8364/Second Dates Shouldn't be so Stressful

Second Dates Shouldn't be so Stressful
Date of Scene:	22 October 2021
Location:	Brighton Beach
Synopsis:	Power Girl and Black Cat enjoy time in the city, and as night grows darker, they take a late night stroll on the beach until Power Girl needs to go be Powerful.
Cast of Characters:	Felicia Hardy, Karen Starr

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Felicia Hardy has posed:
    What started as a lovely day in the city of Metropolis, with a bite to eat at a small hidden away cafe that seems more than alright with supers dropping by and leaving IOUs while in costume with a stipulation that they come back and pay when they're off the clock, Felicia- Black Cat has grown quite fond of the place, and has yet to take advantage of such generosity. Yet.

    Nearing the end of her pumpkin spice late, the white haired woman in the black cat suit giggles and steps out of her chair and using a grappling line, was quickly swinging through the air. Seeking the wind in her hair, and the fur flapping against her calves and arms as well as the lining around her neck and shoulders. Felicia was giggling and soaring through the air carelessly, getting to the point of waiting for the last possible moment to use her hook to swing once more.

    Up and down, always expecting Power Girl to keep up. Should Cat worry if Power Girl is getting bored by such mundane and rudimentary modes and speeds of travel.

    Once on the other side of Metropolis' city, Cat points towards the ocean, the wind rushing past her ears makes her want to scream her plan, "Mind a midnight stroll?" Felicia asks as she lands and walks out of the urban jungle, down the pier towards the beach, and stepping carefully down the steps to keep herself from exposing herself with a costume mishap, Felicia pads along in her custom suit down the beach, turning and expecting Karen to be near by. "You need to tell me about yourself. Or at least the yourself your presenting as currently." Cat says, a daring look flashing in her blues.

Karen Starr has posed:
    Karen is somewhat familiar with this cafe- Metropolis is her home city after all. Especially since the press tends to aggressively cover anything that the Super-family is involved in, it can be hard to go anywhere without being assailed by random passersby. This small hole in the wall is one of the few places that Power Girl can get a reprieve, and a croissant. She pays, of course- always keeping at least a bit of cash on her at all times despite that it has a tendency to be burnt away with her gauntlets in most confrontations.

    Seated as she is, Karen keeps an arm hooked over the back of her chair, one leg swung over the other. She has long since finished up the buttery pastry, and is calmly waiting for Felicia to finish, rather glad they're not meeting on a rooftop- that can always get awkward- but well aware there's going to be something different about this date. Likely, that was going to come soon.

    She had not even properly finished that thought, before the Cat starts to depart, and finds out that Power Girl has no trouble keeping up with mortal speeds at all. It almost seems effortless, the way she drifts rather lazily through the sky, in contrast to the effort and coordination involved in swinging on the zipline that Felicia is doing. Yet another way that she's just not fair.

    "Sure." she responds, eyes locking on the beach, and she takes off towards it- getting out in front of the Cat and landing on the beach to wait for her date to arrive. Almost impatiently- but never anything more than jokingly so- Karen awaits with arms folded. "I guess I do, but you're going to need to ask the questions. Tell me about yourself is more than a little too open-ended."

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    Felicia takes a step with no direction in mind, her hair catching the breeze and the perfume she's meticulously crafted, taking hours finding the scents she wants to be wearing when spending time with Power Girl. It's not something she'll admit, but the woman spent at least four hours getting herself just right. The end product being a hint of cinnamon and lilacs. Unique, as normally when she's in the costume, she's as scentless as possible.

    Making sure the suit was clean, doing a quick work out to make sure she had the best tone to her abs as possible. Just to be sure. She combed and brushed her hair as well as the fur on her suit. Felicia is putting in effort.

    The mask around her eyes doesn't cover a whole lot, not like the bat-crews do, but it's more to obscure her face enough to keep from being immediately recognizable and she gives a glance to Karen, "It is just a primer, I have questions." Felicia explains.

    The thief's feet never touch the sand heel-to-toe, always flat, and stable, she does twist her feet slightly, making her foot prints nearly indeterminable, as that was drilled into her at an early age she isn't even aware that she's doing it. "What /are/ your powers, flying and being outrageously fast is obvious, and strong, is..." Felicia's face twists to be something sarcastic and she motions with a hand towards Karen's figure. "Obvious, but what else?"

Karen Starr has posed:
    Admittedly, Power Girl's prep routine was much more simple- and a whole lot more casual. Sure, there were details- hair, makeup, and so on- but there's a somewhat cultivated degree of disheveled that Power Girl has around her at all times. She's not particularly unkempt, but that she's on the street to punch villains and maybe some not-villains-with-bad-attitudes alike is rather evident.

    She doesn't cover any of her face, and yet she's entirely unrecognizable. Karen Starr, after all, looks quite different: With the coke-bottle glasses, and bottle-blonde hair, and differing physique, Power Girl has little issue going around without a mask or disguise at all.

    "Oh good." she states, walking alongside the other woman, one inquisitive brow raised as she awaits the questions forthcoming. "Well, to start, yes. I'm strong. I'm fast. I can fly. I can also shoot lasers from my eyes, hear and see... Incredibly long distances or extremely small things. I can see almost every spectrum of light, and a few other things- including through them. If I do it right, I can freeze things with my breath. Those are the basics."

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    "And they're like... always on yeah?" Felicia asks, turning her head, her hair falling down off her shoulder and some locks teasing her own neck, and into that plunging V of her costume. Felicia lifts her gloved hand, mindful of her own claws and rakes a few strands of hair behind her ear as she tries to find the words. "Does that mean, 'Power Girl' is always on?" Cat asks, canting her head slightly and chewing softly on the inside of her cheek.

    "How many people have you saved by zipping off and returning before I could possibly notice you were even gone?" Felicia asks, getting a bit less cautious with her thoughts and words and being much more herself.

    "You must be tired and even feeling unappreciated if you get into a dark mindset, huh?"

Karen Starr has posed:
    Power Girl nods a few times. "Yeah. Some of it's always on, some of it I have to try. Like seeing molecules, I have to sort of... Focus on them." She exhales a bit, taking a moment to look off towards the horizon and give her answer some proper thought. "But the strength, the flight, the invulnerability- those are always on." By the time her gaze has returned to Felicia, she's smiling again. Her eyesight never dips any lower than the other woman's eyes, of course- always holding them in the intensity of her own deep blue eyes.

    "I haven't saved any. Speed's a bit dangerous sometimes. To zip around like that, it's noticeable. I'd be gone and back before you realized it, but you'd realize it." she notes, "The rush of air, the sand kicking up... It'd be pretty damn rude, even without leaving the date."

    There's another soft sigh, and she shakes her head. "Tired? Unappreciated? No, not at all. I don't do this for any sort of... Fame or anything like that. I just want to help people. I don't care if they appreciate it very much, though it can get pretty frustrating if they do the opposite."

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    "But you'd be being a good guy. Good girl. Helpful in ways that very few could. I'm selfish as all hell Pee Gee. Can I call you Pee Gee?" Cat asks, looking away and out towards the horizon as she gets a bit more existential than she thought she would tonight, and the bite of the salty ocean air causes her to open her mouth slightly and take a deeper breath. "I didn't mean, tired or unappreciated in a traditional sense, but I imagine living that fast could make you feel lonely and detached as few could keep up with you."

    Felicia shrugs her shoulders, the dark suit making it hard to miss the motion. "You're so ... damn well adjusted Pee Gee." Felicia says, her gloved hands rising up in a frustration expelling motion of a shrug and giving up. "You've got this... perfect package aura about you and it's driving me up the walls. Like even standing here on the beach, looking as fine as I know I do, there you are and for the first time in my life, I feel, invisible, truly." Felicia grits her teeth and locks eyes with Karen again. "I feel inadequate."

Karen Starr has posed:
    Karen shrugs. "One of the first lessons I learned was that you can't... You can't do everything by yourself. Yeah, I move fast, and I use that to do as much as I can... But I can hear it /all,/ Cat. I can hear that there are people in danger or who need help literally all over the planet, all the time. I do as much as I can, and I try to live with that. It gets pretty difficult, sometimes, but the important thing is to live with it without losing my mind. Yeah, you can call me Pee Gee." Setting her hands on her hips for a few paces as they walk, she continues. "That's why I /live/ at normal pace. I'm not the Flash, I don't go too fast to enjoy myself here and there. That's important."

    There's a soft "Eh," at that comment, Power Girl raising her hands to the height of her shoulders, palms skyward. "I've been at this a while. A couple decades now, at least. You adjust over time." And she still loses her temper more or less daily. "It's only because you're only seeing my good side. Trust me. As far as inadequacy goes, try not to compare. It's all about context. We do what we can, because it's all important. That's the best you can do, and it might not feel like enough if you don't let it. If you manage to figure that one out, though, tell me how."

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    Felicia seems to absorb all of Karen's answers, listening, as much as she's asking. She's actually here, in the moment, attentive and focused even as they meander down the beach. She lowers her arm and hand down to her side, brushing against the swell of her hip, as she does ponder reaching her hand out to try and take Karen's in her and give the fellow blond a sign that she cares, she wants to help Karen as much as Karen is helping her.

    Fear and respect for their positions in life and the concern of appearances keeps Felicia's hand by her side, even pulling back and up, crossing her arms beneath her chest. Rising and making herself appear more endowed than she is, subconsciously trying to stack up to her beachside companion. "You're far more human and down to earth than many people I know." With a soft chuckle and a glance up towards Karen's chin, lips, eyes, "Hard to turn off a feeling I'm not used to feeling, even if you tell me I shouldn't feel that way." Felicia shrugs, her hair catching a breeze and letting more of the cinnamon and lilac sent into the air. "But I'm more curious what do you look like on your bad side? You don't get all big and green too, do you?" Cat asks, trying to lighten the mood even a smidgen.

Karen Starr has posed:
    If you can get passed all the bluster and the fact that she's the angriest of the set of Kryptonians, as well as the way she looks... Karen has more experience doing this Hero thing than perhaps anyone else. There may be others, such as Jay Garrick and the other early heroes, but in terms of raw experience, Karen's technically in her 30s and she's been doing this since she was /sixteen./

    Power Girl isn't trying to force anything. It's about comfort, and about helping. If Felicia wants to make anything more physical, it will be up to her. For Karen, this isn't about getting a date or scoring, or anything the like. It's about a person who needs help, who is trying to be better.

    Power Girl whistles quietly for a moment, thinking about how to explain it. "Uh, no big and green. Not sure the world could handle me getting any bigger in /any/ way, frankly, but I do have a temper, I've been told. Not by anyone with any sense of self-preservation, but I trust the input."

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    "Remind me to stay on your good side." Felicia says, snorting slightly and lifting her hand to cover her mouth and nose, a hint of blush filling in her cheeks with red. "Not that I would complain about you being bigger. You're quite beautiful, but you don't need me telling you that. You already know." Felicia says, coming from a place of experience on that one. Yeah. She knows she's hot. Or she did before coming face to face with Karen.

    Fingers held in perfectly tailored gloves drum against her own rib cage as they walk, and Felicia looks down to the sands in front of them, hair obscuring part of her face as she thinks about what to say. She wants to ask if she could be taken into the air and actually fly with Pee Gee, or ask to hold her hand, and feel some intimacy that isn't short term and filling in a personal void in her heart. But words don't make it out as the Cat allows the moment to draw silent on her part. Feeling awkward for it too.

Karen Starr has posed:
    There's a short pause, Karen stopping for a moment as she looks over towards Felicia. "Really? No complaints whatsoever?" she responds, a sort of dry tone in her voice as she turns a bit to face the other woman. Power Girl isn't necessarily conceited or vain- the Hole is more utilitarian than that, even though it does serve that purpose. "I think I'd probably have a complaint or two, to be honest, but I'm also fine with occasionally being told something I already know."

    She doesn't admonish, necessarily- her tone is a little more chiding and a lot more casual. Karen isn't trying to force anything, either. She doesn't know why Felicia is thinking- so she can't be sure if the woman just feels awkward, or if the Cat is just not enjoying herself. All the same, Karen could leave at any time. She could be off of this beach and somewhere else in the amount of time that it would take to notice that she's gone, or less.

    The important detail is that... She's still here. That has to count for something, even if she's fine with letting things get quiet.

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    Nothing wrong with a quiet moment, Felicia learned that most people will speak when silence is presented, and most people speak more when MORE silence is applied to a situation, and yet, here, in this moment, Felicia wants to be present with Karen, be someone worth coming back to, someone worth being.

    "I mean... complaints from me would be a jealousy I didn't know I still had the capacity for. A jealousy I thought I grew past in high school. Literally and figuratively." The cat notes with a cocky grin on the side of her lips, cheek tugging at the red lipstick she wears. "And if you'll accept repeat compliments, you're f***in' fine girl." Felicia says, smiling much larger now with the whole of her mouth, showing off teeth back to her canines.

    The burglar continues down the beach, further and further away from the pier, and continues the conversation with some mental gymnastics, "You put up for Heroine persona online, looking to get dates as the more famous version of yourself, I assume Power Girl is more famous than your secret self, else that's too goofy and likely to be spotted. What I want to know is, did you want a super girlfriend, or someone to be into THAT part of you ONLY?" Felicia asks, stepping in front of Karen and stopping before the taller woman, looking up with curious blue eyes behind her thin mask.

Karen Starr has posed:
    Silence is indeed golden, and there's a certain tranquility in walking down the beach in the quiet of the night that just can't be beat. Moonlit strolls should definitely be calm affairs, even if it might end up being a little awkward every so often.

    "I uh... I feel like we're talking about something I've punched people for mentioning before." she states, again somewhat dryly, but not angrily. "I do appreciate the compliments though. I hear those phrases a little too often, but at least they're from someone who waited until I showed interest before diving into the deepend of the... Catcalling." She liked that joke. Her face doesn't say it very much, but she did.

    "I did. I figured that'd be best, but I can't really go into the why of it all too much. I wasn't... Expressly, specifically looking for another super-person, but I can say definitely that I wasn't looking for someone to exclude all other identities. I just wanted someone."

    She doesn't bowl Felicia over: She just stops as soon as the other woman steps into her path.

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    "I've scratched people for less, and more." Felicia says, nodding to herself before flicking her claws out on one hand and then pulling them back in as quick as a flash and then turning back away from Karen so that they're both moving down the beach again, a side eye glance is leveled with a raised eyebrow towards Karen. A weaponized glance, with the verbal, "I see how it is. Fine. No more flirts. I wouldn't want to offend your prim and proper sensibilities." but the Kryptonian has likely faced worse gazes in her life time, but it's all in jest, Cat can't keep her face that straight for that long towards Power Girl.

    "Oh, don't get me wrong, I don't expect you to go into the why, and frankly, I'd prefer the mild-mannered secrets to remain that way." Felicia remarks, "At least at first, or forever. Depends on how things go." The cat remarks.

    The crashing of the waves on the beach near by keeps the deafening silence at bay, but Felicia can't help but wonder who is she, and what does she REALLY have to offer the woman who's Super Name could be considered to not quite do her justice.

Karen Starr has posed:
    "I believe it." she notes, placing her hands on her hips as they resume strolling down the beach. She returns the gaze with a raised brow, half-daring her date to attack her for calling off that form of flirtation, a sort of deadpan expression that meets Felicia's weaponized look with one of her own that does indeed state that she's faced worse.

    Her best friend's Dad was Batman, after all. That's all that needs to be said of that.

    She semi-relents, offering a response in jest to the Cat's joking passive-aggression. "I guess if the only forms of flirtation you have are to talk about my breasts and use overused catcalls, we'll have to allow them as a handicap." Her pokerface continues, and she doesn't relent on this until Felicia breaks out with laughter.

    "I can accept that. It's what I figured. That was... How I anticipated this going. Either that or I wouldn't have to worry about addressing it, because people outside of this life don't always think about the person having a dual-life. What they see is Power Girl. They regard that as the only thing there is. That's sometimes a relief."

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    Felicia's glare is easily broken, and the Cat actually laughs, covering her mouth with the fur on the back of her lower arm. "Damn you're good, and to be fair, I might need that handicap, as I'm used to flirting being about MY breasts." Felicia says and smirks, "Like I said, insecurities I had long since forgotten I had."

    Felicia smiles and steps closer, bumping against Karen with her own hip, and wanting desperately to hook her arm into the triangle of Karen's made by her hand on her hip.

    So she does. "Well, I'll understand I wont be taking much of your time in order to date, and I do expect you to disappear should things require you, and cancellations will be of course a thing that happens." The Cat notes, with a smirk and her arm still hooked, should Power Girl not fight it. "I expect to be respectful of both of your times." Cat winks playful and takes a deep breath of the ocean air.

Karen Starr has posed:
    There's a sigh, it's somewhat practiced- this false, put-upon gesture that is easily called out as the sarcasm it is. "One of these days I'm going to have to start telling people how strange it is that I can juggle buildings but the thing that makes people feel insecure or inadequate is my bustline. I'm sure there's something there that a few general psychologists would have something to say about the world we live in." She's still partially joking, of course, but that's a real thing.

    The bump is noticed, but doesn't do anything to even divert Karen momentarily. She's... Sturdy, to be sure.

    Karen doesn't fight it at all when Felicia hooks her arm in, though it is a little difficult not to go at Power Girl's pace once that's been done. She's lenient, of course- already going just a touch slower than Felicia, and not increasing or decreasing her speed. "I have no expectations that you'll try and... I guess force me to be here when I'm needed. I wouldn't be here if I thought you'd consider single instances of this more important than other peoples' lives." Maybe that's what Felicia needs to hear- a genuine message that someone thinks she's good. Sure, it's a basic thing- an incredibly simple affirmation of her ethics, but it's still /something./

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    "I suspect less people are concerned about you juggling buildings because you don't go around with a large window showing off you doing that. But that isn't to say you are at fault or... f**k, I'm not saying it right." Felicia says, stammering slightly on her words. "That's just harder to see is all I'm saying, and I'd rather see that! I can see boobs any time I want P-G."

    "If I'd ever have a need that great where I need your to save me, or anything... I've messed up badly. and even then, I'd never expect you, or really anyone to Sophie's choice me over pretty much anyone else in the planet." Felicia says trying to sound confident but finding a surprising lack of true selfworth in her own words. It stings, and her arm instinctively squeezes tighter against Karen's in her shock.

Karen Starr has posed:
    "Oh, okay, I get it, they're not all that impressive anymore now, This seems a little inconsistent." The false pain of her saying that is well done, it /almost/ sounds genuine for a moment, before the reality of what she's saying kicks in, just another playful little jab. "I guess so, but to be fair, lifting heavy things and punching people is just about all I do, window or not."

    "That wasn't really what I was getting at, but in those situations, I tend not to make a choice. There's always a way- you always have to look for the way that gets everyone out alive. Sometimes it's not possible, I've been told- but I don't accept that. I never will." She pauses, for a moment. "I was just saying that I didn't expect, didn't think you were the type at all realy, for you to be that sort of selfish."

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    Felicia rolls her eyes, largely, visibly, and exaggeratedly, making sure Power Girl knows it. "Are you EVER happy?" Felicia says, not even trying to play that one straight and with a big smile on her lips, as she keeps perfect pace with Karen. Able to match nearly any stride, and if not she'll take two if needed. She's nothing if not adaptable.

    "You-" Felicia has to catch her voice before it cracks in the back of her throat. "You think that highly of me?" This certainly wasn't expected by the Cat, actually having to look away, and putting her focus on the beach before them, and the waves and the way the moon peaks out over a few clouds that have rolled in off the ocean. "I-wow." Felicia rarely the speechless one as she has to swallow at the tension in the back of her mouth. "I don't know exactly how you feel, you're a hard woman for me to read, but I know I'd like more dates with you."

Karen Starr has posed:
    Karen scoffs, exhaling afterwards and thinking for a moment. "Oof. I think the modern thing to do is to say that I'm not ever happy? But in a disingenuous way. So pretend I did that." she claims- coming... Somewhat close to a shade of how she does, really, feel. Karen has lost everything twice over- and everything really, truly does mean /everything./ She never talks about it, but it's there. Lingering.

    "Of course I do. In this case, it's just... I don't know. Maybe you're a bit selfish, right? Maybe. We've been on two dates, so I'm not about to be so presumptuous as to say that I know everything about you... But I tend to be a good enough judge of character to know when someone crosses that line. You don't seem as the type to kill or demand that level of attention, that other peoples' lives are at risk." she states, staring calmly off into the distance for a bit.

    "I'm sure I'd like some more time with you, too."

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    Felicia pulls her arm out of the crook of Karen's and looks up to her as she looks to the distance. "Do you need to go be someone's hero?" Felicia asks in a soft way, resigned to the possibility that she does.

Karen Starr has posed:
    Power Girl takes in a breath, and lets it out in a slow sigh of resignation. She's not unhappy- she wants to help people. She'll never be unhappy to do that. She is, however, bothered that she's still needed. A perfect world would be one where she doesn't have to do what she does. She looks a bit up towards the sky, as if watching or listening to something that isn't the softly rolling waves on the beach.

    "Yeah."

    Having said that, she calmly taps Felicia on the nose. "I'll see you again soon." before softly rising into the air a bit. She waits until she's a safe enough distance away, and then she's just /gone,/ breaking the sound barrier in an instant and sending a soft rush of wind onto the beach. It doesn't kick the sand up very high, but it does move some around.