4830/Kat as Catch Can

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Kat as Catch Can
Date of Scene: 22 January 2021
Location: Ruins -- Roosevelt Island
Synopsis: Spider-Man has a little chat with the Punk Princess, post-Origin.
Cast of Characters: Peter Parker, Katsumi Oshiro




Peter Parker has posed:
Well...no one said the match wasn't MEMORABLE.

Peter had been doing the Spider-Man thing during the event, but the alert had popped up on his HUD, along with a video clip.
Wow...the Punk Princess had apparently been trying to "go the distance" and somehow was "going for distance" instead. And it had not looked scripted in any way.

He got to the event and found it had been shut down, with Katsumi nowhere to be seen.

He had looked for the next few days, but there had been hide nor hair of her until yesterday, when a CCTV near the Octagon had picked up her face, and he had tracked it to the Smallpox Hospital grounds.

So, on a bright cold morning, Spider-Man bus-surfed to Roosevelt Island, then headed southwest to check out the hospital for the Punk Princess...

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Were it not for some particularly supportive and patient individuals, Katsumi isn't sure where she'd be right now. Well, she knows she'd be either on the street here in America, or back in Japan, isolated and potentially getting nabbed by the government for experiments. And though she's very grateful for having somewhere to sleep and not worry about getting mugged, and space enough to breathe and strategize, it's difficult to shake the nagging sensation that she's in the way. She's not used to spending so much time around others. She's used to others having to put up with her until they can get away, and her going back to an empty, quiet apartment.

In short, Katsumi needs a moment.

She didn't have a set destination in mind when she set out. She didn't have an objective outside of "take it in, breathe". But somehow, she found her way here. Where? Honestly, she has no idea. She doesn't know the significance here. But if she did, a bitter part of herself might suggest she belongs here. But for now, she's found a piece of dilapidated architecture to sit on. Dressed in a vermillion dress coat, the punkette still rocks those boots, choker, and fingerless gloves combo. But her eyes, at this point, have completely lost any trace of green. The irises are perfect, pristine pools of inhuman magenta.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey isn't getting any sense of imminent threat from her, but just appearing in front of her and spooking her seems like a bad idea. So, go for the distanced-greeting alternative.

There is a rustle of pebbles and mortar dust, and then a voice comes from above. But it's DEFINITELY not some angel.

"Hello, Katsumi."

As she looks up, he realizes that the image from the cameras were not distorted or altered. Yeah...those don't look like contacts.

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro is having a quiet moment, disturbed only by the sound of the wind and the chill it brings. Silky hair blows in wisps about her face, unbothered. And then, a voice.

Katsumi looks up, and immediately yelps in surprise. Those culprit eyes are widened, and she scrambled to her full height. "Ah! Whao! What the Hell!"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man's eyes widen, even on the mask. He holds up both hands. "Hey! take it easy! Sorry!" A deep breath. "Sorry about that, I didn't mean to startle you."

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro is right back on high alert. Though at least it didn't translate immediately into aggression. At least, not yet. Her hands rose with splayed fingers; distinctly not in surrender, but in readiness to catch and grapple. But as he speaks, the hands slowly begin to lower.

"Spider... Man," she repeats slowly, incredulous stare on her face. "What, uh... are you?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey grins. "A rare breed of human/spider hybrid, an expert acrobat, and I have it on good authority that I look ABSURDLY hot under this mask. But you can call me Spider-Man. Or Spidey. Or Webhead. There are others, but I REALLY don't want you to use those."

He lowered his hands as he begins walking down the side of the brick wall. From thirty feet up. Just another 90-degree stroll.

"The doofus who takes all the pics of me called me and said you might need a knowledgable ear. I have two. Even though you can't see them."

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro continues to stare openly, that aforementioned 90 degree walk doing nothing to lessen the absurdity before her eyes. But she seems to relent with a more blustery, exasperated sigh. "Okay, fine! Spider-Man. You probably have mandibles under there or something, but I don't care!"

That was a fib. She would care greatly. There would be shrieking.

"The person who takes pictures of you sent you after me. Okay. I.. think I know who you're talking about. But I dunno what talking about it would do. I nearly killed someone by accident. I-.. I dunno what else to say about it."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man nods. "Well...maybe I can help. The person you hit is making a full recovery, there was a little property damage, but nothing broken that can't be fixed. So...was that the first time that happened?"

Spidey leans against the wall, hands behind his back.

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro knew Swan's condition was stable. Full recovery doesn't always mean "full" though. She's on pins and needles waiting to hear whether or not she can fight again. But that's not something she's going to prompt. She doesn't want to think about that, let alone talk about it with a dude in colorful tights.

Not that that's very dissimilar to her day job, but who's counting?

As Spidet leans back on the wall, Katsumi folds her arms against her modest bust. "It was. Someone told me they could tell there's some kind of... magic... on me. But theh weren't sure what, or what details. Like I could be cursed or something. But.. yeah.. never did that before."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man nods. "There was a show back in the early 1980's. It was called THE GREATEST AMERICAN HERO. In it, some teacher got a super-suit from aliens, but lost the instruction manual so he never really knew how to use the suit correctly. It was quite unrealistic, of course."

He looks around, then stage-whispers to Katsumi, "Almost NOBODY gets an instruction manual. Iron Man is the sole exception as far as I know. This sort of thing...no guru shows up and says, 'Hey, now you can do X and Y and Z. Have fun.' It was the same way for me. I never saw it coming."

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro stares at Spider-Man flatly, gaze half-lidded. "Yeah. No. /Totally/ unrealistic, /Spider-Man/."

Sarcasm delivered, Katsumi bobs her shoulders in a faint, but helpless shrug. "There's someone who's supposed to talk to me about it, but no word yet. And I dunno if he could really help me get rid of it, or figure out what triggered it, anyway. I just... have to try really hard to not hurt anyone else."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey nods. "Yeah. Happened to me, too. One day, I'm the stereotypical 98-pound weakling. The next...I'm pulling doors off hinges." He sighs. "I spent a WEEK walking around like everything was made out of balsa wood. But you learn how to adapt. You learn to sense what is too much pressure to exert, when too much is too much. But it takes time, focus, and training...all things I know *you* have."

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro twists her lips slightly at the compliment. She should appreciate the recognition, but somehow, it hits her ear strangely. "What, did you watch me perform? Got a thing for Japanese wrestling?"

After a beat, she catches her own confrontational tone and winces. "Sorry. I'm being a b****, and you're trying to be nice. Just- it's stressful. And yeah. that, except- hold out your hand. You'd feel it if I hit you hard, right? You're not super numb or anything, are you?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man nods and holds up his hand. "I've been hit hard by a LOT of people. Try and hit as hard as you can. If it's too much, I'll dodge." He taps his head. "I've got an early-warning system in here that will warn me if it happens."

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro peers at the head in question, but doesn't ask. One bizarre thing at a time.

Katsumi moves forward and squares up to Spider-Man. Her right foot shifts back, and she torques into a strong haymaker. It's a powerful hit! ...By human standards alone. There is nothing approaching supernatural about her strength.

Katsumi leans back and lets the arm drop to her side again. "It's gone. Or.. in remission, or something. I still have these damn eyes, but no super strength."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey puts up the hand to absorb the blow, then steps back. "Well...maybe I can help otherwise. I have a training area. It's an old junkyard I've...re-purposed for my needs. The owners aren't coming back anytime soon, anyway. Think of it as a fitness center for superhumans. Worse comes to worst, you can maybe get ideas for your own special gym?"

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro's posture slouches. "But I'm not superhuman. That's what I'm sayin'. Whatever happened isn't happening anymore. It's all gone. Poof. Like it needed a trigger. And I dunno what that trigger is."

She lifts a hand to draw her hair back over an ear. "I made a list of possible triggers based on what was going on that night. But I can't test'em by myself in a junkyard. I need people. People who don't know I'm using them."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey grins. "Well, if you need someone to test them out on, I'm willing to help wherever I can. So, you have a list of triggers. Why don't you tell me what I need to do to test a trigger, and I'll oblige you?"

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro exhales a soft sigh. "I don't think you can. It probably needs people to be sincere. And I don't think you're gonna sincerely boo me, or want someone else to put the smackdown on me. I can work a crowd of normies, no problem."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey snickers. "Oh, believe me, I can snark and trash-talk with the best of them. You want to be nudged, harassed, smack-talked? I can do that better than most."

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro shakes her head. "You won't mean it. Audiences want me to really get beat up. They want the person I'm fighting to wipe the floor with me. You don't. You're just puttin' noise in the air. Cuz your motivation is to try to help me. See what I'm sayin'?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey pauses for a moment, then ohs. "Okay...it's not the WORDS, but the INTENT. I think I see where you're going with this. Although I am sure that the Internet could provide enough vitriol, but how to get that in a crowd feel...?"

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro smirks ruefully. "That's all part of my job. But.. uh.. yeah. I dunno if it's necessarily the intent, or the words, or how it makes me feel, or what. But I figure it's best to get as pure a test group as possible."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey hmms. "Yeah, that's not easy to recreate out of whole cloth." He ponders for a moment, then looks to Katsumi. "What's your professional status right now?"

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
All at once, Katsumi's countenance drops. Her gaze falls go her feet, her hands linking together against her lap. "In the air. Probably fired. I was supposed to go back to Japan a couple days ago with the rest of the federation, but I chickened out. Everyone's just- I'm used to'em being mad at me. But not like this."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey sits down near Katsumi. "Scared? Unsure? Giving you the side-eye?" He looks down. "At least I had the rare, non-traceable display, but I just stayed home for three days while I tried to figure out what happened to me. Do you have any kind of nest egg you can draw from?"

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro shrugs her shoulders again, the same helpless energy on display. "Just what I've earned in the ring. Some money. Not retirement-level. And- I dunno. They... I dunno."

Katsumi doesn't make friends easily. But she finds enemies nearly everywhere she goes. This, in her mind, is likely an extremely convenient means of just getting rid of her.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey nods. "Well...maybe you should focus on taking care of youself right now. I know you traveled from Japan. Are you going to have any issues? Overstaying a work visa or something to that effect?"

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro cringes as he comes right out and asks. "N-no," she lies. She never paid it much attention on previous trips to the States, but she's fairly certain she is, in fact, overstaying her visa. But there's no way she's confessing that to someone with superpowers.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man nods thoughtfully. It was a little unsettling - her mouth was the only part of her that said "No."

"All right. Look...I don't know if you need a place to stay, but if you do, call up Parker. I know his place has a spare bedroom, the best food in town, and the owner will not try to pry into your business. Even if you do have a place, but need a backup, just consider it. Just tell the old lady you know Peter Parker. They can give you a bolt-hole if you need one while sorting things out."

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro sniffs faintly, almost haughty. "The reporter guy. Yeah. I /bet/ he'd like me to stay. Give'em an interview, right? Let'em document how hard a time I'm having? Hard pass, Webhead."

His own fault for giving her that name as an option!

"I'll figure it out. It'll.. be fine." She's not as convinced as her word choice might make her sound. But she's determined to try to work through it, at least.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey shrugged. "Your call. As long as you got a handle on it." He glances to her, then adds, "If it was anything like mine, you're confused, a little scared. You'll be okay as long as you keep your head. You got a lot of sand, Punk Princess. Make it work for you."