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Tuesday Night
Flying Home
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((ᴄᴏʟʟᴀʙ ᴡɪᴛʜ [@SonnetNSunbeam] ))[/color][/center]
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Jet might be losing his mind over the way Blackstar is playing with his sleeve. A small ache forms a few inches below his collarbone. His second double tequila goes down like every other time, fire and ice. It’s enough that he stands there for a minute grimacing and then against his better judgement, he orders just one more. It’s the exact amount of drunk he has to be to live in the moment fully. It’s also at the edge of just a little too much. 

If they are there for too much longer, he’ll need another. But he supposes he’ll find his way home before then. [color=mediumpurple]“Do you want anything?”[/color] he turns his face towards her, looking over their shoulders behind them. [color=mediumpurple]“My buddy usually gets Shirley’s but not sure if you like cherry?”[/color] 

[color=gray][b]“Oh–”[/b][/color] She’d been about to politely decline before she realized he was suggesting a mocktail. He’d noticed? That made her heart beat funny for a second. She told herself it was because she was embarrassed. Not because he’d noticed and thought of it. [color=gray][b]“Actually, yeah, I do. Thanks.”[/b][/color]

She liked cherry, sure, but honestly she just loved looking at the drink. The red was pretty. That and black were her favorite colors. Blue might be a close second. In fact she liked most things with rich, vibrant colors – though her black-on-black suit might give a different impression – and anything with said colors that light could shine through. Stained glass, sheer curtains, pretty drinks.

[color=mediumpurple]“First day-”[/color] his voice is lofty, [color=mediumpurple]“gotta buy you a drink.”[/color] He puts it on his tab before he closes it. He’ll drink more tequila tomorrow.

[color=gray][b]“You don’t [i]gotta[/i]…”[/b][/color] Alaine protested, but he’d already put the Shirley on his tab. That earned an appreciative smile from her – and a subconscious but happy little tug on his sleeve.

He fights a smile all the way to the booth, and regrettably loses his warm and comfortable contact with Blackstar. He clamors into the booth first, seated beside Madcap once again. Being a little drunk, he reverts a bit back to his former state of party bar fly- offering a wrist bump to Madcap. 

[quote][color=lightblue]"I think you all hate lawyers more than me, and given I'm the only one who got hurt, I'd rather keep my paperwork volume low. I'd also rather keep my sanity high, and most importantly, any bullshit to a minimum. Are we understood?”[/color][/quote]
Jet snorts, covering a laugh with a sip of his drink. If only James really knew how much Jet hated lawyers. [color=mediumpurple]“Aye aye Captain,”[/color] he echoes James’ call for clarity- just a little too loud.

Alaine, carefully sliding back into her seat with a polite [color=gray][i]“ ‘scuse me”[/i][/color] past Fenom, grinned a bit and shook her head. She’d actually had very little dealings with lawyers, but she knew the general sentiment. She was impressed by James, though – maybe she didn’t know a lot about how it all worked, but she got the impression that was a tough call to make. Especially when he’d just had his face bashed in. Poor guy. She knew from experience that that smarted. 

Still. Graceful thing of him to do. Alaine lifted her glass a little to James, specifically.

Now she felt twice as bad about lying to him in the one-on-one. 

What else was she supposed to do, though? Besides, she’d been honest enough about the fact that no one was after her currently. As far as she knew. She just hadn’t been entirely forthcoming about why that was. Or that he wouldn’t need to get involved if someone was after her, because [i]she’d do it again[/i].

Alaine lowered her glass, glancing down at the red drink. [i]Blood in her mouth. She’d hit that van in the desert [b]hard[/b].[/i] 

No, dang it. That starry discomfort had just gone away, and all at once it was trying to sneak back. Was [i]everything[/i] going to trigger the memories? The upward tug in her bloodstream? She felt the itch to anchor herself again and her gaze darted sideways to Asteroid; she hadn’t missed the gently-returned bump of his foot against hers earlier, and it had helped quite a bit. But did she dare to slide her boot over that way again? Or was that weird? It had been an accident before. If it was on purpose that was weird. Right?

Jet at one point or another emphatically begins speaking about a sports team- and leans across  the table in Blackstar’s direction, their shoulders brush together a few times before he settles just a bit closer to her than before.

Things started to wrap up as it got later, conversations dying out, energy slowly dipping. Lightning Girl came over as empty glasses were being set aside; the white-haired heroine looked like she was doing better, but Blackstar couldn’t be sure how accurate the outward appearance really was. She doubted anyone would just bounce right back from an encounter like the one with Tsunami, even someone as vibrant as Lightning Girl. 

Still – like with James, she admired LG’s spirit. It was encouraging in the same breath that it made Blackstar feel like a fraud.

Pushing the thought aside as the team began to make their exits, Alaine stood and checked her phone – a burner, or at least not her [i]real[/i] phone. Her family contacts and pictures weren’t on this one; the other, the real one, was back in her apartment, hidden in her mattress. Checking the time, she realized the little battery icon was at full charge when it hadn’t been before. She was confused for a second before connecting the dots and realizing LG must’ve given her a charge. 

Appreciative, she lingered for a minute by the booth and glanced Asteroid’s way. He looked… hm. Maybe more than just tipsy, but the mask made it a touch hard to tell. He’d had a couple of those double tequilas. Which was, what, two shots in one? Or something? She didn’t know. 

She also didn’t know why she didn’t just say goodnight and get going, but she didn’t. 

[color=gray][b]“...You gonna be able to get home?”[/b][/color] Alaine asked, watching Asteroid closely. One hand tugged at the hem of her jacket, needing something to fidget with.

Jet freezes, his hands in his pockets, previously looking up at the sky. [color=mediumpurple]“Oh uh, yeah- def- definitely.”[/color] He stutters through his response, and that’s when he knows just how toasted he is. Reynold would want him to shake somebody down for a phone and give him a call. He reached into his pocket, feeling his modified MP3 player, and was shocked at the battery being at 100%. He’d used it a ton today. The loss of charge disorients him, and when he opens his mouth- his answer practically falls out- [color=mediumpurple]“Gonna jump home.”[/color]

Alaine shifted her weight to one foot, slipping her hands into her jacket pockets and, somewhat obviously, standing there to see how that went.

He grimaces a bit through some calculations, and takes a step towards her. The next step lands a little to the left of where he’d anticipated and a chuckle fills his lungs with air. He takes another, and trips- but there’s a bounce to his step that could only be explained by gravity calculations he’d done bad math on. In his stumble he nearly knocks it’s a trashcan that’s bolted to the sidewalk. 

Alaine’s arm moved, the familiar hum of flight in the back of her mind – prepared to dart that way and keep him up if he fell. Luckily he didn’t, and she settled back on her heels absently as he spoke again.

[color=mediumpurple]“Dang, I might go inside and have another water or something.”[/color] He wasn’t going to ask to borrow her phone. Maybe the bartender can shoot Rey a text or something- he doesn’t know.

What, was a water going to sober him up? She didn’t think it worked like that. A small grin tugged at her lips before she glanced down the street, considering the situation. 

She knew what John would tell her. [i]You need a good image, but don’t go out of your way to get close. The more you let your guard down, the worse it’ll get[/i].

But… maybe John wasn’t right about [i]everything[/i]. 

Alaine looked back at Asteroid. He’d made her feel a lot better today. Multiple times. And he’d bought her a drink. That was a good enough reason to explain away helping him if anyone asked. Yeah.

[color=gray][b]“...I don’t know how secret you want your place to be, but, um–”[/b][/color] She cleared her throat a little. [color=gray][b]“–I’d be happy to get you there. Or within a block of there. Or whatever you’re comfortable with.”[/b][/color] Alaine shrugged slightly, adding in amusement, [color=gray][b]“I absolutely suck at finding my way around so it’s highly unlikely I’ll be able to find the place again, if you’re worried about being compromised or anything.”[/b][/color]

Would that make him uncomfortable? Maybe that was too much. Just in case, she also offered, [color=gray][b]“Or, I mean – I’d be happy to pay for a cab or something, if you’d prefer. You bought me a drink, I buy you a ride.”[/b][/color] She shrugged again, hoping the twenty bucks in her pocket would cover a cab ride if that was his preference.   

Asteroid is surprisingly quiet through most of her suggestions. He’s having a bit of a hard time maintaining focus, his normal drunk silliness trying to invade his consciousness. He snickers as he trips over his feet in her direction. They’re close enough to touch now. Jet starts taking his glove off. He’s forgotten that she left her glove on last time, and his drunk mind is making the same mental predictions as earlier. 

In any other situation, with probably any other person, she would’ve shifted to maintain a little personal bubble. She, again, had no clue why she didn’t then. Just trying to stay close enough to keep him upright if he fell. [i]Uh-huh.[/i]

[color=mediumpurple]“I move a lot.”[/color] In his head he remembers Reynold scolding him. A whole saga turning into Reynold keeping a five gallon bucket of red paint in his garage. He was sick of Jet buying six cans of ‘the wrong red’ before finding the right one. It’d happened at least three times, and that was three times too many. 

Alaine squinted at him, not sure what he was talking about. Like, physically? Like he was going to wiggle around a lot if she tried to fly him home? Or did he mean it in regards to home itself, that he moved a lot? If so, she could relate. But since she wasn’t sure what he was talking about, she just shrugged. Either way, wouldn’t be a problem for her.

He unclicks the bottom half of his mask, and he takes a big breath before extending a hand to Blackstar. He was getting hot under his full mask, this was the first time he’d worn it for this long consecutively. [color=mediumpurple]“That’d be mighty fine of you,”[/color] his words are slipping out of his grasp, each syllable lengthening more than the last. 

Alaine couldn’t help an amused little scoff at that, though she tried to look exasperated as she shook her head. [color=gray][b]“Don’t mention it.”[/b][/color] She took his hand, not sure why he took his glove off but kind of wishing she’d taken her own off. 

For – uh, stability. Or something. 

His hand safely in her own, she lifted off the ground; slow at first, just to make sure he was good, then a little faster once she felt confident he wasn’t going to lurch or anything. Still, she didn’t fly very fast. 

Just so that he could be sure and direct her where he needed to go, of course. Not to stretch the time out.

When they’re in the air, his mouth takes over. Suddenly he’s saying things that should’ve maybe stayed on the inside. It’s her silhouette against the stars that does it, [color=mediumpurple]“Your costume is soooo cool, did SDN make it? They designed mine, and I was worried it’d be made cheap-”[/color] he rambles a bit about costumes and masks, and well made garments. He tells her about a light jacket he saved up for with his first few SDN checks- it’s a jacket made out of a simple blue quilt, and he loves it.

Alaine listened with a small grin, more than happy to let him ramble. She was on the quieter side by nature – she talked and made conversation around others so that everyone else was comfortable, but if she had her way, she’d just sit quietly and listen. 

It wasn’t like she enjoyed his voice or anything or found his apparent interest in hero fashion endearing, obviously. It was just that letting him ramble meant she didn’t have to talk about herself which could end up with her divulging sensitive information. Yeah.

[color=gray][b]“You’ve gotta show me this jacket sometime,”[/b][/color] she said when there was a pause in his flow of thought. She was a bit surprised to find she meant it. [color=gray][b]“I love a good jacket.”[/b][/color]

When he realizes he’s been talking for a while, he suppresses a snicker that is dangerously close to a giggle. The bottom of his flushed cheeks are visible, barely peeking out from below what remains of his mask.

Jet points out over the landscape, towards a more industrial district of town. [color=mediumpurple]“Over there.”[/color]

[color=gray][b]“Ah, gotcha.”[/b][/color] Alaine shifted course with an easy, drifting movement that gently bumped her shoulder against his.

[color=mediumpurple]“What do-”[/color] the bump of their shoulders short circuits his brain, and he trails off. When he comes back to himself, he tries again. [color=mediumpurple]“What do you like?”[/color]

The question took her off-guard. [color=gray][b]“What do I like?”[/b][/color] she echoed, stumped. [color=gray][b]“Um–”[/b][/color] All of the sudden she’d forgotten everything she enjoyed. She needed a narrower category. [color=gray][b]“Uh… stained glass.”[/b][/color] It was the first thing that popped into her head. [color=gray][b]“And suncatchers. And I like swords. Um… Big sweaters. Stars. Also orange sherbet.”[/b][/color]

Now she was a little flushed under her mask, too. That was all true. John would’ve told her to lie. [i]Even small things can lead back to you[/i]. But what could it hurt? Asteroid probably wouldn’t remember, anyway. No one ever did, really. Plus he was four or so tequila shots under.

When they land, they’re outside a semi-lit industrial complex. An old building with large iron windows towers over them, each floor retrofitted into small apartments. His studio is just one big room, with a small shared bathroom in the hall with the only neighbor on his floor. But the rent was cheap, and they let him pay cash. Less and less places wanted him to do that. 

[color=mediumpurple]“Thanks- I owe you one.”[/color] It’s sincere as he lets go of her hand, offers her a fist bump, and walks up to the door with his keys. He looks back over his shoulder and offers her a large open palmed wave. The only thing he remembers after the outdoor encounter with LG the next day, is just how badass she looked in the night sky with the stars behind her. 

Alaine laughed a little as she returned the fist bump, replying, [color=gray][b]“No problem, Louboutins. And you don’t owe me one, really,”[/b][/color] she tacked on, waving back at him and smiling in spite of herself. His steps definitely- don’t- get a bit bouncier at the nickname.

She remained standing there on the sidewalk for a moment, just to make sure he could get the door open. He did, so she took a step back and lifted off the pavement again, ascending smoothly along the front of the building and flipping herself over the top. 

The pet store near her own apartment was just closing, but the employee let her in anyway when he realized she was a hero and not there to rob the place. 

Asteroid’s SDN locker had a bottle of fish food in it the next morning. 


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[color=gray][center][h1][i][b]
Thursday
12:43pm
SDN
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(( ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴꜱ: [@Auragreedia] [Eclipse] & [@FourtyTwo] [James] | ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴꜱ: [Madcap] ))[/center][/color]


She was in a real good frickin' mood. Her dispatches had all gone well so far, she was pretty sure she got along well with her team, [i]Asteroidwascute[/i] and hey, James was back and not horrifically deformed from his run-in with Tsunami the other night. Also, office cat!

Yeah, she was feeling pretty good. It had been a long time since she had felt good, honestly, so Alaine was soaking it up.

The downsides were always there, of course -- the memories, the homesickness, the pull to the void, the nightmares. She'd come to the terrible conclusion a year or so ago that they'd probably always be there. But she could do little things to make it better, and her surroundings certainly helped too. 

[color=gray][b]"[i]I can feel your heart, t-t-t-tickin' like a time bomb,[/i]"[/b][/color] she mumbled to herself, along with the lyrics of [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3BCMPZjTFQ]the song[/url] in her ear. Her flightpath was particularly crow-like that morning, bobbing and twirling and rolling about in the air, free to take her time since she was up early again -- [i]nightmares[/i] -- and not due at work for another hour or two. Eventually her course steered from the clouds down to the SDN building, and she twirled her way down to the roof while humming along the her music.

Spotting an armored figure sitting on the edge of the roof, she dawdled over with a slow flip in the air, coming to an upside down hover next to Eclipse as he tossed another Cheeto down at someone.

Blackstar clicked her tongue at him. [color=gray][b]"Waste of perfectly good Cheetos,"[/b][/color] she lamented, grinning at him upside-down before shrugging and, with a casual kick of her leg, flipping herself rightside-up. Dropping to the roof, she made her way over to the door; she'd taken off from there a couple of times by then and could find her way from there better than she could from the front doors.

[color=gray][b]"Tell Lightning Girl I said hi,"[/b][/color] she added over her shoulder innocently and quickly shut the door before he could throw something worse than a Cheeto at her. Was she implying there was another reason he was sitting around on the roof where the flying heroes sometimes touched down for work, other than being a general nuisance to his coworkers? Yes. Was the implication that he was maybe waiting for Lightning Girl? Yes. Was it because of the fact that she and Asteroid had caught him and LG mid-hug Tuesday night after the Tsunami thing? Also yes. Was she ever going to let it go?

Mmm probably not, no.

Trotting down the stairwell and making her way to the dispatch floor, she stopped by James' desk and eyed the flowers and candles in confusion. Did someone think he'd died? It looked like a memorial. She'd apparently been beaten to the gift-giving by Mr. Cheeto-launcher himself, so she simply set her own down amid the flowers. The [url=https://preview.redd.it/my-favourite-blue-succulent-v0-hqtvkv29u8aa1.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=4f9ff4f096084c5aa6afbeb6233e9911d28ba0a4]little blue succulent[/url] in its [url=https://www.giftsdirect2u.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/EPBUJ000123-800x800.jpg]Union Jack planter[/url] was a nice addition, she thought.

[color=gray][b]"Good morning,"[/b][/color] she chirped to James as she set the plant down, giving him a smile. She was wearing her black-on-white suit today, which might've been an indicator of her mood. Or maybe just that she had to wash the other one. [color=gray][b]"Hope you're feeling better! We missed you,"[/b][/color] she said, speaking for the team whether they actually cared or not. Her eyes dropped to the kitten and she added, voice immediately turning to that higher-pitched, cooing tone for animals and babies, [color=gray][b]"And [i]I[/i] missed [i]you[/i], little guy! Gotcha some stuff..."[/b][/color]

She'd worn a small, black backpack over her jacket and she took it off then, holding it in one hand; she reached into it with the other and retrieved a bag of cat toys and a little cardboard scratcher, kitten-sized. Both she offered to James before also retrieving a little container of catnip and handing that over as well, tacking on, [color=gray][b]"Also I got him drugs. Might want to experiment at home first to see if he's the type that goes absolutely bonkers or immediately falls asleep, which might determine whether or not you want him hopped up at the office. Oh -- and just get me that form for the uh... hand thing... and I'll fill it out ASAP."[/b][/color]

Blackstar knelt down, giving the kitten a friendly little pet or two, then straightened up and gave James a lazy salute before turning to jog off to the locker rooms. She pulled her SDN equipment out of her locker, making the switch between personal earbuds and work gear; when she went to turn off the music on her phone however, she came to a horrifying realization.

[i]This wasn't her decoy phone.[/i] It was the [i][b]real[/b][/i] one.

There was Brook's text from the night before. [color=darkturquoise][i]Hey girly pop! How's your first week of the new job going??[/i][/color]

And her mom-- [color=darkorchid][i]Pictures of Calum! Dad and I got to babysit this weekend.[/i][/color] Attached were several pictures of her nephew -- a year old already. She hadn't met him in person yet.

Alaine hastily turned the phone off, completely. Down into the very bottom of the backpack it went, with the bag itself getting shoved as deep in the locker as it could possibly go. She shut the locker and took a deep breath in -- held it a few seconds -- then let it out slow. 

It'd be fine. She was bound to make a little mistake at some point. Wasn't... wasn't [i]that[/i] big of a deal.

She nodded to herself, adjusting her jacket and huffing a loose strand of mousy hair off her forehead. [i]Yeah. It'll be fine.[/i]

Back up to the breakroom then, where it seemed she and Madcap were the first two to arrive, aside from Eclipse on the roof. Or -- wait, [i]was[/i] that Madcap? Blackstar paused a few steps in, squinting at the person in front of the TV that she didn't remember being there. No, yeah, same buggish helmet and tie. It was the rest of the ensemble that was... interesting. 

She didn't know anything about fashion, but she'd venture to say fashion wouldn't claim that outfit. She did think Asteroid would think it was funny, though.

Moving a little further in with hopes of getting a water from the vending machine, she found it annoyingly empty. [i]Dang it.[/i] She really ought to start making her own food and drinks rather than just hoping there'd be something at SDN. 

Since "breakfast" was a bust, she instead moved to peer over Madcap's shoulder to see what was so interesting. An ad for... some kind of carnival? A superhero supervised carnival? That was probably normal enough, but something about that ad just struck her as creepy.

[color=gray][b]"Weird,"[/b][/color] she mumbled under her breath, shrugging and moving to plonk down in a seat off in the corner, boots propped up on another chair as she leaned back and crossed her arms. At least no one could tell she had her eyes closed behind her mask while she waited for the rest of the team to show up.