Thunder King

Mali all but snorted. "Oh, god, weapons." She shook her head. "Weapons, guns, regular drugs, super drugs, ninjas." she started laughing. "Sorry, sorry, I remember one time. I went after some drug pushers and these two guys attacked me at once. Bam, pow, down. So then the third guy up and decided that he must have been good enough to take me out. He...was not. I have no idea why so many people are convinced that the other four or five guys I just knocked down were flukes."

Mali nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed. "Sorry, sorry. I've done this sort of thing before. It can be hard to determine how much help someone needs. I'm thinking we could start off with a few punches or kicks, see what your technique is like. Just a little shadowboxing. You can bench press my car, I don't think power is a problem." She stood back and observed. She figured that there wasn't much point in trying to test his power. Nor, she mused, did he have any real reason to work on his technique. If you can hit something hard enough, it didn't matter much how pretty the punch looked. Still, she was asked to help, so she was helping.

Mali let it go in stride. She'd seen far, far worse movement before. "So..." She stepped into the ring, having clearly done this before. "Muay Thai is a bit of an atypical style. It uses knees and elbows as well as punches and kicks. Martial arts is applied physics. The shorter the distance a strike has to travel, the more power is put into the end result. Plus it's great for the core."

It'd be fun to get John Smith, the Tattered Man involved in Bedlam. He's a detective, after all.

"That's the way I see it. I mean, I'd be lying if I wasn't a bit of a thrill seeker. I like fighting." Mali shrugged. "I've always been into fitness, training, all that stuff. Better to direct those, urges? Somewhere positive. I mean, even if I mothballed my costume and just went back to an ordinary life, Claremont was fantastic. Cool people, fun stories, cute guys...all sorts of good things." "But, hey, you don't owe it to anyone to be a hero. I mean it's a good thing, but, there's no point in putting yourself into something if your heart isn't in it. Lots of ways to do good in the world that don't involve punching faces and catching drug pushers."

It was a strange request, she had to admit. A really rich guy wanted personal self defense lessons. She was a bit taken aback, but then she did some research and realized that he was a famous, publicly admitted superhero. Still didn't mean it wouldn't get weird, just less of a chance of weird. She packed up a bunch of high end practice equipment just in case, but she also had a feeling the guy could take a hit. Still, better to be prepared. So, she opened the door, wearing a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and a light jacket, with a heavy looking gym bag swinging all but effortlessly from her right hand. She was young, early 20s, with stylishly disheveled black hair. "Hello, Mr. Misri, my name is Mali." She said with a friendly smile.

John's basically looking for any evidence that seems unusual, anything that would stick out. 26 on notice

John loomed, wordlessly, trying to figure out what exactly happened. He took the whole warehouse in, eyes scanning and searching. He wasn't alone, and at this kind of night, in this kind of place, there were only so many reasons people would be in a place like this. "A body..." He said, breaking the silence. His voice was rough and low. "Could be a problem for the right people. I wonder, though, why." He didn't know this woman, or why she was talking to herself, but he knew he couldn't handle things entirely by himself. Eventually, he'd need allies. Plus, it was fairly low risk. If she did try to kill him, he could get away, and if needed, entirely vanish.

"My great grandfather was a well known hero in Thailand, and was not only the first hero there, but pretty much the only one anyone has ever heard of. It's a family legacy thing. My dad taught me how to fight, everyone in our family knows how to fight. Well, the boys, anyway." She shrugged. "Some people back in Thailand don't like that the family secrets were taught to a young punk girl in the States, but, eh..." She made a semi-rude gesture in a vaguely easterly direction. "They had me, a couple of miscarriages, and I was a difficult pregnancy, so, no boys to teach the tricks of the trade to. I like to think my dad would have anyway, though." "I just really latched on to both my great grandfather's whole thing and the martial arts thing in general. I read up on people like the Raven, the old Midnight, my Great Grandfather, and it was just...I wanna do that, I wanna be that." She shrugged. "But the way I see it is this, the reason you step up to help doesn't really matter, what matters is that you do it."

"I was always really focused on training and stuff. My dad taught me the basics, but I just took it to a different level. Claremont kind of helped me realize it was okay to be me, even if I was different or weird.That, and some of my favorite people in the whole world went there. Helped me get passed my issues, helped me live up to who I want to be. Wouldn't trade having gone there for anything." Mali took a sip of her drink and leaned back. "I mean, honestly, I'm eating lunch in Miami. How cool is that?" Then she leaned forward. "Actually, if you'd like some advice on high calorie, high vitamin foods, I've been on a pretty strict diet since, oh, the onset of puberty or so, so feel free to ask questions or whatnot. That's half of why I'm seriously considering sports medicine. I've got tons of practical experience."

A simple fire wasn't normally worth his attention, but, John realized they made no effort to put it out, yet, it also didn't spread. He didn't expect anyone else to be in the area, so when he stepped into the warehouse, he wasn't bothering with stealth or subtlety too much. His eyes were unaffected by the darkness. Someone set this fire, someone made sure it was contained, and someone wanted it neat. That was worth looking into. If, for no other reason, to see who might be trying to play who. He spotted the young woman who was also in this warehouse at an ungodly hour, but for some reason, didn't think that she was involved. Perhaps she too was curious about such an odd fire. Yet, he kept his distance.

Tagging in

Mali noticed her nerves, but said nothing. "Yeah, a couple of the people I hung out with, still keep in touch...within reason. The say that after high school you usually lose contact. Though, we're the electronics generation. Facebook, twitter, all that stuff. Much easier keeping friends then when my parents were my age. As for the hero stuff, I'm sure you had your reasons. It's stressful, school can interfere, hell, life can interfere. There's not a shortage of heroes out there, and if something's stopping you from being at your best, it's better to not do it than risk your life or safety because you're tired, sore, or too distracted to focus." She shrugged and took a drink. "I mean, it's easier to do when your school knows what you're up to and takes that into consideration. College? Whoo, not so much."

"Actually after all the cold and that huge snow storm? I could go for a burger and some sun." Sitting outdoors in sunny Miami eating burgers and just enjoying the day seemed like a great plan. She stretched a bit. "Alright, let's go. Maybe some ice cream afterwards? This feels like an ice cream kinda day." She walked towards the door and into the sunshine, which felt a little like a total shock to her senses. She realized she had to do some studying later, and a little more cardio to keep her calories balanced, but, eh, a little break was needed now and then.

Mali blinked. The experience was certainly interesting. She stepped through what she could really only call a hole torn out of space-time and into Miami Florida. She had traded her warm clothes for warm weather gear, a pair of denim shorts and a plain black tank top, Mali knew Kat could spot the tattoo on her back, now. It felt good to dress for warm weather for once, less confining, more free. She had been teleported before, but Kat's was somehow different, more raw. She didn't have the education or the experience to truly explain what was different about it, just that there was. "Well, what's nearby that's good for lunch?" She said with a grin.

"Ooo, Miami sounds awesome. I know just the outfit, and it'll be great being in the sun, so..." She grinned and thought. "My house, Miami, lunch, ice cream. You provide the transport, I'll cover the food. Got a deal?" She grinned, honestly excited for their little spontaneous trip. Mali could afford a lot, but she couldn't teleport. Some luxuries she missed when she was at Claremont

"Parents house, they've met some of my other friends and it's easy to explain what's up. Plus, I stored most of my warm weather clothes there. They shouldn't be home right now anyway. Slip in, change into something appropriate to the weather, and pop out. Should be quick and easy. Then what?" She said. "Just gotta figure out where." She looked outside and was grateful for the break from the cold.

"Oh." Mali said, chuckling. "I totally understand, didn't know what you could do, and I didn't want to pressure you. I'm thinking...stick near the east coast so we keep the same time zone or so? Hmm, someplace warm, maybe? Get out of these winter clothes? If you don't mind a quick trip somewhere, I mean. What do you think? You're the transport."

Mali laughed a bit, just realizing that transportation was not really an issue. "Alright, well, heh..." Her shoulders slumped a bit as she thought. "I...honestly have no idea. I mean, how far...are you able and willing to go?" She ruminated on that. She knew some people could go a few feet, others, several miles, and some people, well they could go anywhere. "And, how exotic do you want to go? I mean, total stereotype, but I know all the best places in town for Thai, Korean, Japanese, Chinese...a girl gets cravings, you know? There's also some really nice Italian places out there, or, you know, burgers, whatever." She smiled.

Mali chuckled. "Uh, not really, but, I have a car, and, there's a lot of nice places to eat, and I'm honestly pretty hungry. In the mood for anything particular? It's a bit too cold to snatch up some takeout and sit by ourselves in the park, unfortunately. I just wanna, I don't know, not be stuck in the library. Hmm..." She pulled out her phone and started tapping. "Well, there are some nice places just outside the campus, but, eh, do you wanna stick around the area, or...I'm open to anywhere that isn't here."

"Because the only way to enjoy your youth is to get drunk and stupid, right? Just pound back the booze and murder the crap out of your liver. But, that's how it works, you know? Work hard, party hard, get boring later. Blah." She looked around, almost conspiratorially. "You wanna get out of here? I mean, I've got studying to do, but, I'm doing fine. Look at me, always the competitor." She leaned back. "I mean, maybe get a bite to eat, run off somewhere quiet, reminisce about high school?" It was obvious what her tone intended. She didn't feel quite so comfortable discussing their school endorsed extracurricular activities. "I mean, if not, that's cool, but you seem kinda antsy."

"School, mostly, just, I think I'm going to go into sports medicine, but I'm kind of on the fence about it. I've never been that good of a student, you know? My parents though, whew, will not accept me not trying to be a success. Haven't had a lot of time to do much else, and haven't had that much of a social life, you know? After all that, this partying junk most of the people around here do just doesn't appeal to me." She shrugged. "The short version is; study, work out, and....study and work out. How about you?"

Mali nodded. "Yeah, just, kids being kids. Normal stuff like gossiping and snacking on junk food while watching movies, or whatever the hell it is people do." She shrugged. "I mean, what do normal teenagers even do? I never knew, I was never invited to any reindeer games. I just found a whole school of Rudolfs" She chuckled at her own little holiday appropriate joke. "Maybe it's because I'm a gym rat, though, rather be running or lifting or doing squats or literally anything else. It's not even that I dislike reading, just, studying. Specifically. It's like trying to punch yourself in the face with a book until you just know the stuff inside it."

Mali's face broke into a wide smile. "Hey, Kat! Nice to see you! How are you doing? I mean, what are the odds." She sat down. "Huge city like this, more than one college, of course, just...how are you?" She unzipped her jacket to let it sit open, revealing a t-shirt underneath. "Run into a few people from high school, here and there. Small world." She relaxed a bit. "Studying is just about the most boring thing in the universe. To me, anyway."

Mali walked towards one of the couches and was so distracted that she didn't even realize that someone had taken the area. While there was plenty of room in the area, there was also plenty of room everywhere else. She had just come in from outside and pushed her hood down. She had the books with her, but she wanted a relaxing corner in which to relax. She was wearing a black leather jacket with an attached hood, along with a striking red scarf that was nestled neatly along her neck. That was accompanied by a pair of blue jeans and a pair of boots. Her hair was short and stylishly messy. She winced as soon as she set her books down, having just realized they made a rather loud thump right next to a young woman buried in her studies. "Oops, ouch, I'm so sorry." She said with an apologetic smile. "Ignore my disruption, I'll find a quieter corner to study in"