[Deleted]

Liz Evander

The rooftop...

Liz thought as she skidded to a stop right in front of a ramshackled apartment, panting as she looked up towards the building's roof. She'd seen the bright streak fly towards the rooftop, which most likely meant one thing: Nova was taking a break, and Liz had to grab the damn opportunity before it disappeared. She'd been running for almost half an hour now, having just left a recently-finished fight between a Hero and a criminal just to try and get a word out of said Hero. Story of her life, right there. It was mostly a miracle how she wasn't dead from frequently running into danger, and as much as she didn't want to push her luck, her job description demanded otherwise.

The front door was locked, expectedly, so Liz turned to the side of the building. Aha, the stairs were still thankfully intact, leaving Liz with no hesitation to climb it up as fast as she could. With her energy half-depleted and the need for coffee beginning to kick in once again, the journey upwards was a bit slower, but the reporter managed, either way. She looked like an extra for an arthritis commercial by the time she reached the top, her natural eyebags adding more effect to what must have been a horrifying image, but Liz managed to quickly compose herself like the head reporter that she was supposed to be before calling out to the Hero.

"That was one badass fight, y'know," she remarked, leaning onto the stair's railing as she tried to control her breathing. For what must be the hundredth time, Liz decided that she was never doing that again. "Maybe a bit unfair, considering your enemy was a literal fish out of water, but badass either way."

There was only two things left to expect: either Nova was going to reply something short and quick before taking off, or she was going to stay and talk, which was the less possible part.

Or maybe it was the impossible part. Liz had heard plenty about the solar-powered hero, but then again she had only heard, not exactly seen for herself. Maybe this was the time to find out.

Francine Bell ||

[Deleted]

Johnny 'Jaws' Weston was a metahuman whose skin had mutated in to a grey, extremely tough exterior and he'd grown to nearly eight feet in height. He liked to throw his weight around, and he'd fallen in to a bad crowd after getting his powers. The thing that made him really tough to face down? He was also one of Francine's ex boyfriends. And she'd really liked him at one point too.

Oh, and the fact that she'd caught a punch didn't help. She played it off for the press when they got there, but she quickly retreated to a rooftop to catch her breath and try to walk it off.

Nova normally tried to stay at range of her opponents. Her heat rays were strong, but she didn't have anything to help her with defense, so the punch to her stomach had her feeling sick like when she let Virginia talk her in to drinking together at her high rise. It was a good thing she hadn't eaten lunch yet.

And really she'd probably be skipping it today.

She took a deep breath and pushed herself off the air conditioning unit she'd leaned against, taking a moment to brush some of her vibrant red hair out of her face and jump about a foot in the air when somebody called at her from behind. Naturally, being able to fly, she didn't end up coming back to the ground.

"Eek! Don't sneak up on me like that! Oh gosh you scared me!"[/color] Nova exclaimed, putting a hand over her quickly beating heart and floating closer. Was she a reporter? A fan maybe? She offered a big, glowing smile, and made a gesture back towards where her ex was being arrested for about the fourth time this year. "Thanks, I'm glad you thought I did a good job! I do it all for you guys, you know. I love my fans! Or... hey, hang on..."[/color]

On closer inspection, Francine had seen this woman before. She was a reporter! In fact, she'd even interviewed Francine in her acting career just a few years ago. "You're a reporter, right? Were you wanting an interview? I have a few minutes now, I really wasn't doing anything before he showed up..."[/color] Nova looked back that way and sighed, crossing her right arm over her stomach to grab the left. "It's kinda hard sometimes y'know? I knew Johnny back before he turned in to a shark man, he wasn't like that... But! So, anyways, I'm Nova, Los Angeles' solar powered sweetheart! I'd love to give you an interview! It's Liz, right? You write the column for the Star, yeah? I have some clippings on my wall of some articles you wrote about li'l ol me! You could have just called and set up an appointment though, you didn't have to chase me up here. Did you... climb the stairs? All that way? You must be about to die, do you need to sit down first?"[/color]

[Deleted]

Liz Evander

The look of familiarity that crossed the hero's face made Liz shoot a confusing look herself. Sure, she'd written about Nova a few times, mostly with other heroes present, but Liz doubted that was enough for the to recognize her or even remember her name. Certainly, her articles weren't the only ones posted on Nova's wall, right? There were tons and tons of journalists writing about heroes everyday and Nova didn't seem the type to memorize all of their names. Heck, she even knew where Liz's jurisdiction was, which totally seemed like overkill if Nova truly was memorizing all reporters.

So what was it, then? Right at that very moment Liz's deductive gears turned 'round and 'round inside her mind, squinting slightly at Nova as she tried to formulate an answer in her head. Was it possible that they'd met before? Maybe it was, albeit maybe not as Nova but as someone else--

Aha.

Quite suddenly, a look of familiarity crossed Liz's face, one that she'd quickly attempted to mask but to no avail--Nova was most likely going to catch it. I've definitely seen her before...who was that actress again? It had been so long, and as much as Liz hated to admit it she remembered faces more easily than she remembered names. "You look really familiar..." she muttered a bit absent-mindedly, although Nova probably didn't hear it past her own ramblings.

"N-no, no, it's alright, I'd die again if I died from stair climbing." Liz answered with a faint smile, although truth be told the...impressive introduction did make her want to sit to compose her thoughts. She wasn't even asking any questions yet and Nova was already talking, which was certainly going to be an interesting advantage...or a disadvantage. Liz would definitely need a recorder for this. "And no, scheduling appointments aren't really my specialty--people have time to prepare pre-made answers when they know they're being interviewed. It probably doesn't apply to you, or maybe it does, but either way, the more impromptu it is, the more genuine. So...the stairs were worth it."

So Nova did plan to stay and talk. Huh. That was a first. And Liz planned to make the most of it. "Thank you," she genuinely said. Stepping a bit closer to Nova so as to avoid falling down to certain death, Liz pulled out her phone and navigated it towards the recorder. "This a'ight?" she asked, a thumb hovering just above the red record button. The reporter already had a dozen questions in mind, starting with Nova's relations to the shark man she recently fought. It certainly looked like it had been more than just an acquaintanceship. "So the guy's name was Johnny, huh? What was he like before deciding he wanted to be some shark on steroids?"

Francine Bell ||

[Deleted]

Nova was a little concerned with the way Liz started to look at her. It was a look that journalists got when they had some kind of angle to work. But she'd already agreed to stick around for an interview so it wasn'T like she could just take off. She could only pray for the sound of sirens to save her. Still, she had dealt with the paparazzi before, just had to keep her cool and not put her foot in her mouth.

"Well that's not too surprising, I'm pretty popular in my TV appearances you know?"[/color] Francine replied with a friendly smile, tossing locks of her firey hair over her shoulder to get rid of some of that nervous energy. She declined to sit down and rest for a second, instead jumping right to the interview. Liz pulled out her phone to start recording and dove right in. It was entirely possible Ms. Evander was digging for some dirt to heap for a clickable headline, but she knew how to handle that. The super heroine shrugged.

"Well, when you grow up in LA you make a lot of connections. I met him about ten years ago through a school program I was in, he was a pretty nice guy. He had a little bit of a mean streak in him sometimes if he didn't like somebody, but who doesn't, you know? I guess some people get super powers and just figure they can do whatever,"[/color] She replied. Liz didn't need to know all the deep personal details of her life. "I don't think any of his friends really expected him to turn in to a shark themed supervillain."[/color]

An honest answer without giving away too much. It was all part of the game when it came to a public image... and Francine loved it. The next question was on its way, and she wasn't planning to get caught slipping up!

[Deleted]

Liz Evander

"I don't think anyone ever expected a shark-themed supervillain," Liz remarked a bit amusedly, the faint hint of a smile curving up her lips. She was still trying to figure out why Nova looked so familiar--her fiery hair was definitely a part of it, now that the solar super unwittingly emphasized it. Liz had a strong gut feeling that it wasn't because of the hero's TV appearances, however, and if there was one thing the reporter undoubtedly followed, it was her intuition. There was something else tugging at her head, and it had nothing to do with Nova.

Instead, it had most likely something to do with Nova's other persona--the problem was that Liz didn't know who.

Shifting the position of her phone slightly, Liz proceeded to the next question: "Ten years, huh? You did say it was hard for you fighting him, but I'd say he didn't even hesitate to punch you at his damnedest. Either he doesn't know you're decade long besties, or there had been a really big falling-out. So what is it?" There were other little details she'd caught while Nova spoke, like a school program and the fact that Nova grew up fully in LA--but those were little, after all, and only of minimal importance unless the situation called for it. Despite that, the reporter still mentally noted it in her head.

For now, she tried to remember all the redheads she'd encountered in the past. It wasn't a lot, thankfully, and surely there had to be one that fit Nova's--

Francine Bell.

Liz almost let out a snort--sure, she'd seen plenty of conspiracy threads on the internet saying "Nova is Bell", but then again those were simply that: conspiracies. Shooting down the idea further, said threads and forums had quickly been deleted or taken down--dwindling down the legitimacy in the process. Surely, it was too silly to be true, right?

But still...

The more Nova spoke, the more Liz saw the similarities between the hero and the actress. The same hair, the same face, the same build...but that was just about it. It wasn't like anyone had a completely unique face--sure, there were slight differences but chances were that Nova and Francine simply looked alike. Or they were twins. Or they were one and the same person. Maybe if she could just remove Nova's visor--

Stop.

The reporter mentally shook it off--she was going to have to wallow over it later. Right now she was interviewing Nova regarding the hero's recent fight and Liz couldn't afford to get sidetracked. "It's quite the revelation you know, admitting that you knew him. What would you say to Johnny if he were here standing in front of you right now and not attacking?"

Francine Bell ||