Look What I Found [Mia & Hana]

Mia didn’t know what to expect from the day ahead of her. Hero work could be exhilarating and exciting…or it could become a bore. With the restrictions placed on the numbers of heroes that could exist at any one time, Mia at the very least always had something to be working on, be it a general patrol route or a long running case to try and track down and close, but even then some days could still leave her wanting for some action. Stake outs weren’t exactly her thing and a patrol didn’t always come up with a crime, which was definitely a good thing, but…still. Mia was a hero first, but the girl who loved a fight in her was always gonna be strong.

Today though she at least had something to look forward to. She’d met a woman she’d had a passing interaction with at a bar once at the sports festival, and while the two of them had been way too busy with the events of the festival itself, Mia and her had at least tried to make it clear they should arrange a time to meet up in the future. For the other woman, it seemed that offer had been read as spending the equivalent of a hero’s ride along with her. Mia was a little shocked by the request, but it was definitely a way to liven things up on an average patrol, though she did worry the other woman would be disappointed if there wasn’t any action to come of it…ah what the hell. She ended up agreeing, and come the day of their meet up she made sure to look her best.

Getting up and out of bed, her tenants having recently left and her apartment back to being a hazardous mess as it ever was when she lived alone, she briefly reached for some loose clothes hanging over the back of her couch, sniffing them to see if they were worth wearing before lightly slapping her own forehead as the realization of where she needed to be set in with her. The idea of wearing casual clothes faded and she went for her hero get up…she really needed to consider getting this thing re-designed, but for now it worked. Her roomy pants, the bandages across her torso (which was actually a tube top designed to look like bandage bindings) and…that was it. Barefoot thanks to her ability to ignore the sharp gravel of the ground beneath her feet and needing room for her body to grow and expand the angrier she got, it definitely worked for her, she just always felt the minimalistic design could be better.

Grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl on her way out, Mia left her apartment the way she always did when heading out for a hero mission. Pressing a small button on her keychain, one of her windows began to roll up and out of the way, a full size window prepared for her to make her exit. A few juicy bites into the apple and a nice shot into the trashcan from across the room and Mia was ready to go, dusting off her hands and prepared for a run up, charging across her room and diving out the window of her apartment like a cannonball, bounding off one of the lower surrounding buildings and beginning to charge through the city like she always loved to, feeling the wind cutting against her skin and a bright grin on her face.

Before long she’d reach the meeting place for herself and the girl she’d be taking on her ride along today. Not wanting to scare her by slamming down into the ground beside her, she carefully came to a stop at the edge of one of the nearby rooftops and found her way to a fire escape down the side of the building. She slowly began to drop down the rungs, catching onto each floor as she descended from the outside, not thinking a woman with her sizeable frame would have an easy way getting down the normal method. She hit the ground in the alley below and came out, casually fixing her typically messy hair into a slightly more professional messy state, grinning at the woman who’d be tagging along with her today.

“So, wanting to experience the life of a hero for a day huh?~” She beamed at the woman with a bright grin, fists against her hips as she came to a stop infront of her. “Should I be flattered for being your first choice or am I gonna awkwardly realize I was like, your 6th when it comes up with one of the other heroes?~”


784

Mia did recognize the woman but it was clear that she’d changed a fair bit since the first time they met. She seemed oddly more…not mature, but mature in a different way. Maybe it was just what she’d done with her hair, but given they’d already met at the sports festival when that was going down she didn’t make a big deal over the fact she’d changed the color or even some light styling aspects of her hair. Bottom line was she was still a beautiful Woman and Mia wouldn’t make her feel objectified or anything, especially since she got the vibe the woman wasn’t exactly on the open market. Still! Good to see her, she was looking good, and Mia was eager to show her the whole day in the life of a hero thing. The more publicity to get, whether in an official newspaper or some weird blog was always good when she was aiming for the spot of top hero as adamantly as she was. “Awesome to here. May not be the first choice for the ranking boards but at least I’m someone’s first choice.~” She rounded about on her heels to walk beside the other woman, making sure the two of them started with a firm pace to get on with the day rather than stand about aimlessly as they got into the flow of things.

“Good to hear you’re so gung ho about this though. I was rather busy when we met at the festival yeah, but, right now I got a normal patrol day. Got no big cases that need closing, so I can give you the best experience of what an average day on patrol can be like. Sound good?” She warmed up her hands against eachother. Even wearing so little in the wintery chill the Oni could handle it firmly well with a bright smile on her face as she did. “I’m definitely good about the blog though for sure. Any publicity is good publicity. Just make sure to text me a link to the blog once it’s all done? I’d never ask ya to change anything, I’m just gonna be naturally curious to see what’s going on there ya know?” She smiled warmly, rolling her shoulders back as they kept moving, already curious to see what kind of things the other woman might write about her in regards to her hero work. “No worries about using my real name here or there though. Hero name is definitely best to help promote me I guess, but I really don’t mind. If you do go RedHorn though, don’t forget to spell it with two capitals.~”

Still though they did have an actual day to write about, and that’s where the issue came. There was no guarantee they’d see any action, and if they did, Mia kinda had to worry about looking after one more civilian now. Not that she found that to be challenging, it was just something to always keep in mind for herself. “Now to be clear, I ain’t exactly got anything exciting planned for you. What happens is just gonna happen. You can’t expect a crime every day sadly, at least not somewhere you can reach, but-“ She reached up, tapping a small black budy in her pointed ear. A very tiny earpiece it seemed. “I got this tuned into police scanners and a few hero-voice channels, so if anything comes up I’ll be able to hear about it right away. Push comes to shove, I may need to just grab you and start running. You don’t get like, sick off of bumpy rides do ya? Cause like I said, there’s no promise of running into crime, and odds are if we do it’s gonna be a few streets away from wherever we are?”


634

Mia stopped walking for just a moment at the question of ‘do the boards matter that much’. She narrowed her gaze for a moment as she met the eyes of the other woman, just silently conveying how ridiculous that question was when it came to her, but soon enough she let out a chuckle that gave the impression her expression may have been, at least in part, a small joke. There was no guarantee, and though she wouldn’t say it Mia was a little stunned the question even came up, but her answer was a bit more pleasant. “In truth, I guess not. So long as I try my hardest I’m still gonna be a good hero, I just…I can’t deny. My ego is a huge part of who I am, and I need to do my best to make sure that I get the best out of my job that I can. Climbing to the top of the ranks is very important to me, but I’d never put it above my actual work as a hero.” She gave a firm nod, confirming her words to herself and the other woman. She could do whatever it took to get to the top of the hero leaderboards, but it wouldn’t be worth it if she sacrificed what it meant to be a hero for her.


They’d get moving right again. While realistically Mia was just waiting for something to sound on her headset, it gave a stronger image to the public if she was constantly on the move, even if it was just a casual stroll down the street. She wanted to look like she was actually working and not just taking a long break between crimes or something. She gave a passing wave or two to the civilians they passed while still offering the woman with her valid attention. Mia scoffed at her worry of people finding personal information on her and shrugged casually. “See, heroes aren’t like they are in the comic books. We all got real names, we all got real identities. They’re not exactly secret to say the least. If someone wanted to look up my real name from RedHorn, they can just go on Wikipedia.” She shrugged again, it was just the way things were. “Besides its not like I wear a mask. If some idiots have the balls to bring a fight to my front door, or my family, they’re in for a rough time and they’re not exactly gonna think it was a smart move when they come out the other side. I’d appreciate you using my hero name, but if for any reason my real name seems better to use for a line, go with that. I trust your better judgement.~” She winked across her shoulder before turning her eyes back forward, catching someone who seemed to be a fan and giving them a calm high five as they passed without either her or the civilian breaking their pace.


She was glad the woman had a realistic expectation of her work and gave a firm nod in response. She wanted to impress of course, but it was best they both have a good sense of the boring day they may be in for going forward. At the question of the police she was a little caught off guard and scoffed. “Nice journalistic skill there, good question…er…” She let out a slow breath before thinking on her answer. “Depends who you get. Usually thanks to my new tricks I’ve been able to get on the scene faster than the police. Depending who shows up depends how easily the turnover of the criminal is…push comes to shove, they get there first and I’ll either be put on the front lines, or held off as long as the police are convinced they can handle it. More than once I’ve gone against the orders when it’s clear they’re getting in over their heads…I don’t get along so well with those officers, but that’s a personal thing, not a professional one. A lot of officers still don’t accept heroes as part of the system, but I do what I can to prove we’re a viable addition. We’re not here to replace them, we work alongside them, and that’s what’s important yeah?”

Stopping in her tracks for a moment, Mia barely caught the words that the other woman was feeling a little unsettled in her stomache as a call over her earpiece came through. A few roads away there was apparently a car chase going on with a small gang of quirk users. Now on the one hand, the cops could handle a car chase. On the other, she had no idea what they could handle when the quirks came into play. She looked to the other woman, noting she wasn’t feeling too well, and lowered herself down, patting her back. “If you’re not feeling so good, promise me a piggy back is better. We got a car chase down Coruscant street.” She hoped she was feeling well enough for the right, but to encourage her. “If you hold on tight enough your not gonna be bobbing about too much, but we gotta move if we’re gonna keep up with a speeding car.”

When the question was added of what Mia considered about her payment, she tipped her head back and hummed a little to herself. It didn’t really come to mind in the grand scheme of things really so the answer was somewhat obvious, but she didn’t wanna come out with just a chuckling ‘no it doesn’t matter’ in the face of the question. Instead she took a moment and collected her thoughts before answering. “Yeah, it matters I won’t lie about that, but not enough for it to weigh on my decisions. As the number one hero, sure I’ll likely get a lot more money than I do right now, even on just brand deals and the like, but I don’t care. I’m a bit of a slob at home, I don’t care for buying expensive furniture…I just need the money to make my home life comfortable and that’s it. That’s all I need out of my wages. Anymore and I’ll just…I dunno. Save it, give it to my parents maybe? And they’re pretty fine on their own as is so there’s no sense of urgency there to say the least…”


At the compliment to her last answer, she chuckled and rolled her shoulders back. “I like to be honest, so it means something my answer was well received. I got an Ego, I know I do, but I ain’t gonna let that stop me being a good hero…just gotta find the balance, yeah?”


Mia shared a firm nod as the other woman took in her words, not meaning to insult her by bringing up the comics or anything but it seemed to flow smoothly all the same. As a celebrity heroes in this world didn’t have much privacy anyway, so it wasn’t like it was a big deal for her real name to be spread out like that whatsoever.


With the words about the police Mia nodded to confirm about the fact she had a lot of rules to stick to. “I try my best but some of them can feel a bit limiting. A lot of times I know for sure I can handle a situation but…some rule or another stops me. I know they’re there for a reason, and I’ll stick to them as best I can, but sometimes a rule can’t be perfect.” She didn’t say anymore than that, Mia had broken a fair chunk of rules in the past, but blog or newspaper she wouldn’t spill the beans on that. One day her failings may catch up with her and she’ll break the wrong rule, but for now things continued to truck along just fine. “Maybe the police will come to trust me in time though. Who knows. I’ve got a few friends on the force and my sister works in the news so my public image ain’t the worst, but I can always do better. Been debating trying to host a party for the police forces maybe to try and make friends. Who knows, it might work.”


With the news of the car chase though and the woman getting onto her back they were soon ready to get moving. With the question of her outspeeding a car, she chuckled and shook her head, making sure the other woman was securely in place and chuckling away at it as she broke into a light jog. “Nah! But I know this city like the back of my hand! I’m sure I can grab a few-“ She lowered down sharply, pushing her strength into her legs and suddenly bounding up towards the sky, kicking off the inner alley wall of a building and reaching the roof in two sharp hops from wall to wall, before starting to charge and bound over the rooftops towards the scene of the crime.


Charging across the rooftops, the Oni hero RedHorn kept her speed strong but her motions stable and trained, making sure they didn’t shake up the woman on their back all that much as the continued to move forward through the crisp air cutting against their majorly bare skin. Before long the sirens could be heard in the distance, and just as planned RedHorn managed to catch a rooftop down the street ahead of the car chase. One well timed attack and she’d be able to take the car out of the action.


“Okay, you’re gonna need to do me a favour and stay outta the action here little miss. Sound good?”


She dropped down into one of the alleyways, peering about the corner and watching the car speeding down the street. There were no sooner turns so the car HAD to come her way. The Red Horned beast grit her teeth tight and her muscles tightened, growing a little in size as her muscles expanded, glancing back to her ride along with a confident grin.


“Ready for some action?~”

Mia couldn’t help but chuckle at the passing comment about knowing Tokyo like the back of her hand, definitely enjoying the idea that someone found it impressive, but for her it was second nature due to one simple fact. “well ya know it definitely helps when ya have a birds eye view half the time! No worrying about recognizing streets or anything. You just check where you are in relation to the biggest buildings and suddenly you know your way!” She gave another strong bound from building to building as she cut across the rooftops, doing her best to maintain a steady ride and firm speed to make sure the two of them weren’t left in a sickly state by the time they arrived on the scene.

With the woman off her back and Mia ready to get into action, the blonde Oni was beefing herself up, her muscles naturally expanding as she prepared herself for the fight ahead. She took the woman watching her at her word and made sure to time herself well. As strong as she was, she didn’t have the capacity to fully strop a car by just standing in it’s way, and she didn’t wanna come out of this with some spinal injury. No, she had to time herself right and pull this off perfectly if she was gonna knock the lead car out of the action. She hunched down low and got ready to run as she said through grinning teeth.

“Alright…watch this…!”

With the rage of a beast behind her, though controlled and tempered by the mind of a hero, Mia began to rush out from the alleyway. Now, Mia didn’t have the power to stop a car rushing right at her, bot knocking one on it’s side while it was already on uneven footing? Easy as piss. She rushed out, an arm crossing her body so she was rushing with her shoulder first. Just as she hit the road the car started to swerve out of her way but she’d timed this just right. Her body swung low, catching the side of the vehicle with her charging shoulder, and sweeping up her arm in a back handed fist, catching the underside of the pick up truck that had been carrying the crooks and not only forcing the vehicle to spin, but proceeding to chuck the contents of the car out entirely with a wide grin on the face of the heroine. The crooks and criminals flung out of the back of the pick up and the police cars that had been chasing them screeching to a halt. It was clear from the looks on their faces as they exited their vehicles that more than a few of the cops were pissed that RedHorn had been the one to stop the chase, but a few others seemed to recognize the hero a little more fondly.

Rising to her full height, rolling back the shoulder she’d used to impact with the trick, Mia slammed her fist into her open palm, the air around her pulsing with a small shock wave and the sound echoing far down the street, followed by the more subtle cracking of her knuckles as she faced the criminals with a ride grin as they found their way to their feet.

“So…who want’s to go first?~”

(mind NPCing the crims?)

With the punks from the car crash she'd helped cause starting to crawl up and to their feet, and the driver coming out to mix with the rest of them. Her eyes clocked the crowbar in one of their hands and the fact another was eagerly wanting to smash her face in without one, but most of all a sense of odd pride filled her as she spotted the punk in the back who definitely wasn't gonna get into the fight. She glanced back to the cops, knowing that once shit hit the fan he'd have plenty chance to run, and dipped her eyes towards one of the nearby alleyways. A few cops who were more okay working with heroes looked to where she guided them and took the hint, dipping into the alleyway and rounding one of the back streets, ready to catch that last punk if he decided to run while Mia was busy with the combat.

"Alright you two. Let's see if you're bite is worthy of your bark!" Watching one light up like a Christmas tree, if you set it on fire, she pushed her fist into her palm and firmly cracked her knuckles, twisting her neck off to the side to produce a similar sound before lowering herself into a more ready position. Her muscles bulked up just a fraction or two more as her mighty red horn stretched further out of her scalp, the veins about her forehead becoming a little more prominent. With the crowbar kid seeming to take the forefront, he raised his arm up and the crowbar in his hand seemed to stretch out to about 4 times it's size, turning into a curve-ended metal staff, but seemingly no heavier given he was still wielding it the same way. The blonde beast raised her hands up against the metal bar, feeling a hefty bit of momentum behind it and grinnining at the assailant.

Turning hard on her heels, with the crowbar held firmly in her hands, she swing him about, feeling him let go of his own choice, not wanting to be stuck at the whim of her spinning as he was forced to skim about the ground and land at the feet of the fire coated criminal, Mia glancing to the much smaller crowbar in her hand as it shrank back to it's original size, tossing the tool aside with a scoff as she planted a foot down firmly ahead of her in a fresh 'ready' pose, her tusks poking out over her top lip as she gave the other goons a harsh glare.

"Sorry guys, that all ya got? I don't exactly got an easy mode for ya!~"

By now it was clear that the commotion was causing something of a scene. Curtains opened in windows as local residents watched the scene unfold and a few passerbys were watching the scene unfold forming a small crowd, the cops doing a good job of cordening off the scene so no one got hurt.

Mia was almost licking her lips as the leader of the pack, the man who seemed to almost have a body made of hardened magma, stepped up to her and offered a one on one fight. Now, Mia was no idiot. The guy was probably focusing on just giving his buddies the chance to escape, but Mia could deal with that. Even if she knew the cops couldn’t use quirks she felt somewhat assured they were at least competent enough to stop a few lesser goons before they could get too far. She rolled her shoulders back and lowered down into a more ready stance, grinning ear to ear. Very briefly, her red eyes flashed to the alleyway her ride along for the day was hiding in. She flashed a wider grin and a sly wink that seemed clear even though the woman could only see one side of her face. She could tell she was inching out of the hiding spot, but at this point she was sure she’d be okay.

With the magma douche recognizing her as the one big threat for now, it seemed the two of them were going to be going mono-a-mono afterall. The Oni was pretty excited, her horn sprouting out just a hair’s width further, her tusks peering out over her top lip and an ecstatic look on her face. This was one of the things she lived for on the job. A mouthy crook who thought they could take her. She could only hope they put up a fight…~

(idea was you play the criminal I think? Is that still okay?)