On the less super side of things... [Action]

[bemoreflexible]

Helen gave up the super hero life decades ago, back when it was the Alpha Pals who protected the country, and long before the Omegafriends had even been thought of. After all the heroes that were lost after Gamma Jack's "crusade", it became too clear to Helen that the work was just too risky. Today, she was just a normal woman, doing normal errands while her normal husband watched the kids at home. Right?

[A. At Costmart]
Helen just needed to buy a few dozen things for the week. In and out, with as few distractions as possible. It's a shame someone ((probably your character)) had to go and choke on a free sample. And no one around knows the Heimlich maneuver but Helen? Guess everyone is too busy learning to fight death rays and space invaders to bother taking a basic CPR course.

[B. In the Do or Dye Hair Salon waiting area ]
It's been a busy day, apparently, according to the TV in the waiting room. Super villains planting doomsday devices and inciting chaos. Police chiefs complaining about super heroes making it harder for honest cops to do their jobs. Helen would be content to keep her mouth shut about it, but the person next to her is apparently intent on talking about the subject at length.

[C. Anywhere in Venture City]
Seems Helen is all over town today. Perhaps she'll run into something or someone interesting.

Comments

B

[sociallyawkward]

[ Talk about it at length? Heck, Ruby can go on for hours. ]

-but I haven't really seen any more heroes running around, you know? I mean, with that creep on TV, you'd think there'd be more people running around. Not that I think the heroes would listen to the guy at all, because he's clearly a bad guy, but you'd think they'd try to track him down, or be more vigilant for the villains who'd listen to him. I mean, there was a bank robbery - some guy with a giant gold robot crab, did you see that? Wait, was that even on the news? I was there, actually! It was so cool! Not the, uh, being held hostage part not that I was a very good hostage but just HRRRRRNGH you know!?

Oh, and I heard some rumors that the cops are looking for some sort of doomsday device. Have you heard anything about that? That's like super hush-hush but I've got a friend of a friend who knows someone who told them about it. Police are looking for superhero support on it! That's exciting! The police never work with the supers or at least almost never and that's so awesome and it must be a really big deal-

[ FOR THE LOVE OF GOD SOMEBODY STOP HER ]

Re: B

[bemoreflexible]

[Helen decides to politely interrupt her.]

Uhm, sweetie?

[sociallyawkward]

-and... huh?

Oh, right. Sorry. You prooobably wanted to add something in, right? [ And now there's a fifteen-year-old girl looking over at Helen expectantly. ]

[bemoreflexible]

Uh, not really, just...

[She sighs.]

You seem awfully excited about a lot of very dangerous things.

[sociallyawkward]

Well... yeah. Who doesn't get excited about heroes? They get to save lives and make the world a better place. Not to mention they're super-cool too!

[bemoreflexible]

[For some reason, Ruby's enthusiasm for this subject makes Helen look and sound rather sad.]

And let me guess, in the end, the good guys always win, right?

1/2

[sociallyawkward]

[ Wow. Wow Helen, look at that. You just took all the wind out of Ruby's sails, so to speak. ]

....No. They don't. Sometimes they lose.

[sociallyawkward]

But you know, when the bad guys win, something bad happens. Usually really bad. And if the heroes aren't there to stop them, the bad guys still win.

[bemoreflexible]

[Helen suddenly realizes she has brought this cheerful girl down and regrets it.]

Hey, I didn't mean to, uhm...

[No, that'll just make it worse. Change the subject.]

What's your name?

[sociallyawkward]

My name...? [ Subject change? ] The name's Ruby Rose.

Sorry, I guess I'm kind of a hero fangirl. [ Also future hero. It runs in the family - her sister, Yang, is a hero. Her mother, Summer Rose, was a hero. Yeah, genetics. ]

[bemoreflexible]

[Helen gives her a small smile.]

No need to be sorry, Ruby. It's good to have your heroes.

[sociallyawkward]

My parents would always tell me stories about heroes when I was a kid. [ Firsthand stories, probably. And Ruby, you're still a kid. ] About how they make the world a better place.

[bemoreflexible]

I guess they do, but I at least wish they didn't get so many kids involved. Boys and girls should find... healthier outlets.

[sociallyawkward]

Being into heroes is a perfectly good outlet. You can write blogs about them, read the latest comic books about superheroics, and follow the news stories. It's an all-encompassing media extravaganza!

[bemoreflexible]

No, no, that's all fine!

[Well, the degree the Ruby is describing sounds a bit excessive but...]

I was more concerned about the kids who actually decide that they should go out and fight crime.

[sociallyawkward]

Ahahahaha! [ That's a fake laugh. That laugh is obviously fake. It's so fake, even Ruby can tell it's fake. ] Yeah! That's crazy. Who'd want to do that? Certainly not me!

[ She quickly maneuvers her weapon, Crescent Rose, behind her legs so it's not visible. It currently looks like a red metal briefcase, but hey, totally unrelated to being a hero, right? ]