10940/A Contrast of Styles

A Contrast of Styles
Date of Scene:	31 January 2020
Location:	Central Park, Manhattan
Synopsis:	An assassin, a hero, and a wrestler meet in Central Park. Here's a Question.
Cast of Characters:	Mary Marvel, Remo Williams, Bakeneko, Question

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Mary Marvel has posed:
It was going to be a great day. Even the explosion high overhead wasn't going to ruin it.

Oliver Schmidt AKA Amhed Rashad ibn Kadim had planned to drive the truck into the park, stop near the lake where all the people were ice-skating, and then set it off. He hadn't made a very sophisticated bomb - no mercury triggers, no deadman switch. Just a timer he had set himself.

Until he had stopped in front of some girl he called Sacrifice Number One, who was just lacing up her skates. She had yelled something, but the lightning bolt had frazzled him for a long moment.
While the much-taller girl in the bright costume was ripping the door off to get him, he looked back and saw the timer had been set to go off in 15 seconds. True to form, he had wet himself - he had planned on being a mastermind, not a martyr.
Then he was saved. He was saved, however, by the girl grabbing the 3,000-pound bomb and...throwing it. Out to sea. By throwing the truck it was in.

Flying trucks that explode over Hudson Bay tends to draw a lot of attention, mostly from the police. Which meant that Mary Marvel had to talk to them for about an hour while getting the stink-eye from Ollie over there.
After it was done, she decided to step away from the lake and take a deep breath, hoping she didn't mess up by throwing the truck.

Remo Williams has posed:
     His name was Remo and he was actually having a decent day.
     He'd gotten the word from Smitty about a bomber attempting to make a sizable hole in Central Park, and he was tasked to get information about the bomber. And, as usual, Smitty wasn't being squeamish about how Remo got that information. Remo got to the site to see that, strangely, something had happened that he'd expected. A Cape was involved. Not a bad-looking one, either. His files identified her as "Miss Marvel".
     So, armed with his FBI badge and credentials, he walked onto the scene as if he was supposed to be there
     Which, in fact, he was.
     "Excuse me...I'd like to speak to the person in charge of the prisoner?" he asked in his official-capacity voice.

Bakeneko has posed:
Pollution! Fear! Mayhem!

Katsumi isn't going to judge over any of that. She'd just planned on taking a few hours to not think about anything - especially how her life has wound up so completely backwards. Today, she's dressed more conservatively than her usual fair - gray pants, white sneakers, and whatever she wears up above is completely encased in a puffy teal parka lined in white fur, with white mittens to match. Like she has to wear dark colors /all/ the time?

The Japanese transplant leans back into the bench, hands folded over her lap and focusing on nothing in particular. Until the explosion. There's a gasp, and in an instant, a scrambling to duck herself behind the slats of the backrest. A few seconds later, she's peering past her cover, noting how most other people are already starting to go about their day.

"You people are f***ing insane..," she whispers, awed by the general pragmatism on display. Is this really where she's going to wind up living?

Question has posed:
Taking a well deserved break from work, Vic Sage strolls down the pathways of Central Park in search of one of those famous New York City hot dog carts.

The explosion changed all that.

Shielding his eyes from the sun he makes his way towards the source of the explosion, or at least the direction that the explosion came from.

Reaching the clearing the investigative reporter pulls out a notebook from his trench coat pocket and starts to write down a few notes, casting his overly-perceptive eyes over the scene, looking over towards the Japanese woman on the bench, "Did you see what happened?"

Mary Marvel has posed:
The foot patrol guy pointed to where Mary Marvel was. "Yo!"
Mary turned from the detective and the SHIELD guy who was lecturing her about throwing five tons of truck and one ton of explosive into the bay. She looked at the man with the odd wrists. It reminded her of Popeye. Wow, he might as well have COP stamped on his forehead. She gave him a polite smile, then steps toward him. "Uhm, hello, officer?" she said pleasantly. "If you're going to lecture me about throwing the truck into Hudson Bay, just make it something the SHIELD guy hasn't said already, please?"

Remo Williams has posed:
Remo smiled. He opened up his ID fold. "Special Agent Remo Black, FBI. I was informed that there was an attempted terrorist attack, and I'm here to talk with the suspect to find out what cell he's working with so we can shut it down." He made sure to hold up the credentials long enough for Miss Marvel to be sure that he wasn't trying to con her. "Also, on behalf of the government, I'd like to thank you for your civic-mindedness. Can you explain what happened here?"
His smile was calm, and he sure didn't dress in some suit.

Bakeneko has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro is still, in no uncertain terms, cowering from the obvious terrorist attack and the knowledge that that could've wiped her off the map without so much as a breath of warning. New York City is /dangerous/. A lot more dangerous than she's used to. She's no slouch when it comes to confrontation and altercations, but when it comes to bombs, guns, and the like? That's not exactly standard fare!

The voice gets her attention in a snap. "F***in' bomb!," Katsumi replies gracelessly. She hesitantly lifts to her full height, uncertain if gunmen might be looking for unassuming and brightly-colored targets. "What is it with New York!?" The latent accusation is misdirected, of course - this dude almost certainly had nothing to do with it. But she needs an outlet for the sudden stress, and he's right there.

Question has posed:
Vic looks from Katsumi over towards where the explosion happened and then back, "A bomb?" Vic mutters as he starts to write down some information in his little notebook. "How do you know it was a bomb, Miss...?" He leaves the question open ended, hoping for Katsumi to fill in the blank of her name.

Rolling his shoulder in a shrug, the reporter pushes up the brim of his fedora with the pencil, "I don't know about New York myself ma'am, I'm just here from Gotham on a vacation. Just happened to be in the area. Does this kind of thing happen a lot? Gotham sees its fair share, for sure."

Mary Marvel has posed:
Mary eyed Remo. FBI? Wow, no black suit and earpiece. Well, sure, what was the harm?
"Well, the jerkbutt trying to ruin everyone's day is over there." She pointed to a police car, where a bearded white guy say sullenly. "Oliver Schmidt. I don't know what his ISIS name is, but that was what was on his rental form for the truck." She looked over in the direction she had thrown the truck. A good ten miles, easy. "Guess he wasn't too interested in his damage deposit. Anyway, the bomb was in the truck. He drove it over there. I spotted him..." While lacing up her skates. "...and pulled him out of the truck." She pointed to the door she had yanked off. It might be the only part of the truck that survived. "The bomb was going to go off in a few seconds, and I just...threw it that way." She pointed towards Hudson Bay.

Remo Williams has posed:
Remo nodded. "Very impressive. Mind if I take a look at the door?" He smiled as he walked over to it, lifting up the bottom side, revealing a manufacturer's sticker, which included information about year, make, model and other information. As he did, he remarked, "Are you hurt in any way? True, I do recognize your, shall we say, distinctive symbol, but anyone hit by a truck runs a considerable risk." As he stood up, she was able to look into those eyes of his; deep, dark eyes.
He SHOULD seem dangerous, but his expression and tone contradicted that.

Bakeneko has posed:
"Hell of a vacation spot!," snaps Katsumi, essentially the polar opposite of the meek and pleasant Miss Marvel not too far away. "And I know because- it was a bomb! Okay! Things don't just explode! Do they? Is that some crazy s*** here in New York too!?"

Frazzled, the Japanese woman lifts her hands with the intention to rake fingers through her bangs. Mittens, however, don't have fingers. So she's essentially just pawing at her hair, which annoys her a little more. "You wanna know what's up, go ask the cops! I was just sitting here, doing nothing, when /that/ happened."

Her lips moue, brow knit. Grumpykat.

Question has posed:
"Things explode all the time. Water mains, Gas lines, poorly maintained cars can have an engine seize up and explode. Nothing is out of the realm of possibility here, Miss." Vic says as he glances over to where the cops are, along with Mary. "But when one of the capes is involved, it does tend to be a little more on the unnatural explosion side of things, I will give you that."

Vic jots a few more notes into his notebook, and back to Kat. "Are you alright? Do you need any medical attention or anything? You seem to be in a bit of a ..... state."

Mary Marvel has posed:
Mary giggles, an uncomplicated, light sound. "Oh, I'm just FINE. See?" She held up her hands. They were a little grimy, and she blushes and begins to brush them off on her skirt, which seems to absorb the grime without leaving a trace. "I'm okay, really, Special Agent Black."
She looks over to the bench and spots a familiar face. "Listen, will you excuse me for a bit? I see someone I know."

Remo Williams has posed:
"Go right ahead, Miss Marvel." Remo watched her go, then immediately turned to the police. "This is now a federal situation, and the FBI is taking over jurisdiction. Strap down the suspect and get him into an ambulance, FAST. We don't have a lot of time. He may be part of a cell and I need to get information from him before they mobilize."
The police hastened to obey and Remo took out his phone. "Smitty, I'm at the location. We've got one guy. Sending you photos of his ID, face and fingerprints. I'll be questioning him in about five minutes or so. Don't worry, I'll find his cell before they can do any more damage."

Bakeneko has posed:
"A state?!," balks a clearly-offended Katsumi. "A /state/!? Are you mental!? Maybe /you/ people are used to living in the middle of god**** Modern Warfare, but civilized people aren't used to it! Seems to me that the freaks are the ones who aren't bothered by this! Like that guy!"

A pedestrian, having just purchased a hotdog, is paused mid-bite.

"Look at'em! Like nothing happened! That d*** is gonna just eat a hotdog! There was an explosion, ass****! Blink!"

The man eyeshifts and scoots further away.

Katsumi refocuses on Vic, officially surly. "I'm /fine/."

Question has posed:
"Right." says Vic as he gives Katsumi another once over. "You seem it."

Vic turns from Katsumi and starts to walk over towards the police parameter, casting a glance over Remo's way and making a line towards him.

Mary Marvel has posed:
Mary had to remember to keep a few things in mind, but she wore a friendly smile as she approached the bench. "Miss Oshiro? THE Punk Princess?" Her smile warms. "I'm a big fan!"

Remo Williams has posed:
Remo nodded as he listened to the lemony voice over the phone. "Find out who they are and take care of them. Better that the people giving them their orders don't know what happened to them. You know how to handle it."
"Right." He got to the back of the ambulance and showed his ID to the EMT. "How's he doing?" he asked
"Guy's out cold, we gave him a sedative since we figured you'd want to have a talk with him."
"Good job, men. Now check with the others in the crowd. I'm commandeering this ambulance and getting him somewhere he can be questioned in full accordance with his rights."
"His rights? The guy's a terrorist!"
"I understand your feelings, but this is a federal investigation and we have to do things by the book."
The paramedic looked conflicted, but exited the vehicle.

Bakeneko has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro's pout intensifies further as Vic clearly isn't on board with her totally level-headed and not at all hapless frustration at the state of things. She starts to add more, but finds herself cut off from making any parting shots.

It's Mary. Why is Mary acting like she doesn't know her? She- oh. Right. Secret identities. Public space. Cops around.

The grappler takes a hard inhale, the palms of her mittens rubbing briefly against her face, and she refocuses. "Yeah, that's right. That's me," she says, casting a brief, furtive glance to the departing male. Her gaze returns to Marvel sharply. "The Hell happened? Why's stuff blowing up?"

Question has posed:
Vic makes his way over towards the Ambulance and watches Remo for a moment. Something just seems...off. The faceless vigilante known as The Question would take a more heads on approach, but Vic just plasters on a smile and makes his way over towards Remo.

"Excuse me!" Vic calls out, "Vic Sage, KBEL TV News. Can I get a statement? Do you think this is the start of another threat to national security? Do you think there will more more attacks?"

Mary Marvel has posed:
Mary Marvel smiled apologetically. "I don't know how to defuse bombs." She looked at the ambulance Schmidt was in, then says in a quieter tone, "Thank heaven I was here. If I wasn't...who knows how many might be hurt...or dead." She sounds a little down, even if she had been able to save them. "Bad things happen, Miss Oshiro. I can't be everywhere at once...but I *was* here." Her face firms. "Are you okay?"

Remo Williams has posed:
"I'm sorry, citizen, but I have no comment until our investigation is concluded." As he spoke, he kept his face away from Vic. "Our office will hold a press conference once more information is available, and I'll make sure you get a front-row seat, Mr. Sage."
And with that, he closed the doors behind him by reaching to the handles while facing away from the doors.
He moved quickly up to the front and got into the driver's seat, starting up the vehicle and driving away.

Bakeneko has posed:
"Doesn't happen where I'm from," Katsumi replies flatly to Mary. "It's no d*** wonder there are so many capes around here. This place is a nightmare." Her arms fold against her torso, and she turns her focus aside onto nothing in particular. "If you /weren't/ here, who knows. Maybe I'd have been vaporized in an explosion. And I was just sittin' here, minding my own business." For once.

Her shoulders slump.

"Anyway, you don't need me pulling you down. You did hero things. Go get on camera, kiss some hands, shake some babies."

Question has posed:
Vic narrows his eyes slightly as Remo pulls the elusive act. For someone with a sense of perception like Vic has, the fact Remo is trying to keep his face hidden does not go unnoticed.

As the ambulance engine roars to life, Vic reaches down to the trick belt buckle, triggering the gas cloud that not only hides him from view, but adheres the faceless mask he wears as The Question to his face. Hidden by the smoke, The Question casually reaches out a hand and takes hold of the lip of the roof, sliding gracefully onto the back bumper and crouches down to go for a ride.

Mary Marvel has posed:
Mary looks at Katsumi, and suddenly her good thoughts are gone. A number of bad ones come up, like they always do. Seven hard, cold ones at minimum. She could just open her mouth and flay her heart open with them.

BUT FRIENDS DON'T DO THAT.

"...I'm sorry, Miss Oshiro. I'll be here if you want to talk." Her voice gets a little quieter. "You know how to reach me...if you want to."
She steps back, manages a soft smile, and then lifts off, heading away and hoping the rink near Rockefeller Plaza isn't too crowded.

Her heart goes out to Katsumi, but she can't think of any magic words that will make it all better. And the only one she DOES know won't help.

So much for being the World's Mightiest Maiden...

Remo Williams has posed:
Remo stopped the ambulance at the light, then waited. He would've simply taken the perp to the hospital and interrogated him there, but there was a clock running. He drove into a parking garage, then parked the vehicle and applied the parking brake.
He went into the back and looked down at "Mr. Schmidt", then applied a finger to a nerve cluster just under the terrorist's right ear.
Schmidt, of course, awoke. That usually happens when you feel like someone is trying to wrench your jaw loose.
"Wakey, wakey, Mr. Schmidt. Now, here's what's going to happen. You are going to tell me where all your buddies are going to be once they know that you're captured by the FBI."
"You think you can THREATEN...!" he began, then felt as if someone was sawing his arm off at the shoulder.

Bakeneko has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro is stressed out and, in multiple ways, an outsider to all of this. If the choice were between bailing and chewing her out for being overwhelmed, bailing was likely the wiser choice. But Katsumi doesn't really see that. She just sees Mary turning, at least as far as she can tell, sullen on her. Her head turns to her with a frown. "Wha-.."

Up, up, and away. Katsumi is staring after her, the frown deepening. She's starting to hate it here.

"...Whatever. Flying with a skirt still seems like a bad idea," she mutters dejectedly.