Masks 2

"Oh yeah, sorry, Pard," Sam grasps Ken's hand and gives it a firm shake, "Since we're doin' the handle thing, you can call me Blackstar. The guns I have on me now don't have names, except for the scrap metal uzi in my backpack that I stole from a raider a few days back. That one's the wUzi. It's full of tetanus."

Contact established! Theraea, in all her colorfully-scarfed glory, headed over to the bar and grabbed another coffee. Theraea fucking loves coffee, you guys. It's humankind's finest culinary invention.

"Hi!" she said to Zil and Candy. Is it presumptuous to assume that both of them are together at the bar? Almost certainly not. Her voice was, naturally, all ethereal and echoey, the kind of voice you'd expect from some telepathic bullshit - except that the telepathic bullshit was just actual sound instead of being in anyone's head.

"I didn't, um, get a chance to introduce myself before all..." She took a sort of side-eyed glance toward wherever the meeting had taken place. "...that. Um. I'm Theraea! Hi."

“Wastelanders are getting more and more creative, huh,” said Ken. “Anyway, I got a stupid plan, but all plans are intrinsically stupid anyway. What if we double team and talk to people. I feel like trivial chit-chat would boost morale. First baby steps of your plan.”

Finn opens her mouth and raises a hand to wave to the new lady at the bar! The one with all the ideas. But then Mothgirl starts talking to her. Whoops.

She sinks back into her seat and pulls out her phone. Starts getting on the TvTropes for various comic arcs. Gotta check and see if any of them match up even a little to real life. Gotta figure out if she even knows anything at all.

Cadence got up with Zil and smiles. "Hey thanks!! I thought you had really good ideas too!! I liked them a lot!! I personally think it's something we should work on in the future! You were great! It was nice to hear everyone's thoughts! It just like, emphasizes how different people from different walks of life can still come together! And it's like, everyone wants to make the world a better place, it was visible, and there were so many ways to do it, it's exciting! If we just keep in mind that everyone wants to make the world better, I think we will all eventually reach a place where the world is happy! I can't wait to speak more with everyone!"

Cadence continues to walk with Zil to the bar. "Oh! Yeah public speaking kind of came from my degree that's all! I know a lot of people worry about it but you did great voicing your thoughts! I think you'll fit right in with everyone." She stops when she gets the Lux Text, and then turns to Zil as she keeps walking to the bar. "Can you get me a fruity drink? Thanks Cutie." She didn't really go to far away though!

Then she sees that pretty Moth-owl person!!! Wow they were really cool!! She waves back and greets her!!

"Oh my god hi Theraea!! I love your scarf!! I just love the colors!! And your voice is really Unique!! I really love it!! My name is Cadence!! I'm sorry though! I gotta pop out for a second! I don't want to be rude!! I'll be right back!!" Cadence says all starry eyed. Theraea may have the impression she made a new friend already. Cadence bows once again to Zil and Theraea and heads over towards Lux.

"Hey!! I've been good!! To answer your question! I think I'm doing pretty good solo so far!! It's pretty overwhelming sometimes! How are things with you going? I love the current outfit by the by."

"Oh, uh- yeah. Yeah. Fruity. I can do that. See ya." Cadence looks like a raspberry cosmo sorta girl, and that's what she orders from the bar...person...before turning back to present company.

Holy SHIT is the moth-person huge. That's awesome. It's very, very cool, and Zil basically says as much with the way her brows raise and her eyes widen, but it's definitely worth also probably verbalizing! The moth person also has a name. Moth person is Theraea. She can remember that, yeah.

"Hello." Zil says, and she lifts her hand to wave again despite them still sitting right beside each other. "I'm- uh. Well. I guess I don't have a hero name or anything like anyone else here? Uh. Zil, I guess will do. Whatever." She also goes ahead and waves at Finn as well, since it's just waving day. "Don't worry though, I didn't have time to introduce myself either before all that blew up and, uh...sorta...sucks, huh?" She's looking at Theraea as much as she is the gal trying to fuse with her phone. "What, um. What do you guys think about all that?"

"Aw, thanks. I made it up myself. You're always so sweet, kiddo," she smiled. Lux didn't appear to move, but Candy received an invisible hug! "Got something I've wanted to talk to you about, if I can steal you for a bit," and so saying, she led Candy off to a private room--the one she was sharing with Devana.

"So, this may seem strange of me, after all the fuss that's been kicked up over sensible security measures...but it's something that I've been wanting to do for a while." Plus, she'd already told Nocturne she was going to do it, and wasn't about to chicken out now! So saying, Lux reached up, dimmed the light from her halo, and removed the hard-light mask. The face that was revealed looked... very familiar! Black hair (very close cropped), tan skin, and eyes that were dark but flecked with spots of gold, like a night sky replicated in miniature. Her features were a blend, but she descended from Thai and Puerto Rican parents...It was a very familiar face, and not just because she'd grown up with Lux coming around. No, it was a face like a certain movie star's, though with features that were ever so slightly different... "We've known each other for a long time now, but we've never been introduced properly, for all that. Candy, my given name is Alexandria Escher--you can call me Aunt Lex, if you so choose," as opposed to Aunt Lux, as it had been. God, what an obvious cover name!

Lux looked...tense, but she had a smile on her face. It looked like this wasn't something that was easy for her to do, letting her guard down like this. But Candy was old enough to know, and she had already been beaten to the reveal by her sister, of all people! That wouldn't stand.

"No..." Emily said to Orla. "People are about to drink a lot and get rowdy, probably. Don't worry. You and Umeko can have a nice chat on the way home."

"Sounds fine by me, Pard. Talkin' is one of three things I'm kinda good at."

Sam gives Ken a nod and starts looking for a [i]target[\i] New Friend.

Orla's glare deepened, and she folded her arms grumpily. "Isn't 16 the drinking age in Europe?" She asked. She didn't really expect to get to stay clearly, and was just being a little difficult. "This is, kind of...Fine. Fine. Guess I should just be glad to have been here." She said, bitter. She choked it down though after a few more seconds of scowling at the wall. Didn't want to leave acting like a bitch. "Thanks for inviting me Emily." She finally said, a little quiet.

Esen is standing off a ways from the rest of the people and spots Sam looking around. She heads for a restaurant table (burned a lot of calories climbing around to get here) and then gives Sam a wave and points to one of the other chairs.

"You're welcome," she said, smiling kindly. "Have a good trip back."

She offered a hug.

"OI!!!" Finn shoots Emily a glare too!!! "If the kid wants ta stay, she's allowed ta stay!!! If ye bastarts thought she was old enough tae fight in a godsdamn't war she can be around a little drinkin!!!"

She turns back to Zil and Therea, putting her phone away while rolling her eyes at Emily. "I'm... Nimue? That's what I'm thinkin' fer my hero name. Wizert an' Investigator. Happy tae be meetin' ya, miss - what's yer powerset?"

"She's not fighting in the war," Emily said, looking to Finn. "She's not fighting in anything. Please relax, this isn't your home. You're a guest. So try to be a polite one, okay?"

Then she looked back to Orla and continued offering that hug.

Orla didn't respond for a bit. And then, of course, begrudgingly, went in for the hug. "Grumblemumbleiwillthanksmumblegrumble."

She'd was pretty upset still, but, like, her house and stuff, adults being adults, twas a bummer.

Maybe she SHOULD just break all her limbs to be taller so people stopped treating her like a baby.

"Eat my ENTIRE ASS, ye condescending-- ugh." She shakes her head and looks to Orla. "She cannae make ye do anything, lass. An' if ye want my phone number, feel free tae come n' take it. Always available for a chat."

"Er." Orla glanced at Emily, then, disengaged from the hug, and walked over to Finn, a little cautiously because she seemed a bit emotional right now. "Thank you very much Miss Nimue, but I really should be getting back to my training. This was nice anyway, and I'd love to have your contact number, if you're okay with that."

She leaned in a bit, and mumbled. "Besides, you know, don't want to be around for all the adult make-outs that are going to be happening if the comics have any basis in reality, right? I don't need to see that." Orla grinned, and gave Finn a wink.

Finn chuckles and shakes her head, disarmed by the child. Fine - if Orla's feeling okay about it, then she doesn't need to gut the goddamned bag of bolts alive and get mauled by a house full of heroes.

"Doubt it'll go that way. Everyone here seems pretty damn't miserable, sad, an' garbage-feelin', yers truly included. Keep yer chin up, Orla. Yer better'n the lot of 'em."

She'll exchange numbers with Orla and then turn back to present conversation.

"Sorry about that. Not about tae sit 'round and abide by a kid bein' invited to a godsdamn't coup, then kicked out 'fore she can actually get a chance tae feel like a hero. Gets m'blood boilin'. Gets me all right an' ragin'. Ughhh." Another swig of whiskey. "But aye. Yer powers? Moth girl does dimensions, I know, but what about ye?"

After Finn disengaged and Orla got her contact info, Emily walked her to the waiting car where Umeko was waiting.

"Hey!" Umeko said, offering a hug to Orla.

Orla gave Therea and Zil a wave and a polite head-nod too before she left. It'd been nice anyway. She also WOULD demand saying bye to Red Reaper too, because she wanted to say goodbye to him and show that she cared about showing she still cared about him.

Anyway. "Umeko!" Another hug, so many hugs. Heroes were huggy, even she was feeling like there was a lot. Still, she dove in. "So many people I'm seeing and saying Hi to today. Might have liked to meet some more. But how are yah? Sorry to drag you away from the party."

"It's fine," she told Orla. "I don't mind."

She helped Orla load her things into the car, then hopped in. Orla promptly left the party...

Yeah, the whole kid fight thing ain't all that fair. If she wanted to fight there were tons of people around to protect her, right? Or...if she didn't want to. Or if she wanted to provide other sorts of support. There were options! Still, Zil waves goodbye to Orla despite not really getting to know her too well. She's still a sweet thing.

"Oh, uh. Yeah, I hear you. With regards to the- the kid thing you said, yeah. It ain't really right at all but I guess there's not much that can be done for it." That question is rough though-- but Zil focuses on the wrong part. "Theraea does dimensions? What does that even mean? What- what?" Her gaze moves to Theraea herself, then back to Finn. "What do you do? I- I'll get to mine after but dimensions sounds insane!"

Candy put her hands on her face and her jaw dropped. Wow! This CERTAINLY Was a heavy reveal for her! Her eyes are moving back and forth and back and forth, showing that her mind is making a LOT of connections. Kind of like the woman doing math meme.

“Oh... Oh wow! Oh my god! You trust me enough for this! Oh! Thank you so much! It really means a lot to me!!” Candy drops her hands and goes in for a real hug, going for the sentimental stuff first! Then she giggles and lets go. “Darn. It makes me wish I worked harder with the lessons you gave me!” She giggles again. “Sorry, I’m still Resling super hard here!”

“Oh! Escher! That means I met you sister too! Wow! Oh man, okay Aunt Lex!” Candy coughs into her hand and puts her hands on her hips in an attempt to compose herself. “Thank you so much for the trust you’ve placed in me. I won’t let you down!” A short pause happens, then Candy asks. “What’s it like being able to change outfits at will? God I love that.”

The real Lux hug was happily accepted this time. It was visible, and came with more than the usual number of limbs! "Oh, I know you. You've been ready for this for some time, Candy. I know you'll do us all proud!"

"So, how did you like my sister? Took on my mask for her career and she even beat me to the reveal! Grr, right? Jeanette drives her crazy, but I think that's what happens when you put two thieves together..." She laughed. Lux didn't sound mad at all, and Candy got the impression from her tone that she cared for her sister deeply.

"The outfits? Amazing. Imagine that it's like your hair..." She put up a hand to Candy's tech-dyed locks, and copied the coloration onto her own stubble. "...Only every aspect of your appearance. Don't even have to be restrained to physical reality." So saying, her clothes and appearance underwent a rapid series of changes, from high fashion to armor, to moon-beams and stardust, to a cubist sort of rendering of her entire form that couldn't possibly occupy physical space, and then back to herself in an armored dress.

"So! What kind of solo adventures have you been getting up to?"

She wanted to talk with Candy for a while, just chatting and hearing how she'd been. She'd let her get back to the party afterwards, though--with a mystery. "You know...there is someone else you could meet, here, at the party...How do you feel about doing some detective work? After I clear it with them, of course." She grinned, having proposed a fun party activity for her honorary niece.

And for her other sister.

Esen looks at this newcomer who clearly isn't who she was waving to!

"Hi there! Name's Aura."

She orders an omelet (gotta get back those calories from climbing down a subway tunnel and walking all the way to outside NYC from the Bronx) and looks at the teen in front of her.

"'Sup? What's your deal?"