Going Ape (IC)

[Godiva]

Eve had a love hate relationship with coffee. Sure it kept her going and had so many wonderful flavors, but it was filled with so much empty stuff. She ordered a caffelatte and told them to keep coming. When they were seated it was on a patio facing the water. Spring had definitely sprung. It looked like a painted picture. This spot was always her favorite. She smiled at Wail. "Thank you for bringing me here. I could start by formally apologize for hitting on you. It seems I am ignorant of my past." She sighed, "if there's anything you want to get off your chest, I understand." She bit her bottom lip and waited for the large man to speak.

[Gizmo]

LaMarr snorted flatly, cupping his steaming mug in one broad hand while he rested the opposite elbow on the back of his chair. The big man couldn't put his entire weight on the chair, unfortunately, but he'd long since perfected the way he sat to compensate. "Young lady, I'm a high school teacher. With no false modesty I can tell you I've been the subject of more than a few questionable crushes over the years. Can't imagine anyone being anything but flattered, pretty young woman doing good work." The older man's stern look suggested he wasn't going to hear any more apologies over the harmless misunderstanding.

[Godiva]

Eve smiled at the compliment and took a drink of her caffelatte. She remembered having a crush on a teacher in high school. Then again, who didn't? Setting her cup down, she stirred it a bit with her spoon. "So, you're one of the maskless heroes, it seems. I mean I had time to get into costume, but as of now it isn't a necessity. You know with the whole public unmasking and news stories running with it. Sometimes you have no choice. Remember Captain Thunder? Like that." She smiled awkwardly embarrassed, "I'm not trying to compare myself to Captain Thunder." She took another drink of her beverage then continued stirring, "But yeah, it's a pride thing now. I could go out there in civilian clothes, but why let them have power over me." She paused with shock, "I totally haven't told you my name yet, forgive me. I am Eve Kurosawa."

[Gizmo]

The imposing man chuckled at Eve's effusive explanation, a rumbling bass sound that reverberated a little around the patio. "Keith LaMarr," he introduced himself in turn with a shallow nod. "And now I feel I'm the one who owes an apology. I vaguely recall a news story to that effect, but there are so many of us these days, I have trouble keeping track." During his temporary retirement, LaMarr had allowed himself to lose touch with the heroic community, and now found himself hearing about even well established vigilantes for the first time on a fairly regular basis. "Kurosawa... Feel like I should recognize that. Big business?"

[Godiva]

Eve nodded slowly to the rhythm of her stirring, "Well, if you keep up with oil company names. Kurosawa Oil Corporation is the number two oil company in the United States. I am Kurosawa Hoshi's granddaughter." She chuckled, "Then again, people hear the name Kurosawa and ask about the films." She finished the caffelatte and placed the stirring spoon over the cup, then signaled the waitress to bring another. She looked back to Keith with a smile, "So, Mr. LaMarr. Keith? Wail? Is there a moniker you prefer to be addressed by? I haven't known any other public superheroes before."

[Gizmo]

"Heh. Take your pick; LaMarr is fine," the broad-shouldered educator assured Eve, taking a slow sip from his mug. "Coming from money, then. Well, explains the god manners." There had been a time in LaMarr's older days when he would have held that affluence against the young woman, but like many things the years had given him some more objective perspective on that. "Things were a little different back in the day," he noted thoughtfully. "If I was starting today, who knows, I might have kept my ID on the downlow. How've you been coping so far?"

[Godiva]

"LaMarr," Eve said with a soft muse, "this past month has been a roller coaster." She was looking at the large man, but it looked like she was looking somewhere else in time. She smiled as she remembered it all. "It started off slow, a few baby steps. The first few nights were empty." She blinked her starry eyes back into reality, "Though that's not a bad thing. My first service to the public was taking out some thugs making some Zoom in a warehouse." She frowned, "Then came the battle with Crimson Katana. That's where I got the public reveal." She sighed, "At first I hid away. I was thinking about leaving in disgrace." She smiled, "But then I realized, the secret doesn't make you the hero. The heroism makes you the hero. So I embraced it. Ever since then I've had people notice me as Jade Dragon and Eve Kurosawa. It's been an interesting time to say the least." She chuckled, "So yeah, I've been coping a case at a time."

[Gizmo]

"Tch, Crimson Katana," LaMarr shook his head ruefully. "How many of those have there been now? Well, you're doing the right thing, taking it in stride. Folks can smell scandal, they'll pay a lot more attention if you act like it's a problem." Sipping as his coffee, the experienced hero made a thoughtful sound. "Gonna be a little tougher 'cause you were already in the public eye a bit. People care what the rich get up to, though I couldn't tell you why."

[Godiva]

Eve frowned, not at LaMarr, at the Crimson Katana comment. She thought about the feud she was taught about. How it started out mildly dangerous in the seventies and then escalated in the eighties and nineties. How she and that woman were fighting on name and face recognition alone. She knew very little about the Crimson Katana of the now other than she was the blue oni to her red oni. The protector to her destroyer. Her thoughts quickly changed when LaMarr started talking about other people. "Yeah," Eve shrugged, "I'm not mad about that though." She poked at her new caffelatte with a straw, making little patterns, "Some people think you're different because you have money. Some people think you're different because you're a superhero." She looked up to LaMarr with a smile, "But in the end you're still the same person, just with different options."

[Gizmo]

"Mhmn," LaMarr murmured wryly, raising his eyebrows slightly in an expression that suggested that considering wealth a trivial matter of options was a luxury of the wealthy in and of itself. "Just remember, in some ways you are different. You'll be held to a higher standard, whether that's fair or not." Public scrutiny was one of the main reasons most heroes opted for a secret identity, and it was certainly going to a challenge for the acrobatic socialite. "Just do your best and don't let them get in your head, that's the trick."

[Godiva]

Eve happily nodded, "Oh certainly. Living in the public eye you're bound to find people who will judge you fair or foul." She sat back a bit as if in thought. "But I guess time and experience is a teacher to us all." She smiled at him. "I appreciate your sage advice." She sighed, "LaMarr, I have to ask you," she sat up poised again, "Maybe it would seem awkward after meeting like this. I don't want to seem like a hanger." She was quiet for a moment, collecting how to say it without seeming rash, "Well, I'd like to be trained on the field by someone who knows their stuff." She smiled hopefully, "I know you probably have a busy enough schedule. And I completely understand if you say no."

[Gizmo]

"Girl, you're in a line of work where your life will be on the line regularly," LaMarr pointed out gravely, giving Eve a level look across the table as he set down his coffee mug. "You ever think somebody has something useful to teach you, you don't be shy about asking." Stroking his beard with one hand, the big man frowned slightly. "That said, I'm not sure how relevant my experience will be for you. I'm more than a little dated these days, and our fighting styles are obviously different. Still, if you've got questions, I can try to answer them."

[Godiva]

"Thanks," Eve chuckled lightly, "though I was thinking of more a hands on training session." She nodded her head to the side and rubbed the back of her neck, "but thank you for your offer. I'll take you up on it." Picking her caffelatte up, it almost reached her lips before something hit her mentally. She looked to LaMarr something sorrowful, "I'm sorry, we've been talking about me this whole time." She folded her hands together and smiled, "I'd like to know more about you." She smirked, "Maybe you can break it down, Aesop-style."

[Gizmo]

"Can certainly do some more direct training, too," LaMarr agreed, inclining his head almost enough to be a shallow bow. "Sonic blast control won't do you much good, but I've learned a trick or two for hand-to-hand over the years." The imposing educator wryly placed one large fist lightly into his opposite palm. Opening his hand to pick his mug back up, he took a thoughtful sip. "About me, hmm? Well, let's see if I can give the Cliff's Notes. I was born here in Freedom, in 1954..."

[Godiva]

Eve sipped a few more caffelattes as she listened attentively to LaMarr's history. It was very insightful Full of victory and losses, trials and tribulations. Maybe she learned a bit more than she bargained for. She felt for him a little bit more. She saw the person beneath the voice for the first time. "Thank you, LaMarr," Eve said quietly. There was a bit of introspection, as if she were looking into her own future in the large cup. She cleared her throat and set the cup down. Looking to him, she smiled and spoke up, "Also, the training would be nice, too."

[Gizmo]

LaMarr gave Eve a few moments to absorb his brief retelling, sipping from his mug calmly. The years had given him some perspective and objectivity regarding his many tribulations, though some still hurt much more than others. He'd found that the scope of his experiences tended to have a not inconsiderable effect on more youthful listeners who were willing to hear him. "Well, that's the short version, naturally," he noted finally, offering the archer a small smile. "Left out the boring bits. Hmm. Well, tell me this: do you have an idea what you're most keen to learn?"

[Godiva]

Keen to learn? Eve thought, What isn't there he can teach me? She looked quizzically, considering her options. She snapped out of it a second later, and sipped her beverage. "Well," she paused for a short time, "I know the basics. Else I would not be where I am." She sighed, "But I am also an unworked piece of clay in some regards." She seemingly got a flash of insight with a raise of her eyebrows, "Like the whole going out thing. I make my way around Port Regal for a few hours during the evening and into the night. I look for things. Yet I feel I'm not doing that right. I guess that's a start." She chuckled and motioned with her hand like a movie marquee, "Superhero Patrolling And You!"

[Gizmo]

"Hah," LaMarr chuckled in a resounding bass rumble. "Just wandering around at night seems to pan out more often than it really should, frankly," he admitted with a smile that tugged on the corners of his beard. "Course, we set ourselves up with a toll-free number, so the crime came to us." He shook his head slowly, eyes unfocusing slightly. "1-800 numbers were actually pretty new at the time. You'd think Jav would've been the one to come up with the idea, but Yelena was convinced it was going to be the next big thing. 'They can dial a word instead of a number', she said, 'so easy even a child could do it!' When the sister with the robot arm starts talking 'bout the future, you give her the benefit of the doubt."

[Godiva]

Eve thought she'd never get tired of LaMarr's voice when she heard him laugh. The old saying, 'he could read the phonebook' rang true. She smirked, "Who knows, man? Thirty something years from now this whole internet thing might turn up a bust." Her faux-Luddite humor was minimally impressive. "Speaking of numbers," she said reaching into her pocket. She pulled out a jade colored card with her hero name, real name and number etched in silver. "It's probably not as professional as yours is or was, then again I'm willing to bet many heroes don't have a card." She smiled and handed it to him. "It's a mockup or prototype, if you will."

[Gizmo]

"Hnh, silver on green is slick," LaMarr noted approvingly as he accepted the card and turned it over to examine it from different angles. It occurred to him that printing on non-white cardstock probably ratcheted the cost of producing additional cards in the required quantities, but didn't suppose that would be much obstacle for the young heiress. "Ah, wait, I can put it in my phone's contacts," he recalled, snapping the fingers of his free hand in realization before digging a simple cell phone out of his pocket. It clearly wasn't a true smart phone, but it did have a fair sized LED display, leading the aging educator to begin navigating its menus. "Fool buttons are too small..." he muttered as he squinted downward; indeed, the keypad had certainly not been designed with someone of LaMarr's proportions in mind.

[Godiva]

"Big hands, big heart," Eve said with a slight smile and a wink as she watched LaMarr work , "or so I have been told." She fished out her own phone and handed him a pin to poke at his screen, "this will help a bit." She quietly let him do his thing. Thoughts ran through her head as quiet moment passed. What could she ask the veteran hero now? There was so much to go over and possibly very little time. That and she was on her sixth caffelatte. "Maybe you can give me some 'on the job training' if you're not busy tonight?" She said seemingly offhanded. "I'm sure there's much more to learn from you 'in media res'."

[Gizmo]

"If only to keep you from giving yourself an ulcer," LaMarr rumbled with amusement, casting a significant glance at Eve's latest coffee, while what little was left in his original cup sat cooling and forgotten. Frowning at his phone once more, he used the stylus to save the contact then paused, trying ascertain if he'd managed the feat. "Hrn. Think that did it," he grumbled, handing the stick back to the younger woman and replacing his phone in his pocket. "Anyway, figure I at least owe you for sitting through that story, heh."