Owner	Pose
Katsumi Oshiro	Night has fallen over New York City. It's been a couple days since Mary Marvel encountered Katsumi Oshiro. An email address was given, but it hadn't been used. Suddenly, that changes. There's a new message from Katsumi. It's not particularly long, nor is it very detailed. It simply reads:     Hey, I'm free tonight and want to do something. I have an idea. No I'm not telling you. ^__^ I don't know if superheroes have normal clothes but it doesn't matter. 21:00 tonight I will be getting a cab. Tell me where to pick you up.     Do superheroes carry ID? Whatever fam you'll figure it out. Bring whoever you want! As long as they're a girl. No dudes. Girls night out. And that was it!
Mary Marvel	Mary is a little puzzled. She always just...flies around. But Katsumi was dealing with some serious stuff, and she felt that she ought to play along. So, she leaves an address about a mile away from her home in Brooklyn. Right outside the White Castle. Mary writes a note to her folks, then runs out the door and into the alley behind the house. "SHAZAM." One lightning bolt and thunderclap later, Mary Marvel is soaring towards the White Castle, arriving a minute after the address is sent.
Katsumi Oshiro	It doesn't take Katsumi long to arrive, actually. Her hotel is in Brooklyn! The cab pulls alongside the White Castle, and the backseat window rolls down. In short order, Katsumi's upper-half pops out of the window with a wide, impish smile. "'Sup, b******ch!," she calls out to her, arms waving energetically. Certainly dressed different from before, a scarlet dress hugs her figure with thin straps over the shoulders. Though impossible to see from this angle, the skirt rides higher on the right hip in a slit, and dips towards her knee on the left, with a pair of heeled black calf-high boots. What is visible, however, is her ever-present black choker centered with gold coin, and the pair of gold bracelets hanging from her left wrist.
Mary Marvel	Well, Katsumi certainly didn't hold back, did she? Well, she didn't mean it in a mean way, but Mary's face tightens a bit at the profanity. She doesn't mention it, though. "Hello again, Katsumi," she says, walking over to the taxi, belted tunic fluttering like the white hooded cape behind her. "It's so good to see you."
Katsumi Oshiro	Buckle up. It only gets worse from here. "Yeah! Y'know, I realized something! I've been in America /this god**** long/ and I haven't done like my favorite thing! Every time I visit America, I always do this. It's like tradition. And you're coming! Because doing it alone is lame as s***!" Katsumi is immediately scooching to the far side of the taxi, giving Mary easy room to get in. The taxi driver, meanwhile, is staring wide-eyed. What the heck has he gotten himself into? "So no normal clothes for you, huh? You know everyone's gonna be hounding you for autographs or whatever, right? Unless you suck."
Mary Marvel	Mary smiles. She has dealt with the likes of Mindy and Marcy, she can handle this. She just had to keep her head about her. She chuckles as Katsumi mentions autographs. She had looked herself up, and apart from a few memorable appearances on YouTube, she wasn't very well known. Which was okay. "I think you're more famous than I am, Katsumi," Mary says as she settles in next to the woman. "So...where to?"
Katsumi Oshiro	It was a question the taxi driver was right about to ask, so he just stays quiet. "54 East 13th St, Manhattan!," chirps the Japanese girl. Fortunately the cabby seems to know this location and starts rolling. Katsumi puts her focus on Mary. "So, what do I call you tonight? I remember your, uh, hero name isn't normal for an alias. Might even be your real name. Is it?"
Mary Marvel	Mary beams. "Just call me Mary." There have to be thousands of Marys in New York, and it's not like she could be confused for her 8-years-younger (almost-seven-younger) alter ego. "I think I'll be okay. Besides, so what if people recognize me? I've got nothing to hide." She sits back in her seat, then looks around and says politely to the cabdriver, "You have a very clean vehicle, sir." That causes her to realize something. "Katsumi, I don't have any money on me. Is that going to be a problem?"
Katsumi Oshiro	The compliment gets an odd stare from the rearview mirror. Cabbies are not used to such comments from alleged superheroines. This is a straight up weird night. But then, welcome to New York. At Mary's admission, Katsumi's enthusiasm takes a subtle dip. But she maintains a smile. "I've got it," she says. "Besides, where would you keep a wallet or purse, anyway? Look at ya. You look like you escaped a Renaissance Fair or something." She gasps as a thought occurs to her. "You're wearing underwear under that, right?," she asks, suddenly staring at Mary's bare legs.
Mary Marvel	Mary blinks, then giggles. "Of course. After all, I wear something like a skirt...and I *fly.* I'm not going to give some crook on the ground a free show." She smiles wryly to Katsumi, then says, "I'll pay you back, of course." Maybe she can fudge a trip to the bathroom and zip on home to get her purse if the cost isn't too expensive. Maybe she should get the cab number so she can tip him later.
Katsumi Oshiro	Katsumi Oshiro lifts that bright, inhumanly magenta gaze back to Mary with a satisfied nod. "Good. We're gonna be dealing with enough pervs there. Most of the eyes'll be on me, but you don't wanna win their attention /that/ way," she giggles. The cab makes his way into Manhattan. They still have a little bit, thanks to the traffic. "Okay, so what exactly is it that you do? You fly around and you're strong. That it?"
Mary Marvel	Mary gazes at the lights of the city until Katsumi speaks to her. She turns and smiles to her. "Ah, not really. I can also go very fast. Flying, and running. I once tried running to Florida, but by the time one song ended, I was in Georgia. I did the math. I can go as fast as....Mach 10, actually. But I try to fly really high when I go that fast. I'm also very tough. Someone shot a RPG-7 at me and it didn't even hurt the cloth of my costume. I can also do stuff like speak other languages. I can speak about...300 Earth languages."
Katsumi Oshiro	<"Are you an alien?,"> asks Katsumi, suddenly speaking Japanese. It's a lowball form of testing her polylingual claim. <"And isn't it kind of boring to be /that/ indestructible? If nothing threatens you, how do you get your adrenaline?"> It's late in the evening, but that's really when the New York scene comes alive. The sidewalks are crowded, the lights are bright, and Katsumi couldn't be happier to be surrounded by neon. They have to be getting close.
Mary Marvel	Mary chuckles, and then replies in flawless Japanese, <I don't get bored. I get to help people. It's simply amazing to help people. I don't need excitement like some people who climb mountains do. But if someone goes home to their family because I did something, then I sleep very well, indeed.> She leans closer to Katsumi, then continues in a softer voice, <When it happens for you...you'll know what I mean.>
Katsumi Oshiro	Katsumi Oshiro's exotic gaze lids to half-mast, looking less than thrilled. "Boooring," she bemoans in English again. "A hero without a villain to fight is like... like a firefighter. But even they get excitement from dealing with an inferno. Like your life is on the line, or /something/ is at stake. Knowing you could lose, or that there's some risk, that's a special push to make you do more than you thought you could!" The foreigner sinks back into the chair. "Ya made it sound like the first time ya have sex. But without the sex." Arms fold over her bust in a huff.
Mary Marvel	Mary blinked. Wow. She went there. "Well, Katsumi, I'll have you know I have a FEW villains I deal with. I just haven't been doing this for very long. I'm sure that the more I do it, that's when the bad guys come out of the woodwork. Like Sharkey. His name is Tombstone, but I call him Sharkey because he's pale and has sharp teeth. Anyway, I don't think he likes me. Maybe because he broke his hand on my jaw, or that I ruined a big drug deal for him." She shrugs. "But I believe that I will be challenged, and quite often. It'll happen eventually."
Katsumi Oshiro	Katsumi Oshiro has little to no filter, and unfortunately, even less self-awareness. But at least she isn't moping? "Does he have long hair and wear a lot of black? That's such a goth name. 'Tombstone'. Like he's trying to be the Undertake. But on drugs, or whatever." She snickers and shakes her head. "Whatever! If an RPG - that's like a grenade launcher, right? - if an RPG doesn't even ruffle your petticoats, I dunno what the Hell could give you a problem." Suddenly, the cab is pulling over. Katsumi's eyes widen excitedly, and she quickly filches some money from her smart little black purse. The bills are thrown at the front of the cab and she scrambles out. "We're here~!," she declares in cheerful trill, arms thrown highIt doesn't look like much on the outside. A simple doorway surrounded in neon lights. Pop music can be heard coming from the interior, but something seems off about it somehow. A sign rests nearby at ground level with a very simple message: NE MO.
Mary Marvel	Mary steps out after Katsumi, saying, "He's actually an African-American albino. It's kinda..." She stops, looking at the entrance. Nemo. Didn't that mean "Nobody?" "...rare. Katsumi, not every challenge is physical. Some of it is psychological, or mental. Doing the smart thing and out-thinking your opponent. That's something you have to do sometimes, too, right?"
Katsumi Oshiro	"Yeah, but it just comes natural," offhandedly brags Katsumi. She flounces around the taxi to join at Mary's side and eagerly attempts to take Mary by the wrist to tug her inside the potentially foreboding establishment. "C'mon!" Speaking of psychological... The interior is rather populated, one wall dominated by by a long bar counter, with numerous tables set up around the floor. It's dark, but cozy and a little crazy. But most importantly, it has someone standing atop a short stage with a microphone attempting to hit the high notes of Journey. He's kind'a close. He's getting there. But the patrons are into it, anyway.
Mary Marvel	Mary does not fight or resist Katsumi's pull. This is what Katsumi wants to do, and she did agree to it. She has to learn new things, have new experiences after all. There is a bar here, though, and she wondered if they had a good virgin strawberry daquiri. She smiles as she sees the stage. "Ooooh! They have karaoke here?"
Katsumi Oshiro	"Looks like I'm not the only smart one," chimes Katsumi. She comes to a stop just inside the main floor and whirls around on Mary. "/This/ is why we're here! For karaoke! Usually there's more people than just two, and that makes it kind'a weird, but whatever! Find us a table!" And without missing a beat, she looks aside to the bar counter. "Hey! You! Two sake bombs! Wherever she's going!," she shouts, bobbing an index finger down towards Mary's scalp indicatively.
Mary Marvel	Mary raises a hand. "And I'll have a virgin strawberry daquiri!" She doesn't know if alcohol affects her as Mary Marvel, but she was taking no chances. Besides, just because she can't say she's underage doesn't mean she isn't underage. The place could get shut down if it was discovered in some way. She didn't have ID as Mary Marvel, either, anyway. She walks over to a clean-looking table for two, not too far from the stage, and settles in almost primly. She gazes around the place, taking it all in.
Katsumi Oshiro	The performer on stage is really doing his best! If nothing else, he's super into it. The crowd is supportive, enjoying the show and enthusiasm. But thanks to Mary's outfit, she's doing a bit of showstealing! It's difficult to be subtle when wearing a tunic emblazoned with a glittery gold lightning bolt! Not to mention the cape! Eyes are being drawn over in her direction, more than a few lingering glances beyond what could be considered platonic. Katsumi lingered for a moment at the bar, but she's now sashaying to the table with three drinks. Two of them might look a little complicated to the uninitiated, but the other is clearly a non-alcoholic daquiri. Katsumi sets that in front of Mary, along with one of the complicated drinks. Really, it looks like a drink with a shotglass balanced over it on chopsticks. The second of those is set in front of Katsumi as she settles in across from her. "After the kid drink, you're trying that," Katsumi instructs with a fingerbob towards the sake bomb.
Mary Marvel	Mary hmms at the "sake bomb." She was leery about drinks with alcohol, but anything marketing with an explosive was definitely not going to happen. "We'll see," she says pleasantly. "This is my favorite drink," she says, holding up the non-alcohol drink. She spots someone looking at her, and gives them a warm smile and a pleasant wave before looking back to Katsumi. "So, how are things going with you?"
Katsumi Oshiro	That individual gives Mary a definite once-over before grinning with an upnod. Katsumi follows Mary's smile and gaze over to the man, then quickly looks back to her. "Oh sh**! Want me to be your wing-girl? I can get his number for ya. He might smell a little like booze, but it's like charity or whatever, right hero?" She shoots Mary a playfully teasing grin. She has pointedly avoided answering the question Mary presented her, instead opting to focus on the less serious topic of bar dudes sizing up her unbeknownst underaged friend.
Mary Marvel	Whoops...okay. This could be a problem. Think. "...Probably not. I don't...really want to get in a relationship with a guy." There. That should solve everything. "What's your favorite song? I know you want to get up there." She'll broach the subject about Katsumi's welfare in a little bit, if Katsumi doesn't blurt it out, herself.
Katsumi Oshiro	"Oh. Should we be checking out giiirrls, then~?," Katsumi teases with the perk of a single jet-black eyebrow. The topic of music is a great distraction, as it happens! "I don't know! Ahh!" She pulls a quarter turn to the side, as if searching the room. "I don't really have a read on this audience tonight! And there's like a million songs that're good. I don't think I have a favorite! I-" She seems to cut off with a blink, as if her mind suddenly changed tracks. "I need a drink." Turning sharply forward again, she deftly removes the chopsticks from beneath the shotglass, letting it drop into the larger drink below and thus mixing. It's nothing short of unnecessarily theatric. But Katsumi attacks the drink with a certain eagerness that may seem more desperate than natural. After she's taken a hearty swig, she sets the glass back down and exhales an almost pained, "Haahhh~," in recoil at the alcohol. A savvy person might be able to tell she is not a habitual drinker.
Mary Marvel	Mary looks at Katsumi with a certain degree of amazement. She is, in spite of herself, impressed. And maybe it will detract from her realization she may have made an error in judgment. And she sip s her own carefully before saying, "I was thinking of something by Adele. There's this song I really like by her." She pauses, then adds, "What's been going on?"
Katsumi Oshiro	Katsumi Oshiro is still panting when Mary asks her point blank question, earning a deer-in-headlights look. She quickly shakes her head, scattering her feathery-light bangs. "Nothing! I just- I thought maybe getting a drink and doing this would be good! You know? Keep tradition! Whatever!" Obviously not the truth. Katsumi is even fairly certain it's transparently false. But she's not volunteering anything further just yet. The question has, however, inspired her to take another swig of the drink. This time, it hits her with a tight-jawed cringe, eyes watering a little. Sake and beer is just a weird combination. "Adele, huh? What's the song?," she counters. "I'm thinking you should be up first! It's only right for you to be the, the ambassador of America or whatever. The hostess. Shut up, you know what I mean!"
Mary Marvel	Mary chuckles. "Well...I supposes I should make it..." Then the guy who was slaying his song finishes, and the emcee asks for the next one. Mary smiles and stands up, walking to the stage. The emcee is a little surprised as she takes the microphone and whispers in the man's ear. He nods after a moment, going to the Karaoke machine. Mary smiles to Katsumi, straightening her back, waiting for the TV to come up and the song to begin...
Katsumi Oshiro	Katsumi Oshiro gives a downright radiant, sparkling smile when Mary seems to accept the challenge. She even gives a little, "Eee," and excitedly clasps her hands together beneath her chin. It's be adorable, if one were less familiar with her typical acidity. And ascerbic as Katsumi can be with casual belittling, insults, and arrogance, she is also perhaps surprisingly supportive. When Mary takes the stage, and without even needing the song to start, she issues a shrill and enthusiastic whistle. "GET'EM, MARY!," she yells from her table. And then she's taking another swig of her alcoholic pint.
Mary Marvel	Mary waits until the music starts, a repetitive keystroke at the piano, and Mary takes a deep breath. Her voice is crystal, even if slightly subdued. "This is the end...hold your breath and count...to ten...feel the earth move and then...hear my heart burst again..." She takes one step forward, her eyes shining as her voice gains strength. "For this is the end...I've drowned and dreamt this mooooooo-mennnnt...so overdue, I owe...them...swept away, I'm stoooooo-lennnnnn..." Her chin raises as the music swells, her voice swelling with it. "Let the SKY FALL...when it crumbles...we will STAND TALL and face it all together at SKYFALL..."