2010-04-13 - Of Water and Wannabes
From JLU MUX
| The information contained within this log is to be considered information gained Out of Character (OOC) . This information may not be used as In Character (IC) knowledge or in roleplay unless it has been learned in-game or permission has been granted by the parties involved. Questions should be directed to staff. |
| Of Water and Wannabes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Summary: Wannabe-Villainess Widget meets Aquaman in the face of a tidal wave and severe awkwardness. | |||
|
It is much too early in the morning for the people who casually stroll along the boardwalk. With sudden shock, an older woman turns and points toward the ocean in the distance, "Hey what's that? Look at that!" she announces loudly. Voices pick up as suddenly an ocean wave can be seen in the great distance, hundreds of feet tall and bearing right for the shore, "Ohmahgawd!" a young woman yells suddenly and seems shocked too, unable to take her eyes away from the impending danger.
Also on said boardwalk... is a woman. A woman in costume. Widget was going to test out her gear here on this boardwalk, but the interruption of a giant wave catches her attention. The would-be-villain peers at the wave for a few moments before taking note of the people just staring at it and shaking her head. "Move it, people!" she calls, pushing a button on her forearm for her suit's first test of the speed enhancement system, "Higher ground!" She dashes to try and find someplace to hide, servos whirring cooperatively until...
-CRACKLE-FZZZZT-SHHHHH- One of the hip servos short-circuits and the woman trips, falling into a fast tumble and skidding to a stop still in serious danger. "Ugh..."
As dozens of people zip past the boadwalk onto the street, AQUAMAN walks toward the beach. He seems occupied with watching the dangerous ocean wave, until he stops next to the unusual woman in the jogging suit, "Are you alright miss?" he asks the superhero, "Make sure these people are safe. I'll be right back," he tells Widget. Breaking into a run, Aquaman dashes for the water and leaps into the ocean. Disappearing, the wave lears nearer.
"No," Widget groans, "I'm not all right... 30 mile an hour /fail/..." She blinks then as the superhero dashes away from her, shaking her head and adjusting her goggles. "Waitaminute... no way." The woman slowly checks herself over for serious injuries, and finds herself surprised to have sustained no more than bad bruising and some scrapes. "Well, guess the supports are a success," she remarks as she stands and sighs, "Let him know I'm not a good guy, or help some people get safe... Mmph." The wanna-be decides that now is not the time to be getting on a super-being's bad side and turns off her servos, running under just her own skill to try and help stragglers get to safety. All in all she's pretty fast, although not superhumanly so.
The wave looms closer and darkens the sky with its imposing height, but suddenly someone comes from the ocean to attack it. Leaping from the ocean toward the wave, hundreds of fish led by a tremendous blue whale, an enormous one. The whale slams into the wave headfirst, splashing through it and down into the wave opposite. It seems fine though, as it turns over and blasts water from its snout, perhaps as signal to the others. The thousands of others follow the leader, crashing and splashing into it until the ocean wave flutters and becomes much less in mere moments. As the wave reaches shore, it is nothing compared to its former self and the water life churn up the water surrounding it into it is no more. Only a rise in tide barely laps against the boardwalk. As it receeds, Aquaman climbs from the water and gets up onto his feet again, the water running down, back to where it came from.
Once the danger has passed, Widget lets out a sigh and peers back at Aquaman, adujusting a small knob on her goggles to adjust the magnification and get a better look. "Wow," she remarks under her breath, "Really is him. I met a superhero, yay me." The woman peers at a young mother as she thanks her for helping her baby, and waves it off, "Don't worry about it, really... Thanks aren't necessary, I'm not-... look, thank him, he's the hero here, all right? Seriously, don't."
Aquaman reluctantly gives a handshake to an energetic man with his remaining good hand, though looks sullen and serious as he approaches Widget again, "Apologies for running off miss," he tells Widget and then glances at the young woman thanking the new superhero, "Thank you for helping these people. You were a great help," he tells her. He watches her a moment and motions to her, "Do I know you? I don't believe we've met. Aquaman."
"Um...," Widget stares at Aquaman for a few moments, a slight blush visible in the space between her goggles and her helmet, "I, uh..." She clears her throat, "N-no, we haven't met. I'm Widget." She rubs the back of her helmet, "Don't thank me, really. I don't... ehm... Just don't, all right? Nice to meet you and all but I'm not really big on the whole... thanks... thing. Besides, you're the one who stopped the wave."
Aquaman chuckles at her shyness and says, "Well, it was certainly something. All I saw was people making a break for it without a concern in the world," he comments, as he eyes the nearby pedestrians returning to the beach. "But you'll find the job a thankless one," he offers, "You should talk to those in the Justice League. Perhaps they can give you some further advice."
"I don't... ehm...," Widget rubs her helmet again, her position getting more and more awkward, "I don't think that's the best idea, to be honest. I mean, I'm not even all that good-" She cuts herself off and sputters out, "Tha-that is to say, I'm-I'm... not good a-at, at this whole... I-I'm not... My suit's new, it's s-still a prototype. Bugs out the wazoo, I m-mean the hip servo just fried and I'm not sure why, and my goggles keep changing magnification for no reason, and-and I... and I haven't tested the rocket boots or th-the strength enhancements, and I'm r-really not... suited for the hero thing..." She coughs and adds, "/Y-Yet/," as an afterthought to cover herself.
Aquaman steps closer to Widget to eye her fancy suit and then gives a satisfied nod, "A prototype you say?" he asks her, "What's that? Hip servo? Can you still walk?" he asks her quickly. He frowns with confusion, obviously not too familiar with what she's talking about, so she must be doing pretty well conning the watery superhero. "What is your name, miss?" he asks her curiously.
"Widget," the woman repeats insistently, "And y-yes, I can walk. The suit's set up so if there's a m-malfunction I can still move under my own efforts. I just can't use the speed enh-hancement until I fix it, b-because one hip will be moving fast and the other normal... I'd be s-skipping." She giggles nervously at the thought, before pointing to the silver servo at her right hip, "Hip servo. It's a s-servomechanical motor that enhances the s-speed and strength with which I can use my hip. Wh-when it's active, that is. My suit's turned off at the moment, be-because of my... my malfunction."
Aquaman peers at her as she rattles off some technical terminology, "Uh huh, alright," he mentions as he tries to remember her name, tapping his chin as he recalls, "Well, thanks again Widget," he tells her, "I should be going before the reporters get here. There was an Earthquake west of here. Did you all feel it here on the beach?" he asks her carefully, looking back at her suit again.
"N-no, sir, I didn't feel anything," Widget replies, "It might've been too far out... is that what caused the wave?" She adjusts her goggles again with an irritable sigh, "Friggin' goggles, I don't /want/ to see someone's forehead at twenty times magnification..." And then as an afterthought she grumps, "Seriously, s-stop thanking me."
Aquaman raises his chin and notes, "As you wish," he comments, "Yes, there was an earthquake along the Ring of Fire on the ocean's floor," he adds, getting technical himself, "That's what causes tidal waves like the one you saw," he tells her as he eyes her goggles.
The surfaces of the lenses are mirrored, so her eyes aren't visible, but their shift in magnification can be made out in the reflections on their surfaces. The images keep twitching a little bigger, then a little smaller, then a lot bigger as Widget monkeys with their settings. "That's interesting," she remarks, stutter fading as the conversation seems well and truly away from the idea of her being a /hero/, "So was it a natural quake or did something artificial cause it?"
Aquaman hmms as he thinks it over and then comments, "I believe it was natural. I've found no clue of it being man made," he tells her, "Although I've been wrong before," he notes cynically. He eyes her goggles and watches what she is doing, "Are you alright? Are you able to see? What are you looking at?"
"I'm looking at you," Widget replies, "These goggles aren't all that special, they just sharpen my vision and make what I'm looking at appear bigger. They're being stupid, though. They keep increasing magnification without me telling them to. Another bug to fix in my designs." She shrugs, "I make things that work, I just don't make things that work /well/. It's what I get for rushing through the engineering process."
Aquaman hmms, "Oh I see," he comments as she goes into technical talk again, "Contact me later and tell me how you are working things out as a superhero," he tells her simply, "Perhaps I will see you later. Farewell, for now," he adds.
"Right, I'll... d-do that," Widget replies quietly, "Take care of yourself, Aquaman. Um... l-look me up if you're ever in Gotham, I guess, but I imagine I'd be hard to find."
