Kyoko Yamashira adjusted the baseball cap covering the furry triangular ears that marked her as something other than a normal citizen. Her hair was styled so that on first glance no one would notice that the fox ears were real and her only pair, rather than the headband affectation so common among teenage female heroes. She smiled at the citizens mobbing around Miss Liberty's station in Atlas Park and walked at a brisk pace along the mostly cleared streets. Her long cotton skirt swirled about her knees in the backdraft of a hero speeding by. Along the way, she spotted Mrs. Johnson, the first citizen she had rescued as QB Kitsune. It was all she could do to resist waving and saying hello to the kindly old woman who had given her the number to the Circle of Thorns Victims Support Group. Secret identities made it difficult to keep social.
Kyoko arrived at el Helado Super Mexicano and began to scan the tables for Azuria. The MAGI director usually met her here on alternate Mondays for ice cream, a tradition that started when she had arrived at the office in City Hall and promptly had an anxiety attack at the scents from the various Oranbegan and Mu artifacts on display. Azuria had smiled gently and brought her here. Two sundaes later, Kyoko had calmed down enough to go on her first foray against the Hellions.
Frowning, she stepped into the ladies' room and pulled the arrowroot leaf from her forehead dispelling the S.E.P. glamour on her face and clothes, assuming her identity as QB Kitsune. She walked to the counter and spoke to the salesgirl.
"Um, excuse me?" she asked. She still had trouble talking to people she didn't know. Before the Circle of Thorns had abducted her from her dorm in Paragon University, she had merely been shy and bookish. Now, after the whole Lady Nogitsune debacle, she was timid.
"Oh, wow!" the salesgirl exclaimed. "It's QB Kitsune! You saved my father from the Clockwork in Skyway! Thank you!"
QB swallowed hard. This was awkward. Even after a few months as a registered hero, she wasn't used to fans. "Y-you're welcome." She looked at the interior booths. "H-have you seen Azuria? I w-was supposed to meet her here..."
Eyes still sparkling, the clerk gushed, "She got some sort of call and had to leave suddenly. Is it some sort of plot you'll need to stop?"
"I d-don't know," QB said, "but I intend to f-find out." She walked over to a potted plant and stepped into the shadow it cast on the wall. She emerged seconds later from the shadow of the Atlas statue in front of City Hall. Quick strides past the many heroes taking a break from busting heads brought her to the public lobby for MAGI.
She arrived to a scene of chaos. The many clerks who would normally be greeting visitors and cataloging artifacts confiscated from the various villains across the city were now picking themselves up from the ground and removing distinctive rings from around bound colleagues.
"Oh, n-no," Kyoko murmured. "N-not the Carnival of Sh-shadows!" She knew she wasn't ready to deal with them by herself. She fumbled with her communicator and punched in the East Coast Legendary's frequency. "Jessica? Th-there's a situation I could use your help with..."
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''
-- James Nicoll
Kyoko arrived at el Helado Super Mexicano and began to scan the tables for Azuria. The MAGI director usually met her here on alternate Mondays for ice cream, a tradition that started when she had arrived at the office in City Hall and promptly had an anxiety attack at the scents from the various Oranbegan and Mu artifacts on display. Azuria had smiled gently and brought her here. Two sundaes later, Kyoko had calmed down enough to go on her first foray against the Hellions.
Frowning, she stepped into the ladies' room and pulled the arrowroot leaf from her forehead dispelling the S.E.P. glamour on her face and clothes, assuming her identity as QB Kitsune. She walked to the counter and spoke to the salesgirl.
"Um, excuse me?" she asked. She still had trouble talking to people she didn't know. Before the Circle of Thorns had abducted her from her dorm in Paragon University, she had merely been shy and bookish. Now, after the whole Lady Nogitsune debacle, she was timid.
"Oh, wow!" the salesgirl exclaimed. "It's QB Kitsune! You saved my father from the Clockwork in Skyway! Thank you!"
QB swallowed hard. This was awkward. Even after a few months as a registered hero, she wasn't used to fans. "Y-you're welcome." She looked at the interior booths. "H-have you seen Azuria? I w-was supposed to meet her here..."
Eyes still sparkling, the clerk gushed, "She got some sort of call and had to leave suddenly. Is it some sort of plot you'll need to stop?"
"I d-don't know," QB said, "but I intend to f-find out." She walked over to a potted plant and stepped into the shadow it cast on the wall. She emerged seconds later from the shadow of the Atlas statue in front of City Hall. Quick strides past the many heroes taking a break from busting heads brought her to the public lobby for MAGI.
She arrived to a scene of chaos. The many clerks who would normally be greeting visitors and cataloging artifacts confiscated from the various villains across the city were now picking themselves up from the ground and removing distinctive rings from around bound colleagues.
"Oh, n-no," Kyoko murmured. "N-not the Carnival of Sh-shadows!" She knew she wasn't ready to deal with them by herself. She fumbled with her communicator and punched in the East Coast Legendary's frequency. "Jessica? Th-there's a situation I could use your help with..."
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''
-- James Nicoll