lunch." She finishes off the rest of her food. It doesn't take more than a second. "I'll text you with my number." In fact, she does just that.
Kate Bishop chuckles and waggles her eyebrows. "Sounds tempting." She smiles at the chime on her phone. "Awesome. I'll let you know when we have a place. Then we can move on from there. We'll need some catchy name.. but not so catchy that the newspapers will ridicule us.." She waves. "Gotta run.. well, not like you, but.." And with that she heads out.
[ICtext to Sally] *cringe* Sorry, that sounded bitchy. I mean, feel free to look as well as your time allows. I don't want to infringe on whatever it is you're doing in that important Embassy. ;)