10688/Trying to Fix What's Broken

Trying to Fix What's Broken
Date of Scene:	10 January 2020
Location:	Fight Club Warehouse, NY
Synopsis:	Mary Batson tries to give Katsumi some hope. And forms to fill out.
Cast of Characters:	Mary Marvel, Bakeneko

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Mary Marvel has posed:
The report was odd, but the location was one she knew. She doesn't have senses good enough to hear a yelling wrestler from miles away, but she does have the scanner, and enough subway tokens.

It takes about thirty minutes, but finally the voice comes. It is a familiar voice, but one Katsumi was not expecting.

Mary Batson appears at the gate to the warehouse parking lot. She is wearing jeans, new (well, new-used) tennis shoes, a warm-looking pea coat and a backpack. She looks nervous, uncertain.
She didn't think coming as Mary Marvel would help matters. It was Mary Marvel that caused all the trouble, and SHAZAM-ing up would have been like bringing a bodyguard because she thought Katsumi was dangerous. She wasn't dangerous, right?

...Right?

Bakeneko has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro used to think she wasn't dangerous. And then she hospitalized a girl on accident.

But indeed, Katsumi has yelled a couple times in the stiffly awkward hopes of summoning a superheroine. Thankfully this end of the wharf is abandoned. There might be people fighting on the inside of the last warehouse on the row again, but no one has come out. At last, Katsumi gives up. She leans forward, placing her hands on her knees and hanging her head. Silky black hair falls to frame about her face, crestfallen. What else could she do?

Well, a lot. But Katsumi isn't known for critical thinking, except in the case of trolling folks and getting under their skin. That's her M.O.

Wearing a skirt and tanktop with boots, she's dressed in fairly typical Katsumi fashion - punky, but functional. Not quite over the top. But also, we have a hoodie thrown into the mix.

Upon Mary's arrival, Katsumi is just starting to turn to leave, defeated. That is, until she spots the teen up ahead. Oh. She did hear? But as a kid? Man if that doesn't make it more awkward. But maybe it'll help keep her from upsetting her again, having that reminder that she's dealing with a younger girl. Katsumi stiffens her jaw and lifts a hand in greeting.

Mary Marvel has posed:
So far, so good. She isn't coming at her, arms swinging.
Mary starts towards Katsumi in a quick jog, slowing down as she gets within thirty feet or so. "Uhmmm...hi, Katsumi," Mary says, giving a slight smile she hoped was welcoming. "I...guess you were trying to reach me? I don't have super-hearing but there was a noise disturbance call on the police scanner and I recognized the address."

Bakeneko has posed:
"What?," asks Katsumi, eyes widening. Her gaze lowers and her head ducks. "God, that's embarrassing." Her previously-raised hand paws a few fingers through her bangs nervously. "Anyway, you've got a lot going on, and um.." Beat. "This is super weird. Right? I just wanted to say you didn't do anything wrong. I shouldn't- won't- be taking my life's problems out on you. That's, uh, that's all."

Her eyes shift again, sullen and self-conscious.

"I probably could've just emailed that."

Mary Marvel has posed:
Mary smiles slightly. "I'm...kinda glad you didn't, though." She moves closer to within arm's reach, tilting her head slightly. "We're friends, right? Are we friends? I want to think of you as my friend."

Bakeneko has posed:
"I.. don't.. think that'd be a good idea," rebuffs Katsumi. "You're young. Still in school. I'm not. And I always end up hurting people. Like what happened with you, but worse the longer you hang around me. I'm good in really small doses, Mary." She lifts her hand again, this time to hover her thumb and index finger centimeters apart. "I don't want a repeat of earlier. You should have friends from school. Not a thing in the world wrong with ya, so no excuse not to!"

Mary Marvel has posed:
Mary chuckles. "Katsumi...I know what it's like to have your whole world crash around you. And despite all the trash-talking...yes, I watched your matches on YouTube, you got moves...you got hurt. It's not your fault. But the world's not fair. If it was fair, my dad would have been alone in the car when he drove it into a bridge abutment." She looked out at the water beyond the wharf. "The kids from school are okay, but there are some things I just can't talk to them about. How do you talk about makeup and boys when you had to stop a city bus not an hour before?"
She leans against a nearby column. "We have a few things in common, Katsumi. And I'm worried you'll run from these new abilities and hurt someone accidentally...or fall in with a bad crowd and hurt someone intentionally."
She looks to Katsumi, and she is 16-almost-17 everywhere but those eyes. "...if you don't want me to come around because you are worried about me, don't. I'm a New Yorker. I can handle myself."

Bakeneko has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro folds her arms over her bust, frowning. "I can't talk to you about that sh-," she catches herself. "-about that stuff either! I don't do those things! And that's really, really not your problem! You should be acting like someone your age! Chasing boys, or putting on makeup and having'em chase /you/! You're cute enough, make it work!"

Fidgeting, she stuffs her hands into the pockets of her hoodie.

"I don't want my problems to be your problems. Also, it's really weird getting lectures from a kid. Kind've... I don't know what the right word is. It's a hard fact to shake."

Mary Marvel has posed:
Mary chuckled, looking around. "Just checking...nope. Life's STILL unfair." She looks back to Katsumi. "Wanna know what I'm worried about? You'll go on, doing what you can do to avoid learning about these new abilities. And then there's going to be a fight. And someone goes to the hospital...or the morgue. Your fault, their fault, NO ONE'S FAULT, but someone goes to the ER or the CORONER. Because if there's one thing I have learned, it's that while you may succeed at ignoring Reality, Reality will NEVER do you the same favor."
She looks to the night sky again. "And then it DOES become my problem. Because I, or someone like me, will take you to the cops. Whether you want it to happen or not. And I will be carrying you myself or watching it on the news and KNOW I could have done somthing but didn't, because you might get OFFENDED."

Bakeneko has posed:
"It's not about /offending/ me," Katsumi grunts.

After a beat, however, she perks a slender eyebrow. She thinks she gets it. It really isn't about offending her. It's about making Mary feel good about herself. And after the crappy hand life dealt her, maybe this could be a really super weird way of being nice to her. That makes sense, right? She may not be able to really look at her like an actual peer, but it could be worse. Maybe. She'll have to see how she feels about it. Either way it's extremely odd and doesn't set right at face value. But it's a choice. And last night, she just cried herself to sleep anyway. What difference would it really make?

All this time, Katsumi has just been staring at her.

"What exactly did you have in mind, anyway? I don't wanna beat up on you."

Mary Marvel has posed:
Mary grins. "The scientific method! I know places where you can go all-out on stuff without hurting anyone or anything. We test times of day and strength levels during those times. You can learn how to control yourself so you can fight people weaker than you without de-boning them with a punch. Learning applicable force in certain situations. AND you already have fighting experience and training. You can learn how to apply that when you're superheroing!"

She has devoted a LOT of time to this sort of thing.
"When I got those powers, I had to learn how to fight someone at just above their level. I had to learn how to lift stuff like city buses without crushing metal or damaging people's property. It's gonna be hard work." She then smirks. "But when you're ready, you'll be READY, and you'll be SO much more relaxed and able to handle stuff when you have confidence in your abilities."

Bakeneko has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro worries her teeth over her bottom lip. It went right back into superheroing, didn't it? "Mary, I'm not sure I wanna do... all that stuff you do. I need to control it enough to not hurt people, yeah, but I want my life back. Somehow." Truth is, she's likely considered toxic by now. The highly-publicized stunt created some severe backlash, and anyone that "reckless" is beyond dangerous. The full extent of the damage done to her career hasn't registered just yet. But it's coming.

"And you know I'm gonna be deported, right? Like, any day now. The government's gonna find out I'm overstaying my reason for being here, and gimme the boot back to Japan."

Mary Marvel has posed:
Mary chuckles. "I was looking that up." She takes out a notepad (an actual paper one) and flips to a page. "You can apply for a work visa. It's called a H-2A visa, and you can file for a type O visa - Individual with Extraordinary Ability or Achievement. I asked around, and I found a few gyms who need fighting trainers."

Bakeneko has posed:
"W-.. really? Extraordinary ability or achievement? Won't that out me as someone who's... um, not human?," asks Katsumi, visibly nervous by the prospect. Her shoulders hunch inwards, brow knit.

Mary Marvel has posed:
Mary giggles. "No, but i can see why you'd think so. No, it's for people like actors, businessmen...and athletes and performers. You qualify for the last two. And while your visa is active, you can re-apply to renew it WHILE you apply for citizenship!"
She takes off her backpack, opening it to take out a manila folder. "I had the forms printed out at the library. There's also the address for the local USCIS office in there, too."

Bakeneko has posed:
"USCIS..?," asks an overwhelmed Katsumi. "C-citizenship..?" Each word sees her voice shrink a little further, along with her pupils. They are, at this point, two lil' dots. "I-I.. Mary.. that's.."

Mary Marvel has posed:
Mary looks sympathetically at Katsumi. "Kat...you want to stay here? You want to make your own life? You want to start again? This is a way to do it."

Bakeneko has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro looks increasingly uncomfortable. Her head hangs, suddenly exhausted or drained. "I.. all my stuff is in Japan.. my rent'll be due soon.." She moves a hand to her forehead, pressing her palm into her skin. "It's a lot to take in? Okay? Just- it's a lot to think about."

Mary Marvel has posed:
Mary looks thoughtful. "Well...if you can handle heading back to Japan, then traveling back here after you get your stuff packed up, I can just fly you back." She hands the envelope to Katsumi. "I printed out the relevant websites. Read them over. Email me with any questions." She smiles encouragingly. "This is what friends do."

Bakeneko has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro takes the envelope and tucks it into her hoodie pocket, along with her hand. Her chin tucks again, looking troubled. "You can't carry /all my stuff/, come on. Besides, where would I even put it? I can't afford a house..."

Mary Marvel has posed:
Mary grins. "You might be surprised." She winks, then gets up. "I have to go. Curfew. But I'll be in touch."
Mary waves, then runs towards the gate. As she does, she says something Katsumi can't hear, but the lightning bolt comes down and it is Mary Marvel who leaps up and soars off into the night sky.