Ms. Marvel Comes to Town

September 04, 2014:

Superman welcomes Ms. Marvel to Metropolis.

The Sky

The sky. It is blue. There are clouds.

Characters

NPCs: None.

Mentions:

Mood Music: None.


Fade In…

It's a gorgeous fall day. One of those first days where things are actually starting to get cool again, and the sky is that bright, deep blue that only happens this time of year. For most people, it's the perfect day to spend some time in a park, or barbecuing. For Carol Danvers, it's the perfect sort of day for flying. Generally speaking, once you get up past a certain point in the clouds, there's plenty of room for as many acrobatics as you may want to engage in, which would explain why Ms. Marvel is currently flying circles around a cloud formation, spinning it into…Well, it's some sort of shape, but being a cloud, it tends to lose it before it can come together.

Having just saved a score of people from a burning building in the Suicide Slums area of town, Superman is zooming upwards to his normal spot in the air. He likes to sit above the fray, if you will, and listen for screams for help, and the like.

His eyes peer as he sees someone spinning amongst the clouds. A telescopic look seems to surprise him-It appears to Ms. Marvel. To his mind he cannot remember seeing her in this part of the world and has never had the honor of meeting her. He approaches slowly, in case she does not want to be bothered.

When she appears to be looking in his direction he gives a friendly wave, and continues towards her with a smile. "Hello, Ms. Marvel. Welcome to Metropolis."

Carol flies back a bit from her cloud construct to get a look, making a face as it dissipates. "Well, that was worth-" Flight from another direction catches her attention from the corner of her eye, and she turns to face it with one hand glowing orange before she recognizes the other hero. "See, this is what happens when you don't keep in touch with air traffic control," she chuckles to herself, waving awkwardly. "Superman, yeah? Thanks. I'm, ah. Actually going to be staying for a while, it looks like."

"/Really/, that's great news. What's the occasion?" Superman asks with a smile. "We can always use more great heroes. And we're lucky to have you. If you need the lay of the land, don't hesitate to ask. I'd be happy to help."

Ms. Marvel arches a brow at the welcome, smile crooked. "Least hazing ever," she replies, amused. "But it's a new job," she adds in explanation. "And while it's not that I can't commute to find trouble, it always seems like it makes a little more sense close to home. Besides, this is a nice city. I'd like to do what I can to keep it that way."

Superman shrugs, "Sorry, all of the fraternity brothers are back in school. You'll have to go haze free. I hope that's alright." Superman nods at the idea of a new job, "Well that's great. I've called Metropolis home for about four years now. Been all over the world and I'd argue with anyone: It's the best city on the planet."

"Don't say that to the New Yorkers," Ms. Marvel laughs, shaking her head. "They'll find a way to take even you down." She pauses, reaching up to rub a hand at the back of her neck with a bemused look. "You know, this is going to sound stupid, but I've never actually run into anyone doing this. On purpose. Still inside the atmosphere." That's a lot of qualifiers. "Kind of a nice change, I think."

"You mean you've never run into anyone while making adaptations to clouds?" Superman shrugs his shoulders, "Not a popular passtime. Not yet." It'll be good to have more help to be sure. Not even Superman can be everywhere, and sometimes he's forced to make some difficult choices. More quality help in this town the better. "Definitely a nice change."

"Don't knock it until you've tried it," Ms. Marvel says lightly, crossing her arms over her chest as she considers the cloud. "It beats racing commercial jets." She looks over then, quirking a brow. "Speaking of changes. Did I see you having some trouble the other weekend on the news? Things getting ugly on a beach or something like that?"

Superman nods, almost sadly. "I guess you can say that. Let's just say I ran into someone I couldn't easily handle. Luckily I had some people there who could help me out in a pinch. The situation is…handled. At least temporarily. I still need to take a trip to put the Aethyr back where she belongs."

"Which would be…?" Ms. Marvel tilts her head, watching the man in blue. Who is…somewhat younger than she might have anticipated. Huh.

"It's called the Phantom Zone. It's a sort of prison in a ..well, the only way to really say it is that it's in a parallel universe. And I need to bring her back." Superman shrugs his shoulders, "The worse part is that I'll lose my powers once I enter."

"That sounds like it needs a pretty fool-proof plan," Ms. Marvel observes. "Is that…to do with the relationship between you and the Phantom Zone, or is it a powers-negating thing in general?" She pauses, smile flickering. "The point being, I'm happy to give you a hand if you want, but trying to see how much of a hand I'll really be."

"I'm really not sure, to be honest. I assume it's the the former, and that it has more to do with the complete absence of how I get my powers. But I need to do more research at my headquarters to be sure. Any help would be great," Superman admits. "It could go south on me in a hurry."

"Give me a ca-" Ms. Marvel pauses, holding up a finger. "Right. Well. Put out a signal, and I'll be there if you want help," she offers. "I've been without my powers a few times, I know how to handle myself. And if she's giving you trouble, I doubt she's someone I really want to hang out with."

"Well," Superman says with a smile, "The good news is that she'll suffer the same issue I will if I lose my powers. That's why getting her back is so important." The smile widens, "Do you prefer smoke signals or light shows?"

"I prefer a secure line, but I haven't gotten around to setting one up yet," Ms. Marvel admits with a wry smile. "So let's shoot for light shows until I get around to that." She turns an idle circle, looking out over the city below. "So what's the game like in town? Who're our players out here?"

Superman begins to rattle off names, "Lex Luthor is the worst of them all. Chances are he's behind most of what goes on here. The press and the public don't buy it, but I don't trust the man farther than I can…well, at all. Others include Livewire, Atomic Skull, Bloodsport, and organized crime in the form of Intergang. We have it all, despite how everyone thinks of Metropolis as having a squeaky clean image."

Ms. Marvel's smile quirks at the aborted metaphor, but she otherwise nods along, clearly taking note of the names for later research. "And in the other corner?" she prompts. "You, of course. And now me. What big names are in town keeping that squeaky clean image going?"

Superman defintely gets too much off the credit for Metropolis, but there are many heroes. "Well, first, we have a wonderful police force. There's also Power Girl, and Superboy was around for a while but is currently on hiatus. Those are the biggest known heroes."

Ms. Marvel rubs a hand over her mouth, and there's just a chance that she might be hiding a smile by doing so. "There's a joke about illegal aliens in here somewhere," she murmurs, amused. Not that she's really one to talk, either. "But it sounds like we're not lacking in the power department, at least."

"I have my papers. And shots," Superman responds with a chuckle. "We're blessed to have some pretty heavy hitters, it's true. I suppose it makes up for our lack of numbers."

"Hey, not a lot of room to talk here," Ms. Marvel admits, holding up her hands. "Besides, I've seen some of the alien options out there. You guys are a-okay in my books." She's quiet for a moment, but it's clear she's thinking it through, strategizing. "All right, then. Sounds…solid."

"I'm sure you've already done your research, but some of the best places to live are in Bakerline, downtown, or in the Old City district. Best places for foreign foods are always in Little Bohemia, you can't go wrong. And the beaches to the north aren't as great, but are far less busy."

Ms. Marvel laughs, smile flashing at the suggestions. "Thanks, but I've got the apartment thing sorted out. Mostly. Always a little more complicated when you're factoring in whether or not the building can survive a visit from someone with powers who isn't actually a friend, you know? The food, though, I'll keep that in mind. Any sort of organization or liaisons with the officials here?"

"We all work pretty closely with the SRD, and then there's the Justice League as well, but that's more international and not specific to Metropolis. Luckily we have a good rapport with the Mayor and the police force. Chief Sawyer is pretty great," Superman responds.

"I'll have to stop by, get in touch," Ms. Marvel nods, peering back at Superman. "Pretty great," she echoes, amusement flickering across her features. "You're…an interesting guy, Superman. A lot of optimism going on here."

Superman laughs and shakes his head, "I'm not really all that interesting to be honest, Ms. Marvel. People just like the cape. It's the town that's special, and I know I speak on behalf of it in saying that we're really glad you're here."

"Nobody's that nice without something interesting underneath it all," Ms. Marvel asserts, smile crooked. "But hey, we've all got our masks. I won't poke too hard at yours." As Ms. Marvel. Poor Clark. There will be plenty of poking for poor, innocent Clark Kent.

"I guess everyone's interested by different things," Superman says with an offhand shrug. "And I never pry. Not becoming, you know what I mean?"

"I can't say I ever worried too much about what was becoming," Ms. Marvel admits with a laugh, shaking her head. "But I'll keep it in mind if the urge rears its ugly head." She zips away for a moment, diving through a cloud before coming back. "So what do people do for fun around here? And so help me, if you answer me with barbecue or baseball game, the urge to throw an apple pie in your face might get overwhelming."

"I'm actually more of a football fan to be honest," Superman says. "It depends on what you're into. If you like dancing or concerts, those are plentiful. There's all sorts of night life, culture, and the like. What sorts of things do you like to do?"

The question brings a pause, as Ms. Marvel glances away. "Fly," she admits, looking back with a shrug. "I'm sort of an adrenaline junkie, I guess?" At least she's in the right line of work.

Superman shakes his head, "Well, you can fly pretty much wherever you go. But Metropolis has one of the best skylines in the world in my opinion. There are a lot of parks and nature around that you can fly through, which is pretty fun. And flying low over the ocean is always a good time."

Ms. Marvel nods along, turning toward the skyline. "It's a nice one," she agrees, arms crossed loosely over her chest as she floats there. "You know," she laughs, "It wasn't that long ago that I would have found this whole floating in the sky having a conversation thing more than a little bit weird."

"Not long ago? How do you mean? And what changed," Superman asks, tilting his head. He's had these powers for a long time now, well for about 12 years. But it feels longer than that when you can move with the pace of a Kryptonian.

"I wasn't always like this," Ms. Marvel explains, holding her hands out and turning a circle. "It was sort of an accident. With another visitor from another planet," she adds with a rueful smile. "And then I could do things like this. Then I could do things…" She trails off, remembering.

Superman nods, "It's a remarkable feeling isn't it? I mean, hats off to you that you've chosen to use your powers for good and selflessness. But flight, in particular, seems to me like the most liberating of all powers."

"Always has been," Ms. Marvel says with an absent sort of smile, though there's something…off about it. Like the memory of the feeling is there, without a solid connection to the feeling itself. "And besides, there wasn't really an option as to how to use them. Captain Marvel was…" Again she trails off, then shakes her head. "Sorry. Still working out a lot of things, you know?"

Superman gives her a resigned nod that sort of says it all. He's been through his trials and has been encountering new ones for quite some time. Simply put, he's been there.

"Anyhow." Ms. Marvel moves back a bit, flashing a brief smile. "I should get back to…things that are slightly more urgent than cloud sculpture. Good running into you, Superman," she says with a salute that, despite trying to seem casual, looks pretty professional all the same. "I'm sure we'll run into each other again."

Superman nods, "I often listen to the city from up here, so if you're heading out, it was really nice to run into you. Welcome to Metropolis." Floating slightly higher, after a wave and a smile, Superman closes his eyes as he reaches out with his hearing, trying to help those he can.

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