Summary:Ford manages to steal a wheelchair out from under three superheroes. While Starfire manages to steal a kiss from Miss Marvel. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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The Walk-A-Round Medical Equipment store has been on Ford's radar for some time now. Namely because of a nice, slick wheelchair he's seen in there on multiple occassions. It's not a fancy store, but the equipment he's seen in there is reliable, and Ira's old wheelchair has been wobbling a little bit. By Ford's measure, it was time for a new one. So this fine evening, Ford is putting into play what he's been observing in his off hours about the store. Everything plays out as he suspects. Store employees take inventory. Register is locked up. Employees hang up tags and clock out. Manager counts the day's profits. Manager locks up the front, and slips out the back door in the alley, heading home himself.
Now or never, in Ford's measure.
Waiting until the manager is gone, Ford looks left, right, and crosses the street, reaching the alley the manager left. And now looking distinctly like one of the employees. His illusory shapeshifting was the one power Ford rarely had qualms about using… mostly because it kept his real face hidden. Jiggling at the employee entrance handle, Ford found it not responding his gentlemen's charms. Looks like force was needed… Ford steadied himself and pushed in, his latent demonic strength giving him more than enough force to push it open… and by sheer dumb luck, the back door was NOT boobytrapped or rigged with an alarm. Ford quickly made his way inside to the main show room, looking around for that wheelchair he'd had his eye on… surely nobody would think twice about an obvious employee browsing the floor himself, right?
When you run a lab on the budget of a non-profit you sometimes have to cut costs. And that means every now and again you have to buy your supplies places you wouldn't normally pick as a first choice. Unfortunately for Nadia she's drawn the short straw and has defective goods return duty and on a Sunday too!
Thankfully shrinking powers and wings make getting just about anywhere with a stack of boxes as easy as pie.
Dressed in casual clothing, jeans and t-shirt with her G.I.R.L bomber jacket, plus the insect-wing backpack from her costume she flitters through the air. Coming in for a dainty landing outside the front of the Walk-A-Round Medical equipment store, her attention mostly fixed on a smartphone in the hope the company website will mention where deliveries and returns can be dropped off out of hours.
Koriand'r has recently learned about human medicine. The pretty young woman and the less pretty but still attractive older bald man on the television have been complaining about how medicine shouldn't be a for-profit industry, so Koriand'r has cleverly deduced that humans sell their doctoring in stores. She's also not one hundred percent sanguine with the idea of people who can't afford medical treatment, but she doesn't want to judge just yet, so she decides to go to a medicine store and just ask them what the deal is.
(She doesn't have a phone and can't just Google it.)
Soaring down from the sky in her favorite purple monokini with green gems, Koriand'r lands at the Walk-A-Round Medical Equipment facility's front door. She raises a fist to knock, then remembers humans don't do that at businesses, they just walk in. She gives the door a push; with her strength, she doesn't even notice it had been locked. She steps in, calling, "Hello? I am here to talk to a salesdoctor, please."
The door comes off the lock when Koriand'r push, which also sets off the alarm for the place - it's a silent one. But on a nearby building on a patrol, Kamala Khan, erstwise known as Ms. Marvel, is on patrol. She had started branching off from Jersey City after teaming up with Captain Marvel and Brunnhilde. So as she's going from rooftop to rooftop, stretching her leg to reach from one building to the next.
That's when the police scanner on her phone goes off with the alarm company's alert of a tripped alarm at Walk-A-Round Medical Equipment. Glancing at her phone for a moment, she checks to see if there was any other hero patrols that might be in the area, and not seeing any known patrol routes, the Jersey hero moves from the rooftop she was crossing to start to head towards the medical shop, intent on helping until the police arrive if she can!
It's all Ford can muster not to either jump out of his skin, or tragically facepalm as his carefully laid plan just /immediately/ goes to pot. He thought he caught sight of someone actually outright landing from the sky outright, but hoped they weren't here for the actual store. That all quickly changed when an ostentatious (if admittedly striking) young lady just crushed right through the front door. If this place had alarms, thaaaaaat probably tripped them. Ford was now on a time table.
Despite his initial inclination to duck and hide, Ford recalled that he DID indeed look like he worked here. If he was quick, he could wrap this up, send the lady on her way, and hopefully, make it out in time with the wheelchair before the police arrived. Time to talk smooth like he's never done before… and hopefully, the unseen Ms. Marvel wouldn't notice in his roofto jaunt that the alley door had been similarly forced open.
Stepping around, Ford cleared his throat and did his best to keep his eyes up and not trailing down the lady's figure, a disarming smile on his face. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but I'm afraid we're wrapping things up for today. If you do have questions, you can come back tomorrow." His eyes darted out to see the other lady outside…. huh. If this is how a guy brings in the ladies, he might have to rob a bit more often!
Nadia Van Dyne, attention fixed so firmly on her gadget, barely even notices Koriand'r soaring down through the sky. The glow of her screen masking the radiance of the flying figure. One hand comes out from her jacket with a half dozen boxes that look like they've come directly out of a really boring doll house before she finally glances up. "Gosh you must be cold flying like…" And then the front door is smashed in. "That."
Her phone gets tucked away and she walks a few steps closer. "You really can't just force your way into a store like that," she notes with a hint of a Russian accent as she tries to get a view inside. "Huh. That's odd. The website says they don't have staff working on Sunday." The wings coming from her backpack remain unfurled for now. Ready to spring to life at a moments notice.
Poor Koriand'r, getting criticized from two angles. It would fluster a lot of people, and might fluster her if she weren't already fighting down a sense of righteous outrage about the horrible victimization human doctors inflict on their patients! Admittedly she doesn't understand the full context, but that doesn't blunt the anger she feels from the gist she gathered, which has her eyes literally flaming with green light. "How can you be so cruel?!" she demands of Ford and Nadia, apparently thinking both of them are employees here. Her fists are on her hips and glowing with a smoky green haze rather like her eyes. "You are for the health of the unwell, but only when the sun is up?! What could—?!" Then a realization strikes her, and her glow drops significantly as a mortified expression comes over her face. "Wait… do humans only heal in daylight?"
It's anyone's guess what she's on about.
Kamala finally arrives on the scene, and as she looks at the door off the hinges, and then inside, there's confusion that's coming to the Jersey girl's face as she steps inside. She's got her hands to the side, a soft glow from them as she has them sort of enlarged in case she needs to use them. "Uhm, what's going on here?" she asks.
Because what she sees is first, an employee in the shop. She doesn't know the hours of the store, just that an alarm went off. And then there's woman number one, and her eyes widen as she notes the wings on the back of the Russian. "You're the Winsome Wasp! What are you doing here, do you need help?" she announces, pointing towards the Russian girl - and then pauses. "Wait, you're.. younger than Wasp. Oh my gosh, are you her daughter??" She says in confusion. She's used to Janet's gold and black most likely as she frowns slightly. And then her eyes travel over to the other girl.
And that she's dressed in something that she wouldn't be caught dead in. She's always trying to find something to compliment on someone she meets, but goodness, Starfire is just in all of her glory, and the cheeks of the Muslim girl turn as bright as the glow that Koriand'r is putting off. "….who, wait are you that alien girl from the news?!" She means Whitestar. "No, she has white hair, you have orange and.. goodness.."
Kamala Khan is at a lost for words and stunned for the moment. Help.
Ford could only lean back as Koriand'r just goes off on the duo, him and this newly arrived lady. Clearly with boxes, possibly for return. They were… awfully small. What could be in them? Ford wasn't given much time, as the evidently confused lady yelling about healing and then humans needing to heal in the daylight, and… what was she here for? Ford was inclined to step back and slowly move towards the back of the store… when another voice makes itself present, turning about to see… a costumed vigilante. Great… juuuuust great. As if all this wasn't bad enough, he had one of those showboating nutjobs on scene as well… and the clock was steadily ticking to clear this place.
"I thiiiiiiink there has been some misunderstanding here. This… isn't actually a doctor's office. Just a medical equipment store. Wheelchairs and lifts and the like." Ford tried to explain to the evidently confused… alien? What the heck was this city coming to? As if metahumans roaming unrestrained wasn't enough, now they had glowing alien babes! A notion that had Ford remarkably torn. "But, again… it's after hours." His eyes darted to the winged woman. "And… yes! We normally are closed on Sundays! But today is a bit of an exception. I'm… a new manager. And I've been trying to get everything in order for my first week!"
Ford turned back to the newly arrived Kamala, extending a hand and lightly waving her out. "Aaaaand I'm afraid costumes aren't allowed in the store. And all this breaking and entering really isn't doing any wonders for any of my work. So… if we could continue this conversation outside? That would be fantastic."
Nadia Van Dyne glances over her shoulder when Kamala speaks up, but her attention flicks back to Koriand'r as she berates everyone about medical access. "Wait, are you looking for help with something? If there's a medical emergency I might be able to do something," she offers, tucking the dollsize boxes back into her pocket. "People, Humans, do heal a little quicker during the day. But they go to a hospital or doctors surgery for treatment. I'm more of a scientist than a doctor but if you…" Her eyes skim Kori's monokini. It probably doesn't cover enough to hide a serious injury. "Have a friend that's hurt just take me to them, I'll see what I can do."
Her wings, which with Kamala's view of her back are almost certainly mechanical rather than organic, flutter slightly and she lifts off the ground. Turning so she can see everyone. "I /do/ sometimes fight crimes under the alias of the Wasp," she says to Kamala. "But unfortunately my Mother died a long time ago. You might have me confused with someone else?"
Finally she gives the illusion covering Ford a puzzled frown. "Why aren't costumes allowed inside? Shouldn't we all wait for the police to arrive? It seems obvious that no crime was intended."
Someone less naive or even just less distracted by embarrassment than Koriand'r would probably notice all the completely unnecessary explanations and the inappropriately placatory demeanor as a sign that she's being lied to, but, well, Koriand'r is not Batman or Daredevil. On a good day, she's Booster Gold. Overwhelmed by all the criticism that should be sending her into a fury but she's too abashed to think of getting mad, she just blushes orange and agrees hastily, "Yes, I am apologetic! Please accept my sorry. I wish earnestly to make this right." She clasps her hands in front of her chest like a schoolgirl in the children's books at your grandmother's house, the kind where they still spelled 'today' with a hyphen. "How may I atone?"
Koriand'r notices Kamala's discomfort but pays it no mind. Humans are always uncomfortable, it seems, which is sad but not really her focus at the moment given her shame at her misbehavior. She lets that slide for now (which, if Kamala knew how Koriand'r tries to soothe uncomfortable situations, is probably a mercy) and explains to Nadia, who is at least personally addressing her, "No, I am uninjured, I was just… oh! It is the foolish mistake. Have I made a crime? Must you fight me now? I will surrender!" she asks anxiously.
"Maybe…" Kamala is very unsure of it all at this point, and she pulls out her phone. "The police will be here in a couple of minutes, there was an alarm going off." She looks back to where the door broke. That is the cause of the alarm. And then there's someone trying to shoo her out and she frowns. "Hey! I was just trying to prevent a robbery!" And now the young woman is getting annoyed.
"I think Wasp is right. We should all wait until the police arrive and then straighten this out." She looks to the manager and offers a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, you're in good hands!" Though she has no idea /who the bad guy is here/. Was it the manager mild mannered and confused. The Russian girl with wings? The barely dressed alien? She doesn't know, and noone's really offering her a clue at this point and she makes a flustered noise.
It takes absolutely every fiber of Ford's very being to not immediately answer Koriand'r's question with the response that came to his mind. Nadia can probably see the silent struggle on his face, his eyes rolling down Kori's physique as he bites his tongue so hard, it nearly bleeds. After a moment of internal struggle, Ford inhales a deep breath and regains his composure. What little he has left by this point. Hiding it pretty well, though! "No, no, it's perfectly fine. I just need to… clean up a bit. And I suppose, if nobody is wanting to move, I'll just work around all this. If you'll excuse me, ladies."
If he couldn't clear out the store, it was time to move to plan B. Which he just came up with, right now. Grabbing hold of the wheelchair he had in mind initially, and placing a few floor displays on it, Ford pretended to move the stuff to the back of the store, headed towards the backroom Kamala had entered from. "Pardon me, ma'am. Just need to move this to the back and find that broom. Start cleaning up some of this… everything." he asked, stopping shy of actually bumping into Kamala with the chair.
Nadia Van Dyne lets out a sigh of relief when it becomes clear she isn't going to have to perform any emergency surgery. Or perhaps that's a disappointed sigh that she isn't going to perform any emergency surgery on an alien?
"Perhaps you should turn the alarm off and call the police?" Nadia suggests to the illusion hiding Ford. "You can add the charge for the broken door to my order if you can't claim it on insurance. I hope you aren't considering pressing criminal charges!" She beams her most winning smile. "Why I don't think my lab could do business with a company that was so heartless.."
"Don't worry no-one is going to be fighting anyone," she assures Kori before turning back to Kamala. "You can call me Nadia if you want. It's a bit odd people calling me Wasp when I'm just dressed normally." Sure the wings aren't exactly normal but everything is relative.
Koriand'r nods anxiously at Ford. "Yes, please let me be out of your way. I will wait outside the front door for, er, I do not know what happens next." Koriand'r has been a crimefighter for a while, but she usually just punches villains until they fall down; she hasn't paid much attention to the cleanup process. She should learn.
She nods at Nadia's explanation and begins backing out. "That is good. I do not wish to fight on the side of crime, even my own," she explains earnestly. As she scoots out toward the front door, she spots Kamala and, on the kind of whim that so often seizes her, reaches out to run her fingers through the smaller superhero's hair. A sublime look crosses her face, and she smiles down at Kamala. "Your hair is perfect," she compliments, and then she's out on the street, hugging herself around her waist, just waiting out the anxiety of the moment.
"That's a great idea, Wasp.. I mean Nadia!" Kamala is starting to say, agreeing with the whole idea. "You can turn off the alarm and then the police can make sure everything's good!" She looks over at Ford as if sure he can turn off the alarm. And then Koriand'r is starting to explain, and she blinks a few time at the drop dead gorgeous alien. "Oh." So she broke the door and set off the alarm. Okay, that kinda makes sense.
And she's about to say more when the much taller woman approaches them. Sure, Kamala can shapeshift to grow larger if she wanted, but she kinda straightens in that look of trying to present herself as something more than the mousy Pakistani girl that she is. That is until Koriand'r reaches and runs her fingers through her hair. And Kamala is left frozen, standing there, her cinnamon eyes wide in shock and there's a hard swallow of the lump in her throat as she looks up into Koriand'r's face. "I-I like your eyes." she manages to stumble out. Ford will be able to slip by her easily, Kori just stunned the poor heroine.
"Well, under normal circumstances, I'm not sure I'd be so forgiving. But for a couple of lovely ladies like yourselves? I think I can make an exception." Ford replied. "I'll take care of the alarm, yes. Just gotta find that broom…" Ford assured them, slipping riiiiight on past Kamala as Kori so helpfully stunned her into inaction, wheelchair in hand as he moved to the back room. "Now, lemme see, where did he say that alarm was…?" He quietly mused as he pretended to look around in the back.
Out front, the night air doesn't seem to indicate any kind of trouble. At least, not until a squad car rounds the end of the street, lights blaring as it pulls up to the front of the medical store and stops. The officer inside steps out, surveying the scene with a very quizzical look before leaning on the car door, eyeing the damaged door. Nobody seemed violent… confusing, but not hostile. "Okay… who wants to speak first?" he asked, lacing his gloved fingers together.
Nadia Van Dyne frowns as Ford slinks off towards the back with a wheelchair. "There's something off about that manager," she muses, stepping in through the broken door and putting the handful of tiny dollsize boxes down. A moment later they revert to normal size in a neatly stacked pile in a way that seems casually impossible. "But I guess it's not every day you meet…" She glances at Kori "I'm sorry I didn't catch either of your names?"
"Oh. Hello officer there's been a bit of a misunderstanding. A door was broken by accident but I've already agreed to pay for it," she explains politely from her dubious position of authority as the person closest to the door. "The store manager was just looking for the alarm." She gestures in the direction Ford just went.
Koriand'r is touched by Ms. Marvel's complimentno one has complimented her eyes since her captors lit them up with their experiments, a fact she didn't realize she knew and felt self-conscious about until this very momentand she presses her palms over her heart in silent tribute to Ms. Marvel's kindness as she backs out. It warms her.
When the police officer begins the interrogation, Nadia answers first, but Koriand'r is so agonized over her misdeeds she starts shouting before Nadia is even done, like she's verbally shoving her out of the way, "It is my fault, peace officer! I broke the door because I thought there was a doctor of sales inside, it is my fault, I am to blame! Please, I accept your punishment if it will stop this shame." She's not crying, but her lip is trembling and her normally gold complexion is flushed ochre.
Koriand'r will never be a good poker player.
"It was an accident. I don't think she realized the shop was closed." Kamala is quick to defend Koriand'r, frowning a little as the little hero moves to set a hand on Koriand'r's to soothe her, a swift smile offered to the taller woman. "If you talk to the manager, I'm sure this can all be sorted out." She says with a firm nod of her head as she straightens up. When Nadia asks her name, there's a little smile. Proud, because Carol actually approved her using it. "I'm Ms. Marvel." she offers in way of introduction.
And then she pauses, frowning as she looks around and then towards the Employee's Only door. "…why hasn't the alarm been turned off yet? Has anyone seen where he went?" comes the confused question as she releases Kori's hand to start to head towards the back herself.
The officer listens calmly to the explanations, first from Nadia, then the distraught Koriand'r, and lastly, Kamala. "…I see. Alright, lemme relay this to the precinct, see what protocol is." The officer replied, before sitting back in his patrol car and radioing in. "Dispatch, this is Atom 35, be advised, silent alarm as Walk-A-Round has been tripped. Manager is on hand. Sounds like a 607. Please advise?" As he waited for the response, Kamala goes back to check the back room. It's awfully quiet back there. No voices, no shifting. Nothing. In fact, when she gets back to the back room, she finds… nothing! The manager is nowhere to be seen, nor is the wheelchair he was pushing!
Back at the squad car, dispatch finally responds within earshot of the other two heroines. "Atom 35, Dispatch. Be advised, owner is on other line. He says the store is closed on Sundays and no employees should be on the premises. Silent alarm is still registering as tripped. Over." The officer gives the radio a quizzical look, before stepping back out and looking at the trio of ladies. "I'm sorry. Did you say there was a manager on site?"
Nadia Van Dyne sighs as the situation suddenly becomes a lot clearer. "Well someone dressed in a managers uniform was here," she admits. "They did seem a little off though. But I assumed that was because of the mishap with the door…" There's shrug and she digs out her smartphone. "I can put together a sketch for you. It'll just take me a second." She does indeed begin sketching on the touch screen. Thankfully her Red Room training included a pretty thorough class on surveillance and documenting targets. "He can't have got far though."
Koriand'r's hand is quick to twist in Kamala's and take it, palm to palm, accepting the comfort Ms. Marvel offers and giving back her thanks with a squeeze. "Ah! Yes! Names! I forgot you asked. I am Starfire," she explains, glancing at Nadia and Kamala before returning her gaze to the officer, "but I have others, do you need them? I wish to cooperate in all things, sir." When Kamala removes her hand, Koriand'r looks down at her now abandoned extremity with obvious disappointment before following the smaller superhero's gaze at the store. "Is this unusual?" she asks hesitantly. "If I were a human who was intruded by someone like me, I would perhaps flee as well."
She glances at Nadia's activity quizzically, not quite understanding what she's seeing, but deciding it's too passive for her to worry about in any event. "Have I been bumhugged?" she asks suspiciously. "I do not like this feeling. I wish to speak with this Man Ager. Peace officer, I give you my word I will return." With that, she stalks forward into the store, providing at least a candle's worth of light inside with her very presence.
Kamala only released the hand to head back into the store. When she and Kori enter the store, the girl sends the alien a reassuring smile. "Bamboozled." she corrects gently. Though after they enter the store and Koriand'r is providing the light, they head into the back as well, realizing that the manager is gone. The young woman says a few words in Urdu that could probably be a curse - but probably more calling herself something than actually cussing.
"He was the thief and he bamboozled all of us. Me especially." She was the hero. She was the one that was supposed to catch on. Her whole posture slips as she looks over at the others as she reaches up to touch her hair where Koriand'r touched her, and she's disappointed in herself. But she tries to help where she can, as she takes Kori's hand. "Come with me?" she asks. "I'm going to try to show the officers what the guy looked like. And maybe they can find him?" she offers to the statesque alien, before she straightens up to face up to her mistake.
"Officers?" she asks when she finally approaches, and then releases Kori's hand again. Only so she can do what she needs to do next. "…here, Nadia, let me help..?" she offers quietly.
And then with some concentration, the young woman's body glows and shifts, and after a moment, there's a perfect representation of Ford as the manager standing before them. Though it starts off with Kamala's voice. "This is what he looked…" and after a clearing of her throat, she finds Ford's voice. "…and this is what he sounded like." she offers in his tone.
She gives them a few moments to take pictures, before she lets go, gasping as that takes a lot of out of her. "Hungry…" she murmurs. "Can go for like.. a dozen tacos or something."
The officer tilts his head ever so slightly, before nodding and allowing the women to finish their sketches and get a few snapsnots with his body cam, before accepting the testimonies and nodding. "Thanks. I'll get these in to Dispatch. Try to get an APB and see if he turns up. If you think you can catch him, all the better. I'll radio in to dispatch, see what I can do. Thanks for your cooperation." He stated, returning to his driver's seat and calling in the now obvious robbery.
The inside of the store remains as broken into as ever. Even in the back, no signs of any people, employees or otherwise, remain. The alley behind the store also seems totally empty. The only exit to the street on the far side is an alley with an old, but tall wooden fence. But it shouldn't be too hard to find him, right? Not a lot of people walking New York's streets at night with a wheelchair in tow.
"This has been a /very/ interesting evening," Nadia muses to herself, giving up on the sketch and just taking a video recording of the morphed Miss Marvel. "I'm sending it to your station now." She taps a few keystrokes and sends it to the local police station. "Gosh I'd love to get both of you back to my lab some time. I've never seen a shapeshifting ability quite like that and… well an actual alien? As a scientist I literally can't think of anything more exciting!" Except perhaps for an alien with a spaceship. Although what's to say Starfire hasn't got such a craft parked nearby!
"If you're hungry and not rushing after the thief I have some ration packs handy." The young woman pats at the pockets of her jacket. "Any dietry requirements? I have about three weeks worth of Russian military rations. Should be able to dig out something which isn't borscht." She takes a step or two out the front door, to avoid contaminating the crime scene, and drops something coin size that instantly reverts to a pallets worth of meals that lands with a thud. "Help yourself."
Koriand'r looks down at Ms. Marvel's clinging hand and smiles. "Yes, bamboozled. Excuse me. My English is in need of improvement. I will ask for your help when the peace officer has completed his duty."
She walks out with her new friend and, now that she hears Nadia jabbering away excitedly, grows a wide grin on her face. It's more interesting to her than the size-growing pallet of whatever humans call food. "I like you," she informs Nadia openly.
"I don't know where he would have gone." Kamala's confidence is flagging at the moment before she smiles at Koriand'r, though not quite as strong as before. "I'll help with what I can!" she offers encouragingly to the tall woman, a quick hand squeeze to try to focus on what she can fix instead of what she messed up. Though at the pallet of meals, she frowns a little. "I wouldn't want to put you out!" she offers quickly.
"Maybe we can get pizza or something.." Though at the mention of dietary restrictions, she clears her throat a little and admits. "I'm Muslim." she explains to Nadia. Hopefully she understands that means no pork products.
Koriand'r considers Ms. Marvel, fondly amused at her worried kindness, before tapping her on the shoulder. "This will not take long," she explains when the human turns to face her. "You see, my people can learn languages quickly, but we just have to…" Smiling impishly, looking down at Ms. Marvel's eyes, she rests her warm hands on the smaller human's shoulders and leans in, eyes fluttering shut at the moment just before her lips find Ms. Marvel's and press warmly. It's a pretty awkward kiss because of the height differenceKoriand'r can't offer a proper hug without picking Ms. Marvel up off the ground, just for one thing!but she kisses like she means it, and after two long, warm seconds, pulls back to smile brightly at Ms. Marvel. "Ah! Bamboozled, as of a playfully deceptive dog! Muslim, an adherent of the Islamic faith which is much kinder than the kafir think! Thank you, I understand more things now."
The officer remains in his car, writing up his report and alerting dispatch of further developments. Once finished, he stepped back out and nodded to Nadia. "Reports filed. Owner's been alerted to the situation as well. We'll take a formal statement later, if you don't mind. Right now, we'll be keeping a look out for this guy, see if anybody finds him. Can't have gone too far. Did he take anything obvious?" the officer asked, stepping inside to inspect the damage, before noting the kiss between the other two heroines and tipping his cap. "Hate to interrupt, miss, but seeing as this is a crime scene now, we'll have to ask you two to vacate the store."
Nadia Van Dyne beams a smile at Starfire when she says she likes her. "That's nice of you to say," she replies brightly. "And it's no trouble. I keep a supply on hand just in case anything happens." And before she's even had chance to look at the stack of meals the visitor from another world is practically dipsmooching Ms Marvel. "I'll just find you some fruit energy bars.. While you are… Busy?"
She pulls a pack with a dozen inside and patiently waits for the language lesson to end. "Is that language learning ability genetic? Ah.. Biological in nature. Or some sort of psionic.. or mental based ability? I'm going to have to start packing a full lab in my jacket…"
"Oh he took a wheelchair into the back officer. If that helps?"
Tapped on the shoulder, Kamala blinks a couple of times as Koriand'r explains to her that she learns languages quickly. "Oh, they do?" she asks curiously, and starts to ask. "How's that—" but the words never reach her lips, because they instead are found suddenly occupied. One half second passes where there's the inital shock and surprise that she could have chosen anyone to kiss to learn a language - but she chose her. Which shouldn't be a surprise, but somehow it is.
By the second heartbeat, there's the response. To her own surprise and perhaps Koriand'r's own, Kamala actually stands on her tippy-toes as she stretches herself. Her arms reach up to settle on Kori's shoulders, fingers tightening for a moment before she starts to pull away, and Kamala actually chases her for a moment before realizing - perhaps to her own disappointment, she needed her to learn what she was saying. And her cheeks flare bright red, a blush that covers her face, and down into the collar of her burkini and then she swallows, worrying on her bottom lip. And she realizes she needs to let Kori go.
Too bad she can't trust her knees at the moment as she leans into the alien woman, as she tries to find her footing. "…wow."
"..food. Food sounds amazingly awesome right now." she responds quietly, finally managing to stop her jello knees from shaking as she pushes herself back to her feet and tries to recompose herself. And she's reaching - stretching really - to grab a pair of energy bars. Because she needs one. And the other is offered to Koriand'r.
Koriand'r accepts the candy bar or ration bar or whatever it is (she wasn't paying attention) and nods at Nadia. "I have never asked," she explains cheerfully. "All of my people can do it, as easily as we fly or we speak." She leaves out that of course some people are born without one or more of those abilities; Tamaran has disabilities too. "I understand humans are more analytical, but to me, it is just a gift to enjoy." She glances at Nadia and the police officer, eyebrows raised in silent offering.
The energy bars are packed with fruit, nuts and sugar. For something described as Russian military rations they're not bad. Still probably a lot worse than a candy bar however. But hey they're free and easy to eat on the move.
"I'll leave you my card officers," Nadia offers pulling a business card out for the police. "If you need to take any further statements you can contact me here. Perhaps we should get out of everyones way for now?"
"So it's an innate, untrained talent? Could be either I suppose. I can't believe Humans store language in a genetic memory format, so it would more than likely be something telepathic.. Interesting." She zaps the rest of the pallet with something tucked up her sleeve and it shrinks back to it's former impossibly small size. "I have so many questions. A whole list of 'things I'd ask someone from another world' now that I think about it and… now I've got the chance I must admit I'm having trouble recalling them."
As Koriand'r explains the whole analytics of what she did, Kamala worries on her lower lip, and she glances down, playing with the ends of her scarf. Well, Koriand'r isn't the only one feeling bamboozled at the moment. "Leaving is a good idea. I'm sorry for the issue and trouble.." she says quietly.
Epic. Epic fail, Kamala. Like top ten all time fails.
And she's turning to leave, her expression quiet and pensive.
Koriand'r frowns in confusion at Kamala's back. She doesn't understand what's happening… or rather, not why it's happening. She understands that Kamala is running away.
"Please bide one moment," Starfire asks Nadia, and flies over to Kamala to press against the smaller woman's back, hugging her shoulders from behind. "You should not leave," she contradicts firmly. "You should stay, and show us the tacos of which you speak, so we may share the joy of eating them with you."
When Koriand'r presses into her from behind, Kamala's frame stiffens. And for a moment, her hands reach up, covering the ones on her with her own. "It's okay." she offers in explanation. "As you said it was just something you needed to do to in order to understand us better." She's coming to terms with it even as she leans into Kori in return for a moment.
And in the end, she lets the alien lead her back over to Nadia, the young woman returning to her fretting, and looking more like the mousy young woman she is than the superhero she pretends to be - at least at the moment.
Nadia Van Dyne smiles and nods as Koriand'r follows after Miss Marvel. "I'll be right here," she promises as she zips up her bomber jacket on the off chance she has to fly. It is after all a fantastic chance to observe social customs that aren't human in origin. Even if she does have to remind herself not to stare in a rude way.
"Have you been fighting crime long Miss Marvel?" she wonders. "I must confess I don't usually follow the news. Too busy with my research. But it's always nice to see people using their powers for good… Would it be prying if I asked what sort of power you have? Just in general terms obviously. Nothing that'd put you at risk."
"Hm?" Koriand'r asks curiously as Ms. Marvel turns around, but decides to let it go for now. She takes Ms. Marvel's hand and follows her back to Nadia, asking politely, "I'm sorry, what where you saying…? Ah. Yes, questions." She doesn't interrupt Ms. Marvel, but stands there next to her, looking down at the smaller superhero.
Kamala isn't letting go of Koriand'r's hand this time, instead she's considering the situation and smiles lightly. "A few months." she admits. "Mainly in Jersey City. Nothing worth the news.." she fidgets and then she worries her lip again, before she considers her powers. "Well, you saw me change my form.. that one is really hard to do. Uhm. I can stretch and manipulate my size." she explains.
To illustrate, she uses her free arm, stretching it out to reach all the way over to Nadia, and plucks an energy bar from her. Then she makes her hand bigger around around it, then shrinks it down before setting the bar down and makes her hand as flat as a sheet of paper before she brings it back, the arm and hand glowing until it's returned and she returns to normal.
Nadia Van Dyne blinks a few times. "Hmmmmmmmmmmmm," she ponders. "Do you change in mass as well as volume? Or are you stretching and leaving gaps of empty space to allow your form to take up more room? I can't decide which of my inner physicist and my inner biologist are more fascinated right now! But I've been in America for just over a year and this is probably one of the most exciting days I've had."
"As for you Miss Starfire," she adds grinning. "I bet you get asked the same sort of questions all the time but.. even so I'd love to hear more about where you came from and how you ended up here. If it's something you are comfortable talking about of course."
Starfire glances down at Ms. Marvel again, and answers cautiously, "I am not certain I can answer. I think… it makes Ms. Marvel uncomfortable?"
"No no, it wasn't that made me uncomfortable!" Kamala says quickly. And since they're all sharing things, she releases Kori's hand for a moment, and reaches up to pull off her mask. She doesn't do some spectacular change. She's still the same girl. Just without a mask. "Kamala. My name's Kamala." she explains to the two, and then back up at Starfire she looks and smiles slightly. "That was the first time someone outside of family kissed me." she says finally. "And it caught me off guard. But it wasn't bad.. at all.." she trails off at that, and then to Nadia. "I pull in extra mass.. from somewhere."
"Lip to lip contact is usually reserved for life saving and expressions of physical attraction," Nadia asides to Koriand'r. "At least /generally/ on Earth. The local customs vary between regions and cultures. Unfortunately anthropology isn't one of my areas of study. So I can't really explain why that is…"
She digs in her pocket and pulls out another of her business cards which she offers to Kamala. "As for pulling extra mass from somewhere that I perhaps could figure out." The card proclaims she's Nadia Van Dyne, Director of the non-profit Genius in Action Research Labs. Along with all the contact information you'd expect from a business card and of course the same Wasp wing logo as her jacket.
"One of those conditions is met," Starfire observes, "so all should be well, yes?" She asks this as an aside, not wanting to roll over Ms. Marvel's - no, Kamala's - moment.
Give Kamala a moment to realize what Kori just said, it'll click, but the young woman nods, and glances up at the Amazonian Alien that just said she's attractive. "Only if you tell me what to call you besides Starfire." she says finally. "..but yes, I want to hear about your home, too." she finally admits and leans against her slightly to reaccept the hand if it's offered now that the mask is safely tucked away.
"If it's something you're happy to talk about, your history that is, you can always stop by sometime too!" Nadia muses, checking to make sure she has enough business cards for everyone. Thankfully they also come with the address of the lab. "I run an education charity. We support women in science, technology and math fields. As well as do a lot of non-profit research to help people. Cure diseases, prevent famine. That sort of thing."
"We also have movie nights. My friends have been trying to catch me up on pop culture. We started with silent movies and are just getting to the ones with colours."
Starfire admits, "I do not care for your visual projections much. The fidelity is so low I have difficulty seeing the images for the gaps in all the lines. I would prefer to spend time with the people yourselves." To Kamala, she explains, "You may call me Koriand'r, Kamala. Your name means 'beautiful,' she adds, proud of her own knowledge.
"I don't mind watching movies, but I like hanging out just as much. Or playing computer games." She's a bit of a nerd. As Koriand'r gets the meaning of her name, Kamala blushes and glances aside to her. "Did you learn that by kissing me?" she asks curiously, then her watch goes off, and she glances at it. "Oh /gosh/!" she manages. "It's that late. My abu and ammi are gonna kill me if I don't check in. Or you know, get home." she admits.
Biting her lip, she turns her attention up to Koriand'r. "Maybe we can go out for those tacos tomorrow?" she asks her curiously. "Though I want to hang out with you too, Nadia!" she's remembering everyone, really! She gets out her phone to scan Nadia's business card and to add her information before glancing to Koriand'r to get her answer and hopefully her contact information.
"Don't worry," Nadia says with a wink at Kamala. "I know that meeting an actual alien is far more exciting than meeting me." She hrms. "We don't really have any electronic games but we do have a dance floor. If music is better than visual media?"
"Yes! Dancing!" Koriand'r claps her hands. "We must do that thing, and you must tell me more about kissing so I can understand when to kiss you." She gives Kamala her contact info, by mouth since she has no phone (where would she keep one?), and lets the smaller superhero escape the dangers of parental wrath.
Kamala considers for a moment. "You could kiss me now." she points out, but is moving into her little messenger bag. Taking out a sheet of paper and pencil, she writes down her contact info and offers it to Kori, and leans up, growing in height just slightly to kiss her on the cheek. "You're attractive too." she adds as she prepares to sprint away, shocked at her own bravery.