18723/Philly Girls In Outer Space

Philly Girls In Outer Space
Date of Scene:	01 August 2024
Location:	Common Area - Milano
Synopsis:	Mantis and Mary talk about Earth and siblings over Zarg Nuts. Karaoke will be had later!
Cast of Characters:	Mary Bromfield, Mantis

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Mary Bromfield has posed:
After the effort to Tamaran... unsuccessfully, though quite a few people were saved by the heroes, Thunderbolt was drained of her powers, temporarily, and unconscious. Captain Marvel left her on board the Milano, where she was in the infirmary. Not really hurt, but using all her powers like that left her badly drained. So, she slept in sickbay...

Until now, when she jolted awake, gasping for air as she blinked, looking around, "Okay, where the heck is /this/?" She was wearing a green T-shirt proclaiming a sports(?) team as the Emerald Grove Owlbears, and also had on blue jeans and sneakers. Really, she looked positively normal. Save for what she did on the planet's surface before this.

Mantis has posed:
Mantis hovers creepily, as is her way, in the bulkhead for the Milano's sickbay. She's dressed in her usual jade martial arts attire, gently holding a metal tray with both hands. "Wake up wake up wake up wake up wake UP!" she shouts suddenly, unable to contain her building frustration. It's boring holding a tray! It's a happy coincidence that the would-be patient chose this moment to wake from her slumber.

Mantis' antennae rise with interest at the sound of Mary's voice. Deciding that this is the right time, Mantis carries the tray towards Mary's bed in the center of the infirmary. If Mantis has an answer to Mary's questions, she's not making it obvious. Instead, she sets the metal tray down on the table next to the bed. It contains an opaque cup filled with water and a bowl of precious, precious Zarg Nuts.

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary blinks, and looks at Mantis, "Er, hi. Um, not to be rude, but... where am I?" She pauses, and looks around with a bit of confusion, "I remember the evacuation, and I remember... channeling the lightning, getting people out... oh, where's the girl that was with me? Is she okay?" She sits up stiffly, then looks curiously at the Zarg Nuts. "Ah, what are those?"

Mantis has posed:
"You are on the Milano," Mantis answers obediently, though explaining nothing of value to the Earth girl. "Captain Marvel brought you to us to rest and recover." It doesn't exactly explain where she is, but Mantis might not even know. People have been coming and going so frequently, after all.

Her inky black eyes look down at the Zarg Nuts. "Zarg Nuts," Mantis answers cautiously. "If you are hungry, you may have three of them." It's no secret how much Mantis covets them.

Her antennae droop a little. "You can have as many as you want," she admits despondently before sliding the bowl closer to Mary using the back of her fingers.

"I am Mantis," she adds suddenly, awkwardly inserting her own introduction after a stretch of silence.

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary smiles, "Thanks Mantis, I'm Mary. Thanks for the Zarg Nuts." She takes precisely three of them, then slides the bowl back towards Mantis. Perhaps she recognizes the mannerisms, from her own experiences with her siblings. "I really appreciate that." Then, she tries one. Because, well, it can't be bad, right?

Then she says, "It's nice to see a friendly face. This is my first time outside of the solar... well, away from Earth." She wasn't really that sociable before, not that she had time for it, anyway. But she looks to be making up for some time now.

Mantis has posed:
"Mary," Mantis repeats, nodding her head a little as lowers herself into the chair positioned next to the bed. She speaks softly with great care given to each word, as though she's making a point to be on her best behavior for the guest. It's almost like she's acting like herself instead of being herself. But, when Mary says the magic word -- Earth -- Mantis comes to life. Her already doe-like eyes widen, eyebrows rise, and antennae perk in an instant. She even leans forward a little, unable to hide her interest.

"You are from Terra. That is where my-- that is where Peter is from," Mantis explains. Play it cool, Mantis, play it cool. She simmers.

"You are a far way from home," Mantis comments. She pushes the bowl of Zarg Nuts closer to Mary now that Mantis knows that Mary is from Earth.

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary smiles, "Yeah, I'm from Earth. Philadelphia, to be precise." She pauses, then looks curiously at Mantis, "How much has Peter told you about Earth?" Because well, being a streamer often involves a fair amount of monologuing about things... and well, if Mantis wants to hear more about Earth, she'll be more than happy to oblige.

And she does take a few more Zarg Nuts, since Mantis is being insistent on that. She's not exactly wanting to be rude after all.

Mantis has posed:
Mantis looks away as she considers the question. Her mouth hangs open as she waits for an answer to form. "Oh! He has told me many things," she replies, smiling proudly. "I have heard of your great warriors, the star-crossed lovers Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man. And also of Terra's greatest achievement: the scratch-and-sniff sticker, though I do not know what it is." Mantis hesitates, sensing that her answer isn't good enough.

Suddenly, Mantis extends both hands to her sides and gives Mary a pair of thumbs-up's. "Eyyyyyyyyy!" she says, doing her best impression of Earth's most sacred deity, The Fonz. She watches for Mary's reaction.

"Are you in a Breakfast Club? When does it meet?" she wonders suddenly, still holding those akimbo thumbs-up's.

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary blinks, then laughs. "Oh no... I'm not in a Breakfast Club. That was a bit before my time." She smiles warmly at Mantis, then gives her the thumbs up back, "AYYYYYYYYYYY." Because, well, who /doesn't/ love the Fonz?

She then adds, "I'm pretty familiar with Pac Man and Ms Pac Man, and there's a tons more of video game heroes besides, that maybe Peter didn't know about when he left." Because as a professional streamer, she's always looking to expand her audience.

Perhaps maybe not to outer space, but hey, untapped markets!

Mantis has posed:
Mantis cackles happily as her Fonz is returned. It putters out but her smile remains. She's unable to contain it.

Mary's admission that she's familiar with Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man almost breaks Mantis' brain. She blinks her inky black eyes a couple of times and lowers her voice. "What are they like?" Mantis asks, putting her thumbs away. She waits for Mary's answer with bated breath.

Mantis was supposed to check on their recovering passenger, sure, but things have taken an unexpected turn.

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary smiles, "Oh, they're happily retired now. There's younger heroes taking up the mantle. But they're still revered as some of the first of their kind." Which is true, in a manner of speaking. And she has the distinct feeling that telling Mantis the truth would be the same as telling her sister Darla there's no Santa Claus.

Which there IS. But anyway.

Mary looks over at Mantis, "If we ever do get to Earth, I'll have to make sure and show you around. I live in New York with my girlfriend, and it's great. We should go do some karaoke."

Mantis has posed:
Mantis' smile fades a little. "Oh," she replies before chewing on that thought for a few seconds. With Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man retired, the Earth must be swarming with ghosts, but Peter would've mentioned that. A couple more seconds pass before Mantis figures it out on her own. "Oh, the Ghostbusters," she mutters. "Of course."

Mary's mention of New York reinvigorates Mantis again. She nudges the bowl of Zarg Nuts forward another centimeter.

"Yes, kah-ree-oh-kee," she agrees with a soothing tone, nodding her head in sync with her own soothing rhythm. Distracted by this new word, Mantis absently picks up the cup of water and holds it out for Mary to take whether she's thirsty or not.

"What is it?" she wonders, both eyebrows hiked up again.

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary smiles, "It's singing, well, singing along to a melody. On stage. Typically in a bar but not always." She takes the water at Mantis' insistence, and takes a good drink. "Ah, thanks... I really needed that. But like..."

Mary pauses, then sings, a bit off-key but not badly, "Don't stop believin' / Hold on to that fee-eee-lin' / Streetlights, people..."

She then coughs a bit, then smiles, "Journey, sorry. You probably don't know that." But then again, she hasn't heard Peter's Awesome Playlists either.

Mantis has posed:
Mantis frowns a little as Mary explains what karaoke is. It sounds a lot like what singing is. She's about to respond, but then Mary begins to sing Don't Stop Believin' all of a sudden. Mantis blinks her eyes a couple times and waits for Mary to stop. When it's all over, a frown has found its way to Mantis' face. She's confused.

"That is singing," Mantis explains, still frowning. "The word for this is singing, not kah-ree-oh-kee. Rocket said you did not have brain damage but maybe he is wrong."

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary chuckles, "No, it's different. Well, I mean, it /is/ singing, just a special /kind/ of singing. If we get back to Earth I'll show you. Deal?" She grins, "I mean, you're giving me a ride and letting me have these Zarg Nuts, so I think I owe you for that."

She hrms, "Was there anything else you wanted to know about Earth? I can definitely tell you quite a bit." She radiates a fair amount of sincerity with that.

Mantis has posed:
"Deal!" Mantis agrees, quickly and enthusiastically. Her skepticism is all but a distant memory.

"And you do not have to worry about making it back to Earth," Mantis explains. "Peter said it is almost impossible to crash into the same ocean twice." She smiles and rises from her chair, picking up on some invisible social cue that now's an appropriate time for her to leave. She leaves the tray on the bedside table and shifts her weight to go, but Mary's offer is too tempting to ignore.

"When do Terran brothers meet their sisters?" she asks suddenly. It's a weirdly specific question that has no surrounding context. Mantis looks around, suddenly self conscious about the possibility that she might be overheard by the rest of the Milano crew.

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary pauses, thinking about it, "Well, I guess they do it right away. But my family, well, we're all adopted. So we kinda got there at different times. I'm the oldest one, but the other sibs all came in at different times. Billy was the last one to arrive, even though he's the second oldest."

She pauses, and lowers her voice a bit, sensing Mantis' want to not be overheard, "Though, I suppose it's best to introduce yourself right away. I mean, with everything going on, if I had a sister or brother out there and I didn't know about it, I'd definitely want to." Because she saw the Giant Hand of Doom over Tamaran, and... well. Maybe it's time to talk about things, otherwise you might never get a chance.

Mantis has posed:
Mantis lowers her gaze as she puts it all together. Mary's family sounds a lot like the Guardians of the Galaxy. They all came in at different times -- Mantis was the last one to arrive, like Billy, and they've been together ever since. She nods her head, only for a moment, until Mary uses the word 'yourself.' The jig is up.

"I was asking for a friend," Mantis interjects uncomfortably, trying to distance herself from her own question. Now that she's standing, her hands have found themselves in that usual position in front of her waist. "I must go," Mantis adds, finding this conversation to be a danger to her secrets. "We will talk again."

After taking a couple steps towards the bulkhead that separates the sickbay from the rest of the ship, Mantis stops and offers up some advice. "Do not pet Rocket," she warns before continuing to leave. Wait. Remembering how fun this joke was when it was at her expense, Mantis stops a second time.

"Actually!" Mantis announces. "You should pet Rocket. He enjoys it!" She smiles broadly, unable to contain her own amusement at the thought of the possible outcome of the practical joke.

And with that settled, Mantis continues for the exit, quietly laughing to herself.