2015-04-01 - Just a Fan

The night had only recently fallen, and in the wake of a terrible explosion due to some folks manipulating gas lines in the East Village that destroyed three buildings, the cleanup and rebuilding is a tireless effort. More the better when someone who is quite literally tireless available to help. Wonder Man is utilizing his endurance, strength, and generally friendly demeanor to ease the efforts of the construction crews. Many people are around, taking selfies or shots of the super hero as he helps carefully dig through rubble, as at this point, there's still a lot of cleanup to be done. But he seems quite keen on answering questions and saying hello, too.

With a hardcover book clasped to her chest, a young lady with short hair so black it borders on blue is hovering near the construction zone. She appears to be trying so hard to not watch Simon directly it's almost painful to watch, and a couple of the other workers have been rolling their eyes at her. She's cute, if dressed kind of frumpily.

After a while, the girl seems to get up enough nerve to approach, though she doesn't seem certain about entering a construction area.

Simon had his sunglasses on, which only helped a little bit with how unnerving his eyes might be, as they still glowed in the dark. Flecks of energy puffed here and there, vanishing half a moment later. He dug through rubble, careful and cautions, brushing off valuables that might be recovered like an ottoman, or a picture frame. He did notice the girl who was approaching, and he stood up straight, lifting an arm to brush away nonexistent sweat from his forehead, leaving a small streak of dust upon his face. His smile was one that was practiced hundreds of times, handsome and winning and confident. "Good evening, miss. Can I help you?"

The lady pauses when the Super-hero speaks to her. She seems like she needs to take a breath first, and does so, then she holds out her book with both hands as if it speaks for her. "Can I please get your autograph Mr. Williams sir!" she yelps, getting laughs from the guys watching from the sidelines. Pointedly ignoring them, she holds out her Avengers Official Compendium with the glossy pictures and the fantastic write-ups on each avenger. "I know you're busy and all."

Simon gingerly took the book, leaving a light handprint of dust upon the cover. He gave a soft little smile, before reaching into a pocket to produce a blue Sharpie. He opened up the book, and flipped to his particular page/chapter, scribbling a little something in there, and signing his name beneath it, followed by a quick, stylized WM. "It's no trouble at all. I can put in a week here without sleep if I need to. What's your name, young lady? Pay no attention to the hecklers." He wasn't patronizing, but he was gentle and friendly, and he seemed genuinely harmless, like a gentle giant.

The lady says, "Mia Walkers, sir," as she self-consciously pulls her bangs back off of her face. She adds, "I just wasn't sure what to say. You're the first Avenger I've met and I really want to fill that book someday. Stop babbling, damnit." She grins and shakes her head, chastising herself a little. "Mia Walkers."

Simon gave a bright, cheerful laugh, without malice or laughing 'at' her. "It's great to meet you, Ms. Walkers. No need to call me sir, I'm just doing what I love." He's not doing his job right now, which he might actually get chewed out for later, but he didn't care. "Just say what comes to mind. I'm more or less an open book." He put his initials in the front of the book, too, before handing it over. Inside, she'd find he wrote, 'Nothing is beyond your reach if you dream it,' on his page. It might be a little cliche, but at least it wasn't a cat poster.

Mia doesn't have that cat poster on her wall. She collects the book calmly, flipping to the page that Simon wrote in, and gives a clean white grin. "You're working, I don't want to stop important stuff, but I had to take the chance. Opportunity. Thing. Right. Do you ever have issues with accidentally tearing doors off or stuff like that?" Her grin looks a little stuck-on suddenly, like she feels she just made a faux pas or something.

"Oh my gosh, you have *no* idea," Simon said with a laugh, cheerful and bright. "I've learned my own strengths, but often enough I just go by the Chinchilla method. Treat everything like it's as soft and vulnerable as a chinchilla, and I'll be fine. That's some advice for you, too, if you ever get superpowers someday. Be careful, even with the bad guys. It's too easy to really hurt someone when you're so incredibly strong. So I practice being careful on balloons and really soft desserts. When they don't pop or break, I generally think I did okay." He wasn't trying to inflate his ego, just showing that he's not infallible.

Mia shakes her head, mumbling something under her breath that seems like laughter. With a smile still on, but a bit less worriedly, she says, "Superman said something like that in a phone interview on the radio once. I wondered how prevalent it was. One more tidbit to add to my brain that none of my friends will care about." She pauses, looking shocked, and says suddenly, "I SO did not mean that insultingly! I just....nerd out a lot."

Simon gave a little smile. "I see worse on my Twitter all the time," he joked, lowering his sunglasses to look at her directly - which might be a little scary, as Simon's eyes were solid red, and gave off a faint light. "I'm not insulted at all. I was a nerd, and I still am. Nerds are cool. So yeah. It's little foods that I practice with, as if you practice bending spoons, that's still more strength than is needed to shake someone's hand, or give someone a hug."

The lady shakes her head slowly, then says, "I'll keep it in mind if I ever spontaneously grow powers, Mr. Williams sir. Though, this IS New York. The chances are higher here than anywhere in the world." She winks, then turns to go. "Thank you for your time, I'll try not to...oh hell with it." She pauses, then gets her phone and says, "Do you mind a picture? I GOTTA ask at this point."

"Of course I don't mind," the super hero said with another smile. He then sort of lowered himself to her height, so as not to be out of the vantage point of her camera. "I'm always happy to help a fan, whether it's helping them get away from Doombots or saving their car from going off a bridge, to helping old ladies with their groceries."

Mia snaps a picture with her phone handily, showing significant skill with the thing, and says "Not big on my list of requirements right now, but I'll keep it in mind if anything happens on the way home." With a wink that seems to surprise her as much as anyone, she bounces away happily and adds, "probably. Knowing my luck..." And she's heading off, looking like she might whistle a little.