maskormenacelogs | OPEN (August catch-all)

Entry tags:

OPEN (August catch-all)

WHO: Laurel Lance and YOU!
WHERE: Various locations.
WHEN: Throughout August.
WHAT: Vigilantism, retail and the beach. Also, feel free to tag in with your own prompt.
WARNINGS: None at the moment, but will update if necessary.

Maurtia Falls (After dark):

While this city wasn't the one that Laurel lived in, she had heard about its reputation. Maurtia Falls seemed to have a higher crime rate than the rest of the porter cities and Laurel was determined to make a difference. As much of a difference that she could in the space of a few hours. Laurel knew that this wasn't home, but doing nothing at all didn’t sit well with her. She was dressed in her vigilante gear, weapons and all, choosing to wear a blonde wig instead of using her natural hair. Laurel didn’t want to risk someone she had spoken to before recognising her while she was taking out some bad guys.

An alleyway seemed to be a good place to start. It sounded like a cliché, but Laurel had punched many a bad guy in alleyways. Sure enough, there were a few shady looking guys circling around a terrified looking man. They had knives in their hands and they were slowly advancing towards him.

Out of seemingly nowhere, a loud, piercing high-pitched scream echoes around the alleyway, causing all of the men to cover their ears; Laurel knows that her canary cry isn't as powerful as it could be, but until she gained better control of it, she didn't want to risk causing anyone any serious damage.

She didn't waste any time in taking advantage of their disorientation, bringing up one of her tonfas to crack one of the men across the side of his head, enough to make him fall to the ground, knocked out cold. The remaining pair seemed to recover quickly, turning around to look her way.

Crap.

But Laurel knew she could do this.

Petal to the Medal flower shop:

Laurel worked five days out of seven at the flower shop, between the hours of nine to five. She was glad that the store didn’t open on Sunday, but she did have to wake the occasional Saturday. Still, it was nice to learn something new and getting to know the regular customers had been enjoyable. Down the line, Laurel had plans to offer people legal aid, much like she did when she first started her law career. But that required money. So she was going to work hard and save.

"Hi, and welcome to Pedal to the Medal. How can I help you?" It was the typical greeting that Laurel had for every customer, but she tried to change it up on occasion and offer them something different. Her greeting was also accompanied with a welcoming smile; she had never really worked in retail before, but her boss didn't seem to have any complaints.

When Laurel wasn't behind the cash register she was arranging the window display and fixing the shelves, making sure that the stock was right where it should be.

Heropa beach:

One sunny Sunday afternoon, Laurel takes it upon herself to go to the beach in Heropa. She figured that she might as well take advantage of the nice weather while it lasted, not knowing when it could suddenly rain.

When she isn't sitting on a lounge chair beneath a beach umbrella, Laurel can be found down by the shore, wading through the water. She's got her jeans rolled up and cool water on her feet, surrounded by golden sand and it's a sunny day. Nothing could be better.

Wildcard! (Tag in with what you like! If you want me to set up a prompt, let me know via a PM :D

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

This is also the city that Wanda does not live in, but even in all of her nearly six months here, it's the one porter city she's been to least often. So, she'd been taking some time today checking it out, and spent longer here that she'd intended to, considering it's now after dark. She's flying around above many of the rooftops until very nearby she hears a high-pitched scream, which also causes her some disorientation since she's that close to it, and sort of gently drops onto a rooftop to let that pass while the woman knocks one of the guys out. Looking down once it's over and she's oriented enough to use her powers again, she flies down to the ground near the woman in a blonde wig. "I'll get one, you get the other?"

She shifts into a ready stance, one that had been taught to her by Nyssa when they engaged in combat training. Everything that Laurel had learned was as natural as breathing; she doubt that she'd ever forget those skills. At the same time, she was calculating her next few moves, counting on the men to do something stupid.

Focused on the task at hand, she doesn't notice Wanda until she appears right beside her and speaks. Laurel glances over at her, not even questioning at the moment. "Sounds good to me."

On second thought, maybe Laurel will ask about the whole flying thing later, once they take care of the problem.

[ Laurel may not be the Black Canary Ted knows, and that might suck for him in ways he can't even begin to describe, but that doesn't mean he's going to pass on trying to get to know her. He was friends with Dinah for years, surely he can at least make an effort with this version?

So he makes a trip specifically to the flower shop he remembered her mentioning in their first conversation. He needs flowers anyway, might as well kill two birds with one stone? On second thought, maybe that's a bad way of phrasing meeting up with a Canary. ]

I'm looking for a flower arrangement that'll make someone really suspicious that I've done something wrong that I'm preemptively apologizing for.

[It takes Laurel a moment to register his words. She really did hear that, right? But, she's a professional.]

This is the first time I've ever gotten that kind of request, but okay. I'm sure I'll be able to come up with something.

Does this person have a favourite colour?

[ He flashes a smile as he considers it. ]

I don't know about favorite, but maybe something with red and white?

Those colours would look great together. I just need to think of what flowers to suggest. Unless you have any ideas.

[ Laurel smiles in return. ]

Admittedly, I don't know a lot about flowers. I don't need anything too fancy, though, this isn't a date. They're for my boss.

Lucky for you, we do have more simple arrangements for those kind of occasions and people.

If you'd like to follow me I can show you them.

[ He follows as asked, idly browsing the other arrangement displays as they go. ]

So, how are you settling in?

[Laurel stops when he asks her the question, turning to face him.]

I'm getting there. My sister arrived a few days ago so it's helped to have someone from home.

Alley-oop!

[Almost out of nowhere, the Blue Beetle - aptly named, a guy in a blue supersuit, eyes glowing and translucent insect's wings spread out behind him - flies downwards and merely picks up one of the men underneath his armpits, carrying him like a particularly disgusting and fussy baby as he rises steadily into the air. Cheerfully, he says,] I'd really stop wriggling if I were you, and let the nice lady do her job.

[Okay he knows nothing about this woman, but he'll run with the whole nice lady thing, considering they're fellow capes and all. Then, to Laurel, he calls out:] Hi there! I hope I'm not, like, intruding on your turf or whatever. I just thought you could use a hand!

[It wasn't the first time Laurel had seen someone swoop in from the sky - she had just never seen anyone dressed in a supersuit like that. Her friend Cisco would probably get a kick out of it. She barely has anytime to react to the beetle(?) guy picking up one of the men and getting them out of her way. In fact, he was pretty much doing Laurel a favour. ]

Uh, hi! [Laurel calls back, turning to look in his direction. "Nice lady". Yeah, she likes that.] No, you're not. I just...it was unexpected. Thank you! I do appreciate the help!

I'll get the other one.

Sure thing! Take your time, [Jaime calls back. True to form, the criminal seems fine with just going loose in Jaime's arm, wise enough not to upset the balance of someone carrying him in the air. Jaime wouldn't dare drop him, no matter how much he wriggled - he's not that careless - but he finds that there's never much of a problem in at least letting them believe that they're in at least a little bit of danger. It makes his life that much easier.

He waits patiently as Laurel takes care of business, then slowly flutters down to the ground, criminal still in hand -- though again, he chooses not to fight, not when he's this outnumbered. He lets out a puff of breath, amused.]

This is the kinda time that makes me think that we should carry businesscards, or something.

[What would his even look like? Blue Beetle, Crime Fighting Extraordinaire, with a BA in Kicking Butt?]

[Once they get that settled, Laurel switches her attention back to the remaining criminal. She may be smiling a little. But that smile quickly turns into a determined look as she blocks the first punch he tries to land on her. Laurel doesn't hesitate to punch him in the gut, causing him to double over in pain; while he was distracted with that, she uses her tonfa to strike him in the knee. It’s enough to make him crumple to the ground.

Just in time for her to see Jaime land in front of her.]

Businesscards? [Laurel repeats, mulling that over for a moment.] Could hand them out to people who may need a helping hand once in awhile.

[Part of her thinks that he wasn't being entirely serious, just trying to lighten the mood.]

Thanks for the help. Now we need to figure out what we're going to do with these guys.

[He had been joking, but that's okay; the fact that Laurel was even entertaining the idea is enough to make him smile anyway. Most people don't take him seriously, and it's kind of funny that she does. To be fair, if you want to be accessible, it's not a terrible idea; they don't exactly have a batsignal around these parts.]

Usually I just call the police, [Jaime says, helpfully.] Depending on what they did, I mean. If they're just, um, dealing with addiction and stuff and they didn't really hurt anyone, I usually walk 'em over to a shelter instead, 'cause... I dunno, I figure they could use the help.

[He peers down at the man she had dispensed with, where he's groaning lightly on the ground.]

What did these guys do, anyway? I got here late.

That's good of you. I'd do the same. [She could admire someone who cared about others in need.] No one in charge seems to care about anyone in those circumstances around here.

[Rather than getting caught up in that topic, she answers his question.]

They were about to mug someone. He's right over- [Laurel looks around for the man but he wasn't there.] Huh. He must have took off when I was fighting.

Maybe we should take them into the authorities, bring charges against them. I doubt that they would think about doing something like this again. If they did, it would be incredibly stupid.

Black Canary by the way. And you?

Good idea. I don't think the station's too far from here, so... Up and at 'em, buddy.

[He takes one of the men and picks him up, slinging him over one of his shoulders. It's probably not very comfortable, but then again, the man isn't conscious enough to care. He's just lucky that he got two crimefighters that are more interested in handing people in than giving them broken arms to remember them by.

The title, however, is enough to make him stop short.]

You're Black Canary? [It makes sense, doesn't it? The scream? But he hadn't put two and two together, not when this Black Canary looks so different.] Sorry, that probably sounds rude! I, um, know a Black Canary where I'm from too. She looks kinda different from you. I'm the Blue Beetle. It's nice to meet you, or -- this version of you!

[Laurel grabs a hold of one of the other man, slinging her arm over his shoulder and putting his arm over hers. Unfortunately for the guy, Laurel will be half-dragging him to the station.]

No, no. [She's quick to reassure him.] It isn't rude at all. I've already talked to a few people who know a version of me so I've come to expect it. Don't worry.

Nice to meet you too, Blue Beetle. I don't know any version of you in my world but he could be out there I guess. [A smile.] How long you been doing this for?

It might be a different guy in your world too. I'm not actually the original, [Jaime says, chipperly enough. Maybe Dan's at it in her world? Or even Ted? It's hard to imagine the absence of a Blue Beetle altogether, but Jaime's pretty darn sure that Ted as the Blue Beetle is a lot more common than his presence. Which is a good thing, all things considered, because it'd mean that Ted is still alive, and that's the best case scenario.]

I've been doing this for... man, a long time now. A year back home, almost two years here?

[When did that happen? And here he still feels like a newbie.]

How 'bout you?

About a year and a half? It took me some time before I became Black Canary; I had to train and build up my confidence. Sure I stumbled a little a few times, but knowing that I've made a differences makes up for that.

[She's proud of her achievements. Most of her journey was an uphill battle, but Laurel saw it through to the end.]

So you were inspired by the original Blue Beetle? My sister was my inspiration - well, she and a few other vigilantes.

...yeah. Yeah, I was inspired.

[That's not why he became the Blue Beetle, not even close, but he knows now that Ted's one of his biggest inspirations out there. Every day, he hopes to be his own hero, but to be a little like him too, in his own way. If he could hope to be that smart, that dedicated...

Well, he's still got far to go. But maybe so does Black Canary here.]

That's awesome, [he says, without a trace of irony.] Having people to be able to look up to, that's half the battle. Was the other vigilante you looked up to Green Arrow, by any chance?

[Because where you get Green Arrow, Jaime knows, you get Black Canary too.]

Yeah, he is someone I looked up to. But he wasn't always the Green Arrow; it took a while before he used that name.

[A long story, and not necessarily hers to tell. Oliver had been through a lot; both on the island and even at home. Laurel didn't always have it so easy either, but she isn't prepared to share that with him right now. They had only just met.]

There are others aside from me and him. And not just in our city, by the way. We have the Flash too. Over in Central City.

Well, sure. I kind of assumed there are others.

[He pauses, looking at her questioningly, because the idea of superheroes without that immense, global community is completely foreign to him. But why else would she list only one name, only one other city?]

Unless you mean... your guys' superhero community is just your city and Central? Where I'm from, there's gotta be hundreds of us.

Yep, just those two cities. There could be other superheroes out there, maybe. They just haven't made themselves known to us yet.

[Now Laurel was beginning to wonder if other superheroes were out there, in Star City. She was sure that they would have heard about them somehow, either on the news or on the streets.]

Hundreds though. I can only imagine the amount of good that has been done by them.

[Jaime's been in the business long enough to know that you can't measure their amount of heroes by how much good they've done. It wasn't a particularly happy realization - he was happier about it as a civilian, really, where Superman was just the cool guy in the bright costume on the other side of the country - but now, he knows that it can go wrong.

But he knows the extent of how good some of them are too, as people, not just as distant figures, so maybe that's its own sort of trade-off.]

A lot. I mean, it's not an easy job, which you obviously know already, but... I think that in the end, everyone's pretty happy with the amount of good they've done. We've done, I mean. [He grins at her.] I'm pretty sure the world would've exploded a few times without them by now, honestly.

[There were some people in her life who had redeemed themselves into a hero. Laurel herself had even struggled with her own demons before becoming the hero she was today. Even now Laurel knew that her journey wasn't over - she would continue to grow and learn in the years to come.]

We've come pretty close to losing the entire city. If we hadn't stopped the people responsible when we did, the whole world probably would've been in jeopardy. [Slade, Ra's; they were only a few of the villains they had faced.]

And there is always going to be other times when the world almost explodes. No matter how many bad guys you take down, more seem to appear.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

OPEN (August catch-all)

@ Maurtia Falls

no subject

Flower shop!

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Maurtia Falls!

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

sorry about the delay!!

no worries at all!

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject