952/Kids In America

Kids In America
Date of Scene:	03 April 2020
Location:	Bullpen - Daily Planet Building
Synopsis:	Here she is, Miss America- in a one-to-one interview with Terry O'Neil!
Cast of Characters:	Terry O'Neil, America Chavez

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Terry O'Neil has posed:
It's been a long time coming, but Terry has finally been able to get the right time for the interview. Things had been crazy as of late- far too crazy, and the fact that a whole other part of himself had 'emerged' suddenly, bringing a whole world of complications, meant that it was time to keep things simple again.

The recording room. A table. Soda. Some chips. The laptop and two microphones, that's all that is needed.

And, of course, the formidable young woman across from him.

"-and so, I have the great pleasure of introducing a very special guest tonight: Miss America Chavez! America, thank you for joining us tonight."

The redhead smiles, "We certainly had a memorable first-time meeting, didn't we?"

America Chavez has posed:
Weirdly enough, for all her adventuring across the Multiverse, America had never actually been in a room quite like this. Recording interviews and the like just wasn't something she normally did. She sits on the opposite side of the table, looking around curiously. As Terry gives the welcoming spiel, she reaches out to pick a chip from the packet, carefully avoiding the rustling sounds and in the process making more rustling sounds. Then she pops it into her mouth.

CRNCH. Crnch. Ch. Tsk.

"Yeah," she answers, leaning too close to the microphone for a second before sitting back a little and trying to get comfortable, "Yeah. Mugged by shadow monsters. Actually, kind of impressive, y'know. Most people just go for 'mugged by a guy with a gun' or a knife, or a syringe full of Drain-O. Shadow monsters is a new one."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
The redhead laughs, reaching for a sip of his soda, "Well, New York's definitely something- it always has surprises both in the best and the worst of senses. But that was pretty impressive beat-downing there. You should've seen her, folks, she leapt from a building and landed cool as a cucumber. And then she proceeded to do some pretty impressive fistwork. Tell me, America- are you from New York? If not, what's the place you call home?"

America Chavez has posed:
"Uh, not from New York, no," America says, trailing off for a moment as she picks up her own soda can and takes a sip. It crinkles a little bit and when she puts it back down her fingertips have left impression in the aluminum, "I'm actually from ... Star ... ling. Starling City."

She clears her throat, taking another sip of soda as though she's particularly parched. She's not exactly shy about using her name or revealing her abilities. She's never even been that concerned about explaining to others that she's from a different dimension separate from the Multiverse. But something seems problematic about announcing that via a recording.

"But I move around a lot," she adds hastily, "Never really stayed in one spot. So, New York - or Metropolis!"

She leans back in her chair, gesturing behind and over her head with both arms.

"Everywhere's just as 'homey'."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"I can see the appeal on that. So you're somewhat of a knight errant, righting wrongs and thwarting wiles, that sort of thing?" He takes a sip of his soda, keeping the interview casual. "You pack one heck of a punch, that's for sure. How much, exactly? Why don't you tell our listeners what is that you do? I already know you can jump down from buildings like stepping off the curb- so what else comes with the all-America package?"

America Chavez has posed:
"It seems kinda dumb to just tell you," America admits into the microphone, rolling her eyes a little and reaching up with one half-gloved hand to tuck a loose strand of dark hair behind her ear, "Like, I can sit here and say: hey, listeners. I can fly, I can throw a tank into space, I move real fast, and I'm not sure they've invented the weapon that can hurt me badly just yet. Cruise missiles kinda sting, I guess."

She takes another sip of soda, setting the can down again. Then she stretches out a long finger to push it a little, sliding it a half-inch across the table. Audibly. Because she was not made for radio.

"I mean, if I say it like that they're just gonna have to take my word for it, right?"

As though looking to prove her point to at least one person, she begins to float. Her legs crossed, she hovers a good foot or so above the table with her head tilted down towards it after her headphone cable runs out of slack.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"And she's flying, ladies and gents. I can see it with my own eyes- but our listeners won't have to take our word for it. If America agrees to a little demosntration, we can include the video on the website along with this interview." Terry nods, looking up at America. "Flight is the coolest power, in my opinion. But that's because I've always wanted to know what it feels like. It's like magnets- I keep wondering, 'How does it work?"'

He puts his soda can down and follows up with, "How fast can you fly? Have you ever clocked yourself?"

America Chavez has posed:
"Huh," America considers the question for a second, "Yeah, a demo's fine. Just the flying and stuff, I guess. Unless you've got a spare tank lying around you want me to throw into orbit? I'm guessing not."

She finishes floating after a while, easing back down into the chair. Her arms stretch languidly over her head, fingers knitting together. After a moment she slumps back down, all teenage disinterest, in the chair and polishes off the rest of her soda. The can now empty, she squeezes it between two fingers until it is little more than a razor-thin disc of metal.

"Pretty fast," she offers, with an apathetic shrug, "Fast enough? I dunno, man. How fast can you run? Do you measure that?"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"That depends om who's chasing me. Just the other day I had to run from mechanical spiders in Metropolis... thank goodness the Titans intervened. Speaking of which-" He leans over and extracts two more cans from the mini-fridge, plunking them down on the table, "Is Miss America a lone wolf or a joiner? Ever thought of joining up with the Titans? It looks like they're putting a new band together."

America Chavez has posed:
"Mechanical spiders? ¡No manches! Your life sounds more eventful than mine. Maybe you need to find a magic sword or an enchanted helmet or somethin', given that you already sound like you got the super-nemeses part of bein' a superhero down. Now you just need the power."

Mac considers the next question for a moment, leaning her elbows on the table and resting her chin in the palms of her hands. She juts out her lower lip to blow a strand of hair off her forehead, eyes tilting inwards to look at it for a second before she speaks.

"I dunno," she admits, "I guess I'm a joiner, maybe? Provided it's not, like: 'Everyone do what Captain Hero says!' Titans seem kinda cool, though. They live in that big T out on the island, yeah?"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Yep, the giant T-is-for-Target." It's a running joke- after all, it does say 'we're here come and get us!'

On the other hand, it's a good way to be the targets instead of the normal populace, so there is that.

"I guess the question everybody wants to know is- why do you do what you do? Did someone inspire you? What does America stand for, in twenty-twenty, and who should be worried that you're out and about?"

He says that last part with a grin, and opens his soda can.

America Chavez has posed:
"Anyone. I mean, any pinche idiotas causing problems, I guess? I'm not really out solely to beat on a specific kind of a bad guy. I'm an equal opportunity ass-kicker. Like you said, it's twenty-twenty."

The can now a flattened disc, she puts it on it side on the table and spins it so quickly that it becomes a blur. She idly taps it with her finger, prompting it to stop dead in mid-spin.

"And I do it because my moms did it. They were both heroes. Bigger heroes than me, or anyone else. The biggest. They're gone now, so I do it where they can't."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"I'm sure they're very proud of you, wherever they are now." Terry says quietly.

He lets that rest there for a few seconds- of course, he can't ask their names. You don't reveal a superhero's background like that unless they put that forth. "So, we're going to move on to People and Events to get a feel of what you think of things. I'm going to start easy- Wonder Woman."

America Chavez has posed:
"Roommate!" America says quickly when Wonder Woman's name is mentioned, as though playing one of those word association games, "She actually offered to let me stay with her while I get ... uh, get situated. She's real cool. I don't think anything seems to bother her. She's always smiling like she knows exactly what's gonna happen next and she thinks its funny. How can you not like that?"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry's eyes widen, "No way! I'm a /huge/ fan. You're going to have to get me an autograph," he grins, "I've never met her, though. I did see her from a distance when Tony Stark announced he was running for President. Okay, there's another name for ya: Tony Stark."

America Chavez has posed:
America kind of makes a face, shrugging her shoulders at the mention of Tony Stark: "He seems okay? I mean, that's like asking what I think about the moon. It's there. It's not going anywhere. It does its own thing and I don't pretend to really know how it does it or why or what put it there. I like his dress sense, though, I guess."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"That's an interesting way of putting it. Who knows why he does what he does? What about the man who is running opposite him? Lex Luthor announced his candidacy not too long after Stark. What do you think of a potential President Luthor?"

He had to admit that he needed the drink of soda so as not to choke. The idea of Lex Luthor as president sat very heavily with him. Like a bad meal.

America Chavez has posed:
America considers the question for a long moment. She'd seen Lex Luthor. Not up close but on a stage giving a speech about what he was going to do if he became president. A lot of the people there seemed excited by the prospect. Others (Mac included) were kind of bored. She mulls over her answer before finally offering:

"Bald?"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
He is not laughing. No. He just swallowed his soda wrong and is having a very strange coughing fit. That's definitely the explanation. "Accurate." He says, with the hoarse voice one tends to have after such a coughing fit. "America, I think you're about to have a lot of people interested in following your exploits. Are you on social media? Where can people follow you?"

America Chavez has posed:
"I was just thinking about that while I was sitting here," America admits, reaching out to prod at the base of the microphone stand just out of bored curiosity, "You know, telling the news seems kind of fun. If people listen to this, then I guess that proves they might want to hear what I have to say. They can find me on @MACattack - I'm gonna maybe do something on YouTube soon, I'll talk about it there."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Making the news /and/ reporting on them? You're going to have your hands full!" Terry grins and sips his soda, "There are a lot of things I am sure the world needs to hear from you. America, it looks like our time is coming to a close. Tell me, at the end of the day- what brings you comfort? What makes it worthwhile to you to fight another day?"

America Chavez has posed:
America's answer is true teenaged indifference. She sort of raises her shoulders in a half-hearted shrug, turning the disc around a little on the table before picking it up and flicking it towards the wall. When it gets there is sticks, half-embedded like some sort of low-budget shuriken.

"I dunno, man," she shrugs, taking another handful of chips and pushing them into her mouth, "It's fun!" Crunch crunch crunch.

A pause, then she asks through the same mouthful: "Is this gonna go up on the Daily Planet website? I already used up my five free articles."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry chuckles, "I think we can get you a free subscription. In fact, I know a few people we can talk to. For the time being, though, thank you for joining us. We'll be keeping an eye out for you!"

Terry reaches over and hits the pause button. "We can head over to the rooftop to take some video of you flying- and if you wanna show off your strenght, you can lift my car. Just don't toss it to the moon, though, I need it for the commute."

He leans back and raises his eyebrows, "You know, if you're going to start the youtube thing, I know someone who can help you get started. April O'Neil- she's my cousin. Works at Channel Six eyewitness news, but she also does the youtube and podcast thing." He pauses. "And Harley Quinn is her roomate, so if you've ever wanted to pet a hyena, there's your chance right there 'cause she's got two."

America Chavez has posed:
"No shit?" America asks, having had the courtesy not to bust out the terrible cursing while actually being recorded - at least not in English, anyway. Her eyebrows raise, though whether it is at the prospect of meeting April O'Neil or getting to see a real live hyena is anybody's guess.

She pushes herself up from the chair, stretching her arms over her head and tipping from one side to the other as though limbering up. After that, she idly scratches her stomach with one hand before driving a fist into her open palm and raising her eyebrows at Terry.

"C'mon, then. I wanna see how far I can throw your car."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Sure thing! And, you know, the Titans /are/ getting back together. I happen to be friends with one of the old Titans... you should go to the tower and talk to Beast Boy. I'll tell him you'll be coming, if you decide to check them out."

As they head out of the room, he blinks a couple of seconds, and asks, "Wait, what was that about my car?"