Masks 2

After exchanging redundant 'hellos' with Emily and spending a moment to glance around the resort, Lux leisurely made her way to the largest gathering of people--the bar!

She couldn't help but notice that Coyote had arrived and was settled there as well...but you know what? She was no coward. Coyote could get out of her damn way.

"Hmm, I see a few old faces...lot of new...alright! Shaping up to be quite a conference..." She grinned, and as she reached the bar, her shroud twisted around, flashing into golden tentacles of light. They gripped the edge of the bar, and she used them to quickly haul herself right up on it, taking a seat on the countertop itself, facing out, as the shroud returned to its mirrory cloud state. "What's the house special tonight?" She asked cheerily, apparently to Emily.

"Whatever you want it to be. Coffee is popular," Emily said to her with a smile.

"At the bar? This late?" she asked, then laughed. "How eccentric! I guess I can get into it. Mm, hit me with aaaa...white russian." Which, technically, only used coffee liqueur.

She jokingly morphed into Red Fist.

"Hello comrade!" she said before shifting back into Emily and producing Lex's drink from the counter.

Finn dashes over!!!

"I-- I'm a huge fan, Miss Lux!! It's an honor, honestly, I-- Oh gods above, ye've been my hero since 'fore I could walk!!!"

Yet another dropship came in and landed, its cargo ramp coming down...

An empty can of nacho cheese rolled down the ramp and off to the side of the landing pad because it was late and someone just needed some time before they typed up an introduction.

"And now here you are, ready to join the good fight," she said, smiling. It was much like the response she gave some of her more overwhelmed new Starbright Knights.

Lux didn't want to lean down and spill her drink, so instead an extra arm emerged from her upper back and offered Finn a firm, glassy feeling handshake. "Unless I'm much mistaken, you're a...mm, wizard, are you not?"

Devana sat at the bar and ordered coffee, not wanting to drink BEFORE the big resistance meeting that was coming up. She smirked as Lux put on her performance.

Desmond ordered a coffee and made his way over to Nick and Demon.

Corn somehow missed a couple of those replies and kicked her own ass!


God, that Fionola was a whirlwind. Didn’t leave her room to breathe, so she let her on her way with no more than a patient smile. And then she noticed Essen because Corn did, and she chuckled, nodding. “Been there, Aura. Along with Theraea and I’d imagine just about everyone else. You don’t just show up to these things though, someone knew you enough to decide you needed to be here. That’s a pretty big deal. It’ll probably be weird until it sinks in that everyone here’s just a huge weirdo who can melt metal or whatever.”

Maria grinned, and took a step to a side to continue this conversation without SOMEONE in her field of vision. SOMEONE who just wasn’t here and she just didn’t make any note of. SOMEONE who of COURSE was being completely unprofessional and drinking before the big meeting. Someone. God. She was here first and that SOMEONE could suck it, she wasn’t leaving.

“Honestly, even moreso since... I mean, this is hardly the dire ‘world’s gonna end in two hours’ reason everyone usually gets together. Think that means everyone here’s been considered a longer-term potential asset, says a lot about you spring chickens.”

She waved bye to Raven!

Desmond waved back at Maria... from the other end of the same bar he never left.

He turned to the wizards.

"So... Thats your kid, huh?" He asks Nick.

"Yeah, that's my newly-discovered kid. We're not proper family since like...we scarcely know each other," Nick replied, sitting back. "But I'll do my best to help her out how I can. Least I can do for her."

He turned to Demon. "So you've taken her under your wing then?"

"I have," the Demon responded. "She's a good one."

Theraea deftly pulled her coffee out of the way to keep Lux from knocking it over with her shenanigans. She was pretty sure you weren't supposed to sit on the bar like that, but maybe that's just another human thing?

"Hi, um... Lux, was it?" Theraea visibly squinted, because that much light in two different spectra was a little much to take in. Like staring into the sun twice. At the same time.

Esen nods at Coyote's answer, but her face shows that she isn't really convinced.

"I don't even know what this meeting is about apart from 'coordinating the resistance', whatever that means. Wait, world end- do you mean next time there's an alien invasion or something I'm gonna get called here again?"

She looks around the hotel again at all the superpowered folks gathered there.

"Shit man, that's just.... fuck."

"Well I wish you both the best with her in the future. I've got a class I'm training in Greece right now. Only one of which seems interested in actually tagging along with me on future missions as a specialised magical team."

"That's me," Lux agreed with Theraea, cheerfully. "Quite a look you've got there. Are you from space or a pocket dimension?"

"Ah! Well, good luck. Not everybody's cut out for wars against fascist omnicorps," Nick said.

Meanwhile, a staircase opened up in the ground nearby and a familiar figure to some of them stepped up and out of it. He was about five feet tall, with brown skin, black hair, and large eyes. He appeared quite strong, and wore a pair of jeans with a black t-shirt. A sword was sheathed at his side, and he had numerous knives on his person.

He waved to everybody casually and went to sit next to Maria.

Everybody who knew Tlaloc would recognize him as Tlaloc.

Oh no! Oh god! She gave a kid an Anxiety!

“Oh- not what I was implying, I just mean it’s a better circumstance to be in, being asked to take part in all this while it still isn’t something like that. You look a little nervous, just trying to remind you you’re not exactly small beans here, even if it feels weird. You can handle it. And when you really really can’t, well, this is probably gonna be an excellent networking opportunity.” Maria winked, and it was very IMPRESSIVE just how much she WASN’T paying attention to how loud SOMEONE was being.

“I don’t have a number, but I’ll call you sometime to check in, so that’s one crossed off. There’s some pretty friendly folk here, and more who recognize it’s useful to be sorta familiar with everyone. Anyone you’re dying to-“

Oh! Hey Tlaloc! Maria grabbed the dude by the shoulder and pulled him where she’d been standing. “Hey, perfect, we can do a test run. You don’t know who this guy is but he looks like he’s hiding something cool and you wanna make friends. Gonna have to give it your best, confident Aura! Go!”

"While thats true, I'm still gonna teach those guys how to defend themselves. They're wizards now, they're never going to have a peaceful life anymore, especially not if we actually win this thing."

"Wait, what's going on?" Tlaloc asked.

***

"Well that's good," Elizabeth told Desmond, sipping a coffee. "Best they know that at least."

Theraea thought about the question for a moment, then shook her head. "Nope!"

She took a sip of that seemingly endless coffee cup before deciding to clarify. As funny an answer as "no" might have been. "Okay, okay, more specifically, I'm from the Abyss. It's not really either of those!"

Oh! And she waved cheerily to Tlaloc! She knew that guy!

“Shh! We’re coaching a kid on networking. You haven’t been approached yet.”