2012-09-30 Neon Signs

Bright sunny days are just about every day in Metropolis. A cab pulls up to the curb near the residential area of New Troy. Lois steps out, eyes on her cell phone. The reporter hip-checks the door shut and the tip of her tongue is visible as she's typing one-thumbed on her phone. The taxi drives off and Lois hesitates in stepping onto the curb fully. Here comes a purple box of a car. The driver is also texting. Stupid high schoolers.

Laser has been thoroughly enjoying his new Edith Mote (™) flight suit, and has spent the last hour doing laps around the globe, finally able to push and discover his top speeds. Thrilled with his accomplishments, he swoops into Metropolis air space trailing sonic booms up in the stratosphere and decelerating so they don't follow him down in between the buildings. He swings to a stop thirty feet in the air over the middle of the street Lois is next to. "Lois! Hi!" he says, pleased at the coincidence. It's been a while since the art opening, after all.

The sound of her name gets her looking up, just in time to spot the oncoming crappy purple scion. With a gasp, Lois scrambles back onto the sidewalk, heel catching on the seam of the concrete. Down she goes, but at least she's safe on the sidewalk instead of in the street. Lois turns her violet eyes back up to Laser.

"Hi," she calls back, trying to look like she didn't just clutz out completely. Maybe if she sits here a moment she'll look ...'normal'?

"Hey, you idiot!" Laser growls at the driver as the obnoxiously purple car breaks way too late. It's a good thing Lois got out of the way, because that teenager did not break on time. With a gesture, a rotating holographic marquee appears over the roof of the car announcing, "CAUTION. I AM A TERRIBLE DRIVER BECAUSE I'M AN IDIOT." Repeat message.

In a flash, Laser is stooping down next to Lois, offering her a hand up. "Hey, you ok? That was close!"

Lois watches Laser marquee the car, and laughs at the wording. How many times as she wishes for something like that? The sight tickles. When Laser is offering a hand, Lois reaches up to take it, her other hand keeping her skirt from going indecent.

"Yes. I'm fine. Thanks for making me look up. That would have gotten messy."

Helping Lois up, Laser grins and nods at some of the passersby. And suddenly a mini-marquee appears over Lois' head: YES I'M LOIS LANE. NO, I DON'T DO AUTOGRAPHS.

Laser gestures at the coffee place on the corner. "Time for a pick-me-up?" He's also pointedly ignoring Lois' marquee. Maybe she won't notice!

Is it wearing glasses?

Lois seems not to notice the marquee (for /now/) as she settles on her feet. She glances toward the coffee place, mentally checking how much time she has.

"Yeah," Lois replies, nodding and lacing her arm about Laser's elbow. Cuz she's a lady like that!

Laser smirks as several people murmur or just outright say, "Oh hey, hi Ms. Lane!" She certainly has a strong readership - she writes about supers, after all! But in front of the coffee shop? Yeah, big plate glass windows. Reflective windows. Laser grimaces as the holographic shines back at them in reverse, but he just turns to wave at someone who actually recognized him, in his new outfit. "Thanks! You're very kind."

Lois takes the attention in stride. It happens... though not with this much gusto. She waves half-heartedly to a few people, trying to figure it out. Maybe it's the Dlist hero on her arm? She got less attention walking the streets in a designer gown on Wayne's arm than she is right now. It's like she's got a giant neon sign floating over her-

"Cute," Lois states, tone flat, lips smirking, eyes on the reflection of said sign. She turns to look at Laser.

"Real cute," she adds. Though her eyes narrow faintly and her voice drips heavily with sarcasm and a touch of a threat, the way her lips smile take much of the bite from it all.

Laser chuckles and the sign fades. "Sorry, sorry. I couldn't resist! I'm obnoxious by nature." Laser shrugs, and moves to hold the door open to the coffee place. At least they have that in common! And also coffee. >.>

Birds of a feather, huh? Lois chuckles, letting go of Laser's arm to step through the doorway.

"Well, least I know what it's like to literally /have/ a neon sign over my head now," Lois quips. See? No hard feelings.

"I do requests, as well," Laser quips back as a shimmering ruby field of light overlays the path to the counter. Following Lois to the front, Laser seems to thoroughly enjoy the attention he gets, even if he has to share it with her. This is fun for him! New celebrities always love this crap. He orders himself a latte with triple the normal about of sugar - lots of cream, lots of sugar. It's his way!

Lois eyes the 'red carpet', a grin on her face. This is so unlike any of ther other heroes she typically runs with. At the counter, Lois orders a triple, straight up. No milk, no froth, no sugar. Because Lois is sweet enough?

"Do you now," she retorts in question.

Laser raises his paper cup to 'clink' with Lois' and grins. "Yin and yang, right?" Sure, Aloke's mother wishes he'd drink her chai, but he's American through and through, and he got the coffee bug a long time ago. Glancing around, Laser doesn't seem to notice the table with enormous, flashing neon arrows that say 'Lois and Aloke - sit here.' Other patrons snicker, but Laser just looks around the semi-busy coffee shop.

Lois clinks, grinning as she spots the neon arrows. Her head shakes lightly, face amused.

"Oh look. I think that table has our names on it," Lois says with an air of overemphasized melodrama as she points at the flashing lights. She starts toward tha table, chuckling.

"Oh yeah, look at that..." he says as the signs fade away. He takes a long sip of his mostly-coffee, settles into his seat, and asls, "So what's new?"

Lois just shakes her head, smiling still. In her seat, Lois sips her ALL COFFEE, pondering his question.

"I'm going to be mostly unreachable for a few weeks. I'll set get txts and things, but I'll be out of the office," Lois starts off, tryingto seem nonchalant.

Aloke raises his eyebrows, instantly curious. "No kidding? Off on a assignment, huh?"

Lois nods, unable to keep the grin off her face. "No kidding. The assignment's local though, so like I said, I'll be reachable by phone. I just won't have much time to answer. If it's anything like what I'm thinking it's going to be, It's going to be lots of early starts, late nights, and more PT than I really want to consider.

"Wow, ok," Aloke says, openly impressed. He really needs to remember to /never/ play poker. Ever. "So, who are you shadowing? Can you disclose? Your secret's safe with me." He leans in conspiratorially.

Lois /knew/ that was coming. The reporter shakes her head, holding one finger up to stay any further lean ins.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Suresh. You're just going to have to wait and read that with everyone else," Lois replies with a cheshire cat style grin. She sips her coffee to mask the fact that while she's /really/ looking forward to intimate indepth coverage of the JLA from the inside, she's not looking forward to the military life that comes with it.

Laser leans back again, not really surprised at the tight-lipped response. "Ah well, I understand. I'll look forward to reading it though." He sips his coffee and then gestures with the cup as he changes the topic, "Oh hey, how great was it to see Superman the other night? I mean, I know you met him already, but first time for me! Seems like a great guy."

"He has his moments," Lois quips, sipping at her coffee, but seeming mostly unruffled. Sure, things are getting better but she's got a sinking feeling that he's not going to be completely happy with her soon. Well, he did say to trreat him like any other story, and then put himself on the chopping block for her current assignement. As much as she likes the guy, she can't completely hold her punches while after information. What gets published... well, she'll worry about that once she has her intel.

"What /did/ you think of him, from that night, in general?" Lois Lane, fishing for intell. She takes her turn to lean forward faintly. But then, she's a professional. The lean-in is subtle, encouraging. We're just having a conversational, after all.

Aloke thinks while he swirls his coffee around - with that much sugar in it, you don't want it to settle! "Well actually, I thought he was pretty great. I mean, he didn't /need/ my help, so I didn't want to step on his toes, you know? I just didn't expect him to let me help. It was decent of him, is all... Hang on," Aloke says, stopping himself, squinting and taking in Lois' posture. "Ms. Lane, are you /interviewing/ me again?" He sighs, grinning, and sips at his drink.

"Maaaaaaybe," Lois retorts, grinning with a sing song voice. She sips her coffee again, chuckling, "Don't worry. It's not an Aloke Suresh feature spotlight on Superman... I'm just gathering public opinion. Figured, since I had you here..." She motions about with her free hand as she says this, trying to making it lighter than it is. Public Opinion on Superman, the World's Hero, Leader of the US Military funded Justice League... And Lois is asking about it? WIll this end well?

Aloke snorts and shakes his head, as a red neon sign appears on the wall next to them stating: Quiet Please, Interview in Progress. It only shines for a minute, and Aloke leans back again. "Oh, I wouldn't know much about public opinion or the big picture stuff. His thing is way above my pay grade you know? I'm just an art professor from New York." He grins, and a halo appears over his head. He frowns and looks up when it cracks and falls to pieces around his shoulders.

Lois eyes the neon sign, chuckling along with a few other patrons. A light touch of color hits her cheeks then and she sips her coffee. When Aloke leans back and gives a very noncommittal answer, the reporter quirks a brow. She's about to 'attack' back when the halo appears and shatters about the man's shoulders. She laughs brightly, more than she was thinking she was going to. All those little mental pictures she sometimes gets during the more boring interviews, when the mark's not as quick witted as she can be, and so to keep from ripping the mark apart she entertains herself with those little 'animations' are all appearing about her.

"Surreal, Suresh. This is all very surreal," Lois comments, setting her coffee down on the table to keep from spilling. "But the just an art professor from New York is the opinion I'd love. Give me your take," she asks, trying to get back to serious and failing miserably.

"Well, I'd say he likes primary colors. Two out of three ain't bad, anyway," Aloke jokes. "And he's terrific at fighting crime. And like any of us in costume, we're all lucky he's on our side, right? But I don't really know much about the guy beyond what we all read (or write) in the papers, you know? Besides, we got our own cast of colorful characters in the Big Apple to keep track of." He grins, and holds his hands out in a 'what can you do' before picking his coffee up again and draining most of it.

"Speaking of, got any thoughts on this Registration of Powered People that's banging around legislation right now," asks the reporter. This just went Interview.

Laser takes a deep breath, and nods. He knows he's under the pen now, and can go with it. "Yeah, that's a tricky one. I hear the arguments about people registering to own guns and such, but that sounds like a slippery slope to me. Not many of us got their abilities by /choice/, you know? We were born with it. So I get that some people are more dangerous than others, but registering people for something they're born with? I dunno. It sounds like registering for being gay, or Jewish, or black. Doesn't sit right with me."

The reporter seems to all but record that response, nodding as he speaks. And then, the reporter is back off duty. Lois sips her coffee, filing that information away for later.

"I don't think Cat's quite forgiven me for her missing you opening night, by the way," Lois says tone back to conversational, almost date-like. Girl changes subjects faster than Supes can fly, huh?

Laser is /actually/ starting to keep up with Lois' rapid shifts. Madness! But then, he is know for being pretty fast himself. "Afraid I can't feel too bad for Cat. You're the one I wanted there," he says, waving his hand dismissively before draining the last of his coffee, and peering past Lois at the counter, considering a refill.

You know that blush? It gets a bit more pronounced. Lois eyes Aloke just as he waves dismissively and drains his coffee. Lois leans back, sipping her drink, watching Laser peering past her at the counter.

"So... new suit," she asks, eyes settling on the clean lines Edith's provided him.

"Oh yeah, you like it?" Aloke says. He runs a hand up one sleeve and then other, showing how it completely does not crease and hugs him precisely. "An Edith Mote original! She approached me, if you can believe it. Apparently she was somewhat familiar with my work..." Well, who doesn't stretch the truth once in a while? "It's amazing though. I'm... actually not even sure how fast I can go now, but it doesn't take me long to do a lap." He gestures with his finger when he mentions 'laps' and a globe flickers into view for just a moment and then goes away.

Lois' eyes follows Aloke's hand and she steadfastly refuses to acknowledge the way her blush threatens to grow. She also refuses to admit that her eyes tries to wander as Aloke switched arms. Lois likes the superheros. The name Edith Mote sorta rings a bell, but not completely. The reporter smiles and nods. When Aloke talks about lapping the world, Lois whistles appreciatively.

"Impressive. You and Superman should race... for charity," Lois says, sipping her coffee. Because we're not going to say anything about reversing the direction the Earth spins.

Laser laughs out loud and shakes his head. "Oh jeez no. I mean, sure, for charity, I'd do it. But I don't have a chance in hell of beating him. It just took me a long time to finally get clothes that wouldn't blow off at high speeds. Nice to finally stretch my legs a little, you know?" He leans forward though, holding Lois's gaze, "Seriously off the record, though, because I kinda like the guy," he pauses to make sure she's on board with this bit, and adds, "But honestly, his cape is a bit much. It looks kinda silly."

Lois laughs when Aloke laughs, because it's contiagious. When he leans forward, she does, quirking a brow as her gaze is held. She nods on the off the record, sensing this is less news and more chismes. But when he disses the cape, the laughter fails and Lois folds her arms over her chest.

"I think it looks dashing," she states, sounding defensive. She's fighting the grin and failing.

Laser leans forward another inch when Lois leans back to fold her arms in a humph. He narrows his eyes and the ever-present glow their swirls into two hard points that seem to pin Lois in place. And then his eyebrows go up in surprise. "Oh good lord, you're serious... You /like/ capes!" He turns and waves to no one at all, "Waiter, check please!"

Nevermind they don't have waiters here, or checks. He starts to stand, his eye-glow back to 'normal'(?), making a big show of pretending at being offended. "I just don't think I can be friends with a cape lover." He doesn't say this very loud though. Really, the show is just for her. Also, he can show off more of his bod- er, costume this way. Apparently starving artists can keep in pretty good shape!

Lois' eyes narrow as Aloke is surprised to find that Lois Lane, noted Superman groupie, likes capes. His show earns him a sigh and an expression that slides away from a smile... and then Lois seems to realize that he's joking with her. The smile slips back in the form of a grin. Her head cants to the side, eyes glancing over the suit breifly before she turns back to her coffee. Either she's not impressed or the joke about the differing cape-opinion ruined the moment.

"I could always write a scathing expose on the fairweather hero that is Laser," she retorts with a touch of chill to her voice. Lois likes the capes and doesn't seem to have enjoyed being mockingly dismissed about it.

Laser plops back down in his seat, rolling his eyes at the woman who can apparently dish it out, and not take a helping herself. "Well of /course/ I'm fairweather," he says, smiling. "I don't have a cloak or anything to put over my shoulders." He winks, and holds up his hands. "Oh, come on." He leans forward and puts his hands palms down on the table on either side of Lois' coffee.

Some things are sacred, man! Lois chuckles and shakes her head lightly as Laser plops his hands down on the table on either side of her half finished coffee. She leans forward a bit, head tilting at the artist.

"Come on, what," Lois retorts, lips grinning a bit again. She did /not/ just get frazzled. Honest! And she's not blushing lightly, really she's not. You'd have to have like supervision or something!

"Come on, and kiss me already," Laser says, smiling. And before Lois has the chance to comment or even really process it, he leans in the rest of the way and plants one on her. If it goes well, it goes well. If she's scrambling to get away, well he just settles back with his hands up in a 'don't shoot me' gesture. Stupid grin comes standard either way.

Do what now? Lois' violet eyes widen and she's just starting to pull away, surprised by the very straightforwardness of the words. Not something she's encountered yet. Surprised, but not unwanted, so when Laser leans in the rest of the way and makes contact before she can lean back fully, Lois leans into the kiss, her hands unfolding from over her chest. Kissing a super. The only thing missing is the cape.

Sitting back, once they break away, Aloke opens his eyes and is indeed sporting his dopey grin. First kiss glow - it's a universal constant. And with any luck, he'll find out Lois is actually kissing /Aloke/ and not just the first costume to put the moves on. But then again, it was his costume that finally cemented Aloke's self-confidence and assertiveness. Oh, the psychologists would have a field day with this one.

He reaches out and rests a hand over hers, and pulls his face into a more normal looking smile. "That was nice," he says quietly. Somehow, a shimmering privacy curtain has come into view, screening them from the rest of coffee shop like clouded glass. Good for kissing, and good for getting slapped in the face in public! Double-duty holograms. Worth every penny.

Lois opens her own eyes after their first kiss. Super kiss count: two. Aloke's in good company with a certain Spangled Super Soldier. She too has a faint little dope to her half grin. The hand not getting covered by Aloke comes up to tuck a lock of hair behind an ear; another universal constant.

"Yeah," Lois agrees, nodding lightly, cheeks a bit pink. And then she notes the privacy curtain and the blush deepens. The reporter clears her throat and reaches for her coffee.

"Sorry," Laser says, hooking his thumb at the screen. "You're a celebrity. And I thought I might get slapped." He shrugs and grins, letting the curtain drop with a gesture. "Still would have been worth it though." Aloke's eye contact is pretty intense, really. Oh - that's why - they're glowing twice as bright as usual. He reaches for his coffee and tries to take a sip before he remembers that its empty. Distracted much? He clears his throat, "So, maybe we should try it again sometime?"

Lois shakes her head at the thumbed screen, cheeks still a bit pink, especially when he calls her celebrity. She chuckles at him, forcing herself calm as the shield drops. She lifts her chin and sips at her coffee as the people in the coffee shop turn back to their drinks. Because they totally weren't trying to see through the curtain, honest! Lois clears her throat lightly, meeting that brightly glowing gaze and feeling her cheeks dance with another blush.

"Yeah. Maybe," Lois admits into her coffee cup, words getting a touch muffled for it. She averts her gaze to the safety of the table - Aloke's in good shape isn't he? - top.

Aloke puts his empty cup back down and nods, leaning back in his chair, his hand drifting across the back of hers before he folds his arms across his chest, pretending to scrutinize his pale table companion. "Now Ms. Lane, I don't mean to alarm you, but you seem to have developed some color in your cheeks. Are you feeling alright? Maybe you need some food? Dinner, perhaps, and a movie..." He grins. Because movies /always/ make you feel better, right?

Lois looks at their hands as Aloke's fingers drift across the back of her hand, before her gaze goes to his face as he... "Are you asking me out on a date?" Lois headtilts at the artist. Clearly, this is /not/ how anyone's ever asked Lois out before.

"Of course I am," Aloke grins. Apparently discovering the worst case scenario is just that she'll say 'no' breeds a lot of confidence. "Normally, I don't kiss on the first date, but we got that out of the way before hand." He shrugs, still smiling warmly, and his eyes still glowing in his closest similarity to Lois' blush. "So yeah, I'm suggesting you go out on a date with me, where I pay, and hold open doors. Then I'd buy your ticket to a movie, get us some popcorn and sodas, and keep my fingers crossed for a kiss at the end of the night. That's the loose plan I'm working on. I've been known to deviate from plans before though. We artists are notoriously flaky that way." Most of his speech is straight-faced, but the humor sneaks in at the end. He's not kidding about the invite, but he is joking about the serious tone.

What... can ...a girl /say/ to that.. sort of... confidence? Lois is speechless for a moment as Aloke finishes his invite. The humor making the hard-exteriored reporter soften a touch. Once you get past the hard candy shell, Lois is a powder puff Disney princess.

"Sure," Lois says, voice much softer than usual, her cheeks still pink. She bites the inside of her lowerlip as she feels the blush and the sensation makes her blush further.

"It might not be... anytime soon? I'm working...." Damn JLA assignment!

Aloke reaches out and squeezes Lois' hand. With any luck, he'll be able to make it home without revealing his own degree of nervousness, but he has surprised himself even with the degree to which he is /not/ about to vomit, in the middle of asking out a beautiful celebrity. It's probably not very surprising that a new super would also discover new confidence, but Aloke's is happy about it either way. "Hey, totally fine. I'm not asking you to move to South Dakota with me..." If there's any objective comedy in the universe, Aloke's shudder at this thought is matched exactly by Lois' as well, after which they share a silly grin. "Give me a call when you get back. I'll be looking forward to it."

Having been in South Dakota. Lois cringe-shudders at the suggestion as her hand turns over to let Aloke take hers more fully. She's chuckling again though, truly sharing that silly grin. "Sure. I can do that," she replies with a nod. "Umm.. I really do get busy so... I just.. you might want to call me? I've been known to forget to eat some days." Anything for the story.

"Sure, no problem," Aloke says. "Just gimme a time frame. I'm gonna feel like a goofy teenager calling the girl every night just /hoping/ she'll answer..." He grins and lets his hand settle into hers on the table. Then his grin falters and his eyes flick to a neighboring table where an early twenty-something office gal is trying to take a picture with her phone while making it look like she's just texting. But he's a college professor. He knows the phone-body-language.

Holding up a polite hand, he smiles and says, "No pictures please," and the woman is treated to a couple of seriously washed out cell phone pics, almost like someone was overloading the sensor chip with a pen laser. Tricksy.

"But seriously, Lois, I think we'd have a fun time. And don't worry about tight schedules. I can be in metropolis /literally/ at the drop of a hat." He plucks at his new suit and grins, "And now I won't even show up naked anymore." No comment as to how he leaves though.

Hey! That's Lois' 'sneak a pic' trick. When Aloke points it out, Lois looks over at the girl and narrows her eyes.

"Maggie, if Cat's blog shows up with those pictures, I'll have you playing courier for Ron," says the reporter sweetly, recognizing the intern that's latched on to Cat Grant like... well, it's not polite to say. Aloke's words get Lois to fight another blush, and she looks back over to her coffeemate.

"I'm not saying that we won't, Suresh, I just... No, it's fine. Call me after twenty-one hundred. Hopefully, I'mnot run so ragged that I'm not still up and fussing with notes at that time. Unless they insist on lights out, in which case... I might just hide the phone under my phone and use a headset. God am I glad I have a private bunk." Wait, what?

Aloke sighs when Lois inevitably recognizes the paparazza, and rolls his eyes at Maggie. He grins though, when Maggie hurries off, embarrassed and terrified by Lois' 'threat'.

Aloke then starts ticking off clues on his fingers. "So you, you're in a bunk. But it's private. And you'll have cell phone service. And you should be free by 9 at night. Interestinger and interestinger, Ms. Lane." He watches Lois' face very closely when he tries his next ploy, "I think I heard SHIELD's helicarrier blocks cell phone signals, so that can't be it..." He continues to study her reaction for any clue or confirmation.

Lois leans back, taking her hand with her, and folds her arms over her chest. Smiling, the reporter clams up and quirks a brow, waiting for him to remember that she said she was going to be local. There's only two places with stories interesting enough for the Planet's top investigative reporter that are local, with bunks, are private, and have the military clout to get Lois talking like a GI. Only one of them have her most notable subject matter. Lois purses her lips, watching Aloke.

Fine! She's shutting her mouth cause being asked out frazzled her. It's a ploy, I tell you!

Aloke rubs at his jaw while he thinks for another moment, and suddenly his eyebrows shoot up. His mouth works silently, as he glances around, trying to be as discreet as possible, "Wait, are you covering the-" He shuts /himself/ up, thank goodness, and then opens his palm where only Lois can see it, where the tiny letters of 'jla?' are glowing softly, definitely not visible to anyone else in the shop. "Just wink, if you don't want to say yes..."

"I should probably get going," Lois replies, smiling at the art professor as she moves to collect her purse. "Thanks for the coffee, and... I'll call you when I'm free," she adds with a wink and a grin. What exactly was she winking at again? Looks like Lois has refound her footing.

"I knew it!" he says, grinning, and standing when Lois stands. "I'll see you soon, Lois Lane." Good luck wiping that dopey grin off your face, Aloke. Just sit back down and order a refill. You done ok.

"What? That my favorite color is blue? Please. Everyone knows that," Lois quips over her shoulder, simultaneiously giving the artist a bit of info /and/ throwing anyone else off whatever trail they might be thinking by putting them more firmly on the Lois is not dating Superman train. Honestly! People see you being flewn about by a super and they automatically think you're locking lips.