ic Selfie Shtick

[Tiffany Korta]

Nơi mẹ Restaurant, San Diego

 

It was one of those small out of the way places that only the locals knew about that served possibly some of the best Vietnamese food outside of the country. Blodeuwedd was quite proud that she'd been able to track down the place despite having only been in town for a few hours. Having just finished up some business for the Order and having a few hours before her flight back to Freedom City she thought she'd catch up with her old friend from Claremont Giang Trang.

 

Right now was almost unrecognizable in a well cut suit her hair pulled into a severe bun playing the part of the young businesswoman. To be honest she'd be happy to get out of character into something much more comfortable.

[Thevshi]

Giang Trang guided her motorcycle down the San Diego freeway as she made her way to the restaurant where she was supposed to meet her friend Creys Pefr.  Giang had been a bit surprised at the out of the blue call from Creys, but was a bit accustomed to that from her friend.  Much like John, Creys was often off somewhere on some mission she could not talk about much, so one never knew when she might be around.  Luckily, Giang had finished her classes for the day and had the rest of the day free. 

Taking the off ramp, the Asian young woman zoomed down the side streets toward the restaurant.  It was not long before she pulled up along the street a short way from the door.  Taking her helmet with her, Giang made her way to the restaurant inside.  Stopping as she stepped inside, she took a moment to scan the room, eventually spotting Creys.  "I see the person waiting for me."  She said to the hostess and then made her way over.

"Creys, it is so wonderful to see you."  She said with a smile as she came up to her friend.

[Tiffany Korta]

With a friendly smile Blodeuwedd gave her friend a warm hug, of her friends from Claremont she saw Giang the least. Something that she was happy to rectify on this occasion.

 

“It’s good to see you again Giang. And it’s Blodwen now, Cerys was... less than legitimate. Though Cerys will be fine as well, it’s not like we’re not use to alternate identities.” she gave one of her tight smiles

 

Personally she’d always thought herself as Blodeuwedd rather than any of her other identities, though her friends had never quite understood her point of view.

“I hope I didn’t throw everything out for you, unfortunately I’m only on the West Coast for a few more hours.”

[Thevshi]

Giang warmly returned Blode's hug, very happy to see her friend, even if it was just for a short while.  As the other young woman explained that she was not going by Cerys any longer, Giang gave an understanding smile and nod.  "Ah, sorry, had not heard about that change."   

As Blode took her seat once more, Giang took the one directly across from her.  "Not at all."  She answered in response to Blode's comment about hoping this sudden meeting was not a problem.  "It worked out that my schedule was currently open.  And even if it had not been, I would not have passed up this opportunity to see you while you were here."

[Tiffany Korta]

Blodeuwedd took a seat and they ordered a few drinks, for now they stuck to soft drinks even if she had ID that would allow her to drink alcohol and could actually legally drink back home.

 

“I’m just sorry I didn’t get to visit you earlier. It’s just that graduation was a little crazy and then I had to go home whilst everyone got to decide what I was going to do exactly.”

Blodeuwedd hadn’t often share much on her family from the little she did carried the suggestion that everything was a rather byzantine process.

[Thevshi]

Giang sat back down as well, opting for tea instead of a soft drink.  She was not one to pry into secrets others had, nor to pass judgment on her friends' pasts and obligations.  After all, it would be rather hypocritical given her own family dynamics. 

The Asian young woman gave her friend a small understanding nod at Blod's appology.  "I understand.  There is always the unexpected that seems to come up.  In any event, you are here now, even if for a short time." 

"I hope that you at least had some voice in the decision, even if a minor one." 

[Tiffany Korta]

Blodeuwedd gave one of her rather rare smiles, today she was in a good mode as things were going pretty well.

 

“Whilst how I do things are a little unorthodox compared to how the family do things, they can’t really dispute my response. And for some reason the Argentine branch of the family seem to like me for some reason.” she gave a little embarrassed shrug she was actually surprised at how much influence her time at Claremont had given her.

“What about you? Have you family given you any problems recently?”

[Thevshi]

Giang shook her head at Blode's question about whether there had been any problems with her family.  "No, they have been rather quite for some time now.  Which in some ways has me worried whether they are planning something or not."  The Asian young woman replied.  "But then, given the competitive nature of Dr. Sin's organization, they could be too focused fending off rivals wishing to supplant them to put much effort in to coming after me again.  I expect at some point they will find an opportunity to do so again, but I will be ready." 

"Have you seen much of the others since graduation?  Mali seems to be enjoying college as well back in Freedom City, but I have mainly only traded emails and a few phone calls with her.  I have seen Thaelia more recently, when we were called to assist with a problem in the Sea of Japan."

[Tiffany Korta]

“Well I’ve been travelling around a bit, but I try to keep in touch with as many as I can. Tona’s still out of sorts with what’s going on with Sam, though she got herself a job and a place to live. And Glamazon is well Glamazon everything she decides to do is kinda loud.”

Behind Blodeuwedd a television was playing mostly to itself,though what caught Giang eye was an apparently live report. Apparently something strange was going down at San Diego’s City Hall, the reporter was still laying out an introduction whilst the crawl at the bottom of the screen didn’t provide much information.

[Thevshi]

"I am glad to hear Tona has found at least some semblance of stability."  The Asian young woman replied.  While she had not been as close with Tona or Sam as Blodwen or Mali had, Giang still had been worried about the archer based on what Mali had stated in some emails. 

She then gave a small grin as Blodwen discussed Thaelia and her tendency to lack volume control.  But then Giang was distracted from the discussion by the scenes that appeared on the television behind Blodwen.  The Asian young woman's eyes narrowed slightly as she focused on the screen.  "Something strange appears to be happening downtown."  She stated to Blodwen, as she asked the waitress if they could turn up the volume in Vietnamese.

[Tiffany Korta]

GM Post

 

The camera rapidly swung round to show the rather beautiful Art Deco stylings of the San Diego City Hall. Stood at the bottom of stairs leading up to the main entrance was a woman who looked liked she could have stepped out from that era. With a combination of pure white skin with black dress and hair (in a suitable bob cut). The camera showed a little more detail as it got closer showing the woman face, someone well known enough that she needed no introduction, though the reporter did anyway.

“It appears to be Madame Marvelous, and she’s apparently surrendering!”

[Thevshi]

Giang looked at the television for a moment, studying the well known supervillainess as the news cameras focused on her.  While the Asian young woman had never encountered Madame Marvelous before, she had certainly heard about her, both during her time at Claremont and since.  And what she knew was that when Madame Marvelous was involved, things were not always as they seemed.

"This seems rather unusual."  Giang said quietly to Blodwen.  "Perhaps we should head over there and keep an eye on things.  Just in case she is up to something."

[Tiffany Korta]

Blodeuwedd watched the unfolding scene with some interest analysing the scene with the mind of a tactician. At first she didn’t answer but instead started counting out money for the meal.

 

“It’s a shame they have some great desserts here, maybe we should get one to go?” he normal deadpan manner meant it difficult to tell if she was joking

“From what I’ve read about her more is going on here that it appears, still I guess it’s still worth the risk. Let’s go pay her a visit. We can my car if you want, it’s a rental.”

[Thevshi]

"Well, the things we sometimes sacrifice in the line of duty."  Giang stated in reply to Blode's comment about missing some of the great desserts as she stood up and started toward the door.   

The Asian young woman thought a brief moment as the two made their way outside about whether to take the rental car or not.  "I suppose we can."  She finally said.  "But traffic can be a mess, so we should be ready to pull off somewhere and get there another way if needed."  She then added as she climbed into the passenger seat.

[Tiffany Korta]

GM Post

 

Traffic in the downtown area would be bad enough even without the presence of a supervillain in their midst. So pretty quickly the two young heroes had to abandon the car and make their way toward the building by less traditional methods. And pretty soon they were at a good vantage point to see what was going down there.

 

The police was already there but they weren’t yet taking action against Madame Marvelous, probably waiting for a more specialised metahuman units, instead they seemed to be concentration on forming a perimeter to keep the media and bystanders out of trouble.

Madame Marvelous seemed totally relaxed despite all the chaos she was causing, stood in all her black and white glory checking something on her similarly themed cell phone.

[Thevshi]

Giang had taken a moment to change into the costume she wore as Tsunami, a full body suit of morphic molecules that was colored several different shades of blue that all seemed to almost flow and shimmer like water.  The optical illusion of the costumes color patterns was enhanced by the thin sheen of shimmering water that flowed over the surface of the costume, providing Giang protection. 

As she and Blode stopped on a nearby rooftop to get a view of what was going on, the Aisan teen looked over to her friend.  "So, shall we wait and see for a bit?  Or just head on down and introduce ourselves?"

[Tiffany Korta]

Blodeuwedd almost instinctively had stuck to the shadows, even though she didn’t need them to hide, her dark cape fluttering around her in a dramatic fashion.

 

“How about we do both? One of us can stay clear in case trouble starts whilst the other goes to talk to Madame Marvelous. And seeing as it is you city I think you should do the honours...” She made a little gesture down toward the villain

 

“I’ve got few earbuds left over from my last mission so we can keep in touch, and you know I’ll be there in an instance if trouble starts.”

Blodeuwedd knew from experience that Giang was more than capable in almost any situation.

[Thevshi]

"And it also works out that you are by far the stealthier between us."  Giang replied with a faint smile as she took the earbud transmitter Blode offered and put it into her ear. 

After a comm check to insure they were both receiving, the Asian young woman jumped onto a waterspout she had drawn from various sources around them and rose up into the air and out over the streets in front of city hall before dropping down to a bit lower altitude. 

Coming to a halt a short distance from Madame Marvelous, Tsunami stood on the waterspout, looking down at the theatrical villainess.  "Good afternoon Madame Marvelous, I am Tsunami.  What is it you want?"

[Tiffany Korta]

GM Post

If Madame Marvelous was surprised by Tsunami’s appearance she didn’t show it at all,instead springing into action and smiles and charm.

 

“Tsunami, Tsunami, Tsunami. Nope sorry don’t recognise the name. Still a hero is a hero I guess.” She put her hand up in mock surrender

 

“I only wish to talk, I have an offer for you.” She put her hand down and offered the in front of her instead “Or would you prefer this, I won’t judge you little minx you.” She leant in for a stage whisper

 

“Have you heard of a villain called Selfie?” She surrounded the name with air quotes “Apparent she’s popular on social media, though obviously not as popular as myself on of off line.”

 

She began to pace as she talked, it was difficult to tell how much was spontaneous and how much was scripted.

“So I think to myself how to take this upstart down a peg or two. I thought a twitter war, but that's been done before, and an actual war would just get messy. So then I thought I should just get someone like you to sort her out.” She stopped and leaned in again, as close “How would you like to capture Selfie? Because I know where she’s going to strike next.”

[Thevshi]

If Madame Marvelous had meant to insult Tsunami by stating she had never heard of her, it failed to achieve the desired effect.  Giang was not one to seek publicity or fame, instead preferring to go unnoticed when she engaged in hero work.  Nor did she rise to the teasing from the villainess either, remaining focused on listening what Madame Marvelous had to say.

"Well, while I am certainly interested in stopping a criminal, do not expect that means I will simply look the other way as you slip away."

[Tiffany Korta]

 

GM Post

 

Madame Marvelous gave a very sly smile, she obviously already had some plan or other falling into place.

 

“Of cause my dear after we capture this pretender we shall deal with the consequences. What a marvelous battle of wits it shall be you and me against SELFIE.” her words were obviously very carefully chosen.

 

“I guess you don’t want to let me out of you sight until we can trap this foul villain. Where shall go and plan a daring assault?”

 

The dry voice of Blodeuwedd drifted over their shared comm’s, she’d been quietly listening to the whole situation.

 

“Why do I feel that this isn’t going to end well for us today?”