multiversallogs | Running is something that I've always done [open]

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Running is something that I've always done [open]

Who: Steph Brown. Open
What: Training/stress relief
Where: Mog Hill, anywhere else you might wanna run into her
When: Newdi evening, after work
Notes: Feel free to run into her at any point during her evening.
Warnings: None yet.

Meditation has never really worked for Steph; she hates sitting still and when she tries, she ends up getting too distracted by all the movements she wants to make to actually relax. Running has been her form of meditation, so it's what she plans to do when she finishes work for the day and finds herself still feeling stressed out.

She heads home, changing into her work out clothes - the under layer of her Batgirl suit, a loose, long-sleeved shirt and sneakers - then goes out again. She wishes she had her iPod with her, just because it'd make it easier to tune out the city sounds, but she manages without. The thoughts that have been troubling her the last few days slip away, leaving her with nothing but the thump of her footfalls, the controlled rush of her breathing and the prickle of sweat as she pushes herself to run harder.

Her route takes her out of Mog Hill and in a loop through the nearby neighborhoods until she's back near the Valhalla Inn. Rather than going straight back to the Inn, she stops at a park close by to warm down. She stretches first, then starts going through series of kata; she doesn't get them perfect, but they help work out some of the tension. She would normally practice on bad guys, but she's too tired to risk patrolling tonight; Babs would yell at her if she got herself killed. Babs would probably yell at her for doing something like this in public, but it's not like martial arts is all that exotic, so Steph figures she can just say she learned all this at self defence class or something.

She'll be there until late, until her muscles are sore and her mind is clear, then she'll walk the rest of the way home.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"That's awesome, congrats! I'm sorry you didn't get a chance to do more of it before you got dragged here." Steph is really impressed.

"You just went for a long run, you can have a cola," She grins, she's never been into healthy food, "It sounds like a good job, you could probably find something for you here. I was a student at college, and just working at the library to pay my way."

"You think? That'd be awesome if I could find something to do here like that. I'd make being here a bit easier at least..." Kait looks thoughtful as they approach the cafe, a hand coming up to rub at her chin as she considers this.

"I never worked in a library, but I've worked in a few book stores. That was largely what I did before I started doin' the music thing most of the time." When she wasn't out being a freedom fighter, at least. She tries not to seem surprised by the fact that Steph is a college student, she should've been able to guess. "Well, that's cool. Must be nice to have a break from classes, eh? I know I hated 'em," she jokes.

"There are plenty of bars and clubs, you could probably find somewhere to play live, if you'd wanna." She thinks that making a CD is a bit different from live performances, mostly because one involves being in front of a crowd.

"I figure libraries and book stores are fairly similar, and I've seen a few stores around the city if you wanted to look into that as well," Steph gets to the door first and opens it for Kaitlyn, gesturing with a little flourish and a smirk, "I didn't mean the classes so much as the homework, to be honest."

"Huh." Kait's not willing to say she likes the sound of this place yet, but it is beginning to sound more and more like she's at least not going to hate it here. That alone is a pretty big plus to her right now. "I'll ask about that, yeah."

Stepping into the cafe when Steph gets the door, she flashes a smile and almost literally hops in, waiting for the other woman to come in before going up to order. "College was a bore, even if I mostly did music classes. I don't blame you for that."

"I'm not much for the bar scene myself, but I'm sure there are people on the cohort you can help out."

She follows right behind Kaitlyn, giving a slight shrug in response to the comment, "I think it's kind of a rule that people have to hate college, but my mom wanted me to go."

"Really? That's a shame. You don't really find more fun places. I mean, they can be scum holes, but the good ones are really just fantastic." She grins, moving up to the counter and taking a moment to order that cola she had been craving.

"So, what kinda stuff goes on here? I mean... besides people suddenly popping up and bars and stuff. Have you seen anythin' really neat since you got here?" As in, anything Kait should be wary of.

"Well, I wasn't old enough to go clubbing back home, and I've never been much for alcohol," Not that clubbing and alcohol have to be done at the same time, but Steph's found they frequently do. She gets a lemonade for herself and waits until they've gotten their drinks and found a seat before answering Kait's question.

"I think the bars and clubs are the most common thing; being stuck in a strange city seems to lead to people partying," it's not a criticism, just an observation. She suspects a lot of it is a coping mechanism. "There are some really cool stores though, selling the weirdest things; magical items and alien-looking stuff. I've liked exploring those."

"Well,that's a shame. But I know it is't for everyone," Kait remarks with a small shrug. Not everyone can live her lifestyle and be happy with themselves, and she knows it. "Although it sounds like a good thing I like throwin' parties... I was thinkin' of doin' one once I got a place and got settled, if I'm here that long."

Fingers drum on her leg for a moment as she takes a sip of her drink, sighing happily as her thirst is quenched. "Wow. This place gets... stranger with everything I hear about it. I mean, the pamphlet painted an interesting picture, but it just gets more and more interesting." She pauses for a moment, scratching the side of her cheap. "So, alien and mystical stuff? So, someone like one of the people from my home wouldn't stick out?"

"You'll fit right in then, I've been to one housewarming party already and I'm sure there've been plenty more."

"They wouldn't stick out much," Steph smiles a little and takes a sip, "They call people who aren't human Xenians, although usually it's applied to people who don't look human; everyone else just seems to blend in as best they can. They're mostly just left alone, but there seems to be a bit of tension between some humans and xenians."

"Huh."

Kaitlyn sits back in her chair as she speaks, looking a bit spellbound for a moment or two. The idea of being able to really blend in - much less not being one of the stranger things on the block - has become a bit foreign to her at this point. Chalk that up as the one thing this place really has going for it so far.

"That's pretty incredible, I'd have t' say," she remarks a bit quietly, taking a long sip of her drink. "Xenians. I'll remember that. I don't think I've seen anyone like that so far, but it's good to know." If she hadn't already read that. She might have forgotten by now. Oh well.

Steph waits for Kaitlyn to get her head around the idea, watching her carefully as she drinks. Steph is pretty sure this is more evidence that Kaitlyn has powers.

"One of my coworkers has six arms, and there's a girl here with wings. I'm sure there are a lot more people with hidden powers and things like that."

"Wow, that must be surreal," Kait replies with amazement. This, to her, is far more interesting than people with superpowers or time travel. She shifts so she's sitting a bit more comfortably, one finger tapping at her cheek. "I guess I need t' just get out and explore some, see things for myself tomorrow. There's a lot goin' on here I didn't really realise."

And really, Kait was never hiding her possibility of powers. It's just not something she comes right out about, really, since usually doesn't have to. "Cool," she states after a moment or two, smiling and nodding. "What about you?" she asks with a grin as she looks over. "You one a' those hidden power types? I mean, if you don't mind me askin'."

"It takes a little getting used to, but I had a friend back home who was green, so it wasn't a complete culture shock." Normally she'd be a little hesitant about admitting she has friends with powers - it'd make it easy to link her to the superhero business - but she's confident that Kaitlyn will just accept non-humans as being common in Steph's world, "I'd definitely recommend exploring, there are a lot of cool things to see."

Steph laughs and shakes her head, "Nah, I'm completely boring and human. You on the other hand, I have my suspicions about." She's still smiling, even though the words could potentially be threatening, the edge of teasing in her voice shows they aren't meant to be.

Kait can't help but laugh, amused. There might even be a little bit of a snort, which has her raising a hand over her mouth. "Green? That's one way t' stand out. I'm not sure what I'd do if I was green!" Then again, with real superheroes, apparently, anything is possible.

But oops! She's been "caught". It's only fair, though, since she asked Steph, isn't it? Kaitlyn chuckles a bit more wryly this time. "You've got me!" she says, raising her arms up as though she'd just been caught with her hand in a cookie jar. "Yeah, I'm not exactly- we call people with powers Evolved where I come from. Or mutants, depending on who you ask, I guess. But that's me." There's that little bit of bitterness again. "The jury's still out on boring, though."

"She can make herself not green, it's one of the perks of being a martian shapeshifter." It's nice for Steph to be able to talk about her friends without having to come up with a bunch of lies.

"I guess evolved sort of makes sense, although 'mutans' sounds kind of... derogatory," her mouth twists in a slight frown, the idea of humans hating non-humans is just so weird to her when she comes from a world with Superman, "What sort of powers have you got, if you don't mind sharing?"

Kaitlyn mouths out the words martian shapeshifter after Steph says them, as if to make sure she heard the other woman correctly. Whoa. "Well. That sounds handy as all hell. I guess particularly for a martian shapeshifter." Those words, their so weird to say. It continues to amuse Kaitlyn more than anything else, really. "See, that sounds just so wow to me. I love to meet a martian shapeshifter."

Ah, and there's the big question. "Well, it is," is stated rather simply, Kaitlyn shrugging her shoulders. "It's sad, but... I guess there's only so much you can do about people hating people who are different. Not that that stops me from trying." She clears her throat and sits back a bit, bringing both hands to rest up on the table.

"Nothing... amazing. Probably not to you, at least," she replies with a bit of a chuckle as she leans forward, and in front of her, both her hands begin to glow with a soft light. It might be a bit of a... display for a public place, but hopefully it isn't too noticeable to anyone else besides the pair of them. "I can do stuff with light. Photokinesis, is what it said on my registration card."

"If she ever shows up in Baedal, I'll introduce you to her, she's one of the sweetest people I've ever met," It's totally true, M'gann is so lovely that sometimes Steph doesn't even know how to deal with her.

"Yeah..." the frown deepends, Steph might not have powers, but she knows that some people look down on her because she's poor, "It's good that you won't stop trying. I'm sure you're doing some good."

Steph might be used to people with powers, but that's still cool and her eyes widen when she notices the glow, "That's awesome!" But then the rest of what Kaitlyn said sinks in and Steph is frowning again, "Registration card?"

The glow fades quickly, Kaitlyn fingers flexing a bit before she draws them back, taking a moment to grab her cola for a quick sip. "It's nice when the power goes out," she replies with a grin. "I actually learned a lot of stuff I never would've otherwise. I met someone once who could do the same thing, she dropped a bunch of physics books in my lap, and it was just- nuts. But that helped me learn how to do things like making things invisible by bending light away."

This is going to become a makeshift science lesson if she doesn't move on quickly, so she decides to do just that. her lips quirk side to side at thought back to this topic, though, and she nods slowly. "Like I said... the government didn't exactly approve of Evolved folks. Lots of rules, and regulations, and registries. It got way beyond the point of public safety and into oppression. A pair a' my friends ended up getting moved into an Evo-only neighborhood a few months back."

"I can imagine it'd come in handy during a black out," she grins a little, even more impressed, "You can turn stuff invisible? That's really cool, it's good she decided to give you that physics textbook."

"I'm sorry," she reaches over to put a hand on Kaitlyn's arm, "I wish there was something I could do to help, your government is completely out of line."

Kaitlyn offers back a small smile at the touch to her arm, before shaking her head a bit. "It started smartly enough, at least. I mean, I dunno what it's like on your world, but where I lived, it was kinda like, you know... one day you're normal, the next you wake up and you shoot microwaves from your hands, or you can fly. People got hurt, and- hell. There was a huge explosion in Manhattan because of one, that's what started the whole mess. So I guess I don't blame them, it just got... abused. Really easily, really fast."

She sinks back a bit in her chair, shrugging a bit as she closes her eyes. "The thought's appreciated, though. There were a lot of people who tried t' help, and when they couldn't, helped people get the hell outta dodge. That was what I did, when I wasn't working." Seeing how Steph seems to feel, and given that she isn't even there anymore makes it a bit easier for her cop up to what was technically less than legal dealings.

"What's it like, where you come from, anyway? I mean, if there's superheroes, there's got to be villains, but if even a martian," it still feels weird, "can get on fine there, it must be rather nice." There's a hopeful tone to her voice when she asks, almost as if she's hoping this is really the case.

"They shouldn't punish everyone for the actions of one person." She sighs and gives Kaitlyn's arm a gentle, reassuring squeeze, then sets her hand back on the table.

"You were doing the right thing, then. No one deserves to be stuck in a situation like that and if the government won't give them a way out, then citizens should," Steph has a lot of feelings about this sort of thing, working as a vigilante and watching the ineffective justice system makes her question the goverment a lot.

"Some people still hide themselves, but it's for different reasons. They don't want to be a superhero 24/7, you know? And they wanna keep their family safe from, yes, supervillains, so they pretend to be normal humans when they go to school and work and stuff," She's still trying to be reassuring, "And not everyone does, M'gann - that's the green girl - rarely pretends to be human. And there are others like that."

"Oh, Lord. You don't have t' tell me about people still hiding. I mean, I knew a kid once, who wanted so bad to be a superhero. Never really thought about the consequences of his actions, though, and it kinda made life hard for the people who knew what he was doing. Good heart in that guy. Not a lot of brains." Kaitlyn's smiling again now, which largely means the reassurances are working.

"See, that's so neat," she continues, propping her chin against the palm of her hand. "I mean, I'm sure it makes things hard sometimes, but there's so much freedom in that." She sounds a little jealous, even, but rather than say anything like that, she decides to finish off her drink instead. "It's just nice to know that things go better in some places."

"That's what the masks and codenames are for, as long as they don't do stupid shit and lose the mask," she doesn't want to point out that kids like that usually end up dead. "Having a good heart helps too"

"We seem to be pretty lucky back home, I wish other worlds were better. Though at least Baedal is somewhat accepting." She kind of wants to go to all the other worlds and kick people for being jerks.

"A mask and codenames don't raelly help when you leave calling cards and everyone who matters know who you are anyway," Kait says with a laugh. "He gave it a shot. Thankfully, he was smart enough to give it up when things got a little too real."

Her fingers drum on the table as she slouches back a bit. "Well, hey, maybe if this whole universe thing crosses anymore wires, you can help me smack some sense into people. Or something, I dunno." She chuckles and shrugs, amused by her own silly idea.

"That would make things a little trickier. I'm glad he got out before anything bad happened," It makes her feel like a bit of a hypocrite to say that, considering she never quit when she probably should've.

"If I ever get a chance to go to your world, I will be more than happy to kick some bigot's asses," despite how unlikely it is to happen, Steph is being genuine.

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