smilestopscars | Mainland Side of the Causeway, Saturday Noon

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Mainland Side of the Causeway, Saturday Noon

It was possible Ezra was still a little drunk from last night.

It was absolute fact, however, that he had somehow managed to lose his shirt over the course of the night, because he was currently traipsing towards the causeway with brief flashes of the still slightly tanned skin of his stomach showing from underneath his jacket. He had also gained a scarf from somewhere. It was silk and had bright flowers on it. It was definitely not one of his. Except now it was.

He stopped and gazed towards the island, swaying in place a little bit, squinting at the silhouette of the school through his sunglasses, which sat a little crookedly on his nose. He sighed. This was good.

Except for the stupid walk back to the island, of course.

[ooc: NFB due to technically being off the island, but open!]

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"...I think I just surprised you," Kathy said, grinning delightedly. "I did! I'm pretty sure you're surprised!"

She'd answer his question momentarily, but some accomplishments needed to be celebrated.

Oh, both eyebrows now. "Don't people usually get surprised or confused when you randomly spend time on rooftops?"

Really, now, Kathy.

"Maybe so, but you don't strike me as the kind of guy who shows being surprised very easily," Kathy retorted.

Nope, she was keeping this. There was no logic that could make her give it up.

"And generally? I'm running across them." Her smile was both mischievous and unrepentant. "And sometimes leaping from them. It gets me around faster than sidewalks."

She was kind of wrong, but he was going to let that slide this time, because he was curious.

"That seems pretty unusual," he noted. "Or is that just how people get around where you're from?"

That's because Kathy kept making assumptions. Sigh, Kathy, sigh.

"Only some of us," Kathy said, giving him a cheerful wink. "In all seriousness? I, err, sorta spend most nights patrolling Baltimore."

In costume. As you did. But she had yet to find a way to say 'superhero' without sounding like she was bragging and 'costumed vigilante' was accurate, but sounded a little ridiculous.

"You know the deal. Randomly develop powers your sophomore year of high school, end up with a codename. That kinda thing." And, just like that, she was back to being hesitant and self-conscious.

[Sorry for vanishing! Got ambushed by cold meds!]

Yeah, both eyebrows were staying up now. But it was less due to surprise, and more just... a general sort of 'huh'.

"The codename part is new."

And most people where he was from didn't really develop powers randomly, although there were always the few cases who thought they were ordinary for whatever reason until puberty hit.

"There are a bunch of people on the island," she said, shrugging a little. "We don't, like, work together or anything, but sometimes we bump into each other out in the city. There's me, and the Human Torch, and Sailor V... Gorgon went back to LA and there's a guy in a bat suit around sometimes..."

"So... super heroes?"

Because his world did have those.

You know, in comic books. Ava was a big ~~meta for~~ Johnny Storm fan.

"Unless that sounds too arrogant," Kathy said. "Crimefighters with powers also works, I guess."

Kathy had also been a huge fan of comics growing up. And then people in her LA had started gaining powers, putting on masks, and fighting crime. She'd just had a teamup with her world's version of Uberman last week that she was still kind of starry-eyed over.

The Mighty Dragon had her number. That was so cool.

Ezra swayed to the side a bit, thoughtfully, tilting his head. "We don't have those where I'm from."

They didn't really seem to have powered good guys at all.

"We didn't have any where I'm from either. Not till about three years ago," Kathy said, nodding. "Now they're springing up everywhere. Me included. It was, uhh, kind of weird." She brushed the wispies of hair that had gotten loose from her ponytail away from her face. "When the Mighty Dragon first appeared in LA, everyone assumed he was some kind of publicity stunt for an upcoming summer blockbuster."

"Hmmm." Well, he could definitely see that happening. The powered were underground where he was from, after all. Hell, he was a tithe to the Coterie so his sisters could keep on living without any undue attention. "So, what kind of powers?"

He really meant her, specifically. But he was cool with leaving it vague, because his curiosity also covered the other powered people.

"There doesn't seem to be any single kind of power," Kathy said, assuming he'd meant everyone because that was how she rolled. "Dragon has flight, invulnerability, and spits fire. There's this new guy, Regenerator, who can heal from anything and can heal other people. Gorgon is, like, an energy-vampire to anyone who looks in his eyes. And, me, well..."

She flushed a little. Again. Because it had been whole minutes since the last time she'd done so. "Super-speed, super-agility, and, uhh." She coughed. "Bouncing."

She really needed a way to make that sound cooler.

"Bouncing?"

Sorry, he was going to look a little amused at that. Just a little! And not maliciously. Just... he was just trying to picture that right now.

"I could show you?" Kathy offered. "It's...not quite as ridiculous as it sounds?"

"Well, I have to see that," Ezra nodded. He even pushed his sunglasses up to the top of his head. "Seeing is believing, after all."

"All right, gimme a second," Kathy said, slipping out of her sweatshirt and putting it on a nearby car. Once she got moving, it would just be in her way. The sports bra and tanktop were cold, yeah, but better a little chill than a lot of embarrassment if she fell on her face. She gauged the objects and buildings around them, traced out a decent enough route, and then blurred into motion.

From the outside, it probably looked like someone had tied springs to the feet of a cartoon character, sent them into a routine that was half-gymnastics and half-parkour, and then hit fast forward to watch the results. Or, as Gorgon had once said a little more prosaically, it was like throwing a superball into a closet. With a burst of speed, Kathy flung herself into the air and then just...didn't really come down again. Whenever she made contact with a surface, it was just to push herself back off, even higher and faster than before.

When she did finally land, it was several hundred meters away from him and she backflipped her way back to him, her final flip pushing her up and high over his head to land behind him, hand reaching out to try to snatch at his shades as she went.

He'd never actually watched anyone do all of that before, so she ended up with his sunglasses, yes. His reflexes might have prevented that, but he was too caught up in watching to actually use them.

He turned towards her. "Well. That was something else."

"That was what I do," Kathy said, holding his sunglasses back out to him. "Still not entirely sure how to explain it without just saying 'bouncy' though."

Ezra took his glasses back, and slipped them back on top of his head. "No, now that I've seen it," he said, "bouncy seems fairly apt. But it may be one of those things you really have to see to figure out."

Unlike, say, someone turning into a fox.

Right! Though it also helped that Kathy already had a kitsune friend. The idea of a were-fox wouldn't really throw her at this point.

"You're lucky," she said, grinning at him again. She headed back for her sweatshirt; the idea of Ezra having the chance to appreciate her nice abs being less tempting than proper warmth. "Most people who get a demonstration of that end up tied to telephone poles, remember?"

"I remember." He nodded, smirk returning. "And I'm still open to being tied up, but not to telephone poles." Way too public. "Not that being tied to a telephone pole would actually keep me from going wherever I want to go."

Because of what he could do.

"Oh?" Kathy's voice from inside her sweatshirt came out half-strangled. Damn you, Ezra, for that mental image. Also thank you. Whatever.

She attempted to compose herself as she finished tugging her shirt on. "You sure about that? I've gotten really good at knots."

That's wasn't--she hadn't--dammit!

"Oh, have you?" Ezra asked, smirking a lot. "Regardless, I don't think they would stop me."

There was nothing for it. No way to salvage an answer, not really. So Kathy was just gonna have to go all in.

"Yup," she said, hands up on her hips. "When I tie someone down, they go nowhere."

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