ic False Flag Operation (IC)

[Ari]

GM

 

March 16th, 2024, 1.13PM

Millennium Mall, Bayview, Freedom City

 

It was winding towards the end of a nice, relaxing, post-school day. The quartet of young incognito heroes sitting in the food court had wandered the echoing halls of the vast shopping mall and gotten more or less what they'd wanted out of the experience. Plus, there was some of Doctor Metropolis' new art on display.

 

The presence of the strange, quiet city-spirit was normally an unseen one. As an expression of Freedom City as a whole he didn't favour any areas or inahbitants over any others, unlike the mysteriously-vanished ghost Lantern Jack whose hauntings had rarely gone beyond Lantern Hill. And, similar to how people rarely notice good roads but can't ignore bad ones, his most visible role had been as a healer of civic wounds and shepherd of missing persons. Brief, purposeful, unsettling, Doctor Metropolis was in some ways less approachable than the space aliens and living dead that had served with the Freedom League.

 

However, while a tireless repair-man, the city-spirit was also a "born" artist. His canvas was the layouts, structure and material of buildings, and places with high concentrations of citizens could look forward to something new and unexpected. 

 

Today, the ceiling skylight rippled like a watery surface, while tiles on the floor and walls schooled in dazzling rainbows or loomed in grey enormity. Out the main door, a number of plaques had appeared dedicated to the lives lost in Freedom City's long-gone fishing industry. 

 

Most of this was lost on the shoppers, who had their own lives to worry about. Especially the busy lives of teenaged superheroes.

 

[Avenger Assembled]

Neko 

 

Neko had slipped into 'character' as they studied the art, deploying her robot ladybug to film her as Catgirl Reacted...to Dr. Metropolis's Art! She'd changed briefly into kimono and geta for the recording, playing up her accent enough that she looked like just an enthusiastic Japanese cosplayer to anyone looking casually - and kept her distance from her friends in case they weren't interested in being social media celebrities. A public appearance in a mall meant she'd signed a few autographs and taken a few selfies with admiring fans, much to her very kawaiiful delight. But when she was done she'd changed in the giant bathroom into an oversized Fleur de Joie T-shirt and flowery jeans, and now she was sitting in the food court and drinking from a large strawberry boba tea. Her tail and ears were invisible to anyone looking - at least not looking through a camera lens. 

 

When she hit bottom with a discreet slurp, she raised her head and pointed up to the skylight and said "So, what do you think? Not many cities have their own kami; at least, not one so alive," she added. 

[Thunder King]

Ryan shrugged as he sat down his coke.

 

"Freedom is such a crazy city. I mean I've lived here my whole life, but I'm amazed by some of it. Kami, those are gods, right? Like gods of places and stuff? Sorry, not super familiar with it, I just heard about it."

 

He was wearing an old band t-shirt and his usual jeans. He had recently dyed a purple streak in his hair, just for fun. He always had a color of some kind in his hair.

 

Neko was interesting. She was nice enough, but he hadn't gotten a chance to get to know her, yet. He hadn't really gotten to know anyone, really. He had always had trouble making friends.

He didn't want to admit, and still hadn't said it, but he'd seen her show online before. He wouldn't consider himself a fan, but he liked it enough. He would end up watching this episode at some point. 

 

He sure was glad the school was giving him a stipend. He rarely ever had money before.

 

He leaned back a bit and looked up. 

[EmpressValerian96]

"Hey, even I'll admit that Freedom City is pretty cool, ese. I'm from New York, yeah? And this place kinda rocks, though mi abuela would be furious with me for admitting that."

 

Miriam Francesca Luisa Juarez chuckled as she sipped a milkshake and wondered internally how she'd wound up here. She had a vague memory of being dragged along the second it was discovered she had a vanishingly rare day off. She didn't mind too much, while the others could be kind of annoying, she was letting them grow on her. Miri was nothing if not the kind of girl who liked to make friends as soon as she could, and well, nothing like making some friends.

 

She was wearing cutoffs and an oversized Mets jersey along with a beanie containing as much of her hair as possible. She was also wearing her trusty sneakers and a pair of tights under the cutoffs. Sure it was winter, but she wasn't gonna not wear her shorts, not her style not her speed.

 

"I don't know anything about Kami, but Doc Metropolis is kinda sick. So, huh, one of you is a streamer or whatever, what's your deal, Ryan? Hobbies or whatever."

 

She took another sip of her milkshake, drumming her fingers on the table. She had trouble focusing on the conversation completely, since her armour had been chirping since they got here and it was driving her just a smidge crazy. She was specifically armouring and dearmouring her palm, trying to avoid exposing her secret on her first mall trip.

 

"Can anyone here hear that pinging sound?"

[Thunder King]

"I'm a musician." Ryan said. "I play guitar, I listen to a lot of music. I play the occasional video game. I don't have a lot of hobbies outside of music, really."

 

He took a sip of his soda and shrugged. "I'm not exactly an exciting guy, unless you like guitar."  

 

He looked introspective for a moment, glancing down at his hands for a second.

 

"I grew up in an orphanage. For a while, before I was born, there was this guy everybody called Uncle Charlie. He'd come around and play music for the kids. Well, I expressed an interest, so, uh, he taught me. He passed away a couple of years ago. He left me one of his guitars, I've never played it."

 

"So, that's my deal."

[Avenger Assembled]

"Americans call kami gods, spirits, many things," said Neko with a shrug. "Doctor Metropolis is the kami of Freedom City. There are others like him in other cities." She reached up and scratched lightly at the top of her head, where her usual white and brown hair (spotted like a waving cat's) was now a glossy black, where her giant cat ears were. "Yes," she added for Miri's benefit. 

 

"You ever try busking?" she asked Ryan. "You can make money if you follow tourists." The last time she'd gone out socializing with new students it hadn't gone very well, so she was keeping things light with the new girl. 

 

"You mean real hobbies, not for the show?" She smiled thinly. "I read, and do some art. I've actually been working on writing a story," she admitted. "It's about this boy who goes out one night and realizes everyone in the village next door is actually a spider wearing a human face. And then there's a girl who-" She grinned, and for a moment her teeth seemed distinctly sharp and cat-like. "well she makes him her husband but not in any ways he likes." 

[EmpressValerian96]

"Busking can work out if you have a guy working the crowd while you're drawing attention- I mean, yeah , you can make good money from busking. I've not done it, but I've got friends who have."

 

She said with an awkward laugh. Pickpocketing was not a normal topic of lunchtime conversation with the sane, after all. Or with the superhero community. The armour probably didn't like it that much either. She took a drink to hide her embarrassment  before refocusing on the conversation. She thought for a second about her own personal hobbies, the Star-Squire thinking for a moment.

"I'd say one of my hobbies is hitting the gym. I like to stay in shape, like to work out a lot. But I'm busy a lot with study and work, so. I guess I also like playing bass. I also surf, or I used to, haven't been out to the beach in a while. I also did boxing for a while, that was fun. But like, I mostly focus on my studies and training. I wanna go to law school or something, help out the community. You know how it is, right?" She said with a chuckle, before shooting a glare at a louder table nearby. "You gotta do what's right, or whatever. Help people out."

She shrugged when Neko confirmed she was a streamer.

"Cool. I don't really use social media so I don't follow a lot of streamers. Is it fun?"

[Avenger Assembled]

Neko smiled at that, idly stirring her now-empty cup with the straw. "It started as just a way to learn English; and then to make money - but yes." She shrugged, spreading her hands wide, showing off teeth that were just a bit pointer than the human norm. "Americans love Japan, and they love catgirls most of all, especially when they are supa-kawaii!" She folded her hands under her chin and batted her eyelashes dramatically. "There are many - pigs on the Internet, but they are nothing compared to how I used to live. And their money is good. You know when I came to this country, I had never even seen one of your computers before? Now they make me enough money that when I graduate, I won't even need to get a regular job." She considered what to tell the other girl, then went on, "Your suit, does it record?" she asked. "You could make money just from that, even if you don't want to say anything."