2015-03-10 - A Freak-out Accident

Downtown Metropolis, the setting of a thousand bad comic books. Streets aren't too busy, with people being mostly gone home for dinner and off work by this time. It's actually pretty quiet, with a few nice sales going on in a grocery store and the bakery next door with some absolutely amazing danishes being given away as samplers.

Suddenly things liven up, as a window breaks in a cafe. It broke because there was a person flying through it, in a rather uncontrolled fashion, having been hit hard enough to send him flying. He lands in the street and skids to a stop.

People notice. There's screaming. Couple lawsuits I'm sure.

And lots of cell phone pictures and sudden social media posts. Priorities these days...

Kara Zor-El flies overhead when she sees the commotion below. "Please just be a normal bar fight or something" she says to herself. She promised Tiffany she'd take her shift at the diner today, and fighting Lex Luthor's latest robotic kryptonite killing machine or a New gods invasion or something was NOT on her list today. She sets foot on the street outside, taking note of the situation.

The Muzak in the secondhand shop she's in isn't loud enough to drown out the sound of breaking glass outside. Richenda, trying on jeans, blinks and glances up. Of course, she can't see anything in the changing room. Curious as always, she hurries for the front window.

Looks like the cafe next door had a break-in, maybe? There's a hole in the window... but it's a little high up for someone who wanted to climb in. And couldn't they have just walked in the door? The place is still open! "This is weird..." the gypsy girl murmurs, leaning in a little closer to the glass fronting the street, trying to block out the reflection from the inside of the shop. This could be trouble. She hasn't yet realized that she's standing in front of a window in a purple tee, unfastened grey hoodie, and powder blue panties.

A chair comes flying out of the cafe window after the guy who, for reference, is still laying in the street. It lands about ten feet past him and imbeds in the door of a parked car, and looks like it was originally bolted down to the inside of the cafe floor.

Shortly afterward, the guy starts to try and get up, pushing up so he's sitting, and someone comes out the cafe door. Female, about five foot five, short black hair and a hastily pulled on face mask. She looks ..upset, since as she comes out she tears the door off and drops it beside the entrance.

Mia is recognizable to Kara, but apparently does not yet see the flier coming in from above. And isn't paying attention to the panty clad girl in the window.

Kara Zor-El tilts her head. "Mia?" she says to herself. Then says to herself, "Please let this be a superhero battle and not a bad date." She quickly gets in the way. "M... um... Cira. Hey......" She looks back at the man, then at Mia. "Busy day?"

The sudden streak of red, blue, and blonde that interposes itself between the angry girl and a man she's only just noticed lying on the pavement changes the whole situation, in Chenda's eyes. "Kara!" she exclaims, relieved. "I'd better back her up!" She leans back from the window... and suddenly catches sight of her faint reflection. Her eyes widen, her mouth goes small and round with dismay, and her hands fly down in front of her panties. "As soon as I'm dressed, anyway..." she murmurs, and flees for the dressing room. Just a moment, please...

There is a couple camera snaps as things settle, and someone may have taken a shot or two of Richenda's retreating tush, but that's probably enough of that for now. Up close, Mia or as Kara calls her 'Cira' looks like she's having a minor panic attack, jumping on her heels a little and pacing as she looks at Kara. Around Kara, at the guy, back to Kara.

"His face changed! It turned green!" Mia says, clenching and unclenching her fists. "It turned green!!!" She really seems kind of overwrought.

The guy on the street has gotten to his feet finally, and is trying to limp away. He did just get punched through a window.

Kara Zor-El peers at Mia. Then at the man. Who isnt Bruce Banner, so at least that's a good thing. Then back at Mia. "Literally, I'm assuming. Not figuratively like he ate bad clams?" Then she peers at the man again.

Chenda's back in moments, thankfully fully dressed; thank goodness for years of changing between acts! She hurries out into the street, eeling her way between pedestrians to join the two superheroines in the street. "Kara? What's going on? And who's your friend?" she asks, having caught that vibe between the two girls. She does spare a glance for the retreating guy. At least he's slow!

Kara Zor-El looks back and forth between them. "Okay. Assuming he ... um... turned green... why did you throw him through a window? I mean... maybe, I don't know... he's a mutant or something?" She peers at the man again. "Okay actually not a mutant." That's something she can tell from just looking at DNA. She looks back at Mia. "But... um... did he -do- something? Other than color change?" Kara isnt entirely sure that the guy did change colors in the first place. When she first came to earth and had X-ray vision start working, she thought she was nuts.

Mia is, by the way, wearing a pastel blue sleeveless top and matching skirt. And a blue mask that doesn't match the outfit. Also boots with heels. Not exactly a standard super suit, and she looks kinda skinny. She breaks a heel suddenly, stumbling a bit, as she continues ranting. "He turned Green, Supergirl! Green!" She acts like she's not quite sure why Kara isn't also freaking out over this.

Pausing a moment, she looks at Richenda and blinks confusedly as if wondering who this other person is, then shakes her head. "I'm not crazy! I think I'm ...not crazy? Please tell me I'm not going crazy too."

Then the guy looks back at Kara, his face a picture of innocence and hurt worry, and he dashes behind a wall to vanish from the scene. The strangest thing to Kara though would be that the SOUND of him vanishes instantly too. His heartbeat is not there, and he's not making any noise at all. Richenda is less likely to notice that.

"Whoa! Careful..." Chenda says, hearing that heel break. She moves to lend a shoulder, literally, slipping an arm around Mia's waist. "Here, lean on me. I don't think you're crazy. If you were crazy, you wouldn't be so obviously freaked out about what you saw. Which I don't blame you for, as I'd feel a little that way, too." She doesn't notice the sudden cessation of noise from the now-retreated man. Her attention is on Mia, the unfortunate victim of green-facedness.

Kara Zor-El does notice he's completely silent, but doesnt automatically decide to intercept the guy because of that. Even assuming his face turned green, that wasnt exactly a crime. Assuming Mia wasnt experiencing some side effect of one of her powers. Like maybe seeing things through another part of the electromagnetic spectrum. She focuses on the half-Kryptonian girl having a panic attack instead. Priorities. "Okay.. look... calm down okay?" she says patiently, holding Mia's shoulders.

"Maybe we should go someplace else, girls. We're drawing a crowd," Chenda observes. "And somebody needs to sit down and change shoes."

Mia leans on both ladies who are apparently here to help her, though there are pictures being taken again by bystanders and people still typing on phones in the background. Taking a long, deep breath, Mia manages to calm for a moment, then she looks at Richenda clearly for a second and says, "Hi? Sorry, um...window. Guy I was meeting for coffee told me suddenly that he knew where I lived, and his face turned green and I just, y'know, slapped him. People don't turn green, Kara."

Mia frees up a hand to rub at her forehead, at the headache forming in her sinuses.

Chenda's eyes widen. "Okay... I totally would've hit him if that'd happened to me," she says. "For the implied threat if nothing else. The green-face bit would've just been icing on the freakout cake."

Kara Zor-El pauses. "My friend Garfield's green." She shakes her head a bit, then puts her arms around both Richenda and Mia. "Yeah let's talk about this somewhere private." before she flies up, up and away. She keeps flying until she gets to the Daily Planet, setting both of them down on the roof by the iconic planet statue. "Okay.... no crowds now. I believe you that you say he turned green, and that he said what he said. That does seem creepy." She pauses. "Also the fact that he didn't seem to be having a heartbeat, but was not a robot and, far as I could see from his DNA, wasnt a mutant."

Mia looks down a the ground below as she's flown through the air. She looks at Richenda, eyes a little wide, and grins. "First time for you?" She offers mid-flight, halfway up the daily planet, and the grin is still there when they land. Kind of like she desperately needs to be grinning, it's kind of creepy.

"Sorry. Bad humour. I've never seen anyone change colour up close before. Who's Garfield anyway? And does he also apparently know where I live?"

Kara Zor-El smiles a little as she walks over to the planet and moves aside a piece of metal on it, revealing her junk food stash. She pulls out some potato chips, then puts the metal back in place. "Don't tell Perry White. I keep snacks here sometimes." She walks back to Mia and Richenda. "Garfield's one of my friends in the Titans. Beast Boy. And he knows where I live, but only because he once came over with Victor ... er... Cyborg, and they played on my Xbox for 34 hours straight until I had to make them leave.

"Just don't jump too fast, KaraaaaAAAAAAA!" Chenda starts to say, interrupting herself when Kara jumps aloft with her double burden! The burden of full pockets... she quickly pulls up her feet so she doesn't /entirely/ lose her jeans. At least the landing is easier. Which is when she gets to answer Mia. "First time? No... normally I totally love flying," she replies with a slightly-embarrassed smile. "But I do wish she'd give a girl a little more warning." She's not hungry, waving the chips aside to Mia. "You have interesting friends, Kara. More heroes?"

Mia eyes Kara as she tells the story of the Titans visiting her home. She accepts some chips if they're offered though, not loathe to give up free food. "Don't know any Perry Whites, so you're safe." At that point, she sticks her right hand out toward Richenda, offering a hand. "Cira. Random strong girl with no explanation and sorry about ruining both your days. I thought he was just a nice guy who wanted to get a coffee."

Kara Zor-El smiles. "Who knows.... maybe he was?" She offers Richenda and Mia some potato chips. "His 'I know where you live' could have been a really.... really.... really bad pickup line from a socially inept person. Do you know that I have about 2 or 3 people a month jump off buildings just so I can catch them, so they can then ask for my phone number?" She munches on a potato chip and sits in midair. Then eats another chip... then pauses. "I'm so not kidding. Oh and you didnt ruin my day at all. I'm just happy it wasnt some supervillain rampage. I have a shift at Jim's Diner in San Francisco in an hour."

Richenda takes the hand with a smile. "Chenda. Random Kara fangirl, supporter of distressed random strong girls, refuser of potato chips, and occasional loser of pants. As you can see," she replies, stooping to correct that. "And my day's intact. I was just out wandering, anyway. Seeing the city." She blinks at Kara's story, and winces. "Talk about pathetic... even if I'd thought about that when I was crushing on you, I never would've done it."

Mia shakes Richenda's hand. No stress, no squeezing. She goes back to rubbing her temples a bit afterward, then peers at Kara. "Did you say he had no heartbeat? I seem to remember you saying that. And ew, there's easier ways. I mean, just once I want to have a guy offer to buy me a book. He's got a WAY better shot than offering me a coffee or ...well, jumping off a building. Cuz I can't fly, he'd splat and then wouldn't he feel dumb." "Oh, and totally not crushing on anyone. No offense. Not my side of the street."

Kara Zor-El nods to Mia. "I wasnt really focusing on that at the time, since you were sort of freaking out." She thinks. "He still could have been a mutant with some sort of power which makes his DNA not look like mutant DNA, I guess." She looks at Richenda. She doesnt mention the multiple marriage proposals, even more death threats, and that one guy who asked to pay her to beat him up. Mainly because she's trying to put that out of her memory. Since he ran up to her dressed in leather chaps and a facemask with a zipper over the mouth and eyes. Ew. "Yeah... some guys have weird ways of talking to girls."

"None taken. I have a wonderful girlfriend," Chenda replies, smiling. "To each their own. Besides, you didn't laugh at me a second ago, and that's worth something in my book." Her attention returns to Kara. "It's weird, I know, but it actually could've been a mutant. I've met some who have powers like that. Not that knowing that would've stopped me from smacking him after that 'I know where you live' crack. I mean, maximum creepage!" She shudders.

Mia looks a little confused to Richenda, then asks, "Laugh about what? Seriously. Must have missed something. She looks between Kara and Richenda, then puts her head in her hands and sits down on the roof. She shakes her head back and forth for a moment, obviously still distracted. "Trust me," she says quite clearly though her body language suggests possible trauma. "I'm still freaking out just fine. I should might oughtta go home and make sure my family is safe, you think?" One eye peeks out from between her fingers, peering at you both.

Kara Zor-El has a few more chips, then says, "Mia promise me you won't instantly go to the throwing people through windows thing in the future when you get freaked out? Trust me - I know how it can feel. When I first landed on this planet, the first thing I saw was a guy dressed like a bat swimming towards my ship under Gotham Bay. And I wound up causing about 20 million dollars in property damage, hospitalized three people, totalled 8 cars, and I think I gave Batman three bruised ribs when I kicked him across a roof. Commissioner Gordon still gives me eyes when I'm in Gotham. Just... gotta be careful, okay?"

Kara then looks at Richenda. "And you really, really, really need to invest in a belt because I've seen your underwear way too much."

"Oh, wow... poor Cira," Chenda murmurs, giving the dark-haired girl a warm hug. "If you're worried about your family, I'll go with you if you want to check. Nothing's keeping me here," she admits. "I was just in town to see the town. If you're local, I just see more of it." She stifles a smile, hearing Kara. "I've tried, Kara. Nothing changed. I seriously think it's a curse sometimes. On the plus side, I'd like to think I wear it really well."

Mia says, "I didn't throw him...just kind of slapped without thinking. My slaps are plenty hard enough apparently..." She trails off, realizing she's missing the point. "I ...really want to ask if I can worry about one thing at a time, but I get your point. I coulda killed somebody there. and Chenda, consider some tight boy shorts. Either that or live the dream and go commando, cuz I've known you ten minutes and seen your undies three times."

She does add, "I'm sure your girlfriend is wonderful though. You're a good friend. Can I PLEASE check on my folks now though?"

Mia hugs Chenda back, saying, "Of course you can come...I could use extra eyes. My family knows about supers, it's all good."

Kara Zor-El nods a little. "Sure... I'll take you back home." She pauses and looks out in a direction. "They're fine, by the way." She smiles and puts her feet back on the ground before taking ahold of both of them. "And I'm really serious about not telling Perry White about the junk food stash." she says before flying up with them again.