[img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/019b6781-ae3b-76f0-87f4-d8921a6601aa.webp[/img] [center][h2][color=mediumpurple]T H U N D E R S T R U C K[/color][/h2] [color=gold][sub]Direct Interaction- | [color=dodgerblue]Madcap[/color] ([@Auragreedia]) - Collab | [color=gray]Blackstar[/color] ([@cosmiccowgirl]) | [color=gold]Lightning Girl[/color] ([@FourtyTwo]) | [/sub][/color][/center] [hr] By the time the day is over, Jet is ready to unwind. It was a good day, which felt like a rarer thing for him in the past. But lately, things have been going well. So well that his thumbnails were bitten past the quick. The open air exposure on the injury stung, so before they headed out, he’d pulled his gloves back on. He hated going out when it was raining, but he desperately needed a change of scenery from the office. With the cold wet gloves hydrating them, his thumb pain abates, so he takes his gloves back off. Jet was a regular to the local bar scene. The Cowl Inn was on his list, but he hadn’t made it over to this side of town yet. It was nice. Picking up a beer menu on the way over to the table, he scoffed at the list. [color=mediumpurple]“They’ve got a lot of light beer here, huh?” [/color] He protests lightly, even as he’s already scanning the cocktail list. And despite the comment on beer, he orders a ‘[color=green]Toxic[/color][color=gold] Screwdriver[/color]’ to start. It’s a screwdriver with a shot of midori swirled around the bottom of the glass. Citrus was usually his first go to drink, something to get his energy up. He follows Madcap into the corner spot with the precision of someone well used to navigating crowds with a drink in hand. What does startle him however is Madcap’s outburst. He covers his nose with the back of his hand, trying to persuade his muscles from spasming liquid out of his nostrils. [quote][color=dodgerblue] "I hate beer, and I HATE alcohol 'cuz its all EVIL!" [/color][/quote] Jet doesn’t respond to that, sipping his drink. [quote][color=gold]”Asteroid, you're like born to do this too, like you're nearly at the top of the leaderboard!”[/color][/quote] Asteroid stiffens, his hand tight around his glass. [color=mediumpurple]“Oh- I hadn’t checked recently- I’ve been having a stroke of luck, that’s for sure.” [/color]He didn’t think he’d looked at the leaderboard once since he was hired. To hear he was towards the top half of the list was a bit of a shock. He nods through LG’s praises to the rest of the group. He whistles and claps twice before clinking his glass with the group. [quote][color=gold]"So, Feno, I know you're from probably out of this world. Blackstar, Asteroid, you two both.....seem very cosmic. Would it be fair to say we're kinda the same? I mean, I'm not from another planet, I'm from England, which I know to Americans sounds like it is, but.....yeah, I know, it's kinda crazy we have that in common, cos I guess I got powers from something that wasn't terrestrial? Oh, and Madcap here is just out of this world too, I suppose. In his own way!"[/color][/quote] He leans back against his seat, thinking about his powers and where they came from. Plus all the answers he’d probably never get. [color=mediumpurple]“Definitely atmospheric-”[/color] When Madcap starts choking on his fries, Jet’s quickly alert.[color=mediumpurple] “You alright?” [/color]His hands are facing palms out towards the other hero, close to his chest. Ready to spring forward and smack on his back if necessary. [quote][color=dodgerblue]"Ughh... I'm GOOD!"[/color][/quote] He lowers his hands slowly, quickly moving to return his mouth to the rim of his glass. [color=mediumpurple]“Glad to hear it-”[/color]. He drains the drink relatively quickly and follows it with the double of tequila he’d put on his own tab. It feels like an ember in his stomach, but it helps to chase away the chill of the rain from his bones. His shoulders fall from their generally stressed elevated position. Across the bar, the tv plays the night's sports game, and he quietly notes the score to himself. It’s close enough to his normal nightly routine that he’s relaxing in his seat between Madcap and Blackstar. It’s home territory for him, which puts him at ease enough that he lets his brain wander back to the events of the day. Visions of the mountain bungee jumping, of the locker room. The way her fingers scratched the kitten's neck, and the smile on her face. Those moments coming back to him in flashes. His already warming neck turns a bit darker red. Blackstar was- attractive- under that mask. He used to be in the villain business- so he’d never thought too hard about who heroes were. The uniform of choice for his particular band of villains was maskless, but he’d always worn a motorcycle helmet. [i]Secretly it was because the first few times he’d truly tested his powers, he’d fallen pretty far down. When he woke up after the worst one, he needed staples in the back of his head. From then on, he had worn a helmet. [/i] That was quite a bit of time ago. Which is why the mask felt like the best decision when he’d worked with the people at SDN to make his costume up. He was certainly thinking about who superheroes were now though. Who was Blackstar really? It was in this state that he felt Blackstar’s foot knock into his. It was a deliberate movement, not a gentle nudge that happened in readjustment. She stiffens, and her posture prevents him from moving away from her. After a second, he slowly lifts and lowers his foot two or three times, the side of his dragging against hers. He means it in a comforting way, but he hopes it gently informs her that it's a foot she’s kicked. The liquid courage warms his cheeks, and melts away his inhibitions. [quote][color=dodgerblue]"Wanna karaoke? I wanna sing, and no one's called dibs yet! Singing about heroics is like. Prime hero stuff. We gotta do it!"[/color][/quote] Madcap’s arm wraps around his shoulders, and Jet nearly spills his drink in surprise. Karaoke is something Jet did when he was hammered. He and his villain buddies would get up on stage and make absolute fools of themselves. It was probably the tequila double that led him to his answer. [color=mediumpurple]“Sure- if I get to pick the song-”[/color] he’s grinning as he says it- [color=dodgerblue]”’’Kay, but pick a good one! A real heroic one!”[/color] He throws his arm over Madcap’s shoulder in turn and starts to get up, pulling him with. They physically push the table away from them to shift out the side, and they’re heading over to the dust covered machine. The song starts while he passes one of the mics to his coworker. When the song gets to the “Ah-ah” section- he gently taps the mic trying to see if he’ll get any interaction from the crowd. He looks to Madcap to emphatically chant the first set of ‘Thunder’. Madcap awkwardly looks between him and the lyrics screen before realizing he’s supposed to add onto the chant. He starts up too loud, overtaking Asteroid’s voice for a moment, then goes too quiet. At some point, he completely gives up and just starts clapping instead, much to the chagrin of the audience–namely Eclipse, who’s pinching the bridge of his nose because of the noise. Once the lyrics start, Asteroid’s not too pitchy, but his voice is too casual without the gravel of the recorded version. [color=mediumpurple]“I was caught-”[/color] His voice carries, the speaker on the cabinet not quite loud enough. He reaches back, adjusting the volume knob just enough so the speaker is clearly louder than his actual voice. [color=mediumpurple]“And I knew there was no help, no help from you-”[/color] He points to their table with each word and when he pulls his arm back he starts to mime drumming with just his right hand. [color=mediumpurple]“Sound of the drums”[/color] as the guitar comes he tries to initiate a bar clap, but doesn’t continue too long. If it fails, he doesn’t seem too phased. [color=mediumpurple]“Rode down the highway-”[/color] he mimes revving a motorcycle and circles Madcap, who keeps awkwardly clapping his hands to the beat. During the first part of the song that says- [color=mediumpurple]“And I was shakin’ at the knees” [/color]right before the more staccato section he tries to shake his body aggressively and falls to his knees. It’s a little embarrassing in a way that only a partier usually is. [color=mediumpurple]“Can I come again please”[/color]- Jet looks up at Madcap and then the ceiling from his knees on the floor. His hands are in a prayer position, and he stays there for a few more lines. The next series of thunderstrucks go by and he rises from his knees and tries to tell Madcap- [color=mediumpurple]“During the last thunderstrucks we should sing to LG- it’d be funny!” [/color] Madcap stares at Asteroid blankly as the instrumental continues before immediately launching into a wave of laughter. He nods his head eagerly and goes into the next set of lines. [color=dodgerblue]“Yeah, it’s alright… we’re doin’ so fine… so fine–”[/color] He’s ironically lacking in theatrics as he sings, looking back and forth between the bar counter and karaoke screen. He’s barely, [i]just barely[/i] in rhythm, and it sounds like he’s halfway close to making up his own melody. Then the final chorus strikes, and with full confidence, he pumps a fist into the air and snaps his head directly toward Lightning Girl. [color=dodgerblue]”THUNDERSTRUCK! Yeah, yeah, yeah, THUNDERSTRUCK!”[/color] Surprisingly, he belts out the chorus perfectly fine, a far cry from his earlier performance. [color=dodgerblue]”Thunderstruck, thunderstruck, thunderstruck… You’ve been [b]THUNDERSTRUCK![/b]”[/color] Asteroid’s voice follows him with echos and sings with him the best he can. [color=dodgerblue]”THUNDERSTRUCK JUST LIKE HOW YOU STRUCK YOUR OLD TEAMMATES!”[/color] Madcap manages to tag that in just as the song fades out, but he rushes it quick enough that it's barely intelligible. Asteroid is close enough to Madcap that he hears what he says- and it’s sobering. He turns slowly to Madcap, and then back to LG- unsure on how to react or take this situation in at all. He eventually slowly takes the microphone from Madcap, and returns them both to the machine.