2012-12-25: Ursa vs The Salvation Army

In her on-going exploration of the planet Earth, and its many intricacies, Ursa has stumbled upon a new discovery. An army with no exercise regiment, that seems to strictly hire fat bearded men, with the most garish of uniform, bound to stick out like an eyesore. Their battle cry of 'ho ho ho' leaves much to be desired as well. She has easily taken herself a trophy from one of their ranks, and so aside from her alien-looking black attire, she's also wearing a Santa hat that really stands out with her getup. The former owner of the hat fainted before giving any answers, and so she marches further down the street, looking for another of their number, who perhaps will be a tad more talkative.

Christmas day. Typically Pepper would have like to go visit her parents, but this year just didn't pan out right. So, she's just stepping out of one of the few restaurants open on this day (Indian food), to take with her to visit with Tony. She made sure that their usual driver has the day off today, and because of that she's walking instead of passenging in a fancy car. She pauses by one of the many Salvation Army Santas still calling for donations and smiles to the man, offering a bit of idle chatter while pulling her wallet from her back and discreetly pulling a larger than what would be considered normal bill. She folds it so the currency's value isn't visible before putting it into the donation bucket.

As it happens, when Pepper approaches the Salvation Army Santa, Ursa happens to spot the same fellow and she approaches with a much more menacing air about her gait. "You, tell me about your army," Ursa snaps at the man, "or I shall take more than just a hat." Obviously alluding to the fact she had gotten her hat from one of his fellow soldiers which she clearly bested. "What is your purpose and where is your headquarters? Who is your leader?"

Pepper Potts blinks at the woman's aggressive approach and the poor Santa's look of shock and possibly fear. Hoping she can defuse the situation (because this woman sounds a bit like Thor in the 'clueless about modern society' way), she tries to offer an explanation. "He is a volunteer for a charitable organization. They're not a /real/ army. His purpose is to request donations from the passing citizens and nothing more." Is there a faint hint of forcefulness in that last bit there?

Lucky for Salvation Army Santa, it looks like Pepper has spoke at just the right moment to stop Ursa's aggressive advance, as she comes to a stop a few steps away from the poor man, and turns to look at Pepper curiously, "an army of volunteers? No wonder they are so scattered," but what catches Ursa's attention more than the Santa, is how Pepper seems a bit like that Daily Planet reporter she encountered, she doesn't seem to scare easy, an admirable quality. "I see, so they call themselves an Army foolishly, they stand no real chance against any opposing force whatsoever. No wonder it was such a disappointment defeating one of their numbers, no challenge at all. You do not belong to that wouldbe army...but you seem strong, were you a member of a military? A Science Council perhaps?"

Pepper Potts says, "They're not military. They are a corps of volunteers that originated during the first World War to help people in need... wait, you did /what/?" Her eyes widen slightly when she registers the woman's admission of having 'defeated' another of the volunteers. "You accosted a peaceful citizen who was requesting charitable donations?" Yeah, she's working up toward that level of anger that usually has Tony looking for a place to hide AND some expensive form of appeasement gift. "Is that where you got the hat you're wearing?" She reaches into her bag to drop her wallet inside and pull her phone."

Ursa points at the Santa hat on her head, "I took this trophy from a weak member of their army, he offered no challenge," Ursa explains, not looking in the least bit apologetic for her actions. "He would not answer my questions, I challenged him, and he was bested," Ursa nods at Pepper's question. "If one does not want to face adversaries, one should not join an army. Let alone a feeble one."

Pepper Potts levels her best 'not amused' stare at Ursa. "I just told you, they are volunteers helping the less fortunate, NOT an actual army. Where was this other person you accosted?" She has her phone ready to call 911 if that turns out to be necessary. "At the very least you need to return that hat, though an apology would be strongly recommended as well."

"Yes, so you did," Ursa agrees, tilting her head slightly as she studies Pepper's visage, the woman doesn't seem to think that her aggressive reaction may be dangerous to her. That, or she deems herself a worthy challenge. Ursa has yet to decide which it is. "It is unfortunate that the person I defeated was unable to make a similar claim in a timley manner," Ursa comments without a hint of regret in her voice, as she points down the street, "right about there." Crossing her arms, Ursa states, "I have won it in fair combat, why should I return it?" Should Pepper go exploring, she'll find a knocked out man in the Santa outfit, who looks to be breathing, apparently either he fainted on his own or got knocked out.

Not wasting any more time (the Indian food is getting colder), Pepper starts toward where Ursa indicated. She's not concerned about the hat, she wants to make sure the volunteer wasn't injured. She reaches the man, sets her food container down, and kneels by him. "Sir, are you all right?" She spares a single glance back toward Ursa, clearly disapproving of something.

Ursa walks casually behind Pepper, not being in any hurry, but nevertheless taking interest in the woman and studying her actions. The man for his part is just starting to come to, looking confusedly at Pepper, "I...think I am," he mumbles, before his eyes open wide at the sight of Ursa approaching from behind Pepper, "look out! The woman behind you is crazy!!" He starts crawling back on the ground, looking quite terrified. Ursa, for her part, just shakes her head and mutters, "if you're not a real soldier, don't claim to be part of an army."

Pepper Potts tosses a clearly disapproving look over her shoulder at Ursa before trying to reassure the man again. "No, it's all right. She's here to /apologize/ for the misunderstanding." Kryptonian or not, an apology better happen, and very quickly here.

"I am not going to apologize," Ursa states adamantly, while the terrified man backs away further until his back hits a wall and he remains there, calling out, "t-that's fine, it's no bother, she can just go..." he is clearly afraid, Pepper, however, doesn't seem quite as affected, and he seems surprised by that. "You should be careful, that woman is crazy." Ursa looks from Pepper to the man, and then takes the Santa hat off, throwing it at the man, "there's no point in having such an empty trophy, it's barely a trophy at all."

Well, it's not truly an apology, but Pepper will take what she can. She catches the hat out of the air and offers it to the man before standing once again and retrieving her container of food and brandishing her wallet to place another overlarge donation in the red bucket. "You sound like someone else I know," she comments aside to Ursa, "who is from, let's just say from a long distance away." After tucking the bill into the bucket and returning her wallet to her bag, she looks at Ursa squarely, her heels making her seem only a tiny bit shorter than the black-clad woman. "It is considered impolite to presume the societal norms of your home apply here where you are unfafmiliar with the customs. Now, are you going to continue accosting innocent civilians, or will I be able to return to my own obligations without worrying that someone else will wind up injured or worse?"

The man looks grateful for Pepper's intervention as he gets his hat back, he dusts it a bit and puts it on his head, still looking warily at Ursa but mostly tries to pretend she's not there as he goes back about his work, trying to get donations. Ursa doesn't even look at the man after returning his hat, her full attention now set on Pepper, "what is his name?" Ursa asks curiously, wondering if Pepper might be talking about the same person she has in mind, although she should know better than to assume anyone can confuse Superman's mannerism with hers. "You amuse me," Ursa comments matter-of-factly, before adding, "I care not for people's sensibilities, I don't deal with polite or impolite, I deal with truth. But you need not concern yourself, I will not take on any other of the chubby red army."

Pepper Potts nods once slightly to acknowledge Ursa's statement that she won't attack any more Santas. "The individual I speak of is Thor Odinson of Asgard. And may I safely presum that you yourself aren't from Asgard? Even with his lack of cultural knowledge, Thor himself is very much aware of and sensitive to the sensibilities of others. I'm not expecting you to suddenly become all caring and sensitive. But perhaps you could try observing the reactions of others to determine if your behavior is perhaps outside of our cultural norms?"